General Hospital blog - July, 2023
July 3rd, 2023
Sasha talks over her anxieties with Damon, who prescribes her an anti-anxiety medication and keeps encouraging her. Sonny tells Gladys that she's right to be concerned about Sasha, but he supports her decision to end the guardianship, and neither of them will stand in her way. Gladys already has a plan in motion, though, involving Sasha's new prescription. Drew reports to Pentonville to begin his sentence, and he's barely there for five seconds when Cyrus shows up to greet him. He gives Drew a Bible and invites him to a prayer group, which Drew has very little interest in. He has negative amounts of interest once he learns who Cyrus is, as he knows a lot about Cyrus' sins in Port Charles. Cyrus insists that he keep the Bible, which contains a shiv. T.J. happily gives Willow and Michael the news that Willow's well enough to go home. Michael's nervous about all it'll take to keep Willow healthy, but T.J. thinks they can handle it. They'll have to keep the list of approved visitors short, but Willow wants to put Nina on it. Carly welcomes Sam to open up about how she really feels about Drew taking the fall for her. Sam's not happy, of course, but she's decided that Carly's family needs her more than Scout needs Drew, basically, so she's getting over it. She gives Carly encouragement in getting through her most recent loss and the huge fine she now has to pay. Dante's relieved to learn that the charges against Cody have been dropped, news that Cody and Gladys don't bother to pretend is new to them. Mac feels bad about having had to arrest Cody, and he hopes that the two of them can be friends now. Cody's okay with that, and is also okay with signing paperwork to move along his and Scott's lawsuit against the WSB. Dante is suspicious of all that and thinks that Scott is somehow scamming Cody.
They'll need to write Sasha out soon for Sofia Mattsson's maternity leave, so...coma due to a medication interaction? A forced drug relapse and a trip to rehab?
Okay, I'm game – why does Cyrus want to buddy up with Drew?
Good luck keeping a sterile home with little kids around, Michael and Willow.
What idea did Carly get from the ideas of keeping an iron will, a roof over her head, and her freedom? Is she going to turn the house into an AirBnB?
So that's it? Sam's over her anger at Carly, just like that? Whatever.
How did Sasha find out that the charges against Cody were dropped before he or Scott did?
July 5th, 2023
Tracy takes the information Brook stole for her to Diane and hints that Deception stole the intellectual property for the Deceptor. Diane needs more before she can build a case, but she'll happily do it, especially since she'll get a third of the damages. Tracy next goes to Martin and says she has a proposition for him. Lucy has learned that someone downloaded proprietary material on the Deceptor, and since it was done on Maxie's computer, she thinks it was Maxie. Brook tries very hard to look innocent. Carly decides to sell her house, but Sam tries to talk her out of it, since she has so many memories there. Diane also seems to have another idea for her. Nina's life is basically perfect, except for the fact that her daughter doesn't want to talk to her. So imagine her surprise when Willow, who's been given a second chance, decides she wants to give her mother a second chance, too. Nina panics a little because she's scared of being busted as the whistleblower, but it all works out. Felicia steals Martin's trash, then enlists Mac and James to help her look for dirt on him. They piece together some documents he shredded and see that his monthly $50,000 comes from a bank in Pine Valley. Dante doesn't get why Cody will hold on to his ties to Scott but not reveal his ties to Mac. He thinks Cody would be a lot happier if he stopped isolating himself and started accepting help from friends and family.
If Sam doesn't think that Carly should take the easiest solution to her problems, maybe she could offer up some other suggestions.
How much money does Maxie have now? Maybe she can buy Carly's house.
Morgan mention – drink!
Well, everything sure is coming up Nina, isn't it?
Unless that nurse whose name I can't remember turns out to be Martin's ex, I don't care about her at all.
July 6th, 2023
Tracy asks Martin to fill in as the head of ELQ while Valentin's out of the country and Ned is...you know, not Ned. Despite having reasonable questions about why she would ask that of him, he agrees, and he accepts an invitation to the Quartermaines' fundraising picnic next week. Maxie and Lucy tear into each other until Brook admits that she downloaded the information about the Deceptor for a completely innocent reason. Lucy lectures her about how private information needs to stay private, then just tells her to bring the downloads back. Sasha sees Tracy giving the flash drive they're on to Brook. The Davises try to support Molly, which mainly means doing that thing they always do where Sam and Alexis say positive things, Kristina says something that doesn't really sound positive, Molly gets upset, and Alexis paints Kristina as the bad guy. Marshall and Curtis encourage T.J. to continue giving Molly what she needs to deal with the news about her fertility. T.J. worries that they won't survive the situation or that Molly has changed her mind about having children. Finn and Elizabeth pretend that they're glad that he talked to Violet about playing matchmaker and she won't try to fix them up again. Terry thinks Elizabeth should talk to Finn about where they stand, since it's possible that he wants to get back together, but Tracy advises Finn to shut that whole thing down before they make the same mistakes all over again. Felicia tells Lucy about Martin's mystery payments, and the two decide to take a trip to Pine Valley to dig up more information.
