(rambling, random thoughts, recaps, and the whole GH enchilada on Fridays)
🤸♀️Shifting tenses. Going back to using present tense, since the other way wasn’t working for me.
General Hospital
Josslyn marvels at how early Gio gets to the pool, and says, he knows she’s very competitive. Now she has to figure out how to be a better, more conscientious employee than him. She tells him not to save someone; leave the lifeguarding to her. Sonny brings Avery in, and Avery tells Josslyn that she’s taking swim lessons. Josslyn introduces her to Gio, and Sonny says, it was about time he and Gio saw each other again.
Chase and Brook go to see Alexis, who says she’s sorry she didn’t make the wedding. If she’d known it would be the last time she’d see Gregory, she would have. She’s going to miss him. She shows them the medal Gregory gave her, and says, it was for good luck. She’s sure he’s going to send it when he can. Brook says, in between charming the angels, and Alexis asks the reason they’re here. Chase asks how it went with his brother, and she says, not well.
James and Cody come into the stables, saying, it was so cool, and Tracy asks, what’s cool? James says he jumped, but Cody says, technically, Comet did the jumping. Tracy wonders if Cody set jumps up for James, but James says, it was a huge tree, and Cody says, really, Comet took a longer than average step, but it counts as a jump. Tracy says she hasn’t worked up to jumping, but James has inspired her. She asks Cody to get her horse ready, and he says, it’s done. He’s going to take James back to the house. James complains that there are only girls there, and Cody says, his family is the best.
Maxie wonders why Spinelli is wearing a towel around his shoulders, and he says, Bailey required an unscheduled bath. He’s leaving it at that. Maxie says, they’re going to the pool when James gets back, and there’s a knock at the door. She opens it to Mac, who asks if anyone has seen his wife. There’s lots of hugging.
Stella, TJ, and Felicia discuss a patient who can’t afford treatment and has to wait five months for their benefits to kick in. They decide on the route they’re going to take and fist bump. Maxie calls Felicia, but Felicia says she can call Maxie later.
Alexis tells Chase and Brook that Finn was worse than she’d ever seen him. He was defiant, angry, and denied there was a problem, despite the evidence to the contrary. She thought she could navigate this road, since she’d done it before, but she had no magic words for them. Finn wasn’t going to listen until he was ready. Chase says, he’s not there yet, and Alexis says she’d try again if she thought it would help. Brook says, their immediate concern is Violet, and Alexis asks if they’ve noticed anything, like Violet being neglected. Chase says he doesn’t think so, but Brook says she’s concerned about Violet being left in a situation that’s potentially damaging. They want to protect her in every way. Chase says, they thought Alexis might have some advice for them.
Sonny says, it was a big deal for Gio to switch to PCU, and Gio says he likes it already. Sonny asks if he doesn’t regret leaving the city, and Gio says he’ll always be grateful that Sonny made it possible for him to go there. Sonny says, Gio has a gift that he wants him to pursue, but he’s concerned that Gio accepted going to PCU because Gio doesn’t want him to keep paying tuition. Gio says, it’s more complicated than that. PCU has an excellent music department and gave him a scholarship. He’ll always be thankful to Sonny… Sonny says, but he wants to pay his own way. He gets that. He likes making his own money and being independent. Gio says he’s not that independent. He’s living at the Quartermaines’. Sonny says, he should get hazard pay.
Natalia walks into the pool area on the phone and leaves a message for Brook. She wants to discuss the last recording session that Brook wasn’t able to attend… for good reason. She’s sorry about Brook’s father-in-law and hopes they got the flowers and card. She’s at the pool and wondering if Brook would like to join her. She sees Sonny, who says he was hoping to run into her. Would she like to join him? She says she’d love to, and he says his daughter is taking swim lessons. Natalia sees Avery and says, she’s adorable. She’s a water baby. Sonny says he loves swimming in Puerto Rico, and she says, it has the most beautiful beaches, but she might be bias. She had been biased about Kristina too, but she underestimated his daughter.
Maxie says, of all the days for her mom to ignore her calls, but Mac says she’s busy. Maxie says she left a message that there had been an exciting development, and Mac says, she thinks a sale at Wyndham’s is an exciting development. Spinelli brings nuBailey in, and Mac says, she got so big. He wonders if she’s getting her driver’s license next, and takes her from Spinelli. Spinelli tells him, gracious greetings and a heartfelt welcome home, and Mac asks if he’s a permanent fixture or temporary. Georgie says, he lives here now, and Spinelli makes an excuse to take Bailey and get out of the room. There’s a knock at the door, and Georgie opens it to Cody and James, who runs to Mac. Mac says he thinks James has grown a foot, and Cody says, pretty close. Mac says, it’s good to see Cody, and Cody says, him too.
Natalia says, it’s not that she didn’t think Kristina was lovely and intelligent, but the other day, they were all at a recording session and Blaze was terrible. In came Kristina, and a light switch flipped. She realized how much they loved each other. Sonny asked if Kristina made Blaze’s performance better, and Natalia says, Kristina’s presence made all the difference in Blaze’s emotional connection to the song. She asked if he believed in muses, and he said he thought so. He’d dabbled in the industry and was a silent partner in the 90s for a big music label. She says, everything was fun in the 90s, and he says, it was a good time. She says she thinks good times are ahead, and he says he hopes so.
Alexis says, family court isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s not what they’d expect. The best interest of the child should be the priority, but the way the state defines it and the way a loving relative does is hardly ever the same. Reporting a parent to CPS doesn’t guarantee protection, and the child can end up in a group home or with strangers. Chase says, that’s the last thing they want, and Alexis says, he’s in a tough predicament, being between his loyalty to Finn and protecting Violet. Her advice to them is to call a licensed clinical social worker, and Chase says, then that’s what they’ll do. Alexis wishes she was more help, but Chase says, just talking helped, and thanks her for trying with Finn. Alexis says, he’s a good man. He’s just lost. Chase says he knows that at some point, they’ll help him find his way back. She tells them, good luck, and they leave.
In the hallway, Brook sees she missed Natalia’s call, and tells Chase that she’s demanding. Chase says he’s still on leave and has extra time. He suggests she deal with it now. He’s going to GH. He knows exactly who to talk to.
Mac says he heard Cody was the new Face of Deception, but he thinks Sasha is better for business. Maxie says, they’re the former Faces, and Mac says, sorry. Cody says, don’t be. It’s not up his alley. Mac asks what he’s doing now, and Cody says he’s managing the stables at the Quartermaines. Maxie says, he’s been spending a lot of time with James, teaching him about horses, and James says, they jumped over a tree. Maxie says, what? and Cody says, James is exaggerating. It was more like a big stick, but it was still an awesome feat. He asks what Mac was up to, and Mac says he was helping a friend. Maxie asks if that’s all they’re getting, and Mac says, unfortunately, yes, and he hates keeping secrets. Cody says, him too, and Mac says, that’s something else they have in common. Cody says he’ll leave them to their family reunion. He’ll see James soon. Mac says he’d like to tag along sometime if it’s okay with Cody, and Cody says he’d like that. Mac says, he’ll set it up, and Cody watches the family interaction for a moment, then leaves.
Sonny asks how Natalia is feeling about Blaze and Kristina’s relationship, and she says, worried. Not because she thinks it’s wrong, but the way she was brought up in Puerto Rico, they’re not accepting. Sonny says, love is love was not a motto she grew up with? and she says, no, but she’s evolving. She has a hard time seeing that kind of love ending in real happiness. He says, Kristina and Blaze have to figure it out, and she says, that means she’d have to relinquish control. It’s not her favorite. Her phone dings, and she says she has to approve some photo shoot proofs. She hands him a thumb drive of the recording session and asks him to give it to Brook. He says, on one condition, that he’s invited to the release party. She says she’ll see what she can do, and leaves.
Gio asks if Josslyn talked to Michael about the apartment yet, and she says she’s going after work to see him in person. She knows he’ll say yes, but she doesn’t want him to think she’s taking advantage. Gio says, that’s like him and Uncle Sonny. Sonny has paid for his musical education and would probably pay for him to go to Europe and visit all the concert halls, but that would be taking advantage. Josslyn asks if he’s worried about taking advantage of Sonny, and Gio says, when someone is as powerful and important as Sonny, people are always asking for things, and he never wants to take it for granted. Josslyn says, it’s nice to hear how Gio appreciates Sonny. She’s sure it means a lot to him.
Maxie tells Mac that Cody has been great for James. He treats James like a little brother, and all the kids at the Quartermaines are obsessed with him. She doesn’t know how he has the patience. Mac says, they’re not his. No matter how bad it gets, they go back to their parents. (Been there, done that as a mother’s helper. I had all the patience in the world because I was getting paid and going home at the end of the day.) Maxie says, Cody is gifted, and Mac says, so is she. She says she’s not sure her kids agree. Cody is like a real-life superhero around here. Like someone else she knows.
Diane goes to Alexis’s office, and says she comes bearing gifts. What she hopes is a source of clarity. She holds out an envelope and says, it’s from the Court of Appeals. It came in care of her office. Alexis says, she didn’t open it? and Diane says, tampering with the mail is a federal offense. She doesn’t know what’s in there, but Alexis’s future awaits.
TJ says he’s impressed with what Felicia has done in record time. The few things she didn’t get are probably in the patient’s records, but they’ll have to get the patient’s consent. She says she already got it and it’s on file, and he says, she thought of everything. Her phone rings, and he says, Maxie again? It’s fine if she wants to pick it up. She says she will, when she’s officially off duty.
Tracy calls Finn and leaves a message. She says, he keeps not calling her back. She’s worried about him. Please call her. She goes into the other room, and startles Cody. She asks if he’s okay, and he says he’ll take care of her gear. She says, that’s not what she asked.
Maxie asks, what kind of mother doesn’t answer her daughter’s calls or texts? and Mac says, the working kind. He’s so proud of Felicia. Maxie says, she goes the extra mile for her patients and it’s spilling into other areas. She advocates for everyone, including Maxie, whether she wants it or not. She asks if Mac was in on Felicia’s plan to get Spinelli to move in, but he says he had no part of it. Maxie says, her heart was in the right place, and she’s glad it happened, but don’t tell Felicia she said that. They’re taking things slowly. Mac says, that’s music to his ears, and Maxie says she missed him so much. He says, it’s so good to be home.
Brook sees Sonny at the pool, and he motions her over. He tells her that Avery has her swim class, and she asks if he’s seen his wedding date. He says, Natalia just left, and Brook says, Natalia summoned her, then took off? He says, Natalia left something with him for her, and gives her the drive. He asks if she’s okay, and she says, it’s Chase’s niece Violet. He asks if she’s hurt or sick, and she says, Violet is fine for now, but if she tells him something, will he keep it between them? He says, of course (🍷), and she says, ever since Gregory died, Finn has been drinking… a lot. Sonny asks if he isn’t recovering, and she says, that’s why they haven’t faced this before. Finn furiously maintains it’s none of their business. Sonny says, that’s where he would be wrong.
Chase sees Stella in the café and tells her that TJ said she’d be here. She says, he ratted her out, and Chase promises to be brief. She’s a social worker. She says, and he’s a police officer, and he says, normally, he’d hand this off to someone else, but it’s personal, and he doesn’t feel comfortable with that. She asks if it has something to do with his father. She was sorry to hear about Gregory’s death. He says, no, but yes, and she says, that clears things up. He says, not directly with his death, but it may be a catalyst. There’s a child is with a parent in the throes of SUD. She says, Substance Use Disorder.Long term or recent? and he says, they’ve been clean for years, but the recent environment isn’t safe for anyone, let alone a little girl.
Alexis says, a friend just died and her two daughters are courting disaster, and Diane tells her, don’t buy a lottery ticket. Alexis says, or open that envelope, but Diane says, the outcome won’t change, no matter what. Isn’t Alexis tired of being in limbo? She knows she is. Alexis says she’s sorry to inconvenience Diane, and Diane says, if Alexis doesn’t open it, she will. Alexis says, do it… No, wait. She picks up Gregory’s medal, and says, go ahead. Diane opens the envelope.
Cody tells Tracy, where he comes from is a story with a winding road. He thought his dad was Mr. Bell, but he wasn’t. Then he assumed his dad was the rich guy Mr. Bell worked for, but he wasn’t. He moved to Port Charles and had a DNA test and finally knows who his father is. Tracy asks if it’s good news or bad news, but he says, his father doesn’t know he has a son. She asks if he’s a bad guy, but Cody says, the opposite. He likes him a lot. She says she’s confused, and he says, join the club. He’s had multiple chances to tell him, but he lied instead. He’s not sure he can walk it back. She says, it’s his story. He can walk it in any direction he wants. He asks, what if his father is furious? but she says, what if he’s thrilled he has a son?
Mac puts Bailey down for her nap, and Maxie says she thought he’d be more tan since he was in South America. Spinelli says, it’s winter there now, and James asks if it’s winter in Florida too. Spinelli asks Maxie if they teach geography at James’s school, and she says, he takes after her. (Same.) Felicia comes in and says, she’s here. What’s the exciting new development?
Sonny tells Brook that this has to be stopped. Kids are innocent, and they think the suffering and pain are going to last forever. Even if they get through it, it changes them. But with people like Brook in their corner, this child will never go through what he did. She won’t let it happen.
Chase says he’d prefer not to give specifics, and Stella suggests she ask questions and he can tell her what he’s comfortable with. She asks if the child is being neglected, but he says, no. She says, threatened or abused? and he says he doesn’t think so. Don’t tell him he has to wait until it happens. She says, there are agencies where he can report his concerns, but as a cop, he knows the drill. It’s not easy. A judge isn’t likely to break up a family over a couple of benders. Document everything and get statements from people who have seen the parent under the influence and acting irresponsibly. He asks if he’s supposed to build a case against his brother, but she says she’s advising him to build a case for his niece.
Alexis says, just tell her, and Diane says, well… There’s some good news and some bad news. Which does she want first? Alexis says, the bad news… no, the good, and Diane says, the court vacated her disbarment as improperly applied. Alexis says, she won? She can practice law again? Diane says, that leads to the bad news. Her legal license has been suspended for two years. Alexis says she’s waited this long. She can put up with this hellhole for a couple of years. Diane says, she doesn’t have to. Her two-year suspension started four years ago. She knows, she’s awful. Alexis says, it’s over, and Diane says, Alexis needs 48 hours of legal education and will have to apply to the bar. Alexis says she couldn’t have done it without Diane, and Diane says she knows. They dance around, saying, it’s over, and hug
Cody wonders if Tracy thinks he’s crazy, stupid, or both, and she asks if he wants to know what she thinks. He says, at this point, he’ll take Comet’s advice, and she says, he’s lucky. He has a clean slate and the opportunity for a fresh start. He says he lied and he’s still lying, but she says, one admission can put an end to it. The rest of their lives can begin any time, and he gets to decide when that is. She leaves.
Felicia says she fulfilled her duties at the hospital, despite the steady stream of interruptions. She’s confused as to what was so important. The kids are fine. The house isn’t on fire. James starts to say something, but Maxie stops him and says, it’s not on fire, but the house is hotter than it’s been in a while. Felicia asks if the A/C isn’t working, and coming in behind her, Mac says, the A/C is working. He’s sorry he was away so long. It won’t happen again. Maxie asks if Felicia understands why she was blowing up her phone. Felicia says, you’re here, and hugs Mac. James suggests they get ice cream to celebrate, and despite Maxie’s objection, Mac says, James can have all the toppings. Felicia says, welcome home, and they kiss. Mac says, it’s good to be here.
Tomorrow, Violet tells Finn that she doesn’t want to be alone; Spinelli tells Sam that they found their prize; and Carly tells Jason, what he’s doing affects you.
Since there was no more Quickfire Challenge, the chefs went right to Elimination, where they had to make the best four-course meal of their lives. There was food porn galore, including a new take on Hummingbird cake. Emeril Lagasse was the secret guest judge, which thrilled the contestants to no end. I went to see his show once at the Food Network in NYC, but I was in mountain goat territory, so no tasting for me. We did get a righteous bag of potato chips though. Read on to see who came out on top.
What’s annoying about RHONJ is that I’ve lived at the Jersey Shore for quite a while and have never met anyone like these people. That goes for the cast of The Jersey Shore as well. And I’ve never once heard anyone use the term bitch boy.
Take a break with me tomorrow for soap and useless, but amusing, information. Until then, stay safe, stay not monopolizing a community grill, and stay never taking advantage of your benefactor.
(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.
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.
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?
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.
(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 hasto 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.)
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.
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.
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.
(rambling, random thoughts, recaps, and the whole GH enchilada on Fridays)
General Hospital
Carly introduced herself to Gio, and Josslyn said he was a great pool attendant, even if he was wasting his talent.
Alexis met with Laura and told her that the article about reopening Heather’s case was thanks to Adrian DeWitt and his insatiable appetite for clickbait headlines. Laura said the information regarding her request for Heather’s court records was leaked, and Alexis said she didn’t appreciate DeWitt’s tactics, but believed in freedom of the press. Laura said, the first amendment didn’t cover shouting fire in a crowded theater. The article was intended to get people riled and it was successful. She reminded Alexis that she’d said she couldn’t answer questions about reopening the case unless she saw the records, and handed them to her.
Jason walked into the pool area, and Gio told Josslyn that he looked familiar, but it wasn’t from the wedding. Josslyn said, maybe he’d seen a photo at the Quartermaines. Jason used to be one.
Carly hugged Jason, who said he’d gotten her numerous messages and texts. Did she get his? He said he was okay. She said, he never admitted when he was hurt. He’d almost been killed, and she had to see for herself that he was okay. He said she was seeing it now, and she said, it was two days after it happened. She thought he might disappear again.
TJ heard Molly leaving a message for Alexis, asking about Kristina, and wondered why she wasn’t asking Kristina directly. She said she’d been keeping something from him and didn’t want their level of trust to stop now. He had every right to know about Kristina.
Sonny went to Blaze’s room and asked if Kristina was there. Kristina came out and Blaze said she had errands to run, but Sonny said he needed her to hear this. He owed Kristina an apology. What she saw between him and Dex was unacceptable, ugly, and vicious, and he never wanted her to see that part of him. Kristina said, but she did see it.
Sonny said he’d seen the expression on Kristina’s face and couldn’t stop thinking about it. He had a lot of rage that night and didn’t know what got into him. It wasn’t an excuse though. He was responsible for his words and actions. He was sorry, and it never should have happened. When he followed her and saw her crying, she backed away from his touch like she was scared of him. He never wanted that, and it shocked and hurt him. He doesn’t blame her. He understood that’s not how he should act. He told Blaze that he knew she’d come to help Kristina. He appreciated it and thanked her. Blaze said she was glad she was there, and wondered if she could make some calls in the kitchen. Kristina said, go ahead, and Blaze left. Sonny said he and Kristina had always been honest with each other. If she wanted him to leave and never come back, he would.
Jason told Carly that he’d been busy with actual work in the coffee business, and Jake had called when he got back. Elizabeth had a situation, and Jake wanted him to help. Carly said she knew it was a big deal for Jake to reach out to him. Sonny had told her that he wasn’t responsible for the attempt on Jason’s life, and she believed him. Jason said, it had nothing to do with Sonny, and Carly wondered, then who sent the gunmen?
Gio noted that Carly and Jason looked like they were having an intense conversation, and Josslyn said, Carly was probably talking Jason into doing something he didn’t want to. They were best friends. She explained that if Jason wanted anything at the pool, it was to be comped. He was the ultimate VIP.
Laura asked if Alexis saw grounds to reopen Heather’s case, but Alexis said she’d have to spend more time looking at the records. She thought there were potentially grounds to appeal, and Laura said she was glad to hear it, but to be clear, she didn’t want it used as an excuse for Heather’s crimes. She thought Heather should be punished, but if she wasn’t in control of her actions… Alexis said, Heather had pled guilty and was sentenced before she was diagnosed, and Laura said, no one knew if her crimes were influenced or created by the cobalt poisoning. Alexis said she couldn’t do anything because she wasn’t a lawyer, and the way things went in Albany, she probably never would be. Laura asked if she thought it was worth pursuing, and Alexis said she thought a good lawyer could argue that there were legitimate grounds to reopen Heather’s case.
Cody and Sasha went to the pool and agreed that when they went to the Quartermaines’ pool, it felt like they were still working. Here, people waited on them. Gio came over to see what they needed and praised Sasha for her delicious meals. He knew good food, and hers was excellent.
