Tag Archives: My Big Fat Fabulous Life

September 24, 2024 – Alexis Meets With Martin, Excuses, Steven Lars, No Rain In Spain, Sparks In Plathville, The Brothers Monster, All Agatha, From Again, Big Baby & Flaming

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts, recaps, and the whole GH enchilada on Fridays)

General Hospital

Natalia walks into Pozzulo’s where Sonny is fighting with his espresso machine. He says his old machine was temperamental, but it worked. She says, why hang on ghosts of the past when there’s a perfectly good future staring him in the face?

Jack goes to Bobbie’s, and Carly says, he can’t get enough of this place. He says he’s a fan of the food and the company, and he has news. He got word from his man in Kenya. Anna and Jason located the compound Lucky is in, and they’re in transit there. She asks if they have back up, but he says, no need. They were invited by Sidwell. She says she’s nervous, and he says, she should be. They haven’t rescued Lucky yet. Carly asks if they’re close and safe, and he says, for now. She wonders what he isn’t telling her.

TJ finds Molly in the breakroom, along with a spread of bagels, and she says she thought she’d bring them a nice breakfast. She slept on the couch because she didn’t want to wake him. He says he appreciates that, but where was she last night?

Dante walks into Kristina’s apartment with her, and she thanks him for his help. She asks how Lulu is. How is the search for Lucky? He says, there’s been no news, but Lulu is strong like her. She says she doesn’t feel strong, and he says, she is. She just needs help. She says, it feels like it’s been a thousand years since she’s been home. So much has changed. He asks if she’s sure she’s going to be okay, and she says she’s fine, but she’s worried about her mom.

Alexis tosses and turns in her bunk, when Heather hangs her head down from the top bunk and says, good morning. Alexis says she wasn’t dreaming, and Heather laughs.

Jack tells Caarly, there are too many unknown variables. Sidwell’s mysterious companion could be an operative, but she’s not theirs. The element of surprise… Carly says, it’s now lost, and he says, they haven’t seemed to raise suspicions from their host yet. She says, Jason is the most capable man she knows, but he’s a terrible liar, and he says, Anna will have no trouble. Will Jason have a problem following her lead? She asks, why? and he says, some men find strong women threatening. She says, that’s so old school. She expected more of him. He says, she knows he likes strong, confident women, when Diane walks in. She says she’ll have her usual and an introduction to the new WSB station chief. Carly introduces Jack, then introduces Diane as her attorney. Jack says, she’s also Sonny’s attorney. Her reputation proceeds her. Diane tells him, what can she say? She’s a woman not to be trifled with. They shake hands, and Diane says she assumes he’s not here for an unauthorized interrogation. Carly says, he’s here for breakfast, and Diane tells her, that’s what they all say. Can she have a word? She’ll be brief. Jack says, far be it for him to come between a woman and her lawyer. He tells Carly, they’ll talk soon, and leaves. Diane says, so much for breakfast. What about not being seen with the handsome, eligible station chief? Carly needs to maintain appearances, and make it look like she and Sonny have reunited, as she led the PCPD to believe.

Natalia says, it’s a beautiful machine, and Sonny says, if he can’t find a way to make it work, how is he going to make coffee? She says she worked at a restaurant where the manager had a ton of old kitchen appliances he’d salvaged from junkyards. He said he was a collector, but she knew he was a hoarder. She convinced him to buy a state-of-the-art machine, and once she got it up and running, he now serves the best coffee in San Juan. Change is hard and sometimes you need a push in the right direction. He says, switching could be a risk, but she says, there’s no reward without a little risk.

Heather asks how Alexis enjoyed her bed, and Alexis says her back is killing her. Heather asks if she can help, and Alexis asks if her help involves a hook, but Heather says, new hip, no hook. She suggests Alexis splash cold water on her face to help get her going, and Alexis says, it’s not her first rodeo. She cups her hands to get some water, and says, it smells like wet feet. Heather says, the first night is always rough, and Alexis says she doesn’t intend to be here that long. Heather says, in the meantime, she’d like to do what can to help. She knows it’s a hard time for Alexis. Alexis says, they’re going to drop the charges, but Heather says she’s not talking about that. She knows Alexis lost a grandbaby and almost lost her daughter and she’s so sorry.

TJ asks if Molly was working late, but she says, no. She was at the Brown Dog. She needed a drink after her mom went to Pentenville. He says he’s sorry he was in surgery, but she says, don’t worry. She ran into Dex Heller. He’s a police officer now, and he was with her mom before court. He asks if they talked about the case, and she says, he’s been helpful. He says he texted, but she didn’t respond. He’s here for her and wants to help. She says, it was just a moment, and he says, she texted and left him a message, so she wanted to talk. He loves her and she can tell him anything.

Dante says, Kristina’s mom can handle herself fine. What she can’t handle is Kristina not taking care of herself. Kristina says she’s trying. She met with a therapist and joined a support group for grieving mothers who lost their babies. He says, she’s brave to acknowledge that she needs help and she’s getting it, but Kristina says she doesn’t feel the bravery part yet. She hopes the therapist helps. She’s all over the place. He says, it gets better, and she says, the hardest part is realizing she made terrible decisions. Now she doesn’t trust herself and she’s afraid she’ll keep making terrible decisions over and over again. She needs to prove to the family that she can handle this. He says she doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone. Just focus on herself and know she’s not alone. She says, he’s always had her back, and he says, of course (🍷). He’s her big brother and loves her. They hug, when there’s a knock at the door, and Dante opens it to Chase. Dante wonders if Chase was looking for him, but he says he’s here to see Kristina. She asks if everything is okay with her mom, and he says, as far as he knows. He hopes it’s not a bad time. He needs to ask her a few questions.

Diane says, Carly needs to do everything in her in power to make the alibi more convincing, and Carly says, like what? Diane says, no more flirting with overly friendly handsome, eligible men, and Carly says, they’re just friends. Diane says, it’s about appearances now that she and Sonny are back together, but Carly says, we’re not back together. It was a one-night stand. That’s all that happened. Diane says, that just sounds convenient. She and Sonny have to solidify it. Carly asks how Diane suggests she do that, and Diane says, move in with Sonny or have Sonny move in with her. Carly says, not going to happen. How about going to the park with Donna? Diane says, boring, not sexy. She’s being watched by the PCPD and maybe the Feds. She has to convince them that she and Sonny are mad for each other as opposed to arranging a custody agreement. Carly says, that’s not what she agreed to, but Diane says, too bad. It’s too late to go back on her story that they’re in love. Carly says, that’s not the story, and Diane says, if she can’t convince probing eyes that she and Sonny are reuniting, they’ll conclude it’s fiction and won’t stop digging until they find something damning. Carly says, the Feds have been after Sonny for years, and Diane says, it’s going to put Carly back on their radar. If Sonny is put behind bars, she’ll be an accessory after the fact. For now, Operation Strange Bedfellows remains in effect. Diane walks out.

Sonny and Natalia say, alla salute, and clink cups. Sonny takes a sip and says, it could be one of best espressos he’s had. Natalia tries hers, and says, it’s pretty good, but it could be better. She’s hard to please. He says, lucky he likes a challenge, and they clink cups again.

Molly says she loves TJ too, but she doesn’t know what to do anymore. Her mom is in Pentenville, and there’s a chance she’ll be staying there. He asks if it’s that bad, and she says, her mom is defending herself and should have never been interviewed by the police without a lawyer. She knows better. He asks what she thinks Alexis is doing, and she says, protecting Kristina. He says, why? From what? She says, her mom won’t say it, but she thinks Kristina is hiding something. Sam thinks Sonny did it, but her mom wouldn’t do this to save Sonny. She thinks Kristina had something to do with John Cates’s murder.

Chase says, it won’t take long, and Dante says he’s going to head back. Kristina thanks him, and he says, of course (🍷). Call him if she needs anything. When he’s in the hallway, he makes a call. He leaves a message saying, give him a call when they can. It’s about Kristina. He thinks she’s about to do something she shouldn’t. Kristina tells Chase, before he starts, she wants to make it clear. He can ask her anything about her mother, but she’s innocent. She didn’t commit a crime. He says he wants to talk about Kristina’s whereabouts the night John Cates was murdered.

Heather says she’s glad Alexis’s daughter survived the fall, but it’s so sad about her grandbaby. She had to be looking forward to being a grandma. Alexis says, she’s already a grandma, but she was looking forward to another little one. Heather says she’s spent time dreaming about being a grandma to Ace. Taking him to the zoo and playgrounds and getting him ice cream before dinner. Alexis says, before you know it, they’re at their first dance, and Heather says, that’s what she’s afraid of. She’s never held her grandson and had a shot at getting out for a minute, but nope. She’s not trying to turn the focus on her. She just wants Alexis to know she understands what she’s going through. Alexis thanks her, and Heather says, just know that if Alexis ruins one more night of her sleep, they’ve got a big problem. A guard opens the cell and asks Alexis to follow her. They’re going to see her lawyer. Alexis says, what lawyer?

Molly says, her mom sent herself to prison to shield Kristina from the consequences of her own actions. It’s the family dynamic. TJ says, Molly always had to be the strong one, but those days are over. She doesn’t have to go through this by herself. He’s with her, especially now. They’re still grieving the loss of their child. Molly’s phone dings and she says, it’s work. She has a meeting. She’s got to go. They’ll talk. She promises to try and get home early. She tells him to enjoy the bagels. She loves him. She leaves and he says he loves her too.

Sonny says, if he has more coffee, he won’t be able to sleep and he’s not sleeping well. Natalia says, Alexis or Kristina? and he says, both. He hired a lawyer for Alexis. She says, that’s generous, but she’s not surprised. Allie asked if she should reach out, but she’s not sure if it would make things better or worse. He says he thinks it would muddy the waters, and she says, let her know if there’s anything she can do to help. He asks if she can fix his toaster, and she says she’ll buy him a new one. Seriously, she’d like to help. Sonny says he appreciates it, and puts his hand on hers, when Carly walks in.

Martin says he’d like a moment alone with his client, and tells Alexis that Sonny retained him on her behalf. Alexis says she needs a moment to process. She hasn’t had her latte yet. He asks, how was her first night? and she says, all things considered, terrible. Sonny hired him? He says, she’s welcome to refuse, but he advises against it. She says she thinks she knows not to incriminate herself, and he says, yet she did at the PCPD. What was she thinking? She consents to having him as her lawyer, and he says, now it’s confidential. She says she had nothing to do with John’s murder, but considering how everything went down, she’s not sure they can convince a jury. He says, since she’s looking at spending the rest of her life in prison, tell him what did go down

Kristina says, her mother is in Pentenville awaiting trial for John Cates’s murder, but Chase is here questioning her again. He says, it’s an ongoing investigation and he’s tying up loose ends. What were her exact movements? She flashes back to Alexis saying, she doesn’t have an alibi, and had the means, motive, and opportunity to kill John. Kristina says, they’ve been over this, and Chase says, one more time for him. She says she’s realizing she was suffering from postpartum depression, and she was consumed with grief, and he says he’s sorry for her loss. She says she went to the cemetery to be with her daughter, and he asks if she saw anyone, but she says, not that she knows of. He asks if someone saw her on her way there. Did she drive? She says she must have. She’s having trouble recalling the details. He says he checked, and her car hasn’t left the MetroCourt garage since the accident. Did she drive her mom’s car?

Stella walks into the breakroom and asks if she missed the party. TJ says, Molly surprised him with breakfast, then had to run to a meeting, and she says, Molly managed to tell her where TJ was as she zoomed past. How is she doing? He says, not so good, and she says, her family is in crisis mode. He says, big time. She’s consumed with her mom’s legal troubles, but he feels it’s a diversion from dealing with losing Irene. She says, Molly will never come to terms with it unless she deals with it. That goes for both of them. He says, Molly is overwhelmed. He’s trying to be patient. He knows she’s grieving too, and he doesn’t want to blame or resent her, but he has to admit he’s starting to.

Sonny asks Carly, what’s up? and tells Natalia that they’ll do the deal later. He thanks her for her help with the machine, and Natalia leaves. Carly asks if he’s kidding her. Diane came into Bobbie’s and read her the riot act about flirting, while he’s getting handsy with what’s her name. He asks who she was flirting with, and she says, this isn’t a joke. Diane was serious. She thinks to keep them out of prison, they have to fall back in love.

Kristina says she told Chase everything she remembers. She’d love to help him find the killer, but she’s dealing with depression and things are foggy. He says he understands given what she’s been through, and she says she thinks she took a Ride Share. He asks which ones she uses, when there’s a knock at the door. She opens the door, and Diane is there with a takeout bag. Diane asks what Chase is doing here. She’s going to presume he’s her to check on his partner’s sister. That’s admirable. But if he’s in here in an official capacity and questioning her about the case, he’s going to have to make an appointment and make sure her counsel is present. He asks if that’s what Kristina wants, and she says, it makes sense. Chase asks what Diane is doing here in Noseytown, and she says, delivering soup. He tells Kristina that he’ll be in touch, and leaves. Kristina says she needs help. She thinks she said something incriminating. Diane says, not another word.

Alexis says, Kristina is in an extremely fragile state of mind, and Martin says, Sonny filled him in. She asks if Sonny told him about the chain of events beforehand. Cates was tormenting Kristina while she was recuperating from a traumatic situation. He says, that’s despicable. Does she have something to add? She says she thought Kristina would crack and found a gun in her purse, and he asks if that’s the one she threw off the bridge. Alexis says she thought Kristina would hurt herself and she wanted the gun out of her house. He says, she was deliberately shielding her daughter, and she’s got to amend her statement. Just explain why she felt she should take the gun and Krishna’s emotional state. Alexis says, no one is going to believe it, and he says, they’ll sell it. She says, then she’ll have to explain why her car ended up at the Quartermaines and the reason why, and he says, which was? She says, Kristina was looking for Cates to kill him.

Carly says she and Sonny have to seem romantically involved and need to spend more time with each other, and he says he thought it was a one-time thing. She says she thought the same, but Diane said there’s no way it will hold up as an ironclad alibi. It’s too convenient. They have to convince everyone that they’re back together. Sonny says he pays Diane a lot of money for her advice, and she says, he’s the number one suspect. They’re still looking for evidence. He asks if she’s up for doing this, and she says, what else can she do? He says he guesses she’s stuck as his girlfriend, and she says she doesn’t mind pretending for the sake of the alibi, but she’s not going to lie to Donna and Avery, especially Donna. If she thinks her parents are getting back together and we don’t, it will break her heart.

At the hospital, Dante asks if Chase is following him, and Chase says, while he was interviewing Kristina, Diane showed up. Does Dante have any idea why? Dante says, Kristina is going through a lot. She lost her baby, and her mom is in jail. It’s not a good time. Chase says he was just doing his job, investigating the murder of an FBI agent. Kristina is hiding something, and she was willing to talk until Dante got in the way.

Diane says she’s not Kristina’s lawyer, and the privilege of confidentiality doesn’t exist. Kristina says she thinks she said… but Diane says, whatever it was, don’t say it. She doesn’t need to know more. The good news is, Chase was interrogating her without counsel, so whatever he learned is inadmissible. Kristina says, thank God. She thinks she incriminated herself big time. Diane says, Kristina still has a problem.

Alexis says, if the police find out Kristina had a weapon and was in the vicinity of the murder, they’ll realize she had the – they say it together – means, motive, and opportunity. Martin says, that’s the case they’re building against Alexis. Is she absolutely confident Kristina had nothing to do the crime? She says, 100%, and he says, then amend her statement. Give the police the facts. Let them do their job and investigate. She says, if someone is going to stand trial for a murder they didn’t commit, it’s going to be her. Kristina can’t handle it. If he wants to back out, she understands. He says he should, and she asks why he’s still here. He says, there’s one other choice she can make if she’s willing to take it.

Stella says she doesn’t think TJ needs to end his and Molly’s story yet. Give Molly time and be kind to himself. Be honest about his grief. TJ says, it comes and goes, but when it comes, it’s overwhelming, and she says she knows. He says he wanted to ask Molly to visit Irene’s grave, but she bolted before he had a chance, and Stella says she has a light afternoon. They can go together.

Diane says, it’s important that Kristina retain her own counsel, and Kristina says, Diane just told her that what she said is inadmissible. Diane says, it can’t be used in court. However, if it’s truly incriminating, Chase can open up a new investigation. Kristina says she opened her mouth and wasn’t thinking about what was coming out, and Diane says, Chase is a skilled interrogator. She bought Kristina time. Now Kristina has to get busy and find an attorney. Chase isn’t going to forget what she said.

Chase reminds Dante that he recused himself from the case due to conflict of interest, and Dante asks if Chase is accusing him of something. He feels like Chase is. Chase says, he’s too close to be involved. He knows Dante cares about his sister, and she’s been through a lot, so he’s going to let it go with a warning. Do it again, and he’ll turn Dante in. (I’m failing to see for what. Dante called a lawyer for his sister to make sure her rights weren’t trampled on, and he’s not on the case. It seems more like Chase was being unethical.)

Carly says she’ll go along with Diane’s plan, but she and Sonny have to be honest with their daughter. Sonny says he agrees. They won’t play the family things, but they have to be out together, drinking and dinner. How about tonight? She says, okay, it’s a date, and he says, don’t be flirting with other guys.

Alexis says she’s willing to do anything as long as it doesn’t involve her daughter, and Martin says, if she doesn’t come forward about the gun and what Kristina was doing that night, their only chance of winning is to prove John Cates was murdered by the man paying his fee – Sonny Corinthos.

Tomorrow, Sam asks Carly to help her to save her mother; Molly says she was right to worry; and Sidwell says, this might be his lucky day.

🩺 A Lot Of ‘Splainin’ To Do…

I don’t care how she spins it, Portia seems to have times of being totally irrational. I get her weak justification, but what bugs me is how many of them jumped right to Heather being set free. She probably will be since she’s under contract, but it’s hardly likely in the real world. She’d be sent to Spring Ridge or something.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/brook-kerr-defends-portias-actions-on-general-hospital

🔎 Looking Into the Past…

A refresher course or an introduction. I remember him not at all.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/steven-lars-webber

🎂 Big Fat Fabulous Fortieth…

Whitney decided to take a trip to Spain with friends and family to celebrate her 40th birthday. At the end of last week’s episode, she broke down when a man she’d met online stood her up after suggesting she meet him at a restaurant on the beach. To his credit, he did call and say he wasn’t coming, but to his debit, he waited until the last possible minute and there was no actual excuse given. Like, I’m dead, would have been good. During her interview, poor Whitney cried that she couldn’t even get a first date, and she felt that she was truly cursed. My heart broke for her. It grieves me that any woman would be this distraught over any man, but it was also sad how she felt no one would ever love her. I believe there’s someone for everyone, and I also believe the best love is found when you’re not looking. Despite this long-distance d-bag, Whitney’s birthday turned out to be her best one after all.

https://parade.com/news/my-big-fat-fabulous-lifes-isaiah-bares-it-all-to-cheer-up-whitney-thore-exclusive-clip

https://www.accessonline.com/videos/my-big-fat-fabulous-life-hunter-pressured-to-propose-to-karen-on-whitneys-birthday

🧪 Welcome To Chemistry…

One of the most enjoyable things about this show has been the Plath offspring discovering things that we take for granted, but are new to them. Soda! Wine! Television! Sugar! Cities! In this week’s episode, Ethan talked about babysitting a three-year-old and being more interested in SpongeBob SquarePants than the toddler was. Micah buying an engagement ring for Veronica to wear as a cocktail ring was just weird, and maybe a little insulting. You’re good enough to drink with, but…

They are kind of judgy. I don’t think Olivia is a narcissist. I think the reason she believes everything is about her is that she’s immature, not unlike the Plath clan. And she, too, is experiencing things most of us would take for granted. We move out (hopefully) sometime after high school, do stupid sh*t, and eventually focus and find a path for our lives. She got a late start.

https://screenrant.com/welcome-to-plathville-real-reason-barry-plath-veronica-peters-called-olivia-plath-narcissist-think-olivia-mean-girl/

👬🏻 Monsters Joined At the Hip…

I watched all of this except the final episode over the weekend. Saving that for later. I had tried watching the Dahmer series, but only made it through two episodes. It was just too depressing, although not for the reasons you might think. I couldn’t watch a side of my beloved NYC that I never saw and never want to. But I have no investment in the Menendez story, so I binged away. The acting from everyone is impressive, but bravo to Nicholas Chavez for breaking away from GH’s Spencer. I was skeptical about his acting prowess, since I felt Spencer was often talking too fast and too loudly, but I wasn’t sure if he was just directed that way or the director was afraid to direct him and that was his style. Happens. Apparently, it was the character, because his portrayal of Lyle is incredible. The series is graphic for sure, so those with weak stomachs might want to take a pass, but it’s a fascinating watch for the rest of us.

To answer the author’s question, I think there are as many different reasons for people becoming monsters as there are monsters.

https://www.purewow.com/entertainment/monsters-lyle-erik-menendez-story-review

A little bit on the celebrity one cell over.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/true-false-monsters-netflix-erik-menendez-oj-simpson-jail-1236011328/

It sounds like Murphy is right and Erik hasn’t seen it. While there were a lot of tributaries depicting scenarios that may or may not have been true, the abuse was definitely part of the story and not just hinted at. It was actually pretty disgusting.

https://people.com/erik-menendez-slams-ryan-murphy-new-monsters-series-8716430

https://people.com/ryan-murphy-has-many-things-to-say-following-erik-menendez-critiques-of-monsters-8717625

🔮 Hunting For Her Powers…

This was also on last weekend’s menu, but only two episodes were available. Being spoiled by the opportunity to watch a series in its entirety, this annoys me, but on the other hand, it brings back the excitement of the old days when we looked forward to the next weekly installment of a show. Agatha does not disappoint. It’s a load of fun, but it’s also creepy, and I love the diversity of the coven characters. And of course, Kathryn Hahn is out of this (under)world.

https://collider.com/agatha-all-along-review/

https://www.slashfilm.com/1667525/agatha-all-along-review/

🏠 Speaking Of Creepy…

This was a new season I was really looking forward to, although, like Agatha, it’s a drop a week. I had the pleasure of never having seen it until earlier last year and binged the first two seasons together. If you haven’t seen it yet, that pleasure is now all yours. It’s one of my favorite premises. A group of people, unknown to each other, find themselves in a town they can’t leave where monsters come out at night. And the Menendez brothers have nothing on these guys. At first, they look like regular folks, albeit old-fashioned – a milk man, a grandma, some preppy kids with weird smiles – but get too close and they have razor sharp fangs and claws and will literally turn you inside out. There are talismans that keep them away, but that doesn’t stop them from doing damage or stop random idiots from going out at night. Sheriff Boyd Stevens is the leader who tries to keep things together while trying not to fall apart himself, and Harold Perrineau (Lost) is magnificent in the role.

https://www.avclub.com/from-season-3-review

Warning: Spoilers ahead. But if you dare, be sure to check out the Breakdown video from Emmanuel “E-Man” Noisette.

An interview with Sheriff Boyd.

 🐧 Have Some Pesto…

He’s bringing love and joy to the world.

https://people.com/meet-pesto-the-penguin-9-month-old-sea-animal-australia-8715343

🧥 Smells Like Sweater Weather…

Join me tomorrow for soap and a little Salt. Until then, stay safe; stay starting to think about Halloween shopping (if you’re so inclined to celebrate), since things sell out quickly; and stay dealing with the hard things or you will never come to terms with them.

September 10, 2024 – Isaiah Says Lucky Sent Him, Soap Suds, Dubai Reunites, This Week’s Life, Betrayal In Plathville, It’s Not Her, Funny Guys Live, New Dog In Town & Almanac

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts, recaps, and the whole GH enchilada on Fridays)

General Hospital

Elizabeth tells Isaiah, they don’t know who he is or where he’s from, but she’s sure of one thing. He matters to someone out there. Isaiah opens his eyes, grabs her wrist and says, Lucky.

Sidwell comes back and tells the guard to take Lucky’s cuffs off. Lucky asks why he’s so glum. Was it not the good news he was hoping for? Sidwell says, the night is young, and Lucky asks if he wants to talk, but he says he’s more interested in resuming their card game. They’ve played dozens of hands, over 100, and Lucky has yet to lose. Enjoy it while it lasts. Sooner or later, he’ll lose then he dies. Lucky says he has to keep winning then. Wish him luck. Sidwell looks at Lucky’s hand and says, looks like his luck just ran out, when a guard comes in. While Sidwell is distracted, Lucky slips some cards up his sleeve, and the guard says, there’s news from the mine

Carly puts flowers in Lulu’s room and says, if she opens her eyes today, she’ll see something pretty. They’re all fighting for her, especially her mom. She’s gone to the other side of the world to find Lulu’s brother. He’s the best chance she has for a match. If anyone can find Lucky, it’s Laura. Lulu will be fine. She just has to fight a little longer.

In Anna’s office, Jordan tells Anna that the would-be assassin was brought to the station, booked, and he’s behind bars. She hopes he rots. Anna is writing this down, and Jordan tells her to leave out that last part. Anna says, great work apprehending the assassin. Not too shabby for a Deputy Mayor. Jordan says, they don’t know who the John Doe is or why someone wants him dead. The assassin has no ID and won’t talk.  Anna says, that’s where she comes in. She’ll keep Jordan posted. They’ll know more when their John Doe wakes up. Jordan leaves, and Jason knocks at the door.

Molly calls Diane and leaves a message that her mom needs help. Kristina and Michael come in, and Kristina asks what Molly is still doing here. Molly says, their mom is at the police station for questioning about the murder of John Cates.

Anna says, Jason must be glad. Alexis was brought in as a person of interest in John Cates’s murder. She’s being questioned, and right now his boss is off the hook. She asks if she can help him with something, and he says, she asked him to come by. She says she asked him to come with her, but he didn’t. He says he was busy. Now he’s not. What does she need? She says she needs to know who she’s dealing with, who she’s been dealing with. She thought they had an alliance of sorts. They worked together to find out who ran Pikeman and regarding John Cates. She can see it’s all over. She thought they’d become friends. Jason says, they worked well together. They didn’t agree on everything, but he did give her extra time to warn Valentin. She says, then he told Sonny that Valentin was running Pikeman, but he says he didn’t tell Sonny that she helped Valentin get away. That stays between them. She thanks him for coming in. He has his job to do and she has hers, so unless he can provide information about Cates’s murder or something else in her official capacity, she has work to do. He says, give him a minute. He thinks he’s earned it.

