Tag Archives: The Real Housewives of New York City

July 31, 2023 – Drew Intervenes For Cyrus, IRL, NYC SOS, Aspen Girlfriend, Caught, Tyrone, Collie & Goodbye

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

On the phone, Sonny says he needs them to find out everything they can on a Gordon Stevens. He did a little time in Pentenville. He took two bullets outside of GH, and Sonny wants to find out who’s responsible. He goes to the MetroCourt rooftop seating and finds Anna. He asks if this seat is taken, and she says, it is now. He sits across from her, and says he’s glad he found her. He was a worried about her the last time he saw her. She seemed a bit off. She says she got tired of hiding out at home. She got tired of eating cereal for dinner. She’s not very good in the kitchen, and with Valentin gone, it’s possible she could starve. Apparently, she’s never heard of Door Dash. Sonny says he’s surprised Valentin hasn’t come home from his trip, especially with what’s going on with her, but she says she’s fine on her own. She doesn’t need Valentin to protect her. He says, Anna might not need Valentin, but does Valentin know the WSB is trying to kill her?

Gregory gets in the elevator at the MetroCourt, and Tracy yells for him to hold it. He does, and she gets in. He says, you’re welcome.

Alexis lets herself into Molly’s apartment, and asks, how’s the patient? Molly says, she’s making way too much of this. She’s more embarrassed than she is hurt. Alexis tells her, that boot says otherwise. Alexis is her mommy, so let Alexis take care of her, for no other reason than to make Alexis feel better. Molly says she just wishes she could go back to work, but Alexis says, she needs to take a minute. Does she need anything? Molly says she’s good. Sam came by and made sure the fridge was full; Krissy offered to shop for her. Alexis says, good. It’s good of the girls to bring her groceries. Molly says, Krissy didn’t exactly bring her food. She came with something much better. Molly shows her Valiant, and Alexis takes him, saying, aww.

Michael says, Kristina wants to know why he’s so hard on Nina, but she tells him, that’s not what she said. She asked why he’s being such a bastard to her. He says, let him ask her a question. Why is she always so damn nice to Nina? She says she knows their family was hurt by what happened between dad and Nina, but they’re engaged. They’re a part of their family now, so he has to get over it.

Sitting in the prison library, Cyrus reads out loud, peace I leave with you; My peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled. Better let it be afraid… Book slams the Bible shut, and Cyrus says, Lord, let me be a channel of Your peace. Book grabs him and lifts him out of his chair, and slams him up against the wall. He says, there’s no one to help you, old man. No warden, no guards. He’s all alone. There’s no one to help him now. Drew says, but he can. Get the hell away from him. Um… I feel like I missed something with Cyrus becoming this weaker character.

Meeting for drinks, Felicia asks if things are hectic at Deception, and Lucy says, that’s an understatement. She feels like she’s swamped. They’re all scrambling to do massive damage control. Felicia says she feels terrible for poor Sasha, and Cody. She’s just glad he’s going to be okay. It could have been a lot worse. Lucy says, she’s right. They just don’t know what happened. It was so sudden. Sasha’s life was on track. She was doing fine. She was happy. She was looking forward to doing the interview. Then she just lost it – boom. Sasha’s meltdown could have tanked Deception completely. It sent their stock tumbling, but thankfully, they have the Deceptor. The sales are incredible, and she thinks it’s going to save the company. Felicia says, at least that’s good news, and Lucy says, it should be. Felicia says, it’s not, and Lucy says, it’s just… she can’t help it. She discusses and brings up the Deceptor, and all she can think about is Martin was the inspiration for her to create it. Felicia says, and the problem with that would be? and Lucy says she can’t stop thinking about how he gets $50,000 in alimony a month from ex-wife number three. Why didn’t he tell her that? Why keep that a secret? And what else could he be hiding from her?

Tracy says, he’s welcome for what exactly? and Gregory says he held the door for her. The polite response would be, thank you. She says, I’m so sorry, Emily Post. She didn’t realize he expected to be thanked for a basic courtesy. Her phone rings, and he says, so she is familiar with the concept of basic courtesy. Tracy answers, and tells Monica that she’s in the elevator on her way to the restaurant. Although she wishes she’d taken the stairs… She’s canceling? Could Monica have given her a warning?… It is always a medical emergency with her… No, she wasn’t aware Monica was a doctor. She’ll see Monica at home. The door opens, and Gregory says, ladies first. She thanks him, and gets out.

Anna tells Sonny that she doesn’t want to worry Valentin at all. He has his hands full with Laura and Doc and whatever he’s doing. Besides, she doesn’t believe for one second that the Bureau has a hit out on her. Sonny asks if she’s sure about that, because they both know the gun was traced back to the WSB. Anna says, the easiest explanation is that the gun was stolen and sold on the black market. He says, and the shooter? and she says she doesn’t know. A rogue agent? At worst, maybe someone whose family was hurt by her actions. It’s a long time ago, but maybe they want payback. He asks if she’s still planning on using herself as bait to draw them out.

Alexis asks Molly, where on earth did Kristina find Valiant? Where was he hiding? Molly says, Kristina was going through stuff in Alexis’s attic, looking for stuff to sell at the fundraiser. She opened a box, and guess who was sitting there? Alexis says, Kristina used to brush his tail and braid it every night. Then she’d sleep with him in the crook of her neck, and Alexis had to put out carrots in case he got hungry in the middle of the night. Molly says she forgot about the carrots, and Alexis says, Valiant was a very special pony, and Valiant was the only one who could sleep on the bed, where the other stuffed animals were relegated to the floor. Because Molly believed that Valiant was special and needed a place of prominence. Molly asks if she really used that word, and Alexis says, of course (🍷) she did. She had a very big vocabulary at six; she still does. This pony went with her into every important moment of her life when she was little. Molly doesn’t know this, but Alexis actually heard her having a conversation with Valiant when she was getting ready for junior prom. She actually took Valiant with her when she took her SATs. Alexis didn’t know you could do that, but Kristina did. It was a second ago that Kristina was a little girl and had a stuffed pony, and now she’s Alexis’s big girl. She’s practicing law. Kristina says she may be all grown up, but she still needs her mom.

Michael says he doesn’t want to get into this with Kristina. Nina has caused enough stress in his life. The last thing he wants to do is fight about Nina with her. Kristina says, good. She’s not looking for a fight. She’s just offering Michael a simple solution. He asks if she’s giving him advice, and she says she is. He can be Mr. Big Shot Business Guy here, but they all know she has a sixth sense when it comes to people. He asks what her sixth sense is telling her, and she says, that he should drop this grudge and just give Nina a chance. He says, that’s just it. He’s given Nina chance after chance, and she keeps crossing the line. Kristina says, he shouldn’t even be drawing a line. Make peace. If not for his sake, do it for Willow. He says, if he just does what she’s telling him, everybody will be happy, and she says, yeah, basically. He says, it’s not about him. This is about Willow. When it comes to Nina, whatever Willow decides, he’ll support. She says, wow. How does he do that? He has to teach her. He says, teach her what?

Book says, this has nothing to do with Drew. So why doesn’t he just walk away and pretend he didn’t see anything? Drew says he can’t do that, and Book says, if he gets involved, he’ll pay the price. Is this codger really worth it to him? I wonder who uses words like codger, and Cyrus says, he’s making a mistake, but Book says, Cyrus is the one making a mistake. He thinks he has power here? That everyone’s still in his pocket? He doesn’t have any more allies; those days are gone. Cyrus starts looking uncomfortable and rubbing his chest, and Drew says, he told Book to leave him alone. Book says he’s giving Drew one more chance to get the hell out of here and forget he saw this. Cyrus starts to breath heavily, and Drew says he really doesn’t want any trouble here. Book tells Cyrus, you’re getting weak, old man. (What is Cyrus? Like 50?) We all see it. Drew decks Book, who falls to the floor. Cyrus crouches down, clutching his chest.

Michael asks what skill Kristina wants him to teach her, and more important, why? She says, he never actually committed to giving Nina a second chance, and he didn’t even say he’d try to get along with her. What he did say was he would leave it up to Willow. He says he still doesn’t follow because he’s stupid, and she says, it’s a classic move out of the Michael Corinthos playbook. Keep everything close to the vest, don’t give anything away, always keep your options open. It’s very admirable. Meanwhile, she’s over here like an open book. Leaping before she looks, impulsive. It doesn’t always bode well for her professionally or personally. He says, she’s giving him too much credit. Yes, he’s very analytical and thinks about everything, but she’s open, honest, and a free spirit. She goes where her heart tells her to go, and that’s not always a bad thing. Plus, she genuinely wants to help people. He admires her for that. She thanks him, and says she’s glad he sees them as good qualities, because honestly, it doesn’t always get the job done.

Anna tells Sonny that she’s got a few ideas, but it will take more investigating before she puts a plan in motion. Sonny says, let him know if she needs help. He doesn’t like that she’s alone in that house when there are threats coming. She says she really appreciates Sonny looking out for her, but can he call his watchdog off? She sees him parked outside her house, and she doesn’t need that kind of protection. She just doesn’t want it. He says he gets it. She wants him to stay out of it. She says, he has enough on his plate. He doesn’t need to add her to his long list of problems. He says he’s got a lot going on, but he always has time for her.

Molly says, when Alexis talks about memories from when she was little, now it’s bittersweet. It’s something she might never get to experience. Will she ever get to make memories like that with a child of her own someday? It’s something she really wants. Alexis asks if TJ feels the same way, and Molly says, he does. Alexis asks if they’ve talked about options, and Kristina says, when they committed to each other, they always thought kids were something in the future. They wanted to establish their careers first, but deep down, she wanted to be a mom. They were both so disappointed when they found out she wasn’t pregnant. For a few short hours before she took the home pregnancy test, they were just excited about the thought of being parents. Then they got hit with the endometriosis news, and she couldn’t accept that she couldn’t have a baby. It leaves them with a lot to think about. Alexis says she’s certain Molly and TJ will make the right decision, because it’s certainly their decision to make. Molly says, they definitely want a baby, but how do they make that happen?

The hostess says, table for two? and Tracy says, no, but Gregory says, yes. Come on. Live a little. Her dinner date canceled. Tracy says, it wasn’t a date; it was her former sister-in-law. He says, just join him for dinner. Please. She says, well, since he said please… Table for two. The hostess says, right this way. She’ll send their waitress right over. Gregory holds Tracy’s chair for her, and she says, thank you, kind sir. I love courtesy, but I have to admit, chair holding makes me nervous. I’m always afraid I’ll end up just half on the chair or on the floor. He says, she’s welcome. See? They’re making progress. She asks if this is going to be a running theme. He does his best Cary Grant, holding elevators and pulling out chairs, and she’s supposed to say thank you every time? What’s next? Throwing his jacket over a puddle? He asks if that would be so bad, and she says, torture. They open their menus.

Drew asks if Book has allies or he’s working on his own, and bent over and panting, Cyrus says, allies. Drew asks, how many? And Cyrus says something indecipherable. Drew says, they have to get him out of here. Can he walk? Cyrus shakes his head, and Drew says, they’re going to get him to the infirmary. Book comes to and gets up. He takes a shiv out of his sock, and runs toward Drew.

Molly says, their first choice was IVF, and Alexis says, understandable. IVF is very common now. Molly says, exactly. She thought it was simple. Use her eggs and TJ sperm. An embryo would be carried by a gestational surrogate. Now they know that can’t happen because her eggs aren’t viable. So the next option would be using someone else’s eggs, and that could be from the donor or the surrogate. Alexis says, she has a lot to process, and Molly says she knows. She just can’t help but think using Kristina might be the best solution.

Michael and Kristina sit down, and Michael asks, what job needs to get done? Is this about the foundation she’s starting? She says, the shelter, yeah. She’s setting up a shelter for LGBTQIA+ teens that are at risk. Dad found the site and set up all the funding. He says, that’s good, right? and she says, it’s amazing. She has to get everything off the ground; contractors and architects, and securing building permits. She has to learn all these new tax codes for non-profit. It’s a lot, and she’s just realizing how in over her head she is. He asks how he can help, and she says she thought he’d never ask.

Sonny says he hates what that bastard Victor did to Anna. Exposing her past is cruel. She says, the Cassadines can be a cruel bunch sometimes, and he says, but there is a collateral to this. They’re not on opposite sides. They don’t have to pretend they’re not friends. She says she never pretended, and they laugh. He says, so all this time she’s been judging him and digging him for his criminal activity, she’s meant it? and she says, absolutely. But if she’s being honest, she has to admit, even when she was doing her duty to uphold the law and bring him to justice, there was part of her that really admired how he was able to… He says, get away with it, and she says, okay, and laughs.

Felicia tells Lucy not to jump to conclusions. They don’t know for sure that those payments are alimony. Lucy says, come on. You don’t have to be a lawyer to figure it out. She gets up and says, your honor, exhibit A; Mr. Grey is receiving $50,000 every single month from a company in Pine Valley called Maquillage. That said company is owned by his horrible, greedy ex-wife number three. She looks at Felicia, and Felicia says, what? Lucy says, it just occurred to her. They only have Marty’s word that ex-wife number three is so horrible and greedy. She’s the one that’s shelling out all that alimony. What if it’s Marty? What if he’s the one who’s so greedy? Felicia says she doesn’t think… and Lucy says, wait a second. That’s the reason he couldn’t marry her. Because he would lose all that money. She digs in her bag, and Felicia asks what she’s looking for. Lucy says she’s looking for any gummi, even if it’s stale, and Felicia says she thought Lucy told her that wasn’t working for her. Martin walks in, and says, lookee here. Two of his favorite ladies. It must be his lucky night. Can he join them?

Book rushes Drew, as Cyrus remains doubled over and breathing heavily. Drew and Book circle each other, and Drew gives Book a kick, sending him flying into the shelves. Book picks up a book (ha-ha), and tries to hit Drew with it, but Drew dodges it and knocks Book down. He picks Book back up, and is punching the hell out of him, when the guards walk in. Two of them grab Drew and Book, and the third says, solitary for the both of them. Cyrus slides to the floor.

Anna says, there was always a part of her that admired Sonny’s ability to compartmentalize. On the one hand, he’s a loving father, going to dance recitals, soccer matches, whatever. On the other hand, he’s head of a criminal enterprise. It’s an interesting dichotomy, doesn’t he think? The doting father, then the commitment to running his business. He says, it’s a good thing, right? and she laughs, saying, yeah. It’s a good thing. But as an agent, she didn’t have the luxury of admiring the person she was trying to take down, because then it’s her personal feelings affecting her work. It compromises the whole situation. And if she’s being honest, that’s exactly what happened early on in her career, and she was determined that wasn’t going to happen with him. Now her reputation is kind of tarnished. She can say with 100% certainty, she never turned a blind eye to him or his organization. He says, that’s for damn sure. When she was Police commissioner, she was all over him, and he’s sure she was like that with any agent she was up against. She says, yes, she was, and he looks down. She asks if she hurt his feelings, but he says, no… What if it wasn’t Victor?

Kristina says, all foundations have a Board of Directors. She wants Michael to join. He says, who else is on the Board? and she says, no one, yet, but that’s only because he’s her first and only choice. She knows how busy he is here, but not just here; he has a lot going on everywhere. She knows he’s covering for Drew while he’s away, and at home, he has things going on with Willow and the kids. The last thing she wants to do is add to that, but he’s the smartest person she knows. Please? What does he say?

Gregory tells Tracy that his friend was in a bind and asked him to watch his dog. He said Astro wouldn’t be a problem. He just didn’t like to be left alone, so of course (🍷), he had to take Astro to class with him. So he’s in the middle of this passionate lecture about freedom of the press, and he hears tittering in the class. He’s a little offended, so he stops and says, does anybody have any questions? One student raises his hand and says, Professor, did you forget to walk your dog this morning? That’s when he realized Astro was relieving himself in the middle of the classroom. Tracy laughs, and he says, the moral of the story is don’t ever bring a pet to class. They will upstage you every time. She says, that was surprisingly charming, and he says, thank you… I think.

Molly says she must sound like a hypocrite after her reaction when Kristina first brought up the idea, but Alexis says, absolutely not. Her reaction was completely appropriate. Kristina’s timing, however, was not. There’s a lot to weigh with Kristina’s offer. Molly says she went ballistic when she overheard Kristina talking about being the egg donor and surrogate, but the more she thinks about it, it could be a good option. She and Krissy share DNA, so the baby would technically be a part of her. And it’s not like they’re using some stranger who could have a questionable lifestyle. They know Kristina’s medical history and her social habits. That’s a good thing, right? Alexis says, Molly sounds like she’s trying to talk herself into it. Is she? Molly says, she’s pointing out that Kristina seems to check all the boxes, which means she could be the perfect choice to carry their baby. What does Alexis think?

Lucy says, funny. She was just singing Martin’s praises. She was telling Felicia that the sales for The Deceptor are skyrocketing, thank goodness, and she owes it all to him because he was the inspiration for it. Martin says, they all know The Deceptor is 100% Lucy’s baby. There’s no reason to bring him into it. Lucy looks at Felicia, and Martin asks how their trip went. Felicia says, it was a fun getaway, and he asks where they went. Felicia says, they went to the spa… and Lucy says, in Llanview. Who knew? It was just beautiful. Felicia says, it was a real girls trip; wine, facials, and spa treatments. It’s getting late. She needs to check in with Mac and relieve him of his babysitting duties. A grandmother’s work is never done. She jets, and Martin asks Lucy if Felicia is okay.

A guard examines Cyrus, and Drew says he thinks Cyrus is having a heart attack. Please just get him out of here. The guard tells him to shut up and tells the others to take Drew and Book out of here. Book is hauled out, but Drew says he was in the military. Please. Just let him help Cyrus. The guard says, fine. Let him go. Drew runs to Cyrus and starts checking him out like he knows what he’s doing.

Tracy tells the waitress, separate checks, but Gregory says he’s got it. Tracy says she can pay for herself, and he says he’s not questioning her finances, but he insisted she join him, so his treat. She says, he’s definitely more entertaining than her sister-in-law, and he says, that’s not exactly a stellar review, but he’ll take it. Next time, she can grab the check. She says, next time? Who says there will be a next time? He just smiles.

Cyrus is on his back on the floor, and Drew blots his face with water. He tells Cyrus, try to relax. Take deep breaths. It’s very important. Take deep breaths in through his nose and out through his mouth. He tells the guards that they have to call the infirmary again, and the main guard tells the other to find out what’s taking so long. Drew tells Cyrus, hang in there. You got this.

Alexis says, it’s such a personal decision for Molly; she doesn’t want to influence her. Molly asks if Alexis can at least help her weigh the options. Try and sit back and talk to her as a former lawyer, not her mother. Alexis says, on the positive side, Kristina is in good health and she’s at a good age, but there are so many other things to consider. She knows Molly wants this to be the perfect solution because Kristina is her sister and she loves her, and because the baby would share her DNA; but on the minus side, most surrogates don’t have a relationship with the baby after it’s born, and Kristina would have a relationship with the baby forever. Molly says, but she already knows Kristina is an amazing aunt, and she’d be the same for… and Alexis says, that’s just it. She wouldn’t really be the baby’s aunt. She would be the baby’s biological mother, and that just buys Molly a whole lot of really complex issues that could come down the line. She just wants Molly to think about it and be prepared. Molly asks if she’s saying Kristina wouldn’t accept the role of aunt, and she’d want to be more, but Alexis says she doesn’t know that. Molly doesn’t know that. Kristina doesn’t know that. She’s never been pregnant before, and nobody knows if she’d be able to detach or not. Molly says, Alexis is freaking her out, but Alexis says she’s not trying to. She’s just trying to make Molly think. This is a huge commitment for Kristina. Molly says she realizes that, but she’s not sure Kristina does.

Michael says he’d be honored to have a seat on the Board, and Kristina thanks him, hugging him. She says she knew she could count on him, and he says he knows she’s going to make this youth center a huge success. She says she hopes so. She wishes she had that confidence. She feels like with her running things, it’s only going to last six months. He says, she has to believe in herself, and she tells him, funny he should say that. Molly was literally saying that to her the other day. She thinks her big fear is that she’s going to make huge mess out of everything – again – and then dad’s going to have to clean up after her. And mom is going to be totally disappointed with her again. And ultimately, she’ll prove everyone right, that she can’t do anything and follow through with something. He tells her to stop being so hard on herself, and she says, dad really gave her a great head start with this foundation. She just knows if she doesn’t succeed, she’s going to let him down. He says he can’t believe he’s saying this, but she underestimates dad.

Sonny says, all this information about Anna being a double agent that got to the press. He’s sure the WSB sealed the records. Why expose her now? She says, the timing isn’t a coincidence. Even in death, Victor is the gift that keeps on giving. It all just came out when his will was being read. The lawyer played this taped message from Victor, saying he was leaving her with the truth. She wasn’t sure what that meant, then less than an hour later, she was here, remember? And she was arrested by Agent Hursley. Then the whole media blitz started. Her face was plastered on every newspaper: Anna Devane, Double Agent. He says, so Cassadine exposing her past was all about payback? His final act of revenge? She says she thinks so. What else could it be?

Michael tells Kristina, despite his feelings about dad, he can be objective. He’s always been a savvy businessman. He wouldn’t invest time and money in Kristina if he thought she’d fail. If she needs Sonny’s guidance, just reach out to him. He’ll surround her with professionals who know how to get the job done. She says, that’s what she thought too, but once they got the funding set up, he completely backed off. Michael says, probably because he doesn’t want to overstep and make it seem like he’s keeping tabs on her. Dad is her biggest fan, and he’ll give her all the tools she needs to succeed. All she has to do is reach out to him. She says, it’s annoying how right he is sometimes. Michael’s got to admit, he still loves dad. Otherwise, Michael wouldn’t have this much faith in him. Michael says she should get out of here, and hugs her. Her new Board member needs to get to work. She thanks him and leaves.

Anna says, clearly someone else from the WSB could have reason to leak those confidential files, and Sonny says, she was a damn good agent. He’s sure she was a threat to somebody in the organization who thought they could shut her out. She says, could be. Her ego would really like to believe that’s true, but she has no way of knowing. She doesn’t even know if that bullet was meant for her at the pool. It could have just as easily been meant for him. He says he considered that. He’s been working with a high-powered security firm lately. Has she heard of Pikeman? She says, yes, she’s heard of Pikeman. Trust her. He doesn’t want anything to do with them.

Tracy guesses Gregory doesn’t miss lecturing, since he does so much of it outside the classroom, and he laughs. He notices his hand shaking and steadies it with his other hand. She asks if he’s okay, and he says he’s fine. Too many years of writing on a blackboard. Teachers don’t have to worry about that anymore; everything’s electronic. He’s sorry, but he has to run. He promised Alexis that he’d look over an article for her before it goes to press. They say goodnight, and he heads for the elevator, steadying himself for a moment along the way. Tracy watches him, and takes out her phone.

Molly thanks Alexis, and says, Alexis has given her a lot to think about. She wasn’t looking at it from Kristina’s viewpoint, and that’s something she and TJ have to consider. Alexis says she knows this is hard, and she’s sorry, but she knows Molly is brave and can handle it. And like she’s said, sometimes the most difficult things in life… Molly joins her in saying, can be the most rewarding. Alexis gives Molly a kiss, and says, Molly’s her favorite. Molly says, she tells all of them that, and Alexis says she does. The good news is, Molly isn’t doing this alone. Alexis did it alone twice, and it’s hard. But Molly has TJ, and that little guy; she points to the horse. Molly thanks her, and asks what she’d do without her. Alexis says, hopefully, she won’t have to know for a very long time. See ya, Valiant. She leaves, and in the hallway, her phone rings. She asks what she can do for Tracy, and Tracy says she just had dinner with a friend of Alexis’s, Gregory Chase. Alexis asks what Tracy was having dinner with Gregory for, and Tracy says, it’s not important. She wants to know if something’s wrong with him. Alexis says, in what way? and Tracy says, his health.

Lucy asks if Martin has checked in with his mother today, and he says he does every day; she knows that. If he doesn’t call, mama calls the neighbors. She says, so how is his mother today? and he says, she’s as vivacious as ever. He thanks her for asking, and says, as a matter of fact, she was trying on a new lipstick when they spoke. It’s Bingo night, and she’s vying for the affections of one Mr. Brewster, the most eligible bachelor there. Lucy says, clearly, she seems to be enjoying herself at the retirement home. It’s good, right? They take good care of her. She hears those places are very, very expensive. It makes her think he has such a huge financial burden; his mom and paying all that alimony to his ex-wives, three of them. He says, they’re a rather unique set of rapacious creatures, to be sure, especially number three. She’s a real piece of work. A vulture. Picks at your bones until there’s nothing left. Lucy says, she just sounds awful, and he says, she is, but he manages somehow for mama. He has to. It’s not like Cyrus can provide for her.

On the radio, the guard asks, where the hell’s that doctor? They need him here now. Drew tells Cyrus to stay with him, while he continues to blot Cyrus’s forehead. He says, hang on. Help is on the way. Stay with him. Come on. Stay with me. Cyrus sees a bright white light.

I’m no paramedic, but shouldn’t Drew be doing… something more?

Tomorrow, Anna asks how involved Sonny is with them; Carly accuses Ava of being up to her old tricks; and Dante asks, what happens if his old man’s theory is right?

🌱 Celebration Of Life…

The real-life memorial for Jacklyn Zeman. Still no word on how GH will be handling this. I don’t blame them. We haven’t recovered from Sonja Eddy yet.

🗽 What Happens In NYC…

Recapping the same old in younger packaging. So disappointing.

💎 Latest Edition…

So is this the best and final? What’s up with this woman?

🤢 Ptooey…

Eww. I’ll bet she’s thrilled to hear this.

⚗️ Watch This…

I watched this movie last weekend, and I loved it. Very funny and at times even poignant. It should also get an Oscar nod for costumes.

https://www.salon.com/2023/07/30/jamie-foxx-they-cloned-tyrone/

🐕 Don’t Dream It, Be It…

This is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while. Maybe it’s weird, but more power to him for living his dream. And he’s bringing happiness to people. A real life Sam from True Blood. I always thought Sam would make the perfect boyfriend. When he became tiresome, he could turn into a dog.

https://people.com/japanese-man-steps-out-in-usd14k-custom-made-border-collie-costume-for-the-first-time-7567864

☃️ Get Out the Parkas…

Join me tomorrow for soap and tea. Until then, stay safe, stay holding the elevator door if someone asks, and stay remembering that sometimes the most difficult things in life can be the most rewarding.

July 25, 2023 – Brook Makes a Bet With Chase, Final Molly, NJ Share, VanderClose, Shady But Smart, Odd Pets (!) & Night

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Chase brings Brook out to the pool, and she asks what they’re doing here. He says, there’s nowhere to dance in the restaurant, and he wants to dance with her. He spins her around, sings to her, and they dance. He dips her, and looking up, says, they can’t be here. They’ve got to go.

Portia goes into Curtis’s room, and says, hello, you handsome man. She could have sworn she told him to stay off the cellphone. He says he found a new website; this one from Harvard. He thinks he might be on to something. She tells him, please stop, and takes the phone out of his hand. He asks what she’s doing, and she says, saving him from himself.

Finn’s table is ready, and he and Elizabeth are seated. He tells her that she looks stunning, and she thanks him. She says, it seems busy here tonight. It’s a beautiful night; everyone wants to be outside. He says he can ask if they can have a table outside, but she says, no. She didn’t mean… She’s good. They’re fine in here. She doesn’t know why she’s nervous. It’s not like they haven’t had dinner before. He says, if it makes her feel any better, he’s nervous too. Don’t tell him that they’re finally on the same page. She says, it’s a really nice way to start over again; to be on the same page.

Dex tries to rouse Gordon, and says, hey! He kicks Gordon’s leg, but there’s no response. He takes out his phone.

Ava says, Sonny’s not interrupting. She’d like him to meet Betty. She’s the potential nanny for Avery. Betty shakes his hand, and says, what a pleasure to meet him. He says, it’s good to meet her. There’s nothing more important than his daughter. She says, of course (🍷), and his phone rings. He sees it’s Dex, and asks them to excuse him for a second. He leaves, and Betty tells Ava, remember their deal. She either sells Betty to Avery’s dad that she’s the perfect nanny, or someone she loves dearly will pay the price.

In the foyer, Sonny says he’s in the middle of something. This better be important. Dex says, unfortunately it is, and Sonny asks, what’s going on? Dex says, they have a problem.

Betty says, as a reminder, she’s going to need full access to Sonny’s penthouse. She’s done her part and provided Ava with a flawless résumé. She even has references to vouch for Betty’s her work as a nanny. Ava just needs to convince Sonny that she’s the ideal candidate to take care of Avery. Because if Ava doesn’t sell her, that phone call to Delia will be the last time Ava ever hears her mom’s voice again.

Sonny says he hopes Dex is clear on how he’s going to handle this… Great. Call him with an update. Sonny goes back into the living room, and says, sorry about that. Now where were they? Betty says, he doesn’t have to apologize. She’s so appreciative of the opportunity to be interviewed by him. From everything Ava tells her, becoming Avery’s nanny sounds like the perfect fit for her. Don’t worry. She’s worked with non-married parents before. She’s used to making sure both mom and dad are always happy with her work. Sonny says he’d love to hear what they’ve already discussed about Avery and her needs, and Ava says, anything. It’s really one of the most memorable interviews she’s conducted. Sonny smiles.

The waiter asks if he can start Finn and Elizabeth off with cocktails. Perhaps a bottle of wine? Elizabeth says, a bottle won’t be necessary, but she’d love a glass of cabernet, and Finn says he’ll have the sparkling water. The waiter leaves, and Finn thanks Elizabeth for ordering what she wanted. Sometimes it’s awkward for a non-addict to be out with a recovering addict. They feel like they have to abstain. Like somehow ordering a glass of wine will be a temptation for him. He appreciates her not treating him that way, and also doesn’t want to spend the evening talking about him not drinking, which is exactly what he’s doing, isn’t it? She says, how about if tonight is just about them spending time together? She thinks that’s the point of what they’re trying to do. She’s missed spending time with him. He says he’s missed her.

Portia says, all the websites Curtis is trying to get information on, he doesn’t know if the information is true or not, and he says he didn’t want to just sit here helpless, wondering what comes next. She says, medical website after medical website. She thought he’d at least be checking the baseball game scores or something. It’s not healthy. He says, baseball scores don’t seem all that important at this point, and she says, he’s been glued to this phone almost 24 hours straight, and she knows it’s probably making him a little bit crazy. He says, what’s making him crazy is taking test after test for the last 24 hours, and not getting any news on the results, good or bad. Not a damn thing. He can’t move his legs, and yes, he’s finding the internet a little more helpful than his doctors. She says, his doctors don’t want to give him a premature diagnosis, and he says, some information is better than none. She says, but the information he’s getting online… Isn’t it better to talk a doctor with an actual medical degree? He says he feels like he’s being handled. Does she think that’s helping him? She says she understands what he’s saying. She doesn’t know how he feels, but she can imagine he’s feeling like his life is out of control. She knows him, and knows that has to be hard for him, but going on the internet and looking at these websites… Can’t he see that he’s torturing himself? He says, it’s his phone. It’s his injury. It’s his choice. He wants his phone back. She says she’ll give him his phone back under one condition.