Molly told TJ about what happened with Kristina and Sonny at the reception, but said, the baby was fine. He asked how long she’d known, and she said, not long. He asked if she’d heard it from Kristina, but she said no, and told him about shaking Blaze down. Not her proudest moment, but it worked. TJ thanked her for telling him, and said, someone needed to remind Kristina about being careless with their baby. Molly said, nothing happened, but TJ said, it could have. What if Kristina had tried to intervene? Sonny was dangerous to anyone who came in his orbit. He was done. Until the baby was born, Kristina had to stay away from her father.
Kristina said, people warned her that she wasn’t seeing Sonny clearly and didn’t really know him, but she was sure she knew better. She couldn’t fathom that same man was her loving father. Sonny said he was sorry, and she said she was too. Seeing him commit that violence and scream those threats was like watching a stranger, and she realized everything anyone said about him was right all along. He said he didn’t blame her for feeling that way, but it wasn’t who he was. Kristina said she didn’t know, and asked, what happened? He said, Dex had worked for him and betrayed him. Then Dex showed up at the wedding like a peacock, like he belonged. He was talking to Sonny’s family and friends like he was the guy. He told Dex to stay away from him, but Dex refused. He walked away and Dex grabbed his arm, and he snapped. He wasn’t proud of it, but he lost his temper, the temper he’s been trying to get rid of his whole life. It was never going to happen again. She said she understood his temper. She had one too. She got it from him. He said, she was the best part of him, and he wanted to let her know that he needed her and loved her. He wanted her to know that he’d never hurt her. Kristina said she had something to ask him and please don’t lie. When he said he was going to kill Jason and Dex, did he mean it?
Sonny said he knew he had to make things right with Dex, and they talked. They came to an agreement. He was letting Dex live his life and not interfere. Kristina said, a truce wasn’t exactly peace, and he said, that was up to Dex. There was nothing more important than her, and nothing was worth the cost of losing her. She said she didn’t want to lose him, and he said that was never going to happen. He’d still be her father, no matter what. He would cheer her from afar and root for her happiness and love her until his dying breath. That would never change. He said he brought a present for the baby, and handed her a giftbag. She took out a stuffed Mickey Mouse from Fantasia, and said she had one when she was little. He said he’d gotten it for her, and her face lit up like it is now. She never would get rid of it and no one could take it away. She thanked him for the gift and the sweet memory, and he asked if she was taking good care of herself. She said, the baby was good and kicking up a storm, and he told her to let Blaze take care of her. He was sorry he upset her and got intense when he talked about it. He told her that he hoped to see her soon, and left. She cried a little.
Molly said she knew TJ was upset, but he couldn’t confront Kristina. She would get defensive and shut them out. He said, Kristina had to deal with them, but Molly said, no, she didn’t. In the state of New York, the baby was legally Kristina’s until she signed the adoption papers. TJ said, Molly had to have her sister be the egg donor after a lifetime of impulsive decisions, and now Kristina was making decisions about their baby.
Laura asked what her next step should be, and Alexis said she needed to find a lawyer. She thought it would be easy because the case was interesting and involved a point of law not fully explored yet. An attorney might be interested in setting a precedent. Laura asked if Alexis could recommend someone, but Alexis said she’d have to give it some thought. She needed to give Laura fair warning though. In setting the case in motion, she couldn’t determine the outcome. It was unpredictable. Laura asked if she was saying Heather could go free, and Alexis said, it depended on the judge, the argument, and the precedent. The bottom line was that Heather could get a lesser sentence, be sent to a new facility, or freed outright.
Josslyn said, Gio was killing it. Sasha was impressed. Gio said, it was in his DNA. He could talk to anyone. He asked how she knew Sasha, and she said, Sasha had dated Michael. He said, Michael lived in the gatehouse with his wife Willow, and their kids Wiley and Amelia, and Josslyn was impressed. He said, if he could keep all of his family straight, the Quartermaines were a piece of cake.
Carly asked if Jason thought he’d been attacked because he was an FBI informant, but he said he didn’t have a chance to ask. She said she wanted to help him, and he said, she could help by staying out of it. He had enough going on and didn’t want to worry about her getting caught in the crossfire. Let it go. She told him that she knew it wasn’t Sonny and thought Sonny was worried about Jason, even though he wouldn’t admit it. On cue, Sonny walked in, and went over to Jason and Carly. He said, Brick told him what happened at the warehouse, and Jason said, luckily, he was a better shot. Sonny said he assumed Anna thought it was him. Did Jason think that too?
Sasha put lotion on Cody and noticed he had a nasty bruise. He said he’d stopped James from falling out of the saddle, and Comet caught his leg. Sasha said, Cody was heroic, but Cody didn’t see it that way. She told him that his eyes lit up when he talked about James, and she thought he loved James. James also loved Cody back, even though he had no idea he was Cody’s nephew. Imagine how excited he’d be if Cody told Mac that he was Mac’s son.
Blaze asked why Kristina was crying, and Kristina said, the man that was here was the dad she’d believed she had. She loved him and knew it was incredibly confusing.
Molly told TJ not to act like she’d decided alone. They’d agreed. TJ said, it wasn’t like he had a choice, but Molly said, he did. She’d asked him if he was sure before they went to Kristina. He said he had reservations, but wanted to make her happy because he loved her. Still, he knew they should have waited. Molly told him not to play the victim, and TJ said, she would have been devastated if he’d objected because she wanted a baby so badly. She said she wanted to have a baby with him, and he said, using an egg tied to her erratic sister and her violent erratic father. Was she happy now?
Molly admitted she wanted a biological connection to the baby. It killed her that she couldn’t carry one herself, and she was devastated that she’d never experience pregnancy. He didn’t understand that, because the baby had half his DNA. TJ said he never questioned that, but it felt like she was blaming him. She said she wasn’t, but he was blaming her because she’d wanted a connection to the baby. Kristina was fragile, and the best thing was to let her be. Let her get through the pregnancy, give birth, and not upset her, or else… TJ said, what? and Molly said, if Kristina decided to back out and keep the baby, there was nothing stopping her.
Kristina told Blaze that when she was little, she took Fantasia Mickey everywhere and even slept with it. Sonny had brought one as a gift for the baby. Blaze said she could tell it meant a lot, and Kristina asked if she was crazy. Blaze said, not at all. Sonny was her father. No matter what else he’d done, he loved her. Kristina said she loved him. He was always there and knew what to do to make her feel better. He never judged her or gave her a list of things she was doing wrong. He came to give her a gift and she knew the little one would love it as much as she had loved the one he gave her.
Laura said, the last thing she wanted was for Heather to go free. The families of the victims would be outraged, and she didn’t blame them. Alexis said, Laura needed to drop it. Forget it and walk away. Laura said, and leave Heather in a supermax for the rest of her life to make her own life easier? She couldn’t do that. Alexis said she got it. This wasn’t just an esoteric conversation. She couldn’t believe she was saying this, but this time she was glad she wasn’t a lawyer. Laura said, Alexis had just defended her right to practice law. What would the old Alexis say?
Jason said, at first, he thought it was Sonny who put out a hit on him, and Sonny said, Jason could have given him up, but didn’t. Jason said he never would, and he was wrong anyway. Sonny says, it’s good the police believed him.
Cody said he’d kept the secret hidden for too long. There was no way Mac would ever trust him again. Sasha said she’d lied to Nina for months, making Nina think she was her daughter. Nina was so angry when she found out, and so was everyone else in Port Charles, but she got past it. So did everyone else. Give Mac a chance to forgive him. He might be pleasantly surprised at the outcome. Cody said he wasn’t brave enough, but she said, he was brave. He broke her out of Ferncliff. He said, that was a different situation. She needed help. Mac was happy and had a family who adored each other. He didn’t want to ruin it. He didn’t know if Felicia had come clean about the secret DNA test and didn’t want to blow it for her. Sasha said she thought those were just excuses, but it was hard to maintain a lie forever. She found it was freeing to tell the truth. Maybe he would too.
Alexis told Laura that the old Alexis would say, if the justice system decides Heather should have a lesser sentence or go free, let the law take its course. There was a knock on the door, and Trina came in. Alexis said she was going to take a longer look at the records and left. Laura said she thought she knew why Trina was here, but Trina said she didn’t think Laura did.
Blaze asked if Kristina was feeling better, and Kristina said, a little. Blaze said, sometimes, she wished this was their baby. I actually think the baby would have a better chance at life. Molly and TJ are way too high strung to raise a child.
Molly cried, and TJ said, she wasn’t wrong. There was nothing stopping Kristina from keeping the baby. What should they do? Family law would be on Kristina’s side. It was such a nightmare. Molly said, all they wanted… and TJ said, be careful what you wish for. He told her that he had to get to the hospital and when he left, Molly sobbed.
Sonny said he was glad to know Jason didn’t give him up when he had the chance. Part of him wanted to trust Jason again… but he couldn’t. He stood there for a moment, then walked out.
Tomorrow, Kristina tells Blaze that she doesn’t know if it’s the right timing; Curtis visits Heather; and Alexis tells DeWitt that he doesn’t want to square off with Laura.
Lionfish was the Quickfire Challenge, which kind of creeped me out. Then they paired it with gouda, and I was like, just no. I’m usually pretty adventurous when it comes to food, but, invasive or no, a lionfish is too pretty to eat, and I don’t see fish with cheese. The Elimination Challenge was an 8 course fresh fish menu, which I was totally on board for. Tom thought the chefs were cooking scared. The winner got a Holland America cruise – 10 days, anywhere Holland went. <heaving huge sigh>
I don’t even know what that means, she tried. It makes me wonder if she tried to get in the movie, but they didn’t want her. Although I could definitely see her in one of them.
Come on by tomorrow for soap and Summer smack talk. Until then, stay safe, stay going straight to your seat and stowing your bag quickly after boarding a plane, and stay killing it at your day job, even if you are wasting your talent.
(rambling, random thoughts, recaps, and a GH blow-by-blow on Fridays)
General Hospital
Anna went to see Jack at the hospital, but they were interrupted by John. John wondered what they had to discuss.
Elizabeth called Chase, but he and Brook were about to knock on Finn’s door, so it went to voicemail. The door was unlocked, and they went inside. Chase called to Finn, who came out from the back. He said it was a nice surprise, but early. What brought them by?
Spinelli told Sam that he’d gotten past the FBI firewall, but he was still no closer to getting the information they needed. He couldn’t get access to the evidentiary database unless he had an agent ID. Sam said, it was time for Plan B. She’d been tracking John and thought they could swipe his digital key without him being the wiser. If he stuck to his routine, they’d get their opportunity.
John told Anna that Jack’s fate would be decided in the courts, not by the Police Commissioner, and she said she didn’t need a lesson in protocol. He said he didn’t know what she and Jack would have to discuss, and Anna wondered if John should have more coffee or leave caffeine alone altogether (been there). He asked why Anna was there, and she said she was just telling Jack goodbye. John left, and Jack told Anna that he wanted to give her a heads up. John thought she was the secret head of Pikeman.
Aiden wondered what happened that Elizabeth and Finn broke up, although they’d broken up before and got back together. Jake said it wasn’t happening this time, and Elizabeth said she didn’t know the future, but Finn couldn’t be part of their lives. He wasn’t handling Gregory’s death well at all, but that wasn’t why they broke up. It just wasn’t going to work out. Jake said he didn’t care if he ever saw Finn again, but what about Violet?
Chase told Finn that his door had been unlocked, and Brook asked if Violet was still at Maxie’s. Finn said she was and asked if Chase had talked to Elizabeth. Chase said no, Should he? Finn said they’d ended things, and Brook wondered if the mess in his apartment had something to do with it. Finn said it was his fault and he should clean up before Violet home. Brook said she and Chase had an idea and maybe the timing was right. Chase told Finn that he and Brook were moving into the Quartermaines for a while in order to get their place ready after getting so many gifts, and Brook told Finn all about the kids who hang out there in the summer. Chase said, James would be taking riding lessons, so Georgie would be there too, and Brook said they were thinking Violet could come hang with them. It was better than summer camp. Finn asked if they didn’t think he knew what they were doing. There was no way they were taking his daughter from him.
Elizabeth said, Violet was the boys’ cousin and that would never change, but Aiden was worried they’d drift apart. Elizabeth said she wouldn’t let that happen, and Jake told Aiden that maybe their mom had a reason to be mad at Finn. Aiden said there was something he didn’t know, but Jake obviously did, and he had a right to know too. Elizabeth told him that there was no easy way to say it. Jake saw Finn coming out of a bar drunk. Jake said, and he had some drunk woman… but Elizabeth said they didn’t need the details. Aiden asked what bar was by the Cineplex, and Elizabeth said, Jake never told her how he was nowhere near where he said he’d be.
Finn told Chase that Violet was staying with him; he was her father. Chase said, no one was trying to take her away, and Brook said, they just wanted Violet to have a fun summer, especially after her grandfather’s death. Finn said, it wasn’t going to happen, and for once in Chase’s life, he had to take no for an answer. Chase wanted talk to Finn alone, and Brook left. Finn said Chase was leaving too, but Chase said he wasn’t going anywhere.
Spinelli said he’d watched John going to his room through the security cameras. He looked agitated, but that might just be his face. They watched John leaving for his morning swim, and noticed a bag he was carrying. Sam assumed it contained any credentials he didn’t want leave in his room.
Sam went to the pool wearing a caftan, big sunglasses, and high heels. She pretended to trip near John, and he caught her.
Jack flashed back to his conversation with John about Anna, while Anna asked for a delay in Jack’s transport. She got it and told Jack that they had until noontime to finish their conversation. Why did he think the FBI was after her? He said he didn’t know as it was the whole organization, but John had already been tailing her when she’d visited him. Anna told him that John did say he didn’t trust her when he came to town, but she didn’t care. Let him stew. She wasn’t hiding anything. Jack told her that she should be worried. John was a true believer, the most dangerous agent of all. She asked him to enlighten her, and he said, they believed God and the law were on their side. They thought anything they did would be justified, because it made the world a better place according to their definition of it. They’d rather wreck themselves and everyone around them than compromise their beliefs. Anna agreed that could be dangerous, but so could too much cynicism. She asked if Jack had he ever believed in anything.
Sam told John that she was embarrassed and blamed her shoes. Her pride was bruised, but otherwise she was okay. She pretended her ankle still hurt and asked him to help her. He picked her up and carried her to a lounge chair and asked an attendant for ice and a towel. Sam asked for help getting her shoe off, and wondered if he thought her shoes were cute. He said he wasn’t a shoe connoisseur, but they looked cute on her. Dressed as an attendant, but hiding his face with a bucket hat, Spinelli snuck into John’s bag as John was helping Sam. She asked if John was a guest at the hotel, and he said he was there on business. She told him that she was a local and her family came here every summer. He asked if she was married, but she said, no. She was single, divorced, with two kids. He suggested she rest her ankle for 20 minutes, and she said she was going to get bored.
Finn said, Chase was a cop, but not to make him the bad guy. Chase said, no one was calling Finn a bad guy, but maybe he could use some help and not to be too proud or stubborn to take it. Finn said he could take care of himself, but Chase said, not from what he was seeing. Finn said he’d been there alone, going through their dad’s things, and Chase picked up the bottle and said he didn’t think their dad left this out. He’d seen Finn doing shots at the memorial. Finn said he wasn’t the first person to have a drink at their father’s funeral, and Chase told him not to bring Gregory into this. Judging by the bottle, the two glasses, and the hangover Finn was wearing, he’d had quite a night. Finn said, Chase had solved the mystery, and Chase said, Finn was oblivious to the problem. But if he didn’t think there was a problem, it was a bigger problem than Chase thought.
Elizabeth told Jake that they’d talk later. He’d been someplace he wasn’t supposed to be, and it must have crossed his mind not to tell her, but she did appreciate that. She needed to know what was happening with Finn, but also because she was Jake’s mom and needed to know Jake would come to her when things were difficult. Jake promised he would, and she said she was glad he called his dad and asked for help.
Brook went to the nook at the Quartermaines, and Lois said she was just in time for breakfast and Sudoku. She could see something was wrong, and asked Brook, what happened? Did she and Chase have a fight? Brook said, Chase had a fight with his brother. She knew they both loved each other, and Gregory’s death should bring them together, not pull them apart. Lois said she’d seen it so many times. Weddings and funerals brought out the best and worst in people, but things would calm in time. Brook said she thought it was getting worse. Chase was taking care of his father’s estate and was also grieving. He needed his big brother, but Finn was nowhere to be found. Lois asked if Finn left town, but Brook said, Finn was in a full-blown alcoholic spiral. He’d been hungover and completely unreasonable. Chase had stayed to talk to him, but she knew how that was going to go.
Spinelli synced John’s ID with his phone. He said, the first time is the charm, and got access.
John introduced himself to Sam, and she did the same, using her real name, which surprised me. He asked how long she’d been divorced, and she said, six years. The less said the better. He asked if it was a bad breakup, and she said, that was an understatement. He wasn’t who she thought he was. John asked if he’d lied, and she said, all the time. What about him? He said he was divorced too, and she said, people always let you down. Her ex had everyone believing he’d died. Her son thought his father was dead, then he turned up. John said that was highly unusual. Was she at least happy he was alive? She said, sure, but she was conflicted. It brought up a lot of stuff. John said his ex passed away and sometimes he fantasized about where they’d be if she hadn’t died. How different his life would have been. He wondered what time it was and said he should get his phone.
Sam asked if she could be honest for a moment, and John said, of course (🍷). She said, after what he’d shared, she didn’t mean to come off flip. Sometimes she thought about her ex when things were good. Now they never even talk. John asked what her ex was doing now, and she said she was tired of talking about exes. Life goes on. Spinelli put John’s phone back in his bag, and Sam said she thought her ankle was good, but she wasn’t in the mood for a swim. She didn’t want to push it. She told John that it was nice getting to know him and asked if he’d be in town a while. He said he wasn’t sure, but hoped he saw her again. She asked him for help putting her shoe back on, and he put it on her. She told him that she felt like Cinderella
Jack said he’d warned Anna, and she was repaying him by probing the depths of his psyche. She said she was genuinely curious and wondered if she’d ever known the true Jack Brennan. She’d thought she did. He was a rising star, the fair-haired golden boy. It wasn’t a surprise he became director, but she was surprised he fell so fast. Why did he steal money to start the company? Did he abandon his principles? Did he ever have any? He said he believed in democracy, but at the end of the day, a man had to pay his bills. John was going to spend his nights trying to prove she was a cop by day and a mastermind by night. Anna said it wasn’t lost on her that John was trying to take her down for something Jack did.
Lois told Brook about not sending wedding invitations to an alcoholic aunt and uncle. Uncle Vito was her favorite until his drinking took over. Brook said, at family gatherings, she would see them get up and there would be ice cubes clinking in the other room. She just thought they must be really thirsty. Later, they’d be bumping into things, and she thought it was because they were old, but it was because of the drinking. Lois said, the family tried to get them into AA or to a doctor, but after years of broken promises, she realized they had to commit to their own treatment. They never did. They say that God protects fools and drunks, but she doesn’t see it. They’re still alive, but what kind of life is that? Brook said she didn’t want that for Finn and hoped Chase would get through to him, and Lois said, it was sweet of them to try and help Finn. Brook said she knew Finn was a grown man. Either he would get himself into recovery or live with the consequences, but Violet was a child. Finn was Violet’s sole parent, and he wasn’t capable of parenting. Elizabeth had kids of her own, so that left her and Chase. They were going to do everything in their power to keep Violet safe, even if it was from her own father.
Finn said, what he did in his own home was his business, and he wasn’t an alcoholic, but Chase said, Finn was a drug addict, and this would lead to the same result. He needed help. Finn said, Chase wasn’t the man because he’d gotten married, and couldn’t tell him what to do. Not everyone had his perfect life. Chase told Finn that he could keep fooling himself, but no one was buying his crap, and Finn said, Chase didn’t know the pressure he was under. Chase asked Finn to tell him. He didn’t have to do this alone. They could talk while they straightened up. Finn said, Chase wouldn’t understand, but Chase said his life wasn’t perfect. He’d nearly died a year ago. Finn said he remembered. He’d saved Chase. Chase asked if Finn had any idea how many calls he went on like this, seeing a drunk tearing their family apart. Finn’s life was a mess. Chase just lost his dad and couldn’t take losing his brother too.
Jake said he thought Elizabeth might need back-up, and asked if Finn gave her a hard time. She said, no, but when Jason showed up, she was grateful for the support. She wanted Jake to always feel he could call his dad for help. He did the right thing, and it meant a lot to Jason. Jake said he did it for her, not for Jason or himself, and they hugged. He asked if that meant he was forgiven for lying, but she said, not a chance.
