Volume I, Issue iv

December 1998

PC in Review: October & November by Amy McWilliams

View a section by clicking on the links below, or read the entire review by scrolling down. The complete review for PC is on this page, with October on the left and November on the right. October is laid out in sections by storyline, while November is done completely in chronological order, with the major events in the headings. I don't have much time to comment, but I've made sure to give praise where it's due--and there's a lot that's due in these episodes!

October

November

October

• Kevin visits Gail, who later receives a call from the authorities saying the bodies in the wreckage were not Scott and Lucy's. Meanwhile, Scott and Lucy eat from old cans of food in the mansion while a hurricane brews outside. (10/1)
• Kevin and Victor head to Florida to find Scott and Lucy despite the weather. (10/2)
• A flapping shutter knocks Lucy out and she dreams about the Land of Odd. As Dorothy, she sees all the characters in various roles. In the end, she dreams that Dorothy's true love is the Scarecrow, Scott, rather than the Tin Man, Kevin. She awakes to find Scott leaning over her and they embrace. (10/5)
• On their way to Florida, Kevin and Victor talk about the past and Ryan's childhood abuse. Victor says that he intended to go back to get Ryan, but feared that he would lose Kevin in any custody battle. (10/6)
• Scott and Lucy find some old clothes, which look like something out of a romance novel. As Lucy talks about her dream, they kiss. (10/6)
• Karen worries about Scott, but Gail says she did the right thing in staying behind with Serena. (10/6)
• Serena's doctor tells Karen that Serena needs to have another operation right away. Serena refuses to have the surgery until Scott is home. Karen and Courtney talk about the situation, and then Karen admits to Serena that she's scared to and convinces her to have the operation. (10/7)
• As Kevin and Victor search for them, Scott and Lucy make love. Later, all four unwittingly end up at the same hotel, with Scott and Lucy in one room. They agreed that they didn't regret making love but that they were just friends. (10/8)
• In rooms across the hall from each other, Scott and Lucy make love again after discussing their past while Kevin tells Victor that he was partly to blame for the situation with Lucy and that he was going to ask her to come back to him when they found her. Because of some mixed up room numbers, a maid delivers Lucy's clothes to Kevin's room and he barges in to see Scott and Lucy in bed together. (10/9)
• Lucy tries to explain to Kevin, but he won't hear of it. He tells her that he had wanted to reconcile, and that he believes she only wanted to come to Florida to put Eve in jail because of her jealousy. Scott confronts Kevin, saying that Lucy can do whatever she wants, and later tells Lucy that fate had brought her back to him. Victor, meanwhile, tries to run interference, but to no avail. (10/12)
• Scott calls Serena and hears the news about her surgery. He promises to try and be there in time to see her before she goes into the operating room. On the plane, Scott tells Lucy that fate will always keep them together, but Lucy isn't convinced. She says that she still loves Kevin and that Scott still has feelings for Eve. Victor arranges to speak with Lucy, and she tells him that she believes Kevin will never forgive her. She and Scott make it to the hospital on time. Karen thanks Gail for her support while they thought Scott was dead. (10/13)
