Recap: Bobby calls a record clerk in Los Angeles to ask for more details about Kristin's hospital invoice...and when the clerk tells him that she's not authorized disclose anything over the phone, he says he'll be in Los Angeles tomorrow morning.

Miss Ellie tells Sue Ellen that her grief-fuelled outburst in the kitchen last night was long overdue, and that breaking all that dishware has resulted in her being able to see things more clearly now. She adds that she's soooooo happy that she and JR are looking so cozy these days and hopes it means they'll reconcile, and Sue Ellen happily tells her that the prospect is under serious consideration, then waxes on about how considerate, thoughtful, and loving JR is [pretending to be]. Miss Ellie beams joyously and invites her to join the Ewing clan for dinner again tonight, and Sue Ellen says she'd be delighted.

Post-coitus, JR hurriedly gets dressed and tells Marilee he needs to get back to the office pronto...and when Marilee tries to confirm a repeat of the sex romp for tomorrow, he makes a derisive snorting noise and mumblingly replies, "Let's not overdo it." A stung looking Marilee reminds him they agreed, that in exchange for participating in Operation Ruin Cliff's Life, she was to receive daily sack time with him. JR tells her he's totally back pedalling on that 'cause he's doing his best to turn over a new leaf in his quest to win back Sue Ellen, and a vexed Marilee accuses him of using her to get Cliff out of Sue Ellen's life. JR's like, "Uh duh", tells her they've had a great time knockin' boots, and breezily assures her that one day soon she'll find a handsome young stud to enjoy as a new boy toy. As he beats a hasty retreat towards the door, Marilee picks up something from her nightstand and throws it at him, but he manages to duck and slip out unharmed.

Clayton has returned from his European vacation and is back at Southern Cross, gazing happily at a ginormous diamond ring. He then picks up the phone, calls Sue Ellen's house, and leaves a message with Mrs. Chambers that he'll be in Dallas tomorrow and will call her back then.

Back at Southfork, Bobby tells Pam he has to go to Los Angeles tomorrow to research a hospital invoice for Kristin...then decides it's finally time to spill the entire story about how Christopher came to be their soon-to-be-adopted son. An astonished Pam stonily chides him for lying to her, like a lot...and Bobby sheepishly admits that, yep, he did - but only 'cause he was worried that if she knew the full truth, she'd once again find herself atop the roof of a tall building and threaten to end it all. Pam's like, "Fair point", then insists on going to Los Angeles with him, and canoodlingly thanks him for everything he's done to bring Christopher into their lives. 

Back at Southfork, JR and Sue Ellen are enjoying the night sky as they exchange I love yous and share a passionate smooch.

The next morning, Pam and Bobby arrive at Los Angeles Memorial Hospital and express their hope to one another that this trip doesn't end up being a wild goose chase.

Over at Casa Depression, a despondent Cliff tells Afton to go home 'cause there's nothing worthwhile for her here - but she somehow disagrees with that spot-on assessment, insists on staying, and pours him a cup of coffee. While she's doing that, Marilee Stone drops by decked out in a giant fur coat to apologize to Cliff for the failed Wellington land deal, then sheepishly confesses that she went along with JR's plot to falsify the geologist's report 'cause she dug the idea of regularly riding his baloney pony...but is newly miffed that JR has now dumped her in favor of reconciling with Sue Ellen. Marilee tells Cliff she wants to make amends, but he despondently says there's no point 'cause he's lost everything he ever cared about...and as Afton reacts by contorting her face into a hurt looking expression, Cliff ambles onto his balcony and guzzles some booze.

Bobby and Pam learn that Kristin had been hospitalized when she suffered a miscarriage...and they quickly deduce that Kristin must have lost JR's/Jordan Lee's? baby and got knocked up a second time, 'cause, for whatever reason, she seemed to have had a strange aversion to practicing birth control. Bobby takes note of the name of the doctor on the invoice...and, after further, on-the-fly investigating, sees that he also performed a Caesarean section on Kristin when she delivered Christopher. By this time, the irritated clerk snappishly orders Bobby to give her back the [supposedly confidential] file, so he hands it back to her, along with a tip.

While departing the hospital, Pam tells Bobby she's thrilled that they're free of JR in terms of his paternal association with Christopher - but is now very curious about who fathered the tot. Bobby suggests they head over to the apartment complex Kristin lived in during her time in Los Angeles and see if they can uncover any clues there.

Lucy and her dorky friend Muriel are hanging together by the Southfork pool...and Lucy confesses that she continues to be traumatized by being abducted by Roger, who raped her while she was being held captive at the photography studio. Muriel stares back at her in speechless horror, says she needs to tell someone rather than pretend it didn't happen, then looks aghast as she asks if there's a possibility she could be pregnant. Lucy breezily dismisses the horrific possibility of the rapist freak's bun being in her oven and says she'd rather not speak of it. 

A drunk Cliff is at a local bar, nattering to a group of aged cowboys about how Digger Barnes was the greatest wildcatter in the history of wildcatting...before the Ewings broke him, just like they broke him a generation later and scammed him into thinking he could become a millionaire and stick it to JR good by marrying his ex. A few seconds later, Afton enters the bar and tells Cliff it's time to stop drunkenly holding court like his idiot father used to do, and go home to sleep off the excessive amount of booze he's been ingesting.

Clayton and his ginormous diamond ring meet up with Sue Ellen at a Japanese restaurant. He tells her that his vacation gave him a chance to think about what he'd like their relationship to be...and Sue Ellen seems oblivious to the smitten vibe he's putting out and interjects to tell him how delighted she is that they can continue to be platonic buddies. She excitedly shares that lately she and JR have been getting along great and are strongly considering re-coupling, and a deflated Clayton cautions her to be sure she's not repeating the mistake of falling for JR's phony charm, and graciously assures her that he'll always be her supportive platonic friend, however stupid and self-destructive her personal decisions prove to be.  

Pam and Bobby arrive at Kristin's old apartment - but when they learn that the building manager is out of town until tomorrow, they decide to spend the night in Los Angeles.

 JR escorts Sue Ellen home...and after yet another passionate smooch, JR coos, "It could be like this always" and formally proposes remarriage. Sue Ellen remarks on how safe she feels with him [which made me laugh heartily 'cause I suddenly remembered the episode where he plotted to have her forcibly removed from Southfork by a team of men in white coats], then decides to throw all good sense to the wind and agree to a marriage redo.

 The next morning, Afton suggests to Cliff that they spend the day doing fun, quiet things together, but he tells her he has zero interest in that and needs to go run some unspecified errands. Afton implores, "Please don't", and he snappishly retorts that he has things to do, and that she's starting to sound like a naggy wife. Afton absorbs the insult better than I would have expected and offers to wait for him in his apartment - but he tells her he's really starting to get weirded out by the way she keeps hovering over him, waiting on him hand and foot. He says there's no reason for her continue hanging out at his apartment, and Afton mulls that over and tells him she'll stop by later tonight, and he's like, "Yeah, whatever...fuck off", and a few seconds after she leaves, he puts on a blazer and heads out the door. 

​The L.A. building manager tells Pam and Bobby that he recalls Kristin being visibly pregnant, then motions at a young woman (Sharon) sitting by the pool and says he knows that she and Kristin were friends. Pam and Bobby wander over to where Sharon is sitting and ask if she wouldn't mind sharing whatever intel she might have on Kristin before her untimely demise, so Sharon tells them that Kristin was living with a creep named Jeff Farraday before they got married [which seems wholly out of character for a gold-digging woman who seemed to prefer targeting wealthy men like JR and Jordan Lee] ... and around nine months later, she delivered little Christopher.

 Cliff drops by Sue Ellen's house to admit that, yeah, it was poor judgement to ask her to loan him $4 million, but insists that they could still have a great life together. Sue Ellen tells him to shut it, not least 'cause she's expecting JR any minute...and poor Cliff starts ugly crying as he wails, "I've lost everyyyyyything. But I know I can start over, I know I can build a new life, if you would just believe in me and loooooove me!" Sue Ellen coldly tells him that she has accepted JR's remarriage proposal...and when Cliff scrunches his face and pitifully moans, "Ooooooh nooooo..", she firmly says she doesn't want to see him anymore - like, including right now, and orders him to leave her house.

Pam remarks on how Kristin used her maiden name on Christopher's birth certificate, and Bobby says she prolly did that so she wouldn't lose the blackmail money she was getting from Jordan Lee and JR...and after her miscarriage just substituted Christopher as their presumed spawn. The two marvel at what a shithead Jeff Farraday was to have blackmailed Bobby with his own child, and Bobby says he's kinda looking forward to confronting JR with his findings.  

 JR presents Sue Ellen with a new sable coat and says it'd be nice if she wore it to Southfork when they announce their remarriage plans. When Sue Ellen heads off somewhere to primp, JR wanders over to the kitchen, where John Ross is having a snack, and assures the tot how happy they're all going to be once they're back at Southfork...then adds that, with the additional Ewing Oil shares that come along with that permanent living arrangement, he can finally run the company as he sees fit. It remains unclear why JR hasn't clued in to the reality that, now that Miss Ellie has accepted Jock's death, the voting shares situation he's so desperately clinging to is likely to be superseded by whatever's in the late patriarch's final will and testament.

 A spacey looking Cliff is lounging atop his couch, guzzling yet more booze, when Afton calls to remind him that she plans to come over later. He's like, "Yeah, whatever...I thought I told you to fuck off", then hangs up and continues drinking.

During happy hour at Southfork, JR announces to the family that Sue Ellen has accepted his proposal - a pronouncement that causes Lucy to react with a smirky eye roll, and Ray and Donna to look quietly alarmed. Only Miss Ellie seems truly happy about the news and joyously congratulates the two and gushes about how awesome it is that they're going to be a [dysfunctional, but intact] family once again.

 Afton arrives at Cliff's apartment and finds him unconscious on the floor with an empty bottle of pills next to him. She's all, "OMG, nooooo!!" and rushes to the phone to call an ambulance.

 After the commercial break, Cliff is transported to the nearest Emergency Room while a doctor barks at his staff to get blood gases and a ventilator, stat. A nurse sternly directs Afton to the nearby waiting room...and a few seconds later, Rebecca rushes in and asks Afton what has happened. Afton describes the condition in which she found Cliff, and is keeping her fingers crossed that she was able to get him help in time. Rebecca laments her bitchy firing of Cliff and says that whatever financial shenanigans he had gotten himself into at Wentworth Tool & Die is not worth ending his life over. Afton tells her not to be so hard on herself, 'cause there's a multitude of reasons Cliff might have wanted to end it all. She tells her about Marilee's visit to apologize for her role in JR's scheme to fake a geologist's report in order to entice Cliff to buy a worthless piece of land, and Rebecca's all, "The fuck?" and says she had no idea that JR was capable of that type of fiendishness.

The ER doctor tells Rebecca and Afton that Cliff is comatose and hooked up to a respirator, and that right now it's too soon to know if he'll survive. He adds that the next twenty-four hours will be critical...and if Cliff doesn't expire before morning, he'll be transferred to the ICU.

