First, let’s get the lump in your throat stuff out of the way: Jane Elliott, who just became the sole recipient of the 2025 Gold Circle Awards, that will be handed out at this year’s Daytime Emmys, gave a master class in her more than five minute monologue honoring Dr. Monica Bard Quartermaine. You could just watch that monologue alone and you’d be handing her an award as well. She so brilliantly captured working through your grief and facing your fears to honor someone who was your best friend. That isn’t to say that everyone else didn’t do brilliant work this week, they did. But Jane Elliott is the Gold Standard, and as Mama Snark says, how lucky we are to have her on our screens every day.
Steve Burton also gave brilliant performances this week in every single interaction. I was never a big Steve Burton or Jason fan for many years. But he has consistently stood toe to toe with Jane thoroughout this entire chapter of the Monica Quartermaine story, and, as we mentioned on the Snarkcast this week, his return this time has been the best so far.
IN OTHER NEWS:
NuNuLulu figured out that Tracy went to Atlantic City the night before the funeral. Tracy got a little bit soused and Lois showed up at the casino to talk some sense into Tracy.
Must we endure Portia and Isaiah as a couple? His character is just ruined for me. And he’s been down this road before? What is he? The Couple Breaker-Upper? And now they’re on the down-low? Ugh. Just ugh. The whole reason for this mess was that Curtis told Dante that he met Jordan at The Brown Dog the night of the murder and she stormed out and immediately wanted to hook up with the sexy, single doctor.
Monica reached out to Drew but Drew ignored her call. Now he has regrets, but not enough to not go after the Quartermaine fortune and sink Michael in the process.
Outback finally has a permanent home (we think). After getting lost and Cody finding him, Brook Lynn suggested Outback stay at the manse and everyone could visit her. Who passes a dog around like that? In any case, Cody and Outback exude more chemistry than most of the other couples. Except… Gio and Emma, whose kiss got interrupted with the Outback kerfuffle.
Rocco ran into his “Mom” at Bobbie’s. They had an awkward, but good first chat.
MONICA’S FUNERAL:
-Ned gave the opening salvo and read the letter Monica left;
-Liz remembered Monica through Audrey Hardy’s lens;
-Laura remembered her time as a candy striper and working for Edward Quartermaine;
-When Tracy is unable to go up to the podium, Lucy jumps in to buy her time;
-Jason reluctantly got up to speak;
-Tracy asks what Michael is waiting for - he is supposed to be the last one to speak.
-After kicking Drewfus out of the church, Tracy finally gives her eulogy.
-Yes, the church was sparse, but it was later explained it was best not to have children at the funeral, especially in light of Scout and the restraining order, that would prevent her from attending.
-Gio attended the funeral and the gathering at the mansion afterwards, which got everyone’s hopes up that he is softening towards everyone.
FRIDAY CLIFFHANGER: When Tracy confronted the stranger in the family crypt, it was Erika Slezak! (And if you caught the credits, she’s listed as Veronica Bard.)
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMM…:
1.) Hat Daddy referred to Drew as “Congressman Cutthroat” - I suppose Curtis could have told him that, otherwise, how would he know the nickname? Was he getting the Port Charles’ papers on tour?
2.) Ned says Monica and Tracy were friends for over 50 years. Fifty years is at least 1975, when neither Monica or Tracy were on the show or knew each other. But I guess in the world where children become teens and then adults overnight, this tracks.
3.) Anna says a motorist came upon Nathan’s truck but that motorist was NuNuLuLu, who Nathan would know.
4.) Olivia says how nice it is that they are all going over to the church together (Ned, Olivia, Brook Lynn, Chase, Dante) only to have Chase say he has to go help Michael with something before the service.
5.) Wasn’t it obvious to Not Tad Martin that Drewfus was dressed up because he’s going to his mother’s funeral?
