Tag Archives: nighttime drama

Jun29

June 28, 2024 – Jason Pleads With Carly, His Exit, Not Her Season, Kathy Time, Claims, Low Moments, WWDD, Dynamic Duo, Grouchy Dancer, Rescued, A Round Number Of Quotes & I Am   

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

The moss bowl🎍is back!!! Jason walks into Sonny’s old kitchen and asks why Carly needs to see him. She says, because she knows.

Chase comes back to the Q mansion and Brook hugs him. She asks how it went with Finn, and he says, okay, he thinks. He’s really owning what happened. He apologized for the lies and the other things he said. Finn thanked him for getting the restraining order. She asks if he actually said the words, and Chase says, he did. For that and for taking custody. He realized what he’s putting Violet through and he’s kind of torn up about it. She says, good… She means that in the most supportive way possible. He says he knows, and she tells him, when Violet said, I thought you died like grandpa, she lost it. He says he had to pull over on the drive back, and she leads him into the living room. She asks how he thinks the rehab is, but he says he didn’t go inside. Finn wanted to take that step on his own. She says, he made sure Finn went in, right? and he says, yeah. He watched him go all the way inside. But the outside was nice. Even at night, it was very peaceful. She says, sounds like just what he needs, and Chase asks how Violet is doing. Is she in bed? Brook says, she was out like a light. She was exhausted. They didn’t get a chance to discuss this before when Finn was here… He says, discuss what? and she says she had a long talk with her grandmother. She made a very strong case about how she thinks they should proceed. He asks what the empress had to say, and Brook says, she thinks it would be best if the two of them move in here with Violet.

Natalia meets Sonny at the pool (the glowing pool balls are back too!), and he thanks her for coming. She says she’s flattered he asked, and he says, it’s not too late for her, is it? She says, no. She’s a total night owl, always has been. And he couldn’t have picked a better location. Her room is right downstairs. The server asks what he can get them, and Sonny says, North Sterling scotch, neat, for the lady – she says, he remembered, and thanks him – and he’ll have the same thing. The server says, coming right up, and Natalia asks, what has Sonny up so late? He says he’s been feeling a little stifled lately at his place, and she says she can imagine. He says, so he had to change the living situation. She asks if he traded in the luxurious penthouse for the MetroCourt presidential suite, and they laugh. He says, nah, and she asks what he means then. He says, Ava moved out, and Natalia says, she seemed pretty ensconced. He says, even so, it’s time to go.

Ava thanks Laura for coming by so late, and Laura says she got Ava’s message. Has she heard from Nikolas? Ava says, not since he’s been transferred. She’s sorry. Did Laura think this was about him? Laura says, more like she was hoping. She hasn’t heard from him either. Anyways, she’s here. She didn’t realize Ava was staying at the MetroCourt. Ava says, as of this morning. It turns out she’s safer here than under the same roof as Sonny Corinthos.

Kristina looks at some paperwork with Blaze and says, some of this sounds impressive, but she can’t tell if it is or it’s a total line of BS. For example, oversaw the distribution of priority communication throughout a complex interdepartmental network. Sounds impressive or… Blaze says, sounds like mailroom? Is Kristina sure she wants to hand over the day to day running of the LGBTQ center to someone else? It is her baby. Kristina says she doesn’t want to. The Corinthos-Davis House was her idea. She’s really passionate about it, but she wants someone else to take charge right now. That’s what’s best for the center. Blaze asks, how exactly is Kristina stepping back what’s best for the center? and Kristina says, because she came up with a really powerful idea, but there are people more qualified than she is who can run the center and make her vision a reality. Besides she doesn’t want to start back up again at the Corinthos-Davis House, then have to go on maternity leave five seconds later. Blaze says, maternity leave?

Chase asks if Tracy’s suggestion they move in here an invitation or a demand? and Brook says, it was a very strong invitation. He says, she decided this unilaterally? and she says, Monica and Olivia both signed off on it. He says, Monica and Olivia agreed with Tracy? Both of them? She says she knows. It’s like the Seven Seals of the Apocalypse all burst open at once. Of course (🍷) she said she wasn’t going to make any decisions without discussing it with him first. He says, okay. Let’s discuss it. What are the pros? Brook says, her grandmother first pointed out that they can’t move into his brother’s place with Violet, what with her grandfather dying there and her finding her father passed out and bleeding on the floor. Chase says, that’s a good point. So they’ll move into his place. Brook says, yeah, it’s just… He says, that it’s too small. They can get a bigger place. They’ve been talking about doing that anyway. What better time? She says, they could, and he says, where would they stay here that has more privacy than their own place? She says, there’s a suite with two bedrooms and a private bath, and there are tons of kids running around. Not to mention, Monica and Olivia and Willow and Sasha. Lots of positive, nurturing maternal energy. He tells her that she didn’t say Tracy, and she says, neither did she. He says, so those were Tracy’s talking points, and she says, pretty much. She also said, Violet needs consistency now. Not when they move, but right now. He asks if she agrees, and she says she thought they were really good points. What does he think? He says, when he was driving back from the rehab place alone, he was thinking about something Finn said to him about how he was being the big brother, taking care of him. Chase’s whole life he had his dad to take care of him. Now he’s responsible for his family, to provide for them and make sure they’re safe. When he was driving, every minute, every mile, he was coming up with a plan and revising it because he’s never had a kid, and now he has custody of one. He knows it’s just temporary, but he doesn’t know how long it will be. Not really. But the whole way back, he thought, yes. He can step up for his niece. He can give her the home she deserves.

The server brings the scotch, and Sonny thanks him. Natalia says, after what Ava did to Kristina’s mom, she can imagine it got pretty tense in the house, and Sonny says, but not for long. He doesn’t know what he was thinking, letting her move into his place. She says, he was thinking about his daughter Avery. By the way, she thinks she can guess who came up with that name. He says, she’d be right. Still, he thinks it suits his little girl. She agrees, and says, it’s none of her business but… He says, fire away, and she says, aside from this recent cohabitation, Ava doesn’t seem like she’s the one who got away. He says, Ava can’t get far away enough, and she laughs. She says, to long distance, and they clink glasses. He says, there is one person he thought he could count on until his dying day. She turned her back on him. She asks if that’s his wife Nina, but he says, no. Nina was a different mistake, but what she did happened around the same time. These people he could count on, he figured out he couldn’t count on them at all. She tells him that he said people, so more than one, and he says he discovered that these two people were the closest to him of anyone, and they were conspiring against him. At that time, he didn’t think Ava was, so he let her in. He should have known better because Ava was and always will be a treacherous viper.

Laura says she knows Ava and Sonny have a complicated history, but she thought they’d come to an understanding of late. Ava says she certainly thought so. As far as she knew, she and Sonny were closer than ever. They’d become… Friends might be too big a word, but they’d begun to let their guard down. They were confiding in each other. There was a kind of trust. Laura says, and now? and Ava says, now she’s living in a hotel, scrolling through real estate apps. Laura says, it’s not like Sonny to put the mother of one of his children out on the streets, and Ava says she’s not exactly destitute. Laura says, that’s very true. Would Ava mind telling her what happened between them? Ava says she wishes she knew. She’s sure Laura’s noticed how erratic Sonny has been lately. He’s lashed out at almost everybody, and up until now, she’s avoided being a target of his wrath. Laura says, and she has no idea why he suddenly turned on her. Ava says, none. She wouldn’t be able to correct it even if she did. Because with Sonny, any offense is a capital crime, real or imagined. Laura says she’s aware of how he feels about loyalty, and Ava says she sees Laura’s been the brunt of it herself. Don’t worry. She won’t pry. Laura thanks her, and Ava says, if anything, she’s been trying to support Sonny, and he seemed to be appreciating it. Then today, he became completely irrational. He picked a fight with her over she doesn’t even know what. It was so unsettling. It was so unmoored from reality, she had no choice but to leave. Laura says she’s become aware just recently that Sonny is not the man she thought he was. Except that lately, it seems like he’s been giving in to all of his worst impulses. But she hasn’t known Ava to be a completely helpless victim, so come on now. Why doesn’t Ava tell her what they were really fighting about?

Carly says, the FBI used her to strongarm Jason into being an informant. Which means it’s her fault he lost two and a half years of his life that he could have spent with his family. He asks, who told her? but she says, it doesn’t matter. He says, it does matter. He needs to know. She says, Sam. Sam’s not happy about it and blames her and she gets it. He asks how Sam found out, and she says, how does he think? He says, Spinelli, and she says, Sam got Spinelli to hack into the FBI’s evidence file and they found a recording of her at that meeting with Cyrus Renault and the Five Families, announcing to everyone that she was head of the Corinthos organization. Spinelli wasn’t able to delete the file. He says, that’s good. He thinks they’d notice that. She says, he was able to make a recording though, and Sam played it for her. Jason had a choice. His freedom and his family, or her. Why did he pick her? (Ugh. Just get a room at the MetroCourt already.)

Ava says, apparently, Kristina made some petty accusation against her. And because Kristina is the apple of Sonny’s eye, she got the boot. She’s sure Kristina is throwing a party somewhere as they speak. Her concern is that the person who will suffer the most from her moving out is Sonny. Laura says, how so? and Ava says she’s tried to be a stabilizing influence. She hasn’t been very successful, especially considering what happened at that wedding. Laura says, what wedding? Oh, Brook Lynn and Chase. Ava says, yeah. Sonny beat a man within an inch of his life at the reception. Laura says, oh my God, and Ava says, it’s no surprise Laura hasn’t heard about this, because as usual with Sonny, no charges were filed.

Kristina tells Blaze that she just meant maternity leave like in the sense of the time period a woman takes after she gives birth, whatever that time period is called. Blaze says, so family leave, and Kristina tells her that she said whatever. Blaze says, obviously, she will need time to recover, but isn’t that like twelve weeks? and Kristina says, yeah. Blaze says, isn’t that so the new parents can get acclimated to raising their newborn? and Kristina says, it’s for whatever they need it to be for, but yes, most importantly for that. Blaze says, but if she’s not raising the baby, can’t she return to the center in the amount of time the doctors recommend? Kristina says, six weeks, and Blaze says, why give up running the center she built from the ground up when she can just start six weeks in? Kristina says, because she doesn’t know what’s going to happen. She doesn’t know if Molly and TJ are going to break up or if they’re going to stay together. She doesn’t know if they’re maybe going to stay together and then maybe a year later, they’re going to break up. She doesn’t know. And if TJ decides that he does want full custody, and he does because it’s his biological and legal right… Blaze tries to interrupt, but Kristina says, stay with her. Molly has no legal or biological claim to this child, but she does. Blaze says, hold on a second. Is she saying she would actually try to get custody for Molly?

Natalia says she hasn’t had much interaction with Ava, but Ava always seems so disingenuous to her, and Sonny says, that’s putting it kindly. She says, if she ever crosses paths with Ava again, she’ll have her guard up, and Sonny says, do him a favor. Don’t cross paths with her. She’s going in a different direction. Natalia laughs and says she’ll keep that in mind. She doesn’t scare easily though, so she doesn’t like to give anyone that power over her to be afraid. He says he’s not telling her to be afraid. He’s just saying, don’t underestimate Ava. She says, duly noted, and enough about her anyhow, and Sonny says, here you go, raising his glass. They clink glasses, and Natalia says, on to more pleasant topics. What were they talking about before her? He says, betrayal, and she says, that’s pleasant. He says, it’s a downer, he knows, and she says, well, it’s a beautiful night in a beautiful place. And the scotch is amazing… and the company... He says, loves misery, but she says, no. Not afraid of the dark. He says, to the darkness, they clink again, and she says, and to the light that follows. She doesn’t want to belabor the topic, but there just is no pain quite like the wound of betrayal. She’s so sorry he had to go through that. He says, the same. What about her? Did she ever forgive the person who betrayed her? She tells him, who said there was just one? and he says, oh, there was more than one. He didn’t know that. She says, forgive? She doesn’t know if she forgives. She moves on. She doesn’t forget. The Lord wants her to forgive, so she tries. What about him? He says, no, and she says, just no? That’s it? They laugh and he says, actually, with family he forgives. And his family forgives him. That’s what families do, right? She says, right, but doesn’t he find it harmful not tempering anger with mercy? He says, sometimes. He’s been thinking lately about the people who turned away from him, who he trusted, that they believed in him. They all have one thing in common – me.

Jason says he never wanted Carly or the moss bowl🎍to know about this, and Carly asks, why? It’s her life. She’s the one who could be charged. He says he made sure she wouldn’t be, and she says, by sacrificing himself. He says, because he knew if she found out, she would confront the FBI and dare them to charge her, and that wouldn’t make any sense at all. She says, and him becoming an informant does? For more than two years? He says he didn’t think it would be that long. He thought it would be six months. One undercover operation and he’s out, she’s safe, but then it was another year, and another year after that. She cries, and he says, there was never a moment when it was too much. He never once thought about bailing. She says, of course (🍷) he didn’t. This is what he does. He always protects her, but this time, she was the target. She deserved to know, and she should have a say in how they handle things. He says, there is no we. He’s handling it the way he’s handling it. She says, that’s not an option anymore. She’s not going to let him throw his life away because… He says he’s not throwing his life away. He agreed to do a job and that’s what he’s doing. She asks how he knows Cates won’t double-cross him. How does he know Cates won’t say, thanks for your help; here’s you next mission? Does he honestly believe the FBI and John Cates are ever going to let him go?

Kristina says she just wants to know what her options are, and Blaze says, options that keep the baby in the family so Molly can raise it, or does she want the baby for herself? Kristina says, now who’s going into hypotheticals? and Blaze asks if she’s actually looked into these options. Kristina says, no, she hasn’t, but she did ask her mom for guidance. Her mom just didn’t want to give her opinion. Blaze says, very wise, her mother, and Kristina says, her mother did direct her to the legal statute involved, if hypothetically, she did want to pursue custody. Blaze says she guesses that’s not so bad, and Kristina says, and she did draw up a mock petition that could arguably be filed in court. Blaze says, Kristina… and Kristina says she thinks her chances are better than 50%. The baby’s not just a package you can hand over. If the courts agree with her and she gets custody, she’s the one who’s going to have to raise this child. Blaze once said she wished this baby were theirs. How would she feel about co-parenting?

Laura tells Ava that this is the first she heard Sonny attacked someone at the wedding. Who was the victim? Ava says she tried to ask him, but Sonny was pretty distraught himself over losing control in front of Kristina. Laura says, Kristina saw it? and Ava says, from what she understands, Kristina witnessed the whole thing, and she became extremely upset. Not that it matters now, because all is forgiven. Kristina and her father are once again thick as thieves. Laura thanks Ava for telling her this, and gets up. She gets her bag, and Ava says she knows it’s not the happiest news to impart, but she thought Laura should know. Although it’s not why she asked Laura here. Laura says, oh. She didn’t think so actually. Ava says, but it is about Sonny. He’s become so erratic, she doesn’t know what he’s going to do from one moment to the next. And the way they left things, she’s afraid he’s become so unhinged and paranoid, that he’s going to try and get their custody agreement overturned to keep Avery for himself. She cannot allow that to happen.

Brook says, Violet is Chase’s niece, so of course (🍷) he wants to take the lead in figuring out the best course of action for how she moves forward. She gets up, heads for the door, and says, so she’s going to tell Tracy that they’re going to leave… He says, wait, and follows her. He’s so grateful to her and her family – she says, they’re his family too – for wanting to help and take the three of them in. She says, of course (🍷). He knows how much her grandmother loves Finn, and Chase’s father, may he rest in peace, and she also loves making decisions. He tells her, what he was trying to say earlier. When he was driving and planning and worrying what to do about Violet, he walked through the front door and saw her. And it made him realize, he doesn’t have to do this alone. He has his wife – he takes her hands – the best partner and co-pilot and teammate he could ask for. She says she not only loves him, she admires him, because he shows up for the people he loves most, and he never complains. He says he complains sometimes, and she says, he’s kind and strong and gentle and he leads with his heart. He says, she should write all this down for when they renew their vows, but she says she’ll remember, and kisses him. So now that they’ve said all those things, what does he think of Tracy’s idea?

Carly says, Jason has no way to be sure the FBI will ever let them off the hook, not now, not ever, and he says, no, he doesn’t, but that’s the risk and he’s willing to take it. She says, but she’s not. That’s why she started exploring other options. He asks who she’s been talking to, and she says she talked to Diane because she wanted to know her chances of acquittal if she turned herself in. He says he hopes Diane said zero, and Carly tells him, she said 30. He says, Diane’s a great lawyer, but he would round that number down, and she says she gets it. They’re not great odds. But what are the odds of the FBI letting him go and him getting his life back? The only way to stop them is to call their bluff. He says, she keeps talking about the time that he’s lost with his family. If she turns herself in, if she goes to prison, then everything he did – he raises his voice – everything he sacrificed to protect her means nothing. So please, do not throw all of that away.

Chase says, here’s the deal. When he married Brook, he knew that a boatload of Quartermaines, Falconaris, and Cerullos came with the package. Brook says, for better or for worse, and he says, and now that he’s met them… She tells him that she knows what he’s going to say, but they really do mean well, and he tells her that he was going to say, he definitely thinks it’s to the better. She says, oh. Well, they do mean well. Except for Cousin Patty; she’s a mess. Anyway, what was he going to say? He says he came from a pretty small family to begin with, and now that his dad’s gone, his mom is off to parts unknown, and Finn is getting back on track, her loud, crazy family full of meddlers and busybodies… She says, he’s skating on thin ice, and he tells her that he’s just saying, he shouldn’t be surprised that they’d welcome him and Violet into the fold. She says, of course (🍷). They adore Violet, and she’s pretty sure they already prefer him over her. He says he thinks it’s because he’s easier to get along with, and she says, that’s a lot of words for pushover. And yeah, the Qs and the Cerullos are a crazy mixed bag, but we love each other. He says, even Cousin Patty? and Brook says, she keeps getting invited to stuff, so she guesses so. Which only proves her point. When something is up with one of them, they come together. They step up for each other, and Chase and Violet are a part of that family. He’s stuck with them. They kiss, when Gio walks in. He says he’s sorry for interrupting. Violet heard him tuning his violin. She came looking for the sound and she got lost going back to her room, so he helped her find it. She was pretty tired, so he’s pretty sure she’s asleep now. Chase thanks him for looking out for Violet, and Gio says, if nobody minds, he’s just going to go outside and practice. Brook asks if this is for Ava’s gallery, and he says, yeah. She says, play badly, and he says, if only he knew how. He leaves, and Brook asks what Chase thinks of the move. He gives her a quick kiss and says, hold that thought. He’s going to check on Violet. He dashes out.

Laura asks if Ava wants her to assist in a custody battle with Sonny, and Ava says, yes. Laura says she really shouldn’t be getting involved with that, and Ava says, Laura once told her that they’re family, even after she and Nikolas divorced. Did she mean that? Laura says she did, because she believes Ava truly loved her son, and actually, she thinks Nikolas still loves Ava. Ava says she loves him too, but oil and water, and Laura says she knows. Ava says, at this point in her life, other than Avery, Laura and Trina are the closest thing she has to family. That means something to her. Laura says, family means a lot to her too, and while she cares about Ava, don’t dare use that to work her. If there’s something Ava wants from her, be direct and ask her. Ava says, okay. Cards on the table then. She spoke to Scotty, and he said if Sonny tries to smear her in court, it could work, and she cannot let that happen. She cannot let Sonny have Avery. He’s barely fit to care for himself. Laura says, she’s right, and Ava says, as she sees it, the best defense is a good offense, right? So she’s looking for character witnesses. Just in case. So may she give Laura’s name to Scotty as someone who would be willing to appear in family court on her behalf?

Chase finds Brook asleep on the sofa, kisses her forehead, and sits on the coffee table. She wakes and asks how Violet is doing. He says, she’s fine. Seeing her sleeping peacefully up in her bed, then coming down and seeing Brook sleeping peacefully on the couch, has him thinking, there’s no better place for the three of them to spend the summer. She says, really? Is he sure? He says, it’s the right thing to do for Violet. She’ll have kids to play with, boats to ride, docks to swim off of, horses… Brook says, she’s super jazzed about the horses, and he says he’s super jazzed about spending the summer with his amazing wife and her massive family – their massive family. Tomorrow, he’ll start moving their stuff, and Violet’s too.

Laura says she understands Ava’s need to keep Avery really close to her right now, especially since lately, Sonny’s behavior has been genuinely concerning. Ava asks if that means Laura will help her. Can she give Laura’s name to Scotty? Laura says, yes, but that’s because if Avery has to have only one custodial parent right now, she believes it should be Ava. Ava thanks her, and Laura says, don’t make her regret this. Ava says she won’t. She promises. Laura’s faith and support mean everything. She’s sure Scotty will be contacting her. Laura says, okay, and goes to the door. Ava says she promises if she hears from Nikolas, she’ll let Laura know. She really does want only the very best for him. Laura thanks her and says her too, and leaves.

Jason says, if Carly goes forward with this and gets convicted, this life she has now, with the moss bowl🎍, the kids, Bobbie’s, the hotel, it’s all done. She’s probably going to go away for twenty years. Josslyn and Michael can take turns bringing Donna to visit her until she’s old enough to visit Carly on her own. And all for what? All because she wanted to turn herself in when she didn’t have to. How’s Donna going to feel when Carly abandons her for him? Carly says, Donna will always know she loves her, and he says, enough to stay out of prison for her? She says, that’s not fair, but he says, that’s a fact. Here’s another fact. If she goes to prison, he’ll blame himself every day for the rest of his life. So if she doesn’t want her daughter to grow up without her and doesn’t want him to carry that guilt, just stop. Just back off and let him finish what he started. She says, okay, fine. She gets it. She gets that he has to follow through with all this. She gets it. He breathes a sigh of relief and thanks her. She says, but what if she can’t stand it?

Kristina says, honestly, if the situation presents itself, would Blaze want to co-parent this child with her? Blaze says, does she want kids at all? She thinks, someday maybe, but right now with her career on the upswing, she just doesn’t think it’s a good time for her to be a mom. She hopes Kristina’s not too disappointed. Kristina says, no. How could she be? It’s not exactly the right time for her to be a mom right now either. In a perfect world, Molly and TJ would peacefully and blissfully raise this child on rock steady ground. She wouldn’t have to think about this. Blaze says, then why think about it at all? Couples fight. She knows, not Molly and TJ, but yes, Molly and TJ. It will all blow over and Kristina will have wasted a lot of energy over nothing. Kristina says, no. She has to be prepared. If this goes badly and TJ wants custody of this child, she has to make sure her sister has access to this baby. And the only way to do that is by suing TJ for custody.

Natalia pushes one of the glowing pool balls with her foot and asks if Sonny usually has trouble sleeping. He asks if he looks tired, but she says, no. Restless maybe. But that might just be her projecting. There are so many nights that she lies awake with a million thoughts racing through her head. It almost feels like ghosts. Has that ever happened to him? He says, all the time, and she says she thinks he has the right idea. In situations like this, when you’re being swarmed by ghosts, you need to reach out to a friend – she picks up her glass – have a drink in the night air. It’s a good way to make all that noise stop. He raises his glass and says, to finding our friends in the darkness. They clink glasses, and she says, cheers. He says, cheers, and drains his glass.

Ava walks on to the patio with her martini. She says, to new beginnings.

Carly says she admits Jason is right about all of it, and he says, good. He’ll take it from here. She says, but what if it’s too much of a cost for her? What if she can’t live with knowing she’s the reason he hasn’t had a day of freedom since November of 2021? He says, she doesn’t have to live with it. He does. She says she wouldn’t be the person she is today if not for him. Her life wouldn’t be what it is if she hadn’t met him. So how does she let the FBI use him, knowing she had the power to stop it? He says, she told him that she was going to do this his way, and she says she knows, but she changed her mind. He says, she can’t change her mind, not about this. He chose to take the FBI’s deal. So please, he’s asking her, do not get in the way of it.

On Monday, Ava says, there’s got to be something Trina’s herd that she can use; Natalia tells Maxie, this is not what they agreed to; Josslyn tells Sonny that she’s not going to make the same mistake twice; and Kristina can’t stop thinking about what’s going to happen to her.

😭 Nobody Wants This…

Get out the tissues.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/michael-easton-jophielle-loves-emotional-farewell

On YouTube June 30th.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/dont-miss-maurice-benards-interview-with-michael-easton

🍊 More About Beador…

All we know is, she wasn’t caught by the paparazzi picking up trash on the highway.

Shannon Beador Finishes Community Service Following DUI

Well, she is just a wee bit volatile.

Why Shannon Beador Might Be Isolated During RHOC Season 18

I almost feel sorry for her. It’s like they did it on purpose.

Why John Janssen Might Be Alexis Bellino’s Happily Ever After

🎤 Hey Rapper Rapper Rapper…

Could his name have been Hunky Dory?

Kathy Hilton Called Out Rapper for Ignoring Fans

🥣 Stirring the Pot…

Not a fan of hers, but that doesn’t mean she’s wrong.

Brandi Glanville Claims RHOBH Producers Knew About Taylor Armstrong’s Domestic Abuse

📺 Watch the Worst…

I’ll bet there were moments worse than these.

15 Years of Watch What Happens Live: The Show’s Worst Moments

⚰️ Carol’s Turn…

The definitive date for Season 2 is September 29th. Be there or be an octagon.

https://undeadwalking.com/posts/finally-daryl-dixon-the-book-of-carol-release-date-has-been-revealed-plus-new-images-01hzq6smywpm

https://collider.com/the-walking-dead-daryl-dixon-season-3-update/

https://undeadwalking.com/posts/norman-reedus-sets-high-expectations-of-daryl-dixon-the-book-of-carol-01j08qn5shvk

🦸‍♂️ Together At Last…

How it all came to be and how it’s going to be. I don’t go to the movies a lot, but I’m definitely going to see this one.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/deadpool-wolverine-news-hugh-jackman-one-in-a-billion-idea-1235932988/

https://www.cbr.com/deadpool-wolverine-mcu-x-men-elements/

https://ew.com/sabretooth-deadpool-and-wolverine-return-first-look-teaser-8671139

🩰 Dancer Unchanged…

Still confusing children everywhere she goes.

https://ew.com/abby-lee-miller-calls-fan-obnoxious-8670388

🐈 All About Them Rescues…

Dolly looks skeptical.

https://people.com/kaley-cuoco-adopts-dog-dolly-as-newest-pack-member-8671438

Well, she couldn’t just leave them.

https://people.com/meet-halle-berrys-two-new-kittens-boots-and-coco-8671178

Life imitates art.

https://people.com/lupita-nyongo-refused-change-her-rescue-cat-name-exclusive-8669582

🐝 Quotes of the Week

Never stop just because you feel defeated. The journey to the other side is attainable only after great suffering. – Santosh Kalwar

Redemption is through service. – Judge Greg Mathis

In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current. – Thomas Jefferson

No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man. – Heraclitus

The most effective way to do it is to do it. – Amelia Earhart

She gets what she wants. We had to give her a Sweet 16 on her 13th birthday. – Jeremy Grey (Christopher Walken), Wedding Crashers

Success does not consist in never making mistakes, but in never making the same one a second time. – George Bernard Shaw

You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine. – John C. Maxwell

A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life. – Muhammad Ali

If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time. – Zig Ziglar

👠 Sissying My Walk…

Join me on the first Monday of next month for soap and TMI on Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay letting your Pride flag fly no matter how you identify, and stay never giving anyone the power over you to be afraid.

Jun22

July 21, 2024 –Carly Hears the Audio File, On Returning, No Social, Almost Brandy, OC Drama, Coming Deck, VanderJunk, Expectations, Reunion, Animal Tales, Jesting, More Than 8 Quotes & Love

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Carly says she’s sorry to keep Sam waiting, and Sam says, crisis averted? Carly says, more like crisis handled for now. Sam says, good, because she’s going to need Carly’s undivided attention. She only wants to do this once. Carly says, do what? and Sam says she knows why Jason let them think he was dead.

Anna tells Jason that she’s having dinner at Valentin’s house tomorrow. She’ll find the opportunity to search. Then she’ll get the evidence that he’s running Pikeman. Jason says his way is simpler, and she says, if by his way he means he’s going to break in, search, and if he doesn’t find anything, he’ll beat the truth out of Valentin, that’s not going to work. He says, her way will? and she says, yes, because she’s Valentin’s blind spot. She can take him unawares. Jason just has to be patient. Jason says he sacrificed over two and a half years to protect Carly. He will not let this go to waste. He needs to prove to the FBI that Valentin is their guy.

Chase says, Brook really went all out for dinner, and she says, it’s their first homecooked meal as a married couple. It’s a big milestone. It doesn’t matter that she’s cooked a ton for him in the past. This was the first official one. He says, then he officially declares it delicious, and she asks how he’d rate it. He says, five stars. And the food was pretty good too. He kisses her.

Maxie says, Bailey Lou has had her second bath and is in bed, and James asks her to tell Georgie that he didn’t throw food as a baby. Maxie asks Violet if they’re still fighting about this. Who’s winning? Violet says she thinks it’s a tie, and James says, that means he won. Georgie says, no, it doesn’t, and Maxie says, they’re all winners. Why doesn’t Violet get her stuff and she’ll take her home. Georgie says, they really don’t want Violet to go home. Can she please sleep over? Spinelli comes in and says, hello, family, and the lovely Violet. He’s sorry he missed dinner. Maxie says, he also missed clean-up. How was work? He says he’ll fill her in after dinner, and James asks if Violet can’t stay. Maxie says, maybe next time. Violet’s dad really wants her home. Violet says, it’s okay. She had a lot of fun today, but she hasn’t to go home now. Her dad gets really sad and lonely when she’s not there.

Finn lies on the couch, his phone playing morose music alongside an open bottle of tequila. (Why? Why is it always tequila?) He wakes with a start, sits up, and holds his head. He picks up the bottle and takes a swig. (Ugh. It’s bad if you’re drinking straight from the bottle, and Michael Easton is so good, he’s making me feel ill.) He notices a smear of blood and some glass on the table, and looks at his hand, realizing he has a piece of glass imbedded in his palm. He pulls out the glass, takes another swig, and pours some tequila on the wound, which is obviously painful. He tries to get up, but falls on the floor and stays there.

Sam puts her phone on Carly’s desk and says, what she’s about to hear isn’t all about her, even though she knows Carly is going to make it that way. Sam’s life and her children have been affected. Elizabeth and Jake, and anyone who’s ever loved Jason and mourned his death.  Carly asks where she got this and how she knows it wasn’t altered, and Sam says, it’s real. Spinelli got it from the FBI’s evidentiary database. And of course (🍷) Carly will be able to confirm its authenticity. Sam hits play, and Carly’s voice says, as you all know, my husband is dead, but his organization isn’t. It’s still strong and stable. The only thing that’s changed is the person who sits in Sonny’s seat, and from now on, that will be me.

John comes into the warehouse and asks, where is she? Jason says, where’s who? and John tells him not to play games. He knows Anna was here. Jason says, and now she’s not. John asks what they talked about, and says, Jason had better have been smart enough to record it. Jason says he never records conversations, and John says, then they have a problem. Unless he’s figured out another way to prove Anna is the one running Pikeman. Jason says, John’s not going to find anything on Anna because there’s nothing there. Or does proving it not even matter anymore?

Anna says, sorry she’s late, but Valentin says, don’t worry about it. He’s just glad she wasn’t canceling. She says she did think about it, but she wanted to see him. He says he’s glad, and she says, whatever he’s cooking smells delicious. He says, coq au vin, and she says, the classics. They never get old. She’s always loved how he decorated this place. He says, that makes him happy because it’s all for her. He bought this house hoping they would share it. Does she know what goes well with coq au vin? A Bordeaux he brought back from his travels. Would she like a glass? She asks how she could say no, and he says, she can’t. He’ll be right back. He goes into the kitchen, and she says, take your time. When he’s gone, she starts snooping around.

