Tag Archives: The Last of Us

Jun8

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

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

🏆 Winning Daytime…

The winners.

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

The important winners.

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

Red carpet gallery.

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

History maker.

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

🌍 Where In the World Is Reza Farahan…

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

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

📹 Nice Try…

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

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

👩‍❤️‍👩 There Went the Brides…

After the wedding and other hookups.

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

Who was in attendance.

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

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

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

🌁 Are We There Yet…

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

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

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

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

🐉 Caution – Dragons Ahead…

This makes me want to give it another try.

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

A spinoff of a spinoff.

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

💃🏾 Evolution Revolution…

This is definitely on my must-see list.

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

🕸 Not So Itsy Bitsy…

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

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

🐶 Move Over Montreal…

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

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

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

📠 Quotes of the Week

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

⛺️ Oh Those Summer Nights…

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

May11

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

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

❤️‍🩹 Another Non-Divorce…

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

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

📺 Bravo On Tap…

The shows that have been renewed.

Bravo Renews Seven Real Housewives Shows and Other Veteran Series

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

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

🍹 The Pillow Man Can…

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

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

☎️ Andy, Andy, Andy…

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

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

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

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

🌁 Waiting…

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

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

🐩 Going To the Dogs…

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

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

🐾 A Worthy and Wooly Cause…

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

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

🪺 Quotes of the Week

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

🌻 Easy Like Saturday Morning…

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

Mar9

March 8, 2024 – Old Friends Meet Again, Reunion, Secret Side Gig, Diagnosis, New Soap, Bumping Along, No Shock, Salty Talk, No You, Those Ones, The Last, Uncle Oscar, Social Pets (!), A Handful Of Quotes & Survive

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Kristina comes into the hospital with Alexis and runs over to Sam, asking if she’s okay. She’s been worried about Sam ever since she heard about Dante. Alexis says, Molly’s still at the office. Otherwise, she’d be here. How’s Dante? Sam says she has good news.

On the phone, Anna tells Chase, great, and thanks him. She asks him to let her know when forensics has any information on that hoodie… Good. Call her back. John comes in and tells Anna that he heard about Dante. How’s he doing? She says, he’s out of surgery, and John says, good. There’s been a new development. He shows her the footage of Jason on his phone, and she says, is that… Jason Morgan? He says, that footage was taken tonight from the roof of Selina Wu’s warehouse. Now they know who was shooting at Sonny.

At the gatehouse, Michael paces and says he should be at the hospital, and Willow says she’s sure pacing here will help Dante as much as pacing there would. He says, like he doesn’t already feel useless enough, and she says she meant Michael’s good thoughts are reaching Dante no matter where he is. Also, she would have said anything to get him to stop. He says he’s sorry. He doesn’t mean to make her as crazy as this is making him. She says, he has every right to be worried about his brother. In the meantime, her fellow nurses are sending her regular updates. See? She shows him her phone, and he reads, no change… no change… no change. That’s good, right? That means that he’s stable? She says, and you didn’t even go to medical school. If Dante’s condition changes – for better, or God forbid, for worse – they’ll get someone to watch the kids and head right over to GH. He says he knows she’s right, but he feels so helpless, and she takes his hand.

In the chapel, Sonny and Ava come close to kissing, but hug instead. She says, sorry, but he says, she doesn’t have to apologize. He smiles at her.

Carly comes home and starts to head upstairs, when she hears Jason say, Carly? He steps out of the shadows, and they stare at each other.

Olivia runs into the chapel and says, there he is, and Sonny asks if there’s any news on Dante. She says, yes, and it’s the best. Their son made it through surgery. Sonny hugs her and she happy cries.

Sam says, they’re getting Dante set up in ICU. She’s glad they’re here. Alexis says, anytime, and Molly says, always, hugging Sam.

There’s a knock at the gatehouse door, and Michael says, it’s Dex and Joss. Willow answers and asks them to come in. She asks if they’ve been to the hospital to see Dante, and Josslyn says, yes. They had to give Commissioner Devane a statement and then she took Dex home to change. Dex says, lucky him. No one had cleaned out his apartment yet. Michael says he can’t thank them enough for what they did at the scene, and Willow says, one of the nurses said that Dante might not have made it if they hadn’t intervened. Thank you. Michael asks if they’re here with an update, and Josslyn says, not about Dante. He was still in surgery when they left the hospital. Dex says, but they do know something about the person who shot him.

Anna takes John’s phone and says, it’s impossible… Oh my God. If this is Jason, he would never work for anyone who would hurt Sonny. John says, they know he was on the roof. They know the shots came from the roof. They know Dante Falconari left the roof to pursue two people. Assuming one of them is Morgan, where would he go? She says, to Sonny, obviously, but he’s here. Or Sam. She looks over to see Sam sitting with Kristina and Alexis, and John says, anyone else? She says, yeah. There is one other person he would run to.

Carly says, Jason, and he says, it’s me. She says, it’s really you? and he says, it’s really me. She runs to him and hugs him, crying. She says, you came back. He says he’s sorry it took so long, and she asks where he’s been. What is he wearing?… He’s bleeding. Was he shot? He says, yeah, and she asks, how bad is it? He lifts his shirt and tells her that he’d say, it’s not bad. She tells him that he always says that, and he says, the bullet passed through. He could use a bandage. He’s going to be okay. She says she has a first aid kit, but she doesn’t want to leave him, and he says he’ll be here when he gets back. She says, promise her that he’ll be standing right there when she comes back downstairs, and he says he promises. She leaves, and he walks to the couch, slowly lowering himself onto it and breathing heavily.

Olivia’s phone dings and she says, Sam just texted her Dante’s room number. Sonny says, let’s go, and tells Ava that he’ll see her later. Ava says she’s so happy about Dante, and Olivia thanks her. She and Sonny run into Nina at the door, and Nina says she heard what happened. Is Dante okay? Olivia says, he made it through surgery. They’re just going to see him in ICU. Nina says, thank God. She’s sure he’s going to be fine. Olivia says, they’re going to see him now, and Nina says, of course (🍷). Sonny brushes past her, and she tells Olivia to please give Dante her best. Olivia says she will, and follows Sonny. Nina goes into the chapel and asks Ava, what’s going on? What the hell happened tonight?

Diane goes to the reception desk, and says, maybe the nurse can help her. Alexis tells Kristina and Sam that she’ll meet them upstairs, and hands Sam a bag, saying, change of clothes, toiletries, snacks. Sam thanks her and says, it completely slipped her mind. The elevator comes, and Alexis says, call her the minute they need her. As the doors close, Kristina says, what snacks? and Sam says, they’re not for her, but Kristina says she’s eating for two. Alexis goes over to Diane, who asks if by any chance she’s seen Sonny around. She knows he’s waiting on word. Alexis says she hasn’t seen Sonny, but she did hear that Dante made it through surgery and he’s in the ICU. Diane says, excellent, and Alexis says she guesses Diane is representing Sonny’s associates who are in custody. Diane says, yeah, and she’s got to update him on the situation, so she has to find him. Excuse her. Alexis says, not so fast. Where does she think she’s going?

Dex says, when they found Dante, someone had already given him first aid. They’d elevated his legs and wrapped a sweatshirt around him as a pressure bandage. Josslyn says, there was also a phone lying next to him with a line to 911. Michael says, so the person who shot Dante also tried to help him, and Josslyn says, yes and they were also risking being recognized because Dante could have seen their face. Dex says, it looks that way, and Michael says, none of this makes any sense. Willow says, why would they shoot Dante and then call 911? and Dex says, maybe they didn’t want to go down for killing a cop? Michael says, there’s another possibility here. What if the shooter helped Dante because he knows him?

Outside the ICU, Sam hugs Olivia and Kristina hugs Sonny and asks how he is. He says he’s fine. The only damage was to his coat. She says, he’s lucky. He’s not bulletproof. He asks how she’s doing and she says, frantic at first when mom first called to tell her about Dante. He wonders if it’s too much stress for the baby, but she says, the way she sees it, with this family, the sooner the baby learns to handle stress, the better. He asks how she’s really doing, and she says, it’s interesting how your body reacts to stress when you know it’s bad for the baby. And also, pushing the stress down could make it worse. She’s just doing a lot of breathing. He smiles and says he bets she is. She says, but Dante is doing better and seeing Sonny helps, and he says, right back at her. Take care of herself, okay? She says, of course (🍷), when a nurse comes out. Olivia asks, how’s her son? and the nurse says, Mr. Falconari is in critical condition, but his vitals are stable. Sam asks if they know when he’s going to wake up, but she tells them, it’s too soon to say. She leaves, and Sam says, Sonny and Olivia are his parents; they go in first. They go in and Sam hugs Kristina.

In the ICU, Sonny says, hey, son, and Olivia says, they’re here.

Diane says she’s got to go find Sonny, but Alexis says, not until Diane tells her why she’s been avoiding her. Diane says she hasn’t really been avoiding Alexis, she just had the feeling perhaps Alexis wasn’t too thrilled with her right now. Alexis wonders if there was some sort of a knockdown, drag out fight that she blacked out, because she’s been sober for a while now and thinks she would have known. Diane says, no. She just knows Alexis wanted her to represent Finn in the malpractice case, and not only was she not able to do that, she was the plaintiff’s attorney, and she got the feeling Alexis was a little unhappy with her. Alexis says, it’s her that Diane is talking to. She hasn’t been disbarred for that long. She knows how lawyers work. She knows what they do. Diane was doing her job. It’s not personal. Diane says she’s glad to hear it, and Alexis says, if Diane was worried about this, why didn’t Diane talk to her? Diane says, normally, she wouldn’t have thought twice about that, but this is Finn they’re talking about, and she knows he’s important to Alexis. Alexis says, and Diane is important to her as well. What she was really disappointed in was that she couldn’t represent him, and she does miss mopping the floor with Diane in court. Diane laughs and says, mopping. She doesn’t think that word means what Alexis thinks it means. Anyway, if Alexis did mop the floor with her, it certainly wasn’t as often as she seems to think. Alexis says she knows exactly how often it was, which is why she misses it, and Diane says she misses going toe to toe with Alexis as well, but jurisprudence loss is journalism’s gain. Alexis says, well, journalism is about to experience another devastating loss.

Ava tells Nina, Sonny and Selina were having a perfectly harmless, perfectly legal conversation, when Anna burst in with the FBI, guns blazing like some kind of raid. Nina says, how terrible, and Ava says, tell her about it. Nina says, it must have been frightening, and Ava says she guesses it was a little. Nina asks what Ava was doing there, and Ava says she thought she could be of some use. Nina asks what she was thinking, and Ava says she had to be there. She was tired of sitting on the sidelines, worrying if Avery was going to end up as collateral damage and that Sonny might… that Avery might lose her father. Nina asks what the active role was that Ava was playing, and Ava says, they had to sell the idea that Selina and Sonny were meeting with a mediator to settle their business conflicts, and Nina asks, how is Ava, the mother of one of Sonny’s children, an impartial mediator? Ava says she used to be in that world, so who better? Nina says she guesses, and Ava says, there’s no way to know if it would have worked anyway because the cops showed up, and that was that. Nina says she can sort of see why Ava did it, but what if something had gone wrong, which it kinda did, Ava could have gotten shot too or killed. Ava says she guesses she could have been. Anybody could have been. They all had to duck for cover. Nina says she’s glad Ava wasn’t. She doesn’t know what she’d do if she lost Ava.

Michael says he appreciates Dex coming back. It’s a good thing he did because he might have saved Dante’s life. Dex says, not alone. Joss did just as much as he did. Josslyn says, honestly, she thinks the only reason Dante was still alive when they got there was because of the pressure bandage. And the only reason Dante was even able to get to the hospital was because that person called 911. Willow asks if it isn’t possible that whoever helped Dante had nothing to do with the shooting, and they were a good Samaritan who had their own reason for not wanting anybody to know they were there. Dex says, they left the pier as soon as the paramedics took Dante away, but Chase and the cops were there collecting evidence, so they have the cellphone and the sweatshirt that was used as a bandage. Maybe it’s enough to track this guy down.

Carly comes back and sits on the sofa with Jason. She says she’s sorry, but she’s going to have to clean it. She puts an antiseptic cloth on the wound and Jason stifles a groan. She says she doesn’t want it to get infected. She just wants to get it clean. He says he thinks it’s clean, and presses a pad to it. She asks how he’s here. She wishes she could call her mom and ask how to help him. He says, no. Do not call Bobbie. She says she can’t. She died. He says, Bobbie’s dead? and looks like he wants to cry. Carly says, yes, already crying. There’s a knock at the door, and Anna says, police. Open the door.

Michael asks if they saw Sonny at the hospital, and Josslyn says, they saw him, he saw them, but they didn’t speak. Dex says, he was with Olivia and Sam. They were all waiting outside the trauma room while Dante was in surgery. Willow says, it was good of them to come to the house and tell Sam and Olivia what happened. She’s glad they got to see him. Josslyn says, one last time? She can’t even think about it. She cannot think about Rocco losing his father. She can’t think about Avery and Donna losing their big brother. But they all know that this could happen. Yes, Dante’s the cop and he takes risks, but they have to be honest here. This would not be happening if it wasn’t for Sonny. (Not necessarily, since he’s not the only target.)

Olivia and Sonny watch Dante, one on either side of the bed. Sonny strokes Dante’s hair and Olivia kisses Dante’s forehead.

Diane tells Alexis that she’s obviously appalled. She can’t say she’s surprised. Alexis tells her, thanks. She always knows just what to say. Diane says, yes, she does. And while a publisher does have the right to overrule an editor, but when it comes to hiring an individual journalist, it seems like a breach of trust. (I dunno. It seems kind of petty IMO. Certainly nothing to quit over.) Alexis says, Nina is all about trust, and Diane laughs. She says, an Editor-in-Chief has the right to determine who does and does not work for the paper, and Alexis says, right. If Nina had recommended a columnist, she could decide whether or not to hire said columnist. That would have been one thing. Diane says, but that’s not what happened, and Alexis says, no. She made a unilateral decision. There was no collaboration. Diane says, so what is she going to do? and Alexis says she’s going to not think about this right now. She’s going to concentrate on her daughter and helping her through this crisis. Diane says, of course (🍷). Of course (🍷) her family always takes first priority. But just so Alexis knows, she has a right to bitch about the b… boss.

In Dante’s room with Sam, Kristina says, so, bro, opening day is right around the corner. She knows he’s not going to miss that, especially since it’s the Yankees’ year. She was at the pub the other day and the game was on. This one bartender is a huge Sox fan, and they were joking around back and forth for a while. By the end of the game, she found herself rooting for them, and she thought, man, her brother is going to kill her. Since he’s been in here, it’s like the whole world’s upside down.

Nina tells Ava that she’s so worried about Sonny. Her marriage is not in the best shape right now, but she loves him. She doesn’t want anything to happen to him, and she’s terrified that whoever’s out to kill Sonny might succeed, and she doesn’t want to have to worry about Ava too. Ava says, she doesn’t have to. Rest assured, after this little misadventure, she’s laying off any derring-do in the future. Nina says, good. This is insane, right? She knows Sonny has enemies, but this? Ava says, for what it’s worth (🍷), they’re getting closer to the truth, and Nina says, wait. Does Sonny know who’s behind this? Does Ava? Ava says, no, she swears, and holds up her hand. Nina says, Ava has no idea? Come on. She needs to know who’s trying to kill her husband.

On the porch with John, Anna tells Carly to open the door, and John says, big house, other entrances. Let’s try one. They start to leave, when Carly opens the door and asks, what’s going on? Anna asks if they can come inside, but Carly says, not until they tell her what’s going on. Anna says, she’s aware Dante was shot earlier this evening, and Carly says, yes. Anna says, they’re pursuing a suspect, and Carly says, okay, but what does that have to do with her? Anna says she’ll explain. May they come inside? Carly says, yeah, and leads them into the living room. Anna says she believes Carly has met her colleague Federal Agent Cates, and Carly says, yes, hello Agent Cates. John says, Miss Spencer, and Carly says, okay. What’s this about a suspect? Anna says, she might want to sit down, and Carly says, why? What’s going on? Did something happen to one of her kids? Anna says, no. Not as far as she knows. It has nothing to do with her children. Carly says, then why does Anna want her to down? and Anna says, Jason Morgan is alive. Jason listens from upstairs.

Sam sits by Dante’s bed and kisses his hand.

Nina says, it’s obvious Ava knows more about this than she’s saying, but Ava says, if she had anything concrete to tell Nina, she would. Nina says, but she’s open to hearing theories, and Ava says, theories are just as good as random guesses right now. Just when we think we have a picture, new pieces appear, and the pieces don’t fit. Nina says, we? Sonny and her? Ava says, and Selina Wu, and Nina says she can sort of understand why Sonny isn’t telling her any of this, but she’d think Ava would realize how important this is to her. Ava says, even when things were good between Nina and Sonny, he kept Nina out of his business dealing, didn’t he? Nina says, yes, he did, but Ava isn’t in the business anymore, and Ava says she was. She knows how it works. She knows the players. She knows that it wouldn’t make sense for Sonny to confide in her about anything else, but in this particular circumstance, she’s a resource. She knows this has got to be frustrating. It has to be frustrating being on the outside looking in, but believe her, Nina doesn’t want to be on the inside… Nina says, this isn’t just about her feeling excluded. Does Ava understand, Sonny is her husband? He needs her, whether he wants to admit that or not. She can’t even support him through this. Ava says, she’s right. Sonny needs as many people in his corner as possible. Nina says, then tell her what’s going on and stop playing Switzerland and Ava says, the last thing she is right now is neutral. Nina says, then why won’t Ava help her with her husband?

Diane says, Sonny’s guards are not under arrest, either federal or local, for now. Sonny thanks her for doing that, and she says, he’s still going to have to answer some questions, make a statement. She can’t imagine Agent Cates is going to be giving him a reprieve earlier than tomorrow morning. He says, Agent Cates can wait until hell freezes over. His priority is his son. She asks, how is Dante? and Sonny says, he’s frail and defenseless, but he’s a fighter. It’s just, sometimes it’s not enough. She says, come on. After everything he’s been through, Dante’s not going to give up on this life. He thanks her and she asks, how is he? He says, she knows him. He just wants to find out who did this and take care of the situation.

Michael says he’s not saying they’re wrong… Josslyn says, but he wants her to let go of her anger for the sake of the family and because it’s not doing her any good, right? He tells her, what he was going to say is that Sonny knows he played a part in what happened to Dante. It’s got to be killing him. She says she knows it’s his son, okay? But she has trouble feeling sorry for Sonny when they have to constantly see people they love get hurt. Willow says, something she’s really started to learn since becoming a nurse, for a lot of people it’s more bearable to be angry than it is to be afraid. So while Josslyn has every right to be angry at Sonny, maybe it’s also a way to feel less afraid for Dante. Josslyn considers that and says, yeah. There was a moment on the pier with Dante where his heart stopped beating and they couldn’t get a pulse. Dex was doing chest compressions, and she was doing the rescue breathing. But he was shot in the chest and there was this voice in her head saying, what if you’re doing it wrong? What if we’re the people who kill Dante? She starts to cry, and Michael dashes over to her, hugging her.

Jason continues to listen, and Carly asks if this is some kind of a joke. Jason died in Greece. Anna says, that’s what they thought… but Carly says, stop. She doesn’t get to do that. Anna doesn’t get to show up at her house in the middle of the night and tell her Jason’s alive. She’s been grieving him every day for the past two years. Do they have proof? If they do, she wants to see it. If not, nighty-night. John says, they have proof. Does she want them to show her? He takes out his phone and hands it to her. She looks at the shot of Jason, and John says, that was taken earlier this evening, on the roof of a warehouse at 257 Water Street. They confiscated it from somebody they believe she knows – Jason makes a face – Damien Spinelli. Carly asks if they’re 100% sure Spinelli took this tonight, and Anna says, in the past four hours, yes. Carly says, and it’s real? Jason’s alive? Anna says, yes, and with her permission, they’d like to search the house for him. The look on Jason’s face says, oh, great.

Nina says, she and Ava have been through a lot. They’re friends, right? Ava says, no friend – and there haven’t been many – has been as loyal and generous to her as Nina has. Nina says, then help her with Sonny, and Ava asks if Nina has signed the divorce papers. Nina says she can’t bring herself to even look at them, let alone sign them, and Ava says, good. Then don’t. Nina says, no problem on her end, but sooner or later, Sonny is going to insist, and Ava says, don’t worry about that. They’re going to come up with a plan. Nina says, what plan would that be? and Ava says she’s going to help Nina save her marriage. Nina says, that would be amazing. She just hopes it’s not too late. Ava asks why she would think it’s too late, and Nina says she’s afraid the longer she and Sonny are apart, his feelings for her are going to fade. That he’s going to force himself to forget what they have together. Or worse, he’s going to decide to move on with someone else. Ava flashes back to almost kissing Sonny, and says, well, they just can’t let that happen. They laugh and hug each other.

Sonny finds Sam outside the ICU and says, any changes? She says she wishes. She felt like she needed to stretch her legs a little. She’s feeling pretty useless. He says, it helps Dante to know she’s here, and she says she knows. He says, she looks beat, and she says, thanks. (What every woman wants to hear.) He says he’ll stay here, and she can go home to rest, but she says she’s not leaving Dante. Sonny’s been here all night. Why doesn’t he go home and get some rest? He says he thinks he’s going to stick around for a while, and they hug. Sam goes back into the ICU, and Sonny watches through the window.

Amelia is heard crying on the baby monitor and Willow says she’d better go handle that before Amelia wakes up Wiley. Josslyn asks if she can come with Willow. She could use a hug. Willow says, of course (🍷) she can, and they go upstairs. Michael tells Dex that his sister is crazy about him, and Dex says, the feeling’s mutual. Michael says, but he’s not sure he’s going to stay? and Dex says, it’s not about what he wants; it’s about what’s best. Michael says, for who? and Dex says, for Joss. Michael tried to tell him once to go and he was right. Their lives are just too different. The best thing he can do for Joss is to just leave and stay gone.

Carly gives John his phone back, and says, they want to search her house for Jason? Anna says, they do, and Carly says she just found out he’s alive. She doesn’t know if she believes them. She doesn’t know if Spinelli gave them that footage. She doesn’t even know if it’s real. Anna says, Jason is familiar with this house, right? The layout, the security system. Carly says, yeah, but… and Anna says, could it be, he slipped inside without her knowledge? Carly says, they’re not searching her house. They don’t have her consent. They don’t have her permission. And if they don’t get the hell out of her house, she’s going to call her lawyer. John says, they asked as a courtesy. They don’t need her permission. They have a warrant. Upstairs, Jason grips his side.

On Monday, Anna says, Carly gets out of their way, or she gets arrested; Jake swears it’s not what it looks like; on the phone, Carly says, call her back as soon as possible and find a way to stop them; and Sam asks if Sonny understands what she’s asking him to do.

👟 Like An Old Shoe…

Let the good times roll.

Laura Wright and Steve Burton on Working Together Again on GH

🤫 She’s Got a Secret…

It’s a movie and she’s in it.

GH’s Kathleen Gati Teases Her Secret New Movie!

💉 Art and Life Combine…

Talk about ironic.

GH’s Kate Mansi Opens Up About Her Endometriosis Diagnosis

💃🏾 It’s About Time…

This sounds just like what daytime needs, a fresh resurgence. Hopefully, it won’t be opposite GH.

New Daytime Soap In Development At CBS!

🤰🏼 Giving You Lala…

It’s all about that bump.

https://people.com/lala-kent-happy-pregnant-baby-bump-jumpsuit-8604953

https://www.eonline.com/news/1396532/pregnant-lala-kent-says-shes-raising-baby-no-2-with-this-person

https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/lala-kent-reveals-her-mcdonalds-pregnancy-craving

⌛️ Comes As a Surprise To No One…

Love bubble bursting as we speak.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1396587/teresa-giudice-and-luis-ruelas-marriage-is-under-fire-in-explosive-rhonjs-season-14-trailer

🧂 Contains Less Salt…

Isn’t it ironic that for her to feel seen, there had to be less of her? I don’t know how she can possibly help her daughters feel empowered when she’s given her power away.

https://people.com/rhoslc-heather-gay-felt-pressure-before-taking-ozempic-showed-her-body-positivity-big-lie-8603562

🤼 Shot For Shot… 

Let the lawsuits commence.

Andy Cohen Threatens Lawsuit Against Leah McSweeney for Cocaine Claims

⚰️ News Of the Ones…

A peek at episode 3.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/the-walking-dead-the-ones-who-live-episode-3-clip-rick-grimes-jadis-bye

And already asking about Season 2.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/will-there-be-the-walking-dead-the-ones-who-live-season-2-rick-grimes-michonne

🌁 What’s Up With Us…

Details emerge. Some people take this way too seriously.

https://www.cbr.com/new-the-last-of-us-tv-location

Mostly old news, but in case you want a refresh.

https://www.polygon.com/23634196/last-us-season-2-release-date-cast-news

The parallel world of the game.

https://screenrant.com/the-last-of-us-season-2-casting-faithful-game

🏆 Here Comes the Big One…

The nominations.

https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2024

About the show. March 10, 2024, at 7:00 PM EDT.

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/oscars-2024-watch-96th-academy-awards/story?id=107851439

My dream. Forget the award. I want one of these gift bags.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oscars-gift-bags-2024

You, too, can have an Oscar party.

https://www.thegoldknight.com/2024/03/your-2024-oscar-party-essentials.html

🐕 Sharing the Cuteness…

Pets doin’ it for the ‘Gram.

https://www.eonline.com/photos/19657/celebrity-pets-on-instagram

Some might be dated, but it doesn’t make them any less cute.

https://www.etonline.com/gallery/paws-up-celebs-show-off-their-precious-pets-117103

🦧 Quotes of the Week

Sometimes bad clothes happen to good people. – Carson Kressley, Watch What Happens Live

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies. – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. – Chief Seattle (Once again, don’t step on any butterflies.)

Life is problems. Living is solving problems. – Raymond E. Feist

We must respect the past, and mistrust the present, if we wish to provide for the safety of the future. – Joseph Joubert

We do not remember days, we remember moments. The richness of life lies in memories we have forgotten. – Cesare Pavese

A study of economics usually reveals that the best time to buy anything is last year. – Marty Allen

🥇 A Winner In My Own Mind…

Make your mark on the weekend, then join me on Monday really Tuesday for soap and awful guests and/or crew on Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay giving from the heart and receiving graciously, and stay not turning your fear into anger. It doesn’t do you any good.

Mar2

March 1, 2023 – Sonny Sets a Trap, Well Done, CYA Time, For the Ratings, VanderSuits, Winning Ones, More Last, SAGging, Priceless, Octonary Quotes & Rhythm

Posted on by
Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Scout’s birthday is being celebrated at the Quartermaines, and Drew tells Carly that he has the balloons set up in the foyer. Carly says, when he throws a party, he really goes all out, doesn’t he? and he asks if she thinks it’s too much, but she says, Scout’s going to love it. He says, not just the balloons, but all of it, and she says, it’s not like he has a 100-foot bouncy house outside and ponies walking around. He says, they do have two horses and an alpaca, and she says, because they live here in the stable where they belong. He wants Scout to feel at home on her birthday, and this is their home. He says he guesses he just missed out on so much time with her. Any chance he has, holidays, birthdays, he just wants to hold on and never let go. She says, he should hang onto that. He should stay present with his daughter. You can’t do that if you’re focused on revenge. He says he didn’t even mention Nina’s name, but she says, he didn’t have to. She could hear him thinking about it. He thanks her for snapping him out of it, so he can focus on what’s important. He kisses her, when Scout comes in with Sam, Jake, and Danny. Scout says, he won’t believe it. There’s so many balloons by the front door. Drew says, they’re all for her. Happy birthday. He hugs her.

Maxie lets Felicia into the apartment, and thanks her for coming by with zero notice. She has a ton of work to do for Deception tonight. Felicia says she’d move heaven and earth to spend time with her grandchildren, but as thrilled as she is to be here, she has to ask. Why isn’t Spinelli available? Maxie says, because she sent him packing.

