Tag Archives: Rocky Horror Picture Show

October 21, 2024 – Lucky Makes Lulu’s Odds Better, One More Casualty, New Guy In Town, Disappearing Chef On Deck, Weekend Watch, Fatal Beauty, Back In the Day & Double

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Terry says, the transplant team found a potential complication, and Laura says, please tell her that they’re still planning on doing the surgery. Elizabeth and Lucky join them, and Laura tells them that there’s a been a complication. Terry suggests they go to her office since it’s more private.

Dante goes to the stables, and says he was going to come see Cody earlier, but then he got Cody’s message. Cody hands him a beer and asks if it’s about Lulu, but Dante says, it’s about Sam.

In the solarium, Sam says, she wanted to talk to Drew, but she’s expecting someone else. He asks, who? when Jason walks in.

Holly tells Robert that she has a sensitive matter to talk to him about. It could change things completely. She’s not sure how to put it in words, and he says, how about, Robert you have daughter? She asks who told him and he says, Sasha just left. She filled him in on the more colorful aspect of her history. They did a DNA test and it’s in the Bureau lab for verification. Does she want to tell him how all of this happened? (I suspect the usual way.)

In the nook, Maxie says, Sasha can tell her anything, and Sasha says, her mother told Maxie. Maxie says, Holly paid a visit to her and her mother, and Sasha says she can’t believe her mother dragged them into her ridiculous lie. Maxie says, what if she’s not lying?

Tracy sees Violet’s suitcase in the foyer and hears Violet in the living room with Brook and Chase. She goes in, and Brook says, they were having a snack before Violet and Chase head to the airport. Violet says, they were really waiting for Tracy. She doesn’t want to leave without saying goodbye.

Laura asks, what complication? and Terry says, Lulu has a condition called portal vein thrombosis. It makes the chances of success exponentially more difficult.

Isaiah tells Elizabeth that he just came from PT and he’s getting stronger. Lucas joins them and says, just the two people he’s looking for.

Chase says, the flight’s been delayed, and Tracy suggests they have a final tea party. She asks Brook and Chase to go tell Yuri to make arrangements, and they leave. Tracy says, Violet’s dad is thrilled with his new job and their new house sounds lovely. Violet says she’ll be glad to see her daddy and the new house, but sad to leave this one and them. She’ll miss them so much. Tracy touches Violet’s face.

Holly says she didn’t set out to deceive Robert. She thought he’d been killed in a boat explosion. Robert says, the explosion Faison set to eliminate him and Anna, and Holly says, the only thing that got her out of bed in the morning was their baby. She couldn’t risk one of his enemies finding out, so she went into hiding. She gave birth and nobody in Port Charles knew. Robert says, she told people Sasha’s father was dead, and she says, as far as she knew, it was the truth. She wanted to give Sasha the best shot at life, so she left Sasha with her mother and made a living so she could send money back. He says, by running cons, and she says, that’s what she does best.

Sasha says, there’s no way her mother is telling the truth that Robert is her father, and Maxie asks if she’s sure. Sasha says, her mother wants her to cut ties with her relationships in Port Charles, so she’s free to join her on her cons with nothing to hold her back. Maxie asks, why would she lie to accomplish that? and Sasha says, one lie and her life falls apart. Holly is selfish, self-absorbed, and her feelings are all that matters. Maxie says, no child should feel that way about their mother, but she doesn’t understand. Why lie about something like this?

Cody says, Lulu has a donor and it’s Sam? and Dante says, Sam’s amazing. It’s one of the reasons why he loves her so much. She’s fearless and does anything for the people she cares about, but he feels guilty spending every waking hour at the hospital with Lulu. Sam has her own things going on with her family, and he hasn’t been there for her. He knows she understands about him being AWOL, but he’s asking the woman he loves to make a huge sacrifice for… Cody says, the other woman he loves.

Jason asks if Sam is okay, and she says she’s fine, but Lulu’s liver is failing. Jason says he was hoping Lucky could be her donor, and Sam says, they all were. Good news though. A donor has been found – it’s me.

Laura says she thought Lulu had been cleared, and Terry says, she was, but the pre-surgery test discovered the portal vein thrombosis. It’s a blood clot in the vein that delivers blood to the liver. The surgeon doing the transplant will have to remove the clot. Laura says, one more step, and Terry says, the odds of success have dropped drastically. Lucky says, just when they have hope, it’s yanked away, and Laura says, if they cancel the surgery, Lulu has zero chance of survival. If they do the surgery, she has a slim chance of survival. She only sees one option. Lucky agrees and says, they have to try. Terry says she wants to make sure she’s being clear. At this point, they believe the surgery will be in vain and in all likelihood, not save Lulu.

Holly says she spent years grieving Robert, then found out he was alive. Robert says, she thought he was dead when she learned she was pregnant. He can’t fault her for that, but what about Ethan? She says, Ribert was devastated when she told him that Ethan was Luke’s, and he says, why not tell him that they had a daughter then? She says she was so close so many times. She couldn’t hurt him more. She loved him too much. He says, she loved him, but didn’t have enough faith in him to trust him with the truth.

Tracy says she’ll miss Violet too, and Violet says, it’s weird to be happy and sad at the same time. Tracy says, a lot of life is like that. Think about the fun they’ll have the next time they see each other.

Lucas says, there’s something about the malfunction that he doesn’t understand, and Isaiah says, he noticed it was too quiet, and he realized the ventilator had powered down, but there was no initial alarm. Elizabeth says she can confirm that. When the second alarm kicked in, she ran to Lulu’s room, and Isaiah was manually resuscitating Lulu. Lucas says, if Isaiah hadn’t gone to see that it wasn’t working, by the time Elizabeth heard the second alarm, it might have been too late.

Lucas asks if Terry is saying they won’t perform the surgery, and Terry says, the donor will have to be informed of the new complication. If they decide they’d still like to do it, they’ll proceed and move forward as scheduled. She wants everyone to have the facts. She’s also talked to the surgeons and none of them has performed surgery under these circumstances, so that’s another factor that decreases their odds. Lucky says, what if he can make the odds better?

Violet says, this is the best tea party ever, and Brook suggests it because they’re using granny’s fancy china. She wasn’t even allowed to touch it when she was young. Tracy says, Brook didn’t appreciate what Violet does. She was talking to Violet’s grandfather Gregory before he passed away, and he said, what a special young lady she is, and they agreed she only deserved special things. That gives her an idea. She calls Yuri in, and says, Violet is leaving them to live with her father in Seattle. Yuri says he’s going to miss Violet very much, and Violet thanks him for helping her and playing hide and seek. He says, her ability to fit in tight spaces is impressive, and Violet says, so is his ability to find her. They hug, and he says he’s going to miss her too. Tracy says, when they’re done, she’d like Yuri to pack up the tea set and send it to Violet’s new address. It will get more use there and Tracy’s mother would want it to be enjoyed. Violet thanks her and says she loves it so much. There’s only one problem. If she has all the teacups, how can they have a tea party on a video call? Tracy has to keep one for herself. Tracy says, Violet is absolutely right, and she loves it.

Lucas says, a dual malfunction, and Elizabeth says, it’s been bothering her. Lucky approaches them and says he needs to talk to Isaiah. Isaiah says, of course (🍷), and they step away. Elizabeth tells Lucas that it looked like Lucky got bad news, and they look at Lulu’s chart on the computer. Elizabeth says, oh, God.  

Dante tells Cody that he loves Lulu, but not in the way Cody means. She’s Rocco’s mother and he’ll always love her, but Sam is the woman he wants to be with. Cody asks if Dante is trying to convince him or himself. He doesn’t know Lulu, but he knows Dante and Rocco, so he has a good sense of who she was. She sounds incredible. Dante says, she’s amazing, but she’s his past. Sam is his here and now, his present and future. She’s the woman he’s in love with and one of the reasons is this amazing thing she’s doing for Lulu.

Sam says, the surgery is tomorrow, and she’ll be in the hospital for about a week. She’s hoping Scout and Danny can stay with Drew at the Quartermaines. Drew says, of course (🍷). Monica loves them and Tracy will be annoyed. Everybody wins. Sam says she knows Drew is dealing with the campaign, but she’s hoping he can spend as much time as possible with Scout. Drew says, happily, and Jason says, she has nothing to worry about. Sam tells Drew not to fall for those puppy dog eyes. They’re his kryptonite. And Jason, no bikes. Stay strong. Jason says he will, and Drew says him too. Jason says, they’ll do what she’s asking, and she thanks them.

In the stairwell, Lucky tells Isaiah that Dr. Randolph thinks Lulu’s odds are much smaller, and Isaiah agrees. Lucky says, her odds might improve if she has a surgeon who’s had experience with portal vein thrombosis. Does he know anyone? Isaiah says, a few, but there’s not enough time to reach out, have them come to Port Charles, and do the surgery. Lucky asks if Isaiah has ever done a transplant on someone with that condition.

Maxie says she’s heard stories about the adventures of Holly, Anna, and Luke, and Holly has a good side. Sasha says, all Maxie knows is what she knows from Holly, and Maxie says, Holly did save Anna, Jason, and Lucky from a dangerous situation in Africa, but Sasha says she’s sure there was something in it for her. Her mother never helps someone out of the goodness of her heart. Maxie wonders if she can’t be both a con artist and also sincere, but Sasha says, her mother lied to her for her entire life, saying her father was dead. She’s lying now. Maxie wonders why she would lie about something that can so easily be proven.  

Holly says, the longer it went on, the thicker the lie became. She knew he’d be angry because of how angry he was at Anna hiding Robin from him. She was too cowardly to tell him. He asks what she was afraid of, and she says, that he’d hate her. He says, she had to know the day would come. Secrets don’t last forever. Holly says, it could have, were it not for Cody. She and Sasha had their ups and downs, mostly downs, but she loves their daughter too much to sit back and watch her fall in love with her cousin. Even she has her limits. Robert says, had she not found out Cody and Sasha were dating, she wouldn’t have told him? and she says, had her hand not been forced, she probably would have kept the secret forever. And the way he’s looking at her is precisely why.

Robert says he hasn’t approved of a lot of things Holly has done, but he’s never known her to be heartless. She says, for what it’s worth (🍷), she’s so sorry, and he says, when the DNA results come back and Sasha finds out the truth… Holly says, Sasha is going to hate her more for losing the man she loves. Robert will be the only person she has to lean on. So look after their daughter. She leaves.

Maxie tells Sasha, family stuff can be complicated, especially with parents. We all make mistakes. She has. Sasha says, so has she. Starting with how she conned Nina into thinking she was her daughter. Maxie says she doesn’t want to make Sasha feel worse, but she wishes she’d heard that Holly was Sasha’s mom from Sasha. She kept a huge secret. Sasha says she’s sorry. She didn’t deliberately hide it from Maxie or anyone. She spent most of her life ignoring the fact she has a mom, and when you spend so much time hiding part of yourself, it’s hard to open up. Maxie says she gets that, and Sasha says, Cody, Brando, and of course (🍷) Liam all showed her that she could be a good person in spite of Holly. Holly made sure she didn’t have a normal childhood or stable parents and she’s not going to let Holly take Cody away from her.

Doc finds Laura in the chapel, and she says, today has been awful. He says, she’s had to be strong for Lulu, Lucky, and everyone. Now it’s her turn to talk, cry, scream, throw things… Whatever she needs, he’s here. Laura says, there will not be any of that. She believes Lulu is fighting to get back, so she’s going to be strong too. He asks if Sam is going to go through with it, but she says she doesn’t know yet. She guesses she’ll understand if Sam doesn’t want to go through with it, but everything in her is praying she will.

Isaiah says, don’t go there, but Lucky says, just answer the question. Isaiah says, yes, and Lucky asks if the patient survived. Isaiah says, they did, and Lucky says, then what’s the problem? Isaiah says he never told Lucky how he ended up in Africa. It was another surgery, a different one. There were complications and he’d promised the family it would be okay, but it wasn’t. He’ll never forget the devastated looks as he broke the news. It was the worst day of his life. That’s why he went to Africa, to do basic medicine. To help people who could be helped and not make promises that can’t be kept. He’s sorry. He can’t save Lucky’s sister. Lucky says he’s not asking Isaiah to save her, but just to give it a try.

Chase says, they’re all packed along with a long list of instructions from Tracy. Violet asks if they can stop somewhere first. She wants to visit her grandpa’s bench one last time. Chase says he thinks that’s a great idea, and Violet tells Chase that Gregory said he was always with her. She’s lucky. Chase is the best uncle ever. They hug, and he says he loves her. She says she loves him too, and Brook says, Chase told her that Violet wants to leave Bella with them. Violet says, it’s for her new baby cousin. She’s so lucky because she’ll have Brook and Chase as her mom and dad. Brook says, she? and Violet says she wants them to have a girl, since they’re good at taking care of her. Brook says, she’s got to visit when the baby comes, since Violet taught her how to be a mom. Violet asks if she can tell Brook a secret. She’s going to miss the scarecrow Brook the most. They hug.  

Drew says, it’s remarkable what Sam is doing for Lulu, and Sam says, her surgery is the easy part. Drew says, Lulu would have no chance without Sam, and Jason thanks her for doing it. Sam says she’s glad to be able to help and asks if Jason would mind spending some quality time with Danny at the Quartermaines. Jason says he absolutely will, and she says she has to say goodbye to the kids and find Dante. She thanks them and leaves.

Dante thanks Cody for keeping him honest. Sam is bringing the kids to the Quartermaine house, and he asks if Cody can take them on a trail ride and keep an eye on them. Cody says, of course (🍷). Everything will be okay. Dante says he knows, and leaves.  

Elizabeth says she loves what she does, but wishes she didn’t understand how Lulu got worse, and Lucas says him too. The numbers don’t lie. Elizabeth says, when it’s somebody you love, you literally trick yourself into believing they’ll defy the odds. Lucas says, if Lulu survives, she’ll still be in a coma. The transplant will let her avoid liver failure, but her quality of life won’t change. He thinks they need to be honest with Laura and Lucky. Elizabeth says she knows he means well, but does he want to be the one to tell them to give up on Lulu?  

Laura says, whatever Sam decides, she’ll be at Lulu’s side until the end, God forbid. So will Lucky. Doc says, Lulu is resilient, and Laura has done everything to give her a fighting chance. Getting Nikolas tested, flying across the world to find Lucky, and she never stopped looking for a donor. She says she’d do again tomorrow, and he says, she’s never given up hope that Lulu will survive. She says, don’t make her a hero. She’s just Lulu’s mom.

Lucky says he’s not asking Isaiah to make any promises. If he gives Lulu a fighting chance, he’ll take care of the rest. Isaiah says, it will take a miracle, and Lucky asks if Isaiah thinks it’s hopeless, just say it. If he’s just scared, please, they need him.

Brook tells Violet to call when she gets to the airport, on the plane before they take off, and when they land, so she knows Violet got there safely. Chase says, they’ll be fine. This is it. We’re all crying, and Brook tells Violet to be good for her Uncle Chase. She loves Violet all the way to the moon… Violet says, and back. They hug, and Tracy says, Violet is a very special young lady, and she’s blessed to have gotten to know her so well. They hug, and Violet says she knows this is Monica’s house because Alan gave it to her, but Tracy has made it feel like home. Tracy asks, who told her to say that? and Violet says, nobody. They hug, and Tracy says, Violet needs to get going. She loves her. Chase says, see them in a few days, and he and Violet go to the door. Violet looks back and Tracy waves. They leave, and Brook says, she’s going to miss Violet so much. Tracy says her too, and they hug. Outside, Chase says, ready? and Violet says, ready.

Holly looks at a diamond and puts it back in the bag. She makes a call and says, this is Holly Sutton. I believe we have some business to discuss, Mr. Corinthos.

Robert flashes back to when he and Holly were babies, and Holly says, they can get a divorce right away, but Robert says, the rules say, she has to stay in America for two years or until a child is born. Immigration is watching them.  

Maxie says she’s got get home, and Sasha says she’s sorry for venting. Maxie says she’s Sasha’s friend and Sasha can come to her about anything. Sasha says, there’s no chance that Holly is telling the truth about Robert being her father.

Elizabeth says, Lucas can act like a doctor and speak in medical terms or be there for Lucky as someone who loves Lulu and is holding on and hoping with them. Lucas says he has no idea what to do, but she says, the answer is obvious. He asks, what is it? and she says, a Spencer never gives up. He says, stubborn comes to mind, and she says, it’s not a bad trait right about now. He says, she’s right about everything. He’s not going to stop fighting. It’s what Lulu would want and what she’d do for him if the situations were reversed.

Doc says he wishes he could bear the weight for Laura, and she says, he’s done so much. He’s her rock and keeps her going. He says he always will, and she says she doesn’t want to be away too long. Isaiah and Lucky come into the chapel, and Lucky says he found a surgeon. One that can hopefully save Lulu.

Tomorrow, Curtis says, it’s time for Marshall to show the world what he can do; Nina says, Ava is interested in Ric; and Jordan hopes Isaiah has one more miracle left in him.

💐 More Collateral Writing Damage…

What a shame. Her scenes with Tracy were perfection and they’re losing the best child actor they’ve ever had.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/jophielle-love-exits-general-hospital

🏥 That’s Jens, Not Jenz…

One of life’s little ironies.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/general-hospital-casts-jens-austin-astrup-as-kai

Below Deck Sailing Yacht

Daisy tells Gary that he’s not in her corner. If he was, she’d always be there for his department, but he’s not. He says he never intended to fight, but she says, that’s not reality. She tells him that looking after her girls is her main priority, and in her interview, she says, this is what Gary does. He’s remorseful and has guilt, then gives a half-assed apology. She forgives him and they move on. It’s a vicious cycle and they never move forward. That’s why they pay for therapy. To break cycles. Daisy tells everyone that last season, they took turns paying, and it worked out well. Everyone is cool with that except Cloyce who says he’s not buying everybody five drinks. Daisy says, they made $1400 today, and that’s how they do things. In Gary’s interview, he says, the chef is the highest paid, and Cloyce continues to whine. He wants to invest his drinking money, not make everyone happy. Daisy toasts to a great summer.

They go back to the boat, where Captain Glenn snoozes through a video about Greece, and in Danni’s interview, she says, the vibe deteriorating rapidly. Where is the party? In Cloyce’s interview, he says, the situation sucks. The best way for him to wind down is to cook, so he goes to the galley. In his interview, he says, it reminds him of school. He got straight As and had a few friends, but a kid he never met said he was an a-hole. From what I’ve seen, they might not have been wrong. He says he has no problem speaking up for himself, but at the same time he’s sensitive and feels like an outsider. Danni talks about Anthony, and Gary goes hunting for oysters in the galley. He and Cloyce open a bottle of wine and finish it. They go outside for a smoke, and Keith joins them. In his interview, Cloyce says, he didn’t sign up to make friends, but there are some cool people he’s getting to know better. Oysters and wine, baby.

5 hours to charter. Captain Glenn calls for the preference sheet meeting and says, charter two is lovely ladies. Amy is a realtor from Texas, coming with her two daughters and some close friends for her 60th birthday. Cloyce reads that guest Stephanie is gluten free, and Daisy reads that they want a boho island dinner with paella. Gary says, they want a floating lounge oasis, and Daisy says, an under the sea night with surf and turf, along with a professional DJ afterward. The captain says, they’re going near Es Vedra, and mermaids on the island go out to the boats. Gary is impressed that Captain Glenn knows mermaids, and the captain says they can hire some. In his interview, the captain says, there are weird legends that mermaids lured seamen to their peril. Aliens were involved. A producer asks if he believes in that, and he says, it’s just an island to him but he thinks it’s cool. Daisy calls the provider about the mermaids, while the stews clean the cabins. Danni says she was scared Diane was going be a bitch, and Diana says she’s glad none of them are bitches. Daisy asks who’s done dinner service, and both Danni and Diana have. She asks who’d like to and Diana says she would. In Danni’s interview, she says, going downstairs to do cabins is literal punishment and incredibly annoying. In Diana’s interview, she says, Danni is like, oh poor me. Get over it. Chill. In Daisy’s interview, she says, they’ll always have to do cabins, and tells the girls, it doesn’t matter. They’re going to get it equally.

1 hour to charter. Gary teaches Emma and Keith how to drive the tender. In his interview, he says he’s the only person who can drive the tender, and unfortunately, the only person who can crash it. He thinks it’s important for everyone that they learn. Emma says, it’s starting to piss her off that she can’t do it properly, and in her interview, she says, it pisses her off when she can’t learn things right away. She’s had a lot of jobs and she’s just hoping she wins the lottery. That would be ideal.

The guests are picked up in the tender and met with champagne and cool towels. Captain Glenn says, they’re excited to celebrate Amy’s 60th and welcomes them. He says, they have great things planned. Daisy shows them around, the guests change, and the sails go up. Things slide and several liquor bottles fly out of the cupboard and smash on the stairs.  

Diana insists the cabinet was closed, while primary Amy almost slides off the boat in her chair, but Gary blocks her. In Daisy’s interview, she says her aim for the season was being super zen about sailing. Now here we are – it’s a complete sh*tshow. The guests can’t see. Amy wonders if there are whales here, and one of her daughters says, no. Just a bunch of alcoholics on the coast. In Cloyce’s interview, he says he wants to prove he’s all about being a team player and contribute to hopefully a big tip at the end. Danni flirts with Keith, and in Keith’s interview, he says, obviously, he’s into Danni, but she likes to fish and has no shame whatsoever. Shame hurts. Shame is real. Danni is nervous that the boho tablescape is going to be tacky, and Daisy says, the tackier the better. In Danni’s interview, she says she loves anything artsy. She took art in school and her dad was like, what the f*** are you going to do with art when you get older? She takes pride in her tables. She looks for bohemian sh*t on the boat.

Davide takes photos of the guests, and the tender begins to bang against the side of the boat. Gary says, the tender slipped away, and asks how Emma tied the line. Guest Lily says, they’re losing the boat, and Gary says, they don’t need it anymore. Ha-ha! In Gary’s interview, he says, they can’t leave the tender banging the boat. It makes noise, and worst of all, it looks like sh*t. He shows Emma how to tie the knot. Danni tells Daisy that she’s nervous about her name being on tacky. She’s passionate about this and Daisy told her to do something that she’d never do. She starts to cry, and in Daisy’s interview, she says she’s confused. What the f***? She tells Danni that she doesn’t have to stress.

Daisy says, it’s too early in the season to freak out, and Danni says, Daisy told her it was tacky and it’s frustrating when she’s passionate about it. Daisy tells Danni to pretend she didn’t say it. She meant over the top. In Daisy’s interview, she says she meant it was visually popping. She can tell Danni cares, plus she’s also hypersensitive. She’ll have to watch her words. She tells Danni not to overthink what she says. The guests come out for dinner, Amy and her daughters wearing flower crowns. They think the table is cute and beautiful. Diana asks Cloyce if everyone is getting the same, and he says, yes. She says, which is? and he says, with cheese? This reminds me of the time my husband stopped by the grocery store after work. He was still dressed for work and a woman asked, you work here? He thought she said, you were here? and he told her, yes, I was here, and they circled that drain for a while.

Lunch is served and it’s a glorious parade of seafood porn starring paella. Guest Teresa complains about her boobs getting bigger, which every female has said never. Cloyce says, so far, he’s doing pretty good, and Daisy tells Emma to have Cloyce plate the dessert. Emma says, it needs to be in the oven for 8 minutes, and tells Cloyce to put the pudding in the oven. Daisy checks on where the dessert is at, and there’s some confusion between her and Cloyce as to what the word clear means. In Cloyce’s interview, he says, deckhands should be removed from the scenario, and Daisy says she thinks they’re going to fight. In her interview, she asks where he thought the big plates came from. It also goes both ways. He has a radio. Ask her. Emma tells Daisy that she told him, and dessert is served. Amy says, it’s Southern comfort food and the best bread pudding she’s ever had. Daisy tells Captain Glenn what happened, and he tells her to let him know if there’s another incident. He doesn’t want to damage Cloyce’s confidence. Daisy talks to Gary and says, Cloyce shouldn’t throw her under the bus. She’s on his side. We flash back to Daisy telling Cloyce that a guest’s steak was too well done and Cloyce saying, that’s because it sat. In her interview, Daisy says, back the f*** off. F***ing own it. She doesn’t think she’ll be taking this sh*t. She tells Gary, everyone has to take responsibility for their own sh*t.

The guests go to bed, and Cloyce says, that’s it for him. In Danni’s interview, she says she keeps pursuing Keith. When they have a good moment, it’s exciting. He doesn’t spill all his secrets, so it’s hot. Gary says, it’s a great start to the season, and Cloyce says, there’s something about Daisy. In Gary’s interview, he says he never met anyone like Cloyce. He’s 22 and wears cufflinks. Daisy would walk all over him. He asks if Cloyce is playing hard to get, and Cloyce says he is hard to get. While breakfast begins, Gary tells Captain Glenn that he’s going to scout where to set up the Floatopia. He tells the deckhands to inflate everything inflatable and tie them all together. Davide tries to sit on one, but Emma says, it’s part of a game. He finds out he’s sitting on a cornhole target which somehow seems fitting.  Cloyce says he’d like to go to the Floatopia, and Daisy is like, what about lunch? He tells her that the salad is prepped and he’s putting chicken and salmon in the fridge for a light lunch. On deck, Amy thinks the red and yellow flag the Perceval flies is a pirate flag because of the colors. I don’t know about you, but I usually associate pirates with a black flag that has a skull and crossbones on it. They google it and find out it’s Spanish. In Gary’s interview, he says he doesn’t think Emma is taking this seriously enough, and fixes her inferior inflatables. Say that three times real fast.

Emma says she thought she was doing the right thing and doesn’t think Gary is being fair snapping at her. Cloyce says he’s stoked to offer assistance to the deck team and getting some Spanish sunshine is quite lovely. The guests are taken to whatever this floatie thing is🧐, and they lounge, snorkel, and use the wave runners. In Gary’s interview, he says, Cloyce is the chef, but he’s meant to be prepping. What is he making? French fries and chicken nuggets? In Diana’s interview, she says she’s trying to do her job, and Cloyce is trying to steal her job. His job is to be in the galley.

Wandering around the boat, Captain Glenn says he doesn’t see much prep in the galley. He looks for Cloyce, but can’t find him. Gary radios the boat for sun cream and the captain says he’ll meet Gary at the swim platform. He wonders where the chef is, and Gary says, he’s with them. Captain Glenn says, he’s got to come back in time to prep. Bring him back now. In the captain’s interview, he says, the chef is here for a purpose. He’s not a guest. He likes strong people around him who he can trust, and he’s starting to worry. What is he thinking? We see Cloyce wave running with the guests, and Captain Glenn tells Gary, get him back here now.  

Next time, Captain Glenn says, the island is haunted by mermaids; Daisy says, alarm bells are going off in her head; and Diana thinks Danni is stupid. She could very well be right.

👀 One Thing Watched…

I usually watch this first since I can’t wait and From isn’t on until Sunday. Mind officially blown from the plot twist.

https://ew.com/grotesquerie-episode-7-reveal-niecy-nash-betts-ryan-murphy-8729002

🧟 It’s a Murphy World…

It seems like everything he touches turns to horror gold, and this looks no different. Whoever started the idea of getting stories from graphic novels, comics, and video games was a genius too. There’s a wealth of unexplored material out there.

https://www.them.us/story/ryan-murphy-the-beauty-graphic-novel-jeremy-pope-anthony-ramos-ashton-kutcher-evan-peters

https://www.cbr.com/ryan-murphy-evan-peters-horror-the-beauty/

https://ew.com/ryan-murphy-the-beauty-culmination-of-nip-tuck-ahs-exclusive-8729903

🐩 Old Hollywood Royalty…

Not Halloween themed, but close enough. I love old timey photos of pets.

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/pets/g32375671/old-hollywood-pets/

🫧 Let the Cauldron Bubble…

Join me tomorrow for soap and snark in the City. Until then, stay safe, stay waiting a day before reacting to a rude email or text, and stay keeping in mind that secrets don’t last forever.

October 31, 2023 – Halloween Begins In Port Charles, Celebrities In Costume, Vintage Creepy, The Best, Fear Explained, Dead Coming Up, The Cost Of Scary, Halloween Pets (!) & Double Feature

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Trina is in the gallery, when Cyrus walks in. She tells him stay away from her, but she turns and he’s there. He grabs her, and she tells him to let her go. Spencer walks in, and she asks him to help, but Cyrus says, no need to intervene. He needs a hostage. Spencer says, Trina’s his girlfriend, and Cyrus asks if he doesn’t love Esme. He drags Trina across the room, and Spencer says he’s sorry, but his uncle is right. Trina wakes up screaming. (Told you so.)

Esme cuddles Ace and tells him that he’s the cutest card in the deck. She says she has to take him to daycare and needs to find her purse, but there’s a knock at the door. She opens it to Cyrus and asks if she can help him. He says, nice to see her again. They met at Pentenville. He’s Laura’s brother, Cyrus. This must be little Ace. He moves forward, but she backs up.

At Pozzulo’s, Sonny says, Laura is always a good start to his morning, and she thanks him. She says, this way, she gets to congratulate him in person on his wedding, and he says, she already congratulated him on the phone. She says, this way, she gets the free coffee, and he says, she can have coffee anytime she wants. She says, to tell him the truth, there’s something she wanted to talk to him about, and he says he knows what it’s about, and wants her to know he’s sticking to the deal they made on the phone. He’s been keeping an eye on Cyrus, from a distance. He promised he wouldn’t take any action, and he’s not, but if Cyrus makes a move, he’s going to be all over him. She says she appreciates he has respect for her wishes, but it’s not what she wanted to talk about actually. It’s another family member. It’s Spencer.

Maxie runs into Kelly’s and says, to say she’s thrilled about Carly having a Halloween party is an understatement. Carly asks if she’s that excited about carving pumpkins, but Maxie says, not at all. It means she doesn’t have to go trick-or-treating. James is thrilled to come here, which means she doesn’t have to walk miles with him, since that kid insists on stopping at every single door. She’s not kidding. The kid spends ten minutes at every single house. She thinks he has a future as a traveling salesman.

Anna meets Felicia at Kelly’s, and says, caffeine now. Felicia says, good morning to her too, and Anna says she’s sorry. She’s very tired and not able to function right now. Felicia asks if she slept badly, but Anna says, that would imply she slept, which she didn’t. Not a wink. She’s still at the MetroCourt and has Sonny’s bodyguard, which should give her peace of mind, but it doesn’t. Felicia says, that break-in would rattle anyone. Maybe she would feel better someplace else. Anna says she’s been thinking about that, but the timing isn’t right for her to move in with Valentin. She thinks he and Charlotte need some space. She’s wondering if she should find a place of her own, and Felicia says she has a brilliant idea.

At the bistro, Charlotte tells Valentin that she’s old enough to go trick-or-treating on her own. She’s 15 (which is when most of us stop), and he’s still watching her. He says he knows she’s disappointed, and she says she’s not disappointed; she’s embarrassed. The next thing he’s going to tell her is that she has to wear a coat over her costume, so she doesn’t get cold. She’s not a baby. He says, she’s been through a lot lately and he’s not okay with her going out alone. End of story. She says she’s not going to be alone; she’ll be with her friends. He says, and with him. He’s joining the group. The more, the merrier, right?

Finn wakes up and sees Elizabeth painting at an easel. He says, there’s a sight worth waking up to, and she says, look at his cute little bedhead. He says he thought the haircut might fix that, but he guesses he was wrong. She asks how he slept, and he says, never better. Her? She says, so well, thank you, and he says, it must have been the maple syrup. (Seriously, what did they do with that?)

Esme asks what Cyrus wants, and he says he’s here to see his sister of course (🍷). He closes the door, but then Spencer comes in. Cyrus says, great to see him. He was just about to get acquainted with his other great-nephew. Spencer asks what he’s doing here, and Esme tells him, he says he’s here to see Spencer’s grandmother, but she was just about to tell him that Laura’s not here. Spencer says he’ll tell Laura that Cyrus dropped by, but Cyrus says, he came all this way. He might as well take the opportunity to get to know this little guy, and he and Spencer barely talked the other day. They should maybe catch up? Okay?

Josslyn asks if Trina is okay, and Trina says, sorry if she woke Josslyn. Josslyn tells her, don’t apologize, but what happened? and Trina says she just had the worst nightmare. Adam knocks at the door and asks if everything is all right, and Josslyn opens the door. He asks, what’s going on? and she says, nothing. Everything’s fine. Trina had a nightmare. He says he’s had his share of them, and Trina says, sorry if she woke him, but he says, that’s okay. He’s been up for hours studying for midterms. He was about to head out on a coffee run. Does Josslyn want anything from Perks? She says, no, she’s okay, and he says, maybe he’ll see her later? She says, yeah, bye, and closes the door. She asks Trina to tell her about this dream.

Sonny asks if Laura has proof Nikolas is alive, and she says, irrefutable. Not only has Nikolas been in Geneva, his banker said his employees saw Nikolas there and he showed her withdrawals for a significant amount of money that Nikolas has taken from his accounts. Sonny asks if she gave this information to Spencer, and she says, yeah. He didn’t react the way she thought he would. She thought it was just going to be more anger, but he was so sad and so disappointed. She thinks it was like a final confirmation that his father has abandoned his life here, and his two sons. She knows Spencer would probably never admit it, but she thinks he was holding out hope that his father wasn’t missing by his own choice. He says, just when you think Nikolas couldn’t sink any lower. He’s sorry. He knows Nikolas is Laura’s son. It’s just that he feels for Spencer. She says she does too, but as a mother, she feels there’s more to this story. There’s probably some extenuating circumstances they don’t know about, some real reason he had to leave. But she knows, at this point, he’s really forfeited his right to be a father to Ace, and she doesn’t think Spencer would even want him back. Sonny says, Nikolas doesn’t realize the damage he’s doing to Spencer. Sonny was abandoned as a kid, and he was bitter and resented his father for a long time. He knows what Spencer is going through. She says, that’s exactly why she’s here. Can he please help Spencer?

Elizabeth thanks Finn, and he says, for what? She says, for this trip. She feels so relaxed, like she’s a million miles away from Port Charles. He says, that was kind of the idea, right? Just getting away and leaving everything behind for a few days. She says, he needed this more than he realized. He’s been so consumed with his dad and his illness, he really needed to take a break and get out of his mind, even if it was just for a day or two. He says, she’s the one who told him to enjoy every moment in life. That’s what he’s doing. He looks at her painting and says, this is really good, and she says she hopes it’s okay she used paint she found in the closet. She couldn’t resist. He says, of course (🍷) it is. Maybe she should get back into painting when she gets home. She says she’d like that. It used to be such a passion of hers. Then kids and life took over… He says, she’s really talented – we see it’s a painting of a tree-lined path – and she says, waking up to the beauty that surrounds them inspired her. She wanted to capture it. It’ll remind her of what a special weekend this is. He says he loves it… He loves her. He has for the longest time.

Maxie says, Georgie is at the age where she wants to go trick-or-treating unsupervised, and Carly says, that’s a tough one. She remembers when she and Josslyn went through that. It was quite the battle. She’s just happy Donna has a few more years before she reaches that stage. (What’s up with these parents? We were going out by ourselves by 6th grade. Although no mob bosses lived in my neighborhood… I don’t think.) Maxie says she doesn’t want to smother Georgie. She remembers what it was like at that age, but she did get into a lot of trouble. You know what they say about the apple and the tree. Carly says she does, but listen to her gut. How many kids does she want to go with? Maxie says, three, and two of them are boys, so that’s a plus, and Carly says, or a minus, depending on how you look at it.

Felicia asks what Anna thinks of a sublet. It might be better until she figures out her long-term plans. Anna says, ideally, she would move in with Valentin and Charlotte, but the truth is, this person, whoever’s after her, she doesn’t know when they’re going to make their next move. She doesn’t want Charlotte anywhere near that. So she has to keep her distance. Felicia says, makes sense, but a furnished place would be convenient, right? and Anna says, of course (🍷). Felicia says, a furnished place in a nice neighborhood, a secure building with lots of families, but Anna says she doesn’t think a place like that exists. Felicia says, that’s where she’s wrong, and calls Maxie over.

