Tag Archives: Real Housewives of Orange County

April 11, 2024 – Chase Changes the Honeymoon Plans, Blame Game, VanderMoments, Shading Shannon, Dead Talk, Pet (!) Diversity & Normally

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Carly wakes up in the chair and looks over at John sleeping on the sofa.

Brook says, what if they made a mistake? but Lois says, they didn’t. Brook says, what if the style’s all wrong? but Lois says, it won’t be. Brook says, what if the lace is like a gross shade of ivory? but Lois says, that’s never going to happen. Brook says, what if they ruined Lila’s dress for nothing? and Lois says, Lila’s dress was already ruined. Unsalvageable, said the seamstress, except for the best part, which they’re putting to perfect use. So what is she really afraid of? Brook says, what if she doesn’t like it? and Lois says, if she doesn’t like her wedding dress, they’ll scrap it and find her something she loves. Because there’s nothing more important than her happiness on her wedding day. Capisce? Brook says, capisce, and Sandrine walks in with an assistant carrying a garment bag. She says, ladies, are you ready? The wedding gown of your dreams.

Curtis walks slowing into Drew’s office, and Drew says, look at him. He can’t believe this progress. It’s incredible. Curtis says he firmly believes if you do the work, you can achieve anything, and Drew says he was in Greenland with Curtis, so he’s not going to underestimate him, but walking this soon after surgery is next level. Curtis thanks him, and Drew says, and he can take a compliment. Curtis says, Trina’s been on him about absorbing good energy. It sounds a little woo-woo to him, but he’s trying. Drew says he’s happy for Curtis, and Curtis says, don’t keep him in suspense. Why is he here? Michael walks in and says, what’s going on? Drew says, let the meeting of the minds commence.

Alexis says, Nina did not just say that, and Nina asks if she denies it. Alexis says, that she’s being mean to Nina’s precious gossip slinger? Are they in second grade? Nina says, DeWitt is not just The Invader’s society columnist, and Alexis says, ugh, that title. Nina says, he got a promotion. He is now associate publisher. Alexis says she knows that. Nina reminds her of that all the time. How could she possibly forget that Nina has hired someone so incompetent? Nina asks, says who? and Alexis tells her, says me. And it’s not DeWitt’s fault that he’s going to make an ass of himself. That honor belongs to Nina.

TJ meets Marshall at a park bench, hands him a coffee, and says, good morning. Marshall says, and what a beautiful morning it is, and TJ says he has egg sandwiches too, handing Mashall a bag. Marshall says, that’s very thoughtful of him. Not that he wasn’t thrilled to get TJ’s call, but since he has the morning off, why isn’t he spending it with Molly? TJ says he considered it, but he knew how the conversation would go. Marshall asks, how’s that? TJ says, she’d thank him for wanting them to do something together, then she’d say she has an arraignment in five minutes, but she’ll make it up to him tonight. Then that would turn into her trying too hard and both of them faking it through whatever she thought of, or even worse, she stays late at the office to avoid the situation altogether. Marshall asks who they’re talking about here, because that doesn’t sound anything like TJ and Molly.

At the MetroCourt, Anna thanks Valentin for meeting her and apologizes for it being so last minute. He says, lucky for her, he had no breakfast plans, and they sit down. He says he ordered her tea and pours her some. She thanks him for being thoughtful, and he says, she called, and he came. What’s this about? She wonders if he can help her with a case, and he says he’ll always help her. What’s the case? She says, Pikeman.

Brook says she doesn’t know what she was so afraid of. The dress is perfection. Lois says, the only thing more beautiful than that dress was her in it, and Brook asks if she’s crying again. Lois says, get used to it. Her baby girl is getting married in the most magical wedding gown. Brook says she doesn’t know how Sandrine did it, but she really captured the spirit of Lila’s dress to a T. Lois says, it feels like she channeled Lila, all of her kindness and her warmth and her acceptance and her generosity, because that’s who Lila was. Brook says, Lois is so lucky she got to wear Lila’s gown, and Lois says, Brook gets to be a part of that too. Brook says, in the tiniest way, but Lois says, no. In her own way. That’s what makes it so special. Brook gets to have a piece of Lila while still being who she is. Beautiful, amazing, incredible her. Brook thanks Lois for doing this with her, and Lois says, is she kidding? Is she insane? She would have busted that door down if she hadn’t gotten an invite. Brook says, then she’s glad Lois did, and Lois says she’s so happy for Brook. And she’s happy for Chase. She’s happy for all of them really. Brook says she’s happy for them too, and they hug.

Alexis says, why doesn’t Nina just admit it. Nina hired DeWitt to piss her off. Nina says she actually does think he’s an asset, and Alexis says, and the fact he’s a colossal thorn in her side? Nina says, that’s just a perk, no doubt about it. Alexis asks, why? and Nina says, why does she enjoy steam shooting out of Alexis’s ears? Alexis says, why is she doing this? She doesn’t even work here anymore. Nina says, that’s exactly why she needed a replacement, but Alexis says, Nina didn’t need a replacement. Alexis was doing just fine and would do even better if Nina would stop breathing down her neck. Nina asks if Alexis wants people to read her publication, and Alexis asks, what kind of question is that? Everything was fine before Nina got here. Nina says, but is it better since she brought DeWitt on? Be honest about that. It is, because there’s a measurable rise in website traffic. Alexis says, and she thinks that’s because there’s a gossip column? and Nina says, yes, partially. Alexis has to court their readers. She has to give them something delicious and irresistible, so they stick around for the hard news. What she can’t do is decide what’s good for them and ram it down their throats. You have to woo them. Alexis says, what if she just quits? and Nina says, there’s the door.

Michael says, it’s good to see Curtis back on his feet, and Curtis says, it’s good to be back. He hears Jason was exonerated. Michael says, yeah. They’re all relieved about that. Curtis says, when Jason was suspected of taking shots at Sonny, he thought maybe there was a chance he tried before last summer at the MetroCourt. It’s nice to know Jason didn’t put him in that wheelchair. Drew says, he didn’t stay in that wheelchair very long though, did he? and Curtis says, no. He was lucky. He had experimental surgery and it worked. Drew says, come on. The surgery just gave him a chance to walk again. Curtis is the one who made that a reality. All the rehabs, learning how to walk again… Is Curtis kidding him? He can’t imagine what that was like for Curtis. Curtis has all his respect for making it through that and getting to the other side. Curtis thanks him and says he doubts Drew brought them here to compliment him on walking again. Why are they here?

Carly asks how John is feeling, and he says, sore. She says she bets, and he says, and very tired. She says, really? He didn’t sleep well? He says, it’s hard to get a good night’s sleep with her waking him up every couple of hours. She says she’s sorry. Should she have let him monitor his own signs of concussion? He says, is he, by the way, concussed? and she says, no. He’s bruised and bloody, but somehow, his head came out unscathed. He asks if that’s her professional opinion as his almost nurse, and she asks if he’s going to start arguing with her this early in the morning. He says he already knows it won’t do any good.

Sandrine says, Lois might surprise Brook, but Brook says, nothing her mother does surprises her. She’s well-aware of her mother’s flair, shall they say, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Lois comes in, and Sandrine tells Brook, like she said. Wearing a midi dress with a black lace overlay and a short white jacket along with pearls, Lois says, ta-da. Brook says, wow… ma… that’s… Lois says, she hates it?

Alexis tells Nina that she always says that – there’s the door – but they both know Nina needs her. Nina says, agreed. And she’s been agreeing with Alexis the whole time. Her point is, she thinks the paper would benefit if they just had DeWitt’s expertise and experience. Alexis says, no, and Nina says, that’s it. Just no. Alexis says she will not sit by and let The Invader be turned back into a tabloid, and Nina says, then don’t let it. Alexis says she’s trying, but Nina is making it very difficult. A messenger comes to the door and says he just needs a signature from Alexis. Alexis signs the form, and Nina says, you know what it’s going to say on Alexis’s tombstone? Alexis says, death by frustration? and thanks the messenger. He leaves, and Nina says, no. It’s going to say, Alexis Davis, didn’t play well with others. Alexis says, and now they’re back to the schoolyard, and Nina says, because Alexis refuses to grow up. DeWitt stays. End of discussion. She leaves, and Molly walks in. Alexis says she hates that woman, and Molly tells her, take a breath. Alexis says, how? She sucked all the air out of the room. Molly says, professional differences? and Alexis tells her, you could say that. She invites Molly in and says, tell her something wonderful that has nothing to do with this publication. Molly says she would, but she can’t. The Invader is actually why she’s here. Alexis puts her head on the desk.

TJ asks if Marshall has ever looked back at a decision and known he should have gone with his gut, and Marshall says, too many times. TJ says, when Molly pitched the idea of Kristina being both their surrogate and egg donor, his instincts were screaming, this is the wrong move. For a million reasons, but the most glaring being that Kristina’s too close. There’s no finish line. There’s no cutting ties at the end. Why? Because there couldn’t be. She’s Molly’s sister. Marshall says, and since Molly couldn’t go forward without his buy-in, that was TJ’s moment to shut it down. TJ says he should have explained why he was against it, calmly and unequivocally, before anything got too far. Instead, he went with the short-term gain of giving Molly what she wanted. Marshall says, some would call that being supportive, but TJ says he calls that being a coward. She was so wrecked. She was utterly devastated that she couldn’t get pregnant. So when she pitched the idea, he knew that for Molly, the closest thing she could have to carrying her own baby was for her sister to have it for her.

Anna tells Valentin that she and Dante were ambushed on the docks by Roman Hume. He worked for Pikeman. It’s just so strange. All roads seem to lead back to this one, ultra secretive organization that’s run by a ghost. He says, a ghost? and she says, Pikeman’s ties to the WSB are clear, but no one seems to know who’s at the top of the pyramid. So she needs information. She was hoping maybe he could provide it for her. He says, Pikeman? and she says, he was working for them as recently as last summer. He says, as an intermediary, a glorified messenger, and she asks how that job came about. He says he did some contract work for them back in the 90s, and they felt comfortable asking him to introduce them to Sonny, but whether Sonny and Pikeman did any work together after that was none of his concern. She says, okay. Maybe she can pick his brain about something else. Or someone. He asks, who? and she says, Jack Brennan.

Lois asks, what’s wrong with it? and Brook says, absolutely nothing. Lois says, well, something, but Brook says, the dress is lovely. It’s classy and elegant and tasteful… Lois says she feels a but coming, and Brook says, no buts. It’s just not really Lois’s style. Lois says, it’s just and but are exactly the same thing, and Brook asks if Lois thinks that’s her style. Lois says, to go out on a Saturday night? No, but she was under the impression that what you wear to your daughter’s wedding isn’t what you wear to go clubbing. They’re two completely different things. Brook says, it doesn’t have to be this different. What kind of nails would she even do with that? Lois says she was thinking maybe just clear, and Brook says, what? Lois says she’s the mother of the bride. She’s supposed to be understated. Brook says, there’s no supposed to be here. This isn’t a royal wedding. There areno standards she has to live up to. Brook just wants her to wear what she wants to wear. Something that makes her feel like her. Lois says, this definitely doesn’t feel like her, and Brook says she didn’t think so. Back to the drawing board. Lois tells Sandrine, let’s pull some colors, some swatches… Maybe show some skin this time. You know what? Maybe a plunging neckline. Brook says, let’s not get carried away, when Chase walks in. He asks if he missed it, and Brook says, missed what? What is he doing here? Sandrine says, there’s been a special order for the bride-to-be, and Brook asks what they’re up to. Sandrine says she was commissioned to design a dress for Brook’s honeymoon, and Brook asks if Chase really thinks that’s necessary. He says, very, and Sandrine takes out a beautiful black cocktail dress. Brook says, it’s gorgeous, and Chase asks if she likes it. Brook says she’s obsessed with it, but it’s long sleeves. Doesn’t he think she’ll be a little warm in Palm Beach? He says, they’re not going to Palm Beach.

Molly says, The Invader ran a piece on the DA’s office being opposed to the overturning of Heather Webber’s conviction, her multiple convictions of assault and homicide going back nearly twenty years. Alexis says, that would be with the metallosis diagnosis. Yes. She signed off on that. Molly says, then she knows the article cited an unnamed source, and Alexis says, yes. Molly says, mom, and Alexis says, what? Molly says, everybody at the DA’s office assumes that source is her. Alexis says, it isn’t, and Molly says, Alexis knows that, and she knows that, but her colleagues, specifically DA Scorpio, do not know that. Alexis asks what Molly wants her to do about it. The story checked out. Molly says she wants Alexis to help her prove that she’s not the one who broke confidentiality and discussed the case with a reporter, and Alexis asks how exactly Molly wants her to do that. Molly says, tell her who did.

Marshall asks if Molly knows TJ has misgivings about Kristina being the surrogate, and TJ tells him that he wouldn’t say it exactly like that, but yeah. Molly has her worries too. He thinks that’s the problem, because whenever he tells her his concerns… Marshall says, about what, besides the being too close part? and TJ says he just doesn’t think Kristina is taking the best care of herself. (Huh?) She’s out late, she’s not avoiding stress, plus the small fact that she’s out with her dad, who’s getting shot at on the regular. Marshall says, points taken. So when he brings all these things up to Molly… TJ says, she takes the position of defending Kristina, even though he knows they share the same concerns. That’s why they avoid the topic altogether. He just feels like, during this time, he and Molly should be closer together, but he just feels more and more distant from her. Marshall says, and what about Kristina? Has their relationship been affected? TJ says, how can it not be? Any time he shares a worry he has with her, she accuses him of overreacting. It’s as if Kristina is having the baby and she’s going to let them know when it’s here. He sounds ungrateful, doesn’t he? Marshall says, no. He sounds human. TJ tells him, that’s what mom said. Marshall says, smart woman, your mother.

Drew says he’s been doing some research and Floodgate Consultancy Group says, the wellness and fitness space is booming out there. They’re all across the country, but especially in the high-end areas, with both residential and urban people spending so much money not only to look good, but to feel good. Really laying the foundation for health, wellness, and longevity. Michael says he read that report too. 40 is the new 25, and with the right fitness regimen and the right products, you, too, can achieve it. Drew says, so thoughts? and Michael says he thinks it’s a good time for Aurora to diversify. Crimson and print media is still a front burner for them, but it is drying up. They need to find alternative revenue streams. He thinks dipping in to an expanding market makes sense. Curtis says, an expanding market like health and wellness, and Drew says, which is where Curtis comes in.

On the phone, Carly says she just ordered toast and eggs. She doesn’t understand what’s taking so long. John comes in, wearing only a towel, and Carly says she’ll hold. She tells John that she bets the shower felt amazing. He says, it did, and she says, it’s amazing what hot water can do, but he says, not so hot really. Carly tells the kitchen that she’s still holding, and looks at John. He says, the water never got too warm, and she says, he’s got to be kidding her. Back on the phone, she says, she’s here. She’s still here… No. She’s pretty sure there’s no food in her hotel room… What? They left the food outside the door, without knocking…?… Okay. She hangs up and says, they’ve got to be kidding her. No hot water, shoddy room service… This hotel is definitely going downhill. She opens the door just as Nina is walking by, and Nina says, oh. Good morning to you. She looks at John standing behind Carly in the towel.

Valentin tells Anna, what he remembers about Jack Brennan is, his rapid rise to director of the WSB was followed by a spectacular fall. He singlehandedly orchestrated Frisco Jones’ ouster and a year later, he was out himself. She says, he knows Jack is in Pentenville, right? and he says, yeah, thanks to her. She says, in part. She went to visit him the other day. Valentin asks, why? and she says, curiosity? Valentin hasn’t been to see him yet? Valentin says, has he been to see Jack Brennan in Pentenville? No, he has not. Why would he do that? She says, because they were close back in the day, when they were all coming up together at the WSB, but he says, no, not really. Jack Brennan did really well academically and even better with the ladies, but he was in the back of the room, not making eye contact. She says she distinctly remembers them at that pub they used to go to… The Archangel. The two of them were playing dice or something. Whatever it was, they were laughing because they’d aced an assignment that the rest of them just botched. He says, that sounds like Jack, but it doesn’t sound like him. If he was at The Archangel, he was lurking. He wasn’t hanging with the cool kids. Not like her. She was at the center of the circle. Jack was too. He thinks she probably has him mixed up with someone else. She says, he and Jack were just feeding off of each other. They were pushing each other to be better, to be smarter… He says, if anybody was pushing anybody, Anna was pushing Jack. They were the best of the best. Everybody knew that. Valentin was on the fast track to a desk job. He and Jack Brennan have never shared more than ten words together.

Alexis says she cannot and will not reveal the identity of her sources, and Molly tells her that now she’s going to say journalistic integrity. Alexis says, very good, counselor, and Molly says, that’s crazy. Leaked, privileged information is not protected speech. Whoever that source is, not only violated their professional conduct guidelines, they also jeopardized future cases. Alexis says, that sounds like a DA problem, not her problem, and Molly says, it’s a very big problem if the article affected the fairness of a trial. Alexis says, what trial? Heather’s already been convicted on multiple counts, and the DA has already refused to revisit any of those cases. And without a case on the docket, Molly can’t argue that a leak compromised anything. Molly says, she’s impossible, and Alexis says, that’s part of her charm. She holds out her wrists and asks if Molly would like to lock her up until she cracks.

Marshall says, TJ is in a tough and undesirable situation. Life hands those to us sometimes. When one was handed to him, he went for the big fix; he left his family to protect them. But had he stayed, had he gutted it out, it turns out he probably would have had a pretty decent life. TJ says, so Marshall is telling him that he made a huge mistake? but Marshall says, no. He’s saying it’s human nature, or more specifically male nature, to go for the big fix. Sometimes that’s not always the answer. Sometimes you can just let it breathe and settle, and that can be the way to go. TJ says, unfortunately, that ship has sailed, and Marhsall laughs. He says, not for the here and now. Kristina is who she is. And yes, she’s carrying TJ’s baby, and he can’t change that, he can’t erase that. But what he can do is step back and take a look at the whole picture and focus on what really matters. His relationship with Molly.

Carly closes the door and steps out in the hall, telling Nina, stalk much? Nina says, just doing her regular rounds. Carly remembers. Carly says, vividly. Although this hotel is definitely not what it used to be. Nina says, better? but Carly says, not quite. Nina says she didn’t think Carly could surprise her anymore, but she’s done it. An FBI agent? What’s Sonny going to think? Or Jason, for that matter? And poor Drew, forever the runner-up in the twin department. Carly asks if she’s finished, but Nina says she could keep at it all day. Carly looks at the food under the cloche and says she’s happy that Nina’s here. Nina says, no one could be happier than her, and Carly says she’d like to file a complaint about room service. Nina asks if Carly even has time to eat, because she seems quite busy, and Carly asks why Nina doesn’t spend less time worrying about her private life and more time managing her hotel. Nina tells Carly to enjoy the rest of her stay, and leaves. Carly pushes the cart into the room, mumbling about Nina, and John comes out fully dressed. He says, friend of hers? and Carly gives a short laugh.

Curtis says he’s listening, and Drew says, as he mentioned, the wellness/fitness space is booming. Aurora wants to move into that business, but they need someone to spearhead the initiative. Curtis says, meaning? and Michael says, someone with practical experience and knowledge of the fitness industry, a strong leader with customer service experience, and multi-level management skills. Drew says, which are skills Curtis has. The Savoy is a huge success. Curtis asks how they see Aurora moving into the business, and Michael asks what Curtis would do. Curtis says, the most practical thing might be for Aurora to buy up some of the small gyms around the country, rebrand them, and combine them into a national high-end fitness club. People are spending a lot of money in wellness. Meditation rooms, plunge baths, yoga, Pilates, physical training… A mind body connection and combined with a training-slash-fitness facility, this is a one-stop shop. It might require significant capital. Drew says, which they have… Nina walks in, saying, Drew won’t believe this. She just saw Carly… She stops when she sees the other two.

John says he gets the sense Carly and Nina don’t get along, and she says, he must be an FBI agent. He asks if she’s okay, and she says she doesn’t let Nina get to her… She tries not to let Nina get to her. He says he knows a little bit about their history, and she says, lucky him. He says he takes it there isn’t enough water under the bridge yet, and she says, there’s not enough water in the world. Sorry about the eggs. He says, it’s not her fault. Besides, coffee is the only necessary component. (Agreed.) She says, when she owned the MetroCourt, this would have never flown. If a customer complained about their food, they would redo it at no charge. She refills his coffee, and he says, she’s big on customer service. She says, it’s literally what the hospitality industry is all about, and he says, she must have had her fair share of jerks blow through here though. She says, yeah, sure, but for the most part, people were great. And she loved it. She loved making people feel happy and comfortable and special. He asks if she doesn’t get to scratch that itch running Bobbie’s, and she says, to an extent. She loves Bobbie’s – she really does – but it’s a restaurant. Full stop. In this place she got a taste of all of it, really curating a space. From the carpets to the linen to the lighting. Even the music. Putting all of those things together to create the ultimate experience. She loved it. He says, sounds like a symphony, and she says, it kind of was. He says, and she was good at it, and she says, she was great at it. He asks if she thinks she’ll ever do it again, but she says she doesn’t know. She tells people that she will, that she’s going to get her half of the MetroCourt back, but she thinks that’s just a pipe dream, The MetroCourt belongs to someone else, two someone elses. She’s just going to have to accept that.

Chase says he’s been working on a surprise for Brook, and she says, but he’s terrible at keeping secrets. Chase says, it’s true. Her mom has been helping him keep this under wraps. Lois says, guilty as charged, and Brook says, so no more Palm Beach? Chase shakes his head, and she says, please tell her that he’s not working. It’s their honeymoon. He says, they’re still going away, but there has been a change in destination. He leads her over to the loveseat, and she says, okay. As long as it’s not a downgrade, she’s in. Everyone else quietly leaves the room, and she says, so what are they talking? Miami? Charleston? Palm Springs? She’s never been to the desert. He says, think a little further away than that, and she says, like out of the US away? He nods, and she asks what he did. He says he’s marrying the woman of his dreams. No, scratch that. He never dreamed of her because he didn’t know someone this wonderful could exist, and he wants their honeymoon to be a reflection of that. He wants her to remember this trip for the rest of her life. Because she deserves it. She deserves everything. She says, he’s the sweetest man on the planet. So where on this planet is he taking her? He says, Florence, and she says, he’s kidding. He says he’s not kidding, and she says, Florence, Italy? He says, her mom told him that she wanted to go, and she says, only for her entire life. Oh my God, Florence? She jumps up and says, not only does she get to go, she gets to go with him? He asks if she’s happy, and she says, happy doesn’t even begin to cover it, and kisses him.

Molly says, so she guesses Alexis wins – again, and Alexis says, freedom of the press wins – always. Except she has no idea why she’s fighting so hard for it when it comes to this paper. Molly says, because she cares about her job and the integrity of her paper, and Alexis says, integrity the new associate publisher will undoubtedly destroy. Molly starts to leave and picks up the envelope the messenger delivered. She asks, what’s this? and Alexis says, a messenger dropped it off when she was fighting with Nina. Molly asks if she’s looked at it, but Alexis says she was too consumed with rage to care. What is it? Molly says, it’s from the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, and Alexis says, they’re handling her appeal. Molly says, it’s probably her decision, whether they’ll review her case, or she’ll stay disbarred. Open it. She holds it out to Alexis, who backs up, saying, no. She can’t. She tells Molly to do it, and Molly asks if she’s sure. Alexis nods, and Molly opens the envelope.

As Molly reads what’s inside, she looks sad, and Alexis says, it’s okay. It was a longshot anyway. So the appeal was denied… Molly says, they’re giving her a hearing. They set a date and everything. Alexis grabs it from her and looks at it. She says, they’re giving her a hearing, and Molly says, not just that. They’re giving her hope. This is hope. They hug and jump up and down.

Marshall says, TJ needs to find reasons for him and Molly to come together that aren’t about the baby. It’s those moments of now, those moments where it’s just the two of them. Those moments are precious too. Now, as much as he enjoyed that egg sandwich and this beautiful park… TJ says, and the incredible company of his grandson, and Marshall says, that too. Get his behind over to the store and buy all the ingredients for Molly’s favorite dinner. Just make sure it’s reheatable in case she does have to work late. Wouldn’t it be nice for Molly to come home and see her favorite meal on the table waiting on her? TJ says, Molly would love that, and Marshall says, don’t spend the next three months wringing his hands over what Kristina is or isn’t doing. Spend the next three months with his partner, being just that – partners – before they become parents. Molly is a very special woman. TJ agrees she is and thanks Marshall. They bro hug.

Chase says, mimosa for the bride-to-be, handing Brook a drink, and she thanks him. They say, cheers, and clink glasses. Brook says she can’t believe it’s true, and he says, believe it. She says, Florence… the Uffizi, the Duomo, David… He says, whoa. Who’s this David guy? She says, and they have to take a day trip to Pisa and an overnight to Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet. He says, she’s thought a lot about this, and she says, this is like a bucket list thing for her. And she can’t wait to look up all the best restaurants and they’re going to have gelato every, single day, no exceptions. Okay? He says, yes, ma’am, and she says, they’re going to drink wine at sunset in every piazza they can find. It’s going to be so incredible. He says, she’s so incredible, and they kiss. She says, they have so much planning to do. Wait. He asks, what’s wrong? and she says, a honeymoon to Florence is a lot more expensive than one stateside. The airfare alone. He says, that’s okay. He has the money for it. She asks, how? and he says he sold his truck.

Anna says, Valentin and Jack weren’t friends, but they certainly knew each other, right? He says, of course (🍷) they did, and she says, when he was working with Pikeman, in his dealings with them, did he ever get the sense Jack was involved? He says, she believes Jack Brennan was working with Pikeman? and she says she does. She can’t get him to admit it, but when Valentin was an intermediary, did anything jump out at him? He says he wishes he had something useful to offer her, but sadly, he doesn’t. She says, okay. It was worth a try. Maybe when she goes back to see him again. He says, don’t. Pikeman and Brennan are dangerous. If they’re working together, then they’re not to be messed with. She thanks him for his concern, but says she can take care of herself. He says, please do, and she thanks him for breakfast and leaves.

John opens the door for Carly and says, thanks again. She says she doesn’t think he thanked her the first time, and he says, then thank you. Not just for saving his hide on the docks, but for getting him back here and keeping an eye on him all night. She says he’s welcome, and he says, and he guesses they get to be friends, even if it’s just for a minute. She says, just for a minute? Are FBI agents not allowed to have friends? Oh. Worried he’s going to divulge classified information? He says, something like that, and she says, makes sense. But how does he know he doesn’t talk in his sleep? She leaves and he watches her walk down the hall.

Drew tells Nina, they’re at a meeting, so try back later, but Michael asks what she was going to say about his mom. And what did Nina do now? Nina says she didn’t do anything. She just thought Drew would want to know Carly moved on quickly from him and is now sleeping with everyone’s favorite FBI agent, John Cates.

Tomorrow, Tracy tells Brook, disrespecting your husband is no way to start a marriage; Maxie asks why Lucy is insisting on taking this all on herself; Alexis tells Gregory that it’s a risk she can afford; and Carly says she did something that someone isn’t going to like.

🛟 Here It Comes…

Now it’s somebody else’s fault she was a pita. Maybe she confused Fraser by answering every time the primary was asked a question.

🍸 Between Rules and Reunion…

I can’t believe anybody actually monitors who follows who. Aren’t they busy not opening restaurants and stuff?

It’s not about the pasta mirror.

🍊 Shady John…

Andy leaps with glee as he twirls his moustache.

⚰️ About Those Dead…

Like the franchise is ever going away.

Ha-ha! I thought it said giant zombie heads. Now that would be a variant.

https://screenrant.com/walking-dead-new-villain-zombies-season-1-return

Carol’s turn coming up.

https://www.cbr.com/daryl-dixon-book-of-carol-release-date-cast-news

🐕 From Around the Globe and Back…

Bollywood babies.

Backup pups.

https://people.com/meghan-trainor-stars-in-music-video-with-dogs-8629755

☔️ April Showers Bring More April Showers…

Stop by tomorrow for pre-weekend soap, the Summer smack talk promised, and shenanigans. Until then, stay safe, stay thinking twice before engaging in online debates, and stay doing the work. If you do, you can achieve anything.

April 8, 2024 – GH Eclipsed, Drop Dead Gorgeous Blond Australian Stew On Deck, Poor Ant, At the Villa, Arguing Already, Farewell Too Soon, He Will Finish, Behold the Echidna & Total

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Not today, eclipse.

Below Deck

Fraser thinks Anthony bit off more than he can chew, and he’s worried the chef is not quite there yet. Jill badgers Fraser about the dinner start time, and I already want to smack her. Anthony tells Fraser that he’ll try to make the magic happen. In Barbie’s interview, she says she’s taking the brunt and giving a fake-ass bullsh*t smile that she doesn’t feel. She’s not a complainer. The captain joins the guests for dinner, and Fraser asks for the primary’s dinner preferences first. As Melinda tries to tell him, Jill butts in since she thinks she’s a primary. Anthony tells Fraser that instead one main course, he has to make three different main dishes at the same moment. He can’t build all the plates at the same time. Guest Jen ends up without a plate, but she tells the others not to wait. Jill says her food is cold, and Fraser says, it’s the worst day of his life. In Captain Kerry’s interview, he says, this is the worst dinner service all season, but if he looks pissed, the others will get pissed. To top it off, we have Jill. In Dylan’s interview, he says, when he was growing up, no one told him that he was good looking. Now he gets hit on by guys and girls. He tells Ben about dating a guest, and in his interview, he says he likes the hunt. When he sees a hot girl at the bar, he does pushups and asks, what’s going on baby? Seriously? I don’t care how hot he is. No, just no. The guests finish eating, but dessert isn’t ready, and Fraser says, they have to kill 20 minutes. The stews make up a concoction of rum and almond milk, with a touch of strawberry. The captain tells the guests about meeting his girlfriend on a ship, when the French chocolate souffle comes out. IMO, it’s well worth waiting for. Fraser says, Barbie seems quiet, and she says her fake smile only lasts so long. In the captain’s interview, he says he needs to talk to Anthony after the charter. There’s no use doing it now.

Fraser tells Xandi that tomorrow is going to be the sh*ttiest night. Everyone is so sensitive, the energy is horrific, and they have no stew. Barbie sees Xandi and Fraser talking and tells Kyle that Xandi is talking sh*t about her. In Anthony’s interview, he says, dinner was disappointing. He doesn’t want to be on charter. He wants to run in his room and cry all night. Ben talks about choosing lead deckhand to Fraser, and says, Dylan is like a puppy, interested in everything, but Sunny knows the boat. On the minus side, obviously they’re sleeping together. In Ben’s interview, he says, on paper, Dylan is fantastic, but Sunny works well with the crew and he can rely on her. He has to assess their strengths and weaknesses. Fraser tells him that the person who puts the most effort in needs it. Barbie sighs as she works, looks in the laundry, and says, f*** you. I’m not helping. Stupid-ass bitch. Nice.

In Sunny’s interview, she says she wants to love and connect. She wants to feel feelings. She’s got butterflies over Ben (ick). Captain Kerry gets a text that a new stew is arriving. Anchor is in the pocket and the yacht is en route to Port Louis Marina. Xandi says, this trip might kill her, and in Barbie’s interview, she says she’s ignoring Fraser. She doesn’t know how to communicate with him. He dismisses what she feels, and she can’t win. She can’t be herself and feels defeated. Ben and Sunny are called to the bridge, and the captain says, today is windier. In his interview, he says, the wind is at over 30 knots. The last time he was in this kind of wind, he lost the bow. If anything goes wrong, he’s going to smash into the dock and hit a concrete bank. Fraser wonders why Barbie is ignoring him, and in the captain’s interview, he says, the wind is coming in and there are two steel workboats to the side. If the wind doesn’t back down, he’s going to hit them. It’s a very difficult docking. The wind is holding him off. Jill says, he’s in trouble, because she knows all about being a captain and docking a massive yacht.

Jill says, blah-blah-blah, and Melinda says, this is giving her anxiety. I’m not sure if she means the docking or Jill babbling about it. Captain Kerry manages to dock the boat without incident, and the crew change into their whites. To their happiness, the guests pack. In Fraser’s interview, he says he’s never wanted anything more than to drop these guests in the sh*tter. He’s done. Fraser tells Barbie, well done, and Jill says she’s so sad. She hates this part. They had fun and she hopes she wasn’t too much work. 😐 Melinda thanks the crew, and says, it’s the best vacation ever. The deck crew was flawless, and she knows they were the hardest to cook for with all their different preference. She gives the captain the tip envelope, and they finally leave the crew in peace. Captain Kerry says, that was a fun charter. He’s cracking a beer now. Fraser asks Barbie, what’s happening? and she says, nothing. Kerry calls Anthony to the headmaster’s office. He says he’s going to tell Anthony straight. Dinner service was bullsh*t. His food was cold and two guests were without food. What the f*** was going on? Anthony says he was looking for the best solution for the guests to find dinner amazing. He’s upset with himself. Captain Kerry says he shouldn’t have kicked off with sushi and been laser focused on one guest, and in Anthony’s interview, he says he failed this one. It reminds him of bad moments when he was younger. He was called a loser at school and sees the teacher in his head. Born a loser and dies like a loser. I feel badly for him, but not too dramatic. The captain tells him to do the stuff he can do with his eyes closed. Fraser tells Barbie that she seems off, and she says, it’s an off day. He says, when it’s aimed at him, he thinks she’s in a bad mood and it’s not conducive to the team. She says she went to bed pissed and woke up pissed. He could have told her that he and Xandi were going to the beach to meditate. He says, it’s not like they were chilling, and she wasn’t talking yesterday. She says she’s scared to communicate with him, and he says he can’t deal with it. She says she’s flipped the switch back, so it’s good now.

