Friday, December 2, 2005
Evangeline learned that Bo survived the shooting at the police station. Hugh filled her in on the details. He added that Carlo Hesser might be holding John and Cristian hostage. He also told her that Todd Manning "might be selling you a bill of goods." Evangeline didn't believe Hugh. Evangeline headed out when Marcie came in and got the news regarding Bo. Michael happened to be there and asked questions about John. Michael also asked about Natalie's whereabouts. "I hope she's not riding this thing out alone." Marcie offered to sit by Michael but Michael wasn't interested. "I am here now, Natalie is not." How come nobody knows where Natalie is?" Michael asked. Hugh left for a meeting and Marcie brought Michael a cup of coffee. Michael admitted to being worried about John. Then Evangeline rushed in and they learned that Natalie had been taken hostage. Michael and Evangeline headed out to Statesville.

Todd, unshaven and miserable behind bars, was waiting for Blair. Blair, though, dropped by Spencer's, who greeted her sans shirt. He quickly got dressed as Blair snooped around his hotel room. Spencer said that a hotel was a poor substitute for a real home. Blair agreed but added a home wasn't much when it began "falling apart." Blair admitted that Spencer had been right when she overheard that Jackie had been hired to kill Margaret. She also mentioned her phone message from Ginger — "He's not who you think he is" — and Blair said that Ginger might be talking about him (Spencer). Blair told Spencer that David blames him for the wedding debacle. Blair brought up Spencer's argument with Ginger. Spencer, an expert liar, talked his way out of everything brilliantly. Blair bought it. Spencer explained that Ginger had massive internal injuries. Knock knock. Paige dropped by to thank Spencer for saving Bo. Blair's eyes widened and all was forgiven in Blair's mind. Blair left with a very "isn't Spencer great" smile and she even apologized for all her semi-accusations. Paige eavesdropped with that suspicious look on her face. "I appreciate that you are so decent," were Blair's parting words. Paige reminded Spencer of a past surgery, that we the viewers apparently don't know of. Spencer chuckled and denied killing that patient, and reminded Paige that she killed him. And now we've learned that that's whaat Spencer is holding over her head. Paige asked why Spencer couldn't get over this vendetta over Bo and his family. Spencer said he'd never ever give those up. And when Paige left, he added, "I'll get to you on the price for saving your boyfriend."

Back to the prison. Evangeline dropped by with bad news: The judge denied her request for a continuance. Evangeline doesn't think she'll be ready because, "I quit. Margaret was dead before she hit the water," Evangeline stated. Todd denied that, claiming she was alive when she fell off the boat. Todd couldn't explain Evangeline's evidence. "I didn't strangle her," he stated. Evangeline left and then Blair arrived. Blair told Todd that she had found out about Todd hiring a hitman. "So do I know everything now, Todd?" "Full disclosure," Todd assured her and then told Blair that the trial was happening sooner than later. Blair suggested lying on the stand. Todd suggested she marry him tonight. Blair said okay. Then Hugh arrived (busy there outside of Todd's cell). "Is this the Manning version of a shotgun wedding?" Hugh said he didn't need Blair's testimony. Blair learned that Margaret Cochran had been strangled, and that Todd knew it. Blair stormed off, aghast Todd had kept the truth from her.

Haskell held a gun to Natalie, while she rattled off his litany of recent crimes, including Haskell being the reason Bo got shot. Haskell dragged Natalie into the prison while she tried to convince him he could still be a hero. Harlan learned that Natalie had been taken hostage and panicked. Natalie came face to face with Carlo, who seemed thrilled to see her and made it clear he planned to use her as a weapon. Evangeline and Michael showed up and demanded that things get done. "Can you tell us for a fact that the hostages are still alive in there?" Harlan said, "I can't." Evangeline seemed very upset and muttered to Michael, "I can't lose the man I love."

