General Hospital blog - June, 2023
June 1st, 2023
Hursley arrested Anna because a story leaked to a Llanview tabloid outed her as a double agent decades ago. The WSB knew she did some work for the DVX, and it seems like now the new director wants to punish her, and the pressure he's sure to face now that everything's public will force his hand. Martin represents Anna, at Valentin's request, but she doesn't really need his help. When Hursley threatens to look into Robert and Annie's dealings with Anna, she implies that she has information on the bureau that they wouldn't want anyone to know about. Hursley backs off and Anna guesses that she won't be prosecuted, but this is most likely the result of Victor's efforts to get her fired from the WSB. Spencer is annoyed to have to spend time with Dex, mostly because of the effect that Dex and Josslyn's relationship had on Cameron. Trina points out that if he gets into another fistfight with Dex, he could jeopardize his chances of getting custody of Ace. Spencer finally settles down and is civil toward Dex. His maturity continues as he listens while Trina talks about her paternity situation. He tells her about the key Victor left him, which is to a safety-deposit box, and the vague message that it contains something that will safeguard his family's future. Trina figures it has something to do with Ace and insists that they go open the box. Curtis and Stella work out the remaining tension between them over her keeping secrets, then move on to discussing where things stand between him and Portia. He hints that something almost happened with Jordan, and then he decided to give his marriage to Portia another try. Laura fills Valentin in on what happened at the will reading and shares her theory that Nikolas is in Chechnya. Valentin invites himself along if she decides to investigate. Since Carly doesn't want to turn on Sonny, Josslyn is thinking about getting the Pikeman recording from Dex and handing it over to the feds herself. Portia asks Jordan to reach out to Taggert, knowing that he must be having a really hard time with the news that he's not Trina's biological father. She mentions that Curtis has moved back home, which Jordan had no idea about. Molly and T.J. make up, and now she feels optimistic that they'll be able to find another way to create a family.
Congratulations to Hursley, the latest graduate of F&^$ Around and Find Out University.
Okay, so Anna can't be an agent anymore. Was she really doing that much for the WSB?
I assume Victor saw Esme as Ace's biggest threat, so the box probably contains dirt on her.
"Doesn't he have some crimes to commit?" Spencer, of the two of you, which one has done prison time? Not Dex.
Thank you to Trina for saying what I did about how Spencer needs to behave if he wants custody of Ace.
"A situation arose with Jordan" is a funny way of saying "I almost slept with my ex."
JOSSLYN JACKS. SIT DOWN AND BE QUIET. Also, you don't get to snark at Sonny for picking Nina over his family, then turn around and pick Dex over your family.
Wait, now we're saying that Molly wasn't diagnosed earlier because she had a bad doctor, not because she didn't share her symptoms with that doctor?
June 2nd, 2023
Spencer and Trina are thrilled to open the safety-deposit box and find evidence that Esme bought a burner phone and the drugs she gave Trina and Oz, and a letter to Maggie confessing to drugging Oz. Josslyn asks Dex to send her the Pikeman recording, but Michael has the only copy of it. Josslyn is basically obsessed with sending Sonny to prison, but Dex is able to get her thinking about other things by telling her that he's falling in love with her. Speaking of the recording, Michael offers to send it to the feds so Carly can secure her freedom without having to do anything. Carly in no way wants the recording given to anyone, and she seems disgusted that Michael actually paid someone to collect dirt on his father. Ava asks Austin for help keeping Laura from going to Chechnya, since she's pretty sure that Laura will never find Nikolas there. Austin doesn't really care about the situation, but he promises to help in some unspecified way at some point in the future. Almost three full months after injecting himself in the situation, Mason tells Ava that it's time for to pay up, in some way that involves her family (which I think we can safely assume is related to Sonny). Sonny picks a fight with Ned, which Sam and Dante have to break up. Ned insists for the millionth time that he's not the whistleblower and promises that he would never hurt the family members he and Sonny have in common, including Carly. Sonny doesn't seem completely convinced, but he still thinks the feds might be involved anyway, so he's not totally committed to going after Ned. On the plus side, Olivia is now 100 percent on Team Ned Is Innocent. Jordan is frustrated to hear from Curtis that while he still has feelings for her, he also has them for Portia. He insists that he wasn't ever going to settle for her like she's a consolation prize, but she doesn't feel like she's going to come out a winner here. She declares that after two years of living in limbo, she's ready to move on.
Michael's just as bad as Josslyn. What part of Carly not wanting to send Sonny to prison isn't clicking?
Jordan should cut herself off completely from Curtis and Portia. She's stuck in an endless cycle of keeping secrets for one of them about the other.
Who dressed Ned today? Brook?
Not to be all "get a room" but Sam and Dante should really get a room.
Am I dreaming or are we actually going to get somewhere with this Austin/Ava/Nikolas stuff?