 Bobby notes that Jeff Farraday's blood type is the same as JR's, which explains that it also matches Christopher's blood type, and Pam remains stunned that Jeff would sell his own child. Bobby says he's stunned that JR was ready to trade Christopher (who he believes is his child) for Ewing Oil voting shares, 'cause he was under the illusion that his brother would have a spark of decency. He solemnly vows to "take him apart" once he returns to Dallas...and Pam agrees with the taking apart of JR, but adds that all that really matters is that they have custody of Christopher.

Back at the hospital, Afton is hovering over the comatose Cliff and clutching his hand.

Rebecca storms over to Southfork to haughtily challenge Miss Ellie to fire JR from Ewing Oil, the way she fired Cliff for his wrongdoing at Wentworth Tool & Die. She rails, "He used Ewing funds to destroy my son!" - just as JR and Sue Ellen enter the room. Rebecca informs them all that Cliff was so distraught he tried to kill himself, curses the tedious relentlessness of the Barnes-Ewing feud, and vows to use her financial resources to break the Ewing family. Sue Ellen's all, "Ack! I need to go visit Cliff in the hospital!" and ignores JR's attempts to block her from leaving the room. A befuddled Miss Ellie asks JR if Rebecca's accusations are true, and he's like, "Uh yeah", but adds, in his defence, that he didn't exactly put a gun to Cliff's head and force him to embezzle from his mom's company. Miss Ellie looks awed by how little he cares about another man's life, chides, "You're a cold and insensitive man, JR", and threatens to remove him as Ewing Oil president as soon as Bobby returns home. JR smugly informs her that she doesn't have enough voting shares to do that, then says he's going to try to talk some sense into his ex/soon-to-be wife about visiting Cliff.

Sue Ellen enters Cliff's hospital room and gets a stink-eye from Afton, who snarls about how sad it is that Cliff didn't know how guilty everyone would feel if he overdosed. Rebecca ushers Afton out of the waiting room in order to get some much needed rest...and Sue Ellen tearfully whispers to Cliff to get better and apologizes for not dipping into her sizeable bank account and loaning him the $4 million he needed. A few seconds later, JR enters the room, and Sue Ellen tearfully whimpers, "Look what I've done to him. Look what we've both done to him." JR sheepishly says he didn't think his elaborate faux oil drilling scheme would end in a suicide attempt, then reiterates that Cliff did this to himself. Sue Ellen insists again that they did this to him...and makes it clear to JR that if Cliff doesn't pull through, she's putting the kibosh on their remarriage.  

Recap: JR is in a flower shop, placing a standing order for two dozen yellow roses to be delivered to Sue Ellen's house every morning at 9:00am until she finally succumbs to his remarriage proposal. He also places an order for one dozen red roses to be delivered to Marilee Stone's address - but makes it clear to the clerk that that order is strictly a one time thing 'cause he doesn't want Marilee to get any ideas.

Bobby gets a call from Detective White, asking him to stop by police headquarters sometime today.

Over at Casa Yokel, Donna tells her New York editor (Ed Chapman) that she faces a boring-as-fuck conundrum regarding her decision to write a sequel to her bestselling Sam Culver biography: 

• If she publishes it with the juicy gossip about the land grab, she'll hurt a dear friend
• If she waters down the land grab scandal, it's dishonest to her readers
• If she suddenly nixes the idea of writing a sequel about a boring old politician, probably no one would care

Ed Chapman makes it clear that he really really wants her to write the book and urges her to give it more thought. He then heads out - just as Ray returns home and gives Donna a supportive canoodle.

 Rebecca drops by Cliff's office to read him the riot act for embezzling $4.5 million from Wentworth Tool & Die. She chides him for betraying her and herself for naively trusting him despite repeated warnings from Pam and Katherine. Cliff attempts to explain that when a fantastic oil drilling opportunity arose and looked as though it would make him a fortune, he figured 'why not borrow several million dollars from the family company without getting any kind of green light from the woman who ultimately holds the purse strings?' ... then hastily points out that when the deal went sour, he managed to repay most of the "loan". Rebecca snarks that she doesn't give a rat's ass about whatever deals he was trying to make, admonishes him for being greedy, and orders him to send a resignation letter to the board immediately. A distressed Cliff assures her he'll resign without protest - but hates the idea of this quasi-embezzlement destroying their newly forged mama-son bond. Rebecca shoots him the stink-eye as she coldly replies, "Goodbye, Cliff" and exits the room. Ouch.

Bobby arrives at police headquarters and learns that Detectives White and Howard are starting to show an interest in investigating the drug ring he'd warned them about during the previous episode. They inform him that when they searched Jeff's apartment, they found an envelop with Bobby scrawled on the back of it...and that if he's willing to put his life on the line to serve as bait so they can catch the drug dealers red-handed, they'll hand over the envelop. Seems like kind of a blackmaily thing for a police department to be doing with respect to a civilian's safety in the interest of scoring a major drug bust - but then I'm a recapper, not a Texas-based drug enforcement agent.

That evening, Ray drops by the main house to attempt to talk sense into Miss Ellie about her continued resistance to face the fact that Jock is dead. He reminisces about when he first arrived at Southfork and idolized Jock, aka a grizzled old goat who knew when to express affection and when to use a firm hand. He pauses for a few seconds before adding that he also recalls that someone in a bar once called Jock out for being a "land grabbin' crook" [I'll assume he's talking about The Dove Hunt episode from Season 3] ... and after hearing what Donna stumbled onto while researching her book, he can't help but wonder if there's maybe some truth to Jock's past dickishness. He insists to Miss Ellie that Jock would not want them to put him on a pedestal [I think that's highly debatable] ... and until they start remembering him like he really was [an unbearably gruff misogynist who sired sons that now have perpetual daddy issues], they won't be able to do justice to his memory. Miss Ellie chews on Ray's words of wisdom for a few seconds, then silently gets up and exits the room. 
​
The next morning, Pam brings Miss Ellie a breakfast tray and tells her the family is worried about her not coming downstairs for breakfast. Miss Ellie assures her she's fine, and that she just needs to be alone for awhile.

Cliff calls Sue Ellen...and when Sue Ellen tells her nurse-nanny to tell him she's not home, Cliff leaves a message for her to call him back. A few seconds later, Sue Ellen receives JR's first delivery of yellow roses...and she beams at them with delight before retiring to the living room to re-watch video footage of herself winning the Miss Texas beauty pageant. 

Bobby calls Joe Smith and leaves a message to call him back asap.

JR drops by Sue Ellen's house to 1) deliver more yellow roses, and 2) gleefully inform her that Rebecca just fired Cliff for embezzling money from Wentworth Tool & Die. Sue Ellen looks shocked by the news, then offers JR a drink...and JR lays it on thick about how goooooorgeous she looks in her blue top, guzzles the drink, and announces that he has to head back to the office now. Sue Ellen stares at him longingly, and he gazes at her lovingly as he tenderly touches her face...and after he exits the house, he smiles happily to himself at the rapid progress he's making with Operation Convince Sue Ellen to Jump Into an Ill-fated Remarriage.

Bobby receives a return call from Joe Smith, so he tells him he wants to buy $100,000 worth of cocaine. Joe pretends to be cagey for a few minutes, but then readily agrees to meet up with him at an abandoned warehouse tomorrow evening.

Lucy interrupts Miss Ellie's quiet, contemplative bedroom time to inform her that Punk Anderson has dropped by for a visit, and she's all, "Yay! Punk!" and tells Lucy she'll be right down.

 Punk gives Miss Ellie a warm hello hug, says his wife Mavis sends her love, and invites her to accompany them to the upcoming Oil Baron's Ball. Miss Ellie declines and says she's never gone to the ball without Jock, so Punk argues that she has to attend 'cause he and the other cronies are planning to announce the launch of a memorial scholarship in Jock's name. Miss Ellie stares back at him confusedly while murmuring, "Memorial scholarship?", and Punk's like, "Well duh...the man is dead" ... and Miss Ellie shoots him a sad stare, then heads back upstairs, where she touches and hugs Jock's clothes.

​Afton is primping in her workplace dressing room when JR drops by to report that Cliff has been dumped:

• By his family members,
• As CEO of Wentworth Tool & Die
• most importantly, by Sue Ellen

He happily pronounces, "He's all yours, honey. I just thought you'd be pleased to hear that", adding the caveat that due to Cliff's current unemployability, she may have to financially support him for the foreseeable future. Afton shoots him a the fuck? look and says she didn't want Cliff to be put through the meat grinder...and JR's like 'OK whatever' and says that, as a special thank you for giving him a heads up on Clayton having the hots for Sue Ellen, he'd be more than happy to grant her any future favor she might request. Afton declines the offer, and he just kind of shrugs and happily scampers off. 

Miss Ellie is spacily wandering around Southfork, glancing happily at the horses and then staring contemplatively into the distance.

Rebecca worriedly wrings her hands and tells Pam she's now rethinking her decision to fire Cliff in such a cold-hearted way. Pam assures her she absolutely did the right thing, remarks on how Cliff's fatal weakness has always been his ambition, and doubts seriously that he's capable of ever changing. Rebecca concurs, but then wonders aloud if Cliff should be allowed to make mistakes, and Pam says he should, but that he should also have to pay the price for making them. 

Mitch drops by Southfork to check in on Lucy and to announce that he's accepted a job at a burn centre in Atlanta. Lucy agrees that a dullard such as himself leaving the show is undoubtedly the best thing for everyone, then asks him to write her a letter to let her know how he's settling in. Mitch agrees, gives her a cheek kiss, and heads back to his car.

Miss Ellie pets Jock's horse and sadly tells him how much she misses her grizzled old goat of a husband. 

 A despondent looking Cliff wanders around his apartment, then walks over to a console table, opens the drawer, and pulls out a pistol. As he stares down at it, Afton happens to drop by to see how he's doing, and he natters about the shitty turn his life has suddenly taken and assumes she's here to smugly say 'I told you so'. Afton clucks sympathetically about his current misfortune and offers to fix him a snack and/or hit the sheets with him - but Cliff says there's nothing he wants at the moment...and Afton gives him a comforting canoodle. 

That evening, Bobby arrives at the abandoned warehouse and calls out to Joe Smith...and within a few seconds, both Joe Smith and his henchman Griff appear from wherever they were hiding. They openly admit to killing Jeff Farraday when he tried to jerk them around during his latest drug purchase, then demand to see the money. Bobby opens his briefcase to reveal the piles of cash - just as Detectives White and Howard storm the warehouse and yell, "Freeze!" Bobby strikes Griff in the face to subdue him, while Joe Smith surrenders without incident...and the detectives thank Bobby for his cooperation and invite him to return to police headquarters so they can give him the envelop they found in Jeff Farraday's apartment. Bobby lifts his shirt, revealing that he was wired up when Joe Smith and Griff stupidly admitted to killing Jeff, and hands over the tape containing their confession.

