DykesVision / TV shows / All My Children / Recaps / Lena & Bianca

written by Margaret Royal

Love, Lies and Voldemort

The Lianca Recaps

Friday, September 19, 2003

Episode summary: Bianca and Greenlee bond awesomely at the boathouse; Jack finds Bianca and Greenlee together at the boathouse; looking to offer Lena a job, Kendall and Boyd go to her room at the Pine Cone and find her unconscious.

Sunrise, music. Could be Etta James. Whatever it is. I really dug this montage; I thought it kicked some ass. It goes like this: Sunrise: "One of these mornings . . ."

Greenlee, eyes closed, head back, sitting at the boathouse, as churchbells sound: "Won't be very long . . ."

Mary Smythe, in the same clothes from yesterday, asleep but stirring in some dark, leathery confines: "You will look for me . . ."

Lena, curled up on the bed at the Pine Cone: "And I'll be gone . . ." [badass organ chord]

Bass and a kick-beat come in. Bianca is asleep on some lush-looking floral bedclothes: "One of these mornings . . ."

Kendall, in the same clothes from yesterday, stirs in her sleep: "Won't be very long . . ."

Mia blinks, moans, and opens her eyes: "You will look for me / And I'll be gone."

Bianca twitches in her sleep. She's dreaming in black and white, for some reason: wearing a pinstriped blazer, she stands agape in front of an Enchantment poster as Kendall's voice says, "Please don't blame me. It's not my fault!" "Where are you?" Binks says, and walks around (it's cearly in Erica's office), but the camera stays tight on her, so we can't see whether anyone else is there. "Please, Bianca, don't make me go away; I just want to love you," the voice urges, "and if you love me back, it'll be okay." Bianca spins. "I promise," Dream Kendall intones, now visible and walking solemnly toward the camera (Bianca's point of view). "That's all I want. That's all anyone wants." OMG, I don't know if it's supposed to be a dream where Bianca just feels claustrophobic, but damn if it doesn't look as though Kendall wants a big, wet smooch, and damn if it don't feel dirty and right. Kendall's face looms huge, so huge it's out of focus, and she gets even closer as she says, "Why can't you give me a chance? Please?" Binks snaps awake and catches her breath.

At the boathouse, Greenlee still fingers the ring, as a pair of Lilith Fair-oid female voices whine on the soundtrack, and looks skyward and says that she "can't do it, Leo. I'm not ready to let you go. Not completely. Not today." She stands and reaches for her purse, and just as she does, Bianca comes stomping up the boathouse steps but turns right back around when she sees Greens. Greens asks her to wait, but she's "the last person [Binks] wanted to see right now." Greens "can understand that." Bianca pisses that she came to the boathouse to be alone, since she has an appointment later and needed some time to "not think about anything." Greens offers to leave, and Binks looks annoyed, as if she would prefer that but doesn't actually want to say it, so Greens tells her she's glad to see her. Bianca's all, the hell? Since when? Oh, does Greenlee feel sorry for her or something? "No," Greens replies quickly. "I mean . . . yes. What Michael did to you—" Bianca cuts her off and informs her that Jackson being her father won't make her forget "all the terrible things [Greenlee's] done." She brings up the NotWedding and chews out Greens, who protests that she knows; but when she gets to "it was selfish and nasty—just like you are," Greenlee finally yells that her "whole world was falling apart. I know it doesn't compare to what you've been through, but it mattered a lot to me, okay?" She suggests they talk about something else, but Bianca doesn't know where to start. "Well, clearly, you need to vent," Greens replies. "And there's someone who's driving us both nuts right now. She deserves it after what she's done." Bianca replies forcefully that she won't talk about Kendall.

