Tag Archives: Walking Dead

Mar22

March 21, 2021 – Princess Removes a Splinter, The Commonwealth, the Eleventh Season & the Top

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What I Watched Today

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

The Walking Dead

In a voiceover, Eugene tells us that he, Ezekiel, and Yumiko embarked on a journey to look for another civilization, and met Princess along the way. We flash back to that, and he says, arriving at the railyard, it appeared they’d missed their rendezvous. We see what look like a group of stormtroopers grabbing them, and Eugene says they found themselves in a nefarious pickle.

They stand back to back, hands up, and the soldiers take Yumiko. She tries to run back, yelling for them to leave Princess alone, but they grab her again, saying it’s her last chance. Yumiko yells, don’t hurt her, sh*theads! but they drag Princess away in the other direction. She’s thrown into a wooden boxcar so violently that she whacks her head on the far wall. She hears noise outside, and yells, what’s going on? She looks around, but the car is empty. She looks up to the ceiling, and sinks to the floor.

Princess tries to pry the door open, but no luck. She walks back, counting her steps in Spanish. She sees shadows of people outside, and remembers what happened. She recites the state capitals, and breathes a sigh of relief that she can still do it. She looks under an old tarp, but there’s nothing. She tries to look out the slats, but can only see part of the soldiers walking by.

She goes to the other side, and manages to pull off part of a slat, cutting her finger. She hears a voice say, Princess, are you there? and says, Yumiko? Yumiko tells her, shh. It’s her. She’s in the next car over. Princess says she’ll try to get to Yumiko, and asks her to move closer. She says she feels terrible, but she’s going make it up to Yumiko. She’s just got to find a way through the wall. She suggests Yumiko get the soldiers to come over there, so they can talk to them, but Yumiko says it’s a terrible idea. Princess says she has to do something. She says Yumiko sounds a little groggy. Did she hit her head? Yumiko says she did, and Princess asks, how bad? Is it bleeding? Yumiko tells Princess to calm down, but Princess says she can’t sit while Yumiko is hurt. Yumiko tells Princess, just do what she says, and Princess agrees, saying, sorry. It’s just that it’s dark and small. Can Yumiko still hear her? Yumiko says, yeah, and Princess says, stay awake. She’s going to try and get help, but keep talking. Princess picks at the wall, and tells Yumiko about an infection she got when she was 14, and had to stay home from school. There were some cool kids at school, and a girl who totally changed her life. Princess wonders where she is now, and blesses herself. She asks if Yumiko is still with her, but gets no answer. She says she nagged her mom, and her mom sent her back to school, but her finger got infected again. It swelled up like a birthday balloon; she felt like a swamp monster. Her stepdad wouldn’t let her eat at the table. He was mad, but she said he couldn’t push her away. It was her house first. He smacked her hard across her jaw. She told her mom, and asked if her mom was going to do something. Don’t send her out to eat by herself. Her mom said, don’t eat. She calls to Yumiko, but doesn’t hear anything. She tells Yumiko, wake up. Answer her. She hears someone, and yells that her friend needs help. She hears them come into Yumiko’s car, and asks where they’re taking her. Are they helping her? She’s told to shut up, and she starts to recite the state capitals again.

The soldiers walk outside of the boxcars, and Princess calls for Yumiko, asking if she’s back. There’s no response, and Princess walks the length of the car. She sees light coming through, and says, no way. She sees a loose board, and takes it off. There’s an opening bug enough for her to slide through, and she sees Eugene in the next car. He tells her, stop. Get back in. They’re making frequent checks. She tells him, they took Yumiko, and he suggests their potential benefactors are giving Yumiko assistance. Princess asks him to come with her, but he says, not a good idea. They’ll see what’s going on when they clear the process. Their metal is being tested. He’s sure the soldiers are required to keep them in good enough shape to talk. Princess says, this is bad sh*t, and he says, stop it. The soldiers walk past, and she slips around the back of the car, and watches them. They keep going, and she goes back to Eugene. He says, if they catch her, it could be disastrous. They’re in the middle of a fierce battle, and he’s being counted on to be a cross between Santa Claus and a guardian angel. They have to present themselves as being in allegiance. There’s no room for miscalculations. Don’t make things worse. She goes back into the car, and covers the opening.

The door opens, and a soldier tells Princess to come; hands up, move slow. She asks where they’re going, but he just says, walk.  

Princess is naked, and asks what they’re going to do to her. A soldier tells her, turn around, and she says, if he’s looking for bites, she doesn’t have any. She does have a splinter that’s driving her nuts. Can they take it out? She sits at a table, and works at the splinter, while the head soldier watches her from the other side. She says, please tell her why she’s there, and he says, start with her name. She doesn’t say anything, and he asks if she doesn’t know her name. She says, Princess, and he asks if she thinks this is a joke. She asks how her friend is. They’re helping her, right? He asks, how old is she? and she says, 28, 29. She could be 50. She’s lost track. He asks where she’s from, and she asks where she is. He says, okay, fine. Where was she when the fall happened? She asks why any of that is important? then says, Pittsburgh. Just tell her if they’re alive. He asks why they came there, and she says her friend hurt her head. He tells her that she’s avoiding the questions, and she says her friend might have a concussion. Just let her see… He says tell him about her friends. Start with the one she’s worried about. What’s her name? Princess asks why she’s there, and he says, the others; what are their names? She says, can’t he ask them that? and he says, tell him why they’re there. Where are they from? He gets up, and she asks what he wants. He says, they’re done. She says she gave him answers. Why can’t she see her friend? He says because she’s being a bitch, and Princess says she wants to see her friend. He whacks her across the face, and she falls to the floor. He says she should have answered.

Princess is back in the boxcar, and looks through the slat. She says, Yumiko? She’s so sorry. She tried to do like Yumiko said, and didn’t tell them anything. They kept grilling her, and asking what she knew about them, like she’s some kind of narc. Her friends… They used that word. She hears something, and listens where the opening is. She takes the board away, and slips out again. She looks into the next car, but Eugene is gone, and all she sees is his dousing rod on the floor. She hears the soldiers coming, and slips around the side, going back in the car, and replacing the board. She tries to get the image out of her head, and the car roof opens. Ezekiel looks in, and puts his finger to his lips. He drops down, and tells her, it took some maneuvering not to be spotted. She hugs him, and says, they got him too. He says, not the most fun interview he’s ever had. He tells her, they’ll be here soon, and she asks if he has any idea where the others are. Yumiko and Eugene are gone. He says he doesn’t know, but they’ll figure it out. They have to get out of there. She says, right now? and he says, no; next week. Yes, right now. She says she thinks they took Yumiko, and she didn’t do them any favors during the interview. He asks what she did, and she says, nothing… She got a little bit upset, and she might have… She hits her palm with her fist, and he says, the inquisition was aggressive. These people are toying with them. He tells her, let’s go, and asks, what’s wrong? She says she doesn’t think running will help, but Eugene said these people would help, and Ezekiel says he doesn’t know if they can be trusted. She asks if they can find a way out, but he doesn’t know. He tells her, it will be fine, but she says, nothing is fine. He can see something is wrong, and she says, d*ckhead nailed her over an old fracture, and she nurses her jaw. He examines it, and she says she’ll be okay. It healed fine every time before. He says, no one is going to hurt her anymore. Not while he’s there.

Ezekiel tells Princess, he’ll keep watch at the top for when they change the guards. She asks where Eugene is, and says, they can’t leave the rest of them. He asks if she thinks he doesn’t know that. They’re his friends. She says he doesn’t have to be an a-hole about it. She knows how to be friends with people, and was just trying to be helpful. He says, fear brings out the worst in them, as it just did in him. He apologizes, and they sit on the floor. He asks, what if Eugene trusted the wrong people this time? and Princess says, people suck. He says, they say one thing, and mean another. They tell you they love you… She says, and don’t act like it. People are a-holes, especially family. He says, not all families, but she says, most families. She just wants to do the right thing. He says he knows. They need a better plan. The door suddenly opens, and Ezekiel somehow makes himself scarce. A soldier brings in a plate of food, and Princess says, sorry about before. She didn’t mean to be difficult, but this is a little scary. The questions, the guns, the whole get-up. Ezekiel comes up behind the soldier, and knocks him out. Princess asks what the hell he just did, and Ezekiel closes the door.

Princess wonders what’s going to happen to them now. What about Yumiko and Eugene? This is not a better plan. He says, the opportunity presented itself, and he took it. Who cares? He’s here now. He takes the gun, the soldier rouses, and Ezekiel tells him, quiet. What did they do with their friends? The soldier says they don’t have to do this, and Princess tells Ezekiel to let her do the talking. She says, she just needs to  know her friend is okay. His boss said she’s getting help. Is she? He asks why she wouldn’t be. She’s probably with a medic. Ezekiel asks if they’re supposed to believe him, and the soldier says, for the benefit of all; and for all who seek solace. It’s what they stand for. She says they beat up her friend, and he says she doesn’t know that. What if it’s possible they’re not the bad guys? Just stay calm. She says, they’re locked in cars, and he says they can help. They have access to things that are valuable in times like these. She says, like food and medicine? but he tells her, he’s not saying yes, and he’s not saying no. They’re organized. Let them help. It’s why they came, right? She tells him, let’s say they’re actually helpful, even though they look like scary action figures come to life. What’s the point of messing with them? He tells her, this just standard protocol. They have paperwork to fill out. The place where they live is a good place, and it’s their job to keep the good people who live there safe. They have to be careful; they have a lot to lose. She says she gets that, but she still needs answers. Like a good will gesture. Where are her friends? He says he doesn’t know. His orders are to keep then fed until they’re ready. She says, for what? but he says he’s just a grunt. Three squares and a uniform. She has to believe him. He’s so green, the gun isn’t even loaded. He’s on probation, and this is going to get him fired, being snatched up by some chick. He tries to get away, and Ezekiel jumps him. He starts to pound on the soldier, and Princess tells him, stop. She says Ezekiel is going to kill him. Ezekiel keeps punching, and says, no one is going to hurt them anymore. Princess looks down, and sees the soldiers blood on her hands. She flashes back to everything that’s happened in this episode, and realizes she’s alone with the soldier.   

The soldier handcuffed in the car, Princess takes off running with his gun. She tries crawling under a fence, but the gun gets caught, and hangs her up. She remembers her friends, and turns around. She hears Ezekiel say, come on, girl. Get your sh*t together. Don’t be so hard on yourself. She looks back at the fence, and sees Ezekiel, standing between two zombies. He says, time waits for no one. They say we start dying the day we’re born. He tells her to come over there, but she says she doesn’t think she can. What about her friends? He says she met them a week ago. She says, that’s lifetime in apocalypse years. He says she’s learned to trust her instincts by now. She knows better than that. She looks at the splinter in her finger, and he says, she’s good on her own. She says she’s a superhero on her own. He says, so go on, and she says she wants to. He says, believe him. He knows it makes him like her like mom. She says her mom was a survivor, and he says, she was a monster. There are always monsters. She says she’s scared, and he says, everybody gets scared. His mom was like hers. They had to learn their lessons the hard way, and take their freedom. She says, not everyone is bad. Travis… She smiles, and says, Sammy and his people, and them. Ezekiel says, there are the stories you tell yourself, and then there’s the truth. She says, maybe, but they came back for her. She walks back to the cars, and we see there are only two zombies on the other side of the fence, yoked together, guarding it. She goes back into the boxcar.

She says she gets stressed at times, and the soldier asks who she’s talking to now. She says, him. She’s not crazy, if that’s what he’s thinking. There is the ADHD, anxiety, depression, crushing loneliness, an over-active imagination, and PTSD, but it helps her cope. Maybe it’s the only sane response to an insane world. Small dark spaces do bad things to her head. She doesn’t like them. He says, who does? and she says, screw him for judging. He says, he didn’t say anything, and she says, sorry. She doesn’t want mess anything else up. He says, then don’t, but she says she’d like to hold onto the gun a while longer, if it’s all same to him. He says, can she at least…? and holds out hands. She undoes the cuffs, and says, the splinter came out. He gets up, and she thanks him for not screaming. He says this isn’t exactly going to look good for him, and she asks if he’s really going to get busted. He says, what’s it to her? He’ll have to explain this, and he needs his rifle. She says maybe he could say he slipped, but he says, no. He screwed up, and he has to face the consequences. Then she and her friends can go back to whatever sh*tty part of the world they came from. She says there’s got to be a way they can help each other out, and he says he’s listening. She says, what if she answers his boss’s questions. Could she see her friends? He says, it’s not his call, and she says, fine. She just met them, and doesn’t now how old they are. Who cares? If you’re alive during the apocalypse, you’re 150 years old anyway. She doesn’t know where they’re from; nowhere and everywhere probably, like everyone else. She’s from Pittsburgh by way of San Juan. Do days and countries exist or even matter anymore? They had been on the road for a week. They had wheels for a while, then walked; that’s how they got there. He asks why she’s there, and she says, to be with them. Their names are Eugene, Yumiko, and Ezekiel. He already knew her name; it’s really Princess. He says, good, and  thanks her. She gives him the rifle back, and he says, see? It didn’t have to be hard. The rules are simple, and the questions are routine. People complicate them. They just need to know she can play ball with them. He puts his helmet back on, and she asks when she can see her friends. He says, right now, and yells he’s got her; let’s go. He opens the door, and she sees Eugene, Yumiko, and Ezekiel kneeling, flanked by soldiers, and wearing hoods over their heads. The soldier slips a hood over Princess’s head.  

Next time, another Carol and Daryl adventure. Daryl tells Carol that he’s staying a while longer, and they wish each other good luck. They go in different directions, but Dog goes with Carol.

🏙 Friend Or Foe…?

What role with the Commonwealth play?

https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a35875268/walking-dead-commonwealth-season-10-villain/

⚰️  All About Eleven…

Teasers…

https://bleedingcool.com/tv/the-walking-dead-season-11-teaser-god-needs-to-beg-for-forgiveness/

Spoilers…

The Walking Dead Season 11 Release Date on AMC : Cast, Spoilers and Everything Else

And Mercer.

https://ew.com/tv/walking-dead-season-11-mercer-explained/

🌠 Here Comes Another One…

I hope the weekend brought you something different, or you at least binged a good show. I checked out Showtime’s Your Honor (On Demand), and it was well worth it. Bryan Cranston stars as a judge who has to make a tough decision about his son, who’s been involved in a hit-and-run. It will make you question the lengths you’d go to protect someone you loved. As we move on through March, remember to stay safe, stay attentive, and stay giving a sane response to an insane world, whatever that may be for you.

Mar15

March 14, 2021 – Gabriel and Aaron Follow Maggie’s Map, Fun With the Dead, Nervous Norman & Spell

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What I Watched Today

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

The Walking Dead

We hear Gabriel in a voiceover saying, the Whisperers took their toll, and they saw darkness, but they kept the faith. The righteous enter and are safe. They had moments of despair, but a miracle happened, and by the grace of their friends, they were saved. But they still have more work to do to rebuild their community, provide for their families, and save their souls.

Gabriel and Aaron are surrounded by zombies in a clearing. They hack away, covering the surrounding wildflowers in blood. They walk through the woods and come across some ruins. Gabriel looks at his map of possible food sources. I guess not this one anymore. Aaron sees several burned bodies that are nothing but charred bones now, and asks, what happened here? Gabriel says they’ll never know, and they keep walking. The see a decrepit zombie sitting up against a tree, and it pulls away, part of it staying on the tree. It doesn’t get far, since Gabriel slices it through the top of the head. Gabriel sets a timer, and throws it into a field area. When it goes off, a bunch of zombies rise out of the grass, and head off to who knows where. Gabriel looks at Aaron, and they follow at a distance.    

Near a road, they see more skeletons, and a line of cars. Aaron looks at a zombie in a van, and Gabriel opens another car. Aaron asks what he’s doing, and he says, he’s searching; there could be something there. Aaron slides open the van he’s been looking in, and they go through all the cars. Gabriel opens a trunk, and finds some cans of food, but he turns it over to see what looks like a bullet hole in it. He tells Aaron, two more.   

They try to smash into an old, boarded up casino, and zombie arms pop out. Gabriel hacks off an arm. Aaron motions for him to remove a board, and when the zombie emerges, Aaron stabs it in the head. They each take an arm to pull it out, but the skin comes off, and they fall back with skin arms in their hands. When they realize what happened, they quickly rid themselves of the skin arms, and I laugh my head off. Aaron sees a shopping cart hanging off the roof, and Gabriel climbs up. He sees a near-skeleton lying down, and another with a little more flesh on it, tied to post, moving around a little. He sees a skeletal couple lying on mattress. Aaron asks if he sees anything, and Gabriel looks at the couple and says, just a ladder. The camera pans out, and we see SAVE US written on the roof.

Zombie arms reach for Aaron, and he hears Gabriel hacking away inside. Gabriel opens the door, and comes out. Aaron says, anything? and Gabriel shakes his head. He sheaths his machete, and looks at his map again. He says, one more, and Aaron says they’ve been at this two weeks, and what do they have to show for it? He can’t. Gabriel says they have to see this through. Aaron says they can go back to the hunting ground, but Gabriel says, it’s spent; there’s nothing there. Aaron says, so is every other place on Maggie’s goddam map. He misses his daughter, and he knows Gabriel misses his too. Gabriel says, one more, and starts to walk. Aaron follows.

They walk through some mud, and Gabriel slips, tripped up by a hidden zombie. It rises, covered with mud, but Gabriel holds his machete point up, and Aaron pushes the zombie onto it. Aaron laughs, and Gabriel says, a little help? Aaron helps get the zombie off of Gabriel, and helps him up. The map is officially screwed, covered in mud like Gabriel. Gabriel says there was a water tower by their last location. They just need to head north until they see it. Aaron says he’s not doing this without a map, and Gabriel says, it’s only an hour. Aaron says he doesn’t care, it begins to rain, and Gabriel says, fine. They’ll follow their tracks back. It starts to pour.

They come out of the woods, and Aaron asks, is this on the map? We see a warehouse, and Gabriel says, no. 

They shine flashlights around inside the warehouse. Aaron bangs on something, but there’s no response. Gabriel closes the door, and they split up. Gabriel finds a pile of Bibles, and picks one up, finding a bunch of pages torn out. Aaron hears something from behind a door, and says hello? Gabriel looks in a file cabinet. Aaron says, hello? again. He says his name is Aaron. He’s a friend. Please don’t be afraid. Hello? He opens the door, and Gabriel hears yelling, and takes off. He runs to where Aaron is, and finds Aaron standing over a wild boar. He says, it came at him, and Gabriel smiles. I say, food! Aaron says, what? and Gabriel says, nothing. That was quite the scream. Aaron says, these things are vicious, and Gabriel says, clearly… hence the scream. Gabriel starts to laugh, and says, sorry, but doubles over. Aaron says, all right. Let it all out. Is he through? Gabriel shakes his head, and keeps laughing, saying, oh Lord! Aaron smiles, and Gabriel says, know what he feels like? Aaron says, what? and Gabriel says, dinner. And drink. He holds up a bottle of whiskey.

Aaron shows Gabriel a toy, and says, remember these? Gabriel says he remembers news footage of people trampling each other at toy stores to get them. Aaron says, Grace will go nuts. They sit to eat, and Gabriel pours them each a tiny bit of whiskey. Aaron says, that’s it? That’s all they get? Why? It’s just whiskey. Gabriel says, no; it’s not just whiskey. It’s perfection. It’s rare. This bottle is easily over $2000. Aaron says, the fact people would pay that much to get drunk was a huge part of what was wrong with the world. Gabriel says, it’s not to get drunk. Smell it. Aaron does, and Gabriel asks what he’s getting. What does it remind him of? Aaron says, maple syrup… vanilla… breakfast as kid. Gabriel says, take a sip. Let it sit. Pay attention to the finish, and how the flavor evolves. Aaron says, wow, and Gabriel says, exactly. Now eat, and the meat will taste even better. Aaron says, look, he gets that it’s rare and all, but they had a rough day. He holds out his cup, and Gabriel pours some more, but Aaron continues to hold it out.  

They play poker for bottlecaps, and Aaron says he’s out. Gabriel says, he has the whiskey. Aaron considers putting his cup in the pot, but folds. Gabriel says, many thanks, but Aaron wants to see the cards. Gabriel shows him what I assume is a really poor hand, and Aaron rolls his eyes.

Aaron asks Gabriel what God would think about him gambling, and Gabriel says, He’d probably okay it. Aaron says, a card shark priest. Did he get training in whiskey class at the seminary? Gabriel says, Reverend George was his mentor. He was a good friend, and a great teacher. His first class was at a boy’s funeral; Tony Franklin. He died of cancer. He was in his freshman year of college and he died. Everyone in town came, and Reverend George performed the service. He spoke, and said all the right things without trying; it didn’t look like he was anyway. They got in the car to go to the wake, and he just took off. He floored it the whole way, saying they had to get there before the others. He was running stop signs, saying a prayer each time, and Gabriel had his eyes closed the whole way. They got there and the Reverend headed for the liquor cabinet. He asked what the Reverend was doing, and was told to shut up. The Reverend snatched off Gabriel’s collar, pulled off his own, and started pouring. The boy’s father walked in, and the Reverend walked over to him with two drinks in hand, and just started talking. He talked to everyone; put them at ease, smiling and laughing. He told Gabriel, just be with them in the moment. Speak from the heart, and don’t worry what you think they want to hear. He tried, but he’s not as good as Reverend George. Later, the Reverend told him, real ministering isn’t preaching from a pulpit. It’s talking to people one on one, on their own terms, relating to them. He smiles, and says, that’s how he knows about whiskey. That’s how he knows about a lot of things. Aaron says Gabriel needs to start preaching again. He’ll be mad if Gabriel doesn’t. When he was out there, finding people to bring to Alexandria, it felt right. Helping people was right. They haven’t done that in a long time, and they’ve got to get back to it. Gabriel says he doesn’t want to preach anymore, and Aaron asks, why? Gabriel says, does Aaron really think things will go back the way they were? Aaron says he does, and Gabriel says, they won’t. The world isn’t built for the way they used to be. Aaron says Gabriel’s head is full of Whisperers, who and what they were, and it’s not most people. Gabriel says, evil people are not the exception to the rule; they are the rule. Aaron says he’s getting sober. After the next round, he’s going to climb up on the roof and jump off head first. Gabriel says he wants to perform last rights, and Aaron says, they’re back to him again.  

Gabriel snores, and an obviously hung over and/or still drunk Aaron gets up. Gabriel asks where he’s going, and Aaron says, to piss. Gabriel goes back to sleep.

Light comes in through a dirty window, and Gabriel wakes up. He doesn’t see Aaron, and walks around the warehouse, his machete drawn. He sees a man by the entrance, and the man asks what he was cooking. Gabriel says, boar, and the man asks, how was it? Gabriel says, it was good, and the man walks into the light. He removes his hood, and we see his face is scarred. He says he’d like a bite.