Dante finds Chase at the hospital and asks, what’s he got? Chase says he just talked to the officer on duty. Assault and battery. The victim was brought here for treatment. He tried to question him just to see what was going on, but the guy’s not talking. He didn’t even give them his name. Dante looks through the door window of victim’s room and says he knows who that is. That’s Selina Wu’s bodyguard.

On the phone at the penthouse, Sonny says, everything ready… Okay. Keep him posted. Thanks. Ava walks in, and he says, is there something she wants to ask him? Go ahead. She says, really? He hasn’t exactly been forthcoming of late. He didn’t say anything to her yesterday after his talk with Nina. He says he’s sure Nina is going to tell her all about it, but if she wants to ask him directly…

John walks into Anna’s office, and she says, please come in. What can she do for him? He says he wants Sonny Corinthos out of his life – for good, and she’s going to help him.

Alexis walks into the Quartermaines’ with a stack of gifts and asks, where’s the guest of honor? Scout says, right here, and Alexis tells her, happy birthday. Scout asks if all those presents are for her, and Alexis says, there’s more in the car. Scout thanks her, and Alexis says, she’s welcome. She can’t take all the credit though, because some of them are from TJ and Molly. Scout asks where they are, and Alexis says, they both have very mean bosses who wouldn’t let them have time off. Drew asks Jake to get the rest of the presents from the car and takes the stack from Alexis, saying, he’ll put them with the other presents. Carly asks Sam where Dante is, but Sam says, he couldn’t get off of work, but she thinks he’s going to make it by later. She looks around and sees the others have gone, and tells Carly, it’s just the two of them now. She wanted to say that she thinks Drew is a little bit more… relaxed. Carly says, she thinks so? and Sam says, yeah. Carly says, they talked before, and he was having a really hard time coming out of Pentenville with everything that happened there. She really thinks he’s slowly, but definitely, moving past it.

Chase comes back from the reception desk and reads to Dante from his notes. Someone called 9-1-1 to report a disturbance on the pier. When officers arrived at the scene, they interrupted a fight between two guys. One, Mr. Li, had been badly beaten, and the attacker appeared to be going in for the kill, when the officers identified themselves as the police. The attacker then fled on foot. Luckily, they apprehended him and he’s in lock-up now. Dante says, so Li must have ID’d the attacker, but Chase says, that’s where things get interesting. Li’s assailant is another one of Selina Wu’s guys. He goes by Morse. Dante says, so this wasn’t random, and Chase says, infighting in Selina Wu’s organization. What does that mean? Dante says he thinks it means everything’s about to get even more dangerous.

Anna closes the door and asks if John would like to take a look around. He might notice, this is the office of the Port Charles Commissioner of Police. Then he might come to the conclusion that the individual occupying said office is, in fact, the Port Charles Police Commissioner, and he’d be right. And who doesn’t love to be right? He says, obviously the Port Charles Commissioner of Police likes it a lot, and Anna says, she likes it a lot. In fact, it’s one of her favorite pastimes. So do they need to have a discussion about the meaning of jurisdiction over a nice cup of tea or something, or is there some other way she might assist him? He says he apologizes, and she says she accepts. She gestures for him to sit down, and he does, saying, he had a bear of a day, and he shouldn’t have taken it out on her. She says, but he did, and it does seem to be a bit of a pattern. He says, it is? and she says, yeah. He barged in on her operation at Pentenville and tried to shut it down. He says he had a legitimate reason to request she leave his witness alone, but she says, that wasn’t a request; it was a demand. He says, and she accused him of obstructing his own investigation, and she says she shouldn’t have questioned his integrity. She’s sorry. He says he was not expecting her to apologize, like ever, and she says she wasn’t expecting him to apologize. So it’s a banner day for both of them. He’s always been good friends with Robin, and she respects that friendship. So there’s really no reason for them to be at odds with each other. He says he can think of one reason, but their difference over Sonny aside, he does respect her, and he wants to say thank you. She says, for what? and he says, for talking him down when he barged in here, acting like he owned the place, and for at least trying to diffuse the tension between them. He wants them to be able to work together. She says she wants that too. Why don’t they make that happen? (Hmm… Is this a couple in the making?)

Ava says, what goes on between Sonny and Nina is his business. She just wants to let him know that her friendship with Nina doesn’t mean she’s choosing sides. She’s staying out of it. He says, wise decision – there’s a knock at the door – because nothing’s more important right now than Dante, not Nina. He goes to the door and says, come on in, Spinelli. Spinelli says sees Ava and says he assumes Sonny must be taking him up on his offer to learn the ways of Dungeons and Dragons, but Sonny says, he can talk in front of Ava. Spinelli says, as you wish. All systems are go for tonight. Ava says, all systems, huh? What’s happening tonight? Sonny says, tonight, he’s bringing his enemy down to his knees.

Maxie says, can Felicia believe Spinelli? He knows everything that happened with Austin and Peter, yet he still lied to her so easily. Felicia says, it sounds like his heart was in the right place, but Maxie says, his heart had nothing to do with it. This was his savior complex. Can she imagine anything more insulting? Felicia says, uh… yeah, and Maxie says, for sure, but he still lied. She knows she’s told her fair share of fibs in the past, but she can’t believe Spinelli would manipulate her this way. Felicia says, that’s not what happened, and Maxie says, what’s not what happened? Felicia says, it wasn’t Spinelli’s idea to move in with Maxie and help her with her finances. It was hers.

Willow and Michael come in with Danny, and Sam wonders if there weren’t more children at the party. Willow says, Scout wanted to visit the horses and the alpaca, so Wiley and Leo are – in Leo’s words – hosting a tour of the stables. Sam says, but Cody’s there, right? and Michael says, yeah. Sam says, perfect. And Danny and Jake brought in the rest of  their grandmother’s presents? Danny says, turns out it was a one-man job. Is there anything else he can do? Sam says, everything is under control. Just go have fun. Danny says, cool. He left his coat down at the stables. He’ll be back. Sam says, he leaves that coat everywhere, when Kristina comes in with Blaze. Danny hugs Kristina, and tells Blaze, hi, obviously starstruck. Blaze says, hi, Danny, and he says, she remembered his name. Blaze says, of course (🍷) she did, and he leaves. Kristina hugs everyone and says she thinks most of them know Blaze, her girlfriend. Sam says, of course (🍷). It’s good to see her again. Blaze says, it’s great to see Sam, and Willow says she thinks they met at Rice Plaza. Blaze says she remembers. It’s nice to meet her again.

 Alexis is getting some party stuff from plastic tubs, when Drew joins her. She says she’s glad they have some time alone. She wants to talk to him about something. He says, great. What’s up? She says she understands this is a touchy subject, but she’s sure he’s heard Nina is now the publisher of The Invader. He says he did hear that. How’s that going? She says she has reservations. Many. She said she was fired from Crimson for personal reasons. Is that true? He says, if she’s asking if this has anything to do with Nina turning him and Carly in to the SEC… She says, that’s exactly what she’s asking, and he says, then the answer’s yes. She was not acting as a concerned citizen trying to right a wrong. Her motivation was strictly vindictive, and if she can exploit federal law to her own ends, should she really be running a major magazine? And as the owner of Aurora, he felt like he couldn’t trust her judgement anymore. She says, that sounds like something he’d say in a press release or a court of law. Tell her what he really thinks, and he says, between the two of them? Someone as reckless and self-absorbed as Nina is capable of anything. If he were Alexis, he’d watch his back.

Maxie says, so it was Felicia’s idea. All right. Explain. Felicia says she knew Maxie was in financial trouble and wouldn’t take her help, even though she clearly needed it and Felicia had the means. Maxie says, except she doesn’t. She kept dipping into her savings. Felicia says, those were the means, and Maxie says, but she couldn’t pay Felicia back because she’s a bad investment. Felicia says, that’s why she called Spinelli. She knew Maxie wouldn’t accept charity from anybody, so she had to get creative. Spinelli was helping her help Maxie. Maxie says, Felicia should have respected her boundaries. It was important to her that she be the one to fix her finances. Felicia says she understands that, but she’s Maxie’s mother and couldn’t just sit back and watch while she was struggling. Maxie says, okay, she gets that. She absolutely does not approve of Felicia’s methods, but if she could see her kids needed help, she’s capable of doing much crazier things, whether they wanted her to or not. She wouldn’t care. She’d just do it. Felicia says, then Maxie forgives her? and Maxie says, absolutely. Felicia says, and she forgives Spinelli, but Maxie says, no way. Felicia says, why? Not that she’s complaining, but why is Maxie so much angrier with Spinelli than with her, especially since it was her idea? Maxie says, because Spinelli is not her parent, and he doesn’t have the right to conspire with her mother to fix her finances. Felicia says, maybe not, but… Maxie says, there’s no maybe about it, but Felicia says, Spinelli is family. He’s the father of Maxie’s oldest daughter and her oldest grandchild, and Maxie knows he’d do anything for her. Maxie says, except respect her autonomy, and Felicia says, because she told him to. Maxie knows she would do the same thing if the positions were reversed. Maxie says, that is precisely the problem, and Felicia says, that they both care enough about each other that they’d do anything for each other? but Maxie says, that is not the problem. It’s because… It’s because she… Felicia says, what? and Maxie says, because she fell in love with him again. Spending all this time with him, having him live in her house. It was all under false pretenses. Felicia and Spinelli didn’t just meddle with her finances; they meddled with her heart.

Spinelli says, so whoever is targeting Sonny is expecting him to be holding a summit, building bridges, as it were, giving them an opportunity to take out both parties at once. Meanwhile, he’ll be monitoring the situation with cameras set up around the warehouse. Ava asks if Sonny is sure Selina’s guy did as he asked, because Li has betrayed her before, and Sonny says, he made sure Li carried out the orders. She says, good. Question. Sonny says, go ahead, and Ava says, isn’t it highly unlikely this enemy is going to show up there himself? Won’t he, too, be monitoring from a safe distance, letting his hired guns do the job for him? Sonny says he’s counting on it.

Dante tells Chase, this assault on Li sounds like a botched execution attempt, which means it relates to the FBI’s investigation that Cates is running. Chase says, but only Li can confirm that, and Dante says, then let’s hope he’s able… and willing.

Jake comes in and is startled to see Blaze. He says, oh… hi, and she says, hi. He says, she’s… Everyone laughs, and Kristina says, this is Blaze, her girlfriend. She tells Blaze, this is Danny’s brother, and Blaze says, nice meeting him. He says, nice meeting her too. He’s a… Willow asks if Jake can track down Danny and let him know it’s time for cake. He left his coat outside. Jake is obviously at a loss for words, seeing Blaze, and says, uh… yeah. He leaves, and Michael says, three… two… one. Jake comes back in, gets his own coat, then leaves again. Blaze laughs and shrugs.

Sam finds Drew and says she was going to send out a search party for him. He says he was just making sure everything was… yeah… She asks if he’s okay, and he says, yeah. He thought he misplaced this Pin the Tail on the Donkey – he shows her a stack of tails – but… She says, crisis averted. She was going to ask if he could do a favor for her. He says, she can ask him anything, always. He wants her to know that. She says she’s not sure about that. He’s been having a pretty rough time ever since… He says, it hasn’t exactly been sunshine and rainbows, and she says, is it ever? (Not here, I can assure you.) He says, but he’s trying to focus more on the silver lining than the clouds, and she says she’s glad to hear that. He wonders what she wanted to ask him, and she says, Danny. He’s been having a really tough time lately, and she knows it’s more than teenage boy stuff. She guesses what she wanted to say is, is there any way Drew can talk to him? He trusts Drew and she thinks he would confide in Drew. She doesn’t think he’d talk to her about anything like that. He says he’d be happy to. He’ll spend some time with Danny. Maybe he’ll take him to a game or something. She says, okay. That sounds good. But is he sure he’s up for it? She doesn’t want to put too much on his plate. He says he’s learning that it really helps focusing on somebody that means more to him than himself. She can count on him. She thanks him and gives him a hug.

Jake goes down the footbridge near the boathouse calling for Danny. He says, they’re going to cut the cake. Danny jumps up by the benches, and Jake asks if he found his jacket. Danny says, yeah. He put it in the car. It’s fine. Jake asks if he’s okay, and Danny says, yeah. It’s a kids’ party. Jake says, well, it’s time for cake, so… He sniffs the air and asks if Danny smells something, but Danny says, no, and starts walking. Jake says, it’s really… sweet. He notices something under one of the benches and picks it up. He examines it, then looks at Danny.

Anna says, despite their differences of opinion, she does understand how John feels about Sonny, and he says, with all due respect, he doesn’t think she does. Sonny Corinthos is now the head of one of the most powerful organized crime syndicates on the east coast. So forgive him if he doesn’t buy into the narrative that underneath it all, Sonny’s a really good guy. She tells him that she wouldn’t say he’s one of the good guys, but she also doesn’t think John has taken his full measure. John says, meaning, and she says, meaning that he’s not a saint, but he’s not a sadist who wants to destroy and torment people for sport. John says he just had a conversation with Sonny that would suggest otherwise, and she asks if that’s why John came barging in here, demanding she get Sonny out of his life. He says, she’s good. Anybody ever tell her that she should be a cop? She says, too often. All she’s saying is, maybe he has issue with the man Sonny used to be, rather than the man he is now.

Dante introduces himself and Chase to Li and asks if Li can tell them what happened to him today. Li says, someone tried to kill him, and Chase says, not just someone, one of his colleagues from Selina Wu’s organization. Dante says, so he’s guessing this isn’t the result of an argument gone bad, right? They have Mr. Morse in custody. He was following orders. Li says he doesn’t talk to cops, and Chase says, his boss wants him dead. Dante says, he walks out of here, he’s probably got days, hell, even hours to live, and Li says, death comes to us all. Dantes says, it does, but judging from the way Li looks, he’s guessing Li fought like hell to stay alive, so he’s not really buying Li’s zen on dying thing he’s trying to sell them. Chase says, how about this? They put in a call to the DA and make sure he’s protected, and Li says, how comforting. Dante says, he’s right. Talking to them is probably just going to buy him some time. A day, maybe another after that. He doesn’t know. But keeping his mouth shut? He’s willing to bet Li ends up in an unmarked grave by the morning. So you tell me, what’s it going to be?

Sonny says he wishes whoever’s targeting him would get in his face, but he knows they’re too scared, and Ava says, so what’s the endgame here? Sonny says, somebody will be sent to eliminate him and Selina, and they’re going to grab them, and let them take them to whoever’s behind the shooting, and this thing is going to end. Ava asks when they leave, but Sonny says, they’re not going anywhere. She says, yes, they are, and walks over to her coat. Sonny asks Spinelli to do him a favor. He thinks they’re done. He’ll keep Spinelli posted. Spinelli says he eagerly awaits Sonny’s communication, and leaves. Ava puts on her coat, and Sonny says he appreciates what she’s doing, but she’s not part of this. She says, on the contrary. If this plan of his is going to work, he needs her.

Felicia tells Maxie that she’s so sorry. It never occurred to her that this would happen this way. Maxie says she never thought Spinelli would lie to her like this, but Felicia says, it isn’t really like that. It’s not like they set out to deceive her. Maxie says, were Spinelli’s pipes actually broken? and Felicia says, so they did set out to deceive her, but if they’d offered Maxie the money, she would have just said no, again. Maxie says, at least it would have been her decision, and Felicia says, yes, and it would have been a bad one. The point is, she and Spinelli were in a lose-lose situation and since there was no good decision to make, they made the least bad decision to help her. Deceiving Maxie like that, helping her with her finances while providing free babysitting, was all an act of love on both their parts. Maxie says she knows that, and she knows that Spinelli would never lie to her out of malice. That is not her main problem. Felicia says, then what is? and Maxie says, the thing that’s bugging her the most is, she couldn’t tell Spinelli was keeping something from her. Felicia says she could understand why that might be troubling for Maxie, but it’s not like what happened with Peter. Maxie says, way to sugarcoat it, and Felicia tells Maxie that she’s just saying, Spinelli never lied to her about his mafia connections. Maxie says she’s always known about this (what?), and Felicia says, he never tried to steal her baby or isolate her in a forest cabin… Maxie says, okay. She gets where Felicia is going with this, but that is a very low bar to clear. It’s just that, aside from Felicia and Mac, Spinelli was always the person she could trust the most. Felicia says, doesn’t this prove that he still is? and Maxie says, maybe it proves that her acting on her feelings for Spinelli was a huge mistake.

Jake asks if this is Danny’s, holding up a vape pod, and Danny says, no, it isn’t, but reaches for it. Jake says, it’s garbage now, and Danny says he can’t just throw that out, but Jake says he can’t leave it lying around. Danny says, okay, fine, it’s his, reaching for it again, and Jake says, he’s vaping? Danny says, who is he to even care? and Jake says, maybe he doesn’t want his brother to get popcorn lungs. Danny says, calm down. It’s not like really smoking. Jake says, they’re not having this conversation here. Right now, they’re going back to the house to celebrate their sister’s birthday, with their whole family there. Is Danny trying to get caught? Danny asks, why? Is Jake going to rat him out?

Anna tells John that recently, she’s gotten to know Sonny as a person, and he’s always been a very good friend to her daughter Robin. John says, come on, and Anna says, just in the very same way he was a good friend to John’s brother Stone. John says, a lot of good people see the best in bad people (agreed), and she says, he’s done a lot of positive things for this community. John asks if she’s talking about the hospital wing Sonny bought in his brother’s memory. She does know crime lords use philanthropy as a way of laundering money. She says, her point is, while she wouldn’t hesitate to arrest him if she had evidence of a crime, she still doesn’t believe he should be reduced to just that. Because if John hopes to take him down one day, he can’t just focus on Sonny’s crimes and flaws, which admittedly are many. He has to take into account the good things as well. If he just lets himself be blinded by prejudice, he’ll miss the opportunity to apprehend Sonny when it presents itself. John and I both ponder this.

Ava says, if Sonny is going to sell this mediation, he’s going to need a third party to arbitrate. That’s the play, isn’t it? Which means he needs a rep from a third family. What’s he going to do, call what’s left of the Novaks? The Buscemas? Does he trust them? She happens to be a former member of the Jerome family. Her presence could help sell this thing. He says, she’s not wrong, and she says, he and Selina are the bait, but she could be what convinces his enemy that this meeting is legit and draws them out. Plus, if she’s being honest – he says he can’t wait to hear this one – his circle of trust has gotten pretty small. It’s so small, she’s in the center of it. He doesn’t have to do this alone. Don’t do this alone. Let her help him.

Maxie says, she and Spinelli have been down this road before and it did not work out, and Felicia says, a long time ago. Maxie says, doesn’t she think that proves that maybe it never will? and Felicia says, how? Maxie says she and Spinelli literally admitted to each other how they felt, and then instantly, everything fell apart. Felicia says she wants Maxie to listen to her and really take this to heart, and Maxie says she’ll try. Felicia says, Maxie may think that when Spinelli moved in, that’s what caused her to fall in love with him, but the truth is, they’ve always had a connection. Not just as friends, not just as co-parents. They’ve always been a little bit in love with each other, even when they were with other people. Maxie asks how Felicia knows that for sure, and Felicia says she’s seen the bond between Maxie and Spinelli. Everybody’s seen it. Nathan saw it. Ellie saw it. Mac is still annoyed by it. And Spinelli, now he sees it. The only person who says they haven’t seen it is Maxie. She thinks it’s time for Maxie to get honest about what she’s afraid of. Maxie says she doesn’t know what she would do if she and Spinelli tried to be together and she lost him for good, and Felicia says she can understand why Maxie would be afraid of that, given all the loss she’s had to endure. Putting our hearts on the line is really scary. Maxie says, it’s not just her heart though. Georgie would be devastated if she and Spinelli didn’t work out. And Bailey Lou and James, they’re both crazy about Spinelli. Felicia says, Maxie is right. There is a lot at stake here. She can’t tell Maxie what decision to make. Maxie says, since when? and Felicia says she can tell Maxie that she’s a survivor. She’s endured so much and come out of it stronger each time. Maxie says she’s just tired. How many growth experiences should one person have? Felicia says, what she has to know is, if things don’t work out with Spinelli, then she’ll survive that too. Or the two of them could get back together again, older and wiser than they ever have been, and stumble into some happiness they never dreamed is possible. It’s up to her to decide if it’s worth the risk.

Jake tells Danny, don’t worry. He’s not going to tell anyone. This is his business. He holds the pod out, but pulls it back when Danny tries to take it. Danny says, what the hell? Give it back. Jake says, not going to happen. He might not be a snitch, but he’s not going to let Danny do this. Danny says he’s not messing around. Give it back. Jake says, or what? and Danny says, or he’ll take it from Jake. Jake says, oh really? This is that important to Danny that he’d try to forcibly take it from him? Danny says he wouldn’t just try, and he grabs Jake, saying, give it back. Willow calls to them, and Jake slips the pod in his back pocket. She says she thought she heard shouting. What’s going on? Jake says, they were just messing around, and Danny says, pretty much. She says, they’re taking a family photo. Come on.

Michael says he wanted to tell Carly this sooner, but he didn’t have a chance, and she says, something wrong? He says he talked to Dante, and Dante told him that he thinks there’s a link between whoever’s targeting Sonny and Olivia Jerome’s death. She says she knows, and he says, she knows how? She says she had a conversation with Special Agent John Cates of the FBI. Does Michael know him? Michael says, they just met, and she says, okay. Is there more to that story? He says, just that he’s worried about dad, and she says, her too. She doesn’t know what to do about it. Does he have any ideas? He says he told Josslyn to bring Dex back to town, and she says, what? Why would he do that? Why would he do that to Dex? Michael says, he’s a grown man. He can decide whether or not he wants to come back. She says, if something happens to Dex, his sister is going to be devastated, but he says he’ll cross that bridge when he comes to it. She asks how he thinks Sonny is going to react. He was furious when he found out Michael hired Dex to spy on him. Now he went behind Sonny’s back again. Michael says, if he’s angry, he’s angry. He’s going to help his father whether he likes it or not. Kristina comes in and says, what’s going on with dad? Why does he need help?

John tells Anna, so O’Neill says they’re looking for a dead man. At least someone who’s dead on paper. Anna says, according to Cyrus. His trustworthiness is questionable at best. Plus, the mic dropped out just as he was acquiring that piece of intel. John says, maybe there’s a way to corroborate his story. Any ideas? There’s a knock at the door and Anna says, yeah? Dante comes in with Chase and says, sorry to interrupt. It’s important. John asks if it’s about his case, and Dante says, he means their case. Yeah, it is. Anna asks what he’s got, and Dante says, Sonny and Selina Wu are making moves. (Well, that’s one way to put it, but I got a mental picture of them dancing.)

Selina waits at the warehouse, and her man comes in. She asks if everything is in place on their end for tonight, and he says, yes. And Mr. Corinthos assured him it’s all taken care of, but… She says, but what? and he says, the associate seems odd. She says, Mr. Spinelli is certainly unique, but very good at what he does. Sonny comes in with Ava and a bodyguard, and Selina says, Miss Jerome, what a surprise. She wasn’t expecting her. Ava says, Miss Wu. She hopes Selina doesn’t mind her joining them at the last minute. Selina says, actually she does. This wasn’t part of their plan. Sonny says, plans change. She can trust Ava.

Maxie calls Spinelli and gets voicemail, saying he’ll return the call posthaste. She says, hey, it’s me. Call me.

Michael tells Kristina, it’s just that he hasn’t talked to dad in a while. Has she? She says, not a whole lot. She’s been busy. Why? What’s going on? Is there something she should know about? Carly says, they were just wondering how things are going with her and Blaze, and Kristina says, things are good. It’s still new, so… Anyway, she’s been asked to summon them for cake and photos. Carly says she’s got to get in there, and leaves. Kristina asks Michael if he’s sure everything’s okay with dad, and Michael says, yeah. He’ll be fine. She says, okay, and leaves. Michael says he’ll make sure of it.

Dante says, Sonny and Selina coerced her bodyguard Li to leak to his source that they’re meeting up tonight, and Chase says, presenting a prime opportunity for Li’s boss to take Wu and Corinthos out. Anna says, so they’re setting up a trap to smoke out their assassin, and John says, which is exactly what he didn’t want to happen. He knew if they let Corinthos in on what was going on, he’d go vigilante and take their suspect out. Anna says, they can’t let him take the law into his own hands, and John says, whatever Corinthos and Wu are planning, they have to stop them. Anna says, let’s go, and they all leave.

Selina says, let her congratulate Sonny on the trust he’s established in Miss Jerome, who is – let’s not forget – the mother of one of his children. Sonny asks what that means, and Selina says, he has incentive to trust her. She doesn’t. He says, Ava acting as a mediator makes the meeting look more legit, but Selina says, her presence further destabilizes an already volatile situation. That’s not a risk she wants to take. She starts to leave, but Sonny says, it’s already in motion. Let it play out. Selina says, at the risk of all of their lives? and he says, they’re all targets at this point. Here’s what they’re going to do. They‘re going to let their enemies come get them.

On Monday, Tracy tells Brook, that is a scheme worthy of a Quartermaine; Cyrus asks Laura, what precipitated this step forward in their relationship; in the hospital, Heather screeches to someone to get away from her grandson; and Sonny tells Selina, let’s get down to business.

👏 Kudos. The vape storyline isn’t just timely, it’s important. I’ve never been interested in vaping, but had a friend who literally died from an addiction to it. He was in the hospital, being treated for an unrelated (but who really knows?) illness. He was told to knock it off, but couldn’t even stop vaping while in the hospital. Even though the prognosis had been good, he went downhill and passed away. IMO, it makes sense that vaping is worse than cigarettes since you’re also inhaling moisture, which cannot be good for your lungs. I mean, inhale too much moisture, you drown, right? Okay, off the soapbox, but applause to GH for including it.

👠 Calling In ReinforceWives…

Being a part of the Housewives universe doesn’t look like a fun experience to me. And I still wouldn’t bet the farm that what Leah says isn’t true. It’s been said all along that alcohol flows freely from Bravo and they tend to egg on problematic situation.

https://pagesix.com/2024/02/29/entertainment/margaret-josephs-kyle-richards-more-housewives-hit-back-at-leah-mcsweeneys-andy-cohen-claims

🎭 Because They’re a Fake, Baby…

I hadn’t considered this, but it sounds like something Jax would drum up.

Jax Taylor, Brittany Cartwright Accused of Faking Separation To Boost The Valley Ratings

Not buying this romance at all.

Kyle Richards Denies Morgan Wade Romance Blind Item

Still on the fence about this. The only thing is, it’s doubtful they would have involved their kids in a ruse like that.

Who Leaked Kyle and Mauricio’s Separation?

🍸 It’s Spreading…

Another one who seems to be lawsuit happy. Has she gotten to Andy yet? Although there seems to be a line…

https://ew.com/rachel-leviss-sues-tom-sandoval-ariana-madix-scandoval-fallout-8602594

No surprise this was dropped. It doesn’t even make any sense as a lawsuit. It’s just a bunch of complaints about being in a situation she could have easily walked away from

Rachel Leviss Brands James Kennedy ‘Violent and Dangerous’ in Bombshell Lawsuit

⚰️ Dead At the Top…

Good for them. It’s not a huge shock though. Personally, I didn’t miss Rick, but I think there were a whole lot of fans awaiting his return.

‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live’ Stakes Out AMC’s Best Premiere Viewership In 6 Years
“The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live” Finally Gives AMC’s Universe Good Viewership News Again

🌁 The Latest In Last…

More characters coming out of the woodwork.

https://ew.com/the-last-of-us-season-2-owen-nora-mel-manny-8602951

🏆 It’s In the SAG…

A little late, but the winners.

https://ew.com/2024-sag-awards-winners-full-list-8598439

All the 2024 fashion.

https://www.eonline.com/photos/36899/sag-awards-2024-red-carpet-fashion

All the fashion from forever.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1395589/give-it-up-for-the-best-sag-award-red-carpet-fashion-moments-of-all-time

🦄 This Week In Pet…

Omg. Jiffpom.

Taylor Swift’s feline Olivia Benson and other richest celebrity pets to know about

So what’s the problem?

https://pagesix.com/2024/02/21/gossip/star-demanded-a-medium-sized-dog-in-all-their-hotel-rooms

🎙 Quotes of the Week

We love a spiral. – Gabby Prescod, Summer House

One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t do. – Henry Ford

When deeds speak, words are nothing. – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

You are here for a purpose. There is no duplicate of you in the whole wide world. There never has been, there never will be. You were brought here now to fill a certain need. Take time to think that over. – Lou Austin (And let’s hope it’s not to create stupid names for lipstick.)

Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world. – Archimedes

Life is a succession of lessons, which must be lived to be understood. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star. – W. Clement Stone

I wasn’t flirting. I’m naturally adorable. If you have a problem with that, take it up with God. – Genevieve Delatour (Susan Lucci), Devious Maids

🐜 Marching Into Spring…

Flip your script this weekend and do something you’ve never done before. Or binge watch something you’ve never watched before. It’s your call. Then join me on Monday really Tuesday for soap, mischief on Deck, and a nod to the Ones. Until then, stay safe, stay not saying yes or maybe when you mean no, and stay trying to focus more on the silver lining than the clouds.

Feb17

February 16, 2024 – Sonny Gives Dex a Choice, Her Response, Two Firsts, No Salt, Bad Crew, VanderFave, New Chefs, Reunited Ones, Last News, Vamping, Throne Report, Big Change, Just Over 8 Quotes & If

Posted on by
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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Doc says he just got off the phone with Martin, and Laura asks if his office got the paperwork. He says, they did, and he beneficially added to the adoption petition, which means everything is on track for them both to become Ace’s parents. She says, music to her ears, and they kiss. There’s a knock at the door, and Laura opens it to Cyrus, who says, hello, sister.

Anna asks what Dante’s got, and he says, Pentenville confirmed that they were relocating Olivia Jerome. CSI says the transport van was sabotaged and two guards were restrained, but unharmed. This is just an overview until they get the crime scene report. Jordan says, sounds like a prison break gone wrong, but Anna says, with Olivia Jerome, nothing’s ever that simple.

Sam lets Alexis into her apartment and says, she didn’t have to come over, but Alexis says, Sam seemed a little frazzled when she bailed on lunch. Not to mention vague. So she thought, why not meddle? Is she okay? Sam says, yeah. She’s just keeping an extra eye on Danny. Alexis asks, why? and Sam says she’s going to tell Alexis, and then Alexis is going to tell her that she’s worried over nothing, and nothing serious is going on with her kid.

Ava tells Josslyn, Sonny isn’t here, but she’s more than welcome to come in and wait for him. Josslyn asks if Ava can call him because he’s not picking up for her, and Ava says she’s sure he’s just busy. Josslyn says, but she’s Avery’s mom, so he might not be as busy for her, and Ava says, maybe she can help, but Josslyn says, no. It’s really Sonny she needs to speak to and it’s very important. Ava tells her, like she said, Josslyn is more than welcome to wait, and Josslyn asks if she knows when he’ll be back, and Ava says, not precisely, no. Josslyn says, then she’s going to look for him, but Ava says, wait. Don’t do that.

Dex lets Sonny in, and Sonny says, he didn’t run. He didn’t even start packing. Dex says, Sonny has at least one guard stationed nearby, and Sonny says, Dex knows how he operates. That’s why he’s carrying. He also knows his only way out is through him. What’s he going to do? Is he going to take a shot?

Laura asks, what happened to the ground rules? Cyrus is supposed to call her before he comes over. He says he knows, but he was in the neighborhood and just wanted to say hello to his sister and his grandnephew. Doc says, now is not a good time. They just put Ace down for his nap. Cyrus promises this will just be a quick visit. He has another engagement immediately after. Doc says, and yet he found time to stop by, and Cyrus says, one should always find time for family. Doesn’t he think? Laura looks at Doc, who shrugs, and tells Cyrus, come in. They hear Ace coo on the baby monitor, and Cyrus asks if he can just have a glimpse of him, but Doc says he’s afraid even a glimpse is out of the question. Naps are just so important at his age. Doc goes to Ace’s room, and Cyrus says, it seems Ace isn’t the only one in need of a nap. She says, don’t let them keep him from his next appointment, and he says, before he goes, has she been in touch with Nikolas since he left for Pentenville? She says she has, and he says he knows how hard this must be for her, and Ace. She thanks him, and he asks how they’ve taken to being Ace’s temporary guardians. She says she guesses there’s no reason she shouldn’t tell him. She and Doc have decided to legally adopt Ace. He says, that’s wonderful news. Congratulations. She thanks him and says she’s pleased that he’s so pleased, but she’s a little bit surprised. He asks why his happiness at her good fortune should surprise her, and she says she supposes it shouldn’t. He says he can’t think of two better people to shepherd their little angel through this world, and she says she thinks there’s something they need to get clear right now. Ace’s adoption does not guarantee Cyrus a bigger role in Ace’s life. As a matter of fact, or any role.

Josslyn asks why she doesn’t want to look for Sonny. Ava knows where he is, doesn’t she? Ava says, Sonny doesn’t apprise her of his movements, and Josslyn says, but she knows what he’s doing. Ava says, what she knows is, it’s a waste of time scouring the city looking for him when the one place they know he’ll show up is here. And if what Josslyn has to say is so important, then stay. Josslyn asks if Ava can just call her when he gets back, and Ava says, she’s obviously very upset and Josslyn can tell her; has something happened? Josslyn says, it’s personal, and Ava says she sees. So this must be about Dex. Or Michael.

Dex says he doesn’t want to hurt Sonny, but he’s not going down without a fight, and Sonny says, if he wanted Dex dead, he’d be rotting in the ground right now, no matter what Carly said. But he’s right about one thing. Dex says, what’s that? and Sonny says, Dex joined his organization under false pretenses, working for Michael the whole time. Dex says, his job was to protect Sonny, and he did, and Sonny says, Dex knows too much about his business and about him. And all he knows about Dex is that he can’t trust him. So if Dex was in his position, how would he handle this?

Dante says, they’ve got the crime scene report, handing it to Anna, who asks, what do they know? He says, the transport van hit a spike strip that blew out the tires. They pulled the van over and they were ambushed by two masked men. They tied up the guards and took Olivia Jerome. Shortly thereafter, they heard a gunshot. They freed themselves, one of them called for help, the other went into the woods in the direction of the gunshot and found Olivia’s body. Anna says, did they pick up the gunman’s trail yet? but he says, not yet, and she says she needs to see the body.

Alexis says, Danny was drinking? Danny? Sam asks if she’d be less surprised if it were Rocco or Scout, and Alexis says she couldn’t be more surprised. Danny? She never in a million years. Sam says she knows. Here they are. Alexis asks if Sam flipped out. She would have flipped out. She has flipped out. The trouble Kristina used to get into took years off her life. Sam says, actually, no. She was angry, but she didn’t really raise her voice or give him a long lecture or anything. Alexis asks if she gave him a short one, and Sam says, they had a really good conversation about it. Alexis says, good, and Sam says, it was actually quite mature… of her, not him. Alexis asks if she grounded him, and Sam says, hell yes. Alexis says, how long? and Sam says, until he learns responsibility. Alexis says, so she guesses Sam didn’t want to tie herself down to a specific timeline, and Sam says she didn’t think of it that way, but she likes the way Alexis thinks. She thinks somewhere between one month and forever sounds good. Alexis says, sounds reasonable, and Sam says, they got to a good place. Alexis says, okay. Is Sam ready for her to be honest? Sam says she doesn’t know. Is it something she’ll want to hear? Alexis says she thinks so. She thinks what Sam did was very normal parenting. Actually, it sounds like excellent parenting. But it sounds like Sam is still bothered. Sam says, taking the you’re grounded, but if this ever happens again and you find yourself in this position, you can call me or Dante and we’ll come and get you, no questions asked route is a normal course of action, right? Alexis says, last time she checked, and Sam says, but Danny is Jason’s son and he’s getting more and more like him every day. And Jason was drawn to danger. What if Danny is too?

Cyrus says, of course (🍷) he’ll respect Laura’s wishes as Ace’s adoptive mother, and she says, good idea. She moves to open the door, and he says, but he must ask… She says, that was fast, and he says, why would she want to deprive Ace of family after he’s already lost so much? She says, it’s because he’s lost so much that she wants Cyrus to keep his distance. She wants Ace to have some kind of stability in his young life. Cyrus says he would only bring stability. He’d be a constant presence in Ace’s life. As constant as she deems appropriate, no more, but certainly no less. She says she appreciates his good intentions, but he has to just rest assured that Ace has a lot of family who really love him. He says he knows that, and it gives him comfort, but it’s a family he’d dearly love to be part of. It’s one reason he stopped by today, to offer her what comfort he could after losing Spencer and seeing Nikolas go to prison. He cares about her. She says, he keeps telling her that, and he says, and she keeps doubting. How long is she going to distrust him? He thinks he’s proven by now that he’s turned over a new leaf. She says, it wasn’t that long ago, when he expressed his distress over somebody else’s misfortune, when what he was really doing was rubbing their nose in it. He doesn’t deny that, does he? He says he does not. He owns his misdeeds and carries the shame of them. She says, okay, but the rest of them remember it, and he says, okay. She tells him that if he wants the rest of them to believe he’s turned over a new leaf, then it may take more than just his word. He may have to forgive them their trespasses if they need more time to forgive his. He says he understands, which is why he asked her about Nikolas. Not to rub her nose it in, but because he wants her to know that he’s arranged for Nikolas to be protected in Pentenville, so that she can have the peace that comes in knowing he’ll be safe. She says, this is exactly what she’s talking about. How can he expect her to believe that he’s turned over a new leaf when he’s offering to pull strings in prison?

Josslyn says, what makes Ava think this is about Michael? and Ava says, Michael came by, and he confessed to Sonny. She happened to overhear. Josslyn says, shocker, and Ava says, come on. This can’t be the first Josslyn’s hearing of this. Josslyn asks what Michael confessed, but Ava says, he didn’t mention it. And she doesn’t think it occurred to Sonny that Josslyn and Dex are too crazy about each other to keep secrets, especially big secrets. Like the fact that Michael hired Dex, first to spy on Sonny and then to protect him. Josslyn says, fine. Yes, she knew. Ava says, that’s a heavy burden to carry. She empathizes. If Josslyn would like somebody to talk to… Josslyn thanks her, but says she thinks she’d rather talk to her mom, and Ava says, of course (🍷), but it looks like she needs somebody to talk to right now. And since she’s here right now… Josslyn asks why she cares so much.

Dex says he expected Sonny to handle it the way he almost did, and Sonny says, in Dex’s opinion, what should he do now? Dex says, if it were his call? and Sonny says, yeah. Dex says, start over. All the cards are on the table. He’s fresh out of secrets. It feels good. Yes, if it were up to him, he would keep working for Sonny, but he knows that’s not possible. He’s become a liability Sonny can’t afford. Sonny says, perceptive as usual, and Dex says, for what it’s worth (🍷), he didn’t just learn about Sonny’s business. He learned about Sonny and the man he is. When Michael hired him, this was just a job, but then he got to know Sonny and his family and realized Sonny had a code and principles that guide him. He knows Sonny has no reason to believe him, but he wasn’t lying when he said he admired Sonny. Even now. He knows he shouldn’t, but he does.

The morgue attendant slides a body out, and Anna looks under the sheet. She says, yeah, that’s Olivia. Shot point blank in the back of the head. Olivia Jerome was executed. (We don’t see her, so I guess it was too expensive to bring her in just to lie there.)

Cyrus says he’s long since cut ties with the criminal element and those who kept him trapped in the dark far from the Lord’s love, and Laura says, if it’s not his henchman who would be looking after her son in jail, then who is he talking about? He says he found another group of men in prison, lost souls seeking redemption, just like him. Well- intentioned men living with the consequences of their mistakes. His mission is to provide them an example to live by, to offer counsel to guide them through their sentences, so they can turn their life around in prison and out. She says, right, but they’re inmates, criminals. He hasn’t said they’re not dangerous. Cyrus says, of course (🍷) they’re dangerous. They wouldn’t be able to provide protection if they were meek little lambs. She says she guesses she was hoping he bribed a few guards or something, and he says, with what? He has no riches to bribe anyone. She says, maybe with those hidden riches he uses to bribe people secretly? and he laughs. He says, if only he were half as colorful as he is in her imagination, and she says, then he’d be wearing half an orange jumpsuit. He laughs again and says, she’s so funny. All she needs to know is that after his release, he never abandoned his flock. Nor has he abandoned his cause. She asks, what is his cause? and he says, with the Lord’s blessing, his flock is about to get bigger. This afternoon is the inaugural broadcast of his radio show. Soon, very soon in fact, he’ll be spreading God’s word to everyone in Port Charles.

Sam tells Alexis, on Valentine’s Day, she and Dante decided to have a date night here at the house. He cooked for her. They thought all of the kids were in their rooms, and then there was a knock at the door just as they were about to get romantic. And Dante opened the door and there was a cop with Danny. Alexis says, perspective. Danny isn’t the first teenager to sneak out of the house with his friends and go drinking. Sam says, sneaking out is one thing, but sneaking out by a fire escape that’s suspended to the side of a building on a penthouse floor? Alexis says, clearly, Danny doesn’t have any fear of heights? and Sam says, gee, I wonder who he takes after? What if Danny hadn’t gotten caught and he would have tried to sneak in the same way? Up the building? What if he slipped or lost his balance? Alexis says, okay. She’s right to be asking all these questions and she’s right to be extra vigilant. However, one incident is not a pattern necessarily. Sam says, so this is normal teenage stuff? and Alexis says, all she knows is what Kristina did to her. Sam says, Kristina’s an angel right now compared to those things, and Alexis says she never raised a boy, so she has no idea what’s normal for boys. Sam says she gets that all teenagers take chances, but what if Danny’s hardwired to take bigger chances? And if so, how does she keep him safe? Because if he’s anything like his father, the more she tries to control him, the more he’s going to fight to be free.

Anna closes the morgue vault, when Dante comes in. He says he debriefed the detectives on the scene. They found this nearby. He hands Anna a plastic evidence bag, and she takes out a gun. She looks it over and says, oh yeah. Jordan asks if she found something, and Anna says, see that marking right there? The WSB put it on all the guns they seized. That means, whoever tried to kill Sonny is also behind Olivia Jerome’s murder.

Sonny says, Dex had a lot of potential. More than he’s seen in anyone in a long time. Dex proved his abilities to him, but Dex reminded him, being capable and trustworthy don’t really go hand-in-hand. He wishes he could just let Dex go; forget he ever existed. But he’s too big of a liability. Dex says he understands there’s a risk Sonny’s enemies might use him to get to Sonny, but he was willing to take a bullet rather than give up Carly and Michael. Sonny knows he can hold up under pressure. Sonny says he has kids to consider. Dex said himself that he’ll do anything to protect his family. Dex says, so what now? and Sonny says, the only way he sees it, Dex is going to have to disappear.

Ava says she knows she’s not Josslyn’s favorite person, but Josslyn still went out of her way to get Spinelli and Dex to find her when Mason took her. Josslyn says, of course (🍷). She did that for Avery. Ava says, Josslyn still did it. She owes Josslyn her life for that. So if there’s ever anything she can do for Josslyn, no matter what it is, all she has to do is ask. Josslyn asks if she really means that, and Ava says, absolutely. Josslyn says, then please help her find Sonny, but Ava says she told Josslyn, she doesn’t know where he is. Josslyn says, then call him or get the guards to summon him home. Steering Josslyn toward the door, Ava says, she really thinks it’s best… but Josslyn shakes her off and says, Sonny is going to kill Dex. Ava knows that and she knows that. She needs to speak to him before he does something drastic. She might have helped, but Dex is the one who rescued Ava. Twice. Once at the Quartermaines when Heather Webber attacked her and once in Pautuck. Ava owes him her life twice over. Please help her protect him.

Dex asks if Sonny is going to kill him, but Sonny says he expects Dex to leave town. He’ll have Frank take Dex to one of his safe houses and tell Brick to set him up with a new identity, passport, driver’s license, and then once he’s gone, they’re going to cover up his tracks and set him up with money. Dex says, what about Josslyn? and Sonny says, the way this works, he and Brick are the only ones who have to know what’s going on. They bring Josslyn in, she’s going to drive Sonny’s enemies to Dex. Dex says, they know how to be careful, and Sonny says he knows Josslyn loves Dex. She loves her family too. But if they involve Josslyn, it’s all for nothing. Dex says, then shoot me, putting Sonny’s gun to his stomach. It’s not worth it. Joss made his life worth living. Without her, Sonny might as well finish him off here.

Ava says she would absolutely help if she could, and Josslyn says, but she won’t. So everything Ava just said, if she ever needs anything, that’s all crap. Ava says she meant every word, and she is aware of how unsparing Sonny can be with those who cross him, but Josslyn says, Dex didn’t cross him. Literally the opposite. How many times did Dex almost give Sonny his life and that counts for nothing. Ava says she knows it seems unfair, but Josslyn knows as well as she does that Sonny can’t risk fairness when it comes to his family’s safety. Josslyn says, so Ava is telling her that there’s nothing she can do, and Ava says, yes.

Laura says, Cyrus has a radio show? Who would put him on the air? Cyrus says, someone who sees the value in his message? She says, no, something is deeply off here, and he says, it saddens him that she still doubts his intentions. Fortunately, the Lord provides him strength to continue proving he’s changed. He knows he can never erase the terrible things he’s done, but he can at least counteract them by putting some good out in the world. That’s his purpose. She says, but what is his motive? and he says he can only hope one day she believes the change he’s showing the world and accept the man he’s become. He must take his leave. He goes to the door and says his debut is but fifteen minutes away on KZPC radio. He does hope she’ll tune in. He leaves, and Doc comes back. He says, it’s a miracle that Ace is still down. Then again, maybe he was trying to avoid their company. What did Cyrus want? She says, the same thing he always wants. Her trust.

Sam tells Alexis that she tried to shield Scout and Danny from Jason’s life, and when she realized she couldn’t, she broke up with him. Alexis says, Sam seems to give her kids stability despite all that, and Sam says, what if she wasn’t enough? Danny always wanted more time with his father. Jason was in and out of his life, then all of a sudden, it wasn’t enough. Danny took Jason’s death really hard. And what if in a way to get closer to his father, Danny is starting to take the kinds of chances Jason used to take? And if so, how long has this been building up in him and why hasn’t she seen it before? Alexis says, listen to her. She understands how Sam feels. At some point, every parent does in one way or another. But Sam didn’t cause this. Does she understand that? Sam says, yeah, and Alexis asks if Sam believes her. Sam says she wants to, and Alexis says, whatever Danny is going through, Sam will get him through this because she’s a wonderful mother.

Anna re-bags the gun, and Jordan says, Olivia Jerome’s long history with the mob certainly tracks with their gunman’s pattern, targeting organized crime leaders. Anna hands the gun to Dante and says, absolutely. See if they can confirm that the bullet that killed Jerome matches that gun. Dante says he’ll see if they can put a rush on it, and she says, they need to move fast. As soon as the Feds are apprised of this development, Agent Cates is going to want to take over, and they all know how thrilled he was they didn’t back off in the first place. Jordan says, it’s not like he can be any less cooperative, and Anna agrees and says, it’s common knowledge there won’t be any tears shed over Olivia. But those guards could have been injured or worse, and Curtis already got caught in the crossfire. Agent Cates needs to understand that they need to put a stop to this before any more innocent bystanders are hurt.

Sam thanks Alexis for the encouragement, because she doesn’t feel like a good mom, much less a wonderful mom. Alexis says, you know who thinks they’re wonderful moms? Terrible moms, that’s who. Sam says, so it’s good to doubt, and Alexis says, yeah. It’s like if you think you’re going crazy, the fact that you’ve asked that question means you’re way ahead of the game. Sam says, that’s good to know, and Alexis says, in the meantime, just take it one step at a time. This is just one incident. Sam says she knows, but what if it was just the first? and Alexis says, then she will know. If she sees it escalating, she’ll do something about it. She’ll take care of him just like she always has. And she doesn’t have to do it alone. Sam can count on her. Sam can always count on her. And they will figure it out. Is that a deal? Sam says, it’s a deal. Alexis’s phone rings and she says, it’s one of her reporters. She says, what’s up?… Sam asks if everything is okay.

Jordan says, their best lead is the gun dealer Philip O’Neal. His lawyers want a deal, but the FBI isn’t biting. Anna says, he’s still not talking? and Dante says, this doesn’t make any sense. It’s like this guy has a target on his back. He can ID who he sold the guns to. Anna says, it is concerning, but interestingly, whoever it is who’s after the organized crime figures, waited until Olivia was out of prison before they made their move. Dante says, that just makes him think, whoever this is doesn’t have access to anyone on the inside, and Anna says she thinks she’s going to talk to Agent Cates. She’s going to try and persuade him to keep O’Neal in Pentenville, rather than moving him out of their reach. Dante asks if she thinks they can get something out of O’Neal, and Jordan says, just because he’s not talking to law enforcement, doesn’t mean he won’t talk to anyone.

Josslyn says she should have known better and thanks Ava. This conversation was a big help. Josslyn opens the door, and Ava says she didn’t mean to upset her. Josslyn says she just wants someone to help her. She loves Dex. Does Ava understand? She cannot and will not give up on the people she loves. She won’t do it. She leaves, slamming the door behind her, and Ava takes out her phone.

Sonny says, if he pulls this trigger because Dex asked him to, he won’t be breaking Josslyn’s heart; Dex will. Dex pushes the gun away and says he loves her. He thought it had been beaten out of him. He thought it would never happen for him, but it did. Sonny says, Dex knows the best thing for Josslyn is for him to leave town. Sonny’s enemies are going to be tracking Dex down for the rest of his life. Does Dex want to put her in danger? Does he want her to be the target? Dex says he can’t lose her, and Sonny says, here’s the deal. If Dex wants to keep his life, he’s never going to come back here again. He’s not going to have any contact with anyone again. It’s up to him. Sonny’s phone rings, and he tells Dex that he needs an answer – now.

Jordan says, O’Neal might not talk to them, but he might talk to someone in Pentenville, and Anna says, she means, plant an informant? Jordan says, could work, and Dante says, seems like a long shot. Given this guy’s line of work, you’d think he’d have to be pretty tight lipped, no matter who he’s talking to. Jordan says, exactly. Right now, he’s probably more surprised than they are that he’s still alive. There might be something he wants to get off his chest just in case. Anna says, they’d have to find someone who’s good at extracting that kind of information. And also someone Robert would be willing to offer a deal to. Dante says, a lesser sentence in exchange for some information? That would be pretty good incentive. Jordan says, yes, but no one who poses a significant threat to the general public upon release, and Anna says, on top of finding this person and making a deal with the DA’s office, the informant also has to establish some kind of trust with O’Neal in order to make this work. This is all going to take time. Dante says, it’s time they don’t have, and Anna says, until they think of something faster… Jordan’s phone dings and she says, it’s from Laura. Anna asks, what is it? and Jordan goes over to a very convenient radio, turning it on and finding a station. We hear Cyrus say, this is KZPC radio and welcome to Searching with Cyrus. You’re probably asking, what can I have in common with you…

Laura and Doc are also listening, and Cyrus continues. After all, I’m an ex-convict who was serving hard time in Pentenville, but one thing I learned there is, we are all prisoners. But if we give our burden to the Lord, He will set us free. That’s why I’m here, to help you share that burden and give voice to your troubles, so that you may live a life of peace. Ace starts to cry and Doc says he’ll get Ace. He’s heard enough of this guy. Cyrus says, I’m living proof that God never gives up on any of us, and Doc suggests Laura turn it off, but she says she’s going to listen to every word. She needs to understand what Cyrus is really saying. Doc tells her, good luck with that, and leaves. Cyrus says, if I can find my way to a better place, so can you.

Josslyn runs to Dex’s apartment and sees the door isn’t closed all the way. She pushes it open and sees Sonny sitting there. She says, where’s Dex? and Sonny says he’s sorry. Dex is gone.

On the phone, Alexis says she definitely intends to run it in the morning. She just wants to be able to check it first before it goes to press. She glances at the guard outside Sonny’s penthouse, and says, but she’s going to have to call them back, because there’s something she has to do first.

There’s a knock at the door, and Ava opens it to Alexis. She asks if Alexis is looking for Sonny, but Alexis says, actually, she’s here to see Ava. Ava’s phone rings, and Alexis asks if she needs to get that. Ava says, it’s Pentenville. She’s sure it’s Alexis’s darling nephew, calling collect, but Alexis says she doesn’t think that it is. May she come in? Ava says, please. Is this a social call or are they on the record here? Alexis says she heard it from one of her reporters and she thinks Julian would want Ava to hear it from someone she knows. Ava says, conjuring her late brother’s name can’t be good. Julian would want her to hear what? Alexis says, her sister Olivia is dead, and Ava says, is that so? Alexis says she’s sorry for Ava’s loss, and Ava says, is she really? Because after what she did to Alexis, she thinks Alexis is probably wondering what circle of hell she’s roasting in.

Josslyn says she wants to see him, but Sonny says, that’s not possible. She says, where is he? What did Sonny do to him? He says, Dex is alive, but he’s not coming back to Port Charles, and Josslyn says, he’s a liar. Dex would never leave her. Sonny says, Dex did what he had to do, what was best for everyone, and Josslyn cries, saying, not for her. Sonny says, especially for her. He picks up an envelope and says, Dex wanted him to give her this. He holds it out and she snatches it from him. She takes out a note, a dog tag on a chain falling to the floor. She reads the note and says she hates Sonny. He’s a criminal and a liar and she will never forgive him for this. (When you think about it, it’s really Michael’s fault.) Sonny says he knows, and leaves. Josslyn looks at the note again, picks up the dog tag, and sinks to the floor, crying.

On Monday, Lois says, has she got a surprise for Tracy; Marshall tells Stella that he has no idea how to handle it; Nina hopes she’s not late; and Josslyn tells Carly that she and Dex are not going to be kept apart.

👠 How She Really Feels…

Apparently, she died and came back once before. That explains why I kept thinking she was dead before she died. And again, who knows? We didn’t see a body.

Tonja Walker Responds to Olivia Jerome’s Death on GENERAL HOSPITAL

📹 From Soap to Cinema…

They’re branching into new milieus.

Exclusive: Trevor St. John (Tucker, Y&R) On His Feature Film Directorial Debut
Kristen Alderson Returns to Television!

🧂 Won’t Back Down…

I actually believe her. They probably laid a trail of breadcrumbs for Heather to find too.

Monica Garcia Clarifies Claims RHOSLC Producers Knew About Reality Von Tease

🛟 Walking the Plank…

Not exactly the best way to stand out from the crowd.

Captain Kerry Teases ‘Below Deck’ Season 11 Reaching a ‘Record of Firings’

https://www.dexerto.com/reality-tv/below-deck-fans-accuse-producers-of-hiring-bad-crew-for-more-drama-2531397

And will she be the first to go?

Below Deck’s Barbie Pascual Is Already Annoying Fans, Here’s Why

https://screenrant.com/below-deck-season-11-barbie-pascual-fired

🍸 Breakout Star…

Give that woman a raise immediately.

Tom Sandoval’s Former Assistant Ann Maddox Becomes Pump Rules Fan Favorite

🔪 They’re the Top…

Here’s hoping Padma’s shoes can be filled.

https://ew.com/top-chef-season-21-cast-premiere-date-trailer-8559815

https://parade.com/tv/top-chef-season-21

⚰️ Reuniting the Dead…

Not too long now.

https://ew.com/walking-dead-the-ones-who-live-on-set-rick-and-michonne-reunion-8576529

Epic Reunion Ahead? “The Walking Dead” Spin-Off Could Bring Back Fan-Favorite Characters

🌁 News Of the Last…

Season 2 of the show.

https://comicbookmovie.com/spider_man/madame-web/madame-web-star-isabela-merced-on-filming-her-first-scene-as-dina-for-the-last-of-us-season-2-a209371

https://comicbookmovie.com/spider_man/madame-web/madame-web-star-isabela-merced-on-filming-her-first-scene-as-dina-for-the-last-of-us-season-2-a209371

Chapter 3 of the game.

https://www.ign.com/articles/neil-druckmann-teases-concept-for-the-last-of-us-part-3-theres-probably-one-more-chapter-to-this-story

🧛🏽 On Tap…

Cutting their teeth on Season 2.

https://ew.com/interview-with-the-vampire-season-2-premiere-date-new-cast-third-anne-rice-tv-show-announced-8559740

🐉 It’s All In the Game…

New spin-off.

https://ew.com/game-of-thrones-aegon-conquest-spinoff-reported-8574988

Throne serendipity.

https://www.etonline.com/sophie-turner-reacts-to-game-of-thrones-reunion-with-kit-harington-in-new-movie-the-dreadful-219622

🐶 After the Bowl Is Over…

This is the best story.

https://people.com/how-20-years-puppy-bowl-changed-pet-adoption-8575625

🐦‍⬛ Quotes of the Week

Every piece of the universe, even the tiniest little snow crystal, matters somehow. I have a place in the pattern, and so do you. – T.A. Barron (So don’t step on any butterflies.)

