Episode Discussion: TFGH

[Pingaponga]

What exactly did Michael and Dante expect Chase to do when he arrived in town, greet them with a "hey, guys, I slept with a suspect years ago and I swear she killed her fiancé but I got kicked off the case and couldn't prove it and I wonder what happened to her, her name was Janelle Benson have you ever heard of her"? 

[RachelKM]

4 minutes ago, Pingaponga said:

What exactly did Michael and Dante expect Chase to do when he arrived in town, greet them with a "hey, guys, I slept with a suspect years ago and I swear she killed her fiancé but I got kicked off the case and couldn't prove it and I wonder what happened to her, her name was Janelle Benson have you ever heard of her"? 

Right?  I mean, I guess it's possible PCPD starts every partnership with a getting to know you session like the first day of a HS homeroom.  But seriously, I'm not sure I would go with that in a game of 2 Lies and a Truth.

Edited June 20, 2018 by RachelKM

[Pingaponga]

And I'm not too sure Dante should be throwing shade at Chase for sleeping with a suspect, when Dante himself slept with his wife's cousin. 

[BlancheDevoreaux]

6 minutes ago, Pingaponga said:

What exactly did Michael and Dante expect Chase to do when he arrived in town, greet them with a "hey, guys, I slept with a suspect years ago and I swear she killed her fiancé but I got kicked off the case and couldn't prove it and I wonder what happened to her, her name was Janelle Benson have you ever heard of her"? 

I'm sorry, is that not normal cop behavior? I thought he was supposed to admit all of his screw ups and then ask Sonny how he (Chase) can best serve him. And then screw up so Jason can save the day, of course. 

[Linny]

I've got zero tolerance for Carly clutching to Jason like a scared little mouse. Yeah, life at Ferncliff isn't a picnic, but it's not so unbearable that she couldn't make do on her own. Someone should remind Carly that people like Robin survived years in captivity without ever knowing if she'd see her family again, and that Carly's situation is a breeze in comparison.

Joss is either weepy or whiny these days, and Oscar's moving in that direction too, and I don't know why we need two teenagers on the show who are so preternaturally involved in their parents' lives. I could use a break from them right about now.

That was some damn fast shipping by the random bar in Florida, I hope Nelle leaves them a good review. It'd also be mighty nice of Michael to apologize to Chase and admit that he was wrong to go to bat for the woman he knows to be a perpetual liar.

[Perkie]

9 minutes ago, Pingaponga said:

What exactly did Michael and Dante expect Chase to do when he arrived in town, greet them with a "hey, guys, I slept with a suspect years ago and I swear she killed her fiancé but I got kicked off the case and couldn't prove it and I wonder what happened to her, her name was Janelle Benson have you ever heard of her"? 

In Dante's defence, I don't think he meant that Chase should have said it on the first day, but maybe at some point in the past 5 months, when Michael started dating her, when Carly claimed she was being gaslighted by her.  You know, any time between the first day and today.  But since the writers just pulled this out of their asses last week, that's the better reason why.  

2 minutes ago, Linny said:

I've got zero tolerance for Carly clutching to Jason like a scared little mouse. Yeah, life at Ferncliff isn't a picnic, but it's not so unbearable that she couldn't make do on her own

The problem as I understand it, isn't that Carly can't make it or she needs the same protection that Michael needed when he was in Pentonville.  the problem is that carly has no self control and instead of doing her two months, she would likely think up a plan that would mess everything up, like admit that she lied about being insane or something like that.  Jason is in there because Carly's an idiot, not because she's a delicate flower.  LW's playing it like Carly's a delicate flower, but it's more because of Carly's sheer stupidity. 

[Perkie]

44 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

Michael tried to put something on her laptop so Spinelli could get access about a month ago but as usual he screwed it up. I guess it's the right time now.

Michael DID end up putting it on the laptop (after the first time when Nelle caught him with the laptop, he went back a second time and managed to pull it off).  Whatever device is supposed to track's all of Nelle's moves, even if she deletes her browser history.  