Sam asked Spinelli if there was any progress, and he said, it went perfectly, but he didn’t think she fully comprehended how many records were in the database. Ask him in a month, and maybe he’ll have found out what the FBI was holding over Jason.
Jack said he hoped Anna would visit him. He missed their conversations. She said she did too, and she had one more question. She was the only witness that could tie him to Pikeman. Would he have had her killed if she hadn’t arrested him first? He struggled for a moment, then said he’d never been good with hypotheticals. She left, and Jack looked sad.
Lois said she wasn’t surprised Brook was focusing on Chase’s feelings, but she should pay attention to her own feelings. Brook also had grief over Gregory. So did she. Brook said she was so worried about Chase. He’d believed Finn drinking was a one-time thing, so he wasn’t just feeling betrayed. He was beating himself up for not seeing it. Lois said, Chase was Finn’s little brother and hoping for the best. Maybe he’d get through to Finn. Brook said, something told her it was going to be a whole ordeal for all of them, and Lois said, it wasn’t supposed to be this way. Brook and Chase were supposed to be blissfully happy in Florence and coming home to newlywed magic, not dealing with the problems of a hurt family. Brook said, Florence wasn’t going anywhere, and she and Chase were each other’s person. They would get through whatever life threw at them. Lois said she was happy Brook found that kind of love.
Finn said he was sorry that Chase was bothered. He’d try to fall in line and not be a problem. Chase asked if nothing he said was getting through to Finn, and Finn told him to stop reaching down from his pedestal; he would be with the rest of humanity. Chase said, that had nothing to do with Finn hiding in a bottle. The bottom line was, Finn was grown and made his own decisions. He couldn’t stop that, so have his trashy life. But Violet shouldn’t watch him self-destruct. Finn said, Violet was the only good thing in his life, and told Chase, get the hell out. Chase left, and Finn cried.
In Memory of Johnny Wactor. 🥺
Tomorrow, Molly says she’s been keeping something from TJ; Carly asks Jason if he thinks it was a one-time thing; and Sonny talks to Kristina.
🏥 Going Home Again…
I’m not sure if it’s me, him, the writing, how he’s being directed, or what, but I like Jason a lot more than I used to.
I loved her other reality series (It’s Complicated) and had looked forward to her joining RHOBH. Well, that was a bust, so I’m glad she’s going back to her reality roots.
I watched this twice last week (once alone and once with my SO) and it was just as good the second time. I loved the Japanese monster movies as a kid, and it’s great to see how f/x and dubbing have improved. The story is incredible too, but I don’t think this critic needs to worry. Obviously, an old film from the 1950s isn’t going to be as visually amazing as one made in the 2020s. It is possibly the first Godzilla worth paying attention to the narrative. I mean, I don’t watch Jurassic Park for the interpersonal relationship drama.
Drop by tomorrow for soap and seeing who lands on Top. Until then, stay safe, stay observing the house rules when you’re a guest, and stay never being too proud or stubborn to take help if you need it.
(rambling, random thoughts, recaps, and a GH blow-by-blow on Fridays)
General Hospital
While on their dinner date at The Surf Lodge (where Aunt Stella went with Trina and Josslyn), Willow told Michael about running into Nina at the pool because she wanted to be upfront with him. Michael said he still didn’t trust Nina, and while he didn’t love the idea of her being around their kids, Willow was the decision maker, and he would support whatever she decided. He said, it seemed like there had been a shift, and wondered, what changed?
Curtis met with Drew and told Drew that he thought it was the right time to launch the wellness division. Drew said he had a new venture that might conflict with it. He was thinking of running for congress. He told Curtis about his meetings with McConkey and said McConkey cared about his legacy and wanted a functioning government. He wanted Drew to take his seat and would endorse Drew if he ran. Drew wanted Curtis’s opinion, and said, if he did run, it would affect Aurora and Curtis.
Chase and Brook went to see Tracy, who told them that she’d spent the day remembering Chase’s dad. Chase said he’d like to be doing the same thing, but unfortunately, he was dealing with his brother. Brook said they needed help, and Chase said, more accurately, Finn did. He was drinking. He told Tracy about the bourbon after Gregory’s death, and how he’d caught Finn drinking at Gregory’s memorial party then covering it with breath spray. He was drinking on purpose and didn’t want them to know.
Finn asked what Elizabeth was doing at his apartment, and the woman he brought home said, you’re not the wife, are you? (The wife – ugh.) Elizabeth said, no. She was just the ex-girlfriend.
Josslyn and Dex made plans for dinner. Josslyn told him about Trina meeting Gio, and said she thought it was going to be a good summer.
Nina went on and on to Maxie about seeing Wiley, while Maxie wanted to get their meeting over with so she could go home to Spinelli. Nina said Drew had become tolerable. It had been a long time since she had this much contact with Willow and the kids, and it was because of Drew. If that was the price she paid for dancing with the devil, she was willing to pay up.
Elizabeth told the woman that she thought it was time they called it a night, and the woman asked if Finn was going to let Elizabeth order her around. She told Elizabeth to take a hint; the man’s moved on. Elizabeth asked her name, and the woman said it was Barb. Elizabeth told Barb, go home and sleep it off, and Finn looked like he had a headache. Barb told Elizabeth that she had some nerve, and Elizabeth said, bye. Barb left, and Finn said, Elizabeth didn’t live there. She didn’t love him and didn’t get to judge him. She said he was drunk and making out with a stranger, so yeah, she got to judge. He asked where she’d been and said she’d abandoned him. He wasn’t perfect, and she couldn’t stand to be around him when he was grieving, so he tried to find someone who could. (It sounds like Finn can’t stand himself.)
Willow told Michael that she still took everything Nina said with a hefty grain of salt. She didn’t know how to explain it, but it seemed like Nina wasn’t trying so hard and pushing for more. She was respecting the boundaries. Michael asked if nothing actually happened to change things, and Willow said, his uncle happened. Things changed because of Drew.
Nina told Maxie that she’d seen a side of Drew not many had seen. He was objectively handsome, but she’d seen the way he was with Wiley. Maxie wondered if it was a turn on, and Nina said she was sure Maxie felt the same about Spinelli, that his interaction with the kids made him attractive. Maxie said, it did, and that’s why she wanted to get home to see him, but Nina continued talking. She said, Drew having a 6-pack didn’t hurt… Maxie interjected that it was a 12-pack, and asked why Nina was focused on Drew’s looks when she wasn’t planning on sleeping with him again.
Drew said Curtis would have Michael for support financially and he would pitch in where he could, but Curtis would be in charge of both the internet platform and the brick-and-mortar end. Curtis said he could handle it, but had something to say as a friend. He thought Drew should do it. He thought it would be good for Drew. He had integrity, was pragmatic, and not afraid to fight, but he also understood what was worth fighting for. He thought there should be more people like Drew in government. Drew said he’d get the ball rolling first thing morning, when he got a call. He said, ugh, Nina.
Chase told Tracy that Finn was in denial, saying his addiction was with Zen-Zen, not alcohol. Brook said, Finn had abstained out of a precaution, and Chase said, Finn claimed he was working the program, but rather than telling them he’d changed mind about drinking, he was hiding it. Tracy said, Finn needed counseling or an intervention, and Brook said they wanted to get Violet away from him and to keep her in an emotionally stable environment. Tracy said, Finn wasn’t going to respond well, and Brook said, that’s where Tracy came in.
Elizabeth said, Finn was talking BS and would know that if he wasn’t drunk. Finn said he’d just had a couple of drinks, and Elizabeth said, just tell her Violet wasn’t home. He asked if she thought he’d be like this around Violet, but she said she never would have thought that before, but now she didn’t know. Finn started crying and said he’d made a mistake. He hated himself and hated what he said. He didn’t expect her to forgive him, but give him a chance to explain. Elizabeth said what she wanted was for him to get the help he needed, for his sake and for Violet’s, but they were done. She couldn’t do this to the kids or herself. Finn begged her to stay, when Jason walked in and said, let her go.
Josslyn and Dex saw Michael and Willow at The Surf Lodge, and Michael asked if they wanted to join them. Willow said she thought they had other plans, and Dex and Josslyn went to their own table. Michael said Josslyn told him that she wanted to take things slow, but she thought things had changed now that Dex was a cop, and Willow was surprised Josslyn was confiding in him. She told Michael that she was grateful to Drew for her new position on Nina, and Michael asked why she thought Drew was the reason. Willow said she thought Drew setting aside his anger at Nina allowed Nina to grow in a way she couldn’t before. If he could start fresh, maybe she could too.
Nina insisted she wasn’t going to sleep with Drew again, but Maxie said, Nina was focused on his abs and needed to be honest. Nina said she thought Drew was loathsome, a snake, and unprofessional, and Maxie said unlike Nina. She asked if they could get back to their meeting. Natalia’s had notes… Drew walked in and asked what the hell Nina’s problem was.
Brook told Tracy about her and Chase’s idea for Violet to stay with the Quartermaines and be one of the gang. Tracy said, then it would give them an opportunity to intervene, and Chase said the goal was to get Finn into rehab. He thought Finn would go when he realized he was jeopardizing Violet. Tracy said, of course (🍷) Violet was welcome to stay there, but Chase be prepared for Finn to disappoint him.
Finn asked if Elizabeth called Jason, and Jason asked Elizabeth what she wanted to do. She said, let’s go, but Finn begged her not to. She said they’d talk when he was sober, and Finn said he stood by her when she was tearing canvases apart and shredding wedding dresses. She could leave her keys and go. She dropped them into his unfinished drink, and left with Jason, who told Finn, don’t go near her.
Jason brought Elizabeth to the pool, since she said she needed someplace quiet to think. She remarked that it was closed, but he said he knew the owner. Elizabeth said she wasn’t ready to go home and field questions from the boys as to why she and Finn broke up. Jason said he was sorry. She deserved better. She said, so did her kids.
Chase said he had to hold on to hope, and Tracy said he should, but it might be difficult convincing Finn. If he was in the throes of his addiction, the only voice he could hear was his own. Nothing they said or did would change that, no matter how destructive he was being.
Finn fished the keys out of the drink, threw them at the wall, and took another sip.
Elizabeth and Jason sat with their feet in the water, and Elizabeth said she couldn’t believe she got him to take off his shoes. He told her not to tell anybody, and she promised his secret was safe. She couldn’t believe this happened so soon after Gregory dying, but she wanted to be supportive of Finn. Jason said, it was Finn pushing her away, and she said, the question was, does she let him?
Josslyn said, it was familiar, but different, and Dex asked if she meant good different. She said she was sorry she was hard on him, but he said she should have been. He didn’t like the person he was becoming either, but everything worked out how it was supposed to. He hated losing her though. It ripped his heart out. She said, hers too, and he said he finally felt good about himself again. It never would have happened if she hadn’t been honest with him. She said he was welcome.
Willow said Michael looked shocked, but he said he was just absorbing what she’d said. Was she saying she forgave Nina? She told him that she was saying she was ready to move on, and he said, Nina had sent Drew to prison. He wondered what was different about the situation now. Willow said she didn’t think Drew had made peace, but was choosing to let it go as much as he could. He was choosing the future over the past. Wasn’t that what they should all be doing?
Nina said Drew was using Crimson for his interest in his other company, but he said Crimson was his company too. Maxie said she didn’t want to be here, and skipped out the door, as Nina told her to send Natalia’s correspondence to her. Drew told Nina that he’d fulfilled his end of the bargain, and she said she had too; he was getting the esplanade. Drew said she was getting her grandchildren back, and she said she’d never give in to her natural instincts and compromise her standing with Willow.
Elizabeth told Jason that she might stick it out if it was just her, but she wasn’t sacrificing her boys, physically or emotionally. Jason said he got it, and she said, that’s because he actually heard her. It was like she was speaking another language with Finn. She’s glad Jason showed up when he did. She asked how he knew where she was, and he told her that Jake had called. Jake was so worried, Jake had reached out to him. That’s how much her son loved her.
Josslyn said she was happy for Dex. It was a gift to figure out what you wanted in life. He asked her about school, and she said she’d changed her major to environmental science. Maybe she’d come up with a way to save the planet. She told him that could see herself dating a cop. He asked if that included a cadet, and she said, it was risky, since he didn’t have a badge yet, but she was a risk taker.
Michael told Willow that it sounded great in theory, but he was surprised about Drew, unless Drew had some other reason to make nice with Nina. Willow said she thought Drew was able to see the good in Nina despite what she’d done, and she wanted to see it too. Michael said, Willow seemed happy, and she said she was. He said that was all he wanted, and she said, no more lies and secrets felt good. Michael asked if it felt better than this, and kissed her. She said, nothing felt better than that.
Drew asked what Nina wanted, and she said it was abundantly clear she couldn’t stand him. She closed the door, and he said, the feeling was more than mutual. She wondered, then why did she want to do this? and they got busy.
Jason asked if there was anything he could do, but Elizabeth said he’d done enough. He let her talk without giving her well-intentioned advice. He said he wasn’t in a position to give advice. He’d left her and Sam to raise their sons on their own. She asked if it was because he wanted to, but he didn’t say anything. She said she didn’t think so. She didn’t know where he’d been, but she was pretty sure it wasn’t on vacation. He said he was here now and would do what he could to make time up with Jake however she thought best. She said, their son needed help and called him, and he showed up. That could go for a lot with Jake and with her.
Chase said, they had to give it a try, and Tracy agreed, but told them to be prepared for an uphill battle. Chase said, while he was on the job, he’d seen how addiction wrecked lives. He didn’t want that to happen to Finn. Tracy said, they had her full support, and he said that meant a lot. She said, they were family, but she just hoped Finn could hear them.
Finn sat smiling, and flashed back to the camping trip, trivia night, and suggesting to Elizabeth that they take a chance and see where it went. He remembered kissing her, them deciding to get serious, and him saying that he was going be there for her because they were stronger together. He knew he was. He flashed back to more kissing, Elizabeth saying her life was better with him, and him telling her that he was in love with her. He remembered them wishing on a star, getting busy in the hospital shower, and the weekend in the cabin. He looked at the glass and drained it.
Tomorrow, Sam tells Spinelli that a window of opportunity opened up; Elizabeth wonders how Jake really saw Finn; and Chase tells Finn that they have a bigger problem.
Below Deck Mediterranean
Chef Jono won’t get his ass out of bed, and Ellie says she doesn’t want him to have a negative experience because of this. Maybe he should think about it. He says, no, and Gael helps her make grilled cheese. The guests start making their own drinks, and decide they provide nicer service than the actual crew. Guest Simon says, they’d rather fix it themselves than complain. In Ellie’s interview, she says she wants to be chief stew and has to figure out how to manage these kinds of conditions. She’s always been very self-reliant. Her dream was to have a house for her Barbies when she was little, but there was no money. So she got cardboard, a stick of glue, and crayons, and put a roof over these bitches’ heads. The guests finally go to bed at 2:50 am. Ellie goes to bed at like, 6 am.
The boat heads for the Temple of Poseidon. In Princess Jono’s interview, he says he’s proud of standing up for himself. It’s always been an issue for him. In Aesha’s interview, she says she’s setting her standards as high as possible. With no provisions, she might not be able to get to the full extent of them, but she’s going to make sure to get as close as possible. Iain tells Captain Sandy that someone tried to wake up the chef, but he’d thought it was a dream. The captain texts the provisioner, who tells her, the wine will be in this evening, but she says, that’s too late. Iain shows Joe what to do with the lines when docking, and in his interview, he says he loves to teach. Aesha tells Bri that she’s sorry yesterday was stressful. It was the first day on a new boat, and it was a sh*tshow. They’ll get better each day. Jono whines to Aesha about how Ellie tried to wake him up, and she says, to be fair, the guests listed late night snacks on the preference sheet. She suggests Jono pre-prep.
Gael talks to her boyfriend, who’s got a new job, and she reminds him that their goal was to find a boat they could both work on. In her interview, she says, relationships in yachting are hard. If someone gets your lifestyle, you want them to be there with you. She doesn’t know how good she’ll be at long distance, but guesses she’ll find out. Captain Sandy calls Jono to meet with her, and I hope she rips him a new one. Instead, she suggests he put some paninis in the fridge the night before, and they’ll address it at the tip meeting. In the captain’s interview, she says, if the chef is down, he shouldn’t be woken up. Ellie didn’t know, but she’s learning. Aesha has to tell the guests that there’s still no rosé, and says, they have every right be grumpy. In Gael’s interview, she says, Nathan is cute and she thinks platonic relationships are a possibility. In Nathan’s interview, he says, they’ll see what happens. Aesha tells Ellie that the chef not having rest is dangerous, but Ellie says, breakfast wasn’t until 10. Aesha says, next time, there will be premade food. She’s sorry Ellie had to go through that. In her interview, Aesha says, a stew should never be in bed more than an hour after the guests, but she feels confident they’ll keep learning and improving. The guests do a TikTok video and say, content is king. Captain Sandy suggests someone be sent over to a nearby humongous superyacht to ask for wine – ask politely. Aesha tells the guests that they’re going to beg the big boat for wine, and in Joe’s interview, he says, it’s his first lead deckhand role. He wants to become someone in the industry. Captain Sandy gives Joe some money and tells him to do whatever it takes. He and Nathan take the tender to ask for the wine, and Nathan tells the captain, name your price and I’ll put it in your pocket.
Aesha begs from a distance while the trade is done. The captain of the other boat won’t take less than €75 a bottle, and Joe says, according to his research, the brand is 20 quid. The captain says, take it or leave it, and Nathan forks over the money. In Nathan’s interview, he says he’s done sales his whole life and once sold a broomstick. The total is 300 quid, and Joe says he doesn’t even have that in his personal account. The guests cheer when the wine is brought back. The provisioner texts captain Sandy asking if she still wants the wine for this evening, but she says, that’s too late. The charter will be over. Afterward, she says, they’re f***ing fired. Guest Jacob says, the chef somehow nailed their preferences, although another guest thinks it’s not as tasty as the drunk cheese last night. Ellie tells Jono that they’re raving about his food, and he barely acknowledges her. In her interview, she says, he hasn’t apologized asked how her night went. Has she failed him on some level? Ellie tries to teach Bri the ways of the laundry, and in Bri’s interview, she says, in boarding school, their laundry was picked up and brought back all done. She’s stressing balls and doesn’t want to lose her job. Everything about adulting scares her. One guest is missing a pair of pants and another is missing a shirt.
Bri cries over the laundry while the guests do water sports. Ellie tells Aesha about the missing clothes, and in Aesha’s interview, she says, if she comments on every mistake, it’s like endless nagging, so she’s trying the tactic of more compliments, hoping Bri will improve. In Bri’s interview, she says she found the frickin’ pants. She tells Ellie that they’re on warm air, but Ellie tells her, that’s just for crew clothes. They don’t want to risk shrinkage with the guests’ clothing. In Ellie’s interview, she says she feels she has her work cut out for her. It’s her first time as second stew and she’s working toward chief stew. She feels like she’s on the right trajectory, but there isn’t much competition on this boat. She tells the guest that his pants were hang drying and that’s why they didn’t see them. Bri trips, and God help me, I laugh. Anchor is hauled and Joe bandages Bri’s toe. In Joe’s interview, he says he’s scared about docking. He has no experience on the bow. He’s usually on the aft deck. He’s supposed to keep the stern from hitting the dock, but the rope keeps slipping.
With the deckhands working together, the boat is finally docked. The captain tells Joe to use muscle until she’s in the berth, but he explains the rope was slipping and he couldn’t get the groundline off without mechanics. In Nathan’s interview, he says he doesn’t want to be lead deckhand. He’s just here to have fun. It’s time to say goodbye to the guests, and Jacob thanks the crew for an amazing time. He shakes Jono’s hand, saying, the food… He says, obviously, there were a few things that were disappointing, like the lack of provisions and clothes missing in terms of getting pressed, but overall, they had an amazing time. The guests leave and the crew changes into their reds. Aesha announces to everyone how long her poo was, and then calls a meeting with the stews. She says, they’re going into the next charter with limited manpower, and Bri needs to be quicker. Ellie tells Bri not to feel like she’s the only one making mistakes. They all are. Bri says she didn’t keep track of whose stuff was whose, and Aesha says she’s not mad, but if it’s still the same when they’re at charter 5, she’ll have to look for another solution. She tells them to never be in bed more than an hour after the guests. If they are, it means they were with the guests too much. Ellie says, it was a like a form of entertainment for them, and Aesha tells her to just say, cooking is a safety thing. The captain calls for the tip meeting.
