Tag Archives: Welcome to Plathville

June 27, 2024 – Finn Says Goodbye To Violet, Words From His Co-Workers, Just No, Better For You, Riders, Pet (!) Safety & Wake Me

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Carly thanks Diane for coming over so quickly, and Diane says, it sounded urgent. Carly says she needs Diane to keep her out of prison.

At the new apartment, Josslyn opens the door to Dex.

Violet runs to Finn, and he asks if she had fun sleeping over. She asks, how is he? Is he feeling better?

Sam comes home, and tells Dante that Scout was nervous in the car, but when they got there, she couldn’t wait for the sleepover. She wants to make sure Danny won’t hear their conversation, and starts to check on him upstairs, but Dante says, Jason came and picked Danny up. She asks where they went.

Walking into the garage, Jason says, sorry the gym was closed, but Danny says, this is way better than working out. They go over to Jason’s bike, and Jason asks if Danny is sure he’s ready do this. Danny says, oh yeah.

Dante tells Sam that Jason was taking Danny to the gym, and Danny was stoked. He thought it would be okay with her. Was he wrong? She says, yes, but he couldn’t have known what was going on. He asks what he’s missing, and she says, Spinelli found out what the FBI is holding over Jason. Jason stayed away all this time because the Feds have evidence against Carly.

Jason says, the most important thing is safety. Not just for kids, for everybody. If he needs to know something, ask. He tells Danny that he does his own maintenance. It’s important in case you get stuck. Danny says, especially if someone is after you. Did Jason’s father teach him? Jason says, Alan? Not that he recalls. He fixed people, not machines. Danny asks when he learned, and Jason says, after his accident.

Carly tells Diane, when Sonny was in Nixon Falls and everyone but Nina thought he was dead, she went meeting with the Five Families and claimed to be head of Sonny’s organization. Diane says, no judgement, but why did she do that? and Carly says, Cyrus was trying to take over Sonny’s territory so he could pass a highly addictive narcotic through Port Charles. It was the same drug Sasha got hooked on. Diane says, it wasn’t just civic altruism, and Carly says, there was a threat to her family that was business related. Someone at the meeting was wearing a wire, and the FBI has an audio file of her committing RICO violations. Diane asks how she became aware of it, and Carly says, a reliable source hacked into their database and retrieved the file. Diane says, good. Another felony. She doesn’t want to know the source, but asks why they were doing a deep dive into the database in the first place.

Finn tells Violet not to ever worry about him, and she asks how his cut is. Did he have to go to the hospital? He says his hand is fine. He just needed a bandage. She says, there was a lot of blood, and he says he knows, but it looked worse than it was. Violet asks if they can go home now, and he says he’d love to, but she’s going to stay with Uncle Chase for a while longer. She says she wants to come home, and he says, that’s what he wants too, but he’s not going home. He’s going away. She says, he has to take her with him, but he says, it’s just for a little while. She says she doesn’t care and wants to come, but he says, she can’t go where he’s going. Daddy is sick. His hand is better, but his head and heart… He cries and says he was so sad after grandpa died, he started drinking alcohol and never should done that. That’s why he fell asleep on the floor. Violet says, can’t he stop? and he says, some people can stop. He thought he was one of them, but he was wrong. He needs to go to a special hospital where they’re going to help him stop for good. She asks, how long he’ll be gone, and he says, the doctor says three months. She says, that’s a long time. Does he really have to go? He says he does, and she says, but she can help him stop.

Josslyn asks what Dex is doing here, and he says he wanted to look at her new place. She asks how he found it, and he says he used his sharp detective skills. She said it was above the Quartermaines’ garage, so he followed that lead. She says, hidden in plain sight. She wonders how he got past the gate, and he says, it was open. He thinks someone is visiting. She tells him that he needs better detective skills, and he says he’s still learning. He knows moving is a pain, so he brought provisions. He holds up a bag from Bobbie’s, and says he brought enough for Trina. She says, Trina is taking care of her Aunt Stella, who is sick, and he asks if she needs help. She says, yes, and asks him to come in. She’s finished cleaning, but needs help moving something that’s not heavy, but awkward. Dex says, it’s nice to have another set of hands, and they move a box that not awkward at all and looks like she could have moved it herself.

Violet says, if she helps Finn, he can stay with her, and Finn says he doesn’t want to leave her ever, but if he doesn’t go, he won’t get better. What happened can never happen again. He’s sorry. She must have been afraid when she found him. She says she thought he was dead like grandpa, and he says he’s sorry. He’s proud of her for calling Tracy and getting help. It was the absolutely right thing to do. Violet cries and says she wants to take care of him, but he says, that’s not the way it’s supposed to be. He should be taking care of her. She says, they can take care of each other, and he says, they’re good at that, but he has to be able to, and right now he’s not. That’s why he has to go away, so he can come back and be the best dad, a dad she deserves. He made a terrible mistake and none of it is her fault. She’s perfect and he loves her so much, more than life itself. They hug and everyone in the room is crying.

Jason tells Danny that he was worried about AJ drinking and driving, so he got in the car with him. The car crashed, and the next thing he knew… the first thing he knew was, he didn’t know anybody. Not his family, his name, nothing. Danny says, that must have been hard, and Jason asks if he knows what TBI is. Danny says, traumatic brain injury, and Jason says, that’s what he had. Danny says, mom told him that Jason is drawn to danger and that’s why he does dangerous jobs. Jason says, he’s done dangerous work that he can’t talk about, but mom doesn’t want Danny to get hurt. He suggests they get back to the bike, and Danny asks if it’s hard to learn to ride. Jason says he wasn’t a natural, but it wasn’t hard to learn. He loved it from the start.

Carly tells Diane that she wasn’t involved with getting the file. Someone brought it to her. Diane asks if she’s being blackmailed, but Carly says she’s not. Jason is. It’s the reason he lost 3 years with his family. The FBI threatened to charge her if he didn’t become an informant, and she has it on good authority that they won’t honor the deal. Diane asks if she’s sure the authority is legit, and Carly says, if anyone would know, he would, and he said when Jason was no longer of use to the FBI, they’ll charge her anyway. Diane says she can’t disagree, and Carly says, why should Jason spend one more day under the FBI’s thumb. She wants to call their bluff. Let them charge her and they’ll fight it in court. She needs to know, what are her chances of being acquitted?

Diane asks if Carly actually conducted mob business. Did she make any illegal money transfers? Did she launder money? Did she transfer illegal or stolen goods? Carly says, no, to all of it, and Diane asks if her name is on any incriminating documents. Carly says she doesn’t think so, and Diane asks if anyone at the meeting would be willing to testify against her. Who was at the meeting? Carly says, Cyrus Renault and Selina Wu. Vincent Novak and Charles Buscema are dead. If anyone testified, they wouldn’t be long for this world. Diane asks if the FBI has the sole audio file, and Carly asks what she’s thinking. Diane says, in this age of deep fakes and digital trickery, the chain of custody of the evidence is essential. The FBI would have to produce the original file to prove it’s not altered. Carly says, her source said the file couldn’t be altered or deleted. Where does that leave her? Diane says, given her and Sonny’s long history with the Feds and her recent dust up with the SEC, she thinks the FBI might have a strong case.

Josslyn asks what Dex learned in school today, and he says, they’re doing de-escalation training. He bets that make civilian courses. She asks if he’s suggesting she take one, but he says, no. He loves how she never backs down from a fight. Don’t lose that. She asks what he learned, and he says, each situation is different. It’s a judgement call every time. Sometimes you have to rush in and act fast, but most of the time, you’re better served to take a step back and see what happens before you do something you can’t take back. She says she’s learning that herself. She’s done a few things recently that she wishes she could take back. He says him too.

Danny thanks Jason for letting him help change the oil, but Jason says, he helped Danny. Danny did the work. Danny asks when Jason is going to teach him to ride.

Sam tells Dante about the recording of Carly meeting with the Five Families, and how it’s being held over Jason’s head. He asks if she realizes what she’s done. Forget Carly. She breached and FBI file; it’s a federal crime. If she’s caught, she’ll go to prison. Sam says, the hack was bulletproof, but Dante asks if she doesn’t think they can trace it back to Spinelli. Who else knows? She says, Spinelli, Carly, and now him, and he says, now he’s an accessory. She can’t tell anyone. If the FBI finds out about Spinelli hacking their database at her request, she’ll be taken away from her kids.

Chase says, they should get going, and Finn says, Violet is going to have so much fun. He’ll be back before she knows it. She says she’ll miss him, and he says he’ll miss her. She tries to put a friendship bracelet on him, but it doesn’t fit, so he puts it in his shirt pocket and says he’s going to put it next to his heart and keep it there always. He loves her. She says she loves him too, and he and Chase go to the door. Chase opens it, and Finn blows Violet a kiss. She catches it, and they leave. Violet cries, and Brook hugs her.

Dex says, it’s a great place, and Josslyn says she lucked out. He says he used to think about someday helping her move out of the dorm and into his place, and she says, her too. He says he enjoyed dinner, and she says her too. He says, hypothetically of course (🍷), what would it take for them to get back to where they were before? and she says, before what? He says, before he told her that he was willing to kill someone for Sonny.

Chase pulls up to Sky Meadow Lodge, and Finn thanks him for letting him say goodbye to Violet. He knows it went against the restraining order. Chase says, what he did wasn’t about the restraining order. Finn needed to see Violet before he left. Finn says he’s sorry about the things he said to Chase and Brook. The things he said to Elizabeth, he can’t forgive himself, and the worst of it was that he passed out and scared his little girl. Chase says, it could have been worse, and Finn says, only Chase could find a silver lining in this. Chase says, a lot of people take a restraining order as a challenge and show up anyway. The number of domestic disturbances he’s had to break up… Kids see knock down drag outs with their parents, and he’s seen the looks on their faces as the parents are taken away. He thanks Finn for not putting Violet in the middle and making it worse for his daughter. Finn says he heard Violet thought he was dead and left her forever. How could he do that to her? Chase says, because he has an illness. That’s why he’s going away, to get well. Finn says, his kid brother, and Chase says he’s been grown up for a while now. Finn says, this is different. Now Chase is coming to his rescue. Chase says that’s just because he’s a nice guy, and Finn thanks him for taking care of his little girl. Chase says he’s Finn’s brother, and Finn says, he did the right thing. He knows Chase was trying to protect Violet, and he’ll always be grateful for that.

Danny says he hears it’s easier than riding a bike, but Jason says, they’ll have to ask his mom first. Danny says, he was just kidding, yet kinda hoping, and Jason says, maybe next time, if mom agrees. Danny says he doesn’t see that happening, and Jason says, there are other things to do. Danny says, like what? and Jason says, they’ll figure it out. He’s seen Danny can do anything he sets his mind to. Danny says, tell that to his algebra teacher, and Jason asks if he needs help with math. Danny asks if Jason is good at math, and Jason says he uses it in his job. Danny asks if Jason shoots hoops, but Jason says he hasn’t for a while.  

Sam says, Spinelli covered their tracks flawlessly, but Dante says, Cates knows Spinelli after what happened when he was shot. Sam says, it would be impossible to prove, and Dante says, they broke federal laws. That’s exactly why he didn’t want her to get involved. She says she needed to know what they had on Jason, and he asks if she’d rather stay with her kids or have them visit her in prison. She says, stay with her kids, and he says, then she’s got to leave it alone. Talk to no one, and whatever she found out, leave it alone, act like it never happened, and hope it doesn’t come out.

Chase tells Finn not to worry. He and Brook will take great care of Violet. Finn says he knows. Tell her every day that he loves her, and he’ll be back as soon as he can. Chase says, that’s what they all want, but no shortcuts. Don’t convince himself he’s got it handled or just had a slip. Finn says, it’s not his first rodeo, and Chase says, if he’s in doubt, think of how devastated Violet would be to be put through this again, and stop. Finn says, he’ll do it for Violet, but it’s not easy, and Chase says, the best thing he can do is get well for his child. Finn says, Chase is a good cop, and Chase wonders what that has to do with it. Finn says he knows Chase has seen stuff, and Chase says, it comes with the job. Finn says, but he still wants to help. It’s a quality he admires.

Brook brings Violet a snack, but she says she’s not hungry, so Brook puts it on the coffee table. She asks if Violet has any questions, and Violet says, her dad is going to a hospital. Will he be in bed? Will he be able to watch TV? Will people be nice to him? Brook says, it’s beautiful there. He won’t want to stay in bed or watch TV. He’s going to hike and swim, and the people there are kind. They’re going to help him learn how not to drink. Violet asks if it’s like camp, and Brook says, kinda like camp. Violet says, camp is fun. If her dad is away, what is she going to do? Brook says, there’s so much to do here. Name it. Violet says she’d like to go swimming, and Brook says, Uncle Chase said he’d teach her to ride a bike. Violet says, and he told her that she’s almost ready to ditch her training wheels. She’d also like to go horse riding. Brook says, coincidentally, they have a whole stable of horses. Violet knows some of them, but Brook knows the rest will love to meet her.

Josslyn tells Dex that she doesn’t know how they can put it behind them. There are people she cares about who have crossed that line, but what’s important is that he didn’t. When she told him at dinner that he didn’t have to prove anything, that he’d done good enough to redeem himself, she meant it. She thought he’d joined the PCPD for her – she knows how to make about her – but she sees he did it for himself. The longer he’s there, the more she sees that’s where he wants to be. Did she get it right? He says, 100%, and she says, then she’s happy for him. He says, to be clear, if being a cop impressed or pleased her, he’s good with that.

Dante says, Sam knows He’s right. He’s just trying to help. She says, knowing that Jason did this to save Carly… She’d thought that maybe for once he’d put his kids first, but Carly is his first priority. Always has been and always will be. Nothing else matters. If Danny knew that, it would break his heart. Dante says, she needs to make sure he never knows.

Diane says, the FBI’s case rests solely on Carly’s admission that she was head of the Corinthos organization. Even if it was just as a figurehead, it will land her in hot water, but she had a compelling reason. She walked into a room of known crime figures, pretending to be one of them, to protect her children. Carly says she was terrified, and Diane says she knows from experience how compelling Carly is as a witness and how she can play to a jury. Even with Diane’s skills, knowledge of the law, and tricky tricks, she thinks the best they can hope for is a 30% chance of acquittal. Carly says, that means there’s a 70% chance of her going to federal prison, and Diane says she doesn’t like those odds, for Carly or for Donna.

Sam leaves a message for Spinelli, and tells him, the case they’re working on, don’t do anything until he hears back from her. Danny and Jason come in, and Dante asks, how was the gym? Danny says, it was closed. They went to the garage instead and tuned up Jason’s bike. He changed the oil. Dante says, those are awesome skills to have, and Jason says he should get going. He leaves, and Sam says, it sounds like Danny had a good time. Danny says, he did. Jason is the best. He tells Dante, no offense, and Dante says, none taken. Danny goes upstairs, and Dante hugs Sam.  

Carly tells Diane that she doesn’t know how she can leave Donna with the way Sonny is acting. But it’s not fair for Jason to be under the FBI’s thumb. Diane says, Jason doesn’t need saving. Let him do whatever he’s doing, He’s capable and strategy is his thing. If Carly’s got a plan to rush in and save him, historically, how has that worked? Whatever arrangement he has going, has kept her out of prison so far. Carly says she doesn’t know for how much longer and wants to be prepared. Can they work on a defense just in case? Diane says she can work on one. She tells Carly to sit tight, and leaves.

Dex tells Josslyn that he has an early morning. Her? Josslyn says she lucked out. she has nothing tomorrow morning. Are the cadets running in the park? He says, always, and she says, maybe she’ll see him there. They leave together.

Violet says, it’s a big house, and Brook asks if she just noticed. Violet says, it’s different when she stays over. She could get lost. Brook is lucky she used to live here. Brook says, the best part is the people who live here, her family. And the greatest part of family is that when you’re sick or in trouble, the rest step up and help out. Violet says, like they’re helping her dad, and Brook says, Violet is helping him too. She’s being very brave. Violet says, it’s easy when you’ve got help, and Brook says, they’re glad to help. That’s what family is for. Violet says she’s glad they’re family, and Brook says her too. She hugs Violet.

Finn says, it’s time to do this, and Chase says, he’ll walk Finn in, but Finn says he’s got it from here. It’s not like he can make a break for it. Chase says he’s not worried, and Finn says, Chase is a lousy liar. Promise to look after Violet, give her a kiss, and tell her that he loves her. Chase says, she knows that, but he will, and Finn says he loves Chase. Chase says he loves Finn too, and Finn says, dad would be proud. Chase says, dad would be proud of Finn taking this step, and Finn says, there’s no point in stalling any longer. Chase says, on the count of three, and Finn says, one… Chase says, two… and with tears in his eyes, Finn gets out of the car. Chase watches him as he goes to the door, hesitates, then walks inside. Chase pounds on the steering wheel, puts on his seatbelt, and drives away.

Tomorrow, Brook asks what Chase thinks of Tracy’s idea; Blaze asks if Kristina is saying she’s going after custody of the baby; and Jason says, everything he did to protect Carly means nothing.

🧂 Rubbing Salt In the Wound…

I still can’t believe this. It’s an outrage.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/gh-stars-say-goodbye-to-michael-easton

👠 If You Have the Stomach For It…

Honestly, I don’t think we need this. Not that I wouldn’t want to smash a glass on most of their heads, but because of disloyalty to hairstylists? What?

https://people.com/rhonj-danielle-cabral-condemns-violence-does-not-apologize-for-smashing-cup-on-jennifer-aydin-8385973

On the upside.

💐 A Healthier Reality…

I’m not sure how fabulous her life is, but she travels more than I do. This is a kinder, gentler, but still very real, reality show.

https://www.etonline.com/my-big-fat-fabulous-life-first-look-whitney-meets-the-man-she-thinks-shell-marry-exclusive-227160

This one is kind of weird, but I can’t turn away. There’s a lot of angst, but no throwing of Solo cups.

https://www.etonline.com/welcome-to-plathville-season-6-trailer-shows-ethan-and-olivia-plath-dating-other-people-after

🚴 Get On Your Bike and Ride…

This seems like a film worth seeing. Very grindhouse.

https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/norman-reedus-filthy-the-bikeriders-specifically-related-walking-dead-daryl-dixon

https://www.themarysue.com/jeff-nichols-interview-the-bikeriders/

🎆 It’s Almost Here…

✈️ Touching the Sky…

Join me tomorrow for soap and the usual Friday festivities. Until then, stay safe, stay not assuming everyone speaks English when traveling to faraway places, and stay knowing when you have to act fast or when you’re better served to take a step back before doing something you can’t take back.

June 17, 2024 – Alexis Confronts Finn, Tennis Pro Again On Deck, Soap Fathers, A Farewell, Covering Pride, Tearful Trailer, The Tonys, Don’t Watch This, Showing Off & True

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Michael surprised Willow with a birthday party at the MetroCourt pool.

At the hospital, Portia told Elizabeth she was headed to the party, but Elizabeth said she wasn’t in a party mood. Portia said she had something that would put a smile on Elizabeth’s face. Finn was going to be back at work tomorrow. Elizabeth asked to talk to Portia in private.

Finn was binging hard when there was a knock at the door. He hid the bottle and glass and sprayed his breath. He opened the door to Alexis, who said, surprise!

At the party Gio told Josslyn that Olivia and Lois insisted he come and meet people, and she said, his big night out was at his workplace, but at least they didn’t have to work. Gio said if she and Trina moved to the garage apartment, they could carpool, and Josslyn said she wanted to talk to Michael about moving, but not at the party. They clinked glasses in hopes of being neighbors. Nina popped in and asked to borrow Drew, saying it was something about Crimson. They stepped away, and she told him to do his thing and make it convincing. He said it had been his idea, so chill. He went over to Willow and said that Nina hadn’t known they were having a party. He thought he’d gently ask if she minded if Nina stuck around.

Willow asked if Michael minded, but he said, it was her party, so she went over to Nina and asked if Nina would like to stay. Nina said she knew she wasn’t invited, but Willow said she was inviting Nina now. Nina told Willow, happy birthday, and Willow said she was glad Nina was there. Cody told Chase that he was sorry about Chase’s dad, and Chase said he couldn’t believe he’d never see him again, but he was grateful for the time they’d had together. He wouldn’t trade it for the world. Sasha told Nina that she noticed Nina had tried the if you love someone, set them free thing, and Nina said, it worked. Sasha said she was thrilled. Willow had a good heart, and if Nina didn’t push it… Nina said she was trying.

Portia took Elizabeth to her office, and Elizabeth said, Finn was still drinking. Portia said she needed to be absolutely clear. The last time Elizabeth came to her as a friend, not as a boss. What about now? Elizabeth said, the situation had escalated, and she didn’t have a choice. She had to say something.

Alexis said she hadn’t seen Finn at meetings and was wondering what happened to their two meeting a day plan. Finn said he’d gotten busy, and Alexis asked if Violet was there. He asked, where else would she be? and Alexis said, a sleepover? Finn said, Violet was asleep, and Alexis asked if he minded if she checked on her. She was worried Violet might have been listening. She went to Violet’s room, and Finn took out his bottle and glass.

Michael told Carly that Nina had been invited by the birthday girl, and she asked how he felt about that. He said he hoped Willow wouldn’t be disappointed again if Nina failed her, but it was up to Willow. He was never going to try and control her life again.

Elizabeth told Portia that she’d ended the relationship because of Finn’s drinking. So she was coming to Portia as Co-Chief. She wanted to let Portia know that Finn was spiraling, and she was afraid he’d be a danger to his patients.

Alexis came back, and said, oh good. Finn was defiant drinking. He asked if she wanted one, and she said, more than anything, but no thanks. She thanked him for not hiding it. At least she wouldn’t have to get him to admit it, since he was clearly drinking. She asked if it was since the wedding, but he said, the first drink was an accident. She said, to be fair, she assumed it had been since his dad died, and he said, they’d just reconnected after a lifetime of being estranged. He’d felt his father’s love, then he was gone. Who wouldn’t drink? Alexis said, an alcoholic might try not to, but Finn said, alcohol had never been his problem. He was a recovering drug addict and hadn’t taken drugs. And it wasn’t like he was just getting high. Zekenestrol had been keeping him alive. Alexis said, he’d developed a dependency, and Finn asked if she was saying he was at fault, but she said, it wasn’t about fault. Addiction was a disease. He said he was an addict, but not an alcoholic. That was her thing. She laughed and asked what his point was, and he said, just because she couldn’t drink, didn’t mean he couldn’t. Alexis said, people who had only a drug addiction didn’t hide their liquor, but he said he wasn’t. He’d quit drinking out of an abundance of caution. He didn’t need it. Alexis said, he was making up for it now, and he said he could handle the alcohol, but not the snarky judgments and telling him how to live his life. No doubt, that’s why she was there.

Carly asked Drew, since when did he go to bat for Nina? Michael told her that he’d asked for Nina to stay. Drew said he did, and she asked, why, after everything she’d done to him? He admitted Nina wasn’t his favorite person, and Carly said, then why?

Curtis said he was glad Nina was assisting him with PR and the roll out of the wellness division, but was she sure she was okay working with Drew? She said, they had their problems, but they were working together. Despite the bad blood, they were grown-ups, and in a position to help each other. Curtis said he was in the room when Nina was throwing accusations about Carly and the alleged FBI agent in Drew’s face, and Nina said, it had been unprofessional, and she regretted it. She and Drew had reached a détente. If she could be in contact with Willow, she could put up with Drew as long Willow could put up with her. She just wanted to be part of Willow’s life and had no agenda. Curtis told her to hang in there. It would be worth it. He and Trina had a rough start, but now she was his greatest joy. They wished each other well.

Willow told Chase that she was sorry about his father, and asked how he was. He said he was recovering. Grief was like a series of natural disasters hitting you at random. She said, his father’s last day was spent with his family, celebrating Chase’s future, and Chase agreed it wasn’t a bad way to go. They hugged.

Drew said Carly had told him that his obsession with revenge against Nina would only hurt him, and he realized she was right. She said she hadn’t meant she wanted him to advocate for Nina, but he said, practically speaking, he needed her. Carly asked, why? and he said, she kept Crimson profitable and had introduced him to McConkey. Carly said, Nina didn’t do something for anyone without something being in it for her, and Drew said, Nina greed to coach Willow about being the New Tomorrow spokesperson, and he was inspired to keep on her good side. Carly told him not to push Nina and Willow together, but he said, it was about what Willow wanted.

Alexis said she was worried about Finn. He was saying and doing things to justify his drinking and pushing people away who wanted to help. Finn said he had an ache inside that wouldn’t go away and felt like he was rotting on the inside. He didn’t know anyone who wouldn’t need something to numb that kind of pain. She said, of course (🍷) they would, but numbing the thing inside stopped people from loving him. He said, maybe that was a sign people should leave him alone, and Alexis asked if he wanted his brother to leave him alone. Chase had lost the same father. Finn said he wasn’t sure it was the same loss, and she said, maybe Chase wanted to share their loss, but Finn said he didn’t want to. It was his to deal with in his way.

Elizabeth told Portia that Finn had been triggered by his father’s death. He had found Gregory, and now it had become an excuse. He claimed he’d been addicted to Zekenestrol and alcohol had never been a problem. He could handle it. Portia asked if he could, and Elizabeth said she’d found him with a woman and a bottle of tequila. Portia asked if he’d been with the woman in a none of her business way, but Elizabeth said, that wasn’t relevant. After seeing Finn’s anger, and his refusal to accept responsibility and admit there was a problem, she was concerned it would affect his patients. Portia said, she should be concerned, and Elizabeth said she was also concerned about Violet.

Brook thanked Carly for hiring Gio and gushed out his accomplishments. Gio said he could fold towels like nobody’s business, and Brook said, he’d played at the wedding, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Carly said, Josslyn had told her that he was playing at the summer festival, and Brook said, he was also majoring in music at PCU and was first violin. Gio told her that she was getting carried away, and Carly said, when you were proud of someone, you wanted the whole world to know. She hugged Josslyn.

Elizabeth told Portia that she went to check on Violet the next day, and Finn was clearly hungover. He and Violet were supposed to go to the pool, but he’d fallen asleep. He was an amazing dad and didn’t break plans with Violet. He’d had too much to drink, passed out, and was lying to cover it up. She didn’t want this to jeopardize his relationship with his daughter. Portia said, Elizabeth had to be hoping for some kind of outcome by telling her, and Elizabeth said she wanted Portia to convince Finn to go to rehab. Medical leave allowed them 12 weeks. Portia said she’d consider the options. She was sorry and was here for Elizabeth. She told Elizabeth not to hesitate in calling her if there was anything else. She knew how difficult it was to come forward, but Elizabeth had done the right thing for the hospital and the patients. Elizabeth said she hoped in the end it was the right thing for Finn, and they hugged.

Alexis said, got it, and Finn asked if that meant they were done. She said she didn’t see any point in continuing, and he said he could see in her eyes that she’d given up on him too. (Because there’s no pleasing him.) Alexis said she knew better than anyone how Finn hated bumper sticker preachy stuff at meetings. It was the last thing she wanted here, but only he could make the turn, see the cost of his drinking, and stop it. Finn agreed and said, only him, not any of them. Alexis said, and only he could ask for help and accept it, and he said, when he needed it, he would ask for it. He thanked her for her concern, and she asked why she suspected he didn’t mean that. He said, she was projecting her own stuff on him, but she said, even if that was so, the difference between them was, when she was free falling and living from bottle to bottle, she wasn’t the sole parent of a nine-year-old girl.

Willow said, when she thought of the mistakes and wrong turns that she and Chase made… He said, it was a miracle they ended up where they should be. She told him that he’d been the first man she loved, the first choice her heart made on its own, and he said, it all worked out.

Drew told Curtis and Michael that he was going to accept McConkey’s offer and endorsement. Curtis said he was going to be great, and Drew appreciated his support, not just as a candidate, but the wellness division was now on Curtis’s shoulders. This came out of nowhere, but the more he thought about it, he realized it was important to him. He had to try. Michael said he’d gotten a phone call from Judge Perez that made sense now. The judge told Michael that Drew had filed a petition to change his name. Drew said, that was another thing he’d thought hard about, and decided the Quartermain name was higher in recognition and had philanthropic history. Curtis said, there was also the implication of privilege, but Drew said, having money made him less susceptible to special interests. He’d be able to focus on the needs of the people. Curtis said, Drew sounded like a man with a plan.

Finn asked if Alexis was suggesting he was a bad father, but she said she thought he was a wonderful father when he was sober. But when he was drunk, he was this. He said he loved Violet more than anything. She was his whole world. He had always and always would put her first. Alexis told him, prove it and go to rehab, and he told her that she was overreacting. She said, why didn’t he ask Violet, since she was behind him listening. He turned around, but Violet wasn’t there, and Alexis said, made you look. But before he cursed her out, imagine if Violet had heard him. How proud did he think she’d be of her dad then?

Willow asked Sasha if things were going well, and Sasha said, they couldn’t be better. Willow told her not to let the Quartermaines railroad her, but Sasha said, after Lucy, she could handle anything. Cody asked if they wanted anything, and Willow was good, but Sasha asked him for a glass of wine. When he left, Willow asked how things were going, and Sasha told her that the job was fun and interesting. The accommodations were comfortable, and the salary was reasonable, and knowing she got to see Cody every day was a huge plus.

Brook said, Gio was the pride of the Cerullo family, and Gio said he’d better get home and practice. He left, and Carly said she heard Gio talk about a lot of family members, but not a mom or dad. Brook said, Gio’s father died before he was born. His mother had been a violinist with the New York Philharmonic, but also died. He’d been raised by the vast and loving Cerullo/Falconari clan. Carly said, he was lucky to have a supportive family.

Curtis said he was glad Portia could make it, and asked if she was okay. She said, it was just a thing at work, and he said he was going to be busier than he’d thought. Drew made his decision. She said, Drew was going to run? and Curtis said, yes. Portia said she supported him as a candidate, but didn’t like him leaving Curtis in the lurch, and Curtis admitted he was going to be busy. She said, as long as he wasn’t too busy for her, she had no problem with it. He said he liked being his own boss and this had opened the door for him to make things his own.

Finn said he thought it was time for Alexis to leave, and she said she thought it was time for him to go to rehab. Apparently, neither of them were getting what they wanted. If he started getting booze in bulk like she had, maybe then he’d look inside himself. Meetings weren’t going to fix this. He needed 90 days to dry out and sort himself out. Finn said Violet needed him and there was no way he was abandoning her, but Alexis said, he already did every time he drank. Violet had been living with a wonderful father, and now was trapped in the house with a drunk. He told her to get the hell out.

Michael told Willow that it was official, and Willow said she thought Drew would do a great job. He had to win. She didn’t know if changing his name was necessary, but he should go for it. Michael said, she was fired up, and she said, it was hard not to be. Drew’s opponent would set anyone who wasn’t a white, male billionaire back to the Stone Age.

Cody told Sasha that he’d been talking to Chase about his dad and how much he’d cherished the time spent with him. It got him thinking. Sasha said, about Mac? and Cody said, Mac was his father. He was like Chase’s dad; he was a good guy and Cody admired him. But unlike Chase’s dad, he was still here. Who knew for how long? Cody wondered if he was wasting time he’d want back. Sasha said, if he was asking that question, he knew the answer already.

