General Hospital blog - September, 2023
September 1st, 2023
Willow's being nice, Wiley's his usual cheery self, Michael is behaving, and Sonny is enjoying Kristina's company at the Metro Court, so everything is going great for Nina. Things start going downhill when Carly learns from a guy who works on the docks that feds are gathering there. Carly has heard from Josslyn that Dex is working a job for Sonny, which happens to be overseeing a Pikeman shipment. She calls Sonny, who ignores her because he's with Kristina, then Dex. He manages to stay out of sight while the feds stage a raid and arrest everyone else there, but Sonny isn't as lucky. The feds find him at the Metro Court and arrest him in front of half of his family. Cyrus spends the episode leading what's probably supposed to be a Bible study but what sounds more like a rally to form an army. The warden, Garten, admires the changes he's made in himself and approves of his words on fighting evil and justice coming for those who support it. That said, she is most definitely working with Cyrus on something that I think we all can safely assume isn't legal. Olivia takes Ned to the pool to try to job his memory about the night of his fall. Nina tries to suggest that that's a bad idea, but Olivia has no reason to think it is, so she ignores her. It doesn't work, but Ned does express his regret over the way he's treated Olivia, and they agree to be friends. Brook has a bunch of reasons not to move in with Chase, but he shoots them all down. She eventually admits that she does want to move in, so it looks like that's going to happen. James is really excited by the news that his family is moving into Dante and Lulu's old house, but Georgie is worried that it'll make Maxie sad. Maxie tells her that she'll miss Lulu no matter where she lives, but being there might make her feel closer to her friend. Plus, as she tells Felicia, this is a much better arrangement than her original plan to buy a house, which would be difficult now that Deception is in so much trouble. Charlotte is a little sad to hear about Maxie and the kids' move because she always imagined Lulu moving back into the house, and because it's another of the many homes Charlotte has had to leave. Valentin feels bad for giving her such an unstable childhood, but he assures her that things are in the works right now to turn that around. Carly can relate to Josslyn's frustration that Dex had to call off their plans so he could work, and she tells Josslyn that if she's not up for a relationship with someone in his position, she should get out now.
So was the Pikeman stuff all a long game set-up to get Sonny busted? Discuss.
Another theory: The raid was all for show. Sonny and Brick staged it to lure out whoever's targeting him.
Dang, I thought Kristina was inadvertently giving Sonny an alibi.
Well, if Sonny goes to prison, at least Drew will have someone to talk to other than Cyrus.
Imagine if Carly had been too late warning Sonny or Dex about the raid because Brook needed a glass of water.
I was all ready for Nina to be the thing that triggered Ned's memory. By the way – hey, Chase, when are you going to follow up on Nina being at the pool the night Ned fell?
"But I don't want to change Dex." LOL, yes, you do. You want him to take a different job, which would change him. You're Courtney 2.0.
September 5th, 2023
People assume that Sonny was arrested because someone snitched, and Carly's first suspect is Michael. He promises it wasn't him, and the two of them turn their focus to Josslyn. She swears that she didn't change her mind about turning Sonny in, and besides, Carly destroyed the flash drive, so there was nothing to give the feds. Dex realizes that he didn't exactly dispose of the pieces of the drive in a secure way, so it's possible that someone retrieved them and got data from them. Sonny stonewalls the feds until Diane arrives, then continues not answering any questions. Still, they think they have enough evidence to put him away, starting with proof that he was working with Pikeman. Austin would like to know when Nikolas plans to go back to Port Charles, though he claims it's because Ava's struggling with the situation. Nikolas says he's eager to get back and see his kids, but considering the fact that he'll likely be arrested the second he returns, I can't take him seriously. Maxie and Lucy debate whether to settle the case with Tracy or fight her and let things drag out for six months. Lucy thinks that Tracy has something else hidden up her sleeve and wants to dig to find out what so-called evidence Tracy has that she came up with the Deceptor first. Dante is torn between upholding the law and rooting for Sonny to beat the charges against him. Sam is confident that the latter will happen, since it always does. This time, though, there's no one to run things in Sonny's place, so even if he's cleared, things could get violent in the meantime. Cyrus tells Drew that Sonny was arrested, which means his protection is about to disappear. Then they play chess. Mason shows up at Ava's gallery just to mess with her, I assume, because it's not like he's going to make arrangements for her to take possession of Nikolas' body.
You know things are bad when you have to ask two of your children if they turned someone in to the feds.
Why do Carly and Michael think the flash drive is how the feds nabbed Sonny? They know there was another Pikeman shipment. It makes more sense that that's what the arrest is based on. I mean, I would assume it was a traitor or, like, Selina before I would think someone followed Dex, waited until he threw away a broken flash drive, took all the pieces out of the trash, and extracted data from them without having a clue what was on them (and I say that knowing that Cyrus and/or Valentin were likely involved).
Can you imagine if the writers had been like, "Screw it, let's give Nikolas amnesia (again), too"?
I don't think Maxie needs to worry about her living situation. I highly doubt that Dante would evict her if she couldn't pay her rent.
"Thanks for saving my life – here's a chess set." Yeah, that definitely makes you guys even.
Ava, you really need to grasp that you have no power here.
September 6th, 2023
Dante accuses Michael of turning in Sonny and the two of them have a big fight. Eventually Michael is able to convince his brother that he wouldn't upset the peace in Port Charles or hurt their sisters by helping get Sonny busted. Kristina also believes that, but she suspects that he's kind of happy about Sonny facing consequences. She thinks those consequences are insane, though, and that the charges are for things Sonny would never do. Cody fools a psychiatrist at Ferncliff into believing that he's manic while Sasha takes advantage of a lucid period to try to convince Damon that she's well enough to go home. He tells her this isn't over until he says it is, then drugs her again. Fortunately, Cody is able to get in to see her. Also fortunately, Sam doesn't seem to have tipped Damon off that she's up to anything he needs to be concerned about. Anna asks Valentin to talk to his Pikeman contact and find out if Sonny's arrest is connected to them. She follows him when he goes to meet the contact, who's probably not really the contact because while Anna doesn't get to hear their conversation, she hears enough to know that Valentin's the one in the position of power. He lies about where they met, she lies about what she was doing while he was gone, and no one accomplishes anything. Andrea starts the surrogacy process, and Molly has a good feeling about it, which means she's probably already jinxed it. Alexis and Olivia warn Nina that if Sonny goes to prison, his family, including her, will be vulnerable to his enemies. Alexis and Kristina both hope that he can get out of the charges like he always does, but Michael seems more realistic about the seriousness of the situation. Olivia tells Dante that Cody's taking the week off, which isn't weird in and of itself, except for the fact that Sam is the one who gave her that information. Now Dante has some questions for his girlfriend.