THINGS WE LEARNED THIS WEEK: Alexis calls Molly “Cookie”; Britt will send Rocco a follow request on “My Face”; There is no significant change in Maxie’s condition at Massachusetts General; Brook Lynn made up a new rule that Cody can have a pet at the stables; Britt refers to Rocco as her “son”; Cody refers to Outback as “Princess Pie” or “The Princess of the Castle”; Alan wanted a grand staircase for Monica so she could descend down it like royalty; If Monica’s light was on, Jason would check on her and see if she needed anything. Most of the time he just sat with her and they would watch the sun come up together; The Leprechan Casino was Tracy and Luke’s go to casino after Luke got banned from the strip.
NEW CHARACTER?: Officer Carson showed up at the hospital to talk to Anna; it’s doubtful this is the character known as Mitch Carson, who was Nelle’s parole officer back in 2020.
NEW SET: The Leprechan Casion’s private room.
REFERENCES TO THE PAST: Lucy remembered her wearing red to her wedding to Alan and Tracy wore black; Tracy said Alan always loved Monica and Lucy wondered if he loved her when he dropped a roof on her and Rick Webber; Ned, Brook Lynn and NuNuLuLu reminisced about all the times Monica fought for her family; Lois tells Brook Lynn about the time Katherine Bell fell down the stairs at the Quartermaine manse after being poisoned. Reginald Jennings, the Butler, was the culprit, but it was A.J. who made it look like Katherine poisoned herself, a secret the whole family kept; Felicia reminded Jason that Monica was the one who performed Maxie’s heart surgery; NuNu and Laura reminisced about Laura’s wedding to Luke and how “the world attended”.
FLASHBACKS: Classic flashback between Monica and Ned where she tells him he’s a great friend; Laura remembers talking to Monica about her future plans; Drew remembers bringing pizza to the Quartermaines and getting a hug from Monica; Tracy remembers how Monica liked to “get” her with reminding her it was her house; Olivia remembers a Christmastime with Monica when she asked Olivia to think of the Quartermaine home as her house; Liz remembers when Monica confronted her about her grandchild; Tracy remembered when Monica was talking about making peace for Edward’s sake; Felicia remembers bringing a thank you note from Maxie to Monica, while Monica was recuperating from her breast cancer surgery; Lucy relates how Monica threatened her with letting the hospital know what a cheap floozy Lucy was if she didn’t stop seeing Alan; Jason remembers Monica calling him her son; Jason pauses on the stairs at the end of Friday’s episode as a montage of Monica clips play.
SUSPECT OF THE WEEK: Still Curtis - and he’s the #1 suspect “on paper”.
RANDOM REALIZATION OF THE WEEK: Ryan Paevey was 29 years old when he debuted on General Hospital, his first acting job. He’s now back as Nathan West (with salt and pepper hair) and just turned 41 on September 24th.
NEW DAY: Tuesday’s episode was a new day. The last day ran four episodes. Thursday was the day of Monica’s funeral, a new day as well, making the last day only running two episodes.
REACTIONS: Chase’s odd eyeroll reaction to Gio being at the funeral; Dante gave NuNu a look when Lucy talked about love.
WHERE WERE YOU THE NIGHT DREW WAS SHOT?: AN EVER GROWING AND UPDATED LIST (UPDATES IN BOLD):
Some descrepencies in the timing of Curtis’ story. Read on.
Earlier that evening - Brick had come and gone, planting the evidence that Drew bribed the judge in the safe.
8:40 pm - Curtis left the police station with Aunty Stella according to the Station Sargeant.
8:45 pm - Michael arrives at The Port Charles Grill; Curtis drops off Aunty Stella at home, but then leaves again.
8:45 - 9:00 pm - Curtis stopped for gas but couldn’t remember at what gas station, but says he can check his credit card statement. HOWEVER, Curtis says it was between 8:30 - 8:45 pm, when it’s been previously stated that he dropped Stella off at home at 8:45 pm. Also, the Station Sargeant said Curtis left the station at 8:40 pm. Could this be a clue?
9:00 pm - Alexis pulled into her driveway; Curtis visits Alexis.