Chase and Brook look at the Pool Area Closed sign, and Brook wonders why they closed the pool on such a beautiful night. He says he doesn’t know. He guesses he could go inside and see if there are any tables available. She says, or they could stay out here and pretend they didn’t see the sign, but he says he’s a police officer. She says, who’s off-duty, but he says he’s still a cop. It’s literally his job to enforce the rules. She says, yes, but she’s a Quartermaine, and they break the rules. Besides, her Uncle Sonny’s fiancé owns half the MetroCourt, and the other half is owned by her dad’s wife… even though her dad doesn’t currently know who he is or won’t admit it. He asks, how is the Eddie Maine situation? and she says, whether her dad knows who he is or not is not going to be solved tonight. Tonight is just about them. So in light of her special standing with the MetroCourt owners, will he please just break the rules with her just this once?

Ava tells Sonny that Betty has a degree in Early Childhood Development, and her references are excellent. And like Betty said, she has experience in working with kids who split their time within parents, so she understands the rules might be a little bit different in each home. He says, sounds good, and Ava says, Betty’s warm and friendly, and she’s confident Betty would be a very good fit for Avery. Sonny asks if Ava talked to her about Avery’s hobbies, and Ava says, of course (🍷). They talked about how Avery loves crafts, and Betty is a bit of a budding artist herself. And they talked about outings at children’s museums. Sonny says he knows Avery is going to miss Pilar, but this confidence Ava has in Betty goes a long way in persuading him.

Dante shows up in the alley, and says, so Dex is the one who called in a dead body. Dex says he’s not totally sure he’s dead. He didn’t want to touch the body, but he seems dead. Bennet joins them, and asks, where is it? Dex says, follow him, and takes them to Gordon. Dante puts on gloves and checks Gordon’s pulse, and says, yep, he’s a dead guy. He turns Gordon over, and there’s blood on the front of his shirt. Dante says, they’re going to need forensics down here, and Bennet says he’s on it. He leaves, and Dante asks what Dex thinks. Does Dex recognize him? Does Dex think he could be a known associate of Sonny’s?

Portia gives Curtis back his phone, giggles, and leaves.

Finn gets a text from the babysitter, and says he’ll ignore it, but Elizabeth insists he check his phone. He tells her the text said Violet went to bed on time, no problem. This is the time when she negotiates for staying up later or extra stories. Just like that, and not ask for anything? There’s something going on. She says, there are no problems with the boys either, and asks if he told Violet they were going out to dinner. He says he did. Did she tell the boys? She says, no, but she has the feeling Violet may have told them.

Chase and Brook come back to the pool with drinks, and Chase says he’s never had an old fashioned. Brook says, it’s one of her favorite summertime drinks, and he takes a sip, saying, it is good. They sit on chaise lounges, and she says, it’s nice having the pool all to themselves. He says, as long as they don’t get busted, and Brook says she’s going to ask Chase’s dad if he was always such a rule follower. Chase says, then he’s going to ask Ned if she was always such a rule breaker, and she says she bets he’d say she was. Now that she thinks about it, both of her parents encouraged her to break the rules, in their own ways. He says he actually went through a rebellious phase, and she says she’ll need to know more details. He says he can prove it. He had a motorcycle. He used to go skinny-dipping in the lake, and he’d spend all night at the casino. She says, him on a motorcycle, very hot. The gambling, she could take it or leave it, but the skinny-dipping? She doesn’t believe it. He says, Scout’s honor, and she says, prove it.

Betty leaves, and Sonny asks Ava, what’s going on? but she says, nothing is going on. He knows she hasn’t been happy with Pilar, and she’s trying to find a nanny they can agree on. He says, stop right there. Who’s that Betty woman, and what does she have on you?

Curtis reads, unfortunately, there’s no way to reverse damage to the spinal cord. Treatment can improve this person’s quality of life, but this condition can’t be cured. Portia comes back with a takeout shopping bag, and says she has their dinner. She knows it’s piping hot because she waited at the front door for the delivery guy to drop it off. She starts setting up the food, and says she’s sure they thought she was waiting for an ambulance with a patient in it. Curtis opens his container and takes a bite of spaghetti. He says, it’s good, and puts the container back down. He says, good call. Much better than hospital food. He feels better already.

Finn says, so Elizabeth thinks Violet told Jake and Aiden that they were on a date tonight? She says, look at this text from Jake, and he reads, enjoy dinner, mom. She says she didn’t tell him that she was having dinner. She just said she’d be home later. He says, so Violet texted Jake and Aiden, and said they were out to dinner. So be on their best behavior, so there wouldn’t be any reason to end the date early. She says, those boys would do anything for her, but to give them fair credit, ever since Cameron went away to college, they’ve gotten really good at taking care of themselves. He asks how much she misses Cam, and she says she tries not to focus on him being gone. It’s not like he was home much anyway; between soccer, and working at Kelly’s, and dating Josslyn. The good news is, he’s thriving at school, and every text she gets, he sounds incredibly happy. She thinks it’s fair to say he’s living his best life. He says he’s glad Cam’s having a good time, but she glossed over his question. She says she misses him so much, it physically hurts.

Forensics does their thing, and Dante asks Dex if the guy works for Sonny or not. Dex says, Dante will have to ask his dad himself. Bennet asks how Dex wound up in this alley, and Dex says he was leaving General Hospital and walking home. Bennet says, through an alley? but Dex says he wasn’t cutting through the alley. He went to throw his cup away in the dumpster and saw the guy’s feet sticking out. Bennet asks if that’s when he called the police, but Dex says, no. He decided he needed a few more details, so he moved closer to the man’s body and saw that he wasn’t moving. That’s when he called it in. Dante says, so tell him, what was he doing at General Hospital?

Sonny says, Ava is scared; he can tell. And it takes a lot to frighten her. She says she really thought she was covering it better than that, and he says, for most people, but not for him. He was just playing along, saying how perfect this nanny was. She says she’s glad he did, and he says, who are they threatening? She says her biological mother, Delia. She lives in Manhattan, and they said they would target her if Ava didn’t get this Betty in position with access to Sonny’s penthouse. He says, son of a bitch, and she says she’s sorry. She didn’t really have a choice. He says he needs more answers from her. Why are they making these threats against her? What do they have to do with him? And more important, if it involves his daughter, why is he hearing about this now?

Chase says, what does Brook mean, prove it? and she says, if he’s telling the truth and he’s so comfortable skinny-dipping, then he should have no problem getting in the pool and doing it right here. He says, what? and she laughs. She says she’s the only one here and she’s already seen it all. So go for it, bad boy. He says, okay. He’ll do it if she’ll join him. She says, this is his thing, and he says, chicken. She says she’s not chicken; she’s just being a lady. He says he has a better idea. How about a little friendly competition? Loser has to jump in the pool – buck naked. She says, he knows she loves a good challenge. What’s the bet?

Elizabeth tells Finn that she knows being in California is good for Cameron. Having his first love break his heart was so painful. He needs to start over. And now he’s on the soccer team. Finn says, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t miss him, and she says she’s already thinking it’s not that far away that Jake’s going to be in college. She can’t even imagine Aiden leaving her. They’re growing up. They’re becoming more independent by the day. He says, she did an amazing job raising him, and she thanks him. She says she’s really proud of them. It does make her sad that Cameron’s childhood is basically over, and soon Jake and Aiden’s will be too. She’s really grateful the Head Nurse position came around when it did. It’s going to keep her busy. He says, now she has less free time than anyone he knows, and she laughs. He says, can he ask her a question? Tell him all the things she’d do if she had all the time in the world.

Portia and Curtis finish dinner, and she says, it was good, wasn’t it? It makes her regret letting her cooking skills slide over the years. He says he didn’t realize how much she enjoyed cooking, and she says, especially when Trina was younger. She would arrange her work schedule so she’d be home in time to cook dinner. Then when Trina got home, she’d sit at the dining room table and do her homework while she cooked. It was kind of their time to connect and tell each other about their day. She says she’s sorry. She’s just realizing, he may not want to hear about Trina’s childhood, because he wasn’t there… He says he’s not feeling that way at all. He’s eager to learn about how Trina was growing up. It makes him happy to know they have such a special connection, and he wants to know all there is to know about his daughter. She says, good. She’ll be glad to let him know all there is to know about Trina’s past. Because Trina and Curtis are going to work out their future together. He says he knows that too.

Ava says, there’s a man, Mason Gatlin, and Sonny says, Gatlin as in Austin Gatlin-Holt? She says, apparently, he’s Austin’s cousin from Pautuck. He’s been pressuring – and by pressuring she means threatening – her to get information about Sonny and this company Pikeman. He says, there’s got to be more to the story than that, but she says she doesn’t know anything more. Mason is really just following orders of whoever’s pulling the strings. Mason told her to search Sonny’s penthouse. The only time she was left there alone, she tried, but of course (🍷) he keeps his home office locked. Then Pilar showed up so that put an end to any potential snooping. She told Mason that she couldn’t give him what he wanted, and he came up with the idea to replace Avery’s nanny with a nanny he could control. Sonny says, so this Mason is making threats against Ava to get information on him. Can she fill him in on one more thing? Where does her boyfriend Austin fit in to all this?

Chase tells Brook, they’re using this bowl of nuts as their competition. Whoever can throw and catch the most peanuts in their mouth, wins. The loser has to get in the pool, nekkid. She asks if he just said nekkid. He’s so immature. He says, they’re two grown adults making a bet about who’s going skinny-dipping in the pool of one of the nicest hotels. He thinks all of this is a little immature. She says, not to mention breaking the rules, and he says he already told her that he can break the rules. She’s says, okay, and he tells her to go first. She’s pretty good at this, and he asks if she practices at night. She finally misses one, and says, eight. He takes the bowl, and he’s not bad either. He tells her that he got nine in a row and it beats eight. She’s going in.

Bennet tells Dante that the dead guy’s license says his name is Gordon Stevens. They’re doing a record check to see if he has any prior arrests, and they’re still waiting on the official autopsy report. Dante tells Bennet to let him know when it comes back, and goes over to Dex, who asks if he’s free to go. Dante says, he’s not. He still hasn’t answered Dante’s question. What was he doing at GH? Dex says he was there checking on Curtis Ashford.

Ava tells Sonny, trust her. Masons been threatening and blackmailing Austin just like he’s been doing to her. Austin doesn’t want to have anything to do with his cousin, but so far, he hasn’t found a way to get out from under him. In fact, Austin’s been scrambling to help her. Sonny says, it was Austin who conveniently found Avery who was lost at the park, and Ava wasn’t just a concerned mother. She immediately insisted Avery was kidnapped. She says, Austin orchestrated the whole thing as a way for Sonny to lose faith in Pilar. She was no part of the plan; he did it on his own. She had no knowledge of it whatsoever. He says, so the goal was to get Pilar fired so she’d be replaced with a plant from Mason, is that right? Ava says, believe her. She was furious about it too, but please keep in mind Avery was never in any actual real danger. She wasn’t even frightened. She just ran off after a balloon. Sonny says, that’s why it makes sense that Pilar got that call from her grandma. Whatever differences he and Ava have had in the past, he knows she would never endanger their child. She says, of course (🍷) not, and he says, why did she not tell him about this the minute she heard they were planning on planting a nanny to take care of their daughter?

Portia tells Curtis that she doesn’t know if her pomodoro is as good as the restaurant’s, but hers was still good, if she does say so herself. Cooking for her loved ones always made her so happy. He says he can see that, and she says she thinks when Trina went off to college is when she stopped cooking. Her work schedule got so busy, and she relied more and more on take-out, and the food delivery apps are too convenient. But now that she’ll be cutting back on her hours at work, she’s going to make it a priority to be home in time to cook dinner. He asks, why exactly is she cutting back on work hours?

Brook says she thinks they should make it best two out of three, and Chase asks, why? He already won. Why would he mess with that? She asks if he’s saying he’s convinced he won’t beat her again, and he says, no. He’s saying he already won. Why would he gamble on a sure thing? Unless she’s saying she’s not willing to pay up on what they agreed on. She tells him, of course (🍷) she’s not saying that. A bet is a bet, and she never backs out of a bet. She starts to unbutton her dress, and says, what about the security cameras here? He says, she wasn’t concerned about security cameras when she thought he was the one who was going to be doing the striptease, and she says, he expects a strip show? He says, she’s damn right, and she says, in that case, she’ll need some inspiration. She kisses him, and he gets up and starts taking off his clothes. She asks what he’s doing; he won. He tells her, let’s just say, he’s willing to pay for her bet. Because that kiss was more than worth it. He gets nakey, and jumps in the pool.

Elizabeth tells Finn that she doesn’t think about it very often because there’s just not enough time, but every now and then she thinks about going back to painting. He says, she likes to paint? and she says she did it for years, then got back into it when she fell in love with Franco… Oh, that was weird. Was that weird? Sorry. He says, don’t apologize. That’s not weird at all. He knows it’s hard to believe, but he’s had past relationships too. She says she knows, and he says, sometimes it’s hard to shake those histories. She loved Franco; he loved her. Finn can see why. The host says, sorry to interrupt, but the kitchen is closing soon. Would they like to order dessert? Elizabeth says, oh my goodness. They’re the last people here. Finn says he’s sorry they kept the staff late, but the host says, not a problem. They can have the table as long as they want. Finn says, it’s up to her. Does she want dessert? She says she’d love that, and the host leaves. So does he guess?

Brook holds up a towel, and Chase gets out. He says he told her that he could prove it, and thanks her for the towel as he puts it around him. She thanks him for what he did, and the view was impressive. She wants to keep it to herself and doesn’t want the MetroCourt guests getting an eyeful. Not to mention, if he’d gotten caught skinny-dipping in the pool, the hotel would have called the cops – also known as his colleagues – and it would have been really embarrassing. He says, it’s just a misdemeanor, but now she knows that he’s willing to break the rules for her. They kiss.

Elizabeth and Finn share what looks like chocolate lava cake, and Elizabeth says, this is so decadent. Not like her at all. He asks if she’s talking about the dessert, and she says, the dessert, being the last people in the restaurant, keeping the waiter late… She asks if he doesn’t want anymore, and he says he wants more, and kisses her.

Portia says she’s cutting back on her hours at work so she can spend more time with Curtis at the hospital. She knows how eager he is to get home, but they both have to face the fact that his recovery is going to be a process. His prognosis hasn’t been determined yet, and they just don’t know so many things. They don’t know if he’s lost the use of his legs short-term or maybe longer, but either way, they’ll adapt. He says, she sounds like she has some very specific thoughts in mind, and she says, as much as she loves their beach house, there’s a lot of stairs in that house. Maybe it would better suit them to rent someplace that’s all one-level, so he doesn’t have to deal with any stairs at all. He says he doesn’t want them to give up their home, but she says she’s just trying to plan for their future. They can hire a contractor. A contractor can modify the house and make it more livable for Curtis. Curtis says, no. That’s not what they’re going to do. If he’s never going to walk again… She says, they don’t know that’s the case, and he says, but it’s a likely possibility. And if that is the case, she’s not going to remodel their home. What she’s going to do is let him go. Ugh. I hate when they play martyr.

Dex tells Dante that he and Josslyn were in the park with Trina the night Curtis got shot. They took Trina to the hospital. She’s been so worried about her father, and she’s Joss’s best friend. So that’s what they were doing. Dante says, wow. That’s nice of him. He was convinced Dex was doing something for Sonny at the hospital. Bennet tells Dante to come look at the records check on the victim, and Dante tells Dex, wait here. Dante comes back in a hot second, and tells Dex that he’s free to go. If they have any more questions, they’ll find him. Actually, this guy is from Pautuck and did time in Pentenville. Any of that ring a bell with him?

Sonny says, if this Mason character has been threatening Ava for months, especially if she knew it involved their daughter, why didn’t she come to him? She says she thought she could handle it herself… and Sonny yells, this Mason guy has something on her. He has leverage. What is it? What does Mason know that he doesn’t? What? She says, he knows that she killed Nikolas.

Tomorrow, Josslyn asks who Dex was expecting; Ava says she’ll do what she can to protect her; Sonny says he’s going to take care of everything; and Curtis says, there’s no way in hell that is happening.

🚪 Closing the Door…

Thank God they finally picked a lane.

👠 Not Who You Think…

How do you finesse going to prison into not hurting each other?

🗽 Six Degrees Of LVP…

I have to admit I’m surprised. She wasn’t too impressive on RHONY, and came off as an immature, spoiled brat.

🍸 Must Be In the Water…

More surprises. Why is she giving out the awful advice that Rachel/ Raquel/Rachel should milk the Scandoval cow?

On the other hand, can’t blame her here. Suckerfish Hoppy was quite the nightmare.

🦥 You Too Can Have Weird…

They’re still cute.

🚬 Dave’s Not Here…

Join me tomorrow for soap and kicking a few oranges around the OC. Until then, stay safe, stay exercising self-control, and stay not going for best two out of three if you’ve already won.

July 24, 2023 – Carly Has a Back-Up Plan, Not Out, Wives In the City, VanderSnakes, Post Deck, Dogs (!) & Wasting

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Elizabeth gives a nurse some instructions, and the nurse says, thanks, boss. Finn says, boss has kind of a nice ring to it, and she says, if you’re a Springsteen fan. He says, that’s him; born to run. Is she clocking out for the night? She says she is, and he says, good. Remember when they were talking about being more direct with one another? In the spirit of being more direct… He’s going to stop talking and just ask this. Would she like to have dinner with him tonight?

At Windymere, Ava’s phone rings, but she says she can’t talk right now. She’s about to meet the nanny Mason has forced on her. Austin says, everything is going to be just fine. Have a martini. She says, done, looking at her nearly empty glass. This nanny is just here to spy on Sonny. Avery won’t be in any danger, right? He says, no. The only way Avery’s in danger is if they don’t do what Mason says. If they play along, everything will be okay. He should go though. Call him later with the details. His phone buzzes, and he sees a text from Mason: We’ve got trouble. Your office. Now! Dex watches him from down the hall, then follows.

Outside the gatehouse, Michael and Wiley have a play sword fight with… I don’t know what that is, but it lights up and looks like a thin, wobbly pool noodle. Willow comes to the door, and Wiley asks if they can stay out longer. Michael says, sure, but he needs to talk to Wiley’s mom for a second. He asks if Willow has heard from Nina, but she says, not a word. This isn’t like her. Wouldn’t Nina reach out and let her know if she couldn’t come? She hopes nothing’s wrong. Michael says he wasn’t looking forward to Nina seeing the kids, but went along with it for support. They kept Wiley out of camp for two days, so it would be safe for her to visit in the bubble. They went out of their way, and she doesn’t even show up. Willow is sure there must be a reasonable explanation; something came up at the last minute. He asks, what’s more important than Nina seeing her child and grandchild?

At the hospital, Sonny tells Nina not to worry about it. He has a lot of contacts at Ferncliff, and he’ll have someone look out for Sasha while they sort this out. She says she’s so worried about Sasha, but thanks him so much for helping. He’s always there for her and the people she cares about, and she appreciates that. She hugs him, and says, she’s supposed to be at the gatehouse. She’s supposed to visit with Willow and the kids, and Willow is going to think she doesn’t care. He tells her that she needs to relax. They’ll understand when she tells them what’s going on with Sasha. She says, all right. Willow will understand and not hold it against her, but she knows someone else who might. He says, like who? and I wonder if he has short term memory loss.

Carly goes inside Kelly’s, talks to a woman, then flips the sign to Closed.

Cyrus is putting books away in the prison library, when Drew walks in. He says, they got interrupted at the visiting center, but he wasn’t done with Cyrus, and Cyrus says, clearly Drew has anger toward him for some reason. The Good Book has taught him peace and patience, so it’s better not to let things escalate. Drew says, they wouldn’t escalate if Cyrus would answer the question. Is he responsible for Curtis getting shot or not?

Elizabeth wonders if Finn is asking her out on a date, and he says, yes, he is. She says, well, this is awkward, and he asks if it’s awkward because she’s turning him down, or is it awkward because she can’t say no. She says, it’s awkward because she was planning on asking him out tonight, and he beat her to it. In fact, she already made reservations… and they both say, at the Port Charles Grill. He says he did too. One of them is going to have to change their reservation. She says she’ll cancel. She doesn’t think his reputation can take the hit as well as hers. He says, she’s right; he’s a mess. A mess that’s looking forward to seeing her tonight.

Yuri comes out of the elevator, and Terry hugs him, saying, what a great surprise. For me too. It’s been so long, I forgot they’d gone out. She says she thought he was still helping Mayor Collins and Valentin in Russia, and he says, he had a very difficult journey to make sure they had safe passage north. He had local people he knows to help them travel as far as they can, but it’s still a dangerous trip. She says, he’s incredible to risk his safety for them. It’s just another reason she’s crazy about him. He says, crazy? and she says, it means she really likes him and she’s glad he’s back. She can’t stop thinking about him. He says he thinks about her all the time, which is why he’s here. There’s something important he needs to discuss with her.

Cyrus shows Drew a book, and says, Thoreau wrote this work in a place like this. Unlike Drew, he made good use of his incarceration. He didn’t antagonize others. Drew says, answer the question, and Cyrus asks, what is this incident he’s referring to? Drew says, there was a shooting at the MetroCourt pool. His friend Curtis Ashford was hit. Cyrus remembers him, right? Cyrus says, Curtis was of little interest to him until Jordan and Taggert dragged him into their affairs. So why would he care what happens to him? Drew says, maybe he doesn’t, but Curtis wasn’t the only one there; Sonny Corinthos was also there. They both know Cyrus would love nothing more than to take him out.

Carly walks around an empty Kelly’s, when Josslyn knocks at the door. Carly asks what she’s doing here, and Josslyn says she wanted to talk to Carly. She came in late last night, left early this morning, and Josslyn had to track her down on the family app. Carly asks if everything is okay, and Josslyn says she got a call from a classmate’s mother. She asked Josslyn to put in a good word for her, and let Carly know she was interested. Carly says, interested in what? and Josslyn says, their house. Apparently, Carly is selling it.

Sonny says, if Nina thinks Carly and Michael will hold it against her, she’s got that wrong. They would understand she’s late visiting Willow because of the Sasha situation. They’re not going to blame her. She says, he’s right. She’s so sorry. She thinks because she’s worried about Sasha, her frustration is misplaced. If she blames Carly and Michael, it takes away a little bit of that fear, and she’s sorry. He says, they’re all thinking about Sasha, especially her, since Nina thought Sasha was her daughter. She needs to go to Willow, tell her about Sasha. He has to meet with Ava tonight, so he’ll give her an update. She kisses him, and says, he always knows what to say to her to make her feel better. Wish her luck – she crosses her fingers – and she’ll check in later. She leaves, and he takes out his phone.

Austin says, this better be good, and goes into his office. Mason is there with Gordon.

Butler Giles tells Ava that her appointment, Miss Rutherford, has arrived, and a woman walks in. Ava says she’s so happy to meet her, and Betty says she’s so happy Ava chose her resume. She’s never met anyone who has their own butler. Ava says she tried managing things on her own, but things were falling through the cracks. Betty says she bets; this place is huge. Ava takes out Betty’s resume, and thanks Giles, telling him, that will be all. He leaves, and Ava says she sees Betty majored in Early Child Development. Betty says, let’s stop, shall we? That relic Ava calls a butler is gone, so drop the formality. Her resume could say she studied under Mother Teresa, and it still wouldn’t matter. They both know this job is hers, and there’s nothing Ava can do about it.

Terry asks if everything is okay, and Yuri says, da, but while he was away, he realized it’s been one year since they started seeing each other. She says she can’t believe it’s been a year since the Quartermaine picnic, and he says, and the Sicilian Thunderbolt🌩. She says she’s never been happier than this past year, and it’s because of him. He says he feels much the same, which is why he feels the time is right to give her something. He reaches into his jacket pocket, and hands her a small box. She takes out a key on a lightning bolt keychain, and he says, it’s the key to his apartment. He’d like her to come and go as she pleases, even if she has a late hospital shift. She sees Finn and Elizabeth, and Yuri says he knows it’s a big step… She says she hates to cut him off, but there’s something important she has to take care of first. Please don’t go. She runs off.

Elizabeth says, there are a few things she has to take care of first, then she has to change. Keep in mind, she’s getting ready in the locker room, and he says he’s sure she’ll look amazing. See her at 8? She says, okay, and by the way, she’s buying; no argument. He says, that’s ridiculous, but she’s gone. Terry says she takes it that’s a good sign for both of them, but Finn says his lips are sealed. She says, fair enough, but if he has a moment, she’d like to speak with him. It’s been weeks, and he hasn’t followed up. He says, about…? and she says, her offer? About becoming Co-Chief.

Yuri’s phone rings, and sees it’s a call from Valentin.

Cyrus says he has no idea what Drew is talking about. His only interest now is in knowing God and doing His work. Drew says, Cyrus doesn’t expect him to believe that, does he? and Cyrus says, Drew shouldn’t, given his reputation and past misdeeds. Drew has to take his word for it, but that would require Drew having faith in him. He and Curtis risked their lives bringing his nephew home after he fell into Victor’s clutches. So he would never bring harm upon Drew or Mr. Ashford. Quite the contrary; he’s forever in Drew’s debt. Book (remember him?) and a cohort walk in.

Josslyn asks why Carly wouldn’t tell her that she put the house on the market, and Carly says, she told Josslyn they had to downsize. She assumed Josslyn knew that meant selling the house. Josslyn says she didn’t know that. Carly never made that official. Carly says she just wanted to have an open house to see what kind of offers she’d get. Selling the house is the last thing she wants to do. She watched her kids grow up there. It’s special to her. Josslyn says, please let her help. She doesn’t care about dipping into her trust fund. Carly says she can’t accept any financial help from Drew, Sonny, or Michael because of legal implications. There’s no way in hell she’s dragging Josslyn into it. And besides, she has a back-up plan. Josslyn says, and what would that be? and Carly says, she’s looking at it.

There’s a knock at the gatehouse door, and Michael opens it, telling Nina that she’s late. Amelia is asleep and Wiley is about to go to bed. Willow says, it’s late, and Nina says she’s so sorry. She sees Wiley, who hugs her, and says he hasn’t seen her in a long time. Nina says she knows. She heard he was a very brave boy when mommy was sick. He nods, and Michael asks if he can talk to Grandma Nina for a second. They go over to the sofa, and Michael says, they don’t need Nina bringing up the fact that Wiley’s mommy was sick. He has to live with every single day. Also, she’s supposed to be here to visit Willow. She can’t have the decency to show up on time? Nina says she understands they’re upset, but can she explain why she was late? She was at the hospital. Willow asks if everything is okay, but Nina says, no. It’s Sasha, and she’s far from okay.

Sonny asks what Dex found out, and Dex says, he did exactly as Sonny told him. He kept eyes on Dr. Gatlin-Holt since yesterday at the Grill. Nothing really to report. Then he seemed a little agitated after he got a text message, and he bolted and went to his office. Sonny says he wants Dex to stay with him; see what he can find out. Dex leaves.

Ava tosses the resume on the table, and says, it didn’t take Betty long to drop the Fräulein Maria act. She wasn’t sure how this was going to play out. Was she an unwitting accomplice or an eager associate to Mason? Betty says she’ll spell it out for Ava. When her kid’s father arrives, Ava is going to gush over how impressed she is by Betty, and she’s perfect for the job. Ava asks, what makes her think Sonny Corinthos is going to be fooled by her? He’s come across a lot of con artists in his day. Betty says, in case she wasn’t clear, selling her to Corinthos is Ava’s job, not hers. And Ava’s pitch better be convincing, because there will be consequences if she fails. Ava says, Mason’s made it very clear he has her life in his hands. She’s very well aware of the consequences. Betty says, but it’s not just Ava’s life. How long has it been since she called her mother?

Ava says, this isn’t the first time her mother’s been mentioned, and Betty suggests she give Delia a ring, and ask for herself. She hands Ava her phone, and says she bets the sunsets are gorgeous from up here. Betty goes out on the terrace, and Ava makes the call.

Dex skulks around Austin’s office, and Elizabeth asks if there’s something she can help him with.

Mason says, it seems Gordon here wants to extract some additional funds from them, and Austin says, that’s what he hears. Mason tells Gordon, that was never part of the plan, and he knows it, and Gordon says, plans change. They never told him that he’d be in Sonny Corinthos’s crosshairs. That wasn’t part of the deal. He guesses Austin’s cousin didn’t tell him. Corinthos seems awfully protective of Austin here. Makes him think he’s going to need some more coin to stay quiet. A hundred grand should do it. Show him the money before he tells Corinthos what they’ve been doing behind his back.

Ava asks what took Delia so long to pick up… She’s sorry. She knows it’s been a long time since she’s called. Things have been pretty hectic, but she misses Delia, and just wanted to say hi and make sure she’s okay… She has a date, does she?… Wait. What does she mean, he’s the dangerous type?

Michael says he doesn’t believe this. He thought Sasha was doing so much better. Nina says she did too. Maybe it was just wishful thinking. Michael says he’ll make some calls and see what he can find out. he leaves, and Nina says she feels like all she’s been doing since she walked in is apologizing. She didn’t mean to upset Willow, but thought she deserved to know what’s going on. Willow says she appreciates it, and it’s better to hear it from Nina than see it on the news. Nina looks at Wiley, and says, he seems so happy and carefree. Nice reminder to them as adults to look at the positive things when things are really challenging. Willow says she knows. She was so afraid her illness was going to affect Wiley’s spirit, and she looks at that sweet smile on his face… Kids are so resilient. Nina says, if anyone asked her, she’d say he gets it from Willow. If she ever comes on too strong, Willow will let her know, right? And she’ll do better. Willow says, she’s already been better. Willow’s noticed Nina’s been trying harder, especially when it comes to Carly, and she appreciates that.

Carly tells Josslyn to sit down, and they do. She says, Josslyn knows grandma went to Amsterdam to get Luke’s affairs in order, right? and Josslyn says, that’s why the hours in Kelly’s were cut back this summer. She’s not following. Carly says she was debating on whether to sell the house or not, when Diane found a loophole that could help her get back on her feet financially. The State of New York and the federal government recognizes that a parent can give their child a property or a business. Josslyn asks if she’s saying she owns Kelly’s now, and Carly says she sure does. She’s been entrusted with their family institution.

Book asks, who’s the librarian? He was telling his friend about Pet Sematary. Why doesn’t Cyrus go fetch that book for them? Cyrus starts to go, but Drew says, he doesn’t have to do that. They may not realize, but these shelves are cataloged. They could probably find it themselves. Book says he guesses Drew is right. It must have taken a long time to organize these shelves. He starts pulling books off the shelves and onto the floor, but when he reaches for the cart, Drew grabs him. Book asks if they have a problem here, and Drew says, yeah. They do.