The man eats, and Gabriel introduces himself, asking the man’s name. The man says Gabriel came there with a friend, and Gabriel asks if he’s seen Aaron, but the man says nothing. Gabriel asks what he wants, and the man says it seems like Gabriel is the one who wants something. They broke into his place, ate his boar, and drank his whiskey. Gabriel says it didn’t look like anyone lived there, and he asks if Gabriel thinks the boar got in there by itself. Gabriel says they were looking for food. They didn’t mean any harm. The man takes out Aaron’s metal spiked ball hand, and tosses it on the table, saying, does this say no harm to you? Gabriel says they’re part of a larger group, more than twenty armed fighters. They’ll be coming if he and Aaron don’t get back. The man wonders if they’re joining the card game. He sits back, his automatic rifle in his lap, and asks if Gabriel thinks it’s loaded. Gabriel says, there aren’t a lot of bullets left, and the man lets a load of shots fly. He asks Gabriel if he thinks he made it. Gabriel doesn’t understand, and the man says his friend is in there, pointing to the wall he shot at. He gets up, tells Gabriel, easy, and opens the door. He says, still breathing… he thinks. Gabriel says he wants to see Aaron, and the man asks why he’s still wearing his collar. Gabriel says, probably for the same reason the man keeps the Bibles. Because the Word of God still matters. It’s a light in an otherwise dark world; a reminder that light is still in them… love, mercy, forgiveness. The man says, toilet paper, and Gabriel says, what? The man says, the Bible. He like the bent pages. Gabriel suggests that he read it instead of wiping his ass with it, and the man says he read it, cover to cover. That’s why he wipes his ass with it. He says, it must be hard preaching about something Gabriel doesn’t believe in, and Gabriel says he does believe. The man says, evil people aren’t the exception to the rule, and Gabriel says he was drunk. The man says, drunk is honest. There’s nothing left but thieves and murderers. Gabriel says, there’s still goodness, but you have to look for it, and he man asks who Gabriel is trying to convince, him or himself? He’s so close. Gabriel says, close to what? and the man gets up, keeping the gun on Gabriel. He kicks he door open, and drags Aaron out, tied to a chair and gagged. He puts Aaron at the table, and takes the gag off. He unties one of Aaron’s wrists, and knocks all the bullets out of a handgun. He puts one back in, and says, one round. One in six chances. He spins it, and shuts it, and says they’ve got a choice. Each time, they can aim it at themselves, or the man sitting across from them. The winner goes home.

Gabriel says, they’re not doing this, and the man says, then they both die. Aaron asks how they know he won’t kill them both anyway? and the man says, they don’t. Aaron says, they’ll make it right. They’ll get him a new boar. The man says, it’s not about the boar, and Gabriel asks what it is about. The man says, enlightenment. Go ahead. Gabriel looks at Aaron, and picks up the gun. He puts it to his own head, and pulls the trigger, but it just clicks. Aaron looks freaked out, and the man slides the gun over to him, saying, now you. Aaron follows Gabriel’s example, and asks why the man is doing this. The man asks what happened to Aaron’s arm, and Aaron says, it was crushed in a construction accident. The man asks who blinded Gabriel, and Gabriel says, no one. It was an infection. He wanted to hear someone plucked out Gabriel’s eye or chopped off Aaron’s arm? Why? To prove how evil man is? Does the man think he or Aaron will shoot each other? The man tells Gabriel, pick it up now, and Gabriel repeats what he did the first time, and the gun only clicks. Aaron takes the gun and cocks it, and the man asks if Aaron heard that. It makes a different sound when the chamber loads. It’s his choice to make.

Aaron says, they’re not thieves or murderers. They don’t kill each other; they protect each other like family. The man asks if family is supposed to mean something. He knows about family. When he was with his brother and his brother’s family on the road, he saved their lives more times than he could count. One day, he woke up to find his brother stealing the last of his food. His brother just stared at him, then came at him with a knife. Aaron asks, what happened? and the man says he handled it. He didn’t blame his brother, because his brother gave him something valuable that day. Gabriel says, his brother didn’t give him anything. He’s just trying to make sense of what happened. He walled himself off, believing everyone left out there was evil. It was easier to accept than the truth – that he meant less to his brother than a scrap of food. Aaron says, Gabriel… but Gabriel says the man needs to hear it. He knows about looking for meaning. Most times, there is no answer, no grand design, no enlightenment. The man’s brother ripped up his face, and he’s so hate filled, he can’t see. So he murders good people for what? To prove what? The man tells Aaron, pull the trigger. Him or you? Who’s it gonna be?

Aaron starts to point the gun at his own head, and  the man says, what about Gracie. Aaron wants to see her. He knows what he’s got to do. Aaron looks like he’s going to cry, or maybe throw up, and the man says, does he want to see his daughter again or not? Aaron says he does and the man says, then what is he waiting for. Three…  two… one… Aaron starts to put the gun to his own head again, the man says, stop. That’s who people are. Gabriel says, he was wrong. People are capable of more than killing each other. They still love and sacrifice for their brothers. His brother didn’t give him truth; his brother only betrayed him. If he punishes them for his brother’s sins, he’s no better than his brother. He wasn’t always like this; none of them were. But they have to remember who they were, and know who they are. The man says he knows who he is, and Gabriel says he does too. He knows people like the man, good people who’ve been broken by the world. He doesn’t have to be; there’s another way. They have a community of real people, people who were lost and found their way back. He can too. They can help if he lets them. The man says he doesn’t believe Gabriel, but Aaron says, it’s true, and puts the gun down. He says the man should believe Gabriel because that’s who they are. The man thinks about it, sighs, and picks up the gun. He sticks it in his waistband, and cuts Aaron free.

The man says, Mays. His name is Mays. Then, stunning all of us, but mostly Mays, Gabriel takes Aaron’s metal hand, and whacks Mays with it, presumably killing him, and spattering Aaron’s face with his blood. He tells Aaron, it’s okay. They’re good. Aaron says, are they? and Gabriel says they couldn’t take him with them. He killed his brother’s family. Aaron says, let’s just go.    

Wow. I’m so disappointed. Can we not have one episode where everyone plays nice? I want Z Nation back.

Gabriel says Mays heard everything they said. Where was he hiding? Gabriel opens a hatch, and sees a lantern. They walk through the space, which is flanked by steel shelving holding all kinds of supplies. The see a restrained man, who looks like your classic hermit, cowering in the corner. Aaron says, it’s his brother. They see the brother’s wife and child dead on the floor, and Gabriel says they’re not going to hurt him. The brother is obviously scared out of his wits, and Gabriel moves forward. He undoes the restraints, but the brother suddenly has a gun. Aaron tells him, drop it, and Gabriel says they just want to help him. The brother says, help? and Gabriel says, yes; get him out of there. Aaron asks if he wants to come with them, and Gabriel says, just put the gun down. The brother sees his dead family, and in possibly the saddest moment ever, puts the gun to his own head. Gabriel and I both say, no! but he shoots himself, falling next to his wife and child. I almost want to cry.

Gabriel takes the gun, and grabs some cans of food and other supplies. Aaron looks at pictures of Mays, his brother, and his brother’s family in happier times.

Gabriel and Aaron continue to walk. We see a water tower in the distance, and Gabriel says, the water tower. It’s the last place on the map. What does Aaron think? Aaron looks sad, as he has through a lot of this episode, and he nods. He says, one more, and they walk toward the tower.  

Next time, Aaron’s nervous breakdown (just kidding). Princess and the others are captured by stormtroopers, and plan an escape. Ezekiel says they don’t know these people, and they can’t trust what they don’t know.

⚰️ On the flipside, Talking Dead was one of the funniest ever. Seth Gilliam (Gabriel), Ross Marquand (Aaron), Robert Patrick (Mays/Mays’s brother), and writer & co-executive producer Jim Barnes were guests. The lot of them were hysterically funny, with Ross doing a spot-on imitation of Sly Stallone. Robert said Ross had entertained them throughout filming with impressions, and ragged on Seth for being a lousy priest through the entire episode. We also got some nice insight into Robert’s acting technique. He said when playing the brother, he didn’t have much to work with as far as character development went, but tried to incorporate what a rescue dog would have felt like; one that’s been abused, and was afraid of strangers. I thought it was a brilliant choice. Another tidbit we got was that the whiskey brand was named after Duane Jones, who played Ben in the original Night of the Living Dead. This was probably one of the best TD episodes of all time IMO.

🏍 Not So Smooth Daryl…

I’m not sure why he was so nervous. It’s not like there was human contact.

https://ew.com/tv/walking-dead-norman-reedus-daryl-leah-find-me-interview/

🖇 Next…

Time to move on to my other job, and hopefully making up for that lost hour this weekend. Until we meet once again at the Hospital and/or on Deck, stay safe, stay looking forward to spring, and stay on Gabriel’s good side.

Mar8

March 7, 2021 – How Daryl Met Dog, How It Ends, Enter Mays, Josh Takes a Ride, Chaos Filmed, JimmyVision, Jen’s Called Out, Ex-Royal Bombshells & Bad

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What I Watched Today

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

The Walking Dead

Dog! Daryl messes with his bike, and gets on. Carol comes by and picks up a map from the ground, and puts it in Daryl’s backpack. The engine isn’t turning over, and she asks if she ever told him about the pedal sewing machine her grandma had. She’d help when her grandma got tired. She said Carol had an especially strong right foot. He says, she followed him out there… She tells him, no one is following anyone, and he says, she wants to come, right? She says she wants to hunt what’s left to hunt, and he needs a spotter. The bike starts, and she gets on. He tells her that he didn’t say she could come, but he takes off, Dog running behind them as they bicker in fun.

They go through the woods. Carol gives Dog a snack, and Daryl says, five miles due south at the east gate. He tells her, stay close, and remember this spot in case she gets lost. She says she’s not going anywhere. Dog spies something, and they follow him to a dead deer. Carol says, the other deer are probably all gone by now. She suggests they find another spot, and Daryl says he’s thinking the river. She says, let’s do it, and they walk.

Carol stops, telling Daryl that she has a foot cramp. He hopes it’s not her very special strong right foot, and she says she’s fine; give her a minute. He thinks they should have gone the other way, but Carol says they should fish before noon. It’s worth a shot. He gives her a stick, and says, be his guest. He tells dog, watch this disaster, and Carol immediately gets a fish. He says, no way, and she shows him. He says, beginner’s luck. She guts and scales the fish, as he watches, and she tells him, say it. He doesn’t think she’s doing it right. He tells her, try closer to the bone, and she says she’s fileted fish before. Why doesn’t he do it himself? He says, it’s fine, but they should go. It’s going to be dark soon. They need to find a place to stay. Carol asks if he thinks their luck has run out, and he asks what she means. She says, Hilltop was hard for everyone to take, but at least they were there to fight for it. But losing Alexandria… He says, they didn’t, and she says, not yet. It feels different, like everything good in the world is not on their side anymore. He says, they’ll build and start over, and she says, until it happens again. They had a good long run; longer than most. He knows this world. The dead will catch up to them eventually. He says, if they let it. He’s not going to let it. He tells her, let’s go, when Dog takes off. Carol wonders if it’s another animal. He calls to Dog, and they follow.

They move faster, and Dog runs into a clearing, where there’s a cabin with a sun porch. Carol asks if Daryl is coming, and she and Dog go inside to investigate. Daryl sees a woman on the porch, petting Dog, but it’s just in his mind. He goes inside, and Carol is there with Dog. He looks around, and Dog acts all busy. Daryl looks out the window.

Five years ago. Daryl sits by the river. Dog as a puppy runs up to him, and he picks Dog up, kissing him, and wondering where he came from. Dog runs off, and Daryl follows. He finds a makeshift shelter, and takes out a map, putting it on the wall. He circles something, and keeps walking. He sees Carol across the river, and asks, what’s going on? She says, nothing, and he asks if she’s sure. She says, it doesn’t matter. Things are just different. He asks, how? and she says, it’s harder to talk; harder to trade. Maggie left. She took Herschel, and went with Georgie. She’s on her own journey now, like him. He says she knows she’s got to do this, right? She says she knows, and he asks how the kids are. She says she doesn’t know. It’s been two years. How long does he plan on staying there? He says he doesn’t know. As long as it takes. She asks if anything has turned up, and he says there’s a spot up the river that he’s going to check out. She says she does understand. If not for Henry and Ezekiel, and things going on back at the Kingdom… Daryl says he gets it. She should go. There’s a storm coming. Carol tosses him a backpack, and he thanks her. She tells him, be careful, and he says he will.

Daryl sees a lone zombie, and looks near it through binoculars, seeing an overturned canoe near the river. He stabs the zombie in the head, and rights the canoe, seeing a body underneath it. It starts to move, and he smashes its head with his foot. That’s one way to get your aggression out.

Daryl sits in the shelter as it storms around him. He realizes his map is getting soaked and damaged. He grabs it, yelling at the sky. Some of the shelter topples, and he walks out into the storm.

One year later. Daryl sees a knife or something sticking out of a tree. Dog is bigger now, and runs to the cabin, Daryl running after him. He follows Dog into the cabin, and kills a zombie. A woman comes out of another room with a shogun, and asks who the hell he is. Daryl puts his hands up, and she says she asked him a question. He says he’s leaving, and she says, no, you’re not.

Dog digs at the floor, and Carol asks if he found something. She pulls up the floorboards, and Dog gets excited. He pulls out a cuttle bone, and runs off with it. Carol asks if she lived here, and Daryl says, it was a long time ago. He goes outside, where Dog is chewing his bone on the porch. He says he already told Carol everything, but she says, no, he didn’t. He asks what else she wants to know, and she says, whatever he wants to tell her.

It’s night, and the woman pulls the downed zombie outside using the rug. Daryl sits by a fire, his wrists bound. He asks if she’s going to kill him, and she says, should she? He doesn’t say anything, and she says, that’s what she thought. Something tells her that he wants to die. Not today. He says she doesn’t know him, and she says, he’s right; she doesn’t. So she’ll ask him again, who the hell is he? What’s he doing out there on her land? He says his name Daryl. He didn’t come looking for trouble. Her dog found him. He was just trying to help. She says he’s tied up in her cabin with a 12-gauge pointed at his head. What kind of help does he think she needs? She lowers the gun, and takes out a pocket knife. She cuts him loose, and he says, she’s letting him go? She tells him, get out, before she changes her mind. He puts on his backpack, and heads for the door. He asks if she’s going to tell him her name, but she says, no.  

Six months later. Daryl is using a tree stump as a desk, when Dog runs up to him. They walk together, and the woman sees him heading toward the cabin. She thanks him for bringing Dog back. She says Dog likes Daryl, and Daryl says, he’s just a dog; he don’t know any better. If she won’t tell him her name, what about his? She says, Dog, and he says, just Dog? She asks if he’s got something better, and he says, no. At least he won’t forget what he is. She says, it’s not for everyone; living out in the wild and chasing the dead. He says, it catches up with all of them after a while, but she says, only if you let it. He says he’s going, and she tells him, be careful, and goes inside.

Eight months later. Daryl walks down the river in the water. In the forest, he gathers wood, and a bunch of zombies come out. He shoots one with his crossbow, and stabs another in the head. He hears a gunshot, and the woman motions for him to come. He follows her, and they hide behind a tree, as the zombies toddle past. They’re in pretty close proximity, and Daryl almost smiles. When the zombies are gone, he tells her that she needs to stay away from his camp, and keeps walking. She says, name’s Leah, as she walk in the other direction.

Three months later. Daryl heads for the cabin, and tosses a fish inside, but it’s quiet, and he leaves. While he warms his hands over a fire in the woods, a fish is flung at his head. Leah says she can catch her own damn fish, and he asks why she’s always throwing something at him. He was trying to be nice. She says she doesn’t need him to be nice. She doesn’t him to be need anything. She wants to be left the hell alone. He says he won’t bother her again, and she says, then she won’t come around again. He says, good, and she says, great; bye. He turns around, and says, she’s still there. He says he thought she was gone, and she says she is. He tells her that he gets it; being out there by herself. She asks if he’s been out there a long time too, and he says, he lost track a long time ago. She looks at his hands and asks if it’s frost nip. He says, no big deal; he’s had it before. She says, it’s not a big deal until you lose a couple fingers or a hand. Come on.

Daryl sleeps on the floor of the cabin, and wakes to Leah picking up pieces of glass from a frame. She says, it’s his birthday today, and he sees her looking at a picture of herself with a little boy. She says she didn’t have a family growing up. She knew she had to find her own way, her own family. She found it in her squad. They fought side by side for years, and when the world went to hell, they swore they’d stay together, fight together. They gave her hope, and she tried to give it to her son… Matthew was her son. She didn’t give birth to him, but he was hers. He was born of her sister; that’s what Leah called her anyway. Leah lost her when he was born. It doesn’t matter; he’s gone. She fiddles with her bracelet, and covers the floor hiding spot, smoothing the carpet over it. She walks past Daryl, brushing tears away, and looks out the window. She says she held Matthew tight, Dog’s mama next to her; she was pregnant. The dead came from all sides; there was so much screaming… so much blood. She cries, and says she was separated from her family, and she ran; it felt like she ran forever. She ended up there. Her boy was bit. She said goodbye to him the same day Dog was born, and hasn’t seen another soul since. She turns to him, and says, not until he came along. Who did he lose? He says, his brother, and she asks, how? He says, it was an accident. They never found the body. She asks if Daryl thinks he’s still out there, but he says he doesn’t know. He’s not stopping until he finds out. She says, always the hero, huh?

At the river, Leah shows Daryl the fish she caught. He says, lucky shot, and she gets another. He walks away, and Dog follows.

Daryl and Leah look at the moon, and she says, it’s beautiful, huh? They lie together next to the fire, and she motions him closer.

Ten months later. Daryl and Leah eat in silence, and he says if she’s not going to talk to him. She gets up, and he says, it’s only going to be for a few days. She wonders where he belongs. Out there on the river, looking for his dead brother, day after day after day? Or does he belong to the family he left because it became too hard to face what happened? Or does he belong there with her? He says he doesn’t know, and she says he does. She tells him that he has to choose, and leaves.

Carol approaches Daryl, as he’s looking at his map. She says she’s happy to see him too, and he says he’s just busy. He asks, what’s up? and she says she was going to ask the same thing. Does that mean he’s coming back? He says, no, and she gives him a sweater. He says, tell him why she really came, and she asks if she can’t bring a friend a gift. She came because she wanted to tell him that it will be a while before she comes back. He says, okay, and she says, things are tough at the Kingdom, and Ezekiel needs her there. He wonders if she’s asking permission, and she says, no. He says she doesn’t need to ask him to move on with her life, and she says, it’s just… He says she wants him to move on with his? She says she wants him to find some peace. She doesn’t want to lose him because he can’t figure out when to stop. He says she ain’t gonna lose him. He’s just got stuff to do.

Daryl walks through the woods. And walks. And walks. He runs.

Daryl calls for Leah. He sees the broken, now empty, frame, and looks around the cabin, but Leah isn’t there. Dog runs up to him. He packs up some cans, and writes a note. I belong with you. Find me. He puts it under the floor, and leaves with Dog.

On the porch, Daryl tells Carol that he should have been there. He could have helped her. She asks if he thinks Leah is alive, but he says he doesn’t know. She says, it’s possible Leah just left, and he says, what? She says, it’s not an accusation. He says he walked away, and she says he didn’t. He thinks that every time he loses something, it’s because of him. He says he made mistakes, and she says, they all do. Losing Leah isn’t on him. Neither is Rick, or Connie. He says, no. Connie on her, because she never knows when to stop. Carol says she’s sorry for Connie, but not sorry for going after the horde, or making Alpha pay for killing Henry, because she was right. He says, and that’s all that matters; you being right. She says, it’s not just about Leah, or Connie, or anyone else. Why doesn’t he say what he wants, that she shouldn’t have gone. He says she wanted to help, but she says she wanted to run, so she ran. What the skins did to Alexandria, she just couldn’t deal with the guilt. He says, that’s not his problem, and she says, his only problem is that he thinks he can save everyone. She doesn’t need a savior. She doesn’t need a martyr. She needs a friend. He says, friends don’t have the damn same conversation over and over again, and she asks if that’s what’s happening. He says, that’s what’s been happening. He’s sick of it. She says he should have let her get back on the boat, and he says he should have stopped her from running. She’s a runner. Run. He knows where he’s supposed to be, and won’t stop her this time. She says she was right. Our luck has run out, you and me. She tells him, no one is around except them, and it’s going be dark soon.

Next time, Gabriel wonders if think things are ever going to go back to the way they were (as we all do), Gabriel and Aaron explore, Gabriel meets a stranger, and Aaron puts a gun to his own head.   

⚰️ Sometime In the Future…

Sadly, Walking Dead will come to an end with season 11, but at least it will be stretched out due to the pandemic. There’s always an upside.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/the-walking-dead-showrunner-angela-kang-how-story-ends-season-11-final-season-summer/

🌱 Dead Newbie…

Speculation on new character Mays.

https://undeadwalking.com/2021/03/03/walking-dead-fan-theory-robert-patricks-mays-__________/

🏍 New Ride…

Josh Brolin was Norman’s guest rider on the first episode of the new season. It doesn’t ride any better than that.

https://www.amc.com/shows/ride-with-norman-reedus/episodes/season-5-the-north-island-of-new-zealand-with-josh-brolin–54234

💭 Note To Self: STFU…

I’ve never read this YA series, but it sounds like you literally wouldn’t be able to hear yourself think.

https://comicbook.com/movies/news/chaos-walking-movie-review-tom-holland-daisy-ridley/

🦸🏼‍♂️ Jimmy’s Vision…

Jimmy Fallon parodies the world of Wanda.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/late-night-lately-a-very-special-wandavision-episode

👠 AShahlted…

Well, if you can’t pop off at your designer, who can you pop off at?

https://pagesix.com/2021/03/05/jen-shahs-designer-accuses-rholsc-star-of-verbal-assault-amid-audio-leak/

👑 In Case You Weren’t Watching…

All the bombshells that were fit to drop during the ex-Royals’ Interview.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/07/uk/oprah-harry-meghan-interview-intl-hnk/index.html

https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/meghan-markle-suicidal-thoughts-oprah-interview-48203318

https://www.popsugar.com/celebrity/prince-harry-meghan-markle-oprah-interview-revelations-48201552

🚘 Another Weekend In the Rearview…

The Dead have come and gone, signaling the start of another workweek, or another stretch of seven days, depending on how pandemically affected you are. But regardless of the calendar you keep, stay safe, stay bouncing back from whatever life throws at you, and stay not having the same damn conversation over and over again with your friends.

