Tag Archives: Real Housewives of Salt Lake City

November 22, 2023 – Curtis’s Independent Investigation Begins, Garcelle Screens Her New Film, Salty Talk, Most Awfulest House & Restaurant

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Sasha looks at the photo of her and Brando that she left in the kitchen drawer, when there’s a knock at the door. She opens it to Sonny.

Gregory asks if he can bother Alexis for a moment, and she asks when he started using the cane. He says, it’s been by his side for a couple of days now. Dr. Cramer says he’ll need it until… She says, until he may need a wheelchair, and he says, yes, before the inevitable presents itself. He actually feels secure with it because Dr. Cramer says it can keep him from damaging himself if he falls… He guesses he should say, when he falls. She says she’s in favor of him staying on his feet as long as possible, and he says, this, from the woman who always keeps him on his toes. She asks if he just came by to show her the cool cane, or can she do something for him. He says, she has to help his son.

Curtis wheels himself into the MetroCourt, and Nina runs over to hug him. She says, it’s so nice to see him out and about, and he says he’s been to the club, he’s been to the gym a few times, and he figured whether he’s in this chair or not, life goes on. What’s he going to do? He can’t sit at home every day, right? She says, that is a great attitude. She owes him an apology. She should have gotten in touch much sooner, but she’s glad he called her to meet. He says she may not be so happy after she hears what he has to say. He has a pretty big ask.

Martin thanks Laura for sorting out the building permits for him. He knew he could count on his baby sister. They fist bump, and Laura says, he’s welcome, but let’s be perfectly clear about something. Everything was above board. It wasn’t a family favor. She simply presented it for a vote and zoning approved it. He says he just appreciates the fact she did it so quickly, and so does his client. She starts to say something, and he says, and no. It isn’t Valentin Cassadine. He does have less controversial clients. It just so happens Mr. Phelps is one of the biggest real estate developers in Port Charles, and now he is thrilled with Martin’s work. She made her brother look good, and he’s grateful. He kisses her hand, and she says, speaking of brothers, what are they going to do about theirs?

In the morgue, Dante asks the coroner what they’ve got, and he says, cause of death was catastrophic internal bleeding and blunt force trauma. There were injuries to his neck and vertebrae. Fractured jaw and extensive damage to the skull. There was bleeding on the brain as well as some other medical stuff. Chase says, in English, please, and the coroner says, hemorrhaging around the heart. Dante wonders what can cause that, a fall or an attack? But the coroner says, the injuries were consistent with the pedestrian hit at a high rate of speed by a large vehicle, like a truck or an SUV. Chase asks if the deceased was impaired in any way, but the coroner says, the preliminary autopsy says no contributing factors. There was no alcohol in his system and he wasn’t under the influence of drugs. Dante says, what about any medical conditions? and the coroner says, he suffered from no maladies or illness. There wasn’t any indication in the bloodwork that he was on medication, so he can’t think of any reason a relatively healthy man would step in front of a speeding vehicle. Dante says, maybe the vehicle was aiming for him.

Anna lurks around Charlotte’s hospital room, and when she sees Elizabeth leave, she sneaks in. She tells Charlotte, shhh, but Charlotte freaks and says, no! Go away! She’s not supposed to be here. Anna says she just wants to talk. She needs to explain what happened. Please let her. Charlotte says, no, no, no.

Chase says, according to CSI, there were no tire tracks or skid marks. So if he was hit by a car, there’s nothing to indicate the driver swerved or hit the break. Dante asks, what about traffic cameras? but Chase says, unfortunately, it was at a stretch not covered by cameras. Dante says, there’s got to be a building or gas station, somewhere with a camera, and Chase says, they’re already on it. But there was something interesting. Get this. The guy had three IDs on him. Dante asks if he checked them out, and Chase says, yeah, and they’re all legit.

Charlotte says, there’s nothing to explain. Anna shot her. Anna says, it was a horrible accident, and Charlotte asks how it was an accident. Anna pointed a gun right at her. Anna says she didn’t know it was her. She didn’t expect to find Charlotte in her apartment, but she now understands why Charlotte was there. She wanted to do something to scare Anna, to drive her away, but she needs to know nothing Victor told he is true. Nothing.

Valentin asks how Charlotte is doing, and Elizabeth says, she’s had some progress, which is encouraging. They hear Charlotte yell for help, and run to her room. They find Anna there with a hysterical Charlotte.

Nina says, just name it, but Curtis says he’s not sure she’s going to feel that way when he asks. It requires they ignore the instructions of the PCPD. Nina says she’s completely confused. What’s going on? Curtis says, the shooting happened months ago, and the PCPD is no closer to finding out who shot him. She says, they still don’t have any leads? and he says, nothing credible. This is completely stalled. It’s only a matter of time before they box up his evidence to some warehouse for cold cases. She says, he can’t let that happen, and he says he’s not. He’s going to find out who put him in this wheelchair and see that they’re brought to justice. Nina says she doesn’t see where she comes in, and he says he’s starting his own investigation, and since the shooting happened at her hotel, he was hoping she’d give him complete access.

Martin says, one wonders why Laura doesn’t use her position as mayor, and banish Cyrus from the kingdom of Port Charles, and Laura laughs. She asks if he watched Robin Hood last night. He says, the original? It’s a classic. She says, this isn’t Sherwood Forest, and even if she could banish Cyrus, she doesn’t know if she’d do that. He says, she’s a highly intelligent woman. Does she expect him to believe she thinks Cyrus is reformed? She says she wouldn’t go that far. She’s been suspicious of this born-again persona ever since the beginning. He could be giving the performance of a lifetime; he could be playing all of them. Martin says he did tell her that Cyrus had him give away all his money to end recidivism. That’s another thing he was suspicious about. The Cyrus he grew up with didn’t have an altruistic bone in his body. Laura says, a judge signed off on his release, but Martin says, that doesn’t mean anything. Cyrus used to line his pockets with important people. The judge could be on his payroll, expecting some sort of a kickback. Laura says, the bottom line is, Cyrus is free, and he is their brother, so don’t they have some sort of responsibility here to acknowledge him as a sibling, to see the best in him, and support him in his effort to become a productive member of society? Martin says he can’t think of one thing Cyrus can contribute to Port Charles, but he does have to admit, part of him wants to believe Cyrus. Which is saying a lot, considering his track record. Look at the damage he’s done. There’s a knock at the door, and Jordan says she’s sorry to interrupt, but she needs to discuss something with Laura.

Gregory tells Alexis, Diane can’t represent Finn because she’s representing the plaintiff. She says, the Muldoon family hired her? and he says, yes. He met Finn at the MetroCourt as Diane was leaving. Finn seemed dejected, and when he pressed Finn, he said, she couldn’t take the case. Alexis says, that doesn’t make any sense, and Gregory says, it seems she got a phone call just before the meeting from the father-in-law of the deceased, who just happens to be a long-term client of hers. Alexis says, she’s already on retainer with the Muldoon family? This is a disaster. She’s sorry. He says, it’s not all that dire. Diane explained she couldn’t represent him, and left, no hard feelings. She says, he doesn’t understand. Diane is the disaster. She is that good. She never loses.

Sonny looks at the photos of Sasha from the photoshoot and asks how it feels to be back at work after being gone a few months. She says she was so fragile when she got out of Ferncliff, she was worried it was going to awkward going back to Deception, but it’s going really well. They did this photoshoot, and she just finished a segment on Home & Heart. He asks if that’s the show where they sell stuff, and she laughs and says, yes. She reintroduced their most popular product, The Deceptor. He says, what is that? and she says, Nina will know what it is. Anyway, it sold out in record time. He says, that’s great. Dang. She says she was so relieved. She really needs the company to do well. They lost so much money, and their stock was frozen during the lawsuit. He says, that’s what he wanted to talk to her about. He wanted to discuss her financial situation.

Nina tells Curtis, this is the master keycard, and slides it over to him. It will give him access to all the areas around the pool and the hotel room above the pool as well. He asks if there’s anyone staying in the room now, but she says, no. The PCPD requested they keep that room vacant for a while. They didn’t even want housekeeping in there. She thinks they were planning on doing another sweep of the room, so maybe they could get additional evidence, but she’s not complying. He says, this is good, but it’s not enough. Can she get him security footage of the day of the shooting? Maybe even a few days prior. She says she’s not sure about that. The police officers were all over the security system. That was the first thing they went to. And they had a warrant. But the original footage could be accessible by the MetroCourt mainframe. He says, and she knows her boy’s pretty tech savvy. He knows his way around a server. Can he use her password to log in?

Laura tells Jordan that she and Martin were just discussing the very delicate subject of their brother Cyrus, and what, if anything, to do about him. Jordan says she knows Cyrus is Laura’s family, so it’s not her place to say, but there’s nothing to be done about Cyrus for now. All signs show he’s behaving. They all know it’s just a matter of time before he breaks the law again. Then Laura and Martin won’t have to make any decisions about him. The courts will make it for them. Laura says she’s afraid Jordan’s right. It’s just a matter of time then, isn’t it? Well, Jordan didn’t come here to listen to their family problems. What can Laura do for her? Jordan says she needs Laura to look into something, but it has to be off the record.

Gregory says he’s aware of Diane’s reputation, but she’s not Clarence Darrow, and Alexis says, her nickname is Killer Miller, because she goes for the jugular. Not only is she ridiculously prepared in court, she can improvise. So she can think on her feet. He says he guesses Alexis isn’t overreacting, and she says, the hardest cases she’s ever tried have been the ones against Diane. She once had a case where Diane’s client was accused of a felony, and she was representing the plaintiff. Alexis was so on this case. She had two dozen depositions; she had witnesses like crazy. It was an irrefutable case. It was a slam dunk. And you know what happened? Diane won. She was victorious. He asks if she thinks Finn has a chance to win this, and she says, look at this case. A loving family that lost a husband and a father to an arrogant doctor that was negligent. He says his son isn’t arrogant and he’s certainly not negligent, and she says, maybe arrogant is too strong of a word, but sometimes Finn is not that personable. He comes off as overly confident, and Diane is going to convince a jury of that. He asks if she’s saying Finn is doomed, but she says, not yet. She’s going to make a call.

Valentin runs to Charlotte, who says, Anna wants to kill her. Anna says she doesn’t, as Valentin comforts Charlotte, and Elizabeth tells Anna that she has to leave. She hustles Anna out, and Valentin says, Charlotte is safe. No one is going to hurt her. In the hallway, Elizabeth tells Anna that it was very clear. She’s not allowed anywhere near Charlotte’s room. Anna says she wanted to explain what happened. She needs Charlotte to know she never wanted to harm her. She didn’t want to. Elizabeth says, she’s done just the opposite.

Chase tells Dante, this guy had three valid pieces of ID on him. One from the US, one Canadian, and one from the United Kingdom. Dante asks if they’re aliases or all the same name, and Chase says, all the same name, which makes it even more confusing. Dante says, especially since you can’t be a resident of three different countries, and Chase says, CSI is going to his hotel room. He was staying at the Metropolitan and registered under the Canadian ID. Dante says, run his DNA and check his fingerprints. Be sure to run it by intelligence services too. Chase leaves.

Anna says, the shooting was an accident. If Elizabeth believes nothing else, believe that. Elizabeth says she knows it was an accident and Anna would never want to hurt Charlotte, but deliberately walking into her room when she’s been asked to stay away is unthinkable. Valentin asks if Elizabeth will sit with Charlotte for a second, and she says, of course (🍷). She leaves, and Valentin asks what the hell Anna is doing. She says she’s just trying to undo the damage he and his father caused.

Dante asks what else the coroner can tell him about the condition of the body, and the coroner says, like he told Dante, there were multiple injuries, but there was one thing that stood out. He had a significant bruise on the left heel. Dante asks if that’s unusual, and the coroner says, actually, yes. It was starting to callous. Dante asks what that tells him, and the coroner says, it indicates it wasn’t a fresh bruise and it certainly didn’t come from the impact of the vehicle striking him. He found that odd, so they looked into his left shoe, and they found this under the lining. He holds up a key with a tag that says 18. Dante asks if the coroner will bag that, and don’t mention this to anyone. The coroner leaves, and Dante puts the bag in his pocket. Chase comes back and says, they got a hit. The fingerprints match up with the UK ID, Jameson Forsythe.

Jordan tells Laura that she really wants to do this for Curtis. Not only does he deserve to know who put him in a wheelchair, she thinks it will be good stimulation for him to put his energy into an investigation. Laura says she didn’t know him way back when he was a police detective, but she has a lot of respect for him as an investigator. Beyond that, they’re friends. Jordan says, they went through some intense experiences in Greenland, and Laura says, did they ever. Victor Cassadine was on the rampage and Curtis was pivotal in bringing him down. Jordan asks if she’s got Laura’s blessing to pursue this, and Laura says, yes, absolutely. She’s behind Jordan 100%. Jordan says, it could cut into her hours here. She may not be available for all of her duties. Laura says, it’s absolutely all right. She’s back home again, and besides that, it is vitally important to the people of Port Charles to find out who opened fire at the MetroCourt pool.

Nina gives Curtis her ID and password, and he says he knows she’s going out on a limb for him and wants her to know he appreciates it. She says she trusts him implicitly, and if this helps him, she’s happy to do it. She knows why this is so important to him and wants him to know it’s important to her as well. He says, it means a lot, and she says she heard the police don’t think he was the intended target. He says, they definitely believe the bullet was intended for Anna… or Sonny, and she says, if someone tried to kill Sonny, the man she loves, they could try again. And she wants to do everything she can to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Sasha says she knew Sonny was a coffee importer, but is he an accountant? He says, no. He just wants to help her. He came here to get permission to audit her accounts. He wants to know exactly how much Gladys stole from her. She says she doesn’t see the point. The money is gone, and so is Gladys, thanks to him. She never got a chance to acknowledge what he did to get Gladys out of town. She thanks him, but he says, no thanks necessary. She says, he could have sent Gladys to prison, but he didn’t, and she’s grateful for that. Despite all the awful things Gladys did to her, she was Brando’s mother and Liam’s grandmother, and Sonny was merciful in sending her back to Connecticut. He says, now she doesn’t have to see Gladys or even think about her, and she says, now she can move forward. Focus on the future. He says, she deserves more than that. She deserves to get her money back.

Alexis introduces Martin and Gregory, and Martin says, so Gregory was a professor over at PCU. Gregory says, yes, and before that, he was at Berkeley. Alexis says, Hamilton Finn is also Gregory’s son and he’s in need of representation. While she hasn’t had the privilege of going up against Martin in the courtroom, he has quite an impressive record. Martin says he understands she was quite the attorney, and she thanks him. She says she was also very impressed that Valentin Cassadine has him on retainer. Martin says, someone’s done her homework, but he’s not sure how that’s relevant. Gregory says he doesn’t understand either. What does that have to do with Finn’s case? Alexis says, Finn is in need of a lawyer who has experienced defending a client that may come off as somewhat indelicate, and Greogry asks if she’s putting Finn in the same category as Valentin. She’s related to him, and even she admits he’s done some reprehensible things. Martin asks how disparaging his client starts the conversation, and Alexis says, they’re both highly intelligent, but they’re missing the point. If Martin can make someone like Valentin come off as sympathetic, he should be able to do the same thing for Finn.

Curtis thanks Nina and says he’ll do his best to keep things under the radar. What if her staff starts asking questions about why he’s hanging around so much? She says, they’re not going to say anything, and if they do, just tell them that he’s helping her with a special project. Which happens to be true. He’s giving her feedback on the handicap accessible areas and telling her where she can make improvements. He says, you’re good. Maybe she should be part of this investigation. She says she thinks she already is. This has so much to do with him, but it also has to do with Sonny. And she’ll do anything she has to do to keep him safe. He says, she’s fierce about protecting her man, and she says, her husband. He says, excuse me, Mrs. Corinthos, and she says she’s happier than she’s ever been in her entire life. She’s married to the man of her dreams and she’s closer to Willow and her grandchildren. And she’s scared to death. He says, scared of what? It seems she has everything. She says she does, and that means she has a lot more to lose.

Sonny says, Gladys was his dad’s cousin, so he feels responsible for what happened, but Sasha says, none of this was his fault. Gladys lied to him as well. He says, but he pretty much knew Gladys was not a good person from the start. All she wanted was a quick buck. He should have sent her back to Bridgeport, but because she was family, he couldn’t see what was right in front of him and gave her the benefit of the doubt. She didn’t deserve it, and that part is on him. Sasha tells him not to beat himself up over this, but he says he never should have let Gladys be her guardian. That was his mistake, compounded by the fact that he didn’t keep an eye on her to make sure she did the right thing. That’s on him and he wants to pay her back for that. He wants to reimburse every dime Sasha lost.

Charlotte tells Elizabeth, Anna wasn’t allowed in here. Anna came to hurt her. Elizabeth promises that Anna won’t be back.

Anna asks if Valentin doesn’t think he kept enough from her and Charlotte. His actions have caused this whole mess. He says his actions? and she says, yes. Charlotte needs to know the truth, that Victor lied to her, that he planted seeds in her head that Anna is dangerous and wants to hurt her. She was just trying to explain. He says, let’s get some things straight. His daughter is convinced Anna tried to kill her intentionally. Does she think she can explain that to a child, his child, in her hospital bed? He doesn’t know how many years of therapy she has ahead of her to get through all this, but if Anna really wants to help, stay away. She says, my God. He blames her for this. He says, no, he blames himself, and leaves.

Anna’s phone rings, and Dante asks where she is. She says she’s at GH; why? He asks if she can meet him at the morgue. There’s something here she’s got to see.

Gregory says, while he appreciates the suggestion, it’s not his place to hire a lawyer for his son, and Alexis says she doesn’t want to rush him. But right now, Diane is preparing a case against his son, so the sooner he puts a lawyer on retainer, the better. Gregory says he guesses she’s right. He wants to give Finn the option, so is Martin interested? Martin says, Gregory is going to have for forgive him. It’s a little too cart before the horse for his taste. Normally, he likes a little information about the case before he signs on anything. Alexis says, it’s a malpractice suit, and Gregory says, his son is an infectious disease specialist. A patient named Mr. Muldoon came to see him, concerned he might have contracted something in his travels; apparently, his work sent him out to remote locations. He thought he might have picked up a parasite. His son ran some tests and confirmed he had a tapeworm. He thought it would be an easy fix, but then about two months later, Mr. Muldoon came back. That was when Finn discovered he had Stage IV cancer. Martin says, so his son missed something important and now a man is dead as a result, but Gregory says, absolutely not. And he takes offense at Martin assuming his son made a mistake. He is not responsible for that man’s death. Martin asks Alexis if this is how Dr. Finn reacts when someone questions his expertise, and she says, worse. Much worse.

Laura says, there are a lot of files to go through. This has been an ongoing investigation. Have Jordan and Curtis figured out where they want to begin? Jordan says she thinks it’s best to start with a clean slate. It’s not that she won’t consider the information the police have compiled, but this case needs fresh eyes. Laura says, okay. Hopefully, she and Curtis will find something they overlooked. Jordan says, the first thing she needs to do is request the evidence the PCPD has gathered. She doesn’t anticipate any roadblocks, but should she hit some red tape… Laura says, she won’t hit any red tape. The mayor’s office will be backing her completely. Jordan thanks her and says she knew she could count on Laura. And this is exactly what Curtis needs.

Curtis assures Nina that Sonny can take care of himself. He heard Sonny’s been a target for decades, yet he’s still standing. So he doesn’t think there’s a reason that’s going to change. She says she guesses he’s right. She should stop worrying so much. It takes her away from enjoying the here and now. He says, exactly. When he was in rehab, Aunt Stella came to visit him. She told him, Curtis, stop focusing on the negative. Take advantage of the good moments right in front of him now. She asks if he was able to do that, and he says, it took a while to sink in, but he got it eventually. She says, things are good for her right now. She just doesn’t want it to change. She doesn’t want anybody to take her family away. He asks why he has the feeling they’re not talking about Sonny anymore. Something’s bothering her. What is it?

Dante thanks Anna for coming, and she says, dead body? He says, yeah. A jogger found the body by the side of the road this morning. Multiple injuries. Looks like a hit and run. At the scene, they couldn’t find any evidence that the driver avoided hitting the deceased, and the injuries are consistent with a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed. She says, murder, and he says, looking that way. She asks what that has to do with her, and Dante says, the guy had three IDs on him from three different countries. She asks if they were legit, and he says, yeah. Dante was thinking maybe he worked for the WSB. it’s a long shot, but does she want to take a look and see if she recognizes him?

Martin says, while he completely respects Gregory’s need to protect his son, he’s got to understand what goes into a malpractice suit. When dealing with accusations of wrongful death, often the facts of the case are far less important than how the jury feels about the plaintiff versus how they feel about the defendant. Gregory says he’s been teaching for decades and he always makes sure his students are presented with all the facts before he asks them for an opinion. Martin says, with all due respect, there are times when perception is reality, and Alexis says, especially in a courtroom. Martin says, where he sees a doctor doing his job to the best of his ability, they’re going to see a grieving widow. And if this man had young children – Alexis says, he didthat could be the nail in Finn’s coffin. If he overreacts, if he gets defensive on that stand, says he did nothing wrong, he’s going to lose. Greogry says, but if Finn admits he may have overlooked signs of cancer, which he didn’t, he’s going to lose anyway. His hands are tied, so what is Martin suggesting they do? Martin says, the best approach is to present his son as an exceptional doctor, who did everything he could to save his patient, by the book. A talented, dedicated physician who’s already saved many lives, who has the potential to save countless more. He has to make the jury see that finding him liable will do more harm than good. Alexis says, if she were trying this case, that’s the angle she’d go with, and Gregory thanks her. He says he thinks they found a lawyer for Finn.

Sasha tells Sonny, it’s not that she doesn’t appreciate the gesture. She really does, but she can’t let him do this. He says, yeah, she can. All she has to do is accept the offer and move on. She says she’s touched he would do this for her, but honestly, she doesn’t need the money back. If this ordeal had taught her anything, it’s that she’s resilient. She’s stronger than anyone thought, including herself.  And she’s excited for the challenge to continue being Deception’s spokesmodel. He says he believes she can do it and he’s happy for her. She says she’s drug free and she’s enjoying herself for the first time in ages. She really feels like there was a weird silver lining in all this. Because now she sees every day as a gift. She looks at herself in the mirror and sees a survivor who can stand on her own. He says, she is, but he thought he still owed her and he’s somebody who likes to pay off his debts. She says, this isn’t his debt. She has an idea. Take the money and give it to a charity, something that supports mental health. Make the donation in Brando and Liam’s name, and they can call it even. What does he say? He holds out his hand, and they shake. He says, deal.

Nina says, it’s nothing really. Just a little edginess in the family. Curtis says he thought things were solid between her and Sonny, but she says, it doesn’t have anything to do with Sonny. It’s Michael. Not that they’ve ever gotten along. They’re making an effort now, for the sake of Willow and the children, but they’ve definitely hit a rough patch. Curtis says he sees Michael at the gym from time to time. He doesn’t want to get in her business, but he could talk to Michael, try to smooth things over. She says she knows he means well, but she has to handle this on her own. She thinks if she brings him in, it will just add to the friction. He says he knows his friend and he knows when she’s not telling him everything, but that’s okay. He won’t push, because she’s done him a huge favor here today. He just wants her to know if she needs help with Michael or anything, he’s here. No questions asked. She thanks him and says, and if she needs extra love and support, he’ll be the first person she calls.

Jordan wishes Laura could have seen Curtis’s face when he told her about the investigation. It was the first time since the shooting that he wasn’t only alert and engaged, but he was enthusiastic. He got his old drive back. There was a light in his eyes again. Laura says she’s glad to hear that. She went to visit him a few days ago and it was really sad to see him in that wheelchair, but she thinks he was happy she came over. Jordan says she can’t even begin to understand what he’s going through or know what it’s like to face life with such a daunting disability, but to see him focus on what he can do instead of what he can’t, is incredible. Laura says, he’s really lucky to have someone like Jordan helping him, and Jordan says, but this was his idea and that’s what makes this investigation so important. Curtis is taking action. Laura says, both of them have her full support, and Jordan says she appreciates it, especially since Laura has so much on her plate.

Elizabeth tells Valentin that she’s sorry, but he says she doesn’t have to apologize. This is on Anna and no one else. Elizabeth says, what was she thinking? and he says he’s starting to believe Anna doesn’t like anyone thinking she’s wrong. He goes into Charlotte’s room and says he’s going to stay with her for the rest of the day to make sure she feels safe. She says she’s still afraid of Anna. What if Anna tries to hurt her again? He says, they have some things to talk about, but they can wait until she feels stronger. Just know this. She’s in no danger from Anna Devane. Charlotte says she knows he believes that, but he’s wrong.

Dante lifts the sheet and Anna looks at the body. The coroner slides it back in the vault, and Anna asks Dante if one of the IDs was Jameson Forsythe. He says, it was, actually. She knows him? She says, that was his name. At least it was when they worked back in the WSB. She hasn’t seen him for 30 years or more. He asks, so what was the deal? Was she working a case? She says, yeah. That was the op. The one that went bad. That’s the guy she found all the evidence on; the paperwork and files that show there was some really shady stuff that went on back then. He asks if that’s what went missing the night Charlotte was shot, and she says, right. He asks if she thinks this guy got into her apartment, and she says, he must have. Dante says, of course (🍷) he’d want to destroy the files, and Anna says, the question is, who killed him? And where is that evidence now?

Tomorrow, Thanksgiving; Charlotte asks how someone could think that of her; and a surprise arrives.

About that. I’ll be taking the whole day off tomorrow, but on Friday, we’ll have a quickie.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

When we left, it was in the middle of Sutton telling Kyle, name ‘em, and Kyle says, be quiet and she will. She names ‘em while we flash back to ‘em. It suddenly dawns on me that Kyle acts like she’s Sutton’s big sister, and it’s probably the way she wants to act toward Kathy. In Kyle’s interview, she says, this isn’t kooky, It’s flat out bizarre. Apparently, her bizarre bar is pretty low. She asks what’s going on with Sutton, and Sutton asks what’s going on with her. In Sutton’s interview, she wonders what’s going on in Kyle’s life, since she never talks about herself. Her life is perfect. Kyle says, bring it on. She’s happy to answer questions. Sutton says she’s not bringing it on, and Kyle says, they’ll talk another time and jets. In Kyle’s interview, she says she needs to get out before she hits the point of no return. Sutton says she’ll walk Kyle out, but Kyle says, she’s good. I have no words. I didn’t like Kyle much to begin with and now she’s insufferable.

Erika’s mom Renee is visiting, and in Erika’s interview, she says she and her mother have had good times and bad times, and there were times Erika didn’t want to talk to her. She visits Erika in Los Angeles once a year for a couple of days. After that, they get on each other’s nerves. She says, they’re very close… in age. A lot of times, her mom felt like a sibling, instead of a parent. She had a good time going clubbing with her mom and her mom’s friends. She was living like she was 20 at 15. At the old place, her mom could be on the other side of the house when she visited. Now they’re sleeping in the same bed. She doesn’t want to do this. She’s grown.

In Garcelle’s interview, she says, Jaid can be a like her boyfriend; he’s very protective. He doesn’t like drama, and it’s easier with him. He doesn’t challenge her as much as Jax does. They have a lot of fun. We flash back to Jax at the beach, and Garcelle says she feels that she wants them to express themselves because she couldn’t with her mother. She doesn’t just want to be a parent; she wants to have a relationship with her kids. She asks if Jaid wants more freedom, and he says he wants Ashlyn to sleep over, but Garcelle says, Ashlyn’s mom wouldn’t allow her to and neither would Garcelle. She couldn’t even date at his age. In her interview, she says she wasn’t allowed to talk to boys, so she had to sneak around. One night she told her parents that she was at Debbie’s, and then Debbie’s mom called looking for Debbie. She was in her mom’s car with a guy, and her dad followed her. She got to a light where he couldn’t catch up, and kicked the guy out of the car. When her dad caught up to her, he said, follow me home. It wasn’t pretty. She’s so excited about Black Girl Missing, because she’s executive producer and has the say-so. We flash back to a to meeting with Lifetime where Garcelle introduces director Delmar Washington. She tells Jaid that all the ladies will be at the screening, and he asks which ones she likes at the moment.

Crystal and Rob send the kids off to watch a movie while they linger over dinner. In Crystal’s interview, she says, her brother Jeff and Rob are close and often travel together. Rob needed to check on their house in China, and Jeff went along. It was hard on him because it was his first time seeing his ex-fiancé. Rob says, Jeff has not moved on, and in her interview, Crystal says, Rob was engaged and in China when the pandemic happened. She and her mom were desperate to get him home, and forced him into coming back to the US. Vivi couldn’t come, and the distance was the reason they broke up. Rob says, Jeff is at war with himself; he’s conflicted. He should have said no, but he was more worried about what his family thought than Vivi. Crystal says, it’s the Chinese way, and Rob says, he gets that, but for Jeff to start his own family, he has to break away. He thinks Crystal is competitive with Vivi about who has the more primary relationship with Jeff. Crystal says, who asked for his f***ing opinion? but he just laughs. In Crystal’s interview, she says, Rob doesn’t know what he’s talking about. She’s not competitive. She just knows what’s best for her brother. Rob calls Jeff and gives Crystal the phone. He says he encourages her to tell Rob how she feels, and tells Jeff that Crystal is feeling some regret. Crystal says she feels bad, and Jeff says he needs to talk to Vivi. He doesn’t want to cry, so he ends the call, and Rob says, one step at a time.

Jennifer Tilly and Sutton go to the stables to meet Sutton’s new horse, Santos. In Sutton’s interview, she says, her mani/pedi lady has a horse, and she thought she wanted one too. She saw Santos online and it was a perfect match, so she hit buy. We see a picture of Santos, who is gorgeous, brown with white markings, and also cost $47K. She says, her father was from Texas. From 8 years old, she was on a horse, and she would snap green beans with her mom. That’s who she is. She’s Southern. Sutton meets the trainer and feeds Santos carrots which he promptly throws up. Sutton and Jennifer have lunch, and Jennifer says, Sutton travels so much, she’s glad to have her happy Sutton time. Sutton says she wishes others felt that way. Kyle was incensed and it escalated. Kyle said something was going on with Sutton, but Sutton said no, something was going on with Kyle. And she doesn’t think it’s just her. Kyle has gotten very thin. When they were in Las Vegas on vacation, Kyle was going gym for three hours. She’s eating differently and not drinking, and Sutton hasn’t seen her wedding band. In her interview, Sutton says, Kyle’s acting in a way she’s never seen, and there’s been a rumor in the tabloids about Mauricio cheating. She feels like all of these numbers add up to something wrong. Jennifer thinks maybe Kyle is going through something extreme. When people make extreme changes like with self-improvement or cutting their hair, they’re moving on to a new phase or trying to regain control of their lives.

Erika gets on her mom for not washing the dishes, reminding her that Belle only comes in once a week; it’s all Erika can afford. In Erika’s interview, she says, they’re only good for 24 hours, and Renee needs to start packing. We see it’s been 31 hours so far. They talk about changes in NYC, and Erika says, it’s sad. (Agreed.) Renee says she’s glad she saw Erika’s show, and Erika says, it was somewhat of an ambush. In her interview, Erika says, her mom just showed up after they hadn’t been talking for a year. They argue about why they argued, and Renee says, Erika didn’t like a question she asked about Tom, and in Erika’s interview, she says, her mom didn’t know things were so bad. She was just trying to get through the shows and back in L.A., Tom was MIA. She was trying to sing and dance, and there was Renee waiting to f*** it up for her. Erika tells Renee, it’s like cutting open old wounds, and Renee says, at some point, she has to let it go. Erika says she’s happy it’s behind her, and in her interview, she says she loves seeing her mom being grateful and supportive, but she’s grateful her mom is leaving. She’s reached her limit. See you at Christmas.

Everyone gets ready for Garcelle’s screening. On the phone, Sutton tells Garcelle that Kyle’s visit didn’t end well. Kyle is on the phone with Dorit, and says, Sutton thinks Erika set her up. I do too. Kyle acts out Sutton acting out Erika, but Sutton did it better. She tells Dorit about Sutton asking her, what’s going on? and makes insane animated faces when she talks. Dorit says, it feels like a threat, and Kyle says, Sutton is talking about the rumors. How they can get all that from someone asking, what’s going on? is beyond me. Dorit says she’s riding with Sutton tonight, and Kyle says, have fun with that.

In Sutton’s interview, she says she’s learning that social media is the venue for sales and exposure, and her store needs that constantly. So she’s bringing Dimitri in to take good pictures. Sutton gets her picture taken a thousand times, while Dorit is parked outside whining about Sutton’s tardiness. When Sutton gets in the limo, Dorit scolds her.

The screening is at a gorgeous theater, and Garcelle says she’s excited but nervous. Kyle arrives looking like she’s dressed for a safari, and carrying a $16K Hermès bag. In Kyle’s interview, she says she appreciates how difficult it is to get a project sold and made. Garcelle’s not just producing, she’s starring in it, and the story is an important message. Sutton tells Dorit that Garcelle invited 100 people. That’s herding cats. In Dorit’s interview, she says she was under the impression it was an intimate screening. She needs to prepare mentally and emotionally. At the venue, Dorit says, she gets jumpy around a lot of people, and in Sutton’s interview, she says she had no idea Dorit’s PTSD was this bad. They’re just watching a movie… about a girl who gets kidnapped and goes missing. Other than that, it’s going to be fun. Dorit tells Garcelle that she’s having a hard time, and Jax tells Crystal that he’s nervous Erika is here, but he might as well talk to her. He asks if Crystal wants to come, and in Crystal’s interview, she says she’s proud that Jax wants to approach Erika. We flash back to Erika being a drunken a-hole to Jax, and Crystal says, in Vegas, Erika showed them a side that was more open, and she wants to make an effort to help other people see her in a better light. Jax says, Crystal can be his back-up.