Violet thanks doorman Carl for walking her up and he says, anytime. Tell her dad he said hi. She closes the door and sees Finn on the floor. She says, dad? and runs to him. She shakes him and says, she’s home. Wake up. She sees the blood on his hand and takes his phone off the table. She sees he missed a call from Tracy, and she hits the number to call back.

Tracy picks up and says, it’s about time. She’s left him three messages. She was beginning to think he was avoiding her. Violet says, her dad needs help, and Tracy asks, what’s wrong? Violet says she thinks he’s dead, and Tracy says she’ll be right there. She calls 911 and says she needs to report an emergency. 347 Portside Road, apartment 9.

Spinelli kisses Maxie, and says, it seems as though she may be somewhere else. Is something wrong? She says, no. She’s just worried about Violet. He asks if something happened when she dropped Violet off, but she says, it was a completely normal drive. She just really heard what Violet was saying while she was here. How she needed to get home and be with her dad because she was worried about him. It kind of sounded like she was raising Finn, not the other way around. Spinelli says, she does seem responsible for her father, but what if that’s just their normal relationship? After all, in the dictionary, under the word precocious, there’s a picture of Violet. Maxie says, even so, it’s possible for a child to be too sensitive. She feels like there might be something going on at home.

Tracy runs into Finn’s apartment, and Violet says, he won’t wake up. Tracy says she called an ambulance, and asks Violet to wait by the door until they get here. She checks Finn, and the paramedics come. Violet tells them, he’s over there, and they go over to him. Tracy says, his daughter found him like this when she came home. Luckily, Violet had the good sense to call her. She tells Violet that she thinks her dad is just sleeping, and Violet says, on the floor? Did he fall? Tracy says, maybe, probably, and Violet asks why there’s blood on him. Tracy says she thinks he cut his hand when he fell. The paramedics will take care of it and they need to give them room. She’ll talk to them. She tells Violet to stay where she is, and asks one of the paramedics how bad Finn is hurt. The paramedic says, the cut? and Tracy asks if they checked his airways and his heart. The paramedic says she’s sorry to put it this way, but drunk is not an emergency. Tracy says she knows that, they know that, but Violet doesn’t know that. She has to get her out of here, so she’ll be back. She tells Violet that the paramedics want a little time to help her dad. Grab her bag. She thinks they should visit her Uncle Chase. Violet says she’s already been gone too long today, and Tracy says, her dad didn’t hurt himself because she was gone. She knows how happy it will make her Uncle Chase to see her, and she’ll come right back here and make sure her dad is as good as new. Violet says she doesn’t want to go, and Tracy says she understands, but she would say her dad needs to rest, wouldn’t she? Violet says, what if he doesn’t wake up like grandpa? but Tracy says, it isn’t the same thing. Her grandfather was really, really sick. Does she remember all the doctor’s appointments and the special things he needed to walk and to breathe? Her dad just needs a little time to feel like himself again. Violet asks if she’s sure, and Tracy says she is. Violet asks if she can give him a kiss before they go, and Tracy says she wishes Violet could, but they need to give them room to work. Violet says, okay, picks up her bag, and leaves with Tracy.

Carly says she can’t believe this, and Sam says, she didn’t know the FBI had evidence against her? Carly says, no. All Jason told her was that he was an informant. She assumed they had evidence against him. It never occurred to her… Sam says, that it was her, and Carly says she can’t believe this recording even exists. It took place over three years ago with the heads of all the families under incredibly tight security. Sam says, obviously not tight enough, because the FBI was able to record the whole meeting, including Carly’s declaration that she was taking over for Sonny as head of his organization. Carly asks why Sam even went looking for it, and Sam says, because she wanted to know what the FBI was using to force Jason to cooperate. So she was able to borrow and copy Agent Cates’s credentials, and Spinelli was able to hack into the evidentiary database. Their plan was to get rid of the evidence once they had it, but Cates’s access did not allow for him to alter or delete the file. So all Spinelli could do was make a recording of the audio file. Carly says she can’t believe Jason was protecting her. Everything he’s been through… Poor Jason. Sam says, he’s not the victim here. Jason abandoned his children and let anyone who ever loved him think he was dead.

Anna rifles through Valentin’s desk, listens for him coming, then looks on the shelves. He comes back with two glasses of wine and says, sorry to keep her waiting. He hands her a glass and she says, some things are worth the wait. He asks if she found what she was looking for.

Chase opens the door to Tracy and Violet, and Tracy says, sorry to come by unannounced, but she told Violet how happy they’d be to see her. Chase says, of course (🍷) they are. He can always use some more Violet time. He invites them in, and Brook says, they were just talking about how much they miss her and want to hang out with her, and here she is. Perfect timing. She just made dessert – apple pie – and they were about to dig in. She’s sure Violet wants a piece. Violet says, that’s okay. She’s not hungry. Chase asks if she wants some hot cocoa. She can put all the marshmallows she wants in it. (All I can think is, Chase, it’s 90 out today.) Violet says she’s fine, except she was in the pool all day and put her wet swimsuit in her bag. It gets all gross if she leaves it in there. Brook says, come with her, and they’ll hang it up. She and Violet leave, and Chase asks Tracy, why is Violet with her and what’s going on?

Anna says, Valentin caught her. She was just looking at all the titles on his books; they’re so interesting. He knows how she’s always pretending she’s going to read at night instead of going to sleep as soon as her head hits the pillow. He says he always loved the untouched stack of books on her bedside table. She’d never let him move them because she said she was going to get to them. She says she promises she will one day… when she retires, and he says, it sounds like her work is very busy. She says, the Commissioner’s job is never done, and he tells her to try the Bordeaux. She takes a sip and says, that’s delicious. Yum. He says he’s glad she likes it because there’s plenty more where that came from for them to share in the future. She says, that’s a bit presumptuous of him, and he says, hope springs eternal, darling. She says she did actually find out an interesting piece of information in her work about Jack Brennan, and he says, he’s ancient history, but she says, he’s not so ancient. He was injured recently in Pentenville. He was taken to GH for treatment. He got caught in a knife fight. He says, that’s unfortunate. Still, you can count on Jack to make enemies of those he’s stuck with behind bars. She says she was alerted when he was taken in for treatment. Jurisdictional courtesy and all that. She went to see him. Valentin says, and? and she says, he knows Jack. You can never get a straight answer out of him. But he did strongly imply that he did stab himself in the hopes he’d get a visit from Carly of all people. He says, hopefully, he’ll recover. He’s really not interested in discussing Jack. He’d really rather discuss her. She says, he’s so good at deflecting, and he says he learned from the best. He suggests they adjourn to the patio and have dinner.

John tells Jason, the good people of Port Charles may have been fooled into seeing Anna as a dedicated public servant, but you don’t have to dig very deep into her background, especially her time at the WSB, to uncover evidence that proves Anna is the head of Pikeman. Jason says, the evidence can be interpreted any way he wants, and he wants Anna to be guilty. John says he won’t be lectured by a man who spent years working for Sonny Corinthos, and Jason says, John is also derailing his investigation by targeting the wrong person. John says he’s following the evidence, and if Jason won’t or can’t find him what he needs to shut down Pikeman and close this case, he won’t go back to Quantico empty handed. He will take Carly Spencer with him. He walks out.

Carly closes the door and says, Sam knows Jason didn’t want to leave Danny and Jake or anyone else he loved. He was doing it to protect her. Sam says, yes, because he loves Carly more than he loves his own kids, and Carly says, it isn’t Jason’s fault. If Sam wants to blame someone… Sam says, blame her? Don’t worry. She does. She thinks Carly is just as responsible for this as Jason. She showed up at a mob meeting. She claimed to be running Sonny’s organization. She incriminated herself. And instead of paying for her actions like the adult she is, Jason abandoned his children and abandoned his life to cover for her. Carly says, Jason was doing what he thought was right, and Sam says, how convenient for her. She doesn’t ever have to pay for her mistakes. Carly says, why doesn’t Sam direct some of this anger toward Agent Cates? He’s the one who started all this, not Jason. Sam says, Carly will always stick up for Jason like Jason sticks up for her. What about everyone else? What about the people who believed in Jason? What about the people he left behind… for you? Sam walks out.

Tracy tells Chase, Violet just walked in on her father, passed out, drunk, and bleeding on the floor, and Chase says, bleeding? She says, he cut his hand. It wasn’t serious, but it was messy. Violet didn’t know it wasn’t serious. She actually thought he might have died while she was having fun on a playdate. She blamed herself because she left him alone all day. He asks how she found Violet, and she says, Violet saw missed calls from her on Finn’s phone and called her back. Violet told her that her father needed help. He says, poor Violet, and Tracy says, he should have seen the look on Violet’s face when she walked in there. She was terrified. He says, Tracy wanted to get her out of there, so she brought Violet here, and she says, Violet adores him and she thought maybe he could distract her from what she just saw. He asks, where’s Finn now? and she says, he’s at home with the paramedics. She called 911 and hopefully, they got him bandaged and sobered up by now. She will soon see. He says he’s coming with her, but she says, no, he’s not. He says, of course (🍷) he is. Why wouldn’t he? She says, because when Finn wakes up, he’s going to want to see Violet and he just can’t. Not like this. So she wants him and Brook to take Violet back to her house. He asks, why? and she says, he doesn’t have the room here for Violet to stay here, and what if Finn decides to come and get her back? Does he really want Finn pounding on his front door, putting her through that after everything else she’s been through tonight? He says, God no, and she says she can handle Finn. He needs to comfort his niece. She needs her Uncle Chase to make her feel safe. He says, okay. He’ll do it here way, but she has to keep him posted on Finn’s condition. She says she will. She has Violet’s keys so she can let herself back in. He thanks her for all of this, and she says, he knows she loves Finn. He’s her friend. And she also knows this is what his father would want, and she’s grateful she can help his son any way she can. He says he can’t believe Finn would let Violet see him like this. The pain he must be in to let this happen. He wants to be here for his niece, but he feels like he’s failing Finn if he doesn’t go with her. She says, he’s done everything he can to help his brother, and truthfully, she can say things to Finn that he can’t. And what she’s going to say to him, he really needs to hear. She leaves.

Spinelli and Maxie snuggle on the sofa, when there’s a knock at the door. Maxie asks if Spinelli is expecting anyone, and he says, no. She says, great, and gets up to answer it. She opens the door to Sam, who says she’s sorry she didn’t call. She has to discuss something with Spinelli. Maxie says she owes the kids some butterfly kisses, and leaves. Spinelli says, Sam left him earlier quite expeditiously. Dare he ask where she was going? She says she went to see Carly, and he says he thought she’d go see Jason. He should have anticipated her need to confront Carly. She says she wanted to see what Carly knew about Jason and the FBI, and he says, she played the recording for Carly? She says, Carly can lie like a pro, but her reaction was genuine. Tonight was the first time she knew that Jason spent the past two years under the control of the FBI so she didn’t have to face charges of racketeering.

There’s a knock at Carly’s office door, and she says, come in. John asks if she’s got a few minutes, but she says she’s a little busy. He says he’ll make it worth her while, and holds up a bottle of champagne. Full disclosure, even though she owns half the hotel and could get this bottle for free, he charged it to his suite. She says, he didn’t expense it to the FBI? and he asks who she thinks pays for his suite. He just never thanked her properly for coming to his rescue that night in the alley or spending the night nursing him in his suite (WOTD). Things could have gotten a lot worse had she not been there, and he appreciates her help. She says, he’s welcome, and he says he’s also grateful that she didn’t tell anybody about it like he asked. She says, and that deserves an expensive bottle of champagne? and he says he just thought he should celebrate. His investigation is almost finished. A little more time wrapping things up and he’ll be heading back to Quantico. She says she’ll be sorry to see him leave Port Charles, and he says he won’t miss much about Port Charles, but he will miss her.

As they walk back inside, Anna tells Valentin that his coq au vin is perfect, and he says he’s glad she liked it. But he can’t take full credit. It’s not his recipe. She says she appreciates honesty. It’s so rare these days. He says, and all the more precious because of it. In the spirit of honesty, he has an armagnac that makes the perfect digestif. He pours them each a glass, and asks, what should they drink to? She says, their lovely conversation under the stars, and he says, that is cause for celebration. Anna says, or they can talk about something they haven’t touched on yet. Like his success at ELQ. He seems to be jetting around all over the place lately. What exactly is he up to these days? He says, most of his trips to Europe are just excuses to pop in and see Charlotte. It’s one of the perks of having access to a corporate jet. She says she wouldn’t know. And the rest of the time? He says he’d bore her to tears with all that corporate stuff. He thinks her work is far more interesting. What case is she working on now? What mysteries is she solving at the moment? She says, everything she’s working on is classified, and he makes a pouty face. She says, which reminds her, she has a very big day tomorrow. This is really lovely. Thank you, but I have to go. He takes her hand and says, no. Please don’t. There’s something he has to tell her.

She says, sounds serious. Should she be concerned? He says, it is serious. They’ve been dancing around this for a long time. A long time ago, the trust between the two of them was damaged. She says she expects that’s true for both of them, and he says he really only believes 30% of what she tells him. She says, that’s interesting. Her percentage for him is actually a lot lower. He says he supposes he deserved that. If he hasn’t completely drained the trust tank, he’d like to say something to her, and he thinks she’s going to understand it’s completely honest. She says, and that is? and he says he loves her. He always has. It’s in his DNA; it’s like the color of his eyes. Being apart from her is the hardest thing he’s ever done, and he keeps wishing that this hopeless feeling of loving someone he can’t have will fade away. But it doesn’t. He doesn’t think it ever will.

Carly says, since John is opening up a bottle of fancy champagne and celebrating heading home, does that mean he’s rounded up all the bad guys and put them in prison? He says, wouldn’t that be nice? and she asks if that means he hasn’t. He says, investigations are rarely cut and dried. One thing about bad guys, there’s always one more out there. She asks if this one more is really dangerous, and he says he’s not sure what they’re capable of, but this person has done some very bad things. She says, interesting choice of words – this person. Does that mean the bad guy is really a woman?

Spinelli asks if Carly is worried about the information on her that the FBI is holding over Jason’s head, but Sam says, they really didn’t talk about it. She was more concerned about what Jason was up to. He says, perhaps when she has time to process, she’ll realize the great jeopardy. The recording incriminates her for possible RICO violations… Sam asks why he’s worried about Carly being charged. That’s never going to happen. Jason made his choice. He turned his back on everyone to keep Carly safe. Now he’s going to have to live with those consequences.

Chase says he knows Violet is scared and worried about her dad, but he promises her dad is going to be okay. She asks how he knows that, and he says, sometimes, grown-ups just know things. Brook says, he’s not lying to her. Her Uncle Chase is a cop. He’s telling her the truth. Violet asks if Chase knows how to cook, and he says he sure does. She asks if he thinks he could teach her how to make stuff besides sandwiches. Maybe her dad won’t look so tired or be so sad if she can make him some good things to eat when he comes home from work. Chase says he knows she wants to help her dad, but it’s not… Brook shakes her head, and he says, it’s not that hard to – Brook nods – to make something special. How about this? They’re going to go and spend the night at the Quartermaines, and in the morning, he’ll make some French toast. Sasha can cook for everybody else, but he, Violet, and Brook will have their own thing. It’ll be his special recipe with cinnamon. Violet says, with whipped cream on top? and he says, of course (🍷). It’s no good any other way. He puts his arm around her and hugs her to him.

Finn half sits/half lies in a chair, his hand bandaged. Tracy comes in and says, hello? She looks around and says, they just left him like that. She kicks one of Finn’s feet, but he barely stirs. She kicks him again, but nothing. She sighs and gets her phone out of her bag. As she fights back tears, she takes pictures of Finn, the broken glass, and the nearly empty bottle, with the blood smear next to it. She gathers her composure and takes another photo of Finn. (Reality check. It’s highly doubtful the paramedics would have left Finn alone and passed out. If something had gone sideways, like him dying from alcohol poisoning, they could be sued.)

As he opens the bottle, John says, if he didn’t know any better, he’d say Carly was trying to worm confidential information out of him. She says, he’s the one who showed up here with champagne trying to lower her defenses. He says, maybe he just wants to celebrate the beginning of the end, and she says, by all means. He pours the champagne and says, as for the gender of the bad guy, a good agent never tells. He hands her a glass, and she asks if he’s a good agent. He says, the best, and she says she’ll drink to that, and they clink glasses.

Anna says, as much as she tried to fight it, she’s still very much drawn to him. And like him, she wishes she didn’t feel it. It’s late. She really should go. She’s had such a lovely evening. She takes his hand, and he thanks her. He kisses her hand and says he loved it too. He just wishes it didn’t have to end. She says, maybe it doesn’t, and he kisses her. They continue to kiss, as Jason lurks around the front of the house. He sees them through the window. He looks… I don’t know. It’s Jason. He never looks any kind of way but Jason.

Violet says, spending the night at the Quartermaines will be fun, but she didn’t bring her PJs. Brook tells her not to worry about that. Scout has a bunch at the house she can borrow. Violet says, all right, but she still has to call her dad and ask if she can come. He cut his hand, and it was bleeding. He might need her help tonight. Brook suggests she give Violet’s dad a call and make sure it’s okay. She thinks she left her phone in the kitchen and asks if Violet wouldn’t mind grabbing it for her. Violet says, sure, and goes to the kitchen. As soon as she’s gone, Brook says, all she wants to do is take care of Finn. It’s breaking her heart. Chase says he knows. Him too. She says she didn’t think she could love him any more than she does, but watching him be such a great uncle to that little girl… He says, is she kidding him? He’d do anything for that girl. He hates lying to her. It feels wrong. Brook says, no, it’s not wrong. There are certain things children need to be protected from. What Finn is going through right now is one of them. Violet is too young to understand the truth of what’s going on. It will only scare her. They’re keeping Violet safe. So any time he starts to feel guilty, remind himself of that, okay? Brook calls to Violet that she found her phone. She called dad and he said it was okay for her to spend the night at the Quartermaines.

Tracy walks into the living room with Finn’s medical bag. She fishes around in it and comes out with a capsule of what (I think) they used to call smelling salts. She pops it open under his nose, and he sits up, coughs, then groans. He says, what the…? What happened? Tracy says, you tell me, and Finn looks at her for a moment, then says, where’s Violet? Where’s his daughter? Tracy says, she’s gone. She’s not coming back.

Tomorrow, Carly says she has to fix this and make this right; Kristina asks if Ava wants to do the honors, or should she; Violet asks Brook, what if he thinks she doesn’t love him anymore; and Finn tells Tracy, if anyone tries to stop him, he’s calling the police.

🧼 After His Break…

It’s great how GH gives actors wiggle room and also fosters their other talents.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/dominic-zamprogna-opens-up-about-his-break-from-gh

🔌Ryan Unplugged…

Can’t say I blame him.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/ryan-paevey-explains-why-hes-retreating-from-social-media

🥂 Valentin’s Digestif…

I’d never heard of this before. The more you know…

https://www.liquor.com/articles/brandy-armagnac/

🍊 That Boy Is a Monster…

Looks like someone has been on Ozempic. Maybe everyone. Most of this is just sad. I don’t remember a lot about Alexis, but I’m guessing she’s not super bright. Rhyming door with Beador isn’t exactly poetic genius.

VIDEO: See RHOC Season 18 Trailer! Shannon Calls John Janssen a “Monster” as Alexis Taunts Her, Travis Moves Out of Home With Gina, & Heather is Accused of Lying, Plus Ryan’s FBI Drama, Shannon’s DUI, and Meet Newbie Katie!

🛟 Preview On Deck…

What’s coming up on the next Med.

Below Deck Med Season 9, Episode 4 Preview: Captain Sandy Sees ‘Huge Red Flag’ With Chef Jono

🍸 Perception Of the Rules…

The VanderQueen herself.

Lisa Vanderpump Discusses Ariana’s Potential Exit, If They’re Feuding, and Lala Nearly Quitting Vanderpump Rules, Plus VPR Pause, Ann Maddox’s Future on Show, and Credits Stassi for Start of Series

This season’s MVanderP.

Lala Kent Says She Was Approached for ‘The Traitors,’ and Shares Update on Scheana Friendship, Plus She Talks Tom Sandoval’s Casting, Katie & Ally’s Convo, Due Date, and What She’s “Most Excited” for With Baby No. 2

On the VanderOutskirts.

Billie Lee Says She Staged “Intervention” for Tom Sandoval After Finding “Drugs” as She Explains Why They’re No Longer Friends, Plus Claims Tom’s Girlfriend Victoria Wanted Ariana’s Stuff Out of House & Dishes on Their “Toxic” Fights

⚰️ Setting the Bar…

Wake me when September starts.

https://undeadwalking.com/posts/norman-reedus-sets-high-expectations-of-daryl-dixon-the-book-of-carol-01j08qn5shvk

🎸 Together As a Hole…

I loved this band. Whatever else you think of Courtney, she’s a brilliant musician.

https://people.com/hole-courtney-love-melissa-auf-der-maur-reunite-in-studio-8666898

🃏 A Joke…

A burglar broke into a house one night. He shined his flashlight around, looking for valuables when a voice in the dark said, Jesus knows you’re here. He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight off, and froze. When he heard nothing more, after a bit, he shook his head and continued.

Just as he pulled the stereo out so he could disconnect the wires, clear as a bell he heard a voice say, Jesus is watching you. Freaked out, he shined his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice. Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot.

Did you say that? he hissed at the parrot. Yep, the parrot confessed, then squawked, I’m just trying to warn you that he is watching you. The burglar relaxed. Warn me, huh? Who in the world are you?

 I’m Moses, replied the bird.

Moses? the burglar laughed. What kind of people would name a bird Moses?

The same kind of people that would name their Rottweiler Jesus.

🦄 It’s Okay To Be Different…

Kind of like that eagle in Strays.

https://people.com/intersex-tortoiseshell-kitten-found-in-oregon-8661653

Who knew he was a farmer at heart? Or is he hoping to hatch a dinosaur egg?

https://people.com/chris-pratt-chickens-washington-state-ranch-8665857

The donkey has found his people… er, elk.

https://people.com/pet-donkey-missing-5-years-found-living-with-wild-elk-8667442

🐓 Quotes of the Week

Many a trip continues long after movement in time and space have ceased. – John Steinbeck

Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful. – Annette Funicello

Behind her back, like a lady and a professional. – Kate Chastain (Below Deck) on how one should gossip

The great Western disease is, I’ll be happy when… When I get the money. When I get a BMW. When I get this job. Well, the reality is, you never get to when. The only way to find happiness is to understand that happiness is not out there. It’s in here. And happiness is not next week. It’s now. – Marshall Goldsmith (Or my favorite, when I lose weight.)

I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order. – John Burroughs

The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same. – Colin R.Davis

Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment. – Rita Mae Brown

Sometimes when you have a lot of bars and a lot of people, people make bad choices. – law enforcement officer, Drugs Inc.: The Fix

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

🤽‍♀️ Coming Up For Air…

Enjoy the first weekend of official summer, or the A/C if it’s too hot where you are, and join me on Monday for soap and what’s on Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay always using sunscreen, stay saying the things a friend needs to hear, especially if others can’t. 

Jun19

June 18, 2024 – Sam Asks Carly For Help, His Return, Studio Photo, Growing Up, See You In Dubai, Rotten Peach, Update, Yikes, All the Thrones, Vampires Now, Juneteenth, Here Kitty & A Place

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Both Cody and Sasha couldn’t sleep and found each other on the patio. He wondered if it was the excitement of the party keeping her awake, but she said, maybe it was him.

Valentin brought Anna champagne and she said it was unnecessary, but he said, there was no such thing as unnecessary champagne. She told him that his apology was also unnecessary, and he said they’d had plans for dinner, and he bailed. She said, work was a valid excuse, but it cast doubt on his claim that he could compartmentalize his life. He said he was getting the hang of it.

John went to the coffee warehouse and told Jason that he was finally free. John knew who was running Pikeman – Anna Devane. Jason said, it wasn’t possible, but John said, it was and he had proof.

Carly saw Sam at the pool and said, Sam was too late for the party. It had been fabulous, mostly. Sam said, Dante had to work, and Danny was out with his friends. She’d wanted to stay home in case he needed her, but he hadn’t. Now Danny was home with Scout and Rocco, and she wanted to ask Carly, mother to mother, to help her son.

At Bobbie’s, Lucy told Scotty that she hoped the umpteenth revision of Blaze’s contract was the charm. When they gave Natalia what she wanted, then she’d find something else she didn’t like. They’d been bending over backwards. Scotty said, they still had no final contract, but Lucy said she thought he liked it. He was loving the billable hours. He said, working with her was enough. He saw it as a collaboration. She asked if that meant he wasn’t charging her, but he said he wouldn’t go that far.

Sam told Carly that Jason posed a physical danger to Danny. When he came back after he was shot, he held up in the Quartermaine boathouse. Danny found him, and Jason got Danny to help him. Carly said, Danny was Jason’s son and Jason had a bullet wound, and Sam asked, what son should help his father with a gunshot wound? On top of it, Jason asked Danny to promise not to tell her. If Carly was in her place, and he’d done that to her kid, how would she feel? Carly said, if it was anyone else, she’d be furious, but she trusted Jason. She might not like it, but she had to trust it. He’d never let harm come to their kids. Sam said, it was Jason’s line of work and would always happen with his lifestyle. He followed danger and didn’t even try to avoid it. He was the last person who could guarantee Danny’s safety. Carly said, Jason would take a bullet for Danny, and Sam said, it sounded heroic, but Jason was why he’d be in the line of fire in the first place. She was asking as a friend. Carly asked if they were friends, and Sam asked if Carly couldn’t accept that she felt differently, that her concern was real, and help her.

John said he’d gotten into Anna’s email account, and there were emails back and forth with Jack dating back five years. Jason asked if John would be able to shut Pikeman down, and John said, soon. Jason said, then John didn’t need him.

Anna said, Valentin could have called, emailed, or texted, and he said, next time, he’d send a singing telegram. The problem with those methods of communication was, they were from a distance, and he liked being next to her. She told him that dinner was up to him, since he was a busy man, but he said, other than Charlotte, she was always his priority. She asked if he’d choose her over the nefarious schemes he had going, and he said, no contest. She asked if they should be playing at this, and he asked if they were playing. She said they both knew it hadn’t worked for a reason, and she was wondering if it was wise. He said he didn’t know, but it wasn’t something he’d change, and kissed her.

Cody asked if Sasha was saying he kept her up at night, and she said, he’d been on her mind. He asked what he was wearing, but she said, not like that. She’d been thinking about his smile. He said he did some thinking about hers too, and she said, it was sad sometimes. Not all the time, but after James came back from his riding lessons or when the kids grilled him. He would be all smiles until there was a breather, then it went away. Not entirely, but in his eyes. He seemed lonely. The kids adored him, and the grown-ups trusted him. Even Tracy relied on him. He was surrounded by a family he didn’t have, except of course (🍷) the one he belonged to. He said, a big part of him wanted to come clean, and she asked what was stopping him, while I got distracted by her earrings. He said, Mac was still out of town, and he didn’t know how to admit he’d lied in the first place. It wasn’t for a noble cause. He lied to protect himself from getting arrested and prosecuted because he tried to defraud someone. Sasha said, the worst case, Mac would be disappointed and angry. How long did he think it would last? Cody said he didn’t want to find out. That’s why a big part of him was relieved Mac was still gone. As long as Mac was away, he didn’t have to decide. He was a coward. She said she thought that sometimes we got comfortable in our own discomfort, living without the thing we were missing, even though it’s what we really needed. He asked how he moved forward, and she said, if what he was doing wasn’t working, try something new.

Sam said she needed Carly to ask Jason to leave Danny alone and keep his distance, and Carly asked, why do that to Danny? Sam said she had to, and Carly said, Danny adored Jason. He was just like him. Sam said, that was the problem. Danny had no idea how dangerous Jason’s life was. He thought his father was smart and cool and got him. He wanted to be just like Jason, which was the worst possible thing that could happen to him.

Valentin said he’d make dinner for Anna tomorrow, and she wondered how she could say no. He said he’d see her tomorrow, but she said she hadn’t told him yes. He said he liked his chances.

John told Jason that the email was circumstantial. There were no details or direct mention of Pikeman. Jason said, then he got nothing, but John said it pointed to Anna and Brennan being collaborators. Clearly Jack was out of commission, so Anna was running the show. She’d been pointing him in the wrong direction. Jason said, clearly, somebody was, and John said he’d put too much faith in his brother’s connection to Robin. Anna had been obstructing him at every turn, keeping him out of the loop and away from the evidence. If she was running Pikeman, it made sense. Anna trusted Jason, so he needed Jason to get him clear proof of the connection between Anna, Brennan, and Pikeman. Jason said, the sooner he got out from under the FBI, the better, and John said, if Jason warned Anna and she was able to cover tracks, Carly would go to prison.

Lucy thought the reason Natalia bothered her was that she was so damn smart. She was intelligent, organized, and laser focused on getting every advantage for her daughter. She wished Natalia worked for Deception. Natalia knew they had to formalize the contract before they could launch the campaign. Scotty said he thought he found something that would work.

Cody asked how Sasha knew where to find him, and she said he wasn’t in his room. Maybe he wasn’t the only one who was lonely. Maybe she wanted to try something new too. And she kissed him.

Sam said, it was one thing for Jason to live the life he did, but she didn’t want that for Danny. Carly said, it’s not like Jason was going to recruit Danny into the mob, but Sam said, it would still be something dangerous, and Jason wouldn’t protect Danny unless someone else got through to him. He wouldn’t listen to her, and it had to be Carly. Carly said, Sam wanted her to ask Jason to break his own heart, sending away a boy who loved and needed him. And what about Danny? The rejection and abandonment would break his heart. Sam said, Jason just got back, so it was better to do it now, and Carly said she got that Sam was doing this out of love, but it would devastate Danny. Sam said, at least he’d be alive. He was in more danger around Jason than not being around him. Carly said, if Sam didn’t want Jason to be her kid’s father, why had she made such a big deal about having baby with him?

Jason told Anna that John thought she was running Pikeman. How close was she with Brennan? She said, not close. They trained together and worked together on a failed op Jack sabotaged to pocket the money for Pikeman. He asked if she was sure it was Jack, and she said she wasn’t positive enough to prove anything. He asked if they’d kept in touch, but she said she’d barely seen or spoken to him in decades until he turned up in Port Charles. Jason said, the emails indicated they’d been meeting in secret for the last five years.

Lucy asked what her genius, sexy lawyer had come up with, and Scotty said he was working on Heather’s case. Lucy said, none of his hours would be billable now, and Deception wasn’t paying for his pie and coffee. He said, back to Heather… and Lucy said, Heather had murdered people and attempted to murder several others. He said, there were mitigating circumstances, and she said, he sounded like Laura. But Laura was a goody two-shoes do-gooder, and reopening cases was just the naïve, stupid thing good people tended to do. She expected worse of him. She relied on him to be the lesser person. He told her that cobalt poisoning was real and there were documented cases, and she wondered if people with faulty hip replacements were running around slaughtering people. He said, it affected behavior, and he thought he could convince a jury that’s what made Heather so violent. She said, so Heather would get a new trial and be released to kill again? and he said, there could be a lot of money in this for Heather.

Carly said, Jason hadn’t been sure he wanted to have a baby with Sam, for all the reasons she just said – the risks, the danger, the life he was leading – but Sam wanted it, so he gave in, and Sam got what she wanted, a boy like Jason. She didn’t get to change her mind now. Sam said she was in love with Jason then, but she grew up, and Jason didn’t turn out to be the man she thought he was. He disappeared on them, on his children, twice. Carly said, so there it was. Sam wasn’t doing this to protect Danny. She was doing it to punish Jason.

Anna told Jason that she hadn’t spoken to or emailed Jack in decades, not until she arrested him. Jason said, John had gotten into her personal email account, and she asked if he had a warrant. Jason told her, he said he did, and Anna said, it was a WSB tactic. Doctoring or forging emails, then planting them to divert attention or incriminate. In this case, both. Valentin did this. Jason said, Valentin was framing her.