Mar1

February 28, 2021 – Maggie Returns To the Fold, All the Globes, That’s a Fact & Good

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What I Watched Today

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

The Walking Dead

Lydia narrates some flashbacks, and brings us up to date. We see the fall of Beta. Lydia says they won, and now they’re on the verge of something else; a bigger world full of endless possibilities and uncertainty.

Maggie hurls a knife into a zombie’s head, pinning it to a tree. Judith walks with her, and Maggie asks what Judith told RJ. Judith said she told him that their mom is looking at same stars under the same sky as they are. She said the same to Herschel. It’s true. Lydia helps get a wagon ready to go out, and Negan tells them, be safe. Maggie looks at him, and he says, hey. He didn’t escape if that’s what she’s thinking. Maggie doesn’t respond, and walks past him. He says, well, sh*t. The credits now give us a short history of the story in silhouette.   

Carol and Daryl confer, and Maggie joins them. She introduces her people Elijah and Cole, thinking they can stay at Hilltop. Carol seems hesitant, and Maggie asks what it is. Carol leads them to piles of dead bodies outside the walls of Maggie’s old home. She says, Negan was with the Whisperers that night. She wanted Maggie to hear it from her that he’s in Alexandria. Maggie makes a face, and says, they let him out? Carol says, Alpha needed to die. Negan was their best chance. They were going to lose everything, and Negan was the reason they didn’t. Cole asks, what now? They go to Alexandria, where Maggie will live next to the guy who torched the place and killed her husband? Daryl says, they’re still figuring things out, and Maggie says they need to get to Hershel and the others. Daryl tells Carol that she didn’t have to, but Carol says she did. She owed Maggie that much. Maggie will never come around on him, but it’s good to see her though. Daryl grunts out a few monosyllables.

Kelly finds Daryl, and says she wants to come with him. She can be his lookout. He says, come on.

They walk through the woods, led by Maggie. Daryl shows Kelly a piece of material stuck to a branch. Maggie walks faster, but Cole says, they’re 10 miles east. They might not get there before dark. Maggie insists they keep going, but he says they have a half hour if they’re lucky. They shouldn’t be out there. They come to a lot full of storage containers, and see a bunch of zombies behind a metal fence, Maggie says, okay, and Kelly says, okay, what? Daryl thinks they should find higher ground in the forest, but Maggie says they’ll sleep better in a shelter. Daryl agrees, and Kelly says, so all they have to do is clear a parking lot of sickos and break into a container. Cole says, no sweat. They open the gate, slicing, dicing, and using a slingshot on the zombies. Cole does a nice double stab to the eyes, and slash upward through the head. (Talking Dead later saluting this one as The Eyes Have It walker.) Maggie opens a container, but a load of zombies are inside, and start to push their way out. She tries to shove the door shut, and cuts open her arm. She calls for help, and Daryl pushes alongside her. These are some tough zombies. Elijah joins them, and puts enough pressure on the door to nicely squash the head of the zombie still preventing closure. Very impressive. Cole tells Kelly, maybe a little sweat.

Daryl finds Maggie in one of the containers and tells her, it’s all clear. He’s glad Maggie is there. She says she was close to the drop for a long time, but when she was, she just didn’t stop. He sits next to her, and asks, what happened out there? She says, Georgie had all these good ideas about doing for others, and it felt good. They found groups, and did what they could, but it always went sideways. He asks if Georgie is still out there, but she doesn’t know. They were in a place near Knoxville a couple summers ago, and found a group. They taught the group how to find water and forage. Georgie and the twins went to check out another place, but she stayed behind with Herschel. The place fell, and they ran. She hasn’t seen Georgie since. He asks, what happened to the village? and Maggie says, not now. It does her good to say some of it out loud. She just can’t say all of it right now. Maybe she should have gone back after Knoxville. He asks why she didn’t, and she says she took a detour. Her Nana had a place by the ocean. After Beth died, she and Glenn had talked about going there for a little while, but they never did. Herschel loved it. Waves twice his size would knock him down, and he’d get right back up, laughing. They got up at sunrise, and watched the water crashing against rocks; it was so peaceful. There were hardly any walkers. They stayed up late one night, and she told him stories about his family, and his grandaddy. He asked how his daddy died – she knew it was coming eventually – and she told him a bad man killed his daddy. He wanted to know if the man got what he deserved, and was he dead. The truth is, she left because couldn’t have Negan taking up any more space in her head, and she realized she didn’t want to bring Hershel back to that. The next morning they met a community of people who needed her and Herschel as much as they needed the community. It felt like it was meant to be. That’s over too. Daryl says, come on home; Carol did. Maggie says, it’s what she had to do. God knows what she would have done if she’d been there. He leaves, and Maggie sighs.

They emerge in the morning, and Maggie says, it’s time to go. Kelly sees a truck farther out in the woods, and bangs on it. She knocks on the cab window, and opens the door. It’s empty. She looks up and sees a blanket hanging from the top of the container, and starts to reach up for it. Someone grabs her ankle, and she sees it’s Elijah. Maggie says Kelly left her post, and tells her that she can’t run off by herself like that. Daryl tells Maggie that Kelly’s sister is missing. Elijah jumps onto the truck, pulls down the blanket, and tosses down some other stuff. Kelly picks up a notebook, and looks through it. Maggie says, Elijah just lost his too, and tells Kelly, they have to go. Kelly says she just had to check.

Maggie asks Daryl if Kelly’s sister is still out there, and he says he hopes so. They can only look so many times. She says, they’re almost there. She can’t wait for him to meet Herschel. They see smoke, and Maggie says, no! and takes off running. They run behind her, and Cole says, sh*t. It’s them.   

Maggie runs into a smoldering building, and calls for Herschel. Elijah runs in, and he and Maggie walk through the house to the back, where Cole, Kelly, and Daryl are standing by a dead body. Cole says, they were followed. They were so damn careful. He doesn’t know how, but it’s them; they’re out there. Maggie says they don’t know that. Cole says, they have two dead, but where’s everyone else, and why haven’t they come back? It’s the Reapers, and Kelly asks, what’s that? Maggie says the Reapers attacked their home, and Cole says, they wipe out anything in their way… Maggie says, enough. They need to get their heads on straight. They need to find their people; find her son. Daryl looks through the rubble, and sees tracks. He says, they scattered. They were running, headed north. They’ll find them; all of them. He asks Maggie if there were more kids in the group, but she says, that’s it. She tells the others, come on. Be quiet and alert. If they run into anything besides their people, kill it.  

Daryl kills a random zombie, and they keep walking. Daryl says, the trail splits, and Maggie asks about Herschel, but Daryl says he lost him. Someone could have picked them up. If they split up the group… Cole says, no way, but Maggie says, splitting up is the best way to find them. Cole says, what if something else finds them? and she says, stay alive. Keep heading north, and she and Daryl will catch up. She and Daryl go in another direction. Cole, Elijah, and Kelly keep walking. Elijah stops for a moment, and looks around like he smells something, and continues on with them.  

They duck down in a ditch, and Kelly says, something’s out there. They’ve got to move. Elijah stays where he is, and Kelly asks if he’s okay. She crouches down next to him, and says, can he… He lifts his mask, revealing a the face of a young man about her age, and she puts her hand on his shoulder. She says, it’s a lot, but you’re not alone. You and me, okay? Maggie is counting on them. Cole hears something, and Kelly tells Elijah, come on.

Daryl seems to be following a trail as he and Maggie go through the woods. We see someone with a spear crouched down, but Daryl grabs them from behind. Maggie tells him, stand down; she’s one of theirs. (Her name is Ainsley, which I also find out later from Talking Dead, and she’s with Maya and Gus.) Daryl says, sorry, and Maggie asks, what happened? Ainsley says, everything was fine, then the whole place was set on fire. Daryl asks if they saw who did it, but she says, no. They just ran. She tells Maggie a few people didn’t make it out. There was something in the woods that took one out, but they couldn’t get a clear look. Gus says, it’s the goddam Reapers. The Reapers are hunting them one by one. Maggie asks where Herschel is, and Ainsley says, he’s out there somewhere, but they’re the first people they’ve seen. Suddenly, a dart hits Gus in the throat.  

They move, darts flying at them. Maggie and Daryl crouch behind some trees, then keep moving. It’s quiet, and they move forward silently. We hear a shot, followed by a scream, and Maya falls in a clearing, clutching her stomach. Maggie and Daryl run toward her, but Daryl says, it’s a trap. They’re trying to flush them out; pick them off one by one. Ainsley runs to Maya, and Maggie says, oh sh*t, calling out Ainsley’s name, but it’s too late. Ainsley falls, but before she dies, points toward them. Maggie says she thinks Ainsley saw Herschel, and that’s what she was trying to say. Daryl says they’ve got to get to Herschel first. Someone shoots at them, and Daryl says, there’s only one shooter. Maggie says, they’ve used three shots. When is it time to reload? She says she’ll go around behind, and tells Daryl to keep their attention. She slips around, and moves toward the shooter, her bow at the ready. She sees the gun sitting on a stand, and looks around.

Daryl goes the other way, and we see an eye watching through the bushes. Maggie hears something, and turns around. A huge dude in tree camouflage appears, and she tries to fight with him, stabbing him. He steps back, and takes out the knife. Maggie steps back as well, and right into a noose that tightens around her ankle. She’s pulled several yards, and he follows, but gets an arrow in his side for his trouble. Daryl flies at him, but arrow or not, this dude tosses him aside like he’s a tissue.

It’s blurry, and we see tree guy remove his camo. He takes a knife out of a tree, while Maggie struggles with the rope. She gets herself loose, and Daryl crawls forward, picking up a weapon on the way. Maggie is on her feet, and says, come on. Tree guy gets an arrow in the chest, and Kelly, Elijah, and Cole surround him. Maggie asks who he is. He’s one of them, right? He attacked their home, and killed her friends and family. Why? They did nothing to them. Who is he? What does he call himself? Tree guy remains silent, and she says, they know it’s just him. Answer or die; his choice. He sees he’s surrounded, and drops his knife. Maggie asks why he did it, and he smiles. He says something that sounds to me like bo-bo chick, but I find out from Talking Dead (tonight’s font of information) that it’s, Pope marked you. He reaches in his jacket, and bringing his hand out holding the pin of a grenade. Maggie yells, get down! and tree guy explodes.    

The dust clears, and they move on. Maggie whistles, and hears a whistle back. She looks up to see a cute little Glenn mini me, wearing a baseball cap, and sitting in a tree. He says, hey mom.

Cole sleeps, and Elijah gives Kelly something to eat. They fist bump. Kelly chows down like she hasn’t eaten in a while. Maggie thanks her for helping Elijah. He’s been through a lot. Kelly says, it’s okay. They all have. Maggie asks who’s older, Kelly or her sister? and Kelly says, Connie is. She came as a surprise for their parents. By that point, their parents were too tired, so Connie kept an eye on her. Even when she had her own life, she shared it with Kelly, and tried to take care of her. She says, Maggie had a sister too. Is she the oldest? Maggie asks how she knew, and Kelly says, you can just tell sometimes. It seems like Maggie has been in charge her whole life. She protects them, so she must have protected her sister. Maggie says she hopes to get to meet Kelly’s sister someday, and Kelly says she will. Daryl looks in, and asks if they’re all right. Maggie nods, and says, yeah, and Kelly leaves. Daryl tells Maggie, it’s real quiet out there, and she says, for now. He says, that guy knew he was a dead man. He was just messing with her. They’ll stay a couple more days, sweep the grounds, and make sure. They’ll take the long way back, cover their tracks, and make sure nothing follows them. He asks if this means she’s coming home, and she says, her people deserve it, and so does Herschel. She’ll deal with Negan if she has to, but right now, all that matters is Alexandria.

They get to Alexandria, and see everyone building the city back up. Daryl asks Carol, what happened? and she says the Whisperers left a parting gift. Cole says, home sweet home? and Maggie says, yeah, it is. She takes Herschel’s hand, and walks in. Negan watches as she walks past him, and he goes inside. Maggie walks through the town with Herschel.     

Next time, Carol says it feels like everything is not on their side anymore. She and Daryl both know this world is going to catch up with them. Daryl finds an occupied cabin in the woods, and lots of zombies are killed. You’d think we’d be running out of them by now.

🏆 Tomorrow, Fashion; Tonight, WTF…?

I don’t even know what to say in a year when Borat wins over Hamilton. People have no taste? It fits with our pandemic times?

Winners & Nominees

I vote for making a highlight out of overturning the vote for Best Musical Comedy.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/28/entertainment/2021-golden-globes-highlights/index.html

Okay, just a little fashion, to take the edge off.

https://www.instyle.com/awards-events/red-carpet/golden-globes/golden-globes-red-carpet-2021

📌 That’s a Fact…

Some moments in Black HERstory, past and present, courtesy of R. Riveter.

Madam C.J. Walker [is] an icon when it comes to entrepreneurship and was the first female self-made millionaire in America.

https://www.rriveter.com/blogs/american-women/black-her-story-month

Gloria Jean Watkins, otherwise known as Bell Hooks, is an author, professor, activist, and feminist who was born during a time when the United States was experiencing lots of change. These changes and their lasting impacts became the topic of many of her writings and professional career. Her unique perspective has given readers insight into how race, gender, and class intersect and shape each person in society.

https://www.rriveter.com/blogs/american-women/black-herstory-month-bell-hooks

Get ready to be impressed beyond your wildest dreams. Kathryn Finney is founder and CEO of digitalundivided, an author, and mentor. It seems she has always been a dreamer and a go-getter her entire life. She graduated from Rutgers University having participated in their student government, honors program, USA Today All Academic team, and had other awards bestowed upon her.

https://www.rriveter.com/blogs/american-women/black-herstory-month-kathryn-finney

⛵️ Until We Sail Away…

Tomorrow brings a new season of Below Deck Sailing Yacht, but whether you’re on board or not, stay safe, stay away from trees that are really dudes in camouflage, and stay continuing to learn about Black History every month, not just February.

Feb10

February 9, 2021 – Not Preempted 4U – Phyllis Gives Nina a Confirmation, Will They Or Won’t They, All About Alex, Unmasked, a Goodbye, New Wonder, Dead News, Globe List, Today’s Fact & Dancing

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What I Watched Today

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

🤫 I found it elsewhere. Shhh…

General Hospital

Everyone gets ready for Sonny’s funeral while sad music plays. Carly puts on her wedding ring set, and we see a picture of them together.

Lenny asks how Sonny is doing, and he says he’s fine. He’s getting used to the pills Phyllis gave him. Lenny says Sonny misses Phyllis almost as much as he does. Sonny smiles, and the phone rings. Sonny answers, and it’s Phyllis, who asks how he’s doing. He says he thinks there’s an echo in there, since he just had the same conversation with Lenny. He’s fine, but can she hurry up and get home? Lenny is driving him nuts without her. She laughs, and says she’ll do her best. Nina comes out, and Phyllis says she has to go. Tell Lenny she’ll talk to him later, and she wants the two of them to behave. Sonny says they’ll do their best, and hangs up. Lenny asks if he’s chopped liver, and Sonny tells him, relax. Phyllis is calling him back. Trooper Finchley comes in, and Sonny says they’re closed. Finchley tells Lenny he’s there on business, and Lenny says, what’s the trouble? Finchley says, him, meaning Sonny.

Alexis’s daughters arrive at her house, and she answers the door wearing her bathrobe. Sam tells her to get dressed. Sonny’s service is in an hour and they don’t want to be late. Alexis thinks it’s better if they go without her, but Sam says, no; they’re going as a family. Alexis thinks they’d be better received without her, but Kristina says she doesn’t care how they’re received. She’s saying goodbye to her dad, and wants Alexis with her.

Jax finds Josslyn, and she says she’s really glad he’s there. They hug, and he asks how she’s holding up. She says she’s really sad that Sonny is gone. He says, of course (🍷) she is, and she says, it made her realize how lucky she is to have her dad. They hug again.

Olivia hugs Dante, and says she couldn’t get through this day without him. She tells him, it’s strange. Someone with an imprint as big as Sonny’s is just… gone. Dante says, he’ll be missed, and she says she’s sorry he didn’t get more time with his father. He says, him too. She says she means now too, but she was talking about when he was a kid. Growing up without a dad. It didn’t have to be that way, but it was, and that’s on her.

Michael comes downstairs with two ties in his hands, and Willow asks if Sonny didn’t love blue. Go with that one.

Carly can’t get her necklace clasped, and says, dammit! There’s a knock at her door, and it’s Jason. She says she doesn’t think she can do this, but he says, yes, she can.

Dante tells Olivia, maybe he and Sonny were meant to meet later in life. If they’d met earlier, maybe they wouldn’t have been as close as they were. He never wants to hear her questioning the decisions she made again. She and Sonny are his parents, and he’s forever grateful. She says she’s the grateful one. She wishes she could go back in time and tell that terrified fifteen-year-old that everything is going to be okay, that her biggest mistake would be the greatest thing that ever happened to her. He scares her half to death, being a hero, and taking syringes meant for someone else. What was Alexis thinking? He says, she wasn’t, and Olivia says, Alexis could have killed him. He says, but she didn’t. She even came to the hospital to apologize. Olivia says, knowing him, he forgave her, but she has to be honest. Him, and God, and everyone else can forgive Alexis, but she won’t.

Michael says he thought Willow had class today, but she says she told her advisor there was a death in the family. That’s what they still are, right? She wouldn’t be anywhere else. He says he’s glad she’s there, and asks if she thought any more about his proposal. She says, moving into the gatehouse? He says she’d have her own space and still be close to Wiley. She says she thinks it’s a great idea; the perfect solution. She thanks him for the offer, and he says she’s amazing. She says he is too… for an ex-husband. He says, she played the ex card, and she says he gave her the opening. He says he did, and laughs.

Finchley asks if Phyllis is around, and Lenny says, she’s out of town, but they haven’t had any trouble with Mike (Sonny) since Finchley picked him up outside the hardware store. He was off his meds, but everything is fine now. Finchley asks if Lenny is sure about that. Lenny asks, what’s going on? and Finchley says someone robbed the hardware store. Fred had to close down. It’s not the only store that was hit, and it made him wonder if Phyllis’s stray is responsible.

Nina thanks Phyllis for coming on such short notice, and Phyllis says, Mike convinced her; the man Nina spoke with on the phone. She’s glad she came. It warms her heart to see Nina so successful and happy. Nina says she’s one of those things, and Phyllis says she thought Nina would be over the moon, now that she found her daughter. Nina hands her the picture of young Nelle, and Phyllis says, adorable. She’s even wearing the necklace. She must be grown-up by now. If Nina wants confirmation that she’s her daughter, why not just ask her? Nina says she would if she could, but that girl is dead.

Josslyn tells Jax, when he or her mom leave a room, there’s a part of her that wants to yell out, don’t go, because, what if something terrible happens? She’s so used to not being that person; the one who’s always afraid and anticipates the worst. He says she should never be that person. People say Josslyn is a lot like her mother, but she’s a lot like him too. She understands in ways her mother never has, how to play the odds. It’s true the world is full of horrible things that could happen, but they probably won’t. She says, so the odds are in her favor, and he says they are. If that’s not enough comfort, maybe this will be. All the people she’s lost, wanted her to live life to the fullest. Life isn’t like money; you can’t save it up to use at a later date. You have to use it while you have it, which is why we say, live in the moment. She can grieve and feel the fear, it’s healthy and normal, but never give into it. That’s a waste of a life.

Carly says she has this part of her that, even when life is horrible, she can find it inside, and it helps her push through. This morning, she made coffee and played with Donna, then she came up to take a shower. When she got out, she looked in the mirror, and thought about the day. She thought about the funeral, and the gravesite, and the service with no body. Yet she has to say goodbye. Acknowledge that Sonny is gone, and put an empty casket next to her son who’s gone, and Sonny’s father who’s also gone, and she couldn’t find it. She couldn’t see herself standing there doing that. This part of her isn’t there, and she needs it to be. It’s the only way she knows how to move forward. She’s got nothing, not even a plan, so she sure as hell hopes he does. He says, if she has nothing, why is she dressed and ready to go?

Phyllis says, the daughter Nina has been trying to find is dead? and Nina says she didn’t want to tell Phyllis over the phone. She’s not even 100% sure that Nelle, the girl in the picture, was hers. That’s why she needs Phyllis to confirm it. Phyllis asks how she died, and Nina says, it was a terrible accident. She was running from the police, and fell off a cliff. Phyllis says, oh my God, and sits down. She says, when she thinks of all she did for Nina’s mother… giving that baby away to protect her mother… It was hard enough to learn it was all a lie, but now to hear the kind of life she had and where it led her… Nina says, it’s not Phyllis’s fault, and there’s a slight chance her baby didn’t grow up to be Nelle. Phyllis says she’d do anything to ease Nina’s mind, and hers. Nina says, maybe she can.

Alexis says she knows better than to argue with the three of them, so she’ll put on something appropriate. Molly asks if she needs help, but Alexis says she can manage. Alexis goes upstairs, and Molly wonders if she could be any more obvious. She might as well have said she didn’t trust Alexis not to sneak a drink. Kristina says, well, she doesn’t, does she? Molly says, no. She stopped by last night to make sure there were no more vodka bottles in the house. She hated doing it. Sam says, it was for her own good, and Kristina asks what the future lawyer thinks the chances are of Alexis snagging a sympathetic judge or jury. Sam says, her honest opinion, and Molly says, given her history of alcohol abuse, and her attack on a decorated ex-cop, not good.

Lenny says Finchley has the wrong man. No way Mike could have pulled those robberies. Finchley says Lenny has known Mike less than a month, and he’s willing to vouch for him? He doesn’t know who he is or where he comes from. Lenny says he knows Phyllis, and she believes in Mike. Sonny says he doesn’t need anyone speaking for him, but Lenny says, take it easy. He tells Finchley, Phyllis said he’s still adjusting to the meds. Finchley asks Sonny if the meds are supposed to keep him from doing things he’s not supposed to be doing, and Sonny tells him, Phyllis says he needs them. Ask her. Finchley says he’s asking Sonny. Where was he at 11:45 last night when Harper’s Hardware was robbed?

Jason says, the piece Carly is talking about is the first thing he saw in her. He guesses you could call it being a  survivor, but it’s more than that. It’s the absolute refusal to quit. Of course (🍷) she’s feeling empty right now. She lost a man who loved her when he didn’t want to, and she didn’t want to love him back. She says Jason knows who Sonny was at his core; what made him wonderful, and infuriating, and unique. She knows you’re supposed to say nice things about the dead, especially at their funeral, but Sonny was complicated, and not always in a good way. Often not in a good way. She just can’t see her life without him. Jason says he knows. He thinks they’re going to be walking around with huge holes in them; holes they can’t expect to be filled. Not right away, and maybe never. But she’s dressed, and she’s standing, and she’s ready. She’s going to get through this, because there is no other option. This is the life they made, and she has to come through for the people who love her, because that is her. She never fails people. She says she’s been standing beside, and pushing against, and arguing, and falling back in love with Sonny for so long, she doesn’t know who she’ll be without him. He tells her, let’s just get through the next few hours. Get through that, and don’t bite anybody’s head off who says something about Sonny, because they’re just trying to be kind. She says she’s just going to picture Sonny standing there with that smug look on his face. He loved being the center of attention. Jason takes her hand, and says, one more thing. Sonny wouldn’t have lasted this long, or had this family, if it wasn’t for her. She made his life whole. He thanks her, and she hugs him. They go downstairs.

