Friday, August 18, 2006
Barbara tracked down Gwen at Java and went all mother hen on her about the slasher attack, then wondered if her "hero son" was around. Gwen had to break it to her mother-in-law that she left Will for good. Hearing that, Barbara did her best to change her mind, then took off to shake some more sense into Will, who was making out with Jade at the Wagon Wheel. He pulled away, so Jade first disrobed and then slowly started getting dressed in front of him while explaining that she thinks Gwen is probably already moving on with Casey, and how unfair it is that she won't even give Will a second chance. "But if that's what you want, to go after somebody who doesn't want you, who's making a fool of you, then I'm not going to stop you," she said seductively, giving him a light kiss. Will found all of this irresistible and pulled her into his arms — and his bed — again. Post-coitus, he was full of regrets again. "I'm sorry," he told Jade. She indicated that she had a good time, and claimed she's not expecting much from him aside from being "friends with benefits" while she pursues a possible career in fashion (Oakdale is a hub, she can forget about getting an internship with Barbara or Carly). Will gently but firmly stated that he doesn't want the friends or benefits part, since he's planning to focus entirely on winning Gwen back. That's when Barbara started banging on the door. What followed was a fantastically awkward scene in which Babs scolded her son in front of his naked paramour about how cheesy motel sex with a "hussy" like Jade is a huge mistake. Naturally, this sent Will into instant protective mode — he told Jade to put on a nice dress, because he's taking her out. "Your sister would roll over in her grave," hissed Barbara, in a particularly low blow, devastating him. Later, Will had that stressed, distracted look that he gets when he awkwardly accepted Jade's thanks for standing up for her, before taking her out on the town.

Back at Java, Gwen announced that she's thinking about trying to save her marriage, but Casey objected, because he doesn't like the way Will is treating her, possibly projecting his own feelings about Maddie. In fact, he's starting to wonder whether his ex-girlfriend really is the slasher. "I just want to hang out with my friends and enjoy what's left of my summer," he sighed. Gwen didn't think either of them should give up on their relationships. Babs then returned, and was disappointed to find her with Casey. "Ordinarily I would recommend fighting fire with fire, but this is no way to get my son back," she snapped, but Gwen assured her they were just friends and sent her on her way. By then, Casey was ready to get away from all the stress, and invited her to go to a raging party at Raven Lake over the weekend. She balked at first, then agreed to think about it.

Maddie was busy telling a clueless-acting (or maybe just really slow or possibly only psychotic or all of the above) Louis how much she hates him because he raped her. She even grabbed a knife to protect herself; Louis had just overpowered her when Margo and Dallas (having debated whether Maddie was definitely assaulted, delusional and/or the slasher) arrived to question her. After warning her not to say anything or else he'd kill her siblings, Louis let them in, but wouldn't allow Maddie to talk to the cops without a family member present. By then, Henry and Eve arrived, and in front of her entire family, Margo and Dallas told her that they knew there was no frat party. Maddie admitted that while she had been raped, it wasn't someone at the frat party, as Louis watched angrily.

At the Lakeview, Lucy ran into Dusty and thanked him for saving her and gave him baseball tickets and a coupon for babysitting services while he's there. He apologized for blaming her for Jennifer's death (that was fast!). She didn't need an apology; she just wishes she could go back in time. Dusty encouraged her to move on as well.

Parker wasn't thrilled about Simon (on his best, most charming behavior) joining the family at the drive-in movie, and positioned himself possessively between his mother and her new partner. Noting the kid's distress, Simon sent Carly off for snacks and promised Parker that he wants to work with his mother and be her friend, but "that's it." "Keep it that way," responded Carly's sassy son. (J.J., of course, adjusts well to shifting parental figures). The next time we saw them, Simon was still enjoying the flick while the rest of the car slumbered. When Carly woke up, he tenderly told her that he had a good time, then took them all home, carrying little Sage in his arms. Parker and Carly then got a moment alone, in which she noted that Simon's her boss, so she wanted to make him feel comfortable. She then thanked her boss, who gave her a kiss on the cheek before heading home.