Finn said, Alexis knew nothing about him and Violet, and was projecting her sad story on him. He wasn’t interested, and for the last time, he wanted her to get out. He opened the door, and she said, sober Finn would say that with more concern. Drunk Finn is mean. Her good friend, the kind, wonderful man and wonderful father was in there somewhere, and at some point, he’d have to live with the consequences of what he was choosing now. Call her when he hit rock bottom. It was going to be sooner than he thought.

Everyone sang Happy Birthday to Willow, and Sasha told her to make a wish. Willow blew out the candles, and everyone applauded and called for a speech. Willow thanked them, thanked Michael for throwing the party, and thanked the guests for coming. She was genuinely surprised. The occasion called for a speech, but not from her. She believed Drew had an announcement. Drew said he guessed that there was no time like the present, even though it wasn’t how he planned to do it. He was running for Congressman in the 28th district inf the state of New York. He truly believed there was too much division and greed with his opponent. Because Drew had money, that meant no one could sway him. There was a big difference between prosperity and greed. When they all prospered, they all won. There was applause, and Willow said she was proud he was part of the family. The best present they could give her was to vote for Drew.

Finn closed the door. He sat on the sofa, picked up his glass, swirled the liquor around, and caressed his face with it.  

Tomorrow, Sasha asks, what’s stopping Cody; Anna tells Valentin that she wonders if it’s wise; and Jason says, someone is being framed.

Below Deck Mediterranean

Gael goes to meet Nathan, but walks past a producer who asks if she needs a mic. She makes up an excuse that she’s just getting water and texts Nathan, telling him the situation and suggesting they call it a night. In Gael’s interview, she says she’s still in a relationship and was having stronger feelings than she needed to. Nathan said, f*** me, and in his interview, he said he hoped this wouldn’t make it awkward, but he was willing to take the risk. The boat heads for The Acropolis, and in Captain Sandy’s interview, she says, the last charter was the worst provisioning experience, so she was changing companies. Normally, she’s all about three strikes and you’re out, but if the first strike was that bad, you’re out. She calls a new provisioner and sets things up. Gael calls her boyfriend, probably out of guilt. Afterward, Nathan apologizes for being a knob, but she says she was a knob too, and they could be knobs together. Ellie talks to Bri about a laundry plan, and in Iain’s interview, he says he wants to be Captain Sandy’s best bosun ever. In Bri’s interview, she says she’s only been in the industry two years and knows she’s the baby, and in Ellie’s interview, she says, Bri is like a baby giraffe figuring out how to walk. The captain calls Aesha, Iain, and Jono for the preference sheet meeting.

Captain Sandy says, the primary is Gigi Fernandez, a 17-time Grand Slam champion, who’s won Olympic gold several times. She’s had Gigi on charter before and they became friends. We flash back to that, and the captain says, they had a great charter. She tells Jono that the chef made seven courses for each meal, and their expectations are high. They see the guests want Mexican food, yoga, and the water toys. The captain says, they’re going to Poros, and Jono sees that one of the guests has a lot of restrictions. Jono says, she hates seafood, and it’s one of the top requests, and Captain Sandy says, they’re used to getting what they want when they want it. In Jono’s interview, he says he’s never had exposure with this many preferences. He still looks at things like a designer rather than a chef. The captain tells him, pressure makes us better. You can tell she’s in AA. It’s that bumper sticker stuff Finn hates.

Provisions actually are provided, and Aesha and Jono are ecstatic. In Ellie’s interview, she says, there might be something between her and Joe. The guests arrive, and Captain Sandy says she’s happy to have Gigi back. Aesha will show them around the boat, then they’ll take off for their first adventure. Gigi visits the captain on the bridge, and they talk about their passions being their work. In Aesha’s interview, she says she feels these guests have higher expectations than the last guests. She prays to the god of the ocean to give her stews who know their jobs. Joe flirts with Bri and finds out she has a tattoo. In his interview, he says his granddad was Italian and his father figure. He was against tattoos, so Joe has none, but on a female, they’re like forbidden fruit. Bri wants Ellie to teach her how to be flirty and seductive AF, and Ellie asks if she’s thinking of anyone specific, but Bri says, just in general. In Ellie’s interview, she says she has chemistry with Joe. Usually, when she sets her eyes on a guy, he’s already interested, so it’s just giving him the green light. In Bri’s interview, she says, yeah, it’s Joe.  

In Jono’s interview, he says, it’s a Mexican themed lunch. The last boat he worked on, the owners were Mexican, so it’s going to be a breeze. Lunch is served, and in Ellie’s interview, she says she’s definitely biting her tongue with Jono, but it’s hard for her. All she can do is remain professional going forward. Gigi thinks there’s something overbearing with the spices, and Jono did look pretty heavy handed with them. Aesha asks if Bri is writing down the laundry pieces so she doesn’t forget, and in Bri’s interview, she says she hates laundry so much. Thank God for the notebook. She doesn’t know why she didn’t think of it first. Gigi tells Captain Sandy, the food’s not Rachel good, but it’s good. Aesha tells a guest to make sure they pencil when jumping off the boat, because they don’t want to tear their anus.😐Anchor is dropped, and in Iain’s interview, he says, it’s early in the season, but he has a good team. No one’s an idiot. The guests request to be seated for dinner as the sun is going down, which sounds lovely. They do water sports, and guest Laura asks Nathan to paddleboard with her. Aesha’s boyfriend calls, and in her interview, she says, when she gets check-ins from Scott, he has a wonderful way of bringing her back to reality. (FYI, she was on Watch What Happens Live, and they are now engaged.) She says, Scott could totally work on a boat. He runs a bar and has the highest standards. They’d be a perfect match on a yacht. She tells the captain that they’re doing a toga competition after dinner. In her interview, Aesha says, maybe they wore togas because they had so many orgies. It’s open and waiting. Gael’s boyfriend texts her, and the guests yell for Nathan to take his shirt off. In Nathan’s interview, he says, they’re going backwards. The current is that strong. He and Laura can’t be seen, and in Joe’s interview, he says, this can’t be happening.

Joe radios lain to come to the platform. They see Nathan and Laura coming back on a catamaran, and Gigi says, a random boat picked them up. In Iain’s interview, he says, it’s not a good look and doesn’t make him happy. Captain Sandy asks to see Joe and says, it’s embarrassing. In her interview, she says she appreciates that Joe is accountable, but it still goes back to Iain. They need two people watching, and it’s Iain’s job as bosun to delegate the watch person. She tells Iain that she’s not happy. When the guests are in the water, she wants one person in the tender following them. She tells him to apologize to Gigi, and he does. He says, at the end of the day, it shouldn’t happen. The guests use the slide, then do some yoga. I’m tired just watching these people. Iain tells Gael that he didn’t know Nathan was out with a guest, and in Gael’s interview, she says, he sent her down, but not to watch the guests. If no one was watching them, it’s kind of on him. We flash back to Iain telling her to go down for three hours; Joe was coming to relieve her.

Jono tells Ellie that the guests didn’t say anything about snacks, but he’s prepping them anyway. He doesn’t want her to be in that position again. We flash back to that, and in Jono’s interview, he says he’s upset about what happened and is committed to making sure it doesn’t happen again. At the end of the day, they’re a team, and they need to have each other’s backs. He tells her, they’ll move forward and work well together. lain discusses watching the guests with the deckhands, and in Joe’s interview, he says, Gael should have stayed on the platform. The yoga instructor tells the guests to exhale out stress, because it must be really stressful to be on one of these charters. In Ellie’s interview, she says, Bri has been receptive to her advice. If Bri fails, she’ll see it as her failure as well. When it came to being a stew, she would be a Lamborghini, an A player. Bri would be a Mazda who will get you from point A to point B. Ellie tells Aesha that Bri is improving, and the captain radios the deckhands to bring in the slide. She’s ready to go. Iain orders Nathan around, and in Nathan’s interview, he says, there’s a noticeable change when Iain is frustrated. To him, it’s a sign of weakness in a bosun.

In his interview, Iian says, to be a leader, you’ve got to be tough. Sometimes you have to bark at them, and they bark back. Aesha tells the stews they’re so organized. Well done. Nathan tells Joe that he loves Iain, but hates micromanaging. He knows what he’s doing. Just let him do it. The boat lands in Poros, and in Aesha’s interview, she says, Bri has improved so much. She’s gone from Charmander to Charizard. She’s morphing slowly into a more evolved Pokémon. Gael calls her boyfriend again, apologizing for not calling enough. The guests get ready for dinner, and both the Greek décor and the view are beautiful. Captain Sandy wants to do synchronized service with the stews, and they all put on white gloves. The entree is a chicken dish, and in her interview, the captain says, the expectation of a Mediterranean cruise is five-star food. Gigi has traveled the world. She has dined in the finest restaurants. Chicken is not really something to be served on a superyacht. Everything has to be perfect. It does look pretty, which Gigi comments on. It’s super quiet while the guests are eating, and in Aesha’s interview, she says, coming from someone who proclaims it loudly when they love food – we flash back to Aesha’s happy reaction when eating – she feels like it’s usually not great if people are not wowing from their seats. She asks the guests if the food is okay.

Gigi says, it’s pretty decent – not exactly a compliment – and Jono makes deconstructed chocolate sponge cake for dessert, which I guess means just breaking it apart. He adds a scoop of sorbet, and in Aesha’s interview, she says, it’s the most boring out of all the cakes. It’s like poop on a platter. First, she was made to serve chicken. Now she’s giving them sponge cake. And she has to be the face of all this sh*t. I literally laugh out loud – Aesha is a riot. I’d probably love the food, but yeah, it’s not five-star. Gigi says, it could be more chocolaty, and in her interview, Aesha laughs. She hopes if she rushes them into the toga party, they won’t have time to think about dessert, and asks if it’s time to start the competition. The guests put on togas, but they look more like halter dresses. Aesha notes that guest Julie Ann is wearing a butt plug necklace. Iain picks his nose on the bridge like he’s digging for gold. The toga contest commences; the stews, Gael, and a few of the guests competing. Julie Ann wonders why they did this. Guests Julie Ann and Roberta are tied for winner, and Aesha suggests a butt plug for a prize. The guests go to bed, and Bri sings, it’s clean up time at a normal hour. Everyone is glad to get to bed.

In Jono’s interview, he says, breakfast is ticklish. It’s hard to time huevos rancheros, especially when there are three selections. On deck, Aesha tells Bri that she’s looking at history. You don’t get this anywhere else in the world. Yoga is set up, and in the galley, Jono covers the eggs with a towel – where they sit for one and a half hours until the guests are up for breakfast. You’d think he could at least pop them in the microwave, but no. Gigi asks Aesha for hot eggs and says, there’s nothing worse than cold eggs. I’m not sure if there’s nothing worse, but yuk. Aesha tells Jono that the primary wants extra hot eggs, and Gigi goes to the bridge. Captain Sandy asks how breakfast was, and Gigi says, the eggs were cold. She can’t believe the chef’s choice dinner last night was chicken, and thinks deconstructed means, it didn’t work out (ha-ha-ha!). Lunch also had an overbearing spice flavor. The captain agrees that she should want the food to be superb, and in her interview, Captain Sandy says she knows Gigi. She wouldn’t complain just to complain. Jono was good during the first charter, but the circumstances didn’t allow her to see what he was capable of. She calls him to the bridge.

Next time, a beach excursion; Gigi says, the food was just okay; and Ellie wants to go for Joe, but so does Bri.

🧰 It’s Their Day…

How the dads celebrated.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/gallery/general-hospital/see-how-your-favorite-stars-celebrated-fathers-day-2

🥀 Dimming the Lights…

She certainly had an amazing career. Kind of like Angela Lansbury.

https://people.com/janis-paige-dead-at-101-8657895

🦚 Proud As a Peacock…

I saw him in Threepenny Opera on Broadway, and he was amazing. He’s the perfect host for The Traitors and can definitely rock fashion.

https://ew.com/see-photos-alan-cumming-ew-2024-pride-cover-shoot-8662602

🌱 Moving On…

Apparently, you can’t keep them down on the farm after they’ve tasted freedom. Premieres July 16th.

https://people.com/ethan-and-olivia-plath-attempt-to-move-on-after-divorce-in-tear-soaked-welcome-to-plathville-trailer-exclusive-8662585

🎭 Hitting the Heights…

The Tony winners.

https://broadwaydirect.com/2024-tony-award-winners/

The performances.

https://broadwaydirect.com/watch-now-musical-performances-from-the-2024-tony-awards/

The highlights.

https://broadwaydirect.com/highlights-from-the-2024-tony-awards/

The fashion.

https://www.etonline.com/gallery/tony-awards-2024-red-carpet-arrivals-227498

🫣 No Pleasure, Guilty Or Otherwise…

MILF Manor 2 has to be one of the most embarrassing displays of desperation I have ever seen. A middle-aged woman crying because a middle-aged dude is looking for the shiny new thing as soon as he scored. If by this time, she hasn’t accepted that it’s not her, he’s shallow, and that’s just the way things are, she needs therapy, not a reality show. The first season was bad enough, but this one is worse, throwing not only cougars and cubs together, but also the cubs’ daddies. It’s doubtful any of the men are there for a serious relationship and the women are acting like middle school girls fighting over boys. Please don’t watch this. Please. It’s worse than awful. It’s what awful calls awful.

🐕 Raise Your Paw High…

I could look at Demi Moore’s chihuahua all day long.

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

🌞 Hot For Summer…

Surf by tomorrow for soap and a peek at Dubai. Until then, stay safe, stay checking the wind direction before shaking sand off your towel, and stay not serving chicken to someone who expects five-star food.

February 29, 2023 – Tracy Gives Brook Something Meaningful, Karen, Beyond Soap, Hail Mary Pass, Awful Summer, Splitting, Two Ones, Leap Year, New Puppy (!) & Go Ahead

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

At the boxing gym, Michael says, so this is how it has to be? and Sonny says, he can go ahead and leave. Anybody who’s done what he’s done would have already been gone. Michael says he knows Sonny is angry… but Sonny says, Michael has no idea how he feels, his own son setting him up. Michael says, then he tried to protect Sonny, and Sonny says, from who? Him? Dante suggests Michael take a walk, and Michael makes himself scarce. Sonny says, today sad and remorseful, tomorrow he’s calling the Feds, and Dante says, that’s not how he really is, but Sonny says, no? Michael came very close to handing him over to the Feds with a bow on. He didn’t see that coming. Dante says he didn’t either, but it’s good he didn’t go through with it, right? but Sonny says, the damage is done. He can’t trust Michael now. His own son. So where do they go from there? Dante says, Michael loves him. He just wants to know that Sonny is okay. Sonny says, Judas doesn’t have the right to know anything about him or his life, and Dante says, this is not God’s way. Sonny asks who’s side he’s on.

Dex says he’s sorry. He wishes he could go back to Port Charles with Josslyn, but he has to keep moving and find a way to disappear. Josslyn says, don’t ask her to pretend to be okay with that, and he asks what she wants him to say. Sonny gave him one option that left him breathing. He hates this, but he needs to accept the things he cannot change. She says, really? It still feels like he’s taking Sonny’s orders. He says, if it weren’t for her mom, he’d be dead. Sonny was going to have him killed, just like he always knew Sonny would if he found out the truth. She says, and Dex has been protecting him? but Dex says he started out spying on him. Sonny only gave him the option to leave because her mom wouldn’t back down. The least he owes her is to go. She says, just tell her the truth. Would he rather she hadn’t found him?

Chase asks, what is this? and Brook says she was just coming to find him to explain. He says, the part about a termination event, not exactly a confidence builder. She says, it’s not like that, and Lois says, anyone who isn’t Brook Lynn or Chase needs to get out of here. Let’s give them their privacy. Let them make their own decisions – she looks at Tracy – for a change. Everyone clears out.

Elizabeth says, the Quartermaine lawyers sent Chase a prenup as an email attachment without any warning? That is so wrong. Finn says his dad’s convinced it was a mix-up, and she says, his dad is a very kind and forgiving person who probably doesn’t know the Quartermaines well enough yet. He says, with that family, anything’s possible, and she says, they should have expected a few curveballs. However, to be fair, planning a wedding is unpredictable no matter who the bride and groom are. He says, there’s unpredictable and there’s the Quartermaines, and she says, odds were it was never going to be dull. Speaking of never going to be dull, did he get himself one of these? She takes a card out of her bag, and he says, no. What is it? She says, an invitation… to Violet’s wedding. There are hearts drawn across the top and it says, You are invited to Violet’s wedding. Underneath is a drawing of a groom holding out a bouquet.

Brook tells Chase that she swears on her life, she had no idea the lawyers were drawing up a prenup. She certainly didn’t ask for it. He says, and it’s perfectly understandable if she did. It just would have been nice to have a little heads up. She says, for all of them. They all know who’s behind the prenup email. Her grandmother’s not one for advanced warnings. He says, she already raised the subject. When they told her they were getting engaged, the first thing she said is they should sign a prenup. She says she expected the family lawyers to bring it up eventually, but she thought they would have the decency to talk to her about it first before attaching it to an email and pressing send. He says, all right. Forget about the lawyers, forget about the emails, and the attachments, and her grandmother. She says, if only, and he asks if she, Brook Lynn, wants him to sign the agreement.

Lois says, how could Tracy sic her squad of lawyers on poor Chase? but Tracy says she didn’t. There was a miscommunication between their attorneys, but any thinking person would know there would be a prenuptial agreement in the offing. Lois says, it didn’t seem like Brook or Chase were waiting for it, but this isn’t even about the prenup. This is about how Tracy is insinuating herself into everything. When is she going to stop interfering in Brook’s life?

Brook says she hates how the simple fact that she loves Chase and that she wants to spend the rest of her life with him has turned into something so complicated. He asks if it has to be, and she says, they’re about to make a huge commitment to each other and he’s the only person she cares about, but he’s not exactly her grandmother’s number one priority. He says, that’s fair. Tracy’s not his number one priority either. Brook says, Tracy is just trying to protect the Quartermaines, but it makes her furious, because Tracy should see he’s about to become one of them. She should be welcoming him to the family with open arms. He says, maybe Tracy has a point. As much as he wants to marry Brook, and he does, there are parts of her world he does not understand. She says, those are the parts that are in the fine print, and she doesn’t understand them either, and he says, that’s why they have all the lawyers. When he got that prenup, he flipped out a little, but then he calmed down. He thought about it rationally and he had to admit, there’s a chance they may not make it.

Tracy says, when Lois left Ned and settled back into the outer boroughs, clearly, she forgot what it is to be a Quartermaine, and Lois says, it means paying for a bunch of lawyers, some houses, and referring to Bensonhurst as the Hinterlands. But she’s not referring to Tracy’s precious company or her trust funds. She’s talking about her baby girl, Tracy’s granddaughter, and how all she wants to do is marry the love of her life. Tracy says she’s not stopping them, but Lois says, no. Tracy’s just running in front of her, setting up all these hurdles. It’s supposed to be the happiest day of her life, but instead of Tracy supporting and encouraging that happiness, so far Tracy’s managed to extort Brook into betraying Maxie, browbeat her into taking a job she doesn’t want to do, and running her ragged at that job. And now, she’s trying to control Brook’s wedding and write the fine print of her marriage? Tracy says she’s a grandmother trying to protect her grandchild, and Lois says, Lila was Ned’s grandmother, and Lila couldn’t have been kinder or more loving to her. Instead of ambushing her with a prenup, Lila made her wedding possible. She almost called the whole thing off, if Lila hadn’t offered her wedding dress. On top of that, she gave them a beautiful cruise around Manhattan. Granted, that went a little sideways when they almost drowned in Dead Horse Bay, but her point is, Lila wanted her to have the most beautiful wedding possible and did everything in her power to make that happen. Tracy says she’s not her mother, and she’s well aware that she’ll never measure up. But what she can offer, this family needs, and so does Lois’s daughter. Whether Lois likes it or not, marriage is a contract – Maxie and Gregory walk in – and one interloper can to a hell of a lot of damage. Gregory clears his throat, and Tracy turns around. He says, interloper. What an interesting way to refer to his son.

Dex says, seeing Josslyn again is a gift. It killed him to leave Port Charles without saying goodbye to her. Josslyn says, he didn’t have a choice. Sonny forced him to leave. But nobody is stopping him from coming back to Port Charles. He’s free. He doesn’t work for Sonny anymore. He says he knows better, and she asks if he thinks Sonny would still have him killed. He says he knows so much about Sonny’s organization, he’s a liability, and she says, Sonny can’t touch him, for the same reason he couldn’t kill Dex in the Pine Barrens. Her mom won’t let him. Michael won’t let him. Dante. Too many people know about him. If anything happens to Dex, Sonny knows it will just come right back and bite him, and he’s not going to take that chance. They can beat him. They just have to call his bluff. He says, if he comes back and Sonny does nothing, it makes him look weak, and that puts her whole family at risk. He’s not going to do that to the people she loves, and he sure as hell won’t do it to her.

Dante says he’s on Sonny’s side, but so is Michael. Yeah, he wanted to get evidence to use to incriminate Sonny and he probably got it, but he didn’t do anything with it. So Sonny could say he’s standing here a free man because of Michael. Sonny asks if Dante is saying he should be grateful, but Dante says, no, he’s not at all. Sonny should be hurt and pissed off, and he doesn’t blame Sonny for any of it. But Michael is family, so like it or not, he’ll have to be civil one day. Sonny says he has to be civil? and Dante asks, what’s the alternative? Is Sonny going to walk out of every room Michael walks into? Sonny says, it wasn’t his doing, when Michael comes over to them. He says he’s headed out. Just please be careful. Sonny says, Michael doesn’t get to say that to him, and Michael says, whether Sonny believes it or not, that doesn’t change the fact that he cares about him. And he doesn’t want Sonny to do something he regrets just because of him. John walks in and stares daggers at Sonny.

Gregory says, it looks like this particular conversation is a private family matter, and he should be on his way. He heads for the door, and Lois gestures to Tracy, who follows him. She asks him to wait, and says she’s so sorry for her choice of words. She should have said… He says, outsider? Infiltrator? She says, newcomer, and he says, better. He’s hoping after the wedding that family is the term she chooses to go with. She says she’s seen too much to be anything but a realist. She sincerely hopes her granddaughter and his son have a long and happy marriage, but not all marriages last. And it’s not something you want to think about when you’re ordering flowers and French champagne, but somebody has to. He asks if it would surprise her to hear he agrees.

Lois tells Maxie that she knows Tracy is just trying to do something nice for her granddaughter, and Maxie says, that is a generous interpretation of this prenup. And she applauds the mental gymnastics that got her to stick that landing. Lois thanks her, and Maxie says, but she thinks there’s something Brook wants from Tracy that’s not an uninvited prenup or love based bullying. Lois says she believes Brook is really good at asking for what she wants, but Maxie says she doesn’t know if Brook knows how to ask for this. Lois says, spill it, and Maxie says she thinks Brook wants to wear Lila’s dress.

Brook tells Chase, don’t say we won’t work out. Don’t even think it. He says he’s just being practical. Sometimes, things don’t work out and they should be prepared. He wasn’t when he married Willow, and it nearly crushed him. He thought he worked through the failure of his first marriage, but then he got this prenup and it got him thinking. She says, thank you, Tracy. This is nothing like his wedding to Willow. He has to see that. He says, the rational side of him does, but in that moment, he thought he saw the whole picture when he married Willow. She says, how could he? Him and Sasha, Michael and Willow, they were good people just pretending to be in relationships so they could help each other. He had no idea Willow had stopped pretending and actually fallen in love with Michael. He says, if her feelings changed for him, she wouldn’t spare him, right? She’d tell him the truth even if it hurt him. She says she’ll always tell him the truth and she trusts he’ll forgive her for it. He thanks her, and she says, the point is, by the time Willow was ready to tell him that she actually loved Michael, he was on his deathbed. She thought that marrying him was the right thing to do, and at that point, he was so sick, whatever vows they said to each other, what they were really saying was goodbye. He says he has to admit, he doesn’t remember a lot from that moment in his life, and she says, if he did, he would know there’s no comparison between them now and him and Willow then. Willow felt obligated to him. What they have is real. It is messy and imperfect and real. She has never loved a man the way that she loves him. She can’t wait to marry him. She’s so excited for every single day of their future. But if he’s anxious or having second thoughts… He says, no, not with her, and she says, but if the wedding is too much… He says he cannot wait to celebrate. He cannot wait to see this brilliant, beautiful, amazing girl walk down the aisle and stand with him at the altar. He can’t wait to say their vows in front of their friends and family. He can’t wait to dance with her at the reception. She says she wants that too, and he says, maybe he is a little nervous because he can’t see into the future, but he does know this. He loves her so much. And even through all of their ups and downs, they’ve always wanted the best for each other. She says, that will never change, and he says he just wants to make her happy. He takes the prenup, and starts to sign it, but she says, wait. He finishes signing.

Finn takes the card from Elizabeth and says, Violet’s getting married? She’s seven. They live in the same house. How come he doesn’t know about any of this? She asks if he wants a paper bag to breath into, and he says, it’s not funny. (Yes, it is.) She says, it’s a little funny. It’s early. She’s not even registered yet. He says he doesn’t think she’s helping, and she says she’s sorry. She’s sure it must be a little bit of a shock at first. He says, what does she mean, at first? and she says, this is a totally normal phase. Cameron had like a thousand crushes before he hit first grade. He asks if Cameron ever made wedding invitations for any of them, and she says, no, but he wasn’t as industrious as Violet is. He says, lucky her, and she says, he did have a crush on a cartoon character once. That was weird. (Me too! Pepe Le Pew.) Anyway, kids Violet’s age like to look at the lives around them and model adult behavior. He says, they have been talking a lot about Brook and Chase’s wedding, and she says, yes, so she wanted to have one of her own to better understand it. She doesn’t think he has to worry about meeting the in-laws any time soon. He says, good. He knows he has a few years before Violet dating is a reality, but he’s pretty sure he’s never going to be ready. She says he has time to prepare himself, and he says, thank God. He’s having enough trouble helping Chase with his wedding. She takes Finn’s hand and says, just be there for him. Listen to his questions. It’s pretty much what he already does. It’s not that complicated. He says, it’s the first time in history a wedding has been described as uncomplicated, and she asks if he wants to talk about that. He says, why, if it’s so uncomplicated? and she says, maybe weddings are uncomplicated, but what about their future?

Sonny approaches John, who says he’s just here to work out. That’s it. Sonny says, he calls this keeping his distance? and John says, Sonny’s the one who walked over here. Sonny says, John calls hanging out with his ex-wife and his children keeping his distance? and John says, call it lunch. He likes the burgers at Bobbie’s. Sonny says he knows why John walked into Bobbie’s. He was trying to get information out of Carly. John says he’s stopping Sonny right there. As much as they both hate this, he’s trying to keep Sonny alive. So yeah, he talked to Carly, and he’ll talk to Sonny’s children. And he’ll talk to Sonny’s bodyguards and his housekeepers and his barista and his doorman and his priest. He’ll talk to whomever he wants, whenever he wants, and until Sonny gets jurisdiction over the FBI or dies of shame, there’s nothing Sonny can do to stop him.

Chase says he told Brook, he doesn’t care about the money, and she says she never thought he did, but did he even read this agreement? He says, not every word, but he skimmed it, and she tears it up. She says she loves him, but if he’s going to be her husband, he has to swear to never sign an agreement he hasn’t read. And never take the first offer, okay? He asks what he’d do without her, and kisses her. She says she really does think they should discuss a prenup, but not now, not like this with all of these stressful circumstances and their families in the next room and they have this rack of dresses bearing down on them. He says he hopes she didn’t fall in love with the one she’s wearing. Not that she doesn’t look gorgeous in it, but he doesn’t want to risk the bad luck and he’s already seen it. She says, this is definitely not her dress. She doesn’t even think any of them are. Did he ever see her mother’s wedding gown? He says, no. He’s heard about it though. She says, it was regal and classic and a true one of a kind, but the most important thing about the dress, was that it was her great-grandmother Lila’s. She let Brook’s mother borrow it and the women in her family imbued it with their love and strength. He asks if her mother wouldn’t let her wear the dress, and she says, in a heartbeat, but it’s not hers to offer. It’s Tracy’s and she’s not holding her breath.

Lois tells Maxie, of course (🍷) Brook wants to wear Lila’s dress. It’s so beautiful, she wants to wear that dress again. Maxie says, it really is occasion specific though, and Lois says she wants to make this happen for Brook. So tell her honestly, does Maxie think it will help or hurt if she talks to Tracy? Maxie says, that’s a tough one because Tracy was very sensitive when the topic of the dress came up, but she doesn’t know if Brook would want her to get involved. Lois says, Tracy might just say no because she’s the one asking, and Maxie says, on the other hand, Tracy does love Brook. Lois says, now that she knows, she can’t just sit back. She’s got to make it happen.

Gregory tells Tracy that he’s grown to appreciate the time saving benefits of direct conversation over the past couple of years, which is not to say he’s on board with her approach in this particular case. Tracy says, once again to be clear, the lawyers made the error, and he says, noted. But he does think they should acknowledge the difficulties and uncertainties of marriage. A wedding is a joyous event. There’s no need to pretend that the road ahead will be unbridled bliss. If marriage was easy, it wouldn’t be cause for celebration, would it? Lois comes out and says she’s glad Gregory is still here. They’d like for him to stay, and they promise to behave themselves. Gregory says, don’t stop whatever they’re doing on his account, and Tracy takes his coat. Lois says, shall we? and they go back into the living room. Lois asks who Gregory is going to have on his arm at the wedding, and he says, Alexis Davis. It’s always nice to have a friend at these events. Tracy says, a friend? And he says, yes, a good friend. Which reminds him. He keeps meaning to ask her, who’s lucky enough to be her escort? Tracy says, as a matter of fact, she… Lois says, Tracy hasn’t decided yet. She’s still fighting them off. Gregory says he has no doubt.

Elizabeth says, things between her and Finn have been going so well. It’s not like they’ve had much of a state of the union. He says he’s been thinking the same thing, but he didn’t want to bring it up because she might think something is wrong. She says, understandable, but right now might be a good time. They’re both happy. She’s assuming they’re both happy… she hopes. He says he’s never been happier, and she says, he had her worried there for a second. He says, she has nothing to worry about, and she says, neither does he. But watching Brook and Chase get ready for their wedding, as happy as she is for them… He says, it’s hard not to think about your own relationship. She says, right, and he says he’ll be the one to ask. Is marriage something she thinks about? Is that something she wants?

Dex says, think about it. If Josslyn can find him, so can someone else. She says she found him with Spinelli’s help. That’s like getting help from the CIA. Not just anybody is going to be able to find him. He says he can’t take that chance. He needs her to promise that she won’t come looking for him again. She says she just doesn’t get it, because the last time they were together, they were working together to find a solution, and they still could. He says, there is a solution. They just don’t like it. He’s sorry he dragged her into this mess. She says she’s not some helpless victim here. She knew who he was pretty early on, and she chose to be with him over and over again. He says, she’s the best thing that ever happened to him. That’s why he’s not going to drag her down with him. She says, don’t do that. Don’t talk like this is over. He may want to give up, but she never will.

