The Week in Review: January 12 - 16

I.  The Cassadines

A.  Helena and Stefan

Helena greeted Nik at the beginning of Monday's show.  She told him a tale of her love for him and denounced the lies that other members of their family had told him to poison him against her.  She blamed their separation on Stefan's ambition.  Nik, of course, remained mute throughout her declarations; I couldn't tell if Helena took this as a sign that he was contemplating what she was saying or if she felt compelled to keep talking until she got a response out of him.

Helena:  "Oh, we have been separated by years, by Stefan's ambition."
Stefan:  "No, mother.  By my common sense."

Helena:  "Stefan.  Lurking in the bushes.  How like you."

Stefan:  "Go back to the house, Nikolas.  I don't intend to eat with her, so I'm not in any danger."

Helena:  "How efficient to use my grandson's handicap against me, particularly when his suffering is because of your neglect."

She didn't get the chance.  Just as she spoke of Stefan's ambition, he arrived, correcting her.  Score one for our MIB, since he both knew she was there and arrived on the scene without her expecting him.  Nik returned to the house while Helena and Stefan squared off for a round of word play and insult hurling.  She actually started in on Nik, commenting on his rude silence.  Stefan set her straight, and scored another one by giving her information that she should have already had.  The playing field was slowly being leveled, and I was glad to see it.

Helena:  "Katherine, I, I think?  An insipid blonde to dull the pain of your pathetic obsession with your brother's wife."

At that point, Helena moved on to Katherine.  And did she ever have fun with that one, passing up Luke's frequently used "dim bulb" comment for several of her own.  If Stefan had not been distracted, she said, Nik would never have been in harm's way.  Score one for grandma; that's exactly the way Stefan berated himself after the accident.

Helena:  "Happily, Nikolas takes after his own father."
Stefan:  "You don't know who he resembles nor do you care."

Helena:  "I love my grandson.  He is all that remains of my husband and my eldest son.  You don't count for anything.  And your sister for even less."

Helena:  "I'm sorry, but I would have loved to see you convinced that your blonde trollop was actually a Cassadine."

Helena:  "Katherine Bell is as common as ditch water.  But then again, one could say so is Stavros's wife, Laura.  In fact, your taste in women is remarkably consistent."

Helena:  "I wonder if it was wise to disown her just for hurting the feelings of that bovine tramp you call a mistress."

Stefan:  "What is it mother?  Are you afraid I might defend her after all?  Or do you have plans for her yourself?"

Stefan:  "She has persistent and annoying friends.  Oh, but I forgot.  You enjoy Luke Spencer's company.  Now, I doubt father and Stavros would approve of you flirting with their murderer.  But I have no objections.  You two are suited to one another."
Helena:  "Is Luke still alive because killing him would drive Laura away forever?"
Stefan:  "He's alive because there's a chance he just might kill you for me."

She continued on to Stefan himself, holding him up for comparison to other Cassadine men and trying to push his jealousy button.  After that came Alexis, but of course Stefan couldn't be interested in his sister since he has Katherine.  She threatened, but Stefan didn't let any emotion show.  And finally...Laura.

Stefan:  "No one wants to kill you.  But we would all rejoice to hear that you died."

Helena:  "I'm not the least bit interested in your mistress.  But Nikolas is the heir, and you won't keep me from him."
Stefan:  "I already have."

But what I liked about this scene the most is that Stefan met her blow by blow.  And each time, mother and son drew blood with their well-aimed shots.  These two know each other very well.  They know weaknesses and they know how to strike.  And at the same time, they both know how to cover the smell of blood and appear completely unfazed.  It was a beautiful scene between two of my FGCs, and I was glad to see the one getting back into form.

Stefan:  "I suppose I should say chest.  They removed your heart, didn't they?"

Finally, Stefan informed her that there was a gunman with a rifle aimed at her heart and she should leave.  Nice touch.  She simply laughed that delicious laugh of hers.  Stefan went back to the house and filled Nikolas in on the encounter.  He asked Nikolas if he believed what Helena had said about him; Nikolas said he didn't.  Stefan said that he would be as truthful as he could with Nikolas and asked him to trust him.

B.  Helena and Luke

Helena:  "Why are you following me?"
Luke:  "I was following the sound of somebody eating their heart out.  You've been doing that for so long...probably only a little bite or two left."