It’s time for the tip meeting, and Captain Kerry says, it feels like they’ve gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson. His hat’s off to them. The tip is $20K or $1667 each. We hear crickets, and in Kyle’s interview, he says, it’s the worst tip they’ve gotten, but it’s still a lot of money. His mom recently found out they have a Native American heritage and a huge extended family in Montana. He’s going to spend a couple years there, and it will be nice if he can support himself. The captain says, they have tomorrow off, and they’re heading to a resort. The new stew is arriving tonight and will meet them at dinner. In his interview, Fraser says he’s excited. It’s like Christmas has come early. The captain says, the new stew’s first day is a day off. He’ll drink to that. Ben says he’s going on a two-day bender. Barbie tells Kyle that she wants to quit, but he says, mama didn’t raise no quitter, which is pretty funny to hear with his accent. Anthony says he’s ready to party, but he’s sad inside. He feels people know he made a mistake. He’s trying to stop thinking about it, but it not going to be a great night. Kyle drinks some liquor straight from the bottle and says he’s good to go.

New stew Paris arrives at the restaurant. In their interviews, Ben, Kyle, Anthony, and Sunny all say, wow. In Fraser’s interview, he says he knows who Paris is. She’s the ex of a dear friend. We flash back to two seasons ago, and see Fraser with his friend Jake, who’s talking to Paris on the phone. Fraser says, to him that means she’s gold. He tells the others that he worked with her ex, but this is their first time meeting in person. In Paris’s interview, she says she’s a sailing stew. She’s outgoing, funny, and loves mayonnaise. She says what’s on her mind because she has no serotonin left and regains it though people’s suffering. She laughs and says, that’s not true. She’s not evil. She is Australian though, and in Sunny’s interview, she says she’s definitely jealous. Paris is drop dead gorgeous, blond, and from Australia. She feels a little worried about what Ben thinks. Barbie tells Paris that she looks like she can take it emotionally, which is actually kind of rude. Ben and Kyle talk on the side, mostly about Paris. Paris says she’s had four years’ experience, and Fraser says she must be competent with housekeeping. Anthony tells Barbie that he needs them. He’s alone in his department every day. In her interview, Paris says she started in the Mediterranean, then the Atlantic, the Caribbean, and America. She doesn’t know the dynamics on the boat and it’s like a new school. The crew gets back to the boat, and Paris finds out she’ll be bunking with Xandi. She meets Captain Kerry, who says, everyone is nice, but the captain is an a-hole. Sunny and Ben have sex in the bathroom (ick again), when Barbie asks if Sunny can throw out a tampon. It’s an emergency. Sunny says, they were c*ck blocked so hard. What happened to the tie on the door thing?

In the morning, on the way to the resort, Paris says she lives in the country, and they have two kangaroos. She tells them that the echidna (which kind of looks like a hedgehog – see below) has a four-headed penis. Fun fact! They get to the resort and head for the pool. I’m jealous even though I live near the Atlantic Ocean, one of the biggest pools in the word. I need to get a friend who has a pool or talk one of my existing friends into getting one. Barbie tells Ben that Fraser wants to fire her, while Fraser tells Xandi, in the beginning, Barbie was amazing with her work, but her attitude is feral. Barbie whines to Ben that she doesn’t eat or take breaks, and Fraser tells Xandi that Barbie is talking about him now, because he has bat ears. Barbie tells Fraser that she doesn’t feel like she can talk to him because she works for him, not with him. He says she’s horrible to work with when she’s in a mood, and she asks if Fraser wants her to go, but he says, no. He just wants her to accept that this is the job. She then whines to Paris, and in Paris’s interview, she says, this is awkward. Fraser feels comfortable venting to her, but he’s her boss. She just got here, and she feels like Dr. Phil. Everything can be fixed with conversation, a hug, and tequila. Fraser tells Barbie that if she can’t move on, he can’t, and she says she doesn’t feel safe telling him her feelings. He says, if she doesn’t like it, she can f*** off, and she says, that shows how much she can’t trust him. In her interview, she says, Fraser doesn’t like her even though he likes the way she works. He doesn’t care about her or her feelings. In Fraser’s interview, he says, speak up, bitch. Don’t be passive/aggressive. She tells Fraser that she loves him, but he says she doesn’t act like it. She’s a horrible person when she doesn’t want to speak. She says, he wants her to go, but he says he wants her to understand how this works. If she can do it, fantastic. If she can’t… She says, okay, cool, and they part company. In Anthony’s interview, he says he’s still learning. It’s tricky. The restaurant business is different. There’s a guy for everything, and here, he’s by himself. He promised his younger self that one day he’d be successful, and he has to keep that promise. Sunny wonders if Xandi and Ben could have been a thing, but Xandi says, if he was ten years older. Sunny asks if she likes them old, which would be like 40, and Xandi says she’s done raising people’s husbands, whatever that means. Paris asks Barbie if she’s okay, and Barbie tells Paris that she and Fraser are too different, and they clash. They don’t get each other, and personally trigger each other. Paris thinks there’s a resolution if they communicate, if they if don’t trigger each other’s defensiveness. Barbie says she can’t, and in Paris’s interview, she says she feels Barbie and Fraser are similar and the issues cause both of them to be defensive. They’re also out in the sun drinking, which makes them all drama queens. What started from a small issue has grown into a mole hill. She tells Barbie, if it doesn’t work out, it’s his neck on the line. Fraser tells Ben that he’s done with Barbie. Ben says, what about one more charter? but Fraser isn’t having it. He says, she’s impossible to work with. In his interview, Fraser says, he’s given more chances in the past than he should have, and now he’s not about giving more chances. You show your true colors after two chances. We flash back to Barbie’s first, second, third, and fourth chances, and Fraser says, if it’s not great after the fourth, you’re off. He needs to pull the cord earlier. He tells Ben that he’s done.

Ben hugs Fraser and suggests he sleep on it, and in Ben’s interview, he says he thinks Fraser is taking it too far. The problem is Fraser’s lack of management skills in making people gel. Dylan asks if Paris likes Steve Irwin, and she wonders what kind of question that is. He’s a national treasure. Dylan says he watched Steve while growing up, so it must count for something. Paris says, if he was here, he’d say, crikey, that’s cringe. In her interview, she says, Dylan is gorgeous, but so awkward personality-wise. If he was mute, he’d get more action. Dylan leaves and Ben comes along. Paris asks if he put out the fire, and he puts his hand on her knee. He gets even more handsy, and no surprise, Sunny sees. Xandi says, good God, and Sunny says, sayonara. In Sunny’s interview, she says, Ben touching another woman makes her uncomfortable, jealous, and angry. It’s mad disrespect. Paris tells Fraser that she thinks he and Barbie are upset because they’re similar, but he’s like, no way. Barbie calls her mom as she puts on her makeup and cries. She says she doesn’t want to be here and she’s mad at herself for giving up, but she has to quit. She wants to go home. Fraser tells Paris that he’s supported Barbie and tried it all. He won’t look after someone who speaks to him like she does. She’s a subordinate and he’s the chief. Barbie tells her mom that she can’t get through to him and can’t fix it. She has an amazing life at home and doesn’t need to be with people who don’t understand her and she clashes with so much. She doesn’t like giving up. Fraser tells Paris, welcome to the circus.

Next time, in Sunny’s interview, she says, Ben looks like an a-hole; Sunny tells Ben, it’s not okay; Anthony makes fish for a guest who doesn’t eat fish; Barbie says she’s sorry her and Fraser’s contention affected everybody; and Fraser goes to the captain about Barbie.

⚓️ Atlas Of the Deck…

It’s doubtful he’s carrying the show, but despite his faults, he’s one of the best chefs they’ve had.

🏰 Viva La Villa…

I started watching this and the venue is magnificent. Not so much the employees who are already drinking too much and arguing in front of the guests. But Lisa is there along with Puffy (!), so all will be well.

🍊 That Didn’t Take Long…

Apparently, Tamra is already causing problems and the horse hasn’t even left the gate yet.

🥀 Sad OC News…

Today’s PSA: Drug responsibly and for the love of all that’s holy, stay away from fentanyl.

https://people.com/real-housewives-lauri-peterson-son-josh-waring-dead-at-35-8627969

https://www.eonline.com/news/1398971/rhoc-alum-lauri-petersons-son-josh-waring-died-amid-addiction-battle-his-sister-says

🐎 Not Done Yet…

They lost me somewhere in season 4. I think it was a big mistake to open things up to the real world so early. Westworld stopped being Westworld and turned into something else.

https://ew.com/jonathan-nolan-still-intends-to-finish-westworld-8624582

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/westworld-season-5-storyline

🦔 Cute But Mighty In Its Own Way…

Behold, the echidna.

https://www.bushheritage.org.au/species/echidna

But wait, there’s more.

https://www.bushheritage.org.au/species/echidna

🌚 Stars Aligning Now…

Join me tomorrow for soap and VanderExploits. Until then, stay safe, stay not leaving puddles around the sink in a public restroom, and stay remembering that everything can be fixed with conversation, a hug, and tequila. And also, that the echidna has a four-headed penis. You’ll be a real hit at parties.

March 22, 2024 – Jason Does the Only Thing He Can, Background, Next Wives, Post Reunion, Dead Talk, 2 For 2, Festival Time, A Hug, Pets (!) Online, A Frame’s Worth Of Quotes & Night

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Maxie says, let’s just kind of put this whole Bellpo thing behind. Things got a little tense for them for a second. Sasha says she’s an educated woman having a serious conversation with other intelligent women about how she has to look less wholesome. How nuts is that? Lucy says, her face is really perfect, and Sasha says, except it’s not edgy enough. She’s willing to change her look, but not the way Lucy means it. Lucy says, that’s fine. It’s just that this cover for Bellpo was a huge, huge score, and now they have nothing. Maxie says, there are other magazines in town and they all have covers, but Lucy says, no. She doesn’t get it. Bellpo is the jewel in the industry’s crown. They have to have this exposure if they’re going to pull Deception out of this financial hole. They need those jewels and need Sasha on every single cover they can get. Sasha says she’s been doing this for a while now, and she thinks it’s been long enough, and Maxie says, take some time to think about it. They all should. Sasha says, fine. She’s not hurt. She’s not offended. Not at all. She’s been hearing comments about her appearance since the day she started modeling. It’s the nature of the job. Lucy says, see? She’s a pro and she gets it. And she gets Lucy. Sasha says, after what she’s been through in the past year, especially last summer, she realizes there are more important things in life. More important things in her life than being paid to be looked at. Maxie says she can pretty much guarantee they’re not going to get anything productive done tonight. So she would consider it a personal favor if they could just schedule the time in the future to discuss everyone’s concerns properly. Brook says, sounds good, and Sasha says, good for Maxie. Sure. Lucy says, no. They’re going to settle this right now. Maxie says she really thinks it would be best… Lucy says, they cannot just hug this out this time. She doesn’t think that what just happened to them with Bellpo isn’t going to get out right away. If they stand any chance of salvaging their reputation and recovering all the losses they suffered last summer, they need to do something. And she’s not about to let this tank her company. Brook says, excuse me? Your company?

Cody walks into the stables and says he hopes Comet likes looking at this face, because he’s going to be seeing a lot more of it. He kind of lost it at Deception today. He doesn’t know if he told Comet, but he was the official male Face of Deception. He knows. Didn’t make any sense to him either and he hated it. Anyways, today Lucy told Sasha that her face was too wholesome, and she needed to be edgier. Then Lucy said some more stuff. He doesn’t really know what it was because he kind of tunes her out. He picks up some carrots and says, anyways, what he said to her was, if she’s gonna replace Sasha, she’s gonna replace him too. And then Lucy said he was a bad model anyway… Yeah, he knows, right? So he quit. He gives Comet a carrot and says, you know what? It felt really good to stick it to Lucy. Now he’s wondering if he made the right decision.

Diane meets Robert at the PC Grill and apologizes for being late to lunch. He asks what kept the redhead this time, and she says, interesting question. Nothing but the pursuit of justice.

Chase leads a bunch of children wearing play badges into the squad room and tells them, this is where the action is. Donna asks if this is where they bring bad guys, and he says, yes, and then we question them in there. That is the interrogation room. It’s quieter, a little more private. This is his desk. This is where he works on his cases or helps other detectives work on their cases. He doesn’t just arrest people. Donna points to Dante’s desk, and says, that’s her brother’s desk. He’s a detective too. Chase says, Dante Falconari is one of their best detectives, and Donna says, he got hurt. He’s in the hospital getting better. Chase says, he sure is. So that’s Dante’s desk, this is his desk. They also talk to witnesses here and in the field and collect evidence. Being a police officer can be very dangerous. Officers sacrifice practically everything to keep this community and them safe.

Michael asks how Jason is feeling, and Jason says, better, thanks to him and Willow. Michael says, it looks like he’s moving around better, and Jason says he is. Michael says, that’s good, and Jason asks, what’s wrong? Michael says, Jason has to leave.

Brook says, Lucy’s company is majority owned by her grandmother, and Lucy says, by the thinnest of majorities. Brook says, still, the majority. Any discussion about the Face of Deception – past, present, or future – will involve Tracy. Got it? Lucy says, her grandmother Tracy does not care about the future of Deception, and Brook knows that. Otherwise, she’d still be here, instead of throwing her weight around at some hospital board meeting. Brook says, she didn’t leave the country. She’ll be back. Lucy says, that would be so nice for all of them, and for Deception, if she would just leave the country, but Brook says, it wouldn’t matter. They can’t make a move without Tracy’s involvement or her proxy. Maxie tells them, this is why she said they weren’t going to get anything productive done right now. She’s got to say, a little break is looking better and… Lucy says she founded this company. It was an idea in her head, and she made it a successful reality. Brook says, and somewhere along the way, she left herself vulnerable to a lawsuit, and Lucy says, that’s it. End of discussion. They’re not going to discuss anything now, after a break, ever. Because she doesn’t care what kind of stake Tracy has in the company. It’s more hers than Tracy’s. It’s more hers than anybody else’s, so guess what? If there is a problem, she’ll find a way to handle it, and she’ll fix it. And if Brook doesn’t like it, there’s the door.

As Cody brushes Comet, he says, how dumb is modeling as a job anyways, right? There’s these people standing around, touching your face, your hair, your clothes, putting on makeup. Being around Sasha and Maxie, that was pretty great, but he hadn’t really thought about how this is going to affect them. But they want him to be happy, right? And they’re more than capable of taking care of themselves. He hears Olivia ask if he’s around and he says, in here, Mama Q. Olivia comes in with a casserole dish, and he asks if everything’s okay. She says, Dante’s the same. Sam is with him right now. She came home to get some rest. She tried to take a nap, but it turns out, she can’t relax. So she cooked instead. He thanks her for bringing it down, and she says she guesses she had an ulterior motive. It’s very peaceful here, and she could use a little bit of that right about now.

Michael says, the numbers in the GH pharmacy didn’t match up to what they had in storage, and Jason says, because Willow took meds out to help him. Michael says, the computerized update doesn’t always happen in real time and only a few bottles were taken. They weren’t the kind that had any real value on the streets, so nobody was panicking, but Elizabeth is the head nurse, so… Jason says, so she would have been held responsible for the missing drugs, and Michael says, and Willow would never let her take the fall for this, so he contacted Spinelli. He hacked into the inventory and adjusted the numbers, so Elizabeth and Willow are in the clear. Jason says, that kind of medicine, the amount, it took Spinelli two minutes to figure out who the meds were for. Michael says, he didn’t, but Jason says, too many people are getting pulled into this. Michael says, he’s right, and he feels like crap for saying this, but he can’t keep putting Willow in this position. The FBI are asking questions and it’s not fair to Wiley and Amelia to be taking these kinds of chances. Jason says, Michael is right. He has to leave. Michael says he agrees. And that’s why he found a way for Jason to disappear.

Olivia tells Cody that she’s been talking to Dante non-stop, repeating all those crazy stories from his childhood, the crazy things he did. It’s a miracle she didn’t have fully stark white hair by the time she was 25. It really struck her looking back at how resilient Dante always was. He still is. Cody agrees, and she says, sleep can be very healing, and that’s what her son is doing right now. He is healing. So she talked herself hoarse, and now Sam is talking herself hoarse, and Cody’s got a free meal. He takes the dish from her and says, the day he turns down any of her cooking, she knows he’s been kicked in the head by one of these guys and it’s time to have him committed. She tells him not to get excited; it’s standard issue manicotti. He says, it smells amazing, and she says, it was relaxing to actually do something for someone instead of just sitting around and waiting. He says, no one is good at the kind of waiting she’s doing. If she could spare the time, he’d really love the company. If she doesn’t mind the horse smell of course (🍷). She takes off her coat and says, it’s better than the smell of the hospital. She sits down and says she can see why Leo likes it down here. To be around healthy living things is really nice.

Diane tells Robert that she’s looking into having Alexis’s disbarment vacated. Alexis didn’t even get a hearing. Evidence was just presented that she perjured herself at Neil Byrne’s medical board hearing. Robert says, as he recalls, he was her therapist and she was sleeping with him, but Diane says, oh no. He wasn’t her therapist at the time. They simply didn’t wait the requisite two years before… enjoying each other’s company. Unfortunately, in a regrettable lapse of judgement, Alexis decided to tell the board they were not sleeping together in order to save Neil’s license, but then that lie was discovered and her license was yanked. He says, lawyers who perjure themselves are generally frowned upon, and she says, yes, but they didn’t even give Alexis the chance to challenge the charge. They simply yanked her license and washed their hands of her. He says, she’s a smart woman. She could have appealed. Diane says, she’s a very smart lawyer and she deserved to have a hearing. Everyone deserves to be heard. Robert says, that’s certainly true, and she says she wants to find out who exactly was sitting on the committee at that time, and why the process moved so quickly, and was so under the radar. He says he thinks it was an open and shut case. True? She says she thinks a lot of things are possible. That’s not one of them. She can feel it in her bones. He says he’s intrigued. He loves watching her mind work. He wants to see the sparks fly. She says, don’t go looking for any fire extinguishers, because she’s just getting started.

Lucy says, Sasha knows this crazy business. Has she said anything that isn’t true? No. She had to sacrifice more than anybody else here for this business. She’s given her heart, her mind, her body, her soul, her bank account to make a success of all of this. Sasha says she knows. She cares about this company and its success too. Just not the way she used to. Lucy asks what she’s saying, and Sasha says, hearing Cody speak made her realize what she’s been feeling. She’s so grateful to Lucy for giving her the opportunity to work at Deception. Lucy changed her life. And she loved coming in every day and seeing them. She loves them, but she thinks she’s over all of this. Effective immediately, she’s resigning as the Face of Deception.

Diane tells Robert, at her core, Alexis will always be a lawyer. You can take her bar card away, but she’ll always be driven by the pursuit of justice. It’s one of the things that made them such great friends, this passion that borders on obsession. He says, which plays to the more colorful versions of some of her clients, and she asks what she can say. A life of muted tones is not for her. Alexis has a fondness for colors too. That, and her incredible skill, made Diane offer her a job at her firm. So when her license is reinstated, he’s going to have to go up against both of them in court. He says, and when he wins, he takes them all out to celebrate, and she laughs. She says she knows him – you generous thing – he would anyway, and he says, let’s just hope it happens for Alexis. Diane says she’s contacted everybody she knows, she’s called in almost all her favors, and she will find out why Alexis was barred in such unceremonious fashion. He says, if he can help in any way, he’s at her disposal, and she thanks him and says, that’s very sweet of him. He says, so she’s not going to need him, is she? and she says, no. She has it well in hand. He says he would never bet against her, and she says, only a fool would bet against her and he’s no fool.

Olivia tells Cody that she shouldn’t be here right now. She’s Dante’s mother and should be at his bedside, channeling all her energy to him until he wakes up. She starts to get up, but Cody puts his hand on her arm, and says, an actual mama bear doesn’t have anything on her, but she needs to give herself a break. Otherwise, she’s going to end up in the bed next to Dante. He wouldn’t want that. No one does. She sits back down, and he says, she’s an amazing mom. Dante always says it. She says she knows. You hear those stories sometimes about the moms seeing a kid pinned under a car or something, and they get a big rush of adrenaline, and pick the car up like some kind of superhero. He says he kind of thinks she’s sort of a superhero. She’s been dealing with an incredible amount of stress lately and she’s practically living at the hospital. Any mere mortal would have been crushed by it all. He’d grab her cape and prove it to her, but it’s at the drycleaner. She laughs, and he says he knows if anyone can pull through this, it’s Dante. That same strength is in every fiber of his being. He got it from her.

Maxie asks Sasha, please think about this. Deception needs her. Brook says, she’s right. Deception wouldn’t be where it is without her. Sasha tells them, thank you, and she meant what she said; she loves them. But it’s time. Lucy says, that’s it. It’s time for Sasha to take a vacation. They’ve been expanding the marketing so fast, and all that pressure has been on her. Sasha’s been carrying this all alone. That’s why she thought of maybe a second face, someone who could help her carry the burden, just help her to breathe. Brook tells her, that’s not why she said what she said, and they all know it, and Lucy asks if Brook is living inside her head now. Brook says, God forbid. No wonder Sasha wants out. Lucy says, if Brook is so miserable, she’s not being held hostage. Go. Brook says, should she ever want to leave Deception, she’ll discuss it with the majority shareholder, her grandmother. As for Sasha, she could hire a thousand new Faces of Deception, but it won’t matter. Lucy asks, why is that? and Brook says, because Lucy will run every single one of them off too. She walks out, and Lucy asks, is that true? Is Sasha quitting because of her?

Michael says he can get Jason on the ELQ jet and send him to the Grand Keys. It will only take a couple phone calls to get a doctor to meet him there to oversee his recovery. Jason says, the workers, the flight plans, the money transfers, everything can be traced back to Michael, but Michael says he’ll charter a jet. Jason says, too risky, and Michael says, for Jason, it’s a risk he’s willing to take. Jason says he appreciates that, but Michael knows he can’t let him do it, and Michael says he’s not going to let Jason take off in the middle of the night by himself. What happens to Jason matters to him. Jason says, even if he makes it to the Grand Keys, it would do no good. He told Michael, somebody has leverage over him. If he runs, there’s going to be consequences. Michael asks what he’s going to do, and Jason says, the only thing he can.

As Brook watches, Chase tells the kids that they are now official friends of the Port Charles Police Department. Everybody, raise your right hand. Do they solemnly swear to uphold the law; to be kind, thoughtful, and respectful to other people in their family, school, and community? They nod, and he says, all right. He hereby elevates them to honorary deputy status. Be proud. Cutest child in the world Donna says, this is awesome, and thanks him. Chase says, she’s welcome. The teacher tells them, let’s go get your coats, and leads them out. Brook gives Chase a kiss and says, they’re so cute. He says, it’s definitely one of his more interesting tours, and she says, seeing him be adorable with a bunch of kids is exactly what she needed. He says he thought she was supposed to be at Deception, and she says, she was. She could no longer be kind and helpful and respectful, so she took a break and came here. He asks, what happened? and she says, same thing as always. Lucy Coe. What started off as a simple meeting, turned into a mini disaster because of Lucy. If she strangles Lucy, can she plead temporary insanity? He says she can plead however she wants, but he’d still have to arrest her. Could she maybe hold off on the strangling? At least until after their wedding? Very few people get her the way Lucy does. Brook says, she has a unique… gift, and he says he’s worried about her. Is she sure it was the right thing, going back to Deception? She says, not anymore. She’s starting to think her plan to hand Maxie back Deception is just making everything worse all the way around.

Sasha says, it’s not Lucy’s fault she’s leaving Deception. Lucy is not driving her out. Lucy says, great, and thanks her. She knows they can work something out because she doesn’t want Sasha to leave either. Sasha thanks her for saying that, but she’s not going to change her mind. Lucy knows she never wanted to be a model. Then Michael negotiated an amazing deal for her that included a stake in the company, and she couldn’t say no. Lucy says she remembers. He made that deal with her. Sasha says, she was, and still is, so grateful to Lucy, but she’s not the same person she was when she signed on. The things she’s lived through, the things that she’s lost, they’ve changed her. She isn’t sure what she wants out of life, but she’s sure she doesn’t want to stand in front of cameras getting her picture taken. Or try to fit anyone’s concept of who they want her to be or what she’s supposed to do. Lucy says, okay. She guesses if Sasha feels that’s necessary to live her very best life… She picks up a folder from the desk and says, she would be remiss though, if she didn’t remind Sasha of a couple of the deal points that were in that contract that they all signed together – her Deception shares and her leadership position. If she resigns and she’s not their spokesmodel anymore, then she has to give up both of those. Maxie looks disgruntled.

Diane’s phone rings, and it says, Michael Corinthos. She asks Robert to excuse her. She has to take this. She goes out to the hallway and asks what she can do for Michael. Jason says, it’s not Michael, and she says she’s been expecting this call. What took him so long? He says, the timing wasn’t right, and she says, well, timing is everything. Tell her what he needs.

Talking with his mouth full, Cody tells Olivia that he doesn’t know exactly what time it was, but they were at camp. Dante, being Mr. City Kid, had no idea which end to milk the cow from. (Come on.) Olivia laughs and says, in his defense, we didn’t milk a lot of cows in Bensonhurst. He says, it didn’t matter though, because in three days, Dante was like Bear Grylls. She says, and that’s a good thing? and he says, it’s a great thing. Bear Grylls is like this outdoor British survival guy. He could survive on air and bark if he needed to, and Dante was so smart. He could adapt to changes in altitude, time of day, terrain, better than anyone. He started racking up badges right away. Canoeing, first aid, tracking… She says, whatever happened to making lanyards and tying knots? and he says, oh, they tied knots. He laughs and says he practiced tying knots on Dante. He tied Dante into a canoe and pushed him into the middle of the lake. Olivia says, Cody… but Cody says, don’t worry, Mama Q. He pulled a full Houdini. He got out and brought himself back in like, fifteen minutes. And that only took so long because he actually took a nap in the middle of the lake. She laughs, and he says, the fact that his knots didn’t slow Dante down almost cost him his badge. She says, Dante could fall asleep anywhere, and Cody says he knows when Dante wakes up this time, he’s going to look at him with the same look at me, dummy smile that he had last time. She says she hopes so. She should go. She should get herself back to the hospital. She thanks him for cheering her up, and he says, anytime. Thanks for lunch. She hugs him and asks him to do her one favor. He says, anything, and she says, don’t tell her any more stories about camp. He says, all right, and she leaves.

Maxie asks if Lucy hasn’t done enough, and Lucy says she’s just trying to be honest. She wants Sasha to know the consequences if she just walks out. She wants Sasha to understand, to be perfectly clear about what happens. Maxie says, and she’s already dug a hole for them, so why not make it deeper? and Lucy tells Sasha, there is something else. If she resigns and walks away from Deception, she has to sell back her shares at market price. Sasha says, fine. Just send her a check. Lucy says, no. It’s not fine. They’re not worth what it used to be. The market price has gone way down. So if she could just wait until their market strategies work, then maybe when she leaves, she can end up with a big chunk of change. Because right now, she’s going to walk away with 30% of not much, which equals… not much. Sasha says, Gladys basically cleared her out, so whatever she gets, it will be more than she has now. And you can’t put a price on happiness. She leaves, and Lucy looks at Maxie. Maxie says, what the hell is wrong with you?

Chase says, Maxie is lucky to have Brook as a friend. What she’s doing will change Maxie’s life. Brook says, that was the idea, but now Lucy’s over there having a tantrum that she can’t do whatever she wants whenever she wants. That she has to answer to Tracy, and by extension, Brook, and if she can’t… He says, share her toy? and Brook says, exactly. The way things are going, at this point, there might not even be a company to hand over to Maxie, assuming she can pry it out of her grandmother’s hands, which was a long shot to begin with, and is getting longer every day. He says, she can’t control Lucy’s actions. No one can, including Lucy. But she comes from a long line of accomplished schemers, and she’s emerged as one of the family’s best. She can handle Lucy Coe. She tells him that he says the sweetest things, when Diane walks in. Chase asks if she has someone in lock-up today, and she says, no. She’s accompanying her client, who is – she speaks louder – surrendering voluntarily. She goes over to the door, opens it, and Jason walks in. Jason says, yo. Not really, but it looked like he should.

Lucy tells Maxie that they still have an ace in the hole. Blaze. Remember? Maxie was really excited about having her be the Face of Deception before Tracy shot them down. Maxie says, and she still could, but Lucy says, there are so many more possibilities now for Blaze. She doesn’t think Tracy can say no. Think about it. Blaze is really a big deal now. She brings lots of fans and followers. Think of all those folks she could bring to them. Maxie says, yep. She’s right. Blaze is a bigger deal. So she might not be interested or available. And even if she were interested, who’s her manager again? Oh, that’s right. Brook Lynn. And somehow, by the magic of Lucy being Lucy, she’s managed to get even more on Brook’s bad side. Lucy says, come on. This is Deception they’re talking about. Blaze will be interested, and she’ll make herself available to them. She can fix this. She swears. Maxie puts her head in her hands and tells Lucy that anything she does will be temporary. Because she’s not a partner. She’s a one-woman wrecking ball. Lucy doesn’t consult with her. She just does whatever the hell she wants and to hell with everyone else. Their lives don’t matter. Does Lucy have any idea what it’s cost Maxie to stick with her? She can’t even look at Lucy right now. Lucy says, please… but Maxie says, no! This is still her office. Please leave. Lucy picks up her bag, looks back at Maxie, whose head is in her hands again, and she leaves.

There’s a knock at the stable door, and Sasha comes in. Cody says he always knew the stables were the hip place to be, and she says she likes the regulars who hang out here. He asks how she left things at Deception, and she says she’s done at Deception. She walked too. He says he wasn’t pushing her to do that. She didn’t think that, did she? She says, no. Does he think she’d let him push her into doing anything she didn’t want? Relax. She did it for her. She’s been feeling like she needed a change, but she didn’t quite know what that looked like. It’s kind of dumb. He says, not really. It’s hard to see things clearly when you’re in the middle of them. She says, when he just walked like that, something clicked for her. She thinks it was so much harder leaving Deception in her head than it actually was, and he asks if she’s sure. She has history and friends there. She says, they’ll still be her friends. But she’s so tired of hearing about how she looks all the time. If she wakes up with Troll doll hair, she wants to just go with it. He says he’s not sure how that would happen, but he’d love to see it, and she says he might regret saying that. He says, just tell him if he’s overstepping, but is she going to be okay financially? Gladys didn’t help her there. She says her rent is paid for the rest of the month and after that, she’ll think of something. She always does. And she’s not above enhancing her resumé a little bit. He says if she needs a reference for her time spent as CEO of Comet Incorporated, tell them to give him a call. She says he can count on it. Cody gets more carrots, and she asks if he always knew what he wanted to do with his life professionally. He says he never had any idea. You’d think that a guy who made a living getting tossed off of horses would make some kind of plan for the future, but no. There was never a time where he was like, one more year and it’s back to school and off to his real career as a brain surgeon/astronaut. In hindsight, he probably should have been a little smarter. She says he doesn’t really mean that, and he says, she’s right. He was never cut out for a suit and tie kind of job. She asks if it made him nervous when he didn’t know how he was going to pay the rent the next month, and he says, yeah, sometimes. He was also free to pick up any gig interesting or fun. That kind of freedom comes with a price. He gives Comet a carrot, and Sasha says, anxiety? Sleepless nights? He says, sometimes. That kind of life isn’t for everyone. He’s not even sure if it’s for him anymore. She says, that’s a change, and he says he guesses so. He’s happy living here in Port Charles, working for the Q’s. And because he stayed, he has family and friends… horses. Sasha says, really good friends? and he says, yeah. And because of the money that he made standing around and smiling – horribly, apparently – he can afford to have some new dreams. She says, like Serenity? and he says, that’s one of them. She asks, what’s the other? and he just smiles. She says she’s excited for the possibilities. She knows there’s a truly fulfilling career out there, and she’s going to find it. He says, yeah, she is. Here is to her new career. He hands her a carrot, and they clink carrots. Cody takes a bite of his, then gives it to Comet.

Michael goes into the boathouse and texts Willow: No groceries. Boathouse is empty. He says he hopes Jason is right about this.

Chase gives Jason his rights, and Diane congratulates him on his scrupulous recitation of her client’s Miranda rights. Now if Chase doesn’t mind, she’d like a moment to confer with him. Chase says he does mind. She can talk to him after he’s been booked. Diane says she can cite any number of cases where defendants needed to be released due to technicalities that occurred during the booking process, specifically when the booking process was used as a stall to deny defendant’s counsel. She’s sure that’s not his intention, but the easiest way to ensure the booking process goes smoothly at the proper time, is to let her talk to Jason first. Chase looks at Jason, who stares straight ahead, and says, fine. Right this way. He takes them into the interrogation room and closes the door on his way out. Chase tells Brook, Dante is lying in a bed unconscious and the guy who put him there looks just fine to him. She says, looks can be deceiving though, right? It’s a good thing Jason came in. They need to hear what he’s going to say. Chase says, he’s not going to talk. He has Diane for that. He wishes he could… He raises his fists, but Brook puts her hands on his and says she knows. But he has a bunch of honorary deputies out there and they need him here, doing his job, keeping them safe.