Lenny asks if Finchley is trying to turn Mike into some kind of criminal mastermind. Maybe he’s got a whole mob working under him. Sonny and I laugh, and Sonny says, anything is possible. Finchley says, so, last night? and Sonny says, he worked late locked up after Lenny and Phyllis left, then went to bed. It was nice. Finchley asks about the pills Sonny is taking, and Sonny says Finchley can look at the bottle and see how many he’s taken, and check the prescription. Or Finchley can take him to jail, and let the real perp keep ripping people off. It’s up to him.

Josslyn asks if Carly is okay, and Carly says she is. Josslyn says she was having a little bit of a rough time, then her dad showed up, and Carly knows how it goes. Carly says her father is pretty incredible.

Nina tells Phyllis, she’s the only person who can identify the man who raised her daughter. Does she think she could recognize him? Phyllis says she doesn’t know; he’s probably changed a lot since then. Nina says, no. Would she recognize him at the time she gave him and his wife her baby? Phyllis says, without a doubt, and Nina hands her the picture, saying, his name is Frank Benson. Phyllis wishes she could tell Nina different, but he’s the one who drove up in that big black car. She handed the baby to his wife, and they left. She’s sorry. Nina says, don’t be. She knew in her gut. Phyllis just removed that last shred of doubt. Nelle really was her daughter and they lived in the same town for years. Phyllis says, she lived in Port Charles? and Nina says, yes. She was a very troubled woman, and did a lot of terrible things, but what if she wasn’t like that because she was intrinsically evil? What if she was like that because she didn’t have anyone who loved her? Nina tears up, and says, she didn’t have a mom who loved her. Nina wishes she would have known. It might sound irrational, but when Nelle died she was haunted by the idea that Nelle must have been a good person at one time. Like there must have been a chance that was missed. She holds up the photo, and says, this girl. If there was someone who was just there for her. It should have been her. Phyllis asks if she can call someone for Nina. That handsome man of hers, Mr. Jax? Nina says, no. Jax won’t help her. Phyllis asks if she’s sure. He struck her as a very capable man. Nina says, he’s very, very capable, but he suspected Nelle was her daughter and chose to keep it a secret.

Josslyn asks Carly if there’s going to be any trouble because it’s Sonny’s funeral, and Carly asks, what kind of trouble? Josslyn says she doesn’t know. People who might take advantage of the fact they’re all distracted? Carly says, Jason has it handled, but she has to get to the church, and go over the reading they decided on. She asks Jax to give her a ride, and says Josslyn can go with Jason later. Jax leaves to warm up the car, and Carly says she forgot her necklace. Josslyn offers to get it, and when she’s gone, Carly says she needs Jason to do her a favor. She needs him to reassure Josslyn. Don’t lie to her, but tell her everything is going to be okay. He says, sure, of course (🍷). Josslyn brings down the necklace. They hug and Carly says she’ll see Josslyn in a while. Josslyn says she loves Carly, and Carly says she loves Josslyn too, so much.

Kristina asks Molly how they can improve Alexis’s chances, and Molly says, first and foremost, they can help her stay sober. If her attorney can demonstrate diminished responsibility, and the judge sees true remorse, it could lessen her charges, or lead to a suspended sentence. But if the judge has an inkling that Alexis’s sobriety is just a stunt and she has no intention of giving up drinking… Sam says, then any claim of remorse would seem bogus, and they’ll throw the book at her. Alexis listens from the stairs, and Kristina says, so basically, it’s all on mom. Molly says, pretty much. Which is a real problem, since they haven’t been able to rely on her for months.

Lenny tells Sonny, no one is accusing him of anything, but Finchley says, sure sounds that way. Sonny tells him, take him in, or get off his case. Lenny tells Finchley, give him a break. Phyllis says he’s still adjusting. Finchley says he has a gut feeling, and his gut’s never wrong, but Lenny says Finchley can’t arrest Mike based on a feeling. Finchley says he should have gotten prints when he had Mike the first time. Then they might have a clue as to who he is.

Josslyn tells Jason that she wants to be okay for her mom and dad. They sit, and Jason says they want her to be okay for her, because they understand what she’s going through. She says her mom asked him to stay and talk with her, didn’t she? and he says, if it makes her feel better, he can take her though all the security measures he’s put in place. She thanks him, but says she doesn’t need to know. If anyone can keep them safe, she knows it’s him. It’s not about one particular thing; it’s about the big thing. The fact we can’t control life. He says, that’s true. There are no guarantees nothing bad will happen, or that you’ll never lose someone. It’s just not possible It’s life. What is possible is to live, and not shut down. And be open to whatever comes next, knowing you can’t control the outcome. If you can accept that, you can find a lot of freedom. She says he’s obviously accepted that, and he says he thinks her mom and dad have too.

Jax tells Carly, now would be a good time to tell him why she wanted Josslyn to stay behind with Jason. She says, because Josslyn is terrified. She thinks bad things are going to happen because she’s lost so many people. It’s just not right. He says he and Josslyn talked about it. He tried to convince her bad things probably weren’t going to happen, and thinks he got through to her. He’s still worried about her. It’s more than anyone should have to go through, especially at her age. Losing Dev to a random, violent crime, and a few weeks later, Sonny, who was like a father to her. Carly tells him, go ahead; he’s more than earned it. He says, what? and she says, it’s everything he didn’t want for their daughter. Everything he warned her about. The cost of Sonny’s life, and she dragged Josslyn right into it, so he has every right to unload on her. He says he’s not going to do that. He and Sonny had their differences, but Carly loved him, and he’ll always respect that.

Nelle tells Phyllis, for the record, Jax didn’t know Nelle was her daughter until well after she died, so she can’t blame him for any time they missed out on, but what hurts is that he kept it from her. He didn’t give her the credit that she’d want to know[ that she needed to know. Phyllis asks why she thinks that is, and Nina tells her that Jax said he didn’t want to hurt her. He didn’t want her to beat herself up for the person Nelle turned out to be. Basically, that adds up to him thinking she wasn’t strong enough to take it, but what really gets her is, she has a grandson. Phyllis gets excited, and Nina says, he’s the most beautiful little boy. His name is Wiley. Phyllis says, that’s wonderful news, and Nina says they have a chance to connect; a little piece of her daughter. She can still make an impact. Phyllis says, that’s a beautiful grace to come out of all this, and Nina says, it is, but Jax didn’t see it that way. The man she loves, the man she opened herself up to, didn’t consider that in keeping this secret, he was keeping her from her own flesh and blood. Phyllis asks if it was a conscious decision, and Nina says, no. He was just caught up in everything else, but it should have occurred to him. Phyllis says, absolutely. Jax made a terrible mistake, but it doesn’t seem like it was calculated or made out of malice. She wonders if, given time… Nina says, he would have realized about Wiley and told her? He would have. Because that’s the kind of man Jax is. Just because he made that choice now, doesn’t mean he’d make it forever. Phyllis says, Nina said she loved him, and Nina says she does. Phyllis says, then don’t give up on him.

Michael and Dante toast to their dad, and Dante asks if Michael is okay. Michael says he is, and Dante? Dante says their father was far from perfect, but he cared. Michael says they’re lucky Sonny gave them each other, and they hug. Olivia comes in with Willow, and starts to cry. She says, it would make Sonny so happy to see them together, bonding. Dante tells her, easy on the tears. There’s going to be plenty of time for tears. Michael wants everyone’s vote on his tie, and they all agree with Willow on the blue.

Alexis joins her daughters, and asks how she did. Molly says, love the dress, love the shoes, and love the woman who’s wearing them. Alexis says, not as much as she loves the three of them. She asks how Kristina is holding up, and Kristina says, she’ll be okay as long as she has them. Sam says they’re here for Kristina, and Molly says, just try to get rid of them. Alexis says she left her phone upstairs, and suggests they wait in the car; she’ll be right there. As soon as they’re out the door, she changes course, takes a nip of vodka out of the bookcase, and chugs it. She turns around to see Molly.

Willow asks if Michael is okay, and he says he was just remembering it was his dad who taught him to tie his first tie. He was struggling, and wanted a mirror, but his dad said, a mirror wouldn’t always be around, and he had to learn to do it without one. She says, good advice, and he says, his dad’s usually was. She says, it looks perfect… almost, and straightens it. He says, now it’s perfect. He takes her hand, and they leave.

Jason tells Josslyn, her mom and dad want to promise nothing will ever happen to them, and he wants to do that too, for the people he loves, but he can’t. The only thing he can promise is to do his best, and live his life to the fullest. It’s the only promise they can keep. Josslyn says, her dad said it different, but it was pretty much the same message. Stepping outside of the house is still scary. He says, it is, and most people wouldn’t be brave enough to do it, but she is.

Lenny tells Finchley, Phyllis trusts Mike and so does he. Finchley asks where Sonny got the coffee he’s drinking, and Sonny says he’ll make a fresh pot. Lenny says he has some work to do, and goes to the back. When he’s alone, Finchley takes the mug Sonny was using, and switches the coffee to another one.

Jax tells Carly, there were many times he wished Sonny gone, but that was never a solution. Their lives were too intertwined. Carly loved Sonny, and their daughter loved him. Right now he just wants to be there to help them through this. Carly says she’s so grateful, and he says he’s grateful Josslyn is still with him, and he can be her dad. Carly says, it makes such a difference to have both parents in your life, and he says, it makes a big difference to have your kids in your life too.

Nina comes into the church, looking for Jax, and a woman tells her, he’s in the waiting room. Jax tells Carly, when he thinks about her losing Morgan, and Nina losing Nelle, he’s grateful he’s not going through that. She asks if he was able to talk to Nina, and he says, no. She still won’t hear it. He doesn’t blame her. Carly says, she felt horrible. She wanted to come up with a plan to get them back together, but she didn’t have it in her. He says, one step at a time; her focus is on Sonny. Carly says she’s not going to think about Nelle, or what happened that night on the cliff – Nina listens from outside the door – because Nelle is dead. Let that night die with her.

 There was no preview. I’m not sure if this will be on tomorrow; it will be preempted, but I’ll still be able to watch online; or it’s going to be like the first time around, and we’ll be out a few days. You’ll know when I do.

🤷🏽 Could They Be More Vague…?

The soaps could be preempted. Maybe. But they’re not sure when.

Are the Soaps on Today? — Everything You Need to Know About the Impeachment Preemptions

👠 More On Mrs. Merrick…

What you need to know about Alex.

Alex Marick on GENERAL HOSPITAL — Everything You Need to Know

💥 Pandemic Handling…

The powers that be are pleased.

Disney TV Chairman Dana Walden Praises GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Success Handling COVID

😢 Gone Guy…

Another loss to the soap world.

GENERAL HOSPITAL Actor Don Dolan Dead at 84

🏡 Wondering…

I can’t imagine this not being good.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/the-wonder-years-reboot-from-lee-daniels-moving-forward-at-abc

⚰️ The Filming Dead…

Andrew Lincoln tells all he knows.

https://undeadwalking.com/2021/01/27/andrew-lincoln-gives-update-on-when-rick-movies-will-start-filming/

Same news, in a different way.

https://winteriscoming.net/2021/01/27/andrew-lincoln-reveals-rick-grimes-movies-begin-filming-this-spring-summer/

🌎 Go For the Globe…

It says the awards will be shown virtually or in some fashion. In what fashion would that be?

https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/03/entertainment/golden-globe-nominations/index.html

📌 That’s a Fact…

Chicago native and national treasure, Ella Jenkins, has been called The First Lady of Children’s Music and no wonder – her music is delightful!  Many of her songs feature call and response, chants, and are very interactive. Start your morning with You’ll Sing a Song and I’ll Sing a Song, and set a sweet tone for your day.

Other ways to celebrate Black History Month with your little ones:

https://www.thetot.com/mama/how-to-celebrate-black-history-month-with-your-children/

🌃 Closing Out the Day…

For once, I’m getting to bed early, dammit. Which actually means before 3 am for me. No matter what early is for you, stay safe, stay respectful of one another, and stay being open to what happens next, but knowing you can’t control the outcome.

Jan23

January 22, 2021 – Jax Gives Carly More Time, Erika Moves, LuAnn Denies, New Marvel In Town, Waiting on Quiet, Sookie Speaks, the Dead Are Coming, Two Quints Of Quotes & Perfect

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Josslyn finds Carly crying in the living room, and hugs her.

Phyllis is surprised to find Sonny/Mike up. She says the thought he’d be asleep by now. Sonny is enthusiastically wiping the tables, and says he’s been working. It feels great. She says the tables haven’t gleamed like that since they bought them, and tells him, take it easy. He’s still recovering from a head injury. He says, that made him forget everything except how to use a gun. She says, he’s getting his energy back, but go slow. He says, doctor’s orders? and she says, stricter than that – nurse’s orders. He says he’ll just finish what he started.

Nina sees Curtis at Kelly’s, and asks if he’s waiting for his beautiful wife.

Alexis tells Olivia, she has to apologize and make amends. Olivia says, apologize for what exactly, and Alexis says she knows what. Olivia says she wants to hear Alexis say it. Now be specific. Alexis says, for sleeping with Ned, but Olivia says, that’s a load of bull, isn’t it? What the two of them did, sleeping had nothing to do with it. I love Olivia at this moment. I’m the same way. I want the person to say what they’re apologizing for, so we’re both clear on that. I also think sleeping has nothing to do with it.

Tracy tells Ned, it’s late. Why don’t they talk about it in the morning? He says, that might not be possible. That insane plot of hers to frame Alexis for drunk driving just might get her arrested. She says, and he can be grateful he can’t get arrested, for criminally poor judgment; he cheated on his wife. Don’t dare try to blame her for trying to protect him, and save yet another failed relationship.

Scotty comes by Franco’s house, and Franco asks if he wants coffee. Aiden also made some killer brownies. Scotty says had a beautiful martini going in front of the fireplace before Franco summoned him. Now does he have the remote? Scotty wants to finish watching the Burt Lancaster/Tony Curtis movie he was watching. Franco says, it’s a little bit more important. He needs Scotty to represent him. Scotty asks what Franco did now.

Elizabeth comes into the gym to find Jason punching the heavy bag. She says she called the warehouse, and they said she could find him there. He tells her that he could have come to the house, but she says she’d rather have this conversation alone. He asks if something is wrong; is it Jake? She says, it’s him. He agreed to kill Franco. Franco gave him the green light, and it was like his dream come true.

Lenny says he found this on his desk, showing Sonny some papers. What is it? Sonny says, it’s suggestions Lenny can try. They have three scotches, two vodkas, and one brand of tequila. Their customers want a choice. Lenny says their patrons like whiskey and beer. Their idea of being exotic is getting bourbon twice a year. Sonny says Lenny could give them the brand on the list, and he’ll be surprised at what he sells. Sonny can start working on it tomorrow morning. He can think up some specialty drinks. What do they think? Phyllis says he seems to know his way around a bar, and Sonny says he checked out the stock, and it just came to him. He knew how to improve it. Since they’ve done so much for him, he owes them. He says, he’ll be back, and heads upstairs. Phyllis asks Lenny what he thinks, and Lenny says he thinks he did the guy a favor by taking him in, and now the guy thinks he can take over the whole damn bar. He crumples the list.

Carly says she thought Josslyn was sleeping, and Josslyn says, so Carly could cry without anyone seeing her? She gets it. After Oscar died, Carly would see her struggling, and come up to her. She would give Josslyn a hug, or stroke her hair, just to show Josslyn that she loved her and was there for her. That meant more than anything. Carly says Josslyn is incredible, and asks Josslyn to come sit with her. She asks why Josslyn is up. What’s on her mind? Josslyn says, a million things; Sonny, Oscar’s death. It’s been hard enough to handle. She was on her way to get some water, and stopped by Avery’s room to check on her out of habit. Seeing Avery’s bed empty hit her so hard. It’s so hateful that Ava took her. She’s sad for Avery, but she’s sad for them too.

Jax joins Nina, and she asks if he doesn’t mind an impromptu double-date. He says he doesn’t, but he doesn’t want to intrude on Curtis and Jordan. They might have other plans. Curtis says he’s solo tonight, but he’ll do his charming best. They sit, and Curtis asks if there’s a special reason for their happiness. Did Nina find her daughter, or has she gotten some new information? Nina says Phyllis Caulfield came to Port Charles, and they saw each other. She’s sorry she didn’t tell him. Phyllis saw her baby girl, and confirmed Madeline arranged for an adoption. Phyllis transported her daughter to her new adoptive family. Curtis asks, where? and she says, a small town in north Florida. Phyllis handed her child to what seemed to be loving parents. Curtis says, now they have a place to start. He’ll do a deep dive into towns in north Florida. Nina says she appreciates Curtis caring, but it’s over. She decided to give up the search for her baby girl.   

Alexis tells Olivia, she needs to apologize, but hearing the sordid details won’t help. Olivia says, so they were sordid, and Alexis says, it was a mistake. She and Ned were drunk, and it was wrong on every level. They regretted it almost as soon as it happened. Olivia says, almost. That’s a very interesting measure of time. All the time before it happened that they had to reassess what was going on. The buckles unbuckling, the buttons tugged at, zippers going down, flesh exposed. Never in that time did they think to themselves, what the hell are we doing here? And after that regrettable mistake, Alexis spent the next few months looking her in the eye, pretending to be her friend.

Tracy says for the first time in Ned’s life, he actually has a relationship that’s working, and he puts it all at risk. If he can’t see that she acted out of love… He says, come on. They both know it’s not about him and his past mistake. It’s about her, and her own empty life.

Franco asks why Scotty always makes those assumptions. He didn’t do anything. Scotty says Franco’s done something, or he’d still be in his swanky penthouse. Franco says he wants to be prepared in case big, bad Franco shows up, and tries to run the show. He’s counting on Scotty representing him after he’s dead.   

Elizabeth tells Jason, Franco’s not a rabid dog that needs to be put down, and don’t act like he hasn’t wanted to. Jason says, Franco came to him, and she says, why not tell her? He says, it wasn’t his place, but she says he didn’t want to have the conversation they’re having now. Franco knew Jason wouldn’t say no, and find a valid reason to kill him once he had. What’s it going to be? What’s his criteria to kill her husband?

Phyllis tells Lenny, Mike wants to repay them, even though they owe him for his help with the attempted robbery. Lenny says, Mike knew his way around a gun, but Phyllis says they don’t know why. He could have been in law enforcement, or an enthusiast. Lenny says, and he knows about liquor. Sonny comes back, and says they need to rethink their stock. Get a bigger selection, or maybe come up with a signature cocktail. He wants to put this place on the map.

Carly tells Josslyn, Ava promised not to keep Avery away from her sisters, and Josslyn says, Ava told her the same thing when she stopped by a couple of hours ago, but she didn’t believe her. Carly asks what Ava wanted.  

Curtis says, after all Nina went through, now she’s dropping the search? Nina says her daughter is now an adult, and the searching was consuming her. She was trying to undo something from the past that was out of her control. It was holding her back from living in the now. He says he’s glad she’s happy. He never wants to be the one to bring her back to a painful place, but is she sure she wants to let it go? She says she has to think about her daughter. What if she doesn’t know she’s adopted? She can’t uproot her daughter’s life from a loving family, so she decided to let her daughter look for her, if that’s her decision. She can’t impose herself on her daughter’s life. She’s had a change of perspective, and she’s closing the chapter on the things she’s lost, and letting herself enjoy the things she’s found. She looks at Jax.

Franco says he wants Scotty to let the court know his wishes before he’s dead, and Scotty says, like a will? Franco says, kind of, but not exactly. Scotty says he doesn’t know what Franco is talking about. He must have something in his mind. Franco says he’s getting worse. He keeps hearing Peter’s voice, and now it has something to do with Drew.

Elizabeth asks what line Franco has to cross to make Jason pull the trigger. What if he screams at the coach at Jake’s basketball game? What if he paints a violent scene? What if he picks up toy a monkey and shows it to Aiden? Will that be enough? Jason says, if Franco becomes a threat, he’ll know. The better question is, will she know?   

Ned asks why Tracy is even there. She showed up on Thanksgiving, out of the blue. Why? She didn’t rush back there when Brook was in the hospital with a slashed throat. Tracy says she was in another country, and he says, now she’s in this one – away from Luke, who he imagines is galivanting who knows where. Luke won’t let her control his life, so she’s come back to control his. She says he needs help, but he says, not hers. She says she couldn’t let him destroy the only good thing he has left in his life, and it almost worked. He says, her failed attempt to frame Alexis was nearly perfect, but Olivia was too good a person to let an injustice go without speaking up. Tracy says, now Olivia has to deal with his injustice. She couldn’t fix that. What is he going to do about it?  

Olivia wonders if everyone knew, and no one had the decency to look her in the face, and tell her what happened. Alexis came into her home. She came into Olivia’s place of business, and got in her face; why? Alexis says she’s so ashamed of what she did, and Olivia says, shame? Was it shame when Alexis told her that she should be concerned about her own marriage? It felt like a warning. She told Olivia that Ned was helping her deal with her grief over Neil. It’s classic. How was Ned helping her? With special one-on-one time? In all of this, the one thing Olivia has never detected is a shred of regret, until now, when Alexis got caught.

Franco tells Scotty, if someone were to kill him, he wants the authorities to know they were doing the right thing. Scotty wonders if Franco means in self-defense, but Franco says, hopefully, before he hurts someone. Scotty says, someone is trying to kill him? Did he hire someone to kill him? Franco says, he may or may not have, and Scotty says, who? Jason? Maybe there are a lot of people who want to kill him – Scotty doesn’t know – but the only person he knows who would agree to it is Jason.

Jason asks how Elizabeth knows the tumor hasn’t already affected Franco, and she says, Franco asked Jason to kill him before he hurts someone. He’s a changed man. The old Franco wouldn’t have done that. He says, the old tumor came back, and will affect Franco in the same way, but Elizabeth says, it won’t. He asks how she knows, and she says she doesn’t need protection from her husband. He’s a good man, and his family loves him. Cameron, Aiden, and yes, Jake. Jason’s son loves Franco. How can he think of taking Franco from them?   