June 5th, 2023
Trina wants to take the evidence against Esme straight to the police, but Spencer doesn't want her connected to it. He doesn't think it's legitimate, but he's willing to submit it and take his chances. Trina's like, "You seem pretty confident that I would visit you in prison if you got caught, and P.S., you definitely wouldn't get custody of Ace if you were sent back to Pentonville." Spencer agrees to destroy the evidence, but he keeps it without telling Trina. Carly can't believe that Michael is truly willing to send his father to prison – possibly for the rest of his life – despite how that might hurt Donna. She also figures out Dex's involvement as Michael assures her that he'll come out of things okay. Carly reminds Michael that when Sonny was gone two years ago, there was a power vacuum in town and the Corinthos contingent almost got wiped out, which is what they'd be facing if Sonny went to prison. Michael gives her the flash drive and says he'll respect whatever she chooses to do with it. Mason wants Ava to find out about Sonny's association with Pikeman and try to get him to confide in her. Ava doesn't think that'll work, and she's not particularly intimidated by Mason, but Austin lets her know that the person he's answering to is no joke. In fact, when she bugs him to tell her who it is, he actually raises his voice for possibly the first time in his life and says she already knows too much. Josslyn is hesitant to tell Dex that she loves him because the only two times she's said that to guys, things ended badly. Long story short, she says it, and I beg for them to go be boring somewhere I don't have to watch. Zeke returns to town to check in on Portia, who thinks that her estrangement from Trina contributed is partly responsible for how close Trina and Spencer have gotten. She asks Zeke to try to talk some sense into Trina, as if she's going to listen to her uncle and/or not immediately figure out that Portia put him up to the conversation. Tracy crashes Brook and Chase's date to treat Chase like a servant and bug Brook for not being at work and getting her dirt on Deception's new product line. Jordan mopes about her love life, then meets Zeke.
We're going to do this forever, aren't we – this teen drama thing where Spencer makes a stupid decision, Trina finds out, they fight, she forgives him, and they make up? I'm exhausted already.
If we don't see Carly destroy the flash drive on screen, it's safe to assume that it'll land in the wrong hands.
Like five people know about Sonny and Nina's engagement – how is Mason one of them?
We get it, Josslyn and Dex have sex a lot. We don't need to see it every time.
Portia: "I actually root for the Patriots now." Zeke: "Yeah, 'bye." Zeke can stay.
Brook: "Maxie, Sasha, and Lucy actually care that their employees are happy." Tracy: "What kind of business plan is that?" Tracy has definitely said, "Nobody wants to work anymore" on more than one occasion.
June 6th, 2023
At first Jordan isn't interested in chatting with Zeke, but once she warms up to him, they hit it off, then get it on. Kevin isn't thrilled that Laura wants to go to Chechnya, but he knows he can't talk her out of it, so he's just going to be supportive. Also, it's Kevin, and I doubt anyone's surprised that he invites himself along. They need someone who speaks Russian and can navigate the area, and somehow they manage to enlist Yuri to help them. Portia seems to think that Esme should try to get financial support for Ace from the Cassadines, then...quit her job? I don't know. The real significance of them talking is that Esme reveals that Spencer said he'd follow her if she left town, so of course Portia's going to try to make that happen. Some random nurse named Clara basically acts as Willow's therapist and talks over her mommy issues with her. Lucy encourages Maxie to worry less about Deception's future and celebrate their successes more. That means living for today and finally finding a bigger place to live. Curtis and Drew don't really talk about anything, but Drew decides that he needs to get out ahead of whatever might happen with Sonny and Carly and try to cut a deal.
Get it, Jordan!
As soon as Zeke figures out that Curtis is the ex Jordan kissed, Curtis is in trouble.
Yuri gets to go on an adventure! I'm so happy for him!
Portia, no. Just no.
Why did they bring in a brand-new character to talk to Willow? She couldn't have had that conversation with, say, Elizabeth? Where is Elizabeth, anyway?
Lucy, why would Maxie need a three-car garage?
Since Zeke said he had a client in town and there's a brief scene in this week's previews showing him talking to Drew, I assume that he's Drew's lawyer.
Tracy, if you bankrupt Deception and Maxie has to move out of her new house, we're giving her your room at the Quartermaines'.
June 7th, 2023
Carly busts Josslyn for knowing all about Michael and Dex's arrangement and gunning for Sonny. Josslyn turns on the waterworks, whining that Dex is stuck in the organization and Carly won't give up Sonny to save herself. Carly smashes the flash drive, effectively ending the debate. Josslyn keeps trying to argue with her, pointing out all the people Sonny's hurt. When she mentions Morgan, Carly makes it clear that she's gone too far. Zeke is, indeed, Drew's lawyer, and Drew announces that he wants to make a deal with the SEC – not to turn on Carly but to take all the blame himself. Zeke warns that he might not get off easy, but Drew thinks he still has a shot at making everything go away. Nina learns from Ned and Olivia that Sonny is coming around to believing that Ned isn't the whistleblower. Martin warns her that the feds are pressuring him to name her, and if Carly gives up Sonny and he ends up in court, the lawyers can request the information as well. Olivia wants to work with Ned to find the whistleblower, partly because if Ned's the one who makes the bust, he might be able to use the information as a peace offering to Drew and Michael. Ned gets the answer about five minutes later simply by overhearing Nina and Martin. Zeke and Jordan agree to have a no-strings-attached thing, apparently without providing too many details about their lives. That means she's caught completely off-guard when she learns that he's Portia's brother. Elizabeth is chosen as the new head nurse, so between her, chief of staff Terry, and department heads Finn and Portia, GH has pretty strong leadership. She feels honored to get to follow in her grandmother's footsteps and carry on her grandfather's work. Valentin tells Sonny that Pikeman's making arrangements for a second shipment to come through Port Charles. Sonny won't participate until they fulfill his request to find out who tried to shoot him, and he's not pleased that they don't seem poised to respect his wishes. Michael tells Willow a little about where things stand with the Sonny takedown, but she just says she'll support the family no matter what happens. Sonny hints to Dex that he's in deep enough in the organization that he's not going to be able to simply walk away.