Diane says she sure hopes Jason knows what he’s doing. He’s looking at some very serious charges. Two counts of attempted murder, one against a police officer with armor piercing rounds. That alone carries a special circumstance charge. She’ll try to get an arraignment for tomorrow. He thanks her, and she tells him that if she hasn’t said it already, it’s very, very good to see him again. She just wishes it were under better circumstances. He says, him too, and she says, any chance he’s going to tell her what this is all about? He says he can tell her this. He won’t be in here for long.

On Monday, Elizabeth tells Willow that she just wishes she knew anything about Jason; John asks someone what the hell they’re doing here; Chase tells Brook that he’s going to get answers for Dante’s sake; and Michael says he has some news about Jason.

🧼 Filling In the Blanks…

All about the original Stone.

All about Blair. This was suddenly in the headlines on Soaps In Depth, so I wonder if she’s coming back.

👠 Duck and Cover…

New Housewives coming up. I have to admit to being intrigued by the whole Alexis thing. You can’t tell me Andy/Bravo didn’t know this would set Shannon off like a firecracker.

And what’s wrong with McDonald’s?

💎 After the Reunion Is Over…

Can you blame her?

Can you blame her? And seriously, Dorit felt manipulated? If you don’t like it, ignore it and do what you want.

He’d like to stop it, but he’s too busy raiding the refrigerator after an attack of the munchies.

Even if nobody asked her to.

⚰️ Upcoming Ones…

What’s on the burner for Sunday night.

https://www.cbr.com/the-walking-dead-towl-105-clip

https://screenrant.com/walking-dead-ethanol-fire-ones-who-live-ending-hint

🐉 Dragon Times Two…

A peek at Season 2.

https://ew.com/house-of-the-dragon-season-2-dueling-trailers-ryan-condal-breaks-down-secrets-8611648

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/house-of-the-dragon-season-2-trailers-black-vs-green

🎸 It’s On…

All you need to know.

https://www.lollapalooza.com

🌊 Gentle Giant…

One of my favorite animals!

https://people.com/footage-manatee-hugs-surfer-board-in-water-8608177

🐕 Socialized Pets…

I’m all about Redford. He reminds me of Jim on Mike & Molly.

🦜 Quotes of the Week

Don’t try to be young. Just open your mind. Stay interested in stuff.Betty White

The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made. – Groucho Marx

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure. – Colin Powell

For those who fight for it, life has a flavor the sheltered will never know. – Wise Man (Scott Glenn), Sucker Punch

When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself. Wayne Dyer

It is, of course, quite true that God will not love you any the less, or have less use for you, if you happen to have been born with a very second-rate brain. He has room for people with very little sense, but He wants everyone to use what sense they have. – C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (He sounds like Anthony Hopkins in my head.)

Live your vision and demand your success. – Steve Maraboli

Church is meaningless if you’re a monster once you step outside into the real world. – Allen Clifton

I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man. – George Washington

I haven’t seen this much sh*t since my last bowel movement. – Jack Warner (Stanley Tucci), The Feud: Bette and Joan

🚣‍♀️ Rowing the Boat Ashore…

You go, Glen Coco, but then join me on Monday really Tuesday for soap and a murderous Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay not interrupting workers when they’re helping other customers; and stay being kind, thoughtful, and respectful to other people in your family, school, and community.

December 26, 2023 – Nina Makes a Confession, Premature Exit, Silent Night, What They Did, Switching Wives, Paige Tells All, Christmas Lists, Merry Chickmas & My Year

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

At the hospital, Carly tells Laura that Christmas Eve never gets old. Did she see how magical it was for the kids? Laura says, it’s the same for her. It was even more magical because she got to see Ace seeing it for the first time. Where does the time go? Carly says, Josslyn’s in college. How did that happen? Sonny joins them and says he thinks he enjoyed Laura’s reading more than the kids did. Laura says, rumor has it that Sonny funded the festivities at the hospital, even more generously than before. He says, rumor has it, and she says, a lady never reveals her sources, but thank you. It’s a shame Nina wasn’t here to see it. She remembers the year Nina headed the committee to plan the party, so obviously, it means something to her. Carly says, Sonny told them she was coming, and Sonny says, Willow told him that she decided to stay in church a little bit, but she’ll be here.

In the confessional, Nina tells the priest, really Cyrus, that she’s never been to confession before, but she didn’t know where else to turn. She wonders if it’s okay that she’s here, but Cyrus says, God is eager to help all His children. Go on. She says she did something terrible. She was spiraling out of control and knew the second she did it, that it was wrong, but she had no idea it would hurt so many people so much. He asks who she hurt, and she says, people who may not be saints, but they didn’t deserve what happened because of her. He asks who these people are, friends, family? and she asks if it matters, but he says, to truly advise her, he needs more information. Let go. Open her heart. God wants to hear everything.

Spencer tells Trina that he doesn’t think he’s ever seen Ace fall asleep that fast. He was out before his head hit the pillow. She says, he’s probably exhausted from all the excitement of the party. He was so happy being around all those people fussing over him. Spencer says, not half as happy as he was. How did he get so lucky to spend Christmas with her and his little brother? She says, Esme was generous to let him have Ace for the night, and he says, maybe this is part of her turning over a new leaf thing, and Trina says, maybe. Or maybe there’s another explanation. Maybe she wasn’t being generous. Maybe she just had plans. He says, doing what? and she says, maybe Esme had a date.

At Windymere, Esme flashes back to setting up the revenge porn, then turning in Trina for it. Then she remembers telling Spencer that he’s delusional if he thinks she’s going to let Trina off the hook, and she remembers taunting Ava, saying Ava drove Kiki to her death. Then she flashes back to setting the Christmas tree on fire in the tower room.

Ava comes into Windymere, and sees the broken window. Her phone rings, and it’s her security company. They tell her that they received a signal of a break-in, and the PCPD should be there shortly. She thanks them, takes out her gun, and says, it may be too late. Dante says, police, don’t move, and then realizes it’s Ava. He asks what the hell she’s doing here.

Spencer asks Trina who Esme would be dating. She doesn’t know that many people here, and the ones she does, know her history. Trina says, Esme’s circle might not be as small as he thinks. She’s got a new job and a new apartment. Maybe she met someone who only knows the new Esme, a co-worker or a neighbor. He says, and she thinks Esme’s on a date with that person? and she says, it’s possible. Would that bother him if she was? He says, absolutely not. Esme is a grown woman; she can do what she wants. If Esme were to start dating, the only thing he’d worry about is how that person treated Ace. Esme should feel free to go off and have a life of her own. Trina says, good, and he says, especially if it leads to more nights like tonight where Ace is asleep in the other room and they’re here alone. They have the place to themselves. Whatever will they do? She says she wonders what, and they kiss. His phone rings, and he says, speak of the devil. Trina says she’ll get them something from the kitchen, and Spencer answers. Esme says she’s so glad he picked up. She has something to talk to him about. He asks if something is wrong, and when she doesn’t answer, he says he gets it. It’s her first night away from Ace after getting the new place, and she’s naturally worried about it, but she doesn’t have to be. Ace had a fabulous time at the party, and now he’s asleep in the other room, dreaming about all the presents he’s going to open tomorrow. She says she’s glad, but that’s not exactly what… She hears Trina asks if Spencer wants cinnamon in his eggnog.

Laura says she thinks this is the first time she can remember being at this party without Bobbie being here. It’s taking her so long to settle Luke’s estate (😕). Carly says she thought Bobbie would be done weeks ago, and Sonny says, estates can be complicated. Knowing Luke, he’s sure Luke left Bobbie a few surprises. Carly says she spoke to Bobbie on the phone earlier, and she sounded cheerful, but when isn’t she? She did say Luke’s affairs were a mess, but she’s making headway. Laura says she guesses they’ll hear all about it when Bobbie gets back.

Nina says, if she had one wish, it would be to turn back the clock. Then she wouldn’t do all the damage she’s done. Cyrus says, this spiteful act, did it cost someone their life? and she says, not their life, but something almost as bad. His freedom. Someone went to prison because she reported them to the authorities when she didn’t have to, and he suffered, and so did the people who love him. She’s also letting an innocent man take the blame for reporting that crime, because she’s a coward. People are so angry with him when they should be angry at her. Cyrus says he understands. Go on. She says she’d like to change it, but it’s too late to make it right. he says, it’s never too late, and she asks if he really thinks so, because she’d do anything to fix it. He says, then she needs to confess to the people she hurt, not just him in this confessional, but she says she can’t. She wishes she were strong enough to tell the truth, but if she tells her family what really happened, she might lose them. She could lose everything. He says, if she doesn’t, the guilt will continue to eat away at her conscience, and it will destroy any chance she has at future happiness. The truth will always set you free. She says, to be free of this burden, this pain, if only, and he says, anything is possible. Be courageous.  Be strong and correct the wrongs she did, and remember, she doesn’t walk alone. God is always with her. She says, God is with her, and thanks him. She says she won’t forget, and leaves the confessional. He says, neither will he.

Dante says he thought Ava and Avery moved into Nina’s place, and she says, they did, but she hasn’t sold Windymere yet. It’s still her property. He says he guesses he can’t stop her from wandering around her house with a loaded weapon, and she says, so he’s not taking her in… for defending herself in her own home after a break-in? He asks if she’s defending herself or looking for an intruder to shoot.

Carly says she couldn’t get over the kids’ faces as Laura was reading, when Nina comes out of the elevator. She hugs Sonny and says she’s so sorry. She can’t believe she missed everything. How did it go? Laura says, it was amazing, due in no small part to her husband’s generosity, and Nina says, the man she married is pretty great. Did he take a lot of pictures? He says, no, but Carly took a great picture of Donna. Could she send it to him? Carly says, sure, and Laura asks if she can see. Carly shows Laura her phone, and Nina asks if Willow didn’t tell Sonny where she was. He says, at church, but he expected her sooner, and she says he didn’t have to worry. Frank drove her here and she felt totally protected and safe. He asks if she got what she needed at the church, and she says she thinks so. He tells her that Willow said she was thinking about Nelle, and she says, yes, Nelle… and others.

Esme tells Spencer that it sounds like there’s someone else there, so she’ll make it quick. Trina asks Spencer what she’s calling about, and he says he doesn’t know, but it’s not going to take long. He asks if Esme is still there, and she says she just wanted him to know that she’s not going to be picking up Ace tonight. He can wake up with Spencer on Christmas morning, and she’ll pick him up later tomorrow. He says, okay. Wow. That’s great. He’d love to be able to spend Ace’s first Christmas morning with him. Is she sure she doesn’t want to take him home? She says, positive. Merry Christmas. He says, merry Christmas, but she’s already gone. Trina asks what all that was about, but he says he’s not sure, but he’s starting to wonder. Maybe Esme does have a heart after all.

Nina tells Sonny that she really needed something tonight, and found it at All Saints, with a new understanding. He says, about what? and she says, it’s probably… His phone dings, and he says, it’s Ava. There’s been a break-in on Spoon Island. Nina says, what? and Laura says, tell her to call the police, but Sonny says, the police are there right now. Dante’s there, but Ava wants him to go because Dante’s his son and he can keep it unofficial. Laura says she might be able to help; she’ll go with him. Sonny says he doesn’t think it’s a big deal, but Laura says she wants to go. It was her son’s home and if this break-in is somehow related to him in any way… If for some reason he might be back, she wants to be there. Sonny says he understands, and asks Carly to tell Donna that he loves her and merry Christmas. Nina says she’ll take care of Avery. She wishes she could go with him. He says he’ll talk to her later and thanks her for picking up Avery. She says, of course (🍷), of course (🍷), and Sonny and Laura leave. Carly says she’s going to pick up Donna and go home, but Nina asks if she can wait a second. She has something to say to her. She stayed at the church today because she wanted to ask the priest for guidance… about Carly.

Spencer tells Trina that Ace didn’t even flinch when he stubbed his toe and said a word his grandmother definitely wouldn’t approve of. He thinks it’s safe to say he’s out for the night. Trina says she should get home because her mom is planning a whole breakfast and opening presents tomorrow morning. She has to get started early. He says, that’s a bad idea. Stay here, because it’s so much harder to be away from her, especially after their trip to New York. She say she feels the same way, and they kiss. He asks if something’s wrong, and she says, it’s just that she can’t stop thinking about something else. He says, that’s just what every man wants to hear after he kisses the woman he loves, and she says, it’s Esme. He says, of course (🍷) it is, and she asks if he really believes what he said, that she’s had a change of heart. He says he doesn’t know. He’d like to. She put his grandmother and Ace first tonight. That’s a big step for her. Trina says, it is, and he says he’d really like to think Esme’s turning a corner here, but they don’t know that. So doesn’t she think they talked about Esme enough for one night? She says, they’ve talked enough about Esme for a lifetime, and he leads her to the sofa, saying, so maybe they should stop talking about her altogether. They kiss.

Ava asks if Dante thinks she’d be reckless enough to go after a burglar all on her lonesome, and he asks if she really wants him to answer that. There’s a knock at the door, and Ava open the door to Sonny and Laura, who says she decided to tag along. They go into the living room, and seeing the broken window, Laura says, whoever did this wasn’t looking to hide themselves, were they? Ava says, and everybody knows this place has a security system. Whoever did it thought it was worth risking getting caught. Sonny says, let him take her home. Let Dante do his job. Ava says, absolutely not. She’s not leaving until she finds out who broke in here. Laura suggests she and Dante take a look around, but Dante says he doesn’t think it’s a good idea. The house has been declared a crime scene. She says she used to live here, and her son owned the property for many years. She knows her way around this very large, very confusing home. She’s happy to show him around if it doesn’t interfere with his procedure at all. He says, it probably falls under some kind of grey area, and she says, great, let’s do it, but he says, they don’t know if the house is empty. Please stay behind him. She says, sure, and follows him out.

Esme looks at a photo of Spencer on her phone and wonders what she was thinking. Did she believe she was just going to own up, and he’d forget about all the things she did to Trina? That he’d congratulate her and say, great news, and forget all about Trina, and the things she did? And she, him, and Ace would have this happily ever after? He only cares about Trina and protecting her, and if she told him what she did… She cries and hears footsteps. She puts her ear to the door.

Sonny says, so Ava thinks whoever broke in here is the same person who sent her the pictures of dead Austin? It’s possible, but there’s no way to know. She says she’s sure the intruder is long gone by now.

Carly says, Nina asked for guidance about her? and Nina says she did. Whenever they’re together, they’re always sniping and arguing, and since it’s Christmas Eve, in the spirit of Christmas Eve, she thought it would be nice if they spent some time talking. Carly says, talking about what? and Nina says, when she was sitting in church, she realized, after all the pain, everything she’s been through in her life, she’s so blessed to be able to spend Christmas Eve with her family. She never thought she’d be able to say that. Spending Christmas Eve with her daughter and her children… Carly says, she’s a lucky lady, and Nina says she is. She’s very grateful for all of her family. She and Carly thinking a lot of family in common, and she started thinking about Carly and what she’s been through this year. The accusations of insider trading and financial problems and Drew going to prison… Carly asks if there’s a point to this because she has to go get Donna, and Nina says, there is. She’s sorry, and she’s trying to ask for Carly’s forgiveness. Carly says, forgiveness for what?

Nina says she not proud of herself, that her need for revenge is what drove her to hurt Carly and not tell her that Sonny was alive in Nixon Falls. Carly says, Nina has told her this before, and Nina says, something shifted. She wants to be a better person. She wants to be the kind of mom Willow brags about and the kind of grandmother that Wiley and Amelia are proud of. Sitting in that church – maybe it’s because of all the love around her, and support and peace – she realized there’s still a part of her that’s broken. There’s a part of her that still wants revenge for her daughter… Carly says she’s going to stop Nina right there. She knows what Nina is going to say.

Ava tells Sonny, anyone could have broken in here tonight. Maybe some kids playing a prank. He says, on Christmas Eve? and she says, why not? There’s no neighbors on Spoon Island, and it’s not exactly a professional job, right? It looks like something kids might do. He says, it’s possible, but there’s somebody out there sending her pictures of a dead guy and leaving a gun in her apartment. Now he’s broken in here. So does she think that would be kids or somebody playing mind games? She says she’s so sick of the whole damn thing, and he says, sick enough to do something reckless? That’s not going to happen, because he’s going to do everything he can to keep her safe. She thanks him, but says she thinks he knows she can protect herself. He says, what if she’s not the real target? What if he is?

Esme runs around looking for a place to hide, as Laura and Dante approach the tower room. They go in and Dante looks around with a flashlight. He says, the turret door is open. He’s going to check it out. She says, not without her, and he tells her to please just stay behind him. As they go into the turret, Esme runs out, dropping a glove.

Laura asks if Dante saw anything, but he says, nothing. Maybe forensics can find something. She says she’s sure they can. This person wasn’t really concerned with hiding their footsteps. He says, whoever was here didn’t get out by jumping off the turret, and she says, can they really be sure the intruder was in here? It’s possible Ava left the door open before she moved out. He says, it’s freezing in here. If Ava left the door open, it would be colder than the city. Someone must have left the door open more recently than that. She says, he’s right, and it is cold. She’s going in. They go inside, and Laura says she’s going to check on Ava. She seemed really shaken up. Dante says he’ll be down in a minute, and she starts to leave, but he says, wait. He picks up the glove with a pen.

Sonny tells Ava, the cops haven’t found the gunman who put Curtis in a wheelchair. The target could have been Anna, but it could have just as easily been him. She says, so he thinks whoever took that shot at the MetroCourt pool is sending her pictures of dead Austin and breaking into Windymere. He says, could be if it’s Cyrus, and she says, so he thinks Cyrus is stalking her to get to him? He says, they can’t rule anything out, but she says, as much as she’d like to blame him for her current situation, she does have enemies of her own. He says, whoever hurts her, hurts Avery, and he can’t allow that. So that’s why he’s taking a personal interest in her security.

Nina says, Carly knows? and Carly says, it’s really not that hard to figure out what’s going on here. Nina went to church and got caught up in the emotion of it all. Maybe it was the glow of the candles, or maybe it was the way the priest looked at her. She doesn’t know, but Nina’s guilty conscience started to get to her and now she feels the need to apologize. Nina says, that’s partly… and Carly says, but what’s really going on is that Nina feels that forgiveness is the last gift under the Christmas tree, and she really wants to open it and enjoy it. It makes sense because Nina’s gotten everything else she’s ever wanted. She’s got Sonny, Willow, her grandchildren, and the MetroCourt. Nina says, yes. She’s been very blessed this year. Carly says, at least Nina isn’t going to insult her by pretending she doesn’t see it. So why not feel entitled to ask for forgiveness too? She’s sorry to disappoint Nina, but she’s going to have to seek redemption somewhere else. Carly walks away.

The priest sees Cyrus and says, excuse me. Cyrus asks if there’s something wrong, and the priest says he was supposed to hear a confession and he was unavoidably delayed. Did he see a lady waiting? Cyrus says, as a matter of fact, there was someone here, but he saw her leave. The priest says he’s sorry he missed her, but hopefully, she’ll be back soon. Cyrus says he’s curious. How does he do it? The priest says, do what? and Cyrus says, when the lost come to him, unburden the heaviness of their souls, how does he help them? The priest says, it sounds like Cyrus is asking about someone in his own life, or himself, and Cyrus says, he’s very perceptive. He is asking for someone he knows, but it’s not him. He’s thinking about a friend who’s feeling lost and alone tonight. The priest says, the holidays can often make people feel that way, and Cyrus says he’s felt that way a time or two himself, but tonight he wants to help them, and he’d appreciate any advice the priest might have about how best to do that. The priest says, his friend is lucky to have him looking out for them. Confession is good for the soul. Merry Christmas. Cyrus says, merry Christmas, and the priest leaves. (Not very good at giving advice, is he?) Cyrus says, confession is good for the soul, but if Nina doesn’t do what’s good for her soul, he might have to do it for her. He dips his hand in the holy water, blesses himself, and leaves.

Nina follows Carly and says, please. It’s Christmas Eve. It’s a time when people are supposed to come together, and Carly still won’t give her an inch? Carly says she’s given Nina more than an inch. She’s given Nina more than a mile. She’s invited Nina to family gatherings and stood there while Wiley’s given Nina a hug and a kiss, and bit her tongue until it bled. And she tells herself over and over again that for his sake, she has to try and make things work. Then she has to remind herself that Sonny’s happiness affects Donna and Avery, so she keeps things pleasant, but that’s not good enough for Nina. Nina helped herself to Carly’s husband and her hotel. Now she wants Carly’s forgiveness on top of it? And she assumes she’s entitled to it. That sappy smile and saccharine speech is going to get her everything she wants? She doesn’t get to demand forgiveness; it’s a gift, and she’s not giving it to Nina. Nina says she’s come to Carly with the best of intentions, and Carly’s decided to stomp all over them. She’s not even listening. So much for peace on earth and good will to men. What does Carly want to do next? Does she want to kick over that Christmas tree? Carly says, Nina is unbelievable. She doesn’t get what she wants, and she’s so put upon. She loves playing the victim. Nina says she doesn’t want to fight with Carly. She didn’t come here to fight with Carly. She came here to make peace, to tell Carly her truth. She’s been sincere. Carly says she’s had a really long day. She wants to grab her little girl and go home to her family and enjoy what’s left of Christmas Eve. She walks out. I just have to interject that Carly keeps making it sound like Nina stole the hotel out from under her. She stole Sonny maybe, but Nina didn’t want the hotel in the first place, Carly had to sell it because of financial problems of her own making, and I’m sure Nina paid top dollar. I’m tired of them making it sound like she swindled Carly out of it.

Spencer asks Trina to tell her mom that she couldn’t get a Ride Share. Because of all the holiday parties, they were just awesome busy, so she had to stay a little bit longer. She says, they’re trying to get her mom to like him, remember? So keeping her daughter away from her on Christmas Eve is not a good idea. He says, that’s true, and she says she stayed longer than she planned, and she promised her mom and Curtis that she’d open one present at midnight. He says, fine, but if he had it his way, he’d spend this entire holiday with her. She asks how he’s so sweet, and he says, must be the Spencer side of his DNA. They kiss, and her phone dings. She tells Spencer, it’s her car, and he says, fine. He’ll let her go as long as she promises he can see her in the morning. He kisses her hand, and she says she still has to give Ace his present. He says, then it’s a date. Merry Christmas, Trina Robinson. She says, merry Christmas, Spencer, and they kiss.

At a sparse cemetery, Esme says she doesn’t even know what she’s doing here. It’s not like he was some great father who raised her from birth, and it hurts to live without him. He was as far from that as possible. But she can’t tell anyone else that she’s got her memories back. She thinks he and crazy Heather Webber are the only people who would understand her keeping it a secret. How messed is that? Her parents would be the ones telling her to lie. She guesses it’s true what they say, Christmas Eve is the loneliest night of the year. This year, she’s talking to a serial killer who just happens to be her dad. Talk about desperate. But why is it so hard? It should be easy to be a good person. She should want to take that path, but he never showed it to her. She had to learn it all on her own, and even then, it’s only because she lost her memory. But she’s made a good life here in Port Charles. She has a good job and an amazing child and her own apartment. With Ace’s stuff scattered all around the place, it really feels like home. Their home. And she’s happy. At least she thinks she is. The feeling is still so new to her. But there is another path too, the crooked one that he showed her. It would be so easy to go back, but what if she doesn’t have a choice? What if it’s out of her control and she’s supposed to be bad because it’s in her DNA? That is the legacy he left her. She goes to put on her gloves and realizes there’s one missing.

Dante puts the glove in an evidence bag and asks if Laura recognizes it. She says she doesn’t know. Does he think it could be Nikolas’s since he’s always been into ladies’ gloves? Dante says he knows she’s been looking for Nikolas, but he doesn’t see anything to indicate Nikolas was here, and this isn’t a man’s glove. This wouldn’t fit him. She says, of course (🍷). He’s right. She’s sorry. She’s not thinking rationally, is she? She guesses because it’s his house, she just thought maybe… She doesn’t know. He says, it’s okay. Maybe it’s Ava’s.

Ava says she doesn’t want or need Sonny’s goons following her around. Does he know what it’s like trying to get anywhere with them in tow? He says, very well actually, and she says she can handle whatever this world throws at her and he knows it. She always comes out swingin’. He says, sometimes she needs a little help. Like the help she got from Dante and Dex when she was kidnapped by Mason. She was grateful to them. He has to do what he needs to do. It’s not just about her. She asks what he has in mind, and he says he doesn’t like this any more than she does, but Avery will. She says, why? and he says, until the figure out what’s going on, she’s living with him.

Tomorrow, Brook tells Chase that it’s going to need to happen faster than they anticipated; Felicia asks why Robert can’t get over it; and Alexis tells her daughters that she doesn’t think it’s entirely true.

🥀 Too Soon For Goodbye…

So sad to hear this. I really liked him on OLTL.

🎸 Channeling Eddie…

Eddie’s alter ego gives us a Christmas serenade.

🎄 Soapy Celebrations…

What the soap stars did for Christmas. Probably the same thing you did.

🍊 Wait… What…?

Wow. I missed something somewhere, but yes, let’s get her on RHOC ASAP. However, a promise ring? How old are we? 14?

🍹 Spilling Charming Tea…

Paige gives the lowdown on her relationship with Craig. It’s definitely one I never saw coming, so I’m guessing it will somehow work out.

🎬 For Those Not Done Yet…

The classics.

https://ew.com/movies/essential-classic-christmas-movies/

And the not-so classics.

https://ew.com/movies/best-christmas-horror-movies/

TV episodes worthy of a ho-ho-ho.

https://ew.com/tv/best-christmas-episodes/

🐔 A Chicken For Christmas…

And they come with a lifetime of free eggs.

We actually raised chickens when I was a kid, but I had no idea this was a thing.

👖 Sisterhood Of the Elastic Waist Pants…

Stop in tomorrow for soap and an assortment of useless knowledge. Until then, stay safe, stay not drinking and driving on New Year’s Eve (there are so many options today, there’s no excuse), and stay making sure it’s a priest you’re confessing to if you go to confession.

December 8, 2023 – The Not Perfect Tree Is Lit, Her Return, The M.E., Side Gig, Barrier Breaker, Sisters, Problem, Hamster Wheel, You’re Fired, LVP Report, Hannukah Pups, Quote Octet & Hollis

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Elizabeth and Finn walk to his door, and he thanks her for doing this. She says she wouldn’t miss it, and from inside, Violet asks if it’s Finn. He says, it is, and she says, don’t come in until she tells him to. She says, he can come in now, and throws open the door. She says, look at her tree, and Gregory says, she picked it out herself. The tree isn’t quite Charlie Brown, but it’s pretty janky.

Molly is about to knock on Kristina’s door, when TJ asks if she really wants to do this. She asks if he’s having second thoughts, but he says, let’s call it an abundance of caution. Sometimes life doesn’t give you time to think things over. You make a snap decision and have to live with the consequences, but they have time to take a moment and review and reevaluate. She asks where he’s going with this, and he says, she’s the smart Davis daughter, Sam is the resourceful one, Kristina is the impetuous one. Are the 100% sure they want her to be their surrogate?

Anna goes to Valentin’s house and asks if Charlotte is here. He says, she’s with Laura. It helps her to spend some quality time with her grandmother. Anna says, that’s perfect really. Laura is a wonderful presence in Charlotte’s life. Charlotte’s lucky to have her. He says, she’s got a dad too, and asks what he can do for Anna. She says, nothing. She just came by to give him an update. He says, on? and she says, on the arsonist who set fire to her house. It wasn’t Charlotte.

Lois looks up the stairs and says, this is a disaster, and Olivia says she knows. Lois says, not one inch of this entire gigantic house has been decorated for Christmas.

On a plane, Tracy hears the stewardess say that they’re anticipating landing in an hour. She looks at her phone and sees her and Luke’s wedding picture. She starts to cry and puts on her sunglasses and a hat.

Lois tells Olivia that Lila would be so upset. She’d have Reginald… Olivia says, who? and Lois says, Reggie. He was the butler when she and Ned were married. She would have Reggie and the entire staff decorating this house by the first of the month. Everything would be out except for a few things that came out on Christmas Eve. She’s thinking of a specific train set that Alan was very fond of. It was a family heirloom given to him by his grandfather who was in railroads. Olivia says, like an engineer? but Lois says, no. Great-grandpa Quartermaine owned railroads going upstate into Canada, and this particular train set was an exact replica of one of his trains. Alan was so proud of it, but by then, it was an antique, so it only came out on Christmas Eve, but everything else was everywhere else. There were wreaths on the doors, there was a garland going all the way down the staircase, and everything by December 1st. She can’t believe Olivia wasn’t more on getting the decorations up. Her family’s house, her father’s garage was like a Christmas wonderland. Olivia’s own apartment… She could tell Olivia’s room on the street just by looking up. Olivia says she still enjoys Christmas decorating, but early on in her marriage to Ned, she and Monica sort of clashed over the Christmas décor. She wanted a fresh tree; Olivia put up something more… effusive. Monica made it very clear that this was her house, it was her choice, so Olivia just let it be. She let Monica take the lead with the Christmas decorating. Lois says she appreciates the sensitivity, but they can’t leave this house bare while they’re waiting for Monica to come back from her medical conference. Olivia says, okay, then let’s go for it, and Lois says, if her vote has any weight to it, she would appreciate a natural tree as well. Olivia says, she can do natural. Look at her fingernails. If they’re going to get a tree, they’d better get moving.

Violet says, it wasn’t as pretty as the others. If she hadn’t picked it, it might have not gotten picked at all. Finn says he thinks she chose the perfect tree, but Violet says, the whole point is that it’s not perfect. Finn says, but he thinks it’s perfect for them, and Elizabeth says she agrees. Violet is really getting into the spirit of Christmas. And she promises they are going to make this tree look spectacular. Gregory says, the first step is putting on the lights. Who’s going to do the honors? Violet says, daddy, and Finn says, how about a nice cup of hot cocoa first?

Molly says, from the moment she and TJ decided to have a baby, they faced nothing but setbacks. Sometimes she thinks the universe is trying to tell them something. Maybe they’re not meant to have children. He tells her, he never said that, and she says, so he does want to have a baby. He says, absolutely, and she says, so does she. Anytime she thinks about giving up and accepting they’re not going to have kids, she gets this pit in her stomach. That’s why she was crying in the park when Kristina found her. The thought of never having a family with TJ broke her. He says he’s so sorry, and she says, that’s when everything started to shift. Think about this. She’s never in the park in the middle of the afternoon. She’d be in her office or be in court. What are the odds she’d be there and so would Kristina? About a million to one. That’s got to be fate, right? Fate that her sister would find her. Fate that her sister would offer to carry their child again. And she has no interest in fighting fate. She can feel it in her heart that this is the right thing to do, and she’s 1000% sure about Kristina. He says, then so is he. Let’s do this. She knocks on the door, and Kristina invites them in. She asks what brings them over, and TJ says, this is more of a sister thing, so he’ll let Molly explain. Kristina says, spill it, sister, and Molly says she’s here to officially ask Kristina for a huge favor, one that will dominate her life for the next nine months… Kristina says, yes, she’ll be their surrogate, and Molly asks if she’s sure. Kristina says she’s never been so sure of anything in her life, and hugs Molly.

Valentin says, Charlotte has always denied burning down Anna’s house, but she lies about a lot of things. Anna says, she didn’t lie about this, and Valentin asks how she can be sure. She says, forensics collected some scraps of fabric in the bushes around her house and they all tested positive for the accelerant that started the fire. And they lifted some DNA which matched someone who isn’t his daughter. He says, thank God, and sits down. She sit’s next to him and says, it’s a relief. She didn’t want to think Charlotte had gone that far. He wonders why he didn’t believe her. Why didn’t he have faith in his own daughter? She said there’s a DNA match. Who’s the arsonist? She says she can’t tell him that.

Gregory says, the whole point is that it’s not perfect, and chuckles. He sits on the sofa, and Finn asks if he’s all right, but Gregory says he’s fine. He just sat down a little more quickly than he intended. He really wants this to be a good Christmas. Finn says, one to remember, when Elizabeth comes back with Violet and says, cocoa’s ready. They all take a cup, and Violet says, they should put up the lights. Finn says, since she did such a good job making the cocoa, it seems a shame to gulp it down, but Elizabeth says, don’t worry. She can make more. There’s a knock at the door and Finn answers it to Chase and Brook. Finn asks how Chase is with Christmas lights.

Anna gets up and says, she just wanted Valentin to know his daughter’s not responsible for the fire at her house, and he says, if there’s a DNA match, that means the arsonist is in a data base somewhere. So who is it? She says she can’t share that information with him, and he asks if it’s classified. She says she doesn’t know. She would imagine there’s someone somewhere who considers it classified. He says he’s not talking to them, he’s talking to her, so who burned her house? She says, he doesn’t need to know, and he says he doesn’t understand. She says, really? It astonishes her that he doesn’t understand, because she feels she made herself quite clear the last time they saw each other. She can’t tell him who burned her house down because she can’t trust him.

