Tag Archives: Watch What Happens Live

Nov6

November 5, 2020 – Franco Asks Jason For a Favor, Shep Apologizes – Twice, Andy’s Bad Sweater Day, a Peach of a Dog & Tom’s November

Posted on by
Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Since it’s been that kind of week, I missed the beginning, but here’s what you need to know. Alex (pretending to be Anna), Peter, and Maxie went to Charlie’s for dinner. Peter suggested inviting Finn, but Alex/Anna said Finn was busy. While Jason waited for Franco at The Floating Rib, Robert asked to talk to him about Spinelli. Lulu met a source at The Rib, and asked how he knew Cyrus. He suggested doing the interview in private at his place, and Dante appeared, saying Lulu was taken. Curtis flew into the hospital, and asked Cyrus what he’d done to Jordan, but Cyrus said he was the reason Jordan got medical attention so quickly. And that’s where I came in.

Lulu tells Dante, he may not have noticed, but she’s doing an interview. She thanks him for suggesting a secure location, but says she doesn’t need rescuing. Dante tells her, he didn’t say she did. He’s just laying the ground rules so there’s no misunderstanding. The source says he knows Dante. Is he with the PCPD? Lulu says, Dante used to work there, but he has a new job. He probably should be studying up for it. Dante says, okay, but he’ll be right over there, pointing to a nearby table. Lulu apologizes, and asks where they were. He was about to tell her how he become acquainted with Cyrus. He says, never heard of him, gets up, and jets. Dante comes back, and says he didn’t think that guy was a reliable source anyway. Lulu says they use plenty of unreliable sources, and she can just check out the information they give her. That was the next step, but now she’ll have to start over with a new source. She worked like hell to get that one. Dante says, he’s a dirtbag, and she says, at least they agree on that. Dante, of all people, should know when you investigate a crime boss, you don’t meet the best people. He says when he was investigating a crime boss, he met her, and she says, look at how that turned out. She tells him, sorry; she shouldn’t have said that, and tells him not to take it the way it sounded.

Jason says, Spinelli would rather see Maxie with a broken heart than dead, and Robert says he never thought he’d see the day Jason took the moral high ground. Jason says, Robert hasn’t changed his mind about busting Peter, even though it will hurt Maxie, has he? Robert says he owes it to the Bureau and his family. You’d think Spinelli would be a better liar. He’s a surveillance man, a hacker, and a P.I., but he constantly trips over his own feet… Jason says, when it comes to Maxie. Robert says, he told Spinelli, no more pot shots, support the marriage, support Maxie, but Jason says, it’s not easy. Robert says they’re not looking at easy; they’re looking at necessary. When it hits the fan, Maxie will see this bastard for who he is, and will need every friend she can find, especially Spinelli.

Cyrus says, he would never wish harm to Curtis’s wife. She’s far too valuable a member of the community of Port Charles. He assures Curtis, he had nothing to do with Jordan’s collapse. Portia asks Curtis to join her and his wife – privately – in Jordan’s room, where she’ll explain everything. Curtis says, they’ve wasted too much time standing with Cyrus, and goes into Jordan’s room. Cyrus asks if he can have a word with Portia, and she asks if that’s an order. He says, a request.  

Curtis asks, what happened? Is she okay? There’s no response at first, but Jordan slowly turns her head and looks at him, motioning him closer. She says she’s never been better.

Franco asks Elizabeth how he got so lucky. He’s actually asking; it’s not rhetorical. He loves her, and after the life he’s led, he’s just the luckiest guy in the world. She asks if he’s okay, and he says, right this second, he’s better than okay. His life, their life… He says he has to go, and Elizabeth asks where he’s going. He says he’s got to see a guy about a commission.

Finn sees the envelope from the lab in the wastebasket. He looks inside, but it’s empty. He makes a call, and says he’s at the house. How soon can they get there?

Alex tells Peter and Maxie, she wants to hear all about the wedding plans. It means so much to share moments like this together; it’s more rare than they realize. Maxie says she doesn’t know what she’d do without Anna. It means a lot to Peter to have her in his life. Peter says, more than she knows, and Alex says, nothing or no one is ever going to tear them apart again.

Valentin tells Anna, sorry. She says, if that’s an apology there are some things she can forgive; others, not so much. He says he should have taken Alex out when she called Peter her son. He missed his shot; sorry. She says he can make it up to her by helping to get them out. He says if they do get out, he’s going after Alex immediately. Anna doesn’t want that, and he says, she won’t commit to killing Alex, even after what she’s done? Anna says she’s not killing her own sister, and Valentin says maybe Anna should send her a thank you card. Be sure to tell… He says, Charlotte, and Anna says they’ll find a way. Valentin says he may have one, and makes a Hulk noise.   

Lulu tells Dante, it’s not that she doesn’t appreciate a rescue, but she didn’t need a rescue. She knows how to take care of herself. He says he just wanted her know that he never stopped wanting the best for her, even if he’s not a part of it.

Epiphany and Terry go to Elizabeth’s house, and Epiphany asks, what’s in the medicine cabinet? And she’s not talking about the bathroom. Elizabeth says she’s got a nice cabernet, and Epiphany says, perfect. They can give her input after they empty the bottle. She suggests Terry use her skilled hands to open the vino, and goes to the kitchen to get glasses. Elizabeth says she heard Epiphany gave the department head such a hard time, he went in his office, locked the door, and wouldn’t come out.   

Cyrus tells Portia, he knows the hospital treats all patients equally, and she says, as equal as their medical coverage will allow, since he took over. He says, if there’s such a thing as VIP treatment, make sure Jordan receives it. She tells him not to worry. She’ll make sure Jordan gets everything she needs.

Jordan tells Curtis, she passed out in front of Cyrus, or that’s how it seemed. Portia was there to treat her like they’d arranged. They staged the whole thing. They’re going to tell Cyrus she has complications from the transplant. Portia comes in, and Curtis asks if Cyrus is still out there. Portia says she sent him on his merry way, and asks if Curtis is up to speed. Curtis says he is, about his wife. Portia, not so much. Jordan says Portia suspected she was on the take, so she told Portia the truth, that Cyrus threatened to kill TJ. Portia says, now that she knows, she’s offered to help. Curtis says, so they have a new teammate. What’s the plan? Portia says Jordan needs time to regroup; doctor’s orders. Curtis says, it’s the perfect cover. They can get away from that bastard, and turn the tables on him.  

Terry asks Elizabeth where her hubby is, and Elizabeth says he’s finding out about a possible commission. He’s been networking like crazy, and lining up work. He’ll be busy for another year. She asks why Terry is so quiet.

At the Floating Rib, Franco thanks Jason for meeting him. He knows he’s not Jason’s favorite person, and it’s something he’s relying on. Jason tells him, get to the point, and Franco says he likes that Jason doesn’t waste time. He’s grateful for that, since he doesn’t have time to waste. Jason asks what Franco wants, and Franco says he wants Jason to kill him.  

Robert arrives at Anna’s, and asks Finn to tell him again why he’s there. Finn asks if Robert has spoken to Anna, and Robert asks, why? Finn says he hasn’t seen Anna since yesterday. They were supposed have dinner with Chase and his mom, but Anna canceled at the last minute. She said she was waiting for test results. He shows Robert the envelope, and says, according to the lab, she got the results last night. She had them when they spoke. Why would she lie? Robert asks if something is wrong with Anna, but Finn says, the tests aren’t about Anna. They’re about Peter.

Maxie excuses herself to go to the restroom – again. She leaves, and Alex tells Peter, she remembers what it was like expecting him. He says she’s never talked about that before, and she asks why he thinks that is. He says he assumed it was too painful a subject. She says, seeing him with Maxie, and about to become a parent himself, she thinks she’s made peace with that time in her life. He asks, what changed? and she says, funny he should ask.

Valentin says he can’t use his hands, and Anna says he’s still too drugged. She fiddles with the handcuffs.

Lulu tells Dante, she knows there are no guarantees in life, but she needs them. Not for herself. When he left, Charlotte still had Valentin, but Rocco lost his dad. He needs to stick around. He says, that’s the plan, but she says she needs more than a plan. Rocco needs his father. She needs a guarantee that Dante isn’t going to leave again. It would be worse than if he hadn’t come back at all. He says he’s not going anywhere, and if she ever needs anything, all she has to do is ask.

Jason says, Franco wants to be killed by him, and Franco says, trust him. It’s as big a surprise to him as it is to Jason. Jason says, don’t call him again, and starts to leave. Franco says, don’t make him beg. How many times has Jason thought about killing him? How many times has he tried? Think it over. It’s what he’s always wanted.   

Terry tells Elizabeth, it’s just been a long day with patients. Epiphany says she thought they were supposed to be cheering her up, and they wanted to take her mind off her losing her man. They could bring down the mood at a funeral. Elizabeth says she thinks she knows what it is. Terry gets the bottle of wine open, and pours. Epiphany says she’ll take that transfusion.

Portia says, Jordan needs bed rest, and time off work; and no working at home while she recuperates. Curtis asks, for how long? and Portia says, there’s no time table, but don’t press his luck. Jordan says they have to look into a homicide that from 40 years ago, and Portia asks what Cyrus has to do with that. Jordan says, that’s what she’d like to know. The file has been heavily redacted. Curtis says, for some reason it’s important to Cyrus. Cyrus asks if he can come in, and says, what happened? Is Jordan okay?

Robert asks Finn what the tests prove, and Finn says, Peter has a genetic marker that Anna doesn’t have, and neither did Faison. If Peter didn’t inherit it from them, that means he got it from Alex. Robert says, making Alex Peter’s mother. No wonder Anna was on tenterhooks. Finn wonders, why lie if she had the results? and Robert says, now she’s missing. Finn asks if it can be a coincidence that Anna and Valentin wanted to lure Alex out of hiding. Robert asks what Valentin has to do with it, and Finn says, for whatever reason, Anna trusts him to help bring Alex in.

Alex tells Peter, she realizes if not for her choices and the ruthless way she pursued her career, using Faison, she wouldn’t be sitting opposite the one person who made it worthwhile. Peter says, all of it? and she says, a lot of it. He says he’s never heard her speak this way, and she says, they’ve come so far. From here on out, she’s never going leave anything unsaid between them. Moving forward, they’re stronger together than apart. He tells her that she’s saying what he’s always wanted to hear his mother say. Alex says Peter needs to assert himself; the real him. He asks how she knows that, and she says she knows him. He’s her son, and she knows him better than he knows himself.

Valentin and Anna continue to cough. Anna gets out of the cuffs, and undoes her feet. She goes around, and helps Valentin. He’s still weak, and tells her to go, but she says, stand up, and puts his arm around her. He says there’s no time, but she drags him to the door. The pressure cooker vibrates.

Anna and Valentin make it outside, just as the building blows up. Valentin says, nice job, and she asks if he’s okay. He says he’s fine.

Lulu tells Dante, she needs him to take of the kids. She can take care of herself. After he left, it was really hard. She missed him, and doubted herself. She needed him to rescue her at that moment, but he wasn’t there. He says, but Desmond was there, and she says, Dustin was wonderful to her and the kids. She can’t set that aside or ignore it because he’s back. He says he’s not asking her to, and she says, not yet. He says he’s not going to, and she asks why he’s there.

Jason says, no matter how many times Elizabeth tells him that Franco has changed, he’s still the same sick bastard he always was. Franco tells him that the tumor is back, and it’s inoperable. He doesn’t know if it will affect him the way the other one did. He doesn’t know what he’s capable of doing, and doesn’t want to find out. This is the ask. If he starts to repeat the same behavior, will Jason stop him?

Jordan insists she’s fine, but Portia says she’s not. She needs to see a specialist. Portia tells him she thinks there might be complications with the transplant. Curtis says, Jordan needs to see the doctor who did the transplant, and Cyrus asks if they’re on staff. Curtis says, they were, but they were part of Cyrus’s cost-cutting casualties. He’d like to take her to see the doctor tonight, and Portia says she’ll arrange it. They all agree Jordan should see someone familiar with her condition. Cyrus asks if there’s anything he can do in the meantime, and Curtis says he’s done enough. They’ll take it from there. Goodbye. Cyrus leaves, and Jordan sits up. She guesses this means Curtis is in.   

Alex tells Peter, it’s just the two of them right now, so she can talk. She considers them to be extraordinary people. They may blend in, but their ambitions and needs are greater than what the world is capable of offering. It’s on them to shape the world. Normal and everyday doesn’t apply to them. If he trusts her, she can help him become the man he’s destined to be. Maxie comes back, and asks what she missed. Alex says they were just talking about the future, and it’s so much brighter than they ever thought possible. She touches Maxie’s baby bump, and says, isn’t that right, Peter?

Finn tells Robert, Valentin’s phone is going straight to voicemail. Robert asks if Finn thinks Anna shared the test results with Valentin, and they concocted a plan to lure Alex out. Finn says he’d like to think Anna would let him know first. Robert’s phone rings, and he says, ooh. He’s on his way. Finn asks, what’s ooh and what’s wrong? Robert says, there was a gas explosion at a warehouse, and Finn asks what he’s thinking. Robert says, a gas explosion, Valentin and Anna are both gone. Oh yeah, it’s got to be a coincidence.

Dante says he knows he gave up on his and Lulu’s life when he left, but that doesn’t mean he stopped caring. Lulu’s phone rings, and he says, Dustin? She says, yes. He’s checking see how her interview went. He says, sorry about that. He didn’t mean to mess it up. She says, it’s okay. He really was a dirtbag. Dante gets up, and says she should go. He happens to know firsthand the risk of leaving someone waiting.

Jason tells Franco, he’ll do some research. He wants to make sure Franco is telling the truth. Maybe he wants to set Jason up to go down for his murder. Franco says he’s counting on Jason being professional, and covering all the bases. He doesn’t want Elizabeth blaming Jason or feeling any pain. Jason says that’s what Franco would tell him if he was setting him up. Franco says the only thing they have in common is Elizabeth and the boys. He’s counting on Jason to do what needs to be done for them. He’s straight up begging. Please do what he’s asking.

Elizabeth says Epiphany has been blaming herself for Milo leaving for the last fifteen minutes, and Epiphany says, she practically pushed him out the door. Elizabeth says she encouraged him to follow his dream, and Epiphany says Elizabeth is right. She was supportive and encouraging, and she was there, but now he’s gone. She starts to cry, and says, at some point, Milo stopped giving the relationship attention and love and care it needed and deserved. She was too busy to notice, until she did. Terry says she knows what went wrong. Now it’s time to dry her tears, and get back out there. Epiphany says, tonight? and Terry says, when she’s ready. They toast to new beginnings, and clink glasses.

Portia says they’re all set. She’s made up an order for Jordan to visit her neurologist, and the appointment is set up, so it’s on the books. Curtis says they’d better get out of there before Cyrus sends in one of his doctors in for a consultation. Once they get out of sight, they know exactly where they’re going. Portia says, don’t mind her; she just made it possible. Curtis says, 1257 Wilson Avenue, an arts and crafts classic. He wonders who Cyrus has stashed there, that he sends them monthly payments of five or six figures. Portia asks, what about the murder? and Jordan says they’ll work on it when they’re on the plane. They’ll come back with leads, and get Cyrus on two fronts.

Alex says she has to get back to Finn, and tells Peter to take care of Maxie; Maxie is carrying her grandchild. Peter says he will. He worked hard to get the family he deserved. Alex says, that’s something they have in common. When she’s gone, Maxie asks, is it just her, or did Anna seem different? Peter says, she did.

Anna tells a fireman, there was no one else in there; just the two of them. He says paramedics are on their way, and she says she needs to talk to the DA. Robert walks in, and says, why did he know she was involved in this? Anna says, not her; Alex.  

Curtis asks if Portia is sure she covered all the bases. If Cyrus finds out they played him… Portia says, everything is done on her end, but she has no control over what happens after. Jordan says, it’s great to have another ally. Trina would be proud if she knew. Portia says, she better not. She’d march up to Cyrus and do or say something to let Cyrus know they were bringing him down. She leaves, and Cyrus sees her in the hallway. He asks if everything is all set, and she says, the arrangements have all been made. She tells him, goodnight, and walks down the hall. He looks at the closed door to Jordan’s room.   

Jordan says she always wanted to take Curtis to the Pacific Northwest; her old stomping grounds. This isn’t what she had in mind though. He says, it’s not ideal, but if they pull this off and bring Cyrus down, it will be the best vacation ever. He asks what they’re waiting for, and she goes into the bathroom to get dressed.

In the alleyway, Dante takes out his phone. He reads a text that says, complete the mission, which we haven’t heard in five minutes. He takes a pill and moves on.

Jason tells Franco, he’ll do what it takes to protect Elizabeth and the boys. Franco thanks him, saying he knew he count on Jason.

Elizabeth asks if Terry and Epiphany want to wait inside, but Terry says their Ride Share is only a block away; they’ll be fine. Epiphany thanks Elizabeth for the vino and the veritas. Maybe there is life after Milo. Elizabeth says she knows there will be. Outside, Epiphany asks what’s going on between Terry and Elizabeth? Terry says, shop talk, and Epiphany says, uh-huh.

Finn calls Elizabeth, and asks if Violet is still up, but she says, Violet has been down for hours. She asks if something is wrong, and he says he’ll explain when he gets there. Lock the door, and don’t open it to anyone. He’s on his way.

Robert tells a fireman to contain the fire, and Anna asks to use Robert’s phone. Robert hands it to her, and tells the fireman, the woman who lit the fire is dangerous. There might be surprises waiting inside that they don’t know about.  

Finn answers the phone, saying, Robert? but Anna says, it’s her. He says, thank God, and she asks where he is. She says if he’s at the house, he needs to leave. Alex walks in, and Anna says, Finn? What’s happening? Can he hear her?

Tomorrow, Sam tells Alexis that she’s never allowing her around the kids again, Peter tells Lulu that there’s no way he can publish this, and Sonny says he’s going to have to tell Carly someone is alive.

Southern Charm

We were still at Shep’s Dumb and Dumber party. Craig has now taken Cameron’s place as narrator, but it’s not the same. Leva and husband Lamar, who reminds me of a shorter Ving Rhames, arrived, and Leva asked to speak to Kathryn in private. Leva asked why Kathryn was going after her friend, meaning Cameron, since Kathryn had told Craig gossip about Jason having an affair. Leva said Cameron had a beautiful family, and she didn’t want this happening, but Kathryn said she had a family she thought was beautiful too, and Cameron had no problem going after her. We flashed back to that on many occasions, and it wasn’t good look. In her interview, Kathryn said, what goes around comes around. Leva said if Kathryn hurts someone she cares about, Kathryn was going to have a problem with her, and she didn’t want a problem. She was letting bygones be bygones. Kathryn said, sounded good to her, but in her interview said, if it was her or Madison, they’d get on a group text about it. Shep told Craig about Madison and Peter having hooked up. Then Peter’s girlfriend Liz tried to stir the sh*t by telling Austin that Madison had a fling with Peter, and he should be careful about who he dates. It was so stupid, since it wasn’t like Peter had cheated on her with Madison. I just didn’t get it. Maybe Peter needs to be careful about who he dates. Liz seems like she has serious insecurity issues. Patricia and Whitney took off early due to lack of food. I actively looked for a chair, or seating of any kind, and saw none. Madison said something to Shep about being a d-bag for inviting Peter, and left. Shep made a speech saying his guests were the coolest in Charleston. They were the best, and he never wanted to leave because of them. Outside, Madison told Austen about Peter.

Craig had a meeting with his partners, and distribution to Wayfair and Bed, Bath, and Beyond was discussed. I’m impressed. Kathryn’s place looked like a cyclone had hit it, since she’s renovating and moving in. She wanted to get things finished as soon as possible, so she could move the kids back. Austen said he’d felt ambushed, and in his interview, he said Shep couldn’t help himself. Now everyone was talking sh*t behind his back. Shep vowed to Taylor that he wouldn’t gossip anymore. In his interview, he said new girlfriend Taylor made him a better human being. She wasn’t trying to change him, but maybe fine tune him. Austen pouted, and Madison said they’d been through enough sh*t. It was just another test of their relationship

In Danni’s interview, she was doubtful as to whether Shep’s relationship would last. She said as soon as Shep felt cornered, it was peace out. Kathryn told Danni that John kissed her, but he was legit recently divorced, so it wasn’t happening again. We found out Kathryn and Thomas hooked up a few months ago, and I wondered why she’d want to even go near him at this point. Were they drunk? Austen got together with Whitney and Craig for dinner, and Whitney said, how lucky was he, to be with the pillow and beer magnates? Austen said he had beer on tap in the highest volume bars in Charleston. He asked what he was supposed to think about Shep inviting Peter to the party, and Whitney thought Shep had a good heart. Whitney toasted to pillows and beer, and Craig thought that sounded like a sex tape.

Leva’s son’s name is Little? I can’t imagine him not being bullied for that. In Leva’s interview, she explained that she and Lamar were restauranteurs, owning Republic, Bourbon n Bubbles, and Medu; and getting ready to open a sports bar called 1st Place. They’d wanted to bring Miami and New York to Charleston, built it, and they came. She told us when she and Lamar first started dating, people stared. There weren’t many mixed race couples in town. She’d told Lamar that she didn’t know where they fit, and he said people like themselves were needed to change the social climate.

Craig, Shep, and Austen went to the gym. Shep insisted that inviting Peter and Liz wasn’t a set-up, but he was sorry. In Craig’s interview, he said he was fascinated. He’d never seen Shep apologize. Austen wanted nothing more than for everyone to act like adults. New guy John visited Patricia, and wisely brought flowers. He asked for a vodka martini, but got a lecture on the how much better gin was instead. Michael told him that gin was botanical, and vodka came from a potato in the dirt, and Patricia added that vodka was déclassé. I don’t know about that, but I don’t drink gin. I had gin once, and had a hangover for three days. In John’s interview, he said his family had been in Charleston for eight generations. He’d gone to school with Shep, and Patricia asked if Shep was wild and crazy then. John said he was an absolute lunatic. John had come back to Charleston after his divorce because San Diego wasn’t home. Charleston put him in a good headspace, and he was a better co-parent when he was in a good headspace. I rolled my eyes at the word headspace. Patricia asked what he thought about Madison, and he said she was stunning, but also with someone. Patricia said she didn’t think for long. Madison was career driven and ambitious, and her boyfriend was lackadaisical. Whitney said Austen was making an effort, but Patricia said he only had his beer in a couple of places. He wasn’t Budweiser, and Madison deserved Budweiser.

Austen set up a booth to showcase his beer at the Charleston Food and Wine Festival, which he said was the premiere springtime festival in Charleston. Craig said he liked Austen’s merch, but hated the word merch. In Craig’s interview, he said that Madison was maybe not the best for Austen’s mental health, but invaluable businesswise. Kathryn told Danni that she’d decided she was going to act like the kiss didn’t happen when she saw John. In Kathryn’s interview, she said Madison was more John’s type. An old lady came to check out the beer, and said they were pathetically good looking. Madison said the beer must be working. In Madison’s interview, she said Austen hawking his beer was super sexy. The more beer he was slinging and selling, the more she was liking it.   

Shep came by, and Austen told Madison to let him handle it. She said if Shep gave her sh*t, she was going to give it back. Shep told Madison that he felt bad, and apologized. Austen said he heavily preferred that they talk about this another time. Shep said he was coming hat in hand, and Madison asked how many times they were going to do this. Austen interrupted, saying he didn’t think this was the right place, but in Shep’s interview, he said he thought it was the perfect place. When they meet someone in the Mafia, they always pick a crowded place, where no one can do anything crazy. Shep said he wanted to stay out of their relationship, and Madison told him that she wasn’t going anywhere. Shep said he didn’t want Austen to get hurt, and Austen was crazy about Madison, so if she didn’t feel the same way, let Austen know. Madison insisted she did feel the same way. Austen said this was the last place he wanted this to happen, and Madison said she and Shep were good. They never needed to have this conversation again. Then Madison guilted Shep into buying a hat. In his interview, Shep said it was like the cold war between Russia and the United States. We have our rockets pointed at you, just so you know, but we don’t want a war. In Madison’s interview, she said she got off on the fact that she owned any conversation she had with Shep. She and Austen kissed. 

Next time, Austen and Craig get on each other’s nerves, Austen asks if Shep and Taylor are an actual couple, Leva has a ladies lunch in her Persian palace, and Kathryn tells Danni about Thomas getting someone else pregnant.

👀 On Watch What Happens Live, Craig and Shep were both guests. Andy is usually so stylish, but tonight he was wearing a sweater that was no, just no. It looked like a mohair turtleneck, but what it mostly looked like was bad. It was not his color (a pinkish shade of red) and it made him look fat. Maybe he got fat and he was trying to hide it with the sweater, but if so, it didn’t work. Whatever reason he had for choosing it, it didn’t work. Craig said he’d run into Naomie and Metul at the airport sky lounge, and they chatted for an hour, which made me miss Naomie and Metul.

🐶 A Peachy Pup…

I was worried that maybe Chauncy had passed away, but apparently, new pup Peaches is obsessed with him.

https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/patricia-altschul-new-puppy-peaches-obsessed-with-pug-video

⌨️ Puter Pita…

AOL is giving me grief tonight, so I’m off to fight with it. No matter how your technology is treating you, stay safe, stay buoyant, and stay knowing you deserve Budweiser.

Oct29

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

Posted on by
Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Willow meets Michael, and they leave the gym together.

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

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

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

The Real Housewives of Orange County

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

👩🏽‍🏫 Brush Up On Your Charm…

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

‘Southern Charm’ Newbie Leva Gets Real About Talking to Kathryn About Race

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

Shep Rose: There’s No Reason to ‘Weasel’ Out of Taylor Ann Green Relationship

Kathryn co-parents up close and personal.

Kathryn Dennis Lived In Thomas Ravenel’s Guest House Earlier This Year; Thomas Allegedly Appears In Southern Charm Season 7 Premiere

One of the few really decent people in reality TV.

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

🍋 The Stirrer Gets Stirred…

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

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

👠 Because It’s That Time Of Year…

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

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

⏰ The Clock Is Ticking…

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

Aug14

August 13, 2020 – Cyrus Gives Lulu Some News, a Blessing Cures a Hangover, Sonja Spills It, Idol Guess, NYC Snark, Not So Remote, a New Jersey Feature, No Longer Charmed, Music’s Power & Sleeping

Posted on by
Standard

What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Carly sees Jason sitting up and using his tablet, and tells him Epiphany is going to be upset if she sees him. He says, Epiphany isn’t on duty; he already checked. He asks if she’s okay, and she hands him a gift bag, telling him, take it.

Sam asks how Sonny’s dad is, and he says they’re setting up his room at Turning Woods today. Why did she want to see him? She says she wants to talk about Brando.

Ava asks Nikolas if he forget they’re entertaining tonight, and he says she’s entertaining. He couldn’t care less. She suggests he adjust his attitude. Their guests will be arriving soon. He needs to get ready. He says he’s as ready as he’s going to be, and she says he’ll be significantly underdressed. He says, oh well, and she says, it’s an important night for them. He says it’s an important night for her ego. She forced him to marry her; now she wants to trot him out like a circus pony. The doorbell rings, and Ava answers. Lulu asks if Nikolas is at home. Nikolas asks what brings her there. He doesn’t imagine she wants a preview of the portrait. She says she’s there to ask a huge favor.

Franco goes to the hospital, and asks Elizabeth how Jason is. She says, he’s awake, and expected to make a full recovery. He says he’ll tell Jake; he’s going to be thrilled. He says, since Jason is out of the woods now, she’s free to come to the unveiling.

On the phone with Tracy, Ned says, Valentin is now the CEO. The vote was 50/50, plus Lucy, who was the tie breaker… Who sold? The list is long, but there’s only one name he cares about – Brook.

Michael and Willow tuck Wiley in for his nap, and Michael says, it’s official. Wiley is home. Willow says she understands how Wiley feels. He’s been a nomad, and been shuffled from one place to another. She understands the funny feeling when you have to adjust to a new place when you’re a kid. Michael says, not anymore. Wiley is there to stay, and the three of them will be staying together.

At The Floating Rib, Sasha says Chase can call someone, but Chase says he doesn’t want to put any of his contacts on the spot. She says, it’s not like it’s a violation of privacy, but he says, that depends on what the judge had sealed. Brook walks in, and asks if this is where the losers commiserate.

Carly tells Jason, it’s a helmet, like he doesn’t know what one looks like. She wants him to wear is when he’s riding. No excuses; no arguments. She wants him to promise, and he does. She says the last thing she needs is to think she’s going to lose him. She didn’t realize when she signed the power of attorney, she’d be signing a consent for exploratory surgery because he might be brain dead, and she’d just promised that she’d let him die. He says, he didn’t, and she tells him that she’s saying she’d better not need to. The deal only continues if he commits to wearing it.

Sam says, Jason is an expert on the bike, and Sonny asks if she talked to him. She says she couldn’t; she’d been distracted. He says they don’t know what happened. Jason could have swerved to avoid an animal. She says, the stabilizer failed because Brando sabotaged it. He’s a con.