Captain Sandy tells the crew, well done. It’s easy to do a good job when things are going your way, but when they’re not, and they show up the way they did, that’s what is looked for in character. She tells the deck team, first charter, first boat, good job. She says, Aesha leads with kindness and people follow. That’s what makes her stand out. Jono created incredible meals on the fly, even with the lack of provisions. Never wake the chef, but next time food will be prepped to make paninis. Ellie says, the guests wanted a whole thing, and the captain says, she’s learning, and it’s fine, but you don’t wake the chef. Maybe on bigger boats where there’s more than one, but he’s one. The tip is $15K or $1250 each. Not bad for a one-nighter. They were lucky this was a nice bunch of kids. Captain Sandy tells the crew, have a blast.
Jono tells Ellie that she knows not to wake him again, but he’s empathetic to the crazy situation. He’ll make some stuff ahead of time. He doesn’t want that to happen to her again. Jono calls his boyfriend David, and brags, the guests said the best part of the trip was him and the food. In Jono’s interview, he says, David is an opera singer and the most supportive long-distance relationship he’s had. Yeah. I’ll bet he’s a handful. And I don’t mean that in a good way. Ellie tells Bri that Jono complained, but what about what she was going through? She didn’t get enough sleep. It’s all about the chef. She cries and says she’s pissed off. Aesha asks why she was up so long, and Ellie says she was busting her ass. Jono mumbles, that bitch is going to drive him crazy, and Ellie says, he’s making her look like an idiot.
As the deckhands clean the boat, Gael promises to be the best wingman ever. In Ellie’s interview, she says she feels that Jono has affected the captain’s perception of her, and this is her career. The crew gets ready to go out, and in Nathan’s interview, he says, Gael is attractive and has a boyfriend, but he owes no loyalty to anyone. They go to a restaurant and toast to getting through charter one. In Bri’s interview, she says, Joe is a charmer, and in Ellie’s interview, she says, Joe is hot, so it helps. Joe says he has a bromance with Gael, and Gael says she feels like a thorn between two roses. Gael talks to Aesha about her boyfriend and says she’s figuring out the trust factor. What happens when her boyfriend is on a boat with attractive women? Aesha suggests she deal with it when it happens and not think about it. In Aesha’s interview, she says she and her boyfriend have been together for three years, and she’s never been paranoid. If you’re worried, it’s not right. She tells Gael that she’s a catch and if he can’t see it, f*** him. Bri asks if Nathan is an alcoholic, and Nathan says he is Irish. (Hey, he stereotyped himself, not me.) They go to a club and dance, and in Iain’s interview, he says, Ellie is a fancy lady. Aesha thinks Bri likes Joe, and Ellie says she wants to play hard to get. Bri says she has to go to the loo, and Ellie dances with Joe. Nathan asks if Gael has stolen a strawberry for him, and in his interview, a producer asks if that’s a euphemism. He says, they’ll eventually find out, and the crew goes back to the boat.
Nathan tells Gael that they need to lose the cameras. Everyone goes to bed, and Gael texts Nathan: keep an eye on me. Nathan texts back, asking where they can meet that there are no cameras. They sneak off to the bow, and he says, all this for a few strawberries. In Gael’s interview, she says, maybe she likes him a tiny bit. She’s not harming anyone.
To be continued…
😡 Haters Gonna Hate…
She’s a better woman than I am. And she looks absolutely gorgeous in that gown.
Come back tomorrow for some soap, a little Dubai, and a few tea leaves. Until then, stay safe, stay being thoughtful about how long you hold a chair without using it at the beach or pool, and stay choosing the future over the past.
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
General Hospital
Gathered at the park for Gregory’s memorial service were those closest to him: Finn, Chase, Brook, Violet, Tracy, Alexis, Elizabeth, Aiden, and Jake. The bench where he sat now had a plaque with Professor Gregory Chase on it.
Finn said that he’d found Psalm 121 on a card Gregory was using for a bookmark and read: I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. (King James version)
Finn said this was his dad’s favorite spot, so it was fitting that he should become part of a place that brought him so much joy and contentment. Chase said the people who mattered most to Gregory were there, and he thought the hole his dad left would hurt less if they filled it with shared memories.
Elizabeth said Gregory had taken her in under his father umbrella and never judged her. She’d forever take with her his understanding and support. He showed her the level of kindness, compassion, and wisdom possible in a person, and she wasn’t settling for anything less. She thanked Finn and Chase for sharing their dad.
Alexis said she considered people she met who had a hardship inspiring, but ALS was beyond a hardship. She watched Gregory reject the limitations that were put on him, and it was a lesson to her. She was now aware of the limitations she’d put on her own life. No one on the face of the earth could convince her to jump out of a plane, except him, and they shared a big, mad, passionate kiss at the end. She wouldn’t have tried to get her law license back if not for him, and he taught her that even if you’re doomed to lose, you try. That’s the triumph.
Finn said he should have learned forgiveness from his dad who forgave him. He was the example of the man Finn wanted to be, but he was sorry it took so long to become the son Gregory deserved, even though he had a great example in Chase.
Tracy said, Gregory didn’t suffer fools. He’d told his son not to value the opinion of snobs, and she was the snob. She was being foolish and regretted it deeply. The missed opportunities in life loom larger as time goes on and get heavier. She didn’t believe in regrets, and Gregory was a great friend to her, but he was also a missed opportunity. If she’d known him sooner, longer, or better, would he have been… She doesn’t get to know, but the moral of the story is, if opportunity doesn’t present itself, make one. Contrary to conventional wisdom you can miss what you didn’t have.
Brook said, Gregory was magical, almost like a wizard. He created her wonderful husband and stood up in church and gave Chase to her. She said, sometimes life made us feel like there’s no such thing as magic, but because of Gregory, she knew it was real and her life was filled with magic, more than she could hope for.
Violet said she didn’t know if ghosts were real, but she’d found the last poem Gregory read to her. Then she read about how it’s not always easy or fair and we’re sometimes scared, but it’s a great, wide, wonderful world. She hoped he was happy.
Chase said his father was a good, strong, and gentle man in all the ways that mattered. He’d told Chase that there are no perfect people and people were fine the way they are, but he thought Violet was perfect. He called himself ordinary, and it took Chase until now to realize ordinary meant we should be what we are. We shouldn’t think we’re so special that no one understands or relates, and we should find something remarkable in every person we meet. If he could be ordinary like his dad, he’d be extraordinary. Finn and Chase scattered Gregory’s ashes under the tree.
At the reception afterward in the MetroCourt Gardens, Brook told Tracy that she was sorry about Gregory’s passing. Tracy said that she thought Gregory would have been pleased, and she and Brook told each other, I love you. Tracy said that Gregory had talked her into doing a shot, so they should do one in his honor, and they did. Brook was worried about Finn, but Tracy said she thought he was coping. Brook said she and Chase were thinking about taking Violet for a while to give Finn time to grieve. Tracy said they were both grieving, and she didn’t think they wanted to be separated because they were a comfort to each other. Alexis told Finn that his father would be proud, and Finn asked about the kiss. Did they have a romance he didn’t know about? She just smiled.
Natalia went with Blaze to rerecord a track, but Blaze was uncomfortable not having Brook there. Blaze told Natalia that she’d hurt Kristina, but didn’t share the details. Natalia said that Blaze’s hope was lost, but she still had her pride, and her passion for the music would get her through the day. The engineer was surprised Blaze was redoing the track, but Natalia said she thought they could maybe implement the notes she’d made during the first recording and make it better.
Blaze told Natalia that her singing was off, and Natalia told her to fall back on her discipline and training. That’s what professionals did. Blaze said she felt like a fraud singing about love, and Natalia asked if Blaze wanted her to call Kristina. Blaze said if Kristina wanted to come, she would have shown up. She was sure Kristina felt hurt and betrayed.
Kristina waited for Molly while she was in court, claiming she wanted to have sister time. She asked if Molly wanted to go to lunch, but Molly had a staff meeting. Kristina wondered why Molly wasn’t asking about the baby, and Molly asked if there was anything new to report. Kristina said things were good and moving on as they were supposed to. Actually, the only new thing was that she was aware Blaze had told Molly about what happened at the reception and Molly was pretending like she didn’t know. Molly said that Blaze had made one innocent remark which she’d picked up on and pressed for details. All Blaze would say was that Kristina and the baby were fine, but Blaze was probably never going to speak to her again because of the way Molly interrogated her. Kristina said, Blaze was very forgiving, and Molly said, so is TJ, but if the topic of the baby was off limits to keep Kristina happy, she’d honor Kristina’s wishes, no matter how obnoxious they were. Kristina asked why she wouldn’t be defensive when Molly was the perfect sister, but Molly said they were in this situation because she couldn’t reproduce, which was hardly perfect. Kristina said, Molly had rescued her from bad decisions countless times, and Molly said she’d be eternally grateful for what Kristina was doing for her. She couldn’t wait until the baby was here and they could argue about who spoiled it the most and who was being too tough.
Natalia pressed Blaze for details, but Blaze said telling Natalia would just make it worse, and don’t try to get it out of Sonny. Natalia wondered what Sonny had to do with it, but Blaze told her that time was money. Natalia said she was hoping Blaze was starting to understand that relationships like this one weren’t real. Blaze said, it was real, but Natalia said it was infatuation. It was natural to respond warmly to someone who admired you. Blaze said she knew the difference between fans, stalkers, and regular people, but Natalia said, maybe she’d misconstrued it. Blaze said if she was half as gullible as Natalia made her sound, her portfolio would have nothing but magic beans in it. Natalia used the term you people and denigrated Blaze’s relationship with Kristina some more, until Blaze said Natalia was making her angry. Natalia said it was a mom’s job to tell the hard truth.
Alexis told Finn that Gregory was funny, smart, and authentic, and he asked her why they hadn’t moved forward. Alexis said because she was too chicken, too cowardly to fall in love with a man she knew was dying. Chase told Brook that Gregory’s death made him realize we don’t know when our last moments will be, and he’d always tell her how much he loved her when he was leaving her. Elizabeth said Finn seemed more settled and asked if the memorial helped. Finn said, it did, but he worried that he’d gotten so good at pretending, he was fooling himself.
Kristina showed up while Blaze was recording and the way they looked at each other, you could tell all was forgiven.
Elizabeth thanked Tracy for arranging everything, and said she thought it helped. Tracy said she did too. Elizabeth told Chase that they were family now. She said Finn had gotten a call and asked Chase to tell him that she’d call him later. She left with the boys, and Chase decided to look for Finn. He found Finn at a bar in another room and saw Finn doing a shot… and then another shot.
Tomorrow, the pool is open (!); Kristina tells Natalia to let Blaze decide what she wants; and Brook tells Chase that she was worried something like this would happen.
🍼 At the Valley’s End…
When a dude is having the same issues he did a decade ago, it’s time to cut the cord, and Jax will be an eternal Peter Pan. He’s also one of those people who wail about needing help, but then refuse to take it because their plea is just for show. Hearing him make excuses was stomach turning, but even worse was hearing him sniffle that he needed therapy and then never going. Yep, this is why I’ve grown to hate this stuff.
Tonight’s Quickfire Challenge was a blind taste test of 26 ingredients. To make it extra special, the chefs had to make a dish with the ingredients they’d guessed right. For the elimination, they had to make a dish representing their time thus far. Spoiler alert. No one came out with an empty plate.
Come by tomorrow for a soap quickie and a little Summer tea. Until then, stay safe, stay being considerate of others at public events, and stay making your own opportunity when one doesn’t present itself.
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
General Hospital
Jason is working at his desk in the coffee warehouse when Sonny walks in. He asks if Jason is free, because he’d like to clear the air.
Chase finds Elizabeth at the hospital, and she asks how he is and hugs him. She says she’s so sorry about his dad, and she’s sorry he and Brook couldn’t go on their honeymoon. He says, that’s okay. There will be other opportunities to travel. He’s just glad they didn’t get on that plane. She says she didn’t know his dad for very long, but he really touched her life. And her boys were really fond of him. Cameron was sad to hear the news, but he sends his best. Chase says, he was fond of Elizabeth’s family, and he loved her, and she says, the feeling was mutual. If there’s anything she can do or any support she can offer, will he please just tell her? He says, in that case, his dad named him executor. Does she know who he can talk to about getting a couple of copies of his death certificate? He needs them for insurance, Social Security, and a couple other things. There’s so much red tape. She says, maybe the funeral home can get him a copy, and he says, right. He’s so scattered. He’s sorry to bother her. She says, actually, the hospital’s record department should have it. Wait here. Let’s figure this out. She gets on the phone.
We see a computer screen with The Invader headline, Mayor Makes Move To Free Hook Killer, and Laura tells Jordan, it’s just absurd. They’re acting like she’s leading the charge to have Heather’s conviction overturned and have her walk out of prison a free woman. All she has done is request copies of her records. Jordan says, they could have a problem here, and Laura says, and it was well within her purview to do it too. Not as the mayor, but as a citizen, because for better or worse, Heather gave her power of attorney. They’ve got to find out who got their hands on this information and leaked it to the press.
Curtis shows Portia his tablet and says he thought he should be the one to show her this. He’s glad she hasn’t seen it yet. She says, wait a minute, taking the tablet from him. She’s really going through with this. No. How could Laura even think of letting Heather Webber walk free after everything she’s done? He says the thought Jordan was overreacting when she spoke to Aunt Stella and Trina about revisiting Heather’s case. He’s just as shocked as she is to hear they’re moving forward. There’s got to be more to this story because the Laura he knows would never do this.
John flashes his badge to the guard, says, FBI, and walks into Jack’s room. He says, all right, Brennan, let’s go. Where’s his jumpsuit? Jack says, dry cleaners? and John says, let’s hope we can find you another one. What he’s got on is going to be a little drafty where he’s going. Jack says, and that is? and John says, back behind bars where he belongs. He’s a dangerous prisoner and a flight risk. And the sooner he’s back in Pentenville, the safer they’ll all be.
Molly sees Carly in the MetroCourt lobby and asks if she has a second to talk in private. Carly says she’s so busy right now. She’s so sorry. Molly says, please. It’s about what happened at Brook and Chase’s wedding reception. She needs to know what happened with Kristina.
Elizabeth says the records department will have Chase’s copies in twenty minutes, and Chase thanks her. He says, this helps a lot. He was dreading having to track this down. It’s one thing he can check off his list. If he’s being honest, it’s a pretty long list. She says, he’s got a lot going on, and he says, seems that way. Although maybe it’s because the reality of his dad’s death keeps hitting him in the face about every 30 seconds. It’s like he’s moving underwater. Everything is slower, because he’s slower. She says, it’s good he recognizes that. If he can stand a little advice, just accept that what he’s going through is a lot, and don’t be afraid to ask for help. He says he just did, and she came through. Can he talk to her about something else? She says, sure, and they sit on a bench. He says, it’s about Finn. Was he drinking when she showed up? She says, he was, and Chase says, in retrospect, he may have handled that all wrong. Finn wanted some time with Violet, so instead of going straight from the airport to Finn’s place, they went back to the Quartermaine’s first. He didn’t want Finn to be alone and he thought Violet could use some support, so he called her. Obviously, it blindsided Finn when she walked in. She says, he’d already been drinking by the time she got there. Yes, she surprised him, but his reaction was his own. It had nothing to do with the timing and it certainly wasn’t Chase’s fault for calling her. He says, Finn realizes he was out of line, and it proves it shook him up. Not just that he drank, but the way it made him feel acting the way he did toward her. But he’s doing all the right things. He’s going to the meetings. He’s doing the work. She says, Finn told her, and he says, Finn is going to be okay. He’s not going to keep turning to alcohol.
Carly tells Molly that she wasn’t at Brook and Chase’s wedding or their wedding reception. She was at home with her feet up, so she doesn’t really know what she can tell Molly. Molly says, she doesn’t know Sonny attacked Dex? Look, this isn’t an official inquiry. She isn’t here as the ADA. And Carly isn’t the first person she’s spoken to. She talked to Anna, off the record. Carly says she doesn’t know what else she can tell Molly, and Molly says, Carly is family. She was Kristina’s stepmother for years and her aunt by marriage, which shows her how convoluted their family ties are. But what she means is, Carly has known her for her whole life, and she’s asking Carly for help. Carly says she really doesn’t know what she can tell Molly, since she wasn’t there, and Molly says, but Jason was. Jason tells her everything, right? Kritina witnessed the altercation and had a physical response, and that could impact the baby Kristina is carrying for her and TJ. She would ask Kristina herself, but she can’t risk upsetting her right now; she’s too fragile. But she thinks she has a right as the mother of the baby Kristina is carrying to know what happened. Carly says, as long as Molly understands what she says stays between them. If Molly turns this into a statement for the DA, she’ll have no recollection of this conversation whatsoever. Molly says, understood.
Curtis says he still can’t imagine Laura taking this on, but Portia says she can. She is testing the waters on this, and this article is proof of that. This is another step on the road where Heather Webber gets released. He says, they’re not going to let that happen, and she tells him, that’s what she’s been trying to say, but realistically, what can they do? If Laura finds a lawyer who’s willing to take Heather’s case and a judge to reopen it, how are they going to fight the whole justice system? A nurse comes up to Portia and says she needs Portia to sign this patient’s outtake form, and Portia asks Curtis to give her a second, but he says he’s got to go. They’ll talk tonight. He leaves, and Portia looks at the form. She says, this isn’t right. Who ordered this?
Jack says, since when does the FBI supervise prisoner transfers? and John says, only when the prisoner was head of the WSB and arrested for violations of the National Security Act. And he hasn’t overlooked Jack’s involvement with Pikeman or how he funneled money between Pikeman and the Bureau. Jack is no garden variety criminal. He’s a trained intelligence agent. He’s dangerous by definition. He should be insulted if John didn’t show up to take him back to the pen. Jack says, it’s not unusual for the Feds to feel inferior to the WSB. Don’t play into it. Portia knocks at the door, and John tells her to say goodbye to her patient. He’s leaving immediately. Portia says she hates to disappoint John, but this patient isn’t going anywhere.
Jason says, it’s been a while since Sonny stopped by, and Sonny says he’s not going to stay long. He just wanted Jason to know that he reached an agreement with Dex. He’s done with Dex. He’s free to do whatever he wants to do. Dex wants to be a cop; it doesn’t matter to him. He’s not going to get in Dex’s way. Jason says, sounds like the right call, and Sonny says he wants to make the same deal with Jason. Jason asks how that would work, and Sonny says he wants Jason to go work for the FBI or whatever it is that he’s doing. He doesn’t want to have anything more to do with Jason.
Elizabeth tells Chase, Finn was apologetic and embarrassed about what happened, both for the drinking and his behavior. He said he was in shock after finding their dad, but that talking to Chase really helped. Chase says, Finn came back from dropping Violet off at school expecting to see their dad up and waiting for him. Instead, he found him dead. Finn is the one who had to call 911, who had to sign the paperwork, who had to watch their father… watch his body being taken away. If that bourbon wasn’t in the apartment, there’s no way he would have gone out to find a drink of alcohol. She says, he doesn’t have to defend his brother. She understands the sequence of events. What she didn’t understand was his reaction to her. He was argumentative and angry with her for suggesting he go to a meeting, which he refused. Chase says he knows Finn feels terrible about that, and she says, Violet was in the house. She feels terrible about that. He says he gets it. Finn made bad choices and he knows it. They’re all pretty raw right now. He knows he’s not at his best. All he’s saying is, his brother screwed up. Nobody’s questioning that. But doesn’t she think, given the situation, it merits a little understanding?
Carly tells Molly that the first she heard anything had happened was when Jason called her to tell her that Sonny went after Dex and Kristina witnessed it. Then Jason asked her to come to the MetroCourt for Sonny. She never saw Kristina, but she does know Sonny tracked her down first. Molly asks if she knows what happened, and Carly says she knows Sonny was upset. He didn’t go into detail, but from what she understands, when Jason was pulling Sonny off of Dex, they realized Kristina saw the whole thing. She ran off, Sonny took off after her, he found her in a ladies’ room right off the ballroom, and he tried to explain to her what happened, but Kristina was really upset. He said that she was hysterical and that she was afraid of him. Molly says, can Carly blame her? and Carly says, no. And she thinks Kristina was scared of Sonny because she saw him act in a way she’d never seen before. Kristina grew up hearing whispers about Sonny being a mobster. She’s sure Molly heard it too. Molly says, absolutely, and Carly says she thinks Kristina told herself that in Sonny’s case, being a mobster in this day and age is just somebody with some shady business practices. So witnessing the attack and hearing Sonny threaten to kill Jason and Dex, she’s sure that was devastating for Kristina. Molly says, for the first time, she realized what they all mean by mobster.