JR tells Sue Ellen that Miss Ellie would looooooove it if she and John Ross joined them for dinner tonight, 'cause lately she seems to be missing the way the family used to gather together for meals. Sue Ellen says she'd be positively delighted to once again dine with the Ewing clan at Southfork.

Over at Casa Depression, Afton asks a despondent looking Cliff what he's thinking, and he's like, "I'm not" and says he's so discombobulated by his entire life being ruined within the last 24 hours that he just wants to flee Dallas. Afton implores him to not let JR win this way, suggests they join forces so they can beat him together...and decides that now is the perfect time to tell him that she'd really really like it if he would give her a commitment. Cliff mumblingly asks her why she'd want to hang with a loser, not least 'cause she was openly disdainful about how big a loser he was prior to becoming a CEO, then gets all defeatist and says he has zero ability to ever beat JR. 

Over at police headquarters, the detectives tell Bobby he's off the hook for Jeff's murder, 'cause the bullet that killed him was successfully traced back to Joe Smith's gun...and they predict that Joe Smith and Griff will be put away for a long time. One of the detectives hands Bobby the envelop bearing his name that was found in Jeff's apartment, and Bobby hastily opens it and finds that it's a paid invoice for Kristin's hospital stay in Los Angeles. He scrunches his face confusedly and says he's not sure what exactly to make of the invoice, and the detectives are like, "Good luck with that" and thank him again for helping out with the drug bust.

Miss Ellie emerges from her bedroom to have dinner with the family. She happily greets Sue Ellen before seating herself at the end of the table...then gets a haunted look on her face as she stares intently at Jock's vacant chair. After a few seconds, she gets up and runs into the kitchen and cries, "Jock! Oh damn you! Damn you!" as she knocks dish-ware onto the floor in an awkward looking tantrum. JR and Bobby rush into the kitchen to see whassup, quietly take note of her grief-fuelled outburst, then tiptoe back to the dining room. Miss Ellie rails, "Why did you leave me? Whyyyyyyyy?", weakly knocks over some more bowls, then sinks to the floor as she squeaks, "Whyyyyyyyy did you diiiiiiiiie?"

The next morning, Miss Ellie drops by Casa Yokel to ask Donna to forgive her bitchitude about Jock being an alleged land grabber, then gives her her blessing to write her book as she sees fit. Donna reverently replies, "No ma'am" and says she wouldn't do that to her - but Miss Ellie points out that while Jock was a super awesome man, he likely did lots of things he regretted and would never lie about...and Ray solemnly concurs that, nope, Jock was a man who never ever lied. Miss Ellie firmly admits, "Jock is dead" and once again urges Donna to write her book...and as Donna looks overwhelmed with emotion, Miss Ellie says she totally accepts that Jock is never coming back, and that she's cherishing all of the wonderful, "forever" memories she has of their life together.

​Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying TVofYore's recaps, consider thanking me by buying me a "coffee"!

Recap: Bobby is at the police station, being questioned by the two detectives who are in charge of investigating Jeff Farraday's murder. Bobby says he knew Jeff through Kristin Shepard, and explains that Jeff begged him for cash 'cause he was in some kind of (unspecified) trouble. He fibs that he avoided entering Jeff's apartment building when he saw that it was swarmed by police cars, his reasoning being that he didn't want to invite any trouble into his life 'cause he's currently enmeshed in the delicate process of adopting a baby. The detectives agree to release him without charge...but once he's out of earshot, they express their doubts to one another that he's being 100% truthful.

Roger informs Lucy that he just sold his photography studio, then brings over a bottle of wine and two glasses so that they can celebrate the occasion. An incredulous Lucy reminds him that maybe a celebration isn't in order 'cause he's currently kidnapping her, and he calmly replies, "Not really. We were meant to be together." He asks her if she'd prefer to move him with to New York or California...and when she tells him he's crazy, he nonsensically growls, "Crazy? Well, you're here aren't you?", then orders her to take a sip of her wine before gleefully declaring that they'll always be together. 

Pam is on the phone with Valene, faux assuring her that there's prolly nothing to worry about with regard to Lucy's disappearance. JR, meanwhile, chides his niece (in absentia) for worrying Miss Ellie, hilariously adding that it'd serve the imp right if she were stripped of her ten Ewing Oil voting shares. An appalled Pam admonishes him for not thinking more about his niece's safety and wellbeing, and JR abruptly announces that he's off to the fugly nursery to say goodnight to little Christopher. 

 The next morning in the Southfork kitchen, Miss Ellie calls Captain Hillman at the local precinct to ask if there's been any progress in their search for Lucy, but is told that there's no sign of her anywhere. Miss Ellie remarks to Pam and Bobby that she can't imagine anyone wanting to hurt Lucy - and Pam suddenly looks as if a light just got turned on inside her head and quickly urges Bobby out of his mama's earshot so she can inform him that she thinks Roger Larson, aka the creepy photographer she warned to stay away from Lucy, may have had something to do with her disappearance. Bobby agrees that that's as good a lead as any, and the two rush off to Studio Creepy. 

 Mr. Forest drops in on Rebecca to complain that Cliff has asked him to cut two huge checks totalling $4.5 million, funds that had to come out of the company's research and development budget. A startled Rebecca's all, "Wuh? What were the funds for?", so Mr. Forest tells her that he was ordered to make the checks out to The Wellington Escrow Account, but has no idea what that is. Rebecca tells her worried accountant that she trusts her son implicitly and is certain there's a logical explanation for the withdrawals...but after she ushers him out of her condo, she stares concernedly into space for several long seconds.

 Roger is packing up his studio when Pam and Bobby drop in to ask him if he has any idea where Lucy might be. He fibs that he doesn't...and while this is happening, a tied up Lucy hears the conversation in the adjoining room and starts struggling against the ropes in earnest. She succeeds in knocking over a lamp, which alerts Bobby and Pam that something is clearly amiss. Bobby violently shoves Roger aside when he tries to block his way, then races towards the bedroom and crashes through the door, stunned by the sight of Lucy tied up, gagged, and lying motionless on the floor. He barks at Pam to call an ambulance, then cradles Lucy in her arms and coos about how everything is going to be A-OK.

 Later, Miss Ellie arrives at the hospital and finds Pam and Bobby sitting by Lucy's bedside. They assure her that Lucy is going to be just fine, and that the police have nutty Roger in custody.

 Tom tells Cliff that the only thing his team is extracting from the soil of the Wellington property is dust, and that it's becoming impossible to keep the crew from bailing on the lost cause. A stressed out Cliff says he's fine with them taking a break for a few days, but after that they need to resume drilling, and Tom weakly says he'll give it his best shot.

Cliff tries to get in touch with Marilee Stone, but her assistant informs him that she's gone for the day and can't be reached, like ever.

In the next scene, we see that Marilee is in JR's office, celebrating the success of Operation Ruin Cliff's Life with a bottle of champagne. JR hands her a reimbursement check for $2.5 million to cover her faux investment in the Wellington deal...and when she saucily asks about the interest earned, he asks Sly to hold his calls. Mmm hmm..

Sue Ellen is meeting with Mr. Meyer, her financial adviser, and is delighted to hear that since her investment portfolio is doing very well, she can officially consider herself a completely financially independent woman...and by financially independent woman, he means that she had the good fortune to become fabulously wealthy after cashing in on her failed marriage to a rich Ewing man. Sue Ellen calls Cliff to cheerily share her wealth update and to invite him to dinner, and a glum Cliff agrees to dine with her this evening - but only in the privacy of her home.

Mitch drops by the hospital to visit Lucy and apologize for the cold-blooded manner in which he asked her for a divorce. He half-heartedly suggests they make another go of their marriage, but she declines and tells him that love isn't enough for their weak coupling, and that she strongly feels it's for the best if they separately move on with their lives. Mitch concurs, gives her a cheek kiss, and says he's really going to miss her.

While out for a drink, JR tells Katherine that it's all over for Cliff, now that he's in debt for millions, and has proven to his own mother that he can't be trusted to not help himself to the company's disposable cash. Katherine frets about how her half-bro's antics are going to affect Wentworth Tool & Die and her mother, and JR points out that Rebecca is better off cutting Cliff loose before he causes the company any more damage, and then gleefully toasts his archenemy's fall from grace.

Cliff arrives at Sue Ellen's house for dinner, and she warns that she just wants to have a fun, relaxing evening without any talk of them getting married. She asks him whaddup with the big oil deal he told her about, so he grimly tells her it ended in disaster, and that he borrowed millions of dollars he can't repay and has no place to turn...then is all, "Or do I?" and asks her if she wouldn't mind loaning him the $4 million he needs in order to reimburse Wentworth Tool & Die. Sue Ellen stares back at him with a look of shocked revulsion and murmurs, "Oh no, Cliff. Don't do this to me." Cliff insists that he truly loves her and wants to marry her...but at the same time really really needs her to give him a ginormous loan. She responds by railing at him for trying to use her, then yells at him to get the hell out of her house...and Cliff sadly retorts, "We could have been so good together" before shuffling dejectedly out of the house.

The next morning, Lucy returns home with Miss Ellie and is warmly greeted by Pam, Ray, and Donna. Miss Ellie continues to act all snappish towards Donna...and when Ray urges her to try to work this out by getting everything out in the open, she snarks back that since Donna wants to sell books by exploiting a scandal, she has nothing to say to her.

 Cliff meets with land broker Russell Slater to discuss his desperate need to sell Barnes-Wentworth 1, in the hopes that he can get $7 million for the oil field. Russell tells him that the price is much too high 'cause of how soft the market currently is. Cliff reluctantly says he'd be willing to drop the price by a few 100K - but Russell makes it clear that if he intends to sell the property, he's going to need to reduce the price by millions.

Pam drops in on Sue Ellen, who's still upset at Cliff's loan request from the night before. She tells Pam that some big oil deal fell apart, leaving Cliff in desperate need of $4 million, and Pam's all, "The fuckity fuck?" and wonders aloud why in blazes her brother would need to borrow that much money. Sue Ellen deduces that Cliff is a weakling who tried to use her, and Pam grimaces knowingly and says she's likely not the only person associated with this fiasco who's been used.

That evening, two shifty looking men arrive at Ewing Oil to pay Bobby a visit. The more talkative one, Joe Smith, tells Bobby he saw him enter, then exit Jeff Farraday's apartment building the day he died and has now leaped to the conclusion that since Jeff was a drug dealer, he must have been his (Bobby's) cocaine connection. Joe Smith's henchman, Griff, admits to killing Jeff when he pulled a gun on him...and shortly after that, Bobby just happened to show up at the apartment. Joe Smith tells Bobby that business goes on, and that he'd be more than happy to step in as his cocaine supplier. Bobby declines the illegal offer - but Joe Smith smugly predicts that he'll soon come around, and Griff gives him a number to call whenever he's interested in indulging his next coke binge.

 Bobby heads straight to the police station to report on the drug ring he was just solicited by...and the detectives are all, "Yeah, whatever" and inform him that they're refocusing their suspicions onto him after speaking to a local bartender who witnessed him threatening to kill Jeff Farraday.

