Oh, Jane Elliot. I would give you all the awards — ALL OF THEM — if it was in my power to do so. Because you can take a character as bombastic and caustic and just plain unpleasant as Tracy Quartermaine and still manage to imbue her with enough vulnerability and heartbreak and quiet dignity that all I want to do is give her a hug and sit her down on the couch with a tub of ice cream to cry about how much men suck.
ANNA: He’s probably at your house right now, waiting for you
TRACY: He is probably at my house, waiting for me. Trying to figure out how to smooth things over, make it right. So he can keep me as backup in case things don’t work out with you. I’m sure he’ll give you a full report when he gets back, tell you all about my humiliation.
ANNA: Oh, come on. There’s nothing humiliating about having feelings for someone.
TRACY: Really? How about someone who scams you into a fraudulent marriage, repeatedly raids your bank account, cheats on you at will. Leaves, on a whim. All the while, making you believe that there’s something real… only to dump you as soon as somebody younger and edgier comes along.
ANNA: [voice breaking] Come on…
TRACY: You are so wrong. So wrong. There’s enough humiliation there to last for a lifetime.
So, that was totally brutal, right?
I mean, I was wincing and doing that thing where you throw your hands out and shout at the tv and try to talk the fictional people out of what they’re doing the whole time Tracy was smugly lecturing Anna, so certain that she was right about Luke. But that was nothing. Nothing! Compared to the devastating resignation in her voice after she finally realized how completely her pride had been wounded this time.
Oh, Tracy. Oh, my heart. Lulu’s right. There are better men. And you deserve one. (Seriously, that litany of all the ways Luke has done her wrong made me want to hate him all over again, no matter how likeable he’s been lately. Nobody puts Tracy in a corner! Nobody!)
Not to be outdone, Finola Hughes played Anna’s discomfort and genuine pain at seeing all this perfectly. I may hate Anna and Luke together, and hate seeing Tracy lose again, but I do love the chance to watch these two play together. And I love that we’re getting a serious love triangle (quadrangle? Does Heather count?) involving the over 50 set.
Speaking of Anna and things that I loved, it probably goes without saying that I find the idea of her and Padilla teaming up to turn the tables on Johnny to be pretty damn awesome. Two ladies! In charge of things! Having brains and integrity!
(Plus, maybe Padilla’s previously pointless back story will actually get interesting? It’s kind of amazing how much I’ve warmed up to her since her debut as the most stilted and unbelievable cop ever. I’m not saying I need to see her on a front-burner plot anytime soon, but she’s really turned into someone with potential to be a solid background character.)
Partners and ladies getting business done for the win!
Likewise, Sam and Spinelli’s easy camaraderie as they brainstormed on possible Heather/Todd connections really worked for me. I didn’t want to punch Spinelli in the face! Not even once! (Also, you can tell me that Roger Howarth and Bradford Anderson were not having a great time playing off of each other, but I will not believe you.) And the choice to give poor Kelly Monaco a break from all the tears and rage was a wise one. It’s much more entertaining to see Sam back in proactive, professional mode, and satisfying to know she’s on the trail of the truth about her baby — even if she doesn’t know it yet.
And finally, my very favorite lady of all continues to be a supportive friend to Jason. I know that she could be harsher with him, and I really wish that a cop’s ex-wife would get to display even a little hint of disapproval or just plain dismay at the thought of the local mob enforcer casually ordering the crap beaten out of an officer for daring to be friends with his wife…
… but this is one of those places where the show’s morality and mine — all other improvements aside — are probably never going to match up. And after all of the times when Liz has cried on Jason’s shoulder and received unconditional, non-judgmental support over the years, it does make sense to me that she would see he was hurting and try to give that back to him.
Also, her date dress is really pretty. I just wish we’d gotten to see what happened with Ewen after Jason left.
(Although at the pace this show is moving lately, we may still be on the same night? Dear, Carlivati: I love a lot of what you’re doing, but the three week long days have got to speed up a bit. It’s getting confusing. And at this rate, they’ll be celebrating the 4th of July while we’re doing Christmas in the real world.)
Despair in the Afternoon 
My only complaint about the Tracy/Anna scenes is that Anna did somehow not realize that she should run for the hills after hearing that speech of Tracy’s. Otherwise, lovely work by them both, lovely sympathetic writing, and loved that they looked great. Both of them dressed fabulously but in different styles that were both very Tracy/Anna.
I’ve had a lot of complaints about the new regime, and I don’t know if Padilla/Anna will be allowed to succeed, or will be allowed to succeed without being rescued, but two female authority figures (who are probably in no danger of sleeping with Sonny – knock on wood – ) is definitely something that never that happened under Guza. So kudos to RC for that.
And I am indifferent to both Spinelli and Sam, but thought them running away from Todd’s suit was cute as heck. And count me in on thinking RH/BA probably had a fantabulous time exchanging rapid fire dialogue with each other.
I actually have hope that Padilla and Anna will get to succeed in some way, if only because we know that Johnny has actually has two separate secrets that sort of have to come out, and the show seems to see him as a semi-villain right now. *crosses fingers*
I know what you mean about Tracy. She can be a royal b____, but at the same time, I can’t help but love her because she gives a real vulnerability and emotion to her. She deserves so much better than Luke (and a gold star for Lulu for saying that, I love Tracy and Lulu’s relationship). Anna does, too.
Delores has quickly become watchable now, and a girl team of cops? Wow! Whodathunk!
I’d like to see Liz be harsher on Jason, too, but we can’t have everything. I’ve said before that I don’t think Elizabeth is the “kick you when you’re down” kind. She’s more of a listener and he’s supported her several times, so I can understand it. At least Jason isn’t getting away totally scott free this time.
Sam is a million times better AWAY from Jason! I want some kick ass Sam back, the Sam who stuck a knife at Helena Cassadine’s throat and punched out Carly’s lights. We haven’t seen that in a long time.
My heart was seriously breaking for both Anna and Tracy in those scenes. But mostly Tracy.
She’s been down this road way too many times. Damn it, Luke, you were on the road to being decent don’t screw it up! I wanna give Tracy a hug, too. Maybe Lulu can do that for us, and also tell Luke to man up.
I mean, it’s not that he’s obligated to be with her if he doesn’t want to. And he *was* going to come clean. But he didn’t leave Tracy because he didn’t love her anymore; it was portrayed as self-loathing and trying to tear his life down after Jake. So this sudden Anna obsession really does come across like he’s just throwing her over for a newer model. And his history of using and abusing Tracy just makes me see red.
ITA, Tracy doesn’t deserve this. Didn’t she tell Lulu no man will treat you better than you treat yourself? Now would be a good time for her to follow her own advice, instead of taking Luke’s treatment.