Sidwell says he has to triple check Lucky and looks at his cards again. He says, time to move to a new location.

Elizabeth tells Isaiah that he’s okay. He’s in the hospital. Don’t try to talk. She’ll let the doctor know he woke up. She calls for TJ to come to the room and tells Isaiah that he’s on his way. He asks where he is, and she says, General Hospital in Port Charles, New York. He says, Port Charles? Lucky, he… Elizabeth says, he was brought in with no ID. Can he tell her his name? He says, Isaiah Gannon… Lucky… his friend… sent him here. Lucky Spencer. She asks how he knows Lucky, when TJ comes in. He says, Elizabeth is needed at the nurses’ station, and she says she’ll be back as soon as she can, and leaves.

Drew tells Jordan that the governor’s office is going to have a special election, but even if one of them finishes McConkey’s term, that could change in a couple months. She stares off into space, and Drew says, Jordan? She says, sorry, and he asks what’s on her mind. She says, not much. Just the attempted murder she walked in on.

Michael asks Molly why they think Alexis knows anything. She wasn’t even at the Quartermaines. Molly says, she was seen tossing a gun in the water at Blackstone Canyon. Kristina wouldn’t happen to know about that, would she? Michael says, they know Alexis didn’t do it, so there’s no need to panic, and Molly says she saw that look he gave Kristina. It was a signal to shut up. Michael says, there’s no need for cross examination, and Molly say she’s talking to her sister. What was Kristina going to say before Michael stopped her? What does she know about this gun?

Jordan tells Drew, it’s a long story. The John Doe is under guard and the assassin is in custody. Her old instincts kicked in. He says, Deputy Mayor by day, vigilante warrior by night, and she says she doesn’t plan to make it a habit, but she wasn’t about to let it go down. She’s so distracted. She keeps going over it in her head. She thinks either their John Doe is dangerous or in danger or both. Whatever the case, she can’t stop thinking about it.

Elizabeth calls Carly and says, she might want to come to the hospital. Carly says she’s already here visiting Lulu. Is everything okay? Elizabeth says, they have a patient who’s a John Doe. The first thing he said when he woke up is that Lucky sent him to Port Charles. Carly says, if Lucky sent him… and Elizabeth says, he might know how to get ahold of Lucky or know where he is. They could have a liver donor. Carly asks, what floor? and Elizabeth says, 8. Carly says she’s on her way, and tells Lulu, it looks like their prayers are being answered.

Isaiah asks if they ran a CT scan, and TJ says, they did. Isaiah wonders if there was any bleeding or fractures, but TJ says, he was all clear. Isaiah asks if they did a CBC count, and TJ says, he’s a doctor. Isaiah asks, what gave it away? and TJ says, doctors are the worst patients, and he’s the worst there is. Definitely in the top five. He’s getting the best possible care and is in great hands. Isaiah says he’ll reserve judgement for later, and TJ says he’ll let the police know Isaiah is awake and chatty, and Isaiah asks if that can wait until later. He’s got a lot to tell.

Anna says, Jason has one minute, and he says, they worked well together when they left Sonny out of it. Anna asks if he’s suggesting she put him aside even though he’s a suspect, and he says, she’s basing that on a missing registered weapon. She asks if Sonny would never use a gun he legally owned to commit a murder, and he says, Sonny isn’t stupid. She asks if it’s not possible he got rid of the evidence because he assumed they’d think that, and he says, that would be a stretch. She says, the problem is that she’s been doing this for quite some time. She trusts her gut, and it’s telling her that Sonny did this. She doesn’t know for certain, but Jason does. Her phone rings, and she says she’ll be right over. She tells Jason that John Doe is awake, the man whose life he saved. She thanks him and he says he wants to finish this another time.

Kristina says she doesn’t know about the gun. She was going to say that their mom needs them both… Molly says, she’s lying, but Kristina says she’s not. Molly says, she’s not an idiot. What has Kristina done and how is mom wrapped up in it? Kristina says she’s done nothing, but Molly says, their mom got rid of a gun the night someone shot and killed John Cates. Where was Kristina and who was she with? Kristina says she was alone at the baby’s grave, and Molly says, of course (🍷). Kristina says, it’s the truth, and Molly says, mom would do anything for Kristina, and the one time Kristina can come through for her, she doesn’t. Whatever happened, she’s going to get to the bottom of it. They can panic now. She leaves.

Carly says she can’t wait to find out where Lucky is, when Elizabeth gets a hospital 911 and says she has to go. She tells the guard to let Carly in. Carly goes into Isaiah’s room and says she’s sorry to bother him. He asks if she’s with the hospital, and she says she’s Carly Spencer. She’s Lucky’s cousin. Isaiah knows him? Isaiah says he’s honored to meet Lucky’s family, and Carly asks if he can tell her where Lucky is. It’s a matter of life or death.

Molly barges in on TJ and says he won’t believe what happened. He asks what Kristina did now, and she says, it’s a new low, even for Kristina. He says he’s braced, and she says, her mom is at the police station. She thinks Alexis is about to be arrested for something Kristina did.

Kristina thinks she should tell the truth and get her mom off the hook, but Michael says, the gun that shot John won’t be the same model number. But they can’t prove it wasn’t the gun because her mom got rid of it. Kristina asks how that sounds, and Michael says, bad.

Anna asks how the John Doe is, and Elizabeth tells her that his name is Isaiah Gannon, and he might know where Lucky is. He said Lucky sent him to Port Charles. Carly is in there trying to get more information. Anna says, so he’s lucid? She needs to speak to him on her own. Elizabeth says, good luck getting Carly out of there, and Anna goes to Isaiah’s room. Jason comes out of the elevator, and he and Elizabeth look at each other.

Head mine guy tells Sidwell that they’re extracting smaller quantities every day, and Sidwell says, they should be getting 10 pounds weekly. Mine guy says, they got barely a pound today and they’ve stripped the entire area. They have to move. Sidwell says, very well, and as mine guy is about to leave, Sidwell shoots him dead. He tells Lucky, search him.

Jordan says her head’s not in the game, and Drew says she doesn’t have to apologize. He thinks it’s kinda great. She saved the day. Look him in the eye and tell him that she’d rather be with the PD. It’s fine. He can defend democracy himself. They got a big chunk done and the rest can wait. He thinks she should go back to Anna.

Anna introduces herself to Isaiah and says she needs to speak to him alone. Official business. Carly says, this is family business and they’re racing the clock to find Lucky. Anna suggests they start with his name, and he says, Dr. Isaiah Gannon. She asks how he ended up here at GH, and he asks where she wants to start. She asks how he knows Lucky, and he says, he was working overseas, providing medical relief in international areas in need. Lucky provided supplies. It was a risky job, but Lucky’s not one to run from danger. The danger got up close and personal when they were abducted by Sidwell, a crime boss war lord. Anna says she knows who Sidwell is, and Isaiah says, mining takes manpower and men in mines get sick and hurt. Sidwell acquired him to be his doctor. He’s kind of a hypochondriac. He and Lucky had a break-out plan, and he got out, but as far as he knows, Lucky is still in the compound. Lucky told him that if he managed to make it to Port Charles, to contact the WSB. Can Anna do that for him? Anna says she can, but they have a time crunch and asks where the compound is. Isaiah says, Somali, near the Shebelle River, and Carly says she has to get that information to the person who can get to Lucky.

Michael says, Kristina has to think rationally, not emotionally. What was she going to do, confess that she stole the gun from dad and Alexis disposed of it? Kristina says, Molly is upset and hurt with her, not mom. Molly is blinded by grief and rage and not thinking clearly. She has to do something to help mom. Michael says, Alexis will be fine. Molly won’t let her go down for murder.

TJ asks what Kristina did, and Molly says, her mother is now a person of interest in John Cates murder. A witness saw Alexis dispose of a gun by throwing it off the bridge the night of the murder. Add Kristina to the equation. She denied everything. TJ says, of course (🍷), and Molly says, but she’s in this up to her eyeballs. And somehow Michael is involved, but she’s not sure how. TJ says, Kristina always finds someone to clean up her messes, and Molly says she has to figure this out objectively. She needs to come at this as an ADA, not Kristina’s sister. Cates had Kristina arrested, so she’s got motive, and she’s got no alibi. She knows because mom and Sam were calling her, asking where Kristina was. Now mom got rid of a gun, presumably for Kristina. TJ asks if she can prove it, but she says, not yet. Michael doesn’t want Kristina to talk. He asks where that leaves her, thinking as an ADA, and she says, it’s all circumstantial, but it only leads to one place. Kristina killed John Cates. (Ugh. These two.)

Anna asks how Isaiah ended up in a ditch on Route 41, and he says, that part is hazy. When he flew in, he could tell someone was following him. He tried to lose them, but they tailed him. He ditched the car and ran, then bam! All he remembers is waking up here. Anna shows him her phone and asks if that’s the man who was following him. He says, yeah. How did she know? She says, he was caught trying to inject a lethal dose of fentanyl into Isaiah’s IV, and Isaiah says, an opioid overdose is a nasty way to go out. He thanks her for the rescue, but she says, it wasn’t her. It was the Deputy Mayor.

Jordan tells Drew that she’s staying not being a cop, but it raised questions. They can be answered tomorrow, so how about defending democracy? It does do her heart good to know she’s still got it. .  

Kristina asks what she can do, and Michael says, absolutely nothing. The police will realize there’s not enough to go on and let Alexis go. Kristina says she didn’t kill Cates. She knows mom believes her because she wants to, Molly won’t because she doesn’t want to, but what about him? Why does he believe her?

Carly goes to Jack’s office, and he asks to what he owes the pleasure. She says she needs help, and he says he assumes it’s in the pursuit of justice and the enforcement of international law. Shed says, it is, and he says he’s intrigued. She says she needs to know the exact location of Lucky Spencer, and he closes the door. He says, Lucas Lorenzo Spencer Jr. was last seen at the Kenya-Somalia border. He tracked Lucky for his mother recently. Carly says she needs to know his exact location now.

Elizabeth says she’s happy to see Jason. It’s been a weird day. A patient was found in the Pine Barrens, the victim of a hit and run. Jason says, he’s the one who found him, and she says, coincidences abound. He knows Lucky. He asks, how? but she says she doesn’t know. She keeps getting called away. Jason says, they have to talk to him, but she says, Anna is in there. He asks what the patient has said so far, and she says, not so much, but whatever he has to say about Lucky seems pretty urgent.

Kristina says she knows she’s Michael’s sister and he loves her and blah-blah-blah, but does he have a reason? He says he does. He knows she’s not capable of killing someone. She says, he’s right, she’s not capable of killing someone, even someone she hated as much as she hated Cates. She wanted him gone. He says, there’s a big different between wanting someone dead or wanting to kill them and going through with it, and she says she wanted him gone, but she didn’t kill him. Michael says he’s going to make sure none of them go down for the murder – Alexis, dad, or her. Molly is suspicious and there’s only a matter of time before they’re questioned. Kristina says she was afraid of that, and he says, no matter how bad she wants to help her mom, stay quiet. She has to understand that and let Diane handle it. There’s too much riding on this. She can’t say anything to anyone.

TJ asks if Molly thinks her sister could kill someone. She’s emotional, impulsive, and reckless, but a killer? Molly says, they’re coming at this objectively, and he says, can they? She says, let’s try. She has to come at this like any other case, and the facts point to Kristina. He asks what she’s going to do, and she says, what she has to. She’s not letting her mother take the fall for something Kristina did. She’s going to get Alexis exonerated and get Kristina to confess.

Jack tells Carly that using WSB resources for personal reasons is frowned on. He already tried get Lucky’s location. If he does it again, he might get in trouble. He’s already been busted from director to station chief. If he screws up one more time, he could be a janitor. She says, it’s a matter of life or death. Her cousin is fighting for her life. He says, she’s not shy about tugging at his heartstrings, and she says, he has a heart. Now it’s his chance to prove it. He says he’ll see what he can do. He has a difficult time saying no to her. She says, most people do, but he says he guesses not for the same reason. He picks up the phone and says he wants an update on the search for Lucky. (I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I love Jack. He’s the new Valentin in my eyes. Valentin could possibly come back, but after he tampered with Sonny’s meds, I can’t look at him the same way.)

Anna comes out and tells Elizabeth, all hers. Elizabeth thanks her and Jason, and she goes into Isaiah’s room. Anna says, Jason should go in and take credit for his good deed, but he says he’d really like to finish their conversation. She says she did, but he says he didn’t. She says, fine. She goes first. They walk around the corner, and she says she appreciates his discretion with Sonny regarding her letting Valentin get away, and he says, it stays between them. She says, that’s the problem. Jason is a man with exceptional skills, and she believes has a strong sense of integrity, but he functions outside, regardless of the law. She’s been there and understands more than anyone the position he’s in. How difficult it is to have feet on both sides of the boundary. He was kept away from his children and family, and she thinks that’s why she was encouraging him to take a strong step over the boundary. He has, just not in the direction she’d hoped for. He says he’s not going to abandon Sonny, but he doesn’t see why that should prevent them from helping each other if they need to. She asks why he wants to help her, and he says, because he considers her a friend too. She says she wishes she felt the same still, and he tells her to let him know if that changes. She says she hopes it does, and leaves.

Lucky searches mine guy’s body and hands Sidwell a couple of gold nuggets. Sidwell says, bastard. His so called righthand was skimming off the top. Does Lucky know what the worst part is? Lucky says, if he had to guess, he’d say it was disloyalty, but loyalty has limits. Greed has none. But mine guy was right. The mine is drying up. Sidwell asks how Lucky does it. He was just about to shoot and kill him if he answered wrong, but Lucky wins again. Lucky says, and he thought his streak was over, and Sidwell says, it will be soon. It’s time to move on. He’s lost contact with the man tracking Lucky’s friend and doesn’t know if he should take Lucky with him or end it right now. He aims his gun at Lucky, and Lucky says, come on. Sidwell looks at Lucky’s cards and laughs. He says, Lucky really is the luckiest man alive. He laughs again and pats the chair. He tells Lucky, as you were, and tells the guard to cuff Lucky again. And get someone to clean this up. Sidwell leaves, and Lucky tells the guard, don’t ever give that guy bad news, word of advice. The guard leaves and Lucky takes a gold nugget out of his sleeve.  

Elizabeth introduces herself to Isaiah and says she used to be married to Lucky. They have a son together – Aiden. Isaiah says, Lucky mentioned her. He said she was beautiful. Usually Lucky exaggerates, but he doesn’t think Lucky did her justice in this case. She thanks him and asks what he can tell her about Lucky. He says, they worked together for a few years being modern day Robin Hoods. She says, that sounds like Lucky. She’s had a bad feeling. Aiden has been trying to get ahold of his dad for some time. Is he okay? Isaiah says, he’s seen Lucky in difficult situations, but he’s never seen him in one like this. The last time he saw Lucky, he was still breathing, but he doesn’t know if that’s still the case.

Tomorrow, Nina asks if she can tempt Ric with something stronger; Anna asks Isaiah why someone would want to kill him; And Jack tells Carly that he trusts her judgement.

🧼 All the Soap News Fit To Print…

Drumroll, please… Introducing the latest Lulu.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/alexa-havins-is-the-new-lulu-on-general-hospital

In case you don’t know or remember Lucky.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/abc/lucky-general-hospital-jonathan-jackson-151164

This looks like it was wonderful, but even Sonny isn’t worth battling Long Island traffic.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/gallery/general-hospital/a-special-night-with-ghs-maurice-benard

I had no idea she did stage work.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/ghs-lisa-locicero-wins-best-actress

🐪 Oh For Camel’s Sake…

Look at those dresses… Sorry, I got distracted by the glamorous Red Sea. I’m not a huge fan of Reunions, since they inevitably reach that point where everyone is talking over everyone, and nothing can be understood. This one culminated with Ayan literally screeching long and hard. The view of Taleen’s nether regions, now known as V-gate, was rehashed. Stanbury said she wasn’t the one who belabored the point. She’d only mentioned it once during a phone conversation, but Brooks kept bringing it up. Excellent point. Taleen was over it in like, five seconds, yet Brooks held onto it for the whole season. It was also disturbing to hear that Ayan got backlash from revealing how she’d been the casualty of female genital mutilation as a child. I can’t think of much that’s more unfair or disgusting, unless it’s bullying someone about it. Apparently, Lesa had used the word victim to describe her, and Ayan was less than pleased about that as well. Someone drop a clue on Lesa that we use the term survivor these days.

🪄 Fabulous Redo For Glenn…

I don’t blame her. Keep your engagement out of my birthday.

https://www.accessonline.com/videos/my-big-fat-fabulous-life-whitney-doesnt-want-hunter-to-get-engaged-on-her-birthday-trip

Details about the renovation. It did look amazing.

https://www.realtor.com/advice/reality-tv/big-fat-fabulous-life-whitney-thore-unbelievable-renovation/

🏡 Welcome To Heartbreak…

I have her answer. He’s a d-bag. It’s as simple as that. Learn from it and move on.

https://people.com/welcome-to-plathville-recap-moriah-plath-reveals-ex-had-secret-family-8709926

Interesting. Word on the internet streets says he’s a gold digger.

https://screenrant.com/welcome-to-plathville-clues-micah-plath-signs-dump-veronica-peters-clues-not-serous-him/

🍊 Not Because She’s Being a Jerk…

They always blame the editing. I don’t care how sweet Alexis is in the unseen footage. She’s been coming for Shannon since she walked in and triggering her at every opportunity.

🤣 Laughing Their Peacock Off…

Streaming live on Peacock September 12, 9 pm.

https://ew.com/colin-jost-michael-che-live-comedy-special-peacock-8706010

🐶 This Time It’s Not an Insult…

I’ll bite. Wait. Wrong choice of words. This looks intriguing. Shades of True Blood’s Sam, the perfect boyfriend. When he becomes annoying, he can just turn into a dog.

https://ew.com/amy-adams-transforms-into-a-dog-in-nightbitch-trailer-8705913

Ha-ha! I had a dog who freaked out when I put on a hat in the wintertime.

https://ew.com/amy-adams-freaked-out-dogs-nightbitch-set-lunged-at-her-8708189

🪹 Post Summertime Blues…

Join me tomorrow for soap and what’s Listing in LA. Until then, stay safe, stay parking between the lines and not taking up two spaces, and stay not having feet on both sides of the boundary.

September 3, 2024 – The PCPD’s Busy Night, Thoughts, Suds Galore, He’s a Monster, Goodbye Dubai, Her Fabulous Snaps, What Went Wrong, Marvelous Extras, Arrested, Feasting Felines & Ends

Standard

What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts, recaps, and the whole GH enchilada on Fridays)

General Hospital

Sonny says he told Jagger over and over and over. Jagger can come after him, but when Jagger goes after his daughter, it’s unacceptable. He shoots John and John falls. Sonny walks over to him and shoots him again for good measure. Michael shows up and sees John. Sonny says, he doesn’t understand. John was coming after his sister. Michael says, enough. He doesn’t want to hear it.

Drew and Willow kiss as the thunder crashes.

Alexis thanks Sam for coming over, and Sam says, of course (🍷). Alexis says, it’s her sister, and Sam says she figured. Alexis says, she left Kristina for two seconds, and Kristina grabbed her keys and ran off with her car. Sam tells her not to freak out. Kristina is a grown woman. She’s sure Kristina is fine. Alexis says, she’s not fine. She has no business being out there. Sam asks where Alexis thinks she went, but Alexis says, if she had any idea, she’d be there and not here.

Kristina stands at Adela’s grave and says, it’s me. Your mom. She wanted to tell Adela how sorry she is for what happened at the funeral. She didn’t deserve that. She deserved to be celebrated for the gift she was, still are, and always will be.

Isaiah lies in the road. Jason comes along and walks over to him.  

Boyle and Ava walk through the rain, and Ava says, they have to go back and help that man. Boyle tells her, stop walking. They’ve gone far enough. Ava asks if Boyle ever killed anyone. It changes you forever. Whatever life she believes she’s going back to, won’t be the same if she pulls the trigger.

Kristina says, Adela has to believe her and listen to her. Molly was wrong. It’s not true what she said. Kristina never would have gone to that hotel if she thought she was putting Adela in danger. She loved her so much. She only wanted to protect her and keep her safe. She cries and says she wishes so badly that she could go back, but it doesn’t matter what she wishes. Adela is there, and she’s still here.

Kristina sobs and says she doesn’t want to live without Adela. She doesn’t want to be without her. Please, just come back.

Sonny asks what Michael is going to do, and Michael says, mom is still at the main house. He picks up the bullet casings and gives them to Sonny. He says, Carly will give Sonny an alibi. Sonny says, someone is going to find Jagger, but Michael says he’ll take care of it. Sonny leaves.

Jason checks Isaiah’s pulse and turns him over. He calls 911, and says, there’s a probable hit and run on Route 41 past mile marker 28… No. He was going by and saw him at the side of the road. It’s a male in his 30s and has no ID, but he’s still alive. Hurry.  

Ric carries a bouquet of flowers to the reception desk and tells Elizabeth that he has a delivery. She says, room number? and turns around. He says he thinks they’d look fantastic right here. She asks what he’s doing, and he says, craving a friendly face. He thought it might belong to her. Can she help? She says, nice touch, and he says, but she’s not accepting them. She says, not a chance… Actually, she’ll break them up and give them to her patients. He says, how very Elizabeth, and she asks how he knows that. He’s been gone a long time. He says, true. How about having dinner with him to jog her memory? Sound good? She says, no, and he says, still, he’ll circle back and maybe there’s a chance she’ll be less busy. Elizabeth says she’s the head nurse now, and it’s never less busy. He congratulates her and says, he’ll circle back anyway. Hope springs eternal and all that.

Her shirt covered in baby food, Tracy walks into the living room and sees Nina talking to Brook and Chase. Brook asks, what happened? and Tracy says, the devil baby. Chase says, Ace? and Tracy says, the nannies couldn’t handle him any longer, so she and Lois were trading off trying to get him to quiet down. Brook says, maybe he’s hungry, and Tracy says, that was her first thought before he flung the food at her. Nina says she’s surprised Tracy didn’t change, and Tracy says she’s surprised Nina is still here. Nina says, Michael invited her to dinner, and she was catching up on business with Brook. Tracy says, she’ll take over here, and Brook can take over upstairs. And if Ace doesn’t quiet down, Chase can arrest him for disturbing her peace. Chase says he’s here if Brook needs backup, and Brook leaves. Tracy says, there’s not enough backup in the world for Ace, and Nina says, she’s really not changing?

Sonny goes upstairs at the main house and grabs Carly, pulling her into a room. Seeing he’s soaked, she asks what he was doing outside, and he says he needs her help. If anybody asks, they’ve been here together for the last half hour. She says, why?

Alexis says, Kristina’s still not picking up, and Sam says, after all she’s been through, maybe she needs some space. Alexis says, she can still call her mother, and asks Sam to call Molly and ask if she’s seen or heard from Kristina.  

As the thunder rumbles, Kristina says she loves Adela so much. It’s a love only a mother could know. It’s not Molly’s fault that she doesn’t understand the connection. How could she? Adela grew inside her. She lies down on the grave and says, they breathed together, they hiccupped together and hated kale together. She’s sorry about that. That stuff is the worst. She promises to never ever forget everything Adela hated and loved, like that Pink song. She loved kicking her foot to the beat. It was amazing. She knows Adela would have been a dancer.

Willow says she can’t believe this happened again, and Drew says he’s sorry, but she says, it’s not his fault. He insists it is and says, emotions got mixed up in her talking to him. She says she’s glad he felt he could talk to her. He was in pain, and she wanted help, but it morphed into something else. She got caught up in it and she shouldn’t have. He says, neither of them should have, and she tells him that she was going to say she’s not a wife who cheats, but is she? He says, she’s not. She’s a wife who got caught up in a weak moment with someone else having a weak moment. She says, he also knows that she loves her husband, and he says he does. He loves Michael too, but if he’s being honest, there have been times where he wishes he’d met her first.

Kristina says she hopes Adela felt loved and hopes she knows Kristina would do it all over again to have those moments back. She will never ever forget her. She won’t be forgotten. She loves Adela and will take Adela with her forever.  

Willow says, but Drew didn’t meet her first. Michael did and she thanks God for it. He’s an amazing father and husband and stood by her in her darkest time. The life they’ve built means everything to her. That’s why what happened will have to stay locked in her heart. He says, no one will ever know from him. He only wants the best for her. She says she should go. She’ll call a Ride Share. He says, let him drive her. The roads are going to be messy, and he wants to make sure she gets there safe. She thanks him and they leave.

Brook walks Ace into the living room, and Tracy asks if she drugged him. Brook says she just walked him around and asked if he wanted to do a meet and greet. Tracy says, it’s clearly not the same baby. Chase says, Brook is going to make a good mom, and Brook asks if Tracy wouldn’t be excited to have a great grandchild. Tracy says, it’s not the worst thing… Okay. She’d adore it.

Sonny asks if Carly is ready, and Carly says, they’ve done it before. Let’s do it. They walk into the living room, and Tracy wonders how much more she has to endure.  

Jordan tells Portia that she’s checking in to see if there are any problems because of the storm, but Portia says, it’s been quiet. What about the rest of Port Charles? Jordan says, she’s coordinating emergency responses, and Portia says, they could use a break. Now that Jordan is here, what can Jordan tell her about Ric? He’s TJ’s father-in-law, so she thought Jordan might know about him. Jordan says, they’ve had a few conversations, but nothing deep. Why? Is there something in particular Portia wants to know? Portia says, after Scotty dropped Heather’s case, she thought she could stop worrying. It wasn’t five seconds until Ric showed up and said he’s Heather’s attorney. Jordan says, Port Charles is no longer Ric’s home, so it gives him a leg up in terms of not caring about the hate storm he’ll receive. Portia says, what she wants to know is, is he that great of a lawyer? Can he actually make a winning case for Heather? Jordan says, from what she understands, he’s a very good lawyer.

Ric gives Elizabeth some coffee, and she says she’s impressed he remembers how she takes it. He says he’s impressed she’s head nurse, but not surprised. She asks if he’s still practicing law, and he says, and he’s managing to stay out of trouble. Like she said, it’s been a long time. People change. Look at Franco. She says, that was different, and asks how Molly is. He says, hanging in there. She’s incredibly strong and he’s proud of her. Elizabeth says she never doubted his love for his daughter, and he asks what she thinks about Heather. She says, that’s quite a subject change. Heather has a soft spot for her because of Franco, so Heather is on her best behavior around her. Ric says he can use that, and she asks if he’s representing her. He says he read her file. It’s quite the body count. She says, however, there were extenuating circumstances, and he says, cobalt poisoning. Elizabeth says, if he takes her as a client, he’ll never make a friend here, but he asks when that was an option. There’s only one other person in Port Charles besides Molly whose opinion matters to him.  