Better to stay quiet than get hit with a rock. – Manuel Vëlez, 90 Day Fiancé

On truth: *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, from That Hideous Strength, compiled in Words to Live By

Goals. There’s no telling what you can do when you get inspired by them. There’s no telling what you can do when you believe in them. There’s no telling what will happen when you act upon them. – Jim Rohn

Goals are the thing you talk about instead of the thing you do. – Cherry (Rose McGowan), Planet Terror

We must all learn not only to not fear change, but to embrace it enthusiastically and, perhaps even more important, encourage and drive it. – Tony Hsieh

Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact. – William James

Humor worked with pickles, but pickles are funny. The way beans are funny, we can’t use that. We have to fight it actually. – Raymond Geiger, Heinz rep (John Sloman), Mad Men

It’s not easy having a good time. Even smiling makes my face ache. – Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), The Rocky Horror Picture Show

🍹 Presidential Day Drinking…

Return on Monday really Tuesday for soap and what’s doing on Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay enjoying the long weekend if you have one, and stay keeping in mind that one incident is not a pattern necessarily.

Feb9

February 8, 2024 – Commissioner Devane Is Reinstated, Jagger, Very Soon, 80s Fun, Her Message, Leaving Atlanta, Joining Us, Dragon New Year, Rescue Bowling & What

Posted on by
Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Michael goes to Sonny’s office and asks if he can come in. Sonny says, sure. What’s he doing here? Michael says, they haven’t spoken since New Year’s. The longer they wait, the harder it will be to have this conversation.

Nina goes over some business with Trish at the MetroCourt, when Carly comes in. She tells Trish, dinner for two, and Trish says, her guest is waiting. She brings Carly to a table where a man introduces himself as Bryson Somebody-or-Other, and they shake hands. Obviously familiar with Bryson, Nina wonders what Carly is up to.

Drew comes to the gatehouse with paperwork for Michael, and Willow says, he’s not here, but she’ll let him know Drew dropped it off. He tells her to have a good evening, and starts to leave, but Willow says she’s glad he and Michael are on good footing again. He says, him too, and he hopes things are better between her and Michael. She says, they’re working through it, and he says, he was just trying to protect his family. Drew’s not condoning anything. He’s just saying he gets that. She says, so does she. Michael’s impulse is always to control a situation, but she would rather know the truth than be protected from it. She thinks Michael understands that now. He says he’s really glad Michael was able to put Nina behind him, and she says, from the sound of things, Drew hasn’t been able to put Nina behind him.

Gregory, Chase, and Finn sit at a table at Charlie’s discussing basketball, and Lois approaches. She says, who knew the Chase boys were such Knicks fans? She thinks they were heard all the way to the Garden. Chase says, actually, his dad was rooting for Boston, and Gregory tells him, keep it quiet. They’re in a home team bar. Lois says she doesn’t mean to interrupt their post-game wrap-up, but can she steal their dad for a minute? Chase wonders if it’s about the rehearsal dinner, but she says, that’s none of his beeswax, and they sit at another table. Chase asks why Finn is watching their dad so close, but Finn says he’s not. Chase says, Finn was sneaking looks at him the whole game. What’s going on? Finn says he thinks their dad might be worse off than he’s telling them.

At the station, Jordan says, it is with great pleasure she reinstates Anna Devane as Commissioner of the Port Charles Police Department. Welcome back, Commissioner Devane. She gives Anna her badge, and everyone applauds. Anna thanks Jordan and Dante asks if she has any words for the crew on her first official day back. She says she’s very grateful to the mayor’s department for entrusting her with this role, and she’d like to acknowledge the fact that the baton is being passed by two great Commissioners, Jordan Ashford and Mac Scorpio. It is a profound honor to guide and support the hard-working officers of the PCPD. They all share the same goal, which is to protect and serve the good citizens of Port Charles. John walks in, and Anna says, and anyone who’s not with them is against them.

Dante wonders if they can trust John, and Jordan says, Anna seems to. Let’s take our lead from her.

In the interrogation room, John says, nice office, and Anna says, hers is being decorated. He says, of course (🍷). She took the job on short notice. She says, let’s get to it, shall we? She wants him to know, the PCPD is officially running an investigation on the cache stolen from the WSB and their buyers. He says, there’s still an FBI investigation, and she says she’s aware, but the way she sees it, the crime was originally committed here in her jurisdiction, putting the community of Port Charles in harm’s way. And a possible conspirator was apprehended, here, again in her jurisdiction. So the FBI can accept a partnership with the PCPD, or respectfully get the hell out of her way.

Lois tells Gregory that the rehearsal dinner used to be referred to as the groom’s dinner, so she wants to make sure her future son-in-law is well taken care of. He says, it looks like she’s going all out. Be careful or she might upset a lifetime of him and Chase’s mother trying not to spoil him. Lois says, a little spoiling never hurt anyone. Besides, she wants to take advantage of this. It’s been a while since she’s lived so close to Brook. You never know how much time you get to spend together as a family. Gregory tells her, you can say that again.

Finn tells Chase, after Spencer’s funeral, Gregory had trouble breathing. That wasn’t the first time he had an incident. The first time was with Tracy, and it’s got him wondering, what happens when he’s alone, or what could happen. What if he falls down? What if he needs an ambulance? Chase says, all that is very concerning, but it hasn’t happened yet. They’ve been lucky. Finn says, so far. He was wondering if it’s not time for their dad to stop living on his own.

At the MetroCourt bar, Martin tells Nina that he hasn’t got long. He’s leaving town today. She says she needs his legal help, and he says, his ears must deceive him. He was unaware he’d won back her trust. She says, he hasn’t, but he owes her.

Carly says she’s glad Bryson could meet on such short notice, and he says he agreed to this dinner as a courtesy. His firm has been advertising in Crimson for years. She says, and she’d like to show her appreciation. She knows that Windsor and Golden and Crimson have both enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship, and she sees no reason for that to end. He says, here’s a reason. Her relationship is garnering bad press.

Willow asks if it isn’t enough that Drew has taken Crimson away from Nina and given it to Carly to run. Nina lived for that magazine. He asks if she’s feeling sorry for Nina, because Nina doesn’t deserve that. She says she can’t help feeling partly responsible. She didn’t tell anyone about her diagnosis, and of course (🍷) the second Carly found out, she admitted Nina was her mother, but Nina blamed Carly for keeping the secret, which is what triggered Nina to do what she did. Willow set everything in motion, now everyone is suffering. Just as the family was finally coming together, they’ve completely fallen apart. He says he’s going to stop her right there because she doesn’t need to take responsibility for Nina. Nina brought this on herself. She deserves to pay the consequences. She says her concern isn’t for Nina. Her concern is for him. Carrying a grudge, meting out punishment? That’s not him. The Drew she knows is kind and forgiving. Is that man lost forever?

Michael says he started to call Sonny a dozen times, and Sonny asks, what stopped him? Michael says he wasn’t sure Sonny would answer, and Sonny says, so he thought he’d come here, where Sonny could throw him out? Michael says, it hasn’t happened yet, and Sonny tells him, that depends on what he has to say. Michael says he came to tell Sonny that he’s sorry and he hopes Sonny can forgive him.

Drew tells Willow, people change. Maybe the old Drew died in Pentenville. Willow says, Drew didn’t deserve what happened to him, and she hates that Nina’s vengeance put him in that position, especially after he saved her life. He says, all that matters is that she’s healthy and well, and he’d do anything for her in a heartbeat. She says, that sounds like the Drew she knows and loves. Please don’t let what happened to him in Pentenville change who he is. He says, maybe everything just caught up with him. Pentenville isn’t the only time he was put behind bars under terrible circumstances. The guy she knew with the rosy outlook took work to cultivate after everything Victor did to him for years, so that people wouldn’t be uncomfortable around him, so they wouldn’t worry about him. He just was so happy being back with his family and friends, he didn’t want to look back, but the joke was on him. He just went from one hellhole to another. And the thing about the attack, he didn’t see that coming. The threats were right in front of his face, and he missed them, and that’s not him either. How did he end up on the floor of a prison shower, bleeding out? Because he let his guard down. He literally turned his back, and she can trust him that it’s never going to happen again. She says, he’s been through a lot. She has too, not as extreme as him of course (🍷), but despite all that, she still believes in the power of forgiveness. And not just for the people who wronged us, but for ourselves. He says, good for her. He’s not there yet.

Nina says she’s considering starting her own magazine, and Martin says, no doubt, something to rival her old publication. She wants to go toe to toe with Crimson. What inspired this? She says, actually, Valentin suggested it. She’s warming to the idea, but only if she can use the best features of Crimson, those she developed when she was Editor-in-Chief. He asks how she proposes to do that, and she says, that’s where he comes in. She calls hello to Brook, who comes over. Brook says she’s going to do Olivia a favor by not telling Nina exactly what she thinks of her in the middle of the restaurant she co-owns. She walks away, and Martin asks, what just happened? Nina says, her attorney couldn’t keep his big mouth shut.

Bryson tells Carly that they’re aware of public sentiment. There was already concern when their highly regarded Editor-in-Chief Nina Reeves was replaced, suddenly and without cause. You add to that the controversial article about Carly and her publisher boyfriend, at this time, they’re not convinced their brands align with where this new Crimson is going. Carly says she appreciates straight talk, so she’s just going to respond in kind. Crimson magazine has just changed hands. Their editorial mission statement still remains the same, a celebration of style, art, and provocative journalism. And the publisher and owner of Aurora Media, Drew Cain, shares her mission to maintain the impeccable quality that their readers are familiar with. And she’s confident the public is going to understand this. She knows he said he wanted to suspend advertising with them, but she wants the opportunity to explain to him why she thinks he should reconsider. They want to take what’s working with Crimson and elevate the rest. He says, that’s all great, but how is she going to do that if her photographers and designers are booking other gigs rather than staying loyal to Crimson or to her?

John says, his superiors see the benefit of working with the PCPD, and Anna says, but he doesn’t. Well, it’s not his call, is it? He says, whether he agrees or not is irrelevant. Information will be provided – Jordan and Dante come in – on a need-to-know basis, and he’ll be the one to determine what qualifies. Anna says, Detective Falconari is one of her most senior officers and she trusts him implicitly. Deputy Mayor Ashford will be reporting to Mayor Collins about all of the federal operations here in Port Charles. John says, fine, but this circle of trust doesn’t get any wider. Any leaks could have deadly applications. Anna says she thinks they all understand that. Does he want to bring them up to speed? He says, her first. What information did she go to jail to hide from him?

Sonny says, Michael told him that he withheld the truth about Nina because he didn’t want to hurt him, but he doesn’t think that’s the only reason. Michael says, Sonny is the only reason he kept quiet. When he found out Nina was the SEC informant, it was after Sonny and Nina exchanged vows. How could he say anything in that moment? It would have affected everybody there. Not just Sonny and Willow and Nina, but Wiley, Kristina, Donna. And honestly, would Sonny have believed him, or given his history with Nina, would he have thought Michael was trying to sabotage her? Sonny says, they’ll never know because Michael didn’t say anything, and Michael says he needed to get evidence first. Sonny says, Michael could have pulled him aside and tried as hard as he could, but he didn’t want to do that. Why? Michael says, because once he decided to keep quiet about what Nina did, he needed to find another way to protect his family, and Sonny says, protect them how? Michael says he leveraged the truth against Nina to keep her away from them.

Anna tells John, O’Neal claims he sold multiple weapons from the stolen WSB shipment to a single buyer. One of the weapons was the rifle used to shoot Curtis Ashford. O’Neal also claims that this client is based here in Port Charles. John says, so this shooter could be right under their nose, and Dante says, this alleged client could have resold the weapons or maybe he’s part of a larger group. John says, at this point, they lack the evidence to rule out either scenario, and Jordan says, then start with what he knows. Anna says, his turn to share information with them, and John says, four individuals have been targeted for assassination since the unmarked weapons were stolen, and there’s a common denominator. Dante says, which is what? and John says, all four individuals were high-level organized crime figures.

Michael says he recorded Martin Grey admitting Nina ordered him to turn in Carly and Drew in to the SEC, and he intended on playing the recording for Sonny, but he pleaded for Nina instead. He gave her two options. Either she admitted what she did and face the consequences, or she let him decide when and how she got to see Willow and the kids. Sonny says, he blackmailed her? and Michael says, Nina had every chance to come clean about what she did, and she didn’t. That is on her. Then Ned remembered and started to push Nina, but Nina came to him to buy Ned off. That was his second mistake. He should have just called Ned’s bluff and let him expose her if that’s what he wanted. He struck a deal with Ned to keep the peace, but it didn’t matter because Lois found out anyway, and the whole thing blew up. Sonny asks why Nina didn’t come to him instead of living a lie, and Michael says, because bottom line is, she’s guilty. And she was desperate to keep the truth from Sonny and Willow because she thought neither one of them would forgive her. Sonny says, what about Michael? Where would Michael stand with him if he did?

Carly tells Bryson not to believe everything he hears. Crimson still boasts the most sought-after collaborators in the industry. He says, they enjoyed a long and profitable relationship with Nina Reeves, but Carly is untested. He’ll be frank, they have doubts. She says she can assure him this transition will be seamless. She’s already elevated her Senior Editor to Managing Editor. The Crimson he knows, and loves is only going to get better. His phone rings and he says he has to take this. He gets up and says, they can discuss terminating their current agreement when he gets back. He leaves, and Brook comes by. She says, Carly doesn’t seem to be enjoying her dinner companion, and Carly says, it’s really hard to enjoy dinner when it can cost her 2.1 million annual. Brook says, ouch.

Martin tells Nina, to be fair, long before she had him alert the SEC to Carly and Drew’s insider trading, she had a knack for alienating people. Bryson comes over, and Nina asks how he is. What’s going on? He says, it’s a complete waste of time. Crimson without her? Unthinkable. They give each other a Hollywood kiss as Carly watches. Carly says, well, that explains it.

Lois tells Gregory that she’s happy Brook found her independence, but to be honest, that’s not how she grew up. In their house, family was a generational thing. Brook grew up with her grandparents just like Lois did, with her aunt, her uncle, her two cousins living two doors down. It’s what they call the Bensonhurst Brigade. Gregory says he’s familiar with the term, and there’s a lot to be said for that. But he’s curious. When she was growing up, did she ever find that intrusive? Lois says, waiting for the bathroom was like waiting in line for the Cyclone in Coney Island. And there were eyes on you at all times. They were loving eyes, but they were there to keep you honest. But family is family, right? And looking back, she’s got to say she’s so glad she got to know her parents and her grandparents as well as she did. Violet must really appreciate him living so close by.

Chase asks if Finn is thinking about putting their dad in a long-term care facility, and Finn says, what is he talking about? No. Chase says, Finn doesn’t want their dad to live alone. He lives in a one-bedroom apartment with Brook, so he assumes Finn is talking about his place. Finn says, things will be tight with Violet there, but he thinks he can move his office to the small bedroom. Chase says he doesn’t think their dad would care about the amount of space. The main challenge would be their dad feeling like Finn is taking away his independence.

Chase says, their dad has his challenges; there’s no two ways about it. But he’s still able to navigate them. He sees what Finn is saying about all the things that can go wrong with him living alone, but for now, that hasn’t happened. They’ll get him a watch that will send an alert when he falls. Finn says, he wants to rely on a watch, but Chase says he wants to rely on their dad. He thinks there’s a way they can keep a close eye on him without being too intrusive. Then they can step in if they see a problem. But they should let him keep his independence for as long as possible and get him a watch.

Gregory asks Lois, how was it living with her grandparents? Does she think they felt infantilized by having their kids taking care of them? She says, is he kidding her? They loved it. It kept them young. He knows the saying, it takes a village? Well, that only works if you actually have a village. And as they got older, they knew somebody was always going to be there to help them out. They really loved that, especially when it came to the TV remote and the microwave. Anyway, she has to go, but she’ll keep him posted on everything about the rehearsal dinner as soon as the vendors confirm. He says, vendors? and holds out his hand. She says, stop it with that. They’re almost family. She kisses his cheek, wipes the lipstick off, and leaves.

Brook says, Carly just took over. She’ll make her mark and then everyone will forget all about Nina Reeves. Carly says, unfortunately, she’s not off to a great start. Advertisers and contributors are threatening to cut ties with the magazine, and if she loses Bryson’s account, it could really affect the bottom line. They see Bryson tell Nina goodbye, and Brook asks what she can do, but Carly says, nothing. She doesn’t need to worry about this; this is not her problem. Brook says, of course (🍷) it is. Nina is doing everything in her power to undermine Carly. (Apparently, it doesn’t take much, since she really hasn’t done anything.) This is the same woman who let everyone believe Brook’s father turned Carly over to the SEC when he had a head injury and couldn’t even defend himself. Is she over it? Not even a little bit. Let’s do this. They can get Windsor and Golden back. They just have to be a little creative.

Nina says, as Martin can see, she’s the one with the relationships, and he says, the gentleman certainly seemed to hold her in high esteem. Nina says, Bryson is an ad rep for Windsor and Golden. For years, they were Crimson’s top advertisers, but no more. Which positions them beautifully to be one of the first ad buys in her venture. What she needs now is her staff getting compete clauses waived. Can he get around that?

Michael says, if Sonny decides to forgive Nina or if he doesn’t, it’s not for him to judge, but Sonny says, that wasn’t an answer to his question. Michael says he thinks they’re all better off without Nina in their lives, but he won’t pursue any further action to drive her away. If Willow wants to let her back in, he’ll have to live with that. Sonny says, all right. What about him? Michael says, no matter who Sonny is with, he’ll always have a place in Wiley and Amelia’s lives, and Sonny says he loves those kids. He hated being estranged all those months. Michael says, it’ll never happen again, and he hopes Sonny will choose to be a part of his life too. He can’t promise to like or trust Nina, but he can’t allow Nina to cost him his wife or his father.

Anna says, it seems to her that whoever is ordering these hits is cutting a swathe across the country. Would this be mafia power grabs or what? John says, that’s what’s puzzling. No one is stepping forward to claim responsibility. There’s been no resulting turf wars. Anna says, that would suggest it’s not business, it’s personal, and Dante asks what they’re doing to protect those who’ve been targeted. John says, they’re not in the business of protecting criminals. If they’re going to nail this perp, they can’t tip them off that they know the pattern. Dante says, so what John’s telling them is, he just wants to get his guy and to hell with saving lives?

Finn says he understands Chase’s point, but he’s still uneasy about this. Gregory comes back and says, uneasy about what? Finn says, the Knicks chances of making it to the finals, and Gregory says, good luck with that. Chase asks if everything is okay with Lois, and Gregory says, yes. She was telling him about how she grew up in a multigenerational home and it got him to thinking. He’s had a couple of health scares recently. Nothing to be alarmed about, but enough to make him wonder if it’s wise to live alone. He doesn’t want to intrude on Finn, but it might make sense to be near a doctor (and Finn gets free babysitting!). Finn says he’s sure they can work something out. It would be nice to have Gregory in the apartment, someone to keep an eye on Violet in case he has an emergency at the hospital. But only if it’s something Gregory really wants. Gregory says, yes, he does. I wonder why they don’t they pool their money and get a big-ass house for everybody.

John says, sounds to him like Dante’s personal connection could be a problem, and Dante says, sounds to him like John’s personal animosity toward Sonny could be a problem. (Touché!) Anna says, everyone in this room has a personal connection to Sonny. Let’s just get that out of the way. But she thinks they also share a determination to bring whoever is behind these shootings to justice. That should be their one and only focus. Jordan says she agrees. Whoever is behind this is organized, calculated, and doesn’t care about collateral damage. Anna says, they need to be stopped before they hurt anyone else. She asks if she can have a word with John, and Jordan says she has some calls to make. She’ll be right outside if she’s needed. She leaves and Dante starts to follow, when John says, what Dante’s been told is classified. Dante leaves, and Anna asks if that was necessary. John asks if she doesn’t think he’s going to warn his old man, and she says, of course (🍷) he wants to, but he won’t. John should be the one to do that. John says, no. Tipping off Sonny Corinthos just gives him a pass for vigilante justice. Anna says, or it enables him to check in with his security and figure out how to protect himself. She understands there’s no love lost between him and Sonny, but he shouldn’t let that cloud his judgement. He asks, what’s that supposed to mean? and she says, despite his disapproval, Sonny means the world to a lot of people. Tell her. What would he think Stone would want him to do? That’s kind of what I was thinking. Why is John so pissed at Sonny when Sonny was so good to Stone?

Sonny tells Michael that sometimes he looks at Nina and still sees the woman he married. Then he thinks of Donna and how close she came to losing her mother to a prison sentence, and Drew getting close to being beaten to death in Pentenville. And Nina set all that in motion. Michael says he realizes it’s not his right to make decisions for the people he loves. So if Sonny wants to forgive Nina and let her back into his life again, it won’t affect their relationship. That is, if they still have a relationship.

Drew stares into the fire, and Willow comes downstairs. She says, sorry it took so long. Amelia is still adjusting to the sippy cup. He says he can’t believe she’s one now, and she says, her neither. She and Michael didn’t want to have a big birthday celebration, especially with everything going on. They kept it just them and the kids. Drew says he gets that. He missed out on so many birthdays with Scout. That’s time he’ll never get back. She says, but they have the rest of their lives now, and he says, her outlook is remarkable. She says she realizes some people might find her too forgiving, but she doesn’t view that as a weakness. Actually, it’s been the key to her survival. Forgiveness and gratitude have helped her over the worst things that have happened to her. She’s just so thankful to be alive and well, everything else takes a backseat to that. He says he thinks she’s one of the strongest people he knows, and she says, same. She’s standing here raising her children thanks to him. He says, she did all the work. She’s standing here because she’s a fighter. She says she didn’t fight alone. He flew across the globe and put his life on the line to bring her bone marrow donor home. Would he still do that today for her? Or would punishing Nina take precedence? He says he wouldn’t think twice. He would never turn his back on her. She says, even if she let him down, and he tells her, like he said, people change, but some things don’t. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for the people that he loves, but Nina is not one of them.

Martin says, Nina doesn’t need a lawyer. She needs a magician. Aurora’s contracts are ironclad. He’d have to be Houdini to get anybody released from something like that. Then again, it is her money, and if she wants him to waste time and energy… She says, forgive her, but he’s going to do this pro bono because she did him a favor. He broke attorney/client privilege. She could have him disbarred. He asks exactly how she’s going to do that, prove that privilege was breached. Is she going to get Michael Corinthos to sign an affidavit? Once again, she’s doing this all wrong. She’s going about it the wrong way. If she starts the conversation like that, he’s not inclined to help her. He’ll peruse the contracts and look for a loophole, some way to get her staff released. But not because of her threat… Stop grinning at him. Not because she threatened him, but because he accepts responsibility for the part he played in what happened. She says she’s glad he recognizes that. She’s focused on two things. One, she wants her staff back. He says he’s got that part, and she says, and two, she wants Crimson to eat her dust.

Brook says she’s sure Salvadore will be thrilled to accept. The entire team at Deception is thrilled with how seamlessly Carly has taken control. Bryson approaches the table, and Carly thanks Brook so much. Brook asks if she’s in his seat, and he says, is she at Deception? Carly says, Brook is Deception. She and her grandmother Tracy are the majority shareholders. Brook says, and he is? and he says he’s Bryson Daugherty. They shake hands, and Carly says, he’s Crimson’s longstanding advertising rep with Windsor and Golden. Bryson asks if he just heard her mention Salvadore, the photographer. That guy’s a phenomenal talent. Brook says she thinks so too, and he says he heard Salvadore was boycotting Crimson. Carly says she told him not to believe everything he hears. Does Brook mind if she shares the good news about the Face of Deception? Brook says, by all means, and Carly says she offered Sasha Gilmore the cover to be designed by a top designer and to be shot by Salvadore. He says, that is exciting, both for her and Deception. He tried to make a marketing deal with Lucy Coe, but they just could never agree on terms. Brook says, just like Crimson, Deception is under new management, and Carly says, which means, new opportunities. Would he like to join them and throw around some ideas? Bryson says he’s all ears and sits with them.

Nina sees Bryson shaking hands with Carly and ducks around the corner. Bryson says he looks forward to working with Carly and goes to the elevator. Carly approaches Nina and says, she’s right. The magazine industry is tough. Good thing she’s tougher. She gets in the elevator with Bryson and Brook, tossing her head like a circus pony. Martin tells Nina that he has to get going. He’s got to catch a flight, but if she needs any more legal advice, rub the lamp and he’ll be in touch. She says, wait. She just realized what she wants him to do.

Gregory says, it will be nice moving in with Finn and Violet. It will give them more time together as a family. Chase says he’s not going to lie. He’s feeling a little FOMO right now. Gregory laughs and asks if Chase is impressed that he knows what that means. Violet hipped him to it. Chase says he was impressed until Gregory said hipped, and Gregory tells Finn, if he moves in, Violet is going to start asking questions. They’re going to have to tell her about his disease. Finn says he knows. Maybe they can tell her together. Gregory says, together sounds good.

Willow walks Drew to the door and says, Michael seems more at peace now that he’s dropped his vendetta against Nina. She just wants the same thing for him. Drew says, maybe Michael’s a better man than him right now, and she says, still, she won’t stop wishing. He says, she probably won’t, tells her to take care, and leaves. Willow calls Michael, who asks if everything is okay. She says, everything’s fine. Drew brought over some paperwork for him. He thanks her and says he’ll pick it up later when he comes by to tuck the kids in. She says, or he could just stay here at the gatehouse tonight. There’s plenty of room and the kids would like waking up to him in the morning. He asks if she’s sure, and she says she’d like it too. He says, okay. He’ll see her at home.

Dante tells Anna that he’s sorry if he was out of line. He doesn’t want to be taken off this investigation, but he also doesn’t want to undermine it at the same time. They’re talking about information that could be the difference between his father living or dying. Anna asks if there’s any way around this, and Jordan says, not unless she wants to start her tenure as Commissioner under fire, but Dante says he’s not asking her to compromise herself. He’ll deal with it. Anna says, don’t. He’s worried about his father. She is too. That’s why she just pressured John to do the right thing. He says he’s not going to hold his breath. The thing is, he had information to offer up before Agent Cates took off. Jordan asks, what’s going on? and Dante says, Sonny thinks the shooter could be known to him. Jordan says, part of his organization, and Dante says, possibly. The shooter’s getting information from inside his organization. He doesn’t want Sonny left in the dark. He doesn’t want Sonny overlooking the real threat while he’s off chasing shadows.

There’s a knock at Sonny’s office door and Frank comes in. He says, there’s a federal agent here to see Sonny, and Sonny asks if he has a warrant. Frank says, no. He said he just wants a word. Sonny throws up his hands, and Frank lets John in. John says, long time, no see, Sonny, and Sonny says, Jagger Cates, and smiles. John asks if he has a minute.

Tomorrow, Brick says, Jordan needs to consider the much bigger picture; Drew says, it’s up to Carly; Willow tells Michael that maybe she doesn’t believe in lost causes; and Sonny tells John to take his best shot.

🚓 Returning From the Night Shift…

Funny. He doesn’t look like Antonio Sabato, Jr.

Who Is John “Jagger” Cates on GENERAL HOSPITAL?

🚴‍♂️ He’s This-Close…

Monday, March 4th. Be there or miss Jason’s entrance.

Steve Burton’s First Air Date at GENERAL HOSPITAL Revealed!

👖 A Flock Of Gearys…

Good times in the 80s.