Cristian hovered around Carlo and his merry band of inmates. John tried to dislodge himself from the mounds of concrete pinning him down. A few of those inmates came across John and waved a gun in front of him and then set off his gun to alert the others. However Cristian arrived on the scene and manage to knock those two guys off and then got John from under the concrete. Instead of thanking Cris, John said, "I thought I told you to get out of here." John and Cristian began going through the halls, then they heard Carlo's voice saying there would be entertainment: tonight's feature is "Damsel in Distress" staring Natalie Vega. At those words, John and Cristian just looked at each other. They then heard Natalie's cries and Carlo said they'd wait to see if John and Cristian were "still among the living." John and Cris got there and grabbed Haskell, then Cris and Natalie made eye contact and it was confirmed (for a brief yet tender moment) that Cristian was indeed Cristian. John offered to take Natalie's place. Natalie told them that Carlo only had one bullet left. Carlo made Natalie decide whether John or Cristian would go "to their great reward." Fade to the weekend.

Thursday, December 1, 2005
Much to the relief of all the Buchanans in the waiting room, Spencer came out of the operating room that with news that Bo had made it through surgery. Leading up to that last-minute announcement, there was much drama and many tender moments. Asa (no surprise here) kept barking orders and made sure everyone knew who was a real Buchanan and who was not. Example: Matthew yes, Kelly no. Adriana tried to comfort Duke, but he rejected her only to profess his love for her about 45 minutes later (episode time). Adriana found Rex (who considers Bo his "uncle" though he's by no means a real Buchanan) and they both took Matthew under their wing. Rex and Matthew went to the chapel. Matthew showed Rex how to pray. "Please don't let me live alone," Matthew said. Those scenes were very charming...and this recapper isn't a big fan of the "chapel in hospital scenes."

Clint brought Niki home and almost fell for Niki pretending to be Viki. Niki tried her best to maneuver Clint into bed, but he wasn't interested. "Are you dead or something?" she barked. Clint got a call about Bo so he headed to the hospital and gave Nash the keys to watch over Niki. Niki offered to make a deal with Nash. Maybe they could both work together to both get what they wanted. Nash reminded her that he had made a promise to Jessica. Jessica, Niki reminded him, was now sleeping with Antonio. That struck a nerve, but Nash wasn't changing his mind. Not yet.

Antonio kept Jessica company in Jessica's room, as Jessica tried to explain why they needed to keep Tess and Niki alive to help her. (This is about as confusing to recap as it must be for Antonio and Nash to understand.) Jessica tried to explain to Antonio that locking her up made the Tess side of her stronger. Antonio confessed that if he doesn't watch Jessica, he'll lose her. Antonio was about as confused as Nash was the previous day. Jessica learned that Viki had let Niki out to help her and Jessica worried that they may have lost Viki forever.

The violence continued at Statesville. John escaped from Carlo's clutches and ran into (literally) Cristian who had left Hayes for dead. But Hayes wasn't quite dead when Cris left; in fact he managed to drag himself to the airshaft and set the bomb to go off when Cristian would return. That last act before dying worked. Cristian did trip the wire and a bomb went off, which left Cristian covered in dust and John pinned under lots of cement wall. John urged Cristian to leave while he could. Though unwilling at first, Cris left with the tape of Carlo's confession.

Natalie kept getting in the way at Statesville but then got a message from Rex explaining that Warden Haskell was on Carlo's side. Unfortunately that very warden was watching her when she got the message and he wasn't about to let her out of his sight. Natalie tried to get away, but Haskell said, as he stuck his gun in her side, "Congratulations, Mrs. Vega, you've just graduated from civilian to hostage."

Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Blair left a message for Spencer as David dropped by to see her. Spencer was also the topic for Dorian and Asa at La Blue Lei, who kvetched about Ginger and Spencer's fight at the Palace and were piqued when Adriana said the girl was dead. Rex got Adriana's voicemail about Ginger but didn't call back so he could stay with Matt outside Bo's operation. "I can't let you do this," a wary Paige told Spencer, who was about to begin cutting. Natalie arrived at Statesville as, inside, Cris and Hayes tussled and Carlo salivated over finding "bargaining chip extraordinaire" John. And there he was, in plain sight! Back at the penthouse, David reminded Blair that Spencer wanted her. "You know it. That gives you power." Oh, yeah? What about the power Spence had over Dave? Back at Creme Brulee, Asa and Dorian were even more intrigued when Adriana revealed Spencer had tried to save Ginger's life. The good doc and Paige kept snarking over Bo's inert body. "Be careful," warned Paige as Spence exposed Bo's artery. Outside, Rex buoyed Matthew and filled Kevin and Kelly in on the surgery and the fun happenings at Statesville...where Carlo's men had just grabbed John and Hayes was keeping Carlo's location close to his prison coveralls. Meanwhile, Natalie got a grim update on Bo, Rex, John, AND John Doe. Ouch! Back inside, Carlo suspected, "a ploy, a maneuver, duplicity," and John wondered if he had a Thesaurus. The boys searched him again, finding nothing. Carlo called him stupid...as Det. McBabe's bug blinked nearby.