Sonny asks if it isn’t Karrie’s birthday around now, and John says, Karen. He doesn’t get to call her cute little pet names. Not in front of him anyway. Sonny says, today is her birthday. He remembers because Stone bought her this beautiful cake and she was really… John says, save that for someone who can stand the sound of his voice, and Sonny says, relax, Agent Cates. Just seeing him brings back so many memories, especially of his brother Stone, who was a great kid. Funny, generous, incredibly brave, but John wouldn’t know nothin’ about that, because John took off when Stone needed him most. Michael asks Dante, what’s dad doing? and Sonny says he takes that back. Because John did visit him once. Stone was dying of AIDS and John managed to take some time out of his busy schedule and visited him for like, one hour. John says, Sonny knows nothing about him and his brother, and Sonny says, what he does know is, John didn’t take care of him. He didn’t take care of his brother and he hates the air Sonny breathes. And it didn’t matter to him that Sonny sat by Stone, holding his hand, listening to his fears, while John took off with Karen, living his best life. Then he cheated on her. She divorced him. He’s not only a bad husband, he’s a bad brother. John throws a punch, but misses Sonny, who says, whoa. Back up. Does he want to do that again? Sonny takes a fighter’s stance and says, John wants to hit him? but Michael and Dante pull them apart.

Dante asks what Sonny is thinking, and Sonny asks what he means. He didn’t raise his hand. John is the one who lost his cool. Dante says, because Sonny was baiting the guy. John is trying to help Sonny. Sonny asks what he means, and Dante says, don’t worry about it. John’s trying to help Sonny and so is he. Sonny says he thinks Dante is just getting in the way right now. Michael tells John, stand down, Agent Cates, and John says, he’s Michael Corinthos. In case he didn’t know, his dad is losing it. He’s sloppy and out of control. Michael says, the only punches he saw came from John, and John says, if that’s all he saw, he needs to open his eyes. Sonny always brings out the best in people, doesn’t he? Michael asks if federal agents aren’t required to follow a code of behavior regardless of who they’re dealing with, and John says, tell his dad to be careful. His luck is running out.

Chase tells Brook that he’s lucky he’s a guy. Nobody cares what he’s wearing. She gives him a look, and he says, almost no one. If he has his dad and his brother there, and she’s standing there with him at the altar, it will be the greatest moment of his life. She says, he’s right. There are so many more important things about this wedding than whatever dress she decides to wear. He says he didn’t mean it like that. Let’s be honest. It’s going to be her day and she should be happy with every single part of it. She says, that’s another reason she adores him. Her grandma loved her mother, Lila. Everyone did. But let’s be honest, her grandmother can be prickly. He says, a little bit, and she says, but Lila loved her. Unconditionally. She was never afraid to tell Tracy when she behaved badly and always believed in the best in her. She thinks her grandmother really misses her, still grieves her. She’s afraid that bringing up the dress will just bring up pain for her, and it’s the last thing she wants to do. He says, Tracy’s lucky to have a granddaughter who understands her as well as Brook does, and Brook says she and her grandmother speak the same language. They deserve each other… most of the time, as much as it pains her to admit it. He says, if she doesn’t run the risk of asking Tracy for the wedding dress, she definitely won’t get it. And who knows? Maybe she’ll be open to the opportunity to give it to Brook. Brook says, maybe, but that’s a dream she’s willing to let go of because a much bigger dream of hers is coming true. He asks if she’s sure, and she nods and says, should they tell them the wedding is still on? He says, no. He thinks they should make them sweat a little while longer. They kiss.

Lois holds out her hand and says, come on, Tracy, let’s make peace. Tracy ignores Lois’s hand and says, peace is not synonymous with unconditional surrender. She will make her terms very clear. Maxie says, they’ll come back to her terms. Look. Brook and Chase are independent people, but she knows from experience everyone needs help planning a wedding. People who didn’t RSVP will show up with guests and those guests will most likely be exhausted children under the age of five. Family members will think an open bar is a challenge, and people who weren’t asked will give speeches. Lois says, it’s true (yep). They’ve got to be prepared for things to go sideways. That’s why they’ve got to put their differences aside and be on the same page, so they can plan the perfect wedding for the perfect couple. Just like Lila did for her. Gregory says he couldn’t agree more, and Tracy says, that’s what she was trying to do. Lois says, they know she was trying to do right by Brook, and while legal advice is helpful, it’s neither borrowed nor blue. Tracy says, she’s borrowing the company plane, and Lois says, and that is extremely generous, but she was talking about maybe something extremely meaningful. Something that maybe isn’t as easy for Tracy to give. Brook and Chase come in, and Brook says, they can all exhale. She and Chase have sorted everything out. And they are going to discuss the agreement with their lawyers. Chase says he wants to thank Tracy. He knows that all she wants to do is protect her family, and that’s what he wants too. He hugs Tracy, and she says, they’ll be so excited to welcome him to the family. He thanks her and asks if Gregory is ready. Gregory says, indeed he is. He is so looking forward to this wedding. Chase gives Brook a quick kiss, and Gregory tells Tracy, be sure to save a dance for him. He and Chase leave, and the girls are all like, oooh. Lois tells Brook, all right. Let’s go find you a dress.

Dante says, he’s getting in the way. Of what? Sonny getting beat up? Sonny says, Jagger should not be working this case. They go way back. Things Dante doesn’t understand. Bad blood. He was trying to get John to hit him so they would send him back to Washington, and John would be away from him and this case. Dante says, bad blood or not, this guy’s trying to protect Sonny, and the FBI have better resources… Sonny says, the FBI doesn’t want to protect him, but Dante says, yes, they do. Sonny says, no, they don’t. And Jagger sure as hell doesn’t either. He’s trying to pay Sonny back for things that were settled years ago. He’s telling Dante right now, John’s either going to get him shot or he’s going to stand there and watch. Or John’s going to set him up for something worse. Sonny doesn’t trust him at all and neither should Dante. Sonny leaves, as Michael watches everything.

Dex says, Josslyn doesn’t think he hates this? She doesn’t think this is tearing him up too? Nothing in his life prepared him for her. He doesn’t feel like he made a choice to love her. He just does. And he knows he always will. It’s because he loves her that he’s doing this. She says, maybe he’s right and maybe it’s too early for him to come back to Port Charles, but what if he came back in six months, a year? He says he’s not going to ask her to wait around for a time that will never come. She has her whole life ahead of her. She’s going to finish school, become an amazing doctor, and save lives, just like she did his. She says, none of that matters if he’s not there, and he says, she knows he’s right. She can have a good life, but she has to let him go.

Elizabeth says, marriage? and Finn says, you know, weddings, dancing, cake, a lifetime commitment, all that stuff. She says she does like cake, and kisses him. He says he likes cake. Anything else? She says she likes their relationship just the way it is. And they have the luxury of time, and she’d like to enjoy what they have right now. Why rush it? He says he feels the same way, and kisses her again. What a relief. He’s sorry. Please don’t take that the wrong way. He’s pretty sure he has bad luck with weddings. Chase asked him to be his best man and his response was less than enthusiastic. He thinks he let Chase down. Chase and Gregory come in, and Gregory says, all’s well that ends well. It seems there was a slight miscommunication. Chase says he and Brook are good, and Finn says, that’s good news, right? There’s something he’d like to say to Chase… Chase says, hold on. He’d like to go first. He’s sorry he pressured Finn to be his best man. He can ask someone else. It’s not a big deal.

Lois raises her champagne glass and says, to new beginnings. Fussing with the dresses, Maxie says, and to bows and ruffles, in moderation. Brook, Lois, and Tracy clink glasses, and Brook says, all right. Let’s do this. She goes over to the dress rack, and Lois nods at Tracy. Brook says, this one might be more exciting off the hanger, and Tracy says, Brook Lynn, and sets down her glass. Tracy tells Brook that she was evasive with her earlier, talking about her mother’s dress… She tears up and says she misses her mother every single day and she so regrets not wearing that dress when her mother offered it to her. So. She’s come to understand that dress was never meant for her to wear. It was meant for her to share. (Unreal. They nearly have me crying over a stupid dress, but you can really feel what Tracy’s feeling.)

Tracy brings in a large white box, and places it on the coffee table. Brook says, is that…? Brook sits down, opens the box, and unfolds the tissue paper. Tracy says, make any alterations she wants. The dress is hers. Brook lifts the top half of the dress out of the box, then puts it back. She gets up and, her voice breaking, tells Tracy, you have no idea what this means to me. She hugs Tracy, and says, thank you so much for the dress. Thank you for this incredible moment. Lois and Maxie smile.

Chase sees Violet’s invitation and looks at it. He says, for Violet’s wedding, does his suit have to be as colorful as the invitation, or can he squeak by with a black one? Finn says, what he meant to say earlier, what he should have said earlier is, he’d be honored to be Chase’s best man. And he appreciates Chase letting him off the hook, but there’s no way he’s letting anyone take his place. Chase hugs Finn, and Finn tells him, don’t get emotional. Gregory is loving it.

Josslyn’s phone rings, and she tells Michael, this is not a good time. She can’t talk. He says, this can’t wait. He needs her to do something for him. If she finds Dex, he needs her to bring him back to Port Charles. He looks at Dante and Sonny sparring, and says, and don’t take no for an answer. Josslyn looks at Dex, who’s messing around with his suitcase. He looks back at her.

As they spar, Dante says, history or no history, Sonny is playing with fire, messing around with a federal agent like that. Sonny says, that’s all right. He can handle himself. Dante says he’s glad Sonny walked away, and Sonny says, good to know. They stop for a moment, and Dante says he’s not going to apologize to Sonny for stopping the fight. Sonny says, what’s gonna happen is gonna happen. Sooner or later, Dante is going to know the truth about Jagger Cates. They go back to sparring.

Josslyn says, that was Michael and he said she needed to bring Dex back to Port Charles and not to take no for an answer. Dex asks, why? and she says she thinks Sonny’s in trouble. And he needs you.

Tomorrow, Carly says, Drew can’t do that if he’s focused on revenge; Felicia asks why Maxie is so much angrier at Spinelli than her; John tells Anna that he wants Sonny Corinthos out of his life for good; and Sonny tells Ava and Spinelli, tonight he’s bringing his enemy down to his knees.

🎂 They Said It’s Her Birthday…

Because I had to know. I didn’t see how Sonny was as horrible as John is making him out to be. Not to mention, it was a brief time a million years ago.

🍟 On the Side…

This book sounds like a good beach read.

Rock on.

I love K-drama.

💎 And They Should Know…

Like none of them has ever been desperate to hang on before.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-13139295/Teddi-Mellencamp-claims-Dorit-Kemsley-released-text-Kyle-Richards-stay-RHOBH.html

🏊🏽‍♀️ She’s the Worst…

More proof of how awful some of these people are. I was drawn back into the trainwreck and seeing it was even more awful.

https://people.com/summer-house-recap-lindsay-hubbard-makes-hurtful-accusation-sober-carl-radke-on-cocaine-8602650

📉 Not All Marriages Last…

Apparently, Tracy was right. Not too much of a shock with this one.

https://people.com/welcome-to-plathville-ethan-and-olivia-plath-file-for-divorce-8602028

I have to admit, I’m surprised. What happens to their new show now?

https://people.com/jax-taylor-and-brittany-cartwright-announce-separation-8598833

⚰️ About Those Ones…

The principles share their perspectives.

https://ew.com/danai-gurira-michonne-walking-dead-ones-who-live-entrance-8599395

https://ew.com/andrew-lincoln-explains-walking-dead-ones-who-live-premiere-shocker-8599329

🏃🏽‍♂️ Whys and Hows…

All about Leap Year.

https://www.livescience.com/human-behavior/why-do-we-have-leap-years-and-how-did-they-come-about

🐕 Sudsy Pup…

She was also on the much missed The Haves and the Have Nots.

💃🏽 Leaping Into March…

See you tomorrow for the usual soap and the unpredictable Friday free-for-all. Until then, stay safe, stay making voicemails brief, and stay never signing an agreement you haven’t read. And never taking the first offer.

September 5, 2023 – The Feds Question Sonny, First Day, Salty Talk, City Wives, Plathville Returns, Night Flight, Set Adoptions & Star

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Fed #1 tells Sonny that they’ve been sitting here all night. It wouldn’t be so bad if he’d just cooperate with them. All he has to do is answer a few questions. Let’s try this again. How about if they start with simple yes or no questions. Does he think he could manage to do that? He leans forward and asks if Sonny has ever done business with Pikeman Security Corp. Yes or no?

Michael walks into Sonny’s old kitchen, and Carly asks what he’s doing here. Is everything okay? After acknowledging the moss bowl🎍, he says he has something important to tell her, and it’s not good news. She asks if Willow is okay, and he says, Willow’s fine; the kids are fine. He had dinner last night at the MetroCourt with Willow and Wiley, and the FBI showed up and arrested dad. She says she knows.

Maxie says she’s going to need Lucy to calm down, and Lucy asks how she’s supposed to calm down when she feels Deception slipping through their fingertips. Maxie says she knows Lucy wants to fight Tracy’s lawsuit, claiming The Deceptor was her idea, but she thinks they should consider settling. Lucy tells her, don’t even say that. She’s put her blood, sweat, and tears into this company. She’s never going to give 75% of her beloved Deception to Tracy Quartermaine. Maxie asks if she’s thinking this through clearly, and Lucy says she’s thinking about it all the time night and day. She can’t stop. Maxie says, okay. Then she knows 25% of a viable company is a whole lot more than 100% of nothing.

Ava sees someone looking at a painting and says she’s sorry, but they’re closed. Mason says he thought she was always open for him, and she asks what he’s doing here. He says, do people really buy this junk? He swears he could do that in his sleep. She says, really? So he’s a thug and an artist too. He says he’s sorry she woke up on the wrong side of the bed  this morning. If it was him in that bed with her, he’d make damn sure she woke up on the right side with a smile on her face every morning.

Austin enters the unfamiliar house, and calls to Nikolas. He asks if Nikolas is here, but there’s no answer. He starts to look at his phone, when Nikolas comes in, and Austin asks where he’s been. Nikolas says he went for a morning jog, and Austin says, for months he’s been recovering from a traumatic head injury. Does he think that’s a good idea? Nikolas says he feels pretty good and his strength is almost back to normal. Austin says, right. And when it is, what is he going to do?

Drew dries off after a shower, and Cyrus says, they need to talk. Drew tells Cyrus that he has nothing to say, and Cyrus says he needs to warn Drew. Drew says, Cyrus told him already. Hell, damnation for eternity; he gets it. Cyrus says he’s talking about Sonny Corinthos, and Drew says, what about Sonny? Cyrus says, Drew is no longer under Sonny’s protection, and Drew asks what he’s talking about. Cyrus says, Sonny can’t even protect himself. As of last night, he’s in federal custody.

Dante comes in, and Sam hugs him. She says she’s glad he’s home. She was really worried about him. She asks if she can get him anything, but he says, uh-uh. Just this. She asks if he got any details on his father’s arrest, but he says, not a thing, and he was at the FBI office all night. They’re keeping pretty tight-lipped. They don’t want to tell the PCPD anything about that case. She says, why not? and he says he doesn’t know. Because they can. It seems like the end for his father. She tells him not to say that. She’s seen Sonny in tighter spots, and he always manages to beat the charges. He says, but this time, he doesn’t have a Jason.

Agent Wallis tells Fed #2 that he wants a full report on all the evidence seized at the pier last night, and Fed #2 says he’s on it. In their interrogation room, Fed #1 tells Sonny that Pikeman is a global contractor furnishing arms and security equipment… among other things. Come on. Sonny is an importer. If Pikeman approached him to deliver arms to a third party, it would be a very quick payday for him. Sonny says he’s a coffee importer. He’s not going to say anything unless his attorney is present.

Lucy says, so that’s it. One little hearing doesn’t go their way, and Maxie wants to cave? Maxie says she doesn’t like this any more than Lucy does, and Lucy asks, then why doesn’t Maxie want to fight? She wants to fight, but it sounds like Maxie wants to throw in the towel, and give up everything, their whole lifetime of work. Maxie says, first and foremost, she’s a mom, a single mom of three kids. And she just decided to move out of her two-bedroom apartment and into a house that’s a lot more expensive. Her financial future is tied to Deception. She has to be practical. (I kind of doubt Dante would evict her for non-payment.) Lucy says she gets it, but she just thinks Maxie is jumping the gun maybe. She says she needs gummies, looks in her purse, and says she didn’t bring gummies today, just when she needed them. Maxie says, they’re up against Tracy Quartermaine. She’s not some inexperienced grifter looking for a quick payday. Lucy says, doesn’t she know that? and Maxie says, good. Then Lucy knows how ruthless she is. She’ll do anything to win, and Maxie isn’t entirely sure she wants to play that game. They already know she used Brook, her own granddaughter, as a corporate spy. Lucy says, Maxie is right. Tracy is greedy and she’s vindictive, but somehow, Lucy doesn’t think that’s all there is to it. She thinks maybe, just maybe, Tracy is deliberately trying to get back at her. Maxie says, get back at her for what?

Mason says he really doesn’t see what Ava sees in his cousin. She doesn’t know what she’s missing in him. She says, what she’s missing is her ex-husband’s corpse. He should have delivered it to her by now. He says, let him just run out to his car and get it, and she says, he’s just hilarious. Where is it? He says, when and where and how they move Nikolas’s body is up to the boss. She says, he’s been working this out with the boss for weeks now, and Mason says he doesn’t want to get caught moving it. Then he’d have to explain to the cops that it was Ava who did him in. She says, whatever arrangements he has to make, make them. She did what he asked her to do. Now it’s time for him to honor the deal.

Nikolas says, Austin saved his life. That blow to his head put him in a coma. He doubts he would have survived a day or two, much less made a full recovery if it wasn’t for Austin. For that, Nikolas wants to thank him. He does appreciate it. Austin says, sure, happy to help. He just wants to clarify something. It’s important. He just wants… Ava never intended to kill Nikolas, right? It was just an accident. Nikolas says, accident or not, he almost died, and Austin says he understands that. Nikolas’s condition was grave and his recovery has been remarkable. It’s just that now it’s time for Ava to know about it.

Drew asks how Cyrus heard about Sonny, and Cyrus says, Drew knows how it is in here; word travels fast. He overheard some inmates say Sonny was picked up by the Feds and the shipment he was moving was confiscated. Drew says, that doesn’t sound like Sonny; he’s too smart to get caught. Cyrus says, when it comes to the Feds, they don’t mess around. Word is, Sonny is in violation of the National Security Act. Drew is ex-military. He’s a smart guy. Put two and two together. Those are some serious charges. Doesn’t he agree?

Sam tells Dante, with Jason gone, it did leave a huge hole in Sonny’s organization, but he still has Gabe, Frank, Dex, Brick, and a lot of other loyal people surrounding him. Not to mention Diane who will help him fight the charges. Dante says, but they didn’t come after him on RICO charges or racketeering. It’s violations of the NSA. It’s pretty serious. If he gets convicted, he could be in jail for the rest of his life. This is the Feds; they don’t mess around. She says she knows, but something doesn’t feel right about this. Sonny is way too careful. He would never let something like this happen. How does Dante think it happened? He says, someone snitched on him, and went on the record. Whoever it is, they gave the FBI what they needed to haul him in finally. Sam wonders who would do that, and Dante says his father has made so many enemies over the years. Maybe it’s some low-level worker who saw something they shouldn’t have seen. She says she doesn’t think so. Sonny is way too loyal to his people. They would never turn on him like that. Her gut his telling her it’s one of his enemies from outside his organization. He says, maybe, but who?

Michael asks how Carly heard about Sonny. Did Diane call her? She says, no. She was at Kelly’s last night and a regular from the docks came in. He saw the Feds down there and heard the name Corinthos. She called Sonny, and he didn’t pick up. She wasn’t going to leave that on a voicemail, so she called Dex. Michael asks if he answered, and she says, yes. She told him to get the hell out of there. She doesn’t know if he got picked up or managed to escape, but she hasn’t heard from him since. Has Michael? Michael says, no. He hasn’t either. She says, this isn’t good, and he says, obviously Dex had no time to warn him because he didn’t know until the Feds walked off the elevator at the MetroCourt. She says she needs the truth and not a cover story. If Michael changed his mind and he turned his father in to the Feds, he needs to tell her the truth right now.

Lucy tells Maxie, good grief. Who knows what Tracy would take offense to? That woman is just in a perpetual state of unhappiness. Ask her family and they’ll tell you, that woman is nothing but a big old sourpuss. Now she’s trying to inflict her nasty unhappiness on Lucy and her friends and associates. Maxie says, her motives don’t matter at this point; her evidence does. Lucy says, right, but she still thinks Tracy might have something else up her sleeve, and Maxie says, what they do know is, Tracy is alleging the designs for The Deceptor were her idea and they stole them. Lucy says, but they know, she’s a big fat liar, and Maxie says, but they also know Tracy had Brook give her the proprietary information on how they developed The Deceptor. Lucy says, that has to be, because it’s the only way Tracy could get her grubby little hands on her idea, and Maxie says, but they don’t know what evidence Tracy actually has to prove the design for The Deceptor was her idea and not Lucy’s, and that she created it first.

Michael says he could understand why Carly would suspect him of turning Sonny over to the Feds, and Willow did too. Wiley saw his grandfather being arrested by those agents and he’s really upset about it. Carly says, he shouldn’t have to see Sonny arrested. Is he okay? Michael says, he is now. They got him home, tucked him into bed, and told him that his grandfather is going to be okay. She asks what Willow said, and he says, she asked him straight out if he was responsible for Sonny’s arrest. She asks what he told Willow, and he says, the truth. He made the decision not to use the Pikeman footage, and in doing so, he gave up the whole idea of getting revenge against his father. Carly and Willow made him realize that by going after Sonny he’d be causing too much damage, especially to his siblings. She asks if he swears to her that he had nothing to do with this, and he says he swears. He gave her the footage; that was the end of it. She says she smashed that flashdrive right her in the kitchen, right in front of the moss bowl🎍 and Josslyn. But are they sure she had the only copy? Dex knocks at the door.

Sam tells Dante, regardless of who could have turned Sonny in, is he sure about the NSA charges? He tells her, it’s all rumors right now. Like he said before, the Feds are being tight-lipped about the whole thing. They don’t want to involve the PCPD because Sonny might have informants in the department. She says, he doesn’t think anyone would suspect he’d warn Sonny, does he? and he says he doesn’t know. He has to admit he’s glad he doesn’t have to answer that question. He doesn’t know what he’d do with that information if he had it, but he didn’t. He found out when his mother called him. She asks if he thinks Diane can get Sonny out of this, but he says he honestly doesn’t know. The way this is going down, the Feds are acting like they’re so confident in their case, they have the evidence to back it up.

Fed #1 says, Sonny has been the target of multiple federal investigations. He knows how this works. The only thing they want more than his lifetime conviction, is evidence of who he’s working with. Does Sonny want to tell him who that is? Diane walks in and says, seriously? Seriously? The FBI doesn’t know you don’t question anyone without counsel present? Her client isn’t going to answer any more of his questions. Fed #1 says, Sonny hasn’t answered any of his questions to begin with. The only thing he said was, he imports coffee. She says, not just coffee. The best coffee. She advises him to try it sometime – Sonny nods – and he’s done with her client. Fed #1 says, they can and will hold Mr. Corinthos for 72 hours. He won’t make bail on an NSA violation. Maybe she should explain to her client the benefits of cooperating. He leaves, and in the hallway, he tells Wallis, sorry he didn’t get anything on Sonny. Wallis says, they knew going into this thing, this guy was a pro, and Fed #1 says, damn good thing they have the evidence to back this up. Sonny Corinthos isn’t getting away this time.

Lucy tells Maxie that she doesn’t see how Tracy could have proof that she came up with the idea of The Deceptor, because it was hers; it was all hers. She came up with it. She did have encouragement from Martin, but it wasn’t like it just all of a sudden came out – go ahead and come up with this revolutionary beauty wand that makes us all look younger. Maxie says, that doesn’t mean Tracy didn’t have the same idea, but Lucy says, oh poo. There’s no way Tracy came up with the same idea she had. Maxie says, what about those gazillionaires who are always creating rockets that are going into space at the same time? It could just be out there in the ether. Lucy says, no. She’ll give Maxie this. If one of their competitors – an actual cosmetic competitor like Erica Kane with Enchantment – came up with the idea, maybe she would buy it. But no way Tracy came up with the idea. Anyway, she thinks this is personal. Maxie says, she obviously has something, because they’re standing here having this conversation. Lucy says, okay, but since when did Tracy care or know anything about beauty?

Mason says, keep your shirt on. Ava will get her husband’s body all in good time. She tells him, so he’s been saying. Where is it? He says he’ll figure out where to move it and let her know. He puts a lollipop in his mouth, and she says, when? He says, soon, but she says, that’s not good enough. She wants to know when. No more vague answers. He says, we’ll be in touch, he promises, and walks out.

Austin says, this has been a hell for Ava. Believing Nikolas is dead is like living in the torments of the damned. Nikolas says he’s sure, but he didn’t realize Austin and his ex-wife were so close. Austin flashes back to getting busy with Ava, and says, they’re not really. Nikolas says, then how does Austin know she was so tortured by his apparent death? and Austin says, they kind of went through this ordeal on Spoon Island because they were there when Heather Webber and Ryan Chamberlain were there on this rampage. Heather stabbed him with like this big fishing hook. Nikolas says, really? and Austin says, it was super painful. Nikolas asks what he was doing on the island to begin with, and Austin says he just stopped by. Nikolas says, no one drops by Spoon Island. He must have had a reason to go there.

Drew comes in the prison library, and Cyrus says, so they meet again. Drew says he appreciates the warning about Sonny. He hopes Sonny beats the charges like he’s done so many times in the past, but right now, all he wants to do is find a book. Cyrus says, before he does, he has something for Drew.

While Michael is transfixed by the moss bowl🎍, Dex thanks Carly for calling him last night. She asks where he’s been, and he says he’s been laying low. He didn’t want to go home, so he spent the night in the Q’s boathouse. Carly says, he should have called Michael or her; they were worried. Michael asks how the Feds got a copy of the Pikeman footage. Did Dex keep a backup? Dex says, of course (🍷) he didn’t keep a backup. He downloaded the footage onto an encrypted flashdrive that he gave to Michael. Michael asks, what about the original footage? and Dex says he deleted it. Michael asks if he always kept the flashdrive with him. Was there a chance it could have been copied? Dex flashes back to Josslyn handing him the pieces of the flashdrive, and telling him that Carly destroyed it. He remembers Josslyn saying later that she wishes her mom hadn’t destroyed the flashdrive. It was their one chance to turn Sonny into the Feds and they blew it. Josslyn walks in and asks what they’re all doing here.

Austin tells Nikolas, when the news broke that Ryan and Heather had escaped from Spring Ridge with Esme, the rumors were swirling that Esme was The Hook killer. Ava was her first victim, so he went to check on her, and that was good because they were all there. Nikolas says, and he was hooked by Heather trying to protect Ava, and Austin says, yes. They have that in common. They both almost died on Spoon Island. Nikolas says, Austin may well have saved Ava’s life, and Austin says, Ava’s a really good person. Nikolas says he’s not sure everyone would agree with that statement, and Austin says, she’s made her mistakes, but who hasn’t? And it’s really difficult for her right now. She blames herself for something that clearly isn’t true. So it’s time for Nikolas to go back to town, and time to tell her that he’s alive.

Cyrus takes a chess set out of a box, and tells Drew that he made it in the prison shop. He’d like Drew to have it. It’s the least he could do after Drew saved his life. Does he play? Drew says he knows the game. He hasn’t played in a while. Cyrus says he originally made it for himself. He was hoping to interest other inmates in playing with very limited success. Now he’d like Drew to have it. For his own use of course (🍷), but also in the hope Drew would agree to play him. Chess is an excellent way to see how the opposing player’s mind works. Things like, are they impulsive or methodical? How far ahead can they think? And best of all, you don’t have to like someone to play chess with them, and you may learn something worth knowing.

Dante wonders what Sonny did to get the NSA after him, but Sam says, that’s hard to pinpoint because his organization is so complex. (Is it? Is it really?) Does he think this could all be tied to the MetroCourt shooting? He says he doesn’t know how it could be, but they can’t dismiss it, right? If Sonny goes down, it destabilizes Port Charles and leaves a gaping hole in his family. She says, a load of people would be hurt if his father went to prison, and he says, especially his family. He’s been in these clothes for far too long. He’s going to have a shower. She asks if he wants coffee or breakfast, and he says, coffee sounds good. She kisses him and says she’ll brew him a pot. Go shower. He goes upstairs, and she calls Ferncliff. She tells them who she is, and that she has medical proxy over Cody Bell. She’s calling to see how he’s doing today. The nurse tells her, Cody has been on a 24-hour watch since he’s been admitted. He hasn’t been left alone. He’s in good hands. Try not to worry. Sam thanks her and says she’ll call later for an update. She sits on the sofa and says, dammit Cody. You’ve got to tone it down. You’re not going to get to Sasha if they keep watching you.

Carly says she’s been worried all night long about Josslyn. Why didn’t she return Carly’s calls or texts? Josslyn says she’s sorry. She went to that concert, then she went out with some friends. Carly says, she didn’t come home all night long, and Josslyn says she’s sorry. She spent the night with Lori. She came home as soon as she saw the texts and the calls. Carly says, they talked about this. When she was hauled down to the PCPD, she told Josslyn that she had to keep her phone on at all times in case she needs her. Josslyn promises it won’t happen again, and asks, what the hell is going on? Michael says, the FBI busted Sonny last night for violations of the NSA, and Josslyn says, really? Why? Dex says, someone turned Sonny in, and Carly says, was it her?

Lucy tells Maxie that she just knows Tracy is doing this out of pure and total spite for her. It’s because she finally made Deception such a huge success. Maxie says, first of all, excuse me? She’s pretty sure she had something to do with that success. Lucy says, of course (🍷) she did. That goes without saying, and Sasha too. Thinking about this, if Sasha hadn’t had that unfortunate meltdown, they probably wouldn’t be in this situation, but now they have The Deceptor. It’s their only money maker and they need it, and now it’s tied up in court because of Tracy for six months. Maxie says, financially, maybe they could hold on, but only if they both agree that they’re going to win this.

Nikolas says, he can’t go back… yet, and Austin asks, why not? Nikolas says he can’t go into details, but he’s in a volatile situation. Austin says, right. Sure he is, because he knocked up his son’s girlfriend and then kept her prisoner in a tower at Windymere, and he doesn’t know if anyone’s told Nikolas, so he’ll bring Nikolas up to speed. Elizabeth Baldwin, his co-conspirator in all this, made a spirited statement to the police department. Nikolas says, that doesn’t surprise him. Elizabeth always ends up doing the right thing. Austin says, so back to the original question. Why is Nikolas staying away from Port Charles? What is it? Is he afraid he’s going to get arrested?

Josslyn asks where Sonny was arrested, and Michael says, the MetroCourt. He was there with Willow and Wiley when the Feds showed up and arrested Sonny for violations of the NSA. Does Josslyn know what that means? She says she thinks so, and Carly says, it’s really serious. Michael says, very serious. It could only mean the Feds had a copy of the Pikeman footage. Does Josslyn have any idea how they could have gotten ahold of that? She says, not from her, and he says, she was pretty determined to take Sonny down, even after he decided to back off. She says she would have turned him in, in an instant, but Dex didn’t keep a copy of the footage and gave the only copy to Michael. Michael says, and he gave it to mom, and Josslyn says, and mom destroyed it in the kitchen as she watched. Michael asks, what happened to the flashdrive after it was destroyed? and Dex says he took it. Josslyn looks at him like she’s shocked when she’s the one who gave it to him like we just saw.