Jason says he and Sonny had this conversation months ago and his position hasn’t changed. The coffee business is half his and he’s not leaving. Sonny says, the offer to buy him out still stands. What’s his price? Jason says he’s not selling, and Sonny says, the FBI ordered Jason to stay here so he can keep tabs on him? Jason says he’s not selling because this is their business. They founded this company together and they’re equal partners. Sonny says, the partnership was based on trust.That trust has been broken. Jason broke it. So he’s offering Jason a way out. If he’s smart, he’ll take it. Jason says he’s not staying for himself. He’s staying for Sonny.
John says, with all due respect, this man’s a security risk, but Portia says, he’s handcuffed to the bed and he’s guarded around the clock. She doesn’t have to like the patients who find themselves in this hospital, but she does have to provide them with the best medical care possible. And his surgeon hasn’t cleared him to be released. John says he doesn’t think she realizes who this man is. He’s a former intelligence agent, a national security risk, and well-trained in the art of disinformation, making things look like what they’re not. She’s playing right into his hands. Portia asks if he thinks this is a game for her, because she’s certainly not playing it. Mr. Brennan was wounded severely and was bleeding excessively, and it required surgery. And he will not leave this bed until his surgeon says that he’s okay to be released. She’s not sending him back to prison so his wound can open up and bleed out. Her decision stands. This patient stays right here. She leaves, and Jack says, you were saying, Agent Cates?
On the phone, Laura says she has a favor to ask Donald. Jordan Ashford would like to come down and talk to him about a confidentiality concern they have… Thank you. She’ll be down later this afternoon. She tells Jordan that Donald Rollins will be waiting for her in the records room, and hands her a paper. Jordan says she’ll check it out, and Laura says she knows Jordan warned her this might happen, and she wants to thank her for not saying, I told you so. Jordan says she didn’t expect it to happen this fast, but she really thinks Laura should get ahead of this story – now. Issue a statement saying that she has no intention of reopening Heather Webber’s case and of trying to mitigate her sentence. Laura says she doesn’t want to paint herself into a corner making a promise she might not be able to keep, and Jordan says, she doesn’t advocate for freeing Heather, correct? Laura says, correct, and Jordan says, then draft a statement saying that. There’s a knock at the door, and Laura says, come in. Curtis walks in, and Laura asks what she can do for him. He says, does she mind if they talk for a minute?
Curtis says he’s sorry if he’s interrupting their meeting, but Jordan says, no worries. They were just wrapping up. Laura says, he looks wonderful. It’s so good to see him up and about. Curtis thanks her and says, it’s good to be up and about. Jordan says she’ll get going on that project they were just discussing. She’ll be in touch. Good to see Curtis. He says, likewise, and she leaves. Laura says, okay. She thinks she might know why he’s here. He says, a few months ago, around the time of Heather’s initial diagnosis, Portia was worried Laura was looking into getting Heather’s case reopened. He didn’t pay it too much concern at first because he didn’t think she would do that. Fast forward to today, and he reads an article in The Invader that says just that. She asks him to sit down and says, that article should never have gone to print. He says he agrees, if it’s a lie, but he doesn’t hear her saying it is. She says, the headline is a lie. She’s not looking to get Heather freed. He says, so she’s not examining the legal ramifications of her medical diagnosis? and she says she’s exploring whether or not there are any legal ramifications. Since she’s not a lawyer, she needs to consult one, and in order to do that, she needed to request copies of Heather’s records from the time of her arrest through her sentencing. She can’t predict how a judge will decide, but she can tell him that it’s her personal feeling, in light of Heather’s diagnosis, she deserves to have her case reopened.
Carly tells Molly that they are family. She’s seen the relationship between Kristina and her father, and she’s truly a daddy’s girl. And Sonny loves her so much. She was going to have to see Sonny more realistically at some point. Carly is sorry it happened now. Molly says she’s still trying to figure out how she feels about it all, and Carly says she bets. What is Molly going to do about it? Molly says, nothing. She thinks she’s just going to sit on it. She can’t tell TJ. He would just go straight to Kristina and confront her, which would only make things worse, so she’ll just sit on pins and needles, and send up a silent prayer that Kristina will be all right. That she’ll do the right thing, for herself and this baby. Everything else is out of her control. Carly says, wow. She already sounds like a mom. All those feelings she’s talking about, they’re always going to be there. She doesn’t mean to scare Molly, but she’s going to be afraid and she’s going to be worried. That’s never going to go away. She’s going to constantly be sending up those silent prayers, praying that your kids are happy and healthy, all the while knowing it’s all out of your control. Kristina’s made of good stuff. She has the feeling Kristina and the baby are going to be just fine. Molly thanks her and says she really appreciates Carly being honest with her. She and Carly touch hands, and Molly leaves.
Jason says he has to stay. Corinthos Coffee is Sonny’s only legitimate business. It’s his only shield left against RICO charges. Sonny asks if that’s what Jason’s handlers told him to say, just in case he tried to push Jason out. Who does he think was running the business when he was off doing whatever he was doing? Jason says, Sonny pays no attention to this place. It was barely operational when he came back. He increased the inventory, and he added some staff. He’s trying to build this business back up because it’s the best cover Sonny has. Sonny says, Jason isn’t protecting him. He’s spying on him. He wants Jason out of his business, out of his life. Jason moves closer to Sonny and says he’s Sonny’s friend. He’s Sonny’s friend for as long as he can remember, and he’s telling Sonny right now, he is in real trouble.
Elizabeth says she’s sympathetic to what Chase’s family is going through, and Chase says, maybe things will make more sense once the memorial is over. He keeps telling himself that he and Finn will feel closure. She says she hopes they both find that, and he says his dad wanted his ashes scattered. They’re planning a small gathering, those closest to him, just friends and family. He’d love it if she were there. She says, Finn already told her, and of course (🍷) she’ll be there. It’s been twenty minutes. His copies will be ready. She’ll go get them. He says he’s imposed enough, but she says she can bypass the line. She’ll be right back.
Jack says, as the good doctor pointed out, he’s still recovering from surgery and tires easily. Would John care to clear out and give him some rest? John says, since he can’t take Jack back to Pentenville (yeah, nice try, John) – he closes the door – he’ll just have to question Jack here. Jack says, John can ask all the questions he likes, but he has nothing more to say without his lawyers being present and they’re very busy people. John says, maybe it’s time to hire new lawyers. Isn’t it curious that Jack’s spent months behind bars without his case being brought to trial? What is he paying these people for? What’s the hold up? Jack says, he’d have to ask the Justice Department, and John says he has. It seems Jack’s lawyers are very busy asking for postponements and their justifications are flimsy at best. Almost as if they’d been given the directive to stall. Jack laughs, and John says, he’d better watch that legal bill. It’s gonna be a doozie. Jack says he told them to take their time because he wanted the full Pentenville experience. His stay just wouldn’t be complete until he’s stabbed in the showers. Maybe he’ll tell them that he’s ready to move things along now. John says, or maybe he’s waiting for something else to happen. Maybe he doesn’t want to leave until the time is right.
Molly meets TJ at the hospital, and he thanks her for stopping by. He just couldn’t get away. Here’s her phone. She says, and his, and they trade. She says she promises she’ll get a different colored case, and he says, it was bound to happen eventually. He’s just glad he wasn’t on call. She says, he didn’t miss anything important. His gym membership is about to expire. Did she get many calls? He says, not really. He kind of expected to see some calls from Kristina, but nothing. Molly says she saw Kristina at her mom’s, and he asks if she’s okay. She says, if he means Kristina, she seemed fine. If he means her mom, she’s pretty sure she’s going to lose her case. (I don’t know why. It didn’t look that way in the courtroom.) But she’s not that worried about it right now. Molly thinks Gregory Chase’s death really put things in perspective for her. He says he called her office a while ago. They said she was out. She says she’s been on the go. She was just wrapping up a meeting at the MetroCourt when he called and then she came straight here.
Curtis says, so the paper was right. Laura does want to set Heather free, but Laura says, no, she doesn’t. She’s advocating to have her case reopened, taking into consideration that she was suffering from an undiagnosed illness at the time she committed those crimes. He says, even if it results in a lesser sentence? and she says she knows how upset he is about this, but at this point, this is all just speculation. All she did was ask for some records. No action has been taken yet. He says, yet, and she says, if she decides to go forward with anything, she’ll let him know first. Trina’s family does deserve the truth. He says, we deserve justice, and she says she does understand that sentiment. He says, it’s not just a sentiment. Imagine if it was her child who watched her friends and her mentors being stalked, attacked, and killed. Now imagine if it was her child who was the real target all along, that the killer was just waiting for the right opportunity. Would she still be okay with mitigating the sentence, as the article put it? Or would she want that killer locked away in a supermax where they’ll never have the opportunity to hurt her child again?
Jason says, Sonny attacked a police cadet at a wedding. Sonny threatened to kill him and Dex not 200 feet from his closest friends, and Kristina saw the whole thing. She saw a side of Sonny that she never even knew existed. Sonny looks at him with that scary face he gets now, and Jason says, he’s making sloppy decisions. He’s not thinking clearly. He’s not thinking things through. He has to rein it in. Please, let me help you. Sonny says he’s trying to be friendly. Just for the record, Jason is turning him down. So he’s not going to be friendly anymore. If Jason doesn’t get out of his way, he’s done, he’s gone. Sonny walks out.
Jack says, his lawyers aren’t stalling. They’re trying to make sense of the charges. John says, they’re pretty straightforward actually. He’s been accused of, among other things, criminal conspiracy and attempted murder. Jack asks just who he tried to kill. Carly Spencer? Even she doesn’t believe it. John says, Anna Devane and Dante Falconari, and Jack says, when Anna and the detective showed up – with their guns drawn he might add – he wasn’t holding a weapon. He made no threatening moves whatsoever. Granted, there was a slight misunderstanding with Miss Spencer. He neglected to tell her that he was director of the WSB, and she mistakenly thought she had to defend herself. Now Anna, on the other hand, she knew exactly what she was doing when she came through that door. John says, that was a nice deflection. He was talking about the hit he put out on Anna and Dante at the pier. But let’s talk about Anna’s involvement in your takedown. Very convenient, wasn’t it? Jack says, that’s not how he felt when she had a gun trained on him at point blank range, and he happens to know from prior experience, she’s an expert shot. Now if this lackluster interrogation is over, he’s getting very tired. John says, you and Commissioner Devane were in the WSB together in the 80s, weren’t you? and Jack says, John knows they were. John says, so what are the odds that when Jack gets busted, his old friend crashes through the door at the perfect moment to take him down?
Molly says she’ll catch up with Kristina later, and TJ says, it just seems strange that she’d go radio silent. She’s in her final trimester, the baby’s due in August, and it just stands to reason they’d want to know how their baby is doing. Maybe they should go with her to her next doctor’s appointment. He’ll check with Dr. Navarro… Molly says she wouldn’t. He knows how Kristina feels about boundaries. He says he understands boundaries, but he also understands they are the baby’s parents. So… Portia says she’s so sorry to interrupt, but she really needs to speak with Molly as soon as she has a free moment. Molly says she’s free now. What’s up? Portia asks if TJ would mind giving them a moment, and he says he has rounds. He’ll see Molly at home. He leaves, and Molly asks what she can do for Portia. Portia asks if she’s seen The Invader today, but Molly says, no. She’s been pretty busy today. Why? Portia says she’s extremely concerned that Laura Collins is attempting to free Heather Webber. She would just like to know how the DA’s office would plan to fight this? (Wow. It’s like half the characters have turned into tyrants.)
Laura says she understands completely how Curtis feels. He wants to protect Trina and he has every right. He says, what about everybody else’s rights? Brando Corbin, Rory Cabrera, Britt Westbourne. Those young people had a right to live. Heather killed those people. What about the survivors, Ava Jerome and Diane Miller? Has she once asked them how they feel about her reopening Heather’s case? Laura says, Heather does not deny her crimes. But she is having a hard time locking this woman away for the rest of her life when she may not have possessed the mental capacity to tell the difference between right and wrong. He says, those people are dead still, either way, and she says she knows that. But the metallosis could have been the deciding factor there. She thinks that should go… it must go in the record. He says, and if it alters her sentence? and she says, that’s for the court to decide.
Molly says, what she can tell Portia is, no motion has been filed that she’s aware of. No hearing has been scheduled. Whatever’s in this article is pure speculation. Portia asks if Molly’s mother would maybe know more, but Molly says she doubts it. She’s been out of town the last few days and she only just got back. She’s probably going to be livid that this got published without her. It’s full of holes. Portia says, but if a motion is filed, how are they going to fight it? and Molly says, Heather’s attorney is probably going to argue that Heather is not guilty because she lacked the mens rea(Latin for guilty mind) to commit the crime. There was no way for Heather to be in control of her actions because the cobalt poisoning was controlling her behavior. Therefore, she is not responsible for what she did. If she’s no longer responsible and no longer a danger to others… Portia says, that woman is a danger to others, and don’t give her the technicality of the diagnosis of cobalt poisoning really allowing this woman to walk free. Isn’t it the DA office’s duty to see that justice is done to ensure this woman remains behind bars? They owe her victims that much.
Sonny strides through the MetroCourt lobby, and Carly jets after him. She asks him what he’s doing here. Where is he going? He says he has business to attend to, and she asks if he’s talked to Kristina. He says, not today. Today, he’s dealing with Jason.
At the warehouse, Jason does actual work, taking inventory or something. He stops for a moment, like he feels something, then goes back to it. Two gunmen slip into the warehouse, but I think he knows.
Elizabeth hands Chase an envelope, apologizing for how long it took. There are ten copies. He says he really appreciates her going through all the trouble, but she says she’s just glad she could help. He looks at the certificate, and she asks if he’s okay. He says, it’s just so official. So formal and real. This is all that’s left of his dad. She says, no. He is what’s left. Him and Finn and Violet. Gregory loved them. He’s always going to be with them.
Molly tells Portia that she hasn’t seen any motions to reopen Heather’s case, but she feels confident should that happen, the DA’s office can successfully argue against any mitigation of her sentence. Portia (who is already working my last nerve) says she wants to believe Molly, but she can’t just sit here and relax, and hope Molly takes it from here. She’s going to fight against any type of release. Because she’s learned the hard way that when it comes to Heather Webber, anything is possible.
Curtis tells Laura, this whole thing reeks of what happened to Heather’s daughter. Esmewas never held accountable for her actions because of her supposed amnesia. His daughter Trina didn’t press charges against the new Esme because Esme wasn’t aware of what the old Esme had done. So look at what they have now. What if some legal loophole puts her back on the street? Does Laura want to open the door to that possibility? Laura says, it’s up to the court to decide. She still thinks it’s the fair thing to do. He says, life is not fair. It certainly wasn’t fair to those young people who were murdered by a poisoned hook. Laura knows he respects her and considers her a good friend, but she’s wrong on this one. She’s wrong and she’s leaving him and Portia no choice but to fight her on it. And they will. She can trust and believe they will with everything they’ve got. He walks out and Laura looks sad.
Jack says he’s not sure he understands why John brings his prior relationship with Anna into this, and John says, maybe he and Anna planned that bust. Jack says, that’s interesting. Why? John says, maybe he was too conspicuous as the head of both Pikeman and the WSB, and Jack says, but he’s not head of Pikeman. John says, maybe that bust was a handoff of power from Jack to Anna. What’s Jack’s role in Pikeman anyhow? Jack says, he’ll have to ask Anna about that, and John says, don’t worry, he will. Heal fast. John walks out, and tells the guard, he’s all yours.
Carly says, Sonny was dealing with Jason? What’s going on? Did they talk? Sonny says he offered to buy Jason out of the coffee business. He gave Jason a chance to walk away. He refused, so what happens next is on him.
Jason is flipping through the papers on his clipboard, and suddenly chucks it aside and ducks for cover. The gunmen start shooting at him and he shoots back. Nobody seems to be a very good shot.
On Monday, Kristina asks Blaze, how does someone say something by accident; Natalia tells Ava that she’s not of the same mind; Diane says, there’s no guarantee the police are going to believe someone; and Carly asks Sonny what he did.
🍸 Time For a VanderChange…
This might not be a bad idea. The downside is having to remember a bunch of new names. I’m just not good with those, phone numbers, and zip codes. I will remember what you were wearing though.
I can’t accept a bribe. And I certainly can’t make change for a bribe. – Karen (Vernee Watson), Two and a Half Men
Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people. – Eleanor Roosevelt
Gardens, scholars say, are the first sign of commitment to a community. When people plant corn they are saying, let’s stay here. And by their connection to the land, they are connected to one another. – Anne Raver (It’s the land, Katie Scarlett!)
Rough diamonds may sometimes be mistaken for worthless pebbles. – Thomas Browne
To bear defeat with dignity, to accept criticism with poise, to receive honors with humility – these are marks of maturity and graciousness. – William Arthur Ward
I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and I believe in miracles. – Audrey Hepburn
I have accepted fear as part of life – specifically the fear of change. I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back. – Erica Jong
By hero, we tend to mean a heightened man who, more than other men, possesses qualities of courage, loyalty, resourcefulness, charisma, above all, selflessness. He is an example of right behavior; the sort of man who risks his life to protect his society’s values, sacrificing his personal needs for those of the community. – Paul Zweig
Bury me in cheese. – Garfield
🌊 Looking For Some Tasty Waves…
Enjoy the unofficial start of the summer and join me on Monday for soap and perhaps a peek on Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay being respectful of others’ traditions and celebrations, and stay not freaking out over a headline in a tabloid.
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
General Hospital
Brook asks if Chase wants coffee or to go back to bed, and he says, coffee. He’s meeting his brother, and he doesn’t want to be late. As she pours, she says she’s sure he’ll understand, but Chase says, it’s not like that. He has to be supportive. He has to make sure Finn doesn’t feel guilty or alone or whatever he felt yesterday that had him reaching for a bottle. Brook says, Finn is grieving, okay? And he’s not just grieving the loss of their dad; he’s grieving the time he stayed away. He’s going to feel how he’s going to feel. Chase asks if he should just let him feel it, and she says, there’s no stopping it. He can reach out and offer his support. She knows Finn would really appreciate that.
Alexis opens the door to Finn, and they hug. She says she’s so sorry about his dad, and he says he knows Gregory meant a lot to her. They go inside, and he asks if she just got back. She says, ten minutes ago. She’s glad she got back before he got there because she made some coffee if he wants that. While they’re waiting, they could talk. He asks how things went in Albany, but she says she wants to talk about his dad. She tears up and says she’s so sad. She’s so sad that she missed the wedding. He says, it wasn’t perfect, but it was close. There was a moment when he didn’t think his dad was going to be able to finish the wedding, but Tracy and Violet got him back on track. He willed himself through the rest of the ceremony and it was beautiful. She says she knows how much that would have meant to him. She’s so glad his last day was beautiful. They hug again.
Josslyn meets Trina at the gallery, and Trina thanks her for coming. As soon as Ava gets to the gallery, they can head out and check out those apartment listings. Josslyn says, of course (🍷), but she thought Trina had the day off, and Trina says, all she knows is, Ava called her and wanted her to open up. She said there was an emergency meeting at Crimson.
In Nina’s office, she tells Maxie, these Deception ads are gorgeous, and Maxie says, the camera really loves Blaze. Nina says she can’t wait to run them, when Ava comes in. She tells Maxie, be careful. Integrity isn’t Nina’s strong suit. Not that that’s news. Nina calls to Madison, but Ava says, she’s not at her desk. Madison couldn’t stop her anyway. Nina says, note to self, buy Madison a taser. As Ava can see, they’re busy. So why doesn’t she go out there, make an appointment for the next millennium. She’ll be happy to see Ava then. Ava says, Nina will see her now. Nina broke their deal, and she wants to know why.
Willow opens the gatehouse door to Drew, says, hi, boss, and invites him in. He says he’s not here on business, so she can just call him Mr. Cain, and she says, sir, yes, sir. He laughs and asks if Michael is around. There’s something he wants to run by him. She says, so this isn’t entirely a social call, and he says, not entirely. She says, it was Michael’s turn to run Wiley to school, but he should be back soon if Drew would like to wait. Drew says, happy to, and she says, great. Coffee? He says, always (me too). He needs her opinion on something. She says, about what? and he says, there’s something he wants to run by her, but she’s got to promise not to tell the rest of the Quartermaines.