Helena:  "You only grow more droll with the years."

Luke:  "You've been following me; I'm flattered.  I hope you don't mind if I tail you."
Helena:  "Not really Luke, I know how irresistible you find me.  Well, shall we end all of this tension finally?  Shall I spread my cape and let you make love to me here and now?"
Luke:  "I think I just felt something contract."
Helena:  "It's only the cold."
Luke:  "You think?  Oh.  But you like the cold, don't you.  In fact, I always figured your late husband's mania for freezing the world started in your bed."
Helena:  "You dare mention Mikkos to me?  Remind me.  Why have I never had you disemboweled; I keep forgetting."
Luke:  "Because you love me, Helena.  Yes, you love me.  I'm the only thing in your miserable life that you can hold to and put your teeth into.  Your hatred for me."

Luke:  "Wyndemere has a nice funereal glow about it this time of day, don'tcha think?"

Luke:  "You really should have taught those sons of yours to share."

Luke:  "The torch got passed and all you got was burned.  You shoulda been the one bouncing Nikolas on your knee all these years.  You shoulda been the one wrapping him around your ring finger.  At the very least you shoulda been the one putting the arsenic in his oatmeal every morning because of who his mother was."

Luke:  "Why do you think Stefan won't let you anywhere near your grandson?  He knows your capacity for love."

Luke:  "It's like there's this big roll of barbed wire between you and spoon island and you're the only one standin' on the battle field.  You want Stefan to come out and fight.  Because that's what you do best.  But he won't.  Cause he's too smart.  By not fighting you he makes you irrelevant."

Luke:  "Don't get me wrong, Helena.  I love to watch the little freak show that you and your son are performing.  And if the two of you wanna bleed each other dry I'll hold your coats.  But don't think for a second that because my attention is on you I haven't got my family taken care of.  You're not that smart."
Helena:  "I outwit the great and powerful Luke Spencer?  What a thought."

Luke:  "Uh, uh, whoisa whoisa who is that, uh, talkin' in the background there?  Lulu?!  It is?  She's talkin' not only in full sentences, she's makin' like paragraphs now."

Lucky:  "She offs people or gets them off the way most people buy new shoes."

Luke:  "She doesn't send warnings; she strikes.  This is uh, this is her way of saying the game has begun."

Lucky:  "Don't tell me I can't go cause of school, cause you know, I really don't care."
Luke:  "School?  You still in school?"

Luke:  "I think she's tryin' to build something here and she doesn't want me puttin' my fingers into it.  But see, where she's off...she doesn't realize that I know where she's vulnerable."
Lucky:  "So you can stop her.  How?"
Luke:  "Let's call it operation Natasha."

On Wednesday, Helena stood on the docks gazing out at Wyndemere and was greeted by Luke.  These scenes were marvelous, and Constance Towers works wonderfully well with Geary to create this incarnation of the rivalry in question.  They flirted; they struck out; they remembered; they circled.  He told her that she only had her hatred for him and the open door of Natasha left, and noted the irony.  She left Luke with a veiled warning about his family.  Luke announced that he had everything under control, but just the same he called Laura (one hour to Switzerland) immediately.  Bravado yes, but I think he was reading her correctly after she had left.  Lucky arrived soon after--very agitated--to let Luke know that Helena had just left one of Lulu's toys on their doorstep--one that had been with her in Switzerland.  They saddled up and headed out of town, with Luke making a call ahead to arrange protection.

C.  Helena and Katherine

After her scenes with Luke, Helena arrived at the PC Grill, where Stefan and Katherine were having dinner and a typically mushy conversation.  She arranged to have Stefan taken away from the table on a business call and settled in to greet the new mistress.  She was scarcely more congenial to Katherine's face than she was behind her back, but she managed to present herself as a caring grandmother and gain information about Nikolas.  She told Katherine not to tell Stefan about their little meeting...knowing full well that she would.  And the seed of suspicion was planted in Stefan's mind with Katherine having no idea that she had just done exactly as Helena wished.