It's crazy to think that just 12 or so years ago, Michael and Dante would have been in each other's positions.
Josh Kelly kind of gives me a Roger Howarth vibe when he plays up the fake crazy.
Anna and Valentin can't stay together after this, right?
Now who's making things about herself, Molly? Ugh, she sucks now. And she's making T.J. suck by proxy, which is even worse.
September 7th, 2023
It takes Cody a while to convince Sasha that he's really there and that she's safe. He tells her that she's being drugged and he's going to get her out of there. Gladys gave Damon his money, so she'd like to know why Sasha is still locked up. He tells her he can't release her until the drugs are out of her system, and they need a couple buffer days so it doesn't look like she suddenly made a miraculously recovery. Nina can't get any answers about the delay in Sasha's release, and Gladys has to stop her from getting Damon's name and calling him to interrogate him. Mac is distressed about Cody's apparent commitment, but Felicia quickly figures out that he's on a mission to rescue Sasha. That makes Mac want to check up on him. Felicia convinces him that he can't get involved because of Cody's criminal record. Also, she doesn't want to interfere with his plans, in case he's right about Sasha needing help. Plus, what's the worst that could happen to him? The answer: Damon finding him while he's trying to leave with Sasha. Gregory's ready to tell Chase about his diagnosis, but when he sees how happy Chase and Brook are about her moving in, he changes his mind. Sam admits to Dante that she had Cody committed so he could help Sasha. Dante's still not convinced that Sasha actually needs help, and he's a little ticked that no one got him involved. Sam points out that he already has enough to deal with, now that Sonny's facing federal charges, and there's no way having someone committed for fake reasons is completely legal, so she couldn't involve him. Ultimately, Dante says he trusts Sam's judgment (more than Cody's, at least) and he's going to let things play out. Nina is in over her head on mob stuff and has no idea what to do while Sonny's locked up and facing prison time. She asks Carly to step in, but Carly's like, "I'm the ex-Mrs. Corinthos, not the future Mrs. Corinthos. The torch has been passed to you." She does, however, tell Nina to stay calm so Sonny's enemies don't think things are out of control (because as of right now, they're not). Alexis tries to force Molly and Kristina to make up, which goes about as well as you would expect. When Kristina tries to vent, Alexis tells her that she would love to have her own sister back, and the two of them need to get over their problems already. Josslyn thinks that Trina should be more uncomfortable over the fact that Spencer spends so much time with Esme. Trina says she's plenty uncomfortable, but she has enough complicated stuff going on and wants to just enjoy the little time she gets to have with her boyfriend.
Hey, Damon, since you like poker metaphors, here's one for you: I hope you get royally flushed.
This is the one time I wish Carly would eavesdrop. Imagine her and Nina working together to rescue Sasha.
On the one hand, Dante is totally justified in feeling shut out by Sam. On the other hand, he can't talk about her keeping secrets when he still hasn't told her whatever he and Cody have been hiding for decades.
Wow, an original Kristina mention. We never get those.
I absolutely cannot picture Finn as a child. If you told me he was born 25, I'd believe you.
September 8th, 2023
As soon as Cody sees Damon, he puts everything together about what Damon and Gladys have put Sasha through. After the men fight, Damon ends up bound and gagged in his boxers while Cody walks Sasha right out the door, pretending to be Damon. Janice catches on and calls for a lockdown, but they've already made it to a getaway car. Curtis convinces Marshall that he can take care of himself while Marshall and Portia are out, and he finally gets some time alone. Anna comes by and tells him how sorry she is for what happened to him. He admits that he was mad at her and Sonny when he first found out his prognosis, but now he's shifted his thinking to "it is what it is," basically, and doesn't hold her responsible. Portia, however, blames both Anna and Sonny, and she tells Anna not to come back. Ava gives Nina a little reality check, telling her that even if Sonny escapes prison time, there will always be another crisis just around the corner. She hopes that Sonny gets cleared of the charges against him, and that he and Nina live happily ever after, and also that they move into Wyndemere. In addition, it would be great if Nina didn't keep hiding the fact that she was the SEC whistleblower. Dex blames himself for Sonny's arrest, since he was the last person with the flash drive that he still thinks is the smoking gun here. Josslyn also takes some responsibility for the situation, as she was the one who wanted him to deploy the flash drive. He tells her that he's come to see Sonny as a mentor, and if this is the end of their time working together, he'll be left with a hole in his life. Thanks to some help from Sonny, Ned gets to record a demo with Olivia and Leo at his side.
Cody and Sasha's escape can't be that easy, right? I was expecting Damon to drug Cody, and for Sam and Dante (and probably Mac) to have to rescue them. I also wouldn't have objected to a plot where Sasha kills Damon, and Cody takes the blame.
Oh, shut up, Portia.
Reset the "X days since I actually liked Nina" clock, because for about four seconds today, when she was yelling at Gladys, I cheered her on.
"I just want you to think about what you're doing before you do it." Why would she start now, Ava?
Now that Ava brings it up, it makes total sense for Sonny to live on Spoon Island. I'm surprised he hasn't tried to buy it before.
Okay, I'm ready for Ned to recover. This music stuff is boring.