Sasha and Cody kissed their way to the boathouse. They heard someone plucking a violin, and Cody said, wasn’t Gio just at the party? And now’s the time to practice? Sasha thought Gio probably didn’t want to wake anyone, and Cody said, the property was the size of Rhode Island, and he picked this spot?  

Scotty told Lucy, think product liability. If Heather’s faulty hip caused her behavior, the company was responsible. Lucy said, so maybe Heather would be entitled to compensation, and he said, Heather’s pain and suffering and everything she was going through when she wasn’t in her right mind. Lucy said, Heather was never in her right mind, but Scotty said, Lucy didn’t know her back then. She said, what about the victims and their families? and he said, the manufacturer was liable for that. Lucy said she got that he had a soft spot for Heather. Their relationship had resulted in a son who he’d lost, who was allegedly not responsible for committing murder because of a medical condition. Like mother, like son. He said, those were different circumstances, and Lucy said, the tumor that was removed from Franco was real, and once it was removed, he became a decent, albeit flawed and complicated, human being. What if before Heather’s stint as The Hook, she also committed murder? He said, Heather did a lot of horrible things in her day and had a lot of half-baked ideas. Kind of like Lucy back in her day.

Anna asked if Jason had seen the email, but he said, no. John had said there was nothing concrete, just references to meetings and things discussed. She said, so it wasn’t enough to build a case, and he said, not really. She said, so Valentin wasn’t framing her per se. He was using her as a decoy. Jason asked if she was making excuses for Valentin, and she said, no… maybe. Valentin knows pointing Cates toward her with no solid evidence to incriminate her was something she could handle. Jason asked if it didn’t bother her, and she said, it did, very much, but how she felt was irrelevant. Valentin loved her and would never risk sending her to prison, but he wasn’t above using her as a pawn, so she’d get investigated while he was doing things. It was a win for him. Jason said he understood where she was coming from all too well, but Cates was a real problem. Anna said, it would only keep Cates busy. The emails would impede the FBI’s investigation of Pikeman. She wasn’t in any danger of prosecution because there was no real evidence. Jason said, John ordered him to get the evidence to indict her, and if he didn’t, Carly would be prosecuted. Anna wasn’t in danger, but Carly was. He was going to have to tell John that Valentin was head of Pikeman.

Lucy asked how Scotty dared compare her to Heather, and he admitted he shouldn’t have said it. Lucy said she’d run schemes and scams a lot with him. Heather proved invaluable when she helped Lucy and Franco escape from Ferncliff, but Lucy never killed anybody… Victor Jerome swallowed her locket on his own; she didn’t force him. She never killed anyone and never switched, stole, or did anything to anyone’s baby. Scotty said, if Lucy needed a hip replacement and it poisoned her and made her do weird stuff, would she like to be written off and locked up with no one to help her? Lucy said, of course (🍷) not, but did he really believe it turned someone into a different person or just magnified who the person was? If Heather was a dangerous person, was it fair to the people she harmed to let her go free? He said, no one was talking about Heather going free, and she asked if it wasn’t a possibility. He said, everything was a possibility, and she asked, what about the person who murdered Franco? If they weren’t responsible because of a condition, would he believe it was justice? He said, she had a point, but put her hat on it and cover it up. She said she loved that he saw dollar signs, but let someone else make bank from Heather. He had to steer clear of her. He said, maybe she should be charging him, and she said, maybe she’d take it out in trade. He took a bite of her pie.

Gio continued to play, and Cody wondered if they could politely ask him to leave, but Sasha said, Gio was family, and they were staff. He said he just thought they were going to finally… and she said, that was the plan. He said, she had a plan? and she said, Brook’s cousin was 20 feet away, but it was actually nice, romantic even. A private concert just for them. Not bad. Cody said, maybe even perfect.

Sam said she wasn’t trying to punish Jason. She was keeping her kid safe. Carly said, it wasn’t like Jason was in the Bahamas. The first time he disappeared, he was shot and nearly died. The second time, he was taken into custody. Sam said, that was what happened in Jason’s life, and Carly said, Sam knew about his life before. She didn’t get to change her mind. Sam said, of course (🍷) she did. She didn’t want her son to end up like Morgan, end up dead. Carly said, it’s not about that. Sam was doing this to Jason because he didn’t devote his life to her and didn’t change who he was to fit in the life she wanted once she grew up. She was taking away his son to punish him. Sam said she knew she shouldn’t have come to Carly. Carly didn’t want Jason to change because he might not put her first. If anything happened to her son because his father wouldn’t stay away, Carly was just as responsible as Jason. Sam walked out. (Um… I think Sam and Jason are the ones responsible for their own kid.)

Anna said, Jason couldn’t tell John about Valentin. They had no evidence to prove he was running Pikeman, and she didn’t trust Cates to do the job right. He’d arrest Valentin prematurely, Valentin would escape, Pikeman would stay in business, and Cates would never let Jason loose. She was having dinner at Valentin’s house and would get the evidence he needed to hand over to Cates. Valentin would be arrested, and Jason would get his life back. Jason said, okay, but he wanted to make something clear. He was going to take Valentin down himself before he’d let Cates hurt Carly.

Tomorrow, Josslyn can’t believe Gio is worried about taking advantage of Sonny; TJ tells Felicia that she thought of everything; Diane tells Alexis, the future awaits, handing her an envelope; and Chase tells Brook that he knows exactly who to talk to.

🚨 Mac Is Back…

But will Cody ‘fess up?

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/john-j-york-opens-up-about-returning-to-gh

🔥 Fanning the Flames…

It’s not like we didn’t know it could always be a possibility. No body, no dead. Sometimes even when there is a body. I’m still expecting Faison to show up again, even though his brain is in a jar somewhere.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/bryan-craig-shares-a-photo-from-the-general-hospital-studio

🎀 A Bigger Bailey….

The latest on Maxie’s youngest.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/riley-and-miley-plonski-are-playing-bailey-on-general-hospital

🐪 Send In the Camels…

So, I’m kinda sorta watching this. I’ve liked Caroline Stanbury since Ladies of London (RIP), and I’m enjoying her friendship with Ayan. Here’s hoping it lasts and they don’t go middle school on me. I figure we’re also safe from fistfights, since they don’t go for that stuff in Dubai. This week, from out of the blue and probably because she was drunk, Brook called Caroline a see-you-next-Tuesday for no apparent reason. This caused a disinvite to a party by Caroline’s husband, but probably really Caroline. A lot of the cast was like, you can’t disinvite someone, but you’d better believe if someone called me that, they’d get a disinvite and possibly a smack in the face. Are you kidding?

Real Housewives of Dubai Season 2, Episode 3 Recap: Closing Time for C-Bombs!

🍑 Unsavory In Atlanta…

Ugh. Why? I liked her too.

https://www.etonline.com/kenya-moore-suspended-from-rhoa-production-may-lose-spot-on-show-227456

https://people.com/kenya-moore-addresses-rhoa-suspension-after-oral-sex-poster-scandal-brittany-eady-8663908

🗽 Her Million Dollar Listing…

$4.45 million to be exact, which is cheap. Hard to believe, I know, but NYC isn’t for the thrifty anymore.

https://okmagazine.com/p/sonja-morgan-life-update-auctioning-new-york-townhouse/

🚴‍♂️ What’s Cooking…

He got banged up pretty bad.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2024/06/16/gordon-ramsay-bike-accident/74116685007/

Some advice from Gordon. Besides, wear a bike helmet.

https://www.ladbible.com/community/gordon-ramsay-soft-boiled-eggs-perfect-yolk-576152-20230703

🐉 Dragons In the House…

Warning: Spoilers ahead if you haven’t watched yet.

https://ew.com/house-of-the-dragon-season-2-premiere-recap-team-black-vengeance-8663084

In case you watched and need an explanation.

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/house-of-the-dragon-season-2-episode-1-ending-explained-blood-cheese

What’s different in the book.

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/house-of-the-dragon-blood-and-cheese-book-differences-maelor

Even if you don’t plan on watching the show, check out the credits. They’re amazing.

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/house-of-the-dragons-season-2-opeinng-credits-bayeux-tapestry

New Games coming up.

https://ew.com/game-of-thrones-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-first-look-cast-confirmed-8665658

https://ew.com/george-r-r-martin-game-of-thrones-prequel-series-ten-thousand-ships-alive-again-8662533

All the spinoffs.

https://ew.com/game-of-thrones-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-first-look-cast-confirmed-8665658

⚰️ Second Interview…

Recapping the first six episodes of Season 2.

https://www.theringer.com/2024/6/17/24178944/interview-with-the-vampire-season-2-the-sneaky-best-show-on-tv-right-now

https://slate.com/culture/2024/06/interview-with-the-vampire-series-season-2-anne-rice-amc.html

⛓️‍💥 Because It’s Juneteenth…

All about the holiday.

https://nmaahc.si.edu/juneteenth

Juneteeth.com

Home

What’s open and closed tomorrow.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/06/18/open-closed-juneteenth-2024/74126117007/

🐈 Give It a Whirl…

She needs her kitten named. Go for it.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/emme-rylan-needs-your-help-naming-her-adorable-new-kitten

🧘‍♀️ Resting Beach Face…

Join me tomorrow for soap and finding out what Chef ends up on Top. Until then, stay safe, stay getting permission before taking pictures inside someone else’s house, and stay trying something new if what you’re doing isn’t working.

Jun15

June 14, 2024 – A Full Friday In Port Charles, PSA, Her Offer, Island Host, Already, Andy’s Issues, In the House, Those, New Reality, Bye Dog, Tonys, Three To See, Amusing, 9 Concise Quotes & Club

Posted on by
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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

On the phone at the gallery, Trina asks if Portia is sure she didn’t say anything to The Invader about her giving them an interview, because she’s not… Gio walks in, and she says she has to go. They’ll talk later. She says, he made it, and he says, she could have finished her call, but she says she didn’t want to deal with it anyway. She talked him up to Ava, but she can’t make any promises. He says, she got him a shot. That’s all he can hope for. Ava comes in, and Trina introduces her to Gio, and says, he’s the musician she told Ava about. Ava shakes his hand and says she’s sure Trina explained she needs somebody to do background music for their next opening. Trina said, Gio got a full ride to PCU’s music program, and he’s drafted to their summer concert series too, andAva says, a full ride. His parents must love that. He says, if he hadn’t earned the scholarship, his Uncle Sonny was going to pay his way.

In his office, Drew gets a call from Nina, but before he can answer (or decide if he’s going to), McConkey walks in. Drew turns off the call and says he wasn’t expecting the congressman. McConkey says, Drew came to his office without an appointment, and he thought he’d return the favor. So time to fish or cut bait. Is Drew going to run for his seat or not?

Alexis asks, what’s on Kristina’s mind? and Kristina says, all the warnings Alexis gave her about being Molly’s surrogate. Alexis says, she’ll have to be a little more specific, and Kristina says, there’s one thing they didn’t cover. What happens to the baby if Molly and TJ split up?

Elizabeth meets Chase at the café, and she says she hopes she didn’t keep him waiting. He says he just got there, and thanks her for agreeing to meet him. He got her message. He was about to knock on Finn’s door when she called. After talking to Finn, he had a good idea why she called. She asks, how bad was he?

Finn wakes up with a start, fully clothed and on the couch. Violet asks, what’s wrong? and I can feel Finn’s hangover.

Ava asks if Gio means Sonny Corinthos, and he says he does. Sonny’s not an actual relative, but he’s an honorary member of the Cerullo family, so Sonny is treating him like blood. She says, he’s very fortunate, and he says, no question. Uncle Sonny’s paid for his musical education, lessons, conservatory, his instrument… Ava says, he’s a very generous man. Why doesn’t Gio go ahead and play something? Gio says he’ll go tune up, and steps away. Trina says, full disclosure. She’s never actually heard him play, but Josslyn says he’s fantastic. Ava says she didn’t realize Josslyn was an expert in classical music, and Trina tells her not to feel obligated to use him if this is a bad idea. Gio comes back and says, any requests? Ava tells him, play something that puts people in the mood to buy some very expensive art, and he says he’s got her. He begins to play.

Alexis says, hold on a second. Where is all this coming from? Kristina says, Molly came over to her house and she was really upset. She was venting about all the issues she’s having right now with TJ. Alexis says, couples fight, and Kristina tells her, that’s exactly what Allie said, but not TJ and Molly. They don’t. Not until… this. She indicates her bump and says, the baby is changing everything. Alexis says, babies do change things. Things shift. Sometimes it’s stressful. Kristina says, according to Molly, they’re not communicating right now. They’ve been together since high school. You’d think by now the two of them would have figured out how to talk to each other. Alexis says, back up, and Kristina says she is backing up. She’s backing all the way up to when Molly insisted on a domestic partnership instead of a marriage. What if, in her heart of hearts, Molly always had this feeling that she and TJ might drift apart? Alexis says, that’s just pure speculation. She doesn’t know where this is coming from. They’re having trouble, a little conflict. That doesn’t foretell the end of their relationship. Kristina says she hopes it doesn’t, but she has to be prepared either way. She has to know what she’s going to do. Alexis says, what she wants to know is what Kristina wants her to do, and Kristina says she knows this puts Alexis in a sticky situation because she’s Molly’s mother, but she’s also her mother. All she’s asking Alexis to do is walk her through the possible consequences if Molly and TJ do split up. Alexis told her that the only two people who would have legal claim to custody of this baby would be her and TJ.

Finn guzzles some water, and Violet asks if he’s thirsty. He says he’s so thirsty. Does she remember how he’s always telling her how important it is to stay hydrated? She asks, how was his nap? and he says, it was good. He guesses kids who nap have the right idea, but she says, not her. She thinks naps are boring. She would rather anything else. (Just wait, kid. You’ll wish you took all those naps once you’re working a day job.) So now that he’s up, can they go? He says, okay. Go where? She says, he told her that they could go to the pool after his nap. She’s been waiting for him to wake up. She made them peanut butter on toast for a snack and asked him if they could go to the pool. But he said he was too tired and needed to digest the food first. Doesn’t he remember?

Chase tells Elizabeth that Finn was belligerent and combative. He alternated between guilt tripping Chase and insisting that nothing was wrong. He’s never seen Finn like this before. Elizabeth says, that escalated quickly. He may have felt that he could keep this from her, but last night, Jake saw him coming out of a bar. And in his words, with some random woman. Chase looks stunned, and she says she was really shocked too. At first, she thought, he’s just slipped up. He’s had a couple drinks. Maybe it’s not as bad as it sounds. Perhaps Jake was confused by this woman. Maybe she’s an old friend. So she went to Finn’s apartment, and it was exactly like Jake said. He picked up this woman in the bar and brought him back to his place. He didn’t even know her name. Chase says he’s so sorry. He did see a bottle and two glasses, but it didn’t register. She did nothing to deserve this. She says, he has nothing to apologize for. This is Finn’s illness, his responsibility. So she just came from her first Al-Anon meeting, probably not her last. It only reenforced what she already knew. She can’t save Finn and she can’t subject her children to what’s happening with him right now. He says, of course (🍷) not. He understands what she’s saying. She ended things with Finn, and he gets why. He drew a hard line with Finn too, but Finn’s his brother. He doesn’t have the option to end things. He’s got to figure out a way to reach Finn.

Drew tells McConkey that this is a very big decision for him, and he had to consult with family and friends. He needed to get their input. McConkey says, sure it is. But they’ll support Drew and back him up, no? Drew says he was looking for someone who wouldn’t support him, for reasons not to run. That the campaign would be relentless, and his chances were slim. McConkey asks if he found someone who would oblige him, and Drew says, that’s why he intended to drive up and see the congressman tomorrow, to tell him that he’d made a decision… He would be honored to run for McConkey’s seat. McConkey says, that’s a great decision and he’s glad to see Drew recognizes a golden opportunity when it falls in his lap. They shake hands.

Elizabeth asks Chase to please believe her when she says she hasn’t stopped caring about his brother, but she has seen him addicted before, when he was with her sister. She went toe to toe with him, and he refused to admit he was using. He was arrogant and confrontational. He lied to her face, and she saw that same style last night. Chase says he’s so sorry, but she tells him that she’s going to say this as many times as he needs to hear it. He is not responsible. She knows he wants to support his brother, but he can’t enable him. He says he won’t, but he won’t drop him either. He can’t. She says, addiction is tricky. She can’t help Finn, but she can help Chase. Finn’s sponsor left town about a year ago. She doesn’t think he ever got a new one because of how well he was doing, but there is someone he might talk to. He and Alexis are close. They work the program together. He says, that tracks, and she tells him, with all that being said, her biggest concern is her niece. Violet is a strong little girl, but she’s dealt with so much loss, with her mother and her grandfather. And while Finn is battling himself, they have to figure out where she’s going to go. He says he and Brook came up with a plan for Violet to come live with them at the Q mansion this summer for a few weeks, long enough for Finn to have an intervention, hopefully, but he wasn’t having it. She says, maybe he just needs a minute for it to soak in. Tell her their plan, and she’ll try to talk Finn through it. He asks if she thinks Finn will listen to her, and she says, there’s only one way to find out. What she does know is, Violet is going to need all the support she can get.

Finn says he thought Violet said school. He was wondering why she wanted to go to school in her swimsuit. She asks why she’d want to go to school in her swimsuit. And he told her that he wanted to see her somersault in the water. He says he does, but does she think maybe he could have a hug first? She hugs him, and he says he loves her so much. He’s sorry if he’s been a little sad lately. She says, about grandpa? and he says, yeah, about grandpa. How is she? She says she’s sad too, and he says he’s going to get cleaned up and they’re going straight to that pool. They’re going to stop being sad and have so much fun. He promises. They pinky swear, and Violet hugs him again.

McConkey says, there are very few things that matter more than good government, and it’s easy to lose sight of that. With all the noise, and the innuendo, and the competing echo chambers… There are a lot of charlatans and cheats in the House, and it’s important for people of integrity to step forward and do the right thing. Drew thanks him and says he looks forward to shaking things up in the halls of Congress. This district… hell, this country deserves the best he can give. McConkey says, it sounds a little bit like his I’m running speech. Does he have a good speech writer? Drew says, no. Any suggestions? McConkey says, use his own voice, but think also about changing his last name to Quartermaine. He can’t beat that for recognition early in the race. Drew says, as a matter of fact, he… Nina walks in and asks why Drew hasn’t called her back, then sees McConkey. She asks, what brings him to Aurora? and McConkey says, as if she didn’t know.

Ava tells Gio, that’s enough, and thanks him. He definitely has the job. She knows he’ll be the perfect enhancement to their opening. Why don’t they go in the back and talk numbers? He says he’s grateful for any opportunity to perform live, and follows her into the back. Trina gently touches his violin, when Josslyn comes in. She asks if Trina is ready to go. Three new apartment listings just dropped, but they’ve got to be fast or else they’ll lose out… Is she okay? Trina says, yeah. This is Gio’s. He just auditioned for Ava. Josslyn was right about him. Josslyn says, he’s really good, but Trina says, no. He’s more than good. The way he played, it was like a painting. Gio’s an artist.

Kristina tells Alexis that she remembers in the State of New York, the birth mother is legally the baby’s mother until she signs the rights away to the baby. So what she needs to know is, if TJ and Molly split up, would TJ have to share custody with her, since Molly has no legal claims to the baby? Alexis says, she’s so jumping to conclusions here. There are so many factors to consider. Kristina says she knows that, but she needs to know what she’s going to do to protect this child and keep it in their family. She knows there’s a surrogacy contract that TJ might try to invoke, but Alexis said that won’t hold up in court. Alexis wonders if Molly knows Kristina is here asking these questions, and Kristina says, no. Alexis says she’s not entirely unprepared for these questions, because bringing up these questions has been her worst nightmare since the two of them told her about the surrogacy. She cannot and will not take a position on this, because she cannot choose between her daughters. Don’t ask her to.

Trina tells Josslyn that she’s never been that into violin, but the way Gio played, it was like a secret voice, like if somehow the paintings on the wall started singing. She can see how violinists were like rock stars back in the day. And it’s so easy to access – Gio comes back – the greatest music in the world on the internet, but it’s nothing like seeing it live. Josslyn tries to get her attention, and Gio asks if Josslyn is here to look at art. Josslyn says, no. Actually, they’re looking for apartments. She and Trina are getting a place together. She looks at her phone and says, oh no. Assuming the can find a place. Two of the listings just got taken. Trina says, already? and Ava comes back. She says hello to Josslyn and tells Gio that she’ll be in touch. She tells the girls, good luck with that apartment hunt, and returns to the back. Gio says he happens to know about a great apartment and it’s not going to be listed. Trina asks, why not? and he says, it’s over the Quartermaines’ garage.

McConkey says, maybe they should ask Nina about the name thing or Drew could pitch his platform to her… if she hasn’t already heard it. Nina says she’s sorry. What’s going on? The platform? The name? Drew says he’s running for Congress. The congressman wants him to take his seat when he retires. She says, Drew, a politician, and McConkey says he’s truly sorry. He assumed Drew would confide in Nina and that she would know what he was planning on doing. Drew says he just hadn’t gotten to it yet, and McConkey says, how about now? As the minister would say, all those who think Drew should not run for office, speak now or forever hold your peace.

Kristina says she’s not asking Alexis to choose, but she is responsible for this baby. And she has been ever since Molly and TJ chose her to carry this child. Alexis says, their child, and Kristina says she knows it’s their child, and she’s been trying so hard to do the right thing. She’s due to give birth to this baby in August, and she’s freaked out about it enough as it is. She doesn’t want to have to be thinking about this. Honestly, she’s been mentally preparing herself to sign away the rights and give this baby to Molly and TJ. Now she doesn’t even know if they’re going to make it. So she has to understand what her rights are in case she needs to protect this child. Alexis goes to her computer and says she’s sending Kristina the links to relevant statutes. Kristina asks if she just happened to have that open on her browser, and Alexis says she’s had it bookmarked since Kristina told her that she was pregnant. Kristina says, so Alexis does understand her concern, and Alexis says she just sent Kristina the link to the relevant statutes. Use the information as she sees fit. Kristina thanks her, and starts to leave, but Alexis calls her back. She says she wants Kristina to think long and hard about the promises she made to Molly and TJ, and the consequences if she breaks them. Kristina nods and leaves.

Elizabeth knocks on Finn’s door, and Violet answers. Elizabeth hugs her, picking her up, and Finn comes out.

Gio takes Josslyn and Trina to the apartment, which is super cute and about a hundred times nicer than my first apartment. He says, a living room, kitchenette, two bedrooms, only one bathroom. Trina says, it beats the showers in the dorms, and Josslyn says, it’s crazy. She’s been to the Quartermaines a million times and parked right outside the garage. She had no idea this place was here. Gio says, Ned offered it to him. Ned thought he’d like a place of his own, a little extra privacy. But Aunt Lois and Olivia weren’t having it. They want him at the house. Josslyn asks, why? Are they scared he’s going to get into trouble or something? He says, more like they think he might expire if he doesn’t have someone to do his laundry and make sure he eats regular meals. He can’t say for sure the Quartermaines will want to rent this place. They’ll have to talk to them directly, but since Josslyn’s brother Michael is a Quartermaine, he’s guessing they won’t drive too hard of a bargain. His phone rings, and he steps out to take the call. Josslyn says she knows they haven’t seen the bedrooms or the closets, but what does Trina think? They’re close to campus, it’s clean, it’s safe, there’s plenty of parking. She kind of loves it.

Chase knocks at Alexis’s door and asks if this is a bad time. She says, it’s been a day. From his expression, she’s thinking he’s having the same one. He asks if she knows Finn’s been drinking, and she says, he told her… How bad is it? Chase sits down and says, he’s drinking non-stop. He’s being irresponsible and reckless. He tried to confront Finn, but Finn completely shut him out. Elizabeth tried, but his behavior left her no choice but to end the relationship. She says, if Elizabeth jumped ship, it must be pretty bad, and he says, she still cares about him, but she doesn’t want to enable him or expose his behavior to her sons. (I think he meant expose her sons to his behavior.) She didn’t know if Finn ever got a new sponsor when his sponsor left a year ago, and suggested he talk to Alexis. Alexis says, if she was his sponsor, she wouldn’t be able to break a confidence, but she’s not. She hasn’t talked to Finn in a few days, but he did tell her that he slipped at the wedding. Chase says, Finn drank at his wedding before their dad died?

Elizabeth says, looks like someone is going swimming, and Violet says, they’re going to the MetroCourt pool. Elizabeth says, it’s a little late for that. By the time they get there, they’re not going to have whole lot of time to swim. Violet says, they would have gone early, but daddy fell asleep and forgot, and Finn laughs. He asks if Violet wants to run to the lobby and get their mail, and she says, okay. She leaves, and Finn asks if Elizabeth wants to come in. She puts her bag down and he closes the door. She says, Jake and Aiden have been asking about Violet. Even though they’re not together, Violet is still her niece and the boys’ cousin. She’d really love to take Violet to the pool right now, then bring Violet back to her house for dinner. He says he knows a wellness check when he sees one. Did Chase send her here?

Josslyn tells Trina that they can go hiking in the woods. They can even use the pool and the tennis courts on the grounds. She’ll talk to Michael. She’s sure they’ll get a great price on rent, because she knows everybody. Why isn’t Trina saying anything? She hasn’t said more than two words. Does she not like it? Trina says, no. She’s just not sure. Josslyn asks if she’s having second thoughts about moving off campus, but Trina says, no, not at all. Josslyn asks if it’s the idea of moving on, and Trina says, maybe. Josslyn says, if she’s not ready… but Trina says she wants to be, and this place is perfect. Maybe a little too perfect, like it’s too good to be true. Josslyn says, every now and then, that can happen. Isn’t she due for something like that? Gio comes back and asks what they think of the place.

Nina says she thinks it’s actually very inspiring, and Drew is going to be the perfect candidate to succeed the congressman. Despite his past legal problems, but they don’t need to get into that right now. McConkey says, old news, and they’ll deal with that, and Nina says, no doubt. Drew could not have a better mentor in politics. And the congressman couldn’t have chosen a better, more fitting successor. McConkey says, there’s nothing he likes to hear more than his instincts were correct, so they’ll time his retirement with Drew’s announcement that he’s going to run to take his place in the House. They need to work on getting their campaign together, so it will run as smoothly as possible. Drew says he just has to get his staff together first, and McConkey says, better hurry up. His opponent is the worst kind of opportunist. And it’s not a question of Drew saying he wants to win; he has to win. They need people in influential places in his stead, like this lady here. It’s good to have her. Good to see them both. He leaves, and Drew says, what the hell was that? Past legal troubles that they need not get into? She forgot mention that she was the one who pointed the SEC in his direction to begin with. She says, please. She couldn’t have been more supportive with the congressman right now. He says, agreed. So what’s the catch? She says, no catch. As loathsome as she feels he is, his brand of loathsome is perfect for Washington. He says he’s flattered, and she says, and also, she needs a favor. He says, of course (🍷) she does.

Alexis tells Chase, Finn wasn’t drinking per se at the wedding. He inadvertently grabbed a glass that had champagne in it, and she didn’t think that would… and she can tell from Chase’s face that Finn wasn’t very forthcoming about that. He says, it’s the first he’s hearing of it. Finn told him that he had his first drink when he found their dad. She says, he told her that as well. He came over and they talked. He told her that there was a bottle of alcohol in his apartment someone had left as a gift and he drank it after their father died, but he was adamant that he was stopping. Chase says, he’s been drinking the whole time. At their dad’s memorial, he saw Finn taking shots. He’s been going to bars… He came here because he had questions. She says she’ll do her best, and he says, Finn tells him that he’s a drug addict, not an alcoholic, so he can drink normally like everyone else. She says, it’s the story he’s telling in order to justify his behavior. He hasn’t had a drink in years, and he goes to regular AA meetings, so he wouldn’t do that if he weren’t an alcoholic. Chase says he trusted Finn when he said it was just a slip and he had it under control, but all addicts say that. He knows that because he has training for it and he was willfully blinded by it. Alexis says, listen to her because she knows what she’s talking about. This isn’t on Chase. He can’t control this. All he can do is take his cues from what Finn does, not what he says. Chase says, that leads him to his next question. Finn promised that he was going to AA meetings. Has she seen him?

Finn tells Elizabeth that he admits he’s had a couple of bad days, but if she and Chase think him getting drunk after his father’s funeral is a crisis, then he doesn’t know what more there is to say. She tells him to say he’ll stop lying to himself and everyone else. She didn’t want to come back here. Not after what happened last night, which she’s not even sure he fully remembers. Yet here she is. Because she loves him and he’s in trouble. And Violet needs a safe home. He says, Violet has a safe home. Please leave his daughter out of this. She says, Violet doesn’t deserve to be in the middle of his crisis. He’s got to get help before things get really out of control. He says, of all the people in his life, she was the last one he thought would turn their back on him. But clearly, that’s the choice she’s made. (Show of hands. How many people want to smack him right now?) She says, all she’s asking is for him to get real with himself and to give his daughter a break from the way he’s handling his grief. Violet can stay with her and the boys. She can stay with Chase and Brook… He says, she’s not going anywhere. Violet is his daughter. He is her father. And she stays with him. This is the last time he’s going to say that.

On Monday, Portia has something that might put a smile on Elizabeth’s face; Chase tells Cody that he wouldn’t trade it for the world; and Finn tells Alexis that it’s his loss and his to deal with in his own way.

🛟 Al-Anon…

Even non-profits have a business to run, and I worked in Al-Anon’s corporate office for several years. You didn’t cause it, you can’t cure it, and you can’t control it. If a loved one’s drinking is affecting your life, let Al-Anon help you. And in the long run, them. (Sorry the link is so small. Occasionally, the come out like that, but there’s nothing I can do about it.)

https://al-anon.org/al-anon-meetings

👠 Will Quit For You…

I’m still creeped out about how Jenn changed her entire look artificially just to fit in. Bowling For Soup was right – high school never ends.

Jenn Fessler Offered To Quit RHONJ for Margaret Josephs

🌴 Island Of Questionable Love…

I could tell from the opening credits that I did not want to watch this. As usual, when it comes to this genre of reality, I feel embarrassed for the contestants.

How Ariana Madix Slayed the Love Island USA Premiere as Host

🍸 He and Billie Lee…

I love the stunned look on his face.

Billie Lee Claims Tom Sandoval Has Cheated on Victoria Lee Robinson ‘Several Times’

🤹‍♂️ Andy On Everything…

I’m guessing he’ll skate from all these issues, but is it even worth it anymore?

Andy Cohen Addresses RHONJ Recasting Rumors, and Lawsuits, Plus He Talks Vanderpump Rules Seeming “Forced,” Favorite WWHL Moment & New Seasons of RHOA and RHOBH

🐉 Imagining Dragons…

Premiering June 16th.

https://www.etonline.com/house-of-the-dragon-season-2-everything-we-know-about-the-dance-of-dragons-storyline-193169

And already renewed for Season 3.

https://ew.com/house-of-the-dragon-renewed-season-3-hbo-8662955

⚔️ It’s a New Game…

Hopefully, Iwan Rheon’s character won’t be quite as sadistic as Ramsay Bolton, although it is about ancient Rome. They weren’t exactly known for their compassion.

https://ew.com/anthony-hopkins-iwan-rheon-those-about-to-die-trailer-8662636

💃🏼 We Will Always Have Paris…

The forever friends are back with their not so simple lives.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1402961/youll-be-sliving-for-paris-hiltons-update-on-her-and-nicole-richies-new-show

🥀 Seven In Heaven…

It sounds like he had a wonderful life. See you at the Bridge, buddy.

https://ew.com/the-walking-dead-dog-animal-actor-dies-8663330

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/the-walking-dead-dog-seven-dies-norman-reedus-daryl-dixon/

🏆 Light the Lights…

The Tonys air June 16th. The nominees.

https://www.tonyawards.com/nominees/

Speculation.

https://www.theatermania.com/news/what-shows-will-win-the-best-musical-play-and-revival-tonys-in-2024_1742256/

Everything you ever wanted to know.

https://www.tonyawards.com/

🐾 Animal Kingdom Newness…

The new tallest dog.

https://people.com/great-dane-dog-kevin-worlds-tallest-living-dog-8663127

New wild jaguars.

https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/argentina/first-wild-jaguars-in-70-years-born-in-argentina-national-park.phtml

More on the new rare white buffalo.

https://people.com/birth-rare-white-buffalo-yellowstone-fulfills-lakota-prophecy-8662986

🧯 The Definition of Irony…

Is it a radio or a fire alarm? Maybe he needs to take his own advice and get his eyes checked.

https://www.etonline.com/henry-winkler-is-evacuated-from-hotel-in-dublin-says-he-thought-fire-alarms-were-a-clock-radio

📻 Quotes of the Week

Thinking will not overcome fear, but action will. – W. Clement Stone

Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. – Warren Buffett

The worst walls are never the ones you find in your way. The worst walls are the ones you put there. – Ursula K. Le Guin

You can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them. – Shonda Rhimes

I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me. – Dudley Field Malone

A room hung with pictures is a room hung with thoughts. – Joshua Reynolds

Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence. – Vince Lombardi

Jesus Christ, it’s like a f***ing dog movie in here! – Doug (Will Forte), Strays

Be water, my friend. – Bruce Lee

⛓️‍💥 Going Out Like a Wrecking Ball…

Go forth and conquer the world. Then join me on Monday for soap and dirty deeds on Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay embracing the local culture when traveling, and stay supporting, but not enabling, those with addictions.