If I were Carly, I would tell Michael and Josslyn, "I'm not sending Sonny to prison. Bring it up again and I'll write you out of my will."
Morgan mention – drink!
It would be funny if Carly and Drew both tried to take the heat for each other.
Dex, honey, that was your chance to ask for your freedom.
Sounds like that head-nurse position is cursed, so, uh, watch your back, Elizabeth.
June 8th, 2023
Ned confronts Nina for being the whistleblower and letting him take the fall. She tries to deny it, but he doesn't buy it. He warns that Sonny will be totally done with her when he finds out. Chase is curious about why Brook went back to Deception. Ironically, someone else has outdetected the detective, as Drew has put together that Tracy is behind the move, as well as guessed why. Just as he's in the process of blackmailing her, Ned arrives, happy to spill that Nina's the guilty party. Before he can, he slips, hits his head, and falls into the pool. Drew saves him, and Tracy repays him by telling Brook and Chase that he attacked Ned. Carly has shifted to wanting to help Dex, apparently, and she asks Michael to hire him to secretly keep an eye on Sonny and make sure he's safe. The footage from the flash drive has made her realize how vulnerable Sonny is to threats without having a clue. Michael clarifies that he and Dex would collectively be the new Jason. Dex is willing to keep working for Sonny if it means that he can stay in Port Charles and, you know, not die. He's also willing to try to get out if Josslyn won't accept his decision. She leaves it up to him, which means we'll get to hear her complain about his job 500 more times. Sonny extends sympathy to Anna for having her personal life exposed to the public, though he thinks it's because Victor spread lies about her. She tells Valentin that while she's not looking forward to her loved ones finding out about her betrayals from decades ago, the person she's most worried about discovering them is Emma. Valentin thinks that once Anna answers her questions, she'll understand that her grandmother isn't a bad person. Dante tries to team up with Valentin to prove that the article exposing Anna is full of lies. After learning that it's not, Dante's scenes are suddenly about his relationship with Sam and how happy they are. Yeah, I don't know. Chase got a new truck, and he and Olivia are very excited about it.
Tracy's lucky that Drew is more Lila than Edward, because if he weren't, he might have held off on rescuing Ned until she'd given in to his blackmail.
Please tell me we're not going with Ned suffering a head injury that makes him forget that Nina's the whistleblower.
Tracy, no! Tracy, why??
Why would Michael suddenly switch from trying to send Sonny to prison right to trying to protect him?
Dex should be a paramedic. I'm sure Michael has paid him generously enough to allow him to work while he does the training.
Can we stop pretending that Sonny and Anna are friends? They're not friends, guys.
Morgan mention – drink!
I've never heard so much conversation about a truck that wasn't product-placed.
June 12th, 2023
Tracy maintains a balance between worrying about Ned and trying to make sure that Drew gets arrested. Ned remains unconscious, which means not only can he not clarify what happened, but Nina's secret is safe for another day. Pretty much no one thinks that Drew would try to kill Ned, but Chase questions him anyway. Drew doesn't tell him or Zeke why he and Tracy were talking at the pool, which might come off as sketchy if Chase didn't have something else to focus on – surveillance footage of the area shows that Ned's fall was a complete accident. Tracy has to back down and admit that she might not have seen exactly what happened. Michael and Carly present their Dex-keeps-working-for-Sonny-but-reports-to-Michael idea to Dex, and I doubt anyone would be surprised that Josslyn isn't on board. Dex is, though, so I guess that's happening. Nina tries to pretend that she didn't just see a man almost die so she and Sonny can have a normal, happy evening together. When Brook inexplicably calls Sonny to the hospital, Nina acts like the news about Ned is brand-new information. She may not be able to keep that up for long, because it looks like the surveillance footage might show that she was at the pool, too. Ava tries to decide if it's better for her to give in to Mason's demands and dig up something on Sonny or risk Sonny's wrath. Austin warns her that if she doesn't do what Mason wants, he'll have Sonny killed. Austin doesn't see anything wrong with that, but Ava doesn't want Avery to lose her father. She doesn't know how to learn any of Sonny's secrets, but Austin promises to work with her. Finn and Elizabeth are the filler.
For once, surveillance footage saves the day. This is why I always say that they need more cameras around town.
You can't get much more contrived than Brook going, "My dad's in the hospital – I should call Sonny."
Josslyn: "I want Dex to be able to make his own decisions." Dex: (makes a decision) Josslyn: "But only the decisions I approve of."
How many times has someone said that the threat to Sonny and the Corinthos contingent's safety is different from what they've ever faced before?