September 11th, 2023
Michael, Kristina, Dante, and Nina show up in court for Sonny's arraignment, much more nervous that the defendant is, even though he's facing seven federal charges. At the last minute, the U.S. attorney announces that they don't have the evidence they thought they did, so all charges are being dropped. Sonny acts like there was never anything to worry about. Up until the charges are dropped, Dex thinks that the flash drive Carly destroyed was unlikely to be the smoking gun, so the arrest isn't on him. He's right, as Sonny secretly tells him that the shipment that arrived the night of his arrest was from Pikeman, but instead of weapons, it contained coffee beans. Spencer plans an evening with Trina, but Esme assumes that the setup is really for her. She heads out for the evening and chats with Carly about how Spencer, Laura, and Kevin have made it easier for her to be a first-time mother. She's feeling so independent and confident that she now wants to move into a room above Kelly's. Trina should appreciate that, since she doesn't like how Spencer and Esme have gotten closer. Spencer promises that he has no feelings for Esme, and he demonstrates his commitment to Trina by finally giving her those turtledoves he's had forever. She decides that they should each have one to remind them that they're a matched pair. Curtis goes back to work, and though it seems like the Savoy is a place he enjoys being, he's not sure if he still fits in there. Jordan gives him some encouragement, and he repays her by teasing that she's going to be grandmother. Georgie's noticed that Maxie seems worried about something but doesn't have all the details. Mac assures her that he and Felicia will give them any help they need, just as Felicia tells Maxie that they'll help her with money if Deception goes under. Mac then gets a boost when James says he told a classmate that Mac is a hero. Jake acts distant while having dinner with Elizabeth, Finn, and Violet, then makes a vague excuse for splitting up from them before a softball game. It turns out he has a date – with Charlotte. Maxie asks Felicia to lay off the law-breaking because her family needs her.
Why did Sonny look so confused about how things played out when it seems like they happened exactly as he'd planned? Also, how stupid are the feds not to open the crates immediately to make sure they were right about the contents? Whoever headed up that raid should probably be fired.
Wake up, babe, new dragon and phoenix just dropped.
Who dressed Esme today? Do better.
Nathan mention – drink!
I love Violet getting competitive and trying to figure out who's good at softball. I also love her smacking Finn's hand when he kept trying to steal her fries.
Ooh, Jake and Charlotte. I didn't expect that.
September 12th, 2023
Sonny tells Nina that the raid was a setup and he was pretty confident that the charges would never stick. Michael's shaken by the close call and decides it's time to make peace with his father, though that doesn't include any confessions about how just months ago, he was actively working to send Sonny to prison. Sasha's in withdrawal and briefly thinks that Cody is Damon, so has a lot to deal with as he takes them to a cabin Sam arranged for them to hide out in. Sasha also doesn't see a reason to stay in Port Charles and doesn't think there's anyone left who cares about her. Cody tells her to fight because Brando would want her to and assures her that there are still people who want good things for her. Gladys learns of Sasha and Cody's escape and tells Nina that Sasha was kidnapped. Nina quickly figures out that the more appropriate word is "rescued," though Gladys tries to convince her that Cody is working with Damon and took Sasha to get revenge on her for stabbing him. Chase and Dante learn that there's an APB out for Sasha and Cody, and Dante mentions to Sam that they escaped from Ferncliff and had to have had help. She won't admit to anything, and in turn, he won't say outright (though it's obvious) that he approves of what she did. Elizabeth is surprised to learn that Jake and Charlotte have been spending time together, but she doesn't seem too concerned, mostly because their relationship is in the early stages. Violet wants all the dirt on Jake and Charlotte's date, but Willow teaches her about a little thing called privacy. Kristina is really happy that Sonny's off the hook, and she'll tell anyone who will listen.
So how long do we think it'll be before Sonny finds out that Michael conspired to send him to prison? I would ask if that'll happen before Nina gets busted as the whistleblower, but the latter is supposed to happen any day now.
Since Sonny knew he'd likely be arrested while the shipment was being brought in, he looks kind of bad for letting it go down while his kids and grandkid were around.
Morgan mention – drink!
Cody, you can be a hero OR you can yell at the emotionally fragile woman, but not both.
I love Sam's gaze-averting, wow-this-is-all-crazy face when she was pretending that Cody and Sasha's escape was all news to her.
I can't imagine that Valentin will be thrilled to find out that Charlotte is dating, but I think Lulu would love that she's with Jake.
September 13th, 2023
Sasha's through the worst of things and her head is clear, so Cody helps her work out when and why things started going downhill for her. She agrees with him that Damon was drugging her, but it might take her a little longer to grasp that Gladys was behind it all. Lucy asks Tracy her motives for going after Deception, but Tracy sticks to Jackson's advice not to say anything. She offers Lucy 25 percent of Deception, and after some negotiating, she agrees to a 51/49 percent split. The only caveat: Lucy has to give up her 1 percent share of ELQ. She got that share by blackmailing Tracy decades ago, and it's Tracy's biggest regret. Lucy refuses to give it up, but Tracy seems confident that she'll eventually change her mind. Sonny tells Carly everything about the FBI setup and the Betty setup (except for the part where Mason's holding Nikolas' "death" over her head). The two of them put together that Austin and Mason's boss is likely someone at Pentonville, which makes it understandable that Sonny's next move is to ask Drew for a favor. Maxie confronts Brook for betraying Deception, furious when she learns that it was all because Brook didn't want to be honest with Chase. She can't get past the fact that Brook put her job and livelihood at risk for such a bad reason, or that Brook couldn't foresee that Tracy would use the information about the Deceptor for evil purposes. Brook's done at Deception, and at least for now, her friendship with Maxie is likely over, too. Sam wants Dante to have deniability about Sasha and Cody's escape (especially after he warns that her participation makes her an accessory), but she ends up telling him everything she knows after discovering that Damon was Sasha's doctor. Dante's upset with himself for not catching on that Gladys was a bad guy and not listening when Cody talked badly about her and insisted that something was wrong with Sasha. He wants to try to fix things by getting more directly involved. Mason accuses Ava of setting Betty up with fake information, but she keeps her cool and makes a good argument that he screwed up by trusting someone who was incompetent. Moss, one of the FBI agents on Sonny's case, tells Mac, Jordan, and Chase that they got bad intel and seized a shipment of coffee instead of weapons. He's sure that Sonny will screw up for real in the future and the FBI will eventually nail him. For now, he wants to make sure that Dante doesn't tell Sonny anything he shouldn't.