Book says he knows who Drew is. He’s that pencil pushing CEO. How did he get tossed in with them? Drew says he’s also an ex-Navy SEAL. Is Book sure he wants to test him? Cyrus says he thinks this is the book they were looking for, and Drew lets Book go. Book takes the book 9ha-ha!), and says, they’re done here. He tells Cyrus, thanks, old times, and leaves with his buddy.

Yuri says he can barely hear Valentin. Did they make it to the north safely?… He can’t understand; bad connection. Are he and Mayor Collins safe?… The connection is lost.

Finn says, Terry was serious about that? and she says, absolutely. The Board’s been hounding her for weeks to name a deputy, and she can’t think of anyone she trusts more to be her number two than him. He asks if Portia didn’t turn her down, and she says, okay, so he’s her second choice, but she still thinks he’d be a great fit for the position. He says he doesn’t think he’s the right guy for the job. He just hates all that administrative stuff. She says, but he’s a department head, which already involves all that administrative stuff, but he says, it’s not the same thing. She says she gets it. Oncology was always her passion. She didn’t think she’d like giving up the day to day contact with patients, but she knew she could do more good as Chief of Staff, and she knows he can too. He says he doesn’t know, but she says, look at it as the ultimate in holistic treatment. He wouldn’t just be diagnosing patients; he’d be diagnosing the entire hospital. And helping match the right healer with the right patient. There’s no denying his hands won’t get as dirty, but he’ll play a role in saving every single life under this roof. He doesn’t have to answer now. Just promise her that he’ll think about it. He says he promises, she thanks him and leaves.

Michael calls Sonny, and says, Nina’s here. She told them about Sasha. How bad is it? Sonny says he wishes he had some good news, but he doesn’t. Sasha assaulted somebody at the MetroCourt pool. They arrested her, and they took her to Ferncliff. Michael says, for the criminally insane? That was the only option? They couldn’t have held her at GH? There’s got to be something they can do. Sonny says he’s on it. He talked to her doctors, and he’s a big donor at Ferncliff and Shadybrook, so she’s going to be looked after. Michael says, thanks, dad, and Sonny says he’ll get back to him.

Mason says, Sonny’s suspicious of their operation, and Austin didn’t think it was wise to tell him that? Austin says, calm down. Gordon is exaggerating about what happened at the restaurant, and Sonny is only interested in him because of his relationship with Ava. They share a child together. So now that he and Ava are somewhat involved, Sonny is just paying extra attention to him. Gordon says he doesn’t care about some scene out of Fraternity Row. He just wants his money now. Is he going to get it or not? Mason says his associate will meet Gordon at the main entrance. Don’t worry. He’ll get everything he’s owed. But let him be clear. After this, Gordon doesn’t set foot in this state again. Is he clear?

Dex tells Elizabeth that he’s here to see a sick friend and must have gotten turned around. She says, you need an appointment to access the physicians offices, but he didn’t really seem like he just got turned around. It kind of seemed like he was – Gordon leaves and the sliding doors are so loud, I have no idea what she says, but I think it was, Dex seemed like he was listening. She introduces herself as Nurse Baldwin, but says he probably knows her better as Cameron Webber’s mother. She knows exactly what happened between him, Josslyn, and her son. She also knows he works for Sonny, and Sonny has taken him under his wing. Nothing good will come of that. So whatever he’s up to, there’s no place for it on her watch. Understood, or does she need to call security? He says, no, all good here, and leaves.

Ava says, Delia just met this man, and he’s taking her away to a cabin in Pautuk?… She barely knows him. Is she sure that’s a good idea?… Please don’t rush off the phone… Delia has hung up, and Ava goes out to the terrace. She sees Betty leaning against the wall, looking out over the parapet.

As Ava approaches, Betty says she could get used to living in a place like this. It’s a thousand times bigger than her place. She looks at Ava, and says, that’s close enough. She hopes Ava wasn’t getting any ideas. She’d hate for Ava’s mother to have to pay for the results of Ava’s hot temper. She goes inside, and Ava screams.

On the phone, Dex tells Sonny that he couldn’t get into Austin’s office, but there’s another player he’s meeting with. He matched the description of the guy Sonny said was harassing Austin at the restaurant. He’s going to tail him and see where it leads. He goes out the door.

Willow tells Nina that she doesn’t want to get ahead of themselves, but Nina has made a real effort to respect her boundaries. Nina’s clearly done as she asked and let go of her vendetta against Carly before anyone got hurt. Nina flashes back to telling Martin that she wants him to expose Drew and Carly for engaging in insider trading. She tells Willow, believe her. She wishes she would have handled things differently. Willow says she gets it, and she knows how important it is for Nina to be a part of her family, and she sees how Nina dropped everything to be there for Sasha when Sasha needed her. They sit, and Willow says, it’s been a while since she saw that side of Nina. She’s not saying they can start with a clean slate, but maybe there’s a way just to see if they can fit into each other’s lives now, rather than just accepting they don’t.

Carly says, Ruby, Luke, Josslyn’s’ grandmother, and now her. Bobbie sold her this place for one dollar. She’s going to pay Bobbie back the real price eventually, and she knows business has been slow, but she’s going to fix the rooms upstairs… Josslyn says, she’s not going to live upstairs, is she? but Carly says, God no. She’s not there yet. She does want to rent it to PCU students or interns at GH. This place used to be the heart of Port Charles. She’s going to restore it to its original glory. No. She’s going to make it bigger and better. She knows it’s not going to be the MetroCourt… Josslyn says, listen. That all sounds amazing, but she could get the MetroCourt back. Carly just has to let her or dad help her. Carly says she’s benefitted by the financial safety net provided by Josslyn’s father and Sonny for a very long time. But she’s always been able to stand on her own two feet, and she’s not going to stop now. She knows this isn’t as big as the MetroCourt, but having raised Josslyn, she knows firsthand, small things can turn into something big.

Cyrus thanks Drew, but Drew says, this doesn’t make them friends. He doesn’t like bullies, and that’s the only reason he stood up for Cyrus. Cyrus says, before he found God, one word that would have described him was a bully, and Drew says he still thinks Cyrus is, which is the reason he wonders why Cyrus gave in to that guy. He thought Cyrus was tougher than that. Cyrus says, the Good Book tells us to turn the other cheek, but Drew says he thinks it’s more than that. Because Cyrus was scared. If these guys are targeting him, he has to tell the warden. Cyrus says he can handle himself, and Drew says, if Cyrus is worried about them retaliating for reporting them, he’s already got a target on his back and nothing to lose. He can just tell the warden himself. Cyrus says, the warden is the last person who would help him. Especially if it means crossing them. Drew asks, what’s that supposed to mean?

Finn goes into the Grill, and tells the host that he has a reservation for two at 8 under the name Finn. The host says he has Finn right here. Just give him a moment. He steps away, and Elizabeth walks in, wearing a slinky black dress with a slit up the side. They smile at each other.

Terry says she’s glad Yuri hasn’t left yet, and Yuri says he knows she wanted him to wait, but she doesn’t like his gift. She ran off. He’s sorry it upset her. It was meant to make her happy. She says she is happy. She was just surprised, that’s all. She’s been flying solo for so long, it threw her for a second. She takes his hands, and says, giving her his key means so much. She actually has something to give to him. She takes a key attached to a paper clip out of her pocket, and says, it’s the spare key she keeps in her desk. It’s in better hands with him. Obviously, she didn’t have time to get a meaningful keychain, but it’ll do. He takes it and thanks her. She kisses him, and asks if he’s okay. He seems distracted. She didn’t mean to worry him when she ran off earlier. He says, it’s not her. He got a phone call from Valentin. He could barely hear Valentin, then the line went dead. When he tried to call back, he couldn’t get through. She says, it was an international call; it was probably just a bad connection. He says he hopes so, but he has the feeling that Valentin and Mayor Collins are in trouble.

Cyrus says he may have spoken out of turn. Drew needs to keep his head down and don’t ask questions about Book and his associates. Drew asks, why? Are they going to come after him? Cyrus says, it’s not just them. There are other factors at play here, and he would hate to see Drew become a victim. Drew says, listening to him talk, he would almost believe Cyrus is a changed man, but he knows better. Cyrus laughs and says, faith can change people. If Drew comes to their service, he’ll see. Drew says he’ll pass, and Cyrus says, then may he offer Drew a word of advice? Drew needs some kind of family to survive behind these walls. If Drew won’t join his flock, then he strongly suggests Drew find another.

Josslyn says, Carly inspires her. She’s very proud of how Carly is handling all this. Josslyn just worries about her. Carly says she gets how this can be a little scary, and it’ll be tough if they have to sell the house, but it’s just a bump in the road. She already told Josslyn; she’s going to get everything back that she lost. And not just for herself, but for Josslyn, for Donna, and for Avery. This is just the first step of an amazing journey.

Nina says, Willow has no idea how long she’s waited to hear her say that, and Willow says, no promises, just baby steps? Nina says, yeah, baby steps, when Wiley comes downstairs, and tells Nina, look what he brought. Nina takes a toy soldier from him, and says, hey, I’m soldier guy… Michael comes in, and eager to rain on this parade, he says, it’s time for this little cowboy to get to bed. Nina says she guesses this is her cue, and thanks Willow for this. This is very special. She tells Wiley, think fast, and tosses the toy to him. She says, nice catch, and gets her bag. Wiley asks if she’ll come visit again soon, and Nina looks at Willow, who says, we’ll see. Ugh. The eternal parental euphemism for either no or I don’t know. Nina tells Wiley, until then, goodnight, like we’re in a Shakespeare play, and leaves. Outside, she takes a breath and sort of smiles.

Betty asks if Ava feels better now that she got that out of her system, and Ava says she wants to know who this man is who’s trying to seduce her mother. Betty says, relax, lady. He’s just a friend who’s keeping an eye on Delia for them. That’s all. Ava takes the drink out of Betty’s hand and says, call him off. She’s not going to play ball with her or Mason as long as her mother’s involved. Is Betty listening to her at all? Betty smacks Ava across the face, and says she thinks Ava is forgetting who calls the shots here. Sonny walks in and says he’s sorry. Is he interrupting? Yeah. Betty’s kind of stupid, since anyone could walk in.

Austin thanks Mason for handling this. Sonny’s got eyes on him now, so the last thing they need is Gordon bringing extra attention to them. Hopefully the guy will just take the money and run. Mason says, if Austin has learned anything from him, he makes his own luck. He sticks a lollipop in his mouth.

Dex walks outside near a dumpster and sees something. He says, hey, are you okay? He takes out his gun, and walks to the other side of the dumpster, where he sees Gordon, either unconscious or dead. I’m guessing the latter.

Tomorrow, Curtis tells Portia that he thinks he might be on to something; Brook asks Chase to break the rules with her, just this once; Betty says, the one Ava loves dearly will pay the price; and Sonny yells, why is he just hearing about this now?

⌨️ Work Arounds…

How the soaps are getting through the strike. While I’m totally on board with the writers, people still have to eat, and God knows we can’t lose another soap.

🗽 Give Us Your Rich and Backstabbing…

RHONY recap.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/real-housewives-of-new-york-recap-the-new-cast-makes-its-first-hamptons-pilgrimage

What other people think.

IMO opinion, the most, and maybe only, likeable cast member. So far.

🍸 VanderSprinkles…

Never liked him. And I’d never want to live with a dude who spent more time looking in the mirror than me.

Another snake slithers back to the nest.

⛵️ After the Sailing’s Over…

More Reunion chatter.

Leaky boat.

⚰️ Final Week In the City…

Dead City recap. This was also the finale. I feel cheated.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/the-walking-dead-dead-city-recap-season-1-episode-6-doma-smo-season-finale/

🐕 If You Love Puppie Like I Love Puppies…

As always, it’s up for debate, but they’re all cute.

🌮 Not Taco Tuesday…

Slide into my blog tomorrow for soap and throwing some tea in the air to see what sticks. Until then, stay safe, stay not commenting  on other people’s physical characteristics unless you’re being complimentary, and stay looking at the positive things when things are really challenging.

July 20, 2023 – Esme Visits Her Mother, Getting Around, Happy Birthday, Uniting, Bringing Drama, Under the Runway, About Barbie & More Barbie  

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Gladys struggles with Cody and tells him to let her go. He says he asked her not to touch him, when Sasha stabs him in the side with a knife from the bar. He touches the wound and sees blood on his hand, while Sasha holds the bloody knife. He says, Sasha… why? and drops to his knees. She sees Cyrus asking her, why, Sasha? and Maxie runs over along with a pool guy. Maxie says, everything is okay, and tells Sasha to drop the knife, but Sasha says, stay away. Cody/Cyrus says, please, Sasha, but she says, no. Stay away.

At Bernadino’s, Ava taps her plate with a knife, and Austin takes it out of her hand. He says, if she’s worried about anything that’s going to happen, just know he’s here with her. She says, everyone in this place knows he’s here with her after that ridiculous display he put on yesterday. He says, anyone with eyes would know he wants her. Just so she knows, their attraction to one another might save their lives. Nina approaches the table with Sonny and asks if they’re sure they want a double date.

Esme is in the visitor room at Pentenville when Cyrus approaches her. She says she thinks he may have the wrong visitor, but he says, on the contrary. She’s exactly who he wanted to see. He sits down.

Molly says she was just leaving, but Kristina tells her not to. She’ll go. Sam says, no one is going anywhere – she closes the door – until the two of them talk.

Trina asks why they were made to leave Curtis’s room, and Portia says, it’s just protocol. She needs the room to be able to do her job. Marshall says, TJ is on his way, and Trina says, Curtis seemed so out of it just now. Is that normal? Is he going to be able to talk when they remove the tube from his mouth? Please tell her that he’s going to be okay.

Maxie tells everyone to get back, and tells Sasha, just drop the knife, but Sasha says she can’t let him hurt anyone else. Cody looks at his blood-covered hand, and Cyrus says, you’re going to have to do better than that. She lunges at him with the knife.

Nina and Sonny sit down, and Nina says she was just trying to find out some information on Curtis’s condition. Ava asks how he is, but Sonny says, they haven’t heard yet. Ava says she just feels so badly for Trina. She’s just now getting to know him as her father. Austin says, it’s probably really difficult for Portia and TJ, and Sonny says, it sounds like Austin is pretty close to his colleagues. Austin says, at GH? They were very welcoming to him. Sonny says, was Britt? He remembers seeing Austin at the memorial. Austin says he and Britt were friends, and Sonny says, from what he heard, Britt trusted him. Austin says, she did. He’s starting to think maybe Sonny doesn’t.

Sam says, it’s clear Kristina and Molly have very different points of view here, but neither of them are actually listening to each other, so it’s not going to help. She suggests Molly tell Kristina a little bit of what they were talking about today, and Kristina will listen. Then Kristina will tell Molly exactly what she was thinking when she suggested she’d be a good surrogate for Molly and TJ’s baby. Kristina says, that’s lovely, but she tried, and Sam says, try again.

The nurse tells Portia that Curtis is off the ventilator and his vitals are stable. She’s paged Dr. Barnsdall. Portia thanks her, and Trina asks if they can see him. The nurse says, yes, but only two at a time. She leaves, and Portia suggests Marshall and Trina go first. Trina and Marshall go into Curtis’s room, and Spencer says, that’s great news, but Portia says, he’s not out of the woods just yet. He says, what the nurse told them about his vitals is a good thing, right? Curtis has family here with him, and he’s heard having people around who love you can make a big difference. He promises he’s not going to let his family connections harm Trina or her family ever again. TJ comes around the corner, and Portia asks if Spencer thinks that’s really a promise he can keep.

Marshall tells Curtis, welcome back. Is he okay? Does he need anything? Trina lingers by the door, and Curtis says he needs… Marshall asks, what? and Curtis says, his daughter.

Esme asks if she knows Cyrus, and he says, no, but he knows who she is. Sorry. Who she was. He read everything there is to know about her early time in Port Charles. She had quite the journey. Clearly, she’s no longer the young lady who first came to town. She says she wishes other people would see it that way, Mr. … He says, Renault. Please call him Cyrus. Maybe he can see her for who she is now because he’s a fellow pilgrim on the same journey, trying to change hearts and minds. She says, if he’s in some kind of religious thing, she doesn’t… He says he’s not trying to convert her, but he thinks they face the same dilemma. They were on the wrong path before, and now that they’ve changed, people are skeptical of their sincerity. Esme says, exactly. People tell her that she’s done all these terrible things and look at her like she’s as horrible as her mother and father. He says he completely understands. His family suffered because of their connection to him and his sordid past. He wants it to end. That’s why he sought her out. She says she doesn’t understand, and he says, her blessed child is a part of his family.

Maxie crouches down by Cody, and tells Sasha to stop, but Sasha says, Maxie doesn’t understand. She can’t let him hurt anyone else. Maxie says, Cody hasn’t hurt anybody, and Sasha says, Cody. Suddenly, Cyrus turns back into Cody, and Sasha says, no, it was Cyrus. She saw Cyrus. She sees the knife in her hand and drops it, hyperventilating as she backs away. Gladys runs to her, and Maxie says, call 9-1-1, as Cody keels over. Sasha says, oh my God, over and over.

Alyse films with her phone as the paramedics put Cody on a stretcher, and Sasha says, how could she do that to Cody? Gladys says, it’s going to be okay, and Maxie says she knows Sasha didn’t mean to hurt him. Sasha says she would never, and Gladys says, none of this is her fault. Maxie says, Gladys is going to stay with her. She needs to handle something. She leaves, and Sasha asks, what’s wrong with her? Why did she do that? Gladys tells her, don’t worry. It’s going to be okay. They’ll fix everything. Sasha wonders what Brando would say, and Detective Bennet (remember him?) says, Sasha Corbin? She asks, how is Cody? and he says, in bad shape. From what he was told, she’s responsible. The paramedics take Cody away.

Sam takes Kristina and Molly’s hands and says, no matter how mad they get, how much they fight, they love each other. They’re sisters. That’s never going to change. Now talk. Please. She walks away, but Kristina says, Sam… Sam says, please, and Kristina says, okay. She’ll admit she’s not always the most self-aware person, but when she thought of offering to be a surrogate, it’s only because she wanted to help Molly, and TJ. Molly says she might have overreacted at the hospital, but she’s still trying to deal with the fact they can’t have a baby. Then Curtis got shot and almost died, and it was all too much. Kristina says she gets that, and she was trying to be sympathetic and sensitive, but Molly lashed out at her with so much anger and hatred. Sam’s phone rings, and she says she has to get this. You two talk. She leaves, and Kristina says, Molly told her that she always tries to make herself the center of attention. Is that really how Molly sees her? Molly says she was hurt and upset, and wanted to hurt Kristina, and Kristina asks, why?

Sam says, Dante’s not here, and asks Maxie, what’s up? Maxie says she’s at the MetroCourt pool. Cody has been stabbed. Sam says, what?

Curtis asks, what happened? and Trina says, he doesn’t remember? Curtis shakes his head, and Marshall says, he was shot. Curtis says, who? and Marshall says, the PCPD is trying to figure that out. Trina says, they think the bullet wasn’t meant for Curtis, and Curtis says, any leads? Marshall says, he’s a patient, not a cop. Trina says, mom will tie him to this bed herself if he tries to help with the investigation, and he asks, where’s Portia?

TJ asks, how’s Uncle Curtis? and Portia says, his vitals are stable. Trina and Marshall are in with him right now. Only two people at a time. TJ asks if Dr. Barnsdall knows Curtis regained consciousness, and she says, he’s been paged. TJ was in the operating room with Curtis and knows there were complications. What if there are residual effects?

Sonny says, who Ava spends time with is her business. Who Avery spends time with is his business. Nina tells Austin that she thinks what Sonny is trying to say is, they’d like the opportunity to get to know him better. Austin says, absolutely. It’s not a problem. Ava has been very clear about how much Sonny loves Avery, so it’s only natural he’d want to get to know any man who’s potentially in her mother’s life. Sonny says he appreciates that. Does Austin have anything to do with Ava wanting to look for a new nanny for Avery? Ava says, no, absolutely not. Pilar has been negligent lately. Avery’s well-being is her only concern. He asks if she’s started looking, when a man approaches the table, and says, Dr. Gatlin-Holt. Austin says, he is? and the man says, Gordon Stevens. He was a patient of Austin’s. Austin says, nice to see him again, and Gordon says, maybe not so nice when Austin hears what he has to say.

Esme says she should have realized; he’s a Cassadine. Cyrus says, no. Thankfully, he’s not. Any transgression he’s committed pales in comparison to that family. He’s the only fallen angel in his lineage. His siblings are absolutely above reproach. She has firsthand knowledge of his sister’s fine character. She says, his sister? and he says, her son’s grandmother, Mayor Laura Collins? She’s his beloved sister, which makes little Ace his family. Heather is suddenly there, and tells him, never say that name again. She’s the only family her daughter and grandson need.

Molly says, Kristina knew how important it was for her to have TJ’s baby. Her own body betrayed her. Does Kristina know what that feels like? What it’s like to know she’s letting TJ down? How it feels when no degree of focus and hard work can accomplish a dream she’s longed for? Sam comes out and says she has to go. Kristina asks if everything is okay, and Sam says she hopes so. There’s ice cream in the freezer; take their pick. She runs out.

Trina asks if Curtis wants her to send Portia in, and he tells her, go eat. Get some rest. She says, someone told her that he’d want her to take care of herself, and he says, someone smart. She says she’s so glad he’s back, and leaves. Marshall asks if Curtis is feeling okay, and Curtis says he feels strange. Like something happened. Marshall says, the doctors almost lost him in the operating room, and Curtis says, that explains it. Marshall says, explains what? and Curtis says, why he was with mom and Tommy.

Cyrus says, they were just making conversation, and Heather says, make it somewhere else. Her daughter’s here to see her. He says, she might want to be more punctual, and Heather laughs. He says he hopes he and Esme get to do this again sometime, and leaves. Heather takes his seat, and tells Esme that she should never talk to other inmates, especially Cyrus. He’s dangerous. Esme says, not like her? and Heather says she was so thrilled when they told her that Esme wanted to see her. She looks beautiful. Motherhood becomes her. Ace must be so big now. Does she have any pictures? Esme says, no. She can’t believe she’s actually here. She swore to herself that she’d never let Heather see her again, or meet Ace. Heather says she understands. She made a couple of mistakes. But Esme’s given her a second chance. Esme says, that’s not why she’s here. She still thinks Heather is the same vile, reprehensible person, but Heather is the only one who can give her the information she needs. Heather says she’d do anything for Esme, and Esme asks why Heather abandoned her.

Ava says, perhaps Gordon didn’t notice they’re having lunch here. Maybe he could find a more appropriate time to discuss whatever health concerns he has. Gordon says, apologies, but what he needs is immediate attention right now. Getting up, Austin says, it’s not a problem. Why don’t they find a place where they can chat? Please excuse them. The price of doing business as a doctor; always on call. He leaves with Gordon, and Ava says, the nerve of that guy, interrupting us like that. Nina says she guesses they’re both involved with men who are in high demand, and Sonny says, Nina always comes first with him because they have no secrets. What about Ava and Austin? Any secrets?

An officer gives Bennet the knife in an evidence bag, and Bennet tells Sasha that she’s being charged with assault with a deadly weapon. She’d better hope he makes it. She says she would never hurt Cody, and Maxie tells Gordon that Sasha doesn’t belong in jail. He can see she’s not well. He says he knows Maxie was married to a good cop. So she can see how convenient this act is. Maxie says, it’s not an act, and goes over to Sasha’s bag. She takes a prescription bottle out, and hands it to Bennet, saying, he can see she’s on antidepressants, and he knows what effect they can have on people. Alyse joins them, and says, it’s true. Sasha Gilmore has a very well-documented history of mental breaks following the death of her infant son. He says, and she knows this because? Alyse says she was just interviewing Sasha for Crimson about her recovery. Gladys guides Sasha over, and Bennet says, she lost her baby? Sasha says, Liam… He left us… Then Brando. He asks, who’s Brando? (Oh come on. He doesn’t read the paper?) Gladys says her son and Sasha’s husband; her dead husband.

Austin and Gordon walk out to the back alley, and Austin says, what was that? He can’t just do that. He can’t just confront Austin in a restaurant. Gordon says, take it up with his cousin. Mason gave him no choice. Austin asks, what’s Mason done now? and Gordon says, it’s what he hasn’t done. He hasn’t paid for Gordon’s services.

Ava says, so Sonny and Nina have no secrets. That’s got to be a first for Sonny. She and Austin like a little mystery. Sonny asks if that means she doesn’t know much about the guy, and Nina says, that’s not what Ava said. Sonny says he just wants to know Austin can handle himself. That Gordon guy seemed a bit hostile… Ava says, Austin knows what he’s doing, and Nina asks if he didn’t face down the Quartermaines. Ava says, yes. Austin demanded his birthright, the Quartermaines strongarmed him, and he decided it just wasn’t worth the fight to be part of that particular clan. Nina says, their sense of entitlement knows no limits. Michael isn’t that way though. Sonny says he’ll be right back, and leaves. Ava says, this is going great.

Marshall says, what was she like? and Curtis says, loving. It felt like home. Marshall says he bets she was still beautiful. He said he was there with Tommy too? Curtis says he didn’t see him, but he could feel him. He’s still trying to process. It felt realer than a dream. Marshall says, there are more things in heaven and earth than they’ve dreamt of, and Curtis says he misses her too. Marshall says, Curtis was happy there, wasn’t he? But he came back. He came back for them. Why? He says he came back for the same reason Marshall did. He came back for his child.

Trina thanks Spencer for coming, and says, it made such a difference having him here. He says he’ll always be here for her, and she says, even if it means he has to hang out with her mom in the waiting room? He says, the only exceptions are in fine print, and she asks what he and her mom were talking about when she walked in earlier. He flashes back to Portia suggesting he let Trina go, and he says, they were talking about putting family first. It’s definitely something her mom does. Trina says, she’s a fighter. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do to protect the people she loves.

Heather says, from the very first moment Esme was born, she loved her so much. She’d already made some mistakes in her life that would have complicated things for Esme, and she wanted Esme to have the best life possible. That’s what a mother wants for her baby, even if it means making the ultimate sacrifice to make that happen. Esme says, Heather really believes that, doesn’t she? and Heather says, it’s true. It was all worth it to protect her. Esme says, no, no, no. Going around town murdering people with a hook does not qualify as an act of love. Heather says she might have been a little overzealous, but she saw those people as a threat to her daughter. She had to protect Esme; the way Esme would protect Ace. Esme says, oh no. She’s raising Ace. Heather abandoned her. Heather says she made a sacrifice for Esme, and now Esme is doing what she has to do for her baby. Esme says she’s nothing like Heather, but Heather says, that’s why she’s here, isn’t it? Esme finally realized how much they have in common.

Kristina says she never meant for Molly to overhear her about being their surrogate, and it’s possible she may have been a bit too impulsive that night. Molly says, that night? and Kristina says, all right, most nights. But Molly knows that about her, so she should also know that Kristina would never think just because she can have a baby naturally and Molly… can’t, that it makes her some kind of hero. She just thought if she could give her little sister what she desperately wants, that she wants to do that. Molly says, but Kristina didn’t even ask her if that’s what she wanted. She knows Kristina meant to help her, but she wasn’t the first person Kristina talked to about it. She knows Kristina has a big heart, but… Kristina says, but she also has a big mouth, and sometimes when she gets excited about something, she has a tendency to… Molly says, word vomit, and Kristina says, yeah. Molly says, the kids at the shelter are so lucky to have her, but she’s Kristina’s sister. She’s not some stranger Kristina is trying to get off the street.

At the hospital, the nurse tells Cody that there’s someone to see him, and Sam comes in. She says, ouch. He set a new record for stitches. He says, the procedure has become all too familiar, and she says, from what she was told, the amount of blood at the pool, she thought he might be lucky to just make it here alive. He says, her and him both. How did she know he was here? She says, that’s not how this is going to work. He’s not asking the questions; she is. How much trouble is he in this time? He says, for once, he’s not in any trouble. Sasha is.

Bennet says, they need to do a psyche evaluation. He’ll call on ahead and they’ll be waiting for Sasha at GH. He tells the officer to cuff her, and Maxie asks if that’s really necessary. He holds up the bag with the knife, and says, yeah. Maxie tells Sasha, everything’s going to be okay, and Gladys says she’ll come with Sasha, but Bennet says, she can’t ride in the car. The officer takes Sasha away, and Bennet says, Gladys should probably clean up and get to the hospital. Gladys looks at the blood on her hands. Ooh. Symbolism.

Sam says, Sasha stabbed Cody? That doesn’t make any sense. She never hurt anyone. He says he thought exactly the same thing… until she stuck a bar knife in his side at the pool and called him Cyrus. Sam says, Cyrus Renault terrorized her a couple years ago. He asks if he looks like the guy, but she says, not remotely. Besides, he’s been in Pentenville for a while now. He says he could see in her eyes that something was off, and right before that, she got accused of shoplifting. Sam says she guesses Sasha’s recovery had a setback.

Spencer says he’s sorry Trina has had so much to deal with lately. He knows Greenland wasn’t exactly a picnic, and since she’s gotten back… She says she’s fine, and he says he hates feeling like he’s letting her down. Just let him know. Is he making her life better, or just harder?

Portia goes in to see Curtis, and says she thought she was going to lose him. He says he thought he was going to lose her, and she says, nothing matters now except him getting better. Curtis says, Dr. Nephew, and TJ tells Dr. Barnsdall that Curtis even has his sense of humor back. Dr. Barnsdall says, Curtis looks and sounds good, but he’d still like to do some tests. Curtis asks, what kind of tests?

Kristina says, Molly is her little sister, but Molly has always had her life so much more out together than Kristina. She just had this ability to work hard, figure things out, and accomplish it. Molly never needed her. Molly says, that’s not true, but Kristina says, it is true, and that’s okay. Molly has comforted and counseled her more times than she can count. And she just thought finally she’d be able to help Molly. That Molly actually needed her this time, and she could help Molly in a meaningful way. Molly says, all she ever needs is for Kristina to be her big sister.

Esme says, maybe the old Esme who came to Port Charles was a bit like Heather, but she’s not that person anymore. She would never hurt anyone and she would never abandon her child the way Heather abandoned her. Heather says she knew if she and Ryan raised Esme, there was no way she could flourish. Esme says she didn’t exactly flourish with the Prince family, and Heather says, they were stable, they had money, they gave her the traditional upbringing she deserved. Esme says, then why did she tell everyone they were cold and withheld any emotion they might have had for her? and Heather says, that’s what she remembers? Esme says, no, but… Heather says, that’s what Spencer Cassadine’s been telling her, isn’t it? but Esme says, Spencer’s been good to her. He loves Ace. Heather says, Ace is his half-brother, and he’s half Cassadine. That’s all Spencer cares about. He’s willing to ignore the rest of Ace’s bloodline. Esme says, bloodline does not determine who we are meant to be unless you’re a werewolf, and Heather says she knows she and Ryan had their faults, but maybe what they gave her, what the Princes gave her, helped her to become the wonderful woman she is today. Esme says, Ace is never going to know anything about her parents, real or adoptive. She and Spencer have decided to co-parent him and raise Ace to be his own person. Heather tells Esme, her and Ace and that pampered punk is very unhealthy, but Esme says, any family is better than hers. Heather says, how does that fairytale end when Spencer finds out exactly what happened to Esme’s adoptive parents?