June 14th, 2023
Taggert handles his sadness over seemingly losing Trina by getting drunk. Jordan babysits him and tries to reassure him that he'll still have Trina in his life, as well as memories from her childhood. He doesn't think that he has as much to offer her as the Ashfords do, and she'll prefer her new family over him. Curtis, on the other hand, has plenty of reasons to celebrate, and not just because it's his birthday. Trina gets a little uncomfortable when Stella makes a big deal out of her joining the family, but Marshall gets her to see that they need to slow down and move at her pace. Trina makes a great gesture toward Curtis by giving him a macaroni picture frame, since she's never gotten to give him a childhood art project before. Olivia anxiously waits to hear if Ned will need surgery or if medication will be enough to help him. She takes out her frustrations on Carly, yelling at her for still not believing that he's not the whistleblower. That friendship may have hit a snag, but hopefully Olivia will calm down, because it turns out that Ned doesn't need surgery. Gladys is worried that Sasha will be successful at ending the guardianship and she'll lose access to her money. The good news for Sasha is that the psychiatrist she meets with, Damon, seems reasonable and understanding. The good news for Gladys is that they're poker buddies. Drew still wants Zeke to arrange a deal for him but not accept it until either Ned has worked on getting the charges dropped or his blackmail efforts against Tracy go somewhere. Carly is nearing a meeting with a U.S. attorney about her own options, and she makes it clear that she won't be giving up anything on Sonny. Drew tells her that both of them don't have to go down for this. Jordan hopes to reconnect with Zeke before he talks to Portia, but it's not looking like that's going to happen.
Réal Andrews was so good today.
"Was it something I said?" Stella, when has it ever NOT been something you said?
Kinda weird to have a party at the pool where a guy almost died last night.
Thanks, whoever put together this week's previews and included a scene of Ned fully conscious. I love it when you ruin the suspense.
Damon Montague – what a soap name.
June 15th, 2023
Nina confesses to Ava that Ned knows that she's the whistleblower, and once he's conscious, he'll obviously spill that knowledge right away. Ava urges her to tell Sonny the truth – even if he's mad, he might appreciate her honesty. Nina figures that'll be the end of their relationship, so she takes off her engagement ring before going to see him. Ava's motives for advising Nina might be more selfish than helpful, since she's now alone in Sonny's penthouse and free to look for something she can give Mason. Portia remains in the dark about Jordan and Zeke's night together, but he now knows that Jordan is his brother-in-law's ex and that said brother-in-law is the ex she recently kissed. Jordan wants to keep their fling quiet, since the whole situation could get messy, but Zeke doesn't like the idea of lying to sister. When she whines to him that Spencer isn't good for Trina because his focus is split and he can't make her a priority and he has, like, responsibilities and stuff, Zeke says that mother and daughter both deserve better. Carly objects to Drew's plan to plead guilty and let her walk away with just a fine. He points out that if he goes to prison, Scout will be in good hands living with Sam and Dante, but if Carly goes to prison, Donna will be in Nina's care. Carly still doesn't want him to pay for her actions, and she somehow thinks they can just wait this out, like the SEC will get bored and drop everything? I don't know. Tracy wants to oust Cody as the Quartermaines' stable hand, as if she has firing power, and as if Olivia wouldn't just hire him back. Brook makes her calm down, arguing that Leo needs stability, especially with how worried he is about Ned. Gladys begs Sonny to talk to Sasha about ending the guardianship, claiming she's worried that Sasha will have a setback that will ruin everything. Somehow, Sonny doesn't seem to catch on that Gladys is way too desperate for the circumstances. Spencer comes to Curtis' party and makes a great impression on everyone except Portia. Marshall has decided to move out so Curtis and Portia can have space for themselves, so that's probably going to get even more awkward.
It feels like the writers challenged themselves to include the smallest possible number of Quartermaines in a Quartermaine-centric plot.
Spencer could save Portia's life, Trina's life, and a busload of puppies, and Portia would still be like, "Nyah, I don't like him."
Carly, hon, I've fairly certain that the statue of limitations doesn't apply to active investigations.
"I don't care about the money!" You should, since you don't have any.
Hey, how about we not let Tracy be alone with Leo anymore?
LOL, Leo doesn't miss Julian. Suck it, Jerome!
June 16th, 2023
Olivia, Brook, and Tracy spend most of the episode bickering while they wait for Ned to wake up. He finally does and things seem okay...but then he says his name is Eddie Maine, not Ned. Sasha talks Nina up to Willow, but Willow doesn't see herself ever forgiving Nina for her wrongs. Michael vents to Chase about how much of the kids' lives Willow is missing while she's in the hospital. Chase reminds him that it'll be over soon and she'll be there for everything else. Talk somehow turns to Chase's future and whether he wants kids, like, he and Brook just got back together. Ease up. Cody decides to shift his focus to exposing Gladys as a liar, so he asks Sam for her help (again). She'd like to know why Gladys would frame him, but he doesn't tell her anything. There's no surveillance footage of Gladys planting the bracelet in Cody's jacket, but luckily, Sam knows a tech genius who can probably scrounge something up. Alexis and Diane catch up on their personal lives (Diane doesn't think she and Robert are really compatible) and careers (Alexis doesn't feel fulfilled and she really, really misses being a lawyer). Finn and Elizabeth play backgammon and come super-close to flirting as the audience says, "Oh, just get back together already."
Ned: "My name is not Ned." Me: "Is it Eddie Maine?" Ned: "It's Eddie Maine." Whee! Break out the leather pants! Unless he's messing around just to bug Tracy, in which case...whee anyway!
Someone needs to put a sign on Willow's door declaring it a no-talking-about-Nina zone.