Hors d’oeuvres food porn! Jax goes over to Erika and says he wanted to let her know that everything is okay between them. Erika says she apologizes from the bottom of her heart. She was totally out of line. (I do believe she’s actually sorry for this) She says she spoke to his mom, but she’s glad he can hear it from her. He says he accepts her apology, and in Erika’s interview, she says, he’s a class act to walk up to her and say, no hard feelings. Garcelle did a beautiful job. Garcelle asks everyone to take their seats for the movie, and Jax tells her about approaching Erika. In Garcelle’s interview, she says she wishes Erika had approached Jax, since she’s the adult and was in the wrong, but she’s glad Jax was confident enough to approach her. She thanks everyone for taking the time to come out, not just to support her, but the idea of when Black and Brown people go missing, it’s important they be seen and heard and supported. In her interview, she says, the subject is important to her. So many times, Black and Brown women are overlooked – getting jobs, getting paid, going missing. They want the same passion and compassion when they go missing. We see pieces of the film and the audience reaction. It looks good (it’s on Amazon). Denise arrives, and she and Garcelle hugs. She thanks Garcelle for inviting her, and they watch from the back. The film ends with applause, and in her interview, Dorit says she’s excited that Garcelle gets to see her dream coming to life. There are lots of hugs and congrats, and Denise says hi to Dorit and Crystal. She says, it feels like forever, and in  Dorit’s interview, she says she hasn’t seen Denise in years. We flash back to Denise walking off the Zoom Reunion, and Dorit says, their contact became less and less. Sutton sits down near Kyle and says, they’ve got to talk. Kyle raced out of her house. Kyle says, Sutton got so aggressive and not nice, and Sutton says, Kyle is doing that now. Kyle asks if Sutton wants to hear the truth or a lie, and Sutton says, she was being calm. Garcelle brings Denise over to Erika, and there’s hugs and catching up. Kyle tells Sutton that she seemed off, and in Sutton’s interview, she says, Kyle is supposed to be her friend, but she’s using words she knows cut to the core… and take your safari hat off. Kyle says, Sutton is full of sh*t. For the billionth time, is it me? Kyle is sooo nasty. Even her face is all twisted up. She’s creeping me out.

Sutton tells Kyle that there sometimes seems to be a lack of respect. Kyle treats her like a little sister. (That thud is me fainting, since I said that in beginning. Kyle says, don’t flatter yourself, and Sutton says, these are her feelings. She doesn’t know if Kyle is mad about the Kathy thing. Kyle says, that hasn’t even registered to her. She doesn’t care. In her interview, Sutton says, she’s lying. If someone was friends with her sister and not with her, she would care. Kyle says, that’s between her and her sister, and in Sutton’s interview, she says, if Kyle admits she’s upset, it will mean she doesn’t like Kathy.  It’s love triangle gone awry.  Garcelle asks to talk to Dorit, and tells Dorit that she felt when she shared how she was feeling, Dorit took it on the defensive and wasn’t hearing her. We flash back to Dorit saying, that’s hurtful. Garcelle says, in the moment, she knows Erika was drunk, but she didn’t feel Dorit reprimanded her in the moment. Dorit says, their relationship moved slower then backward, and Garcelle says, they had a great time in Cannes, but she feels like her kids are disregarded. All she did was share her feelings. Dorit also asked her why she wasn’t over it. We flash back to that, and Dorit says she takes it back. Garcelle says she would never tell that to Dorit. It was insensitive. Dorit says she’s sorry. She wants Garcelle to share her genuine feelings. In Garcelle’s interview, she says she likes Dorit. She doesn’t think Dorit is malicious or mean, but she gets in her own head. She just wants Dorit to hear her. They hug it out.

Kyle says, Sutton was obviously talking about the rumors. She could tell by the look in Sutton’s eye. Sutton says she wonders who Kyle is now, but Kyle says, the change is just physical. Sutton says, it’s more than that. Kyle is very different from last year. In Sutton’s interview, she says she’s not sure why Kyle can’t confide in her. Friends confide in one another. This friendship is a farce. Kyle says, she had a rough year, and Sutton says she thinks that’s fair. Maybe Kyle can say Sutton could be right about this.

Next time, Kyle goes country; Garcelle talks to Jax one on one; Denise and Camille join a dinner; Sutton and Garcelle confront Kyle about her marriage; and Kyle says she can’t afford to be depressed.

🧂 Passing the Salt…

The latest on RHOSLC.

🏂 Awful In Winter…

The preview alone creeped me out. I had to change the channel.

Happy Thanksgiving!

🦃 Grateful For You…

Enjoy your Thanksgiving, no matter how you spend it. I’ve spent it nearly every way possible – with family, with friends, with strangers, volunteering at a soup kitchen, and one year with my cat, who stole a turkey leg when I wasn’t looking. I’ll drop in for a note on Thanksgiving in Port Charles, but come by on Monday really Tuesday for the full soap treatment and a Deck possibly without Kyle. Until then, stay safe; stay being grateful for what you have, not just on Thanksgiving, but every day; and stay not worrying so much. It takes you away from the here and now.

November 15, 2023 – Austin Discovers He’s Not Free From Cyrus, Erika Is a Lying Mean Girl, Summing Up the Salt, Awful People In Winter & Praises

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Maxie and Lucy, accompanied by Scotty, go to Home & Heart, where Morgan Fairchild Haven welcomes back the ladies of Deception, now that those issues with The Deceptor are behind them. Rumor has it, there was a problem with intellectual property theft. They can trust her with insider 411. Was that the real issue? Lucy says, everything is super dandy with Deception. There’s absolutely really no issue. Haven says, that’s great, but where is their spokesmodel? And please don’t tell her that she’s in the bathroom powdering her nose. Which is actually kind of funny, but Lucy says, Haven can take her not-so-clever innuendo and shove it up her nose, which is even funnier. Sasha is fine and wonderful and back to her glorious, gorgeous self. Does Lucy have to remind Haven that Home & Heart called begging them to come and do another sales shoot for The Deceptor? Haven says, they may have called Lucy’s office once or twice, and Lucy laughs. She says, just to let Haven know, they’ve brought their lawyer in case she pulls any of her ridiculous shenanigans.

Meeting Austin in a stairwell, Cyrus says, Austin is positively radiating stress. This is not a healthy way to live his life. Austin says, he’s late, and Cyrus says, trust him. The Lord is the way to inner peace. Austin says he doesn’t understand why they had to meet at all, or why they had to meet in public. Cyrus says, calm down. He brings Austin tidings of great joy.

Curtis is sitting in the ohm position, when Marshall comes in. Marshall says, sorry to interrupt. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say Curtis was meditating. Curtis says, trying to, and Marshall says, since when? Curtis says he’s just trying things out, and Marshall asks if it’s helping.

At the MetroCourt with Alexis, Diane says she’ll have an Arnold Palmer, and spike it with some bourbon. She asks if Alexis is okay with that, and Alexis says, spike away. Diane says, it’s been a grueling couple of days, and Alexis says she’ll also have an Arnold Palmer, hold the spike. The server leaves, and Alexis says she’s also had a grueling couple of days. So who needs to go first in talking about their misery? Diane says, rock-paper-scissors? and Alexis agrees. Alexis stares at something, and Diane says she’s lost Alexis already. They both watch Molly greeting Kristina, and Diane says, will you look at that. Alexis says she is looking at that, and to see her girls reconnect makes her week a little less bleak.

Andrea sees TJ at the hospital and says she’s glad he’s here. He asks how she’s feeling, and she asks if there’s somewhere they can talk privately. He suggests they go in one of the exam rooms, and she says she’s sorry to bother him at work. He says, it’s not a problem, and she says she knows how busy he is. She should have called. He says, it’s fine, really, and they go into the exam room. He says, tell him what’s going on. She seems a little upset. She says she is. It’s about the baby.

Diane says, so Molly and Kristina have mended fences? and Alexis says, finally. Now she gets to stop refereeing and be mom again. Diane says, don’t keep her in suspense; how did it happen? Alexis says she thinks the biggest thing is that Molly’s surrogate Andrea is almost through her first trimester. Diane says, that’s wonderful, and a great reason to broker a truce. Alexis says, at least for now. Those two have always been a little scratchy with each other on occasion, and she’s not sure this will be the last one, but Diane knows how sisters are.

Molly says she took a look at the contract, and put some notes on Post-Its, but she’s going to email Kristina more details. Kristina thanks her so much. She’s been doing some research online, but it’s so nice to have an actual attorney double-check everything. Molly says she’s happy to help. What are sisters for?

TJ says he’ll call Molly. If Andrea has an update about the baby, she should be part of this. Andrea says she’s so sorry. She lost the baby. She woke up from a sound sleep last night with cramping. It was so sudden, she knew something was wrong, but she didn’t even have time to get to the ER. He asks if she’s sure. Maybe it was just bad cramps. She says she was bleeding heavily. She went to the nearest hospital this morning. The doctor did bloodwork and an ultrasound, and they confirmed it. She miscarried. She lost the baby.

Marshall asks if it’s helping, but Curtis doesn’t know if he can answer that accurately because meditation is still so new to him. But from everything he’s read, they call it a practice for a reason because you really have to commit to it. And you have to stay consistent, and you have to calm your mind so you can let things go. Marshall tells him, easier said than done, and Curtis says he’s struggling to quiet his mind. He has to stop making everything so important, the day-to-day stuff he thought mattered. It’s counterintuitive for him because he’s a man who makes goals and achieves them, but with meditation he’s learned the more you push, the further away you are from achieving your inner silence or detachment. Marshall says, but he’s sticking with it, because it must be helping him somehow or he thinks it will. Curtis says, there are times he thinks he’s got it. He feels a sense of focus and calmness where he feels tied in. Marshall says, it sounds like the way he feels when he’s playing with his band and gets to improvise a solo on his clarinet. Diddlee-de-bop, shu-bop shebang. Right? You’re not focusing, you’re feeling. Curtis tells him, that’s it exactly. But he must say… don’t worry. He’s not going to ask Marshall to join meditation with him. He wouldn’t do that to Marshall. Marshall says he’s been meditating for years. Yeah, I tried and failed with that. Emptying my mind is not an option.

Cyrus says he thought Austin would be interested to know that his cousin Mason will be making a plea deal soon. Austin says, Mason already told him. He’s going to tell the cops it was Austin’s idea to kidnap Ava. Cyrus says, oh ye of little faith. His plan is to admit to being the only person responsible for the kidnapping of Ava Jerome. Of course (🍷) he intends to claim he had no intention of killing her. Austin says, he had every intention of killing Ava, and Cyrus says, still, Mason’s attorney firmly believes that he’ll be sentenced to no more than twenty years, with the possibility of parole after ten. Austin says, ten years is a long time. He thinks it would be a lot easier for Mason to turn him in, doesn’t Cyrus think? but Cyrus says he guesses his faith in God gives him more belief in people, because Mason has sworn to him that he won’t mention Austin’s name, and he trusts him. Which means Austin will be in the clear. Austin says, good, because Detective Falconari’s been asking a lot of questions, and he needs Cyrus to get Dante off his back. This is great. Thanks for the update. He starts to leave, but Cyrus asks if he said they were done.

Lucy pushes Scotty toward Haven, and he says he’s a big fan. Maybe he can get an autograph later, but they need to talk about that dirty trick she played on Sasha Gilmore, trying to get her to have a meltdown on her show to goose up those ratings. They can’t let that happen again. No kids untethered, no babies yelling, none of that stuff. Otherwise, he will slap a lawsuit on her that will make her head spin. Does she understand that? Haven says, oh yes. But she has to tell him that she can’t be held responsible for the bad behavior of a previous producer who went rogue on her. He says, but producers take their cue from the fifth floor, which is her, and she says, that producer is gone. They worked alone and they’ve since been fired. Right, Julie? Julie (who was there) says, yes, Miss DeHavilland, and Haven thanks her. Lucy makes hand gestures at Scotty, and he says, so anyway, no funny business. Otherwise, he’ll have to slap a lawsuit on her, and he’ll argue emotional damage. Lucy says, and by the way, Mr. Baldwin here is known throughout courthouses everywhere for being king of punitive damages. Haven says, what happened when Sasha was here for her last appearance was a minor glitch, which they’re obviously trying to grossly exaggerate. But it is a glitch that won’t be repeated. Of course (🍷) this is all a moot point if their spokesmodel doesn’t show up. Lucy asks Maxie to please let Sasha know they’re ready for her, but Maxie is transfixed by her phone. Lucy asks again, and Maxie says, right. Just one second. She sends a text, and Lucy asks, what’s wrong with her? Maxie says, just a minor hiccup. She’s handling it.

Curtis asks how he’s just learning about this now. How come Marshall never told him that he meditates? Marshall says he guesses it just never came up, and Curtis asks how he started meditating. Marshall says, a fellow musician told him it’s a great way to promote focus and creativity, so he tried it. He really hoped it would help keep him grounded; hold off another schizophrenic episode. Of course (🍷) now he knows he was misdiagnosed. He was never at risk for schizophrenia, but all that being said, he can’t tell Curtis how grateful he is for what meditation has brought into his life. So much in life is just clutter. Thinking things are important when they really aren’t. So he found it can be great to be in the moment. Bizzy-be-bop-boop, all of that. In the moment can be okay, but so can just stepping back and listening to the quiet. Curtis asks why Marshall never recommended it before, and Marshall says he figured after Curtis was shot… after he was injured, he was being inundated with advice from all sides. Marshall didn’t think Curtis needed another voice from him thrown into the mix. And besides, he’d always hoped Curtis would find meditation on his own, and he’s so glad Curtis did.

Diane’s scissors cut Alexis’s paper, and Alexis says, all right. Diane goes first. What was so grueling that she had to spike her Arnold Palmer? Diane says, grueling isn’t the right word; it’s a little overdramatic. It’s not about work. It’s personal. Alexis says, it’s about DA Scorpio, is it? What’s the problem? Diane says, it just seems like every time she and Robert are cruising down the highway, a blast from his past comes to run them off the road.

TJ says he’s sure Andrea didn’t do anything wrong. There could be a number of causes for the miscarriage. Did she tell Molly yet? Andrea says, no. She just couldn’t. TJ says, that’s okay. He should probably be the one to tell her. Just concentrate on healing. She’s been through a traumatic experience. He’s so sorry. Talk to her OB/GYN. They’ll wait for her to fully recover before they try again. Andrea says she’s sorry. She can’t. She can’t go through this again.

Kristina says, once this round of paperwork has been filed, renovations can actually begin, and Molly says, that’s great. Does she have a target date for the center to open? Kristina says, if everything stays on schedule, June of 2024. That’s what she’s pushing for. Molly says, by June, she and TJ will be able to bring their baby to her dedication ceremony.

Maxie says, here is their spokesmodel, and Sasha comes out, saying hi to everyone. Haven says, it’s so good to have her back at the Home & Heart studio again, and Sasha says, just so they’re clear, she’s here to promote Deception’s product. She’s not here to have her past exploited. Haven says, they’ve been all over that, and she can assure Sasha there will be no glitches or technical difficulties today. Sasha says she sure hopes not. And while Lucy and Scotty are representing the company, she speaks on her own behalf, and she promises she’ll be professional as long as Haven does the same. Otherwise, she will walk off the set.

On the phone backstage, Maxie says, do you ever answer your phone? She’s been sending text messages for hours… Never mind. She doesn’t care. Listen to what she’s about to tell them. These instructions are very important.

Cyrus says, it is only because of his goodwill that Austin is free, but Austin says he had nothing to do with Ava’s kidnapping and Cyrus knows it. He’s the victim here, and Cyrus knows that too. Cyrus knows it, and he can only hope to God that Mason knows it. Cyrus asks if Austin really sees himself as a victim, and Austin says, Mason grabbed Ava and Cyrus forced him to testify on his behalf to get his early release from Pentenville, and he did that. The only reason he did that was to save Ava. Cyrus says, Austin really disappoints him. After everything he’s done for Austin, he expected more gratitude. Cyrus walks away from Austin.

Finished with makeup, Haven says, let her walk Sasha through the show, and they go to the set. Scotty tosses an apple in the air, and Lucy grabs it. He says he hopes there are some shenanigans, because this lawsuit would file itself. This is what we call easy money. She shushes him, and says, bite his tongue. For Sasha’s sake and the sake of Deception, they have to hope this whole relaunch of The Deceptor goes off without a hitch.

Cody comes to the studio and asks Maxie, what’s the big emergency? He was just in the middle of having a horse shod. She says, a horse what? and he says, shod. Fitting a horse for shoes. How does she, of all people, not know what that means? She tells him, focus. They’re in the middle of relaunching The Deceptor. He asks if she means that funky wand thing you wave in your face, and she just looks at him.

Haven asks if Sasha is ready, but Maxie says, not yet, bringing Cody onto the set. She says, Sasha will be relaunching The Deceptor with the new male Face of Deception. Haven and Sasha both say, what?

Alexis asks if Holly Sutton is back in town, but Diane says, not Holly. Another one of Robert’s exes, Anna Devane. Alexis asks if Diane read the article in The Invader, and Diane says she did. She knows all about the shooting of a 15-year-old girl. Even though there were no names mentioned, she knows Anna Devane shot Charlotte Cassadine. Of course (🍷) all her concern and sympathy is with Charlotte. How is she doing by the way? Alexis says, from what she understands, Charlotte is on track to make a full recovery, and Diane says, excellent. She has tremendous compassion also for Anna. She thought she was shooting an intruder in her home, and the intruder turns out to be a 15-year-old girl. She can’t even imagine what Anna is going through. So she absolutely understands why Robert wants to support her during this very difficult time. Alexis says, but once again, Robert is focused on some woman from his past and not Diane, and that hurts her feelings.

Kristina tells Molly, June of 2024 is less than a year away. She’ll be running her center and Molly will have a baby. Those are huge life changes. Molly says she knows, and honestly, she can’t wait. Can she tell Kristina a secret? She’s even started thinking about leaving her job at the DA’s office. Kristina says, wait, she loves her job, and Molly says she knows, but it’s so demanding. It just makes sense. She can’t be working an 80-hour week with a newborn. She’ll need to find a less demanding job to spend time with the baby. Kristina says, those are words she never thought she’d hear coming out of Molly’s mouth.

Curtis asks if Marshall has ever received an answer from his meditation, clarity on something he’s struggling with? Marshall says, as a matter of fact, he has. Curtis says, do tell, and Marshall says, all the years he was away from the family, he never stopped missing them. So one day when he was meditating, this certain image dropped into his head. It was Curtis and his brother Tommy, playing in that park across the street from the old house. He knows just his brain went there, but it was clear. It was so clear, he could feel the sun shining on him. He could smell the grass. And Curtis and his brother – he tears up – were laughing and having a good old time. He knew at that moment he’d seen his family again, and that’s what brought him back to Port Charles. That’s what brought him back to Curtis, and Stella, and TJ, and now Trina. Curtis says he doesn’t know whether to thank meditation for giving Marshall that memory or thank Marshall for having the courage to come back to his family. But either way, he’s so glad Marshall is back.

TJ knocks at Portia’s office door and asks if she has a minute. She asks if everything is all right, but he says, no, everything is not all right. She tells him, have a seat, and they sit down. She asks, what’s going on? and he says, Andrea… She says, their surrogate, and he says, she miscarried. Portia says, no, and he says, she told him it happened last night. She started cramping and was bleeding. She went to Mercy, and they told her that she lost their baby. She lost his and Molly’s baby. Andrea was so upset, she said she couldn’t face Molly, and now it’s on him to tell her, but he doesn’t know how to do that. Molly was so upset when she found out she couldn’t carry a child herself, and when they found Andrea, they had so much hope. With tears in his voice, he asks her to tell him how he’s supposed to tell Molly. How is he supposed to tell her their child is gone?

Haven says, he is the male Face of Deception? and laughs. Absolutely not. This guy threatened to drop trou and streak on a live broadcast. Maxie says, first of all, Cody didn’t actually streak on her show; and second, isn’t The Deceptor the most popular product Home & Heart ever carried? Haven says, Maxie would have to verify that with her sales department, but Maxie says she already has. She can show Haven a copy of her sales report any time she wants. The reality is, The Deceptor has been unavailable for months, and now that it’s back, people are clamoring to get it. So Haven can either do her broadcast the way she and Lucy want, or they’re taking their bestselling product to another shopping channel.

On the air, Sasha says, in the past, The Deceptor has been marketed specifically as a product for women, but we did more thorough research and it turns out that men are just as interested in a product that will freshen up their face. Haven says, so all you men out there watching, this segment is for you, and Sasha says, yes. And she’s going to demonstrate on her good friend and former stuntman Cody Bell. She asks Cody to tell them about some of the stunts he’s done in his career, and he says he’d be happy to. He’s crashed cars, he’s jumped out of airplanes, he’s crashed motorcycles. Basically, if there was anything to break, he’s done it. Sasha says, wow. It sounds like his body really takes a beating. She bets his skin does too, and that’s where The Deceptor comes in. Because even for men who have never used a moisturizer a single day in their lives, this product will help smooth out your skin and get rid of all those fine little lines. Cody says, well, if The Deceptor can help with this beat up mug, it truly is a miracle worker. Sasha suggests they put it to the test, and Cody says, let’s do it. He sits down, and Sasha uses the red-light wand on him.

Cyrus says he guesses it’s time for them to take a trip down Memory Lane, but Austin says, that’s not necessary. Cyrus says, Austin seems to have forgotten he paid for him to go to medical school – Austin says, no – and how he continued to support Austin during his residency. Austin says he hasn’t forgotten, and Cyrus says he’s invested in Austin, and now he expects a return on that investment. Austin says, as long as they’re remembering things, this is how he remembers it. He’s spent years paying Cyrus back, doing him favors. The way he remembers it, when he lied for Cyrus at his parole hearing, Cyrus told him that he was free. Cyrus says, and so he is. Free to live his life. Free to practice medicine. Unless and until he needs Austin’s services.

TJ tells Portia, in the beginning, he had misgivings about the whole surrogacy situation. It’s a lot to process, and he felt like they rushed into the whole thing. They found out Molly couldn’t carry a child and jumped on the first solution. Then Andrea got pregnant, and that baby felt so real to him. All of his misgivings went away, all of them. He was so invested in his child. He imagined himself just holding his baby. Portia says she knows that Molly imagined the same thing, so she’s going to be just as devastated as he is. And he’s got to be the one she hears it from. She knows how difficult this thing is, but she knows he and Molly can get through it because they have each other. Take it from her. Don’t let this loss build a wall between him and Molly.

Molly tells Kristina that she knows she’s always been laser focused on her career. For as long as she can remember, she knew she wanted to be a lawyer. Kristina says, because mom was a lawyer, and Molly says, that was the original inspiration. As she got older, the more she learned, the more the law challenged her. It inspired her. But now with Andrea pregnant with their baby, things are different. It’s all about trade-offs. If she were to give herself fully to the law, she’d be neglecting TJ and the baby. She’s not willing to do that. Kristina asks what she’s going to do.

Diane tells Alexis that she hears herself saying all of this, and realizes it’s an ironic conundrum. Alexis asks how she means, and Diane says, if Robert Scorpio were the kind of man who could distance himself from the kind of troubles Anna Devane is going through – even though admittedly, the shooting is her problem to solve – then he wouldn’t be the kind of man Diane is attracted to. It’s precisely because he’s so loyal and principled and ridiculously stubborn that she finds him so compelling.

Portia comes home and gives Curtis a kiss. She asks, how was his day? and he says he just had the most enlightening and interesting conversation with his dad. As it turns out, they’re both into meditation. Portia says, really? She guesses that does fit in to Marshall’s laid-back personality, but is Curtis finding it helpful? He says he is, very much. When he starts thinking negative thoughts, it helps him stay calm and centered. She says she’s glad to hear that, and sits down. He asks if everything is okay, and she says she got some news today. He says, judging from her expression, it must not have been good news, and she says, sometimes when something bad happens, it makes you think of all the good things that are going on in your life. He asks if something happened with one of her patients, but she says, no. She just wanted to thank him for their daughter. They made that beautiful little girl together and they’re so lucky. She’s just grateful for every day they’ve spent with her.

Molly tells Kristina that she never realized how much she wanted children until she was told she wasn’t physically able to have them. It just put everything in perspective. So when Andrea told them she was pregnant, she knew her daughter or son would become her first priority and work would have to come second. Kristina says, Molly’s son or daughter is going to be the luckiest to have her as a mom, and Molly thanks her. She says, but the baby’s not coming for months, and she has to turn in a motion by Friday, so she’d better take off. They both gather up their stuff and leave.

Alexis asks what Diane is going to do about all this. Alexis knows her. When she identifies a problem, she always finds a solution. Diane says she’s doing it. She’s sitting here working it out with her best friend. Yes, what’s happening to Anna is very serious. So of course (🍷) she’s going to be understanding that Robert wants to be there for her. She also has to remember a lot has happened. Things have changed since she and Robert had their blow-up last summer. Alexis asks, how so? and Diane says, Holly and Anna are in the past and she knows Robert is making her a priority. So that of course (🍷) gives them tremendous potential for the future. It’s difficult what’s going on with Anna, but it is just a detour on the highway of love, and it is not a dead end. Alexis says she’s going to have to stop Diane right here. What is with all the driving metaphors?

Haven asks how Cody’s face feels, and he says, it actually feels great. But he’s not so sure he could do this at home by himself. Sasha makes it look so easy. Sasha promises him, anyone can do this, because The Deceptor is doing all the work. And she has to say, it’s really making his skin look fresh. Lucy says, Cody and Sasha together are golden. You can’t force that kind of chemistry. People want to feel that it’s real, and when it happens, that’s money. Deception is going to make so much money.

Austin says he doesn’t understand. He thought Cyrus was a reformed man. He thought Cyrus was a man of God. Cyrus says, that, he is, and Austin says, then why not live up to his end of the bargain, because they had a deal. He did what Cyrus said. He did what Cyrus told him to do. Cyrus said he needed someone to testify on his behalf at his parole hearing to tell the judge he wasn’t a risk, that he couldn’t possibly hurt anyone. And that’s what he did. He lied to a judge under oath, and he did that so Cyrus could walk around a free man. Here Cyrus is. And he doesn’t know what Cyrus wants from him. Cyrus shrugs and says, life is full of unexpected consequences. One never knows when one may need the services of a doctor, and how fortunate for him to have Austin in his corner. Austin says, Cyrus doesn’t own him. He’s going to pay Cyrus back every penny he laid out for him to go to med school. Cyrus says he doesn’t want Austin’s money, and Austin asks, what does Cyrus want from him? Cyrus says he gave Austin the very life he’s living. He wants Austin’s gratitude and his loyalty. And if he can’t supply those, he can deal with his cousin Mason by himself. Be very careful. It’s only his intervention that’s preventing Mason from naming Austin as the mastermind behind Ava Jerome’s kidnapping. Austin tells him that he already said that, and Cyrus says, as well as a number of other crimes that happened around the hospital last summer. Like the death of Gordon Stevens. Austin says he didn’t kill Gordon Stevens, but Cyrus says he doesn’t know. The police might come into possession of some evidence that indicates otherwise. That all depends on Austin and whether or not he fully understands the concept of gratitude. Austin says, okay. He’ll do it. Cyrus says, he’ll do what? and Austin says, whatever it is Cyrus wants him to do, he’ll do it. Cyrus says, that is so generous of him, thanks him, and goes down the stairs.

Curtis says, despite all the obstacles he and Portia made for each other and the years apart, they came back together as a family. She says she couldn’t agree more, and he asks if she wants to tell him what prompted this philosophical discussion. She says she just had a shift in perspective, and she realizes how different… no. She’s realized how empty her life would be if she didn’t have Trina in it. But they did, and for that she’s just so grateful. He says, that makes two of them, and she kisses him, snuggling in his arms.

Diane signs for the check, and Alexis thanks her for dinner. Diane thanks Alexis for lending a sympathetic ear, and Alexis says, Diane has listened to her a gazillion times. That’s what besties do. Diane says she knows, but it’s been a while since she’s had a romantic problem to solve. Alexis asks if she now has an answer, and Diane says she does, and thanks Alexis. Her phone rings, and she says, speak of the devil. Alexis says, take it because she’s got to get back to work. She leaves, and Diane asks if Robert’s ears were on fire. She was just talking about him.

Alexis heads for the elevator, but when she sees the server clearing Molly and Kristina’s table, she says, excuse me. Her daughters were having lunch here and one of them left a tablet. She’d be happy to return it. The server gives it to her and she leaves.

Molly’s phone rings while she’s working in her office, and she says, TJ. Bad news. He says, what’s wrong? and she says she met up with Kristina earlier at the MetroCourt to give her some advice on a contract, so she thinks she’s going to have to stay a little late at the office tonight. She guesses she won’t be able to do that next year when the baby’s here. He says, they need to talk right away, but she says she’s only talking about working another hour or two. He says, please. It’s important. He needs her to meet him at home.

Lucy says she thinks the shoot went really well. Didn’t Haven? Haven says, that’s putting it mildly. She’s never seen a product sell out so fast. Scotty says, that’s because Lucy does know what she’s doing, and Lucy thanks him. Haven says, yes, and they’re very eager to have Cody and Sasha come back and make another appearance. Lucy asks if she’s actually admitting she was wrong about them, and Haven says, honey, the numbers don’t lie. The audience really seemed to love them. They can’t wait to have them back. Lucy says, oh honey, I just don’t know. I’ll have to check my calendar and I will get back to you.

Julie tells Cody that he did great, and he thanks her. She says she thinks he even impressed Haven, and that’s nearly impossible to do. He laughs.

Maxie tells Sasha, that was so fantastic. It was the best sales pitch she’s ever seen. She and Cody were so natural together. They were dynamite. Cody listens in, and Sasha thanks Maxie, but says she can’t do this. Maxie says, do what exactly? and Sasha says she can’t work with Cody anymore. Maxie says, why not? and Sasha says, isn’t it obvious? She has feelings for him. Cody almost smiles and looks confused.

Tomorrow, Anna tells Sonny that she thinks Valentin keeping silent just destroyed them; Dante says, Sam might be on to something; Adam says, Josslyn helped him a lot in ways she doesn’t even know; and Ava wants to know why someone didn’t tell her.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Dorit calls PK and shows him the pool. She says she and Kyle are having lunch, and she shows him his dream TV screen. She tells him about the Magic Mike debacle and says Sutton had an overreaction. In Dorit’s interview, she says, Magic Mike is a huge show. To have a friend cause a scene there is mortifying. She asks how dinner with Mauricio was, and PK says, they had a great dinner. We see a clip of that, and PK saying that nobody who’s married doesn’t go through sh*t. Mauricio says he has no interest in fighting. As far as he’s concerned, his wife is always right. PK tells Dorit that they enjoyed catching up. Kyle calls Mauricio and says she heard he had dinner with PK. How was it? Mauricio says, they had a good time, and she asks him to give her the girl version. He says, PK was talking about what’s going on with him and Dorit. The year’s been kind of hard. Sutton and Garcelle leave for lunch, and so do Erika and Crystal. Erika tells Crystal to do what she wants. They’re in Vegas and the rules don’t really apply. They go to a restaurant, and Crystal says, everyone was having a good time last night except for Sutton. Erika says she kept looking over and certain people were gone, and Crystal says, the way Sutton’s personality is, she goes off the deep end, and it’s hard to come back. Erika says she’s worked hard to be in a place of peace (I choke on my coffee) and nothing is going to disturb that. Garcelle says she has a surprise for Sutton and takes her to an indoor gondola. Luka is their gondolier, and he chitchats a little about their trip to Vegas. He concentrates on rowing, and Garcelle says, what she needed to tell the women wasn’t received the way she was hoping. We flash back to Garcelle telling them she didn’t feel safe talking about her family, and she and Sutton start to discuss it, but Luka suddenly starts singing in Italian – loudly. Kyle and Dorit go to lunch, and Dorit says she didn’t sleep. Then on top of it, there was the conversation with Garcelle. She has to be able to be honest, but Dorit feels, like wow. Kyle orders something non-alcoholic, and Dorit wonders if Kyle not drinking is linked to her recovering from the trauma of falling out with her sister (i.e. Kathy), but Kyle says she needed to be clear about everything. Dorit says, Kyle doesn’t have to justify her choices, and in Dorit’s interview, she says she thinks Kyle’s choice not to drink has allowed her to have more control over everything. In Sutton’s interview, she says, it seems to her like a midlife crisis, and in Garcelle’s interview, she says she thought Kyle was just taking a break. She misses the old Kyle. Not the splits, just Kyle. Dorit tells Kyle that she misses the silly things, but Kyle says she felt like she needed to drink to fit in, but doesn’t feel that way anymore. This is who she is, take it or leave it. Crystal asks if Erika misses her old life, and Erika says, parts of it. Like Christmastime; the warmth of the house, the lights, the trees, having fun. She doesn’t miss the fighting, the arguing, and the pressure. I’ll bet she doesn’t miss sleeping with him either. In Erika’s interview, she says, in the end, they fought about everything. We flash back to Tom telling her to shut up when he was telling LVP a story at dinner. Erika says, there was nothing harmonious and they were living separate lives. That’s when you know the marriage is over. She tells Crystal that she’s going through this shift inside, and she’s starting to have the feeling of normalcy again. Crystal asks if she’d go back to that life, but she says, no. I believe it if you do. Dorit tells Kyle that it wasn’t a good year for her own marriage, but Mauricio said the same thing to PK about them. Kyle says she expected more from Mauricio. He has a lot of business events she’s supposed to go to, and she doesn’t want to. In Kyle’s interview, she says, Mauricio is in sales, and a big part of that is being social. She’s in a place where she doesn’t want to do that. She’d rather be home reading, especially since she doesn’t drink anymore. Dorit asks if she ever worries about the future.

Dorit asks how you can sustain a marriage, and in Dorit’s interview, she says she thinks Kyle isn’t happy. She’s working on herself inside, and it feels like Mauricio is focused on work. In that aspect, they’re kind of growing in different directions. Kyle tells Dorit that she likes doing the things she likes to do, and in Kyle’s interview, she says she doesn’t want to wake up one day and wonder, who is he and what are they supposed to talk now? Dorit says, it’s work; it’s a struggle. Garcelle and Sutton get their makeup done before meeting Oliver for lunch. In Garcelle’s interview, she says, Oliver was shown kissing Raquel, and we flash back to that. At the restaurant, Oliver says, unfortunately, he was being painted in a different light than he really is, but he doesn’t feel the need to explain himself to anybody. He’s good.

