Friday, March 3, 2006
Carly showed up at the Galaxy Club and promptly got fired, thanks to a smirking, unapologetic Nick, who suggested that Carly was using her undercover work as an excuse to spend her nights with him — which earned him a clichéd attempted slap from her. Carly was then sent to change out of her outfit, but told him that it wasn’t over. A bummed Chardonnay offered to help out her work pal with some advice on breaking into the prostitution game, prompting Carly to admit that she’s madly in love with someone. Char guessed it was Nick, since he’s clearly in love with Carly, who acted shocked to hear it, but was prompted to cook up another scheme: "I need you to be me."

Luke admitted to Jade that he thinks about Kevin all the time and he doesn’t know why. Jade was thrilled to hear that he’s in love and was all ready to dish about crushes, but Luke didn’t exactly see it that way. "You don’t understand — I would give anything to not feel this way," he protested, suggesting that Kev will hate him because he’s gay — never mind the fact that he can’t imagine how Holden will react. Jade convinced him that he should give Kev a chance, and offered to help him sneak out to meet his buddy. Holden walked in on them and Luke took off. Jade tattled that Luke’s upset about Holden’s run-in with Kevin, but didn’t rat out Luke for meeting with Kev. Then she added, "I think you were wrong about the gay thing.... I really think you can relax." Luke came back and Holden set up a classic misunderstanding moment by saying he knows the whole story. "Luke it’s okay. I understand and I’m sorry." Before Luke fell into the inadvertent trap, Holden apologized for freaking out Kevin. They exchanged "I love you"s before Holden left and Luke thanked his cousin for her help.

Emily told Paul about Dusty’s bloody wallet being in Meg’s possession and asked how he was involved. He incredulously pointed out that he’s chained to a desk, and wondered why Meg would want to hurt Dusty. "Because she loved him and he dumped her, and unfortunately we both know what that can do to a woman. Trust me, it isn’t pretty." Hal tossed her out before she could pry anymore; on her way out, Jennifer begged Em for any info she has about Dusty’s whereabouts. Emily used the opportunity to throw some more oblique suspicion on Meg, which she did later with Henry. Meanwhile, Hal grilled Paul about Dusty and also helpfully managed to list his baby-switch crimes: obstruction of justice and accessory after the fact, jumping bail. Hal was convinced that Paul is getting locked up even if he doesn’t know where Dusty is, but we think Jessica’s a better lawyer than that. Hal asked him to have mercy on Jen and just reveal where Dusty is. "I can’t do that," said Paul, continuing his cryptic attitude, but when he found out that Emily had implied that someone else was involved in Dusty’s disappearance, he calmly confessed: "I did it. I killed Dusty."

Emma caught Meg tossing the wallet over the bridge, launching a series of poignant scenes between the desperate daughter and her worried mama. "You’re like a nervous cat," Emma scolded, demanding to know what’s going on. Meg begged her not to tell Jack what she saw and got a lecture about lying. A suspicious Jack wandered out onto the bridge and questioned a skittish Meg and a strangely silent Emma, but a call from Nick sent him on his way. "Do you want me to go to jail?" Meg asked. "Do you belong in jail?" asked Emma, guessing that Paul Ryan is to blame for her daughter’s troubles. She and Susan should get together and compare sob stories.

Thursday, March 2, 2006
In a random corner of the Snyder property, Luke confided to Jade that Holden isn't his biological father and that they've just recently begun to have problems, when they used to get along really well. "He didn't have to love me, but he did," said Luke sweetly, as they discussed how he hasn't heard from Kevin, who was at that very moment being threatened by Holden (as Jack stood by) in the Snyder Barn. "If you come anywhere near my son ... you will answer to me," he said menacingly. Once Kev scurried off, Jack questioned Holden's seeming overreaction, and the cousins finally had a heart-to-heart, in which Holden said he thinks that Luke might be gay. "My son has a right to be whatever he wants to be," continued Holden, who claimed to be mostly worried about the discrimination that Luke might face. A supportive Jack didn't think that would be such a big problem, and besides Luke may not even be gay; he urged Holden to "take a step back and wait and see." Jade walked in on Jack and Holden's conversation; after learning that Jade heard him say the "g" word, Holden assured her that he loves his son. She told him that Luke feels the same, and offered to help them reconcile their differences. Later, Holden came in and admitted that he's warming up to Jade.