Kristina says she named her Adela after her great-grandmother Adela, her father’s mother. Her dad is… not perfect, but he’s always been a constant presence in her life, someone she could count on. She wanted to be that person for Adela. She never imagined a world where she wouldn’t be and couldn’t love her. She hopes Adela still feels that love because it doesn’t know time or space. It’s not true what they say, you can’t take it with you. She hopes Adela proves that wrong. She hopes Adela takes all of her love with her. She kisses the Mickey Mouse plushie and puts it on the grave. She says, I love you, and cries. She gets up and walks out.  

Ava tells Boyle that she has a daughter, Avery. She loves her very much. Let her go and they can both disappear. She’s been where Boyle is now. She held a woman’s life in her hands and ended it. She regrets her decision every single day. Boyle says, it sounds like karma, and cocks the gun. Behind Boyle, Jason is holding his gun on her.

Jason says, drop the gun, and Boyle grabs Ava, holding Ava as a shield, the gun in Ava’s side. Boyle tells him not to come any closer, but he says, drop the gun and let Ava go. Ava says, shoot her already, and he cocks his gun. Boyle drops the gun, and Ava picks it up. She says, how is this for karma?

In Isaiah’s hospital room, Dr. Park tells Portia, 911 found him lying by the side of the road. Portia says, a hit and run? and he says, probably. He tells her a bunch of medical stuff they’re waiting on, and she asks if they have an ID or is he a John Doe? Park says, they looked, but there was no ID, and Portia says she’ll take it from here.

A nurse tells Elizabeth that Dr. Park is waiting on an MRI and CAT scan, but she’s getting no response from imaging. Elizabeth says, duty calls, and Ric asks if they can catch up later. It was a nice conversation, and he’d like to continue it. She says she gets off in 20 minutes. Meet her downstairs. He says he’ll be there.

Sam tells Alexis that Molly hasn’t seen Kristina, and Alexis wonders who they call now. Sam suggests they wait a little bit, and Alexis hopes Kristina didn’t do something stupid. Sam asks what she’s afraid of, when Kristina comes in. Sam says, she’s soaked, and Kristina says, it’s raining. (Those familiar with Rocky Horror will recognize that line.) Alexis asks if she’s all right, and Kristina says she didn’t mean to make Alexis worry. Sam says, mom was totally freaked out, and Kristina says she went to the cemetery. She needed to talk to Adela.

Michael looks at John’s body and makes a call. He says, Chase needs to get to the boathouse right away. Agent Cates was shot… No, just the coroner. He’s dead… He doesn’t know. He showed up and found the body. Should he call the police or can Chase radio it in? Willow and Drew come by, and Willow says, oh my God, and Michael tells Chase to alert the FBI. Cates was an agent. Willow hugs him and Drew asks, what the hell happened?

Nina says she doesn’t mean to be indelicate, and Carly says, then don’t be. Nina asks if Sonny and Carly are back together, but Sonny says, they were having a conversation, and things got heated. That’s it. Nina asks if he’s sure that’s all it is. Chase says, there’s been a shooting, and Tracy says, on the property? He says, outside the boathouse, and tells Brook that he needs to go. She says, of course (🍷) and Tracy says, dinner is canceled, but Chase says he needs them all to stay for questioning.

Michael says he’s not hurt. He was just surprised. Drew asks how long John’s been there, but Michael says he doesn’t know. He was making sure everything was okay at the boathouse because of the storm and found him. Drew asks if there wasn’t anyone else around, but Michael says, no, and asks if they saw anyone leaving. Willow says, Drew drove her home, and they were walking to the gatehouse, and Drew says, he assumes John is… Michael says, yeah, and Willow asks if he heard a gunshot, but Michael says, not with all the thunder going on. Drew asks if he saw any bullet casings, but Michael says, no, and Drew says, whoever did this knew how to clean up after themselves. He’ll wait with Michael. Michael says he’ll be fine. He’s sure they’ll have some questions for him. Drew says, let him be the wingman, but Michael asks him to take Willow back to the house. He’d feel better if he knows she’s safe. He’ll handle things here. Willow hugs him and leaves with Drew.  

Portia says she was hoping Jordan was still here and asks if Jordan can do her a favor. An unidentified man was brought in. Apparently, the victim of a hit and run. Jordan says, no ID? and Portia says, not on him. She was hoping Jordan could use her credential to help figure out who he is. Jordan says, absolutely, and Portia says, if something like this happened to Trina, she hopes someone would do what they could to find her family.

Alexis thinks it could have waited until morning given the weather, but Kristina says, no. She wanted to talk to Adela tonight. Alexis says she was worried and wishes Kristina had called or told her. She would have driven here there. Kristina says she left her phone in the car. She wanted to be alone. She went to apologize for what happened at the burial. Alexis says, what happened was, everyone’s emotions were running high. Everyone cherished the baby. Kristina says she doesn’t want to go on without her, and Alexis hugs her as she cries.

Boyle asks if this is the part where she tells Ava that she’s got a daughter too, and she’s made mistakes. Ava says, that’s obvious, since she’s under John’s thumb. She doesn’t care. She tells Jason to take it from here, but Jason says he’s not getting involved. Ava says, he’s already involved. If he had been one second later, she’d be bleeding out. Jason asks what she wants him to do, and she says she’s at her limit. She’s sick of being pushed around and letting people play a game with her life. No more.

Drew and Willow come into the living room, and Tracy says, they’re just in time for police questioning. There’s been a shooting. Drew says, they saw the body. Agent Cates is dead. Nina says, oh my God, and Sonny asks, where? Drew says, Michael found the body. The coroner is on the way and Michael is waiting for Chase.

Michael tells Chase that Cates was already dead, and Chase asks if he saw or heard anything. Michael says he was in shock and could have missed something, but as far as he knows, he was the only one here. Chase says, that’s all he needs. He’ll let Michael know if he has more questions. Michael asks if he can go back to the main house and be with his family, and Chase says, of course (🍷). He’s glad nobody else was hurt. Michael says, him and Chase both.

CSI takes photos at the boathouse, and Anna says, well? Chase says, Michael came to check the boathouse and found Cates. There are no witnesses, weapons, or casings. Anna says, and no suspect, and Chase says, just the victim. Did she know Cates a long time? She says, no. Her daughter Robin knew him, and despite everything, she’s grateful for the way he treated Robin. He was capable of love, his family and Karen. It’s tragic how he went so wrong. (IKR? And he was sooo good looking too.)

On the phone, Jordan says she appreciates it, and Portia says, any luck? Jordan says she listened to the 911 call and recognized the voice. Portia asks, who was it? and Jordan says, Jason Morgan. He didn’t know what happened. Just the location. She’s wondering if the man’s wallet was launched when he was struck by the car. Portia wonders why Jason would leave before help arrived, and Jordan says she doesn’t know, but she’s going to ask him when she finds him.

Ava says, there was a time she would have pulled the trigger without hesitation, but she doesn’t want this on her conscience. She’ll leave it to the professionals. She starts to hand Jason the gun, and Boyle lunges for it, but Jason grabs her. Ava says, Boyle hit someone with her car, and Jason says he already called 911. Ava asks how he found her, and Jason says, Sonny told him to find her, and he called Brick who tracked her down. She says she’ll wait in the car, but he says, no. They’re in this together now.

Sam says, it never gets easier, but the pain will get smaller and won’t be the only thing Kristina sees and the only thing she feels. And she’ll be able to make room for other parts of her life. Alexis says, beautiful parts, and Kristina says, it means lot that Sam understands. Sam says she really does, and Kristina asks if she ever dreams about Lila. She dreams about Adala all the time. Sometimes she’s a baby, but sometimes she’s grown up and off to school. It doesn’t matter how old she is or what age, she’s always happy and smiling. Then she wakes up and remembers that none of those dreams will ever come true because of Ava. She has to make sure Ava pays for what she’s done.

Elizabeth hands the nurse the test results, and Ric asks if she wants to get coffee. She says she just had one, and he says, how about ice cream? She says he knows she can’t say no to ice cream, and he says he’s glad some things haven’t changed.

Ava says, Jason saved her life and she’s grateful. She’ll back up whatever story he wants, but the last thing she needs is to be involved. Jason says, there’s a good chance no one will miss Boyle. They have to make sure to leave nothing behind. He takes out his phone, and Ava asks who he’s calling. He says, the police.

Michael tells Sonny, the police are here, and Sonny asks if he’s all right. Michael says he’s fine, and Carly asks, what happened? Michael says, he went to the boathouse and found Agent Cates. She asks if anyone else saw, and Sonny says he’s sorry Michael had to see that, but Michael says he’ll live. Willow goes up to Michael and hugs him.

Nina asks how Drew is holding up. She knows he was fond of McConkey. He says, McConkey’s death hit him harder than he thought it would, considering he knew it was coming. Nina says she wasn’t ready either. She guesses there are some things in life you can never prepare yourself for. He says, death is apparently one of them.

Willow asks if they can go home, but Michael says, they have to wait to talk to the police. Tracy says she can tell them what everybody knows. Sonny despised Cates and vice versa. It was not lost on her that Cates was murdered on the very night Sonny came to check on his offspring. Brook says, Cates had more than his share of enemies. Anyone could have killed him. (True dat.)

Anna says she’s going to the main house to get statements, and Chase says, he’ll make sure the autopsy is done as soon as possible. Anna says, Cates was a persona non grata here, but he was still FBI, and they have a dead agent on their turf. What are Chase’s thoughts? Who could have pulled this off? Chase says, the pool is large.

Kristina says she’s going to take something and go to bed, and Alexis says, she loves Kristina. Her sister is right. It’s going to get better. Kristina goes upstairs, and Alexis thanks Sam. She gave Kristina an ally in her grief. She knows it’s painful. San says, it always will be, but she’s had time to process and move forward. Krissy will get there. Alexis says she’s worried. The way Kristina is talking about revenge isn’t healthy. Sam says, her emotions are raw right now. After she lost Lila, her emotions were all over the place. She can’t remember exactly what she did or said, but she’s sure it was extreme. Alexis thanks her for her help and tells her to go home to her kids. They exchange I love yous, and Sam leaves. Alexis picks up Kristina’s bag and sees the gun in it.

Tomorrow, Curtis tells Drew that he has to put a stop to it before it goes too far; Lucky asks Sidwell if there’s any chance they can change the stakes; and Ric tells Elizabeth that they clearly saw something they shouldn’t have.

💭 Thoughts. Oddly, I expected Sam to open the door and find Cates standing there since it’s happened so often. And yeah, okay, Kristina might be a suspect, but John wasn’t shot by the same gun. Wouldn’t they know that right away? I also think she might have taken it because she was originally going to kill herself.

🛁 All the Soap News Fit To Print…

A lot to unpack. First, the new guy.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/sawandi-wilson-opens-up-about-joining-the-cast-of-gh

Goodbye to John Jagger Cates, known by all three names singularly. As Anna said, it’s tragic how he went so wrong.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/adam-j-harrington-says-goodbye-to-general-hospital

A return. I’m looking forward to this one.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/general-hospital-spoilers-week-september-3-holly-returns

GH sounds like a really amazing place to work. They’re very accommodating to their actors.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/ghs-emma-samms-opens-up-about-living-with-long-covid

Lulu was never a favorite of mine. I didn’t dislike her; she was just in the background. But Emme Rylan was a fine actress, and obviously open to coming back, so I don’t get why they’re not rolling with that.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/who-could-play-lulu-on-gh

They should bring him back for more than a day. Come on. He’s the best Nikolas of all the Nikolases.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/adam-huss-thanks-his-general-hospital-fans

In case you were wondering, what do they even do anyway?

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/what-is-the-wsb-on-general-hospital

Ending on a literal high note.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/watch-ghs-maurice-benard-and-son-joshua-duet

⚖️ His Monster Of a Gig…

They don’t show much, but it’s a good cast and I have no doubt it will be excellent. I started watching the one about Jeffrey Dahmer, but I stopped after the second or third episode. It was too depressing. Probably not for the reason you’d think. I like true crime, but it was starting to make me feel strangely melancholy about NYC.

https://ew.com/monsters-menendez-brothers-first-look-nicholas-alexander-chavez-cooper-koch-8698044

🐪 Last Camel Ride Of the Season…

In her interview, Lesa told us that, in the summer, Dubai was 120 degrees on a good day. No. Literally hell no. Stanbury and Chanel threw a Goodbye, Dubai party as they were leaving for two months. This is another reason you have to be super rich to live there. You can’t live there for a quarter of the year. As if Sara – the one with the nanny who tried to pimp out her kid – wasn’t dealing with enough, she asked boyfriend Akin for a break to focus on said child. He didn’t take it well, and it was over, but I think she dodged a bullet. It seemed like he wasn’t even concerned about the whole nanny incident.

Chanel had the best quote of possibly the entire season when she dropped the Somalian saying, a monkey doesn’t see its own a-hole.

Next time, the Reunion.

📸 Fabulously Photogenic…

God bless her for jumping into the dating pool. A matchmaker is definitely the way to go, and I hope she finds what she’s looking for. BTW, the photos were gorgeous.

https://popculture.com/reality-tv/news/my-big-fat-fabulous-life-whitney-way-thore-strips-down-for-sexy-photoshoot-in-exclusive-sneak-peek/

🏡 Welcome to Marriage Rehash 101…

You mean you can’t get pregnant by sitting too close to a guy? I think the writer meant, Olivia’s approach to sex and romance was skewed, not stewed. It did make me laugh though.

More whining from Ethan and not admitting he was part of the problem. Of course he’d go back to Cairo. Georgia, not Egypt. That’s where he was sheltered from the world.

🦸 Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop…

I dunno. I remember seeing this.

https://ew.com/deadpool-and-wolverine-gambit-secret-post-credits-scene-revealed-ryan-reynolds-8701767

And in related news.

https://www.avclub.com/james-spader-return-ultron-casting-news-august-23-24

🚓 Then There Was This…

I saw this on Page Six this morning and was like, WTF? And the cops are called for a camel bite? Did they arrest the camel? Where are we, Dubai?

🐈 Dinner For Mew…

I never had a dinner party for my cats, but Eric the Cat once had a dinner party of his own when he stole a turkey leg off the stove and ate the entire thing.

https://people.com/jenna-lyons-dines-with-her-elegant-cats-at-dinnertime-exclusive-8700479

📒 Time For Pencils, Time For Books…

Join me tomorrow for soap and what’s Listing(s) in LA. Until then, stay safe, stay not putting your summer clothes away too soon, and stay understanding that pain never gets easier, but it will get smaller, and you’ll be able to make room for other parts of your life.

August 28, 2024 – Laura Calls In a Favor, A Petition, Powerful, This Week In LA, Test Flirt, Her Date, Rails Residue, Post Deck, New Apes, Where’d He Go & Sadness

Standard

What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts, recaps, and the whole GH enchilada on Fridays)

General Hospital

Alexis tells Sonny what happened at Irene’s funeral; how Molly tore into Kristina and Kristina ended up falling on the grave. Everyone was hysterical. Sonny asks what Molly was thinking, and Kristina walks in.

In a hotel room somewhere, Ava says she knows John is headed back to Port Charles and asks when he’ll be back. He says he won’t be gone long, but she says she doesn’t feel safe without him. He says, she’ll be fine, when there’s a knock at the door. He says, Agent Boyle will watch over her, and Boyle walks in.

At the hospital, Anna says, Tracy looks pale. Is she all right? Tracy says she’s not, and Anna asks if she can get Tracy something. Tracy says, it’s not her. It’s Lulu. She needs a miracle.

Laura tells Doc that Nikolas was crushed. That leaves Lucky. She’s got to find him. He travels a lot doing humanitarian work, but she hasn’t heard from him in months. She’s waiting to hear back from the place he last worked. She’s also going through some back channels. Her phone rings, and she asks if Robert has an update.

Gerard (a guard who has a name) says, they’re going in five minutes, and leaves. Lucky says, they did it. It worked. Isaiah says, it played out just like Lucky said, and Lucky tells him that they’re getting out today.

Kristina says she keeps wishing she hadn’t gotten so angry and stormed into Ava’s suite. Sonny says she didn’t know how Ava was going to react. She can’t blame herself. She says, not according to Molly. Molly said she chose to protect Sonny instead of her child and that she was selfish. Alexis says, Molly doesn’t mean that. She was lashing out. Trying to make sense of something that doesn’t make sense. She’s grieving too, and Kristina was the easiest person to blame. Kristina says, Molly thinks she was going to steal her baby after it was born, but you can’t steal what belongs to you. She was never more certain than at the funeral. When Adela was lowered into the ground, a part of her died too.

Ava says, John told her that he’d keep her safe, and he says he’s held up his end of the bargain so far, but she says she needs to know about the future. When is he bringing Avery? Are they going to be put in the witness protection program? He asks if that’s what she wants, living in some backwater town trying to fit in, and she says she wants to survive. Isn’t that the best option? John says he’s doing what he can. If the plan goes right, she’ll be able to go back, and Sonny will never threaten her or Avery again. She asks if she can give Avery a call, but John says, she’s having a wonderful time with the nanny. If Ava calls, it will just make Avery miss her. She asks if she can at least have her phone, but he says, it’s too risky. Her location could be compromised. Ava says she’s feeling cut off, and he says, that’s the whole point. It’s keeping her safe. Everything is going according to plan. Be patient. Does she trust him? She says, of course (🍷), and he says he’ll see her soon. He leaves with his suitcases.

Anna says, if Nikolas isn’t an option, what happens next? and Tracy says, they have to find Lucky. Anna says, it won’t be easy, but Tracy says, it has to happen unless some donor was overlooked. Anna asks if they have to share DNA or just the same blood type, and Tracy says, they don’t have to share the same DNA, but it’s the best chance for a match. Time is of the essence. If it doesn’t happen soon…. She says she has to take care of something, and leaves.

Robert says, the WSB said Lucky was participating in humanitarian efforts. He saved several doctors and patients in an area under siege. The organization decided to relocate to a more friendly part of the world, and Lucky found himself an area where his talents could be used. Laura asks if the WSB knows where he is, and Robert says, they believe he was headed toward East Africa, to a refugee camp. But it was months ago and nearly impossible to get a message to him. She asks if they have the location of the camp, but he says, the camp is always in flux and isolated. He’ll let her know if he can do more. Keep him in the loop. Doc says he’s sorry, and Laura says, it’s a setback. She’s not giving up. She thinks it’s time to call in a favor.

Isaiah says, Sidwell is complaining of stomach pain. He’s known toddlers who whine less. It’s just indigestion, but he told Sidwell that he needed to get a full panel of tests that require equipment they don’t have, so they’re leaving. Lucky says, all they need to do is make it off the compound. Once they lose the guards, he can get ahold of his contact, and they’ll be on their way. It’s not going to be easy, but it will work. It has to.

Anna goes to Portia’s office and says she learned from Tracy that Lulu’s condition is declining, and she needs a liver transplant. Is that true? Portia says she can’t discuss a patient’s condition without permission of the patient or family, and Anna says, of course (🍷). She doesn’t need information about Lulu’s condition, but needs information about the donor search. Portia says, the potential donor needs to be in good physical and psychological condition. They need to be a non-smoker for six weeks prior, understand the risks of the procedure, and have a compatible blood type. Anna says, what about age? Can they be a minor? Portia says, it’s rare. They prefer it be an adult, but in special circumstances, it’s possible. Anna says, that’s all she needed to hear, and leaves.

Laura goes to Jack’s office, and he asks, to what does he owe the honor? She says she needs his help, and he invites her in. She says her daughter was badly injured in an explosion and has been in a coma ever since. Her health has taken a sudden turn for the worse and she needs a liver transplant in order to survive. He says he’s sorry, but she says she’s not here for sympathy. She’s here for information. He asks what he could possibly know that would help, and she says, he’s a very high-ranking member of the WSB and she’s here to ask him to help her find her son.

Lucky says, Isaiah knows the plan. Wait for his signal, then move. Gerard comes back and says, let’s go. They pick up their bags, and Gerard says, just the doctor. Lucky is staying.

Kristina says she falls asleep and dreams about Adela, and Sonny says, she named the baby after his mother? She says, it’s not what TJ and Molly would have named her, but if she’d lived, that’s what she would have named her. Sonny says, it’s beautiful, and thanks her, and she says, in her dreams, Adela is so beautiful, so tiny, and so sweet. Kristina cries and says she’s so full of joy. She holds Adela and she’s laughing and kissing her face. Then she wakes up and remembers Adela is gone all over again. It’s like a knife to her heart and she can’t breathe. That’s why she’s not sleeping. When she sleeps, she can be with Adela, but when she wakes up, she remembers again that Adela has been taken away from her. There’s a knock at the door, and Alexis says she’ll get rid of them. She opens the door and asks what John is doing here again. He says he’s sorry to intrude, but he has a few more questions for Kristina.

Laura tells Jack that Lucky has been away from Port Charles for several years doing humanitarian work. He’s been providing security for aid workers in East Africa, and it isn’t easy getting in touch in an emergency. Jack says, it’s a chaotic part of the world, and Laura says she needs to bring him back. A donor that’s a full sibling is the best chance for a match. Can he help? He says he’ll do what he can, but he doesn’t want to lie. Finding Lucky will be a challenge. Laura says she realizes that, but he has more resources than she does, and he says, the WSB isn’t popular in that area. Inquiries will have to be made under the radar. Otherwise, it will be considered interference. She says she expects the WSB is expert in covert operations. She’s asking him to give her daughter a chance at life and to locate her son. He says, if it’s in his power to help, he will. He gets up, and she thanks him for his time. Before she goes out the door, she says, her family has done more than their share of favors for the WSB. When they had the power to help, they did. It’s time the WSB repaid the favor. Good day. She leaves.

Isaiah says, Lucky needs to come. They need protection. They’ll be transporting expensive equipment. If it’s stolen, is Gerard going to tell Sidwell it’s gone? Gerard hears something, and he tells Isaiah to be ready by the time he gets back. He leaves, and Isaiah asks what they do now.

Alexis says, no way in hell is John speaking to her daughter, but Kristina says, maybe she should just answer the questions. She has nothing to hide. Alexis says, as her attorney, she’s advising Kristina that it’s a bad idea. As her mother, she forbids it. John can’t come here without scheduling it in advance, and when he does, she’ll be present as Kristina’s attorney. Sonny says, John didn’t come to talk to their daughter. All John has to do is ask him. He’ll talk to John. John says he does have a few questions for Sonny, and Sonny tells him to come to his office tomorrow, but John says, Sonny doesn’t get to pick the time and place. The PC Grill in 20 minutes. Don’t keep him waiting or he’ll come back and take Kristina into custody. (Ugh. His schtick is getting so very old.) He leaves, and Kristina says, he’s just trying to get Sonny to say something. It’s a trap. Sonny says he can deal with it. He knows how to handle Agent Cates.

Ava asks how long Boyle has been with the Bureau, and Boyle says, five years. Ava asks if she’s been working with John, and Boyle says, some of the time. Ava says, John is high up, and asks if he has a lot of power, but Boyle says, they don’t divulge those things to the public. Ava says, nice shoes. She would wear them. Cartullo? Boyle says, good eye. She got them at a sample sale. Ava says, they still must have cost a lot. You can usually tell a cop or a Fed by their shoes. Those are chic. Boyle asks if she needs anything, and Ava says she’d like to have her phone, but Boyles says she meant to eat or drink. Ava says, that depends on how long they’re going to be here, and Boyle says she doesn’t think that long.  

On the phone, Alexis says she’ll be right there. She tells Kristina that the hospital has a problem with her insurance. She’ll be as quick as possible. Will she be okay? Kristina says, yes, but she’s worried about dad. Alexis says, Sonny can take care of himself, but Kristina says she’s upset that she’s the reason John has leverage over him. Alexis says, she has nothing to do with it. John would use any excuse to go after Sonny. When she gets back, they’ll have a snack watch harmless movie. She leaves, and Kristina makes a call. She asks if they can come over. She needs their help.

Lucky tells Isaiah to take the gun. If he gets a chance to stop the guards, run to the airfield and meet his contact. He’ll get Isaiah to Mogadishu. Isaiah says he’s not leaving with Lucky, but Lucky says, unless they shoot their way out, that’s not happening. If he had the chance to get out, he’d leave Isaiah in a heartbeat. Go save himself to save him.

Tracy goes to Laura’s apartment, and Laura asks what she can do for her. Tracy says she wants to help Lulu.

Kristina says she didn’t know who to call, and Jason says, Sonny kept him updated, but it’s good to see her. How is she feeling? She says, physically, she’s healing. She’s just scared. Cates came looking for her and her mom stood up to him. She knows Cates is working with Ava, who’s lying and making up everything. Ava is blaming her, but that’s not accurate. Jason says, it’s hard to be accused of a crime you didn’t commit. She has to fight the impulse to do something. Cates wants her to react and make a mistake so he can find something to charge her with that sticks. Please do not give him that chance. Kristina says, she can’t sit around and wait. She has to do something, but she can’t do it alone. She knows it’s a lot to ask, but he has to help her stop Cates and find a way to make Ava pay.

Ava says she knows a little bit about guns and the one Agent Boyle has, isn’t what Feds typically carry. Boyle says, female agents have their choice of weapons now, and Ava says she could use a coffee. She’ll run down and get one. Boyle says, you never know who’s out there. She’ll go. Ava says she’d like a macchiato, and Boyle says she’ll go to the coffee shop lobby. Sit tight. She leaves, and Ava picks up Boyle’s bag. She says, all right. Who are you?

Sonny meets John at the PC Grill and John says, Kristina seemed upset. How is she doing? Sonny says, John doesn’t care about Kristina or the fake crimes he’s charging her with. Stop playing around and tell him what he wants. John says, Kristina’s not looking too good. She probably won’t make it through the trial, let alone a 20-year sentence. Sonny says, it’s not going to come to that, and John says, Sonny can make his daughter’s troubles go away. Sonny asks, how? and John says, he’s going to confess.