II.  Baby Boy Morgan

A.  Jason and Robin

At the beginning of Monday's show, Robin simply asked to hold the baby, but she asked the child who his parents were (we had a moment where Jason commented that Robin looked right with the baby in her arms; the only thing that moved me about this scene was the thought that these two would probably never have a baby of their own).  Laticia took the baby upstairs, then Jason told her that he was watching the kid for Carly; Robin said that she knows he can't be the baby's father since he promised he wouldn't have sex with Carly.  At this point, I wondered why she was there, if she already knew the score.  Answer?  She was there to preach.  I was already annoyed.  She launched into a sweetly dispositioned explanation of why AJ should know he's the father once Jason told her the kid wasn't Tony's.

They spoke of her illness and her progress, and then they moved on to Brenda, and Jason told his version--the correct version--of the story.  Robin said that she knew Jason didn't lie and so she believed him.  Now, we've had the same discussion over and over on ratsa about Jason's lying.  I contend that what he means is that he can't tell stories and keep imaginary facts straight, so he doesn't try.  That he deceives is certain--it's his gift.  But I think that part of the confusion comes from Robin, who is repeatedly telling us that Jason doesn't lie.  The truth is, Jason doesn't lie to her.  But she takes that to mean he is universally honest.  What's more, in the face of his lie of omission to AJ which she now knows about, she can still say that he doesn't lie.  The confusion is all her fault.

She headed home with one of his drivers and agreed to let him keep a watch on her with some men.

B. Jason

At the beginning of Tuesday, Jason and the boys were trying to get some work done but the baby was sleeping.  Laticia was headed out to the airport; the men had no idea about how to handle the kid.  But Jason brought him downstairs, and the guys tried to change the diaper while Jason was on the phone--luckily Emily arrived in time.

C. Tony

Bobbie:  "It isn't as if she left the baby in a dumpster.  She left him with his father."
Tony:  "Same difference."

Tuesday found Tony hounding a social worker to check on the baby; she finally agreed to go out to the penthouse and take a look.  Bobbie overheard and was appalled.  She tried to be the voice of reason, but clearly she doesn't realize that Tony is beyond reason.  Tony seemed driven and monomaniacal at this point, caring nothing for the baby but only for revenge on Carly.  You can't convince me that what he was really after was that baby's welfare; he just couldn't stand the thought of somebody else being its father and wanted to wreck it any way he could think of.

D.  Four Mobsters and a Baby

Bobbie:  "Excuse me, but, uh, whatever happened to 'It takes a village?'"

Bobbie:  "You know, you can be other things besides a parent, but you have to make him your number one priority.  Have you asked yourself if you can do that, Jason?"

When the social worker showed up she found Benny and Emily reading to the child, Rinaldo and Johnny putting together a baby swing, and Bobbie coming out of the kitchen in a frilly apron with an oven mitt on each hand, having baked cookies.  Too funny!  This scene was my favorite of the day, and caused me to claim FGC Rinaldo.  She was initially demanding, but Bobbie and Emily set her straight and Jason sent her on her way.  Afterwards, Bobbie gave Jason some more advice on parenting (and food for thought) and told him it didn't even matter whether Carly came home or not.  And he thanked her for her help.

E.  Tony and Bobbie

Social Worker:  "The child is fine."
Tony:  "You actually believe that?"
Social Worker:  "Why not?  Your ex-wife does.  She's apparently a regular visitor.  Ask her; she was there."
Tony:  "Who, Lucy?"
Social Worker:  "Bobbie Spencer."

The social worker reported back to Tony, telling him that the government didn't take children away from mobsters and informing him that Bobbie had been there.

Tony:  "You like the circus, don't you?  Let me present a human pretzel to you.  A woman who can literally knot herself into any shape that she chooses."

Tony:  "Does he have a name yet?"
Bobbie:  "Yeah, Tony.  He has a last name.  It just isn't yours."

On Wednesday, he accosted Bobbie, angry with her for warning Jason and insisting on his own righteousness.  She insisted that she was right, defending Jason's right to be a parent to his child.  AJ approached at one point and asked if there was any doubt that the baby was Jason's; Tony insisted that he was that father for all intents and purposes.  Bobbie told him that children weren't rewarded on the basis of merit; he threw Lucas up in her face.  He went off on a rant completely about Jason and Carly and the baby's safety and the reasons he deserved that child.  He insisted that he was the only one who wanted that child.  AJ agreed that the kid would be better off without either parent on the birth certificate.  Finally, Tony said that she wasn't objective--couldn't be--about taking a child away from its parents.  She responded with the above.  Score one for the redhead.  But Tony turned to AJ, who wasn't contradicting him.