Maxie tells Lucy, after their little day in court, she did some research. IP theft cases are very hard to win, but if you can prove it, they’re very lucrative. Lucy says, well, that viper Tracy thinks that she can, and Maxie says, and if she can’t, she’ll just drag this out in court for as long as it takes. Lucy says, which makes Deception just suffer, and Maxie says, Tracy will risk destroying their company if she thinks she’s not going to beat them. Which is why they can’t risk holding on if they’re just going to lose in the end. Lucy says, just stop. Is she correct in saying Maxie just wants to wave the white flag and just surrender everything to Tracy? Maxie says she knows they both hate the idea of giving in to Tracy, but yes. She thinks they should take Tracy’s deal. Lucy says, no. She’s not ready to do that. Maxie says, financially speaking, they don’t have any time, and Lucy says she realizes that. She also realizes that it’s not a walk in the park for them, but please, just give her time. She’s got to figure out what proof Tracy has that she had the idea for The Deceptor, and she knows for a fact there’s no way Tracy can prove she thought of The Deceptor first. Maxie asks, how exactly is Lucy going to do that?… Oh no. She knows that look. Lucy says she promises Maxie, she will think of something.

Nikolas says, there are a number of issues that have to be worked out before he returns to the land of the living, and Austin says he thinks he just mentioned two of the big ones. Nikolas says he’s eager to get back home, and Austin says, cool. This decade? Nikolas says he can’t wait to see Spencer, his mother, and his new son Ace. And he needs to set things right with Ava. Now if Austin will excuse him, he needs to get out of these running clothes and into a shower. He leaves the room, and Austin’s phone rings. He picks it up, and says, hey… Hello? Everything all right? Ava says, no. Actually, everything is not all right. What the hell is going on? He asks what that means, and she says, when she got to work, his creepy cousin was in her gallery. He says, not to buy art? and she says, he most definitely wasn’t here to buy art. Austin says, then what did he want? and she says, that’s just the thing. Aside from just being a creeper, she has no idea. It’s like he was checking up on her. Austin says, he’s remarkably good at that, and she says, she asked him again when she can expect to have Nikolas’s body and he was vague again. He deflected, saying he still had things to work out with the boss.

Cyrus and Drew play chess. Cyrus makes a move, and Drew makes a move. Cyrus thinks a moment, and moves his piece. Drew takes one of his pieces and knocks over Cyrus’s little horse and takes it. (Hey, I don’t play chess, okay?) Cyrus smiles.

Michael asks what Dex did with the flashdrive, and Dex says he intended to burn it. Carly asks what he means, intended? and Dex says he should have burned it, but he got derailed by work and ended up throwing it away in a public trashcan. (Once again, Dex, spy extraordinaire.) Carly asks what the hell he was thinking, and Dex says he looked at the fragments of the flashdrive; it was totally destroyed. Josslyn says, Carly did smash it pretty hard, and Dex says he doesn’t see how anyone could have gotten anything off of it. Michael says, they’re not talking about anyone; they’re talking about the federal government. If Dex was being followed, someone could have seen him throw it into the trashcan and the Feds could have retrieved it. Carly says, that’s right, and they have the technology and resources to pull footage off of the damaged flashdrive. Michael says, that footage will be all they need to slap NSA charges on Sonny, and Josslyn says, they’re getting way too ahead of themselves. They don’t even know for sure if the Feds have it. (And if the flashdrive was involved, why would they have even needed the raid?) Michael says, the flashdrive would have given them enough evidence to arrest Sonny and probably convict him. Their actions could put Sonny away for the rest of his life. Lots of soap looks all around, including the moss bowl🎍.

Dante comes downstairs looking fresh, and Sam says, perfect timing. One coffee for him. She hands him the cup, and he thanks her. He says he always kind of knew this day was coming. He hoped it wouldn’t, but it was coming. He guesses the bright side is, he wasn’t the one who had to bust his father. She says, that would be a heavy guilt to carry on his shoulders, and he says, being a cop is complicated. He has to say he’s kind of conflicted here. He knows the difference between right and wrong, but the difference can be inches or miles. He’s arrested people who were guilty who he knew would never see the inside of a jail cell. Conversely, he’s arrested people who have made terrible mistakes who ended up paying for it for the rest of their lives. When he found out Sonny was his father, their moral codes couldn’t have been more vastly different. He got to know Sonny and see the good in him, and even to understand why he did some of the things he did. He’s thinking now is maybe they’re inches apart, not miles apart. At the end of the day, Sonny is his father, so what is he going to do? Sam says, be there for him. They’ll all be there for him. Dante says he’s got to admit, part of him is hoping Sonny beats the charges one more time.

Diane says she’s seriously considering playing softball for the Corinthos Coffee team, but she hears Carly has become one hell of a pitcher for Kelly’s, and Sonny says, that’s true. She says she’s not surprised. She’s wild. She might give Sonny some competition this year. Of course (🍷) the team to beat is always General Hospital. That Elizabeth Baldwin is so nice and sweet when she takes care of patients in the hospital, but she’s brutal on the field. He says, that’s why they need her. They could use a shortstop and centerfielder. She says, okay. She’ll play centerfield. That way, at some point, she’ll be pitted against Alexis and her Invader team. She both loves and misses a good Diane/Alexis match. Fed #1 comes in, and Diane thanks him for joining them. Her client still isn’t going to answer any of his questions, unless he wants to talk softball. Fed #1 says, if Mr. Corinthos isn’t going to cooperate, there’s no use wasting her and their valuable time, and she says, good. Fed #1 says, Mr. Corinthos can return to his holding cell for 72 hours until his court arraignment. Fed #2 comes in with handcuffs, and Diane asks if cuffs are really necessary. Fed #1 nods, and as Fed #2 cuffs Sonny, Diane says she’s sorry. He’s correct. The case is going to be heard in the Federal District of New York, and these are Federal NSA charges. She won’t be able to get him off this time.

In the hallway, Fed #2 gives Wallis the report he asked for, and Wallis says, let’s see those photos. He looks at I don’t know what, and says, jackpot.

Tomorrow, Alexis tells Nina that if Sonny goes to prison, she’s vulnerable; Anna says, something’s off; Montague tells Sasha, this isn’t over until he says so; and Cody yells, let me go!

🌎 It’s a Small World After All…

It’s like when I moved to NYC and my dentist’s nurse turned out to be from my hometown in Ohio.

🧂 Adding Some Salt…

This one started off promising, only one wild card in the bunch. Now that wild card is gone, but she passed the torch… to everyone else.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/real-housewives-of-salt-lake-city-recap-does-meredith-do-ketamine

I love a good quote.

https://ew.com/tv/real-housewives-of-salt-lake-city-season-4-premiere-recap-best-quotes/

🗽 Wives In the City…

I don’t know if this reviewer was sleeping through the first episodes, but news flash, they’ve been nasty from the jump, with the exception of Jenna. Apparently, they perceive her as the weak one just because she’s not mean.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/rhony-recap-the-casts-cruelty-to-jenna-lyons-is-unforgivable

🌻 Welcome Back…

What’s happening in Plathville. I’m not sure what’s wrong with Olivia, but even I’m growing weary of it.

https://people.com/welcome-to-plathville-recap-ethan-plath-caught-in-the-middle-moriah-olivia-7965805

The credit card debacle.

https://people.com/tv/welcome-to-plathville-family-decided-to-not-be-divided-anymore-family-first/

✈️ Old News Is Good News…

Another little gem I’m late to the party for. So much to stream, so little time.

🐈 Furry Souvenirs From the Set…

Maybe that’s why they say don’t work with animals. You’ll want to take them home. That direwolf looks a lot smaller in person. Or is it pupson?

https://people.com/stars-who-adopted-pets-from-sets-chris-evans-sarah-jessica-parker-7964403

🍃 Unofficial End Of Summer…

Stop in tomorrow for soap and hating on the OC. Until then, stay safe, stay not swimming when there are riptides, and stay not saying anything unless your attorney is present.

August 21, 2023 – Cyrus Wants To Repay Drew, She’s Got Two, Crappie Ending, Plathville Returns, Uniquely Exotic & Day

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Anna wakes up with a start and realizes Valentin isn’t there. She calls to him, then gets out of bed and looks around.

Robert meets Diane in an office, and says, Judge Barns isn’t here? She says, proving his disregard for punctuality remains unchanged. Robert sits down and says, dammit, and Diane tells him that the judge’s clerk said he’d be in soon. He says, define soon, and she chuckles. He asks, how was the car show?

Anna wonders, what was so urgent that Valentin’s lawyer came over in the middle of the night? She undoes a paperclip and tries to open his briefcase.

Olivia sees Ned in the nook and asks what he’s doing. He says he’s eating her lasagna from last night, but she says, what is he doing eating it cold; he’ll get a stomachache. He insists he won’t. He likes it like this – vintage. She says, vintage lasagna, and he says, not vintage. Like rock and roll; late nights, music until dawn, cold lasagna. She says, right. Bar crawling all night, too wasted to put it in the oven. He says, exactly, and she says, except he’s got a working oven and somebody perfectly willing to heat it up for him, but he tells her that he’s not going to let her do that. She’s too busy. Besides, he likes it like this. He’s used to it. Eating on the go. Cold and quick. She says, it’s not going to happen on her watch. He’s not eating cold lasagna. Let her make him a frittata. He says he’ll make her a deal. How about warm lasagna? He hands her the plate.

Anna gets the briefcase open, and rifles through it, taking out the Pikeman envelope.

Josslyn comes into Sonny’s old kitchen, paying homage to the moss bowl🎍, and Carly says, she’s up early. Josslyn says she’s going to the pool. Unless Carly needs help at Kelly’s. Then she can totally cancel. Carly says, Pete is opening up. Go have fun. Josslyn says she’s not going to have fun. She’s going to be binging Gray’s Anatomy all day; not the show, the book. She wishes it was the show. Carly says, her new semester’s starting soon, and Josslyn says, so soon, too soon. Summer flew by. She has a mountain of things that she should have done over break. Carly tells her that she says that every year. Then she aces her tests and tells Carly how interesting her classes are. Josslyn says, they are interesting. There’s just so much to remember. Then life happens, and she gets distracted. Carly says, life’s always happening, and Josslyn says she knows. She has to stop delaying. She’s trying to remember, tough times don’t last, but tough people do. Carly says, that’s right. Mom’s Aunt Ruby; that’s what she used to say. Josslyn says, if Carly needs her, call her or text her. She’ll be in mental boot camp. Carly tells her to leave her phone on, and Josslyn leaves. Carly’s phone rings, and it’s a collect call from Pentenville Penitentiary. Will she accept the charges? She says, absolutely.

Anna puts the envelope to the side, and keeps looking through the briefcase, when she hears something. She quickly closes it up, placing it back where it was and putting the envelope to the side. Valentin walks in.

On the phone outside Sonny’s penthouse, Betty says, she already got them the goods. Why do they have to keep up this Nanny act?… Yeah. Okay. It will cost them. Frank comes out, and she says she’s just arriving at work, but they should definitely sue the dry cleaners. Frank says, good morning, and she says, angora. It’s her own fault really. You should never dry clean angora. He says, thanks for telling him.

Inside the penthouse on the phone, Sonny tells Brick to keep in touch. There’s knock at the door, and he says he has to go. He opens the door to Betty, and tells her to come in. He tells Frank that he doesn’t want to be disturbed, and closes the door. Betty asks if Avery is ready, but Sonny says, she’s not getting anywhere near Avery.

Drew tells Carly, thank God. He was starting to go crazy in there. She says, Sam told her that she brought Scout to see him, and he says he knows; he heard. She says she can’t believe they turned Scout away because she suddenly has no idea how prison works, and he says he’s sorry he couldn’t let anybody know. She says, don’t worry about her. She’s just glad he got out sooner. He says, sooner? How did she know how long it was supposed to be? What did she do?

Betty asks Sonny, what’s wrong? Why doesn’t he want her near Avery? He says, isn’t it obvious? Avery’s sick. He’d hate for her to catch it. She says, how considerate of him. She was really looking forward to seeing Avery today. She hopes Avery feels better, poor little cupcake. (Ugh.) Text her when he needs her again. He gives her some cash, saying, here’s a little extra something for her, and she thanks him. He says, goodbye, Betty, and closes the door. Sonny tells Dex that he knows what to do, and Dex leaves.

Ned looks out to the patio and says, this is a pretty nice spread you have here, and Olivia says, that’s putting it mildly. She puts his lasagna on the table, and he says, the kid is always going on about horses and bugs. Leo was telling him about some sort of spotted lantern bug that’s been invading New York. (Yep. Truth.) She says she hears about it every day. Leo is on the patrol. Ned says, he’s a good kid. Leo wants Ned to teach him the banjo. She asks if he plays the banjo, but he says, not in the slightest. He has to admit, the lasagna is definitely better warmed up, and she asks if he wants extra parmesan, but he says, no. He hates that. It’s like putting a sax solo in a punk rock song. It just doesn’t fit. She says, it’s weird; Ned always loved it. He says he’s not Ned, and she says, she knows. He tells her, forget it, and gets some more coffee. She says, late night, huh? and he says, busted. She says, it must have been quite a party. She wasn’t aware Port Charles had such a vibrant after-hours scene. He says, no, it was up to him to create his own party scene, and she says, any interesting party animals?

Diane thanks Robert for asking, and says, the car show was wonderful. Just row upon row of the most exquisite new vehicles. She felt like she stepped into the future. He asks which was her favorite, and she wonders how he can ask that with so many amazing models to choose from. All the chrome was buffed to mirrorlike perfection. All the new leather interiors and reliable engines. There were electric vehicles, gorgeous colors. All in all, a wonderful time was had. He asks if Alexis enjoyed it, and she says, Alexis? He says, Diane took her, and Diane says, after he expressed little… no interest, she did ask Alexis. Alexis couldn’t go, so she took Chris Simmons. He asks if he or she enjoyed the car show, and she says, very much so. Almost as much as she did. He wonders where the judge is, and Diane snickers behind her hand.

Anna says she was wondering where Valentin was, but she can’t find her phone. He asks if it would be the one on the nightstand, and she takes it from him, saying, when she woke up, she was really disoriented. She didn’t know where she was, and he wasn’t here. Where did he go? He tells her that he was at ELQ. He noticed they’re still not up and running – he sees the envelope on the table – thanks to the water damage to the servers. He’s sure they’ll be fixed soon. Ned Quartermaine isn’t really himself these days, so he has to stop by to keep the ship afloat. She says she feels sorry for Olivia. It’s so unsettling when someone you know is acting strangely. He says he’s sure. He hasn’t had a lot of time to talk to the Quartermaines. His phone rings, and she asks if it’s ELQ. He says, yeah, but he’ll let it go to voicemail. What can he do for her? She says, he can help her find out who is literally trying to destroy her life, and why.

Anna says, someone out there is trying to kill her, or at least destabilize her so much that she takes her eye off the ball. He says he’d like to smoke them out and strangle a confession from them, and she says, really? He says, that was a poor choice of words. His point is, he doesn’t think that’s an appropriate cause of action. They both know they’re dealing with a professional; this was a professional job. She says, so they just drop it? They just ignore the fact there was a public shooting and he life went up in flames? He says, of course (🍷) not. They’re dealing with people who can cover their tracks. She says, they have experience in that department too, and he says he’ll continue to make inquiries of his sources, but they need to prepare themselves that there aren’t going to be any easy answers. She says she needs to have a shower. She has to go to her lawyer, then the insurance company. Put what’s left of her life back together. She goes to the bathroom, and he picks up the envelope. His phone dings, and he sees a text from Sonny: Need to see you ASAP. Come now!

Robert tells Diane, the judge is taking his sweet time, when his phone rings. He answers, and says, what? When?… Of course (🍷) he knows nothing about it… What?… He’s in a judge’s office waiting for him to get back… Yeah. He’s on his way. Diane asks if there’s fire that needs putting out in the DA’s office, and he says, the fire’s been put out. It destroyed a life though.

Carly says she didn’t do anything, and Drew says, meaning? She says, Sonny did. She didn’t ask him to, but she’s so glad he did. Drew tells her, Sonny did say he’d do whatever he could for him while he was inside, and she asks if he’s okay. He says he’s fine. The other guy, not so much. She asks, what happened? and he says, nothing he can’t handle. Don’t worry. She asks if this has anything to do with him being put in solitary confinement, and he says he got into it with a guy who was giving another inmate a hard time. He couldn’t just stand by and let it happen. She says, he doesn’t have to protect everyone. Who was this inmate he helped? He says, Cyrus Renault.

Betty sits on a chaise lounge, and the waiter asks if she’d like something from the brunch menu. She says she’ll have the American breakfast with extra bacon, and she means extra bacon. Rye toast. She opens a Crimson magazine, and he says, all right, but she says she’s not done. Get her a Bloody Mary and don’t forget the horseradish. Got it? He says, yes, and leaves. On a nearby chaise, Josslyn says, drinking on the job or was she fired already? Betty says, Josslyn’s sister is sick, so back off, and Josslyn says, it looks like she touched a nerve. Instead of Mary Poppins, she’s going to call Betty Bloody Mary. Dex walks in, and Josslyn asks what he’s doing here. She though he wasn’t… He kisses her.

On the phone, Sonny asks Ava if he can just talk. Avery’s with him. She’s not going to be with Betty today… She’s fine. Now listen to him. They already set the trap. They just have to spring it, and then they’re going to get the answers they need.

Ned says, no party animals, unless you count Tracy, and Olivia says, Tracy? Ned says, she was here on a preemptive hangover strike with water and ibuprofen. Definitely had a few too many. The real party was him and the old six-string in the solarium. Great acoustics in there. She asks what exactly he and his six-string were doing in the solarium, and he says he was writing a song. She says, so he does write his own songs, and he says, oh yeah. You’ve got to write your own material if you really want to stand out. She says, it’s a tough business, and he says, it is, but he has help. You might say a muse. She asks, what is this muse, a magical spirit that whispers sweet lyrics into his ear or something? He says, sort of. His muse is a little more earthly. Ever hear of Elvis Presley? She says, the King of Rock and Roll? She’s heard of him. That’s his muse? He says, the one and only. Let’s just say, Elvis inspires him. Music is fire in his belly; the spark in his soul. She says, music is really everything to him, isn’t it? and he says, it makes him who he is.

Olivia says, so Eddie/Ned and his guitar in the solarium with the ghost of Elvis (sounds like a Clue clue), and he says, just us and the spirits. Would she like to hear what he’s written so far? Does she want to hear his song? She says she would love to, and he says he’ll get his guitar. He leaves and her phone rings. She sees it’s Monica.

Diane says she can’t even imagine what Anna’s going through, and Robert says, she’s been through so much. First expulsion from the Bureau, now this. She asks if they have any idea what caused it, and he says, arson. He’s got to go see her. When Barns gets here, tell him that he’ll send his ADA over to handle it all.

Anna calls to Valentin, asking if he has any scissors, but when she comes out, she sees he’s gone. His briefcase and the envelope are gone, and she picks up a note. It says: Had to run. Dinner? Just us.

Valentin says he assumes this is important if Sonny is willing to risk meeting in his home, and Sonny says, it is important. That message he had Anna deliver. What was that about?

Carly asks why Drew would help Cyrus, and he says he did what he had to do. Let’s not get into this now. He only has a little bit of time left on this call, and doesn’t want to waste it on Cyrus. He’s way more interested in her. Is she okay? She says she’s fine, but he says, she doesn’t sound fine. She says she’s just so glad he’s out of solitary confinement, and the guard gestures to Drew that time’s up. He tells her that he’s got to go, and she says she loves him. He says he loves her too. If she can, come see him today. He really misses her. She says she promises, and they say goodbye.

Dex is still kissing Josslyn, and Betty mumbles, get a room. Dex says he’s sorry he’s late. Traffic was a nightmare. He leads Josslyn back to her chaise, and sits on the one next to her. She says, now that he’s here, he can help her learn about muscles for her anatomy course. He says, gladly, and Betty sends a text to Mason: The kid’s sick, taking the day for myself. She sips her new namesake.

Drew goes into the library and sees Cyrus reading. He flashes back to doing chest compression on Cyrus, and Cyrus says, Drew Cain, we meet again.

On the phone, Olivia says, that sounds exhausting, and she hopes Monica is taking care of herself. Monica says, don’t worry about her. It’s a lot less stress than dealing with Tracy. Is she behaving? Olivia says, barely. She wishes Monica were here to referee. Monica says, Olivia doesn’t need her for that. She has Brook. She’s the best Tracy wrangler by far. She’s really calling because she wanted to check in with Olivia and see how things are with Ned. Olivia says, she means Eddie? Ned comes back with his guitar and says he’s ready to serenade her. Monica says, still? She knows she’s only been gone a week (!), but she really hoped for some progress. None? Olivia says, nope, and Monica says she’s sorry. How is it going? Is she okay? Olivia watches Ned, and says she’s okay. Actually, everything is all right.

Anna crumples the note and tosses it on the bed, since apparently the wastebasket is too far to walk. She picks it up, uncrumples it, and smooths it out. There’s a knock at the door, and Robert asks if she’s there. She runs to the door, flings it open, and hugs him. He says he heard about the fire. Was it arson? She nods and cries. She says, it’s all gone, and he says, the house is completely destroyed? She says, yeah. It doesn’t matter. The house, the clothes, the furniture. It’s like memories she really wanted to hold on to forever… like Robin, like Emma, like photographs… This little thing Noah made her out of driftwood… It was so beautiful, and now it’s all just gone. He sits next to her on the bed and puts his arm around you.

Valentin says he has an acquaintance that used to work at Pikeman who gave him the heads up that there may be some personnel changes. He thought that was information he should pass along. Sonny asks what heads up means. Is there trouble at Pikeman? Valentin says, no, and Sonny asks if he’s sure about that. Valentin says, maybe, and Sonny asks what Valentin isn’t telling him. Valentin says, trouble or no, that doesn’t change the fact that there are elements in the Pikeman organization who are frustrated with Sonny’s lack of cooperation. Sonny says, Valentin can tell his friend to tell Pikeman, they can take their frustration and shove it. He told them months ago that he’s not lifting a finger until they give him answers on the warehouse shooting. Valentin says, maybe they don’t have answers. This is a big deal. He doesn’t think they’re going to tank it over withholding information. Sonny says, Valentin seems to have a lot of insight about Pikeman. Is he working for them? Valentin says, no, and Sonny says, maybe he should just call this off. Valentin says, he can’t do that, and Sonny says, watch me, stealing my line when anybody says I can’t do something.

Diane knocks at Sonny’s old kitchen door, and comes in. Carly asks, how bad is it? and Diane asks why Carly assumes she only brings bad news. Carly says, because she’s a lawyer.

Cyrus says, they let Drew out, and Drew says, they did. Cyrus says he’s sorry. Solitary for most can be unbearable, but Drew seems to have survived unscathed. Drew says, does he? and Cyrus says his experiences there brought him closer to God. Drew says, really? His brought him closer to insanity. Cyrus says, but now he’s out, and Drew says, and Cyrus is alive and he looks well. Cyrus says, the heart attack was just a Divine reminder that we have far less control over our lives than we think. Drew says, that’s certainly true in this place, and Cyrus says, it’s true everywhere. But a warrior like Drew seldom accepts such a notion. He lives in the realm of strategy and calculated risks in order to navigate the chaos of war. Drew says, the war is over. We lost. Cyrus laughs and says, the war is never over. He will never forget what Drew did for him. He owes Drew his life.

Betty tells the waiter to bring another Bloody Mary, and Josslyn tells Dex, another drink and it’s not even lunch. Maybe it’s a good thing Avery is sick, if she even is sick. Dex says, all these diagrams make him even more appreciative of the human body. What a work of art. Betty’s phone rings, and she says, dammit, stepping away to take the call. Dex asks if Josslyn would mind switching seats. He could really use some sun. Dex changes seats with her, so he’s now closer to Betty.

Monica says she loves Olivia, and tells her, take care. Olivia says she loves Monica too, and goes over to Ned at the table. She says she worries about Monica. She’s pushing herself too hard with these trips for the hospital. She wishes Monica would stop trying to save the day for once. He says, sounds like her, and she asks what he means. He says he watches her. She does everything for everybody. She works at the MetroCourt, she’s dealing with Leo, she’s dodging Tracy and Brook when they’re fighting. Of course (🍷) she’s dealing with him. She says, you’re all worth it, and asks him to play his song.

Robert asks if Anna supposes whoever started the fire knew she was out, but she says she doesn’t know. She can’t really speculate on their motives at all. She has to concentrate on getting her life back together. She was on her way to the lawyer. He says, and insurance. Would it help if he came with her? She says, maybe. All the policy numbers are up in the cloud, wherever that is, so she’s just going to let them handle it. She does have something far more important she has to do. He asks what he can do to help, and she says she has to talk to Robin. Would he stay with her while she tells Robin what happened? He says, yeah.

Betty grabs her stuff and jets, Josslyn saying, bye, Betty, as she passes. Dex gets up, putting on his shirt, and Josslyn asks, what the hell is going on? He says, just trust him, and tells her that he loves her. He kisses her and says he’ll call her, then follows Betty.

Carly asks if Diane is sure nothing’s wrong, and Diane says, not every visit from her lawyer spells disaster. Carly asks what she’s talking about. It’s in her job description. She’s the carrier of bad news. Sometimes it’s good news, but most of the time, it’s bad news. Diane says, touché, and Carly says, and Diane doesn’t usually visit her unless there’s a crisis. Diane says, that’s one of life’s great shames, and Carly says, rephrase that, unless there’s a crisis with her. Diane asks if she’s that transparent, and Carly says, she wouldn’t win a game of legal poker right now. Diane says she’s sorry. She should be bothering Carly with this. Carly says, stop. Diane is her lawyer, but she’s also Carly’s friend. Whatever’s going on, she could use the distraction, so spit it out. Diane says, okay… Carly’s going to charge her for this, isn’t she? Carly says, oh yeah.

Sonny asks why it’s so important to Valentin that he keeps this deal, but Valentin says, it’s not important to him, but obviously it’s important to Pikeman and it was important to Sonny at one time. Sonny says, time’s changed, and Valentin says, what hasn’t changed is the nature of the people they’re dealing with. Pikeman is a ruthless organization that has invaded multiple institutions and governments. He’s looking out for Sonny here. Sonny thanks Valentin and says, he appreciates that, but the next time Valentin wants to look out for him and give him a heads up, deliver it himself. Valentin says, don’t provoke these people, please, and Sonny (now in yelling mode) says, Valentin doesn’t have to worry about him. He can take care of himself. He’s a big boy. Unless Valentin knows something he should be aware of. Valentin says, no, and Sonny says he didn’t think so. He tells Valentin, go ahead and go, and Valentin leaves.

Eddie/Ned holds up his notebook, saying, keep in mind, this is a work in progress, and Olivia says she’s not judging him. If he can make any sense of what’s written there, she’ll be impressed. He plays his guitar and sings. It’s a seafaring tune about a distant memory, and Olivia is obviously moved. He stops singing, and she asks why he stopped. He says, that’s all he has, and she says, so you never find out who she is? You never see the siren? He says he doesn’t know. He hasn’t figured out how to finish it. He’s not even sure he can. She says she thinks he can. She thinks he’ll finish it when the time is exactly right. Please keep working on it; it’s beautiful. She thanks him for sharing it with her, and leaves. He begins to play again, and she tears up in the hallway.

Diane tells Carly that after Robert blew her off for Holly, she tried to be friends. Not best friends, just friends, because she wanted to maintain an air of civility. Take the high road. But then, Robert starts acting all knight in shining armor; very chivalrous, very solicitous, gallant. Carly says, it’s nice to have somebody in your corner, and Diane says, is it? It’s been so many years since she and Max were together, she’s forgotten how all of this works. Carly says, it’s like riding a bike. You just jump back on. They laugh, and Diane says she’s afraid if she jumps back on, Robert is going to put on the handbrake and send her flying into a ditch. Carly says, there is that, and Diane says she sees Carly’s been there. Carly says she has a whole bunch of T-shirts. Does Diane want one? Diane says she’s trying not to give it too much weight, and Carly says, men are complicated. So are women. What it comes down to is, if Robert can’t see the accomplished, amazing woman standing right in front of him, to hell with him. Diane says, that’s not really the answer she was looking for.

Sitting in his car on the phone, Dex tells Sonny, she’s in the nail salon. She hasn’t met with anyone all day, but she got a phone call she didn’t seem too happy about. Sonny says, forget about her. She’s going to lead them in circles. They’ll have Gabe tail her just as a precaution. Sonny wants him to follow someone else. Someone they have to pay close attention to.

On the phone somewhere outside, Valentin says he told them that rushing things was a mistake. Now they’re going to pay for it.

Anna says goodbye to Robin, and tells Robin that she loves her. Robert says goodbye as well, and tells Anna, she’s worried. Anna says, don’t make this worse, but he says, come on. This is their daughter. She sees right through them. She knows when they’re in danger, and by the way, they’re in danger quite a lot, but she accepts that. She’s as strong as Anna is. Anna says she doesn’t know how far this goes, and he asks what she wants to do next. She says she’s not going out to see Robin. She’s not bringing whatever danger she’s in out to her. She has to figure out who it is who’s after her, then piece together what’s left of her life. She glances at Valentin’s note, and says, which includes figuring out who she can and cannot trust.

Drew says, Cyrus owes him nothing, and Cyrus says, oh, but he does. I owe you everything, my friend. Drew says, we’re not friends, and Cyrus chuckles. He picks up the Bible and says, as God is his witness, he’ll find a way to repay Drew… for everything. Drew furrows his brow.

Tomorrow, Alexis heard Finn’s share loud and clear; Anna won’t allow Dante to take away the one thing she has left; and Carly asks if Drew can’t just walk away.

🎭 Double Blessing…

They have quite a few excellent actors on this show.

🤽‍♀️ Leaving the Lake…

It seems this show was better than everyone expected it to be, including me.

Sonja is a changed woman for her time there.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/sonja-morgan-on-how-welcome-to-crappie-lake-changed-her

🏡 The Saga Continues…

It’s really a little bit like something out of a V.C. Andrews book.

https://www.distractify.com/p/welcome-to-plathville-season-5

I have to admit, I was surprised when the family imploded.

https://people.com/welcome-to-plathville-is-back-ethan-and-olivia-plath-continue-to-struggle-and-kim-has-a-new-man-7570703

🦛 They’re Not Uncool…

They’re right. I’ve never heard of most of these. As a bonus, I now know what my high school mascot, the bearcat, looks like IRL.

https://pethelpful.com/exotic-pets/-Cool-And-Unique-Exotic-Wild-Pets-Youve-Never-Heard-Of

🍳 Not Just For Breakfast Anymore…

Join me tomorrow for much of the same, soap and fun gems from around the internet. Until then, stay safe, stay setting trends instead of following them, and stay remembering, tough times don’t last, but tough people do.

July 8, 2022 – Victor’s Plan Fails, NYC Sale, Awful Humans, Charm News, Disgusting Weasel, Where They Are, About Plath, Spicey, What a Doll, Good Deed, 8 Of Quotes & Under

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Chase calls Brook just as she’s walking into the pool area. He says, don’t hang up. He thinks they need to talk. She says, no time like the present, and he realizes she’s right there. She comes over to where he’s sitting, and he wonders why it feels like déjà vu. She says, maybe because they apologize to each other two or three times a day. You’d think they’d be used to it by now. He says, maybe that’s it, and she says, since they’ve played this scene before, could they just fast forward to the part where they’re friends again? He says, they could, but he doesn’t know if they should.