Josslyn tells Carly, Ava claimed she wanted to do something for Avery, and Carly says, Avery is Ava’s all-purpose excuse. Carly feels sorry that Avery lost her father, and now she’s alone without her family on that godforsaken island. Her heart breaks for Avery. Josslyn says, hers too, and Ava was definitely taking advantage. She said Avery was asking about her good luck charm, a necklace in the shape of a half-heart. She asked Josslyn to look for it. Carly asks if she found it, and Josslyn says, yeah, in Carly’s jewelry box. The only reason she gave it to Ava was for Avery, but she made Ava work for it. Carly asks, how? and Josslyn says she called Ava out for what she did to Morgan. She said she’d never forget, and Ava looked like she’d swallowed a porcupine. She hates being reminded of who she really is. She got out so fast, she left a paper trail. Should she have not given Ava the necklace? Carly says, no. It was for Avery, and she did the right thing.   

Jax tells Curtis that Nina has made peace with her decision, and Nina confirms she has. Jax’s phone rings, and he steps away. It’s Carly, and he asks if everything is okay. She says she’s at home, and needs to see him. He asks if it’s Josslyn, and she says, no, but it’s urgent. She’ll tell him when he gets there. He says he’s on his way. Nina says, Carly? and Jax says, yeah. She asks if it’s Josslyn, and he says, Josslyn is all right, but Carly needs to see him; sorry. Nina says she’ll take a car home, but Curtis says he’ll take her. Jax says he’ll call later. He leaves, and Curtis asks if this happens all the time; Carly calls and Jax drops everything. She says, it’s a recurring theme in their relationship, and Curtis says, too bad.

Phyllis asks if Sonny is wiping down the bottles, and he says he wants the barback to shine. Lenny says, it’s nice of him, and Sonny says he likes to keep busy. Lenny says he sees, and asks if Sonny isn’t tired. Sonny says he feels so good, he doesn’t even care that he doesn’t know who he is. What matters is, he’s a new man. Phyllis and Lenny look at each other.

Sonny manically cleans, and Lenny tells him, wrap it up; they’re going to bed. Sonny says he can lock up, but Lenny says, it doesn’t work that way. He has to put the money in the safe, and get it squared away. Sonny says he can do that, and Lenny says, not a chance. Sonny says he’s not a bad guy, but Lenny says, he doesn’t know that, and neither does Sonny. On the side, Lenny tells Phyllis, he said from the start, they’ve got to get rid of this guy.

Carly thanks Jax for coming, and tells him that Ava was there while she was gone. She convinced Josslyn to give her the necklace. Jax asks if Josslyn is involved now, but Carly says Josslyn doesn’t know what’s going on. They have to figure out how to get it back. Jax thinks that’s going too far, but Carly says, if Nina traces the necklace back to Nelle, she’ll figure out Nelle was her daughter, and she’s going to look for someone blame. She was the last one to see Nelle alive. Jax says Carly wasn’t to blame, but Carly says, who knows what Nina will believe? She’ll put the blame on both of them for keeping the truth from her.

Nina tells Curtis, she was concerned at first; Valentin and Ava warned her that Jax would put Carly first. They got into her head a little bit, but it’s not Carly he’s putting first; it’s Josslyn, and that’s the way it should be. He says, didn’t Jax just say Josslyn was all right? but Nina says, Carly just lost her husband. She and Jax are more than co-parents; they’re friends. Jax is Carly’s confident, and if she needs to lean on him at this critical time, Nina is fine with it. Jax loves her, and Carly can’t – she wouldn’t – get in the way.

Alexis says she doesn’t blame Olivia for being furious. She deserves every ounce of it, and she’s sorry she damaged their friendship. There’s nothing else to say, so she’ll just go. Olivia says, it came out because she was trying to help expose the lie. She threw her mother-in-law under the bus, but the joke is really on her. Ned comes in, and Alexis can’t get out of the room fast enough. Olivia refuses to look at Ned.

Alexis sees Tracy trying to go upstairs, and says, oh no you don’t. You’re not going anywhere.

Scotty tells Franco, he’s calling the police to pick up Jason for conspiracy to murder. Franco takes the phone, saying, it was his idea. Jason doesn’t deserve jail for ridding the public of a menace. Scotty says Franco’s not a menace, and Franco says, when he’s gone, Jake will need a father. Jason is a good father, but he can’t be if he’s in prison. Can’t Scotty draft some official document to exonerate him?

Elizabeth tells Jason, Franco relates to the boys, each one in a different way. Does it make him jealous that Franco stepped up to be a constant father figure? The occasional visits and sleepovers don’t stand up to nightly dinners, the homework help, and family rituals that she and Franco provide for Jake every single day. Jason says she’s talking about the life she had with Franco before the tumor, and that life doesn’t exist anymore. Geez, he meets with Britt twice, and now he thinks he’s a doctor. Jason has always bordered on a-hole for me. Along with his bestie Carly. Okay, I’ll say it. I can’t stand either one of them.

Alexis says, by her own admission, Tracy set her up. She drove Alexis’s car off the road, made sure she was asleep. put her in the driver’s seat, and called the police. Tracy says Alexis was blacked out, and Alexis says she was drunk, but not so drunk she doesn’t remember her conversation with Olivia. Olivia said something to upset her, and she said something about Olivia’s marriage. Then Tracy came up with this brilliant scheme to keep her from talking, when she wasn’t going to talk anyway, but Tracy didn’t care. She just wanted to minimize her risk, and had Alexis arrested to protect her son’s marriage, and save it.  Tracy says she did it to save Alexis.

Ned says he should have told Olivia about him and Alexis, but he didn’t know how to. Olivia still won’t look at him, and he says he never intended for it to happen, obviously. She says, they’ve been over this again and again. He ran to Alexis because she was off with Robert, and he couldn’t reach her. The funny thing is, Robert was the one who convinced her to call him, and she did. She wanted to be honest. Brook deleted the messages because she was mad, but he still assumed the worst of her. He projected on her something he would do, and went off and had revenge sex. He says, no, but she says, yes, and mommy came in to fix it, because that’s what Quartermaines do. She doesn’t know if she can stomach being part of this family anymore, let alone subject her child to them.

Elizabeth tells Jason, Franco is still himself; he’s not dangerous. And it’s possible the tumor won’t affect Franco in the same way, and there might be treatment. He hopes she’s right, and she says, does he? It’s not the first time she’s had to tell him to back off her husband. She knows how he really feels about Franco, and right now, the only person her family needs protection from is him. So she’s warning him, don’t even think about hurting Franco. If any harm comes to him, Jason is going to be sorry.  

Scotty takes his phone back from Franco, and says, enough with this crazy idea. He wants no part of it. Franco says, he’ll find another lawyer, and Scotty says be his guest; it won’t be binding. Franco says, plenty of people will do it, but he wants Scotty to do it. Please. He needs someone to support him right now. Scotty says, okay. If Franco dies by Jason’s hands, he’ll do what’s in the best interest of not just him and Jason, but everyone. Franco says, okay, everyone, and Scotty says, do him a favor; don’t die. Franco says he’s not planning on it anytime soon, and Scotty says, good. Goodbye, presumably going back to his martini and movie.

Nina says she thinks it’s time she had Curtis and Jordan over for dinner, and he says, sounds great. She says he doesn’t seem too sure. She knows Jordan has had her hands full with Cyrus. Let her know if there’s anything she can do to help him. He says, just keep being his friend, and make the most of this moment. This is the magic time, when they’re happy and getting to know more about each other. He’s got a good feeling. He tells her not to worry about Jax being dishonest like did you-know-who. Nina says, maybe she’s the one not being honest with Jax.

Jax asks what Carly proposes. Sneaking into Windymere, and stealing the necklace off a sleeping Avery? Carly tells him to lower his voice; Josslyn could hear and come downstairs. He says he doesn’t want Josslyn anywhere near this, and Carly says, Nikolas was hiding out at Jax’s house, and owes him. He can get Nikolas to do it. Jax says he’s not conning Nikolas, but Carly says, if Nina learns about this, it could damage their relationship. He asks if she doesn’t think he knows that. She’s the one who made him realize he loves Nina. He told Nina, and she loves him too. It’s the real thing. Carly says, even more reason not to break her heart, and he says, it would devastate Nina if she found out Nelle was her daughter, but the truth is going to come out; it’s inevitable. He should be the one to tell her. If she hears it from someone else, she’ll wind up thinking he’s as bad as Valentin. Carly asks him to give her more time. She’s afraid it will blow back on them in ways they can’t imagine. He says he’s the one who convinced her to stay quiet, and he owns that. She says she’ll find the necklace, and save his relationship with Nina. Trust her.  

Sonny stacks the chairs, and Lenny tells Phyllis, it seems like he’s on drugs. She says, he has no money. There’s no way he’s on drugs. Lenny says, something is wrong, and she says she’s had patients like Mike. She doesn’t know his mental history, but she thinks it’s a psychological disorder. He says, this gets better and better. Now he’s mentally ill. She says, lots of people deal with mental illness, and Lenny tells Sonny, if he doesn’t calm the heck down and go to bed, he’s going to be out. Sonny says he wanted to sweep the floor, and Lenny says, the floor can wait. It’s upstairs or outside in the cold. His choice.

Alexis tells Tracy, she’s heard a lot of spinning in her life, but this takes the cake. Tracy’s audacity in framing her for her own benefit… Tracy says she thought Alexis would choose rehab over prison. Either way, she’d hit bottom and quit drinking. If she keeps going the way she is, she’s going to implode, and take some innocent with her. Think what she wants, but Tracy tried to help her. Tracy goes upstairs.  

Ned asks Olivia not to give up on the family. Can’t they talk through it? Olivia says, not now, and he says, okay. Now is not the time, but maybe she’ll feel up to it tomorrow, or in a few days. At any rate, he’ll go, and she can stay there. She’s not sure she wants to be there now, but he says, stay tonight. Let Leo sleep. Tell him that I love him. He loves her too, and when she’s ready, if she’s ever ready, he’ll be waiting. Olivia continues to look anywhere but at Ned, and when he leaves, she sits on the couch, and sobs.

Nina tells Curtis, what she’s keeping from Jax isn’t that big. Jax thinks she’s fine with giving up the search, and she is intellectually, but emotionally, it’s hard to let go. She can’t help it. Curtis asks what she’s saying, and she fingers the necklace.

Jax says he’ll hold off on telling Nina, and give Carly one more shot at getting the necklace back. How is she going to do it? She says, the less he knows, the better, and he says, right. Then all he’ll say is, good luck and he hopes she gets it back,

Sonny tells Lenny, it’s cool. He doesn’t have to be upset. If he feels that strongly, Sonny will stop working, but don’t touch the chairs; he’ll finish in the morning. If he hasn’t told them, he just wants to say he’s grateful. He appreciates what they’ve done for him. He’s not making their lives harder; he’s going to make their lives easier. He tells Phyllis, thank you, my friend, and goes upstairs.

Jason turns out the lights in the gym. He looks really cranky as he loads his gun.

Elizabeth comes home, and Franco asks, what happened? She says she couldn’t get Jason to back off, and he says he’s glad Jason is a man of his word. She says, she’s a woman of her word. She warned Jason, and now she’s warning him. If Jason comes for him, he has to go through her first.

On Monday, Maxie has an idea, Valentin tells Jax that it makes him an accomplice, Michael asks if Willow needs more time, and Carly says someone has no idea how glad she is to see them.

🎻 Times Is Tough…

Downsizing is everywhere.

https://nypost.com/2021/01/21/erika-jayne-reportedly-moves-into-1-5m-home-amid-tom-girardi-divorce/

🙄 Deny, Deny, Deny…

She’s had enough practice.

https://pagesix.com/2021/01/21/luann-de-lesseps-denies-jeopardizing-rhony-production-by-partying-maskless/

🦸🏼‍♂️ A Vision Of TV Past…

I have to confess, I’ve seen nary a film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Maybe it’s a commitment issue. But WandaVision looked fun and weird. You don’t have to be up-to-date on your Marvel history, but it doesn’t hurt. I enjoyed it regardless. And I want to get my money’s worth out of Disney Plus by watching something other than an endless loop of Hamilton.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/marvel-wandavision-episodes-1-2-recap-episode-3-friday-disney-plus/

https://extratv.com/videos/paul-bettany-teases-huge-reveal-and-battle-royale-in-wandavision/

Watch Screech lookalike Brandan Davis tickle your nerd fancy about hidden meanings.

https://comicbook.com/marvel/news/kevin-smith-wandavision-episode-3-top-ten-mcu-scenes/

🤫 A Quiet Delay…

Covid strikes again.

https://comicbook.com/movies/news/quiet-place-part-ii-delayed-to-september-2021/

🩸 Blood Transfusion…

Anna Paquin talks True Blood’s reboot.

https://extratv.com/2021/01/18/anna-paquin-reacts-to-true-blood-reboot-news-plus-she-talks-marriage-in-quarantine-and-flack/

⚰️ It’s Almost Here…

February 28th, to be exact.

Maggie and Negan’s showdown begins in ‘The Walking Dead’ extended season 10 trailer

🛒 Quotes of the Week

Compassion is the ultimate and most meaningful embodiment of emotional maturity. It is through compassion that a person achieves the highest peak and deepest reach in his or her search for self-fulfillment. – Arthur Jersild

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

It is not as much about who you used to be, as it is about who you choose to be. – Sanhita Baruah

The moment you doubt you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it. – J. M. Barrie

If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking. – George Patton

Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. – Lou Holtz

There is no stronger bond between man and dog than that formed during war. – Pen Farthing, 2014 CNN Hero of the Year

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. – e.e. cummings

There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate. – Linda Grayson

It’s like living in a household of Howie Mandells. – Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur), The Golden Girls

⌨️ Step Away From the Keyboard…

I, for one, have had enough of this week. Pfft! Be gone! At least it looks promising that we’ll be able to roam the streets again by the summer. Whether this week was tough for you too, or you breezed through it, stay safe, stay warm, and stay rethinking any brilliant schemes you might have to save someone.

Oct31

October 30, 2020 – A Stormy Halloween In Port Charles, a RHONY First, Northern Steal, Turning Points, For Your Halloween Viewing, Entertaining Costumes, Watching Them Watch, a Pumpkin Full Of Quotes & Nightmare

Posted on by
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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Jason meets Sonny at the gym, and Sonny says Sasha’s been meeting with Cyrus, and Carly seems to think she’s using drugs. If she is, he broke the damn truce.

Julian tussles with Darth Vader at an otherwise empty Charlie’s. Darth’s mask comes off, and it’s Taggert. Julian says, You. I know you.

Ryan comes into the visiting room. They pick up the phones. He says he’s surprised to see her on this stormy Halloween night. Is this a trick, or a treat? She says, a treat, and he asks if she did what he said. She says she did. She divorced Nikolas.

Elizabeth tells Nikolas, when he and Ava were playing Franco and her, they were playing him and Ava. She was the one blackmailing him.

Franco asks Terry if Elizabeth asked her to check on him, but she says Elizabeth doesn’t know she’s there. He asks what’s going on, and if she’s seeing a bunch of kids today. She says as much as she’d love to hang out, she’s there in a professional capacity.

Peter asks who it is on the phone, and a female voice asks if he doesn’t recognize her. It’s his old friend, Helena Cassadine. He’s stunned, and tells Maxie and Spinelli, work emergency. He jets to the hallway, and says she’s dead. She says, is she? Then she’s certain chosen the perfect night to deal with some unfinished business. And they have much unsettled between them.

Valentin asks if Anna has an answer, and she says, Faison doesn’t have the genetic marker for rheumatoid arthritis. Which means she’s not Peter’s mother. Alex is.

Valentin tells Anna to sit; it’s a lot to process. She asks how he felt when he found out his whole life was lie. When he found out Mikkos wasn’t his father, and Helena was his mother. He says, like the bottom dropped out of the world, and she says she kind of feels like that. He tells her, take a minute. There’s no more shame; no more guilt. She didn’t sleep with Faison. She didn’t have pregnancy, or give Peter up for adoption. She says, it still feels real, and he says, it isn’t. She says she blamed herself for sleep with Faison and giving away his child. She put herself through hell, and for what? It’s nothing but lies.

Peter asks who is she really, and why is she doing this? Helena says, they both know she’s eluded death before. Why should now be any different? He says because she contacted him. What about Nikolas? Or Spencer? Or her son Valentin? She says she needs him, not them. He asks, why? and she says she needs someone to help her stay dead until she’s ready to reveal herself. Nikolas and Valentin can’t be trusted, but she has leverage over Peter. She can expose his role in abducting Drew in Afghanistan. He says he doesn’t know what she’s talking about, and she says she has documentation to spark his memory. He asks what she wants, and she says, a meeting. Call when he’s ready to talk. If she doesn’t hear from him, there will be consequences. Maxie and Spinelli join him, and Maxie asks if he’s okay. Spinelli says he looks like he’s seen a ghost.

Jason tells Sonny, a lot more patients have been admitted to the hospital for ODs. Sonny says it’s not uncommon in the country overall, but Jason says it’s uncommon in Port Charles. He wonders if the opiates Neil OD’d on came from Cyrus. If Cyrus is bringing drugs into Port Charles, he found the ultimate way and the ultimate route. Sonny says, the hospital.

Julian says he knows Taggert from the pier. He was there when Julian was trying to stop Nelle from taking Wiley. Taggert says he doesn’t know what Julian is talking about. He’s not that guy. Julian apologizes, and says let him make it up. What’s his poison? On the house. Taggert takes off, and Julian runs after him.

Ryan says Nikolas was never her Prince Charming, and she says he thinks he is? He says he knows he is. She can’t expect him to take her word; he needs proof. She takes out the fake papers, and holds them up against the glass, saying, signed, seal, and delivered. She flashes back to telling Nikolas that they’ll have to do something about the divorce papers, and he says, it doesn’t matter. She didn’t think he’d risk everything, did she? Ava tells Ryan, it’s what he asked for; her divorce papers. Signed by both her and Nikolas, sealed by the state of New York, and delivered to him. She’s officially single, without a title, and the Cassadine fortune, all for him. He says it wasn’t for him. She did it to save her brother’s life. She says, if he thinks so. Now it’s his turn. Give her Nelle’s letter.

Nikolas asks Elizabeth if she’s covering for Franco. Was Franco having him followed? She says she led him on with Franco’s knowledge and support, and he asks, why? She says, the night of the Nurses Ball, she overheard Ava telling Nina that she was trying to push them together, because if Nikolas cheated, the post-nup would kick in. Everything started to make sense. She’d felt like she and Franco were drifting apart, but they were being pulled apart him by him. He admits he pushed Ava toward Franco, and she says he played a game with her marriage and her happiness, when he swore he wanted their friendship back. He says he’s sorry, but she says he can’t apologize for using her. He says he didn’t use her; the feelings were genuine. She says she loves Franco, but for some reason, he can’t accept that. When Scotty suggested they blackmail him and Ava, she was all in. She thought they would be taught a lesson, and she could take back her life and marriage. 

Franco says, propensity doesn’t sound great, and asks Terry where Portia is. Terry says Portia asked her to review his CT scan, and he says, start with the good news. She says she confirmed Portia’s finding that there’s a malignant growth in his frontal lobe, and he says his brain tumor is back.

Jason asks if Sonny wants him to get Brando out of Cyrus’s organization before it blows up, but Sonny says, nothing has blown up yet, especially not the hospital. Jason says he knows the drugs are run through legitimate pharmacy companies, but Sonny says if they get on that, the Feds will come in, and they don’t need the attention. Jason says the hospital makes Cyrus look legitimate, and he knows they won’t put innocent people in harm’s way. Sonny says, they need to take their time getting Cyrus’s drug operation out of Port Charles. The lights go out.

Valentin tells Anna not to pick up the glass with her hands, and asks if she has a dustpan. She says, in the kitchen, when the lights go out. She says, oh no, but he says, it’s all right; they can pick up it up later when the lights come back on. He asks if she needs to check on Violet, but she says Violet is out trick-or-treating with Chase, and then has a sleepover. He asks if she has a flashlight, and she says she’s not going break, but he says she’s not unbreakable. She’s been through a shock, and needs to feel it. She says, it’s not just that Peter isn’t her son. Alex is probably laughing at her. He says she’s laughing at him too. She knows he gave Peter to Faison, thinking he was Anna’s son, and knew the shame he felt. He wanted to be connected to the boy, and she knew the resentment he felt toward the only woman he cared about. She knew there was nothing he could do, and she was laughing at both of them. Anna says, maybe they didn’t deserve that kind of pain, but they’re better equipped to deal with it than Peter. She’s terrified what it’s going to do to Peter, and that he’ll lose faith in himself and his life. Valentin says, Peter is a big boy. They need to find Alex, and eliminate the threat. Anna says, Alex knows Maxie is carrying her grandchild, and they need to be prepared.

Peter tells Maxie that he wanted to go live with a story, and time was of the essence. Now the server is down. Maxie asks if Spinelli can fix it, but Peter says, IT is on it. She says she thought he might leave her stranded on her birthday. The storm probably canceled Georgie’s plans for trick-or-treating, and she was hoping for pictures. Spinelli says, Georgie does make a beautiful Elsa. Maxie says she’s going to check on Georgie, even though Georgie is with her mom. Spinelli says he hopes she only gets the happiness she deserves, and Maxie says she will.   

Franco says, so his tumor is back, and Terry tells him, it seems to have reoccurred in the same area. She’s sorry. He says he doesn’t have any symptoms, and he’s nothing like the person he was last time. She asks if he’s had any vivid dreams or nightmares. Besides fainting, has anything unusual or unexpected happened? He flashes back to his nightmare about Ava, and thinks about when Ava’s painting was defaced. He says, none; just fainting. She says, the symptoms are likely to increase as the tumor progresses, and the preliminary findings show that the tumor is inoperable.    

Nikolas tells Elizabeth, he paid Scotty by check, but it was never cashed. Did she change her mind about blackmailing him? She says she realized she went too far, and Nikolas says, she can try as hard as she can, but she can’t beat him. And he’s very grateful for that.

Ryan asks, what letter? and she says he promised to give her Nelle’s letter when she divorced Nikolas. He says Nelle wrote him so many letters. One describing her beautiful new house, and a very sad one where she said how much she loved her son, and was going to be devastated if she didn’t get custody. And one telling him that Julian knew about Brad replacing Willow’s poor deceased newborn with Sonny’s grandson. She says he knows that’s the one she means. He tells the guard, be a pal and get Mrs. Cass… Sorry. Get Miss Jerome the letter he gave him earlier. Ava says he has the guards doing him favors, and he says, considering he doesn’t know when he’ll see the outside world again, it helps to pay certain people to do certain things. The guard gives Ava an envelope that’s been opened, and Ryan asks if it’s what she wanted. She says he knows it is, and I wonder why she isn’t checking to make sure it is. She tells him, take a good long look. it’s the last one he’s ever going to get. She hangs up the phone, and takes out the letter. It says, do you think I’m stupid? Ryan says, oops. What did I just say? I can’t believe Ava is that stupid.