Interesting how much progress was made today just from peoply simply talking to each other.
Not to cheer on Tracy or anything, but yes, yes, yes! Lucy's 1 percent of ELQ has been a thorn in everyone's side for way too long.
That "working girl" Sonny said Mason went to see when Austin was at Pentonville must be significant. The scene where they met up was certainly framed that way.
I don't know, Sonny. I agree that you would do anything for Carly, but not vice versa.
Yeah, it's kind of hard to feel bad for Brook here. If she didn't think things would blow up, that's on her.
Who styled Kirsten Storms so that she looked like she rolled out of bed five seconds before her scenes?
September 14th, 2023
Garten is furious that Cyrus gave her unhelpful information and ruined their plans to help the feds bust Sonny. Though she acts like she has power over Cyrus, like a connection to a judge, it turns out that he has power over her and wants her to make the moves that will fix everything. Sonny asks Drew to help find out who Austin met with at Pentonville. Carly's worried that Drew will put himself in danger, which he probably will, since Cyrus overhears him asking a friendly guard to do some digging for him. As expected, Sasha has a hard time believing that Gladys is to blame for everything Damon did, but when Sam and Dante back Cody up, she comes around. Sam promises that together, the four of them will figure out how to get Sasha and Cody out of the jam they're in. Spencer wants to take Trina on a vacation so they can have some quality time together. When she points out that she has school, he basically says she's wasting her time with that. Instead of telling him how ridiculous he's being, she agrees to take a shorter trip with him to New York. To try to force Austin to make Mason turn over Nikolas' body, Ava threatens to tell Sonny everything that's happened (which is pretty funny when you think about it, since she already did that). Austin seems regretful about getting her in the middle of this mess, or at least that's what he wants her to believe. He insists that one way or another, Mason will come through. He's curious about whether Ava really thinks that Nikolas would have hurt Avery, which he threatened to do the night she "killed" him, and Ava says that after Kiki's murder, she couldn't risk the life of the only daughter she has left. Dex is much more supportive of Josslyn's education than Spencer is of Trina's, but he also seems concerned that she'll want to ditch him for someone she has more in common with, like Adam. Olivia's so happy with the way things are going with "Eddie" that Nina thinks she doesn't want Ned back, like, just because you spent months hoping the guy you loved who had amnesia wouldn't recover his memories doesn't mean everyone else does, too, Nina.
My single, solitary complaint about Rena Sofer returning (after 26 years!) is that it means the Eddie Maine stuff will likely drag on for at least another month. Sigh.
Drew is awfully tan for someone who's probably getting, at most, one hour of sunlight a day.
"You never promised to be careful." It's implied, Carly. This is Drew we're talking about.
Spencer wants to take Trina to an island, eh? Looks like he's more like his Uncle Sonny than we knew.
Kiki mention – drink!
What a coincidence that an adaptation of the book Josslyn's reading is about to come out! And how convenient that while the actors can't promote that adaptation because of the strike, there's no rule saying that a soap character can't!
Dex is not your personal assistant, Sonny! If you want to tell Nina something, call her and leave her a message!
September 15th, 2023
Some blanks get filled in about Tracy's scheming when she meets with her co-conspirator, one Ms. Blair Cramer. In a nutshell, Blair is Martin's alimony-paying ex, and she's in on the Deception machinations because she wants to end the payments. Also, the Deceptor was her idea, and she wants what she's owed for its creation. Tracy thinks everything will work out for both of them when Lucy loses Deception and bugs Martin to marry her. Martin quietly panics about being in the same place at the same time as Blair. He also really, really wants Lucy to stop saying that she got the idea for the Deceptor from him. He tries to keep a poker face while she complains about how Brook stole something that wasn't hers, just like he stole something from Blair that wasn't his. He's almost home free when Lucy decides they should leave, but Blair spots him before they can. Nikolas is ready to leave the house where he's been staying, and though he plans to go to Europe and track down Laura, he doesn't want to actually interact with her. He tells Austin that he's going to let her know that he's alive, and that's it. It turns out that after six months away, he's about to lose control over the Cassadines' assets, which will next go to Spencer. Nikolas knows that if that happens, Spencer will never them up, and Nikolas refuses to let his son have power over him. Spencer is in the process of figuring out what it would mean for him to have control of everything, and he wisely asks Alexis to help him navigate the details. He also asks her to check in on Esme and Ace while he and Trina are away. Esme is unhappy to hear about their trip to Manhattan. Dante has discovered that Valentin flew to Manhattan the night of the fire, so Anna confronts him about that. He admits that Pikeman summoned him for some reason, but he won't give any details, claiming that he wants to keep his relationship with Anna separate from his business dealings. Anna's like, "You asked me to give Sonny a message about Pikeman literally minutes before someone shot at us, so the ship has sailed there." Instead of throwing Valentin off the terrace at the Metro Court, Anna takes him back to her room, which has been trashed. There's red ink all over the place, like fake blood, and a message on the mirror says, "You think you got away with it – you didn't. You think you're safe – you're not." Carly lets Ava know that she's about 95 percent aware of what's been going on, and she's very curious about the 5 percent she's not in on. Since Ava refuses to tell her anything (other than implying that things could get so bad that it's better for Avery to stay with Carly right now), Carly has to fill in the blanks herself. She thinks that Ava did something that Mason and Austin are threatening to tell their boss about, which means it could make its way to the FBI. Josslyn is very excited for both Trina and Spencer when she learns of their upcoming trip and the inevitable sexy times that will occur.
This and Port Charles are the only soaps I've ever watched, so I enjoy getting to see actors who got famous on other soaps (Kassie DePaiva, Michael E. Knight, etc.) pop up here.
Blair, please give us an update on Starr. No, wait – I want an update on Todd!