 Pam drops by by Rebecca's place to report that, according to Sue Ellen, Cliff just tried to borrow $4 million from her. Rebecca tells her that Cliff initially got the money from Wentworth Tool & Die - but the deal went sour. Pam is shocked that her brother would take advantage of his own mother by withdrawing so much company money to invest in an oil deal. Rebecca concurs, but assures Pam that she's totes capable of taking care of the situation herself. 

JR tries to get in touch with Sue Ellen, but her nurse-nanny Mrs. Chambers tells him she's not around, and agrees to pass along the message that he called.

 The police detectives tell Bobby they know he's lying about not entering Jeff Farraday's building 'cause they found his fingerprints inside the apartment. Bobby sheepishly admits that, yeah OK, he did enter the apartment, found Jeff dead on the floor, and anonymously called the police. He adds that when he attempted to sneak out of the building undetected, a drug dealer named Joe Smith took note of his license plate and later offered to supply him with cocaine. The detectives seem uninterested in pursuing any crimes related to that and tell Bobby he's free to go - but warn him not to travel outside the Dallas area.

Over at Southfork, Miss Ellie suggests to Lucy that she speak to a therapist about the horror of being abducted by an obsessed freak - but Lucy breezily assures her she's fine, and that she's more worried about her. Miss Ellie explains that she's needed time alone to contemplate Jock and how super awesome he was and about as close to a saint as a person can get...then rails about how Donna refuses to see the great things he did and prefers to print sordid lies about him. When Lucy scrunches her face confusedly and says that that doesn't sound at all like Donna, Miss Ellie insists that her former friend is intent on tearing St. Jock down for her own personal gain.

 Russell Slater arrives at Wentworth Tool & Die headquarters to announce to Cliff that he found a buyer for Barnes-Wentworth 1 - but that the offer is only for $3 million. Cliff grumblingly calls the prospective buyer a thief...and a few seconds later, JR enters the room and smugly offers to up the offer to $4 million so that his poor mother doesn't suffer a financial hit due to his immense stupidity. JR seats himself in Cliff's chair and flashes the $4 million check at him...and Cliff glares at him hatefully before signing over the deed and accepting the payment. JR thanks him, then mockingly recaps the abrupt change in his life circumstances: a few days ago he had owned a profitable oil field and was quasi-engaged to Sue Ellen...and now he's in debt, owns a dry hole of land in Lubbock, and has zero chance of marrying Sue Ellen. He calls Cliff "the perfect failure", then cackles gleefully as he gets up and saunters out of the office.

JR heads over to Sue Ellen's house to cluck sympathetically about how hard it sucks that both Clayton and Cliff disappointed her. He tells her she belongs with people who care for her, insists that she's still a Ewing, and is deeply sorry about what a total shitbag he was during much of their untenable marriage. He coos about how they're both meant for each other, then tells her it's time to come home to Southfork and her husband...and a miserable looking Sue Ellen stares mutely into space as she actually contemplates the madness that would be a reconciliation with JR.  

​Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying TVofYore's recaps, consider thanking me by buying me a "coffee"!

Recap: JR returns home from the office and asks Pam and Bobby if Christopher has been put to bed yet, adding that he's become very fond of the little gaffer. Pam looks surprised at his interest in her tot and tells him that since Christopher may not be asleep yet, he's more than welcome to go up to the fugly nursery and look in on him. JR mutters about how his young son had once filled Southfork with joy...and that he'd been soooo hopeful he'd return to the ranch - until someone turned Sue Ellen against him. As Bobby stares sheepishly into space, Miss Ellie points out to JR that he's able to see John Ross on weekends, but JR says it's not the same as him living at the ranch full time, something that Pam and Bobby can certainly appreciate with their bundle of joy. He then goes upstairs to visit with Christopher...and Pam and Miss Ellie cluck sympathetically about how sad it is that he misses his son so much.

JR enters the nursery and tells Christopher, "You don't know it yet, but I'm your daddy", then devilishly wonders how "Aunt Pam" would react if she were to ever find out the truth. 

Over at Studio Creepy, Roger is barking at Lucy to smile as he takes photographs of her sad disheveledness. She cries, "I can't!", then gets up and tries to make a break for it out of the room - but he physically restrains her, forcibly kisses her, and promises that when they're finished with the session he'll make her something to eat. He then continues to snap more photos, purring, "Now come on. Make looooove to this camera" while Lucy sobs at the horror and frustration of being this freak's captive.

Bobby is in a travel agency, booking a one-way plane ticket to Rio under the name Jeff Farraday.

Cliff drops in on Ewing Oil to smugly report to JR that he just purchased a plot of land known as the Wellington property, which is adjacent to the ones that WestStar and Ewing Oil/the cartel just purchased. JR looks faux outraged and rails about Marilee double-crossing him, and Cliff chucklingly remarks that he clearly doesn't know how to treat women. JR yells at Cliff to get out of his office, and Cliff happily says he's so certain he's about to become filthy rich that he doesn't anticipate any problem convincing Sue Ellen that he's more than capable of wedding her and funding her pampered lifestyle. [Dare to dream, Cliff.] After he happily scampers off, JR grins and says, "Oh Barnes...you just get dumber and dumber every day." LOL.

Over at Casa Yokel, Donna continues to wring her hands about how to best handle the yet unpublished Sam/Jock/Jonas scandal. She says she's reluctant to tell Miss Ellie about it 'cause it's pretty obvious that she hasn't even fully accepted Jock's death yet, and has no idea how she'll react to learning that he may not have been the greatest man who ever walked the earth. Ray tells her she can't just pretend the scandal doesn't exist [even though she totally could and hardly anyone would be the wiser] and urges her to open up to Miss Ellie about it, and Donna's like, "I know, but I'm skeered."

Clayton drops by Sue Ellen's house to tell her he's going to be out of the country for awhile so he can recombubulate his brain into thinking he no longer has the hots for her. When Sue Ellen scrunches her face confusedly, he explains that JR called him out on his non-platonic feelings for her...and this made him take a good hard look at himself and realize that his once paternal love for her was starting to enter 'my naughty parts are, uh, tingling' territory. Sue Ellen implores him to not allow JR to turn their lovely friendship into a sordid affair, but Clayton insists that he really really does need to put some distance between them so that there's no danger of their BFF relationship morphing into a May-December type thing that has the very real potential to ick viewers out. 

Bobby arrives at Jeff Farraday's apartment with the requested blackmail payment of $50,000 and the Rio plane ticket. He finds the door unlocked...then further discovers that someone has trashed the apartment and left Jeff lying dead on the floor. Bobby's all, "Ack!" and stares at the corpose in stunned horror. 

After the commercial break, Bobby checks Jeff's pulse...and when it's clear that there's no sign of life, he calls the police to anonymously report a homicide. He then carefully wipes his fingerprints from the phone and the doorknob and beats a hasty retreat. As he rushes out of the building and into his car, someone parked nearby is watching, and jots down the number of his license plate.

JR returns to the office and gets a message that Sue Ellen called...and when he calls her back, she chides him for destroying her friendship with the finest man she's ever known. JR says he was merely pointing out the truth - but Sue Ellen says she despises him for causing Clayton even a moment of pain and discomfort. JR tells her he can [pretend to] sympathize, since he too has been feeling pain ever since their marriage [mercifully] ended and she snaps, "Good." 

Cliff's oil consultant, Tom, suggests they bring in another geologist to reassess the Wellington land before beginning to drill - but an impatient Cliff puts the kibosh on that and says he just wants to rush into drilling based on the faux geology report that Marilee gave him. Marilee tells Cliff it's actually not a bad idea to be extra sure of the presence of oil - but Cliff once again insists on starting to drill asap. After the meeting wraps up, Cliff summons Mr. Forest (the accountant of Wentworth Tool & Die), and tells the weirdo he needs him to cut a check for $500,000.

Donna drops in on Miss Ellie in the Southfork kitchen and tells her that, during the course of her research, she learned that Sam and a partner wanted some land that was owned by Sam's Uncle Jonas...and when Jonas declined to sell it, they had him committed to a mental hospital with the intention of releasing him once they successfully seized the land. Unfortunately, Jonas was so distraught about being screwed over so hard by his own nephew that he committed suicide, and when his last will and testament was unveiled, Sam learned that he inherited everything. Miss Ellie looks shocked and appalled as she murmurs, "That poor man, killing himself." Donna asks her if Jock had ever told her anything about Jonas's demise, and she's like, "Why would Jock have known about it and/or told me about it?", so Donna drops the bombshell that Sam's unnamed partner in this whole fiasco was none other than Jock. Miss Ellie calls that a lie, and chides Donna for believing something so terrible about her saintly husband, haughtily adding that to spread "these lies" is to destroy the reputation of the finest man who ever lived "all for the sake of a cheap book". She cries, "How dare you?!" and vows to Donna that if she does, in fact, go ahead and publish the book with this juicy tidbit included, she'll sue for defamation.

That evening, Cliff drops by Sue Ellen's house to happily report that he's [under the delusion he's] sitting atop a big oil deposit, which will make him rich enough to afford a high-maintenance society lady such as herself. He hands her a diamond ring and proposes marriage, but she hastily replies that she's not interested in marrying anyone at the moment 'cause of all the turmoil in her life. Cliff says he'll settle for that non-answer for the time being, insisting that all he wants is to make her happy...so Sue Ellen half-heartedly throws him a bone and promises to contemplate his proposal, and the two lean towards each other for a pre-engagement [spoiler: not] smooch. 

 Over at Southfork, JR hands Bobby an envelop, which contains a copy of the affidavit signed by Sue Ellen regarding Christopher's adoption proceeding. Bobby pales and asks him where he got this, and JR breezily says it's public record, and that he's positively delighted that he and Pam are so eager to adopt his child and is A-OK being forever known to the tot as "Uncle JR" - as long as Bobby pinky swears to always use his Ewing Oil voting shares in his (JR's) favor. He stares at Bobby and says, "I do you a favor, you do me a favor" and exits the living room...and Bobby pours himself a drink and stares concernedly into space.

The next morning, Bobby glances through the newspaper and finds an article titled Transient Shot. JR, meanwhile, is laying it on thick to Pam about how full one's life is when one has children...and after he leaves for the office, Pam remarks to Bobby how surprising it is that JR is suddenly so interested in Christopher. [That it is, Pam. That it is.] She then changes the subject to her concern for Miss Ellie, who's been oddly reclusive since yesterday, and Bobby agrees to go upstairs and check on her. 

 Miss Ellie is despondently staring out the window when Bobby enters her room to ask her whassup with her not coming down to breakfast. She coldly tells him she'd like to be alone for awhile, and Bobby's like, "Can do" and promptly leaves the room. Miss Ellie then wanders across the room to pick up a framed photo of Jock, stare at it wistfully, and hug it against her chest.  