Anna goes to Jack’s office (I’m starting to feel sorry for him), and he says, what an unexpected pleasure. What can he do for her? She tells him to stop playing games. She needs to know Valentin’s location. He says, the WSB doesn’t currently have it, but if he learns anything, she’ll be his first call. She says, he’s lying. She’s conducted run arounds herself. He asks if she’s rethinking letting Valentin escape. Browbeating him won’t help her find him any quicker. She says she needs to find his daughter for Lulu. His phone rings, and he tells them to send him the information immediately. Anna says, he knows Lulu is dying and Charlotte might help save her mother’s life. He needs to give her the courtesy of his full attention to discuss it. He says, she always sees him in the worst possible light, and she says she has reason to. He says, she can badger him or save Lulu. That’s what the phone call was about.

Tracy says she knows Laura is looking for Lucky, and she can use any of the Quartermaines’ resources to help bring him home. Laura thanks her for her generosity, but she’s waiting to hear from the WSB. She spoke to Jack Brennan, the station chief in Port Charles. Tracy says, they should be able to find Lucky, and Laura says, he told her that it was a chaotic part of the world, when her phone rings. It’s Jack, and she says she’s putting him on speakerphone. He says he has good news. He has a location for Lucky. She thanks him, and he says, Lucky was last seen at refugee camps in Somalia and Ethiopia a week ago. She asks if he’s there now, but Jack says he’s not sure. His contact doesn’t currently have eyes on Lucky and he can’t get satellite information for 48 hours. By then, it will be a long shot, since they move frequently. She asks if she can get a message to him to let him know it’s urgent, but he says, communication is sketchy to non-existent. Her best bet is to send someone, but whoever she sends needs to be prepared for the substantial risk. It’s a dangerous part of the world.

Alexis thanks Portia for helping with the insurance, and Portia says, no problem. She knows Alexis has a lot on her plate. How is Kristina doing? Alexis says, she slept last night, so there’s that. She’s got a long road ahead of her. Portia says, she’s a strong woman and clearly has a lot of support. It’s not easy, but she will get through it. Alexis says she takes it Portia heard about the scene between Kristina and Molly after the funeral, and Portia says she thinks they’re in a lot of pain. She imagines Alexis is too. As a mother, she truly feels for Alexis. It’s a terrible position to be in. She’d do anything for Trina, and she just has one daughter. Alexis is stuck in the middle, having to choose. She doesn’t know what she’d do.

Jason says he totally gets where Kristina is coming from, but it’s not her fight. If Cates hadn’t used her, he would find another way. Ava is a means to an end. He’s using Kristina, so don’t give him anything else he can hold over her head. He’s obsessed with getting Sonny. Being obsessed makes him crazy and it makes him dangerous. It also makes him weak. He has tunnel vision. He wants revenge for something that happened decades ago and will risk everything to get it. At some point, he’s going to make a mistake and leave himself open. Sonny knows when to make a move and Cates will never see it coming.

Sonny asks what he’s supposed to confess to, and John says, everything last thing. On the record of course (🍷). No trial, witnesses, or plea bargain. He’ll confess to the smuggling, money laundering, counterfeiting, and murder. Last but not least, he’ll tell them how he groomed an innocent underage girl and put her to work as a stripper. Sonny says, that’s a pretty big swing John’s taking. What if John misses? John says he won’t, and Sonny says, all he’s got is a phony statement from Ava that any lawyer can poke holes in. John asks if he wants to test that theory. If he’s wrong, Kristina will go to prison for a long, long time. It’s her freedom or his.

Isaiah says he’s not leaving Lucky in this mess, and Lucky says he came to rescue Isaiah. Isaiah says he didn’t ask, and Lucky says, he’s asking Isaiah to rescue them both. They’re out of their league and Isaiah needs to get out of here, get back to the states, and bring backup of the three letter kind. Isaiah says, don’t say the CIA, and Lucky says, no. Never go near them. But the WSB owes his family a favor.

Anna tells Jack, time is of the essence. She doesn’t know why they’re pinning their hope on Lucky when there’s another viable donor out there. He says, for the last time, he doesn’t know where Valentin and Charlotte are, but she says she doesn’t believe him. Jack is robbing Charlotte of the chance to save her own mother’s life and putting his efforts into a desperate search for a single man in a strife torn part of the world. When this fails, he’ll have to face the fact that he chose to protect the WSB rather than save the life of an innocent woman. She leaves and Jack ponders.

Tracy tells Laura that they can hire a mercenary or an extraction team. There are security contractors. Laura says, no. She doesn’t want a stranger to find her son. She can do it herself. Tracy says, it’s too dangerous, but Laura says she’s aware of the risks. She has a contact, the man who runs the last organization Lucky was working for. Tracy says she understands the impulse for Laura to go herself, but professionals would be better qualified. Laura says she doesn’t agree. Blood is thicker than water. Tracy asks if Doc is okay with this, and Doc says he knows better than to argue… because he’s going with her. Tracy says, fabulous. The mayor and her psychiatrist husband. What could possibly go wrong? Laura says she appreciates Laura’s concern, but they’ll be okay. Tracy says she hopes so, and Laura says, there is something Tracy can do to help. Look after Ace. Tracy wonders if he shouldn’t be with a family like Elizabeth’s. She has a child who’s Ace’s cousin. Laura says she thought Ace would be more comfortable with Tracy’s family. Don’t they have a nanny on staff? Tracy says, two, and Laura says she hopes throwing Ace into the mix won’t be overwhelming. Tracy says, Ace is welcome to come stay at Monica’s house, and Laura says she couldn’t do this without knowing he was safe. She trusts Tracy. Tracy says she’ll make sure Laura’s grandson has excellent care, and Larua says, then it’s settled. Let’s go find Lucky.  

Kristina says, so Jason isn’t going to stop Cates? but he says, something will be done. He can’t talk about it. She thanks him and says she knew he’d come through.

Sonny says, John has a lot riding on Ava. If she finds a better offer, she’ll recant her statement, and his case will fall apart. John says he’s not worried. Ava is in no position to recant – ever.  

Ava looks in Boyle’s bag. She takes out a pair of sunglasses and says, these cost a fortune. You can’t afford them on a government salary. She takes out a phone, thinks a moment, then puts it back. She finds a wad of cash and says, this is not right. She flashes back to Sonny telling her that John wants her dead and will try to frame him for her murder. The only thing John wants is her dead. Ava puts the bag back and opens the door. Boyle is there with the coffee and says, going somewhere?

Tomorrow, Violet asks when Chase and Brook are having a baby; Willow tells Drew that she’s so sorry; and John tells Kristina that she has a way to make this go away.

📋 Don’t Let Her Go…

You never know. Could work.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/general-hospital-fans-rally-to-save-kelly-monaco

Here’s the petition. I signed and commented.

https://www.change.org/p/retain-kelly-monaco-in-the-cast-of-general-hospital

🎭 No Drama Outside the Lines…

Kudos to them for the tough scenes they’ve been doing so well.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/kate-mansi-opens-up-about-the-powerful-drama-on-gh

💰 Fancy Crossover….

JoshA showed Fancy Pants Heather from the OC a mansion. In his interview, he explained that the Dubrows moved fast and didn’t mess around. That made them his kind of people. The house on a hill had 8 acres and amazing views of pretty much everything, and it was priced at $20 million. A steal Heather couldn’t resist.

There was trouble in his paradise between JoshA and his Heather. HeatherA was being spread too thin between work and family, especially now that the office had expanded to include Orange County.

JoshF went to Fashion Week in Paris, which left Tracy to handle their co-listing. In an odd twist, she showed it to a couple who were JoshF’s clients, meaning she might have to negotiate against Josh, which she said would be fun… for her.

Next time, a 20-car garage and doody on the curtains.

🐩 Looking For a Fabulous Match…

While I think a dog park is a great place to meet a potential date, it was weird when a guy asked if he could buy Whitney and her friend a drink. Are there bars in dog parks now? She finally made the smart move to use a matchmaker.

https://parade.com/news/my-big-fat-fabulous-lifes-whitney-thore-hones-flirting-skills-dog-park-exclusive-clip

🥂 Two Firsts In One Night…

I have to admit, it surprised me that Olivia spent the night with her first ever date. No judgement at all. As a matter of fact, good for her. I just didn’t expect it. If she doesn’t cut out that nervous laughing though, she might not get a second date.

https://people.com/welcome-to-plathville-recap-olivia-plath-spent-night-on-first-date-post-divorce-8702802

👠 Down the Not Quite Shore…

Melissa says she’s done with the drama.

https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2024/08/longtime-rhonj-star-promises-to-leave-if-castmate-stays-on-show.html

And Danielle is putting on her big girl pants.

🛟 After the Deck Is Over…

We need Chef Ben to come back and save the Med.

🦧 Their Kingdom…

I watched this last weekend. Nice plot twists and phenomenal effects. The story wasn’t bad, but I didn’t exactly come for the drama. It did not disappoint on the action/FX front.

Behind the curtain.

https://ew.com/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-side-by-side-raw-cut-with-unfinished-vfx-clip-exclusive-8697941

🦍 Find the Chimp…

Coincidentally, I started watching Chimp Crazy too. The takeaway point being, don’t keep wild animals as pets. It’s abusive to the animal and it could backfire on you.

https://people.com/where-is-tonka-from-chimp-crazy-now-all-about-florida-sanctuary-8703367

🚓 Giving Summer a Speeding Ticket…

Join me tomorrow for soap and a seat in the OC shade. Until then, stay safe, stay keeping an emergency vehicle kit in your car, and stay not trying to make sense of something that doesn’t make sense.

August 7, 2024 – Donna Is Rushed To the ER, Tough Scene, Listing Millions, Her Life, Trying To Move On, Lala Speaks, They’re Contenders, More For the Pool, Giving Them a 10 & Taylor’s August

Standard

What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts, recaps, and the whole GH enchilada on Fridays)

General Hospital

Dex and Josslyn wake up, and Josslyn says she forgot for a second about Kristina. Dex says he texted a cadet who was on the nightshift, and Kristina made it through the surgery. He has no information on the baby though. She thanks him for finding out, and he asks what else he can do. She says, he’s already doing it, and they snuggle.

TJ looks at memorial services online, and Molly asks if he’s seen her briefcase. He asks why she’s dressed for work, and she says, her caseload is insane. He says, she can’t go in, but she says she has to. They need her. He says he needs her more.

At the hospital, Portia says, Elizabeth is just the person she wants to see, and Elizabeth asks, what’s up? Portia says, she and Terry looked at Elizabeth’s proposal for the nurses’ schedule change and they love it. She’s doing a fantastic job as head nurse.

In her cell, Ava tells the guard to take the food away. She doesn’t eat slop. (FYI, it does not look like slop or even like jail food. Maybe Denny’s.) Trina comes in and asks if it’s okay that she’s here. Ava asks why it wouldn’t be, and Trina says she didn’t know, considering her statement helped put Ava in a cell. Ava says, the police asked Trina questions, and she answered honestly. It’s all she could do. She’s still reeling from yesterday. It was a terrible, tragic accident. Trina asks, was it an accident or did Ava push Kristina?

Jason asks Carly if things are good, and she says, Avery and Donna are playing with Pilar. He asks if Avery had any questions, but she says, none. She’s here all the time, so it’s nothing out of the ordinary. She’s glad Sonny is okay and took it upon himself to reach out and see Doc. Jason says, that shows how hard it hit, and she asks how Sonny seemed when Jason drove him home. Jason says, he was quiet. He didn’t talk much. She says, but he did ask Jason to drive him, and Jason says, he did. She says, Sonny is coming back to them. She knows he is.

There’s a knock at the penthouse door, and Doc comes in. Sonny says he didn’t know doctors made house calls, and Doc says, touché. He thought he’d come and see how Sonny is feeling. Sonny says his mind is clearer, and Doc says, good. That means the meds are working. To be honest, he’s concerned about Sonny’s emotional state. What does he think about discussing what happened last night?

Carly tells Jason that she’s relieved Sonny realized there was a problem. She was convinced he’d stopped taking his meds, but she saw that she was wrong. She hopes Doc was able to recalibrate them. Jason says, he still has to deal with what happened, and Carly wonders what the hell Kristina was doing in Ava’s room. Jason says he talked to Dante, and Ava had served Kristina with a subpoena for Avery’s custody case. She says, because Kristina saw Sonny beat up Dex. Ava wanted to force her to put it on record. He says, they’re assuming Kristina was served and went to confront Ava, and they argued. She wonders if Ava could push Kristina hard enough to break a window, and he says, they don’t know exactly what happened, but Kristina was there to protect her father.

Dex says he’s going to make coffee. Didn’t Josslyn tell Donna that she’d be with her today? Josslyn says she did, but she’s willing to skip coffee to stay in bed with him. He asks if she’s avoiding the real world, and she says, yes. It’s a horrible, scary place. Only good things happen in this bed. Is it terrible she wants to stay? He says, no, and kisses her. They get busy.

Elizabeth says she’s just doing her job, and Portia says she made a promise to herself that if the staff was doing a good job, she wants them to know it, and Elizabeth is doing a very good job. Elizabeth says she learned from the best, and Portia says, Epiphany. Elizabeth says, Epiphany was the type of nurse she aspired to be. Professional and no-nonsense, but kind and compassionate.

Sonny tells Doc that he was sent to the dark side. He felt responsible for Kristina losing the baby, and his niece Molly told him as much. Doc says, it must have been hard to hear, and Sonny says, Jason and Carly figured out something was off, that he wasn’t thinking clearly, but he didn’t trust them. Doc asks if that isn’t unusual when it comes to Jason and Carly, and Sonny says, it should have been a warning sign, but he didn’t understand. Doc says, Sonny was fine according to himself, and Sonny says, until last night. That’s why he went to Doc’s office. Obviously, his pills need readjusting. Doc says he got the results of Sonny’s blood test. He put a rush on it. There was no lorphenadine or lithium in his system – none. Sonny says, that doesn’t make sense. He takes his medication every day like clockwork. Doc says, and as prescribed? and Sonny says, yeah. Doc says he’d like to schedule some sessions until Sonny’s meds are recalibrated, and they determine a new protocol. How does Sonny feel about this? Sonny says, confused, but relieved he has something physical to blame. Doc says, just a triple check. Sonny never skipped a dose? Sonny says, never. That’s why it makes no sense.

Ava tells Trina that she had nothing to do with Kristina’s fall. Kristina was in a rage, manic, there was no reasoning with her. She tripped on a shoe and fell through the window. It happened so fast, she’s still spinning from it. She would have grabbed Kristina if she could have. Trina asks, if that’s true, why was she arrested? and Ava says, when something this awful happens, people need someone to blame. It can’t be the woman who lost her child. That’s too cruel, so it falls on her. She knows how most of the people here feel about her. It’s easy to make her the scapegoat. Trina asks if that’s really all it is, and Ava says she’s completely innocent.

Molly says she thought TJ’s mom was coming, and he says, she is, along with Aunt Stella and Curtis. They’re going to help pack up the nursery. Doesn’t she want to be here? She says she can’t, and he says he knows how incredibly hard it is. She says, it’s impossible. The nursery is like a time capsule, but instead of the past, it’s the future they’ll never have. She knows she has to let it go and she will, but she can’t physically get rid of what’s in there. Does he understand? He says, yeah, but some things can’t wait. Like a name for their daughter. They still need to plan a funeral. Molly says, they’ll talk later. Pick what he wants. He says, it happened to both of them, when there’s a knock at the door. Molly lets Jordan in, and says she’s got to go to work. Just for an hour or so. She’ll check on the urgent cases and be back. She leaves, and Jordan asks if she’s all right, but he says, how can she be?

Stella tells TJ that she’s so sorry. It’s the most unfair, unfathomable loss. She hugs TJ, and Curtis asks, where’s Molly? but Jordan shakes her head.

Finally. We see what we all need right now – the moss bowl🎍– and Carly tells Josslyn that she just missed Jason. He went to check in on Sonny. Josslyn says, it must have been tough, and Carly says, it was tough on Josslyn too. It’s good to see her. Josslyn says she texted, but Carly says, it’s not the same. She needs eyes on Josslyn to know she’s okay. Josslyn says she’s fine, and Carly says she was so worried about her. She was the lifeguard on duty, and it had to be devastating. Josslyn says she’s happy she knew what to do in that moment, and Carly says, her too. She’s proud of Josslyn and glad she had Trina to be with to decompress. Josslyn says she wasn’t with Trina. She spent the night with Dex.

Molly goes to see Ava, and says, Cadet Heller is here as an impartial witness. The ADA isn’t allowed to speak to a defendant without a third-party present. Ava asks, how’s Kristina? and Molly says, she survived. Her baby did not. That’s one reason Ava is here in a cell. Ava says she’s so sorry. She knows what it’s like to lose a child and it’s unbearable. Molly takes out some papers, and says, it’s the autopsy report. She’d like to take a look at the facts. The patient was a newborn female, 5 pounds, 2 ounces. Death occurred one minute after delivery by emergency C-section. The examination determined the death to be from blunt force trauma to the head and body.

Stella says she’ll make some food, but TJ says he’s not hungry. She says she won’t accept that answer. She’ll scrounge something up. Jordan says she’ll help, and they go to the kitchen. Curtis sees the laptop and asks if that’s what TJ has been doing. TJ says he wanted to bring up the funeral to Molly, but whenever he mentions the baby, she shuts down. Curtis says he knows it can’t be easy, but if it’s any consolation, people deal with grief differently. TJ says he’s worried Molly’s not dealing with it at all.

Jason goes to the penthouse, and Sonny thanks him for bringing him home. Jason says he was happy to, and Sonny says, he’s not going to ask questions? Jason says, no, but he’ll listen to what Sonny wants to tell him, and Sonny says he talked to Alexis. Jason asks how Kristina is, and Sonny says, she’s resting after the surgery. It’s got to be tough on her, not just the injuries, but the emotional toll from losing the baby. Jason says, luckily, she has family and friends to help her through it, and Sonny says, Molly blaming him for the fall hit him hard. She’s not wrong. He always hurts the people he loves. He didn’t want to do that anymore, so he went to the roof. Jason says, of the hospital? and Sonny says he just wanted the pain and suffering to end, and felt it was the only way out. Jason asks, what stopped him? and Sonny says, Morgan.

Trina shows up at Portia’s office and asks if she’s got a minute to talk. Portia says she has infinite minutes for Trina, and hugs her. She asks, what’s wrong? and Trina says she can’t stop thinking about Kristina. She was doing an amazing thing for her sister, and she was almost at the finish line. Now the baby died, and she feels awful for her, Molly, and TJ. They had the baby’s whole life planned out and now it’s over. Portia says, it’s heartbreaking, and Trina asks why some people are taken too soon. Portia says she wishes she knew the answer. This time, Ava shoulders the blame. How could she push Kristina that hard? Trina says, that’s not what happened. Ava told her. Portia says, she went to see Ava in jail? and Trina says, that’s where she just came from.

Molly continues to read, the infant died from internal bleeding and blunt force trauma to the head and body. Because of Ava, her child’s life ended before she had a chance to live. Ava says she could never intentionally hurt a child, and Molly says, that’s why she’s being charged with manslaughter instead of murder. She didn’t plan it, but her actions led to the baby’s death and it’s time for her to take responsibility.

TJ pushes away his plate, and says, it’s delicious, but he can’t eat any more. Stella says she understands, and he says he’s glad someone does. None of this feels real. How can his daughter be gone? Curtis says, they’re all trying to wrap their minds around it, and TJ says, everything was fine. Despite his worrying, Kristina was healthy, and the baby was healthy. It was a standard pregnancy, except for the surrogacy, and she was due in 3 weeks. They finally built the nursery, when Kristina goes to Ava’s hotel about a stupid custody battle. He feels like such an idiot. Jordan asks, why? and he says, out of all the ways he imagined Sonny could endanger his child, not once did he expect this.

Sonny tells Jason that he was convinced his children were better off without him. Then Morgan showed up and kept telling him that his kids needed him and pleaded for him to live. Jason says, maybe it was that part of him that knew something was wrong, his medication was wrong, and Sonny says, when he figured it out, he had to do something. He couldn’t sit in that darkness anymore, so he went to see Doc. Jason says he’s glad Sonny did, and Sonny says, him too. Jason asks what Doc said about Morgan, but Sonny says he didn’t tell Doc. He doesn’t want to talk to Doc about it. Jason is the only one.

Josslyn says she was surprised to realize that Dex was the one person she wanted to see, and Carly says, after her mother and the moss bowl 🎍. Josslyn says, of course (🍷). He makes her feel safe. That’s the only way she can explain it. Carly says, it sounds perfect. Does that mean they’re back together? Donna runs in and says, Josslyn came. Josslyn hugs Donna, and Donna asks if she wants some vitamins. Josslyn asks, what kind? The chewable ones? and Carly asks what she’s talking about. Donna says, daddy’s vitamins, and shows her the bottle of lithium. Carly asks if she took any, and Donna says, she took a bunch, but doesn’t want any more. Her tummy hurts. Carly tells Josslyn to grab her keys. They’re going to see the doctor. (I’m guessing these are the placebos, but Donna seems a little old to be doing something like that and you’d think she would have been told not to touch prescription bottles.)

Stella says, they’ll take the boxes to the shelter and asks if there’s something TJ wants to save. He says, no, but she asks if he’s sure. He says, it hurts to look at it, but she says, someday there might be something he wants to remember his daughter by. He looks in one of the boxes.  

Trina says, Portia knows she and Ava are close, but Portia says, given what just happened, she doesn’t understand what compelled Trina to visit Ava. Trina says she felt guilty, and Portia says, for what? Trina says she told the police that she saw Ava looking down from the window, and Portia says she didn’t know that. Trina says, just because Ava was looking down and standing there doesn’t mean anything. They don’t know what happened. Ava is more than her optics. Everyone always thinks the worst of Ava, but she’s seen another side of her. Ava would never hurt a child on purpose. Ava was there for her when Spencer died, so she doesn’t want to abandon her. Portia asks if Trina believes Ava is innocent, and Trina says she wants to. Portia asks if she’s not sure, and Trina says, deep down, Ava is a good person. She knows she is. Portia says, sometimes good people are capable of doing bad things.  

Molly tells Ava, plead guilty. Do the right thing and save them the pain of a trial. Ava says she did nothing wrong – the opposite. Has Molly asked herself what Kristina was doing in her suite? She didn’t invite Kristina over for a chat. Kristina forced herself in and refused to leave. She lost it, attacked Ava, tripped, and fell. She’s sorry for Molly’s loss, but she needs to face reality. She’s not responsible for the baby’s death. Kristina is. (Did she forget about all those pictures that show her with her hands on Kristina?)

Curtis and Jordan leave with the boxes, and Stella tells TJ to let it out, but he says he doesn’t want to. She says, the only way past pain is through it, but he says he can’t. It’s too much. When he tries to envision his life now, it’s blank. There’s nothing. She says, they say that grief is love with no place to put it. What feels like sadness and anger is actually the love he had for his baby girl that has no place to call home anymore. That’s why it feels so heavy. She’s here to help shoulder the burden and collect the love piece by piece and find a new place to put it. TJ says he’s not ready to let go, and cries. She says, he doesn’t have to. They’ll cross that bridge when they come to it. She hugs him as he cries, and he says he can’t do it.

Carly tells Elizabeth that they need to see a doctor now. Donna may have taken some of Sonny’s lithium. Elizabeth tells a nurse to page Dr. Fernandez and tells Donna and Carly to go to a room. She asks Josslyn to give them a minute, and Josslyn hands her the bottle. Elizabeth says, they’ll do everything they can. She promises.

Sonny says, he was happy that Avery stayed with Carly last night, and Jason says he was just there, and Avery and Donna were having a great time. Sonny’s phone rings, and he sees it’s Josslyn. He says, that’s strange, and answers. Josslyn says, he needs to get to the hospital right now. Donna might have taken some of his lithium pills and they brought her to the ER.  

In the hallway, Jordan cries, and Curtis hugs her. She says she can’t stand to see TJ like this. She’d do anything to take away the pain. He says him too, but all they can do is show up and show their support. Jordan says, just like his domestic partner… She’s sorry. That was bitter and immature. He says, it was human, and she asks, where’s Molly? She should be here. They should be together. Curtis agrees and says he’s sure she’ll be here soon. Jordan hopes it’s sooner rather than later. They need each other. He says he’s sorry for her loss. He knows she had big hopes and dreams for her grandchild. Jordan says, now she’s gone. She wants to be strong for TJ. Curtis says, she is, but she says, it doesn’t feel like it. He says, remember he’s here for TJ and her, and she thanks him. They go back inside, and Stella says she thinks they should leave. Jordan asks if she’s sure. She was planning on staying. TJ thanks them for everything and says he’s grateful for their support, but they have lives to get back to and he could use the alone time. Curtis says, they’re only a phone call or text away, and hugs him. Jordan hugs him and tells him that she loves him, and they leave.

Trina asks if Portia honestly thinks Ava would push a pregnant woman out a window, and Portia says, she didn’t jump. Trina has a big heart and is afraid she’s trusting someone she shouldn’t. She said herself that she’s not sure she believes Ava. Why? Trina says she doesn’t know exactly. Ava did feel off. That being said, Ava just spent the night in jail. She’d be off too. Portia suggests they go a different route. Who’s most likely to lie? Ava or Kristina? Ava has been arrested and is behind bars. The police must have evidence that makes them believe Ava is guilty.

Doc goes to see Ava, who says she’s a popular girl today. She can’t believe this is happening. The incident keeps playing over and over again. It’s like a nightmare she can’t wake up from. She’s worried about Avery. Doc says, she spent the night at Carly’s and she’s fine, but Ava says, she needs her mother. Sonny is out of control and can’t be counted on. She suggests Doc come to her arraignment and speak on her behalf. Tell them that she needs to make bail and get emergency custody of Avery. Avery’s wellbeing depends on her. He says, she can rest easy about Avery, and she says, how? He says, Sonny won’t be a concern. He’s getting treatment.

Sonny and Jason come into the hospital, and Carly tells them that they’re pumping Donna’s stomach. It happened so fast. Sonny asks if Donna is scared, and Carly says, a little. He thanks them for calling him, and Josslyn says, he’s her dad. Sonny asks, what happened? and Carly says, Donna found a bottle of what she thought were daddy’s vitamins in Avery’s overnight bag. How many pills did he have left? Sonny says he’s not sure, and asks what Pilar was doing. Carly says, she was in the playroom with Avery and Donna didn’t want to share. Sonny asks if Donna was still talking, and Carly says, she seemed okay, but said her stomach hurt. Jason says, it’s good they got her here fast, and Carly says, their little girl’s got to be okay.