I just want to clarify that Tracy and Blair are messing with Deception – and people's jobs – because they want 1 percent of ELQ and a divorce, respectively?
I guess Tracy forgot that Lucy has a real estate license to fall back on and won't need Martin's money.
Are we not going to get a cutesy scene where Blair and Austin bump into each other and are like, "You seem familiar"?
Nikolas can't let Laura know he's alive without going to Europe? He's familiar with phones, right? Also, Austin can calm down about him not letting Ava know he's alive. When he gets in touch with Laura, she'll let Ava know. And I can't wait to see the look on Ava's face when that happens.
How messed up is your family when you have a rule that anyone who's been missing for six months is presumed dead?
"He's damaged and it wasn't his fault." But Nikolas was a good person for his first 15+ years on the show, so you can't blame his upbringing or family circumstances for how he chose to start acting after that. Come on, Alexis.
Do they want us to feel sorry for Esme or something? Never gonna happen.
Is it significant that Anna said she doesn't feel well? If so, I can't wait for the revelation that Trish drugged her and is secretly the head of Pikeman.
September 18th, 2023
Anna again feels like whoever's targeting her is trying to take away everything she has. She still can't let go of her suspicions that Valentin is somehow involved. He asks Nina to show him security footage from outside the room, and whoever they see in it shocks them both. Blair has to connect the dots for Martin, who's apparently too dumb to get that she's Tracy's cohort in the lawsuit. She wants him to give up his monthly alimony or she'll come forward about the fact that he stole the idea for the Deceptor from her. She figures that if he doesn't do what she wants, Lucy will eventually turn on him and maybe even sue him. Marshall tells Stella that Curtis may be thinking about selling the Savoy, the only thing that currently gives him a reason to leave the house. He asks Stella to have another come-to-Jesus conversation with Curtis and convince him that his entire life doesn't have to change. Gregory gives Esme some advice on dealing with her not-so-ideal life, after she whines that Spencer doesn't trust her. He almost has a fall in front of her, but Alexis covers for him. Then they talk about the same stuff they always talk about. Brook laments the end of her friendship with Maxie to Chase, who blames everything on Tracy. Brook admits that she used to admire Tracy for being so tough and ruthless, but now she's just destructive and doesn't care who she hurts as long as she gets what she wants. Nina updates Lucy on Sasha, and Lucy correctly guesses that Cody rescued her rather than kidnapping her. She loses points, though, by saying that she needs to know if Sasha will ever be coming back to the company, since Deception's in so much trouble. Nina's like, "Sorry that Sasha's apparent breakdown and consequent commitment came at such a bad time and are affecting your bank account. Get out of my office." An unspecified incident with T.J. and some issues with patients make Elizabeth think that Gregory's doctor isn't a good fit for him. Finn agrees, but he's hesitant to discuss the topic with his father, who might think he's overstepping. Elizabeth helps him realize that Gregory might actually appreciate him weighing in.
Since Valentin and Nina both recognized the person in the surveillance footage, that narrows it down to who it could be. My guess is it's Cassandra or Alex.
There's no way that Martin doesn't smell like Blair's perfume right now, and that Lucy wouldn't notice.
By expressing more concern about Deception than Sasha, Lucy proved that she's more like Tracy than she thinks.
Please, enough of this Esme crap. Give her screentime to someone else.
September 19th, 2023
Somehow, inexplicably, Charlotte is Anna's intruder, but Valentin is keeping that between him and Nina for now. He tells Anna that nothing showed up in the surveillance footage and says nothing to Charlotte about what was there. Cody finds a bottle of pills in the pocket of the suit he stole from Damon, so Sam and Dante could have a smoking gun that helps them bring him down. Sasha's disturbed by the thought that Damon might have been planning to kill her via an overdose. She thinks that she and Cody should turn themselves in, but no one else is eager for that to happen just yet. Sam and Dante want to dig for something that will make charges against Damon stick, and Cody thinks running away might be a good idea. Selina drops by the Savoy to note how slow business has been, thanks to the opening of a new club in town. While Marshall continues rebuffing her, Nika calls Portia and expresses her concern that he's going to take things too far and put himself in danger. Trina goes to her parents' house to play video games with Curtis, which is really an icebreaker before she brings up his hesitation over continuing to run the Savoy. He says his dream to have his own club has changed. They start talking about Trina's relationship with Spencer and whether she's ready yet to use the L word. Curtis is nicely diplomatic about them being together, but he warns that in his experience, people with a lot of money and a lot of time on their hands tend to get themselves in trouble. Sonny's Pikeman contact brings him a suitcase full of money as a peace offering for the turbulence that's been going on. Sonny guesses that it's really a down payment for another sale, and he won't take it or any other deals until Pikeman finds out who sold him out to the feds. He asks for Dex's opinion on the situation, wanting to make sure he can trust Dex's judgment before giving him more responsibility. Dex is pretty sure that no one from the Corinthos contingent went to the feds, but he doesn't think Pikeman would take such a risk to get him busted. Sonny agrees, and he lets Dex know that the charges stemmed from fake information he himself provided. Ned and Olivia chat with Marshall, who challenges Ned to finish his new song by next week and then debut it at the Savoy, which he thinks could be great for business. He calls Olivia Ned's date, making Ned wonder if she sees it that way, too.
So we're saying that the stuff in Anna's hotel room is unrelated to the fire and the shooting, yes? Because even if I could accept that Charlotte was behind the hotel stuff, which seems unlikely to me, I refuse to buy her as an arsonist.
"After the arson at your house, could these two events be related?" You're the cop – it's your job to figure that out!
Damon doesn't know Sam's connection to Sasha, right? I hope taking him down involves Sam cozying up to him and playing him.
Trina and Curtis playing video games together was so cute.