• Kevin visits Eve in prison with the mixed news. She's upset to hear about Scott and Lucy. (10/13)
• Scott and Lucy tell Gail and Lee something about their adventures while they wait for Serena to get out of surgery. Serena wants to hear all about it as well. Kevin visits her, and is upset to see Scott and Lucy there together, but Serena assumes that he and Lucy will get married now. (10/14)
• Serena can see again! (10/20)
• At the courthouse, Eve congratulates Lucy on her victory, but Lucy says that she lost Kevin so she didn't feel like she had won. (10/20)
• Lee offers to represent Scott in his case, and he and Gail leave for home early after a little romantic encounter in the kitchen. Serena invites Lucy to spend the night with them at the firehouse. (10/22)
• Lucy and Sigmund do stay, and she and Scott can't sleep for thinking about what could happen again. They run into each other in the kitchen, and then Lucy visits his room and they flirt, but she finally leaves him to go back and sleep in Serena's room. (10/23)
• Kevin goes home and becomes annoyed when Victor keeps mentioning Lucy. Victor encourages him to call her, but Lucy's not there when he finally does. (10/23)
• Chris and Eve do paperwork at the hospital, and Chris says he doesn't believe in love. Eve wants to call Scott, but Chris talks her out of it and tells her to move on. (10/23)
• At breakfast, Serena asks Lucy to move in permanently. Lucy declines, though it's clear she's pleased at the request from Serena. Later, Scott and Lucy agree that they have to deal with the feelings that they've realized, but Lucy returns to her hotel. She agrees, however, to go on a picnic with Serena and Scott when Serena calls. At the gazebo, Lucy speaks to Dominique, saying that she loves Serena, Scott, and Kevin and asking for a sign. (10/26)
• Meanwhile, Kevin ponders the clues to the murders and Victor insists that he's working too hard. Mary comes to have lunch with Victor, and they devise a plan to reunite Kevin and Lucy. Victor writes an invitation to Lucy, but he and Mary accidentally put the flyer about a lecture Kevin intended for Eve under Lucy's door while Kevin left the invitation with Karen to give to Eve. Eve is surprised at the invitation to dinner, but seems pleased. (10/26)
• Lucy goes to the lecture to meet Kevin, while Eve dresses up and goes to lighthouse (Chris is amazed). Victor gets Kevin to leave the lecture and come home, and then he and Mary leave for a date of their own. Victor has gone all out, even hiring a polka musician, and Mary kisses him. Eve is surprised to find the romantic setting, as is Kevin, and they each think the other one did the decorating. Later, they realize that neither of them did it, and decide that it was Victor telling Kevin to move forward with his life. They decide to just enjoy the evening. (10/27)
• Ellen arrives at the lecture, and Lucy asks her for advice. Lucy asks one of the staff if Kevin has left a message, and she finds out that he left without a word. (10/27)
• After giving up work and dancing to the music of the musician Victor provided, Kevin and Eve kiss. Lucy arrives afterwards to check on Kevin and is upset to find the romantic atmosphere and the two of them together. She leaves with hardly a word and is visibly shaken. (10/28)
• Mary asks Victor to stay they night. (10/28)
• Kevin is angry with Victor for interfering, Victor is upset that Eve was the one who spent the evening with Kevin, and a distraught Lucy tells Scott what she saw at the lighthouse. (10/29)