TJ looks at a pair of baby socks and cries, because we all haven’t wept over this story enough. Molly hears him from outside, and he clutches the socks to his chest. She almost leaves, but then goes in.

On the phone, Portia says, when?… She understands. Thanks for the heads up. She tells Trina that she needs to go. That was Pentenville. Heather Webber is on her way to GH for a follow-up.

Ava asks what Doc means, but he says, that’s going into doctor/patient confidentiality. He’s already said too much. The main thing is Avery is safe and not in danger. Ava says she’s pleased to know Sonny is getting help, when Doc’s phone rings. He says he has to take this, and walks out as he’s talking. He says, what kind of problem with Sonny’s meds? and Ava hears him.

Elizabeth comes out and Carly asks, how’s Donna? Elizabeth says, she’ll be fine, and Josslyn says, thank God. Elizabeth says, she’s still groggy from the anesthesia and her throat will be sore, but she’s doing great. Jason wonders, what’s the problem? and Elizabeth says, the remaining capsules weren’t lithium. Sonny asks, what was it? and she says, nothing. He asks what she means, and she says, there was no medication in the pills. Carly says, she was holding Sonny’s prescription bottle and said she’d taken the pills from the bottle, but Elizabeth says, not only was there no lithium in the pills, there was none in Donna’s system. She would have had different reaction – vomiting, confusion, seizures, a coma. Sonny asks if she’s telling him that he’s been taking a placebo.

Tomorrow, Anna says, the list is long, and someone is about to add their name to it; Heather asks, what’s in it for Scotty; and John tells Ava, Sonny’s days of trampling over people are coming to an end. Hmm… I think it’s John’s trampling days that are coming to an end.

💣 Up On the Roof…

Wow. He did these scenes after he took a break for his own mental health.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/ghs-maurice-benard-on-shooting-the-difficult-rooftop-scenes

💰 Welcome To the Market…

Tracy had a listing with a glass bathroom. No. Just no. This time, JoshF’s listing had no dead rat, but there was a rat trap to which the potential buyer said, eww! as we all would. In an ironic twist, JoshA had a listing that JoshF made an offer on for himself, since his childhood dreamhouse turned out to be a bust. To be specific, he had Tracy make the offer, which she told JoshA was going to be lower than [he’s] gonna like.

🎉 Fabulous Mid-Life Existential Crisis…

What happened with Whitney this week.

https://www.accessonline.com/videos/my-big-fat-fabulous-life-whitey-says-shes-having-a-mid-life-existential-crisis

Whitney also planned a bachelorette party for her niece and had to explain adult toys to her half-sister.

https://popculture.com/reality-tv/news/my-big-fat-fabulous-life-whitney-way-thore-goes-all-out-bachelorette-party-planning-in-exclusive-sneak-peek/

🌾 Not So Welcome Anymore…

While everyone tries to tie up loose ends, the usual suspects – Ethan and Barry – still hang on by a thread.

https://people.com/welcome-to-plathville-recap-olivia-plath-says-ethan-plath-still-texts-her-8691420

🍼 Have Some Lala…

She’s ready for single motherhood, round 2.

https://okmagazine.com/p/lala-kent-declares-single-motherhood-suits-best-await-baby-no-2/

I’m with her here. Yeah, the whole thing sucked, but Sandoval was certainly getting ripped a new one from just about everyone, and there could have been a workaround for the show.

🏆 Nom, Nom, Nom…

This year’s nominees.

https://ew.com/2024-mtv-video-music-awards-nominations-full-list-8690719

🦸 Because I Can’t Stop…

All the cameos.

https://ew.com/deadpool-and-wolverine-cameos-8681113

Another good reason to stick out the credits.

https://ew.com/deadpool-and-wolverine-post-credits-scene-chris-evans-dirty-monologue-exclusive-8689972

Puberty sucks sometimes.

https://ew.com/walker-scobell-kidpool-deadpool-and-wolverine-exclusive-8686020

🐳 The Olympics Are For Animals Too…

The only time I ever watched the Olympics was when Tonya Harding was whining over her skate lace, but I would definitely watch these two.

https://people.com/whale-breach-during-paris-olympics-surfing-semifinal-tahiti-8690769

https://people.com/polar-bear-at-alaska-zoo-goes-viral-for-diving-in-exhibit-watch-8687366

Imagine the possibilities. I’m pretty sure all of my dogs would be an Olympic fail. Unless there was cheese involved.

https://tlcfirst.com/news/if-olympic-sports-were-designed-for-pets-a-whimsical-look-at-the-possibilities

You, too, can make an Olympic champion out of your dog!

Doglympics 🔥

🎢 Riding Life’s Rollercoaster…

Join me tomorrow for soap and sitting in the OC shade. Until then, stay safe, stay not being afraid to ask for help when you need it, and stay helping to shoulder someone’s burden, because grief is love with no place to put it, and it feels so heavy.

July 31, 2024 – Sonny Wants To Teach Jagger a Lesson, Her Mom, In LA, Fab Noel, She’s Sued, New City, Revealed Dragons, More Pool, Game To Come, Nope & Dear

Standard

What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts, recaps, and the whole GH enchilada on Fridays)

General Hospital

Molly knocks on Kristina’s door, and Kristina says she still didn’t sign the papers Molly left there. Molly tells her to trash them. Even better, she’ll tear them up herself.

Scotty says, Laura is a compelling witness, but Ava wonders about that, considering the negative press Laura’s gotten lately. Scotty says, Laura was her mother-in-law, and she’s lucky Laura is going to bat for her at all, since she and Nikolas are divorced. It’s weighty, but they need more. Sonny will call Carly, who will lie about what he had for breakfast with conviction. Ava says she’s not worried. Carly won’t be as convincing after she’s convicted of RICO charges. (She’s clearly out of the loop.)

Carly and Michael show up at the pool, where Wiley’s birthday party is still going on. Donna runs to Carly and hugs her.

Dante finds Anna in the interrogation room and says, the arraignment is happening as they speak. Michael and Sonny are there. She says, at least Sonny hasn’t been brought in in handcuffs. They’re ahead of the game. Dante says, it was a close call. Sonny took a swing at Cates, but it didn’t connect, and Molly saw the whole thing. She asks if charges were filed, but he says, not as of yet. She says, that’s a relief, and he says he followed up on Brennan at the hospital. Same deal as Pentenville. There was no record of him. Anna says, he’s at the WSB station in DC. He’s been reinstated, but she doesn’t think he ever lost his status in the first place. John walks in and says he and Anna need to talk in private, and Anna tells Dante that they’ll pick this up later. John tells Dante, a word of advice. Put a leash on his father or his father is going to find himself locked up. Dante leaves.

In his office on the phone, Sonny tells Brick that he needs a location on Jagger… Let him know when he does. Sonny opens a drawer and reaches for a locked box, but there’s a knock at the door. Jason comes in, and Sonny says he has nothing to say to him. Jason says, that’s fine. This time he’ll do all the talking.

Molly asks how Kristina is feeling, and Kristina says, the baby is fine, but Molly says, how is Kristina feeling? Kristina says, her feet and back hurt and she’s sleeping sitting up, but other than that, she’s great. It’s totally worth it. Molly says she doesn’t want Kristina too stressed, but Kristina says, Molly could have fooled her. Molly says she never should have come by with that document, and Kristina wonders if Molly really expected her to sign it. Molly says she got scared when she heard the interview. She was blindsided that Kristina and Blaze looked like the happy expectant couple, and Kristina didn’t say otherwise. Kristina says she explained that, and Molly says she and TJ are the expectant couple. They’re preparing the nursey and she’s working hard so she can get maternity leave. TJ is taking a leave of absence so they can watch the baby Kristina claims is hers. Kristina says she didn’t do that and would never… Molly admits she leapt to conclusions. It’s not a court of law, and she shouldn’t do that with her sister. She shouldn’t assume the worst and sincerely apologizes. Can Kristina forgive her?

Carly says she’s happy to see Donna, and Donna asks where she was. She missed most of the party. Wiley runs over and hugs Carly, and Carly says she’s sorry she’s late. She was trying to explain to Donna that she had a problem, but it’s solved now, and everything is fine. She’s glad to be here. The kids bring her over to the cake, and Carly asks Josslyn to watch the kids for a moment. Josslyn takes the kids, and Willow says, so? Michael says, the charges were dropped, and Maxie asks how that happened. Michael says, lack of evidence. It disappeared. Maxie says, amazing, and Carly says, isn’t it though?  

John says, Anna erased something from the database of the most secure system in the world. The prosecution agreed to the defense motion to dismiss the case and Carly skated. Three years of time and effort handling Jason is down the drain. Anna says she thinks he’s conflating the two situations. Pikeman might not have had a resolution to his liking, but the FBI has enough evidence to shut the company down. The case against Carly had nothing to do with Pikeman. John says, Carly dared him to charge her, and he had enough evidence to convict her. How miraculously convenient that it’s gone, and Anna doesn’t seem surprised or bothered. She made a deal with Jason, didn’t she? He let her boyfriend Valentin get away in return for the disappeared evidence against Carly.

Jason explains what happened after he went to Greece and tells Sonny that he wasn’t offered a phone call or representation. Cates started playing the recording that incriminated Carly and said they had her dead to rights. He made it clear that Jason had to work for him, or Carly would go to prison. Sonny says, so they sat on the evidence for over a year, and Jason says, maybe they were waiting for an opportune moment. Sonny wonders if Jason was asked to give him up, and Jason says, he was, but he refused. That’s when Cates brought up Pikeman. The FBI wanted proof of their illegal arms sales and who was in charge. In exchange for that, they wouldn’t charge Carly. Sonny asks if it’s his fault now, but Jason says he’s just explaining his decision. Sonny asks why Jason didn’t come to him when they asked him to spy on Pikeman. He knows all about Jagger. He’s Jagger’s number one target. He always has been. Jason says, Sonny is right, but Cates didn’t make it obvious until now, and Sonny says, Jason didn’t trust him and went behind his back. Jagger played him, and now he’s got to protect himself. He’s got nobody else to protect him.

Michael tells Willow that he still can’t believe it, and she says, the evidence disappeared? He says he doesn’t know how or who, but he’s grateful. They watch the kids, and he says his mom is the heart of the family. She says, too bad Sonny can’t see this. It’s the perfect opportunity to set aside their differences. He says he tries not to take it personally, but he thinks there are other things going on, and she says, like what? He says, Sonny attacked Dex, and yesterday he had to stop Sonny from punching Cates outside the courtroom. He barely managed to grab Sonny’s arm. Donna is lucky both of her parents are free today.

Anna says, John gives her too much credit. He thinks she disappeared the evidence, but she doesn’t have access to that database and wouldn’t even attempt a breach of that magnitude. He says, the WSB are the only ones with that kind of tech, but she says she’s not WSB. She’s the Police Commissioner of Port Charles. She’s watched him trash her jurisdiction and harass the citizens. Maybe if he was more focused, he could have better handled the evidence. He says, whoever did it tried to frame him by using his credentials, and Anna says, he’s going to have to answer to his superiors for that. He asks, what happened to her? He wants to know. Why did she turn from her promise to protect and serve? She says, that’s what she’s doing, and he says, by literally climbing into bed with the enemy? Valentin escaped and Sonny is going free because of her. Well done. She’s protecting and serving… them. He stomps out. (He’s been doing a lot of that lately.)

Kristina says she rewatched the interview and saw how Molly interpreted her response as coy and suggesting it was her and Blaze having a baby. But just to be clear, that’s not what she meant. Molly says she understands that now. Emotions were raw. Kristina says she just wants it to work out and for the baby to be healthy and grow up safe, happy, and loved. Molly says, she wants that too, but she also wants them as sisters to be okay, and Kristina says she wants that too. The whole reason she agreed to this is because she loves Molly so much. She hates that it’s coming between them. Molly says, it doesn’t have to, when there’s a knock at the door. A guy asks if Kristina is Kristina Corinthos-Davis, and she says she is. He hands her an envelope and says, you’ve been served.

Scotty’s phone rings, and he tells Ava, it was a notification that Kristina has been served. Ava says, Kristina has always been so entitled like her high and mighty mother. She’s going to come crashing down to earth when she has to admit what a brutal lunatic her father is. Scotty says he’s going to enjoy it. It’s the least Sonny deserves after everything he’s done. She says, Kristina might not realize it now, but this is the kindest thing she can do for her little sister, and he says, she’ll fight on the stand. She’s very loyal to her father. Ava says she’s not worried. The odds are when Sonny sees his beloved Kristina take the stand, he’ll have a meltdown.

Sonny says, Jagger is obsessed with him and will keep coming at him unless he puts Jagger down, but Jason says, Cates was damaged in court. He overreached and there are going to be repercussions from the FBI. They can watch him go down in flames. Sonny says, it’s his problem and he’ll deal with it. He doesn’t want Jason involved. End of conversation. Dante comes in and says, sorry to interrupt, but maybe it’s good he did. Jason says he was just leaving. He tells Sonny that last night, Cates offered to let Carly go if he testified against Sonny, but he refused… again, and he leaves.  

Michael tells Willow that his dad’s attitude toward him has been more volatile lately. His mom thinks Sonny is off his meds, but Sonny insists he’s not. Maybe this is how he is now. He’s sorry. He doesn’t want to get her down. They should go back to the celebration. What did he miss? She says, Wiley was hanging with the kids and having a great time. She’s so blessed that she gets to watch him grow up. Thanks to Michael. Michael says, they’re lucky because they have her in their lives.

Josslyn tells Carly that Donna is having a blast, and Carly says, Donna adores Josslyn. Josslyn says, the feeling is mutual, and Carly says she’s glad they have each other. When she thought she might go to prison, she was making a mental list of things to tell her about Donna in case she wasn’t here. Josslyn says, she doesn’t have to worry about that now, and Carly says she couldn’t bring herself to tell Donna that she was trying to one-up a rogue FBI agent. Josslyn says, she’s too young to understand, and Carly says she’s sorry she put Josslyn through this.

Molly says, whatever that is, she has nothing to do with it, and Kristina takes papers out of the envelope. She says, it’s a subpoena for family court. She’s being summoned to appear at Avery’s custody hearing. Molly asks if it’s for Sonny, but Kristina says, no, Ava. Molly looks at the papers, and Kristina says she can’t testify against her father. Molly says, she has no choice, and Kristina asks what she says. Molly says, tell the truth. Diane will mitigate the damage in her cross examination. Kristina says, Diane can’t spin this. Ava knows she saw her father beat up Dex and knows Kristina can’t stand her. Molly says, Diane will rehearse with her. Keep her answers as brief as possible. Kristina says she can’t be the reason dad loses custody of Avery.

John goes to Ava’s hotel room, and she says, John doesn’t look happy. He says he’s not. Carly walked. The charges were dropped. The audio file mysteriously disappeared from the FBI database. She asks if they don’t have a backup, and he says, of course (🍷), but a copy is inadmissible. They have to prove it’s not faked or tampered with. The chain of custody is essential. Now he has no leverage against Jason and he’s no closer to putting Sonny behind bars where he belongs.

Dante asks what he walked in on, and Sonny says, Jason was explaining how Jagger was forcing him to infiltrate Pikeman, but that’s not what this is about. He’s the target for Jagger. He always has been. Jagger wants to take him down, and everybody says he’s paranoid. Dante says he believes Sonny. Cates crossed the line. The problem is, Sonny can’t cross the line with him. He’s got to stand down.

Ava says, maybe John overreached. Counting on Jason and Carly to give up Sonny was never going to be a reality. They’ll be loyal to the bitter end. John says, no. He had them. He knew they would flip to save each other. Whoever erased the file screwed him. She says, he’ll find another angle to get Sonny, and he says he’s sorry. He knows she’s worried about her case too. He thought if Sonny was locked up, she wouldn’t have to go through with the custody case. She says, there’s still a way for her to get what she wants.  

Molly says, short of a medical emergency, Kristina will have to testify or be held in contempt. Kristina says, what if she doesn’t answer the questions? and Molly says, she’ll get a contempt citation, and perjuring herself is an actual crime. Kristina says, only if they can prove it, and wonders who else was subpoenaed. Molly says, maybe Dex, and he’s a cop now, and Kristina says, there has to be some way out. How can she avoid testifying? Molly says, she doesn’t. She’s sorry. No matter how much Kristina hates getting on the stand, she has to swear to tell the truth about what she saw her father do.

Maxie says, Carly must have been going out of her mind worrying about the kids, and Spinelli says, the evidence was like a dagger over Jason and now he’s finally free. Maxie says, good news all around, and Spinelli says, and a reminder of what can be lost in an instant. She says, he’s usually an optimist, but he says, seeing how this played out made him assess certain priorities and recommit to them. That’s her and the kids, their family.

Carly says, if the evidence hadn’t disappeared, she’d have been sent to prison just because she lost her temper, but Josslyn says, it’s okay. Carly says she literally taunted an FBI agent into arresting her. How stupid. Josslyn says she loves how Carly didn’t let John walk on her, but Carly says she had more to lose than gain. She wants to learn from her mistake. There’s a time to stand up and a time to stand down. She should have thought more about Josslyn and Donna. Josslyn says, Carly might have been impulsive and reckless, but she loves her and she’s happy Carly is free.  

Jason goes to see and Anna, and says, she heard. She says, it’s a good day. The charges against Carly were dropped and the FBI no longer has leverage over him, and it happened in one fell swoop. Jason says he was wondering who to thank. He has it on good authority that even the best hacker couldn’t delete the file. Anna says she wanted to talk to him about that. She owes him. Valentin wouldn’t have gotten away if he hadn’t cooperated. She has a debt to repay. He asks if that’s what happened, but she says she had nothing to do with the audio file disappearing. He says, who did?

Maxie says she knows she and the kids are a priority. Spinelli shows her that every day. But that doesn’t mean she wants him to stop doing what he does, as long as he’s careful. He says he took every precaution, and she says, he hacked the FBI. She realizes how loud she’s talking and lowers her voice, saying, he’s amazing. He says he wants to assure her that before he does anything else impressive, he’ll talk to her first and they’ll weigh the risk. He won’t do it if she doesn’t like it. She says, deal, and Carly says she’s sorry to interrupt, but can she ask Spinelli for a minute? Maxie says she has to check in with the office and leaves. Carly sits down and thanks Spinelli, but he says he didn’t do anything to delete the file.

Anna tells Jason that she found Jack at the WSB in DB. It’s as if the last few months never happened. Jason asks why he did that, and she says, he didn’t confirm it, but her theory is that the WSB wanted to get out from Pikeman. Jack set himself up to get arrested and the WSB laid a trail of breadcrumbs to control the pace, giving them time to sever ties. Jason says, leaving Brennan and the WSB to walk free. What about Valentin? Does she think he was in on this? She says, probably. She doesn’t know to what extent. She thinks they bankrolled his disappearance and hopes he and Charlotte are somewhere safe with new IDs. He says, it makes sense, and she says, except for one thing. Why did Jack help Carly?  

Ava tells John that Kristina was just served with a subpoena to testify against her father. She can try to avoid Scotty’s questions, but she’s going to have to testify that she was a witness to her father’s attack on Dex. John says, that’s good news, and Ava says she predicts a spectacular meltdown in front of everyone. Everyone can see with their own eyes that Sonny isn’t a suitable parent for Avery. He says, assuming Sonny doesn’t have a meltdown before that. He provoked Sonny, and Sonny nearly assaulted him. He’s a ticking time bomb and it’s just a matter of time before he goes off.

Sonny asks why he should sit back and let Jagger come after him. That son of a bitch needs to be taught a lesson. Dante says, if he goes after Cates, he’ll give Cates what he wants. He’s smarter than that, so do the smart thing and step back. Sonny asks if he thinks Jagger will go away. He’s got a lot to prove. Dante says, his case was thrown out. Let his bosses deal with him. Maybe they’ll put him out to pasture, but not yet. If Sonny doesn’t back off, he could open himself up to federal charges.   Sonny says he’s heard this before. The law comes first. Dante’s a cop first and his son second. Why should he listen to what Dante is saying? Dante says, Sonny can only push everybody so far, even him.

Jason asks if Anna thinks Brennan intervened, and she says she does. A while back, he talked about how he enjoyed Carly visiting him. She thinks he meant it. And when she was in Washington, he commented that he wasn’t in the business of ruining good people’s lives. It’s a huge risk to break into the FBI database, which begs the question, why would Jack go to the trouble of saving Carly?

Carly says, Spinelli didn’t get rid of the evidence? and he says, not for lack of trying. He was able to gain access to the account, but couldn’t delete or corrupt the file. She says, if not him, then who? and he says, maybe someone on the inside, but she says, the only person who knows about the file is John, and he didn’t do it. Spinelli says, someone invested in her freedom. She must have a guardian angel.

Molly suggests Kristina sit down and take deep breaths. She’ll make tea and coach Kristina. They’ll prep together. Kristina asks if Molly wants to or does she feel obligated, but Molly says, of course (🍷) she wants to help Kristina. Aside from the incident at the wedding, is there any other reason Ava would want her to testify? Is there something she knows about Sonny that she’s sitting on? Kristina says, the only reason Ava called her was to get her to talk about the wedding, and Molly says she’ll make some calls. She’ll find out what else has been filed. Kristina says, what if she never has to take the stand? What if Ava changes her mind? Molly says, that would be unusual. It can happen, but it’s not going to. Ava has no reason to withdraw the subpoena. Kristina says she supposes not, and Molly goes to the kitchen. Kristina says, unless she gives Ava a reason.

Ava says she thought of something. That little ruckus between John and Sonny. Would John be willing to testify? John says, it would be his pleasure. Don’t forget Michael was there too. Ava says, Kristina and Michael both witnessed their father’s out of control behavior, and he says he just wants one person to rat on that bastard. Ava says she’ll do her best with a little help from her friend, he says, anytime, and they kiss. (Blech.)

Dante asks if Sonny is doing this again. If he’s not with Sonny, he’s against him. He’s not Jagger Cates. He’s trying to help. If Sonny wants to go after Cates, he’ll fall into his trap. Sonny’s phone rings, and Sonny says, sorry. He’s got to get this. It’s private. Dante says he doesn’t want to hear it anyway, and leaves. Sonny asks Brick, where’s Jagger?… With Ava, in the suite. Good. Take a lot of pictures.

Tomorrow, Blaze doesn’t know where she and Natalia go from here; Lois asks if Brook is willing to take on Sonny; and Sonny tells Kristina not to worry. She’s not going to have to testify.

🧴 Adding Soap To Content…

This is actually pretty funny.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/nancy-lee-grahn-and-daughter-kates-hilarious-soap-star-tiktok

💰 Listing Those Millions…

Tracy was still trying to unload the house in the path of an apartment building and a flight pattern. JoshF was given a week to sell a house he thought was overpriced, the seller insisting Josh wasn’t showing it to the right clientele. Although when his assistant found a dead rat in a pool considered a selling feature and he refused to remove it, I thought, maybe it is him. JoshA checked out a property with developer Max that he thought could be listed at $120 to $150 million after being rebuilt – in its own stratosphere. We learned from JoshA, the only thing worse than not finding a property for a client is finding them a property and not being able to put a deal together.

Next time, JoshA finds JoshF a house that he says is just like JoshF- annoying and over the top.

🎄 Needing a Fabulous Little Christmas…

The best I could find was a recap in video form, but it’s not bad. Kind of like a condensed version of the show.

https://www.accessonline.com/videos/my-big-fat-fabulous-life-whitney-glenn-thore-crash-hunter-karens-date

💸 Brooks Taught Her Nothing… Or Everything…

This isn’t exactly surprising. Vicki has always been about making the buck.

No surprise either that Teddi jumped in.

⚰️ The City That Never Dies…

The latest on Dead City’s Season 2.

https://people.com/the-walking-dead-dead-city-unveils-season-2-teaser-comic-con-2024-8683308

🐉 Leak In the House…

Welcome to the internet.

https://ew.com/house-of-the-dragon-season-2-finale-leaks-tiktok-hbo-responds-8686991

🦸🏻 Pool Floaties…

Their original plan. Which would have been kinda mean.

https://ew.com/deadpool-and-wolverine-almost-showed-bad-fake-movie-in-theaters-as-joke-8683653

He won’t dance. Don’t ask him.

https://people.com/ryan-reynolds-not-dancing-nsync-deadpool-wolverine-8685672

Be sure to check out Hugh Jackman’s reaction to the final battle.

https://comicbookmovie.com/deadpool/deadpool-wolverine/deadpool-and-wolverine-star-ryan-reynolds-shares-video-of-audience-reaction-to-spoiler-a212419#gs.cf621z

The box office.

https://deadline.com/2024/07/deadpool-wolverine-tuesday-box-office-record-1236027253/

🐙 Squid On the Menu…

What’s coming and when it’s ending.

https://comicbook.com/anime/news/squid-game-season-2-release-date-netflix/

https://comicbook.com/anime/news/squid-game-season-3-2025-netflix-final-season/

🐶 TikTok Fail…

Yep. They don’t care who you are. They will embarrass you every time.

https://people.com/courteney-cox-posts-hilarious-video-of-her-dog-failing-hands-in-challenge-8685113

🍦 Follow That Ice Cream Truck…

Join me tomorrow for soap and talk of oranges. Until then, stay safe, stay never diving into the shallow end, and stay knowing that there’s a time to stand up and a time to stand down. 

July 30, 2024 – An Arraignment Surprise, Soap Bubbles, Messy New Jersey, Ramonacoaster Return, Ending the Feud, New Freedoms, Where’s Whitney, Last Of the Shadows, Super Rescue & Suddenly

Standard

What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts, recaps, and the whole GH enchilada on Fridays)

General Hospital

Anna goes to the WSB and introduces herself as the Police Commissioner of Port Charles, New York. She asks if the desk agent can point her in the direction of someone who knows what happened to Jack Brennan and why he was removed from Pentenville.

Wiley is celebrating his birthday at the pool and tells Willow that he thought daddy was coming. Willow says, he wanted to, but had to do something with grandma. Wiley says, Grandma Nina! but Willow says, no, his other grandma. Wiley says, no. Grandma Nina is here at the pool.  

John tells Sonny, Carly is going to lose her children, her hotel, and the restaurant left to her by her deceased mother. Jason is going to talk. Sonny says, no one has anything to say to John, and John says, Jason is going to testify against him, and Sonny is going to be in that courtroom with all his money while John is beside him listing all the crimes he’s committed. John ends his tirade with calling Sonny a miserable son of a bitch, and Sonny is ready to punch him, but Michael grabs him and says, calm down. Sonny says, let him go, and John tells Michael to listen to the guy who’s not his real dad. Listen to the one who blew his real dad away. For once, he took care of it himself. Michael tells Sonny not to give John the satisfaction. Donna may lose her mother. Does Sonny want her to lose her father too?

