Episode Discussion II: The TFGH

[driver18]

Finn already did set up Elizabeth as guardian for Violet. And, in fact, the two like actually had almost word for word this exact conversation awhile ago. *sigh* But, hey, at least we're actually seeing the two written for. Hopefully, it will lead to actual progression.

[GHScorpiosRule]

So let me get this straight. The set that Finola insisted on having for Anna when she returned has been destroyed? Along with another set? Bad enough they destroyed the Spencer Home and Mac’s house. And the FUGLY renovation of the Quartermaine house. 

[Auntie Velvet]

11 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

So let me get this straight. The set that Finola insisted on having for Anna when she returned has been destroyed? Along with another set? Bad enough they destroyed the Spencer Home and Mac’s house. And the FUGLY renovation of the Quartermaine house. 

Mac's house (if you mean the one that was originally the Terri Webber, then Rick and Leslie Webber home) is now Elizabeth's, with a few mods.

[CeChase]

I really enjoyed the last couple of shows.  Something shocking; I found Carly entertaining in the bar scenes!  I loathe Carly.  I know smug shrieky Carly will return, but I wish they would write more scenes like those for her.   

I really liked the Fiz scenes on the roof.  I thought the idea of any woman going out for a late night jog alone was unrealistic, but I always find Anna annoying so that's business as usual.  I LOVED the Sante scenes!  I just really enjoy them as a couple.  I laughed when Alexis opened the door and Kristina was sitting there in her sheet mask.  That was relatable and cute.  

So, I am seeing improvements in the writing, and I'm sorry to say that because I totally support the writer's strike. 

[Winston Wolfe]

On 8/9/2023 at 10:58 PM, ciarra said:

From the photos the other day:  I don't think Mason is any more of a cousin to Austin than I am.  When Mason was first introduced, they used "cousin" to explain why he was hanging around with Austin.

Does Olivia think that bra-less, spandex slingshot of a dress is work-appropriate? 

Oddly enough, Mason and Austin do look like relatives. As for Olivia, she likes putting the "girls" on display, I think. Sad that she's now the Matriach of the Q family, while Tracy gets hated on by everyone, even Leo. Guessing Leslie Charleson's illness is keeping her from working at all.

[SiouxB]

I also thought it was ridiculous that the whole house was on fire but there were no flames coming out of the windows !!

[perkie1968]

16 hours ago, Winston Wolfe said:

  I don't think Mason is any more of a cousin to Austin than I am

His name is Mason Gatlin which is Austin's mother's maiden name (hence his own name Austin Gatlin Holt), so does anyone remember if Charity Gatlin had a brother that would be Mason's father?  

16 hours ago, CeChase said:

So, I am seeing improvements in the writing,

Improvements in some areas but not all.  Finn/Liz are still being written like teenagers who just met rather than coworkers for 6years, in laws/family for a handful of years, "dating" for the past year and a half with a ton of crap under their belts (sleepwalking, throwing first wives down the stairs).  I think the writers are trying to re-start with them but their messing it all up.

Also, these writers seem to hate NIna as much as the striking writers do.  

[ciarra]

Originally, I mean, when Mason first appeared last year.  I think "Mason Gatlin" is a retcon.  "This is uh, my cousin, yeah, he's my cousin". 

Edited August 13, 2023 by ciarra

[Winston Wolfe]

2 hours ago, perkie1968 said:

18 hours ago, Winston Wolfe said:

  I don't think Mason is any more of a cousin to Austin than I am

His name is Mason Gatlin which is Austin's mother's maiden name (hence his own name Austin Gatlin Holt), so does anyone remember if Charity Gatlin had a brother that would be Mason's father?  

Actually, @perkie1968, that was ciarra's comment. To me, when Brick and Sonny were flipping photos like baseball cards I actually did see a familial resemblance between Austin and Mason. And oh, the days of Jimmie Lee Holt - GH really did have some good comedy relief back then.