Charlotte tells Valentin that she’ll be the only one with a chaperone. Jake, Danny, and Georgie are all going in a safe neighborhood. They’re going to Harbor Vista. He says he’s a highly trained agent. She won’t even know he’s there. She says, this isn’t funny. The whole point of the night is to be on their own. She doesn’t need him holding her hand like a little kid with a pumpkin flashlight. He says he’s not changing his mind and she asks if he doesn’t trust her.

Maxie says, so Anna wants to sublet her old place, and Anna says, it wasn’t her idea; it was Maxie’s mother’s brilliant idea. What does she think? Maxie says she thinks it’s a great idea. She tried to sublet it already, but the woman go transferred out of town at the last minute, so it’s just been sitting there empty. Not empty exactly; her old furniture’s still in there. She bought all new stuff for her house. Anna says she needs furniture; she doesn’t have any. Maxie says, okay. Then Felicia’s a genius. Felicia agrees that she is.

They go to Maxie’s old apartment, and Felicia tells Anna, welcome to her new home.

Trina says, the dream was definitely triggered by Cyrus showing up at the gallery yesterday, and Josslyn says, she must have been so shocked to see him there. Trina says, her mom warned her that Cyrus was released, but she didn’t expect him to track her down. Josslyn asks if Cyrus threatened her. She can talk to Sonny; he can handle it. Trina asks, what happened to her grudge against Sonny? A few weeks ago, Josslyn wanted nothing to do with him, and now she’s willing to reach out to him? Josslyn says she thinks Trina’s safety is more important than any issues she has with Sonny, and he’s well-equipped to handle Cyrus and he will. She just doesn’t want Trina to worry. Trina says she’d appreciates that, but Cyrus didn’t threaten her. It was the opposite. He apologized.

Esme thanks Spencer for getting diapers, and he says, not a problem. He thinks she should get to work. She knows how Alexis is when she’s late. Cyrus says, so she works for Miss Davis? and Esme says, Miss Davis was nice enough to offer her a job even though she has no experience. Cyrus says he doesn’t know her well, but she seems like a formidable woman. She runs that paper… Spencer says, The Invader, and if Esme doesn’t get going now, she’s not going to have that job very much longer. He walks Esme to the door and gives Ace to her. He closes the door and asks if Cyrus wants to tell him what he’s really doing here. What does he want?

Sonny says, Laura knows he’d do anything for her. It’s just that he’s had so many difficulties with Nikolas in the past, he can’t be neutral on this subject. Even if he talks to Spencer, he doesn’t really want to trash his father. That wouldn’t be healthy for them, and it wouldn’t be fair to her. She says, he doesn’t have to justify his feelings about Spencer’s dad. She just wants Sonny to be there for him in case he comes to her for advice. It would ease her mind. He says he’ll always be here for Spencer, and she thanks him. Spencer really admires and respects him, and he can get through to Spencer in a way she and Doc can’t. She has to be honest, she’s kind of worried about him right now. She’s afraid he might do something rash, something he might regret in the future. He says he’ll do whatever he can to make sure that doesn’t happen. She takes his hand and says, thank you.

Walking through the woods with Elizabeth, Finn says, this is the best apple he’s ever had. She says, it’s his second one. If he has any more, Aiden won’t have enough for his pies. (Highly unlikely, since they’re both carrying full baskets.) He says, Aiden’s got enough for ten pies, and she says she has to account for multiple attempts. He says, Aiden’s a wiz in the kitchen, and she says, he is, but baking is very precise. It’s a science. Finn says, it is, although he doesn’t remember seeing a single pie in organic chemistry class (what about a pie chart?), and she says, following the recipe is key. It’s not like any barbecue. He says, excuse me? and she says she’s not knocking his culinary skills. It’s just seeing him at the grill, there were spices and sauces flying everywhere. He says he guesses that’s a fair assessment. It still tastes pretty good, right? She says, it does. She guesses they should get back. She didn’t know how far this orchard was. He says, if they’re tired when they get back to the cabin, they can just take a nap.

Sonny asks how Spencer is doing with Ace, and she says she’s so proud of the way he’s stepped up. He’s really trying to be a surrogate father to that little boy. He even took parenting classes with Esme. Sonny says, that’s impressive, and she says, the only thing is, it causes a little bit of friction between him and Trina, and he’s very much in love with Trina. She’s worried his devotion to Ace and the time he spends with Esme could hurt his relationship. Sonny says, he’s in a tough spot, because if he backs away from Ace, he’s going to feel miserable, and if he doesn’t put Trina first, he could end up losing her. She says, exactly. It’s a lot for someone his age. He didn’t ask to be a father, but he’s doing his very best to fill the role. Anyway, she just wanted Sonny to know what’s going on in Spencer’s life in case Spencer does come to him for guidance. His phone chimes, and Sonny says he thinks she’d better get home. She has a visitor.

Cyrus asks if Spencer is implying that he has an ulterior motive, but Spencer says he’s not implying anything; he’s stating it outright. Cyrus must want something. Cyrus assures Spencer that his motives are purely altruistic. He wanted to see his dear sister and thought he’d save her the embarrassment of a newly released convict showing up at the mayor’s office. Spencer says, she’d be far more concerned knowing he came here where Esme and Ace were vulnerable, but Cyrus says he had no intention of intimidating Esme or Spencer’s brother. Quite the contrary. He was pleasantly surprised to find them home, and he enjoyed the little time he had with them. He meant them no harm. Spencer says, Esme may have met him before, but she has no idea how dangerous Cyrus truly is, and Cyrus says, like the Lord Himself, he comes in peace, and he’s very disheartened to find Spencer so unwelcoming. He thought they’d come to an understanding in Pentenville.

Josslyn says, she did not, but Trina says she sure did. Josslyn says, she screamed at Cyrus, told him to take his apology and shove it? and Trina says, yeah. Josslyn says, good for her, and Trina says she surprised herself. She wasn’t sure she had it in her. It was such a release to unload on him. She was terrified the night he held her and her mom hostage, and she’s not going to be a victim again. Josslyn says, clearly, she’s stronger than she thinks. Trina says, maybe, but Cyrus is free. If he sees her again, he might not apologize. Josslyn says, it’s no wonder she’s having nightmares, and Trina says she thinks the scariest part of the dream wasn’t Cyrus. It was Spencer. Renault was holding her, and she was screaming for Spencer to help her, but he just stood there. Josslyn says, let’s hope that never becomes a reality, but Trina says, it won’t because Spencer was so protective of her when Cyrus came to the gallery. He stood up to Cyrus and told him to leave, so it’s not a thing. Josslyn says, good. That makes her feel better. Trina says, just one thing though. Spencer told her that Cyrus protected him at Pentenville, and it’s unnerving to think he must be grateful to Cyrus.

Elizabeth rinses the apples, and telsl Finn that she didn’t know how much work went into all this. It was a long walk. The baskets were heavy, and they have to wash them all. Finn wonders if he can help, and stands behind her, washing the apples like they washed their hands together. I guess this is supposed to be reminiscent of Ghost? She says she doesn’t know about him, but all this washing has worn her out. He thinks they should take a nap, and she says, totally, and they kiss.

Valentin says he trusts Charlotte, but she says, it doesn’t seem like he does. He says, she’s been through a lot these past few years, her mother’s condition, boarding school. She says, but boarding school taught her to be independent. He’s the one who always says, independence is a good thing. He says, stability’s a good thing. She was on her own for a while. She came back and was bounced back and forth for a while between her grandma’s and Sam and Dante. She needs a stable home life. She says, but that’s not a problem anymore. They finally have a house of their own, just the two of them, the way it should be. He says he knows she loves the house, but it doesn’t change anything she’s been through. And he’s worried for her. He thinks she’s putting on a brave face because she thinks he’ll be disappointed if she’s unhappy. He wants her to tell him the truth, not what she thinks he wants to hear.

Maxie says, Anna doesn’t even need to buy a bed. Everything she needs is already here. All right. Full disclosure, there are a few quirks. The bedroom floor is a bit uneven, the doors in the kitchen kind of stick, and the oven… uh… the oven is broken. Anna says she barely cooks. The microwave works though, right? Maxie says, yes, and Felicia says, they should be pointing out the positive features. Maxie says, the microwave works, and Felicia says, the clawfoot tub is amazing, the hot water never runs out. The walls are fully insolated, so you can barely hear your neighbors… Anna says she’ll take it, and Maxie says, what? Anna says, this is really perfect, and Maxie says, Anna’s not just saying that so she can help Maxie out, but Anna says, Maxie is helping her out. This is exactly what she needs.

Trina walks into Kelly’s and Carly asks if Joss sent her over. Trina says, no, why? and Carly says, because she needed Josslyn to come help her decorate for the kids’ Halloween party, so she assumed she enlisted Trina for back-up. Trina says, no. Josslyn didn’t mention anything to her, but please put her to work. She needs the distraction. Carly asks, what’s going on? and Trina says she’s sure Carly heard Cyrus Renault was released. Carly says she was visiting Drew in the hospital, and he walked right into Drew’s room. She couldn’t believe it. Trina says she’s pretty freaked out that he’s back on the streets, and Carly says she doesn’t blame Trina, but she does know they’re watching him carefully, so hopefully, he doesn’t try anything.

Maxie hands Anna the keys and says, the place is all hers. Anna asks if she shouldn’t fill out some paperwork or something or give her a security deposit? but Maxie says, minor details. They’ll get to that at some point. Anna should just enjoy the apartment. Anna hugs her and thanks them both. She asks if she can move in right away, and Maxie says, whatever she wants. Felicia says she can help Anna pack up her things at the MetroCourt, but Anna says she doesn’t have anything really. It will just take her a second to move. Felicia says she’s really glad this worked out, and Anna says, this feels like the first positive thing that’s happened since her house burned down. It feels like a new beginning. Only good things from now on.

Charlotte says, Valentin wants to know how she really feels? She feels like she needs to go out with her friends tonight – no supervision. He says, okay. She wants to go out with her friends alone, then she has to do something for him. She says, anything, and he says he wants her to see Kevin Collins (who Lucy and I call Doc). He wants her to tell Doc everything she’s going through. She asks why she has to talk to Doc. She’s perfectly happy. He says he feels like there’s something going on; something she doesn’t want to tell him. She says she tells him everything… If he really wants her to do this, she will. He thanks her and says he’ll drive her and her friends, and he’ll drop them off and let them trick-or-treat alone. She says, thank you, and hugs him.

Spencer says, Cyrus looked out for him while he was in Pentenville and it would have been a lot tougher without his protection. Cyrus says, so Spencer sees his motives are only for the good of their family. And as he warned Spencer, the only person he needed protection from was Victor Cassadine and not him. No need to be so suspicious of his visit today. Spencer says, Cyrus turned out to be right about Victor, and he did turn out to be who Cyrus said he’d be; ruthless, sadistic… Cyrus says he’ll take that as a thank you, and Spencer says he knows he owes Cyrus for the way he was looked out for in Pentenville, but he still knows Cyrus is a very, very dangerous person. He held Trina Robinson and her mother at gunpoint. He shot Curtis Ashford, and he wants to know why Spencer is leery when he comes around? It’s because he’s a threat, and he doesn’t want Cyrus anywhere near his little brother. Cyrus says he’s not going to deny his past deeds were heinous, but those were acts of a desperate man, a caged animal, and that man no longer exists. He has seen the Light, and that Light is their Lord and Savior, and He has forgiven Cyrus’s sins, and his life is now devoted to helping others. Spencer asks if Cyrus expects him to believe he’s repentant because he can spout some rhetoric about finding God, and getting louder, Cyrus says, Spencer can believe whatever he wants – Spencer says, calm down – but don’t forget, people gave Spencer a second chance after he got out of prison. He’s only asking for the same courtesy. Laura comes in and asks if Spencer will give her a moment alone with her brother.

In bed, Elizabeth and Finn kiss, and she says she thought the purpose of a nap is to actually sleep. He says, she’s right. No more napping. She tells him that she was only making an observation that they’re not very good at it, and he says, they’ll just have to continue practicing until they get it right. They get busy.

Cyrus says he’s sorry, and Laura says, coming over here unannounced and uninvited, but he says, it wasn’t a calculated move. He was released a few days ago. He thought it would be nice to pay her a visit. She says she doesn’t appreciate it, and he says, then she’s certainly not going to appreciate that not only did he spend time with Spencer, he had the pleasure of meeting his great-nephew Ace. He and Esme crossed paths at Pentenville, but this is the first time he saw Ace. What a delightful baby. She says, he has no business being around children, and he says, but he does when they’re related to him. Like it or not, dear sister, they’re my family too.

Spencer goes to Kelly’s and asks Trina if everything is okay. She says, it will be once they start decorating, and he says, that’s what this is about? This is a decorating emergency? She says, yes. They have to decorate for the kids’ Halloween party. He says he thinks Ace still might be a little too young for it. He cried when he saw a jack-o-lantern. She says, the concept of Halloween doesn’t sink in until they understand they get free candy, and Carly says, that’s right. And Trina volunteered his help because they need someone tall. He says he’s happy to help. Where would she like him to start? She hands him a box and tells him to spread these in all the corners. Trina laughs.

Josslyn opens the door to Adam, and he asks if she wants to head over to the library or stay here. She says, stay here. She’s got to cut today short. She has to head over to Kelly’s and help her mom decorate for a Halloween party. He says he’ll just head over to the library, and she asks what he’s talking about. It’s Halloween. Isn’t he doing anything? There must be lots of parties on campus. He says, it’s the perfect time; the library will be empty. She says, he could study tomorrow, but he says he’s taking four extra credits this semester and it’s a lot. And he’s not really big on dressing up. She says he doesn’t have to dress up to decorate. Why doesn’t he come to Kelly’s with her?

Sonny’s phone rings, and he asks how Anna is holding up. She says, pretty good. First of all, she wants to say, congratulations on his wedding. Is he a happy groom? He says he is, and she says she can almost hear him smiling over the phone. She wants to wish him and Nina all the best. They really deserve it. He thanks her and says, it means a lot to him. So what can he do for her? She closes the door so the bodyguard can’t hear and says she’d like to return her gift. He asks if she bought him something for the wedding, but she says, he was kind enough to give her a bodyguard, and now she’s sending him back. He says he’s not sure that’s a good thing, but she says, her circumstances have changed. She says she feels like she has the key – she picks up the keys Maxie gave her – to a new beginning. She’s taken an apartment. Before he says anything, it’s very safe. It’s small, a doorman building, 24-hour security. It’s mostly families, and she doesn’t need a bodyguard. The biggest threat she’s facing is maybe being caught in the elevator door while trying to dodge all the strollers. He says, it sounds great, but she shouldn’t let her guard down. She should maybe keep Trey until everything is settled. She says she really appreciates his concern, but she doesn’t want a bodyguard. She needs her privacy. She feels like she just really wants to get her life back, and this is the first step.

Finn puts the book he’s reading down and watches Elizabeth paint. She asks if he isn’t supposed to be reading, but he says, she’s much more interesting. She says, this, coming from the man who wanted to listen to a dengue fever podcast on the way here. He says, to be fair, the doctor on the podcast has a very soothing voice – he goes over to her – but still, he’d rather watch her paint. She asks him to thank Dan for her, not just for the cabin, but for all of this. They have to send him something. He says, let’s do that, and she says, it’s so beautiful here. The view is amazing. He says, yes, it is, looking at her, and she says, he’s not even looking out the window. He says he knows.

On the phone, Carly asks if Willow is still bringing the kids to Kelly’s Halloween party… Okay. They’re starting early so the little ones don’t crash… Okay. She can’t wait to see Wiley and Amelia’s costumes… No. Don’t tell her what it is. She wants to be surprised. See her soon.

Trina says, Spencer still has a lot of webs, calling him Spiderman, and he says, he’s sorry, what? She asks if he’s all right, and he says, yeah. He was just thinking about Pentenville. She says, that’s a dark thought, but he says, not really. He was just thinking about the day he was released. They were so far apart then. Now they’re a lot closer and she loves him, and he feels like the luckiest guy in the world. She says, he is the luckiest guy in the world, and he kisses her.

Charlotte asks if she can get a scone, and Valentin says he loves her so much. She’s the most important person in the world to him. She knows that, right? She says she feels the same way about him. It was hard at boarding school. She missed him so much, he has no idea, but none of that matters now. She’s back where she belongs, with him, and nothing’s going to change that. he says he has so many regrets. He would change so much, but he’s going to fix everything. She just has to keep her end of the deal and meet with Doc, okay? She says she will, she promises. She leaves to get her scone, and he looks worried.

Cyrus says, like it or not, and it’s quite clear she doesn’t, he and Laura are siblings. She laughs and says, what’s that saying? You can’t choose your family. He says he prefers the words of the great Bishop Desmond Tutu. He said, you don’t choose your family; they’re God’s gift to you, as you are to them. She says, spare her the sermon, and he says, they are connected by blood, and he cares about her. just as he cares about Spencer and Ace. He treasures all of them. He used to be obsessed with money and power, but they pale in comparison. She says she’s just not buying that, and he asks how he can prove it to her. He protected Spencer when he was in Pentenville. he will continue to keep all of them out of harm’s way. She needs to give him a chance. Is she willing to do that? She says, if they’re going to do this, they’re going to do it with ground rules, and that means he’s going to respect her boundaries when he wants to see her and those boys. That means he doesn’t come here unless she calls him and invites him. Is that clear? He holds up his hands, and she says, this visit is over. She opens the door, and he says he’ll wait for her call, handing her his number, but he hopes it’s soon. She closes the door, and the phone rings. She asks Valentin if everything is okay, and he says he hopes so. Charlotte’s finally agreed to talk to Doc. He’d like to set something up for this afternoon. Could she talk to him? He thinks it’s probably better if it comes from her. She says, of course (🍷). She would do anything for her granddaughter. He says he’s very worried about Charlotte. He thinks she really needs help. Charlotte is on her way back and hears him.

Tomorrow, Lois tells Eddie/Ned, the same fire that got him there will also see him through; Tracy tells Brook, it would be foolish to think otherwise; Charlotte sees Anna; and Carly tells Cyrus that he’s not welcome at Kelly’s.

🦚 Celebrity Treats…

The celebrities turn it out.

https://ew.com/celebrity/best-celebrity-halloween-costumes-2023-photos/

The Queen of Halloween. The worm is actually 2022. Shame on them for getting that wrong.

https://ew.com/celebrity/heidi-klum-halloween-costume-2023/

https://people.com/heidi-klum-looks-back-at-her-iconic-halloween-costumes-exclusive-8348154

👽 It’s Not Halloween Without…

Seriously, what the blip?

🪦 Best Of All Hallows TV…

A matter of opinion, but still, a good list.

https://ew.com/gallery/best-halloween-episodes/

⚰️ About That Fear…

Spoilers if you haven’t seen it.

https://ew.com/tv/fear-the-walking-dead-showrunners-explain-shocking-death/

🎊 Next Up…

All about the Day of the Dead.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/dia-de-los-muertos-what-it-means-honors-dead-mexico-tradition-rcna122749

https://theconversation.com/day-of-the-dead-is-taking-on-halloween-traditions-but-the-sacred-holiday-is-far-more-than-a-mexican-halloween-212686

https://artsandculture.google.com/project/dia-de-muertos

💸 Halloween Ain’t Free…

What we spent this year.

https://www.npr.org/2023/10/31/1209521178/halloween-spending-candy-pet-costumes

🦄 Last But Never Least…

All the pets.

https://big1059.iheart.com/featured/doc-reno/content/2023-10-31-best-pet-halloween-costumes/

https://www.buzzfeed.com/celinadejesus/21-dogs-who-already-won-best-costume-for-halloween

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

Get ahead for next year.

https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/pet-halloween-costumes-ideas

Hannah Barbie sez: Happy Halloween!

👻 Tricking and Treating…

Hang up your costume and join me tomorrow for soap and Beverly Hills talk. Until then, stay safe, stay being anything you want to be every day, not just on Halloween, and stay believing, only good things from now on.

February 3, 2023 – Elizabeth Tells Finn the Truth, Back Peddle, Guilty, Blackout Blessed, Blame Game, Rumors, Gifting, Blackeye, Godfather On Deck, Farewell Sal, Pup (!) Guide, 3 X 3 Quotes & Cold Night

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Finn asks why Elizabeth lied about being pregnant with Nikolas’s baby.

Josslyn goes to Dex’s apartment, apologizing for just showing up. She throws herself into his arms.

After a performance at The Savoy, Brook compliments Chase and Blaze, and tells them that they’re single keeps climbing the charts. Blaze goes inside the club, and Brook tells Chase that he’s a natural.

Ava holds the door for Austin, and they run into Kelly’s. She calls him the hero of the hour. She heard he helped save Willow’s life, and Willow is important to a dear friend of hers. He says, she should thank Dr. Navarro; he was just part of a team. She wants to buy him supper, and won’t take no for an answer. She’s feeling generous, since her divorce has really paid off.

Nikolas says he appreciates Spencer wanting to be involved in his new sibling’s life, and Laura says, they know Britt’s memorial was hard on him. They’re both very sorry. Nikolas says, he wouldn’t have missed it if something important hadn’t come up, and Spencer says, there’s always something more important than him. Why does he keep coming in second? How many times will Nikolas fail before he ruins the baby’s life? That’s why he’s seeking full custody of Nikolas’s child. Laura says, he’s just angry right now, but Spencer says, it’s not a rash decision made in the heat of the moment. Nikolas says, Spencer has no idea what it take to raise a child, but Spencer says, neither does Nikolas. Laura tells them to stop. She knows they love each other. Spencer says, a long time ago, Nikolas meant the world to him, and Nikolas says Spencer is his world. Maybe the problem is, he spoiled Spencer and didn’t prepare him for life. Spencer says, Nikolas taught him life’s hardest lessons, like, heroes aren’t always who they seem to be, that the people you love can hurt you in unimaginable ways, and the people you trust to protect you can sacrifice you for their selfish interests. Nikolas broke his heart a thousand times, and he refuses to let Nikolas do the same to his sibling. He’s dead serious.

Chase asks if Brook has heard from Michael, because he’s not answering calls or texts, but she says she hasn’t. He says, Sasha texted, and said she saw the baby, but Willow is still in the ICU. She takes his hand, and says, Willow is tough. She’s going to pull through. Have faith. He tells her, they can’t do this anymore.

Elizabeth tells Finn that she was never pregnant. She didn’t have an affair with Nikolas or anyone. She never cheated on him. He wonders why she said she did, and she says, he saw her with those prenatal vitamins. He says he thinks she needs to start from the beginning, and she says, when she came back from California, she felt guilty and couldn’t face him. She wasn’t thinking, and went to Nikolas to get support from her oldest friend. She discovered Nikolas had gotten himself into a bad situation and needed her help. He asks, with what? and she says, Esme.

Josslyn tells Dex that she’s been on overload; so much joy, sadness, and fear at the same time. She’s happy he was home. He asks, what’s going on? and she says, her niece was born, and she’s healthy and perfect. Josslyn, her mom, and grandma visited her in the NICU, introducing her to the matriarchy. Dex says, if Josslyn’s niece is anything like her, she’s going to be amazing, and stubborn. He means that as a compliment. She says, Willow still hasn’t held her baby; she hemorrhaged after the C-section. She’s stable, but not conscious, and Michael is with her in the ICU. She’s so weak from the leukemia. What if she doesn’t wake up? Dex holds her.

Chase says he still wants to keep his promise to take Linc down, and get Brook’s songs back, but the CCRB spring meeting is coming up. If the Review Board votes in his favor, that’s it. He goes back to being a cop full-time, and can’t go after Linc anymore. And face it, they’re no closer to their goal. Brook says, these things take time, and he says, Blaze isn’t interested in turning Linc in for sexual harassment, and he’s not going to pressure her, which leaves them with tempting Linc to buy out the contract; signing Brook’s songs back over to her just in time for him to quit. She says, it’s still a solid plan, and he says, they have to move on it. He has to be done with this by the time the CCRB meets. She asks if he doesn’t mean done with her.

Josslyn tells Dex, the reason her niece was delivered early was so they could use the stem cells from the cord for Willow’s transplant. What no one is saying is, maybe Willow’s too weak, and maybe it’s too late. She feels guilty even saying that. He says she can say anything to him. Sometimes saying something out loud can take away it’s power. Willow has the best medical care money can buy, and she wants to live. Attitude can make a crucial difference. Josslyn says she hopes so. She just feels so powerless. And Britt’s memorial was today. She couldn’t go because of her niece of course (🍷), but she still feels like she should have been there to pay her respects. Britt saved Josslyn’s life, and it killed her.

Elizabeth tells Finn, the night she was on the docks, Nikolas was there too. Esme told her that Nikolas knew she’d been in town for weeks; she’d shown up pregnant with his child. Nikolas thought she was behind The Hook killings, and couldn’t let her hurt anyone else. At the same time, he had to protect his unborn baby. Finn asks what he did, and Elizabeth says, he kept Esme locked in a tower at Windymere. He says, that’s pretty disgusting, even for Nikolas, and she says she wanted to go to the police, but Nikolas convinced her not to. Finn asks, how? and she says, he told her that he wanted to make sure his child was safe from harm, and the people of Port Charles were safe from Esme, so she agreed to help him. That’s when Finn saw the bottle of prenatal vitamins at Windymere; she was providing Esme with medical care. When Finn saw her with the same vitamins at the hospital and asked her about it, she panicked. She said she was pregnant with Nikolas’s baby to keep their secret. She asks Finn to say something.

Austin says, so in the divorce, Ava got the house, and it’s a big house, called Windymere. It suits her. She seems like the lady of the manor. Congratulations. She says, it’s the least she was owed, and he says, when he first came to Port Charles, she was divorcing Nikolas, but they worked it out. She doesn’t want to do that now? She says, different circumstances. At that time, she left Nikolas to protect her daughter. Now she’s leaving to protect herself.

Laura says, Spencer has reason to be angry, but every parent makes mistakes. It doesn’t erase the bond between parent and child. Nikolas says, it’s okay. He owns everything he’s done to Spencer, but is taking his child away what’s best for the baby, or is Spencer getting even with him? Spencer says, this isn’t about revenge. It’s about how unfit Nikolas is to be a father. Not only because of what Nikolas has done to him, but what he’s done to other people as well. Unlike Nikolas, he’s going to do what’s best for the baby. Laura tells Spencer to think about what he’s saying, and he says he’s discussed this with his friends, and discussed his case with Diane Miller. He’ll do everything in his power to make sure Nikolas doesn’t destroy another innocent life. Laura says, he’s still a kid himself. He can’t raise the baby all alone. Nikolas says, she’s right. He loves this child, and he’ll make damn sure he doesn’t repeat… Spencer says, Nikolas is incapable of keeping that promise, and Nikolas says, if Spencer goes down this path, he’ll be forced to fight him, and he’ll use every weapon in his arsenal to make sure he gets custody. Don’t make him do this. Spencer says, it won’t go that far. Nikolas is going to hand him custody of his own free will.

Finn says, Elizabeth is now an accomplice to a kidnapping, but Elizabeth says she thought she was doing the right thing. She was protecting an innocent baby, and Esme couldn’t kill anyone as long as she was locked up. He says, Esme was the number one suspect in The Hook attacks. How long was Elizabeth going to let the police keep thinking that, when she knew Esme wasn’t the murderer? She says, it wasn’t until Officer Cabrera was killed that she knew she’d made a huge mistake. He has no idea how badly she wanted to say something, but at that point, she’d already given up everything to help Nikolas. She put herself in legal jeopardy, which would affect her kids, and threw away her relationship with him. She’s beaten herself up every single day for this, but she couldn’t see a way out. Then Esme escaped. When she was found, everything Elizabeth did, and everything she gave up, was all for nothing.

Josslyn says, Dex warned her about survivor’s guilt, and he was right. She wakes up in the middle of the night with her head spinning, wondering if she’d done something different, would Britt still be alive? He says he’s the one who got her to leave before the police showed up, and she says, his argument made sense. She knows it woudn’t have made a difference if they’d stayed, but she still feels guilty. It’s the same thing with Cam. She knew the right thing was to break up with him, and feels guilty about that too. Dex says he really messed up her life.

Chase says, that’s not what he meant, but Brook says, that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. He says he doesn’t want to be a pop star; it’s not his passion. He wants his badge back. She says, they might not even reinstate him, and he says, then he’ll have to figure out what’s next, but music isn’t his future. She says, translation, he doesn’t want to be around her, and he asks her to stop putting words in his mouth. It’s time to finish what they started. She says she gets that she screwed up by not writing the letter when Dante asked her to, and ruined any chance of them having a relationship, even a professional one. Is she wrong?

Nikolas says, like hell he’s going to grant Spencer custody, but Spencer says, Nikolas doesn’t have a choice. One way or another, Nikolas is going to be out of his child’s life. Laura tells them, stop it right now. They’re father and son, and should be able to work out their differences. Spencer says, Nikolas had every opportunity to work out their difference, but he couldn’t… or wouldn’t. Nikolas asks if Spencer thinks guilting him over his shortcomings is going to motivate him to sign his child over, and Spencer says, motivate. What a good word. The motive; revenge, justice, guilt. Take your pick. Laura says, but Spencer told them this wasn’t about revenge, and Nikolas flashes back to Ava recording his confession, and him saying, the motive; revenge, justice, guilt. Take your pick. Again using Nikolas’s words, Spencer says, any chance of reconciling with him is ruined, and Nikolas says, this isn’t a game. Spencer says, honestly, his only regret is not doing it sooner, and Nikolas flashes back to using those words Spencer says, this, I solemnly swear, and Laura asks, what’s happening right now? What aren’t they telling her? Nikolas says, this is Ava’s doing. She’s thrown in with Spencer, hasn’t she? Spencer says, it sure would be a shame for other people to find out what he knows, like Commissioner Ashford. Nikolas says, he wouldn’t, and Spencer says, not if Nikolas relinquishes his parental rights. Laura says, stop right here. Nothing that’s been said or done up to this point can’t be taken back. Nikolas says, there’s no coming back from this. His son is truly gone.

Finn says he knows Elizabeth and Nikolas are friends, but going along with something like this doesn’t seem like her at all. Elizabeth says, at times she didn’t recognize herself. He saw her when she came back from California, after finding out she’d killed his wife. He says, it wasn’t like that at all, but she says she was responsible and will feel guilty about that for the rest of her life. Everything was compounded by the way she hurt him. She’ll never forget the look on his face, and how he walked out of here. She was rapidly losing her grip, and there was nothing left to hold on to. He says he never should have walked out like that, but she says, his reaction was normal. Hers on the other hand… there’s no excuse. She should have remembered what really matters, and hung on for dear life to her boys and him. Instead, she shut out everything good in her life. He says, Nikolas bears responsibility here too, but she says she’s not letting him off the hook, especially now that he’s gone too far. Finn asks how that’s even possible.

Chase says he and Brook were friends first, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t miss that, but she put her wants and needs ahead of his. He can’t forget that. So they’re going to take Linc down, get her songs back, and have that squared away before the CCRB meeting. She says, understood. There won’t be anything left between them by them. She excuses herself, and goes into the club. Blaze comes out, and asks where Brook is off to. Chase says, beats him, and she says, it looks like she came back just in time. She hands him a beer, and says she proposes a toast to the gig they just knocked out of the park, their adoring audience, and their new single, which drops next week, and she guarantees will be a smash. Or how about the unlikely partnership between the ex-cop and would-be folk singer? May it be long and profitable. She lifts her glass, but he doesn’t, and she asks, what’s wrong? He says he told Brook that he wants out, and she says, he can’t quit.

Austin says, if Ava is standing up for herself, good for her. It seems to be something she’s good at, since he saw it first hand with his cousin. She asks if Mason has given him any more trouble, but he says, it’s been quiet on that front. She asks if he’d tell her if it wasn’t, and he says, 100% no, because it’s not her problem, and he’s a grown person who can look after his own life. She says, there was a time Ava Jerome would have gone in for the kill – metaphorically speaking – anytime anyone crossed her. He asks, what changed? and she says she became Ava Cassadine, who made excuses in the name of true love, but she’s gone. He says, in his experience, when people are in relationships like the one she’s had with Nikolas, it doesn’t just end with a signature. She says, maybe not, but she did something today that should make it clear to Nikolas where they stand. And what could come of crossing her.

Nikolas asks if Ava isn’t Spencer’s sworn enemy. Does Spencer hate him this much? Spencer says, if he hated Nikolas, he wouldn’t be giving Nikolas this chance. For redemption. They both know what would happen if he went to the police with this information. Laura, who looks like her head is about to explode, says, what information? Spencer says he could have gone directly to Commissioner Ashford, who was standing right here at Britt’s memorial, but he didn’t. He came to Nikolas because he wanted to give Nikolas the choice. He can sign away his parental rights, and go on living his life, or face what happened when Spencer goes to the police. Nikolas grabs him by the shirt, and asks if this is what Spencer means by being his own man. He’s every bit a Cassadine. Nikolas walks out, Laura looks at Spencer, and follows.

Nikolas beelines for the exit, and Laura says, if he goes out that door, he’s making a big mistake.

Elizabeth tells Finn that Nikolas promised to keep her out of it if he got caught, although she’s not sure she really believed it. Then Esme was found, and it became clear that there was nothing Nikolas could do to protect her if Esme regains her memory. He did find a way to keep his promise, which ironically made her realize she could never trust him again. Finn asks what Nikolas did now, and she says, he brought her mother to town. He wanted her to do to Esme what she did to Elizabeth; make sure she never remembers, so she can never implicate either one of them, no matter the damage it did to Esme like it did to her. That’s all of it. He has no idea how many times she wanted to tell him the truth, but she didn’t for a lot of reasons. She didn’t want to make Finn an accessory. She wanted to protect Nikolas and herself. It went too far, and she lost everything, but couldn’t stay silent anymore.

Josslyn says, Dex didn’t mess up her life. He saved her life. As grateful as she is to Britt, The Hook had Britt cornered when he showed up. He says, a lot of awful things have happened to Josslyn, as a direct or indirect result of knowing him. She’s been an accessory after the fact, left the scene of a crime, and even broke up with her boyfriend. She says, obviously he’s influenced her choices, but they’re still her choices. That includes breaking up with Cameron. If things had been perfect between them, she woudn’t have looked twice at Dex. He asks if she’s sure about that, because he was definitely looking at her, and she says, when the video of her and Cam came out, things were never the same, and she could feel them growing apart. More and more, Cameron felt like someone she used to be close with; someone she cared about, but didn’t connect with. She didn’t say any of that because she didn’t want to hurt him, but in the end, she ended up hurting him even worse. The break-up was bad, but when he found her and Dex together… He asks if she regrets it, and she says, of course (🍷) she regrets Cam walking in on them. He asks if she regrets being with him.

Blaze says, Chase is hugely talented, and it would be a waste for him to walk away, and he says, the music industry and performing isn’t him, but he had a nice time collaborating with her. She says, her too, and he says, let’s face it, he’s just holding her back. She says, even if that were true, she woudn’t care. Working with him has reminded her of her love of singing and performing, and why she got into the business in the first place. Before he came along, she was thinking of quitting. He asks, why? and she says she signed a contract with Linc, and working with Linc has made her question why she’s doing this. She thought her love of music could get her through anything, but singing with Chase is the only thing making this bearable. Linc comes out, and says, there’s his hot new star. He puts his arm around Blaze, apologizing for being late, and asks if she couldn’t have worn another outfit. Chase says, show’s over. There’s no need for Linc to be here. Linc says, cool it, Mr. No Longer a Detective. He’s actually looking for Brook. Chase says he’ll let Brook know Linc is in the building, but Linc says, there’s no need. He’ll tell her himself. He goes back inside, and Chase asks if Blaze is okay.

Linc finds Brook at the bar, and asks, how’s his favorite ex-nightingale? She says she’s so not in the mood to deal with him tonight, but he says, tonight’s her lucky night. She’s finally getting rid of him for good. She says she’s heard that before, and he says, this time, it’s true. Don’t tell him that she’s forgotten their deal.