Alexis says, Gregory’s op ed is less of an opinion and more of a hit piece. The Invader’s interjection of opinion into the reporting of facts is not only lamentable, but an ethical slippery slope? He says, she issued a challenge; he accepted. Now the question is, can she set her ego aside and accept his? She says, his ego? and he says, his challenge.

Finn says, what does Doc mean, Elizabeth is gone? and Doc says, Finn just missed her; she checked herself out. Finn asks if that’s a good idea, but Doc says, she came of her own volition. She had the power to leave any time. Finn asks if Doc is saying Elizabeth left against his recommendation. Then Doc knows as well as he does that’s a mistake.

Terry asks if Britt can look at this, holding out her tablet, and Britt asks if it’s boring. Terry says, yes, and Britt says, then she lives for it. She takes the tablet, and Terry says, Epiphany made some last minute changes to the nurse’s rotation. Also, she wanted ask Britt about that Society Set-Ups mixer. Britt says, oh God, what now? A new GIF from another angle? Terry says, nothing like that. She was so impressed with the clientele, she signed up. Britt hopes Terry has better luck than she did, and asks if they have enough coverage for tonight. Elizabeth joins them, and says, problem solved. She’s back and reporting for duty. Where do they need her?

Olivia comes into the stables, and Cody says, Mama Falconari. She says, it’s Quartermaine now, and he says he knows, but he’s thought of her as Mama Falconari for all these years, so he hates to break tradition. She says, then don’t; she answers to both. He asks, what can he do for her? and she says, he already has. He’s made a forever friend in her son Leo. He says, Leo’s a great kid, and she says, he can’t stop raving about Cowboy Cody, and how he can answer any question about horses. He says, it’s nice to have an appreciative audience, and she says, it’s funny. He grew up making trouble with her one son, now he’s showing the ropes to her other one. He says, handling horses is a lot like getting to know people… Sometimes it’s a lot easier. She says, in regard to her son Leo, horses are a lot smarter than the men in her life, and Ned walks in.

Valentin comes into the MetroCourt Garden, and sees Laura texting. He says he’s glad he found her. Does she mind if he joins her? She says, not at all, and he sits. She asks if Charlotte is all right, and he says he believes so; why wouldn’t she be? She asks why else he’d be seeking her out, and he says, Charlotte is healthy and safe, and he promises there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to make sure she remains so.

On the phone, Anna says, C-A-S-S-A-D-I-N-E, first name Valentin, as Victor lurks around behind her. She says, he was recuperating at their clinic several weeks ago. She knows they wouldn’t normally release that kind of patient information, but this is an ongoing official investigation with the WSB… Yeah, she can send over her credentials immediately. Could they please have the director call her back at this number… She thanks them, saying, she appreciates it. Victor says, good morning, Agent Devane, and she asks if he’s stalking or lurking. He says, out for a morning constitutional is all, and she says, an agenda-free stroll. Why doesn’t she believe him? He says he would have announced himself, but he saw she was preoccupied investigating his son.

Brook says, Chase doesn’t want to be friends? but he says, of course (🍷) he does, and they are. She says, okay, then what? and he says he just thinks they don’t bring out the best in each other; that maybe their friendship, as much as it means to both of them, isn’t healthy. She says, he may have a point. The pattern they’ve fallen into with all the fighting and apologizing. Not to mention it made him punch someone. You could say it’s… He says, childish? Co-dependent? She tells him, she was going to say tricky. Forget about being a cop; he could work for Webster’s. He asks how she’d benefit from that, and she says, ouch. He says he’s sorry, but she says, don’t be; she deserves it.

Gregory says he realizes Alexis hasn’t had time to do more than skim the op ed, and she says she can’t wait to sit down and take it all in. He says, the gist of it is, The Invader coverage blurs the lines between objecting reporting and editorializing. He challenged her staff to commit to objectivity at all costs. She says, first of all, The Invader is a newspaper, not a wire service, and he asks if she’s saying only wire services can be objective. She says, secondly, the newspaper has to have a point of view, and he says, still, The Invader is miles ahead of where it was when Peter August was at the helm. She asks if he’s damning her with faint praise, but he says, not at all. The Invader can become a journal not unworthy of respect, and she says, as an editor, she needs to point out the double negative, but he says he used it for effect. She says, sure he did, and he says, still, as far as The Invader has come, there’s still room for improvement – for both of them. She says, he’s just chock full of suggestions – she points to her phone – thousands of words of them, most of them scathing. He says, listening to her now, he’s reminded of a criticism he omitted, and she says, there’s more? He says, her penchant for hyperbole, and she says, you know what she thinks? He says he’s eager to hear, and she says she thinks the good professor is so accustomed to dusty dry tomes, and just isn’t used to contemporary journalism. He says, and if he may? and she says, by all means. He says he concludes, the humble – that’s irony, by the way… She says she recognizes it, and he says, the humble editrix is unused to being challenged.

Doc says, Finn knows he can’t discuss specifics of Elizabeth’s treatment, and Finn says, he doesn’t need to explain doctor/patient confidentiality to him. He doesn’t want the details; he just wants Doc’s honest determination. Did Elizabeth discharge herself prematurely? Doc tells him, look, all he can say is, if a patient no longer wants intensive therapy, it’s their call. As for Elizabeth, he takes heart in knowing she has a good support system at home. Finn says, as long as she doesn’t push everyone away, and Doc says, then he’s afraid it’s going to take time and patience. Finn says, he’ll hang back. He’ll give her time. It seems like that’s all he’s doing these days, but how does he know if he’s giving her the space to heal or the room to relapse? Doc says, he doesn’t.

Terry says, Elizabeth didn’t tell her that she was coming in today, and Elizabeth says, it’s time; she’s ready. Britt says, it’s good to see her, and Elizabeth thanks her, saying, it’s good to be seen. So how about it? Put me in, coach. Britt says she’d be happy too, as soon as she hears from HR that Elizabeth is cleared, and Elizabeth suggests they skip the red tape. It sounds like they’re shorthanded. Britt says, while she loves the enthusiasm, the hospital has policies, protocol where… Elizabeth says she knows what protocol is. She’s worked here longer than Britt. Terry says, hang on, Biz, and Elizabeth says, Britt was probably hoping she got rid of her for good. Britt says, actually she was hoping Elizabeth had a speedy recovery and returned to work soon. She’s an excellent nurse, and yes, they are short-staffed. Elizabeth says, then what’s the problem? and Britt asks if she needs flash cards. If Elizabeth wants to come back, then she needs to be cleared by HR. So go to HR and get cleared. Elizabeth says, this is so like Britt. She’s sure Britt has convinced everyone else that she’s turned over a new leaf, but she can see pretty clearly, the Britch is back, and bitchier than ever.

Victor asks what possible reason Anna could have for looking into Valentin’s private medical records, and Anna asks if he’s ever heard the quote, we don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are. He asks her point? and she says, given his villainy, it makes sense he would ascribe nefarious intent to others. He says, cynicism is an ugly look on such an attractive woman, and she says, so is misogyny on such a dapper man. Yet here we are. He laughs, and says, she’s such a joy, and she says she tries. He says, always a quick rebut, and the appropriate literary reference. The question, however, remains, does Valentin know she’s a spy, in and out of the bedroom? She says, yes; why? He says he’s asking as a concerned parent. What exactly is the nature of her relationship with his son? She asks, what exactly is his?

Laura tells Valentin, she doesn’t say this often enough, but she’s actually grateful that Charlotte has him to watch out for her. He says, that’s nothing he’d expect to hear her say, and she says, they’ve had their difficulties in the past, but she can’t deny he’s an excellent parent. He thanks her, and says, coming from her, that means more to him than he can express. She says, if this little visit isn’t about Charlotte, to what does she owe the pleasure? and he says, just a drink between friends. He tells the waiter that he’ll have a bloody Mary, and Laura says she’ll have an iced tea. The waiter says, coming right up, and Valentin says, just an iced tea? She says, day drinking is not a good look for the mayor, especially after an attempted recall, and he says he’s glad that ridiculous attempt to oust her failed. She was a wonderful mayor, and Port Charles thrived under her leadership. She asks, why does he talk about her tenure in the past tense?

Brook says, when she offered to manage Chase’s singing career, she really did it to help him, and he asks, what percentage was to help him? She says, 90, and he looks at her. She says, 85, hand to heart, and he says he believes her. She says she hates that he’s out a paycheck, for defending her honor – again. He says, his actions were his own, and she says, but she put him in the middle of her mistakes… and two guys anyone would want to punch. He says, that is true, and she says, so even though it wasn’t her main goal when she was pitching the idea to him, the revenge part kind of slipped in. He says, so it wasn’t always there in the back of her mind? and she says, of course (🍷) it was. He says, then why not come out and say it; tell him the plan from the get-go. She says, because she didn’t want him to think she was using him, and he says, was she? She says she’s a Quartermaine. Self-interest is kind of in her DNA. She puts her hand on his knee, and says, on her word, nothing is more important than helping him.

Ned says, Olivia? and Olivia tells Cody, and here’s one of those men right now. Ned says he’s been looking for her. Can he speak to her about something? Cody says he’ll leave them alone, but Olivia says, they wouldn’t dream of interrupting his work, and tells Ned, she was just thanking Cody for being such a good friend to Leo. Ned says, Leo seems to think Cowboy Cody stepped straight out of a John Ford Western, and Cody says he’s lived a lot of places. Home is wherever you hang your hat. Ned says, about that. Since Cody will be interacting with his son, he took the liberty of going over Cody’s employment history. Seems like he doesn’t stay in one place for long. Should they already be looking for a replacement? Olivia says, Ned… and Cody says, no worries, Mama Q. He has been bouncing around for a while, that’s true, but their kind employment has gotten him doing exactly what he wants to do, exactly where he wants to do it. Don’t worry. He’s not going anywhere.

Britt tells Elizabeth, that’s enough, Nurse Baldwin. Clearly she’s still under duress. So leave now, while she still has a job. Elizabeth says, Britt can’t fire her; she’s union. Britt says she doubts Elizabeth’s union rep will come running to her defense, and as Chief of Staff… Elizabeth says, Co-Chief, and asks Terry if she’s going to let Britt threaten her like this. Terry says she’s sorry, but she has to agree with Britt. Elizabeth’s out of line.

Victor says, if Anna is curious about the deepening bond he has with his son, why ask him? Ask Valentin. Anna says she knows what Valentin’s intentions are when it comes to Victor; now she wants to know Victor’s. What does he want with Valentin? He says, what any parent wants. To see their child excel; to uplift and exalt the family. Most of all, to make him proud. Anna says, okay, and he says, she seems confused. She says, the relationship Victor is describing doesn’t sound reciprocal. It sounds like he’s using Valentin. And knowing what Victor is capable of, compels her to ask, to what end?

Valentin tells Laura that he’s sorry; he misspoke. He meant say, she is a great mayor, and Port Charles continues to thrive…  With all the machinations of ELQ, he’s not sleeping. She says, she’s not going anywhere, and he says he hears the all-stars gathered at Charlie’s to celebrate her. She’s much loved and very respected. Her phone rings, and she says she has to take this. She steps away, the waiter brings the drinks, and Valentin puts something powdered in her iced tea that’s probably not Splenda. After he’s done, with convenient timing, she comes back, telling him, it was Doc. A patient canceled, so he’s on his way over. Valentin says, he certainly won’t be a third wheel, so until Doc arrives, they should make the most of their time. They clink glasses, and as Laura is about to take a sip, her phone dings. She says, what a coincidence; it’s Charlotte. He asks if everything is all right, and she says, everything’s fine. Charlotte was just thanking her for the care package she sent. He says, he wasn’t aware Charlotte needed anything, and she says, it was hardly disaster relief. It was just the new book by her favorite author, and a couple little other fun things she thought Charlotte might enjoy. He says she’s sure she appreciates it, and Laura says, Charlotte’s mother is still not able to be present, so she tries to fill the void when she can. He says, Charlotte’s lucky to have her, and she says, and him. And Charlotte’s not the only lady in his life that feels that way. Anna seems to have grown very fond of him.

Victor says he’ll tell Anna what his plans are for Valentin, provided she tells him why the furtive call to check up on him. She says she’ll never explain herself to him. They can remain mysteries wrapped in riddles inside enigmas forever. He says, it’s obvious to him that she and Valentin don’t know each other nearly as well as they claim to. Nor do they trust each other, which is a pity. Because without trust, she’s nothing more to Valentin than a comely diversion.

Gregory says, for someone who takes issue with his subjective opinion, Alexis certainly prints a lot of them, and calls it hard news. She says, her paper takes stances on vital issues alongside fact-based articles, like the fact-based articles they did on city hall. He says, so will The Invader next be printing an interview with the exculpated mayor? and she says, she doesn’t see why not; they printed the petition against her. He says, she’s still relatively new to journalism. It’s a subject he teaches at university level. She says she’s sure it’s easy for him to sit on his high horse behind ivy walls, but while he’s talking about journalism theory, some of them are out in the field doing actual reporting.

Brook says she’d hoped Chase would see that his intentions were sincere, and when he didn’t… He says, she thought he was overreacting, and she says she did, until she talked with her dad. He helped her see that she probably should have run the whole plan by him, including the revenge plot. He says he also talked to his father. His father and brother urged him to give her the benefit of the doubt. She says, they did? and he says, they saw she was just trying to help him, and… She says, and what? and he says, they don’t seem to think her proposition is as crazy as he does. She gets up, and says, great. Then it’s settled. They move forward with her plan. He says, whoa. Pump the brakes, Quartermaine.

Elizabeth says she can’t believe Terry is taking Britt’s side, and Terry says, Elizabeth knows if she’s on anyone’s side, it’s hers. Elizabeth says, then let her come back to work, but Terry says, no; she’s not ready. Elizabeth says she’s fine. She just can’t stand the way Britt acts like she’s queen of this place. She’s Co-Chief of Staff, not God. Terry says, she is, and Britt asked Elizabeth to go to HR, the same as she would have. Elizabeth says, she was at that clinic voluntary. Why does she need to go to HR? Terry says, for liability purposes, she still needs medical clearance. Did her doctor at Shadybrook sign off? Elizabeth says, she signed herself out, which is her right, and Terry says, it is her right, but was it right for her? Elizabeth says she appreciates Terry’s concern caring for her doesn’t give Terry the right to question her decisions. She shouldn’t have to justify herself to anyone. She turns around and sees Finn.

Chase says he hasn’t agreed to Brook’s pop star scheme, and she says, but he will. It’s inevitable, so why waste time? He says, it’s doubtful it’s going to do either of the things she wants; get him paid or give Linc what he deserves. She says, maybe not, but they don’t know until they’ve tried, and he says, he’s not the pop star she’s envisioning. She says she’s not suggesting they put him in a Spandex onesie and throw glitter all over him, and he says, he doesn’t think the PCPD will value a singing detective as much as she does. She says, if after his suspension, he wants to go back to being a detective, she’ll totally support that. But while he’s in limbo, why not take the road not traveled? Maybe this setback will lead to a new passion. He says, a new passion can be a risky proposition, and she says, but the rewards could be greater than they ever dreamed.

Gregory says he didn’t write the op ed to insult Alexis. In fact, he admires what she’s done in such a short time. She thanks him for that, and says, she’s sure he understands that in the era where news is a click away, she has to distinguish the paper. He says, when she reads what he wrote, she’ll see he doesn’t fault her for that. He merely offers constructive ideas to help maintain integrity in reporting. She says she’ll read the whole op ed piece, put her wrath aside, and let him know if there’s a place for it. She starts to leave, and he says, if she stands by her vision for The Invader, she won’t have a problem printing every word.

Olivia says she’s glad Cody is sticking around. She’d hate for Leo to lose him. Cody says he’d hate to leave behind a brand new friend. Leo is stuck with him. Ned says, that’s good to hear. They’ll let him get back to work. Cody goes in the back, and Olivia asks if Ned is planning on alienating every single person in this house this week. He says he guesses he could have been a little more tactful, and she says, he couldn’t have been less. He says he was just looking out for Leo, and she says she knows that. He says, it looks like he’s been inconsiderate and self-centered all around, and she says, if that’s the road he wants to go down, she’s not going to stop him. He says, and because she deserves to hear this as often as possible, he should have looped her in on his decision making process about his ELQ vote. She says, yes he should have. It’s not like she’s asking for veto power over all his business decisions, but she does expect communication in the marriage. And she’s just going to pray for peace in this family. He says he let her down and he know that; he’s sorry. Now he needs to know they’re okay. She puts her arms around his neck, and says, they’re a team. If they stick with that, they’ll be fine. She kisses him, and he asks if there’s something else bothering her. She says, he picked up on that, and he asks if it’s anything he should know about. She says, things may be fine at home, but at work… it’s all falling apart.

Britt thanks Terry for the back-up, and says she knows Elizabeth is Terry’s friend. Terry says, Elizabeth is her best friend, and Britt says, great. Maybe Terry can tell her what the hell is going on with her BFF.  

Elizabeth walks with Finn, and he says, she looks good. She thanks him, and says she feels good. The pills are out of her system, so no more sleepwalking. He says, that’s a great start, and she says, start? She was at that clinic for weeks. She did the work, and she’s better. Believe her, if she felt like she was a danger to herself, her boys or her patients, she’d still be at Shadybrook. He says, he knows how committed she is to the people in her life. He thinks they’d just like to return the favor. She says she knows, and he asks, then why didn’t she tell anyone when she discharged herself? Or was he the only one who didn’t know?

Anna says, Victor doesn’t know the first thing about her and Valentin. They go back decades, and unlike Victor, his concerned father, she’s been there for him. He says, this isn’t a competition, and she says, if it were, he’d lose. He says, the difference is, unlike her, he trusts Valentin. He relies on Valentin to do what’s expected of him. She says she trusts Valentin too. She just doesn’t trust the people around him. He says, that makes two of us.

Valentin says, Anna spoke to Laura about him? and Laura says, she did. He says, anything she can repeat? and she says, it seems Anna has found a kindred spirit in him. He asks if that’s what she said, and Laura says, it’s not so much what she said, but how she said it, or how she didn’t say it, as the case may be. She does seem to have found the good in him. He says he told Laura it was there, and she says, he did. He seems to get Anna in a way most people don’t; kindred spirits. She just hopes Anna’s faith in him isn’t misplaced. She’s about to take a sip of her tea, and Valentin reaches for the pepper mill, practically shoving it in her face, so she spills her drink. She gets up, brushing herself off, as Doc comes in.

Alexis says, as she told Gregory, The Invader welcomes all viewpoints, even his. She’s sure after it’s proof read, it will be submitted into the next issue. He says, good to hear. Print and digital? She asks, exactly how many platforms does he need? and he says, it’s easier to read the commentary online; he likes the readers chiming in. She says, so he’s pretty sure the feedback will all be in his favor? and he says he suspects many will agree, with tweaks, The Invader is on its way to being a great source of information. She says she suspects the readers will already attest to what they’re doing right, and he says he looks forward to reading their reactions… providing the feedback is uncensored. She asks, what the hell is that supposed to mean?  

Anna’s phone rings, and she says she has to take this. She steps away, and Director Gibson says they received her credentials, and he can confirm Valentin Cassadine was a patient there. Anna thanks him, and says, that’s what she needed to know, but he says, however, his convalescence didn’t occur on the dates she provided. According to their records, he discharged himself after a week. The end date she provided… She says, exceeds that by a lot, and he says, exactly. He’s sure she can’t divulge the nature of the investigation, and that’s fine, but his priority is that the clinic not be held liable for any health implications caused by his early departure. She says, that won’t be a n issue, and he says, great, and asks if there’s anything else he can help her with. She says, no. He’s helped her more than he knows. Victor approaches her, and says, problem? but she just walks away.

Valentin says he’s so sorry, and tells Laura to send him her dry cleaning bill. She says she will, and Doc asks, what happened here? Valentin says he’s afraid Doc arrived to witness a rather inelegant lunch with the pepper. He tells the passing waiter, another iced tea, and says, as he was telling Doc’s wife, he hasn’t been sleeping well, and it’s made him clumsy. Doc says he’s never known Valentin to be clumsy before, but Valentin says, it happens. He apologizes. He looks at Laura, and says he’s so very sorry, and she says, just when things were going so well. Valentin jets, and Doc asks, what’s all this about? She says she wishes she knew. She’s just as confused as he is. Valentin asked to join her, and they had a surprisingly civil conversation. Doc says, he’s about as social as he is clumsy, and she says, today he was both. Doc asks why he doesn’t believe any of it, and she says, because he’s keenly perceptive and smart. He thanks her and kisses her hello, and she asks how things are with him. He says, today could have gone better, and she says, it’s not even lunchtime yet. (I know the feeling.) Is it Elizabeth? He says, she left Shadybrook, and Laura asks if she was his patient cancelation. He says, yeah, and she asks if she should be worried. He says he wishes he could say no.

Terry tells Britt that she’s sorry; Elizabeth’s not like that. Britt says, Elizabeth has been downright hostile to her since they met, and Terry says she knows they never liked each other. Britt says she was terrible to Elizabeth; to everybody. She earned all of her lovely nicknames, but now…? Today, this? Terry says, she’s been going through a lot, and Britt says, she understands, but her time away didn’t seem to have helped at all. Elizabeth seems to be the same… Terry says, again, best friend, and Britt says, challenging personality she always was. Whatever Elizabeth has going on, she can’t bring it to work like that. Terry says, agreed. She just hopes Elizabeth is okay. Britt says, oh, she’s in fine form.

Elizabeth says she’s sorry she didn’t tell Finn, but he says, it’s okay. He was just trying to figure out why she left him out of the loop. He knows he had a little trouble giving her the space she needed to heal, and for that he’s sorry, but he thinks he’s gotten better with that. She says, he has, and he asks if this is the way she wants things going forward; she doesn’t need him around? She says, no. She asked for distance when she was at Shadybrook because she had a lot to work through. She knows he wanted to be there for her and help her, and he did, by allowing her to have the space she needed to take this journey and figure things out on her own. He asks, how’d that go? and she says she learned a lot. The most important thing she realized is, her life is just better with him in it.

Brook and Chase almost kiss, and Brook says, so for what it’s worth (🍷), she thinks he’s the It Factor, and she knows Linc agrees. He says, two people; that’s quite the niche fan base. She asks him to give her his phone, and he does. She says, check this out, and she shows him the video of him singing. She says, whether or not he wants to be a recognized performer, he’s well on his way.

Ned says, if he’d known Carly had invested so heavily in Aurora… and Olivia says she didn’t even know until the morning of the vote. He says, anyway, it’s not going to be a problem, but she says she might end up owning he hotel with some oligarch who’s laundering his money; it’s a problem. He says, not if they buy Carly’s half of the hotel and give it to her, but she says she already floated that idea; it’s not going to happen. Carly said, no dice. He says, not even if they sell it to her at the same price she purchased it? and Olivia says, the history between Carly and the Quartermaines is too much; forget about it. He says, it’s going to be okay. The best partnerships cannot be torn apart. They’re proof of that. He kisses her, and they leave.

Elizabeth says she knows she kept Finn at arm’s length, but it was never meant to hurt him. He says he knows. He can be thick sometimes, and wanted to help. It took time for him to realize she needed some distance, and that’s on him. She asks, what if she told him what she really needs is him? and he says he’d probably tell her that he’s the luckiest guy on the face of the earth. Is she sure? Because everything that was wrong with him before is still there. He’s working on himself, but he has a long way to go. Is she sure she wants all that? She says, all of it, and they kiss. She says she’s sorry about everything she put him through. She promises it’s all behind them, and he holds her.

Cody puts away a saddle, and his phone chirps. A message from Society Set-Ups says they’ve found a match for him.

Britt looks at Elizabeth and Finn, and tells Terry, apparently, there is a lid for every pot, even the cracked ones. Terry says, if that’s true, maybe there’s hope for Britt yet (BA-DUM-CHH!) and walks away. Britt’s phone dings, she looks at it, and says, okay Society Set-Ups. Let’s see what unpromising loser you insist is my perfect match. She sees Cody’s name and photo, and sighs.

Alexis says, first Gregory maligns her leadership of the paper, and now he’s questioning her integrity? He says, he’s merely pointing out how tempting it is to confirm our own biases, and she says, she’s convinced the readers will reject his narrow suppositions. He says, care to make it interesting? and she says, like a bet? He says, unless she’s not as confident as she’s pretending to be, and she says, now his strategy is to call her chicken? She didn’t know they had playgrounds at universities, because that’s clearly where he picked up his tactics. He asks if his tactics are working, and she says, no, but she’ll take his idiotic wager. She’s in. He says, great. What are the stakes? She says, besides the massive hit to his ego? If the readers support him, then she’ll entertain his archaic notions. He says, is that all? and she says, he’s got her time and attention; take it or leave it. He says, done. And on the off-chance the readers side with her? She says, he’ll promise to pipe down, and stick to enlightening young minds. He says, it’s a bet, holding out his hand, and they shake.

Chase looks at the video and says, he can’t believe this. She says, they have to credit Leo. He’s the first one who liked the performance, and it sort of blew up from there. Chase asks how it has so many views, and she says she has an intern at Deception watching it on repeat, and he says, she does? She says, no. The numbers are all him. Face it. There’s an audience who wants him. All they have to do is cultivate it, and monetize it of course (🍷). He asks where they start, and she says, is that a yes? He says, it’s not a no, it’s a how. She says, don’t stress the details. By the time she’s finished these numbers will look quant in comparison. Leave it to her. She’s going to make him a household name.

Anna walks into the MetroCourt Garden, and Laura asks if she forgot something. Anna says she was looking for Valentin. He’s not in his room, so she thought she’d try here. Doc says, her instincts are good, but she just missed him. Laura says she doesn’t know where he went, and Anna says she was going to ask him something, but now that she’s here, she’s changed her mind. Laura asks if everything is okay, and Anna says she’s not sure, but she intends to find out.

Back in the park, Victor asks Valentin, is it done? but Valentin says, no. Laura remains in perfect health. Victor asks, why, pray tell, is that? and Valentin says, because he failed. Victor says, that’s a pity. He’s sure by now Valentin is aware, failure is not an option.

On Monday, Cody asks Britt why he’d leave, now that he’s met his match; Maxie asks why Spinelli would say something like that; and Carly says, it’s her only option.

🗽 Moving It Nice…

I’m not sure what her selling the apartment has to do with RHUGT. Doing it for an extra tag?

💎 Those Horrible, Horrible Women…

This episode turned my stomach. I’m not sure which incident pissed me off more. Kyle accusing Sutton of lying about her miscarriages…

https://screenrant.com/rhobh-kyle-richards-apologizes-sutton-stracke-miscarriage-accusation/

Or Erika cursing out Garcelle’s son – after she hit on Garcelle’s other son. At least Oliver was of age, but still.

🍹 Bring On the Charm…

This doesn’t sound much different from what we saw.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1337327/why-southern-charms-kathryn-dennis-and-chleb-ravenell-really-split

I was stressed too. I even said, no one makes/receives calls while they’re not driving?

🍸 As the Stomach Turns…

Whenever I see his name, all I can think is, that little troll. How dare he have done this to her and that cute little baby?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-10996103/Scheana-Shay-blasts-Lala-Kents-ex-Randall-Emmett-reacts-allegations-against-him.html

While Surfing…

Actually, I was watching reruns of the first seasons, and thinking about what an a-hole Adrienne was. Then I stumbled on this.

🏞 Meanwhile, In the Middle Of Nowhere…

All about Plathville, and a little speculation.

https://www.thelist.com/176645/the-untold-truth-of-tlcs-welcome-to-plathville/

https://screenrant.com/why-welcome-plathville-fans-suspect-kim-plath-unfaithful/

👠 Still Posh…

I love her. Can you imagine a woman being intimidated into getting on a scale in public today? Me neither. But she did end up winning at life.

https://people.com/health/victoria-beckham-recalls-being-forced-to-weigh-herself-on-live-tv-after-giving-birth/

https://people.com/health/victoria-beckham-says-being-thin-is-old-fashioned-talks-new-health-and-fitness-journey/

https://people.com/sports/david-and-victoria-beckham-mark-their-23rd-wedding-anniversary/

🩰 Outside the Dreamhouse…

All about the Barbie movie. I can’t wait.

https://people.com/movies/margot-robbie-celebrates-32nd-birthday-pink-barbie-cake-on-set-greta-gerwig-movie/

https://people.com/movies/barbie-movie-set-pictures/

https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/culture/a23638293/margot-robbie-barbie-doll-film/

👍 Ending On a Good Note…

I’m not a Hallmark kind of person, but I still appreciate kindness.

👄 Quotes of the Week

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. – Martin Luther King Jr.

Never stop just because you feel defeated. The journey to the other side is attainable only after great suffering. – Santosh Kalwar

Time changes everything except something within us which is always surprised by change. – Thomas Hardy

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.’Unknown

Faith is daring to put your dream to the test. It is better to try to do something and fail than to try to do nothing and succeed. – Robert H. Schuller

Judge a man by the reputation of his enemies, and the character of his friends.K@$H

Above all else, go with a sense of humor. It is needed armor. Joy in one’s heart and some laughter on one’s lip is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life.Hugh Sidey

You can roll manure in powder sugar, but that still doesn’t make it a jelly donut. – Berta (Conchata Ferrell), Two and a Half Men

👡 Shuffling Off This Internet Coil…

Enjoy formerly known as the weekend, but come back for soap and some Deck when it’s over. Until then, stay safe, stay giving without expecting a return, and stay keeping in mind, we don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are.

July 1, 2022 – Spencer Tests His Story, If They’re On, Returning, New Gig, Salem 2, Woe Is NeNe, an Ending, a Sequel, a Holiday, a Dozen 4th Appropriate Quotes & Egg

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

At the MetroCourt Garden, Ava asks if Scotty has everything, and he says, two quickie divorces, hot off the presses. She thanks him for being so expedient, and asks if he has the division of assets from Nikolas’s lawyer. He says he does; 50/50, right down the middle. He has to say, she turned a nice profit here, but Ava says, she told him before, this divorce is just a gesture. Nikolas wants to prove how much he trusts her by giving her half of everything. Scotty says, ain’t love grand? but she says, that’s not funny. He says he’s not trying to be funny. Once she signs these papers, she’s going to get half of what Nikolas has, and there isn’t a damn thing he can do about it. Nikolas joins them, and says, which is exactly why they’re doing this. Their marriage, which started with blackmail and mutual distrust, is a thing of the past, and the only thing that will remain is their love. He kisses Ava’s hand, and Esme watches from a distance. She flashes back to… I don’t want to talk about it, okay?

Spencer comes into Kelly’s and tells Cameron, take a break. Cameron says, no can do. They’re short-staffed since Spencer quit on zero notice. Spencer says he’s sure Cameron can spare five minute; this is important. Cameron says he could argue that work is important, not that it means anything to Spencer. Spencer says, wow. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but he’s sure Cameron’s mood is going to improve when he tells Cameron about how he’s going to help Trina. Cameron asks if he has proof Esme filmed him and Joss, and Spencer says, no, but he has the next best thing. He found out who Esme’s biological mother is.