[ulkis]

12 minutes ago, Pingaponga said:

And I'm not too sure Dante should be throwing shade at Chase for sleeping with a suspect, when Dante himself slept with his wife's cousin. 

Uncool of Dante but that was a bad idea for other reasons than the ones why sleeping with a suspect is a bad idea.

I think Michael might have been trying to sound Chase out. He couldn't just say "hey I'm on to Nelle" because he wanted to see how Chase reacted.

16 minutes ago, Linny said:

Joss is either weepy or whiny these days, and Oscar's moving in that direction too, and I don't know why we need two teenagers on the show who are so preternaturally involved in their parents' lives. I could use a break from them right about now.

Oscar asking Julian if he had a hickey was ridiculous.

[ulkis]

Did Dante say he trusted Michael to take care of himself? Nothing about how Michael had a large heart and needed help? Does not . . . compute . . .

[statsgirl]

24 minutes ago, Perkie said:

Michael DID end up putting it on the laptop (after the first time when Nelle caught him with the laptop, he went back a second time and managed to pull it off).  Whatever device is supposed to track's all of Nelle's moves, even if she deletes her browser history.  

I thought he only got it on recently but I admit I have zero interest in anything Spinelli related.

I don't know why Nelle would be carrying around Morgan's aftershave in her purse, or even why her purse is in the living room instead of her bedroom.  Or how Joss got hold of it.

Since Chase is only investigating Nelle and not stalking her, I don't think he owes the sons of the most powerful mob boss on the east coast any explanation. They know Nelle was investigated for murder. That's the extent of the facts. Chase doesn't owe them any information about his off-duty life.

[YaddaYadda]

So Chase slept with Nelle because he thought she might have been innocent and when she fucked him over, he realized that she wasn't so sweet after all. Some men are idiots. And what is special about Nelle that men would fall for her? She's average looking, she isn't super smart, and her playing victim is so beyond. She's not even good at it. Everyone in the world has it in for her, she is everyone's victim. How no one is wise to her shenanigans is ridiculous.

Please let her die.

I hope Jason is discovered and that Carly's dumbass is locked up in a black hole. You listen to your doctor or you have your hand holder. I think she really does need therapy for this co-dependent thing she has going with Jason and he just needs to be pushed back in the frozen water. Maybe he drowns this time.

[ciarra]

I think the Emmy win* is the reason that they kept Nelle well past her sell-by date.  They just keep throwing things at her to see if anything will stick.  Now Chase's character is another victim.

*I hope Mo doesn't want to work with her more, like he did after Natalia won.

Edited June 20, 2018 by ciarra

[Perkie]

2 hours ago, statsgirl said:

I don't know why Nelle would be carrying around Morgan's aftershave in her purse, or even why her purse is in the living room instead of her bedroom.  Or how Joss got hold of it.

1-Because she used it to spray the graveyard a month ago to make Carly think that Morgan was around.  And it was still in her purse.  I mean, everytime I try to gaslight someone, I always keep the evidence in my purse, where anyone can find it.  

2-Because they needed to show us that she still had it, when Ava told her to get rid of any evidence that could kick her in the ass.

3 She spilt her purse and things fell out, including the bottle.  Joss was there, so she must have seen the bottle and swiped it.  I actually thought Michael had taken it, so for the first time in awhile, the show surprised me that it was Joss.   But since it looks like Joss inherited all of her mother and stepfather's genes and none of her corporate raider father, I;m thinking Joss won't put two and two together and figure things out.  

[Bringonthedrama]

On 6/18/2018 at 11:20 PM, dubbel zout said:

What is so hard for Lulu to understand? A story she wrote played a part in Maxie's husband getting shot to death. It's going to take time for Maxie to deal with those feelings. It's not as if Lulu doesn't know how to hold a grudge.