Austin tells Gordon that he’s the last guy on earth who would defend his cousin. He knows exactly who that guy is, but he pays his debts. Gordon says, Mason did pay him for the work he did at General Hospital, but he did some extra… Austin starts to blow Gordon off, and Gordon says, bottom line is, Mason is ducking him and he wants his money now. Austin says, talk to his cousin, because it has nothing to do with him, but Gordon says, it has everything to do with Austin. Because Austin is in on it with him. They both know that. Austin says, they’re done here. Don’t ever contact him again. He starts to leave, but Gordon grabs his arm and asks, how difficult is it for a doctor to operate with a broken arm? Sonny comes out and says, you break him, I break you.

Sonny asks if Gordon knows who he is, and Gordon says he does. Sonny says, then Gordon knows he’s a nice guy until you do something he doesn’t like, and he doesn’t like what Gordon is doing right now. So apologize to his friend Austin… Austin says, he doesn’t have to, but Sonny says, hey, and tells Gordon, now. Gordon says, I’m very sorry, Dr. Gatlin-Holt, and Sonny says, he can go now. Gordon thanks him, and leaves. Austin shrugs, and says, so patients don’t always understand doctors are human beings. They can’t help everybody about everything, so sometimes they get angry… Sonny says he didn’t know the medical profession was so hazardous, and Austin says he made it this far, so he guesses he’ll just keep doing what he’s doing. Sonny asks if Austin wants to go back to the ladies, and Austin says, yeah, and jets.

Esme says her adoptive parents died in an accident, and Heather says, well accidents – air quotes – happen – end air quotes. The way that bartender Oz Haggerty’s overdose happened. Esme asks if Heather is saying she had something to do with her parents’ deaths, but Heather says, never mind. That’s all in the past. She shouldn’t have brought it up. Esme says, Heather was just trying to get in her head. It was obviously a mistake to come here. She gets up, but Heather says wait, and follows her. She says, Esme’s mistake is caring what people think about her. She doesn’t need Spencer… Esme says she does. If she wants any chance of living down the things people say she’s done. Heather says she promises Esme, the people in Port Charles don’t forget. And they don’t forgive. Does she know why Heather named her Esme? It means to love, and Heather loves her and accepts her for exactly who she is. She just may be the only person in the whole world who will ever feel that way.

Kristina tells Molly, from now on, no matter how good she thinks her intentions are, she’s not going to assume anything. she’ll wait for people to tell her what they need. Molly says, and she promises to lean on her big sister a little more often, putting her head on Kristina’s shoulder. Kristina says, now that she’s not assuming what Molly wants or needs, she does have an important question for her.  Molly says, already? and Kristina says, mint chocolate chip or mocha? Molly says, both, and as Kristina gets up, she says, and that offer she never officially made still stands. She and Molly touch hands, and Kristina goes to the kitchen.

Cody tries to sit up, and Sam asks what he’s doing. He says he needs to check on Sasha, and Sam says, that’s not a scratch he has right there. He asks if she’s ever been thrown from an unbroken colt. This is nothing. He has to at least see if he can help Sasha. She says she doesn’t think there’s much he can do right now, and they look through the door to see Sasha handcuffed to a wheelchair and looking pretty worried. She’s wheeled into the elevator.

Nina says she’s so glad they’re doing this. Isn’t Sonny? Sonny doesn’t look glad, and flashes back to seeing Austin and Gordon in the alley. Sonny says, yeah. He feels like he knows a lot more about Austin. He smiles.

Trina says, if Spencer is asking if she regrets being with him… His phone rings, and he sees it’s Esme. Trina says, answer it, but he says he’s with her right now. Anything else can wait. She says, it could be about his baby brother, and he steps away. He says he’s in the middle of something right now, but Esme says she just needs to talk to him about something. He asks if Ace is okay, and she says, he’s fine. She’s just been digging into some things in her past and has some questions about her adoptive parents. Does he remember… He says he’s not doing this right now. He’ll see her back at the apartment. He hangs up, and Trina asks if everything is okay, but he says he only cares if he and Trina are okay. Are they? She says, if he’s asking if it’s been easy, it hasn’t been, and he says he knows things have been complicated with him and his family, and he hasn’t been there for her, but he thinks he’s doing better and he promises… She says, it’s not just him and he knows that. Life hasn’t been easy for either one of them. He says, and he feels like they deserve a break. He knows they got one with Curtis waking up, and he’s thankful and grateful that Curtis did. She says, maybe things will be easier for them for a while, and he puts his arms around her. He says, no matter what comes, they’ll face it together.

Dr. Barnsdall tells Curtis to close his eyes and just respond when he feels something. The doctor pokes him in different places on his body, and Curtis is like, yeah… yeah… mm-hm. TJ and Portia look hopeful, but when the doctor gets to his legs there’s no response. TJ asks what Curtis feels, and Curtis says he didn’t feel anything. (Way to panic a patient.) He opens his eyes and says, he can’t feel anything. TJ and Portia don’t look hopeful anymore.

Tomorrow, Curtis says, none of them seem surprised that he can’t feel his legs; Austin asks someone, what happens if people disappoint them; Carly visits Drew; and Josslyn tells Dex that they both know who that bullet was meant for.

🤹🏻 Busier Than You…

Who knew Leo wore so many hats?

👶 Double the Ace…

You can tell these two were destined for show biz. I’m also glad I’m not the only one who thought, that’s a pretty big newborn.

🪧 Joining the Cause…

It was bound to happen. Give those people their money already.

🗽 Up For Debate…

It’s only been one episode, so I don’t have the names down, but there are a couple of pot stirrers in the mix.

https://extratv.com/2023/07/13/rhony-s-new-housewives-on-who-created-the-most-drama-on-the-reboot/

🩲 Underside Out…

This week’s Runway was all about using underwear as outerwear, but in a chic way. IMO, there were a couple of gorgeous pieces, but there were also a few klunkers, one of which was in the top three, so what do I know? I was thrilled that Paulina Porizkova was a guest judge, since I loved her book. Designer Sergio Hudson was also in attendance.

🩰 Dream Car Pulling Up…

The set. What I wouldn’t give to play in it.

https://ew.com/movies/barbie-set-toy-box-margot-robbie-greta-gerwig/

The looks. It’s all about the close… and those tiny shoes.

https://ew.com/movies/margot-robbie-barbie-style-doll-inspired-looks/

The cast. I love Weird Barbie, although I never did that to any of mine.

https://ew.com/movies/barbie-movie-cast-everything-to-know/

🤖 Not Written By AI…

Join me for Friday’s free-for-all of soap, tea, citations, and music. Until then, stay safe, stay not being a lousy tipper, and stay remembering, bloodline does not determine who we are meant to be. Unless you’re a werewolf.

July 19, 2023 – Portia Confronts Spencer, Tamra Continues To Be a Screeching Moron, Another New One, NYC Talk & Lollipops

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

As Gladys, Maxie, and Sasha got to a table in the pool area, Maxie says she spoke to the Crimson journalist who’s going to be interviewing Sasha about the tone of the piece. She happens to be a good friend of Maxie’s, and is very sympathetic to Sasha’s situation. Not to mention, she loves a sob story about someone coming back after being down and out. Not that Sasha is a sob story. Sasha says, nope, she’s just a thief, but Maxie says, she’s not that either. She’s just had a rough couple of years. And in the interest of transparency, she wants to tell her side of the story about what happened at Logan’s. Sasha says, right. She’s coming forward of her own volition to take responsibility for her actions and speak about her recent mental health issues. Maxie says, maybe say journey… Unless she thinks it’s too woo-woo. Gladys says she likes it, and Maxie says, then maybe not. She’s going to say this one last time; Sasha does not have to do the interview. The story that broke was a blind piece about a model shoplifting. Nobody knows it was her. Gladys says, not yet anyway, and tells Sasha that she trusts her impulse to get ahead of the story. Sasha thanks Gladys for faith in her, and she just prays everything goes smoothly. Maxie says she’ll be right by Sasha’s side to make sure it does, and Gladys says, oh great, as Cody walks in. She says, Cody Bell is the last thing they need right now, and he lies down on a chaise lounge.

In Alexis’s office, Esme looks through some boxes of papers on the floor. She hears something, and quickly puts everything back in the boxes, but Alexis walks in before she’s done and asks, what is she doing?

Sonny lets Kristina into the penthouse, and she says she’s glad he texted. She was already gearing up for the rest of the day. Sonny says, she knows he’s always here for her. What’s going on? She says she applied for the wrong building permit. She thought she filed it correctly, but it turns out, she didn’t. No one bothered to let her know, so now she’s in violation of Title VII.III of some thousand-page indecipherable law. He says, she has to take a breath, and she says she’s trying, but just like everything else in her life, it feels like her foundation is just being ripped out from under her.

There’s a knock at the door, and we hear, the role of Molly is being played by Brook Ann Smith (see below). Great. It was hard enough keeping nuMolly and nuKristina straight, but at least the old nuMolly was a head taller than everyone else. Not so this one. Molly thanks Sam for letting her stop by, and Sam says, she’s always welcome here. Molly says she’s been spending so much time at GH waiting for updates on Curtis, and on top of that, Kristina just had to make everything so much harder than it has to be. But really, does that surprise anyone? Sam asks, what happened? and Molly says, mom didn’t clue Sam in? Sam says, mom stopped by last night, but she doesn’t know if what Alexis told her is what Molly is talking about. Molly says, Kristina has decided she’s going to be the surrogate for her and TJ’s baby. Then she discusses it with Sam and Alexis without even bothering to tell her and TJ. So now, as usual, she and TJ were the last to know.

Taggert looks at a photo of him and Trina on his phone, when Trina comes in. They hug, and Trina thanks him for asking her to meet him for breakfast, but she can’t stay long. She has to go back to the hospital. He says he understands she has to be there, but she has to eat, and she says, she knows. But she feels guilty when she’s away from the hospital. She feels like she should support mom and d… Curtis, because it feels like he may never wake up.

Portia says, come on, Curtis. It’s time to wake up. They’ve all been here waiting for him. Trina’s here, his dad, his Aunt Stella. Even his girl Nina was here. They all love and miss him so much. Spencer walks in, and Portia turns to see him. He says he didn’t mean to intrude, and she says, Trina’s not here. She went to have breakfast with her dad. If it’s important, Spencer can give her a call. Spencer thanks her and says he’ll get out of her hair (another phrase they say a lot that no one else does). He leaves, and Marshall comes in. He asks if there’s any change, but Portia says, nothing. All they can do is wait. Meanwhile, Spencer, of all people, decides to stop by. Marshall says he’s sure Spencer was just looking for Trina, and she says, he was, but she told him that Trina was having breakfast with her dad, so thankfully, he left. Marshall says, not exactly. He’s sitting right out there in the waiting area, and doesn’t look like he’s leaving any time soon. She glances out the window and sees Spencer.

Taggert says he promises Trina is going to get through this crisis. It’s a hard lesson learned, and he hates that she’s learning it at such a young age, but she needs to understand she has a whole family that loves and supports her. He takes her hand and says, she doesn’t have to go through this on her own. She says, but she can’t help but feel like being here with him, she’s giving up on Curtis.

Portia comes out, and Spencer says he hopes Trina is enjoying breakfast with her… dad. He was just going to wait for her here, unless Portia would rather he leave, because he can. She says, no. She wants him to stay because there’s something she needs to say, and she needs him to hear what she has to say.

Molly wonders when Alexis came by Sam’s last night. Was it before or after Molly saw her at GH? Sam says, after, but she promises mom wasn’t trying to keep anything from Molly. They didn’t know Molly overheard Kristina saying she wanted to be a surrogate for her and TJ. They were trying to stop her from saying anything insensitive or hurtful. Molly says she just wishes that idea had worked, because TJ was furious, and Sam says, Kristina was really just trying to help them out. Molly says, by swooping in with this great plan? Would Sam ever have done that? Sam says, no, and Molly says, of course (🍷) she wouldn’t. Because she understands their fertility issue is a private topic. It’s their problem to figure out, not Kristina’s. Sam says, Molly has every right to be angry… and Molly says, angry hardly describes it. She doesn’t know if their relationship as sisters will ever be the same.

Sonny says, in his experience, dealing with these big shot types, you’ve got to be patient. It’s not easy. You got to have everything exact. She says she’s so mad at herself for making such a stupid mistake, and he asks if she’s done this before. She says, no, and he asks why she thinks she has to be perfect right out of the gate. She’s learning on the job. She asks if he has any bright ideas on how she can fix it, and he says he’ll make a few calls and take care of this, but she says, no. It’s her mess and she’s going to fix it herself. He says, then she has to own her mistake and make it clear what it is she needs to fix it. Then do it in person. She says, of course (🍷), and thanks him, and he says, anytime. Her mom mentioned she might need some support. She says, so mom’s been talking to him about her behind her back.

Esme says, she had them put some boxes in Alexis’s office, and when she picked up one of them, the lid fell off… Alexis says she wasn’t asking Esme for an excuse. She was asking for an explanation. Esme says, it wasn’t an excuse. She was just trying to be more proactive like Alexis asked. Alexis says, and by proactive, Esme interpreted that to mean she could comb through Alexis’s documents? Esme says she never would have done it, but they’re all about her. Is Alexis researching her? Is that why Alexis hired her in the first place, so she could do some story?

Gladys says she’s going to talk to Cody, but Sasha says, he has every right to be here. Gladys says, he does, but he’s clearly a distraction. Does Sasha really need that right now? This interview has to go perfectly. Maxie says, smoothly. Stay here. She’ll talk to Cody. Sasha thanks her, and Maxie leaves. Gladys says, Sasha is going to do great, but is she keeping up with her meds? Sasha takes a pill out of her purse and swallows it. No water because she’s a pro at this.

Maxie taps Cody on the head, startling him, and he says he swears he didn’t know they were here. It’s his day off. She asks if he can at least do them a favor and stay away from Sasha. She needs some space. He promises he won’t bust into their brunch by the pool, but Maxie says, it’s a little more than a brunch. Sasha’s telling her side of the story about what happened at Logan’s. He says he didn’t know the story came out, and she says, there was a blind piece in The Sun. He says, if it didn’t mention Sasha by name, why is she coming forward? Won’t that just make things worse?

Gladys tells Sasha, maybe Maxie was right. Maybe this is a bad idea. Sasha says, Gladys told her that she should do it, and Gladys says, what does she know about publicity? Sasha says, maybe there’s still time to cancel, and takes out her phone, when a woman calls her name. She holds out her hand and says, Alyse Taylor. Ready to tell her side of the story? Sasha asks if she isn’t a bit early. Maxie is supposed to be here for this. Gladys says, don’t mind Sasha; she’s a little out of practice. Alyse says, they can push back the interview if she needs more time to prepare, but Sasha says, let’s do it. Besides, she’s an open book. No need to prepare if you’ve got nothing to hide.

Maxie tells Cody, look. Sasha felt she owed the public an explanation, and she respects that. He asks, who’s that with Sasha now? and Maxie says, dammit. She wanted to do the introductions. Whatever he does, do not come over to their table. And would it kill him to put a shirt on or something? He says, at the pool? and she says, whatever. Just don’t come over to their table. He says he’s not going to. Just take care of Sasha.

Molly tells Sam, time after time, she’s made allowances for Kristina’s feelings, thinking somehow, she overshadowed Kristina. All of her achievements made Kristina feel less than. So what did she do? She apologized for not being sensitive enough or that she was too uptight and stood in Kristina’s path. But now she’s wrestling with something difficult and painful, and maybe even life changing. Except what is their family doing again? They’re all tiptoeing around Kristina’s feelings. Sam says, she and mom never thought of it that way, and Molly says, none of them do because Kristina has to make everything about her. Except this time, she’s the one with the health condition, not Kristina. Yet what are they all talking about? They’re all talking about Kristina wanting to be the surrogate for her and TJ. Sam says she knows Molly is upset and she really wants to be there for her, but maybe it’s not Kristina who Molly has the probably with. Molly says, in what world is Kristina not her problem? and Sam says, she’s talking about a family dynamic that’s obviously been bothering her for a really long time. So maybe her issue isn’t with Kristina. Maybe it’s more with her and mom, because they take Molly for granted, and spend more time focused on Kristina. Any chance that’s what’s making her so upset?

Sonny tells Kristina that Alexis hinted there was something wrong, but it was Kristina’s story to tell, and she doesn’t want to betray Kristina’s confidence. Kristina says, did she or did she not ask Sonny to come and talk to her? and he says, Alexis suggested that they have a conversation. There’s no harm in that. She says, of course (🍷). It’s just so obvious that no one trusts her to make decisions about her own life.

Trina says, it’s been so crazy, and she just doesn’t think she’s been making enough time for Taggert, but he says, it’s a little hard to make time for her dad when she’s being held hostage in Greenland by some maniac. She says, but ever since she got home, she feels like all her energy has been focused on figuring out her relationship with Curtis. She just feels like they haven’t been connecting the same way… not since they got those DNA results back. He says, it’s a fair statement, and she says, but they promised each other before they got those results, nothing was going to change between them. She thinks they just need to be honest. They’re struggling with this, aren’t they?

Spencer tells Portia that he knows Trina’s been here since Curtis was shot, and he knows he should have been here to support her. He really does wish he could have visited more. Portia says she hasn’t seen much of him, and he says he wanted to respect Trina’s boundaries. She says, not to mention his extremely complicated home life. It was one thing for him to be living with Esme while Laura and Doc were supervising, but now that they’re gone looking for Nikolas… He says, it’s not just him and Esme. And the only reason he’s living there is so he can help take care of his little brother Ace. She says, it’s got to be a lot of responsibility, and he says, more than he could have imagined. But he’s very lucky, because Trina has been incredibly patient and supportive of him. She says, that sounds like her daughter. She’s always been one to see the best in anyone. He says, even people who don’t deserve it, like him. But he can promise Portia that whatever happens with his little brother, he could never hurt Trina, because she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to him. She says, really? and he says, without a doubt. She says, then can he answer her this? Is he the best thing that’s happened to Trina?

Sonny says he hopes Kristina knows he’s supportive of her, and she says, he might be the only one. He says, she has to help him out, because if this isn’t about the foundation, and it’s some personal issue, he’s flying blind here. She has to give him some details and tell him what’s going on. She tells him, let’s just say she had an idea to make an offer to help Molly, and he asks what she means. She says she can’t say exactly, but it would have been a really big deal for both of them. She told mom and Sam about it the other night, but they completely shot her down. They said, Molly wouldn’t want her to interfere, and she didn’t think this through, and she had no idea what she was getting herself into. He asks if she did know what she was getting herself into, and she says, no, but she would have figured it out. But that’s not even the problem. The problem is, Molly figured out what she wanted to do, and it turns out mom and Sam were right. For whatever reason, her offering to help Molly was the worst thing she’s ever done in her entire life.

Molly says, this isn’t about Sam and mom. It’s about Kristina. From Kristina’s perspective, all she has to do is offer to be her surrogate, and all Molly’s problems are solved. It’s like she’s saying, let her have a baby for them, and everyone will congratulate her for being the savior for this poor barren couple. Then once again, Kristina is the center of attention. Sam says, Molly needs to take a step back, because that is not at all how Kristina presented being a surrogate for her and TJ. She was just really focused on wanting the two of them to be parents. Was it an impulsive idea? 100% yeah. But Sam doesn’t doubt for a second that she had good intentions. Molly says, Sam’s taking her side? but Sam says she isn’t. They’re her sisters, and she’s just trying to understand. No way would Kristina ever want to hurt Molly. Molly says, Kristina may not have wanted to hurt her, but she really did, and Sam says, Molly wasn’t there for the entire conversation. At the end of that conversation, Kristina agreed to wait until she and TJ decided for surrogacy or not. If they didn’t want to do that, Kristina would have been totally fine with that. Molly asks if Sam doesn’t think it would have become something about her rejecting Kristina or not trusting her, and Sam says she can’t predict the future, but she’s really surprised by Molly’s attitude right now. Molly says, Sam is surprised that she’s angry, but Sam says, she’s not surprised Molly’s angry, but it doesn’t make sense that she’s directing all her anger at Kristina. Molly says, because having a kid isn’t a big deal to her. She doesn’t want a kid, but Molly does. And she can’t have one, but Kristina can. In what world is that fair? Sam hugs Molly.

Alexis says she doesn’t have to explain anything to Esme, let alone why she chooses to choose any document from the archives. And as much as Esme’s curiosity is piqued, that doesn’t give Esme the right to rummage through her office. Move. Esme steps out of the way, and Alexis moves the boxes. She says she can’t believe she’s having this conversation, and Esme says she’s sorry. She hasn’t exactly had a job before. Alexis says she wouldn’t have guessed, and Esme asks, what happens now? Is Alexis going to fire her? Alexis says, not that Esme deserves an explanation, but these documents aren’t about her. She has a reporter who wants to do a retrospective on Heather Webber and Ryan Chamberlain’s reign of terror in Port Charles. Esme says, her biological mother and father, and Alexis says she requested the material as a matter of due diligence. She hasn’t decided yet whether she’s going to approve the retrospective or not. Esme says she’s begging Alexis, do not publish that story, but Alexis says, that’s not how she runs a newspaper. Esme says she thought Alexis, of all people, would understand how she feels.

Maxie greets Alyse, and says, as she’s sure Sasha was just explaining, there were a few misunderstandings that happened at Logan’s that they all want to clear up. They recently adjusted the deals in the loaning contract between Logan’s and Deception, and Sasha’s been out for a while, so she’s not quite caught up. So actually this whole thing is just some big non-story. Gladys says, Sasha’s just a little confused, that’s all, and Maxie says, Sasha just wasn’t clear on the terms of the agreement. Alyse says, makes sense to her, but she was really hoping Sasha would speak for herself. Not just about what happened at Logan’s, but how she’s coping with her return to the spotlight. She’s been through so much – the loss of her husband, the loss of her child – and she had a very public breakdown on the Home & Heart shopping channel. All that pain… Their readers really want to know, how does she keep going?

Taggert tells Trina that he wouldn’t say they were struggling… Okay. He’s been holding back a bit. He doesn’t want to be a burden. She says, but he’s not a burden. When she was angry at mom for lying to her, and trying to sort out her feelings for Curtis, she assumed he’d always be there for her. He says, because it’s true. There’s nothing she could say or do that would change how he feels about her. Besides, she’s going through that time in her life where spending less time with her parents is natural. She’s growing up. She’s finding her way in the world. She has no time for a parent, even though they know it will happen eventually. She says she thought it was different with them. She’s trying to understand where she came from and who she is. He says, the person to help her do that is Curtis.

Spencer tells Portia, honestly, he doesn’t know if he’s the best thing that’s happened to Trina. She’d have to ask Trina, but he certainly knows he’s not the worst thing. Portia says, really? Because from what she recalls, some of the worst moments that were in her daughter’s life all have one common denominator. They all happened because of him. Her daughter was arrested for creating revenge porn of her best friends Josslyn and Cam. And who’s the real guilty party? It was Esme. Who brought Esme to Port Charles? It was him. Trina was almost kicked out of PCU; she was put on trial. And if she was convicted, that would have haunted her for the rest of her life. He says he’s not disagreeing with anything she’s saying, but he and Trina have made a real effort to work past those things. Portia asks if they’ve worked past those things, or has Trina simply overlooked them? What about the fact of Trina following him on that boat and being trapped with his insane great uncle. The only reason Trina is alive is because Curtis saved her, not Spencer. He says, Trina should probably run as far away from him as she possibly can, but what is so amazing is that she hasn’t. She’s chosen not to. Despite everything that’s happened, Portia’s daughter has chosen to stand beside him, and he thinks they’re good for each other. And he thinks he makes her happy. Portia asks how he can say that with a straight face. After everything he’s put her daughter through, he still chose to move in with Esme, the person who caused her daughter all that pain. So no. Absolutely not. She doesn’t think he makes Trina happy at all.

Taggert tells Trina, Curtis is tough. He’s going to pull through. She says she hopes he’s right. She doesn’t know what she’d do if she lost the chance to get to know him. She looks at her phone and says she has to get back to the hospital. She hugs Taggert, and tells him that she loves him. He says, him too, and she says, it’s nice to know she can count on him. He says, always, and she leaves.

Sam says, Molly not being able to carry a child isn’t fair at all, and Molly says, Kristina just throwing it out there like that, that she could carry a child for Molly. She’s clueless about how sad Molly is. TJ’s equally as sad. They both thought she’d be pregnant one day, and that there would be sonograms, getting tiny clothes, and TJ would put his hand on her belly and feel it kick. None of that’s going to happen now. Sam wipes a tear from Molly’s cheek, and says, Kristina knows Molly is having a hard time, but maybe she doesn’t understand all the reasons why. Has she talked to Kristina about it? Molly says, before they blew up, hardly. Kristina makes her uncomfortable; she goes on and on about her foundation. Sam says, Molly has to talk to her and be direct, but Molly says, no. She’s not doing that. She’s so tired of always being the bigger person. Kristina needs to figure this one out on her own.

Sonny says, Kristina knows he loves her, right? and she says, of course (🍷) she does. That’s not the issue. He says he doesn’t seem to know what the issue is exactly, but she needs to have a conversation with Molly. She says she wishes she could. She wishes it were that simple. They could just say, weapons down, and have a sister heart-to-heart, but that’s not going to happen. She knows the way they see her. To Molly and TJ, it’s like, doctor and lawyer versus the college dropout. That’s just the way it is. They think she’s irresponsible and that she’s self-serving, and that she just fundamentally can’t be trusted. Maybe they’re right. He says, she’s beating herself up, and he doesn’t want to pile on… She says, he’s not piling it on. She just doesn’t know what to do. He says, she told him it was an impulsive decision to help Molly. Kristina needs to figure out why she’s so willing to help her. Kristina says, because she wanted to help, and he says, there’s no other reason? What about the foundation? She said she wanted to make a difference in Port Charles, but then she wanted to be in charge of something. She said she wanted some flexibility, and then she wanted something creative. Does she see what he’s saying? It wasn’t totally self-sacrificing. She needs to figure out why it was so important to do that and have a conversation. He doesn’t want anything to come between the two of them.

Sasha tells Alyse that her family is supportive, and gives her the strength to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Gladys and Maxie move to the side, and Gladys wonders what Cody is still doing here. She thought Maxie was going to get rid of him. Maxie says, it’s a public place; he’s fine. We see Cody looking through a magazine, with his shirt on, and Gladys tells Maxie, says you. She’s going to go talk to him. Maxie says, whatever, and Gladys goes over to Cody.

Alyse says, poor thing, and wasn’t Sasha involved with Cyrus Renault for a time? Maxie jets over to the table, and says, that was the past. They’re focusing on the present. Alyse says she thought Maxie told her, no holds barred, and Maxie says, within reason.

Gladys kicks Cody’s chaise, and says, beat it. He sits up and says, excuse me? and she says, Sasha doesn’t need him distracting her. Not when she’s trying to concentrate on an important interview.

Sasha says, that was a long time ago, and Maxie says, she doesn’t have to talk about Cyrus. No one wants to talk about him. She says she thought she and Alyse had an understanding. Sasha watches as Gladys argues with Cody, and he turns into Cyrus.

Spencer tells Portia that Esme is his brother’s mom. He doesn’t like living with her either, but he’s kind of stuck with her right now. She says, he is, but does Trina need to be? That girl tormented her daughter and he’s living with her. Spencer says, she’s right. It’s a complicated situation. She says, maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t, and he says he’s not going to turn his back on his little brother. She says she gets that, but if he really cares for Trina the way he says he does, and he’s stuck with Esme, wouldn’t he want to spare Trina from continually having to see her? Wouldn’t the selfless, mature thing to do be to let Trina go? Trina shows up, and says, he’s here, hugging Spencer.

Curtis moves his hand, and Marshall asks if Curtis can hear him. He calls Curtis’s name.

Trina says she just had breakfast with her dad at Kelly’s. She didn’t know Spencer was coming by. Portia says, it gave them a chance to chat, when Marshall comes out and tells Portia, come quick. He thinks Curtis is waking up. Portia and Trina run into Curtis’s room.

Esme says, all she’s asking is for Alexis to have a little heart. She’s a Cassadine, right? So she knows what it’s like to be judged by her relatives even though she’s done nothing wrong. She’s just trying to explain… Alexis says she’s going to stop Esme right there. That comparison is not only inappropriate and false, it’s really irritating. She is a Cassadine, and her family is very complicated, which is why she did the work to confront her past. She worked really hard to establish herself as her own person apart from her family. So a Cassadine doesn’t define her, nor she them, but Esme on the other hand, claims she doesn’t remember her past – Esme says she doesn’t – which doesn’t mean she doesn’t have one. She does, and she’s done nothing to earn that clean slate. Which is why she’s sure the stories about Esme’s biological mother and father frighten her. She’s worked really hard to try to be civil to Esme, but she doesn’t trust Esme, nor does anyone else. Now if she wants to change that, Alexis suggests she take a really good, long, hard look at herself and her past, and face what she did. Because other than that, these boxes are the least of her problems.

Sasha sees Cyrus arguing with Gladys instead of Cody, blinks, then sees Cody. Maxie asks if she’s okay, and Sasha says she just thought she saw someone she knows. Maxie tells Alyse that they’re going to reschedule the interview. She thinks Sasha’s had a little too much sun. Sasha says, no. She wants to tell her story.

Gladys says she wants to know why Cody wants to bother a troubled young woman, and he asks, what happened? Sasha was doing great as far as he could tell. She says, far being the operative word. He wasn’t there, so how would he know?

Sasha says, yes, she’s been through a lot… like many people. Probably like a lot of Alyse’s readers. Mental illness isn’t uncommon, and the stigma of mental health issues is still… She sees Cyrus with Gladys again, and he looks at her.

Sonny says, Kristina knows he’s always here for her, right? and she says he does, and thanks him. Sometimes she feels so alone in this family, it’s nice to know someone has her back. He says, she’s not alone, and she says, we’ll see. He tells her to think about what he said, and she promises she will. They exchange I love yous, and she leaves.

Alexis says, Esme may not remember her past, but she can’t pretend it didn’t happen because it will find her. Alexis’s phone rings, and she says she needs to take this. She says hello to Sonny, and Esme quickly takes a paper from one of the boxes. Alexis says, she came to his house? Good. Esme slips the paper into her blouse, and Alexis tells Sonny, hold on for a second. She asks why Esme is still here, and Esme bolts to the door. She walks out, and Alexis says, shut the door, so she does. In the hallway, she takes the paper out, and looks at it. It’s a copy of an Invader article with the headline: Heather Webber, Hook Killer, Moved To Pentenville.

