Wednesday, August 15, 2007
At the cottage, Gwen and Will were still curled up in their cozy little Bubble of Baby Bliss, hoping Iris wouldn't burst it. In fact, Iris was at Al's, delighted to see her "pride and joy" son Cole, who reported that he'd seen his sister Gwennie, but she hadn't seen him. During their chat, we learned that Cole's memories of drunken, shoplifting Mommie Dearest aren't so different from Gwen's, but he was still being somewhat nice to her because he wanted a favor: financial help launching his music career. Her wide grin disappeared at that; she assumed that his whole reason for being in town was to get close to his recording artist kin (especially when she spotted Gwen's CD in his bag) but Cole swore that's not the case: "She may be my sister, but I hardly even know her." She didn't believe that for a second, and after refusing to give him some money, she also demanded to be in on whatever con he was planning against Gwen. "That would be your department," he said. "I taught you better!" she responded, but he answered that the only thing he learned was that the one person he can count on his himself, and he doesn't need to see his unsupportive mother ever again. Later, he spotted Gwen at the Lakeview and paused for a minute, though she didn't see him. He was about to approach her when another employee asked her to sign an autograph for a guest's daughter.

Caught in a comforting embrace, Aaron introduced Sofie to Alison, who immediately, snakily assumed that he "didn't waste any time." Aaron replied that he doesn't need her permission to hug someone and after some more arguing, he eventually confessed that he's not ready for a new relationship anyway. Once they cooled down, they agreed that they both have the right to see whoever they want. Aaron then ran into Sofie again, who wondered if his girlfriend got the wrong idea. He so emphatically insisted that Alison is his ex-girlfriend that Sofie smiled and said, "But you still love her, right?" True, he admitted, so she urged him to forgive Ali. Meanwhile, Alison had left her cell phone at the cottage; when Will met her to return it (after soothing another of Gwen's perhaps hormonal bouts of jealousy), her frustration over Aaron led her to make the silly mistake of insulting "little Miss Sunshine" Gwen for being screwed up at one point. Will shut that commentary down like the madly devoted husband he is, and urged her to watch it or else she'll lose the only friends she's got. He was astute enough to realize her lashing out was due to misdirected anger and she apologized. But she still can't imagine Gwen ever being her buddy again, or even him, what with how the whole porn thing seemed to freak them out and all. Will kindly said it was a bit shocking to hear, but he doesn't go around introducing himself as a former psych ward resident. Ali took partial responsibility for that (though why she would is unclear unless she's blaming herself for the early damage to his young psyche that Barbara eventually "nurtured" to the "murderous" point.) Anyway, "If I can turn my pathetic life around, so can you," he said awesomely.

Shortly after "Mr. Montgomery," a.k.a. Paul, learned from the doctor that Rosanna's not improving, she woke up. A thrilled Paul told her about how she revived him from psychic comaland, which is why he's there. "So what else is new?" she asked hilariously, before nervously wondering what's wrong with her. He broke it to her that she's been asleep for awhile in the Swiss clinic, but hedged when she pushed for more details. Suddenly, she panicked upon realizing that she had something important to tell someone, but couldn't remember what. As he tried to calm her mounting hysteria, it hit her. "I have to save your sister before it's too late," she finally cried.