A terrified Kevin called Luke and, branding Holden a "lunatic," told him they couldn't see each other again. Luke was devastated by the break-up, and waited until Jade and Holden were finished talking to complain to her that his father has ruined everything, because he got dumped. "You love Kevin," she concluded.

Meg was looking at a wallet (which turned out to be Dusty's, smudged with blood) that she had taken from her purse when Emily called to say Paul got arrested. "Who is this?" asked Meg hilariously, and the snark just got even better when they met downstairs, as Emily fished for info about Paul by discussing their various crimes — without letting the fact that she doesn't really have a legal leg to stand on get in her way of her prying. Of course it was all a diversion tactic, as Henry searched Meg's room and found the wallet. Meg caught him there and kicked him out with some feeble excuses, but realized that she got rid of him too easily, so she wrapped it in a plastic bag (better to preserve the DNA and fingerprints!) and tossed it in the river.

"I don't usually solve my problems by hitting people, especially not Dusty — he knows how to fight," Paul told Jen, who demanded to know what he'd done to Dusty, claiming he was acting "like a lunatic" (the second use of that word in one day) by making everyone he loves his enemy. He remained frustratingly coy until Hal picked him up to bring him to the police station. Barbara made sure to hang around to plead her son's innocence to whoever would listen, but Jennifer and Hal were pretty sure that he's guilty. Emily dropped by to further complicate matters for the exasperated chief of detectives. While Hal was playing referee between Jen and Babs, Em managed to sneak into the interrogation room to see Paul, reporting that Meg has Dusty's bloody wallet.

Lily was rummaging through Rose's satin and sequined sundries when Faith came in and said she liked Jade before requesting her usual cookie; after Lily sent her daughter off, the ghost of Rose (sporting a different wig than when she was alive) appeared and told her she was a good mother. The sisters then had a bittersweet chat about Jade and Holden (but Rose wasn't at all curious about how Paul, Dusty or Will are doing).

Wednesday, March 1, 2006
Hal found Paul's bloody cane at the Ryan mausoleum and an unclaimed car in the motel parking lot, while Jennifer was learning that Dusty never took a car to the airport and his luggage is still sitting at the Lakeview front desk. That's right: Dusty's missing. Jen commenced her obligatory freakout, but Hal told his daughter to prepare for the worst, and collected a sample of Dusty DNA. The test came back fast: it is Dusty's blood. Per Oakdale P.D. m.o., Hal will likely waste no time declaring him dead. Jen went straight to her brother's room to shake the truth about Dusty out of him.

A sleeping Paul flinched when Emily touched his face. "Did you come here to finish the job?" he asked. She swore she didn't mean to hurt him, and he assured her that he doesn't hate her. During their eerily calm conversation, he blamed himself for everything that's happened to her, and admitted quite matter-of-factly that he loved her (getting a stunned by deeply grateful look from her). More than ever, Paul believes that she's better off without him. She kind of figured that, but didn't like it anyway. "Do you really think Meg Snyder will ever love you the way I did?" she sniffed. He proceeded to defend Meg to her, in a nice parallel to the way he recently defended Emily to Meg, with whom he insisted he only had a business arrangement. "I will protect her, the same way I will protect you," he said, and he did just that when Jessica showed up. With Emily standing by, he claimed that he had tried to commit suicide (by improbably shooting himself in the chest), and then nursed himself back to health. Jess pointed out that he's right back where he started. "Minus the fianceé," he said, looking at Em. Jessica then asked to be alone with her client — and instantly called him on his tall tale. He was sticking with it, and also keeping mum about what happened at the motel. Meanwhile, in her trip to the Lakeview to meet Henry, Emily managed to delude herself completely. "I saw it in his eyes," she insisted, of Paul's enduring love for her, and glossed over her part in siccing Dusty on Paul, as well as Henry's suggestion that something might have happened to Dusty. Also, she's still not ready to hand over his money. First, she wants Henry to help her figure out what Paul and Meg are up to.

Casey and Maddie dropped by Katie's cottage with some seedlings sent along by Margo. They let themselves in with her key, and within seconds they were making out. Nancy showed up to feed Snickers, and found them on the floor (ignoring the comfy-looking couch). "It's not what you think," complained Casey. "If memory serves, it's exactly what I think," scolded his amused grandmother, shooing them off.