Thursday, August 17, 2006
Gwen arrived at a worried Carly's, more upset about her breakup with Will than the serial killer that tried to stab her. "I think I'd better run upstairs and make sure that Jade hasn't stolen my old play book," said Carly when she heard of the other woman's latest moves. She then suggested that Gwen go to the motel and see for herself what the situation is between Jade and Will. The situation was: Will, asleep on the floor when Jade got out of bed in her sporty pink lingerie to nudge him awake so he could check out a "noise" she was claiming to hear in the parking lot. When that turned out to be nothing, she started fretting about his sleeping patterns and nurturing him like a clingy girlfriend. He was annoyed to hear that she had told Gwen about their living arrangements; she countered by noting that Gwen and Casey are "attached at the hip" these days. He tried to kick her out, but she responded that she gave up her own room and reminded him that he committed the same "crime" that she did so he shouldn't be giving her attitude. She then went off to take a shower, which is when Gwen arrived. "If you love me, then maybe you would ask yourself once, just once, 'How is this going to make Gwen feel?' " asked Gwen in her ensuing fight with Will, who insisted that nothing happened. But to Gwen, his continued friendship/heroic behavior with Jade constitutes a lot more than "nothing" and — despite his ill-advised argument that she had a one-night-stand with Casey — told him it was over. An angry Will went back into the room and started turning "nothing" into "something" with a seductive Jade while Gwen went and sobbed on a bench at Java.

Katie was organizing her vitamins and health shakes and managing her temperature and all her get-pregnant stuff over lunch with Nancy, who asked, "Did you ever try lingerie?" and then basically noted that youth is wasted on the young. The thermometer indicated Katie was at prime baby-making temp, she ran off to find Mike. "Don't rush this time. Make sure you enjoy every lovely moment," advised Nancy as Katie did just the opposite, practically disappearing into a puff of smoke to find her hubby. At the work site, a smirking Simon called Mike "Michael" and told him he had to rip down his excellently crafted molding work and re-do it to Carly's new specifications. Mike calmly agreed and got to work, until Katie showed up to announce that they had to have sex right then and there. Simon spied them getting busy on the floor and headed straight to Carly's, so desperate for companionship that he invited himself to go to the drive-in with her and her kids. A (reluctantly) sympathetic Carly finally got him to confess to the horrors he'd just witnessed, and commiserated by telling him about seeing Jack with Eve. Simon felt a lot better getting the ickiness off his chest, and they got ready to take the kids to see a "dancing rooster" movie.

Eve brought Maddie her coffee and bad news: Casey isn't so quick to jump to her defense anymore. When her sister pointed out how many people she still has supporting her, Maddie refused to even allow her to say Louis's name. Maddie eventually denied that Louis had crossed the line with her, and asked her sister to thank him for her. Louis found Henry at the Lakeview bar, where his brother-in-law wanted to make peace "for Maddie's sake." Henry reluctantly listened to his apology/excuses, but finished with "Never put your hands on my sister again." After Maddie left, Eve ran into Jack, and ended up confessing that she's actually afraid of Louis, too. Jack was all understanding and helpful, flirtatiously assuring her that he was "just Jack" not "Detective Snyder," but then made sure that she didn't need to file a police report or anything.

Over at the police station, Dallas told Margo that he never believed Maddie's story about the frat party in Chicago, so he went back to investigate more (which apparently he couldn't do the first time around) and learned that there was no party. "So there was no rape?" asked Margo. Uh, not quite. At that moment, Louis excitedly dropped off a gift for Maddie: the movie poster from her room in Chicago, which of course triggered another flashback. In that weirdly simplistic "friendly" speech, he talked about their "special relationship" until she had a full flashback of him attacking her — and then he got really creepy, talking about how he's been waiting to be alone with her.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006
On the plane home, Simon and Carly congratulated themselves for their successful business trip. Carly told Simon he was right; what happened to Jack is no longer her concern. When they got off the plane, Carly saw Jack in a wheelchair and panicked when she learned he'd been grazed by a bullet. With a glance in Simon's direction, Jack told Carly that she no longer has to worry about him. Simon stopped Carly from bolting after Jack.