The 'only my feelings matter' mentality is consistent with Lulu's character, dating back to when JMB was in the role. She asked Lucky - while he was grieving his dead son that Luke killed (before the terrible "Helena kidnapped Jake and staged his death" retcon) - to go bring Luke back to Port Charles because  "I need my dad." She was more than willing to pressure/guilt her so-called beloved brother into putting her feelings first, his heartbreak be damned. So I absolutely believe that she thinks she should get what she wants from her 'best friend forever' (whom she hated as a teenager) immediately. 

[nilyank]

Morgan's cologne is called "Melt." Hilarious.

[ciarra]

2 hours ago, nilyank said:

Melt

As a repellent, it's probably interchangeable with Joss' bear spray, too.

[dubbel zout]

If Joss is going to fall to pieces every time something reminds her of Carly, she might as well go stay in her room until Carly gets out of Ferncliffe.

The Michael/Chase/Dante stuff was so dumb. And Nelle threatening Ava with that dumb picture of the DNA test Griffin did is ridiculous. Griffin is the one who's in hot water with that.

I missed the middle third or so of today's ep because of breaking news: How did Joss get the bottle of Morgan's cologne?

It looked like Michael's phone camera was on when he was talking to Spinelli. Why is Michael so surprised Nelle sent herself a T-shirt? Has he forgotten that she's lied to him repeatedly? He should be making a list of all the stuff she does so he can finally use it against her. I don't understand what's going on here anymore.

[ciarra]

Nelle was shuffling through her huge laptop case/purse and the cologne fell out into Joss' backpack.

[dubbel zout]

Thanks, @ciarra. That's...underwhelming. LOL. Nelle's bag is GIGANTIC.

[TVbitch]

What is all this about Dante leaving? Was DZ fired? Did he quit? Is he pissed off that Nelle has like 4 storylines going and he has fucking none?!

If he is going... nooooooooo! He is a good actor, cute as hell, and can still melt my cold dead heart on this stupid shit show sometimes. 

[30 Helens]

15 hours ago, Perkie said:

The problem though is that when they first met it was Steve and Sarah, not Steve and Laura.  I don't know that Jason and Carly would have the same impact with a different actress.  

 

10 hours ago, HeatLifer said:

I think where we ultimately disagree is that even back then, Jason and Carly weren't the ones who made each other better, IMO. It was Carly who had a hand in Jason moving from emotional and vulnerable to a selfish, controlling, delusional liar. Much like herself. Any nuance that Carly had was also due more to Sarah Brown's performance as opposed to the writing. On paper, she was very much like the Nelle character we see today, some would argue even worse, as she was nasty in an inhumane way, as evidenced by the way she would talk about Robin's HIV. 

I actually don’t disagree with most of this.  I just feel that it would be worth a try to mix up the existing relationships. LW, SBu and MB are going to be front burner no matter what, so why not pair characters who used to be good (IMO) and see if they can be good again once unshackled from the sameness and tedium of their current relationships. Maybe it would light a fire under the actors, too, because they also used to be better.  I would also be fine with just uncoupling all of them and setting them all on new paths, but Sam/Jason and Sonny/Carly are just so beyond played out I can’t stand it.

[ulkis]

1 hour ago, TVbitch said:

What is all this about Dante leaving? Was DZ fired? Did he quit? Is he pissed off that Nelle has like 4 storylines going and he has fucking none?!

If he is going... nooooooooo! He is a good actor, cute as hell, and can still melt my cold dead heart on this stupid shit show sometimes. 

He quit. He announced he was leaving last week. He probably doesn't care about Nelle specifically but would have been fine if he had one, and since he seems like a laid back guy is probably more annoyed and disappointed than pissed. That said, DZ has said several times he wanted to leave GH at some point so even if he had had story I suspect he'd be leaving at this point.

ITA on the rest.

Oh, and Richard the editor from Soaps in Depth said today wasn't his last day, so there will be a couple of more episodes with him. Apparently he does get some sort of send off.

Edited June 21, 2018 by ulkis

[Oracle42]

On 6/21/2018 at 12:11 AM, 30 Helens said:

once unshackled from the sameness and tedium of their current relationships.