Craig and Meg met with a lawyer to discuss annulling of their annulment, for the sake of the company. "My wife is the original boardroom romantic," grimaced Craig, who learned that tearing up the papers was enough to maintain their status as Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery. After the lawyer left, Meg came across some paperwork regarding Rosanna and grilled Craig about why he's been lax about dealing with his comatose ex's medical needs. That, of course, led to more questions about his involvement in Ro's accident. He argued that Paul, Margo and "half this town" tried and failed to prove that he tried to kill Rosanna, but he insisted that he just chased after her to talk to her. When Meg defended Paul's obsession with taking him down for the crime, Craig pointed out that all their troubles were about their mutual love for Rosanna. Meg eventually relented and said she believed him, so he tearfully admitted that perhaps he was a little rash that night, which is why he didn't have "the guts" to visit Rosanna. At her suggestion that now might be a good time, he claimed that he's a new man, thanks to Meg, so there's no need. He then asked if they could start over as husband and wife, and not just in name only this time.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Brad eavesdropped as a tearful Katie called Margo for news about missing-in-action Jack. Once she was off the phone, he gave her a hug, assured her that everything was going to be fine and shot down all of the worst-case scenarios she could think of. From her car, Carly also checked in on Jack by calling an Idaho cop at the hospital. He reported that Jack's fine, but also urged her not to go after J.J. But if she didn't listen to Jack, she surely wouldn't listen to that random guy — Carly headed straight for The Jagged Edge and broke open Kit's lock-box. She was talking to herself about the clue she'd just found (by doing the old trick of gently penciling over the impressions on a pad of paper to find out what was written on the sheet that was torn off) when Kit returned. Back in Oakdale, with Brad upstairs taking a shower, Katie had no one to curb her mounting panic about Jack, so she called Carly — and the ringing cell phone alerted Kit to her intruder. After being ordered to answer the phone, Carly told Katie that it's not a good time to talk, but everything is "peachy" — and hung up on her. Carly then tried feeding Kit a bad cover story, but the barmaid wasn't buying it, so Carly smugly broke the news that Silas blew up the cabin, which means the whole area is swarming with cops. Then, her patience waning with her son still missing, Carly just hauled off and slapped Kit, eventually knocking her out in the awkward fight that followed. By the time Kit came to, she was tied to a chair. That foe handily defeated, Supermom turned to the task of rescuing her son. Geez, it's like Jack was just dragging her down before.

Brad came back downstairs just in time to hear Katie's tirade about Carly, followed by the first of many neurotic breakdowns. Good time for a distraction, thought Brad, suggesting that they start cleaning, something about which can be, he claimed, a "whole Zen thing." His strategy, as it turned out, was to distract her by annoying her. That went out the window when she realized the drain was clogged. Brad hilariously blamed the kids, then came to "help" but Katie's engagement ring ended up dropping down the garbage disposal. And considering Katie's obsessive belief in signs, this one sent her into DEFCON 1 meltdown mode. Brad fished out the mangled ring and calmed her continued freak-out by noting that the diamond wasn't scratched (even analogizing it to Jack, who's also solid as a rock). She was grateful for his efforts to keep her somewhat sane, and they had a nice moment when he sweetly noted that he's just glad to be part of her life.

Sofie intervened before Cole and Aaron could get violent and defended her boyfriend again, even giving Cole a kiss to "prove" that everything's fine. For his part, Cole couldn't care less about what Aaron thinks, and took off to buy some CDs, leaving her alone with her co-worker. Aaron apologized for putting Sofie on the spot, but wondered whether she would be questioning her relationship. "I can't," she responded cryptically. Aaron chased after her to find out why, so she backtracked that she doesn't want to leave Cole because she loves him. "Cole would never hurt me," she insisted, crying about how a creative type like her boyfriend seems like he's got a big ego, but he's very sensitive. Aaron still thought she was holding something back and after she danced around the truth for awhile, it dawned on him that she's pregnant. Alison arrived in time to see him give Sofie a comforting hug.

"You know how I love almost everything about you?" asked Will of Gwen, who waited to learn the one thing he doesn't: her stressing over Iris. They were discussing Mommie Dearest when a shifty Alison stopped by with a plant and an apology. While Gwen got them a drink, Ali confided in Will about her troubles. He offered his unconditional support, citing her kindness during one of the most screwed-up portions of his life. Gwen listened as they reminisced about his old creepy, crushy behavior. She then interrupted to offer her friendship as well, though she seemed to be battling her jealous instincts. Once she left after thanking them profusely, Will noted his surprise that Gwen would ask Alison to hang out with them. His wife did it for him, of course, adding that she admires the way he doesn't judge people. "You go off with skinny, beautiful Alison and do whatever you want," she half-joked, copping to her envy. After he reiterated his love and devotion, the talk turned to Iris again. Will again promised to keep his mother-in-law at bay. And since he's got no money left, he wondered why she'd want to stick around anyway. We were about to find out: Cole met Iris at Al's. "How are you doing, Mom?" he said, with a huge grin on his face, almost like even he was aware of what a fun, awesome surprise this connection would be.