[Kim0820]

On 8/11/2023 at 3:13 PM, statsgirl said:

I really liked the writers' trick today of having it be night for everyone and seeing what they are doing, from Liz and Finn working the overnight shift, to Anna being stalked, to Eddie, Carly and Olivia being arrested. It's something different than the show's usual and highlights even more how bankrupt the regular writers are.

I remember watching AMC back in the 70s, when the writers scrupulously followed the morning/afternoon/evening/night being the same for all scenes at the same time.  A day might take 4 episodes, but you'd be able to follow it as a day.  

 

[JMO]

I suspect Anna will move in with Valentin, if only to keep an eye on him.  But I find them a snoozefest as a couple and would 1000% rather she move in with Robert.  Doesn't need to be romantic, just two exes and long time friends getting on each other's nerves while still caring deeply for each other, and solving this new mystery in the process.  Definitely room for Felicia and Mac in there as well. 

Also, on the subject of roommates, I would love to see a newly non-comatose Lulu come back to live with Maxie et. al.  in the house she used to share with Dante.  Their friendship was a strong point, back in the day, and it would be lovely to see two female characters be encouragingly supportive of one another.  Then we can find them new love interests.  Dante has been too emotionally distant from the fact that he has a wife in a coma, so I'd let Sam have him.  They're another snoozefest for me.   

Come to think of it, most of the storylines are.  To my surprise, I'm currently most interested in the burgeoning relationship between Tracy and Gregory, and the friendship between him and Alexis.  Go figure.

[YaddaYadda]

1 hour ago, JMO said:

Dante has been too emotionally distant from the fact that he has a wife in a coma, so I'd let Sam have him.

Dante and Lulu had been divorced for a while before the whole Floating Rib bomb. And Dustin was about to or had proposed to her before the explosion.

Him being emotionally distant makes sense. They haven't been a couple in years.

[JMO]

24 minutes ago, YaddaYadda said:

Dante and Lulu had been divorced for a while before the whole Floating Rib bomb. And Dustin was about to or had proposed to her before the explosion.

Him being emotionally distant makes sense. They haven't been a couple in years.

Good point.  I think that whole storyline might have been during the year of episodes I deleted unwatched.  Still snooze material for me, though.

[mbluecpa]

I’m still not 100% enjoying the Eddie storyline, though it’s nowhere near Ffwd material yet.  The bar fight scene worked for me. It was just soapy enough, and seeing LW play outside the more typical Carly script was entertaining. I did note Olivia got a fresh new forum to scream and be indignant (and rightfully so) so more of the same for her.

Hoping that Sonny and Nina’s wedding date will be finalized soon, even if it indeed is Feb 14; that’ll at least give us an exact target date for resolution of the “who called the SEC” story.

While the Alexis/Kristina scenes didn’t really advance any story much they were a good, mature conversation between mother and adult daughter. New Kristina is really growing on me…agree with the poster above that getting her out of TJ and Molly’s orbit has definitely helped.

The nighttime outdoor scenes were a nice change of pace, even if Anna’s heading out for a run at 10:10pm (per Nina’s non-moving clock) was a little preposterous. 

[YaddaYadda]

12 hours ago, JMO said:

Good point.  I think that whole storyline might have been during the year of episodes I deleted unwatched.  Still snooze material for me, though.

Everything on this show is an acquired taste.

[ffwbe]

I think Dante/Sam have chemistry, which is a boon considering that some of the current pairings are outright painful to watch. However, I’ll always find it funny that we clowned Lante for being a paper cuts pairing only for them to put Dante in a new pairing that somehow has even less angst and obstacles. It’s probably because of lack of interest though because Dante and Sam exist to recap other people’s SL outside of their random couple fluff scenes. Giving them actual angst would mean writing for them. 

[Sake614]

I dunno. I think there's more than enough angst on this show and am happy to see Sam and Dante just 'be.' Are they exciting to watch? Not at all. But it's kind of nice to see a couple just kind of be a 'normal' couple for a change.

[CeChase]

24 minutes ago, Sake614 said:

I dunno. I think there's more than enough angst on this show and am happy to see Sam and Dante just 'be.' Are they exciting to watch? Not at all. But it's kind of nice to see a couple just kind of be a 'normal' couple for a change.