Jun14

June 13, 2024 – Curtis Thinks It’s Time He Met Heather, Explanation, Rallying, End Of Awful (For Now), Crossing Over, Earth’s End, After the Glee, Prophecy Fulfilled & Words

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Tracy saw Stella sitting on Gregory’s bench at the park, and said Stella was sitting in her seat. Stella told her to sit her boney ass down, and they smiled at one another.

Blaze made raspberry iced tea for Kristina and said, it helped tone the uterus and made it more efficient. She had to take care of her baby, figuratively speaking. They both admitted to fantasizing that the baby was theirs, and Kristina said, they’d need a bigger place. Blaze said, their new house would have several bathrooms and a big backyard, and Kristina added a tire swing. Blaze said, they’d need three bedrooms for when her brother Eloi visited and the abuelas. Kristina liked the sound of Abuela Alexis.  

Adrian brought champagne to Alexis’s office and wanted to toast to the sweet circulation numbers. Alexis said she was a recovering alcoholic and couldn’t join him even if there was something to celebrate, which there wasn’t. She called him a poor excuse for a journalist, and he suggested she refer her complaints to the First Amendment. Alexis said she and the mayor understood the First Amendment, and leaked information had been used for clickbait headlines. She warned him that he did not want to square off with Laura.

Laura said Trina must have seen The Invader’s claims that she was launching a campaign to free Heather, and Trina asked if she was. Laura said, no, and she didn’t want Heather to be free. Trina said she was glad to hear that, and her mom would be too. Her mom had freaked out. Laura said she could empathize, but Trina said, not enough to leave it alone.

A guard brought Heather to the visitor’s room, but Heather said, there must have been a mistake. She didn’t know this guy. Curtis said, maybe not, but he knew her.

A mosquito was after Tracy, and she told Stella that her pheromones attracted bloodsuckers and parasites. It was a wonder she and Gregory became friends. Stella said, they don’t make them like that anymore, and Tracy remarked that the bench was solid and handsome, like the man. Stella asked how the memorial was, and Tracy said, good. A lot of memories were shared about what Gregory had left them. Stella asked what Gregory left Tracy, and she said, cheated.

Kristina thought Blaze’s mom would make a good grandma, that a baby would mellow her out. Blaze said, it might make her more comfortable with them, but she wouldn’t want Natalia to push the kid into music if they weren’t into it. Blaze would want them to be their own person, not molded into what she wanted. Kristina said, it was important that people be accepted for who they were. They’d let their child reveal who they wanted to be. It was nice to fantasize about the future, but she didn’t know if it was the right timing to be doing that. There was a knock at the door, and Kristina opened it to Molly.

Heather said, everyone knew the notorious Heather Webber, and Curtis said, she was all over the news. Her hook too. She said she didn’t need reminding how wretched a place the world had become and how she contributed to it. He did give her a reminder of the beauty in it though. It had been years since a man came calling. She asked what his name was, calling him hot stuff, and he introduced himself. He told her that he was Trina’s father, and he was sure Heather knew her.

Trina told Laura that she’d been freaked out too, but had to think objectively. What she knew about Laura was different than what people were thinking. Spencer thought world of her, and she and Doc were adopting Ace. Spencer would be so happy about that. She wanted to hear what was going on from Laura directly. Laura thanked her for keeping an open mind, and admitted she was torn in several directions, but she’d try to explain. Trina said her mom had already explained about the metallosis, and Laura said her actions had been mischaracterized. She’d only requested copies of Heather’s court records. Trina asked, why? and Laura said she wanted to see to what degree Heather’s condition was responsible for her actions, since it hadn’t been known at the time. Trina asked, if it had been, would Heather have gone free? Is that what Laura wanted?

Adrian told Alexis that they were only vulnerable to liable if the article was proved untrue. Did Laura prove that? Alexis asked what he didn’t get about we’re done, and he asked if Laura demanded a retraction or correction. Was she considering pushing the DA to set Heather free? Alexis said, Laura didn’t want Heather free, and Adrian asked who had more credibility, The Invader or the claims of an elected politician? Who was fighting for justice, their paper or Laura? Diane walked in and said she’d also like an answer to that.

Blaze offered to leave, but Molly said, stay, since Blaze was sister adjacent. Kristina asked what was going on. Did Molly lose a case? Molly said, no, just her domestic partner. They had a blowout fight. Kristina said, they didn’t even disagree on dinner, and Molly said, they never disagreed on anything until this year. Kristina said, until she was their surrogate.

Diane asked Alexis where the paper got their information and was it reliable. She’d been on the receiving end of a poison hook. Adrian said, it was a matter of civic interest, but Alexis said, it was more like prurient interest. He could see himself out. He left, and Alexis told Diane that Laura had only requested the transcript of Heather’s hearings. Diane asked what the file was on Alexis’s desk, and Alexis said, it was the transcripts. She’d gotten them from Laura. Diane asked if it was true that Laura was angling for Heather’s freedom and Alexis was helping her do it.  

Laura told Trina that there was no way to know how the inquiry would go. They only had what ifs. What if Heather’s illness had been discovered and diagnosed? Perhaps the atrocities she committed wouldn’t have occurred. Trina said, but they did. Five people were dead. She asked if there was anything in the transcripts that would get Heather released, but Laura said she wasn’t a lawyer. Trina said, Alexis used to be one, and asked if Laura was discussing it with her. There was a knock at the door, and Trina said she’d go, since she hadn’t made an appointment. Laura opened the door to Doc and told him that she and Trina were in the middle of a conversation. He said he was sorry to interrupt, but maybe he was just in time to run interference. Trina said, there was no need, but he said, her upcoming article in The Invader made him think otherwise.

Curtis said he knew Heather remembered Trina, and Heather kept her head down as he talked. He said, she barely escaped with her life, but not Spencer. Heather’s daughter made sure of that. He saw Trina’s broken heart because of what Heather put in motion and saw the light go out of her eyes. He asked if Heather was offended by the truth, but she said she knew the truth and had no problem with what he was saying. It was what she didn’t want to say that was the problem.

Tracy told Stella that she wished she’d met Gregory sooner, before his illness. He thought it brought out his strengths and would probably tell her something enlightened that made her feel obliged to look for untapped powers in herself, if she had any. Stella said, Tracy was a formidable woman, and she was surprised at this streak of self-doubt. Therapy worked. Tracy said, nice knowing her, but Stella told her, don’t give up on herself. We could see our weaknesses coming, but our strengths were a surprise, revealed when life demanded it. The trick was to recognize them before they went to waste. Gregory did put his to good use, but she could relate to Tracy feeling cheated. That’s what brought her on this walk. She didn’t even notice the plaque until she’d been there a while, but Gregory’s name seemed fitting, so she stayed. She was thinking about someone dear to her that she lost a long time ago and lost all over again today.

Molly told Blaze that she and TJ had been together since high school. Maybe all this time she’d been thinking they were in sync when it wasn’t the case. They were focused on their careers and school and catching up. Maybe they ignored the reality that they grew apart. Maybe they pushed new thoughts and feelings away until it exploded in their faces.

Doc said, there was a promo in The Invader that survivor Trina was sounding out on the mayor’s efforts to free Heather Webber. Trina said, it was a lie. She never talked to them. Her mom said they’d reached out, but she said she wasn’t interested. She’d never give an interview. Laura said she believed Trina, and doubted Alexis knew about it, since she hadn’t known about the original article. Doc said, it’s official; Laura was clickbait. Trina said she’d taken up enough of Laura’s time, and Doc said he was sorry that all this had been dredged up. Trina asked, in his expert opinion, did he think it was possible that the poison made Heather a killer?

Heather said she was a sorry excuse for a human being, and Curtis agreed. She said she didn’t have the words to express how she felt. Nothing would be sufficient to take away the pain she’d created. Saying she was sorry was ridiculously inadequate, but it was true. She cried, and said she was so, so sorry. Sorrier than he would ever know. He said she was right. Nothing she could say would change anything. He’s not sure what he expected to accomplish, but he thought it was time they met, especially with what was going on in the news. There was one thing that might help. If she hadn’t been captured, what were her intentions for his precious daughter?

Alexis told Diane that she was looking over the records as a favor to Laura and giving Laura her noncredited opinion. Diane said, no offense, but why didn’t Laura ask a lawyer lawyer? and Alexis said, offense taken. She and Laura were friends and she’d been standing there when Doc asked if Heather would still be accountable if her medical impairment had affected her judgement. Diane asked what she’d discovered, but Alexis said she hadn’t had much of a chance to discover anything yet. She did notice there was never a medical exam. Now they know the cobalt poisoning was an issue, and the implant causing it had been removed. Diane asked if Heather was nice now, and Alexis said, it was new evidence and they both knew there were lots of precedents about that. Diane said, in every one, a deterrent was found, and Alexis said, except one. Diane said, name it, and Alexis said, the one Diane set herself.

Diane asked what Alexis was talking about, and Alexis wondered if she was being uncharacteristically modest or feigning ignorance. Diane said she had no idea, and Alexis suggested they go to the gym. Diane said, it must be serious if Alexis would rather sweat than gloat. What precedent did she set in defense of Heather? Alexis must have misread one of her dusty old cases. Put your money where the precedent is. Alexis said, the State of New York versus Robert Frank, aka Franco.

Heather said, an honest answer might not be what Curtis wanted to hear, but he said he wanted to hear the truth. She said she didn’t know. Somehow, she mixed up wanting to protect her daughter with taking lives. She’s not claiming she doesn’t remember the horrible things she did. But what she can’t piece together or reconstruct is why. What she thought she would accomplish by murdering people. He asked if she was working out her argument in the event of her case being reopened, and she asked why her case would ever be reopened.

Doc told Trina that metallosis was a real diagnosis. It manifested itself differently in different patients. Was the issue because they were clinically psychotic or because they were raging with toxins? One way to find out was to remove the toxins. Trina’s mother had advocated for removing Heather’s artificial hip. Trina said, and now she was kicking herself. Would they let her know if there were further developments? She promised she wasn’t giving any interviews. Laura said she would, and thanked Trina for not rushing to judgment. She feared there was more to come. Lately, there had been a lot of it. Trina told them, goodbye, and left.

Kristina asked what she was missing. How could they fall apart over one argument? Most high school romances didn’t last, but theirs did. Molly said, it was less complicated then. They were on the same page with everything, but now, not so much. TJ says something, then later claims he never meant it, like he had to fall in line with her. They’d had disagreements, but not like this where it was filled with pent up resentment. Was it wrong for her to want him to mean what he said, instead of waiting months to tell her how he really felt? Kristina asked if he was having buyer’s remorse about her being their surrogate. She thought they’d hashed it out already. Molly said she thought so too, and Blaze said she didn’t get what the issue was. Kristina said, TJ thought she was unreliable. Despite the questions and doubts, he just agreed because it’s what Molly wanted. He wouldn’t trust her to take care of a cactus, let alone a baby.

Molly thought she and TJ’s argument was exacerbated by an underlying issue, and Kristina said, communication was more important now than ever. Molly said, they needed to work on that and do better. She had to get back to work, and Kristina and Blaze encouraged her to stay, but Molly said she was good. She was sorry to interrupt their afternoon and thanked them for hearing her. Everything was going to be fine. TJ was still the most wonderful guy on the planet, despite his bout of un-wonderfulness. She left, and Blaze said she’d never seen Molly like that. Kristina said, her either.

Alexis said, it was discovered Franco had an infliction that seriously impaired his judgment, like his mother. He was found not liable and the person who presented that to the court was Diane. She wasn’t judging Diane and respected her. She didn’t want to see Franco go free, but Diane did her job and did it well. If a smart lawyer deployed her Twinkie defense, Heather’s sentence could be overturned. Diane said, if it was, and a murderer went free, she had no one to blame but herself.

Heather said she pled guilty, case closed, and Curtis said, she had no idea? According to The Invader, the mayor was questioning her conviction and asking for it to be looked at. Heather asked, what mayor? and Curtis said, Laura Collins.

Doc says he hated the outrage toward Laura, especially when he was to blame too. He performed a psyche assessment on Heather that was different from any other, and asked Alexis if there were any legal ramifications. He never thought there would be a chain reaction that would affect Laura’s career. Laura said, he’d been professional and ethical. There was no way he was at fault, and frankly, neither was she. As mayor, she was supposed to do the right thing. And the right thing by all the citizens of Port Charles, not just the ones they liked.

Tracy said she was assuming this was about a man, and Stella said, the love of her life – Marcus. They were engaged, but circumstances changed that. She broke engagement and left him behind to help her sister raise her nephews. Marcus married a lovely woman who passed away. There was never another man she could be serious about. There was a man in London who she thought she loved, but he couldn’t hold a candle to Marcus. She convinced herself that she chose the life of a single woman and believed it, until a friend called and told her Marcus died. It hurts so much every day. Everything she’d done seemed nothing compared to what she never had and never did.

Heather said, even she knew it was a crazy idea. She’d reach out and ask Laura to stop. She was a rotten person who’d done terrible, unforgiveable things. She remembered all of it. The weight of the hook in her hand and the sound when it made contact. She was exactly where she belonged and didn’t need a judge to verify it or say otherwise. She was so sorry about the light going out in his daughter’s eyes. Curtis said, she’d given him lot to think about and thanked her for her time. He wouldn’t be back. The guard took Heather away.

Laura said Portia was treating Heather, but didn’t see a conflict in holding her responsible, and Doc said, Portia trusted the legal system that sent her to prison. No wonder Portia wanted to see her stay. Laura said she didn’t think Heather was innocent, but it was important for her to have a fair hearing. It wasn’t up to them to decide. Doc said he admired the stand Laura was taking, and she told him to remember that when they were calling for her head. He might be the only supporter she had left. They hugged.

Diane said she was stymied and didn’t know what to do. Alexis said, the goal was to keep Heather in jail. Diane should keep her mouth shut and hope no one stumbled on her defense to save Heather like her son was saved.

Stella said she’d be fine in an hour… or two, and Tracy said she had the time, putting her hand on Stella’s. Aww!

Kristina thought Molly had a bigger problem than she was admitting, and Blaze asked if they wouldn’t fight to save their marriage. Kristina said, they weren’t married. They were domestic partners. Blaze asked why they didn’t get married, and Kristina said, Molly didn’t want to see it fail. Blaze said, it happened with domestic partners too. What would happen with the baby if Molly and TJ broke up? Kristina said she never thought about that. What would be her responsibility? She needed to figure that out.

Tomorrow, Drew asks Nina, what the hell was that; Kristina wonders, what happens with the baby if Molly and TJ split up; and Elizabeth tells Chase that she can’t subject her children to Finn.

🏊‍♂️ Oh Poolboy…

I have to confess, I didn’t notice. And I desperately want that pool for my living room.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/ghs-adam-j-harrington-explains-what-happened-to-his-eye

⚖️ Demanding Justice…

A beautiful tribute from Perry Shen.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/gh-stars-join-rally-to-demand-justice-for-johnny-wactor

🤽 Making Life a Beach…

Finally, an end to this Summer hell. Amanda said she’d gone into a funk after marrying Kyle. I wondered if she ever considered that she might be in a funk because she married Kyle. There was more about the Carl/Lindsay debacle, and Lindsay backpedaled and grandstanded, while Carl just looked blank. Mr. Kyle Obvious said there was a history of her drinking and being irate. I noticed that Lindsay is one of those people who goes up on the ends of their sentences, kind of like it’s a question? And once I noticed it, it became annoying AF. When asked about what she actually did for a living, there was a moment of crickets. I’m still not sure. The million-dollar question was, how was she blindsided? She confirmed it was because of her ego when she said it seemed like Carl had laid the groundwork for her to be the villain. Kyle said he thought she’d have a sense of self-awareness at the Reunion. He asks a lot. And this coming from someone who has little self-awareness themselves. She did agree Carl had made the best decision for her, but didn’t like the way he’d done it. When asked about their situations, Lindsay said she was in a new serious relationship, and Carl said he hadn’t kissed anyone since Lindsay. Andy told Kyle, the mullet needs to go, and although he had no credentials in this area, he cut Kyle’s hair. Badly.

Summer House Season 8 Reunion Recap, Part 2: What Would Jesse Solomon Do?

Paige’s take, a New York POV.

Summer House’s Paige DeSorbo on Kyle Shading Podcast, His Marriage Issues With Amanda, and West “[Fumbling] the Bag” With Ciara, Plus Talks #JusticeforHannah and Their Reception Compared to West and Jesse

It’s doubtful Lindsay understands the meaning of sisterhood.

Danielle Olivera Gives Update on Lindsay Hubbard Friendship

⚰️ Still Interviewing…

I haven’t really kept up with this show, but from watching the first season and the beginning of Season 2, it’s worth your time. It’s incredibly stylish and the gore is magnificent. I’d wanted to watch Mayfair Witches too, but you can’t watch everything. At least not in the same season.

https://screenrant.com/interview-with-the-vampire-season-2-mayfair-witches-crossover-tease/

🌏 Just Go About Your Business…

My latest K-binge. What do you do when an asteroid is about to hit the earth?

Goodbye Earth – Netflix Series Review

And in the plot twist we didn’t see coming. This is a shame. I also loved #Alive and Hellbound.

https://thedirect.com/article/goodbye-earth-yoo-ah-in-netflix-scenes-controversy

🎼 Coming Up Roses…

While they lost some cast members way too soon, it sounds like those remaining didn’t do badly. I resisted watching this for a while, but enjoyed it when I finally gave in. I thought they could have done better with Rocky Horror though.

https://ew.com/tv/glee-where-are-they-now/

🦬 Good News and Bad News…

Supposedly, the white buffalo is both a message of hope and a warning. It was sad to hear buffalo are essentially extinct in the wild.

https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/uknews/warning-as-birth-of-rare-white-buffalo-calf-in-yellowstone-park-fulfills-ancient-prophecy/ar-BB1o8cio

🪁 Being Lazy, Hazy, and Crazy…

End the week with me tomorrow, along with the whole bar of soap, tea, quotes, and a tune to send you off to whatever life holds for you. Until then, stay safe, stay not spending your time at a party on your phone, and stay recognizing your strengths before they go to waste.

Jun8

June 7, 2024 – Jake Sees Finn At the Brown Dog Bar, Everything Emmy, Shahs Now, Bad Timing, Sandy On Deck, More Last, Dragons Plus One, Black Barbie, Don’t Worry, Stanley’s Pups (!), Quote Octet & Queen

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Hey, whatever happened to Roxie, Finn’s bearded dragon? Just curious.

Willow is with Wiley in the pool, when Drew comes in. Wiley hollers to him, and she says, Wiley is excited to see him. So is she, but she’s not as exuberant about it. He says he’s excited to see them too. He didn’t know the Navy SEALs were training here today. Wiley says he wishes there were SEALS in the pool (although it’s questionable as to which kind he means), and Willow says she’s glad they’re not. It will be hard enough getting him out of the water today. Drew says he hears that, and she says, of course (🍷) he does. He and Wiley are kindred spirits. It’s good to see him. He says, it’s good to see her too, but he’s surprised to see them bobbing around in here. Willow says, Wiley thinks the hotel pool is more fun than the one at the Quartermaines. She can’t say he’s wrong and it’s a gorgeous day. Drew says he had a similar thought process himself, and she says, great minds. Amelia is loving her swimming lessons. She’s a proud mini fish. Drew says, amazing. So if Amelia is a mini fish, what does that make Wiley? Wiley says, a shark, and dives under the water.

Nina walks into the pool area on the phone. She says she needs them to hear her on this. Crimson is an elite publication and they’re not giving a discounted ad rate to a gym equipment company… She doesn’t care what Mr. Cain said. It’s still not happening. She watches as Drew gets in the pool.

Dex sees Gio at the towel bar and says he didn’t expect to see Gio here. When did he start working at the MetroCourt? Gio says, this morning. Can he interest Dex? He holds out a towel and says, fresh from the dryer. Dex says, Gio read his mind. So did Olivia put him to work? Gio says, good guess. He’s living at the Quartermaines and said he was looking for a part-time job, and here he is. Dex says, Olivia did him a favor. There are definitely worse places to work. Gio says he’s with Dex there. Aunt Olivia promised that he could be off duty early enough to watch the NBA finals, even if it goes to seven games. Dex says, here’s hoping, and Gio says he’s been following all season. He can’t wait for game two on Sunday night. (I assume it’s on ABC.) Dex says, be warned, and looks at Josslyn. The lifeguard is a big sports fan. She’s fierce and a terrible loser, so if Gio is rooting against her team and his team wins, don’t gloat. Josslyn and Dex smile at each other.

Going into Chase’s apartment, Chase tells Brook that he doesn’t know if he’s being strategic or just avoiding the thing he dreads. Maybe they should have gone to Finn’s first like they planned. She says, they still could. What would he say to Finn? Chase says, you son of a bitch, how could you use our dad’s death as an excuse to dive into a bottle? She looks at him, and he says, not the best approach, huh? She says, certainly justified, but no. She doesn’t think Finn would have a good response to that. Chase says, he’s sick. It isn’t his fault. Addiction is a disease. He knows this. He has training for this, and he’s still so angry and frustrated and disappointed that Finn would do this to Violet. And his dad. She says, and him, and he says, frustrated and angry will get them exactly nowhere. They need to come up with a plan. A way to confront Finn, get him into recovery, and most of all, protect Violet.

At the Brown Dog Bar (remember that place?), Jake and his friends Gordo and Dale take a seat in a booth. Jake asks what they do now. Does somebody take their order or what? Gordo tries to get the bartender’s attention, but he says, the bartender’s not even looking this way. He guesses if they want a drink, they have to go to the bar. Jake says, if they do that, they’ll be carded. Gordo will be fine, he has a fake ID, but Jake has nothing. He’ll just be out here twisting. Gordo tells him, relax. Nobody ever gets carded here. Jake asks how he knows, and Gordo says he just knows. He asks Dale if he’s got this, and Dale says, no problem. They give their money to Dale, who says, three of their best cheap beers coming up, and goes to the bar. Jake looks over and sees Finn at the bar, sitting next to a woman.

The woman says, here’s to ignoring first impressions, and Finn says, okay, clinking glasses with her. He holds up two fingers, and she says she wasn’t sure she was going to come over here. She was afraid he was going to be one of those dark, brooding types, but she figured, what the heck, and came on over. She’s glad she did because he is all kinds of fun. (I doubt Finn has ever been called all kinds of fun before.) Finn says, really? Huh. They clink glasses again as Jake watches Finn down the shot.

Wiley pops out of the water, and says, how about this time? Nina watches them, and Drew says, that was like, fifteen seconds. He’s going to have to hold his breath a little bit longer to be a Navy SEAL, but he has a lot of time to figure that out. Willow says, ever since she mentioned to Wiley that Drew was in the Navy, all he’s talked about is how he wants to be a Navy SEAL. He’s less certain, though, about what that is. Drew says, he’s got a lot of time to figure that out. The Navy will be lucky to have him. Willow says, and Wiley will be lucky to have Drew as his mentor, and Wiley asks if he’ll get a uniform. Nina smiles and walks toward the pool, but she literally runs into Gio, who drops the towels he’s holding. She says she’s so sorry, and helps him pick them up. She doesn’t know where her mind was at just now. He says, somewhere good, he hopes, and Wiley yells, Grandma Nina! He gets out of the pool, and she wraps him in a towel. She says, look how big he’s gotten, and hugs him.

Chase says he doesn’t know where to start with Finn or with Violet. The day his dad died, and Brook took Violet to Bobbie’s, Finn completely broke down. He knew he’d screwed up and told Chase to pour the rest of the bourbon down the sink. He made a bad choice, but it was like Finn was getting back on track, and he bought it. Brook says she would have thought the same thing, but he says, no, she wouldn’t. She says, they have very different experiences with substance abuse. The Quartermaines have a lot of history with it and there was this couple down in Bensonhurst… Anyway, she knows how to recognize it for exactly what it is. He says, what kind of detective is he if he’s this naïve? and she says, believing in his brother says nothing about his work as a detective. He says he bought Finn’s whole act. The remorse, the resolve to do better, and Finn lied to him. She says, he didn’t do it on purpose. It’s part of the disease. He says, reading about it is one thing. Experiencing it firsthand is another. He keeps thinking about when Finn was at their dad’s memorial. He was shaking hands and wiping away tears, putting on this whole devoted son act. Then he’d sneak away to the bar and have a few tequila shots. And for the record, he bought the whole devoted son act too. She says, it’s not necessarily acting. He could be a devoted son in mourning and an addict who just had a relapse. Chase says he defended Finn to Elizabeth. She was worried about Finn, and he said everything was okay. She says, he has to give himself a break. Finn isn’t the only one who just lost his dad. Chase is in mourning too, and he’s way too close to Finn and the entire situation to see it clearly. If this was a case, he’d take himself off of it. He says, but it’s not a case. He can’t hand Finn off to someone and say, good luck to the both of you. She says, even if he could, he wouldn’t do it. Finn is his brother. He says, she’s right. He loves Finn and wants to help him through this, even though he’s madder at Finn than he’s ever been. She says, no one can disappoint you like the people you love the most. That’s why they call addiction a disease. He says he knows. And when he’s less angry, he’ll remember that Finn is suffering too. She says, they both love Finn and want to treat his situation compassionately, but their main priority has to be protecting Violet. He asks, so how do they shield Violet when her father is falling apart?

Jake tells Gordo that he had to go – now, and Gordo says, why? What’s wrong? Jake says, his mom’s boyfriend is here and if her boyfriend sees him, he’s dead. Gordo asks, what’s he doing here? He thought Jake said he’s a good guy. Jake says he doesn’t know. He’d thought he was.

Finn tells the woman that he signed up for Doctors Without Borders right out of med school, right after he graduated, and she says, so she’s having drinks with a fun doctor? Lucky her. Did he go anywhere good? he says, no. The good places don’t usually need them. He was in Rota, the Mariana Islands. She asks if people were shooting at him, but he says, no, not really. A lot of people needed help and didn’t have anywhere else to get it. Their operating room was a tent. She says, he’s lived quite the life, and probably save quite a few along the way. He says, not enough, and she asks if that’s why he’s here in Port Charles. Dr…? He suggests they leave the names out of it, and she says she doesn’t see why not. They’ve been doing just fine without them so far. He says, just think of him as in town to visit family, and she asks, how bad is it going? She’s only asking because he’s sitting in this place with her instead of doing whatever families do when they visit. He says, just taking in the local sights, and she says, he sure is. And she hopes he feels welcome. She’s also hoping there’s something she can do to make his trip memorable. He downs another shot. (I’m getting drunk just watching.)

Willow goes over to Wiley and Nina, and Nina says she’s sorry. He was just coming out. Wiley says, Grandma Nina is here, and Willow says she can see that, and says hi to Nina. Nina says, nice to see her, and Wiley asks if she’s going swimming, but Nina says she doesn’t think she’s dressed for swimming. Actually, she came here to look for his Uncle Drew, but maybe some other time, okay? Wiley says, sure. Swimming’s always good. Nina says she thinks so too, and Wiley says, the Quartermaines have a big pool too, and they have a big blow-up thing that looks like a duck. He thinks she’d like swimming there. He does. Willow says, they’ll see about that, and sits down with Wiley. Drew gets out of the pool and says he heard Nina was looking for him. What does she need? Willow says, Wiley smells like chlorine, and Drew says, there’s a pre-swim lotion you can put on your skin that prevents the chlorine from getting through. Willow asks if that’s something he learned from the Navy, but he says, no. He actually read it in Crimson. They had a few ads for it, or is he just imagining things? Nina smiles at him.

Dex says, here’s to Josslyn’s first day of lifeguarding, and she thanks him. She says, here’s to no running, fighting, or cannonballs, and he says he bets she can get two out of three. Trina says that’s not what she wants to hear, and Josslyn thanks him for remembering it’s her first day. He says, she knows how much he loves swimming, and she says, it’s a good thing he got those stitches out. Otherwise, she’d have to stop him from getting in the pool. He says, that might be easier said than done, and Trina says she heard about what happened to him at Brook’s wedding reception. That’s insane. He says, it was a little, but it’s over and he’s okay. Thanks to Joss. She’s the one who took him to the ER and made him wait to get stitches. He would have gone home, put some ice on it, and probably wound up with a scar. Trina tells him, some people say a scar makes you look a little daring, and he says, but then people as how you got it and he’d have to explain it. Some things are best left forgotten. He looks at Josslyn, and so does Trina.

Brook brings Chase something to eat, but he says he’s not hungry. She says she knows, but he has to keep his strength up. Wow. She thought she’d have more time before she’d see her mother. He says, there are worse things, like sitting around feeling helpless. He just lost his dad. He can’t risk losing his brother too, and he can’t let Violet get caught up in Finn’s mess. He thought Violet would be reason enough for Finn to get back on the wagon. Brook says, she hasn’t been so far, and he says, she’s right. A person can’t be an addict’s only incentive to get sober. She says, they have to do more than just cross their fingers and pray that things don’t go from bad to worse. If Finn is in denial about his drinking, he’s certainly not going to think there are any problems when it comes to Violet. Chase wonders how Violet is going to feel about whatever they decide to do. How does this end without one or both of them hating us? She says, Finn is going to hate whoever makes him confront his drinking, and there’s absolutely nothing they can do about that. And yeah, Violet might think she hates them for a little while. He says, it’s better than leaving her with her father… He can’t believe he just said that. She says, if he hadn’t, she would have.

Dale comes back with the beers, and Gordo says, see? Told you we wouldn’t get carded. Good job. He takes a long sip, and says, the best money can buy. Their money anyway. Jake continues to watch Finn, and Gordo says, chill out. Drink his beer. Jake says, the last thing he needs is for Finn to see him drinking, and Gordo says, yeah. He’s really taking in the beauty of this place. Come on. That guy hasn’t looked at anything but that woman in half an hour. He’s not sure that guy knows there is anything else in this bar. Jake says, shut up. His dad just died. Gordo says, he looks real sad, but Jake says, he doesn’t know. This doesn’t mean anything. He would never do this to Jake’s mom.

The woman puts her hand on Finn’s leg and says, there must be other things he’s dying to see besides the inside of this bar. She can think of a few things that might be of interest. Finn motions for the bartender to come over and asks if there are any liquor stores around this establishment, but the bartender says, not really. Finn says, how about that bottle there? and points. That’s a nice bottle. Would he be willing to part with it? The bartender says, they’re not supposed to, and Finn says he knows that, and puts a fifty on the bar. How does he feel about that bottle now? The bartender scoops up the bill and puts the bottle on the bar. The woman says she loves the sight of a man taking care of business, and Finn picks up his drink. He says, here’s to taking care of business, and they clink glasses.