Franco wonders why the tumor can’t be removed, and Terry says her preliminary assessment is that they can’t remove it, but it’s just the first step in a complex process. They need to take more tests; a biopsy, and a PET scan. They have to get all the viable information before discussing options. Franco says, if they do all that, and still can’t operate, what happens to him?

Nikolas tells Elizabeth, he was hell bent on winning back the Cassadine fortune. He didn’t care what he did or who he did it to. That’s how he got in this mess in the first place. She said both of them were blackmailed. Does that mean there are compromising pictures of Franco and Ava?

Ryan asks if Ava really thought she could fool him with fake divorce papers and no wedding ring. His cellmate was a forger, and taught him all the tricks of the trade. Ava insists it’s not a forgery, but he says she can’t convince him it’s real, or that she’s divorced that cloying puppy dog. He starts yelling that the women he’s loved are all alike. She thinks she can use him because he loves her. The guard grabs him, and he yells that she’s a liar and traitor. She’ll pay. He screams her name as the guard drags him out.

Julian sees Taggert’s mask on the floor, and picks it up, saying, who the hell are you, buddy? He sees the phone, and looks at the picture of Taggert and Trina.

Sonny tells Jason to get a flashlight, and Jason says he’ll check on the generator. Jason leaves, and someone comes up behind Sonny. Without turning around, Sonny asks, who are you? He turns around, drawing his gun, and sees it’s Taggert.

Valentin tells Anna, he left a message with an associate who’s an excellent tracker. No more delays or second thoughts. They need to find Alex. Anna asks if they’re going back to their original plan to lure Alex to Port Charles, but Valentin says, that’s not enough. They need to neutralize her. She asks if it’s strategy or revenge because Alex hurt him, and he says he doesn’t think that’s relevant. Alex was prepared to kill her, and still wants her dead. She thinks he should go now, but he says, when he’s gone, nothing changes. It’s a question of who lives; her or Alex. He’s playing the game too, and chooses her.   

Maxie tells Peter, the storm is moving. Georgie and James will still get in some trick-or-treating. Can they get in some more birthday celebration, or does he need to check the server? He says his phone is off. He has it on silent. He’s all hers. She says, sooner or later, the storm will clear up, and he says, it certainly will. We see an incoming call to Peter from Anna.

Spinelli sneaks down an office corridor, and goes into a room. Sam is sitting at a computer, and startles him. He apologizes for keeping her in suspense; he wanted to check on his daughter’s Halloween plans. She says, did it work? and he says, like a charm. She smiles.

Anna gets Peter’s voicemail, and says, damn you, Alex.

Peter asks what Maxie is thinking, and she says, not only does Peter make a handsome groom, he’s going to make an equally handsome groomsman at Anna’s wedding. He says she’ll be an equally beautiful bridesmaid, and a stunning bride. She says, that has a nice ring. She meant what she said about the wedding and the baby. They have a lot to forward to next year.

Sam thanks Spinelli, saying, it’s brilliant. Once they got real usable audio, they were able to generate a duplicate voice, and all the rest fell into place. Peter thinks Helena is alive and well. Spinelli says, it’s reasonable to assume Helena was aware of Drew’s abduction in Afghanistan, and most likely recruited Peter to facilitate the order in the first place. Sam says, anyone who’s found out about it, ends up dead. Peter’s tied off a lot of loose ends. Spinelli says, if he thinks Helena is a threat, he’ll want to tie her off permanently. Then they can show Maxie who her fiancé really is.

Sonny tells Taggert, nice of him to dress up, and Taggert says, happy Halloween. Sonny asks if he isn’t too old for trick-or-treating. Jason comes back, and Sonny tells him, check the building security; make sure no one is lurking around. He asks Taggert why he came back, and Taggert says he heard what’s been going on. How many have to die before they do something about Cyrus? Sonny says he can’t abracadabra and make Cyrus disappear. Even if he could, they don’t know Cyrus is responsible for Neil’s OD. Taggert says, the body count keeps rising, and he’s not watching while his daughter gets caught in the crossfire again next time.

Julian looks at the phone and asks himself, what’s the connection? Is there a connection? Ava comes in, and he says, that doesn’t look like a happy face. She says she doesn’t have happy news. She needs a double vodka straight. He asks, what happened with Ryan? and she says, Ryan saw right through the phony papers. He’s not happy. She chugs the vodka.

Nikolas says he and Elizabeth have been friends for so long, he can read every expression. What happened with Franco and Ava? She says, they kissed, and he says, spontaneous combustion? She says he manipulated them like she did him. The plan worked. Both he and Ava broke the contract, so neither one of them can use it against the other. He’ll have to find another way to end his marriage… if that’s what he’s going to do. He has to go, and she says, don’t tell her that he’s sorry; show her.    

Terry tells Franco, the side effects will increase as the tumor grows. His sense of taste and smell; he might lose time, or have a personality shift. He asks if there’s a time limit, but she says, not until they run all the tests. She knows it’s a lot to take in. She’ll give him some time to talk to Elizabeth. He asks her not to tell Elizabeth about it; not yet. She says Elizabeth is his wife, and it’s going to impact her life. She has the right to know. He says Terry thinks he doesn’t know that? He needs her to promise him that she won’t say anything to Elizabeth about this.

Terry asks how he can’t tell Elizabeth? They’re potentially talking life and death. He says, please. He just needs a little time. She says the doctors and nurses will do everything in their power to help him, but he has to meet them halfway. Let his family go through it with him. He says he doesn’t want it at all. Cameron is looking at college; Aiden is his little sous chef; and he helped Jake with his costume. Jake wants to be Jack Sparrow; that’s where his head is at. They have beautiful, loving hearts, and he doesn’t want them to worry or be sad. He’s asking her to not tell Elizabeth for a little while. There are things he needs to work out first. Elizabeth comes in, and says, sorry it took her so long. She asks what Terry is doing there.

Ava slides her glass down the bar for a refill. Julian asks how Ryan saw through her deception, and she says, he claimed his cell mate was a forger. She thinks he was expecting a double-cross, and he’s furious. He was making threats that he’s going to tell Sonny. Nikolas walks in, and she says, as usual, Julian is complaining about unreliable liquor distributors. Nikolas says, as usual, she’s lying to him. She says she went to Pentenville, and brought the phony papers to convince Ryan that they were divorced. He asks if it worked, and she says, what does he think? It doesn’t matter. Ryan can’t hurt her; not physically anyway. But he can do damage to her family. Nikolas says, Julian, and she says she doesn’t suppose Nikolas will take pity on her and divorce her for real.

Sonny says the point of Taggert playing dead was to protect Trina; Cyrus would have no leverage. If someone sees him, Trina will be in more danger than ever. He needs to stay gone. Sonny promised he’d protect her. Taggert says, he doesn’t doubt that, but if there’s a full-scale war, Sonny might not be able to keep his promise. Sonny asks if that means Taggert is staying, and Taggert says he’s just giving Sonny a heads up that he’s going to protect his daughter. Sonny says, it has to be on his terms. He’s going to stash Taggert where he and his people can keep an eye on him.

Valentin calls Anna, and says, Alex used Berlin as a starting point. She was there, and must have left a trail. Anna says, that was weeks ago; she could be anywhere now. He says he’s afraid so, and she thanks him for the update. She says she’ll be in touch. The lights come back on, and when Anna turns around, Alex is there in the black witch costume. She says, happy Halloween, sister, and knocks Anna out.

Franco tells Elizabeth that Terry stopped by to make sure he’s all right. Elizabeth thanks Terry, and Franco says, the technical diagnosis was that he’s dehydrated and exhausted. She hopes Terry read him the riot act, and Terry says, Elizabeth knows her; always looking out for Biz. Elizabeth says they have to get going. Violet is spending the night, and they’re going to have a full house. Franco says if a bunch of kids are going to be there, that means he can eat all the candy.

Nikolas tells Ava, sorry. He sees she’s taken off her ring, and she says, it was just for Ryan. She’s not ready to divorce him. He says, sorry it didn’t work, but he’ll find another way to get Ryan off her brother’s back; he promises. Julian approaches their table, and says, isn’t this the cutest? Maybe they could take their eyes off each other, and make an actual plan. Nikolas says, as soon as Julian tells him what Nelle said. He gets silence, and says he didn’t think so. He says he has calls to return, and steps away from the table. Julian tells Ava, there’s nothing to stop Ryan from showing the letter to Sonny, and Ava says, as soon as he does, he’ll have no power over her. Julian says, Ava betrayed Ryan, and he’s going to want to punish her. Sonny is the perfect revenge.

Sonny excuses himself to take a call privately. He answers, and it’s a collect call from Ryan in Pentenville.   

Taggert wonders if Sonny is going to put him in a safe house, but Jason says, safe houses can be compromised, especially if someone is staying there a while. Taggert asks where he’s going, and Jason says, Sonny bought Kate Howard’s old place. It’s adjacent to Sonny’s house, so Sonny can keep him there without alerting the rest of the family. Taggert says he’ll be Sonny’s neighbor. 2020 has been a helluva ride. He ain’t kiddin’ there.

Maxie tells Peter, she can’t wait to see pictures. She knows she’s biased, but Georgie and James are the most adorable kids on the planet. Peter says, and soon to be joined by another most adorable kid on the planet. Maxie says she’ll be right back. She gets up, and says she knows Peter is worried about work, but whatever problems he’s having, he’ll find a way around them. She leaves.

Sam tells Spinelli that Peter never confirmed his involvement when he spoke to Helena. Spinelli says, Peter is too cagey for a direct admission. That will come when he reacts to Helena’s call. Sam says, speak of the devil, and hooks the computer into a phone. Peter is calling.

Sam and Spinelli listen in as Peter tells faux Helena, if she is who she says she is, they need to meet. Tomorrow night. Sam and Spinelli fist bump.

Alex answers the door to the trick-or-treaters, and says, don’t you look to die for? She passes out candy, while Anna lies unconscious in the basement.

On Monday, Carly tells Josslyn, today is her first election; a mock election involving woman’s suffrage is held; and Trina tells Josslyn, they’re making choices and making their voices heard.

🗽 Rookie Season…

What it’s like to be new girl on the RHONY block.

https://pagesix.com/2020/10/27/eboni-k-williams-on-being-the-first-black-rhony-cast-member/

❄️Corbett Exposure…

I loved this show.

https://pagesix.com/2020/10/27/john-corbett-stole-a-20k-moose-head-from-the-set-of-northern-exposure/

⚰️ Definitive Dead…

The episodes that shook us.

https://tv.avclub.com/10-episodes-that-show-how-the-walking-dead-turned-into-1845335889

📽 More Brains Movies…

I listed a few of my favorites yesterday, but also adding Cabin In the Woods today. It’s a relentless masterpiece. I’d read the book before I saw the film, and remember thinking, there’s no way they could get the grand finale on film, much less make it look believable. Yet, they did.

https://www.purewow.com/entertainment/best-halloween-movies

👑 Let the Dressing Up Begin…

Celebrities, they’re just like us. With several million more dollars.

https://guestofaguest.com/new-york/halloween/the-best-celebrity-halloween-costumes-for-some-last-minute-inspiration

https://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/best-celebrity-halloween-costumes-2020-photos-of-their-outfits/

And the Consistently Outstanding Award goes to…

https://www.purewow.com/news/heidi-klum-halloween-costume

It’s a tie.

https://www.purewow.com/news/neil-patrick-harris-halloween-costume

👠 Watching Them Watch…

They might be in drag, but Trixie and Katya are never a drag. And they have a lot to say about some horror film classics.

🦇 Halloween Quotes of the Week

It’s as much fun to scare as to be scared. – Vincent Price

Darkness falls across the land, The Midnight Hour is close at hand. – Rodney Lynn Temperton

Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see. – Edgar Allan Poe (And I’d always thought it was an old Navy saying.)

The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for out wits to grow sharper. – Eden Phillpots

Villainy wears many masks, none so dangerous as the mask of virtue. – Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison), Sleepy Hollow

I’ve seen enough horror movies to know that any weirdo wearing a mask is never friendly. – Elizabeth (Nancy McLoughlin), Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives

We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones. – Stephen King

A person should always choose a costume which is in direct contrast to her own personality. – Lucy Van Pelt, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Halloween is not only about putting on a costume, but it’s about finding the imagination and costume within ourselves. – Elvis Duran

If human beings had genuine courage, they’d wear their costumes every day of the year, not just on Halloween. – Douglas Coupland

Nothing on Earth so beautiful as the final haul on Halloween night. – Steve Almond

I’ll stop wearing black when they make a darker color. – Wednesday Addams (Christina Ricci), The Addams Family

Where there is no imagination there is no horror. – Arthur Conan Doyle

The moon has awoken with the sleep of the sun, the light has been broken; the spell has begun. – Midgard Morningstar

When the witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers ’tis near Halloween. – Unknown

Werewolves howl. Phantoms prowl. Halloween’s upon us now. – Richelle E. Goodrich

Every day is Halloween, isn’t it? For some of us. – Tim Burton

I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. – L. M. Montgomery

When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam, may luck be yours on Halloween. – Unknown

Clothes make a statement. Costumes tell a story. – Mason Cooley

On Halloween you get to become anything that you want to be. – Ava Dellaria

There is a child in every one of us who is still a trick-or-treater looking for a brightly-lit front porch. – Robert Brault

The farther we’ve gotten from the magic and mystery of our past, the more we’ve come to need Halloween. – Paula Guran

🎃 It’s Here, Charlie Brown…

It might not be the same this year, but don’t let the pandemic bring down your Halloween spirit. Play by the rules, but by all means, do some playing this weekend. Zoom your Halloween, TikTok a Halloween dance, enjoy the wide array of horror films available, carve a pumpkin or make a pie with it, eat all the candy if you have no trick-or-treaters, but be smart about passing out candy if you do.  Stay safe, stay responsible, and stay conjuring up the kid in you, and being creative on this most creative of holidays. Most of all, have a Happy Halloween!

Oct20

October 19, 2020 – Sam surprises Alexis During Her Bender, Med Yachties Reunite, More Phat, a Second Helping Of Baby Yoda, Rich Kid Wedding, Animated Dead, Halloween Treats & Have a Ball

Posted on by
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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Carly comes into the station, and meets Diane. Diane tells her, being on time creates a favorable impression. Being early shows you’re too eager, and being late shows you don’t care. Carly says she was told because Nelle’s body was found in a different jurisdiction, that’s why the detective wants to talk to her. What’s the real reason? Diane says he referred to her as Mrs. Corinthos three times when she talked to him, and wanted to know if her husband would be joining them. Carly says, so it’s about Sonny, and Diane says, he probably wants to enhance his reputation by taking down a Corinthos – any Corinthos – including her. Carly says, Diane isn’t going to let that happen, right? and Diane says, not based on the information Carly gave her. Has she left anything out?    

At Charlie’s, Jax tells Nina that he’ll have to sell the company or get a competent CEO. Nelle says he already runs half of Aurora; why not run the whole thing? She’s just putting it on the table as an option. Her phone rings, and she answers, telling the person, a single plot with just a headstone. Her name was Jenelle Benson.

Outside, Sasha drops her bag, and everything falls out. She says, perfect. She sees her baggie of coke, and scoops it up. Willow comes by, and asks if she needs some help.

Michael hits the heavy bag at the gym, flashing back to Willow saying she wants to be Wiley’s mom, no matter what happens with them. He tells her, him too, but there’s no rush. Wiley isn’t old enough to wonder what the nature of their marriage is. Chase walks in, and says Michael is really unloading on that bag. Michael says he’s trying to clear his head, and Chase asks how that’s working out for him. Michael says, it’s not, and Chase says it might help if he has an actual opponent. Michael says he doesn’t think it’s a good idea for them to spar, but Chase puts on punching mitts, and says he won’t throw any punches. Michael tells him, proceed at his own risk.

Sam knocks on Alexis’s door. Alexis opens it, saying, that was fast. Sam asks if she’s expecting someone, and Alexis says, it’s a bad time. Sam says she’d rather be home with Scout and Danny, but this can’t wait.

Brook quietly goes back into the Quartermaine mansion. She hears Monica telling Ned, one great advantage he has, is that his wife is head over heels in love with him. He’d have to do something so appalling for her to give up and leave him. He says, like finding out he cheated with Alexis. Would that do it? She says, tell her that’s not true, but he asks if she thinks he’d make that up. He cheated on his wife. Monica says, now he’s really done it. Brook hears everything.

Carly says she told Diane everything that happened, and Diane says Carly also told her everything the night Claudia Zaccara died, and it turned out to be a lie. Michael was convicted for a murder he didn’t commit. Carly says, it was years ago, and Diane says she wants to believe that Nelle ran off, and that was the last Carly saw of her. Carly asks why Diane is arguing then, and Diane says things are seldom clear cut with her. Jordan thanks them for coming, and Diane says, like they had a choice. She asks if it’s standard operating procedure, allowing visiting police officers to order her constituents around, and Jordan says, it’s a professional courtesy. They can wait in the interrogation room. Diane says they know where it is, and Jordan says, the detective will be there shortly. Diane asks if she’s not sitting in on it, and Jordan says she offered, but the detective declined. She’s going to let him experience the full impact of Diane’s defense. She leaves, and Diane tells Carly, short, concise answers. I don’t recall and I can’t recollect are options, and if she’s withholding anything, please keep it withheld. The last thing Diane wants is a surprise.

Nina says, no funeral, but a prayer at the gravesite. She doesn’t think Nelle was religious, so something simple. She thanks them, and says, Jax doesn’t think she should be doing this. He says it’s not his place to say; she should do what she wants. She says he doesn’t think Nelle deserves a proper burial, and he says he thinks Nelle caused a lot of problems, and the sooner she’s forgotten about, the better. She says, Nelle is leaving behind a little boy. Someday he’s going to grow up and ask questions, and might want to visit her grave. Now there will be one to visit. He asks if she’s doing this for Wiley, and she says, partly, but also for Nelle. Not the psychotic Nelle, but the Nelle that could have been if life were different. Jax gets a call from Jordan, who says she has some follow-up questions about the night Nelle disappeared. He says he’s already told her what he knows, but she asks to see him tonight. He says he’ll be there, and Nina says, that sounded ominous. He tells her, Jordan has questions about the night Nelle died.

Sasha tells Willow, she’s good, thanks. She’s just clumsy. Willow asks if Sasha is sure she’s all right, and Sasha says she doesn’t see why Willow should care. Willow should hate her. Willow says she doesn’t. In fact, she thinks they should have a glass of wine together.

Chase says he’s not sure Michael is aware, but a Pennsylvania detective is looking into Nelle’s death. Michael asks, why? and Chase says the body was recovered across state lines, and they opened their own investigation. He thought Michael should know in case he’s contacted. Michael says Chase is acting like it was six months ago, but it’s not. Too much has changed. Chase says he understands, but Michael doesn’t think he does. Willow loved Chase, and believed in him. Chase broke her heart, and it might be unfair, but Michael blames Chase more than Sasha.  

Alexis says Sam seems put out, and Sam says she’s worried about Alexis. She missed Mike’s funeral; Kristina’s grandfather’s funeral. Alexis says she told Sam, she forgot to set her alarm, and Sam says, getting hammered does funny things to you memory.

Ned says he knows he made a mistake, and Monica says, one he has no intention of repeating. He says, of course (🍷) not. He only did it because he thought she was cheating with Robert. Monica says she knows infidelity runs in the family, but thought he would have learned from the Lois/Kathryn debacle. He says if she mentions it again, he’ll blow his top, but she says that’s better than blowing his chance with his wife. He needs to tell Olivia. He says he has no intention of telling her. This secret is going with him to his grave. In the foyer, Olivia asks what Brook is doing home. And who is she spying on?

The detective comes into the interrogation room, and introduces himself as Detective DeLeon from the Hanover PD. Nelle’s body was recovered in his jurisdiction, and it’s his understanding that Carly was the last person who saw her alive. Diane says, hello, and introduces herself. She says, while her client is certainly willing to answer his questions to the best of her ability, she wants it noted that Carly has already given a statement to the PCPD. DeLeon says he read it, but has additional questions. Carly can answer them tonight, or he subpoena her. Diane says he’d have to show cause for a subpoena, and has none. Instead of wasting the court’s time, Carly has agreed. She says she’s sure he intends on recording the interview, and she wants a copy or they’ll see him in court. He says she doesn’t miss a trick, and she says, his choice.

Valentin asks Nina if the seat next to her is taken, and she says Jax was there, but he can take it. She’s busy though. He asks if it’s Crimson, and she says, a personal project. He asks if she’s willing to tell him, and she says she’s looking for a nurse names Phyllis Caulfield. She has every reason to believe Phyllis knows what happened to her baby.  

Sasha thinks it’s a bad idea, but Willow says she knows Sasha loves the house pinot. They sit, and Sasha asks if Willow remembers the time they got a bottle for the table. They drank most of it. The guys were so busy debating the merits of the wine, they missed the actual wine. Willow says she misses the four of them being friends, and Sasha says she does too.

Ned asks if Monica is telling him to destroy his marriage, but she says he has a better shot at saving it if he tells Olivia himself. Better she hear it from him than from someone else. She asks how many people know, and he says, him, her, and Alexis. She asks if he expects attorney/client privilege in the bedroom, and he says, Alexis may not be the most reliable person at the moment – she’s no longer recovering – and Monica says, Olivia may figure it out even if Alexis says nothing. Olivia and Brook walk in, and Olivia asks if they want to explain what Brook is doing with her ear pressed to the door. What are they talking about?   

Alexis says she already told Sam that she didn’t forget, and Sam says, so she chose to skip the funeral? Alexis asks why she’d do that, and Sam says she had more important drinking to do. Alexis says it may come shock, but she doesn’t answer to Sam. Sam says when they were at the MetroCourt, Alexis put her drink down. When she left, Sam picked it up, and it was full of vodka. It’s the first step – honesty. Just admit she was drinking. There’s a knock at the door, and Sam says Alexis doesn’t have to get it, but Alexis says she does. Alexis tells the delivery guy, right on time, and takes a bag obviously containing a bottle out of his hand. Sam asks what it is, and Alexis shows her the bottle.    

DeLeon starts the recording. He says it’s an inquiry into the death of Nelle Benson. He’s interviewing Carly Corinthos, and also present is Carly’s attorney. He asks Carly, to her knowledge, was she the last person to see Nelle alive?  

Alexis tells Sam, she can go, but Sam says she’s not leaving Alexis like this. Alexis says she’s partaking in a legal substance in the privacy of her own home. She’s not hurting anyone. Sam says she’s hurting herself and the people who love her. Alexis says, what Sam’s doing isn’t love. It’s holier than thou condescension, and a convenient distraction from the mess waiting for her at home. Sam says Alexis is trying to change the subject, and Alexis asks if Valentin wasn’t all that Sam hoped. Sam says she thought Alexis and Valentin were buddies. She and Jason noticed how stressed Alexis was at the reception. Alexis asks how they knew that, and Sam says, she was drunk. Alexis asks why Sam is hounding her. Go home. Jason is back. Or is their reunion not all it’s cracked up to be?