Check Out a Vintage Commercial Starring Multiple Anthony Gearys!

❤️‍🩹 Sharing Her Heart…

Wise words from a beautiful soul.

Kristina Wagner Shares a Beautiful Message About Grief

🍑 Atlanta’s Loss…

I can’t say I blame her. She’s too talented for this.

https://people.com/kandi-burruss-departs-real-housewives-of-atlanta-ahead-season-16-8558560

Those with the feels.

Andy Cohen Breaks Silence on Kandi Burruss Leaving ‘RHOA’
Kenya Moore ‘Disappointed’ Kandi Burruss Is Leaving RHOA

📋 Casting a Character…

No doubt she’ll be interesting.

https://people.com/the-last-of-us-catherine-ohara-joins-season-2-8558192

🐉 Year Of the Dragon…

Read all about it.

https://chinesenewyear.net

The condensed version.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/lunar-new-year-2024-illustrated-guide-intl-hnk/index.html

🐾 Tail Wagging Bowls…

Another Bowl worth watching. I got one of my cats from North Shore Animal League. I went in for a kitten, and came out with the biggest one there. He grabbed my coat and cried as I was walking by. How could I leave him? He was a great cat too. RIP Kipling.

https://ew.com/great-american-rescue-bowl-meet-precious-puppies-and-kittens-8549899

https://ew.com/watch-adorable-kittens-displaced-hawaii-fires-8558122

🏒 A Hockey Game Broke Out At This Fight…

U-turn it back tomorrow for soap and pre-Bowl shenanigans. Until then, stay safe, stay being fully present in your interactions, and stay considering belief in the power of forgiveness. Not just for the people who wronged you, but for yourself.

Jan13

January 12, 2024 – Sonny Tests Dex’s Loyalty, Return Reveal, Supporters, A Legend Remembered, Absurd, Competent, No Drama, Next Us, The Ones, After, Bowling Pups, X Quotes & Dry

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Ava walks into the gallery and Nikolas says, good morning. She says, not anymore, it isn’t, and he asks if she’s sent out the invites to her little party yet. She says, nope, and he says, they agreed she’d throw a party and invite Esme. Ava says, Esme’s partying days are over. At least for now. She’s in jail. You’re welcome.

Spencer meets Esme in the interrogation room, and she asks if Ace is okay. Did he miss her? Did he sleep? Spencer says, Ace is okay. Of course (🍷) he missed her, but they were able to keep him preoccupied until he fell asleep. He’s comfortable at Laura’s place. After all, it was his first home. She says she doesn’t want him upset, but he says, it seems like she’s the one who’s upset right now. Did she sleep? She says, of course (🍷) not. She was too keyed up about the hearing today. He says he gets it. Facing prison time is frightening. She says, of course (🍷) he gets it; he’s done this himself. She’s not worried so much about her. She’s just worried about what will happen to her son.

Portia is snoozing with her head on Curtis’s hospital bed, when Curtis wakes up. He asks how he did, and she says, flying colors. One for the record books. Stella comes in with coffee and says, look who’s up… again. Curtis says he was up before? and Stella says, yes, and he promised to buy her a new car. He says he has no recollection of that, and Portia says, nice try. He’s been in and out, but that’s to be expected, and he seems fully conscious now. He says he’s slept enough and he’s ready to take on the day. Stella says, time to spread the good news.

Josslyn asks where Trina is off to, and Trina says, GH to see about Curtis. Is she okay? What’s going on? Josslyn says she’s just second-guessing herself. She told the RA about Adam. He was just so drunk on New Year’s Eve and so upset about his parents possibly pulling him out of PCU. She just wants to help. Trina says, Josslyn doesn’t have to justify it to her. Josslyn says, Dex thinks Adam’s emotional problems are too big for her to handle by herself. She agrees, but she still feels like she ratted him out. Trina’s phone rings, and she asks Stella if everything is okay… Really?… Okay. She’s on her way. Josslyn asks, is everything okay? and Trina says, everything’s great. Curtis is awake.

Diane meets Robert at the PC Grill, and he says he’s so sorry about last night, but she says she completely understands. She’s just curious as to who or what was enticing enough to lure him away from what would have been a wonderful evening. He says, Sonny Corinthos.

Sonny and Dex walk into Sonny’s office at Pozzulo’s, and Sonny says, anything? Frank says, crib’s clean, and runs a device over Dex. Dex asks, what’s wrong? Did they find a bug? Sonny says he’s just being careful, and Frank says, he’s clean. Frank leaves, and Sonny says, he and Dex need to have a conversation. Once they do, it does not leave this office. They sit down, and Dex says, understood. Sonny says he needs Dex to do something important for him. It’s sort of a crucial test, and once Dex does this for him, there’s no looking back.

Josslyn hugs Trina and says she’s so glad Curtis is awake. Trina must be so relieved. Trina says, Josslyn has no idea. Is she going to be okay, or does she need to talk some more? Josslyn says she’s good. Go see Curtis… Trina’s dad she means. Trina laughs and says, that’s okay. She trips up all the time. (Hey, what happened to Taggert anyway?) Trina tells Josslyn not to beat herself up for talking to Kylie. Adam is really lucky to have a friend who cares so much. Josslyn says, thanks, and Trina opens the door. Adam is there, and she says she was just on her way out. She leaves, and Josslyn invites Adam in. He says he was surprised to get her text. He figured after New Year’s, she wouldn’t want to talk to him again. He was wrecked. It turns out frat parties aren’t his vibe. She says she was really worried about him. Has he heard from his parents, or have they said anything more about him leaving school? He says, they really want him back home, but he’d rather be anywhere but there. She says she knows problems with parents can be tough, but they’re not insurmountable. He says he gets that she’s being kind and tactful. He knows he should stand up for himself, but he’s just not strong enough.

Deanna tells Curtis that everything looks good. Just buzz if he needs anything. They all thank her, she says, of course (🍷), and leaves. Portia says, Dr. Martel came by earlier and should be back a little bit later, but he said the surgery went very well. No surprises, no complications, and he says it’s looking very positive. Curtis says, that’s good to hear. Now they just wait for the swelling to go down and maybe he can dunk a ball again. Stella says, big talk. She’s glad she’s here and not TJ. She knows he’d have something to say about that. Does Curtis want them to call his dad and tell him that he’s awake? Portia says, they probably should, right? but Curtis says, not if it means waking him up. Let him rest. Portia should get some rest too. Portia says she’s fine. She’s fresh as a daisy. He says, and twice as beautiful.

Esme asks if Spencer saw Ace this morning. She normally feeds him and gets him ready for daycare. Spencer says he fed Ace, and she says, he’s going to be so confused. His whole schedule is off. Spencer says, he’s fine, but she says, he won’t be if she disappears from his life. Growing up without a mother is awful. Isn’t that what Spencer told her? He says, Ace isn’t growing up without her. He’s not. She’s a good mother. She says, does he really mean that? and he says, yes, but he’s got to ask. Why would she sacrifice his safety and security so she could break into Windymere of all places? Why did she go there on Christmas?

Nikolas says, why insist on pressing charges against Esme? and Ava says, because the opportunity to right a wrong presented itself. Esme should already be serving a very long sentence for what she did to Trina and to Josslyn and to Cameron. In an hour, she’s going down to the courthouse and watch their judicial system in action. He says, so Esme’s hearing is today, and she say she wishes she could bring popcorn. Nikolas suddenly jets, and Nina calls Ava’s name. She comes in the back way and asks if Ava is with a customer. She thought she heard her talking to someone. Ava says she was on the phone. She’s been trying to reach Nina. What happened after New Year’s Eve? How did Sonny find out it was her who went to the SEC? Nina says, Sonny told Ava, but Ava says, he hasn’t said a word, and she thought it best to just stay out of his way. When Sonny feels betrayed, he’s downright dangerous.

Sonny says, Dex is aware of his legal troubles. Cyrus brought cops into a situation that should just have been between them. He seriously miscalculated. Dex says, in what way? and Sonny says, the only thing Dex needs to know is, things are going to change around here. He needs to go back to focusing on the business. He hasn’t been doing that lately. Cyrus was released from prison, and now he’s causing trouble – again. Dex asks if Sonny wants to suspend business until after his trial, but Sonny says, there’s not going to be a trial. That’s where Dex comes in. Dex has to take care of Cyrus for him. Dex says, to keep him from testifying? Does Sonny want him to scare Cyrus? Sonny says, to death.

Josslyn hands Adam something to drink, and he says, thanks, but she didn’t ask him over here to check his hydration, did she? She says, he’s right. She didn’t. And what he said about not being strong enough to talk to his parents? She thinks he can. He needs to tell them what’s going on with him. But when she said that he should talk to someone, she didn’t mean just her. There’s a knock at the door, and she says she went to someone for help. She opens the door to RA Kylie, and Adam says, she’s a snitch.

Nina says she’s guessing Sonny doesn’t know that Ava’s the one who encouraged her to turn in Carly and Drew, and Ava says, what? They’ve been over this. She did not encourage Nina and Nina knows it. She was just calling Nina’s bluff to make her see reason. She wasn’t supposed to actually go through with it, which Nina did without her knowledge and involvement. But Sonny doesn’t know she knew it was Nina. She doesn’t think she’d be staying at his penthouse if he did. She and Sonny have reached a place where they can almost trust each other for Avery’s sake. Nina says, don’t worry. She’s not going to put Ava in the middle of this. She’s afraid Sonny hates her now and she’s just going to have to deal with it on her own. Ava says she doesn’t think Sonny hates Nina. He just goes to a dark place when he’s hurt. And you know what they say; hurt people hurt people. Nina says her earth shattered when Sonny slammed the door in her face, and Ava says she’s sure it was painful, but she’s talking about Cyrus Renault. Nina says, what about him? and Ava says, she doesn’t know? Cyrus is in the hospital. Sonny beat him almost to death.

Trina says she’s so happy to see Curtis and runs to the bed to hug him. He says he’s happy for the same, and she says, how is he? How is he feeling? He’s not in any pain, right? He says, no. Her beautiful mom and his doctor have his pain management under control. Enough about him. How about her? She’s back in school. Did she get the classes she wanted? Portia says, that and then some, and Trina gives her a look. Curtis says, okay, what did he miss? and Trina says she was accepted to study at the Sorbonne for a semester abroad. He says, that’s great. Paris, that’s wonderful, the Louvre, all the artwork. She’s going to be in heaven. Plus, Paris is beautiful in the fall. She says, the thing is, she was accepted to study for the spring semester, and he says, as in this spring? Why hasn’t she said anything? She says she found out over the holidays and thought she wasn’t going to go. Portia says, it’s just such a wonderful opportunity, and Stella says, the chance of a lifetime. Curtis says, it absolutely is. Why wouldn’t she? Trina says she just thought that right now wouldn’t be the right moment to be so far away, and he says, for him? She says, if he’d rather she stay, she totally understands. She wants to. He asks if Portia and Stella mind if he talks to his child, Stella says, absolutely, and she and Portia leave.

Spencer tells Esme, look at that. Coffee, something to eat. He puts it in front of her and says, the coffee’s terrible though. She says she’ll take the terrible coffee. She’s not hungry. She pushes the plate aside, and he says, she should eat something. She has a big day ahead of her. He sits down and asks if she’s going to tell him what she was thinking; why she broke into Windymere. She says she was lonely. They had Ace and she was confused about her life. Windymere was the last place she was before she lost her memory. He says, it sounds to him like she went looking for her old memories, and she says, so she can be the most hated person in Port Charles again? Sure. Why doesn’t she go back to a time when everyone was against her? He says, that’s really interesting because the old Esme had a persecution complex as well. Maybe she’s closer to her than she thinks. She says she doesn’t have to imagine much. Everyone has already told her how terrible the old Esme was. You know what they say about first impressions. Her first impression of her former self has been a lasting one. She really wants to be a good person, but he has no idea how hard it is. He says he gets it. He knows what it’s like to have people judge you for your past actions, but the bottom line is, he doesn’t want her to go to prison. He thinks that Ace is going to be a lot happier if she doesn’t go away. She asks if he’ll bring Ace to the courthouse. She already misses him so much. She needs to see her baby. Please. Will he do that for her?

In the hallway, Portia asks Stella if she just blew it, bringing up that news about Trina. He just woke up from his surgery… Stella says, take a breath. She wanted to give him some good news and this is good news. Portia says, it is good news, but she’s tired. She’s really not thinking straight. She just should have waited, that’s all. Stella says, it’s no wonder. They’ve all gone home to sleep, and she’s been by Curtis’s side since he went into surgery. She has to take care of herself. Curtis still has a long road ahead of him, and he’s going to need her to support him.

Curtis asks if Trina has accepted yet, and she says, not yet, but the deadline is approaching. She knows he’s going to tell her to go, but when she thinks about not being here when he gets back on his feet… He says, there’s no guarantee he will walk again, but she says she has faith. He’s one of the strongest people she knows, and she knows he’s going to do anything to get back on his feet. He says, whether he does or doesn’t, it’s not helping if she passes on this amazing opportunity. She should go. He’ll be here when she gets back. Not right here, but he’ll be here. Who knows? Maybe he’ll be on his feet in time to see her there in Paris. Unless he’d be cramping her style. Because he doesn’t want to interfere with her solo adventure. She says, actually, she won’t be solo. Spencer’s coming with her.

Nina asks if Cyrus went to Sonny, but Ava says she thinks it was a case of wrong place, wrong time. Sonny found out about Nina, he went to the church, and Cyrus showed up and said something that triggered him, and Sonny lost it. Nina says, at the church? It was Cyrus who told Sonny that she was the one who tipped off the SEC. Ava asks, how the hell did Cyrus know? and Nina says, because she was in church. She was confessing her sins to a priest, but it wasn’t a priest. It was Cyrus Renault. He knows everything. Ava says, he knew before Sonny knew. She can see why that might push Sonny over the edge. Nina says, bragging to Sonny when Sonny was at his lowest, he deserved whatever happened to him. At least now Cyrus doesn’t have anything that he’s holding over either one of them. Ava says, Cyrus went to the cops. Sonny is facing assault charges. Nina says, he was arrested? and Ava says, he’s out now, but he’s going to have to go to trial. Nina says, Diane will get him off, right? and Ava says, Diane is a very good lawyer, but Cyrus hates Sonny. He’s not going to let this go. And the PCPD has been trying to put Sonny behind bars for decades. They’re not going to miss this chance.

Diane says, Robert doesn’t want to appear overconfident. That’s going to make it all the more disappointing when her client walks, yet again. Robert says, these charges aren’t business as usual. Whatever it was that set Sonny off, he almost killed a man with his bare hands. He’s simply here to see that Sonny pays for it. She says, he’s unusually and unprofessionally gleeful about this, but she is a professional, so she’ll remind him that her client is innocent until proven guilty. This community loves Sonny Corinthos, an exceptional businessman, a wonderful father. Cyrus Renault on the other hand, is a career criminal with a rap sheet that stretches across Texas. She doesn’t know why he’s bothering to bring this to trial. Who’s the more credible witness here? He says, Cyrus Renault, he’s a criminal. Then again, so is Sonny. Diane says, well… and Robert says, the thing is, they now have DNA that puts Sonny at the scene of the crime, which is actually going to put him away, and there’s not a thing she can do about that.

Sonny says, Dex has always come through for him when he’s asked. Dex has proven his loyalty. Sonny thinks there’s just one final step. Dex does this for him, they’ll always have his back. He won’t have to ask for anything. He’ll always be there for Dex. Cyrus is an old man. Nobody’s going to be surprised when his heart gives out on him. Dex says he guesses that makes sense, and Sonny asks what he means. Does he have something on his mind? Dex says, it’s not his place, and Sonny says, it’s not, but it’s a big ask. So if Dex has something on his mind, go ahead and spit it out. Dex says, killing Cyrus Renault gets rid of the man, but it doesn’t necessarily get rid of the charges against Sonny. The DA might even up the charges from assault to manslaughter, saying that Renault died as a result of his injuries. Sonny says, Robert Scorpio can do whatever he wants, but his case is going to fall apart if Cyrus isn’t there. Nobody saw him at All Saints. There are no witnesses to testify against him. There are no cameras in the church. He wants to send a message – nobody crosses Sonny Corinthos. He wants people to remember that. Dex says he’s sure they will, but he’s concerned about Sonny. There’s DNA. He wasn’t wearing gloves; his knuckles are proof. Sonny says, that’s what he pays Diane for, because she can discredit any DNA evidence if she has to. Dex gets up, and Sonny asks if he’s satisfied, or does he have something else? Dex looks at Sonny and Sonny says, disappointing. He gets up and says, if he can’t ask Dex to do something for him, that means Dex doesn’t trust him, which means he can’t rely on Dex. He told Dex from the beginning that he needs loyal men by his side. Is he loyal or not?

Curtis says, Spencer cares a great deal about Trina. He’s going to give her his two cents. Spend it how she likes. He thinks Paris should be about her. It should be about figuring out who she is, and the woman she wants to become. It’s only a semester, right? And Spencer will be here when she gets back. Won’t he?

Spencer tells Esme, don’t worry. He’ll bring Ace to the courthouse. She thanks him and says she still doesn’t know what she’s going to do. Ava’s intent on throwing the book at her for what she supposedly did to Trina. He says, supposedly? and she says she doesn’t remember any of it. She’s not denying the things people have said the old Esme has done, but to go to jail for something she doesn’t remember doing, when she’s no longer that person? Even Trina didn’t want that. He says, that’s correct. Trina convinced them all that it wasn’t fair and that’s why Esme wasn’t charged. Esme says, and Trina said she did it for Ace, and she appreciates that, but Ava doesn’t see it that way. Why can’t she just let it go? Spencer says, Esme broke into Ava’s home and actions have consequences, and she tells him, says the person who’s skirted consequences his entire life. He says, she remembers, doesn’t she?

Adam says he can’t believe Josslyn would do this to him. How can she get him in trouble like this? She says she was just trying to get him some help, and Kylie says, he’s not in trouble. Josslyn did the right thing coming to her. It’s okay. They want to help him. Adam tells Josslyn that she had no right to say anything, but she says she knows he’s unhappy. All he does is study and push himself. He barely even goes out. He says, that’s because it’s all he’s got, okay? Or that he had. Kylie says, school can be a lot of pressure, and Josslyn’s just being a friend. She’s already spoken to Health Services, and someone can speak to him today. The counselor sent a form to his student portal. He asks why she’d do that. His parents are going to see it.

Nina tells Ava that Sonny could go to prison because of her. It’s all her fault. Does she know where he is? Ava says, in his office maybe? and Nina says she has to help him. She has to do something. Ava says, no. She doesn’t think Sonny wants Nina’s help right now. Nina says, he’s still her husband and she loves him. She has to try. Ava says, okay. Good luck. Call me. Nina leaves, and Nikolas comes back in. He says, so Sonny’s not so untouchable after all. It’s about time that sanctimonious hypocrite was taken down a peg or two. Ava says, he’s still here, huh? and he says, so Esme’s hearing is definitely today? She says, uh-huh, and he says he supposes his mother and Spencer will be there. She says, that’s very likely. Like she said, you’re welcome. He says, what for? and she says, once Esme is behind bars, he won’t have to worry about sweet little Ace. He’ll be safe and sound with Laura. He says, then he guesses this is goodbye.

Diane says, Robert wouldn’t be the first public servant to get giddy at the thought of taking down Sonny Corinthos. So allow her to point out a few things that others have learned at great cost. He says, that sounds like a threat, but she says, don’t be silly. She’s simply observing that if he were to bring this to trial, the defendant is going to be far more appealing than the alleged victim. Does he even think he can impanel twelve jurors who will find Cyrus Renault more credible than Sonny Corinthos? Even if he was able to prove that Sonny attacked Cyrus, no one’s going to shed any tears at the fact that Cyrus finally got a taste of his own medicine. Robert asks if there’s nothing to be said for redemption here, and she laughs. He says, Cyrus Renault is now a man of God, beaten within an inch of his life in a church. What does she think the jury’s going to make of that?

Dex says he is loyal to Sonny. It’s his job to protect Sonny and protect his interests. And that includes speaking up when he sees potential problems. Sonny says he knows. He hears what Dex is saying, but this is something Dex needs to know. He’s going to make this happen and he thought Dex was up to the job. It’s just a shame Dex is going to fall short of his expectations, but it’s better he’s hearing about this now than hearing about it later. So let’s just erase any doubts we have here. Is Dex with him?

Adam says, his parents will go crazy if they think he’s out partying. They’ll think he has a drinking problem. Kylie says, no. His student portal is confidential. He says, she doesn’t get it. His parents forced him to give them his password when they found out he lied about having an internship. Kylie says she’s sure the counselor will be willing to talk to his parents. Don’t worry. Everything will be confidential. There are so many students going through tough times these days. It’s not that uncommon. Josslyn says, please, just listen to Kylie. She thinks talking to the counselor is a good idea, and it could really help him. She’ll even go with him if he wants. Kylie says, they can go over to Health Services right now, and Josslyn says, come on, Adam, please.

Ava says, goodbye? and Nikolas says, it’s time for him to leave Port Charles. He’s a wanted man. He held Esme captive and it’s too soon to make almonds amends with Spencer and his mother. He doesn’t have a place in Port Charles right now. She asks if he’ll be back, and he says he’s not sure as to when. She guesses this is goodbye then, and he turns to leave, but she calls him back. She says she’s really glad she didn’t kill him, and he tells her that she says the sweetest things. He touches her face and tells her to take care of herself. She says, him too, and he leaves.

Sonny says, Dex told him that he wanted to advance. He said he wanted to do something for the organization. The way he sees it, this is how Dex does it. Dex says he agrees that Cyrus is dangerous, and Sonny says he has no doubt that Cyrus is going to come after the people closest to him. His kids, his grandkids, Sasha, Carly – he puts his hand on Dex’s shoulder – Josslyn. They’re all in danger and he doesn’t want them to live like this forever. Dex says, what about Mrs. Corinthos? Is she being protected? Sonny says he will deal with Nina. Dex deals with Cyrus. Dex asks when Sonny wants him to do it, and Sonny says, immediately. Cyrus is weak. He’s exposed. Anything can happen in a hospital. Dex says, okay. How do they make that happen?

Portia and Stella go back into Curtis’s room, and Curtis asks if Trina is going to the hearing. Portia says, Trina told him about Esme breaking into Windymere, and he says, he’s guessing she’s sitting with Ava. Trina says she thought about it, but she wanted to be here with him. He says, don’t worry about him. He’s not going anywhere. Besides, she needs to see this through. This could mean Esme’s finally out of her life. He’s glad Ava pressed charges. Trina says, her too, and he asks what Esme was doing at Windymere anyway. It just seems strange. Trina says, no clue, and Stella says she still doesn’t trust her. Trina says, neither does she, but she does feel bad for Ace. If Esme goes to prison, he’ll have no parents.

Spencer asks if Esme is starting to remember, but she says, no. She’s just going off everything she’s learned of his past from Laura and Doc. An officer tells Esme that her lawyer’s here. He’ll take her back to get dressed for court. She thanks him and says, Spencer is still bringing Ace to court, right? He says he is, and she thanks him for coming. She says, I really need you on my side, Spence, and leaves, and he flashes back to her calling him Spence, and saying, he’s even more pathetic than when she first met him. He says, Spence.

Trina leaves, and Portia asks if she told Curtis everything about Paris. He says, she did, and Portia says, he knows she doesn’t like the idea of Spencer going to Paris with Trina. He says, neither does he, but hopefully, they won’t have to worry about that. Stella says, why is that? and Curtis says, if Esme goes to prison, Spencer’s not going to want his brother to be alone. He’s going to stay right here in Port Charles and raise Ace. Portia says, fingers crossed.

Robert says, Diane hasn’t touched her food. She doesn’t like it? She says, no. She just seems to have lost her appetite. Clearly, Robert doesn’t want to litigate this case on its merits. He’s just someone else who wants to take down Sonny. He says, anything at all to rid this town of Corinthos. Although he will miss Sonny’s coffee. She folds her arms, and he says, come on. Think of all the extra time she’ll have on her hands now that her biggest client is going away for the rest of his life. Whatever will she do? She says, oh golly. She’s sure she can find someone or something to keep her busy. She gets up and says, she’ll tell him this though, she won’t be busy with him. She walks out and he looks perplexed.

In his office, Sonny looks at his bruised knuckles, then puts the picture of Nina on his desk face down. There’s a knock at the door, and he says, come in. Frank brings him the mail and asks if there’s anything else he can get Sonny. Sonny says, no. He thinks he’s got everything under control.

At the hospital, Dex makes a call and says, come on, Joss, pick up.

Josslyn ignores Dex’s call, and Adam says he’s not going to Health Services, and they can’t make him. This is none of their business. Josslyn asks him to just please calm down, but he says she doesn’t want to hear this. Both of them, just leave him alone. And take the damn counselor off his portal. He storms out, and Josslyn asks Kylie, now what?

Leaving a message, Dex says, Josslyn doesn’t have to call him back. he just wanted to hear her voice and tell her how important she is to him. And let her know that no matter what happens with them, he loves her, and he always will. He sees a text from Unknown that says: Room 1002. He says, gotta go, and walks down the hall, noticing Nina at the reception desk.

Nina asks what room Cyrus Renault is in, as Dex listens from around the corner.

Spencer tells the sitter to enjoy the rest of her day. He’ll be taking Ace to see his mother in court. She thanks him and says she hopes everything works out for him. He says he’s sure it will, and she leaves. He says, one way or another, and flashes back to Esme saying, no deal, Spence. He says, she was lying. She remembers everything. There’s a knock at the door and he opens it. Nikolas is there.

On Monday, Ava asks Laura why she would do that; Kristina says, this is exactly where she needs to be right now; Nina says, if Cyrus is truly sorry, prove it; and the judge asks how Esme pleads.

💝 Bringing the Surprise Twist…

I hadn’t realized the woman playing BJ was the child who played BJ. Very clever!

That Was Brighton Hertford (B.J.) Playing the Reporter on GENERAL HOSPITAL!
Brighton Hertford Says Her GH Return Was “Serendipitous”

🌷 Bobbie’s Last Save…

I swear they didn’t address Famke by name, but I might have blinked and missed it.

Who Are Cornelia and Famke on GENERAL HOSPITAL?

👩‍⚕️ Memorializing a GH Icon…

Taking everything into consideration, it was worth the wait. It must have been tough on the actors though, pretending she was still alive. Obviously, there was going to be no recast.

The Why.

Why Bobbie’s Memorial Was Delayed on GENERAL HOSPITAL

The How.

GENERAL HOSPITAL Spoilers: Remembering Bobbie

Memories.

Kin Shriner Shares Special Memories of Jacklyn Zeman

🪙 In Random Stupid News…

This is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard.

https://people.com/eminem-opposes-deposition-seeks-protective-order-against-gizelle-bryant-robyn-dixon-shady-trademark-dispute-case-8420744

⚖️ You’re All Out Of Order…

Who knows? It probably wouldn’t change the outcome anyway.

https://people.com/tom-girardi-deemed-competent-to-stand-trial-by-judge-reports-8421562

💤 For Those Who Still Care…

Teresa and Jennifer are so volatile, the rest of them can finally relax.

RHONJ Cast’s ‘Family Dinner’ Didn’t Include Teresa Giudice and Jennifer Aydin
Melissa Gorga Reveals Details Behind ‘Awkward and Weird’ RHONJ Cast Group Chat

🌁 News Of the Last…

What’s happened up until now. (First the earth cooled, then the dinosaurs came…)

https://www.gamesradar.com/the-last-of-us-season-2-release-date-cast/

I don’t think it’s necessary either. It was a great episode, but a spinoff would just be depressing knowing the ending.

https://www.themarysue.com/will-there-be-a-bill-and-frank-the-last-of-us-spinoff-explained/

⚰️ Next Dead Up…

This looks like another winner. In all these spinoffs, it’s like they finally got the idea that Walking Dead was too stagnant.

https://ew.com/walking-dead-the-ones-who-live-trailer-rick-grimes-action-8424639

https://ew.com/walking-dead-the-ones-who-live-terry-o-quinn-character-8421730

https://ew.com/walking-dead-the-ones-who-live-exclusive-first-look-pollyanna-mcintosh-jadis-8413410

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/the-walking-dead-rick-and-michonne-jadis-pollyanna-mcintosh-the-ones-who-live/

🎉 Not Letting Go Yet…

The overtime is probably pretty good.

https://www.justjared.com/2024/01/01/how-long-does-it-take-up-to-clean-times-square-after-new-years-eve-clean-up-details-revealed/

🐕‍🦺 Love the Players and the Game…

Who’s competing in this year’s Puppy Bowl.

https://www.discovery.com/shows/puppy-bowl/see/meet-the-players-of-puppy-bowl-xx

Mr. Bean!

https://people.com/puppy-bowl-2024-puppy-players-with-special-needs-8424973

🫦 Quotes of the Week

If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. – Michael Jordan (Or kick it down.)