F.  Robin

AJ:  "No, you see, I thank him...for being a miserable excuse for a human being and I thank you...for confirming it.  Ya.  Today is my Independence Day."

Robin:  "You don't know.  None of you do.  Everything you think you know is wrong."

AJ:  "Well.  How guilty and put in our place do we feel?"
Tony:  "Not very."

Robin ran into Keesha at the hospital and they had a happy reunion until the subject of Jason come up.  Keesha proclaimed AJ's position and her own perceptions, and then AJ arrived to do the same.  Robin answered as best she could, but didn't reveal the truth Jason had pledged to keep.  He was very harsh with her, actually, and she looked very uncomfortable.  And when she heard Tony and Bobbie arguing, she quietly told everybody that they didn't know what was going on and reprimanded them for not putting any value on Jason's life.  AJ and Tony weren't impressed.

G.  The Birthday Plot

On Thursday, Monica and Emily chatted about the good things in her life and her birthday party that night--keep it simple--and Jason and the baby.  Meanwhile, Robin approached Jason and the baby in the park.  They had an amusing conversation about baby talk, which Jason doesn't understand, and then spoke of Brenda.  Robin informed him that she was staying, and then they went back to the penthouse for the kid's lunch.

Emily:  "Um, grandmother, is there anything you'd like us to get for you while we're out?"
Lila:  "Do they make an over the counter pill for relief of grouchiness?"
Edward:  "Who's grouchy?"

AJ:  "You see, your basic premise is flawed.  You're asking Jason to leave his son with the people that he hates most in this world.  His family."

Back at the Q house, Edward and Lila squabbled over his potential lateness to Emily's party (he and AJ were off to a business meeting later) and Emily and Monica headed off to buy a dress.  Tony arrived (he had called AJ to meet them there), looking desperate, and proceeded to outline a plot to kidnap the baby away from Jason--for the baby's own good, of course.  He said that Jason thought of the baby as a thing, and could be persuaded to give it up.  If they could give Jason an alternative, he'll give up the baby.  AJ claimed it wouldn't work, but Alan and Edward jump on board after a moment's hesitation, agreeing that it'll be like an intervention and they can convince him that the baby would be better off staying with them until Carly came home.  They needed a way to get Jason there, and AJ suggested Emily's birthday party.

AJ:  "No, you see, it's Jason's word to Carly is what we need to worry about here.  Cause I can tell you one thing for sure.  If he walks out the door without the baby, we're gonna pay for it one way or another."

Now, at this point I just couldn't believe it.  Actually, I could, but I was still amazed at the ignorance these people have when it comes to Jason.  Tony's clearly whacked at this point, and Edward and Alan are desperate over that kid.  But AJ?  I could see the wheels turning in his mind over this.  He knows it won't work, and yet he announced that he would join in.  And how could he, of all people there, suggest using Emily's party?  He was sure looking stupid, but I suspected he had ulterior motives...I just wasn't sure what they were.  To side with his father?  To prove that they didn't know Jason?  I think both.

The men turned to the details of the plan--how to get the rest of the potentially disapproving family out of the way for the actual scene.  Meanwhile, Emily came home with her new dress.  Monica asked why Tony was there, but received no satisfactory answer.  Edward took Emily aside and asked her to invite Jason and the baby to the party for Lila's sake.  Emily agreed.  Back in the living room, Alan distracted Monica from her suspicions--and got her out of the house--by giving her a day at the spa. Tony and Alan compared levels of craziness and Monica spoke to AJ.  And, to round out the picture, Ned came in to ridicule AJ while Edward asked him about the meeting with Justus.

Emily called Jason with the invitation.  Jason refused, but Robin, who had spent several segments preaching about how the baby should have some time with AJ, told him to go.  He agreed to appear briefly at the party.  (We also had great scenes of Jason talking about that baby--and I love those.  They mostly had the same conversation about Carly and right and wrong, and Robin did point out that he was growing really attached to the baby.)

Edward:  "Oh, what that woman could do to a ballad.  It changed my life."