Brook asks Chase and Sasha, who’s worse? A traitor to the family, or two cheating cheaters who cheated and got caught stepping out on the kindest people in the universe? Sasha steps away, and Chase says Brook can judge him all she wants. He’s earned her hostility, but Sasha hasn’t. She didn’t even press charges when Brook hit her. Brook says, it was an accident, and Chase says, that’s how Sasha treated it. She cut Brook some slack; maybe Brook could return the favor.

A girl comes up to Sasha, and says, the face of Deception. She saw the proofs. She introduces herself as Sienna, and says she works with the photographer. He said Sasha was amazing. Sasha says she was a little rocky at first, and Vienna says Suzette told her. Sasha says, told her what?

Ned tells Olivia that someone had been making a play for ELQ for months. He spent all that time trying to figure out who it was, and they were in front of him the whole time. Olivia says, the problem isn’t how Valentin took over. The problem is how Ned is treating his daughter.

Franco tells Elizabeth that he has the opportunity to show the art world he’s survived tonight. She says, tonight is also about exploiting his past. He says, it’s good business, but she says he worked hard to distance himself from it. Now he seems to be erasing that.

Lulu tells Nikolas about the lawsuit against the hospital, and says, if Nelle wins, the insurance might not cover the damage. Meanwhile, the board is being courted by Cyrus. Ava says, he killed Trina’s father, and Nikolas says, he’s a drug trafficker, but Lulu says, there’s no proof. Cyrus is legitimately a free man, and he’s offering his financial support in exchange for a spot on the board. Nikolas says, that’s unacceptable, and Lulu says, her mom reached out to ELQ, but there’s been a shake-up with the company. Nikolas says, tell her mom that he knows what’s at stake, but Lulu says Laura will feel it’s hypocritical, and won’t be comfortable asking him for money. So she’s asking for her mom. He says, whatever the hospital needs, he’ll cover it. She thanks him, and says that makes a big difference. She tells Ava, congratulations on her portrait. If all goes well, she and Dustin will be at the unveiling. Ava says they’ll be happy to have her; won’t we, darling? Nikolas agrees, and Lulu leaves. Ava says his sister has softened toward their marriage. If only he’d follow her lead.

Ned tells Olivia, Brook knew beforehand, and should have warned him. It would have given him a chance to block Valentin. Olivia says Valentin was obviously moving behind-the-scenes for months, and Ned says he would have reached out to Sam, and she would have realized her children were being robbed of their legacy. Olivia says, let Sam worry about her kids. He needs to worry about his own.

Brook asks Chase if it isn’t late in the game to be acting chivalrous. He asks what she said about a traitor in the family.

Sasha drags Sienna into the bathroom, and asks what Suzanne told her. Sienna says that Sasha needed a pick-me-up. A lot of models do. Sasha asks if Suzanne told her it was just one time, and Sienna says, sure. But just in case, it never hurts to have one. She gives Sasha a tiny resealable plastic bag of coke.

Carly tells Jason, no more stupid risks and taking chances with his life for an adrenaline rush. He says he doesn’t do that… much. She says he has to meet her halfway. No risks, and wear a helmet. He says, anything else? and she says he needs some color in his wardrobe. She was going to buy him some T-shirts… but she can table it. She needs someone she can count on. He asks, what happened? Is Mike okay? Did Nelle win custody of Wiley? She says, no. Michael and Willow won sole custody; Nelle wasn’t even grated visitation. He says, that’s great, and she says Michael and Willow are over the moon, but she just knows Nelle is going to retaliate.

Lulu sees one of the board members, and says, Mr. Erickson… He says, the board doesn’t talk to the press, but she says she’s not working on a story. Her brother Nikolas is willing to step in and be the hospital’s benefactor. He’ll supply any funding they need. Mr. Erickson says he appreciates her family’s commitment to the hospital, but the problem has been solved. He just came from a productive meeting, where they voted on a single benefactor, Cyrus Renault. Her mother had misgivings, but they were impressed, and voted to accept his offer.

Franco tells Elizabeth, he wishes he could take his past back, but his career just played a small part. She asks, why capitalize on what he regrets? and he says he used to be really good.

Ava tells Nikolas, if he chooses to divorce her, she promises to follow up and support the hospital. He says, sorry to disappoint her, but he’s not divorcing her. Unless and until she cheats on him. She says, so he made his decision. He chose money over his son. He says, Spencer made the decision. His son doesn’t want him without his money.

Carly says, after the judge made his ruling, Nelle asked to speak to her alone (didn’t she ask to speak to Nelle?), and Jason says that was like asking to be set up. Why do it? She says Nelle had it worse than she did growing up. Virginia drove her crazy, but also nurtured her. All Nelle had was Frank, who was a wreck emotionally. Jason tells her not to feel sorry for Nelle, but she says she doesn’t. Nelle is a heartless bitch, who tortured her family, but Nelle wasn’t born that way. She thought Nelle’s life could be different if she could make her understand that now Wiley’s life will be different. He tells her, stay out of it, and don’t forget Nelle is a threat to her family, and everyone she loves.

Sonny tells Sam, Brando has been stand-up. He did everything Sonny asked. Sam says, that’s how cons work, and Sonny says he’s going to ask Jason what happened, and take it from there. Lulu comes by, and says she heard about Jason. Sam says Jason is awake, and expected to fully recover. Lulu asks Sonny for a word, and tells him, Cyrus has been given a foothold at the hospital.

Nikolas tells Ava that he called Spencer, and Spencer finally picked up. It felt good to hear his voice. She asks, what happened? and he says he told Spencer about the post-nup, and how if they divorced, she’d get 90% of the estate, and the remaining 10% would be put in trust for him. Spencer didn’t even hesitate; he wants his legacy intact, and said they should stay married. He said it’s what Nikolas deserves. Ava says, teenagers can be terribly self-righteous, and Nikolas says Spencer can’t forgive her for lying, and wants nothing to do with her. As long as they remain a couple, Spencer will stay in boarding school, and out of his life. Ava says she’s sorry, and he says, if she means it, prove it.

Franco tells Elizabeth, the subject of his work was vile, but it got people engaged, and made them feel things. He’s worried his best work is behind him. She asks why he’s reminding everyone of who he was instead of the man he is now, and he says, no one cares about the man he is now. He’s an art therapist. He can’t afford a canvas; what is he going to do when it’s time to contribute to college tuition? She tells him, don’t use the boys or her as an excuse.

Michael knows he keeps saying it, but Willow is the real version of what Nelle is pretending to be. She says, she knows; sugar and saccharine. He says Nelle knows how bad she looks next to Willow, and once they were married, it sent her scrambling. Willow says when Nelle melted down in court, that’s how she was when she shoved her way into the apartment to take Wiley. A fanatic, like nothing and no one was going to stop her. Willow fought as hard as she could If Michael and Chase hadn’t… She says, there’s no point in dwelling on it. They should focus on happy things, like Wiley. He says, it’s okay if she misses Chase. He misses Sasha too.

Brook tells Chase, what did her father expect? Music is her life. Her mother played music for her in utero. Her father couldn’t or wouldn’t help her out, and she had to do it herself. Linc wanted her ELQ shares, but he was just a front. Valentin was really after them. The man who pulled Cassadine Industries from the brink of ruin. She thought, what harm could it do? It turns out, he did a lot of damage, but did her father blame anyone else who sold? No, only her. She got thrown out. Sasha sends a text.

Olivia tells Ned, he was too harsh, but he says Brook betrayed the family. She says, so what? Brook is his daughter. How many times has she heard him say, it’s all about family; family is the most important thing. This is where the rubber meets the road. It’s easy to love their children when their children please them and make them proud, but they’re still their children when they disappoint them, especially when they do. They’re not disposable. He thinks she’s sensitive because of Dante, and she says, damn right. She’d give anything to have her son back, and he threw his daughter away like yesterday’s garbage. He says, it seems unfeeling to outsiders, but Brook knows what it means to be a Quartermaine. You don’t sell your stock; you keep it in the family’s hands. Olivia’s phone dings. She sees a text from Sasha that says, w/ Brook Lyn at the Rib. She’s hurting. She heads out the door, and Ned asks where she’s going. They’re in the middle of a crisis. She asks what he’s going to do? Throw her out for violating Quartermaine bylaws?

Carly says, Nelle gave her one good thing; a grandson. Wiley is the best thing ever. She thinks Michael will do better with Wiley than she did with him, and Jason says, she did fine. She says she made mistakes, but she knows Michael is good. Now he married Willow. Nice people usually drive her crazy, but Willow is a genuinely kind and gracious person. She loves Wiley, and Carly thinks one day she’ll love Michael. She feels bad that Sasha gave up so much. Jason says he thought Sasha and Michael broke up because she’d cheated on him. Carly says, she did… never mind. Jason wonders what she’s not saying, and she says he looks tired. He needs his rest. He tells her to stay out of it, and she says she’s leaving – and staying out of it.

Brando arrives at the hospital, and Sam asks what he’s doing there. He says he was checking on Jason, and she says, Jason is awake and fine, despite Brando’s best efforts.

Sonny asks Lulu why the hospital board would take a dime of Cyrus’s drug money, and she says, after Jordan’s press conference, they put aside their misgivings. He says, what about the Quartermaines? and she says, they were blocked by an inconvenient raid. He says, by who? and she says, Valentin.

Ava tells Nikolas, she has nothing to prove. He says if they stay married, it will cost him his son, and she tells him, don’t put it on her. He dug a hole for himself by pretending to be dead, and playing mind games to get his hands on the codicil. She asks if it ever occurred to him, that if he’d been honest and come to her, she might have willingly helped him? He says, it never occurred to him once.

Franco tells Elizabeth, they need money like everyone else. That’s why he took Ava’s commission. She says, that’s why she’s not going to this Windymere farce. It’s feeding his ego, and he’s playing into Ava’s hands. He says, either that, or Ava is someone who believes in him. Elizabeth says she believes in the man she married. She’s going to keep believing, and hope he justifies her faith in him.

Brook says why should she care? Her father threw her out, and she doesn’t need him or ELQ, like Sasha doesn’t need Michael. Sasha has her fabulous career, and a partnership in Deception. Who cares? She’ll be famous. Olivia comes in, and says, okay, girlfriend. You and me. Brook says she’s no longer Olivia’s problem, and Olivia says, not another sip. Brook says, all right; don’t make a scene, and goes to a booth with Olivia. Chase tells Sasha that he’s sorry. Brook isn’t as obnoxious as she seems; she’s just drunk and hurting. Sasha says, she knows. She just needs a minute to freshen up. She goes to the bathroom, and Chase says, I still love you, Willow, to no one in particular.

Michael tells Willow, whatever happens, going forward, he wants them to be honest with each other, whatever they’re feeling. The mistake Chase and Sasha made was hiding things from them. Maybe they thought it was for their own good, at least at the beginning, but he doesn’t want that with them. Willow says, right. Start with the truth and the rest will follow. The truth is, as much as she misses Chase, she’s so happy she married Michael. He says so is he.

Sasha checks to make sure there’s nobody in the stalls, and takes out the bag of coke. Since evidently she’s too stupid to go where she won’t be seen. She does know it’s illegal, right?

Sonny visits Jason, who shows him the helmet. Jason says, it’s a present from Carly. He told her that he’d wear one from now on. Sonny asks, what happened? but Jason says he doesn’t know. The bike was riding fine, then the steering went out. The part was brand new, so either it was a bad part or there was a problem with the installation. Sonny says, Brando told him that he did it right, and checked the part; it wasn’t defective. Jason says, either Brando made a mistake or he’s lying, and Sonny says he’ll keep an eye on Brando. In the meantime, something else came up. Cyrus is now a member of the hospital board, and bailing them out of financial trouble. Sonny laughs, and Jason asks why the hospital didn’t go to the Quartermaines. Sonny says, that’s what he asked. There was a problem with ELQ involving Sam.

Brando says if Sam is implying that he tried to kill Jason, he didn’t. Why would he be there if he had? She says to see if he needed to finish the job. He says he must not be much of an assassin, since he worked on Jason’s bike, and he’s chatting with her. If she’s looking for an enemy, it isn’t him. Brando says, tell Jason he’s glad he made it, and leaves.

Olivia gives Brook a room key for the MetroCourt, saying, it has a beautiful harbor view. Brook asks if her dad knows Olivia is doing this, and Olivia says, no. Brook says, then she probably shouldn’t, but Olivia says she loves Brook’s father, but he doesn’t tell her what to do. It’s a very nice room in a very nice hotel. She strongly suggests Brook take it.

Sasha comes back out, and tells Chase, they’re not doing this. Sitting around feeling sorry for themselves. They’re heroes, even if no one knows. They’re like Sydney Carton. Chase says, Sydney got his head chopped off. She says, they didn’t. Carly comes in, and says she wants to thank them. Michael and Willow got full custody of Wiley.

Michael asks how Willow feels about powerboats. She says she hasn’t given it much thought; why? He says there’s one tied up at the boathouse. He’s a fantastic driver, and Wiley is knocked out. They could take it out, and cruise to Sawyer, where there’s a nice restaurant on the water. They can get dinner there. Ned joins them, and says he heard the judge ruled in their favor. Michael says Wiley is officially theirs, and asks how the shareholders meeting ended. Did Lucy vote to save the hospital?

Nikolas says Ava sold Spencer out to Valentin. Why shouldn’t he assume she’d do the same to him? He had no choice but to trick her. She says, by making her believe she was losing her mind? That Kiki was trapped in hell and blamed Ava for putting her there? He says she blamed herself. As much as she loved Kiki, she hated her. She was jealous of Kiki’s kindness, and set her up. Ava tells him not to judge her, and he says he’s a convenient scapegoat where she can place her guilt and anger. But she has a brand new portrait to hang on the wall. She tells him, go to hell. He says he’s already there.

Franco arrives at Windymere, and Ava asks if he came early to help her place the portrait. She’s sorry. She’s been dealing with so many details, it’s where he left it in the solarium. She hasn’t peeked. She wants to see it for the first time with everyone else. He hopes she’s not disappointed, and she says he seems to be. He says, Elizabeth isn’t coming, and she says, it’s their night, and they’re going to enjoy it.

On the phone, Nikolas tells Spencer, Ava believed every word. She thinks he turned his back on his father, and has no idea they’re working together. He’s going to keep playing on her guilt until she voluntarily ends the marriage, and walks away.

Cyrus tells Lulu, always a pleasure, and she says, not for her. He’s surprised she hasn’t asked him for a comment. He’s sure she heard. She says she did. Now he’s a member of the board. She promises once her mother finds out, she’ll do everything in her power to make sure it’s the briefest tenure ever. He says, that might prove difficult. Given his generous support of the hospital, he’s not just a member; he’s the chairman. He tells her to relay that to her mom. He looks forward to everything his hospital will bring to Port Charles. He walks away, leaving Lulu stunned.

Michael asks, what about Lucy? and Michael says, she voted with Valentin. There will be no hospital funding, and there’s no easy way to tell him, but Valentin is now the CEO. Willow says, Lucy married them, and wonders why she voted against Michael. Michael says Valentin was Lucy’s angel investor for Deception, and probably reached out to her. Ned says, more than likely, Valentin went to her when he needed a tie breaker. Lucy will land on her feet; she always does. Willow asks, what happens now? and Ned says he’s sorry. Michael trusted him, and he let Michael down. Michael says, it’s not Ned’s fault, but Ned says, yes it is. It happened on his watch. Willow asks if Michael is okay, and he says He’s not happy Valentin is in charge of ELQ, but for now, that’s just another problem that has to be solved. Losing his job is nothing compared to winning custody of Wiley. Willow says, that’s what matters. Michael says, it’s a day to celebrate. How does she feel about going out to dinner? Willow says she’s right with him.

Brook asks why Olivia is doing this. Most of the time, Olivia hates her. Olivia says she never hated Brook. Okay, maybe once for a little while, but Brook is family now, and she couldn’t hate a member of her family. Brook says her father hates her, but Olivia says, no. He’s disappointed. His pride and ego are crushed, and now Valentin got the best of him. He loves Brook, but doesn’t know how to show it. The Quartermaines will get through this. They stick together.

Carly says Sasha and Chase gave up their happiness for Wiley’s sake. She has some idea of what it cost them, but now Michael, Willow, and Wiley can be a real family. It’s the best thing for all three of them. She thanks them again.

Sam goes to Jason’s room, and Sonny says he was just filling Jason in. She says she doesn’t want to push, but the doctors said Jason needs rest. Jason says, he’s okay, but Sonny says she’s right. He’s going to go. Do what Sam tells him. He leaves, and Jason sighs, because we no longer have Griff to do that job. Sam sits next to the bed, and he takes her hand. She asks what they were talking about, and he says, just ELQ and the hospital. She asks, why the hospital? and he says they’re in financial trouble. ELQ was supposed to bail them out, but Valentin voted against it. He controls 51% of the stock. Sam asks, how? Danny and Scout only have 10%. He says, Valentin has been buying other family member’s shares, and with Danny and Scout’s proxy, he got put in control of ELQ.

Tomorrow, Maxie thinks Lucy is hiding something, Scotty asks Lucy what she’s done, Ava says it will be a night to remember, and Anna suggests Finn invite his father to the wedding.

The Real Housewives of New York City

It’s morning at Villa Casa del Mar. Dorinda sees two trainers out on the patio. She asks if it’s a hangover, or is it real. Is it tequila? One of them says, it’s not tequila. She says she’ll get the girls before it’s too hot, and she’s going to change. The trainers agree, there’s going to be a lot of energy. Dorinda proceeds to wake everyone up, opening blinds, and saying hot trainers are there. She knows everyone had quite a day, and she can’t get them out of bed. LuAnn says she can’t deal with lunges, and Dorinda says she’s got them all alone. She’s going to do what any good woman would do. They’ll teach her, and she’ll teach them aerobics. We flash back to her retro 80s aerobics whatever-that-was, and she puts the trainers through their paces. LuAnn comes out, and says she heard aerobics. The trainers do a cha-cha-cha step, and the women follow. LuAnn holds her coffee as she dances. Trainer Raul does side lunges. Dorinda goes inside, and in LuAnn’s interview, she says she’ll just take on the two trainers on her own. She’s fine with that. Dorinda says she’s not letting them sleep – wakey, wakey! The session done, Raul tells LuAnn to let her girlfriends know they were missing them. LuAnn gets more coffee.

LuAnn finds Dorinda in Leah’s room. Leah asks if they worked out already. LuAnn says they’re old school. They bounce back quick. The best way is to start moving. Dorinda says, she has sisterly love today, and a new bunch of flowers today. LuAnn says her mother described her hoo-ha as a flower.

Sonja chats with Isaac, co-owner of Century 21. She tells him about celebrating her birthday, and he asks how old is she? Twenty-four? In her interview, she says she has to be prepared for her event. She’s having a huge launch party, and it must be a success. Everyone has heard about her fashion, perfume, jewelry, and toaster oven. Everything she talked about on the show is coming to fruition. Sonja works on her laptop at an outside table, and Leah asks if this is the office, sitting down with her own laptop. Sonja says she has to send out invites to her Century 21 party. Leah says, no one gets how hard it is. Sales were low, but she just had some new things land, and they’re doing well. In Leah’s interview, she says, having your own business is truly 24/7. No one cares the way you do. Ramona says she’s celebrating a glorious day, and LuAnn suggests they sit outside. Sonja says she couldn’t be happier. Last night was special . LuAnn asks if she was surprised, and Sonja says she has to stop talking and send out invites. Dorinda joins them, and says, Sonja has to do her thing. In Sonja’s interview, she says, part of Dorinda is sweet and nice; the Dorinda she adores. Then there’s like… She makes a noise. LuAnn suggests taking a half hour break for breakfast. They all chatter, and Sonja says, it was a beautiful evening, but the whole night, she was worried about this; it has to go out. In her interview, Sonja says, Dorinda can vent all she needs; it’s her vacation too. Sonja gets up to go inside, saying she needs to work. She can’t let the invites go wrong; no way. She babbles at the kitchen staff, and wonders where she put her glasses.

LuAnn says, it’s rude to be working at the table. They’re having a meal together, and it’s not what they do. Leah is still working, and Dorinda tells her to sit elsewhere. Leah says she just closed everything, and Dorinda says if she wants to work, don’t sit at the table. Ramona quietly tells Leah, just let it pass. Tell her she’s right. In Leah’s interview, she says she understands where Dorinda is coming from, but it’s a vacation. They don’t need to be rigid and have breakfast at 7 am, no elbows on the table. LuAnn confirms, just say, you’re right. I think, wait a second. Leah and Sonja were working at the table before the others got there.

Dorinda says, the view is classically beautiful. Ramona tells Sonja, Dorinda snaps, and goes on for twenty minutes. In her interview, Ramona says she misses the light Dorinda. She doesn’t recognize this Dorinda. She doesn’t know her, and doesn’t want to know this one. Dorinda floats in the pool on a swan floatie. Sonja says when they used to burn witches, she thinks it was just menopause. It’s unclear whether she means because the so-called witches were going through menopause, or the people doing the burning were cranky because they were going through menopause.

LuAnn and Leah walk on the beach, and see two guys coming toward them. Leah says, they might be a couple, but LuAnn says, those aren’t gay men’s shorts. Leah says, good point. LuAnn asks where the guys are going, and they say, to the resort. It’s determined the guys aren’t gay or married, and are from Montreal. LuAnn asks if they want to come and hang out, and one asks, for a visit? LuAnn says, they’re not kidnapping them. In Leah’s interview, she says, men enter at their own risk. Inside the villa are very horny, insatiable women – Ramona and Sonja. LuAnn brings them over to the bar, and everyone has a drink. Leah says she’s brushed her teeth ten times, and still tastes tequila. Ramona comes out, and asks, is this a mirage? In Ramona’s interview, she says it’s not noon yet, and they picked up two boys. LuAnn asks where Sonja is, and Ramona explains that Sonja is having a big party; she designs a clothing line. One of them shows a tattoo he got in honor of his daughter, and the women are all, aww! LuAnn says, you never know when you’ll find a gem on the beach. They invite the guys to meet them at a bar later. Ramona toasts to being flexible. Not sure how she means that. As in schedule, or…

The women get ready for dinner. Dorinda says she’s not going; she has horrible diarrhea. She can’t even get off the toilet. Sonja suggests a diaper, and says she’s done it; she had to. I don’t want to know. In Dorinda’s interview, she says, since Cartagena, her intestines have never been the same, It’s ruined some great occasions for her. Leah asks, what’s going on? and I love how everyone is congregating in Dorinda’s room when she just got done saying she has horrible diarrhea. Dorinda says, it’s every ten minutes, and LuAnn says she can smell it. She’s getting the Chanel all-over body spray. She sprays the room, and Dorinda says, clear the runway, and dashes into the bathroom. In Ramona’s interview, she says she feels bad that Dorinda can’t join them. Then again, she’s been testy, and they can see how it is without her.

They go to the restaurant, and toast, to girlfriends. The guys, who finally introduce themselves as Phillip and Pascal, arrive, and LuAnn asks them to join the table. In Sonja’s interview, she says, of course Ramona is acting like she’s in heat. She’s always in heat. Sonja tells her, it’s company, not a tug-of-war. Sonja tells Phillip that she’s kissing him later. He asks what the relationship between them is, and Leah takes the floor. She says she has a love/hate relationship with Ramona. Ramona judges her more harshly than the others. She thinks it’s because Ramona loves her, but she’s confused. She thought Sonja was a bitch at first – we flash back to, 1985 is over! – but they had a breakthrough, and Sonja is the kindest, most loving soul ever. She points to LuAnn, and says, this bitch is a legend. They locked eyes, and have been friends forever. I think Phillip was just looking for something like, we’re all friends, or we’re at a family reunion. In her interview, Leah says, they like to act like nice society women, but they’re really regular chicks. A line of waiters comes out, some with bottles that have sparklers attached, some of them carrying sparklers sans bottles. It’s some kind of shot presentation that I’m sure involves tequila. Ramona and LuAnn dance, then Pascal, who we’ve found out is engaged, joins in. In LuAnn’s interview, she says, diarrhea shows up when you need it the most. Dorinda needed to chill, and they needed a good time. Pascal thinks Ramona is 44, and she says she’s 63. Leah makes out with Phillip, and Sonja says, she’s a lot younger, so she’s quick on the draw.

Ramona brings Dorinda coffee, and tells her that the restaurant was beautiful. Leah was getting feisty. She shows Dorinda a video of Leah and Phillip intertwined. In Dorinda’s interview, she says, the one who got away. Ramona didn’t get that one in her little clutches. Ramona says, Leah is like an untamed horse. She doesn’t always have the best decorum. Leah comes in, saying her ears were ringing. LuAnn follows, and Sonja asks if the guys stayed. LuAnn says she was exhausted. Dorinda asks if she’s ready for the blessing, and LuAnn say she needs a shaman today. Dorinda explains that afterwards, they’ll go in the water, and then have a beautiful lunch. Leah says she makes fun of the women being old, but she peed the bed. In her interview, she says they’re rubbing off on her, and not in a good way. Leah tells the women, she told Phillip that she hasn’t had sex in a while, and she wasn’t having it with him. He was a great kisser, but too bossy. Sonja suggests Leah have some electrolytes. Leah says she needs something.

Leah says she feels like hell, but if she wants to have any self-respect left, she needs to keep up with women twice her age. Sonja tells her, don’t do green juice; it makes you poop. Good to know. In Dorinda’s interview, she says she wants to get the women out every day. They’re like toddlers. Get them exhausted, and they stay out of trouble. She’s curious to see what they get out of this. LuAnn flips through some pictures she’s collected of various dudes, including someone she says won American Idol. They realize Ramona, LuAnn, and Tinsley all went out with him. (See below for speculation on who it is.) Dorinda says, it’s like duck-that-goose with men. LuAnn says he’s been in her shows. In Sonja’s interview, she says she can’t take any of her guys around this group.

Shaman Julian (not a name you’d associate with such an exotic profession) and guide Rebeca meet the women at… the shaman place. Okay, I wasn’t paying attention. It looks something like a nature preserve, and Julian says he’s going to ask the trees, animals, and birds to take care of them. In Dorinda’s interview, she says she’s a spiritual person, but now she’s scared. Every bird started to go crazy. He burns some sage, or whatever they burn, and it’s over pretty quickly. Leah says, hopefully, it helps hangovers. Rebeca tells them to get on their bathing suits, and they’re given lifejackets for propelling. Apparently, this is dropping down into a hole, where there’s water underneath. A guy named JJ puts harnesses on them, and goes down first. Sonja wonders why she should throw herself into that, and in her interview, says she skis on the bunny hill, and puts on a helmet. LuAnn goes next. Leah asks if she’s scared, but LuAnn says, no. It sure looks scary. She lands in the pool below, and Dorinda goes next, and goes fast. In Dorinda’s interview, she says the thing people don’t know about her is that she’s athletic. She’s quite agile – ask John. Leah starts to freak out, and Ramona is shocked at her reaction. She tells Leah that she looks hot, like this will fix it. Sonja and Ramona take a pass, and the others come out in a cave, and swim through to the outside. Leah tells JJ that it’s one of the best things she’s done in her life. It’s incredibly beautiful, with dolomites all over the place, and some bats; little, pretty ones. I would definitely do this if it didn’t involve dropping down that hole. Ramona and Sonja meet them at the end. In Ramona’s interview, she says she feels bouncy, buoyant, and happy. Even Dorinda liked it. Leah is amazed at how beautiful and magical it is, and swears it has healing powers. She’s feeling so much better. She says they’re her hangover shaman.

The women move on to lunch. Sonja says she sees herself in Mexico, living in a grass hut on the beach, gardening all day. Hmmm… somehow I don’t see that. Leah talks about saging her last boyfriend’s negative energy out of her vagina. In her interview, she says, better a crystal in her vajayjay than a stick up her ass. They sit down for lunch, and Hannah calls Dorinda, telling her something about being paid to help put together a catalog. In LuAnn’s interview, she thinks Dorinda is a hypocrite, since she yelled at Sonja and Leah about using their computers at breakfast. Sonja says Dorinda yelled at them when they did that, and Dorinda says, it’s her daughter. Dorinda goes on and on, as always, and Ramona asks, where’s this anger coming from? Dorinda makes a show of telling Hannah they don’t want her to talk to her daughter. Ramona says she hates when Dorinda does this, and LuAnn says Dorinda has done it to her; she’s blown up on all of them. In Leah’s interview, she agrees Dorinda’s temper is too much, but this isn’t the way to go about it. Dorinda says she needs to wish her daughter success, but can’t do it in front of them. She thanks Ramona for the advice, and Ramona says they just want to help her. Dorinda says there’s nothing they can help her with, as she jets away from the table. Ramona says Dorinda needs help about getting angry, and starts to cry, saying, it’s upsetting. Why is Dorinda doing this? LuAnn says, Dorinda turns it around. In Sonja’s interview, she says she can’t believe Ramona’s crocodile tears; they’re distracting from their cause, and giving Dorinda the perfect excuse to run off. Sonja tells Ramona, it’s not about that. Why does she have to be right? Dorinda comes back, and asks if they’re good; Ramona was getting hysterical. She sarcastically adds that she realizes it was traumatizing. In her interview, Ramona says, maybe she should give up. She’s seen Dorinda do it to Leah, and wonders why Leah didn’t jump in. Leah asks why Ramona is mad at her. She agrees with them, but she’s not mad at Dorinda. Ramona says she’s upset, and Leah says, the three of them were talking. Why should she join in? In her interview, she says Ramona has consistently said nasty things to her, while Dorinda’s had her back. Why would she turn on Dorinda? Sonja says, it’s going to be a long ride back together

Next time, LuAnn wants Ramona to be real, Sonja has her Century 21 lanch, and Sonja misses cabaret rehearsal

👩🏼‍💻 Quick news flash. Sonja was a guest on Watch What Happens Live tonight, and Andy asked if she believed the pirate when he said he and LuAnn hadn’t hooked up. Sonja said that’s not what the pirate told her. So mystery unsolved. She was also very astute when she talked about the reunion. She must be cleansing – i.e. staying away from alcohol.