This storyline is so wonderful. The Florida sequence, once we were through with the Indiana Jones knockoff, was marvelously executed, as was the "date" at Kevin's house with Kevin and Eve. Victor has sparkled throughout too, and his polka music and flamethrower at Mary's house was such fun! The crowning glory, however, was the Wizard of Odd. That was a perfect creative masterpiece. Applause all around!

I believe that Kevin and Lucy belong together. It's the ride getting there that's all of the fun, and we got to take that ride once on General Hospital, and now we're getting to take it again on Port Charles. The addition of Scott gives the writers something from the past and present in these characters that they have to address, and they're doing it beautifully. Add in Eve, and this set of characters and their misunderstandings become my favorite thing on the show right now.

It's amazing to me, as well, that the writers have managed to include in a thirty-minute show more than the GHomicide storyline--that they've been able to develop and air such a rich romantic plotline as well as the mystery (and the Scanlon storyline), and at the same time integrate the two so well.

The General Homicide Murders/Julie's Trial

• Eve and Julie fight in jail, and when Julie is stabbed with a pen, the guards come to break it up. (10/1)
• Kevin visits Eve to tell her that Scott and Lucy might be alive but in some trouble. Eve tells him that she accidentally stabbed Julie, but it's not clear how it actually happened. For her part, Julie exaggerates the incident to Matt and Frank at the hospital, but Chris stands up for Eve even when the others decide that she's the killer. Julie isn't seriously hurt, but Frank asks Matt to keep her at the hospital away from Eve. Later, Garcia offers Eve a plea bargain, which she turns down. (10/2)
• Julie accuses Eve of stabbing her, but Eve insists it was an accident. Julie's trial begins, and Eve has to stay in jail until she testifies as a hostile witness. When she gets the news, she becomes very angry, and Lark is there to see. Later, Lark's testimony throws suspicion on Eve. Back at the station, Garcia tells Eve that he's found fibers from the rope used to kill Jake on Eve's gloves. (10/7)
• Lee asks Scott to tell the truth at Julie's trial. Scott tells Joe and Karen that Lee's defense of Julie centers on making Eve seem guilty. Before the trial begins, Eve tells Chris that they should both tell the truth, but Chris refuses. Lee quizzes him about the shrine in Eve's room, but he lies about his alibi with Eve under oath. (10/15)
• Scott visits Eve and she tells him that she knows he slept with Lucy. Scott wants to talk, but Eve refuses. She says that she's going to stick with her false alibi and asks him what he'll say. He asks her to tell the truth. (10/15)
• Lee and Gail beg Scott to tell the truth about Eve. On the stand, Eve appears very guilty as Lee lays out the evidence against her fact by fact. When he gets to the fact that she found the button at Matt's house, she insists that she's innocent and pleads with Matt to believe her. Later, Matt speaks with Ellen and Kevin and says that Eve seems guilty, but Kevin asks them to have an open mind. Lee calls Scott to the stand. (10/16)
• Eve tells Chris that she doesn't expect Scott to lie for them. Chris asks her if she's going on the run, but she insists on clearing her name. They suspect Frank of setting up the shrine. On the stand, meanwhile, Scott admits to concealing evidence and says that Eve's alibi is a fake. He calls Eve afterwards to tell her what happened. He apologizes, but she says that she knows he did it for Serena. Lucy testifies next about her feud with Eve. (10/19)
• Julie's worried about her verdict, but Karen encourages her by telling her that she believes in her innocence. The lawyers make their closing arguments while Ellen, Matt, and Karen worry that the killer is still on the loose. (10/20)
• Lark gives Julie her good luck necklace before the verdict is read. Eve fends off reporters at the hospital and refuses to go with Kevin to the courthouse. Once there, Kevin runs into Lucy and Scott in an uncomfortable encounter. (10/21)
• Joe, Karen, Matt, and Ellen are happy that Julie's free, but are scared about the killer. Garcia tells Eve that he won't arrest her until there's an airtight case; the DA doesn't want to lose another one. Scott receives word that he'll be prosecuted and perhaps disbarred for his actions. (10/21)
• Kevin and Eve have coffee and think about who the killer might be. Kevin's desperate to find him or her. They wonder about Chris. (10/22)
• Eve admits to Kevin that she has only a phony alibi, and Kevin says that he knows that she's innocent. He asks more about Chris, and Eve says that she doesn't think he's the killer. (10/23)
• Everybody but Chris and Eve receive invitations to a Halloween party, but there's no sign of who sent them. Meanwhile, Kevin receives a call from the killer, who announces that it's time for somebody else to die. Later, it turns out that Matt and Ellen are throwing the party and the printers left their names off of the invitations. (10/29)
• Julie finds a voice activator in Frank's truck, but he says he used it only to scare Eve. Kevin, Eve, and Victor decide that Scott will be the killer's next target. When they go to see him, he's dressed as a chef--just like in the book. (10/30)

This storyline was losing pace at this point for me, but it was to pick up again in the Halloween party. With the faux-stabbing in the jail, however, I was confident that Julie was the killer. I was just waiting for confirmation. I think that the criticism I'd make would be that there was too much courtroom activity. One trial is enough, and we were to have another courtroom moment of tension over Scott in the coming weeks. What I enjoyed most at this point was the friendship between Kevin and Eve.