Michael tells Sonny, just walk away. It’s not worth it. His family needs him. Sonny says, Jagger finally showed his true colors, and John says, same for Sonny. Sonny laughs, and John says he’s looking forward to seeing more of Sonny. Michael and Sonny step away, and John says, nice uncle. She’s an officer of the court. Why is she protecting him? She says she’s not, and he says, it’s a point of integrity for the county. She tells him to make a formal request. Fill out an official form, and she’ll have it processed. Then if he wants to drag Sonny to court and put him in prison, he’s more than welcome. He’s been waving his badge around, making demands, and using his power to service his own vendetta. He says, she has more than enough to go on and is hiding behind bureaucracy instead of serving justice, and she says, be her guest. Have Sonny arrested and prosecuted, but if he wants assistance, fill out an official request. He accuses her of being in bed with Sonny, and she tells him to request a court order. Until then, their business is done. Good day.

Nina hugs Wiley, and James says, greetings and salvations (not a mistake; he gets Spinelli’s hello a bit wrong). Willow says she’s happy that James’s mommy brought him to the pool, and Maxie says, no one needs to remind them whose birthday it is. Nina looks at Willow, who nods, and she says she brought something for the birthday boy. Spinelli tells Maxie, so far, so good. Wiley is happy to have one of his grandmas at the party. Maxie says, they all know Carly has to appear in federal court, but they don’t know why, and Spinelli says he found out Cates is using the incriminating evidence he has on Carly as a threat to coerce Jason into working for him. Maxie says, that snake, and Wiley thanks Nina for his gift. He tells James that they can show Nina how fast they can swim, and the boys get in the pool. Nina asks Willow if that was okay, and Willow says, Nina has great taste, as always. Wiley definitely liked it. (I think it was a truck, but I wasn’t totally paying attention.) Nina says she’s in the middle of a workday, so when the boys are out of the pool, she’ll be on her way, but Willow asks if she’s sure she has to leave.

On the phone, Dante says, Jack Brennan was at the hotel in December of 2023… Then go up the chain of command to the co-owner Olivia Falconari. Tell her it’s Dante Falconari… Right. He’s her son. He thanks them for their cooperation. Molly comes into the station looking for Anna, but Dante says, she’s out of town. Molly asks if he knows when she’ll be back, but he says he doesn’t. Is there something he can help her with? She says, there’s a rogue FBI agent roaming the courthouse and Dante’s father is hellbent on tearing him limb from limb.

Michael asks if Sonny is okay, and Sonny says he’s fine. Michael is right. Jagger’s not worth it. Diane joins them with Josslyn and Jason, and asks if everything is all right. Michael says, it’s fine, and Sonny looks at Jason then walks into the courtroom. Diane asks if she needs to worry, but Michael tells her to focus on their mom. She says she can multitask, and he says, they all rely on that. Josslyn asks if Jason is sure Sonny is taking his meds, and Jason says, Carly checked. Josslyn says, it’s possible they stopped working, and John lurks behind them. He stares at Michael and moves on. Jason asks what they missed, and Michael says, he can probably guess. How’s Donna? Josslyn says, she keeps asking where her mom is and they keep saying she’s on a business trip where there’s no cell service. She’s going to grow up to be a cop or detective. Pilar has her at Wiley’s birthday party. She’s sorry Michael is missing it, but they’ve got to figure out what to tell Donna if Carly doesn’t make bail. She asks if Jason thinks she will.  

Anna tells the desk agent that Brennan’s time in Pentenville was completely wiped out, as well as the PCPD records of him. That only happens when someone high up wants it. Whoever that is, is who she needs to speak to. He says, she probably knows what he’s about to say, but she says she needs to hear it. He says, the information she’s seeking is probably highly classified. Without a federal court order, they can’t and won’t provide it. Anna says she’s not a civilian, she’s a Police Commissioner, but he says, she’s local law enforcement. She says she’s a former WSB agent, but he says, all that gets her is in the door. She needs a special clearance. She suggests he get ahold of Mia Granahan, the Deputy Director. She’ll be happy to wait. Brennan was arrested for crimes in her jurisdiction. She arrested him herself and won’t sit by and allow the WSB to disappear him. She’s not leaving until she gets an answer. Brennan comes out of a nearby office and asks, must she always make a nuisance of herself? (I love Jack. He’s so much fun.)

Dante asks, how bad was it? and Molly says, words were exchanged, but John was way up in Sonny’s face. He wanted more to happen and almost got it. Sonny took a swing at him. Dante says, but there was no assault? and she says, the punch never landed. If it weren’t for Michael, Sonny would be in federal custody.

The kids play in the pool, and Willow thanks Nina. Nina says, of course (🍷), and Willow says, not just for the present, but for arranging for Michael to meet Congressman McConkey. Nina says, it’s her pleasure, and Willow says she’s sure it was as difficult for Nina to say yes as it was for Michael to ask. He considered asking Monica or Tracy, but Nina has a closer relationship with McConkey. Nina says, wise move, and Willow says, she wasn’t sure, considering how things are between Nina and… Nina says, Willow wasn’t sure if she would go to bat for Carly, but Willow says, no undue influence. They just want the congressman to look into Agent Cates’s abuse of authority. She thanks Nina, and Nina flashes back to Michael saying that she owes his family one and can make it right with one phone call. When his mom is free, he’ll make sure Willow knows all the credit goes to her. Nina tells Willow, spoiler alert. She may be shocked by why Nina did it. No matter what their differences, she knows how important Carly is to the family. How could she say no?

John wanders around the hallway and runs into US Attorney Wilcox. He tells John that he read the files and asks if there’s anything else he should know. John says, plenty.

Carly is brought into the courtroom and hugs Josslyn, but the officer says, no contact. She asks how Donna is, and Josslyn says, she thinks Carly is away on business. John comes in and Carly stares at him, but Diane says, look at her. From this point on, she’s not to look at Cates. Not a glare, not a side-eye, not looking backwards when she tosses her hair. Carly says she never tosses her hair, and Diane says, she’s not to speak to him. Carly says, she’s not an idiot, but Diane says, she’s impulsive. Carly says, Diane made her point, and she can hear Jason agreeing. Diane says, the most important thing to remember is, once the arraignment starts, no words. Not a peep, not a noise, no audible breathing until she argues for dismissal. Josslyn asks if she thinks it will work, and Diane says, no, but the court expects it and it starts the road to acquittal. Michael says he’s meeting with McConkey and asking him to look into Cates’s conduct, and Carly says she hopes they turn over every rock to find something. If she’s going down, Cates is going down with her. The bailiff says, all rise.

Alexis comes to the station and says she’s dropping off some paperwork for Anna. Dante says, it’s official, and she says, once again she’s a licensed and practicing attorney. Dante says, now they can have a different picture on their dartboard instead of hating on Diane. Sam wanted to have them over for dinner, and he thinks this would be a good excuse to celebrate. Alexis says she looks forward to it, and Dante takes the paperwork and leaves. Alexis asks if Molly’s got a minute, and Molly says, she must have spoken to Kristina. Alexis says, yes, she did.

Anna goes into the office and says, it’s good to see Jack, especially since every trace of him has disappeared. He says, there’s a reasonable explanation. He was never there. She says she kept a hard copy of his intake arrest record, and he says, damn. Now he’ll have to burn down the police department – again. He swore it was the last time. Anna tells him to stop whatever game he’s playing. He’s won. He says, what was that last bit? and she says, he won. He’s out and free, and she, the lowly, local Police Commissioner, can’t touch him. What’s going on? He says, sorry, she has no clearance, but she says, that’s never stopped her before. Or him. He says, the Bureau found a use for him. It’s as simple as that. Why does she ask? Was she worried about him? She says she was really worried… that he wouldn’t pay for the crimes he’s committed and that’s exactly what happened. He’s been rewarded for them. He says, he’ll be running a local station in the hinterlands. Some reward. She says, the WSB needed to divorce themselves from Pikeman. It did a good job for them, but things were getting conspicuous. The FBI wasn’t on board, so the WSB let them take Pikeman down and walked away clean. Is she close? He shrugs.

Maxie tells Spinelli that she knows she said she was okay with it, but she wants to know what happened. He says he can’t divulge his methods, and she says, but he could deny them in detail. He says, for instance, he absolutely did not access the evidence Cates is using against Carly, and Maxie says, of course (🍷) not. How would he do that? He says, not by having Sam distract Cates and borrowing Cates’s digital ID. She wonders why he couldn’t use the ID to get rid of the evidence and throw it away, but he says, even The Jackal couldn’t pull that off.

The judge says, the defendant is charged with racketeering violations, and Diane says, they can waive the reading. Wilcox has no objection, and the judge asks if the defendant understands the charges. Diane says she’s making a motion to dismiss. The prosecution hasn’t shared the evidence, which consists of a single recording. There’s no eyewitness testimony, just one audio file recorded by an FBI agent. A guy comes in and whispers something to Wilcox, and Diane says, Carly is a long standing pilar if the community and the charges are lacking in merit. She voluntarily turned herself in hoping to get this whole thing over with. It reeks of malicious prosecution, and she hopes the court sees it for what it is. The judge says, it always pleases her to hear Diane argue a motion, and Wilcox says, the people don’t oppose the motion to dismiss. We all go, whaaat?

The judge bangs her gavel and asks if she heard correctly. Are they agreeing to dismiss the case? John jumps up and says, they’re not, and Wilcox asks, who the hell is he? The judge says she’ll ask the questions. Who the hell is he and what business is it of his? John says he’s Special Agent Cates. He brought Carly in and the US Attorney is making his job impossible. The judge asks the attorneys and John to approach the bench, and John says, they have an iron clad case, but Wilcox says, the audio file is gone. It no longer exists. (I laaaaugh.)

Anna says, the FBI was closing in on Pikeman and Jack got himself arrested knowing he’d never face trial. The WSB left him in Pentenville until everyone forgot about him. He says, everyone but her, and she says, now he’s a free man. And Valentin his scapegoat is also fine? Lounging with his daughter on some extradition free beach? Jack says, she’s right. There. He said it. It’s all true. Anna says, but none of it will see the light, and he says, that’s how the game is played. Speaking of games, he doesn’t think she came to the nation’s capital just to badger the WSB into divulging his whereabouts. She wants something. Anna asks, what kind of leverage does he have against John? and Jack says, John is FBI and he’s WSB. Why would she think he has pull? She says, because you’re you. You have connections. Jack says he’s flattered, and she says, John is off the rails and targeting Jack’s friend Carly.

John says he has an official summary on his phone, but Diane says, in this day and age of deepfakes, evidence isn’t evidence unless there’s a chain of custody. John says, there is, and accuses the DA’s office of being incompetent. Maybe they should look for the file. Wilcox says, they did, and the last time it was accessed was by John. The judge says, so they have no evidence, and Wilcox says, none. She thanks them, and Carly asks Diane, what’s happening? Diane says, wait for it, and the judge asks if the prosecution wishes to proceed. Wilcox says, they’re not moving forward with the case, and the judge says, case dismissed. Carly looks at Jason and everyone looks stunned. Sonny smiles. (I can’t stop laughing.)

Carly asks, what happened? and John says, it can’t be gone. The judge asks if he didn’t hear the dismissal. One more word, and she’ll hold him in contempt. He’s stopped talking? Good. Now listen. For the record, she recommends he take his questions, accusations, and excuses to his superior. His conduct is not for court. Understood? John nods, and she says, good. Now they’re done. Court is adjourned. The bailiff says, all rise, and the judge leaves. Carly hugs Josslyn and Michael, and everyone is happy. John says he doesn’t know how they pulled it off, but it’s not going to work. It’s evidence tampering and he has a good idea who’s behind it. He flashes back to Diane assuring him that this is going to blow up in his face, and Anna telling him to ignore the evidence. Carly says she’d love to send a thank you note to whoever did this, but Jason says, it’s not over. Michael says, it is, and John tells Sonny, enjoy his reprieve. It won’t last. He’s going to put Sonny behind bars for the rest of his life, and make sure Jason and Carly are rotting beside him. He stomps out.

In the interrogation room – where everyone goes to talk – Alexis says she spoke to Kristina and has one question. Molly says, hit her with it, and Alexis asks, what was Molly thinking? Molly says, nailed it, and Alexis says, she jumped the gun and tried to force Kristina to sign the termination of parental rights on the spot. Molly says she just presented Kristina with documents she’d always intend to sign, but Alexis says, it wasn’t a formality. By Molly’s own admission, she said Kristina was being cagey. Molly says, it was obvious that Kristina wanted to keep the baby, and Alexis says, Kristina said she tried to explain that she was protecting Molly and TJ’s privacy. Molly asks if Alexis buys that, and Alexis says, Kristina didn’t want to discuss Molly’s fertility issues without permission. Molly says, then Kristina should have asked her before the interview. How could it not come up in the prepping? The obvious assumption is that Kristina and Blaze are having a baby together. A message Kristina perpetuated.

Nina says, Wiley and James are fast, and Spinelli says, especially for children with their mass and density. Wiley asks if Nina wants a hot dog, but Nina says she has to go back to work. Spinelli goes to get hot dogs for the kids, and Wiley thanks Nina for coming. He hugs her and everyone smiles. (Oh wow. This episode is way too happy. An asteroid is surely hitting Port Charles soon. Or the Ice Princess. Or something.)

Carly hugs Jason and says, it’s over. He’s free. Jason sighs, and Josslyn and Michael hug Carly. Sonny flashes back to Carly telling him about the recording, and Josslyn says, the look on Cates’s face… Michael says, priceless, and Jason asks if she knows how it happened. Carly says she has an idea, but Diane strongly suggests they keep their theories to themselves forever. Michael says, it’s a solid plan, and Wilcox says, Diane had an excellent argument. She says, it’s a pity they’ll never know, and he says, almost. He tells Carly, on behalf of the US Government and the Justice Department, their sincerest apologies, and Carly says, they were just doing their job. He says, it’s come to their attention that Agent Cates has been less than professional on other fronts, and they’ll be looking further into his conduct. Carly says she hopes they take a long hard look, and Wilcox leaves. Carly asks if she can walk out, and Diane says, unless she has a burning desire to stay. She strongly suggests Carly go to the PCPD and pick up her personal items. Michael says, it’s cause for celebration. He knows of a party already in progress. Carly wonders if it’s still going on, but Josslyn says, if it’s not, they’ll get the party started again. Michael asks if Sonny wants to come, and Sonny asks, what’s wrong with you people?

Alexis says she doesn’t think Kristina’s reasoning is up to par. Her body is flooded with hormones that are telling her to protect the baby and keep it. But she wants Molly to have it. Molly asks if that’s why Kristina is claiming she and TJ are breaking up. It’s like she wants it to happen for an excuse just to keep the baby. Alexis says, they both have her genes. Molly has the ones that want justice, law, and order, and Kristina’s got the ones that make her think she’s right, she’s the smartest one in the room, and her ideas are better. Lucky you. She has another great idea – back off please. Just talk to her and accept her explanation. Trust her to be honest. Molly’s impulse was to have Kristina sign the termination on the spot. If she pushes back, Kristina will push harder, double down, and dig in. Molly knows she’s right.  

Jack says he’s sorry Carly is experiencing difficulty, and Anna says, she’s been charged with RICO violations. He says he doesn’t see her as a racketeer, and she says, Cates is targeting her ex-husband and using it for extortion. They have an agent running roughshod over the law in town. He’s a wrecking ball and she’s not letting him play out his vendetta. Jack says, a code of honor and actual honor are very different. If anyone knows… She says, it’s them. How many people’s lives has he destroyed in his performance of duty? Does he keep track? Does he care? Jack says, she has a tendency to jump to conclusions. It’s a bad habit for a spy… She says, ex-spy, and he tells her, try to have patience. She may discover that he’s not in the business of ruining people’s lives if he can help it.  

Sonny says, this did not have to happen. Carly should have told him what was going on before it was too late. Jason should have called him three years ago and told him what Jagger was up to. He could have stopped it. Jason says he tried to explain what he could, but Sonny says, Jason didn’t trust hurt him. None of them did, but that’s all right. He’s going to take care of Jagger himself. He walks out, and Jason looks at Carly.

This was a great episode.

Tomorrow, Anna tells Jason that she has a debt to repay; Molly apologizes to Kristina; Ava tells John that she has every reason to believe she’ll get the outcome she wants; and Dante tells Sonny that he can only push everybody so far, even him.

🧼 All the Soap News Fit To Print…

A blast from the past returns.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/emma-samms-returns-to-general-hospital-2024

So many of the soap stars love cooking, the Food Network should create a show for them. I miss Soap Net… sniff…

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/ghs-kirsten-storms-shows-off-her-incredible-cooking-skills

Sounds like she had a pretty normal life, but still, it must be weird.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/ghs-kimberly-mccullough-on-growing-up-on-tv

She should thank her lucky stars that she practically skated. Uber. It’s called Uber.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/general-hospitals-haley-pullos-sentenced-for-dui

This sounds like a good time. I actually considered going for a hot minute, but couldn’t think of anyone I could force coerce into going with me.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/dont-miss-the-2024-general-hospital-fan-celebration

👠 What Happens In Jersey…

I love Marge sending Teresa a funeral bouquet in memory of her dignity. Apparently, she has tea to spill.

Danielle’s take.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1405006/rhonjs-danielle-cabral-confirms-the-season-14-finale-is-just-as-shocking-as-youd-expect

The uncivil war rages on.

https://okmagazine.com/p/rhonj-season-14-finale-war-revealed/

Seriously, Andy, reboot that thing or get rid of it.

https://people.com/andy-cohen-teases-rhonj-reboot-heres-the-truth-exclusive-8685366

What happened last week.

🗽 And In a Surprise Crossover…

Come on. What does anyone expect from this clueless throwback? If she was a dude, she’d be one of those guys from Manhattan who wouldn’t date you if you lived in Queens. A word about New Jersey. It’s like any place else. It has its good points and bad points. It’s geographically beautiful, there are tons of things to see, and the food is fantastic. On the other hand, the taxes are high, the government is corrupt, and it’s way expensive to live here. But best of all, you’re highly unlikely to run into anyone like the cast of RHONJ. Or Ramona.

🛟 Making Up Off Deck…

Hannah is a mom now. She’s too tired to argue.

🚜 They’re Moving On…

Interesting how both Barry and Ethan can’t let go of their respective relationships, yet their exes are moving on quickly. No crying and eating ice cream for them.

🪄 Looking For Fabulous…

Note: As of this posting, there was no recap for My Big Fat Fabulous Life, but I did watch it and it was very touching. The episode revolved around the Thores’ second Christmas without matriarch Babs, and the first time actually celebrating. Shopping for a tree, a Christmas costume party, the family together – including Hunter’s new girlfriend Karen – and Goosie in a Christmas sweater. There was nothing not to like. Hopefully tomorrow will bring a recap.

🧛🏻‍♀️ Fading Shadows…

The beginning of the end airs October 21st.

https://ew.com/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-final-season-preview-exclusive-photos-8676830

🐕 Best In Pool…

If you take nothing else away from my obsession with this dog, remember that a rescue dog (or other pet) can be the best thing that’s ever happened to you, and you to them.

https://people.com/all-about-dogpool-the-canine-rescue-star-of-deadpool-and-wolverine-8685503

📝 The Back To School Slippery Slope Arrives…

Join me tomorrow for soap and new Listings. Until then, stay safe; stay keeping dirt/grass outdoors and not tracking it inside; and stay remembering that a code of honor and actual honor are very different, and choosing wisely.

July 17, 2024 – Jason Gives the FBI What It Wants, Dubai In the House, Selling LA, You’re It, Still VanderMessy, Horrible People, Are They Done Yet, Sanctuary Please & Hold ‘Em

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts, recaps, and the whole GH enchilada on Fridays)

General Hospital

Sonny says, if Nina can bury the hatchet with Drew, maybe she can do the same with him. She says, absolutely not… There’s no hatchet to bury. Everything that went wrong is on her. He says, not everything, and she says, almost everything. When she finally told him the truth, it was too late. Their relationship was founded on a mirage named Mike. Mike never really existed. Sonny says, he did and he cared, and Nina says, she can’t forgive and forget because there’s nothing to forgive and she doesn’t want to forget. He says, there are a few things he can forget, and they laugh. She says she wants him to be happy and he says he wants the same for her. She says, he’s happy being a father, and if Ava and Scotty are stupid enough to approach her, she’ll tell them that she’ll testify against him, then blindside them with examples of how great a father he is. He asks if she’s trying to make him fall in love with her again, and she tells him, good luck with Ava. She hopes he gets custody for Avery’s sake.

At the pool, Josslyn finds Gio daydreaming and tells him that people are waiting for towels. He runs to assist them, while Carly brings a pina colada to Lois. Lois says, Carly and Sonny… she can pretend nothing is going on and it’s none of her business… Carly says, she could accept it’s none of her business, but it’s good to see her. She thanks Lois for bringing Gio to Port Charles, and Lois says she asks him to play one wedding and he falls in love with the entire town. Carly says, Olivia hired him, but she thinks he’s a great kid, and Lois says she wants to make sure his future is bright. Gio comes back and tells Josslyn that it won’t happen again, but she says, her mom doesn’t care. She asks if everything is okay, and he says, it’s fine, except he may have overstayed his welcome.

Valentin asks Anna to come with him. They belong together. She says, they have no time to talk. He needs to take Charlotte and disappear. He says he’s ready to go except for her. He knows she wants to. She just put her life on the line to warn him. She says, for Charlotte. She needs her father in her life. If it was just him, she’d let Cates take him. He says, she wouldn’t. She’d face charges too, but she’s here because she loves him almost as much as he loves her. She can disappear as easily as he can. Come with him and they’ll start a new life together.

John yells, open up or he’s coming in, and Jason opens the door. John asks, what took so long? and Jason says, this is where he lives. They should talk at the warehouse. John (who’s becoming more of an a-hole every time he opens his mouth, which is a shame since he’s sooo good looking) says, they’ll talk where and when he wants on whatever subject he chooses. Jason forgets he holds all the cards. Jason says, how can he when John reminds him every ten minutes? and John says, Jason will do what he says, or Carly pays the price.

Nina says, she was warned about Ava over and over again. She should have listened. Sonny says he should have taken his own advice. Why did he think he could rely on Ava and let her in? Nina says she wonders why too, but he doesn’t owe her any explanation. He says, because of Avery. He’s very protective of his children’s mothers, even Ava. She says, it’s a very Mike thing to do, and he says, Mike is a great guy. She says, Mike has great taste in women, and Sonny says, the other reason was because he was so messed up over losing her. She says, for what it’s worth (🍷), she was messed up too. She’s better now. He says he’s glad to hear it. He’ll see her later. She says, what about him? How’s he feeling? He says he’s ready for anything, and she says, such as? He says, not letting anyone take advantage of him, and she says, there he is. She wants all the best for him. He says he wants all the best for her too, and leaves.

Josslyn asks if someone said something unwelcoming, but Gio says, it’s nothing like that. Don’t look. His Aunt Lois… She says, Lois is always going on and on about how great he is, and he says, she’s always been his biggest fan, but she suggested he go back home. She says, that makes no sense. Lois brought him to Port Charles.

Anna says, Valentin wants her to leave her life and be a fugitive, but she doesn’t want to live like that. He says, but it’s okay for Charlotte, and she says, it’s not ideal, but she’ll have her father. He’s her entire family. She left Robin once and won’t again. She’s not sacrificing her time with Noah and Emma for – she tears up – any reason. So unless he’s planning on turning her in… He says he’d never do that. When the FBI comes, he’ll be long gone, but they’re going to connect the dots. She says, dots aren’t proof, and there won’t be any proof, but he says, prison is no place for a cop, especially an ex-WSB agent. Don’t throw her life away. Come with him. She kisses him and says she’s sorry. She loves him, but can’t go with him.

Natalia is waiting for Sonny at the penthouse and says she’s sorry. His housekeeper said she could wait. He asks what she’s doing here, and she says she knows he’s upset with her and has every reason to be. Her comments did nothing but cause trouble for Allison and Kristina. Sonny says he doesn’t like what she said, but Ava was the one who used it and made it national news to get back at him. She, Allison, and Kristina are collateral damage. She says, that’s why she’s here. For Allison… Blaze rather.  

Geo tells Josslyn that Lois lined up a gig for him as a session musician in Manhattan. He knows. First world problems. She says, what a monster. Maybe she just wants to get him back to New York. She was a music manager and knows what she’s talking about. Maybe she thinks it’s a nice opportunity. Gio says, that has to be it. Why else would she want him to leave?

Lois tells Carly that there’s nothing Gio can’t play. He once played a slow version of AC/DC’s Back In Black for her and had her sobbing. Carly says she heard Sonny paid for Gio’s music education, and Lois says, he did. Camilla was a cousin of the Cerullos from Italy. She was a violinist like Gio and came to America to play with the New York Philharmonic. She was there 6 months and fell in love with Francis Palmieri. He was as handsome as Gio, but was already scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan. They had a whirlwind romance and eloped. It wasn’t until after he left, she found out she was pregnant with Gio. But before she was able to tell Francis about the baby, she found out he was killed in action.

Valentin asks if there’s nothing he can say, and Anna says, don’t even try. He asks if she’s afraid he’ll convince her, but she says, no. It was just hard to say no once. What’s Charlotte’s ETA? He says, she’ll be here soon, and Anna says she has to ask. Does he have contingencies in place? Money, cash, new IDs? He says, they’ll be fine, and they both wipe tears away. She says, he was always going to be fine. He was set financially with ELQ and enjoyed the work. Charlotte was happy in school, and he built a good life. Why risk it all for Pikeman? What happened? He says, she did.

John says he needs Jason to turn over any and all information about Sonny, but Jason says, that wasn’t the deal. The deal was to get information about Pikeman, not Sonny. John says, Sonny is in the purview of the investigation because he was involved with Pikeman, and Jason says, let him make this clear. He’s not answering any questions about Sonny. John sighs (because it’s catching) and asks how Jason can be loyal when Sonny tried to kill him. When Jason came back and didn’t fall in line and assume his place in Sonny’s organization, Sonny tried to take him out. Jason asks, then why is he still here? and John says, because the guys Sonny hired aren’t as good as him. Sonny is only about Sonny. He uses people and discards them. He used Jason and discarded him. He literally destroyed Jason’s life. Jason says, Sonny didn’t destroy his life. John did. (Truth!)