As Kendall and Adam snipe at each other, Boyd asks if there's a problem; Adam says no and tells "Mrs. Cambias" that he'll "enjoy dismantling [her] little empire." He walks out into the hall, and Kendall follows him a few steps and informs him he'll find security waiting for him in his office when he gets there. She turns back and slams the door to her own office. Boyd is visibly pissed, wondering what she thinks she's doing, since she doesn't need extra enemies. Kendall blows it off: Adam has "inspired" her, and she's "finally found a way [she] can help Bianca and [her]self." Boyd looks exasperated, but she assures him that this time, no one will get hurt.

Greenlee wonders what Kendall's done now, and Bianca says that Kendall can do whatever she wants; she doesn't care. "She's your sister," Greens says, a little confused. Binks nonsequiturs and asks if Greenlee is thinking about Leo. Greens is surprised that she could tell, but Binks knows the boathouse was where they were married, and Greenlee's been fiddling with her ring. Greens says sincerely that she wishes Leo "were here now, for [Bianca]," who, in turn, thanks her quietly and agrees. Greens tells her she was "a really good friend to him," and Binks replies that he was her best friend. "Mine, too," says Greens. She regards Bianca for a moment, then begins, "I know it's not the same, but I could try . . ." Binks suggests they not push it and gets up, but Greenlee follows, saying Leo would want to make sure Bianca was okay. This frustrates Binks, who declares that she is okay, so everyone can stop asking her; as she rants, she flings her hand out, and it knocks against the side of the wooden staircase. She's broken a nail and shakes the hand in pain but is more annoyed than anything, and gets annoyed further when Greenlee wants to fix it. But Greens insists, pulling her over to sit down near the railing and suggesting that she'll want to look good for her appointment. Binks doesn't think it matters. "Of course it does," Greens says, much like a big sister, and whips out her emery board: "May I?" Binks rolls her eyes and holds out her hand. "Sure. Thanks." Greens takes the hand and tentatively begins filing. Skee-rape! Eeek! Evidently, Greenlee slept through all of Emery Board 101: file in one direction, honey, don't saw. Sawing is bad for the nails. Close-up on their hands, and there is definitely some weird CousinYay! going on here. What did runnerbird call much of this ep? IncestYay? I buy it. You know that if Lianca had a scene like this we'd get warning labels. Not that that would be such a bad idea: at least we'd be warned in advance about our own spontaneous combustion. In the silence—punctuated by scratching noises—Greenlee is clearly working up the courage to speak. She begins: "You know, uh, your testimony, in court . . . about what Michael did to you? It was the bravest thing I've ever seen anyone do." She continues to file, and after a few seconds she raises her eyes nervously. Bianca is staring hard at her and trying her damnedest not to cry, which makes her look angry. Greens gazes sadly into her eyes, takes away the emery board, and begins to rub Bianca's hand, lowering it to her lap. CousinYay! in the house, y'all. Commercials.

HandInGreenlee'sLap!Binky is sniffling like crazy, trying not to break down completely, for which Greenlee apologizes, saying she was trying to be nice but clearly isn't good at it. "You didn't do anything at all; it's okay," says Bianca, rubbing away a big tear. "I cry at cereal commercials these days." "Me too!" Greens replies earnestly. "Me too, everyone's always cheerful, and normal, and awake. It's so American! And so foreign, to me." Awwww. Binks guesses she's not alone, then. Greens assures her she's not. "Bianca, you've been so amazing; I don't know how you do it." Bianca is still trying to keep it together but says she'll go half a day without "realizing it," then "wake up." "Does that make any sense?" she offers. "More than you know," Greens replies. Bianca thanks her for what she said: "It was nice to hear. I guess I just have a lot going on right now." Greens nods and offers to finish the nail, and Binks agrees. "Leo knew all the right things to say, but he was terrible with an emery board," Greens notes, filing. Bianca smiles and remarks that nobody's perfect. "Leo was," says Greens. "You know, I can't take his place or say that you and I should be best friends, but we are cousins, Bianca, and we do share a connection. And if Erica ever ropes Jackson into exchanging vows again, we could be stepsisters." Bianca gets a not-ready-to-go-there look on her face and says that's a "scary thought." "Which part?" says Greens. Binks smiles. Would Greenlee really be okay with it if "[Bianca's] mom married [her] dad?" Greens knows that "okay" would be a stretch, but she could accept it if it made Jackson happy—"the same way he's accepted me as part of his family, you know?" Binks watches her. "And maybe? Hopefully? Someday you will, too," Greens concludes. Bianca's about to cry again and smiles goofily at Greens. The Binklee bonding totally brought the eeeee! for me, and the eeeee! has been sorely lacking on AMC in recent months, in my opinion. Maybe I'm a sucker. On the other hand, Eden and Rebecca Budig are just that good, too.

