dubbel zout

An estranged brother isn't the same as an unknown son. Once Cody admitted he was Mac's son, he confessed to everything else about the lie and was remorseful. Mac ignored Cody for weeks. He deserved a "snap out of it!" from Felicia. When was he going to be a grownup and start using his words? All he had to do was tell Cody he needed some time to process everything, but instead Mac stomped his feet and took out his anger on his dumbo grandson. His 8-year-old dumbo grandson.

He has complained at least twice about living with all women, which is one reason he glommed onto Cody, especially while Mac was on his sekrit trip (aka JJY's medical leave). But tough beans, kid. Your life is pretty good. If living with three women and Spinelli is your biggest gripe, suck it up. And Mac doesn't need to be a bio dad. It's even worse because said kid is male. Oh, Mac has said raising Georgie and Maxie was the best thing he'd ever done and he didn't regret a minute of it, but the show tells me otherwise by giving Mac a male bio kid.

Ugh, so I guess we're stuck with Heather for the time being. Sigh.

Both she and Sylvie were very boobs-forward in this episode. I was surprised Sylvie's stayed put—she must have been using some strong tape to keep things in place. I'm also glad there's no baby, but I don't need round zillion of the stupid Emily/Gabriel/Camille triangle. Fun fact: The actor who played Sylvie's mother, Liliane Rovère, was in Call My Agent!, as was Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, though I don't think they shared any scenes. In the previews for the second batch of episodes,

LOL that sex on a roof is "the gray area" for Emily. The weather still seemed fairly temperate, and Gabriel stocked the place with enough blankets it wouldn't matter too much. But you be vanilla you, Emily!

I kind of dug it, and I absolutely LOVED the giant cape she was wearing over it. I thought that was rude. Hadn't she told Alfie she'd be with him? On the other hand, Alfie should know by now not to trust Emily's feelings for him.

That was pretty insulting, especially because Luc was working on the same project; it's not as if he had to take over on something he knew next to nothing about. That would have made more sense for him to be completely at sea.

For that particular fashion show, I thought Mindy looked appropriate, and I think Nico went too far in the other direction (staid Chanel-style dress). At lease she was able to sell it, but the price seemed way too low for couture—less than 4,000 euros? (Unless it was actually prêt-a-porter, and then she got a good deal.) Oh, Mindy. That's not going to fund your Eurovision dreams!

It was a lame attempt to give Cody some tie to the canvas, because everyone has to be related or know someone. As if it makes any difference. The show usually ignores the tie after the initial introduction, so I don't know why they think I should care. News flash, Show: I NEVER CARED.

Add Wiley to that list. To be fair, Molly didn't know she had endo before the diagnosis, and we don't know if she'd seen a gyn about the painful sex before that. (Meaning any exams before then weren't specifically looking for endo, which is notoriously overlooked and can be hard to diagnose.) A relationship we saw next to nothing of until the domestic-partner thing—and then they disappeared until the baby rabies. The show skips giant swathes of their lives, yet we have to watch Carly have her umpteenth discussion with Joss about Joss's wooden log of a boyfriend.

I hate that the breakup is going to be framed more as "we knew this was coming; they never argued before" rather than the stress of trying to have a baby via two different surrogates, losing both of those babies, and not having the proper conversations about any of it. It was all so sudden. Both TJ and Molly aren't even 30, so it's not as if there was any great need to have the baby immediately. Anna has always knows what an awful criminal Sonny is, but she's turned a blind eye because of Robin's fondness for him. It's so stupid people are never allowed to hold more than one opinion. Sonny loves his kids so therefore he can't be a terrible person. Yes, he can! Sonny gives away a lot of money to various charities so he can't be at terrible person. Yes, he can! Good grief. I don't think people are mad at Mac for being angry with Cody, they're mad because he's stomping his feet and pouting about it. He hadn't tried to talk to Cody after the reveal on July 4, instead going out of his way to avoid Cody and ban his grandson from doing one of his favorite activities. At least all of that is done and the story can move forward.

He'll pull of the mask he's been wearing all this time to reveal that he's really Julian Jerome, one of the original Port Charles goats. Monica has been a spineless pushover for Jason for way too long for her to even consider suing him for anything. It's one of the things I've hated the most about what they've done to her.

Same. No ice cream and video games for two weeks is pretty weak sauce. But at least Maxie is punishing him. You know if this had been Wiley, Michael and Willow would have told him not to scare them like that again and let him have ice cream for dinner.