Why are we talking about Chase having kids? Are we going to find out he has a child he doesn't know about?
Chase's face after Michael said that Tracy isn't as bad as she seems was perfect.
"Esme Prince, the latest entrant to the Cassadine family Squid Game?" Ha!
Thank you, Diane, for mentioning Jerry. Gotta keep the memory of him alive.
June 19th, 2023
Not only does Ned think he's Eddie Maine, but he's also mean now. Olivia, Brook, Tracy, and Dante are so busy freaking out/worrying/trying to get more information from T.J. that they don't notice Leo going into his room. He's, of course, really confused about why his dad is claiming not to be his dad. Tracy remembers how to be nice to children and is able to comfort him. Once Nina's off the hook for being busted by Ned, she quickly comes up with a lie about losing her engagement ring, since she told Sonny she had big news for him. Sonny's like, "That's not really that serious, and also, what's wrong with you, you weirdo?" Zeke tells Portia that Curtis kissed Jordan, which he knows because he and Jordan spent the night together. Portia confronts Curtis, who comes clean and makes a reasonable argument that his indiscretion and lie are nowhere near as bad as Portia's 20-year deception. Instead of warning Trina against Spencer like Portia wanted him to, Zeke warns her against Curtis. Austin tries to talk Laura out of going to Chechnya, but all he does is make her think he's nuts. Ava can't find any Pikeman documents in Sonny's penthouse, and she comes close to getting caught by the nanny. Austin suggests that they get the nanny fired, then replace her with someone who will help them get access to Sonny's locked office. Laura really wants Jordan as the new deputy mayor, and she won't take no for an answer, so I guess Mac will be the commissioner again.
"Eddie Maine – I never saw that coming." I know, right?
I'm unclear on the mechanics of Ned thinking he's a fictional person while knowing where he is and what year it is. Would he recognize Lois? Brenda? Miguel?
I'm impressed by how everyone in town has shifted to calling T.J. "Dr. Ashford." I'd be like, "I met you when you were 16. I can't think of you as a doctor."
How did Curtis get by as an undercover cop for so long? His poker face is awful.
Austin is much more interesting when he's funny, either intentionally or unintentionally.
Felicia should be the deputy mayor. It's not like she has anything else to do.
June 20th, 2023
While Sonny and Carly discuss Drew's decision to fall on his sword and the whole mess with Ned, Nina tells Ava that she's calling off the plan to come clean and is sticking to the plan where she keeps her mouth shut. She's pretty sure that even if Ned goes back to his normal self, he won't remember their conversation. Ava still thinks that's a crazy idea, but when they learn that Carly won't face any repercussions from the SEC, she decides that Nina should keep quiet after all. Sam is very against Drew's plan to serve time to save Carly (he thinks he can get six months in Spring Ridge), because helping Carly avoid punishment for something she did willingly shouldn't be more important than Scout having her father around. Drew insists on following through, though, so Sam steels herself for when they'll have to tell Scout that he's going away again. Drew at least feels good about leaving her with Sam and Dante. Molly and T.J. decide to have her eggs frozen so they can hopefully have a baby via surrogate. T.J. confides to Alexis how weird it is to go from a teenager who was told over and over not to get his girlfriend pregnant to an adult whose family planning is now a topic of other people's conversations. Elizabeth spends her first day as head nurse wrangling Amy and counseling Portia about her marriage. Portia kind of wants to hurt Curtis the way he hurt her, but she also wants to yell at someone, so she goes to see Jordan. Taggert asks Jordan for a job, and since she's about to become deputy mayor, she offers him hers.
After all that, Nina! After you risked your relationship to send Carly away, it's not happening! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Why are we acting like Spring Ridge is solitary confinement? From what we've seen of other people's stays there, visiting hours are pretty liberal and no one's confined to a cell. Drew will be fine. (Also, no way will he be there for six months, if he even does time there at all.)
Let's just skip to the part where Kristina is Molly's surrogate.
Amy was on today because...?
June 21st, 2023
Portia and Jordan fight about...well, you know. Everything. Portia has a lot of complaints, and Jordan counters all of them, thinking that Portia's lies are worse than anything she and Curtis did. Sam, Cody, and Spinelli team up to bring Gladys down. Sam records the guys as they tell Gladys that they have proof that she lied about Cody stealing her bracelet. Since reporting a fake crime is a crime itself, Gladys could be the one facing charges instead of Cody. Kristina joins Sam, interrupting her surveillance, and can't take a hint that Sam doesn't want to talk right now. Trina asks Curtis why he and Portia are fighting, and instead of telling her to mind her own business and let them deal with it themselves, he confesses that he kissed Jordan. Trina's not happy about that, but it's Trina, so she's reasonable and doesn't immediately cut him out of her life or anything. Sasha defends Cody to Gladys, which leads to a conversation in which Maxie and Lucy back up Sasha's assumption that Cody isn't the criminal Gladys is trying to make him out to be. Later, Sasha overhears the other two discussing their belief that Cody likes her more than as a friend. To the surprise of no one who's ever watched this show, Molly likely won't be able to have a biological child. Instead of considering her options or jumping into treatments, she decides that she and T.J. should take a break from family planning and just enjoy their lives for a while.
I'm finding it really hard to root for Portia in, like, anything.
More Cody/Spinelli team-ups! More, more, more!