 Donna laments to Ray how much she upset Miss Ellie, who continues to put Jock on a pedestal. She says she now regrets researching a second book and can only hope that Miss Ellie forgives her for discovering that St. Jock did something pretty fucking dickish fifty years ago.
​
 Over at Ewing Oil, Bobby tells JR he's concerned about Miss Ellie, and JR self-servingly chalks it up to her missing the way the family used to be: when Sue Ellen and John Ross lived at Southfork. He asks Bobby if he's given any thought to his ultimatum regarding quietly adopting Christopher in exchange for his voting shares, and Bobby points out that he has as much to lose in this situation, most notably how Miss Ellie is going to react when she learns that he fathered Christopher...not to mention that when this scandal goes public, it'll permanently destroy his relationship with Sue Ellen. JR counters by asking Bobby how Pam is going to react to losing Christopher, then weirdly decrees that if John Ross doesn't end up running Ewing Oil for whatever reason, his illegitimate son will do just fine. Bobby glares back at him with an appalled expression and accuses him of bluffing, and JR says that the best solution for both of them is if Bobby just uses his voting shares "wisely", and a disgusted looking Bobby exits the office without replying.

 Roger is encouraging Lucy to eat something - but she tells him she's not hungry, then asks how much longer he thinks he can keep her here before her family realizes she's missing. Roger informs her that his plan is for them to make a fresh start, maybe even get married (!) after they move to New York or California. Lucy points out that it'll take him a while to sell his studio, but he smugly tells her he already has a potential buyer lined up.

Sue Ellen gives John Ross a snack - just as JR drops by her house to gloat about purging Clayton from her life, adding that he now just has Cliff's life to ruin as a means of getting him out of the way. He then tells Sue Ellen in no uncertain terms that he wants her and John Ross back at Southfork asap, and urges her to give what could only be an ill-fated reconciliation some serious thought.

 The next morning at Southfork, JR asks Miss Ellie if she's ok, and she assures him she's fine, then heads into the dining room to eat her breakfast...but looks all out of sorts and starts to cry when she tries to eat.

Upstairs, Bobby tells Pam it's entirely possible that Miss Ellie is finally accepting the reality that Jock is dead. Pam says the best they can do is stay close to her and be supportive, then suggests they invite her to join them for dinner this evening. 

Cliff is dictating a letter to his secretary Marie about his desire to expand Wentworth Tool & Die, blah blah, when JR drops by to give him the gift of a bottle of oil and to quip that there's more oil in that bottle than he's ever going to drill from the Wellington property. Cliff chuckles at what he assumes is "sour grapes" and points out to JR he knows how badly he wanted to purchase that land. JR says if he had wanted it he wouldn't have used his company's money to get it...and says this all sanctimonious-like as if he didn't risk his family's entire estate when he sneakily mortgaged Southfork during Season 3's Asian oil leases debacle. JR then reveals to Cliff that he's been orchestrating an elaborate plan to lure him into buying a plot of land with zero chance of finding oil, making it inevitable that his life, finances, and career would be completely destroyed. Cliff chews on that alarming claim for a few seconds, then yells at JR to get out of his office...and JR cheerily predicts that a week from now this won't be his office anymore.

Cliff calls Tom to nervously ask him how the oil drilling is going...and when the answer is fruitless as fuck, he orders Tom's team to drill 24/7 'cause he's suddenly more desperate than ever to locate a gusher. 

 Mitch drops by Southfork to check on Lucy after breaking the news about his desire for a divorce. Miss Ellie looks confused and says that Lucy hasn't been home since she left to have lunch with him, then tries to track her granddaughter down by calling her friends.

​Lucy is tied to a chair while Roger sleeps atop the bed...and after much struggling with some very thick white rope, Lucy manages to free her hands and untie her ankles, then quietly tip-toes out of the room. The sound of the door closing wakes Roger, and he leaps out of bed and blocks her escape through the main door, giving her face a hard smack.

Miss Ellie calls Bobby and tells him she's very worried about Lucy, who seems to have gone missing...and Bobby promptly hangs up and calls the police.

Later, Ray and Donna drop in on the main house to express their concern for Lucy - but Miss Ellie acts all cold and bitchy towards Donna and snarks that they have nothing to say to each other. 

 At Ewing Oil, Bobby receives a visit from two police detectives...not to investigate Lucy's disappearance - but to probe his relationship with the recently murdered Jeff Farraday.

Uh oh.

​Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying TVofYore's recaps, consider thanking me by buying me a "coffee"!

Recap: While heading to the breakfast table, Pam assures Lucy she's not going to have to worry about Roger obsessing about her anymore, 'cause she's pretty sure the freak got the message to back off. Lucy thanks her and says he was really starting to scare her...and that if Blair forces her to continue working with him, it's goodbye modelling. Bobby, meanwhile, announces that he has to rush off to the office now, then happens to answer the phone when it rings and is annoyed when it's Jeff Farraday. He chides him for calling him at Southfork, and Jeff is like, "Whatever. Be grateful that you answered" and says he wants to get together this evening at the same bar as in the the previous episode...and when Bobby asks what would happen if he doesn't show, Jeff snidely says he'll be forced to find someone who's willing to talk to him.

Over at Ewing Oil, Murphy shows JR the forged reports claiming that the oil-free plot of land in Lubbock is guaranteed to be filled with oceans of oil. JR thanks him for committing fraud on his behalf and hands him the deed to his house, paid in full...and Murphy promises to make himself scarce for the foreseeable future. After Murphy exits the office, JR calls Marilee Stone to tell her they're ready to roll with Operation Screw Up Cliff's Life, and Marilee says she's on board - but reminds him that he's going to owe her big...and by owe her big she means she's going to demand unlimited sack time.

Back at the ranch, Rebecca is gushing to Miss Ellie about how friggin' adorable Christopher is, and Miss Ellie concurs and says he's brought a lot of joy to the house. Rebecca changes the subject to the renewed conflict between Cliff and JR and tells her that JR arranged for his friend Wally Hampton to offer Cliff a big salaried job, which was a trap intended to humiliate him. Miss Ellie scrunches her face confusedly and asks why JR would do such a thing...and asks this as if JR hasn't repeatedly exhibited a vindictive side to his personality since probably childhood. Rebecca explains that the source of the problem is that Cliff has been dating Sue Ellen...and Miss Ellie scrunches her face worriedly and accurately predicts that the situation is going to get far worse, citing the great lengths JR went to in order to get Sue Ellen removed from the Southern Cross ranch. She adds, "JR doesn't want any man between himself and his son."

Donna is on the phone with Dave Culver, who's planning to fly to Dallas a bit later in the episode. After the call, she re-listens to the section of her research tape that implicates Jock for wrongfully and dickishly having Jonas committed to a mental hospital...and when Ray arrives home and asks her why she looks so troubled, she answers by asking him what Jock was like when he stumbled onto Southfork fifteen years ago. Ray tells her that while Jock wasn't prefect, he was the best, most awesome man he ever knew...and Donna somehow refrains from retorting, "Um - seriously?"

Afton arrives at the Cattlemen's Club [where the waitresses seem to be decked out in skimpier skimpy-wear than usual] and seats herself with JR. She urges him to refrain from destroying Cliff, not least 'cause she's pretty sure that Sue Ellen is going to dump him soon enough, and then implores, "I want him back in one piece, JR. With all of his assets intact." She then warns JR that there's another, far more substantive man who looks as though he's about to take Cliff's place in Sue Ellen's boudoir - meaning Clayton Farlow - and JR stares back at her in stunned bewilderment. 

Miss Ellie drops in on Sue Ellen to warn her that the revenge sex she's having with Cliff is causing too many problems for too many people. Sue Ellen haughtily tells her that her choice of bed partners is really none of her business, and Miss Ellie responds by pointing out that the love triangle between her, Cliff, and JR nearly destroyed them once...and when she asks if she's strong enough to withstand it a second time, Sue Ellen nervously mutters, "Dunno."

 Lucy tells Blair that there's something not quite right with the way Roger's brain is wired and that she really really wants to work with a different photographer...so much so that she's willing to quit modelling altogether if he doesn't grant her request. Blair mulls that over, decides that Lucy's become a hot enough commodity in the Dallas modelling world to not need Roger anymore, and assures her he'll personally break the news to the possessive misfit.

 Bobby makes it clear to Jeff Farraday that he's not going to be giving him another blackmail payment to keep quiet about Christopher and threatens to involve the authorities. Jeff points out that he too broke the law when he paid money for the tot and began the adoption process. He then threatens to blow the whistle on him, and storms out of the bar.

 Bobby returns home and finds Pam in the nursery, putting Christopher to bed. She excitedly tells him that the Department of Human Resources called and is sending someone to inspect Southfork to determine whether or not it's a wholesome enough environment for a child. When Bobby's like, "Yeah, and..?", Pam points out that she's certain the visit will go well, easily clearing the final hurdle in the adoption process.

Marilee Stone drops by Cliff's office, delivering an Oscar worthy performance as a scorned woman who's deeply upset with JR for not keeping his promise to marry her. She claims that the cad tricked her into the sack just so she'd help him get back into the cartel's good graces, and is miffed that he's still so clearly obsessed with Sue Ellen. She tells Cliff she wants to hurt JR where it matters, specifically by joining forces with him (Cliff) to buy an oil-rich piece of property near Lubbock for $6.5 million. She shows him Murphy's falsified geology report that guarantees the oil rich status of the land, and an intrigued Cliff promises to look it over and get back to her asap.

At Southfork, Mrs. Gilman, an inspector from the Department of Human Resources, is meeting with Pam, Bobby, and Miss Ellie as she assesses the suitability of the sprawling ranch as Christopher's new home. She assures the Ewings that 1) the ranch is a lovely home for the tot, 2) they're clearly meant to be a family, given how "very right for each other" they are, and 3) she'll do her best to fast track the process to under six months.

Sly tells JR that she managed to locate the Dallas hotel in which Clayton is staying, and JR tells her to get him on the phone pronto.

 Over in the old Culver house attic (ugh), Dave is reading his father's diary from the 1930s, from which he learns that Jonas had, at one point, appointed Sam his sole heir. Donna tells Dave that she doesn't want to do anything to sully her late husband's reputation, and Dave tells her he couldn't give the tiniest rat's ass about what happened fifty years ago, and that she should go ahead include this "scandal" in her book if she really wants to. Donna tells him there's a stickier matter at hand: the incident involved Jock Ewing, and she has yet to tell Miss Ellie about it and/or make up her mind if she's going to simply forge ahead and reveal the Ewing's dirty, dull-as-fuck linen to the entire world.

 Cliff consults with his oil field consultant, Mr. Fragner, about the geology reports he received from Marilee Stone, and Mr. Fragner tells him that, based on the fraudulent info that Murphy cobbled together, the land is "a helluva find" and gives him the green light to make the purchase. Cliff then summons his weird accountant, Mr. Forest, to request a check for $4 million...and an aghast Mr. Forest tells Cliff that requesting multi-million dollar checks is not how Wentworth Tool & Die works. Cliff reminds him that his mommy gave him full authority to run the company as he sees fit, and orders him to get him the check by the end of the day. He then dismisses Mr. Forest and calls Marilee to tell her he's on track to meet with her at the bank tomorrow morning.