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

It is better to be hated for what you are than loved for what you are not. – Andre Gide

It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something. – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Your dream is a reality that is waiting for you to materialize. Today is a new day! Don’t let your history interfere with your destiny! Learn from your past so that it can empower your present and propel you to greatness. – Steve Maraboli

In our daily lives, we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but the gratefulness that makes us happy. – Albert Clarke

I challenge you to let every day be a Friday. Permit yourself to be happy every day. – Joel Osteen

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

You don’t have to be great at something to start but you have to start to be great at something. – Zig Ziglar

I’d say he was lying through his teeth, but he ain’t got none. – Amy Slaton referring to Glenn, 1000-Lb. Sisters

😐 Feeling Mediocre…

Return to this spot on Monday really Tuesday for soap and the final Med charter. Until then, stay safe, stay making time every day to do a small thing that brings you joy, and stay having faith even when there are no guarantees.

Dec28

December 27, 2023 – Brook Comes To Tracy’s Defense, TempMaxie, Soap Roll Call, Her Future, But Is He, Almost Quit, News Of Us, What’s On the Eve, Holiday Pet (!) Mix & Party

Posted on by
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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Kristina and Molly show up at Alexis’s house, and Alexis says, there they are, my pride, and most of the time, my joy. She thanks them for coming and says she knows it’s early. She asks if they want coffee, but they both say they’ve reached their limit. (I didn’t know there was a limit.) Molly asks, what’s so important she needed to see them before work? and Kristina says, her voice sounded really tense on the phone. Alexis invites them to sit down, and says she’s sorry TJ couldn’t make it, but it’s probably best they speak first, just the three of them. Molly wonders why she feels like they’ve been called to the principal’s office, but Alexis says, they’re not in any trouble… yet.

At Deception, Lucy rifles through photos and papers on her desk, mumbling, and Tracy asks if she can’t do anything quietly. TempMaxie (see below) asks if they want coffee before the senior leadership meeting, but Lucy suggests they just dive right in. Oh wait. They can’t, because the leader of their leadership meeting isn’t here. Maxie says she’s sure Brook will be here any second, and Lucy asks what kind of company Tracy and her granddaughter are running. Tracy says she lightened Lucy’s workload by 51%, which means Lucy should have 51% more time to rifle (coincidence!) through photo proofs and wrangle her spokesmodel. Lucy says, Tracy shouldn’t even be in this office, never mind breathing their rarified Deception air. Tracy says, and yet, here she is, and Lucy says, as if she could miss Tracy, but she sure would love to try.

Brook says, if her grandmother finds out she’s late for the meeting because she can’t find her… Chase says, her bag’s over there, and she thanks him. She says she’s just going to grab a coffee on the way, and he says, brewed, in her travel mug, holding it out to her. She asks if he’s psychic, and he says he doesn’t have to be; he knows her routine. She says, he’s the best. What does he have planned for his day off? He says he’s trying to find wedding venues that accommodate guests with mobility issues, and she sits next to him. He says he wants his dad to have the time of his life at their wedding, and Brook flashes back to Gregory saying that time isn’t on his side. His Christmas wish is to see his son get married to the love of his life. She tells Chase, you and me both.

Finn dashes into an exam room, where Gregory is sitting, and says he was told Gregory was in here. Does Gregory want to tell him what happened? Gregory says he’s fine. He just got a bit overheated. Finn looks at the IV bag and says, this is for aggressive fluid replacement. They don’t just give it to people who are a bit overheated. Does Gregory want to tell him what’s going on?

At Kelly’s with Felicia, Robert orders coffee, and Felicia says, nothing to eat? Is he feeling okay? He says he’s not hungry, and she says, he’s probably full because he already ate with Diane. He says, she didn’t bring him here to discuss his personal life, and she says she didn’t know that was an option, but he’s right. She’s sorry. They need to talk family. He asks if something happened with Mac, but she says, Mac is fine. There’s a mystery she wants solved before he comes back, and she needs Robert’s help.

Sasha finds Cody at the stables and says, it looks like he’s having a busy morning. He says he was just hammering out one of Comet’s old horseshoes, but he always has time for her. What’s up? She says she wasn’t sure if she could beat Comet in a contest for his attention, and he says, totally. Nobody else. What brings her by? She says she came to warn him. He’s in trouble.

Scotty goes to the counter at Kelly’s and tells the server that he hears some people try to eat their feelings. He thinks he’s going to be that guy, because he has a lot of feelings. She gives him a menu and asks what she can get him. He says, everything… from the left side of the menu. And a cup of coffee. He’ll be at his table.

Robert asks why Felicia is still on about this Cody Bell thing, and she says her instincts tell her that Cody lied about those DNA test results. He says, if that’s the case, why is his brother saddled with this jerk? and she says, Mac has a right to know if Cody is his son. She knows Cody is no choirboy, and Robert says, ya think? He hadn’t been in town five minutes, and he almost drowned Britt Westbourne. She says, there wasn’t supposed to be somebody in that pool when he parachuted into it (there wasn’t; she was near the pool and he knocked her in), and Robert tells her, let’s say for instance, he came through the front door and offered his hand and said hi, like a normal person would do. She says, it was a publicity stunt, a job he was contracted and paid for, but Robert says, it was reckless endangerment and he got arrested. She says, he apologized to Britt, and she got over it. Why can’t Robert? He says, because he knows a con man when he smells one, and she says, which proves the exact point she was trying to make. Cody came to their house over the holiday and brought all these gifts for all of them. The kids adore him, and he fit right in. Robert asks if he brought receipts for the presents, and Felicia says, he cares about their family. She can feel it. She can see it. And there’s this undeniable bond between him and Mac and James. He tells her, let’s say he believes her. If she’s right, why would Cody lie about being a part of a family he cares about?

Cody wonders how he’s in trouble, and Sasha says, after Spinelli made him leave Mac and Felicia’s on Christmas… Cody says, Spinelli didn’t make him leave, but Sasha says, Spinelli was rude, out of line, and just completely wrong. After he left, Felicia said she hates not knowing the truth about him and Mac. He says, she knows the truth… a truth. She was at the hospital when he got the DNA results. Sasha says, but he never showed Felicia the printout and she thought that was strange, and he says, Felicia is pretty invested with him being a part of the family. He guesses it makes sense that she wouldn’t accept the results. Sasha says she thinks it’s more than a case of just being disappointed. She thinks Felicia is genuinely skeptical. He says, she was a P.I. and she’s married to a cop. She’s kind of conditioned to be suspicious. She says, Maxie didn’t buy her theory, but they know she’s right. He did lie about the DNA results; he is Mac’s son. And now Felicia is wondering why he’d pretend to be the son of Leopold Taub.

Brook closes the laptop and says, about the wedding… Chase says, she hasn’t changed her mind, has she? and she says, not on your life, kissing him. He says, then what’s up? and she says, if they’re going to do everything in their power to make sure his dad has the best time on their special day, it’s going to need to happen a little faster than they anticipated.

Gregory says he was doing hot yoga on an empty stomach. Dumb idea. Finn says, yes, very dumb. Since when is he doing hot yoga? Gregory says, Finn doesn’t need to hover; the fluids are already working. Dr. Matt comes in and asks what daredevil stunt Gregory was up to this time, and Gregory says, hot yoga. They don’t call it hot for nothing. But he already has his next quest lined up. Matt says he can’t wait to hear about it and asks how Finn is. Finn says he’s fine. He’s just making sure his dad’s okay. Matt says he’s about to examine Gregory right now, if Finn will excuse them, and Finn says, of course (🍷). He’ll be right outside. Gregory says, no need, he’s fine, and Finn reluctantly leaves. In the hallway, a woman comes up to Finn and asks if Gregory is okay. Finn says, he’s fine, and asks how she knows his dad. She says she’s the yoga instructor. She’s so glad he’s all right. She’s never had anyone collapse in her class before.

Molly says she can’t take any more bad news. It’s been a rough few months. Alexis says she knows Molly’s been through a lot, and this isn’t necessarily bad news. She’s happy for Molly and TJ, that they’re soldiering on through this journey to have a baby. She knows that’s what Molly really, really wants. And Kristina, giving her the most extraordinary, generous gift. Molly says, and Kristina knows how grateful she is. Kristina says, of course (🍷). She’s honored. Alexis says she just wishes the commitment they made to each other was legally binding, but it’s not. Their surrogacy arrangement presents what could be a really big legal problem.

Chase says he thought he and Brook agreed on a summer wedding. It’s not too far away, but it still gives them time to plan. She says, too much planning’s overrated. Who says they need this whole elaborate production? He says, she said that, but she tells him, what does she know? He says, Lois told him that she used to sketch her wedding gown in her school notebook, but she says, dreams change. He says he doesn’t want to rush this. He had a quickie wedding once, and they all know how that turned out. She says, they both know why he had that quickie wedding with Willow, and those reasons have nothing to do with why they want to be together. He says he knows, but he’s only doing this one more time, and he’s doing it with her. He wants it to be special. What’s going on? She says, when his dad pulled her aside on Christmas Eve, he said his Christmas wish was to see them get married.

Gregory says, well, doc? and Matt says, at the moment, his vitals look good. Gregory says he’s not surprised. He’s feeling better already. Matt says he’s already recovering from the dehydration, and Gregory says he’s guessing Matt’s prescription for recovery is lots of rest and plenty of fluids. Matt says, it is, and he’d like to admit Gregory for observation.

Alexis says she knows Molly and Kristina have done their homework on the medical side of things and they’re clear about that. She just doesn’t know that they’re clear on the legal implications. Kristina says, well, this baby’s mother is a brilliant lawyer, and Alexis says, she is, but she’s not a specialist in family law. Molly says, true, but she can draw up a contract, and Kristina says, and she can sign it. So lawyer/contract, they’re good. Alexis says she’s not sure that’s entirely true, because there is no binding agreement that she can sign that would make that baby Molly’s.

Maxie says, everyone needs time to adjust to their new corporate reality, and Tracy says, reality, Lucy. The opposite of what’s going on in your head. Maxie says, but they do have to be professional, and Tracy says, why start now? Lucy says she knows blackmail is Tracy’s go-to, but technically, blackmail is not professional, and Maxie says, this is a critical time for Deception. A lot is at stake for everyone who works here. For people who have rent and kids and have to grocery shopping on the way home. Bottom line, they need to make this work. Lucy says, Maxie is so right, but you know what’s not working? Tracy’s powers of manipulation. Judging from the fact Brook isn’t here, her powers are a big, fat flop. Tracy says, Lucy is well-acquainted with big, fat flops, from her marriages to business ventures. She just can’t seem to stick the landing. Lucy says she knows where she’d like to stick… and Maxie says, that’s enough. She can’t believe she has to talk to them like she does her children, but five minutes of silence, both of them. This lasts about three seconds, when Lucy says, Tracy doesn’t really care about Deception at all. She’s just bored and needs a distraction. Maxie says, it doesn’t work on her kids either, and Tracy says she can think of a thousand distractions more appealing than listening to Lucy, and Lucy says, but none of them would distract Tracy from the fact she has nothing to live for since Luke died. (Ouch! That was mean.)

Sasha says she knows the whole Taub necklace scam wasn’t the only reason Cody lied about the DNA results, and he says, Mac’s a good guy. Mac doesn’t deserve a son like him. She says, that couldn’t be further from the truth, but Felicia is a good P.I., and she’s going to dig and keep digging until she discovers the truth, and the fallout from that could be massive in ways he couldn’t expect. Trust her. She speaks from personal experience. He says, that whole Nina Reeves thing, right? and she says her situation was the complete opposite from his. She was hired by Valentin Cassadine to claim she was Nina’s daughter, but looking back, she realizes she could have mitigated a lot of damage if she’d just come clean. The fact that she stayed silent and got busted made the fallout so much worse. He says, maybe he should just move to Bolivia or some other county that doesn’t extradite Americans. Coming clean is not an option, and if Felicia finds out he’s Mac’s son, he’s going to Pentenville.

Felicia says she was hoping Robert and his extraordinary skill set could help her figure out why Cody would lie about those test results, because he’s right. It doesn’t make any sense. He says, take some advice from the man with the extraordinary skill set, and leave it. She says, if he thinks she can do that, he understands her even less than he understands Cody, and he says he understood all too well what kind of a grifter Cody was when he walked into Britt’s office and found them fighting over Taub’s necklace. She asks, what about Leopold Taub? and he says, this time last year, he went to seize Taub’s necklace, the one that Victor wanted. He goes into Britt’s office and they’re both there fighting over the necklace, both claiming ownership. She asks if they ever got it sorted out, but he says he doesn’t think so. Not since it was destroyed. She wonders if Cody ever contested any of Taub’s other assets, and he says, that would be a good question for a lawyer. She looks over at Scotty and says, indeed it would.

Chase tells Brook that he can understand his dad talking about his stamina, but worrying about his death seems seriously premature. Brook says she’s just telling him what Gregory told her; he doesn’t want them waiting too long. He asks if she thinks Gregory is holding something back, but she says she doesn’t know. She’s not going to the meeting; she’s calling the office. He says she doesn’t have to do that; he’ll be fine. She should go to her meeting. The last thing they need is Tracy coming around here looking for her. She says, that’s a good point, and hugs him. They’re going to make sure they do what’s best for everyone, okay? He says, whatever that is, and she gathers up her stuff and leaves. Chase’s phone rings, and he says he’s glad Finn called. Brook just told him something… Finn says, dad’s here at the hospital. He’s okay, but he took a fall. Chase says he’s on his way.

Alexis says she should have known Molly would have done research on the child/parent security act, and Molly says she’s familiar. She hasn’t studied it. Alexis says, because it’s new, which means it can be easily challenged, and Molly says she’s aware, but it does allow for surrogacy in New York. Alexis says, it does, but the surrogate has to be using a third-party egg donor, and Kristina asks if it really makes a difference. Molly says, a big difference actually, and Alexis says, in her case, she’s not using a third-party egg donor. She’s the donor and the surrogate. In this case, it’s called a genetic surrogacy, and the contract for a genetic surrogacy is not enforceable in the state of New York. Kristina says, okay, but if genetic surrogacy isn’t enforceable in the state of New York, they’ll just get pregnant in a different state. They’ll find some other workaround. Alexis says, there are always loopholes, because Molly will tell her, regulations exist because there are precedents. Kristina says, precedents and regulations and loopholes. She’s talking to them like they’re her court case, not her children. Alexis says she’s talking to them this way because they are her children, and she wants to make sure their best interests are protected. Kristina asks if it’s their best interests, or is Alexis really just trying to protect Molly from her?

Tracy tells Lucy not to say Luke’s name ever again, but Lucy says, Tracy doesn’t own Luke’s name, just like she never owned Luke. Tracy says, don’t, and Lucy says, Luke had many, many women in his life, and Tracy was just one of them. She barely cracked the top ten. Maxie says, don’t go there, but Lucy says, why? Why can’t she just tell the truth right to Tracy’s face? Luke was the great, true love of Tracy’s life, but does she know who the great, true love of Luke’s life was? Laura. (People who don’t even watch GH know that.) In fact, Tracy is probably just an also-ran to Holly. Tracy asks where she did her research, Wikipedia? Are they just naming exes now, because two can play that game. The great love of Lucy’s life, Doc, is so happily settled down with Laura. She guesses he doesn’t miss being burned by Lucy. Lucy says she happens to be in love with Martin now. She’s with Martin, and none of her loves married her to extort her. They didn’t stay married and try to escape from her all the time. The fact is, Tracy and Luke were in totally different countries when he died. She needs to know why Tracy did all this. Why did she steal Deception? Is it because she has more to look back on than to look forward to? Is it because her family just barely tolerates her, and when she stands looking around, she has nothing and nobody? She doesn’t see anything, is that it? She can keep doing it. She can keep scheming and using sarcasm as a distraction – Brook walks in – but you know what? Tracy is going to die just like she lived – unloved and completely unlovable. Brook says, who is Lucy to speak to her grandmother that way?

Chase says, hot yoga? Hot yoga is a challenge for people in the best of health. He did it once and it almost killed him, but Finn thinks there’s more to the story? Finn says, the instructor came with him to the hospital. She said he wasn’t just a little woozy. It seemed like he lost consciousness.

Gregory says he knows he overdid it, but is a hospital stay really necessary? and Matt says, his collapse may be the result of a temporary fluid loss… Gregory says, or? and Matt says, or this may be a new symptom of the disease.

Sasha says, even if Mac could arrest Cody for lying about the DNA results, she doesn’t believe he would, but Cody says, he wouldn’t have a choice, thanks to the lawsuit Scotty cooked up. Legally, he’s on the hook. She asks if Cody was suing the WSB for the value of Taub’s necklace? She thought he dropped that lawsuit. He says he did, but only after he was deposed and signed an affidavit saying he was Taub’s son. She says, and that is considered fraud? but he says, worse. It’s perjury. He’ll have to do time for that. She says, he may not. He broke the law for her and it turned out okay. He says he was willing to risk himself, but he doesn’t want to risk Mac. The potential scandal could impact his reputation on the force. Mac’s a good guy. He doesn’t deserve what Cody would do to his life. She asks what Cody thinks Mac would want for his life if he knew he was Cody’s father.

Felicia tells Scotty, sorry to interrupt. Does he have a minute? He says, yes. Sit down. She says, his breakfast companions might not feel the same, but he says, what breakfast companions? He’s alone again as usual. She asks if he tried again with Liesl, and he says he did. He presented his heart to her, and she threw it right against the wall. So they’re done, finished. She says she’s sorry. She respects him for trying. She thinks it’s really brave of him to put himself out there. He says he won’t be making that mistake again. He doesn’t know what went wrong with Liesl, but it was the last nail in the coffin of love for him. She says she’s really sorry to hear that. She just wanted to ask him a question, and then she’ll leave him to… whatever this is. He says, it’s breakfast, and what is her question? She says, Cody Bell, but he says, don’t bring up his name. She says, why? She thought they had a great relationship. He says he doesn’t have a problem with Cody. Cody just kind of goofed up his chances of getting back with Leisl a little bit. She asks, how so? and he says, Cody cost him a big payday.

Alexis says she’s trying to look out for both her daughter’s best interests, and Kristina says, really? She’s just focusing on the contract part of this because she thinks someone is going to violate it, that someone being her. Does Alexis just not trust she’ll abide by the terms? Alexis says, of course (🍷) she trusts Kristina. She’s just trying to look at all possible outcomes. Kristina says she appreciates Alexis advising them of the current statutes, but her concern isn’t really necessary. Alexis says she’s done research, and Molly says, she didn’t really have to go to the trouble, but Alexis says, it was no trouble really. She looks at some papers and says, do they know they can avoid any potential legal conflict between them by establishing parenthood after birth via adoption? (That’s what I was thinking.) Molly says she’ll look into it, but Alexis says, Molly doesn’t have to; she’s already done it. The first step is for Kristina to stipulate that she has no parental proprietary interest… Kristina says, Molly told her that she’d look into it, but Alexis says she can go over this. It’ll be really quick. Kristina says, no. Not for nothing, but Molly is the lawyer here, not her. (Another ouch.)

Cody says he has no idea what Mac would want when it comes to him, and Sasha says she could guess. Mac is a good guy, and she can’t see any world where Mac wouldn’t forgive him. And he’d never do anything to jeopardize Cody’s future. Cody says, what about Mac’s brother, Robert Scorpio, the DA? Not a fan. She says, that’s because Robert doesn’t know what she knows, and he says, what’s that? She says, how much has changed since he signed that affidavit. He put himself on the line for her, and she knows he hates to hear this, but she’ll forever be grateful. He says, they’ve been over this. Gratitude, no; friendship, yes. She says, speaking of friendships, he’s been a really good one. Dante and Sam… He says, they’ve been better to him, and she says, Maxie and all her kids, especially James. That little boy hero worships him. Cody says, he’s too young to know any better, but she says, maybe he knows Cody better than Cody knows himself. Cody has changed a lot, and the only way to prove that is to come clean. Today.

Felicia says, so Scotty and Cody were going to sue the WSB over Taub’s necklace? and Scotty says, yeah, but hush-hush. Nobody really knows about this, and he’s hoping Cody changes his mind. She says, so it was Cody who decided not to move forward, and he says, yes. After all the legal depositions and the filings, all the dirty work was done. She asks, why? and he says he doesn’t know why exactly, but the WSB blew up Cody’s asset and he felt Cody should be compensated. She says, so being Taub’s son would pay off big for Cody, and he says, huge, huge windfall. Why does she ask?

Brook says, Lucy knows nothing about her grandmother, which is insulting, because not only did she take Deception, she’s running it way better than Lucy ever did. And by the way, Lucy is sadly misinformed. Tracy Angelica Quartermaine is greatly loved by her whole family. A love Lucy couldn’t possibly understand how they express, because she’s nothing but a gold-digging outsider who managed to trap Brook’s great uncle into marriage for what, ten seconds? She’s been hanging around for years trading on her single share of ELQ, which Brook’s grandmother managed to get from Lucy, by the way. So now she’s out on the street, exactly where she belongs. Lucy says, Brook really has nothing to say… and Brook tells her, and by the way, Luke Spencer was the love of her grandmother’s life. She accepted him for exactly who he was, fought for him with everything she had, and stuck by him until the very end. Meanwhile, Lucy has thrown away every man who’s ever loved her, with both hands. So do not lecture her grandmother on love, because she understands it way better than Lucy ever will. Tracy looks at Brook proudly, and Lucy says, they can hold this meeting without her. She walks out, closing the door behind her, and Tracy tells Brook, thank you. Brook says she meant every word, and Tracy says, well, she’s still late. So what was more important than the meeting they had scheduled? Brook says, something happened with Chase’s father.

Matt says he wants to run some tests overnight. It could be that Gregory is no longer getting nutrients from food and water intake alone, or the collapse could have been because of his lung intake level falling below 50%, which the tests will show. If it has fallen below 50%, they’ll have to discuss options. Gregory says he’ll give Matt 24 hours to do anything he needs, but he has plans on New Year’s Eve, and nothing is going to stop him from making good on them.

Chase tells Finn, the yoga instructor isn’t a doctor. They don’t know what actually happened. Finn says he thought Chase should know. He left Chase out of the loop once before, and he promised not to let it happen again. Chase says, if dad believes he overdid it, doesn’t Finn think they should trust that? Finn says, dad’s not a doctor either, and Chase says he gets that. And he gets that facts are important, but so is faith. Finn says he doesn’t remember seeing that on the curriculum at med school, and Chase asks, doesn’t a patient’s state of mind effect their health? Finn says, of course (🍷) it does, and Chase says, then a little positivity can’t hurt. Matt comes out and asks why they don’t come in with him and their dad. He has an update.

Alexis says, when Kristina’s right, she’s right. It’s tough to know when to take off her legal hat and put on her mom hat, but either way, she’ll defend her daughters with everything she’s got, and that includes Kristina. Kristina says she’s sorry. She didn’t mean to dismiss Alexis’s legal expertise or her concern for her daughters. Alexis says, but Kristina thinks she’s overstepping, and Molly says, it’s just that, for her and TJ, this whole journey has been about hope. Now with Kristina as their surrogate, it’s also one of implicit trust. The bond between her and Krissy is stronger than all the legal protections in the world. Kristina says, they’re sisters. Nothing is ever going to make them forget that. Alexis still looks worried.

Molly and Kristina put on their coats, and Alexis says, so it looks like her concern for her daughters has been outmatched by their belief in each other. Well done. Congratulations. Kristina says, it’s the truth, and Alexis tells them that she’s not going to say another word about it. What she did say isn’t because she doesn’t believe in them, because she does with all her heart. And she’s very proud of the way they stuck up for each other, even against her. She loves them both, and she loves the way they love each other. They have a three-way hug, and Kristina and Molly leave.

Gregory asks what Chase is doing here, and Chase says, Finn called and said Gregory was in the hospital. Where else would he be? Gregory says, Finn didn’t need to call Chase; he’s fine. Finn asks Matt, is he? and Gregory says, they’re going to admit him. They’re going to run some tests. 24-hours, that’s it, then he’s out of here. He asks Matt to tell his boys not to worry, and Matt says, an overnight stay is just a precaution. Chase says, precautions are good. He’s all for precautions. Matt says, good. He’ll go take a look at Gregory’s intake paperwork. He heads for the door, and Chase thanks him and says, and take good care of his dad. His dad promised his bride a dance at his wedding this spring. Matt leaves, and Gregory says, they decided on a date? Chase says, they did, and Gregory says he didn’t think it would happen so soon. Chase says, he and Brook decided they didn’t want to wait another minute to make it official in front of the whole family. He can’t wait to marry Brook. Gregory says he’s so happy for Chase, and Chase thanks him. Chase says he just has to… follow her orders and stay out of her way, and Gregory laughs.

Felicia goes back to the table, and Robert says he got a call from the office. He’s got to go. He asks if her conversation with Baldwin was of use, and she says, and how. He asks if she still thinks Cody is Mac’s son, and she says, more than ever. He says he’s not asking for any details, but if Cody chose not to be the son of a man like Mac Scorpio, does Mac need to know? She says, Mac has a right to know, and he says, so what’s the plan? Is she going to get Cody to ‘fess up to lying about the DNA results? She says, he’s held on to this secret for a long time, so no. Robert says he’d move on. It’s going to be hell to prove. He leaves, and she says, not for me.

Cody says he can’t just come clean, and Sasha says she guesses that’s ultimately up to him, but if he does decide to admit he’s Mac’s son, she’ll be right by his side. And if he doesn’t, she’ll keep his secret forever. He thanks her, and she says, that doesn’t mean the truth won’t come out, but it won’t come from her. She looks at her phone and says she’s got to go. She’s beyond late. He thanks her for being such a good friend, and she says, he deserves nothing less, and leaves.

Tracy asks if Gregory’s all right, and Brook says, yes. Things were just complicated. Tracy says, given the circumstances, that’s an acceptable excuse for Brook’s tardiness, but if she’s going to take the helm here, she has to follow Tracy’s example and act like a leader. If Tracy is going to give her this company, she needs to start taking it seriously. Brook says, oh, I am, granny. Very seriously.

Scotty puts more syrup on his pancakes, and Lucy says, keep that up and he won’t make it through the year. He says, who cares? and she says, oh come on. Buck up. She sits down and says she has a way for both of them to end up on top. He says, that sounds physically impossible, but he’s willing to give it a shot. She says, stop, focus, and not on these plates of food please. What is this all about? He asks what she wants, and she says she’s proposing a plan where she’s restored all she’s lost, and Scotty could land a big, fat chunk of change. He says he’s listening, and she says, they’re going to be big winners in 2024. Big winners. And Tracy Quartermaine is going to lose big time. He asks how he fits in, and she says, as a groom. He asks if she could repeat that. Did she just say the word groom? She says, yes, she did. He’s going to marry Tracy and they’re going to take her for everything she’s got.

Tomorrow, TJ says he and Kristina have to set some things straight; Lucy tells Scotty to get ready, because she’s just getting started; and Sonny asks if this is where Alexis wants him to tell her that she’s wrong.

☎️ Today the Role Of…

Since regular Maxie was in the preview, I’m guessing it was nothing major.

That’s Nicole Paggi as the Temporary Maxie Recast on GH!

🥀 Our Loss Is Heaven’s Gain…

This made me miss Passions all over again.

Remembering the Stars We Lost in 2023

🗽 Model Of Legacy…

Some of the forgotten Wives. I met Kristen at a radio station cocktail party years ago. It was after the season where Ramona threw the glass at her. She seemed like a nice person, and I think she should run from any facet of this franchise.