What I'm hearing is that once Gladys is exposed, she'll leave town. Excellent.
Why didn't Sam just tell Kristina what she was doing and shush her?
To amend what I said yesterday, let's just skip to the part where Kristina is Molly's egg donor.
June 22nd, 2023
The feds accept Drew's plea deal, so he just has to plead guilty and receive his six-month sentence...or so he thinks. The judge doesn't think the punishment is harsh enough, and he wants to sentence Drew to the maximum 20 years. Zeke successfully argues that Drew has been a model citizen until now, and he only committed insider training to help his family (well, that's what he means in a nutshell). The judge backs off but still gives Drew three years in prison. Sam ditches her microphone to go off with Kristina, so Cody and Spinelli are on their own to try to deal with Gladys. She calls their bluff, guessing that they would have gone to the police instead of her if they really had something that could get her in trouble. Selina finds the microphone and tells Gladys that she's being recorded. While Spinelli fishes the microphone out of the pool, thanks to Selina throwing it in, Selina tells Gladys and Cody to end their rivalry now. For starters, Gladys has to get the charges against Cody dropped. Selina privately warns Cody not to draw attention to their connection now that he's working for her. Damon runs into Gladys, realizes that she has some money issues, and volunteers to repay her debt, as long as he gets something in return. Tracy thinks that Ned's identity issues are psychological, and he's probably enjoying getting to avoid everyone's anger over the whistleblowing. She tells Alexis that she wants to find someone to do the medical equivalent of shaking him until he comes back to his senses. Sasha hasn't sensed anything other than friendship from Cody, and she doesn't think she's ready for anything else yet. Maxie and Lucy tell her how far she's come but support her in not moving on from Brando yet. Damon also gives her some encouragement, letting her know that she's handling her grief well and should continue expressing her feelings instead of bottling them up. Part of Sasha's hesitance in being more than friends with Cody comes from his clashes with Gladys, so she basically chooses Gladys over him and says she's going to make sure they remain close even after the guardianship has ended. Gregory can't understand how Finn can consider Tracy a friend when all he's seen of her is her bad side. He decides to try to smooth things over with her for Chase and Brook's sakes, but when he goes to talk to her, she's being mean to Alexis. Sam and Kristina talk about Molly and T.J., i.e., are the filler.
Can't say I'm not looking forward to Selina slowly taking over the town.
Drew will be out in three months. I mean, come on.
Sam should have been in court. It sucks that Drew only had two people there.
Why should we care whether Gregory and Tracy get along? Are we doing a Tracy/Gregory/Alexis love triangle? Doubtful.
Finn: "She's an acquired taste." Gregory: "You don't acquire a taste for arsenic, you avoid it." Heh. I also liked Frinn's line about how Violet will be out of her princess phase soon "if God is merciful."
How does Kristina know that she doesn't have any fertility issues? As far as we know, she's never been pregnant.
June 23rd, 2023
Kevin basically agrees with Tracy's theory that Ned's brain is making him think he's someone else to give him a break from his normal life. Tracy and Olivia won't stop fighting, and Kevin's like, "Case in point." Brook becomes the first to really sympathize with Ned, but since she won't take him to Vegas, he's not interested in being friendly. He leaves the hospital without anyone noticing and turns up at the Savoy just as Nina's talking to Ava on the phone about the whole situation. Carly throws a fit about Drew's sentence, which will start at a week, and which he'll serve out at Pentonville, not Spring Ridge. Drew tries not to focus on the part where he only has seven days to spend as much time as possible with his daughter and his girlfriend. Gregory lays into Tracy for being a jerk to Alexis, which, of course, doesn't win him any points. Alexis tells him a little about their rivalry, then urges Gregory to leave Tracy alone because he's never going to win against her. Lucy tells Sasha the story behind Deception's newest product, the Deceptor, which she feels was inspired by Martin. Sasha thinks they're adorable together and should get married. Both of them say no way. Martin's already been married and divorced three times, and he's not going to jump into that again. Lucy, however, actually does want to get married, and she thought some sort of reverse psychology thing would happen if she said she didn't. She decides to try to plant the idea of marriage in Martin's head the way he planted the idea for the Deceptor in hers. She mentions that Martin hasn't asked for any of the money the Deceptor has brought in, but it turns out that he's been getting $50,000 from someone. Also, his third ex-wife is trying to locate him. Sonny and Nina run into Josslyn and Dex, and while Nina's inexplicably trying to get Dex to talk her up to Josslyn, Sonny hopes that Josslyn is okay with dating a guy who's associated with the mob. She is, and she's also trying to let go of her resentment of Sonny so the family will have peace.
This Ned stuff is a lot less entertaining than I'd hoped. It's also a waste of Jane Elliot.
Deanna, be a dear and give Carly a sedative next. Thanks.
Kevin's probably looking forward to going to Chechnya – it'll be less stressful than dealing with the Quartermaines.
"A journey to find his true self"? Ugh.
Way to wait three years before giving Martin any kind of character details beyond beind Cyrus' brother.