Trina says she’s going to grab herself an iced tea while Josslyn and Dex catch up. Does anybody want one? They say, no thanks, and Trina leaves. She bumps into Gio, who maybe needs glasses, and he says he’s so sorry. She says, that’s okay, and he says, for some reason, he’s like a human bumper car today, but she says, he’s okay. It’s fine. He says, it’s not, but he promises he’s not always such a klutz. He was just going to check in with Josslyn. Trina says she would probably hold off if she were him. Those two used to be together and now they’re not, but it looks like they’re patching things up. He says, they obviously still like each other, and she says, that’s what she keeps trying to tell them. She loves them, but they’re exhausting. He says he comes from a long line of nosy Italians, so he has to ask. Why did they break up in the first place? She says she doesn’t know all of the details, but it had something to do with Josslyn’s stepfather. Technically, ex-stepfather, which is bonus points for Josslyn. Sonny Corinthos is basically awful.

Dex asks if Trina knows everything that went down between him and Sonny, and Josslyn says she told Trina that Sonny assaulted him. She didn’t get into the details and probably won’t. He says, Sonny tracked him down in the park the other day, and she says she doesn’t see any fresh wounds or bullet holes, so she guesses that’s progress. He says, Sonny told him the bad blood between them was done, and he could live his life however he wants. Even become a cop. She says, wow. Dex doesn’t need his permission, but she’s a little surprised. He says he’s surprised too, and she asks if Dex believes him. It’s the least he could do after trying to kill Dex, but it’s Sonny, so… He says he believes Sonny hates him, but he also believes Sonny has taken the target off his back. She says she can finally breathe, and he says, him too. She says she guesses it’s a fair trade. Dex doesn’t press charges and Sonny leaves him alone. He says he’s just ready to put Sonny and whatever he does or doesn’t do behind him, and just focus on what’s in front of him. That’s all that matters.

Drew tells his future frogman to come along and let Willow and Nina talk lotions. He goes back into the pool with Wiley, and Willow says, Nina and Drew seem to be working well together. Nina says, it’s amazing how perspectives can change. They respect each other as professionals and that’s been nice. Willow says, however they managed it, they seem to be in a more peaceful place, and they both look happier. Nina says she’s certainly on board for more peace, and Willow says, he’s so good with Wiley and Amelia, and of course (🍷) his own daughter. Nina says, he really is. She’s never seen Drew Cain like this.

The woman whispers something to Finn, and Jake says, you’ve got to be kidding me. That’s it. He gets up, but Gordo says, hang on. Not here. Jake says, he doesn’t need to do this to his mom, but Gordo says, if Jake gets in his face here, they’re all going to get busted, right? Jake says, right.

Finn says he needs to go. He needs to get out. He needs some fresh air. He picks up the bottle and tells the woman, let’s go, and she says, that‘s an excellent idea. She follows Finn out, and Dale tells Jake that he’s really sorry. Jake thanks him and says he’s sorry, but he has to get out of here. He leaves, and we see the two empty shot glasses on the bar.

Brook says, Violet doesn’t have a passport, does she? and Chase says he’s not sure. She says, if they need one, they’ll get one, and he asks why exactly Violet needs a passport. She says, because they’re going to take Violet with them to Italy while Finn is at rehab. What’s that saying about seeing the world through a child’s eyes? He says he doesn’t know, but he knows the saying about abducting a minor and taking them across state and international lines. It’s a felony. She says, they’re not kidnapping Violet, but he says he’s pretty sure Finn’s going to say they did in court. He loves that she’s willing to bring Violet on their honeymoon, but Finn’s never going to go for it, and Violet’s not going to want to go if Finn’s not 100% behind it. And if he’s being honest, he doesn’t think child abduction is the answer to all of their problems. She says, what if they keep it local? and he says, like a scavenger hunt? Where Finn goes around town looking for his own child? (Ha-ha-ha!) She says she can tell by the tone of his voice that he’s not completely on board, and he says, it’s a terrible plan. It’s actually one of her most troubling. Her family would be proud. She tells him that he always knows exactly what to say, and he says he knows she came up with that plan just to take the edge off. She asks if it worked, and he says, no, but he loves her for it anyway, and they kiss.

Gio says, Sonny Corinthos is Josslyn’s ex-stepfather? and Trina says, yes, to her eternal regret. He says his family thinks Uncle Sonny is second only to the Pope in terms of greatness, and she says, Uncle Sonny? He says, Sonny’s not really his uncle, more like his benefactor. Sonny’s been really good to him. She says, okay. She’s happy for him, but pretty much everyone in Port Charles has an opinion about Sonny. Some good, some bad. She just knows there’s some bad history when it comes to Joss. He says he’s sorry to hear about that, but now that they’ve gotten that settled, tell him. Why did she have such a weird look on her face when they first met? Did he do something, or have they run into each other before?

Finn brings the woman to his apartment, and he looks at all the boxes. He flashes back to packing up Gregory’s stuff and picking up the shoes Gregory wore at the wedding. The woman asks if those are the things from his border work. These boxes, are they his Doctors Without Borders stuff? He nods and says, it’s hard to believe he lived that life. It feels like it happened to somebody else. She says she sure likes the doctor guy who’s living this life, but he says he doesn’t. He doesn’t like anything about him. She smooths his hair back and says, hey. Come on, sugar. This is not the time to be sad. Anything he’s feeling, she can take it away. He asks how she’s going to do that, and she says, how about this? and kisses him. Doesn’t that feel better? He nods and she says, and this, kissing him some more. (I’ve been basically yelling, no, no, no! at the TV since they left the bar.)

Jake goes into the hospital and finds Elizabeth at the reception desk. She says she didn’t expect to see him until later. She thought he was going to the movies with Gordo. He says, they were, but… She asks, what happened? and he says he met up with Gordo and Dale, and they were on their way to the movies, and they passed this dive bar. He’s talking super sketchy, and they saw Finn coming out. She asks if he’s sure it was Finn, and he says, positive. And he wasn’t alone. She says, great. He’s found himself a drinking buddy. Jake says, sort of. He was with this lady, like with her with her, and it was pretty obvious he’d been drinking with her.

Elizabeth turns away, and Jake says he’s sorry, but she says, he has nothing to apologize for. He says he didn’t want to tell her, but he had to, right? and she says, he absolutely had to. She’s glad he did. Thank you. He says, sure, and she says she’ll handle this when she’s done here, but he says he doesn’t know. That might not be the greatest idea right now. She says, don’t worry. She’s got this. She’ll see him at home, okay? He says, okay, and she leaves. He takes out his phone and makes a call. He says, it’s Jake. My mom’s got a situation. She needs you.

Chase tells Brook that there’s got to be something they can do that doesn’t mean them spending their honeymoon in separate prison cells fighting assorted felony charges. Brook says, okay. What if they make something happen at the Q’s house that Violet just won’t want to miss? He says he’s listening, and she says, they tell her that all the kids are out of school, that there’s tennis and swimming and horseback riding and barbecues every night. He says, like summer camp, and she says, exactly. He says, that sounds promising. Are they just talking about this or doing it? She says, we are doing it, baby. And all the Quartermaine adults will take turns on supervising shifts, work schedules permitting. He says, because of his dad, he has some time off he could use, and she says, and she can work from anywhere. So they’ll just say they’re spending a few weeks at the Quartermaines. He says, and there will be a bunch of cousins and pseudo cousins and assorted rugrats running around playing with Violet. She says, not bad, huh? and he says, yeah. He’ll talk to Finn tomorrow, assuming that he’s sober. She says, and with Violet staying with the Qs, they can do some sort of intervention. Get him to see what kind of trouble he’s in. Chase asks if she’s sure her family is going to be okay with this. He can’t imagine Tracy will be. It’s a lot. (One more kid? And Violet no less? Hardly.) She says, then they’ll tell her the truth, privately. Tracy and Finn are friends. She should know anyway that her friend is in trouble. Then she can help them get the rest of the family on board. He says, that might be a leap, and she says, maybe. But at the end of the day, every last Quartermaine is going to be doing this, no matter what it takes.

Nina and Willow sit by the pool, and Nina says, the lotion. It’s called DermaPool and it’s fantastic. It contains shea butter and green leaf extract in it. It leaves a moisturizing coating on the skin and vitamin C neutralizes the chlorine. Olympic swimmers swear by it. They had medalists that were actually part of the ad campaign at Crimson, and they were great. It also helps with pool rash and swim hair… Willow says, swim hair? and Nina says, you know how chlorine can change some hair green? Willow says she didn’t know it had an official name, and Nina says, Crimson has boxes of DermaPool in storage. Why doesn’t she send Willow a couple of boxes?… She can really overdo it sometimes. The last thing Willow needs is a truckload of product showing up on her doorstep. Willow says, that’s okay, and Nina and Drew exchange glances.

Trina is on her laptop at a table, and Gio says, sorry. The way people go through towels, you’d think they never saw one before. Trina says, people go wild when they’re not the ones doing the fluffing and the folding, and he says, that makes sense. At the risk of trying her patience, is she sure they never met before? He’s positive he’d remember someone like her. She says she promises they haven’t, but she will admit that if she looks at him just the right way out of the corner of her eye, he does look like someone she used to be close to. He says, why used to be? Why aren’t they close anymore? She says, he died, and Gio says he’s sorry. He’s an idiot. She says, no. You know what? I’ll just… She dashes out, and Josslyn looks at Gio.

Willow tells Wiley that they have to get home. Mommy has a date. He says he doesn’t like that idea, and she says, it’s with daddy. He’s taking her to dinner. Wiley says, okay then, and she says she’s glad he approves. Nina asks if they’re going anywhere fun, but Willow says she has no idea. It’s a new place Michael wants to try. Nina says, nice. She’s sure wherever they go, it’s going to be lovely. She should get back to Crimson before they send out a search party. They still have some things to iron out before they launch the next issue. She tells Wiley that it was really, really great spending some time with him, and he says he knows. Let’s do it again. She says she hopes this is the start of an incredible summer for him and Amelia. She hopes they have lots of adventures and lots of fun and lots of swimming. He says he already told his mom that he’s going to swim every day this summer, and Willow says, he’s not lying. He started telling her about his swim plan in February. Nina says, that sounds like a great plan. It was really good to see Willow. Willow says, it was nice seeing Nina too. Wiley loved it. Nina says, and if she ever needs DermaPool… Willow says she knows who to call. Nina leaves as Drew watches.

Josslyn catches up with Trina and asks if she’s okay. Trina says, yeah. She just went to the ladies’ room. Josslyn says she saw Trina take off. Did Gio say something? She’ll beat him up if he did. Trina says, Gio didn’t say anything wrong. It’s just that sometimes some things will just hit her a certain way, and memories of Spencer will flood in and just knock the wind out of her. Josslyn says she’s so sorry, and Trina thanks her. She thinks it’s best if she just goes home. Josslyn says she’s going to be off soon, and they could go somewhere. They could talk or go see a movie. Whatever she wants. Trina thanks her, but thinks it’s best if she just has some alone time tonight. Josslyn says, of course (🍷), and hugs Trina. She says, but she’s here, and Trina says she knows. She leaves, and Dex comes back. He asks if Trina is all right, and Josslyn says, not at the moment, but she will be. He asks if something happened, and she says, not really. She thinks that grief just snuck up on her. He says, it’s going to take her a while to get over Spencer, and Josslyn says, it is. She really loved him. She feels so bad for Trina. He says, there’s been some big losses lately. What he keeps trying to say and keeps screwing up is, every moment is precious. They both know that life is short, so have dinner with him.

Chase says he wishes there was something they could do to fix Finn right now, and Brook says, her too, but they can’t lock him in a cage for his own good. He says he desperately wants Finn to stop drinking before he hits rock bottom, and she says she knows. They just need to remind him that the stakes are different for him than they are for other people. On top of everything else, Finn is a doctor at GH. People know him from there. If he keeps this up, word is going to get out. He says, if Finn does something he truly regrets and can’t take back, he’ll never recover. There will be nothing left of the Finn they knew and loved.

Elizabeth approaches Finn’s apartment and almost knocks, but then lets herself in with her key. She sees Finn and the woman sitting on the sofa, the woman’s legs on Finn’s lap, and the nearly empty bottle on the table with two glasses. Elizabeth is stone-faced and Finn just looks drunk.

On Monday, Curtis tells Drew, this is just the right time to do this; Willow tells Michael, if Drew can start fresh with Nina, maybe she can too; Nina tells Maxie, this is the price they pay for dancing with the devil; and Finn wants a chance to explain.

🏆 Winning Daytime…

The winners.

https://people.com/daytime-emmys-2024-winners-list-8653423

The important winners.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/gallery/daytime-emmys/the-2024-daytime-emmy-award-winners

Red carpet gallery.

https://parade.com/tv/daytime-emmy-awards-red-carpet-fashion-outfits-2024

History maker.

https://people.com/daytime-emmys-2024-dick-van-dyke-becomes-oldest-winner-guest-performer-in-drama-8652791

🌍 Where In the World Is Reza Farahan…

This was another reality show I actually liked. Yeah, there was fighting and fussing, and Mike… Well, let’s not talk about him. But it had tons of heart, and it was the real deal. I need someone to root for and this group was worthy of cheering on.

‘Shahs of Sunset’ Cast: Where Are They Now?

📹 Nice Try…

Doubtful I’d have watched this before the whole Rust tragedy anyway. He just doesn’t seem like a good guy.

https://people.com/alec-baldwin-reality-show-not-ideal-timing-rust-trial-source-exclusive-8659398

👩‍❤️‍👩 There Went the Brides…

After the wedding and other hookups.

https://extratv.com/2024/06/04/captain-sandy-on-married-life-and-below-deck-hookup-shockers-exclusive/

Who was in attendance.

‘Below Deck’ Stars Who Attended Captain Sandy’s Wedding to Leah Shafer

Supposedly, there was no shade intended on excluding Captain Lee.

Which Below Deck Stars Attended Captain Sandy Yawn’s Wedding?

🌁 Are We There Yet…

The latest news on The Last of Us. Sounds great if we ever get to see it.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/the-last-of-us-season-2-will-expand-on-unseen-stories-from-game/

https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/the-last-of-us-season-2-episode-count-seasons-3-and-4/

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/the-last-of-us-four-seasons

🐉 Caution – Dragons Ahead…

This makes me want to give it another try.

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/house-of-the-dragon-season-2-review

A spinoff of a spinoff.

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/game-of-thrones-sea-snake-spinoff-steve-toussaint

💃🏾 Evolution Revolution…

This is definitely on my must-see list.

https://ew.com/shonda-rhimes-black-barbie-documentary-trailer-8658080

🕸 Not So Itsy Bitsy…

Everybody, calm down. It’s not going to bite you or your pets, and it doesn’t have wings. Actually, my first thought was, I hope I get to see one.

https://people.com/joro-spiders-2024-everything-to-know-8659303

🐶 Move Over Montreal…

The pups are taking over the ice. More on the Stanley Pup.

https://people.com/stanley-pup-adorable-rescue-dogs-take-nhl-ice-8659802

https://www.nhl.com/fans/2024-stanley-pup

📠 Quotes of the Week

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former. – Albert Einstein

A mathematical formula for happiness: Reality divided by Expectations. There were two ways to be happy: improve your reality or lower your expectations. – Jodi Picoult

The border to eternity is never ahead of us. It runs parallel to life and can be crossed over at any moment by old and young. – Reinhard Bonnke

As I get older, I am becoming more selective of who I consider a friend. I find that I would rather have 4 quarters than 100 pennies. – Steve Maraboli

The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing. – John Powell

I believe the most important single thing, beyond discipline and creativity, is daring to dare. – Dr. Maya Angelou

I am under no obligation to make sense to you. – Neil DeGrasse Tyson

Be yourself, but not too much.  – Jasmine Pineda, 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After?

⛺️ Oh Those Summer Nights…

Join me on Monday for a little soap and a little Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay respecting others’ boundaries at the beach or pool (also, please don’t leave litter behind), and stay remembering addiction is a disease, and give grace, but don’t excuse it.

May25

May 24, 2024 – Alexis Rests Her Case, Monday, Free Soap, That House, VanderJunk, Post Deck, Range To Behold, Gaga’s Quinn, For Love Of Pets (!), Very Nearly 10 Quotes & Bumper

Posted on by
Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Diane and Alexis return to the courtroom. Fergus scowls at them and Diane says, he’s going to give himself a migraine if he keeps that up. Alexis says, he’s doing that because he hates her, which is okay, because she hates him. Diane says, good, and Alexis says, he knows she didn’t have any responsibility in Neil’s death, but that didn’t stop him. Diane says, as lawyers, they both know that sentence was over after she didn’t have any responsibility. Nothing that man has said today bears any relevance in her case. It isn’t factual. He’s completely unhinged. The bailiff says, all rise.

At the hospital, Portia tells Elizabeth that she’s so sorry about what happened. Finn called her and told her about Gregory and that he wasn’t going to be in today. She didn’t know him that well, but she did know him to be an incredibly decent man. Elizabeth says, better than decent, one of the best, and Portia says, he handled his ALS diagnosis with phenomenal dignity. She felt very lucky to see him in his element yesterday. How proud he was of his family and how much he clearly loved them. It was really beautiful. Finn didn’t tell her very much, just that it happened suddenly. Elizabeth says, in his sleep, and Portia says, sometimes when that happens, it can be very difficult for the family members who are left behind. Elizabeth says, more difficult than she ever imagined.

Violet tells Brook that she knows of a lady who lived to be over 100 (she knows my neighbor?). She wonders if her dad could do that. Brook says, maybe, and Violet says she wishes grandpa would have. Brook says she does too, but they know that was impossible because grandpa was sick. Violet says she’s scared, and Brook asks, why? Violet says, because she forgets things all the time. She forgets her times tables, she forgets her dates, and even though she tells herself not to, what if she forgets her grandpa? Brook says, impossible, and Violet asks how she knows. Brook says, because his hugs and smiles and fun stories aren’t things they can memorize for a test. The people who love us and that we love, changes us. That love becomes a part of us, imprinted on our hearts. Violet says, like a tattoo? and Brook says, exactly like that. Violet says, tattoos are forever. That’s why her daddy says she has to be sure if she wants to get one because they’ll stay. Brook says, just like her grandpa’s love for her. It’ll never go away.

Chase says he doesn’t want anyone telling him how to handle losing dad, so he’s not going to turn around and judge Finn on how he’s dealing with it. This is going to be one of the hardest days of their lives, especially for Finn. Finn says, no… but Chase says, Finn had to find him like that. He doesn’t know how Finn did it. Finn says he had no choice, and Chase says, still. Finn says, it’s not like it’s his first dead body, and Chase says, it’s not a body; it’s dad. Finn says, it didn’t look like dad. Their dad’s eyes were kind and understanding, and his mouth… how it curved up at the edges. Chase says, yeah. Like he was always ready to give a smile if anyone gave him half a reason to. Finn laugh/cries and says, yeah. That wasn’t the person he found. He didn’t smell like Old Spice anymore. He was so cold to the touch. Colder than you could ever imagine possible. That wasn’t their dad. Their dad was warm. Chase says, one of the warmest people he’s ever met, and Finn says, yeah… He didn’t want this to happen. Chase hugs Finn and says, neither did he, and they both cry.

Tracy comes into the stable humming, and Cody asks, how was the ride? She says, just what the doctor ordered. She means literally. She has to thank that Dr. Randolph for telling her to get outside more. Sun on her face, wind in her hair… yummy! Cody says, that’s really great. He’s glad. He was told she’s needed up at the house. Don’t worry about the mount and saddle. He’ll take care of that. She says, really? No one was up when she left, and if they’re up now, it’s because they’re gossiping about the Bensonhurst family members she met at the wedding, and thankfully, have already forgotten. Cody says, it sounded pretty important, and Tracy says, really? Who needs her? He says, Chase, but she says, no. Chase and Brook are on a plane to Florence. He says, they didn’t get on that plane. They couldn’t. She says, why not?… Why not? He says he’s sorry.

Portia says, this must be hard for Elizabeth too. Gregory wasn’t simply a patient. She’s practically a part of the family. Elizabeth says, it felt that way, and Portia asks how Finn is holding up. Elizabeth says, he’s struggling. They all are. Portia says, if she wants to take the day off to go be with him… but Elizabeth says she’s pretty sure he doesn’t want her around right now. Portia says, that doesn’t sound like Finn, especially under these circumstances. Is she sure? Elizabeth says, positive, and Portia asks, what’s going on? She is Elizabeth’s friend too, remember? Elizabeth says, she’s also the Co-Chief of Staff, and walks off.

Tracy says, Gregory died? and Cody says he’s sorry. He knows he already said that, but he doesn’t really know what to say. Why doesn’t she take a seat – he pulls out a chair – and he’ll get her a water. She sits down, and he puts a bottle of water in front of her. He puts his hand on her shoulder and says, anything else he can do? She says she wishes he’d seen Gregory at the wedding yesterday, and he sits next to her. He says, Gregory must have been proud, and she says, he was happy. How is it that person no longer exists? She’s sorry. That sounds ridiculous. He says, no. It doesn’t sound ridiculous to him. She says, they all knew it was coming. It’s just that… this was so sudden. Cody says he feels like you can expect something and still feel punched in the gut when it actually happens. He’s sorry she had to hear it from him. She says she’s not. She used to try and imagine what Gregory would have been like when he was young, and you know what? She imagines he was a lot like Cody.

The bailiff says, court is now back in session, and Diane asks Alexis if she’s ready for this. Alexis says she’s done nothing but prepare and be ready for this. What more does Diane want her to do? Diane says, what more does she want Alexis to do? She wants Alexis to get mad at somebody other than herself. And she wants Alexis to fight like hell, or just give it up and go home at this point. She doesn’t care. But what she doesn’t want is even a hint of wishy-washy I deserve this nonsense. The judges take their seats in sync, looking weirdly robotic, and Judge Caldwell says she trusts everyone had productive recess and used the new slide. They’re ready to hear the final statements, starting with Miss Davis. Alexis says, if she may, she would like to return to her earlier points, without them being obscured by opposing counsel, if that is at all possible. Yes, she lied under oath, but that perjured testimony was made in front of a medical board hearing and not in a court of law. Judge Caldwell asks why that distinction matters, and Alexis says, because she wasn’t testifying as an attorney. She was testifying as a private citizen, who was desperately trying to protect the career and the reputation of a man she deeply cared about. A man who just so happened to be the late brother of opposing counsel Fergus Byrne. (Yep, I’m still laughing when they say Fergus, but come on. His brothers are Neil and Brendan, and their parents decided to name their third baby Fergus. One of these things is not like the other.)

Finn says he handled things in the worst possible way, but Chase says, no, he hasn’t. Finn insists he has. What is he doing? Hurting Elizabeth, pushing her away? Being someone Chase and Violet can lean on? No. He selfishly made this about him and that bottle. Chase says, there’s no right way to grieve, and Finn says, but there’s a wrong way. And that’s what he’s done. Chase says, he’s being too hard on himself, and Finn says he’d have thought after all this time, he would have been stronger. Chase says, he is strong, and Finn says, it’s not like they weren’t prepared. They’ve known dad was dying for months. Chase says, but knowing it and experiencing it are two completely different things, and Finn says, he hurt dad. He hurt him so many times, and now he’s gone and blown his sobriety, one of the things dad was really proud of him for. Chase says, now he’s just rewriting history, but Finn says, did he or did he not ruin his relationship with dad? Chase asks if he rebuilt. Did he? Landing in a place of understanding and trust and love. Finn did it with dad; he can do it with his sobriety. Finn says he needs a favor, and Chase says, anything. Finn says, get rid of it, and Chase takes the bottle and glass to the kitchen.

Cody says he’s really flattered that he reminds Tracy of Gregory, but he doesn’t see it. Tracy says, they both have a quiet, open way about them. Unhurried, unworried. Cody laughs and says, believe him, he worries plenty. She says, just good at hiding it? and he says, more like good at alleviating it. Or the horses are rather. He comes here to the stables and hangs out with these guys and figures, a world with them can’t be all bad. She says, that is exactly what Gregory would have said, except about his family. They are what grounded him and what gave him a reason to keep smiling. He says he’s happy Gregory had them, and she says, her too. Does he want some more similarities? He says, if she wants to share them, and she says, he doesn’t talk too much, and he doesn’t miss a thing. And he doesn’t push people around. He gives people a lot of grace. That, my friend, is a gift. She gets up, and he says, going back to the house? She says, no, not yet, and he asks if she’s going to Finn’s, but she says, no. He needs time. Did he notice if she left some clothes in the tack room? He says, yes. He hung them up behind the towels so they wouldn’t get dusty. She thanks him and says, if anybody asks, would he tell them he told her the news? He says, of course (🍷). He really is sorry. She says she really is sorry too, and goes in the back.

Molly comes out of the hospital elevator as TJ is walking by, and he says he thought they were meeting downstairs. He kisses her, and she says she couldn’t remember what they said, so she thought she’d come up in case he was waiting for her. He asks what she feels like for lunch, and she tells him to pick. He says he picked last time, and she says, he did such an amazing job of it. He says, Bobbie’s? and she says, Bobbie’s. Elizabeth runs up to Molly and says she can’t get ahold of Molly’s mom and keeps getting her voicemail. Molly says, to tell her about Gregory? She’s so, so sorry. Elizabeth thanks her, and Molly says, it’s going to be a really big loss for her mom. They were really close. TJ says, it’s not every day you jump out of a plane with someone, and Elizabeth asks if Molly knows where she is or how she could reach her. Molly says, she and Diane are in Albany for the Court of Appeals hearing, and Elizabeth says, right. That’s why she didn’t go to the wedding. How’s it going? Molly says she hasn’t heard anything yet. She should be home tomorrow. Does Elizabeth want her to try and call her? Elizabeth says, that’s okay. She would like to talk to Alexis herself, but thanks her. Elizabeth and Portia lock eyes, and Elizabeth leaves.

Fergus says, as soon as he heard his brother Neil figured into the complaint against Miss Davis, he recused himself from the medical review board. Alexis says, and was replaced by his partner of his law firm, and Diane says, sounds like an inside job to her. Alexis says, something else that she thinks is very noteworthy is that Ava Jerome was the sister of her ex-husband. She thinks Ava’s credibility should be called into question because she had clear motive to have Alexis disbarred. Judge Caldwell says, which was? and Alexis says, retaliation for divorcing her brother. Fergus says, Miss Jerome’s animus toward Miss Davis is irrelevant, but Alexis says she begs to differ. He says, they’re going in circles here. Miss Davis perjured herself, plain and simple. Alexis says, which she already admitted. It’s where she perjured herself that’s relevant. What’s also relevant is that she was never informed of her disbarment hearing, or the fact that Mr. Byrne’s law partner was sitting on that panel, or that Ava Jerome was involved. And had she known any of those things, she would have proceeded differently. It has become very clear to her, and she hopes to the judges as well, that this disbarment is not about her wrongdoing, but about the personal vendetta of the Jerome family and Fergus Byrne.

At Bobbie’s, TJ asks what Molly thinks is happening up there, but Molly says she doesn’t know. She wishes she did. Can he imagine? It’s not out of the realm of possibility her mom comes home from Albany and is able to practice law again. He says he certainly wouldn’t bet against Alexis and Diane, and she says, her either. He says, what about a little Davis girls match-up? and she says, he means if she and her mother went up against each other in court? He asks who she thinks would win, and she says, that is a nightmare scenario that she doesn’t even want to think about. He says, she knows all of her mother’s weak spots, and Molly says, yeah, and her mother would know all of hers. TJ says, even so, he’d put his money on her, and she tells him that he has to say that. He’s her domestic partner. He says, rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? and they laugh. She says, how about DP? and he says he could get used to that. She says she could get used to him, and he says, she’d better, because he’s not going anywhere.

Elizabeth sees Tracy coming out of the elevator and says, it’s a hard day. Tracy says, one of the hardest, and Elizabeth says, if she’s looking for Finn… Tracy says, no. She assumes he’s home. Elizabeth says, he is, and Tracy says, actually, she’s looking for Stella Henry. Does Elizabeth know where she is? Elizabeth says, last time she saw Stella, she was in the breakroom, and Tracy thanks her. She says she’s so sorry for Elizabeth’s loss, and Elizabeth says she’s sorry for Tracy’s. Tracy continues on.

Tracy finds Stella in the breakroom, and Stella says she heard about Gregory. She offers Tracy a chair, and Tracy sits down.

Elizabeth is sitting in the locker room, when Portia comes in. Elizabeth gets up, but Portia says, please don’t leave. She was confused, and honestly, a little hurt that Elizabeth didn’t want to talk to her. Is she wrong about their friendship or… Elizabeth says, no, but what she would be talking to Portia about, it’s not her story to tell. Portia says, okay, but just know Elizabeth can trust her if she changes her mind. She’s worried about Elizabeth. Elizabeth says she’s not the one Portia should be worried about, and Portia says, now Elizabeth is scaring her. Is someone in trouble? Elizabeth says, when she went to Finn’s this morning, he was drinking.

Elizabeth says, Portia has to understand Finn had just found his father’s body. Portia even said how difficult it is when a death is sudden like that. There’s no warning; there’s no chance to say goodbye. Gregory was just gone, and Finn was in shock and needed to hold on to something and he grabbed the wrong thing. It’s all been… Portia says, wrong, and Elizabeth asks Portia not to make her regret confiding this.

Stella brings tea and cookies to the table, and Tracy thanks her. Stella says, Tracy and Gregory were very close, and Tracy says she’s glad for the time they had together. Stella says, but she wishes they’d had more, and Tracy says, so much more. Stella tells her, Curtis and Portia said the wedding was magical, and Tracy says, it was. Gregory officiated over the ceremony beautifully. It was important to him. Stella says, and to Chase and Brook, she’s sure, and Tracy asks if she heard anything else. Stella says, about the wedding? but Tracy says, no. About his cause of death. Stella says, from what she understands, it was in his sleep, and Tracy says, no seizures? No paralysis? Stella says, not that she’s aware of. It sounded peaceful. Tracy asks what she thinks it was, and Stella says she’s heard a few theories. Cardiac arrest, pulmonary ambulism. Both are merciful outcomes for an ALS patient. She’s sure Dr. Cramer’s file has the death certificate. Does Tracy want to see it? Tracy says, no, but does Stella think there will be an autopsy? Stella says, no, there won’t be, and Tracy says, good. The family shouldn’t have to go through that. Stella says she agrees, and Tracy says she wonders if Stella could do something for her. Stella says, name it, and Tracy says she knows Stella’s job title is patient advocate, but she gets the feeling Stella sort of runs this place. Stella laughs and says, don’t tell her supervisor. Tracy says, so if anything comes up, like medical bills or official notifications, anything she can handle with her hands or her checkbook, would Stella let her know? Stella says, absolutely.

TJ asks how Molly is spending the rest of her day off, and Molly says she was thinking of taking a walk around the bluffs. He says, that sounds great, and she says, but? He asks if he sounds too much like a dad if he prefers that she doesn’t go alone, and she says, seeing how he’s about to be a dad, he should probably start sounding like one. He says, ask Kristina, and she says she did, and Kristina said yes, but that was a few days ago. Now Kristina’s not answering her calls. TJ asks if that’s his fault that there’s a rift between her and Kristina, but she says she wouldn’t call it a rift. They talked about going for a walk casually. She’s sure Kristina didn’t even know it was a plan plan. He says, okay. Why didn’t she just say that from the start? Because she thinks the minute she mentions Kristina not being the paragon of perfection, he’ll jump on it, right? She says, he’d be wrong.

Brook brings Violet home, and Finn hugs her, saying, he missed her. Violet says, they weren’t even gone a whole hour, but Finn says, it’s still too long. She says, he smells like toothpaste. Did he have lunch yet? He says, no. He was waiting for her. Does a grilled cheese sound good? She says, with tomatoes, like grandpa used to make it? He says, she’s got it. Why doesn’t she go wash her hands?