At the pool, Gregory tells Finn that Chase will be there in a little bit, but in the meantime, does Finn have any updates on Elizabeth? Finn says, she called and they talked briefly, and Gregory asks if she said anything about Finn visiting her, but Finn says, no. Gregory says he’s sorry. He knows how difficult it is for Finn to bide his time while Elizabeth is struggling. Finn says he’d do anything for her. He has to respect her wishes and stay away. Chase arrives, and Finn says, it’s about time. Chase says, sorry; he overslept. Gregory says, Chase better get that out of his system before he goes back to work at the PCPD, but Chase says, that’s not happening as soon as Gregory thinks. Gregory asks, why not? and Chase says, his suspension has been extended.

Trina meets Josslyn by the pool, and asks if she’s been waiting long. Josslyn says, no complaints. She’s actually been enjoying the downtime. Carly comes in, and Josslyn asks, what’s wrong? She seems distracted. Carly says she’s just dealing with some stuff right now, when Olivia joins her, and says she’s so sorry. She had no idea this was going to happen.

On the phone, Lucy asks how much time they get… Really? It’s not a lot, but they’re going to make it work. They’re so excited about this opportunity, truly… Of course (🍷). She hangs up, and tells Maxie, that was their segment producer, and she got to talk to the on-camera talent. Maxie says, Lucy spoke to Haven herself? What did she say? Did she love the Deception products they sent over? Lucy says, she loves, loves, loves it; she’s a big fan. She’s going to wear our Femme Fatale lipstick on air today. Maxie says, that’s amazing, and Lucy says, but she had a few teeny tiny changes she wanted to make in the order of the products. Lucy promised her it would happen, but it’s going to be really tight. Deception is going live in two hours on TV, and Sasha’s not even here yet. Maxie says, it’s fine; she’ll call Sasha.

At the Bistro, Sasha’s phone rings, and Maxie asks where she is. Sasha says she just stopped to get some coffee, and Maxie says, now is not the time for coffee. It’s almost show time. They have some product to move – STAT. Sasha says she’s on her way, and Felty says, she’s not leaving early, is she? Sasha says, yes, she’s leaving. What they agreed on was a mistake. He says, really? Because he thinks he has exactly what she needs. He takes a little bag of pills out of his pocket.

Sonny finds Brook at the park, and they hug. She says she can’t remember the last time they talked, and he says, when she asked to meet him, he knew she wanted something. She says, how dare he? She wanted to know how he’s doing. He says, as she can see, he’s doing good. Now tell him what she wants. She says, fine; she’ll get to the point. She wants him to take care of a sleazeball named Linc Brown.

Cameron asks how Esme’s biological mother can help them with Trina, and Spencer says, Esme has always wanted to know where she came from, and why her parents gave her up for adoption. Cameron says, which has nothing to do with Trina or revenge porn, but Spencer says, it will. Once he tells Esme that he found her biological mother, he’s not going to give her any information until she admits she made the sex tape. Cameron says, but she’s not going to do that; it will land her in jail. Spencer says, his plan is for Esme to record her confession. He’s going to give her a chance to skip town before he turns the recording over to the police. It’s known she was at the cabin before the sex tape was made, and she was on campus when it was uploaded. Her confession is going to cause reasonable doubt in Trina’s case. Cameron says, that might work, and Spencer says, it will work, but Cameron says, wait. Esme’s been looking for her biological mother for years, and boom, just like that, Spencer finds her? That’s pretty convenient. Spencer says, he didn’t find her; his Uncle Victor did.

Esme ducks away, and Scotty says, Ava and Nikolas have the weirdest marriage and divorce he’s ever heard of. Ava doubts that, and Scotty says, well, okay. Maybe it’s not the weirdest, but it’s up there in the top ten. Ava asks, where’s Martin? and Nikolas says, he’s running late, but they don’t have to wait. Scotty can walk them through the key points. Ava says, Nikolas knows his lawyer has to be here to look over the divorce before he signs it, but Nikolas says, don’t worry. Shall we begin? Scotty hands them the papers, and says, this is just your standard no-fault divorce, when Esme appears, and says, divorce? But she thought Nikolas wasn’t going to tell Ava.

Carly suggests she and Olivia talk about this somewhere else, like the gardens, and Josslyn asks if everything is okay. Carly says, it’s great; they’ll talk about it later. She and Olivia leave, and Trina says she doesn’t know; that sounded more like bad news. Josslyn says, it’s just business. As long as everybody in the family is okay, they can handle whatever the new issue is. Trina says she knows what Josslyn means. Her family has really stepped up with her. Believe it or not, her mom wasn’t even upset when Trina told her about them going to the biker bar. She said she supported Trina for taking steps to help herself. Josslyn says, that’s awesome. She just wishes that stupid bar fight hadn’t broken out, so they could talk to that bartender some more. Trina says, Curtis is looking into it. He said the bartender hasn’t been there since that night. Josslyn says, Curtis? and Trina says, he took over the investigation. Josslyn says she’s glad to hear it. She hates to say it, but they’ve run into another dead end. Trina says, maybe, but like she told Josslyn, Curtis is on it. Even if the bartender doesn’t pan out, something will. She swears she’s not going to let Esme get away with this.

Sonny tells Brook, he’s surprised Linc slithered his way back into town. What’s he done now? She says she thought she put Linc in her rearview mirror when Valentin bought out her contract, but unfortunately, Linc still owns the rights to her songs from when he was her producer. Okay, I guess that answers that question, sort of. She says, he’s selling her songs to push dog food and paper towels, using her beautiful love songs as jingles… But that’s not the reason she asked to talk to him. She’s here because of Chase.

Finn says, Chase’s suspension was extended; he has questions. Gregory asks if this is why Chase was upset the other day when Brook called him, and Chase says, yeah. He’s suspended until the Civilian Review Board investigation is completed. Gregory says, there’s a civilian complaint against Chase? and Chase says, Linc Brown filed one yesterday. Gregory asks, who’s that? and Chase says, Brook’s sleazy former producer. He used to harass her all the time when she was under contract, and his behavior hasn’t gotten much better. They got into it at The Savoy the other night. Finn asks what Chase did, and Chase says, he punched Linc in the face. Gregory says, he punched someone else, even though he got suspended for it the first time? and Finn says he’s sure the guy provoked Chase. Chase says, he did, but Gregory says, still, was it worth potentially getting kicked off the force?

Felty asks if Sasha brought the credentials that make him the official Deception photographer for today’s appearance on the Home & Heart Channel. She says she did, but she changed her mind, and he asks, why? All he’s looking for is access, and the publicity will be great for Deception too; it’s a win-win in his book. It’s not like they’re breaking any laws. (Um…) He holds out the bag, and says, everyone needs a pick-me-up now and again. Why is she so uptight about it? She says she doesn’t recognize those pills; what are they? He says, they’re prescription. They’re perfectly safe. They got him through Fashion Week last year. It’s great stuff. Trust him. If he can be frank, she looks a little run down, like she could use a boost. She says, all he wants are backstage photos, right? and he says, that’s it, and she wants these. So – he slides them over to her on the table – do they have a deal?

Esme says, Nikolas and Ava are getting a divorce? This is awful. Ava asks what Nikolas didn’t tell her, and Esme says, it’s just that she just thought… and Nikolas says, Esme. He and Ava are getting a divorce, but they’re still a couple. Esme’s head explodes. Not really, but that would be funny. He says, they’re still together. Their love for each other hasn’t changed. Ava asks what Esme thinks Nikolas wasn’t going to tell her, and Esme says she knew he was contemplating getting a divorce, but she also knew he wanted to fight for their marriage, and agreed to a separation. That’s all. Ava asks Nikolas, is that correct? and Nikolas says, both Esme and Spencer noticed the toll their rift has taken on him. Esme says, he’s been so upset, and Ava says she knows Spencer would be delighted if they split up for real. Is Esme saying she doesn’t feel the same? Esme says, deep down, Spence wants his dad to be happy, and you make him happy. Nikolas thanks her for her concern, and says, but she did interrupt something. Esme says she’s sorry, she’ll go, but first, can she have a moment with Mr. Cassadine?

Olivia tells Carly, she had no idea Ned was thinking of siding with Valentin. If she had, she’d have told Carly immediately. Carly says, there’s nothing Olivia could have done, but Olivia says she still feels terrible. She knows the news of the Aurora/ELQ merger being dead tanked Aurora’s stocks. How is that going to impact Carly with the hedge fund? Carly says, it already has. Not in a good way, but she’ll figure something out. Olivia says, my God. Could Carly lose her half of the MetroCourt?

Chase tells Gregory, Linc mouthed off to Brook in a really crude and cruel way, and he didn’t take the time to think about the consequences. Yeah, he decked Linc, but a cop shouldn’t go off the handle like that. Finn says, Chase is a good cop, and that should count for something, and Gregory says, they know how much Chase loves his work. Chase says, he’s right, but as Jordan said to him, it’s part of law enforcement’s job to keep his cool in tense situations, and twice now, first with Valentin, then with Linc, he hasn’t been able to do that. He can’t believe he’s back here again. Gregory says, back here? and Chase says he almost lost his career because of Janelle. It took him years to rebuild it. Finn says, that was a completely different situation, and Gregory says, when Chase was young, he didn’t know any better. Chase says, different circumstances, yes, but his reaction proves he follows his heart, and Gregory asks if that’s what Chase was doing when he defended Brook, following his heart?

Cameron says, Spencer got his Uncle Victor involved? That guy’s bad news. Spencer asks if he’s serious. Cameron is the one who’s constantly complaining his plan is taking too long, and says he doesn’t like lying to Joss. Cameron says he doesn’t like lying to Joss, and Spencer says, neither does he, so he went to someone who could get them results. His Uncle Victor is the former director of the WSB. He has the right connections to access privileged information. Cameron says, that makes sense. So what did he find out? Spencer says, Esme told him that she was left in a church when she was a baby. She later contacted that church, but the priest insisted he had no knowledge of the woman who left the baby. Cameron says, great, so dead end, and Spencer says, that’s what Esme thought. But then, Uncle Victor’s people tracked down the nun who said she remembered Esme being abandoned. They convinced her to share the name of the mom who abandoned her child. Cameron asks how they convinced her, but Spencer says he doesn’t know. Uncle Victor didn’t give him any of the details, but his people tracked down Esme’s biological mom. She lives in Portugal now. Cameron says, so that’s it? Esme’s not going to risk prison for a name and an address based on information she doesn’t even know is legit. Spencer says, of course (🍷) not. That’s why Uncle Victor got DNA.

Maxie tells Lucy, Sasha was only stopping for a coffee; she should be here by now. Sasha dashes in, and says, sorry; she lost track of time. Lucy says, that’s okay. Here you are; that’s all that matters. They really need to get started, because there’s a lot to go over before they head over to the TV studio. Sasha says she thought they settled everything last night. She’s been going over her notes; she knows them backwards and forwards. She sees them exchange a look, and says, what? Maxie says, the Home & Heart people called, and the host had some ideas about their line-up. It’s good news really. She’s very excited about their products. She just wants to start with the lipstick instead of the eyeshadow, so she and Lucy reworked the presentation. Lucy says she’ll get the script, and it will give Sasha time to memorize all of it. Lucy runs out, Maxie following and saying, make sure it’s version 3 not version 2. Sasha takes the pills out of her bag, but hears Lucy saying, got it right here, and puts them back. Lucy and Maxie return, Lucy holding a stack of cards. She hands them to Sasha, and Maxie tells her, the changes start on card one.

Carly understands Olivia’s concern about getting a partner she disagrees with, but Olivia says, she doesn’t care about that… Of course (🍷) she cares a little bit, but that’s not the main thing. This hotel is their scene together. Carly has put so much of herself into this place. The renovations, the pool, the garden, that’s Carly, that’s all her energy, and them together. Olivia doesn’t want to lose the spirit. Carly says she doesn’t want to lose the investment. When she invested in Aurora, it never occurred to her that the merger with ELQ wasn’t going to happen. She loves running this place with Olivia. She can’t imagine not coming here every day. Olivia says, that settles it. She’s buying Carly’s half of the hotel.

Ava asks what Esme has to say to her husband that Esme can’t say in front of her? and Esme says she was just planning a surprise for Spence this afternoon. She didn’t think Ava would be interested. Nikolas says he’ll be right back, and leaves with Esme. Ava asks if any of Scotty’s police contacts have given him anything that could help Trina’s case; some piece of evidence that they haven’t mentioned yet? He says, no. That Esme, she’s covered her tracks very well.

Outside, Nikolas says, okay, Esme has his attention. What is this surprise she’s planning for Spencer? Esme says she was planning on taking him on a day trip to the mountains. Would it be okay if they borrowed Nikolas’s convertible to take in the scenery? He says, of course (🍷), but she could have asked him that in front of Ava. She says, the truth is, she pulled him away because she needs his help.

Trina says she totally forgot to tell Josslyn who she saw here last night, and Josslyn says, who? Someone from PCU? Trina says, Rory, and Josslyn says, Officer Invisible was here at the pool? Trina says, with Esme, and Josslyn says, what? Has she found a new victim to prey on? Trina says, no. Rory let her know that Esme sat beside him. Trina didn’t like it at first, but Rory totally put Esme on notice. Esme knows that he’s on to her.

Spencer says, his Uncle Victor’s people got a DNA sample from the woman they believe is Esme’s biological mother, and he got a sample of Esme’s DNA, and he had GH run a paternity test. Cameron asks if Spencer just ordered a DNA test like he orders a hamburger, and Spencer tells him, what can he say? Money talks. Anyway, this woman in Portugal is Esme’s real mom. Cameron says, that’s huge, and Spencer says, this information is going to be way more valuable to Esme than just sticking it to Trina. Cameron says, Spencer found a way to save Trina, and Spencer asks if he really thinks so. Cameron says he was skeptical at first, but Spencer convinced him, and Spencer says, good. He hopes Esme falls for it as easily as Cameron did. Cameron asks what he means, and Spencer says, it’s all a lie. He made the whole story up.

Chase tells Gregory that he’s not following his heart to Brook; she’s his friend. Gregory says, he just means Chase went above and beyond for Brook. He pretended Bailey was his daughter, he punched Valentin and now this Linc to defend her. Chase says, this is nothing like Janelle. He spontaneously stepped up to say he was Bailey’s father. Brook never even asked, and as for punching those two losers… He knows he shouldn’t have done it, but in the moment, he couldn’t stand them insulting Brook. But those were his reactions. Brook in no way asked or wanted him to be involved. Gregory says, just to be clear, he’s not criticizing Brook. He knows Chase cares about her, and Brook cares about him. He was impressed when she reached out to him the other day to let him know Chase needed cheering up. Chase says, it’s funny. Brook tries to downplay her good qualities. She likes to hide behind her rich girl persona, and tough New York City attitude. He actually almost hit Linc a few weeks ago, and she beat him to it. Just another sign that he can’t control his temper. Finn says he’s used a lot of words over the years to describe Chase, but bad temper never came up. Gregory agrees. He’s always described Chase as passionate. He always has been. Even as a kid, Chase stood up for the little guy. It’s in his nature. Chase says, that was always his goal, but he has to figure out another way to do it.

Brook tells Sonny, Linc was totally disrespecting her. He was treating her like garbage, then he grabbed her arm. That’s when Chase stepped in and punched him, which in her opinion Linc completely deserved. Only thing is, Chase is already on suspension with the PCPD for punching Valentin a few months ago, who was also saying horrible things about her. So now, Chase is on suspension again, or still, or whatever. The bottom line is, Chase might lose his job. Sonny says, because of Linc, but she says, no, because of her. She can’t let that happen. Chase is a great detective, and really loves what he does. Any chance Sonny could have a, quote unquote, talk with Linc; get him to recant his complaint against Chase? Sonny says, as much as he’d love to, he’s sorry; he can’t do that. She asks, why not? Because Chase is a cop? That’s no reason not to help. Sonny’s son Dante is a cop. He says, she misunderstands him. If he gets involved, word’s going to get out; what did Chase do to deserve a favor from him? They’re going to see him as a dirty cop. She says she didn’t think about that, and he says, the best thing Chase can do is just go through the process, and hope it comes out in his favor.

Maxie tells Sasha to remember, they want their customer to feel empowered, and Lucy adds, strong, independent, and like she can do anything. Maxie says, or be anyone, but Lucy says, no, not just anyone. She wants to be Sasha. Sasha asks what that means, and Lucy says, it means Sasha is the ideal. She’s the Face of Deception. Maxie says, she’s strong, and Lucy says, but relatable. Maxie says, fearless, and Lucy says, but never ever harsh. Maxie says, Sasha just needs to relax and be her own natural and charming self. Let them see who Sasha really is. Lucy says, not totally though. She has to maintain an air of mystery. Sasha jumps up and says, stop it! They stare at her in disbelief, and Sasha says she’s sorry for snapping like that. It’s just that she put so much time into memorizing the original order, she just needs a minute to get the last minute changes. Lucy says, it’s really okay. They understand this is a lot. Maxie says, if they let their enthusiasm get away from them, they’re really sorry. Is Sasha sure she’s okay? Sasha says, she’s just a little nervous, that’s all, and Maxie says, who wouldn’t be? Lucy says, her butterflies have their own teeny tiny little butterflies, but it’s going to be okay. Sasha is going to be absolutely magnificent. Sasha thanks them for all their faith in her, and Maxie says, she’s got this. Lucy says, absolutely, and never forget, they are always by her side. Sasha says she knows they’ll be with her in spirit, but physically they’ll be standing behind the cameras. She’ll be the one in front of them.

Cameron says, so everything Spencer told him about Esme’s biological mom is a lie? and Spencer says he has no idea who Esme’s real mom is. Cameron asks, what the hell is Spencer doing? and Spencer says he had to test his story before he used it on Esme. He needed to know if it sounds believable. Cameron says, he’s an ass, and Spencer says he’s sorry, but he only gets one shot at this. As soon as he demands Esme confess to this, she’s going to know he believes Trina and not her, and it’s game over for him. Cameron says he sees Spencer’s point. For what it’s worth (🍷), Spencer’s story is good. Spencer asks, what part convinced him? and Cameron says, the DNA test. Can Spencer’s uncle fake one for him? Spencer says, no, not exactly. That’s where Cameron comes in.

Nikolas asks what kind of help Esme needs from him, and she says, it’s her internship at Spring Ridge. Her work there has convinced her that she definitely wants to major in psychology, and figuring out why people do what they do. It’s fascinating stuff. He says, she still hasn’t explained why she needs his help, and she says, Doc was being completely overprotective, and managed to convince the administration that they should terminate her internship. She knows he thinks he’s acting in her best interest, but he’s not. She’s hoping Nikolas can get her internship reinstated. Nikolas says he’s not sure how he would go about that, and she says she knows he has connections at Spring Ridge. After all, he’s the one who got Spencer and Alexis released early, right? She hates to bother an important man such as himself with something so small, but can he do this… for her?

Olivia says, she’ll buy Carly’s half, so she’ll own the entire hotel. Carly can pay her back slowly, like an old-fashioned instalment plan. Carly says, that’s a very generous offer, but does Olivia have the liquidity to buy her half? Olivia says she’d have to talk it over with Ned… and Carly says, no.

Spencer asks if Cameron doesn’t think it’s pretty genius, but Cameron says, no. Not genius. And not something he wants any part of. Spencer says, it’s not a big deal. All Cameron has to do is get DNA samples from Joss and her mom for him to have tested. Cameron says, is that all? and Spencer says, it will give them a genuine mother/daughter test result, and Esme can go to the lab and confirm it herself. Cameron asks what Spencer expects him to do; hug Carly, and snag a couple hairs? That’s not suspicious at all. Spencer says, don’t be so dramatic. He can snag it from a glass she drank from. Where is Josslyn anyway? Cameron says he’s supposed to meet Joss and Trina at the MetroCourt pool after his shift is over, and Spencer says, that’s so good. Carly is almost always working at the MetroCourt. Cameron can get both of the samples today. Just let him know when it’s done. Cameron says, oh no. If he’s doing this, then Spencer is doing it with him.

Ava says she can’t believe Scotty hasn’t found anything to tie Esme to that sex tape. That little fiend torched her car, and threw in Kiki’s GH badge just for kicks; she’s got a devious mind. Scotty says, she’s devious, but she covered her tracks well. Now let’s get back to what’s at hand here. Sign the papers. They’re going to need a witness… She says she’s going to wait for Nikolas to get back, and Scotty says, she told him Nikolas wanted this, as does she. Was he wrong? She asks if it really matters. He’s banking billable hours no matter what. He says he’s always been there for her, hasn’t he? He cares about her, and she knows that. How could she say that to him? She says she’s sorry; she does know that. She’s on edge because she’s very concerned about Trina, and she’s just being silly. She looks through the papers, and Scotty says, silly how? She says she can’t help thinking she and Nikolas are tempting fate. That this divorce isn’t going to be the fresh start he wants it to be; that it’s going to be the end.

Nikolas says he’s not even sure how he can help Esme. As she knows, Doc is married to his mother. This’ll get back to her, and it could be bad. She says, he’s right. She guesses this is what she deserves anyway. Losing her internship, she means. This is her punishment for sleeping with her boyfriend’s dad. He says, no, that’s not how the world works. She’s just feeling guilty like he is, because they should never have been together. But he’ll prove it to her by helping her get her internship back. She throws her arms around him, and says, thank you so much.

Olivia says she really thinks she can convince Ned that buying Carly’s half of the hotel would be a great investment, and Carly says, maybe Ned would go for it, but she won’t. Ned double-crossed Michael and Drew, and hung them out to dry. They’re scrambling to save Aurora. They’re not going to take Ned’s money, even if he’s in partnership with Olivia. Olivia asks if Carly believes Drew and Michael would think less of her, but Carly says, she would think less of herself. Olivia asks, what’s next? What is Carly going to do?

Nikolas comes back to the table, and Ava asks, where’s Esme? He says, she took off, and Ava says she didn’t think Esme would be hitting Nikolas up for money. Spencer’s allowance is more than enough for the both of them. He says, Esme never brought up the subject of money.

Josslyn and Trina sit with their feet in the pool, and I’m jealous of the random guy who swims past. Trina says, Esme asked Rory if he knew someone who could help her get her internship back at Spring Ridge, and Josslyn says, hello. What does it tell you that Esme’s too crazy to get an internship? Trina says, that’s her point. Rory claimed he knew someone, and offered to put the name and phone number in Esme’s phone, but she woudn’t hand it over. Josslyn says, there must be so much incriminating data on it, and Trina says, exactly. There is no way Esme is going to let a cop hold it, even for a minute. Rory just out maneuvered her. Josslyn says, nice work, and Trina says, right? Especially when Trina got here, and saw them together. For a second, Trina thought Esme was winning him over. Josslyn says, there is not a chance. Officer Invisible is way too into Trina. Trina says, maybe, and Josslyn says, and Trina is into Rory, right? Trina says, maybe.

Spencer says, if he goes with Cameron, that’s only going to make it worse. Cameron says, how convenient, and Spencer says he means it. He can’t go near Joss or Trina; they hate him, especially Trina. Cameron says he guesses Spencer is right about that. Maybe they could use that to their advantage. Spencer asks, how? and Cameron says, this time, Spencer is going to have to trust him. He has an idea.

Finn says he’ll support Chase in any career path he chooses, but he still thinks the PCPD is shooting themselves in the foot to give up on a detective as good as Chase is. Chase says he doesn’t know if they’ll have a choice in the matter, and Gregory asks how long the investigation takes. Chase says he doesn’t know, but he knows he’s suspended without pay, and he’s going to have to find another job… at least a temporary one. He can’t imagine anything that would satisfy him as much as detective work, and Gregory says he thinks Chase needs to fight for the job he has, the job he loves. Finn says, in the meantime, Chase might want to stay away from this Linc Brown.

Sonny tells Brook that he has to cut this short. He has to go to the MetroCourt to meet Nina. She asks if he and Nina are an official thing now, and he says, just kind of dating. Brook says, as long as Nina makes him happy, and he says, it’s nice of her to say that, since not a lot of people feel that way. She says she’s sure. There’s really nothing he can do for Chase? He tells her, like he said, Chase is a smart guy. He’ll get another job. A lot of former cops are doing security. She says, like Paul Blart a mall cop? and he says, not like a mall cop. Like a security consultant, like a bodyguard… She says, that doesn’t sound much better, but he says, listen. Chase is going to find another job. He’s sorry he can’t make Linc sing like a canary, but the Review Board… you never know. She tells him that he’s a genius, and hugs him, saying, thank you so much.

Ava asks if Nikolas is signing the papers now, and he says, that’s what they’re here for, isn’t it? She says, Martin Grey isn’t here. Nikolas shouldn’t sign any legal documents before his lawyer looking through them first. Scotty tells Ava, hold on a second. He’s offended. Does she think he pulled some sort of a fast one when he drew up these papers? Nikolas tells Ava that he wants to do this for her, to prove to her that he has no doubts they’re going to be together forever, which turns into a Rick Astley earworm for me. She says she appreciates the gesture, but there’s no need to take it this far. They don’t have to rush through this divorce. Scotty says, the two of them are working his last nerve. He has to go to court, so are they going to sign these papers or not? Ava takes Nikolas’s papers, puts them on top of her own, and hands them to Scotty. She says, not, and tells Nikolas, let’s go home.

Finn says, Chase’s only defense with the Review Board is, the punch was in the heat of the moment, he wasn’t thinking, and he’s sorry. Chase says, but he’s not sorry, and Gregory says, what? Finn tells Chase, he can’t say that, and Chase says he knows. He needs to convince the Review Board that he’s very remorseful, and for his own self-preservation, that he won’t go anywhere near Linc. Brook comes in, and Finn says he has to get to the hospital, and Gregory has… Gregory says he has to work on his book. Chase may as well stay and enjoy the pool. Finn echoes, enjoy the pool, and they leave. Chase takes his shirt off, and Brook walks up, saying, she was looking for him.

Walking into the pool area, Cameron says, before they go any further, he wants to make sure Spencer’s good with the plan. He’s going to go to the pool, and Spencer’s going to go a few minutes after to create a diversion. Okay? That’s when he’ll get the DNA samples from Joss and her mom. Spencer says, look, there’s Carly over there with Olivia, and they see Carly and Olivia talking at the pool bar. Spencer asks what they do now, and Cameron says, he’ll go to the pool first, and sit with Joss. Promise to not leave him hanging? Spencer says he’s got Cameron’s back; he promises.

Lucy says, it’s time to go, ladies. Fame, fortune, and Home & Heart await. Maxie says she’s so excited about what this means for the future of Deception, and Sasha says, it’s huge. Lucy says, on three, group hug – three! They hug for a moment, and Lucy says, break. Let’s go. They start to leave, and Sasha says she forgot something. She’ll catch up with them downstairs. Lucy and Maxie continue on, while Sasha goes back in the office, and takes a pill.

Cameron walks over to Josslyn and Trina, and Josslyn asks if he’s finally taken some time to do nothing. He says he’s here; are they going to save him a chair? Josslyn asks, what’s wrong?

Spencer looks at his phone, and says, that’s long enough. Time to go to the pool. He walks in, and runs into Esme, who asks what he’s doing here.

Olivia asks Carly, what’s next? What’s her plan? Carly says she doesn’t know, and Olivia sees Sonny walk in. She says she understands Carly not wanting to take money from the Quartermaines, but what about her ex-husband? Maybe he owes Carly a favor or 500. Carly turns around, and sees Sonny.

Next week (I assume Tuesday), Brook says, today is the day she changes Chase’s life; Nina asks Drew why she has the feeling there’s another angle; and Sonny asks, how much trouble is Spinelli in with Cody?

🎉 Soap Holiday…

Which soaps are on Independence Day. GH is not.

🏥 After a Not-So-Brief Hiatus…

I’m still annoyed that there was no real follow-through on the Parker romance.

🎭 Interesting…

It’s not GH, but it looks worth investigating.

💻 Direct From Salem…

Find out what’s to come for Beyond Salem.

https://ew.com/tv/days-of-our-lives-beyond-salem-chapter-2-trailer-bo-and-hope-return/

👜 Bloop…

Nothing like middle school antics.

It’s always somebody else’s fault.

👩🏼‍🌾 Reality Did Them In…

I actually didn’t see this coming, but it’s not surprising.

https://people.com/tv/welcome-to-plathville-kim-and-barry-plath-end-marriage/

🧹 Another Spell On You…

The Sanderson Sisters return.

https://ew.com/movies/hocus-pocus-2-trailer-teaser/

But not the cat.

https://ew.com/movies/jason-marsden-not-returning-black-cat-voice-hocus-pocus-2/

🎇 Celebration…

Another NYC festivity that’s better watched on TV. But if you must go, for God’s sake, don’t drive. It’s a madhouse when it’s over.

https://www.macys.com/social/fireworks/

🌠 Quotes of the Week

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus. – Martin Luther King Jr.

In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same. – Albert Einstein

There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution. – John Adams

A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation. – James Freeman Clarke

Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists. – Franklin D. Roosevelt

All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope. – Winston Churchill

The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous. – Frederick Douglass

The patriot’s blood is the seed of freedom’s tree.Thomas Campbell

America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination. – Harry S. Truman

No other date on the calendar more potently symbolizes all that our nation stands for than the Fourth of July. – Mac Thornberry

Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all. – George Washington

Independence now and forever!Daniel Webster

🎆 You’re a Firework…

Whether it’s a long weekend, working weekend, or no weekend, it’s still the birthday of a nation, something to be appreciated. Since Monday is officially the 4th, there’s no regularly scheduled program, but pop by for some (hopefully) soap and tea on Tuesday (technically Wednesday). Until then, stay safe, stay safer if you’re around fireworks, and stay be grateful for your independence, even if it’s only in your mind.

April 29, 2022 – Spencer Has His Eyes On Esme, New Villainy, an Anniversary, Steve In Salem, an Apology, Disengaging, Explosive, a Return, 7 Quotes Plus a Joke & Can’t Stop It

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Ava lets herself into Windymere, and Nikolas pops out of the living room. She asks if he’s been lurking there until she came in, and he says, would that be so wrong? She wonders if he doesn’t have anything better to do than wait for her to come home, and she sees he has candles lit and champagne waiting in the living room. He asks, what’s better than spending time alone with his wife?

At the gallery, Trina says she gets how being productive could be important to Spencer, and he says, she always does. She says, not like Esme gets him though, right? She says she’ll leave him a to-do list, so he can get home to his phony, twisted witch he calls the love of his life. He says, Esme is anything but that, and Esme is about to walk in and stops. Trina says, anything but what? A twisted witch or the love of his life?

On the phone at the hospital, Carly says she’s fine. They discharged her, but she’s going to wait around to see if Harmony is all right. For Willow’s sake. Her whole world has been turned upside down tonight.

Willow and Michael go into the chapel, and she tells him not to feel like he has to stay with her. She just wants to make sure her mom is okay. He says he texted Josslyn. She’s on her way, so he’s not going anywhere. Unless she wants to be alone. She says she wants him here with her, and they hug. She wonders what her mother was doing; walking down a road at night in the woods by herself. It doesn’t make any sense. He says, hopefully, they’ll know more soon, and she says, she and her mother were just getting close. If she doesn’t make it, Willow will never forgive herself for pushing her away.