 JR summons Clayton to the Cattlemen's Club to tell him he had an interesting chat with Afton, who senses his deep feelings for Sue Ellen. JR says it's become clear that when Sue Ellen was staying at the Southern Cross ranch, he was weirdly protective of her, though not necessarily in the interest of Dusty. Clayton gets up from his chair and calls JR "a contemptible man" ... and an unfazed JR tries to get him to admit that he, and not Dusty, was the Farlow man who most wanted Sue Ellen as his lover. Mmm hmm..

 At the bank, Cliff tells Marilee that he wants to assume a larger portion of the risk of their venture and hands the banker the $4 million check that Mr. Forest issued, along with $500,000 from his personal account. A surprised Marilee's like, "Are you sure?" and says that a 50/50 split is fine with her - and Cliff assures her it's fine, tells the banker he wants the venture named Barnes-Stonehurst Oil, then invites Marilee to join him for a celebratory lunch.

 Bobby is startled to find Jeff Farraday lurking in the hallway near the entrance of the Ewing Oil offices. He tells Bobby they need to talk (yet again) tonight at the same bar as the previous two meetings...and it remains unclear why in blazes Jeff can't just fully spit out whatever it is that he needs to tell Bobby during one meeting.

 Roger is photographing a lanky model named Vanessa when Blair enters the studio to tell him they need to talk about Lucy. He comes right out and tells Roger that Lucy has zero desire to work with him anymore, and an incensed Roger yells, "I discovered her! I made her!", insists that they're a team, and decrees that no one else should ever be granted permission to photograph his most precious angel. When Blair tries to get the crackpot to calm the fuck down, he reacts by screeching, "Me, Blair! Just me!" ... and Blair reminds him that he's been warned before about his weird possessiveness towards the models. He tells Roger he has a new, non-Lucy-related campaign he wants him to shoot, and Roger craftily pretends to calm down and tells Blair he's totes on board with that.

While out for lunch, Miss Ellie asks JR whaddup with him and Sue Ellen, and JR says that things between them had been going so well that he was sure a reconciliation was on the horizon. He laments that, out of nowhere, "the wind shifted" when someone told her something that suddenly turned her against him. Miss Ellie asks him if he suspects Cliff...and, if so, is it the reason he tried to set him up with the fake Wally Hampton job? She chides him for continuing to perpetuate the tediousness that is the Barnes-Ewing feud, and JR apologizes to her for his trickery - but, in his defence, the thought of Cliff hooking up with Sue Ellen ... "it just flat drives me crazy".

Over at Casa Yokel, Donna tells Ray that she learned something extremely unflattering about Jock and can't decide whether or not she should publish it in her new book 'cause of how Miss Ellie might react. Ray urges her to talk to Miss Ellie about it and says that, as a general principle, it's always best to get everything out in the open. 

Over dinner at Casa Sue Ellen, Cliff tells Sue Ellen he wants to have a serious talk about not letting her get away a second time, then proposes marriage...before hastily adding that he's on the verge of a huge deal that'll make it possible for him to support her in the life to which she's become accustomed. Sue Ellen tells him she needs time to think it over, and Cliff tells her to take all the time she needs, kisses her hand, and heads out. Sue Ellen stares contemplatively into space, then wanders over to the phone to call Clayton...and after letting the phone ring several times, Clayton answers and fibs that he can't talk right now 'cause he's in an important meeting with some suppliers. He breezily says they'll talk another time, then abruptly hangs up. Ouch.

 That evening at the bar, Jeff tells Bobby he wants a final payment of $50,000 before he skedaddles to Brazil, adding that he's gotten himself into some trouble and needs to hightail it out of the U.S., like yesterday. Jeff says he'd be willing to [needlessly] provide proof of this trouble and suggests they meet at his place, then warns Bobby not to blow it 'cause it's his last chance.

 Later at Southfork, Bobby stares down at little Christopher, who's mewling in his crib, and tells the tot he's worth all the stress and trouble he's caused, promising he'll do whatever it takes to keep him at Southfork.  

 The next morning, Mitch calls Lucy and invites her to have lunch with him at the condo, and she excitedly says she'll be there, then tells Miss Ellie and Pam about the date, saucily adding, "If I have my way, I won't be home tonight...or for several nights." Miss Ellie serenely says she's happy they've decided to work things out, and Pam agrees to help her pick out something nice to wear. 

Marilee drops in on JR at Ewing Oil to report that Cliff took it upon himself  to shell out $4.5 million for the doomed-to-fail Lubbock venture, and JR cackles heartily [making me heartily cackle along with him] as he imagines Cliff's devastation when it finally dawns on him that the land he purchased for the purpose of drilling oil somehow doesn't have a single drop of oil. Marilee tells JR she wants to celebrate the success of Operation Screw Up Cliff's Life....and by celebrate she means she wants to get it on right here and now...or later at her house. JR stares back at her in wonderment and calls her insatiable, and she grins while unashamedly replying, "Crooked deals turn me on like crazy." 

Over at the condo, Lucy apologizes to Mitch for trying to make him jealous by hugging Roger during the outdoor photo shoot, then says she's decided that she'd really really like to make their marriage work. Mitch is like, "Uh, I don't want that" and says he'd like to file for divorce asap 'cause he wants to have an honest relationship with his new squeeze, Evelyn Michaelson. Lucy's all, "Wha-a-a-a?!" as she stares at him in tearful bewilderment, then burst out of the condo in a puddle of tears. 

Rebecca asks Cliff if he's using Sue Ellen to get back at JR, and Cliff insists that he genuinely loves JR's ex and has gone so far as to propose marriage. Rebecca tells him that this ill-fated relationship frightens her, and that she's convinced it's going to destroy both him and JR, and Cliff gets all prickly and insists to his ma that he's determined to fight for and win the (cold) heart of the woman he (inexplicably) loves. 

Lucy is drowning her sorrows at Jimmy's Singles before deciding to settle her bill and head home for the night. She ambles across the parking lot and climbs into her car...and a few seconds later, Roger forces his way into the passenger side and orders her to drive where he tells her. Lucy cowers in fear as she turns on the engine...and when Roger glares at her and barks, "Drive! Now!", she obediently backs out of her parking spot and hits the gas.

Detective Harry McSween drops by Ewing Oil to report to JR that Christopher's bio mom is, in fact, Kristin...and that Sue Ellen signed an affidavit indicating that she 1) knows the tot is her nephew and is declining to seek custody, and 2) is pretending to not know who the bio dad could possibly be. JR lets out a huge sigh of relief and says, "That's what Bobby and Sue Ellen were talking about!", then thanks Harry for his service and ushers him out of the office. While closing the door, JR mutters, "Oh Bobby...what you did to me. Because of you, I almost lost John Ross", but now plans to turn everything around...and by turn everything around, he means he's going to blackmail Bobby into handing over his Ewing Oil voting shares in exchange for letting him adopt Christopher without further incident. He glances over at the framed photo of John Ross and remarks that soon he'll have total control of Ewing Oil, and then scrunches his face in steely determination. 

​Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying TVofYore's recaps, consider thanking me by buying me a "coffee"!

Recap: Cliff brags to Rebecca and Katherine about how he was able to outsmart JR in his plot to get him hired and then fired at Olco Industries, and Rebecca says she's just happy that he's staying put at Wentworth Tool & Die. Cliff's like, "Uh, about that.." and tells his ma he's becoming increasingly displeased about having to get approval from the board every time he wants to make a deal...and when Rebecca says she'll talk to the board members on his behalf, Katherine irritably points out that she can't intervene every time Cliff wants something. Cliff agrees and says he'd much prefer to have carte blanche to run the company as he sees fit - and Katherine's all, "The fuckity fuck?!" and reminds him that all of the other division presidents are required to obtain permission from the board before they make major decisions. Rebecca tells her that since Cliff is family she's willing to give him a very long leash, and Cliff grinningly says, "Thank you, mama."

JR arrives at Sue Ellen's house to drop off John Ross, and Mrs. Chambers tells him that Sue Ellen is out...and after he leaves, Sue Ellen emerges from where she was hiding and thanks her nurse-nanny for covering for her.

The next morning at Southfork, JR gives Ray an appreciative once-over, then says, "I hardly recognized you, Ray. You look like a new man." He also applauds him for handing over his voting shares - but a peeved looking Ray tells him he'd rather not talk about that ever again. JR's like, "Sounds good to me!" and scampers off to work, while Ray meets up with Miss Ellie to give her some ranch-related paperwork to sign off on.

Donna is in Big Springs, meeting with Dr. Kensington, the administrator of the local mental hospital. He tells her that fifty years ago, Sam Culver had a relative named Jonas committed to the hospital - but if she wants to get the full story, she should talk to Abel Greeley over at the hardware store.  

Sue Ellen and Clayton hold hands (!) as she complains about how much she dreads facing JR on the weekends, and he wanks her about what an amazingly strong woman she is and assures her that she's totally capable of handling herself with her ex. The two grin at each other and continue staring at each other in a way that makes it look as though they're about to lean in for a smooch (!) - when Cliff arrives to take Sue Ellen out to lunch. As Sue Ellen exits the room to do some quick primping, Cliff remarks to Clayton that they seem to bump into each other a lot at Sue Ellen's house, and that it's likely going to continue happening 'cause neither seems willing to give up on pursuing Dallas's most eligible (divorced) lady of leisure. 

Pam drops by Bobby's office to invite him out for dinner - just as Bobby gets a call from Jeff Farraday. Bobby declines to take the call and tells Phyllis he'll get in touch with him tomorrow 'cause right now he's off to dinner - just as a deliveryman arrives with an envelop for JR. Sly signs for it and rushes it over to JR's office, and he promptly rips it open and sees that it's the birth certificate of Kristin's out-of-wedlock spawn. He immediately gets on the horn with Lowell Greer and tells him he wants to know who Kristin was hanging out with around the time she died...and after he hangs up, he stares at the birth certificate, murmuring, "Christopher... My, my. What a coincidence."

Clayton drops in on Afton at her restaurant workplace as she prepares for her next singing performance to tell her he's been seeing a lot of Sue Ellen, since they're such good friends and all, and is concerned about whether Cliff is good enough for her. Afton says it hardly matters, 'cause JR is never going to let Cliff have Sue Ellen, then asks him why he cares so much about who she dates...and suggests that he, and not his son Dusty, is the one who's in love with her. A few seconds later she's summoned to the stage, and Clayton stares contemplatively into space.

JR joins the family for breakfast and learns that Christopher is seven months old, noting to himself that it's the same age that's documented on Kristin's son's birth certificate.