Carly is easily Jason's longest relationship at this point; there is no new there. And even when Carly/Jason had chemistry (SBr/SBu), Carly still  had better chemistry with Sonny and both versions of AJ then she had with Jason. Jarly is the only SBr 'ship that I was never interested in.

An actual drastic shift would've been AJ/Carly. That's the only Carly story since Jax that has had the potential to be something new and interesting for Carly/LW. Plus, LW actually had genuine chemistry with SK, something she's never had with MB or SBu.  Instead, we got weird, gross Carly/Franco

Edited June 22, 2018 by Oracle42

[sunnyface]

Could someone describe what led to nelle's fall? Is it a surprise?  Did Carly push her or did Nelle fall on her own?  They were fighting over the blanket but I ffed the next scene.   Either way, while Nelle is a jerk - Carly was raging against a near full-term pregnant woman and caused her fall.   I don't care if she goes to jail, a spa, a vacation, another mental facility just - PLEASE get her off the screen for at least a week.  I don't hate LW - but it is ridiculous that for the past five years she has been on every week.  Too much.  YMMV.

Edited June 21, 2018 by sunnyface
sonny

[ciarra]

Nelle baited Carly throughout the baby shower, causing her to go off on Nelle in front of everyone.  Joss tearfully demanded that Carly apologize to Nelle, who was upstairs hiding in the nursery.  They argued and Nelle fell, Carly didn't push her.  They were fighting over the baby blanket.  The fall mirrored the fall that pregnant Carly took when she argued with AJ at the top of the Q stairs, he grabbed her wrist, she yanked it away and fell.  She miscarried. 

Ava hid the blanket in her ginormous purse, and everyone thinks Carly is crazy and there was no blanket.

[statsgirl]

I thought there was nothing worse than Anna and Finn being cutesy in bed but I was wrong; Finn's pissing contest with Valentin as if Anna was a prize he won tops it.

The actress playing Jessica did a good job with the non-verbal stuff. Not great but a decent job of it.

I liked NLG's expression when Alexis learned that her ex was willing to do something for his new girlfriend that he wouldn't do for her. It really sucks, but then Alexis pulled herself up and said that it's good that Julian is moving on and she needs to as well.

On the bad side, I'm so over Brad and Lucas telling Julian that he's too bad a person and would tank the adoption while Sonny, hero of the show, is there in the pub, extorting money from Julian and refusing to pay for his coffee. How stupid do you think I am, show?

[LexieLily]

Kevin, dear sweet Kevin, I love you, but where in your psychiatrist schooling does it tell you to suggest to a woman in therapy for her bad choices in men that her emotionally and physically abusive ex-husband attend sessions with her?

[Perkie]

13 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

The actress playing Jessica

Francesca

[Linny]

Makes sense for the show to bring back Francesca as another victim of Dr. Bensch, but I wish we had seen her more in the buildup of #GHToo. Just a few scenes of Kiki befriending her and possibly suspecting she was also getting harassed would go a long way in enriching the story. Instead it's like, "Hey! Remember the girl who went on one date with Michael? Well, she has another purpose now!"

There are no words to describe how much I'm over Peter and Liesl. It's so repetitive and one-dimensional and dull.

How embarrassing for Finn to make that threat to Valentin. Anna needs a partner to champion her and help her bear the weight of her burdens, not supplant her and fight her battles through dumb displays of machismo.

[YaddaYadda]

Anna and Finn need to break up.

And look at Sonny being a total thug asshole in an establishment that doesn't belong to him, with someone he forced to buy his coffee and demanding payoff. I'm sure Frank Smith did that with original Charlie and then bumped him off and gave Sonny the body to bury. 

I wish they hadn't made Lulu such a big part of this GHToo. Mainly because I despise Lulu and she really brings nothing to the table. Is it too much to hope that Dante will drop divorce papers on his way out?