Monday, August 13, 2007
Gwen and Will — high on the bliss of impending parenthood — headed to Al's to sate Gwen's milkshake craving. There, their baby buzz was killed by a just-returned Iris. They tried for about a minute to hide Gwen's pregnancy, but Iris could tell by looking at her daughter that she's got a bun in the oven — she snatched the poorly concealed sonogram shot off the table and started squealing with delight. Gwen and Will quickly made it clear that Iris will have nothing to do with her grandkid. "It's your loss," she shrugged, slithering off. Gwen sadly lamented not having a mom or someone else to confide in about what to expect while she's expecting. "I think in her own insane way, she loves you," noted Will (who knows a thing or two about maternal affection gone awry), but promised to keep Iris away. Iris, meanwhile, left a message for someone about how things in Oakdale will be more interesting than she thought.

On the phone with Sofie, Cole was acting like what has become his typical surly self when she suggested they meet for dinner to discuss something. Aaron couldn't help but overhear, and Sofie confided that her beau is a frustrated (but "really good") songwriter. Aaron bristled at her suggestion that Cole's stalled career is cause for him to be so jerky, but Sofie insisted that he can actually be sweet when they're alone. Aaron then offered to escort Sofie to her Old(e) Town(e) rendezvous with Cole, who was of course late because he's one of those creative types. Aaron offered to wait with her, while he did, he admitted he's not exactly qualified to dispense love advice. That was her cue to sweetly wonder why anyone would leave a nice guy like him. He was about to explain that it was him who did the dumping of Alison when Cole showed up and she hilariously cut off Aaron's musings to run into her boyfriend's arms. Cole was cold to the point of speechless to Aaron, who stuck around to spy on the angst-y artist snapping at Sofie for having the nerve to suggest that he take a break to eat dinner with her, then intervened when the fight got more intense. Cole most certainly did not appreciate that, and it looked like the boys were about to come to blows.

Brad was losing big time against poker ace Katie (who must have learned some skills from Henry), and ended up drunkenly stripping to his boxer-briefs. He passed out not long after she suggested he'd been drinking too much. He soon woke up, though, and instantly made a leaning, lurching pass; Katie took her time extricating herself from his unsteady embrace. Once he passed out again, she left a loving message for Jack. Brad amusingly continued to wake up and pass out again at random, so she put a blanket on him, gave him a tender kiss on the forehead, and took off.

Upon discovering that Silas and Ava kidnapped a cop's kid, Kit had a hissy and ordered them all out, which really seemed to hurt Ava's feelings. Meanwhile, Jack and Carly's attempts to free their bonds weren't working until Jack suggested that they literally put their heads together so that he could get to the bobby pin in her hair. (Having apparently run out of their own memories to revisit, they're now also touching on some of Katie and Simon's finest moments, though Carly and Jack put a far more serious spin on the situation.) After lots of wiggling, they managed to get the pin into Carly's hand, just as Silas returned and argued about family values. "Les Sweeney was my friend ... so in turn I plan on doing right by the boy." That means raising him the way Les would have. Jack pointed out that Les beat the kid, but he understands about honoring dead friends, noting that he just lost his not too long ago. But Silas was intent on being a great father to J.J., so he doused the kid's parents with gas and set the place on fire. Carly started shrieking, while Jack urged her to calm down (so she wouldn't inhale too much smoke, among other things) and focus on giving him the pin so he could pick the handcuff lock. He managed to free them, then promptly passed out. Luckily, Carly recovered from her panic in time to practically carry him out, just before the cabin exploded. Her additional lifesaving attempts were limited to begging and bad CPR, but luckily the FBI, having seen the explosion, showed up right away with the paramedics. Jack came to, and groggily said, "I need you" to his ex. Disappointingly for her, he finished that sentence after the commercial: "... to go home." He insisted that their other kids need her now, and it's too dangerous for her to stay. "Promise me that you'll go home," he begged before being loaded into the ambulance. She couldn't do that, vowing instead to put their family back together.

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