🎤 And the Idol Is…

Speculation has it that Constantine Maroulis is the Idol who Tinsley, LuAnn, and Ramona dated. Although the only thing anyone is going by is the fact he dated Tinsley. Whether or not Constantine is the new Harry Dubin has yet to be confirmed.

https://meaww.com/rhony-real-housewives-of-new-york-city-ramona-tinsley-luann-dated-american-idol-constantine-maroulis

🥇 Better Than Mine…

I love Vulture’s snarky recaps. I wish I had the time to put this much thought into it. They make me literally LOL.

https://www.vulture.com/article/real-housewives-of-new-york-city-recap-season-12-episode-18-all-the-wrong-cenotes.html

🗽 Not Live, But In Person…

The Reunion probably makes them want to socially distance on a good day.

https://tvdeets.com/the-real-housewives-of-new-york-city-score-in-person-reunion-taping/

https://www.inquisitr.com/6193840/andy-cohen-rhony-reunion-not-outside/?platform=hootsuite

🍕 No Joe Though…

It’s doubtful we’ll see much of Juicy Joe unless it’s on video chat.

https://tvdeets.com/teresa-giudice-to-be-heavily-featured-on-rhonj-season-11/

🍹 There Goes Another One…

Are there any women left on Southern Charm? I’m sad to see most of them go. It’s always been one of my favorites, and it’s like the family broke apart.

https://pagesix.com/2020/08/12/eliza-limehouse-leaving-southern-charm-after-one-season/

🎧 Hey, Mike…

Sonny isn’t the only one who recognized music helps those with Alzheimer’s.

https://alz.org/blog/alz/august-2020/film-the-cuban%E2%80%9D-shows-the-power-of-music-for-peop

🚶🏽‍♀️ Sleep Walking…

And typing, and reading, and… As I always say, that’s okay, I’ll sleep in the next life. But in this life, stay safe, stay unruffled, and stay fixing your thoughts on what is true, right, and admirable.

Aug7

August 6, 2020 – Sam Thanks Carly, Temp Brook, Another Camel Ride, Return Of the Pirate & Climbing

Posted on by
Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

At the WSB facility in Geneva, Dante does push-ups while remembering his mission. Complete the mission plays in his head.

Lulu tells Brando to text her when her car is ready, but he says it was just a flat, and it’s finished. She tells him that she got a lead on a story, and didn’t even realize she had a flat. She’s glad his garage is there. Cyrus walks in and says, that makes two of them.

Lucy looks over Sasha’s photos, and loves them. She asks what Maxie’s secret is, and Maxie says, fear of failure and a good photographer. She asks which photo Lucy is going with, and Lucy pulls one out. Sasha asks if it’s weird to like her own picture. Maxie and Lucy both say, no! and Sasha says she likes it too. Valentin asks if he gets a vote.

Curtis goes to the hospital to take TJ to lunch, and TJ apologizes, saying he should have texted; they have to postpone. Curtis asks if TJ is supposed to live at the hospital, and TJ tells him it’s an unwritten rule for med students. Curtis says it’s the only place he gets to see TJ, and TJ says it’s the only place Molly gets to see him too. He did take off last night so they could be together though.

At the MetroCourt, Sam wants to talk to Carly about Jason’s power of attorney. Carly says Jason is her best friend, so of course (🍷) she said yes, but she doesn’t want to get in the middle of them. Sam says she wants to thank Carly.

Chase finds Jason outside the courtroom, and asks why he’s there. Jason says he’s picking up some permits, and Chase asks if he doesn’t have an assistant for that, but Jason says he wanted to follow-up in person. Chase says Jason saved him a call. He doesn’t have to answer, but at the risk of repeating himself, where was Jason on the night of February 19th when the warehouse exploded? Jason says he’s not saying anything without his attorney present, which is never a surprise to anyone. Chase says, he’s not asking in an official capacity, but he can. Jordan walks in, and asks what Chase is doing.   

Dante looks at the pencil and paper. He gets up from the floor, picks up pencil, and puts it down again. A doctor comes in, and asks if Dante doesn’t take a day off, and Dante says, it’s something to do. The doctor says they have activities if he’s bored, but Dante says he’s good. He likes it. The doctor says he’s concerned about Dante. What does Dante think the WSB will say when they find out he refuses to engage in therapy? Dante says, nothing good, and the doctor says, they’re patient, but not indulgent. They’ll decide Dante is a lost cause, and consign him to the doctor’s care for the rest of his life. Dante says he’s fine with that.

TJ tells Curtis, last night was about putting Molly first, and reconnecting. Curtis says TJ has had a lot to deal with. TJ says, first, he was abducted, his abduction was never solved, and now he’s at the hospital full time. Curtis asks if he has to be, and TJ admits he doesn’t. Curtis says TJ didn’t just get abducted, he was injured; he’s still doing physical therapy. TJ says the hospital offered to accommodate him, but he turned them down.   

Brando tells Cyrus, he’ll just be a minute, and Cyrus says, of course (🍷); the mayor’s daughter takes precedence. Lulu tells Brando, this is Cyrus Renault. He may have heard of Cyrus. He just came out of doing hard time. Cyrus says, for a crime he didn’t commit. Lulu says he was involved with the shooting where Brando and her mom got hurt. Cyrus says his connection is unfounded; he was in prison. He hopes the needless violence is a thing of the past, with Laura and the Commissioner at the helm. If anyone can keep the peace, they can.  

Lucy says Valentin’s opinion is welcome, and Maxie asks, since when? Lucy says they couldn’t have relaunched Deception if Valentin hadn’t invested, but Maxie thinks that’s a stretch. Valentin says he doesn’t need gratitude; he needs collaboration. Maxie says she thought he was a silent partner, and he says he may not know about beauty and skincare, but he knows a good business move. The face of Deception needs a voice, and he’s found the perfect one. Lucy says, do tell, and he says he’s introducing Deception’s new voice. Brook comes in.

Carly asks if Sam is sure she’s okay with this, and she says she is, but when Jason told her, she was surprised. Carly imagines she must have been angry too, but Jason did it to spare her from being the one responsible, if the day came when he was unable to make his own decisions. He made it clear, he’d want to die, but didn’t want Sam to have to make that choice. Sam says she went home and did some thinking. She thought about the children, and what happened when she thought Jason died before. It would be worse for them to lose her. They love him, but she’s the parent they know and live with. They need their mom.

Jordan says she needs a word with Chase, but asks Jason to stick around. She takes Chase aside, and tells him that she’s doing him an enormous favor, before Jason’s barracuda of a lawyer barges in. Chase says they have reason to believe Cyrus was linked to the warehouse, and Jason blew it up in retaliation. She says there’s no evidence, and he’s becoming carelessly close to losing objectivity. She’ll take it from here. The last thing they want is a lawsuit. Chase leaves, and Jordan says she’d appreciate it if Jason didn’t unleash Diane; Chase was just doing his job. Jason says he knows. They’re on the same side on this, and he’d like to keep it that way.

Dante tells the doctor, he turned himself in because he can’t control his actions. When and if he picks up a weapon, who will be his target? It makes him dangerous. The doctor says Dante was traumatized by his indoctrination, and suffered a near-crippling physical injury. Dante says, the doctor read his file. The last time he had a visitor, he freaked out, and hurt a guard. It’s better to safeguard him in this facility. The doctor says it’s not the staff he’s worried about.

Cyrus tells Lulu to give her mother his regards. The hospital is fortunate to have her support. Lulu says, not just hers. The Quartermaines have supported GH for years to help it remain independent, and they’ll continue to support it. Cyrus says, that’s wonderful news. He wants to make sure the hospital is financially sound, and patients remain confident. That’s why he’s having a conversation with the board later. She says, he’s meeting with the board? and Cyrus says he’s sure they’ll find another use for his good intentions. Lulu thanks Brando, and leaves. Brando asks what’s the problem with Cyrus’s car? but Cyrus says his car is fine. He’s there to discuss another matter. 

Valentin says Brook is going to write and perform a tune synonymous with the brand, and Maxie says, like a jingle? Valentin says, if she wants to call it that, and Maxie says she doesn’t like jingles. Brook says she doesn’t either, but Sasha says, it’s not a bad idea. Lucy says she would have preferred someone like Lady Gaga, but this is the next best thing. Maxie says ELQ is having nothing to do with the company.   

Sam says, holding the family together is Carly’s top propriety, and the children. Carly says, it wasn’t always that way. When Michael was a baby, she never stayed out of anything, but as time went on, she saw that her kids needed to depend on her. She stands by Sonny, but only to a point. There’s nothing more important than being a mom. She can’t afford the luxury of being arrested or shot at; she’s working on the second one. The kids suffer when she’s not around, and she has to put them first. She had to take a step back against her instincts. Sam says, she wanted to go in swinging? and Carly says, when Donna was born, she knew this little baby was 100% dependent on her, and had every right to expect all her time and devotion. There was no option of running headfirst into danger. Sam says she wishes they’d had this conversation before she decided to go after Shiloh.

Jordan tells Jason that she threw her partners under the bus for Cyrus, but he says she did it for TJ. She says Cyrus’s sentence was vacated, and now, he not only operates with impunity, he has leverage; threatening her loved ones, and having knowledge of the crap she’s already done. She sees no way of getting out from under his thumb. Jason says, it will happen, and she asks, when? She doesn’t know how much more she can take. How much more damage she can stand by and let this man cause.

TJ tells Curtis that he wants no special treatment. If he can’t handle adversity, he’s not much of a doctor. Curtis says, if TJ burns out, he’ll be no good to anyone. He’s been there. TJ says he’s driven to be the best, passionate about his job, and loves helping people, and Curtis says, that’s how he was when he was a cop. He lived and breathed his job until it consumed him. He’s trying to prevent that happening to TJ.

Lucy tells Maxie not to be hasty, and Maxie says she’s not hasty. She doesn’t think it’s a smart business move. Brook says Maxie is predictable. Maxie knows it’s a smart decision because she’s a smart businesswoman. Having music synonymous with the brand makes sense. She’s just hesitating because of her BFF Lulu, who judges them from her lofty pedestal, since they’re not up to her standards. The simple fact is, Brook sees through Lulu, and Lulu can’t stand it. Maxie admits Lulu is less than perfect, but Lulu is still her friend. Brook says, that’s her choice, if she likes constant judgement, but don’t stand in the way of the rest of them. Maxie says Brook has one thing right – Lulu is her friend.

Sam tells Carly, she was focused on taking out Shiloh, and saving Kristina. Carly says, Kristina is her sister; her intention were admirable, but Sam says if she’s being honest, she was getting back to herself, if that makes sense. Carly says, who she was before she had kids? Sam says, she ran con after con then, and she wanted to do the things she did well. She got so caught up in it, she didn’t think about the consequences, and how she could make things worse for her kids.   

Jason tells Jordan, the question she needs to ask is, what good it would do to fight back without leverage? She says, so they wait while the drugs pile up? Jason says, Cyrus can’t afford to break his truce with Sonny. He’s going to pretend to be an upstanding citizen while laying the groundwork to push Sonny out. As long as she plays along, she’ll have the option to bring Cyrus down.

Maxie says Valentin and Brook are acting righteous, and like Lulu is the problem, when Brook’s been flirting with Lulu’s boyfriend, using her old pet nickname for him. While they’re off collaborating, and bringing up the good old days, didn’t Brook think it would trigger Lulu after what she tried to do with Dante? Brook says, the husband Lulu dropped like a hot rock when he got sick? Lucy says Lulu has flaws; they all do. Maxie says, some more than others. She refuses to apologize for being considerate of her best friend. Lucy drags Maxie out into the hall, and Sasha says, that went well. Lucy asks Maxie, what on earth is wrong with her, reacting without thinking; why? Maxie says, Deception is her baby, and Lucy says, excuse me? Maxie says, yes, it was Lucy’s first, but Lucy brought her in and gave her a piece of the action. She’s never had that. She loved Crimson, but it wasn’t hers. She brought her talent and creativity, but the editor had the final say, and the publisher reaped the rewards. Deception is theirs about to be a reality, and she feels something momentous is going to happen. Lucy says she understands, but Maxie has to get ahold of herself or Deception will be over before it starts.

Sam tells Carly, the worst part was the kids missing her when she was in prison. Danny was trying to be brave, but underneath, he was scared, and Scout was just confused. She didn’t get why Sam was staying away. Carly says, thank God for Jason, and Sam says, it was a huge comfort. He was there for them, and the Quartermaines, and Carly. Carly says, it’s no substitute for a mother, and Sam says she was supposed to be there, but she wasn’t; she was on parole. It’s been frustrating, and a huge obstacle in her life, but not like she’s used to. She feels like she’s in quicksand. Carly understands, but since Sam brought it up, what happened with her parole officer?

Curtis tells TJ, not to be all Zen master, but life is about balance. You need to make a place for yourself and your loved ones first. If you don’t, they could slip away one dark night. You’ll look in the mirror, and your job is all you have. TJ says Curtis needs to have that conversation with his mom; she’s out of balance with work. Feel free to play the mom guilt card. Curtis asks, how? and TJ says he just called to check in. Jordan didn’t answer, but no call back and no text. Six months ago, that never would have happened, but it’s happening more and more lately. Curtis says he thinks he can use that – for Jordan’s own good. He thanks TJ for the ammo, and leaves.

Jordan says, so Jason is suggesting she go undercover as a corrupt Police Commissioner, which is true, but he wants her to use it to her advantage. Jason says, the more Cyrus thinks he has control, the more likely he is to make a mistake. Eventually, he’ll make one that gets him eliminated, but she won’t be involved. Jordan’s phone rings. It’s Cyrus, reminding her of her appointment to meet him at his new residence. Don’t be late. Jason asks if everything is okay, and Jordan says Cyrus wants her to meet him at his new home. Jason asks if she’s going, and she says he just made an excellent case as to why she has to. Jason says maybe he’ll take a ride out there, and she says, if he does, that would be his prerogative. She’s done her research, and has a good idea of how he came to work for Sonny. He survived an accident, and had cognitive issues. He was looking for a mentor, Sonny was there, and it worked well for him. Too bad. He’d make an excellent cop. Jason says he’ll try not be offended.

The doctor asks if Dante had the dream again, and Dante says he has it every night. Sometimes, he has it when he’s awake. He thinks about what he’s done to his wife – his ex-wife. He could hurt her, and if he stayed in Port Charles, she’d never stop thinking that one day he could recover, unless she faced what happened. The alternative is living there. 

Lucy comes back with Maxie, and says, after a spirited conversation with her wonderful partner, she has something to tell them. Maxie says, fine. She’ll work with the two of them, but not while Brook has that smug smile and makes snarky comments about Lulu. Brook tells Maxie, she has nothing bad to say about Lulu; Lulu speaks for herself. Valentin asks if they’re back in business, and Maxie says, yes. Lucy welcomes Brook to the Deception family, and Brook says she’s super excited to be there. Lucy says, on that note, she’s going to skedaddle out of there. The Nurses Ball isn’t going to organize itself. Ta! Maxie follows her out, saying she wants a word with Lucy. Valentin tells Brook, they did it, and she says, they sure did. Does he want to have a celebratory drink? He says he’ll meet her upstairs. After she leaves, Valentin thanks Sasha for her support. Sasha says she didn’t say much, and he says she didn’t say no. How is she? She says she’s trying to throw herself into the life she has left, and he says, her work? He does that. Unfortunately, no amount of success will fill the void Nina left. Maybe she’ll have more luck.

Sam tells Carly that she was trying get leverage over her parole officer; something she could use to get Delores to back away. So Spinelli tailed her. They good news was, she was having an affair; the bad news was, she caught Spinelli getting blackmail photos. Delores told Spinelli if anyone found out about the affair, she’d throw him in jail. Now Delores hates her more than ever, and Delores controls her more than ever. She can’t believe she took that kind of risk. She says Carly can laugh if she wants, but Carly asks if anyone ever told Sam how she and Sonny got married the first time. Sam doesn’t think so, and Carly says she wanted to help Sonny, so she disguised herself, wore a wire, and went after an enemy of Sonny’s. Sonny busted in where she was, and wanted a meeting. She was the only material witness in a racketeering charge, and the only way to stop them calling her to testify… Sam says, was to marry him. Carly says, wives can’t be forced to testify against their husbands. She helped, but not in the way she thought she would. Sonny married her five times, so she must have done something right. The marriage was the best thing to happen to her. Sam says, some things work out for the best in ways they never anticipated.  

Jason goes to the garage, and asks Brando if the stabilizer came in. Brando knows Jason wanted to put it in himself, and says he hopes he didn’t overstep, but he enjoys working on Harleys, and did the installation. Jason asks what he owes Brando, and Brando says, nothing. Jason already paid for the stabilizer, and the work is free. Jason says he won’t stay in business long that way, and Brando says, it’s a nice bike. He was glad to work on it. Jason says, you’re welcome. Brando says he had two visitors today. Lulu had a flat tire, and Cyrus showed up. He made a point to mention Lulu’s mother to her, and there was a weird vibe. Jason asks, who left first? and Brando says, Lulu. Jason says, if Cyrus comes back, he wants to know. Brando says, he will.

Curtis goes to the PCPD, and asks Chase if Jordan is back. Chase says, no. The last time he saw her she was at the courthouse, talking to Jason. He’d been questioning Jason about a case, and she stepped in. She asked Jason to wait, but he’s not sure what that was about. Curtis says he’ll track her down, and thanks Chase. Chase leaves, and Curtis takes out his phone.

Cyrus wanders around his new place. Jordan arrives, and he says, right on time; he’s pleased. Jordan says his guard frisked her, and he says, that’s the way of the world now. If only it was like when they first met, but then it wasn’t the way it seemed then either. She tells him to make it quick. He wants her help to get control of GH. He says he hasn’t told her how, and she says, he didn’t say why either. What does a man like him want with the hospital?

At the hospital, Maxie tells the reception nurse that she doesn’t have an appointment, but she’d like to see her OB/GYN. Lucy runs into Lulu, who says she’s there to interview some board members about  GH’s finances. Lucy says she hopes Lulu realizes what an amazing, loyal friend Maxie is. Lulu says, Maxie is the best, and Lucy says, Maxie nearly jeopardized the launch of Deception defending Lulu against some admittedly snarky remarks. Lulu says, by who? Don’t tell her. Brook said something about Dante. Lucy says, his name was brought up, and Lulu says, unbelievable. Brook is constantly throwing Dante in her face, when she knows nothing about the end of their marriage. Obviously, it gets to her more than she’d care to admit. Lucy says, if it helps, Maxie had her back, and Lulu says, it does help. Lucy says she didn’t know Dante all that well, but she can say with confidence, he’d want Lulu to be happy – whatever that means to her.

The doctor says he can help Dante get better, but he has to trust the process. Dante says he can’t risk it. He has a ticking time bomb in his head. The doctor has seen it go off, and Dante never wants anyone to see it again. This way, they’ll be safer. The doctor refuses to give up hope, and says Dante hasn’t given up on himself. Why else would he keep a pad and pencil. There must be someone he wishes to reach out to after all. Dante flashes back to Lulu telling him that she’ll wait forever; it’s no life without him there. He remembers saying goodbye, telling her that he loves her, and walking out. Dante says if the pencil and pad is causing the doctor to have false expectations, take it out of there. The doctor says he’s leaving it. He sincerely hopes Dante changes his mind before it’s too late.  

Chase sees Sasha outside the courtroom. She says she was hoping to run into him. Has he heard anything? He says he hasn’t, and Sasha says imagine if they broke their hearts for nothing. Chase says, as crappy as it sounds, it helps on some level to know she’s as miserable as he is. They really did this for the right reason, but it’s easy to forget. Sasha agrees, and Chase says he knows Michael and Willow are the best parents for Wiley. Sasha says, if they found a way to prove it to the judge, it will have worked, so it will be worth it. I’m thinking, Sasha is high. She just has that vibe.

Curtis calls Jordan, but she doesn’t pick up.  

Cyrus tells Jordan, he’s demonstrated that he’s a good person. Jordan says, he’s not; he’s a drug trafficker. He says the board will learn that he deserves grace, and the best insurance policy was a friend in law enforcement. That’s why they’re going to spend time together. Jordan tells him, he finally said it. He called because he can, and she showed up. He says she has a gift of seeing to the heart of the matter.

Brook and Valentin sit at a table in the MetroCourt. She says, if they’re going to work together, she needs to know one thing. Will he be as good for ELQ as he is for her? He says, even better.

Sam tells Carly that she doesn’t want to ever struggle with those questions. God forbid the worst happens, she doesn’t want to tell Danny she chose to let his dad die. Carly is glad Sam sees it that way, and Sam says she’s glad Jason chose Carly. Carly says, don’t worry, and Sam says, there’s nothing to worry about. Nothing is going to happen to Jason.

Jason lies on the road, unconscious, his bike laying next to him.

Tomorrow, Robert is sure he’ll find an empty grave, Carly wants Peter’s full attention, Sonny knows Mike is close to the end, and Cyrus tells Jordan to make sure something doesn’t happen.  

🎤 Filling In…

For a while, Brook will be a different Brook. Who’s next? Carly? What’s Tamara Braun doing these days? Might as well make it totally confusing.

Briana Lane Is the New Brook Lynn on GENERAL HOSPITAL

The Real Housewives of New York City

LuAnn says Leah can’t do this in front of other people, and Leah asks if LuAnn means lifting her skirt up so they could see her bodysuit. In Leah’s interview, she can’t believe anyone would think she’d purposely show her vagina to Ramona’s friends. It’s disgusting. She says, Ramona needs to keep my vagina out of her mouth. LuAnn wonders what Sonja’s drink tastes like, and takes a sip. She makes a face, and says she has no idea what it is, but it’s disgusting. Dorinda tells them that she got Sonja to bed. Now she’s going to see where Ramona is. LuAnn says, okay, Mama Dee.

Dorinda finds Ramona on an outside lounge chair, and asks if she’s okay. Ramona says, Sonja is a mess. Dorinda has been a mess. Dorinda says she hasn’t, but Ramona has, and she’s put Ramona to bed. Ramona tells her not to scream (she wasn’t). She can’t be around them anymore. She gets up, and tells Dorinda, drink some water. In Ramona’s interview, she says whenever Dorinda hears something she doesn’t like, she deflects. She’s full of sh*t. Ramona says Leah, Dorinda, and Sonja should go to AA. Dorinda says Ramona should be ashamed. She came to talk as a friend. She goes back to the table, and tells LuAnn and Leah that Ramona told her that she was drunk, when strangely, she’s not. She told Dorinda to go to AA. In LuAnn’s interview, she says, there’s a difference between being concerned, and telling someone to go to AA. It’s totally patronizing, and to say that to Dorinda is a low blow. Dorinda says Ramona also accused her of being drunk at the Halloween party. We flash back to that, and Dorinda tells them, you don’t say that to a friend. LuAnn says she’s been to AA, and she wouldn’t say that. She’s known Dorinda for twenty years, and would never say she’s a drunk. Dorinda says, not tonight. In her interview, LuAnn says she’s not touching that with a ten-foot pole. Ramona should know if you play with fire, you’ll get burned. Dorinda asks for another drink.  

LuAnn finds Ramona, still lounging, and drinking water. Ramona says she’s the only one who’s straight, and LuAnn says she knows how Dorinda gets, and told her to go to AA. Ramona says she thinks Dorinda drinks too much. In LuAnn’s interview, she says, stop name calling. Tell Sonja that she has a problem, and Dorinda had to put her to bed. Back at the table, Dorinda starts to cry, and says Ramona hurt her feelings. Leah says, don’t let her; it’s not worth it. LuAnn tells Ramona, they’re serving tequila. Ramona says Dorinda has a problem, and doesn’t want to admit it, but Sonja has a problem too. And Leah. Ramona says she doesn’t want to drink anymore. LuAnn says Ramona claimed Leah was on medication, and she’s fine. Ramona says Leah had a problem before, and Dorinda plays holier than thou. Ramona admits she’s not perfect, but Dorinda is bitter and angry. LuAnn says they’ve seen it before, and Ramona says the two of them are normal in comparison to everyone there; it’s scary. In her interview, LuAnn says, normal is not a word that comes to mind when she thinks of Ramona. Ramona says she’s going to bed. At the table, Leah says she wants to enjoy the trip, and Dorinda says she’s afraid to be judged. Leah says Ramona crossed the line, saying she was on medication. In Dorinda’s interview, she says she wants to tell Leah not to pay attention, but at the same time she’d be pissed. LuAnn comes back, and asks, what’s happening? and Dorinda says her feelings are hurt. LuAnn says, it’s been a long day, and they can’t be trying to make it right. Leah asks, what happened? and Dorinda wonders if LuAnn asked Ramona about judging her on her drinking. LuAnn went to jail. Ramona doesn’t judge her, and LuAnn almost went back to jail again when she broke parole. In her interview, LuAnn says, it was literally fifteen minutes ago when Dorinda said you don’t shame a friend. It’s hypocritical. We flash back to Dorinda shaming LuAnn a few times, and LuAnn says, since she’s locked up with Dorinda, she’s going to make it nice. For the moment. Dorinda says Ramona accused her under false pretenses. She didn’t go to jail or break probation, and LuAnn tells her, this isn’t nice. Why is Dorinda getting angry at her? Don’t kill the messenger. In her interview, Dorinda says she can’t have a conversation with Ramona. She deflects, and it’s your fault; you’re the problem. She doesn’t need this bitch to tell her where she is on her journey. Dorinda says, Ramona is the one who comes home at 4 am, and LuAnn tells her, like her mother said, nothing good happens after midnight.

Leah uses a roller on her face, and calls her sister Sarah. Dorinda comes into Leah’s room, and Leah asks if Dorinda remembers what she said to LuAnn. Dorinda says LuAnn was the one who went to jail, so don’t be endorsing what Ramona said. Leah says LuAnn was just the messenger, and just telling her what Ramona said. Dorinda tells her, LuAnn has said it in the past. She wasn’t drunk then, and she wasn’t drunk last night. She only had three spritzers. That’s like when the defendant says they only had a couple of beers on People’s Court, and you know they had a whole case. In Leah’s interview, she says she was the most sober last night, and LuAnn said nothing like that. Dorinda can’t be wrong ever, but she’s wrong. Dorinda says she’s not letting this turn into something about her; it’s deflection. Ramona was saying she should go to AA. Leah says she doesn’t want to talk about AA on this trip. She actually went there.

Sonja tosses her shoes into a pile. Ramona comes in, saying, it’s a gorgeous day. Sonja says she went to take one of her water pills, and she googled it. It’s also called a drunken sailor pill. It dehydrates you, and if you drink, makes it worse. Ramona says she doesn’t care what medication someone is on. If you take alcohol with it, the medication makes it worse. In her interview, she wonders what Sonja was thinking, and tells Sonja that she doesn’t need them. In Sonja’s interview, she says, of course she was walking like a drunken sailor. It said the pill was a diarrhetic. Ramona says, at dinner, it got uncomfortable. She wants a one-on-one with Leah. Sonja says, Leah didn’t do anything, and Ramona says she needed to feel out her feelings. What?

LuAnn works out on a treadmill, while Leah does free weights. She asks Leah how it went, and Leah says she told Dorinda that LuAnn was just relaying what Ramona said. Ramona is deflecting from the real situation. LuAnn says it’s not about Ramona; it’s about her. Dorinda can be mad at Ramona, but don’t it take out on her. Leah says, it needs to be nipped in the bud. In LuAnn’s interview, she says she wants Dorinda to understand she’s hurt. It’s a sore subject, and she’s got to get to Dorinda at the right time, in the right place. When she’s not drinking. They talk about their upcoming camel ride. In LuAnn’s  She hasn’t been on a camel since the hiccup in Marrakech. She’s scared, but she’s getting back on that hump. Leah doesn’t want to be in the sun LuAnn sees Ramona and Sonja in the kitchen, and Ramona says, it’s a new day; it’s like nothing happened. The chef is making omelets, and LuAnn says, they’re in Mexico, and have to have huevos rancheros. LuAnn tells Ramona let thing with Leah go; there’s another issue with Dorinda. After Ramona left, Dorinda called LuAnn out, saying she’s the one who went to jail, and tried to make her ashamed of herself, like she didn’t suffer enough. She doesn’t think Dorinda remembers. She knows it’s not about her, but it’s still hurtful. Ramona says, it’s an anger management problem, and in her interview, she says, Dorinda doesn’t realize how much she’s hurting her friends. We flash back to Dorinda’s nastier moments. Ramona says, when Dorinda drinks, her anger accelerates; anger plus drinking equals a really mean Dorinda.