At Java, Will (who still doesn't know his brother is alive because he's not taking Barbara's calls) presented Gwen with a "ring" — a plastic tie from a bag of grapes — and they gushed about their impending marriage, assuming they find a justice of the peace who will marry two 17-year-olds without parental consent. "So I can have a baby in this state, but I can't get married," she noted. Maddie and Casey showed up and overheard the judge talk; Maddie was enchanted by the romance of it all, and badgered Casey to ask Tom for a list of teen-friendly judges. Casey toolishly refused (he's done lying to his parents), then visited his dad and did just what he said he wouldn't. In a nice father/son scene, Tom was skeptical about his son's "class project" on judges, but gave him the info he needs. He went back to Java with the judge's name, and after Will agreed to listen to Casey's "full-frontal rock" over his own preference ("soft, nauseating tunes"), the teens were off to Springfield! Maddie was charmed by the fact that Casey did it all for her.

Tuesday, February 28, 2006
"You should have died. You're better off," Paul told himself in the mausoleum, before Jennifer arrived and he sort of hid. "I know you're here. I know you're close," she said, walking right past him. He eventually revealed himself, and claimed that the motel room was demolished because he couldn't find his car keys. She vacillated between being grateful he's alive and lashing out at him for letting her think he's dead. "Twice you let me believe that someone I love is dead," she spat (actually three times, if you count Paul's 2003 death). "If you can't forgive me, then neither one of us can ever be free," he finally said. Jen noted that he was bleeding from his miraculously un-healable bullet wound just as Hal entered and angrily arrested him for being alive or something (and clearly planned to throw away the key), but did grudgingly agree to stop by the hospital, presumably on the way to the penitentiary. Barbara magically appeared at the hospital when they arrived, and Jen fretted that Paul really did try to kill himself, but failed. Babs was just bummed that she couldn't blame James for everything. Then Jessica (Hey Jessica!) arrived to start her massive defense job for Paul's as-yet-unnamed crimes. "[Jennifer's] never gonna forgive me," a stunned Paul cryptically told Jess. Outside, Jen took a second to give Dusty a call, but he hadn't checked in to his hotel room yet. That's when Hal came up with more news: most of the blood in the motel room wasn't Paul's. Uh-oh.

In Meg's car, Jack broke it to Meg that the cops know that she helped Paul and promised that he was there as her cousin, not a cop. "Whatever you've done, it can be undone," he said tenderly in one of several scenes between them that was truly awesome, but would have been even more so if we'd seen these two characters together more often. He then wondered why she would help someone like Paul Ryan; she admitted that it was to hang on to Dusty. "You know what that's like, don't you Jack? To sell your soul for the person you love?" she responded stubbornly. Oh, enough with Jack "selling his soul" already — Carly's not Satan!

But speaking of, Nick demanded to know about the number and address he found, which is in a seedy neighborhood. She claimed it was one of the strippers' numbers, but the disbelieving cop maligned Jack for allowing his wife to do his dirty work, which of course just set her off. That only made him threaten to have Jack taken off the case. She successfully convinced him not to because Jack's job problems are all her fault, so he took her precious number that will "break the case," but grossly offered to let Jack stay on the force if she "gave [him] what he wanted."

Back in the Snyder Farm parking lot or wherever, Meg's soul comment brought out the tough love from Jack, who even snatched her phone in case Paul was calling (it was Emma). Then his rang — it was Hal, with news that they found Paul, but Meg shouldn't leave town. Once Jack left, Meg found her fake passport, then talked to herself about how they'll catch her, then told herself to burn her passport (inside her car, without cracking a window), then had a bunch of flashbacks to the conversation she just had with Jack, then grabbed a moist towelette to rub the blood (!) off of her previously gloved hands.

For a minute, it looked like Nick might have some icky request for Carly, but he just wants her to stay away from his case. She agreed, but obviously was lying. She went back to the computer, but it was too confusing for her to figure out how to re-find the address she just wrote down. Jack came home and they over-celebrated the fact that Nick was wrong about Paul being alive.