Josslyn says, for the apartments, location-wise, she’s thinking around PCU, but does that work for Trina? Trina says she doesn’t know. She’s not sure if she’s going back to PCU after her semester off. And if she does, she’s done with dorm life. It reminds her too much of Spencer. Josslyn says she hears Trina there. To be honest, she’s pretty tired of drunk people in their halls at all hours of the day and night, and the cafeteria food. Trina says she’s tired of smelling everybody’s take-out coming through their walls, and Josslyn says, and just the noise of everybody in general. Trina says she doesn’t think Josslyn is in a position to be complaining about other people’s noises when she makes her fair share of noise herself. Josslyn says she did not, and Trina says, right. Because she only made those noises at Dex’s house. Josslyn says, all right. It doesn’t even matter now. Trina asks, when was the last time she ran into Dex? and Josslyn says, at the wedding. Trina says, how was it? and Josslyn says, it was surprisingly good. Trina says her parents told her that it was really beautiful, and Josslyn says, it was. And so was the reception… right up until Sonny attacked Dex.
Nina says she’s not sure what deal Ava is referring to, but she’s more than welcome to forward a copy to her assistant. Ava says, Nina knows very well what deal. Nina promised that she’d devote two pages to the US debut of Harriet Nikia at the gallery. Nina says, now she recalls that discussion. The assistant editor that Ava lobbied, lobbied her, and she had every intention of including it. Ava says, then why isn’t it in here? and Nina says, space. Ava says, space? Does she see the size of this magazine? Nina says, of course (🍷) she sees it. She published it. Ava asks, then how is it possible there isn’t any space? and Nina says, as she told Ava, she had every intention of putting it in the magazine, but in this issue, she had to make space for something a little more timely. Ava says, like what? and Nina says, like an in-depth profile of an exciting new charity initiative that her daughter’s involved in. Ava says, Willow doesn’t even talk to Nina, and Nina says, since she and Ava aren’t friends anymore, how could Ava possibly know what’s going on between her and her daughter? Or a gentleman friend she may or may not be seeing. Ava says, let her guess. She wouldn’t know him, right? He lives in Canada. Nina laughs and says she’d love to stand here and dish with her bestie, but since Ava put a knife in her back, that’s not her. So how about if Ava leaves and reports back to Sonny? Ava says she thinks it’s really sad that Nina’s head trip as queen of Crimson is all she has left in her little life. (The 1960s called. They want head trip back.) She leaves, and Maxie says, that was nice. Nina says, right?She was way out of line. Maxie says, Ava was definitely out of line, but she was talking about Nina. Nina says, her? and Maxie asks why she’d antagonize Ava Jerome like that.
Drew tells Willow that he happens to know Congressman McConkey is not running for reelection next fall. He met with McConkey recently, and McConkey is urging him to run for his seat. Willow says she just wants to make sure she understands. Larry McConkey wants Drew to run for his seat in congress? Drew tells her, that’s what he said. He hasn’t fully wrapped his mind around this yet. She asks if he’s going to do it. He would be perfect.
Finn tells Alexis that he dropped Violet at school. When he got home, he found that his dad had passed in his sleep. He doesn’t think his dad felt any pain. Alexis says, at least that was a blessing, and he says he called 911 and it took forever. While he was waiting, he looked over and he saw this bottle of bourbon, this gift from the Cerullos that they gave to him at the rehearsal dinner, and he was going to give it away. Instead, he drank a third of it. She says, okay, and he says, she doesn’t seem entirely surprised. She says, it’s okay, and he says he keeps asking himself, would he have drunk yesterday if he hadn’t accidentally drunk that glass of champagne the night before? He’s 99% sure he wouldn’t have, but then there’s that 1% of him that isn’t so sure. That’s the part that’s winning. She says, he has to try and look at it objectively, and he says he’ll try. She says, regardless of him slipping the night before, he woke up the next morning and it was tragic; it was heartbreaking. So he has a pretty sympathetic reason to break his sobriety. He says, that doesn’t excuse it, and she takes his hands. She says, forget about excuses, because she’s learned nothing really excuses anything. There’s just explanation and forgiveness, and after everything he’s been through, it can certainly be explained. He says he’s not the only one who’s suffered a difficult loss here. How is she? She asks if he means does she want a drink? Yeah. They laugh, and he says, did she drink? She says, no, and she has no intention of it. He says, neither did he, but here they are, and she says she thinks maybe it’s a two a day meeting thing for a while. He says he was at a meeting this morning. That’s why he didn’t pick up when she called. She says, that’s a damn good reason, and he says he drank, but he’s never going to drink again. She says, for now, and he says, yeah, for now. She says, the thing to really remember is, they have each other, and he says, yeah.
Nina says, why is she antagonizing Ava? and Maxie says, yeah. Nina says, maybe it has something to do with Ava saying that she was going to go to bat for her with Sonny and help save her marriage. Then sandbagging her because she wanted to get her claws in Sonny herself. Maxie says, it was awful… and Nina says, Ava implied that if she sold the MetroCourt to Jason, that Sonny would approve of that, knowing full well that Sonny hates Jason now. Maxie asks if Nina regrets selling the MetroCourt, but Nina says, no, and Maxie asks if she regrets signing the divorce papers. Nina says she regrets having to sign them, but she and Sonny were broken beyond repair, and Maxie says, then why take the time to make Ava her enemy? Nina says, Ava becoming her enemy was Ava’s choice, and Maxie says, that woman has a history of murder and mayhem with a touch of poisoning. Nina says, please, who doesn’t?Come on. She doesn’t think she’s in any physical danger. Maxie says, maybe not today, but if Nina keeps this up… Nina asks if Maxie saw the scowl on Ava’s face. That was almost worth the arsenic.
Chase says he’s so sorry, and Brook says, what did she tell him about apologizing? He says, this is how they’re spending her dream honeymoon, and she says, honeymoons are two things. First of all, they’re a vacation. Italy’s not going anywhere. They’ll take that trip later and make up for all the lost time. He says he likes the way she thinks, and she says she knows. He says, what about the other honeymoon? and she says, the other honeymoon is this, everything else forever. She snuggles against him and says, this is her dream. He says, coffee and scones? and she says, being with him through good times and bad, and yes, the coffee and scones are a definite bonus. Is he sure he doesn’t want another one? He says, yes, and she says, if she hasn’t made herself clear, anything she can do for him, them, or their family – if that’s jumping in and helping, giving him time to grieve with Finn, or both – she’ll do it, okay? He says, she’s amazing, and she says she really is, and she loves him so much. He says, ditto.
Diane goes to Alexis’s place and asks how she is. Alexis says, not great. She’s since learned there are greater losses than her law license. Diane says she’s so sorry about Gregory. She knows how important he was to Alexis. Alexis says she called him last night and Chase answered the phone. That’s how she found out. Any word from the Court of Appeals? Diane says, the wheels of bureaucracy do not accelerate to steamroll over you, no matter how much it seems like they want to, and Alexis says, any new insights? Diane says, they stood a really good chance of at least having Alexis’s disbarment examined, if not completely vacated, and Alexis says, and now? Diane says, now it’s clear that her disbarment was motivated by personal animus, no vigilance toward the law, and that animus stemmed from two conspiring sources, Ava Jerome and Fergus Byrne. By the way, she’s going to filing a harassment complaint against Counselor Byrne later on today. Maybe more than one, depending on her mood. Alexis says, if she needs any ammo… Diane says, please, and Alexis says, they had a little run-in at a diner in Albany. Diane tells her, say more, and Alexis says she was just sitting there, minding her own business, drowning her sorrows in a salad, and the avenging angel strolled by. Diane asks what he said, and Alexis tells her, it’s not what he said. It’s what she thinks is true. It’s not about his vengeance. It’s about his guilt, because he was estranged from both his brothers when they died about some inheritance issue. Diane says, interesting. Maybe she can use that. Alexis says, go ahead. If she’s being blamed for destroying two of the Byrne brothers, might as well make it a trifecta. Diane laughs and say she likes the way Alexis thinks, and Alexis wonders why she’s getting all the flack for this anyway. It’s Harmony who killed Neil – in Alexis’s bed – and she shoved his brother Brendan off a cliff. So why is that idiot after her? Diane says, make sure to ask him at his disciplinary hearing. In the meantime, she’s off to General Hospital. She’s going to meet with Gregory’s sons for the reading of his will. Alexis says she’s glad he retained Diane, and Diane says, after she represented the plaintiffs suing his son? Even she was a little surprised. Alexis says, he knew she was just doing her job. And they both know the justice system works best when there’s capable attorneys on each side, and Diane is a capable attorney. Diane’s not as good as she is, but she’s a capable attorney. She’s really glad Gregory retained her. Diane says, Alexis is mentioned in this will. Does she want to attend?
Finn finds Elizabeth in the breakroom, and he tells her that Amy said she’d be in here. Is this okay? She sort of smiles, and he comes in, closing the door behind him. He says he wants to… He needs to apologize. He was wrong and she was right. He never should have spoken to her that way. He has no excuse. He was grieving his father, and he drank to numb the pain. Again, it’s not an excuse, but that’s what happened. But Chase got him through the worst part of it, and he’ll never drink again. He’s already been to one meeting this morning. He just wishes he had the words to explain how sorry he is to her. She thanks him for saying all of that. She knows he means it, and she’s glad he’s doing what he needs to take care of himself. But she hopes he understands that she wasn’t trying to take charge or tell him what to do. She was only thinking about Violet and how she just found out she’d lost her grandfather forever, and she needed to put Violet first. He says he understands, and she says, good. Because he didn’t seem to yesterday. (Um… didn’t he just explain all that?)
Brook says, it’s funny, she didn’t think this was a thing, but now that she and Chase are married, she feels different. Chase says, in what way? and she says, it’s kind of hard to explain. You know when you’ve been away for a while, and you finally come home and crash in your own bed? He says, oh yeah, and she says, it’s like that, but everything is better. Even the bed is better, and somehow, you love everything even more. It’s like your capacity to love has leveled up in a way you didn’t even know was possible. And here you are. Here we are. We’re home. We belong and we’ll always belong, because the person we belong with is always by our side. And it’s not like some huge, major revelation. It’s just like remembering something we always knew, but now we won’t forget. He says, because here we are, and she says, because here we are, and they kiss.
Trina asks Josslyn if Dex is okay. Is he going to press charges? How is she feeling? Josslyn says she’s pissed off. She’s been so angry with Sonny for so long, it’s like she’s permanently stuck like this. Trina says she hears Josslyn. So is Dex… Josslyn says she took him to the ER, and they had to wait there all night because he needed stitches. Trina says, Dex needed stitches? and Josslyn says, it could have been a lot worse had Jason not been there to pull Sonny off of him. Ava walks in and says, Josslyn more than anybody should know better than to spread gossip, but Josslyn says, it’s not gossip. She was there. Ava says, she saw Sonny hit Dex? and Josslyn says, no, but she saw Dex right after. Ava says, so she didn’t see anything, and yet… Josslyn says, and yet, Kristina saw everything, and she was very freaked out by it. Ava says, and how far along is Kristina? What they wouldn’t know is that, when you’re pregnant, sometimes the littlest thing can freak you out. (I don’t think total delusion is a symptom of pregnancy.) Josslyn says, this was not a little thing, and Ava says, what they do know by now is that, when men drink, they fight. And she’s sure this encounter between Dex and Sonny wouldn’t have escalated if Jason hadn’t insinuated himself… Trina says, this conversation isn’t going to get anywhere, so maybe they should just end it here. They have those apartments to go see. Josslyn says, Trina is so right, and she shouldn’t argue with Trina’s boss, who wasn’t actually at the reception – she can’t imagine why Ava wasn’t invited – and couldn’t possibly know what actually happened.
Alexis says she’s not going to go to the reading. She thinks that’s for Finn and Chase. Diane says she’s sure they’d welcome her, but Alexis says, besides, she has to pay a visit to a certain gallery owner. Diane says, give Ava hell, and Alexis says, anyway, she thinks she knows what Gregory would like her to do from his will. Diane says, Alexis can guess, but she can neither confirm nor deny until after the will is read, and Alexis says, he wants her to be literary executor and she’s proud and happy to do it. Diane laughs and says she had a feeling Alexis would be, and Alexis says she really wishes she could have gone to the wedding – they both tear up – and seen him in his proudest and finest moments. She just really never thought it would be his last.
Elizabeth says, Violet should be Finn’s first concern, but yesterday, he made it seem like Violet was something that belonged to him, that she shouldn’t take. Instead of a little girl who just lost her grandfather and probably needed reassurance. Not only has Elizabeth never seen that side of him before, she honestly didn’t think he was capable of it. He says, she’ll never see that side of him again, and he wants to thank her for looking out for his daughter. His phone dings and he says he’s sorry. Chase is here. She asks if Chase is okay, and Finn says, Diane Miller is coming by his office to read his father’s will.
Maxie says, there’s a subtle, but clear… Nina says, who does Ava think she is, telling her that she doesn’t have a life? She’s literally a trendsetter. Maxie says, the question is… Nina says, Ava hangs paintings on a wall.She dictates fashion. Maxie says, it’s more like how much space… Nina says, the woman doesn’t even have a place to live. She’s imposing on the father of her child, a man who will never ever love her. Maxie gets up and says, okay. Since they’re obviously never going to talk about the ads, which is the actual reason for this meeting… She opens the door and Nina asks what she’s doing. What was she saying? Maxie closes the door again and tells Nina that it’s too late for what she was saying. Nina really needs to get this out of her system. Who was the gentleman friend she mentioned to Ava? Nina says, Maxie knows, and Maxie says, yeah, but she was hoping she was wrong. Nina and Drew are still… whatever? Nina says, he’s no gentleman and he’s certainly not a friend, but they have a good thing going. Maxie says, he’s her boss, but Nina says, it doesn’t hurt business. Maxie says, and they don’t like each other? and Nina says, that definitely doesn’t hurt business. Maxie asks if the sex can really be that good.
Drew says, it’s a huge decision. It’s going to affect everybody he cares about. Willow says, but he wants to do it, right? He’s going to run for McConkey’s seat. He says he didn’t even take it seriously at first. He thought McConkey was kidding when he brought it up, but the more he thinks about it, he sees the upside. Willow seems to think it’s a good idea. She says, no. She thinks it’s a great idea. He says, but it’s crazy, right? It’s nuts. Would he even have a shot? She says, absolutely. The government needs people like him. He says, really? People with no previous government experience? Because that typically doesn’t work out very good. She says, it does when those people are unselfish and open-minded.When they get involved to try and make life better for people. He says, those people typically stay out of politics, and she says, that’s exactly why we need more of them in politics. And if he doesn’t mind her saying so, she thinks it would do him good. He says, how so? and she says, he was in a very dark place for a while. She knows he’s made it out the other side, but that darkness stays with him. He says, and she thinks him running for public office is going to cure whatever’s ailing him, and she says she thinks being in office, making a difference, won’t cure it, but it will help. It’s why she loved being a schoolteacher and why she’s going to love being a spokesperson for the New Tomorrow Institute. Raising awareness for the need for bone marrow donors will make a difference. It will help make people’s lives better, or it will help them live at all. And she’ll get to make that happen because he offered her the chance to. He says he’s very glad he did, and she says she promises she won’t say a word to anyone else about him possibly running for congress, but she really hopes he’ll do it.
Finn meets Chase outside his office, and they hug. They go inside, and Finn asks how Chase is this morning. Chase says he’s okay, all things considered. How is Finn? Finn says he didn’t sleep much. He ended up sitting in dad’s room half the night. He guesses trying to feel close to him. He didn’t drink again. In fact, he went to an AA meeting this morning. Chase says, good. He’s glad Finn is doing what he’s got to do. Just so Finn knows, Chase isn’t checking up on him. Finn says, why not? and Chase says, because he trusts Finn to take care of himself and Violet.
Alexis walks into the gallery, and Ava says, good morning. Is she shopping for herself or somebody else? Alexis says, no. She just got back from Albany. She met an old friend of Ava’s. Ava asks, how? She doesn’t know anybody in Albany. Alexis says, sure she does. Fergus Byrne. Ava thinks a moment and says, any relation to those other two Byrnes whose lives Alexis destroyed? Alexis says, actually, it was Harmony Miller who destroyed their lives, but yes. He’s their brother. Of course (🍷) Ava already knows that because she hired him to get Alexis disbarred. Ava says she remembers him now. How’s he doing? She imagines he’s having a very, very good day. Alexis says, what she’s really curious about is why Ava chose to be anonymous. She would think Ava would be thrilled at the thought of Alexis knowing she was responsible for the implosion of her career and her life. Ava says, no. Alexis is responsible for that, but she was more than happy to help. Will that be all?
Diane reads, I, Gregory Chase, being of sound mind and unsound body, etcetera, etcetera. Just so they know, in addition to the regular legalese, he actual wrote out etcetera, etcetera. The first order of business I suppose is to name my executor, and that would be my son, Harrison Chase. Chase says, wait. What? Diane says, he’s responsible for seeing his father’s wishes are followed, and Finn nods at Chase. Chase asks, what are his wishes? and Diane says, brief and clear. Just take a breath. Don’t worry. If he needs any advice, she’s always here to help. He thanks her and says he’ll take her up on that. She continues, while Harrison will be the executor of my estate, I also name Alexis Davis as my literary executor. As for my rather modest estate, it is to be divided equally between my two sons, Harrison and Hamilton, with the exception of my library, which I leave to my brilliant, imaginative granddaughter Violet, to enjoy when she is ready. Chase says, she’s going to love that, and Finn agrees. Diane reads, finally, I request that my body be cremated. Rather than a church ceremony and a burial, I want an open-air memorial with my family and closest friends gatheredto witness the scattering of my ashes near my favorite tree in the park. Violet knows which one. Chase gets up as Diane continues, I want my family to focus on life, not death; the sky and the world around you, not a hole in the ground. In setting my body and spirit free in the air, I can happily return to the earth which has been so generous to me. Finn says, that’s what dad wanted, and Chase says, that’s what we’ll do.
Nina says she’s not talking about sex. That’s really not part of it anymore. Maxie says, oh no. Is Nina developing feelings for Drew? Nina says, what? God. No. Maxie tells her, you know what they say about protesting too much? She’s the literal illustration right now. Nina says, no. It’s just that somehow the frenemies with benefits really did have benefits. Because of Drew, she’s back on speaking terms with Willow. Maxie says, okay. What’s he getting out of it? Nina looks at her, and Maxie says, what else is he getting out of it? Nina says she got Drew a meeting with Congressman McConkey on this big urban renewal project Aurora is working on with the city. They’re actually like business partners sort of. Maxie says she still has to ask. What is Nina going to do if temptation arises again? Nina says, don’t worry. For her, Drew Cain is the opposite of irresistible. Maxie says, if that were the case, why does Nina not keep resisting him?
Alexis asks why Ava would go out of her way to destroy her career, and Ava says, it wasn’t out of her way at all. And as to why, Alexis knew Ava’s brother loved her very much and she used that against him over and over again, leading him on, drawing him in, only to cast him aside. It didn’t matter that he saved Alexis’s life, more than once. Or that he dragged her out after she ran him over with her car while out on a bender. Alexis says, actually, she was on a bender after being manipulated by Julian to defend Carlos Rivera, who he then murdered. Which Ava’s bestie, Fergus, described in glorious detail to the court. Ava says she wishes she could have seen that. So Alexis is still blaming Julian for all her failings. Alexis says, no. She’s blaming Ava for getting her disbarred. Ava says she sees. So here Alexis is, standing in her gallery, blaming her, even though Alexis committed perjury. Did Ava call the bar with her statement? Yeah. Did she tell them Alexis committed perjury? Yeah, which Alexis did. So don’t blame her. Blame herself.
Drew says, the more he thinks about the idea of public service, the more he likes it, but the campaign could get nasty. He was in prison not too long ago for insider trading. Willow says, which he owned up to. And now he’s seen firsthand what prisons are like, so he can campaign on reform. He’s paid his debt to society, which appeals to those who value accountability. He’s an ex-Navy SEAL, which appeals to the military minded. He’s already shown a commitment to the public good, which appeals to McConkey’s base. He says, wow. Will she be his campaign manager? She says she’s a little busy, and he says, really? She’s fired. They laugh, and she says she loves the sound of that – Congressman Cain. He tells her, McConkey had something to say about that too, and thanks her. This is way more than he could have hoped for. She says, he can thank her by agreeing to run.