Sam says, if Kristina doesn’t say the right thing to Molly, what does that mean for the two of them? but Molly doesn’t know. She says, maybe they need some time apart. There’s a knock at the door, and Sam opens it. Kristina says, thank God she’s home. She’s not going to believe… Molly.

Taggert looks at the photo of him and Trina again, and takes a flask out of his pocket. He pours something into his coffee. I’m guessing whiskey.

Portia asks if Curtis can hear her, and Marshall says he swears he saw Curtis’s fingers move. Portia says, it could have just been a muscle twitch. It doesn’t mean he’s waking up. But wait. It does. Curtis opens his eyes, and Portia says, welcome back. Spencer looks in from the hallway.

Sasha sees Cyrus laughing at her, and jumps up. Maxie asks, what’s wrong?

Gladys asks if Cody hears her. She doesn’t want him anywhere near Sasha. He gets up and says, they both know that Gladys isn’t in any position to give him orders. She says, he doesn’t intimidate her, poking him in the chest, and he says he’d really prefer if she didn’t touch him. She says, oh yeah? Is he going to stop her? She pushes him, and he grabs her wrist.

Sasha sees Gladys struggling with Cyrus, and Maxie asks if she’s all right. Sasha goes to the bar and grabs a knife. Gladys tells Cody to let her go, when Sasha comes up behind him and stabs him. He turns around, feeling his back, and sees blood on his hand. Sasha holds a bloody knife, and Cody says, why? sinking to his knees.

Tomorrow, (the real) Cyrus says he wants it to end; Kristina asks if that’s really how someone sees her; and Esme tells someone that they’re the only one who can get her the information she needs.

The Real Housewives of Orange County

This episode was everything I don’t like about the show. Mostly Tamra. Seriously, this woman needs medication, and if she’s on it already, she needs a changeup.

Aww, Archie was still alive. Nothing sweeter than an old Golden Retriever. Shannon was also still with John. It’s weird when you know things have changed since filming. They’d been discussing living together, but not in any detail. She wasn’t in any rush. In her interview, she said, some people rush into things, but she prefers to take her time. There were red flags with David she refused to see. John said he got stressed out just hearing about the things in Shannon’s world, and she said she also had three kids going to college soon. He wished she could turn her mind off; it was spinning all the time.

Tamra and Emily went for a pedicure, and Tamra told Emily about Heather shoveling sh*t and how she’d said she appreciated those who did manual labor now. In Emily’s interview, she said, it was mind-boggling that Heather had an ah-ha moment about appreciating manual labor in her 50s. Heather joined them, and Emily asked how Taylor was on the trip. Heather said Taylor claimed she was condescending, and Emily said, Heather could be hurtful. Heather said Emily was assuming she was in the wrong, but Emily said, Heather came across like she was better than everyone else and her life was more important. Maybe she didn’t mean it, but it’s how it was being received. In Heather’s interview she said, let’s talk about Emily’s behavior – ugh. I hate those what about you? people – and in Emily’s interview, she said, maybe no one ever told Heather before. I’m guessing, Heather never let them get a word in. Heather told them she’d planned a Duffy (a golf cart on the water!) cruise before dinner, and Tamra said she couldn’t make it because she had an audition for Taylor’s new movie, which was actually pretty funny.

Jenn did her namaste thing at her yoga studio. She said she needed the studio because she wanted to feel like she didn’t need to rely on anyone to provide for her and the kids. Gina came to visit, and said Jenn was the only person she’d do yoga for. She felt badly about what happened in Montana, and said she’d been forced to process feelings she hadn’t processed yet. She’d been where Jenn was. Jenn said she felt bad for a long time, but realized the people who love you might not approve of your behavior, but they would still love you. Stuff was said by Tamra that she had no idea, and she’d told Tamra to talk to her, not the group. In Gina’s interview, she said, Jenn had big expectations for someone who was never going to show up for her. Tamra had already shown up and dragged Jenn’s ass all over town.

Emily’s dog Togo was wearing the cone of shame, and Shane suggested everyone wear one so he didn’t feel alone. Ha-ha! I don’t care what anyone says; I like Shane. Emily had gotten childhood pictures from her mom, and in Emily’s interview, she said her mother was depressed when they were little and slept a lot. She and her sister had to fend for themselves. She told Shane that her mom hadn’t been there since 2019, and he suggested Emily have her visit. She called her mom and said the pictures made her realize how quickly the kids were growing, and she thought her mom should visit. In her interview, Emily said she wanted get past anger and hurt, and let it go. She didn’t need an apology. She just wanted to go forward. Run, Emily. You’re much to sane for this Housewives nonsense.

Shannon took the twins shopping after their trip to Paris with their father. I only mention this because ugh, David. In Shannon’s interview, she said she was passionate about things that weren’t toxic, and wanted the girls to get clothes from a consignment shop, but it was a hard no on most of it. There was a huge discussion about the twins going to college, but all I came away with was that it was about $75K a year, and Shannon didn’t think they’d be inundated with scholarships. Shannon said she’d foot the bill for a college counselor, since apparently David can afford a trip to Paris, but not help for his kids to go to school.

Before the Duffy ride, Gina told Emily that she was still pissed at Heather, and Emily told Gina not to mess up the pool party she was going to have. Taylor arrived first, and Heather told her, the movie thing had gotten out of control. She was sorry for hurting Taylor’s feelings, and Taylor said, same. In Heather’s interview, she wasn’t quite as sorry. She was hoping they just made it to the entrée, and we flashed back to Heather kicking everyone out of her house last season. Poor acting coach Lauren also got roped into this trip, although maybe she’s taking notes for Marat/Sade. Tamra immediately started to irritate me, since she has no inside voice, and the only volume she has is high pitched and loud. Emily invited everyone to her pool party at her mother-in-law’s house, and I’m sure she’ll be sorry. Shannon pointed out the bridge John lived under, and Emily and I wondered if he was a troll. He really just lives in a houseboat, but that was exactly what it sounded like.

After the Duffy ride, they went to a restaurant. Heather made everyone sign a card for Max, who was having a hard time in Boston. She also had a personalized chopsticks at every place setting, as well as a candle. It said in Japanese, too fabulous to shovel sh*t, and in her interview, Emily said she didn’t know anyone who was so unaware of being unaware. I wonder why it’s always a candle, but I’m not a candle person. Tamra zeroed in on Jenn right away, and said Gina had been triggered by Jenn in Montana. Jenn said she and Gina had a real talk, and decided they were going forward. Emily asked if Jenn felt she was overlooking red flags, and Jenn said she’d get concerned if Ryan f***ed up (i.e. actually cheated). Tamra wasn’t having it because of Ryan cheating when they were on a break. She didn’t think Ryan was going to be loyal, and that’s what hurt. Jenn said, what hurt was Tamra airing her dirty laundry. Tamra’s pitch got higher as she babbled about Ryan wanting to do her, and how rumor had it he went after married women. Jenn intimated that Tamra had eyeballed Ryan before she and Ryan got together, and Tamra threw a napkin in Jenn’s face, and stormed out, saying, you need to leave your f***ing boyfriend, you f***ing bitch. In Jenn’s interview, she said, Tamra claimed she wanted to show up in the friendship, but this wasn’t showing up. She didn’t have one other friend who acted like this. News flash. I have no friends who act like this.

Shannon chased after Tamra, and in her interview, Heather said, Tamra could be mean (like this was a revelation) and she just didn’t want it directed toward her. Tamra told Shannon that Jenn was dating a d-bag, while at the table, Emily asked if Jenn was saying Tamra had the hots for Ryan. Jenn said there had been a lot of joking about how hot he was, and in Jenn’s interview, she said, Tamra had joked about it at the time, but now it made her uncomfortable. It wasn’t fair. In Shannon’s interview, she said, Jenn may be an idiot, but let her figure it out on her own. It troubles me when Shannon is the voice of reason. Tamra said she needed a shot of tequila which was probably the last thing she needed. Jenn said she didn’t believe the comment about Ryan wanting to do Tamra, but ever the bearer of hearsay tidings, Heather said, Tamra had heard it from several people. In Emily’s interview, she wondered how many napkins had to smack Jenn in the face before she says something negative about Tamra. Clearly more than one. At the bar inside, Tamra yelled that she needed a shot and a Xanax, then made a rude comment to a married guy at the bar. In her interview, Emily said she thought Heather was afraid of Tamra, since she could be nasty. As soon as Tamra came around again, Heather wasn’t interested in anyone else. We saw a clip where Emily told Gina that Heather needed a change of address card that said Tamra’s ass. Gina said she was pissed about to Heather throwing her under the bus in Montana, and looking back, she wondered if Heather was her friend or not.

Tamra wasn’t sure if she wanted to go back to the table, but she did. Gina wondered if Heather was trying to manage the relationship between Shannon and Tamra, and she was getting left. Shannon wondered what they’d walked in on, and Heather told Gina that she had personal issues going on. Lauren filled Shannon in on the drama, and Tamra told Jenn that she was sorry about the napkin, but she was livid. In Jenn’s interview, she said, Tamra could take her napkin back and clean up her own mess. Gina said, Heather had hurt her feelings a couple of times, and Heather said it hadn’t been her intention and admitted she’d crossed the line with the Travis thing. In Gina’s interview, she said she was happy that Heather seemed to have heard her. All the personalized chopsticks and candles in world didn’t do anything if she wasn’t sure about the friendship. Heather got all dramatic over Terry texting her about David getting divorced, but Shannon already knew. Tamra pulled her chair over to hear the gossip better, and Shannon said, he filed on their anniversary. In Shannon’s interview, she said she’d heard rumblings that things weren’t going well, but her main concern was her own kids. In Taylor’s interview, she wondered when they’d have a girls dinner where there was actually food. The waiters were probably afraid to come to the table. The food did come, and Gina said she was glad they made it to dinner. One of the waiters flambéed wagyu steak at the table, but sadly, Tamra did not catch on fire.

Next time, a Slip N Slide; Vicki is back; Taylor tells Jenn that Tamra got the Ryan stories from Heather; and Shannon says her relationship is over if this is on the air.

🎢 Adding To the Confusion…

I guess they couldn’t hold her spot forever, but can we close the revolving door now? And what about Kristina? Are we done there?

🗽 Because I like to torture myself, I watched the new RHONY again. I guess what I’d expected that wasn’t delivered was more sophistication. What I got was juvenile. Too much behind the back petty talk and I’m better than you bullsh*t. I think Ramona’s antics were getting old, but the old RHONY cast had a certain level of NYC sophistication. They could have shown the Ramonacoaster the door and brought a few more Leahs in so we could go downtown more. And I don’t mean that as a euphemism. I mean like the Village and Soho. The old cast might have been drunker, but they were part of the fun of the city.

🪟 Closing the Drapes…

Stop in tomorrow for soap and freshly brewed tea. Until then, stay safe, stay using your utensils from the outside in, and stay actually working past things and not just overlooking them.

July 18, 2023 – Leo Explains Why Squids Are Cool, Reunion’s End On Deck, Rebooting New York & Mandela

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Oliva sees Ned, and says, hello… you. Welcome. Brook seconds that welcome, and says it’s good to see him. Ned says, Chase persuaded him that it would be a good idea to pay a visit, and Brook says, Chase made this happen? She thanks him, and Chase says he was just trying to help out. Cody steps up with his hand out, and says, they haven’t met yet. He’s Cody. He works with the horses in the stables. Ned says, it’s nice to meet him. Of course (🍷) this estate would have horse stables. Olivia says, this is his home, but Ned says, no. Living in a mansion like this is definitely not his style. Brook asks if this is just a drive-by and he’s not staying, and Ned says, no, he’s not. Olivia says, if that’s the case, then just turn around and leave right now.

Tracy asks what Gregory wants, and he says he’d like to have a few words with her about how she meddled in Chase’s life. She says she has less than zero interest in a lecture from him, and he says, then it’s a damn good thing he’s no longer teaching. She asks if he retired, and he says, something like that. He’s now on the editorial board of The Invader. She says she sees. Now he can tell even more people what to think. Save his breath. She’s not apologizing for helping her granddaughter. He asks her to please stop talking for five seconds, so he can say thank you.

Sam opens the door to Alexis, who asks if Kristina is here. Sam says, hello to her too. No, Kristina’s not here. Why? Does she want to find Kristina? Alexis says she wants to find her all right. She’s just not sure what she’d do if she did. That’s why she came here. She needs Sam to help her resist temptation. Help.

Dante asks Anna, what’s their next move? He wants her to be as safe as possible while they lure out whoever’s trying to kill her. Anna says she’s arranged for townhouse security to make a significant upgrade. Not that she thinks it’s likely someone’s going to attack her in her home, because it’s so specific to her. Whereas if someone is trying to assassinate her at a public pool, that leaves a lot of questions like, was she the target? Was it Sonny? Was it someone else? If they try to kill her in her own home, she was obviously 100% the target. He says, right, but he likes the idea of heightened security here, because you can never be too careful. She says she completely disagrees. The point is for them to make the enemy believe they can get to her, so that’s what she intends to do. The doorbell rings, and she answers. It’s Mac, who asks if she’s heard from Felicia.

Felicia looks in the file, and says, jackpot. A security guard says, freeze. Put her hands where he can see them. She turns around to see the guard with his gun on her, along with Jack and Lucy, who’s wearing handcuffs. She waves to Felicia. Jack says he’ll take his file back, and removes it from Felicia’s hands. Lucy says she’s so very sorry, but there’s no need for handcuffs. She thinks they can work this out together. Jack looks at the file and says, the Maquillage. Felicia says, Lucy couldn’t find a way to keep him occupied for five whole minutes? and Lucy says, they drank a whole bottle of wine. She was stalling. What was Felicia doing? Lying down and taking a nap? Jack wants to know what they’re both doing here in his office trying to steal his confidential client file, and Felicia says she wasn’t trying to steal it; she was just trying to read it. Jack asks if the guard has another pair of handcuffs. He wants Felicia arrested for breaking and entering, and Lucy committed straight up fraud.

Sam tells Alexis, Kristina wanted to be a surrogate for Molly and TJ’s baby. Talk about bad timing. Alexis says, unfortunately, Molly didn’t stick around long enough for Kristina to tell her that she thought it was bad timing. Sam asks if she explained that to Molly, but Alexis says, it wasn’t a good time. Molly and TJ had been up all night because Curtis was in surgery. Sam says, at least they know he’s out of surgery safely, and Alexis says, right, so she’s just going to sit here next to Sam and let Molly and Kristina work this out on their own. Sam looks at her phone and says, she has no text messages from either of them. Molly’s text messages have been silenced. Alexis says, because she doesn’t want to hear from anybody. This isn’t exactly staying out of it. Sam says, Alexis is staying out of it. She’s low-key offering support here. She texts Kristina: R u ok? She says, Kristina is replying.

Walking into the living room, Ned says he didn’t want to come here in the first place. Chase talked him into it. So if he’s not welcome here, he doesn’t see any reason why he should stay. Brook says, they do want him here, but Olivia says, not if he’s just going to turn around and walk out again. He can’t keep dropping in and out of Leo’s life; it’s too confusing. Chase says, Brook texted him, and said Leo got hurt riding Comet. That’s why he and Eddie are here. Ned says, that’s right. How’s the kid doing? Olivia says, his leg will heal just fine, but he’s confused, and Eddie just showing up like this is going to make things worse. Ned says, then they agree, he should leave. He only came because Chase convinced him that he might be able to help this kid understand the situation better. Olivia says she doesn’t see how that’s possible when she doesn’t even understand it herself, and Cody asks if he can have a word with her for a minute. They step outside, and Brook asks Ned to stay and talk to her; just for a few minutes, she swears. He says, sure, he can do that, and she says she’s really glad Chase convinced him to stop by. She knows Olivia is really glad too. She just needs a few minutes to figure that out. She pours a drink, and Ned says he’s not so sure about that, but she seems charming enough, so he won’t go just yet. She hands him the drink and thanks him, and he says, unless that woman, Tracy, who says she’s his mother, comes around. Then forget it. She is really, really intense, so if she comes around, he’s out of here. Brook asks where she is, and Ned says, she’s probably harassing some other person in Rice Plaza.

Tracy says, Gregory wants to thank her for meddling in his son’s life? and he says, yes. He’s grateful for what she did, regardless of her motives. Chase would never be happy if he didn’t get his badge back. Being a detective is Chase’s calling, so he’s glad she did whatever she did to convince the CCRB to give him a second hearing. He’s confident Chase got his badge back on his own merits, but without Tracy’s help, he may not have had that chance. She says, but Chase is upset that she interfered, and he says, because Chase believes in following the rules; he’s always been like that. She says, if he’s such a rule follower, what is he doing with Brook? Their family motto is basically, we’re Quartermaines and rules don’t apply. He says, that may be the case, but he thinks Chase has finally found the woman he’s willing to bend the rules for.

Mac asks what Dante is doing at Anna’s, and Dante says he just stopped by to ask Anna a few more questions about the shooting at the pool. Anna says she hasn’t seen Felicia. Is something wrong? Mac says, she’s on a case, and Anna says she didn’t know Felicia was a P.I. again. Mac says, it caught him by surprise too. She didn’t tell him who her client was, but it has something to do with Martin Grey. Anna says, and Lucy’s out of town too. She guesses that means something. Dante says he’s guessing, nothing good.

Felicia says she thinks if they just stop and take a deep breath, they can find a way to deal with this, and Lucy says she barely knows this woman. Jack says, she told him that Felicia was her sister, and Lucy tells him, what can she say? They’re just not that close. Jack says, Lucy wanted to drag dinner out so blondie here could crack his safe. And when he got suspicious and wanted to leave, she assaulted him. She says she did no such thing, and he says, she tried to push him down a flight of stairs. She says she wouldn’t do that; you, sir, you tripped. He tells the guard, then she stole his car keys from the valet, and she says, because he had a lot more to drink than she did. She was trying to save him from a DUI. He says, they both had wine to drink. Who’s she kidding? She says, he had a lot more than she did, and if the guard doesn’t believe her, give him one of those things… Jack says, breathalyzer. Why is he attracted to these fiery women? He tells the guard, if you please, and the guard puts handcuffs on Felicia.

In the hallway, Jack suggests the guard call for back-up. These two are either going to divide and conquer, or… In the office, Felicia asks how Jack got on to Lucy, and Lucy says, that is not important right at this moment. What’s important is for them to get out of here. She tells the guard, hey, Mr. Policeman Guy. This is the wife of the Police Commissioner of Port Charles. Felicia says, no, but Lucy says, yes, so he can kind of take it easy on them as perhaps a professional courtesy. Felicia tells her not to drag Mac into this, and Jack tells Lucy not to be mad at Ray. He’s just doing his job. Lucy asks if they don’t get one phone call each, and Ray says, they do. Lucy tells Felicia that she knows exactly who they’re going to call.

Alexis asks, what’s TL mean? and Sam says, it’s code for talk later. Alexis says she misses actual words, and Sam says, her too. Does she really think Molly’s that upset that Kristina offered to be their surrogate? Alexis says she thinks Molly is just plain upset. She doesn’t know how much of it is about Kristina, and how much of it is about the fact she has fertility issues. Sam says she was afraid Kristina’s offer would cause friction, and Alexis says, at least everything is out in the open now. She’s going to do everything she can to make sure they work this out. Dante comes in, and says, sorry if he’s interrupting anything. Alexis says, not at all. It’s a nice night. She’s going for a walk. Sam thanks her for coming by, and Alexis says, TL, and leaves. Dante asks how Sam’s day was, and she says, very busy. He says, interesting case? and she says, about that. She thinks it’s time she filled him in on what she’s been doing.

Anna gives Mac a drink and asks where Felicia went. He says he doesn’t know. All he knows is, she took a short flight. She asks, when was the last time he heard from her, and he says, she texted to say she arrived safely early this morning, but nothing since then. Anna says, that’s not long, but he says he can’t shake the feeling she’s in trouble if she’s with Lucy. Anna says she knows, when her phone rings. She shows Mac, and he says, thank God. Anna tells Felicia that she’s here with Mac. They were just talking about her. Felicia says, she’s with Mac? and Anna says she’s going to put Felicia on speaker. Mac says he was starting to worry about her, and Felicia says, surprise. He asks if something’s wrong, but she says, there’s nothing wrong. She just remembered she’s supposed to have drinks with Anna tonight. Lucy says, tell her, and Anna says she’s sorry. She doesn’t remember them having plans. Felicia says she must have gotten her days mixed up. Sorry to bother her. Lucy grabs the phone and says, it’s her. Could Anna please call her friend Jackson Montgomery and tell him not to arrest them? Anna says, who’s going to arrest them? and Mac says he knew it.

Cody says he thought Olivia wanted Ned here, and she says, yes. She wanted Ned here, not Eddie. Leo cannot deal with his father not even knowing who he is. Cody says, nobody wants to see Leo getting more upset, but maybe instead of kicking Eddie out, take this opportunity to talk to him. Make plans to see each other outside of the main Q house. Clearly Eddie showed up today because he cares about Leo’s injury. He may not know he’s Leo’s dad, but it’s still a good sign, right? She says, maybe. She doesn’t know. She wanted Ned here because she thought that maybe being around things that were familiar, it would jog a memory or something. She still thinks it’s a good plan, but she has to put Leo first. Brook is a grown woman, and it still hurts her that her father doesn’t seem to know who she is. Leo is just a little kid. If they can’t handle this, how the hell can he? Cody says, maybe Eddie can take his room above the stables. That way, he’s still on the grounds, but it will be easier to keep him and Leo separate. She asks if Cody would take a guest room in the house, and Eddie would stay in his room, and Cody says, sure. Or he’ll just bunk with Dante and Sam. They’ll figure something out. She tells him that he’s a good man, and hugs him.

Brook says, that’s kind of funny. Ned was challenged by another busker? Ned says he would have won too. People want to hear classic rock. They don’t want to hear grunge. But Tracy stormed in before they could have a sing-off. Leo runs in, and says, dad’s home.

Dante wonders why he gets the feeling Sam’s going to tell him something he’s not going to like, and she says, because he’s probably not. She knows Cody was his camp buddy, and they had a really strong bond. She was pretty worried about him after he got arrested for supposedly stealing Gladys’s bracelet at the Nurses Ball. Dante says he was worried about him too, but the charges were dropped, so he’s in the clear. She says she’s not so sure about that. Before the charges were dropped, she and Spinelli tried to prove Gladys wasn’t a victim. According to Cody, she tried to set him up for another crime. He asks if she and Spinelli were the ones who found the waiter who got Cody exonerated, but she says, no, but she’s pretty sure she knows who did it, and it’s shady times a thousand. He says, who? and she flips over a photo of Cody and Selina talking, and says, Selina Wu.

Anna says, Jackson Montgomery. She never thought she’d hear his voice again. He says, him neither, but it’s a very pleasant surprise. He did tell Lucy that he knew her, but in no way suggested they had a personal or professional relationship. Anna says, there you have it. Lucy doesn’t really pay attention to the finer details. She’s more of a big picture girl. He says, so he found out, but what’s going on with her? He knows she runs a successful cosmetics company, so what is she doing running a scam on him? And is Felicia Scorpio really the wife of the Police Commissioner? Anna says, that last part is true, and she does work as a P.I. He says, that explains that; what’s Lucy’s excuse? Anna asks if he minds telling her the middle part again, and he says, Lucy came in, claiming she was recently widowed, and Felicia was her sister. Talking to Lucy, Mac says, she said they were sisters? and Lucy says, yeah. Felicia said they were sisters, and even said their last name was Martin. Then hummingbird cake got mentioned, and it sort of blew her cover. The restaurant they went to happened to serve hummingbird cake – which is really odd, because most restaurants don’t – and Jack said he didn’t like hummingbird cake, which made her really mad – Mac’s face looks blank as he tries to follow – because it’s Martin’s favorite food. She said he would like hummingbird cake if he ever had the proper recipe, but apparently, he’d had hummingbird cake because he knew Martin’s family’s recipe.

Jack tells Anna, believe it or not, one of his most contentious divorce cases involved a recipe for hummingbird cake. The wife was his client. She was threatening to divulge the recipe to Little Debbie’s for mass production. Anna says she bets the husband in that case was Martin Grey, and he didn’t like that idea. Jack says, he’ll put it to her this way, the husband hated it so much, he knew he could get his client sole custody of the couple’s beach house in Miami if he could just get the wife to sign an NDA, and never divulge the recipe.

Lucy tells Mac, Martin’s mother guards that hummingbird cake recipe like it was gold in Fort Knox, and he says, let him guess. Once Jack connected Lucy to Martin, it was all over. Lucy and Felicia nod like Mac can see them.

Gregory says he’s sorry Tracy couldn’t get through to her son earlier, and she says, wow. He does always eavesdrop on private conversations. He says he couldn’t help but hear it. they were both speaking very loudly. She says, not loud enough to get through to her son, and he says, she certainly did all she could. She says, and she should do what? Just give up? Gee, her son doesn’t remember his family. Maybe he will someday. What’s for dinner? He says, she really makes conversations hard because that’s not at all what he meant. She says, Quartermaines don’t give up. He might stand there idly by and watch his son face plant again and again like he’s some Larry, Curly, or Moe, but she’s not like him. If he wants to abandon his son, go right ahead. She’s not going to abandon hers. Gregory says, and as usual, she doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about.

Ned asks how Leo’s leg is, and Leo says, it hurts, but only when he runs. Olivia tells him that she never thought she’d say this, but then stop running. Why doesn’t he go up to his bedroom? Leo asks Ned, which is cooler, an octopus or a squid? and Ned tells Leo that he guesses he’d say an octopus, but Leo says, that’s not right. His dad would know the answer. He’s really not Leo’s dad, is he? Ned says, no, he’s not, and Leo says, then who is he?

Dante wonders why Cody is with Selina, and Sam says she doesn’t know, but does he know the PCPD has been running surveillance at The Savoy? He says he knows; how does she know? She says she ran into Mac earlier, and Mac knows about Selina’s illegal high stakes poker game in the back room. He says, that explains it then. If there’s a poker game, Cody’s going to sniff it out. That’s what happened to him last June when he got beat up. He was going to take the bus out of town, and missed his bus because of a poker game. She asks if he thinks it was Selina’s, and he says, Cody didn’t tell him whose it was, but could very well have been Selina’s game. She says she told him this was shady. She thinks it’s highly likely it was Selina’s guys who beat up Cody when he first came to town. So it’s troubling to think Cody is more connected to her now. Dante wonders what Cody is up to now.

Anna says she apologizes for her friends, and she’s sorry Jack got caught up in the middle of this. But at the end of the day, was there any real harm done? He asks if she didn’t hear him say that Felicia was going through his confidential client files, and Anna says, let her throw that name out there again – Martin Grey. She wasn’t going through any other files, was she? He says, not that he can tell, but who the hell knows what she saw? and Anna says she can vouch for her friend. If she was there with Lucy, she was only looking at Martin’s files. He says he’s going to need a little bit more. What’s the interest in Martin Grey? She says, Lucy’s dating him. Anna looks on this as a lover’s quarrel. He can see for himself that they’re not criminal masterminds. Could he see his way to dropping the charges? She would be forever in his debt, without a doubt. He looks in at Lucy and Felicia.

Lucy tells Mac, Jack knows the officer who’s arresting them, and convinced him to check with his office before taking them to be booked. Mac says, okay, but why did she take his car keys? and she says she didn’t mean to. It was sort of a panic moment. Is that what he wants to hear? She panicked. She didn’t mean to steal the car. She was doing it as – she raises her voiced – a public service thing. He tells Felicia to take him off speaker and she does. Felicia says she’s sorry. She really didn’t want to involve him in this. He says, and that’s why she called Anna instead of him, and she says she didn’t want him to worry. How angry is he? He says he just wants her home safe, when Jack comes back, and she says she guesses that depends on how well Anna negotiated on their behalf. She just hopes Anna’s convincing.

Olivia tells Leo, it’s past his bedtime, and Leo says, Ned looks like his dad, but he doesn’t know about squids so who is he? Ned says he’s Eddie Maine. He’s a musician. Leo asks Chase, is that true? and Chase says, yes, at least for the time being. Ned says he’s sorry that’s confusing for Leo, and Leo says, people always confuse him, but his dad knows squids are the coolest. Eddie got it wrong. Ned laughs and says, Leo’s right. He doesn’t know the first thing about squids or octopuses. Leo says, octopi, and Ned says, right, octopi. He does know that octopi have eight legs. How many legs do squids have? Leo says, they don’t have legs. They have ten limbs, eight arms, and two tentacles. Brook and Chase leave, and Leo says, the biggest squid is 60 feet, and the biggest octopus is only about 30 feet. Ned says, wow. He always thought octopi were bigger, and Cody tells Olivia, Leo’s got this.

Outside, Brook says she was so happy when Chase walked through that door. Does that mean he’s still talking to her? He says, does she mean after he figured out that Tracy was pulling strings with the CCRB? and she says, yeah. He says, his kiss goodbye didn’t convince her? and she says she was so happy when he kissed her, but she was worried that after he left and thought about it, he would be. He says, nope. He’s not doing that anymore. She says, doing what? and he takes her hands and says he knows he’s a by-the-book guy. That sounds good on paper, but in real life, he needs to be more accepting that life is complicated and it’s messy, and that is okay. She says, he knows her. He’s by-the-book and she’s a leap before you look person. Look what she did with Valentin. She pretended to be pregnant with his baby; that was crazy. He says, no. What she did was gutsy, and it was brave, and it was pretty magnificent. A plan that complicated and messy wouldn’t have occurred to him in a million years. That’s why he thinks their differences make them such a good team. That’s what he’s trying to say. He doesn’t want her to feel like he’s constantly judging her. Because he loves her… exactly the way that she is. She says she loves him too, calling him Mr. By-the-Book, and they kiss.

Gregory says, Tracy has no right to judge him. She doesn’t even know him. She says, isn’t it infuriating when someone just inserts themselves into your private conversations and just starts doling out advice? He says he wasn’t doling out advice; he was offering understanding. He saw how her son’s rejection hurt her. She says, he saw no such thing. Do not project his disappointment about his sons on her. And who is he to give her parenting advice? She knows full well that Finn didn’t speak to him for decades. He says he doesn’t know why he bothered. He’s going to leave her to the one person who can tolerate her poisonous tongue – her. He drops his car keys, then gropes for them on the ground, and she says, so much for his self-righteous exit. Not as effective when you have to fumble around for your keys. Suddenly, Alexis is there, and says, she’s got them, scooping them up and putting them in his hand.

Chase says he’s been wanting to do that all night, and Brook says she’s so glad. At the risk of ruining the mood, she’s ready to tell him everything that she’s been up to with her grandmother. She doesn’t want to keep anything from him. He says he’s going to stop her right there. He thinks it’s better if she doesn’t tell him everything. He’s going to trust that she’ll tell him everything he needs to know, just like he’ll trust she’ll come to him if she’s in trouble. She says, deal, and thanks him for bringing her dad home. He says he was worried if it was the right thing to do. Does Leo seem okay? She says, yeah. So how about his grandmother? Chase says, she took the bulldozer approach, and Brook says, she always does.