Maxie goes to Nina’s office wanting to discuss the timetable for Deception’s ad campaign. She wonders if they should continue with No One Cancels Love campaign or put it behind them and move forward. Thoughts? Nina says, Sonny was just here, and they had a good conversation. He was like his old self. Maxie asks what he wanted, and Nina says, to bury the hatchet. Maxie says, in who? (ha-ha! that’s actually what I’d say) and Nina says she told him there was no hatchet to bury. It’s not like they want to fight anymore. Maxie says, not to open old wounds, but does Nina want Sonny back? and Nina says, she’ll always have feelings for Sonny and always love him, but she’s not hopelessly, desperately in love with him. She’s stronger now and she’s finally ready to move on.

Carly says, it’s so sad. Gio’s parents had such little time and Francis never got to know his son. Lois says, the family was heartbroken and rallied around Camilla. Sonny was in town and wanted to make sure Camilla was okay. She went back to playing after she had Gio, but just when they thought Gio and Camilla would finally get their happy ever after, Camilla died. Gio was ten at the time and had already started his musical education. It was expensive, so Lois reached out to Sonny. Of course (🍷) he agreed, and paid for everything, even Gio’s two years at Fordham. Then Gio got a scholarship at PCU. Carly says she gets that Sonny is generous, but she doesn’t understand why he never mentioned Gio to her.

Anna asks how long Valentin has been involved with Pikeman, and he says he’s always been aware of them, even in the planning stages, which included the head of the WSB. They wanted her on the ops team so they could look legit. Anna says she had questions, but wasn’t in a position to know, and Valentin says, they just wanted to get the ten million to form a money funnel for the weapons. He resigned as a traitor, but kept in touch with Pikeman. They liked his expertise, and he liked the money. When Anna busted Brennan, it created a vacuum. She says she knows why he couldn’t, but she wishes he’d told her, and he says he does too. She asks when he was going to that, and he says, maybe during the brief window when they were openly in love and said they trusted one another.  

Jason says he’s been risking his life. He lived in hell when the people he loved thought he was dead. John says, he could have let Carly take her chances, but Jason chose to be an informant the way Carly chose to present herself as mob leadership. The only one who never had to pay was Sonny. He destroys lives and right now, he’s using his money and power to take Avery away from her mother. The woman is terrified. Jason says, Ava Jerome? He’d think twice about believing anything that woman has to say.

Natalie says, they worked so hard on Blaze’s career, and she trashed it in an instant by saying the wrong thing to the wrong person. Sonny says, it’s what she meant, and she says she’s painfully aware of the effect of her words on their daughters. Kristina made her thoughts on the subject spectacularly clear. She can see both Kristina’s mom and Sonny in her, and she had it coming. Even though she may not join a parade anytime soon, it’s clear Blaze and Kristina love each other. He says he’s happy she’s seeing clearly, but she says, too little too late. The damage is done, and she can’t say she blames them if they never speak to her again. He asks if she wants him to be a go-between, but she says, there’s not much she can do about her relationship with her daughter, but she can save her career.

Maxie asks, what happened? Nina was hellbent on getting Sonny back. Nina says she hates to say it, but Ava was right about her and Sonny. She was so desperate to hold on to their relationship, but their lives don’t fit. They never did. Maxie says, wow. Forgive her, but it’s about time Nina realized. She wanted to be wrong. It’s been known to happen. Nina says, the worst part is, Carly was right. They’re not special, and she feels like an idiot. The worst part was that she was turning herself into the perfect woman for Sonny, instead of holding onto who she is. Although a lot of people consider her the worst. Maxie says she’s not one of them.

Sonny asks if that’s why Natalia is here. She wants him to help save Blaze’s career. She says, Sonny was in the music business and owned L&B records in the 90’s, and he says he invested. The founder was an old friend, someone he was in love with. Natalia says, so for personal reasons, not unlike now for Kristina. If he invests in Blaze’s career, they’ll put the money toward releasing a new album and new material on a private label. There are so many indie labels now, it will take money to get noticed. She’d put every dime she has into it, but it’s not enough. That’s why she’s here. He says, she wants him to bankroll a brand-new record label?

Valentin looks out the window, and says, it crossed his mind to tell Anna, and she says, before or after he took over? He says, before, when they were in love and claiming to trust each other. She asks why he didn’t, and he says he didn’t want to force her into a position to arrest him. She says, yet here we are, and he says, she’s not arresting him and she’s letting him go. She says, before he does that, Cates got ahold of five years’ worth of correspondence between her and Brennan, all fabricated. Valentin says, that was him, but he was careful. So careful not to say anything that would hold up as evidence. Just red herrings to make John believe they were talking about Pikeman. Just a diversion. He’d never incriminate her. She says, he loves her, but still couldn’t resist using her.

John asks if Jason is so far gone that anyone who speaks out against Sonny is lying, but Jason says, trust him. Ava can take care of herself. John says, he sounds like Sonny. Jason got his and the hell with the rest of the world. Jason tells him, that’s not what he said at all, and John says, the Jason he knew was a good guy. Do the right thing and give him something he can use to bust Sonny so Ava can keep her kid. Jason asks, since when does the FBI concern itself with custody battles? And John says, Sonny has to be stopped before he wrecks his daughter’s life like he’s wrecked other lives. Admit Sonny tried to kill him. Jason says he has nothing on Sonny, and he looks at the clock. He gets the phone from the fire escape, and says, but he does have this. It’s Valentin’s phone and proof he’s the one running Pikeman. John asks if he’s sure it’s Valentin and not Anna, and he says, it’s Valentin. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of recordings, including the facilitation of illegal arms transports. John asks where he got it, and Jason asks if he really wants to know. John asks how long he’s had it, and Jason says, a few hours. John asks why Jason didn’t tell him sooner, and Jason says, John was so busy trying to get him to flip on Sonny, he couldn’t talk. John makes a call and says he wants all units at 2100 Belleforest Drive now.

Gio tells Josslyn that maybe he should go home and take the gig. Lois went through a lot of trouble and it would be rude to turn her down. Josslyn asks what he wants to do. The people who love them and want what’s best for them can still be wrong. He says, what if they’re the ones who are right? but she says, nobody learns from the right decisions. It’s up to them to figure out their own lives and what makes them happy.

Sonny says he doesn’t know anything about the music business, but Natalia says she does. He says, it’s risky, but she says, his investment will make a hundredfold when Blaze is touring. He says, if she’s successful, and Natalia says, she will be. She knows she can run a new label. He asks what Blaze thinks, but she says, Blaze doesn’t know yet. Even if Blaze never forgives her, she believes in Blaze’s talent and knows she’s a star. If Sonny says, no, don’t worry. She’ll accept it and no one will ever know he turned her down. He says he’s in.

Maxie says she’s proud of Nina. She wanted a relationship with Sonny, but realized there was no future in pretending she was the Nina that Sonny wanted. Nina says, she couldn’t swing it. It’s all on her. Maxie says, so much for girl power. Even though she’s sorry it happened, Nina got some wisdom. Nina says she’s not sure about that, and Maxie asks if she’s talking about the Drew situation. Nina says, they’ve gone through so many stages. From loathing to not exactly mutual respect, but they’re able to help each other now.

Valentin says he’s sorry he used her, and Anna says, he’d do it again. He says, that doesn’t mean he’s not sorry. The problem is, any good in him is because of her. She says, that’s not true. He has a good heart. She’s been here too long. As soon as Charlotte gets back, he has to take her and leave. He takes her hand and says, she can’t go with him, he knows that, but tell him that she wants to even if it’s not true. She says, if she could, she would go with him in a heartbeat. She cries a little, and he asks if she means that. She says, he’ll never know, when the door opens. Charlotte says she came as soon as she could… What’s wrong?

Natalia asks if Sonny just said yes, and he says, absolutely. They laugh, and she says she can’t thank him enough. He says, one condition. No one is to know he’s doing this. She says, okay, but she’s used to working with people who want credit, and he says he wants Brook to have credit. Brook is in charge. That’s his offer. Take it or leave it.

Nina says, being a good citizen, she’s giving it her all to make sure Drew is elected, and Maxie says, how civic minded. Nina says she does believe in Drew, and he’s helping her with Willow. Willow reached out and wanted to talk to her, mother and daughter, for the first time. Maxie says, that’s amazing. She’s happy for Nina. Nina says, there’s a chance Willow might let her be a part of her life. She can’t mess it up. If Willow is convinced Drew needs to be elected, she’ll support him for her.

Jason goes to the pool and asks if Gio is the one who played the violin at Brook’s wedding. Gio says he did, and he’s Jason Morgan. Is he looking for Miss Spencer? She was just here. Can he get Jason something while he looks for her? Jason asks how Gio would know, and Gio says, Josslyn said to treat him like a VIP, but Jason says, only Joss and her mom do that. He enjoyed Gio’s playing. Gio thanks him and says he’ll find Carly, but Jason says, it’s okay. He sees her right now. It was nice to meet him. Jason goes over to Carly, who asks, what brings him here? He says, it’s done, and she says, what? He says he gave the FBI what they wanted. If Cates keeps his word, they’re freed.

John shows up at Valentin’s house with some men. They draw their guns, and he says, 3… 2… 1… mark! They bust in, and John yells, FBI! Down on the ground! One of the men says, the bedrooms are clear, and John says, fan out and search. (I say, wah-wah.)

Outside in her car, Anna smiles.

This kinda, sorta brought tears to my eyes. I rarely invest in the couples, since most of the time there’s zero chemistry, but I love Anna and Valentin together.

Tomorrow, Blaze says, any hope of reviving her music career is gone; Carly asks Jason to promise her something; and Sonny tells Brook that his and Natalia’s plan depends on her.

🐪 There’s a Camel In My Soup…

What happened in Dubai. It was pointed out in an interview that you could get arrested for arguing in public, but it didn’t stop Taleen.

https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/hollywood/the-real-housewives-of-dubai-episode-7-recap-everything-you-missed-1328945

As NeNe once said, stay out of women’s business. At least when you’re the husband of one of the Housewives.

💰 Spiraling LA…

Tracy says, the market is sh*t, and JoshA says, in this market, you don’t sleep. Closets to die for, bigger than my first apartment. JoshF dressed as a shark. Read on for this week’s Listings.

🍊 Tag This Line…

Tamra works being rude like it’s a second job.

🍸 VanderWTF…

What is wrong with this guy? The average sociopath has better social skills.

To make it even creepier.

Not surprising that he backpedaled. Dude. Cut Sandoval loose already.

👿 The Internet Is Evil…

This is exactly what I hate about the internet. I can’t fathom what’s in people’s heads to justify this sort of behavior. I don’t care if she’s the freaking Elephant Man. There’s just no reason for it. The only conclusion I can come to is that they hate themselves and are taking it out on someone who is making the most of what they have and doing well with it.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1404738/my-big-fat-fabulous-life-star-whitney-way-thore-reveals-the-cruel-insults-that-led-to-panic-attacks

💒 Cringing In Plathville…

This was just so uncomfortable. As usual, he whined and she was stone cold, her big blue eyes filled with tears.

Seriously, I was shifting around in my chair.

https://people.com/welcome-to-plathville-recap-ethan-plath-pleads-with-olivia-to-make-it-work-8679099

🦍 Furred and Feathered Fringes Of Fame…

All I can think of when I see things like this is the woman who got her face ripped off by the pet chimp. By no means does this make the chimp bad. He’s just being the animal he is and proving he is not a pet, but belongs in the wild or a sanctuary. Tiger King was eye-opening, as well as trainwreck entertaining, so I’ll be watching this for sure.

https://people.com/tonia-haddix-subject-of-tiger-king-director-new-series-chimp-crazy-8678996

An interesting tributary.

https://people.com/pets/alan-cumming-missing-chimpanzee-costar-found-moved-to-rescue/

🦜 Hottest new couple.

https://people.com/zoo-tries-to-save-endangered-macaw-species-with-love-match-8679024

🤷🏽‍♀️ Summer Of Ambiguity…

Stop in tomorrow for soap and less than nine oranges in a bowl. Until then, stay safe, stay steering away from political discussion at get togethers of all kinds (my neighbor recently had a near fistfight at a family party), and stay knowing that the people who love you and want what’s best for you can still be wrong. Even if they’re right, nobody learns from the right decisions.

June 27, 2024 – Finn Says Goodbye To Violet, Words From His Co-Workers, Just No, Better For You, Riders, Pet (!) Safety & Wake Me

Standard

What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts, recaps, and the whole GH enchilada on Fridays)

General Hospital

Carly thanks Diane for coming over so quickly, and Diane says, it sounded urgent. Carly says she needs Diane to keep her out of prison.

At the new apartment, Josslyn opens the door to Dex.

Violet runs to Finn, and he asks if she had fun sleeping over. She asks, how is he? Is he feeling better?

Sam comes home, and tells Dante that Scout was nervous in the car, but when they got there, she couldn’t wait for the sleepover. She wants to make sure Danny won’t hear their conversation, and starts to check on him upstairs, but Dante says, Jason came and picked Danny up. She asks where they went.

Walking into the garage, Jason says, sorry the gym was closed, but Danny says, this is way better than working out. They go over to Jason’s bike, and Jason asks if Danny is sure he’s ready do this. Danny says, oh yeah.

Dante tells Sam that Jason was taking Danny to the gym, and Danny was stoked. He thought it would be okay with her. Was he wrong? She says, yes, but he couldn’t have known what was going on. He asks what he’s missing, and she says, Spinelli found out what the FBI is holding over Jason. Jason stayed away all this time because the Feds have evidence against Carly.

Jason says, the most important thing is safety. Not just for kids, for everybody. If he needs to know something, ask. He tells Danny that he does his own maintenance. It’s important in case you get stuck. Danny says, especially if someone is after you. Did Jason’s father teach him? Jason says, Alan? Not that he recalls. He fixed people, not machines. Danny asks when he learned, and Jason says, after his accident.

Carly tells Diane, when Sonny was in Nixon Falls and everyone but Nina thought he was dead, she went meeting with the Five Families and claimed to be head of Sonny’s organization. Diane says, no judgement, but why did she do that? and Carly says, Cyrus was trying to take over Sonny’s territory so he could pass a highly addictive narcotic through Port Charles. It was the same drug Sasha got hooked on. Diane says, it wasn’t just civic altruism, and Carly says, there was a threat to her family that was business related. Someone at the meeting was wearing a wire, and the FBI has an audio file of her committing RICO violations. Diane asks how she became aware of it, and Carly says, a reliable source hacked into their database and retrieved the file. Diane says, good. Another felony. She doesn’t want to know the source, but asks why they were doing a deep dive into the database in the first place.

Finn tells Violet not to ever worry about him, and she asks how his cut is. Did he have to go to the hospital? He says his hand is fine. He just needed a bandage. She says, there was a lot of blood, and he says he knows, but it looked worse than it was. Violet asks if they can go home now, and he says he’d love to, but she’s going to stay with Uncle Chase for a while longer. She says she wants to come home, and he says, that’s what he wants too, but he’s not going home. He’s going away. She says, he has to take her with him, but he says, it’s just for a little while. She says she doesn’t care and wants to come, but he says, she can’t go where he’s going. Daddy is sick. His hand is better, but his head and heart… He cries and says he was so sad after grandpa died, he started drinking alcohol and never should done that. That’s why he fell asleep on the floor. Violet says, can’t he stop? and he says, some people can stop. He thought he was one of them, but he was wrong. He needs to go to a special hospital where they’re going to help him stop for good. She asks, how long he’ll be gone, and he says, the doctor says three months. She says, that’s a long time. Does he really have to go? He says he does, and she says, but she can help him stop.

Josslyn asks what Dex is doing here, and he says he wanted to look at her new place. She asks how he found it, and he says he used his sharp detective skills. She said it was above the Quartermaines’ garage, so he followed that lead. She says, hidden in plain sight. She wonders how he got past the gate, and he says, it was open. He thinks someone is visiting. She tells him that he needs better detective skills, and he says he’s still learning. He knows moving is a pain, so he brought provisions. He holds up a bag from Bobbie’s, and says he brought enough for Trina. She says, Trina is taking care of her Aunt Stella, who is sick, and he asks if she needs help. She says, yes, and asks him to come in. She’s finished cleaning, but needs help moving something that’s not heavy, but awkward. Dex says, it’s nice to have another set of hands, and they move a box that not awkward at all and looks like she could have moved it herself.

Violet says, if she helps Finn, he can stay with her, and Finn says he doesn’t want to leave her ever, but if he doesn’t go, he won’t get better. What happened can never happen again. He’s sorry. She must have been afraid when she found him. She says she thought he was dead like grandpa, and he says he’s sorry. He’s proud of her for calling Tracy and getting help. It was the absolutely right thing to do. Violet cries and says she wants to take care of him, but he says, that’s not the way it’s supposed to be. He should be taking care of her. She says, they can take care of each other, and he says, they’re good at that, but he has to be able to, and right now he’s not. That’s why he has to go away, so he can come back and be the best dad, a dad she deserves. He made a terrible mistake and none of it is her fault. She’s perfect and he loves her so much, more than life itself. They hug and everyone in the room is crying.

Jason tells Danny that he was worried about AJ drinking and driving, so he got in the car with him. The car crashed, and the next thing he knew… the first thing he knew was, he didn’t know anybody. Not his family, his name, nothing. Danny says, that must have been hard, and Jason asks if he knows what TBI is. Danny says, traumatic brain injury, and Jason says, that’s what he had. Danny says, mom told him that Jason is drawn to danger and that’s why he does dangerous jobs. Jason says, he’s done dangerous work that he can’t talk about, but mom doesn’t want Danny to get hurt. He suggests they get back to the bike, and Danny asks if it’s hard to learn to ride. Jason says he wasn’t a natural, but it wasn’t hard to learn. He loved it from the start.

Carly tells Diane that she wasn’t involved with getting the file. Someone brought it to her. Diane asks if she’s being blackmailed, but Carly says she’s not. Jason is. It’s the reason he lost 3 years with his family. The FBI threatened to charge her if he didn’t become an informant, and she has it on good authority that they won’t honor the deal. Diane asks if she’s sure the authority is legit, and Carly says, if anyone would know, he would, and he said when Jason was no longer of use to the FBI, they’ll charge her anyway. Diane says she can’t disagree, and Carly says, why should Jason spend one more day under the FBI’s thumb. She wants to call their bluff. Let them charge her and they’ll fight it in court. She needs to know, what are her chances of being acquitted?

Diane asks if Carly actually conducted mob business. Did she make any illegal money transfers? Did she launder money? Did she transfer illegal or stolen goods? Carly says, no, to all of it, and Diane asks if her name is on any incriminating documents. Carly says she doesn’t think so, and Diane asks if anyone at the meeting would be willing to testify against her. Who was at the meeting? Carly says, Cyrus Renault and Selina Wu. Vincent Novak and Charles Buscema are dead. If anyone testified, they wouldn’t be long for this world. Diane asks if the FBI has the sole audio file, and Carly asks what she’s thinking. Diane says, in this age of deep fakes and digital trickery, the chain of custody of the evidence is essential. The FBI would have to produce the original file to prove it’s not altered. Carly says, her source said the file couldn’t be altered or deleted. Where does that leave her? Diane says, given her and Sonny’s long history with the Feds and her recent dust up with the SEC, she thinks the FBI might have a strong case.

Josslyn asks what Dex learned in school today, and he says, they’re doing de-escalation training. He bets that make civilian courses. She asks if he’s suggesting she take one, but he says, no. He loves how she never backs down from a fight. Don’t lose that. She asks what he learned, and he says, each situation is different. It’s a judgement call every time. Sometimes you have to rush in and act fast, but most of the time, you’re better served to take a step back and see what happens before you do something you can’t take back. She says she’s learning that herself. She’s done a few things recently that she wishes she could take back. He says him too.

Danny thanks Jason for letting him help change the oil, but Jason says, he helped Danny. Danny did the work. Danny asks when Jason is going to teach him to ride.

Sam tells Dante about the recording of Carly meeting with the Five Families, and how it’s being held over Jason’s head. He asks if she realizes what she’s done. Forget Carly. She breached and FBI file; it’s a federal crime. If she’s caught, she’ll go to prison. Sam says, the hack was bulletproof, but Dante asks if she doesn’t think they can trace it back to Spinelli. Who else knows? She says, Spinelli, Carly, and now him, and he says, now he’s an accessory. She can’t tell anyone. If the FBI finds out about Spinelli hacking their database at her request, she’ll be taken away from her kids.

Chase says, they should get going, and Finn says, Violet is going to have so much fun. He’ll be back before she knows it. She says she’ll miss him, and he says he’ll miss her. She tries to put a friendship bracelet on him, but it doesn’t fit, so he puts it in his shirt pocket and says he’s going to put it next to his heart and keep it there always. He loves her. She says she loves him too, and he and Chase go to the door. Chase opens it, and Finn blows Violet a kiss. She catches it, and they leave. Violet cries, and Brook hugs her.

Dex says, it’s a great place, and Josslyn says she lucked out. He says he used to think about someday helping her move out of the dorm and into his place, and she says, her too. He says he enjoyed dinner, and she says her too. He says, hypothetically of course (🍷), what would it take for them to get back to where they were before? and she says, before what? He says, before he told her that he was willing to kill someone for Sonny.

Chase pulls up to Sky Meadow Lodge, and Finn thanks him for letting him say goodbye to Violet. He knows it went against the restraining order. Chase says, what he did wasn’t about the restraining order. Finn needed to see Violet before he left. Finn says he’s sorry about the things he said to Chase and Brook. The things he said to Elizabeth, he can’t forgive himself, and the worst of it was that he passed out and scared his little girl. Chase says, it could have been worse, and Finn says, only Chase could find a silver lining in this. Chase says, a lot of people take a restraining order as a challenge and show up anyway. The number of domestic disturbances he’s had to break up… Kids see knock down drag outs with their parents, and he’s seen the looks on their faces as the parents are taken away. He thanks Finn for not putting Violet in the middle and making it worse for his daughter. Finn says he heard Violet thought he was dead and left her forever. How could he do that to her? Chase says, because he has an illness. That’s why he’s going away, to get well. Finn says, his kid brother, and Chase says he’s been grown up for a while now. Finn says, this is different. Now Chase is coming to his rescue. Chase says that’s just because he’s a nice guy, and Finn thanks him for taking care of his little girl. Chase says he’s Finn’s brother, and Finn says, he did the right thing. He knows Chase was trying to protect Violet, and he’ll always be grateful for that.

Danny says he hears it’s easier than riding a bike, but Jason says, they’ll have to ask his mom first. Danny says, he was just kidding, yet kinda hoping, and Jason says, maybe next time, if mom agrees. Danny says he doesn’t see that happening, and Jason says, there are other things to do. Danny says, like what? and Jason says, they’ll figure it out. He’s seen Danny can do anything he sets his mind to. Danny says, tell that to his algebra teacher, and Jason asks if he needs help with math. Danny asks if Jason is good at math, and Jason says he uses it in his job. Danny asks if Jason shoots hoops, but Jason says he hasn’t for a while.  

Sam says, Spinelli covered their tracks flawlessly, but Dante says, Cates knows Spinelli after what happened when he was shot. Sam says, it would be impossible to prove, and Dante says, they broke federal laws. That’s exactly why he didn’t want her to get involved. She says she needed to know what they had on Jason, and he asks if she’d rather stay with her kids or have them visit her in prison. She says, stay with her kids, and he says, then she’s got to leave it alone. Talk to no one, and whatever she found out, leave it alone, act like it never happened, and hope it doesn’t come out.

Chase tells Finn not to worry. He and Brook will take great care of Violet. Finn says he knows. Tell her every day that he loves her, and he’ll be back as soon as he can. Chase says, that’s what they all want, but no shortcuts. Don’t convince himself he’s got it handled or just had a slip. Finn says, it’s not his first rodeo, and Chase says, if he’s in doubt, think of how devastated Violet would be to be put through this again, and stop. Finn says, he’ll do it for Violet, but it’s not easy, and Chase says, the best thing he can do is get well for his child. Finn says, Chase is a good cop, and Chase wonders what that has to do with it. Finn says he knows Chase has seen stuff, and Chase says, it comes with the job. Finn says, but he still wants to help. It’s a quality he admires.

Brook brings Violet a snack, but she says she’s not hungry, so Brook puts it on the coffee table. She asks if Violet has any questions, and Violet says, her dad is going to a hospital. Will he be in bed? Will he be able to watch TV? Will people be nice to him? Brook says, it’s beautiful there. He won’t want to stay in bed or watch TV. He’s going to hike and swim, and the people there are kind. They’re going to help him learn how not to drink. Violet asks if it’s like camp, and Brook says, kinda like camp. Violet says, camp is fun. If her dad is away, what is she going to do? Brook says, there’s so much to do here. Name it. Violet says she’d like to go swimming, and Brook says, Uncle Chase said he’d teach her to ride a bike. Violet says, and he told her that she’s almost ready to ditch her training wheels. She’d also like to go horse riding. Brook says, coincidentally, they have a whole stable of horses. Violet knows some of them, but Brook knows the rest will love to meet her.

Josslyn tells Dex that she doesn’t know how they can put it behind them. There are people she cares about who have crossed that line, but what’s important is that he didn’t. When she told him at dinner that he didn’t have to prove anything, that he’d done good enough to redeem himself, she meant it. She thought he’d joined the PCPD for her – she knows how to make about her – but she sees he did it for himself. The longer he’s there, the more she sees that’s where he wants to be. Did she get it right? He says, 100%, and she says, then she’s happy for him. He says, to be clear, if being a cop impressed or pleased her, he’s good with that.

Dante says, Sam knows He’s right. He’s just trying to help. She says, knowing that Jason did this to save Carly… She’d thought that maybe for once he’d put his kids first, but Carly is his first priority. Always has been and always will be. Nothing else matters. If Danny knew that, it would break his heart. Dante says, she needs to make sure he never knows.

Diane says, the FBI’s case rests solely on Carly’s admission that she was head of the Corinthos organization. Even if it was just as a figurehead, it will land her in hot water, but she had a compelling reason. She walked into a room of known crime figures, pretending to be one of them, to protect her children. Carly says she was terrified, and Diane says she knows from experience how compelling Carly is as a witness and how she can play to a jury. Even with Diane’s skills, knowledge of the law, and tricky tricks, she thinks the best they can hope for is a 30% chance of acquittal. Carly says, that means there’s a 70% chance of her going to federal prison, and Diane says she doesn’t like those odds, for Carly or for Donna.