Kristina says, Molly was so emotional the last time she saw her, she wondered if, in thinking about it more, Molly might not want her to be her surrogate. Molly says, life’s been a roller coaster since she found out she can’t get pregnant, and when Andrea miscarried, she and TJ were devastated. TJ says he can quote her the odds on miscarriage, but none of that prepared him for when Andrea told him that she lost their baby or having to tell Molly. Molly says, when Andrea miscarried, she realized she needed to do some real soul searching. For the first time in her life, something she really wanted wasn’t going to come to her because she was smart and prepared and willing to work hard. She felt entitled to being a mom. Like whenever she and TJ were ready, whenever it fit into their schedules, she’d get pregnant, and they’d have a baby nine months later. But when that couldn’t happen because of her, because she’s basically infertile – she tears up – she jumped right into finding a solution, solving the problem. She could do that, so she picked Andrea to be their surrogate and she got pregnant. Everything was going according to plan… until it wasn’t. And it’s only now she realizes she has to do the thing that scares her the most. She has to accept that she’s not in control and ask for help.

Olivia and Lois come into the mansion, and Lois says, at least they made a start. Olivia says she’ll get the other garlands and wreaths from the florist, and Lois says she’s so glad they got the tree from PC Pioneers. It makes you feel so good knowing you gave back to the community, and those kids in their uniforms, so cute. Olivia says, it makes her think of little Dante when he was that age, and Lois asks if he was a Pioneer. Olivia says, no, he wasn’t, but it’s not for her lack of trying. She signed him up and took him to his first meeting. The kid jumped out the window and escaped before she even got her car out of the parking lot. Lois says, no, and Olivia says, hand to God. She got a call from the troop leader. He was apologetic, beside himself, and she told him, calm down. She went and checked the corner lot, and who is there playing baseball but little Dante Falconari. She wanted to grab that kid by the back of his hair and drag him home, but then she said, you know what? Who is she to dictate his dream? If her kid wants to play sandlot baseball and dream of a career in the major leagues instead of learning the fundamentals of camping, who is she to say? He’s her kid and she should support him, so that’s what she did. Lois says, that’s always been one of her favorite things about Olivia. She just takes people as they come and loves them for who they are. She doesn’t try to make them who she thinks they should be. Olivia says, it’s a fine line sometimes. With your kids, you’ve got to accept them, but you’ve also got to provide some guidance. Lois says, it’s like being a carpenter and a gardener, but Olivia says she doesn’t follow. Lois says, a carpenter builds a house based on his plans. The wood has no say. But a gardener is different because he raises what he has. He may tend the soil, fertilize it, pull the weeds, give it water, a little bit of love, but he doesn’t plant a pine tree expecting it to grow into an oak. He just raises the very best trees he can. Olivia says, Lois has definitely done that with Brook. She’s a spectacular young woman. Lois thanks her, and says, Olivia’s done a pretty good job with Dante and Leo as well. Olivia says, they’re both very good gardeners, and Lois says, that they are. Olivia says, Cody is going to be here with the tree any minute. They’ve got to get the Christmas ornaments. They both race up the stairs.

Molly says, people always tell her that she’s generous, and Kristina says, and humble. Molly says, what she never realized is that the person who is giving is in charge. They’re deciding when and how much, and hopefully, they’re doing good, but they’re in control. And they all know how much she loves to be in control. TJ says, she’s being way too hard on herself, and Molly says, asking for help means giving control to someone else. And that would be hard for her under any circumstances, but it’s excruciating when the person she’s asking for help is someone she’s treated unfairly. Kristina says, if Molly means her, she’s forgiven. Not that there’s anything to forgive. Molly says, what about the fact she was a total witch the first time Kristina offered to be their surrogate? but Kristina says she didn’t really think it through. She didn’t realize what was at stake. TJ says, he and Molly were pretty raw in those first weeks. Neither of them made an effort to see where she was coming from. Molly says, especially her. She realizes her reaction back then had less to do with Kristina and a lot more to do with her being messy and irrational, things she tries to avoid. It hurt that Kristina could carry a child and she can’t. It would be easy for Kristina, which doubled down on her pain, which makes no sense, she knows. Kristina says, please. She wrote the book on being messy and irrational, and if Molly had taken her up on her original offer, it would have been a huge mistake. They weren’t ready. As painful as it was going through this process, it made them ready. She is ready and she wants to do this. Molly thanks her and says she’s so lucky to have Kristina as her sister, and as her surrogate. Kristina says she’s the lucky one, and they hug.

Anna says she really does want to be clear on this. Valentin lied to her, and because he lied, she had no idea the intruder in her apartment was his daughter. He says, she’s right and he takes full responsibility, but she withheld information too. She’s far too good an agent to shoot at pointblank range without a confirmed target. She was gunning for someone that night, wasn’t she? Charlotte got in the way. She says she guesses they both have to live with that for the rest of their lives, right? She heads for the door, but he says, wait. He’s sorry. He wishes he’d told her. He didn’t tell her that Charlotte was stalking her because he was afraid. He was afraid if she knew, she’d leave him; she’d end their relationship. She asks why she would. She doesn’t know that she would have ended the relationship, but they’ll never know because he didn’t give her a choice. He didn’t tell her the truth, so she couldn’t make her own decisions. It’s too late for them, but it’s not too late for his daughter. He needs to focus on her and get her the help she needs.

About to plug in the lights, Chase says, everybody cross your fingers, but Brook says, wait. She brings Violet in front of the tree and tells her that if she makes a wish the moment before the Christmas lights come on for the first time, it’ll come true. Get her wish ready. Violet closes her eyes, and Brook says, okay. Chase plugs in the lights, and Violet looks at the tree. She says she knew it would be beautiful.

Olivia and Lois look through the Christmas ornaments, and Lois asks what this reminds Olivia of. She holds a silver ball by each ear, and Olivia says, how about St. Finbar’s their sophomore year? Sister Joanne Claire was so mad when she realized it was them sneaking into her office and moving around pictures of the saints. Lois says, they would swap Peter and Paul, and Olivia says, they got themselves detention and they had to decorate the auditorium for Christmas all by themselves. Lois says, they were there until 3 am, and Olivia says, 3:17, but who’s counting? Lois says, when they came out that morning and their parents were waiting for them, she doesn’t think she’s ever seen her mother so angry, but her father was disappointed. Somehow, that was so much worse. Olivia says she got a speech the whole way home. She can still hear it. Your cousin Connie would never do anything like this. Lois says, that’s because her cousin Connie never stepped a toe out of line. Although she’s got to say, she wishes she’d followed Olivia’s cousin Connie, because she was grounded with a 5 pm curfew until the following April. And by the way, Olivia was supposed to be grounded too. Olivia says she was, technically. Does Lois remember her bedroom window? It was a joke. Lois says, Olivia snuck out of that bedroom window so easily, she might as well have been on the ground floor. Oliva says, right out the window and into the nightclubs in the city all night long. Lois says, her poor parents, and Olivia says, honestly, she looks back and feels bad for all the worries she gave them, but at the time, she really enjoyed herself. Lois says, yeah, she did, when Cody comes in. He says he grabbed the tree and got some garland. Where do they want them? Lois says she’s so glad he asked.

The stewardess gives the spiel to prepare for landing, and Tracy buckles her seatbelt. She looks at her phone and says, damn you, Luke Spencer. I miss you.

Valentin says he doesn’t think Anna is in a position to tell him what Charlotte needs right now, and Anna says, she needs counseling. Charlotte was stalking her for months. That is not normal behavior. He says, she saw the letter from Victor. She knows Charlotte’s actions weren’t malicious. She says, maybe not, but they are unquestionably illegal, and he says, Charlotte thought she was protecting him. She thought Anna was a threat. Anna tells him that he’s not doing Charlotte any favors by making excuses for her. He’s enabling her. He says, she was manipulated by a master manipulator. Victor exploited her love for her father and need for a family. She thought Anna was dangerous. Then of course (🍷), when he released her file, and the world knew Anna had been acting as a double agent… She says, don’t throw that in her face, please, and he says he’s not, but she can’t refute it; it was true. Charlotte thought she was protecting him. Think about that. A teenage girl standing against a master spy. So they can say what they will about his daughter, but she’s not a coward. She did what she thought she had to do. Anna says, he’s proud of her? but he says he’s appalled at what she did, but he’s proud of her courage and determination. He’s sickened that Victor twisted her for his purposes. She says, he didn’t tell Charlotte to write the word murderer on her door or break into her hotel suite and trash her clothes and write a threatening message on her mirror. Charlotte came up with that all on her own.

Molly says she can’t believe this is actually going to happen, and TJ says, sometimes the universe finds a way. She says all she knows is, she’s grateful. This feels right. Kristina comes out with three filled champagne flutes, and says, it’s time the expectant parents celebrated up.

Cody, Olivia, and Lois all help with putting a fabulous garland on the staircase banister. Lois says she’s been meaning to ask Cody, why does he call Olivia Mama Q? He says, she’s Dante’s mother. What else would he call her? Olivia says, if Lois tells him zia, she’ll murder her where she’s standing. Cody asks, what’s a zia?

Violet says, they need tinsel and ornaments, and Chase says, before they get to the real decorating, he and Brook have an announcement to make. Violet asks if he can announce fast. They have to decorate. Elizabeth says, it might be important. Don’t rush them. Violet apologizes and tells them to take as much time as they need. Brook thanks her and says she thinks Chase should do the honors. Chase says, okay. Dad, Finn, Violet, Elizabeth, Brook has agreed to be his wife, and they’re getting married. Everybody is all, yay! and Brook and Chase kiss.

Kristina hands out the glasses and says, to the baby to come. No child will ever be more loved or more welcome. TJ says, hear, hear, and they clink glasses. Molly says, it’s ginger ale. Not that there would be anything wrong with drinking right now, and TJ asks if Kristina is jump starting a healthy new lifestyle or is this the only thing with bubbles she had in the fridge. Kristina says, both. She had a friend bring a really nice bottle of champagne over actually, but it didn’t last very long in this house. Maybe she should get an early start and indulge in all the caffeine and alcohol while she can. TJ says, they know she’s giving up a lot, but Kristina says, it’s well worth it. TJ says, to Molly, to Kristina, and to this… Kristina says, to this expanding family. They all say, cheers, and clink glasses.

Valentin says, it’s true. Victor never told Charlotte how to stalk Anna. He imagines she got that off the internet or some book. Anna says, he imagines? Did he question her about this? He says he hasn’t interrogated his teenage daughter, no. She’s been traumatized. She’s recovering from a gunshot wound. Anna says she’s aware, and he says, she needs time to heal. Anna says, she needs her father to stop making excuses for her. He’s not protecting her. He can’t keep blaming Victor for what happened. He says, Victor’s to blame, and she says, if Charlotte had been arrested for the crimes she committed, what was she going to plea? My dead grandpa made me do it? It doesn’t matter what Victor wrote to her. It doesn’t matter what lies he told her. Charlotte is responsible for her own actions, and he has to make her understand that. And he has to get her the help that she needs, before she does something irrevocable.

Everyone congratulates Chase and Brook, and Gregory says, Chase is a lucky man. Brook says she’s the lucky one, but Chase says, they both are. Gregory says he wishes them both a lifetime of love, and Violet asks if Chase gave Brook a ring. Chase says he did, and Brook says she kept it hidden as to not ruin the surprise. She takes it out of her pocket, and Chase asks if Violet wants to see him put it on her finger. Violet says, yes, please, and Chase takes the ring. Violet says, wait. He’s supposed to get down on one knee. Brook says, he did when he asked her to marry him, and Violet asks if he can’t get down on one knee again. She wants the complete picture. Finn says, him too, and Chase says, of course (🍷) he can. He does and puts the ring on Brook’s finger. They kiss and everyone applauds. Violet asks when Finn is going to give Aunt Elizabeth a ring, and Finn is like, uh… Elizabeth says, time to decorate the tree.

As they decorate the tree, Cody asks, what’s so bad about being called a zia? Olivia says, nothing… or everything, depending on your circumstances. He says he doesn’t get it, and Lois says, zia means auntie, which could refer to your mother or your father’s sister. Olivia says, or your sister-in-law, and Lois says, or it could be distant cousin or any female relation. But it could also be a term of affection. Olivia says, or someone, a woman, who you’re close with, but aren’t actually related to, and Lois says, but there is a generational aspect to it. It’s for somebody older. For example, you would never refer to her Brookie as zia. He says, but he could call her zia, and she says, no. Technically yes, but absolutely no, he cannot. She would prefer it if he’d continue to call her Lois. He says he totally understands, and Olivia says, this tree looks so beautiful. It’s so nice having Cody to help out. Cody says, it’s his pleasure, and Lois asks how he likes working for the Quartermaines. He says he really likes it. It’s the first place in a long time that feels like home.

Olivia thanks Cody and says, they couldn’t have done it without him. Lois says, he gets extra points for patience, and he says, it was a lot of fun. He learned a new word, although he’ll never call either of them zia. And it got him into the spirit of the season. He might grab a tree for the stables. He thanks them for a fun time, and leaves. Lois tells Olivia, you know what? She’s got to say, this looks a lot better than the auditorium at St. Finbar’s. They laugh and clink glasses.

Anna tells Valentin, Charlotte has to know what she did was wrong, and that she can’t solve her problems by breaking into people’s houses and writing threatening messages. He says he agrees. Charlotte needs limits, and she’ll get them. She needs counseling and she’ll get that too, but they have a big problem. Victor convinced Charlotte that Anna was dangerous, and Anna shot her. So in Charlotte’s mind, Victor was right. Anna chokes up and says she hopes he gets through to his daughter, and that he gets her to understand that Victor was never right about anything. She walks to the door, and he says, wait. She turns to him, and he says he’s sorry. She says, so is she, and leaves. When she gets outside, she cries.

Brook says, that is one gorgeous tree, and Chase says, it might be the best tree he’s ever seen. Elizabeth says, it certainly is lovely, and Violet says, Brook was right. When you make a wish on a Christmas tree, your wish comes true. Hers already did. Finn asks what she wished for, and she asks if it’s okay to tell. Brook says, absolutely, and Violet says, she wished for this to be the best Christmas ever and it is. Their tree is beautiful, Uncle Chase and Brook are getting married, and she has a present for all of them. Gregory asks, what kind of present? and she says, stay here. She’ll be right back. She winks at Chase and runs off. Gregory asks if Chase has any idea what this is, and Chase says, it could be beaded necklaces. Finn says, he’s kind of secretive. Is he sure he doesn’t have any idea what this present is? Chase says he can neither confirm nor deny, when Violet comes back with a guitar. She hands it to Chase and says she’s going to sing a song that she wrote herself, and Uncle Chase will accompany her. Chase plays, and Violet sings about, when there are no lights, I want to shine for you. She’s very good for one so young. They applaud and cheer.

Kristina asks, what happens next? and Molly says, they talk to their fertility specialist, let them know they have a surrogate and they’re ready to move forward. TJ says, once they have a more concrete timetable, they’ll get back to her about scheduling, but they’re hoping it will be soon. Kristina says, the sooner, the better. Now that they know what they’re doing, there’s no point in waiting around. TJ thanks her, and they hug. Molly says she’ll be grateful to Kristina forever, and they hug. Kristina says, it’s her great honor, and Molly and TJ leave. In the hallway, TJ says, this is really happening, and Molly says, they might just get their miracle after all. They hug, and inside, Kristina sends a text to Blaze: Want 2 talk I have big news.

Olivia says, they do good work, and Lois says, Sister Joanne Claire would be proud. Olivia says, they’ve got a lot of house to go, but these two rooms look beaut-tee-ful, and Lois says, they do. They hear the front door slam, and hear Tracy say, no. Olivia and Lois go to the foyer, where Tracy is walking through with her luggage carrier, saying, no, no, no, no. She tells them, this will not do. Not at all. Lois and Olivia look at each other.

On Monday, Curtis tells Marshall, if he gets his wish, he’s never going to ask for anything again; Josslyn tells Dex not to joke about this; Tracy says, she’s home in the nick of time; and Sonny says he’ll talk to Michael on Nina’s behalf, but she says, no.

💝 Revisiting Irene…

All about Marshall’s first love.

🔬 Livingston We Presume…

I thought I’d seen him around.

🚗 Drive She Said…

When she’s not singing, she’s driving a Honda.

🥀 Goodbye To a Game Changer…

Farewell to a soap legend.

💎 Shoots Own Foot…

If she knows it’s going to cause her angst, why does she keep talking?

🍊 Spilling On Shannon…

It wouldn’t surprise me.

💐 Exes With No Charm…

These people are too weird. Although I wish I’d been a fly on the wall at BravoCon.

🍹 Not So Hospitable…

I watched this. Coupled with her poking the bear on Southern Charm, I’m starting not to like Leva so much.

🍸 All About That Pump…

I can’t wait. Chateau shenanigans

She’s basically pleading the fifth.

Six degrees of LVP.

🐶 Festival Of Dogs…

Furbabies ready for the holiday.

You, too, can include your pup.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/celebrate-hanukkah-dog-220838396.html

🐧 Quotes of the Week

Get up. Bring your butter. – Heather Gay, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City

Vision without action is daydream. Action without vision is nightmare. – Japanese Proverb

Healing comes from taking responsibility: to realize that it is you – and no one else – that creates your thoughts, your feelings, and your actions. – Peter Shepherd

We can have peace if we let go of wanting to change the past and wanting to control the future. – Lester Levinson

The opportunity of a lifetime is to pick yourself. Quit waiting to get picked; quit waiting for someone to give you permission; quit waiting for someone to say you are officially qualified… and pick yourself. – Seth Godin (For those who were always picked last in gym class.)

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. – Anatole France

True progress quietly and persistently moves along without notice. – Saint Francis of Assisi

You know what a gift card says? You do it. – Carl MacMillan (Reno Wilson), Mike & Molly

🤹🏽‍♀️ Jingling Only Partway…

Make a return trip on Monday really Tuesday for soap and what little the Med has to offer. Until then, stay safe, stay extending acts of kindness to those with no family, and stay taking people as they come, loving them for who they are, and not trying to make them into who you think they should be.

October 13, 2023 – The Wedding Is On, Thought, Back, Fitting, MIA, A Goodbye, Salty Talk, Postscript, Hard Times, Back To the 80s, Dead Stuff, Costumed Pets (!), Totally Ten Quotes & Monster

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Curtis lifts weights, when there’s a knock at the door. He wheels himself over to open it, and Stella asks if it’s a bad time. He says, not at all, if she doesn’t mind waiting for him to finish another set. She says, not at all, and comes in. She asks if somebody else is here, but he says, no, just him, picking up one of the weights. He asks if she thinks they shouldn’t have left him alone, and she asks if she said that. He says, no, and she says, he’s been on his own for a while now, and he’s doing just fine. He works with the weight, and says, she’s been tracking him, huh? She says she always has; she’s not going to change now. He’s working hard; very impressive. He says he’s just trying to keep it all together, and she says, he’s doing more than keeping it together. She’s very proud of him. He thanks her and says, all these exercises, in fact everything he does, is for Trina and Portia and Marshall. She says, how’s that? and he says, every morning there’s a part of him that doesn’t want to get out of bed. Then he thinks about his family. They need him, and he will not let them down. There’s a knock at the door, and Stella says she’ll get it. She opens it to Selina and says, what do you want?

TJ tells Portia he heard a rumor going around. The buzz is totally positive. She says she has no idea what he’s talking about, but he says, spill. She says she doesn’t want to talk about it yet. Not until she gets a chance to tell Curtis, and she wants to tell him in person. He’s going to be so hurt if he finds out everyone at GH knew before he did. She’s trying to sneak out of here so she can see him. TJ says, he’s going to be thrilled.

Josslyn knocks on the door at Windymere, and Giles answers. He asks if he can help her, and she says, he probably doesn’t remember her, but she’s Josslyn Jax, Avery’s older sister. He says, of course (🍷). What can he do for her? She says she’s looking for Ava. She never picked Avery up from the nanny last night. Giles invites her in.

A guard walks Cyrus to the visiting room, and Cyrus says, another visitor during off hours? He sees Laura, and she says, hello, Cyrus.

Austin sits at his desk and flashes back to him telling the judge that Cyrus is weak because of his heart attack, and no longer a physical threat to anybody. He says, yeah, weak like a great white shark is weak. He remembers telling Mason that he did what was asked and to let Ava go, and Mason saying, neither one of them call the shots. There’s a knock at the door, and Dex says, sorry to bother him, but has he seen Ava Jerome?

Puerto Rico. Here Comes the Bride plays as Nina walks to Sonny, and everyone looks all happy. The priest welcomes everyone and says, they’ve been blessed with a beautiful day to witness the joining in matrimony of Michael Sonny Corinthos and Nina Reeves. This is a joyful occasion, and a solemn one. Marriage as a traditional ceremony is an honorable one, not to be entered into lightly, but a pledge between two people to honor, support, and love one another for the rest of your lives. Is that the pledge they’re willing to make? Nina says, we are, and Sonny says, yeah, we are.

Selina says she’s here to see her friend, but Stella says, she doesn’t have any friends here. And no way she’s buying any with that gift basket. Stella looks at the bodyguard holding a basket of fruit behind Selina, and Curtis says, it’s okay. Selina’s a business associate. Stella says, uh-huh, and Selina walks in. (Oooh. The bodyguard has a bakery box too.) Selina says, his aunt is very protective. She admires that in a family. Stella excuses herself, and Curtis asks what Selina is doing here. She says, he’s been back home for a while now. She thought she’d give him some time to get accustomed to his new life. He says, that was considerate, and she says she hopes now he’s come to his senses and is ready to sell her The Savoy.

Cyrus says, what an unexpected and wonderful surprise. He didn’t know Laura was back from her trip. She says, they just got back, and he says, and she chose to come and see him. He’s touched. She says, he cut his hair, and shaved, and… He says, since he found his true calling, he didn’t find the need to hide behind appearances, and she says, he looks great. So tell her, how is he feeling? He says, their brother told her about his little medical problem, and she says she doesn’t know that she’d call a heart attack a little medical problem, and she’s glad Marty told her. He asks if Martin also told her that it was her aura that pulled him through in his darkest hour, but she says, it was Drew Cain who saved his life. He says, without the will to live, his CPR might not have been effective, but he is a good man. She says, he’s a very good man. That’s why it’s such a shame he’s in here with… Cyrus says, with men like me. He gets the feeling checking on his health isn’t the only reason she’s here. She says she heard about his application for early release, and he asks if she’s here as his sister or the mayor.

Giles says he’s also concerned about Miss Jerome’s whereabouts, and Josslyn says, so she hasn’t been here? He says, she was home when he left. That was night before last. She didn’t mention any plans to be away, but when he came to work yesterday, she wasn’t here. She never came home. Josslyn says, so no maid or no housekeeper has seen her, and he says, no one on the staff has seen or heard from her, but he did find a broken martini glass on the floor here. He points near the fireplace, and says, it could have been an accident. Perhaps she’s staying with her friend Miss Reeves? Josslyn says, no. Nina’s in Puerto Rico getting married. He says, Dr. Gatlin-Holt’s been a frequent guest recently. He was under the impression the doctor and Miss Jerome might be close.

Austin says, recently, no, he hasn’t seen Ava, and Dex asks if he remembers the last time he saw or heard from her. Austen says, two or three days ago. Why is Dex asking him this? Dex says, she hasn’t been to her art gallery, and no one has seen or heard from her, and Austin says, Dex works for Sonny Corinthos; is he right about that? Dex says, yeah, and Austin says, a couple of days ago, Ava mentioned she was thinking of maybe taking a trip to New York. She said there was an artist she was interested in signing. Dex says, that could be very helpful, and thanks Austin for his time. Austin says, no problem, and as he walks past Dex, Dex punches him in the stomach and gets him in a headlock. As Austin struggles to breathe, Dex says, Sonny has a daughter with Ava Jerome, so he cares about her. If he finds out Austin has something to do with her disappearance, he’ll be back, and he won’t be asking questions. He lets Austin go and walks out.

In the hallway, Dex’s phone rings, and Josslyn tells him that she thinks she might have found something.

The priest says, it’s his understanding Sonny and Nina have elected to say their own vows, and Nina hands her bouquet to Willow. Sonny says he guesses Nina wants him to go, and she says, yeah. They join hands, and Sonny says he spent all morning writing his vows. They’re in his pocket, but when he looked in Nina’s eyes, he felt like he didn’t need to write his vows because he can always speak from his heart to her. He thanks her for trusting and loving him, and for seeing the better man in him than he ever saw in himself. He appreciates her kindness and her strength and her willingness to fight for their love, even though everybody was against them. When they doubted they should be together, they did everything they could to get through it, and here they are. He’s convinced more now that they belong together, because of how he feels right now in the moment. How he always does; she makes him secure. He knows she loves him and he loves her that much more, and he always will.

Selina asks Curtis to just hear her out. She’ll keep the entire staff at The Savoy – Stella walks back in – and the entire name of the club will remain. He and his entire family will have VIP memberships for life, and she’ll increase her original offer to twice what he paid for the club. He says, that’s an extremely generous offer, and she says she agrees. So what does he say? He thinks a moment and asks why she’s determined to buy his club. Why doesn’t she start her own and find a location that’s half the price? Stella says, good question.

Cyrus says, in case Laura is wondering, he has no idea how the judge is going to rule. He hasn’t heard anything yet. Now that she’s back, will she oppose his release? She says, he looks as strong and healthy as the day he got in here, but that said, she’s not a doctor. And as the mayor, she doesn’t interfere with judicial decisions. He says he supposes putting in a good word for her brother is out of the question, and she says, yes. He asks if Marty also told her that he gave away all of his money.

Dex arrives at Windymere, and Giles lets him in. Josslyn introduces Giles, and says, Giles told her that Ava hasn’t been home since night before last, and nobody on the staff has seen or heard from her. Dex says, she told him that she found something, and she says, this cellphone and this lollypop. The cellphone was under the coffee table, and the lollypop was just kind of sticking out of the couch. And Giles found a broken martini glass on the floor. Giles says, Miss Avery must have dropped the lollypop last time she was here, but Josslyn says, this isn’t Avery’s. Dex asks how she knows, and she says, because it’s grape and Avery hates grape. So somebody else had to have been here. And Ava would have never left her cellphone in case Avery needed to get in touch with her. Dex says he saw cameras everywhere as he walked up to the house. There have to be more, right? Giles says, yes, and Dex says he needs to see the footage from the minute Giles left Ava.

Nina says, to be honest, she never imagined she’d be here right now with Sonny. It’s actually the last thing she ever expected or wanted, and she fought it for a very long time. She kept telling herself that they would never work, and as she kept saying that, her heart kept falling deeper and deeper in love with him. And she couldn’t fight her heart anymore, could she? Or him. His charm, his humor, his compassion, his courage, his loyalty… his dance moves. What more could a person ask for in someone they love? Then she saw him parent his children, who he fiercely loves, and how he’s willing to fight for them, for their protection. She’s always wanted that family, since she was a little girl. Her daughter is now a part of her life – she looks at Willow – and the two of them are part of his family. He’s given her so much. He’s given her a family. And she wants to give him something. She’s going to surround him with love for his entire life; she promises him that. And they can leave all their mistakes behind them. She’ll walk with him, hand in hand, right beside him, loving him, for the rest of his life.

Selina tells Curtis that she doesn’t have the time or the inclination to open a new club. It’s too much work and she has a busy schedule. The Savoy is already established; that’s why she’ll be paying him top dollar for it. Stella asks if he heard how Selina made it sound like it’s a done deal, when Portia walks in. Selina tells her, good afternoon, and Stella says, she got here just in time. Miss Wu brought them a basket filled with treats. Why doesn’t Portia have a seat and she’ll make them some tea so they can all get to know each other better. She asks what kind of tea Selina would like, and Selina says, that’s kind of her, but she has another appointment. Stella says, that’s just too bad. Maybe another time then. She opens the front door, and Selina nods to her bodyguard. She tells Curtis that she’ll be in touch, and he thanks her for the basket. I want to know what’s in the bakery box. Selina leaves with the guard, and Stella closes the door, putting her back against it, and says, amen.

Dex looks at a tablet, and Giles says, he can see the front entrance is well-covered by several cameras. Dex says, there Giles is, leaving. This is the night before last. Ava was alone when he left? Giles says, yes. Feel free to examine the rest of the footage. He must check on a delivery. Please help Miss Jerome. He leaves, and Dex points at the tablet, saying, there. Someone’s coming in. Josslyn says she sees him, but she can’t see his face; he’s wearing a hood. They keep watching, and Dex says, they’re at about twenty minutes later. Josslyn says, there’s Ava. She’s with him, but Josslyn can’t tell if her hands are tied or if she’s just walking super close to him. Dex suggests they check the dock camera around that time… They didn’t use the launch. Josslyn says, he would still have to go back to Port Charles, no? and Dex says, right there. He has his own boat. That’s what they left on. If he and Josslyn want to see where they came ashore, they need to see the harbor security cameras and the traffic cameras from that time. They can’t do that without going to the cops. Josslyn says, there’s another way.

Josslyn knocks at an apartment door, and a voice asks, who knocks? She looks up at a camera and says, Spinelli, it’s Josslyn. You’re watching us through the security camera. Spinelli opens the door and says, greetings, clever girl. What brings them to his door?

Austin gives TJ a folder and says, the prognosis was very impressive. He coughs and drinks some water, and TJ asks if he’s all right. Austin says he’s fine. He went to a concert last night and he was very enthusiastic. TJ asks, who was the band? when Mason walks in. He says he’s sorry. His cousin here wanted to see him.

Cyrus tells Laura that he’s seen so much suffering in here, he thought his money could do more good trying to help these poor souls. She says, Marty did mention to her that he’d given some of his money to a recidivism organization, but he says, not some of his money, every dime. He says, she doesn’t believe that, and she says she guesses they’ll see, won’t they, if he’s granted his early release. He says, how little faith she has in her brother. They were ill-gotten gains. He’s come to realize and appreciate that. She says she hopes so, and he says, she doesn’t seem to doubt the generosity of her friend Sonny Corinthos when he gives away his dirty money. He’s not wrong.

The priest says, Sonny and Nina’s vows were so clearly from the heart. Now please repeat after him. They say the traditional vows; in sickness and health, forsaking all others until death do us part. The rings are exchanged, and the priest says, in the presence of God and these witnesses, they’re now husband and wife. What God has joined, let no one put asunder. He thinks they know what happens next. They laugh and Donna says, you’re supposed to kiss. They do, and everyone smiles.

Portia asks what that was about, and Stella says, that woman was trying… Curtis says, Selina came to talk business, but what is Portia doing here in the middle of the day? She says she wanted to tell him something in person, but she wanted it to be official. Stella says, for what to be official? and Portia says she’s been named Co-Chief of Staff at General Hospital. Curtis says, congratulations, and she says, it’s going to be a lot more administrative work and a lot of emails, but… Stella says, Portia knows she can handle all of that, and Curtis says, she’ll be great. Portia says, and it’s going to be a little extra money. Stella says, as it should be for all that extra work, and Curtis says, they’ll be very lucky to have her. He couldn’t be more proud of his intelligent, accomplished, and very gorgeous wife. She kisses him and says, thank you.

Dex tells Spinelli that they couldn’t download the video from the system at Windymere, so all they have is the footage he had access to. Josslyn says, they also found Ava’s cellphone at Windymere, but she doesn’t know how to get in. Can he break in? He says, he can, but it will take time Ava doesn’t have, and Dex says, let’s get back to what we’ve got. The butler departed the house at 10:57 that night. At 11:18, an unidentified figure, likely male, entered the house. There’s no footage from the interior, so we don’t know what happened inside, but at 11:59, the hooded figure left by the front door with Ava. They were close together. He appears to be leading her, and from her posture, it’s likely her hands were tied. They arrived at the docks at 12:03 am and left in a single engine outboard. That’s what we have. Spinelli says, well done, and Josslyn says, what they really need to know is where they docked the boat in Port Charles. Does he think he can get access to the harbor security and traffic cameras?

Austin tells TJ that the apologizes. His cousin is unaware of hospital protocol. Mason could have just interrupted a consultation with a patient. Mason says he’s sorry. He’s just a truck driver and doesn’t know anything about hospital protocols. So he hopes TJ can forgive him. TJ says, no problem. They’re finished. He thanks Austin and is about to leave, when he says, so Mason is a truck driver? and Mason says, used to be. Now he kind of does a little bit of everything. TJ says, it was good to see him again, Mason says, him too, and TJ leaves. He pauses for a moment outside the door, then walks on. Mason tells Austin, do not get high and mighty with him about manners. Austin said he needed to see him right away, so what’s going on? Austin says, Sonny Corinthos knows.

Laura says, Sonny has nothing to do with the way she views Cyrus, but he says he’s well-aware of that. He and Sonny were in the same kind of business for years, and he ever thought much about Sonny. But then he’d see Sonny treated with such reverence, an honored member of the Port Charles community with a respected family when he’s no better than Cyrus is. Again he’s not wrong.

Kristina congratulates Nina and welcomes her to the family, hugging her. Donna goes over to Sonny and says, her turn. He says, come here, girl. Give me a hug. He wants her to know something. Daddy always loves her. She knows that, right? She says she loves him, and they hug again. These two are too cute together. Donna asks Nina if she can call her Mama Nina now, and Nina says she would love nothing more. She hugs Donna.

Willow tells Sonny, congratulations, and hugs him. He says, her mother is the best thing that ever happened to him. He just wants her to know that she means everything to Nina. Willow smiles at him, and tells Nina, congratulations. Nina thanks her, and says, it means so much that she’s here. Willow hugs her, and I feel sick thinking about this all falling apart. Michael hugs Sonny and tells Nina, congratulations. Welcome to the family. He kisses her on the cheek.  