Laura tells Nikolas that she doesn’t know what just happened, but he can’t leave things like that. He asks if she shouldn’t be lecturing her grandson on the evils of blackmail, but she says, Nikolas is the adult. He has to go face his son. He says he doesn’t know who that person is anymore, and she says, it’s still Spencer, the same little boy he loved and cared for. They’ve both done horrible things to each other, and she doesn’t know what that was about, but she knows the worst thing Nikolas can do is play into what Spencer has done. He says, Spencer threw in with his ex-wife, intending to destroy him. It wasn’t enough for Ava to divorce him and take his home (um… did he divorce her?), she had to take his son too? Laura says she’s so sorry. She’s as blindsided as he is, but take a moment to calm down. He needs to go back into that chapel and face his son, because Spencer is now at the precipice. He’s about to make a decision he’ll regret for the rest of his life. Don’t turn his back on Spencer now. Spencer needs him.

Austin says, so that moment with Mason wasn’t just a fluke, and Ava says, it was nothing. She just likes to know where someone’s weak spots are. He says, that’s her thing. How’s that working for her? She says she supposes she hasn’t met her match yet. She thought she had. He says he’s really sorry, but she says, it’s no matter. She’s used to taking care of herself, and intends to keep doing that. She puts on her coat, and says she’s off to her new castle. Enjoy his evening. He says, her too, and she leaves. By the looks of it, Port Charles is having the same cold weather we’re having. Mason walks out of the darkness, and into Kelly’s courtyard.

Nikolas hugs Laura, saying, she’s the best mother he could ever have. He’ll always love her. He leaves the hospital, and she starts to cry.

Linc says, Brook signs a non-disclosure agreement, while burnishing his reputation with the media. In exchange, he returns all the rights to her songs, except for the ones that were already sold of course (🍷). She says she remembers, but it’s been so long, she thought he forgot. He says he never forgets the terms of a deal, and his lawyers are meticulous. She says she’s aware, and he says he must admit, his financial advisors balked at this deal; her catalog is a goldmine. She says, he must be scared to walk away from all that money, and he says, this is what she always wanted, isn’t it, to get all her songs back, and him out of her hair? She says, among other things, and he says, perfect. He takes a document and pen out of his coat pocket, and says, all she has to do is sign on the dotted line.

Chase says, Blaze doesn’t have to put up with Linc. Walk away, and find  a manager who respects her. She says, the problem is, her contract is ironclad; her career would be over after she’s worked so hard for it. She’s trapped. It’s not like she has a support system. Excuse the pity party, but when Chase leaves the business, she’ll be all alone. She looks at Linc sitting inside, and says, well, not alone. Chase sees Linc put his hand on Brook’s knee. Is it déjà vu all over again?

Josslyn tells Dex that she should have let Cam know her feelings had changed. Everyone says it’s better to be honest, and now that she’s lived it, she knows it’s true. She should have told Cam how she felt. She won’t make that mistake with Dex. He asks how she feels, and she says, scared, but the good kind of scared. A small part of her wants to hide, but most of her wants to run right into it. He says he likes how she runs toward what scares her. If it’s any help, she scares him too. He kisses her.

Elizabeth says she knows what she has to do now. She just wanted to tell Finn first. She didn’t want there to be any more lies between them before she… He asks what she’s going to do, and she says, turn herself in.

Ava walks into Windymere, dropping her coat and bag on the settee. A fire roars in the fireplace, and she strolls around the living room or sitting room or whatever it is.

On the phone, Mason says it was Ava Jerome who gave him such a hard time the other day… He’ll report back. He turns around and sees Austin in Kelly’s doorway, looking like he could kill.

Spencer comes out, and asks Laura where his father went. She says she doesn’t know. What has Spencer done?

There’s a knock at the door at Windymere, and Ava opens it to find Nikolas there.

On Monday, Linc asks if Brook is in or out; Chase asks, what if he doesn’t want out just yet; Austin tells Mason to give it his best shot; and Laura asks what Spencer is holding over his father’s head.

🛥 Black Sheep Drama…

Sure they plied her with alcohol. Producers: Want a drink? Camille: Give me a double!

💎 No Surprises Here…

Like we thought it would be otherwise. So where did those earrings end up anyway?

https://people.com/tv/tom-girardi-estranged-husband-rhobh-star-erika-girardi-indicted-on-fraud-charges/

🗽 I’m Happy If She’s Happy…

So should we congratulate her, or…?

👠 Claws Out…

Let the finger pointing begin.

☎️ What a Spread…

I only watch this peripherally, but I do like The Marge.

🛍 What’s Inside…

I’m fascinated with these. Instead of, it’s an honor to just be nominated, I’d say, it’s an honor just to get the gift bag.

🧂 Who Dun It…

True story. I once gave myself a black eye. And no, I wasn’t in a blackout, but I had taken allergy medication. I had my legs wrapped around the chair I was sitting in at the kitchen table. The phone rang, and I got up to answer it, but forgot to unwrap my legs first. I went headlong into another chair. My husband had been out with the dogs, and when he came back in, he found me sitting on the floor with tweety birds flying around my head. He said, I can’t leave you alone for five minutes, can I?

👶🏼 Baby Goddaddy…

No. If anyone on Deck should be the godfather of Kate’s baby, it’s Josiah. Who could forget the shame cocoon?

👄 Goodbye, Dear Pioneer…

While this happened in January, I’d be remiss not to include it. We weren’t close, but I knew Sal back in the day, and he included me in his first Creatures of the Night book. RIRHPS.

http://www.back2stonewall.com/2023/01/sal-piro-father-of-the-rocky-horror-picture-show-floorshow-passes-away-at-71.html#comment-465851

🐕 Almost Pup Time…

The definitive Puppy Bowl guide.

https://www.cbsnews.com/essentials/how-to-watch-the-2023-puppy-bowl/

🌩 Quotes of the Week

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young. – Henry Ford

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

A good education is not so much one which prepares a man to succeed in the world, as one which enables him to sustain a failure. – Bernard Iddings Bell

Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people.Spencer Johnson

A mother should be someone who inspires you, not someone you have to survive. – Liesl Obrecht (Kathleen Gati), General Hospital

You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes, and encourage them in their pursuits. When we all help one another, everybody wins. – Jim Stovall

That’s not funny *** No, it’s not, but I’m going to keep drinking until it is. – Ma’Dere (Loretta Devine) and Kelly (Sharon Leal) respectively, This Christmas

I suppose there are two views about everything, said Mark. Eh? Two views? There are a dozen views about everything until you know the answer. Then there’s never more than one.C.S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength, compiled in Words to Live By

Maintain composure in times of heightened emotion, reacting only when thoughts are calm and clear. Being sensible will open doors for solutions and creativity. – Jaren L. Davis

📻 Finding the Frequency For Kenneth…

See you on Monday really Tuesday for soap and a sure to be appalling Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay being open to compromise, and stay saying what you need to out loud. Sometimes that can take away it’s power.

October 31, 2022 – Elizabeth Faces Her Parents, Tomorrow On Deck & Light

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Elizabeth takes a picture of her and Sarah off the mantel, and hugs it to her chest. She hears the door, and puts it back. Jeff comes in, and says, Elizabeth? She says, dad. You weren’t supposed to be here. Carolyn comes in, asking if Jeff reset the… Lizzie? Oh my God. Is it really you? Elizabeth says, it’s really her, and Carolyn hugs her, but she doesn’t hug back.

Heather screams, hello? Who do you have to sleep with to get medical attention in this place? In the hallway, Alexis sees Olivia, who’s still pretty jazzed, and asks, what’s wrong? Alexis looks through the door window, and says, good God. Who let her out?

Robert says, so Holly decided to wake up. He’s brought her café au lait, and a croissant. She says, he remembered everything, and he says he’s got to go to Anna’s arraignment soon. She says, not looking like that, he isn’t. She sits him down, and he says, it’s been less than 24 hours, and she’s trying to fix him already. She says, in all  this time, he still doesn’t know how to fix his tie properly. He’s hopeless. He says, he was, but not anymore.

Switzerland. Valentin and Charlotte walk into a church, and she says, next to the stables, the chapel is her favorite place. He says, it’s amazing and charming. Does she come here to pray, meditate, or just think? She says she’s not good at praying, and her brain is too busy to meditate. He says he can relate to that struggle (me too), and she says, she thinks about lots of things, mostly missing him. He asks what she thinks about the security there, and she says, Grandpa Victor says, you can never be too safe. Valentin says, that’s one thing they can agree on, when his phone rings. He says, it’s America, and she says, go ahead; she’ll think. It’s Felicia, who says, there’s something Valentin needs to know, and he says he knows Lucy is missing and presumed dead. He’s been trying to get ahold of Anna. He thinks she’s leading the search, but Felicia says, there’s no easy way to say this. Anna’s been arrested.

In her cell, Anna asks Jordan, is it time? and Jordan says, almost. She heard Anna didn’t eat breakfast, and Anna says, the prisoner’s last meal? but Jordan says, it’s an arraignment, not an execution. Anna says, same thing. She wasn’t hungry. She just wants to get this over with. Jordan says, about that. Arden wants to nail Anna to the courthouse door. Is she sure she has the right representation with Scotty? Anna says, Scotty knows she’s been framed, and would love nothing more than to prove Victor’s behind it. Jordan says, knowing he’s behind it and proving it are two very different things, and Anna says, the first thing is to make bail, right? The sooner she’s out of this cell, the sooner she can get Victor in it.

Heather yells, is there a doctor in the house? Alexis asks Finn, what the hell is Heather Webber doing here? Shouldn’t she be in D’Archam? He says, the infirmary sent her here for diagnosis and treatment, and Alexis says, and he has to treat her? Finn says, initially, and Olivia asks if he has the option to refuse, but he says, it doesn’t work that way. She’s a patient; he doesn’t judge, and provides medical attention. Olivia says, proceed with caution. Heather Webber is lethal. Alexis says, she does have a long, perverse criminal history; assault, poisoning, murder… Olivia says, Heather shot her up with LSD, and Alexis says, she kidnaps adults and children alike; Luke, Carly, her grandson Danny. Olivia says she has to check in with Ned and Dante. And Robert is going to want to know. He’s probably at the hearing right now. She tells Finn, do them all a favor, and treat whatever is ailing that woman, and get her back in the insane asylum immediately. Finn says he was hoping to get to the courthouse, but Alexis says, Anna has plenty of support. Heather now has him.

Holly tells Robert, she’s only been in town two nights, and spent the first night crawling out of a lake. She must say she prefers night number two. He asks if she still has no memory, and she says she doesn’t. She thanks him for being a gentleman and sleeping on the couch, and he says, the way she whacked Victor, she deserved the bed. She says, he had it coming after what Robert told her about Luke and Lucy, and setting up anna to take the fall. He says he has to point out something. Victor Cassadine is… She says, a Cassadine; no more explanation needed. Robert says, he should have been hanged years ago, but here he is, and she says, she’ll proceed with caution, but shew won’t back down. He says, fair enough, but let’s not go out of our way to poke the bear. He doesn’t want to lose her again.

Scotty says, Arden knows she’s wasting the taxpayer’s money, but she tells him, the evidence says otherwise. He says, she doesn’t even have a body, when Martin comes in. He says, they sound like they’re haggling over a parking ticket. This is Lucy Coe they’re talking about; a human life, as well as the woman he loves. So please, a little more respect. Arden apologizes, and Scotty says, he loved her too. Martin says, in that case, when he speaks of her now, do it in the present tense, and Scotty says, she’s wily as a fox. No one gets the best of her. Martin says, he just wishes and prays Scotty is right. He wishes Lucy was here.

Valentin tells Felicia, now he understands why his father was so insistent he visit Charlotte. Tell Anna he’ll be on next flight home. Felicia says, Anna has plenty of people looking out for her. Charlotte only has him, which is why Anna wanted her to insist on her behalf that he stay with his daughter. He says, if he stays, he plays into Victor’s plan, and she says, nothing is more advantageous than an enemy who thinks he’s winning. Stay with his daughter, and make sure she’s safe. Trust her. Victor is not going to get away with this. She turns around, and Victor is there.

Carolyn tells Elizabeth, it’s a lovely surprise, so unexpected, and Jeff asks how she got in… not that she’s not welcome. Elizabeth says she jimmied the door; she doesn’t have a key. She was hoping they’d be out of here. Jeff says, she wasn’t planning on seeing them? and she says she hasn’t seen them in years. Why should today be different? If they’re worried about the door, she’ll pay for the lock. Jeff says he doesn’t care about the lock; he cares about her showing up after all this time. Is she all right? She says, that’s what she’s here to find out, and Jeff asks how the kids are. Cameron must be in college by now. Carolyn says, when Jake called, he sounded so grown up, and Jeff says, he’s into art, right? Elizabeth says, painting, like his stepfather, her late husband Franco. Carolyn says, they’re so sorry for her loss, and Jeff says, truly they are. Elizabeth says, it’s been an adjustment, and Jeff says, it still seems like the boys are thriving. Jake with his painting; Aiden, the master chef. Carolyn says, master dessert chef. The pictures he posted on social media made her mouth water. Elizabeth says, they follow her children on social media? and Jeff says, they check in, and take a peek every now and then. Despite Elizabeth’s ups and downs, she’s provided her boys with a wonderful life. Carolyn says, and she’s managing to move on from the tragedy with a new man in her life. Jeff says, he’s a doctor like them. Maybe they didn’t set such bad example after all.

Gregory comes into the hospital, and asks Finn if he’s free for breakfast. He’s a poor substitute for Elizabeth, but she’s out of town, so he’ll do his best. Finn says he appreciates the offer, but he has a patient to attend to, and Alexis says, good luck. Godspeed. Heather yells, a bedpan! My kingdom for a commode. Finn goes into the exam room, and she says, that’s more like it. He says he’s Dr. Hamilton Finn, and she asks, what kind of a name… Wait. She knows him. He’s the one that slut Elizabeth Webber took up with five minutes after her son was cold.

Gregory asks why Alexis wished Finn good luck and Godspeed, and she says, because the new patient he has is a raging psychopath. He takes it she knows from personal experience, and she says, it’s also public record. She should be in D’Archam. He asks if they should observe, but Alexis says, her best advice is, don’t let Heather notice him. She’s glad she ran into him. Diane is on the mend. He says he’s glad to hear it. He doesn’t want to keep her. He assumes she’s going to the arraignment, but she says she sent a reporter to insure The Invader’s newfound reputation for fairness and impartiality. He says, good call, and she says she’ll give credit where credit is due; he’s a constructive influence. He says, if they’re a good team, why is she avoiding him?

Holly says she’s touched Robert still cares, and he says he never stopped caring. He and Ethan turned Monte Carlo upside down looking for her. She says, instead he found her half drowned in the Quartermaine boathouse, and he says, half drowned, but still gorgeous. She stares into space for a moment, and he asks if she’s remembering something. She tells him to stop asking her every five minutes. She’ll tell him if she does. He says, will she? and she asks if he’s cross-examining her. He’s every inch a DA. He’s still a man of honor, devoted to justice. He says he has to get to the courthouse, but she says, not without her.

Felicia asks, what brings Victor by? and he says, to see justice done. She asks, shouldn’t everybody be on side of justice? She’s sure he’s hoping Anna walks free, and the police find who framed her and expose them. Victor says, he knows Anna is Felicia’s long-time friend, but the PCPD, including her husband, have to follow the evidence wherever it leads. Would she rather Lucy’s killer go free? She promises Lucy’s killer won’t get away with it.

Scotty says he knows Martin is hurting, but he has to ask himself, what would Valentin say if he were here? Victor comes in, and says, if Valentin believed in Anna’s innocence, he would be here. His absence speaks volumes. Wouldn’t they agree?

Charlotte asks if something is wrong, and Valentin asks if she gets homesick. She says, she loves the school, and her friends, and of course (🍷) the horse Grandpa Victor bought for her. Valentin says, that was kind of him, and Charlotte says, she’s glad Valentin was here to see her compete. Valentin says he loved that; he could not have been more proud. He wishes they could be together all the time.

Jordan says she hates this, and Anna says, not as much as she does. She wasn’t about to let that smug ADA have the satisfaction of reprimanding Jordan and Mac for playing favorites. She holds out her wrists, and Jordan says, she promised herself that she wouldn’t allow a repeat of what happened to Trina. She knew Trina was innocent. Anna says, it ended well for Trina, and Jordan says, it will for Anna too, and cuffs her.

Valentin says, Aunt Nina misses her, and Charlotte says she misses Aunt Nina too, and grandmother. Valentin says her grandmother misses her. She’s been through a lot with a family emergency in Italy. Charlotte says, her grandmother told her; her mother’s house burned down. He says, when she gets home, Charlotte’s grandmother will want to spend as much time with her as possible. Charlotte says, Anna too? and he says, Anna too.

At the courthouse, Olivia asks to borrow Robert for a second, and drags him away from Holly. He says, she looks like she’s seen a ghost, but Olivia says, more like an acid flashback.

Finn says, Heather is Franco’s mom. His condolences. She says, right. He’s so sorry for her loss, he’s keeping Franco’s widow’s bed warm. Finn suggests they talk about the reason she’s here, but she wants to talk about him and that whore of a daughter-in-law. He says, they’re not going to talk about his personal life, but she says, she’ll talk about whatever she wants to. He asks if she wants him to order her a nice psychiatric consult; there must be someone on staff she hasn’t already assaulted. She laughs, and says, spicy. She likes him. He deserves better than that bed-hopper Elizabeth. He’s just a shiny stethoscope; a place holder until another shining knight comes along Elizabeth can push away, like she’s going to do to him. He says, she doesn’t know Elizabeth at all, and she says, and he does? She laughs, and he looks at her chart. He asks if she’s been overseas, but she says, only in her dreams. He wonders how she came in contact with something mostly found in the rainforest, and she says, there’s all kinds at D’Archam. There are crazy people in that place. Finn says, Miss Webber… and she says, he’s screwing her son’s wife; call her Heather. He says, he doesn’t want to alarm her, but this strain of bacteria is particularly voracious. It literally feeds on your own skin. She asks if he means it’s going to eat her alive, and he says he’s not going to let that happen, but he needs to know how she contracted it

Robert tells Olivia that his office wasn’t informed Heather was being sent to the hospital. She says, what if Heather escapes? It’s happened before.

Anna comes into the courtroom, and Felicia tells Victor, whoever thought they could get the better of Anna Devane, messed with the wrong person. Victor says, sadly, it seems Lucy learned that the hard way.

Carolyn says, where are her manners? and asks if she can get Elizabeth something to drink, but Elizabeth says, no thanks. Jeff wonders why they’re still standing, and tells her, have a seat, but she says she doesn’t want to sit. Carolyn says, they’re happy to see her, and Jeff says, they thought of coming to Port Charles so many times. Elizabeth asks, why didn’t they? I’m thinking, maybe they knew the kind of welcome they’d get, and Jeff says, with the kind of medicine the practice, they’re in Costa Rica one minute, and the next, in West Africa. Carolyn says, but it all worked out. Elizabeth is a mother, a nurse; she has a rich full life. Elizabeth says, Carolyn does not get to say that to her. They don’t get to be absent all these years, and now act like they’re proud of her life. All of her achievements and successes are because of her and her drive; it had nothing to do with them. Jeff says, it was never their intention to hurt her. She might not believe this, but they made the decision they thought was best; the people who could provide what she needed. Carolyn says, Kenny and Jessica were good people, but Elizabeth says, they were neighbors; they were strangers. She had to run away to find her way back to her family. Jeff says, they were worried sick when she ran away, and Carolyn says, they wanted fly home to search for her. Jeff says, when they heard she was with her grandmother, they knew she’d be safe and okay. Elizabeth says, what they’re saying is, because she was self-sufficient enough to make it to her grandmother’s, it was her fault they stayed away? Jeff says, they made a mistake. In hindsight, they should have reached out to Audrey first. Elizabeth says, how about giving up Doctor’s Without Borders, and stay home and raise their children? Did it ever occur to them? Was it ever even an option? Of course (🍷) not. Saving the world is more thrilling than being a parent. They chose strangers over the welfare of their daughter. Jeff says, they just wanted her to have a nice normal life, but Elizabeth says she knows their reasons and excuses; the lives they’ve saved, and the people they’ve helped. But none of them were their daughter. None of them were her. It’s not selfish for a child to want to be important to their family. Jeff says, she was and is important to them, but she says, they didn’t call; she didn’t know if they checked in. She was 15 and needed both her parents. Jeff says, they did what they thought was best, and Elizabeth says, by cutting her loose? Carolyn says, they wanted her to have a home, but Elizabeth says, they were her home. Not four walls and a roof, but them. She kept thinking when came back from Sarajevo or wherever they were, their next stop would be her; that sooner or later, they’d come back for her. But they never did. Not when she graduated from high school, not when she graduated from nursing school. Not when she was raped on Valentine’s Day, and wanted to die. Not when she had Cameron, Jake, or Aiden. Carolyn wipes tears from her cheeks, and Elizabeth says, not when she thought they’d died, or when they came back. Not when she married Franco, and not when she lost him. They think pictures make them a family. They’re a lie. That’s why she came back. The lies have got to stop.

Finn says, obviously, Heather is a clever person, and Heather says, like son, like mother. He says, it must be child’s play for her to sneak out and sneak back, with no one the wiser, and she says, Finn is too good for Elizabeth; leave her before she leaves him. He says, they’re not here to talk about Elizabeth; they’re here to talk about her. She says, don’t say she didn’t warn him. She’s never wrong. Just ask Jeff Webber if it rings a bell. How about her old friend Anna Devane. Is she still around? He asks if Heather isn’t the one who hit Anna over head with something, and she says she also tried shoot Anna. That snooty little slag. That’s what she’s heard they call people out Anna’s way. He says, don’t talk about Anna that way, and she asks, how is sweet, slatternly Anna these days? He says, it’s probably none of her business, and she says, it sounds like she’s in trouble. Maybe there’s a God after all.

Alexis says she hasn’t been avoiding Gregory. Why on earth would he think that? He says he encouraged her to write the letter to the killer. From now on, he’s sticking to teaching, and leaving The Invader to her. She asks if he’s quitting on her?

Valentin asks if Charlotte doesn’t want to go home, and she says, of course (🍷) she does, but she doesn’t think possible with the timing and everything. He says, let’s go sightseeing. She can show him the town; it looks magical. She says, it is, and he tells her to change, and put on proper walking shoes. He’ll take her to a café, and they can look at the snow on the mountains and sip hot chocolate. Bring an extra coat. She says, her grandfather insists she bring her escort everywhere, and he says, the more, the merrier. And don’t forget her backpack.

Anna asks if Felicia reached Valentin, and Felicia says, he’s safe; so is Charlotte. Victor tells Arden, it would be a shame, a miscarriage of justice, if Lucy’s killer went free, but she says she knows how to do her job. He says he knows, and he’s sure this job is just a stepping stone to bigger, better things. The bailiff says, all rise. Court is in session, the Honorable Judge Walsh presiding.

Jeff says, they’re sorry for the pain they clearly caused Elizabeth. It’s the last thing they wanted. They’re sorry for the hardships she’s endured, but they don’t know what she wants. She was less than pleased when they contacted Jake, so as much as she resents them not being in her life, it’s too late to start. Elizabeth, they abandoned her, and when she doesn’t like them contacting her son, she’s the bad guy? Carolyn suggests they take a moment, but Elizabeth says, they’ve wasted a lifetime of moments; they don’t get any more. They have no idea what she’s been through. She’s here because she’s being haunted by what she can remember, and what she can’t. She’s missing pieces of her memory, pieces of her life. She thought she could come and get answers, but she sees she wasted her time. They can keep their pictures and their excuses. She’s done. She storms out.

Heather asks where Finn is going, and he says, she’s going to need another doctor; one she doesn’t share personal history with. She says she’s no longer worthy of his care? What happened to his vow. First do no harm? He’d really leave her to the ravages of this flash eating disease? Maybe he and Elizabeth do deserve each other; the coward and the tramp. Finn says, when you’re right, you’re right, and she says, which part? His cowardliness or Elizabeth’s faithlessness? He says, his oath. He must do what he can to prevent harm. He gets a syringe ready, and says, he’s going to do what he can to take care of her. She’ll feel a little prick. She says, that’s the story of her life, and he gives her the shot. She says, that’s it? and he says, they’re all done. She asks, what now? and he says, now she’ll lose consciousness. It was a sedative. She says she needs a cure, not knock out drugs, and passes out.

Gregory says he thought Alexis’s silence meant she no longer wanted his input, and she asks if he got this confirmed by two independent sources, or did he make it up all on his own? A, she was busy; B, since when is he so insecure about his input? He lived with an investigative reporter for years. Alexis is sure she must have valued his opinion. He says, she didn’t. She was a professional, reporting from the trenches; for him, it was all theoretical. She was talking about the world, and he talked about how the world was talked about. Does that make sense? Alexis says, absolutely, and he says, it worked for a long time, until it didn’t. She says she wonders what that’s like. She never had a partnership like that. He tells her, who says it’s too late? Finn comes out, and says, wow. Alexis says, told ya, and Finn says, somehow she still didn’t do Heather justice. He needed a breath of fresh air. Anyone want to go for a walk? Alexis tells Gregory, you go, and Finn asks if she’d like to join them, but she says she’s busy. She’ll see Gregory soon. Got it? She walks away, Gregory says, got it.

Valentin tells Charlotte’s escort that he and Charlotte will be doing some sightseeing. Charlotte is going to introduce him to some progress with chocolate, and the escort doesn’t have to tag along. The escort says, where she goes, he goes, and Valentin says he appreciates the man’s dedication, but he’s her father and will keep her safe. He hands the escort some bills, saying, comprendre? The guy tosses the bills on the floor, and Valentin says, maybe he’ll accept this, punching him in the face, but the guy is barely moved. Valentin tries again, but the escort grabs his hand, twisting it, forcing Valentin to his knees.

Arden says, Anna Devane is a trained assassin. The people can present visual evidence that she fired the shots that killed Lucy Coe. Scotty objects, saying, there’s no evidence there even was a murder. Arden says, they also have the gun discovered in Miss Devane’s car, and the ammunition that was discovered in her home. Not to mention the clothes she was wearing at the time of the shooting. Given the defendant has adequate means to leave this jurisdiction and the country undetected, they respectfully request bail be denied. Judge Walsh thanks her, and it’s Scotty’s turn. Scotty says, for cryin’ out loud, everybody knows that evidence was planted. That’s why he’s filed a motion to dismiss. He gives the judge the paperwork, and the judge says, the motion is denied. Scotty says, just like that? and Judge Walsh asks if Scotty would like him to deny it again. Scotty says, it was worth a shot. His client is willing to surrender her passport, so she won’t be skipping town. Arden says, she worked for the WSB, and probably has dozens. The judge says he’s heard what he’s needed to hear, and asks Anna to rise.

Valentin struggles with the escort, when suddenly the escort falls over. Someone (a nun? we don’t see her face) stands there with a candlestick in her hand.

Judge Walsh says, given the defendant’s history, including a long career in law enforcement, both local and international, the latter of which is also based on subterfuge, deceit, and the trading of lives for secrets, as well as the gravity of the charge, the court is left with no other choice – bail is denied.

A nurse looks at Heather’s chart, and Heather opens her eyes.

Finn tells Gregory, Cameron thought the spa Elizabeth was staying at is in Monterey; that’s also where her parents live. Gregory says, Finn is worrying again, but Finn asks if he’s wrong to be concerned. Gregory says, in principle, no, but when Finn worried, everything spirals into these scenarios where he feels compelled to rescue Elizabeth. Finn says, not this time. If Elizabeth needs anything, Terry’s with her, and as Cameron reminded him, Elizabeth doesn’t need him watching over her.

Elizabeth walks out of her parents’ house, then says, no, and goes back in. She says, they’d like that, wouldn’t they? For her to run out of here, and them thinking, they did everything they could; it just wasn’t enough. She slams the door, and says she’s sorry to disappoint them, again, but she came here looking for answers and she’s not leaving without them. I guess she forgets two minutes ago, they were practically begging her to stay.

Scotty tells Arden, enjoy her victory, and she says she is. He says, when he proves Anna was framed, she’s going to look like a patsy. He walks off, and she looks at Victor. Victor tells Martin, you see? Justice is a wonderful thing. Felicia tells Anna, this is just round one. They’re going to fight this, and they’re going to win. Robert says, damn right, and Holly says, if worse comes to worse, she’s more than happy to bust Anna out of jail. Anna says, it’s not a bad idea, and hugs her. Jordan says she’s sorry, and Anna says, she knows. So is she. she holds out her wrists, and Jordan cuffs her, leading her away. Victor looks smug.

Valentin says, what an unexpected pleasure to see you, and the woman takes off her cowl. He says, Laura.

Tomorrow, Alexis asks Drew why he’s really here; Anna tells Finn, in situations like hers, the future isn’t really certain; Valentin asks if this is some kind of divine intervention; and Holly tells Robert, it could be a mistake that backfires disastrously.

🚤 Due to Halloween activities, I had an incredibly late start, so we’ll delve into Below Deck Mediterranean tomorrow. In the meantime, check out the new Deck, which premieres tomorrow.

https://www.tvinsider.com/1066522/below-deck-adventure-captain-kerry-titheradge/

Hannah sez: Happy Halloween!

👄 Just Jumping To the Left…

Hope you had a happy and safe Halloween, and go easy on that candy. See you tomorrow for soap and yachting. Until then, stay safe, stay not worrying about things you can’t control, and stay not going out of your way to poke the bear.

October 28, 2021 – Nina and Carly Face Off, Hauntingly Chic On the Runway & Light

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Michael says, the first time he and Willow got married, it was a strategy, and it didn’t last. This time, he wants it to be real, and he wants it to last forever. She says she wants it to be forever too, and he asks if that’s a yes. She asks him to please stand up; she can’t think while he’s kneeling. He gets up, and says, if she has to think, that probably means she’s thinking of the words to say no. She says, she’s trying to find the words to say, not yet.

Shawn says, something is upsetting Alexis. He’s guessing it was her visit with Nikolas. She says, it was a real revelation, and he asks what Nikolas said to her. She tells him, Nikolas said she could go free.

Curtis asks what the guy said to Portia, and she says, he claimed he was touring Port Charles, visiting places of interest, and he asked about The Savoy. Of course (🍷) she gave it a glowing review, but as the conversation went on, it became less and less about the club, and more about Curtis. So it struck her that this man fits the general description of TJ’s patient that disappeared. He says, so the same guy approached her and TJ, asking questions about him.

Spencer serves Esme a cup of coffee, and says, sorry. He knows she ordered espresso, but he’s telling people the machine is broken. He already scalded himself once; he’s not going to risk further injury. The pick-up bell rings, and he says he had no idea how hard it is to pull espresso levers. He picks up some breakfasts, and sees Ava come in with Nikolas. He asks if they want a table, or are they just there to gloat.

Carly says, extradited last night, back in Port Charles this morning? and Nina says, no doubt, she’s disappointed. She walks past Carly, and Carly says she’s outraged. She’s outraged Nina could steal nine months of Sonny’s life, nine months from his children and family, and post bail, then show up her like nothing happened. Nina says, kind of like Carly, acting like nothing happened after watching Nina’s daughter die.

While mourning the loss of the moss bowl 🎍 in his absence, and wondering if the lily pond was Jason’s idea, Sonny’s phone rings. The recording says he has a collect call from Flatland Federal Prison inmate Cyrus Renault. Will he accept the charges? Sonny says he accepts, and Cyrus says, it’s so good to hear Sonny’s voice. He hopes he’s not too late to welcome Sonny back from the dead. Sonny says, it was a bonus to find Cyrus gone. Now Cyrus calls him collect. What does he want?

Spencer serves some customers, and tells Nikolas and Ava, either find a table or leave; he has work to do. Nikolas says, Spencer’s working there? and Spencer tells him not to act like it’s a surprise. Nikolas says he had no idea, and Spencer says, now he knows. Doc is only going to let him and Esme stay if he has a paying job, and this is it until he finds something better. Ava tells Nikolas, let’s sit down, and tells Spencer, they’ll start with some coffee, please. Spencer clears a table, and tells Esme, his father and Ava are there, acting like they just wandered in. She says, maybe they just got off the launch and decided to have breakfast, and he says, when they can afford the caviar omelet at the MetroCourt? He doesn’t think so. They planned this. At least his father is pretending like he cares a little bit. Ava is just enjoying his humiliation. She says, forget Ava and focus on his father. This is the perfect opportunity to start mending fences. His father is obviously regretting what happened. Just give Nikolas a chance to take him back.

Ava wonders how Spencer will take to the food service industry after being waited on his whole life. She tells Nikolas not to worry so much; it’s a good job. Carrying a couple of plates isn’t going to hurt Spencer. Nikolas says he’s sure Spencer will survive, and she says, if he’s not worried about Spencer, then this brooding silence must be about Alexis. What happened at Spring Ridge?

Shawn says, Nikolas told Alexis she could go free? and she says, Nikolas said a lot of astonishing things. Shawn says, first things first. How could Nikolas get her out of there? She says, apparently, Nikolas and the governor are friends, and are in the process of arranging a full pardon. He says, why is this not the best news she’s heard all year? and she says, because the price of her freedom is just too high.

Carly says, it’s always about Nelle with Nina, isn’t it? and Nina asks if that surprises her. Carly, who’s always so proud to be a mother, and uses it to justify everything she does. Guess what? Nina’s also a mother. Nelle was her child. Carly says, there’s no doubt about that. There’s not much of a physical resemblance, but it’s scary how much the two of them are alike. In Nelle’s mind, Nelle was always the victim. Murder, extortion, switching her baby; none of that was ever her fault. Somebody else, usually Carly, was always to blame. Nina says, Carly is to blame for letting Nelle die, and she will always be to blame for that, so live with it. Carly says, so to pay her back, Nina basically kidnapped Sonny? Because in Nina’s mind, she’s always the victim. Poor, poor Nina. She shouldn’t have gotten arrested; that’s a vindictive attack. She says Nina is delusional, but you know what? That could work in her favor. Just plead insanity and be done with it.

Willow says she loves Michael; she’s in love with him. Please tell her that he knows that. He says he does, and she says she intends to spend the rest of her life with him, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, all of it. He says, okay then. Why not make it official? Say their vows, sign the document, and make a commitment to being husband and wife. She says, when they marry, she wants it to be about them, and Wiley. She wants it to be about joining their lives, and celebrating their love, not smoothing over a disagreement.

Sonny tells Cyrus, say something worth hearing, or he’s hanging up the phone. Cyrus says, Sonny’s rebirth doesn’t seem to have affected his charming personality, and Sonny says, he regrets he didn’t see Cyrus’s last stand. Too bad the Commissioner didn’t shoot to kill. Cyrus says, it must be difficult, coming back after such a long time away. Did he hear that Sonny’s wife and best friend got married? Sonny says, there was a tragedy at the wedding. Vincent Novak and Charlie Buscema got blown to bits. Cyrus says, that’s very unfortunate. They can talk about it in greater detail when Sonny comes to visit him.

Shawn says, when Alexis says the price of freedom is too high, is she talking about Hayden? She says she sees he’s way ahead of her, but he says, why don’t they go over it anyway, before he makes assumptions or jumps to wrong conclusions? Shawn sits, and Alexis says, she straight up asked Nikolas if he had Hayden shot. He evaded, which was all the answer she needed.

Nikolas tells Ava, it’s difficult to see his aunt in prison. Alexis always had a neurotic streak, but she was smart, and so articulate. A talented lawyer, but also a warm and caring aunt; the voice of sanity in his insane family. She says, that’s why he’s going to talk to the governor about a pardon, right? but he says, unfortunately, it may not work out.

Spencer says, Esme knows the conditions for his father to take him back. He has to accept his father’s marriage to Ava. He has to accept that woman as his stepmother. Nikolas has already put her in control of his trust fund. He’ll have to grovel to her for every dime he wants to spend, and he’s not going to do that. Esme says, and he’s letting her win. Brick by brick, Ava is building a wall between him and his father, and it’s what she wants. She doesn’t want him talking to his father, making him see reason. God forbid his father realizes she’s just a gold-digger after all; more in love with his money and his last name than she’ll ever be with him. Spencer says, he used to know that. Nikolas called him and came to see him at school, suggesting they work together to make him free of Ava. Now she’s turned Nikolas against him. She’s latched on to him, and she’s never going to let him go. Esme says, it’s obvious his father doesn’t want this separation. He just has to give Nikolas room to change his mind. He says, how? Ava never leaves his side. She says she may be able to help with that, and goes over to their table. She says she’s sorry to interrupt, but can she speak to Ava outside?