Leah joins them, and Ramona eyeballs her. She sidles over, and says when Leah’s ready, she’d love to have a conversation. Leah suggests they do it now, and they go outside to sit. In Ramona’s interview, she says she’s not going to change Leah, and doesn’t want to harbor anger. It’s time they moved on. Ramona says she thinks she holds Leah to a higher bar. She believes in Leah as a person, and sees she has potential. There’s a side she adores, but one there’s one she doesn’t. She talked to Leah about the party, and had asked her to put her 30 year old self away, and be more demure, so she was hurt and disappointed. Those are her feelings. Leah says, feelings aren’t facts. She wants to know what she did. Ramona must have been angry to talk about mental health issues. Ramona apologizes (yawn), saying she’s sorry she made Leah uncomfortable, and that she let her feelings and expectations color things. Leah suggests they go forward, and says when it comes to the perception of Ramona’s friends, who gives a sh*t? Ramona says she let her own head get in the way. In Leah’s interview, she says Ramona knows she’s wrong deep down, and won’t admit it, but she’s not wasting her energy and time dragging it out of her. She’s letting it go. Leah says, let’s eat, have fun, and enjoy the day. Ramona admits she made a mountain out of a molehill.

Ramona says, it’s a new day; they should all celebrate. Dorinda says, she doesn’t care about last night. She wants to put it behind her and have fun. Sonja threw out pill explains that her water pills are also called drunken syndrome sailor because they exacerbate the effects of drinking. In her interview, Dorinda says she just wants Sonja to be happy, and have no more of these episodes. It worries her. Leah says they’re doing a reset, and LuAnn is thrilled with her attitude. In her interview, LuAnn says Dorinda can try to sweep things under the rug, but they’re still there. They’re not under the rug .Leah goes to take a shower. LuAnn asks if they’re wearing bathing suits under their clothes for the camel ride. Dorinda says they have a cabana on the beach for afterward. In Dorinda’s interview, she says, today is about Mexico, not about what happened yesterday. She doesn’t care. LuAnn tells Dorinda that she talked to Ramona, and Dorinda says she’s over it. LuAnn says, Ramona should let it go, and Dorinda says Ramona listens to LuAnn. Leah is a nice girl. They’re all different, and that’s what makes it good.

They get in limo, and Sonja says her stomach is sloshing. Ramona is worried that Sonja has gas, but Sonja says, it’s a different thing. Dorinda is excited about tonight. She heard the food at the restaurant is delish. It’s a nice place, and they can dress up. Ramona says, they can be festive. In Dorinda’s interview, she says Sonja doesn’t realize, they’re not going on a local outing. They’re celebrating Sonja’s birthday. Drinking, dancing, and laughter; she deserves it. The limo stops at Moroma Beach, and they get out. In her interview, Leah says she’s had a camel ride before, and didn’t feel the need to do it again, but since the others want to, let’s do it. LuAnn says she’s having flashbacks, and we see a flashback of LuAnn being bounced around by a camel. Dorinda wants the one that’s lying down. Leah says she has a camel toe right now, and it’s killing her. Dorinda tells the guide, it’s not Leah’s first time, and asks if they have to date them a little first. When Sonja sees Ramona’s shorts, she tells Ramona, no more macramé. They get on the camels, and the guide tells them to hold on and lean back. Leah says, Dorinda is a natural, and Dorinda says she’s ridden a camel or two in her day. In Dorinda’s interview, she says this is nothing compared to the beasts she’s ridden. She even married a few. Ramona refuses to ride. After she saw LuAnn in Morocco, she said never again. Ramona takes pictures, and Sonja says, she doesn’t want the feisty one. In Sonja’s interview, she says, she and camels just don’t go together. She’s getting on a camel that doesn’t seem to want to know her. Sonja calls for someone to take her down. She’s sweating, nervous, and going to fall. Leah warns her that the camel senses her energy. Dorinda is proud of LuAnn for getting back on the hump. LuAnn says, it feels good.  

Sonja screams she’s getting off. Dorinda is happy, and likes it. Leah says, time to get off, and jumps down. Even though these are very tall camels, and at least six feet. She says she’s not screwing around. LuAnn says they’ve lost a couple. In her interview, Leah says she thought camel riding was something you do in Dubai, not Mexico. Never again. Ramona, Sonja, and Leah head for the beach. Leah says she’s all about getting out of situations; she’s not waiting for help. Dorinda is camel proud, and says Ramona is being snobbish. Sonja tells Ramona, they got ones the others didn’t want to be on. In LuAnn’s interview, she says she got back the on hump, and lived to tell the story. She fist bumps the camera. Dorinda suggests they go to the cabana.  

The cabana is beautiful; sort of like a round wooden birdcage. Inside, there’s an exquisitely set table waiting for them. Sonja says the camels are behind her. Look at the gorgeous table, flowers, and view. That’s what she’s here for. She says LuAnn looks like a Bond girl, and she does. They have lunch, and the salad is served in bottles that have been halved. LuAnn wants to talk to Dorinda, and in her interview, she says the camel ride was a good bonding experience for her and Dorinda. It’s a good moment for them to talk. She’s nervous, but needs to do it, and Dorinda is open to it. LuAnn says she doesn’t know if Dorinda remembers what she said last night. You can see by Dorinda’s body language that she’s immediately defensive, and she tells LuAnn, stop. She had three spritzers. Honestly, I always wonder if these women know they’re being recorded. She might have had three spritzers, but that was in addition to tequila and God knows what else. They’re not talking about her drinking. LuAnn says Dorinda brought it up. Ramona is still upset about Halloween. Dorinda says LuAnn made a comment that she’d gotten drunk in the past. Come on now. Is she saying she’s never been drunk? Again, does she know we’re watching her life on TV? In LuAnn’s interview, she says, that never happened. Dorinda is making sh*t up to make herself feel better, and putting it on her. She tells Dorinda that she didn’t bring up drinking. Dorinda asked her, what happened? she told Dorinda what Ramona said, and Dorinda attacked her. Dorinda says, that’s LuAnn’s truth. See? That’s exactly why I don’t like that your/my truth business. While it can be colored by perspective, there’s the truth, and there isn’t. LuAnn tells Dorinda that what she said was hurtful. Dorinda says, don’t talk about her drinking. LuAnn went to jail, and said it could happen to anybody. Is Dorinda drunk now? Because she’s not making any sense. LuAnn says, then why does Dorinda keep throwing it in her face? They agree not talk about each other’s drinking. Dorinda says she always supports LuAnn, and LuAnn says she supports Dorinda too. She doesn’t want to keep thinking about going to jail. She’s suffered enough. In her interview, LuAnn say she just wants Dorinda to give her a little something, but she won’t budge. It’s hard to have a relationship with someone like that. LuAnn asks if the women want to skedaddle, and that’s the second time I’ve heard that word today.

LuAnn and Ramona check out a bunch of dudes playing a volleyball game. LuAnn wants to play, but Ramona says she’ll just watch. LuAnn says she’s good at volleyball, and then proceeds to stink. When she hits the net the second time the ball bounces back and hits her, knocking her down. Everyone laughs. She finally gets one over the net, and Ramona says she got him flustered. LuAnn says, it’s the bikini.

The women go back to Vila casa del mar, and get dressed for dinner. Leah shows everyone the pictures she took. Dorinda is excited, saying Sonja usually stays in the background, but tonight she’s going to be recognized, and know that they see her and love her. When they get to the restaurant, Dorinda tells Sonja, if she thought today was fun, it’s her birthday! In her interview, Sonja says she’s blown away. Being with the girls means more than a big party. They dance around, and Sonja says it comes from the heart and she’s feeling it. A guy comes out balancing a bottle of tequila on his head, while carrying a tray of shots. In LuAnn’s interview, she says she’s been served tequila in some strange places, but never off a man’s head. She dances with him, and he comes up to about boob height on her. Sonja says, LuAnn is going to swoop him up like King Kong, and take him home.

Dorinda announces, it’s a special night for a special girl. They love Sonja, and 2020 is going to be her year. Ha! That’s what we all thought. They toast to happiness and freedom. In Sonja’s interview, she says it’s nice of Dorinda to plan this. She doesn’t need 50 girlfriends. Ramona, take notes for next year. Leah says LuAnn’s dancing partner is the size of a puppy. He takes their orders, and brings back a stack of Margaritas on his head. Leah wonders how they get them off, and he squats down so they can take them one at a time. LuAnn says she’s never had a Margarita off a man’s head, and Dorinda asks if she’s sure about that. In Dorinda’s interview, she says, these women have been all over the world, but this restaurant holds joy. Sonja is smiling ear to ear, and this is what life’s about. Leah says a guy at the bar is giving her Pablo Escobar vibes, and Dorinda tells her not to assume he’s a criminal. Ramona and Leah discuss online dating. Ramona says she tried it a year ago, but it didn’t work. Dorinda says, it shouldn’t be so complicated, and Leah says she’s the same way. She and Ramona shake hands. Leah says they can’t meet their equals; they’re too unique and different. Ramona says they all have emotional insecurities. Leah wonders how Ramona could have forgiven Mario, and Ramona says she thought of her daughter, and realized the worst thing would be to harbor hate. Leah says Ramona loved her daughter more than herself, and knew it was the best thing. It’s still hard, and a lot of people can’t do it. In Leah’s interview, she says, a lot of women who’ve been cheated on, never want to look at the guy again, and rightly so. She says she respects Ramona. She was willing to forgive Mario for the betterment of the family. Ramona wonders what’s next for her; she doesn’t know. Leah says it’s an exciting time for Ramona. She has all the money she needs, and can do what she wants. In Dorinda’s interview, she says, everybody thought the guy with the five drinks on his head was the highlight of the evening, but just wait. She and Dorinda slip off to the bathroom. Leah tells Ramona, there’s something powerful about being a mother. Ramona says she’s always been a caregiver. Sonja says, she’s not. LuAnn comes out, wearing a jacket that lights up, and a sombrero. She says Sonjarita is her friend, and sings Happy Birthday. Dorinda comes out wearing a fake big boob top and a gold turban, bearing a cake with sparklers. Sonja motorboats Dorinda’s shirt, and a mariachi band plays.

Sonja says she’s loving it. Leah thinks the waiter is an amazing man. He might be only three feet tall, but has the aura of someone six foot seven. Leah tells Sonja, happy birthday, and talks about Sonja’s tight p*ssy. Ramona tells Leah, that she doesn’t want to talk about body parts; she wants to get along. Leah promises to only talk about her perfect p*ssy. Ramona gets up, and Leah follows her. In Ramona’s interview, she says, this is the Leah she doesn’t enjoy, but she can walk away, and it will diffuse. At her birthday, there were 70 women, and she couldn’t ignore it. Ramona tells Leah, don’t talk body parts, and Leah says, stop it right now. Ramona says she’s a good Catholic girl, and she doesn’t talk about that. Then a spaceship comes down to get her. It might as well, since she’s on another planet. Leah tells Ramona, she can try and hide, but her turtle times are liked. In Leah’s interview, she says, Ramona isn’t some delicate virgin flower. When she wants to talk about sex, she does. We flash back to several times where Ramona did talk about that, and Leah says, but if she talks about anything related to sex, she’s treated like a serial killer. Leah goes back to the table, and says, she understands she embarrassed everyone. LuAnn asks what Ramona said, and Leah tells her, Ramona claims to be a prude. Dorinda says, that’s bullsh*t. Leah says once again, she’s held to a different standard. In Dorinda’s interview, she says she’s not supporting Ramona, but she does think Leah is poking the bear.

Ramona comes back, kisses the top of Leah’s head, says she loves her, and they’ll talk tomorrow. Dorinda says she’s proud of Ramona. In Ramona’s interview, she says she thinks Leah looks to her for approval, and wants to test boundaries. So she gave her a kiss to disarm her. LuAnn says that a dish is spicy, and Leah says, she likes spicy… d*ck. LuAnn says, she can’t help herself, and Ramona says, God help her.

Next time, LuAnn finds a guy, Dorinda isn’t well, more sparklers, LuAnn tries to hook up Sonja, the women attend some kind of ritual, and Ramona and LuAnn discuss Dorinda’s drinking, then confront her. I’m sure that will go well.    

💿 For the Record…

On Watch What Happens Live, LuAnn was the sole (remote) guest, and the 200th episode of RHONY was celebrated. Various people from days gone by made appearances, and one of them was Tomas, the pirate LuAnn may or may not have slept with. According to Tomas, they did not sleep together. I’m not sure if he was just being a gentleman, but case closed.

🧗‍♀️ Almost Made It…

After two days of the power going in and out, we lost it altogether tonight. Somehow, I was still able to get this post together, but tea time will have to wait until tomorrow. To top it off, WordPress has introduced a new editor that I haven’t had time to investigate fully. As far as I can tell, only links are done differently, but I’m so sleep-deprived, I could be hallucinating. Don’t let this happen to you, and stay safe, stay fit, and stay getting enough sleep.

Jul31

July 30, 2020 – When Michael’s Side Testified, Ramona Feels Hurt, Free Party, More Award Noms, Sad Honor & Going On

Posted on by
Standard

What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Today’s GH Flashback was from May 20th, 2020. Here’s the shortened version, but if you want to take the long road, go to:

https://tvwiththeresa.wordpress.com/2020/05/21/may-20-2020-the-custody-hearing-begins-an-astrological-evening-goodbye-basement-artie-farewell-to-the-best-child-reunion-togetherness-king-costume-tnt-train-raining/

At Turning Woods, Sonny told Jason, the disease takes away everything you are, and leaves you an empty shell. When he asks what Mike wants, Mike doesn’t say anything or doesn’t want to. If Elizabeth was wrong, and Mike wanted to stay and fight, he had every right to. Then again, what was he fighting for? He has nothing look forward to. Sonny looked at Mike, and said his heart was still beating, but his brain couldn’t hold memories . He’d lost his appetite, and they’d have to put tubes in him. Sonny was confused as to what to do, and Jason said he knew Sonny wanted answers, but he could only say what he’d want in Mike’s place. Lulu stormed into Laura’s hold the invitation to Windymere for Ava’s portrait unveiling. Laura said she’d gotten hers yesterday, and Lulu said she could send regrets for them both, but Laura said that’s not what she wanted. Nikolas found Ava at the MetroCourt bar, and told her Avery was quite the artist. Ava said she couldn’t wait to show Avery’s work at the gallery, and he said he’d run into her favorite painter at the gym. She hoped he didn’t use Franco as a punching bag, and Nikolas wondered if there was something – or someone – he and Franco should be fighting about. Elizabeth told Franco that Nikolas was trying to be the person she used to know, one who valued honor and integrity. If he became that person again, she’d accept him back as a friend. Franco said Nikolas had run her sister out of town. Was that someone she wanted to be friends with? Diane told Michael and Willow to go ahead into the courtroom; she wanted to talk to Carly. She asked if Carly was prepared for Martin cross-examining her. It wasn’t going to be pretty. Carly said she was going to present herself as a loving grandmother, which was true, and convince the judge that Nelle should never get custody. Willow asked Michael if he still had photographs of him and Sasha, but he said he’d deleted them; he was a married man. She said she was a married woman, and deleted her pictures of Chase. She told Michael, she knew he was grateful, but he was also hurting like her, and it made it more bearable knowing they were going through it together. Michael said when he needed a reminder of why they were doing this, he looked at a picture of Wiley. Nelle practiced her testimony for Martin, who said it was too saccharine; not enough sincerity.

Lulu told Laura that the unveiling was just an excuse for Ava to patronize the little people. Nikolas had brought her into their family, but didn’t see why he should inflict her on the rest of them. If Laura went, she wouldn’t just be going as his mother, but as the mayor. She’d be giving Ava her stamp of approval, knowing she’d coerced Nikolas into marriage, and Spencer would rather stay in France than be there. Was Laura prepared for that?  Ava told Nikolas that Franco was ruled by powerful emotion, and she was promoting his art. Nikolas suggested she was promoting his past, and she said Franco didn’t mind. He said, Elizabeth did, and Ava asked if he’d shown Elizabeth the letter from Spencer. How was he going to respond? Was he going to choose his son, or his fortune? Nelle asked if Martin had any more unwanted advice, and he said, just tell truth, and let stand up to Michael, Carly, and Willow’s version. Julian came in, and Martin asked if he’d been drinking. Julian said, just one shot for courage, and Martin gave him some mints. Martin left, and Nelle said if she won custody, Sonny would never have to find out that Julian knew about the baby switch. Julian said he’d stick to the script; losing wasn’t an option. Diane asked Carly if Sonny was going to be there, but Carly said, no. Diane said it was probably best. His presence might be construed as intimidation. Michael asked if Willow was ready to go head to head with Nelle’s attorney, and she said she had nothing to be ashamed of. Michael told her that he couldn’t say the same. Martin was going to drag him and his family through the mud, and some would splash on her. Willow said for better or worse, and he said they were starting with worse. She asked if the honeymoon was over, and he said when the trial was done, they’d go somewhere fun with Wiley.

Jason said when he’d had surgery the first time, he’d said he didn’t want tubes and machines keeping him alive. Sonny said he didn’t have kids then, but Jason said he’d never want his kids to go through what Sonny was going through. He wished Mike hadn’t put it on Sonny. Sonny said there was a lot he and Mike hadn’t talked about; a lot they hadn’t shared. And now it was too late. Ava took Nikolas’s silence to mean he hadn’t talked to Spencer, and Nikolas said, what if his son didn’t want him without his money? Ava said Spencer was still young, but if didn’t care, he would have been indifferent when Nikolas returned. Spencer loved him, and wanted to be with him, money or no. Nikolas said Ava would like that. She would get it all, but guess again. He walked out. Elizabeth told Franco that she knew Nikolas could be selfish, but he was also sensitive and kind. He’d been patient with Mike. Franco said it sounded like she was halfway to forgiving Nikolas. She said she was trying to understand why one minute, Nikolas was a stranger, and the next, he was her old friend. Franco said he was sorry he’d brought it up, but she said they couldn’t pretend their feelings didn’t exist. Her feelings for Nikolas were complicated, like Franco’s feelings for Ava. Diane put Carly on the witness stand, and asked about Carly going to Ferncliff. Carly said Nelle had claimed Carly pushed her down the stairs, and she was forced to plead temporary insanity Diane said she eventually escaped, which was criminal, and Carly said, when the truth came out, she was exonerated, and her sentence vacated. Diane asked if Nelle ever visited, and Carly said she had, when she’d become engaged to Michael. Nelle had told Carly that she was trapped. She was going to marry Michael, and in time, everyone would forget her, and she’d be left to rot. She’d wanted Carly to know she’d won. Martin objected, saying it was inflammatory, and Diane said, withdrawn.

In his cross-examination, Martin asked about Sonny’s businesses, illegal or otherwise, and Diane objected because Sonny wasn’t there. Martin said, withdrawn, and asked Carly, what happened in court in April of 1998? She said Tony Jones had kidnapped Michael, received a suspended sentence, and she’d shot him. He asked what sentence she received, and she said she’d gone to Shadybrook. He asked if she believed Wiley would be safe in her less than stable care, and Diane objected. Martin said, withdrawn. Diane said it was a matter of public record that Nelle had perjured herself – in other words, Nelle lied – because she’d wanted to cause Carly grievous harm. Had Carly ever retaliated? Carly said, never. She loved her son and grandson too much to stoop to Nelle’s level. Diane called Michael to the stand. Laura thanked Lulu for her concern, and Lulu said, but she was going anyway. Laura said someone had to look out for Nikolas, and Lulu said he had a wife for that. Laura said she would love if Ava was the person to bring the good out in Nikolas, but it wasn’t going to happen. Lulu asked if she thought there was still any good to bring out, and Laura said Nikolas just needed a chance to show it. Lulu said Laura was his mom. What if he’d become a Cassadine, through and through, and was just as deceitful as the rest of them? Laura said she’d never give up on Nikolas, like Lulu would never give up on her own kids. There was a knock at the door, and it was Nikolas, bearing flowers. Franco told Elizabeth that his feelings for Ava weren’t complicated; she cared about his career. Elizabeth said Ava was more concerned about herself, when Ava appeared, saying Elizabeth sounded like Nikolas, and she wouldn’t put much stock in someone who’d pretended to be dead for two years. She gave Franco the check for the balance on the portrait. Diane asked Michael about when he first met Wiley, and Michael said Brad and Lucas had asked him to be Wiley’s godfather. He’d felt honored, but also had a connection; an instinct that Wiley needed him. Diane asked what happened when he found out Wiley was his son? and Michael said the bond became stronger. He made a vow never to let Wiley down or let anyone hurt him. Martin said no one doubted Michael’s love for Wiley, and submitted Michael and Willow’s marriage license as evidence; dated just before midnight. Diane asked if there was a question, and Martin said, given the timing, did Michael love his wife? Michael talked about how wonderful Willow was, and that he loved her, and Martin asked why he hadn’t married her earlier. Was he in love with her?

Michael admitted he loved Willow, but wasn’t in love with her. Martin said Michael hadn’t married for love, but to put on a show for the court, and project the image of a loving, stable couple. Michael said Willow’s love for Wiley was equal to his own, and Martin said he wasn’t asking if Michael loved his son. Mutual love was the bedrock of genuine marriage, and absent that, it was a marriage of convenience. I’m seriously surprised that Martin opened this door, since Nelle and Julian barely knew each other. Sonny wondered if Mike was listening to music, listening to something in his head, or nothing,  and told Jason they hadn’t gotten a lot of time after Mike left him and his mom. Jason said he’d gotten Mike back, and Sonny said he was grateful. Not everyone got a second chance. Michael was fighting for his son, and he was there, fighting for his father, and losing him more every day. Nikolas asked Lulu how Charlotte was, and said of all the mistakes he’d made, pretending to be Charlotte’s secret bodyguard was the worst. He asked if Lulu had a court date for custody, and Lulu said she and Valentin had agreed to continue with their 50/50 agreement. Laura said she was proud of Lulu for putting Charlotte’s needs first, and Lulu said she hoped Nikolas wasn’t intending on giving her advice about raising children. He said he’d come there to get advice. Spencer was more than willing to welcome Nikolas back in his life if he dumped Ava. Lulu asked if Nikolas had answered him, but Nikolas said, not yet. She asked what he was waiting for; it was a no-brainer. Laura asked what was stopping him. Franco got excited about the check, and Ava said the portrait was going to be a huge success; he’d be swamped with commissions. Elizabeth said, along with a reminder of the past he’d worked hard to put behind him. Ava said there was no such thing as bad publicity, and Elizabeth asked why Ava didn’t work to bring out the best in Nikolas. Ava asked why Elizbeth thought it was there, and Elizabeth said she’d seen it. Michael told the court, he and Willow would work to provide a loving, stable home for Wiley, but it wasn’t a marriage of convenience. It came at a cost, but Wiley was worth it.

Willow was put on the stand, and she said putting her baby up for adoption was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do, but she had to protect him from Shiloh. Diane pointed out that Nelle had married Shiloh in prison, where he’d been convicted of numerous crimes, including drugging and raping women. Now his widow wanted sole custody. She asked how Willow felt when she learned her son was dead, and Willow said the grief was unbearable, but at the same time, she was happy for Michael. He’d asked her to stay in Wiley’s life because Wiley had been through so many changes already. Michael knew the best thing he could do for Wiley was give him a real family. Martin asked if there wasn’t another side to the story; a darker side involving her. Nikolas told Laura and Lulu that if he and Ava divorced, he’d lose everything, and it was Spencer’s legacy. Lulu said Ava was a lot of things, but she was no dummy. Spencer was a good kid, but had expensive taste, and a long list of necessities. Laura said all Spencer needed was his father. Spencer felt betrayed by Ava when she’d backed Valentin, and would do anything to punish her. Nikolas didn’t need her to tell him what to do. Be a father to his son, and everything else would take care of itself. He thanked her, and left. Lulu asked Laura, what was that about? Ava asked Elizabeth to put aside her misgivings, and join them at the unveiling, for Nikolas. Elizabeth left, and Ava told Franco she thought she was doing something good, but he felt exploited or it would have a negative impact on the boys… He said he’d been honest with the boys, and hoped one day they’d forgive him for who he’d been. She said, what about Elizabeth? Martin said Willow had been a teacher, and asked if she still worked at the school. She said she’d been terminated because parents had complained she was inserting herself in her student’s lives, and disregarding their wishes. He asked if that’s how she intend to care for Wiley. Would she ignore the wishes of the mother who gave birth  to him? How did they know she wouldn’t eventually ignore the wishes of Wiley’s father? Who would be there to protect Wiley from her?

Diane asked if Willow had gotten no letter of recommendation from the school, and Willow said she had gotten one. Diane submitted her glowing recommendation letter, and Willow said she was now working in a teaching program at GH. Diane had Willow read her perfect evaluation, and submitted that as well. Diane said she rested. Jason told Sonny, when Mike was bartending at Luke’s club, he’d always try to connect with Sonny. He can see now that Mike was trying to win back Sonny’s trust, and trying to be someone Sonny counted on. Then he’d get in trouble, lie, Sonny would shut down, and the disappointment was like a wall between them. Then the cycle would begin again, with Mike trying to tear down the wall. Sonny said he should have been forgiving, and Jason said Mike never gave up, knowing it was his fault in the first place. He kept trying because he was Sonny’s dad. Mike loved him, and wanted him to be okay. Whatever Sonny wanted to do – if he wanted to keep Mike or let him go – he’d be doing what Mike wanted. Sonny teared up, and said he appreciated it, and Jason left. Sonny asked Mike if he wanted to watch TV. Maybe the Yankees were continuing their home run streak. He knew Mickey Mantle was looking down, cheering. He still has the signed card Mike had given him as a kid. Mike had said it would be worth more than gold. Did he remember? Laura told Lulu that she was reminding Nikolas not to underestimate Spencer. If Nikolas was open and honest, Spencer wouldn’t disappoint him. Lulu said she was in awe of Laura’s capacity for forgiveness and understanding. Laura said she was in awe of Lulu too. She hoped Nikolas had learned his lesson, and was willing to change. Nikolas called Spencer, and left a message. He said he’d gotten Spencer’s letter, and was ready to respond. Ava told Franco that she looked forward to seeing him at the party, and Nikolas was hoping to see Elizabeth as well. She left, and Franco asked if Elizabeth was ready, and not to forget her flowers. They got into the elevator, and Elizabeth seemed really weird, kind of distant.

Martin called Nelle to the stand.

This episode was especially poignant to me, since at the time it was first aired, I had a very sick older dog, and wasn’t sure how much should be done for him. Jason’s words resonated with me, and I knew whatever I did would be what Casey wanted. I did do everything I could, and unfortunately, he passed away anyway, but, silly as it sounds, Jason was very helpful to me as well as Sonny.

The Real Housewives of New York City

Salon owner Angelo greets LuAnn goes at the David Salon. WTH happened to Ramona’s party? She tells Angelo, the ladies from the Fortune Society are on their way for a fun spa day. In her interview, she says, it’s a small thing, but if makes them feel good about themselves, that makes her happy. She picks out a wig to wear for the day. It’s a brunette bob with bangs, and she looks good, but I can’t imagine LuAnn looking bad. Well, maybe in that mug shot. Ramona comes in, and says she didn’t recognize LuAnn; she looks like Kathrine McPhee. Leah gets in a limo with Dorinda. LuAnn tells Ramona that she looked great at her party, and Ramona says she felt great. She was in her element, and people afterward, saying they felt the love. In Ramona’s interview, she says it was the party of the century. The only snafu was Leah, but nothing is perfect. Leah tells Dorinda, it was a creepy crowd. Dorinda tells her that Ramona asked someone for a hundred dollar donation toward her bag, and we flash back to Ramona screeching about the bag she got. Unreal. While I’m trying to come up with money for vet bills. LuAnn says, Mexico is going to be something. Ramona says the girls were drinking and not eating. She doesn’t want to talk about it. LuAnn says Sonja broke the glass on a mirror by dancing on it, and Ramona says she could have blinded someone. (You’ll shoot your eye out!) Ramona tells LuAnn, Sonja has become a liability. It’s like when they were in Miami. We flash back to Sonja screaming at Bethenny, and falling off her chair. LuAnn says, that was bad. In LuAnn’s interview, she says Sonja isn’t ready to listen about her drinking, and she doesn’t want to help someone who won’t help themselves. Ramona says, Leah was an embarrassment, and LuAnn says Leah is going to be there today. Ramona says she’s not even going to look at Leah. She’s disgusted. Leah asks Dorinda, who invites someone to a party, and gets angry because they’re dancing? Dorinda says, they were all dancing, and Sonja destroyed some property. Dorinda has glass in her foot now. Leah wonders why she’s the only one in trouble. In her interview, she says, once again she’s singled out by Ramona. Ramona must be living with a lot of shame to try to make her feel ashamed, but she doesn’t. Dorinda says, Leah has the one thing Ramona can’t have – youth. By God, I think she’s right.