Alexis goes over to Tracy, who asks, what’s going on? Alexis says she’s just helping out a friend. No one should have to face Tracy alone in this state. Tracy says, what state? and Alexis asks if Gregory is ready to get out of here. He says, definitely, and Alexis takes his arm. They stroll out of the plaza, and Tracy says, what nerve.

Dante says he’s kind of surprised Mac is sharing police business with a civilian, and Sam says she thinks he did it because he’s worried about Cody. Does he know how long they’ve been running surveillance at The Savoy? He says, it’s got to be three, four months, and she asks if he doesn’t think that’s a long time. He says he does. Normally, you’ve got to have results in three, four weeks to keep something like that going. She says she thinks Mac doesn’t want Cody to get arrested before he takes down Selina’s illegal poker game, and he says, so Mac’s trying to protect Cody? She says, as much as he can. Mac says he loved Dominique and Cody is Dominique’s son, but she thinks there’s more to it. She thinks Mac was disappointed when the paternity test came back, and it revealed Mac wasn’t Cody’s dad.

Sitting next to Ned on the sofa and thumbing through his book, Leo asks if he knows that the brown-nosed three-toed sloth naps up to 16 hours a day. And it’s arms are twice as long as its legs. Ned says he did not know that. Leo sure knows a lot. Leo says he knows a lot about animals, and he loves them all (me too!), even though Cody likes horses best. Cody says, hey, he likes his horses, but he likes other animals too. Leo says, just not beetles, and Cody says, no beetles. Never. I wonder why, and Leo says his mom likes feeding him. Olivia laughs and says, that is true. Leo asks what Ned/Eddie likes, and Ned says he likes music. He picks up a guitar leaning against the wall, and Leo says, that’s his dad’s guitar. Ned asks if it would bother Leo if he plays it. He’ll give it right back. Leo says he’s still learning how to play it. Is Eddie any good? Ned plays a little, and Leo says, that’s really good. So he can play it, until his dad gets back. At least he thinks his dad is coming back.

Jack tells Ray to uncuff them. He won’t be pressing charges. He’s sorry for wasting Ray’s time. Ray uncuffs Lucy and Felicia, and Felicia thanks Jack. Lucy says, triple thank you from her, and he says he’s been around the block a couple of times. Love can make you do crazy things. He hands Felicia the stethoscope and says, I believe this is yours, doc. Felicia thanks him, and he says, it looks like he’ll have to get a better safe. Goodnight, ladies. He hustles them out the door, and closes it. In the hallway, Lucy hopes this wasn’t all for nothing. Did Felicia get something useful? Tell her. Felicia says she doesn’t know if this will help, but she did find out the shell corporation who’s responsible for depositing $50,000 every month in Martin’s account. Lucy asks, who is it?

Gregory suggests he and Alexis sit for a while, and they stop at a bench. He sits down, and she asks if he’s okay. He says he is, and thanks her. He just couldn’t get his fingers to work. She asks if he’s all right to drive home, and he says, it should ease up soon. He’ll just sit here until it’s gone. He’s fine. Really. She says, it’s a lovely night. Does he mind if she joins him? He says he’d like that, and she sits next to him and takes his hand. He smiles at her.

Ned finishes playing, and Olivia tells Leo, it’s time for bed. Leo asks if Ned is staying, but Ned says, no. He’s staying at Sonny’s house. Leo says he knows Uncle Sonny. He’s cool. Ned says, he is pretty cool, and Leo holds out his hand. He and Ned shake hands, and Leo says, goodnight, Eddie. Ned tells him, goodnight, and thanks Leo for teaching him all about animals. Olivia steers Leo to the stairs, and tells him to put on his PJs. She’ll be up in a minute. Olivia tells Ned that she doesn’t mean to push, but there’s an apartment over the horse stables if he wants to stay there; if he’s not comfortable in the main house. He says, that’s very nice of her, but he’s okay at Sonny’s house. She says, fair enough, and thanks him for being so kind to Leo. Ned says, of course (🍷). He’s a sweet kid. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He just wants to live his life. She says she just wants her husband back, and Chase jumps up, saying, Eddie. Why doesn’t he take him back to Sonny’s? Ned says, yeah, and leaves with Chase. Olivia cries, and Brook and Cody surround her with a hug.

Lucy asks, why would Martin’s horrible ex-wife number three be depositing 50K in his account every month? and Felicia says, why would any ex send monthly payments? Lucy says, ew. Martin’s getting alimony. Felicia nods.

On the phone, Jack says he just thinks they should know that Lucy Coe and her private investigator were here today asking questions about Martin, and Maquillage.

Sam tells Dante that she thinks Mac wants to give Cody a heads up. But since he can’t interfere in his own investigation, he tipped her off to his surveillance of Selina. Dante says, so he wants Sam to try and get Cody to stop playing in Selina’s poker games, and she says, so should she do what Mac can’t? Does she warn Cody before he gets arrested?

Tracy shuffles into the living room, and says, oh God. What happened now? Brook says, Eddie Maine paid them a visit. Chase is driving him back to Sonny’s now. Tracy says, Ned was here and they let him go? Cody says, that’s his cue to go, and tells Brook and Olivia, good luck. He jets, and Tracy says, they can’t just let him go, but Olivia says, he’s not a prisoner here. Tracy says, that’s because they have no imagination, and Olivia says she’s had enough for one night. She leaves with her glass of wine, and Brook tells Tracy that she’s going to make this really clear. She will no longer spy for Tracy. Tracy says, good. Then she’s going to tell Chase that Brook committed corporate espionage. Brook says, Tracy can’t do that without admitting her own guilt. If Tracy takes her down, she’ll take Tracy down with her. Face it. She has to find another way to get info on Deception. Brook leaves, and Tracy says, good thing she has one.

Tomorrow, Spencer tells Portia that Trina should run away from him as fast as she can; Sasha tells Gladys, no need to prepare when you have nothing to hide; Esme tells Alexis, do not publish that story; and Kristina tells Sonny that her foundation is being ripped out from under her.

Below Deck Sailing Yacht – The Reunion – Part 2

A viewer asks why Daisy thinks Gary couldn’t take the hint about Mads just having fun, and Daisy says, Mads was very direct. She thinks they all need to be aware of what they are saying and doing to other people. Andy asks why Alex didn’t make a move on Mads before Gary did, and Alex says, they have to live together. He wasn’t jumping on the first person who came along. By the time they realized they were into each other, it was late in the season. Andy asks, what was Gary’s reaction to Mads saying she regretted hooking up with him on Watch What Happens Live? and Gary says, it’s not the first time someone’s said that. I’ll bet not. Andy says, if Mads regretted it, why did she keep going back for more? and Mads tells him that she didn’t say she regretted it. She said if she could go back, she’d choose differently. Hindsight is 20/20. She suddenly loses her train of thought, and says, she’s sorry; she has ADHD. Andy asks again why she kept going back, and Mads says, at the time, she didn’t regret it, but she would rather not be in messy drama. She didn’t know that’s how it was going to be at the time. Gary goes the bathroom, and we wait. Daisy tells Andy, welcome to our world. When Gary gets back, Andy says, a viewer asked if Daisy was surprised at how needy Gary was of Mads’ attention after hooking up, and Daisy tells him, she literally said, what the hell? Another viewer asks how Mads could forgive Gary calling her pathetic and Mads says she can take it on the chin, but she didn’t like it. Gary explains that he was calling himself pathetic, and I actually buy it. Andy says, just about as cringy as anything he’s seen on Below Deck, Gary confronted Mads about letting him go down on her when she allegedly had her period. Yeah, I’m cringing again right now – hey, I just relay it. We flash back to that so we can all cringe. Chase slides out of the screen, and Alex says he needs a bathroom break. Gary apologizes and says, it was uncalled for. No one deserves that, and he’s sorry. It was probably one of his lowest points of the season. Mads accepts his apology, and Andy asks if she was over Gary at that point. She says she was. She was exhausted, done, and so ready to leave. It was the cherry on top. Andy asks for Daisy’s reaction, and she says she was horrified. She feels protective over the girls, and nobody should speak about another in that manner. Mads says, the only reason she did so well was because Lucy was there and automatically killed the tension. Andy asks why Alex felt the need to repeat Mads’ joke, and Alex says, it was just the first thing that came out when Gary said he’d gone down there. It wasn’t meant maliciously.

A viewer asks if Gary saw any similarities between Ashley’s actions toward him during whatever season, and his actions with Mads. Gary says, they were both 100% cringe. They were needy and it wasn’t nice to see himself in that light. Andy asks if Gary’s attitude hadn’t been one of just having fun and not looking for anything serious. Did he think he’d gotten a taste of his own medicine? Gary – who’s possibly never had an original thought – says he’s only human, makes mistakes and learns from them. Andy asks, after making out with Chase, did Mads think they could have a boatmance? but Mads says, even though she loves Chase, he’s too sweet and genuine. She’s not a good person sometimes, and it wouldn’t be a good match. She wouldn’t do that to him. Andy asks Daisy’s reaction, and Daisy says she thought Gary was going to try not to jump into bed with the stews this season. Mads told her about it, but Gary didn’t, which was weird. Gary says he didn’t want to tell her straight away because there had been something between him and Daisy in the past. A viewer asks if Daisy agrees she c*ck blocked Gary, or was it that he was a distraction to the stews? Daisy says she lets them do their own thing, but when you’re wearing a uniform, that’s a no. However, she’s earned a kiss in the engine room after her years in the industry. She did think Gary was distracting for her stews, and Gary says she should lead by example. Glenn says he can see both sides. Daisy’s role is to manage her department and she can police herself, but he can also see leading by example. Andy ask if Mads and Alex saw each other after filming, and she says, there have been instances. Alex says, they explored it to see if it was worth continuing, but they’re both busy. They’re geographically close, and they’ve stayed close as friends. They’ve been on trips together, and talk weekly. He’s happy about how it stands. Mads says, their friendship outshines everything, and Andy asks if it’s with benefits. Alex says he technically doesn’t have a girlfriend right now, but he’s hopeful about someone (not Mads).

Andy asks who would want to eat sushi off a naked Gary? I’m out, and only Alex and Mads raise their hands, Mads adding, if she was really drunk. Andy says, they learned that throuples don’t work. It was the first time Glenn had to step in and almost kick an unruly guest off the boat. We flash back to that, and Andy asks how Glenn knew he had to intervene. Glenn says he’s seen that kind of thing before, and wanted to make it clear what was at stake. Andy says, newly single Colin made a move on Daisy. But after learning the truth about her history with Gary, and being mistakenly called Gary in bed (oof!), did Colin regret stumbling into a love triangle? We flash back to all that, and Andy says, we have lots to unpack. A viewer says, on Watch What Happens Live, Daisy said Colin had the most to answer to. What happened? Daisy suggests Colin narrate the story, and Colin says, the first time he saw Daisy again after the season was at a boat show in the UK. They hung out, and also spent some time together in Mexico. He even flew to New York to see her, but it turned toxic, and he ended things. Andy asks why it was toxic, and Colin says, they triggered each other. Daisy says, he’s missing the point of why it turned badly. She found out that after Colin broke up with his girlfriend, he’d been sleeping with someone he was working with. So she retreated, put up walls, and became defensive. Colin made her feel guilty about the Gary thing, and he claimed there was nothing between them; there was no future. Then she found out from some crew members that after she and Colin broke up, he was in a serious relationship with the same woman. It was shocking and hurtful. Colin says, before filming season four, he and Daisy hooked up, and Daisy suggests they go back to season two. Alex makes raising the roof hands, and everyone looks shocked. Colin says, you can’t reason with this woman, and I want to smack him. He says, they hooked up before the season, and he rang Gary and told him. He asked how Gary felt about it, and Gary said he was stoked. Glenn said he was happy about it too. Daisy looks pissed off, and Andy takes out his pitchfork and asks if Daisy told Colin that she’d hooked up with Gary at that point. Colin says he found out halfway through the season, and Daisy again says, go back to season two. Colin was in a serious relationship and pulled her aside, saying, if he was single, she was definitely the person he’d hook up with. At the end of season three he pulled her aside and said he wanted to kiss her, but she walked away. Colin says he’s always had a crush on Daisy.

Andy asks why Daisy made out with Alex, and Daisy says she wasn’t trying to start a relationship. Colin having been in another relationship also made her take a step back, but she can kiss multiple people and not be ashamed. She and Colin had only kissed, and not slept together. When he told her that he’d been sleeping with someone else, she thought they were figuring stuff out. She kissed Alex in a Truth or Dare drunk moment; they weren’t exclusive. Colin says, it was deeper than that. He’d told girlfriend Brit about Daisy, and vice versa. Daisy says, he didn’t tell her until they were off the boat, and Colin says, she blocked him. Daisy says, that’s not what happened, and Colin says, let him finish. She has zero remorse, and turns it around. Andy asks if Daisy is gaslighting Colin, and she gets up and leaves the screen. Colin says he was just laying it all out there, and now it’s his fault. It makes no sense. Lucy says he needs to take Daisy’s feelings into account. She clearly liked him a lot. It’s not a nice situation, and it’s hard to lose a friendship as well. Daisy comes back, and Andy asks why she left, like he doesn’t know she cried in the bathroom. She says she’s f***ed either way. She’s never going to win. It will never matter what she says or does. If she sleeps with someone, she’s a slut. If she’s silent, she’s weak, but if she speaks up, she’s toxic. Chase says, they’re quite empathetic. He thinks Daisy’s been slighted by both Colin and Gary, but nobody thinks it’s malicious; just an unfortunate situation. Andy asks if Colin had real feelings for Daisy, and Colin says, 1000%. There was a genuine connection, and he did his best to try and be with her. He tried to make it work. He’s not badmouthing Daisy, but she was pushing him away, trying to figure out if it was real, and by the time she figured it out, they were arguing. Daisy says, Colin made her feel guilty about Gary. She even stopped talking to Gary and being friends with him. Colin says he thinks his insecurities were justified, and Daisy asks, why not do a show about Colin and his girlfriend? Colin says, watching the show, there were things he saw that were shocking and news to him, and Daisy says, like him flirting with Ileisha.  

Ileisha says, that’s the first time she’s heard that. She and Colin got on well, and got each other as friends. She had a boyfriend, and had no idea what was going on with Daisy and Colin. Daisy asks if anyone will back her up, but there are no takers, and Colin says, he and Ileisha definitely had chemistry and got on well, but he’s curious as to the point here. He wonders if it’s to detract from how Daisy treated him. Andy asks Ileisha if they were flirtatious, and Ileisha says, there was chemistry there, but she didn’t pursue it since she had a boyfriend. Daisy says she’s not allowed to have chemistry with anyone, and Andy asks who called her a slut. She says, everyone online, and Andy says, people online are a-holes and a bunch of trolls. Daisy says she doesn’t know what she’s supposed to do. She’s damned if she does, and damned if she doesn’t. She starts to cry, and Andy asks if Colin thinks Gary expressing interest in Daisy was genuine or ego driven. Colin says he thinks it was ego driven. It was shocking see Daisy and Gary making out. At that point, he thought he and Daisy were a true boat couple. Daisy says, Colin was 100% flirting with Ileisha, and Colin says, Daisy kept saying that she had no feelings for Gary, but watching it back, he didn’t feel that was the case. Andy asks Gary to put himself in Colin’s shoes, and asks if he can understand how rankled or questioning Colin might be. Daisy asks if Gary feels remorse or shame at how he behaved, and Gary says he has a huge defense mechanism because he’s scared of getting hurt. (Oh boo-freakin’-hoo.) Andy asks how it landed with Mads, and Mads says, it was shocking. Everyone was messy. Andy suggests Gary broke bro code. He was sending mixed messages, saying he didn’t have feelings for Daisy and he was fine with her and Colin being together. Lucy says, Gary supposedly liked Mads, and Mads says, there was lots of hypocrisy and they all played a part. Andy asks why Gary told Colin had that he had no interest in Daisy, but told Daisy that he had feelings for her. Who was he lying to? Gary says, probably himself in the end, and I wonder what movie he got that from. He says he has a jealous side that was coming out. Deep down, he felt something for Daisy, but he was still happy for Colin. He’s seeing now that it’s for the best it didn’t work out. Andy asks Daisy if she thought Gary had genuine feelings or was he like a child who wants a toy someone else is playing with? Daisy says she felt like a piece meat or a prize in an ego competition. She doesn’t think Gary has genuine feelings for her, but thinks they have a genuine connection. Being on the show creates a bond, and they’ve been through so much together. They make each other laugh and feel good, and she thinks Gary confused that. She did too. Ileisha says, that’s what happens when you live on top of each other in a yacht. Colin says, he gave it 100%, and they had incredible times and have great memories. He thinks they triggered each other and it turned toxic. Unfortunately for Daisy, he realized first, and was able to move on. He feels bad about it, since it’s never nice to feel rejected. Daisy tells him, calm down, and Colin says, she blocked him, then went on WWHL.

Andy asks if Daisy was in love with Colin, and Days says, she definitely had strong feelings, and was possibly falling in love, but she felt more betrayed that he didn’t tell her that he was with a girl. She thought they were friends, and broke up in friendship. Knowing that others knew for months before her was humiliating. Glenn raises his hand and confesses it was Chase. Andy asks what Glenn’s rection was, and Glenn says, very sad. He thinks Gary could have been less flirty with Daisy, but if he was in Colin’s shoes, he would have expected Daisy to push back harder. He thinks it’s their nature. He’s not condemning them. When he did see her push back, he was like, go Daisy, but it should have been more. He sees why Colin was upset, but he loves them all. Andy wonders where Daisy and Gary will go from here, and Daisy says, if they work together, they work together. They don’t have much of a relationship, but she’s always going to be his friend. He needs her. Andy asks where Gary and Colin are at, and Gary says, they chat now and then. Andy says, they don’t seem great, and Colin says, they’re friends. He doesn’t say anything about Gary that he hasn’t said to his face.

Andy suggests they close this out,. and Colin says, it’s fresh, and there’s a lot of emotion, but he thinks him and Gary will be okay. It’s open with Daisy, but he was taken aback when she was on WWHL. Gary says, Colin hit the nail on the head. He doesn’t see Colin traveling a rocky relationship. Daisy says, they didn’t think they’d be how they were, and Andy says he wants to give Daisy the last word. She apologizes for being emotional, and says she loves them both. This season taught her a lot about herself. She has regrets, but knows she has a good heart and her intentions are good. Onward and upward.

Andy says, Alex is on the new season of Winter House, and Alex says, imagine the Below Deck Sailing crew night out for three straight weeks. It’s pandemonium, just a different version. My emotions are mixed. While I’m happy he hit the descriptive nail on the head, I think, why? He seemed like a decent human. Andy says he’s trying to hook Chase up with Countess LuAnn, but he’s still waiting. I think The Countess will eat Chase alive. Andy asks Glenn for his rose and thorn, and Glenn says, his thorn was the engine being full of salt water. His rose was making it through the season. It was an amazing season and crew, and he’s glad they got to the end and survived. Andy thanks Glenn and the crew for a great season.

🗽 If They Can Make It Here…

I watched some of the new RHONY, and I want to believe it will be better, hipper, and more down to earth, but it’s doubtful. This being the first episode, a lot of it was just set-up, but the pettiness is shining through already. I have difficulty with names, and think everyone should wear a nametag, so an entirely new cast is a pita, but other than being younger, I’m not sure how much they’ll end up differing from the old cast. No doubt, social media will be one factor. Already it starts. One of the women blows off dinner with another, only to go to dinner elsewhere and post about it on Instagram. Pas de classe whatsoever.

‘RHONY’ Reboot Premieres With Cheese-Gate Drama: Season 14, Episode 1 Recap

🪁 Breaking the Dreamhouse Ceiling…

Stop in tomorrow for soap and badmouthing the OC. Until then, stay safe, stay voicing your appreciation for public service workers, and stay never divulging your hummingbird cake recipe.

July 13, 2023 – Michael Brings Paris To Willow, About Jack, First One, Coming Soon, Andy Talk, Cracking Up, VanderSituation, Rad Runway, How To Shark & Burning

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Chase tells Sasha that she’s under arrest, and she asks if it’s a joke. He says, it’s not, and suggests they step outside, but she says she’s not going anywhere without an explanation. Michael says, that seems fair, and asks Chase, what’s going on? Chase says, Sasha left the store with this blouse and several other items she didn’t pay for.

Gladys admires herself in a faux fur coat in the dressing room mirror. Scout wanders in, and touches the coat. She says, this is pretty, and Gladys tells her, hey kid, it’s couture. Keep her hands to herself. Sam comes in and says, Gladys has a way with children, doesn’t she?

Cody says he can explain, but Selina says, he was marking cards. No explanation necessary. Cody says he swears he’ll pay her back, and she says, that’s a given. But by losing so dramatically, he damaged the reputation of her game. There’s a rhythm; you can’t win them all, nor can you lose them all. He guesses she’s never played with his cousin Barry, and she cracks him across the face. She says, he’s making jokes, and tells Li that she guesses it’s time Cody learned how humorless they are. Li grabs Cody.

At Kelly’s, Kristina looks at the Invader headline: Blood in the Water: Shots Fired at the MetroCourt. Alexis joins her, and asks if she’s talked to Molly. Kristina says she’s going to the hospital after this, and Alexis says, with everything they’re going through, now Curtis gets shot. TJ must be going out of his mind. Kristina says, it makes her want to help them even more. She’d really make the perfect surrogate for them. Alexis says she really appreciates how open and willing Kristina’s being… Kristina says, but she needs to wait to be asked first, and Alexis says, please. If Molly and TJ actually asked her to be their surrogate, would she say yes? Kristina says, yes, and Alexis asks if she’s sure. Is she really ready to have a baby? Kristina says, it’s not just a baby; it’s Molly’s baby. Molly’s her sister, and Kristina would do anything for her.

Marshall asks if Molly’s heard anything, and she says, if TJ could give them an update, he would. Stella wonders why it’s taking so long, and Portia says, this type of surgery could take hours. Stella says, all night? and Portia asks if Trina is cold. Trina says, a little, and Portia says she’ll get Trina a sweater from her office. Marshall says he can go, but Portia says she could use to stretch her legs. She leaves, and Marshall says, Portia might have the right idea. Molly asks if he wants to take a walk, and he tells her, lead the way. Stella sits with Trina, and says, she’s so strong, but Trina says she’s not feeling very strong right now, and Stella holds her.

Nina and Sonny arrive at the hospital, and Nina says she assumed Curtis would be out of surgery by now, but she guesses he’s not. Sonny tells her not to jump to conclusions. He’s going to ask the nurse for an update. He sees Molly, hugs her, and asks how she’s holding up. Marshall says he has to admit, he’s surprised to see Sonny here.

Portia picks up the sweater, then sits down in her empty office. She flashes back to Curtis asking her not to give up on them when they’re so close to finding their way back to each other, and her saying she wishes it was that simple, then leaving. She says, please Curtis, give us a chance to make it right.

We see Curtis in surgery, while TJ watches from the sidelines.

Sasha says she’s allowed to take those clothes, and Chase says, without paying for them? She says, yes. Deception has an agreement with Logan’s. It’s basically free advertising for the store. He says, the manager didn’t know about it, so why doesn’t she just come down to the station, and if what she’s saying is true – she says, it is – then it will just take a few minutes to sort out. Besides, they should probably let Willow get some rest. Sasha says, fine, for Willow’s sake. Let’s get this over with. She leaves, and Chase follows her out. Willow says, call Gladys, but Michael says he’s already on it.

Gladys tells Scout that she’s sorry if she was snippy. It’s just that it’s a very expensive coat. Scout says she knows, and Sam asks, how? Scout says she saw the price tag, when a call comes in on Glady’s phone from Sonny’s Kid. Gladys says, mother/daughter shopping trip? and Sam says, they’re picking out a dress for Scout for swim camp. Gladys says, don’t tell her that they swim in dresses now, but Sam says, it’s for a dance the kids put on. What about her? Special occasion? Gladys says, no. She just thought she’d treat herself. Sam says she’s glad they ran into each other. She’s been meaning to ask Gladys something. She tells Scout to try the clothes on in the dressing room, and Scout leaves. Gladys wonders what Sam wanted to ask her, and Sam says, how is her new BFF Selina Wu?

Li smushes Cody’s head against the bar, and Selina says, it’s not only that he cheated. To a certain extent, she expects that. He’s done it before, so they’ve been keeping an eye on him. He mumbles that he’s impressed, and she says, white ink? Child’s play. What she didn’t expect and what she won’t tolerate is that he lied to her, and even worse, that he thought she wouldn’t notice. He says, confession time? and she says, better late than never. He says he made sure the house lost so she’d think he was no longer valuable to her operation, and she asks, why? He says, honestly? He just wants to move on from the game. It’s nothing personal. He’s no good at doing anything for too long. He gets restless. She says she has news for him. Her employees do not come and go as they please. Once you’re in, you’re in. Is she making herself clear? He gives her an okay sign.

Sonny asks how Marshall is, shaking his hand, and Marshall says he’s been better. Nina asks if they’ve heard from TJ, and Molly says, not yet, but TJ has always said Curtis’s surgeon is the best in the country. Marshall says, thank God for that, and Sonny says, if his family needs anything, they’re here. Marshall says, first and foremost, for Curtis to pull through. Then some answers would be nice. Who would do this to his son?

Trina tells Stella that she just hates that she was holding Curtis at arm’s length. She was angry and confused… Stella says, and rightly so. She still has time. Trina says, Stella doesn’t know that, but Stella says she does. She knows Curtis, and she knows her nephew will fight to get back to Trina. Just like he’s fighting to get back to Portia. Portia stands behind her holding the sweater.

In the OR, the surgeon says, that’s the last of the bullet fragments, putting them into a bowl. Vertebrae looks good, but he doesn’t like that heartrate. Close him up before it climbs up any higher. Curtis suddenly flatlines, and the doctor says, they have to turn him on his back.

Curtis wakes up on a blanket in the grass, and a woman’s voice says, Curtis Ashford, did you eat all the potato salad? Again? Next time, she’s going to put a padlock on the container. He sees a woman sitting next to him, who looks like an older Jennifer Hudson, and says, mom?

Marshall tells Sonny that he’s sorry. Whoever shot his son last night isn’t Sonny’s responsibility. He shouldn’t have laid that at Sonny’s feet. Sonny says, don’t worry about it. He doesn’t know who the shooter is yet, but he’s not going to rest until he finds out.

Stella helps put the sweater around Trina’s shoulders, and Portia asks if Trina wants to talk about it at all, but she says she’s fine. Portia says, really? Because she’s not. Stella says, me neither. This waiting is fraying on her nerves. Trina says she was just so worried that she wasted all that time; that she didn’t resolve things before. Portia says she knows, and holds Trina, as Nina and Molly join them.

Alexis says she really appreciates Kristina’s willingness to help her sister out, and Kristina says, but… Alexis says, not only does surrogacy a huge deal, so is getting pregnant. Kristina’s never been pregnant before. does she have any idea what it’s like having a baby? Kristina says she’ll figure it out. She’s young and healthy and single, and don’t Molly and TJ deserve to be parents? Alexis says, of course (🍷) they do, and Kristina says, so if they decide to move forward with surrogacy, then isn’t it best if they go with someone who’s already prepared and ready to go? Alexis says she doesn’t know that anyone is truly prepared to be a surrogate. It’s not just a physical thing, it’s an emotional… Maxie comes up to their table and says she’s sorry to interrupt. She heard Alexis was trying to reach her. Alexis says she was. The Invader would like to do a feature on The Deceptor. Maxie says, great. What’s the angle? Alexis says, it’s in the leisure section. It’s an interest in the design process. Maxie says, then she’ll probably want to talk to a product manager or someone in marketing, and Alexis says she’ll have her assistant call Maxie’s office. Maxie thanks her, and starts to leave, but Kristina says she has a couple of questions. Maxie says, about The Deceptor? but Kristina says, no, about surrogacy. Wow. That whole conversation for no reason other than to get to Kristina’s question.

Gladys says, Selina Wu’s not her BFF, and tells Sam to get her facts straight. Sam says, that’s pretty interesting, because according to Spinelli, she and Selina were seen at the MetroCourt all cozied up… Wait, no. It was actually Gladys, Selina, and Cody Bell. That’s an interesting trio, doesn’t she think? Since Gladys did accuse him of larceny. (Who uses that word?) Gladys says, a misunderstanding, and Sam says, they put him in handcuffs. Gladys says, then isn’t he lucky to have a friend like her to bail him out? Sam says, Gladys hasn’t answered her question. How does she know Selina? Gladys says she’s bumped into Selina at The Savoy a time or two. Should she get the red one or the black one? She compares coats, and Sam says, and what about Cody? What is his relationship with Selina? Gladys says, Sam will have to ask Cody, and Sam laughs. She says, either Gladys can tell her what’s going on with the three of them, or she’s going to figure it out for herself. There’s obviously something. One word from Selina, and Gladys changes her story about Cody stealing her bracelet? What does that woman have on her?

Nina asks if there are any updates on Curtis, but Stella says, nothing yet. Portia says, Curtis would be so glad to know Nina is here, and Trina hopes he feels their support. Molly says, and all the strength and love they’re sending his way. Nina says, he’s very, very lucky to have such a close family, and Stella says, it’s at these moments they realize how truly important family is.

They do chest compression and use the defibrillator on Curtis.

Curtis says he doesn’t understand, and Irene asks if he’s still hungry. She made biscuits, and there’s blueberry pie for dessert. There’s a whole picnic set-up on the blanket now, and he says he remembers this blanket. Does it still have the… She says, the hole that he burned in it when he was playing with matches? Sure does. He says, it was Tommy’s idea, and she says, blaming his brother, just like always. He heaves a tearful sigh, and she asks if he’s all right. Does he feel sick? She feels his forehead, and he says, just fine. A tear rolls down his cheek, and she asks if he’s sure. He takes her hand and says, mom, is this really happening? Are you really with me right now? She says, where else would she be? and he kisses her hand. It reminds me a little of that scene in Our Town when Emily gets to relive her 12th birthday.

Irene says, it’s a beautiful day, and Curtis says, it’s just magical. She says, when they’re done here, would he mind taking a look at her car? He asks, what’s wrong with her car? and she says, the check engine light’s on again. He says he doesn’t understand why she won’t take her car to the garage, and she says, what does she need with a garage when she’s got two strapping sons? Tommy’s working on it now, but she thinks he needs a little help. He says, Tommy’s here? and she says, in the parking lot. Go help his brother. He gets up, and the doctor says, we’re losing him. TJ says, stay with us, Uncle Curtis, and Curtis asks if Irene heard that. She says, hear what?