As Friday opened, Edward sat by the fireplace and remembered hearing Mary Mae sing in that club so long ago, and we were treated to the black and white memory and Mae Mae singing so sweetly.  Justus arrived, and they had a moment of shared grief and memory.  It was a nice moment between two men who maintain a very rough relationship, ruined (in a very effective contrast) by Edward's sending Justus to Chicago on a fake business trip to get him out of the way.  Justus wasn't happy about missing the party, but he agreed to go.

Robin:  "What's that he's playing with, is that his teething ring?"
Jason:  "Rinaldo's brass knuckles."
Robin:  "What?"
Jason:  "It...it's a joke."

Robin showed up at Jason's to give him some encouragement before he went to the Qs.  Meanwhile, Tony and Alan and Edward bickered over their plan (and who could more easily control their wife) back at the house while AJ took out all four of Ned's tires to keep him away.

Justus:  "You shut your mouth, old man."
Edward:  "Nobody talks to me like that."
Justus:  "Well maybe they should.  Every hour on the hour whether you've got it coming or not."

Justus:  "And I don't want to hear another chorus of your sad song about family.  Family's not important to you.  Nothing is important to you...except what you own and what you don't own.  Well thank God I finally figured out which one I am."

The party began, and everything looked to be going well, until Justus came in just as Jason arrived.  Alan tried to hold the baby, but Jason gave him to Lila.  But then Emily, Justus, and Lila looked on in horror as Alan took the baby and they announced that the baby would stay with them, explaining their actions with cold logic.  In the middle of it, Edward and Justus argued over Mary Mae's response to their attempt; Justus could barely believe it when Edward says she would have helped them.  He let the old man have it with both barrels, and I think Edward started to realize exactly what he had done.

Emily:  "Look, can we stop playing Quartermaines for once?"

Emily made an appeal and then Jason made a final demand for the child.  AJ stepped between Alan and Jason...and Jason reached into his jacket to pull out what we can only assume to be a gun.

III.  Brenda

A.  Brenda

On Monday, Brenda was still holding the scissors up to her face and starting to press them into the flesh around her eye.  I hate that kind of shot.  But her hands began to shake; she couldn't go through with it, but she cut her hand.  She threw the scissors down into the mirror and broke it.  She forcefully rubbed at the cut on her hand as willing it to heal immediately.  Still in shock, she headed out the door, seemingly driven.  Jax arrived later to find the mess and went in search of her.  Of course he went to Jason's to threaten him for a bit, thinking Sonny might have taken her, but Jason phoned his men and they told Jax where to find her.

Brenda:  "I woulda died for Sonny.  Cause I thought that he was the only man who would ever really make me happy.  Are you happy, Lily?  You're dead.  At twenty-four years old.  Just because you wanted to give him your whole entire life and you did.  Just like I was going to.  Just like I almost did.  But you know what?  There's a difference between me and you.  You can't ever...ever get a second chance again.  And I didn't even know.  I didn't even know until this very second that I want one."

Brenda:  "I was wrong.  I gave him too much, you know?  I gave him more than I was supposed to.  I gave up my dreams and my hopes and everything that I loved.  I gave up myself to be with him.  And I lost him anyway.  I'm not okay.  But I'm gonna be.  I'm gonna be okay someday.  And I'm not gonna miss Sonny forever.  He left me with my life and I'm not gonna waste it.  I'm going to find new dreams and new hopes and new...loves.  Thanks for being my friend...Lily.  I'm gonna make a promise to you right now...that I'll never ever give up those things again."

She was at the cemetery, speaking to Lily's grave.  Now, Roo hated this scene, saying that it was Brenda letting herself off the hook by putting it all off on Lily.  But I thought the scene was really good.  Not knowing how she got there really, Brenda faced Lily's grave and spoke her heart.  She said that Lily always knew Sonny better, but that she was in love with him.  But now she had finally realized that what she wanted could have meant her life--that she could have been the one dead.  She admitted that she had a long way to go, but that she was ready to try and to fight for it.  She put Sonny behind her, or began to.  And that step of recognizing that she needed to live for herself instead of for a man was what I've always wanted for her.  Now, we'll see how long it lasts, and I ain't holdin' my breath.  But as a scene, apart from my own Brenda-cynicism, I liked it.  It was SWATCH-y, and it was Brenda coming to terms with things about herself and her love for Sonny.  Jax never announced himself; she never knew he was there.  And perhaps that's what I liked most about it.  Brenda made those promises not to somebody else who would help her, but just to herself.  And maybe Jax realized that that's what she needed to do all along.