The Scanlons

• Courtney receives word that her ex-husband is suing for custody of Neil. (10/7)
• Karen admits that's he called Neil's father when the boy asked her to, and Courtney is furious. She blames Karen for letting John know where they were. Karen tells Joe what happened and he assures her that she had done nothing wrong. Courtney, however, threatens to leave town and Joe convinces her to stay. He gives her a hug while Karen looks on. (10/8)
• Joe and Karen worry about Serena's surgery the next day and about the custody battle over Neil while Courtney tells Frank that she's going to run. Her ex-husband John shows up before Frank can get her out of town and Neil is thrilled to see his father. (10/12)
• Frank promises to help Courtney, and they kiss. She later tells Joe that Frank was going to help her run from John, and Joe becomes angry. He confronts Frank, and then threatens John. John tells Neil that he and Courtney are getting back together, and she has to correct him. (10/13)
• John tries to smooth things over with Courtney, but she refuses to reconcile. She tells Joe and Frank that John could call their divorce agreement into question because of her actions. Later, she finds that John has taken Neil, and Joe misses Serena's surgery trying to help her. When he arrives at the hospital, Karen's upset until she hears that Neil is gone, and she blames herself for helping John to find them. (10/14)
• Courtney calls the police, but John returns with Neil. They were out to buy her flowers. John suspects that Courtney's involved with Frank, and Courtney later tells Frank more about her marriage. John informs them that he's going to stay in town and see Neil and asks Courtney to give him a second chance. (10/15)
• Courtney asks Joe to stay with her and Neil instead of going to the trial. He and Neil play while Courtney learns that John wants Neil only to gain his family's favor. Courtney then tells Joe that he is Neil's father. (10/19)
• Joe asks Courtney why she hadn't told him, and she says that she was already with John and thought that she loved him when she found out she was pregnant. Courtney asks him not to tell anybody, even Karen. Joe gets her a divorce lawyer who recommends that Courtney give John access to Neil so that he can't hold anything more against her in court. (10/20)
• Courtney's irritated that Karen spent the night with Joe, and later makes love with Frank, who's just gotten another dose of DL-56. She loses an earring in Frank's bed. Julie realizes that Frank isn't there to hear the verdict, but she is declared not guilty. Frank arrives late, and takes her home to Courtney's surprise party. Later, Julie and Frank make love in the same bed and Frank hides the earring. (10/21)
• Scott takes Serena home to a surprise party. Neil has invited John to join them, much to Courtney's dismay and Joe's anger. John sweet talks Karen, who lets slide that Joe and Courtney used to date. (10/22)
• Julie and Frank make love again. He's angry about the press, but Julie notes that she can't be tried again for the same crimes. (10/22)
• Courtney tells Joe that John wants to take Neil on vacation for a couple of weeks. They're both scared. They tell Frank that Neil is Joe's son, and he's stunned. Later, he asks Courtney if she knows for sure, since they slept together as well about the same time. Courtney insists that Joe is Neil's father, but offers no proof. Karen overhears part of their argument and is shocked to hear about Joe and Neil. Finally, Chris asks Courtney for another date. (10/26)
• Karen confronts Joe for not telling her about Neil, and he says that he was confused and had to work things out for himself first. They smooth things over, but Karen later confronts Courtney about keeping this a secret. Courtney smooths things over as well, at least for the time being. (10/27)
• Garcia shows up at the Scanlon house and they invite him to stay for dinner, though Frank is suspicious and unforgiving. She later receives a phone call from Greg Cooper and appears to be shocked. (10/28)
• Frank convinces Joe to have a blood test run to make sure Courtney is telling the truth about Neil not being John's natural son. (10/29)
• Joe comforts Courtney, but Karen argues with her about Neil. Later, Joe goes to confront John and finds fake passports. He knows John's going to try to take Neil to Greece instead of to Disney World. (10/30)

I didn't like John, and didn't "love to hate" him either. He was boring, and unconvincing. But as far as plot devices go, he served a nice purpose. I found myself actually caring about what happened to Courtney and Neil and Joe. While Courtney still grates on me sometimes, her compassion and fear for Neil are very compelling, as is Joe-as-father. Some of this storyline's future seems utterly predictable. I'm also bored with Frank, I'm un-enthralled by Joe and Karen, etc. This storyline continues to get more interesting, however, and I'm pleased with that.