Stella says, this is definitely cause for a celebration, and Portia agrees. Stella says she’s taking the two of them out for dinner tonight to celebrate. Marshall and Trina too. Portia says, they can actually have dinner in here tonight, have some champagne. It’ll be a little bit more relaxing, right? Curtis says, no. Auntie’s right. This is a big deal and they should celebrate it, right? Stella tells him, you said it, baby.

Laura tells Cyrus that she supposes she and Sonny have the sort of friendship that surprises some people, but she had no idea it upset him that much. He says he’s sorry. He’s not upset at Sonny. He supposes he just envies Sonny’s life, and how Sonny seems to have a closer relationship with his sister than he does. She says she’s known Sonny for a very long time, and he says, he knows it’s unlikely, but if he does get his release, perhaps he and Laura can build a bond that’s even stronger than the one she has with Sonny. She kind of shrugs and smiles, and the guard says, time’s up. Cyrus says, wish me luck, and she tells him, good luck. He laughs and pats her hand. He thanks her so much for coming. He hopes to see her again very soon. He leaves with the guard.

Just for the record, I’m aware they spell the prison Pentonville on the show, but I think Pentenville looks more like penitentiary, so, artistic license. Like with Windymere.

Dex says, there. That was the boat. Josslyn is surprised he can see it, and Spinelli says, keen powers of observation. Here they are. Dex says, Pier 17, and Spinelli, the abductor, if that’s what he is, chose his spot well. See what’s around the pier? It’s all warehouses. They’d be deserted at that hour, so even if Ava were to call for help, he doesn’t think she’d be heard. Josslyn says, wait. He took off his hood. Dex asks if Spinelli can tighten it, and Spinelli says, yes, of course (🍷), but the cameras are not high res; it might be grainy. Dex says he knows that guy. That’s Austin Gatlin-Holt’s cousin… Mason.

Austin says, one of Sonny’s guys was here asking about Ava, and Mason says, so? Austin says, what does he mean, so? No one’s heard from her in a couple of days. Mason says, because she’s locked in a basement somewhere. Who cares? Austin says he cares. He cares very much. Mason says, that’s sweet. His cousin is in love. Austin says he’s not joking around here. Don’t you hurt her. Mason says, Austin knows better than to threaten him, and Austin asks if it isn’t enough that Ava spent all this time thinking she killed Nikolas, and Nikolas is alive and well. He’s fine; he’s in Europe. Mason says he didn’t tell the guy to take off. He and Cyrus were the ones who kept him alive in the first place. Austin says, Nikolas is Cyrus’s nephew, and Mason says, forgive him. Cyrus has never struck him as the sentimental type about family, but Austin says, maybe they’re wrong about that. Mason needs to convince Cyrus to leave Ava alone. If that guy comes back for him… Mason says, put him off, but Austin says, no. He thought he already had. He punched Austin in the gut and grabbed him in a chokehold. He said, if anything happens to Ava, he’s coming back for Austin. Mason says, looks like you’ve got a problem, cuz.

Sonny and Nina, and Michael and Willow slow dance, while Kristina dances with the kids. Michael’s phone dings, and he says he has to take this real quick. He’ll be back. Willow calls Wiley over to dance with her, and Sonny asks if he can dance with his little girl. Donna says, yeah, and much cuteness happens. Willow suggests Wiley ask his grandmother to dance, and Wiley asks Nina if she wants to dance. She says, does she? Yeah. They dance as much as you can dance with a three-foot height difference. On the side, Michael says he’s at a family function. He can’t talk long. So, they have the name of the person who turned Drew Cain in to the SEC?

We don’t see his face, but a man tells Michael, the SEC was contacted by a lawyer named Martin Grey, acting on behalf of a client. Michael says, Grey was just a go-between. He needs the name of the person who pointed the SEC to his mom and Drew… He turns around and looks at Nina having a grand old time with Wiley. Ugh. I mean, I get it. She did wrong, but I still feel badly about it since it all finally came together, and everyone is so happy.

Curtis reaches for his water, and Portia tries to help, but he says he’s got it. Doesn’t she have to go back to the hospital, Co-Chief of Staff? She laughs and says she does actually, and he says he’s going to take a shower and he’ll see her tonight. She says she can’t wait, and he wheels himself out of the room. Stella suggests Portia take the basket over to the hospital for the nurses to enjoy, and Portia says, okay. When she gets closer, Stella lowers her voice and says, Portia doesn’t have to do everything. She just got a wonderful well-deserved job and she’ll be making more money. Portia says, right, and The Savoy is making money, and Stella says, but Curtis isn’t there. In his mind, he’s not making a dime. Curtis needs her, he needs all of them, to live out their lives as normally as possible and not walk on eggshells around him. He can go out the restaurant and have a fine time. Portia says she was just thinking he’ll be more comfortable here, that’s all, but Stella says, if something is making Curtis uncomfortable, he’s a grown man and he can tell them himself. Believe her. She knows Curtis and he will. Portia says, okay, and thanks her. They hug, and Stella hands Portia the basket. Portia asks if she’s sure, and Stella says, absolutely. They don’t want nothing that woman has to offer, but she will be keeping the baked goods. Portia takes the basket and leaves.

Josslyn asks if Dex is sure that’s the same guy, and Dex says, positive. Maybe Mason has ties to someone working against Sonny; he’s not sure who yet. Josslyn asks how he can tell from this picture, and Dex says, when he was following Mason, he always had a lollypop in his mouth. Josslyn says, that would explain the grape lollypop at Ava’s, and Spinelli says, here we go. The vehicle that Ava and Mason got in is registered to a Pautuck Trucking Company, Pautuck, New York. Dex says he’s going to need a list of all the employees employed by the trucking company and their addresses, as well as any properties owned or leased by the trucking company. He tells Josslyn, that’s where they’ll find Ava.

Austin says, Mason’s right. He has a problem. Because for some reason, Cyrus hates Sonny Corinthos. Can Mason please explain that to him, because he doesn’t understand. Isn’t there enough to go around for everybody? There’s plenty there. At least there used to be. Mason says he doesn’t get it either. Honestly, he thinks the whole thing started when the boss found out Mayor Collins was his sister. Austin asks, what’s that got to do with anything? and Mason says he doesn’t know. He’s just telling Austin, that’s when Cyrus started mentioning Sonny more and more. He would rant on and on about Corinthos and the life he had. Austin says, what life? They both have the same life. They’re mob bosses. Mason says, he called Sonny respectable. It’s almost as if it’s something he wanted for himself and doesn’t have. Austin says, so his life is in danger because Cyrus is jealous of Sonny Corinthos, but Mason says he thinks it goes deeper than that. Austin says, if that guy comes back, Sonny’s guy, he’s going to spill his guts. And they’re next move is to come after Mason, and then Mason will be as dead as him. Mason tells him, don’t do anything stupid. Austin’s only protection from Sonny is the boss, so just do as he’s told. Let the boss handle Sonny. He leaves.

Wiley and Donna chant, cake, cake, cake, and pound on the table. Sonny and Nina get ready to cut the cake, and Michael watches from the sidelines.

The guard says, this is it, opening the door, and Cyrus goes out into the sunshine wearing civilian clothes. He takes an envelope of the possessions he came with from the guard, and the guard says, he knows his way out. Cyrus says he certainly does, and tosses the envelope into a trashcan on his way to the gate.

Sonny and Nina cut the cake, and Sonny feeds Nina a piece. Michael watches.

Before going through the gate, Cyrus takes a deep breath and smiles.

Sonny and Nina wipe icing off of Donna and Wiley’s faces. Michael glares at Nina. This is bad.

The prison gate opens, and Cyrus walks out. He turns to look back at the prison.

Sonny and Nina kiss and drink champagne. Michael glares some more.

Cyrus gets in a car, and it drives away.

On Monday, Cody wonders if Sasha is going to walk away from her life after just getting it back; Willow says, Michael never told her who he was talking to; and Kristina asks what someone is doing here.

💭 A thought: Interesting that Nina and Cyrus have parallel goals of wanting a family and are both going about it all wrong.

🩺 The Doctor Was Out…

This is embarrassing. He’s my absolute favorite soap actor and I didn’t even realize he’d been gone for so long. Well, nice to have him back.

🧳In Sonny’s Defense…

The punishment fit the crime; being exiled to Bridgeport. And one of the funniest interactions ever, starting with her opening the door to give Sam the boot and him standing there.

🕵🏾 The Latest in Waldos…

It’s time to put him back on the canvas. Taggert is definitely underused.

🥀 Ringing Down the Curtain…

He had a wonderful run.

🗽 Her Face Is Irrelevant…

Doubtful she was joking considering her ego. Tribecca does not need her endorsement.

🧂 Four Teaspoons Of Salt…

This week in RHOSLC.

The slam.

The non-clap back.

To be filed under don’t care.

https://people.com/jen-shah-husband-sharrieff-shah-sends-50th-birthday-well-wishes-prison-exclusive-8303004

🍊 Orange You Done Yet…?

Fancy Pants Heather’s hint.

https://www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-orange-county/style-living/rhoc-season-17-reunion-recap-heather-dubrows-new-house

It was pretty bold for one just released from banishment.

Apparently not too bold though, since the status quo stays the same.

💎 Possible Final Word…

So, they’re separated, but not divorcing, and it’s no one’s fault.

👠 Those 80s Ladies…

Normally, this wouldn’t be my type of film, but I do like an 80s flashback.

https://ew.com/tv/ladies-of-the-80s-lifetime-movie-first-look-photos/

https://people.com/ladies-of-the-80s-a-divas-christmas-lifetime-first-look-photos-8305219

⚰️ News Of the Departed…

Reddest herring in the world.

https://ew.com/tv/walking-dead-daryl-dixon-melissa-mcbride-season-2/

It makes sense since Jadis was a huge part of the Rick story.

https://ew.com/tv/walking-dead-the-ones-who-live-adds-terry-o-quinn-pollyanna-mcintosh-teaser-photos/

There better be some good explanation of why Victor went from antihero to antichrist.

https://bleedingcool.com/tv/fear-the-walking-dead-season-8-scene-madison-victor-reunite-kinda/

Dead at the con.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/new-york-comic-con-2023-recap-the-walking-dead-universe-rick-michonne-daryl-dixon-carol-fear/#1

🐩 Best In Costume…

I could look at this stuff all day.

https://www.thelist.com/646383/the-best-celebrity-pet-halloween-costumes-ever/

https://www.hola.com/us/lifestyle/20211022325485/celebrity-halloween-costumes-pets-roundup-gallery-1/

📣 Quotes of the Week

The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts. – Bertrand Russell

If you look for perfection, you’ll never be content. – Leo Tolstoy

I could not tread these perilous paths in safety, if I did not keep a saving sense of humor. – Horatio Nelson

Compassion for animals is intimately connected with goodness of character; and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man. – Schopenhauer

Maturity is achieved when a person accepts life as full of tension. – Joshua L. Liebman

Our experiences don’t define us. It’s what we’ve learned from them that matters. – Monkey D. Garp (Vincent Regan), One Piece

A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave. – Mahatma Gandhi,

Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence. – Henry David Thoreau

Few things will make you feel better than a job brilliantly done. – Robin S. Sharma

Whoever said money can’t buy happiness simply didn’t know where to go shopping. – Gertrude Stein

🪄 Putting a Spell On You…

Visit again on Monday really Tuesday for soap and what’s happening in the Med. Until then, stay safe, stay never blowing out a Jack O’Lantern before midnight on Halloween, and stay being aware of hospital protocol before you barge into a doctor’s office.

October 11, 2023 – Lois Arrives At the Quartermaine Mansion, OC Reunion Finish Line & Girl

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Walking down the hall in the hospital, Stella says, the best advice she can give Felicia is to give the nurse on duty a heads up when she refers a patient to another doctor, especially if she wants to stay on their good side. Felicia says she’s got it. She definitely wants to stay on the good side of all the nurses. She thanks Stella for the help and support this week, and Stella says, Felicia is going to make a great addition to the staff. Felicia admits she’s a little overwhelmed; there’s always so much going on. Stella says, there always will be.

Finn asks how Elizabeth’s day is, and she says, busier than ever. His? He says, actually, he just got here, but he’s got to go out again. He has to check on Chase. She asks how Chase is doing, and Finn says, he’s not answering any calls or texts, so he’s going to bite the bullet and go over to Chase’s place. He’ll let her know after he sees him. She says, good luck, and he thanks her. He walks away, but comes back and asks if she’d have dinner with him tonight. She says, yeah. She’d love that. She suggests he and Violet come over, and she’ll throw something together. He says he’d like that, and she says she knows Aiden would like to spend some time with Violet. He’s been home alone a lot lately, since Jake has been spending so much time with Charlotte. He says, Violet would love to see Aiden too, and she says, it’ll be fun. He leaves and comes back yet again and asks her not to be honest with her friends about what happened last night in the locker room. She flashes back to kissing Finn in the shower, and says she’ll see him tonight. He leaves for real, and Terry comes in. Elizabeth says, any luck? and Terry says, with? Elizabeth says, Co-Chief of Staff, but Terry says, not yet. She’s been too busy trying to find out who was in the locker room having sex in the showers. D’oh!

Outside the apartment, Laura says she can’t tell Doc how happy she is to be home, and he says he was relieved the moment they landed. She says, it will be nice to decompress for a while after being on the road looking for Nikolas. She thinks they have a bottle of red wine in the kitchen. They can open it up. He says he does like red wine, and they go inside. They see Ace playing on the living room floor with no one else around.

Spencer asks if Trina wants him to put her suitcases inside, but she says she can take it from here. She thanks him and says she had an amazing weekend. He says, him too, and she says, but now he needs to go home. She knows he’s missing Ace. He says he is, but as much as he’s happy to see his little brother, he’s sad to see their weekend in New York end. She says, it was perfect, every second, and he says, every second? She says, every, single second, and flashes back to them getting busy. He says, it was perfect, and kisses her.

Chase opens the door to Gregory, and Gregory hugs him, saying, he loves Chase so much.

Brook walks into the mansion and asks Yuri, where is she? He says, Monica is in her office, but she says she’s not looking for Monica. Where is her granny? She yells for Tracy and asks where she’s hiding. Tracy comes out of the living room and says she’s not hiding. Why is Brook shrieking?

Olivia sees Eddie/Ned sleeping on the sofa and approaches him. He dreams he’s playing the guitar and realizes he’s nakey. He sees Olivia in the audience and wakes with a start. She says she’s sorry. She didn’t mean to wake him up. He says, you were in my dream.

Laura wonders where Ace’s mommy is, when Esme comes out and says, thank God they’re home. Laura asks if everything’s okay, and Esme says, Ace is teething, and she thinks she’s only slept six hours in the last couple of days. She called Alexis this morning to tell her that she wasn’t going to make it to work, but then she felt bad for not going to work, but she’s exhausted. Laura says she knows. They’re home now; they can help. Esme says she didn’t realize how lonely it would be by herself, and Laura asks, where’s Spencer?

He’s kissing Trina. He tells her that he’s sorry, and she says she doesn’t want him to go home, but she wants him to see Ace. He says he’ll text her… or call… He’ll see her tomorrow no matter what. He promises. He leaves and she goes inside. Curtis says, she’s back. Come on in, have a seat, and tell him all about it. How was it? She says, it was okay, and he says, just okay? She says, no… It was amazing, and laughs.

Gregory tells Chase that he was wrong, and he’s so sorry. He should have told Chase about his diagnosis. He meant to, but he just kept putting it off. Chase says, why? Because Gregory thought he couldn’t handle it? Gregory says, no. Because he didn’t think he could handle it. All his life, Chase has been such a joy and a blessing. His enthusiasm was contagious and his openness, his optimism. Ever since Chase was a little boy, if Gregory was having a bad day or struggling with something, he’d spend time with Chase, and it would change everything; it would change his perspective. He was just being selfish, storing up moments with Chase where things felt normal, where he didn’t have ALS and wasn’t dying. But it wasn’t fair to Chase and he’s so sorry. Chase says, it’s okay. If spending time with him brought Gregory joy, that’s all that matters. They hug and cry.

Elizabeth asks, who told Terry that someone was having sex in the showers? and Terry says, Amy Driscoll. Consider the source, right? She loves gossip. Elizabeth says, she does like to make assumptions, and Terry says, who knows? Maybe it’s not even true. Elizabeth says, well, it is, and Terry asks why she said that. Elizabeth says, because it was her, and just so Terry knows, it was only kissing. Terry says, with Finn, and Elizabeth smiles and walks away. Terry says, well done, and follows her.

Felicia says, that was tough, and Stella agrees. Helping families losing a loved one figure out the next steps, it’s important to have the necessary words. Felicia says, Stella knows exactly what to tell them with dignity and heart, and Stella says, the dignity and heart were real, but the rest was instinct and experience. Would Felicia like to switch it up a bit? Felicia says she’d love to, and asks what Stella has in mind. Stella says, pediatrics, and Felicia says she loves babies. Stella says, the best part of this job. Let’s go.

Olivia says, she was in Eddie’s dream? and he says, yes, and he was naked… on stage. He was naked on stage. It’s crazy. He was playing a gig in his dream, and she was in the crowd. And there was another woman with her. She asks, who was it? but he says he doesn’t know, but it’s really, really frustrating. She says, what is? and he says, this dream. He’s had it a couple of times. She says, maybe he should talk to someone about it, and he says he thought he was.

Brook says, how could she? and Tracy says, how could she what? Brook says, she knows what she did, and Tracy asks, what is it Brook thinks she did? Brook says she doesn’t think; she knows Tracy did. Tracy asks if Brook is talking in code, or did she hit her head like her father? Brook says, Tracy can’t bluff her way out of this one. Tracy knows exactly what she did. Yuri says he doesn’t think she does, and Brook asks him to give them a minute. This is something they need to settle privately. He leaves, and Tracy asks if Brook would like to tell her in plain English, not yelling, what exactly is it Brook thinks she did. Brook asks how Tracy could tell Chase that his father has ALS, and Tracy says, that was an honest mistake, but Brook says, those don’t exist with Tracy. Tracy says she was at the hospital. She ran into Chase, his eyes were red, he was crying, she assumed it was about his father, and when she realized her mistake, she tried to backpedal, but Chase wouldn’t let it go. Brook says, so Tracy took it upon herself and told him, and Tracy says, he pressured her. Would Brook have preferred she lie? Brook says, so now she’s taking a stand for honesty? She is unbelievable. Tracy says she’s just explaining what happened, when there’s a knock at the door. Tracy asks if Brook wants to get that, or does Brook want to stand there and stare at her? Brook opens the door and says, what? Lois says, whoa. Is that any way to greet your mother?

Olivia says, Eddie is talking to someone and she’s more than willing to listen, but she was talking about more like a professional. He says, a psychic. He doesn’t believe in them. That’s all just a scam. She says, he’d be surprised, but she wasn’t talking about a psychic. She meant, like a doctor, like Kevin Collins. He’s really good with dreams and repressed memories. Maybe this is his subconscious trying to tell him something. He says, no. Thank you. He remembers Doc from when he first woke up in the hospital. Doc couldn’t help him then; he can’t help him now. She says, okay, but if he’s really serious about getting to the bottom of this, he’ll bite the bullet and talk to Doc, and she leaves.

Brook and Lois hug, and Lois asks, how’s her baby? Brook says, surprised to see her, and Lois glances at Tracy, then asks to see Brook’s hair. Brook shows her, and Lois says, it’s beautiful. Brook asks to see Lois’s nails, and says, they never cease to impress her. Tracy says, look who’s back, and Lois says, hello, Tracy. Tracy says, hello, Lois, and Lois says, it’s been a minute. Tracy asks if those are laugh lines or just lines, which is pretty funny since Lois hasn’t changed at all, and Lois says, Tracy is looking great too. Tracy says, so to what do they owe this hopefully brief visit? and Brook says, what’s going on? Is everything okay at home? Lois says, everything is fine in Bensonhurst. She read an article about Brook being dumped by Deception, and she thought, how dare they? They don’t know what an asset her Brookie is. Brook says she deserved it, and Lois says she doesn’t know what’s gotten into Brook’s head, but her daughter doesn’t deserve to be dumped. Brook says she was manipulated into sharing privileged information – corporate espionage – and Lois says, what? Manipulated by who? Who would do that to her? Brook looks around Lois at Tracy, and Lois turns around. Tracy jets, and Brook tells Lois, uh-huh.

Portia asks if she can steal Stella for just one moment, and Felicia says, go ahead. It will give her time to study her notes. Felicia steps away, and Stella asks if everything is all right. Portia says, Dr. Randolph offered her the Co-Chief of Staff position, and Stella asks if she accepted, but Portia says, not yet. Stella asks, why not? and Portia says, because it’s going to be a lot more work; more emails, more phone calls, more emergencies. Stella says, so turn it down, and Portia says she did, but now she thinks she might want it. It’s a senior management position. It’s going to be a little more money, and with everything going on with Curtis, it will be helpful. Stella says, take it, and Portia says, but what about Curtis? Stella says, what about him?

Trina tells Curtis, their trip to New York was amazing. Spencer thought of everything. They saw Moulin Rouge. He says, wow, Broadway, and she says, they had dinner at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the city. They could see the Empire State Building from their table. He says, it sounds like they had a good time, and she says, they did. And Spencer organized a tour of the Met. They did fun little touristy things like go around the city, they had gourmet coffees, and then they went shopping. Which reminds her. She got him something. He says she didn’t have to, but she says she wanted to. She gives him two caps, one for the Knicks and one for the Nets, and he says he loves them. She says she got him both because she didn’t know which team he preferred, but she knows he likes basketball. He says he still loves the game, even though he can’t play, and she takes his hand.

Laura bounces Ace on her lap and laughs, and Esme says she has to change Ace’s sheets again. Since he’s been teething, he’s drooling like crazy. Laura tells her, go ahead. She’s enjoying her time with her grandson. He’s gotten so much bigger since the last time she saw him. Esme says she feels like she’s done ten loads of laundry since Spencer went away with Trina, and leaves. Doc says, so much for decompressing over a nice bottle of wine, and Laura says she’s still happy to be home. He says, him too. He’s going to take the rest of the suitcases upstairs since she seems to have her hands full. She thanks him and asks if Ace missed grandma. Grandma missed him an awful lot. Now tell her, where is his big brother Spencer? Spencer walks in and says, look who it is. One of his favorite people in the world. He waves to Ace.

On the phone (with Mac?), Felicia says she’s so nervous, but it’s the good kind of nervous… Yes. She thinks she’ll be ready thanks to Stella. She thinks she can make a difference and give back to a place that’s given her so much.

Stella says, if Portia wants this job, she should take it. Curtis is adjusting, but it’s going to take him some time before he’s his old self again. In the meantime, they can’t put their lives on hold, and she’s sure Curtis would be proud of Portia getting this job. Chief of Staff is a big deal. Portia says, Co-Chief, and Stella says, whatever. Curtis is tougher and stronger than most people, with a truly generous heart, and it would kill him if he thought he was holding Portia back in any way. Portia says she knows, and Stella says, then Portia knows that she needs to decide what she wants and what makes her happy. If taking this job is going to make her happy, that’s all anyone would want.

Curtis asks, what’s the matter? and Trina says she feels really bad being this happy when this terrible thing has happened to him. He says he’s facing this big challenge and he’s not letting his life stop because of it, and he doesn’t want her to do that either. The worst thing would be if he brought her down, or anyone he loves. You know what makes him happy? Seeing her live her life. And he knows she loves him. She says she really does, when Marshall walks in the front door. He asks if that Cassadine boy treated Trina well.

Finn knocks at Chase’s door, and when he sees Gregory is there, he says, if this is a private conversation, he can go. Chase says, get in here, and Finn starts to apologize, but Chase says he’s the one who walked out. He’s sorry. Finn says, so is he, but Chase says, he doesn’t have to apologize. He understands why Finn didn’t tell him. Dad explained everything. Finn asks how Gregory is doing, and Gregory says, at the moment, all he can be is thankful he has two such wonderful sons.

Spencer takes Ace and asks how it’s going. Did Ace miss him, because he missed Ace. But he’s back and they can play all day now. Laura laughs, and he says he missed her too. It’s good to see her. He’s glad that she’s home. She says she missed him too, and she’s very glad to be home. Spencer says he got Ace a present and shows him a stuffed apple. Ace couldn’t care less. Esme comes out and says, he’s back.

Brook tells Lois, if she didn’t steal the Deceptor files, Tracy said she’d go to Chase. Lois says, blackmailing her own granddaughter by threatening to make trouble with her boyfriend? She doesn’t think Tracy has ever stooped so low. Brook says, if she’d just been honest with Chase from the beginning, then Tracy wouldn’t have had anything to blackmail her with. But instead, she let Tracy manipulate her, and she let down her friends and her colleagues, and they’re furious. And rightfully so. She deserved to get fired. Lois says, this is on Tracy, not on Brook, but Brook says, she just feels so terrible about what she did. But maybe it’s all for the best; at least the getting fired part. Lois asks why she’d say that, and Brook says, because she’s going back into music. It feels right. Lois says, of course (🍷) it feels right. Because it is. Because it runs in the family. Olivia walks in, and squeals. She and Lois scream, jump up and down, and hug each other.

Olivia says, Lois looks gorgeous. How long do they get to keep her for? Lois says she has absolutely no plans. She saw that her little girl was in need, so she wanted to be here for her. Brook says she’s glad Lois is, and Lois says she’ll always be. Olivia asks where Lois is staying. She hopes Lois is going to stay here in the house with her. Brook says she’d invite Lois to stay with her and Chase, but the apartment is very small. Lois says, not a problem, and tells Olivia, no. She was thinking of staying at the MetroCourt. Olivia says, okay. She’ll comp Lois a room. Lois says, of course (🍷) Olivia will, and she expects an exceptional room, and Olivia says, she’ll get one. They have brand new suites with beautiful views of the waterfront. Brook flashes back to Tracy telling her that Chase is just a phone call away, and her telling Tracy, just as always, she wins. She tells Lois, Olivia is right. She should stay here at the house. She thinks Tracy would love having Lois here.

In Terry’s office, Elizabeth says, they really don’t have time to discuss this, but Terry says, what is there to discuss? She thinks it’s about time. Yuri comes in and asks what they’re talking about, and Terry says, love. He says he loves love, when Portia joins them and says, she didn’t realize she was interrupting a party. She asks if Terry has a second. She’d like to speak to Terry about something pretty important.

Chase says, Finn told him that Gregory was diagnosed months ago. Right now, he seems fine. Gregory says, luckily, at this stage of the disease, he still has good days, but his symptoms are increasing. His hands cramp up more and more when he’s doing simple things like signing his name or typing on the computer. And his balance isn’t too good anymore. He’s fallen a few times, but fortunately, today was one of the good days. Chase wonders why he didn’t see it; he should have. Gregory says he went to great lengths to hide it from Chase, and Finn says he didn’t see it. There were a couple of incidents, but he didn’t put them together. He should have. Gregory says, this can’t be about them blaming each other for what they did or didn’t see. He didn’t want either of them to see anything until he was ready. But now he’s glad it’s finally out in the open, so he can be honest with both of them, and himself. Chase asks how they can help.

Spencer tells Laura, being in the city with Trina was great. Fine dining, a few art museums… They caught a show. Doc says they’re glad he and Trina could find some time away, and Spencer says, him too. It seems Esme had her hands full while he was away. Esme says, it was fine. They had some nice mother/son bonding time. Laura says, those are the times she’ll never forget. Ace seems a little tired to her. Esme says, it’s time for his nap, and Spencer offers to put him down (I hate that phrase; it sounds like they’re going to take him out back and shoot him). He suggests they put Ace in bed together, and Esme says, sure. Maybe Spencer could even sing that stupid song that he made up. Spencer says, Ace, Ace, something about his face, and Esme says, yes, that one. They go to put Ace to bed, and Laura tells Doc that she’s so relieved. He says, she means those two? and she says, yes. Look at how well they’re getting along. She was concerned for Ace’s sake. He says, yes, but unlike Spencer, who has a life outside of Ace, Esme seems isolated. All she has is her work at The Invader. She doesn’t seem to have a group of friends. It’s bound to cause friction.

Stella says, Felicia is a quick study, and Felicia says, Stella’s a great mentor. Stella says she has some paperwork to catch up on and asks when Felicia is starting at GH. Felicia says, next week. She hopes she’ll be ready. Stella says, Felicia will be great; she’s a natural. And she’ll be around whenever Felicia needs her. Felicia thanks her and says she appreciates it.

Trina says, Spencer was a true gentleman, and Marshall had nothing to worry about. Marshall asks if she’s sure. He’d hate to have to go full grandad. She says, Spencer treated her very well. They had a great trip. Curtis says, she gave him the highlights, and Marshall asks if he approved. Curtis says he approves, and Marshall notices Trina’s necklace. He says, that’s new, isn’t it? and she says, Spencer gave it to her so she’ll always have something to remember their trip together. Marshall says, to always remember Spencer by, no doubt, and she says, Spencer’s pretty unforgettable. Marshall asks Curtis, what do we have here? and Curtis says, the caps are a present from Trina, and he’s willing to share if Marshall picks the right one. Marshall says he wants the Knicks hat, and Curtis says, it’s his; good choice. Trina says she has a paper due for school, so she’s heading back to the dorms. She hugs Marshall and Curtis, who thanks her for the hats, and she leaves. Marhsall says, Curtis doesn’t really think that Cassadine boy is good enough for her, does he? and Curtis says he doesn’t really think he can tell his daughter what to do or who to be with.

Yuri asks what time Terry is off, but she says she’s not sure yet. He says, think of what she’d like for dinner, and she says, maybe Italian? He says, or Russian? kisses her, and leaves. Elizabeth says she has patients to see, and Terry says, make sure she showers them with kindness. Elizabeth gives her a look, and leaves. Terry asks what she can do for Portia, and Portia says she knows she initially turned down the job offer, but she’s had a change of heart and she really wants it. She believes she can do a great job for Terry and for GH. So she’s officially accepting Terry’s job offer to be Co-Chief of Staff.

Lois says she’s not so sure about staying here at the Qs with Tracy. She thinks the room Olivia described at the MetroCourt sounds perfect for her, but Olivia says she thinks what Brook said was right. If they stay here under the same roof, they can have a proper visit. They can braid each other’s hair and watch crummy movies and eat junk food. Just like old times. Lois says she doesn’t think so, and Olivia says, if she’s at the MetroCourt, it’s going to be all about work drama. She’s not really going to get a chance to see Lois. Lois says, fine. Speaking of drama, does Ned still think he’s actually Eddie Maine?

Eddie asks what Tracy means, a Bensonhurst invasion? She says, Olivia was bad enough. Now there’s two of them. He says, so Olivia has family visiting? and she suggests he see for himself.

Spencer says, okay. Ace is asleep. Esme says she had to hear Spencer sing that silly song three times, but it did make Ace laugh, so she guesses it was worth it. Spencer says, Laura still hasn’t told them why she and Doc decided to come back. Did they give up on looking for his father? Doc says, actually, no. Spencer’s grandmother refused to give up. It didn’t matter how difficult it became. She insisted they keep looking for him. Laura says, it wasn’t always easy at times, and Doc says, the search took them to Russia, Greece, and the trail eventually took them to Geneva. Laura says, where they actually met with his dad’s banker, who said he’d been seen there at the bank taking out some withdrawals. They didn’t actually see his dad, but they know he’s alive.

Yuri asks about Finn, and Elizabeth says, he’s well. He says, they should all get together again soon; her, Finn, him and Terry. He likes Finn. He’s good people. She says, he’s pretty great. They’ll check their schedules and get back to them. He says he’d better go. He’s starting a new job this week and he has to figure out how to tell his old boss that he’s leaving. She says, that’s never easy. Good luck. He leaves, and she makes a call. She says, it’s her. She just wanted to let Finn know she was thinking about him. She hopes everything is going well with Chase. She’ll see him later at her place.  

Gregory tells Chase that his specialist was clear. This is a terminal diagnosis; there’s no cure for ALS. But how he handles this disease, how quickly he deteriorates, that’s still to be determined. He’s trying to take this day to day. Chase asks if he’s sure there’s nothing they can do, and Finn says he wishes there was. But their dad’s got a lot of good days left, and even as the disease progresses, there should be a lot of great opportunities to be together, spend time together, to love each other. Chase says, they’ll be with him every step of the way. He takes Gregory’s hand and says he loves him. Finn takes the other hand and says, they love him, and Gregory says he’s a lucky man.

Terry asks if Portia is sure about taking on the extra responsibility. It’s a lot of work, a lot of hours. Portia says she’s not afraid of hard work. She’s worked hard her entire life and doesn’t plan on stopping it now. Terry says, that sounds great. She’ll let Dr. Quartermaine know. You might even start on Monday… partner. They shake hands and laugh.

Curtis says he told Trina when she gave him this hat, even though he can’t play, he still loves the game, and Marshall asks if there’s been any progress in finding out who shot him. It’s been a while. Have the cops found anything? Curtis says, no. He hasn’t heard anything yet. The whole time he was a cop, his biggest fear was getting injured in the line of duty. So when it finally happened, he was a civilian. Marshall puts his hand on Curtis’s.