Portia tells Curtis, she never saw TJ’s patient. She can’t be sure it’s the same man. He asks if she got a bad vibe from him, but she says, he was perfectly pleasant, but there was something about him that seemed… off. Maybe she’s making too big a deal out of this. He tells her, trust her instincts. People often get a bad feeling from someone presenting as ordinary, who ultimately harms them. It would be a mistake to ignore that feeling. She says, in that case, she was walking outside Kelly’s, and she thought she heard footsteps behind her, but no one was there. She turned around to keep walking, and bumped right into this man. She was startled, and he apologized. He had a map of Port Charles, and asked her for directions to the Chuck. She told him the Chuck was closed today, and that’s when he brought up The Savoy. She mentioned she knew the owner, and he was all over it. He claimed he read somewhere that Curtis had never owned a club before. Curtis asks, where would he get that? and she says, exactly. She doesn’t remember reading that in any promotional materials, and she asked him about his interest in Curtis, but he just brushed it off, and claimed he was a people person and liked to talk to anybody. It seemed reasonable enough, so she excused herself and left, but in retrospect, maybe it wasn’t so innocent. Curtis agrees, and says, what are the odds two men, matching the same age and same description, would approach two very important people in his life, asking questions about him?

Sonny asks, why the hell he would visit Cyrus? and Cyrus says, a lot has happened since Sonny was away. He can fill in the blanks; details that his wife and Mr. Morgan either weren’t privy to, or told not to tell him. Don’t be too hasty. Buscema and Novak are gone, their territories are up for grabs, he might have information about who wants to take their place. Sonny tells him, enjoy Flatland. Make himself comfortable, because from what Sonny hears, Cyrus is going to spend the rest of his life there. Sonny laughs, and hangs up, but faces despondency seeing the lily pond.

Alexis says, Nikolas is the one who had Hayden shot, but Shawn says, that’s her belief. He didn’t exactly say the words. She says she’s known Nikolas his whole life. It was very clear to her by what he didn’t say, that he was the one who tried to have Hayden killed. He says, sorry, and she asks what he’s sorry for? He’s the one who spent six years locked in a cage for something Nikolas did and he didn’t. Shawn says he’s sorry for what this is costing her; the pain he sees in her eyes. She says, up until a few years ago, Nikolas was good. He was thoughtful, noble, and empathetic, and that is all gone now. He’s self-serving. He doesn’t even care about his own son. He uses people. He used Shawn. He can show remorse, if you confront him, but it’s just a show; he doesn’t mean it. He’s gone bad, and he will take no responsibility for what he’s done. None.

Spencer asks if he can take Nikolas’s order, and Nikolas asks what the specials are. Spencer says he doesn’t remember, and Nikolas doesn’t care, so just order eggs Florentine like always. Nikolas says Spencer’s not getting any tips with that attitude, and Spencer says he wasn’t expecting one from Nikolas anyway. Nikolas says they still haven’t gotten their coffee, and Spencer says he’ll get on it. Nikolas gets up and follows Spencer, and asks what Spencer is doing. Spencer says, didn’t Nikolas just ask him for coffee? and Nikolas says that’s not what he means. Spencer says he has no idea what Nikolas means. He’s lost any ability he’s ever had to review or understand Nikolas’s motives. Nikolas says, Spencer is working at a diner, awaiting trial for criminal charges. This is not the life he was meant to have. Spencer says, thanks to Nikolas and his wife, that is the life that he has now.

Esme says, when she and Ava saw each other at the courthouse, she was so focused on helping Spence, so worried how the hearing would go, she didn’t get a chance to properly express how truly sorry she is for her part in what happened to Ava. Ava says, what happened is that she was stalked and terrorized into filing for divorce, and distancing herself from her only surviving child. Esme says, what Spence did was horribly wrong, and instead of helping him, she should have tried to talk him out of it. Ava asks, why didn’t she?

Willow says she can’t imagine her life without Michael. When she tried, even on a temporary basis, it was a disaster. She doesn’t just love him, she needs and depends on him, as her best friend, someone she can confide in and trust. He says she can always trust him, and she says she knows, but she’s realized he doesn’t always do things for one reason. Remember when Shiloh took her to court to try and get her to disclose what she did with her baby? He was so smart about all of that. He blew her away with all the tactics and potential strategies. It was the same way when they were fighting for custody of Wiley. It’s crazy how his mind works; how he can set up the dominoes to fall the way he wants. He says, which is a nice way of saying he’s calculating, but she says, it’s not a bad thing. It’s amazing, but it shouldn’t be the reason he proposes. He says he hates that they argued, and he does want to make it better, but that’s not the reason he asked her to marry him.

Portia says, could this mystery man, if it is the same man, be someone Curtis investigated when he was a cop? Someone he put away? Curtis says, if so, why come looking for him now? Sonny comes in, and Curtis tells him, welcome back. They shake hands, and Portia says, Trina told her that he was home. Sonny says, it’s been a real adjustment, and she says she’s sure. He says, Josslyn told him that she’s doing great at PCU, and she says, both Josslyn and Trina are embracing the college experience. He says he’s happy for them; it’s a great time in their lives. He asks if Curtis has a minute to talk about Cyrus Renault.

Nina says she doesn’t have to use the insanity defense, and Carly says she’s going to need something, because the charges aren’t going away. Nina says, this is laughable coming from Carly. Carly is happy to skate when the handcuffs are on her. She’ll hide behind her high-powered attorney, letting her pretzel the law, but when Nina makes legitimate bail, Carly is outraged and screaming for justice. Carly says she doesn’t have to scream; justice is coming for Nina. She’s going to be tried and convicted because there’s no excuse for what she did. Nina says she thinks her attorney can make a damn good argument that she was just protecting Sonny, that his life in Port Charles was dangerous and destructive. Sonny was actually better off living in Nixon Falls.

Willow says, Michael has to admit, the timing is a little suspect, and he says, maybe a little. She says, maybe their argument didn’t cause him to propose, but it might have contributed to it. He says, maybe, and she says, he’s a fixer. His first instinct will always be to make things better, and she loves that about him. He came into her life, and gave her support. He shared his son with her, and he didn’t try to fix her, but made it possible for her to fix herself. Now that they’ve disagreed, he wants to fix that too, and make it go away, but he doesn’t have to. They can disagree and still love each other. He says, if anyone knows that, it’s him.

Esme tells Ava, when she and Spence met at school, they just clicked. At first, it was surface level. They liked a lot of the same things; skiing, riding, theater. From the beginning it was like they could both sense something deeper, this bond they shared. She’s not close with her family. So when Spence told her the situation with his father, thinking that his father died, and how when Nikolas came back, he got involved with Ava, she totally empathized with how badly it hurt Spence. She was so completely focused on Spence, she never stopped to realize she was only hearing his version. Ava asks if Esme feels it justifies her actions, and Esme says, of course (🍷) not. She realizes now that Spence was angry and lashing out. She was so focused on helping him, she didn’t stop to see Ava as a person, to think about what Ava was going through, and what she was helping to put Ava through. All those times she was following Spence’s instructions, all those things she did, she would give anything to take them back.

Nikolas tells Spencer that he knows what it means to go too far, and for actions to have unpredicted consequences. Talk to him, father and son, like they used to, and tell him how things got so out of control. Spencer says, things got a little tough when Nikolas died, and didn’t get a whole lot better when he turned up alive. In fact, it got worse. Nikolas says he can’t change what he did, but he can fix what’s happening now. He can help Spencer get his life back on track. Spencer says, Nikolas is going to provide guidance to his poor, troubled son? and Nikolas says he wants Spencer to stop punishing him before he wrecks his own life.

Alexis says she should have known Nikolas wasn’t going to tell her the truth; she was absolutely naïve. All she did was give him a heads up that they’re on to him. Shawn says, it could work to their advantage. Nikolas has spent the last few years thinking he’s in the clear. Maybe he got confident and let things slide. If he starts scrambling, and trying to cover his tracks, he could give something away. She says, Nikolas isn’t scrambling; he’s already got a bribe lined up. He says, her pardon, and she says, Nikolas said if she dropped the subject of Hayden, that he and his friend the governor would consider a pardon. When she didn’t jump at that opportunity, then it became a warning – back off or the pardon disappears. He says, there’s only one thing to do. Take the deal. She says, what?

Curtis says, as far as he knows, Cyrus’s ass is rotting away in a federal prison somewhere in the Midwest, and Sonny says, Flatland. The operator mentioned it when Cyrus called him collect. Curtis asks what Cyrus wanted, and Sonny says, he wanted to dangle some information he may or may not have. Curtis says, that’s how Cyrus operates; it’s all mind games with him. Sonny says, they were there when Cyrus went down. Is there anything they can give him about what happened that night? Portia says, she can tell Sonny that Cyrus is a brutal, dangerous man. He was waiting for her when she got home, and forced her to patch him up at gunpoint. When Trina got home, he made it perfectly clear he didn’t need two hostages, and that one of them was expendable. Sonny says he’s sorry if he brought up any bad memories. He asks if he and Curtis can have a discussion alone, but Portia says, there’s not need to shield her. They all survived Renault and he can’t hurt them now.

Carly tells Nina, good luck with that defense. She can’t wait to see Nina tell the judge she committed identity fraud against Sonny for his own good. Nina says, who knows if that kind of identity fraud even exists? The Lantano DA is trying to invent a new law to give Michael what he wants. Carly says, Michael doesn’t control the DA, but Nina says, sure he does. And Carly controls Michael. Carly can’t stand it that Sonny lived nine months of his life she knows nothing about, and he was perfectly happy without her. Maybe even a little happier. Now Carly wants revenge, and she’s using her own son to get it for her. 💡Another thought. Nina could point out the connection between the contribution and the case. If nothing else, the case would be considered compromised. I just invented a new job; Port Charles armchair lawyer.

Curtis tells Sonny, he didn’t know what Cyrus was going to do next. He was unraveling. He was screaming at Laura, and waving his gun around. That guy was about two seconds from shooting Laura, so Curtis dropped his gun, and Cyrus shot him instead. Portia says, which gave Jordan the opening she needed to enter the house and shoot Renault. Sonny says, Laura’s a friend, very special to him, and he wants to thank Curtis for saving her life. Curtis says he was glad he could be there, and Sonny says, so is he. He appreciates them talking to him; it means a lot. He heads for the door, and Portia asks if he’s not staying for a workout. He says he hasn’t boxed in so long, but he has to check on someone. He leaves, and Portia says she thought they’d heard the last of Cyrus Renault, but Curtis says, he guesses they’re not that lucky.

Nikolas asks Spencer to think about where he was supposed to be, taking a gap year, touring the world. He threw all of that away to get back at Nikolas. He’s curious. Is Spencer happy with the results? Spencer tells him, what can he say? The Amalfi coast is overrated. Nikolas says he wants Spencer to stop sabotaging himself. Why won’t Spencer listen to him? Spencer says, he will, as soon as Nikolas cuts Ava out of his life.

Esme says she doesn’t expect Ava to forgive her, but if there’s ever anything she can do to make amends, she’d appreciate the chance. Ava says, Esme’s not the first young woman who got wrapped up in a man and do things she regrets. Ava is willing to put the past behind them and start fresh. Esme says, oh my God, thank you so, so much, and Ava says, she’s welcome. She hopes Esme will be a good influence on Spencer, and hopefully, someday get him to accept his new reality. Esme says she thinks he will. Deep down, Spence loves his father. He just has to let go of his pride little. Ava says, that’s not so easy. She’s going to go have breakfast with her husband. Esme says, of course (🍷), and thanks her again. Ava says she’s welcome, and make good use of the fresh start. One is all she’s going to get. Cross her again, and Esme will regret it. Ava goes inside.

Alexis asks if she heard Shawn right. Does he really want her to take her nephew’s bribe? He says he knows what it means to be locked in a cell, to live without agency, and live by other people’s rules. Alexis has a chance to get out of there; take it. Alexis says, no, and not even because of her nephew’s agenda, but because she doesn’t deserve a pardon. He says she’s harder on herself than a prosecutor would be, but she says, unlike him, she committed the crime she’s in there for. She’s serving her sentence. It’s her responsibility; it’s her debt to society. He says she can do that on the outside, volunteer at a legal clinic, and she asks if he wants her to just ignore that Nikolas is an attempted murderer. How can she look at herself in the mirror, let alone maintain her sobriety? If he wants to do what’s best for her, help her bring her nephew to justice.   

Michael says, Willow may have noticed, the Quartermaines are argumentative, and she says she picked up that. He says, but they’re nothing compared to his mom and dad. They’ve been married five times; that means there were four breakups. Realistically, eight or ten. He’s not talking about a disagreement when somebody leaves. There was yelling and screaming, throwing glass, court battles, he and his brother Morgan taken to Puerto Rico in the middle of the night so they woudn’t have to see it. There were times his parents couldn’t stand being in the same room, but he always knew they were still in love with each other, no matter what. Because even at their worst, if one was in trouble, the other had their back. That’s how he feels about her. He can’t imagine them doing that kind of fighting, but even if they did, and she told him to leave, that she hated him and never wanted to see him again, he’d have to leave. But if the next day, she calls and says she needs him, he’d be there, no questions asked. She says she knows.  

Nina says, Michael is just Carly’s puppet, and Carly says, which shows Nina knows nothing about her son. or how deep of a hole Nina dug to steal time with Wiley. Nina says she knows Michael well enough to know he wouldn’t do this on his own. Carly is the one pulling them through the ugliness of a trial. And why? It’s not going to change anything. She’s not going to get those nine months back. And by targeting Nina, and potentially hurting others, she may find she’ll also hurt herself. Carly wonders how she would do that, when Sonny walks in, and asks, what’s going on?

Ava sits down, looks at her empty cup, and says, no coffee yet. (My father would have gone ballistic by now, waiting this long for coffee.) Spencer says, coming right up, but she says, as long as he’s there, she’s ready to order. Egg white omelet, tomato and chive, please. And Nikolas? Nikolas says, eggs Florentine, and Spencer says, got it. Ava says, and Spencer, and he says, the coffee, he knows. He goes to the counter, and tells Esme that he can’t stand it. Ava has his father completely under her spell. He needs a wake-up call.

Shawn asks if Alexis has considered taking the deal, and she says, of course (🍷) she has. She hates it there. It’s a helluva lot better than Pentenville, but she’s still locked in it. She’ll be glad to get out, but she’s not getting out until her sentence is served. He says he admires her commitment and will power, and she says, maybe it’s just loyalty and stubbornness. She’s not going to let her nephew use his money and influence in order to escape a consequence that he needs to face. She just doesn’t know how she’s going to get him to tell the truth. Shawn flashes back to meeting Spencer in Kelly’s, and Spencer saying he’s come a long way from the son who could get his father to do anything for him. Shawn says, he thinks he knows a way.

Willow tells Michael, even before her mom found Shiloh, they were always moving around. She didn’t have friends she could count on growing up, people she could call in the middle of the night. Her dad loved her, but he wasn’t strong enough to stand up to her mom. Meeting Michael and falling in love with him was like finding a safe place. Knowing he won’t back down, knowing he won’t bail. He’s wonderful and kind and generous, and underneath all that, he’s pure steel. He won’t let anyone hurt her or Wiley. He says he won’t, and she says he’s given her security. He made her feel safe enough to disagree with him. Safe enough to tell him she loves him, and she wants to marry someday, just not right now. He puts his hand on hers, and says he can wait for someday. He’ll wait forever if he has to. She promises it won’t be that long, and they kiss.

Portia says, Sonny seems to be getting right back into the swing of his business, and Curtis asks if that worries her, given Trina is so close to Josslyn. She says she had a few anxious moments when Trina first started going over to Sonny’s house, but she’s seen how careful he is to protect his family, and keep them away from anything questionable. For the most part, she just tries not to dwell on it. Curtis says, it makes sense, but she says, it is unsettling to hear Renault reached out to Sonny. He says he was thinking about that. Renault reaches out to Sonny out of the blue, at the same time mystery man shows up in town asking questions about him. She asks if he thinks the man could be working for Cyrus.  

Carly tells Sonny, Nina was just explaining to her, that if she goes to trial, it’s all Carly’s fault. Nina says she’s late for work, and leaves. Sonny says he knew she’d get out on bail, but didn’t know it would be this soon, and Carly says she didn’t either. She walked in, and there Nina was. He says he thought she wanted to avoid Nina, but she says, this is her restaurant. He says, Nina shouldn’t be here, and she says, no, she shouldn’t be here. She tried it his way, but Nina is in her face, and there’s no way in hell she’s backing down. From now on, it’s between her and Nina.

Tomorrow, Brook thinks she knows exactly where to find her, Valentin tells Charlotte that he’s the luckiest man on earth, Anna promises Finn that day will come, Gladys says she came back to see someone, and Ava asks what Nikolas is hiding.

Project Runway

This Runway was right up my alley with the theme of Hauntingly Chic. Christian met the designers wearing a vampire cape, and telling them, Happy Halloween. He sent them to a limo, which took them to the Bartow-Pell mansion, a 175 year old haunted house. Darren claimed he sees dead people (I see stupid people), and Bones took the rear going in, saying in his interview, the Black man always dies first. Although I don’t think that’s so true anymore. Inside the mansion, Christian communicated through a portrait, telling them that he Bartow family lived and died there in the 1800s, and they were spending the night. Christian told them to get in the spirit and gain inspiration to design a chic gown for a masquerade ball, and the mask to go with it. No costumes; real fashion. They chose their models, and did their sketching, but like those ghost hunter shows with celebrities, they only scared  themselves.   

Everyone was still alive in the morning, and they went to Mood, where Christian met them, this time popping up from behind a counter. He told them that they had 30 minutes and $500 (nice budget!) Christian commented on how he was only seeing black and red. Kenneth chose an olive drab green, and in his interview, he said, growing up in the Philippines, fashion wasn’t a career choice. You were expected to be a nurse or a doctor, or something else in the service industry. Christian warned Zayden that the fabric he chose showed everything, and had zero stretch, but Zayden was adamant about his choice. The designers had also been allowed to bring their own fabric this season, so some were planning on using that too. They went back to the workroom for eight hours, some of them insisting ghost George from the mansion had followed them back to mess with them. Darren questioned whether he belonged there, being so young, but Christian said he was there for a reason, and gave a different perspective. He reminded Darren that he’d been the youngest contestant ever, and he now had a multi-million dollar business. He thought Darren freaked himself out in the time between his idea and his execution. Katie said she didn’t do dark, and was working with white. Christian warned her about being hooked on stripes, and her outfit looking too sailor. He thought dead doll was more appropriate.

When time was up, a lot looked unfinished to me. Katie was trying to be positive, but still packed her stuff, assuming she’d be the one going home. Bones used a silver/gold combo for his gown, and made an incredible feathered mask that reminded me of Mardi Gras. However, Aaron thought it looked like a condor smashed into the model’s head. Ouch, in more ways than one.  In her interview, Chastity told us about how her father had died suddenly, and she felt she kept him alive through her work. Zayden’s idea was patterned after voodoo priestess Marie Laveau, but I’m betting her outfits were a little more relaxed, since his dress was too tight for the model to walk. He made a bunch of alterations, and in his interview, he said, making the model comfortable was his main focus. Um… I’d say making sure she could move down the runway was probably his main focus. The best comment of the night was by Christian when he said, if it works, it will be awesome. That can be said about so many things, not just fashion.

Taraji P. Henson was the guest judge, and Elaine called for them to bring on the hauntingly chic. Bones got an, ooh, but I’m not sure if that was good, bad, or just for the mask. Zayden’s model made it down the runway, and in his interview, he said, haunting didn’t need to be spooky. Although he did include a cute bag shaped like a voodoo dol bag, which prompted Brandon to wonder if it was one of them. Most of the designs were better than I expected them to be from what I saw beforehand. I guess it’s like when a play stinks during dress rehearsal, but somehow magically comes together when it’s time for the actual performance. Katie’s went from cute to creative, having moved the stripes around to look more like giant stitches. The models were fun to watch, since they all did very theatrical poses.

Katie was in the safe-but-not-a-winner group, but Brandon said he’d loved her look, and Taraji said fashion was about taking risks. So much for packing her stuff. Those asked to stay on the runway were Chastity, Anna, Octavio, Zayden, Kenneth, and Bones, who all sweated it out until they were told whether they were in the top or bottom. Brandon wanted them all to know that making a gown in two days was impressive, win or lose. One of their favorites was Anna’s sheer black gown with a humongous veil, made out of her own fabric. Elaine said it was avant-garde in all the right ways, and Nina said, it delivered on the sense of drama. Octavio was about to have a heart attack when he was finally told he was also in the top. He’d taken a chance on making a gown patterned after the bubble dress, which was tough to execute in a gown, but Elaine said the proportions were perfect, and it had an architectural look. Taraji noticed a pocket in the gown, and said she loved a pocket. Me too! I think there should be a law that all garments must have at least one pocket. To mix it up, next was Zayden, who was on the bottom. For the exact reasons that Christian warned him about with the fabric, and tried to discourage him using it. Brandon said it was hard for the model to walk, which made him zero in on the parts that weren’t well constructed. Nina echoed Christian’s sentiments about the fabric having no stretch. Also on the bottom was Kenneth, whose piece had looked better when the model was moving. Nina hit the nail on the head by saying it looked unfinished. One of the lowest scores was Bones, and both the designers and I went, what? He said he’d been going for host of the party, but Nina said it had been disappointing, more showgirl than chic. Taraji thought there was a lot going on, and he just missed it. Brandon agreed, saying Bones had too many ideas going on. The last high scorer was Chastity, who’d also designed a sheer dress, using her own fabric to make fanlike adornments. It was black and white, and quite beautiful.

The judges deliberated, and Taraji raved about Chastity’s dress. Nina said Chastity had been thisclose to elimination, and she thought Chastity had found her voice. Brandon said it was one of those pieces that was the best, but on the border of being bad. When something like that went well, it took you to a magical place. Nina reminded Elaine and Brandon of the mess that was Kenneth’s patchwork vest last week, and said she thought he needed more time before being in a competition like this. The six designers were called back in, and Nina said the high scoring designs had shown creativity, sophistication, and above all, drama. Chastity was the winner, and Taraji gave her the judge’s card where she had only written, OMG. Wow. Is that something for her scrapbook or what? Taraji said there was talented and gifted, and Chastity had a gift from God. In Chastity’s interview, she said her father had been speaking through Taraji. Immunity comes along with the win, and I wondered if anyone who’d ever had it just blew off the next challenge, and hung out at a bar until the eleventh hour. On the losing end, Zayden was told he was safe, and Brandon said he had a good future, but needed to think about execution and comfort. He left the runway, and Kenneth and Bones held hands, awaiting their fates. Elaine said Kenneth’s dress was confusing, and Nina said it looked unfinished. Brandon said Bones’s dress was more like a costume than a chic gown, but it was Kenneth who packed his pincushion and went. The judges said he’d been a blessing with his sunny attitude, and he said it was an amazing experience for which he was grateful. In his exit interview, he said he knew he could do more, and the experience had made him stronger. Christian told him that he’d been a joy in the workroom, and I wondered if he was the first contestant who’d gone home as well as being the cause of someone else going home. It was absolutely Meg’s fault, but come on, how can I resist?

Next time, the challenge is to create a high-end fashion look by embracing floral prints, and Gigi Hadid is the guest judge.

👻 Ghosting Away…

♫ Only two days to Halloween, Halloween, Halloween… ♫ I hear the two most popular costumes in Port Charles are Squid Games and Cyrus Renault. The latter comes with a suit, a ponytail, and a plastic bag of an unknown substance. Join me tomorrow for soap, tea, and words from the wise. Until then, stay safe, stay unflappable, and stay trusting your instincts. Don’t ignore the feeling if something seems off.

October 28, 2020 – Dante Gives Michael a Brotherly Lecture, Shannon Has a Party, Elizabeth Rechristened, Charm’s Here, News Of the South, Not All In, a Picture Show To Remember & Big Bad

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

At the vending machine, Franco apologizes to Epiphany, saying, he didn’t realize she was waiting. He had a hard time making a decision. She looks at the machine, and says, did he just take the last chocolate bar? He says, did he? and she says she’s just spent the last solid eight hours in pencil pushing hell. The only thing that made it bearable was knowing there was a chocolate bar waiting, and he seized the last one. He asks if she wants half, and she says she wants satisfaction. She wants justice. She wants her old job back. Cyrus appears, and says that’s not all she’ll get with that attitude.

Chase finds Brook at The Floating Rib, and he says he’s been looking for her. She congratulates him, adding, he found her. She’s alone; no Valentin. She’ll be out of his hair soon, and he can go back to his awesome life. He says, clearly, she’s never looked in his underwear drawer. She asks why she would do that, and he says she’d see there aren’t any G-strings.  

Michael punches the heavy bag, and thinks about Willow. Dante asks what he’s angry about, but Michael says he’s just letting off steam. Dante says he thought Michael was going to town on the bag because he couldn’t stand the thought of losing Willow.

Elizabeth runs into Willow at the hospital, and says, it’s been a while. Willow says she was given time off for the custody hearing, and Elizabeth tells her, congratulations. She asks if Willow is back at work, but Willow says, actually, she was notified that they don’t need a full-time teacher, so she’s looking at her next step. She shows Elizabeth a booklet, and Elizabeth says she’s applying for the nurse’s training program. Willow says she’s fortunate to have the option. It’s one way her life has never been better. Mostly. Things are going so well, she and Michael are getting an annulment.

Carly is hugging Jax, when Nina and Sasha walk in. Carly tells Nina, just the person she needed to see. Nina says she’s surprised to see Carly, and tells Jax that she’s sorry she had to abandon him, but glad to see he has company. He asks how it went with Curtis, and she says Curtis has a new lead, and she’s a step closer to finding her child. Jax says, congratulations, and Carly says she didn’t know the search was back on. Nina says she didn’t broadcast it. Sasha says Nina has company, and it’s been a helluva day. She’s going to take off. Nina says she’s not, since she’s not feeling well.   

Ava sees a romantic table set, and smells a rose. There’s a storm going on, and Nikolas is on the terrace. She joins him, and he says he sees she got his message. She says, it’s lovely, and stormy. Tell her why he lured her out there. We see Ava has a knife behind her back, and Nikolas says he didn’t lure her out. He invited her. She says he’s not the first person to invite her out there. She’s sure he remembers what happened; he witnessed it firsthand. He says, he did. Then he saved her life. She says, then hours later, they were married. It was a whirlwind. He says, that’s one word, and she says, any regrets? He says, hundreds. Her? She says, the same, and he asks what she’s holding behind her back. She says, insurance, and he asks if she thinks he’d go through all this trouble to toss her back in the harbor. She says she thinks it would be a permanent solution to their situation, but he says, believe it or not, he doesn’t want her dead. She says he just wants the family fortune all to himself, and he says, it is his family’s fortune. She says, not to mention Elizabeth.

Brook says Chase wouldn’t know what to do with a G-string if he had a fistful of singles. He says he’s trying to charm her after being a jerk, but she says she gets enough of that from her father. Just because she’s staying with Chase, doesn’t give him the right to weigh in on her life. He says he knows that, and if she’d stop talking, she could hear him. He’s saying he’s sorry.

Nina tells Sasha where the shower is, and says there’s a fluffy robe with her name on it. Take all the time she needs. Sasha says, it sounds great, but… Nina insists, and Sasha goes to the bathroom. Jax asks, what’s wrong with Sasha? and Carly says, she doesn’t look good. Nina says it’s not her place to say, but trust her. She wouldn’t have brought Sasha back if she didn’t think it was absolutely necessary.

Willow tells Elizabeth, she and Michael got married to protect Wiley from Nelle. Nelle isn’t a threat now, so staying married isn’t necessary. Elizabeth asks if Willow will still be a part of Wiley’s life, and Willow says, absolutely. Elizabeth says, if that’s what Willow feels is best, she’s happy for her. It’s no one’s business but theirs. Although sometimes people who have to craziest reasons for getting married, and the marriages you think will crash and burn, are the ones that last.

Michael tells Dante, he’s not losing Willow. They’re going to stay together until the annulment is finalized, and afterwards, they’re going to be co-parents. Dante says it sounds like they have it sorted out, and Michael says they made the decision together. Dante has one question. Did Michael say what he said to Willow because it’s what he wanted, or was it what he thought she wanted to hear?

Cyrus says he’s sorry it took so long to make Franco’s acquaintance, and introduces himself. Franco says he knows who Cyrus is; he saw his picture in the company newsletter. Epiphany adds, and on the news. Franco says Cyrus is a busy fella, and Epiphany says, he is. Firing half the staff and alienating the rest. Cyrus is sorry to hear about the low morale, and promises to bring it up to Britt. Franco says, everyone just wants to be heard, and Cyrus says he has a few minutes if Franco wants to meet with him, but Franco says tonight, some of them go to The Floating Rib. It’s karaoke night. Cyrus says, it sounds fun; he won’t keep Franco from it, but the door is open. He starts to walk away, but Franco says, hold on. How’s his singing voice? Want to be Simon to his Garfunkel?

Nikolas asks where Ava is getting the idea about him and Elizabeth, and she asks if she’s wrong. There must be at least a little something to it. He flashes back to kissing Elizabeth, and he says, in this case something is nothing. She says she knew it, and he says, fine. What he and Elizabeth have goes beyond friendship. In his darkest moments, he’s reached out to her, but it’s because they share a history; not because he wants to be with her. Ava says, that’s the most eloquent rationalization she’s ever heard. He says, look him in the eye, and tell him that she’s never sought out something she’s not getting from their marriage. She thinks back to kissing Franco, and he says he thought so. She tells him, she didn’t say anything, and he says she’s not as good a poker player as she thinks. She says he begged her, trapping her into what she thought was a fairytale romance. He says she asked him to talk about things, and he told her about his feelings. She says, so? What are words? Hot air without the action to back them up. To prove he wants her… He says he has to divorce her. Done.

Cyrus thanks Franco for the kind invitation, but he doesn’t want to infringe on the staff’s private event. Franco says it’s not like they close the place; everyone is welcome. Cyrus says, in that case, he has work to finish up. Perhaps he’ll see them later. He leaves, and Epiphany looks at Franco. He says, what? and she says he’d better run. Run.

Chase tells Brook, sorry for coming on too strong, but she says she’s actually impressed. He almost turned her around. He says, it’s working for him then, and she ask what’s the rest. As long as he’s not going to tell her that he’s kicking her out on the street.

Jax asks if Sasha needs a doctor, but Nina tells him not to push it. It was all she could do to get Sasha there. Carly says she’ll talk to Sasha, and Nina tries to stop her, but she keeps going. Nina tells Jax, even when Carly means well, she’s impossible. He says, she did bring wine, and Nina says, red wine. He says, Carly wanted to apologize for the scene she caused in the cemetery, and Nina says, when she accidentally pushed over Nelle’s gravestone? The only thing Carly is sorry about is Nina caught her

Sasha goes into the bathroom, and takes out her baggie of coke. Carly knocks on the door, and Sasha says she just needs a minute. Carly says, let her in, but Sasha keeps trying to get a hit of coke together using her Amex card. Her hands shake.

Dante says Michael doesn’t want an annulment? and Michael says, if it was up to him, they’d find a way to stay together, and make the marriage real. Make a life together, for Wiley’s sake, but also for themselves. Dante asks if Michael said this to her, and Michael says, of course (🍷) not. Dante says Michael wants to set Willow free from her obligation. He’s an idiot.

Willow tells Elizabeth, after Chase, she can’t think of starting something new. Michael has so much to give that’s going to waste in their so-called marriage. Elizabeth says she’s known Michael a long time. He’s a decent guy. Willow says, for the past few months, she’s been lucky to see that every day; how he is with Wiley and his family. Michael is honorable and kind, and sees the best in people. He should be able to share that with someone. Elizabeth says, it sounds like he already is.

Brook asks Chase to just give her more time, and he says he will. Eventually, she’ll have to find another place though. Brook says, don’t tell her to go back to her father, and Chase tells her not to worry. He was recently reminded that bringing families together by force of will isn’t in his skill set. She thanks him, and says she’ll definitely find a new situation. Not tonight though. She has other plans. He asks what they are, so he can disapprove of them, and I laugh. She shows him a flyer that says, Karaoke Night.   

Dante tells Michael, don’t make life altering decisions based on what you think another person wants. It’s stupid, or at least a disappointment and a regret. It’s not fair to Willow either. Michael asks what he should do, and Dante says, be honest. Tell her how he feels, and let her decide. Don’t think the only decent thing is to separate. Michael says Willow deserves someone to be in love with, and they’re not in love. Dante asks how he knows, and Willow walks in. She asks if she’s interrupting.   

Carly tells Sasha, open up; she’s worried. Sasha pops out, and says, all hers, but Carly says, nice try, and turns Sasha around. She tells Sasha to look in the mirror. Does she really want to go out looking like that? What’s a nice girl like her doing with a face like that? Sasha says she’s not that nice, and Carly says, really? Is she coming down with a cold? Sasha says she’s fine, but Carly says she doesn’t look fine.

Jax tells Nina, he knows how it looks, but he and Carly talked. She had no intention of knocking over Nelle’s headstone. She says he doesn’t have to lobby for Carly anymore. It’s nice that Carly came over with wine – red wine – and she apologized. They never have to speak about Nelle again. Jax is sorry it came to this. It will be a while before Carly stops looking over her shoulder. Nina doesn’t doubt it, and says it’s great Carly has him in her corner. Carly is Josslyn’s mother, and other people might not understand their relationship, but she does. He asks, what other people?

Back at the table, Ava asks what Nikolas is doing. He says, divorcing her. It’s what she said she needs for him to prove he’s not playing her. He lifts a dish cover, and underneath is a rolled up document. He says, voila! takes it off the plate, and tells her, the pages are flagged where she needs to sign. He’s following the conditions of the post-nup to the letter, and relinquishing 90% of the estate to her. Ava asks, what’s the catch? and he says, no catch. She says, of course (🍷) there is. She wonders if it’s some kind of trap, and he says, there is a price. She says, here it comes, and he says she can have everything she asked for – money, property, material things – but she can’t have him.

At The Floating Rib, Franco tells Epiphany that he did a good thing. She says, inviting the devil himself to their safe space? He says, even the devil gets lonely, and Elizabeth suggests he buy them round. She steers Epiphany to a table, and asks, what’s going on with her? Epiphany says, nothing; certainly nothing she wants to bring up at karaoke. Elizabeth asks how much they’ve been through, and how many times they’ve had each other’s backs, and Epiphany says, more times than she can count. Elizabeth says, then tell her, and Epiphany starts cry. She says she and Milo are breaking up, and I make a sad face.

Jax asks Nina what she means by other people. Did someone say something? She says, it’s not important. She wishes they were the only people in the relationship, but Carly will always be a part of his life. When co-parents get along… people talk. He says, all it is, is talk. They’re just two people trying to do the best for their daughter.   

Sasha thanks Carly for her concern, but it doesn’t matter if she’s fine. Carly says she’s wrong, and doesn’t think Michael would agree. Sasha says she went out of her way to make sure her life is none of Michael’s business. Carly says she did it to protect Wiley from Nelle. If Michael knew what she did, the sacrifices she made, and that she was still hurting, he’d have something say. Sasha says, he won’t. Michael finally has Wiley, and Wiley has Michael, and they both have Willow. They’re a family now, and she can’t take that away from them. Even if she could, she wouldn’t, and neither should Carly. She walks out, leaving Carly with her mouth hanging open.

Michael tells Willow that he was in the middle of a brotherly lecture. Dante says he hopes Michael sees the benefit in his wisdom, and takes his advice. Willow says, if it came from Dante, it must be worthwhile, and Dante tells Michael, his wife is a wise woman. Willow says her class is about to start. She took a Ride Share there, and was hoping to go home with him. He says he’s still got to work out, so he can wait. She says she’ll see him later, and leaves. Dante says he rests his case.