As Holden looked on silently, Damian tried to talk to Luke, who railed at his dad for landing Lily in a coma and for conspiring to "straighten him out". After an impassioned tirade, Luke fought off Damian's attempt to hug him. Holden restrained Luke before he got violent. "I had to make sure that this is what you really are," Damian continued in his own defense. "If she dies," Luke said, "it's all your fault." Luke was about to authorize the cops to press charges when Lucy entered. Lucy announced her intent to give a full statement to the police, then implored Luke not to let Damian get away with his misdeeds. Luke said that for his family's sake, he doesn't want his dad arrested — provided Damian goes back to Malta. Damian told Luke it isn't over between them. "The hell it isn't," seethed Holden, getting into Damian's face. Luke took documents from Damian and signed away his inheritance. He also returned the Grimaldi ring against Damian's wishes. "I'm a Snyder," Luke insisted. Damian told Holden that Luke will forgive him; Holden ordered Damian never to come back to Oakdale. Holden, Lucy and Luke hugged. After Lucy left, Luke apologized to Holden for not having seen how Damian was using him. Holden was understanding.... On the plane, a regretful Damian recalled Luke's harsh words.

Henry and Louis bickered over which one of them is in the best position to help Maddie, who glared at Louis but agreed to talk to him privately. Eve defended her hubby to Henry before exiting. Maddie told Louis that she doesn't need his help but he demanded that he tell her where she had been that night. When their confab became heated, Henry intervened. "That's enough!" he barked at Louis. Maddie then revealed that she'd been in the bedroom with Louis at the time Gwen was attacked. Henry demanded that Louis keep his hands off Maddie and noted that his little sister couldn't get away from Louis fast enough. This pushsed Louis over the edge and he grabbed Henry by the collar.

Bob examined Casey, noting that whoever tried to knock him out had meant business. Casey thought back to Maddie's warning, that if he sticks around Maddie he'll end up hurt. Gwen entered, having been given a clean bill of health. Before leaving, Bob told the pair to be careful. Gwen sighed to Casey that her mind is on Jade and Will. Casey went on an anti-Will rant; Gwen told him to cool it. Eve entered and asked after the teens' health. She also tried to find out what they know about their attacker and pressed Casey about whether he's lost faith in Maddie. Casey and Gwen politely excused themselves. Casey told Gwen that Maddie had threatened to harm him physically but that he still loves her and believes to a certain extent that she's innocent. Casey speculated that Maddie is hiding something significant from him as he lamented the on-again/off-again nature of his relationship with her.

At the motel, Will told Jade that he couldn't "do this" anymore. He was upset with Jade for lying to the police, leading Gwen to believe he was with Jade when she was getting attacked. Jade played the "I'm scared" card to get Will to stay the night with her. Will relented. In their room, Jade waxed philosophical about why fate had brought them to this moment. Will tried to resist Jade's flirtiness. She tuned the TV to a slasher flick. Later, Jade told Casey that she and Will are staying together at the motel.

At the hospital, Eve told Jack that someone had tried to do in Casey and Gwen. Eve shared with Jack that she fears Maddie might have been responsible. Carly walked in on a seemingly flirty moment between Jack and Eve. She slipped away unseen and joined Simon for the drink he'd proposed earlier.... Eve opened up to Jack about her relationship with Louis — and Louis's relationship with Maddie.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Dusty held Lucy, called her "princess" and urged her to hang on, while Meg went off to get a shot of adrenaline to help her breathe more easily. Once Lucy was feeling better, Meg went off to warn Jack about Damian while Dusty scolded his ex for being so gullible. She apologized for getting him in so much trouble and he continued to comfort her, this time using endearments like "honey" and "sweetheart." At the hospital, Dusty slipped away when Lucinda arrived to scold and hug.