The women from Fortune Society start arriving. In LuAnn’s interview, she says, seeing how excited they are, it gives her pleasure to be able to give this to them. Ramona asks one of them how long she’s been out of the slammer, although she fumbles around for the words. The woman says, three years. She was in prison for 38 months, having been incarcerated at 17; she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Dorinda and Leah come in. In Ramona’s interview, she says when she’s upset, and doesn’t know how to deal with it, she pretends nothing happened. Dorinda shows Ramona her foot, and sure enough there’s a piece of glass imbedded in it. She should really get that looked at. Sonja says she remembers, sorta, kinda. Ramona tells LuAnn, glass was flying all over. After LuAnn gets the women situated, Leah asks to talk to her. She says she’s disturbed and disgusted, and LuAnn tells Leah that she tried bringing up Ramona singling her out. Leah says Ramona is acting like she did something wrong, and treating her like sh*t. She can barely look at Ramona without throwing up. Sonja asks Ramona, what happened? and Ramona tells her how she danced on the mirror. Sonja says she wasn’t the only one dancing. True, but she was the only one dancing on a mirror. Leah says she needs to talk to this bitch. Dorinda tries on a brunette wig, and I vote no. Ramona says she doesn’t want Sonja to end up like LuAnn. She has to figure out how to control her drinking. She asks if she can help, and Sonja says, no more vodka. She’s going back to champagne. In Leah’s interview, she says Ramona’s act is totally bullsh*t. She’s seen  Ramona’s nasty side firsthand, and she’s let things go, but acting like someone is invisible is the worst thing to do to them. Sonja whines to Ramona that her friend’s mother died. LuAnn says, Ramona is deliberately ignoring Leah, and Leah turns the volume up a little, and says, that’s because Ramona is a terrible person, and everyone knows it. She’s a bitch, and doesn’t support women like she claims to. She’s a phony, and singles Leah out. She says, Sonja is Ramona’s best friend, and Ramona treats her like sh*t. Leah grabs her coat, and says she’s leaving. She’s out. She’s not here for it.

LuAnn tells Leah, don’t worry, and Leah asks why are they came there if Ramona is acting like this. Sonja asks why Leah is upset, and Leah tells LuAnn, Ramona wants to be a bitch for no reason. Leah was dancing like everyone else, and Ramona’s sister said she cheapened the group. She elevates this sh*t. Sonja laughs, and Ramona gets all involved with the make-overs. Sonja stuffs her face from a buffet that’s there, and puts something back after biting into it, when she realizes she doesn’t like it. Ew. She’s not a hot mess; she’s just a mess. In Sonja’s interview, she says, does she think it’s correct to ostracize someone from the group? Not really. Dorinda tries talking to Ramona, who says she’s so disappointed. She’s not going there now; she’s so upset. Dorinda asks if they can’t work it out, and Ramona says, no. In her interview, Dorinda says she doesn’t know how Ramona expects not to talk to Leah. They’re going to Mexico together. One of the Fortune Society women tells LuAnn that she loves her. We see before and after shots, and everyone looks great. In LuAnn’s interview, she says, it’s heartwarming. To see the women pampered, and feeling beautiful and shining, gives her more than she can give them in one spa day.

Sonja goes to Century 21 to see her new display. In her interview, she says she didn’t know they’d had enough clothing to fill the space. Who knew there was so much Sonja Morgan New York? Dorinda joins her, and says, it’s amazing. In Sonja’s interview, she says she’s having a huge launch party, but can’t resist showing Dorinda and Ramona first. Dorinda says she has goosebumps In Dorinda’s interview, she says Sonja is like the little engine that could. I think I can, I think I can. Sonja finally let the cat out of the bag. Or the rabbit out of a hat. She pulled something out of somewhere. Ramona comes in, and squeals that Sonja is front and center. That means she’s important. In Ramona’s interview, she says she’s happy for Sonja, and tells Sonja, this is major. She has not one, but two floors. Dorinda says it’s more than she’d expected. She tells them that she found an incredible house in Mexico – sun, beach, and fun. In her interview, she says, they’ll have it all. She knows Ramona doesn’t want to talk to Leah, but she’s going to have to. Ramona says she’ll be civil, and not ruin the vacation. She’s a lady. In her interview, Dorinda says Ramona avoids things like a thief in the dark. Put a spotlight on her ass, and she’s done. Ramona says she found out Leah is bipolar and on meds. She shouldn’t be drinking, and it makes her not respect Leah. In her interview, Ramona says she has no time for the internet, but one of her girlfriends read Leah’s blog. Leah said she’s bipolar, and she’s not acting responsibly. In Sonja’s interview, she wonders where Ramona is getting her information. Sonja is getting along with Leah, and doesn’t want to change that. Ramona says Leah trashed her home in the Berkshires, went crazy in Newport, and now the party. Three strikes.

Everyone packs for Mexico, and meet at Newark airport for a 6:30 flight to Cancun. In Leah’s interview, she says it’s hard to ignore Ramona, but they haven’t said a word to each other. The women pick up their bags. LuAnn’s bag is vibrating, and LuAnn says, it’s a thing to mix juice. In Dorinda’s interview, she says she thinks it mixes some other juice, and I laugh. One time, my husband’s electric razor started up in his suitcase, and he quickly said, it’s not a vibrator! way too loud. Sonja tells Ramona, at least have a shower before she picks up guys. In Leah’s interview, she says, obviously, they need to talk about what’s gone on, but she’s in Mexico for the first time, and wants to enjoy herself. They take a limo ride to the house, Vila Casa del Mar. Ramona reads, 12,000 square feet of paradise. Alcohol awaits, as well as personalized towels. I go, ooh! and think Below Deck should consider that. A mariachi band plays, and the waitstaff lines up. Ramona says she likes to check out the house immediately. Sure she does. She wants to score the best room. Manager Cesar greets them. In Ramona’s interview, she says she’s been to a lot of beautiful places, but never saw a staff treat people at this level. She’s so excited. The pool has the conventional floaties, like the unicorn, and there are also floating armchairs and a floating table. Everyone marvels at the pool, and Ramona wants to go in immediately. She gets on a floatie, and falls in. They check out the beach, and LuAnn says, it’s the bomb. Dorinda says, there are no bad rooms. Ramona and Sonja talk outside, and Ramona says she’s hurt and disappointed. She told Leah that she was having a party, and would like to include her, but please act mature. Now she’s hurt. Sonja says she’s not being mad or judgmental. Are these women in the same show that I’m watching? LuAnn visits the kitchen, and chats with the staff, while sneaking a snack. Sonja says Leah claimed she never lifted her skirt, and Ramona says she had to pull it down. This was in front of 50 of her closest girlfriends. Number change alert! It was a celebration of her, not Leah’s body. Ah, there we have it. Ramona is jealous. Ramona gets weepy, which is borderline insane. She says, it’s different here, but it was her birthday party. Sonja says Leah should have been on her best behavior. In Sonja’s interview, she says, you can’t go in, pull up your dress, and show your hoo-ha. Ramona says Leah hurt her and embarrassed her.

The women gather in the living inside. Sonja wonders why Ramona has no camel toe in her jumpsuit, and says she has a chubby p*ssy. In Leah’s interview, she says, if she said that, Ramona would beat her like a piñata. Dorinda tells them that they’re playing a game for the room choices. Whoever presses the buzzer first, and gets the correct answer, can have the room of their choice. She reads, if Sonja had a large meal, what would she most likely do in the car? LuAnn says, farting, and wins. Number two is, what is LuAnn’s favorite word? and Leah answers, cabaret, getting second choice. Either we don’t see any more questions, or only two of the rooms are different from the rest. In LuAnn’s interview, she says, it’s an occasion. She never gets first choice of room. Sonja and Ramona are rooming together, and they choose a room near the kitchen and bar. It also has an incredible view. Dorinda asks Leah if she wants to sit on the terrace. Leah says she’s hurt (word of the night). Ramona is going around saying she showed her vagina, and it’s demeaning and a lie. Then she told Sonja that Leah was on pills because she was depressed. It’s a line you don’t cross. In Leah’s interview, she says, before the trip, Sonja let it slip that Ramona was gossiping that she was bipolar. It’s repulsive AF. She must have been doing some digging. She was diagnosed as bipolar on her 30th birthday, and she became dedicated to getting it under control, and getting herself in a good place. She’s not on meds, and to be talking about it is despicable. Dorinda says, Ramona’s got to quit it. Leah’s a wonderful girl, and Dorinda loves and respects her, as a person and as a mother. In her interview, Dorinda says Ramona has two methods to get to someone; narcissism and a smear campaign. Leah says Ramona loves her one day, and the next she’s saying crazy sh*t. Her way of treating people is less than zero.

Ramona unpacks, and Sonja models her swimsuit. Dorinda comes by, and tells Ramona, they won’t come to a solution if Ramona doesn’t talk to Leah. Ramona says she’s not shunning Leah, and not being mean or sending out bad vibes. Again, are we in the same show orbit? Dorinda says Ramona is avoiding Leah, and Ramona says, let Leah come to her. She should apologize. In Ramona’s interview, she says Leah can do what she wants; just not on her dime. For the fiftieth time, Ramona tells Sonja that Leah hurt her. In Sonja’s interview, she says Ramona just wants an apology. Leah’s got to own it. Leah confers on the phone with Kier about her hairdo. In Dorinda’s interview, she says she wants Leah to confront Ramona, and she wants Ramona to have no opportunity to judge what Leah is wearing. She gives Leah a sheer leopard caftan, and Leah puts it on over a black bodysuit. It looks gorgeous. LuAnn sees her, and says she loves when women dress for their girlfriends. Sonja tells the on-staff beautician that she wants her hair to look amazing. BTW, she’s naked, and just holding a towel on her frontside. In Ramona’s interview, she says Sonja hasn’t had that much to drink. She must be on meds. She’s like Mr. Hand, thinking everyone is on dope. Dorinda tells Leah that Ramona expects an apology, and Leah says, Maria told Elyse that she’d been showing her vagina at the party. LuAnn comes into Ramona and Sonja’s room, and wonders what Sonja is drinking. Sonja says, coffee, and LuAnn says, thank God. Dorinda looks for the others, and says, everyone is waiting. LuAnn says, Sonja is half in the bag, and Dorinda says Sonja claimed she was drinking Coke. LuAnn says, spiked Coke, and in LuAnn’s interview, she says Sonja thinks she was born yesterday. She’s three sheets to the wind, and LuAnn doesn’t want a repeat of Miami. Leah says, it’s déclassé, and LuAnn racks the billiard balls on a pool table nearby.  Sonja stumbles around naked. In Dorinda’s interview, she says, the hypocrisy is incredible. She’s confused and mad. LuAnn says Ramona wants to avoid this, and that’s why she’s hiding. Ramona babbles to Chef Eduardo, and LuAnn continues to play pool by herself. LuAnn asks Dorinda what the hell Sonja’s been drinking, and Dorinda says, Coke with rosé. LuAnn says, first of all, that’s disgusting. Barrelling down the hallway, Sonja yells that she has an unstoppable p*ssy. Ramona babbles to the bartender about tequila, and in her interview, Dorinda says she hears the ring of avoidance with a tinge of fear. Ramona will do anything to avoid Leah. Someone get a taser, and calm her ass down. Ramona babbles some more about wine.

The woman are seated outside, and Sonja asks Chef Eduardo what he’s going to teach them. He tells her that they’re making ceviche. Sonja takes her hat off, and tosses it on the ground. She says she can’t deal; she’s reached her limit. In her interview, Leah says, Sonja is sloppy and Ramona doesn’t give a flying f***. Sonja insists she’s had nothing to drink. She says Leah never said anything to Ramona, and Leah says she’s right there. LuAnn says they need to address the fish in the room, and Dorinda says they’re back in the Berkshires. Sonja tells Leah to say what’s on her mind in a kind manner, and Leah says she doesn’t have that much to say. She’s disappointed that Ramona would talk about her depression issues behind her back, and belittle her, when it’s something she’s overcome. Ramona says maybe she’s trying to excuse Leah’s behavior, and Leah says, what behavior? Ramona says, never mind, and LuAnn says she missed something. Ramona says she doesn’t want to talk about it, and Leah says Ramona has been talking about her vagina to half the Upper East Side. Ramona says she doesn’t even like that word. Chef Eduardo looks pretty dumbfounded. He’s certainly getting an earful. Ramona asks what Leah is talking about. In her interview, Leah says, Ramona is clearly trying to deflect and gaslight her, but can’t seem to say how she hurt her. Ramona moans that she took Leah in, and Leah hurt her. Leah asks, how? She’s not explaining. Ramona says, if Leah doesn’t get it, she’s not explaining, and Leah says Ramona is manipulating like crazy. Ramona says Leah acted crazy at her house, and Leah says, that was months ago. Sonja says, if you’re drunk, you don’t get invited. She wants to protect Leah, and says, when you come into the group, you can’t do certain things. Dorinda says Leah can do whatever she wants, and Leah says she never did anything, and no one saw her vagina. Ramona needs to stop talking about it. Ramona stomps off, saying she’s not. It’s disgusting. She slams the door behind her.

Next time, a cake with a sparkler, Sonja motorboats Dorinda, Dorinda tells Ramona that she’s terrible and should be ashamed of herself, and LuAnn has camel flashbacks.

🎊 On Watch What Happens Live tonight, Ramona was a guest, and said Larry Scott gifted her with the party. I should hope so. He certainly got some major advertising.

👨‍🚀 Bring On the Moon Men…

The list of nominees for the MTV Video Music Awards.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1175082/2020-mtv-video-music-awards-see-the-complete-list-of-nominees

😔 Covering Breonna…

This particular case saddens and angers me, but I’m glad it’s getting some attention.

https://extratv.com/2020/07/30/oprah-honors-breonna-taylor-on-the-cover-of-o-magazine/

🤯 Spent…

It’s been one long week, so I’m calling it a night… or is that morning? We’re almost caught up on GH, and they’ll have new episodes starting money. Tomorrow’s post will have the last flashback, the Shah’s reunion, and a spot of tea. Until then, stay safe, stay sound, and stay making your mask a fashion statement.

Jun27

June 27, 2020 – A Rewedding For JaSam, Here’s Johnny, Double the Franco, Soap Starts, Sad News, Brittany’s Mom, TV Wedding, Gus Hosts, Looking Back, Musical Stream, Six Hardy Quotes & Educated

Posted on by
Standard

What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Survey says, today’s GH Flashback is from September 22nd, 2011.

Dante (who practically looked like an infant) proposed to old Lulu. At first, I didn’t realize it was Lulu, and for a moment, wondered who else Dante proposed to. James Franco playing Franco (which is endlessly amusing to me) spied on Maxie and Spinelli in the park, as they planned Sam and Jason’s wedding. Maxie said everything could be fixed with a few clicks on the Jackal’s computer board. Jason showed up at Sam’s while she was trying on her dress, and said he’d broken the rule by seeing her in it. She said there were so many rules, she didn’t think she could go through with it. At the hospital, Robin told Patrick they had a mandatory engagement tomorrow – Sam and Jason’s wedding – but Patrick said they weren’t going.

Sam said it wasn’t that she didn’t want to marry Jason, but he’d just gotten out of the hospital. She wanted to dance right then and there with him, even though he hated dancing, but there was a knock at the door. Dante told Lulu that he was a work in progress (ugh), but he was still a good investment, and he wanted them to invest in each other and share a future. Being with her made him feel like being a better man. Lulu said he’d gone from it being over to shut up and marry me without a break, and she needed to breathe and think. Johnny (Zacchara) asked his father Anthony (Bruce Weitz) what he had on Tracy, but Anthony said, a gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell. After Anthony left, Johnny got on the phone with henchman Cole, and said he had a job for him.

Robin told Patrick that they’d gotten married partly because of Jason, and she was still Jason’s friend. Patrick didn’t want her risking her life being around Sonny, but she said she’d go alone. A courier picked up Sam’s dress because Maxie didn’t trust her with it, and Sam told Jason, the wedding was out of control. Jason suggested she just say no to Maxie, but Sam didn’t want to hurt Maxie’s feelings. She told him, besides Maxie, everyone had their own ideas for the wedding, including Spinelli, her mom, and her sisters. She didn’t even know what kind of flowers or reception they were going to have, but guaranteed it would be over-the-top. She said she didn’t need flowers, a ceremony, or the complications that came with it. Jason told her to forget what everybody else wanted, and focus on what they wanted. All that mattered was that they loved each other. Sam said she had a rock Molly had given her to keep her grounded, and a love nut; what else did she need? Jason took her hand, and said, come on.

Jason and Sam got on his bike, and ended up at a closed Chinese restaurant. The owner Mr. Li and his grandson Robert let them in anyway, and they confessed they were running from their wedding. Lulu went to see a too skinny Maxie at Crimson for advice, while Dante went to see Lucky (the Jonathan Jackson version). He told Lucky about proposing to Lulu, and how she was hesitant. Lucky asked if Dante was sure he wanted be part of this family. Sam explained to Robert that her head was spinning; she didn’t even know if she wanted roses or lilies. Robert’s grandmother Mrs. Yi (who only spoke Chinese, so Robert had to translate) said lilies should be her flower, since they represented unity in spirit and 100 years of love.  She and her husband were halfway there, having been married 50 years. Sam said their problem wasn’t commitment, but the ceremony, and Jason said if it was up to him, he’d marry Sam right there. Robert said they could do that, since he was ordained. Jason pulled out the marriage license that he just happened to have with him. Mrs. Yi said fate had brought them there, and Sam agreed.

Dante pumped Lucky for insight into Lulu, but Lucky said the Spencers were an unpredictable bunch. He told Dante not to play it safe and run from his feelings. They should love the people they were given in life while they had the chance. Anthony went to the hospital where Lisa was in a coma. (Lisa had injected herself with drain cleaner during a struggle with Patrick in June 2011.) Anthony told the doctor that he had power of attorney, and gave the hospital a lot of money. He hoped his generosity counted for something. He gave the doctor a check, and even though the doctor said the protocol was still in the early stages, and thought Anthony should get a second opinion, Anthony said he trusted the doctor, and to shoot her up. Patrick told Robin that she should respect his feelings toward Sonny, the same way he respected hers for Jason. Robin suggested they go to the wedding and get a hotel room for the night, making it a second honeymoon. Patrick said she was playing dirty, but agreed, and told her that they couldn’t let anyone come between them. Johnny got together with Cole, and told Cole to offload a boat containing drugs at the harbor. He was going to put them in Sonny’s coffee warehouse, and then give an anonymous tip to the cops. Cole worried that Sonny would figure out it was Johnny, but Johnny said there would be no proof; just make sure the drugs were unloaded. When Sonny was toasting the happy couple, Johnny would be taking him down.

At the restaurant, Robert took Sam and Jason to the back terrace, where it was romantic and lit by Chinese lanterns. Mrs. Li said something to Sam, and Robert said, loosely translated, it was that Sam’s shoes rocked. (Maxie had meant to send Sam a pair of blue shoes, but a pair of leopard boots had come instead, which Sam insisted on wearing.) Robert said Jason stood under the symbol of the dragon, and Sam stood under the symbol of the phoenix, and the union of the dragon and phoenix symbolized the union of the bride and groom. The dragon stood for strength; he scared away evil spirits, protected the innocent, and blessed the house with safety. The phoenix was the goddess of winged creatures, and brought luck, success, and prosperity, turning bad luck to good. Together, they were the ultimate sides of yin and yang, male and female, strength and beauty. Alone, they brought happiness, but together brought double happiness. Jason had his grandmother’s ring that she had worn for over 50 years. His grandfather had given it to him to give to Sam. Sam had a ring that had belonged to Jason’s father, who wanted him to have it. His parents had a love that lasted a lifetime, and so would theirs. They exchanged rings, and said their vows. Mrs. Li gave them glasses of red wine, and they drank it, doing that twisty thing with their arms. Robert said red was the color of happiness, and tonight, they were joined in happiness. Drinking the wine and honey would make life sweet and rich. From that moment forward, they were one world; earth, water, air, and fire together for all eternity. He pronounced them husband and wife. I’m not big with the romance stuff, but this was actually kind of cool.

Spinelli managed to find some wedding music for Maxie. Dante told Lucky that the moment he met Lulu, he was hooked; there was no one else like her. Lucky suggested he be patient, and let her get used to the idea. Johnny told Cole that his father knew nothing about what was going on, and while Sonny was distracted, it was perfect time to make a move. Unbeknownst to Johnny, Anthony was listening in. Sam gave Mrs. Li her leopard boots, which Mrs. Li said were too cool to refuse, and wondered what they were going to tell Maxie.

Johnny said everything was going down tomorrow night. Jason told Sam they would tell Maxie tomorrow night, and they kissed. Franco set up some Tinker Toys on the statues at the church, and said, see you tomorrow. Okay, they were really cameras, but they looked like Tinker Toys.

💣 Johnny Got His Gun…

I barely remember him, so here’s a refresh.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/johnny-zacchara

🎨 He Was a Busy Guy…

All about Franco, going back to when he was James Franco.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/abc/franco-general-hospital-roger-howarth-155402

🧼 Someday My Soaps Will Come…

According to Soap Opera Digest, Young & Restless will resume taping on July 6th, and Bold & Beautiful has already begun production. No word on GH yet.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2020/06/16/bold-and-beautiful-resumes-taping-after-coronavirus-shutdown/3198891001/

😥 She Can’t Catch a Break…

Poor Scheana. 2020 hasn’t treated a lot of people well.

https://pagesix.com/2020/06/26/vanderpump-rules-star-scheana-shay-reveals-she-suffered-a-miscarriage/

🏥 I Just Know It’s Jax’s Fault…

Because he’s the worst human being on earth, and all of the world’s ills lead to him.

https://pagesix.com/2020/06/19/vanderpump-rules-star-brittany-cartwrights-mom-out-of-icu/

💒 Andy Officiates…

Because we’re starved for entertainment.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1164644/andy-cohen-to-officiate-a-wedding-on-watch-what-happens-live-for-pride-month

📺 Better Call Gus…

Along with some fun TV programming, AMC is releasing a new digital docuseries.

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-news/giancarlo-esposito-to-host-new-breaking-bad-better-call-saul-inspired-docuseries-1020063/

https://www.amc.com/shows/better-call-saul/talk/2020/06/new-better-call-saul-and-breaking-bad-programming-is-coming-including-new-doc-series-hosted-by-giancarlo-esposito

🧛‍♂️ He’s Ba-a-ack…

You can’t keep a good vampire down.

https://www.bbcamerica.com/shows/nos4a2/video-extras/nos4a2-sneak-peek-season-2-episode-2

🎧 Early Aughts Interviews…

A trip down Memory Lane with entertainers from the early 00’s.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1164673/2000s-rewind-watch-early-e-interviews-with-britney-spears-destiny-s-child-more-up-and-comers

🎸 Just Sayin’…

Isn’t it funny how The Dixie Chicks are suddenly switching their name to The Chicks to disassociate themselves from racism, but it’s five seconds before they release their first album in a zillion years? Must just be a coincidence.

💖 I Heart Tyler…

But you knew that.

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/womens-charity-that-hands-out-love-bags-homeless-has-new-van-thanks-tyler-perry/LDMV45QBTFE5NAB3LZJDOOYQB4/

🎶 You Can’t Stop the Beat…

Some live streams coming up. The 13th Annual Roots Picnic Virtual Experience (today – June 27th) looks good.

https://floodmagazine.com/78894/live-from-the-living-room-6-22-6-28-2/

🦜 Quotes of the Week

That’s the trouble with your whole MTV, microwave dinner generation. You want it all now. You think you deserve it just because you want it? It doesn’t work like that. You have to earn it, you have to take it, you have to make it yours. but before you do that, Guy, you need to decide what it is you really want. – Buddy (Kevin Spacey), Swimming with Sharks

Life is painful and messed up. It gets complicated at the worst of times, and sometimes you have no idea where to go or what to do. Lots of times people just let themselves get lost, dropping into a wide open, huge abyss. But that’s why we have to keep trying. We have to push through all that hurts us, work past all our memories that are haunting us. Sometimes the things that hurt us are the things that make us strongest. A life without experience, in my opinion, is no life at all. And that’s why I tell everyone that, even when it hurts, never stop yourself from living. – Alysha Speer

The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently. – Pema Chödrön

Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Let their spirit ignite a fire within you to leave this world better than when you found it. – Wilferd Peterson

Take wrong turns. Talk to strangers. Open unmarked doors. And if you see a group of people in a field, go find out what they are doing. Do things without always knowing how they’ll turn out. You’re curious and smart and bored, and all you see is the choice between working hard and slacking off. There are so many adventures that you miss because you’re waiting to think of a plan. To find them, look for tiny interesting choices. And remember that you are always making up the future as you go! – Randall Munroe

The four hardest tasks on earth are neither physical nor intellectual feats, but spiritual ones: To return love for hate; to include the excluded; to forgive without apology, and to be able to say, I was wrong. – Author Unknown

📰 Searching and Researching…

Sometimes when you’re writing about something, it turns into something else. Like what happened with that journalist in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. In working on a piece about what’s going on in the entertainment world, i.e. apologies and cancelations, I’ve learned a great deal. Not about myself – I have that one pretty much down – but about other perspectives. Woken long ago, my horizons are broadening. Coming soon, but for today, stay safe, stay engaged, and stay open to changing direction.

Jun19

June 18, 2020 – A Best Of Flashback, Top Chef Crowned, Fan Fave, Juneteenth Ideas, Is She Or Not, Thirsty, Watching Stars, Coming Up, a Mansion, Gordon’s Back, Say It Three Times & Dad

Posted on by
Standard

What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

And the GH Flashback roulette wheel says… October 15th, 2015. I heard on an ad that this week is the best of Sonny and Carly, which brings cohesion to the randomness. Sonny surprised Carly with a wedding in the hospital chapel, that Maxie jumped through hoops to put together in record time. Josslyn and Kristina looked like babies, Sabrina attended with Michael, and Josslyn played the Wedding March on the flute. I assumed it was actually her playing, and was impressed, since the flute is very difficult to master.

Paul showed up at the gallery, while trying to set up Anna via text using the name Sloane. Paul told Ava to be prepared for the dismantling of the Corinthos organization. His plan was about to come to fruition. He told Ava that Carrrlos’s fate and Anna’s were going to dovetail (who uses that word, except in reference to carpentry?). Ava asked if it was a coincidence, but Paul said it was careful planning. He wanted Ava to launder some money via art collectors he was going to send, but Ava wasn’t keen on the idea. Paul asked if she wanted to go to prison for Connie’s murder, since he had her confession on tape. Ava said she was afraid of losing Avery, and Paul relented, saying he wasn’t heartless, and Ava would be of no use to him if her mind was elsewhere. He told her to deal with the custody case first.

Old Jordan wanted to talk to Anna about Carrrlos’s disappearance, since Anna was the last one to see him. Jordan said her leads had gone cold, and Mayor Lomax was breathing down her neck.

While talking to Dillon at the pier, Maxie saw a body in the water, and Dillon called the police. Jordan determined it was Carrrlos, which wasn’t hard since he’d had his wallet on him. When Paul showed up, she said Carrrlos had been shot at close range. That explained why he avoided detection for so long – he was dead. Yep. That will do it. Paul suggested Sonny had gotten his revenge.

Sonny and Carly said their vows. Sonny told Carly that she saved his life every day, and he was blessed that she chose him. Carly said she’d had a taste of life without him, and promised that neither one of them was going anywhere without the other. Dante’s phone rang during the vows, and he stepped aside to take it. Bobbie suggested Sonny make a change, so no one else would get hurt. Dante told them that Carrrlos had been pulled from the harbor, and he was dead. Sabrina freaked, and Dante went to the station. Morgan told Sonny and Carly that Carrrlos had gotten what he deserved, and Sonny said he didn’t ask for retaliation. Morgan said they were looking at him like they thought he did it, and told them they could think what they wanted to; it was his wedding gift to them, and enjoy it while it lasted. When he left, Sonny told Carly that he thought Morgan wished he had shot Carrrlos, but he would have heard about it if Morgan had done it. He explained that Ava had let the Five Families (not a restaurant) that Carrrlos had shot Sonny and acted alone. The only one who could dispute it was Carrrlos, and he wasn’t talking. Carly said that was convenient for Ava, and Sonny said she was up to her lying neck in it. Sabrina told Michael that she’d known Carrrlos most of his life, and Carrrlos had done awful things, but didn’t deserve to get shot.