• Joe tells Courtney about John's plane tickets and passports for a trip to Greece. Courtney is scared, and Karen suggests she talk to Scott about legal advice. (11/2)
• Julie has a nightmare about Bennett, Greg Cooper, and Frank. (11/2)
• As the Halloween party starts, Courtney arrives with Chris as her date, displeasing Matt. Eve comes with Kevin, and Lucy assumes they're sleeping together when she overhears them talking about their dinner. Lucy puts Serena's trick gum in Kevin's trick-or-treat bag (a party favor for all of the invited guests) and itching powder inside Kevin's coat to keep them from doing it again that night. (11/2)
• A gloved hand injects poison into an apple and places it in Scott's bag. Later, Ellen takes the apple and puts it into the tub for the apple bobbing contest. (11/2)
• Chris gives Frank another dose of DL-56 at the party. (11/2)
• Neil decides to bob for the green apple--the poisoned one from Scott's bag. Matt's suspicious and stops him, however. (11/3)
• Kevin and Eve know just who's responsible for their respective conditions. Victor apologizes to Lucy for setting up the dinner with Kevin and Eve and tells her that it was intended for her. Lucy, however, still believes that they slept together and tells Scott so. (11/3)
• As Victor kisses Mary, somebody steals his sword. (11/3)
• Neil tells Courtney that John asked him to stay the night at his hotel. He later overhears Courtney pressuring Frank to get John to leave town and Frank saying that he would kill John if he hurt Neil. (11/3)
• Kevin finds a note from the killer in his bag that instructs him to go into the fun house. When the doors open, all of the partygoers head inside. Kevin loses track of Eve, and most of the couples are separated from each other. Finally, somebody kills a Knight. (11/3)
• Courtney finds Julie standing over the body and fears that it's Joe. John, who came in the same costume, is dead instead. Karen realizes that Courtney doesn't care that it's John, and tells Joe about her reactions. Garcia is more interested in the fact that Julie found the body. Lucy and Ellen converse while the police start their investigation. Kevin thinks that this mistake might put the killer over the edge, but Garcia isn't convinced that it's a General Homicide case. He has to consider that it's because of the custody battle. Frank and Courtney each think the other one killed John. (11/4)
• Courtney admits to Karen that she's glad John's dead, but tells Garcia that she thinks this was one of the killers' string of murders. Julie tells Frank that she suspects Courtney, but he says that, if she did it, she was looking out for Neil. Garcia tells Kevin and Victor that there are three sets of fingerprints other than Victor's on the sword: Eve's, Joe's, and Courtney's. Victor can account for all of them. Kevin fears that the killer will kill again, and soon. He receives a call from the murderer confirming that Joe had been the intended victim and threatening something big. (11/5)

We had more great sequences for sweeps month, and on the heels of the Odd dream, too! The Halloween party was fantastic (even though I did wonder how Matt and Ellen afforded it all), and I enjoyed not only the mystery but also the interactions between all of the characters. The staging of the fun house was particularly well done.