Alexis says she’s made choices in her life that she wishes she hadn’t, but she’s paid for them. She doesn’t think her personal life, as flawed as it may be, should have any bearing on her ability to practice law. She’s a good lawyer and she has a track record to prove it. She lost her career as the result of a personal vendetta, and she was never given a chance to speak her piece. So she’s speaking it now. Thank you for listening. She sits down and Fergus gets up. He says, Miss Davis asks them for a separation of her personal and professional life. It’s ironic, since all of the mitigating factors she presented were personal. Judge Caldwell tells him, get to the point, and he says, Miss Davis asks us to rely on her ability as a lawyer, citing examples of her work in and out of the courtroom, and those examples are impressive, though decidedly cherrypicked. Before they start polishing her Lawyer of the Year trophy, let him point out a few details that she conveniently left out.

Molly says she thinks when it comes to her sister, she and TJ are both to blame. He says something about Kristina; she jumps to her defense. She says something, it’s his turn. TJ says, right. He hasn’t done too much defending lately. He’s been too busy second guessing every move. He’s sorry. She’s been hesitant to bring up her own sister and that’s not right. She says she thinks it’s easier to worry about Kristina, and he asks what she means. She says she means it’s easier for them to doubt their surrogate because it’s her sister. If it were Andrea or another candidate, does he really think they’d be monitoring her bedtime and showing up with groceries? He says, or looking for parts of their family tree they can chop off, and she says, doubtful. He says, they’d just want them to be healthy and happy and living their lives, and she says, that’s what they should want for Kristina too. He laughs, and she says, what? He says he was just trying to picture how someone else would react to their inquiries, and she says, he means he doesn’t think their surrogate would welcome her showing up on their doorstep with kale and yogurt? He says, obviously, our baby needs protein, and she tells him, say that again. He says, protein, and she laughs. He says, our baby, and she says, they’re having a baby. He says he can’t wait.

Stella says, Tracy would really step up for Gregory’s family like that, and Tracy says, they have enough to negotiate, so if there’s any issue with his literary works or his papers at the university, she’ll just take care of it and get them professionally stored. Stella says, that could be a lot of work, but Tracy says she doesn’t mind. She has one more favor. Stella says, okay, and Tracy says, as much as she’ll miss Gregory immensely, it really is not her loss, and she wants Stella to keep this just between the two of them. She doesn’t want her name all over it. Stella says she understands, and she will, but let her be very clear on something. It is Tracy’s loss. Not hers alone, but it’s her loss. In her neighborhood, when someone is grieving, you bake them a casserole. Tracy laughs and says, no one wants her baking a casserole, and Stella laughs with her. She says, the point is, these are extraordinary gestures, and Tracy says, it’s what she can do. Stella says, a lot of people can do things, but they don’t have Tracy’s heart, so they end up doing nothing. Tracy says, Gregory changed her, and Stella says, for the better. Tracy says, he expected a lot of her and she doesn’t want to let him down. Not this soon anyway.

Fergus says, what Miss Davis didn’t tell them was that she was suspended at one time for discouraging her client, Carlos Rivera, from taking a plea deal which would have afforded him a lighter sentence. That’s a curious choice, until it’s revealed that the man Mr. Rivera would have been testifying against was none other than her husband at the time, Julian Jerome. Judge Caldwell says, and she assumes Mr. Rivera can testify to that, but Fergus says, unfortunately, not. Before the case could come to trial, Mr. Rivera was murdered by Julian Jerome. Perhaps Miss Davis’s plan all along. Both Alexis and Diane jump up, and Diane says, objection. Prejudicial. Fergus says, apologies. It’s just that it’s difficult to keep Miss Davis’s personal and professional life separate when the two are so entangled. Judge Caldwell says she encourages him to try. Avoid such wild speculation. Fergus says, understood, and Diane says, is it though? Fergus says, in addition, his other brother Brendan, futilely attempted to hold Miss Davis accountable for his brother Neil’s death, which tragically, led to Brendan’s death as well. Diane says, that is a wildly inaccurate statement, and Alexis says, he knows very well she had nothing to do with either of his brother’s deaths. Judge Caldwell bangs her gavel, but Fergus won’t shut up and says, does she truly think Neil wouldn’t be alive today if he’d never met her? Of course (🍷) he would, and Brendan would too. The judge bangs the gavel again and says, order in the court. Fergus says, you destroyed my family, Alexis, and I’m here to make sure you never destroy anyone else’s. Judge Caldwell yells for order.

Tracy picks up her bag, and Stella asks if she has someplace to be. Tracy says, not really, but she probably should head home. She’s avoided her family long enough. Stella says, what’s a few more minutes? and pushes the plate of cookies toward Tracy. Tracy holds out her hand and Stella takes it. Tracy picks up a cookie with her other hand, and Stella laughs.

Elizabeth tells Portia that she’s sorry she dumped all of that stuff on her earlier. She’d just come from Finn’s apartment, and they’d gotten into it… Portia says, it’s fine. She can’t imagine what must be happening with the two of the right now, but she is glad Elizabeth trusted her as her friend. Elizabeth says, it’s all just really fresh. She thinks once the dust settles, it’ll all go back to normal. She lowers her voice and says, and Finn having a drink was a complete aberration. He had a moment of weakness, and that’s all it was, a moment. He has to take care of Violet and she knows he’s going to pull himself together and be strong for her. Portia says, and he has patients that are counting on him as well, and Elizabeth says, of course (🍷). He would never put his patients in danger. Portia knows that. She has to keep this a secret. Please. Portia says she knows how important Finn’s sobriety is to him and she’s sure this was a one-time crisis. And it’s probably over already. Elizabeth thanks her and tells Portia that she really needed to hear someone say that. Portia says she’s really glad she could be the one to say it, and Elizabeth leaves, but Portia looks worried.

Violet says she saved Finn the last bite, and he says, she’s too good to him. He opens his mouth, and she pops it in, saying, she knows. He says, so good, and she asks if she can play on her tablet for a little. He says, sure, but first, daddy needs a hug. She hugs him and he says he loves her so much. Never, never forget that. She says she won’t, and goes to her room. Finn tells Brook that he’s so sorry they missed their honeymoon, but she says, their family is the most important thing right now, okay? And she’s here for whatever he needs. Errands, food, laundry, babysitting. Consider her at his beck and call. He thanks her and says, but right now, he thinks what he needs is a meeting. Chase says he thinks that’s a great idea.

Fergus says, lying under oath is perjury. Yes, it took place at a medical board hearing, and sure, some would argue that makes it less impactful. But the repercussions from that lie had enormous impact. Diane says, how many times will opposing counsel say the same thing? and Judge Caldwell tells Fergus to wrap it up. He says, Miss Davis’s lie set off a chain of events, which led not only to the deaths of both his brothers, but removed Miss Davis from the state bar as well. She has demonstrated repeatedly that she has no regard for legal ethics. Nothing that happened can be undone. That should include the disbarment of Alexis Davis. He sits down, and Judge Caldwell thanks him, Diane, and Alexis for their statements. The court will communicate their decision within the next 30 days. Court is dismissed. She bangs her gavel, they rise, and the judges leave. Diane tells Fergus that he should be ashamed, and he walks out. Diane tells Alexis, I’ll say this for you, you swung for the fences.

Next week (I assume Tuesday), Tracy says she’d prefer to skip the platitudes; Alexis tells Fergus that she has the legal system just where she wants it; Sam asks if Spinelli doesn’t want to help her anymore; and Jason says he’s hoping that’s still the case, but Anna says, he can’t be certain.

🧼 Monday Soap Or No Soap…

GH will not have a new episode on Memorial Day.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/abc/soap-opera-soaps-holiday-schedule

🧴 Studio Suds…

If you want a change of pace, this looks pretty good.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/the-bold-the-beautiful/watch-sean-kanans-soap-studio-city-for-free

🏊‍♂️ If They Say So…

The only thing I can see that’s best about it is that it’s almost over.

Why Summer House Season 8 Is the Franchise’s Best Season Yet

For those who want to relive this week’s trainwreck one more time.

Summer House Season 8, Episode 14 Recap: From Dusk Till Donne

🍸 Following the Rules…

GH has told us many a time, the only way past it is through it.

Vanderpump Rules Season 11 Reunion, Part 3 Preview: Ariana Madix Gets Emotional Over ‘Difficult’ Summer

Playing the world’s smallest violin.

Tom Sandoval and Billie Lee Are ‘Not Talking Anymore’

⚓️ Stud Of the Deadly Seas…

I’m thrilled Captain Lee won’t be leaving the screen even though he’s left the Deck. Premieres June 1st.

What You Need To Know about Deadly Waters With Captain Lee

🦬 My Latest Binge…

Love this story and love Josh Brolin. He’s in one of my favorite Tarantino movies, Planet Terror, and the remake of True Grit was better than the original.

https://ew.com/outer-range-season-2-trailer-josh-brolin-time-travel-family-conflict-8631136

https://ew.com/josh-brolin-outer-range-season-2-ayahuasca-trip-8650631

No wonder I like him.

https://www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/josh-brolin-doesnt-buy-difficult-actors-1235008748/

🃏 The Latest In Harleys…

It will be interesting to see her spin on the character.

https://comicbook.com/movies/news/joker-2-lady-gaga-breaks-silence-harley-quinn-role/

🐕 Three Wins and a Loss…

Another partnering for pets.

https://people.com/kat-dennings-on-losing-her-soulmate-cat-adopting-kittens-exclusive-8651686

Glamming it up.

https://people.com/adoptable-pets-dogs-and-guinea-pigs-treated-to-fancy-hotel-photoshoot-8651280

I’m not telling my dogs about this. There will be no living with them.

https://people.com/bark-air-luxurious-new-airline-for-dogs-took-first-flight-8653726

So sad to see her go to the Bridge, but she certainly had a full life. And 18 years is amazing.

https://people.com/dog-behind-viral-doge-internet-meme-dead-at-18-8653525

👄 Quotes of the Week

Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. – Friedrich Nietzsche

If God sends us on stony paths, He provides strong shoes. – Corrie Ten Boom

A person sees in the world what they carry in their heart. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Animals are such agreeable friends — they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms. – George Eliot

Everlast is a brand name, not a nickname. – Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur), Golden Girls

It’s easier to track a stuck pig than it is to ask it where it’s going. – The Ghoul (Walton Goggins), Fallout

Make a pact with yourself today to not be defined by your past. Sometimes the greatest thing to come out of all your hard work isn’t what you get for it, but what you become for it. Shake things up today! Be You…Be Free…Share. – Steve Maraboli

A hypnotist with pink eye is like a boxer with two broken hands. – Bill Doss (Michael Keaton), Documentary Now!

Home of the free, because of the brave. – Unknown

🌭 More Than a Barbecue…

Enjoy the extra time off if you have it, but keep in mind the reason you got it. Then join me on Monday really Tuesday for no soap, but the Deck which gives us no break for memorials. Until then, stay safe, stay giving some thought to those who died keeping you safe, and stay remembering that we’re changed by the people who love us and that we love, and that love becomes a part of us. Like a tattoo.

May18

May 17, 2024 – Sonny Decks Dex, Say Fromaggio, Price Hike, Rinna Shade, Hot Mic In NYC, VanderNews, No Invite, Dragons Coming, Oops, They’re Off, All Along, AKA Peggy, Ogdoad Of Quotes & Almost

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Brook says, they’ll have to excuse her. She’s got some rounds to make. Chase tells her to wait, then kisses her. Dante says, he’s a lucky man, and Chase says he sure is. Anna asks Sam, how’s the P.I. business? Any interesting new cases? Sam says, same old, same old.

Brook says she’s so glad Monica got Jason to come, and he says, she wanted to come herself. And he knows she’d want him to tell Brook, congratulations. She thanks him and says, it’s good to see him. She moves on.

Gloria says, they don’t see enough of Sonny. He doesn’t come around the neighborhood as much as he should. Carmine says, they have a big 4th of July party every year, and he wants to see Sonny there this year. Sonny says he’ll try, but Gloria says, no trying. Brook runs up to Sonny and hugs him. She says she’s so glad he came, and he says he wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Lois tells Drew and Jordan, say fromaggio, but Jordan says, that’s okay. Drew says, they’re not… and Lois says, they’re not the mother of the bride. She is, and she’s walking around taking pictures of everyone, so pick their favorite cheese and say, fromaggio. Drew puts his arm around Jordan, and they say, fromaggio. Lois says, beautiful, and takes their photo.

Gloria tells Blaze that their great grandkids love her music, and Blaze thanks her. Carmine says, don’t be embarrassed. Tell her. Blaze says, tell her what? and Carmine says, she loves it too. When the kids are dancing, she’s out there with them like she’s going to break something. Gloria says she’s going to break him and asks if Blaze is going to perform today. They’d love it so much. Kristina says, Blaze is a guest, and Gloria says she knows, but she’s here and she’s got that amazing voice. Natalia joins them and says, she really wanted to perform, but think about it. If Brook had her most important client perform at her wedding… Carmine says, exploitation, and Natalia says, right.

Violet asks how Michael, Willow, and Josslyn liked her song, and Michael says, they loved her song. Josslyn says, and she wrote that all by herself? and Violet says, yes, she did. Gregory watches them and smiles.

Maxie throws her arms around Jason and says, it’s so good to see him. (I hope that poor guy has recovered from his gunshot wound. Everyone is manhandling him.) At this wedding, obviously, but just in general. Spinelli joins them, and she says, Spinelli really missed him, and so did she. Jason says, it’s always good to see her, and Spinelli asks if she’s free to enjoy herself, or does she still have responsibilities? Maxie says, this is Olivia’s show now. Her responsibilities ended at the church. Spinelli says, the violinist was superlative, and she says she thought so too, but she can’t take any credit for that. He’s a cousin of the Cerullos or something. Usually when a family says they have someone they want to play at the ceremony, it’s a total mess, but she thinks he was really good.

Lois hugs Gio and tells him that his performance was perfection. He could not have given Brook a greater gift. He says he’s glad she liked it, but Brook was a little busy. He doesn’t think she noticed. She says, is he kidding her? Everybody noticed his talent. All the family is so proud of him. She hugs him again.

Finn stares at the champagne glass he took a sip from, when Violet comes up to him with Elizabeth. Violet says she needs to ask him a question and he needs to be honest with her. He says, ask away, and she says, what did he think about her song? He says, honestly? That she’s amazing. She hugs him, and Elizabeth says, it’s almost dinnertime. Why doesn’t Violet find their place cards? Violet runs off, and Elizabeth says, Finn seems upset. Did something happen? He looks at the glass again.

Cody is sweeping the stables, when Sasha comes in with a picnic basket. He says, what’s this? and she says, it’s samples. She just finished up wrapping up all the after-party prep. He says, catering for two families. What was she thinking, volunteering for such a mission? She says she honestly feels so bad that she couldn’t make it to the wedding. She wanted to go, she was planning on going, but she had no idea how much Lois and Olivia were expecting from her for this after-party. They gave her this long list of food to prepare, and being so new at the job, she couldn’t say no. He says he gets it, and she says, well, Yuri and Leo are splitting some take-out and playing video games. Monica wanted a late dinner, and being as everyone else is still at the reception – she opens the basket and takes out a bottle of wine – it seems that we have the Quartermaine manse all to ourselves.

Sonny tells Natalia, sorry. He didn’t mean to leave her stranded, but she says, not at all. Actually, it’s been really nice to see him hanging out with his really loving family and friends.

Anna goes up to Jason and jokes, for the love of God, I know this is a party, but you’re causing a scene. Can you just rein it in?… Everything okay? He says, why wouldn’t it be? and she says, three names, Cates, Brennan, Pikeman. Why doesn’t he just forget about all that for the evening? He says he will if she will.

In a Pentenville shower room, Jack washes his hands, while another inmate finishes his shower. The inmate leaves, and Jack unwraps a knife from a nearby towel. He checks the sharpness against the metal sink.

Brook thanks Gio so much for playing, and kisses him on both cheeks. Didn’t she tell Chase he was brilliant? Chase says, she did, and she did not exaggerate.

Anna says she knows it’s not in Jason’s nature, but it wouldn’t kill him to mingle. He says, she’s right… It’s not in his nature. She laughs and says, it’s not like she’s asking him to go up to total strangers and start discussing the trends in coffee… fashion… gadgetry. There’s a lot of people here who really missed him.

Dante tells Sam, no matter what his cousins say or do, they are not going to this after-party. They’re going to try to get to him through her. They’re going to get her to go and get her to drag him along. They’ve got to present a united front. She says, this is new for him, and he says, what is? She says, cowardice, and he says, wow. She kisses him.

Jack sharpens the knife against the front of the sink, when another inmate walks in and says, too slow. Jack asks what he means, and the man says he saw it. A homemade shank. Jack tells him that he’s not saying he has such an item, but if he did, what could he offer the man to pretend he never saw it? The man says, how about he just takes the item? Jack won’t want the guards finding something like that on him. Jack says, no deal. He needs it. The man says, make a new one, and Jack punches him, then karate chops him on the back of the neck, the man falling to the floor. (This is impressive, since he’s twice Jack’s size.)

Cody says he knows jack (ha-ha!) about wine, but judging from this year, he’s guessing these grapes weren’t growing in Napa last summer. Sasha says, they were not, and he says, and she didn’t just get this bottle from a local wine and spirit outlet. She says, Ned uncorked it last night and only had one glass. He says he’s wondering, are the Q’s going to be okay with them absconding with this bottle? and she says, he didn’t abscond with anything, she did, and she’s the chef. He says, even so… and she says, please. She’s had their wine before and it never bothered them, so why would it now? He says, maybe because this bottle is expensive, even for them (he knows this how if he doesn’t know jack?), she says, it probably was when it was corked, but he can be sure of one thing, that wine is good tonight, and it definitely won’t be tomorrow. He says, well then, as a budding wine connoisseur, he cannot in good conscience allow today’s good wine go to waste tomorrow.

Chase asks how Gio and Brook are related again, and Brook says, they’re cousins once removed. Or is that twice? She always gets that mixed up or confused. (Same, and the grand or great uncle/aunt thing.) Anyway, he’s a Cerullo on his mom’s side. He gets his musical talent from his mom. Chase says, so his dad’s not musical, and Gio says he doesn’t really know. He was in the military. He died before Gio was born. Chase says he’s so sorry, but Gio says, it’s fine. He’s very proud of him. Chase says, as he should be. Actually, that guy in the blue suit there (Dex), he served in Afghanistan. He’s now at the police academy. Gio asks if he likes it, but Chase says, Gio will have to ask him. Brook says, no, no, no. Do not try to recruit Gio to be a cop. Her grandmother would have a heart attack, not to mention the rest of the family. Gio is going to be a concert violinist. Isn’t that right? Gio says, that’s the plan.

Elizabeth says she knows it wasn’t easy for Finn, seeing his dad struggle. Look. He’s fine. Finn says, he seems to have recovered thanks to Tracy. She’s really good with him. Elizabeth says, she is. Who would have thought? The point is, they shouldn’t think about what happened because his dad is having a wonderful time right now. He says, she’s absolutely right. The bartender removes the glass.

Anna turns around and Sonny is there. He asks how Dex is doing at the academy, but she says she’s not about to discuss that with him. And he should know better than to ask. She walks away, and Sonny laughs. Natalia walks up and takes his hand. She asks if they should go find their seats, and he says, yes.

Maxie takes the floor and says she thinks one of the most important lessons she’s learned from Brook is that, just because you can’t stand somebody – for a very good reason, she might add – doesn’t mean your lifelong enemy can’t become one of your very best friends. A friend that is there for you when you need someone the most. She congratulates Brook, and Brook hugs her, saying, love you. Maxie says, love you… Oh yeah, and Chase. You sweet, handsome, honorable man, just do your best not to arrest her again. Good luck with that. She raises her glass and says, congratulations to the happy couple. Everyone clinks glasses and says, to the happy couple.

Brook thanks Olivia for being the best wicked stepmother ever, and Olivia says she does what she can. They hug, and Lois tells Ned, he’s done good. He says, she didn’t do too bad herself, and she puts her hand on his.

Gio introduces himself to Dex, and says, Chase was telling him that Dex served in Afghanistan. His dad did too. Dex asks if he knows where, and Gio says, no. His dad was killed in action before he was born. He doesn’t have a lot of details about his service. Dex says he’s sorry for Gio’s loss, and Gio thanks him. He says he didn’t mean to put Dex on the spot, but he thinks what Dex did was very important. Thank you. Dex says, so does he. Gio’s dad must have gone over there pretty early. 2001? 2002? Gio says, it was 2002. Did Dex like serving in the military? Dex says he did. It’s hard when you’re deployed. You spend a lot of time thinking about home. He bets Gio’s dad spent a lot of time thinking about his mom and wondering who Gio would turn out to be. Gio says, a violinist? and Dex says he bets Gio’s dad would have really liked that. When you’re surrounded by destruction, you have a lot of respect for the people who create things that are beautiful. Like music.

Sonny asks if Lois can stop Gio from talking to that guy, and she says, why? He says, he used to work for me and he’s not trustworthy. She says, it’s a wedding reception. They’re probably talking about sports scores. He says he doesn’t care. He doesn’t want Gio talking to him. She says, the bigger deal he makes of this, the bigger deal it’s going to be. So just let it go, okay? She walks away, but it looks doubtful that Sonny is going to let it go.

Spinelli asks if he’s told Maxie how beautiful she looks, and she asks if he means in the last 15 minutes. He says, that’s far too long. It’s unforgivable. He’s about to kiss her, when Sam appears. She says, got a minute? and steers him away.

Sasha says she really wonders how the wedding is going, and Cody says, it’s a wedding. It’s either great or godawful. There’s no in between. She says, if those are the options, she thinks it’s going great, and he says, you can wish all you want, but there’s about a billion things that can go wrong. They could forget the rings, someone could object, there could be food poisoning, a runaway bride, a runaway groom… She says, wow. Okay. Until she hears otherwise, she chooses to believe this wedding day is everything Brook and Chase would want, and she can’t wait to see pictures. He asks if she wants more wine. He could use some. He picks up the bottle, but she says, hey, whoa. What is with him? He says, she’s with him, and she asks if he has something against weddings. He says, not weddings per se. He just hoped it was a cliché that all women dreamed of a formal church wedding. She asks why it matters, and he says, because even if a guy like him could convince a woman to marry him, he doubts he could afford the big, fancy wedding of her dreams. (I guess no one has told him that’s not how this works.)

Sam takes Spinelli near the entrance where there are no other people, and he says he thought she didn’t want to discuss this tonight. She says she changed her mind, and he says he would love to help her, but he also values his freedom far too much to investigate – he looks around – the FBI. What’s the goal here, besides getting locked up in federal prison? She says, full disclosure? and he says, by all means. Redact nothing. She says she’s not sure, and he says, a fishing expedition is one thing, but the data stores of federal law enforcement are vast beyond comprehension. How do they even know how to start? She says she doesn’t know. Maybe he can help her. All she does know is that Jason has been working for the FBI as an informant. He says, working for the FBI? and she says she knows it sounds crazy, but Jason actually told her so himself. And the only reason he would work as an informant would be… He says, if the FBI held damning evidence against him, and she says, yeah. And they have to find it.

Olivia says, it is that time, folks, when we welcome our beautiful newlyweds to the dance floor. The guests applaud and cheer as the music begins. Brook and Chase come out and have their first dance together.

Lois dances with Chase, while Ned dances with Brook (and hey, why isn’t Chase’s mom here?). Lois whispers something to Chase, who leaves the dance floor and goes over to Gloria. He asks, may I have this dance? and she says, yes, you may. She tells Carmine, don’t be jealous, and Carmine says, of what? She says, think of a reason, and she and Chase go out to dance. Brook whispers to Ned that she wants to dance with Gregory and kisses him on the cheek. She asks Gregory, may I have this dance? and he says, um… looking at his cane. She says, he doesn’t need that, and she gives it to Tracy. He says, it would be his honor, and they go out on the floor. Olivia and Ned are dancing. Kristina tells Lois that it seems like Sonny is having a good time, and Lois says, he’s surrounded by Cerullos. How could he not be? Kristina is lucky to have a dad like him, but she thinks Kristina already knows that. Kristina says, she does, and Lois tells her, although she’s got to say, if Kristina only knew him back in the day – oh. Kristina asks if she even wants to know, and Lois says, her dad is a stand-up guy. Always has been and he always will be.

Spinelli says, and Sam is certain this would help Jason? and she says, honestly, she doesn’t know, but she thinks they have to at least try. Because Jason would do the exact same thing for them. Spinelli says he’s in, and she hugs him and says, thank you.

More contemporary music starts, and Dex asks if Josslyn thinks she can keep up with his sick moves. She says she can try (I’m surprised she didn’t burst out laughing like I did), and they join everyone dancing. Brook goes over to Sonny and says, the bride gets to pick who she dances with on her wedding day. She holds out her hand, and he says, it would be his honor. Chase asks Violet, may I have this dance? and holds out his hand. She takes it and says she thought he’d never ask. Everyone is having the best time, so you just know something is going to go sideways.

As Cody pours the wine, Sasha says, first of all, she doesn’t think all women dream of getting married in the first place. Let alone, have a big wedding that takes over a year to plan. Cody says, and at least a year’s salary to pay for, and she says, traditionally, the groom’s family doesn’t even pay for the wedding; the bride’s family does. He says, is that a part of the dowry, or is that in addition to, since they’re talking about tradition? Sasha says, and traditionally, sure, every fairytale ends with a wedding, and he says, she clearly wasn’t raised by Germans. The Grimm brothers… She says, and popular culture tells little girls that their wedding day is the one day they get to be a princess, but she thinks it’s just one way to celebrate love. He says, if she has a better way, he’s all ears, and she says, take her and Brando for example. They got married in a garage, and yeah, it wasn’t really what they imagined, but they were just so excited to get to the happily ever after part. And when that didn’t happen, yeah, she felt cheated. Because a wedding day is just one day of your life, but the marriage, a chance to grow old with the person you love, that lasts a lifetime. Or it’s supposed to anyway.

Brook says, all the single ladies, come, and the women come to the dance floor. Gloria says, ladies, keep your head in the game, and Lois says, all right. Get ready. Brook throws her bouquet and Jordan catches it, but slides it into Violet’s hands like, oops. Violet jumps up and down, and everyone applauds. Olivia is running somewhere, when Ned grabs her and says he wanted to dance with his beautiful bride. She says she loves him. She wants to dance with him, but she’s got to check the Viennese table. He says, does she really? and she says, fine, and goes with him.

Jordan sees Drew getting ready to leave, and she says, going so soon? He says he’s got a big day ahead. Can he give her a ride? She says she’s going to stay a little longer, and he says, that’s too bad. He’s been meaning to tell her about his last conversation with McConkey. She says, please don’t tell her that he wants an entire pier to go with the esplanade, but Drew says, no. Let’s just say the congressman has given me a lot to think about. They’ll talk. He leaves, and she says, you tease.

Dex asks Gloria if she’d like a water, and hands her a glass. She says, thank you, young man. With all the excitement and the dancing and everything, her head was beginning to spin a little bit. What’s his name? He says he’s Dex Heller, and she asks how he knows her granddaughter and her new husband. He says he’s a cadet with the PCPD, and she says, he’s a policeman. His family must be so proud of him. They’re so pleased and thrilled to have Chase in their family. Sonny sees them and glowers, and Dex says, Chase is an exceptional officer. She says, then of course (🍷) he knows Dante, and he says, yes, ma’am. Gloria says, he’s the fifth cop in his generation on the Falconari side of the family, when Lois joins them. Gloria says, she knows Dex, and Lois says, mm-hmm. Gloria says, he saw that she was parched, and he brought a glass of water over to her, and Lois says, that was very thoughtful of him. She thanks Dex, and he says, no problem. Gloria says, and you know what else? Dex is at the police academy. Lois should introduce him to her cousin Lucia. If they were to marry, then there would be four cops on the Cerullo side. Lois says, Gloria just met the guy and she’s already marrying him. She tells Dex that she’s so sorry about her mother, but he says, not at all. Lois tells him, although she will say, he should meet Lucia. She’s a beautiful girl and also very smart. She has a degree in computer science, but no pressure though. No pressure at all. Dex laughs and Sonny stares daggers at him.

Jack takes the knife out of the towel again and takes a few deep breaths. He plunges the knife into his own side and falls to the floor. He pulls it out, puts it in the other inmate’s hand, and passes out.  

Cody says he’s never really pondered the whole ever after thing. He makes sure the horses are healthy and cleans out their stalls. He lives day to day. Where he’s from, the whole long-term thing didn’t seem like a great option. Sasha says she gets that. When you marry someone you love, thinking long term is the default setting. Then when it’s cut short, you realize making big plans and relying on them happening sets you up for disappointment. He says, don’t get him wrong. Hoping for a future with the person you love doesn’t seem like a bad thing. It’s just in his personal experience, if you don’t plan too far ahead, it leaves you open for surprises. She says, like parachuting into the swimming pool, and he says, yeah, and like quitting your spokesmodel job because someone calls you too wholesome. She says, or finding your family even though you can’t tell them you’re a part of it, and he says, or this. Great wine, great food, great company… Hold that thought. He goes in the back and returns with a radio. He puts on some music, and says, may I have this dance? He holds out his hand and she takes it.

Sam says she remembers how much trouble Brook used to be, and Brook says, that’s why she married a cop. Needed an inside man. They laugh, and Sam says, that was good thinking. Brook says, she should try it sometime, and Maxie says, ooh. Sam jets, and they laugh. Spinelli tells Brook, congratulations, and leaves Brook and Maxie alone. Maxie says, believe it or not, she thinks she’s said all she has to say, and Brook says, and she heard it. Maxie says, she’s going to have the best life, and Brook says she just wishes she deserved it. Maxie asks what she’s talking about. Of course (🍷) she deserves it. That’s why it’s hers. They hug.

Willow and Michael join Josslyn and Dex, and Willow says, they saw the two of them on the dance floor. Nice moves. Michael says, it’s like Dex forgot Josslyn is his little sister and he’d do anything to protect her, and Josslyn says, that’s enough, thank you. Michael says, Dex knows he’s kidding. It’s a shame he’s not kidding. Dex picks something up off the floor and says he found someone’s hearing aid. Willow says, it’s probably Carmine’s, and Dex says he’s going to go find him then. Dex leaves, and Sonny follows him. Jason watches.

Patty tells Dante that he’s coming to the after-party. She won’t take no for an answer. Dante says he would love to go, but he has kids to tuck in, and… Sam says she thinks he should go, when Jordan joins them. Patty says, Deputy Mayor, are you coming? and Jordan says she’d love to, but she can’t. She has a city to… deputy run. Maxie says, don’t worry. She and Spinelli can drive Dante and Jordan to the after-party. Dante says he doesn’t want to go, and Jordan says she really can’t. Spinelli tells Dante, yes, you do, and Maxie tells Jordan, yeah, you can. Dante says, all right. They’ll meet Patty there. How’s that? Patty says she can’t wait, and leaves. Dante and Spinelli fist bump.

Chase says he can’t stop thanking Gregory, and Gregory says he’d do it again in a heartbeat. Chase tells Tracy, and thank you for… She says she certainly hopes he regrets arresting her, and he says he would do it again in a heartbeat. They all laugh, and Tracy says, good answer. She, Violet, Chase, and Gregory leave, and Finn thanks Elizabeth. She says, for what? and he says, everything. Always. They walk off hand in hand.

Dex looks around near the entrance, and Sonny pops out. He says, the Cerullos are his people. Is Dex enjoying himself, with Sonny’s people? Dex says he’s having a good time, a great time, and Sonny laughs. Sonny says, that’s the wrong answer. They’re like family to him. Stay away from his family. Dex says he was invited the same as Sonny, and Sonny says, he’s a snitch, a spy. He’s lucky to be breathing. Stay away from him and his, or Dex may not be breathing much longer. Sonny starts to walk away, and Dex puts his hand on Sonny’s arm, saying, he’s not Sonny’s enemy. Sonny punches him in the face, knocking him down.