Meanwhile, Hayes pooh-poohed Carlo's "strictly amateur" psycho skills. "The world is finally going to give me my due," crowed the madman to Cris. Elsewhere, John's passive-aggressive needling about this new hostage situation made Carlo grab John by the collar and shout, "Cristian Vega killed Tico Santi because I made him do it!" Back in Llanview, Blair cheerled for Team Spencer and then listened to Ginger's voicemail: "He's not who you think he is." In the OR, there was lots of Big Medical Terminology and pressure dropping! Outside, Asa arrived and realized "that quack" was operating on his son! He burst into the OR (seriously, he did) and told Spence to step away or "I will kill you." Kevin joined the unsterile fray to drag Gramps out so the surgery could continue. Asa chided Kevin for putting his "damn hands" on him and Rex overheard that Ginger was dead in the middle of the coot's tirade. Say, what? Back at La Blue Lei, Duke and Adriana made nice in the wake of Ginger falling off the spice rack. Adriana's cell rang and it was Rex, asking about Ginger. He tearily told Adriana about Bo getting shot. Meanwhile, at Statesville, Carlo was happy to keep boasting about his deeds to John. A not-so-happy Hayes, however, jumped Cristian rather than chat.

Dorian dropped by and interrupted Blair and David mulling over Ginger's message. Awkward! Dorian told Blair that Ginger had died on the operating table. Awkward-er! At the hospital, Rex admitted to Adriana that Bo was the closest thing he had to a father and she took his hand as Duke watched. Still boasting, Carlo told John he intended to shut his "smart mouth" permanently. Dorian echoed David's advice about Spencer, AND Ginger's message, telling Blair, "that man is not who you think he is!" Back at the hospital, Spencer warned that Bo was "not out of the (Bob) woods yet" and, sure enough, his pressure was 80 over 50. Then, flatline! At Statesville, Carlo cheerfully informed the gang outside that John was dead unless he got safe passage out. Not so safely passing were Hayes and Cris. The gun went off between them as they rassled!

Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Jessica (actually Tess) and Nash ran into Viki (actually Niki) and the two women made niceties and each pretended to be their nicer alter. However, Tess soon caught on that Viki was actually Niki. Niki denied that at first, but soon came clean. "How did you come out?" Tess asked. However, "Newsflash, Niki, you are not the only alter in town," Tess teased. "I hate you," Tess said to Viki. Tess grabbed her head and we heard Jessica say she had to stay, as Niki was the only one who could help her. During this exchange, Nash was seen observing the exchange and looking VERY CONFUSED. Adding to the mix (or should we say mix up) was the arrival of Antonio, Clint and Natalie. Tess collapsed in both Antonio and Nash's arms but woke up as Jessica and grabbed Antonio. (Score one for Antonio, zero for Nash). Meanwhile Clint sent Natalie home and insisted on driving Niki home. (Nash was also invited if he managed to stay calm and not compete with Antonio.) Niki declared war on Clint. "You ain't seen nothing yet," Niki stated.

Poor little Matthew was quizzing himself on state capitols by Nora's bed. Paige popped in and explained that Bo was very busy working on a case. "If something happens to dad, and mom stays like this, who takes care of me?" asked Matthew. [What we know and poor little Matthew doesn't is that Bo has just been shot.] Paige assured him that nothing would be happening to Bo. [Oh Paige, don't make promises you can't keep.] Matthew voiced his concerns about Nora and that she wasn't getting any better. Spencer interrupted Paige and Matthew with news that Bo had been shot and he was being rushed to the hospital. Paige did her best to make sure Spencer didn't lay a finger on Bo. (Paige was pretty sure Spencer was the reason Ginger DIED.) Spencer insisted he was the best doctor for the job. Then Matthew got off the elevator only to see his dad strapped to the gurney bleeding. Rex managed to grab him before he got to his dad. Spencer and Paige continued to battle over control of Bo's case. "I don't think you want to be responsible for Matthew being an orphan?" Spencer huffed. Meanwhile, Matthew ran to see Nora and begged her to wake up. She didn't. Rex caught up with Matthew and explained as kindly as possible what happened to Bo and gave him a big brotherly hug. Paige insisted on assisting Spencer — should we say watching Spencer's every move so nothing bad would happen to the man she loves.