Elizabeth knocks at Finn’s office door and says she thought he’d still be here, even though he’s not working today. He says he figured since he was here anyway, he’d catch up on some paperwork. Maybe it would keep his mind off… things. She asks if it’s working, and he says, nah. What’s she got there? Dropping off x-rays? Isn’t that beneath the head nurse’s paygrade? She says she’s never too busy to help the people she loves, and he thanks her for that. She asks how the reading of his dad’s will went, and Finn says, he left all his books to Violet. She says, sounds like him, and he says, instead of a funeral, he wants his ashes scattered in an open-air memorial. She says, that sounds beautiful. And if he doesn’t mind her asking… He says, ask him anything, and she says, when’s his next meeting? He says, in about an hour, and she asks if he wants her to pick up Violet from school. Is she even at school? He says, yeah. He didn’t want to disrupt her schedule and she insisted that’s what her grandpa would want. She’s probably right. Elizabeth says, consider it done, and he thanks her. He’s sure Violet will love that. She says she should get back to work, and he says, him too, and she leaves.
Brook asks, how’d the reading go? and Chase says, good. His dad made him executor. She says, what an honor, and he says he always thought it would go to Finn, since he’s the oldest, but it’s almost like his dad knew Finn would be struggling and shouldn’t be burdened. She says, or maybe his dad just thought he could be trusted to take care of things, and he says he guesses that’s a possibility, and she asks how he’s feeling with everything. He says, better. He’s glad that he has one more thing that he can do for his dad. Now he just has to not let him down, or anybody. She tells him to stop putting so much pressure on himself, and he says, not only does he have to carry out his father’s wishes, but he has to worry about Finn and Violet after they get done with this. Brook says, it’s so awful that he doesn’t have anybody by his side to help him through all this… Oh, wait. He says, there you are, and she says, here I am. Don’t you forget it. She kisses him.
Ava asks if Alexis even saw the affidavit she signed, and Alexis says, yes. Ava says, was there even anything in there that wasn’t true? and Alexis says, nope. Ava says, then what in God’s name is she objecting to? Alexis says she’s objecting to Ava’s cruelty. Ava has only two ways of dealing with adversity. Just two. She either deflects blame or she inflicts harm. Ava says, her brother would be alive today if he hadn’t been on the receiving end of what Alexis calls love. She’s got nothing to apologize for. Alexis says, she means nothing she’s been caught and prosecuted for… yet. Which makes her miss being able to practice law that much more. But license or not, Ava is going to regret making that complaint. Alexis walks out.
Tomorrow, Drew asks, what makes Willow think he can do this; Blaze says she owes someone an apology; Spinelli tells Maxie that he respectfully and regretfully declines; and Sam says she believes Kristina will do the right thing, even at a cost to Sonny.
I love the recaps from this site. I didn’t so much love the elimination challenge where food wasn’t just plated at the table. It was plated on the table. To each his own, but I don’t want to eat off the table.
I have a friend whose sister went into Tiffany’s because she was meeting someone who worked there for dinner. The clerk asked if she could help her, and when she said, no, the clerk said – wait for it – I didn’t think so. Like rich people always dress rich. We’ve seen some of their outfits.
Join me tomorrow for soap and Summer House smack talk or possible apathy. Until then, stay safe, stay not going into a phone vortex when at dinner, and stay forgetting about excuses, because nothing really excuses anything. There’s just explanation and forgiveness.
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
General Hospital
Carly goes into Jack’s hospital room, and he says, another visit. She says she had to come. She heard he stabbed himself for her.
At a table in a diner in Albany, Alexis reads a book while she has a salad and iced tea. Fergus approaches and says, dining alone, but she just looks at him.
Brook asks how Chase is doing, and Chase says he can’t believe his dad is really gone. He keeps looking at the present he got them, thinking, he was just holding this. She says, such a sweet and thoughtful gift. Unexpected, but perfect. Typical of his dad. He says he feels like he should be doing something, but all he wants to do is sit here right now. She says she’s going to make herself useful and start unpacking their suitcases, and he says, this is so surreal. They’re supposed to be on their honeymoon right now. She says she knows, when there’s a knock at the door. He asks if she’s expecting anyone, but she says, no. He says, somebody probably found out about his dad. He’s not sure he can handle any more sympathy right now. She tells him, don’t worry. She’ll get rid of whoever it is. She opens the door and Tracy is there. Brook looks at Chase.
Sam knocks at Spinelli’s door and he says, fair Samantha, come on in. Welcome to his humble workspace. He tries to straighten up and says, you can never have too many external hard drives. She tells him, that’s what she always says, and he tells her that he’s been thinking about what they discussed at the wedding. So much is going on, and of course (🍷) naturally, he was deeply troubled by that revelation that Jason was coerced into working for the FBI. So upon further reflection, he feels he has to reemphasize that tangling with the Federal Bureau of Investigation is highly ill-advised. She asks what he means. Why? Is he saying he doesn’t want to help her anymore?
Anna goes to Jason’s room above Bobbie’s, and he says, it’s late. Did something happen? She says, you tell me. He doesn’t have any bruises, huh? He asks why he would, and she says, last night, he got in the middle of Sonny attacking Dex.
Alexis says, obviously she’s dining alone, by choice. So feel free to move on. Her salad is getting cold. He smiles and sits down. He says, what are the odds of both of them choosing the same diner? and she says she thinks he’s following her. Go away. He reaches for a menu and says he hasn’t even ordered yet. How’s the food? She asks if she’s going to have to report him to his own disciplinary committee for harassment, and he says he’ll leave her to her salad and her novel momentarily, but first, he’s curious. Why now? She asks if that’s a metaphysical question, and he says, she was disbarred years ago, yet she wasn’t even interested enough to show up in person to hear the verdict. Yet here she is, on a pilgrimage to Albany where the fate of her law career hangs in the balance. So he’ll repeat the question. Why appeal now?
Tracy hugs Chase and says she’s so sorry to hear about his father. He was a wonderful man. She will cherish him always. Chase thanks her and says he knows his father really enjoyed her friendship too. Brook says, they appreciate her coming by, but… Tracy holds up her hand and says she brought them something. This is in lieu of a casserole, which she couldn’t make anyway. She brought them this. She hands Brook a cloth bag and Brook removes a bottle of wine and says, Morello. This isn’t easy to find here. Tracy says, the two of them should really be on their honeymoon, strolling arm in arm through a piazza in the moonlight. Since that isn’t possible, she thought she’d bring a taste of Italy to them. Brook thanks her, and Chase says, it’s very generous. Thank you for everything. Brook says she’s going to go open one of these up, and goes to the kitchen. Chase says he’s glad to have a chance to thank Tracy for being such a good friend to his dad at a time when he needed one, and she says, that’s very kind, but she would prefer to skip the platitudes if he doesn’t mind.
Spinelli tells Sam that he hasn’t changed his mind per se. if Jason had asked him directly, he’d gladly do anything he could, but going behind his back is just wrong. Sam says, he doesn’t know how much Jason trusts him. She thinks the only reason Jason hasn’t contacted him is because Jason doesn’t want to drag him into this. He says, it’s very Jasonlike for him to handle everything on his own. Still, it’s impossible for him to believe Jason has been acting as an FBI informant. She says she knows, which means they must have something on him, something huge, and Spinelli wonders what kind of circumstances could force Jason to be an FBI informant. She says she doesn’t know, but that’s what they need to figure out.
Anna tells Jason that Dex came to her office earlier. Interesting conversation. He said that Sonny attacked him, Jason intervened, and Kristina witnessed it. Obviously, she was traumatized by it. Why wouldn’t she be? It’s a hell of a thing to see your father do. He asks if Dex is pressing charges, and she says, no. He decided he didn’t want to do that to Kristina. Jason thanks her, but she says, don’t thank her. It was Dex. He made the call. Jason asks if she agrees with him, and she says, yeah, she does. If they could get a conviction, Sonny would serve two years max. Better to wait to bring Sonny to justice. They need a charge that carries a longer sentence. Jason asks, so why is she here? and she says she heard Dex’s version of events. Now she needs to hear his.
Jack says he would have sent Carly flowers, but his options were somewhat limited in prison. She says, and a self-inflicted wound was the next best thing, huh? and he says he knew she’d get him. She says, let her see the scar, and he laughs. He says, unfortunately, his wound is bandaged so the scar will have to remain a mystery for now, but if it makes her feel any better, it’s pretty epic. She says she looks forward to seeing it at another time. So is he going to tell her what really happened? He says, some thug jumped him in the shower, waited until he was vulnerable, and then he made his move. She says she’s not buying it, and he asks, why not? She asks if he isn’t a spy, and he says, that’s not the job title on his business cards, but he supposes that’s an accurate description of his skills. She says, exactly, and with his experience, he would never let himself be that vulnerable, and she bets he could outpower most of the prisoners at Pentenville. He says, maybe he did just want to see her, and she says she does understand that. She is good company. He laughs, and she says, but she doesn’t believe he’d leave a liter of his blood on the shower floor for a chance meeting with her. So what’s really going on?
Chase tells Tracy, it’s not a platitude; it’s the truth. She says she’s sorry. That came out all wrong. You’d think with all the people she’s lost in her life, she’d be able to do this better, but it just never gets easier. She’s sorry for offending him. He says, it’s fine. He didn’t mean to snap at her. It turns out he’s not very good at this grief stuff. She says, if it had been up to her, she and his father never would have been friends. She doesn’t know if he’s noticed, but she has acquaintances, but very few friends. That’s because she finds most people annoying, but not his father. Caring about him as much as she did sort of… It snuck up on her. Chase says, he does… He did that to people. She says, he was warm and engaging and never self-pitying, even when his illness gave him every right to be angry and feel sorry for himself. It was one of the most impressive things about him. He faced the end of his life with great dignity and courage. Chase should be very proud of him. Chase says he is. He is so proud. That’s why it’s killing him that he… She says, that he what? but he says, it doesn’t matter. She says, if it’s one thing she’s learned from her husband Luke’s death, it’s that regrets only bring you more pain, and she doesn’t think his father would want that for him. So if in fact there is something that’s bothering him, he needs to let it go. He says he can’t, and she says, why not? Holding back tears, he says, because it’s all his fault. His dad pushed himself so hard because he asked him to officiate his wedding. He wanted his dad so bad up there at that altar, he didn’t even think about what it would do to his body. That wedding was too much for his dad, and that is why… She says, do not do this to himself.
Alexis says, clearly, Fergus thinks there’s some big secret here, but there’s really nothing nefarious about this. It just took her a long time to realize what a huge miscarriage of justice her disbarment was. Fergus says he doesn’t buy that for a second, and she says, it’s a good thing his opinion doesn’t matter then. He says he thinks she’s been playing the long game, biding her time until she thinks everybody forgot about what she did, so she could sneak back in the side door and plead procedural violations to get her law license reinstated with minimal pushback. She says she can’t believe how well he knows her. He’s right. This was all part of her master plan, because now she has the legal system just where she wants it. He tells her to stop painting herself as some sort of helpless victim. She clearly isn’t helpless. She has an excellent command of the law. And she’s nobody’s victim. She essentially did this to herself. She says, with a lot of help from him. And on that note, she has a question for him. What’s the real reason he made it his mission to keep her from practicing law? He says, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, and she says, is it? She says, because he went out of his way to track Ava down and get Ava to sign that affidavit against her.
Jack says, it’s very complicated, but Carly wouldn’t understand. Carly says, maybe if he talks real slow and she can try to sound out the big words, she might be able to keep up. He says he’s offended her, and that wasn’t his intention, but she says she’s not offended. She doesn’t like being lied to. He says his reticence has nothing to do with her intelligence. He thinks she’s extremely smart, but as she said, he’s a spy and these are spy games. All that entails is everyone plays fast and loose with the truth, and everyone has a double or triple motive. It is, to quote a master of their craft, the wilderness of mirrors. Nothing is as it appears to be. She says, so he’s not really guilty? Is that where he’s going with all of this? He says he’s in prison because he’s accused of being the head of Pikeman, but he hasn’t been tried yet for his alleged crimes because they’re afraid of what would come out in the courtroom. So there he sits. She says, everyone is entitled to due process, but he’s not exactly innocent, and he says, not by a long shot. But neither are any of the people he’s playing against. And that includes Anna Devane.
Jason tells Anna that he didn’t see the fight start. When he got there, Sonny was kicking Dex and he just pulled Sonny off. Anna asks, how did he even know the fight was happening? and he says he could see that Sonny wasn’t happy Dex was at the reception and he just had a bad feeling. She says, rightly so, and he says, then when Sonny followed Dex out, he went after them just in case. She says, and he found Sonny attacking Dex. Anything else? He walks away, and she says, Dex has already decided that he’s not going to press charges. This isn’t an interrogation. It’s informational for her. She’s trying to understand what the hell is going on with Sonny. He asks if it’s off the record, and she says, yeah. He says, maybe Sonny lost it. He threatened to kill him and Dex. She asks what exactly he said, and Jason says he’s sure Dex told her. She says she needs to hear it from him, and he tells her that Sonny said something about emptying a gun in both of their heads. She says she doesn’t understand how Sonny would allow something like this to happen in a public place where anyone could witness it. She was 200 feet away. Not to mention the bride and groom and the bride’s extended family, who for all intents and purposes seem to think that Sonny walks on water. They certainly wouldn’t if they saw that though. He says, no, they wouldn’t, and she asks if he thinks Sonny would try to have him and Dex killed.
Tracy says, officiating Chase’s wedding was the honor of his father’s life. He saw Gregory at the reception. He was fully present and over the moon watching Chase and Brook. Chase says, she saw what happened to him during the vows. What if that was too much for him? She says, what if it was exactly the opposite? His father was struggling recently, but he was determined to see Chase and Brook married. Officiating Chase’s wedding was the thing that was keeping him going. It’s what kept him alive. Chase says he never thought about it like that, and she says, sometimes we get too close to a situation to really see it clearly. Chase trusted him to officiate. He didn’t infantilize him. He made sure Gregory had his dignity to the end of his life. Do not punish himself for his father’s death. It was sad and unfair, but sometimes, that’s just the way life is, and it’s nobody’s fault, least of all Chase’s. She’s going to say something else. She never heard his father brag, except when he talked about Chase and Finn. He was so proud of them. He loved to talk about them. He never stopped talking about them. In fact, it was his only truly annoying quality. Chase laughs and says he thinks it’s the first time he’s laughed since he got the news. She says she’s glad she could amuse him, and Brook comes back with two glasses of wine. She says, care to let her in on the joke? but Tracy says, she had to be there. Brook hands her a glass and says, there you go, but Tracy says, actually, she can’t stay. But they should enjoy this, and don’t bother to show her out. This place is the size of a postage stamp. She leaves, and Brook says, don’t listen to her grandmother. It’s just who she is. She calls them as she sees them.
Sam says she wouldn’t be involving Spinelli if she thought she could do this alone, but there’s no way she could hack into the FBI’s system by herself. Spinelli says, finding evidence like that is next to impossible.And Jason is far too important of an asset. Whatever they have against him, the FBI will be protecting with their strictest of security protocols. She says she knows she’s asking a lot, maybe too much, but she would never be asking for his help if it were just for her or for Jason. But please, do it for Danny. He’s just a kid and he’s been through so much already. He adores his father, and he just came back. And she doesn’t know what Danny would do if he lost Jason again.
Jason says, there was a time he would have told Anna that Sonny would never think about targeting him, and she says, because they were so close. He says, because it would be the wrong call. Something happens to him, something definitely happens to Dex, Sonny’s the first suspect. He’s got to know the PCPD and the FBI will do whatever it takes to put him away for life. She says, of course (🍷), and he says, the Sonny he knew was smart. He was cool headed. There were lines he would not cross. He’s hoping that’s still the case. She says, but he can’t be certain anymore.
Jack tells Carly that he and Anna go way back. They came up in the WSB together. They worked side by side in too many ops to count. Which may be why Anna suspects him of all kinds of nefarious things, a few of which he’s actually done. No one is innocent in their world. This is how it works with espionage. It’s hard enough to navigate that twisted universe when you’ve been trained for it, and Carly clearly hasn’t been. She asks what that’s supposed to mean, and he says, if she was a spy, she never would have made the mistake of visiting him at Pentenville. She says, here she thought he enjoyed that visit, and he says he did, which is why it pains him to say this, because he worries this will be the last time she comes to see him. But she has no idea what she gave him that time. She says, okay, and sits next to the bed. He’s a spy, former head of the WSB. She assumes even in prison he has a way of keeping himself in the loop. What could she have possibly told him that he didn’t already know? He says, allow him to give her a first lesson in espionage. A good spy… never… tells…
Brook tells Chase, leave it to her grandmother. She really knows her stuff about wine. This is exactly what she needed tonight. He says, him too, and takes a sip. He puts the glass down, and she asks if there was something wrong with that sip, but he says, no. He’s actually really enjoying it. It’s just crazy how fast everything can change. One minute, they’re about to go enjoy their honeymoon, and the next, he’s getting the worst news of his life. It’s like he has whiplash. Does that make sense? She says, it does. He’s grieving an incredible loss. He says he knows how much pain he’s in and it must be even worse for Finn. Dad is the last parent Finn had left, so how can he blame Finn for drinking when he’s doing it too? She says, their situations are very different though. Chase doesn’t have a problem with alcohol; Finn’s in recovery. Alcohol is dangerous for Finn in a way it just isn’t for Chase. Chase says, she’s right. He talked to Finn when she took Violet on a walk. He said he’s aware that the broke his sobriety and what that means. Finn told him to pour out the rest of the bourbon and promised he would never have another drink. He’s not saying it’s not a big deal Finn had a drink, because he’s been sober for so long, but Finn is the one who found dad. Every time he thinks about what that must have been like, he… He doesn’t want to add to how much Finn is already beating himself up. If he’s as supportive as possible, he knows he can get Finn through this without another drink. She says, okay. That’s what he’s going to do, and she’ll be right by his side supporting him through it. He thanks her.
Spinelli tells Sam, hacking the FBI is a federal crime which could land them both in prison for life. Is she willing to compromise her freedom over this? She says she would never risk being separated from her family if she didn’t believe it was absolutely necessary for both Danny and Jason. There’s a knock at the door, and Maxie says, knock, knock. She walks in and apologizes for being late. James was refusing to eat his broccoli… She sees Sam and says, hi. Sam says, hi, and Maxie says, it was so great seeing them at Brook’s wedding. Dante was really getting his groove on. After everything he’s been through, it’s nice to see him doing so well. Sam says she knows. He’s basically back to his old self again. The doctors are amazed at how quick his recovery has been. Maxie says she really loves that, and Sam says, her too. She’s got to get going, but why don’t the four of them have dinner sometime, on her? Maxie says, that sounds great. Right, Spinelli? Spinelli says, her offer is most delightful, and Sam says she’ll call Maxie and they’ll schedule something. She asks Spinelli to think about what she said. She’ll be in touch. She tells them, goodbye, and leaves. Maxie says, that was cryptic. She’s guessing she interrupted something? What is it that Sam wants him to think about?
Fergus says, Ava contacted the panel and offered to sign an affidavit that Alexis perjured herself. Alexis asks if he ever thought of checking into Ava’s past when he decided to take her on as an unimpeachable witness. The woman is quite literally a murderer. Fergus says, it doesn’t make her allegations any less true, and Alexis says, how about the fact Ava had a personal vendetta against her? He says, Ava did mention the fact that Alexis essentially destroyed her brother’s life, strikingly similar to the way Alexis destroyed both of his brothers’ lives. She says, does he know what she finds interesting? Neil never once mentioned Fergus to her. That’s weird. They were very close. That’s not normal that Neil didn’t tell her that he had a brother. So why does he think that is? He says he and his brothers had issues. Emotions were running high after their father’s death, and they argued over his estate. Angry words were exchanged, feelings were hurt. He didn’t speak to either of them for a decade. She says, so much for brotherly love, and he says he deeply regrets they weren’t able to solve their differences before they passed. But how was he to know that within the span of a few years, they’d both be gone? And all because of her. At least he was able to console himself with the knowledge that she’ll never be allowed to practice law again, and he intends to do everything in his power to make sure she never is. (I’m starting to think, one, he’s not too bright, and two, he has the EQ of a 14-year-old.)
Alexis says, going after her isn’t going to make up for Fergus abandoning his brothers, alienating them, or the decades of time he wasted that he’s not going to get back. He says he was actually hoping that she’d be able to take some responsibility for her actions, but clearly, that’s not the case. He gets up and says, yet another reason she’s probably not fit to practice law. He’s just upholding the ethics and standards of his profession. Despite what she thinks, it’s not personal. She says, if he was under oath right now, he would have just committed perjury, and he says, actually, she’s the perjurer (no, you), and he’s the one with the law license. He tells her to enjoy her salad and leaves. (Seriously, she should call the Court of Appeals and tell them that he’s harassing her.)