Chase and Brook go to their room, where the fireplace is lit, and there’s a rose petal path from the door to the bed and rose petals on the bed. They close the door and lie down on the bed, fully clothed. Brook says, they did it. They tied the knot. They crossed the finish line. And he is her husband. He says, and she is his wife, and she says, wife, and kisses him. She says, now what? and he says, now, they have a great wedding night, followed by a great honeymoon in Florence. Then they spend the rest of their lives together. How does that sound? She says she’s so glad she hit him with that bottle, and he says he thought it was an accident. She says, that was no accident. That was luck. They kiss.

Natalia says she seems to have misplaced Kristina’s father, and Kristina says, sorry about that. Natalia says, uh-oh. What did she do to him? They laugh, and Kristina says she didn’t. He hasn’t seen his family in a long time, so he probably got caught up in telling stories from back in the day. Natalia says, that makes sense. She’s just ready to go up. Does Blaze want to ride up with her? Blaze says she’s not tired just yet, and Natalia asks if Kristina would tell her dad that she had a great time, thanks again, and have a really great evening. Kristina says, sure, and Natalia leaves. Kristina says, don’t judge her, but she kind of wants to get another piece of cake, and Blaze says, grab two and meet her in her room. Kristina says, done.

Cody and Sasha slow dance, looking into each other’s eyes, and she says she should probably go. The reception should be over, and Olivia and Tracy will be home soon. He says, she can’t keep them waiting, and she says she’s got an after-party to throw, so… she’s got to go. He says, okay. One more song.

Jack is wheeled into the hospital, and a doctor asks what they’ve got. The paramedic says, stab wound in the abdomen, BP 70 over 40, heart rate 130. He’s lost a lot of blood. The doctor says, let’s get him to trauma one.

Olivia is walking with Ned, when Anna runs out, calling her name. Olivia asks, what’s wrong? Who’s under arrest? They were so close. Anna says, no one’s under arrest. She just wanted to say it was a great party. Olivia blesses herself and say, thank God. It’s always good when a wedding is over and no one’s incarcerated. Ned says he’s just glad when a wedding happens at all, and Anna says, it was lovely. Congratulations. Thank you. They all say, goodnight, and Ned and Olivia continue on. Anna’s phone rings, and she says, Devane… Where’s Brennan now?… Okay. She’s on her way.

Michael asks if they can give Josslyn a lift, but she says, no. She thinks she’s okay actually. Thank you though. Michael says, is she sure… Willow says she’s sure Joss can make her own arrangements, and Josslyn smiles. Michael says, why should she… and Willow says, okay. They’re leaving. Have a fun rest of her night. Josslyn thanks her and says, them too, and they leave.

Sonny throws Dex up against the wall and punches him again, Dex’s face already bloody. Dex doesn’t fight back, but puts his hands up defensively, and Sonny throws him to the floor. Sonny says, you know what I do to traitors? and kicks Dex in the stomach as he’s trying to get up. Come on. Jason races in and grabs Sonny from behind. Sonny says, let go of him, but Jason says, no and tells Dex, get out of here. Sonny says he’s going to kill them both. They’re both dead to him. He’s going to put a gun to their heads. Kristina comes in and drops the plates of cake she’s holding. She and Sonny lock eyes.

On Monday, Chase says, whatever his beautiful wife wants; Gregory wants to clear the air about something with Finn; Anna says, Brennan is never more dangerous than when he appears harmless; and Blaze asks if Kristina wants to go to the hospital. She’d better not lose this baby because of Sonny. I’ll never forgive him.

📜 You Are Cordially Invited…

Photos from the wedding.

https://soaps.sheknows.com/gallery/brook-lynn-chase-wedding-general-hospital-photos/

🦚 More For Days…

Peacock’s prices are going up.

Peacock Price Hike: Days of our Lives to Cost You More

💎 Let’s Talk About the Husband…

What is wrong with this woman? I think the only reason they’re still together is because Harry goes on solo camping trips a lot and seems to be on a camping trip in his head when he’s home.

Did Lisa Rinna Shade Recent RHOBH Separations on Instagram?

🗽 Shady Apple…

I went to an online business seminar where Rebecca Minkoff was a speaker and I thought she was plenty interesting. She also offered great advice.

RHONY’s Sai De Silva Suffers Hot Mic Moment Dissing ‘Boring’ Rebecca Minkoff

🍸 Life In VanderLand…

They’re just waiting for Ariana to cool down.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1401659/lisa-vanderpump-addresses-rumors-vanderpump-rules-is-canceled-amid-hiatus

The cast just wants a Reunion so they can snipe at each other about what they now know happened during the season. I watched a few episodes, then some shiny new shows caught my attention, but I’ll be back.

Why the ‘Vanderpump Villa’ Cast Thinks a Reunion Special Is ‘Necessary’

🩰 Short Answer: They Don’t Like You…

Probably no one would do it if she came. I understand about dance teachers being kind of mean, but they scream at you about things like your form. This woman got weirdly personal with everyone, like she was a teenager with issues.

Dance Moms Reunion Insider Reveals Why Abby Lee Miller Was Banned

🐉 Flying Dragon Airlines…

What’s up with House of the Dragon, Season 2.

https://ew.com/house-of-the-dragon-season-2-emma-darcy-olivia-cooke-cover-story-8646032

https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/fantasy-shows/house-of-the-dragon-season-2-producers-reduced-episode-count-game-of-thrones-prequel/

More spinoffs of spinoffs.

https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/fantasy-shows/game-of-thrones-prequels-positive-updates-aegon-hedge-knight/

🩸 That’s What He Gets…

I saw this on Watch What Happens Live and it was too funny. That’ll teach him to lie.

https://ew.com/joe-manganiello-reveals-graphic-sex-filled-true-blood-fan-fiction-8644633

🔮 Defying Gravity…

This looks amazing.

https://ew.com/wicked-trailer-cynthia-erivo-ariana-grande-8648594

🧙🏻‍♀️ Which Witch Title…

WandaVision was great and I can’t wait to see this. Kathryn Hahn is so much fun. I’ve loved her since the Bad Moms films. Beginning September 18th.

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/agatha-trailer-actual-title-wandavision-all-along

🐶 The Real Superhero…

I can’t with this dog. Now I love the Deadpool franchise even more.

https://extratv.com/2024/05/13/ryan-reynolds-on-being-inspired-by-his-kids-and-casting-dogpool-exclusive/

Ryan Reynolds: Dogpool “Feels Like The Animal Manifestation Of Wade Wilson.”

https://ew.com/movies/deadpool-3-dogpool-ryan-reynolds/

Dogpool AKA Peggy

🥠 Quotes of the Week

Roadie. Sounds like a BJ behind a gas station in a minivan. – Danielle Cabral, Real Housewives of New Jersey

I measure success by the difference I make in the lives of others and the positive changes I can bring to my community. – Catherine Montgomery

We’re flawed because we want so much more; we’re ruined, because when we get these things, we wish for what we had. – Don Draper (Jon Hamm), Mad Men

Dogs are a really amazing eye opener for us humans because their lives are compressed into such a short period, so we can see them go from puppyhood to adolescence to strong adulthood and then into their sunset years in 10 to 12 years. It really drives home the point of how finite all our lives are.  – John Grogan

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. – Albert Einstein

If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door. – Milton Berle (Or kick one out.)

The difference between a dream and a goal is a timeline and an action plan. – Dr. Phil McGraw

That is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. And I’m Dennis Quaid and I’ve seen a lot of crazy sh*t. – Dennis Quaid as himself, Strays

🎰 Can’t Hustle Me…

Come see me on Monday really Tuesday for soap and stupidity on Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay welcoming newcomers (be it a job, a neighborhood, or your family), and stay not thinking about what happened when a wonderful time is being had right now.

May11

May 10, 2024 – Carly’s Pentenville Visit Is Suspect, Separating, Next Round, Charming Pillows, Andy, Everything Last, Show Dogs (!), Keeping Them Together, Mostly Mom Quotes & Spicey Mama

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Ava goes into Sonny’s medicine drawer and digs around until she finds the lorphenadine. She scratches the number of refills off the label. (FYI, the bathroom is the worst place to keep medicine, even though we all do it.)

At the MetroCourt, Natalia thanks Sonny for all this. She guesses they should probably finish it up and get on their way. He asks if she’s in a hurry, because he’s not. He likes having her here. He enjoys her company. She says she has a personal belief no one should ever have to dine alone, and he says, lucky him.

In her office, Anna takes out the WSB file on Jack Brennan. She flashes back to John telling her that the ties between Pikeman and the WSB go back to her early years as an agent in the 80s. She says she can tell him flat out that she never had anything to do with Pikeman. Jack Brennan, who ended his rather brief tenure as head of the WSB by being shipped off to Pentenville, could tell him more. It’s alleged he was running but Pikeman and the WSB. Unless he thinks she’s the new head of Pikeman, and by packing him off to prison, she was making a big power grab. John says, anything is possible. There’s a knock at the door, and she says, come in, shoving the folder into her briefcase. Dex says, she wanted to see him? and she says, yes. She just wanted to check in, since it was her bright idea to have him apply to the police academy. Detective Bennet thinks his performance in class and training exercise was outstanding, so she wanted to check in with him personally. He says, first of all, he wanted to thank her. It never would have occurred to him to become a police officer, but every day he’s more certain this is where he’s supposed to be. She asks why he feels certain, and he says, the men and women in his class are exceptional. He’s very proud to stand next to them. She says, and the other officers, the rank and file, how’s that going? He says, it’s getting better, mostly thanks to Detective Chase. He’s really gone out of his way to take Dex under his wing and smooth the way a bit. She says, good. He’s very well liked and well respected, so she’s sure that the other officers will trust his judgement. Dex says, Chase invited him to his wedding tomorrow, and she asks if he’s going to attend. He says he wouldn’t miss it, and she says her sentiments exactly. She’s sure she’ll run into him there. He asks if that will be all, but she says, one other thing. Has he had any interaction with Detective Falconari?

Dante meets Sam in the park and apologizes for being late. She says, he’s not going to believe it. She finally got some answers from Jason about what he’s been up to the last few years. Jason is an FBI informant.

Jason is doing actual work at the coffee warehouse, when John walks in. He says, the FBI has some questions for him, and Jason says, John doesn’t have to follow official procedure. There’s nobody here but them. John says he still has questions. Why was Carly visiting the former director of the WSB in Pentenville? What did Jason tell her? What did he say to Carly? Did he mention Pikeman or Brennan to her? Jason says, no, and John says, then why did she drive out to Pentenville? Jason says he doesn’t know. This is the first he’s hearing of it. John asks why she’d visit Brennan of all people. What was she hoping to find out? Jason says he told John, he doesn’t know, and John says, if he even hinted to Carly that he’s been tasked with finding evidence against Pikeman, it violates their agreement. Jason says he only took the agreement to protect Carly. Why would he turn around and give her information that would put her at risk?

Natalia says she could sit here all day if she didn’t have a dozen phone calls to make, and Sonny says he knows how that goes. She says she would imagine he’s a pretty busy man. She knows he was waiting for someone when she showed up. Who would have the audacity to stand him up? He says he didn’t get stood up. It was Ava, the one she met at his place. He brought her here and he said something she didn’t like. She got upset and stormed off. She missed out, but he didn’t. Natalia says, it was a lovely meal, and the conversation was equally so, and he says, it’s amazing how that works. She asks if he thinks things will calm down by the time he gets home, and he says his home, not Ava’s. He brought her and his daughter Avery into his home because… basically for Avery’s sake, but at first it worked out and now it’s… not really. She says she gets it. When a relationship is ending, transitioning, that’s hard enough, but when kids are involved, it’s just so complicated. He says, sounds like she’s been through it, and she says, yeah. She and her husband are separated. That’s Allison’s father and she has a son from a previous relationship. He says, remember he told her that his family is complicated? Life’s a long and winding road. She says, full of all kinds of paths and forks not taken. Ugh. She does hope it’s a little calmer when he gets back. He says, either that, or he’s going home to an empty apartment, and she laughs. He says, Ava could be packing as they speak, but as long as they sip this coffee really slowly, it will give her enough time. She says, okay, and they clink coffee cups.

Ava goes into the hospital pharmacist’s office and says, the print has rubbed off on this bottle. She’s planning an extensive trip and wants to know how many refills are left on her husband’s prescription. They’re going to be out of the country, and she thinks maybe they should be stocking up. Actually, she wouldn’t mind a little more information about the drug itself. He takes the bottle from her and says, normally, he wouldn’t disclose this information, but since she’s gone to all this trouble, he can at least take a little look. He looks at the label and back at her. (Does this guy live under a rock? Making a note that the hospital’s pharmacist takes no security precautions just like the rest of the hospital, just in case I’m ever sick in Port Charles.)

Dex says he and Dante haven’t had much interaction. He thinks they both have the same avoidance strategy. Anna asks if Dante is icing him out, but he says, nothing like that. Dante nods hello when he walks in the squad room. Otherwise, Dante pretends he isn’t there. She says, he told her they have the same avoidance strategy. Why is Dex avoiding Dante? He says, Dante is senior detective. He also just got shot in the line of duty and he’s highly respected here. But he’s also Sonny’s son. Everyone here knows he worked for Sonny for more than a year, so if they’re seen together too much, people might think they’re working together for Sonny’s behalf. A lot of people already suspect him of that, so why put it on Dante? She asks if he has any reservations about Dante. Maybe suspicions that he might act on his father’s behalf?

Sam says she’s only telling Dante until they figure out what to do with this information. Dante says, Jason saved his life. He must have been with the shooter when they tried to take out Sonny. She says, Jason said he’s been working undercover while he’s been away, that he’s been working under an assumed identity, and Dante wonders what Jason was doing. She says she doesn’t know his exact role, but he’s working with Agent John Cates. He says, my God. He already knew that Jason was an FBI informant, and she asks, how? He says, his father told him.

The pharmacist says, Mr. Corinthos has four refills left, and Ava says, that’s what she thought. She just wanted to be sure. He says, as per usual, he’ll call the prescribing doctor when it’s time to renew unless he hears anything else. Will that be all? She says, as he knows, her husband just started taking this new drug. She does have some concerns about it. He says, really? Lorphenadine was recently approved by the FDA, but it’s highly effective and safe in combination with other drugs like lithium in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Has she discussed her concerns with his doctor? She says, not yet. She didn’t want it to seem like she’s undermining the doctor. Sonny is very comfortable with him. She’s sure it’s fine. She does wonder though, what would happen if a patient, for whatever reason, didn’t take the medication as prescribed or took less than the prescribed dosage. Because, as she’s sure he knows, mistakes do happen.

Natalia says, maybe Sonny should go home and talk to Ava, try to resolve things, and he says he was being flip. Ava’s fine. It was just a stupid argument. He was invited to go to some social event. She wasn’t invited. He couldn’t push it because it was the bride’s family calling the shots. It was a wedding. He didn’t even know Ava wanted to go and then she said she wanted to go. He made it clear to her that she can’t go. Then she got upset and stormed off, like he said, and that is basically that. She says she gets it. She empathizes. It’s a pretty terrible feeling, feeling like you’re being excluded. He says, who would exclude her? and she laughs. She says, thank you, but she’s a newbie in a new town and it’s a town that’s got a very tight knit social set. Allison’s going to her manager’s wedding. She might even be performing; Natalia doesn’t know. Obviously, Kristina is her plus one, so she misses out. He says, Brook Lynn Quartermaine’s wedding? That’s what he was talking about.

John says, everything Jason has done up to this point has been to protect Carly, so it doesn’t make any sense to involve her in this, and Jason says he wouldn’t. John says, that leaves them with a big problem. Why was Carly at Pentenville? Could Carly and Brennan have some kind of understanding? Jason says, no. He doubts that. John asks if they know each other. Brennan was arrested at Bobbie’s. Then it was Kelly’s. Carly was the only other person there. She never said anything about this? Jason says he never asked, and John says, ask her now. Jason says, why? and John says, before he was incarcerated, Jack Brennan was career WSB. He rose all the way to director. It can’t be a coincidence that he lands in Port Charles and starts cultivating Sonny’s ex-wife. Carly must be useful to him somehow. Or, and this seems much less likely, he’s of use to her. Either way, it’s in both of their best interests to find out. He’ll leave it to Jason to figure out how. He leaves.

Dex asks if Anna thinks Dante might be protecting Sonny, but she says she asked him first. He says, no, not consciencely anyway, and she says, but he might have an unconscious bias in Sonny’s favor. He says he saw enough of their relationship when he worked for Sonny to know that he and Dante are close. Sonny was estranged from Michael, so he relied on Dante, even though he was a cop. He’s seen them interact as family. It’s easy and relaxed around each other; they trust each other. He doesn’t think Dante would deliberately look the other way if Sonny committed a crime. But he does think maybe when Dante looks at Sonny, he sees what he wants to. She thanks him for his perspective, and he says, to be clear, he thinks Dante’s an incredible officer. Dante is the kind of cop he wants to be. She says, yeah. There’s no one better he could emulate. No one. Okay, that’s all. Thank you. He leaves and her phone rings. She asks, what’s up?… All right. She’s coming over. She leaves the office.

Sam says, Dante knew that Jason was working for the FBI and he didn’t say anything to her? and he says he didn’t remember. It just hit him with all the things she was saying. He was out of it. He was in the hospital. He’d just woken up. He doesn’t know who he saw or what he said. She says she hopes he remembers her, and he says, of course (🍷) he remembers her. But now he remembers Sonny there. Sonny came into his room. He told him that Jason was working as an informant for the FBI. Then Jason came in his room and told him the same thing. It must have been these meds. She says, that actually tracks. So did what Jason said, because he said he and Sonny aren’t close anymore. She just couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Sonny would actually think that Jason would turn his back on him. Dante says, if he’s working for Agent Cates, Sonny would consider that betrayal.

Dex does push-ups against a bench (please), when Josslyn trots up. He asks what she’s doing, and she says she’s obviously working out. She just heard about the challenge; the stadium run without the stadium. Does he want to race? He says, only if he gets a head start… She says, absolutely not, and takes off. He follows.

Dante says he and Agent Cates didn’t get off to such a hot start. He didn’t trust Cates; Cates didn’t trust him. Cates said he was trying to protect Sonny and he didn’t believe that for a second. Sam says, because why would the FBI be protecting a mob boss? She believes it though, but she thinks it’s probably secondary to whoever’s behind those hits. He says, it’s something bigger than his father. Those four crime lords who were taken out, the big cities, major transportation hubs. She says, some sort of smuggling ring? and he says he’s been doing some digging on his own. What sticks out, these are not mob hits.

Sonny says he knows it’s last minute, but he does have a plus one. If Natalia wants to go to the wedding with him, he’d love to take her. (Smelled that coming yesterday.) She says, what? That’s so generous, but she doesn’t want to impose, especially at this late date. He says, she met Lois, and she says, yeah. He says, she’s a close friend of his. All he’s got to do is tell her that he’s bringing somebody. Unless she doesn’t want to be seen with him. He understands. She laughs and asks if he’s sure. He says, yes. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked. They can be like a mom and dad posse for both of their children. She says, they’ll love that, and they laugh. She says, yes. All right. She accepts with pleasure. She thanks him so much, and says, that means she has to come up with a dress, shoes, and she has to somehow talk her way into a hair salon appointment, so she’s out of here. He says he’ll let her know the time and the whole thing, and she thanks him again for everything. The lovely meal, his thoughtfulness. She’s really looking forward to tomorrow. So goodbye for now. She leaves and he smiles.

The pharmacist says he can assure Ava that he takes quality control very seriously, and she says she’s sure he does. But we’re all human. He says, it seems she’s concerned about her husband’s dosage, and she says she doesn’t stand over her husband to make sure he takes his medication on time. What if he takes less than the prescribed dosage? What if he skips? Could his behavior change? For example, could he become aggressive or even violent? He says, that would depend on his behavior patterns when he’s not medicated. The symptoms could return, but that’s beyond his scope. He’s a pharmacist; he’s not a physician. She picks up the bottle and says she was hoping he could ease her mind before the big trip. He says, what he can tell her is that it’s important a person on mood stabilization medication take their medication regularly. And while unmedicated bipolar disorder may manifest in behavioral issues, people generally don’t become ax murderers overnight. She laughs and says, that’s good. Ax murderers are definitely to be avoided. He asks if she’s noticed any change in her husband’s behavior, and she wonders why he asks. He says, if she’s worried about him not taking his dosage, she should speak with him and his doctor. She says, that’s not necessary. This is a new drug and all, and she had some questions about it, so she thought she’d come to the expert. She goes to the door and says she really appreciates him taking the time to explain things to her. She thanks him for all he continues to do for her husband, and he says he’s glad he could help. Good luck with the trip. She leaves.

Jason is back to doing actual work, when Anna comes in. (No wonder nobody gets any real work done. They’re always being interrupted.) He thanks her for coming, and she asks, what’s so urgent? He says he needs all the information she has on Brennan’s arrest here in Port Charles, but she says, it was relatively uneventful. She and Dante made the arrest at Bobbie’s. He asks if Carly was there, and she says, yeah. Why? Did she say something to him about it? He says, no. Cates did. She says, that’s strange, and he says, Cates was asking why Carly would visit Brennan in Pentenville. Anna says, she did what? and he says, Cates didn’t tell her? She says, no. John is not very big on sharing, but that’s fine because there’s a lot about this supposedly join investigation that she hasn’t been sharing with him. More to the point, it’s actually very concerning that Carly would visit Brennan. He says, why exactly? and she says, because when they made the arrest, it looked as if Brennan was going to kidnap her. The man had zip ties in his pocket. This was months ago, but why would she suddenly take it upon herself to go see him now? Jason sighs and says, there’s only one thing I can think of. She thinks she’s helping me.

Dex and Josslyn end up at the bench, both out of breath, and she says, nice race. For a second there, she thought he was going to let her win. He says, and face her wrath? and she thanks him for respecting her enough to beat her. Two out of three? He says, no. It’s a good thing she isn’t at the academy. She would kill herself trying to finish first in everything. She says, like he doesn’t finish first in everything, and he says, not everything. She says, it’s going good though? and he says, yeah. Things are good. He had to face down a lot of people’s doubts, including his own, but it turns out that if you stick with things and don’t walk away, they get better.

Anna asks why Carly would think she’s helping Jason by going to see Brennan, and he says, a couple days ago, he was with Carly. John shows up, and Carly wanted to call Diane, but he said, don’t. He’ll take care of it. Just leave. But she didn’t want to leave, so he’s sure she found a place to eavesdrop in on their conversation (ha-ha!). She says, which was what? and he says, which was John talking a lot about Brennan and Pikeman and possible ties with Sonny. She says, John didn’t mention him working for Pikeman, did he? and Jason says he made sure John didn’t in case Carly was listening. Anna says, thank God he knows her so well. So what does he think is likely she overheard John saying? He says, John went on to talk about Brennan being arrested with a Pikeman guy, and she says, yeah, Hume. Oh no. She hopes Jason is wrong about this. Because if Carly knows the FBI is investigating this Pikeman/ Brennan connection and she inadvertently gives Brennan that information, then she just made their job exponentially harder.

Dante tells Sam, these four crime figures that were taken out, it wasn’t by rivals. It was all in the same way, long range, professional, clean sniper shots. She says, which backs up his belief that Jason did something to prevent them from killing Sonny, and he says, the other thing is, these bosses that were taken out, it’s not like their organizations collapsed afterwards. The next in line took over with almost no interruption to the organizations. Which tells him that this wasn’t to cause chaos or some kind of takeover from outside forces. So if it’s not that, what’s it for? She says she’s definitely not going to lose any sleep over some dead mob bosses, but she does care about Sonny, and she knows Dante cares about him too. And she hopes he doesn’t take this the wrong way, but she cares about Jason too, and she believes him when he says he didn’t stay away voluntarily, that he was coerced. And she thinks that they should help him. Actually, she wants to help him. Danny can’t lose his father again.

Outside the penthouse door, Sonny takes several deep breaths. He goes inside and Ava is there, and he says he’s surprised to see her. She stormed off at the restaurant. He makes a drink, and she says she’s really sorry about that. It was so silly of her to let her feelings get hurt over a social event. Of course (🍷) she understands the Cerullos and Falconaris don’t want her there. He says, that’s the point he was trying to make, and she says she knows. She realizes that. She’s embarrassed actually. She likes to think she has pretty thick skin and she does with most people, but not with him lately. She’s so appreciative about how they’ve been able to connect and come to trust each other. She really cares about their relationship. And that’s why, for Avery’s sake, it’s time for her to move out.

Dex asks, how’s school? Are they on summer break yet? She says, just about. She’s turned in most of her labs and her papers. She has a few exams left, but she actually just got a new summer job at the MetroCourt. She’s going to be a lifeguard there. He says, that’s more fun than working at the front desk, and she says she hopes it’s fun. He says he thought she’d have some high-powered internship lined up, and she says she thought about it, but she’s actually in the middle of switching her major. He says he’s glad she figured it out. So what does she want?… For her major? She says she’ll be taking much of the same labs and classes as last year, just with a different concentration – environmental science. He says, sounds like a good fit, and she says, really? She feels like she’s so late to change her major. He says, just trust herself. He has no doubt she could save the entire planet if she set her mind to it.

Sonny asks if Ava is sure this sudden need to move out has nothing to do with what happened earlier? and she says, yes and no. Once she cooled down, she realized the most important thing here is the friendship they’ve developed over these last few months. She really values that. Plus, she never wants to put Avery in the stressful situation of watching her parents fighting. So it will take her a few days to find the right living situation for the two of them, one that meets the terms of their shared custody agreement. He asks if this is really what she wants, another place, and she says she was looking for a place of her own after she sold Windymere,. Then he wanted them there when they were under threat. but that threat seems to be gone and she’s starting to feel like she’s overstaying her welcome. He asks if he ever said that, and she says, no. He says, then don’t put words in his mouth. He likes having Avery here, taking her to school, putting her to bed. She says, what about her? and he says he likes having people around. He likes the company. But just so she knows, he didn’t ask her to leave. That was her call. So if she wants to get a place, he’ll help her get a place, but just for the record, he likes the way things are.

Sam says she hopes Dante understands why she wants to help Jason, and he says, of course (🍷) he does. They have a history together; he’s Danny’s father. He’s not threatened by any of that stuff. She says, Danny is a big part of this, but it’s more than that. When Dante was in the hospital and she found out Jason was on that roof, and everyone thought he was the shooter – she thought he was the shooter – she was so angry and cold to him. She was just so terrified she was going to lose Dante, she wanted someone to pay, and she had lost all faith in Jason. He says, so she wants to make almonds amends. She wants to help. She says she supposes she does. She knows that Jason loves Danny and Danny has obviously formed some sort of a bond with Jason. It’s just that Danny needs his father in his life. Dante says, 100% he does. He needs his father. And he feels like he owes Jason. He just doesn’t know how to help him. She says, they’re going to figure that out together. That’s what they do. He takes her hand and says, the thing is, he doesn’t know what this is. This can’t be just a simple undercover operation that guy’s got Jason doing. She says, they need to figure out exactly what it is the FBI has on Jason.

Anna tells Jason, so far, the FBI has been under the radar. And Jason being found out to be who he is didn’t exactly rattle Pikeman’s cages too much. He says, yeah, but Cates thinks they’ll still target him because he knows too much. She says, Pikeman obviously doesn’t know he’s with the FBI, so that’s a good thing at least. And he’s absolutely certain he never told Carly that he was undercover at Pikeman. He says, absolutely not. He wants her to stay out of this. She says, that ship’s sailed. So in all probability, Brennan now knows the FBI is on his trail, which means that they’re blown. And that’s a big problem. Because Brennan’s tentacles, they reach from Pentenville to Pikeman to the WSB to God knows where. He asks if she’s afraid of this guy, and she shrugs. She says, Brennan’s a bit of a charmer. Very smooth. But behind those sparkling eyes is a mind constantly working, processing, reading everything, everyone in the room. He is very smart. He’s very shrewd. They all learned as trainees, the most dangerous weapon was to give Brennan information of any kind. He says, so what do they do now? They just wait for Brennan to make a move? How do they know he’s going to make a move? She says, he will. He’ll find his target and then he’ll act. And the FBI won’t know what hit them. She thinks what they need to do is find out exactly what Carly told Brennan. He tells her, Cates said the same thing. There’s one problem. He can’t be the one to do it.

Dex does more push-ups, and Josslyn says she thought she could escape taking Bio-Chem by switching to environmental science, when actually she has to still take environmental chem, which is just as difficult, and she has to do all of the papers, all the labs, and she has to get her master’s after her undergrad break. He says, there’s no escaping. She’s going to have to be awesome. She thanks him and thanks him for what he said earlier. It means a lot. She should go. He says, him too. It’s really good to see her. She says, it was really good to see him. Take care. She runs off as he watches her.

Ava thanks Sonny and says she knows Avery wants to stay. So does she. She realized something. She’s let herself become a bit of a recluse since the Nikolas thing. And after she sold Windymere, she wanted a fresh start, but other than the gallery, she doesn’t get out too much. She guesses that’s why she made the assumption about Brook’s wedding. He says, she doesn’t have to be cooped up here or at the gallery all the time. She should be able to get out, have fun. She was always the social type. She doesn’t have to cramp her style on his account. She laughs, says, that’s some solid advice, and thanks him. She asks if there’s anything she can do to help him get ready for the wedding. She can get his tie, or she can get a gift. How about a painting from the gallery even? He says, cash is king (truth!). There’s a lot of ties that he doesn’t even wear, but he thanks her for that. She asks if she can give him a ride. She can drop him off and she can pick him up. That way, Frank doesn’t have to waste the day waiting around outside the wedding and the reception. He says he can drive himself. Besides, Blaze’s mother is coming as his plus one. She says, oh. Natalie, right? He says, Natalia. Blaze and Kristina are going, so he thought it would be nice to include Blaze’s mother. She says, that’s very generous of him, and he laughs. He goes in the back, and Ava smiles until he’s gone.

Dante says he gets Sam wants to help. It’s important to her and it’s important to Danny. And please don’t get angry at him for saying this, but he thinks she should stay out of it. She says, wait a minute. He just said he had some digging of his own to do, which means he doesn’t know the whole story. He says, no, he doesn’t, but he can tell it’s a delicate situation. And to get involved with Cates and the Feds, and then maybe she’s in the line of fire… There’s nothing she can do. She says, oh no. She has a hard time accepting there’s nothing you can do as a policy. (Me too.)

Anna says, but Jason is Carly’s best friend. Who better than him to find out what she knows and what she’s done? He says, she just answered her own question. Carly can read him like a book. If he questions her, she knows something’s up. And even if he mentions Brennan, that’s it. She’ll decide she can help him by working Brennan for information. Anna says, oh God. They don’t want that. He says, no. She cannot suspect anything more than she already does. So they have to find a way to stop Carly from doing anything else to help him. She says, all right. If Jason can’t question Carly, she’ll have to talk to Carly herself.

On Monday, Gregory says he would have enjoyed it more with Tracy; Sasha says she should have asked Michael before she said yes; Trina says she knows what Stella is doing; and Anna tells Carly that she’s just compromised a major investigation.

❤️‍🩹 Another Non-Divorce…

Yeah, things weren’t looking too good last season. PK getting sober sounds like a good sign, but it’s a tough road in the music biz. And what is this, a RHOBH curse?

https://people.com/rhobh-dorit-kemsley-paul-pk-kemsley-announce-separation-after-9-years-marriage-7502831

📺 Bravo On Tap…

The shows that have been renewed.

Bravo Renews Seven Real Housewives Shows and Other Veteran Series

New shows. These both look promising. They should have filmed me during my first years in NYC. Then again, maybe not.

Bravo Picks up New Making it in Manhattan Show and South Africa Safari Series

🍹 The Pillow Man Can…

These look like really nice pillows, albeit a little pricey. I would have gone all the way though and paid an extra $12 for the actual pillow.