Stella tells Nina, whatever Tommy did, Curtis had to do it too. It continued when they were older. When Tommy learned to ride a bike, Curtis was determined to learn too. Tommy made Varsity; there was Curtis on JV. Portia says she didn’t realize Curtis was that competitive, and Stella says, that was part of it, but he was also very protective. He didn’t want to be far away in case his brother needed him. She thinks he was like that with all of them. All they had to do was call, and Curtis would come running. Trina says, he’s still like that today, and Portia says, he certainly is.

Sasha bounces around the interrogation room, and outside on the phone, Chase leaves a message for someone to call him back as soon as possible. It’s about Sasha.

Gladys asks if Sam is implying she’s done something wrong, and Sam says, she must have. There was no way she was going to let Cody off the hook; she was out for blood. So the only reason she can think of that Gladys backed off was to save her own skin. Scout asks what Sam thinks of the dresses, while Gladys sees she has two missed calls; one from Sonny’s Kid and one from Unknown. Sam tells Scout to try them on, and they’ll decide together. After listening to a voicemail, Gladys tells Sam, as much as she’s enjoyed being accosted, she has to run. Family emergency. Sam says she hopes everyone’s okay, and Gladys says, so does she. She stops at the door, and tells Sam to have her kid pick the white one. Pink’s not her color.

Maxie says, it’s not every day she gets asked about her surrogacy, and Kristina says, it was such a selfless thing Maxie did. She’d love to hear more about it. Alexis says, please don’t feel like she has to divulge anything personal, but Maxie says, there’s nothing not personal when it comes to surrogacy. Let her wrap her head around this first. Kristina says, of course (🍷), and Maxie says she’ll call Alexis and leaves. Kristina says, what?

Maxie’s phone rings, and she asks Chase, what’s up?… Sasha did what?… Okay, she’s on her way.

Kristina says, Alexis told her that she could never know what surrogacy was like, so isn’t asking someone who’s actually done it the next best thing? Alexis says, it was just a little insensitive, but Kristina tells her, Maxie said she’s fine with it. Alexis says, okay, and Kristina says she has to go to the hospital. She’ll see Alexis later. She leaves, and Alexis texts Sonny: Got a second? It’s about Kristina.

On the phone, Sonny thanks Brick, and says, keep him posted. Nina asks if Brick found out anything new about the shooting, when Sonny’s phone dings. He says, ugh, and Nina asks, what’s wrong? He says, Alexis wants him to come by. It’s about Kristina. She says, go, and he says he feels kind of weird… but she says she’ll stay here and call him if there’s any updates. She kisses him goodbye, and he leaves.

Sasha asks how long Chase is going to keep her here, and he says, Maxie’s on her way. He tried to track down Gladys, but he’s having trouble reaching her. He holds out his phone and says, she’s allowed one phone call. She should really contact a lawyer. She says, lawyers are for guilty people, and he tells her, be reasonable. She says, why, when something completely unreasonable is happening to her? She needs someone in her corner. Someone who understands what a colossal mess this is.

As Selina plays solitaire and Li roughs up Cody. Cody’s phone rings, and Cody says, mind if he gets that? Selina says she doesn’t, but Li would find it quite rude. Well, she must be going. Enjoy their afternoon. She thinks he’ll find Li is both creative and resourceful. Li takes a bar tool and starts to stab Cody’s hand with it, and Cody yells, wait! Selina says, he came into her game with his own agenda. There must be consequences. Cody says he has a proposition, and she asks what he could possibly have to offer. Li spins Cody around to face her, and he says, plenty, but she says, no one crosses her. Goodbye, Mr. Bell. Li drags Cody off.

Irene says, it’s probably Tommy swearing at the car. Curtis knows how his voice travels. TJ says, Uncle Curtis, you have to come back, and Curtis wonders if somebody just said his name. Irene says, it’s Tommy. He’s calling for Curtis. He needs Curtis’s help. Curtis says, it didn’t sound like Tommy. It’s like he recognizes the voice; he just can’t make it out. She puts her hand on his shoulder and says, come. Just be here. They’ll go see Tommy together. She takes his hand, and TJ says, come on, Uncle Curtis. Fight. Do it for Trina.

Nina says, Portia can tell her to buzz off if she wants to be alone, but is she doing okay? Portia says she just needed a minute. Everyone’s so scared, and they’re desperate for answers. Nina says, and she’s not? but Portia says she’s terrified. But the fortunate, or unfortunate, thing about it is, she knows the answers to some of those questions, and the surgery’s taking way too long. The longer they have him open, the longer the recovery… if there is a recovery. Nina says, there will be a recovery, and Portia says, it’s a bullet to the spine. The damage could not only be significant, it could be life-altering. Nina tells Portia that she wishes there was something she could do or say, and Portia thanks her but says, the only thing they can do is… wait.

Sasha says, that manager is trying to embarrass her, and Chase says, there’s something she needs to see. Gladys walks in, and runs to Sasha, hugging her. Sasha says, they’re accusing her of shoplifting, and Gladys asks, who is? Sasha says, Logan’s. It’s just like Home & Heart. They’re out to get her. Chase asks if he can show them something, and tells them, take a seat. He takes out a tablet, and says, this is the security footage from Logan’s. Sasha says, finally, something to prove she’s innocent, and they see a video of Sasha putting the garments to her face and smiling, then shoving them in her bag. Sasha says she doesn’t remember doing that. Why would she? It’s not like she can’t afford the clothes. Something is wrong here. Gladys says, she may not remember it, but she did it. That is Sasha, isn’t it?

Willow says, any word? but Michael says, Gladys didn’t answer. But Sasha’s with Chase. He’s sure Chase is taking good care of her. Willow says she thought Sasha was acting strangely, and he says, Sasha’s been through a lot. She says, understatement, and he says, she’s been doing good lately, but there’s bound to be setbacks. Willow says she knows, but… shoplifting? and he says, maybe she didn’t realize she had clothes in her hands and walked out the door. He takes Willow’s hands and says, it’s going to be okay. She tells him, if you say so, and he tells her that he says so. She asks why he’s looking at her like that, and he says he still can’t believe she’s home. She says, there’s no place she’d rather be, and he says, uh-oh. He and Wiley have been planning a little trip. She says, rude, considering she can’t go anywhere yet, but he says, au contraire, mon cheri. If mademoiselle wouldn’t mind looking out the window… She looks out and sees Wiley wearing a moustache and dressed in a French outfit, including a beret. He holds up a sign that says, bonjour madame, and she asks Michael what they’re up to. He says, bienvenue à Paris.

Sam says, both dresses look absolutely beautiful on Scout, but hurry up and choose. She has to take her to swim class. Scout says she doesn’t really want to go, and Sam says she thought Scout loved going to swim class. Is this because daddy is the one who normally takes her? Scout says, and he picks her up, and Sam asks, what else does daddy do? Scout says, he asks how many laps she swam and how long she held her breath under water, and Sam says, that’s not fair. She wants to know those things too. She leads Scout to a chair, and they sit down. She says she knows Scout’s sad because daddy is gone, and it’s hard for both of them, but guess what? Daddy’s going to want to know how many laps she swam. So they’re going to write everything down. This way, when she goes to see daddy, she can tell him all about it. Sound good? Scout nods, and goes back to the dresses. She asks, which one? and Sam says she thinks Scout deserves both of them.

As Li hustles him toward the door, Cody says he can make Selina rich. She says, is that so? and he says he’s coming into some money. Actually, it’s a lot of money. She asked why he wanted out of the game. Really it’s to tie up some loose ends before he retires to the Cayman Islands. She says, so he lied, and he says he stayed quiet because he didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but now that he’s thinking about it, he feels he owes her a debt of gratitude. She asks where this money is coming from, and he says, the WSB. Li twists his arm, and Cody says he’s not an informant. The WSB took something from him, and they’re willing to pay through the nose to make it right. She says, took what? and he says, a family heirloom. The WSB is willing to cough up ten mill to make up for his pain and suffering. Would she like a cut?

Michael says, obviously, they’ll plan a real trip when she’s ready, but for now, he and Wiley decided to bring Paris to Willow. She thanks him, and he says, don’t thank him; her son was the mastermind. Look at him. Wiley holds a toy accordion, and lowering her voice, she says, please tell her that thing doesn’t actually make noise. Michael says, well… and Wiley pulls and pushes the accordion, making a dreadful sound. Michael tells her to picture it. Her and him, walking hand in hand on the Champs-Élysées. She laughs and says she can’t wait. She loves him too much. He says, too much? There’s no such thing.

Cody says, some of it can be hers, and Selina says, define some. He says, 50/50 split, and she says, 60/40. He says he has to pay some… Li twists his arm again… his attorney. She says, he’ll have plenty left over, and tells Li to let him go. Li releases him, and she says, they must also discuss how Cody will pay his debt from last night’s fiasco. Cody says he expected as much, and she says something to Li which I interpret as, come on, and they walk to the other side of the room. Cody picks up his phone, and listens to the voicemail from Sasha. He asks if he’s free to go, and Selina says, something wrong? He says, possibly, but it has nothing to do with her or her operation. She says, of course (🍷) he’s free to go. Because wherever that is, Li will always find him.

Gladys says she’s sure Maxie will take care of everything, when Maxie walks in. Sasha says she swears she didn’t do anything, and Maxie says she spoke to the store manager at Logan’s. She explained everything, and they’ve agreed to drop the charges. Sasha says, thank God, and Maxie says, they should be calling the station now. Chase leaves, and Sasha says she can’t thank Maxie enough. She honestly doesn’t know what happened. Maxie says, it’s okay, everything’s fine, and Sasha asks how she convinced them. Maxie says, as Sasha knows, they’re doing a cross-promotional event with The Deceptor… and Sasha says she’s sorry. Maxie says, it’s all right. It ended up working out well for the brand. Sasha says she’ll help out wherever she can, and Maxie says, actually, Logan’s would prefer if she and Lucy handled it. She hopes Sasha understands. Sasha says, of course (🍷). It makes sense. Gladys says, Sasha has been working so hard. She thinks Sasha’s earned a break, doesn’t she?

Sonny meets Alexis at Kelly’s and asks, what’s up with Kristina? Alexis says she was just wondering what his involvement is with Kristina’s foundation, and he says he’s been hands-off because he figured that’s what Kristina needs. Unless Alexis thinks otherwise. Alexis says, not that she would admit to this, but she thinks Kristina is a little overwhelmed, and he says he’s here for whatever Kristina needs. She says she was hoping he’d say that.

Kristina runs into the waiting area, and hugs Molly. She asks, how’s Curtis? and Molly says, they’re still waiting for news. She’s so glad Kristina is here.

Nina and Portia walk down the hall, and Portia says, things were already so complicated between them. And now… What if she doesn’t get the chance to tell him that she loves him. She cries, and Nina holds her.

Curtis says, Trina, and starts to walk toward the voice. Irene asks, who’s Trina? and he says, she’s his daughter. She says, he has a daughter? How wonderful. TJ says, Trina needs you, Uncle Curtis. So does Portia. Irene says, once he and Tommy fix the car, they’ll go home. She’ll make dinner. TJ says, you’re stronger than anyone I know. Fight. Irene says, then they can go for a walk through the neighborhood. They’ve missed him so much. He says he’s missed her too; more than she’ll ever know. She says, now they don’t have to. The family’s back together again. Come. They’ll go see Tommy together. She pulls on his hand, but he doesn’t move. He says he wants to, but why does he have the feeling if he leaves this park, he’ll never see Trina or Portia again?

Michael says, hungry? and Willow says, famished. Michael signals to Wiley and says, garçon. Wiley drapes a towel over his arm like a fancy waiter. Michael, now also wearing a beret, comes out with a tray, and says, we have ze… He’s not even going to attempt a French accent. They have quiche Lorraine and a lovely green salad, a crispy baguette, and the Frenchiest butter they could find. She says, c’est parfait, and he asks if that’s good. She says, very, and they kiss. Wiley is still too young to be horrified at seeing his parents kiss yet.

Alexis tells Sonny that Kristina has the passion and energy to make this shelter happen. She just thinks Kristina needs a little guidance. And for better or worse, she listens to him. He thanks her, and she says she’s thinking Kristina might actually receive some constructive feedback from him. He asks how come he feels there’s a lot more going on here, and she says, he probably feels that way because there is.

Gladys says, everyone makes mistakes. And one day in the not too far future, no one will remember this even happened. Maxie says, Gladys is right. Clean slate. Chase comes back and says, Maxie worked her magic. Logan’s is happy to drop the charges. Sasha thanks Maxie, who says, anytime. Hopefully, this is the only time. Gladys asks if Sasha is ready to go home, and Sasha says, yes. She’s exhausted. They file out, Maxie at the end, and Chase says, hey, keep an eye on her. Maxie says she was going to do that anyway.

Outside, Cody leaves a voicemail, saying, he’s sorry he missed Sasha’s call. Is she okay? Call him back when she gets this. Selina says, he forgot something, and holds up the bottle of ink. She hands it to him, and asks, is everything all right? He says, a friend needs his help, and she says, and we always take care of our friends, don’t we? brushing his face with her hand.

Someone is taking pictures. That someone is Sam. A hand comes down on her shoulder.

Irene says, Curtis isn’t going to stay with them, is he? He says he can’t. There’s too many people waiting for him. But he doesn’t want to say goodbye. She says, then don’t. Say until we meet again. He cries and says, until we meet again, and she says she’s so proud of him. Maybe if she’d been as strong as he is, maybe she would have met Trina. It’s time for him to go back. He hugs her and says, I love you mama, and she says she loves him too. It’s time. She lets go of his hands, steps back, and disappears.

TJ and the doctor come out, and everyone gets up. Portia asks, did Curtis make it through surgery?

Tomorrow, Dante says, it might not be as much of a dead end as Anna thinks; Sasha says she screwed up; and Sonny asks Alexis, what kind of trouble Kristina is headed for.

⚖️ You Don’t Know Jack…

Just in case you don’t know Erica Kane’s 10th husband.

I didn’t know he wouldn’t be sticking around. I feel ripped off.

🏥 Dipping In the Vault…

I can’t believe I don’t remember this. Although the house might have still been under reconstruction after Hurricane Sandy. I was pretty busy.

🗽 Newest New York…

Premiering July 16th, here’s the basics. I want to like it, and the beginning of the trailer looks promising. But then it seems to go middle school, so my jury is out.

https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/rhony-season-14-premiere-date-teaser-video

You have to remember, we are in our 50s, so the world that we navigated was a very different world, said Dorinda. Women today have financial power, they have children, they have devices! Alrighty then.

https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/what-original-new-york-housewives-say-about-new-rhony-reboot

📺 More RHONY Than Rules…

Andy gets misty-eyed over his Bravo children.

https://extratv.com/2023/07/12/andy-cohen-on-new-rhony-pump-rules-season-11/

🍊 Calling Out Fancy As Fake…

While I think Fancy Pants Heather just makes things worse, Gina makes her own spectacle about her issues and problems.

🍸 What a Tease…

Well, I doubt they can top last season, which pains me to say, since it’s someone’s real life problem that boosted the ratings.

https://extratv.com/2023/07/12/lisa-vanderpump-teases-another-situation-as-pump-rules-films-season-11-exclusive/

👗 Today’s 1990s…

This week’s Project Runway was all about the 90s, with Jennie Garth as guest judge. It was fly.

🦈 How To Doo-Doo Doo-Doo-Doo-Doo…

In case you needed instruction.

https://people.com/how-to-watch-shark-week-2023-with-jason-momoa-7559270

🥐 Storming the Bastille…

Come on by tomorrow for soap, a spot of tea, a dose of wisdom (or not), and a song befitting the day. Until then, stay safe, stay speaking up if others are disrespectful or inappropriate, and stay not saying goodbye, but saying, until we meet again.

March 24, 2023 – Victor Gets the Necklace, Not Being Nik, New New York, Not Quite Fatal, VanderTalk, Second Jackets, Kitty (!), Enough Quotes For an Octopod & Cornflake

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Valentin plops a hooded Eileen down, and takes off her hood. He says, welcome back to the safehouse, and she asks if all this cloak and dagger is still necessary. He and Anna say, yes, but Eileen says she doesn’t think it is. She thinks it amuses them to torture her by having Felicia Scorpio put a bag over her head, like she’s some… Anna says, like she’s someone who would sell them out, but Eileen says she wouldn’t do that. Valentin asks if they’re supposed to take her word on that, and she says, of course (🍷) not, but they have other leverage. So their best interests are her best interests. Anna says, they’d like to keep that imbalance of power in their favor for now, and Eileen says, fine. Tell her what they want her to do, and she’ll do it. They can at least rely on her for that. Anna says she hopes so, because they can’t afford to make one single misstep, and neither can Eileen.

Spencer says, if Esme isn’t hungry, she can at least stay hydrated. He sets a cup on the coffee table, and says, it’s an organic herbal tea said to promote healthy lactation. She tells him, so he says, and he tells her, don’t worry. Drugging people is kind of more of a you thing. Laura comes in, and Spencer says, good morning. She says she’d like it to be for everyone, including Esme, so let’s not forget Esme is their guest, and he asks how he can. Laura says she expected this to be a bumpy transition, but they want Esme to feel welcome, don’t they? and he says, of course (🍷). Forgive him. Esme says she won’t stay anyplace she feels unwanted or unwelcome, so wherever she goes, Ace goes. There’s a knock at the door, and Spencer opens it to Victor. He asks what brings Victor by, and Victor says, what else? He’s come for his nephew.

Trina is on her way upstairs, and Marshall says, stop right there, young lady. She says she thought the house was empty, and he says, she hoped it was empty. Why is she sneaking in here like this isn’t her home? She says, because she’s not sure it is.

At Kelly’s counter, Cameron looks at his paycheck, when Josslyn comes in and says she was hoping she could still find him here. He says he’s picking up his last paycheck, and she says, end of an era, huh? He says, yeah, and asks why she was looking for him.

Outside on the phone, Sonny says, thanks for the update, and tells Dex, Brick couldn’t ID the contractor from the warehouse. Dex says, so that’s it, dead end? and Sonny makes another call, asking someone to meet him on Pier 55 in an hour. He tells Dex, for you to survive in this business, you never give up. When somebody’s coming after you, they’re not going to stop at the first attempt. You have to keep digging. Dex asks if Sonny thinks his family is at risk, and Sonny says, he’s taking precautions; he doesn’t know. Dex asks, why not? Sonny says, because when it’s a hit like this, a hired gun, the only thing that matters is taking out the target.

Josslyn says she was thinking about her and Cameron’s conversation about Dex, when Sonny and Dex walk in.

Marshall says he knows there’s a lot up in the air with Curtis and Trina’s mama, but one thing he can say for sure, on behalf of them and himself, she’ll always have a home with them. She says, it doesn’t feel much like home, does it? and Marshall says, it is looking mighty grim. With Portia constantly working and Curtis at the MetroCourt, to avoid the quiet, he’s been staying out. She says, out with Miss Epiphany? but he says, she’s still out of town. She got accepted to a whole slew of medical schools out of state, including… Johns Hopkins. Trina says, that’s amazing. That’s really good for her. Marshall says, it is, and she says, Maryland isn’t all that far, is it? He says, the fast train usually takes nine and a half hours, and she says, so an airplane is out of the question? He says he could do that, but that’s not what’s really troubling him. Epiphany moving to Baltimore or somewhere, and everything that’s happening here, he doesn’t know quite where he fits in. She puts her head on his shoulder, and says she knows the feeling.

Spencer tells Victor, it’s not the best time, and Laura says, he’s not welcome here. She’s going to have to ask him to leave. Victor says, at least she’s giving him a choice in the matter this time, and she says she’d prefer he leave on his own, but she can and will have him physically removed by security. She takes out her phone, and Spencer says, that’s not necessary; he’ll handle this. Victor says, Spencer of all people should know he’s not one to be handled, and Spencer says, if Victor doesn’t mind, he’d like to talk in the hallway. Victor says, very well, lead the way, but Spencer says, after you. I insist. He closes the door behind them, and Laura apologizes to Esme. She says she’ll do her best never to have Victor bother her again, and Esme says she gets this really bad feeling every time Victor Cassadine is around. Laura says, that’s because Victor Cassadine is a very bad man.

Spencer says, when he told Victor that Esme and the baby were staying here, he didn’t expect Victor to just show up, and Victor says, the baby is a Cassadine and belongs with Cassadines. He’ll go wherever he wants, and take what or whoever he wants, and woe betide anyone who gets in his way. Spencer says, including him?

Anna says, Eileen is going to call Victor and set up a meet for today, and Valentin says, and she has a very special delivery. He opens a jewelry box, showing her the fake necklace, but when she reaches for it, he snaps it shut. He says he can’t stress this enough; this is the most critical juncture of their plan. Anna says, it’s imperative that Victor believe Eileen is delivering the thing he’s been looking for, and Eileen says, something’s gone wrong, hasn’t it? Some kind of setback. Anna says, not that it’s any of her business, but they’ve had to widen their circle of trust, and Valentin says, time is no longer on their side. Eileen says, don’t worry, she won’t double-cross them, but Valentin says, she’s thrown in with Victor before. How do they know she hasn’t struck a deal with him already? She says, because she values her own life. Victor has proven anyone is disposable, even his own son. She’d be a fool to betray the only people willing to give her a chance to survive. Valentin gives her the box, and says, people have died for the information engraved on what’s left of the Ice Princess. Now they’re giving Victor what he wants. Anna says, or so he thinks. It’s actually a very good forgery. Eileen says, how very good? They know Victor will have an expert authenticate this. Anna says, that’s why Eileen has to set up the meet for today, so Victor doesn’t have a chance to call an expert in, and Valentin says, hopefully, she’ll have left before questions are raised She asks how they’re going to protect her. They know Victor doesn’t like to meet in public spaces. Anna says, they’ve taken every precaution. DA Scorpio will be nearby the location, and he’ll have back-up. Valentin says, and if the whole operation goes south, the cavalry will ride in. But to offer her that protection, she has to be wired for sound. Eileen asks if they’re insane. First they send her in with a fake necklace, and then they want her to wear a wire? If Victor catches on, he’ll kill her. Valentin says, they need to know everything that’s happening in real time, but Eileen tells him, keep that wire, or the deal is off.

Marshall says, it’s a shame Trina’s buddy Cam is leaving. Seemed like a good kid. Loyal, reliable… She says, unlike Spencer, and he tells her, nobody said anything about Spencer. She says, Marshall didn’t say his name, but she knows how they all feel about him. Marshall says, at this point, he’s not sure how he feels about Spencer, except that he seems to tie Trina up in knots. Trina says, maybe it’s best they don’t talk about him. She’s just going to grab some photos and be on her way. He tells her, sit down and tell him what’s on her mind. What’s troubling her? She says, Spencer’s living with his ex-girlfriend again. I’m not sure what she’s worried about since Esme doesn’t trust Spencer and he’s mean to her. I don’t exactly see them socializing.

Spencer says, Victor of all people understands nuance and diplomacy, and Victor says, usually. Spencer says, well this is a very complicated situation. There are many people involved, and they all want the same thing; to protect Ace. Victor says, that name, and Spencer says he knows. It’s got to go. (What? I love that name!) Despite their common goal, they all have different methods. Victor asks what Spencer’s method is, and Spencer says, putting Esme back in prison where she belongs and away from that baby. Then, as next of kin, he’ll retain custody, and he’d never dream of keeping that baby away from his Great Uncle. Victor says, a long time ago, Spencer asked for his help in this matter. Does he still need it? (Is Victor senile? That was like, five minutes ago.) Spencer says he does, but they can’t talk about that here.

Laura asks if Esme wants coffee, and Esme asks if she’s sure. Spencer said caffeine isn’t good for breastfeeding mothers. Laura says, Spencer means well, but mothers need caffeine to deal with their kids he’s no expert. Coffee is fine in moderation. She gives Esme a cup, and tells her, enjoy. She says she hopes Esme knows she’s protected here, and Esme says, even from Spencer? Spencer comes back, and says, he’s so sorry for his Great Uncle’s intrusion. It won’t happen again. He talks nonsense to the baby, and Laura asks where he’s off to. He says he’ll see them later, and asks if Laura will be there. She says, of course (🍷), and he leaves. Esme says, Cameron Spencer? and Laura says, her grandson has been accepted to a very prestigious athletic program in California. Esme says she’s glad she didn’t ruin his life too, and Laura says, the person Esme used to be did an awful lot of damage. Esme says, damage you can never forgive.

Sonny congratulates Cameron on getting into Stanford, and Cameron asks how he knew. Sonny says, Spencer told him more than once; he’s very proud of Cameron. Cameron says, it’s kind of hard to tell. Spencer makes fun of him every time it’s brought up. Sonny says he knows Spencer is very proud of him, and tells Cameron, have a great time at Stanford. He’s going to be missed. Cameron  thanks him, and says he doesn’t actually work here anymore, but he can take down their orders and let the waiters know. Sonny says, two cups of coffee to go, and Cameron leaves. Sonny asks if he can talk to Josslyn for a second, and she follows him. As he opens the door, he tells Dex to wait inside. Cameron comes back, and he and Dex stare at each other.

Outside, Josslyn asks, what’s this about? and Sonny says he’s just rooting out his enemies.

On the phone, Victor asks if Eileen has what he asked for, and she says, he knows she wouldn’t let him down. He says he sincerely hopes not. Bring it to him tonight. She says, the longer they wait, the better the chances of them noticing it’s missing, and knowing she’s the one who took it. Unless he wants it to end up back in the secure evidence locker, with zero chance of getting it out again, they need to do this now. There’s a knock at Victor’s door, and he says, his suite, the MetroCourt, forty-five minutes. Not one second later. He opens the door, and Spencer strides in, saying, sorry about earlier, but Victor says he understands. He has a business meeting starting soon, so let’s get down to brass tacks. What exactly does Spencer want to happen to Esme?

Josslyn says, what enemies? Sonny has so many. He tells her, just keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary when she’s with her mother and her sisters. She asks if he’s going to tell her why, but he says he’s not giving her any details. She says, don’t worry about it; she already knows. He says, how?

Dex says he’ll go as soon as Sonny comes back, and Cameron says, but while he’s here, there’s some stuff he wants to say to Dex.

Esme says, the fact that she doesn’t remember what she did to Laura’s family doesn’t absolve her. She’s hurt both Cameron and Spencer, among others. Laura says, yes, she did, and Esme says, but Laura’s letting her stay here? Laura says she’s letting Esme stay here because she wanted her newest grandson to be safe and well cared for, not in a prison. That’s not entirely true; there’s another reason. She knows the pain of being separated from your child. She was separated from her son Nikolas for many years because of the Cassadines. Esme says, which is exactly what Spencer is trying to do to her, and Laura says, but Spencer has a lot of good reasons not to trust Esme. Laura is a mother, and she knows how much having a new baby can change someone. She also happens to believe in redemption. Esme asks if that means Laura believes in her. Laura says she wants to. She’s trying to. Esme says, but she’s not there yet? and Laura says, that doesn’t mean she won’t be. What about Esme? Does she believe in Laura? Can she accept Laura wants what’s best for her?

Trina tells Marshall that Esme and the baby are living with Spencer’s grandmother in her apartment, while Spencer also lives there. She knows Esme doesn’t remember all the terrible things she did, but Trina still doesn’t trust her. Marshall says, good for her. Trina shouldn’t trust her. That girl should be behind bars. He’s furious they dropped the charges, and denied Trina justice. She says, actually it was her idea to get the DA to stop pursuing the case, just for now, and he asks, what in the Lord’s name possessed her to do that? She says she’s having second thoughts about it now, even though she convinced Spencer there’s a better chance of getting the charges to stick if they wait. He says, Spencer again. Why is she the only one making concessions in this friendship?  She says, Spencer’s been there for her too. His life is just… complicated. Marshall says, and no sign of it getting simpler. Please tell him why she needs to remain friends with Spencer Cassadine.

Victor says, when Spencer first came to him for help, he was concerned Esme was going to raise her child in prison, and Spencer says, thanks to Trina, they got the DA to stop pursuing the case. Victor says, good for Trina. It’s best to keep the law at bay, at least until you know they’re on your side. Spencer says, the problem is, now that Esme is a free woman, there’s a chance she could disappear and take his brother with her. He can’t let that happen. Victor says he’s sacrificed a great deal trying to make this world a better place, and preserving their family’s legacy to the bargain. (Has he?) Sadly, Spencer’s father had neither the faith nor the resolve to help him in his aims. Does Spencer trust him? Spencer says he knows there’s nothing Victor wouldn’t do for this family, and Victor says, then understand this. There’s no way in hell Esme is raising a Cassadine heir. Not while there’s a breath left in his body.

Trina says, it’s really worth it, and Marshall asks, but is he worthy? How does he make her feel? She says, he makes her feel like she’s the best thing that’s happened to him, and Marshall says, it sounds like Spencer’s become special to her. Is that why she’s so bugged out about Esme sharing the same space? She says, it’s not like she doesn’t trust Spencer around Esme. It was strange seeing them all together, looking like a family. Marshall says, stop him if he’s wrong, but this sounds like more than just friendly concern. She says, Spencer’s more than a friend. Their relationship has evolved over a couple of weeks. She just hasn’t told anybody about it. He asks, why not? and she says, everybody’s been busy… They’re avoiding each other. He says, perhaps. Or is it because she’s not quite sure of it herself?

Esme says, from the first time she saw Laura, and definitely when Laura helped deliver Ace, Laura’s been nothing but kind to her. But Spencer is Laura’s grandson and doesn’t think she can raise her own son. Laura says, so she doesn’t know who to trust, and Esme says, even if she could trust someone, why would they trust her? Laura says, so she needs someone to take the first leap of faith. She’s willing to do that. Let’s start right now. Laura gets up and gets her bag, saying, everything is all new to Esme, and she’s got to get adjusted to her surroundings. So she’ll go out for a bit, and Esme can stay here on her own, relax, and bond with Ace. Esme says, by herself, with no one looking over her shoulder? and Laura says, yes, unless she’s worried about being alone with the baby, but Esme says, no. She’s just surprised Laura trusts her on her own. Laura says, she’s not a prisoner here, and Esme says, maybe this time. Laura hands her some cash, and says, in case of emergency. Esme says, Laura knows she can just take this and take off (it doesn’t look like enough to get her too far) , and Laura says, she could, but since she has faith Esme wants what’s best for her baby, so she knows that means staying right here. She wishes Esme a lovely morning, and leaves.

Eileen says she’ll take the necklace to Victor, but the wire is a no go. Valentin says he thought she might feel that way, and Eileen asks if he has a back-up plan. One that doesn’t involve her wearing a neon sign that says, Victor, I’m betraying you. Valentin says, if she doesn’t wear a wire, they won’t know she’s in trouble, but they have arranged for DA Scorpio to call her on official city business. Anna says, if anything feels off, raise the alarm, and he’ll come in and get her. Eileen says, fine, but she wants their promise, their guarantee that once she delivers this necklace, she’ll be free to move on. Valentin says, this isn’t over until they crack the code; find out what it’s for. Anna says, until they find out what Victor is after, none of them are free. Valentin puts the hood back on Eileen’s head.