June 26th, 2023
Nina worries that Ned knows who she is, but he just wants to buy her a drink and talk to her about the Savoy's music acts. Sonny admits to Michael that he's not sure if Ned is faking or not, but after talking to him (and determining that this is pre-L&B Eddie, so he doesn't know Sonny), Sonny's sure that he really thinks he's Eddie. Ned is laid-back and normal when people play along with his assertion that he's Eddie, and Sonny offers to house him for the night since he doesn't want to go home with Olivia. Laura, Robert, and Felicia try to get Anna to stop moping about losing her job and being exposed as a traitor. They think that all the good things she did as an agent outweigh the bad ones. Anna can't accept that she might never be in law enforcement again, and she tries to invite herself on the Chechnya trip so she can complete another mission. Laura tells her it'll look like she's running away. Esme's a fifth wheel while Spencer and Trina try to have a quiet night together, and Trina realizes again how difficult it's going to be to date someone in Spencer's situation. Both of them figure it's a short-term thing, though, since sooner or later, Esme will be out of the picture. Alexis is surprised that Robert and Diane haven't gotten together yet, since Holly's long gone. Robert accuses Sonny of using Diane to try to get information out of him. Diane interrupts and bickers with Robert over how their friendship has stalled and how she doesn't want to be his default choice as girlfriend because Holly's departure means he doesn't have to choose between them.
Ned's going to stay with Sonny? Cue the wacky roommate sitcom music!
"He's just living a crazy life, I guess." Somewhere, Ricky Martin rolls his eyes.
Aw, crap, Ned is Jason now.
Time to pull out the big guns to cheer up Anna – have Violet invite her to a tea party.
Also, Anna should talk to Alexis, who's been in this same position.
"Do you want advice or do you just need me to listen?" !!! Spencer! Spencer is being a good boyfriend!
June 27th, 2023
Olivia makes a small connection with Ned when she brings him a photo album and he starts accepting that he's suffering from memory issues. Things go south, though, when he recognizes a guitar, but no familiar faces, including Lois'. She vows to fight to get her husband back, once she figures out how to do that. Ned makes a bigger connection with Nina, the only person who calls him Eddie and doesn't mope about not being remembered. He confides that he thinks it would be better if he left, and then I think he tries to run away, but Dex stops him? I'm not sure. Ava doesn't want to go through with the plan to get Pilar fired, but Austin and Mason both put pressure on her, Austin by reminding her how dangerous Mason is and Mason by threatening to give the police strands of Ava's hair from Nikolas' "body." Austin suggests that they frame Pilar for stealing or using drugs, but Ava doesn't think Sonny will fall for either of those. Before she can come up with her own idea, Pilar tells her that Avery has disappeared. Laura really hopes that Spencer and Esme behave themselves while she's in Russia. Spencer, however, is considering deploying Victor's evidence against her. Anna's feeling better about being exposed, even after someone spraypaints "murderer" on her door. Valentin wants to skip the Chechnya trip to make sure she's safe, but she thinks he would be of better use with Laura and Kevin. Tracy doesn't think that Ned having an identity crisis is any reason for Brook not to be at work. Whatever she's after about the Deceptor, she's not in it alone – she has a partner in crime. Trina tells Josslyn about Victor's evidence against Esme, which Josslyn thinks they should take to the police, whether or not it's real. Chase tells Brook that he knows Nina witnessed Ned's fall, but neither of them can figure out why she wouldn't speak up about that. Lucy's still confused about why Martin won't let her give him any credit for the Deceptor.
Heh, Nina's good at dealing with Ned because she's just doing the same things she did with Sonny for six months.
I can't decide if Mason took Avery to put pressure on Ava, Ava orchestrated Avery's "disappearance" to make Pilar look bad, or Austin orchestrated Avery's disappearance to force Ava to make Pilar look bad.
Brook, this is one of those times where you need to tell the truth and take away your blackmailer's power.
My theory is that Tracy's partner is the ex Martin is trying to avoid, and he doesn't want to be tied to the Deceptor because if he is, she can try to get money from it out of him. As for the monthly $50,000...no idea.
June 28th, 2023
Chase is first on the scene of Avery's disappearance, which Ava doesn't think is just an instance of a child wandering away from her nanny. Sonny arrives next and starts his own search, but it's unnecessary when Austin strolls up with Avery and a story about her going to get a balloon. The blame is placed on poor Pilar, who tells Sonny that she only lost track of Avery because she got a call from her grandmother that somehow turned out to be from a telemarketer. Everyone thinks Austin is the hero here, but Ava puts 2 and 2 together and figures out that he took Avery to make Pilar look untrustworthy. Sam is mad that Carly's getting out of the SEC mess while Drew's being punished, but Drew thinks that taking the full blame is the best thing for the greatest number of people. Sam disagrees, since the person who will be hurt the most is Scout. She and Tracy think that Drew should change his plea and try to negotiate a new deal. Drew has fully accepted his fate, though, and he explains the situation to Scout in an age-appropriate way that doesn't seem to worry her much. Sonny offers to help Ned with his music career if he promises to stay in town. Nina tries to entice him with the idea of leaving to chase bigger fame and glory, but Ned ends up taking Sonny's deal. Maxie confides to Brook that she's stayed in her apartment for so long because of all the memories she has there of Nathan. Brook then reluctantly stabs her in the back by stealing information about the Deceptor to give to Tracy. Josslyn swears she's thinking about Sonny differently, though she still doesn't like that Carly's not taking advantage of their connection to save her own skin. Carly continues being mature and responsible by resigning herself to getting a job and paying the $5 million she now owes in fines. While Lucy enlists Felicia to find out why Martin has been so secretive and weird about the Deceptor recently, Mac gives Martin a couple of tips for dating Lucy, like how she's forgiving but wants to be seen as an equal.