[statsgirl]

33 minutes ago, Linny said:

How embarrassing for Finn to make that threat to Valentin. Anna needs a partner to champion her and help her bear the weight of her burdens, not supplant her and fight her battles through dumb displays of machismo.

RobertF!S.  (sob)

Is there a competition among the writers as to who can trash this pairing the worst?

[ulkis]

53 minutes ago, Linny said:

How embarrassing for Finn to make that threat to Valentin. Anna needs a partner to champion her and help her bear the weight of her burdens, not supplant her and fight her battles through dumb displays of machismo.

Maybe he wouldn't feel the need to posture if Anna didn't tell him Valentin of all people is too tough for him to take on. I'm not taking all the blame from Finn but I can see how he might start getting a bit embarrassed from Anna telling him so-and-so is too dangerous for him to be around.

I hate the neck kerchiefs they keep putting on Lulu.

[ciarra]

I thought Kiki told girl reporter Lulu the story so that Lulu could locate other victims, maybe see where he worked before and talk to people there?  Like an investigative reporter? 

Oh, and where is Kiki getting the money from to hire a lawyer, with medical school expenses?  Silas didn't leave her that much, nor did she ask he mom for the money.

Edited June 21, 2018 by ciarra

[Oracle42]

3 hours ago, ulkis said:

Valentin of all people is too tough for him to take on

Valentin? That is insulting.  She let him go undercover with Cassandra - who, I might add, was able to project actual menace and just a hint of instability. Valentin can't even manage creepy frat boy levels of menace.

 

Do the people who write this show actually watch this show?

Edited June 22, 2018 by Oracle42

[ulkis]

48 minutes ago, ciarra said:

Oh, and where is Kiki getting the money from to hire a lawyer, with medical school expenses?  Silas didn't leave her that much, nor did she ask he mom for the money.

Pretty sure Franco gave her a ton of cash.

[dubbel zout]

2 hours ago, statsgirl said:

On the bad side, I'm so over Brad and Lucas telling Julian that he's too bad a person and would tank the adoption while Sonny, hero of the show, is there in the pub, extorting money from Julian and refusing to pay for his coffee. How stupid do you think I am, show?

What I hate is that Julian is scum until Lucas (who?) needs something from him. Way to have it both ways, jerk. 

 

36 minutes ago, Oracle42 said:

 

51 minutes ago, ulkis said:

Valentin of all people is too tough for him to take on

Valentin? That is insulting.  She let him go undercover with Cassandra - who I might add, was able to project actual menace with just a hint of instability. Valentin can't even manage creepy frat boy levels of menace

 

Especially because when it comes to Anna, all anyone has to do is make Valentin cry. Super easy!

[NutmegsDad]

On 6/20/2018 at 3:56 PM, Pingaponga said:

And I'm not too sure Dante should be throwing shade at Chase for sleeping with a suspect, when Dante himself slept with his wife's cousin. 

As well as swearing under oath he shot himself in the chest.

[NutmegsDad]

3 hours ago, statsgirl said:

 

On the bad side, I'm so over Brad and Lucas telling Julian that he's too bad a person and would tank the adoption while Sonny, hero of the show, is there in the pub, extorting money from Julian and refusing to pay for his coffee. How stupid do you think I am, show?

Show wants us to think Julian is the only small business owner that Sonny strongarms and extorts, where if it wanted to be honest, Sonny does this all over his territory.

[RedheadZombie]

So is Julian going to take Nelle's baby to replace the adopted baby that will surely die at birth?  They're just banging on too much about a baby that will have virtually invisible parents.  So it will be the swap that everyone predicted, just excluding Maxie's baby.  Although, isn't Maxie's baby still a preemie in NICU?

[statsgirl]

2 hours ago, ciarra said:

I thought Kiki told girl reporter Lulu the story so that Lulu could locate other victims, maybe see where he worked before and talk to people there?  Like an investigative reporter?

She did check out if there had been any official complaints but I don't think she actually talked to anyone in those workplaces Because Lulu.