B.  Brenda and Robin

Robin:  "It used to be easy to explain.  All or nothing always is."

On Tuesday, Brenda apologized to Robin, and Robin easily accepted.  Robin said that she wanted to stay in town; the two decided to be roommates.  Brenda was stunned that Robin would agree after what she had done.  Robin asked if her health was a problem, and Brenda said that she was positive that Robin would never get sick.  Robin was happy to see that she was back home with people who weren't edgy about her HIV status, I think.  She had spoken to Jason about how difficult it was, still.  I was still concerned that Robin would be playing victim to Brenda's recovery for the duration.  Later Brenda apologized to Jax, although he said that there was no need.

C.  Brenda and Gail

When the flower deliveryman turned out to be a reporter asking questions, Brenda called Gail, who came over.  Brenda announced that she was better and went through her whole story again.  Gail was supportive--perhaps overly so--and Brenda felt duly empowered.  She called Lucy about her modeling job.  I was just concerned that after such a nice scene, we were going to be put back into the Brenda-sans-self-awareness trap and that this would be the quick fix.  But I was relieved to think that the wacko scenes were over.

D.  Brenda and Jax

On Friday, Brenda came home to find Jax.  They spoke for a bit about everything that had gone on, and then he told her that he needed to go away for a week or so.  Brenda was glad that he was having a life of his own and that he'd get away and not have to worry about her--but you could see the sadness in her eyes and her attempts to be strong.  He told her that he was off to look for Jerry, who'd gone missing again.

IV. Mac and Felicia

After a typical yet angry exchange, Tess went out for a bit on Tuesday to meet Jimmy about Robin, and Mac managed to get to the phone and note that the last number dialed was his own.  Meanwhile, Jimmy tried to play Uncle Mac to Robin.  He scored some points with that parental worry about changing schools and racked up some suspicion when he said Brenda would be a perfect roommate.

On Friday, Felicia decorated The Outback for Mac's birthday while Jimmy continued to flirt with her.  When it became clear that he didn't know things he should know, he called Tess for more information.  She told him she'd get the information from Mac easily.  Before she could call back, however, Robin arrived and Jimmy tried to explain why Uncle Mac hadn't visited her in Paris.  Meanwhile, Tess attempted to get information from an unhelpful Mac.  Finally, he fed her an incorrect version of his breakup with Katherine on his last birthday.  Back at The Outback, Jimmy kept messing up in his responses to presents.  Felicia thought he was just being difficult by not reacting to the gag gift Sherlock Holmes hat she'd bought him, and grew angry.  She was angrier still when Jimmy fed her the Katherine story he had received in the meantime from Tess.

At this point, we were seeing the same scenes over and over, and I had no desire to know what was going on--no sense of suspense.  Felicia was just starting to look really really stupid.

V.  The Quartermaines

A.  Ned and Justus

Justus:  "My days of being a token anything in this family are over."
Ned:  "Nice speech.  And as far as getting in your way, it's no secret that I don't think you can be trusted.  I just hope that Jason doesn't find that out the hard way."

On Thursday, Ned and Justus met at the PC Grill.  Justus wasn't completely sold on the dock renovation project--predictably so, as far as Ned was concerned.  They spatted about Justus's attitude and his role at ELQ, especially as it was affected by his new found connections to Jason.  Justus responded by noting that he's fed work that any competent paralegal could accomplish.  Ned said he didn't like Justus complaining at him and Edward all the time; Justus said that Ned was jealous of him.  Ned left, and the parting wasn't amicable.

B.  Keesha and Justus

Keesha arrived, and she and Justus take a moment to remember that it's the two-year anniversary of Mary Mae's death.  Justus hadn't thought of it, and was duly ashamed.  Keesha was concerned about him working for Jason; she believed it to be a way for him to punish himself some more for the Damien Smith murder.  At one point she made him smile and I realized how rarely he does...and how marvelous it is when he does.