September 20th, 2023
Valentin sends Charlotte home with Nina for the night, wanting to keep her away from Anna. He promises Charlotte that they'll get a place to live soon, which is what she seems to want most. Her feelings about Anna living with them are unclear, but she's definitely happy at the end of the night, in Nina's guest room, dealing tarot cards. Anna asks Sonny for protection, then shares her theory that the sniper at the Metro Court was aiming for him, not her. She doesn't think the shooting is connected to the fire or the break-in, and she suspects that Pikeman and/or the WSB were responsible. Scott and Lucy try to start a game night with Mac and Felicia while they're watching Maxie's kids, but when Maxie comes home, it turns into a gripe/brainstorming session about how to get revenge on Tracy. The fun promptly stops when Maxie learns that Tracy made Lucy a great deal but Lucy turned it down so she wouldn't have to give up her 1 percent of ELQ. Cody apologizes to Sasha for not telling her sooner about Gladys' activities, including how she sold Brando's garage behind Sasha's back. Sasha doesn't hold anything against him, since he did try to warn her not to trust Gladys, and she didn't listen. She also appreciates that he believed in her and fought so hard to help her. Brook runs into Tracy after dodging her calls because what could she possibly have to say to her grandmother? Tracy claims that she did everything she did for Brook, and Brook should be thanking her. Brook's only gratitude is for the fact that she now lives with Chase and doesn't have to deal with the Deception fallout. Finn hesitantly brings up the subject of Gregory's treatment, which Gregory can tell is something he's discussed with Elizabeth. At first it seems like he thinks that Elizabeth has overstepped, but he's actually really open to any changes Finn suggests, especially if they'll help him feel better about his father's condition. As Gregory starts accepting more about what he's facing, he decides to stop hiding his diagnosis, starting with telling Tracy about it.
Yoooooo. Is Charlotte being triggered with tarot cards like Drew?? That sounds insane, but it still makes more sense than any motive we're supposed to believe she has. I would also be able to buy that she set the fire if it was because someone forced her to and she doesn't remember it.
Valentin needs to tell Anna what's going on so she can stop being scared of a 15-year-old.
Where did Valentin and Charlotte live before they supposedly moved in with Anna? They got booted from Wyndemere years ago!
Get me a shirt that says, "Nobody asked for your opinion, Scott." So many people would buy it, Maxie could pay her rent for six months.
Enough with James, please.
Nathan mention – drink!
I read that Chase is going to find out about Gregory's diagnosis from someone other than him, and if it's Tracy, Brook is going to hate her even more.
September 21st, 2023
Dante can't get any quick responses to subpoenas he issued for Sasha's medical records, so Sam skirts the law and asks Willow for help. Willow's eager to do anything she can for Sasha, and she has no problem sending Sam a picture of Sasha's toxicology report from the night she stabbed Cody. It shows that she tested positive for a drug that, combined with her antidepressant, can cause the exact symptoms she exhibited. Now Sam and Dante just have to prove that Damon was the reason she was taking it. Anna asks Olivia to show her the security footage from outside her suite, but Nina erased it. Nina tries to act like everything's totally fine and normal around Charlotte while Valentin stresses over the possibility that she's the one who burned down Anna's house. Nina remembers that Charlotte said she was with Jake before the break-in, so she asks Carly if the two of them are at Kelly's a lot. Carly thinks she's too interested in Charlotte's activities and friends, and Nina doesn't actually get anywhere, so that's kind of a bust. Robert thinks that the judge who sent Drew to prison is trying to look stern because he wants a job in the appeals court. There's also the possibility that there will be an offer of reducing the sentence if Drew's girlfriend were to turn over something incriminating about her ex-husband. Robert and Diane flirt while talking, but he drops everything to give Anna a digital photo album to replace all the pictures she lost in the fire. Diane's like, "Oh, I see that Holly wasn't the ex I needed to worry about." Drew's friendly guard contact proves to be loyal only to whoever can offer him the best deal, and Cyrus gets him to feed Drew a lie about who Austin came to see. Cyrus then warns Drew that Garten is considering a lockdown, so he should keep his head down. Brook is speeding forward with her return to the music business, hoping to become Blaze's manager. She and Ned talk music, as he wonders whether he can finish his new song by Marshall's very-sped-up deadline. Whether or not he can, Olivia's very excited for him, and the two of them share a moment that looks like it could turn romantic.
One day back at work and Willow's breaking the law. She's officially a Corinthos.
Isn't there the possibility that Charlotte went to the suite looking for Valentin and left before the break-in. I'm just saying!
"Once again, all roads lead back to Sonny." I think that's the show's subtitle.
Looks like Diane is learning that Anna is to Robert as Carly is to Sonny.
Aw, Olivia has a crush on her husband. It's adorable!
September 22nd, 2023
Two inmates attack Drew and beat him unconscious in the shower. Cyrus finds him and alerts a guard, so I guess they're even for Drew saving his life. Trina has some schoolwork to finish up before her trip with Spencer, who wants to get the show on the road already and keeps bugging her. He's really annoying about it, but she holds her ground and makes sure she takes care of business before pleasure. Curtis tells Portia about Spencer and Trina's weekend plans, and she surprises him by not freaking out. She's not happy about the news, but she knows she can't do anything about it, so she's going to keep her mouth shut. Then she acts all nice to Esme, who thinks of her as a mentor and friend now, and I really can't tell where Portia's going with that. Andrea's pregnant, so of course Molly is thrilled. In fact, she's so happy that she's fine with Alexis telling Kristina the news. Diane shares her suspicious about Drew's judge and the feds' intentions with Carly, who still won't even consider giving the feds anything that could incriminate Sonny, even if it could mean freeing Drew. Kristina meets and befriends Blaze, who's ten times more encouraging than anyone she's related to. T.J. worries that he won't be a good father and doesn't know enough about parenting to do it right. Jordan's like, "No one knows what they're doing; you and Molly are smart enough to figure it out; also, call me Grandma one more time and see what happens."
Curtis needs to learn that if there's something Trina hasn't told Portia, it's probably something she doesn't want Portia to know.
Spencer, you're being obnoxious. Knock it off.
Also, what does Spencer do all day? He doesn't have a job, and Ace goes to daycare. With Trina back in classes, he's going to have a lot of hours to fill.