The Bombing

• Joe receives the results of the DNA tests, which prove to him that he's Neil's father. (11/5)
• Kevin is convinced that the GH killer murdered John. Meanwhile, Lucy receives a death threat and moves into the firehouse with Scott and Serena. (11/6)
• Lee tells Scott that he'll be prosecuted for obstruction of justice, and Eve learns that she'll have to testify at his trial. She visits the firehouse and is shocked to find out that Lucy has moved in. (11/6)
• Julie visits Kevin to talk about her dreams, and Kevin realizes after she's gone that they match his own memories of Jasmine Island. (11/6)
• Somebody with Eve's hairdo places a bomb in the elevator shaft at the hospital. (11/6)
• Lucy goes to the hospital for a pregnancy test. She lies to Scott, but Kevin knows the truth when he sees her coming out of the office. (11/9)
• Eve tells Chris that Lucy's moved into the firehouse. (11/9)
• Serena gets a good report from her doctor. (11/9)
• Kevin asks Julie about Jasmine Island because of her dreams, but she says that she knows nothing. Later, Julie gets onto an elevator with Mary, Joe, Karen, Ellen, Lucy, and Eve. The elevator becomes stuck between floors and Julie grows very agitated. An explosion goes off and throws everybody to the floor. (11/9)
• When the smoke clears, Scott, Kevin, and Victor search for Lucy, Serena, and Gail. Meanwhile, Ellen tends to Eve's bleeding leg and instructs Lucy to keep pressure on the wound. The irony isn't lost on either of them, but they strike a tentative peace. Joe and Karen realize, meanwhile, that Mary may have suffered a stroke from her head injury. Karen tries to calm Julie. (11/10)
• Lark tells Kevin and Scott that Serena and Gail are safe, but after the two of them see the people trapped in the elevator over the security camera, they go up to the roof to try and help them. Victor sees another bomb in the shaft and Matt radios up to Kevin and Scott. They climb down to the top of the elevator, and Kevin picks up a note from the killer off the second bomb...and the motion arms it. (11/10)
• Scott and Kevin bicker while Julie continues to become more and more edgy and apparently claustrophobic. Joe manages to get through the door in the top of the elevator, and has to tell everybody about the bomb. A cable snaps, blocking the path to the roof, but Lark tells Frank that she knows another way. In the airshaft, Frank finds a bag of Lark's old disguises and suspects her. Back on top of the elevator, Scott and Kevin will make the attempt to diffuse the bomb themselves. Victor sends down instructions counter to those of the bomb squad, telling Kevin that the killer will expect them to do as the bomb squad suggests. Scott, holding the scissors, has to decide which wire to cut. (11/11)
• Kevin says to listen to Victor, and after some hesitation, Scott does, stopping the bomb. The rescue crew finally manages to get everybody out, and Mary is taken to the ER, where Joe and Karen treat her for her stroke in time to give her the best chance of recovery. Lucy is hurt to hear that Kevin has gone down to the ER with Eve, and she goes to see him. A security guard has identified Eve as the woman on the roof, but Lucy tells Garcia that Eve was with her at the firehouse. (11/12)
• Scott finds Lucy's pregnancy test appointment reminder. (11/12)
• Frank and Garcia watch the video tape of the figure on the roof, and they agree that the person is disguised. Frank questions Lark, who denies everything and says that her bag of disguises is missing. Meanwhile, Julie tends to Mary and Victor expresses his distrust of her in no uncertain terms. Mary's frustrated, but Victor says he's staying with her until the killer is caught. (11/13)
• Scott approaches Lucy about the appointment, and she admits to him that she thinks she's pregnant. If she is, it's Scott's child, and he goes with her to get the results. They talk about having a baby, and agree that they would both be ecstatic to have another child together. Unfortunately, Lucy isn't pregnant; she only has a hormonal imbalance. She is distraught and Scott tries to comfort her. (11/13)
• The killer puts on a wig that resembles Eve's hair. As she turns to the mirror, we see that it is Julie. (11/13)
• Frank chases after an Eve lookalike, but Julie takes off the wig and stops him. Julie then goes to check on Mary, and Victor again expresses his distrust and dislike of her. He asks Ellen, later, to take Julie off the case. Ellen can't do that unless Mary requests it, but she'll keep an eye on Mary. Later, Julie requests to be taken off the case herself. Then, with nobody in the room, she approaches a sleeping Mary with a pillow to smother her. Victor interrupts. Julie then suggests to Frank that Mary come to live with them. (11/16)
• Neil is happy to see Joe. He had been scared that somebody else would die like his father. Joe isn't happy that Chris was teaching Neil to cheat at cards, and tells Karen that he doesn't want Chris around Neil. Chris and Courtney go to the movies. (11/16)
• Garcia finds out that Eve's mother once dated a man with knowledge of explosives. Victor and Kevin don't agree with his suspicions, and decide to find whoever's impersonating Eve. Garcia questions Eve again while Kevin goes to visit Greg Cooper, who tells him that Eve's the one who visited him. Later, Cooper calls Julie and says that they would now need to kill the one who's responsible for everything. She agrees. (11/17)
• Frank and Joe agree to invite Mary to live with them until she recovers from her stroke. Joe then asks Courtney not to date Chris, but she says that Chris makes Neil happy. Chris and Courtney leave to take Neil to the stock car races, and Chris makes a point of mentioning that he'll help Neil place a few bets. (11/17)