Anna went to the gallery, and told Ava that she knew it wasn’t Carrrlos who shot Sonny, since he was on the run for killing Duke. Why would he escape Port Charles, then come back to shoot Sonny? She said Ava claiming that’s what happened implied she had something to hide, and asked who Ava was covering for. Paul called Anna, and told her to meet him at Pier 54.

Nathan assumed that Valerie was pregnant after Maxie found a positive pregnancy test in the trash, and Valerie gave him the business about jumping to conclusions. Valerie saw Maxie in the interrogation room after she gave her statement, and Maxie told her it was like a scene from a scary movie, and kept playing in her head. She told Valerie that she knew Valerie and Dillon were having sex, and Valerie said Dillon was a great guy, but that was a no, and had never happened.  Maxie asked whose baby Valerie was worried about carrying. Valerie said she didn’t know what Maxie was  talking about, and didn’t think Maxie did either. Maxie said Valerie had thrown a positive pregnancy test in the trash, and Valerie said Maxie had assumed because she was near the trash can, it must be hers. She suggested the next time Maxie decided to go snooping, get her facts straight. In the meantime, Dante told Dillon to stay the hell away from his wife.

Sonny joked that he and Carly were going to Iowa for their honeymoon, and Lulu told Bobbie that she and Dante were in discussion about expanding their family.

Ava told Paul that Sonny knew she’d lied about Carrrlos, and was asking inconvenient questions, but Paul said he had everything under control.

Carly cuddled with Sonny in his hospital room, and Sonny said it wasn’t the way he’d pictured their honeymoon, but it did feel like Des Moines. She thought it was more like Cedar Rapids.

Top Chef – Finale

The chefs were challenged with cooking the meal of their lives. The final three were Bryan, who the crown had eluded for more than a decade; Melissa, who had more wins than anyone; and Stephanie, the private chef underdog, who had proven she had skills to be feared. The prize was a feature in Food and Wine magazine, an appearance at the Food and Wine festival in Aspen, and $250K. Not bad. I love that magazine, and that’s a nice chunk of change. Bryan said he’d slap them in the face with heart and soul, and we flashed back to the Italian chefs saying there was no soul in his food. Padma tasked them with making the best progressive four-course meal of their lives – no twists. They would be serving it to the best chefs from all over world. Kevin, Lee Anne, and Brian full of Malarkey came out to give their support as sous chefs. Gregory would have been there instead of Brian, but he was still battling back issues. The chefs drew knives for picking order, and Stephanie was first, choosing Brian full of Malarkey, for his enthusiasm and skills. Stephanie also admitted that during Restaurant Wars she fell in love with him. Not literally. Brian chose Kevin, who said, let’s get the band back together, which left Melissa with Lee Anne. Melissa said they’d never worked together, but Lee Ann knew Asian flavors, and was a beast in the kitchen. She thought they’d do well. Padma told them they’d be shopping in the food hub of Florence, and would have five hours to prep and cook back at the Renaissance Tuscany. They were to make the meal as cohesive as possible, and Tom said the judges expected nothing but the best.

Melissa said her mission was to marry Asian flavor with what she’d learned in Italy, bringing Italy to her heritage, so it would portray her adventure. While this isn’t Project Runway, I have to mention that Lee Anne was wearing the coolest fried-egg-and-bacon crocheted scarf. If I was crafty that way, I’d be making one starting tonight. Bryan said he and Stephanie were yin and yang; their minds were one. In the evening, the judges turned the tables, and Tom, Padma, and Gail did the cooking. The chefs were met outside by Tom, who was doing some rustic farmhouse cooking on the grill, which gave Melissa an idea for her main course. They all sat down to eat together, and Padma wished them luck, telling them to cook their hearts out. After dinner, Stephanie called best friend Kristen, who was also the Season 10 winner. Stephanie said she thought her chances of winning were one in three. Melissa called her mom, and Bryan called his brother Michael.

After three hours in the kitchen, the judges were served the first two courses. You knew it was good by the way they were shoveling it in, especially one guy who reminded me of the drive-in guy Joe Bob Briggs and was wearing a shirt with steer on it. Later, I found out he was an Italian butcher named Dario. Gail said Bryan was a great technician, but this time showed soul and love in his food as well. Drive-in Bob Dario said, mama mia! and the main course came out. Melissa made grilled squab; Bryan went with blackened monkfish; and Stephanie made a veal dish. Padma said the food was universally wonderful, and food editor Nilou Motamed said she didn’t like squab, but was now a convert. At this point, I was pretty sure Melissa was going to win. Then, OMG THE DESSERTS CAME OUT. They were all to die for, and I’m not sure which one I wanted more; Bryan’s dark chocolate and ice cream thing, to which Dario responded, mmm… cardamom; Stephanie’s sticky toffee pudding (I don’t know what the hell that is, but give me two servings); or Melissa’s tea-infused tiramisu with a crunchy topping. When the dinner was done, the chefs applauded themselves, and then the judges applauded them when they were called back out. During the final discussion, Dario teared up over how Melissa respected the Italian traditions with her dessert. He said, a butcher who cries, how embarrassing, prompting one of the other guest judges to come over and give him a hug.

When the chefs were brought out to meet with the usual judges, plus Nilou, for the final time, Tom said he thought they all cooked the best meal of their lives, and Padma said she saw the story of their lives on the plates. She relayed that Hunter Lewis from Food and Wine found Bryan’s beets beguiling. Say that three times real fast. Tom said Bryan had erased the impression that he couldn’t cook with soul and heart. Gail said that Melissa had joined the Asian and Italian cultures, and told her about Dario getting emo over her tiramisu. Melissa said they were all artists who loved hearing that their journeys were understood. Stephanie joked that she was going for fan favorite. She had done damage to people who loved her by being sad, and this showed them that she was okay. Tom said, sometimes the voyage is more important than the destination, because you find out what you’re made of. You have to go deeper, and what comes out is who you are. They all made that journey, but there could only be one Top Chef. Arriving for the announcement were Melissa’s mom, Bryan’s brother, and Stephanie’s husband.

With that, Padma told Melissa, she was Top Chef. In Melissa’s interview, she said it had been a wild adventure, but this time she’d done it for herself, and wasn’t trying to earn her father’s approval. She wanted to prove to herself that she could achieve a goal that she’d set. In Stephanie’s interview, she said she accomplished what she’d wanted to do. She hadn’t felt good about the mental space she was in since her brother died. This would give everyone something else to talk about for a while. In Bryan’s interview, he said he’d learned a lot about himself. There were sixteen Top Chefs, but he was the only one who’d done what he did. He’d been runner-up three times, but was never doing this again. Melissa said, once you believe in yourself, nothing can stop you. She knew it sounded cliché, but the world was her oyster. She could do anything now.

👓 On Watch What Happens Live (@home in the Hamptons – @must be nice), Padma and Tom were guests, and Melissa made an appearance. Padma announced Melissa was also the fan favorite, netting her another $10K. Melissa donated that win to Black Visions Collective, the Trevor Project, and Asian Americans for Equality. And for that, Andy gave the night’s mazel.

🥧 Baking For the Teenth…

An idea to celebrate Juneteenth.

https://thechalkboardmag.com/juneteenth-bake-sale

📺 Watchlist…

Some Juneteenth suggestions for your viewing pleasure.

https://www.tvguide.com/news/shows-and-movies-to-watch-for-juneteenth/?ftag=NLS-04-10aaa2i

📚 For the Bookworm In You…

A Juneteenth reading list.

https://www.essence.com/entertainment/juneteenth-books/#546891

🍑 Pour the Nene Tea…

A Twitter user suggested her ego has become bigger than her entertainment value. I think they might be right.

https://www.essence.com/entertainment/nene-leakes-fired-real-housewives-atlanta/

https://people.com/tv/nene-leakes-denies-shes-not-returning-to-rhoa/

🥃 Give That Lady a Drink…

Like not every single one of them is thirsty. It’s not like they’re on the show to educate people about… anything.

https://hollywoodlife.com/2020/06/17/kelly-dodd-slams-tamra-judge-thirsty-firing-comments-rhoc-feud/

🛸 Where No Man Has Gone…

But you can go for free.

https://www.tvguide.com/news/star-trek-movies-streaming-free-imdb-tv/?ftag=NLS-04-10aaa2i

📑 Head Start…

A list of what’s coming to the small screen, and not.

https://www.tvguide.com/news/features/abc-2020-2021-fall-tv-lineup/?ftag=NLS-04-10aaa2i

👠 Sometimes She’s All Of Us…

While probably none of us will ever have her closet, or will even be able to afford one of her shoes, Sutton sometimes reminds me of how the audience feels. Kind of horrified.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1162587/rhobh-s-sutton-stracke-lists-bel-air-mansion-for-almost-9-million-tour-inside-the-estate?source=email&medium=daily

🛶 Unchart This…

You can catch Gordon in Uncharted on the National Geographic (NatGeo) channel on Sundays at 10 pm. It’s also free on YouTube.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1162499/watch-jason-kennedy-go-crawfishing-with-gordon-ramsay-try-not-to-laugh

📽 Who Can Take a Sunrise…

Candyman returns in a spiritual sequel. Tony Todd and Vanessa Williams will be making return appearances, and Jordan Peele wrote the screenplay, so that’s enough for me.

https://www.essence.com/entertainment/candyman-nia-dacosta-new-teaser/

🤸‍♀️ Is It Friday Again Yet…?

Father’s Day is coming up this weekend, and here’s hoping you have/had a good relationship with yours. My dad was the best. He had a wonderful sense of humor, was ahead of his time, and the fairest person I’ve ever known. Stay safe, stay celebratory, and stay in touch with your family, be they blood relatives or chosen.

May29

May 28, 2020 – Nurse’s Ball 2015, Look Out Newport, New Interpretations, a Hiatus, a Break-Up, Gordon Speaks & Keep Going

Posted on by
Standard

What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Today’s GH Nurse’s Ball flashback was from May 1st, 2015. Britt and Brad watched the red carpet from home while eating ice cream out of the container. Patrick was with Sam, Hayden showed up with Drew (at the time, Jake Doe), and Michael was with Sabrina. Duke was back from the dead, and Anna showed up with who-the-hell-is-that-guy? Felix arrived with Lucas, but told the interviewer that it wasn’t a love match; he was still single and Lucas was very much in love with someone else. Spinelli accompanied Maxie, and Nathan came with adorkable Ellie. Spinelli accidently tripped Maxie, causing a near nip slip, which Brad and Britt put on heavy replay. Old Nikolas, old Jordan with Shawn, and Dante were there, Nikolas bringing Valerie.

Burned in a fire accidentally started by Cameron, Spencer also spent the night at home, wearing a Phantom mask. Seeing Emma with Cameron on the red carpet, Spencer said, what the fudge? but Britt showed up like a fairy godmother to take him to the Ball to claim his ladylove. Carly had a plan to get Ric run out of town, but told Ric she wanted to put their differences aside, wishing him all the happiness he deserved. This time Aveeno got the plugs, and Obrecht crashed the end of the opening number with 99 Luftballons. After Carly outed Ric and Elizabeth for lying to Jake Doe about who he really was, Brad bailed out the ball with, I Want to Marry You, and a proposal to Lucas. Ending the episode, Elizabeth finally told Jake Doe that he was really Jason. Which he ended up not being, but we didn’t know that then.

The Real Housewives of New York City

We ended last week with a three-way hug between Ramona, Dorinda, and Sonja. We’ll see how long that lasts.

Everyone packs for Newport, Rhode Island. Sonja packs her hormones, telling assistant Matthew that they keep her nice and friendly. In Ramona’s interview, she says, Newport is a chichi place with a lot of atmosphere; like South Hampton, but tinier. Dorinda supervises the work on Bluestone Manor, as they’ve starting doing external stuff like painting.

The women – minus Dorinda who’s going separately – meet at the limo, and LuAnn calls Tinsley a child for bringing her own pillow. I think a lot of people bring their own pillows on trips. In Tinsley’s interview, she says the Newport she knows is Palm Beach as well. Whatever that means. Her mom has a place there, and the people from Palm Beach go to Newport in the summer. Leah tells Ramona that she looks twenty-five, and LuAnn tells her, compliments will get her everywhere. Ramona says they’ll have lunch when they get there, and tonight she’s having a lobster clambake. Wouldn’t that be a lobsterbake? She says, Dorinda has been edgy, and LuAnn says it was the anniversary of Richard’s death, and then it was his birthday. She’s been bitchy to everyone. Ramona says they have to show they care for her. She’s probably there already.

Yes she is. Dorinda checks into the Castle Hill Inn, telling the woman at the desk, she used to stay there with her late husband. In the limo, Leah whines, are we there yet? but it’s another two hours. Elyse says she had a humbling moment. She was passing some construction workers, who started yelling that she was beautiful. She turned around, and realized they weren’t talking to her. There was a six-foot tall blond walking behind her. Leah talks about Pita Guy, and says they had their first intimate moment. There was heavy petting, clothed, and the next day he didn’t even text. She told him she didn’t appreciate his aloof and irreverent attitude toward her time. In her interview, she says, even after seven years of therapy, and trying to hide it, the psycho bitch came out, and he saw it. She tells the women that her sister is a new mom with a seven-month old baby, and she’d like to invite Sarah along. Ramona is like, no, and Leah suggests she relax and think about it. In Ramona’s interview, she says she knows who works off who, and it’s a tenuous rope. Bringing a new personality into an already turbulent group might be a mistake.

They reach the inn, receiving welcome drinks at the desk. Dorinda is waiting for them in what looks like an empty restaurant, and they all go out onto the terrace. The waitstaff brings out trays of food, and Ramona asks for two dozen oysters. In her interview, Tinsley says she doesn’t like fighting. She’ll be happy to get a hello, but Dorinda seems approachable. Leah insists she’s not hungry, and I’m guessing she’s in what I call drinking mode, where the last thing you want is people shoving food at you. In Leah’s interview, she says she doesn’t feel good about herself, but here we go. She says she thinks Ramona would love her sister, and Ramona agrees to including Sarah in their dinner tomorrow. Ramona tells Sonja that she doesn’t want Sarah to come, but Leah talked her into it. Ramona decides they should take a vote, but Leah tells her, she already said yes. Plus, Ramona invited Elyse. Elyse says, don’t even talk to her, and in her interview, says she’s known the women for twenty years. Sonja says, guests can’t invite guests, reminding me of Jessie from NYC Prep giving one of the best quotes ever – guests of guests don’t bring guests. Leah says she’d already asked. In Sonja’s interview, she says the trip was meant for their clique of girls, and it should have been discussed among them. Ramona says she doesn’t want Sarah to come, and Leah says she’s being rude. In Dorinda’s interview, she says she thinks it’s important. Leah is in a new group, and she’s a single mom. Maybe she wants to hang around with her sister. Who cares? Leah tells Ramona, Dorinda and Tinsley said yes. What about LuAnn? LuAnn asks what do they care? and Leah says, it’s agreed. She appreciates it. Ramona says she looks forward to meeting Sarah.

They go to where they’ll be staying; cottage type rooms with terraces and gorgeous views. Dorinda tells the attendant unless he wants to be privy to something scary, she suggests he leave. He wisely takes her advice. Sonja says, the sea air feels good, and tells LuAnn, maybe they’ll get their mojo back. Leah calls Sarah, and tells her that she can come. Ramona tells Sonja, if she likes Sarah, she’ll be happy to have her.

Ramona wonders how Leah got her to say okay, and Sonja says she felt pressured. No one gets a plus-one. In Sonja’s interview, she says Ramona should have thought first. This is what she does; she says yes, then rescinds the invite. Ramona says she’s going to tell Leah tonight that her sister can’t come. In her interview, Ramona grumbles that Leah pressured her like a little girl. The dynamic won’t be good. Drinking like a fish already, Leah goes to Tinsley’s room. In Tinsley’s interview, she says she thinks she’s in for a fun time with Leah, but hopes Leah doesn’t get her naked like in the Hamptons. Leah tells Tinsley, in Newport, they don’t burp, or even pee. They head out to meet the other women for dinner.

In her interview, Tinsley says she hopes Leah doesn’t go off the deep end. Dorinda asks what Leah’s been doing while she was taking a nap all afternoon, and Leah says she started early. Ramona directs them to her clambake, down a path lit with white lights, to a table flanked with sheer drapes. Lagging behind, Leah tells Tinsley, it’s a judgement free zone, and Ramona passes out crowns, saying, they’re all princesses. LuAnn says that reminds her of Feeling Jovani, where she sings about a crown, and everyone is like, all right already. LuAnn tells Ramona, she doesn’t understand. She’d thought the more the merrier, but after reflection, Leah should have asked beforehand. In LuAnn’s interview, she says, when she thought about it, it was kind of rude asking at the last minute. Leah should have given more of a heads up. Ramona tells her, she should have said she’d love to meet Sarah another time. Tinsley and Leah finally catch up, and Tinsley screeches over the crown.

There’s a bar and a small outdoor seating area where the women have a cocktail before dinner. Dorinda and Leah want more vodka in theirs, and Ramona tries to stop Leah. In Leah’s interview, she says Ramona barely knows her, and wants to monitor her in a way she doesn’t monitor herself. Dorinda tells Ramona to leave Leah alone, and Leah says it’s her vacation; she’ll do what she wants. Leah asks the bartender for two shots, while Ramona frets, and mumbles something about Leah being a recovering alcoholic. Tinsley says Leah chose not to drink, and there’s a difference. Leah’s not a recovering alcoholic. Dorinda says they’re in a safe environment, like anywhere around this bunch is a safe environment. She tells Ramona, don’t be quick to judge. In Ramona’s interview, she says, Leah is overconsuming too quickly. What? Leah asks what Ramona is saying behind her back, and Tinsley says she told Ramona that Leah isn’t an alcoholic. Ramona says Leah stopped drinking for seven years. Leah says, it was nine, and while Ramona is her surrogate mother, and she respects that, Ramona doesn’t have to worry. In her interview, Leah says she’s feeling suffocated, and she’s worried if she’s not in Ramona’s good graces, Ramona will blow up.

They sit at a beautiful table, white everything, with white flowers down the middle. Tinsley and Sonja talk on the side. Ramona tells Sonja that she doesn’t want to say anything about Leah’s sister. In Sonja’s interview, she says she understands that Leah’s drinking makes her feel more confident. She’s an unconventional girl in a conventional town. But the strategy isn’t working. Leah sits on Sonja’s lap, and asks Tinsley if she’s going to get thrown out of Rhode Island. She’s having more fun than she’s had in an effing month and a half. In Ramona’s interview, she says she thought Sonja would have her back, but now Sonja is frolicking around, playing with Leah, and encouraging her to act this way. Ramona tells Leah to sit in her seat, and Leah says she’s rude. Leah finally sits, and says, sorry. She didn’t mean to make Ramona uncomfortable. In LuAnn’s interview, she says Leah wants to hang with the girls, but it’s been a while, and she can’t drink as much as she used to. Leah apologizes, calling Ramona mom. LuAnn says, stop freaking her out. While this is going on, Tinsley apologizes to Dorinda. Then Sonja chases Leah around the table. Ramona decides she’s going to tell Leah, because now is definitely the time. Dorinda tells Tinsley that she has so much to give. Dorinda is tough, so she was just trying to toughen Tinsley up.

This is the weirdest scene ever. While Dorinda and Tinsley talk quietly, chaos goes on next to the table. Sonja has now grabbed Leah, who falls to the ground, yelling that she doesn’t want to go on the Morgan yacht. Leah rolls around, and has lost one shoe somewhere. Sonja says Ramona has something to tell her, and Leah says she doesn’t want to go on the yacht. Ramona says she’d love to meet Leah’s sister, but at another time. Leah says, don’t go there, and Ramona says, she’s not coming. I swear, I’d just walk off this show. The paycheck can’t possibly be worth it. Dorinda tells Tinsley, maybe she was wrong. It’s Tinsley’s life, not hers. Ramona says they’ll have a cocktails and conversations party and invite Sarah, and Leah says Sarah is already on her way. Tinsley hugs Dorinda, who suggests they have a reset. In Dorinda’s interview, she says she feels like she’s in Groundhog Day, and she just wants to watch Leah destroy the place. In LuAnn’s interview, she says, bad timing on Ramona’s part. Leah is already bonkers. In Ramona’s interview, she says she didn’t expect a reaction like this. No one was murdered. Leah says she wants to talk to Ramona, but Ramona won’t talk. She says Leah is a little out of control, and Leah says, like no one in the group has been before. Elyse tries hug Leah, but Leah says, get off me. She walks over to the drapes, and pulls at them, and I fully expect the whole thing to come down, but it’s barely disturbed. In Dorinda’s interview, she says she was known as the gangster with blue eyes, but Leah is out of control.

Ramona takes Leah, who has moved on to the crying phase, away from the group. Ramona tells her to pretend like it’s yoga. Breathe in and out. LuAnn thinks Leah was rude to ask if she could invite her sister, and Sonja says Ramona was put on the spot. In Elyse’s interview, she says Leah is taking it personally instead of taking the opportunity to get to know the girls on a deeper level. Asking to bring her sister was a bad idea. Tinsley says, Leah can handle herself, but LuAnn says, clearly she can’t. Dorinda says, Leah’s not used to drinking, and LuAnn says, neither is she. Have they ever seen her behave that way? Yes. We have, and we do again, flashing back to LuAnn falling in that bush, and another clip of her just falling. In her interview, Leah says she’s done crazy in the past. She’s new to the group, and they’re not used to her kind of crazy. Ramona tells Leah that she doesn’t want to change the dynamic. Leah says she’s not staying if her sister isn’t allowed to come. Sonja says she can’t invite someone at the last minute, and Leah says, too late. Ramona can’t say yes, then no. Sonja says, they’ve got her. Sonja joins Tinsley and Dorinda in a hug, and Leah cries some more. LuAnn tells her, these bitches aren’t worth crying for. Sonja tells Ramona, it’s making her upset to see Leah upset. Let her bring her sister. They’re going to push her over the brink. Ramona tells Leah, her sister is welcome, and she’s sorry. In her interview, Ramona says Leah is new to the group, and loves her sister; maybe she’s being ridiculous. She apologizes to Leah again, and hugs her, telling her to stop crying. Ramona says she can be a control freak, but realized it mean a lot to Leah. She had to overlook her own feelings and change her mind.

In the morning, LuAnn does stretches on the terrace. Dorinda goes down to the beach, saying, waves, speak to me. She calls Leah, and asks how it’s going. Leah says she’s alive. In Dorinda’s interview, she says she knows how Leah woke up; the guilt, fear, and embarrassment. All those wonderful things that happen after a night of drinking and losing your sh*t. She’s been there. The Inn hasn’t been burned down; she’s good. Leah says she feels great, and Dorinda says Leah is her kind of girl. She asks if Leah got clarity, and Leah says she found her own clarity; her sister is coming. In her interview, Leah says she didn’t come on the trip in the best state of mind. She doesn’t remember what happened, but she feels like she released a lot of energy. Whatever happened was therapeutic. I like Leah, but it’s pretty selfish to intrude on everyone else’s time with your therapeutic insanity. She really shouldn’t drink. It’s not a good look for her.

Sonja tells Ramona, she feels great. Ramona marvels at Sonja being able to drink up a storm, and wake up fresh as a daisy. Elyse comes by, and says, they’re not dressed yet. Ramona says they like to lounge in the morning. Elyse asks how Ramona is feeling, and Ramona says she knows Leah was a little out of control. Elyse says Leah needed an exorcism. She thought Leah was wrong to ask her sister to come; however, once Ramona said yes, she shouldn’t have rescinded it. In her interview, Ramona says, she likes Leah, but Leah has two sides. The crazy side, and the regular side. She likes the regular side. Save the crazy side for your other young friends. She says, maybe Leah’s sister will be a good influence on her. She tells Elyse that they’re going shopping in town. They can work off what they ate.

The women reconvene, and Elyse asks how Leah is feeling. Leah says, good, and Elyse asks if she’s not hungover. Leah says she’s not, and Elyse says, that’s weird; she’s assuming Leah was wasted. Leah says, that’s the way she is, although alcohol fueled it. That’s how she wants to be all the time. Elyse says, and she wonders why guys think she’s a crazy chick. Ouch. In her interview, Dorinda says, who cares? No one should be judged by one night. Look at the whole group. Ramona asks how Leah is feeling, and Leah says, great. That’s actually a theory I have. Many alcoholics don’t seem to get hangovers. Ramona asks if Leah remembers what happened, and Leah says, of course she does. Bring it on. In Leah’s interview, she says, she doesn’t really want to be like that all the time, but she saw how the women were at the orchard – we flash back to the lunacy at lunch and in the corn maze – and the Hamptons. She thought she was allowed to chug ten martinis and lose her mind.

Leah, Dorinda, and Tinsley take one limo; while Ramona, Elyse, and LuAnn take another. Leah asks if they can believe what Elyse said, and Dorinda says, Elyse isn’t the one who should be giving out relationship advice. Ramona wonders why Dorinda is defending Leah, and Elyse says, Dorinda will give out advice, but everyone else better not. She does an impression of Dorinda calling Tinsley a superficial slut, and then yelling at Ramona not to judge Tinsley. I have to admit, it’s pretty spot-on.

Leah says Elyse was hard on her, but Elyse says she’s Leah’s biggest fan when Leah does normal. Leah says she’d never do that in front of her child, and Elyse asks what if she ends up with a mini me? What kind of message is she sending her daughter? Leah says she can do and say whatever she wants, and effity-eff-eff-effs her way out the door. Outside, she tells Dorinda that she and Elyse haven’t had enough interaction to make it appropriate for Elyse to be in her business. Elyse comes out, and Leah says, her daughter is twelve, and Elyse is asking how she’d feel if her daughter gets wasted? Don’t bring up her kid. Elyse promises not to go there, and Leah says, don’t talk about her daughter. Elyse says, that’s fair, and Dorinda asks why Elyse is in Leah’s business so much.

Dorinda says Elyse thinks she’s some great psychiatrist, prowling around, waiting for someone to make a mistake. In Sonja’s interview, she says she knows Elyse was just trying to be helpful. She suggests instead of breaking bread, they all break Bloody Marys. Dorinda toasts to being judgement free. Ramona says she won’t be embarrassed in Newport, and Dorinda asks what about the rest of the states? In Dorinda’s interview, she says, Leah is twenty years younger; give her a break. They should be guiding, not chastising her. Dorinda says, be inclusive, and Ramona says Dorinda is enabling Leah. Sonja thinks Leah should apologize, and Leah says she’s the first person to say she’s sorry, and take accountability. She got drunk, and enjoyed herself, but she’s sorry. Ramona says it was atrocious behavior, and upsetting to her. In her interview, Leah says, going into Newport, she was angry at herself, but instead of getting support, she got jerked around about her sister coming. Anything she does is wrong to these women. Leah says she thinks she triggered something in Ramona about her past, and it kills her. She tears up. Ramona says she’s blocked it out, and in LuAnn’s interview, she says, that’s a crock of sh*t. Ramona has been coming down hard on Leah, when Ramona is no angel. LuAnn tells Ramon that she’s making Leah feel bad for no reason. Ramona says they don’t know how she feels. In her interview, she says Dorinda and LuAnn grew up in loving homes, while hers was a war zone. She read books, and blanked out her dad and brother’s alcoholic rages. She tells Leah that her intention isn’t to make Leah feel bad. She really likes Leah, and doesn’t want to not like her. Leah says she is who she is, but Ramona says she doesn’t like that behavior. Maybe Leah can curb it; they’ll see. To be continued…

Next time, Dorinda wants to be left alone, Leah throws ravioli at Ramona, and Dorinda and Tinsley are back to arguing.

👩🏼‍🍳 On Top Chef, Karen unpacked her knives to go against Kevin in Last Chance Kitchen. Winner Kevin picked three chefs to go head to head with, and won against Brian full of Malarkey, the other white Bryan, and Gregory. This put Kevin back into the game. Award winning chef, and pioneer of California cuisine, Jonathan Waxman was the guest judge, and for the Quickfire challenge, the chefs were to create a two-course business class dish for an airline. They had to use ingredients found year round, and make the meal to airline tray specifications. Everyone made fabulous meals, but Brian full of Malarkey forgot you don’t get a steak knife on an airplane, making his entrée difficult to eat. Melissa was the winner, for which she’d get an advantage in the elimination challenge. I don’t know if these advantages are some kind of secret or I keep missing them somehow, but I have no clue what it was. Five chefs would be continuing on to the finale in Tuscany, courtesy American Airlines. For the final elimination challenge, they were to produce a dish inspired by Michael’s in Santa Monica, a restaurant owned by another California cuisine pioneer, Michael McCarty. Jonathan was his first chef, and the restaurant was celebrating its 40th anniversary. The chefs were to meet with Michael, and taste his signature dishes, which would serve as an inspiration. They would literally be serving Mike, Jonathan, and alumni from the restaurant.

Melissa was allowed first choice, and picked quail. For Kevin, it was duck; Stephanie, scallops with angel hair pasta; Bryan, lamb; Gregory, monkfish; and Brian full of Malarkey, veal. The idea was to take the dish, modernize it, and give it their own spin, yet keep an homage to the original. The highlight was when half of Brian full of Malarkey’s dishes went to another table, totally throwing him off his game. He stumbled through the long, stupid story that went with his creation, and was annoyed because he’d wanted the food to be eaten in a certain order. When everything had been tasted, Mike said they all took his dishes up to the next level, and Padma thanked them for glorious meal.