Sam leaves a message for Spinelli, and tells him, the case they’re working on, don’t do anything until he hears back from her. Danny and Jason come in, and Dante asks, how was the gym? Danny says, it was closed. They went to the garage instead and tuned up Jason’s bike. He changed the oil. Dante says, those are awesome skills to have, and Jason says he should get going. He leaves, and Sam says, it sounds like Danny had a good time. Danny says, he did. Jason is the best. He tells Dante, no offense, and Dante says, none taken. Danny goes upstairs, and Dante hugs Sam.  

Carly tells Diane that she doesn’t know how she can leave Donna with the way Sonny is acting. But it’s not fair for Jason to be under the FBI’s thumb. Diane says, Jason doesn’t need saving. Let him do whatever he’s doing, He’s capable and strategy is his thing. If Carly’s got a plan to rush in and save him, historically, how has that worked? Whatever arrangement he has going, has kept her out of prison so far. Carly says she doesn’t know for how much longer and wants to be prepared. Can they work on a defense just in case? Diane says she can work on one. She tells Carly to sit tight, and leaves.

Dex tells Josslyn that he has an early morning. Her? Josslyn says she lucked out. she has nothing tomorrow morning. Are the cadets running in the park? He says, always, and she says, maybe she’ll see him there. They leave together.

Violet says, it’s a big house, and Brook asks if she just noticed. Violet says, it’s different when she stays over. She could get lost. Brook is lucky she used to live here. Brook says, the best part is the people who live here, her family. And the greatest part of family is that when you’re sick or in trouble, the rest step up and help out. Violet says, like they’re helping her dad, and Brook says, Violet is helping him too. She’s being very brave. Violet says, it’s easy when you’ve got help, and Brook says, they’re glad to help. That’s what family is for. Violet says she’s glad they’re family, and Brook says her too. She hugs Violet.

Finn says, it’s time to do this, and Chase says, he’ll walk Finn in, but Finn says he’s got it from here. It’s not like he can make a break for it. Chase says he’s not worried, and Finn says, Chase is a lousy liar. Promise to look after Violet, give her a kiss, and tell her that he loves her. Chase says, she knows that, but he will, and Finn says he loves Chase. Chase says he loves Finn too, and Finn says, dad would be proud. Chase says, dad would be proud of Finn taking this step, and Finn says, there’s no point in stalling any longer. Chase says, on the count of three, and Finn says, one… Chase says, two… and with tears in his eyes, Finn gets out of the car. Chase watches him as he goes to the door, hesitates, then walks inside. Chase pounds on the steering wheel, puts on his seatbelt, and drives away.

Tomorrow, Brook asks what Chase thinks of Tracy’s idea; Blaze asks if Kristina is saying she’s going after custody of the baby; and Jason says, everything he did to protect Carly means nothing.

🧂 Rubbing Salt In the Wound…

I still can’t believe this. It’s an outrage.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/gh-stars-say-goodbye-to-michael-easton

👠 If You Have the Stomach For It…

Honestly, I don’t think we need this. Not that I wouldn’t want to smash a glass on most of their heads, but because of disloyalty to hairstylists? What?

https://people.com/rhonj-danielle-cabral-condemns-violence-does-not-apologize-for-smashing-cup-on-jennifer-aydin-8385973

On the upside.

💐 A Healthier Reality…

I’m not sure how fabulous her life is, but she travels more than I do. This is a kinder, gentler, but still very real, reality show.

https://www.etonline.com/my-big-fat-fabulous-life-first-look-whitney-meets-the-man-she-thinks-shell-marry-exclusive-227160

This one is kind of weird, but I can’t turn away. There’s a lot of angst, but no throwing of Solo cups.

https://www.etonline.com/welcome-to-plathville-season-6-trailer-shows-ethan-and-olivia-plath-dating-other-people-after

🚴 Get On Your Bike and Ride…

This seems like a film worth seeing. Very grindhouse.

https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/norman-reedus-filthy-the-bikeriders-specifically-related-walking-dead-daryl-dixon

https://www.themarysue.com/jeff-nichols-interview-the-bikeriders/

🎆 It’s Almost Here…

✈️ Touching the Sky…

Join me tomorrow for soap and the usual Friday festivities. Until then, stay safe, stay not assuming everyone speaks English when traveling to faraway places, and stay knowing when you have to act fast or when you’re better served to take a step back before doing something you can’t take back.

January 2, 2017 – Griff Reveals Ava’s Gift, Dorit Celebrates a Birthday & Not Quite Feeling the Fab

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

 

 

General Hospital

It’s still midnight on New Year’s Eve in Port Charles. Sonny asks Carly what she did exactly.

Jason and Sam are where we left them, kissing on the deck of the Haunted Star as fireworks happen.

Griff calls Ava from the hospital, and says he wishes he was there with her. He anticipates good things in 2018 for them. He tells her happy new year, and says he’ll see her later. She picks up her hat, horn, and coat, and dashes out.

On the phone at the MetroCourt, Nina says she got the text, but it’s not a party without them, so get there already. I’m confused as to who she’s leaving the message for. Valentin?

Finn asks Cassandra where Anna is. She says Anna is indisposed for the moment, but she and Finn have some unfinished business. Omg, she’s like something out of James Bond. I love it.

Anna is indisposed with Valentin. They’re tied together, back to back. Eric says they’ll be dead in an hour, and Valentin tells Anna, happy new year.

Sam and Jason stare at each other for a while, and Jason says he’ll see if he can get the engine started. He thinks it can’t be much different than a motorcycle, but Sam says it can. She asks who used to be a salvage diver? That would be her. Drew shows up, and asks what’s going on?

Nina tells Carly that there’s something she needs to do, so if Valentin arrives, tell him to contact her. Sonny won’t let it go until Carly tells him what she did. She says she went to Aurora to see if they liked the champagne, and happened to hear that Drew and Sam would be on the boat by themselves. She sent Jason on a wild goose chase, thinking he was meeting Sonny who had information about Faison. She tells Sonny that the ends justify the means, and he tells her it’s not going to end well.

At the hospital, Ava overhears Griff telling Kiki thanks for sticking with it. He knows it’s not easy. Kiki says she’s always had a hard time keeping things from her mom, but it’s worth it. They hug. Ava pops out, and says apparently, they’re busy. Kiki asks if she’s okay, and she says, definitely not.

Anna says it’s in Eric’s best interest to let her go. Valentin tells him the WSB doesn’t take kindly to having their agents killed. Anna tells him he’s just a lackey; it’s Cassandra they’re after. They take turns telling him how relentless the WSB will be, but he says Cassandra isn’t to be underestimated.

Finn tells Cassandra that they have no business until he knows where Anna is. Cassandra says she’s tied up at the moment. BA-DUM-CHH! He’s in over his head. Did Anna say she’d protect him, or did he think he could take her on himself? Finn keeps asking where Anna is, and Cassandra smashes the champagne glass she’s been sipping from. She tells him that he has two choices; do what she says, or die.

Eric leaves Anna and Valentin alone, and Valentin says he thought the WSB were on their way to put Cassandra in custody. He tells her this is her fault for tapping the phone with an elementary bug. She says it helped them to hunt down her operation, and it was a success. Valentin says he would shake her hand, but…  He tells her that had she put him in the loop, he might have made a different decision. Cassandra was sure that he planted the bug, and he had to tap dance his ass off to convince her it wasn’t him. She connected the dots, and realized it was Finn. I’m actually surprised that Cassandra has gotten as far as she has, since her decisions aren’t the best.

Cassandra tells Finn, that as her doctor, he knows she shouldn’t get riled up. He says some of his patients might die without his care, and she accuses him of having a God complex. He won’t be leaving entirely without notice. Anna will send a note to the hospital that they’re running off someplace romantic. By the time anyone notices they’ve disappeared, Anna will be disposed, and the two of them will be ensconced in their new venture in China. Finn says he’ll do whatever she wants, but leave Anna out. She has a daughter and grandchildren. Cassandra asks where they live? She would love to meet them. If she had a mustache, she’d be twirling it.

Kiki tells Ava that they were discussing a patient, and Ava asks if their discussions typically end in a hug. Kiki says she’s done with it, and recommends Ava get counseling. She has a problem, a need to control Kiki’s life, and she’s acting out. Ava says she doesn’t control Kiki, but Kiki asks how she can say that after Morgan? She suggests Ava seek help before she ruins someone else’s life or her own. Kiki leaves, and Griff says Ava was happy when they spoke on the phone; what happened? She says he’s cozied up with her daughter, and she can’t compete with someone young and beautiful with no scars. Griff says there’s no competition, but Ava says every time he looks at her, he’ll see imperfections, and she can’t bear it. Seriously, they could have at least made her look like she really had scars if she’s going to obsess about this.

Kiki gets a text from Dillon, who sends her a picture of the bus ticket from last New Year’s Eve. Nina blows into the hospital, saying she needs to cover all her bases. She asks Kiki if there have been any unconscious accident victims. Kiki says since it’s New Year’s Eve, there have been several, and asks if she’s looking for someone in particular. Nina says yes, her husband.

Sonny tells Carly that if she keeps poking the bear, it’s going to blow up in her face. She says Sonny wants Jason to be with Sam too, but he says that’s for Jason to decide, not her. Carly says it’s a mess, and Sonny says it’s going to get messier.

Sam says Drew wouldn’t believe the comedy of errors that happened. The boat started to leave on autopilot, and she hit the emergency shut off, but it also cut off the engines. Drew says he was worried that she was out there her on own, and asks why Jason is there. Jason explains that he was supposed to meet someone on the boat, but they weren’t there. Sam tells Drew she tried calling him, but there was no service. He tells her that his car wouldn’t start, and this has Carly written all over it. She wants to rekindle Sam and Jason’s romance. Jason says he’ll speak to Carly, and Drew says while he’s doing that, tell her to back off or she’s going to create a real problem for both of them.

Carly wants Jason to be happy. He’s spent his life making sacrifices for others, especially her and Sonny. He lost five years, his wife, his kids, his entire life, and everyone is acting like it’s wrong for him to take them back. Sonny tells her that Jason has to decide what makes him happy. She whines that he won’t decide for himself, and Sonny says she’ll have to learn to live with it.

Sam tells Drew to blame her; she’s the one who pulled the emergency stop. Drew asks about the tow master, and Jason says he was called. Jason leaves to take the boat Drew arrived in back to shore, and make sure the tug is on the way. Drew tells Sam that Jason sat back and let it happen. He’s not honest or brave enough to pursue her, and let Carly do it. Sam says Carly had no right to interfere, but Jason had nothing to do with it. Carly didn’t get what she wanted; nothing happened.

Griff follows Ava back to the apartment, asking what she meant by not the first time. Ava says when he and Kiki left the other day, she followed them. He asks why, and she tells him it’s difficult for her to trust people. He says he just needs her to trust him. He and Kiki share a love of medicine. Ava asks if that’s all, and he wonders if she’s accusing him of having an affair with her daughter. He doesn’t know what to say. Ava says she doesn’t blame him. What man in his right mind would choose her over Kiki? Griff says he would. He’s disappointed, and asks when she’s going to realize he cares for her more than he ever thought possible?

Anna works to free Valentin, while he gripes about her compromising the project because of her infatuation with Finn. Anna tells him to stop moving around. Finn risked a lot, and if wasn’t for him –  Valentin finishes that they wouldn’t be in danger. She says Finn deserves his gratitude, not his disdain, just because he’s carrying a torch. Valentin suddenly says she’s wearing a bracelet. It might be their only chance for escape. She can use the sharp edges to work through the bonds.

Finn says Cassandra didn’t get what she wanted, and now she’s pissed. Cassandra says he was playing with fire. He tells her they both know the WSB will get her. Add killing Anna to the list, and it will be even worse. She asks if he thought it would be easy. Does he think he can say some harsh words, and she’ll crack? He asks where Anna is, and Cassandra says he seems tense. Let her help him relax. She blows some powder from a compact into his face. He asks what she just did, and she tells him it’s just the beginning of his pain.

Michael arrives at the MetroCourt, and tells Carly and Sonny that Monica ran tests on Nelle. Everything is fine with her and the baby. Carly calls Nelle a liar, but Michael says she does have low blood pressure. Monica said she needs to take it easy, and lower her stress. Carly says don’t look at her; Nelle brought it on herself. She gets that Michael needs to protect the baby, but he also needs to keep his eyes wide open, and never trust Nelle. Jason joins them, and Sonny steers Michael away to let them talk.

Carly asks how mad Jason is, and he just shakes his head.

Sam tells Drew that Carly doesn’t run her life; she does. She knows he’s upset. Drew says he’s very upset. He wanted to spend New Year’s Eve with the person he loves most, but she spent it with her ex. He sees the tequila and dominoes on the bar, and says they could have done anything else. Sam gets that it’s a complicated situation, but does he believe she loves him? He does, but doesn’t want her pretending she has no feelings for Jason. She says she isn’t pretending. She’s like any other widow. She loved her husband, lost him, and fell in love with someone else. Drew has a past too; he just doesn’t remember it. Drew says she’s not a widow, and Jason isn’t lost; he’s right there. Sam understands that it makes things more difficult, but it doesn’t change her feelings for him. She’s in love with him, and wants to be with him. Drew says he loves her enough to step aside if she wants to be with Jason. He tells her to be honest with herself. Sam says when she met Jason, she was a mess. He helped her become the person she is today, and she’ll always be grateful, but that person loves Drew. She’s marrying him again because she wants to share her life with him.

Griff says he sees Ava’s imperfections, but they have nothing to do with her scars. She’s a powerful, beautiful, brave woman. Ava says she’s the opposite of brave. He points out the hardships she’s endured, but she says she caused them herself. Griff says she repented for them in a million ways. He sees the imperfect perfection that is Ava Jerome, and wants her to see it. She says it probably sounds shallow, but she thinks her scars will always be a barrier. She’s not even comfortable in her own skin, and it’s not fair to either one of them. Griff refuses to accept that, and says it’s high time he gave Ava her Christmas present.

Kiki tells Nina that no one matching Valentin’s description is there. She asks if Nina checked with the police. Nina says the police aren’t interested in helping Valentin, but she knows someone who is.

Valentin is getting impatient, but Anna says she’s going as fast as she can. She says he really does care about his wife and daughter. It’s not just lip service; he actually feels it. He says they’re his whole world, and she says they changed him. He’s still contemptible, but contemptible with a heart. He starts talking about Finn, and Anna says she’s free. Valentin says love will do that, but she says, no, she’s free, and takes the bonds off her ankles. They hear footsteps, and Anna waits behind the door. Eric comes in, wondering where she is, but she slams him up against the wall and knocks him out. She cuts Valentin loose, knocking over the loudest metal chair ever. She gives him Eric’s gun, and tells him to get to his wife and daughter. They wish each other good luck, and Anna jets.

Finn is all weird and dizzy. Cassandra says it was a concentrate of the opiate she’s marketing; a strong dose, but not lethal. She asks if it feels like old times, and he staggers around. She tells him that she knows drugs have a greater impact on former addicts, so she played it safe-ish, whetting his appetite. He can make the opiates, and she can pay him in the product. What a perfect combination – addict and chemist. He says he won’t do it, and she holds up a syringe, saying he’s a milligram away from an OD. Or should she save it for Anna? He lets out a yell, and rushes her.  I just have to say it. His reaction to what’s supposed to be an opioid doesn’t seem correct. He seems more like he’s drunk or on Xanax.

Griff tells Ava that he and Kiki have been spending time together, and keeping something from her, but it’s not what she thinks. He’s been studying Klein’s formula, and using the lab to find another angle through legal means. Kiki volunteered to be his lab assistant. Ava wonders how she can she thank them, after she accused them of sneaking around? Griff says they didn’t want to get her hopes up, in case it didn’t pan out. He showed the research to another doctor, who agreed to reexamine the protocol. Griff wants her to know he didn’t do it for himself. He thinks she’s beautiful the way she is, but he did it for her, and so did Kiki. Ava says she’s overwhelmed. No one has ever gone to these lengths for her before. He tells her get used to it, and kisses her. She thinks she might, and kisses him.

On the phone, Kiki tells Dillon that she loved the picture, and will never forget the bus ride. She misses him, and hates being apart too. She says LA is too far to go right now, and then says, halfway? She tells him he did not already buy the ticket, and when he convinces her that he did, she tells him to let her think about it. She can stay there, eat old take-out, and study by herself or study on the plane. Omaha, here she comes.

Michael tells Sonny that he has to make sure the baby grows up safe, happy, and loved; that’s the number one priority. He hopes to be half the father Sonny has been, but Sonny says he’ll be better. Sonny respects the man Michael has become. He’ll love his kid, and in the end, that’s all that matters. I’ll just say it. Nelle is the most interesting part about Michael.

Jason tells Carly that he’s not mad, but he needs her to hear him, not just listen. He loves Sam, and always will. He wants her to be happy, and she’s happy with Drew; they’re a family. Carly tries to interrupt, but Jason stops her. He says every time they’re together, it hurts Sam. He knows Carly meant well, but he’s asking her to stop.

Ava and Griff bask in the afterglow. As he sleeps, she says soon she’ll be whole again, and maybe he’ll fall in love with her the way she’s falling in love with him. She snuggles against him.

Sam tells Drew that Carly can do her worst, but it’s not going to change anything. Drew asks if she doesn’t think Jason wants her back. She says maybe he does, but he can’t offer her the life that she and the kids need. She’s not the same girl anymore. She can’t be hanging off the back of a motorcycle, or picking locks in her spare time. None of them are responsible for what happened. It was done to them, but they are responsible for how they deal with it. She tells him not to look for fights. They won. Drew says it’s never been about winning, but about loving her. She asks if he does, and he says, yes. She says, good, because she loves him too. They kiss. He asks if she wants to wait on the tug, and she tells him that she’ll wait anytime, anywhere with him. He suggests fixing the engine, reminding her that he was in the Navy. He tells her, happy new year, and they kiss again.

Carly says she, Sonny, and Jason haven’t had a New Year’s Eve toast yet. She gives them glasses of champagne. Jason asks to do the toast. He tells them he’s been meaning to say thank you for believing him. He felt lost, but as soon as he saw them and their recognition, it was okay. He loves them, and is sorry he was gone, but happy to be home. Carly says he’s not nearly as happy as they are. They clink glasses, and she and Jason drink at the exact same time, in the exact same way. It’s kind of cute/funny.

Valentin runs into the MetroCourt. He tells Nina sorry he’s late. She says she was thinking the worst, and he hugs her.

Anna comes walks into her house to find Cassandra unconscious on the floor, with the syringe sticking out of her. Finn stumbles out, and falls. She tells him to stay with her.

Tomorrow, Franco won’t hang the painting of the brothers in the house, Doc says he has the key to Laura’s future, and Finn has to tell Anna something.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Ken wants Giggy cloned. Giggy! LVP says he’s only eight, and has more life in him than Ken does. Ha-ha!

Dorit organizes her sunglasses. PK asks how Vegas was, and she says there were moments when she connected with Erika. He asks how it went with LisaR. Dorit tells him that she apologized all over the place. She has precaution [sic], but PK thinks she should invite them both to her party if she’s inviting one.

Loud construction is going on at Kyle’s house. Kyle says Croatia couldn’t come at a better time. Mauricio wanted to get a new house, but Kyle loves the one they live in so much, they decided to just change it up. Now they’re living in renovation hell. She doesn’t care what happens, as long as there are floors when she gets back.

Teddi meets LisaR for lunch. We flash back through LisaR’s problems with Kim, and she says she’s trying to get to know people more slowly now. They discuss how expensive schools are. In her interview, Teddi says she was warned about LisaR, but she’s making her own assessment. She tells us that there’s a lot of keeping up with the Joneses in Beverly Hills, but she’s from South Carolina and doesn’t care. She doesn’t even know who the Joneses are. She explains to LisaR how horses kept her on a good path when she was growing up. They gave her empathy, and something to focus on. She invites LisaR to a show she’s doing.

PK asks LVP to create a dinner for Dorit’s birthday, and she’s happy to host. Giggy!

As Dorit gets ready, PK sings Happy Birthday, and presents her with a cake, daughter Phoenix on his shoulder.

At the dinner, Teddi introduces her cute and personable husband Edwin to LVP, who pronounces him not bad. LisaR and Erika enter next – #WhereIsHarry – and Dorit arrives in a barely there dress. LisaR considers her invite a big plus. The last time she saw PK, they had some bumps. We flash back to the reunion, and it was more like mountains. Camille joins them with girlfriend Kimber. I’m glad we’re seeing more of her this season. While the appetizers are being passed, PK leads Jagger in, bearing balloons and wearing a tiny tuxedo. In her interview, Dorit says Jagger is her heart and soul. She loves that PK dressed him up, but also loves the Birkin he got her. Jagger tells Erika she’s the bad guy. In her interview, Dorit swears he didn’t hear it from her. Then he calls LVP a bad guy. LVP says he was spot-on until then. He’s having a bit of a bad guy fixation.

Edwin says he used to be a background dancer. In her interview, Teddi says he has stories. Teddi tells Erika there was a moment in Vegas where she felt dismissed by her. Erika apologizes, and in her interview, Teddi says regardless of feeling uncomfortable, she’ll tell someone if something is bothering her. LVP declares Vegas a nice experience. LisaR gets up to give a toast, saying it’s a miracle she was invited, and they’re in a really nice place. She thanks Dorit for including her, and wishes her happy birthday. In her interview, she says it shows how willing she is to move forward.

Fast party. Erika meets with her co-author, Bryan. Her book is currently titled Pretty Mess. She says it’s a chance to tell her story the way she sees it. She liked some of Bryan’s work, and reached out to him for help. She talks about not meeting her dad until she was twenty-five, when he invited her over for Thanksgiving. She tells Bryan about seeing a toddler there, and asking about her, but her father said neither he nor his wife had children. Um…  She says he’s never acknowledged her, and she’s only seen him three times. Bryan asks if it was a break up or petered out, and she says they both seemed to lose interest. In her interview, she tells us that you can’t go back and repair what didn’t exist. She tells Bryan that it’s a parents decision to stay in a child’s life, and her ex has been great with their son. Bryan asks how she doesn’t have negative emotions after coming out of that experience. She’s not sure, and says it is what it is.

Ponies! Hanky and Panky! LisaR goes to Villa Rosa, where LVP is cleaning poop off the footbridge. Dorit joins them, as they’re going to Teddi’s horse show together. In her interview, Dorit says she’s the only one dressed appropriately. LisaR is dressed like a cowboy, and LVP isn’t attired correctly either, in basic black pants and a blouse. On the bus, LisaR wants to see LVP’s license. She claims to be three years older than LisaR, and she wants proof that LVP isn’t really seventy-five.

Teddi says there are few things she loves more than riding. She introduces herself to the horse, Virtue, who’s owned by one of her trainers. Virtue is gorgeous, brown with a white spot on her head. Teddi says horses are more expensive than a child.

Dorit says she couldn’t help herself from wearing Kentucky Derby regalia, and now realizes the other two are actually dressed more suitably. In her interview, Teddi says she told them there would be horse sh*t and porta-potties. Don’t listen to her advice. She was a professional equestrian for twelve years, and even today when she wants to escape, goes to the barn. She feels extra nervous, because the girls are watching. LVP says she’s ridden for many years, but Teddi is a consummate professional who takes it to another level. Sure enough, she gets the blue ribbon.

Erika video chats with mom Renee about the book. She asks what Renee might have for her. She’s important in helping Erika frame her childhood. Her mom sends some pictures from Erika’s early modeling days. In her interview, Erika says her mom was affectionate, but wanted her to be self-sufficient. Renee asks if she wants any childhood photos of her father, but Erika says no. She tells us that her grandmother used to send pictures of her to her grandfather, but her father wasn’t interested in seeing them, so her grandfather would return them. What a creep. Two creeps.

Teddi and Edwin are going to Dorit and PK’s house for dinner, so the couples can get to know one another better. Dorit is excited over unboxing some new china. The bill is $950, and when PK comes in, she pretends the box came from downstairs, and hustles him out of the kitchen. She tells us her mother is like a professional chef, and she loves to cook.

Dorit tells them she was engaged twice before PK, who was a father at twenty-six. They discuss having more children, and Teddi says they’re done. She tells them about her son having a heart condition, and how difficult it was when he was small. They both feel guilty for having chosen a boy through IVF, thinking his illness was some kind of retribution, which is ridiculous, and I’m kind of surprised they’d think that way. PK says his son came out blue with a conehead. I think he’s just trying to lighten the mood, but as usual, his jokes are ill-timed, and go over like a lead balloon.

Kyle video chats with LisaR, and shows her the Croatian water. I’m so jealous. LisaR tells her about Dorit’s birthday, and Kyle asks how it was with PK. She says it was surprisingly nice, and everyone is getting along. Kyle tells her to hold down the fort and keep the peace.

Dorit’s cooking is impressive. PK calls it the Moroccan dish, even though it’s not Moroccan. I don’t know what it is, but it looks fabulous, and I’d definitely eat it. PK tells them about the dinner party they had with LisaR in attendance; how it seemed fine, and then she attacked their character later. Dorit says PK thinks LisaR is schizophrenic. In her interview, Teddi says it’s a big accusation, and unless you have a medical license, you probably shouldn’t go there. Lighten up. He’s not making a diagnosis, just a point, albeit using a poor choice of comparison. Dorit tells them about being on the boat, and how LisaR kept coming at her with things designed to hurt her. She’s one person one minute, and another the next; she has rage and regret over and over. Dorit says LisaR making a toast on her birthday was so preposterous it’s funny. In her interview, Teddi thinks this isn’t forgiveness. She tells Dorit she’s shocked to hear it, and PK says, you wait, babe.

Next time, the girls visit Tokyo, Teddi enjoys family time, and Dorit calls Camille names, but I think she’s joking around. I think…

💃 I checked out My Big Fat Fabulous Life, and I liked it, but wasn’t overwhelmed. I thought the people were naturally funny, in the Sweet Home Oklahoma vein, although not quite that good. (I so hope that show comes back.) I wasn’t sure how fabulous it was either. There was a lot of petty fighting, and it kind of reminded me of how life would be in my hometown, which isn’t all that exciting of a place. The most real moment was when two exes sat in the same room for the first time since breaking up. The tension was so palpable, I could feel it through the television. This falls into the I’ll watch it if it’s convenient category.

Croatia5

Croatia (sigh…)