Tracy, I trust that you have a good plan cooking, but from this angle, you just look like you're making wildly insane decisions. "You know who would be the perfect temporary CEO of ELQ? The lawyer I've met once, who as far as everyone knows has no experience as a CEO." Yeah, he's a much better choice for that than Michael.
Ooh, Chekhov's Sasha! Didn't see that coming. I figured that after she disappeared 15 minutes into yesterday's episode, we wouldn't see her again until she was comatose or crashing her car or something.
They need to make sure T.J. stays on the right side of the line between supportive and spineless. I can see him giving all his attention to Molly and neglecting what he wants.
Bold of Curtis to think that Portia will let him into the house if he goes there.
Let's be real, if Finn put parental controls on his phone, Violet would find a way around them. Also, instead of distracting her from matchmaking, I predict that a family night will just lead to her enlisting Jake and Aiden to help her get their parents back together.
July 7th, 2023
Sonny asks Dante to be his best man at his and Nina's wedding, which will be small, and not just because no one's going to want to go. Dante's noticed some changes to Sonny's routine and is concerned that there's a threat. Anna gives Sonny a message from Valentin warning him not to proceed with any Pikeman business if his contact person changes. It's a safe bet that the sniper Dante spots is gunning for Sonny because of Pikeman. Tracy, Brook, Chase, Finn, Gregory, and Violet all have dinner together, and it's a lot less awkward than you would expect. Tracy keeps poking at Brook about Deception, leading Chase to confront Brook for going back to work there when she obviously doesn't want to. Molly and T.J. ease the tension between them a little and enjoy a night out with the other Davises. Everyone discusses Kristina's plans for the LGBTQ+ shelter, and Alexis finally gives her genuine, fully positive encouragement and praise. Just as Kristina's feeling better about taking on a huge project, she comes up with the brilliant idea to take on another new project: being Molly's surrogate. Anna and Jordan catch up on each other's lives, mainly how Anna's dealing with all the revelations about her past and what's up with Jordan's love life. Zeke comes back for another shot at trying to convince Jordan to go on a date and see where things go. Jordan obviously wants that, but she knows the situation is too messy for that to be a good idea. To underline that, Portia shows up just then. Portia and Elizabeth are kind of in the same boat, not sure where their relationships are going or what their guys want. Portia convinces Elizabeth to tell Finn how she feels, so Elizabeth gets glammed up and goes to see him. Curtis talks over his current issues with Sam, who gives him encouragement.
Wow, Tracy behaved herself for an entire meal. Amazing.
I won't be able to survive nine months of Sam and Alexis micromanaging Kristina's pregnancy.
Ordinarily I would tell Elizabeth not to take relationship advice from Portia, at least not right now, but it turned out to be good.
Aw, I like that Charlotte's staying with Sam and Dante while Valentin's away. She gets to be with Rocco. And hopefully that's helping to distract Scout. By the way, Sam keeps saying that she's not doing well with Drew gone, so maybe Sam could cut her night out short and go be with her?
July 10th, 2023
Curtis is the only person shot by the sniper, and everyone scrambles to either help him or secure the scene. It's a fair assumption that either Sonny or Anna was the target, which means the sniper is really bad at their job. Dante and Chase find what's likely the gun used in the shooting, and Dante starts to suspect that this was all an intelligence op. Molly is very, very against using Kristina as a surrogate, expecting Kristina to make the whole pregnancy about herself. T.J.'s basically like, "Yeah, she's a mess, but she's our mess." Just as Molly starts to come around a little on the idea, Alexis and Sam succeed in getting through to Kristina what an impulsive decision she's making. Spencer and Esme attend the parenting class, but it turns out they're on the same page about almost everything and willing to compromise on everything else. Elizabeth's really shaken by the shooting, so it's a good thing Finn is there to comfort her. Josslyn tells Trina that she thinks Spencer's rivalry with Dex stems from his insecurities. Later, she sees Spencer and Esme being friendly with each other, so we can all expect her to blow that out of proportion.
I'd say we're working with 100-to-1 odds that Curtis isn't paralyzed.
No way would Chase take Finn and Elizabeth out there without knowing if the scene was secure. Suspend him again!
LOL at Molly being like, "How did T.J. know I was mad at Kristina and not Sam?" Because...it's Kristina.
If we're supposed to believe that Kristina makes things about herself all the time, I'm going to need Molly the attorney to present some evidence.
What?? Esme touched Spencer's shoulder?? Josslyn, you should definitely lose your mind about it!