Again, if the feds had an offer in mind for Carly, why would they wait this long to present it?
Blaze and Kristina? I can get behind that. We could call them Kraze.
T.J. is pretty much the last person who needs to worry about being a good father. He's a good person, so everything he does is good.
Jordan looked fantastic today. The way she dressed was like, "Call me Grandma again, I dare you."
September 25th, 2023
Carly's mad at Sonny for failing to keep his promise to protect Drew, and Sonny's mad at Dex for not doing enough to ensure the same, as if Dex has any power at all. Nina chooses the exact wrong moment to show up at the hospital, just as Carly's learning that Drew needs emergency surgery. But instead of taking out her frustrations on Nina, as one would expect, Carly plans to take them out on Ava, somehow blaming her for what happened. Valentin has finally bought a house, and he thinks that'll be enough to get Charlotte back on the right track. A dream tells us that Charlotte's biggest problem with Anna is seemingly just that she's monopolizing Valentin's attention, and a flashback tells us that someone sent Charlotte the tarot cards while she was at boarding school. Brook is more surprised than she should be that Blaze would love to have her as a manager. She credits Brook with getting her out from under Linc's thumb, and she thinks the two of them will be a powerful team. Molly tells T.J. and Curtis that Andrea's pregnant, making both of their days. Alexis shares the same with Kristina, and though Kristina's happy for Molly and T.J., she's hurt that Molly didn't want to give her the news in person. Alexis advises her to let Molly and T.J. enjoy their moment, then go back to working on fixing things with her sister. Portia apologizes to Anna for being so harsh when Anna went to see Curtis, but Anna thinks she deserved Portia's anger. Portia then purposely keeps Curtis away from Sonny, as if her husband can't make his own decisions about who he talks to. Jake admits to Elizabeth that though he said he was hanging out with a friend last night, he was actually with Charlotte. I guess for some reason he thought she wouldn't be okay with that, but she is. She resists telling him about Drew, since he's still dealing with grief over losing Jason and Franco, and he's distressed when he hears that he could lose another father figure.
Again, Sonny, Dex is not your personal messenger. Call your fiancée yourself.
Was that the same house Anna followed Valentin to? It would be funny if Anna had to pretend she'd never been there.
Brook and Lois should revive L&B together. They wouldn't even have to change the name – Brook would be the new B.
If I were Alexis, I would fire the person who wrote that Brook's singing career was "slashed short." That's disgusting.
"Fingers crossed it's all worked out for them." Yeah, there's no way. My money's on Andrea miscarrying and trying to pretend she's still pregnant.
Sorry that Sonny didn't tell you that one of your best friends is in the hospital, Curtis. Yor wife is being a shrew.
September 26th, 2023
Cody turns himself in at the police station, and Dante plays innocent while Chase arrests him. When Gladys learns of Cody's return, she goes to the station asking about Sasha. Dante tips Sam off that she's there, and Sam calls her pretending to be someone from Sasha's bank, informing Gladys that her financial records are being subpoenaed. Gladys speeds home and packs a suitcase so she can flee town. That's when Sasha shows up at her door. Carly accuses Ava of telling Austin what she and Sonny discussed with Drew, which must have led him to tip off his boss, resulting in Drew's assault. Ava comments that she's not the reason that Drew went to prison, and Carly decides that she's the one to blame instead. Sonny calms everyone down, and the news that Drew's going to be okay eases the tension even more. Carly even apologizes to Ava and thanks Sonny for staying with her. Nina just stands around looking dumb the whole time. Valentin tries to feel out Charlotte's opinion of Anna, but she still doesn't give anything away. She even sounds willing to have Anna move in with them if it'll make Valentin happy. In truth, the letter that came with the tarot cards warned her not to trust Anna, and it's unclear whether she believed it. P.S. The cards and letter were from Victor. Jake confides to Finn that he feels like he keeps losing people – Jason and Franco died, Cameron left for school, and Finn left his life. He seems embarrassed about being so upset about Drew's condition, but Finn gives him a little lesson in It's Okay to Feel Feelings 101. Elizabeth is pleased with how the two of them interact. Sonny and Anna both lament feeling like they've lost control over pieces of their lives. For one thing, just a few years ago, no one would have dared to defy Sonny's clear statement that Drew was under his protection. Sasha's surprised that Cody would go to so much trouble for her, considering the fact that they're barely even friends. Cody, for his part, is fully aware that if they can't prove what Gladys and Damon did, he could land in prison.
The Gladys/Sasha showdown is going to be sooooo satisfying. I hope Sasha's wearing a wire.
Sam used a voice-distorting thing when she called Gladys, right? So what was up with that weird voice she used?
Nina, hon, if Ava had ratted you out to Carly, Carly would have made it very clear what she knew.
I guess Valentin doesn't know about the tarot triggerings, or he'd be a lot more worried.
Who screwed up Jake during his childhood to make him think he needed to feel bad about crying over Drew? Oh, right. Helena.
September 27th, 2023
Sasha tears into Gladys for all of her actions and eventually gets her to admit that she enlisted Damon to help her, though she didn't know how far he would go. Sasha challenges her to prove her regret by turning herself in and testifying against Damon. Olivia thinks that when Ned is able to finish his new song, he'll get his memories back. He keeps working on it up until the last minute before he performs at the Savoy, but he can't get things to fall into place. Brook and Olivia both give him encouragement, and he and Olivia look like they might kiss before he turns it into a hug. Olivia's embarrassed because she feels like she wants to cheat on her husband. Brook reminds her that the person she wants to cheat with is also her husband. Anyway, the concert goes great, and Tracy sneaks in to watch, though it looks like Michael and Willow are the only people who notice her. Ned even gives Olivia a special shout-out. His "debut" pulls in a big crowd, and Curtis again looks like he's happy to be there. He still hasn't decided if he's going to sell, though. Dante, Cody, and Sam fill Chase in on their scheme, and he gives them a thumbs up for helping Sasha. Scott shows up to represent Cody, who tries to get rid of him without revealing what he's really up to. Either some kid in Ace's daycare has horrible timing or Esme is up to her old tricks, because a potential exposure to chicken pox makes Spencer decide that he needs to cancel his and Trina's trip to New York. Trina tries to hide how disappointed she is, but Josslyn tells her she's allowed to be upset. Fortunately, either the exposure was a false alarm or Esme decides to be a good person, and the weekend is back on. Kristina maturely congratulates Molly and T.J. on Andrea's pregnancy, and they immaturely ignore her.