Chase says, Brook is going to sing? He thought the doctors said she couldn’t. She says, they told her it was unlikely, not impossible. He says, so she’s going to get up there and see what happens? She says, it can’t hurt to try.

Franco stands at the bar, and Cyrus comes in. He tells Franco, this round is on him.

Elizabeth tells Epiphany that she’s sorry. What happened with Milo? Epiphany says, Milo has been away, traveling and opening gyms for the franchise across the country. They haven’t seen each other in months. Meanwhile, she’s become a paper pusher. Elizabeth says, Milo adores her. She can’t imagine they can’t make it work. Epiphany tells her, he said he’d come back, and Elizabeth says, great, but Epiphany says she told him no. It’s not the same anymore. As much as she hates to admit it, they’ve grown apart. Elizabeth asks how she can help, and Epiphany says, first, she doesn’t want a fuss made. Elizabeth says Epiphany can’t keep it inside; she has to let it out. Brook takes the stage, and Epiphany says, not another word about it. I note that Brook doesn’t have much of a scar. She tries to sing, but struggles. She says, wrong key, puts the mic down, and runs out. Chase goes after her. This is driving me nuts, since I’ve sung most of my life, and Brook is supposed to be a professional. I doubt she would have just gotten up there without even attempting to practice first, or even warm up, and she sure gave up easy. Instead of saying, wrong key, she should have said, too soon. It’s not like everyone doesn’t know what happened. This is frustrating the hell out of me.

Ava asks what Nikolas is trying to pull, and he asks if she thinks he wants to sign the papers. Of course (🍷) he doesn’t. He had them drawn up to force her hand; get her to move forward with the marriage or end it. She says, it’s an elaborate ultimatum, and he says, it’s a gamble that their night in the cabin wasn’t a one-off. Tell him she feels the same way. He thought instead of signing the papers, they’d burn them together. Ava says, there are certain considerations. There are people who will be affected if they end the marriage. He says he took a leap and owned up to his feelings. Do the same, or he’ll have to admit he’s a jackass. She says, of course (🍷) she has feelings, but it complicates things. He says it’s simple, they’ll stay married, but she says certain people may be made to pay if they remain married. Let her think things through; she needs a minute. She walks away, her back to him, and he says, once and for all, decide now. She doesn’t realize how close he is to her, and when she turns around, she stabs him accidentally, her knife going into his abdomen. I gasp out loud. I was not expecting that.

Sasha comes back out, and Nina asks if she found everything okay. The guest room is down the hall. Sasha says she’s not staying, but Nina says she should. They can have breakfast tomorrow. Sasha says it’s kind of Nina to bring her there, despite everything. She just needed a moment to catch her breath. Don’t give her another thought. She jets, and Carly comes out. In the hallway, Sasha makes a call. She says she needs a refill. She’ll be there in 15.   

Michael does crunches in the ring, and Willow walks back in. He asks if her class was canceled, but she says she blew it off. Curiosity got the best of her. She wanted to hear Dante’s advice in person. Michael says, Dante left, but she says he can tell her. He says, Dante thinks they should stay together. Those weren’t his exact words, but it was the overall idea. She says the closer they get to the annulment, the more fans they have. He says he was thinking the same thing. He says he’ll get cleaned up, and she says, her too – even though she didn’t have a class. She says she’ll meet him back there, and gives a lingering look to his back before she walks out.

Chase finds Brook outside and asks her to come back. They can sing a duet. She’ll sound like an angel in comparison. Highly doubtful, since I still remember him singing Feel It Still for the Nurses Ball, and he rocked. He says maybe she jumped in too soon. Now that she has that out of the way, he knows she has another performance in her. She says, that wasn’t a performance; it was her swan song. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

Franco brings Cyrus over to the table, and says, look who made it. Epiphany tells Elizabeth, she’s back in hell again, and Cyrus asks if anyone has seen the songbook. Elizabeth hands it to him, and Franco jokes that he’s probably a fan of Miley Cyrus. What does he want? Gilbert and Sullivan? Sammy Hagar? Cyrus says, the 70s, and Franco tells him, pull up a chair. Epiphany says, not today, Satan, and gets up to sing. Franco says, she’s having a bad day. Epiphany sings. I give up trying to find out the titles, but it’s something about waiting, and debating if her love will come back to her.

As Epiphany sings, we see Michael in the shower, pondering. He turns around, and Willow is there in a towel. She lets the towel fall, and I’m not sure I’m on board with this. He drops his towel, and they move closer. Okay, now I’m guessing this isn’t real because they keep switching to them being alone.

Ava takes out the knife, and tells Nikolas, he’s bleeding. He says, yeah; he’s been stabbed. She drops the knife, and takes off his shirt. Is this some kind of weird foreplay? They kiss…

Afterwards (we assume), Nikolas says, well…? and Ava says they’re going to have to do something about these, and picks up the divorce papers. He says, it doesn’t matter; they’re not real. He wasn’t going to risk anything. She’s too proud to admit she’s crazy about him. Now he’s sure. She calls him an arrogant SOB, and he asks, is it arrogant if he’s right? She takes the papers, and opens the door. He asks where she’s going, and she says, to find the cyanide. She leaves, and he smiles. He says, she likes me. She really likes me.

Chase tells Brook, it’s going to be okay. She says, it will be something, but it will never be okay. If she can’t do the one thing that gives her purpose, what purpose does she have?

Everyone applauds for Epiphany. Cyrus says he can’t imagine how anyone can follow her, and Franco says, if anyone could, it’s the Chairman with Sinatra. Cyrus says he could be persuaded. His phone dings, and he says, however, he’ll have to take a raincheck. Epiphany says, convenient, and he promises to revisit. I’m very disappointed.

Carly says she tried talking to Sasha, but Sasha wouldn’t hear her. Nina says, maybe Sasha heard, but didn’t agree. Carly says, Sasha needs help, but Nina says she can’t keep Sasha against her will. She did the best she could, at least for tonight. Carly says she can do better, like it’s a competition, and leaves.    

Willow meets Michael, and they leave the gym together.

In an alleyway on the phone, Sasha asks, where the hell are you? Don’t leave me hanging. The dealer hangs up, and she throws her phone, saying, dammit. Cyrus comes along, and says, there are cheaper ways to channel her frustration. What’s the trouble, and how can he help? 

Elizabeth says she’ll be right back, and Franco tells Epiphany that she sounded great. Epiphany thanks him, and says she’s decided he can have the chocolate bar. He says, good, because he already ate it. He’ll get her next time. She says he can get another round, and she’ll call it even. He gets up, and she says she hopes he knows how good he has it with Elizabeth. He says, doorknob. She tells him, say that again? and he keels over.

Tomorrow, it’s Halloween in Port Charles, Valentin thinks Peter has a Spinelli problem, Ava hopes Nikolas can forgive her, Nikolas says he’ll save Julian’s sorry ass, Cyrus tells Sasha that they can have a mutually beneficial friendship, and Carly tells Sonny that she thinks Sasha is a drugs.

The Real Housewives of Orange County

Shannon talked to John about her concern that Emily was dismissive with her. John told her she didn’t have to be best friends with Emily; just be okay. Elizabeth and Kelly met Gina at Farmhouse for dinner. Elizabeth said there was a gag order over her divorce details, but she was going to have a great party afterward, where she’d spill everything. Gina didn’t understand how Elizabeth was not having sex with Jimmy, and in her interview, Kelly thought that he had to be getting something done. Elizabeth said she liked Shannon, and Gina said Shannon had kicked her under the bus, saying her house was sad and depressing. In her interview, Gina said don’t bring her 9 lemons in an f-ing bowl, then say sh*t about her. She felt Shannon wasn’t authentic. Kelly said Emily had tried with Shannon too, but it wasn’t easy. They talked about how much better 2020 was going to be than 2019, and I laaaaughed.

Braunwyn said she was a basket case, either being so happy or so miserable that she wanted to jump out of her skin. In her interview, she said the only thing that might be bigger than her problem with alcohol was her love for her kids. She told Sean that she hadn’t been as present as she should have been, and realized she wasn’t a good mom. She didn’t know how she let it get so bad so fast. It was the one thing she wanted to be good at, and she wasn’t. He told her it was going to be okay. Lots of okay stuff today, both on GH and this.

Kelly took possession of her new house, which looked huge, especially with nothing in it. She told us it was 4500 square feet, with a pool and spa, but it’s suburbia. She met with her interior designer, and in her interview, she said the moms there were buttoned up, prim and proper, and cooking with aprons on. It was a Beaver Cleaver neighborhood. She said Shannon was a Stepford Wife, and she was scared she was going to turn into that. Rick had lived in NYC forever, and was ready to settle down, but she was mostly doing it for Jolie, who wanted to be in a family community. She wanted Jolie to have the best childhood possible, and see what a good relationship was like. She said it goes by fast. Truth!

Braunwyn picked up Shannon to go see Dr. Moon, and told Shannon about going to her first AA meeting. Braunwyn admitted that she’d told Emily about Shannon saying Gina’s house was sad. In Shannon’s interview, she insisted she hadn’t said that, and told Braunwyn that she had to set the record straight. Shannon said her fear was that Dr. Moon was getting older. She wondered what she was going to do when he retired. Braunwyn told Dr. Moon that her life had become unmanageable (part of the first step in the twelve), and she’d been drinking and hiding it. His solution was to stick a needle in the middle of her ear, which he said was for addiction. In her interview, Braunwyn said she was more grateful for Shannon’s support. Shannon made the usual loud noises when Dr. Moon needled her in the back of the neck for a sacroiliac problem. (I’ll have you know, I spelled that right on the first try.) In her interview, Shannon said she was trying to help Braunwyn, who was making her look bad and putting words in her mouth. It was the ultimate betrayal. I dunno about that. I could probably think of worse things.

Emily said she’d never had relationship or friendship with Shannon, and was going to her housewarming party. On a side note, we found out Shannon’s kids aren’t allowed to swear until they’re 18. Shannon gave her house a once-over, which I totally understood. I should have done that when I discovered a pair of underwear thrown on a chair after a party, and I don’t mean by a guest who had too good of a time. They were my underwear. I was mortified. In her interview, Braunwyn said she hadn’t figured out how to navigate her bedroom yet, but she was going to a party. She wanted a drink badly, but couldn’t say anything, or she’d be that weird alcoholic girl. I dunno about that either, but her friends would definitely not want to drink in front of her. At least if they’re decent people. Oh yeah. I forgot, we’re talking Housewives here. Someone would probably yell at her, and then put her under a microscope, while they guzzled pinot in front of her the whole time.  

When Gina saw Shannon’s house, she said she could see why Shannon would say hers was sad. Her home could fit inside Shannon’s home. It was like a Polly Pocket home. Gina jumped on Shannon the second she got there, but Shannon insisted Braunwyn was the only one talking smack about Gina’s house. Moving whichever way the wind is blowing, Gina said she didn’t trust Braunwyn. In Shannon’s interview, she said she was grateful Gina believed her, but she was angry that Braunwyn put words in her mouth. Yeah, yeah, the ultimate betrayal. Shannon told Gina that she was a renter, but Gina was an owner, and there was nothing sad about Gina’s life right now.

In her interview, Emily said part of her would like to imagine Shannon wanted her at the party, but she knows Shannon doesn’t. Shannon’s dad Gene arrived with his young girlfriend, and when Kelly was introduced, she called him big d*ck daddy from Cincinnati. In Shannon’s interview, she said she’d never call someone’s father that, but I say, it depends on the father. FYI, not this guy. Shannon didn’t waste time taking Braunwyn aside, and told Braunwyn that she was hearing wrong. She hadn’t called Gina’s place sad. That wasn’t even in her vocabulary. Braunwyn stuck by her memory, saying she’d been totally sober, while Shannon had a couple of drinks, but Shannon insisted she was wrong. Braunwyn said either Shannon was lying or she didn’t remember, and Shannon said Braunwyn crossed the line. Shannon ended the conversation by saying how dare Braunwyn do this at her party, and I had to laugh when Braunwyn said she wasn’t the one who brought it up. Another truth! Shannon made a beeline for Emily, telling her that she never said Gina’s house was sad. In Braunwyn’s interview, she said every time she’s tried to be nice to Gina, it’s gotten thrown back in her face. We flashed back to all the times Gina has shut Braunwyn down, and it looks to me that Gina just plain doesn’t like Braunwyn. And I don’t think anything is going to change her mind. Braunwyn told Sean she didn’t know where to go from here.

Shannon made it sound like Braunwyn had accused her of being drunk, and in her interview, said Braunwyn was now using her sobriety as a weapon. Like always, they played telephone, and by the time Gina repeated what Shannon had said, Braunwyn claimed Shannon was so wasted. Gina brought up the text from Sean, and Emily thought it wasn’t unreasonable that she found it creepy, in context of his and Braunwyn’s lifestyle. A love shack! A sex apartment! Threesomes! In Elizabeth’s interview, she said she’d never seen women act like this, and Braunwyn was just as big of a nut. Shannon, who’d told Braunwyn earlier that she’d never do two against one, attacked Sean and Braunwyn with Emily, Gina, and Kelly in attendance. Emily thought Braunwyn was pretentious, and Shannon told Sean, maybe they should start being authentic. Gina said Braunwyn looks down on her because she doesn’t have as much money as they do. We flashed back to some instances where Braunwyn said something Gina didn’t like, and I see it as Gina being the one who feels defensive about not having money. Gina got in Braunwyn’s face, screeching that Braunwyn was a sloppy chihuahua, and wasted all the time. She told Braunwyn to go get wasted again, which is really nice, and Braunwyn said she was 30 days sober today, bitch. Braunwyn ran off, telling Gina, f*** you!

Next time, the party continues, Braunwyn never wants see them again, Kelly thinks Braunwyn is better when she drinks, Braunwyn insists Shannon isn’t telling the truth, and Shannon says she doesn’t move on when people call her a liar. Great. We’ll be on this for the rest of the season.

👀 Elizabeth and Gina were guests tonight on Watch What Happens Live. I really like Elizabeth. She kind of reminds me of Garcelle on RHOBH. She stays above the fray, and laughs a lot. She said she was surprised she’d been chosen to become a Real Housewife, especially with the pandemic going on. Her divorce had been finalized, and we found out she and Jimmy finally had sex. Or as she put it, she’d been officially rechristened. I tried to ignore Gina, since she’s on a par with Teddi for me. She’s a follower, and an a-hole. Both the guests and audience were remote, and it was actually kind of fun. The Countess made a guest appearance, and sang Viva la Diva, while the audience danced in their Zoom boxes. Under normal circumstances, you rarely see the audience, so it had a different vibe. The sound people also made LuAnn sound a lot better than she really does, unless she’s been taking lessons. I want those people for karaoke. If I ever see karaoke again. I miss singing… and bourbon… sniff…

🍹 Don’t forget – The new season of Southern Charm begins tomorrow – i.e. Thursday.

👩🏽‍🏫 Brush Up On Your Charm…

New cast member and first woman of color on the show. She looks a lot like Lily Ghalichi from Shahs of Sunset.

Might Shep finally be settling down? Omg, he’s 40. He should probably pick a lane now.

Kathryn co-parents up close and personal.

One of the few really decent people in reality TV.

https://extratv.com/2020/10/15/reality-stars-eliza-limehouse-and-mark-struthers-mcbride-jr-expecting-first-child-weeks-after-their-wedding/

🍋 The Stirrer Gets Stirred…

I wouldn’t last two seconds in this program. I’d be All Out.

https://www.refinery29.com/en-ca/2020/09/10030895/all-in-by-teddi-mellencamp-diet-business-scam-twitter

👠 Because It’s That Time Of Year…

And because I was the first one to throw something. True story.

https://nypost.com/2020/09/25/how-rocky-horror-went-from-tiny-musical-to-filthy-phenom/

⏰ The Clock Is Ticking…

It’s almost Halloween, and also almost time to change the clocks. Don’t forget to fall behind an hour this weekend. Yay! I’ll finally get some sleep. No I won’t. And also don’t forget to stay safe, stay truthful, and stay not being the one who takes the last chocolate bar from the vending machine. Especially if Epiphany is behind you.

October 26, 2020 – Dante Thinks It’s a Mistake, Write Maritime Law 100 Times, No More, Halloween Chat, Memories, All Clear For NYC, New Girlfriend, a Revival, Lovecraft Report, Dare You & Warp This

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

I missed the very beginning, but here are the important points. Julian found Alexis drinking in Charlie’s, and cut her off; Robert swiped some flowers, and brought them to Jackie’s hotel room; Sam was with Jason outside Kelly’s, talking Halloween and Cyrus, when Spinelli joined them; and Dante went to The Floating Rib, and saw Maxie. And here we are…

Jason tells Spinelli and Sam that Brando just started working for Cyrus, and Sam says he can confirm Cyrus’s true intentions are Port Charles and the hospital. Jason says it could take him a while to get the information they need, and Spinelli thinks they should focus on another pressing matter. Sam says, Peter, and Spinelli says, exactly, and exposing him for the villain he really is.

Alexis tells Julian not to go too far. Julian says she could be home drinking alone, yet she’s here in the bar. What does that say? She tells him, it says she doesn’t care who knows. She drinks where and when she pleases. It’s about her and nobody else. He tells her, what it says to him is, either she’s looking for a fight or someone to stop her. Which is it?

Lulu shows up at Doc’s research office, startling him. He says he’s used to being alone, and she says, the subject matter doesn’t help. He supposes it doesn’t, and she says she brought him dinner. Her mom is worried that he’s not eating enough. He says that’s kind, but he has the feeling it’s not the only reason she’s there. What’s on her mind? She says, Dante.

Maxie and Dante sit down, and she says it’s so good to see him. He says it’s good to see her too, and she says she misses seeing him at the PCPD, or calling him when everything goes to hell, which has happened a lot lately. He’s sure she has plenty of people to call, but she says not like him. He’d show up, no questions, no strings attached. She missed him. He thinks she missed him on the softball field, and she says they were terrible last summer. He says he knew it, and she tells him, welcome home. He says, it’s the first time it actually feels like it.

Robert calls Jackie his partner, and she hands the flowers back to him, saying, they came with a price tag. Do his own investigation. If Peter is no good, she’ll write a story. She won’t hand over evidence to him. He asks what if she discovers some? and she says she’ll write a story; that’s her job. He says they’re on a parallel track, but she says they have two entirely different motives. She’ll do her thing, and he can do his. He says she’s more hotheaded than ever.

Alexis says Julian’s ego is boundless. If she wanted to stop drinking, does he think she’d go to him? He says, what about the last time she slipped? She called him, he picked her up, and she went straight to a meeting. She says, no one else answered the phone, and this isn’t like last time. She doesn’t want to be sober. He says she doesn’t mean that. He knows her better than anyone. She says, if he knew a damn thing, he’d know why she drank in the first place. He’s the reason she’s an alcoholic.

Spinelli says, Peter continues to worm his way into the fabric of Port Charles and Maxie’s life, and by extension, Georgie’s and James’s. Sam says, it will just get worse when the baby is born, and Spinelli says they have to reveal Peter’s true nature. If that monster puts his name on the birth certificate, it will become nearly impossible for Maxie to disengage. And Nelle confirmed Peter’s involvement.

Lulu tells Doc, Dante is back in town, and he’s surprised Laura didn’t say anything. She says that’s because she didn’t tell Laura. Laura would cut her trip short, which would be pointless. Doc says Laura could support her during this confusing time, but she says, no one can say or do anything to make it less confusing. Doc says, especially since Dustin has been thrown in the mix, and she says she’d just asked Dustin to move in, when Dante showed up. Doc says, that’s a big step, and she says they’re ready to start the next chapter. Now she feels strange. He asks how Dustin reacted to Dante coming back, and she says, he was amazing. He was patient and gracious, and offered to step aside for the sake of the family. He asks what she told him, and Lulu says she told him that Dante said to move on. He asks if she’s not sure what she wants to do.

Maxie asks Dante, how’s reentry? and he says, weird. He knew it was going to be, but it’s really weird. She says, Olivia must be happy to have him home, and he says his mother’s great, but he thinks she doesn’t know what to do with him. Maxie says, it will take time to adjust, and Dante says he missed some people so much, but now everything is different. They way you get in sync with people, he didn’t have to think about it. Maxie says, now he does, and he asks how she is.

Robert says, Jackie seems to have forgotten, they’re not kids anymore. She thanks him for the reminder, and he says, there’s more than just a story. She met Maxie, who’s like a daughter to him. He’d give up his life to protect her. She says, and he’s worried because Macie is pregnant with Peter’s child, but he says he was worried eons ago. She says, then don’t wait for her. Get off his ass, and prove it. He says he plans to.

Finn tells Anna that this isn’t her only option, but she says, it is. She doesn’t carry the marker for rheumatoid arthritis, and the only way to find out is by the process of elimination. Alex isn’t going to get tested, so that leaves Faison. Finn says, but he’s dead, and the only genetic material is his brain. She says, it’s a few floors down. If Faison doesn’t have the gene, that means Alex is Peter’s mother.

Julian tells Alexis that he’s sorry she turned to alcohol because of what happened between them. She asks if that’s a euphemism for holding a knife to her throat. It was months and months of his cowardice, lying, and violence, and sneaking around like a rodent. He says, they had some good months, and she says, four years ago. Then he tried to kill her. She didn’t have a problem before. That’s just a fact. So he’s responsible for the bottomless pit of crap that’s become her life, and she drinks to cope with that. He says, so she’s going to cozy up to the bar for the rest of her life? She says, pretty much, and he says he doesn’t accept that. She says she doesn’t care. The bottle is much better for her than he ever was. He says he was horrible to and for her, and she says, ding-ding-ding! We have a winner! She gets up, and announces it to the room. He says he needs to do something good with his life before it’s too late, and needs to do it soon. Let him help her.

Sam tells Spinelli, back up. What did Nelle confirm? He says, Jason didn’t tell Sam? and she says, Jason knew? Spinelli says, the night of the Nurses Ball, he ran into Nelle backstage. He didn’t know what she was planning, but she told him that Shiloh said he was blackmailing Peter. Sam says, about when he was in Afghanistan with Drew? and Jason says, that explains Peter with the bag of cash the night Shiloh took Sam hostage. Spinelli says, Peter wasn’t just a bystander, and was responsible for Drew being kidnapped, which led to all sorts of crimes. Sam asks about the evidence against Obrecht, and Spinelli says, Peter framed her. Now he’s on the cusp of marrying Maxie, and Maxie is carrying his child.

Jackie thinks she and Robert are done, but he has one more thing. What’s the deal with Finn and his father? She asks what he means, and he says, they had some falling out, but Finn is tight-lipped. She says, that’s an understatement, but she guesses he wants to keep the issue private. He says, so there is an issue? and she says it’s no secret that Finn hated his dad getting married so soon. Robert says, it’s been thirty years, and she asks how it’s his business. He says he’s looking out for Anna, and she says he’s Anna’s knight in shining armor. Her phone rings; it’s Peter.    

Anna tells Finn, it’s strange. She hopes Faison has the marker. If not, they’re back to no way of knowing. She thinks it’s better to be able to tell Peter, Alex might be his mother, as opposed to, she is his mother. Finn asks if that’s really the worst thing. She’d be disappointed, but Peter would still be family. She says she turned away from the dark path, and watched Valentin do the same. He wonders why she’s talking about Valentin, and she says they turned their lives around. They did on it on their own, but that’s not the case with Peter. His grasp on a new life happened because he found out she was his mother. Now she might have to tell him that she’s not. She feels as if she’s the tether tying him to the good side. She doesn’t mean it to sound egotistical. She wishes Maxie and the baby were enough, and desperately wants it to be true, but she doesn’t think they are.   

Lulu tells Doc, she loves Dustin, but part of her will always love Dante. In a way, it would be easy to reunite, and go back to the way it was before the nightmare happened, but time didn’t stand still. What she has with Dustin is real. To pretend it’s not isn’t fair to anyone. Doc says she has a lot of feelings to sort through, but doesn’t have to do it right this second; take her time. Her world was just thrown for a monumental loop. No one expects her to have everything figured out. Her phone dings, and she says she has to go. She thanks him for listening. He walks her out, and asks her to do him a favor and call her mother. She says, okay, okay.

Dante says, enough about him, and Maxie says, shocking. He’s shifting the focus off himself, and he asks, what’s going on with her? She says, same old, but he highly doubts it. She says she has so much going on, she doesn’t know where to begin. Georgie and James have gotten so big, he won’t recognize them, and she no longer works at Crimson. He asks if she was finally fired, and she says she quit. She’s partnered with Lucy in Deception. He says, sounds colorful, and she says he has no idea. Other than that, she and Peter are getting married and having a baby.

Anna and Finn sneak downstairs to Doc’s research office. Anna picks the lock, and they go in.

Alexis asks Julian, who pulled the strings this time? He says he has no one to blame but himself, and she asks if he thinks he’ll make things better by pointing out her error in her ways. He says he needs to make up for lost time, and she says he needs to get over it. She stupidly thought she could trust him, and he accused her in front of everybody of sleeping with Neil, and said Neil was taking advantage of her. He’s the reason Neil lost his license, and she got disbarred. He’s the reason Neil turned to drugs, and the reason Neil is dead. Hasn’t he done enough?

Spinelli tells Sam and Jason, what galls him most is that Anna is a superspy. She should be able to see through Peter. How can she turn a blind eye? Jason says they talked about this. Anna wants to believe it. Spinelli says, he understands; Peter is her offspring. Jason says, that’s a lot. Anna turned her life around back in the day, and knows it’s possible. She wants or needs for it to be possible for Peter too. Deep down, even if Anna doesn’t admit it, she knows it’s a lie. Spinelli wonders when they can act on that, and Sam says, when they get proof, and they will.

Dante says, Peter? and Maxie says, he’s wonderful. Dante says he doesn’t think he understands. She’s actually marrying Peter, and they’re having a baby? How did she get in so deep? She says, Peter was cleared of things he was accused of. He runs a respectable paper, and has earned the respect of a lot of people, Lulu included. Dante doesn’t care if Peter’s earned the respect of the mayor. He’s the reason Nathan is dead. She remembers that night, right? She remembers Nathan, right? She tells him, don’t do this. He says, sorry, and she says, of course (🍷) she remembers Nathan. She thinks about him all the time, but because Nathen died, that doesn’t mean she has to stop living. She didn’t die with him. Her life with James is on. It’s not the same, but that doesn’t mean it’s of less value. He says he didn’t mean to throw Nathan at her, but he thinks she’s making a big mistake. She says, not him too.

Robert whispers for Jackie to put it on speaker, but she ignores him. Peter says he’s been in touch with HR, and all Jackie’s terms and conditions have been approved. She’s all set to begin working with Lulu on the investigation into Cyrus. She can start as early as tomorrow. She says she looks forward to working with him, and she’ll see him then. She hangs up, and tells Robert, that’s how it’s done, and don’t forget it.

Finn and Anna sneak around, and Finn says Faison’s body was donated to science by his next of kin. She says, Peter, and he says, it can’t legally be released without Peter signing off on it. She says, that would defeat the purpose of keeping Peter in the dark, and Finn says, speaking of which, it’s dark in there. Doc turns on the lights, and asks if that’s better.

Julian says he cares about Alexis. He didn’t mean to send her crashing down. She says he never means to do anything. Time and again, he’s created a path of destruction in his wake. Everything he touches is a steaming pile of garbage, including her. She doesn’t want his help. She yells, she doesn’t want his help, and wants him to leave her alone. He says he can’t.

Sam gets up , and Jason follows her outside. He asks if she’s okay, but she honestly doesn’t know what she is. She guesses he’s known this information for a while, and Spinelli has known since the Nurses Ball. Why didn’t he say anything? She could have helped. She wants to help. Jason says he’s not used to going over the day to day stuff with her. She says, when it relates to Sonny’s business, she totally gets it. She shouldn’t be involved, but he should apply her to every aspect of his life. He says she’s right.

Doc asks if Finn and Anna would care to explain. Finn says Anna was there for her phlebotomy appointment, and he was taking her upstairs. She felt dizzy, and they were near Doc’s office, so he brought her in. She needed a place to sit, and maybe get something to eat. Doc says, in a research lab? and Finn says, their next stop was the cafeteria. They were just waiting for the dizziness to pass. Anna looks like a bobblehead, agreeing with everything, and says she’s better now. They start to leave, and Doc says, what’s strange is, he locked the door on his way out. It’s a mystery how they got in. Finn says he thought that was strange, and Anna asks to talk to Doc alone. It’s basically a matter relevant to him as well. Finn says, it is? and she says Doc deserves to know the truth as much as anyone. Finn says as long as she’s feeling okay, and leaves. In the hallway, his phone dings. He gets a text from Chase; second thoughts about dinner?

Robert asks if Jackie is going to keep the flowers, and she says, if he’s just going to throw them out… He says, that’s the spirit. It was fun hanging out with her at The Floating Rib. She says, it was, and he says it made him think about old times. She’s a good friend, and he’s lost a few lately. It’s made him think he can’t take relationships for granted, or friendships. She says her schedule is erratic, but how are the Panthers? He says, clawing their way out of the basement, and she says she’s always had a soft spot for the underdogs. Maybe they could catch a game. He says, sounds like a date.

Maxie tells Dante, not him too. She’s gotten it from all sides; Robert, Spinelli, especially Spinelli. She knows Spinelli was coming from a genuine place… Dante says, as is he, and she says Spinelli was wrong about Peter. Fighting about it was devastating. Don’t make her have that fight with him too. Don’t make her choose. She’s marrying Peter; he’s the father of her baby. Just understand and wish her well. Dante says, all Nathan wanted was for her to be happy and loved. It’s all he wants too. She thanks him, and Lulu walks in. She and Dante look at each other.

Alexis says Julian looks like he’s in trouble. He looks desperate, and trying to save her isn’t going to change anything for him. Save himself. Take the wreck he’s made of his life, and leave her alone. It’s the only good thing he can do for her. He asks if she’s going to piss her life away in a bar. He’s asking her to leave, and he’s going to call her a car. If she doesn’t listen, he’ll call her daughters. Alexis starts to cry, and says, at least when she pisses her life away, the only person she’s hurting is herself. He’s destroyed everyone around him. The one good thing is their daughter, but otherwise, he’s been a cancer in her life. She can’t wait until the day she never has to cross paths with him again. She walks outside and cries.  

Sam tells Jason, Spinelli is her friend, and so is Maxie. Why didn’t he say anything? He says he’s not trying to keep anything from her. It’s not like he’s withholding information on purpose. It didn’t cross his mind. She says that’s a problem they need to figure out.

Robert sees Spinelli outside Kelly’s, and says, if it isn’t his partner in crime. He asks how it went with Maxie, and Spinelli says, as difficult it was to sell it, Maxie believes he supports her marriage to Peter. Robert says, excellent. Remember to continue to go slow. Robert’s phone dings, and he looks at it. He says, huh, and Spinelli asks if it’s something of interest. Robert says, it’s a text from Olivia. Dante has been released from the Geneva facility. He’s back in Port Charles. Spinelli says, surprising. He thought Dante was supposed to receive longer treatment. He wonders what expedited Dante’s release. Robert says he’s wondering the same thing himself.

Lulu tells Dante, hi, and he says, hey. It probably doesn’t get more awkward. She says she didn’t know he would be there, and he says, what are the odds? Peter says Maxie made it, and she suggests they get some drinks – non-alcoholic. Maxie steers Peter to the bar, and Dante says, so Maxie is pregnant. Lulu says, can he believe it? and he says, no. Life keeps moving along. Lulu says, whether they like it or not.

Jackie messes with the flowers when there’s a knock at the door. She says, don’t tell her he wants the flowers back after all. She opens the door, and it’s Finn who says, hello.

Anna says she and Doc were both unwilling participants in Cabot’s experiments, and he says, an unfortunate fact they have in common. He fails to see what that has to do with her breaking into his lab, and she says, it left lingering questions for her, as she’s sure it did him. There are things she tries ignore that sometimes keep her up at night. She doesn’t know for sure if Peter is her son, and Doc is the only person who can help her get to the truth.

Tomorrow, Valentin says Sasha is in a better mood, Chase tells someone to stop lying, Dustin wants to get to know Dante, and Carly wonders what she forgot about Nelle’s fall.

Below Deck Mediterranean – Reunion – Part Two

Andy started off by saying the manufacturer verified that what Hannah said was a CBD pen, was really a THC pen, but Hannah claimed you could put anything in it. Bugs thought they should let it go, but Jess said she was knowledgeable, and had one too. Captain Sandy said it was illegal, and Jess said, so arrest her. Jess said she wasn’t informed it was illegal to have; it was CBD. Malia said it was nothing personal, and during training they’re told no drugs are allowed on the boat; everything has to be registered. Hannah said the prescription was on the box, and showed it, along with a letter from her doctor. Text came up, and said that production had received the prescription 12 hours after Hannah left the boat. Malia said, even if it was a current prescription, you can’t take valium alone in your cabin. I’m not sure what that means. You have to invite other people? Andy asked if everything that alters your state has to be checked, and Captain Sandy said they’re crossing international waters, and if drugs are found on board, the owner’s vessel will get seized. It’s all documented to protect the owner. Malia said she went through the same thing with Benadryl, since it says it causes drowsiness, and not to operate machinery. The captain interjected that the yacht is machinery. Malia said it was to delegate who’s on duty. She said maritime law about twenty times, and everyone looked bored. Hannah said, the medications are meant to bring you to a normal level, and doesn’t work the same if you don’t have a mental illness. Malia said it wasn’t up to the crew member to take for themselves with no accountability. Hannah said if it wasn’t a revenge thing, why didn’t Malia tell the captain about the valium when she told her, Hannah is freaking out? Malia acted ignorant, and said she didn’t realize until she found it. Rob looked like he might go to sleep, and Malia said, it was about maritime law and the safety of the vessel. Jess said she never knew it was such a big deal. Rob said he was checking out, and Captain Sandy said it was illegal, and Jess was trying to justify it.

Jess was tired of Malia talking, and said they’d seen it all on her social media. Bugs thought the whole thing was blown out of proportion. She said she suffered from depression, and still worked on boats. They went around this whole thing again, and when Andy tried to get a word in, he was ignored and literally banged his head on his desk. We found out Malia went to production first, and was told to take it up with the captain. Yeah, I’ll bet. They don’t want to be responsible for that. She said there was also a management company, and Hannah said they got it – maritime law. A viewer asked why Malia didn’t check with Hannah first, and Malia said it wasn’t her place. Andy asked if it was planned so Bugs would get the position, but Bugs said Malia hadn’t known she was coming until she was there. Which doesn’t exactly mean it wasn’t planned, just not planned ahead of time. Malia said Tom being on the yacht with her wasn’t romantic, no matter what people wanted to think. Captain Sandy said the management company had to see she was following protocol. Hannah said it would have been nice if the captain had pulled her aside, and they’d had a conversation. She was made to feel like a criminal. I have to say, Hannah did really keep her cool, and she must have really been freaking out inside. Andy said, there was a lot of backlash, and asked if there was anything the captain would have done differently. Captain Sandy said, sometimes the right decision wasn’t the popular decision (which sounds like something your mom would tell you), but she followed the protocol of the management manual. Rob decided to out Jess, saying she’d told him to get rid of her weed pen, but Jess held her ground that it was CBD, and added she had a laundry list of Rob’s indiscretions. Andy asked if Hannah had regrets, btu she said she was in a good place in her life. He asked if she’d retired from yachting for good, and she said she was in Sydney, about have a baby girl, and yes, she was retired. Hannah was dismissed, and Malia made a weird face at her when she said goodbye. She might have been trying to keep her forked tongue in her mouth.

Tom and Aesha joined the virtual group. Tom explained, on bigger boats, you don’t have to cook for the crew as well. Captain Sandy said he was an incredible chef, and she didn’t regret hiring him. Tom said he got death threats because of his association with Malia, and Malia said she had hard backlash. Andy asked about the status of their relationship, and if they lived together. Tom said because they’re always on boats, they don’t live anywhere, and try to do as best they can. We found out they hadn’t seen each other since May, and Andy asked if they were still together. After dancing around this for like, ten minutes, Malia said she didn’t know if they were together, but Tom said they were working it out. He also claimed they were monogamous when on charter, which I find difficult to believe. Andy didn’t ask about what happens off-charter though.