Good thing they happened to be discussing everything in a public space so Francesca could overhear and be guilted into revealing her own history.

[TeeVee329]

4 hours ago, statsgirl said:

On the bad side, I'm so over Brad and Lucas telling Julian that he's too bad a person and would tank the adoption while Sonny, hero of the show, is there in the pub, extorting money from Julian and refusing to pay for his coffee. How stupid do you think I am, show?

I didn't see today, but based on what I read, it's irritating to me that Lucas (who?) and Brad (who?) adopting is all about Julian having the sadz.   There's so much focus on him and the unseen birth mother, how about some focus on the people who will actually be raising this baby?  GRRR! 

[Oracle42]

3 hours ago, TeeVee329 said:

how about some  any focus on the people who will actually be raising this baby

Especially if they're planning a baby swap. Why would anyone be invested in their pain/disappointment if they are never onscreen together talking about their future with this baby?

Edited June 22, 2018 by Oracle42

[TeeVee329]

It's just...this could have actually been a story US daytime has never told before.  Not a last-grasp-at-straightness ONS like Fish and Will, not rape and then very weirdly requesting your sister's husband be your sperm donor like Bianca, but a gay couple planning to start a family and going through the adoption process.  But so much of it has been off-screen, and what is on-screen is usually about Nelle or Julian.  Way to go, Progressive and Groundbreaking Soap Scribe Shelly Altman.

[Perkie]

I'm pretty sure Lulu said she had spoken with HR at Benchs previous jobs and was told there had been no complaints against him.  That doesn't mean he didn't do anything, just that no one talked or HR covered it up.  

I'm beginning to think it won't be a baby swap so much as heat from Julian.  He'll find out who the mother is and pay her off to leave in order for Lucas and Brad not to Lose the baby.  There's been so much emphasis on the 30 days that the mother can change her mind that I think it has to factor into the story.  

Then either Lucas will be indebted or hate dear old dad even more.  

[TeeVee329]

Well sucks to be you Jules, because that baby's still gonna be named after Tony. #makeitso

[YaddaYadda]

20 minutes ago, Perkie said:

Then either Lucas will be indebted or hate dear old dad even more.  

I find the whole situation with Julian has become ridiculous. Lucas got a letter of recommendation from Carly, who has spent time in a mental institution and is married to Sonny who is the godfather of PC. Isn't Brad's family not involved with a criminal organization or something? Why is Julian worst than Sonny?

The writing is beyond stupid. I get that Lucas and Sam don't wanna be around Julian. They're his children and if they feel that he doesn't bring anything positive in their lives, then that's fine. But why is Sonny better? 

[statsgirl]

Lucas should be regretting that letter of recommendation from Carly now, given that she's in Ferncliffe pleading insanity on a charge of assault/attempted murder.

Julian may have had a criminal past but at least he's a legit gastropub owner now.

[Bringonthedrama]

On 6/20/2018 at 3:19 PM, statsgirl said:

 And it shouldn't be Carly's call. Jason acts like she's a child.

Well, Jason does have basic powers of observation; he's brain damaged not brain dead. When you act like a child which Carly does around him and really everyone, you deserve to be handled like one. 

[dubbel zout]

Frank really splashed out on day players this so: Francesca, that doctor who snubbed Lauren, Nina's assistant.

A lot of factors contributed to Nathan’s death, but Anna lying about LWB/FS is not one of them. She didn’t even know he existed when Nathan died. (I’m not going to hold Anna responsible for a retcon that didn’t exist at that point.)

It cracks me up how Sonny keeps trying to oh-so-casually grill Mike about What Happened in Croton. Like it makes any difference—Mike will tell when he tells.

Kim confiding in Elizabeth was so abrupt. When did they become that friendly?

[rags]

The fact that Anna is having any sympathy for Liesel or even trying to reason with her is ridiculous and more out of character than ever.  I mean, the woman helped keep Robin hostage as well as torture her for years. Anna should kick her ass every time she sees Obrecht.