Olivia says she’s thrilled Brook is home, but Brook says, she’s not there to stay. Monica summoned her, but it turned out to be a trap to get her to have a face-to-face with her father. He said hurtful things, so she left. Olivia asks if she snuck back in to spy on them, but Brook says she thought of some other things she wanted to say. Olivia says, by all means, have at it. It’s time to clear the air.

Chase asks why Michael blames him more, but Michael doesn’t want to get into it. It’s not the right place. Chase says, Michael is always so restrained and controlled. He needs to learn to let loose. Michael says he had everything he wanted, but it came at a cost, mostly for Willow. He thought she and Chase had something real, and he thought they were friends. He guesses he was wrong on both counts. Chase says he wasn’t.

Willow asks how Deception is going, and Sasha says, this morning it was great. Now it’s on the brink of disaster, mostly because of her. Willow tells her not to be hard on herself. Everyone can be a nervous wreck. She was before the custody hearing. Sasha says, but Willow nailed it. She showed the judge what a great person she is, and why she deserved Wiley. Willow nailed her moment, while Sasha crashed and burned.

Nina tells Valentin that Phyllis was one of the nurses who took care of her. She remembers Phyllis because she was kind, and actually took care of her. He asks if she thinks Phyllis was there when her child was born, but Nina says she doesn’t know. And she won’t know until she finds her. She does believe Phyllis forced her mother to give half of the necklace to her baby, so she might know who adopted them. Valentin asks her to let him help her find Phyllis.

Jordan thanks Jax for coming in, and he says, absolutely. She said she had additional questions, specifically about the timeline the night Nelle disappeared. Jax asks why they’re going over it again, and she says, Nelle’s body was found downriver in Pennsylvania, and the local PD is opening their own investigation. She wants to make sure his statement is complete. He wonders if she’s also asking Carly questions, and she says, they sent a detective. Carly is in the interrogation room with him and her lawyer now.   

DeLeon says the autopsy shows Nelle didn’t die from drowning. She died from a traumatic fall. Does Carly know anything about that? Diane asks, what about? Autopsies or traumatic falls in general? He’s supposed to ask specific questions. DeLeon asks if Carly pushed Nelle off a cliff, and Carly says, no. He says Nelle was a threat to her and her family, and she wanted Nelle stopped. Carly says, yes, and he asks if she wanted Nelle to die. She says, Nelle was twisted and dangerous, and she’s relieved Nelle is dead.

Ned says he was looking for Olivia, and she says she got caught up in something she needs to tell him about. She needs to tell everyone, but right now, she’s brokering a father/daughter conversation. Monica thinks they might want to discuss things in private, and Olivia tells them, just remember they love each other. It’s a precious bond; don’t take it for granted. Don’t get caught up in their pride, and throw it away. She and Monica leave, and Brook stands with her arms folded. He asks how much she heard, and she says he slept with Alexis. He says, it was a mistake, and she says, sure. She gets it. Things happen. Out of curiosity, when she traded stock she legitimately owned, was it a worse mistake than him cheating on his wife?

Sam says she’s there because she loves Alexis. She’s not avoiding Jason; they’re doing fine. Alexis tells Sam, if she says so, and Sam says Alexis can be as ugly as she wants, but can’t drive her away. Alexis says so Sam wants to help her when she doesn’t want it, and Sam says maybe Alexis can hear it from someone else. She can call Finn to take Alexis to a meeting. Alexis says, great idea. Finn will be the first person to convince Sam that she can’t be talked into doing something she doesn’t want to. Sam asks what she’s supposed to do. Nothing, and watch Alexis drink? Alexis suggests Sam have a drink with her. How much does she want? One finger? Two? Three?   

Chase tells Michael, he’s not making excuses for what he did, but before Nelle filed for custody, before things spiraled out of control, his life was on a completely different rack. He was committed to Willow, and considered Michael a good friend. He loves his brother, but he’s nowhere near as close to Finn as he was to Michael. Michael is easier to talk to than Finn. Michael says he spent a lot of time with his younger brother. Morgan was his best friend, and when he died, Michael went looking for another. That’s what Chase became for a while. Chase says, but not anymore, and Michael says, no; not anymore.  

Sasha tells Willow, this is crazy. She cheated with Willow’s boyfriend, and now she’s asking for Willow’s sympathy. Willow says Sasha is having trouble at work. One has nothing to do with… the other. Sasha says, except it does. Her confidence is shot. She thought she knew who she was and what she wanted. She thought she could handle losing Michael, but it’s been harder than she could have ever dreamed. She knew she loved him, but she had no idea how deeply. Now it’s too late. Willow flashes back to Michael asking if she wants to go back to the way things were before, and her saying, it’s not possible. She can’t pretend Chase didn’t betray her, no more than he can pretend Sasha didn’t betray him, but they might want to open their hearts to someone else one day. Michael asks, how would that work if they’re still married? Willow asks Sasha, what if it wasn’t too late? What if she had another chance? Sasha asks, what if Willow had another chance with Chase, would she take it?

Valentin tells Nina, she knows the name and when Phyllis was employed. It should be relatively easy to track her. Nina tells him to promise he won’t do that. She can’t have him near this. He says he just wants to help, but she says he wants to control the narrative; what she knows and what he thinks is too painful for her to now. That’s why she wasted months not looking for her real child. He says he didn’t know about the necklace. If she’d told him… She says, he would have made sure Sasha got the necklace to make it more convincing. He says he didn’t know she had a legitimate lead, or he never would have recruited Sasha. She says, it doesn’t matter. She needs to find her child on her own. He says, or with Jax?

Jordan asks if Jax heard anything; a cry for help? He says, no, and she asks what Carly’s attitude was when he found her. Defiant? Angry? Disoriented? He says she was upset Nelle got away, but they knew the police were coming, and decided to leave the search to them. She says, anything else? and he flashes back to telling Carly to either tell the whole truth, or take his advice and save herself. He says he’s told Jordan everything he remembers.   

DeLeon asks, when Carly found Nelle, did she push Nelle off the cliff? Carly says, no, and he says she wanted Nelle dead, but Diane says, what Carly wanted or didn’t want doesn’t matter. It’s what she did or didn’t do. Carly says Nelle wanted her to destroy herself. She’d never kill Nelle. She wouldn’t give Nelle the satisfaction. She stands by her statement. Nelle ran away, and she never saw Nelle again.  

Chase says, this is probably their last work out together, and Michael says, probably. Chase says he’s glad Wiley got the parents he needed, and glad Willow is adopting Wiley. She’ll be an awesome mom. Michael says it’s none of Chase’s business, and hits Chase. Chase says, please tell him that wasn’t on purpose. Michael says he’s got to go, but for what it’s worth (🍷), he wishes things had gone differently. After Michael leaves, Chase says, him too.

Willow tells Sasha, that wasn’t fair; she asked first. Sasha thinks the answer is the same for both of them. There’s no going back. No do-overs. Willow and Michael are married. They’re Wiley’s parents, and the three of them are obviously happy. Willow says, they are, and Sasha says, that’s how it should be. She and Chase did what they did, now they have to live with it. She says she should get going, and takes out her wallet. Willow says, her treat, and Sasha says, good seeing her, but they probably shouldn’t do this again.

Nina says, Jax is helping her, and Valentin is sure he is. Nina says, what he’s not doing is lying to her or having her go down a path of breadcrumbs where the outcome is staged for his own good. She can trust him. Valentin says that’s what she thinks in the short time she’s known him. Ask Carly what he’s capable of. He’s sure Jax has lied to and for Carly, and will again. For Jax, Carly comes first. She says he sounds like Ava, and he asks what that tells her. He and Ava disagree on everything, yet they agree about Jax’s feelings for Carly. Nina’s phone dings, and she says, thank God. A place she needs to be. She and Valentin can stay in each other’s lives for Charlotte’s sake. Other than that, stay out of her life. She walks out.

Diane tells Carly, to be clear, Carly revealed on record that she’s relieved Nelle is dead. That’s the kind of surprise she was talking about that’s not welcome. Carly says she’d obviously be lying if she’d said she wasn’t relieved. That doesn’t mean she killed Nelle. Diane asks how long Carly and Jason have been friends, and Carly says, forever. Diane says, in that forever, how many times has he been interrogated by the PCPD? Carly says, hundreds, and Diane says, yes. In all the hundreds, how many times does she think he’s ever volunteered information? It’s never okay. Take a lesson, and confine her answers to yes, no, I don’t know, I can’t remember. Never explain or interpret or under any circumstances comment on her feelings. Feelings lead to motives, motives lead to convictions. Carly says she didn’t push Nelle, and Diane says she believes Carly, but the detective obviously doesn’t. Carly says, there’s no way to prove Nelle didn’t fall, and Diane says Carly is in the clear if she doesn’t volunteer anything else to the police. She tells Carly that she needs a drink, and she’s going to be billing Carly double for this. Carly requires more fancy footwork than any other client. Diane leaves, and Carly sits down. Jax comes in, and asks if she’s okay. She says she honestly doesn’t know.

Ned tells Brook, he deeply regrets cheating, and she says she’s sure he does. He says it probably wouldn’t have happened if he’d heard the message Brook deleted. Brook says, so it’s not his fault that he slept with Alexis; it’s hers. He says she acted impulsively and selfishly, and she asks him to hear himself. He cheated on his wife, and she’s selfish. He says it’s between him and Olivia, and Brook says he made it clear to Monica that he’s going to cover it up. He says he’s trying to spare Olivia pain in knowing something that shouldn’t have happened. Brook calls him a hypocrite. She has to tell the truth and take responsibly, but he sleeps with who he wants. Knock himself out. He’ll have to find someone else to blame next time. Maybe he should look in the mirror. She storms out.  

Alexis tells Sam to have a drink with her mom. It’s better with company. Sam says she’s not enabling Alexis, and Alexis says, that’s not very equitable, considering the enabling Sam has received in her life. Jason is an unhealthy addiction. Sam says she loves Jason, and Alexis loves that bottle. Alexis says, unlike various people in her life, the bottle doesn’t criticize her or lie to her or judge her. Sam says it’s victimized her, and Alexis says, it makes her feel better. She doesn’t love the bottle, but she likes it a lot more than Sam right now. Sam needs to get off her back or get the hell out. She takes a drink. Geez, I’m starting to want a drink.

Michael walks into the Quartermaine mansion, and Willow says, good; he’s home. She wanted to do some thinking about their marriage, and she’s made a decision. He says, so did he.  

Chase hits the heavy bag, when Sasha comes in. He says she just missed Michael, and she says, small world. She just saw Willow at Charlie’s. They had some wine, like old times. Chase asks how Willow is, and Sasha says, moving on, whether she knows it or not. Chase says Michael is too.

Olivia asks, where’s Brook? and Ned says, gone again. Monica asks, what happened? She thought they were clearing the air. Ned says Brook made it very clear she wants nothing to do with him. Olivia says she’s sorry they’re at odds, but she’ll find a way to build a bridge. Monica says she tried with no success, but Olivia says she’s on hot streak. Monica says she seems confident, and Olivia says she is. The most wonderful thing happened. Dante is home. When she went to Geneva, he didn’t see her, but she stood outside his room, and he heard her talking. Something she said got through. He was discharged and he’s back in Port Charles. He’s in the house right now. He’s not back at Lulu’s; long story. She hopes it’s okay, and Monica says, it’s fine. She’s fond of Dante, and it will be nice to have a detective in the house.

Sam tells Alexis that she didn’t come looking for fight, and Alexis says she found one anyway. Sam says drinking is just going to hurt her, and Alexis says she’s been hurting for the last three years, but she’s not feeling any pain now. Sam asks, what about tomorrow? When she wakes up hungover because she’s putting booze ahead of the people who love her. Alexis says she doesn’t intend to lose her family, but she intends to do as she sees fit to do without judgment. Accept that, or Sam is welcome to leave. Sam says she’s going to go, but she’ll be coming back. She leaves, and Alexis looks miserable, but drinks some more.

Valentin is drinking at the bar at Charlie’s, when Brook comes in. She sits next to him, and asks if he’s ever tried a black Russian. He says, once, in Moscow, and I think he’s going to make a joke, but he says he prefers vodka straight, especially if he’s drinking to get drunk. She says she might join him. It’s been that kind of day.

Jax asks why Carly didn’t call him, and she says Diane was with her. Diane knows how to protect her. He asks if she did, and Carly says, the autopsy says Nelle died from a traumatic fall. The detective thinks Carly pushed her, but there’s no evidence because it didn’t happen. She stuck to her story like he told her to. He says he knows the pressure she’s under, and she says he was right. If she admits to being there, she’ll be charged with murder. She thanks him for talking sense into her. She’s grateful she can count on him. He hugs her, and says, always. Nina sees them hugging.

Tomorrow, Cyrus asks if someone has the answers he wants, Dustin says he’s willing to let Lulu go, and Sam asks for Sonny’s hep.

Below Deck Mediterranean – Reunion – Part One

The reunion was remote, and Hannah told us it was 3 am in Sydney when she was getting her makeup done. Everyone was everywhere all over the globe, and we started with flashing back to Laura, the insanely bitchy second stew for five minutes. Andy said she’d been invited, but had told the producers, considering how she’d been portrayed, she was declining the invite. Andy asked the cast if they thought she’d been represented unfairly, and that was a unanimous no. Captain Sandy said had she known what all was going on, she would have fired Laura.

Things seemed scratchy between Hannah and the captain from the jump. There was a big deal about the laundry having been behind until Bugs created a system, and it went on for way too long. Andy brought up Kiko telling Hannah to watch out for Bugs, and Kiko said he was getting a weird vibe from Bugs, but Bugs insisted she never tried to throw Hannah under the bus. Andy tried to get Jess to choose between them, but she stayed diplomatic.

The issue of Hannah not being herself was brought up pretty quickly. Bugs thought Hannah hadn’t wanted to be there, but added that everyone was getting to the stage where yachting wasn’t the be all and end all. Hannah said she didn’t want to be cleaning toilets at age 45. Andy moved on as quickly as he landed on that topic, and we flashed back to the deckhands, mainly Pete, being disrespectful to Malia. Andy read that Pete was terminated in June after sharing a racist and sexist meme on his Instagram. (You can find it if you google it, but I’m not leading you there.) Captain Sandy said Pete lacked consciousness about what’s going on in the world. She said the meme was disturbing, and everyone agreed. She’d texted him, asking what he was thinking, and he replied it was a mistake, but then there was radio silence. You could tell Malia was all proud of herself when she was brought up as being a chick woman in charge. She was also in semi-darkness with halo light, looking as though she was posing for glamour shots. Bugs seemed heavy handed, pouring her own champagne.

Hannah thought Captain Sandy didn’t like the fact that she didn’t want be in yachting long term, but the captain said she was happy for Hannah, who was living her dream. Malia was proud of herself again when Captain Sandy gave her props. Andy said Kiko was one of the only living yacht chefs who was not totally insane, and Malia seemed amused when the captain said Kiko didn’t live up to his resumé. I wanted to smack her. The captain said, it wasn’t personal, it was professional (a recurring theme from her), and he needed more training. Seriously though, anyone who would have a bad thing to say about this guy personally, would be off their rocker. He’s probably one of the nicest people alive, especially in comparison to the other chefs they’ve had. Tom went apesh*t over a cucumber, for God’s sake. Hannah thought they should have lifted Kiko up more, but Captain Sandy said professionalism required you to keep your emotions in check. She said if Kiko studied under another chef, he’d be great, since he had the best attitude of any chef she’d ever worked with. He said he would have fired himself for Vegas night. This was rehashed for way too long too.

Malia said yachting wasn’t Hannah’s thing anymore, and it showed. Hannah said, when she started the season, she was of two minds. Then she had to deal with Laura. Andy asked why Captain Sandy didn’t go to Hannah first, and tell her that she’d have to switch cabins so Tom and Malia could bunk together, instead of announcing it over the radio? There was never an actual answer to this, and the captain said it’s actually up to the first officer, but she made an executive call. Malia said there was no clear-cut protocol, and she thought it was blown out of proportion. They moved on to Hannah’s valium and weed or CBD pen, depending on who you believe. Again, I got why they did it, but didn’t like how it was done. Andy said viewers found the timing after the cabin argument suspicious, even though Malia insisted that had nothing to do with it. Captain Sandy said it was a fine line. You don’t want to mess with someone’s livelihood, but have culpability as a captain. Andy said Hannah’s pen matched the manufacturer’s THC pen; not their CBD one. And that’s where they left it.

As reunion episodes go, it was pretty harmless, but it’s still early. No doubt they’ll get to that point where everyone talks at once and you can’t hear anybody.

Next time, Malia is asked if she regrets Tom joining the crew, Jess claims Rob sent Aesha an inappropriate text, maritime law is discussed, Jess threatens to air Rob’s dirty laundry, and Andy bangs his head on the desk.       On purpose.

👠 Welcome Return…

I loved Baby Phat! And I love Kimora Lee Simmons. I think she’s one of the most beautiful women ever, and I have the Barbie that was fashioned after her. Bonus: It comes with a little dog.

https://coveteur.com/2020/10/16/kimora-lee-simmons-baby-phat-beauty/

🛸 Never Enough Baby Yoda…

The trailer for The Mandalorian’s second season is here.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/the-mandalorian-season-2-trailer-star-wars-disney-plus/

👰🏻 Rich and Married…

I don’t really remember her, but I did like this series.

https://extratv.com/2020/10/19/wedding-pic-reality-star-roxy-sowlaty-marries-nicolas-bijan/

⚰️ More Dead Ahead…

I’m all for milking a franchise, but do we really need an animated version?

https://comicbook.com/thewalkingdead/news/the-walking-dead-considering-animated-episodes-more-current-char/

👻 Ghostly Travels…

Travel channel’s Ghostober TV schedule. You’ve still got 11 days to get your scare on.

https://www.travelchannel.com/shows/new-on-travel-channel/ghostober-october-tv-schedule

If Halloween attracts you.

https://www.travelchannel.com/interests/haunted/photos/scariest-halloween-attractions

And if you’re not afraid to spend the night.

https://www.travelchannel.com/interests/haunted/photos/top-10-haunted-hotels-in-america

🧚🏽‍♀️ Spiriting Myself Away…

Tomorrow is a busy day, and I still have to shop for Halloween. Although I’m still unclear on the status of trick-or-treating in my town this year. I don’t want to end up living off of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups for the next month like I did after Hurricane Sandy hit. No matter what your Halloween plans, stay safe, stay out of the candy, and stay masked under your mask. Unless your mask is your mask.

Oct15

October 14, 2020 – Maxie Spills the Beans, a New Face In the OC, Jeana’s Voice, a Wedding, Another Wedding, Dead Spin, a Nightmare Benefit, Sad Farewell & Song For Two Seasons

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Curtis sees Portia at the hospital. He says he’s picking TJ up from work, so he and Jordan can get a minute of quality time with him. Portia says her parents used the same trick on her when she was in med school, and tells Curtis, it’s going to be a while before TJ is finished. He says he’ll wait, and she asks if he’d like some company. She could use a break, and her ears are still ringing from the loud music at the homecoming dance. He says, according to his recollections, she couldn’t listen to music loud enough back in the day. She says they won’t be telling Trina that, and he asks how Trina is. It couldn’t have been easy on her. The last time she went to a dance… Portia says, her father was killed.

Jordan sees Cyrus by the elevator in the parking garage. He says he’s been waiting for her.

Maxie tells Peter, it’s the best day. They’re engaged. She’s not even upset that his sister was a witness. He says Anna wants to talk to him; it sounds like something important. She asks if he wants to go over there now, but he says they’re supposed to give Mac and Felicia the good news. She suggests he go see Anna, and she’ll wait for him at The Floating Rib. She’ll stall as long as she can. He says he loves her, and can’t wait to marry her. She says she can’t wait either, and hopes Anna doesn’t have bad news. He’s sure it isn’t, but nothing is going to bring him down today.

Anna flashes back to Finn saying she should tell Peter the truth; that she doesn’t know if she or Alex is his mother. Her phone dings, and it’s a text from Peter, saying he’s on his way.

Chase goes to Finn’s office, and asks if he has plans this weekend. Finn says, it’s too early for best man plans, but Chase says he wants to have a family dinner; him, Chase, Anna… his mother…

At The Floating Rib, Jackie sits at the bar with Mac, telling him old tales about Robert. Robert comes in and says he sees Jackie has met his baby brother. She says, the fairer Scorpio by a mile. She had lunch there with Chase, and tells Mac that he really has a special place. Mac says, drinks are on the house, and Robert says Mac wouldn’t know flattery if it smacked him in the head. Mac says, maybe not, but he has more sense. How could Robert let Jackie get away? Jackie says, good question.

Miss Madigan tells Lucy that she certainly had a unique pitch. Perhaps they could revisit putting Deception in their stores at a later time. Valentin says they only buy products every six months, and Sasha asks if there’s anything they can do to change her mind. Lucy says, this is silly. Why don’t they have the actual voice of Deception give a performance? The artist is there, live and in person. Valentin says he thinks it would be an excellent idea. Behind the scenes, Amy looks panicked. Lucy tells Madigan not to let a silly flashdrive mistake stop her from hearing a song they think will be number one. Madigan says she doesn’t think a song is going to change things, and Valentin suggests rescheduling, but Lucy says, Madigan is there now. She knows Madigan will love the song. Everyone who hears it, adores it. And she knows Brook would be thrilled to sing it for her. Brook smiles.

Curtis says, it would be a shame if Taggert’s death got in the way of Trina enjoying all the things a young person should enjoy; dances and friends. Portia says there were some bumpy moments, but ultimately, she thinks Trina had a good time. It’s sweet of him to keep asking about Trina, since Trina has been less than understanding. He says he’s a grown man. He can take what she throws at him. She says, but Trina’s anger is misdirected. She’s tried to get Trina to understand, and hopes one day she sees that Curtis is the reason she made it through that night. He saved her daughter’s life and she can never repay him.

Cyrus says Jordan got his text, and she says, she’s there, isn’t she? He asks if she has what he asked for.

Finn tells Chase, the best man title can be revoked at any time, and Chase says his brother and mother haven’t been in the same zip code as him since he was a kid. He thought it would be nice. Finn says, for him, and Chase says, yes, for him, and for the whole family. Wouldn’t it be easier if Finn made nice with his parents before the wedding? Finn knows Chase means well, but his relationship with his dad and Jackie doesn’t have to be the same as Chase’s, and it isn’t Chase’s responsibility to be mending fences. Chase says, the best man has to have a more important job than just not losing the rings, and Finn says. if the wedding even happens.

Anna thanks Peter for coming. He says before she gets into what she has to tell him, he has something important to tell her first. He and Maxie are getting married.