We revisited Rob and Jess’s relationship. Rob said Bali was a beautiful experience, but things fizzled. Jess said she didn’t want to air dirty laundry. People think she’s jealous and/or crazy, but it’s because they don’t understand where she’s coming from. Without saying the words, she hinted that Rob was a real d-bag. Rob said he was open about having girlfriend, but Jess said, according to his ex, they didn’t have an open relationship. Andy asked if that contributed to the break-up, and Jess said, it didn’t help. Rob said it was unrealistic to expect to develop a relationship on a boat. I wanted to know what he told the first officer after he’d said he’d go on the crossing. Did he even bother to tell him? Rob said again that he regretted nothing. Aesha putting her hand on Rob’s ass, and their flirtation was discussed, but I kind of spaced out, since it was the same sh*t we heard for weeks. Jess said she wasn’t a jealous person, and felt like she was being gaslit by Aesha and Rob. A viewer asked if Rob would have pursued a relationship with Aesha had he met her first, but he said they didn’t have that type of connection; they were like brother and sister. Aesha said there was zero attraction, and no chemistry. Jess wondered about an inappropriate DM Rob had sent Aesha about c*cks. She saw it on Facebook, and Aesha responded. Aesha acted like she didn’t know what Jess was talking about, but Rob readily admitted to sending it. He said, it was just banter… and maybe a little flirtation. Aesha said she had a boyfriend now, and we saw a picture. He’s cute, and they look like they belong together. He must like potty jokes.  

A viewer asked when Bugs was going to realize Alex is hot, and Bugs said she did already; he was a catch. Alex said they’d gotten together to catch up, but they were realistic. They lived in different parts of the world, and couldn’t really foster a relationship.  

In ending (at last), Andy asked for high and low points. Malia said it had ultimately been a fun experience to meet everyone, and her low point was what happened with Hannah. It wasn’t what she wanted. Aesha said the whole experience was great, but she was so homesick and exhausted before she got on board, she didn’t make the most of it. Alex said his high point was meeting Bugs everyone, and on the flipside, he involved himself in drama by accident, when he was just trying to help. I don’t know if I spaced out again, Bugs had nothing to say, or if it was so boring, it just didn’t register.

Andy finished with saying it had been a dramatic, wild ride. Okay. If that’s what you call just sad.

⚖️ The Verdict Is…

Hint: They didn’t work it out.

🖥 In Chat Room, the ladies dressed up for Halloween. Kate said it was a week early, but this was 2020. She was Kate Moss, wearing moss in her hair; Hannah was Wonder Woman, using a costume that belonged to her mom. She did not elaborate on that. Both Porsha and Gizelle were Cleopatra, although they each wore it differently. The high point was Kate bringing out her dog Halo, wearing a unicorn costume. The women also picked a favorite Housewife costume of the past. Gizelle chose Kandi in a riff on Pennywise from It; Hannah liked LisaR dressed as Erika Jayne; Kate said she hated Ramona, but loved her in red leather as Britney Spears; and Porsha went with Cynthia as Fifty Cent. While still much prettier, Cynthia was definitely spot-on. I love this show, and wish it was on more often, and for an hour.

🤡 Here It Is…

Pennywise never looked so good.

🎀 Charlotte Through the Looking Glass…

Scarlett Fernandez remembers her first day in Port Charles.

🗽 It’s All Good…

The RHONY gets the all clear.

https://pagesix.com/2020/10/23/the-rhony-cast-is-covid-19-free-despite-production-interruption/

And goes back to work.

https://pagesix.com/2020/10/23/rhony-cast-spotted-back-at-work-in-greenport-ny/

💓 He’s Moving On…

Juicy Joe has found a new main squeeze.

https://pagesix.com/2020/10/24/joe-giudice-is-seeing-someone-new-following-teresa-giudice-divorce/

⛏ Dexter Returns…

In a CYA move, Dexter is revived.

🛣 Come Back, Country…

It looks unlikely there will be a second season of Lovecraft Country. The book did have a definitive ending, but why can’t they give us more? Since it’s a supernatural atmosphere, they can even revive the dead if they want.

Not only was it well-written, but everything was also beautifully crafted. And some of the monsters were truly scary.

🏞 Spirited Hiking…

Haunted trail anyone?

https://www.travelchannel.com/interests/haunted/photos/scariest-haunted-hiking-trails-us?ic1=triv_102420

🥺 Mondays Is Rough…

I’m off to finish an article for https://mupoentertainment.com/theresa-krakauskas/, which is a little nostalgic, it being Halloween week. No matter what it is you’re doing, stay safe, stay bold, and stay not sending inappropriate DMs. Especially if you’re on a reality show where everyone keeps receipts.

April 28, 2020 – Sonny Makes a Deal, Stassi Gets Her Wish, Scheana Weirds Us Out, Alex Goes To the Cowboy Bar & a Light

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

On the phone, Nina says she got permission to shoot at the fine art museum. Call her when it’s confirmed. In the meantime, try to keep dry. Jax says it sounds like she’s in crisis mode, and she says, it’s raining on the tropical island where they’re shooting. She had to go to plan B. He asks if there’s anything he can do to help. She says he can give her a hug, and he says he can give her more than that. He hugs her, and says, Nelle isn’t helping? Did Nina take his suggestion and fire her? Nina says, no. She sent Nelle on some errands. She didn’t want Nelle telling tales out of school, or talking to The Invader. He asks, what kind of tales? and she says, surprise, surprise. Sasha cheated on Michael. Since he’s Sonny’s son, it’s sure to be news.

Alexis sees Valentin at the MetroCourt bar, and she says they have to quit meeting like this. He looks like he just lost his best friend. He says he has, but she’s better off without him.

Lulu tells Laura, after fighting tooth and nail, she thinks Valentin is going to give up Charlotte? Laura says she only knows what Valentin told her. Laura flashes back to Valentin saying she’s a good person, and Charlotte needs her to learn right from wrong, and be a steady force in her life. Laura says she’s tried to provide that, and he tells her, what he’s trying to say is, he needs her to teach Charlotte to be good. Clearly, he can’t do that. Lulu tells Laura, she knows how manipulative Valentin can be, but Laura says, this is different. She saw him at the MetroCourt after Violet’s birthday party. Lulu says, when Laura was advocating for him? and Laura says, when she was advocating for Charlotte. Valentin pulled her aside, and said the most extraordinary thing. She’s not sure if she believed him. Lulu says, so tell her, and Laura says, he said he wanted her to look after Charlotte, and made it sound like he was going to walk away from her for her own good. Charlotte hears them talking.

Brando tells TJ, as soon as he runs the card, TJ is good to go. The keys are in the car. TJ says, hold on. Something is wrong.

At Charlie’s, Sam asks if Molly got in an accident, and Molly says she went over a curb. The car was making a weird noise, and she didn’t want to drive it home in case she caused more damage. Sam asks why she didn’t call, and Molly says, she was fine, and there was a garage half a block away. It was closed, but the mechanic let her in. She was speed talking, like she is now, but worse. She asked him if he could do the work, and he said he could, or he could keep it overnight if she wanted to take it to the dealer. He went out of his way not to take advantage of her. Sam says, nice guy, and Molly says, very. They just met him. Brando Corbin.

Sonny says, Cyrus took his best shot and missed. Why doesn’t he crawl back in the hole he came from? Otherwise, there will be a war. Cyrus says he can’t go back to Seattle empty handed, and Sonny says, it will show weakness to his organization, and Cyrus will be at risk. What they’re left with is a nuclear option. Sonny starts to walk away, and Cyrus says, wait. He has a counteroffer that will work for both of them. Sonny says he’s listening.

Chase comes home, and is hit with the fact Willow is gone. He flashes back to Willow dressed up, waiting for him, and saying, wine guy come through. He tells her not to come near him until he showers, but she says she’ll risk it, and kisses him. Alone again, there’s a knock at the door, and Chase opens it to find Finn, who says he thinks he needs an explanation. Chase left Violet’s party before she even opened his present. She loved it. Chase says he’s glad, but it’s a bad time. Not because of Finn. Finn says, it’s obvious Chase isn’t his annoyingly upbeat self. Tell him what’s going on. Chase says he cheated on Willow. Willow found out, and now he’s lost her.

Valentin says, Alexis has handled custody cases before, and she says, it’s not a good time, but she’ll be happy to recommend someone. He says he’s not looking for representation. He’s not planning on challenging Lulu’s petition for sole custody. Alexis says she thought he and Lulu would be fighting until Charlotte was old enough to have children of her own, but he says, Charlotte needs stability and permanence in her life. Alexis says, so he’s giving up on her? She thought Valentin adored her. He says, she’s not such a little girl anymore, and she’s seen some regrettable behavior on his part. Alexis says, she’ll get over it. She’s made mistakes in life – a lot actually – but her children are grounded. She can’t imagine life without them. He says he can’t imagine life without Charlotte, but he’s not doing this for him. He’s doing it for her. He has to find the strength to walk away and not look back.

Jax tells Nina, Michael believed in Sasha, and stood by her. It must have been hard to find out he was wrong. Nina says, even worse, it could affect Michael’s custody fight. He says, it makes no sense; they seemed genuinely happy, and crazy about each other. Nina says, Sasha has a way of making people believe what she wants them to, and Michael was determined to believe she was a fallen angel, who needed his love and support. She tried to warn him. Sasha is weak at best, and an opportunist at worst. Jax says, and Nina still misses her.

Cyrus says he and Sonny can have the peace they both want. He won’t threaten Sonny’s turf or family. Sonny says, in return for what? and Cyrus says he won’t interfere with Sonny’s business, if Sonny doesn’t interfere with his. All he asks is an opportunity to put down roots in Port Charles. Sonny asks, what’s the attraction? and Cyrus says, after so many wrongful years in prison, he craves fresh air, sunlight, and a home where it’s quiet and friendly. Jason asks if that includes the sniper watching from the rooftop. Sonny asks if this is how Cyrus wants it to go down.

Kristina asks Molly, if it’s the Brando who thinks she’s an idiot who fell for mumbo jumbo. Sam says, he was talking about the cult thing, and Kristina says, Molly slept with him? Molly says Kristina was just proud of what she did, and Kristina says she is. It was human and healthy. Molly says, she’s not proud, and Sam says, she was hurting, and Brando happened to be in the right place at the wrong time. It was just one night, right? And she still wants TJ. Molly says, more than anything, and Sam says, good. She heard Brando say Molly could pick up the car. She’s sure Molly doesn’t want to see Brando again, and Molly says, never. Sam says, she’ll pick up the car for Molly, and Molly asks her to promise she won’t say anything. Sam says she’s not going to kick Brando, but maybe she’ll kick the tires.

Brando asks TJ, what’s wrong? and TJ says, the parts and labor barely cover the cost of the repairs. He wonders if Brando confused Molly with another customer, but Brando says he gives a discount to first time customers. It keeps them coming back. TJ hopes Molly just comes back for an oil change next time. He thanks Brando for not taking advantage by doing unnecessary work, and Brando says Molly was worried about TJ being in the hospital. TJ says he’s going to be off the crutches soon. He wonders what Molly told Brando, since she had her accident before he went to the hospital.

Charlotte listens to Lulu and Laura talking. Lulu says she and Valentin have been fighting since she found out Charlotte was her daughter. What made him back down? Something happened. Laura says, it must have, for him to think Charlotte would be better off without him. Charlotte flashes back to telling Valentin that she saw him push Ava off the parapet. Lulu says, if Valentin wasn’t convinced after Charlotte was kidnapped, she can’t imagine what changed his mind. Laura says, her either. He didn’t confide the reason for his change of heart. Lulu says, assuming he has a heart, and Laura says, that’s not fair. He’s a flawed man, but he loves Charlotte. Putting her happiness and well-being ahead of his own is the true test a real parent.

Alexis wonders what brought about Valentin’s decision to abandon his child. He asks what’s with her concern; should he be worried? She says, it’s nothing to be concerned about, and he says, the lady doth protest too much. She’s working hard to cover up something. If she wants to talk, he can listen. She flashes back to Sam telling her that she should have questioned the whole system; then the board would have questioned it too. Sam asks if Neil makes Alexis happy, and why the hell Alexis didn’t fight for him? Alexis tells Sam, it wasn’t an option, and Sam asks if that’s because it was too difficult, and she was afraid she’d be in trouble. She was never scared before, and used to be Sam’s hero. Alexis remembers taking a drink.

Nina tells Jax, when they met, who she thought Sasha was, wasn’t who she really was. Jax says, if she wants help finding her real daughter, let him know. She asks him to stop trying to solve her problems. He doesn’t try to control her, and supports and bolsters her, but she spent a lot of time and effort learning how to stand on her own two feet, and count on herself. And she does for the most part. He says, absolutely; no question about that. She says, all of his offers to help and sweep her off her feet are super tempting, but it’s like being offered the best desert after every meal. She wants to say yes, but knows she’d wind up regretting it. So she only says yes on special occasions. He asks if they can make this a special occasion, but she says, it doesn’t seem special. He kisses her.

Chase tells Finn, remember last Thanksgiving, when he told Finn that Willow might be pregnant? He and Willow got to talking, and he realized Willow was practically ready to have a family. It freaked him out. Willow had Wiley in her life, but then she found out he wasn’t her biological son. He was terrified that losing both her son and Wiley would break her. Then she started hanging out with Michael and Wiley every waking moment. He knew Sasha was in the same boat, and they got to talking about what they could do about the situation. One thing led to another… Finn says, and they slept together. Chase says they swore it would never happen again, but it did, and it kept happening. When Sasha was with him, she was actually with him; it felt as if he had her full attention, and he knows she felt the same way. They got careless, and Willow walked in on them. And that, as they say, is that. It’s over. Finn says, wow. That has to be the biggest load of crap he’s ever heard. Does Chase want to tell him what really happened?

Lulu knows Laura is no pushover. What did Valentin say to convince her that he was putting Charlotte first? Laura tells her, it’s not so much what he said as the state he was in. He’s a good actor, and she’s a good judge of character. Losing Nina, Windymere, and his association with the Cassadines changed him. How could it not? Lulu says, it’s the same Valentin who shot Nikolas, and Laura says, the brother Lulu can’t forgive for surviving. Lulu tells her, stay on topic. Valentin would do anything for Charlotte, but to just walk away makes no sense. Laura says, maybe walking away is doing anything for Charlotte. Maybe he loves her that much.

Jax suggests he and Nina take the afternoon off, and go to his place. She looks at her desk, and he says, nothing but work there. He steers her face back to him, and says, nothing but fun here. Charlotte runs in, and yells at Jax to leave Nina alone. Nina asks how she got there, and charlotte says, Nina and her papa have to get back together, and she needs it to happen today.

Cyrus tells Jason, very perceptive, but the man on the roof is just a precaution in case Sonny has his own man on the opposite roof. Sonny says he has all the back-up he needs right there, and Cyrus says, of course (🍷), and waves his guy off. He asks Sonny, satisfied? He’d like to proceed with the negotiation. Sonny says he has an offer; take it or leave it. One time only.

Brando tells TJ, he ran into Molly at Kelly’s and she mentioned the hospital. He’s glad TJ is doing well. TJ thanks him for fixing the car. Sam comes in, and TJ asks if she brought her car in too. She says, no. She thought she’d do Molly a favor, and pick up her car. She’s assuming TJ beat her to it. She asks if everything is okay, and TJ says Brando just made himself a customer. He took care of Molly with a special deal. Sam says, really?

Lulu looks at a picture of Charlotte, and tells Laura, she never doubted Valentin’s love for Charlotte; it’s how he shows it. When his and Nina’s wedding went south, he snuck out with Charlotte. Laura say she’s not defending him, but they don’t know for certain Valentin was kidnapping Charlotte. He might have wanted to get her away from Windymere. Nikolas had come home to take the estate, and Valentin might have wanted to take Charlotte to a hotel. Lulu says, or disappear with her forever. Laura says they can keep reiterating the things he’s done wrong forever, but she has to admit, Valentin had a life-altering experience, and at least where Charlotte is concerned, he’s doing his best. Lulu says, when Valentin tries to come off as wise and compassionate, she starts counting the silverware. Laura says, all right. Let’s focus on the matter at hand. How are they going to tell Charlotte?

Nina hugs Charlotte, and Jax suggests he give them privacy, but Nina asks him to stay. Charlotte is growing up, and Nina thinks she can handle it. She tells Charlotte, she needs to understand that she and Jax care for one another. Charlotte says she and papa belong together, and Nina says she’ll always be Charlotte’s friend, but Jax is very important to her. He’s a good guy. Charlotte says papa is going to leave, and not fight for her anymore. He doesn’t want to see her. Jax says, of course (🍷) he wants to see her. Dads are forever.

Alexis tells Valentin, let’s just say she made a mistake. At the time, she didn’t think it was, so she tried to help someone, but might lose her law license. He says, that’s rough; he’s sorry. It’s not the end of the world though. She says, it feels like it, and he says he gets it, but she’s more than just a job. She says, when she thought they were related, she couldn’t stand him. But now that they’re not related, she almost likes him… whoever he is now. Who is he? He says he’d like to know that himself. His phone rings. It’s Nina, who asks how soon he can get to her office. He says he’s in the MetroCourt. What’s up? She says, it’s Charlotte. She’s upset, and needs her father. He asks if she’s all right, and Nina says, just get here. He tells Alexis, he has to go, and jets.

Chase says he just told Finn the whole story, and Finn says, it was a story, all right. A doozy. Chase says Finn is saying that to his face, and Finn says Chase’s face might as well have a sign that says, nice to meet you; I’m lying. There’s no way he’d cheat on Willow. Chase says he hates to let Finn down, but that’s what happened. He didn’t want to hurt Willow, but he had to face what he did. Finn says, they know he’s not the best with emotions, but he can see Chase loves Willow with all his heart, to the moon and back, and all the other clichés. Most days, Chase is a walking Valentine’s Day card, attached to a candy heart that says something embarrassing. Chase says, of course (🍷) he loves Willow, and Finn says, that’s why he’s not having an affair. Chase tells him, ask Willow. She walked in on them. Finn says, Willow saw what they wanted her to see. Why do that? Chase says, he doesn’t know, but it’s killing him inside. Finn suggests Chase drop the act, and tell him why he did the dumbest thing in his life, and pushed Willow away.

Molly tells Kristina, no more details about her love life. Kristina asks if she can offer some advice, and Molly says, no. Kristina tells her not to be so hard on herself. Molly says she gave up on TJ, but Kristina says, she’s not a bad person. Molly says, she’s a bad partner. She fell into bed with the first person who came along. Kristina says Molly isn’t psychic. For all she knew, TJ was having crazy, wild sex too. Molly asks if that’s supposed to make her feel better. Kristina says she’s trying, and Molly says she can rationalize until hell freezes over, but when it comes down to it, she knows what she has to do. She flashes back to TJ telling her, if their positions were reversed, he would have felt the same. She says he doesn’t have to be so nice to her, and he says his mom got texts she thought were from him. Of course (🍷) Molly thought he was icing her out, but they’re ok now. There’s nothing they can’t take back.

TJ asks if Sam wants to surprise Molly together, but she says she has something to discuss with Brando. TJ thanks Brando again, and leaves. Brando says, if this is about Kristina, he did his best to apologize. Sam says Kristina will forget about him like she forgot about Shiloh and DoD. He’s already given one of her sisters special treatment; isn’t it enough? She doesn’t know him, but she knows why he came there. He brought a lot of baggage, and she doesn’t want him to think he can drop it on Molly. Forget that night, and forget her. It never happened. Understood? Geez. Just a little heavy-handed.

Jax tells Charlotte, he doesn’t see Josslyn as much as he’d like, but that doesn’t change the fact that she’s his daughter, or how much he loves her. There are no words to describe how much he loves her. He can guarantee Charlotte’s dad feels the same way. Charlotte asks, how? and he says, dads get a special handbook when their daughters are born, and it tells them that daughters are magical, mysterious creatures with special powers over their dads. Charlotte says, that’s not true, but he says she’ll see. Valentin comes in, and Charlotte runs to him. Jax tells Nina, call if she needs anything. Nina tells Valentin that Charlotte is afraid he doesn’t want her anymore. Valentin asks why she thinks that, and Charlotte says he doesn’t love her anymore.

Sonny tells Cyrus, he can live in Port Charles, but has to conduct his business elsewhere. He doesn’t move anything through Sonny’s territory, and doesn’t touch Sonny or his associates. Cyrus says Sonny has a large territory. That kind of deference could be expensive. Sonny says that’s not his problem, and Cyrus says, fine. Sonny has a deal. He holds out his hand, and after a beat, Sonny shakes it. Everyone gives soap opera looks at each other.

Lulu says, anything? and Laura says, Charlotte isn’t in the backyard. Lulu says she called Charlotte’s friends; where could she be? Laura says she’ll drive around the neighborhood, and Lulu says she’ll head to town. Maybe Charlotte went to Kelly’s. Nina calls, and Lulu says, it’s not a good time. Nina says, Charlotte is there at Crimson, and Lulu tells Laura, Charlotte is with Nina. Lulu asks if Charlotte is okay, and Nina says, physically, she’s fine, but she’s upset. Her father is with her. Lulu asks Nina to please keep her there; she’s on her way. She tells Laura, she has to go, and Laura asks her to tell Charlotte that she loves her.

Valentin kneels down, and asks Charlotte to listen. He loves her. How could she think he doesn’t? She says she heard her mom and grandma talking. They said he wanted to leave her. He says he could never ever want to leave her, but he doesn’t want her to make the same mistakes he did. He needs her to know the difference between right and wrong. She says she can’t learn without him. If he loves her, take her somewhere where they can be together. She knows he’s leaving. Please take her wherever he’s going. He leans his head on her, and she hugs him.

Jax sees Alexis, and she says, hey, stranger. He says it’s been too long since he’s reached out, and she says, her too. He says they have to change that. He needs her level head, and she says, it’s funny that he thinks she’s level-headed. What’s the problem? He says he left Valentin alone with Nina and Charlotte. He’s hoping it’s not a mistake. She says Valentin was there when he got a phone call, and ran off. Everything okay? He says, something is going on. He wishes he knew what it was. Charlotte was afraid Valentin was going to leave her. She says, apparently, he made a decision about his future. His life as he knew it was knocked off course, and he wants to do right by Charlotte, even if he has to suffer.

Chase says, Finn doesn’t believe him? Finn says he laid it on thicker than hot fudge at a sundae bar. Chase says he’s stubborn and a pain in the ass, and Finn says, sounds like him, but nothing Chase is saying sounds remotely like him. Chase says, if he tells Finn, promise him it will stay between them. Finn says, absolutely, as long as it’s the truth. Chase says Finn is right. He didn’t cheat on Willow. He needed her to think he did so she’d marry Michael.

Kristina says, Molly can’t leave until she tells Kristina what she’s decided to do. Molly says she’s not asking permission. It’s something she needs to do for herself. She needs to be completely honest, and tell TJ everything.

Brando tells Sam, he didn’t even know Molly had a boyfriend until afterward; not that it’s any of her business. She says he made it her business when he slept with her sister. My Lord. I’m glad my sister isn’t up my rear end like this. Brando says she’s a big girl, and they didn’t do anything she didn’t want to do. She asks what he wants, and he says, to run his garage, if she’ll let him. She says, if he tries to make trouble for Molly, he’ll be in a world of trouble with her.

Cyrus and Not-Jason go into the MetroCourt. Cyrus says, it’s nice to end the day in a place where he was unceremoniously expelled. A place he doesn’t need any permission to be. It was too easy. Sonny thinks he’ll lower his guard, and go in for the kill. Unfortunately, he doesn’t play by Sonny’s rules. Not-Jason asks where Cyrus is going to start, and Cyrus says, by getting rid of Jason.

Jason tells Sonny, Cyrus and his bodyguard are at the MetroCourt. Sonny says, he doesn’t waste time, and Jason wonders, why let him? Sonny says, it seems all cozy and soft. He’ll let Cyrus play house, and when Cyrus starts looking at Sonny out of the corner of his eye, it will be time for him to take Cyrus out.

Tomorrow, TJ walks in on Kristina and Molly talking, Nina tells Lulu to give Valentin a chance, Finn tells Chase to fix this, and Nelle wants to apologize to Willow.

Vanderpump Rules

Stassi comes home, and tells Beau that she’s sorry. She’s an a-hole. She shouldn’t have gotten mad at him. It was misdirected anger. In Stassi’s interview, she says she left the wine party by herself. Lala was calling and Katie was texting, telling her that she was being ridiculous. When she got home, she realized she was the a-hole. She shows Beau some boxes of mac and cheese, and says it’s the only thing she can’t screw up. In Beau’s interview, he says he could have avoided last night’s fight if he’d told Stassi that he was proposing, but it would have ruined everything he’s been planning for the last six or seven months. He wants everything to be perfect. She asks if he still wants to go mausoleum shopping; it will be fun. He says, of course, and she says she thought he might cancel. That’s why she made the mac and cheese. She tells him, it’s death time.

At SUR, Danica shows Peter some socks she’s gotten for the softball game. She’s excited. In her interview, she says, not only will they get sweet, sweet bragging rights, but she can put Max in his place. We flash back to when he kicked her out of TomTom.

Tom pretends to use the hand-held vacuum cleaner as a laser sword. Schwartz comes by, and says he doesn’t want them to get furniture. Ariana says she’s thinking of having yoga classes at the house. Tom tells Schwartz that James is coming over to play with them. Ariana says, the big game is tomorrow. She’s playing, but she’ll be bad. In Ariana’s interview, she says she’s playing for TomTom, even though she works at SUR. She’s competitive, and Tom doesn’t want her to be on the other team. James arrives, and tells them, Raquel is playing for SUR. It’s on now. In his interview, he says he’s from London. They don’t play softball, and the closest thing they have must be cricket, but if Tom can play, he’s sure he can. They go in the backyard, and James tells them he’s been sober for nearly a month; 28 days. When he does a show, and comes off the stage, he feels all of it. In Tom’s interview, he says, James thought he had to be drunk to be James Kennedy. Now he’s a better version of himself. They practice some ball.

Beau drives to the Hollywood Cemetery. In Stassi’s interview, she says if they buy a mausoleum, Beau has to propose. It’s a gorgeous place, with a lake that has swans, and Stassi tells him, this is where they’re going to be buried. In her interview, she says it’s the perfect way to ensure Beau is committing to a lifetime and afterlifetime. Till death do us not part. She says she loves the vintage writing, and he tells her, that’s Latin. She says he’ll be glad if she dies tomorrow. He’ll be free to mourn, and live out his lonely life for the rest of his life, since he’s not going to date. In Beau’s interview, he says Stassi is in her element, and he’s terrified. His best friend Rob put the ring there. He can’t see Rob or the ring, and he’s panicking, worrying that it might have gotten stolen. It’s the beginning of their life together, and he wants to impress her. They sit on a bench, and he asks what that is on  the ground. Stassi wonders if it’s a bell for dead people, and Beau picks it up. He looks inside, but Stassi doesn’t think he should touch it.

He says he loves her so much. She literally turned his world upside down, in the best way possible. There’s nobody else he’d want to spend the rest of his life with. He asks her to marry him, and in between oh-my-Gods, she says, yes. He puts the ring on her, and they kiss. She says, we’re engaged, MF’ers. She says he told her that they wouldn’t be getting married this year, and he says she was supposed to be surprised. It’s what you’re supposed to do. He explains that the ring is a family heirloom, and she says she feels like a part of history; it’s perfect for her. In Beau’s interview, he says they’ve grown a lot as a couple. We flash back to some of their moments, and he says, there have been bad times, but that’s behind them. He’s excited thinking about the future. We flash back to Stassi telling him that she loves him more than ranch dressing. He says, now that they’re fiancés, he wonders if Stassi will get upset if he slips and calls her his girlfriend. He tells her, Lisa offered her home for a party, and she’s going to cook. Katie and Schwartz helped with the whole thing. She says that’s probably why Katie was torturing her. She calls Katie, who screams into the phone when she answers. Lala is there, and says she’s freaking TF out. They tell Stassi how hard it was to keep it from her. Stassi tells Katie, she so mean, and she was wondering why. Katie jokes that she was okay with being mean, and Stassi says she’s so happy, she can’t think straight. Everyone is thrilled. Beau tells Stassi, fiancé sounds bougie, and she says she feels bougie. Everyone is going to be jelly. It’s the best day of her life.

Lisa puts the finishing touches on the party. She tells Ken that she needs him to get ready too. Puffy! Lala and Katie get to Villa Rosa first, and Lala says she thinks it’s better than Christmas. Lisa asks if Lala is wearing anything underneath her dress, and Lala moons her in response. In Lisa’s interview, she says, Villa Rosa is not clothing optional. For the most part, when employees are at her house, she likes them to be fully dressed. News of the engagement spreads like wildfire through the restaurants, and Katie says she texted everyone after Beau proposed. In her interview, Katie says, after Beau proposed, she sent everyone a text to come to the party. Lisa asks about Kristen, and Katie explains what happened with Beau the night before. Lisa asks if Stassi would be upset if Kristen came to the party, and Katie says she would. She needs a break. Lisa says she feels sympathy toward Kristen, which isn’t her normal stance, but she introduced Stassi to Beau. Lala says she was hoping to call Kristen, and handle it. At some point, Kristen needs to look in the mirror, and ask herself what she’s doing.

Kristen teaches her dogs the stay command. They do a million times better than mine. In Kristen’s interview, she says she and Stassi used to tell each other everything, and to find out Stassi is engaged on social media sucks. Where there’s an engagement, there’s an engagement party, and there’s a pretty good chance she’s not invited. Lala calls, and Kristen says she already knows Stassi is engaged, already knows there’s a party, and already knows she’s not welcome at the party. She hopes they have fun. Lala says she knows Kristen was fully coming. Lisa knew, but then things went south last night. Kristen says just because she asked Beau if they were still friends? and Lala says, it’s a weird question. A thirty-six year old doesn’t ask if we’re still friends. He’s Stassi’s fiancé. Kristen asks if this is why Lala called, and Lala says she called to check in with Kristen, but she brought it up. Lala tells her, have a good night. After she hangs up, Lala says, so annoying.

Stassi calls her dad from the car, and says she’s engaged. He says, to who? Beau says they’ll come to New Orleans to see him soon. He asks Stassi if he should call her dad pop now. He asks if Kristen texted, but Stassi says, no. He thinks she was definitely trying to see if she should come to the party . Stassi gets it, but doesn’t want to share this moment with Kristen. In Stassi’s interview, she says she wants to celebrate this incredible day with the people she loves, who don’t stress her out. Beau says he got a text from Carter, and Stassi tells him to send it. She reads, don’t forget to thank Kristen. She made it happen, and now he and Stassi treat her like sh*t. It’s some cold-blooded sh*t. Stassi says, so her first order of business should be to text Kristen. This is why she doesn’t like them.

Everyone trickles in to the party. Literally everyone, except for Kristen. Ariana tells Schwartz, she didn’t eat all day because she was so excited about the dinner he was preparing. In Schwartz’s interview, he says, in order to make sure everyone was available, and without spoiling the surprise, he had to come up with a diversion. We see a clip of him telling Tom and Ariana about a seven-course dinner that he’s making, to stimulate the senses. Ariana says, it’s not happening, is it? Tom says he’s never trusting Schwartz again. He said they were getting individual iron skillets. Schwartz says he doesn’t know why he was so specific; it was unnecessary. In Lisa’s interview, Lisa says Stassi now knows about the party, but she doesn’t know her family is surprising her. She has Mark, Dana, Nikolai, and some others hide. Stassi and Beau arrive, and Stassi shows Lisa the ring. Lisa says, it’s beautiful. Beau did a good job; better than she could imagine. Lisa knows it’s a lot to take in. She tells Stassi, the big surprise is about to get better, and her family comes out. In Stassi’s interview, she says to see her whole family there, she’s shook. Her dad lives in New Orleans, and her mom lives in Arrowhead. It’s rare to have her whole family together at once. It couldn’t be more special. Beau says, no more lies; that’s it. Stassi cries, while hugging everyone. In Katie’s interview, she says, Stassi looks so happy; it’s so incredible. But she thought, where’s Stassi’s other outfit? She told her to wear something else; her ghost outfit. The favorite dress you want to wear as a ghost. Ooh, I like that idea. She tells Stassi that she had anxiety about the ring bouncing around. Lisa asks, who’s hungry? and tells them to sit for dinner. She leads Stassi to the head of the table – Puffy! – and says she doesn’t know how this happened; her waiting on Stassi. It’s a one-time thing. The service Stassi should have given the customers over the years. In Brittany’s interview, she says Jax put together a beautiful party after their engagement. A surprise at her apartment was cool and all, but if he’d had the party at Villa Rosa, she would have been fine with that. Stassi feels like it’s sci/fi; everything is coming over her. Lisa tells her, don’t turn into a bridezilla.

Lisa tells Stassi and Beau to love each other, and treat each other with the utmost respect. It’s worth it. Ariana tells Tom, she’s sitting next to Kristen’s empty seat. It’s like the ghost of Kristen is haunting the dinner table. In her interview, she says she can feel Kristen’s energy. She can’t hear, and she’s complaining about her tiny ear drums. It’s hard not to miss her. Jax feels like Carter sent the text to get brownie points with Kristen. In his interview, he says he sees through that bullsh*t. Scheana asks Nikolai what he thinks of Beau, and Nikolai says he’s good for Stassi. Scheana says she can’t believe how much he’s grown, and starts to creep me out. She asks if he has a girlfriend, but he says, no. She says, what about when he gets to high school? and he says, probably. In Scheana’s interview, she says, twenty-one is the youngest she’ll hook up with. She doesn’t want to date any younger. Please don’t tell me the thought was even in her head. Consider me officially creeped out. He’s like fifteen. Beau and Stassi stroll the grounds, and Beau points out the lemon trees, and the swans. Stassi says it’s the happiest day of her life, and he says, his too. She says they have so much to look forward to. This will be theirs one day. In her interview, Stassi says it makes her gag when she hears it, but she truly is the luckiest girl in the world. She’s so happy. She thanks Beau.

Brett goes out for his break. The girls are outside, and Charli says she’s never had the pasta there. Dayna says, don’t; it’s a slippery slope. Charli says she barely tried the spaghetti at Olive Garden. I have news for her, Olive Garden and SUR are worlds apart. Brett comes out, and Raquel and Charli get up. He asks if he smells, and Raquel says if he’s on break, that means they have to go back. When they’re alone, Dayna tells him that she wishes she’d met him before she met Max. Max is a kid, and she and Brett have deep conversations. In Dayna’s interview, she says, Brett is an effing man. When Max would hug her, she felt like she might break his arms. She says Max will always need something new and shiny. She would have been in his rear view in five minutes. He’s going to run out of women to date, since he’s been overfishing. In Brett’s interview, he says Dayna wants commitment, and Max is scratching the surface of being a sex addict. He tells Dayna, he’s hitting a home run tomorrow.

Stassi wonders if the dogs know she and Beau are engaged. She tells him that she was thinking about a small, intimate, romantic wedding in Italy. He can’t believe she’s already thinking about it, and she says, Italy is romantic and fun, the food is great, and she loves the people and the atmosphere. She loves everything about it. He asks if she doesn’t want to enjoy this part, and she says, part of enjoying this part is the planning. In her interview, she says once she got the ring, she turned into a terrorist. The world is her effing oyster because of this. She shows us the ring. She tells Beau that he doesn’t have to help her plan it. She doesn’t want him to worry his pretty head. He asks who is she? and she says she’s a bride demon. It’s going to be exciting.