The good news is that Olivia likes Ned as Eddie, so if he never goes back to himself, she won't be misereable or anything.
We saw that smile, Tracy! You proud mom, you.
Marshall may not be as good at running the Savoy as Curtis is, but he's an excellent host/emcee.
Sam's casual "'bye, Cody" while she and Dante were rushing out of there so they wouldn't have to deal with Scott cracked me up.
So was it really a false alarm about the chicken pox, or did Esme's conscience make her take back a conveniently timed lie? Discuss.
Someday we'll have a Molly for more than three months. Someday...
"So what's going on with you and Molly?" Michael, no! Don't get involved! It's too late for the rest of us, but you can still save yourself!
September 28th, 2023
Gladys agrees to tell the police everything she and Damon did, but instead, she tells them that Sasha's at her apartment and gets her sent back to Ferncliff. Damon goes to the station to give a statement on Cody's attack on him, and when Dante asks about the pills that were in his pocket, he lies that he doesn't know anything about them. Dante and Mac let him go, which provokes Cody, who attacks him again. Eventually Damon and Gladys are left alone in an interrogation room, and he tells her that he's going to "take care" of Sasha. So after everything, Sasha's back in her room at Ferncliff, again at Damon's mercy. After being attacked for seemingly being an innocent player in a bigger game and undergoing emergency surgery, Drew is in a better mood than you would expect, since he's alive and gets to be with Carly for a little while. Jordan has joined the mission to get him out of Pentonville, and while Garten claims that she's also on that side, I'm going to go ahead and say they shouldn't trust her. Spencer and Trina kick off their weekend in New York, but nothing really happens because sex is more of a Friday-episode thing. Mason blames the failure to get Sonny busted on Betty, but Cyrus thinks Ava was the real weak link, and he orders Mason to go after her. Ava goes by Carly's house while Josslyn's looking after Donna and Avery, and surprisingly, Josslyn invites her to stay for dinner. Apparently she's coming around on Ava because of her importance to Trina. Ava expresses concern over Josslyn being in a relationship with someone who works for the mob, supposedly because of her father being a mobster, even though I don't think she ever even met him, and also, since when does she care about Josslyn? Anyway, the only really significant part of that whole thing is that Josslyn tells Ava that Drew's awake, so Ava lets Nina know that she doesn't have to worry about his death being on her conscience.
Darin Toonder is so freaking creepy.
Why in the world did Sasha trust Gladys to do the right thing?? They should have had Sam waiting in the hallway to go with Gladys and make sure she turned herself in. Now Sasha's right back where she started. And if I were Cody, I'm not sure I would be able to forgive Dante for taking her back to Ferncliff instead of taking her back to the hideout and claiming that she escaped.
Also, I totally expected Gladys to just run and let Damon deal with the fallout. Now Sonny's even more likely to make her disappear.
As much as I enjoyed seeing Cody attack Damon, that probably wasn't a good move.
There's no way Carly's allowed to lie in that bed with Drew, who's still an inmate.
I can't be the only one suspicious about the obviousness of the scene where someone put an out-of-order sign on an elevator.
Josslyn being nice to Ava is weird.
September 29th, 2023
Trina finally tells Spencer she loves him, and then they have sex. Laura and Kevin go to Switzerland to find out if there's been any activity in Nikolas' bank accounts. There has, but at least some of it has to be manufactured (or involved theft) because it happened while he was comatose. Because there was a recent large withdrawal, Kevin and Laura suspect that Nikolas is trying to hide some of his money so no one can use it to track him. Whatever the case, they consider this pretty strong evidence that he's alive. Just after they leave, Nikolas himself shows up to make another withdrawal. The employee Laura and Kevin talked to, an old family friend, encourages him to connect with his mother, and Nikolas says that's exactly what he's planning to do. Mason goes after Ava like Cyrus ordered, implying that he's going to kidnap her. And since the house is empty by the end of the night, it seems like that's what happened. Willow catches up with Drew, and they agree that as crazy as the Quartermaines are, they're a great family. Then Willow has a strange dream where Harmony says she has a warning, but Willow can't hear whatever it is. Nina tells Sonny about Gladys' various sins and how they've affected Sasha. He's mad and vows to deal with Gladys, unaware of the most recent developments in that situation. Then he and Nina decide to go to the island and elope. Carly asks Michael to help her find a way to get Drew out of Pentonville. He suggests getting Alexis to publish something about the judge who likely went too hard on him and get public sentiment on Drew's side. Michael has also been digging into who the whistleblower is, and he may be getting closer to busting Nina. Finn and Elizabeth are right on the edge of taking their relationship to the next level, but a makeout session in a hospital shower doesn't go past kissing. Amy notices that both of them have wet hair, so they're going to want to cut off that gossip before it can go anywhere.
Usually I tell the younguns to use protection when they're about to have sex, but I feel like Trina doesn't need a reminder.
"Spoon Island is a microclimate." Makes sense, what with all the Cassadines.
If Ava hates being at Wyndemere so much, why does she keep going back there? Just move out!
A butler named Giles? We're not even trying, are we?
Me when Harmony popped up: "Uh, hi. You're...dead."
I really don't care about Willow and Michael's relationship, but it's refreshing that they tell each other stuff. I hate it when someone in a TV couple withholds information from their partner for no reason.
Think Finn and Elizabeth can convince Amy that the hospital is also a microclimate and they got caught in a freak rainstorm?
It would have been kind of funny if Finn and Elizabeth had had sex today when everyone knew it was going to be the big day for Spencer and Trina, and we'd gotten a two-for-one deal. But I guess it would have stolen Spencer and Trina's thunder.