It only got better with the elevator bombing. The surrounding dilemma--Lucy's unpregnancy--was completely moving, and they combined those smaller, individual moments with some great group scenes. Scott and Kevin's disarming of the bomb was perfectly done, and Victor continued to steal the scenes he was in. From Lucy and Eve in the elevator to Mary Scanlon's stroke, all of the explosion and its after-effects were well done indeed.

Julie the Killer and Her Brother Greg

• Kevin tells Eve about his visit to Cooper, while Julie poisons the tip of her umbrella and makes an appointment to see Kevin. Victor, however, takes the umbrella from her and ends up breaking it. He throws it out and gives her one of Kevin's as a replacement. Julie's upset, but covers. She picks up a flyer about the sale of the Jasmine Island house and then calls the real estate agent to make an appointment. (11/18)
• Ellen stays with Serena while the family goes to Scott's trial. They look at the treasure map Scott brought back from Florida, and Serena makes one of her own. (11/19)
• Karen tells Eve that she doesn't blame her for Scott's being on trial. Eve tells Scott that she wants to take the blame for throwing out the bracelet, but Scott refuses. On the stand, the lawyer hounds Eve until Scott stands up and pleads guilty. (11/19)
• Julie poisons the pudding that Lark is making for Thanksgiving dinner and stops Frank from tasting it. (11/20)
• Eve phones Scott to thank him for what he did in court. She then sees Kevin and wonders aloud if Lucy will continue to live at the firehouse once the killer is caught. Kevin tells her that Julie's the one with time unaccounted for on the day the bomb was set. They go to the computer in the on call room and break into her account with the user name "Marcia"--the name of Victor's late mistress. They find an email with instructions for the bomb that was on the elevator. (11/20)
• Meanwhile, Victor was at the Jasmine Island house to try to make the sale. He opens the door to find Julie there. (11/20)
• Mary refuses to move in with Joe and Frank. Karen speaks with her, telling her that the boys need her there because of their own fear of losing her, not because they don't think that she can take care of herself. Mary then tells the boys that she'll move in. (11/20)
• Scott and Lucy have fun following Serena's map, but Serena accidentally spills coffee on the real map and is unhappy. Scott calls a friend of his who restores documents. He cleans up the map and tells them that it could be real. (11/20)
• Kevin and Eve trace the email back to Concord Psychiatric Hospital, and when Kevin calls, he learns that Cooper has escaped. Kevin tells Garcia, then starts to call the people in his book. (11/23)
• Frank overhears the warning about Cooper, but when he questions Eve about it, he refuses to believe her, insisting that Eve was framing Julie. Lark tells him that Julie may have gone to Jasmine Island because of the flyer she found, and he heads there to find her. (11/23)
• On Jasmine Island, Julie holds Victor at gunpoint. He gets the gun away from her by literally pulling the rug out from under her, but Frank comes in and fights him for it. When Julie gets it again, she aims it at them both. (11/23)
• Cooper looks in the firehouse windows at Lucy and Serena while Scott makes a call to get them out of the country on his plane. (11/23)
• Scott is sentenced to seven days in jail. Lee hears, however, that Lucy and Serena didn't make it to the hangar and that their bodyguard is dead. (11/23)
• Kevin and Eve go to Concord and find a birth certificate with Victor listed as Cooper's father. (11/23)
• Scott pleads for a postponement of his sentence and goes to find Serena and Lucy. Lucy finds herself in a warehouse with Cooper, who gives her directions to a "Lady and the Tiger" game in which she was responsible for Serena's life. While Lucy tries to make her choice, Cooper goes to Jasmine Island. (11/24)
• Scott and Garcia search the Scanlon house and find more evidence against Julie. (11/24)
• Julie declares that she's Marcia Cooper, Greg's sister. She shoots Frank in the leg when he reaches for the phone. Kevin and Eve arrive, and Julie holds them all prisoner until Cooper arrives to explain that he was the product of Victor's affair with Marcia--that he was the baby on the cliff. He blames Victor for his mother's death, but Victor denies being his father. Cooper tells Julie to start shooting them one by one. (11/24)
• Lucy continues to try to communicate with Serena and figure out which door she's behind. Scott and Garcia arrive, and they try a door, prepared to shoot if it's a tiger. There's a stuffed tiger there, as well as in the other one. Scott talks to Serena and asks her to remember everything she heard as she went to where she is now. She leads them to think of the wooden bridge that led to the power station down the road and they find her there--as well as a note telling Lucy that Kevin would be dead by the time she found Serena. (11/25)
• Meanwhile, on the island, the hostages try to talk down Julie, who gives them her whole family history--the Cooper family. Kevin tries to play along with her and Greg orders him to stop. Greg gives his whole plan--how he tried to burn Kevin and Victor in the fire at Forest Hills and how General Homicide showed up at just the right time. The hostages continue to try to get Julie to see reason, and she tells of her time with Greg when he kidnapped her. They then go out to the spot of the murder, and Kevin asks her to see that Greg is getting her to do his dirty work. As she hesitates, Cooper reaches for the gun, Kevin reaches for Cooper, and it goes off between them. Cooper goes over the cliff. (11/25)