Cameron says, after he found out about Dex and Josslyn, there were a lot of things he wanted to tell Dex. There were a lot of things Cameron wanted to do to him. Dex says he gets it, and Cameron says, despite all his anger and feelings, he realized it doesn’t matter, because all that matters is Josslyn. She’s been his friend for forever – she still is. But if Dex hurts her, he’ll tell Sonny about them, and Dex will find himself back on that hook so fast, he’ll wish he’d never met her.

Sonny asks how Josslyn knows someone’s targeting him, and she says, her mom told her there was an incident. One big enough for him to beef up security and keep Donna from spending the night? He says, temporarily, and she says she knows the drill. And Donna and Avery are young, but they’re starting to get used to it too, and think this is normal. She wishes it broke his heart half as much as it breaks hers.

Dex says, Cameron made himself clear, and Cameron says, Dex doesn’t think he’s serious. I swear, these two look like they’re on the verge of laughing. Dex says he knows Cameron’s serious, and he’ll never hurt Josslyn, and Cameron says, good. See to it he doesn’t. Dex says he means it. Cameron has no idea how much he cares about Josslyn. Sonny and Josslyn come back, and Sonny tells Dex, time to roll. Sonny reaches for his wallet, but Cameron says he’s got it. Sonny says he appreciates it, and Cameron says, of course (🍷). (I just included that exchange because of the of course – 🍷have one on me.) Sonny tells him, good luck at Stanford, Cameron thanks him, and Sonny leaves with Dex. Cameron asks what Josslyn and Sonny talked about, and she says, the usual; how his business affects the rest of them. How about him and Dex? Cameron says, they talked, and she says, sorry; that was awkward. He says, awkward is kind of their M.O., and she says, that’s what she wanted to talk to him about it. If he doesn’t want her at his goodbye party, she understands. He says he wants all his friends there. She is his friend, right? She says, it’s nice to hear him call her that, and he says, what else would he call her? She says, they’ve been friends forever, and that’s not going to change because of her feelings for Dex. He says, they’re pretty serious now? but she says she could never be with someone so soon after their break-up if it was meaningless. He says, he’ll see her, and leaves.

Victor says, if the DA doesn’t have enough proof to convict Esme, then they’ll just have to produce it, and Spencer says, he means, frame her? Victor says, they both know she’s guilty. If Spencer’s father hadn’t imprisoned her, she would have never lost her memory. Evidence can be… Spencer says, manufactured, and Victor says, the bottom line is, Esme is going to have to face the music, and Ace will be in the custody of those who love him best. Him, Spencer… Spencer says, grandmother. Does Victor mind if Spencer gets back to him? Victor tells him, take all the time he needs, but as Spencer said, Esme is a free woman, and could decide to take off at any time, taking with her Spencer’s innocent and defenseless little brother.

Esme asks Ace what he thinks. She sounded pretty sincere, didn’t she? Here they have food, warmth, and relative freedom. What more can they ask for? The baby throws us some cute smiles, as he/she desperately looks around for IRL mom. Esme says, they really don’t have any other offers, do they?… Ace is right. What’s stopping them from keeping him, and tossing her out on the street? She won’t let that happen. She looks at the money Laura left with her.

Trina tells Marshall that she trusts Spencer and the connection, but this is all new. And let’s just say some of her views are evolving. She guesses that’s part of growing up. He says, that never stops, and takes her hand. He says, learning who we are is a lifelong process. He doesn’t have to tell her, there’s circumstances in life that make us question everything we thought about ourselves. You’ve got to have good people in your corner to support you along the way, that’s all. Friends are great; family is better. She says, what if you don’t know who your family is? and he says, DNA doesn’t determine family; connection does. She puts her hand on his.

Outside Kelly’s on the phone, Laura says, Eileen has a lot to lose here… She doesn’t think Eileen ever had any real loyalty to Victor. She thinks Eileen’s always been in it for herself… She thinks Eileen will follow their instructions to the letter. Valentin says, she’d better. Because if she screws up or turns on them, this is over. Laura says, he doesn’t sound confident, and he tells her, all he’s saying is, they can’t let their guard down. Not where Victor Cassadine is concerned.

Victor opens his hotel room door to Eileen, and asks if she’s done as he asked. She says she’s a woman of her word. He says, where is it? and she takes the case from her bag. She says, as promised, and he snatches it out of her hand. He opens the case, and says, at last.

Sonny meets Selina next to a dumpster, which is maybe appropriate, since it looks like she didn’t comb her hair again, although her coat makes up for it. She says, he summoned her? and he says, someone is trying to take him out. She says she heard of his recent trouble, and he asks if she has any idea who’s behind it. She says, if only. An unprovoked attack is an unforgivable breach of decorum, and a threat to them all. Any leads? Dex takes out his phone, and Sonny says, whatever’s left of him. Does she recognize him? She looks at the phone, and tells him, not that she can say. What does Sonny want to know about him? Sonny says, if she doesn’t know, somebody in her organization must know, and Sonny heard he was spotted at The Highsider. That’s her bar, right? She says she does own it, but she’s afraid she can’t help him, and he says, can’t, or won’t?  She says, it’s purely an investment; one of the establishments she owns a stake in. She doesn’t keep tabs on the customers. Surely as a businessman, he understands. He says he’s disappointed, and don’t call him Shirley. That’s the second time she’s let him down in a couple weeks. She bought his late cousin Brando’s garage, right? She says, it was a good investment, and Brando’s mother was eager to sell. Sonny says, Gladys told him. What he wants to know is, why didn’t Selina? She says, he’s absolutely right. In fact, she should have let him know she was considering it before negotiating with Miss Corbin. Please accept her apologies. He says, let him tell her something. You mess with my family, you mess with me. Classic mob boss talk. She says, of course (🍷). All of that said, she hopes he’s pleased. The garage can be beneficial for them both. He says, the garage is the least of his concerns, and she says, the shooter’s connection to The Highsider is of concern to her as well. Her people never do business there, but regardless, she’s sure someone must know the man in the photo. She’ll make inquiries. He says, you do that, and she says she hopes he knows how much she values their association. Rest assured, this enemy is one they share. She leaves, and Dex asks Sonny, can she really be trusted?

Valentin says, Anna isn’t nervous, is she? but she says, of course (🍷) she’s nervous. Lucy just almost got herself killed. Now they’re sending Eileen back into that same lion’s den. At greater risk, with just as little protection. He says, look on the bright side; nobody likes the woman. She says, that’s very unkind, and he says, they’re this close to figuring out the insanity his father’s been cooking up, and ending it. And if anyone can finish the job, it’s them. Anna tells him, you know what they say, that most car accidents happen within a ten-mile radius of your home. They’re very close to home. He says, then he guesses, buckle up.

Victor says, Eileen did well, and she says she’s glad he’s pleased. He asks how she managed it, and she says, you don’t ask a magician her tricks. She heads for the door, and he asks where she’s going. She says, her office. She has a day’s work ahead. He says, nonsense. She can’t leave now. Not when they’re about to get to the most important part. She says, what’s more important than procuring the necklace from police lock-up? She got it. He has it. He says he wants them to inspect this masterpiece together. Come on. Take a seat. He starts to look at the necklace with a jeweler’s loupe.

Marshall says he knows Trina doesn’t know where she stands with her mom and Curtis, but whatever happens, they’ve forged their own relationship. He’s here to talk about anything. She says, even if she wants to talk about Spencer? and he tells her, he said anything. Whatever she says will stay between them, and he promises to always be honest with her. She says, thanks, she appreciates that, and he says, and in his honest opinion, if Spencer Cassadine’s life is going to remain so damn dramatic, maybe it’s time for her to exit stage left. They laugh, and the doorbell rings. Marshall opens the door to a sullen-looking Spencer.

Laura sees Josslyn at Kelly’s, and Josslyn says, she just missed Cam. Laura says she guesses she’ll see him at his party. How is Josslyn doing? Josslyn says she’s having a lot of trouble about Cam leaving, and Laura says she is too, but she’s also really proud of him. Josslyn says she is too. To play soccer at Stanford is huge, and it’s about time one of Cam’s dreams came true. Laura says, Josslyn was his first love, and Josslyn says she broke his heart. What if he never forgives her? He says they’re friends forever, but… Laura says, he’s hurt right now, and he feels alone. Josslyn says, because of her, but Laura says, Josslyn did what she had to do, and Cameron has to accept that no matter how painful it is. He just needs a little time. He’ll remember who really cares about him.

Esme picks up Ace, all swaddled up, and says, Grandmother Mayor might be on the up and up, but she’s not willing to wait around to find out. She puts the money in her knapsack, and picks up Ace’s blanket, throwing it over her shoulder. She opens the door, and Cameron is there, about to knock.

On Monday, Elizabeth tells Laura, there’s a deeper reason for someone’s silence; Josslyn says, anything Maxie needs, she’s in; Victor tells Eileen, they’re just getting started; and Cameron asks Esme, going somewhere?

📽  The Better Nikolas…

This actually sounds pretty good.

🗽 Who Are These People…?

The all new cast of RHONY. I dunno. I doubt it will have the same drunken energy as the original. It was one of the few in the franchise I still liked. Maybe the only one. Too bad the Legacy thing didn’t work out.

🧂 Look Out For That Cliff…

Maybe they needed more salt on the road. BA-DUM-CHH!

🍸 Those Crazy Kids…

I can’t wait for this.

Keep her away from the matches and lighters.

Just to emphasize how awful Raquel nee Rachel is.

🐝 Premiere Buzz…

Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD.

🐱 Not Last…

Well of course he got adopted.

https://people.com/pets/rescue-cat-named-after-pedro-pascal-gets-adopted/

🦜 Quotes of the Week

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. – Alice Walker.

The elevator to success is out of order. You’ll have to use the stairs, one step at a time.Joe Girard

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.

I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.Kahlil Gibran

If you’re trying to achieve, there will be road blocks. 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.)

In the history of men, it always emboldens them to get away with this sh*t. – Nancy Costello (Amy Landecker), Your Honor

Often any decision, even the wrong decision, is better than no decision. – Ben Horowitz

Once you face your fear, nothing is ever as hard as you think. – Olivia Newton-John

🛞 Catching the Dream…

Take the next two days off, but return refreshed on Monday really Tuesday for soap and more candidates for most awful people on Summer House. Until then, stay safe, stay dancing like no one’s watching, and stay remembering that DNA doesn’t determine family; connection does.

February 23, 2023 – Dex Leaves Sonny’s Fate Up To Josslyn, Evil Twin, Vanna, Red Carpet Reunion, New Location, Have a Nice Trip, Life’s Not a Cabaret, Villains & Border

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Sam and Dante arrive back home. She complains about the airplane air wreaking havoc on her skin, but he says she’s as beautiful as ever, and they kiss.

Cody counts out one hundred dollars to the desk sergeant, and says he thought if the parking meter was broken, it was free to park there. He looks at Heather as she’s steered through the room, and she says, got a problem? The desk sergeant tells him that Heather is a raving lunatic. He can’t wait until she’s transferred to Pentenville to await trial. Sasha walks in, and says she’s here to see Heather Webber.

Josslyn wakes up, and finds Dex looking at her. She asks what he’s thinking, and he says, how much he likes waking up next to her.

Brook says, Sonny has a new granddaughter. The whole family is raving about Baby Amelia. He says he’s only seen her through the window in the NICU and in pictures. That’s why he’s here. He’s wondering if she can help him.

Nina comes out of the hospital elevator, and hears Drew telling the reception nurse that he’s extended family. He was asked to fill out the paperwork now that Willow is gone. Nina asks what he means by Willow is gone.

Wiley welcomes Willow home, and Michael says, Wiley’s been a champ, helping get everything ready for his baby sister. Wiley says he can help Willow too, and opens the door for her. Carly is inside with the baby, and says, welcome home. Willow says, home, exactly where she wants to be.

Sonny says he and Michael are still fighting, and Brook says she’s sorry. He says, it doesn’t get any easier. There was a moment, before and after Amelia was born, when he thought he was getting through to Michael, but nothing’s changed. She says, it must be so awful for him, and he says he appreciates that, but he might have a lot of years to get through to Michael. Nina and Willow might only have a few weeks. So he needs to find a way to convince Willow to see her mother.

Wiley says, Amelia is really small, but Michael says, before he knows it, she’ll be sitting up, then crawling. Willow says, Amelia will need Wiley’s help, and he asks if he should show her how to crawl. Willow says, he could show her how it’s done, so she’ll have someone to copy. She didn’t have an older brother growing up. Amelia is lucky to have him. Michael thanks Carly for taking care of the kids, and she says, of course (🍷). Anything they need, she’s here for them. He says, what he needs is a miracle, but it doesn’t seem to be coming. Carly hugs him.

Drew says, Willow is gone, as in home to the Quartermaines, and Nina says she feared the worst. He says, she checked out this morning, and Michael took her home. He’s just there to finish up the paperwork. Nina asks if she won’t get better care and more aggressive treatment at GH, but he says, there’s nothing more the doctors can do without a bone marrow donor. She wanted to be home with Michael and the kids; enjoy them for as long as she can. She asks if Willow is giving up.

Josslyn thanks Dex for saying it first. Her feelings for him aren’t casual either; she’s never felt like this before. She says she doesn’t want it to stop, and they kiss.

Dante asks if Sam thinks it’s too early for champagne. Doesn’t she think they deserve it? They took the longest of longshots, and found out Ryan Chamberlain is Esme’s dad. She says, was. Thank God that freak is finally dead. He says, the Invader article made it sound like all hell broke loose on Spoon Island last night, and she says she thinks the best thing that came out of there is that Heather Webber is in police custody, and on her way back to where she belongs – D’Archam. Dante says he’s kicking himself a little for not picking up on things. They knew The Hook was a woman. Heather’s escaped from tons of facilities, and every time he’s talked to her, she was gloating like she knew something he didn’t. Sam says, don’t do that. That’s Heather’s M.O. She likes to torment people she thinks have wronged her. He says, no wonder they both ended up on Heather’s hit list, but Sam says she’s too tired for irony. She wants to shower off the past 48 hours. He asks if she wants company, and she says, now that he mentions it, there’s a spot on her back she can’t reach. He says he can, and they run upstairs.

The desk sergeant asks if Sasha is Heather’s lawyer, and she says, yes. She needs to confer with her client. He says he’ll have Heather brought up from the cells, and leaves. Cody asks if Sasha knows what she’s doing, and she says, absolutely. That murderer killed her husband, and Sasha is going to see Heather is brought to justice.

Carly says, Baby Amelia’s been fed, changed, and she’s fast asleep, and Wiley says, she sleeps a lot. Michael says, sleep is good for babies. It’s good for all kids, Wiley included; it helps you grow. Wiley asks if Willow is growing too, because she sleeps a lot, and Willow says she was very tired when Baby Amelia was in her tummy. Wiley says, Baby Amelia is born now, and asks if Willow will be able to play with him again.

Sonny says, Carly didn’t tell Nina that she and Willow were mother and daughter; they wasted months when they could have worked toward a reconciliation. Brook says, it must be tearing him up, watching Nina go through this, and he says, all Nina wants is to be a mother. Nina’s not perfect. Nobody’s perfect, but Nina wants the best for Willow. She even decided to donate her bone marrow for transplant. Brook says, that’s so generous and loving, but Sonny says, Willow doesn’t want to see her mother. Nina’s never even held her granddaughter, and he wants to fix that.

Drew says, Willow is terminal, and made a decision about how she wants to spend the time she’s got left, and Nina says she understands. But Willow has two small children who need her, and Willow grew up without her mother. So if there’s a chance to prolong her life at the hospital until they find another donor, Willow should take that chance. He says, she was aware that she had the option to stay at the hospital, and chose to go home, but by leaving, she’s not going against any medical advice. Nina asks if Willow and Michael got a second opinion, or a third opinion. What exactly did the specialist recommend? Drew says, there’s nothing else they can do, and Michael and Willow have accepted that together. She says, with Carly’s input no doubt.

There’s a knock at the door, and Sam runs down to answer. It’s Cody, who asks if Dante is there. He called, but Dante isn’t picking up. Dante comes down, and asks, what’s going on? Cody says, Sasha Corbin’s in trouble. He can’t help her, and he’s hoping Dante can.

Sasha waits in the interrogation room, fingering her wedding ring, when Bennett brings Heather in. Sasha says she’d like to confer with her client in private, and he asks if she’s sure. She says, the prisoner is in shackles, but she’ll yell if she needs his help. He pushes Heather into a chair, and says, good luck, but be sure to keep a taser handy. He leaves, and Heather says, Sasha’s her lawyer? She’s sorry, but she doesn’t remember hiring her. Was she court appointed? She could have easily forgotten. That happens sometimes. She finds herself in a prison cell with absolutely no idea how she got there. It’s really unsettling. She can forget days at a time.

Willow tells Wiley that she still has to take it easy for a while, and Michael says, they have to be extra careful of mom. Wiley says he’ll play quietly, so he can help her get well, but Michael says, he doesn’t have to be quiet all the time. He’ll take Wiley over to the house, because Olivia and Leo are making pizza, and Olivia loves when he helps roll out the dough. Wiley asks if Willow wants him to save some pizza for her, and she says, of course (🍷). She tells him that she loves him, and he says he loves her too, hugs her, and leaves with Michael. Willow starts to cry, saying, she didn’t know it would be this hard, and Carly puts her arm around Willow.

Nina tells Drew that Carly must love having Willow home on the Quartermaine estate, where Nina can’t have access to her own child. She can’t have a conversation with her, or even look at her. He says, Carly isn’t loving one aspect of this; nobody in the family is. She says, nobody else in his family went out of their way to keep her and Willow apart. Carly chose to lie and manipulate, and hide the fact she was Willow’s biological mother. Carly not only lied to her and Willow, she lied to Drew for months. She can’t believe he’d be okay with that.

Dex’s phone rings, and he says he has an update on the Pikeman shipment. The boss is doing family stuff, so he asked Dex to handle the prep. When the merchandise arrives at Pier 55, they need trucks ready to deliver it to the warehouse, store it for 48 hours, then deliver it to Pikeman’s buyers. This is heavy ordinance, so they’re going to need six trucks. Make sure they’re checked in advance. If anything breaks down, they’re all doing federal time. Josslyn comes into the room, and asks, what’s Pikeman, and how can it land him in federal prison?

Cody tells Dante that Sasha gained access by claiming to be her lawyer. He didn’t want to  bust her, and get her in any more trouble than she’s already been in. She’s a nice lady. She’s been through hell, and she’s just putting her life back together. From what he read about Heather, she’s going to run through Sasha like a buzzsaw running through tissue paper. Sam says, Heather Webber lives to play mind games. When she finds out Sasha is Brando’s widow, it could be brutal. Cody asks if there’s any way Dante could go to the station and run interference without exposing Sasha’s lie, and Dante says, yeah. He won’t be long. Sam tells him to take as long as he needs, and Dante leaves. Sam asks why Cody cares so much about Sasha, and he says he just doesn’t want her to be Heather Webber’s next casualty.

Sonny says he understands if Brook doesn’t want to be put in the middle, but she says she’s lost count of how much she owes him. She’d be happy to help any way she can. He says, she doesn’t owe him anything. He just knows Michael will listen to her, and if she could just tell Michael that he needs to talk to him… Michael walks in, and says, there’s no need. He’s already here. What did Sonny want to talk to him about?

Dex says, the less Josslyn knows about Pikeman, the better, but she says, it’s a little late for that. She already knows there’s a shipment at Pier 55 with heavy ordinance and six trucks. He says he should have been more careful, but she says she doesn’t want him to be careful around her. That’s how it was with her mom and Sonny. He went about his business, and she pretended not to know anything, when in reality, she knew quite a lot. He says, it must have been hard for her, and Josslyn says, it was; she did a lot of pretending. Josslyn doesn’t want to pretend with him. He said he’d be done working for Sonny in six months, but what’s the point if he’s arrested on federal charges? He says he won’t be. Sonny’s the one who’s going to be arrested on federal charges.

Willow tells Carly, when she was at the hospital, all she could  think about was getting home, and it’s so good to be here, but is it good for her kids, when she’s so weak and only getting weaker? Carly thinks the answer is written all over Wiley’s face; he’s thrilled to have her home. Willow says, but he thinks she’s going to get better. She and Michael are letting him think that, and it’s a lie. How much longer can they keep lying to their child?

Drew tells Nina that he’s not okay with what Carly did. He made that very clear to her, but they’re members of the same extended family; they’re both related to Michael and Willow. She says, they seem very close these days, and he says, the whole family is rallying around Willow right now. Nina says she’d like to rally around Willow too, but thanks to Carly, she can’t even be near Willow, or have any chance of a relationship with her child. Drew says he’s sorry Willow doesn’t want to see her right now. He can’t imagine how painful that is, but Nina has no one to blame but herself.

Sam tells Cody that the coffee is probably strong; she’s fighting off jet-lag. He thanks her for the warning and the coffee, and says he’s surprised she didn’t show him the door after Dante left. She says, a couple of months ago, she may have done that. After making an entrance by parachuting into the pool at the MetroCourt hotel, he was sort of running one con after another, never saying why he was in Port Charles in the first place. Then he blackmailed Spinelli to set him up with Britt through Society Set-Ups, and he does have sealed juvenile arrest record. But ever since Britt died, he’s shown that he obviously cared about Britt a lot, and she appreciates him showing concern for Sasha. What she’s trying to say is, maybe she misjudged him.

Heather tells Sasha that she has the vaguest memory of Ryan Chamberlain dragging her and her daughter away from Spring Ridge. Ryan is terrifying. Every time she was with him, she would lose time for hours afterwards. Sometimes she thinks he was trying to hypnotize her.

Dante asks Bennett if Heather is with her lawyer, and Bennett tells Dante that they’re in the interrogation room. The lawyer wanted privacy. If it’s any consolation, the prisoner is still in shackles. Dante says, that’s not going to stop her from getting in the lawyer’s head, and goes into the room. He asks how it’s going, and Sasha says, the prisoner just gave her a demonstration of how she plans to fake insanity for The Hook killings.

Willow tells Carly that she and Michael had the perfect opening just now. When Wiley brought up how much she sleeps, they could have told him that she was sick, and that she won’t get well; that she’s going to die soon. Carly says, it’s a really difficult conversation to have with anyone, especially a child; her child. She thinks Wiley is too young to understand the concept of death. It’s okay if Willow didn’t want to tell him on her first morning home. Willow says she’s been reading all the literature about it, and knows they have to explain this to him, but when she thinks of actually saying the words, her mind goes blank. How does she tell her little boy that she’s going to leave him forever, and it didn’t have to be that way?

Dex says he’s working on the Pikeman shipment in order to get evidence on Sonny, and Josslyn asks if he’s a cop, or an undercover Fed. He says, nothing like that. He’s not law enforcement, and doesn’t work for any official authority. She asks if anything he’s told her about himself is true, and he says, everything. He’s ex-military. He did a tour of Afghanistan; he joined right after high school. What he didn’t tell her is, after the military, he went to work for a private security contractor. That’s who set him up with his current employer.

Sasha gets up, and says, Heather is a kidnapper, a murderer, a vicious maniac. She should have never been given life without parole. Truthfully, she should have been given the death penalty 30 years ago, but she repeatedly exploits her mental illness. She gets herself committed rather than going to prison, then somehow gains her release, either by escape or by manipulating the legal system. Dante says, there are plenty of loopholes in the system, and Heather’s a master at working her way through them. Sasha says, this time will be different. This time, she’ll be a witness for the prosecution, and she’s going to take Heather down for good.

Willow says she had the option to get treatment as soon as she was diagnosed, and Carly asks if it was a real option. Willow says, not for her. She would have had to terminate the pregnancy because of the damage the chemo would do to the fetus. It was unthinkable. She convinced herself that she could wait; that she could have a healthy baby and still recover from leukemia. She was half right; Amelia is healthy. Now she’s going to die and leave Wiley, which means she put Amelia ahead of her little boy. Carly says, Willow made a choice that was right for her as a mother. She gave her daughter the best chance at life, and put her own life at risk to do that. She may be leaving Wiley, but she’s also leaving behind the gift of a baby sister. She did the best she could for both her children. She’s got to stop blaming herself. Willow says she’s afraid. She loves Michael and her children so much. She doesn’t want to leave them. She cries in Carly’s arms.

Drew says, Nina and Willow are estranged, not because of anything Carly did, but because of what Nina did. Nina alienated her for years. She sued Willow and Michael for visitation rights to Wiley. Nina asks if it’s a crime for her to want to see her grandson, and he says, it’s the way she went about it that hurt Willow. And if Willow doesn’t want to spend time with her, that’s her right. She says, that all changed when she found out Willow was her daughter, but Drew says, Nina changed; Willow didn’t change. Nina says, yes, but if they had known when they were supposed to know the truth, Willow would have come to her for a bone marrow donation a lot sooner, and they would have had all this time to work out their differences and reconcile. He says, yes. Carly should have told Willow that Nina was her mother, and left the decision up to Willow whether or not to tell her. Nina says, but instead, Carly chose to lie to both of them, and Drew says, it’s not the same thing. Carly owed Willow the truth; she didn’t owe Nina anything. She says, wow. Drew is as self-righteous and unfeeling as Carly. She sees it now. And when payback comes, he’ll be just as deserving. She walks away.

Sonny says, Nina went to the hospital to try and visit Willow, and Michael says he brought Willow home this morning. Sonny says, there’s no hope for treatment? and Michael says, they’re still waiting for a donor, but they’re running out of time. Sonny says, then it’s important for Nina and Willow to connect. Is there any way Michael can persuade Willow to see her mother? Michael says, he can’t do that, and Sonny says, or he won’t because Michael’s still holding a grudge against him and Nina? Michael says, this isn’t about Sonny or Nina; this is about Willow. She’s dying. She gets to spend her last days the way she wants, not trying to make Nina feel better. Sonny says he’s done everything to reach Michael; he’s done. If Michael can’t have any compassion for Nina, even when her child is dying, then what happens next is on his head. Sonny walks out.

Josslyn asks who Dex is working for, and she doesn’t mean the private contractor. Dex flashes back to Michael saying he wanted to take Sonny down, but not at the expense of his mom or sister. He’d rather blow this whole operation up than put his sister at risk, and Dex needs to find a way to keep Josslyn at a distance. Dex tells Josslyn that he’s sorry, but that’s the one thing he can’t tell her; not until it’s over. She asks when that will be. He was beaten and tortured. Isn’t that incriminating enough to finish the job? He says, the Pikeman shipment is on a whole other level; he’s talking federal charges, potential violations of the National Security Act. When he gets the proof, and turns it over to his employer, and his employer turns it over to the Feds, Sonny’s going away forever… Isn’t that what she wants? Hating Sonny and punishing him for the rest of his life are two different things. If she wants, he’ll tell his employer that he’s out, before the Pikeman shipment ever lands. She says, and Sonny will be in the clear? and he says, it’s up to her. Whatever she wants.

Sam asks if Cody has heard of the Ice Princess, and he says, only in reference to the necklace, but no specifics. Why? She says, at one time, it was the world’s largest uncut diamond, and it belonged to her grandfather Mikkos Cassadine. He says he heard she was related to the Cassadines somehow, and she says she’s never been a particularly suspicious person, but when she found out that the diamonds in Britt’s necklace were part of the Ice Princess, she saw all these flashing lights and there were chills up her spine. Nothing but misery has ever come out of that diamond. He says he wishes he could blame all his failures on some cursed diamond, but he only has himself to blame for his mistakes with Britt. He let his greed get the better of him. She says, that’s very big of him, and he says, shocker, but greed gets the best of him over and over. She says, greed caused her to make a lot of bad decisions, but she just stopped, and he asks, how? She says she guesses she just realized there were more valuable things to chase. If she could figure that out, he could too. He says, here’s hoping, and thanks her for the coffee. She says, of course (🍷), and he leaves. In the hallway, Cody looks at Mac’s number in his phone.

Heather wails that she hasn’t done anything. All she wants is to see her daughter. Her daughter was having a baby, and they ripped her away. Ryan Chamberlain was threatening her… Sasha says she’ll give it to Heather; that’s a compelling act. But she can be compelling too. She was with Brando at Charlie’s in his last moments, before he followed Josslyn into that alley, and Heather callously, brutally murdered him. Heather says she doesn’t even know anyone named Brando, but Sasha says, the jury will know him. She’ll tell them. She was eating pie when he left. Their last kiss tasted like cherries. She’ll testify to Brando’s frame of mind, his courage, his kindness. She’ll make the jury feel the terrible injustice of her husband’s murder. Heather’s poor pitiful lunatic act won’t stand a chance against her grieving widow. And she won’t stop in the courtroom. She’ll try Heather in the court of public opinion. She’ll go on podcasts, talk shows, anyone who will give her a platform, and she will crusade about the loopholes in the legal system that allowed a psychopath like Heather to rampage through Port Charles, when she should have been stopped decades ago. She’ll do whatever it takes to see Heather is guilty on all counts of multiple murders, with consecutive life sentences. Heather will spend the rest of her days in solitary in Pentenville where she belongs. Dante says, while he looks forward to Sasha’s testimony, this interview is over. Sasha leaves through the side door, and Heather says, just the two of us, huh? He says, yeah, and she says, good. She wants to confess.

Tomorrow, Scotty says he’s about to make Robert’s life a whole lot easier; Sonny tells Spencer that he can’t fix Esme; and Heather visits Esme in the hospital.

⚰️ Dead Again…

In case you didn’t know Ryan. He has a tendency to bounce back. I fully expect him to reappear down the road, and say the dead guy was his and Doc’s triplet.

💞 Conscious Coupling…

Everyone seems to be on board with these two. I’ve been hoping for this pairing since Anna was with Finn and they had zero chemistry.

👩‍👧 Mother and Daughter Reunion…

Life outside of Port Charles.

🦚 DOOL Move…

You’ll have to pay Peacock to see Days of Our Lives, but the plans are pretty cheap.

🤸‍♀️ Tumbling Marks…

I’m not quite sure what happened here, but it’s definitely amusing.

🗽 No Jovani For You…

Nobody likes a mean drunk. The poor Countess though. Not her week.

⚔️ Conflicted…

As much as Jax is the most awful human being on earth and I despise him, I might have to watch this.

🌷 Calling Doctor Spring…

Come dig into tomorrow’s cornucopia of soap, tea, citations, and February appropriate music. Until then, stay safe, stay cultivating common sense, and stay not being self-righteous and unfeeling, or when payback comes, you’ll be deserving.

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

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

🛥 Black Sheep Drama…

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

💎 No Surprises Here…

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

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

🗽 I’m Happy If She’s Happy…

So should we congratulate her, or…?

👠 Claws Out…

Let the finger pointing begin.

☎️ What a Spread…

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

🛍 What’s Inside…

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

🧂 Who Dun It…

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

👶🏼 Baby Goddaddy…

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

👄 Goodbye, Dear Pioneer…

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

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

🐕 Almost Pup Time…

The definitive Puppy Bowl guide.

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

🌩 Quotes of the Week

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

📻 Finding the Frequency For Kenneth…

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