I thought Mac did a good job of explaining things about Cody to James in an age-appropriate manner. James doesn't need the gory details. Of course Scott is two seconds behind Jason in getting back to the pharmacist. Plot point! IRL, local police can ask the FBI for help with certain kinds of cases, and the FBI can take over if the crime is a federal one. On GH? Whatever the plot needs.

If it can take Sonny down, nearly any plan will have Scott's approval and involvement. She can stop acting as if she's some sort of victim with the exposure of the recording. She can make sincere private and public apologies. She can work with Kristina at her center to understand the challenges LGBTQ+ kids face. She can go into therapy to work through her issues with homosexuality. But mostly, she can STFU about being a victim and how she's being persecuted. She's become like Sonny in that way. "I'm sorry about it and have moved on; why hasn't everyone else?"

If only James had drowned. That kid is excruciating to watch, and the poor kid actor always looks terrified regardless of the scene. Noted bigot Natalia has known Sonny for three minutes. He hasn't even taken her to the island yet and given her a fancy dress. Yet she's convinced he's an upstanding guy. Why isn't Maxie at a Deception partner meeting? She should have been notified about it long before Tracy texted her. And since when do CFOs invest large amounts of cash into a business as a condition of employment? Lucy needs a timeout from Deception. I love that Willow told Nina this. Maybe it's the last bit of PM's writing, heh. Tellingly, Willow said to Nina, "I love my family," not "I love my husband and our family" or something more along those lines. Willow desperately needs therapy, not that it's likely she'll ever get it. I admire him for doubling down on the "I'm gonna getcha, Sonny!" attitude. It reminds me of when FS/LWB went all mustache-twirly with Peter. Might as well have some fun with the role on your way out. The Felicia/Mac scene in the stable was really good. Wyndemere might be empty at the moment, but I'm pretty sure someone will notice the launch going back and forth. After the big saving scene, Cody didn't even snag the stupid Frisbee that sent James into the pond in the first place, ha!

It's a soap. If people don't have sex in inappropriate places at inappropriate times, how would they get caught? ETA: Speaking of Tracy, I hope her objections to Sonny investing in Deception also include him foisting noted homophobe Natalia into the business.

If it's not Mac's place to forbid James from riding with Cody, why hasn't James been riding with Cody? Ugh, let Natalia go back to Puerto Rico, Sonny. Find another weak woman to sleep with. And I guess everyone has forgotten what a hateful person she is, what with the warm greetings and bringing her into Deception. At least I can enjoy his hilarious ignorance to what's right in front of his face when Willow and Drew are together or one mentions the other. A kid would survive. As long as it wasn't Olivia the hysterical sex police who was the adult Q, I doubt the others would care.

Something about how Brennan was undercover for the WSB to root out Pikeman? Valentin was let off the hook so he doesn't implicate Brennan, I guess? I didn't pay much attention to Brennan's exposition dump to Anna about this because I was just grateful the dumb story was over.

Who is somehow the victim when her homophobia is made public! It's mind boggling how tone-deaf this show is.

Scott and Alexis aren't exactly friends. I doubt this would surprise her. I doubt she thinks about Scott much at all, regardless of where he pops up. How long someone spends in jail/prison is entirely dependent on the plot. I'm trying to stop letting it annoy me, because it's TFGH and there are so many other things my annoyance is better spent on.

Animal prints can be elegant if used properly, Tracy. That's one thing you have wrong. Sonny, if Anna is going to serve and protect you, she's going to serve and protect "even Ava." I know Sonny thinks the world is there to serve him and him alone, but his hypocrisy is just so gross when it comes to law enforcement. Wagger's son is an adult, or nearly, and by all accounts is living a productive life. So why does Carly keep bringing him up as if he's some neglected 6-year-old? (Aside from being a jerk, since you know she'd shriek bloody hell if anyone talked about any of her kids that way.) It's also stupid of Wagger to take the bait, though that's a bit more understandable. Natalia is the victim of a terrible reveal that is totally not her fault and needs to be avenged.

OMG, Tracy hosting a tea part for Violet and her friends, using Lila's good china? A scene I didn't know I needed until now.

Or it can turn you in the opposite direction, as it did with me. There were a lot of other reasons that I was turning away from religion, but my dad's death didn't make me rethink things.

I get why TJ is so set on doing all of the arrangements now: It gives him something to focus on, instead of being paralyzed by grief. The writing isn't supporting this properly, but it's no surprise the end of this story isn't any better handled than the beginning. It's been a fiasco from the get-go.