Putting Craig Conover’s Sewing Down South Pillows to the Test

☎️ Andy, Andy, Andy…

I never thought Brandi’s claims had any merit. It was just her way of trying to deflect from her own bad behavior. I have no doubt it happened – it sounds like something stupid Andy and Kate would do – but they certainly weren’t serious. As for Leah, I have no clue about the coke, but I’m sure the producers don’t discourage drinking alcohol, especially if it leads to drama. Just not too much. Still, is that Andy’s fault? I dunno, but the responsibility ultimately lies with the cast member on that one.

https://people.com/bravo-closes-investigation-on-andy-cohen-as-network-renews-15-shows-8646400

I never once thought of Andy and John as romantic. More like frat boys.

https://ew.com/john-mayer-criticizes-speculation-andy-cohen-relationship-8646524

🌁 Waiting…

I don’t know how much info is new here. It’s not like they’re going to show it any sooner.

‘The Last of Us’ Adds 4 More Stars to Season 2 Cast

🐩 Going To the Dogs…

I’ve been to this several times, and the set-up is much better now. They used to do the whole thing at Madison Square Garden, with the benching area (where the dogs are kept in between their shows), the prep area, and the shopping area all in one place. It was always packed with people and like, 110 degrees. On top of it, dog hair dryers were going half the time. Now it’s in two buildings by the river, with only the main show in the Garden. At last attendees can breathe. Go Pekes!

https://people.com/how-to-watch-the-2024-westminster-dog-show-including-where-to-stream-8646120

🐾 A Worthy and Wooly Cause…

This is a great organization. No one who’s being abused should have to choose between that and keeping their pet. I’d sleep in the street first. Even though I’d need a pretty big box.

https://people.com/mariska-hargitay-joins-effort-to-make-pet-friendly-domestic-violence-shelter-8645788

🪺 Quotes of the Week

Sooner or later, we all quote our mothers. – Bernard Williams

I’ll join this conversation on the proviso that we stop bitching about people, talking about wigs, dresses, bust sizes, penises, drugs, night clubs, and bloody Abba! – Bernadette (Terrence Stamp), Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted. Do it now. – Paulo Coelho

Motherhood seems to be a no-win battle: however you decide to do (or not do) it, someone’s going to be criticizing you. – Celeste Ng, Little Fires Everywhere

We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals. – Immanuel Kant

Thus far the mighty mystery of motherhood is this: How is it that doing it all feels like nothing is ever getting done. – Rebecca Woolf

The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty. – Winston Churchill

Mothers are fonder than fathers of their children because they are more certain they are their own. – Aristotle

Even dads need their moms. – Brandon Gibbs, 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way

Silence is golden. Unless you have kids. Then silence is suspicious. – Nicole Fornabaio, The Noun Project (This goes for dogs too.)

Happy Mother’s Day – Juliet, July 11, 2007

🌻 Easy Like Saturday Morning…

Wishing a Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, stepmoms, pet moms, and mother figures. We’re all moms to something, even if it’s a plant. Join me again on Monday really Tuesday for soap and God knows what on Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay sharing with those who have less than you, and stay sticking with things and not walking away. They get better.

May4

May 3, 2024 – Dante Questions His Boundaries, Cast Changes, Reflection, Not Quite Divorce, Grey This, First Day, Where’s Here, Animal Farm, Dog TV, An Ounce Of Quotes & Listen To How

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Trina and Josslyn run in the park and stop at a bench. Trina says she can’t believe she let Josslyn talk her into HIIT training, and Josslyn says, what they did in 20 minutes, is the equivalent of an hour long run. So she just did Trina’s heart a favor. Trina says, don’t expect a thank you. The way her heart is beating out of her chest, she’s glad to be standing next to a doctor to be. Josslyn says she’s not so sure about that anymore. She used to be so sure about her future. Now, not so much.

Alexis asks Sam and Kristina which one she should wear to the hearing, and Sam says, they both look the same. (They do and they’re both black.) Alexis says, they’re nothing alike. This one is for summations, and she usually won those. And this one is for the I don’t feel anxious look. Sam suggests she go with the one that makes her feel comfortable, and Alexis says, they both do for different reasons, and asks Kristina what she thinks. Kristina says, oh, and touches her bump, and Alexis says, fine. She’ll wear the lucky one. Kristina says, that wasn’t about the suit. It’s the little kicker weighing in.

Nina and Drew pull into a parking lot, and Drew says, they’re here, but Nina says, not so fast. He says, they had an agreement. She was going to help get him a meeting and he was going to help get her closer to Willow. She’s not backing out already, right? She says she just wants to make sure he fully appreciates what she’s doing for him. Congressman McConkey is a key figure in the US House. He has the ear of all the major players in DC and he wants to speak with her. He says he’s sure she’s very honored, and she says she is. And she also understands this is because of her relationship with her father. This is her personal connection, and she wants to make sure he doesn’t screw it up. He says, in other words, she wants him to be grateful and follow her lead. How could he not? She’s such a people person. He leans toward her like he’s going to kiss her, but he undoes her seatbelt.

Sonny visits Dante, who says, this is a surprise. What’s going on? Sonny hands him a giftbag, and Dante asks if it’s something for the kids, but Sonny says, open it. It’s for my son. Dante says, for this kid? He looks in the bag and says, oh wow. This is amazing. He takes out a white boxing glove, and Sonny says, last time they were at the gym, he noticed Dante’s gloves had seen better days, so he got those. They’re 14 ounce, more padding, and good to hit the bag with. Dante can use his old gloves to spar. Dante says, when he gets back, yeah, and Sonny says he knows Dante doesn’t hit the bag anymore, especially right now. Dante thanks him and says he appreciates it. Sonny says, it’s the least he can do since Dante is the only person in his family he can trust.

Ava opens the penthouse door to Carly and asks, where’s Frank? Carly says, he’s down the hall. Is Sonny home? Ava says, no, he’s out, and Carly says she’ll wait here until he gets back. She walks past Ava and sits down in the living room.

The congressman’s assistant Mariel tells Nina that the congressman has been looking forward to this, and Nina says, that’s nice to hear. He and her father were great friends. Mariel says, Drew isn’t on his schedule, and we hear the congressman on the phone in his office, saying, he wouldn’t endorse Fred for dog catcher. Nina says, perhaps they should come back if now isn’t a good time, but Mariel says she’s worked with him since he was in bellbottoms and organizing sit-ins. His bark is worse than his bite. Nina says, really? and Mariel says, no. Follow her. She leads them into the office as McConkey says he doesn’t give a damn about party loyalty. Stop wasting his time. He hangs up and sees Nina. He gets up from his desk and goes over to her, taking her hand. He says, the last time he saw her, she was riding on Dan’s shoulders, her hair in ribbons. She laughs and says, and he has never looked more distinguished. He says, it’s the grey hair, is it? And they say politicians are smooth talkers. Nina says, it’s nice to see him and thanks him for seeking her out. She’s honored that he trusts her with his statement. He says he trusts her, but who’s the suit?

Kristina tells Sam and Alexis that she was so smug about being over her morning sickness. This little one is definitely making up for it with all its kicking and squirming. She thought maybe it was because of all the spicey foods she’s been eating, Oh, Blaze found this incredible restaurant that has the most delicious pastelis. They have to try it. It’s so good. They’re obsessed. Sam says, who? Her and Blaze? But Kristina says, no. Her and the baby. This little one loves spicey food as much as she does. Alexis says, Kristina didn’t when she was pregnant with her, because she had indigestion the entire time. They already talked about her kicking. Kristina says, this is really nice. She doesn’t share too much about her pregnancy with Molly because it’s sensitive. Sam says she kind of gets that. Once the two of them get over this initial awkwardness, things will get a little easier, and she’ll probably enjoy hearing about the baby and how Kristina is doing. Kristina says she doesn’t know. She’d never want to hurt Molly’s feelings, but she does really appreciate that she can share this with them, because this is the most powerful, profound experience she’s ever had in her life. It’s amazing. Having this little life growing inside of her is so incredible. She knows the both of them know exactly how she feels.

Trina does push-ups against the bench, and Josslyn says she’s thinking about switching her major. Trina says, from pre-med? Why? Josslyn says, because she’s not sure she wants to be a doctor. It’s such a huge commitment. Should she really be doing it if she’s anything less than all-in? Trina says she guesses not. Wow. What brought this on? Josslyn says she’s been thinking about it for a while. Then all that stuff went down with Adam, and it freaked her out. Trina says, Adam’s problems had nothing to do with his major, and Josslyn says she knows that, but it gave her a glimpse into the next few years of her life. And it’s another year with a full course load, then studying for the MCATs. Then it’s med school and then a residency, maybe a specialty fellowship. She’s exhausted just talking about it. Trina says she hears her. Becoming a doctor is no joke. Her mom has told her some pretty daunting things, but she always said that it was worth it and she loves it. Josslyn says, and she’s amazing at it. She has nothing but pure admiration for those who pursue a medical degree. It’s just, is that for her? She knows she wants to do something in science, but she’s just not sure being a doctor is her passion.

Carly says, Ava can go do whatever she wants to do. She doesn’t need to be monitored. Ava says, this is Sonny’s house and she’s an invited guest. So let’s get something straight. Carly might think she can come in here and just start ordering her around because of her prior relationship with Sonny, but that’s over. As far as Sonny is concerned, she’s gone too far. Carly says, wow. Okay. She gets up and says, as long as they’re getting things straight, let her get something clear. Ava might have appointed herself Sonny’s gatekeeper, roommate, or whatever the hell she wants to call herself, but she will speak to her ex-husband, the father of her children, whenever she needs to, and that’s never going to change.

Dante says, Sonny has more people in his corner than he thinks he has, and Sonny says, the people on his payroll don’t count. Diane is representing Jason. Dante says, Diane always represented Jason. She can represent him too. Sonny says, they’ll see if she can work for both of them. Did he hear that Nina signed the divorce papers? She’s another one out of his life. Dante says he’s sorry that ended badly. He knows Sonny really cared about her. Sonny says he doesn’t trust her. He doesn’t really trust anybody anymore. Jason, Dex, Nina, Michael… Carly. Carly hits the most. He went to the MetroCourt the other day, when she made her triumphant return. Does Dante know what Carly said to him? Get out of my life. Dante says, just like that, no lead up? Sonny says, no. He asked her, why, when Jason offered to buy the hotel back for her, she said yes, but when he offered, she turned him down. Does he know what she said? Stay out of my life. But he can’t do that. Because they have kids, grandkids. She’s trying to cut him out. That ain’t happening. Dante suggests he let things cool down a little between them. They’ll work it out. Sonny says, no, because once Carly makes up her mind like that, there’s no getting through to her. Dante says, it’s good Sonny has him then, and claps him on the shoulder. Sonny puts his hand on Dante’s shoulder and says, it is a good thing Dante has his back, because he’ll always have Dante’s back. He looks like a corpse about to cry, and Dante says, hey. Is something going on? Sonny says, it’s… it’s… yeah. He’s concerned that Dex has joined the PCPD.

McConkey points at Drew and says, he doesn’t have a camera, so he’s not a photographer. Why is he here? Nina says, this is Drew Cain. He’s her… Drew steps up and says, it’s a pleasure to meet the congressman. He shakes McConkey’s hand and says he’s the CEO of Aurora Media and the publisher of Crimson, but people call him Drew. McConkey says he has an appointment to speak with Nina alone, and Nina says she’s so sorry. She didn’t mean to overstep. It’s just that she mentioned to Drew that she was talking to him today and he expressed an interest to come along. Drew says he’s been a supporter of McConkey for years, and McConkey says, Drew needs to make an appointment. While he’s talking to Nina, maybe Drew could see Mariel and she could fit him in maybe sometime after the election. Drew says he could totally do that, but they’re both busy men, and he’s here right now. Why not take advantage of the situation, right? There was actually a specific project he’d like to discuss with the congressman in particular. Nina looks at him like she can’t believe it, and McConkey says, yes, but he doesn’t hand out favors to corporations. Nina says, forgive her. She’ll show Drew out and they can proceed with his statement. Drew says, the project had nothing to do with Aurora whatsoever. It has to do with the people of Port Charles, his constituents. Could he share a moment of his time for them?

Sam says she wishes she could stay and chat longer, but she has to go pick up her nearly grown, teenage son from school. Kristina asks how Danny is doing, but Sam says she doesn’t know. He hasn’t been talking to her much lately. She doesn’t know if it’s a teenage thing or a Jason thing, but they’re disagreeing on how much time he should be spending with his father, so… Alexis says, he has her to count on and that’s everything, so just give it time, and Sam thanks her. She hugs them both and leaves. Kristina says, she’s okay, right? and Alexis says, considering her boyfriend was shot and her ex has mysteriously returned, and Danny wants to spend all his time with him. Kristina says she loves Jason, but she understands why Sam is worried about her son spending so much time with Jason, and Alexis says, she’s very protective of Danny. Speaking of protective mommies, how’s her girl? Seems like the trimester is going well for her. Kristina says she’s actually really good. It’s Molly and TJ she’s worried about.

Josslyn tells Trina that now she has to figure out what major she wants to switch to so she can still graduate in time. And in order to do that, she has to figure out what it is she wants to do in the first place. Trina says, same. She’s behind on credits unless she wants to play a game of catch-up during the summer, and she definitely doesn’t want to do that. All she can do is work at the gallery. Josslyn says, she’s still grieving Spencer, and Trina says, yeah, but she doesn’t want to get stuck on that. She really doesn’t. She wants to care about anything. And it’s weird because it’s just not like her. She used to know where she wanted to go and where she wanted to be. Now she doesn’t. Josslyn says she feels Trina on that, and Trina says, but Josslyn was on track. That’s why she’s surprised they’re here in the same boat. The police cadets jog by, and Josslyn and Dex exchange a look.

Dante says he heard that Dex was accepted into the academy, and Sonny says he can’t tell Dante how to do his job, but he’d be wise to stay away from Dex. Dante says, they shouldn’t be talking about that, and Sonny says he’s just telling his son to watch his back. Because from his experience, Dex can’t be trusted. He was good to Dex. He did everything for Dex, and Dex turned on him. So if Dante is ever in a difficult situation, don’t expect Dex to cover for him. Dante says he doesn’t expect to be in that position, and Sonny says, Anna and the cops and whoever else wants to believe whatever comes out of Dex’s mouth, but he knows Dante is too smart because he knows better. He’s telling Dante right now, Dante is going to hit those bags – he throws a fake uppercut – in no time. He pats Dante’s shoulder and leaves. Dante looks concerned, as we all would be.

Ava says, Carly can talk to Sonny whenever and however she wants to, but Sonny isn’t here. So why doesn’t she leave a message, and if Sonny wants to talk to her, he will. But something tells her that Carly will be waiting a while for that call. Carly says, for somebody who claims to be so confident in her situation, Ava sounds a little defensive, and Ava says, Carly sounds desperate. That’s why she came barging in here, planting her sad little flag in the middle of Sonny’s living room, because Carly can feel him slipping from her grasp. And she knows she screwed up with Sonny for good. Sonny comes in and asks Carly what she’s doing here. Where’s Donna?

Drew tells McConkey that the piers continue to attract criminal activity. There’s two unused piers that have beautiful infrastructure and incredible views that can be developed into something amazing to benefit the people of Port Charles. McConkey says, and generate tourist revenue, and Drew says, that’s one of the goals, absolutely. He’s been working with Deputy Mayor Jordan Ashford to redirect some of that revenue into the city’s budget to be used for things like more public transportation and have more weekend hours in the libraries and more green energy projects. McConkey says he and Jordan crossed paths a few times when she was Police Commissioner, and he was pleased to see she was taking on Deputy Mayor. She has some impressive ideas. Drew says, she really does. That’s why they’re working together on this, but as he knows, a project of this scope requires federal funding. So he guesses his question for the congressman is, can they count on his support? McConkey says he’s intrigued, but he can’t help Drew.

Alexis asks what Kristina means, Molly and TJ are having trouble. What happened now? Kristina says, apart from TJ giving her an inquisition about her sleeping habits and forbidding her from seeing her father? Alexis says, this is why she told Kristina that they have to have some grace, because this is a new situation. Kristina says, it’s a funny thing about extending grace. You actually have to acknowledge that your behavior is maybe part of the problem. She doesn’t see TJ doing that anytime soon. Honestly, it’s insulting to insinuate she doesn’t know how to take care of herself or this baby. She thinks she’s doing a pretty good job. And it’s not just the way he’s being toward her. She thinks there’s some tension between him and Molly. Alexis says, there’s tension between every couple now and then, particularly when there’s a life-changing event, and Kristina says, they can figure that out for themselves. She’s the one who’s carrying this child. She doesn’t deserve to be micromanaged.

Sam says she’s sorry she’s home later than she thought, but she had to stop at her mom’s to see Kristina. Dante says, that’s okay, and she kisses him. She asks if Danny is home, and he says, not yet. How’s Kristina doing? Sam says, she’s hormonal and grumpy… Is that a gift or something? She reaches for the bag, and Dante says, yeah. Sonny got him new boxing gloves. He hands her one, and she says, that’s really nice of him. She puts it on and says, these are really good gloves, and he says, they are. She asks, how was his visit with Sonny? and he says, it was fine. She holds up her gloved hand and says, don’t do that. Something’s wrong, obviously. He can talk to her. He says, it’s just that line he’s drawn between work and being Sonny’s son. He kind of feels like he might have crossed it.

Carly says she needs to talk to Sonny alone, and Ava tells Sonny that she wasn’t clear. Does Carly get to dictate what happens in this house? Carly says she needs to talk to him about Donna. She’s not discussing their daughter in front of Ava. Ava says she has a call to make to the gallery to check on a delivery. Excuse her. She leaves, and Sonny asks if Donna is okay. Carly says, she’s fine. She wanted to have this conversation in person. She’s not bringing Donna to sleep over this week. She’s not bringing Donna here at all anymore. He says, why not? and she says, it’s not good for Donna to be here with him.

McConkey tells Drew that he has lung cancer, Stage IV. He intends on serving out the rest of his term, but then he’ll be stepping down to be with his family. He knows it’s a political cliché, but in this case, it happens to be true. Nina says she’s so sorry, for him and for his family, and for the people that he serves. And she knows he’ll be dearly missed by his colleagues in the House. Does his staff know? Does Mariel? McConkey says, yes, Mariel and select members of his staff. He wants to stay focused on his remaining programs and legislation, and he wants this statement not to be about pity, sentimentality, or hysteria. There’s enough political spectacle to begin with. Nina says she assures him that she’ll see to it, and Drew says he’s deeply saddened by this news. He’s so sorry. If there’s anything he can do to help in any way, please let him know, but if he may. The congressman’s term doesn’t end until May of 2025… Nina says, talk about being insensitive, but Drew says he’s not being insensitive. He really thinks this project could be McConkey’s legacy for the people in his district. He can take a place that was previously neglected and turn it into a showpiece. Give the people of Port Charles something beautiful, a place to gather by the water like this, it would be such a gift. Not only for the people here now, but for future generations. McConkey says, go on, and Drew says, he still has time to push this in the House. It could be his farewell piece of legislation, and given his current diagnosis, who’s going to vote against it?

Trina says, when Josslyn told her that she was going into pre-med, she remembers thinking to herself, she never heard Josslyn express this before, but she was so proud of Josslyn, she didn’t put it together. Josslyn says, put what together? and Trina says, that it has something to do with Dex. Josslyn says, when she and Cam were falling apart and she was catching feelings🪣for Dex, Dex got really hurt. She had to stitch up his side and she had no idea what she was doing. And it was the most helpless feeling. She remembers wanting to be able to do more than just wait around and be concerned. She wanted to be able to help people, especially in an emergency. Trina says, and by people, she means Dex.

Sam says, Sonny should have known better than to discuss police business with Dante, but from what he just told her, she thinks he handled it pretty well. Dante says, Sonny didn’t come right out and tell him not to act on any information Dex might have, but he sent a message. He assumes Dex is going to talk and Anna is going to listen to him. She says, he didn’t ask Dante to interfere on an investigation, and Dante says, not yet, but he’s come this far, so that’s probably next. Anna called this too. She says, how so? and he says, at Chase’s bachelor party, the guys were shunning Dex, and he questioned the wisdom of bringing Dex on board to Anna. She asks what Anna thought about that, and he says, she kind of reversed it on him. She said, maybe it’s what Dex could be telling them at the PCPD about his dad that might bother him, and to steer clear of him. She didn’t want Dante to be put in a position where he might be compromised or tempted to protect Sonny. She says, there’s nothing wrong with setting boundaries, and he says, but the thing is, he used to set the boundaries for himself. He didn’t need someone else to set them for him. She says she thinks he’s being too hard on himself. Everyone in town knows Dex worked for Sonny, and cops are bound to be suspicious. It does create a hostile work environment. She thinks it’s good he made that point to Anna. He says, there’s one other thing he hasn’t told Anna or her, and that’s when he found out that Dex was applying to the police academy, his first thought was, how could this hurt his father? That’s not thinking like a cop. That’s thinking like a son who’s worried that his father is already guilty.

Sonny asks if Carly is using his daughter to get back at him, but she says she’s protecting Donna. She shouldn’t hear from her father that her mother betrayed him. He says, it sounds like she’s protecting herself, but she says she doesn’t want Donna involved in an adult situation that she can’t possibly understand. (She’s correct. Dr. Phil says that all the time.) Or poisoned by bitterness and resentment. He asks if she thinks he would do that, and she says she doesn’t know. He says, that he would say something against her to their daughter? and she says she doesn’t recognize him anymore. She doesn’t know what he’s capable of. He rubs his forehead and says, legally, he’s Donna’s father. He has rights, even if he has to take her to court. He’ll do that if he has to. She says, please, take her to court. Let’s put it all out on the record. Let’s put it in the light of day and let the judge decide who Donna should go home with. It’s not him. He says, first, she turned on him. Now she’s using their daughter… She says she’s trying to protect them both. Donna doesn’t deserve to be around his level of hate and anger right now. He says, she’s getting everybody in his family to turn against him. Why? Why? Because of Jason? She asks if he can hear himself. He’s not making any sense. He’s not listening to reason at all. He’s living in an alternate universe. It’s like everybody’s out to get… Oh my God. Oh my God, Sonny. She jets to the back of the apartment, and he asks where she’s going. He follows her, and she goes to his bathroom and looks at his prescription bottles. He asks what the hell she’s doing, and she says she’s making sure he’s taking his medication.

Nina says, Drew’s enthusiasm for his project has clearly clouded his sense of tact. He will wait outside while they finish their conversation. McConkey says, no. He’s not insulted, nor is he swayed. Does Drew know how many developers have sat in that chair with a slick pitch and an outstretched hand? Drew says, more than a few, he has no doubt, but that’s not what’s happening here. He truly believes in this project, and knowing what McConkey is facing, he thinks this would be such a legacy for him. McConkey asks how he knows Drew isn’t beautifying these docks not to just turn them into luxury apartments on a federal dime. He believes in public projects. He likes them, but he might not be around to see how things work out. Drew asks if he thinks Jordan Ashford would really be on board for a real estate scheme, and McConkey says, no, but if Drew is well-funded and smart enough, she may not be able to stop him. It all comes down to Drew’s true intentions. What does Nina think? She brought this guy in here. Should he trust him?

Kristina tells Alexis, Molly and TJ are very goal-oriented people. And that’s great for them and their careers – more power to them – but sometimes it seems like they look at this pregnancy and this baby as the next thing to check off on their list of accomplishments. Alexis says, that’s cynical. She hopes Kristina is just being a little hyperbolic. Kristina says she loves Molly and TJ – Alexis knows that – and she knows how much they want this baby. It’s just that they both get so focused on the practicalities of this pregnancy, they’re missing out on the beautiful process of absolutely falling in love with this baby as much as she is.

Sam says, Dante loves his father, and he doesn’t want anything to happen to him, just like billions of other sons and daughters all over this planet. He says, yeah, but he’s in a position to protect Sonny and put his welfare ahead of his badge. Sam says, he had one thought. She knows him. He’s not going to allow one thought to influence him or effect his work. They both know life can get pretty messy and ambiguous when family is involved, and he’s never compromised himself for Sonny. In fact, Dante had him arrested when he put Cyrus Renault in the hospital. He says he wishes he could be as sure as she is. He used to be. He thought he could be both a good son and a good cop. She says, and he’s done that, but he says, has he though? Sonny runs a criminal enterprise. He knows it, she knows it, everybody knows it. His job is to stop Sonny. So why hasn’t he? (To be fair, neither has anyone else who’s in a position to.)

Taking the bottle of lorphenadine with her, Carly says she needs to call his pharmacist, but Sonny says she is not calling his pharmacist. Give him his pills. She says, not until he answers a question. When was the last time he took his medication? He says, what is this? Just because he didn’t agree with her custody arrangement, she’s accusing him of not taking his medication? She says she’s not judging him. She’s trying to help him. Something is so wrong. Does he remember the last time he was off his meds? He says he’s fine, but she says, he’s not fine. Ava comes out and asks if everything is okay, and Carly tells Sonny to look at her. It is common for people dealing with bipolar to go off their medication. She’s not judging him. Just tell her and she can help him. He asks if she really thinks he’d risk everything by not taking his medication. Does she think that little of him?

Nina says, Drew is a very tenacious businessman, but he’s also a decorated Navy SEAL, and he’s known for his philanthropy and leadership at Aurora, and he’s very committed to the city of Port Charles. She can say truthfully that Drew can be tough, but fair. Not so different from the congressman. McConkey says he’ll have to see some actual concept sketches and specs, but if the numbers check out and Drew can make this a reality, he’s got himself a deal. They shake hands, and Drew thanks him so much. McConkey says, it’s going to be tough to wrangle this through the House. He’s going to expect a little more than a park bench with his name on it. Drew says, how about the McConkey Esplanade? McConkey says, that will do. Of course (🍷) he’ll be long gone before this thing is finished, but Drew has to promise he’ll have the congressman’s wife front and center for the dedication, and he’s got to let her cut the ribbon, because Hazel does love a good photo op.  Drew says, absolutely. He can count on that. He looks at Nina.

Alexis says she and Kristina know Molly and TJ already want and love this baby, but maybe their misguided and annoying attempts to contribute to her pregnancy may be their way of trying to connect with Kristina and be a part of it. Kristina says, by coming at her like she’s some clueless, irresponsible incubator? Alexis says, stop. She’s going to ask Kristina something, and it’s important she answer honestly. Kristina says, okay, what? and Alexis asks if Kristina is starting to think of this baby as more hers than her sister’s.

Josslyn tells Trina that she didn’t get into pre-med because of Dex, and she’s not thinking of getting out of it because they broke up. Trina says, but he is a factor, and Josslyn says, yes, but not because she was thinking Dex is a criminal and she needs to be able to stitch him up – we see Dex clad in a towel, opening his locker at the academy – in case he’s shot again. She guesses it’s that she and Dex are close in age, but they’re worlds apart in life experience. He’s already served in the military. We see Dex getting dressed, and Josslyn says, that really matters, and it seemed to her that becoming a doctor would also really matter, and it would. But just because she’s got the grades to get in medical school doesn’t mean that it’s the right fit. She would be taking a spot from someone who really does have the passion and could very well make a much better doctor. And she thinks she owes it to them and to herself to figure out where she would do the most good – Dex buttons his shirt – and find out what she actually wants to pursue. Trina says, whatever Josslyn decides, she’ll be here for her, and Josslyn says, same. They’re in this together. Trina says, and why is she trying to figure this out, when part of the future she’s struggling with is about Dex? She’s still in love with him, isn’t she? We see Dex fix his hair, and Trina asks why Josslyn can’t admit she doesn’t want her and Dex to be over. We see Dex in his new uniform.

Sam says she thinks that Dante is being hard on himself, because she knows how he values the law. And she knows how he always walks that line. He’s a good cop. He’s got to give himself a break. He says he thinks maybe he just has to face reality. He’s gone easy on his father because he loves him and his siblings. And that right there is a conflict of interest. If he’s not willing to enforce the law, he’s got no business being a cop.

Carly suggests she and Sonny go to his doctor and get his blood drawn. Maybe he just needs his dosage adjusted. He says he doesn’t need his dosage adjusted. Get out. She says, please listen to her, but he says he’s listened long enough, and opens the door. She says, he has to understand how serious this is, and he says, she’s got to go, and points out the door. She slams the bottle of lorphenadine onto the mantle and walks out. He closes the door and looks at Ava. He looks like scary, unwell, sad Sonny, and says, there’s nothing wrong with him is there? Ava says, Carly is being unreasonable.

Carly walks down the hall and stops. She says, oh my God, and keeps walking.

Sonny says, Carly can go to hell, and walks into the back. Ava walks over to the mantle and picks up the bottle of lorphenadine.

On Monday, Kristina asks if Molly thinks her father poses a threat to their baby; Alexis tells Diane, if this one explodes, it’s going to shred her entire family; Anna tells Bennet that he can’t trust them with anyone but her; and a stranger (to us) on a park bench asks if Sonny wants to join her.

🚑 Two In One Out…

I thought I’d seen the congressman before.

https://soapsspoilers.com/general-hospital/news/gh-comings-and-goings-spring-summer-2024

Another revolving door character.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/ghs-aiden-recast-with-tristan-riggs

It’s confirmed. We saw him through his newbie, dad bod phase, and now he’s ditching us.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/nicholas-chavez-says-goodbye-to-general-hospital

🏋️‍♂️ Sweatin’ To Memory Lane…

Aww. Good times…

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/richard-simmons-reflects-on-his-time-on-general-hospital

💎 A Drift In the Hills…

But divorce isn’t in the cards? Really? That’s kind of hard to believe when he’s moved out and she’s changed her name back.

Mauricio Umansky Purchases Luxury Condo, Moves Out of Home With Kyle

https://www.eonline.com/news/1400726/kyle-richards-drops-mauricio-umanskys-last-name-from-her-instagram-amid-separation

🍸 Rocking the Gray…

Vanderpump Rules enlightens the world on the latest method in dealing, which I used to call, I’m ignoring you.

https://www.popsugar.com/relationships/gray-rock-method-49359630

🛸 In the Beginning…

The long awaited third installment is almost here.

https://ew.com/a-quiet-place-day-one-origin-story-djimon-hounsou-part-2-8639286

🌲 Beyond Lost…

This is old news, but this show is new to me. Amazon suddenly sprouted it as a lure for MGM+. Thankfully, I get that through my TV provider, since I already pay for enough streaming services, and I was hooked with the first episode. I thought it was reminiscent of Wayward Pines, which I also loved, and it was taken from me too soon. (Although there’s a book trilogy that finishes the story.)

Without giving away too much, all kinds of people from all different places find themselves in a town with very few amenities. To the naked eye, it might seem idyllic, albeit unplugged, but the catch is, monsters come out at night. The acting is impressive, and I love looking at the details of the town. The gore ain’t bad neither, but the show doesn’t rest on that. It’s more of a mystery as to where they are and how, or if, they can get home. And if Stephen King recommends it, how can you go wrong? As a matter of fact, as soon as I’m done here, I’m going to watch another episode.

https://screenrant.com/from-show-stephen-king-review-horror-fans-recommendation

https://www.pajiba.com/tv_reviews/from-is-the-best-tv-show-that-will-make-you-hate-its-guts.php

🐄 Animal Magnetism…

Enjoy some peace on the farm.

https://people.com/beautiful-issue-kaley-cuoco-and-her-pets-8633984

🐕 A Dog’s Favorite…

I’ve never had a dog who’s a big TV watcher, but I’ll have to give this a whirl.

https://people.com/why-dogs-love-watching-bluey-according-to-an-expert-8639804

🐦 Quotes of the Week

You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. – Khalil Gibran

You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.  – Jack London

Faith is daring to put your dream to the test. It is better to try to do something and fail than to try to do nothing and succeed. – Robert H. Schuller

Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping him up. – Jesse Jackson

It’s only stealing if they find out. – Blanche (Rue McClanahan), Golden Girls

Judge a man by the reputation of his enemies and the character of his friends. – K@$H

⚔️ Feeling the Fourth…

Join me on Monday really Tuesday for soap and Deck dilemmas. FYI, the new season of RHONJ begins Sunday at 8 pm if you want to torture yourself that way. Until then, stay safe, stay taking it easy with those margaritas, and stay never involving children in adult situations.