Melissa had her best night ever, winning immunity as well. Gail said there was nothing any of them would have changed, which was high praise. Mike told Stephanie that she was right there, and the race was close. Bryan and Kevin were also in, leaving Gregory and Brian full of Malarkey on the bottom. Malarkey said he’d had a great ride, and Padma asked if he was quitting. In his interview, Gregory said, Top Chef messes with you, and thought it was getting to Malarkey. He wanted to win because he deserved it, not because the other chef quit. Gail assured Malarkey that their judgement had nothing to do with the screw-up of his food going to another table. Malarkey said he was upset with the process, since his dishes hadn’t been eaten right. Everyone was like, what? and Gail said he can’t control the food once it leaves his hands. Tom told him that the duo on the plate didn’t talk to each other; there was a distinct clash. Which basically meant the two things he made didn’t go together. Jonathan said it didn’t evoke what Malarkey had babbled talked about. He told Gregory he’d been expecting more, and Padma said there wasn’t enough richness in Gregory’s risotto. I told you that risotto is always trouble.

Tom said, in the end, it comes down to what’s on the plate, and Brian full of Malarkey was told to pack his knives and go. Yay! In his interview, he said he didn’t want go out that way. He had every intention of winning, but his mind melted. He was still proud of what accomplished.

Next time, Italy, a truffle hunt, and making pasta for Italians

📺 Since Andy Cohen is on another one of his numerous vacations, Watch What Happens Live will return on Monday, June 8th. Although after suffering through much of the RHOA Reunion myself – three parts of it, no less – I can’t say he doesn’t deserve this break.

💃🏼 She’s Movin’ On…

Dorinda dishes on getting rid of the old John and chain.

https://people.com/tv/rhony-dorinda-medley-opens-up-about-split-from-john-mahdessian/

🔥 Missed Hell…

While the 24 Hours to Hell and Back ship sailed without me, you can still watch Gordon discuss it, along with his life in quarantine.

https://extratv.com/videos/wms5ccziane/?adid=extra_eme_27501_2020-05-13_features2

🌥 Lifting the Fog…

We seem to be moving closer to a new yet old normalcy, and I’m moving closer to the end of what might possibly be the longest week of my life. See you tomorrow for tea and words of wisdom. Not from me. From other people. Until then, stay safe, stay out of fights (unless it’s the good fight), and stay mostly on the straight and narrow.

May7

May 6, 2020 – Robert Drowns His Sorrows, Two Hours of Dreck, Teddi’s Retreat, Returning, Jimmy’s Soap, the Latest On Erika, Atlanta Reunites, Non-Essential, NOS4A-Part 2, a New Gala & Balloons

Posted on by
Standard

What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

I honestly don’t know wth happens. I think I have extra time, then I run late. I’m usually here by the time the opening credits roll, but still. So here’s the set-up. Robert is crying in his beer at The Floating Rib, and Anna arrives; it’s Dante’s birthday, and Sonny went to visit Mike; Brook and Michael spar at Sonny’s gym, and Jax catches up to Carly at the MetroCourt bar.

Sam tells Kristina, it’s no secret that Carly and Sonny are Jason’s closest friends. Jason knew them before she came along, and she’s fine with that. She supports it. Alexis asks Kristina, what’s going on? Why is she saying hurtful things to Sam? Kristina says she’s not trying to be hurtful. She’s trying to get Sam to see the truth. Molly says, it sounds like something Kristina learned from DoD, but Kristina says, just the opposite. She’s gained perspective since then, and is trying to be a better person. Molly says, so now Kristina is a relationship expert, despite never having had a healthy relationship herself? Is she jealous of Sam’s love for Jason?

At The Floating Rib, Mac thanks Anna for coming. Robert is sad, but okay. He’s been drinking a lot of beer. Robert says he can’t believe Holly is gone. He texted Luke, but he’s probably preoccupied with Ethan. Mac says, it’s horrible, losing a parent. Robert says, Holly could charm the pants off of you, steal your wallet, and you’d still be charmed. He really did love her. Anna asks how he is, and he says, lousy. Mac tells Anna, he didn’t lose a great love, but Holly was a great friend. Anna says she’s sorry, and Felicia says, Holly would want them to celebrate her life, not mourn her death. Anna says, champagne and caviar, everything first class. On someone else’s dime, of course (🍷). Maxie and Peter come in, and Maxie asks, what’s going on? Robert says, it’s a terrible time. He doesn’t need Peter around, so get out.

Sonny shows Mike Dante’s picture on his phone, and says it’s his grandson. Does Mike recognize him? Mike says, nice phone. Felix comes in, and asks if Mike needs anything. Mike asks if Felix wants to play checkers, but Sonny says he needs to talk to Felix. He’ll be right back. He leaves Mike his phone, and they go into the hallway. He tells Felix that his dad is struggling to eat, but Felix says, Mike had some applesauce when he woke up. Is it a problem? Sonny says, it’s not a problem. It’s just that Mike is eating the same thing his baby daughter is eating, and it’s strange for him. Sonny goes back into Mike’s room, where Mike is staring into space and smiling.

Jax tells Carly that Nina had a front row seat to the custody war between Lulu and Valentin, and they called a cease fire. Carly says, that’s great, but Charlotte’s case is nothing like Wiley’s. Nina said she wanted to protect Wiley, and that’s why she hired Nelle. He says, if there’s no smoking gun, Nina isn’t going to plant one, and Carly says, why not? Nelle has done it often enough. Turnabout is fair play. He says, Nina looks at Nelle and sees herself. She never got the love of a mother. She says, it’s the same sob story Nelle has given before. It’s an act. She’s a total manipulator, and Nina should know better.

Nina says Nelle misinterpreted the conversation. She wasn’t defending Nelle; she was just  trying to understand. Nelle says, that’s more than anyone else has done or tried to do. Nina says, if Nelle is honest, she’s given people reason to doubt her; even to fear her. Nelle says, she can’t deny that, but can’t people change? Learn from their mistakes, and become a better person? Like Nina. Nina says, it doesn’t matter what she thinks, what matters is what the judge thinks. Nelle says, the judge will listen to Nina, but Nina says she doesn’t know why she should get involved, since the custody hearing has nothing to do with her.

Brook tells Michael, he can hit harder; put some muscle into it. Get in touch with his anger. He needs to get his aggression out, or disaster will strike. He’ll see Nelle, and lose it, calling her out for the psycho bitch she is. Then Nelle will turn on the waterworks, and tell the judge he’s abusive and vindictive. Michael says, that’s why he’s going to be under control, but she says if he goes in cold and calculating looking to inflict maximum damage, he’ll regret it. That’s why he has to vent while he’s there. Pretend she’s Nelle, and let her have it. He punches harder, and she says, that’s it. Now pretend he’s that girlfriend stealing Chase, and give him what he deserves. Michael turns around, and sees Sasha and Chase standing behind him, outside the ring.

Anna tells Maxie and Peter, Charlie’s might be a better fit. Robert is hurting, and drowning in beer. Maxie explains to Peter that Holly was Robert’s ex-wife. He says, Robert was married to Anna, but Maxie says, you can have more than one great love; look at them. Anna says her relationship with Holly was complicated. Sometimes they were friends, sometimes enemies; they were frenemies. She feels bad, especially since Robert adored Holly. Peter says she’s right. They should go to Charlie’s. Maxie says she wants to give Robert her condolences first. It was so sudden. He must be devastated.

Sonny tells Felix, it’s great having him there for his dad, and Felix says he’s glad to help. Sonny says he knows it’s tough, putting in the extra time, but Felix says he’s glad Sonny reached out. He’s always liked Mike, and if his being there makes Mike more comfortable, that’s the reason he became a nurse in the first place. Sonny says, he appreciates it, and goes back into Mike’s room. He tells Mike, he’s learning things about him all the time. He likes his pillows firm, but not too firm. Now he’s learned Mike likes applesauce. Who knew? He’s tired of thinking about what Mike wants, and needs Mike to tell him what he needs. How does he want to live the remaining time he has left? Does he want the doctors to take every measure they can to save his life, or does he want them to do nothing? Mike’s got to tell him something. What does he want? Mike motions him closer, and says, Yankees.

Carly tells Jax, she gets that Nina has unresolved issues about babies and motherhood, but Nina will be to blame if Nelle gets her hands on Wiley. Jax asks if that’s not a little unfair. Carly says she knows Jax is thinking about what she said regarding Nina not being a mother, but she thinks Nina paints a romantic picture of motherhood. Just because you carry and deliver a baby, doesn’t mean you become a good and selfless person. Look at Nelle; there’s been no maternal bonding. Jax says Carly admitted she wasn’t good or selfless until she had Michael. Isn’t that what changed her? Carly says it did, but it wasn’t like a magic wand. She didn’t go to bed a gold-digger, and wake up a Madonna. She had to make choices, and had to give up things she liked. She hated it, and had to learn to sacrifice things she loved when she realized it was the best thing for her kids. Nelle never learned that. That’s why she’s dangerous.

Nelle wishes she knew how to convince Nina she’s changed. Nina says, if she agreed to testify – and it’s a big if – the only thing she could say is, in the brief time Nelle has worked there, she’s been a good employee. She can’t vouch for Nelle’s motive or character, or how she’d be as a mother. Nelle says they’ve talked about it. She told Nina what she’s up against, and why she needed the job. She knows what happened with Sasha still hurts, and how badly Nina wanted it. That’s how she feels about Wiley. Don’t believe Brad. She didn’t give the baby away; she believed he died. Now she has an incredible second chance to hold her son. Nina says, Nelle is good; she’ll give her that. Nelle says, she’s not good. Everyone knows that, but she has a chance to do better for Wiley. It’s a start, and maybe one day, she’ll grow into someone people admire, like Nina, but she can’t unless somebody gives her a second chance.

Sasha says she had no idea Michael would be there, and tells Chase, let’s go. Brook says, don’t leave on their account. Not that they care. Chase says it doesn’t involve Brook, but Brook says Michael has a custody hearing tomorrow, and can’t risk beating up a cop. She’s in a different boat. Chase tells Sasha, let’s go, and Brook says she was willing to give Sasha the benefit of the doubt; a bad girl who turned her life around because of the love of a good man. It was a fairytale she was willing to buy into, but Sasha isn’t just bad. She’s rotten to the core. A liar and a user; one step above Nelle. Chase tells her to stop, and she says, and him. A cheating cheater who cheats. Willow found out her baby died, and he jumps into bed with her supposed friend. Sasha says if Brook’s got a problem, bring it to her. Brook says Sasha’s got it.

Kristina agrees with Molly. Her love life has been like the Titanic, where she’s reaching for a life preserver that isn’t there. But she doesn’t want to feel desperate. She wants a relationship like Molly and TJ have. Molly says, the one where she cheated on TJ, and Kristina tried to convince her not to tell him? Sam doesn’t want to talk about Jason, TJ, or anyone else. All she wants is a drink right now. She looks at Alexis, and says, sorry. Kristina says their mom has been sober for years, and Molly says she doesn’t think mentioning a drink will send Alexis to a bar. Alexis says, since they’re being brutally honest, she’ll tell them what she’s already told Sam. She’s only been sober for two weeks.

Maxie tells Robert, she’s so shocked. It doesn’t matter how long they were apart. She knows how much he cared. Peter tells Mac and Felicia, sorry for their loss, and Felicia says that’s kind of him. Robert says, the late Holly Sutton. How does that happen? It makes it better when you say late. She’s not really dead, just late. Anna says he’s not being fair to Peter, and Robert says Peter always means well. He laughs, and says, Henrik, how is it that such a remarkable woman like Holly’s got to die, and a completely unadulterated dirtbag like you gets to live?

Sonny and Mike watch a baseball game on TV, and Sonny says, Mike’s got a hit. Felix says, it’s a nice father and son moment. Sonny says he asked his father what he wanted. He was thinking about life and death, but Mike said, the Yankees. They all love baseball, especially Dante. They didn’t raise him, but it’s in his DNA. Even with everything Mike’s forgotten, he remembers baseball. He wishes Dante was here. He’d love it as much as Mike.

Jax tells Carly, he knows Nina seems to be wavering, but she cares more about Wiley’s welfare than Nelle’s. Trust her to do the right thing. Carly hopes he’s right. On top of the hearing in the morning, there’s a lot going on with Mike. Sonny has some difficult decisions to make. Jax says he’s sorry, and she says, that’s why she was hoping to uncover something that would lock up the case for Michael getting custody, and it would all be over with Nelle. He says he would help in any way he can with either situation. He’d drop everything, and hopes she knows that. She says she does, because Jax is the guy he is. He’s the good guy who wants to swoop in to save the day, but he can’t. He says, as far as the custody hearing goes, he’ll talk to Nina. She thanks him, and says, if Nina will listen to anyone, it’s him.

Brook steps out of the ring, and tells Sasha that they can go ten rounds, but Sasha says she’s not like Lulu, who will back off after a few insults. Chase tells Sasha not to stoop to Brook’s level; let’s go. Michael suggests they all cool down, and Brook says, what was Sasha thinking? She’s obviously too shallow to appreciate Michael’s loyalty and commitment, but he’s the shining star of the Quartermaine family. He’s got prestige and connections, and a bottomless bank account. Sasha could have been sitting pretty. Instead, she jumped into bed with Chase. Brook punches Sasha in the face, and is like, oops.

Molly says she’s sorry, and asks if Alexis is okay. Alexis says, she’s fine. She had one drink, and went straight to an AA meeting. Molly asks, what happened? and Alexis says, maybe her and Neil testifying at the hearing. Maybe there was too much pressure, and she took the easy way out. Sam says, that’s not what happened. She went off on Alexis, and said some things she shouldn’t have. Alexis says, Sam didn’t make her drink; she did. If she drank every time they exchanged words, she wouldn’t have a liver. She’s ready for whatever comes. Kristina asks if she means Neil, and Alexis says she’s not sure.

Felicia tells Robert, no more beer; coffee. Peter says he’s going to get out of everyone’s way, and steps outside. Maxie tells Robert, she loves him, and knows the pain he’s experiencing, but he doesn’t get to talk to Peter like that. Robert asks why Holly had to die. He knows in his heart that she wasn’t ready; it wasn’t her time. Mac says they’ve all lost people, and Felicia says, no one ever thinks it’s the right time. Out in the hallway, Peter sends a text: Need answers. NOW. Maxie comes out, and says, sorry. It’s the grief and a lot of beer talking. Peter asks if she’s telling him not to take it personally, and she says, with Robert, it’s always personal, but it’s not Peter’s fault Holly died.

Sonny says, are you kidding him? He was off by a mile. He sees Mike is asleep. Carly comes in, and says she can hear Sonny down the hall. He says his dad wanted to watch the Yankees.

Nina tells Nelle, before she even considers testifying on her behalf, Nelle has to do more than promise to be a better person. A child is at stake. A child who’s been taken away from the only parent he knows. Nelle says that’s why she needs Nina. Michael’s family is going to raise Wiley to think that she didn’t want or deserve him. He’ll wonder why his mom is a stranger. She needs him to know she didn’t turn her back on him. Will Nina give her a second chance? Help her out? There’s a knock at the door, and Jax asks if he’s interrupting.

Brook tells Chase, she’s calling a Ride Share. She’s going to check on Michael at the hospital, and make sure he doesn’t do something stupid, like forgive Sasha. He says she can’t go around punching people, and she says, it was an accident. He wonders why there are always accidents when she’s there, and she says, look around him. It’s a boxing gym. People are supposed to throw punches. Don’t blame her for his bad mood, and that he lost his girlfriend because he couldn’t keep it in his pants.

Felicia tells Robert that he can use some more coffee.  Robert says, fine, and Mac says, drink up. Robert tells Anna, it’s not like he said anything bad, and she says he told Peter that he should feel guilty for being alive. He says that’s not the way he meant to say it, and Mac asks if there’s a right way. Felicia says Robert owes Peter an apology. Holly would want that. Maxie comes back, and Anna asks where Peter is. Maxie says, he needed some air. She doesn’t blame him.

Outside, a guy approaches Peter. He says he got there as fast as he could. What’s the problem? Peter slams him up against the side of the building, and the guy asks, what’s wrong? Peter says he told him to distract Robert, not kill Holly. The guy says, they were monitoring her, but had nothing to do with the incident. Peter says, if he finds out the guy is lying… and they guy swears it’s the truth. Peter lets him go, and he asks if Peter still wants them to do something to distract Robert. Peter says, there’s no need now. Fate seems to have done it for him.

Carly and Sonny go into the hallway. Mike says, the Yankees were Mike’s idea. He told Mike it was Dante’s birthday, and Mike mentioned the Yankees. He connected the two things. Carly says, maybe Mike was telling Sonny what he wanted to hear, and Sonny says, could be, but at least his dad connected it. He wanted to talk about the DNR, and asked Mike if he wanted the doctors to let him go or take extra measures. That’s when he brought up the Yankees. That says his dad isn’t ready to give up.

Jax asks if Nina is done for the night, and she says she is. Nelle says, actually, they were in the middle of a conversation, but Nina says, Jax is right. Nelle has a big day tomorrow, and should get some sleep. Nelle thanks Nina for listening, and hopes Nina thinks about what she said. Jax says, goodnight, Nelle, and Nelle grabs her stuff and leaves. Jax asks what Nelle wanted, and Nina says Nelle wanted her to be a character witness. He says, wow; she’s shameless. Nina doesn’t respond, and he says, she isn’t seriously considering it, is she?

Chase tells Brook, she needs to clean up her own life before she points fingers at him. She asks if it makes him uncomfortable; her pointing out that he’s a lying, sleazy cheat who betrayed her cousin. It’s a funny thing about the Quartermaines. They talk about each other, but close ranks when an interloper like Sasha. Chase says, what they do behind closed doors is her business, but… He takes out his ticket book, and says, disturbing the peace is his. He’s citing her for public disturbance. Be grateful it’s not misdemeanor assault. She can pay online or in person. He hands her the ticket, and she rips it up, saying that’s what she thinks of his ticket.

Maxie tells Mac, she knows how much he loved Holly too. Peter joins them, and Mac asks if he’s feeling better. Peter says, very much so, and Mac asks him to overlook Robert’s words; it’s the grief talking. Peter says he understands. What happened is tragic. Felicia tells Anna, when the shock wears off, they need to have a proper memorial. Not too proper; Holly loved a good time. She asks Anna, what is it? She’s been quiet all night. Anna says she read the report from the WSB about the incident where Holly was killed. Felicia wonders why the WSB is involved, and Anna says, Holly did contract work for them. Felicia asks if Holly was killed while she was working, and Anna says, that’s classified, but let it suffice to say, she saw enough to believe there’s more to the story.

Sonny tells Carly, he’s not ready to make a decision on how Mike should live his final days. He’ll  try to talk to Mike tomorrow. Carly asks if he wants to turn off the TV, so Mike can sleep, but he says, leave it on, in case he wakes up. He looks in on Mike one more time, and they leave.

Brook calls Chase a glorified meter maid, and he tells her that she shouldn’t have done that. She asks if he’s going to write her another ticket for littering, and he says, no. He takes out his handcuffs, and says, she’s under arrest – again.

Nelle sits at the MetroCourt bar, and calls Martin. She says he’s going to be proud. She thinks she may have found a character witness that will make the case a slam dunk. Um… hardly. Not only does Nina have a past of her own, wasn’t she just bamboozled by Sasha? That doesn’t exactly speak to her credibility as a judge of character.

Nina tells Jax, she didn’t tell Nelle that she would testify for her. Jax says she didn’t tell Nelle that she wouldn’t. She says she has a lot think about between now and the morning. he says he admires her compassion, and respects her opinion, but if she gives Nelle the benefit of the doubt, Wiley will end up paying the price. Can she live with that?

Kristina says, Neil lost his license because he and Alexis were involved? Alexis’s phone rings, and she says, it’s Diane; she has to take it. She asks Diane if it’s good news or bad news. She can’t talk; she’s with the girls. They’ll talk tomorrow. Sam asks, what happened? and Alexis says she’s been disbarred.

Tomorrow, Trina tells Portia that she doesn’t trust Jordan, Sasha tells Michael to stop being so nice, and Sonny says the plan is already in motion.

🤽🏻‍♀️ Since Andy Cohen hates me, RHOBH was on at 8 pm with no rerun encore performance tonight. Instead, Summer House had a two-hour finale – a final episode, followed by a reunion at home, doubling as Watch What Happens Live. Why those awful people should be allowed a two-hour block of air time is beyond me. I wasn’t paying a lot of attention, but they had some huge party that I think was supposed to have a rave theme. Unfortunately, this stupidity is being stretched out, with a Secrets Revealed special next week. I don’t want to know.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

It was the weekend of Teddi’s retreat, and she said she wasn’t tolerating any bullsh*t. Sutton decided to apologize to Teddi and go to the retreat, but Teddi acted like the unappreciative jerk she is, and was annoyed. It’s not surprising that she didn’t understand why telling people she didn’t care if they came or not caused a negative reaction. Her own feelings take up so much space, she doesn’t have room to decipher anyone else’s. Dorit was late, which didn’t sit well with Kyle, especially when she saw Dorit’s Instagram. Apparently, her tardiness was due to getting hair and makeup done so she could squeeze in a Glam Barbie photo shoot. Dorit screeched that she had a life, as though no one else did and commitments don’t matter. Oh, wait. That’s right. They don’t to Dorit. To Teddi’s credit, she did explain that she’d been put on the defensive when LisaR asked what if someone came and caused sh*t (the sh*t being caused wasn’t specified). She said it shifted everything for her. Although I stand by my theory that she was breaking up with them before anyone broke up with her, because she’s so insecure and afraid of failure.

After a boxing exercise, where Sutton looked lost, there was I have no idea what, then lunch, and free time in the afternoon for spa treatments, journaling, or whatever. Yeah. Like any of these women are going to write about their feelings when they could be getting a massage. I wouldn’t either. And I like to write. In the evening, there was an hour of meditation, and in her interview, Dorit said that she’d rather go to the DMV for a month than do an hour of meditation. Wow. Either she has one easy time at the DMV, or she can’t sit quietly for an hour. I can’t clear my mind either, but there’s no time for a nap like at meditation. When Dorit said she was going to be leaving early, Kyle called her out, saying she’d been hours late, skipped meditation, and now wanted to leave early. Dorit again said she had a life, adding an effing in there for emphasis. In Kyle’s interview, she said Dorit was shallow and selfish. Erika said it best and simplest when, in her interview, she thought they should just admit no one wants to be there. Although there are two different camps here. The ones who don’t want to be there, but they’re actually being supportive, keeping that to themselves, and participating; and Dorit, who makes it clear she doesn’t want to be there, and pretends she’s being supportive. Actually, there was a third camp. The ones who were supportive from afar.

Amelia was back from NYC, and feeling happier for it. She wanted to get an evaluation. LisaR said, when she’d seen Amelia in the city, she thought Amelia was in trouble. Amelia said, when things get difficult, her decision making tactics shut down. LisaR told Amelia that she barely made it through three months of college, then proceeded to gesture wildly to the paparazzi. Amelia said she was a handful. That’s one word for it.

Garcelle took her sons out for dinner, one of whom informed her he wanted Gucci. She told him, get a job, and he said he was eleven. She was like, exactly. So you don’t need Gucci. So far, I like Garcelle. In her interview, she said she grew up in a strict family with a Black mama who was not playing. She told her sons that they weren’t getting Gucci anything. It’s obnoxious.

Denise was over living in Malibu. She had PTSD from the fire, but didn’t want to move and take the kids out of school. She was getting ready to have everyone over for a not typical Beverly Hills dinner party in the backyard. They were having pizza made in a pizza oven, and a sundae bar that sounded magical. An ice sculpture carved into a huge diamond, like the ones they hold in the opening, was delivered. This thing looked absolutely beautiful after it got dark, and there were lights on it.

Apparently, Dorit had been on repeat, talking about Kyle sharing a bed with Teddi, and Kyle wondered if Dorit was jealous of their friendship. Dorit might be jealous of their more well-behaved children, since Jagger wailed and whined when Dorit had to leave the house. If that’s here effing life, no thanks.

When the women sat down for dinner, sexual exploits were discussed, with Garcelle saying she kissed a girl and liked it when she was a model, and Erika saying she had been part of a threesome with a couple (before Tom). Denise was concerned about the kids overhearing, and in Erika’s interview, she wondered why pearls were being clutched. In Denise’s interview, she says she’s open sexually – we flashed back to last season’s happy ending conversation – but that didn’t mean she wanted her kids hearing it.

Dorit said it was a pattern that Kyle had blind defensiveness when it came to Teddi, and in her interview, said Kyle and Teddi were a package deal. If you had an issue with one, you had an issue with the other, and she was frustrated with it. Kyle was mad at her for being late, when it was Teddi’s event, and Teddi wasn’t mad. Kyle said she was late to do her Glam Barbie look for working out, when she wasn’t going to work out. In her interview, Dorit wondered why TF Kyle cared. Kyle said she didn’t think Dorit was genuine, and Denise asked them to cool it when the kids were around. Erika took up somewhat for Dorit, explaining that Dorit thought Kyle blindly rushed to Teddi’s defense. In Kyle’s interview, she said she lost one of her closest friends defending Dorit, and Dorit had a selective memory. LisaR said Kyle was the same way with her, and defending her sister. Although, that was a whole different thing. LisaR was talking real smack, and it was untrue. Kyle insisted that wasn’t the case, and the text said, to be continued…

Next time, Kyle walks, and Denise gets into it with Kyle. I’m starting to notice, I’m making this more of a personality analysis than a recap.

🛥 FYI, Below Deck Mediterranean will be back this summer.

🧫 In a Time Of Social Distancing…

A different kind of soap is born.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/abc/soap-stars-in-jimmy-fallon-the-longest-days-of-our-lives

💌 Erika’s Update…

OLTL’s beloved Vicki shares what’s been going on.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/one-life-to-live/erika-slezak-shares-update-with-fans

💅🏿 You Can’t Keep a Good Housewife Down…

Even during quarantine, there are glam squads and short fuses.

https://pagesix.com/2020/05/06/atlantas-real-housewives-skirt-quarantine-rules-with-hair-makeup-teams/

https://pagesix.com/2020/05/02/tempers-flare-during-first-virtual-rhoa-reunion/

🤦‍♀️ Girl…

While at present, my hair is looking like a horror show, I’m not so sure my stylist is considered an essential worker.

https://pagesix.com/2020/04/22/vicki-gunvalson-wants-beauty-services-re-opened-amid-coronavirus-pandemic/

⚰️ Speaking Of Horror…

NOS4A2 is back for a second round.

https://sciencefiction.com/2020/05/06/nos4a2-season-2-trailer-and-posters-announce-its-june-return/

🐩 All Fashion and No Bite…

A gala attended by a different kind of bitch.

https://www.vogue.com/article/james-corden-pet-gala-video

And in case you’re interested in the actual Met Gala fashion.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1143411/get-ready-to-swoon-over-the-most-omg-met-gala-looks-of-all-time

🦋 Somewhere In the Distance…

Whether you’re working from home or hardly working, know that this too, has an end. Stay on track, stay imaginative, and stay away from those cookies. Here, have a balloon.

Apr21

April 20, 2020 – Forces Are Joined in Port Charles, Influencers on Deck, Cheri Live, Deckish News, Miami Story & High

Posted on by
Standard

What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

I missed the beginning, so quickly, her are the highlights. Charlotte is at the MetroCourt with Laura and Lulu, while Ava and Nikolas sit at another table. Nikolas asked Charlotte if the kids were afraid of the snake, but she said they thought it was cool. Chase suggested Willow marry Michael, and said it was her decision, but if she decided not to, she had to step back and let Wiley be Michael’s problem. Anna called Robert, who told her business had called him away, while holding Spinelli against the door. Robert said Spinelli was looking for dirt on Peter. and wanted to know what Spinelli had uncovered so far. I was really disappointed we were shown no panic in the streets because of the snake.

Willow tells Chase, she can’t marry Michael because she’s in love with him, but she can’t step aside and let Wiley be Michael’s problem either. Wiley isn’t a problem; he’s a little boy, unique and wonderful. Seeing him grow and his personality take shape isn’t a problem; it’s a gift. Nelle can’t see that. She believes life has cheated her, and Wiley is her way to get even. That scares Willow as much as Wiley’s heart defect. In some ways, it scares her more.

Nikolas tells Charlotte, he’s sorry they got off on the wrong foot. He’d like to make it up to her. He might not be her secret bodyguard, but they’re still family. Charlotte says, it’s too bad he didn’t tell her that from the start, and turns her back. Ava tells Nikolas, the Borgias were family too, but they still poisoned each other. Nikolas doesn’t think the snake was poisonous, and she asks how he feels about tarantulas. Would he like to snuggle in a bed full of them?