Evangeline brought Layla up to speed on what was happening at Statesville and added that she'd feel responsible if something happened to Cristian or John. Layla reminded her big sister that she wasn't God and she didn't control who lives and dies. Layla added that Evangeline has to tell Antonio that Cristian is still alive.

Cristian explained to John that Carlo needed to be kept alive because without his confession (to brainwashing Cristian) Cristian would never get out of prison. John began to hook Cristian up with a wire to get Carlo's confession but Cristian wanted to get Carlo to confess over the prison PA system. Cristian made his way to Carlo's office. Carlo wasn't there, but Hayes was. So Cristian grabbed Hayes instead.

Carlo began speaking over the PA system and thanked Agent Arlen for putting the electricity back on. Carlo told Hayes he needed a hostage and he has someone very special in mind, namely John McBain. Hayes tried to find McBain while Cristian was actually hovering outside of the warden's office, where Carlo was holding court. Carlo and his henchman headed out to find John while John saw a bloody sign on stairwell wall: "I'll be back."

Natalie and Clint caught each other up to speed. Clint told Natalie about Niki and Tess; Natalie told her dad that Cristian was actually Cristian.

Monday, November 28, 2005
Tess woke up in Nash's arms in the most romantic of places, NOT — a park bench. Tess, clearly very Tess, told Nash she wanted the Buchanans to be at least three thousand miles away. Tess declared that none of Jessica's family meant anything to her. Nash, however, held to his promise to Jessica not to take Tess away. The two entered a local dive bar, the very one where Niki had been holding court. The minute Niki heard their voices she asked Harry the bartender if there was a back exit. Unfortunately, there was not. Then Niki came face to face with Tess and Nash.

Ginger died after being rushed to the ER as a result of injuries suffered when she was hit by a cab. (The accident happened in front of Kelly and Kevin.) Spencer had been the doctor on call, and one wonders just how upset he was at her death. Duke, Kelly, Kevin and later Adriana were in the waiting room, all rather upset. Duke said goodbye to the dead Ginger and then rushed past Adriana, who made an attempt to comfort him. Adriana called Rex and left the following message: "Call me. Something terrible has happened."

Everyone else was gathered at Rodi's watching the live television report from Statesville. Evangeline told Michael that John was trapped inside of Statesville, and explained everything about the real Cristian Vega being alive. A visibly upset Michael (note from recapper: many were visibly upset in this episode) was all set to go to Statesville, but ran into Natalie outside. Michael accused Hugh of using Marcie as a pit stop between women. Later Michael assured Natalie that John was going to be okay. Natalie declared that she must get back to Statesville.

John and a very weak Cristian battled some inmates in the stairwell. Things got dicey when John's gun went over the banister. Cristian freed John from certain death by the hands of those two inmates, though he was still in obvious pain. Carlo declared that the shooting gallery was now open, and added, "Soon I'll be removing the sharpest thorn from my back."

Rex tried his best to scale the prison walls (as they say), but that was quickly thwarted. Bo blew up when he saw that Rex was there and stated, "I'm not going to lose another kid." Which leads this recapper to see that Bo really cares about Rex. Awwww. Rex asked Bo what that meant, at which point Bo hemmed and hawed a bit, but made it clear to Rex that he didn't want anything bad to happen to him. Instead of heading home, though, Rex lingered and overheard Warden Haskell muttering, "You better not hang me out to dry, Carlo," and then heard him tell someone on the other end of the phone that Bo was heading in with a gun. Rex accused Haskell of setting up Bo, which Haskell denied. Rex was right. Bo, who was about to enter prison, was shot in the neck. (Brilliant stuff by Robert S. Woods, by the way.) He collapsed moments before Rex found him and began screaming, "BO! BO!"