And they're very sexy. 

[Sake614]

4 minutes ago, CeChase said:

And they're very sexy. 

not sure about that, but they're certainly not offensive either lol!

[DanaK]

Interesting that Mason and Austin referred to their boss as male in today’s episode when before that person seemed to be referred to as female

[Cheyanne11]

The thing I like about Dante--and this might actually be the actor--is he always plays everything off as "I haven't got time for this shit."  

[perkie1968]

Quote

35 minutes ago

Interesting that Mason and Austin referred to their boss as male in today’s episode when before that person seemed to be referred to as female

Yep, they've retconned it.  It would have been far more interesting to have a female boss but they just couldn't stick with it.  which makes it even more likely that the looks cyrus and Austin were giving each other last week, means that Cyrus is the boss.

[dubbel zout]

Anna, you're alive, and your family is safe. I think there are a few things left to your life. Please don't compete with Curtis in the Self-pity Olympics.

And of course Joss has to make a crack about Nina stealing Carly's office at the MetroCourt. That was so unnecessary, and it's really tiresome. It's like everyone's forgotten Nina gave Carly a chance to have the MetroCourt, but Carly's stupid pride got in the way.

"Some kind of flammable liquid was used." It was kerosene, as the container was clearly marked. The PCFD can't figure that out from the smell?

[statsgirl]

Joss not just made the crack about Nina stealing Carly's office too (she's part owner, where is she supposed to work, in the locker room?) but also asked if amnesiac Ned apologized for reporting Carly to the SEC.  Stay bitchy, Joss.

Dante thinks that Valentin set the fire. So probably not then.

I much prefer the Sonny who is setting traps for Betty and figuring out what's going on to the thug that he used to be.

Mason said that they have the upper hand because they have Ava and her kid. Did he forget that they also have Ava's mother and that's the real reason she's doing what he want?

1 hour ago, dubbel zout said:

Please don't compete with Curtis in the Self-pity Olympics.

What does Anna want from her life now? She's away from the WSB, isn't it time to move close to Robin and write a book now?

[ciarra]

2 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

Anna, you're alive, and your family is safe. I think there are a few things left to your life. Please don't compete with Curtis in the Self-pity Olympics.

I wonder if Anna will be as remorseful for Curtis getting shot when she was the intended target as Blind!Drew was for running over Jordan with his car, "Sorry, my bad."

Edited August 14, 2023 by ciarra

[Auntie Velvet]

All this time I've been picturing Austin and Mason's scary "queenpin" auntie as some countrified, Margo Martindale type straight out of Justified, and now they're switching genders to make it Cyrus or whoever? Dammit.

I was really hoping Anna was weeping over her framed corgi photo. By the way, if Valentine did this just to make her move to a more secure location, that's so lame. But if he's been behind ALL of the terrorizing, and he's really out for revenge, long-con style, I'll actually have a little respect for that.

 

Edited August 14, 2023 by Auntie Velvet

[perkie1968]

39 minutes ago, Auntie Velvet said:

Austin and Mason's scary "queenpin" auntie as some countrified, Margo Martindale

Ok. who do i have to pay to make this happen.  Margo would walk in, kick everyone's ass except for Dante and we'd have a much better show.  

[Sake614]

rumor has it 

Spoiler

Alcazar is the big bad.

Which might actually be interesting, so of course it won’t happen 

[blondiek237]

24 minutes ago, Sake614 said:

rumor has it 

  Reveal spoiler

Alcazar is the big bad.

Which might actually be interesting, so of course it won’t happen 

That would be really interesting

[Artsda]

Anna the spy doesn't have any least one camera? 

Why is Joss apologizing to Carly for being a sleep and Carly chastising her about what if something happened to the kids?  It's not Joss responsibility to parent her out of jail or the kids.  She's a teen in college. 

Carly also chose to stay there both Dante and Sonny offered to help her. 