Does Kristen Taekman See Future Seasons of RHONY Legacy?

🛟 Toxicity On Deck…

I just don’t see it this way. I thought Natalya was one of the worst human beings ever, but Kyle? Kyle is just gossipy and emotional, so don’t tell him anything you don’t want anyone to know. Problem solved, and hopefully, he’ll grow out of it. Whereas Natalya was deliberately mean, Kyle just gets all in his emotions and lashes out. Captain Sandy also thought he was the root of the problem, but I’ve disagreed with her before.

Everything That Makes Kyle Viljoen So Toxic

🥇 But At the Time…

It’s like Jerry said in Edward Albee’s Zoo Story, sometimes it’s necessary to go a long distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance correctly. But geez, don’t mention his stellar final season of Fear the Walking Dead or anything.

https://people.com/colman-domingo-nearly-left-acting-after-losing-big-break-role-8420368

🌁 And the Last Shall Be Divisive…

They seem to be focusing an awful lot on it being parallel to the game, but I don’t think this stuff is confirmed. What is confirmed is it not being aired until 2025… sigh…

https://screenrant.com/the-last-of-us-season-2-divisive-story-reason/

https://www.tomsguide.com/opinion/i-cant-wait-for-the-last-of-us-season-2-to-air-but-im-also-dreading-it-heres-why

There’s a blink-and-you-miss-it teaser for The Last of Us, but mostly what HBO/Max has in store for 2024.

https://gizmodo.com/last-of-us-season-2-release-it-prequel-trailer-hbo-max-1851078003

🥂 To Rock Your Eve…

Stuff to watch if you don’t want to brave the night. Like me. Been there, done that, I’m good. Dick Clark might be gone, but he’ll never be forgotten on New Year’s Eve.

https://people.com/new-years-eve-specials-2023-everything-to-know-8420122

🐕 Holiday Assortment…

Good advice all year round.

https://people.com/how-to-keep-your-pet-safe-around-the-holidays-8417416

I don’t know how I missed this, but it’s very cute.

https://people.com/pets/adoptable-animals-model-halloween-costumes/

No one can say I don’t include cats. They’re not keen on costumes though, as a general rule.

https://people.com/mandy-moore-includes-cats-in-holiday-traditions-8418338

And last, but never least, the InstaDogs of Christmas.

Spotted: 20 Ridiculously Cute Christmas Dogs on Instagram

🍇 12 Grapes For 12 Months…

Boomerang back tomorrow for soap and some New Year amusement. Until then, stay safe, stay being on time, but not early to a party, and stay not eating the entire left side of the menu if you have a lot of feelings.

Dec6

December 5, 2023 – Brennan Reveals His Intentions, Thanks, Happy Anniversary, Who He Is, Leads Lunch, Still Closed, Stupidity, On the House, About Us, Winging It, Check That Tree & Good

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Laura and Esme carry some boxes into the living room, and Esme wonders how everything is going to fit in her new place. Laura says, she can always leave some stuff here. That way it will be here when she visits, which she hopes Esme is going to do often. Esme tells Laura that she knows she doesn’t say this enough, but she’s really grateful for everything Laura’s done for her and Ace. Laura says she’s going to miss both of them, and they hug.

Mopping the floor at the PC Grill, Cyrus hears someone come in. He says, we’re closed, and Ava says, then he ought to lock the door. He says, when the restaurant’s closed, that means the bar is no longer serving, so… She laughs (me too) and says she sees his newfound devotion to the Lord hasn’t dulled what’s meant to be his wit, but he says he wasn’t joking, and he is busy. So if she’s not here for the cuisine… She says she came here for a little bit of his wisdom, and he says he’s but a simple man of God, but if he can help her on her way… She says she only has the one question. Austin Gatlin-Holt is dead. Why did Cyrus kill him?

Blaze asks if she overstepped, and Kristina asks if Blaze didn’t notice her kissing back. Blaze says she noticed, and Kristina says she’s glad to know she’s still got it. Blaze says she didn’t mean to ambush Kristina like that. The last thing she wants to do is make Kristina feel uncomfortable. Kristina says she’s not uncomfortable. In fact, she’s just the opposite.

Felicia says she’s glad Anna could make it, and Anna thanks Felicia for having her over. Felicia asks how she’s doing, and Anna says, okay. Robert surprised her for Thanksgiving with Emma. She’s so smart. She’s studying dark matter and subatomic something or other. Anna doesn’t understand any of it. Felicia says, as long as she’s not majoring in the didgeridoo, they can count their blessings, and they laugh. Anna says, Emma’s back at school now. She could really use a friend. Felicia says, she’s come to the right place.

Sam sees Dante holding an evidence bag and asks, what’s that? He says, this is literally the key to help them find out who’s after Anna, and tosses it on the table.

Hume opens the money briefcase and tells Brennan, it’s all here. Brennan says, trust, but verify. Too bad Corinthos didn’t take the money. It would have been so much easier if they could have just paid him off. He shuts the case.

At Pozzulo’s, Curtis thanks Sonny for seeing him, and Sonny says, for him, anytime. He asks if Curtis wants a drink, but Curtis says he has to stay sharp, and Sonny says he understands. What does Curtis want from him? Curtis says, specifically, names. Who would have a reason to take a shot at Sonny at the MetroCourt?  

Felicia says, after everything that’s happened, maybe a visit to Berkeley to see Robin? and Anna says, Robin will want to know everything, and she doesn’t want to… Felicia says, talk to her, and Anna starts to cry. She says she shot a kid, and Felicia hugs her.

Sam asks what it’s literally a key to, and Dante says, a private locker at the train station. The M.E. found a key on this guy named Jameson Forsythe, who was killed in a hit and run that sounds deliberate actually; the vehicle didn’t even slow down. Sam asks what that has to do with Anna, and Dante says, he and Anna were in the WSB together in the 80s. She had evidence against this guy, and recently, it vanished.

Hume asks how long Brennan will be in Port Charles, and Brennan says, as long as it takes to set up operations so that Pikeman can send shipments to Canada and do international distribution. Hume asks if he’s going to handle it in person, and Brennan says, if you want a job done right and all that. He learned that the hard way with Forsythe. He also needs to clean up that mess, since Forsythe failed to handle Anna Devane. Hume says he understands, but won’t an extended absence be a problem for the head of the WSB?

Sonny tells Curtis that there are several people who might want him gone. He’s looked into all of them, and so has the PCPD. Curtis says, nothing? and Sonny says, let’s put it this way, the case is still open. Has Curtis talked to Anna about this? Curtis says, not yet, and Sonny says, because her list of enemies is as long as his, but they’re harder to track down. Curtis says he knew this was going to be difficult from the start. He’s got to know who put him in this wheelchair. Sonny asks if he thinks he can do better than the police, and Curtis says he was a P.I. He’s done undercover work, and he’s not juggling a dozen cases. Sonny says he understands. If he were Curtis, nothing would stop him. Curtis thanks him for understanding and asks, who’s at the top of his list?

Cyrus says, Dr. Gatlin-Holt is dead? When? How? Ava says, two shots, close range, shortly before Thanksgiving, and Cyrus says, well, that is a tragedy, and Ava is a callous woman. She says, at least she’s not the one who killed him. Cyrus did that, didn’t he? Cyrus says, even if he had been responsible for Austin’s death, why would he tell her? and she says, that’s okay. She expected him to deny it. He says, then why ask the question? and she says, just to see if she believed the answer. He says, and does she? but she says, he didn’t answer it. And before we get to what I believe, let’s talk about what I know, shall we? She knows, for example, that he ordered Austin’s cousin Mason to kidnap her, so that Austin would testify about his fragile health and a judge would grant him early release from Pentenville. Now look at him. He’s a free man. And how did he repay Austin for giving him his life back? By taking Austin’s?

Esme says, Laura doesn’t think she’s doing the wrong thing by moving out, does she? and Laura says, if she thought Esme was doing the wrong thing, she would have never co-signed the lease. Esme suggests it might have been a bad decision on Laura’s part, but Laura says she couldn’t be more proud of Esme, that she took a stand to create an independent life for herself and for her son. Esme says, now that it’s all happening, she’s terrified she’s going to blow it all, but Laura says she thinks that’s a good thing, because Esme will be careful. It’s the people who think they know everything who fall on their faces. Esme says she’s terrified of failure, and Laura says, let’s say for a moment it was a mistake. Esme can always move back in because Laura’s home will always be a nice, soft, landing place for her and her son. Esme thanks her and says, that’s incredibly reassuring, and Laura says she’s watched Esme grow into a competent and self-sufficient single mom. So now believe her when she says, Esme’s got this.

Kristina says she had no idea Blaze might be gay, and Blaze says, there’s a reason for that. The way her life is, she can’t be open like that, and she totally understands if that’s offensive to Kristina. She personally has so much respect for people who are out and proud, and she’s more than a little jealous of them, but for her it’s not an option. Kristina says, first of all, she’s not offended. Blaze’s sexuality is just that, it’s hers. How she chooses to express it and when is entirely up to her. So don’t ever feel like she has to defend herself to Kristina. Everyone’s on their own journey. Blaze thanks her for everything. She can’t tell Kristina how much it means to hear her say that.

Curtis says, maybe Austin didn’t tell Ava, but he paid for Austin to go to medical school. He supported Austin during his residency, so forgive him if the news of Austin’s passing is a loss for him. Ava says, he’s positively bereft, and he says, now that he’s answered her question, would she mind returning the favor? She says, has she accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior? but he says, did she kill Austin? Because from what she’s told him, she has many reasons to do so. More than he does. She says, he did it and now he’s trying to shift blame, and he asks if she’d like to speak to his manager. She says, to report a murder? but he says, to check his alibi. He’s worked past closing every night since he got this job, so he has an alibi. Does she? She walks out.

Blaze tells Kristina that she’s never been in a long-term relationship. Part of it’s her career. She sees so many artists wreck everything they had, break the heart of someone who didn’t deserve it, or get theirs broken when the person they left behind moved on. For her, it was easier, safer, to put her focus on her career. Kristina asks if Blaze really thinks her fans would have a problem with her sexuality.

Anna tells Felicia that she’s not sleeping at all really. When she does, she has these nightmares of pulling the trigger. And when she wakes up, it’s always the same. She realizes it wasn’t a nightmare; it happened. Felicia says, what happened was a tragedy, but Charlotte survived, and Anna says she doesn’t know what she would have done if… Felicia says she knows Anna. She’s a professional. She doesn’t shoot first and ask questions later. Anna says, but she did, and Felicia asks, why? What made this time different? Anna says she convinced herself that this enemy of hers from back in the WSB was the person who was after her. That he’d been stalking her and harassing her. Burned her house down. And when she got back to Maxie’s apartment that night, she thought he was the one inside waiting for her. She had no way of knowing it was Charlotte… Valentin didn’t tell her.

Brennan tells Hume, that’s the thing about being Director. Only a few people know where you actually are at any given time. Hume says, he can run the WSB as he sees fit, and Brennan says, once he was able to oust Frisco Jones, the rest was easy. Anyone who might have been an obstacle was transferred to a very out of the way station, demoted, or thrown out of the Bureau altogether. He has to fly to London now and then to keep everyone on their toes, but everything else, he can pretty much do it his way. Hume says, speaking of obstacles, who is their priority? Sonny Corinthos or Anna Devane? Brennan says, both.

Laura walks into the PC Grill and says hello to Cyrus. He says, what a surprise, and she says she just saw Ava leaving. He says, her former daughter-in-law stopped by to pay him a visit. Apparently, he’s quite popular this evening. She says, anything she should be concerned about? and he says, with Ava? No. She is a troubled soul though. Always in search of absolution it seems. That’s what comes with a guilty conscience. Believe him; he knows. Anyway, enough about him. What brings her here so late?

Kristina asks Blaze if this was Linc’s idea. Was he afraid being queer would conflict with the whole pop star image he was trying to create for her, and it would then alienate her fanbase? Blaze says, Linc didn’t know, and Kristina says, there goes her theory. Blaze says, not that he cared. He would have gone right on harassing her regardless. She never wanted to expose anything personal about herself. Kristina says, it’s good Blaze never has to deal with Linc again, but if it’s not that she’s worried about what the public would think of her… Blaze says, if she came out now, she’s pretty sure she would turn off some fans, but it’s 2023. She thinks most of them would accept her. Unfortunately, her very Catholic family would absolutely not.

Sam asks what kind of evidence it would turn up, and Dante says, Anna told him that she had a hard copy of a report on a mission, an op that went sideways, that incriminated Forsythe. Sam says, that shouldn’t be a big deal. The WSB probably has hard copies and digital copies. He says, but they wanted to bury that report, and Anna wanted to keep a copy so she wouldn’t be scapegoated into being the reason the op went bad. She had it with her the night she shot Charlotte. She was obviously distracted with Charlotte, and when she went back to get her bag, the report was gone, so were any corroborating documents that went along with it. Then Forsythe’s body turns up, and the M.E. finds a key in his shoe. Sam says, so the report is in the locker, and Dante says, most likely, but he won’t know until he checks. She asks what Anna thinks, but he says, Anna doesn’t know yet.

Felicia says, Charlotte was stalking her? and Anna says, yeah. Victor got in her head, and convinced Charlotte that she was a threat to her father. So Charlotte was trying to drive her away to protect him. Felicia says, and Valentin knew? and Anna says, yes. Valentin knew the night Charlotte broke into her hotel suite and didn’t tell her. Felicia asks, why the hell not? Valentin should have known Anna would want to be supportive and want to get Charlotte help. Anna says, Valentin doesn’t trust her. She doesn’t think he trusts anyone, because he himself is untrustworthy. It’s over. That is it for them. This whole thing with Charlotte shattered any illusions she had about him. Felicia says she’s so sorry, and Anna says, it was a risk going into a relationship with him, but she didn’t have any idea it would end this badly. Felicia says, it wasn’t her fault, and Anna says, that’s very nice of Felicia… She’s the one who pulled the trigger. Felicia says, there were very extenuating circumstances. Who was this person at the WSB who she thought was targeting her?

Sonny says he’s sure Curtis heard about his arrest this summer, and Curtis says, just that it happened, and Sonny’s time in custody was so brief. Why was that? Sonny says, because Cyrus Renault was behind it. Even though he was in prison at the time, Cyrus tried to frame Sonny. Curtis says, if he had the resources to get Sonny arrested, he could have arranged the hit, and Sonny says he doesn’t know. Curtis says, it’s worth looking into. Anyone else? Sonny asks if Curtis has access to the police investigation, and Curtis says he does. Sonny says, then Curtis knows the sniper rifle that was recovered was liberated from a WSB station in Berlin, and Curtis says, so Sonny thinks Anna was the target? Sonny says, not necessarily.

Laura says she stopped by to check in, see how the job’s going. They seem to be working Cyrus long hours. He asks if she really cares, and she says, excuse me? He says he visited her in her home, and she threw him out. He came to see her in her office, and he clearly wasn’t welcome there. Shouldn’t this be a two-way street? He’ll stay clear of her place of business, and she’ll stay clear of his. She says, it’s not really the same thing though, and he says, why not? Because she’s the mayor and he’s an ex-con whose existence embarrasses her? She says, that’s not what she means. She means, she works in a private office, and he works in a public gathering place. He thanks her for that clarification and says, now if she doesn’t mind, he knows it’s not really an important job, but it’s his and he should get back to it. Please. She says she’ll go if he wants her to. She just wanted to say that she thinks he was right when he said they were family, and because they’re family, they should look for middle ground. He says, that’s all he’s been trying to do since the day he found out who she was. Only now for whatever reason, does she deign to recognize him, begrudgingly no less, as her brother. It’s a little late.

Blaze says, Kristina knows how she went down to see her abuela in Puerto Rico when Kristina’s dad was getting married, and Kristina says, vividly. Blaze says, she adores her abuela. Obviously. She’s wonderful, loving, and also deeply old-school religious. So are Blaze’s parents, her brothers and  sisters, her aunts, uncles, and cousins. Kristina gets the picture. Kristina says, yeah, she gets it, and Blaze says, she has this one uncle who no one talks about. She can’t say with any certainty whether he’s gay or not. She hasn’t seen him since she was a little girl. Kristina asks if Blaze has tried looking him up on social media, and Blaze says she has, but it was all for nothing. There are a bunch of people with the same name as him, but she can’t be sure if any of them are him. It’s been way too long and none of their family are mutuals. Kristina says, it must be really hard, and Blaze says, impossible. And even if she did meet him, what would she even say? If he is gay and he came out to her family, he lost them because of it, and she’s not brave enough to risk a loss like that. Kristina says, revealing your true self, especially to your loved ones, can be… it is the scariest decision you can make, but it’s also a necessary one.

Sam says, right now, the only people who know about the key are… Dante says, him, the M.E., and now Sam, and she says, the M.E. didn’t put in a report for it? He says, not yet, and she says, and clearly Dante hasn’t gone to check the lock for himself. He says he doesn’t know what his approach is going to be. If somebody is watching Forsythe’s body, he doesn’t want to lead them to the locker. She says, why not just tell Anna? and he says, if she was Anna and she knew about this key and this report, what is she going to do? She says she’s going to the train station and opening the locker, and he says, which sounds like a trap. Forsythe was murdered. Whoever killed him… She says, could also be after Anna. And she’s sure the locker is under surveillance. He says, this whole thing could just be a set-up to draw Anna out, and she says, right. So why not just turn the key over to the PCPD?

Anna tells Felicia, years ago at the beginning of her career with the WSB, she was involved with this op that got blown. The original report exonerated her, which it should have, and placed the blame on the person who planned and executed the op. Felicia says, as it should have? and Anna says, her opinion was yes, and it was the Bureau’s position. At least it was at the time. Felicia says, they changed their minds, and Anna says, they did. This agent in question, Jameson Forsythe, managed to make himself indispensable to the Bureau, so… Felicia says, they buried the report, and Anna says, they did, but she kept a copy of it, just for insurance. Felicia says, just in case they tried to pin it on her, and Anna says, right. But nothing ever came of it, so she kept the report, but just put it away in this trunk that she had full of reports. She was very fastidious about stuff like that. She put in it in storage in England, where it remained for decades. Then a couple of years ago, she brought it out here, thinking she’d go through the trunk, and she never got around to it. (We’ve all been there, even if it’s just a box of stuff.) Felicia says, she has been kind of busy the last couple of years, and Anna says she supposes so. Anyway, when it was clear she was never going to go through the trunk, she put it in storage in Port Charles. Felicia says, when her house burned down, was the trunk still in storage? and Anna says, yeah. So after the fire, she wondered if there was something in there that could help her figure out who’s after her. So Robert helped her bring it to Maxie’s apartment, and as soon as she saw Forsythe’s name, she just knew it. He would kill to keep that report buried.

Hume says he has no preference personally, but why not eliminate Corinthos altogether? and Brennan says, that option’s still on the table, but only as a last resort. Corinthos has controlled Port Charles for decades. Removing him would create a power vacuum. The last thing they need is a bunch of crime families vying for control of Port Charles and its waterways. Next thing they know, state and federal law enforcement will be nosing around. Hume says, exactly the kind of attention Pikeman wants to avoid, to get their merchandise to international buyers, and Brennan says, they’re much better off securing Sonny’s cooperation. Hume says, except that hasn’t really worked so far, and Brennan says, money hasn’t worked. Sometimes it doesn’t. All that means is, they find a different kind of leverage.

Sonny asks if Curtis has ever heard of Pikeman Security Group, and Curtis says, yeah, basically corporate mercenaries and they supply weapons systems. They’ve been in the news once or twice. Sonny says, what hasn’t been in the news is, Pikeman is in bed with the WSB. They have some kind of revolving door arrangement where former WSB agents work for Pikeman. Then Pikeman personnel work for the Bureau. Curtis says, another connection to Anna, but Sonny says, guess what? Pikeman has made overtures to him. Curtis says he takes it Sonny didn’t accept those overtures, and Sonny tells him, let’s just say it didn’t live up to Pikeman’s satisfaction. Curtis says, so Pikeman may have a reason to come gunning for Sonny, and Sonny says, anything is possible.

Dante tells Sam that he thought about turning the key over to the PCPD, but then they’d have access to Anna’s files and records. This guy was WSB, and they’d want to monitor the case. Sam says, they probably are already, and he says, then they’d confiscate the key. She says, and if the report is in the locker, the WSB will grab it and destroy it forever, and he says, right. Which puts Anna in even more danger.

Hume says, Anna Devane. Again, professional curiosity. Why is she so important? Brennan says, that’s classified, and Hume says, understood. Brennan tells him, that said, he can see how this intel might help Hume help him. Back in the 80s, Anna worked a WSB op that went sideways. Forsythe was the field agent in charge and screwed it up big time. And the WSB buried the incident. Hume says, of course (🍷), and Brennan says, but Anna was thinking ahead. She kept a copy of the original mission report naming those responsible, including Forsythe. Hume says, and he imagines if this report got out, it would be embarrassing, and Brennan says, which is why Forsythe was supposed to retrieve the report and eliminate Anna. It’s too bad he failed at both.

Anna tells Felicia, on Halloween night, she took the report and a journal she had supporting it to show Robert. He agreed with the theory, so then when she returned to Maxie’s and saw the door was unlocked, she thought, oh no. There’s someone inside her home again. Felicia says, she thought it was Forsythe, and Anna says, yeah, and if it was him, he was there to kill her. So she just went through that door with her gun leveled and the safety off. She saw a figure in the shadow and yelled, freeze, but they didn’t; they turned. They had what she thought was a weapon in their hand, and she fired, thinking it was him.

Kristina tells Blaze that she didn’t mean to imply it was a requirement to come out to your family. It’s just, when she decided to come out to her parents, who again, are very different from Blaze’s… Blaze thanks her for acknowledging that, and Kristina says she tied herself up in knots over it. With her mother, it wasn’t so much her sexuality that was the problem. The problem was, she was involved with an older woman, which in hindsight, her concerns were valid. And if Blaze tells anyone that, she will deny it. Blaze says, Kristina’s secret is safe with her, and Kristina says, with her dad, he’s totally old school and traditional. She and her dad are incredibly close. Even at times when she didn’t think she and her mom were that close, her dad has always been there for her. And she was afraid, terrified, that if she revealed her true self to him that he would reject her. Blaze says, clearly, he didn’t. Did he come around eventually, or… Kristina says, he accepted her immediately. You might not think a devout Catholic and legitimate coffee importer would be that open-minded, but his love and support for her allowed her to truly explore who she is.

Cyrus tells Laura, all his life, he’s bent over backwards for his family, for his parents who were never satisfied with anything he did. His mother won’t even accept money from him unless it’s funneled through his brother first. Every single cent that’s gone for her care has come from him. As soon as he heard that Spencer was sentenced to Pentenville, he went out of his way to make sure Spencer would be protected. Not that Spencer ever asked for his help, but he’s Laura’s grandson, and that makes him family and that’s what family does. So she and Martin and his mother can continue to treat him like he’s less than dirt, but he knows, and more importantly, God knows what’s in his heart. And that’s more than enough for him.

Blaze says, she and hers aren’t there yet, and she doesn’t know if they ever will be. Kristina says she respects that, but Blaze says she thinks she’s a coward. Kristina asks if she’s met herself. She’s kind of amazing. Blaze says she kind of is, isn’t she? and Kristina says, as far as coming out to her family, if and when that’s what Blaze decides to do, the timing is totally her own. Whatever Blaze needs from her, she’s got it. Blaze thanks her, and Kristina says, of course (🍷). Blaze says, and for the record, Kristina’s pretty amazing herself. Kristina says she is, and they kiss.

Laura says she’s sorry. Cyrus is absolutely right. She had no idea what family means to him, but she does know that she hopes every single doubt she’s had about him is wrong. She thanks him for keeping Spencer safe, and he says, it’s what they do. She says, and as far as the rest of it goes, can they just wait and see? He says he’ll take that as a downpayment on a future apology, and she says she looks forward to giving it to him. He says, all right then. If she doesn’t see him around in the next week or so, don’t worry that he’s fallen back into his old ways. He’s going to be visiting his mother. She says, good for him. Give his mother her best. He says he will. He missed her while he was in prison, even if she didn’t miss him. He goes to the back with his mop and bucket, and Laura leaves.

Kristina walks Blaze to the door, and Blaze says, see you around? Kristina says, you bet, and Blaze leaves. These two have more chemistry than most of the other couples put together, especially now that Anna and Valentin are off the table.

Sam says she doesn’t understand why they would work so hard pinning this on Anna, and Dante says, maybe there’s someone implicated in the report besides Forsythe. She says, maybe that’s why Forsythe is dead. Maybe he knew who that someone was. Dante says, so the only person who knows about the report is the person who was in on the op, and Sam says, and that person was Anna. He says, she’s the only other witness. Whoever wants to bury that report, wants to bury her too.

Felicia asks if Anna thinks he’s still after her, and Anna says she thinks he was. Felicia says, was? and Anna says, when she returned to Maxie’s apartment, after the shooting, someone had been there, and they’d been through the trunk and taken anything pertaining to Forsythe and the op. It was all gone. And shortly after that, Forsythe turned up in Port Charles morgue. He was the victim of a hit and run. He was found on the side of the road, and there was no indication that the vehicle even slowed down. Felicia says, murdered? and Anna says, that’s what it looks like. She bets Forsythe died because of something that was in that report.

Hume says, their team went through Forsythe’s hotel room, his luggage, and his car. They gave Brennan everything they found. Brennan says, the last message from Forsythe, he said he had the report. So he either lied about having it or left it somewhere as insurance, which means that report is still out there somewhere. A ticking bomb.

Curtis asks, what if Sonny was the intended target and they wanted to lead the investigation away from that assumption? If Sonny had been hit by a WSB rifle, the investigators could claim that gun was bought on the black market, and no one would connect it to Pikeman. Sonny says he’s not ruling anything out. He wants to be clear. He doesn’t know for sure if Pikeman tried to kill him, but he doesn’t see a reason why they would try to kill Anna. Curtis says, that they know of. But to find out, he’s going to have to start back at square one and see where this trail leads.

Tomorrow, Maxie says, Cody and Sasha have this special chemistry that everyone can see; Esme says she can’t rely on Spencer anymore; and Jake says he never knows what Charlotte is thinking.

🏆 He’s Welcome…

The only soap fit to print.

Maurice Benard Thanks You for Helping GH Hit a Major Milestone!

💐 Deserving Of Two Bouquets…

One of the most underrated actors in daytime, but he does get double the fun. Ryan might be dead, but I fully expect him to show up again.

Jon Lindstrom Celebrates His Anniversary at GENERAL HOSPITAL

💣 New Villain In Town…

I thought I recognized him. He’s been in quite a few TV shows.

Who Was Brennan on GENERAL HOSPITAL?

🍹 Soap Ladies Who Lunch…

This is such a cool idea. It must be fun.

Inside This Year’s Lead Actress Luncheon — See the Videos!

🥪 Something About Opening Already…

To be fair, the socks are really cute. But the place looks gorgeous, so what the hell?

Something About Her Better Open Soon, Here’s Why

💉 Don’t Try This Anywhere…

Seriously, is she stupid or crazy? Is keeping up with the Housewives really worth it?

Jennifer Fessler Sent to Hospital Over Weight Loss Drug, Continues to Take It

🐉 Imagining Dragons…

The latest on House of the Dragon, Season 2.

https://people.com/bloody-war-is-coming-in-the-house-of-the-dragon-season-2-teaser-8410126

🌁 Latest On The Last…

I could see Bella Ramsey playing The Joker.

https://winteriscoming.net/2023/12/05/the-last-of-us-season-2-sets-february-2024-filming-date/

More game versus series talk.

The Last of Us Season 2 Has an Impossible Role to Cast

⚰️ Improvising the Dead…

Since there’s precious little news at this time.

https://undeadwalking.com/2023/12/02/walking-dead-ad-libbed-lines/

🦥 Double Check That Thing…

This story is hysterical, but don’t let this happen to you.

https://people.com/woman-discovers-possum-hiding-in-christmas-tree-8410211

🦌 Playing Reindeer Games…

Join me tomorrow for soap and trying to stomach Beverly Hills. Until then, stay safe, stay respecting others’ holiday differences, and stay trusting, but verifying.