Sasha digs in her bag, and takes out her pillbox, but it’s empty. Gladys says, there she is. Sasha left so fast, her shoes left skidmarks. Sasha says, Willow didn’t see her, did she? but Gladys says, no. The poor thing is a mess. Michael took her to the chapel; they were headed in that direction. It’s probably going to be a while before the doctors can tell her anything about her mom. Unless of course (🍷) Unless it’s not as bad as they thought. She suggests they sit, but Sasha says she has to get out of here. Brando comes in and she runs to him. He tells her, it’s okay, he’s got her, but she says, no, it’s not okay. She might have killed Willow’s mother.

Nikolas pours champagne, and says, he shouldn’t have taken for granted that she was coming home. She asks if he’s wooing her, and he says, what if he is? Dinner might have been a bust, but there’s still plenty of time for dessert. They clink glass, but she says, it’s not going to work, and hands hers back. He asks, why? and she says she’s made her position clear. As long as Esme is here… He says, she isn’t here, and Ava says, since when? He says, Laura stopped by earlier. She got Sonny to give his word nothing will happen to Esme. Now Esme can go back to the mainland, and they can devote all of their time to each other.

Esme continues to listen in, and Spencer says, things with Esme are complicated, but Trina says, they’re not. Would he like her to explain what’s going on here? He’s keeping her on the hook. She let herself believe that he can be a better person. He misses that feeling, and now he’s trying to reel her in. He says, that’s not… and she says, it’s the only explanation she can come up with. He’s giving her mixed signals. He says, he’s not, and she asks what that jealous act was before. He says, he is not jealous of that guy, and she says, so what? Who cares if he’s jealous or not? He made his choice. Deal with it. Just remember, he threw their friendship away for some psycho girlfriend. Esme comes out, and says, she’s not the psycho; Trina is.

Josslyn comes into the waiting area and hugs Carly. Carly asks what she’s doing here, and Josslyn tells her, Michael said she was in the ER. Is she okay? Carly says she’s fine, and Josslyn says, Michael told her that Willow’s mom got in a car accident. Was she involved? Carly says she wasn’t there when Harmony got hit by the car, and Josslyn says, thank God. She was freaking out the whole way here. She doesn’t know what she’d do if anything happened to Carly. Carly says, it didn’t, and Josslyn asks, then what was she doing in the ER?

Willow tells Michael, you’d think at a time like this, she’d be able to focus on the good times, but with her and her mother, there are no good times not touched by the bad. It’s impossible to separate the two. He puts his arm around her, and says, she’s strong enough to forgive Harmony, and see that she genuinely wanted to make up for a lifetime of… He doesn’t have to tell her. She says, she’s accepted her mom allowed a lot of horrible things to happen to her because Shiloh manipulated her, and even though it took her a long time to forgive Harmony, Harmony never gave up on her. For the first time in a very long time, she started to feel her mother’s love. She’s not ready to be without it again. He holds her hands, and she cries.

Brando asks if Sasha wants to tell him what happened, and she says, what happened is Willow’s mom is fighting for her life, and it’s all her fault. Gladys says, it’s not all her fault, and Brando suggests she start from the beginning. They sit down, and Sasha says, this photographer, this paparazzi guy, started taking pictures of her at the MetroCourt. Gladys says, she’s underselling it; this jerk was harassing her. Sasha says, it was too much, so they left. Next thing they knew, this guy was chasing them down in his car. He was flashing his high beams, and she couldn’t see anything. Gladys says, and this woman ran right into the middle of the road, and Sasha says, she tried to swerve, but she didn’t have time. Brando says, she didn’t do anything wrong; it was an accident. Gladys tells her, that’s what she’s been saying. If that sleazeball hadn’t been coming after them, they wouldn’t have been driving so fast down that stretch of road. They should sue him; so should Willow. Michael’s got lawyers. Brando says, what he doesn’t understand is why the photographer was chasing her. She flashes back to the photographer catching her with the pills, and says, he had his reasons.

Carly says, and Harmony had a needle, and managed to inject her, and Josslyn says, oh God. Carly says she was in the back of her own SUV when she woke up, and heard Harmony and Alexis arguing. When she got out of the car, they were parked on Ramalamadingdong Point, and she jumped Harmony. They fought, and Harmony took off running when she heard Alexis call 9-1-1. Josslyn asks if Alexis is okay, and Carly says, she is; Sam took her home earlier. Alexis is okay, but Harmony jumped in front of a car. She saw Harmony when they brought her to the hospital. She and Alexis weren’t there when Harmony was hit, and she doesn’t know when she was hit. They stayed and waited for the cops, and the paramedics brought them here. Josslyn says she’s confused. Why did Harmony attack Carly in the first place? Carly flashes back to confronting Harmony about Neil’s papers, and saying, this is what Harmony meant that she wishes Willow was hers. Willow isn’t her biological daughter. Carly tells Josslyn, she found out something Harmony was desperately trying to keep secret. Something Willow does not know.

Michael says, one thing he knows about Willow’s mom is, she’s a fighter. There’s nothing she won’t do to fight her way back to Willow. Willow says, when she escaped from Dawn of Day, she would tell herself that she didn’t need a mother. At the time, she was right, but when her mother turned against Shiloh, she began to change, to make amends, and more and more she became the mother she should have been all along. He says, she tried, no question, and Willow says, she’s beginning to understand why some women say they’ll always need their mother, because right now, she needs hers.

Brando asks what reason the photographer had for chasing Sasha, and Gladys says she stole his memory card. He says, she did what? Why would she do that? Gladys says, he wouldn’t stop taking pictures of Sasha, even though every last one of us told him to knock it off. Sasha was getting extremely upset, and she wasn’t about to let some parasite with a camera exploit her daughter-in-law. Sasha says, Willow isn’t going to care about any of that. All that matters is, she hit Willow’s mother with her car, and she might die. Brando tells her, like he said, it was a terrible accident. She didn’t mean to do this. Willow will understand. Sasha says, what if Harmony doesn’t make it? Willow will never forgive her, and she’ll never forgive herself. Brando says, they don’t have any control over that, so let’s not do what ifs. Right now, she just needs to tell Willow what happened. Gladys says, does she? Willow has enough on her plate; Sasha’s a wreck. Can’t it wait? Sasha says, no, it can’t. The only reason she came here is because Willow deserves to hear the truth from her, but she doesn’t know if she can face her. Brando says, there’s no right or wrong here, and Gladys says she doesn’t know if she’d put it like that. Sasha cries, and Brando says, whatever she chooses to do, he’s behind her 100%, but if she goes to tell Willow right now, she’s the strongest person he knows. He knows she can do this. She says, let’s go, and they leave together.

Trina says, she’s the psycho? Says the girl who’s been lurking in the shadows for who knows how long. Spencer asks what Esme is doing here, and Esme says, it’s bad enough Trina has half of Port Charles blaming her for Cam and Joss’s sad little sex tape. Trina says, only half? She’ll have to step up her game. (Ha-ha! Sounds like something I’d say.) Esme says, even though all the evidence points to Trina, Trina’s lies got her kidnapped by Sonny Corinthos. Spencer says, which is why she’s supposed to be back at Windymere, right now. Esme says, that’s what she came to tell him. His grandmother, the mayor, personally intervened on her behalf, and forced Sonny to back down. She’s safe now. Spencer says, that’s great, and Trina says, she’d call it a useless waste of cement. Esme says, thank God Trina didn’t manage to poison everyone against her. How does it feel to know people finally see through her good girl act?

Ava asks why Sonny backed down, and Nikolas says, his mother didn’t tell him Sonny’s rationale, but he was here when she told Esme. So Esme is aware the threat is over. Ava asks when she’s moving out, and he doesn’t say anything. She says, tell her that he’s not letting Esme stay, and he says, they just haven’t set a date for her to move out yet. She says, they have a staff. They can pack up her stuff, put it on the launch, and it can be waiting for her on the pier tonight. He says, Esme isn’t going wait for a launch to come back from town and find her luggage waiting, and she says, so Esme went to the mainland. He says, to tell Spencer the good news, and she says, the good news is that she can stay there. He says, there’s the matter of how she’ll support herself, and Ava says, she has a trust fund. He says, she’s only given a pittance, and Ava says, she was sent to school in Paris. Her life has not been the stuff of Dickens. He says he promises, Esme will leave Windymere and Spoon Island soon. Ava says, she better, and he says, the best part is, once she’s gone, all their problems go with her. Ava caresses his face, saying, my sweet beautiful husband… She smacks him lightly, and says, no they don’t. He says, the root of their problem is that he invited Esme to move in without consulting her, but she says, the roots go far deeper than that. He says, when he invited Esme to stay here, they were planning on renewing their vows. Is she telling him she wasn’t happy? She says, she was, but when he told Esme and Spencer that they could move in, it made her realize she was ignoring some very real issues. He says, such as? Start at the top; what’s their biggest issue? She says she doesn’t trust him. Don’t look so surprised. He doesn’t trust her either. He says, this isn’t about trust. It’s about the fact that he chose his son. That’s what she has an issue with, isn’t it?

Esme says, Trina refuses to take the blame for what she did to her so-called friends, and Spencer says, enough, but she says she’s not going to stand for it anymore. She tells Trina, mark her words, the next time Trina lies about her, there will be consequences. Trina says, Esme talks a good game, but know this. Trina sees her, and soon one day, everyone is going to see her for who she really is, a needy entitled psychopath, who hurts everyone around them, and wonders where they all went. She’ll be all alone with no one left to fool, except maybe that idiot (meaning Spencer). Now she’s going to put this away, and when she comes back, Esme won’t be here. Because she’s trespassing.

Carly tells Josslyn, Harmony is still in surgery, but they don’t think she’s going to make it. Josslyn says, Carly seems pretty worried about someone who just tried to kill her, and Carly says, she’s worried about Willow. She’s got enough on her mind right now. Maybe she should wait to tell her, but Jordan knows. The last thing she wants is for Willow to find out during the course of the investigation, but they probably won’t question Willow tonight, so maybe she should wait. Josslyn says, that’s one way to look at it, and Carly asks, what’s the other way? Josslyn says, can telling Willow really make things much worse? 

Michael asks if there’s anything Willow needs, and she says, right now, she needs answers. She thinks she’s strong enough to get them. Michael says, Josslyn is here. So they should go look for her and his mom. Maybe they have an update on Harmony. As they’re leaving, Brando and Sasha walk in, and Michael says, he guesses they heard about Harmony. Brando says, they’re aware of what happened, and Willow says, they were going to check on how her mom was doing. Sasha says, she’s sorry. She knows this is a terrible time, but she needs to talk to Willow alone. Willow says, sure, and Michael says he’ll check on her mom. Willow says she’ll join him later, and Sasha thanks Brando for being here. He says, where else would he be? He kisses her forehead, says she’s got this, and leaves. Willow asks what Sasha needs to talk about.  

Michael tells Brando, he saw his mom in the ER and texted Josslyn. Brando asks why Carly was in the ER, and Michael says, she didn’t tell him, but she seemed okay, so he focused on Willow. Brando says, rough night all around. Keep him posted. He’s going to wait for Sasha. As Michael is about to get into the elevator, Smoltz comes along, and says, if it isn’t the husband of the Face of Deception. His sources tell him that Brando’s wife ran down a pedestrian tonight. Any comment?

Josslyn says she’s sorry, but she knows Carly will make the best choice for Willow. Carly says she appreciates Josslyn’s vote of confidence, when Gladys comes by. Carly asks what she’s doing here. Are Sasha and Brando okay? Gladys says, physically, yes. She’s fine too. Carly says she can see that, and Josslyn’s phone rings. She leaves to take the call, and Gladys asks if there’s any word on Harmony. Is she going to pull through? Carly says she doesn’t know. Why is Gladys asking? Gladys says, because she cares deeply about the suffering of others. Carly might want to look into that sometime. Also, Sasha was the one who ran over Harmony. Carly says, oh my God, and Gladys says, believe her, she knows. She was in the car. Carly asks where Sasha is, and Gladys says, Brando took her to see Willow. She’s dreading what’s going to happen when Sasha tells her.

Willow asks how Sasha found out about her mom; did Carly call her? Sasha says, no. She knows because… It’s so hard to say. She and Gladys were driving on a back road. She was driving, and a guy was chasing them; it’s not important why. The point is, he was flashing his high beams in her rearview, and it was blinding her. She couldn’t see and the road was dark. Out of nowhere, someone ran in front of her car. She couldn’t see who it was until she get out to help, and she’s so sorry, it was Willow’s mother. Well, here’s a thought. Why don’t she and Gladys flip the script? Since the headlights were blinding, technically, it’s the jerkface photographer’s fault.

Spencer tells Esme not to let Trina get to her, but she says, Trina isn’t the one getting to her. Why is it that every time she sees him with Trina, they’re having a moment of some kind? He says, it wasn’t a moment. He didn’t say anything he wouldn’t have said in front of her. She says, even the part where he was jealous about some guy? He says, not jealous, annoyed. When he got here, she was talking to the cop who arrested him. Esme asks, why? and he says, the whole sex tape mess has the media harassing her. She says, gee too bad, and he says, he doesn’t hate that guy because he’s jealous; he hates him because he’s a jerk. She says, even so, she can’t help thinking history is repeating itself, but he says, trust him, it’s not. She’s the one he has eyes on.

Brando asks who this is, and Michael tells Smoltz, this is not a good time. Brando says, Michael knows this creep? and Smoltz says, this creep is happens to be doing Mr. Corinthos a favor, and Michael says, Smoltz is a reporter, and he and Willow are cooperating with him on a feature. Smoltz says he’s always on the lookout for the next good story. He takes out his phone, and says, Mr. Gilmore – Brando says, Corbin – about this pedestrian his wife ran down… Brando says, no comment, and Smoltz says, it’s better for him to get a quote from Sasha herself, or as his source called her, the Face of Collision. Brando lunges for him, but Michael gets between them, and pushes Brando back. Smoltz says, he has rights under the First Amendment, and Brando says, he fought in the US Military to protect Smoltz’s rights; he’s well aware of what they are. His First Amendment rights only protect him from government censorship. Michael runs a media company; does he have that correct? Michael says, he sure does, and Brando says he thought so. He gets close to Smoltz, and asks if he looks like the government. It’s a simple question. Smoltz says, no, and Brando says, which means, the First Amendment won’t protect Smoltz if he catches him even breathing the same air as his wife. Nothing personal, but he’ll make sure Smoltz is incapable of ever writing any story ever again. He doubts the other journalists will miss him, or find him if they did. Understood? Smoltz nods and leaves, and Michael asks, what happened to Sasha?   

Willow says, Sasha is the one who hit her mom? and Sasha swears it was an accident. She’s so sorry. She’d do anything, give anything, to make it so it didn’t happen. Is there anything she can do? That’s so stupid. Of course (🍷) there’s nothing, but she’s here for Willow if Willow needs anything. She’s probably the last person Willow wants to see, so she’s just going to go. Willow tells her, wait. Was she with Carly and Alexis? Sasha says, what? and Willow says, Carly and Alexis were with her mom before the accident, but Sasha says, no. She was coming from the MetroCourt. Willow wants to ask Sasha a question. It might seem a little strange, but did it seem like her mom jumped in front of Sasha’s car on purpose? Sasha says she doesn’t know; it happened so fast. It felt more like Willow’s mom just didn’t see her. Willow cries, and Sasha says she knows Willow and her mom haven’t had the easiest relationship, but they were making amends. She’s so sorry this happened because of her. Willow is the last person who deserves this. She asks if she should get Michael, and Willow says, she just wants some of this, any of this, to make sense.

Gladys tells Carly that she’s worried about Sasha. She doesn’t know how much more Sasha can take. Carly says, as long as she’s known Sasha, she’s weathered crisis after crisis, and come back tougher every time. Gladys says, that was before. Since her grandson died, Sasha’s been an open wound. If Sasha killed her friend’s mother, what is she going to do? Carly says, they’ll get her through it, and Gladys says, Carly didn’t see Sasha with that photographer. Sasha has dealt with photographers before, and knows how to handle the paparazzi when they’re being jerks, but tonight she was a different person; panicked, desperate, and the way she snapped… Josslyn comes back, and Gladys excuses herself. Josslyn asks if everything is okay with Brando and Sasha, and Carly says she just needs a hug. They hug, and Josslyn asks if Carly is sure she’s okay. Carly says, it’s just been a night. So much devastation. She wants Josslyn to know she loves her, and she’s so grateful to have her. They hug again.

Ava says, she and Spencer will never be each other’s favorite people, but he’s Nikolas’s son. She meant it when she said she’d keep their issues out of her and Nikolas’s relationship. Esme though, was never part of that agreement. He says, as long as Esme is important to Spencer, she’s part of that agreement, but Ava says, not as long as Esme is a threat to Trina, she’s not. This isn’t about Spencer and Esme; this is about her and Nikolas. He says, she’s right. It’s about their marriage and their partnership. He should have consulted her before inviting Esme to live there, but when she had a problem with Esme, she went to Sonny instead of consulting him. She asks what there was to consult him about. He was giving that horrid little monster the benefit of the doubt, while she was framing Trina for something even her so-called victims know she didn’t do. He says, so she’s trying to punish him, and she says, not without good reason. He says, and her mystery plans tonight, did they involve exploring divorce? She says, of course (🍷) not. That ship sailed weeks ago. He says, when was this? and she says, the day he invited Esme into their home. He says, she can go on about not trusting him, but how is he supposed to trust her when she always has one foot out the door? She says, if he wants her to stop straddling the threshold, then stop pushing her away. He says, at least give him a heads up. Should he be expecting divorce papers soon? She says, not yet. She couldn’t go through with it. He asks, why, when she can’t trust their toxic manipulative marriage? Why the hell is she still here? She says, because she loves him, and he says he doesn’t believe it. She says, believe this, and kisses him.

Esme takes Spencer’s hands, and thanks him, saying, he’s the only one for her too. They hug, and Trina sees, but steps back. Esme says she feels close to him, and he says he’s sorry it’s taken him so long to get back on track. He thanks her for letting him take it slow, but she says she doesn’t care how long it takes, just as long as they do. He says, it’s their second chance; he wants to do things right. She says, he’s not the problem. When she thinks of how close Trina came to destroying them… He says, Esme… but she says she can’t help it. That conniving little witch drove a wedge between them. She wants a front row seat at Trina’s trial. She wants to see Trina’s face when they lock her away. She can’t wait for everyone at school to see what a backstabbing bitch… He says, stop talking about Trina like that, and she says, why? Trina continues to listen.

Brando tells Michael, Sasha’s the one who hit Harmony, and Michael asks, how? Brando says, some photographer was harassing her at the MetroCourt. He chased after her, and she was speeding to get away. Harmony ran into the middle of the road. Michael says, oh my God. How is Sasha doing? Brando says, she’s devastated. It’s enough with an accident like that, but what she’s really having trouble with is hurting Willow. Michael says, as terrible as all this is, he hopes Willow will have some answers. Sasha might not have the whole story, but he has the feeling his mom does.

Gladys presses the elevator button a bunch of times, takes the memory card out of her purse, and looks at it. The elevator comes, and she gets in.

Josslyn asks if Carly is going to talk to Willow now or later, and Carly asks what Josslyn thinks. Josslyn says, if it was her, she’d probably want to know right away, but she’d understand if Carly thinks it’s piling too much on Willow. Carly says, Josslyn doesn’t? and Josslyn says, she does, but there’s never going to be a good time.

Esme asks if Spencer is still defending Trina, but he says, for God’s sake. He doesn’t care about Trina; he cares about her. If Trina leans over any further, she’ll be in the room, and Esme says, then why? Spencer says, all of this anger Esme is holding in can’t be good for her. She’s tied in knots. She’s scowling; her forehead is scrunching up. The both of them almost laugh, and he says, he’s serious. All this stress she’s carrying around, let it go. She says, she’ll try, but she just hates that Trina is getting away with everything. He asks how she thinks he feels, but her and Trina getting in each other’s face is making it worse. She asks what she’s supposed to do. Trina is walking around free, blaming her. He tells her to look at him. Does she trust him? She says, of course (🍷), and he tells her, then trust him when he says this is all going to be over soon, and when it is, she and Trina will never have to see each other ever again. He hugs her, and Trina slips back, pondering this in the hallway.

Nikolas and Ava start getting busy on the couch, but she says, they can’t do this. She gets up and says, their problems aren’t going to go away if they keep distracting themselves with sex. He says, this isn’t a diversion. It’s them expressing their love. They do love each other, right? She says, they do, and he says, if they have problems, they can fix them. She says, they can’t fix them with sex, and he says, then just tell him what he has to do to make it good, and he’ll do it. She says she doesn’t know, and he says, while she’s figuring it out, let him prove that she can trust him. She says, trust is earned; it’s built over time. And if he thinks he can fix things with one or two grand gestures, she’s sorry; he can’t. She leaves, and he blows out the candles.

Sasha tells Willow that she wishes she could make it okay. All she can say is, it was a horrible, senseless accident. Willow wonders what her mom was doing there in the first place. Why was she in the woods, stumbling into the road? Carly comes in, and says, she can answer that. She asks Sasha if she can have minute with Willow. They need talk alone. Willow takes Sasha’s hand for a moment, and Sasha leaves.

On Monday, Austin says, if Maxie doesn’t want to hang out, all she has to do is say so; Spinelli says someone will be the first to know: Nina asks if Sonny is looking for someone; and Carly tells Willow to prepare herself.

🦸🏻‍♂️ He’s Going To Disney…

I can definitely see him doing a show like this.

💗 Happy Fifth…

So I wonder how it was at home after Peter died?

🏍 Where Jason Went…

Sooner or later, everyone ends up on a streaming service.

💎 So Sorry…

Seriously, who cares? But there is a repeat of Puffy!

🧂 A Break From the Lake…

I have to find my zen with a pint of ice cream and 90 Day Fiancé.

https://people.com/tv/meredith-marks-left-salt-lake-city-for-months-after-dark-times/

Reunion Warpath…

Sounds like it’s going to be a real doozie. Again, why do they continue to employ that ticking timebomb? And I don’t mean Joe #2.

🏞 Welcome Back…

If there was an award for Most Changes, it would go to this family.

https://www.distractify.com/p/welcome-to-plathville-season-4-trailer

🧾 Quotes of the Week

Honest towards ourselves and towards anyone else who is our friend; brave towards the enemy; magnanimous towards the defeated; polite always: this is how the four cardinal virtues want us to act. – Friedrich Nietzsche

The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion. – Albert Camus

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. – Carl Sandburg

Honesty is for the most part less profitable than dishonesty. – Plato (I could have told you that.)

Hope is the destination that we seek. Love is the road that leads to hope. Courage is the motor that drives us. We travel out of darkness into faith. – Dean Koontz

Look at all the things moviegoers believe – Star Wars, Spider-Man, and Transformers. You don’t think a gay man can play straight but you believe in Chewbacca?Billy Eichner on his upcoming film featuring an entirely LGBTQ cast

We are all now connected by the Internet, like neurons in a giant brain. – Stephen Hawking (When you put it that way – yikes!)

🐼 A panda walked into a café and ordered a sandwich. He ate it and then pulled a gun out and shot the waiter. The panda then plunked a badly punctuated wildlife manual onto the table. Look me up, he growled as he walked out the door. The wounded waiter opened the book to the entry for panda. It read, Panda: Large, black and white bear-like mammal native to China. Eats, shoots & leaves.

🥁 BA-DUM-CHH…

Stop by next time, and follow me into the Dead zone. Until then, stay safe, stay hydrated, and stay understanding that trust is earned, and built over time.

January 7, 2021 – If You Missed It, Austen’s Non-Birthday Party, Mrs. Grey, 2020 Goodbyes, an Extra Farewell, DIY Reality, Return Of Dark, Plathville Rift & Strong

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Today’s GH is in yesterday’s post. You can find it here:

https://tvwiththeresa.wordpress.com/2021/01/07/january-6-2021-what-just-happened-todays-gh-for-you-shannon-wants-no-toxicity-a-hip-hop-golf-party-goodbye-for-real-imagine/

Tomorrow, Laura tells Cyrus that he has no one to blame but himself, Sam asks Peter where he’s going in such a hurry, and Michael says he heard from the NJ State Police.

Southern Charm

First of all, I feel compelled to say, Little Craig is the best thing on this show.

Madison called Danni to invite her to a get together. She said it was going to be Austen’s birthday party, but since they’d broken up, it was just a party to get tipsy and have fun on a private island. She asked if Danni would be okay with Kathryn being there, and Danni didn’t sound too thrilled. Madison threatened to put Kathryn smack dab in front of Danni, so they could talk it out.

Kathryn met Shep at a restaurant for lunch, but he was minus Little Craig because of the heat. He asked what happened with her and Danni, and she said she felt it was an explosion brought on with no warning. She wanted to fix it, and felt like her world crumbling. We circled back to the monkey emoji, and in his interview, Shep said he thought she was at fault, but not a racist, so he gave her the benefit of the doubt. She told him her boyfriend was Black. His name was Chleb (pronounced like Caleb) Ravenel – yes, those Ravenels – but he was a nice Ravenel. She told Shep that they’d been flirting since before quarantine, but she hadn’t wanted to tell anyone, since people might say it was convenient.

Madison called Austen, and said she didn’t know if him coming would be the best for him personally. He asked her to explain, and she said Craig told her that she was leading him on. She couldn’t have him at the party if that was the case. If he could be a friend, great, but if not, please don’t come. It was her party. He said, at one point, it was supposed to be his party, and she said she knew he wouldn’t handle it well. He told her that she’d sh*t on his day. In his interview, he said he’d thought their break-up was amicable. Austen called Craig, and claimed Madison had said he didn’t want Austen there, but Craig said that wasn’t the conversation they had. We flashed back to Craig telling Madison, the nicest thing she could do for Austen would be to walk away. Craig told Austen not to be a bitch puppy dog, and Madison called Austen again while Craig was talking. Austen said he was blown away that Madison had formed a coalition with Craig. Had she lost her mind? She said she didn’t want him to feel like she was leading him on. She did want him there as a friend, but nothing more. If he could not be a psycho ex-boyfriend, he could come. He told her that he’d skip it, and she said she thought that was best.

Madison2 from Gwynn’s met Leva, Danni, and Venita at the store, and they popped champagne while Danni tried on dresses. Danni told them about meeting with Kathryn. In Danni’s interview, a producer asked why Danni maintained a relationship with Kathryn, and Danni said it was the question of the day, but she’d always care about Kathryn. She’d always be the 21-year-old Danni remembered. She thought Kathryn had some growing up to do, and believed she’d played a role in enabling Kathryn. Leva said she was offended about being the only person Kathryn was talking to. Madison2 was a woman of color, and did she think her white friends didn’t care? Madison2 said Gwynn’s was her family’s livelihood, and Kathryn hadn’t made an apology. Leva mentioned that Kathryn was dating Chleb, and said it was a strategic move. In Leva’s interview, she said, banging a Black guy doesn’t make you woke. While that’s true, I thought it was kind of a sh*tty thing to say, since she doesn’t know what Kathryn’s motives are, and I don’t know about Kathryn, but it would be difficult for me to have an entire romantic relationship just to prove a point.

Danni went to Capers Island to set up for the party. There was a canopy, with a low table underneath, pillows to sit on, and a beachy tablescape. Madison said it was exactly what she’d pictured, but better, and someone had asked if they were having a wedding there. Everyone took a ferry over, except for Craig, Kathryn, and Taylor, who were running late. Leva said Shep looked like a bum, when they were supposed to dress nice. Meanwhile, Austen got dressed, while mumbling about a party on the beach in mid-July. He couldn’t believe his best friend stabbed him in the back, and told Madison not to invite him. It was his party, and he could come if he wanted to. In John’s interview, he said he didn’t know why Austen would want to be there. If he’d been dumped, he would sit it TF out. Craig picked up Kathryn, and told her that he’d been dealing with Madison and Austen. Kathryn said Madison couldn’t cancel the party and cancel Austen. On the ferry, Austen told Shep that Madison had said not to come, but he thought he was capable. Shep said Austen’s emotions were still in play, and Austen said just wanted to be happy. Shep said he’d have to be sad first. John said he thought Madison was a smoke show, and I thought Madison was going to freak out when she saw Austen.

Shep swore he’d gotten no email about the attire, and that Madison hadn’t told him. Madison was just like, well… and in her interview, said Austen had killed her vibe. The place-cards were engraved glasses for the guests to keep, but there was no glass for Austen, and he pouted. WTF did he expect? He stood near Madison, and said he wasn’t trying to get her back; he was just getting out of the wind. She said he couldn’t get her back if he tried, and he said, here’s to not trying. Shep told the others it was tense. Madison found a spot  to squeeze Austen in.

Kathryn and Craig drank from bottles of wine on the ferry, and he said he thought Austen was mad at him. On the beach, Danni asked Madison what the deal was, and Madison said she’d uninvited Austen; he was too attached. She didn’t know why he came. The guys played cornhole, and Madison told the girls that she was done with Austen. She was going for the A-team, not the B-team. The food looked fabulous, lots of shellfish and some kind of corn salsa thing. Shep said Kathryn and Craig were on their way, and Taylor was at the marina. Madison wanted Austen to move to accommodate the people she’d actually invited, and John asked how Austen felt, since what had been his birthday, was now whatever TF it was. He asked if Austen didn’t feel like he was holding himself back; it was time to move on. Craig and Kathryn arrived, and in her interview, Kathryn said her girlfriends couldn’t look her in the eye, and had all turned their backs to her, acting like they didn’t know her. It broke her heart. Contrary to that thought, Leva introduced Venita. Kathryn wasn’t sure what was going on with Danni, and Madison2 said she thought no matter what, Danni would have Kathryn’s back, but Kathryn didn’t believe it. She said she was hurt and upset, and Danni told Leva that she was indifferent. Madison called Austen an effing bitch, and changed her seat. In Craig’s interview, he said the fact Austen was there was pathetic. He couldn’t handle being friends with Madison, which was why they had to cut ties. Taylor finally got there, also dressed down, and said Shep probably knew the attire, and wanted her to look like an idiot. She and Shep went in the water, and Leva thought there needed to be a kumbaya between Danni and Kathryn.

Leva asked Kathryn to sit by them, and Austen wanted to talk to Craig, so they stepped away. Madison noticed that Craig and Austen were twinsies in goldenrod pants and white shirts. She said she was literally pissed, although there was a question mark over my head as to why. In John’s interview, he said, Madison the Mom was sweet, caring, and nurturing, but Madison with Austen was mean, and made him uncomfortable. Craig told Austen that he’d promised to act normal, but Austen said Madison was poking at him. Craig said when Austen and Madison were together, nastiness came out. Austen said the reason he wanted to talk was to find out what Craig told Madison. He asked WTF was going on, and Craig said any delusion Austen had about being friends with Madison wasn’t there; his feelings were too strong. Whenever they were in each other’s lives, they were miserable, and it was a toxic mess that spilled over onto everyone. Austen wanted to be at the party, and they were having the same conversation. He couldn’t handle being with Madison as a friend, and blamed it on Craig. Madison didn’t want to hang out with the friend group anymore, and blamed them.