Jax brings his lawn mower to Kristen’s house. In his interview, he says he enjoys cutting the grass. It’s therapeutic. He cuts his own grass, his neighbor’s grass, the grass of people who don’t know who he is. It reminds him of his dad showing him how to do it. Brittany tells Kristen, Jax brought the lawn mower, the weed whacker, and the leaf blower. He informs us that Kristen has Kentucky bluegrass. Brittany asks if Kristen is okay about yesterday, and Kristen says, no. She didn’t want to see anyone. Carter picked up the dogs. She doesn’t want them to be around her when she’s sad. In Kristen’s interview, she says they’re her emotional support animals, but she thinks it bums them out if she’s not playing with them, and just in bed crying. She tells Brittany, she wishes someone had called her first. Lala went off on her, and she was crying, and called Carter. Brittany tells her that Carter texted Beau. Jax comes in, and Brittany tells him to read the text. In her interview, Kristen says, Carter is the one person to stand up for her. She swooned a little bit (what? who says that?), but the timing is a bit poor. Brittany says it’s not Kristen’s fault, but Kristen says it will end up being her fault like everything else. Does she ever watch herself on this show?

The SUR and TomTom teams warm up on the ballfield. Katie tells Schwartz, she doesn’t enjoy softball. She doesn’t like balls flying at her. In her interview, Katie says, she’s being a good wife. This is what you do when you’re married; play softball. In Tom’s interview, he says, team TomTom is ready. He’s the most experienced captain, they have the most experienced players, and DJ James Kennedy. He feels good about their chances. He chose black for their uniforms, because it hides dirt, it’s slimming, and looks good. SUR chose it for the same reasons. In Danica’s interview, she says, they’re taking TomTom TF down. She and Brett are team captains, and SUR is super athletic. They’re not cleaning TomTom’s damn bathroom. Lisa says, let’s get the game started. They’re playing nice, right? They say, no, and in Lisa’s interview, she says she’s on board with team building exercises. Not so much their extracurricular activities. If they hit a home run, let them do it on the field rather than the bedroom.

In her interview, Scheana says she’s been playing baseball since she was seven, and continued through high school. Her great aunt Shirley was in the Rockford Peaches, the team that A League of Their Own was based on. And she can pitch with these nails just fine. James sits next to Katie, and says he was surprised he was invited. She says, her too, and he says he hasn’t been drinking for a month. He’s been going to meetings, and working to change his attitude on life. Part of that is how he’s treating people, and how disgusting he was. In James’s interview, he says, the steps are part of his sobriety, and making amends to people he’s wronged. Katie is pretty high on the list. We flash back to several examples of that. She asks if this is the last apology, and he says, it really is. She says she appreciates it. In Katie’s interview, she says, she’s not cold-blooded. She feels he’s spent time thinking about the things he’s said and done, so she accepts it. She tells him that she’s proud of him.

In Charli’s interview, she says she played softball through high school, and she’s competitive. Probably because she didn’t have a dad. Just kidding. Hmm… that’s actually not all that funny, and makes me wonder about her. Brett says he’s going to make Lisa proud, and she says he doesn’t need to impress her. Brittany laughs about Katie eating sunflower seeds and drinking soda out on the field. Jax calls Tom a big baby, and in his interview, says, there’s no way Tom knows enough about softball to be the rules police. If he wanted bronzer for his calves, Tom would be the one to ask, but he doesn’t know anything about softball. He yells that he wouldn’t trade Raquel for Tom. No offense. Raquel says he hasn’t even seen her play. In her interview, Raquel says, you don’t know what competitive means until you’re in the pageant circuit.

Raquel gets a home run, and Tom says they can still make a comeback. SUR wins, and they chant, clean our bathroom. In Tom’s interview, he says, it’s going to suck cleaning their toilet. Schwartz says the joke’s on them. He likes cleaning bathrooms.

Next time, Brett feels violated after being in Scheana’s music video, Jax tells Kristen that she’s angry all the time, Kristen says Jax is delusional, and Brittany doesn’t want Jax circling back to his old ways.

😳 I’m Not Alone…

Apparently, Scheana creeped out a few people.

https://meaww.com/vanderpump-rules-episode-17-scheana-shay-shay-flirts-stassi-minor-brother-fan-reactions

If Loving You Is Wrong

Ian visits Lushion’s office, and says they have to talk. The DA came to see Larry. She said Carl called, and claimed he had information that could exonerate Kelly. Lushion asks if that isn’t what he’s supposed to do, and Ian says, Larry needs to know exactly what it is, but Carl isn’t answering his phone. Lushion asks what the problem is with Carl doing what he’s supposed to. Ian says, if he brags, it could be bad for Kelly. He’ll check the courthouse. He tells Lushion, if he finds Carl, let him know. Lushion says he has to talk to Ian about something else, but now isn’t the right time. Ian says, now he’s curious, and Lushion says, Ian and Alex. Ian says, what about them?

Ian doesn’t know what Lushion is talking about. He starts to leave, but comes back. He asks why Lushion was asking about him and Alex. Did she talk to him? Lushion looks at the floor. Ian asks if she filed a complaint, and says he knew it. He swears it was consensual sex; she’s way off her rocker. Lushion has to believe him. He asks if she’s saying he raped her, and Lushion says, just tell him what happened. Ian says Alex came over and got drunk. The next morning, she said he took advantage of her, and drugged her. Lushion says, did he? and Ian says, no. She finally remembered that she came on to him. Lushion has to believe him. Lushion says he does, and Ian asks if he’s getting arrested. Lushion says, no. Alex didn’t come in there. Ian asks why he said all this, and Lushion says Ian volunteered the information. Ian says, that’s low down, and Lushion says, Ian does it every day in court. If Ian thinks she might press charges, they should talk about it. He’s the only one who’s got Ian; he saw him having sex on the stairs with Alex through the window. She was fully engaged, and didn’t look out of it. Ian thanks Lushion, and suggests he talk to Alex, but Lushion says she has to come to him. Relax. Go find Carl. Ian thanks Lushion again, and leaves.

Marcie tells Brad, it might not be the worst thing. This way, he can raise his kids. He says she can’t be serious. There’s no way Alex would walk out on the kids. Marcie says he didn’t think she was this person either. He needs to talk to a lawyer immediately. She knows he can get custody with her acting like this. He’ll have to call Larry. He’s a weirdo, but he’s a good lawyer. He asks if Ian isn’t her boyfriend, and she says, apparently, he’s Alex’s. She says she can stay there, and have someone else show the house, but he says, that’s okay. He’ll stay with the baby. She says, it’s been a lot. He didn’t know who the father was, and had thought it was his kid. He says that won’t stop him from helping an innocent baby, and she says that’s why she loves him. He’s a good man. He says he loves her too. Go to work; sell the house. She leaves, and he sits back. The baby cries.

As Marcie crosses the street to her car, Randal says, hey there. She says, damn. He needs a job. He asks if she’s living there with Brad, and calls her a slut. She says, that would be his mistress. Did he see what was online? How does it make him feel? He says, glad he’s not with Marcie, and she says she’s got a wedding to plan. He laughs, and she says, it’s happening. He promises she’ll never walk down the aisle. She asks if that’s a threat, and he says she knows it is. She says he doesn’t scare her, but he says he thinks he does. She slaps his forehead, and asks if she looks scared. He says, they’re assaulting each other? and she says, please do. He says he’s got her, and she says, not anymore. Brad’s got her now. Come on. Hit her, so she can scream Brad’s name, like she does every night. It’s too much for him to handle. He says he’s way better at this than she is, and she says she’s going to have a baby; the one he thought was his. Wouldn’t it be funny if she and Brad raised the baby together? That crazy bitch left. She said Brad could have the kids. He laughs, and she asks if he thinks it’s funny. He says, very funny. See how crazy he made her ass? He says he’ll see her soon, and she says, every day she’ll be there. She drives away.

Dr. Raston says she wasn’t expecting to see Alex. Is she okay? Alex says, no and yes, and the doctor asks, what’s going on? Alex says she needs to get birth control pills, and she wants to schedule a tubal ligation. Dr. Raston says, she’s done with kids? and Alex says, yeah; all of them. She left Brad, and she’s giving him the kids. The doctor asks, what about the baby? and Alex says, him too. Dr. Raston asks if she’s been drinking, and Alex says, everything she can get her hands on. The doctor asks if they can talk, and Alex says, about birth control? The doctor says, first, why does Alex need them? Alex says, so she can live her life, and be free in the moment. Dr. Raston says, they won’t protect her from HIV or STDs, but Alex says she can get condoms. Dr. Raston tells her to slow down; she’s worried. Alex says she’s fine. Give her what she needs, and she can go. The doctor tells her, wait there.

In the hallway, Dr. Raston calls Brad. She asks if everything is okay; Alex is there. She knows things are difficult, but Alex isn’t herself. He says, that’s who Alex is. Did Alex tells her that she’s been online, dating lots of different men? The doctor says she didn’t know that, and he says the Alex in front of her is the real Alex. He’s been dealing with a liar and an imposter for some time, and doesn’t want to deal with it right now. The doctor apologizes, and goes back into the examining room. She gives Alex a sample card of pills from the case, and Alex says, if they were there the whole time, why did she have to leave? Did she need to call Brad? Dr. Raston says she’s concerned, but Alex says she shouldn’t be. He doesn’t care anyway. The doctor asks if she can call Alex, and Alex says she can try.

Alex sees two guys coming into the waiting room, one supporting the other. She asks, what happened? and the limping guy says he was in a fight with a bull. He got roughed up. She says it sounds like the place she wants to be, and he tells her to go to the cowboy bar on Highway 65. She says, maybe she’ll go there right now, and he says when he gets patched up, he can bring her. She says, how about if she meets him there? He looks good in those jeans. He’s her kind of man. He asks, what kind is that? and she says, a man.

Ian goes into Larry’s office, and Larry asks if he found Carl. Ian says, not yet, and Larry says, Carl is a public defender; it’s not that hard. Ian says he’s on it, and asks, what’s going on? Larry says he’s hearing things about the Cain case. If he’s not mistaken, Ian was helping Kelly before. Ian says his loyalty is to the firm. Is Larry questioning that? Is he questioning Ian’s integrity? Larry says, Ian is a lawyer. He has no integrity. He hopes he doesn’t find out Ian is lying. Ian asks if Larry is threatening him, and Larry says he is. That’s all for now.

Alex goes to the cowboy bar, where apparently, they serve drinks in Solo cups. She tells the bartender that she’s divorced, and needs another drink. He asks if she wants his special. It’s called, I just got divorced. She asks if he wants to do a shot with her, and he says he’s working. She says, come on, and he says he guesses the boss won’t mind too much. She tells him, make her two. Tiny Solo cups! I’ve never seen those before. They do the shots, and she gives him a credit card, telling him put everything on there. It’s her ex-husband’s; he doesn’t know she has it. He says, how about champagne? and she says, okay. Champagne for everybody. He says, there are only about nine people, but hey, and she says, champagne and a round of drinks. She asks if the mechanical bull works; she wants to ride It. He asks if she knows how, and she says, sure. He asks if she likes riding, and she says she loves it. Stop flirting with her. He says he’s not, and she says he is cute. He thanks her, and she says she has a friend she thinks he’s going to like; a gorgeous Latin girl, Esperanza. She’s going to call her. Maybe they can ride the bull together, but first, shots.

Randal sits all pissed off, looking at his phone and his laptop. He closes the laptop, and says, you think you’re slick. Got you, bitch. He makes a call.

The bartender asks Alex what they’re cheersing to, and she says her divorce. They do a shot, and her phone rings. She laughs, and says, perfect timing. Randal says she was a whore online, screwing all these guys. She says, they swiped right, or left. Whatever; they swiped. He asks if she’s drunk, and she says, yep. She says they need to talk, and he asks, what’s wrong with her? She tells him that he needs to get a sling; it’s going to help him a lot. He says she’s drunk as hell. What is she talking about? She says she’s just trying to help, so he won’t be so curved. His little member is like a little banana. It’s not that fun, to be honest. I nearly die laughing. She doesn’t understand. Is that normal? She asks the bartender if he’s curved, and he says he’s whatever she wants him to be. She tells Randal, in all seriousness, they need to talk. She never loved him. He tells her, that’s not what she said in the shed. She says, the shed. That was just for fun, like the others. He asks, how many? and she says, a lot. He asks where she is, and she says, at the cowboy bar. It’s so fun. He tells her, stay there; he’s coming down. She says, good. Bring his wallet. She just had a brilliant idea. Invent a curved condom. He’d make so much money. He says he’ll see her later, and she calls Esperanza.

Alex asks where Esperanza is, and Esperanza says, at work. Alex says, guess where she is? and Esperanza says she doesn’t know, but it’s loud. Alex says she’s at the cowboy bar, and she’s going to ride a mechanical bull. Esperanza asks if she’s drunk, and why is she at a bar in the middle of the afternoon? Alex says she’s about to ride the bull like nobody’s business, and hangs up. Steven asks, what’s up? and Esperanza says, Alex. She’s at a bar, drunk. Steven says, in the middle of the day? It’s a little strange. Esperanza asks if Eddie is out, and he says, yeah, but it’s okay. He’s there. She calls Natalie.

Natalie is sweeping up at the burger place. Esperanza asks if she’s talked to Alex, but she says, no. Esperanza says, Alex called her, drunk at a bar. Natalie says, she’s going through it, girl. She signed the divorce papers. Esperanza says, that would explain a lot. She didn’t sound good. She’s going over there to check on Alex. Natalie says, pick her up, and she’ll go with her. Esperanza says she’ll see Steven later.

Kelly calls for Lushion from her cell. Steven comes by, and Kelly says, Eddie took her Bible. He doesn’t understand, and she tells him to get Lushion. Please. She needs him right now. He says, okay; relax. He’ll get Lushion. He tells Lushion, Kelly needs to talk to him. She’s yelling about Eddie stealing her Bible. Lushion jumps up, and goes to Kelly’s cell. Kelly is crying, and says Eddie took her bible. Lushion asks, how? and she says, he came into her cell. She sobs, and he tells her that he’ll take care of it. Man, I need a Lushion in my life.

Alex rides the bull, which isn’t exactly on high speed. Natalie and Esperanza come in, and Esperanza tells her, come down. She says, Johnny, a round of drinks, but Esperanza says, no drinks. They help Alex down, and she hugs them. She says she’s drunk, and Natalie says they know that. Alex says Johnny is giving her a job; she’s going to be a waitress. Natalie says, she needs a job? and Alex says, now that she’s divorced, she needs to be free. Natalie says, she can’t be too free. She’s got kids. Alex says, pfft! Brad will take care of the kids, and Esperanza says she’s just going to give Brad custody? Alex says, yeah, but Esperanza says she doesn’t mean that. Alex says she does, and Esperanza says they have to get her home. Alex says, her home is with him. Johnny smiles, and Alex says, he lives upstairs. She’s spent her whole life doing what everyone else wanted. Now it’s her turn. She’s had enough. Esperanza tells her, look at herself, and Alex says, she’s happy for once? Esperanza says she looks miserable, but Alex says she feels happy, and she’s not going anywhere. Esperanza says she has a family; she has to go back. Natalie says, divorce is hard. When she sobers up, she’ll see what she was thinking. Alex says, no she won’t, and Natalie says she has three kids who love and need her, but Alex says Brad is a better person and parent than she could be. He  never cheated; not once. He’s going raise them right. She doesn’t deserve them. Esperanza asks if this is about guilt, and Alex says, no. Natalie asks what it is then, and Alex asks if Natalie knows how many men she’s been with. More than Esperanza, and that’s a lot. Esperanza is like, hey, and Alex says, they all know. She’s not going back to that life. She’s going to stay there with the tall sexy cowboy. She’s going to get a job and live there, and be a waitress. Natalie says, they’re going, and Esperanza says, all right. She gives up. Natalie says Alex has their numbers. Alex says, at least ride the bull once. Fire this puppy up. Alex gets on the bull again, and Esperanza asks, what if she hurts herself? and Natalie says she can’t stay there forever. They head for the door, and Alex yells, yeehaw, bitches!

On the phone, Lushion tells Rick, he’ll see him at three. He goes into the locker room, and Eddie is there. Lushion asks where the Bible is, and Eddie says, what he calls contraband? Lushion says, dammit, Eddie, and Eddie says, watch out. God is going to get him. He doesn’t know what Lushion is talking about. Lushion slams Eddie up against the lockers, and Eddie says, there’s the Lushion he knows. He says it’s in his locker, and Lushion says, get it. Eddie gives Lushion the Bible, and Lushion flips through it. No surprise, the photos are no longer there. Lushion asks where the pictures are, and Eddie says he flushed them. Does Lushion need them for something? Lushion says he’ll see Eddie back at the station. When he’s gone, Eddie makes a call, and asks for sugar britches. He gets silence, and says, sweet t*ts? The operator says, there’s no one here by that name, and he says, Larry. Put that little lady on the phone.

Larry’s secretary says, a very rude man is on the phone for him, and Larry says, what else is new? She tells him, he said his name was Eddie, and Larry says, it makes perfect sense. Put him through. He asks what he can do for Eddie, and Eddie says, get $200K from the good reverend. He has information about some women he might find interesting. Larry doesn’t think it’s a good idea to have this conversation on the phone, and Eddie says he’ll come there. Larry says, make his day, and Eddie says he’d better have the money. Larry says Eddie will have to show what he has first, and Eddie says he’s on his way. Larry tells him, wear something low cut and tight. He’ll see Eddie soon. Eddie hangs up, and says, freaky mother better have my money.

Brad calls babysitter Chelsea, and leaves a message. He thanks her for staying late, and apologizes. He says he was wondering if she’s free this afternoon around three, and to call him back. He looks in the crib and says, the baby is sleeping; good. He has no idea all this craziness is around him. He touches the baby, and says, he’s not breathing. He leans in, and says, breathe, breathe, breathe.

Next time, Brad tells Natalie and Esperanza, the baby isn’t breathing; Eddie brings the pictures to Larry; Kelly feels like a caged animal; Randal shows up at the cowboy bar, and Johnny draws a gun on him.

🤸🏻‍♀️  Hanging In(side)…

Another long night under my belt, and another day of self-isolation under (almost) everyone’s belt. An expanding belt if we all don’t lay off those cookies/pies/mashed potatoes/whatever your comfort food is. I hope you’ve been using the time wisely, like binge watching the early seasons of Below Deck or learning how to make the perfect Pinterest fail. While not much changed for me, I’ll be glad to see paper towels again. Stay safe, stay chill, and if you see something, say something. Oh, wait. Wrong crisis.

October 30, 2019 – The MetroCourt Hosts a Halloween Party, My Excuse, LeeAnne’s Wedding Begins, Back Channel, Baby/Cat Convo, It’s Everywhere & Going With the Flow

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

The Halloween party has started at the MetroCourt. Dressed as Cruella de Vil checks her purse for her gun. Laura startles her. I’m not sure what Laura is, either a queen of some kind or the Virgin Mary. Sasha – some kind of version of Wonder Woman? – and Michael – a combination of Jon Snow and Aquaman – come in, and Sasha wonders if it’s a good idea. She’s the town pariah. Michael says she’s his pariah. She made a mistake. She says it was a big one, but he says she owned up to it and apologized repeatedly. Give him one good reason why she shouldn’t enjoy herself. She sees Valentin and Nina walk in as Cleopatra and Marc Antony.

Captain America TJ joins Jordan and Curtis, who’s dressed as Sherlock Holmes. Jordan – I have no idea who she’s supposed to be, but she looks hot – is glad TJ put the books down. She asks where Molly is, and Molly says she had to stop by the apartment first.

Elizabeth straightens up the living room. She looks at a family photo with Franco in it. Cameron comes down, and she says she was just cleaning up the Halloween tornado his brothers left. Cameron asks how she does that; act like everything is okay. He gets her doing it with Jake and Aiden, but not him. He gets how much it hurts. They hug.

Finn tells Violet about Roxie. He says, she likes to eat orchids, and they both go, eww! He says maybe they shouldn’t knock it until they’ve tried it. She asks if she can meet Roxie, and he says nothing would make him happier.

Jason tells Carly that Avery couldn’t wait to go trick-or-treating. She says, thank God for Brad and Lucas, and he says her cousin Rocco couldn’t wait to show her the ropes. Carly is sure he’ll be helping her eat the candy, and Jason says, that too. She tells him, Donna is asleep, and they have an hour before she’s screaming for food. He asks how she’s doing, and she says, tired, but happy her little girl is thriving. How about him? How’s Sam? He says, she’s not doing that great. She opted for a bench trial. Diane gave her the options, but she chose it because it has a quicker turnaround. Carly says, and no jury, and he says, no Dawn of Day members can be selected. Which I think would recuse them anyway, but okay. Carly says she knows how hard it is, and he says, it will be okay, but Alexis is having a hard time.

Molly, dressed as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, stops by Alexis’s place. She knocks, but there’s no answer. She sees the lights are on, and knocks again. We see Alexis passed out on the couch, and she knocks louder.

Carly says, let her guess. Alexis wanted to defend Sam, but she went with Diane. Alexis doesn’t want to make it more stressful, so she’s hanging back, but privately prepping the case in her living room. Jason says, yes to all of it. He agrees Diane is the better choice, and thinks Alexis sees where Sam is coming from. Carly says, but it’s hard to relinquish control when it’s your own kid. She thinks Jason should go to the party in a superhero costume, but he says she knows how he doesn’t like to dress for Halloween. She begs him to do it for her. Josslyn comes running downstairs, and says she can’t find the watch Oscar gave her. She thinks she lost it.

Trina shows up at Elizabeth’s house, carrying a garment bag. She sees Cameron isn’t dressed up, and says she had a feeling that he’d bag the dance. She figured her and Josslyn could throw something together at Josslyn’s place. Cameron says he’s in, unless Elizabeth would rather he stay home. It’s not a big deal. Elizabeth tells him to go. She has to work anyway, and tells him to go have fun with his friends. Trina tells him, let’s go. She’s glad he’s coming. She wasn’t sure if he was up for it.

Finn tells Violet that people think he’s weird because he had a bearded dragon for a friend. She’s really cool when you get to know her; she’s the best listener. Hayden comes in, and notices a bar of chocolate on the bed. Violet says Finn brought it, and he thanks her for selling him out. He tells Hayden that he just gave Violet one piece. Okay, two. Violet is stuck there on Halloween. Hayden thanks him, and asks Violet if she said thank you. Just because we’re sick doesn’t mean we forget our manners. Finn says she thanked with her killer smile. He says he’ll come back and see her soon, Hayden gives Violet her phone, and says, just one show. If her eyes get heavy, let herself sleep.

Out in the hallway, Hayden asks if Finn has heard from Dr. Mulvari. Is Violet going to be okay? He says he did hear back.

Ava asks if Laura makes a habit of startling people. Laura tells her, she just wanted to say hello. She wasn’t sure Ava was going to come. Ava says it’s for a good cause; she wanted to contribute. Laura says last year was horrific, but Ava would rather not talk about Ryan. Is there an open bar? Laura tells her to knock herself out.

Valentin says, who needs a costume party? and wants to go, but Nina says, like hell. She’s not leaving a party for a worthy cause. Just stay close. Valentin says, always.

Molly knocks more fervently, but still no answer. She opens the door with her key, and sees Alexis. She says, oh my God, and shakes her. She tells Alexis to wake up, but gets no reaction.

Josslyn tells Carly that she asked everyone. She even checked Avery’s room, but it’s nowhere. She lost it. Carly says Josslyn doesn’t know that. it could have slipped behind the dresser, or be in a pocket. Josslyn says, no. She lost it. She took it off at the exhibition match. She was worried it might get broken, so she put it in her backpack, but didn’t zip it up. She was so caught up in the game, she completely forgot. Carly says they’ll drive to Mayfair tomorrow, and check the lost and found. Or it could be in the gym. Josslyn says, the match was on Monday, three days ago. She lost the watch Oscar gave her, and didn’t even miss it.

TJ says it’s an awkward moment, and Curtis says he knows that. He’s in the same family. TJ asks if Jordan still has the engagement ring his dad gave her. She says she still has it; why? Curtis says, TJ is thinking of asking Molly to marry him.   

Alexis finally wakes up, and Molly says, thank God. Alexis asks what she’s doing there, and why does Molly look like Ruth Bader Ginsburg? Molly says she’s been trying to get ahold of Alexis all day, but she didn’t answer her phone or Molly’s texts. Her office said she wasn’t in, so Molly got worried. Alexis sits up, obviously still groggy. She says, it hurts, and asks, what time is it? Molly says she’s really sorry, but she has to ask. Has Alexis been drinking? Alexis says, no. No alcohol has touched her lips. Molly asks, what happened? but Alexis doesn’t know. She didn’t feel well. Neil brought food over, and she was obviously not feeling well, since she sent him home. She says she’ll be fine, but needs coffee. Molly says what she needs is to go to the hospital, and that’s where Molly is taking her.

Finn tells Hayden that Violet will make a full recovery. She’ll be fine. He’d still like to keep her for observation, and Hayden says, whatever he thinks is best. She tells him, she’s so grateful, but he says he didn’t do anything. She says he’s been amzing with Violet. She didn’t know… He says, how he’d be with his own daughter? He imagined it, but seeing her in person is a different story. He takes Hayden aside, and says he’s still having a hard time understanding why she kept Violet from him for so long. He asks if she would do it the same again, but she’s not so sure. If she could go back and tell him… She doesn’t know. Finn says, the only thing that matters is, Violet will recover. They’ll talk when she’s out of the hospital. Hayden asks what that’s going to look like, now that he knows about Violet. He says he’ll be in it for life .

Carly explains to Jason that when Oscar was still well enough to go anywhere, he took Josslyn to the footbridge, and gave her the watch. He’d heard a legend that when the time was at 11:11, he could reach out after death and she would feel it. Jason says he can go to Mayfair and take a look around, but Carly says, they’re closed now, and the gym is locked. It’s not worth it. Even if the watch was there, what really has Josslyn upset is that it was three days before she noticed it was gone. Jason says, she doesn’t know how to act in the situation, which is a good thing. Carly says, Josslyn is getting on with life. It’s what Carly wanted, but not this way. She wanted Josslyn to take off the watch when she was ready. In losing it, she feels guilty and like she’s betraying Oscar.

Laura tells Jax, dressed as Mr. Incredible, happy Halloween. He says, it’s better than last year, and she says, anything would be better than last year. Doc is sitting this one out, and she can’t blame him. She knows they’re off the clock, but she wants to fill him in on the brainstorm she and Curtis had. When Helena said she kept the codicil close, maybe it wasn’t physically close. Maybe she meant close to her likeness. Jax asks if she means it might be part of the portrait itself.

Hayden tells Finn she knows she messed up. That’s not the right word. He says, that’s two words, and she says, it’s unconscionable. She was hoping… Elizabeth sees her, and says she was trying to reach Hayden last night. Where has she been? Hayden says, something crazy came up, and Finn says they have a lot to talk about. He and Hayden will finish their conversation later. Elizabeth wonders what that’s about.

Nina wants more champagne, and takes Valentin to the bar. Sasha and Michael are there, and Nina says she thought Michael would be interested that she received a call from the DA. He’s reviewing her testimony. The case against Cassandra has to be airtight, since their star witness is now unreliable. Sasha says she’s so sorry, but Nina says, there’s no apology necessary. She just wants Sasha to know, if that bitch goes free, Nina is holding her personally responsible. She drags Valentin away.

Cameron and Trina get to Sonny’s, and Cameron asks Josslyn, her too? Did she think he’d bail. Josslyn admits it crossed her mind, but she’s glad he’s there. She sees he has no costume, and Trina says he’s a typical guy, and expects them to dress him up. Trina goes upstairs to check on Dev’s costume. Cameron says he’s fine, but Josslyn says she knows he’s hurting, and the last thing he feels like doing is getting dressed up. Cameron says, actually, he’s fired up. For real. If he didn’t go, he’d be sitting at home by himself, with his life in a dumpster fire. He thinks he can find a way to make it fun. He goes into the living room, where Carly is on the couch. She says she’s been thinking about him and his family. How’s he doing? He says, it helps having great friends, but obviously, it’s hard. Josslyn and Trina come down, and Josslyn asks if he’s ready, and Cameron says, just one second. He goes out on the terrace, where he sees Jason. He asks if Jason has a second, and Jason asks, what’s up? Cameron says he owes Jason an apology.

Cameron says he jumped down Jason’s throat, and he shouldn’t have. He’s sorry. Jason says she doesn’t need to apologize. Cameron says he wanted this for his mom, and he thought his testimony would do that; make the judge see the real Franco wants to come back. Jason say the judge understood, and Cameron says, not enough. What he said should have been more clear, or better. Jason says she knows the truth, but it doesn’t matter what anyone said. What mattered is what Doc said. it’s great that she heard them, but in the end, it didn’t tip the scales. It couldn’t. He’s sorry. Cameron asks what he does now. How does he cut himself off from this crappy feeling? Just say, this is it what the judge decided? Jason says he can tell himself that when all was said and done, the judge gave the choice to Franco. Cameron says, he’s not Franco, and Jason says, whoever that man is, can make the choice. They don’t have to like it – they can hate it – but they can’t change it. Cameron has two choices. He can walk around angry all the time, or learn to live with it, and help the people he loves pick up the pieces. Jason goes back inside.

Elizabeth can’t believe Hayden had a daughter. They look through the window at Violet. Hayden says, Elizabeth’s niece. Elizabeth asks why Hayden didn’t tell her, but Hayden says she doesn’t know. She lied so much, it felt like she couldn’t tell the truth. She’s sorry. Elizabeth says, she’s beautiful, and helluva surprise. Hayden says, that’s what the consensus seems to be. She has a lot of regrets about the choices she’s made, but the truth is out now. Violet is here, and she’s the most fun Hayden has ever had.

Molly brings Alexis to the hospital. Alexis says she’s sure it’s just the flu. Molly says, maybe, but she still wants Alexis checked out. Finn comes out, and asks if everything is okay. Molly says, no, and Alexis says, yeah. He says, cleared that up. Alexis thought Finn went out of his way not to be there on Halloween, but he says he has a special case. He asks, what’s going on? and Alexis says she feels out of it. Molly says she’s been sick for 24-hours, and passed out. She had to shake Alexis awake. She’s worried. Alexis says she’s been prepping Sam’s case, and Finn asks if Alexis is her lawyer. Molly says, no, and Alexis says she’s been working out a lot, and feels run down. Finn says they’ll find out for sure, and they go to an examining room.

Curtis asks if he’s right. Is TJ going to pop the question. TJ  tells him, relax. He’s thinking about it. Curtis says it must be serious if he’s asking about a ring, and laying the groundwork. TJ says, Molly will want something with sentimental value, and a family heirloom is perfect. Curtis asks, when? and TJ says he’s just thinking about it. He just knows that Molly is the person he wants to be with forever. Curtis tells him, congratulations. He’s making grown man moves. Why is he getting the vibe Jordan isn’t into it? Jordan says, because she’s not.

Laura tells Jax that they could be wrong, but Helena left Nikolas the painting knowing Valentin was out there. She thinks Helena armed Nikolas with something that would neutralize Valentin. Jax says, so she thinks it’s part of the painting itself, and she says, in the frame, or underneath. The real problem is that Valentin disposed of it, and they have no idea where it is. Valentin comes by, and asks if she’s still talking about that. Why is she obsessed with the portrait of Helena?

Valentin say, after everything Helena has done to Laura and her family, he thought she’d be thrilled he got rid of the painting. Laura says, Helena left Nikolas the portrait, and it belongs to Spencer – the rightful heir. Nina says Spencer had told her about everything he claimed Valentin stole, but never once said anything about the portrait. If he cared, he would have said something. Laura says Spencer had a fondness for his late grandmother, but that wouldn’t matter to Valentin, would it? She walks away.

At Sonny’s, Cameron pours liquor into a soda bottle when no one is looking.

Elizabeth tells Hayden, you love your kids so much, you want to make it right, but you know you can’t. Hayden says Elizabeth is the best mom. Elizabeth assumes Finn knows. What does it mean for the two of them? Hayden says, it’s not about them; it’s about Finn and Violet. It’s not fair that she dumped a new reality in his lap, and Elizabeth asks if Finn has had any contact with Violet. Hayden says, Violet only knows him as a doctor, but they’ve talked a little, and Finn snuck her in some chocolate. It’s insane. From the minute she found out she was pregnant, she dreamed about Finn and their child. Now she’s finally seen it. Elizabeth says, and? Hayden says, he was perfect.

Alexis tells Finn that she thought she was tired from her workout, but it moved to her stomach. Finn says, nausea, but she says, pain. Molly says she got sick on the way over. He says he’ll get her set up with an IV. She wonders if it’s the flu, and he asks if she’s gotten a shot. She says it’s October, and he tells her it’s the time of year they suggest getting vaccinated. Molly says she’s running late, and starts to leave. Finn tells her to set up a flu shot appointment before she goes, and she says she already got one. Okay, okay. We get it. They want us to get our flu shots. Alexis says, of course (🍷). She wants to be Molly when she grows up. Finn notices a rash on her palms, and asks how long she’s had it, but she doesn’t know.

TJ says he thought Jordan liked Molly. She says she does. Molly is everything she’d want for him in a partner, and she’s practically family. He asks, what’s the problem? and she says they’ve been together since high school. He’s never dated anyone else. He says he didn’t want to, and they’ve proven it will last. She says they come from the same town, and both go to a local college. Has he considered that he’s limiting his options? He asks if Jordan wants him to date other people, and she says she thinks they should both explore more of life before making a lifetime commitment. Molly calls, and TJ steps away. Curtis looks at Jordan, who says, oh look. The comptroller. She needs to say hello. I guess that was like a how about them Mets? subject changer.

Sasha tells Michael, if Cassandra walks, it’s her fault. No one takes what she says seriously anymore. Michael says, he does, and she can’t believe he still trusts her after what happened. He says he trusts her more. She says she doesn’t deserve it. He asks if she wants to go, and she says she’d like another club soda. Michael heads for the bar, and literally runs into Ava. She drops her purse, and he sees the gun in her bag.

Curtis asks Jordan if the comptroller is keeping Port Charles afloat, and she says, so far, so good. She asks where TJ went, and Curtis says Alexis is at the hospital. Molly thinks she has the flu, but she wanted to be sure. So does she want to talk about it? The bomb TJ just dropped, and how she treated it like she’s in denial. She says when they transitioned form high school sweethearts to college roommates, it was easy. She never considered where it was heading. Curtis says it never occurred to her that TJ might want to marry Molly?

Alexis says she’s being embarrassed further by a med student observing? Molly says he’s there as a supportive boyfriend. Alexis asks if she really asked TJ to leave the party, and Molly says he decided to. TJ says, family shows up for each other. Alexis says, isn’t that the sweetest? and Finn says, pretty sweet, yes. Alexis asks how much longer until she’s not feeling crappy? and Finn says, soon. By the time she goes home tomorrow. He wants her to stay overnight; that’s his professional opinion. She asks, why? What does he think is wrong?

Hayden apologizes, telling Elizabeth she forgot to ask about the trial. What happened? Elizabeth says, Franco won, and Hayden is so sorry. Elizabeth says, it’s really rough on the boys. Hayden ask if they know, and Elizbeth says, Cameron does; he was there. Hayden ask how he is, and Elizabeth says, pretending he’s fine, but she knows he’s beating himself up. She hates all of it, and hates that it’s out of her control. Only one thing makes sense in all of this. Why Hayden came back, and why she’s so good with the boys. She’s part of the club now. Elizabeth hugs her, and Hayden says she guesses she is.

Jason brings Carly some tea. She says she’s worried about Josslyn is covering. She had the alternative to stay home. Some people would gut it out to prove they can be strong. Jason says, she is strong, and she says she hates seeing Josslyn hurt. She wants to jump in, but she can’t. Jason knows, and says she has to let Josslyn find her way. She says she’ll remind of that years down the road with his kids. He says he’ll need help, and she says like he’s there to help her. They hug.

Josslyn says for someone who claims not to care about Halloween, Dev is obsessing about his costume. Trina thinks they did a good job; she’s proud of them. She knows Josslyn and Cameron are going through a hard time, and Josslyn says they’ll just go to the stupid dance, and try to have fun. Cameron doesn’t think they have to try. He looks at the bottle in his coat pocket.

Michael says, what the hell? and Ava says she has a permit. He says that doesn’t mean she should bring a gun to his mom’s hotel. She can’t believe he’s saying that with a straight face. Sonny and Jason have never been there without carrying a gun. He says they have special privileges, and she says after what she’s been through, she’s learned you can never be too careful.

