The real question isn't why Ethan always restocks the bar when he's nervous about something; the real question is why he restocks the bar at all. The Haunted Star's name must scare off superstitious patrons because there is never anyone in that joint drinkin' and gamblin'.
I live in driving distance of Vegas, not to mention there are a plethora of casinos in the greater San Diego area so I have been into many such establishments. Let me tell you, they always have people in them. Go to Vegas at 3 in the morning to the skuzziest casino you can find. You know the kind of joint I mean, right? The kind that sells .49 cent shrimp cocktails made of tiny canned shrimp and ketchup for sauce. The kind that sells .99 cent margaritas that are basically lemon slushies with a thimbleful of tequila tossed in on top. The kind of casino that has haggard looking waitresses in their 60's still baring their wrinkly cleavage. I'm talking about the kind of establishment that has a vague aroma in every corner that's a mix of stale beer, cigarettes, and vomit.
And guess what? You will still find people in there gambling anytime of the night and day. But in Luke's lovely riverboat Haunted Star casino, there are no customers. Ever. Sometimes one of Luke's friends will drop by and they play a hand of cards while shooting the breeze with him. But on any given day, Luke and Ethan are standing behind the bar to wait on... no one at all. I realize cash is at a minimum in the soap world right now, but geez, hire a couple of extras to stand at the roulette wheel and spin it once a week. Make it a contest and let the winners go one for a cameo; you won't even have to pay them! Heck, I will drive to L.A. and pretend to gamble at the Haunted Star and drink a fake cocktail that's really iced tea.
Okay, enough amusing myself (and hopefully you, too.) Back to business. Ethan IS Luke's son, or so Holly says today. Tomorrow she might claim he's half kangaroo, we just don't know. But according to all reports, this is the final official revelation. The Artful Dodger is Luke Spencer's son.
You know my favorite part about this whole storyline? It's brought Tony Geary back to life again. He has been more engaged and fully present in his scenes with Ethan than he has in years. The chemistry between Geary and Nathan Parsons is off the charts. That old twinkle in Luke Spencer's eye is back and not a minute too soon.
The show has been a downer for a very long time, and suddenly, there are little bursts of energy and pockets of hope. Last week I found myself smiling a lot when I watched. For instance, Robin came home and ... I liked her. She picked up her baby. She was nice to her husband. She smiled that magical Kimberly McCullough smile and I thought "Oh yeah, there's the girl I used to love." Like in the movie Hook where the Lost Boys have to pull back the wrinkles on Peter Pan's face before they recognize him. Whatever they did in the PPD Rehab worked, Robin is healed.
And because Robin smiled, Patrick smiled and he certainly deserves it, doesn't he? (Not to mention that I am exceedingly fond of Jason Thompson because he was nice to me one day when I was acting like a stalker.) Baby Emma smiled too, and it was precious even though I would never pick her up myself even if they sent me to rehab because babies vomit on people.
Question. Why do McCall and Jackal P.I. have the phone from my Mom's kitchen in 1968 in their detective agency? Wouldn't Jason spring for enough to get them a cordless phone? Just asking. Another point, the only cases they have worked so far are pity cases from their friends. I heard Sam take a call from a woman trying to catch a cheating husband, but he could be out cheating right now because Sam is out with Jason making Fredo squeal on Claudia instead of taking the one real case she had.
And now that Jason has his proof, what will he do with it and what will come of it? Nu-Michael has buddied up to Claudia and Sonny is pleased that Michael actually found someone he can relate to. Sonny went so far as to tell Claudia that she might be just the thing Michael needs. Once Jason shares the proof of Claudia's guilt with Sonny, will he let Jason do anything about it?
I bet not. Claudia has two free passes now, she is knocked up with Sonny's kid (or possibly Ric's) and Michael bonded with her over Zombie movies. I actually thought Sarah J. Brown and Drew Garrett were adorable together. Side note...I can hardly wait until they remove his bandages and see if there is red hair underneath.
On the other hand, I feel for Carly. The rejection is killing her. The son she prayed for and wept over and fought for all these months has no use for her. She knows she should be going to visit her son, but she ahs been asked now by his doctor not to go and agitate him. Hey Mom's out there, can you imagine how that would feel if your kid was in the hospital and didn't want to see you? Ouch. Laura Wright is doing an amazing job conveying the pain and frustration of Carly's circumstance. Can you believe she didn't get an Emmy nod?
Carly made the most of a bad day however and got an explicit permission slip from sex addict Dr. Lee (no really, she is, they showed it on Night Shift.) to have sex with Jax during her pregnancy. So, when Michael kicks Carly out of his room, she can still get laid by Jax, so it's a win/win for all involved, I'd say.
Has anyone noticed that Kate's cousin Olivia who has been in town for a year (after being invited to a wedding but never left) has completely taken over Kate's life? Kate used to be Jax's confidant, now it's Olivia. Kate used to be the person Sonny talked to about his deep feelings, now it's Olivia. Kate has simply vanished from the Port Charles landscape.
Every now and then she walks into the Crimson office and barks orders at Maxie and Lulu, but other than that, her character evaporated into dust. Did Megan Ward piss someone off at ABC? Mind you, I like Olivia, I just find it curious that Kate has basically been erased. Of course, on the up side of this, Kate would never have had a steamy fling with Johnny Zacharra, so Go Olivia!
On the creepiness factor, Rebecca is moving into the pretty creepy range. Posing herself in Emily's clothes, with Emily's blankie and book was a little too coincidental. I have to side with Elizabeth on this one. Women can always see through other women's games before men do. Rebecca is up to something, but with whom and why we still don't know.
We do know she is calling someone and giving progress reports to some invisible partner. Is it Helena? Maybe it's Crazy Nanny Colleen coming back to steal Spencer? Perhaps it's Stefan or Stavros back from the dead again? If we want to go all Dark Shadows, it could be Ghost Alan and Ghost Emily? Who knows? But now that Alexis has that ace detective Agent Raynor working on the case, I'm sure we will know soon.
I keep trying to imagine Nikolas' circumstance. Imagine if someone you loved died, and their identical twin showed up out of the blue and worked where they worked, and befriended their friends, wouldn't you find that a little freaky? Um, YES. Why Nikolas thinks it is perfectly normal just goes to prove he is as wacky as the rest of the Cassadine clan.
On Tamilu's Sweet-O-Meter, the winner this week is when Maxie blew Spinelli kisses on the way out the door and he air grabbed them with both hands and held them up to his face after she left the room. He is adorable and precious and I want him to get the happy ending he deserves.
What will happen tomorrow dear readers? Will Carly and Claudia take Lamaze classes together? Will Ric randomly decide to give up Mob Lawyerin' to move to L.A. to work for Forrester Creations? Will Ethan still taunt Lucky now that he knows they are actually related? Will the Haunted Star offer a free deck of cards to the first 12 people who actually come into the casino to gamble? Will my husband stop insisting that I know some old song called Polk Salad Annie when I don't? Will Luke have Mike create a Chili Buffet at the Haunted Star to lure in hungry gamblers? Will Michael tell Morgan how much he has grown when he finally sees him? When Lucky gets all judgmental about Luke cheating on Laura with Holly will Luke shut him up by reminding Lucky he cheated on Liz with Maxie?