Kathryn asked what was going on, and Leva suggested Kathryn and Danni talk. Kathryn said she was open to hear what was going on with Danni. Craig told Austen, if he couldn’t figure out how prevent the toxicity from affecting others, people were going to pull away from him. Austen reminded Craig that he’d been in the same boat with Naomie, but Craig said if Austen continued this way, he was choosing to turn his back on everyone. Kathryn told Danni that she had no idea Danni had been upset, and Danni said she’d been texting Kathryn since February. Madison2 thought Kathryn was unauthentic, but stuck her nose in the conversation. Danni acted like a bit of an ass, and Kathryn walked away, saying she didn’t know what Danni wanted. Danni said she wasn’t ready to have this conversation, which is exactly why Leva should have given it a rest. Craig suggested he and Austen go get their feet wet and not talk.

Kathryn came back to the table, and said she didn’t know what was going on. Leva said Danni and Madison2 felt betrayed because Kathryn hadn’t apologized. Kathryn thought it wasn’t conversation for the dinner table, and everyone got quiet, since apparently, there was nothing else to talk about. Madison told John that she’d always care about Austen, but didn’t think he was someone for the long-term. Craig asked if Kathryn and Danni made up, but Danni told him that it was deeper than entrée conversation. Craig said Danni acted like nothing happened, then bugged out, but Danni had no idea what he was talking about. Danni tried to drag Kathryn away from the table, and told Craig to STFU. Craig said she needed to work on her reactions, and announced that girls and guys had different definitions of being rational. Leva agreed, but reworded it to, they were different in dealing with their emotions. Shep asked Taylor if she could imagine being stuck there, and Taylor said they were stuck there.

Danni again tried to explain to Kathryn that she was hurt about Kathryn reaching out to Leva instead of her, and telling Leva that she was alone and had no one she could count on. She wondered if Kathryn felt like she wasn’t a good friend, and Kathryn said it had been hard to get in touch with her. She was confused at how huge a thing it had become, and said when she’d talked to Leva, maybe it’s how she felt at the time. In Danni’s interview, she said she’d put more energy into helping Kathryn than she had anyone else in her life. To hear Kathryn didn’t have anyone made her feel like Kathryn took advantage of her. Kathryn swept her under the rug until she needed her. Danni said she thought she and Kathryn had different definitions of friendship. Kathryn asked if Danni thought she wasn’t a good enough friend, and asked it Danni was saying she didn’t want to be friends anymore.

Madison said the party was over; the tide was rolling in. Danni said she felt that Kathryn was doing the sorry-you-feel-that-way thing, when Madison told them that they had to go. I don’t normally comment on how people look, unless it’s their fashion choices, but I thought Danni looked way thin. Like, maybe unhealthy thin. Shep told Kathryn that they’d recap later. Leva tried to impress on Kathryn that she wasn’t against her, and Austen said, consider him moved on. He couldn’t wait to see what the future held. Until they got on the ferry.

On the ferry, Madison2 explained to Kathryn that Gwynn’s had been getting hate on the internet for what Kathryn had done. It was a family business, and they needed to make a statement. Kathryn said she hadn’t known what happened, and Madison2 asked if Kathryn even cared what she was going through. In Kathryn’s interview, she said she was very sorry they got online hate, but she didn’t think they should have posted anything about her; it was bullying. The other girls moved closer, and Kathryn told Madison2 that she wasn’t having this conversation with an audience.

Kathryn moved to where Austen was sitting, and he asked if there was drama. Leva said she wasn’t an audience; they’d moved because of the wind. She told Kathryn that she wasn’t trying to be an a-hole, but Kathryn walked through life feeling like everyone was against her, and that wasn’t the case. Austen said Leva had to understand that Kathryn had been attacked by every single woman there. Huh? In Leva’s interview, she said, just because she was a woman, had a voice, and knew how to use it, didn’t mean she was a bully. Leva told Kathryn that she’d created issues that affected her children and husband. John thought Leva was being aggressive, and Leva said she was only communicating how offensive what Kathryn had done was. Austen just kept repeating himself, and Leva told him to STFU. Stuck in the middle, Kathryn said nothing, and looked like she wanted to disappear. Leva said she’d been kind to Kathryn, and Austen said she’d lost her mind. Leva said she wasn’t addressing him, and Madison joined the fray, telling Austen to STFU. WOTD. Everyone started screaming at one another, and Austen told Madison to sit down. Craig told Shep that Austen was a terrible person, and whenever he was in their lives, there was stress. Leva told Austen that her conversation was with Kathryn, and told Kathryn not to be her own enemy. Kathryn thanked her.

Next time – a two-part finale – the group goes to one of those places where you smash things, Craig goes on a date in a rowboat, Leva wonders why the guys are coddling someone who’s blatantly racist, Madison tells Austen that he’s a p*ssy, and there’s a lot of arguing.

👩‍👦‍👦 The Mother Of Opposites…

All about Florence.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/florence-gray

🥁 Soap Roll Call…

Those we lost in 2020.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/gallery/abc/remembering-the-daytime-stars-we-lost-in-2020

🎹 And One More…

No wonder James Patrick Stuart sings so beautifully.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/james-patrick-stuart-mourns-the-death-of-his-father-chad-stuart

🏡 Not As Shocking As the Housewives…

Tales from the HGTV school of reality.

https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/2020-biggest-shockers-tarek-chip-jo-property-brothers-reality-stars/

🌪 I Still Hate the Monkey…

Despite the monkey, I loved this show, and I’m glad it will be back.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/his-dark-materials-renewed-for-third-and-final-season-at-hbo-bbc

🌩 Splitsville In Plathville…

While I totally get wanting to live and raise your children off the grid, IMO, the parents are pretty unyielding when they should give a little. How much damage could have been done in a two minute goodbye? It was creepy when the father tried stomping over to the car too.

https://people.com/tv/olivia-plath-posts-about-not-excusing-abusive-behaviors-after-welcome-to-plathville-finale/

Olivia speaks.

https://people.com/tv/welcome-to-plathville-olivia-plath-opens-up-about-going-to-therapy-again/

https://people.com/tv/welcome-to-plathville-olivia-plath-opens-up-about-having-no-contact-with-ethans-parents/

🛌🏽 Sleeping It Off…

Well, it’s been quite a week. 2021 is off to a rollicking start, although I could do with a little less rollick. But no matter the level of disquiet, stay safe, stay empathetic, and stay not going to your would have been birthday party, which is now whatever TF it is.

September 25, 2020 – On the Pennsylvania Side Of the River, MLB Preempt, Missing Link, Stars Dance, 9 Years Ago, Stolen and Found, a Return, More Emmy, NYC Explains Or Not, Possible Wife, Real Deal, One More Than a Dozen Quotes & Another Part of PA

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Alexis and Valentin arrive at Neil’s memorial, and Alexis says she appreciates Valentin bringing her, but she’ll get a car back. He says he drove her there himself, and he’ll drive her home. She wonders when he got so chivalrous, and he says he’s leveling the playing field. She was good to him when he needed it. They go inside, and she sees a photo of Neil.

On her phone at the hospital, Sasha says she needs to make a purchase. The usual. She asks them to meet her at GH, and text when they’re outside. Chase startles her.

Brook gets that it’s a shock to find out Olivia is in Monte Carlo, and Ned says, in the honeymoon suit at a glamorous hotel, with ex-spy Robert Scorpio. She says he sounds insecure and jealous. She thought he and Olivia were solid. Did something happen? He says, ELQ happened. Olivia hasn’t been happy since he took over the company, then Robert was able to get her in to see Dante. She might have had a hard time leaving him. It’s not her fault; they’ll work it out. He just wants her home safe and sound. The same goes for Brook. Can he convince her to come home? She says she doesn’t think it’s a good idea for either of them right now, but she’ll do what she said. She’ll let him know where she lands. He thanks her for trying to make him feel better about Olivia. Brook says, don’t tell Olivia that she said so, but Olivia is smart. She wouldn’t blow things up like that. He tells her, call him if she needs anything at all. She says, okay, and he says, maybe there’s hope for them yet. She says, maybe.

On a private plane with Robert and Ethan, Olivia says, well, it’s official. Her phone is nowhere to be found. She left it in Monte Carlo. Ethan says there’s no Wi-Fi anyway; it’s intentional. Robert says, the Bureau likes to get a head start on spinning the story. The casino bust is a way for them to control the narrative. Ethan says his mother is dead, buried in a shallow grave. How are they going to control the narrative for that? Olivia says she’s so sorry. Holly probably would have been saved if not for her.

Josslyn and Cameron are at the Bistro. Which, by the way, suddenly has an identifying name. I’ve been calling it the café for years now. Cameron says they just saw each other. Why did she text him to meet her? She says she’s fine. She didn’t feel like being at home. Cameron asks, why not? and she says, Mike just died and her mom is acting upbeat about homecoming. Josslyn knows it’s for her sake, but figured if she wasn’t around, they could be honest about how they’re feeling. Cameron totally gets it. It’s strange at his house too. There’s tension, and his parents are pretending there isn’t.

Scotty tells Franco and Elizabeth that he met with Ava and Nikolas. Elizabeth asks, what happened? and Scotty takes out the phone, pointing to the pictures. He says he showed them boom… boom. Franco says the photos have remarkable composition, but he doesn’t like to look at a picture of Elizabeth with that other dude. Elizabeth says she doesn’t like to see him and Ava either. Scotty says, the make-out sessions were their idea. He thought it was hairbrained at first. However, the two of them are masterminds, and it worked out great. They’ve got Ava and Nikolas right where they want them – scared, and ready to pay. They all smile at each other.

Robert asks what Olivia is talking about, and she says Holly would be alive, but they didn’t get there in time. Robert took her to Geneva first, and it was a waste of time to try and see Dante. Ethan asks if the call didn’t come after Holly’s memorial, and Robert says he didn’t want to go to the memorial. He only went because Olivia badgered him into it. If she hadn’t, he would have been in Port Charles when Holly called. He would have had no time to get to Monte Carlo. Ethan says, and Winston would have covered his track. They wouldn’t have gotten answers, but because of Olivia, they did. Robert says, he can only speak for himself, but he’s sure Ethan feels the same. He’s more than grateful.

Chase apologizes, saying he didn’t realize Sasha was on the phone. She says, no problem; what’s up? He asks if she’s heard about Nelle. She asks if Nelle was captured, but Chase says her body was recovered. She’s dead. Sasha asks, how? and he says, her body was found on the Pennsylvania side of the river (🍷 – a new drinking game phrase for today). She asks if he’s sure, and he says the body was positively ID’d, but he’s there to get more details. She asks if Michael knows, and how he’s taking it. She guesses he must be relieved, for himself and Wiley. She’s sorry she feels this way, but she’s thankful they’re free from Nelle’s constant torment. Wiley is truly safe. She clutches her stomach a little, and he asks if she’s okay. She says she’s fine. It’s the finality of everything. It’s finally over, and it’s too late.

Scotty says they should have seen the look on Nikolas’s face when Nikolas saw it was him; like he’d seen a ghost. To be honest, Ava felt like he’d betrayed her. Franco says, if anything, she betrayed Scotty, since he’s Scotty’s son. Where’s Ava’s loyalty to Franco, and respect for his marriage? Elizabeth says Ava and Nikolas are both just as bad, using them as pawns in their chess game. All Nikolas cares about is the infidelity clause and post-nuptial agreement.

Cameron tells Josslyn, he walked in on a conversation where his parents were discussing the bills, and they froze up. They always change the subject. How interested in his soccer practice can they be? Josslyn says she knows what he means; it’s awful the way they find a way to cover, and make like everything is all right. He says he knows his parents took out a loan when the pipe burst. Britt Westbourne is Chief of Staff, and she hates his mom, so Britt cut her hours back. Franco thinks he’s going to be fired. For no reason. She says, like Monica and Bobbie were fired. Michael thinks they should sue. He doesn’t think that’s an option for his mom or Franco. He’s looking for after school jobs. He has to help out with the expenses.

Valentin asks if Neil had any immediate family, and Alexis says, he had a brother in New Jersey. She sees a man sitting down, and says, that must be him. Valentin says, why doesn’t she pay her respects? She goes over to the man, and asks if he’s Neil’s brother. He says he’s proud to say he is. She says she’s terribly sorry for his loss, and he thanks her. He asks if she worked with his brother. Valentin introduces himself, and Alexis does the same. She says, she and Neil… and Brendan (we find out his name in the course of conversation) says he knows who she is.

Alexis says, of course (🍷). He was probably told about the circumstances of Neil’s death. He says he was, and Neil used to talk about her. That surprised him, since Neil never mentioned his personal life. He didn’t have much of one. He dated, but never seriously. He kept saying he had finally met his match. Alexis says they had a special connection. He says, Neil was a wonderful, caring person, who spent his entire life helping others. She says she was extraordinarily lucky to know him. He says, she was, and he wishes to God Neil had never met her.

Olivia tells Robert, it’s ironic. She always loved spy movies. They were so glamourous and exciting. But when you really see what goes on, it’s not that glamorous anymore, is it? She starts to cry, and says, sorry. She gets up and goes (presumably) to the bathroom. Ethan asks what the story is between them, and Robert stammers a little. He says, him and Olivia? Ethan says, no, the other bombshell on the plane. Robert says, a couple of years back, he was a fugitive, and he… well, she… she’s married. Ethan says it never stopped Robert before, and Robert calls him Mr. Leap Before You Look. Ethan says, life is short. You’ve got to cut loose. Why wait in line? You should take all the chances you can, and a few more. Play the cards your dealt, and bluff if you have to. At least you know you lived. Robert says, for a moment, Ethan reminded him of Holly.

Chase tells Sasha, it’s not too late. They got exactly what they wanted. Not for Nelle to die necessarily, but be out of Wiley’s life. Michael and Willow don’t have to be married anymore. She asks, what if they don’t want to divorce? and he asks if she’s talking about the kiss. It’s natural that it would happen. They both love Wiley, but that doesn’t mean they have feelings for one another. One kiss doesn’t make a romance. She says neither one of them would take a kiss casually; that’s not who they are. As much as they’re hurt, she and Chase have to accept the truth. The kiss was a turning point.   

Josslyn asks what kind of job Cameron is going to get that doesn’t interfere with school, homework, and soccer. He says all he knows is, he has to do something. They might be able to fool Jake and Aiden, but they can’t fool him. He sees how stressed they are about being able to afford college for him. She asks, what about a scholarship? and he says, soccer scholarships are mostly partial – if he gets one at all. Josslyn thinks he should get tons of offers, since he’s all-around amazing.

Elizabeth says, no party over what Ava and Nikolas did, especially Nikolas. She got her friend back, and watched him sinking lower and lower. Scotty says, he’s a Cassadine, but she says, he’s better than this. Now look at them, stooping to blackmail. Scotty says, they asked for it. Franco says, think about it. It could be the thing that keeps them afloat. Scotty says, it was a drop in the bucket. Nikolas and Ava were lowballing them. The reality is, they could probably get enough to pay off their mortgage, put Cameron through college, and have a cushion. Elizabeth asks Scotty what he’s done.

Cameron says Josslyn always knows how to make him feel better. She says, same. They’ve been through a lot together. He says, true that, and she says she hated house arrest. She was so lost without him and Trina; she felt left out. He says he missed her too. She says she knows he and Trina got closer during that time, with the whole kiss that happened. The important thing is, they got through it. It’s cool how they’re going to homecoming as a group. None of that date pressure. Everything’s back to normal, which is great, right? He says, yeah, totally.

Chase asks Sasha if she doesn’t see it. Everything has changed. Nelle is dead, and they’re free to tell the truth. She says, then what? Michael and Willow will realize she and Chase lied because they love them, and thank them for manipulating them for their own good? Now it’s over, and they can just pick up where they left off? He says he knows it sounds crazy, and she says, because it is. Stop living in a fantasy world. He says she’s acting like she wants Michael and Willow to hate them, and she says she didn’t mean to come at him. She’s not sleeping well. Launching Deception is a 24/7 job. He says, no doubt. He doesn’t think that’s all that’s going on.

Scotty says, when he saw the desperation on their faces, he knew Nikolas and Ava would pay, so he asked for $125K. Franco says, they agreed on $50K, and Scotty says, that’s not what he meant. He asked for $125K from each of them. Franco says, $250,000? What’s wrong with him? Elizabeth says, it’s a quarter of a million dollars; that’s extortion. Scotty says, what’s done is done. You don’t go back after a shakedown, and say, oops, I changed my mind. Even if they negotiate, they’ll come out ahead. Franco says there’s so much they could do. He and Scotty shake hands, and Franco says he’s got to hand it to Scotty. Bummer Elizabeth says she can’t believe what she’s hearing. It’s got to stop right now.

Robert says, Holly didn’t raise Ethan, but he’s just like her. Ethan says, coming from Robert, that’s a high compliment. Robert says he appreciated Ethan’s help at the casino. He doesn’t think he could have taken Winston down without him. Ethan says, actually, Olivia took him down, clobbering him with the Uzi. They laugh, and Robert says Ethan played a big part. Ethan says he wanted answers, and owed Robert one. Robert dropped everything to help them, leaving Port Charles and Anna behind to get them out of a jam. Robert says he got something out of it too; he reconnected to Holly. Too bad they couldn’t make it last, but they had a great time. Ethan says he didn’t hang around much after that because of his guilt. Robert says, about what? and Ethan says, about letting Robert think he was Robert’s son.

Valentin says he realizes the difficult circumstances, but Brendan’s words are uncalled for. Brendan doesn’t think so, and Alexis says, let him speak. He obviously has something say. Brendan says he wasn’t sure he’d get the opportunity to talk to her. He didn’t know if she’d dare show up. From what he can see, she caused more sorrow than joy. Neil took it hard when they broke up, and he couldn’t pursue her. He was moving on, then he bumped into her at the opera – the one night that ended his career, the one thing that kept him going after his daughter died. His practice helped others, and it drove Neil to despair. She dismantled his life and Neil took what was left, and threw it away on a drug overdose.

Josslyn tells Cameron, she’s seen the Crimson wardrobe vault – it’s the 8th wonder of the world. Cameron must be anointed to be allowed access, Cameron says it was complicated. Nina is all about the fit and the cut, and all the accessories; a shirt, the collar, a tie, cufflinks. She asks if he found anything he liked. She thinks it will pay off. He says he plans on looking smoking hot, and she says she bets he will.

Scotty says Elizabeth wants to torpedo their plan. Ava and Nikolas are the ones acting like bad guys, and messing with his family. He takes family seriously, and thought she would too. Franco says he thought what her friend did was unacceptable. He wants them to feel what’s it’s like to be used and tricked. Scotty says, if not, they can feel it in their wallets. Elizabeth says, blackmail is a crime, and she wants no part of it. Franco shouldn’t either. Scotty asks if she thinks they’re going to the cops. Franco says, come on. Technically, it’s not blackmail until money exchanges hands. They don’t know if Ava and Nikolas are going to pay at all, so maybe wait see what happens. She says, okay. When are they meeting with Scotty? Scotty says he gave them 24 hours. They’ll never know Franco and Elizabeth had anything to do with this; it’s all on him. Franco says he appreciates everything Scotty had done for them, and says, Elizabeth? She says she knows Scotty’s heart is in the right place, and she appreciates that he’s overprotective of his family, even if they don’t agree on his methods. He says, no one messes with his family. Not on his watch.

Robert says, all the same, what are the odds he and Ethan would be stuck on the same plane? Get it over with. Ethan says Robert thought Robin was dead, and Holly told him Ethan was his son, so Robert would feel obligated to save him. Robert says Ethan’s real father had a big hand it; it’s a convoluted Spencer special. Holly lied to give him hope, but without Holly and hope, he doesn’t know if he would have survived. She was almost always right. Ethan says, and she never let them forget it. Robert says, that’s for damn sure. They drink.

Chase says Sasha is trying to hide her feelings, but he can tell she’s struggling. She’s trying to convince him, but giving up Michael is too painful to admit. She says she wishes she could, and he says, she buried herself in her work, so she doesn’t have to face what’s going on. She says she never expected life to turn into this, and he says the two of them are in it together. He’s here for her anytime she wants to call, and she knows he’ll understand. She thanks him for being a good friend. Brook appears, and says, hey, roomie. Sasha says she’s on her way out, but Brook tells her, don’t jump to conclusions. She’s just crashing at Chase’s place. He’s being a sweetheart, but nothing is going on. Sasha says, nothing is going on with her and Chase either. Chase says there’s something Brook should know; Nelle is dead. Her body was recovered on the Pennsylvania side of the river (🍷). He’s going to the morgue to follow up. Brook says she should be sorry for the loss of any human life, but all she feels is relief. Chase says, him too, and he moves along. Brook says, wow. Nelle is dead. (I expect her to say, and her body was recovered on the Pennsylvania side of the river, but she doesn’t.) Sasha asks if she’s okay, and Brook says she’s just processing. Sasha doesn’t blame her, and says Brook has been through a lot. Brook says she’s on the mend, and stronger every day. Sasha says she’s glad to hear it. They need her voice for Deception. When is she recording a new song?

Valentin says, Neil was a grown man; he made his own decisions. What happened was tragic, but don’t put it on Alexis. Alexis says Brendan has a right to feel the way he does, and Brendan says, the memorial is a celebration of Neil’s life. She stripped him of everything worth living for. He doesn’t want the memorial tainted with her presence, and tells her that she’s not welcome. Alexis runs out crying. Well, he’s not making a very good first impression.

Chase orders some food to go at The Floating Rib. Valentin and Alexis walk in, and Valentin suggests she get something to eat. She says she doesn’t have much of an appetite, and he says, Neil’s brother was out of line. He’s grieving, and needs someone to take it out on. He chose her. She says Branden used words that she can’t unhear, and watches as a drink is poured.

On the phone, Josslyn says she’s glad Carly called, instead of waiting until she got home. She’s with Cameron, but she’ll see Carly soon. She loves her. Cameron says he heard her say Nelle was dead. Is she really gone? Josslyn says her mom told her they found the body on the Pennsylvania side of the river. (🍷) He asks, what happened? and she says, it’s too early to say exactly how Nelle died. He says, after everything that happened, it’s really over. Nelle is gone.  

Alexis tells Valentin, she can’t be angry with Neil’s brother. He didn’t know how their relationship was. Ned comes in, and orders a double scotch, neat, at the bar. Chase asks if he’s okay, and he says, just great, throwing back his drink. He doesn’t know whether to be annoyed with Chase or grateful that he’s letting Brook stay. If he hadn’t, it might be easier to convince her to come home.  Chase says he tried to give her options. At their table, Valentin says, Brendan is furious that Neil threw his life away, and is looking for someone to blame. She’s an easy target. Ned tells Chase, women like to have options, loud enough for Valentin to hear, and looks pointedly at Valentin.

Ethan says, all the stories he heard of their adventures together; Holly loved Robert, in her way. Robert says he loved Holly. That’s all he wants to say about it. He’s sorry she wasn’t a conventional mother. Ethan says conventions are overrated. They were perfect partners in crime. They could go a month not seeing each other, then she’d then send up a flare, and he’d come on the run. The cons were just an excuse. She really wanted to spend time together. Robert said she knew she could trust him, and Ethan says he doesn’t know how to get over it, but it helps knowing there’s someone else out there who remembers her too. Olivia comes back, and says, sorry for making a scene. How did the two of them manage without her? Robert says they buried a few hatchets, and Olivia asks when they’re landing. Robert tells her, he’ll check with the pilot, and goes up front. Olivia tells Ethan, when they get there, she’s putting him up at the MetroCourt; no argument. He says he appreciates it, but as soon as they touch down, he has a date in Antigua. She asks, what it would hurt to stick around Port Charles?

Sasha says she has to go, but she wants to see Brook in the recording studio asap. Geez, Brook practically just got off the operating table for an injury to her vocal chords. I know Sasha is high, but come on. Brook says she’s going to have to extend that timeline, and Sasha says Deception gained momentum from the Nurses Ball telethon. Brook says, her doctors haven’t cleared her for singing, and Sasha says, sorry. She’s just excited. She’s a partner, and brand ambassador. The projections are through the roof. It’s going to be a huge success, and she wants Brook to be a part of that. Brook says she does too. She’d love to be involved in the business aspect. Sasha says she didn’t think Brook was interested in that, but Brook says, sure she would. She’s always wanted to be part of a winning team. Sasha says Brook doesn’t have to prove her worth. They just want her voice; it’s more than enough.

Franco tells Elizabeth, it’s just a threat. They’ll destroy the picture, whether or not they pay. She says, okay, but he says she’s still angry. She thinks they deserved a scare. Marriage means nothing to them, and everything to her. She doesn’t take what they tried to do lightly. Franco says, they were just trying; no real damage was done. She says, right, and he says, checking in. Around the time of the party, things were rocky. Elizabeth says, she’s glad she overheard Ava and Nina talking about Ava’s post-nup and wanting Nikolas to cheat. She finally understood what was going on. Franco says they feel solid. Does she think they’re better than ever? Elizabeth says, yeah. They never lost faith in each other. It doesn’t matter what happens with Ava and Nikolas. Clearly, they’re the winners. They hug.

Cameron asks if Josslyn is okay. How does she feel about things, honestly? She says, conflicted. She can’t tell him how much she’d wished Nelle would disappear and not come back. Nelle deliberately set out to ruin her mom’s life, and manipulated her to go against her mom, and she let Nelle do it. She should hate Nelle, but despite all she did, she’s the reason Wiley exists, and she can’t regret Wiley. So being glad Nelle is dead is harsh, but she’s relieved that Nelle will never hurt them again. Does that make her a horrible person? He says, no, but it does add another thing to deal with. Josslyn says she should get going. She needs to start getting ready for homecoming if she’s going to keep up with him. Cameron says she always looks beautiful, and Josslyn says she should probably go.

Brook tells Sasha, she has a follow-up appointment with her surgeon, and Sasha says, her too. She means an appointment. She tells Brook, hurry up and get well. She can’t wait work with Brook. Sasha leaves, and Brook says she has to figure out how to be the voice of Deception without a voice.

Chase tells Ned that he doesn’t think Brook would be this angry if she didn’t love him. At the table, Valentin tells Alexis, she wants to blame herself, but she’s not the reason Neil did drugs. Chase tells Ned, Brook couldn’t be indifferent if she wanted to, and Ned thanks him for trying. He walks over to the table, and asks if he can have a word with Valentin. Valentin says he’s a little busy, and Alexis says she’d consider it a favor. Valentin says, okay, as a favor. He and Ned go outside, and Alexis joneses after the alcoholic drinks.

Ethan says, Port Charles hasn’t been his home in years, but Olivia says, Robert is there, and they’re both grieving Holly. They can help each other. Robert says they don’t have to be in the same city. If Ethan is in a tight spot, he’ll be there, like his mother would have. Ethan says, it goes both ways, and Olivia asks if he’s absolutely sure. Ethan says he has a score to settle, and Olivia hopes when he’s ready to settle down, Port Charles is the first place he thinks of. He says he’ll keep it in mind.

Valentin tells Ned, if he wants to talk about ELQ, call his office. Ned calls him a smug bastard, saying Valentin preyed on his daughter when she was vulnerable. He’s not letting Valentin do the same to Alexis. Valentin says Ned is drunk, and starts to walk away, but Ned grabs him and punches him.

Alexis orders a double vodka.

On… whatever day it’s on next (see below), Portia tells Curtis that he shouldn’t be asking questions, Robert asks Peter if he was missed, and Olivia tells Lulu about seeing Dante.

⚾️ What the What…?

For baseball? Really?

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/general-hospital-preempted-for-three-days

📺 In Case You Missed It…

I have no idea what this is about, but apparently some people missed the September 23rd episode of GH. If this is you, here you go.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/watch-september-23-episode-general-hospital-in-full

🧼 Better Than a Foam Party…

Former soap stars cut the rug.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/abc/soap-alums-on-dancing-with-the-stars-week-two-recap

🌠 Rubbing It In…

We come together to mourn the passing of a soap kids once scheduled their college classes around.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/gallery/all-my-children/all-my-children-final-episode-anniversary

💍 I See a Ring In Someone’s Future…

This was one of the few parts in RHOBH Secrets Revealed that I thought was worth watching. And Sutton’s birthday party. I could watch that all day.

https://pagesix.com/2020/09/24/kyle-richards-saw-stolen-ring-on-photo-of-psychics-hand/

https://pagesix.com/2020/09/25/tiktok-user-says-woman-wearing-kyle-richards-stolen-ring-is-her-grandma/

👨🏼‍🌾 The Simple Life…

I liked this show, and liked the idea of a family living off the media grid, social and otherwise. It looks like the kids will be branching out some this season. You can take a trip to Plathville on November 10th.

https://people.com/tv/tlc-welcome-to-plathville-returning-for-season-2/

📝 Because I Like a List…

Another take on Emmy’s best and worst moments.

https://www.tvguide.com/news/emmys-awards-2020-best-and-worst-moments/?ftag=NLS-04-10aaa2i

🗽 Reunion Rehash…

Tinsley and Dorinda explained.

https://www.thelist.com/247833/the-truth-about-tinsley-mortimer-and-dorinda-medleys-relationship/

Dorinda makes excuses explains.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1191191/heres-how-dorinda-medley-explains-her-rhony-finale-blow-up-over-tinsley-mortimer

Dorinda makes excuses admits a wrong move.

https://people.com/tv/rhony-dorinda-medley-admits-she-shouldve-taken-this-season-off/

Tinsley makes excuses for being really weird explains.

https://pagesix.com/2020/09/18/tinsley-mortimer-explains-why-she-made-out-with-sister-dabney-mercer/

Tinsley really does explain.

https://people.com/tv/rhony-reunion-tinsley-mortimer-explains-fallout-with-dorinda-medley/

🧩 Another Puzzle Piece…

So Kathy wants on the show. Another reason Kyle might have to claim Brandi never lies. I’m telling you, that was a set-up.

https://pagesix.com/2020/09/17/kathy-hilton-reportedly-in-talks-to-join-rhobh/

🥋 Just In Case You Were Wondering…

Wax off this.

https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-real-martial-arts-behind-cobra-kai-and-the-karate-kid/

🏌️‍♀️ Quotes of the Week

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe. – Albert Einstein  (I question as to whether he really said that, but it’s a good one.)

Believe in your infinite potential. Your only limitations are those you set upon yourself. – Roy T. Bennett

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. – Theodore Roosevelt

Aggressive is protecting your rights, but hurting others. Assertive is protecting your rights and not hurting others. – Dr. Phil  (Fat blipping chance a huge percentage of the world will ever get that.)

Everything’s funny eventually. Sometimes it takes a while but the day will come when you’re able to laugh about anything. – David Sedaris

Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten. – David Ogden Stiers  (Ha-ha! Good thing we have friends.)

People dress up for funerals. Why not dress up to celebrate that you’re alive?Gay Talese

I don’t focus on what I’m up against. I focus on my goals and I try to forget the rest. – Venus Williams

Live your vision and demand your success. – Steve Maraboli

Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. – Joshua J. Marine  (Seriously though, I’d like a break from both.)

This one matches our curtains. – Eric helping Larissa choose lingerie, 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After?

Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success. – Dale Carnegie

And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about. – Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

👷🏽‍♀️ You Know the Drill…

It’s that time again. Those two days that may or may not have taken on a whole new meaning for you. As the Dowager Countess said, what’s a weekend? I say it too, but it’s because I never get one. I’ve questioned the validity of the word vacation for quite a while too. Regardless of how you view them, make the next two days different. Listen to music you’ve never heard before, gather some fall leaves to press or the last bloom of the summer. Get outside, and get outside your head. And while you’re at it, stay safe, stay appreciative, and stay away from the Pennsylvania side of the river. I hear they find bodies there.