Lulu tells Laura, she didn’t want to say anything in front of Charlotte, but what happened at Laura’s meeting with Valentin? Why did he reach out to Laura, and not her? We flash back to Laura telling Valentin that she deleted the text he’d sent, and came in Lulu’s place. Laura tells Lulu, he didn’t. She intercepted a text intended for Lulu. Lulu asks, why? and Laura says she didn’t want to give Valentin the opportunity to upset Lulu. As it turns out, she thinks Valentin wants the same things they all do; what’s best for Charlotte. Lulu says, Valentin was hoping that Laura would convince her to back off from her petition for full custody? but Laura says, no. It was clear Valentin didn’t plan to go through her. She inserted herself into the situation, and she’s glad she did.

Spinelli tells Robert, Peter and Maxie are going to come back forthwith, and they shouldn’t be there. Robert says Spinelli didn’t see the size of the party. He doubts it. Robert says, admit it; Spinelli is looking for something on Peter. Spinelli says, fine, but so is Robert. Peter is a potential threat to all they hold dear. Dare he say, including Robin’s kith and kin? Since they both want to see Peter get what’s coming to him, what say they stop the squabbling, and join forces?

Maxie says she thinks, as kids parties go, it was pretty successful; the cake, the bounce house, the pony… the goats. Anna says no one expected a snake to come out of Ava’s purse. Maxie thinks it was Nikolas. Everyone knows he and Ava aren’t happily married, but she’s surprised he would do that at a kids party. Peter says it looked like the kids were loving it, and Anna says that’s because Finn intervened before the kids could panic. Robert would have done the same, but he said he got called out to work, although she doubts that’s what it was. Peter flashes back to talking to someone on the phone about distracting Robert. Peter tells Anna, maybe the strain of getting along with him was too much. and Maxie says if it was too much to handle, she’s glad he had the good grace to leave. Peter says he’s just trying to protect Anna, and Anna says, they’re hard wired to protect those they love. Peter says, look at Spinelli. He’s missed no opportunity to say Peter isn’t good enough for Maxie. Maxie says, she set him straight. Peter says, she even threatened to marry him, and Anna asks if she said yes.

Carly asks Michael if Diane doesn’t think it would be important if he gave Wiley a stepmother, to partner with him in providing a safe and secure home. Michael says she does, and Carly says, Willow is not only nurturing and kind, she has the added bonus of a bond with Wiley. He’s known her most of his life; she’s like family to him, and he feels safe with her. Nelle can try, but Willow isn’t just pretty and sweet, but she radiates sincerity. Nelle will look like a phony next to her. Michael says that’s why Willow is going to testify as a character witness and friend, but Carly says, look how much more she could contribute as a wife. He says, what if back in the day, AJ had asked her to marry him, and end things with Jason? She says, that’s not remotely fair, but he asks her to answer. Would she turn her back on Jason, and side with AJ? She says she did. She sued for custody and sided with AJ against Jason. Although she did plan to drive AJ drink to drink, so she could divorce him and get custody of Michael. Michael says, at least don’t pretend it didn’t happen. She says, it blew up in her face, and she almost lost custody of him. He says Willow can’t turn her back on the man she loves to marry him, and Carly says, not even to protect Wiley? We flash back to Michael trying to convince Willow why the marriage is a good idea, and Willow saying, if not for Chase, she’d marry him in a heartbeat. She thinks Chase loves her enough that he would understand, but it’s not about Chase; it’s about her. But if it’s the only way, she’ll do it. Michael tells her, it’s not the only way.

Willow tells Chase, she doesn’t believe Nelle was born bad. She thinks who Nelle is now came from an accumulation of choices. Some, she made herself, but early on, some were made for her. She asks if he knows the saying, hurt people hurt. She thinks it’s true. Nelle was hurt early and often enough, and they all know what she’s capable of. Chase says Willow didn’t turn out like that, and she says, her parents were flaky, not cruel and neglectful. They loved her and taught her what they thought was important. By the time her mother went off the rails with Shiloh and DoD, it was confusing, but it didn’t warp her view of the world. She could still see kindness and love. Chase says, for Nelle, that’s an alien concept. Willow says, what if Nelle does that to Wiley? Takes a beautiful, trusting little boy, and teaches him to be like her?

Maxie tells Anna, she did it to put Spinelli on the spot, not to pressure Peter. Peter says, so she doesn’t want to marry him? and she says, no, it’s not that. She was just explaining why she said it. She hadn’t thought about it. Peter says he had to put Spinelli in his place too. When he was babysitting James, he told Spinelli that he and Maxie are forever. She says he didn’t tell her that, and we flash back to Peter suggesting he and Spinelli hang out some time. They have to be more than cordial, and they’re barely managing. He’s going to be in Georgie’s, James’s, and Maxie’s life permanently. They’re getting married. Peter says, Spinelli was upset and walked out.

Laura tells Lulu, she’s not defending Valentin in any way, but he’s Charlotte’s father, and she loves him. Lulu says, what about him being a terrible influence? but Laura isn’t sure he is. He has his flaws, but he’s a devoted parent. Charlotte is bright and outgoing, and a lot of that is because of him. Valentin walks in, and sees Charlotte. He asks how the party was, and she says she can’t wait to tell him about it. He asks if she’ll go talk to her mom and grandmother for a moment while he has a word with the Cassadines. She goes over to the other table, and Valentin says, stay away from his daughter. Ava says, his little cherub was perfectly fine with them, but Valentin says he doesn’t want Charlotte associating with them. It’s not like Ava is an innocent party. Nikolas says, back off his wife. She’s the innocent party Valentin threw off a parapet. He does remember the night his whole world came crumbling down, doesn’t he?

Jason tells Sonny, Cyrus can’t push Jordan too hard or fast. She could lose her job, and he’d lose the best leverage he has. But Cyrus knows Sonny is under pressure too. He has family in Port Charles, and people he loves who he’s protecting. Everyone is on lockdown, but it can’t last forever. He also knows how Sonny does business; he’s low key and quiet. That might put him in a position where he has to negotiate. Sonny says, only to a point.

Sonny says, he’d rather avoid a war. It’s bad for business, it costs money, and people make mistakes. Some don’t learn. If Cyrus wants to fight, Sonny will take him down like he has everybody before him. Jason asks if he’s going to refuse the meeting, but Sonny says, set it up for tonight. They’ll see how motivated Cyrus is, and go from there. Carly comes in, and asks if she’s interrupting. Jason says they were just finishing up, and tells Sonny, he’ll make the call. He leaves, and Carly asks if everything is okay. Sonny says, it’s business; he’s handling it. Carly tells him, Wiley will probably come home tomorrow, and nothing has gotten better regarding the custody hearing. The best option is one Michael won’t pursue.

Valentin tells Nikolas, everyone knows they sleep in separate beds, and spend their days ripping each other apart. He walks away, and Ava says, it sounds like the marriage they both deserve. Nikolas says they have no more secrets, but Ava says, one or two, but maybe it’s time to review things, and make changes.

Lulu asks what Ava and Nikolas said to Charlotte, and she says, nothing much. They’re just saying mean things to each other. It’s not fair. Windymere was better when she, papa, and Nina were there. Lulu says, drastic change can be unsettling. She knows how it feels, and hates when it happens. Valentin stops by, and Lulu says Charlotte is dying to tell him about the birthday party. Charlotte wishes he could have been there. He missed all the fun. He says, cake, ice cream, and games? but she says, that wasn’t the fun part. Lulu says, there was the snake, and Valentin says, Ava didn’t mention there was a snake. Lulu says, it was in Ava’s purse. They have no idea how it got there. Valentin looks at Charlotte like, hmm…

Robert asks why he would pair up with Spinelli when his scheme failed? He’s a wiz in cyberspace, but when he’s on the ground, he’s out of his depth. Spinelli says the criticism is warranted, and Robert says, they’re looking out for the people they care about. Robert stumbled on him, and if it was that easy, Peter could do the same. We flash back to Peter suggesting that if he and Spinelli can’t tolerate each other, Maxie will be forced to make a choice. He’s comfortable with that. Is Spinelli? Spinelli tells Robert, he’s not afraid of Peter, but Robert says, he should be. He not only comes from bad stock, he aided and abetted Shiloh, and put Drew in the ground. Spinelli says he’s acting on behalf of his daughter, and Robert asks how he’s going to do that if Robert arrests him? Spinelli says, it’s Robert’s choice, but he might have to explain why he was breaking and entering. Robert calls Spinelli a little runt, and asks if Spinelli is trying to blackmail him. Spinelli supposes he is.

Willow tells Chase, she’s seen it over and over, parents influencing a child for better or worse. There’s a kid in the hospital, he’s bright, and his parents want to find him a tutor so he gets into a good college. Did she mention he’s twelve? She’s watched the parents crush his creativity, possibly his soul. There’s nothing she can say, but with Wiley, it’s different. She can have a say. He says, only if Michael wins, and she says she doesn’t need to marry him. Michael told her that she didn’t. He has the best lawyers and resources, and he’s sure he can be heard. Which is what she needs to tell herself instead of freaking out over the worst case. Chase says, sounds like a plan, and she says, speaking of plans, the wine guy texted her, and there’s a good bottle ordered for tonight. He asks when wine guy started texting her? and she says, don’t be jealous. They kiss, and Chase says he’ll have the wine waiting when she gets home. Willow starts to walk away, but turns back. She thanks him for the talk. She needed it more than she knew.

Maxie tells Anna, the kids want to stay and play with Violet some more. They’re due for a major sugar crash, so Peter put their shoes on. When the kids are ready, they can just scoop them up and go. Anna compliments Maxie’s parenting skills, and Maxie says it was Peter’s idea. Anna says she knows it’s difficult for Peter to be comfortable with a loving family, she’s glad he’s adjusted. Maxie asks, what’s wrong? and Anna says they’re dancing around the idea of marriage. She understands that as adults, they try to protect their hearts, but words like married and forever mean more to Peter than Maxie realizes or Peter knows. Peter comes back downstairs, and says, the kids are ready. What did he miss?

Valentin asks Charlotte, what about a snake? Laura’s phone rings, and she says she has to take it. She steps away, and Lulu says she’d like to speak to Nikolas, giving Valentin her seat. He asks how Charlotte supposes the snake got in Ava’s purse? She says, it wasn’t poisonous, and he asks how she knows. She says they’ve been studying them in science. He says, that explains something. He gets alerts whenever Charlotte makes a purchase. He knows she bought something at Roger’s Reptile Roundabout.

Lulu asks if Ava is okay after the snake thing. Ava thanks her for asking; she appreciates Lulu’s concern. She looks at Nikolas, who says he thinks it was a prank, albeit in bad taste. Lulu says, no real damage was done. Like when Nikolas told Charlotte that he was her secret bodyguard, and made her believe he’d always be there, except when she threw herself in the harbor and he was nowhere around. Nikolas says he apologized, and Lulu says, to her, but not to Charlotte. Ava says he just tried to, but he’d stayed away out of concern for Charlotte’s well-being. Lulu says, he never gave Charlotte a second thought, except as a means to take down her father. She has no sympathy for Valentin, but Nikolas isn’t much better. Ava asks who Lulu is to judge. What makes her the arbiter of right and wrong? Back the hell off.

Willow arrives at the hospital, and Michael says, perfect timing. He was just going to text her. He asks if there’s any chance they could meet up tonight, and talk through her testimony, so she gets an idea what he’s hoping for before she’s grilled on the stand. She asks if there’s any chance they could do it tomorrow. She and Chase have plans.

Sasha approaches Chase in the park, wearing a button-down shirt in a plaid that I’m in love with, and Chase says, Michael told Willow that he can beat Nelle without marrying her. Sasha says, he’s lying, and Chase says he figured. Nelle is emotionally damaged, and she’s going to emotionally damage Wiley. It will destroy Willow, and possibly break her. Sasha says, Michael too, and he says, they’re the only ones in the position to stop it. Is she good with that? She says, good? No, but she’s absolutely committed.

Maxie says, Peter spoiled the surprise. Anna saved them four goodie bags; he gets the one with the licorice whistle. He says he hates licorice, and she says she knows. She tells him to get the car, while she gets the sleepyheads. He tells Anna, it was an exhausting experience, but fun. She says, one of many more. He says he knows she’s worried, and she says she’s seen how hard he’s worked to be the man he is. She’s not letting anyone take that from him.

Robert tells Spinelli, he doesn’t respond well to threats, and Spinelli suggests he consider the advantages of working together to safeguard the ones they hold dear. Robert says Spinelli is a loose cannon and a kook. Spinelli says, in cyberspace, he has no equal. They can take down that lying weasel once and for all, if they combine their skills. He suggests they shake on their most fearsome partnership, but Robert says, it’s not partnership. If he says, jump, Spinelli asks, how high. Is he clear? Spinelli says, crystal. He has one small suggestion; that they search in haste before Peter and Maxie get back. But Robert says, whatever Peter is hiding, it’s not there. They leave, and in the hallway, Robert’s phone rings. He asks, who is this?

Ava tells Nikolas, his family needs a reset. Instead of having Laura and Doc for dinner, why don’t they have a big event? A spring fling at Windymere. She can unveil her new portrait. Lulu says, she has a portrait? and Nikolas says, Franco is painting it. Ava says they’ll have to invite Franco and Elizabeth, and Lulu says, Elizabeth and Nikolas were close, back when Elizabeth was a good influence on him. Too bad he takes after Ava now. She leaves, and Nikolas says, actually, it’s ridiculous for Ava to unveil her portrait. Don’t expect his family to show up to celebrate.

Valentin says, Charlotte bought a snake, and she says, yes, but it was for the classroom terrarium. All of the kids contributed. He tells her, don’t lie. That’s not the reason. She put it in Ava’s purse; why? She says she doesn’t like Ava. She’s not family, and she and Nikolas are big, fat liars. They’re thieves, and stole everything. Now Valentin and Nina will never get married.

Carly tells Sonny, Wiley is out of danger, but will probably need additional surgery. She knows what it’s like, and they have to stay vigilant. They can’t afford for Nelle to get custody. They can’t trust her to make important decisions concerning Wiley. Sonny says, Diane will make that argument to the judge, and do it better. She says, Diane said Michael’s chances are slightly more than 50%. Sonny says, Diane always gives the worst case, so she looks better. Carly says, she’d agree if it was a criminal case, but this is family court. What if the judge believes Nelle’s sob story? She could win joint custody.

Michael tells Willow, it’s totally fine. They’ll set something up for another time. He says, it’s Wiley’s last night in the hospital; he gets to go home tomorrow. maybe she wants to say hi. She says, tomorrow will be Wiley’s first night home, and the last night they can discuss her testimony. Michael says he thought it would be hopeful to talk through it, but the best thing she can do is be herself. She asks what time he wants to meet, and he says they don’t have to. She says she wants to, and Chase will understand. Maybe they can bring the wine by tomorrow, and the four of them can celebrate Wiley’s homecoming. Michael says, sounds like a plan.

Peter asks Maxie what she and Anna were really talking about. Maxie says Anna was reminding her of how special he is, and they kiss.

Anna answers the door to Robert, who looks awful. She asks, what is it? and he says he has terrible news. Holly is dead. Anna hugs him.

Ava tells Nikolas, just when she thought they had a shot at being civil, he resorts to sniping insults. He says he struck a nerve, and she says he can doggy paddle to Spoon Island. She’s taking the launch, but don’t expect it back anytime soon.

Valentin tells Charlotte, he knows she’s disappointed. He is too, but it’s not entirely Ava’s fault. She asks why he’s making excuses for Ava. Ava is his enemy.

Jason comes back, and tells Sonny, it’s all set. Carly says, please be careful. Sonny’s phone rings. It’s Turning Woods, and he asks if it’s about his father. He listens, and says he’ll be right there. He tells Carly and Jason, his dad had another fall. They think it was a seizure.

Willow walks into the apartment, saying, she hopes Chase didn’t open the wine yet. She finds Sasha and a shirtless Chase lying down on the couch, kissing.

Tomorrow, Charlotte tells Valentin, it’s not what he said, it’s what he did; Josslyn asks what strategy Michael is talking about; and Cyrus tells Julian, they have an opportunity for collaboration.

Below Deck Sailing Yacht

I’m going to start calling Captain Glenn just Glenn going forward. Maybe it’s not noticeable, but I’ve always put Captain in front of Lee and Sandy’s names out of respect. I was doing the same for Glenn, but in this episode, I found out he doesn’t really like being addressed that way. TBH, it makes it easier on me too, but if he hadn’t given his okay, I wouldn’t have changed it.

Glenn tells Parker that he has an attitude problem, and he’s on thin ice already. Glenn isn’t convinced Parker can do the job, but it’s up to him. Parker says he’s trying to determine if he should take his tips and run finish on this note, or chance it, where he’ll be under twice as much pressure. Life too short to be around people who don’t want to be around him. Glenn says, it’s his decision if he wants to give his resignation. In his interview, Glenn says he doesn’t like to lead by fear. He wants Parker to take ownership of his decision. He tells Parker to take some time to think about it.

Madison wants to stay outside the boat drama. Adam is wondering if Parker is going to be packing his sh*t. Georgia wants to say goodbye if Parker is going. In Madison’s interview, she says it bothers her that Parker could be getting fired. He’s had her back on the boat. She and Ciara lie in the sun on deck. Parker radios Glenn, and says as far as his well-being goes, he thinks he needs to resign. Glenn says he understands, and in Parker’s interview, he says certain people have expressed they don’t need him. He thinks it’s effed up, and he doesn’t want his attitude to put him in a situation where he gets fired. He gives Glenn an it’s-not-you-it’s-me speech, and Glenn says he thinks it’s the best decision for Parker. In Glenn’s interview, he says he’s relieved. If Parker doesn’t feel he can change, the best thing is to get a replacement. He hopes Parker can learn to get on with people; it’s a part of any industry. Parker tells Paget that he’s resigning, and says goodbye. Paget mumbles that he’ll just get another d*ckhead. Parker tells Adam that he’s taking a sabbatical. He suggests Adam and Jenna have a baby, so he can be a weird uncle. I’m sure that’s an innocent remark, but he might want to rephrase that. Adam says he likes this Parker better. In Adam’s interview, he says he’s not surprised Parker couldn’t cut it. He’s surprised it took this long though. Glenn says, it takes a special breed of person to do this, and not lose their cool.

Madison asks, what’s going on? and Parker says he’s resigning. She says she’s going to miss him, and they hug. In her interview, she says, there goes her buddy. Now she and Georgia are officially the third couple on the boat. Paget tells Ciara he thinks Parker will be happier for it, and everyone else will too. In Ciara’s interview, she says she’s not surprised, but she’s disappointed he didn’t stick it out. Madison tells him, go be a rock star. In Parker’s interview, he says he didn’t quit. He resigned, and there’s a difference. Quitting is an act you do when you’re scared. Resigning means stopping… with positive energy. I don’t know whether to give him a pacifier and a blankie, or a smiley face T-shirt. He says he doesn’t know what’s next. He’s going to rekindle his love of the perfect girl for him, and being the best Parker he can be. I guess I’ll just park(er) him in front of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood reruns.

Glenn gets on the phone, and says he’s looking for someone asap. Jenna says, all of Parker’s sh*t has to be cleaned, and in her interview, Georgia says, they haven’t even laid him in the ground yet. The crew gets ready for dinner.

Paget says, Parker took the easy way out. He likes training people, but it was a waste of time. They go on shore, and find a restaurant. There’s an empty chair, and Jenna says she guesses Parker didn’t feel like coming. Paget says Parker actually made the decision. He lasted this long, and Paget tried to help him as much as he could. Jenna says, if you don’t have the type of personality that fits in, you get cut. In Madison’s interview, she asks, why are they sh*tting on someone who can’t defend themselves? Jenna says, the number one tip is, STFU. Byron says, that’s great advice. Ciara and Paget, and Jenna and Adam decide to go back to the boat. Georgia and Madison go to a club, and drink some more. On the boat, Adam and Jenna change and retire to the master. In his interview, Adam tells us, when you slide into the sweat pant phase, you know you love each other. Madison and Georgia meander back to the boat.

The next morning, Adam says, no Parker, no skidmarks, no problems. Glenn tells Jenna, he’s glad Parker made the call, because he would have had to. He’s got a British guy lined up; Chris. In Glenn’s interview, he says he expects the crew to be friendly and welcoming. He wants to make sure what happened with Parker doesn’t happen again. They check out Chris’s Instagram, and he looks like a fun and adventurous dude. Paget says, no breastfeeding jokes. Jenna asks if Georgia will flirt with the new guy, and Georgia says that’s natural for her. She says, he’d better not be an absolute d*ck or an absolute bitch.

Paget meets Chris on the dock, and in his interview, Paget says, working on yachts, coming in mid-season can be tricky. Either you make friends for life, or enemies you want to throw off the boat. He says Chris seems to be sunshiny, but once you’ve been in the industry for a while, you become a grumpy bastard. Madison tells Chris, welcome to the craziness. Paget asks if he has any issues, and Chris says he has a dodgy back, but he does stretches and keeps moving. Paget says he’s seen that a lot in the industry. Madison and Georgia feed each other strawberries in the galley. In Paget’s interview, he says Chris has got experience, and knows a lot. It’s refreshing. He shows Chris around the boat.

Glenn has a preference sheet meeting with Jenna, Adam, Byron, and Paget. The primary is Lyndi, a wardrobe consultant and blogger. Her boyfriend Jesse, and friends Missy and Jonathan will be joining them. Apparently the women are well-known influencers. They’re looking forward to jumping off the boat, and also want to post pictures and videos to their blogs. In his interview, Glenn says he’s not a selfie person. He doesn’t like being in photos. Me neither. Paget says, they also want a scenic background during dinner. Jenna says, Lyndi wants a Coachella party, with entertainment, and Glenn suggests Paget and Georgia provide it.

In the crew mess, Adam asks Chris if he has any food restrictions, and Chris says, no. Adam says, good; he wouldn’t fix it anyway, and goes into the galley. Georgia says, it’s okay to use the hot tub when there are no guests, and Madison says, apparently, it’s okay to use the master too. Adam says he can hear her, and if she has a problem, she can talk to him. She says she doesn’t care, and he says, then stop talking about it. He asks if she can go a day without creating some kind drama. In Adam’s interview, he says, if Jenna says they can use the master, then they can. Madison’s opinion is on the deepest back burner. Madison says she wasn’t talking sh*t. He asks if she can go thirty minutes. In Madison’s interview, she asks, what boat have they been on that using the master is okay? Everyone goes to bed, and being Adam’s new roommate, Chris says he doesn’t want to piss off the chef.

The next morning, Chris is ready for a fun day. Jenna asks if he gets offended if anyone curses. He isn’t, but wonders about the question. Paget says, Georgia flirts with any guy who has a penis. Chris thinks it’s the right level of crazy, and Georgia says, it’s a good start. Glenn thinks things will be fine. Adam tells Jenna about Madison telling the crew they were sleeping in the master, and he said he could effing hear her. Georgia decides to help with the cushion covers. Adam says he told Madison if she wants to talk, bring it up to her. In Jenna’s interview, she says during the last charter, Madison worked to turn herself around, and now she’s injecting herself into Jenna’s personal life. Mind your own business. She jokes-not-jokes, Madison must be punished for this behavior. Chris asks how the captain prefers to be addressed, and Glenn says, just Glenn. Paget says he doesn’t like a title; he’s human like the rest of them. Jenna tells Georgia she wants her to be more involved in service.

Provisions come in. Jenna tells Madison that Georgia wants to learn more about service. In Madison’s interview, she says, suddenly, Georgia wants to learn about service? It can’t be because Madison and Adam had a tiff. Interesting. Glenn tells everyone to change into their polos, and the guests arrive. Madison says, smile and wave. Adam says, they’re from southern California, and Chris asks if they’ll be difficult. Adam says, it’s about as difficult as America gets. In Adam’s interview, he says, high maintenance has a walk and a look. It just walked on the boat. Jenna gives the tour.

Adam makes fruit and cheese plates, and Glenn says they’ll get going soon. While hanging up the guests’ clothing, Georgia marvels at how neatly they packed. In Jenna’s interview, she says, hashtag, cute; hashtag, yacht party. She bets they’re good at living their authentic lives. The boat shoves off. Adam tells the guests to be prepared to eat a lot, and Lyndi  thinks he’s adorable, but he’s going to get her fat. He says, if he’s making it, she’s eating it.

In his interview, Chris says he spent his teen years sailing and racing. The last racing boat he was on was very 80s. It was everything physical, and gives him the tingles. Lyndi squeaks to the other women that Adam is adorable, and they go in search of him. Jenna tells Adam, omigod! So cute! and he says, have no fear. That’s not his style. Georgia sees them kiss, and walks past the galley faster. The sails go up. Ciara tells Glenn about the sails, and in his interview, he says he doesn’t want to stop Ciara. It’s good to learn new things about a boat, but some things, he knows. Glenn explains sailing to the guests, and Adam says starboard is his favorite lean; he leans into his cutting board.

Ciara says she’s glad to have someone who knows what they’re doing on deck. Missy giggles, and asks where the galley is. Jenna discourages them in a roundabout way. Glenn tells the deckhands to set up the rope swing, and Jesse is first to jump in the water, followed by Jonathan, while the girls giggle (there’s no better word for it). I swear, it’s only been five minutes, but if I hear cute one more time… Ciara puts deodorant on the outside of her thermal top, and I feel confused. In Glenn’s interview, he says he’s just figured out Instagram, and he knows the guests are concerned with how their photos look. He’s thinking if the stern is pointed toward the town during dinner, the town will be lit up, and make a great background. The trick is a good stern tie. You put a chain over a rock, attach a line, and bring it back to the boat. It sounds easy, but in practice, it never is. He asks the deckhands to tie the stern. Paget tells Chris that his spirit is helping them; he’s impressed. In Paget’s interview, he says there are multiple things going on at once, and he’s the eyes of the operation from the tender. The NautiBuoy (floating platform) starts hitting the rocks. Chris jumps onto it, and Glenn radios Paget that he’s Glenn’s eyes and ears; he needs the information. Paget is pissed at himself; it’s embarrassing. What a sh*t show. In Glenn’s interview, he says Paget did a great job, but he’s suffering from agitation. He let it get to him. He tells Byron, Paget is puling a Parker.

Meanwhile, at a nearby island, Parker and Kaiti do some snorkeling. Parker proposes underwater, and she says yes. In his interview, Parker says she’s the perfect girl for him. She loves him being ridiculous. She parties hard, and loves all people. She loves the planet, nature, and animals.

In Glenn’s interview, he says, it’s encouraging to see Chris in the mix. Chris knows what he’s doing. If this is any indication how he’s going to perform for the rest of the season, they’re in good hands. Adam tells Madison what place settings are needed, and Glenn helps the deckhands move out chairs for dinner, as well as putting several tables together for a dining table. Jenna puts on a tablecloth, and uses tiny grapevine balls with fairy lights in the centerpiece. I love them. I have those hanging on my back patio.

Jesse tells Lyndi that he loves her, and she says… okay. What? Some little woman named Evangyline, or something like that, takes photos. I don’t know who she is, but her appearance is the complete opposite of these statuesque blondes. She toasts to amazing friends. Missy says there’s a space in her heart that they fill, and Lyndi says some corny stuff. I can’t take their voices. Adam brings up the first course. Georgia does laundry. Jesse posts a bunch of content, and the girls are upset that he didn’t tag them. He says he doesn’t know how the tag machine works. Missy squeals when Adam comes up with the entrée. Lyndi says she loves him. It’s swordfish and asparagus, so I love him too. Jesse tells her, lock it up, and she says she’ll do the opposite. She’ll do what Adam tells her to do. Jesse asks if he means nothing, and she wants someone else. Tell him now. In Jenna’s interview, she says they’re in an argument about her boyfriend, and it’s super awkward. Her boyfriend is off the table.

Next time, Chris asks if Georgia wants to go to a fish foot spa, Madison say she’s in a coupled-up crew, Jesse asks Lyndi to marry him, and Adam acts stupid.

📡 I’m loving Watch What Happens Live these days, with everyone filming from home. Not only do I get to see something personal about the guests, everyone seems extra relaxed. Well, except for Kristen Johnston, who gripped her dog for dear life. Tonight, the show ended with Cheri Oteri doing her Barbara Walters impression, while her dog suddenly began to photobomb from the patio door. It was priceless.

⛵️ Beyond the Sail…

Parker has moved on from his mom. Maybe.

https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/parker-mccown-engaged-below-deck-sailing-yacht-recap

Meet new deckhand Chris.

https://decider.com/2020/04/20/below-deck-sailing-yacht-new-deckhand-chris-miller/

🏝 Leaving Miami…

A vague explanation as to why The Real Housewives of Miami is no more.

https://www.realitytea.com/2020/04/20/andy-cohen-explains-why-real-housewives-of-miami-stopped-filming/

🚬 Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em…

I’d be remiss in not giving a nod to 420 2020. Warning: Lyrics may be offensive. But I find this song funny as hell. Stay safe out there, in there, or up there.