The women are going to Gilley’s after dinner, and in Sutton’s interview, she says she loves a honkytonk bar and line dancing. She loves country music and loves a good bull ride. Kyle shows Dorit her $6K cowboy hat from Kemo Sabe. She tells Dorit those are real diamonds adorning it, and Dorit says, no wonder it’s her favorite. The women go to dinner, and there are napkins embroidered with their names at each place setting. In Kyle’s interview, she says, everyone wants her to do the splits or do a helicopter with her ponytail. She’s fun no matter what. I’m on Kyle’s side for this one. Is she supposed to be getting drunk and doing the splits at 70? Garcelle and Dorit wonders how long Kyle’s dry phase is going to last. Garcelle says she has a game. No surprise, it involves questions on cards. Crystal gets the first one, and says, is monogamy natural for humans? Erika goes on and on about how female animals seek out a protector and provider who’s moving up in the pack. Female lionesses seek out strong, young males. In Dorit’s interview, she says, Erika married the oldest lion in the pack. BA-DUM-CHH! Garcelle says she has a question for the married ladies. If there’s infidelity one time, is it enough to let it go? I’m not sure if she means let the discretion go or the guy.

In Kyle’s interview, she says she and Mauricio have dealt with rumors for years that someone cheated. We flash back to the dinner party from hell and LVP telling her that there are rumors. She asks if she looks like a person who would say, just don’t let her find out. No, she’s not. Erika asks how Garcelle feels about that, and Garcelle says she thought she’d met the man of her dreams, and he was her last stop. In Garcelle’s interview, she says, it’s been some time now, but she’d found out her husband had been cheating on her for five years with a chick in Chicago. So she sent an email to his friends her friends. It was not a good day in the household. Dorit says she’d go Lorena Bobbitt. Food porn! is brought out, and Dorit reads another card. She asks, at what point does money stop making people happy, and have you reached it? Erika and Sutton both say, no, and Dorit says she knows billionaires, and she wouldn’t trade places with them. Sutton says she wouldn’t mind it, and Dorit asks, when does it stop making you happier? Erika says, when you don’t fear the next bill. She’s not ashamed to downsize, but it makes her nervous. She doesn’t want to look at the bills. She’s anxious around money. In Erika’s interview, she says, being married to Tom was great because she didn’t sweat that stuff. Cut to now. She’s not doing sh*t except building her life back. What comes in goes out. Welcome to the way most of us live. Although one thing she said I agree with. When you stop worry about the money problems, you focus on your real problems, and that can make you unhappy. Erika says she misses not being able to buy whatever she wants, but when she buys something now, she knows she earned it. But it’s frightening to be out on her own with no safety net. Again, welcome to the real world. In her interview, she says, it’s soul crushing, and I play the world’s smallest violin. She thinks, how the hell is she going to get out of this and how can she get above water? She tells the women that she did get out of a sh*t marriage, so there’s freedom. When she was accused along with Tom, it was ugly. People wanted things to be true. Now she’s regained a sense of who she is, and it’s not what they said. If she gets into thinking about it too much, it becomes overwhelming, and she goes down the rabbit hole. A server in a sparkly outfit comes over with a cake, and Erika asks Crystal, is it her birthday again? In Crystal’s interview, she says her birthday weekend was incredible. Garcelle and Sutton crushed the trip. She could do this every night.

At Gilley’s, Sutton says, abort bull mission, as soon as she sees the mechanical bull. Kyle says she’ll go, and bull operator Robert literally picks her up and puts her on the bull. She asks him to make her look good. It does some bucking, but it’s not all that fast, and more like one of those vibrating beds you find in motel rooms. I’ve never ridden a real bull, but I don’t think they vibrate like that. Sutton tells Robert to be nice to her. She’s not going over his shoulder. Go slow. He says he’s got her, and she’s on for 14 seconds before the ride is over. I missed Kyle’s time. In Erika’s interview, she says, if Sutton’s bull riding is anything like her d*ck riding, no wonder she doesn’t get a second date. She laughs like a Disney villain, and I wonder why she has to be such a mean girl at her age.

They get ready leave and as luck would have it, the elevator stops and Mikey is there, along with Erika’s old dancing partner Davis. Erika makes a big show of it, and announces, it’s Sutton’s chance to apologize. Apologize to her friend for saying the show was over the top and sh*tty. 😒Sutton says, don’t put words in her mouth. She said the dancers were amazing. It was just the one spread eagle thing. Davis encourages her to come again and see the whole thing because it’s more artful, blah-blah-blah. Davis and Mikey finally leave, and Sutton tells Erika that she never said the show was sh*tty. Erika says – wait for it – it doesn’t matter. Sutton tells her not to lie. Yes, Erika, she’s calling you a liar because you lied. In Erika’s interview, she says, her promise for Lent is still in effect, and we flash back to Erika saying, as a good Catholic <cough-cough>, she’s given up fighting with them for Lent. She tells us, God gave her a path to Sutton. After Sutton treated her like sh*t, God said, there’s your moment. She thanks God and says she’s taking it. Um… I don’t think that’s how God works. What an a-hole she is.

They go to the bus, and Garcelle says, the fact that the doors opened, and there they were, she can’t. Me neither. Dorit asks if Sutton is okay, and Sutton says, Erika deliberately embarrassing her was mean. Erika says, they were having a great time at Magic Mike (a name I’m hoping never to hear again after this, but I know I will) and she heard Sutton wasn’t. We flash back to that, and Sutton says, just because she didn’t stay, doesn’t mean they couldn’t. They’re the ones who turned it into a big deal. We flash back to her talking to Kyle and Garcelle, and Kyle calling her a bitch. There’s barely a soul around, so I’m even wondering how they could call this a scene. Erika says, Sutton took it to the point of getting heated in the lobby (after Kyle acted like someone who had a clue, but didn’t, then called her a bitch), and Sutton says, Erika has been heated so many times. Dorit says, if Sutton could do it over again, would she do it different? and Sutton says she can’t answer that. Kyle says, she seemed unhinged, and I honestly don’t get how they don’t see they’re the ones making a big deal out of something that really wasn’t. Sutton says, don’t call her unhinged, and Kyle says she had an over-the-top reaction. Sutton says she’s not talking about this ad nauseum, and Erika asks if she feels backed into a corner. She literally is, and Sutton asks if she means again. She’s sorry she ruined it and feels terribly for the dancers. Seriously, WTF? It’s not like she actually did create a scene. I’ve seen a scene, and that wasn’t it. And as for feeling bad for the dancers, if four audience members were crucial to their show, it’s not as great as everyone is saying. Sutton gets teary, and Dorit tries to sympathize. Garcelle says she wishes Dorit had gone after Sutton. She feels like it’s always her. Dorit says, Garcelle should have told Sutton that she was overreacting, and Garcelle says, Dorit wasn’t there. Dorit doesn’t know what she said, and she did say that. Acting like Garcelle is Sutton’s mom, Dorit asks why Garcelle couldn’t take Sutton from a 10 to a 2, and Garcelle says she’s not Sutton’s therapist. Sutton (who’s still there – hello?) says she’s not apologizing again. She’s sorry she was unhinged and uncomfortable, and she’s done with this conversation. Dorit asks if she feels like she’s said everything, and Sutton tells her, sometimes silence is golden. We hear crickets, and I say, how about those Mets?

Back in Los Angeles, Garcelle meets Erika for lunch, and says she’s tired from Vegas. She had a roommate. We flash back to Sutton keeping her up, and Erika says, Kyle and Dorit slept in the same bed. She’s too old for that. And Kyle said, Dorit talks in her sleep. Garcelle says she likes Dorit, but thinks they don’t understand each other. Dorit talks a lot, but doesn’t listen. Erika says she’s learned to speak Dorit. She zones out, then comes back. Garcelle says, the biggest problem she thinks she had was when she shared her feelings, and Dorit got defensive. We flash back to Dorit sternly telling Garcelle, it’s been almost a year, and Erika says she thinks they’ll come around. In Garcelle’s interview, she says, it’s shocking for her to be at lunch with Erika. She didn’t think they’d get to place where they could do a one-on-one. Erika seems to be more open and less guarded. She thinks she’s seeing a new Erika. I’m not. Garcelle says she does have a bone to pick with Erika after Vegas. She thought Erika was going to go after Sutton, but then when she did later… Erika says, they were going to Magic Mike (♫ la-la-la ♫), and Sutton had a stack of singles. Then it flipped. It’s not okay. Don’t drag everyone in. Sutton was hijacking the moment. They were having a good time, and then they were worried about her. Oh come on. I can see one person checking on her, but they all didn’t have to get on the bandwagon, and they didn’t. Erika and Crystal even stayed afterward to talk to the dancers. In her interview, Garcelle says she doesn’t know why she feels she has to defend Sutton. (Maybe because someone has to?) Maybe she should let Sutton fight her own battles. Erika says, let’s not clutch the pearls too hard.

Kyle visits Sutton, wearing the Hunter boots Sutton gifted everyone with. Avi waits on them, serving them tea, and Kyle asks how Sutton is feeling after Vegas. Sutton says, it wasn’t her favorite departure. Erika specifically and intentionally embarrassed her. Cue the elevator door. What the hell? Kyle tries to interrupt, but Sutton says she’s not done. Kyle snarks, let her know when she’s done, and in Sutton’s interview, she says she and Kyle made a promise to have each other’s backs. We flash to Sutton saying Kyle needs to have her back more, and Kyle says, they’ll do better moving forward. Sutton says she had a revelation. Kyle is not her friend, does not have her back, and never will. Sutton tells Kyle to defend her friend, and Kyle says she is Sutton’s friend. That’s why she’s sitting here gracing Sutton with her presence. Just because she sees another perspective, that doesn’t mean she’s not Sutton’s friend. Sutton says she came into the conversation when she hadn’t heard the story. Kyle says, Sutton told her that she had a habit of inserting herself. Sutton has a habit of losing her sh*t in ridiculous circumstances. Sutton says, name ‘em, and every time Kyle tries to go down a tributary, Sutton says it again. Kyle yells at Sutton to let her talk.

Sutton says, name ‘em, and Kyle asks if she’s okay. Stop doing that. She’s being incredibly rude. Sutton asks, how? and Kyle says, if she doesn’t see it… Which is what people say when they can’t answer the question. Sutton says she doesn’t understand rude, and Kyle asks if she wants a dictionary. Sutton says, name ‘em, and Kyle says, be quiet and she will. There were the ugly leather pants – we flash back to that – there was Lake Tahoe – we flash back to Sutton using her face roller because it calms her – and at the show in Vegas. Kyle says, Sutton didn’t seem okay in Vegas and doesn’t seem okay now. Funny thing is, Kyle looks insane as she’s saying this.  

To be continued…

🧂Too Much Salt…

Best line from Heather’s interview: Mary’s decor is exactly like Mary’s personality. You never quite know what you’re gonna get. Green carpet, Chanel pillows, Dr. Seuss chairs from Whoville.

House Of Mess…

Every time I think it can’t get more awful, it does.

🥧 Eyes On The Pies…

Join me tomorrow for soap and dubious Charm. Until then, stay safe, stay bringing a hostess gift even if they say the old just bring yourself, and stay thinking of all the good things going on in your life when something bad happens.

November 14, 2023 – Charlotte Wants Anna Arrested, Deep Dive, Going Country, Salty Talk, Winter Mess, Vegas Fail, Kyle’s Rant, Way To Go, Random Pups (!), Don’t Bother & Who Says

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Finn and Elizabeth get in the elevator, and he asks, what’s with all the paperwork? She says, the hospital is facing budget adjustments, and she has to get it in by the end of the year. He says, budget adjustments such as staff cuts and supply shortages? and she says, hopefully, it’s not as bad as last year, but they’ll get through it. He says, they always do. When they come out, Portia says she needs to speak with Finn, calling him. Dr. Finn. He says, that’s very formal, and she says, actually she and Dr. Randolph need to meet with him. He says, of course (🍷), and she says, Dr. Randolph is waiting in her office. She leaves and he follows her.

Carly comes to the penthouse and Sonny asks if everything is okay. She says, you tell me, and he says, everything is okay with him. She says, really? Then why is Nina offering to sell her back her half of the MetroCourt? He says he doesn’t know. It’s the first he’s hearing about it.

Valentin thanks Nina for coming over and says, Laura will be here any minute. Nina asks if something happened with Charlotte, and he says, she’s recovering. She seems to think Anna shot her intentionally. Nina says, no. Charlotte told him that? He says, no. She told Laura that last night. Nina wonders why Charlotte would think that, but he says he doesn’t know. He didn’t get much of a chance to talk to Laura before she was called away on official business. When Charlotte was removed from ICU, the nurses convinced him to go home and get some sleep. He’s going back to the hospital as soon as Laura tells them what happened. There’s a knock at the door, and Valentin opens it to Laura. She says she wasn’t expecting Nina to be here.

Spencer walks into Alexis’s office and finds Esme there. She says, his Aunt Alexis isn’t here, but he says he came here to see her.

Trina walks into the gallery, and Ava says she thought Trina had classes today. Trina says, she did, but she came straight from her last one. Ava says, she’s not on the schedule, and Trina says she just didn’t want to go back to the dorms. Ava asks if everything is okay, but Trina says, no. She got into a big fight with Spencer yesterday. Ava says she’s sorry. It seems like a pretty serious fight. Trina says, it was. He gave her an old tomato ultimatum. Ava asks what she did, and Trina says she got up and walked out on him. She’s been avoiding him ever since.

Dante goes to Austin’s office and says he wants to ask Austin a few questions about his cousin Mason. Austin says he already spoke to Chase about this, and another detective, and Dante says, and he told them to speak to his lawyer. Austin says, exactly. So he doesn’t have anything else to say to Dante. Dante says, that’s cool. Maybe he can listen. He closes the door.

The guard lets Cyrus into Mason’s room, and Cyrus says, nice talking with him. He says, hello, to Mason, and tells him, the Lord instructs us to comfort the sick and the prisoner, and in Mason, he has both. Mason asks if that’s how Cyrus convinced the cop to let him in, and Cyrus says, he’s a man of faith. Mason asks what he’s doing here, and Cyrus says he’s here to show Mason the path to his redemption.

Terry thanks Finn for giving them some time, and he asks if he had a choice. She asks him to have a seat, and he says, this must be serious. Terry says, very serious. He’s going to need to hire an attorney. He and GH are being sued for malpractice.

Esme asks if this is about Ace, but Spencer says, he’s having a ball right now in daycare; he just saw him. She says, in that case, she’s working, so if there’s anything he needs to talk about, they can talk about it at dinner… at his grandmother’s apartment. He tells her that she was going to say dinner at home, and she says she was, but she didn’t. She and Ace are currently staying with his grandmother and Doc. Home will be the apartment they move into.

Ava says she’s surprised Spencer doesn’t know Trina isn’t the kind of woman who would take kindly to ultimatums, and Trina says, who would? Ava says, right on. So why does she think he did it? Trina says, they were talking about his relationship with Esme and Ace, and how it feels like there’s no room in his life for their relationship. So she spoke up and told him how she felt. Ava says, good for her.

Dante says, it sounds like Mason’s been hanging around Austin’s office and the ER for the past year. He sits down, and Austin says, please have a seat. His cousin Mason suffers from the misconception that they’re close. Dante asks if that’s why Mason has been bringing third parties into the ER for treatment, but Austin says he has no memory of anything like that. Dante knows how busy and crazy the ER can get. Dante says, right, and it helps if you’re not keeping a record of treating your cousins, friends, and co-workers. Maybe even treating them for injuries they sustained during criminal activities. But that would make him an accessory after the fact.

Cyrus says, all he has to do is confess his sins, and Mason says, that’s a long list. Cyrus says he’s talking about Mason’s very specific, very recent sins. Abducting Ava Jerome, intending to hold her for ransom, and reconsidering that option. Ava was in Mason’s car as he tried to decide his next move. He was confronted by Dex Heller. During the struggle, he was shot by Detective Dante Falconari. Mason will still be on the hook for the kidnapping charge, but the attempted murder charges will be dropped. All Mason has to do is admit he acted alone. Mason says, but he didn’t.

Laura says she thinks Valentin might prefer this conversation be private, but he says, Nina is fully involved. She took an enormous risk, deleting the security footage of Charlotte breaking into Anna’s room at the MetroCourt. She loves Charlotte. Nina promises Laura that her only concern is for Charlotte, and Valentin says he’s already told her that Charlotte thinks Anna shot her intentionally. Laura says, so she guesses he hasn’t spoken to Charlotte yet today, and Valentin says, no. He wanted to hear what Charlotte told her last night first. Laura says, she admitted to trying to push Anna out of Port Charles and away from Valentin, and he says, why? Did Charlotte tell her? Laura says, yes. It is exactly as they suspected. He says, Victor, and she nods.

Carly says, so Nina didn’t tell Sonny that she was selling her half of the MetroCourt, and he says, no. They don’t talk much about business, but it surprised him, since she loves running the place. Now she’s better friends with Olivia, so he doesn’t know. Carly says, something’s changed, and he asks if Nina told Carly why she wanted to sell it back. Carly tells him, Nina said that she was busy, but it was really strange, so she’s not buying it. Sonny says, they’ve got a lot going on, and Carly says, Nina’s got something going on. And she’s going to find out what it is.

Valentin says, so Charlotte confirmed to Laura that Victor convinced her to go after Anna? and Laura says, she said that her grandfather had written to her, and that he came to visit her at the boarding school. She got the impression they’d had some really long conversations. Valentin says, and Victor did most of the talking, and Laura says, she seems overly obsessed with protecting Valentin… from Anna. Nina says, so Victor convinced Charlotte that Anna was a threat to him. Charlotte did everything that she did because she thought she was protecting him.

Sonny tells Carly, let’s not jump to conclusions. He and Nina just got married. She has a relationship with Willow now. Maybe she just wants to spend more time with Amelia and Wiley. Maybe it’s that simple. She says, nothing is ever that simple with Nina. Ever. He says, like it is with her? (touché!) and she says, at least with her, you get full disclosure and transparency, whether you like it or not. He says, that’s true enough, and she thanks him. She says, is Crimson losing money? and he says, not that he knows of, but even if it was, why would Nina want to sell her half of the MetroCourt? Carly says, maybe she needs money to shore up the magazine, and he says, money’s not an issue for Nina. But let’s say Carly accepted her offer. Where would she get the money?

Finn asks if Terry can tell him the name of the patient who’s suing him and what the complaint is, and Terry nods to Portia. Portia says, the patient in question has died. His wife is the one filing the suit. Terry gives Finn the patient’s file, and he says, Dennis Muldoon. Terry says, they’ll need all the notes he has on the patient, and also everyone on staff who worked on the case with him. He says, of course (🍷). Does this mean he’s suspended? Portia says, he’ll still be able to practice, and Terry says, with some restrictions. He asks what they are, and she says, the hospital’s policy in a case like this is to allow the staff member to practice, but if it’s a potentially fatal case, he’ll need to request a second opinion before he can offer treatment or prescribe medication. Portia says, and because of his history of substance abuse, he’ll be required to do drug testing on a weekly basis. He says he sees. And he understands. That will be the easiest part of this process for him. Terry says, good, and Finn walks to the door. He asks how much time he has to find an attorney, and Terry says, he should start looking immediately. Finn leaves.

Ava puts two chairs near each other, and tells Trina, sit down. She says, Trina’s been a saint when it comes to Spencer spending time with Esme and Ace. She couldn’t stay quiet that long. No way. Sure, she has a history with Esme and this amnesia thing of hers is hard for her to swallow, but that aside, Trina’s in love with Spencer. And here he is, spending so much time with his ex and her baby, a baby that happens to be his brother. Trina says she does understand why he’s being so protective of Ace though, and Ava says, so does she. God knows where Nikolas is, so he’s no help at all. And he made a lot of mistakes with Spencer. She’s sure Spencer just wants to make sure Ace isn’t shortchanged the way he was. Trina said that herself. Trina says, she’s tried to justify all the time he spends with Esme and Ace, and Ava says, she’s been very patient, very understanding. Trina says she has, hasn’t she? and Ava says, she has, so what changed?

Spencer says, he doesn’t want Esme and Ace to move out, and Esme says, he’s made that perfectly clear, but it’s not up to him. He says he just doesn’t understand why she’s leaving all of a sudden, and she says, it’s not all of a sudden. It’s what’s best for her and Ace. He says, how? Right now, Ace has everything that he needs. He doesn’t understand how her taking him and moving in to a different apartment is going to be better for him. If she does that, she’ll have to take care of him all of the time. The only time she won’t have to take care of him is when he’s here at daycare. She says, that’s what mothers do, and he says, when they’re on their own. But she doesn’t have to be. He’s more than willing to step up and help her take care of him. His grandmother and Doc love spending time with Ace, so they’ll have a back-up if they need it. She says she can still drop Ace off to Doc and Laura whenever they’re available and he can help take care of Ace. He says, okay, so what would be the point in her leaving? She says, because she and Ace need to get away from him.

Austin says, Dante asked him to listen, and he did, but Dante says he’s not quite finished. Austin says, Dante doesn’t have anything. If he did have any proof of what he’s talking about, he wouldn’t be here fishing. Dante says he’s not fishing. Security footage is proof. Sworn affidavits from GH staffers who saw Austin and Mason and his friends is proof. And now they have his cousin handcuffed to a bed upstairs, and the more they get to know about his criminal activities, the easier it’s going to be to prove Austin was working with Mason in the kidnapping and attempted murder of Ava Jerome. Austin says he’s the one who saved her.

Mason says, Cyrus ordered him to abduct Ava, and Austin would be forced to testify at Cyrus’s medical hearing so he could get himself out of Pentenville. But the moment he’s on the hook, and Ava can ID him to the cops, Cyrus tells him to let her go. With all due respect, he couldn’t take that chance. He had to get rid of her. Cyrus says, these heavy drugs they have Mason on must have addled his brain to come up with such wild and false allegations, but he understands. Mason must be frightened, but tell him, did those drugs make Mason forget his last visit and how he explained to Mason exactly how it could end for him? Mason flashes back to Cyrus telling him, the pain you felt when you were shot, any pain you’ve felt during your entire life will pale in comparison to the pain you will feel during your long, excruciating journey into death, if you ever betray me again. Cyrus says he believes Mason remembers now.

Terry says, Finn is a good doctor, and Portia says, he’s a good friend. She hated seeing that look on his face. Terry says, her too. It’s hard enough losing a patient, but then to be accused of malpractice? Portia says she’s sure he took copious notes, and Terry says she hopes Portia is right. They need Dr. Finn and GH to be cleared of any wrongdoing.

Elizabeth sees Finn at the reception desk and asks, what happened? What did Terry and Portia want to talk to him about? He says, every doctor’s nightmare. I worked for a medical clinic for a while, and I can vouch for the fact malpractice insurance is astronomical.

Carly says she doesn’t know if she wants to buy back the MetroCourt, and Sonny says, Carly loves that place. She says, but she loves Kelly’s. She’s made some great changes, and in some ways, she thinks Kelly’s is a better fit for her than the MetroCourt. He says he doesn’t see it, and she says she knows the MetroCourt seems like it was better for her, but she loves both. She knows she can’t run both and own them, so she’s going to have to make a choice. He says, seems like an easy choice to him, and she says, but it’s not. Her mom gave her Kelly’s when she was in a really bad place. It was really generous of her. He asks if Bobbie is still away, and she says, yeah. She’s in Amsterdam, taking care of Luke’s affairs, and the last thing she needs is for Carly to abandon Kelly’s. Sonny says, Carly could always find somebody dependable to run the place, and she says, but if she decides to buy back the MetroCourt, she has to find someone to finance it. He says, I can – she says, nohelp – she says, do not offeryou.

Laura says, when Charlotte first woke up after the surgery, she asked where Valentin was, and she told Charlotte that he’d gone on a walk with Anna. Charlotte seemed to be genuinely frightened for his safety. He says, and that’s when Charlotte told her what she did, and Laura says, yes. She admitted to trying to push Anna out of town and away from Valentin to protect him. He says, they know she trashed Anna’s hotel suite. Did she admit to anything else? Laura says, she didn’t get into any specifics, and after what she’d been through, Laura didn’t think it was a good time to question her. Valentin says, of course (🍷), and Nina says, when Charlotte is a bit stronger, maybe Doc can talk to her again. It seems like she opens up to him. Laura says, he’s already agreed to come and visit her whenever they decide she’s ready for it, and Valentin says, good. Nina says, this whole thing is awful, but at least they know Charlotte wasn’t acting on her own. She was motivated by Victor’s hatred of Anna. Laura says, and he knew she was at a very impressionable age. He arranged to get her far away from home and all alone. Valentin says he should have never let her go to that damn place, but Laura says, he thought he was doing something good for her. And they all did at that time. Valentin says, Charlotte told her that he wrote a letter? and Laura says, yes. He says, excuse him, and goes to Charlotte’s bedroom.

Valentin looks around the room, touching nothing yet. His eyes light on Charlotte’s journal, but he keeps looking.

Elizabeth says she remembers finding Finn on the roof the night Mr. Muldoon died. He was devastated. And now his family is suing the hospital and Finn? Why? Finn says, they believe he was negligent in not diagnosing his cancer in time, and she asks if his symptoms indicated cancer. Finn says, he had a tapeworm he picked up traveling abroad. He traveled for work extensively, mostly in third world countries. So he ordered bloodwork, and the results came back with anomalies. Anomalies consistent with a lot of causes, tapeworm among them. G.I. distress, fatigue, weight loss. So he sent Muldoon home with a plan of treatment and a request for further testing. He called a few days later and said he was feeling much better. He went on another trip, and Finn had requested further testing, including a colonoscopy. He didn’t come in for two months, and that’s when Finn expanded the scope of treatment in order to get more testing. Elizabeth says, that’s when he found the cancer, and Finn says, yeah. He didn’t see it coming. Muldoon thought he’d be here for a couple of hours and then Finn had to tell him that he had cancer, and it was too late to start any treatment. He never left this hospital again. She says, Finn didn’t do anything wrong, and Finn says he believes he didn’t, but that may not matter.

Valentin checks under the mattress, and we see he’s rifled through the drawers. He spies a pile of books and takes down the top one. He opens it and sees it’s hollowed out. The tarot cards are inside, along with the letter, which he opens and reads. He says, Victor.

Spencer says, Esme is going to take Ace and leave because she doesn’t want him growing up thinking the three of them are a family? She says, that’s right. Because the longer the three of them live together, the harder that’s going to be on Ace when it ends, and it’s going to end. Spencer asks, what makes her say that?😐and she says, because it has to. He wants his own life, and she really understands that. He wants to travel when he wants to travel. He wants to spend time with the people he wants to spend time with. And sooner or later, he’s going to want to spend all of his time with someone. He can’t have that life and Ace. He asks, why not? They don’t have to be in a romantic relationship for him to commit to Ace. Or her.

Trina tells Ava, what changed was, she said one word. And Spencer lost it. Ava says, there’s got to be more to it than that, and Trina says, when Laura and Doc came back from their trip, Esme thought it was too crowded. So she decided to rent a place for her and Ace. Ava says, so far, so good, and Trina says, that’s what she thought. And Laura supported the idea. She even offered to co-sign the lease. Ava says, go, Laura, and Trina says, but when Spencer told her that Esme was moving out, she just said exactly how she felt. She said, finally. Ava tells Trina, that sounds perfect to her, but Trina says, it didn’t sound good to Spencer.

Mason tells Cyrus that he can cut a deal if he gives up Austin. He’s the dumb henchman, and Austin’s the smart doctor who planned everything. There’s plenty evidence to back it up too. Lots of people have seen them together, and Austin slept with Ava. He can tell the cops that Austin seduced Ava to get to her money, and when that blew up in his face, he asked Mason to take her. Cyrus’s name will never be mentioned. Cyrus smiles.

Dante says, Austin saved Ava? and Austin says, what he means is, he would never hurt Ava. Dante tells him, that’s not what he said. Austin said he saved her. Austin says he did save her that night at Windymere. Ryan Chamberlain was running around like a lunatic, Heather Webber’s got a great big hook… He’s sure all of this is in Dante’s files. Go read his files. Dante says he’s read the files. The thing he can’t figure out is what Austin was doing at Windymere in the first place. What’s the nature of his relationship to Ava Jerome?

Valentin comes out with the letter, and says, it’s all Victor. There’s no question; it’s his father’s handwriting. He hands it to Laura, and she says, oh my God. She reads: My dearest Charlotte, It is with a heavy heart that I must write to you and share my concerns about our family’s future. A family I cherish and would give my life for. I’m afraid your father has gotten weak, Charlotte. I had so much hope for him, but he’s forgotten how truly important family is since he’s fallen in love with Anna Devane. Anna has completely manipulated your father… Her extensive training in espionage has afforded her the ability to mask who she really is. Nina says, no wonder Charlotte was confused, and Valentin says, he weaponized her. Laura continues: Anna Devane is not who she seems; do not trust her. Not for a minute. And it is imperative you never forget… You must use any weapon you can to defeat Anna, because your father clearly will do whatever she asks. And she will use his feelings, she will use your father, and lead him into danger. She will lead him to his death. Nina says, oh my God, and Laura reads: My dear Charlotte, you are the only one who can protect your father from Anna Devane. You, his most cherished possession, must save him. To guide you, I’m giving you these very special tarot cards. They’re powerful tools, Charlotte. You’ll find them helpful. Use them wisely. Use them to protect and save your father, a man we both love dearly. Your ally and loving grandfather, Victor Cassadine. Nina says, sick bastard, and Valentin says, Victor found the perfect revenge.

Sonny asks when Carly said Nina made her the offer, and Carly says, this morning at Kelly’s. Nina said she’d been at the hospital all night with Charlotte. He says, that was a tragic accident. Anna’s torn apart by it; so is Nina. Charlotte is like a daughter to her. Maybe it hit Nina a lot harder than he thought. Carly says, maybe, but would he think that’s the reason she wants to sell the MetroCourt?

Trina asks if it’s bad for her to think Spencer is too attached to his little brother, but Ava says she thinks this is more about Esme than it is about Ace. What was Spencer’s ultimatum? Trina says, he warned her that if she made him choose between her and Ace, she wouldn’t like the choice, and Ava says, ouch. Trina says, they were closer than ever in New York, but it never seems to fail. Something like this will happen, then they’re further apart. It’s like they’re doomed to fail.

Cyrus says, Mason is a lot smarter than he thought Mason was. That’s a very creative solution. Mason says, it’ll work, but Cyrus says, not for him. He doesn’t want Austin tainted by Mason’s crime. He’s a respected doctor and Cyrus needs to avail himself of Austin’s services and support if necessary. Mason says, so he gets to rot in prison while college boy gets everything he wants, and Cyrus says, don’t be so resentful. College boy will get everything he deserves in good time. Meanwhile, Mason will be well-protected in Pentenville and lead a very comfortable life. And who knows? He might be eligible for release sooner than he thinks, provided he does exactly as he’s told.

Austin says, he and Ava are very close, and Dante asks if she’ll corroborate that. Austin says, what relationship doesn’t have its ups and downs? and Dante says, he’s looking at a lot of downs. They have a laundry list of charges they could file against Austin. Collusion, kidnapping, attempted murder… Austin says, come on. Dante said himself, he’s got Mason handcuffed to a bed upstairs. Dante caught him red-handed. Dante shot him. Dante says he did. Does Austin think it was Mason’s idea to kidnap Ava? Austin says he doesn’t know. Ask Mason. Dante says, come on, doc. He’s not the brains behind this thing; he was the muscle. He was following someone’s orders. Maybe Austin’s. Austin says, no, but Dante says, he’s the smart guy. Come up with the name of Mason’s boss. Maybe he’ll have a chance to save himself. He walks out of Austin’s office.

Sonny tells Carly, maybe Charlotte getting shot made Nina rethink her priorities. Maybe she wants to spend less time working and more time with the people she loves. Carly says, when she heard about Charlotte, all she could think about was Josslyn and Donna. If something happened to them, it would kill her. He says, nothing’s going to happen to the kids. They’re settled, and he’s got everything under control. Carly asks if he’s sure about that. Because Cyrus is walking around scot-free, and Sonny doesn’t have Jason watching his back anymore. He says he thinks about Jason every day, but he has eyes all over town, including Dex and Brick. She says she knows how important Brick is to him, and he says, Dex actually stepped up. If it wasn’t for him and Dante, Ava would be dead. So he doesn’t want her to worry. She’s got Drew back, so just enjoy each other. She thanks him and says, maybe he’s right about Nina. He says, she should think real hard about taking Nina’s offer, and she says she will. She tells him, watch your back, and goes to the door. He says he always does, and she leaves.

Laura gives the letter back to Valentin, who says, Victor turned his daughter into a weapon. He’s weaponized Laura’s granddaughter. He convinced Charlotte to target the woman he loves. How can he fight back against a child? Nina says, Victor’s dead, and now that they have proof he was behind all of this, they can just talk to Charlotte. They tell her that Victor was wrong about Anna, that nothing in that letter was true. Laura says, yes, but they have to look at this from Charlotte’s point of view for a moment. Her grandfather told her that Anna was dangerous, that she was a threat, and now in Charlotte’s mind, Anna has proven that by shooting her. Nina says, but it was an accident, and Laura says, yes, of course (🍷), and they all know that, but because of Victor, Charlotte actually believes that Anna shot her intentionally. She believes Anna wanted to kill her, and she wants Anna arrested for it.

Esme asks exactly what kind of commitment Spencer is willing to make, and Spencer says he has money. He can see to it she’s financially taken care of. She can quit this job if she so chooses, and he can share in the childcare responsibilities with her. He just wants to make sure his little brother is happy. Does she really think moving Ace out of his grandmother’s home is what’s best for him right now? No. They’re a team. They’re just not a romantic one. She says, that all sounds great, so let’s go for it. Why don’t they get a nice little house somewhere for the four of them? He says, for the four of them? and she says, her, him, Ace, and Trina. She bets Trina will think this is a wise plan. He says, come on, but she says, no, you come on. The longer she lives in that apartment with him and his grandmother, the longer she’s putting her life on hold, and that’s not fair to her and it’s not fair to Ace. He isn’t the only one who deserves to have someone special in his life. He says, so this isn’t really about Ace at all. He didn’t realize she’s so desperate to find someone new. She says she’s desperate to start her life again. She doesn’t have to defend herself to him or anyone else. She’s going to do what’s right for Ace, and yes, what’s right for her. If he’ll excuse her, she has work to do. She picks up some files and leaves the office. He makes a call and leaves a message. Please call him. He needs them. Things have gone from bad to worse.