 

[ffwbe]

56 minutes ago, Artsda said:

Why is Joss apologizing to Carly for being a sleep and Carly chastising her about what if something happened to the kids?  It's not Joss responsibility to parent her out of jail or the kids.  She's a teen in college. 

Carly also chose to stay there both Dante and Sonny offered to help her. 

 

That was a weird scene. It’s like she’s put Joss in the position of her partner since she’s now divorced, Drew is in jail and Jason is gone. I know Joss is technically an adult but barely and none of that should be her responsibility.  Especially since she didn’t want to burden Michael with it who is much older than her. 

[statsgirl]

Carly castigated Joss for having her phone turned off, not for being asleep. What if Michael and Willow needed her? What if Donna (at a sleepover with Sonny) needed her?

3 minutes ago, ffwbe said:

It’s like she’s put Joss in the position of her partner since she’s now divorced, Drew is in jail and Jason is gone.

That's not uncommon, where a single parent starts acting as if the oldest child, or in this case oldest unmarried child, is his or her partner.

Sometimes it's because there is no one else and the parent needs someone for support or advice. But in this case, there was Sonny standing there offering and Carly still insisted on Joss coming. Once again, Carly's arrogance hurts her child.

[TVbitch]

I don't think I can take another round of Emo Anna. 

OMG, Moss did not look well at all today! Someone please rush him to GH, where I'm sure TJ just finished his herbaceous medicine rotation and can save him!

[Asp Burger]

On 8/13/2023 at 8:04 PM, YaddaYadda said:

Dante and Lulu had been divorced for a while before the whole Floating Rib bomb. And Dustin was about to or had proposed to her before the explosion.

Him being emotionally distant makes sense. They haven't been a couple in years.

 

On 8/13/2023 at 8:29 PM, JMO said:

Good point.  I think that whole storyline might have been during the year of episodes I deleted unwatched.  Still snooze material for me, though.

Dante came back to Port Charles after being held captive and tortured in Turkey, and he was having episodes where he was, for example, approaching a sleeping Lulu with a gun and repeating "I will complete the mission" (sounding not unlike Reggie Jackson trying to assassinate the queen in The Naked Gun). Anna arranged for him to go to some WSB center to be de-brainwashed. When Peter and Maxie found out where he was and went there for some reason, Dante somehow got a gun and shot Peter. (At this point in the story, we were supposed to think that was bad. Now, I just think about what everyone would have been spared if Dante's aim had been better.)

A few episodes later, Dante filed for divorce from afar.  In show, this was because he didn't know when or if he would be better and he didn't want Lulu to wait for him. In our world, it was because DZ was still trying his luck outside daytime, and Frank preferred to see how that worked out before giving us a NuDante, and he didn't want to strand Lulu.   

I guess all of that is why that Lulu/Dante divorce has never felt "real" to me. It wasn't because of problems between them or one of them falling out of love, or in love with someone else. They had weathered his affair with Valerie. And the version of Dante that came back to Port Charles when DZ signed a new contract was just absurdly "all better." It was as if the Turkey trauma (which will be the name of my dark-comedic novel about a dysfunctional family's Thanksgiving) had never happened. Even the heavily, deeply scarred back he had when he was PTSDante had been fixed, although no one ever commented on that onscreen.

Edited August 15, 2023 by Asp Burger

[sunnyface]

13 hours ago, TVbitch said:

I don't think I can take another round of Emo Anna. 

It is hard to watch Emo Anna for more than one episode, especially in the same episode where the writing continues to support its leading character - who is a violent mobster.  ymmv.

Edited August 15, 2023 by sunnyface
carly

[ljr]

What is pikeman? Why are sonny anna and valentin involved?

Where are they going with this Eddie Maine story? 

[ciarra]

Pikeman is an arms dealer, Valentin brokered the deal between Pikeman and Sonny to move arms through his territory.  Dex got evidence against Sonny for Michael to have Sonny arrested, then Michael chickened out. 

Pikeman was written on one of the files when the WSB interviewed Anna.  Former WSB agents have gone to work with Pikeman. 