Robert says, what Mac doesn’t understand is that he possesses a certain je ne sais quoi. He can’t help it if he possesses magnetism to women of a certain order. Jackie laughs, and Mac asks how Robert explains Felicia never falling at his feet. Maxie comes in, and Robert starts to introduce them, but Maxie says, Jackie Templeton, the journalist. Robert says Jackie’s head is big enough already, and Maxie says Lulu mentioned she was going to try and get Jackie there. She introduces herself, and asks Mac where Felicia is. Mac says she’s delivering meals to the elderly; is something wrong? Maxie says, quite the opposite. Robert says, out with it, and Maxie says she wanted to wait for Peter, but she can’t. She and Peter are getting married. Mac says, that’s great, and hugs her. Robert frowns.

Brook says, as much as she’d love to sing, she doesn’t have the music track. Lucy says it’s on her laptop, but Brook says her voice isn’t warmed up. Lucy asks Madigan to give them a teeny moment, and tells Sasha to give her some pastries and herbal tea. Sasha takes Madigan to the bar, and Lucy says she appreciates what Brook has gone through, and sympathizes, but that woman can put their product in over 250 stores across the country, not to mention they have an amazing website. They might not get the opportunity again for at least six months. Brook is sure there’s another way to get her on board. Valentin is quite the charmer. Valentin says, in the short time he’s known Brook, he recognizes her as a fighter. Don’t let Nelle steal her voice. She wants to sing in front of a live audience again, doesn’t she? Brook says, more than anything in the world, and Lucy says, all right then. It’s settled. Brook will reach deep inside herself and find a way to do it, right? Brook says yeah, some way. Amy watches.

Jordan gives Cyrus the file, and he thanks her for her promptness. She says she can’t imagine he’ll get much use out of it; the case is dead, and most of it is redacted. He says he shouldn’t have any trouble filling in the blanks. Earlier today, she was questioning Brando. Does she have him pegged as the person who sabotaged Jason’s motorcycle? She says she’s asking Brando questions about how the part was sabotaged. It’s standard procedure in an investigation. He says, not any longer. He needs her to kill the investigation.

Chase asks what Finn means, and Finn says, forget it. He was talking nonsense. Chase asks if he and Anna had a fight, but Finn says they’re fine. Chase asks if it has to do with their dad and his mom, but Finn says, for once it has nothing to do with their family. It’s Anna’s. There’s the distinct possibility Anna’s sister could end up in Port Charles. Chase says, Alex has been on the run from international authorities for years. Why would she risk getting caught coming back to Port Charles?

Anna tells Peter, that’s wonderful news, and hugs him. She asks where Maxie is, and he, says she’s already at The Floating Rib. Anna asks him to tell her everything, and they sit in the living room. He says they were at the hospital for their genetic testing appointment. They got some great news, and Maxie asked him to marry her. Anna says, it’s so typical Maxie, and he says he thought same thing. He’s wanted to pop the question for months, but his fear was holding him back, and Maxie did it for him.

Mac says, so Maxie is getting married, and she says he dragged it out of her. He says, sorry for the relentless interrogation. She says he badgered her until she spilled the beans. At least that’s the story they’re going to give Felicia. He says he’s happy for her. They’re already a family; this just makes it official. Jackie says, congratulations, and Robert asks if she’s sure this is what she really wants. Maxie says she should hope so, considering she asked Peter. Mac says he’s going to call Felicia to make sure she gets back as soon as she can. Robert tells Maxie to sit while he and Jackie rustle up some cider. Brando comes over to Maxie, and tells her that he couldn’t help overhearing – congratulations. She says, a new baby, a new career, a new husband. It seems like things are finally starting to go her way. It feels pretty good.

Lucy asks Sasha, what happened? and Sasha says she’s sorry. She had a bad day. Lucy says she’s had her share of bad days, and public disasters, but this isn’t a bad day. Something isn’t right. Sasha is scattered, and she can’t focus. Sasha says she gets it; she messed up. Message received. She stomps off.

Valentin tells Madigan, it shouldn’t be much longer. Brook wants to warm up and do the song justice. Madigan says she respects people who take pride in their work.

Brook says Amy told her she would help, and Amy says she did, but what Brook is asking now… Brook says, is nothing. All they have to do is sync Amy’s mic to the Bluetooth speakers she’s going to use. She’ll be performing, but they’ll hear Amy’s voice. She remembers the lyrics, right? It will be a piece of cake. Brook can’t let them down. They need her, and she needs Amy to be her voice.

Jordan tells Cyrus, there are lines she won’t cross. An investigation into an accident where someone was hurt is one of them. Cyrus says he’s not trying to puncture holes in the wheels of justice, but he suspects she doesn’t really believe Brando had anything to do with Jason’s accident. She’s just dotting her i’s and crossing her t’s. He’s asking her to her to leave some i’s undotted and t’s uncrossed. She flashes back to Curtis saying, Cyrus needs to believe he has them where he wants them, and her saying, that way, he won’t know what hit him when they take him down. Jordan tells Cyrus, okay, but why is he protecting Brando? He says, seeing an innocent man accused of something he didn’t do, hits close to home. They wouldn’t want Brando to suffer the same injustice he did, would they?

Finn tells Chase, if Anna knew what was going on in her sister’s mind, it would make their lives easier, but she  doesn’t. Chase says, Anna is more than capable of taking care of herself, and Finn says, physically. Chase’s phone rings, and he says, that’s strange. It’s Valentin, who says his presence is required at the MetroCourt. Chase asks if there’s a situation in progress, and Valentin says, of a criminal nature, no, but Sasha is his friend, and she could use one right now.

Lucy thanks Madigan for her patience, and says she’s in for a treat. Sasha’s phone dings, and a text from Chase asks if she’s okay. Brook puts the music on, and Amy begins to sing backstage. I’m guessing the title is, We Were Created from the Ruins, since it’s sung like, 1000 times.

Jackie tells Robert, who knew the lead singer of Riff Raff would go on to have a cosmetics mogul as a daughter? He says, Frisco’s grown up quite a bit, and she says, so has he, for the most part. He says he thought they buried the hatchet, and she says, hatchet buried; water under bridge. She’s not talking about the past, but his present. What does he have against that girl’s fiancé?

Peter tells Anna, the scariest thing on earth is to get everything you wanted, because you have everything to lose. She says, it is scary to get what you want, but she thinks it’s more tragic to push it away. Now that he has it, he has to try hard to be worthy of it. He’s says he’s doing everything in his power. It’s been a major revelation. It’s been a lot for him. The pregnancy, the genetic testing… She says, they came back good? and he says, the tests came back clean. He has nothing that could be passed on to the baby. Anna says, it must be a relief, and he says the only thing he had flagged was a marker for rheumatoid arthritis. He assumes he got that from her.

At the hospital, Jordan tells Chase that she’s reassigning some cases on the docket. He’s no longer working the Jason Morgan crash. He asks if he messed up, but she says, no; he’s one of their best detectives, but she’d rather use his talents on more pressing investigations. He asks if eliminating Jason and opening the door to a mob war isn’t serious. There’s no way it was a faulty part; someone tampered with the stabilizer. It was a murder attempt dressed up to look like an accident. She says, there’s no way of proving the stabilizer was tampered with; no way of knowing Jason was targeted. It was an egregious error on the plant’s part. He says, that’s a big coincidence. Brando did a stretch in prison, and is just the kind of guy Cyrus would use to do his dirty work. Portia and Curtis come around the corner, and Jordan says, Brando is no longer a person of interest. He says, since when, and she says they’ll talk about it tomorrow at the station. He says, yes ma’am, and leaves. Jordan says, sorry they had to see that. It’s never pleasant putting your foot down as a boss. Portia says, it isn’t, but neither is letting Taggert’s killer get away with murder, Jordan asks what she means, and Portia says, they both know Cyrus is directly responsible for Trina losing her father. Curtis says, no one is disputing that, and Portia says, she gets they don’t have evidence to tie Cyrus to Taggert’s shooting, and she can rationalize Jordan had information to set that monster free, but she has a new investigation. One that could put Cyrus back in prison where he belongs, but instead, she shut it down. Why? Jordan says, with all due respect, she doesn’t have to explain her investigations to Portia, but just so she knows, there was no direct evidence linking Cyrus to Jason’s accident. Portia says, and there won’t be now that Jordan is shelving the investigation. She never took Jordan for a coward. Jordan says, Portia has no idea what she’s been through this past year. And the hard decisions she’s had to make. She’s not a coward, and certainly doesn’t answer to Portia. Portia says, then why doesn’t she answer to Taggert. What’s it going to take for her to bring his killer to justice, especially when she dragged his name through the mud?

Cyrus knocks on Finn’s office door, and he says he’s been meaning to introduce himself. They have much to discuss.

Peter says, apparently rheumatoid arthritis is supposed to be inherited. Maxie said Nathan didn’t have it, so he assumes he didn’t get it from Faison. She says he didn’t get it from her. She had a full genetic work up when she was diagnosed with PV, and didn’t have it. He says maybe it was Faison, and the gene skipped Nathan. He can handle a little arthritis. He tells Anna, he has a fiancé to get to, and she says give Maxie a hug for her. He says, wait a minute. He came there because she wanted to tell him something, but she says, it can wait. It’s nothing compared to his spectacular news. She tells him to go, and when he leaves, she goes to her laptop.

Jackie tells Robert, that was the most tepid reaction to an engagement she’s ever seen. He couldn’t even muster a congratulations. He says she doesn’t know Maxie’s fiancé. He doesn’t trust Peter August. She says if the story she’s working on turns into anything, she’ll be working with The invader, and he says there’s no way she should be working with Peter. She says she doesn’t remember asking him for career advice. He gave up that right long ago. He says, it’s not the rant of some jealous ex. Peter’s a guy she doesn’t want to mess with. He’s genuinely dangerous.

Amy continues to sing, while Brook mouths the words. Madigan bops her head to the music. Lucy tells Valentin, it looks like something is final going right. Thank you, universe, for allowing Brook to pick up the pieces of a disaster. Sasha jets, and Chase shows up. He sees Amy, and asks what she’s doing. Amy accidently unplugs the Bluetooth connection.

Curtis tells Portia and Jordan, there’s enough pain between the three of them to fill the whole floor. Neither one of them is the enemy. Don’t forget it’s Cyrus. Portia says, he’s right. She hates this. She hates that Cyrus is allowed to walk the halls where Taggert died, but she has to assume Jordan is doing her best to do what’s right. Jordan says, she is. No one wishes Cyrus would vanish from their lives more than she does. She wishes she could make it all go away, but she can’t. She’s the Commissioner, not a ghost. She can’t off Cyrus without anyone seeing. Curtis says, a ghost? What is she talking about?

Finn says he can’t think of anything he and Cyrus have to discuss. He’s never dealt with the Chairman of the Board before, and sees no reason to start now. Cyrus says, that’s not entirely true. He believes Finn dealt with the Chairman of the Board when he was suspended for drug use. Finn says, the dugs keeping him alive. Becoming addicted to something given to ease your pain, can Cyrus believe there are people out there who take advantage of that? Who would make money from it? Cyrus says, it was awful that he was pegged for a drug kingpin, responsible for destroying people’s lives when he was innocent. Finn says if Cyrus is dangling that he might be fired for his past drug use, go for it, but Cyrus says he wasn’t dangling that. Britt would make that decision. Finn says, the Board decided to fire Monica and Bobbie, but Cyrus says Finn is a noted expert and an asset to the hospital. He looks forward to a rewarding, collaborative relationship. Finn says, he has patients, and Cyrus says, of course (🍷).

Peter arrives at The Floating Rib, and Maxie asks, how’s Anna? Is everything okay? He says he blurted out the good news, and Anna told him it could wait. It wasn’t that important. Maxie says, he told Anna. That will make her feel less guilty for blurting it out to Mac. He says he knew it, and she says she tried not to. Was Anna over the moon? He says she was ecstatic. She knows Maxie made him the happiest man alive.

Jackie says she did her due diligence when Lulu reached out. She knows about Peter’s reputation. Robert says she’s not considering working with him. Maybe she’s got an angle? She says, no, she doesn’t. She can’t believe she’s indulging his paranoid streak, and he says he genuinely believes Peter is up to no good. She says she’s not saying he’s wrong, but if she discovers something illicit at the newspaper, the public will know. He asks what she thinks that might be, and she tells him that he’ll read her article along with everyone else. She tells him that she wouldn’t risk losing family over it. Can’t he bring himself to congratulate them? Robert gets up, and goes over to Maxie and Peter’s table. He mumbles that he wanted to congratulate them before it slipped his mind, and stuff like that. Maxie asks if that was for both of them, and Jackie says, of course (🍷) it was. Mac grabs Robert, and asks him to help with something. When they’re out of earshot, Mac asks, what Robert’s problem with Peter is.   

Chase says let him help, but Amy says he doesn’t understand what they’re doing. They can be heard in the other room, and Brook shuts off the music. Madigan says, will someone explain what’s going on? and Lucy says, sometimes you can pick up a private phone call. That has to be what’s going on. Amy runs in, and says she’s sorry, and Madigan says she’s the nurse who sang so beautifully at the telethon. She was the one singing? Brook tells Lucy that she’s sorry, and Madigan says, so the voice of Deception is a fraud? Did Valentin know? He says, absolutely not, but he noticed something was off. Lucy says she told Madigan about the vicious attack on Brook. It must have affected her mentally and emotionally. Madigan asks how Lucy explains her partner flailing during her presentation earlier? It’s clear to her Deception can’t manage a simple presentation, much less an entire company. She’s afraid they won’t be going into business together. Valentin stops Lucy from going after Madigan, and Lucy turns on Brook. She asks, what did Brook do to them? How could she do this? How could she lie? Brook says she didn’t want to let them down, and Lucy says, look what she’s done. The entire future company is in jeopardy. What Sasha did was pretty bad, but Brook… She’s so embarrassed. What they did was unprofessional. No, worse. Brook made them look absolutely pathetic. Brook says she’s sorry, but Lucy doesn’t want to hear it. She never wants to hear anything else from Brook again, and she doesn’t want Brook to be part of the company. She’s fired.

Sasha digs in her purse, but the baggie of coke she comes up with is empty.

At the bar, Brook tells Amy, she doesn’t think Lucy is going to forgive her for this one. Amy says, forgive them, but Brook says, no way is Amy sharing the blame. She’ll make sure. She doesn’t want to jeopardize Amy’s friendship with Lucy. She tells Amy, go before Lucy comes back, and sends some wrath her way. Call if she needs anything. Amy leaves, and Brook tells Chase, Lucy wouldn’t have fired her if the plan had worked. If they’d sealed the deal, she would have been a hero. He says, so the end justifies the means? and she says, sometimes. It’s not meant to be. It seems like nothing in her life goes well for her. In fact, everything has gone straight to hell since she made a deal with the devil. We see Valentin.

Curtis says, no one said anything about offing anyone, and Jordan says, sorry. It’s been a stressful week, so her stress has started spouting off. Taggert was her friend, her partner, and she misses him too. She says she should go, but Curtis says they’re picking up TJ. She says she can’t tonight. Tell TJ she’s sorry. She leaves, and Portia says she didn’t mean to upset Jordan. (Yes she did.) Curtis says Jordan has been under a huge strain. To go and accuse her of  covering up for the man who killed her friend… Portia says it wasn’t intentional, but Jordan’s actions regarding Cyrus are incredibly suspicious. She can’t be the only one noticing.  

Cyrus calls Brando, and says he just wanted Brando to know that the PCPD ended their investigation of him. He made sure. Isn’t Brando pleased? Brando says, he is. What exactly does Cyrus want in return?  

Mac tells Robert, Obrecht committed the crimes, and set Peter up to take the fall. It makes sense; they’re in her wheelhouse. Robert is phoning it in with Peter, and upsetting Maxie. Robert says, he can tell? and Mac says, Maxie has accepted Peter and loves him. They’re going to get married, and start a family together. Let it go, for all their sakes. Robert says, he’s right, and Mac says, what? Robert says he’s being hotheaded, but if they think Peter changed his ways, who is he to otherwise. Mac says, thank you, and Robert says, except – Mac says, here we go – if anything, and he means anything, happens to Maxie or anyone around her, and Peter is implicated, he’s going to do something really bad to him. Mac says, if something like that happens, Robert won’t be doing it on his own.  

Maxie asks what Robert and Mac are talking about; it seems serious. Mac says they’re talking how much they both love her. Robert says, and how much they take her happiness seriously.  

Peter tells Jackie, it wasn’t easy rebuilding The Invader into a serious newspaper. He knew he would lose some readers.

Finn comes home, and sees Anna on her laptop. He asks what she’s doing, and she says she asked Peter to come over. She didn’t tell him though. Finn says, because… She says she may not have to. She thinks she’s found a way to prove once and for all if she’s Peter’s mother or not.

Tomorrow, Maxie asks if it’s not enough for Spinelli, Finn thinks Peter should hear about it from Anna, and Cyrus says he could use Brando on his team.

The Real Housewives of Orange County

The first episode of the new season was kind of sweet. We’ll see how long that lasts. It opened with pictures of the casts from days gone by, and a voice over about the seasons. I wondered if it was Jeana narrating, and it was (see below), so points for me. Shannon had a new house and a new boyfriend, John, who was introduced to her by a mutual friend. He has three kids and she has three kids, but they’re not Brady Bunching yet. Kelly had just become engaged to Rick Leventhal, and she was thrilled. She said he didn’t seem like he was 60, and she felt like she was in the move Cocoon. Geez, it’s not like he’s 90, and there’s Viagra now. Jolie has turned 13, and Kelly said she hated Brian, but loves Rick.

Gina also moved into a new place, and she said her life for the past year had been like a soap opera. We flashed back to her arrest, and she said she was proud of herself. She also had a new boyfriend, and they also have three children each. Is there something in the water? Must be, because Braunwyn moved too. She’s now a block from Shannon, and Kelly was moving into the neighborhood. Shannon was still pissed about Kelly reaching out to Jim Bellino in the midst of him suing Shannon, but Gina thought Kelly’s anger was more toward Tamra, who, in case you didn’t know, is gone from the show, along with Vicki.  

Replacing Tamra is Elizabeth, who lives near Braunwyn. In her interview, Braunwyn described Elizabeth as fun, and doesn’t take sh*t. In Kelly’s interview, she said Elizabeth had married a billionaire, and lives an extravagant lifestyle. She has jets and mansions. She also has a divorce in the works, and a boyfriend named Jimmy, who hasn’t had sex with her yet, since she’s still married. Sadly, her billionaire had a child with another woman when he’d told her that he didn’t want kids, even though she did. Ugh.

Emily is still married to Shane (come back, Shane!), and they were celebrating 11 years. She said the last six months had been amazing, and apparently, her hip surgery was a huge help. She said when she came out, it felt like she had a whole new life, and Shane was there to share it with her. Good for her. I guess. During dinner out, she told Shane that Braunwyn drank too much to have any meaningful conversation or relationship with.

Braunwyn called her new house, the suburban dream. It was 3000 square feet, and 3 stories, and included a home theater, some kind of disco den, and an outdoor pirate ship. I’m not sure what suburb she’s referring to.

Gina and Kelly went to hot yoga, and Kelly said she’s been kicked out 3 times, but didn’t elaborate. Was she too gaseous or combative? Gina was ready to get rid of her not-so-freshman 15 she’d put on because she’s in love. I understood that, but it usually doesn’t happen until after you’re married, when you can relax. Kelly told Gina that Braunwyn had gone to Miami when they were celebrating Rick’s 60th birthday. She wasn’t judging, but Braunwyn’s drinking was on a whole other level. When Gina mentioned that Shannon was still hurt by Kelly getting involved in the lawsuit, in her interview, Kelly said Shannon was choosing that tres amigas bullsh*t.

Elizabeth checked out a property for a dog rescue. In her interview, she said she grew up dirt poor in the south. When she realized money got her out of poverty, she never stopped working. She’s the owner of Edge Music Network, a video streaming service, and said she’s ready to sell her share, but she’s waiting until after the divorce is finalized. Smart move. She told us she’d lost herself being married, and had become a bobblehead wife. She couldn’t stand it, and had missed herself.

Shannon went over to Braunwyn’s house, and Braunwyn played peacemaker, inviting Kelly to join them. They did shots, and Shannon and Kelly made up (I think).

Braunwyn visited Emily, and admitted her drinking was out of control. She’d started drinking at 14, it had never been an issue, especially since she had been sober when she was pregnant. Since they have 10 kids, that’s a pretty big chunk of time. She told Emily she had never felt anything, and she was scared of finding out who she is without alcohol. Emily promised to be supportive, and Braunwyn said she didn’t think she could ever drink again, and it scared the sh*t out of her.

This season, Shannon is excited for 2020, Covid hits, one of Braunwyn’s sons does drag, Kelly’s third wedding, Braunwyn’s mom says she’s not as fun anymore, Gina screams at Braunwyn, and Gina says, 2020 has got to be better than 2019. Yep, we were all excited and we all thought that.

🍊 I Dunno About Ozzy Osbourne…

The real OG of the OC speaks.

https://www.etonline.com/yes-thats-rhoc-og-jeana-keoughs-voice-on-the-season-15-premiere-exclusive-154810

👰🏻 They Did It…

Kelly had said it would be on 10/10/2020, and so it was.

https://pagesix.com/2020/10/11/rhoc-star-kelly-dodd-marries-fox-news-rick-leventhal/

👰🏾 They Did It Too…

Kelly wasn’t the only Wife to get married recently.

https://www.essence.com/celebrity/black-celeb-couples/rhoa-cynthia-bailey-mike-hill-married-wedding-facts/

⚰️ Bring Out Your Dead News…

First, there’s season 11.

https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a29398626/walking-dead-season-11-release-date-cast-trailer-spoilers/

Then Carol and Daryl will be spinning off.

Everything to know about ‘The Walking Dead’ spin-off with Daryl (but no longer Carol)

And as if that wasn’t enough, an anthology series.

https://www.polygon.com/tv/2020/10/9/21510173/tales-of-the-walking-dead-series-anthology-showrunners

🎃 You Could Do Worse For Five Bucks…

This virtually seasonal benefit sounds like a lot of fun.

https://ew.com/theater/the-nightmare-before-christmas-virtual-benefit-concert/

😢 This Made Me Cry…

The world has lost a true comedic talent who had an illustrious career.

Conchata Ferrell Dies: Former ‘Two and a Half Men’ Co-Star Was 77

🕰 No Time For Prime…

I skipped Prime Day this year. Last year all I did was sign up for Prime, and I still haven’t watched Mrs. Maisel. Tomorrow, Craig, Shep, and the Toms from Vanderpump Rules watch Southern Charm’s season 4 finale. I don’t know if they would have been my choice for commentary, but we’ll see. For now, stay safe, stay scrupulous, and stay away from Kelly at hot yoga.