Portia tells Terry that she’s never been in any malpractice lawsuit situation before. What’s the next step? Does the hospital have the same lawyer Dr. Finn does? Terry says, in her experience, hospitals are advised to have a separate lawyer. Dr. Finn will need to prove he didn’t do anything negligent, whereas they’ll have to prove it was a good decision to employ Finn. And they’ll have to prove they have a solid system of checks and balances, and that they don’t have a history of malpractice suits. Portia says she wouldn’t want to be in Finn’s shoes right now. A case like this could ruin your whole career. Terry says, and lawsuits like this have taken down bigger hospitals than GH. Let’s hope that’s not the case this time.

Elizabeth tells Finn, once we find you an attorney, they’ll tell you what you’re up against and how we need to proceed. He says, we? and she says, yeah. She’s going to help him with this. She was with him the night Mr. Muldoon died. She can testify to his state of mind, and the fact that he never said anything that would indicate he might have made a mistake with his diagnosis and treatment. He says, she doesn’t have to… but she says, please don’t argue with her. She’s going to help him do everything he can to clear his name. He says he doesn’t want her risking her position, but she says she’s not risking anything. And as Head Nurse, she wants the truth to come out. So moving forward, she suggest they get back to work, and tonight, they’ll start going over his notes. He thanks her and says, maybe they can start tomorrow. He needs a day to process this. His career’s in jeopardy… She takes his hand and says, we’re not going to let anything happen to you. He says he’s lucky to have her, and she says, yeah, he is. It goes both ways. She leaves.

Trina asks what she should do, and Ava says, it’s not like she’s talking to an expert in relationships here. She’s had her share, and none of them have gone the distance. Not that she’s giving up. She still believes happy endings are possible. Trina’s just at the beginning. Trina’s phone dings, and Ava asks if she thinks that’s the same person who just tried to call her. She thinks she can guess who it was. Trina says, Spencer. She doesn’t want to talk to him right now. Ava asks how long she plans to avoid him, but Trina says she doesn’t have a plan. She just doesn’t want to argue anymore, and she’s not giving in to his ultimatum. Ava asks if Trina has told him how she feels, the way Trina just told her, and Trina says she guesses not. Ava asks if she still loves him, and Trina says, yes. Ava says, sit down with him. Talk to him and keep cool and don’t point fingers. Just tell him how she feels and why she feels that way. Then listen to him and be respectful of how he feels. Trina says, okay, and thanks Ava, hugging her. She says she knows Ava would tell her the right thing, even if it was hard for her to hear. Ava says, what are friends for? Maybe Trina should reply to Spencer’s text. Trina picks up her phone.

As Austin goes by the reception desk, Elizabeth gives him a message left for him. He opens it, and it says: DON’T BE FOOLISH. IT CAN BE DEADLY. He crumples it up, and then sees Cyrus across the hall. He continues to watch as Cyrus waits for the elevator. When it comes, Cyrus winks at him before getting in.

Tomorrow, Portia tells Curtis that she got some news today; TJ needs to talk to someone right away; Sasha says she’ll walk off the set; and Cyrus brings Austin tidings of great joy.

🧜‍♀️ Finding His Siren…

Can’t say I pictured it as a tank. Impressive.

🚜 Literally Buying The Farm…

Looks idyllic.

🧂 A Pinch Of Salt…

Since the recap isn’t out yet, here’s a few tidbits.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1389773/rhoslcs-monica-garcia-fiercely-confronts-mom-linda-for-kidnapping-her-car

🏂 Apology Tour Already…

No recap yet for this awful mess either.

https://www.distractify.com/p/casey-craig-apology-winter-house

https://stylecaster.com/lists/tom-schwartz-katie-flood-still-together-winter-house/

💎 Magic Mike Meltdown…

Fact correction: It was Crystal and Erika on the stage (Kyle came later and Sutton was nonplussed), and really Erika that she freaked about.

🤺 Rehashing The Deck Fight…

I can’t say I mind a repeat of Kyle insulting Natalya. She’s such a piece of work. Max is just clueless.

👰🏼‍♀️ She Finally Did It…

Kudos to Tinsley for finally making it to the married lady status she’s always wanted. But was he Dale approved?

https://people.com/real-housewives-new-york-city-tinsley-mortimer-marries-robert-bovard-8363397

🐶 A Tale Of Two Pups, Really Three…

I’d want this dog too.

https://people.com/kaley-cuoco-adopts-adorable-new-dog-8400793

The two that got away. Yes, I know Halloween is over.

https://people.com/kim-kardashian-dresses-dogs-sushi-sake-as-actual-sushi-for-halloween-8384168

🪧 Should Have Stayed Closed…

I watched The Open House on Netflix last weekend. Most of it wasn’t bad, but nothing stellar. Kind of like a Lifetime thriller with a bigger budget. I would have been fine with that, except the ending was like a big F-U in exchange for the time I spent watching it. Before the credits, it said the film was in loving memory of someone, and I wondered if it was the guy who was supposed to write the ending.

🦃 Tofurkey Trotting…

Stop in tomorrow for soap and snipes at Beverly Hills. Until then, stay safe, stay asking the host before bringing plus ones or more to Thanksgiving dinner, and stay not being foolish. It can be deadly.

November 8, 2023 – Eddie Deep Dives To Find His Siren, Beverly Hills Infects Las Vegas, A Tale Of Two Recaps, It’s Over & Rain

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Yuri says he’ll put Tracy’s bags in the car, calling her Miss Quartermaine. She tells him to call her Tracy, and he says, of course (🍷). He leaves with the bags, and Olivia asks if Tracy is planning an escape, but Tracy says she’s going to take care of something she should have done a while ago.

Eddie/Ned works on his song, when Lois walks in. He puts his guitar down and mumbles about moving the chords. Lois asks if anyone ever told him that if he keeps making that face, it will freeze like that. He says, what? and she says, he’s obsessed. He’s cooped up in here. He’s moping around, playing that damn song over and over again. Go take a break. Go get some air. Go hang with the kid. The song isn’t going anywhere. He says he can’t take a break. Not when he’s this close. He has to finish it. She rolls her eyes.

Brook knocks on Maxie’s office door and asks if she has a minute. Sasha is there, and Maxie says, they’re in the middle of a meeting. Brook says, Sasha is back, and Sasha says, in the flesh. Maxie says, yeah, Sasha’s back, but Brook’s not.

On the phone at Aurora, Michael says, they have to up their game. Their production values are mediocre at best. There’s got to be some hidden talent at ESPN or one of the networks, itching for a chance to shine. Just find it. He goes into his office, and Carly and Drew are there. He says, they’ll touch base later, and tells Drew that he can’t believe it, hugging him. Drew says, it’s good to see him too.

Chase sees Austin at the hospital, and says, just the person he was looking for. Austin says he was on his way out to run an errand, and Chase says he’s glad he caught him. He just needs a few minutes of Austin’s time. Austin asks, why? and Chase says he’d like to ask Austin a question about his cousin Mason Gatlin. Austin flashes back to trying to smother Mason in his hospital bed.

Ava shows up at Sonny’s penthouse, and he says, it’s not a good time. She says she understands that, but it’s her life they’re talking about here. Has there been any word from Brick about Nikolas? He says, forget Nikolas. He’s the least of her problems. She asks what that means, and he says, she’s in bed with the enemy. And the worst part about it? She doesn’t even know it.

Olivia says, whatever it is, Tracy is going to miss a very nice going-away party for Lois, and Tracy says she’s sorry she’s going to miss seeing the back of Lois, but she has more pressing matters to attend to. She seems distracted, almost sad, and Olivia says, now she’s just being mysterious. What’s up? Tracy says she’s going to Amsterdam. Bobbie is going to help her sort out Luke’s affairs.

Eddie says, this song is a brick wall, and Lois says, maybe it’s time to move on to some different material, but he says, no. He can’t do that. He’s got to finish this. She says, stubborn as ever. Classic Quartermaine. He looks at her, and she says she’s sorry. That’s right. He’s not a Quartermaine. There was this time he had to come up with a B-side last minute, Lay in My Arms. That’s the song they ended up playing on the radio. He says he doesn’t remember that. Did it get any airplay? She says, number seven, College Media Journal, and he smiles and says, oh. She says, see? He doesn’t mind taking a stroll down Memory Lane if it’s about a hit song. Isn’t he even curious about the rest? He asks what she means, and she says, that Ned Quartermaine isn’t just a name. That Leo and everyone else who loves him really loved Ned.

Brook says she had no intention of coming back to Deception. She just wanted to see Maxie, and running into Sasha is just a bonus. She tells Sasha that she looks great, and Sasha thanks her, but Maxie says, this is not a good time. Sasha says she and Maxie were just discussing a new Face of Deception campaign… Maxie says, remember their privacy policy, and Brook says, if she wanted information about the company, she could just go to Tracy. She is the majority owner. Maxie says, thanks to Brook betraying their trust and spying on them, and Brook says, because Tracy was blackmailing her. Maxie says, there’s always some excuse with her, and Brook says she’s already apologized and she’s happy to do it again, but Maxie says, forget it. Unless she has some sort of time machine. Brook says, and if she did, Maxie would come right along with her for the ride after all the crap… Maxie says, she’s talking about the very distant past, but Brook says, not so distant. Sasha says, stop it, both of them. All this fighting is pointless. Can’t they see that they both miss each other?

Ava assumes Sonny is talking about Austin, and Sonny asks how much her new boyfriend has told her about his boss. She says, Austin is not her boyfriend. Maybe they got a little closer, but they’re not romantically involved at all. He says, really? No feelings? Nothing? He thought maybe they had a thing going since she’s so blind to Austin’s new role in her abduction.

Leading Chase into his office, Austin says, whatever this is, could they get it over quickly, please, because he’s really a little pressed for time. Chase says, quick question. Does he have any idea why his cousin would want to abduct Ava Jerome? Austin says, no idea. Chase probably knows this, but he’s already been over this once with another detective. Chase says, right, but the only common factor between his cousin and Ava is Austin. He figured Austin would want to open up to him considering their past. He’s just trying to tie up a few loose ends around here. Austin says, he and his cousin aren’t really that close. The only reason he tolerates Mason at all is out of some misguided sense of family loyalty. Chase says, but he’s been here at the hospital with Austin several times, and Austin says, sure, but telling him his plans to kidnap Ava, their chats don’t run that deep. Their worlds don’t intersect at all. Austin is a medical professional and Mason… he’s a kidnapper apparently. He feels like they’re done here. He opens the door and says, if Chase has any other questions for him, he’ll ask that Chase goes through his lawyer.

Drew says, Scout told him that she wants to take crossbow lessons. She’s all about Katniss now, but blink and you miss it. Michael says, exactly. They have their whole lives mapped out until the next day when they’re on to the next thing. Carly says, Drew’s only one step away from Scout wanting to take archery classes, and Drew says, at least her tastes haven’t changed when they went for Kelly’s pancakes this morning. Then they stopped and said thanks to Alexis. Michael says, it’s so great to have Drew back with them. He knows Alexis played her part, but his mom is the force behind Drew’s release. Carly protests, but Michael says, she’s the one who got leverage over Judge Kim. She says she was just grasping at straws. They were all doing whatever they could. Drew says, that might be so, but one of the things that kept him going in Pentenville – sometimes, the only thing – was knowing that she was out here, and she was fighting for him. She says she’ll never stop fighting for him, and hugs him. She says she can’t believe he’s home. It’s almost unbelievable. He says, she’s got to believe it. Now they’re going to put everything else behind them. They’ve got a lot of time to make up for. She says, that’s easier said than done. Someone turned them in to the SEC. She wants to know exactly who and why. Michael bites his tongue.

Sasha says, there’s a big difference between a mistake and a bad choice, and a betrayal, and tells Brook, spying for Tracy wasn’t right. Maxie tells Brook that she couldn’t have said it better, and Sasha says, if Maxie is ever in trouble, Brook would have her back, no questions asked. Recently, she’s had to learn that real friends, people who may not be perfect, but who truly, genuinely care, are not the same as the ones who are too selfish or hurt to show genuine concern. Now that’s not either of them, is it? Honestly, it just makes her so sad to see them both toss away a friendship they both cherish and need. Brook says, when Sasha’s right, she’s right, and Maxie says, okay, fine. She misses Brook. Brook says she misses Maxie more, and Maxie says, she probably does. Brook laughs, and Maxie says, all right, so why is Brook here? Brook says she cares about Georgie and Charlotte, and Maxie says, she has no idea. Sam dropped Georgie off, and all they knew was that Charlotte was missing and Jake went after her. And there was a shooting at her old apartment. None of it makes any sense. Brook asks how Georgie is doing, and Maxie says, she’s understandably in shock. She feels guilty, like she could have done something. Brook says, poor baby, and Maxie says she and Spinelli spent the whole night with her. He found a grief counselor for her, which is where they are now. Sam and Elizabeth are doing the same thing with their kids. They have a group text going. Brook holds out her hand and Maxie takes it. Sasha smiles.

Olivia says she’s so glad Tracy will have Bobbie there with her, while the rest of us are a little uncomfortable since Jackie Zeman passed away in the spring. Tracy says, it will be a welcome distraction from mourning Luke alone, and Olivia says she’s sure Bobbie feels exactly the same way. With Tracy gone and Monica not in the house and Lois going back to Bensonhurst, this place is going to be really quiet. Tracy says, perfect. Maybe in all that silence, Olivia will find the will to restore some normalcy to this house. Olivia says, Tracy… but Tracy says, no. Ned’s little fantasy is wearing thin, really thin.

Lois says, Eddie’s been hanging around the Qs for a while now. Aside from Tracy, who never misses a chance to talk about having wants him committed, the family’s had his back. He agrees, and she says, so he can’t go the extra mile and help them out a little bit? No. Because he’s got writer’s block. He starts to disagree, and she says, come on. That’s writer’s block. It’s indulgence. He told her that Sonny is willing to put out his album. What album? He has half a song. Without songs, you’ve got no album. Without an album, you’ve got no tour. Without a tour, there is no Eddie Maine. So ditch the siren and move on. He says he can’t just do that. This is something he really needs to follow through. She says, okay. So when she was working on the Free Radicals second album, they hit a serious sophomore slump, and they decided to turn it into a logic puzzle. She loves logic; it’s math. Here’s the puzzle. Pinpoint the problem, figure out where you’re at, and decide where you want to go. So Eddie, where do you want to go?

Lois tells Eddie that he’s doing it all wrong. He’s working from the outside, in. Music comes from the inside, out. He asks what she means, and she says, his song. What’s the problem? With the song. He says, the problem is, he can’t finish the lyrics, and holds up a sheet of paper. She says, forget about the lyrics, crumpling the paper and throwing it in the fireplace. He says, whoa, wait a minute, but she says she doesn’t want to wait. He’s got to write what he knows. So what is he afraid of? What is his problem? He says he’s afraid he’ll never find the girl… the character in the song. He knows that she’s out there, but he can’t see her – the siren. She says, so he’s looking for something he can’t see… like the prince in Cinderella. Except he has the glass slipper. So what does Eddie have? He says, just a voice calling out from the distance, and she says, then it’s simple. He has to go find the voice. That’s the where-you’re-at part. Remember? Pinpoint the problem, figure out where you’re at, decide where you want to go. He says, so… where does he want to go? and Lois says, she’s a siren, right? So he’s got to go in the water. He’s got to dive right in. It’s the only way he’s going to find the girl with the voice. Anyone could tell him that.

Tracy tells Olivia, this is ridiculous. Eddie lounges around all day with his guitar, like he’s some college kid on summer break. It’s depressing, especially for Leo. And nobody’s running ELQ, Look, she knows Olivia doesn’t want to have him committed, but he has to talk to somebody. Olivia says, they’ve been over this and over this. She’s very sorry Tracy is about to take a very difficult trip, but this situation with Eddie isn’t as simple as she’s making it sound. She saw Tracy at Eddie’s concert. Tracy saw him up on that stage. He was completely in his element. Maybe Doc is right. They just have to let this whole thing unfold naturally. Tracy says, there is nothing natural about Ned living in his own private wonderland, waiting for cosmic messages from the Cheshire Cat. Word to the wise. Keep her eye on Lois. She doesn’t trust that woman. Olivia says, Tracy is living in the 1960s in some kind of Valley of the Dolls novel. Tracy says, try the 1560s; it’s the oldest story in the book. Olivia covers her ears and says she’s not hearing this. She’s going to look for Tracy’s son. Have a safe trip. Brook walks in, and Tracy tells Olivia to look in the lounge. He’s probably watching cartoons. Brook asks if she missed the memo about Tense Tuesday.

On the phone, Maxie thanks Spinelli for letting her know. Tell Georgie to call her if she wants to, but only if she wants to… Yeah. What’s fine with him is fine with her. Just keep her posted. She tells Sasha, Georgie wants to spend tonight with Spinelli. Maxie thinks she’s just avoiding James. Sasha says, Maxie is handling this so well. She’d be a wreck. Maxie says, what else can she do? She’s connecting with Spinelli on this. She could force the issue just to let Georgie know she’s here for her, but Georgie will tell Maxie about her boundaries. Sasha says, if Maxie wants to head out, she’ll completely understand, and Maxie says, maybe that’s a good idea. She’ll respect Georgie’s boundaries another time. Maxie’s phone rings, she looks at it, and says, really? She answers, Maxie Jones… Yes. Of course (🍷) we’re interested… He’s available right now? As in like, now now?

Ava tells Sonny, don’t be ridiculous. Austin is not responsible for what his cousin did. Mason was just following orders from his mysterious boss. Sonny says, his boss is Cyrus Renault, and she asks how that’s possible. He says, you’ve got to look at the timeline. Betty steals the information he planted, hands it to Austin, Austin goes to Pentenville and gives it to somebody – he doesn’t know who, but he’s got a lot of enemies in prison. She says, he told her that he thought maybe it was with that Novak cousin, and he says, it could have been, but here’s the thing. Austin shows up at Cyrus’s early release hearing, saying that in his professional opinion, Cyrus is too sick and weak to threaten anyone. Now does she think it’s a coincidence that at the same time Austin’s at that hearing, Mason is holding her hostage?

Chase goes into Mason’s room and says, he’s still under arrest with the right to remain silent, however, if Mason wishes to cooperate, he has a few questions. Mason says, what else is there to do? It’s not like he’s going anywhere. Ask away. Chase says he’ll try to make it brief, but Mason says he’s got all the time in the world. Chase asks why he kidnapped Ava Jerome.

In the hallway, Austin looks in the window of Mason’s room and sees Chase talking to him.

Drew tells Carly, it’s got to be Ned. There’s nobody out there with a grudge who would target them. Ned had the only obvious motive to turn them in to the SEC and get him away from ELQ. Michael looks like he’s going to turn inside out, and Carly says, but he can’t confirm or deny because he has no memory. Drew says, he still hasn’t recovered? and she says, no, and it’s been really hard on Olivia. Drew says, well, then he doesn’t want to add to her troubles by accusing Ned of something he can’t even remember doing. Especially since this is all behind them now, and he wants to move forward. Michael says, what if it wasn’t Ned?

Lois says, Eddie has to put himself in the character in the song. Then he has to dive right in. It’s the only way he’s going to find this siren chick. He’s got to take a leap of faith. He says, she might be on to something, and picks up his guitar. He says he’ll be at the boathouse, and jets, grabbing his jacket on the way out. Lois sighs and rolls her eyes.

Tracy says, Brook. Somebody sane at last. Brook asks, what’s with Yuri and the car? Is he packing Tracy’s stuff? Tracy says, yeah. She’s going out of town, and maybe while she’s gone, Brook can help pull this family out of its downward spiral. Brook says, she sees. Running away again and leaving them to hold the bag. What’s the occasion this time, a riverboat cruise? Or maybe jet-setting with pretend billionaires? Tracy says she’s going to Amsterdam to close out Luke’s affairs with Bobbie Spencer.

Sonny says, connect the dots, and Ava says, he’s implying that Cyrus Renault had Mason hold her hostage to force Austin to testify on his behalf. He says, that is the picture, and she says, well, then Austin was just doing it to protect her, right? He says, probably, but he put her in the crosshairs. Never told Ava to watch her back. Did he tell her that he was going to testify for Cyrus? She says, no, he didn’t, and Sonny asks if he told her anything about him and Mason being in Cyrus’s pocket. She says, no, he didn’t, and Sonny says he guesses Austin doesn’t trust her very much, does he? And whatever Austin claims to feel for her, his first loyalty is Cyrus Renault, and that trumps everything.

Chase says, the cards aren’t in Mason’s favor. The proof has Mason looking at two decades without parole. Mason’s only hope of reducing his sentence is to tell them who’s pulling the strings. Mason says he guesses they’d better cut him a deal then. The sooner he gets a deal, the sooner he walks free. And a whole lot sooner than that, maybe he opens up about who’s running things. Chase says, fine. He’ll see what he can do. He leaves, passing Austin who’s skulking around the corner.

On the phone with her mother, Lois says, some things never change with the Quartermaines. Tracy is still a piece of work. Ugh… No, Brook is amazing… Olivia walks in, and Lois says, wait until she meets him. He is such a hunk… No. Ned is just going through a thing… She sees Olivia and says she needs to go… No. She’ll call later. She has to go. She hangs up, and Olivia says, Gloria? Lois says, the one and only. She was just filling her in on the Quartermaine circus. Olivia says, three rings. Now with even more juggling, and Lois says, she just missed Ned. Olivia asks, how is her… She doesn’t know what to call him. Her husband? Lois says, whatever he is, he’s lost in that song. But she thinks deep down inside, Quartermaine is trying to come out. Olivia asks if she really thinks so, and Lois says she does. And she thinks Olivia is doing the right thing, giving him space. She thinks that’s what Eddie needs. Olivia says, there is such a thing as too much space. Like just enough space for someone else to slip right in.

Lois says, Tracy? and Olivia says, what? Lois asks how long they’ve known each other. Let her remind Olivia; Sister Monica’s third grade class. Olivia says, don’t remind her of the woman and her rulers, and Lois says she will remind Olivia how many times they sat in detention together. She’s not here to slip into anything with Olivia’s husband. Olivia says she knows, and Lois tells her that she will say, she thinks it’s all part of God’s plan that she got here when she did, because this place is a mess, and she thinks she’s here to set some things straight. Olivia says, Lois is starting to sound like Tracy, and Lois gasps. She tells Olivia, take that back, and Olivia says, Tracy is demanding she force him to go for therapy that he doesn’t want. Lois says she doesn’t know anything about that. All she does know is, he could probably use a friendly face. Olivia asks if something happened, and Lois says, he’s been spinning out all day about that stupid song. Olivia says she knows. It seems like he’s possessed or something. Lois says, maybe Olivia, his wife, can go lift his spirits. He’s writing in the boathouse. And don’t let Tracy in her head. She likes playing games. She kisses Olivia on the cheek, and leaves.

Brook says she didn’t realize, and Tracy says, apology accepted. And maybe while she’s gone, Brook will consider her offer. Brook says she thought they settled that, and Tracy tells Brook, she heard what Brook said, but she has no interest in taking away Brook’s agency. But she can have her cake and eat it too. Brook suggests they not get into it before Tracy takes off. She told Tracy that she wants to focus on her music and really give it a good go. It’s her passion, and besides, she doesn’t want to get involved with Tracy’s old vendetta against Lucy Coe. Lois almost walks in, but stops, and Tracy says, Lucy Coe is already taken care of, and Deception is wide open for Brook to run however she wants. It’s her gift to Brook. Brook says, running Deception is a hard no. Lois comes in and tells Brook not to be so quick to turn down her grandmother’s offer. Tracy says, will wonders never cease. Even someone damaged by years of nail polish fumes can recognize a good plan.

Maxie says, this is wrong on so many levels, but Sasha says she disagrees. It’s synchronicity. Maxie says she didn’t think it through. She shouldn’t have said yes. Sasha says, she didn’t have time to think. This has been on Maxie’s vision board for as long as Sasha’s known her. Maxie says, yeah, but the timing is bad, and Sasha asks, how? Georgie is with Spinelli. She specifically wanted time to herself to process what she’s been through. The timing couldn’t be better… Unless It’s not only Georgie Maxie is worried about. Maxie says, not at all. It’s just going to be too difficult to pull this together quickly. She let her excitement take over. Sasha says, a photographer like Salvador is busy around the clock. He only became available because another project fell through. He’s not going to wait for them to be ready. Maxie says, there are other photographers, and Sasha says she saw Maxie’s face when that call came through. Maxie has been wanting to book Salvador for as long as Sasha’s known her. Maxie says, yeah… and Sasha says, and she’s had an idea for the spring campaign since before the lawsuit. So the only reason not to do the shoot is if she doesn’t think Sasha is up to it.

Carly asks what Michael is talking about. He was the first one to accuse Ned. Michael says he was. They all jumped to that conclusion, right? They tried to fit the facts to their assumptions, but what if the leak had nothing to do with Drew’s ties to ELQ and Carly was the target, and Drew just ended up being collateral damage? Carly says, that was Diane’s theory. Diane thought the FBI was coming after her just to get to Sonny. Maybe Diane’s right. Unfortunately, she’s the one who gave them ammunition by trying to cut corners with the ELQ merger. Drew suggests they just press pause and leave it alone, and Carly asks what he’s talking about. After everything Drew went through and after what happened to him in Pentenville… Drew says, nothing is going to undo it. Let’s just leave it behind. Please, both of them. Stop trying to figure out who set this all in motion because it’s not going to help anyone. Carly says, okay. If that’s what he wants, that’s what they’ll do. She hugs him and he thanks her. Michael looks all kinds of disappointed.

Eddie goes to the boathouse and sits down to play. He sighs, and flashes back to Lois telling him that he has to dive right in. He’s got to take a leap of faith. He starts to play again and pauses, hearing the song of the siren.

Ava tells Sonny that she was desperate. She was struggling to hide Nikolas’s body, and suddenly, there was Austin. He told her that he would help her. She believed him. She trusted him. Then out of nowhere, Mason showed up. He said he had Nikolas’s body. How is that even possible? Right? But Austin told her that it would be okay. Everything would be okay if she just did what Mason told her to do. And he kept telling her over and over again that his boss isn’t somebody who should be crossed, but he never told her who that boss was. And now Laura’s come back with proof that Nikolas is alive. If that’s true – and she really hopes it is true – Mason’s been lying the whole time. Ava flashes back to asking if Austin knew Nikolas was alive and Austin saying he had no idea. That’s why he did everything Mason asked him to do, to protect her. He had no idea Nikolas was alive. She tells Sonny, then Austin’s probably been lying too. Sonny says, she’s smarter than this. It’s time to admit Austin’s been playing her from the start.

Austin goes into Mason’s room, and Mason asks if Austin brought his lollypop. Austin asks what Mason told Detective Chase, and Mason says, a doctor without lollypops. Austin says, tell him what he said to Detective Chase, and Mason says, Chase was really rough on him. Chase forced it out of him. He had to tell him everything. He told him that he did it all for Austin, so he’d better start running. Austin says, there’s no way Mason just incriminated him, and Mason says, not yet. He has to make sure he gets a deal first. Austin says, the only deal Mason should be making is the one where he gives up Cyrus, and Mason says, suicide? That might be Austin’s way out, but it’s not his. Go ahead. Austin can give up Cyrus if he wants to. Chase comes back and sees Austin talking to Mason through the door window.

The siren continues to call Eddie. He puts his guitar down and looks out over the water.

Brook says, not Lois too. She doesn’t want Tracy’s gift. Lois says, don’t be so hasty, and Tracy says she’s so sorry Lois isn’t going to be around to talk some sense into her daughter. She did hear Lois was leaving. And she’s also sorry that she won’t be able to join the angry villagers running her out of town. Lois says, yeah. It is a shame. It’s going to be quite a party. Of course (🍷) if Tracy was there, her broom might catch fire, and someone might try to be a hero and throw water on it and Tracy would melt.

Yuri comes in and tells Tracy, the car is ready and it seems time to go. Tracy thanks him, and Brook hugs her. She says she’ll be thinking of Tracy, and Tracy nods to Lois and leaves.

Eddie continues to hear the call of the siren. He takes off his jacket and shoes, and jumps into the water.

Maxie says, Sasha’s been through a hideous ordeal; something that would have broken most people. She’s still piecing her life together, and Maxie doesn’t want to throw her into the deep end before she’s had time to relax and float. Sasha says, the only way she’ll know if she can handle a photoshoot, or any challenge for that matter, is by doing it. So will Maxie trust her? Maxie says she definitely trusts Sasha, and Sasha thanks her, but Maxie says, no, thank you. She thanks Sasha for holding her hand this entire day; first with Brook, then with Georgie. Now with Salvador? She can’t believe it. Are they really doing this? Sasha says, they are, and Maxie says, they have to get things together. She dashes out the door.

Olivia looks for Eddie by the boathouse and calls his name. She sees his guitar leaning against the bench, and his shoes in front of it. She looks inside, but the boathouse is empty. She comes back out and finds his coat on one of the chairs. She looks out over the water, worried.

Tomorrow, Lois tells Brook, say the word, and she’ll stay exactly where she is; Spencer asks how Laura could do this; Charlotte wants to tell someone what happened; and Olivia asks if Eddie can hear her.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

We revisit the fabulous hotel that will no doubt be wasted on this bunch. They have a room service meal, but Garcelle says she doesn’t want to eat; she wants to meet men. And she wants to do an intervention on how they date. Everyone looks at Sutton. Sutton says, when Garcelle goes on a first date, she can talk about Sutton not getting a second date. After a particularly good date, she invited him to an ABT black tie gala, and didn’t hear from him again. In Sutton’s interview, she says, they had dinner, she invited him back to her house, they played backgammon and had a nice conversation, and she never heard from him again. Dorit suggests not following up with flying across the globe, and in her interview, she says, that’s not the right thing to do. How would she feel if a man invited… She realizes the only thing wrong is her, and says, if the roles were reversed and it was a man extending the invitation, it would be sexy. They laugh over Sutton showing off her triceps in a text, and in Garcelle’s interview, she says, Sutton’s got no game, and in Dorit’s interview, she says, How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days 2, starring Sutton Stracke. Kyle FaceTimes the guy and hangs up. You know, like you do at sleepovers when you’re 13. In Sutton’s interview, she wonders why she gives her phone to Kyle. She’s dangerous. We flash back to them doing that another time, and Kyle says, Sutton is smart, beautiful, fun, and funny. If they don’t respond, tell them f*** off. It’s their loss. Garcelle suggests they take a break in their rooms, then get ready to meet for Magic Mike and dinner.

Sutton can’t find her white pants, and texts Avi. He comes in, and she says he must want to die today, but he immediately finds the pants so there’s no public hanging. In Garcelle’s interview, she says she hopes he gets paid a lot of money. Sutton says she prefers unpacking herself since she likes complete control. She tells Avi to save himself, and he runs. Dorit thinks she and Kyle are the only ones who didn’t bring a glam team, and Erika tells hers that they’re going to Magic Mike. They’re getting homegirl Crystal on stage. In Sutton’s interview, she says, when she goes out, she likes to carry Ocean Spray grapefruit juice. Beyonce carries hot sauce; she carries Ocean Spray. Southern girls know what they like. They get ready, and Garcelle wears the shortest dress ever. Trying to get everyone to move along, Sutton says, it’s like herding cats. They meet at the bar, and Sutton says she doesn’t like wearing pants. We flash back to the private jet and Erika telling them to wear pants if they want to be on stage. Sutton asks if anyone remembers dollar bills, flashing a stack of them, and Erika says, don’t let her touch any money or the IRS will say she owes it to them. Okay. That’s funny.

They walk through the Sahara and a VIP rep meets them. Erika says, they need drinks and men, and in her interview, she says, this is her contribution to Crystal’s birthday party. We see a clip of her telling assistant Mikey that she’d love for all the girls to get on stage. She says she knows most of the dancers, and Mikey’s partner is in the show. They sit in the front and in Erika’s interview, she says, Crystal needs to get out of her shell. It’s her f***ing birthday. They’re going to make this girl have some fun. There are stupid jokes about getting wet from the warm-up act, and the dudes come out, gyrating all over the place. Sutton wonders why she’s into this, and yells, we wore pants! The guys dance, and I critique in my head, since they’re not exactly in sync. There’s lots of cheering, so I guess synchronization doesn’t matter. One guy gets nakey, holding a cowboy hat over his junk. They make Crystal go up on stage, and in Garcelle’s interview, she says, his body’s amazing, and so close to her. It feels good letting their hair down. Sutton shrinks into the corner, and Erika joins Crystal on stage. Sutton says she wore pants for nothing, and Erika and Crystal get lap dances. Erika shows off, doing some exotic dancing of her own, and in Crystal’s interview, she says, jumping on one of these hot guys, maybe she can turn 40 every year. Erika lies down on the stage and spreads her legs, the dancer putting his face between them. In Erika’s interview, a producer asks if Tom had moves like that, and Erika says, Tom had other moves that landed her in hot water, but not moves like this. In her interview, Garcelle thinks Sutton’s feelings are hurt because she wasn’t the cool girl who was chosen.  And she wore pants. Kyle tells Crystal that Sutton says she’s leaving, and Dorit says, that’s not okay. As Sutton goes to the lobby, she says she’s on the Board of the American Ballet Foundation and doesn’t do that sh*t.

The way Erika presented it, it did sound like everyone would get a chance to be on stage. And whether it was up to Erika or not, she should have insisted the others go up before she did. I’m also not a prude by any stretch of the imagination, but geez. It wasn’t her show.