Katie was perusing Brides magazine and canceling her wedding flowers when Nancy arrived to announce that she has engaged the Clark Reception Hall and Gardens (what, the Lakeview's not good enough?), which caused Katie to burst into tears. Nancy decided that Katie needs "a project" to keep her busy. That only led to gossip about Nick and Carly. "That girl is real trouble," declared Nancy. Jeez, no love for Carly today! It turns out Nancy is still sore about being used by Carly to set up Gwen. When she explained the circumstances, Katie (hilariously) was impressed by how "smart" that was of Carly. Delighted to have all the "dirt," Katie was ready to rush off to tell Nick. Nancy left her with some parting advice: "Crying makes the eyes get flabby. Best to avoid it, particularly when it isn't necessary," to which Katie asked if Nancy would adopt her. (Nancy responded that she already has.) At home, Katie was cleaning up after Nick when she found a handkerchief with Carly's lipstick, which he angrily threw away. When she pushed him, he said he never wanted to talk about Carly again. Nick's T-shirt said "One Hit Wonder." We're just reporting the facts here.

Monday, February 27, 2006
A nosy Katie confronted Nick about his undercover work with Carly, and during their moving conversation, which took us into a sliver of her kitchen that we haven't seen before, Nick claimed that Carly was just trying to make ends meet and doesn't want Jack to know that she's been moonlighting. Katie noted that Carly was a world-famous fashion designer and could easily get another job. Which was our point exactly every time she and Jack were whining about finances. After she annoyed him by again suggesting that he's behaving less-than-honorably with Mrs. Snyder, Nick went off to get some answers from Carly, while Mike (!) called to check on Katie with some bad news: Mark has been injured on the job, so he'll be gone for longer than expected. Katie sadly sent along a thousand kisses and didn't tell him about all the Nick drama.

When a weary Jack came home complaining about what a moron Nick is, Carly gave him a back rub, a beer and vague reassurances that "everything" would be okay with his case. (Because she somehow thinks she's going to crack the case on her own and give Jack the credit, or something like that.) She was maybe about to tell him what she's up to when Hal called to summon him to the motel. Carly looked at the number she got from Anatoly the Thug's pocket and fantasized about handing it over to Jack and saving his career. Since Carly never did have time for computer classes, she then asked Parker with help in looking up a reverse phone book online, and got the info she apparently needs. That's when Nick showed up and menacingly talked about how she's been "playing" him, then pushed his way in and started rifling through her papers. He found Anatoly's number and demanded to know what she's been holding out on him.

Poor Hal, always the last to know, arrived to find Jen in hysterics because Paul's motel room was in shambles. There was some blood around. Jack arrived and after giving him his rightful apology (Jack, you surely recall, was the only person who believed that Paul was alive), Hal sent Snyder off to get answers from his cousin, Meg. Hal went to check with the motel manager, as a just-arrived Barbara and Jen flailed about in the crime scene (despite Hal's warnings that they not do so) wondering what had happened to Paul. "Someone has hurt my son," announced Barbara ominously, picking up "Frenchy" Paul's beret and glasses and blaming ... James Stenbeck (he is known for disguises and silly clues).

Henry ran into Emily, who he noted was "shaking like a fern." She nervously confessed that she had sent Dusty after Paul. After they discussed her jealousy issues, especially involving Meg, he urged her to get out of the country. Instead, a suddenly, chillingly calmer Emily decided to stick around. "I'm gonna keep my mouth shut and wait," she said cryptically. When he asked what she was waiting for, she said, "I don't know. Maybe we'll all just be surprised."

"How could this have happened?" murmured a distraught (and also shady) Meg, as she had what appeared to be a flashback of Paul following Dusty out of the motel. She was so caught up in it that she nearly ran off the road near the Snyder Farm. Emma found her in her car, looking like she might vomit. It didn't take long for Meg to break down in her Mama's arms. "Sometimes I feel like you set the bar so high I can't even reach it," she sobbed. Emma reassured her that she loves her just as she is, and urged her to take responsibility for everything she's done. Meg was still just sitting there in her car later when Jack popped by and asked to talk about Paul.

When Hal came back to Paul's room, he tried to calm both Babs and Jen — who had worked each other up into a bit of a frenzy — until Jennifer suddenly realized where Paul might be, and took off. Suddenly, we were at the Ryan Mausoleum, where there was blood everywhere: on Paul's cane, the doorknob, the bench, the walls — and Paul, who sat with indeterminate injuries in the corner.

2005 recaps