 Katherine drops in on Cliff at his Wentworth Tool & Die office and snaps, "Why are you ruining my father's company?" Cliff explains that he wants to wheel and deal like the Ewing brothers are always doing, and Katherine reminds him that her father built this company and she doesn't want to see it destroyed 'cause of his idiotic obsession with JR. She says that her father would never have run the company this way, and Cliff reminds her that the elder Wentworth is no longer around and that he's now at the helm. Katherine glares at him with her freakishly blue eyes and seethes, "You disgusting little man" ... and when Cliff declares that no one is going to stop him from running the company the way he pleases, she retorts, "I wouldn't be so sure of that" and storms out. 

Lucy tells Blair she's amazed at how much modelling work she's been getting [me too, Lucy...me too], and he assures her that with his agency behind her, she'll get a ton more work. He reminds her that she's booked for the holiday mascara session on Tuesday and advises her to get a good night's sleep...and Lucy tentatively broaches the subject of hiring a photographer who's not Roger. Blair dismissively asks her if they had a lover's quarrel, then decides that since Roger takes such wonderful shots of her, he's not inclined to make any major changes in personnel for the upcoming shoot.

Jeff calls Bobby and admonishes him for ducking his calls. He says they need to discuss Christopher, then gives him a time/place to meet up at a public place tomorrow night.
 
Abel Greeley tells Donna he knew and liked Jonas Culver, and insists that Jonas wasn't so much crazy as he was stubborn...and dishes about how most folks believe that Sam had him put away in a mental hospital so he could get a valuable plot of land. Sadly, though, Abel was so distraught that he only lasted a few months in the hospital before killing himself. Donna says she finds it very hard to believe that Sam would do such a terrible thing and shoots Abel a peeved glare, and Abel continue to go about his hardware store business and somehow refrains from reminding her that she was the one who asked him to give her the low-down on this dull-as-fuck Sam-Jonas saga that took place fifty years ago.  

Katherine meets up with JR for dinner at a fancy restaurant to complain about Cliff wanting to have full autonomy to run Wentworth Tool & Die. She worries that he's going to run the company into the ground and curses her naive mother for giving in to him. JR agrees that that was not a wise decision, then asks her what Rebecca would do if Cliff were to, say, abuse that trust. Katherine says she highly doubts her mom would let anyone destroy her late husband's legacy, and JR smilingly promises that, very soon, she'll have nothing to worry about. 

JR meets with a lackey named Murphy, and the two study the Lubbock map that has three distinct plots of land:

• #1:  WestStar is buying 'cause it's oil rich
• #2: Ewing Oil and the cartel are buying 'cause it's oil rich
• #3: No one wants 'cause it has zero chance of finding oil

JR tells Murphy he wants him to falsify his geological reports so that it appears as though plot #3 has oceans of oil beneath the surface...and when Murphy balks at committing fraud and says it could cost him his business license, JR reminds him that he recently bailed him out financially and wouldn't want to have to call in his loan. Murphy meekly agrees to do his bidding, and JR happily encourages him to make his reports convincing, then gives him the bum's rush out the door.

 Donna returns home and looks pleased to see that Ray has finally cleaned himself up and is no longer whining incessantly about what a stupid loser he is. The two smooch intensely, and Donna tells him she knew things would get better once he realized that he wasn't cut out for a life of wheelin' and dealin'. Ray sheepishly says he feels bad for the horrendous way he treated her [as well he should], but she assures him that she's happy to sweep all that under the rug, 'cause none of it matters now that they're together. He happily tells her he's off to go ranchin' with the guys, and she kisses him and tells him not to be gone too long.

 Donna calls Dave Culver to ask him if he knew anything about a family member named Jonas who died in a mental hospital fifty years ago. Dave says that the name definitely rings a bell, then suggests to Donna that she check the attic of the Culver home to see if Sam happened to leave behind any self-incriminating diaries or files.

 Afton drops by Sue Ellen's house to tell her that she wants Cliff for herself, and to express concern that she's using him as a weapon to hurt JR. Sue Ellen snaps back that it's none of her business if, why, or how she's using Cliff to get back at her ex-husband, then cheekily asks Afton how strongly her feelings developed for Cliff after he became a wealthy CEO...which, fair point. She then asks her if JR sent her, and Afton says he didn't - but that she did get a visit from another of her boyfriends: Clayton. She says that given the choice between JR, Cliff, and Clayton, she'd dump JR and Cliff in a New York minute to hook up with a silver fox like Clayton. [Er, seriously?] Sue Ellen continues to insist that Clayton is merely a friend...and Afton's like, "Believe what you want" and sashays out of the house. 

Roger angrily asks Lucy whassup with her telling Blair she wants to work with a different photographer, and she points out that lately he's been acting like a weird, angrily obsessed freak who scares her - kind of like he's doing right now. Roger growlingly tells her to get one thing clear: he is the only man on earth who's authorized to take photographs of her. As he looms over her with a demented glare, she fearfully nods...and a few seconds later, Blair and two clients enter the studio and somehow don't notice that Lucy is cowering against the wall looking extremely wigged out.

That evening at a busy bar, Jeff Farraday tells Bobby he learned about him initiating the adoption of Kristin's baby and says that, due to inflation, he's going to need another blackmail payment. Bobby angrily says he's not getting another dime...and when Jeff saucily asks if his wife would feel the same way, Bobby grabs him by the collar and threatens to kill him if he ever goes near Pam again. He then storms out of the bar, leaving the bar-goers tittering about the near ask-kicking they just witnessed.

 Donna is in the attic of the Culver house, reading Sam's old diary from the 1930s, which references Jock's involvement in forcibly committing Jonas to the mental institution, where he unexpectedly killed himself. Donna looks troubled as she stares mutely into space.

 Lucy is twitching nervously by the Southfork pool when Pam emerges from the house carrying Christopher. She asks Lucy whassup, so Lucy tells her about how possessive and weird Roger has been acting lately, and that she's genuinely frightened for her safety. Pam chews on that for a few seconds, then hands the baby over to Lucy, asks her the address of Roger's studio, and rushes off.

While spooning in bed, JR tells Marilee Stone that he really hates having to answer to his family whenever he wants to involve Ewing Oil in some wheelin' and dealin'...and is also irked that he had to sign over the ownership of an oil field to Cliff Barnes. He brings up the plot of land in Lubbock that's been proven to not have a drop of oil...and when Marilee asks him why he's so interested in that, he laughs and says he'd be happy to explain it to her, then rolls himself towards her so the two can start getting it on again.

 At Studio Creepy, Pam introduces herself to Roger as Lucy's aunt, then warns him to stay away from her if he doesn't want to face the ire of the entire Ewing family. Roger's all, "Wuh? Are you threatening me?" and Pam's like, "Yep", but adds that she also did him a favor by not bringing along her husband for this preliminary warning. As she turns and exits the studio, Roger stares at a photo of Lucy, and touches it tenderly.

Clayton is once again over at Sue Ellen's house, remarking on how distracted she seems, so she asks him why he felt it necessary to chat with Afton. He explains that he wanted to reassure himself that Cliff was worthy of her, and Sue Ellen tells him that Afton thought he was in love with her. Clayton says he does love her, though not in a romantic sense...and Sue Ellen lets out a big sigh of relief, says she thinks of him as the father she never knew, and gives him a hug.

 Lowell Greer arrives at Ewing Oil to report to JR that Kristin brought her baby along when she travelled to Texas, and the man she was shacking up with at the time was Jeff Farraday, whose location is currently undetermined. Lowell says he assumes that the baby is still in Texas, and JR smirkingly says he might have an idea of where the little gaffer has been hanging out.

​Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying TVofYore's recaps, consider thanking me by buying me a "coffee"!

Recap: The Ewings are popping champagne as they celebrate Pam's/Bobby's (almost) adoption of Christopher. When JR arrives home, Bobby hands him a glass of champagne and tells him the good news...and JR just stares back at him mutely before turning around and going upstairs. He enters his bedroom, then picks up the phone and calls Jerry Macon to arrange a meeting at his office first thing in the morning.

Sue Ellen has summoned Clayton to her house to bellyache about her renewed hatred of JR 'cause of his icky dalliance with Kristin. Clayton scrunches his face confusedly and asks her why she's suddenly angry about an affair that's soooo Season 3, and Sue Ellen tells him she isn't able to offer a full explanation - but vows to do everything she can to hurt JR as much as he's hurt her.

The next morning at Ewing Oil, JR instructs Jerry to provide him with a list of whoever has visited Sue Ellen in the last several days, and Jerry says it's a very short list:

• Various deliverymen
• Him (as in JR)
• Bobby

JR's all, "Wuh? Bobby visited Sue Ellen?", abruptly dismisses Jerry, then buzzes Sly to tell her he needs to speak with Bobby the instant he arrives at the office.

Bobby goes to a local newsstand to buy the daily paper so he can view the Intention to Adopt ad that Charles Eccles placed. He reads it, then stares concernedly into space.

Miss Ellie is riding her stationary bicycle when Ray drops by the house to show off his newly trimmed hair and freshly shaven face. He tells Miss Ellie he's off to Braddock to stock up on supplies and asks her if she needs anything - she doesn't - then mentions that Donna is in Austin doing some research for her book and hopes she won't be away for too long. Miss Ellie says she has a hunch that Donna will be very glad to return home once she's completed her research, then gives him the thumbs up for finally summoning up the motivation to clean himself up. 

When Bobby arrives at Ewing Oil headquarters, he heads over to JR's office to see whassup...so JR tells him to sit down, then asks what in blazes he's been telling Sue Ellen, and demands to know how often he and his ex-wife meet up behind his back. Bobby tells him to get his mind out of the gutter, then refuses to disclose what he and Sue Ellen talked about, snapping that it's none of his damn business.

Sue Ellen stares unhappily at the sculpture that JR gave her during the previous episode. She picks it up, glares at it some more, then throws it across the room and watches as it smashes against the fireplace. She then sashays over to the phone and dials a mystery man [spoiler: Cliff] and breathily says she really really wants to see him.

Just before leaving the office, Bobby phones Sue Ellen and leaves a message with Mrs. Chambers that he needs to meet up with her for breakfast the next morning.

Late that evening, Sue Ellen arrives at Cliff's apartment, gives him a hungry once over, then leans in for an amorous smooch.

The next morning at breakfast, Sue Ellen asks Bobby why he felt it was necessary for them to meet up again, so he informs her that JR knows that they spoke the other day...and that since she didn't say anything to him about their conversation, he can only deduce that JR has hired a spy to watch her house.

Donna is at the Austin Public Library, looking at microfilm when she sees something that appears to both startle and intrigue her. She asks the librarian how she might do some follow-up research on someone if they've been committed to a mental facility in Big Springs, and the librarian advises her to go directly to Big Springs and view the court documents there.

Sue Ellen returns home and finds JR sitting on her living room couch. She angrily demands to know what the hell he's doing in her house, so he says he's extremely confused about why she's suddenly so angry at him. She seethes, "Once a JR Ewing, always a JR Ewing" and replies that she simply remembered what a shitbag he can be. JR asks what Bobby said to her that upset her so deeply, and she says 'nothing' and insists that her memory just suddenly improved out of nowhere. She admonishes him for hiring a detective to watch her house, then strides over to the phone and calls Cliff so she can smugly stare at JR while she tells her lover how much she enjoyed last night's booty call and to confirm that they're still on for tonight. She ends the call by purring, "Bye Cliff", and JR reacts by shooting her the stink-eye before beating a hasty retreat.