Nov11

November 10, 2023 – Spencer Explodes At Trina, Lolly Lover, Not Gone, Soap Fun, Final Date, The Best, Resilient, VanderNo, Not Yet, Downhill, Dead Revival, Roommates, One More, Nonagon Of Quotes & Battle

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Olivia gets to Eddie/Ned just in time, and extracts him from the tangle of seaweed and netting he’s in. Although I wonder why he’s wearing shoes when he left them at the boathouse.

At the MetroCourt, Alexis says, another precious minute lost. Where are you, Kristina? Blaze comes by and introduces herself as a friend of Kristina’s. She says she was supposed to meet a friend, but it seems fate has other ideas today; they just cancelled. She was on her way out, saw Alexis, and thought she’d introduced herself. Alexis says, that’s nice… Not that Blaze’s friend cancelled, but that Blaze introduced herself. Would Blaze like to join her? Maybe it’s fate. Blaze says, maybe it is, and sits down.

Drew sees Curtis at another table, and says, it’s nice to see him. Curtis says, likewise, and they hug.

Carrying a takeout bag, Trina joins Spencer outside Dex’s apartment, followed by Josslyn and Dex. She says, sorry he had to wait, but they have extra crunchy prawn, and Josslyn says, there was a delay in ordering because someone – she looks at Dex – had to weigh out the whole Marvel movie to catalog Monica’s powers. He says, in the last edition… and she says, yes, she understands. Trina asks Spencer, what happened? and he says, Esme happened. And this time she has his grandmother on her side.

Anna sees Valentin outside of Charlotte’s room and asks, how is she? He says, sleeping. The doctors say she’s going to make a full recovery. She says, thank God. There’s something he needs to know. He asks, what is it? but she says, not here, and they go to the stairwell.

Olivia gets Eddie to the surface and struggles to bring him to shore. She tells him, don’t make this hard. He’s got to be okay. She pounds on him, trying to get him to cough up water, then does chest compression and mouth-to-mouth. He coughs and she asks if he’s all right. He’s alive. He sits up, and she says he’s alive. He says, it’s her. She saved him. She says, of course (🍷) she did. She’d do anything for him. He says he should have always known this, and she says, it’s okay, Eddie, hugging him. He says he’s not Eddie; he’s Ned.

Kristina walks into the MetroCourt and sees Blaze talking to Alexis. She goes to the table and says she didn’t know Blaze knew her mother. Sorry she’s late. Alexis says, only forty-five minutes, and Blaze says her plans were a no-show, and she saw Kristina’s mother. Alexis says, Blaze introduced herself. That was so 1990s. Blaze says, and a lot of fun. She tells Kristina to sit, and says she was grilling Alexis about her job. Alexis says, actually, Blaze was keeping her company while she waited for Kristina… and waited… and waited… Kristina says, okay. Sorry about that. She got caught up with some planning commission things at the youth center. Alexis says, she’s here now and Blaze is here, so why don’t they all have dinner together?

Curtis says, it must be strange, being about to get up and go to sleep when he wants to and turn off his own lights, and Drew says, absolutely. But there are a few things he can think of that he missed more than that. Curtis says he knows that must have been hard. He’s sorry he didn’t visit Drew. Drew says, Curtis had a few things going on. What he went through is nothing in comparison to what Curtis went through. Curtis protests, but Drew says he’s serious. Doesn’t he think it’s silly for either one of them to feel they need to apologize to each other? They’ve been through it. Curtis has been there for him more times than he can count. This friendship is forged in fire. It’s brotherhood born in battle. Curtis says, wow, and raises his glass. To the battle… and to freedom. Drew says, and to survival, and they clink glasses.

Josslyn says, Esme again, and Spencer asks if Josslyn and Dex can give him a minute. Josslyn says, gladly, and she and Dex go into his apartment, Josslyn touching Trina’s shoulder as she passes. Trina asks what Esme did, and Spencer says, it’s nothing that Esme did; it’s what she’s going to do. She’s going to take Ace and she’s going to move into another apartment. Trina says, finally.

Laura looks in the window to Charlotte’s room. Elizabeth is with Charlotte, sees Laura, and comes out. Laura says, she looks so fragile in that bed, and Elizabeth says she knows, but Charlotte’s just sleeping right now. It’s best to let her rest as long as possible because her system is still fighting. But her vitals are excellent. She’s on track to make a full recovery. Laura breathes a sigh of relief and says, that’s fantastic. Where’s Valentin? She can’t imagine he’d leave her alone. (Geez, the poor guy doesn’t even get a bathroom break?) Elizabeth says, no. He’s been here the entire time. In fact, she just saw him walking down the hall with Anna just a little bit ago. Laura asks how Jake is handling all of this. She knows they all went trick-or-treating together, and heard he was the first one back to Anna’s house right after it happened. Elizabeth says she’s never seen him like this. It’s like he’s caught in this loop of feeling upset and feeling guilty that he lost track of her. He promised Valentin they would stick together, and that’s why he went looking for her. And now he’s scared and confused and doesn’t understand how Anna could have shot Charlotte. And honestly, neither can she.

First of all, didn’t anyone notice Charlotte was wearing a huge, dark, hooded robe and the apartment was dark? And on another topic, Jake knows that Charlotte had the keys and what she’d said about them getting her everything she wanted. This hasn’t come up yet, but I’m thinking it might give him a clue she was up to no good.

On a landing in the stairwell, Valentin asks Anna what it is he needs to know. She says, he has to believe her when she tells him, what happened with Charlotte was an accident. She had no way of knowing Charlotte was in that apartment. He says he knows that. She says she’s not making an excuse, because she understands this is killing him, and he says, there’s nothing she could have done. She says, when she left the apartment, she locked it, and when she returned, it was unlocked. So she knew there was someone inside there, and she thought she was going to be ambushed. That’s why she pulled her gun, and that’s when she made a terrible mistake. And she wishes she could make it all go away. When she saw Charlotte lying on the ground like that, and his face when he came in… He says, it was an accident. It was a tragic accident. She says, yes… How did he know to come to the apartment?

Ned and Olivia are dripping wet and sitting on the ground. Olivia asks what Ned is saying. Her Ned? Is it really him? He says, it’s really him. He saw her. He doesn’t even know how it happened. His mind was rushing like a whirlwind. Literally. The next thing he knows, he’s in the water, and stuck. And there she was. And now they’re here. She says, Lois told her that he was depressed. She went to the boathouse and saw his guitar and his shoes(🤷🏽‍♀️), and she thought… She cries, and he takes her face in his hands and says, it’s okay. They made it. She made it. They’re going to be okay. She says she thought she lost him, and he says, but she didn’t. She found him. It was her all along. She says, what? and he says, in the song. He knows how it ends. She asks what he’s talking about, and he says, the siren song. He knows how to finish it. She says, Eddie… Ned, let’s not do this right now, and he says he’s not Eddie. He’s Ned. She says, if he’s not Eddie, how did he remember the song? He says he remembers everything, and they kiss. So is he going to kind of be like Sonny/Mike now?

Spencer says, finally? Trina didn’t really just say that. She says, yes, she did. She knows he’s going to miss living with Ace, but it’s way past time that Esme go live on her own. He yells, who cares about Esme? He’s talking about Ace. Ace is the one he’s worried about in this instance. Josslyn and Dex come out, and Josslyn asks, what the hell is going on out here?

Kristina asks if Alexis knows that Blaze just signed with BLQ Management, and Alexis says, Brook Lynn Quartermaine. Blaze says, makes a refreshing change from that sleaze Linc Brown, and Alexis says she remembers his public takedown at the Nurses Ball. To Catch a Predator anyone? Blaze says, oh, we caught him, and Alexis says, and then he disappeared, and as she recalls, the whole thing went radio silent. She’s curious. How long before the abuse started?

Curtis asks how it feels to be back in the real world, and Drew says, he has no idea. Although he has to say, some things are more challenging than he anticipated. Curtis says, Drew has been out of the mix for a while, but Drew says, compared to when he broke out of captivity in Greece, the life he came back to this time hasn’t changed nearly as drastically. But Curtis’s has. What about him?

Elizabeth tells Laura that she knows Anna would never intentionally hurt Charlotte. Obviously, it was just a terrible mistake. But what was she doing carrying a gun around on Halloween? With people in costumes and kids jumping out at each other, acting all crazy. Laura says, she’s right, and Elizabeth says, and you add a gun in that mix? It only increases the odds that something tragic is going to happen. Yes, Charlotte is going to recover physically, but what about her emotional scars? And Jake is going to have to deal with this as well.

Valentin says he was supposed to pick up Charlotte and the other kids after trick-or-treating. Apparently, Charlotte went off on her own, and according to Georgie and Danny, Jake went after Charlotte in the direction of Maxie’s place, so he thought she was heading there. Anna says, well, he was right. She couldn’t figure out why Charlotte would come to the apartment. The police found her backpack, and in it was the keychain she showed him to Maxie’s apartment. Remember the one that had the shoe on it? In there were also these two cans of spray paint that were the same color that was used to paint the word murderer on her door. He says, Charlotte told him about the keychain; she didn’t tell him about the paint. She says, that doesn’t matter. What she’s trying to tell him is, she’s figured out who’s after her. He says he’s so sorry, and she says, and it is the WSB. Former WSB. She figured out the connection, and it’s a man called Jameson Forsythe. Old guard Bureau. They crossed swords ages ago. He says, no. She doesn’t understand… but she says she does. She found evidence, and Forsythe is trying to discredit, destabilize her, and somehow he’s involved Charlotte. She doesn’t know how he’s done it, but he’s using Charlotte to get to her.

Olivia and Ned go into the boathouse, and Ned puts a towel around her shoulders, then takes one for himself. She says she’s a little behind the curve. He has to catch her up. He’s not Eddie Maine anymore. He says, no. He’s just plain old Ned, her husband. She says, they have to get back to the house. They have to get him to a doctor. He says, you know what? He doesn’t want to go to the house. He wants to stay right here with her because it’s been too long. He just wants to enjoy this moment with her, okay? She says, okay, and they sit down. She says she doesn’t understand. He remembers everything? He says, it’s a bit fuzzy, a little disjointed, but he was here the whole time, like he was on autopilot. Or like playing one of Leo’s video games. He’s Ned, but he’s a little fuzzy. She asks if he remembers his daughter, and Tracy, and Leo. He says, yeah. He remembers everyone. He’s a Quartermaine. They were married in 2017. It’s now 2022. She says, 2023, and he says, right. He told her that things were fuzzy. She says, that’s just the small stuff. The important thing is that he’s here. They hug, and she says she was praying so hard for this, and he came back to her. He says, but she was willing to let Eddie stay, wasn’t she?

Blaze tells Alexis, at first, she was starstruck around all the beautiful people, all the glitz and glamour of the industry. She was so lost in it. When Linc began to overstep, she thought, maybe that’s just the way this world works; maybe he’s that way with all his artists. She didn’t want to seem uptight, so she stayed quiet and avoided being alone with him. Alexis says, Blaze made it her problem, not his, and Blaze says, exactly. One more layer of pressure to being in the public eye. Backstage, where you’re supposed to let your guard down, she was constantly looking over her shoulder. Alexis says, so she’s spending her downtime dodging him, and Kristina says, no one should have to do that. Alexis says, women are conditioned to normalize that kind of behavior, and then that message gets passed down to other artists. Blaze says she gets that entirely. By keeping her mouth shut, she was basically endorsing him.

Curtis tells Drew that his life is upside down for sure. Simple things like walking, running, even standing up, he can’t take for granted anymore. Drew says, but he’s not alone in this. He has family, friends. Curtis says he does and he’s grateful for that, but everything has shifted. The dynamic is different. Hell, he’s different.

They all go into Dex’s apartment, and Josslyn says she gets it. Spencer’s upset. One thing she’s learned about living in the dorms is, you have to be considerate of your neighbors and your own business. The whole building doesn’t need to know what’s going on right now. Spencer asks if she really thinks he cares what the building thinks. He gets louder, and says, Esme just told him that she’s taking Ace and moving into a new apartment, and his grandmother is going to co-sign the lease because they think Ace shouldn’t be a part of his life anymore. And when he comes to Trina with this, saying he’s going to be losing his baby brother, all she can say is, finally.

Anna tells Valentin that this is her past catching up to her. And somehow, it’s caught up to Charlotte, and she never wanted that. Forsythe has gotten to her somehow. Valentin says, there is no Forsythe. At least not the way she’s thinking. She asks what he’s trying to say, and he says his daughter’s been stalking her for months. And he’s been covering for her.

Laura sits next to Charlotte’s bed and says she’s here. How does it feel? Charlotte says her stomach hurts, but not too bad, and Laura says, she’s such a brave girl. Charlotte asks, where’s papa? He promised to be here. Laura says, he’s been here the whole time. He just went for a walk with Anna. Charlotte gets agitated, and says, it’s dangerous. They can’t trust Anna. She’ll hurt him.

Olivia tells Ned, every waking moment, with every beat of her heart, she was fighting for him. He says, no… and she says, he’s got to hear this. He needed to find his way back to them. She couldn’t push him. He needed to choose to come back to them. If he thinks she preferred Eddie Maine… He tells her, stop. She misunderstands. He’s not accusing her of being disloyal. He knows she was supporting him, and he loves her all the more for it. She says, Eddie… and realizes her mistake. He laughs and hugs her. He says he needed that space. After the accident, when he woke up in the hospital, everything was so confusing and unfamiliar, he grabbed the first thing that made him feel safe and comfortable. She says, Eddie Maine, and he says, it was his escape to a time when life was less complicated, and he wasn’t feeling the weight of his family and business suffocating him. To a time when it was just him, on stage, playing his music, no restraints, no judgements, just freedom.

Blaze says she didn’t mean to open a vein here, but Alexis says she’s the one who pried. Old attorney habits die hard. Kristina says, Blaze doesn’t know her mother; this is like catnip for her. Alexis says she’s more than curious. She’s outraged. Her nerve endings are twitching thinking about the lawsuit Blaze could file. Blaze says she doesn’t know… and Alexis says she’s serious. Kristina says, if Blaze doesn’t want to go the legal route, how about collaborating together on a piece about sexual harassment in the music industry? What does Alexis think? A feature with Blaze as the focus? Alexis says she thinks it’s a great idea; shed light on a rampant issue. Is Blaze willing to go on the record? Blaze says, it’s no secret what happened what happened to her. Anyone who was at the Nurses Ball or who saw it on television knows about it, but she wants to move forward with her career. She doesn’t want to go backward. Kristina tells her, what about what she just said? What about all of the artists who could fall into the same trap? Here’s her chance to show that predators aren’t the only way to do business. This is an opportunity for her to break that cycle.

Curtis tells Drew that sometimes he actually feels fortunate. There’s this guy, Devon, his gym buddy. Devon has it way worse than him, but this guy always stays positive. He has the most amazing outlook on life. Drew says, that’s incredible. He’s so glad to hear that. Curtis says, but to be perfectly honest, there are moments, split seconds, where he forgets about his new reality and tries to do normal things like get out of bed and stand up. Then reality slams back, so he’s learning to adjust.

Trina tells Spencer that she never meant to say it was a good thing losing Ace. She just thinks that Esme moving out is healthy for her, and ultimately for him. He says, healthy for him, to be separated from Ace. He’s losing a member of his family, and he thought she would understand that. Josslyn says, it’s not like Esme’s moving to another planet. She’s still going to be in Port Charles and so will Ace. He can see them whenever he wants. Isn’t that a good thing? Dex says, but it won’t be the same thing, and Josslyn and Trina look at him, as I would. Thanks, Dex.

Valentin says, Charlotte’s the one who vandalized Anna’s hotel suite. Security footage showed her breaking into that room with a backpack. Anna says, what? and he says he had Nina delete the footage from the server. She asks why he would have Nina do that. Why would he hide that from her? He says, the moment he saw it, he knew she was the one who spray painted Anna’s front door, that she was the one who set Anna’s house on fire. Anna says, no, but Valentin says, she knew how to get in Anna’s house. Her camp was less than an hour away. She could have gotten there easily. Anna says, it’s not possible, but he says he doesn’t know what Charlotte is capable of anymore. She says, so he knew his daughter was terrorizing her and he just let Charlotte keep doing it? and he says he was protecting Charlotte because he failed her so many times as a father. And he thinks he was protecting himself… She says, what about protecting her? Didn’t she have a right to know?

Laura tells Charlotte, it’s okay. Her father isn’t in any danger from Anna. Charlotte says, she’s wrong. Grandfather Victor warned her about Anna. He told her to protect papa. Laura asks what Victor said about Anna, and Charlotte tells her, he said she was a double-agent, and everyone would know about it soon. He visited her at school and told her to stay there where she’d be safe from Anna. He even wrote her a letter. She grabs her side, and Laura tells her, try to be still. She doesn’t want to reopen the wound. Charlotte says, Laura doesn’t understand. Grandfather told her that Anna was going to use her and pretend to be nice to her so she could trick papa. Laura says, he told her all of this in a letter? and Charlotte says, yes. He said that papa was so in love with Anna, he wouldn’t realize she was using him. Anna’s done a lot of bad things in the past, and made papa take the blame. She’s going to do it again and this time, papa’s going to end up in prison forever. He’ll be killed if she doesn’t keep Anna away from him. Laura says, shhh. It’s okay.

Olivia says she can understand Ned getting nostalgic for the past, for simpler times. So she’s got to ask him. Does Lois figure into this equation? (I laugh because Lois likes math.) He asks why she would bring Lois up, and she says, Lois was the last one he talked to before he jumped in, and everything changed. Is Lois the reason he came back to them?

Kristina says she’s sorry. She didn’t mean to put Blaze on the spot. Her mother can vouch that is something she does. Blaze says, don’t worry about it. She appreciates Kristina’s passion. Alexis says, there’s no pressure here at all. It was a just an idea. She sees Drew and Curtis, and says she sees two friends over there who she’d love to say hello to. She’ll be right back. She leaves, and Kristina tells Blaze, that was not her place. Here she is, lecturing Blaze about her story when she knows better than anyone it’s an intensely personal decision. Blaze says, Kristina’s fire, her commitment to justice is infectious. It’s okay to want to make a difference. The thing she’d hate is if Kristina started editing herself and only told her what she wanted to hear.

Curtis says, Drew told him the whole story. Alexis is one gutsy reporter. Threatening to expose that judge like that? He’s glad it all worked out. They really missed Drew and he’s glad Drew’s back. Drew says he appreciates that, and there are smiles all around.

Ned tells Olivia that he was talking to Lois before he came down here to the boathouse. She was giving him a pep talk about finishing the song. Olivia says she wanted him to finish the song too, and he says he guesses he needed Lois’s no-nonsense bullying, and Olivia laughs. He says, Lois told him to take a leap of faith and go find the siren. She says, the siren, and he says, maybe she knew that was the key to getting him back to his real self. Or maybe not. But Olivia. She’s the one who actually pulled him back. She cries and he kisses the top of her head, pulling her to him. He says, turns out, she’s the siren. Hers is the only voice that could have brought him back. Lois may have had the idea, but Olivia made it a reality.

Dex says he understands where Spencer is coming from. Up to now, he and Esme have been raising Ace together. Obviously, living apart changes that dynamic, like a divorce. Spencer says, yes, a divorce where, if he wants to spend time with his own brother, he’ll have to act like a visitor. And it’s not the same as living together. He tells Trina, it’s just not, and Dex asks, what if they could get shared custody? and Spencer says, Esme’s not going to do shared custody with him, not with grandmother on her side. Trina says, Esme doesn’t have to share custody. He’s Ace’s brother, not his father.

Laura says she needs Charlotte to help her understand. She’s trying to keep her father away from Anna to protect him? Charlotte says, yes. Maybe move to London or somewhere near her granddaughter Emma. Anywhere really, as long as she’s away from papa and papa is safe. Laura says, okay, but this is what Victor wanted her to do, right? Charlotte tells her, he said it was the only way. Anna must have figured out she knew about her. That’s why Anna shot her, so she wouldn’t ruin Anna’s plans. Laura says, no, that was a terrible accident, but Charlotte says, it wasn’t. Anna saw her in the apartment. She knew it was her. Anna shot her on purpose. Anna wanted to kill her. Just like she’ll do to papa.

Valentin says he loves Anna, but Charlotte is everything to him. He couldn’t bring himself to tell her that Charlotte was targeting her. She says, so he just lied to her over and over again, and he says he wanted to tell her the truth. She says, but he didn’t. What did he think? That he could fix this? That he would just stitch this whole mess together and they would live in separate worlds, and it would all work? He says he was hoping by moving her into the house and giving her a home with him, that for once it would end her destructive behavior. They met with Doc. She was willing to have… Anna slaps him in the face, then pushes him, and says, shut up. If she’d known Charlotte was the one after her, she never would have pulled a gun. She shot a child. His child. She has to live with that for the rest of her life. She’s never going to forgive him. She storms out, and he can’t believe how stupid he is.

Ned and Olivia leave the boathouse, and he picks up his guitar. He says he thinks he knows the way the song ends now. She says she can’t wait to hear it, and they look out over the water, his arm around her. He says, she saved his life – literally and figuratively. She says, they save each other. That’s what love is. They kiss.

Drew and Curtis’s food comes, and Alexis says, that’s her cue to leave. She has to get back to her dates over there. It was such a pleasure to see Curtis, and he says, good to see her too. Drew says it was good to see her, and she leaves. Curtis tells Drew, sometimes it is so hard to just have a conversation without everyone trying to help when they know good and well they can’t. So that’s why it’s good to just hang out with a good friend who gets it. Drew says, any time, and Curtis asks what he thinks of the Nets’ chances this year, but Drew says he’s not falling for that. Curtis got him last time. Although they do have some good games coming up. Curtis agrees, and says, Boston tomorrow. Drew says, Curtis’s couch, his beer? and Curtis says he’s in… Portia may have other ideas. Drew says, then he’ll have to bring some wine, and Curtis laughs.

Alexis sits down, and Blaze says she’s decided. Kristina says she doesn’t want Blaze to feel pressured, but Blaze says, she’s in. A complete interview; nothing off limits. Alexis says, really? and Blaze says, yes. Kristina brought up some really good points. She can’t complain about what happened to her on one hand and not do everything she can to change it on the other. This is something she can do to stand up for those coming after her. Her contribution to their art, and to their voices. Kristina says she didn’t put it nearly as poetically as that, and Blaze says, that’s what collaboration’s all about. Someone comes up with an idea, someone comes up with the words, put it together, you’ve got magic. She has to make a quick call, but they can talk details when she gets back. She excuses herself and leaves, and Kristina asks what Alexis thinks. Alexis says she thinks Blaze likes Kristina, and Kristina says she likes Blaze too; she’s cool. Alexis says, no. I mean she likes you likes you.

Spencer says, Trina… but Trina says, no. Let’s unpack this. The only way he gets to be Ace’s father is if he’s with Esme, in a relationship. If the two of them are a couple, then they get to raise him together. That is a sure-fire way to solve his problem. Is that what he wants? He says, no, of course (🍷) not. He doesn’t love Esme; he loves her. But he also really loves his little brother, and he knows in his heart that Ace needs to be in his life. Trina says, he will always be in Spencer’s life, just not in the house, but Spencer says, no, because that would be abandoning him, and she knows he’s not going to do that. She says, then he knows what the solution is for that, but where does that leave them? He tells her not to ask him to choose between her and Ace. She’s not going to like the answer. She says, don’t worry. She’ll save him the trouble. She grabs her bag and walks out.

Laura tells Charlotte, don’t worry. She’ll make sure Charlotte’s papa is safe. They’re going to figure all of this out. Charlotte says, Anna can tell that she knows she’s bad. That’s why Anna shot her. Papa can’t trust her. Laura has to tell him. Laura says, it’s going to be all right, she promises. Close her eyes and get some rest. It’s going to be okay. She kisses Charlotte’s forehead and leaves.

In the hallway, Anna says she really needs to talk to Charlotte, but Elizabeth says, it’s only family. Anna says, it will only take one minute, but Elizabeth says, it’s not possible. Laura comes out of Charlotte’s room and Elizabeth goes in. Valentin comes out of the stairwell, and Laura tells Anna that Charlotte’s just fallen back to sleep. Anna says, she doesn’t understand. It’s imperative that she speak with Charlotte right now. Laura says she really thinks Anna should wait… but Anna says, it can’t wait. She has to tell her… Laura says, Anna can’t go in there. Charlotte is terrified of her. She thinks Anna shot her on purpose. Anna cries and says she didn’t, and Valentin hangs his head, as he should.

On Monday… they show scenes from several days ago, so I’m not sure what that means. Either it’s a mistake, or we’re going to be forced to watch news-not-news.

💣 He’s Just Misunderstood…

They’ll have to dig deep to find some redeeming qualities.

Nathanyael Grey Insists GH’s Mason Isn’t All Bad

🍕 Didn’t Think So…

What would the Q mansion be without her? My money’s on her coming back for Thanksgiving pizza.

Jane Elliot Is Not Leaving GENERAL HOSPITAL!

👻 Fun And Games…

The kids always look like they’re having a good time off-camera.

Backstage at GH’s Halloween With Scarlett Fernandez

🏆 For Real This Time…

As predicted, the main event of the Daytime Emmys will be aired on December 15th.

The 2023 Daytime Emmys Ceremony Will be Held in December!

👖 It’s Not The Pants…

I knew there was a reason I liked Sutton so much. This is it.

Sutton Is The Best Housewife, Argue With The Wall

👠 Bouncing Back…

Hopefully, she can keep the momentum going. Talk about making (hard) lemonade out of lemons.

https://extratv.com/2023/11/08/ariana-madix-on-fan-support-at-bravocon-and-her-resiliency-exclusive/

🍸 Her Calendar Is Full…

Why would she come back? Just to be harassed by Erika and get offers of fake friendship from Kyle? It’s not like she has nothing to do.

Lisa Vanderpump Reveals if She Would Return to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

And while we’re on the subject.

Everything We Know About Vanderpump Rules Season 11

🌁 Lasting Long Enough For Last…

2025? Really? Although I can hardly blame Pedro Pascal.

https://ew.com/tv/the-last-of-us-season-2-everything-we-know/

https://collider.com/gladiator-2-filming-start-pedro-pascal-last-of-us/

🛟 Like They’re On A Water Slide…

The short answer: yes. The golden years with Captain Lee and Kate are over, but we’ll always have Couch Talk.

Is Below Deck Going Downhill?

⚰️ A Diabolical Plot…

Of course, he’s not against reviving the original series. It’s got to be a billion dollar franchise by now. And brilliant idea to merge all the Deads into one big kumbaya Dead.

https://winteriscoming.net/2023/11/09/the-walking-dead-boss-not-against-reviving-the-original-series/

🦥 This Guy…

I’m obsessed with 90 Day Fiancé and all its spin-offs. I don’t include it here because I already give it too much time. If this guy’s mother wasn’t living in the closet, it might be fun to live there. For about a week. I love the annoyed chihuahua.

https://people.com/90-day-fiance-clayton-introduces-5-roommates-including-two-guinea-pigs-exclusive-8386660

🐩 You Didn’t Think I Was Done…

Oh, come on, just one more.

https://www.homecrux.com/celebrity-pet-halloween-costumes/181675/

🍿 Quotes of the Week

Never trust humans just to let things be. – David (Mike Colter), Extinction

I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion. – Alexander the Great

Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow. – Ronald E. Osborn

It is never too late to be what you might have been. – George Eliot

It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end. – Ursula K. Le Guin

With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts. – Eleanor Roosevelt

Many things—such as loving, going to sleep, or behaving unaffectedly—are done worst when we try hardest to do them. – C.S. Lewis, Studies in Medieval Literature, compiled in Words to Live By

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. – Thomas Edison

An idea is a fart your brain makes. But if you patent an idea, it’s an asset. – Rufus Griswold (Michael Trucco), Fall of the House of Usher

🍠 Keep Your Yams To Yourself…

On Sunday, stop the scaries by dropping in for some Fear. Until then, stay safe, stay considering going out for Thanksgiving dinner (nothing says Thanksgiving like Oysters Rockefeller!), and stay toasting to the battle, freedom, and survival.