The revelation of Julie as the killer was no surprise to me (though I was glad to be proven right), and the Cooper connection wasn't unappreciated. I thought, however, that the scenes on Jasmine Island were somehow anti-climactic, and I don't know how to explain that. I was disappointed that Julie would "get off" because of her mental condition, while at the same time I looked forward to Kevin working through this with her. I wasn't happy about the undeath of Cooper, but I looked forward to the Collins men coming to some sort of peace about their past once this was over. He was the way to make them do that and to keep the pieces of this story together. Finally, though, I really liked the way we got the best of both worlds. After months of having the fun of putting together our guess as to the murder's identity, we also got the fun of knowing who it was before the others. That was a great choice. I suppose it just became a little cliché there at the end.

Thanksgiving

• Frank visits Julie in jail at Thanksgiving. She still insists that Greg Cooper is her brother, but he responds by telling her that he loves her and does know her, no matter what she says. She tells him that she poisoned the pudding and he calls home in time. He vows to help her. (11/26)
• Ellen and Matt go to the Scanlons for Thanksgiving, as does Chris, and they all share stories and songs again. Courtney tries to make Joe jealous of Chris. As they say what they're thankful for, Karen asks them to remember Julie. (11/26)
• Lucy goes to the lighthouse to check on Kevin, and Kevin says that he knows about her pregnancy. She clarifies for him, but Eve arrives and the sight of her spoils the moment for Lucy, who leaves. Eve tells Kevin and Victor that she has plans for them for Thanksgiving--karaoke! They go to Victor's favorite place, and Eve and Kevin do "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart" before Victor, clearly a regular, does "I'm Too Sexy." (11/30)
• Serena is upset that Scott's not there for Thanksgiving, even though Lee tells her stories of him as a child. Lucy decides to move the whole party to the police station, and Garcia even joins them for dinner. His news that Cooper's body hadn't been found put a damper on the day, however. (11/30)

The pace and my delight slowed down after the elevator, but I truly enjoyed the Thanksgiving episode with Kevin, Eve, and Victor. That was simply marvelous.