July 11th, 2023
Portia keeps calm, most likely for Trina's sake, as they wait for more word on Curtis' condition. Spencer rushes to be with Trina, which can't make Portia's night any better. Nina worries that the sniper was aiming for Sonny in an attempt to finish what he failed to do the last time Sonny was almost shot. Anna's still stuck on the possibility that she was the target, and that all of the decisions she's made in her life led her to where she is. She and Sonny both think about whether they would have made different decisions if they could go back. Josslyn pretty much tells Esme not to try anything with Spencer, while Esme claims that she has no ulterior motives. Josslyn isn't sure whether Esme is faking her amnesia, but she thinks the old Esme is still lurking under the surface, and she couldn't have fallen far from the trees of her two psychopath parents. Finn and Elizabeth talk about how they got a reminder tonight about how fragile life is, which leads to a discussion of second chances and trying to right past mistakes, and finally, finally they agree to give their relationship another go. Marshall tells Stella that now that he's been off his medication for a while and hasn't experienced any symptoms, it looks like Portia was right about him being misdiagnosed.
It's weird to me that people keep automatically assuming that Curtis was the sniper's target.
Where's Zeke? We might need someone to keep Portia from going off on Spencer.
Wish I could deal with Josslyn the way Esme tried to: by ignoring her and walking away.
"Is there a message you want to pass on to your little brother?" Yeah, tell him that he's four-and-a-half months old and has no idea what's going on. Come on, Esme.
Somewhere, Violet just cheered.
July 12th, 2023
Fed up with Chase's questions about her return to Deception and Tracy's...well, just Tracy in general, Brook finally spills everything to Chase. He's not happy, but he's mostly upset that Tracy has been blackmailing Brook. Also, he kisses Brook before he leaves, so it doesn't look like he wants to break up. Brook's relieved and pleased until Tracy reminds her that she committed corporate espionage. In Pine Valley, Lucy occupies Jackson (some lawyer from All My Children) so Felicia can snoop around his office for Martin's file. She doesn't find anything, but she thinks there could be something in his giant safe. Martin asks Anna to help him figure out why Lucy has seemingly chilled toward him recently. She thinks it's because he said he didn't want to get married, and she also knows why he feels that way – his monthly $50,000 comes from his third ex-wife, and if he gets remarried, the checks will stop. Gladys is worried that the medication Damon prescribed Sasha will hurt her, because apparently she does have an itty-bitty heart. Damon says the danger is in the interaction between the medication and her anti-depressant. It's already doing its thing, as Sasha is acting like she spent the last 12 hours drinking Red Bull. A shopping spree with Maxie leads to what seems like an accidental case of shoplifting, and Chase reluctantly has to arrest Sasha. Cody has lost two games as Selina's ringer, and his blasé attitude toward possibly being let go makes her suspect that he wants to be fired. She also suspects (correctly) that he used marked cards. Willow is apologetic that she and Michael can't have sex for a while, as if he's been thinking anything about that.
Yay, Brook! You did the right thing!
Felicia can break into a safe but she can't pick a lock?
Loved this exchange:
Martin: "Wait a minute. You're a woman." Come on, Maxie's observant enough to realize that something's up with Sasha.
It can't be safe for Willow to kiss Michael right now, can it? Also, I don't need to hear anything about their sex life, thank you.
July 13th, 2023
Curtis flatlines in the OR and gets a glimpse of the afterlife, where his mother is waiting for him. She tempts him to stay with her and his brother, but Curtis hears T.J.'s voice encouraging him to come back, and he can't let go of the thought of returning to Trina and Portia. Maxie works out Sasha's most recent legal trouble, and no one addresses her strange behavior earlier in the day or the fact that she doesn't remember taking the clothes she's accused of stealing. Of all of Curtis' loved ones, Trina has the hardest time keeping it together while they wait for him to get out of surgery, though Portia also breaks down a little with Nina. Cody saves himself from a Selina-authorized beating by offering her part of the money he expects to get from the WSB. He'll still have to be her ringer, though. There's something else going on here, however, since Sam gets caught taking pictures of them together. Kristina has apparently talked herself back into wanting to be a surrogate for Molly, and Alexis can't convince her that she's not prepared for all that would involve. Kristina reaches out to Maxie for insight, but Maxie puts her on hold. In turn, Alexis reaches out to Sonny for help getting through to their daughter. Michael and Wiley give Willow a mini-stay-at-home trip to Paris. Sam lets Gladys know that she's suspicious of her connection to Selina.
Donnell Turner's work today might have been his best yet.
I like that Curtis' version of Heaven is just hanging out with his mom.
I assume Jordan's keeping her distance because it would be awkward for her to be around Portia right now, but Zeke should really be with his sister.
I don't get what's so wrong about Kristina offering up front to be Molly's surrogate or her asking Maxie about it. Alexis is way overreacting.
I'll admit that I laughed at the fact that Gladys has Michael in her phone as "Sonny's kid."