Esme asks if Laura knows where Nikolas is now, but Laura says, no, she doesn’t. Knowing Nikolas, he could really be anywhere. They hear Ace cry on the monitor, and Spencer says, perfect timing. He needs a break from talking about his dad, so he’ll check on Ace. Esme suggests he stay and catch up with his grandmother. She’ll go check on Ace. She leaves, and Doc says, actually (WOTD), he agrees with Esme. He has to make some calls and check on his patients. He leaves, and Spencer sits next to Laura, taking her hand. He says, so it’s what they thought all along. His father left them, and he doesn’t want to come back. She says she really believes his father is going to realize the mistake that he’s making and that he will come back to them, but Spencer says he really hopes for everyone involved that his father just stays away. She says, he knows he doesn’t mean that, and he says, but he’s really, really glad she’s home. He missed her. She says she missed him too. She missed him a lot. She hugs him and says, they’re going to be okay. He says, okay, and goes to check on Ace. Laura leaves a message for Valentin, saying, she just got back to Port Charles. When he picks this up, can he please call right away? She wants to know what’s going on with Charlotte.

Lois tells Olivia, the neighborhood hasn’t changed at all. The pizza place is still happening every Friday night. The arcade is busier than it’s ever been. Olivia asks how many hours they wasted, spending them in that dump, and Lois says, too many. How many nails did she break playing those stupid games all the time? Olivia asks how Lois’s parents are, and Lois says her parents are great, and thanks Olivia for asking. Ma still makes pasta every Sunday night. Pops is still working at the garage. Can she believe it? Brook needs to see her grandparents more often. They’re not getting any younger. Brook says she will, she promises, and Lois says, she’d better. She hugs Brook’s arm, when Eddie comes in with Tracy. He says he knows her, and Lois says she should hope so. She’s his ex-wife and she’s Brook’s mother. He says, oh… yeah, but he feels like he knows her from somewhere else. Soap looks all around.

Tomorrow, Willow asks what someone is doing here; Michael tells Sonny that it’s best for everyone if he moves on; Austin tells Cyrus, once he figured out what was at stake, he didn’t have a choice; and Ava screams for help.

The Dreadfully Appalling Real Housewives of Orange County

The Reunion – Part Two

Shannon apologizes for the CPS comment, and claims she never insinuated Gina’s kids would be taken away, but Gina feels Shannon hurt her children. Shannon says she feels horrible, and we take a break because we already need one after only two seconds. Gina and Heather Fancy Pants agree there was no apology, and Gina says she can’t carry this around anymore. And we’re back.

Andy says, Shannon’s friends often struggled to unlock her vault, which sounds rude, and we flash back to Shannon throughout the season. We see all the John stuff and Shannon flipping out about not talking on camera about her relationship when she just did. Shannon says she’s disappointed in Fancy Pants. She’d thought they were forging a true friendship, and Fancy Pants brought things up on camera that Shannon told her not to. The buck gets passed to Emily and Gina, who says, Tamra was the only person who discussed Shannon’s relationship, but Tamra throws the Shannon ball back to Fancy Pants. Shannon insists Fancy Pants said off-camera that her relationship with John wasn’t good, but she couldn’t say why because it was in the vault, which causes people to think the worst. What Shannon told her was that she and John had arguments, John would leave, then ghost her, and it was paralyzing. She’s never been more in love, and he’d said he was ready to take the next step. Then they broke up. Andy asks why, and Tamra suggests John didn’t want to look bad when they were filming. Fancy Pants asks if Shannon really believes she’s some Machiavellian pot stirrer behind the scenes, and Shannon says she does. Fancy Pants says, Shannon tends to drink and then call them; she’s the town crier. Shannon says, they’re all calling her a drunk, and Gina wonders why she doesn’t want to look at that. Shannon says she doesn’t like Gina, and Gina says, that’s fine, but Shannon also doesn’t like the truth. Emily says, Shannon shares things, then doesn’t seem to understand how it works on a reality show. There’s an assumption of risk. Spoken like a true lawyer. If Shannon doesn’t want it to come out, don’t tell it. Andy says, it seems like everyone had private conversations about Shannon’s relationship, but it all got put on Fancy Pants by Tamra. (Sounds like a fashion line – Fancy Pants by Tamra.) Shannon says, when she was going through a divorce, Gina claimed she was masking her feelings with alcohol, and Gina says, it’s their job to say how they feel. If it puts Shannon in a bad situation, get off the show. Shannon announces that her job is to be Shannon Storms Beador and she acts the way she is. Gina says, she’s Beador-ing it.  

Shannon whines that she’s done a lot on the show. She took her shirt off on camera when she’d gained 42 pounds. We flash back to that, and her trainer saying, wow. She says she was the first Housewife to deal with infidelity, but I highly doubt that. Emily says, they’ve all done this; Gina dealt with a DUI, and Tamra weighed her. Shannon says she’s authentic, and Andy says, a viewer on Twitter (yeah, yeah, X now, but no one uses that – was it renamed X because Elon Musk doesn’t know how to write?), asks how Fancy Pants is the bad guy when Emily was the first person who brought it up? Tamra says, she, Vicki, Emily, Gina, and Fancy pants were filming at Gina’s place. When the camera was down, Fancy Pants wondered when they were going to start following Shannon’s real relationship. Fancy Pants says, Shannon doesn’t show what’s really going on, and Shannon says, thanks for bringing it up. Tamra says, now John dumped her, and Shannon says, they broke up and it broke her up. She looked back on certain scenes, and he looked checked out. She’s embarrassed and wonders why she didn’t see it. Tamra says, they just want her to be more open, and Gina says, Shannon should have faith that they’ll help her through it. Jenn says, it seems like Shannon wanted to protect her relationship, and Shannon says she wanted it to work. Call her in denial. Both kids are in college now, and it’s been hard. Tamra says, he’s not the one. Shannon still relies on him and needs to cut ties. Shannon admits she’s still hanging out with John, and Andy says, Steven from Vancouver asks, if John is such a private person, why date Shannon? Shannon says, that’s a valid question, and Gina says, he probably liked it until it stung him. Shannon says she doesn’t have a definitive answer. She hates that after being together for three years, she still doesn’t know. Andy says, it looked like Tamra was the root of all the gossip, but Tamra insists she didn’t say anything. We flash back to Tamra saying everything, and Fancy Pants says, Tamra had misplaced aggression toward her. Tamra says she thought Fancy Pants had a smoking gun, but when she watched the show, Fancy Pants didn’t say anything. Fancy Pants says she never pledged not to talk about Shannon’s relationship, but she promised she’d never repeat the things Shannon told her that were hurtful, and she never did. Emily says, Shannon told her that John called her a pig and said she was fat, but Shannon says, that’s the one thing he didn’t do. So I guess Emily just pulled that from the air. Emily says, that’s what Shannon told her, but Shannon says, Emily mistook [sic] it. Andy says, when Shannon got upset over wearing a bathing suit, it was very relatable, and asks what she thought about Emily’s assessment that at the root, it was related to John. Shannon insists it’s a Shannon thing, because she’s desperate to hang on to what little she has left of John. Andy asks if they’re friends with benefits, and she says, sometimes. Ugh. My assessment: John is a real pig and Shannon is desperate with a faulty picker.

Andy brings up Fancy Pants warning Gina that Emily went to the Tamra school of friendship, and Fancy Pants says she doesn’t trust Tamra and thinks she’s a sh*tty friend. Now tell us how you really feel. We see Emily making an ass of herself during this season, and Andy says, a lot of Emily’s anger seems deep-rooted in her childhood. Visibly upset, Emily says, her relationship with her mom is hard. It’s all over the place and not consistent. Gina adds, there being no solution makes it harder, and Andy steers the conversation to Annabelle, asking if she’s doing more modeling. Emily says, she’s had a few gigs, and we see pictures. She says, Annabelle is fierce; she’s a badass. Andy says, Emily and Tamra were close at the end of the season, and Emily says, they talk a lot. Emily thinks her friendship with Tamra annoys Shannon, and Shannon makes excuses as to why she didn’t invite any of them to the Tres Amigas show. Tamra wants to know why Fancy Pants said the only reason they were friends was because she was afraid of Tamra, but Fancy Pants corrects her, explaining what she said was, she didn’t go against Tamra because she was afraid of her. Tamra says, she should be, and the topic of who’s an a-hole is bandied about. Heather says, sometimes Tamra is an a-hole, and Tamra agrees, but says she hadn’t been an a-hole to Fancy Pants yet. She’d just gotten there. Andy asks if Emily was unfair to Fancy Pants, and Gina says she thinks Emily’s delivery is rough, but it’s not indicative of how she wants to be. Emily says she had a lot of misfires, and Fancy Pants read her as malicious, but it wasn’t her intention. Fancy Pants says, not malicious, aggressive, and Emily says, in her head, she’s passionate. Heather reminds Emily of how she said she thought Fancy Pants was going to brand them with an HD at her launch party, and we flash back to that. Jenn says, it was funny, and I agree. Emily says, Fancy Pants has no sense of humor, and was rude calling her a mammoth. Fancy Pants says, it was in a good way, and she called Emily Snuffleupagus. Emily says, Heather was essentially calling her a mammoth, but Fancy Pants says, it was because Emily’s hair was crazy. Emily says, after she said Fancy Pants looked like a whale trainer, she heard Fancy Pants told production that she was an a-hole and should be fired. Who knows who said what at this point, but I think we can safely say, they’re all a-holes.

We flash back over the vacations wasted on this group, and Kevin – the guy who inadvertently flashed Jenn, Tamra, and Taylor while white-water rafting in Montana – is brought up. Tamra says, when she was with Jeff Lewis and Shane, Shane said his cousin filmed with them in Montana, and she realized it was him. Andy asks about Shannon’s boney vagina, and Emily and Tamra poke around on her. What is with these women? Andy says, who called who a loser at Bravocon caused a lot of finger-pointing, and everyone had different accounts. Tamra says, before she was brought back, Heather said on her podcast, if anyone comes back, it should be Alexis. She claimed that she wanted what was best for the show, but she worked with losers. Fancy Pants tells her, what she said was, last season, the cast was gelling, but this is what they gave her to work with. Emily says, when they were taking promo shots for the show, Gina was having her hair blow dried, so she couldn’t hear clearly. Fancy Pants said, blah-blah-blah was talking at BravoCon and said bad things about them. When she asked what it was, Fancy Pants said, it was in the vault. Fancy Pants says she thought they were having a private conversation, and Emily says, Fancy Pants keeps making herself out to be the victim. Tamra tells Fancy Pants that she needs to own what she says, and Emily says, everything is poor Heather. They all start talking at once, the thing I hate most about Reunions, and Tamra asks if Andy has a whistle. Like she’s never loud.

Fancy Pants insists she didn’t know what Emily was talking about, and Emily says, Fancy Pants took advantage of the fact she didn’t know the names involved. Fancy Pants tells her, as soon as she said it, she knew she’d made a mistake. Then Emily brought it up at her party. Emily promises to be boring and appropriate, and Andy thankfully says, moving on. He says, Tamra said terrible things about everyone when she wasn’t on the show, and wonders if she has a double standard. Tamra tries to dance around it, but Andy is persistent, and she finally tells him to be quiet. She says she thought she and Fancy Pants were in a good place, but she claimed Tamra said horrible things. Fancy Pants says, Emily ran with it. She would have talked privately and not made it a thing. Andy asks why Gina didn’t follow her own advice, and not trust Tamra, and Gina says she should have. Andy wonders if Fancy Pants didn’t like Tamra taking her alpha status away, and Tamra wonders how she got to be the alpha. Fancy Pants tells Andy that she never said Tamra was the alpha; it was how she was being treated. Shannon says, there’s a lot of ego on the show, like this is a revelation, and Fancy Pants says, it makes her sad that Shannon doesn’t see who she is; they’ve had nice moments, but when they’re not together, things go awry. Jenn says, it was frustrating coming in new when the women have things they’ve shared that are in the vault. Andy asks Tamra where it’s going with Fancy Pants, and Tamra gets all teary, saying how much she loved Fancy Pants and how Fancy Pants sent her texts on every big occasion. Then it went totally sideways, and it hurt her. She wants to get back where they were and put it behind them. Andy asks, how about Fancy Pants? and Fancy Pants says, it’s incredibly sad. Everyone has had a difficult year, and she thinks, the more friends, the better. Tamra says, it was hard closing the gym and saying goodbye to everyone. Then her dog died. Okay, she can have my sympathy on that one. Not so much the gym, because I care not about her interpersonal crap. She says she didn’t know where her place was, and she drank too. She’s an a-hole when she drinks. Only when she drinks? Well, she does drink a lot. Fancy Pants says, Tamra was her Housewife maker, like a vampire, and Tamra says she’s sorry. She felt alienated and it wasn’t what she intended. Pfft!

Tamra asks if a wedding is in Gina’s future, and Gina says, if she gets a rock like Fancy Pants has. Tamra says, they all want a rock like that. Andy reads that Jack from New York said, the cast was perfection and he’s going to miss this season. Did we watch the same show? Or is he like, fifteen? Andy asks what everyone is going to miss, and Emily says she’s going to miss the fun. Despite their conflicts, there’s a lot of fun and camaraderie. Jenn says, it was her first season, and she’ll never have another experience like this. After filming, it felt weird, like, where did everybody go? I can identify since I’ve gotten that feeling after doing a play or having a party. Gina says she’s just happy to move past it, so I guess she’s going to miss nothing. Shannon says, the vacations. She tears up, and says she promised herself that she wouldn’t cry, but she’s going to miss filming with her kids. Fancy Pants says, for all their ups and downs, she loves them. It’s like a sisterhood or sorority. Gina says she’ll miss Fancy Pants’ house, but Fancy Pants says, there’s a better one coming. Tamra says, not much since she was a bitch, but looking forward – if they’ll have her back (hint, hint) – she wants to see Ryan in a different way and see Jenn happy. She promises to accept Jenn’s happiness, and not go there ever again. Andy says, they’ve left predominantly in a good place, and thinks the Reunion was successful. He asks what they’re doing afterward, and Tamra says, they’re going to Fancy Pants’ new house in Beverly Hills. Andy says, it makes him happy to hear that. They put in good work. Fancy Pants says, the point of the Reunion is to resolve things and move on, and Andy says, they did. Emily says she legit cares about them, even though there was a lot of pettiness, and it was a pressure cooker. Tequila shots are brought out, with a Red Bull for Gina, and Tamra thanks them for accepting her back. She’s glad they have this core group of girls, and they killed it.

And with that, this season is mercifully killed.

👧🏽 Who Rule the World…?

That was a lot, but join me tomorrow for soap and whatever Charm can be squeezed out of the South. Until then, stay safe, stay never assuming a car will stop because you have the right of way, and stay not being an a-hole and keep it in the vault.

October 6, 2023 – Sonny Has Errands To Run, She’s Out, She’s In, Faux Housewives, Simon Says, Sharing, Stop It, Dead Talk, Turkey Time, Vintage Scares, Pets (!) In Costume, Just Shy Of 10 Quotes & It’s That Time

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Sonny goes to Michael’s office, and Michael says he wasn’t expecting to see him. It must be important if Sonny decided to come all the way down to his office. Sonny asks if it’s a problem, but Michael says, no, just unusual. Sonny says he’s trying to be a little more spontaneous in his old age, and Michael asks what brings him here. Sonny says he knows he shouldn’t be asking this, but he has a favor that only Michael can do for him.

Moving right along, Sonny sees Anna at the MetroCourt bar, and thanks her for meeting him. She says she was a bit surprised by the invite, and he says he’s been looking out for her since the shooting at the MetroCourt. She says she appreciates that. She’s being very cautious, one eye looking over her shoulder, because apparently, she’s got a target on her back now. He asks if any threats have happened, but she says, no, and he says, that’s good to hear. She asks if that’s why he asked to see her, to check up on her, but he says he just wanted to let her know he’s going to be gone for a few days. If she needs anything, he’s just a phone call away.

Alexis says she can’t remember how long it’s been since they’ve visited her at her office. It must be important. What did she do to deserve this visit? We see it’s Sonny, and he says, it’s not what she’s done; it’s what she’s going to do. She says, typically, when someone wants her to do a favor for them, they ask her nicely and say please. What does he need? He says, put this paper to good use, and save a man’s life.

Setting a cup of coffee on the bar at Charlie’s, Kristina says, just tell her when and where, and she’s there. Sonny says, that’s my girl, and she says she’s actually pretty excited about it. After all he’s done for her lately, how could she possibly say no. He thanks her, and says he knows he can always count on her. She says, that’s not something she hears every day and it’s so nice. She hugs him, and Dante walks in.

Carly leaves a message for Diane to call her. She just wants some kind of update as to when they’re taking Drew back to Pentenville. Sonny knocks at his old kitchen door, and Carly says she just needs to know. She tells Sonny, hey, and he says he knows this must be difficult for her. Nobody wants Drew to go back to prison. She says she keeps hoping Diane is going to call and tell her they’ve figured out something, some kind of loophole to stop Drew from going back there. They’re looking into the judge to see if they can find some sort of bias, but it seems to be a longshot, so she doesn’t know. He says, she’s doing everything she can. There’s nobody more tenacious than Diane. She says, the girls are in school, and he knows that, so he must be here to see her, and he says, she guessed right. That, and to see the moss bowl🎍. She says, please tell her this isn’t bad news, and he says, it kind of depends on her perspective. She says, that’s cryptic. What’s going on? He says he and Nina are eloping.

Valentin is working on his laptop, when a message pops up with the number for a therapist in his area. He picks up his phone, but there’s a knock at the door. He opens it to Nina, who says she came by to see if things were any better with Charlotte. He invites her in, and she says, this place is so beautiful. Charlotte must be so thrilled to be in her own home with her dad… What’s wrong? What happened?

Robert meets Anna at the MetroCourt and asks, who’s the suit? She says, it’s a gift from Sonny, and he asks if she can send it back. She says, no, and he asks where Sonny gets off sending a goon over here to keep an eye on her. She says, he has a very caring side, and he says, so did Attila the Hun. She says, Sonny was worried about her and wanted to offer her protection, which she refused first of all; she didn’t think she needed it. He says, but now she does, and she says she changed her mind. He asks if something’s happened, and she says, other than the recent disturbing events, no. Nothing has happened in the last 24 hours since she’s had protection. He says, so she’s living in the MetroCourt, and she says, yes, until she moves into the new place. Valentin has bought a house for them. He asks when she went house hunting, but she says she didn’t. He bought the house on his own. Robert says, Valentin could have at least made her part of the process. Unless of course (🍷) she thinks he’s hiding something. She says, he’s always hiding something, but the house isn’t part of that. It was indeed meant to be a surprise. He says, Valentin is nothing if not full of those, and she says, he certainly is.

Gregory comes into Alexis’s office and asks how it went with Sonny. She asks how he knew Sonny was… Esme has to quit sharing every visitor that comes into her office. It’s not that she has anything to hide, Esme just needs to learn a little discretion. He says, Esme’s not to blame. When a notorious coffee importer shows up here, people tend to talk, and usually in hushed tones. Sonny’s good fodder for the water cooler. Alexis says, they’re going to be very disappointed. He just came to ask for a favor. Gregory says, he hopes nothing illegal, and she says, Sonny wanted to see if The Invader could help leverage Judge Albert Kim. He’s the judge who sentenced Drew Cain to three years in Pentenville. Gregory asks what outcome Sonny is hoping for, and she says, Carly thinks the judge’s sentence was unnecessarily harsh, and they’re hoping maybe they can get the sentence reduced or at the very least, have him moved to a safer facility. He asks just how Sonny suggests she do that, and she says, that’s what they have to figure out.

Carly says, eloping? What happened to the big blow-out wedding Sonny and Nina were planning? He says he wasn’t planning the wedding. He just told Nina that she can do whatever she wants with the wedding. Carly says she knows Olivia was helping, and he asks if that’s tough for her, but she says, no. She’s a big girl. Olivia can do what she wants, and they’re way too close for her to let something like that bother her. Sonny says, there were just so many details and things like that. A wedding should be about a celebration, not a deadline. She says, it’s just surprising considering all the noise Nina was making about her big wedding celebration, and he says, they’re just going to fly down to the island. It’s not going to be a big deal; just a small ceremony. It’s just going to be him and Nina, and whatever kids are able to go. She says, kids. That’s why he’s here. He says he would love if Donna could go. It would mean everything. If she’s okay with that.

Valentin tells Nina that he’s totally lost. He and Charlotte used to be so close, and now he feels like he doesn’t even know her. She says she knows this must be so difficult for him, but he says, not just him. Charlotte’s going to need professional help. He’s trying to find her a therapist. (I guess Montague is out.) She says, it might take him a while to find someone. Charlotte’s in a very serious situation, and he’s going to have to find the doctor who’s the right fit. He says he’s always been able to talk to her, hasn’t he? No matter how raw it gets. She knows him, maybe better than anybody; maybe even Anna. He doesn’t know how it got this way. This is his little girl they’re talking about. Nina says, they’re going to figure this out together. Where is Charlotte now? He says, she went on a bike ride. That’s why he’s doing research and making phone calls. Nina asks if he hasn’t said anything to Charlotte, and he says he just doesn’t know what he’d say if she lied to him, if she denied it. He doesn’t know how he’d react. Why is this happening? Did he do something to make her act out like this?

Kristina says, he told dad what? and Dante says he explained he couldn’t go to the wedding, but he’d go to the next one. She says, that’s not even funny, but he says he’s just kidding. She says, so he is going to go, but he says he’s not kidding about that part. She says, he has to go. Dad asked Dante to be his best man, didn’t he? Dante says, he did, and he’s honored. He just can’t go away right now. She says, that, she does get, because the PCPD softball team really need their star pitcher, and he says, they probably do, but he’s just got a lot of stuff going on here. She says, what stuff is more important than dad’s wedding? and he says, Charlotte was living with them; she’s moved out. They’re dealing with the fact Scout’s father Drew is behind bars, and it’s tough on her. His job… She seems more annoyed than Sonny did. He took this a lot better than her. She says she just thinks it’s important they be there to support dad, and he says he agrees. Dad knows he supports him. They’ve had their ups and downs, but he knows Dante’s behind his and Nina’s relationship. She says, nothing can keep her away, and he says, that’s good. She’ll be representing. She says she doesn’t think she’ll be the only one actually. Dad asked Michael to come. Dante says, that’s big. What did Michael say?

At the hospital, Michael looks for Willow, and a nurse tells him that she thinks Willow’s still on break. She’ll check. He sits down and remembers Sonny saying he wanted to tell Michael in person. Michael tells him, usually when somebody says that, it’s not good news, but Sonny says, it’s good news, for him at least. He and Nina are eloping; they’re going down to the island. Michael says, congratulations are in order, and Sonny says he knows times have been tough this year, but he thinks they’ve moved past that, and Michael says, with everything that happened with Willow, he realizes how important family is. Sonny says, Nina is Michael’s family. He knows there’s been a strain between them… Michael says, that’s an understatement, and Sonny says, she’s tried to make an effort between Michael and Willow. What makes her happy is spending time with Amelia and Wiley. Michael says he has to admit things have been better with Nina, and he knows she’s trying to respect their boundaries. Sonny says, nothing would mean more to Nina than to have Willow at her wedding, and it would mean a lot to him to have Michael there. So is there any chance he’ll go?

Nina says, this is not Valentin’s fault. She wishes she had the answer. Charlotte is a teenage girl, and teenage girls can be very complicated. He says, she’s a Cassadine. Cursed, isn’t it? None of this godforsaken family gets to be happy. Nina says, please, don’t go there. This has nothing to do with a curse. Charlotte isn’t doomed. She’s an adolescent who got herself into trouble. She’s struggling, but they will get her help. He says, it’s so overwhelming, and she says she’s sure Anna’s been supportive. What does she think? He says he hasn’t told her. How is he going to tell her that his daughter is the one who’s been tormenting her? Charlotte’s the one who set the fire; she’s going to be facing very serious criminal charges. Nina says, they have to just be very grateful no one was in the house. If Charlotte did do this, she made sure of that. He asks if that’s supposed to make him feel better, but Nina says she’s just making the point that Charlotte isn’t trying to hurt Anna. She’s not a murderer; she’s just crying out for help. He says, it’s more than that. Charlotte’s terrorizing the woman he loves, and he’s trying to keep that from escalating, but is he doing the right thing by not telling Anna?

Carly says, Sonny knows how much Donna loves weddings. Of course (🍷) she can go. Sonny thanks her and she says she knows how happy Donna was at Michael’s wedding. Hopefully, both girls can go. He says, that’s the plan, and she asks if he’s called Ava, because Avery wouldn’t want to miss it. He says he called Ava, but she hasn’t gotten back to him yet. He hopes there’s no problem there, because it would not be the same without Avery. She says, it looks like he’s thought of everything for his tropical ceremony, and he says he’s trying. He thinks he covered all the bases. Oh no, wait. The favor she asked for Drew? He’s working on it. She says, let’s hope it comes in time to save Drew.

Gregory asks if Alexis is sure she wants to get into this. He’s heard a lot of stories about people who do Sonny’s bidding and sometimes it doesn’t end well. She says, ya think? She’s very well aware of the methods Sonny uses to handle things. This time, he would like it handled legitimately. He asks if she’s sure that she and Sonny don’t share any similarities, and she says she thinks she’s offended. He says he doesn’t know Sonny well, but from what he hears, Sonny has reputation for ruthlessness. He knows firsthand how ruthless Alexis can be… when it comes to the pursuit of truth in journalism. She says, really? Do go on. He tells her that he’s just saying she’s a force of nature when it comes to business, and that’s a good thing by the way. She says, this is really very entertaining. Trying to compliment her after calling her ruthless. That is some fancy footwork. He says, unfortunately, that’s the only footwork he’s capable of these days.

Kristina tells Dante that she knows Michael wants to make peace with dad. There’s definitely been a lot less tension lately. Dante says, yeah, but that’s a far cry from Michael attending the wedding. They have to start somewhere to get back to where they were. She says she doesn’t know if they’ll ever get back to where they were, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction. He asks, so is Michael going to the wedding or not? and she says, she doesn’t know. She hopes so. She’ll tell Dante one thing. She’s not excited to be on an island with him and Nina for the next few days. He says he thought she was Team Nina, and she says she is. She likes Nina a lot. Most important, dad loves her, but she hasn’t forgotten what Nina did to Michael and Willow. That’s some serous damage, and they both know their brother holds a grudge. He says, kind of just like… and they both say, dad. Blaze comes in, and Kristina introduces her to Dante. Blaze says, we meet again.

Michael remembers telling Sonny that he can’t give him an answer now. Not without talking to Willow first. Sonny says he gets it. He just hopes Willow does this for Nina, because the ceremony wouldn’t be the same without Wiley there. She wants Wiley to be the ring bearer, like he was at Michael’s wedding. He’s a pro now. Michael says, Willow has a lot going on right now and she just got back to work. He’s not sure she’s going to want to drop all that and get on a plane. Sonny says, okay. He just wanted Michael to think about it. In the present, Willow dashes over to Michael and says she heard he was waiting for her. Is everything all right? Did something happen with the kids?

Valentin tells Nina that he just doesn’t know what to do. They can’t involve the police. She says, no. They’re not bringing the police into this. She’s a teenager; she’s fifteen years old. If she did do this, and the police find out, they will send her away. He can’t let that happen. They’re just going to have to handle this themselves. He asks how they do that, and she says, they’re going to find a way to get through to Charlotte. They’re not giving up on her. He says he’s always appreciated her support, and she hooks her arm in his and says, even though they went their separate ways, she’ll always care about him. She loves Charlotte. He says he doesn’t know what he’d do without her help, and she says, about that. He’s going to have to deal with this on his own. That’s what she came by to tell him. She’s leaving town.

Anna tells Robert that she thinks Valentin feels this house is a way for him to focus on his daughter. He feels Charlotte needs a more stable environment. She’s had a very rough year. Robert asks if she didn’t tell him that Victor was keeping her at the boarding school, and Anna says, when she finally did come home, she’s been bouncing from house to house. First she was at Laura’s, then she lived with Dante. That’s not to say they weren’t there for her. They were very supportive, but Charlotte is fifteen, and along with that age comes anxiety and insecurity. He says, Mac was having a problem with Robin like that, and she says, Charlotte needs her father’s undivided attention. She totally understands that. She thinks maybe Valentin feels that buying a house for her is the first step in putting her on more solid ground. He says, in the meantime, Anna’s roughing it in the hotel, but she says she doesn’t call room service roughing it. She thought Robert didn’t want her with Valentin. He says he doesn’t. However, she should have the final choice in where she lives. She suggests they agree to disagree when it comes to the subject of her relationship with Valentin, and says she asked him here because she needs his help. He says, with? and she says, something crucial.

Sonny tells Carly that he pretty much politely demanded Alexis use that paper and her investigation skills to look into Judge Kim, because they have to figure out why he gave Drew such a harsh sentence. Carly says, they need to do more than look into Judge Kim. They need to get the judge to commute Drew’s sentence, or at least send him to a safer facility. Does Alexis understand that? He says, Alexis knows that the goal is to get Drew out of Pentenville, but it’s not going to happen overnight. The first thing she needs to do is a deep dive into Kim’s record. They have to figure out what makes him vulnerable. Then they have an opening. She asks if he thinks Alexis is going to come through, and he says he’s confident she’ll deliver for them.

Gregory apologizes to Alexis and says, that was meant to be a joke, but clearly it didn’t land. She says, he has every right to handle his disease any way he sees fit. If he wants to joke about it, joke about it. Go for it. He doesn’t have to edit his words with her. She’s going to follow his lead. He says he feels like he’s constantly thanking her for being understand, but thanks her again. She says, he doesn’t need to keep thanking her or apologizing. What’s that quote from that movie? Friendship means never having to say you’re sorry. He says he thinks that’s, love means… (Actually, I think her version makes more sense.) She says, he just doesn’t need to keep thanking her, and he says he still hasn’t told Chase. He knows she keeps telling him to wait until he’s ready, but when will that be? He can’t keep hiding behind his work here. He wakes up some mornings and he’s so determined to tell Chase the truth. Then he finds himself here instead. He used to lecture his students about procrastination. He’d tell them, putting off that term paper won’t make it easier. She says, this is a little bigger than a homework assignment. He’s going to tell Chase when he tells Chase. He says he’s just being selfish. He just wants more time with his son before his son looks at him with pity. Before he sees the disease, not his father. She says she thinks he’s wrong. She doesn’t think Chase is going to react that way at all, but Gregory will do what feels right for him and she’s not judging him. He says, speaking of judges, how are they going to handle Judge Kim?

Dante says, good to see Blaze again, and she says, good to see him too. She tells Kristina, Dante was her hero at the Nurses Ball, and he says he doesn’t like to brag. Kristina says, since when? and Blaze says, after Brook outed Linc on stage, Dante grabbed him and dragged him out of the MetroCourt. Nice work, detective. He says, just doing my job, ma’am, and Kristina says, that’s great. She almost forgot; her brother, the knight in shining armor. Blaze says, don’t think she’s forgotten how nice Dante was the day they ran into each other at Kelly’s, and he says, that was a few months ago. He saw Blaze at Kelly’s and Rocco had been watching her music videos; he’s a big fan. And they saw her at Rice Plaza years ago, and she was so gracious to them. Thanks. Blaze thanks him, and Kristina says, they’re practically BFFs. Who’d have guessed that?

Michael says, everything’s fine. He didn’t mean to worry Willow. She says, it must be something important for him to come all the way to GH, and they sit down. He says he wanted to tell her that Sonny paid him a visit earlier and apparently, he and Nina are eloping in Puerto Rico. She says, okay. The last time she spoke to Nina, Nina was knee-deep in wedding planning. It sounded like a huge event here in Port Charles. He says he guesses Nina changed her mind, and Willow asks if this means they get out of going to the wedding, but he says, no such luck. They’re definitely on the guest list. Sonny wants them to fly down to Puerto Rico.

Valentin says, she’s leaving town? but Nina says, it’s just for a few days. Don’t worry. She feels silly talking about it, given everything Valentin is going through, but she and Sonny are going to Puerto Rico; they’re eloping. He says he thought she was having a big wedding at the MetroCourt, and she says, that was the plan, but it got complicated, and it was really stressful. They just want to get married as soon as possible and the best solution was to have a small ceremony on Sonny’s island. He says, if that’s what she wants, he’s happy for her, and she says, he can always call her, but he says he’s not going to call her. He’s not going to interrupt her wedding. Unless she wants Sonny after him. Besides, Laura’s coming back from London. They’re going to figure out what to do about Charlotte together. Charlotte walks in and asks if Valentin is keeping things from her.

Robert says, Anna will do whatever she wants, so what does she need? She says, let’s just look at the recent events, starting with the shooting at the pool. She thinks that bullet was meant for Sonny, not her. Robert says, he’s got his fair share of enemies, and Anna says, so does she, but she thinks she’s being targeted in a completely different way. He says he doesn’t follow, and she says, after the shooting at the pool, her house was torched. Then her room here was vandalized. What does that tell him? He says, that her enemy is toying with her. They’re trying to break her down. What is she going to do about that?