Eddie Maine story?  Going nowhere.  Just an interlude until Ned remembers that Nina blabbed to the SEC about Drew and Carly's insider trading.

[dubbel zout]

Mo used that threatening tone he uses too much when Sonny was "reassuring" Ava about what's going on with Betty. I wish someone would call him on that. It wasn't appropriate here. Ava has every reason to feel nervous, even if she knows Sonny won't let anything happen to Avery.

The third surrogate candidate might have been a little rough around the edges, but I don't think her wanting Molly and TJ to pay for a specific kind of diet was out of line. And no matter how altruistic a surrogate might be, wanting to do it for money shouldn't be a black mark. They are providing a service.

"Spencer never complains about changing a diaper." Sorry, Show, but I don't find that notable. That's part of taking care of a baby. It's not as if women love doing it or are inherently better at it. Spencer gets no brownie points from me. 

Once again Nina forgets she's engaged to a mob boss. Good grief.

I thought the Pikeman info was already on a thumb drive? Betty would have had to copy it to the laptop and then copy it again to her stick. She should have trashed the info on the laptop to cover her tracks. I know, logic!

[perkie1968]

So, if i'm understanding this correctly, Sonny had the fake information on a flashdrive that was hideen somewhere in the apartment for Betty to find.  But instead, Betty managed to get onto his computer, find the real file and load it onto her own flashdrive????

Sonny's an idiot if that's the case.  

 

Molly's shirt before she changed, , Alexis' blazer, Andrea's dress , 2 seperate women by the pool, TJ's couch and throw  pillows and the flowers on  Portia's top, as well as the flowers in Tolly's apartment and on the pool tables were all orange or with orange highlights.  Is orange the IN color this year and I'm too lame to realize?!!  

[lala2]

Are they trying to make me hate Nina?! I won’t drink the Kool-Aid but they’re certainly making it easy to dislike her!  I’ve never rolled my eyes as much in her scenes lately! Between last week’s conniption about waking up to find Sonny gone (he’s a mob boss, Nina . . . calm down) and today’s scenes after being barred from the apartment, Nina has been coming off really stupid and naive to mob life! Are they setting up CarSon again?! 

I didn’t see all their scenes, but any chance Portia cheats on Curtis with this hot new guy? She is a cheat so it’s possible. 😂 

Tolly seem annoying. I wouldn’t want to be their surrogate. They should adopt. 

[DanaK]

1 hour ago, dubbel zout said:

The third surrogate candidate might have been a little rough around the edges, but I don't think her wanting Molly and TJ to pay for a specific kind of diet was out of line. And no matter how altruistic a surrogate might be, wanting to do it for money shouldn't be a black mark. They are providing a service.

The 3rd surrogate was very off-putting with both her personality and her life. She seemed very lax about her life and potential surrogacy and with her severe lack of money she gave off a vibe that she would suck as money as she could out of Molly and TJ. The first 2 ladies had better personalities

[YaddaYadda]

Can't spell overprivileged without saying Molly and JT. I thought the 3rd surrogate was completely realistic. Not a lot of money, buys the food she can afford, goes to the free clinic because she can't afford to go to the hospital. And oh, no! She's eating and drinking out of the bottle! Someone take this insane woman away! I thought she was very honest about her circumstances.

I sure hope that what Betty uploaded were the fake files Sonny saved onto his computer. Otherwise, yeah, can't say much about hiding a drive when the first thing someone will go for is the LAPTOP!!!

The physiotherapist. Didn't he play the role of a cop back in the day, after he won that Next Soap Opera Star reality show? I could be wrong.

I really hate Curtis. And Portia by extension. I feel like she's reaping what she's sowing by gaslighting her daughter the way she has over her own relationship. 

Edited August 15, 2023 by YaddaYadda

[CeChase]

1 hour ago, lala2 said:

Are they trying to make me hate Nina?! I won’t drink the Kool-Aid but they’re certainly making it easy to dislike her!  I’ve never rolled my eyes as much in her scenes lately! Between last week’s conniption about waking up to find Sonny gone (he’s a mob boss, Nina . . . calm down) and today’s scenes after being barred from the apartment, Nina has been coming off really stupid and naive to mob life! Are they setting up CarSon again?! 