July 14th, 2023
Curtis survives surgery and Trina is allowed to see him, but she gets overwhelmed by the situation and runs out of his room. Marshall and Stella assure her that she doesn't need to be embarrassed. Portia visits him next and expresses regret over the way she reacted when she found out he'd kissed Jordan. Sasha takes more of her new medication and quickly stops caring about her problems. Gladys slams Cody for not being available when Sasha called him, as if she didn't miss a call about her because she was out shopping. Sasha defends him and Cody tells her they can be friends after all. Nina also comes to check on Sasha, and Gladys plays up the situation like Sasha's on the verge of another breakdown. Nina orders her not to tell the court about the shoplifting mess. Dante catches a guy outside Anna's house with a gun, but it's just someone Sonny sent over to keep an eye out. Dante has discovered that the gun used by the sniper was supposedly confiscated by the WSB two years ago, so it's possible that the sniper has ties to the agency. Sonny joins the conversation and the three agree that a current agent wouldn't take the risk of shooting a civilian. Anna decides that she should use herself as bait to lure out whoever's targeting her before any other innocent people get hurt. T.J. bites Kristina's head off for basically no reason, and Molly tears into her for making things about herself, just like she would if she were to carry a baby for them. Kristina argues that offering to give up the better part of a year of her life to have a baby for someone else is actually pretty selfless. Sam learns that the police have been keeping an eye on Selina's poker games, and she guesses that the real reason they haven't done anything to bust them isn't that they don't have enough to make charges stick but because Mac doesn't want Cody to get in trouble. She admits that she thinks it might be too late to save Cody from himself. Alexis bugs Sonny to talk to Kristina, though she won't tell him what's going on with her and doesn't consider the possibility that he might not side with her. Stella probably has some horrible disease, because feeling faint always leads to that.
Wow, Trina's already calling Curtis "Dad." That was fast.
I like the realism of Trina getting freaked out in Curtis' hospital room. I'm not sure we've ever seen that before.
Gladys should really be trying harder to keep Sasha and Cody apart, because the second Sasha mentions her psychiatrist's name, Cody will be on to Gladys.
The wallpaper at Sasha and Gladys' place is horrific.
Who among us hasn't gotten a look from a parent just like the one Sonny gave Dante when Dante joked that Sonny should have a ninja keep an eye on Anna?
Why is it that Kristina's family members, who are all otherwise lovely people, turn into monsters where she's concerned? No wonder she joined a cult.
July 17th, 2023
Olivia's melting down and Leo's acting out, and hearing that Ned is busking at Rice Plaza is the last straw for Tracy. She tells Ned to drop his fake persona and basically pretend to be the person he used to be for the sake of his loved ones. Ned refuses, but later he and Chase end up at the mansion, so his protests that he wants no part of his old life can't be completely sincere. Lucy flirts with Jackson to keep him out of his office while Felicia breaks into the safe and finds...something. Jackson knows who Lucy is and thinks she's there for information on a cosmetics company. She keeps him fooled and occupied, but eventually something or another happens and she winds up in handcuffs while Felicia gets busted in the office. Dante objects to Anna's plan, while Sonny offers his full support and anything she might need. Knowing he won't be able to talk Anna out of it, Dante decides to volunteer to help instead. Anna doesn't want him to put himself in danger or risk PTSD again, but Dante's already made up his mind. Ava tells Nina that she and Austin slept together and makes it seem like they've been developing a relationship for a few months. Austin keeps that up without even knowing it when he runs into them and generally acts like Ava's his girlfriend. He pushes Ava to continue with their plan to get Pilar replaced, giving her a message from Mason that he's keeping an eye on Delia. Mason has already picked out a mole/nanny, but Sonny's not on board yet with getting rid of Pilar. Also, now he's suspicious of Austin. Chase tells Gregory that Tracy helped him get his badge back, which makes Gregory wonder if she had ulterior motives. Later, he tells Tracy he wants to have a talk about her meddling in Chase's life.
Is it really a good idea to do this picnic again when last year's ended with someone almost dying?
"Time's up, Pete Townshend." Ooh, good one. So contemporary!
I laughed so hard at, "Oh, please go embarrass your parents somewhere else."
What's that? Chase saved the day? I sure hope Tracy doesn't have to thank him or anything.
I really want to see Mac going to Pine Valley to get Lucy and Felicia, all, "All right, ladies, what mess did you get yourselves into this time?"
July 18th, 2023
Olivia doesn't want Ned at the house if he's just going to leave, because it's not good for Leo if Ned keeps going in and out of his life. Cody offers to let Ned move into the room above the stables so he can stay close to the family but still have his own space. Ned declines, but he makes a connection with Leo that shows he's not completely heartless now. Lucy and Felicia use their one phone call to contact Anna, since she knows Jackson, but Mac is with her, so he gets dragged into the situation. While Anna convinces Jackson to drop the charges he wants filed against Lucy and Felicia, details come out about Martin and Ex #3's rift: She threatened to sell his family's recipe for hummingbird cake to Little Debbie's. Anyway, long story short, no charges are filed, and Lucy now knows that Martin's getting alimony from Ex #3. Gregory surprisingly wants to thank Tracy for helping Chase get his job back. Tracy somehow spins this into an accusation that Gregory isn't proud of his sons. She also spins his sympathy over the situation with Ned into belief that he wants her to give up on her son. They fight, of course, and as he's trying to storm off, he drops his keys and has trouble picking them up. Alexis comes to his rescue and makes sure he's okay. Chase eases Brook's fears that they're over again by telling her that he's going to try to be so strict about right and wrong because their differences complement each other. He doesn't even want to know the details of her mess with Tracy, and he'll only get involved if she asks him to. Also, he loves her. Brook tells Tracy that she's not spying for her anymore, and she knows Tracy can't turn her in for insider trading without admitting her part in it. In other words, if Brook goes down, Tracy will go down with her. Sam tells Dante that she thinks Selina is the one who got the charges against Cody dropped, and that they're connected in some way Sam hasn't figured out yet. She also thinks that Mac told her about the PCPD's surveillance on the Savoy because he wants her to warn Cody that he could get arrested. The question is whether she should follow through.