Paul watched Emily sleep for a second before she woke up and they shared a tender look. The financial genius then sat her down to show off all of the wonderful fixes he made with her books, even noting that The Intruder pulled a profit last quarter, "proving, once again, that the public has an insatiable appetite for junk." That just got her fired up to start paying attention to her day job again. That's when the baby started kicking; Emily invited Paul to feel her belly and called him "Daddy," which led to another charged moment between them as they giggled about how he feels ready for fatherhood and he detailed his "opposite plan" to do the exact opposite of what his instinct tells him in order to be a good parent. Susan interrupted all this cuteness and demanded to know what was up. "Is there no end to your talents?" she asked Paul sarcastically, when Em reported his financial wizardry. After Paul left, Emily was rewarded with a nice, maternal lecture about how she's getting too close to Paul again. Susan was mostly concerned that Paul was "getting to" her daughter again; Em denied it. But alone, she seemed to have been "gotten to" quite well when she talked to her baby about his/her daddy.

At the airport, Holden and Jack got the upper hand on Sergio and Damian, who finally confessed: he needed his son's Grimaldi inheritance to pay off "the syndicate" to end "the vendetta." Damian genuinely tried to explain his twisted motives and pled for forgiveness, but news from the cops of Lucy's injuries didn't help his story. The final straw: "I loved him enough to want to undue the damage you've done, Holden. If I had raised Luke, he would have grown into a man you could be proud of." "I am proud of him," responded Holden. Luke didn't need to hear much more. Soon, Sergio was dragged off to jail, Jack had someone look at his flesh wound and Dallas talked to the D.A. about getting Damian brought up on kidnapping charges while Luke confronted Damian with the realization that he'd been feigning support for his son coming out as a gay man — and that he'd been the one to set up the deprogramming camp, not Lily. Damian argued that Luke couldn't understand his motives because he's not a father. "Neither are you," responded (poor! sweet!) Luke, realizing that he had wrongly blamed his mother for everything.

Will was so flustered and worried about Gwen and the fact that he might now be a suspect that he wasn't getting his story straight to Margo when she asked where he was when the attacks on Gwen and Casey happened. That's when Jade arrived and provided him with an alibi, which he accepted, with a guilty look. Casey continued to insist that Will was likely the slasher and Margo tried to get the kids to calm down so she could conduct a proper investigation, but Jade suggested they just find Maddie, because she's clearly the slasher. Somehow, this accusation led to Margo finding out all the sordid, gossipy details of the teens' love lives. Gwen admitted that Maddie had warned her to stay away from Casey. Outside, Dallas caught a spacey Maddie, who first tried to flee, then claimed that she was frightened when she saw the stalker so she hid. She then kept repeating that she had to talk to Casey about Gwen. Dallas brought her inside before being called away to deal with the airport shoot-out, while the teens added up the current clues: the slasher had a face mask, a hoodie, and was about the size of the previous attacker.. Margo dealt with the crime scene and the need to tell Lucinda about the mess, then got indignant when Jade questioned her decision to let Maddie go home to the Lakeview. There, Henry and Louis had just gotten done clashing over Maddie, with Eve mediating, when Margo brought a skittish Maddie back and suggested that her family keep a close eye on her. Maddie swore to them all that she would never hurt Casey; Louis took her arm and urged her to talk, leaving her eyes cold. Back at Lucinda's cottage, Will begged Gwen to give him a few minutes to talk. He used the time to ask again why they couldn't be together, but Gwen refused to leave with him. A frustrated Will went outside to find Jade, who offered him a place to stay. Ironically, Gwen was inside defending her husband to Casey, with whom she'll be bunking.

Monday, August 14, 2006
In New York, Carly admired a gem-studded necklace of a nearby bar patron. Simon coolly appraised the piece at "over a quarter of a million dollars" which made Carly feel like somewhat of "an idiot." Simon protested, but she wondered why she thought it was "a good idea to go into business with a jewel thief." She then reminded Simon that when he first came to Oakdale, he was trying to "rip off Lily Snyder." He noted that his former illegal activities provided him with the business acumen he has today; she responded that he was a common thief. Offended by the term "common" (and though she didn't exactly issue a challenge) he volunteered to prove his skills by claiming to be able to charm the hapless lady out of her jewelry inside of five minutes. He even asked Carly to document the con with her camera. Four minutes, 37 seconds later ("a new record," Simon bragged gleefully), he presented her with the necklace. Carly, scandalized by his thievery, was flirtatiously expressing her outrage when the woman screamed that she had been robbed. He then pretended to "find" the necklace for the woman, who praised him for his heroics. Carly refused to allow her to reward him with cash. "You are incorrigible," she told him later, finally admitting that she was impressed.