9:15 pm - Chase saw Drew at the hospital; Curtis left Alexis’ house and went to The Savoy, but no one saw him because he entered through the back door and went straight to his office; According to Jacinda, that is the time she and Michael left The Port Charles Grill and came back to The Metro Court.
9:20 pm - Kristina and Ava Jerome came by Alexis’ house.
9:36 to 9:47 pm - Drew was on the phone with his DC office.
9:48-10:19 pm Drew is shot.
10:15 pm - Curtis says he went to The Savoy but it was previously stated he went to The Savoy at 9:15 pm.
10:20 pm - The rain stopped.
10:28 pm - Tracy called 911 from Drew’s house.
10:30 pm - Willow came back to the hospital.
10:30 pm - Approximate time Michael left The Port Charles Grill and went “right home” afterwards (what he told the police); According to Jacinda, this is the time Michael left The Metro Court after being with her.
10:50 pm - Jordan and Curtis meet at The Brown Dog, where Curtis says he stayed until after Midnight.
11:20 pm - Approximate time Kristina and Ava left Alexis’ house.
11:20 pm - Dante comes by Alexis’ house.
After Midnight - Curtis returns home.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK:
“Oh, Monica. Do you ever come across a pantsuit you didn’t love?” - Tracy, looking through pictures of Monica.
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“Could any of the others squatting in this house answer the front door? No. Nobody hears the front door, however, if the oven door opens, there’s a stampede.” - Tracy, after the doorbell rings.
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“I saw his brain in a jar.” - Anna, referring to Cesar Faison being dead.
“Are you sure it was HIS brain?” - Nina
“Uh, yeah. 99 percent sure. - Anna
“Okay, I don’t like those odds.” - Nina
*************************************************************************************************************”Your presence is neither required, nor desired, in fact, it’s detested.” - Tracy to Drew as she wheels him out of the church.
“You worked so hard. Now rest.” - Laura, as they dedicate Monica’s plaque at General Hospital.
LOOK WHO’S BACK: Marshall (aka Hat Daddy aka Marsh-Mellow) and he ain’t playing - he wants to make sure that “Congressman Cutthroat” pays.
FASHION: Hat Daddy was also wearing a new hat - many identified it as a beret but it is actually a scally cap, also known as a herringbone cap, a peakly dudley, walrus hat or simply a flat cap, distinguished by its rounded design and small, stiff brim in the front. The herringbone design is an arrangement or design consisting of columns of short parallel lines, with all the lines in one column sloping one way and all the lines in the next column sloping the other way so as to resemble the bones in a fish, used especially in the weave of cloth or the placing of bricks.
NAME DROPPING: Obviously, Monica; Cesar Faison; Yuri; Laura namedrops Mom Lesley, who is sick and cannot make the funeral (which makes me think we’ll start preparing for her “death” on the show any day now).
NOTE: Britt got a note about taking her medicine, with a box full of medicine. The note was signed “C.”.
SPREADING THE NEWS: Michael broke the sad news to Carly and Sonny, who were generous in their remembrances of Monica.
ROMANCE: Gio and Emma’s kiss was interrupted, by his mother, no less.
FUN FACTS: It’s about a five hour plane ride from Port Charles, NY to Atlantic City, NJ, about a six hour drive, or a ten hour bus or train ride. Lois only had to drive two hours to Atlantic City from Bensonhurst, or she could take a bus or train, at a little under three hours; Monica was Chief-of-Staff several times in GH history: 1998-1999, 2008-2009, 2011-2013, and 2016-2020, for a total of 12 years.
So, did you go through multiple tissue boxes this week or were you just kind of meh? Weigh in with your comments!
Oh my gosh. You've outdone yourself on this one! Is it a full-time job for you now, David? 😊 We appreciate these detailed recaps so much. And I'm glad to see that things that "make me go hmmmm..." are the ones you notice too. You give us all the feels and all the details. You're a treasure.
Tracy and Jason are the family relationship I didn’t know I needed. Kudos to whoever decided to have him less in Carson’s orbit and more integrated into the Qs. And PTL those two weren’t at the funeral!