"We can't keep the man prisoner here, Tracy." "Well, that's because you lack imagination." Tracy Quartermaine, everyone.
Maybe Dante should be helping Olivia through all this instead of Cody. Just a thought.
I'm sorry, did Lucy try to throw Felicia under the bus? No, Lucy! Bad Lucy!
This is all about cake? Freaking A.
They missed the perfect opportunity for Dante to say, "Who?" and Sam to say, "Wu."
July 19th, 2023
Sasha wants to get out ahead of a blind item about a shoplifting model by doing an interview about the situation and her mental health. While Maxie's playing gatekeeper for topics of conversation, Gladys bugs Cody about being in the vicinity, claiming that he's distracting Sasha. He's not, but that changes when she imagines that he's Cyrus instead of Cody. She also thinks that he's hurting Gladys, so she grabs a knife and stabs him. Molly vents to Sam about how Kristina always makes everything about herself, and how her offer to be a surrogate is her bragging that she can carry a baby while Molly can't. Sam's like, "I understand that you're upset, and you have the right to be, but you've totally lost the plot here." Portia tries to get through to Spencer that he's bad for Trina, all the bad stuff that's happened to her is because of him, and he's making things worse by living with Esme. Trina interrupts before things get messy, and then Curtis regains consciousness, so hopefully that conversation will be set aside for a while. Esme finds a bunch of Ryan- and Heather-related stuff in Alexis' office and accuses Alexis of hiring her because of her connections to them. Alexis tells her that someone wants to do a story about their crimes, which Esme objects to. She thinks Alexis, as a Cassadine, should understand how hard it is to never be able to separate yourself from your family. Alexis has no sympathy for her, since she worked hard to make a life for herself apart from the Cassadines, while Esme won't even accept responsibility for the things she's done. Trina worries that she's neglecting Taggert by trying to get to know her biological family better. Taggert reassures her like always, hiding his pain over being edged out by another man. Sonny tries to give Kristina advice on how to handle things with Molly without knowing what's going on. It mostly comes down to him encouraging her to talk to her sister.
I'd totally forgotten about Sasha and Cyrus' whole mess until Drew mentioned their connection, so I never expected her to hallucinate him. (I figured Brando would pop up at some point, though.) And I definitely didn't expect her to mistake Cody for Cyrus and stab him. A nice development, and a plausible reason to write her out while Sofia Mattsson is on maternity leave.
Good, a new Molly. I didn't think the last actress was right for the role.
Let me get this straight: Molly thinks her and Kristina's relationship is irreparable because Kristina offered to carry a baby for her. Do I have that right?
"Spencer, of all people, decides to stop by." How dare he show up to offer support to his girlfriend! What a horrible person!
July 20th, 2023
Sasha continues thinking that Cody is Cyrus until Maxie gets her to realize that she's wrong. Maxie also convinces that detective whose name I've forgotten that Sasha's mental health issues prevent her from being fully responsible for her actions. She's still under arrest, but at least she'll get a psych evaluation before she's booked. Curtis tells Marshall that he saw his mother but came back for Trina. Everyone's relieved because he seems to be doing fine, but then, to absolutely no one's surprise, they discover that he has no feeling in his legs. Sonny and Nina go on a double date with Ava and Austin, which gets interrupted by a guy named Gordon who did something or other for Mason and Austin and now wants his compensation. Sonny eavesdrops long enough to find out that the cousins are up to something before coming to Austin's rescue. While waiting to visit Heather at Pentonville, Esme encounters Cyrus, who knows all about her and is way too interested in the fact that they have Ace in common. Esme's there to ask Heather why she abandoned her child. Heather says that she and Ryan couldn't give Esme the life she deserved, but Esme doesn't think the life she ended up with was much better. She doesn't want to admit that she and Heather might have something in common, and she shares her plan to co-parent Ace with Spencer and keep him away from all things Heather and Ryan. Heather hints that Esme's adoptive parents' deaths weren't an accident, and that Esme had something to do with whatever really happened to them. Sam makes Molly and Kristina talk things out, and they address how they can improve their relationship with each other. Portia's concerns get to Spencer, who practically gives Trina an out in case she decides she can't deal with everything that comes with dating him. She doesn't take it.
I'm adding Nathan mentions to the drinking game. Just 'cause.
We might be surprised that Curtis doesn't have feeling in his legs if the show hadn't spent the past two weeks telegraphing that that would happen.
