Head Writer: Millee Taggart & Tom King / Executive Producer: Joseph Hardy
Determined not to lose Alex, Ava instructs her lawyer to make outrageous demands for a divorce settlement in order to buy time by keeping Alex at the negotiating table. Alex is gobsmacked by Ava’s financial demands, particularly given that she’s engaged to Clay and has just taken a high paying position at AE, and furious at her request for full custody of Sandy. Wanting to keep his son away from Clay and his influence, Alex is determined to get full custody himself, though he confesses to Egypt that, in light of the issues he’s been having lately, he’s worried about being alone with his son. Egypt suggests that he consult a dream specialist to get to the bottom of the dreams/memories he’s been having of late. She introduces him to a doctor, who advises Alex to try “directed dreaming,” in which the dreamer becomes an active participant in the events of the dream.
Meanwhile, Clay and Alex’s former boss, Simon, comes to Corinth at Clay’s request. Clay questions him about whether Alex was really sent to Corinth to take over Clay’s life at the agency’s behest and Simon denies it, saying that he testified at Alex’s trial in order to bring the matter to a close and get it out of the press. Clay suggests to Simon that he and Alex were both brainwashed and after Simon leaves, Clay makes contact with Peter Walker, an agent who previously worked closely with Dan Hollister.
With Cabot still intending to remove Clay as CEO of AE – and moving to secure the support of the family before the next board meeting – Clay also pursues a plot to make Cabot seem mentally incompetent. When Dr. Winthrop shoots down Clay’s suggestions that Cabot is in serious cognitive decline, Clay begins looking into drugs that could stimulate erratic behavior. After getting hold of a drug called Thanatol, Clay laces Cabot’s tea right before the board meeting, causing Cabot to become confused as he makes his speech and then collapse. Cabot is taken out of the room and Clay attempts to bring the meeting to an end, but Gwyneth says that Clay’s leadership of the company is still in question and puts herself forward as an alternative for CEO. Although backed up by a board member, who formally nominates her for consideration, when Clay pulls out a videotape and quietly tells Gwyneth that it’s the tape of her and Jeff, she backs down. When the meeting ends and everyone else has left, he admits to her that the tape was blank, but instead of being angry with him, she’s amused by his manipulation and the two share a passionate kiss.
In the meantime, a dazed Cabot wanders down to Egypt’s dressing room and when Alex finds him, Cabot thinks that he’s Clay. When Cabot later encounters Clay, he initially doesn’t recognize him, but then remembers that he was trying to remove him as CEO but can’t recall why. Alex realizes that Cabot has been drugged, but when he shares his suspicion with Cabot, he refuses to believe him. While Alex tries to find a way to prove Clay’s latest misdeed, Clay moves on to the next part of his plot by hiring Peter Walker to get more information about Alex’s time in the POW camp.
#
Trisha decides that the time has come to tell Jeff that she’s leaving him, but sensing that she’s about to make a move, Jeff pinches a vein to make himself pass out and when he comes to, he “admits” to her that he’s periodically been passing out and succeeds in stalling her from asking for a divorce. Meanwhile, Dale and Jolie set up their plot to kidnap Trisha for ransom, but he worries that Jeff might not pay if he finds out about Trisha’s affair with Trucker. Nevertheless, they push through with their plan and test run the kidnapping and the ransom drop, however, Jeff has begun to feel suspicious of Jolie after catching her in a lie and decides to check out her background. He learns that the references she gave him were forged and when he later gets a chance to search her purse, he finds the map that she and Dale have made to plot out their kidnapping route. He copies the map and then replaces it and later follows Jolie to the cabin, where Rocky is surprised to discover her inside. As Jeff eavesdrops, Rocky and Jolie argue about the fact that Trucker, who has gone to New York for the Perfect Man contest, is having an affair with Trisha.
Jeff spies on Jolie, catching her stealing some of Trisha’s clothes and then later meeting with Dale at the van they intend to use in their kidnapping plot. When he searches the van, Jeff finds restraints and his suspicions about Jolie’s plans are confirmed when he later overhears her and Dale discussing the details of their plot. Forming a plan of his own, Jeff has Ransom put a tracking device on the van. Meanwhile, Trucker returns from New York and finds Trisha waiting for him at the cabin. She tells him that she’s going to leave Jeff after the contest is over.
Before the contest’s final round, Jolie makes an attempt to seduce Trucker by putting on Trisha’s clothes and waiting for him at the cabin one night. In the dim light, Trucker mistakes Jolie for Trisha and kisses her, but as soon as he realizes his mistake, he pushes her away and tells her that he’s not interested in her romantically. Hurt, Jolie leaves and uses some dynamite she’s stolen from a Forbes Construction site to rig the van to explode, plotting to kill Trisha after collecting the ransom. Feeling suspicious of what Jolie is up to, Rocky exchanges notes with Trucker and the two wonder if she might be dangerous.
As the night of the contest finals approaches, Trisha finally tells Jeff that she wants to divorce. Although he tries to talk her out of it, she admits to him that she’s still in love with Trucker and wants to be with him. When Jeff shares the latest development with Clay, his father-in-law offers to remove Trucker as an obstacle, but Jeff worries that Clay doing so will derail his own plan so he asks Clay to simply ensure that Trucker doesn’t win the Perfect Man contest, revealing that Trucker is the masked contestant. While Clay pays Trucker a visit and warns him that he’ll never let Trucker be with Trisha, Ransom delivers two million dollars in cash to Jeff; but it’s Jolie who makes the biggest move by going to Trisha and tearfully asking if they can speak in private, luring her away so that she can be kidnapped.
#
Deciding not to tell Ava about her diagnosis since Ava is so caught up in her own life, Kate lies that she’s going away to visit Sherrie in order to hide the fact that she’s checking into the hospital to undergo exploratory surgery. However, when Ava calls Sherrie, she learns that Kate isn’t with her and Alex reveals that Kate is in the hospital, but refuses to tell Ava why. Ava rushes to the hospital, arriving after Kate has been taken in for surgery. While she’s under, Kate has a vision of her late husband, who encourages her to find the strength to live. When she comes to after the surgery, Dr. Rosen informs her that the cancer has spread to her lymph nodes and Ava is horrified to learn that Kate has cancer.
#
Todd is determined to win the Perfect Man contest, convinced that Rocky will want to get back together with him once he becomes a famous model.
#
Rose and Stacey return to Corinth with JJ and baby Heather. Jack happily welcomes them home, but Stacey is quick to tell him not to assume that they’re going to reconcile just because of the kiss they shared on the train when he took her to Florida.
Loving (1983-1995) 