Charlotte says, Valentin didn’t tell her Nina was coming over. She was putting her bike away, and she saw Nina’s car out front. She’s so happy to see Nina. They hug, and Nina says, it’s so nice to see Charlotte. How is she? Charlotte says, much better now that she’s living with papa, and Nina says, it’s a beautiful place. Is she settling in okay? Charlotte says, everything’s perfect. Can Nina stay and have lunch with them? Nina says, no, she’s so sorry. She just came over to tell Charlotte’s dad that she was leaving town for a few days. She and Sonny are going to Puerto Rico. Charlotte says, cool. She wishes she and papa could take a trip with Nina someday. Nina says she’s not sure Anna would be so thrilled with that, and Charlotte says she knows. She was just thinking how great it would be if they could go to Europe. Remember how they used to always talk about doing that? Nina says, that’s right. How about this? They plan a girls trip, just the two of them. Maybe she can convince Maxie to allow Georgie to come with them. She likes Georgie, right? (The way she says this, she may as well have been saying, Charlotte’s not going to set fire to Georgie, is she?) Charlotte says, yeah. She used to see Georgie a lot when her mom was still with them. But she’d rather just go with Nina if papa can’t come with them. Nina says, it’s a deal, and Charlotte says she loves Nina. They hug, and Nina says she loves Charlotte too.

Alexis tells Gregory, it looks like Judge Kim has a number of high-profile cases. His opinions that he wrote for his decisions read like bait for a promotion. Gregory asks, can you elaborate on that for those of us who didn’t attend law school? and she says, from what she can tell, it sounds like he’s trying to impress the Judicial Board in hopes of a higher appointment. Gregory asks how he goes about that, and she says, when judges are trying to climb the ladder, they set new precedents. And they do that with their opinions. And what they want is for those precedents to be appealed and upheld. So in simpler terms, it looks like Judge Kim is trying to get the attention of those above him. And if that’s the case, then maybe they can help him do just that.

Carly thanks Sonny for everything he’s doing for Drew’s case, and he says, Drew’s a good man. He doesn’t deserve what’s happening to him. And Drew being in prison affects her, and no matter what’s happened between them, she’s the mother of his children and he just wants her to be happy. She says, that means a lot. So from all the research Diane has gathered, it looks like Judge Kim is hoping for a promotion to the Federal Bench. She’s thinking he’d be more than happy to meet with the press and cooperate. He says, that gives Alexis a way in, and she says, that’s all they have for now. Sonny says, do him a favor and tell Drew to sit tight, because he’s doing everything he can behind the scenes to get him out of there. Carly says she will and asks if he ever found out who Austen was visiting in Pentenville.

Gregory tells Alexis, from the look on her face, he’d say she has a plan. What is she thinking? She says, her guess is, this guy has an ego; most judges do. He says he hears the same about lawyers, and she says she’s not sure who’s worse, but what she thinks is, this guy is really career oriented. He wants to get ahead which means he’ll be very susceptible to the lure of publicity. Gregory says, and that’s where she comes in, and she says, they call him in for an interview. They pump him up. They tell him that they’re interested in doing an article about his decisions, take some pictures, and hopefully he’ll eat it up. Gregory says, and then, she goes in for the kill and ask him about Drew’s sentence. She says, mm-hmm, and he says, good plan of attack. Like he said, ruthless.

Sonny tells Carly, unfortunately, they have no information on that yet. They don’t know who’s pulling the strings when it comes to Austen and Mason. She says, trailing Betty didn’t turn up anything? and he says he had Dex watching her every move, thinking she’d lead them to the boss, but that didn’t happen. They have someone watching Austin, and his guys are doing everything they can until he gets back from the wedding. She says, that’s what he should be concentrating on right now, and he says he knows. She says she’s going to have Donna packed and all ready to go. She can’t wait to see Donna’s face when she tells her. Please take a couple of pictures of Donna for her. He says, okay, and she says, let her know if he hears from Ava. She can just bring Avery here and he can pick up both girls at the same time. He says, thanks, that means a lot, and she says, it’s been a painful couple years. He agrees, and she says, and she just wants him to be happy too. He says, yeah. He feels the same way. They soap stare at each other for a moment, while the moss bowl🎍 yawns, and Sonny says he’ll see her.

Kristina says she’s flying down to Puerto Rico later for her dad’s wedding, and Blaze says, a destination wedding. How exciting. Dante says, they’re eloping, thank God, and Kristina says, Dante. He says he’s just telling it like it is. He thinks they’re being smart by keeping it a small, family ceremony. (Is that really eloping then?) Kristina asks why he says that, and he tells her, because he thinks if they had a big wedding in Port Charles, they’d be asking for trouble.

Anna says, this is where Robert comes in. She needs his help. Because she’s almost certain this threat is coming from inside the WSB. Or someone with access to the Bureau’s resources. He asks if she thinks this is the same person who outed her for being a double-agent, and she says she has her suspicions. Look at the timing; think about it. None of this started until she was exposed in the press. It has to be connected. It can’t just be a coincidence. He says, this is revenge from someone she’s wronged in a past case? and she says her actions hurt a lot of people who might want payback. He says, she hasn’t been an active operative in years. Could somebody hold a grudge that long? She says she doesn’t know. She just really needs his help to get some information from inside the Bureau. He tells her, as he said, since Frisco left, his influence there is limited. As for this new director, whatever influence he might have is going to be limited at best. She says, limited is better than non-existent. Please. Will he help her find out what is going on and who is after her?

Nina says, it was so good to see Charlotte. Does she remember their handshake? They do a fancy pattycake thing, and Nina says she has to go to the gallery. She’s been trying to get ahold of Ava with no luck, so she thought she’d try her there. Charlotte says she misses Nina so much. Please come over after her trip. Nina says she will, and kisses Charlotte’s forehead. Valentin walks her to the door, and outside, he thanks her for coming. It meant a lot to Charlotte. It’s good to see her smile. Nina says, they’re going to figure this out when she gets back, okay? and they hug as Charlotte watches. He tells Nina, have a nice trip, and Charlotte half smiles.

Willow says, fly to an intimate wedding? It would be one thing if it was 200 guests at the MetroCourt. They’d be able to blend into the background, but this… Michael says, yeah. It would just be family, so they’d be front and center. She says she knows she’s been pushing him lately to accept Nina, but this is a lot. He’s finally made peace with his dad and Nina, and it’s so new. He asks if she really wants to put it to the test.

Alone outside, Nina looks at a picture of Charlotte as a young child. She says, Charlotte, what happened to you? As she starts to go down the walk, her phone rings. Sonny asks, how is his bride-to-be? and she says she’s okay, but he says she doesn’t sound okay. What’s wrong? She says, it’s just been an emotional day. Where is he? He says he’s been all over town doing things, but he’s finished now. He’s all hers. She says, that’s all she’s ever wanted, and he says, then she better get packing. We’re getting married. She says, yes, we are.

On Monday, Nina says, this is the best wedding present she could ever ask for; Gregory tells Finn, now because of him, Chase is paying the price; Carly tells Alexis that there’s proof, and she can get it for her; and Cyrus asks what someone has in store for him.

🚗 Enjoy the Ride…

We say goodbye to Gladys. Her last scenes with Sonny were so much fun!

🎤 Old Is New Again…

We say hello to Lois. Brook needs her mom, and hopefully, she’ll go head-to-head with Tracy.

💰 Not As Rich As They Seem…

She has a point. It does seem like you get demoted to friend if you can’t keep up the image.

Case in point? She seems like the kind of person who would ditch her financial responsibilities.

🍊 Who’s a POS Cheater…?

I figured that’s what Jenn was referring to.

🍸 Something About Her Living Her Best Life…

Can’t wait to read her book. This has been one of those rare times we got to see karma at work immediately.

🍾 Words Of Wisdom…

She must be doing something right. She looks amazing. And what I said yesterday. It really is ridiculous how they all just keep circling the same dating drain.

⚰️ Put That Dead Thing Down…

I have to admit, I’m surprised, but he probably has a big fan base.

‘TWD Daryl Dixon’ Becomes Most Viewed Premiere and Season in AMC+ History (collider.com)

This sounds like a great convention.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/new-york-comic-con-2023-the-walking-dead-daryl-dixon-rick-michonne/

I knew it. I knew I saw this scene somewhere and there had already been a connection to France.

🦃 The Forgotten Holiday…

That holiday we jump over between Halloween and whatever December holiday you celebrate now has its own slasher film. If Eli Roth is involved, it’s bound to be good.

https://ew.com/movies/thanksgiving-trailer-patrick-dempsey-eli-roth-addison-rae/

🎃 Not Halloween Without It…

Weird-ass vintage costumes. Just remember, that bag is not a toy, or a costume.

https://www.travelchannel.com/ghostober/photos/13-iconic-vintage-costumes-to-recreate-this-halloween?xp=sistersite

👻 It’s That Time Of Year…

One holiday where celebrities are just like us.

👄 Quotes of the Week

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. – Lao Tzu

Expecting life to treat you well because you are a good person is like expecting an angry bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian. – Shari R. Barr

Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great. – John D. Rockefeller

The deeper the truth in a creative work, the longer it will live. – Sir Charlie Chaplin

It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it. – Abraham Lincoln

He ain’t no Christian; he’s a dope fiend. – Judge Mathis

Great things are done by a series of small things brought together. – Vincent Van Gogh

True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us. – Socrates

October is the fallen leaf, but it is also a wider horizon more clearly seen. It is the distant hills once more in sight, and the enduring constellations about them once again. – Hal Borland

🦖 Main Character Energy…

Join me again on Monday really Tuesday for soap and yachting with awful people. Until then, stay safe, stay treating and not tricking (take that however you like), and stay making parties celebrations not deadlines.

October 4, 2023 – No Soap Or Radio, Sprina’s First, Not Leaving, Surprise, Memories, Reunited Doesn’t Feel Good, Beverly Hills Peek, Back To the 80s, History Lesson, Frightful Décor & Yeah

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

There was no GH today because, baseball, but here’s a little news to keep you going until tomorrow.

😍 Feels Like the Very First Time…

IMO very nicely done.

👠 Not Going Anywhere…

News to me, but I’m not exactly lurking in the soap social circles.

🌌 It Was Just a Dream…

It’s really too bad they killed her off, but if you’ve got to go, you might as well leave a trail of murder and mayhem in your wake.

🧛🏻‍♂️ Light the Corners of My Mind…

It’s such a shame the canceled this. Michael Easton was great as a vampire.

The Real Nauseating Housewives of Orange County

Reunion – Part 1

Oh good God, this has been on for 17 seasons. Andy wants to take us somewhere, and we hit the virtual beach. He asks Tamra how it feels to be unpaused, and she says, great. She was a little nervous. That’s why she drank so much. Already the excuses start. We find out Emily lost 40 pounds, and Andy points out that Heather Fancy Pants is wearing all black. Now an official realtor, Gina says she has two homes in escrow. Jen doesn’t think she did enough meditation to prepare, and when Andy wonders how many pounds of hair Shannon has on her head, she says, not as many as Teresa did at her wedding. I don’t think I like this look on her. It’s like she’s trying to be a teenager from the 1970s. Andy says, Tamra came in hot and burning rubber, literally on a motorcycle, and she wasn’t afraid to burn a few bridges. We flash back, and the first clip is Tamra claiming she’s back with a different perspective. She doesn’t have to call everybody out. Funny how she did nothing but call people out. Andy asks where she and Shannon are and she says, great. They have their ups and downs and are definitely like sisters. He asks, how’s Eddie? and she says he started a supplement company that’s going to be launching soon. I will never be able to reconcile how shrew Tamra landed Eddie, who seems to be a decent guy, but then again, I only see bits and pieces of him. Maybe he’s a freak or a weirdo or both. A viewer asks how Fancy Pants feels about a friendship with Tamra, and Fancy Pants says, Tamra talked against her, and it makes her feel sad. Tamra says, she never did it on purpose, and Fancy Pants says, there wasn’t one episode where Tamra didn’t say something unkind about her. Tamra accuses Fancy Pants of running to Andy with that, but Fancy Pants says she did no such thing. She’s just a tiny cog in the Andy Cohen machine. When she does get a precious minute with him, they’re not talking about Tamra. Andy says, Fancy Pants never brought it up, and Tamra whines that Fancy Pants had said there was no place for her on the show. It’s time to move on, and Andy says, Tamra and Jenn had a friendship so messy, even a flying napkin couldn’t clean it up. We flash back to Tamra being absolutely abusive to Jenn, ending with her screeching that Jenn ruined her whole family, and it annoys me all over again. Andy says he thinks it’s admirable that Jenn has fostered kids, and Jenn says, it fulfilled her. Ever twisting even good things around, Tamra wonders if Jenn was a foster mom because she was lacking love. Gina says, Jenn didn’t destroy her family. Gina had the same situation in her life, and it’s okay to shift family dynamics. Andy says, they invited Ryan to the show, but he declined. Geez, I wonder why. Jenn says, he has a history with Tamra and Eddie, and felt if Tamra goes at him, he’d look like an a-hole going after a woman. It was a no win for him. Agreed. Andy asks if she thinks there’s a proposal in the future, and Emily asks if Jenn thinks he was ring shopping for the show? We flash back to Ryan’s shopping trip, and Jenn says, they’ve talked about marriage a lot. He’s ready, but waiting on her. She knows they all think she was doing all kinds of things she wasn’t, and they rehash the whole Ryan and Jenn thing. Tamra says she wants better for Jenn, and Jenn says, it’s none of her business. She thought Tamra was her friend. Tamra says she was until she found out Jenn cheated. Jenn says, no, you, and they call each other POS cheaters. It didn’t take long for me to hate Tamra all over again. Andy takes a break because I beg him to with a brain wave.

Jenn says, Tamra’s a cheater, and Tamra says she and Eddie have been married 13 years, like this means anything. Jenn says, Tamra is a sh*tty friend, and Andy says, the perception was, the minute Tamra came on, she went for Jenn. Tamra says she gave Jenn advice beforehand to be honest. Tamra rehashes Ryan texting whatever-her-name-was, and Jenn says, for the millionth time, that she’s seen all the texts. Andy asks if Jenn thinks whatshername and Ryan were messing around when they were together, but Jenn says, it was only the one time when they were on a break. Tamra squeals that Ryan texted her for three months, and when asked if she was in a committed relationship. Then later she sent him risqué pic. Jenn says she saw the pic and told him that she wanted this be done. Shannon says she told Tamra that it was too much, and Tamra shoots back that when they were at the pool party, Shannon asked if they could dig up more. Emily agrees Shannon wanted to dig. She said it was so juicy, they had to get it on camera. Shannon insists she didn’t, and Gina suggests they look at Shannon’s track record. Shannon says, no, you, and then the d*ck pic gets rehashed. Jenn wonders why they’re all still talking about it (thank you). It was a personal moment and no one’s business. Gina says, Jenn chose to forgive him, move on, and give it a go, and Jenn says she loves him and she’s happy with him. Gina says she feels like Jenn is being the bigger person. She’s the scapegoat in her own story, and doesn’t chuck anyone under the bus. Tamra says she’s sorry she upset Jenn, but she knew Jenn would protect him and make her out to be a liar. She says sorry again, but that doesn’t sound like an apology. Jenn says, they’ll have to agree to disagree, and Tamra says, Jenn deserves happiness. She’s an amazing person. I guess Tamra ran out of steam.

Taylor comes out, and Fancy Pants whispers to Gina that Taylor’s been sh*tting on her all over the place. Andy says, Taylor is now fighting hard from a different zip code, and asks how it feels to be the first Housewife to cross over? She says, it feels like home and she’s finding friendships. Andy doesn’t spend much time here before he tells us that Fancy Pants has the perfect cure for empty nest syndrome; trade in the nest for 55 million. We flash back to all that, and Andy asks about Terry having a stroke. Fancy Pants says, in front of her, but he didn’t realize it happened, and argued with her about going to the hospital. She literally chased him down with them both in Ubers. She finally got him to go, and the doctor confirmed he’d had a stroke. Andy asks about Taylor being in her first movie, and she says, because of the strike, they haven’t been able to finish. A viewer agrees that Fancy Pants sounds condescending and asks if Taylor thinks she’s unaware of it. Taylor says she thinks it’s just how Fancy Pants talks, and she is unaware. She told Fancy Pants they were filming in Oklahoma, and she asked, where’s Oklahoma? Fancy Pants says she’s not Magellan, and if she offended Taylor, she apologizes. I’m no Magellan either, but I know approximately where Oklahoma is. Fancy Pants says she felt terrible that’s what Taylor thought during the season, but she wasn’t trying to be condescending. Since the pot isn’t stirred enough, Andy points out that Tamra was the one who said Fancy Pants hadn’t worked since the 1900s. Tamra says she wasn’t making fun; she just got her years mixed up. Fancy Pants says, when Tamra and Eddie closed the gym, what if she’d said, they were only in business nine years; it’s not the Equinox. Andy says, Gina warned Taylor that Tamra was two-faced, and Taylor says, Tamra likes to stir the pot. If she had something to say to Fancy Pants about her, she should have said it in front of her. Tamra says she literally followed Fancy Pants to the bathroom while she was talking. Fancy Pants reapplies her lipgloss, and Taylor says, Fancy Pants said she was anti-female, but she works tirelessly for women and children of domestic violence. Heather says, then don’t put down another woman’s career, but Taylor says she thought she was supporting it by suggesting Fancy Pants go for a role in the film. Tamra says, Fancy Pants is the one who ran into a producer and said, get her off this f***ing show. Shannon pipes up that she was there, and Andy asks if Fancy Pants thinks she’s better than them. Shannon says, sometimes, and Fancy says, it was the producer of That’s Life, the series where she was most recently a regular. She wondered if it was a sign, since they’d been trashing her career. She didn’t mean she wanted off the show or was putting it down. She’s grateful for the platform and came back because of it. Emily says, Fancy Pants doesn’t put her down, but she didn’t stick up for Emily when Tamra said she wasn’t an attorney. Tamra says she meant Emily reached out to her as a party planner, but Fancy Pants says, Tamra said, Emily was a party planner, not a real lawyer. We flash back to that, and she kinda, sorta did. Tamra tells her that she said Emily wasn’t a practicing attorney, and Emily says she’s tired of hearing she’s not a real attorney. Gina suggests Fancy Pants is tired of hearing she’s not a real actress, and Emily says she understands. She feels the same way and wishes Fancy Pants either told her at the time or defended her. A viewer says, Fancy Pants said she didn’t want to tell the group about the sale of her home because she was afraid the press would find out. Then she said it was because no one would be happy for her. Which was it? Shannon says, nobody wasn’t happy for her, and Tamra says, they did find out about it from the press. Heather says she didn’t want that to happen. She wanted to tell them in Mexico. Tamra says, they were all happy for her, and Fancy Pants admits that’s true and looks like she’s going to cry. Andy says, Fancy Pants claimed she got picked on because the others are jealous, and wonders if she still feels that way. Fancy Pants says she does think she self-actualizes, and wants to be a better person, human, mom, wife, friend. Shannon says she needs to go to the bathroom badly, and Fancy Pants tells Andy that she doesn’t know; she’s sad. Resident psychologist Emily says she thinks Fancy Pants feel isolated because she’s offended all the time about everything that everyone does. Fancy Pants says she does not, but Emily says she thinks the problem is that Fancy Pants needs to laugh at herself more. Andy asks who thinks Fancy Pants has a sense of humor, and it doesn’t look good, but Gina and Tamra both say she does. Taylor says she’d hoped they’d moved past everything in Tulum, and she’s here for Fancy Pants. Fancy Pants says she thought they’d had a nice conversation, but everything Taylor says about her is punitive. She would like Taylor to stop doing that. Taylor says she’d like to review what things those are in a separate conversation from this one. Andy tells us that it’s time to say goodbye to Taylor, probably because she showed some smarts instead of saying, let’s discuss this right now in an inappropriate venue, and broke Housewife Rule #1. We take a break. Not like Ryan and Jenn’s break though.

To his credit, Andy says, we’re back, instead of welcoming us back like we were the ones who left. He says, Gina’s life was in an upswing, but she had some friendships in need of renovation. We flash back, and when the clip is shown where Shannon brings up Gina’s DUI, I think, they’re going to get mad about this all over again. That’s what I hate about these Reunions. They stir it all up again when I’m over it. Gina says, Matt’s infidelity hurt worse than the domestic violence, and Emily says she thinks it’s because that was an isolated event. Gina says, it wasn’t Matt that night, and she doesn’t look at him like that person. A viewer asks why Fancy Pants had a problem with Gina sharing her problems with Travis, and Fancy Pants says she’s had no boyfriend for almost 30 years. In her day, you didn’t talk about your ex. She wasn’t talking negatively against Travis. Emily says, blended families are different, and Gina says she knew Fancy Pants meant well. She still has to process something that changed the course of her entire life. Andy says, Shannon promised not to talk about Gina’s DUI again, so why did she? Shannon says – wait for it – she didn’t realize she said it. When she made the statement, she wasn’t saying Gina’s kids would be taken away, but if she had been arrested and another adult not there, they wouldn’t have been left alone. Gina asks Shannon what the names of her kids are, and Shannon is hard pressed to get it right. Gina says, never talk about her children. She’s known Shannon for six years, and Shannon doesn’t even know her kids’ names. What she said was completely inaccurate, out of bounds, and wrong. She shouldn’t have anything other than I’m sorry. Shannon tells Gina, yes, what she said was unkind, and Gina says, Shannon is worried about people talking about the same things she’s saying about other people. Shannon is talking about her children. My children! Shannon tells her to keep screaming, and Gina says she will. My children.

Andy asks Shannon what her reaction was to the seeing herself, and she says she was horrified, and she spoke to Gina. Emily says, when she knew she said it, that was an opportunity to say she was wrong, and Shannon says, it was established at the table she’d said it. I don’t know if Shannon is being deliberately dense or she’s stupid, and Gina explains that it would have been an opportunity to be a kind person. Shannon says she could present a list of things she’s done for Gina, and Gina says, Shannon gave her a phone number four and a half years ago. Andy asks if Shannon doesn’t think she’s beaten that one to death, but Shannon repeats she has a list of things she’s done for Gina. Gina says, of course Shannon makes a list, and Shannon says, before Gina met Travis, she invited Gina out, then Gina kept painting her out to be a horrible person. Andy reminds Shannon that she said Gina had been talking about her and John, yet she talked about Travis. We flash back to Shannon’s remark about Travis’s teeny penis, and Shannon says she was repeating something she’d heard three years ago. Emily asks, why bring it up now? and Shannon says, Gina was saying horrible things. Gina says, so instead of coming to her and asking if she’d said those things, Shannon chucked her and Travis under the bus. Shannon only worried about herself. Shannon says she apologized for the Travis comment, and Emily says, there’s nothing more detrimental as mom to hear someone say you’re a bad mom. It feels like Shannon is being defensive instead of saying she was completely wrong and crossed the line. Gina says, she and Shannon went out and had a little fun years ago. Her kids are close to being on social media, and for them to see that about being taken away would hurt them and scare them, and Shannon doesn’t even know names. This wound will stay with her, and she doesn’t know if she can continue to do this. It’s unclear whether she means her friendship with Shannon, the Reunion, or the show.

Next time, the Reunion concludes, Fancy Pants confronts Shannon; Emily says, Fancy Pants has no sense of humor; Fancy Pants says she hasn’t gone against Tamra because she’s scared of her; and Tamra says, Fancy Pants should be scared of her. I guess that baptism just plain wore off.

💎 Trailing the Hills…

The vault has been opened for the new season of RHOBH. I think I’d handle the trips they go on the way my BFF and I handled CYO trips in high school. Take the bus there with everyone, “get lost” somehow, and then conveniently find the bus again when it’s time to go home.

https://ew.com/tv/real-housewives-of-beverly-hills-season-13-trailer/

🛼 Having a Flashback…

I’ll have whatever Donna Mills is having.

https://ew.com/tv/ladies-of-the-80s-lifetime-movie-first-look-photos/

👻 Scary Truth…

Great article on Halloween.

https://www.fatherly.com/entertainment/the-real-history-halloween-in-the-us

🎃 Scaredy Dog…

I had a Golden that was literally scared of his shadow.

https://people.com/golden-retriever-gets-scared-halloween-decorations-watch-8285818

🧋 Pumpkin Spice Up Your Life…

Set a spell tomorrow for soap and questionable Charm. Until then, stay safe, stay taking a mint if someone offers it, and stay not being defensive when you are completely wrong and crossed the line.

While this isn’t exactly a Halloween themed song, the video is pretty weird.

September 27, 2023 – Eddie Makes His Comeback, Goodbye Craig, Pick a Molly Lane, Freak Show Finale & All the Man

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Eddie/Ned thanks Marshall for booking him at The Savoy tonight, but Marshall says, no need to thank him. He just made a suggestion; it was Curtis who got the PR machine rolling, When Curtis throws a party, people want to come. Eddie says he wasn’t sure after that crowd the other night, and Marshall says, he means lack of crowd, and they’re going to try and keep that a thing of the past. Does he have everything he needs? Eddie says he does. He’s just trying to finalize the set list. N’neka calls to Marshall, who goes over to her, and Eddie says, there’s just one problem.

Out in the club, Olivia tells Brook, look at this. The stage all set up for her father to play. Brook says, it’s surreal watching Eddie Maine’s universe take physical form. Olivia says, he’s so excited about this; she’s getting all caught up in it with him. Brook tells her that she says it like it’s a bad thing, but Olivia says, it’s not that. Brook says, Olivia is still hoping he remembers who she is, who they all are, and Olivia says, not who they are, who he is. She knows Brook thinks she’s crazy, hanging all this hope on a half-finished song, but there was something in him when he played it for her, and talking about muses and everything. She just felt it in her heart that there must be something deeper in there; like Ned was underneath wanting to climb out. Like the song was his way back to them. When he was recording it, there was a minute there when she thought he might remember something. Then Marshall offered him this gig and a challenge to finish the song and play it here tonight. She’s just so afraid she’s getting her hopes up for something. Maybe it’s just a beautiful song and doesn’t mean anything at all. Brook says, don’t worry. At least Eddie accepts them all now. He’s getting to know them in a new way. Olivia says, what if he gets to know them and decides he doesn’t feel the same way about them that he used to?

NuMolly (sigh… see below) and TJ come into the club, and Curtis says he’s glad they could make it. TJ says, they’re looking forward to having a good time. They have a lot to celebrate. Curtis agrees and says he’s glad he gets to celebrate with them.

Blaze comes in, and Brook says she’s so glad Blaze could make it. Blaze thanks her for the invite. She’s never heard of Eddie Maine. Brook says, he was a little before their time, and Blaze says, so he’s a comeback? Brook says, oh, he’s come back all right. Eddie Maine’s actually her father. Blaze says, Brook told her that her father’s a musician, but isn’t her last name Quartermaine? and Brook says, yeah. He dropped the Quarter and just stuck with the Maine.

Curtis tells TJ and Molly to get some drinks on him, and they go to the bar. Portia joins him, and says, look how many people are here. Curtis says he just put some feelers out and talked to some old friends he hasn’t seen for a while, and that was it. She says, when he calls, they come, and he says, dad wanted to pack the house for Eddie Maine’s debut. Marshall asked him to pull out all the stops. She says, and viola. She wishes Trina was here to see this.

Josslyn sits on the bed while Trina packs. Trina wonders where her new pumps are; she just had them earlier. Josslyn takes them out from under the suitcase and says, here you go. Trina thanks her, and Josslyn says, she’s got to calm down. Everything’s going to be okay. Trina says, it’s Spencer’s fault she’s late.

Spencer calls to confirm concierge service for his flight to New York. They will be on time… Okay, perfect. He’ll be there soon. Esme comes out with Spencer’s tablet and says, he left it in the kitchen. She thought he might want it for his trip to New York.

Chase goes into the interrogation room and asks Dante, how’s it going in here? Did he get anything out of this guy? Dante says, they shouldn’t be too much longer, and Chase says, right, closing the door. He sees Sam in the squad room, and she asks if Dante is here. Chase says, he’s in the interrogation room with a prisoner, Cody Bell. Is he expecting her? She says, no, but she’ll shoot him a text and let him know she’s here. Chase says, forget that. He’ll announce her. He goes back in, where Dante and Cody are discussing football, and Chase says, Sam’s here to see Dante. How about if he lets her in and they can tell him what’s really going on here?

Gladys packs frantically, tossing some things aside when the suitcase won’t close. There’s a knock at the door, and she says she’s almost ready. She thought they were going to text. The knocking continues, and Gladys opens the door to Sasha. She throws her arms around Sasha and says, thank God, but Sasha’s not looking too happy.

Chase asks if Dante had a desk sergeant notify Gladys Corbin that Cody was in custody, knowing that she’d show up here and he’d be the one to deal with her. Dante says, yes, but it’s only because he knew Chase could handle her. He’s sorry. Chase says he could barely handle her. That woman is crazy. The only reason she got up and left is because she got a phone… a phone call. But they knew all about that, don’t they? Dante says, they have reason to believe that Gladys has been embezzling from Sasha. That call… Sam says, that’s how Gladys found out that she was being investigated.

Gladys says she’s so glad to see Sasha, and Sasha says, really? It sounded like she was expecting someone else. She walks in, looking at the suitcase, and Gladys asks where she’s been. How did she get away from Cody? The police have him in custody, but no one had seen Sasha and he refused to say what happened. She feared for the worst. She was so afraid for Sasha. Sasha says, really? and Gladys says, of course (🍷). Sasha says, then what’s with the suitcase and all the clothes? Was she going somewhere?

Marshall goes back to the green room, and Eddie tells him that he was just saying how much he appreciates the chance to play. Marshall says, doesn’t he know it. As a musician, there’s no substitute for performing. It’s not only a reward; it’s the greatest teacher. It shows you what’s working and what needs help. It gets all the creative juices flowing and it’s a great way to test new material. Speaking of which, he can’t wait to hear Eddie’s new song. He leaves, and Eddie says, about that… He gives the band the set list and says he decided to put that Idle Rich song there instead… Brook walks in, and he thanks the band for coming in for a quick run through. Get themselves a beer and he’ll see them later. The band leaves, and Brook says, sorry. She didn’t mean to drive everyone away. He says, not at all. You know musicians; any excuse to get a beer. She says she just came to tell him that she knows he’s going to do great tonight. She just wishes her mom was here to see it. She knows he doesn’t remember, but growing up, she heard countless stories about Eddie’s performances, listening to CDs, and now here she is, about to hear it live for herself. She can’t wait. He thanks her, and she almost hugs him, but instead says, break a leg, Eddie.

Olivia congratulates Blaze on being Brook’s first client. She’s absolutely thrilled. Brook is going to do a great job for Blaze. There’s nobody more dedicated than Brook when she puts her mind to something. Blaze says, then that will make two of them. She plans to match Brook’s dedication. So tell her about Eddie Maine. He’s Brook’s father? She was a little vague about it. Olivia says, it’s a long story, and Blaze says, that’s what she said. Olivia tells her, let’s just say, it’s been a while since Eddie has performed for people other than busking in Rice Plaza. So they’re all a little bit on edge tonight.

Portia asks, how are the soon-to-be parents? and Molly says, a little on Cloud 9. TJ says, they wanted to tell his mom tonight, but she had to cancel at the last minute. They’ll tell her soon. They want the whole family to be in the loop. Portia says, all they have to do is tell Aunt Stella, and they laugh.

Willow, Kristina, and Michael come in, and Kristina tells Michael, lighten up. Willow is already back at work. He says, that doesn’t mean she has to charge out of the gate like a bull, and Willow says, coming to a club isn’t charging out of the gate. He says, after her first day back at work, he figured she’d want to stay home and relax after all that exposure and stress. She says, coming to the club will help reduce the stress, and it’s actually good for her immune system. Kristina says, and vodka does wonders to keep things sterile (I concur), but Willow says, unfortunately, just sparkling water for her tonight. Kristina says, Michael, on the other hand, if he isn’t careful, he’s going to become a Type-A as controlling as Molly. She looks at Molly and TJ across the room.

Spencer packs his tablet, and Esme comes out, looking at her phone. He says he wants to go over everything with her before he leaves, but she says, he can’t go.

Olivia asks how Eddie is doing, and Brook says, he’s not nearly as nervous as they are. He was just going over the set list with the band. Olivia wonders if he’s finished the song. He’s being so tight lipped about it. Brook says, he didn’t tell her anything, and Olivia says, maybe he wants it to be a surprise. She’s going to thank Marshall and Curtis. It’s really Marshall’s challenge that made this whole thing possible. She leaves, and Blaze says, Olivia told her the whole big story about Eddie; what a history. Brook says, that history has crash landed right into the present day, and Blaze says, it’s so strange. She guesses Brook knew he had that whole double life back in the day, but now after his head injury, he’s really become this guy, Eddie Maine? Brook says, that’s what he believes, and Blaze says, so he’s Brook’s dad, except he believes he’s a completely different person. How does that even work? Brook says, about as well as you could expect. She misses her dad of course (🍷), but she’s really starting to like Eddie; they all are. Everyone except her grandmother.

Marshall tells Curtis, you see all these happy people here? Does he think they’re here for Eddie Maine? No. They’re here for Curtis. Curtis says, they already went over this, but Marshall says, this club is you; you are this club. When Curtis pulled out all those PR stops, he got this crowd here. It’s because of Curtis they’re all here to see Eddie Maine’s big comeback. Curtis says, they’ll talk about it later, but one thing he can say, it feels good to be back in the mix. Marshall says, another good reason to be glad he didn’t sell this club to that woman, but Curtis says he hasn’t really made a decision on Selina’s offer yet. Olivia joins them and says she wanted to thank them for supporting Eddie tonight.