It’s all kind of stupid, and in Dorit’s interview, she says, here we go again. Sutton always has to make herself the center of attention. She can’t help herself. Garcelle follows Sutton out and finds her in the lady’s room. Sutton says she’s pissed. Kyle tells Erika that Sutton is upset, but she’s not sure why. Garcelle wonders what happened. They were having a good time at a fun show. Sutton says, until she saw her two friends with their legs wide open, and a man’s face in one’s crotch. She’s on the Board of the American Ballet Foundation, and doesn’t have friends who get onstage and have men’s faces in their crotches. On stage, a dude puts whipped cream on Kyle’s legs and licks it off. Blech. Sutton tells Garcelle that she lives by a different standard for herself. Kyle joins them and asks, what’s wrong? Sutton says she didn’t like it, and Kyle says, Sutton really wouldn’t have liked what just happened. She had whipped cream licked off her. We see a clip of the dancer now licking it off Kyle’s cleavage, and Sutton says, that’s fine. It’s silly and stupid, but spreading your legs isn’t. In her interview, Garcelle doesn’t see why Sutton is so wound up. Even for her, it’s extreme. Kyle thinks Sutton is upset because the attention wasn’t on her. She didn’t get to dance with a naked man. This is starting to sound like some Bizarro World kid’s birthday party. Sutton says, it has nothing to do with that and nothing to do with the pants. We flash back to Sutton bitching about her pants, and Kyle says she’s pretty sure it had something to do with the pants. In Garcelle’s interview, she says, this is not normal. They were having a great time, then Sutton’s freaking in the bathroom and yelling in the lobby. Hurricane Sutton is here. Sutton says, blah-blah-blah her brand, and Kyle says, Sutton did not just say that. Sutton says she’s not blaming the pants. She was uncomfortable about the whole thing. Call her a prude, but she wears a kitty sweater on the first date. That’s who she is. Kyle feels her reaction is a little excessive, and Sutton suggests Kyle not follow her. Kyle says she was actually just going to the bathroom (did she take a wrong turn?), and Sutton says, then shut up. Kyle says, don’t be a bitch, and Sutton tells her not to say her reaction is excessive. She just went to the bathroom. In Kyle’s interview, she says, Sutton brought money to put in their pants. She’s not buying it; sorry. She’s never seen a personality switch so fast. Sutton says she never made it a big deal, and Kyle texts Crystal, who might have been able to ignore the whole thing and just have fun.

The show has moved on to acrobatics, which Erika and Dorit watch with rapt attention. Crystal says she’s got to go, but Erika says she’s here to see her friend. Sutton says, all she did was go to the restroom. They didn’t have to make a big deal. Kyle says she thinks it’s the pants, but Garcelle says, it’s about integrity. Kyle points out that Sutton mentioned her brand, and Sutton says, Kyle is a bitch and hits low. Here we are again. Kyle walked in on a conversation she didn’t hear. (Touché.) Kyle says, Sutton’s a bitch, and Garcelle says, there’s not enough tequila for tonight. I consider giving it another try if I have to hear the word pants again. Sutton ends up apologizing to Kyle for calling her a bitch, even though Kyle called her one first. Erika and Dorit talk to the dancers, and Dorit says, they were so brilliant. On the sprinter, Sutton says she’s trying to explain, so it doesn’t blow up, but Garcelle says, too late. And Erika’s not even here. In her interview, Garcelle says, because of Erika and Sutton’s history, it’s going to be WWIII. Get your popcorn ready. Erika approaches the sprinter and says, Sutton is sitting in there like Judge Judy.

Erika gets on the sprinter and asks, what’s going on? Dorit says, Sutton is offended, and Sutton says, it was the spread-eagle head in crotch. Erika says, he was her oldest dance partner forever, but Sutton says, it was too much. Erika says, they’re all adults and it was a good show. In Garcelle’s interview, she says, Erika is calm and collected, and doesn’t seem bothered at all. In Erika’s interview, she says she told them she gave up fighting with them for Lent. Dorit says, the dancers saw 80% of their group gone, and I think, isn’t that on them? In Dorit’s interview, she says, Sutton leaves in a huff and doesn’t come back. Miss Manners herself. Toughen up, buttercup. Hey, that kind of talk is reserved for Captain Lee. Sutton says she got upset seeing them, and Crystal asks how she feels at them not being upset. Dorit suggests their husbands wouldn’t care, and in Kyle’s interview, she says, Mau would never care. I just think, well…  Sutton says she’s sorry she had a visceral reaction, and in Garcelle’s interview, she wonders how Sutton got her children. Did Sutton have a stork? They walk to a restaurant, Uhu, where they have dinner. No, make that… food porn! Garcelle says, it took a turn, and Sutton says she gets very passionate. She apologizes to Erika, who says, it’s all good. In Dorit’s interview, she says she doesn’t know who this Erika is. It’s not the one they’re used to. In Kyle’s interview, she says she was not expecting this reaction. Garcelle asks, what’s the plan? then wonders why she’s asking, since it’s her trip. She tells them that she’s having lunch with Oliver tomorrow, and Sutton says, Garcelle has had a lot of moments with her boys that she’s handled so well. We flash back to the Reunion where Garcelle talked about Oliver’s addiction, and a conversation between her and Oliver. Garcelle says, she tries, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t cry at night. Dorit says she knows Garcelle will give him wise words, comfort, and love. In her interview, Garcelle says she’s not comfortable talking about her kids because of last year. We flash back to Mauricio saying it’s great Erika told Jax to f*** off, and Garcelle says, she doesn’t trust it. She feels like she’s not in a safe place. Sutton struggles to eat a fish ball with chopsticks, and Kyle says she’s beginning to understand why there’s no second date. She’s not wrong.

They play a game where they have to answer questions off of cards, and the first one is, what is your favorite song to f*** to? Sutton chooses a country song by Cody Jinks, and in Kyle’s interview, she says she was expecting Sutton to say The Nutcracker. All the questions are about sex, as they always are. While they talk nipples, a line of guys come out carrying sparklers and Happy Birthday signs and some giant ice cream concoction. After this birthday dessert extravaganza, they go back to their rooms and get ready for bed. Garcelle desperately wants to sleep, but Sutton has to get the drapes just right. She asks if it’s okay if she reads, and Garcelle says, no problem. Sutton says she’s reading a book on tantric sex and could read out loud, but Garcelle says she doesn’t want to hear anything.

Kyle works out at 6 am, and in her interview, she says, the old her would never be going to the gym in Las Vegas. She would have been exhausted, hung over, and looking for room service. She thinks the new Las Vegas Kyle is annoying. Dorit wonders how miserable you have to be on a girl’s trip to Las Vegas to be working out. Is Kyle deliberately trying to torture herself? Dorit tells Erika that Kyle is living in extremes. In Dorit’s interview, she says she’s not getting up at 5:30 am for anything or anyone except her children, and on vacation, hell no. They sit on the giant sectional sofa, and Garcelle says she wants to share. When she was talking about Oliver, she felt disingenuous. What she wanted to say was, she doesn’t know if she trusts them when it comes to her family. They’ve said nice things, but she’s still a little iffy about them laughing at Jax. In Garcelle’s interview, she says, Kyle and Erika apologized – we flash back to those – and she can accept their apology, but it doesn’t mean she forgives them. It’s not about holding on to it, but she’s still in a space that’s vulnerable when it comes to her family. She tells the women that she feels like she still wants to protect her family from the group, and in Dorit’s interview, she says she thought their issues were resolved. They seemed okay. Now for Garcelle to feel she can’t trust Dorit around her kids is hurtful and it makes her angry. Even though that’s not what Garcelle said. Garcelle tells them that she and Jax are going through stuff, and they’d feel the same way. Dorit says, it’s been over a year, which shocks me because of her PTSD issues. Garcelle says, you can’t put a time limit on it, and Dorit says, after two years, you know if someone is good people. Garcelle says, Dorit is taking it wrong. She’s not saying Dorit is a bad person. Sutton says, if you get hurt, it might take time, and in her interview, she says she understands 100%. When you watch your husband making fun of a child and don’t do anything, you’re just as responsible. We flash back to PK making fun of the Jax situation, and in Garcelle’s interview, she says, Dorit is making her feel like she needs to apologize, she’s so hurt by how Garcelle feels. Dorit says she’s just sharing her feelings, and Garcelle says she doesn’t understand why they can’t understand. It’s not about Dorit being a mom. In her interview, Garcelle says she doesn’t think Dorit listens. She makes things personal where she’s the victim. Garcelle always walks away feeling like, what just happened? Garcelle leaves to shower, when no doubt they’ll discuss why she shouldn’t feel the way she feels.

Next time, Sutton rides a mechanical bull and might have found her cowboy; Dorit asks Kyle about her marriage; Erika insists on Sutton apologizing to her friend (more middle school sh*t!); and Kyle and Sutton clash.

🧂 You Put Salt In My Winter…

What happened on RHOSLC.

What happened on the wretched Winter House, where awful people from other shows have now been added to the awful people who were already there. Please note Kory in one of the worst outfits ever.

🎉 This Is The End…

Finally, we can get The Last Of Us back.

https://www.avclub.com/hollywood-stars-react-to-end-of-sag-aftra-strike-with-j-1851006187

🫛 Hiding The Green Beans…

Join me tomorrow for soap and dubious Charm. Until then, stay safe, stay not making things personal where you’re the victim, and stay turning problems into logic puzzles; pinpointing the problem, figuring out where you’re at, and deciding where you want to go.

November 3, 2023 – Charlotte Disappears From the Group, New Faces, 2 Grads, A Return, So Sad, Celebrations, Cancelled, Told You, This Week in Reality, Trixie’s Home, More, 11 Quotes For Month 11 & Candy

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Carly flips Kelly’s sign to closed and tells Regina that she can go home. She calls Alexis and asks if she’s heard anything about Drew’s case. Alexis says she’s afraid all she’s heard is silence from Judge Kim’s office, but she promises to let Carly know if she hears something. Carly thanks her, and Alexis says she’ll keep pushing. Carly says she knows, and Alexis tells her, have a good night. Sam comes into Kelly’s, and Carly asks if Scout forgot something, but Sam says she just wanted to check on her friend.

Alexis tells Molly that she’s sorry she’s late, but Molly says, five minutes is not late. She tells Alexis that TJ isn’t here. The ER is always busy on Halloween, so he probably won’t be back until early morning. Alexis says, poor baby, and Molly says, TJ loves being a doctor. Alexis says she knows he loves her daughter, and Molly says, Andrea was going to join them, but she’s exhausted after trick-or-treating with her son, so she had to cancel. Alexis is glad Molly has such a cordial relationship with her surrogate, and Molly says, her too. She and TJ were really lucky to find her. Alexis says she thinks that baby will be very lucky to have Molly and TJ as parents, and Molly asks if she’s hungry. Alexis says she’s always hungry, and Molly says she’ll unpack the food. There’s a knock at the door, and Alexis answers. It’s Kristina, and Alexis asks what she’s doing here.

Still dressed as Princess Leia, Willow finds a pirate hat outside Kelly’s, and picks it up. Harmony says she likes Willow’s costume, and Willow asks what Harmony is doing here. Harmony says she came to see Wiley and warn Willow. Willow says, warn her about what? and Harmony says, Willow can’t… She continues speaking, but there’s no sound, and Willow wakes up on the sofa. Michael asks if she had a bad dream.

Doc brings Laura a glass of wine, and she thanks him. He asks if Ace is asleep, and she says, yep and his mother too. He says, Esme is down for the night this early? and she says, Ace is teething. He kept her up all night; she’s exhausted. He says, she seemed fine when she was trotting him around in his costume, and Laura says, wasn’t he so cute? But just a little bit cranky. He asks if Spencer is out with Trina, and she says, yeah, and Charlotte should be out trick-or-treating by now.

Valentin parks the car, and the kids thank him. They start to get out, but he says, not so fast. Stay right where you are. He looks pointedly at Charlotte.

Anna says, it has to be here, and looks in a folder. She says, of course (🍷) it was you, you smarmy bastard.

Walking into Molly’s apartment, Kristina asks, what kind of greeting is that? and Alexis asks if she let Molly know she was coming. Kristina says, yes, when Molly invited her. She also brought pumpkin ice cream for Halloween.🤢Molly comes out and says she’s glad Kristina could make it. They hug, and Kristina says, sorry she’s a little late. She had to get someone to cover for her at Charlie’s, but here she is. Molly says, and she heard Kristina brought pumpkin ice cream, and Kristina says she did. Blaze turned her on to this new place. It’s totally organic and has amazing new flavors. Molly says she can’t wait to try it. She bets even mom will like it. Kristina says, she likes everything, and Alexis says, all right. Time out. Does someone want to tell her what she’s missing?

Sam says she hopes Carly doesn’t mind her dropping by, and Carly says, no, as long as Sam doesn’t mind helping her clean. Sam asks what she can do, and Carly says, crayon duty? Sam gets to work, and Carly says she just spoke to Sam’s mom. Sam asks if she had any news about Drew, but Carly says, no. She called to see if Alexis had an update because she just couldn’t help herself. Sam says she’s sure Alexis doesn’t mind, but she did tell Sam about Judge Kim’s record of giving overly harsh sentences if he thinks it will help him up the ladder. Carly asks if Sam can believe judges are still doing that, and Sam says, no, but her mom will see to it that she makes him answer some really tough questions if he doesn’t reconsider Drew’s sentence. Carly says she knows. It’s just, the waiting is driving her crazy. Has Sam told Scout what’s going on? Sam says, no. She doesn’t want to get Scout’s hopes up in case it doesn’t happen. Carly says, that’s smart. She keeps telling herself the same thing, don’t get your hopes up, but it’s so hard.

Willow asks, where’s Wiley? and Michael says he carried Wiley to bed. He didn’t even wake up. Willow says she’s sorry, but he says she has nothing to be sorry about. It looks like she had a bad dream. Does she remember what it was about? She says she had that dream about Harmony again.

Doc says, it’s good Charlotte’s out doing something with kids her age, and Laura agrees, but she’s just worried because Charlotte is obviously troubled right now. She thanks Doc for fitting Charlotte into his schedule, and he says, it’s a good first step. She asks if there’s anything he can tell her, and he says he can’t share what she confided, because she never opened up to him. Laura says, nothing? and he says, she was pleasant, articulate, and gave nothing away. The only real moment in the session happened when she began to talk about being protective of her father.

Valentin asks if their cell phones are fully charged. What about flashlights? They have candy bags there… Charlotte says, papa, please, and he says he’s almost done. Again, what’s the route? They all recite, Harbor Vista, Prince Street, Elmer Street, and back. He says, they’ll be back at what time? and they say, 9 o’clock. He says, they stay together. No one goes out on their own. Their parents are counting on him to keep them safe. Don’t make him look like a jerk. He puts his hand on Charlotte’s backpack, and she moves away. He says he’s helping her out. Did her father sufficiently embarrass her tonight? She says, he did, and he says, good. That’s his job. (He sounds like my father.) And to keep her safe and make sure she has a good time. She thanks him, and she says, tonight means a lot to her. He says, it means a lot to him too. Have fun. Valentin steps away, and Jake asks Charlotte, what made her change her mind about dressing up as the Hermit? She says, he doesn’t like her rah-rah costume? and he says he’s kind of surprised she does. She says she doesn’t, but she couldn’t get the other costume ready in time. Maybe she’ll dress as the Hermit next year. Georgie tells them, let’s go, and they leave as Valentin watches.

Anna tosses the unneeded folders back into the trunk, and calls Robert. He answers, happy Halloweeny, honey, and she asks where he is. He says, out tricking and treating with the rest of the kids, and she says, no, really. Where is he? He says he’s still in the office, and she says, stay right there. She’s coming over. He asks what this is about, but she says, it’s something he needs to see for himself. Stay in the office. She gathers up the papers she needs, puts them in her bag, and heads for the door. She pauses a moment, and goes back, taking her gun from the safe. She turns out the lights and leaves, locking the door behind her.

Sam says she was watching Carly with Nina earlier. Carly was very gracious to her. Nina says, it’s lucky she wasn’t bobbing for apples, and makes a pushing motion with her hands. Sam says, she’s really good at hiding her animosity, and Carly says, it’s exhausting. Sam says she gets that, and Carly says, fanning the flames of her hatred for Nina doesn’t help anything, and she’s Willow’s mother and Wiley’s grandmother, so… Sam says, and Sonny’s wife, and Carly says, yeah, there’s that. Sam says, Dante told her that Sonny seems to be happy, and Carly says, good. She wants him to be happy. Sam says, Sonny wants Carly to be happy too, and Carly says she knows. And Nina has been on her best behavior around the kids and Sonny. Sam says, but Carly doesn’t think she’s changed, and Carly says, no, not at all. For a long time, Willow didn’t want any relationship with Nina. Now, clearly, that’s changed, so if Willow’s happy, she’s happy. Sam asks, but what about Michael?

Willow gets up and says, so much candy, and Michael asks if it was the same dream or was it different this time? She says she was at Kelly’s, at the Halloween party. She was outside, and everyone else was inside. And suddenly, Harmony was there. It seemed almost normal. He asks if Harmony talked to her, and she says, yes. She asked Harmony why she was there, and she said the same thing as before. Harmony said she had to warn her, but when she goes on, her lips move, but there’s no sound. He says, so she still hasn’t heard an actual warning, and she says, but she thinks she knows what Harmony is trying to tell her.

Molly asks Kristina if Alexis missed something, and Kristina says she doesn’t know. Alexis opened up the door and there she was with her pumpkin ice cream. Molly says she came over, said it sounded really good, and here we are. Kristina says, there we are. Alexis is up to date. Alexis says, funny. They were hugging each other. Kristina asks if that’s against the rules, and Alexis says, they know what she’s saying. The last she knew, they weren’t speaking to each other. Now they’re acting like nothing happened, and they’re playing that little game, let’s make mom think she’s crazy. Kristina says she loves that game, and Molly agrees. Alexis says, spill it, and Molly says, after Alexis told them how disappointed she was in them, and how she’d do anything to have her sister back in her life, they really took it to heart. They got together and ironed things out. Kristina says, it was really more of a hammering thing, if you want to be accurate, and Molly says, sometimes it takes a hammer to get through to Kristina. Kristina says, Molly isn’t so easy herself, and Alexis says she really doesn’t need to know what happened. She doesn’t really need to know the details. Kristina says, Alexis always needs to know the details, and Alexis says, the two of them made up, and they’re very happy, and she’s happy that they’re happy. They’re all happy, and she’s very proud of them. Kristina asks if they can eat now, and Alexis grabs the ice cream and takes it to the kitchen. Molly says she actually thinks Alexis is proud, and Kristina says, of both of them. That’s got to be a first. Molly says she guesses hammering it out was worth it. Kristina says, definitely worth it, and Molly asks if Kristina will feel like that when this baby comes. Kristina says, Molly’s got her. Always. They hug.

Doc tells Laura, Valentin was badly injured not too long ago, and Charlotte is physically and emotionally dependent on her father. Laura says, but she also has them, and she has Sam and Dante. He says, she lived with Sam and Dante a month, maybe two. Before that, she lived with them for a few months, but if you take into context her entire life, as she remembers it, the one constant is Valentin. In other words, protecting her father is like protecting herself. Laura asks how that translates into breaking into Anna’s hotel room and vandalizing it or burning down Anna’s home – if it was really Charlotte who did that.

Jake wonders, what’s with the apples? and Georgie says she hates apples. Danny says, him too, and Jake says, some guy gave him money. Georgie says, her too, and Danny says, that’s why he likes going later. People run out of candy and feel guilty, then they give out cash. (Not in my neighborhood or I’d go out trick-or-treating.) While the others are busy talking, Charlotte slips away and goes down an alleyway to a hidden area. She opens her backpack.

As the Davis girls sit on the floor eating takeout, and Alexis tells them, she’s just saying that was her favorite year taking them trick-or-treating. Kristina says, she made them dress up as Supreme Court Justices, and Alexis says, because there were two women on the Court that year; that was the first time. Molly says, she had to wear those big glass to be Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and Alexis says, she was shorter. Kristina says, but those little gavels came in handy when knocking door to door, and Molly says, and their costumes were unique that year. Kristina tells Alexis, be honest. Was that the last time she was proud of them? Alexis says she’s proud of them all the time… when they’re not annoying her. She’s proud of all three of her girls. Kristina says, just wait until she gets ahold of Molly’s little girl on her first Halloween, and Molly says, or little boy, but Kristina says, it’s the Davis family. It has to be a girl. Alexis says, good point.

Carly says she thinks Michael’s just trying to do what’s best for his family, and Sam says, that’s true, but she doesn’t think Michael is as open to Nina as Willow and the kids are. Carly says, maybe he’s just not as good at covering his feelings as his mother, and Sam says, but Michael was best man at his dad’s and Nina’s wedding, right? Carly says she thinks he did that because Sonny asked him to, and Sam asks if she still thinks Michael is wary of Nina. Carly says she thinks wary is an understatement. That woman let them all believe Sonny was dead when she knew damn well he was alive. So she thinks the real question is, why would Michael or any of them trust her? Sam says, that’s true. She’s just glad Michael and Sonny are close again. Carly says, so is she, and Sam says, Dante told her that he didn’t think they’d ever be able to reconcile. Carly says, her neither. They’re both stubborn, stubborn men, and after Sonny fell in love with Nina… Sam says, Michael couldn’t accept it, and Carly says, no. It was really tough on Michael. It was tough on all of them. Sam says, and now? and Carly says, and now, life goes on. Whatever happened in Puerto Rico seemed to have changed everything between Michael and Sonny.

Michael says, so Willow thinks she knows what Harmony is warning her about? and Willow says, not for sure, but she thinks Harmony is trying to tell her that someone close to her is lying. He says, lying to her? and she says, yes, and Harmony is trying to warn her that she’ll get hurt. He says, Harmony’s been lying to Willow her whole life. Maybe that’s what’s jumbled up in her head. She tells him, that’s what Liesl said. Liesl said she should just ignore it. But what if someone is lying to her? Michael remembers asking Nina if she thinks Willow will understand. Drew saved her daughter’s life, and she got him sent to prison. He was beaten so badly, he almost died. Does she think Willow’s going to forgive her for that? Willow asks if he thinks she’s just nervous about how well things are going with Nina.

Doc says, even if Charlotte didn’t burn down Anna’s house, knowing what she has done, she’s clearly in crisis, and Laura says she knows. That’s why she’s so grateful Charlotte is seeing him. She’s going to see him on an ongoing basis? He says, that seems to be Valentin’s intention anyway, and she says, good. The house phone rings, and she says, it’s Valentin. She asks if everything is okay, and he says he was just checking in like he said he would. She says, of course (🍷). He did tell her that. Is Charlotte having a good time? He says, she is. She’s trick-or-treating with Danny and Jake and Georgie. Laura says she’s glad Charlotte’s spending time with them. It will be good for her to be with her friends right now. He says, she really needed this, and Laura says she knows. Please tell Charlotte that she loves her. She thanks him for checking in with her and tells him to have a good night.

Now dressed in a black hooded robe, Charlotte hears Jake calling her name. Jake asks Danny and Georgie how they lost her, and Georgie says, no clue. They call for her, and Danny says, come on. Not funny. They continue to search, and Charlotte puts the hood up, covering most of her face. I guess this is the Hermit?

Kristina asks if Molly and TJ have come up with any possible baby names, but Alexis thinks it’s too early to be talking about baby names. (Is she kidding? Girls probably start doing that in high school.) Molly says she and TJ said the same thing – Alexis says, good – except then they realized they were talking about the most mundane things not to talk about the baby all the time. Alexis says, it’s almost impossible not to obsess about the first baby. Molly says, now it’s all she can think about, and she goes over to the bookcase. Alexis asks if that’s what she thinks it is, and Molly says, a book of baby names. Alexis says, here we go, and tells Kristina, be nice. Kristina says she’s always nice… mostly, and Molly says, so they were both thinking Albert. I literally lol at Alexis’s face, and Kristina says, Albert? For a baby? She asks if Alexis likes Albert, and Alexis says she thinks Albert’s perfect. She thinks any baby name they come up with is perfect, because it’s their baby to name. Molly says she wasn’t even all that crazy about Albert, even though it’s a good name. Then they were thinking Ferris. Kristina says, as in Bueller… Bueller… Bueller… Molly and Alexis tell her, stop, and Molly says, maybe it’s a bad idea. Kristina says, what about girl’s names? And Molly says she was thinking something classic, like Athena, Kristina says, why not name her Madea? And Molly says, very funny. Alexis says, how about if we just look through this book together, quietly, and keep our opinions to ourselves? but Kristina says, they’re her daughters. It’s impossible to keep their opinions to themselves. Molly says, well said, sis, and Alexis says, touché. They open the book.

Carly says she bets Sam didn’t expect to help her take out the trash when she came to check on a friend, but Sam says she’ll scrub pots and pans if Carly needs her to. Carly says, she already did all that, but next time, and Sam says, perfect. Carly says she bets if she had told Sam all those years ago that they’d have a night like this… Sam says she bets she would have told Carly, not in a million years could they be civil to each other, and Carly says, they’ve come a long way. Sam says she’s glad, and Carly says, her too. If Rocco and Scout are on the same sugar rush as her kids used to get on Halloween night, Sam had better get home fast. Sam says she’s sure Dante has downed most of the candy by now, and Carly thanks Sam for coming to check on her. She didn’t realize how much she needed the distraction. Sam says, of course (🍷), and Carly can call her anytime. And don’t give up, because her mom never will. Carly says she knows and tells Sam, happy Halloween. Sam says, happy Halloween, and leaves.

Michael says, so things are going well with Willow and Nina? and Willow says, he was there tonight. Maybe it’s because now they’ve shared some positive experiences? He says he knows she had a good time at the wedding, and she says, they all did. Until Michael got distracted by that business call. He says, sorry about that, and she says, since the wedding, she and Nina can talk about Wiley and Amelia, even about taking that trip to Montreal. He asks if she wanted to go on that trip with Nina to Montreal, and she says, yes, she kind of did.

Laura tells Doc that she knows Charlotte. She couldn’t do something like this without having some kind of help. He asks if she thinks Charlotte had help from Victor, and she says, remember when Valentin got hurt? It was Victor who arranged for Charlotte to go to that private school in Europe. He had access to her there for over a year. Doc says, an impressionable year, and she says, yeah. Who knows what kind of lies he filled her head with? He asks if Charlotte didn’t say she hardly saw him, but Laura says, that is exactly what Victor would have told her to say. Victor hates Anna, so whatever Charlotte has done to hurt Anna is born out of Victor’s own hatred. Why else would Charlotte do something like that?

Anna goes into Robert’s office, and he asks what he needs to see. She opens the folder and asks if he recognizes any names there, and he says, Forsythe. She says, exactly. This memo is proof of a colossal screw up, and Forsythe was right in the middle of it. It should have killed his career. Robert says, but it didn’t, and she says, no, because someone buried it. He asks if this memo is the only proof she’s got, and she says, no. She was there – she takes a volume out of her bag – and she wrote it all down in her notebook. She knows for a fact he was there, and Forsythe has always known that she knew.

The kids continue to look for Charlotte, and Danny says, she’s ruining everything. Georgie wonders, where is she? and Jake says, she has to be around here somewhere. Georgie says, is that her? as Charlotte ducks around behind them, and Jake says, no. They saw that girl before and Charlotte doesn’t have pom poms. Danny says, she must have gotten ahead of them, and looking intently at someone, Jake tells them to go that way. He tells Georgie to text Charlotte, and he’ll go the other way.

Anna tells Robert that she thinks Forsythe either does something with intelligence or the defense industry. Either way, if this came out, it would ruin his career. He says, or worse, and she says, no wonder she’s being targeted. He knows for a fact she witnessed everything that happened. Somewhere in that trunk is a long form copy of the incident. She took it, just for insurance. He says, smart, but she says, what good is it doing her? No one could blame her if she took a copy of this to Alexis at The Invader, before Forsythe finds out she has any actual proof. He says, maybe he should take her home to her place, but she says she doesn’t need a babysitter. If anyone is watching her, everything should seem really normal. (Well, she did just dash to the DA’s office. I’m not sure how normal that is.) He tells her, be careful. They know the lengths Forsythe’s prepared to go to keep this quiet. Anna asks if he thinks that’s why Forsythe burned her house down, destroying any evidence she might have, and Robert says, could be. If he knows she has that trunk, he could come after her. She says, let him. At least now she’s not fighting shadows. She knows exactly what she’s up against.

Valentin looks at his watch, when Georgie and Danny arrive at the designated spot. He says, they’re back early. Where are Jake and Charlotte? Danny says, they couldn’t find Charlotte, and Valentin asks what he means. They were supposed to stick together. Danny says, they were, and Georgie says, when they stopped to check their candy, Charlotte just kind of disappeared. Danny says, Georgie tried texting her, and Georgie says, now Jake’s gone too.

Charlotte knocks on Anna’s door a couple of times and gets no answer. She looks around, smiling, then takes out the keys she spends so much time looking at, and lets herself in, closing the door behind her. She looks around using a flashlight. She checks out the safe, then sees the trunk. She kneels down and opens it, looking at the contents. She flashes back to reading Victor’s letter: Anna Devane is not who she seems. Do not trust her. She takes out a folder and looks at it.

Michael says he had no idea Willow really wanted to go on that trip. She says she knows it’s extravagant; Sonny wanting to take them to Montreal, just so Wiley can prove to James that his grandpa has a private jet. Michael says, his dad will go to extremes just to make sure his kids and grandkids are happy, and she says she can see that now. And she thinks Sonny would be disappointed if he couldn’t do it. And she’s never been to Montreal. Going there with Sonny, Nina, and the kids would give them another positive experience they could share. What does he think?

Molly, Kristina, and Alexis sit on the sofa, and Kristina says, this ice cream is really good. Molly says, Blaze has got great taste, and Kristina says, she sure does. Molly asks Alexis if there’s any update on Judge Kim. Kristina asks if that’s the judge who gave that ridiculous prison sentence to Drew, and Alexis says, it is. Right now, there’s no actual news. There are rumors flying around at the courthouse that he’s going to reconsider Drew’s sentence, but they’re just rumors. Kristina says, poor Scout, and Molly says she saw Scout the other day. She’s old enough to understand what prison means. She misses Drew so much. Alexis says, so does Carly, and Kristina says she can’t believe the judge wouldn’t take Drew’s family into consideration, or his military record. Molly says she thinks the judge wants to be seen as tough on everyone, no exceptions. Use it as a path to bigger things. Alexis says, so they hope for a miracle.

Carly goes in the back, and someone approaches the door. Drew walks in, and she says, is it really you? She runs to him and they kiss. She asks why he’s here, and he says, all he knows is, they said he was free to go, and he came straight here. She says, he couldn’t, but he says he did. He’s here. They’re together and he loves her so much. She says she loves him too, and they kiss again.

Alexis asks if Kristina drove, but Kristina says, on Halloween night? No way. Alexis says, good. She’ll drop Kristina off, and Kristina thanks her. Alexis says, next time, they add Sam to make everything complete, and the girls agree. They say their goodbyes, and Alexis and Kristina leave. In the hallway, Alexis says, that wasn’t the evening she expected. Kristina asks if she’s disappointed, and Alexis says she’s thrilled. Inside, Molly picks up the book of baby names and sits down with it. She says, Romulus… Atlas… Percio… Maybe she shouldn’t show this to TJ.

Michael says he just assumed… He thought Willow only went along with the Montreal trip for Wiley’s sake. He thought she’d be dreading it. She says she would have been, before. She might have even found an excuse not to go. He says, that changed since the wedding? and she says she guesses so. And the more time she spends with Nina when they’re with the whole family, the more she thinks they might actually be able to have a real relationship. Does that bother him? He takes her hand, and says, the only thing he cares about is that she and the kids are happy. He kisses her and says, and he’ll do whatever it takes to make sure she stays happy, and no one will ever hurt her. Wow. Is she gonna be mad at him when this all comes out six years from now.

Laura tells Doc that Charlotte reminds her a lot of herself at that age. She had a chaotic childhood too, and thought she knew better than all of the adults around her. He says, every teenager thinks that, and she says, yes, but she didn’t think of herself as a teenager. She thought she was more mature than the kids around her, and maybe she was. Maybe Charlotte is too, but Laura threw herself into some really adult situations that she didn’t know how to deal with. But that didn’t stop her from trying. He says, and look how well things turned out for her, and she says, but she didn’t have a grandfather like Victor Cassadine whispering in her ear that she should hate someone. Victor has convinced Charlotte that she should hate Anna, that she should hurt Anna.

Valentin says, it’s going straight to voicemail. She’s turned her phone off. Georgie asks why she would do that, and he yells, I don’t know! Sorry. She says, that’s okay. He’s worried about Charlotte. On the phone, Danny leaves a message for Jake that he and Georgie are with Mr. Cassadine, and he’s really worried about Charlotte. Is he with her? Call him. Valentin asks, when was the last time someone saw Charlotte? and Danny says, before they went into the alley, like they said. Valentin says, and no one’s seen her since? and Danny says, Jake thought he saw her. Valentin says, he did? and Georgie says, but it wasn’t Charlotte. It was some kid dressed as the Hermit in the tarot cards. Valentin asks why he would assume that was Charlotte, and Georgie says, because that’s what Charlotte said she was going to dress up as that, but she changed her mind. (Popular costume, is it?) Valentin says, tell him exactly what this costume looked like.

Charlotte looks through the folders, and Anna comes to the door. Anna puts her key in the lock, and realizes it’s unlocked. Charlotte braces the flashlight in the trunk in way that Anna sees the light, and she backs away from the door. The flashlight goes out, and Charlotte gets up. She taps at it, trying to get it to go on again. Anna sets down her bag and takes her gun out of her waistband. She quietly opens the door and sees the back of the hooded figure. She says, freeze, and Charlotte turns, pointing the flashlight at Anna. Anna shoots, and Charlotte falls.

On Monday, Drew doesn’t know how he got released from Pentenville; Sam says, they can’t jump to the worst-case scenario; Laura didn’t see that coming at all; and Elizabeth wonders where her son is.

🪢 As the Door Revolves…

Today, the new Molly debuted. I had a hard enough time not mixing up Molly and Kristina, but now they really look alike. I get that they’re sisters, but give me a break. We also got a new Georgie and Danny. So far, I’m liking them both.

🎓 And the Diploma Goes To…

How cool that Tajh Bellow (TJ) graduated with him. Two GH generations.

🗽 From the Old Neighborhood…

Gloria is in the building.

🥀 At Peace…

You probably know by now.

There were so many tributes. He was much loved.

🎃 Soap Or Treat…

How the soap stars spent Halloween.

🎱 Time’s Up…

She just got more and more obnoxious as the years went on. Remember that seder she caused a scene at? Oy. Good riddance.

https://www.etonline.com/ramona-singer-is-no-longer-at-real-estate-job-amid-bravo-controversy-214111

⚖️ As Predicted…

And I’m sure more lawsuits to come. Brandi also thinks she’s still 20. Shhh… Don’t tell her.

https://people.com/butler-from-bravo-s-rhugt-files-lawsuit-alleging-sexual-assault-8364873

👠 Recaps Of the House And Wives…

This is one I only watch peripherally – i.e. while I’m concentrating on something else at the same time.