Gwen fended off the slasher admirably and even knocked him/her out, but then in typical horror movie heroine fashion, turned her back on the unconscious killer while calling the police. Naturally, she was attacked again, and passed out while she was being strangled. Will woke her up, saying "when I came in here, there was this guy choking you" and that his arrival scared the attacker away. Casey came to and noted that the slasher was wearing a sweatshirt similar to Will's. Gwen was trying to mediate between the arguing boys when Margo arrived. Casey and Gwen's stories checked out, but Margo had a few extra questions for Will, who got all choked up with his answers. That's when she found a splinter on his sleeve. He noted that he must have gotten it when he came through the window; Casey angrily pointed out that the slasher came in the same way. He also wondered how Will managed to get in without tripping over him as a flustered Will insisted that he's not the slasher. Meanwhile, Dallas found Maddie curled up on a chair outside in the dark.

A concerned Susan worried that Emily wasn't resting enough; Em defended her decision to go back to editing The Intruder, which has been "limping along without me for months" added Em. At the same time, Meg resisted being Svengali-'d by Paul into letting him call her his fianceé and also into calling Susan to ask about Emily's health, suggesting that he figure out a way to deal with it himself and treat the baby like a baby, "not a mission." Even he had to admit that she's tough and seemed positively charmed by her demonstration of backbone, but that didn't make the phone call any easier. Instead, he headed over to Emily's and scolded the mom-to-be about continuing to work. After first snapping that he's the cause of her stress and then apologizing for it, she thanked him for his support. "We've always been able to talk to each other," explained Paul, adding that he hopes they can be friends again for the sake of the baby. "If I overstep, just tell me." Apparently, Craig "has made a mess of things" at The Intruder (well, from jail it must be tough). Paul took a look at her books and instantly determined — thanks to his news-to-us degree in Economics — that she hadn't paid her taxes. She reluctantly accepted his help "just this once." By the time he was done, she was asleep on the couch. As he gently covered her with a blanket, she woke up and they locked eyes.

At the airport, Damian fended off Luke's innocent questions and sent him off to check with the clerk about boarding time. Sergio took that private moment to assure that Lucy wouldn't be tracking them down and to imply that if Luke were to die, the Grimaldi trust would go back to Damian, who didn't take the threat against his son well. "The guy sounds like he's in a bad remake of The Godfather," noted an oblivious Luke. If only he knew how close he is to the truth. At the same time, Jack and Holden spotted them standing there, and decided to check out the plane to Malta before confronting Damian. Jack's old friend from the Academy, a federal agent, arrived and helped them concoct a story that would force Damian to stay in town. Since no one's guarding the planes or runways, Sergio was able to sneak in and eavesdrop on their plotting. He rushed back to Damian and insisted that they find another way to get to Malta. For once, Luke asked a few questions when they tried to get him to run off, so Sergio grabbed him. That's when Jack and Holden finally came back in, and in the ensuing melee, Sergio shot Jack in the arm, grabbed Luke, knocked over the flimsy airline desk and held a gun to the teen's head.

Dusty and Lucy sexily attempted to untie their knots and ended up loosening a gas pipe in the process. Dusty managed to break them out with an axe before the whole cellar exploded. Guess that means the bad guys will have to go back to keeping their kidnap victims at the Old Mill. Once the dust had settled, Dusty woke up to find an unconscious Lucy. He brought her upstairs, where Meg had just arrived with her trusty nurses's bag. Lucy woke up by the time that Dusty came back from shutting off the gas, as Meg fretted that 911 hadn't responded yet (too busy with stalker victims!). Lucy started gasping for breath as she worried about Luke.

2005 recaps