I didn’t see all their scenes, but any chance Portia cheats on Curtis with this hot new guy? She is a cheat so it’s possible. 😂 

Tolly seem annoying. I wouldn’t want to be their surrogate. They should adopt. 

Crew is a flop.  They are either reuniting Carson or, if they bring Alzacar back, they will see if Carly and him still have it.  But I do think there's a better than even chance they are bringing Carson back yeah.  I can go back to ff'ing Sonny when that happens so whatever. 

[Sake614]

They’re certainly teasing Carson, so I hope it’s a misdirection. If not I’ll be FFing thru the majority of the show, or take a break entirely. 

[ffwbe]

Sonny/Carly reuniting is inevitable. I’m meh about it. Sonny is watchable away from Carly but he’s far from my fav so I’ll let him take one for the team there because no guy has escaped being completely unlikable for me during the time he was paired with Carly so I’d rather they not give her a new character to ruin. 

[TVbitch]

🙄 Sonny all but has a folder named "ILLEGAL SHIT I'M DOING WITH PIKEMAN!!!!!!" on his computer. 🤣 I do think that was info he planted. He just obtained it on a thumb drive from Brick. 

[Cheyanne11]

3 hours ago, YaddaYadda said:

Can't spell overprivileged without saying Molly and JT.

I don't know why they're not using a donor egg so that the surrogate has no biological connection to the baby.  Feels like they're setting it up for either the surrogate to not want to give the baby up or Molly to have crazy jealousy that the woman whose name I've already forgotten and TJ share that connection.  Oh, joy.

Show is doubling down on "Carly is the only one who 'gets' Sonny's life", so hope Drew is really happy for falling on his sword for her. 

[Auntie Velvet]

I guess TJ and Molly are definitely going to pick Andrea, because the actress is the one who is Gregory Harrison's daughter.

I feel like every woman Sonny was ever with, including Carly, has done her share of storming out of one of his "establishments" because of mobbed-up secrecy. Of course they also always seem to have Carly lecture the new girl* on how she won't be able to hack it. 

*of course, the reason that happened so often is that she did this with both Sonny and Jason's romantic partners.

Edited August 16, 2023 by Auntie Velvet

[statsgirl]

I hope that Mo is happy enough doing Sonny/Nina that he will fight against going back to CarSon. That's a no-chemistry bone that's been picked clean and dried out.

6 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

"Spencer never complains about changing a diaper." Sorry, Show, but I don't find that notable. That's part of taking care of a baby. It's not as if women love doing it or are inherently better at it. Spencer gets no brownie points from me.

The myth of women being having built-in nurturing genes so that they can justify paying women less for childcare and nursing because it's part of our nature.

Someone did a study of nurturing by little boys and girls. Turns out that they have equal levels of nurturing, at least as long as the children think that no one is watching When the boys realize that someone is watching, they promptly stop being nurturing at all.

6 hours ago, perkie1968 said:

Molly's shirt before she changed, , Alexis' blazer, Andrea's dress , 2 seperate women by the pool, TJ's couch and throw  pillows and the flowers on  Portia's top, as well as the flowers in Tolly's apartment and on the pool tables were all orange or with orange highlights.  Is orange the IN color this year and I'm too lame to realize?!!  

Apparently it is. Orange was all over Maxie's apartment last week as well as what Georgie and Maxie were wearing. Trina wears orange frequently but on her it looks good.

5 hours ago, YaddaYadda said:

 And oh, no! She's eating and drinking out of the bottle! Someone take this insane woman away!

Drinking out of the bottle like Carly did with her beer? But in Carly's case, it shows how wonderful she is.

[ciarra]

2 hours ago, TVbitch said:

He just obtained it on a thumb drive from Brick. 

Didn't the Brick's thumb drive have a tracker built in?  What good is giving fake info if it doesn't lead back to the head baddie?