Laura tells Jax, that was close. They need to stay off the clock in public. Jax says, agreed. If Valentin still thinks the painting is worthless, he won’t look to reclaim it.

At the bar, Nina asks what Valentin thought about Jax’s conversation with Laura. He says it’s probably nothing, but he’s beginning to think the portrait is more valuable than he realized. Ava overhears.

Tomorrow, Finn asks Hayden what part he plays in Violet’s life, Doc has a confession to make, and Sam gets her cellmate back.

🎃 I am still behind with Halloween, and suddenly, it’s tomorrow. I’m also in desperate need for some sleep tonight, so this is a quicker RHOD than usual. The worst thing? It all might get rained out. But you know as well as I do, if I don’t make up a billion candy bags, that’s when I’ll get six busloads of kids at once. One year, I thought I started rifling through my cupboards, but I didn’t think instant oatmeal would be the treat anyone was looking for. Luckily, I ended up with three goody bags left.

The Real Housewives of Dallas

Kary, Brandi D’Andra meet for lunch. D’Andra acts like she’s shocked about Kameron’s lack of manners, and they talk about how awful it is to bring someone uninvited to a bar. Kary once again compares it to a wedding. I guess she thinks her girls nights are that special.

LeeAnne goes for her final fitting with designer Nardos. Tiffany, Stephanie, and Kameron are along for the ride, along with some friends we don’t pay attention to. Kameron says when the quartet trio played at the shower, it became real. Stephanie is annoyed that Kameron is holding on to a petty thing. In her interview, she says she doesn’t need a third six-foot tall child.

Brandi says she’s not going to the wedding. A typed invitation ten days before the wedding is tacky. Says the woman who wore a hat decorated with plastic turds to a society party. She says she’s not dropping already made plans, and if she doesn’t have any, she’ll make some. I added that last part. D’Andra says her invitation must have gotten lost in the mail.

LeeAnne models her dress. I’m loving the lace sleeves and back, but not so much the skirt part, which has a giant extra ruffle that makes it look weirdly unfinished. Nardos says it brings the child inside LeeAnne to life. LeeAnne wants to be worthy. She didn’t get that as a child, and struggles as an adult. Kameron loves being a part of her fairy tale, and Stephanie hopes the feeling makes LeeAnne a softer person.

Kary flashes back to LeeAnne being a downer. D’Andra doesn’t understand why Kary is going. Kary says she and LeeAnne are figuring out their friendship. In Kary’s interview, she says it’s a nice way to extend an olive branch, and she doesn’t want to give LeeAnne a reason to be negative. She tells D’Andra and Brandi that her next girls night is going to be in an undisclosed location.

Kary tells us that daughter Olivia’s prom is in two days. Olivia is working on her dress. Olivia is interning with designer Mackenzie Brittingham. In her interview, Kary says growing up, Olivia always wore interesting things. She thought she’d miss Olivia when she went to college, but Olivia has been such a pill, she’s looking forward to it. Olivia wants to go to fashion design camp in London, but can’t afford it. Eduardo is loaded, but shot it down. In Kary’s interview, she says Eduardo has been a good step-father to her kids, but as they get older, their financial needs are bigger, and she doesn’t get support from her ex anymore. She hates that Eduardo has the financial power. Geez, how stingy is Eduardo? It’s not like Olivia is asking for a party on a yacht. Kary tells Olivia about her plans for getting her own money. Olivia wishes Kary still had her prom dress and she could mess with it. She sounds like Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink.

Brandi is pissed that Brooklyn is riding her scooter in the street. Brooklyn insists the sidewalks are more dangerous. Probably, but just for the people walking on them when she comes along. In Brandi’s interview, she says she’s been making the effort to give Brooklyn more time, but when she’s not getting attention, it backfires, and feels like Brooklyn is purposely pissing her off. Brooklyn argues over wearing a helmet. This kid is beyond obnoxious, but that’s not surprising. Brandi is afraid Brooklyn is going to resent it if she disciplines her, and push her away. Um… that’s called part of parenting. She says sometimes it feels like she’s failed.

Jeremy and D’Andra pick out clothes for a family dinner. In her interview, D’Andra says her family is small, and they don’t see each other often, so it’s important when they do. Jeremy asks how it went with Mama Dee, and D’Andra says her mom says mean things. D’Andra has taken a pay cut, moved the office to the house, and Jeremy’s been an employee. In her interview, she says now Jeremy understands how the business works. Her mother has made no effort to help, and just makes her feel bad. She tells Jeremy that she wants to show Mama Dee a united front. In D’Andra’s interview, she says her mother left the company in bad shape, and needs to take responsibility for the fact that she caused this. She tells Jeremy that they’ll both ask questions.

LeeAnne and Rich go out for sushi. LeeAnne tells Rich that everyone keeps telling her it’s x amount of days until the wedding. She told them, no math. He says, it’s not regular math; it’s a countdown. She says the wedding is in 72 hours, and he says, don’t threaten him. She says her mom is staying in a hotel. In her interview, LeeAnne says they haven’t spoken in two years. When they went to therapy, her mother said what she needed to look good, and lied. If they can’t find a place of truth in their conversations, LeeAnne doesn’t need to have them. She had a tough time deciding if she should include her mother. Rich says she only gets one. LeeAnne suggests letting her participate in lighting the unity candle. In LeeAnne’s interview, she tells us, in the South, you honor your mother, but in reality she wasn’t. LeeAnne’s mother didn’t raise her. Her grandmother did. She tells Rich that her mother tends to make things about her, and cause drama. She wants a mostly drama free wedding, and really wants to see her grandmother. Rich says, she’ll be there, so happy up. He says he hates when women cry, and will do a lot to prevent it. She says that’s why she’s with him. They toast to their future as husband and wife.

Jeremy and D’Andra meet Mama Dee, her brother James, and some of Dee’s friends for dinner. That’s the family? Dee toasts to their wonderful family and friends. In D’Andra’s interview, she says Dee and James have always had a tumultuous relationship. James was born when Dee was fifteen, and she sometimes treats him like a son. They argue a lot. Dee applauds Jeremy working with D’Andra, and Jeremy tells her about the new website, saying it’s going to spell out what the company means to D’Andra. Dee says, a mission statement, and D’Andra says she couldn’t find one on the old site. Dee doesn’t think she ever had one, but they were on TV. We see an old clip of D’Andra and Dee doing an infomercial. Jeremy says that’s where they were nailing it, but the market’s not there anymore. Dee says she built it for herself, and now D’Andra has the opportunity to go her own way, and start at ground level. D’Andra says she’s never been in that position. In Dee’s interview, she says she’d never put money into the company because she has no faith that it will come back and boom. Jeremy says, nothing has been invested in it for a long time. D’Andra says everything should have been in place. If she’d known, she would have been happy to cut her salary, but Dee wouldn’t let her see anything. Dee says D’Andra doesn’t understand the financial side. Only the owners and CPA see the numbers. Who made up that rule? I was in accounting for a long time, and never heard that before. D’Andra says she came in not knowing anything. James says her father was the expert. Oh ho. I think I see what happened. The father didn’t let Mama Dee see the books, and when he died, everything went south. Jeremy asks if Mama Dee has any regrets, but she says, no. She’s glad D’Andra has the company. D’Andra says if the switch had been made three years ago, she wouldn’t be in this position. Mama Dee says she has no regrets. In her interview, Dee says she never felt that she did anything wrong, and has no guilt. It’s not her responsibility. Dee rambles for a while, and says they can’t keep going back to this. She says if D’Andra thinks she did it deliberately, she needs to see a doctor. I guess I do too. D’Andra says nothing upsets Dee and she has no regrets. Why did Dee put her in this position? Dee says she thought D’Andra would be there 9 to 5, but she’d show up at 4:30 when everyone was leaving at 5. She  thought D’Andra would be more attentive to the company. It doesn’t sound like Dee encouraged that much. She says she refuses to talk about it anymore.

Brandi and Stephanie get ready for their podcast, A Weekly Dose of B.S. In case we didn’t get it, Stephanie explains in her interview, it stands for their names, not bullsh*t. She says it’s the most fun she’s had in her life. In Brandi’s interview, she says it’s really an hour of them catching up. Brandi decides to call Kary, pretending to be the gardener from next door, and telling her a spilly spider has gotten loose, and went into her house. They want to come and get it out. It’s dangerous, and can eat her pets. A friend of Kary’s gets on the phone, and asks what address they’re calling about. When Brandi hesitates, the friend says, eff off. Brandi and Stephanie die laughing, and Stephanie tells Kary it’s a prank call. She’s on their podcast. Afterward, Brandi tells Stephanie that Bruin’s biological mother is pregnant again, and already planning to give it to the state. She and Brian would be the first people asked to adopt the baby. Stephanie says it’s insane. She knows a couple with six children because the biological mother wouldn’t stop having them. Brandi doesn’t know if she can handle another baby. In Stephanie’s interview, she says Brandi would need full-time help if she took on another baby. She worries that Brandi needs help as it is.

LeeAnne and Rich arrive at the church. In LeeAnne’s interview, she says she knows it’s tradition for the groom not to see the bride before the wedding, but he’s been married a few times. it’s her first, and her MF’ing rules. She says no more normal life, and he asks when it was normal. LeeAnne tells Steve the final count is 350, but might be more.

Stephanie and Cary note that there’s a window of five hours in between the wedding and the reception. Stephanie thinks it’s brilliant that LeeAnne has a whole day celebrating her, and they have five hours to figure out what to do with their kids.

Kary and Kameron get their makeup done together. Kameron calls LeeAnne, and asks if she’s excited. LeeAnne says she was at the Round Up late. Court brings the ladies some food. In Kary’s interview, she says Eduardo would be expecting her to make him a sandwich while she got her makeup done. He sounds more and more like a real gem. Kameron shows Kary her photo book of mommy porn. It’s pictures of Court doing various chores around the house, including taken a dish out of the dishwasher that has his face on it. It’s very cute, and I have to say, has more imagination than I would have given him credit for. Kameron says, the sexiest thing is a man with a vacuum cleaner. In Kary’s interview, she thinks Kameron must have a golden vagina because of the things Court does for her. Kameron says, helping a mom out is a turn-on.

Cousin Katy tells LeeAnne that her mom is late. Tiffany goes through some positive affirmations with LeeAnne. In LeeAnne’s interview, she says her mom being late triggers he little girl who feels abandoned. Once the church door is shut, nobody is walking in, and ruining or distracting from her moment.

Next time, there’s no food at the wedding, Brian tells Brandi that two babies is a handful, and Eduardo says Kary only wants to talk about what she wants to talk about.

🌌 FYI, the Sy – we can’t spell – Fy channel has been rerunning Channel Zero. Since it’s been canceled <sob!>, catch it while you can.

🐈 They Don’t All Look Grey In the Dark…

I just thought this was cute, and appropriate for the season. He’s sort of black.

https://nypost.com/video/cat-conversation-with-18-month-old-caught-by-baby-monitor/

👠 It Will Last Through the Apocalypse…

Along with cockroaches and Twinkies, the Rocky Horror Picture Show will be with us forever.

https://www.tvinsider.com/821409/barry-bostwick-the-goldbergs-season-7-halloween-episode/

💧 So I’ll Remove the Cause…

But not the symptom. Yes, I threw the first confetti. See Sal Piro‘s book, Creatures of the Night. Believe me, it’s not something I would make up. You’re welcome, or I’m sorry, depending on where you stand on that.

October 3, 2019 – The Painting Reveals a Clue, Tyler Redeems Himself, No Drama For Lisa, No Costumes Please & It’s Starting

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Finn catches Hayden on the phone with her daughter.

Ava sits sipping a martini at the bar in the Rib. She has the stack of Ryan’s letters with her, and Chet says, most people don’t have time for handwritten notes anymore. She says, the author of these letters has nothing but time on his hands. She downs the martini, and Chet asks if it’s not good enough to be savored. She says, on the contrary, but on nights like this she prefers to go right to a bout of well-lubricated amnesia. Michael comes up to the bar to pay his tab, and Ava asks him to tell his father to please stop ignoring her voicemails. She’s supposed to see Avery tomorrow, but can’t finalize plans if he doesn’t respond. Michael says Sonny has been busy. He and Avery have a new baby sister. Ava needs another drink. Or four.

Carly tries to get Sonny to go to the waiting room; their daughter needs to feel him close to her. Jason comes in, and Sonny asks him to stay with Carly while he checks on their daughter.

Laura says, Doc found a clue in the painting? He says, possibly, but he might possibly be seeing what he wants to see. He wouldn’t be the first cryptographer who saw a clue that didn’t exist. Laura asks what he thinks he sees. He says, that the codicil actually exists.

Nina wonders where Valentin got his musical talent. She doesn’t think it was from Mikkos. Valentin says, Mikkos didn’t sing; he screamed. Even though he doesn’t want to invite bad luck, he doesn’t want to be so far away from her. They kiss, and Jax smiles at them.

In the bathroom, Sasha tells Obrecht, she doesn’t know how much longer she can keep this up. Obrecht says she made a choice; they both did. She chose to keep Sasha’s secret in order to protect Nina. Her niece’s happiness is of the utmost importance to her. Therefore, Nina must never know Sasha isn’t her daughter. Inside one of the stalls, Lulu hears, and registers total shock. Sasha says Obrecht doesn’t have to remind her what’s at stake. Nina’s happiness is her priority too. Obrecht says Sasha made Nina believe that she was Nina’s daughter, but she’s an imposter. Now they’re both in too deep to get out.

Sasha tells Obrecht not to act like some victim. Obrecht says, there’s only one victim here – poor, trusting Nina, who believes Sasha is her long lost daughter. Sasha says she’s right. She took advantage of Nina’s trust, but why did Obrecht go along with it? Obrecht says Sasha genuinely seems to care for Nina. Sasha says she does. That’s why she can’t live with it. Obrecht says neither can she, but Nina has to believe her happily ever after is finally there.

Jax asks if it’s Nina and Valentin’s last night out as single people, but Nina says it’s what’s left of there bachelor and bachelorette parties. Valentin says, driving rain wasn’t as conducive to golf as Peter thought it would be. Nina says, and her bachelorette party kind of fell flat, but their luck changed, and they wound up in the same place. Jax says, congratulations. It seems like things are going their way. Nina says what about him? He doesn’t seem like a Floating Rib kind of guy. Jax says it has its charm, and he wanted something casual, since he’ll be celebrating their relationship tomorrow. Valentin says he doesn’t have to. They don’t care if Jax approves of their relationship. Nina says, but they do. She wants him to respect their relationship.

Doc tells Laura to look at the jewels on Helena’s collar. Some sparkle, some don’t. He thinks it’s intentional. It reminds him of a constellation. Corona Vera. She asks how he knew that, and he says he’s a bit of a constellation nerd. She says, of course (🍷) he is. He says some historians believe that cryptologists were the original stargazers. They looked to the stars for meaning. Laura asks what her favorite cryptologist knows about this constellation. Doc asks if she has other cryptologists in her life, and she says, no, but she thought it sounded better than only. He says he’ll take it. She wonders if it’s a constellation out of Greek mythology, and Doc says, it’s possible. Corona Vera is roughly translated to true crown, but could be taken as rightful heir.

Michael tells Ava that he’ll pass along her congratulations, and she says, please do. He tells her that if she’s seeing Avery tomorrow, try to be sober.

Carly thanks Jason for waiting with her. She thought it would be better for Sonny be in the waiting room. He has room to pace. If she could walk, she’d be pacing with him. Jason asks how she’s holding up, and she says physically, she’s fine; there were no complications. She’s not worried about herself. She’s worried about Donna. She’s so tiny. They let Carly hold her, and she’s so sweet, pretty and alert; Carly can’t believe she’s on the operating table. Jason says, Michael had surgery when he was a newborn and came through it. Donna will too. Carly says she knew it was coming, but didn’t know she’d be so scared.

Jason gives Carly a present. He says he bought it for her. He bought it for Donna too, but mostly her. She says he doesn’t give presents, but he says, it’s a special occasion. She unwraps it, and it’s a travel guide for Africa. She says he gave the same one to Michael, and Jason says, it was the first book Michael had. He just thought it would be a great place for her and Donna to get started. She thanks him. Wow. Those Corinthos kids must be smart, reading travel guides when they’re babies.

Hayden asks if Finn is hanging over her shoulder. Finn asks since when does she have a honeybun? She says Honeybun is her dog. He asks since when does she have a dog? What kind of dog is it? She says it’s a lab named Honeybun. It’s been a while since she’s seen Honeybun, and talking helps the separation anxiety. She’s trying to make sure her baby is managing without her. She tells Finn, tease her all he wants. Finn says, it’s sweet; it’s very maternal. She says, that’s her; maternal.

Laura finds a book on constellations and myths in the library. She tells Doc, Corona Vera is connected to a myth. She reads, a distant relative usurps the crown of a rightful heir. Earning the enmity of the gods who cast him down. She says he nailed it. Helena bequeathed the portrait for a reason. It all fits. Doc says, unless she was toying with Nikolas. Were they at odds when she died? Laura says, they were. Helena tried to control Nikolas, and for decades, she tormented him. Eventually, he flipped, and used her tactics against her. He became as ruthless as she was. Laura thinks it was Helena’s plan all along. Doc wonders if she wanted to help him or hurt him, and Laura says, Helena would want Nikolas to inherit the estate before Valentin. Nikolas is her own blood, and Valentin was the product of her husband’s infidelity. She’d never want the Cassadine estate to land in Valentin’s hands. Doc says the painting seems to confirm Valentin is not the rightful heir, but that doesn’t make them any closer to the whereabouts of the codicil. Maybe the answer is in the stars.

Obrecht says, Nina doesn’t know Sasha is nursing a guilty conscience. She’s afraid Sasha is going to have a relapse. Does she want Nina worrying on her wedding day? Sasha says, of course (🍷) not. Obrecht says, then stop thinking about herself, and think about Nina. She’s going to be married, and Sasha has to be the daughter Nina needs her to be, instead of a selfish Sasha, a nobody from nowhere. They leave, and Lulu, who’s been sitting with her feet up on the toilet and getting angrier, peeks out. She says, Valentin, you son of a bitch.

Jax tells Nina that he hopes the wedding will serve as a new beginning. Not just for her and Valentin, but for them. Strictly professional, of course (🍷). No more spying, no more secret files. Nina says Jax was the one with secret files, and Jax says she and Valentin both hired Curtis to spy on him. It was a wasted effort. They could have focused on the magazine. Moving forward, he hopes they can do better. Nina does too. Put the past in the past, and leave it there. Valentin couldn’t agree more. Jax suggests calling a truce, and asks what they should drink. Obrecht sidles up, saying, a vodka martini, shaken not stirred. Jax says it’s lovely to see her, and she says, him too. She asks if he’d like to join her in a martini. I wait for him to say he doesn’t think they’ll both fit, but instead, he says, only if he’s buying. Obrecht says, they can catch up. Nina thinks it should wait until tomorrow. They have to get back for their beauty rest. Obrecht says her beauty requires minimal maintenance. Jax says something to her in German, and they have a short conversation. He leaves, and she says, what a man. Nina says, he’s very charming, but please take it slow. Obrecht tells her not to worry. She and Jax are both cosmopolitan citizens of the world. Nina didn’t even know he could speak German. She asks what Jax said, and Valentin says Jax asked her to save him a dance tomorrow night. Obrecht says, no doubt, he’ll be a marvelous dancer. Nina thinks this conversation can end.

Sasha orders a glass of wine at the bar. Michael tells her that he’s going to GH to check out Donna and Carly. Sasha says she’ll see him tomorrow, and he says, without a doubt. He tells her to keep her chin up. It will all be over soon. He kisses her, and heads for the hospital.

Obrecht tells Nina they have time for a drink. It’s her last night of freedom, and must go down with a roar, not a whimper. Nina asks if Obrecht doesn’t want rest up for her big dance, and Obrecht says, perhaps she’s right. She wants to make the most of tomorrow’s opportunity. Sasha joins them, and Nina guesses this is goodnight. Valentin hates that she’s spending the night on Spoon Island. If the weather gets worse, they’ll close the harbor, and she won’t make it back. She says she’ll swim to him. Nothing will keep her away. They kiss, and Lulu comes out of the bathroom, looking shocked and furious.

Nina thanks Lulu for coming out. She knows they’ve had their ups and downs, and appreciates Lulu making an effort. Lulu says, it’s not Nina. She thinks Nina would want… Nina asks if Lulu is okay, and Valentin suggests she overindulged. Lulu says she’s not drunk. Valentin says, no judgement, but she doesn’t want a hangover tomorrow. Lulu guesses she’s just tired. Nina tells her to get some rest. If she shows up early, they can take some cute pictures of her and Charlotte. Obrecht says, it’s time to leave, and Nina says she’ll see them tomorrow. Lulu says, yes; she will. When Nina is gone, Lulu asks Valentin if he understands how much Nina means to Charlotte. If he jeopardizes that, and Charlotte gets hurt even a little bit, she’ll tear him down. He tells her, go home; she’s drunk. Dustin comes along, and asks if he can buy Lulu a drink. She says, if he doesn’t mind, she’d like some fresh air. Dustin says he doesn’t mind, and it’s cheaper too. She says she has to get out of there.

Looking at the book, Laura tells Doc, the stars have been used for navigation for thousands of years. Maybe their position in the sky means something. He says, their position when? She says, maybe when the stars are bright? and he says, like the jewels in the painting. She says, maybe they indicate the location of the codicil. He suggests they start by finding out when the constellation is most visible.

Hayden asks what Finn is doing at the Rib, and he says he got roped into Valentin’s bachelor party. Hayden says the things they do for love. Jax approaches them, and says, there she is. He thinks they should grab a table. Hayden say she needs to use the restroom. Jax asks Finn if Hayden is okay, and Finn thinks she just misses her dog. He says, strange. He never thought of Hayden as a dog person. Jax says it’s news to him too. Finn asks if Jax has never met Hayden’s lab, Honeybun.

Hayden finds Ava crying over the sink in the bathroom. Hayden says, rough night? and Ava says, rough couple of years. Hayden needs to use the sink, and asks if Ava minds moving. Ava says, actually, she does mind.

Carly ask Jason to tell her what’s going on. She knows him. He wouldn’t have left if it wasn’t important. He says, Sam’s been arrested for Shiloh’s murder. Carly says, what? How is that possible? He’s a kidnapper and sexual predator. Sam shot him to save Jason’s life. He says, Sam shot Shiloh in the back, and Carly asks what she was supposed to do. Politely ask him to turn around? Jason says, that’s what the cops said, but Carly says, the cops are wrong. Jason agrees, but a nurse overheard Sam say something potentially incriminating. Diane says the statement is hearsay, but then someone dropped off a recording with Sam saying she wanted Shiloh dead. Carly says people say that all the time, and he says, but Sam didn’t say it. The tape is fake. Someone is trying to frame Sam. Carly asks what they’d get out of it, and he says, maybe they’re leftover DoD members. If that’s all it is, Diane can handle it, but Sam is in lock-up, and her arraignment is tomorrow. Hopefully, this is the end of it. Sonny comes in, and Carly asks if it’s over. Sonny says he didn’t see Donna, but the operation is over. The surgeon is going to talk to them

Outside the Rib, Dustin gives Lulu his jacket. She thanks him for walking with her. He says she seems stressed, and she says, it’s complicated. He says he can handle it, and she says, someone she knows was lied to by a person they love. He asks if it’s bad, and she says, it’s despicable. He asks if she’s going to tell them, and she says she hasn’t decided yet. There’s chance a chance this someone would prefer not knowing. Dustin says, so do you help someone by not hurting them, or hurt them by not helping them? She says that’s her dilemma. What do you do when you think you really know someone, and it turns out they’re not that person at all? I wonder if this is a foreshadowing that Dustin also isn’t the person Lulu thinks either.

Laura reads that Corona Vera is visible in the northern hemisphere from November through March. She shows him the coordinates, and he says, the latitude and longitude is Spoon Island. She says he’s kidding, and he shows her on his phone. She hugs him, and says, they did it, but he says, not yet. The house is massive, and there’s the grounds and the outbuildings, not to mention the island itself. He’s not sure they can narrow it down. She says he got his first clue is in the painting, so the painting might hold another. They hear Nina, Obrecht, and Sasha in the foyer, and try to act normal.

Hayden fixes Ava’s makeup. Ava says she’s not the type to engage in a public crying jag, and Hayden says she didn’t think Ava cried at all. Ava says she thought the same thing about Hayden. Hayden asks where she got that idea, and Ava says, Nikolas. Hayden says she couldn’t afford to be vulnerable, but Ava wonders, why not? Nikolas was wonderful; sensitive and generous. Hayden says, he wanted her dead, and Ava says, so he had contradictions. Hayden says, don’t we all. She tells Ava that it was better in the long run. A simpler relationship was better for her. Ava says Finn hardly strikes her as simple, and Hayden says they’re done. She wants to be clear that Finn is in the past. She gave up on him, like Ava seems to have given up on life. Ava squeezes her glass so hard, it breaks.

Jax tells Finn that Hayden never mentioned a dog to him, but to be fair, she never mention she’d been engaged to Finn. They don’t talk about their personal lives so much. It’s strictly business. Hayden runs out, and says Ava cut her hand in the ladies room. She needs Finn’s help. Finn isn’t thrilled, but says, all right, and goes into the ladies room. Hayden asks Jax why he called this meeting, and he says first, he’d like an explanation. Why hasn’t she told Finn about their child?

On the phone with Diane, Jason says he just wants Sam out. They’ll deal with the rest later. Michael comes in with flowers, and Jason tells him the operation is over. The surgeon is talking to his parents now. They see the doctor come out of Carly’s room, and they go in. No one is crying, so that’s a good sign. Michael asks what the surgeon said, and Sonny says, their little girl came thought with flying colors. Carly says, Donna is going to be okay. Michael is happy for them, and hugs Carly. Everyone smiles.

Sonny says the surgery was a complete success, and there are no complications. Michael says, it’s a miracle. The first uncomplicated Corinthos. Carly says Donna will have to stay at the hospital for a while. She’s on antibiotics, in case of infection, and she’ll be monitored to make sure she’s healing properly, but the surgeon doesn’t think there’s any reason to worry. Sonny asks if  Jason and Michael want to see her, and Michael suggests they take shifts. Sonny takes Jason with him, and Michael asks how Carly stays so strong. Carly says he wouldn’t be saying that if he’d seen her during the surgery. She breathes a sigh of relief.

Dustin tells Lulu, it depends on what it relates to. She asks if he promises not to tell anyone, and he says he doesn’t know any of these people, except for her. She says she needs to hear him say it, and he says he promises. It’s her secret to keep or tell. She says, it turns out Nina’s daughter Sasha isn’t her daughter. It’s a scam. She knows Valentin has something to do with it. He probably cooked the whole thing up, and now Nina is going to marry him. Smug bastard. Here she is, armed with information that could blow him out of the water. Only.. Dustin says, only she’ll destroy the wedding. He says, look at it from Nina’s perspective. Would she want to know the truth?

Back at Windymere, Nina, Sasha, and Obrecht sit on the couch, drinking wine. Sasha thinks she’s had enough, but Nina says, no, and she can’t say no to the bride. Obrecht says, certainly not. She wishes her niece nothing but the best. They clink glasses, and Nina says she has gifts for them. Obrecht says, her first. Nina gives Obrecht a huge box. Obrecht unwraps it – real wrapping paper too – and says, her very own karaoke machine. She’ll be compelled to audition for American Idol in no time, although I think she’s probably missed the cut-off by a few years already. Nina says it’s Sasha’s turn, and gives her a small box. Sasha opens it, and says she can’t. Obrecht asks what it is, and Nina shows her the necklace. Obrecht says, it’s a significant gift, and Sasha says, and way too much. Nina says, nothing is too much when it comes to her. It’s not the original, but she had it made. She shows Sasha that she’s wearing the other half, and puts the necklace on her. Nina says, it’s perfect. Just like them.

Jax and Hayden sit at a table, and Laura and Doc walk in. Laura thinks they should keep their theory between the two of them for now. She feels that Hayden could still be a wild card. Hayden tells Jax that Finn could have heard. She doesn’t see how this involves Jax, but Jax says when he covers for her, it makes him an accomplice; a role he’s not comfortable with. She’s going to get caught, and he thinks she should cut her losses. Her lies are getting more desperate by the minute. A dog named Honeybun? She says she had to cover; it’s too late for anything else. If Finn had come to Rome, she would have told him, but now he’s with Anna. Jax says, that doesn’t change the fact that Finn has a daughter he doesn’t know about.

Finn washes Ava’s cut. He tells her to keep pressure on it, and when she gets home, put on a proper bandage and disinfectant. And lay off the booze, or it will keep bleeding. Ava says, as if the night couldn’t get worse. Finn asks how she cut herself, and Ava says his ex-girlfriend. Hayden offered unsolicited advice and an inaccurate assessment of her life. Who is she to judge? How did he end up with that hypocrite anyway? He says they never ended up together, and he’s engaged. Ava says, since when has that ever stopped anybody?

Nina tells Sasha that when she went to the jeweler to have the necklace made, she thought what her life would have been like if Valentin hadn’t found Sasha. She couldn’t imagine it. Sasha has made her a better person. They would have found each other regardless. They were destined to be together. Nina thanks her for being her daughter. She loves her. Sasha says she loves Nina too. They hug, and Sasha looks at Obrecht over Nina’s shoulder.

Lulu tells Dustin, of course (🍷) she’d want to know, but it might be better for Nina to live in ignorance, and sit on this truth. How can she make it through the wedding? How is she going to keep her mouth shut while Nina exchanges vows with that liar? Dustin says, maybe a distraction at the wedding would help. Lulu asks, what kind? and says, an escort at her side. He could be her back up. Does she have a date? She says, no, and he asks if she wants one.

Obrecht says, time for bed; it’s getting late. Sasha says she’s tired, and Nina says, okay. She can hardly wait for Sasha to be by her side tomorrow. Sasha says, it’s going to be beautiful, they hug, and Sasha goes to her room. Obrecht hugs Nina, grabs her karaoke machine, and also leaves. Nina sees the painting, and says, that’s enough out of you, covering it again. Valentin says, that woman is a real buzzkill. She says he’s not supposed to be there, but he says he needed to see her one last time. They kiss, and he says he has something important for her.

At the Rib, Doc tells Laura, there are other clues in the painting, but a photograph is a poor substitute for the real thing. Laura bets there are lots of clues. Helena intended for Nikolas to figure it out.

Valentin says, eyes closed, and puts a gorgeous necklace in front of Nina. He says, open them, and she says, it’s beautiful. He puts it on her, and says he loves her. They kiss.

Ava tries to think of the last time she saw Finn’s fiancé, but here’s Hayden. She’s still head over heels in love with him. Finn says Hayden made it clear she feels nothing, but Ava tells him not to kid himself, or let Hayden kid him. She’s lying when she says she’s over him.

Hayden says, telling Finn will just throw upheaval into their lives, and Jax says, it’s probably for the best. She asks if he’s saying Finn wouldn’t want her back. He asks if it’s never crossed her mind, and she says, obviously it’s crossed her mind. She’s thought of everything from a happily ever after to an ugly custody fight. But she always comes to the same conclusion. Finn can never know.

Carly tells Michael, Donna is so tiny and fragile. She kept worrying that something would go wrong, and that one moment is all she would get. Michael says she has a lifetime of moments. Donna is a lucky girl. She’s got the best mom in the world. They hug, and Carly says she loves him.

Jason and Sonny look at baby Donna. Sonny asks what Jason thinks. Jason says, she’s so tiny, and Sonny says, tiny, but fierce. They chose the right name. Their little girl is a fighter.

Tomorrow, Nina doesn’t want to hear it, Jax knows Sonny is covering up something about Dev, and Sam thinks Shiloh had an accomplice.

🗽 This week, on Million Dollar Listing: New York, Steve was gifted with the listing of the neo Bauhaus designed penthouse in The Noma. Steve had been focusing on buyers, since selling takes longer and it was a buyer’s market, but the penthouse – featuring 360* views, one of them being the Empire State Building – having never been listed, appealed to Steve. Developer Joel had hired Corporate Sunshine to sell the rest of the building, but felt the penthouse was unique, and needed a special marketing push. Steve didn’t want to step on any toes, but head broker Pam was thrilled it was Steve, instead of an outside broker. He threw a tremendous open house, including brokers Corporate Sunshine worked with, since they had the other listings in the building. I thought that was pretty smart, but Joel acted like a huge baby at the open house, trolling Steve, and saying the point of hiring him was to bring in new blood, and he was seeing faces he’d seen before. He wanted a Steve party, not a Corporate Sunshine party. Steve finally convinced Joel that he got plenty of people to come, influencers in particular, who would give the penthouse more exposure. Steve described it as very Instagrammable.

Since Ryan rebranded SoHY, he fell in love with it. One of his guests had said he has the magic, so he decided to run with that. However, he turned out to be a much better agent than a magician, so he hired one for the open house. Although he did dress like one, with a top hat, cape, and white gloves, which caused his wand to keep slipping. In his interview, he told us that when you create something, you have to keep saying the name over and over until others are saying it. He also dubbed himself The Great Serhantagasm, and couldn’t stop laughing at his own joke. With six hundred and eleven people there, he got his old enthusiasm back. He thought he and Emilia should buy something in the building to rent, and bought the penthouse himself. That left two other apartments, one of which he got a serious off for. The developer wanted to hold out on the price, but Ryan said there was a concern that the other units might not be sold, or that he’d end up renting them out. Ryan asked to list the rest of the building. The developer felt for a broker to buy his own listing meant something; he has faith in the property. He told Ryan if he could sell the penthouse at a slightly higher price, then he could list the rest of the building. On the personal front, Ryan and Emilia went to the eight-bedroom townhouse they’re renovating, and Emilia thought she might be going into labor.

Fredrik had a Greenwich Village single family townhouse that words can’t even describe. It had a floor-through master, a children’s suite, a beautiful and quiet backyard, and in the basement, a 1200-bottle wine cellar, gym, and stage. Fredrik was leaving for L.A. where he was meeting Derik, but before he left, was able to get the owners down a little in price ($20 million), which he felt was more marketable. In his interview, Fredrik said the conversation about Adam wanting to move to L.A. was completely unexpected. He said he does like driving his Bentley, and agreed L.A. had a different vibe. He was happy that Derik was happy there, but said he’d have to be bi-coastal, and he was already missing the kids when away from them. He told Derik that the hotel they were staying in was going to be a future townhouse development. He had a listing for a house there as well, but it was one that most brokers there had already seen, and relaunching a property is a problem.

Tyler had a huge fail last week, with only one broker showing up to his breakfast open house. Given a second chance, he called every broker he knew for a pied-à-terre party. He told them to also bring their buyers if they were in town. He had a horse carriage on stand-by, one of his main selling points being that the buyer’s front yard  would be Central Park. He ended up with lots of people – and Ryan, who called Triplemint (Tyler’s company) Bubblemint, and was humorously antagonistic in general. Tyler told the potential buyers that he had a special surprise, and took them on a carriage ride through the park, telling them, the best amenity was New York City. He got an offer that looked good for a hot minute, redeeming himself, until the buyer found out they were relocating for work, and had to retract it. I wanted to cry. The developer was happy with Tyler though, and gave him another thirty days to sell the place.

Next time, Tyler gets his biggest listing, and Josh Altman (Million Dollar Listing: Los Angeles) feels that Fredrik is stepping on his turf.

👅 Oh, Too Bad…

LVP is too busy to watch American Horror Story.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1078678/sarah-paulson-reveals-which-real-housewives-star-wasn-t-very-nice-to-her-at-a-party

Like I said.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1079231/lisa-vanderpump-pulls-a-mariah-carey-while-addressing-sarah-paulson-s-shade

👂 Heard Around Town…

We know it’s Halloween season, but please do not arrive in costume. — from an invitation to some upcoming nighttime events at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery. (Via Patch)

👻 It’s Getting Closer…

Rocktober, Shocktober, or whatever cutesie name it’s given, the beginning of October spells Halloween to me. Who doesn’t like showing their true self… I mean, dressing in costume?