Carly needs a job and Sonny will most likely be happy to get rid of Pilar, so it seems like there's an obvious solution here. Barring that, I hear Maxie needs a new assistant.
Strangely, Scout having a parent who's already served time will actually help here. She knows what to expect.
Tracy thought Dante and Scout were at the house to see Olivia or Leo, but not Drew? Weird.
"It's no secret what I think." That's an understatement, Josslyn.
"You are my hummingbird cake." Huh? You okay, Martin?
June 29th, 2023
Spencer, Trina, Josslyn, and Dex go to the bar where Esme schemed with Oz, hoping to get solid evidence against her so they don't have to use Victor's. Things start falling apart when Trina learns that Spencer kept Victor's evidence, and they continue spiraling when Spencer once again can't control himself and he hits Dex. Spencer ends up getting his butt kicked, then ditched by Trina, who's tired of him always reverting to this behavior. Austin is unapologetic about his stunt with Avery, since it was better for Ava to think she was kidnapped and for Pilar to suffer the consequences than for anyone to be killed by whoever he's answering to. Austin complains that Ava dragged him into this whole mess, as if she forced him to cover up "murder" and make himself an accessory. She questions both his authenticity and his concern for her safety. His authenticity hasn't yet been...well, authenticated, but judging by the fact that he plants a kiss on her, his concern for her safety stems from having feelings for her. Carly and Drew spend his last night of freedom together, though she really feels bad about letting him take the blame for everything, even if he keeps insisting that it's what's best for everyone. She thinks he's taking the wrap to protect her, but he tells her it's because he loves her. Over at Pentonville, one of Drew's future fellow inmates is anticipating his arrival: Cyrus. Violet plays matchmaker for Finn and Elizabeth, who seem closer to realizing they want to get back together than ever. Sam and Dante's date night gets interrupted by Spencer's antics, and they wind up discussing his and Trina's situation from different points of view, because not only do they not get to have their own plots anymore, but now they're reduced to commenting on other people's plots. In what I assume is the next step of Operation Break Up Spencer and Trina, Portia suggests that Esme and Spencer take a parenting course together. If she were just patient, she could just wait for Spencer to ruin everything himself.
Okay, Joss and Trina, it's time to stop making your boyfriends spend time together.
Spencer started the week so well. Now here he is, being a meathead and yelling at his girlfriend in the middle of a bar.
Wow, Maura West and Roger Howarth cranked up the chemistry today.
"I feel so responsible." Well, Carly, that's because you are.
I always completely forget about Cyrus until he pops up again.
Part of me is like, "It's sweet that Sam and Dante are still as into each other as they were when they first got together," but part of me is also like, "Okay, guys, stop touching each other so much in public."
I can't tell if Portia's trying to push Spencer and Esme back together or just get Esme to trust her. Maybe both.
June 30th, 2023
Spencer and Esme have a long talk about all sorts of things, including how difficult it is for her to constantly hear about what a bad person she used to be, how she appreciates that he stepped up in Nikolas' place, and how disappointed he is that their whole relationship was likely a lie. After all that, they're actually in a better place, and he agrees to take the parenting class with her. Austin and Ava have sex, and then she tries to kick him out, making it clear that they will never discuss this again. Austin thinks they've had sexual tension for a while and that there's interest there. She replies that if he doesn't watch himself, his body will be the next she'll have to hide. He's not scared, though, and I think we can anticipate a few weeks or months of him flirting with her and her pretending to be annoyed while secretly loving it. Sonny asks Sasha how she feels about ending her guardianship, mentioning that Gladys doesn't think it's the right time. Sasha opens up about how some days are a struggle and she still feels her grief deeply, but something inside her feels like she's making the right move. Sonny thinks that her honesty shows that she's in a good place. Trina vents to Portia about Spencer, his immature backsliding, his connection to Esme, and how he can never fully be there for her. Portia manages to hide her probable glee over the situation and encourages her to move on from Spencer. Zeke tries to get Jordan to meet up with him again, but she's trying to put him behind her. Curtis comes by her office to complain that she told Portia that they kissed, and she has to explain that Zeke did that because she told him about the kiss without knowing who he was. Zeke shows up during the conversation, because he can't take a hint, and he and Curtis fight while Jordan's like, "I'm sorry, we have a testosterone limit in this office and you've both exceeded it." Curtis is willing to drop the fact that Zeke screwed up his marriage, but not the fact that he told Trina to stay away from Curtis. Finn and Elizabeth don't really do anything more, but if they don't end up getting back together, I think we can yell at the writers for stringing us along.
I don't care about Ava and Austin as a couple, but I think watching them together is going to be really fun.
I liked Sasha's scenes today, but I don't think they should have been with Sasha. I would have liked to see her talk to Maxie instead.
Counting the days until Trina wonders how Portia knew that Esme wants to take a parenting class.
Zeke, you can't be this clueless. What about Jordan's tone on the phone made you think she wanted to see you?
Are Finn and Elizabeth cowards or just way too good at self-restraint? Also, when they inevitably get back together, I want to see people exchanging money. Like, Chase has to have a bet with someone about whether they'll be back together by, say, fall.