Shouldn't Esme be glad that Heather abandoned her, since it meant not being raised by two serial killers?
Pentonville's visitation room is surprisingly nice.
I'm actually glad Sonny's getting involved in this Austin stuff, because it seems like that might be the only way there will be any progress there.
It's funny that Molly and Kristina mentioned that Molly seems more like the older sister than Kristina does because Brooke Anne Smith is four years older than Kate Mansi.
July 21st, 2023
Damon injects Sasha with something and records their conversation as he gets her to talk about what she remembers happening. Diane interrupts and makes it clear to Damon that she doesn't care about his rights as Sasha's doctor, and she's going to make sure her client is protected as much as possible. Gladys regrets whatever went wrong but realizes that she can't trust Damon to fix things. Even worse, Sonny definitely suspects that she had something to do with whatever made Sasha's mental state suddenly deteriorate. Ultimately Sasha is sent to Ferncliff, but everyone agrees that she wasn't in her right mind and didn't mean to hurt Cody. Curtis is understandably panicked about his condition, but when he calms down, he acknowledges that he's lucky to be alive and becomes determined to recover. Portia and T.J. privately learn that multiple surgeons don't expect him to ever walk again, which definitely brings his mood back down. Carly's worried about Drew being on Cyrus' radar, but Drew assures her that Sonny's going to take care of anything that arises from that. Nina doesn't see Ava and Austin as a couple, which makes sense because Ava doesn't want them to be. Austin is concerned that Sonny is on to him in some way, which makes sense because...you know, he is. He even makes Dex ditch his day off with Josslyn to spy on Austin. Diane anticipates some head-butting with Robert when Maxie calls her about Sasha, but Robert actually helps ensure that Sasha gets to see her and that she's not mistreated.
I look forward to Damon's body turning up in the harbor.
Mark my words, Curtis will be walking by Christmas. Valentine's Day at the latest. I can see him trying just to be able to prove the doctors wrong.
I fully expected Portia not to tell Curtis the truth about his prognosis, or at least not yet.
Drew's only been in Pentonville for, like, 48 hours and he's already lost half his brain cells. "So what am I doing here?" Gee, Drew, why do you think you might be doing in a prison visitation room?
Ava threatening Austin's hand with a knife while he was caressing her leg was the first time I've liked her.
July 24th, 2023
Ava "hires" Betty, the nanny Mason has chosen to be an inside woman, and quickly learns that the arrangement isn't going to be pleasant. For one, they've sent some guy to seduce Delia and keep a close eye on her so they can use her against Ava. For another, Betty feels totally comfortable making it clear that she's the alpha here. Elizabeth catches Dex trying to spy on Austin, and since she's already against him because of his role in Josslyn and Cameron's breakup, she doesn't cut him any slack. That means he misses a conversation between Austin, Mason, and Gordon about the money Gordon still wants. He doesn't like being on Sonny's radar, so he ups the price. Austin thinks Mason will pay him off and send him on his way, because he is a naïve little bunny. Instead, Mason kills him, and Dex finds his body. Nina's late for a visit with Willow and Wiley, and Michael, of course, only thinks about the negative. Willow gives Nina the benefit of the doubt, and when she learns that Nina was dealing with the Sasha mess, she totally understands. Things go well and Willow praises Nina for respecting boundaries and dropping her vendetta against Carly (Willow being the episode's other naïve little bunny), so I imagine that they'll develop a good relationship just before Nina gets outed for being the whistleblower. Drew thinks Cyrus was behind Curtis' shooting, but Cyrus says that since the two of them helped bring Spencer back from Greenland, he'd never do anything to put them in danger. Drew comes to Cyrus' rescue when that Book guy resurfaces and bullies him. It's clear that Cyrus is scared of Book, but he won't give any details. Josslyn isn't thrilled to learn from a classmate's mother that Carly is considering selling the house. Carly says it's just a possibility, and she has another idea anyway – Bobbie sold her Kelly's so she can spiff it up and turn it into her new business venture. She's still determined and confident that she'll get back everything she lost. Yuri came back from Russia after helping Laura, Kevin, and Valentin, and he's worried when he gets a call from Valentin that gets dropped. He and Terry have been together almost a year, and he decides it's a good time to give her a key to his place. She runs off, making him think she's going to turn him down, but she just needed to have a conversation with Finn and grab a key to her own place to give Yuri. Finn and Elizabeth have the same idea for their first date in what's basically a trial reconciliation. Terry wants Finn to be her co-chief of staff, since he's the only person she trusts enough to work with in that way (okay, he's really her second choice; Portia said no).
Dex needs to work on stealth.
Hey, look at Michael, turning to Sonny for information on Sasha and calling him "Dad" again.
Drew, you're not supposed to tattle in prison! Snitches get stitches!
I'm sure chili and BLTs will make Carly $5 million in no time.