Ditto. Except for when Trixie Mattel was on. I’m not sure why Mary is still in the cast. She seems like someone dropped in from another planet, and that’s saying a lot.

I can’t stomach this, but if you can, go for it.

I thought maybe these two were sane, but it looks like they’re sliding into wishy-washy territory. Sam shouldn’t be surprised. There are only 30- to 40-year-old boys on this show.

https://www.bravotv.com/winter-house/style-living/winter-house-recap-kory-keefer-samantha-fehers-relationship-update

🛠 Speaking Of Miss Trixie…

She is a Queen of many talents.

https://ew.com/tv/trixie-mattel-drag-me-home-hgtv-series/

🦇 You Didn’t Think I Was Done…

If you think you’ve seen them all, you’re wrong. Keep scrolling or swiping. There are definitely some repeats, but even cuter the second time around.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/celebrity-pets-best-halloween-costumes-over-the-years/ss-AA1jb9C6

🪗 Quotes of the Week

Infinitely more important than sharing one’s material wealth is sharing the wealth of ourselves—our time and energy, our passion and commitment, and, above all, our love. – William E. Simon (But a little cash never hurts.)

If you don’t believe me, then google it. – Cesar Faison (Anders Hove), General Hospital

There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. – Ray Bradbury

It is mental slavery to cling to things that have stopped serving their purpose in your life.Chinonye J. Chidolue

Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress: Working hard for something we love is called passion. – Simon Sinek

Success is built sequentially. It’s one thing at a time. – Gary W. Keller

Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes. – Carl Jung

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. – Maya Angelou

The differences that separate human beings are nothing compared to the similarities that bond us together. – Sophie Grégoire Trudeau

What did Columbus discover? People were already here. It’s like crashing your car into Starbucks & saying you discovered coffee. – Jimmy Kimmel

Magic is believing in yourself. If you can make that happen, you can make anything happen. – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

🪶 Shaking A Tailfeather…

Stop in for a quick dose of Fear on Sunday. Until then, stay safe, stay remembering there’s another holiday between Halloween and Christmas/Hanukkah/whatever winter thing you celebrate, and stay knowing that sometimes it takes a hammer to iron things out, but it’s definitely worth it.

October 20, 2023 – Alexis Blindsides Judge Kim, Mr. Christmas, Salt Shaking, Villainous, VanderSecrets, About Fear, Mary Deleted, Reasons Why, All Dressed Up, Seven Quotes Plus a Tagline & Everybody

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Anna tells her bodyguard that she’s not used to having one, and she really appreciates everything he’s doing. He says, not a problem, Miss Devane, and she asks him to call her Anna. She asks if he saw anything suspicious when she was with her friends, but he says, there was nothing out of the ordinary. She says, nobody paid special attention to her or… He says he watched the surrounding area the whole time and saw nothing that was a threat to her.

As they approach the house, Charlotte asks why Valentin insisted on picking her up early from school. He says, because he has a surprise for her, and opens the door. Laura is there and Charlotte runs to her, hugging her, and saying she missed Laura so much.

Esme brings Ace into the hospital and Spencer runs up to him, saying, Ace has a doctor’s appointment today. That’s so cool. He asks why Esme didn’t tell him that Ace had a doctor’s appointment today.

Robert sees Diane at the fitness studio and says, it’s Killer Miller. What’s she doing here at this time of day? Hold on. Does her infamous client Mr. Corinthos know she’s here doing yoga, and not sitting around clutching her cellphone, waiting for his beck and call?

Elizabeth goes into Drew’s room, and he says, she’s not his regular nurse. She says, he’s not her regular patient. She asks how he’s feeling, and he says, good. Maybe a little too good.

Gregory says he’s read Judge Kim’s opinions, and he considers himself an originalist. Correct? The judge says, yes. He believes the meaning of our Constitution doesn’t change over time. Alexis says she was just reading an article about Ascher Alexander, and he shares that view. Gregory asks if that isn’t the millionaire investment banker? and Alexis says, mm-hmm. Kim says he’s certainly heard of him, but he wouldn’t know if Alexander would agree with any of his judicial opinions. He’s never met the man. Alexis says, really. Interesting. So he flew to St. Thomas on this man’s private jet to go deep sea fishing, and yet he’s never met him? Visibly uncomfortable, Kim says, with all due respect to her sources, he believes she’s been misinformed, but Alexis says, on the contrary. She can provide dates, records, flight manifests, or anything else she needs to prove he did fly to the Caribbean with Ascher Alexander. It seems to be a major conflict of interest. Would he care to comment?

Meeting Dante at the Bistro, Cody asks what he’s got there, and Dante says, just some paperwork he has to file for administrative leave. Cody says, Sam told him about that. Does this mean he gets to just hang around the house in his PJs and still get paid? Dante says, no, not quite. The PCPD is going to do an investigation to see if his reasons for shooting the perp were justified. Cody says, he’s a great cop. Just doing his job, right? Nothing’s simple. Everything’s so damn complicated. It’s pretty frustrating. Dante asks what he’s talking about, and Cody says, it seems like you do the right thing and get the wrong outcome.

Elizabeth says, once Drew’s made a full recovery and is cleared by the doctors, he’ll be sent back to Pentenville. It’s got to be tough. Drew says, in the meantime, he gets the pleasure of her company, and she says, nice deflection. He says, she’s got to fill him in on the boys; how’s Cameron doing? She takes his blood pressure and says, the boys are actually really well. Cameron is loving being at Stanford. Academically, he’s doing well, and as for soccer, he’s not a starter yet – he hasn’t played enough games – but he’s proven himself to be a very valuable player. Drew says, that’s fantastic. What about Aiden? She says, he’s still baking. He made a pie the other day; it was so delicious. Drew says, when she talks about Aiden’s baking, his mouth starts watering, and she says, he’s very talented, and he’s determined. He plans on going to the most prestigious pastry academy in Paris. And he wants to pay for it himself. Drew says, wow. How’s he going to manage that? She says, he started his own little business. He has a website and everything. He’s selling fancy cupcakes. He ships them out or delivers them if they’re local. She keeps telling him to talk to Carly and see if she can sell them at Kelly’s. Drew says, that’s a good idea. He’ll put in a good word for him with Carly. She says, he would love that, and he asks, how’s Jake? She says, Jake has a girlfriend.

Alexis says, since Judge Kim is claiming not to know Ascher Alexander, she’s assuming he neglected to report this deep-sea fishing trip on his tax filings or any other gifts or accommodations he received from this very influential friend. Is she right in that assumption? The judge gets up and says he agreed to be interviewed on his judicial philosophy, not to answer questions about where or with whom he chooses to vacation. Although he shouldn’t be surprised by this blatant ambush. He remembers her reputation as an attorney. That is, when she could still practice law. Cheap tricks and judicial violations. No wonder she was disbarred. Gregory says, so far, they haven’t heard a denial.

Diane says, for Robert’s information, she’s often here at this time of day. It’s the only time the studio offers this particular class. And might she remind him, she works for herself, unlike him. So no matter how demanding her clients are, her life is her own to schedule. But him, a public servant taking a three-hour lunch break to pump some iron? She wonders what The Invader would have to say about that.

Doc joins Esme, and Spencer says, it just that the first he heard about Ace’s appointment with his pediatrician was this morning when he got a confirmation text from the doctor’s office, so a heads up would have been nice. Esme says, it’s really not a big deal. The pediatrician had a cancellation this morning and offered the spot to Ace, so she took it. Doc was nice enough to offer them a ride to the hospital. Spencer says he appreciates Doc doing that; he’s sorry that Doc had to. Doc says, it was no trouble, and Spencer says he would have taken them himself had he known. Esme says, it’s just as well. Spencer was with Trina, and she didn’t want to interrupt that. Spencer says, they’ve talked about this multiple times, including in that parenting class she suggested they take with one another. He wants to be at all of Ace’s medical appointments, even the small ones. She says, and what for? and he says he’s Ace’s older brother. She tells him, and she’s his mother and she’s perfectly capable of looking after her own son.

Charlotte says she’s missed Laura so much, and Laura says she missed Charlotte too. And she’s sorry she was away so long. Charlotte asks if she found Uncle Nikolas, and Laura says she didn’t actually see Uncle Nikolas. Charlotte says, that’s too bad, but Laura says, that’s okay. She does know he’s all right. She thinks he’s traveling right now. He needs a little time to himself. Charlotte asks if she knows when he’ll be back in Port Charles, and Laura says she’s not sure, but she didn’t want to wait to see Charlotte any longer. She wants to hear everything about Charlotte’s life. She wants to hear about school and her friends and her classes. Valentin says, this third wheel is going to let them catch up. He has some errands to run. He’ll be back later. He kisses the top of Charlotte’s head and leaves. Charlotte watches him go, and Laura asks if she’s worried about her father.

Gregory tells Judge Kim, with all due respect, a simple denial of this fishing trip would clear up any misunderstanding. He denies he took the trip; he denies he was a passenger on Alexander’s jet? Kim says, this interview is over, but Alexis says, he agreed to this interview on the record, which means she’s free to publish anything and everything that was said here today, which in the end, could prove very embarrassing to him. It might also stall his rise to the Federal Circuit. Kim says, she lured him here under false pretenses, and she says, all he has to do is commute the sentence, the unfair, harsh sentence he imposed on Drew Cain, to time served and set him free. Then this interview will never see the light of day. Kim says, so that’s what this is all about. Blackmail? She belongs in a prison cell next to Drew Cain. He walks out. Um… That didn’t go well. Maybe she played that hand too quickly.

Robert asks if Diane is questioning his work ethic, and she says, he’s questioning hers. He says he’s just happy to see her, and she says, that’s how he shows it? He says, yeah, and she laughs. She says she thinks they’re so used to sparring with each other in court, that’s become their default M.O. He says he’s thinking maybe they should change that, and she says, then what would they do for fun?

Dante tells Cody, Sasha went through a pretty big ordeal. Maybe her leaving town isn’t a bad idea. Cody says, it’s a terrible idea and he told her so. Sasha wouldn’t listen to him. Dante asks what he said to her, and Cody says, he told her, moving to Austin without a job or friends or family would be a mistake. Dante says, and? and Cody says, and what? Dante asks what else he said to her, and Cody says, nothing. Dante says, he didn’t tell Sasha that he wanted her to stay? and Cody says, no. Dante asks, why not?

A nurse tells Esme that the doctor is ready to see Ace now, and Spencer picks up the diaper bag, but Esme says she’s got it, taking it from him. She says she’d prefer to speak to the pediatrician alone, and follows the nurse. Spencer says, what the hell was that about? and Doc says, that was Esme exerting her parental rights, which Spencer does not share.

Charlotte say she thinks papa is worried about her, and Laura says, most parents do worry about their kids. Is there something specific she thinks her dad’s worried about? Charlotte says, he’s never pulled her out of school early to see Laura. She knows Laura was gone, but she could have just seen her tonight, so why did he pick her up early from school? Laura says she thinks she can solve this mystery. She requested this special meeting because Charlotte is her number one priority ahead of everything else, and she wanted to have this time together before she had to go back and assume her mayoral duties. Charlotte says, now that Laura’s back, she doesn’t feel so alone now, and they hug.

Valentin asks if Anna has been sitting alone in the dining room since her meeting with Jordan, and she says she has. He asks, why? and kisses her. He could have just as easily met her in her room. She says she doesn’t like being alone in her suite, but he says, she’s not alone, is she? She has Sonny’s bodyguard watching over her. She says she just feels trapped… vulnerable, and isolated from the rest of the world. Like a sitting duck, waiting for whoever’s after her to strike again.

Cody tells Dante that he didn’t let Sasha know he wanted her to stay in Port Charles because he did what he always does; he made it about himself. Dante asks, how so? and Cody says he doesn’t even know how it happened. He started talking about people making mistakes and how everyone does it, and the next thing he knows, he’s confessing to her that Mac Scorpio is his biological father and he lied to Mac about it. Dante asks what he was thinking, and Cody says he wasn’t. Dante says, he really did make it all about himself, and Cody says he knows. He was desperate. He really doesn’t want her to go.

Valentin says, Anna doesn’t have to stay here alone if she doesn’t feel safe. She has other alternatives. She says she’s not staying with him, because he has Charlotte to consider, and she’s not about to bring whatever danger is after her down on Charlotte. He says she’s right. He’s going to have to get along with his daughter right now and it’s not a good time, but he did buy that house for the two of them. She says, regardless of what she just said, she is fine here, but he says he disagrees. She doesn’t have to stay here alone. She has plenty of friends In Port Charles she can turn to.

Robert says, you want to have fun with moi? and Diane says, if it hasn’t been made clear, she does. She enjoys spending time with him. What she doesn’t enjoy is being made to think she’s an afterthought or a default friend. He says, wait a minute. He’d like them not to be just friends, and she says, meaning? He says, why don’t they pick up where they left off? She says, absolutely not.

Alexis tells Gregory, what difference does it make? She just let that guy leave with the upper hand. What was she thinking? That she was going to hammer him so hard, he would admit he’s corrupt in taking gifts from special interests? Gregory says, she doesn’t know what he was thinking when he left, and she says, that guy is scum, but he has an excellent legal mind, and he did what he should have done. He walked out. And her? She’s left with half an interview where he didn’t admit to doing anything wrong and zero leverage to help Drew.

Drew asks, who’s the lucky girl? and Elizabeth says, Charlotte Cassadine. He says, good for them. He loves hearing all this good news. She says, Charlotte wasn’t her favorite person when she was little, but she’s grown up a lot. She thinks Charlotte might actually be good for Jake. He says, in what ways? and she says, her boy is so shy and reserved, and Charlotte is very confident, and it seems to be rubbing off on him. It’s the first time since Franco’s death that Jake doesn’t seem down all the time. He says he’s really glad to hear that, and she says, and Charlotte is the most popular girl in the class, so dating her has really boosted his self-esteem. He says, that’s great. He loves Jake like Jake was his own son. She says she knows. Jake loves Drew too. Drew means a lot to all of them. A guard comes in and says, the transfer paperwork’s been approved. He’ll be taking Drew to Pentenville.

Laura says she knows Charlotte doesn’t know very much about her or her childhood, but to tell her the truth, she was very alone as a kid. And it was really painful. She guesses she just wanted Charlotte to know that she’s not alone because Charlotte has her, and she also has her dad. Charlotte says, Laura is right. She does have her and papa, but that’s it. She doesn’t have any friends at school. Laura says she’s so sorry and asks if Charlotte is having trouble making friends. Charlotte says, yes and no. She thinks she’s just been away from Port Charles for too long. All her old friends are into different things now. They just keep their distance from her. (I’m confused. Didn’t Elizabeth just say she was the most popular girl in class?) Laura says, Elizabeth told her that Charlotte and Jake have become friends. Sometimes all you need is one good friend. Charlotte says she and Jake are friends, and he’s really nice, but he’s a boy. That’s a lot different when you don’t have another girl to talk about things with. Laura says, Charlotte’s got her, and Charlotte says, yeah, but Laura’s her grandma. It’s not the same. She just doesn’t have someone to hang out with. And papa’s never around; he’s always busy. Laura says, yeah. He spends an awful lot of time with Anna, doesn’t he?

Anna tells Valentin that she’s not going to impose herself on Jordan like that. Or Mac and Felicia. That’s just too much to ask. He says he doesn’t think any of them would feel like it was an imposition. Mac and Jordan have law enforcement training, so if whoever’s targeting her is… She says, the solution is not for her to hole up with her friends and bring danger to their door. The solution is for her to go after whoever’s trying to dismantle her life and shut them down.

Spencer tells Doc, there’s really no need for people to keep reminding him that he’s not Ace’s father. He gets that. But Ace’s father, who is also his father, is missing in action because he doesn’t care that he has  two sons. Doc says, Spencer doesn’t know what’s going on in Nikolas’s head any more than he does. Benefit of the doubt is always the healthiest approach until you know the facts. (Not according to Dr. Phil.) Spencer says, his grandmother, who is the kindest, sweetest, most determined person on the planet, has finally had to admit to herself that his father isn’t coming back. And someone needs to fill that void. Someone needs to be there for him. Someone who’s not Esme. To be honest, Spencer doesn’t much care what the official title is, be it father or brother, he’s going to step up and take care of his baby brother. He’s going to do it. Doc says, he should care. His love and commitment to Ace is commendable, but he doesn’t have any actual parental rights where Ace is concerned. He understands that, yeah? Spencer says he understands that, and he’d really like to stop hearing that from people like Doc and everybody else. Doc says, he’s heard this before? and Spencer says, yes. He gets it. From a legal standpoint, Esme has the final say. Doc says, that’s right, and Spencer says, fortunately, with the exception of this… he guesses they’ll chalk it up to a miscommunication, he and Esme have been able to work together to take care of Ace, and he’s not expecting that’s going to change any time soon.

Robert tells Diane that he’s a little confused. He thinks he’s getting mixed signals. She says, nope. She doesn’t send mixed signals. Picking up where they left off would leave such a bad taste in her mouth. It would just remind her of how she was used for Holly’s agenda and how she was treated when Holly was around. He says he’s sorry, and she thanks him, but asks him to let her finish. She’s been back and forth in her head about him. The moment she starts to think, even for a second, about what a great guy he is – funny, charming – she’s blindsided again by yet another revelation about something, anything in his past. So he wants to know where she is right now with this? He says, definitely, and she says, good. She’ll tell him.

Cody says he’s been going on and on about his troubles when Dante, his best friend, is under investigation at work for shooting someone. Dante says, it’s nothing. This is just police procedure. It’s easier than doing math homework with Rocco. Dante sucks at math. Cody thanks him, and Dante says, for what? Cody says, for everything he’s done. Not just for him since he got here to Port Charles, but for Sasha too. He doesn’t know if they could have pulled this off without Dante and Sam. He’s a good friend. So is Sam. Dante says, she came around, huh? and Cody says he knew that was going to happen; he’s irresistible. Dante says he doesn’t know if Sasha thinks so. He’s sorry all this stuff is happening with Sasha. He knows she’s come to mean a lot to Cody.

Laura says, when Charlotte first got back from camp, she went to live with Dante and Sam, and her dad lived with Anna. What did she think about that? Charlotte says, that was just temporary while papa was buying this house for them, so she didn’t try to think about it. She asks what Laura thinks about the house papa bought for her, and Laura says her opinion isn’t as important as Charlotte’s is, so what does she think about the house? Charlotte flashes back to Valentin telling Anna that he bought the house for them, so they could move in with Charlotte and start a life together. She tells Laura, it’s all she wanted, and Laura says, a house like this? but Charlotte says, a home for her and papa. All to themselves.

Valentin says he’s sorry this is happening to Anna. She doesn’t deserve this at all. Anna says she disagrees, because they both know she brought this down on herself. She was a double agent. She betrayed the WSB and betrayed her country. And she has to accept the fallout from that. She wipes some tears away, and he says, no. Nothing could be further from the truth. She’s being targeted. She’s having her entire life dismantled by someone’s twisted idea of vengeance. She asks why he’d say that. Why does he think it’s revenge instead of justice?

Cody says he’s just being selfish, and Dante asks, how so? Cody says, wanting Sasha to stay here in Port Charles, but Dante says he doesn’t think it’s selfish. Cody likes her and wants what’s best for her. Cody says, if he does, maybe he needs to realize this is going to be really hard for her. These reminders of Brando and Liam, and that nightmare Gladys. Dante says, they’re never going to have to worry about Gladys again. She’s not going to show up in Port Charles. Cody says, Sam told him that Dante’s dad made sure of that, and Dante says, Sonny can be persuasive. Cody laughs and says he bets.

Robert asks why he feels he’s about to get hit by the infamous Killer Miller atom bomb, and Diane says, buck up, soldier. She has the feeling Robert Scorpio can handle what she’s about to say. Besides, this a golden opportunity for someone, who shall remain nameless, but who is him, to become a better human being. He says, okay. Lay it on him. She says, no. They’re not going to pick up where they left off. There’s too much hurt and confusion and betrayal and dishonesty down that road. He asks what she’s suggesting, and she says, they wipe the slate clean. They clear the chessboard as it were. And this is great. He gets to put his paw in anywhere he wants to, because he’s starting at square one.

Alexis tells Gregory, that might have been their only chance to get Drew released and she fumbled it. He says, she didn’t fumble it. She got to him. She says she should have approached this like in negotiations where each party gets what they want. A subtle warning to Judge Kim about a potentially embarrassing career decision and then he gets a chance to clean it up before the dam breaks, and then an early, quiet release for Drew. Nothing said overtly, only implied. This is how deals are done every day, but she had to go for the jugular. She had to grandstand. Does he know why she did that? He says he thinks she’s about to tell him, and she says, because that’s what lawyers do and she’s a lawyer. Or she wants to be one and she misses it. She wanted to win and she lost big; not for her, but for Drew.

Elizabeth tells Drew, maybe they can delay this. Dr. Ashford is on duty. She could speak to him, and he could say there are more tests that need to be done tomorrow, and he can stay here an extra night. Drew says, there’s not point in delaying the inevitable. Honestly, it would probably make it more torturous. They both know he’s going to end up in prison eventually. She says, then let her call Carly for him, but he says, no. She says, why not? and he says, because he doesn’t want her to see him literally hauled out of here in chains. It would be better if she just finds out about it once he’s gone.

Dante gets up, and Cody says, he’s leaving? He thought Dante could sit around all day and listen to him sulk. Dante says, that sounds like a lot of fun, but he has to get this stuff to Mac. Seeing that Cody’s told Sasha that Mac is his father, doesn’t Cody think he should tell Mac the truth too? He thinks Mac deserves to know he’s got a son. Cody says, no way. He lied to Mac’s face about being his son. There’s no way he could look at Mac’s face and see the disappointment and hurt when he found out. Dante says he’s not going to push it, but think about what he’s keeping from Mac. This isn’t a minor thing. Cody not telling Mac that he’s his son, makes his life a lot more complicated. Dante leaves.

Robert says, as an ex-spy, he’s strategic and an excellent chess player, and Diane asks what he’s saying. He says he accepts the challenge and the conditions, and she says, excellent. She’s just going to give him a warning. He says, wait a minute. A warning. A strategic advantage to him. She says, sometimes a warning is just a warning. This is a game between her and him. If he invites anyone else to play, or even watch, then she’s going to take her queen and go home. He says, just her and him. and she says, those are her terms. He says he’s liking how this sounds already. Just them; Robert and Diane. She says, more like Diane and Robert, but here’s one more thing. Not only will she take her queen and go home, she will take the entire chessboard, and there won’t be a rematch. She leaves, and he half-smiles.

Doc says he gets it. Ace is Spencer’s little brother, and Spencer wants only the best for him. But he really doesn’t help Ace if he denies the reality of the situation. Spencer says, the reality is that he’s going to do what he can for Ace, but Doc says, the reality is, Spencer and Esme no longer have anything in common except Ace. And as their lives diverge, and they will, Spencer may have to accept a reduced role in Ace’s life. Spencer says, no. He doesn’t accept that. Esme comes back with Ace, and Spencer asks, how’d it go? Esme says, Ace is once again in the 99 percentile, and Spencer tells Ace, way to go. That’s what he’s talking about. This calls for a celebration. Why don’t they go to Kelly’s and celebrate? He thanks Doc for his help, and says he appreciates it. He’ll take it from here. He leaves with Esme, who tells Ace, a cup of hot cocoa from Kelly’s does sound good, doesn’t it?

Laura say she knows how close Charlotte is with her father, but as much as he loves her, he was never a teenage girl. But Laura was and she remembers what it felt like. And it was really, really hard sometimes, just to be yourself. She felt like no one understood her. She never knew how she fit in, in her family. She didn’t feel like she fit in at school at all, or with her friends. And she had two really successful doctor parents and that was kind of hard. She didn’t always believe everything they told her. Did she take the advice they gave her? No, she didn’t. It was a very hard time. Painful. Confusing. Can Charlotte keep a secret? Charlotte says, sure, and Laura says, when she was Charlotte’s age, she made some really big mistakes. Charlotte says, really? and Laura says, yes, she did. She takes Charlotte’s hand and says, and it was Charlotte’s great-grandmother Leslie who saved her really. She was like Laura’s rock, and Laura wants to be there for Charlotte now, the way Leslie was there for her. She wants that more than anything and wouldn’t have it any other way. So if there’s something Charlotte needs to say to someone, something that maybe she needs to share, she’s here to listen to Charlotte. Charlotte says, grandma… Laura says, yes, dear? and Charlotte says she’s really glad Laura is back. She missed her. Laura says she missed Charlotte too, and they hug.  

Valentin says, this all started at the reading of Victor’s will and Anna’s WSB file being released to the press. She says, his father’s final act of revenge on her, and he says, no doubt. He thinks there’s someone else targeting her on Victor’s behalf.

Gregory asks if Alexis has always been this hard on herself, and she says, yes, especially when she screws up like she did today, and the screw up affects somebody she cares about. He says he’s sorry. He doesn’t see it that way. He was here, and saw and heard her in action. She was great. And if anything significant happened today, it was that she made a sacrifice. She says, what sacrifice? and he says, every instinct she had was, is still, screaming to publish an exposé on Kim’s corruption, barbecue him in The Invader. But she pulled back for Drew’s sake and offered him a deal. Alexis says she came on too strong, but Gregory says, there’s no guarantee that a softer approach would have been any more effective. She says, the point is, she went after Judge Kim because she wanted to, and it was stupid and unprofessional. Alexis’s phone rings, and she thanks them for letting her know. Keep her posted. She tells Gregory, that was a friend of hers from the Federal building. She said that Judge Kim asked his clerk to pull Drew Cain’s file. Gregory says, and? and she says, apparently, he may be reconsidering Drew’s sentence. Gregory says, see? Nice work, counselor.

Elizabeth watches as Drew is wheeled out wearing leg irons, since he might make a sprint from the wheelchair. They lock eyes for a moment, and she watches as he’s wheeled into the elevator. She stands in front of the elevator, and they look at each other with sad faces as the elevator doors close.

On Monday, Brook asks, since when does granny’s opinion hold any weight with Lois; Cody says he had his chance and threw it away; and Sonny tells someone, the next thing they say could have lasting repercussions.

🎄 Nathan Rushes the Season…

I swear this guy is in every other holiday movie.

🧂 Salting the Lake…

This week’s shenanigans.

It says something about you when your own son wants to hide his marriage.

https://people.com/rhoslc-recap-mary-cosby-son-robert-jr-was-secretly-married-for-a-year-8362974

🗽 Gorgeous Is Gonna Devour Cute…

Tiffany is awful, but I like her, and God help me, I might have to take Jax off the awful list. I’m surprised at how good this show is.

https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/tiffany-pollard-a-hero-in-the-villain-house

🍸 SURish Secrets…

It’s not really all that interesting, mostly about Bravo being cheap, but keeping the Pump rolling until the new season begins.

⚰️ One Fear Coming Up…

Sunday, October 22nd, 9 pm EST. Be dead or be there. Of course the finale is in two parts. It’s a thing now.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/fear-the-walking-dead-series-finale/

https://screenrant.com/fear-walking-dead-season-8-two-part-finale/

🧹 Extra Extra…

Wow. It’s all pretty tame by today’s standards.

https://ew.com/movies/hocus-pocus-deleted-scene-grocery-store-mary-steals-child/

🎃 Today’s Lesson…

More Halloween lore.

https://www.countryliving.com/entertaining/a40250/heres-why-we-really-celebrate-halloween/

🐶 Will Do a Trick a Treat…

I love this dog.

https://paradepets.com/pet-news/pug-latte-costume

Come on. You know you want to dress your dogs up. You probably want to dress up your cats too, but we all know how that can go.

https://people.com/best-dog-halloween-costumes-8362521

https://www.etonline.com/the-best-last-minute-dog-halloween-costume-ideas-to-put-a-spell-on-everyone-hocus-pocus-baby-yoda

🐝 Quotes of the Week

Whatever we believe about ourselves and our ability comes true for us.Susan L. Taylor

The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. The meaning of life is to give your gift away. – David Viscott

One man alone can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for real bona fide stupidity, there ain’t nothin’ can beat teamwork.Edward Abbey

Our most significant opportunities will be found in times of greatest difficulty.Thomas S. Monson

To improve is to change, so to be perfect is to change often. – Winston Churchill

Once you start recognizing the truth of your story, finish the story. It happened but you’re still here, you’re still capable, powerful, you’re not your circumstance. It happened and you made it through. You’re still fully equipped with every single tool you need to fulfill your purpose. – Steve Maraboli (Or as Sweet Pea said in Sucker Punch: You’ve got your weapons. Now fight.)

For better or worse, Beanies were like crack. – Rich Kelley, The Beanie Bubble

🫦 My Real Housewives tagline: Sometimes going commando really does mean you’re carrying a machine gun. Holla!

🕸 Being Altogether Ooky…

Meet me here on Sunday for a Fear quickie. Until then, stay safe, stay bringing the appropriate hostess gift to a Halloween party – you know, like a coffin – and stay remembering, sometimes all you need is one good friend.

October 17, 2023 – Mason Defies the Boss’s Orders, On Their Off-Time, No Fish From You, Sweet As Pie, Legendary Losses, Update In the UK, Not Barbie & Hand

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Lois sees Eddie/Ned in the nook and says, there he is. She’s been looking all over for him. Looks like he’s avoiding her. He asks why he’d avoid her, and she says she understands the situation. In front of Olivia, who happens to be one of her best friends in the whole world, he has to pretend so he can spare her feelings. He asks what she means, and she says, they’re alone now. Come on. When he first walked in and saw her, the look on his face was undeniable. He may not remember Olivia, but he remembers her. He tells her, like he said, she looks very familiar, and she says, that’s what he needs to say in front of the family he forgot. There’s no way he could forget the times they had. We flash back to when we were all in diapers, and Lois pushed Eddie to sing. She says, he was amazing. He took her breath away. We flash back to their romance and getting married. Then Lois finding out he’s really Ned, and him telling her that he loves her and needs her in a way he’s never needed anyone. We see her during her pregnancy and subsequently leaving him. She says, come on. Their wedding, Coney Island… She can see it in his eyes; he remembers her. He says, that’s not what she’s seeing in his eyes. She looks familiar, but he really doesn’t remember her or their wedding. He was married to Olivia, and he doesn’t remember her. He’s got this great daughter – Chase and Brook approach the doorway – and he doesn’t remember her either. Chase and Brook walk in.

On the phone, Tracy asks Finn where he is. It’s backgammon night; he’s late. Gregory walks in and says, no, he’s not. Finn’s not coming. She says, he came all this way to tell her that? but he says, no. He came to settle a score.

Josslyn goes into the station with Pilar and Avery, and asks Pilar to wait with Avery. She goes to the desk and asks the sergeant if she can speak with Detective Falconari. It’s a matter of life and death.

Dex goes into the basement where Ava was being kept, and through his headset, Spinelli asks if he found her.

Carly visits Drew and asks how he’s feeling. He says, better now that she’s here, and she asks what the doctors say. He tells her that they say he’s recovered enough to go back to prison.

At the hospital, Cyrus sees Austin, who asks what he’s doing here. Cyrus says he’s happy to see Austin again too. They have some unfinished business.

On the phone with Olivia in the interrogation room, Dante says he will when he gets a chance. He he’s got to go…  Because he’s at work. There’s a knock at the door, and the desk sergeant is there with Josslyn. He says, sorry to bother Dante, but she said it was urgent. Josslyn says, it is, and Dante asks her, what is it? The sergeant leaves, and she says, Ava’s in trouble. Dante sees Pilar is there with Avery.

Spinelli says, anything? and Dex says, damn. There’s no one here. The basement is empty. No sign of Ava.

Mason stops his car in a wooded area, and in the backseat, Ava says, he doesn’t have to do this. He says, oh, but he does.

Closing the door, Dante says, so Ava never picked up Avery? and Josslyn says, no, and Pilar hasn’t been in contact with Ava. He asks if Sonny knows, and she says, no. Pilar knew he was marrying Nina in Puerto Rico. She didn’t want to contact Carly because she’s dealing with Drew in the hospital. Josslyn went to Windymere and talked to Ava’s butler. He hasn’t seen her since night before last, but yesterday morning, he found a broken martini glass on the living room floor. She found Ava’s cellphone and this. She shows him the lollypop and says, this isn’t Avery’s; she hates grape. She asked Avery, and it’s not hers. He says, so she thinks whoever dropped it is with Ava?

Dex asks if Spinelli is sure this is the final location with ties to Pautuck Trucking, and Spinelli says, affirmative. Dex has already searched the other seven. It’s a reasonable assumption, given his connection to the trucking company, that Mason would have taken Miss Jerome to one of these locations. Dex asks if Spinelli checked to see if Mason has any properties only in his name, but Spinelli says he went through all the financials available related to Mr. Gatlin; any purchases, credit cards, addresses. Everything points to him only using these properties. Dex looks up at the window and says, this may be nothing, but… He moves one of the boxes and finds a piece of material on the floor. He says, Ava was here, and Spinelli asks if he’s certain. Dex says, yes. Maybe Mason was alerted to him checking the other locations and he moved her. Spinelli says, seems like a logical conclusion, and Dex says he needs Spinelli to check the traffic around Pautuck and the surrounding highways. Spinelli says, already on it, and Dex says, maybe Mason’s using the same vehicle and they got lucky.

Ava says she knows this wasn’t Mason’s idea, and he asks, why? Is he so dumb that he can’t have one? She says, no. Because she doesn’t think he’d hurt her. She doesn’t think he’d hurt anybody. She thinks he’s following orders. She understands whoever he’s working for must be very powerful, but this is one order she thinks he should disobey. Because if he goes through with this, and Sonny finds out Mason was part of her disappearance – and believe her, he’ll find out – he’s going to be the one that pays, and she thinks he knows what that means. It’s his only chance to let her go. He says, she thinks so? and she says, yeah. She’ll cover for him. He says, she’d do that for him? and she says, of course (🍷) she would. She’ll make up some excuse for why she was gone, and Sonny will buy it. She’s gotten things over on him in the past. He says, that’s a really good offer, except she already told him that Sonny would figure out what he did because Sonny’s so damn smart. But she wants him to believe she could fool him. She says she can and he laughs. She says she can do it; she can. Right now, she hasn’t been gone long enough for anyone to even be suspicious, but if she’s gone much longer, if something should happen to her, Sonny will find out what Mason did, but if he brings her home right now, she’ll protect him. He says she’s full of it. He’s not going to let her go. They’re going to sit here quietly wait for orders.