Chase tells Brook that when he first heard about his dad’s ALS diagnosis, he did a lot of research. He knows that it’s always fatal. Intellectually, he knew eventually it would take his dad’s life, but his dad’s so strong. His dad was Superman to him. Now that he’s gone, he realizes there was a tiny part of him that actually thought he’d beat it. Beat a fatal disease, how insane is that? Brook says, it’s not. It makes sense. He says he just wasn’t prepared for how much this would hurt. He’s called him, or tried to call him, at least four times today. (Been there. Still almost do it sometimes.) He just can’t believe he’s never going to talk to his dad again. She says she just wishes there was something she could do to make this a tiny bit easier for him, and he takes her hand and says, just her being here makes all the difference. He thinks his dad knew that. She asks what he means, and he says, her grandmother made him realize what it meant to his dad to see them getting ready to spend their lives together. And he thinks his dad felt it was okay to go after the wedding. His dad knew he wouldn’t be alone. His dad knew he’d have her. She says, always, and kisses him.
Spinelli says, Sam thinks this is the only way Jason can regain control over his life, and Maxie says, by him hacking into the FBI. He says he knows how it sounds. In light of their renewed closeness and their daughter, he thought she should know what’s going on. She says, but he hasn’t told Sam yet whether he’ll do it or not, and he tells her, at the wedding, he said he was going to do it, but just now he was telling her that he had second thoughts. She had some very persuasive and heart-tugging arguments, so Maxie’s entrance was incredibly well-timed. Now it gives him some breathing room to think it over. Maxie says, okay. First, she thinks it’s insane what the FBI is doing to Jason, and of course (🍷) she wants Spinelli to help him get out from underneath their thumb. And she really does get where Sam is coming from as far as Danny is concerned. She’s just trying to protect her son. But isn’t hacking the FBI a felony? He says, a federal crime of the most punishable nature. They could lock him up and throw away the key if he gets caught. She says, yeah, that’s what she thought. So him doing this could put him at risk, and in turn, his family. He says, that’s why if she doesn’t want him to do it, he’ll just turn Sam down.
Jason tells Anna that he had a hold on Sonny and he told Dex to go. Sonny was just yelling threats and then they heard some plates drop and they turned, and they saw Kristina. Kristina was in shock. She was staring at Sonny, and then she took off. He told Dex to go again because he still had Sonny. He was still not rational, but he was no longer completely out of control. He let Sonny go and Sonny went after Kristina, and he called Carly. Anna says, to talk Sonny down, and he says, she’d be the only one to get through to him. Anna says, Carly to the rescue again, and he asks what that means. Who else did Carly rescue?
Carly says she doesn’t care what information she gave Jack in Pentenville. She doesn’t care about the crimes Anna suspects him of. She doesn’t care that he stabbed himself – Jack and I laugh – because she knows he’s going to be fine. The only thing she cares about is that her friend, her best friend Jason, stays safe. Jack says he never met the man, but he must be a great guy if he can inspire her to be this loyal to him. She says, he deserves peace now that he’s home, and Jacks says, ah, yes, peace. He remembers what that’s like. It’s been a while though. She says she’s just asking, whatever is going on, keep Jason out of it. He says, given the respect he has for her intelligence, he won’t go through the motions of assuring her that he’ll never harm her friend when he’d probably kill him if he had to. But cheer up. What are the odds that he’ll even run into her Mr. Morgan? After this little vacation, he’ll be whisked back to Pentenville and locked away in a cell again. She says she’s glad to hear it. She should go. Get some rest. Maybe she’ll come back and see him before he heads back to prison. He says, she shouldn’t. She should stay far away from him.
Maxie says, would Spinelli do this? and he says, despite a plethora of misgivings? He would. She says, okay. She thinks he should help them. He’s the only person with the skillset who could actually pull this off. She has one requirement. He says, anything, Maximista, and she says, don’t get caught. He says he wasn’t planning on it, and she says she means it. He can’t get caught. He has to promise her that he’s going to be careful, and if it seems like the FBI is even a little bit onto him, he abandons ship. Because no one, especially Jason, wants him to sacrifice himself for them. He says he’ll be cautious and untraceable. She says, he better be, because she and the kids really need him. He says, they do? and she says, they asked about him around four times today. James even said Spinelli wouldn’t have made him eat his broccoli. Spinelli says, that little scamp, and they say together, he’s right. She says, everybody really misses him living with them. Does he think maybe he can come over tomorrow night? He says, just try and stop him.
Anna tells Jason, Brennan was stabbed at Pentenville. He’s currently undergoing treatment at GH, and the stab wound was serious enough, he lost a lot of blood. He’s going to be fine. Jason says, the timing seems a little suspicious, doesn’t she think? and she says, the placement of the wound makes her believe that the injury was self-inflicted. Get out of jail free card. Because he knows that at GH he’s going to have a much easier time communicating with whoever it is who’s running Pikeman for him. Jason asks what any of this has to do with Carly, and Anna says, initially, Brennan insisted he had been stabbed in the shower by another prisoner when his guard was down, but she knows this man. His guard is never down. And he could tell she wasn’t buying his explanation, so he changed his story and said that actually, he had stabbed himself in order to see Carly again. Jason asks if that’s possible, and she says, it’s not impossible. He does seem to be genuinely taken with her. But they both know Brennan is up to something and he might be using Carly as a cover.
Jack asks if people never told Carly that he’s a bad, bad man that she should avoid at all costs, and she says she doesn’t listen to people. She makes up her own mind. He says, beautiful… and smart, and she walks out.
Brook says she’s never meant anything more than the vows she said to Chase, and he says, him either. He’s so glad his dad was there to hear them. She says, her too, and the phone rings. It sounds like a regular old kind of landline, and she asks if he changed his ringtone, but he says, no. He thinks it’s his dad’s phone. He took it from Finn’s place. He finds the phone and says, it’s Alexis. Brook says, she must not know yet, and Chase says, his dad mentioned she was going out of town. She says, he should answer it before it goes to voicemail, and he tells Alexis, this is Chase. She says, hi. Can she talk to Gregory please? He says he’s sorry to do this over the phone, but there’s something he has to tell her. She listens, then draws in a sharp breath. Obviously distressed, she says she’s so sorry. Will he tell her if there’s anything she can do and give her any details about the service?… Take care…take care of yourself. She sits at the table, not knowing what to do. She flips Gregory’s medal in her hands, then clutches it to her chest.
Tomorrow, Brook tells Chase, there’s no stopping it; Elizabeth says she honestly didn’t think Finn was capable of it; and Drew tells Willow not to tell a problem to the rest of the Quartermaines.
Vanderpump Rules – Reunion Part 3
When we last left James and Sandoval were telling each other, eat a d*ck. Andy says, Brock seemed surprised at how triggered Ariana was at the water tasting, and we flash back to that. Scheana says it was hard to see how much pain Ariana was in, and Andy asks if Ariana thinks she can be in a room with Sandoval and be civil, but Ariana says, not at this point. Andy says, James thinks she should release her anger, and Lala says, harboring resentment against your ex is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. What does she say to the people who think she should move on? She says, now it’s March 2024 and the season was last summer. The only way past it is through it, and if it’s a year from now, yeah. She knows the comments come from a place of concern and care, but the only way for her to process was to let herself feel it. Last summer was difficult and she felt like she was being pushed to be further along than she was ready to be. Andy says, in happier news, let’s talk about Jax, and asks who’s still hanging out with him. Lala and Ariana both says they hang out with Brittany, and the Toms says they’re still in contact with Jax. Andy says, Schwartz brokered peace between Jax and Sandoval, and asks where their relationship is. Sandoval says, nothing below the waist, which is actually funny, but Ariana looks disgusted. We see a clip from when Jax confronted Sandoval in the restaurant, and Sandoval says he was annoyed. Every time he sees Jax, he gives him positive comments, now Jax has all these theories about him. He hasn’t seen Jax in three years, yet Jax has the inside scoop. Ariana tells Katie that it’s like Schwartz telling her who she is. Andy asks Katie about the rumors Jax was cheating, and she says she would see random stuff online. Scheana says, they discussed it within the group, but Brittany knows Jax’s passwords and goes through his phone. Katie says, she’s not going to find what he’s doing in a text, and Brock says, dipping in and dipping out. Lala says, Katie broke the news to her with what she found online. She’s closer to Brittany than Katie is, and from her experience, if you’re not f***ing him, someone else is. Andy says he assumes the separation had something to do with the cheating, but Schwartz says he doesn’t think so. Lala says, Brittany acted so out of pocket the day of her gender reveal, and we see a clip of them cutting a cake which turns out to be pink. Lala says, Brittany calls babysitters nannies when they’re two different things. She reached out to Lala’s mom and claimed they stole her nanny. (Apparently, the babysitter was in the clip.) Don’t text her mom the day she finds out she’s having a girl and yell that they hired her nanny without permission when she’s in Kentucky with Cruz. Brittany told Lala that Jax was yelling at her, and Lala told her to have Jax call and she’ll rip him a new one. Andy says, they share babysitters all the time, and Lala says she didn’t need her mom being questioned by Kentucky muffin.
Andy says, Sandoval and Scheana have been through a lot, and asks if he unblocked her and Summer Moon. Sandoval says he didn’t block Summer Moon. He blocked Scheana and any accounts associated with her. He didn’t know it would block her whole family.😐Brock says he’s still blocked, and Andy says, Brock claimed that Sandoval had been a better friend to Scheana than Ariana. Brock says he thinks Scheana fought with all of the women from the beginning, and we flash back to them all treating Scheana like sh*t. Brock says, Sandoval was the one person who consistently had her back. She was struggling with 15 and 10 year friendships, and got torn apart online by people not in this room. Ariana says, they all get torn apart online. Lesson learned; stay out of the comments section. Scheana says she felt distance from Ariana even before the season started. Ariana admits to isolating, and Scheana says she knows it’s not just her. Andy says, Ariana told him that she’d seen the things Scheana said on Watch What Happens Live, and we see a clip of Ariana saying she loves Scheana, but true but some of the things she said were hurtful. Ariana says, Scheana claimed Sandoval would be sadder about losing her as a friend, but Scheana says, Ariana is watching clips on TikTok, when there were longer conversations she didn’t see. Andy asks if Scheana dealt with feelings of jealousy about Ariana’s level of opportunities, but Scheana says she doesn’t think it’s jealousy; it’s feeling left out. She needs a feeling if validation, not just from men, but from her friends. She didn’t want Ariana to forget about her. Aww. That’s kind of sad. Andy asks how their relationship is now, and Scheana says she thinks it’s good. Ariana says, Scheana will never not be family. Andy says, Sandoval apologized to Katie about talking smack about her, and asks how much Katie thinks it contributed to the divorce. Sandoval insists it didn’t, but Katie says, when someone speaks negatively about you to your spouse over years and years, how could it not? We flash back to that and it’s disgusting. It’s one of the reasons I never liked Sandoval in the first place. He had no business talking to Schwartz about Katie or his marriage. She says she thinks it contributed to Schwartz’s opinion of her, and Schwartz claims it didn’t, but I don’t believe him. Katie says, Sandoval doesn’t like her, but Sandoval says he feels the relationship went south when he and Scwartz went into business together. He knew it was a bad idea for her to get involved with Schwartz & Sandy’s. She says, it went south because he didn’t like her. A-greed. Sandoval says, the way she handles situations annoys him, the way she’s annoyed by how he handles situations. Then after Scandoval, she reduced him to subhuman. Katie says she treats people like how she sees it. Choke. I don’t care. Alrighty then. Andy says, their chemistry is undeniable, and Sandoval says, they’re going to bang it out. Katie looks disgusted, but again, it might be funny if it wasn’t him saying it.
Andy says, when Scheana was asked to perform at Kyle’s whiskey launch, the group went north to San Francisco to support her, even Dan. There’s a whole big exchange about why did Dan come if he wasn’t going to mingle, but it boils down to not getting paid. Andy says, Brock didn’t get paid early on, but Brock says, they have different situations. Ariana says, Dan basically doesn’t want to get involved, and Lala says, they already have an awkward group dynamic. Andy says, Ariana avoided Sandoval, but in San Francisco, Scheana encouraged him to apologize. Scheana says, early on, Ariana had said she was the only one he hadn’t apologized to. We flash back to the numerous times she said exactly that, and Scheana says she thought Ariana needed that to heal, so she tried to facilitate that. She realizes now that Ariana didn’t need it. Ariana says, great points, but yeah. Andy says, it ended the season in a powerful and fascinating way. Twirling his villainous moustache, he says, production intentionally didn’t send them the end of the finale episode. He wanted them to watch it together as a group, so the viewers can see their real time reactions.
We go back to the ending of the finale, and Ariana deciding to jet, then the others getting upset. We watch the reactions of everyone on stage, and I already know the supposed hot mic moment isn’t going to go over too big. I also have no doubt production kept it in on purpose, while Andy stirred the pot. At the very end, Schwartz says, that was a f***ing plot twist, and Sandoval says, I love it. It’s good for me. Back to real time, Ariana says, exactly. This is her being her honest self. She felt hurt so deeply, she’s not here for Sandoval putting on the waterworks thing. Sandoval says she knows him well enough to know it’s real, but she says she doesn’t know him. She cries and says, when he didn’t get what he wanted, he said things about her to triangulate her. He says, what about what she said about him this summer? and she says, what else would she say? She didn’t do anything to him, and he proved her right. She just wants him away from her. She just wants him gone.
Ariana says she doesn’t want to be in a position where she’s forced to talk to Sandoval, and Sandoval insists he did try to talk to her off camera. She says, when she got home from San Francisco, he was sitting on the couch eating takeout, but that was new. They didn’t ever cross paths. What he needed to say, he could have said then. Sandoval says, it’s the one conversation a person doesn’t want to have, and she says she’d have it with everyone else, but she’s not in a place to have that conversation with him. When he said, it was good for him, that was it right there. She was being used for him to have his crying in Miami moment with her. We flash back to him crying after getting caught cheating with Miami Girl. Sandoval says, their relationship was different, and he’s an emotional person. Katie says, he was living a double life, and Ariana says she doesn’t know who he is. She’s sorry he’s having a hard time, but these are the consequences of his actions. Sandoval says he’s sorry. Regardless of what happened in their relationship, she didn’t deserve what he did. He’s sorry. He regrets everything and wears it like a badge of shame. He dishonored her. Ariana says, that bitch (i.e. Raquel) is talking about her all the time. He did that. She just wants to be away from him. He says he understands. He wishes her the best and he’ll give her space. For everything else, they have lawyers. Andy says, the other thing he was curious about was Ariana’s reaction to what Lala said. Ariana says, it hurts her feelings. She was trying so hard this season. It’s their job to live their lives on camera, and she was living authentically by walking away. Schwartz says, at the time, he agreed with how Lala felt, but now he feels Ariana’s walking away was well-earned. Ariana says, it wouldn’t have been real on her part to stay, and Scheana says she knew she needed to let Ariana go, but she understood Lala’s frustration. She was frustrated and thought Lala needed support. Lala says, when Randall did what he did, she was questioned and told she should have known. We flash back to the Season 9 Reunion, and Lala says she’s grateful Ariana’s not experiencing what she did, but she’s annoyed. It’s wild. Everybody said things about the way Ariana had changed off camera. When they started doing the show, she felt isolated and felt like she was having conversations with herself. The show offered her a platform and made it possible for her to take care of her baby, conceive another, and have two homes. She’s happy Ariana was catapulted into opportunity, but if Ariana doesn’t give a f*** about her own position on the show, give a f*** about hers. She was livid that night, and she’s sorry if Ariana was hurt, but she stands by what she said. She spent days sobbing on a regular basis. Lisa asks if she felt the story she was getting wasn’t what they were filming, and Lala wonders why Ariana gets to dictate how it goes down. Andy asks what Ariana’s response is, and Ariana says she doesn’t think she’s Beyoncé or God. She didn’t sob in front of Scheana, but she did it on her own. Besides, walking away from the conversation made it more interesting than her having it. So wasn’t it a better end to Lala’s season, and a lead in to another one? Lala says, had she not spoken her mind, the season would have ended with Ariana walking out. Andy says, Lala claimed Sandoval and Ariana’s relationship wasn’t being shown honestly until after the affair, and Lala says she heard a lot of things. Katie reminds Lala that she said something, and we flash back to Katie saying they present themselves as having the perfect relationship when it’s not, and Lala wondering why it’s all butterflies and rainbows, yet they talk about other people’s relationships. Katie tells Lala that she said it on the show, so stop acting like she’s lying. Andy asks what Scheana thinks, and Scheana says she saw moments that were good and bad. Every relationship has its rollercoasters. Andy asks if Sandoval supported Scheana more than Ariana, and Scheana says, they’ve both shown up for her. Lala says she can’t do this, and starts to walk off the stage.
Lala says she doesn’t want do this if she’s the only one being honest, and Scheana insists Ariana and Sandoval have both shown up for her, but she can think of several events where Sandoval had her back and rode harder for her. Andy asks if she agreed with Lala at the end, and Lala says she was so frustrated by the end of the season. Scheana says she was frustrated as well, and Lala says, everyone was living in the comments section for a while, but they had expressed there wasn’t much given before all this happened. Andy asks if they were afraid of audience reaction, and Sandoval says, if they’d all abided by Ariana’s rules, nobody would be filming with him. Lisa says, she made the choice to leave Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. You go to a Reunion with the intention to reunite. She didn’t want to see any of those women again, so she didn’t go. If you want to fight for it, do it, but not fighting is okay too. Lala has a point, but Ariana showed up. If Lisa had been in that situation, she wouldn’t have shown up and filmed with her husband and his mistress. Sometimes it’s okay to walk away. Andy asks if anyone else has a reaction to how things ended, and Scheana asks if, after watching it, Ariana understands why she was frustrated. Ariana says she understands the frustration, but doesn’t understand the insults. Andy calls for a break, and Lisa asks if anyone knows how to make it better. Most of the cast leaves the stage, and Ariana starts to cry. Katie hugs her, and then in yet another plot twist, Katie’s earring gets stuck in Ariana’s hair, causing much laughter. Andy says he’s going to have to shave her head, but production gets them loose.
Andy says they’ve come to the final thoughts on this dramatic season. The earring was what they needed. Ariana says, it’s a sign, and Andy asks where they go from here. Ariana says, it differs with everybody, and Andy asks Sandoval how he sees his place in the group. Sandoval says, it’s been a lot this year. He was overwhelmed, but appreciates that he was given at least somewhat of a chance. Andy asks if Lala thinks her honesty put her friendships with Katia and Ariana in the ER, and Lala says, yeah, but she’s okay with that. He asks how Scheana feels, and Scheana says, she feels it’s been the most challenging summer, and it was difficult to navigate. She wants to acknowledge Lala as her rock. Ariana was her person, but there’s been so much distance, even before filming. She’s sorry she doesn’t speak up enough or she’s not loud enough, but it’s been challenging. She is afraid of what everyone will say, but she couldn’t finish and not say that. Andy says, Katie seems lighter. She and Schwartz are friendly, sharing memes, and kissing the same girls. Katie says she can’t wait to meet Schwartz’s new girlfriend, and Brock says, she’s got game. Andy says, James now has a residence in Las Vegas, and we see his DJ flag flying at LIV in the Fontainebleau. Schwartz says he loves them. They’re his friends and family, even though they’re not in the best place. He loves and misses Ariana. James says he feels the same. Andy announces, rather than delicious cocktails, tonight they’re going to toast with toast. Kyle and long-suffering Ann bring out sandwiches from Something About Her. Sandoval kids Ann that she can clean up afterward. Andy says, may these continue to be the best days of your lives, and everyone says, cheers.
Andy declares the sandwiches damn good, and everyone starts dispersing. Brock asks, what’s on Scheana’s mind? and she says she thinks Lala is still mad. She feels like she didn’t do enough. Scheana finds Lala, and Lala tells her that it was tough watching Lisa defend so hard. On Season 8’s Reunion, she didn’t want to be grilled, and instead she got, you lose them the way you get them. Ariana got to walk away. She’s creating life and she doesn’t get that. It’s not an even playing field. She cries and says she’s annoyed. She asks if Scheana thinks she wanted to show up that day, and Scheana says she doesn’t think it’s fair. Andy says his goodbyes, and Scheana says she just wants to live a f***ing happy life. Sandoval tells Lala, respect, and as Lala gets into her car, she says she just wants to go bake a baby and have a good life.
🍼 Valley Of TMI…
This was the only recap available, but they’re right on. I didn’t need to hear that.
Join me tomorrow for soap and finding out which Chef lands on Top. Until then, stay safe, stay leaving the outdoors how you found it, and stay out of the comments section.
What I Watched - TV With Theresa 