July 25th, 2023
Sonny sees right through Ava's interest in hiring Betty and asks what's really going on. Ava tells him about Mason's threats and interest in Sonny's deal with Pikeman, and he's mad that she didn't say anything sooner. He also guesses that there's more to the story, since Mason wouldn't have put her up to all this if he didn't have something on her. Ava finally confesses that he knows that she "killed" Nikolas. Portia puts on an obnoxiously positive attitude to try to get Curtis to stop looking for ways to fix a problem that might not be fixable. When he learns that she's planning a future that doesn't include him improving, he tells her to let him go. Chase wants to convince Brook that he's not as much of a stickler for the rules as she thinks he is. This leads to competition in which the loser has to skinny-dip in the Metro Court pool. Brook loses, but Chase takes the punishment for her because she's that good of a kisser. Dex calls Sonny, then the police to report that he found a body. Dante is waaaaaaaay too cocky about the situation, thinking it's mob-related, but he lets Dex go when he discovers that Gordon is from Pautauk. Finn and Elizabeth have a terrific reconciliation date, and it looks incredibly likely that it won't be their last.
Do Donna and Avery have separate nannies? They keep saying that Betty would be Avery's nanny, but wouldn't she look after Donna, too?
The way Portia's acting, I wouldn't be able to stand being around her for more than five minutes.
If Chase had gotten busted for skinny-dipping, Dante would have never let him hear the end of it, and it would have been glorious.
Really, Dante? Questioning why Dex was at the hospital?
July 26th, 2023
Ava tells Sonny everything about Nikolas, Austin, Mason, and how she's lost control of the situation. Of course, Sonny's going to handle it. Curtis thinks that Portia just wants to stay with him out of pity, and they should get an annulment. He says a lot of hurtful things about her and won't listen to her attempts to convince him that his life isn't over just because he might not be able to walk again. He wants both her and Trina to stay away, Portia because he's done with their relationship and Trina because he doesn't want to be a burden to her. Sam uses Dante as a sounding board as she tries to put together Cody's stabbing, Sasha's sudden decline, and Gladys and Selina's connection to everything. Cody shows up, having checked himself out of the hospital thinking that downplaying his condition will make things better for Sasha. He also thinks Gladys had something to do with Sasha's situation, and if he would just stop keeping secrets for her, maybe Sam could put it all together. Michael and Willow are full of wedded bliss and joy over their little family. Wiley expresses some concern that Willow will get sick again and admits that when she was in the hospital, he was afraid that she would never come home. His parents reassure him that she's getting better every day and he has nothing to worry about. Josslyn and Dex...listen, I don't care and I don't know anyone who does, so I'm not going to bother.
All Sonny and Ava did today was recap. Whose idea was that?
Kiki mention – drink!
Someone send Stella to talk to Curtis. She'll have him back to his senses in no time.
Grrr, Sam is SO CLOSE to busting Gladys. It's actually frustrating to see her circling the answer she's looking for and not be able to point her in the right direction.
LOL at Dante apologizing because his friend crashed his and Sam's night together, as if Sam didn't spend years constantly having romantic moments interrupted by Carly and Spinelli.
Wait, what? Molly was in an accident? Was this a life-imitates-art thing they planned before they did what appears to be a permanent recast?
The amount of affection the writers have for Eden McCoy and Josslyn is inversely proportional to the amount of screentime the audience actually wants for them. (No offense to Eden McCoy. I have no problem with her. I just wish the writers wouldn't give her so many unnecessary scenes.)
July 27th, 2023
Sasha doesn't remember stabbing Cody, but she's clearheaded now and is sure she doesn't deserve to be at Ferncliff. Gladys and Damon try to convince her that she's only imagined everyone telling her that she's improved and is ready to end the guardianship. Maxie almost throws a wrench in their plans when she comes to visit, but Gladys keeps her away from Sasha so she won't realize that Gladys is lying about how badly she's doing. Sasha easily guesses that her sudden decline happens to correlate with her association with Damon, but he drugs her to shut her up. Portia talks to Elizabeth about her desire to help Curtis and how she loves him enough to stay by his side. Elizabeth questions whether she would want to fight for her marriage this much if Curtis hadn't been shot. Portia thinks she would. Meanwhile, Curtis asks Finn to restrict his visitors, especially Trina and Portia. Finn cautions him not to isolate himself, which could lead him down the road to relapse. He encourages Curtis to accept help from the people who love him. Portia defies Curtis' wishes to tell him that she's not abandoning him and won't let him push her away. Dante presses Cody again to tell him why he's so sure that Sasha's problems don't stem from her mental-health issues. Cody finally spills everything about the poker games and Gladys' actions behind Sasha's back. Apparently Mac isn't good at keeping James and Georgie from torturing each other, but Felicia is. Nina once again misjudges the amount of influence Carly has over Michael and Willow, since she thinks that they allowed her to visit because Carly has dropped her vendetta. Carly's like, "I have done no such thing, and also, I'm going to get back everything I've lost." At this point, I couldn't care less if Molly and T.J. have kids or don't have kids; I just want to be done with all the talk about it.