Michael asks, what’s up with Kristina and Molly? and Kristina says, see for yourself, heading over to them. Molly tells TJ, she’s coming over here, and Kristina says, hello, you two. She hears congratulations are in order. They’re going to be parents. Whether they want to believe it or not, she’s very happy for them both… That’s all. She leaves, and Molly and TJ look like a couple of idiots.

Dante tells Chase, while Cody isn’t innocent, he had to break some rules to break out Sasha. He’s not as guilty as the charges would imply. Sam says, it’s just a matter of getting evidenced to prove it, and Chase says he never would have thought Gladys would do something like that to Sasha. He thanks Cody for figuring it out, and Sam says, they’re all grateful for that. Chase says, Sasha’s a friend, so if there’s anything he can do to help take down the doctor, and prove Cody and Sasha’s innocence, just ask. Cody says, his part’s done. Whatever happens next is up to Sasha.

Gladys says she was packing to go search for Sasha, and Sasha says, really? Gladys says she’d go to the ends of the earth for Sasha, and Sasha asks if that’s where she was going. Or where was she planning to look? Gladys says she thought she’d check out where Cody came from originally, the Finger Lakes region, right? Maybe he had an accomplice. Sasha says, Cody didn’t have an accomplice, but Gladys did.

Trina asks Josslyn, what is with Spencer? She couldn’t get rid of him before and now he’s late? Josslyn says, Spencer will be here. He wouldn’t miss this for anything. Isn’t she excited? Trina says, of course (🍷). She’s a little nervous, which is to be expected. Josslyn says, it is, and Trina says she doesn’t want to back out. She and Spencer are ready to move to the next step and she really wants to explore New York with him. Did she tell Josslyn that he got them third row center seats to Moulin Rouge? Josslyn says, once or twice, when Trina’s phone rings. Trina says, finally, and asks where Spencer is. He says he’s still at his grandmother’s, and she asks what he’s doing there? She thought he said they had to… He says, they can’t go, and she says, why not? He says, Ace’s daycare called and one of the kids has chicken pox. He guesses Ace was exposed and now there’s a chance that he has it. He’s really sorry. He can’t leave Ace right now.

Eddie writes down some lyrics, picks up his guitar, and sings about the siren of the sea. Olivia comes in and says she hopes she’s not intruding. He tells her, no. Come on in. He’s just doing a sound check. She says she’s sorry; she didn’t want to crowd him. She knows there’s a technical side where he has to work out the kinks. He says, truth. Plus, he’d rather she be there for the full effect on stage in front of the audience. She says she can’t wait. He really isn’t nervous at all, is he? He says, a little bit, but that’s only natural. This is in his blood. It’s what he lives for. She says, it really is, isn’t it? She just came to wish him good luck. She brought him a gift. She holds up a bandana, and he says, dinosaurs. She says, Leo wanted him to have it. He said, tell Eddie to rock the house. Eddie moves closer, taking the bandana, and it looks like they’re about to kiss, but it turns into a hug. He says, it’s such a nice gift, and thanks her for coming back to give it to him. She pushes him back, and he says, what’s wrong? She says she just wanted to wish him good luck, or break a leg, or whatever it is they say. He says, with Leo’s bandana and her great mojo, he’s bound to be a hit. She says she knows he will be, and awkwardly walks backward to the door. She says she can’t wait to hear that song. She hopes he finishes it, and they find out who that siren of the sea really is. She leaves, and he looks at the bandana.

On the phone, Dante says he needs a records check on a Dr. Damon Montague… Priors, prescription history, all that kind of stuff… That’s right. That’s the name. Scotty comes in and tells him, hang up. Dante says, thank you. That’d be great. As soon as they can. He asks what he can do for Scotty, and Scotty says he’s here to see his client, Cody Bell.

Cody asks how Sasha’s doing, and Sam says, she was strong. She was ready to face Gladys. He says he should have never left her alone, but Sam says, she was determined to see this through. She wanted to go with Sasha, but Sasha refused. If she didn’t think Sasha was strong enough to handle this by herself, she would have insisted on going with her. He says he can’t help it. Gladys is dangerous. She’s been able to manipulate Sasha in the past. What if she does it again?

Gladys asks what Sasha is talking about; what accomplice? Sasha says, Dr. Montague, and Gladys says, she must be confused. The court appointed the doctor. It’s perfectly understandable after everything Sasha’s been through. She gets it. Why doesn’t Sasha sit down and she’ll make some tea? Sasha says she doesn’t want tea, and she’s not confused anymore. She knows exactly what Gladys did. Gladys says, all she’s ever done is… Sasha says, steal from her. Gladys used her position as Sasha’s guardian to drain her bank accounts. Gladys sold Brando’s garage behind her back. Her own son’s blood and sweat, and she treated it like it was nothing. Gladys says she told Sasha… and Sasha says, you stop talking right now. She knows everything. Everything that’s happened to her is because Gladys was worried she’d lose her meal ticket. So when she wanted to end the guardianship, when she wanted to get control of her life, Gladys panicked. She might discover everything Gladys stole from her, so she got Dr. Montague to help her cover it up. That’s why he prescribed her those pills; pills that interfered with the medication she was already taking. She started hallucinating. She was paranoid and scared. Gladys drove her to insanity and made her life a nightmare. And you know what the worst part is? She cries and says she actually thought Gladys loved her. How could Gladys do something like this? How could Gladys betray her at her lowest point when she trusted Gladys with her entire life?

Chase hugs Brook and Blaze, and says, it’s great to see Blaze. She says, he’s going to be seeing a lot more of her, and Brook says, Blaze just signed with her. Blaze is her kick-off artist. He says, congratulations to both of them. He can see this. It’s a great partnership in the making. Olivia runs over and says she’s got to borrow her stepdaughter for a minute. They leave, and Brook asks Olivia, what’s wrong? Something wrong with Eddie? Olivia says, Eddie’s fine. She just made a complete fool of herself. Brook asks, what happened? and Olivia says she went into the green room and gave Eddie the bandana Leo wanted him to have. He was saying thank you to her and pulled her in close. She thought he was trying to kiss her, but he just wanted to give her a hug. Then she started babbling about break a leg and made a complete idiot of herself. Brook says, just calm down. What’s the problem? Olivia says, she wanted to kiss Eddie Maine. She feels so guilty. It’s like she almost cheated on her husband. Brook says, she means with her husband? but Olivia says she doesn’t know what she means anymore. She puts her palms together in prayer and looks up.

Willow says, Michael can stop checking on her; she’s fine. Better than fine. He says he just can’t take his eyes off her. She’s too beautiful. He tells her, look over there, and she says, oh my God. It’s Tracy.

N’neka asks what she can get Tracy, and Tracy says, scotch, rocks, make it a double please.

Blaze nearly runs into Kristina, who says, they meet again. Blaze says she’s here with Brook. Brook’s her new manager. Kristina says, that’s fantastic. Congratulations. So that’s what they were so hush-hush about at Charlie’s. Blaze says, Kristina cracked the case. What about her? Does she have a boyfriend? Kristina says, God no. She’s here with her brother and his wife. They have two kids, so they don’t get a lot of alone time. She’s just giving them their space. Blaze says, Brook’s boyfriend just got here, so she’s sort of a third wheel with them too, and Kristina says, sounds like they should stick together.

Marshall takes the mic and asks for everyone’s attention. There’s a bunch of cheering and he thanks them all for coming. He says, they have a lot to celebrate tonight, but first, he wants to send a shout out to his son Curtis. Curtis Ashford, in the house. Everyone whoops and applauds, and Marshall says he knows they all miss seeing Curtis around here, and many of them have come at his specific invitation. Not only did he invite them to the greatest party this side of Port Charles – that’s every night except Tuesdays, private parties, see N’neka. That’s a commercial, but seriously, tonight The Savoy is so pleased to bring them a very special performer. And rumor has it he might even debut a new song. So without further ado, de-bop-shu-bop-shebang (or something like that), let’s give it up for Eddie Maine. There’s applause and cheering, and Eddie says, hello, Port Charles. He missed them. Are they ready for Eddie? Let’s do it. There’s more cheering and he begins to play.

Trina tells Josslyn, obviously, Spencer needs to stay. If Ace comes down with chicken pox, he could never forgive himself for leaving. Josslyn says, it’s totally understandable, and Trina says, besides, she has plenty to do this weekend. She should really do another draft of her essay for her arts seminar and she knows Ava could always use extra hands around the gallery. Josslyn says, Trina knows she doesn’t always have to make the best of everything, right? Yeah, it’s a weekend canceled; it’s not a tragedy. But it’s for sure a letdown and it’s okay to be disappointed. Trina says, even pissed off, and Josslyn says, even throw things. Trina says, like this, tossing a pillow at Josslyn, and Josslyn says, that’s not exactly what she had in mind. Then again, Trina was always more levelheaded. Trina says she was just really looking forward to it though, and Josslyn hugs her, saying, she’s sorry.

Spencer asks if there’s any sign of a fever, but Esme says, he actually seems fine. He’s sound asleep. He says he’s going to take his stuff upstairs and thinks one of them should stay with Ace just in case. They can alternate shifts. Her phone dings, and she says, wait. She just got another text from the daycare.

Dante asks if Cody called Scotty to come down and represent him, but Scotty says he always represents Cody. He got a tip they hauled Cody in and he didn’t get a call from him, so he figured they didn’t give Cody his call, which as Dante knows, due process. Dante says, there’s a lot of phones here. Cody could have used any one of them to call Scotty. Scotty says, yeah, but if Dante denied him the right to counsel, that’s grounds for a heavy lawsuit there. Dante says, almost hefty even. Why doesn’t Scotty come into the interrogation room and talk to his client? Dante tells Cody, his lawyer’s here, and Scotty says, why didn’t Dante tell him that Cody was here?

Gladys says, Sasha’s got it all wrong. Cody filled her head with lies. He twisted everything around. That is not… Sasha asks, how many times did Gladys remind her to take those pills Dr. Montague gave her? And when she started spiraling, did Gladys even think twice? Did she have a moment of remorse? Or was she just so worried that she would find out what Gladys stole, that her falling apart was a relief? Gladys says she was never relieved, and Sasha asks if Gladys has any idea what she put her through. When she was at Ferncliff, Dr. Montague injected her with drugs. He kept her delirious and barely conscious. She couldn’t fight him. When she and Cody escaped, they found an unmarked bottle of pills in Montague’s jacket pocket. She thinks he was going to stage an OD. He was going to make it seem like she’d bought drugs and took too many. Did Gladys know that? Did she know Montague was going to kill her? Was it part of her plans? Gladys says, never. She never wanted him to hurt Sasha. She did everything she could to stop him.

Eddie finishes playing and there’s much applause. Michael says, it’s nice for Tracy to show up for her son’s debut. So what did she think? Tracy says she thinks Michael should mind his own business and go back to his wife, but he says, don’t be that way. It’s a nice night. The family’s here to support Eddie. The least she could do is get in the spirit of things. She says she’s here, isn’t she? And speaking of spirit, why doesn’t he make himself useful and get her another drink; scotch/rocks. He takes her glass and says, with pleasure.

Eddie says he’s sure everyone will recognize this next one because it was originally recorded by the King, Mr. Elvis Presley. We don’t see the song because, commercial. Eddie says, this next one is for someone very special, someone who has helped him find his way back to the stage. She certainly has his back, and she’s the best friend any guy could ask for – Olivia Quartermaine. Marshall says, play the new song, and Eddie says, Marshall’s right. He’s working on a new song, but he hasn’t finished it yet. He doesn’t think everyone wants to hear a tune that’s half-baked, so instead, he’s going to play an Idle Rich classic from his old Eddie Maine days. Are they ready? The audience cheers and Tracy is almost smiling. Eddie plays I’m All the Man You’ll Ever Need. He’s actually pretty good. The crowd responds enthusiastically and Tracy smiles.

There’s a knock at the dorm room door, and Trina wonders if Josslyn forgot her key again. She opens the door and it’s Spencer. He tells her that he booked them on another flight; their car’s waiting. It was a false alarm. The daycare texted again and said it was just poison oak. Ace was never exposed to chicken pox at all. She says, really? and he picks her up, spinning her around.

Scotty tells Cody that he has the perfect defense. Sasha has a history of violence. She attacked the reporter; she stabbed Cody. They’ll just say she kidnapped him. Cody says, no and no. He appreciates what Scotty is trying to do. He wasn’t kidnapped. He broke out of Ferncliff and he took Sasha with him. Scotty says, quiet. There’s a copper here. (Ha-ha! I love how Scotty talks like he’s in a detective movie from the 1940s.) Dante says he didn’t hear anything. Did Sam hear anything? She says, not a thing, and Dante says, they’ll leave the two of them alone. They can talk about anything they want. Cody says, that’s not really necessary, but Dante says he has to. If he doesn’t give Cody the benefit of counsel, it could result in a real hefty lawsuit. Dante and Sam leave, as Cody wails for them to come back. He says, hi, Scotty.

In the squad room, Dante says, the amount of times Cody’s pissed him off, he’s never once wished Scotty on him, but Sam says she thinks he can handle Scotty. She’s more worried about Sasha being able to handle Gladys.

Gladys says she swears she didn’t know what Montague was doing to Sasha. She never would have gone along with it. Sasha’s voice gets louder as she  talks. She asks how she can believe anything Gladys says. Gladys stole from her. Gladys lied to her; undermined Sasha’s belief in her own recovery and her sanity. Gladys claimed she loved her. She drove Sasha and Brando home from the hospital the day Liam died. Gladys is supposed to be her family. Gladys says she didn’t mean for any of this… Okay, she had a problem, a losing streak. She got in over her head. She was going to pay all the money back, but she kept losing, and she didn’t want Sasha to find out she was borrowing from her. She didn’t want Sasha to hate her. She just needed the guardianship to go on for a little bit longer. It was that Montague. He’s the one who gave Sasha those pills. And he never told Gladys what they would do to her… and she never asked. She cries and says she didn’t mean for any of this to happen. She’s so, so sorry. She’s so sorry. Sasha says, then prove it. Confess. Go to the police station and tell them everything that she did, and testify against Dr. Montague so he can never do to anyone else what he did to her. Gladys looks stricken.

Text next to a photo says: In Loving Memory Craig Sjodin 1955-1923 (See below.)

Tomorrow, Cyrus says he hopes someone’s come to give him good news; Jordan tells the warden that she wants an investigation into who was on duty during the attack; Carly wonders if there will be complications at this stage; and Cody attacks Montague.

📸 Who Craig Is…

Wow. It sucks that he just retired.

https://www.soapoperanews.net/2023/09/craig-sjodin-dies-at-67.html

🎢 Revolving Mollys…

Why do they continue to play with my head with this Molly business? No explanation either.

https://www.soapoperanews.net/2023/09/kristen-vaganos-is-new-molly-on-general.html

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Real Housewives of Orange County

Just to clarify, I do make fun of Heather, calling her Fancy Pants, and I think her delivery sucks, but I don’t think she’s malicious. Tamra on the other hand…

Shannon goes to a chiropractor, and in her interview, she says, it wouldn’t be a trip to Mexico without an injury. Emily meets her there and in Emily’s interview, she says, the trip to Mexico was physically exhausting, especially diving 30 feet. She’s happy to get some relief. Emily tells Shannon that she talked to Gina, who was really hurt, and we flash back to Gina saying Heather Fancy Pants was talking behind her back. Emily says, Gina feels she puts in effort, but gets pushed away. Gina goes shopping with Tamra and Jenn for Halloween party costumes. In Gina’s interview, she says, Halloween is her favorite holiday ever. She’s having a party and was inspired by the Cirque du Soliel performance. Her bunch of friends are clowns, so she figured total freak show would be apropos.

Heather’s dogs! In Fancy Pants’ interview, she says, thank goodness Josh and Heather Altman found them a rental. They’re pretty dug into the OC. She complains to Terry about getting dogged in Mexico, and we see the screen split a million ways, each frame showing one of the women yapping at Fancy Pants. Except for the one in the middle of a dog humping a pillow. One of these things is not like the others. Tamra swears she would never call Gina a loser, and in her interview, Gina says, Tamra doesn’t lie. She saves information and reveals it at the least opportune moment for you. Fancy Pants tells Terry that they’re all scared of Tamra, and he says, now the head cheerleader came back. Emily tells Shannon that she thinks Fancy Pants is kind and generous, but she saw another side during the trip. In Emily’s interview, she says, Tamra admits what she says and apologizes. She thinks Fancy Pants would rather shovel sh*t than apologize for anything. Shannon says, Emily needs to have a long, in-depth conversation with Fancy Pants. In Shannon’s interview, she says she’d like to see Fancy Pants accept responsibility. Jenn says she feels like Fancy Pants is protecting her image, and Tamra says, instead of accusing her of saying things about everyone, why wouldn’t Fancy Pants say something to her? In Tamra’s interview, she says, Fancy Pants turned this around and wants to destroy people, and Fancy Pants isn’t destroying her. Fancy Pants gets a text from Gina saying she’d like to sit down and talk about what happened. In Fancy Pants’ interview, she says she values Gina’s friendship, but if Gina can’t see where she’s coming from, it’s bullsh*t. In Gina’s interview, she says she’s been a good friend, but if Fancy Pants won’t admit the things she’s said, take responsibility, and apologize, there’s no moving forward.

In Tamra’s interview, she says, Amare magazine reached out to her, and asked if she’d like to be on the cover featuring the Women of the Year. She and Eddie started a company called Vena CBD, and it’s turned into a multimillion dollar business. Of course it did. Because the wrong people always get the money. She says she’s tooting her own horn, and I wonder, when does she not? Having access to so much CBD, you’d think she’d be calmer or at least not screech all the time. She says, her dad ran his own business, and she always wanted to own her own business. She gets all teary and says, but she didn’t go to college, since she was raising kids. She thought the money would just pour in and she’d be successful, but it doesn’t work like that. Wow. It took her this long to figure that out? You’d think that’s one thing she would have learned by not going to college. She says she feels lucky, and photos are taken of the group of chosen women, all wearing white. In her interview, Tamra says, in the next two years, they intend to sell Vena CBD, and come up with another business. With all the lack of sex she has, she was thinking sex toys. Cannabis and sex toys. Is there anything better than that? I could probably think of some things, but it’s not worth the effort considering who’s asking the question.

Jenn makes a spaghetti casserole, and in her interview, she says she has three dishes: taco salad, spaghetti, and chili. Otherwise, it’s Door Dash. She tells Ryan about all the fun stuff they did in Mexico, and then adds the lunch from hell. She says she needs to know for a fact that nothing else happened. In Jenn’s interview, she says she felt like Tamra was sitting on information she didn’t know about. We flash back to Tamra telling Jenn that she knows things, but she’s not saying anything. If there was something else, there’s no staying together. Ryan says, it was one night, a year and a half ago, and he was doing what single guys do. They haven’t spoken a word in a year. They were talking about moving to the next step, and Jenn hitches her wagon to Tamra, who pulls her in reverse. They’re forging a path, merging their kids, and talking about marriage. In her interview, Jenn says, her fear is that Ryan wakes up one day, realizes this isn’t what he wants, and all those things come to fruition. She knows he loves her, but just hopes he can hold up his end. Jenn tells Ryan that she has an appointment with an attorney. She just has to bring in the retainer and they’ll be good to go. He says he can give her the money, but she says, no, and in her interview, she says, it never crossed mind to understand finances. There’s power in being able take care of yourself, and she has to figure this out on her own. She lists all of her faults, and asks if he’s crazy. He says, crazy for her. Just her. Aww. I guess we’ll see.

John and Shannon go out to eat, and John asks about her meeting with Fancy Pants. Shannon says, Fancy Pants always has an explanation, and we flash back to Fancy Pants saying, the only things she said about John and Shannon’s relationship were things already known by the group. Shannon says, there’s no hope for repairing the friendship if Fancy Pants continues to blame others for her wrongdoing. Tamra told her that Fancy Pants claimed she wasn’t all-in, when she’s told them that she and John are happy where they are right now. The waiter brings Shannon’s watermelon salad and my God does she take a big bite. She tries to get John to take a bite, but he doesn’t want it. She stops short of asking him to do it for her. She says, when she was in Mexico, she was stressed about the kids applying to college. She’s going to lose it when they go. In Shannon’s interview, she says, all the kids will be away and she doesn’t want to live alone. John says, they’ll be visiting, and he thinks it will be an exciting new time for them; just them spending time together and relaxing. It’s overdue. In her interview, Shannon says she and John have a history of bickering and arguing. It’s given her pause, and she wants to make sure they can fix that before going forward. John says, they’ll get through this trial together, and she says, loses kids, gets John. Yep, he’s a real prize.

Shannon arrives at Tamra’s house, and in her interview, Shannon says she never thought she’d be dealing with people’s sh*t, but she needs to develop products to earn money for her kids’ college. Jenn is going to be patient one for the Sitolonic, an at home colonic. When Jenn gets there, they discuss pooping, and Tamra says she goes seven times a day. In Jenn’s interview, she says – let’s say it all together – she knew Tamra was full of sh*t. They move on to talking about Fancy Pants, and Jenn says, the bus ride back was weird. Fancy Pants kept grabbing her feet; she was obsessed with them. In her interview, Fancy Pants says, Jenn’s feet are like model feet, and in Emily’s interview, she says, maybe Fancy Pants has a fetish. She didn’t think Fancy Pants knew who Jenn was. Jenn says she and Taylor were in their room, when Fancy Pants wanted to hang with them. She went to her room to get her soup and said she was coming back, but never did. Shannon sets up the colonic, and it looks like a real project. Tamra announces, it was a win, and I just think, ugh. Why?

Gina and Fancy Pants meet for coffee, and Gina orders champagne for Fancy Pants before she gets there, which is actually pretty nice. Fancy Pants arrives, and Gina says, it’s obvious she’s upset; Gina is too. Fancy Pants says, Gina’s the one who called, so why is she upset? Gina says she values their friendship and feels like she’s been there for Fancy Pants, but Fancy Pants says, it’s hard to believe, since Gina is so quick to believe Tamra. Gina says, Fancy Pants can understand why she’d want the loser thing explained, and Fancy Pants pulls out her phone, putting on a recording of Tamra and Teddi’s podcast, where it seems Tamra is the one who used the L-word. In Gina’s interview, she says, if Fancy Pants is her friend, she should tell her these things. It was probably a joke, but once again, she and Emily are collateral damage in their bullsh*t. Gina says she cares about Fancy Pants, and Fancy Pants says, only reason she’s sitting here is because she cares about Gina. She probably wouldn’t have come if it had been anyone else. She was attacked for things she didn’t do, and thinks Emily is going to the Tamra School of Friendship. We flash back to Emily picking on Fancy Pants, and she says, everyone is scared of Tamra. She’s nasty and takes no accountability. In Fancy Pants’ interview, she says, Tamra is the root cause. Issue number one. We flash back to Tamra initiating the discussion about Fancy Pants’ IMDb. She says, issue number two, and we flash back to Tamra asking if Fancy Pants talked about Shannon and John’s relationship when they were at lunch with the group. She says, issue number three, and we flash back to Tamra screeching that Fancy Pants said they were losers. Fancy Pants says, Tamra has systematically taken her relationships and totally trashed them. Gina asks if Fancy Pants is coming to her party, but Fancy Pants says she doesn’t know. Gina says, she has to put Tamra in her place.

The party looks freaking impressive, pun intended. There are fire eaters, a guy on stilts, unicycles, a whole photo setup, and all kinds of circus accoutrements. Gina is a ringmaster, with Travis in a lion costume as her Mane Man. Emily is the Queen of Pop(corn) and Shane wears a shirt with a stick of butter one it. Taylor is cotton candy with husband John as a ringmaster. Eddie and Tamra are both evil clowns, and in Gina’s interview, she says, It’s an appropriate look for Tamra; like a Chucky doll. Jen is a cowardly lion to Ryan’s lion tamer with no shirt. Shannon is a fortune teller, and John is John in a Suit, although he has money coming out of his pockets and a top hat, so I guess he’s millionaire John in a suit. He and Shannon argue about him wearing the hat, and it’s like the watermelon salad all over again. In Emily’s interview, she says, Shannon’s costume looks like something she’d wear daily. Matt and girlfriend Britt arrive, and in Gina’s interview, she says, they’ve worked through their sh*t from the past, and they’ve never been better. We flash back to some low points, and Gina says, it’s a lot of weight off her shoulders. She tells Emily that she and Fancy Pants should talk it out. She feels like Emily’s been more aggressive than normal. Emily says, Fancy Pants called them losers, but Gina says, Fancy Pants shared a recording, and it was a comment Tamra made on her podcast. Emily says, Tamra’s been saying sh*t about her for years, and when confronted, she’s said she’s sorry. In Emily’s interview, she says she doesn’t understand. If Gina is making excuses for Fancy Pants, that’s their relationship. She won’t do it. Tamra says she’s not talking to Fancy Pants, and Gina says she thinks Fancy Pants is just being hypersensitive. Tamra says, Fancy Pants wants to blame everyone else. She gets information, she twists it – Tamra twirls around like the idiot she is – and presents it. In Tamra’s interview, she says, Gina is Heather-merized. She knows how Fancy Pants works. Fancy Pants and Terry arrive, dressed respectively as an acrobat with a hoop and event staff security.  

Terry asks where they’re starting, and Fancy Pants says, at the bar, as we all would. In her interview, she says she wanted to be a dolphin trainer, but there are no dolphins at the circus, so she’s an aerial act. In Emily’s interview, she says, Fancy Pants is a step up from a whale trainer. She’s an intergalactic fantasy nighttime whale trainer. In Tamra’s interview, she says, Fancy Pants is an ice queen, like her heart. Jen publicly pulls out a wedgy as I would do, and in Shannon’s interview, she says, it’s foggy looking at Fancy Pants’ future, since she doesn’t know if she has a future with her. Shannon and Tamra get all mushy with each other, and Shannon says she met with Fancy Pants.   She tells Tamra that Fancy Pants said, the head cheerleader was back (although it’s really Terry who said that), and Tamra says, Fancy Pants is intimidated. She proved that when they talked about their highs and lows in Montana. We flash back to Fancy Pants saying, being left out made her sad. In her interview, Shannon says, it’s not a competition. Maybe Fancy Pants thinks it is. She tells Tamra that she’s not letting Fancy Pants get in the middle of their friendship and they hug. In Tamra’s interview, she says, when she thought Shannon ghosted her, she was devastated. Fancy Pants won’t get in middle of them. John complains about having to carry his hat, and Taylor whines about Heather leaving her and Jenn. Fancy Pants just used them when she had nobody else. She babbles about her wealthy friends being down to earth, and in Gina’s interview, she says, Taylor is code red wasted, and talking endless loops of nonsense non-stop. She doesn’t know WTF Taylor is talking about any more. Gina tells Taylor, if she comes at Fancy Pants with anger, she might not get the result she wants. In Jenn’s interview, she says, Taylor is spinning in circles, eyes popping out. They’re at opposite ends of how they want to handle Fancy Pants. She feels like she’s dismissed with Fancy Pants, but perhaps that falls on her and she wants to tell Fancy Pants how she feels. Taylor and Jenn approach Fancy Pants, and Taylor says, they wanted to go dancing, but stayed behind to be supportive of Fancy Pants. Then she went to get chicken soup and never came back. Taylor’s stepdaughter lives in Tulum and was waiting for them. Fancy Pants says she slurped her soup, sat down for one second, and fell out. Taylor says, why not text them? and Fancy Pants says, why didn’t they knock on her door? She fell asleep. This really insults Taylor, who says, when Fancy Pants laid down, she should have thought to text. My mind wanders and I wonder what this party cost.

In Fancy Pants interview, she does a spot on impression of Taylor prattling on. We didn’t go dancing because you went to get your soup and didn’t come back… And? Fancy Pants tells Jenn that she thinks Jenn is a great member of their friend group. She’s glad Tamra brought her in, but she doesn’t understand how Jenn puts up with Tamra’s bullsh*t. Jen says she’s trying to figure things out in the group, and Fancy Pants says she’s enjoyed what little time they’ve spent together. Jenn says, same here, and Tamra talks smack about Fancy Pants, watching her from across the room. Fancy Pants apologizes to Jenn for falling asleep, and Jenn says, that’s all she wanted here. In Jenn’s interview, she says, if she walked in and all she heard about the new person was their boyfriend’s past, she wouldn’t have any interest either. She can’t wait to get to know Fancy Pants outside of the boyfriend drama. Taylor says, her friends who are billionaires are not pretentious. Emily says, Fancy Pants called them losers, and Fancy Pants tries once again to tell her that she was talking about Noella. She says, when they were in Montana, Tamra maligned Emily’s career, saying she’s not a lawyer. We flash back to Tamra saying, Emily told her that she’s a party planner. She’s clearly not done a trial in a year. Tamra looks over, and Taylor says, Fancy Pants thinks she’s better than them. Emily says, her intent isn’t to hurt Fancy Pants’ feelings. She knows she has rough edges. She and her sister threw digs at each other their entire life. It’s how they got through growing up, but it hurt to be called a loser. In Emily’s interview, she says she has an amazing life, but deep inside she carries hurt with her, and when she feels someone is attacking her or integrity, it’s like a physical reaction. She can’t control it. Fancy Pants says she loves Emily and her family. She felt like she was left high and dry, but she wants to move past it. If she gets offended, she’ll tell Emily. Gina comes over, carrying her whip, and asks if she’s going to need it. Across the room, Tamra says she’s boiling, and in her interview, she says, Fancy Pants is rallying the troops. She’s taking each girl and talking sh*t about Tamra. Fancy Pants got caught in her own sh*t, and is trying to turn everyone against her. She seems all nice, but behind the scenes, Fancy Pants is the worst villain of them all. She wanders over, and Fancy Pants goes to the bar. Emily says, Fancy Pants told her that Tamra said she’s not really an attorney, but a party planner. Tamra insists she didn’t say that, and hunts Fancy Pants down. She asks if Fancy Pants is kidding her, but Fancy Pants says she doesn’t want to do this. Tamra has her own version of the truth. Gina tells Emily, poor Terry, and Fancy Pants says she doesn’t like Tamra’s nonsense and spinning things. Tamra keeps repeating, what am I spinning? getting in Fancy Pants’ face. Terry asks Gina and Emily to go help his wife, but Gina says she thinks his wife is very capable of handling herself. Fancy Pants says she played Tamra’s podcast for Gina, where Tamra said they were losers. Tamra says she was mocking Fancy Pants, and Fancy Pants says, Tamra is laboring under the misconception she gives a sh*t. Tamra says she doesn’t give a sh*t either, and Fancy Pants suggest they wrap this up then. As she walks away, Tamra says, goodbye, bitch, kind of like, you can’t fire me, I quit.

Gina says she can’t take this sh*t, and Tamra says, Fancy Pants is a liar. Emily asks Tamra about the podcast, and we hear it again. Gina says she wants a group pic, even if it’s an uncomfortable, really awkward family photo. What family isn’t f***ed up? In Gina’s interview, she says, it’s like when you force kids to take a family photo and it’s been the worst day. Just smile and take the picture. I want the f***ing memory. They take the photo, and Shannon tells Gina that she did a phenomenal job.

In Jen’s interview, she says she’s lived her life pleasing other people. Being in this group makes her want to be more powerful and have more of a voice. Ryan says he loves her, and in the text – because it’s the finale, thank God – it says, Jenn has paid the attorney, and is now taking the biggest gamble, moving in with Ryan.

In Shannon’s interview, she says, when she met John, he said he was her future, but she still doesn’t know. They have some hurdles to jump, but she thinks they’re small. The text says, shortly after filming, Shannon and John broke up… or did they? Shannon denies the rumors.

In Gina’s interview, she says she feels like she’s made progress in her personal life. She tells Travis that she wants to get married like this, and he asks if he has to wear a lion costume. I literally lol. She tells him, it’s the best party ever, and the text says, Gina and Travis are both real estate agents and have added to the family – a dog named Meatball.

Emily thanks Shane for being a good husband, which he corrects to great. He says, it’s hard to take her seriously when she’s dressed like popcorn, and in her interview, she says she wants to be a better person, mom, wife, and friend. Her take away from Fancy Pants and Shannon is that she’s learned about herself. Growth is always good. The text tells us that Annabelle’s modeling career took off. Emily wants Annabelle to be a star so she can retire. She went to Fancy Pants’ birthday party, and there was no sand in the salad.

In her interview, Fancy Pants says, not only does she need to figure out who wants to be friends with her; she needs to figure out who she wants to be friends with. She doesn’t understand Tamra. If she’s looking to be top dog, it’s hers. The text says, she and Terry are looking for their next dream house, assisted by Nicky who’s being mentored by Josh Altman. The HD Network is also growing.

In Tamra’s interview, she says, she thinks Fancy Pants knows she’s not buying into her bullsh*t. The truth always comes out. The text says, Tamra has become closer to John and Shannon. She’s getting her ducks in a row, and Fancy Pants can f*** one.

As the party ends, Gina says, welcome to the freak show… sh*tshow really.

Next week, the Reunion, which looks like the SOS. Gina says she doesn’t know if she can continue to do this. Run. Before it swallows you like it’s doing to Emily.

🥾 Hitting the Trail…

Join me tomorrow for soap and some not always charming Charm. Until then stay safe, stay never correcting someone’s grammar in public, and stay remembering that the truth always comes out.