Austin asks what Cyrus wants, and Cyrus says he wanted to thank Austin for testifying on his behalf at the hearing. As Austin can see, with his critical input, the judge determined he wasn’t medically fit to stay in Pentenville and finish his sentence. Austin says, because he’s such a feeble man, and Cyrus says, complete freedom invigorates a man. Austin says, Cyrus is a master of miracles. Why doesn’t he pull another one out of his hat and let Ava go? Cyrus asks when Austin became so cynical, and Austin says, the deal was that he would testify on Cyrus’s behalf and Cyrus would release Ava. Now live up to the end of his bargain and tell Mason to let Ava go.

Carly asks when Drew has to go back to Pentenville, but he says he’s not exactly sure. Carly says, well, that’s wrong. His doctor is being overly optimistic about his condition. She’s going to talk to the doctor and make him understand it’s way too soon to send Drew back to Pentenville. She heads for the door, and Drew says he doesn’t want her to ask the doctor to lie or exaggerate to keep him here longer. The doctor saved his life; he did his job. She says, saving Drew’s life could be a waste of time. Because if he sends Drew back to Pentenville, the people who almost killed him are going to try to finish the job.

Brook says she wanted to introduce Eddie and her mother to Chase, and Chase shakes Lois’s hand, saying, it’s nice to meet her. She tells him that he’s as gorgeous as everyone says, and please call her Lois. He thanks her, and she says she was practically a baby when she had… Brook says, ma! and Lois says, what? She’s just being honest with the man who’s making their daughter so happy. Brook wasn’t lying to her when Brook told her that, right? Brook says, of course (🍷) not. Chase is the best. Lois says, and that’s exactly what their daughter deserves. Isn’t that right, Ned… Eddie? Eddie/Ned says, what? and she says, pay attention. Seeing these two together, it feels so right. And Chase should feel honored, because her daughter doesn’t settle for anyone. Brook says, ma! and Lois says, what? She’s just saying. Brook always goes where her heart leads her, and her heart led her to Chase. Eddie asks if it was Lois’s heart that led her to him.

Tracy says, all right, let her have it, and Gregory says, thank you. She says, what? and he says, she did something that had to be done. He kept putting it off and he shouldn’t have. She says, he’s not angry? and he says, damn straight he’s angry. At her, at himself for not telling Chase, and his diagnosis. But if his illness is telling him anything, it’s that anger is a waste of time.

Tracy laughs, and Gregory says, what’s so funny? She says, sorry. She’s not laughing at him; she’s laughing at herself. She was so convinced he was going to be furious with her for telling Chase about his ALS, for which she is so sorry. But instead, here he is waxing philosophical about anger and time. He says he was hardly waxing, and he does understand the irony, but he fails to see the humor. She says she guesses she finds it funny that he thinks anger’s a waste of time, and he says, it is. She says, for her, she finds anger a powerful motivator. In fact, she considers her ability to channel anger to action an asset. He says, figures she would.

Lois says she and Eddie have a complicated romantic history. That would have been good for him to forget. He says he’d still like to hear it, but she says, some other time. Chase and his better half don’t want to sit around and listen to her yammer on about their past. Chase says he’d like to hear it, and Lois says, really? He says, absolutely, and Lois says, all right. Don’t say she didn’t warn them. She says, come on, and taps on the table, indicating they should sit. She says she guesses it all started when her heart led her to a man who didn’t exist.

Drew tells Carly that he’s going to be fine. Don’t worry. She says, how can he ask her not to worry about him? and he says he’s in Pentenville for his own actions, for his own decisions. She says he’s being his noble self and she loves him for it. It’s something she absolutely loves about him, but it doesn’t cost that doctor a damn thing to keep him here, to keep him safe. It’s not like he’s risking his medical license; he’s protecting Drew’s life, a life that he saved. Drew says he loves her for trying to rationalize it, but she’s got to let him deal with his own situation. She says, it’s not his own situation. It’s her situation too.

Ava says, Mason doesn’t have to take orders from anybody, and Mason tells her to shut up. He knows exactly what she thinks he is. He’s known ever since that fancy Quartermaine barbecue. She walked in and saw him threatening Austin and she saw the knife in his hand. It turned her on a little; he could see it in her eyes. Then she heard him talk and saw he had a little dirt under his fingernails and said to herself, hey, he’s white trash. He wasn’t worth her breath. It wasn’t until he learned she murdered her husband that he got her attention. Then he saw how phony she was. But he saw how his smartass cousin got her attention. He’s a high and mighty doctor, so she just jumped right in the sack with him. It must be disappointing. She could have had her chance to be with him, a real man, but she made a mistake, and now she’s never going to get that chance again. So she’s going to sit there and she’s going to shut up.

Pilar and Avery are in the interrogation room. Dante seats Avery at the head of the table and tells her that she’s going to sit in the important person’s chair. Avery asks if he knows where her mommy is, and he says, that’s what they’re going to figure out. He knows it’s late, but he wants her to stay there with her sister and Pilar. She says, okay, and Josslyn thanks him. He says, of course (🍷) and goes out to the squad room. He tells the desk sergeant, whatever they need, and leaves.

Cyrus tells Austin, as he said, he’s grateful for Austin’s help, and he trusts with the Lord’s guidance, everyone will be safe. Austin says, stop. He promises Ava’s not a threat to Cyrus. She has no idea he and Mason work for him. Austin’s phone trills, and Cyrus says, it sounds as if Austin’s patients need him. God speed. Austin leaves, and Cyrus calls Mason.

Pacing outside the car, Mason says, yeah? Cyrus asks if he has the passenger, and Mason says he does. Cyrus says, take her home, and Mason says he doesn’t get that. Cyrus says, the situation has been resolved to his satisfaction. Take. Her. Home. Mason hangs up and looks at Ava through the car window.

Lois says, keep in mind, she was young, practically a baby, like she told them earlier. And she was naïve. She became completely infatuated with Eddie Maine, who she thought was living a double life. Pharmaceutical salesman by day, rocker by night. Chase says, that’s quite a combination, and Lois says, tell her about it. Little did she know, he was actually Ned Ashton, who was planning on marrying another woman at that time. And get this, he actually married that woman while he was married to her. Eddie says, Olivia, but Lois says, not Livvy, that came later. Brook says, she could sell this story to 20/20, and Lois says she tried; they didn’t believe her. She asks Eddie if any of this rings a bell, because she swears it’s the God’s honest truth, but he says, no. Just so she knows, he is not living a double life now. He is himself, Eddie Maine, musician. If what she’s saying really happened… She asks if he’s calling her a liar, but he says, no. He just wants to apologize on behalf of the man he was back then and the way he treated her.

Tracy asks Gregory how Chase is handling it. Wait a minute. How is he? She asks him to sit, and he says he’s getting weaker. His hands are cramping and twitching a lot more; he drops things. He really misses being able to drive himself, but he had to give that up a while back, so he didn’t pose a danger to anyone else. And he’s probably going to have to start using a cane sometime soon because his balance is going in and out. Otherwise, he’s great. How about her? She says, how about a drink? He says, sounds good, and she says, scotch okay? He says, perfect, and as she makes the drinks, she says she’s very relieved he came by. You know how it is when you make a mistake, and you dread the consequences? He says, that’s how he felt with Chase, but she says, no. He may not have handled the situation perfectly, not telling Chase when he told Finn, but there were mitigating circumstances. She on the other hand, shoved her foot right in her mouth and blurted out something that was not hers to say. He says, clearly there was no malice intended, and they clink glasses. She says, clearly, because if there is, he’d know it. He says he’s sure, and she says, why did Finn bail on her by the way? He says, Violet has a cold, and she says she’s sorry to hear that. He says he could fill in for Finn, and she says, that’s nice. She thanks him, but Finn understands her competitive nature. He says, her, competitive? and she says, shocking, she knows. He says, who does she think taught Finn everything he knows about backgammon? and she says, in that case, let’s roll. I went through a backgammon phase, so I kind of get it.

Carly says she’s the one who acted on inside information, and it’s her fault Drew is in this situation. He says, they’ve been over this, and she’s got to stop blaming herself. She says she’d love to blame someone else, but he says, they don’t have much time left. Let’s not go over this. He knows she didn’t mean for any of this to happen. She says, but it happened, and he almost died because those inmates attacked him, and now they want to send him right back to them. He says, it’s not the doctor’s fault he’s in prison. Whoever turned them into the SEC knew that the Feds would twist what they did and make them look guilty (um… they are). She says, but it’s not them; it’s him. He’s the one taking the fall. He says, his choice, when there’s a knock at the door. Cyrus walks in, and Carly says, what the hell?

Pilar leaves to call her mother, and Josslyn says she heard Avery’s dad and Nina got married. Avery says, yeah, on daddy’s island, and Josslyn bets it was beautiful. Avery says, yeah. Donna got to go, but she didn’t. Josslyn says, Avery’s dad really wanted her to be there, and he was super disappointed about how things worked out, but she thinks when he and Nina get back, they’re going to arrange to take Avery somewhere super special. Avery says, she thinks? and Josslyn says she’ll make sure of it, hugging her. Avery says she hopes mommy can go too.

Mason gets back in the car, and Ava says, who was that on the phone? He’s about to start the car, and she asks where they’re going. What is he going to do? He says, to hell with the boss’s orders, and gets out of the car. He walks around to the passenger side and opens the backseat door. She asks what he’s doing, and he says, they’re going to do things his way. He reaches in, pulling her out, and she struggles with him.

Josslyn’s phone rings, and she asks Spinelli, what’s going on? He says he was hoping she could tell him. Has Dex been in touch with her? She says, no. She thought Spinelli was in touch with him and he was checking out those places in Pautuck. Spinelli says, he was, but now he’s not. He got a hit on Mason Gatlin’s vehicle out on County Road 21 and sent that information to Dex. She says, he’s following that maniac? and Spinelli says, yes. They had some contact in the beginning of Dex’s pursuit, but then he hit a dead zone… Sorry. Poor choice of words. She says, he has all of that fancy equipment. Use it and find Dex. He says he’s doing his best, but if she hears from Dex… She says she’ll let him know right away, and he says, copy that. Spinelli gets to work, and Josslyn calls Dante.

Mason tries to drag Ava away from the car toward a cliff, but she continues to struggle with him. They see headlights coming, and Dex comes out, aiming his gun. He tells Mason, let her go.

Lois says, that’s it? and Eddie says, that’s what? She says, what she just told him about what her Eddie put her through are just the tips of the iceberg. And he thinks I’m sorry covers that? He says he doesn’t know what else she expects him to say, and she says, her Eddie Maine was an alter-ego, but this Eddie Maine has conveniently forgotten all the schemes and schnookery that her Eddie Maine put her through. So she guesses her question with all of this is, how many Eddie Maines are in there? He says he knows she doesn’t want to hear it… and she says, of course (🍷) she doesn’t want to hear it. Because she lived it. Because even after all of that, she ended up marrying Ned Ashton Quartermaine, and they had a beautiful daughter, and they had some great memories. They were very much in love, and they were married for some time, and then they got divorced. But this Eddie Maine, he’s forgotten all of the terrible things her Eddie put her through. But this Eddie Maine has also forgotten all of the wonderful times they had. And he’s a poor man for that, and she pities him. He says, I don’t need your damn pity, lady, because I’m very happy just the way I am. He walks out, and Lois says she’s sorry. She apologizes to Chase and says she may have let that go a little too far, but Chase says, no. Now he knows where her daughter gets her spirit.

And I don’t know what schnookery is, but that’s a great word.

Cyrus says he’s sorry. He hopes he’s not interrupting. Carly asks what he’s doing out of prison, and he says he remembers she likes to get right to the heart of the matter, doesn’t she? He calls her Mrs. Corinthos, but she says, it’s Spencer, and he says, of course (🍷). Clearly, she and Mr. Corinthos are no longer together. She says, answer the question, and Drew says, Cyrus is standing here, having rolled right past the guard. If he’d broken out of Pentenville, Cyrus would be on his way to a country with no extradition treaty. Cyrus says, alas, nothing so dramatic. He was released from Pentenville earlier today. Carly asks, on what grounds? and Cyrus says, medical. The doctors determined that any further state could jeopardize his health and that he doesn’t have the capacity to harm anyone. Carly tells Drew, and he was concerned about asking the doctor to stay, when some quack let this maniac out on the streets? Cyrus says, and his first mission on said streets was to come and check on the man who saved his life, and Carly says, big mistake. Cyrus says he’s so glad Carly is here, keeping his friend Drew company, because he’s long wanted to see her.

Mason wonders who Dex is, and Dex tell him to drop the gun; he’s got a clear shot. Ava says, take the shot, but Mason shoots Dex first. Dex falls, and Ava elbows Mason, getting away from him. Dex pops back up and rushes Mason, and they roll around on the ground fighting.

Gregory says he believes that’s three to one, and Tracy says, best of seven? but he says, it’s late and he’s tired. He’d better be getting back. She says, coward, and he says, absolutely. He can see by that killer look in her eye, he should quit while he’s ahead. She says he’s a liar. He’s really good. He thanks her, and thanks her for the distraction. And the drink. She says, they’ll do it again, and he says he’d like nothing more. He didn’t realize how gratifying it could be to beat Tracy Quartermaine at something. She tells him, hold on to that feeling until next time when she wipes the floor with him, and he says, they’ll have to wait and see. Let him call a ride service. She says, Yuri will take him, and he thanks her. She says she really is sorry, but he says he told her, he’s not upset about what happened with Chase. She says she doesn’t mean that. She means his diagnosis. He moves toward her and they hug. He kisses her cheek and says, goodnight. She looks really sad as she watches him leave.

Dex and Mason continue to fight, and Mason gets Dex down, banging his head against the ground. Ava yells, no! Stop! I wonder why she’s not helping, when Mason is suddenly shot in the back and falls off Dex. Our hero Dante has arrived.

Carly tells Cyrus that she has nothing to say to him, so get out. He says he can appreciate her antipathy. After all, there was a great deal of friction between them when her ex-husband Sonny went missing, and she and Jason Morgan were running the territories. Drew asks what he wants, and Cyrus says he just wants Miss Spencer to understand that any friction back then was before he found the Lord. Carly says, is he kidding her? and he says he regrets the tactics he used, but even then, there was no personal animosity. She says she has tons of personal animosity toward him, and he says he completely understands. He just hopes that at some point in the future, he’ll have the opportunity to make almonds amends. She says, don’t hold your breath, and he says, at least she can appreciate the fact he was able to come to the aid of Mr. Cain. She asks Drew what Cyrus is talking about, but Drew says he has no clue. Cyrus says he’s sorry. He assumed they told Drew that he was the one who found him beaten in the shower. He got help for Drew. He was told Drew would have perished otherwise. So just as Drew saved his life, the Lord gave him the opportunity to save Drew’s. And seeing Drew here like this, recovering so well after the way he looked when Cyrus came to his aid… is thanks enough. God bless them both. He leaves, and Carly looks at Drew.

Eddie goes into the solarium and says, Tracy’s here. She says she lives here, and he says he knows. He was just hoping maybe… never mind. She asks, what’s up? and he says, that woman is driving him crazy. She says, Olivia? but he says, no, the other one. She says, oh. He doesn’t mean his wife Olivia; he means his ex-wife Lois. He says he doesn’t remember either one of them, but the second one. She says, Lois drives everybody a little crazy, and he says, she keeps going on and on about their past. Tracy says, the part where he married her, or the part where he married someone else while he was married to her? and he says he doesn’t need to hear this from her. She says, he’s right; she’s sorry. She’s not a Lois fan, however, he must realize how difficult the situation is for her. He says he does, but no one seems to understand how difficult this is for him. All he keeps hearing about is what an awful guy he was. Or what a wonderful guy he was. But none of it means anything to him, because he’s not that guy. Tracy says she’s sorry, and he says, him too. She asks why he came in here, and he says, when his head is spinning like this, he finds that music is the only thing that helps him. She says, be her guest, and heads for the door. He thanks her and sits at the piano.

Chase tells Lois, from the first time he arrested Brook, he could tell she was a force of nature. Lois tells him, he says that like arresting her was a romantic gesture, and he says, no, but needless to say, she didn’t appreciate his actions as a detective. Brook says, because he… but Lois shushes her and say she wants to hear what he has to say. Chase says, from the first time, even though they didn’t agree on everything… Brook says, anything, and he says, okay, anything. He came to admire Brook’s spirit and commitment. She was so eager to put everything she believed in on the line, and he always wondered where she got that nerve from. Now he knows. Lois says, aww. She didn’t do everything right as a mother, but if she taught her daughter to stand up for herself, then that makes her proud. Because her Brook Lynn has always been her own person. Brook says, with a very high tolerance for embarrassment, and Lois says she already apologized for the scene. Brook says she knows. It’s fine. She’s just glad Chase got to meet the real her. Chase says he’s glad he finally got to meet her, and Lois says, the feeling is mutual. It makes her feels so good to see her daughter so happy. And he seems like a very kind and patient man. Brook says, ma… and Lois says, both of which are good qualities if he’s going to move forward with her daughter. Brook says she’s got to break this lovefest up; they have to go. Lois asks Chase for a hug, and he obliges as Tracy walks in.

Brook walks out the door, Chase following her, and Tracy says, you’re welcome. Lois says, for what? and Tracy says, they’re together because of her. Lois says, is that a fact? Her daughter found a man who clearly adores her and she loves him back, and that joy is all because of Tracy? Tracy says, they were miles apart. She brought them together. Lois says, because Tracy blackmailed her daughter to get what she wanted.

Carly looks out the blinds, and tells Drew, that man didn’t find the Lord; he found a loophole. Drew says, they have to give Cyrus some kind of credit. He knows how to work the system. She says, the system’s a joke. That man is walking around free, while Drew is going back to Pentenville for insider trading? That he lost money on? (sigh) It’s insane. He says, it’s something they’ve got to deal with, at least for now, and she says, that man is dangerous. He can’t be out there roaming around the streets of Port Charles. Her phone rings, and she asks Josslyn, what’s up? Josslyn says, everyone is safe, but something’s happened. She needs to come home right away.

Ava asks Dex if he’s all right, and Dante phones in the report, keeping his gun on Mason. Dex takes the ties off Ava’s wrists and asks if Mason hurt her. (I just have this fleeting thought: Ava and Dex. It would work better than what they have going on now.) She says, no. She’s okay. How did he find her? He says, with a lot of help. It’s a long story. She says she’s glad she’s alive to hear it. Still on the phone, Dante checks Mason’s pulse, and says, he’s alive, but still unconscious. Two gunshot wounds to the back. He’s going to need medical attention and transport. He thanks them, and Ava asks, is the bastard gonna live? Dante says, guys like this usually do. Any idea why he brought her up here? She says, he was pretty clear when he was dragging her to the edge of the cliff before Dex showed up, and Dante says he means, does she have any idea why he abducted her in the first place? She says she guesses orders from his boss, and Dante asks, who’s his boss? Did she get a name? She says, no, but when she does, they’re going to wish she’d never heard it.

Cyrus gets in the hospital elevator, and Austin stops the doors from closing and joins him. Austin says he needs to talk to Ava, and Cyrus says, she seems to have become important in Austin’s life. Austin says he needs to know that she’s okay, and Cyrus says he’s expressed his gratitude for Austin’s help at the hearing, but gratitude only goes so far. Austin has known him a long time, and he’s sure by now Austin understands he’s in no position to make demands. It’s best to remember who’s in control here. He gets out of the elevator, but Austin stays in. The doors close.

Tomorrow, Tracy tells Lois that she couldn’t be more wrong; Josslyn asks how close Dex came to going over himself; and Carly tells someone, the kidnapping isn’t the worst thing.

🧼 Outside the Soap Bubble…

What a few of the soap stars are doing when off the soap clock.

🐠 Not Today Fish…

She’s such a wacko anyway. Why even try to communicate?

https://ew.com/tv/rhoslc-mary-cosby-refuses-fish-sandwich-ziwe-wwhl/

🩺 Stranger Things…

I like Phaedra and she probably does have a sweet side, but I wouldn’t want to be on her sour side.

🥀 Two Fallen Stars…

I loved her in the original Carrie and always preferred it over the remake.

https://ew.com/celebrity/piper-laurie-dead-carrie-twin-peaks-actress/

A true legend.

https://people.com/suzanne-somers-dead-at-76-8358227

👠 Fabulous New Project…

Whatever it is, I’ll watch it. AbFab’s Eddie and Patsy were like Lucy and Ethel on crack.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/jennifer-saunders/article-12635805/Jennifer-Saunders-Dawn-French-Absolutely-Fabolous-update-new-project.html

🤷🏻‍♂️ He’s Just Pete…

This is pretty funny.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1387905/pete-davidsons-barbie-parody-mocking-his-dating-life-and-more-is-a-perfect-10

👀 Not Looking In the Basement…

Join me tomorrow for soap and internet treats. The OC season is blessedly over, and I think RHOBH is coming soon, but tomorrow is only the Miami Reunion. I do watch Miami off and on, but never included it here. Until then, stay safe, stay watching the classic Halloween at least once this season, and stay channeling your anger into action. In a good way. Let it be a powerful motivator, but not a vengeful one.

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.

September 29, 2023 – Nina Spills To Sonny, NuMolly, Hope, Revealing, Backtrack, Levi Rock, RHOP 8, Early Drama, Fakes, Her Stance, VanderWhiner, A Huid Ye, Last One, Newsworthy Pets, Tenner Of Quotes & When

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

New York City. Trina and Spencer are seated outside at an upscale restaurant, and Trina says, that was amazing. The set, the costumes, the music. She felt like she was actually at the Moulin Rouge, Didn’t he love it? He says he did, although he did have a little bit of trouble paying attention, because there was a pretty girl next to him who he kept stealing glances at. She says she’s definitely not as exciting as the Can-Can, but he says he disagrees. She says she’s not sure Toulouse-Lautrec would agree, and he says, it made him happy to see her so happy. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She says, how could she be anything but happy? She’s in the city with the most incredible guy. He says, who’s incredibly hungry, and she says she’s starving.

Nina lies in bed sleeping, surrounded by papers, when Sonny comes in. She says, hello, handsome, and he says he didn’t mean to wake her. She says, no apologies necessary. She loves waking up to him.

Drew dreams about the attack and wakes up with a start. Willow is sitting next to his bed, and she says, bad dream? He says, this kind of dream is his reality.

There’s a knock at the gatehouse door, and Michael opens it to Carly. He asks what she’s doing here at this hour, and she says she needs his help. She saw Willow at GH; she’s with Drew. He says he stayed behind with the kids. How is Drew doing? She says, he made it through surgery. He’s lucky to be alive. They almost beat him to death. Michael says, he shouldn’t even be in Pentenville. He doesn’t know what that judge was thinking. She says she does. Judge Kim used Drew to advance his career, and she needs Michael to help her prove it.

Finn asks where Elizabeth has been all night. It’s the first time he’s seeing her. She says, it’s been so busy. She’s been assisting in surgery for the past three hours. Why is he here so late? He says he couldn’t leave without saying hi to her.

Ava comes into Windymere, and butler Giles takes her umbrella. She asks, why is it only raining on this godforsaken island? Not a single drop anywhere else. Giles says, Spoon Island is in microclimate, and she thanks him for the science lesson. (Personally, I’d like to hear more on that, since I think I live in one too.) She says she’s obviously not meant to be dry today, so in keeping with the wet theme, she’s going to take a long, hot bath. He says, no, she won’t, calling her madam, and she tells him, stop it with the madam and tell her why she can’t take a bath. He says he’s sorry, but the hot water heater isn’t working due to intermittent power outages on the island from the storm. She says, like the microclimate, and he says, precisely. She says, please tell her the vodka and olive situation hasn’t been affected by the storm, and he says, not to his knowledge. She says, hot dog. Then fix her a martini. She’s going to get out of these wet clothes. He asks how she’d like her martini, and she says, dry, very dry.

Geneva, Switzerland. Laura and Doc walk into an office, and a man says, welcome, Miss Spencer. She shakes his hand and says, actually, it’s Collins now, and introduces Doc. The man says, Hans Mueller. Pleased to meet you. He and Doc shake hands, and he tells them to have a seat. Hans says he’s known Doc’s lovely wife for years, and Laura wonders how long they’ve been doing business, then says, don’t answer that. She doesn’t think she wants to hear that number, but Hans has been a friend of the family for a long time. Hans asks what he can do for her, and she says, he can help her find her son.

Elizabeth says she’s not buying it. There has to be another reason Finn is still here. His shift ended hours ago. He says he’s insulted. Okay, maybe he’s waiting around for some lab results, but seeing her is incentive for sticking around. She says, he won’t be seeing her around here at night anymore. The kids are done with camp and she’s switching back to days. He says he likes seeing her any way he can, but he has to admit these nights have been kind of special. She says she wouldn’t exactly call a 12-hour shift special, and he says, seeing her has been kind of nice, and their talks on the roof. She says, when he stole her spot, and he says he thought they cleared this up. She’s the interloper. She says she doesn’t think she’s ever been described that way, and he says, if the shoe fits. She says, whoever gets there first, okay? and he says, it sounds like a challenge. She laughs and says she should go. Goodnight, Dr. Finn. He says, goodnight, Nurse Baldwin.

Sonny asks how things went with Charlotte. He’s sure she was excited spending the night at Nina’s place. Nina says, she was, but things are difficult for her right now. She’s been acting out. He says, she’s what? Fourteen? Nina says, it’s hard for her to believe this, but she’s fifteen, and he says, acting out comes with the territory at that age. You’ve got to have patience. She says she is, but when she and Valentin were together, she was Charlotte’s stepmother for a while, and even though they’re not together now, she still thinks of Charlotte as family. He says, family is very important. It’s the most important thing. She says, since they’re on the subject of family, they need to talk about his.

Drew says, not that he doesn’t appreciate the company, but what is Willow doing here? She says, she and Michael heard about the attack. They were so worried about him, she had to come and see him, so Michael stayed home with the kids. He says, that’s very sweet, but she didn’t have to come, and she says, it’s the least she could do. He literally saved her life. If he hadn’t rescued Liesl, she wouldn’t have gotten the bone marrow transplant, and she wouldn’t be here. A visit from her certainly can’t compare, but she wanted him to know she’s thinking about him. He thanks her, and she asks if there’s anything he wants or needs to talk about? He says, no… Well, there is one thing he needs to know and it’s pretty important. She says, anything, and he says he needs to know how Wiley’s T-ball team is doing.

Laura tells Hans that her son has been missing for months now, and she’s afraid something’s happened. Hans says, he hasn’t contacted her at all? and she says, no. And he left behind two sons. One of them is just a baby, and she doesn’t believe he’d just abandon them. So she’s afraid maybe he’s being held against his will. She and Doc have been searching for him for weeks now, but they haven’t come up with any leads. Doc says, they’ve been to the Cassadine properties in Russia and Greece, but there’s no sign of him, and Hans says he’s happy to help in any way he can, but what makes them think Nikolas is in Geneva? Laura says, because his money is here.

Ava thanks Giles for making the fire. She knows it’s a bit early, but it was so damp. She feels better already, and she’ll feel even better when she gets that martini. She turns around to take the martini from Giles as there’s a clap of thunder, startling her. The martini sloshes onto her, and Giles says he’s so sorry. Let him get her a napkin. She says, no, no. It’s quite all right. She told him she wasn’t meant to be dry tonight. He hands her a manila envelope, saying, this came from the real estate agency. She thanks him, and he says he’s off this evening, but there’s plenty of food in the kitchen. She says she’ll be having a liquid dinner. Thanks so much, and get home safely. He leaves, and she sits on the sofa. She opens the envelope and takes out pictures of a house interior. She says she can’t wait to get off this island.

Trina says, what a beautiful night, and thanks Spencer. He says, no need to thank him. All he did was place a few phone calls; to the hotel, to the restaurant, and then the concierge. It’s not a big deal. She says, everything has been wonderful, but she wasn’t talking about the reservations. She knows how hard it is for him to get away. He has to deal with Esme and be there for Ace, and she wants him to know how grateful she is that he made time for them. He says, I love us, and she says, me too. And she loves him, so very much. I’m not sure why. He’s really good looking, but he talks too fast and too loud, and he’s still an entitled snob.

Carly tells Michael that she can’t believe it. This is all her fault. He says, it isn’t, but she says, it is too. She’s the one who insisted on investing in Aurora. She’s the one who took a chance and put all her money into that stock. That’s what led to the insider trading charge. Michael says, she had no idea that was going to happen. Someone is to blame, but it’s not her. Whoever called the SEC, they’re to blame. She asks if he still thinks it was Ned, but he says, there’s no way to know. Now Ned thinks he’s Eddie Maine and they may never know, but he’s working on it. She asks what he means, and he says he may have a lead on the whistleblower, but it’s not going to get Drew out of prison any sooner. He’ll tell her about that later, but right now they have to focus on getting Drew home. She says she spoke to Diane, and she thinks their best strategy is to put pressure on the judge; either get him to reduce or commute Drew’s sentence. He asks how they do that, and she says she has some information on the judge and she’s going to use it.

Willow shows Drew her phone, and says, these days, all the kids get a trophy. Wiley didn’t understand it at first, since they lost every game. He said he thought only winners get trophies, so she told him, everyone is a winner at T-ball. Drew says, has he maybe tried soccer? but she says, young Mr. Corinthos wouldn’t even consider it. She’s afraid Wiley takes after his dad. He is so stubborn. He’ll argue about it no matter how many times he strikes out. Nina came by last week, and she can’t believe how committed their slugger is. He says, wow. That must mean she and Nina are getting along. She says, it’s going better than she ever imagined. Nina’s respecting boundaries. She always calls to see if it’s okay to come over. She’s great with the kids. Wiley loves his grandmother. He lights up when he sees her. He says he’s so happy that things are going better. That’s great. How is Michael doing with all this? Has his opinion of Nina changed? She tells him, like she said, Michael’s stubborn.

Sonny asks if something happened between Nina and Michael, but she says, no. It’s not Michael, it’s… Gladys. He says, what’d she do now? and Nina says, she’s in serious debt. She owes a lot of money to Selina Wu. He says, that’s somebody you don’t want to mess with. How did Nina find out? She says, Gladys came to her. Gladys asked her for money. She wanted Nina to bail her out because she was too afraid to approach Sonny. Sonny says, let him guess how she got into this hole – gambling. Nina says, she lost a lot of money. Apparently, she’s been playing for months. He says, dammit, getting out of bed. What the hell is wrong with Gladys? Didn’t she see what gambling did to Mike? It pretty much destroyed his life. What was she thinking? Nina says, that’s the point; she wasn’t thinking. And she hates to tell him this, but it gets worse. Before Gladys came to her, she found another way to get the money. He says, how? and she says, Gladys was stealing money from Sasha.

Thunder rumbles as Ava raises her glass and says, here’s to the end of the Windymere era. Good riddance to this place and everything that happened here. She sips her martini, and flashes back to the argument she and Nikolas had that ended with her cracking him over the head and thinking he was dead.

Doc tells Hans, we have a saying in the US; follow the money. That’s what led them here. Laura asks if there’s anything Hans can tell them, and he says, Nikolas indeed has a substantial amount of money with them, but it’s separate from the Cassadine estate. Nikolas has several separate accounts. A large amount was sent to him by his Uncle Victor. His condolence on Victor’s death. Both Doc and Laura are like, no, and Doc asks if there’s been any recent activity in Nikolas’s accounts. Hans says, as a matter of fact, there’s been quite a bit. There have been several withdrawals. Laura asks if Hans has seen him, and Hans says, no, but he’ll print out the records for them. Laura thanks him, and Hans leaves. Doc says, this could mean Nikolas is alive, and Laura says she hopes so.

Spencer says he can’t believe it, and she says, that she’s in love with him? He’d better believe it. He says, no. That it took her so long to say it. He was just professing his love to her back in the hotel room and she didn’t say anything back, so he just assumed… She says, that she didn’t feel the same way? and he says he didn’t know. Why didn’t she say anything then? She says she learned a thing or two from Aunt Stella. She said, good things come to those who wait. He says he would have waited an eternity for her to say those words and he’s so glad she did. He doesn’t know if she’s noticed, but he’s not the most patient person in the world. She says, him? What is he thinking about? He says, that he’s the luckiest guy in the world, and takes her hand. He says he’s loved her for so very long. Since the day he met her. She says, that was a long time ago, wasn’t it? They’ve certainly been through a lot since then. We go down Spencer and Trina Memory Lane, but not too far, since it was another actress then, and there’s a song part. He says, the best is yet to come, and kisses her hand.

Sonny says, so Nina is telling him that Gladys is stealing from her daughter-in-law? and Nina says, yeah. Gladys has been syphoning money from Sasha’s bank account for months, until she drained it. And she was desperate because she still owed Selina Wu a lot of money. Then when Sasha came to Gladys and said she wanted to end the conservatorship, she panicked. Gladys doesn’t want anyone to know what she’s doing. He says, Sasha came to him months ago and said she felt stronger and didn’t need a guardian. Gladys told him that she was against ending the guardianship. Is Nina telling him that Gladys tried to make sure this didn’t happen? She takes his hand and says, Gladys did a lot more than just that.

Drew tells Willow that he gets where Michael is coming from. Everyone knows how Carly feels about Nina. But he keeps getting reminded, not only is life short, but it’s so fragile. They shouldn’t waste their time arguing with people and holding grudges. It just takes too much energy. Willow says she knows. After losing her mother, she realized how important family is. Harmony was never really her family, but the Quartermaines are. She feels so blessed to be a part of them. They’re so generous and loving… He says, and crazy, and stubborn, and combative. She says she knows, but she wouldn’t trade their money them for anything. He says, neither would he.

Elizabeth scrubs at her scrubs in the locker room, and sees Finn’s ID hanging from a locker. She looks over to see him in the shower. Since the doors are wide open. She leaves her ID on the table, and walks into the shower stall with him.

It continues to storm on Spoon Island. Ava turns around, and jumps, dropping her martini.