Boyd tells Kendall he's all for helping Bianca, but Kendall "need[s] to stay focused" because there's a "huge threat hanging over [them]," namely, the demolition of the building at Pier 23. She agrees, but Adam has "opened [her] eyes": she can't run all her companies on her own. Boyd doesn't think Bianca is in any shape to take those responsibilities on, but Kendall duhs that she's talking about Lena, who "knows more about Enchantment and Cambias than anybody," she says. She'll give her a big raise, and Lena will "come crawling back thanking me in two different languages." Boyd is still skeptical, because he doesn't trust Lena completely, and Kendall reminds him that "Michael used a lot of other people . . . not just Lena." So how does this help Bianca? Kendall knows that Binks still loves Lena, and when she's ready again, the HPF will be waiting for her. Yeah, Boyd says, and this is also a "great way to stick it to Erica." "People can think whatever the hell they want, but I'm doing this for Bianca," Kendall says. She grabs a portfolio (I think) and declares she's going to find Lena. At the door, she asks Boyd if he's with her. Looking pissed and stressed, he stares at her.

Bianca notices some nail polish in Greenlee's purse, and Greens crows that it's Fusion—"it's great, isn't it?" "It's okay," Binks quickly deadpans. Hee. They're laughing when Jack arrives: "Well, my, my, my, what do we have here?" They pretend to pretend that nothing is going on, and Bianca declares that in the past, they only had one thing in common, but they never wanted to admit it. Jack guesses they're talking about Leo. Binks continues that now, however, they have something else in common. "Yeah," says Greens. "Someone pretty spectacular." Jack tries to look modest. Commercials.

Jack doesn't want to intrude on CousinYay!, but he tells Greenlee he needs to talk to Bianca alone. She whatevers and gets ready to go; Binks asks Jack before Greens is gone if he knows; he confirms it. Greens asks Binks if this is about her appointment.

Kendall, in a frilly blue sleeveless top avec plunging neckline and black skirt, arrives at the Pine Cone with Boyd in tow, which she's glad of, because she thinks he'll help her credibility with Lena. She knows on the door and yells Lena's name, but there's no answer—odd, because Kendall is "positive" Lena's car was in the parking lot. So she tries the knob, and the door opens. They go inside and see Lena on the bed with the empty box of poison. Boyd tries to feel for a pulse under Lena's lolling head as Kendall yells to her.

Bianca tells Greenlee that her appointment is "not a big deal," but the thing with Jack is about Erica. "Oh. Okay. Well, good luck with it, whatever it is," says Greens. Binks is ready to go and tells Greens she can stay; Jack says he'll see her later, in a nice moment. They're about to go, but Binks turns back to Greenlee. "Sometimes things aren't so bad once you give 'em a shot," she Very Special Episodes. Greens opens her bag and hands Binks the nail polish. "I won't tell," she says. Binks wasn't talking about that. Greens knows. Smiling, Binks takes the polish and goes. Greens steps back into the boathouse again, smiling and thinking. "You were right, Leo," she says. "Bianca is a sweet person. Even if Erica is her mother." Just then, Ryan stomps up two steps, sees Greenlee, turns, and bolts away again, but she's totally seen him, having turned with the noise. "Ryan? Ryan! Ryan, I saw you!"

Discuss AMC on our message board.

© 2000-2003 (texts) are with the author. If not otherwise stated, the author is Ivanova. All rights reserved.