Now we need Sam, Cody, and Maxie to put their heads together and figure out what's going on with Sasha. I think that once Cody hears that Damon is Sasha's psychiatrist, he'll crack it. But I don't see that happening for at least a couple of months.
Finn freaking out about having to talk to Portia for ten seconds really made him come off like a jerk, but he made up for it with what he said to Curtis.
Mac has definitely mellowed over the last 30 years. You know he didn't handle Maxie and Georgie's fights the way he handles his grandkids'.
Did Maxie coordinate family outfits today? Is that why she, Georgie, and James were all wearing orange?
How many times are we going to have to watch conversations about Molly and T.J. having kids?
July 28th, 2023
Josslyn meets Betty and immediately dislikes her. She wants to call Sonny to complain, but Trina stops her after spotting Dex keeping an eye on Avery. Ava also objects to Sonny letting Avery go off with Betty, and for some reason he doesn't just tell her that Dex is tailing them. Ava thinks Sonny's failing to fulfill his promise to handle the situation. He tells her that he's putting on a show to make Betty think he's clueless, while he plans to let her lead them straight to whoever Mason's answering to. Molly and Kristina reminisce about both good things (happy childhood memories) and bad things (Kiefer). Kristina admits that she feels like her relationship with him was when her life derailed, and she's never been able to get it back on track. She's worried that she doesn't know enough to help the kids she wants to help. Molly gives her encouragement and declares that she believes in her. Dante and Charlotte visit Lulu, whose condition hasn't changed and has affected Charlotte more than she's let on. She misses when their house was full of life and thinks Lulu would be sad that no one's living there now. Laura and Valentin make it to the house in Chechnya, but it's been sold to someone who can't offer them any answers on Nikolas or his whereabouts. They start to accept that Nikolas could be anywhere, and that he might not have disappeared voluntarily. Trina and Spencer have been avoiding each other while she deals with Curtis' situation, but Josslyn convinces her to reach out to her boyfriend if she wants his support. Spencer thinks it would be better for her to keep avoiding him to make things easier on Portia. Trina agrees to keep things low-key for a while, which probably means Spencer will just spend more time with Esme, who's annoyed that he, like, has his own life and doesn't want to spend every waking hour with her and Ace. Michael and Carly discuss Dex's recent discovery of a body and wonder why Sonny told him to call the police. They're pleased to have someone they can trust inside Sonny's organization and an early-warning system to know if trouble's coming. Nina wants to make peace with Michael so things aren't so tense with them around the kids. Michael would clearly prefer to never see or hear anything about her ever again, and he thinks his bare minimum behavior of not fighting with her all the time is enough.
Dex, man. You gotta work on, like, blending in.
Yay, they brought back Scarlett Fernandez! I always liked her.
Interesting that Charlotte said that Sam and Laura take her to do stuff that a mom would normally do, but not Nina.
Yep, let's get Maxie and her kids into Dante and Lulu's old house. It's perfect.
Nice try, show. That house in Chechnya is definitely Carly's old house.
Josslyn was...what's the opposite of annoying? She was that today.
I can't believe I'm going to say this but Nina's right. Michael needs to stay out of whatever she and Willow do. But Nina also needs to stop pressing him to make peace. Let him be coolly civil and nothing else. It's fine.
What is this, Knock on Someone's Door and Enter Without Waiting for a Response Day?
July 31st, 2023
Drew defends Cyrus from Book, getting both of them sent to solitary confinement. When Cyrus appears to have a heart attack, for some reason Drew wants to help him, and for some reason the guards let him. Anna finally confirms that she and Sonny weren't really friends before, but she's always respected his ability to maintain his business without, you know, going to prison. He's not 100 percent sure that Victor was behind her exposure as a double agent, and he's even less sure about which of them was the sniper's target. He mentions Pikeman and Anna cautions him not to have any involvement with them. Gregory talks Tracy into having dinner with him, and it goes a thousand times better than anyone could have expected. He has a problem with his hand at the end of the meal, and Tracy calls Alexis to ask if something's wrong with him. Molly has come around on having Kristina be both her surrogate and an egg donor. Alexis is like, "I don't want to tell you that this is a bad idea so I'll just say that you have a lot of options and should consider them all." Kristina asks Michael to serve on her board of directors, as if Michael doesn't have a bazillion other things going on in his life. She confides that she's not sure her shelter will be a success, and that she's worried she'll disappoint Sonny if she fails. Michael tells her that Sonny wouldn't have given her so much help with it if he thought she was going to fail. Lucy figures out that Martin's been secretive about his alimony payments because he doesn't want to lose them, and she tries to get him to come clean.
Hey, Drew? Whatcha doing, buddy?
"Codger"? No one says "codger," Book.
I still don't get where this Gregory/Tracy stuff is going.
No, please, let's hear more about the stuffed horse. It's not a waste of our time at all.
Anna: "Oh, can't get anything past you."
Martin: "And you're close with Lucy."
Anna: "Uh, I have been in close proximity to Lucy for extended periods of time."