Hans comes back, and says, here are the current records for Mr. Cassadine’s accounts, handing them to Laura. She says, thank you so much. She looks through a folder and says, wow. There are quite a few withdrawals, aren’t there? Doc says, and these dates line up. They started just a few months ago. She says, right after Nikolas went missing, and Hans says, his colleagues tell him the withdrawals were made in person by Mr. Cassadine. As she can see, there’s a recent transfer for a substantial amount. He’ll leave her with these records. He has to attend to another matter. She says, he’s been so helpful. She can’t thank him enough. He says, always a pleasure, and says, nice meeting Doc. Doc says, they really appreciate this, and they shake hands. Hans says, of course (🍷), and leaves. Laura says, he’s alive. Her son is alive. Thank God. She and Doc hug, and he says, this might lead them to him.

The waiter asks if Trina and Spencer would like to see the dessert menu, and Spencer looks to Trina, but she says, no thank you. They have to get going. He says he’ll take the check, and the waiter leaves. As much as I’m not keen on Spencer, I’m glad Trina is looking forward to her first time with him. Usually, there’s all this angst surrounding that, so it’s nice to see the flip side.

Elizabeth goes to Finn, and they kiss. She asks what he’s thinking, and he says he doesn’t want to think anymore. I’m thinking, why is she still wearing her scrubs? They start getting busy.

Nina tells Sonny, Sasha needed to get out of Ferncliff now. She needed to get away from this so-called doctor that was taking care of her. And the only way to do that was to pay this guy off. Sonny says, son of a bitch, and Nina says, a lot of stuff happened, but the bottom line is, Cody Bell broke Sasha out of Ferncliff. He says, Dante’s friend? and she says, yeah. Somehow, he got into Ferncliff, and he took her with him. Gladys said that Cody kidnapped her, but she doesn’t believe that. He says he’s sorry that Gladys put her in this position, but she says, no. She’s sorry she didn’t tell him earlier; she was trying to fix it herself. Anyway, he doesn’t need to apologize. He says, Gladys is family, but he’s put up with this way too long. That’s on him. Gladys will be dealt with. He probably doesn’t know who to go after first, Selina, Gladys, or the so-called doctor.

Drew thanks Willow for coming to see him, and she leaves. In the hallway, a woman turns around and Willow sees it’s Harmony.

Carly tells Michael, Diane said this judge is hoping to get a seat on the Circuit Court, and it’s really important because it’s a steppingstone to the Supreme Court. (The stuff I learn from this show.) He asks what that has to do with Drew’s sentence, and she says, he was hoping to look good. He could have given Drew a harsher sentence because he wanted to look good to the Justice Department. She doesn’t know. It’s all speculation, and it’s going to be really tough to prove actual misconduct. He says, what if they don’t have to prove it? What if the appearance of misconduct is enough? She asks what he means, and she says, let’s say we get the story out to the press. Maybe Drew’s case would gain some traction. She says, they could get Alexis to run a piece in The Invader, and that will put pressure on the judge, but he says, they have to tread lightly though, because Alexis is a former attorney and she’s scrupulous. Alexis won’t run a hit piece on Judge Kim just because Carly asks her to. Carly says, Alexis won’t do it for her, but there’s someone else she’d do it for.

Ava asks what the hell Mason is doing here. Did Giles let him in? He says, the guy in the penguin suit? He’s long gone. She asks what he wants, and he says, it depends. What is she offering? She says, nothing. She said her piece yesterday, so get out of here. He walks closer, and she says she told him, get out of here. She’ll call the cops. He says, go for it. We’ll be long gone before the cops can get here. She says, we? and he says, yeah.

Spencer opens the hotel room door, and Trina sees red rose petals on the bed. She says, Spencer… and goes to him, kissing him. They get busy, and there’s a song part. Another minority I’m in is, no rose petals on the bed please. Wouldn’t they stick to you?

Nina says, Sonny can’t do anything tonight. He can deal with this tomorrow. The only thing that matters is planning their wedding. He says, no. Actually, the only thing that matters is getting married.

Willow asks what Harmony is doing here, and Harmony says she came looking for Willow. Willow asks, why? and Harmony says she came to warn Willow. Willow says, about what? and Harmony’s lips move, but we can’t hear the words. Willow wakes up on one of the couches in the waiting area at the hospital.

Trina and Spencer bask in the afterglow, and he says he has no words for her. She says, wow, and they kiss.

Doc asks if Laura sees anything, and she says she’s looking for a pattern; a clue as to where Nikolas might be now. But it’s this one very large withdrawal. Does Doc think he opened another account so he could maybe hide what he’s doing or where he is? He says, maybe, but they’re not going to figure anything out right now. He suggests they take these back to the hotel for champagne. This is information worth celebrating. She says, it is, and hugs him. She says her son is alive and they’re celebrating. And their search was not in vain. Again, if Nikolas wanted to let her know he was alive, he could have just picked up the phone instead of making her trot halfway around the globe.

Ava says she’s not going anywhere with Mason, and reaches for a fireplace poker. He says he wouldn’t do that if he were her, and she tells him, stay away from her. He says, she ratted them out. She wasn’t smart.

Elizabeth approaches the reception desk and asks if Amy has checked on the patient in 1002. Amy says she did and he’s fine. Elizabeth looks tired. Does she want Amy to get her a coffee? Nothing like a little caffeine to get you through the night shift. Elizabeth says she’ll never sleep tonight if she has one of those. Finn comes out, and Amy says, here are the labs he’s been waiting for, and asks why they both have wet hair.

Spencer tells Trina, you know when I’m happiest? When I’m with you. He means it. They kiss some more.

Someone walks into Hans’s office, and he says he assumes they’re here for more money. Nikolas closes the door and says, yes. He needs to make another withdrawal. Hans says, he just missed his mother, and Nikolas says, did he? Hans says, she was just here with her husband. They’re looking for him. His mother is a very gracious woman. She loves him and his disappearance has given her a large amount of pain. Be a good son and do the right thing. Nikolas says he plans to.

We see the living room at Windymere is empty.

Carly asks why Drew isn’t sleeping. He should be resting. He says he got some sleep. Then Willow came to visit and he’s sure he’s going to nod off again, so he’s good. She should go home. She should be with the girls. She says, Josslyn’s with them; they’re fine. She’s not going to stay long. She just needed to be with him, even if it’s just to watch him sleep. She loves him. She’s so sorry this happened to him. He tells her not to worry. Everything’s going to be okay. She says, he’s damn right, because she’s going to make sure.

Michael asks if Drew’s okay, and Willow says she thinks so. It looks like Drew will recover. The surgery went well. They had a good visit. She’s really glad she saw him. He asks her, what’s wrong? but she says, it’s nothing. He says, if she’s not feeling well, she has to tell him. She says, it’s not that. After she left Drew’s room, she sat in the lounge for a bit and nodded off. He says, she’s pushing herself too hard. She should have waited before going back to work. She says she guesses she was a bit more tired than she realized, but that’s not what’s bothering her. She had the strangest dream about her mother. He says, Nina? but she says, no, Harmony. But it was only a dream.

Nina tells Sonny that she doesn’t care about the dress and the flowers and the – she flips through some of the papers on the bed – cake. It doesn’t matter. He says, it seems like it matters to her because she’s doing a lot of planning, and she says she has, but it’s also insignificant right now. With everything that’s happened these last few months; with Sasha being committed, and Curtis getting shot. She feels really guilty about planning a big wedding because a lot of people that they love are suffering. He says he’s got an idea, and she says, what? He says, why don’t they elope? He’s serious. All they care about is to say their vows and become husband and wife. She even said she didn’t want to deal with this right now. She says, but Sonny… and he says, the planning’s going to be out of control. Olivia is going to keep coming to her with more options, and do they really care what icing is on the cake? (Well… yeah.) She says she doesn’t know, and he says, we will fly to the island tomorrow. We will get married. What does she say? She tells him that she says yes! throwing all the papers in the air.

On Monday, Sonny says, that’s exactly what he wanted him to do; Laura says she’s not giving up her search; Valentin tells Martin that Charlotte’s future depends on their conversation today; and Sasha says she plans to do just that.

👩🏻‍⚖️ Newest Of the New Mollys…

I didn’t even know how old they were supposed to be, and who cares anyway?

🚑 It’s a Match…

Weird how it’s sort of art imitating life.

💎 Fancy Pants POV…

Like we didn’t think she’d come back.

🧂 A Little Salt…

Zero sympathy about the ring, and she acted like a child because she’s an adult? What does that even mean?

🗽 New York Casual…

I love their Reunion pic. They’ve dressed like themselves; not like they’re having a quinceañera. One article said fans were angry about the jeans. What’s wrong with people?

🪙 Trailing the Potomac…

What’s to come for the Grande Dame and company.

https://www.essence.com/entertainment/rhop-season-8-trailer/

👠 What Happens In Jersey…

Jackie gives a tease.

When will Andy learn? When the lawsuit finally comes knocking?

🎪 Faux Housewives Of Bravo…

Kind of ironic, considering she looks nothing like she did when she was first on the show.

🍹 Dance Card Officially Filled…

She could use a break, but she should really let that Austen thing go.

🗑 Filed Under Who Cares…

What a big egotistical baby this guy is.

🎭 Farewell Old Friend…

I was sad to hear about his death. Although I’m glad they remembered he was in VR5. Blink and you missed it, but it was a great show and it started Michael Easton’s career. I knew he was going places.

https://people.com/ncis-star-david-mccallum-dead-7974574

https://people.com/david-mccallum-dead-ncis-costars-more-pay-tribute-7974806

https://people.com/david-mccallum-dead-ncis-costars-more-pay-tribute-7974806

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/a45338401/david-mccallum-ncis-death-mark-harmon-tribute-statement/

📀 End Of an Era…

I’d keep that last one and sell it later on eBay.

https://www.today.com/popculture/news/netflix-stop-shipping-dvds-rcna80319

🐾 Paws In the Forefront…

If not at a Paw Patrol screening, then where else would they break records?

https://people.com/paw-patrol-the-mighty-movie-breaks-record-for-most-dogs-attending-film-screening-7974680

Adorable to the nth degree, especially in that tiny hat.

https://people.com/meet-wisp-the-persian-kitten-tiktok-is-in-love-with-8286012

🦆 Quotes Of the Week

No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess. – Sir Isaac Newton

The greatest deception [humans] suffer is from their own opinions. – Leonardo da Vinci

If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try. – Seth Godin

It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up. – Babe Ruth

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. – Mahatma Gandhi

We can’t be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don’t have something better. – C Joybell C

Action is the foundational key to all success. – Pablo Picasso

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear. –Mark Twain

They’re not on the same page. They’re not even in the same book. – Jamal Menzies, Pillow Talk: 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days

Crying and throwing a tantrum isn’t going to be a solution to the problem. – Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, My 600-LB Life

🛶 Building an Ark…

Stop in again on Monday really Tuesday for soap and what’s going on in the Med. Until then, stay safe, stay making requests instead of demands, and stay not wasting your time arguing with people and holding grudges. It takes too much energy, and life is short.

September 26, 2023 – Dead But Not Forgotten In Port Charles, Not Michael, Girl Power, Strike Deal, Salty Talk, New York Hour, Daryl This Week, Bowl Announcement & Crazy

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Elizabeth calls for an update on Drew and tells Carly, the doctor is here. He’s the best, and they’re going to start operating right away. Finn asks Jake if he’s okay and suggests Jake come with him.

Charlotte says she loves their new place, and Valentin says he’s glad. She says she could tell Nina knew about it already, and he says he told Nina this morning, so she could keep Charlotte distracted while he made it perfect. Charlotte says, she didn’t know until this morning? She thought Nina helped him decorate, but he says, no, it was somebody else. She says she knows it wasn’t Anna and laughs.

Dante looks on a tablet at the message left for Anna on the mirror, and Chase asks if he thinks it’s the same person who burned down Anna’s house. Dante says he doesn’t know. They broke into the suite, left a message on the mirror, and put ink on Anna’s clothes. It doesn’t seem like the same thing. Chase says, but the missing footage at the MetroCourt implies a sophisticated perp, when Cody walks into the station, saying, here he is. He surrenders.

Sam finds Sasha outside the cabin and asks if she’s getting some fresh air. Sasha says, the leaves are starting to turn; it’s beautiful. Sam agrees, and Sasha says she’s always loved being outdoors. Cody does too. Sam says, it’s pretty hard to ride horses inside, and Sasha asks, what if this doesn’t work? Cody might never be free again.

Sonny walks into the chapel and sees Anna. She says, they run into each other in the strangest places, and he says, that’s true. She says, maybe they both need to be here right now, and he asks if she remembers asking him if he thought it was worth it, the life he chose. She says, yeah, and he says he’s beginning to wonder. She says, he’s having doubts, huh? When she asked him before, he said he didn’t have any regrets. He says, before he came in here, he was leaving the hospital and he saw Curtis. Curtis is in a wheelchair because of him. Anna tears up and says she’s struggling with that too, but she doesn’t think Sonny can blame himself. He says, she even told him that she thought the bullet was meant for him, and now an innocent man is in a wheelchair and Drew is upstairs fighting for his life because of him.

Carly tells Elizabeth that the doctor explained to her what the surgery was about, but she still didn’t get it. Can Elizabeth go over it with her more? Elizabeth says, the piece of Drew’s rib that broke is lodged near a main artery and needs to come out as soon as possible. Carly says, or it will kill him, right? She wonders where the hell Austin is, when Ava comes out of the elevator. Ava asks Nina if she knows why Carly wanted her here, and Nina says, Drew was beaten up in Pentenville and he’s having emergency surgery to save his life. Did Ava tell Carly that she’s the one who put him there?

Sam tells Sasha to keep the faith. Dante’s not going to let anything happen to Cody. Sasha says, but it’s not entirely up to Dante, is it? and Sam says, not entirely, but… Sasha says, Cody is an escaped mental patient. He’s wanted for kidnapping her and assaulting Dr. Montague; even though Montague was drugging her and trying to kill her. Sam says, they’re going to prove that, and Sasha asks, how? Sam says, they have the evidence of the drugs from Montague’s own pocket, and they’ll prove he was conspiring with someone else. Sasha says, her own mother-in-law, and Sam says she’s so sorry, but Gladys will pay. The first step is establishing a legal record. Sasha says, and that’s why Cody had to turn himself in, and Sam says, exactly.

Chase asks, where the hell is Sasha? and Cody says he’s here to turn himself in. Chase says he asked where she is, dammit. He swears, if Cody hurt her… Cody asks if Chase really thinks he would, and Chase says, then tell him where she is. Cody says, all he’s telling Chase right now is that he’s here to give himself up, and Dante says, Chase heard what Mr. Bell said. Chase asks if somebody wants to tell him what’s going on, and Dante says he thinks Chase should book the suspect. Chase says he will. They’re going to do this completely legal, then Cody is going to go back to answering questions. Cody says, and he’ll get the same answer. He’s here to turn himself in. Chase cuffs Cody, and says, he has the right to remain silent. Cody says he loves that part, and Chase finishes giving him his rights. He asks if Cody understands them, and Cody says, sure do. He exchanges a look with Dante.

Valentin wonders why Charlotte would say she knows Anna didn’t help decorate, and Charlotte says, it’s not her style. It’s beautiful. Did he do it himself? He says, no. His decorator Jen helped him. Charlotte says, she did an amazing job. It’s more comfortable than Windymere ever was. He says he’s glad she likes it so much, and she says, when her friends came to Windymere, she could tell they thought it was creepy. He says, they can come here now. She can bring her friend Jake. She says, Jake? and he says, she told him that she was with Jake last night before she came to the MetroCourt. She says she was. She showed him all the pictures of them together. He says, it looked like she was having a good time. Is he a nice kid? She wonders if she can see her new room, and he asks if she wants him to go with her, but she says, no. She wants to see it for the first time by herself if that’s okay. He says, it’s down the hall, second door to the left, and she runs off. He flashes back to telling Nina that he doesn’t want Charlotte near Anna. He doesn’t want her out of his sight.

Anna says, Drew was beaten that badly? and Sonny says, Carly told him that Drew hasn’t regained consciousness since the fight. She says, that’s not good (like he doesn’t know that). It’s Pentenville. Prisoners are going to start fights for a myriad of reasons. He says he asked Drew to get him information, and she says, he agreed? Sonny says, he never should have asked him. He thought Drew was going to be discreet and he’d be safe. She says, he can’t be sure of that, but he says, yes, he can, because he ordered it. He let it be known Drew was under his protection in Pentenville. She says, someone defied his order.

Finn brings Jake to his office and asks if he’s okay. Jakes says he needs to know what’s happening with Drew, and Finn says, okay. Does he want to take a seat? Jake shakes his head, and Finn says, these things take time, so he’ll make some calls and find out what’s going on with Jake’s uncle. Jake leans against the credenza, and Finn picks up the phone.

Carly walks over to Ava, and Ava says she’s so sorry to hear about Drew. Carly says, is she? and Ava says, of course (🍷). She doesn’t know exactly what happened… Carly says she can tell Ava exactly what happened. Drew was set up, beaten, almost to death, and now he’s in surgery and he might not make it. Ava says, oh no, and Carly says, Ava’s not really surprised, is she? Ava says, what? and Carly says, cut the act. She knows exactly what Ava did.

Chase brings Cody into the squad room and tells Dante that he has Cody booked. What does Dante want him to do? Dante says, Chase could question him. Does Cody want a lawyer? Cody says, no. It wouldn’t do any good. Dante says, that’s not a positive outlook to have, and gets up. He suggests they all go into the interrogation room. Chase asks if Dante wants him to sit in, but Dante says he’s got this. Chase says he has no doubt, and closes the door as Dante uncuffs Cody.

Gladys runs into the station and tells the desk sergeant that she’s Gladys Corbin. She’s Sasha Gilmore’s guardian. She got a call saying they have her kidnapper in custody. Where’s her daughter-in-law? Chase watches her from across the room.

Sasha says she doesn’t understand why Cody is risking so much just to protect her, and Sam says, maybe he thinks she’s worth it. Sasha says, based on what? They’ve had a few nice conversations. She thinks he’s a nice guy. They were becoming friends, then she started so strange. Then she stabbed him at the MetroCourt pool. Sam says she saw Cody that night at the hospital, and they both agreed Sasha had no idea what was going on. Sasha says, those pills Dr. Montague gave her… Sam says, they made her delusional, and Sasha says she was so sure she saw Cyrus Renault when she stabbed Cody. Sam says, our minds can play terrible tricks on us when someone screws around with them. Cody knows that’s what happened with her. Sasha says, still, he’s putting everything on the line for her. What kind of person does that?

Finn says he appreciates the update, and tells Jake that Drew is still in surgery. But he knows the surgeon doing the operation and he’s excellent. Jake’s uncle couldn’t be in better hands. Jake says, what happened out there when Finn first came in… Finn says, what? He’s worried about his uncle, right? Jake says, yeah, but he shouldn’t have cried, and Finn says he doesn’t know about that. Not so long ago, he got some news about someone he really cares about, someone he loves, and does Jake know what happened? Jake says, what? and Finn says he cried. Man, he cried. He doesn’t think there’s any shame in that. Jake really loves his uncle, right? Jake says, yeah. He just needs him to be okay.

Sonny says, this would not have happened five years ago, and Anna asks what he means. He says, no one would have defied his orders back then. She says, something like that is happening to her too. She thinks things are impacting her more than they used to. He says, things like someone burning down her house? and she says she still can’t believe that happened. He says he feels like things are just out of control, and he used to feel like he could keep things under control. If she knows what he means. She says she does, and asks what he’s going to do. What do they do? Throw in the towel? He says, never, and she says she didn’t think so.

Ava says she doesn’t know what Carly’s talking about, and Carly says she’s a liar. Nina says, this isn’t the time or the place, and Carly tells her, you back off. This does not concern her. She can’t believe she was stupid enough to trust Ava. Ava says, trust her with what? What did she do? Carly says she told Ava that Drew was going to ask around Pentenville to find out who Ava’s boyfriend Austin was visiting when he was there. Did she call him right away? Ava says, no, and Carly says, did she meet up with him? Did they plan the hit on Drew together? Ava says, no. She had nothing to do with this. Carly says she doesn’t believe her, because she’s the only other person who knew about this. And how convenient that Austin isn’t working today. Drew could have been killed. Dammit. He shouldn’t even be in Pentenville. Ava says she’s not the one who put him there, and Carly asks what the hell that’s supposed to mean.

Finding Valentin on the patio, Charlotte says she loves her room, and Valentin says he knew she’d like it. She asks how the decorator knew everything she’d like, and he says, they looked at a lot of photographs and she asked a lot of questions. She says, it’s like she picked everything out herself. There are even new riding clothes in her closet. He says he wanted her first ride on Butterscotch to be perfect. If she looks down there, the bridle path comes along up here. She can ride right up to the door. She says, he’s thought of everything, and he says, she told him before that she doesn’t think this is Anna’s style, and she says, it’s not like her house. He says, she doesn’t think Anna is going to like it? and she asks, why? Is Anna going to move in here too? He says he doesn’t know. Maybe. She needs a place to live since her house burned down.

Sonny says he’ll find out who did this to Drew, and Anna says she’s sure he will. He says, it’s funny how life works. He didn’t know she was in here. She says, nor I, you, and he says, if she hadn’t been… She says she had the feeling he’d have come to the same conclusion. He’s not ready to turn the page. He helped her realize she’s not either. He says he guesses they keep fighting, and she says, they keep fighting. He needs to go see Carly. She’s so scared for the man she loves. She needs his support. He says he’ll go check on Drew and hopefully, she’s there. If she’s not… Anna says she’ll light a candle for Drew, he thanks her, and leaves.

Finn asks how Jake found out what happened to his uncle, and Jake says he was already here at the hospital talking to his mom. He saw Carly and wanted to ask her about visiting his Uncle Drew. Finn says, in Pentenville, and Jakes says, his mom told him that he could go, but then Drew got put in solitary before he could. Elizabeth is about to walk in, but waits, and Jake says, and now… Finn says, for what it’s worth (🍷), Jake can always talk to him, and Jake says, it feels like everyone he likes leaves. His dad died, Franco died, Cam went away to college, Finn left, and now… He sighs, and Finn says he knows it hurts. He’s still here and he’s not going anywhere.

Sam tells Sasha that she’s been trying to figure out who Cody is ever since he came to Port Charles last year. Sasha says, Cody and Dante are good friends, and Sam says, yes, but they haven’t really seen or spoken to each other since they were teenagers. And it turns out Cody has a questionable past, so she wasn’t really sure if she could trust him or not. Sasha says, but now she does? and Sam says she does. But who is she to judge anyway? She has a pretty colorful past herself. Sasha says, so does she.

Chase says, Gladys’s daughter-in-law isn’t here, and Gladys says she knows that. Where did they take her? GH or back to Ferncliff? He says, they apprehended Cody Bell, and she says, and he kidnapped her. If he doesn’t have her, where is she? Dante cracks open the door and gestures to Cody. Chase says, they’re trying to figure that out, and Gladys says, let her see him. She wants to see Cody right now.

Nina says she doesn’t know why Carly is blaming Ava for this, and Carly says, because she’s the only one who could have made this happen. Drew’s too smart to be sloppy and someone targeted him. And now Ava is trying to tell her that this is all her fault? Ava says, what? No. Carly says, Ava just said she’s not the one who put Drew in Pentenville. And Ava’s right; she is. Fine. She gets it, but how could Ava do this? Sonny comes out of the elevator and calls to Carly. Carly asks what Austin has on Ava, and Sonny asks what Carly is doing.

Sasha says she knows Cody isn’t the only one taking a risk for her, and Sam says, Dante’s not someone to sit on the sidelines when he knows someone’s in trouble. Sasha says, Sam’s taking a risk too, but Sam says she doesn’t see it that way. She thinks they’re all just trying to do the right thing. Sasha asks if that’s why Sam fell in love with Dante; he does the right thing. Sam says, it’s one of the reasons, and Sasha says she thinks they’re a good match. Sam agrees and thanks her. Sam’s phone dings, and she looks at Sasha.

Chase says, Cody’s being interrogated at the moment, and Gladys says, by his friend Detective Falconari? He says, that’s none of her concern, but she says, don’t think she doesn’t know what’s going on here. They’re protecting a dangerous man like Cody Bell, when who knows what trouble her poor daughter-in-law is in. He says, they’re doing everything they can to find her, and she says, apparently, it’s not enough. Sasha is in a very fragile state. He says, they know that, and she says she wants to talk to the Commissioner right now, but Chase says, the Commissioner isn’t in. She says, then she’ll wait. Cody kidnapped Sasha. he put her life in grave danger. He has to pay.

Dante closes the door, and Cody asks if he heard that lunatic. He put Sasha’s life in danger? Dante says, stay calm, but Cody says, it’s a little hard to stay calm with that performance Gladys is putting on out there. Dante says, that was a pretty good performance. He almost believes that she’s worried about Sasha. Cody says, the only thing Gladys is worried about right now is the truth coming out.

Chase asks if he can get Gladys coffee, but she says, no. Her phone rings, and it says, unknown. She answers, and a woman asks if this is Gladys Corbin. Gladys says, yes, and we see it’s Sam putting on a fake voice. She says, this is Mrs. Margis from Port Charles Savings & Loan. She’s calling about the accounts of Sasha Gilmore.

Elizabeth goes into Finn’s office and asks if Jake is all right. Jake says he is, and asks if Drew is out of surgery, but she says, not yet. She’ll be notified the minute it’s finished. Jake says, so they just sit around and do nothing? but Elizabeth says, not necessarily.

Carly tells Sonny, Ava did it. She was stupid enough to tell Ava what Drew was doing. She told Austin or his cousin Mason, and that’s why Drew was attacked. And that’s why he might not make it. Sonny tells Carly that she’s wrong, and Ava says she swears she didn’t say anything to anybody. Sonny says, she didn’t, and he knows for a fact she didn’t. Carly says she doesn’t know what to think anymore and heads for the waiting area. Following her, Sonny says, she has to focus on Drew. That’s all that matters. He’s strong; he’s going to get through this. She says she doesn’t know.

Anna lights a candle in the chapel, and she flashes back to telling Dante about the papers Valentin had from Pikeman, and Dante asking if she thinks Valentin could be working for Pikeman again. She wonders what else she doesn’t know about Valentin.

Valentin asks if Charlotte knows why he asked her to stay with Sam, Dante, and her brother Rocco, and she says, because he’s afraid she won’t be safe at Anna’s. He says, she’s right. He would have never forgiven himself if she’d been there the night of the fire. She says she was at camp, and he says he knows. Just so she knows, he’s made special precautions to make sure they’re safe here. His phone rings, and he says, it’s her Uncle Marty. He goes to the other room to take the call, and she flashes back to reading the letter that came with the tarot cards. She reads: Anna Devane is not who she says. Do not trust her. Valentin comes back in and says, Charlotte?

Cody says he can’t wait to get on the witness stand and testify against Gladys. She is going to prison for what she did to Sasha. Dante tells him, hold the phone. Right now, Cody is the one in custody and being charged with kidnapping and assault. Gladys isn’t in custody, and she isn’t facing charges right now. Cody says, but she will be as soon as Dante explains to the judge… Dante says he’s not explaining anything unless and until they have proof that Gladys and Montague were working together to hurt Sasha. If they don’t get that… Cody says he could be the one in prison.

Gladys says she’s sorry. She doesn’t understand why they’re calling her. Sam (as Mrs. Margis) says, she is Miss Gilmore’s guardian, is she not? and Gladys says, yes, but Sasha’s been kidnapped and she’s a nervous wreck about it. Sam says she’s sorry to hear that, but this is official business, and Gladys is listed as the responsible party for all of the accounts of Miss Gilmore. Gladys says, as her guardian, she only paid Sasha’s bills and provided money when Sasha needed or asked for it. And the medical bills. Sam says, none of that is of their concern. She’s just calling to advise Gladys, they’ve received a subpoena from the DA’s office. Gladys asks, for what? and Sam says, the banking records for all Miss Gilmore’s accounts. Gladys asks if those accounts aren’t private and confidential, and Sam says, under normal circumstances, yes, but if the DA has cause and a subpoena is issued, they have no choice but to turn over those records, and those records will be turned over today. Thank you. And goodbye, Miss Corbin. Sam crosses her fingers on both hands.

Charlotte says she hopes Uncle Martin comes to visit them, and Valentin says, it’s certainly possible. He’s been here before. Martin helped him find the place. She says, maybe someday mom will wake up and visit them too, and he says, she misses her mom a lot doesn’t she? Charlotte says, everyone acts like she’s gone, but she’s not. Charlotte likes talking to her. She feels like her mom can hear her. He says, maybe she can. What kind of things do they talk about? She says, everything. She’d love their house. He asks how she’d feel if Anna moved in with them, and she says, whatever would make him happy. But she needs to know. He says, she needs to know? and she says, if Anna moving in would make him happy. She needs to know for the reading. He says, what reading? and she takes the tarot cards out of her backpack. She says, the cards, and shows him the box. He flashes back to being with Charlotte in the Bistro, and her saying, the only thing that stays the same is things changing. He remembers showing Anna that MURDERER is painted on her door, and the fire. He flashes back to him and Anna discovering the trashed suite; then watching the security footage with Nina and finding out Charlotte was the one who broke in.

Anna leaves the chapel as Finn, Elizabeth, and Jake come by. Finn asks Jake and Elizabeth to go ahead; he’ll catch up with them. Jake and Elizabeth go into the chapel, and Finn asks if Anna is okay. She says, yeah. She heard about Drew. How is he? He says he hasn’t heard anything yet. Elizabeth thought Jake might find some comfort in being here. She says, poor kid. He’s been through so much and he’s so young. Finn asks, what about her? What brings her by? She says she had a phlebotomy treatment and there’s a lot of stuff going on in her head. He asks if it’s a good place for her to clear her head, and she says, always is. He says, she’s been through a lot. He called her a few times and left a message after the fire. She thanks him and says, that was very thoughtful. He says he thought maybe she’d give him a call and let him know she was okay, and she says she should have. There’s been a lot going on. She’s sorry. He says, it’s okay. He knows. She has a lot of people who are there for her, but don’t ever forget he’s her friend too.

In the chapel, Jake says he doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do, but Elizabeth says, he doesn’t have to do anything. If he wants, he can light a candle for Drew. He lights one, and she sits down. He joins her and asks if they pray now. She says, they can, and they should think their most positive thoughts to bring Drew through this to recovery.

Sonny asks if he can get Carly anything, and she says, Ava’s right. Drew’s in that prison because of her. He tells her, stop it, but she says, it’s true. He never committed insider trading; she did. He pled guilty so she wouldn’t be tried. He tells her, listen to him, but she asks if she can’t just be alone, please, and he goes over to Nina and Ava. Nina says she’s glad he showed up when he did, and Ava says, her too. Carly was on quite a rampage. He says, that’s the way Carly gets when she lashes out. Something happens. Nina says, Carly needs to know that sometimes there are no answers.

 A doctor comes out and tells Carly that the surgeon wanted him to speak to her. Ava, Nina, and Sonny watch as he talks to her. He leaves, and Carly sits down again, her head in her hands. Sonny walks over, and Nina says, oh my God.

Nina and Ava join Sonny and Carly, and Sonny says, Drew made it through surgery. He’s going to be okay. Nina says, thank God, and Carly says, the surgery was a success. They expect him to make a full recovery. Ava says, that’s such a relief. She’s so happy for Carly and she’s sorry Carly had to go through this. Carly says she’s sorry she attacked Ava. She shouldn’t have done that. Ava says, it’s okay. If she were in Carly’s shoes, she would have felt the same thing. But the truth is, she thinks Drew’s a good man. He helped save Trina’s life in Greenland, and what he did for Willow… They all owe him. Carly says, they do, and asks to talk to Sonny alone.

Elizabeth’s phone dings, and she tells Jake, Drew’s okay. He’s going to make a full recovery. They hug.

Looking at his phone, Finn says, Drew’s surgery was a success, and Anna says, thank goodness. He should get in there. He tells her, remember what he said, and she thanks him. She leaves, and he goes into the chapel. Jake says, this is the best news, and Elizabeth smiles at Finn.

Carly says she wanted to thank Sonny for being here, and he says, she’s welcome.

Nina says, Carly really went after Ava, and Ava says, that was nothing compared to what she’ll do to Nina if she ever finds out who put Drew in prison.

Valentin asks where Charlotte got the tarot cards, and she says, a girl at camp gave them to her and showed her how to use them. She flashes back to reading the letter, and we hear Victor’s voice say, to guide you, I’m giving you these very special tarot cards. They are very powerful tools. You’ll find them helpful. She takes them out and looks through them. Back in the present, she lays out the cards on the coffee table as Valentin watches, looking worried.

Chase asks if Dante’s had any progress, and Dante says, it shouldn’t be too much longer. Chase says, right, and leaves. Dante looks at Cody.

Gladys frantically throws clothes into suitcase. She can’t get it zipped, so she grabs a few things, tossing them on the floor, and tries again. There’s a knock at the door, and she says, almost ready. She thought they were going to text. The knocking continues so she goes to the door and opens it. It’s Sasha, who looks mighty pissed off.

Tomorrow, Curtis says he’s glad to be back in the mix; Esme says, Spencer can’t go; and Cody says, what happens next is up to Sasha.

🏥 Bait and Switch Up…

Since Kristina ended up being his sister and a lesbian, it really wouldn’t have worked out.

🎉 Celebrating Their Girls…

Score one for the daughters.

🪜 Getting There…

They kinda sorta reached a temporary agreement.

🧂 Salting the Lake…

Usually, I just have this on in the background, but some of them were acting so stupid, I actually stopped doing what I was doing and watched. Who could waste time being awful while staying at the Trixie Motel? Once again, the wrong people have the money and amazing vacations. However, Trixie gave us one of the best quotes ever: There is no crying in makeup. PS – Monica needs to run.

🗽 Shining the Apple…

Not sure what to think about an adult who keeps a log of slights, so she can bring them up at a later date. Bring back the Countess telling us not to be all uncool. And then drunkenly falling into the shrubbery. Good times…

⚰️ The Best Of Daryl…

This show just gets better and better.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/the-walking-dead-daryl-dixon-episode-3-recap-paris-sera-toujours-paris/

🏉 Half the Story…

And I thought we were rushing the 2023 holiday season.

https://people.com/usher-announces-2024-super-bowl-halftime-show-gig-kim-kardashian-7973971

🛴 Not Bringing It On Home…

Join me tomorrow for soap and an RHOC episode aptly titled, Welcome to the Freak Show. Until then, stay safe, stay not giving advice unless someone asks or pays for it, and stay not throwing in the towel if you’re not ready to turn the page. Keep fighting.