Donna calls Ray to let him know that she has to make an unexpected side trip to Big Springs to follow up on something that came up in her research, and Ray assures her he's A-OK with that and promises that everything will be different when she returns home. He then declares, "I love you", and Donna clutches the phone and replies in a desperately raspy sounding voice, "Oh Raaaaaay. I neeeeeeeded to hear that."

 Ray goes to the Longview Bar to officially end things with Bonnie and let her know that he's now devoting himself to working things out with Donna. He hangs his head sheepishly and says he feels bad about using her while he was drunkenly grieving Jock's death and generally behaving like a horse's ass...and Bonnie says that while she's not a fan of Donna, she's keeping her fingers crossed that he's able to fully repair his marriage.
​
 JR storms his way into Cliff's office to put him on notice that he plans to destroy him (again). An unfazed looking Cliff points out that he already tried that and failed - but JR vows that when he's done, there won't be any more Cliff Barnes, ominously pronouncing, "You're going to cease to exist. I promise you that."

Miss Ellie is in her bedroom, combing her hair and staring wistfully at a framed photo of Jock. Bobby knocks on the door to inform her that he and Pam are about to leave for work, and she tells him she'll be downstairs in a minute...and after she exits the room, the camera zooms in on the Jock photo, I guess to remind us of the sad passing of Jim Davis.

Miss Ellie tells Pam she'd looooove to spend the day watching Christopher while she's at her new aerobics studio, and Pam perks up and says she definitely likes the sound of that idea. A few seconds later, Ray stops by the house to ask Bobby if he'd like to join him for Cattle Branding Day, and Bobby's all, "Ye haw!" and says he'd definitely prefer that to a day at Ewing Oil, then remarks on how much he misses working on the ranch, to which Ray quietly replies, "Me too."

Clayton drops by Sue Ellen's house to surprise her with a box of croissants, and is startled to find Cliff in her kitchen. After Cliff kisses Sue Ellen goodbye and heads off to work, Sue Ellen implores Clayton not to lecture her about her questionable judgement when it comes to who she jumps into the sack with, reminding him that she's entitled to make her own mistakes. Clayton asks her if Cliff is fully aware that he's being used as a revenge tool, then advises her to think seriously about diving into what seems like a really ill-advised relationship before she gets in too deep. Sue Ellen says she has no desire to talk about this anymore, then abruptly changes the subject by suggesting they spend the day antiquing.

Katherine is conducting live TV street interviews about how passersby feel about dining out during a bad economy - when she encounters JR. After a quick on-camera interview, she reminds JR that they met at the Ewing barbecue and that, yep, she's Cliff's half-sister. After that, she brusquely says it was nice to see him, but that she has to run now...and JR stares after her, looking mildly intrigued.

Lucy is at an outdoor photoshoot, being photographed by Roger as she lounges atop the hood of a car, a tame precursor to Tawny Kitaen in that Whitensnake video. She notices that Mitch is standing several feet away, so when she gets a break from posing, she heads over to see what he wants. He tells her they have some serious decisions to make about their marriage and asks her what she wants, and she's all, "What's your sudden hurry?", leaps to the conclusion that he's in a rush to end their marriage 'cause he wants to permanently hook up with Evelyn Michaelson, and storms back to where Roger's standing. She thanks him for being here [despite it being his job to be at the photoshoot], then kisses him and hugs him tightly while glancing over at Mitch so she can watch his reaction...which is an angry glare at the icky PDA before he storms off in disgust.

Ray and Bobby are having a joyous day at Southfork, branding cattle. 

Sue Ellen and Clayton, meanwhile, are having a joyous day antiquing...and when Sue Ellen admires a decorative piece, Clayton sneakily buys it for her and then says he made the purchase 'cause it gives him great pleasure to see her happy. Sue Ellen shoots him a grateful smile and says she wishes she could find someone just like him (to romantically couple up with) ... and after she kisses his cheek and continues browsing the store, Clayton stares wistfully into space. Ooooh dear.

 Over at Aerobics Central, Pam is decked out in a body suit and leg warmers, aerobicizing alongside the instructor - a workout that seems to go on for a gratuitously loooooong time before the class finally comes to a merciful end. As Pam towels herself off, Jeff Farraday approaches her, introduces himself as Bobby's friend, and asks her to pass along a phone number for Bobby to call at 10am tomorrow.

That evening at Southfork, Pam and Bobby are primping for dinner and remarking on how much better Ray is looking now that he's back to bathing, shaving, and not guzzling booze all day. Pam suddenly remembers her earlier encounter with Jeff Farraday and gives Bobby the phone number he's supposed to call...and Bobby does his best to act all casual-like and breezily tells her that Jeff is just some unimportant guy he happens to know.

JR calls Jerry Macon to tell him that since Sue Ellen's onto his spying, he can go ahead and end Operation Surveille Sue Ellen 24/7. A few seconds later, Jordan Lee and Marilee Stone arrive at Ewing Oil to discuss the proposed purchase of some land in Lubbock that's supposedly oil rich, noting that the adjacent lot was proven to have zero chance of any oil discovery - a detail I'm sure will be important in an upcoming subplot.

When Bobby calls Jeff at a phone booth, Jeff tells him they need to meet...and when Bobby snarkishly says they have nothing to discuss, Jeff reminds him that they share a secret. He says he'll be in touch, then abruptly hangs up...and it remains unclear why Jeff didn't just arrange a time/place to meet when he was finally able to get Bobby on the phone.

While out for lunch, Cliff suggests to Sue Ellen that they "goof off" and spend the day together doing something fun - but she's like, "I don't think so" and tells him she's not ready for any kind of commitment. Cliff looks visibly stung by the rejection and wonders aloud if she's interested in someone else - like Clayton Farlow, for example - but Sue Ellen says that Clayton is a very special platonic friend and that she considers him to be the father she never knew. A few seconds later, the waiter comes around to take their order, and Cliff says he'll just have whatever Sue Ellen wants to eat.

Back at Studio Creepy, Roger tells Lucy now that they've met and are working closely together, she really needs to divorce Mitch, like pronto, and concur with him that the two of them make the perfect team. Lucy's like, "Gross" and says she really can't bring herself to think of a dork like him as a romantic partner, so Roger snarlingly calls her out on the callous way she used him to get back at Mitch during the photoshoot when she brazenly kissed him...and Lucy sheepishly admits that she prolly shouldn't have done that and agrees that he has every right to be angry. Roger grabs her arm, says, "Come with me", and steers her over to his private quarters behind a big curtain. He shows her his dedicated Lucy wall and says, "Now do you see? You're on my mind all the time." He explains that he needs to feel surrounded by her when he goes to sleep, then grabs her and kisses her...and Lucy somehow isn't alarmed enough by the dedicated Lucy wall to immediately get the fuck outa there, and kisses him back before the two start going at it in earnest. 

That evening at Southfork, JR receives a call from Lowell Greer, a Los Angeles lawyer who just happened to see the Intent to Adopt ad that Charles Eccles placed in the local paper. He informs JR that Bobby had called his firm a while ago, inquiring about the money he'd sent to Kristin...then assures JR that he told Bobby nothing. JR stares into the living room, where the family is cooing over Christopher, and tells Lowell he wants to know everything about Kristin's baby, including getting a copy of the tot's birth certificate.

​Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying TVofYore's recaps, consider thanking me by buying me a "coffee"!

Recap: Bobby arrives at Pam's new aerobic gym to give his wife a lift home, and gets a pleasing eyeful of the women finishing up their exercise class, decked out in their '80s leotard bodysuits - skimpy wear that really looks quite uncomfortable to be sweating in. Pam greets Bobby and says she'll be ready to head home after she gets changed and retrieves Christopher from the nursery...and Bobby heads over to the nearest phone to call Sue Ellen and ask her if they can get together for a tête-à-tête sometime next week, and she tells him that that could definitely be arranged.

JR drops by Sue Ellen's house clutching a single yellow rose he says is in need of water, and she looks visibly charmed by the romantic gesture and invites him in. He snoops around her kitchen to see if there's any evidence of her cooking a meal, then invites her to join him and the rest of the Ewing clan for dinner at Southfork. He schmaltzily adds that the memories the video of her beauty pageant they watched during the previous episode have inspired him to want to start "a new friendship" between them, and Sue Ellen mulls that over for a few seconds and decides 'what could possibly go wrong with having dinner at Southfork?'

Pam climbs into the passenger seat of Bobby's convertible with Christopher (sans baby seat - but did anyone use one in 1982?) ... and Jeff Farraday is watching from inside his car, parked a few feet away.

Miss Ellie drops by Casa Yokel and finds a despondent looking Donna sitting on the couch, holding a piece of a plate she just smashed in a fit of rage. She laments to Miss Ellie that Ray is clearly doing everything he can to get her to walk out on him...which kinda begs the question: why in the name of all that is holy have you not fled Casa Yokel and filed for divorce from the hillbilly philanderer??!! When Miss Ellie seats herself on the couch to further lend a sympathetic ear, Donna tells her she caught Ray in bed with another woman...then came home, lost control, and smashed a plate. She wails, "I hurt!" and says she gets the strong sense that Ray wanted her to catch him in the sack with Bonnie. Miss Ellie argues that that kind of cold-hearted fuckery takes a very hateful man and she can't bring herself to believe that Ray has that kind of hatred in his heart for her, and Donna clarifies, "Ray doesn't hate me. Ray hates himself." 

Roger calls Lucy to ask her whaddup with her sneaking out of the studio after their [blechy] doinkfest, and she apologizes and tells him she just has a lot of shit to do. He snarlingly tells her they need to talk, and she breezily says, "We will" and abruptly ends the call while wincing at the ridiculously bad judgement she demonstrated in going to bed with the freak. Roger, meanwhile, is so peeved about her casualness towards their hookup that he throws a glass of red wine at his bedroom wall - staining a couple of large photographs of Lucy...and when the camera pans out a bit, we see that the entire length of the wall is decorated with giant photographs of Lucy's portfolio pics. Oh dear.

Miss Ellie and her maid Teresa are cooking a mammoth turkey in the Southfork kitchen when JR returns home with John Ross and Sue Ellen in tow. Miss Ellie gushes at Sue Ellen about how super thrilled she is about her being here, and happily gabbles that the rest of the Ewing clan is due home any minute for the turkey feast. 

 During pre-dinner drinks, Sue Ellen asks Donna how Ray is doing, and Donna says that his entire world has crumbled ever since Jock died...and that, needless to say, he won't be joining them for dinner 'cause he's probably drowning himself in a bottle over at the Longview Bar. Bobby and Pam enter the room and look visibly stunned to see Sue Ellen at Southfork...and as everyone files over to the dining room, JR cackles about how tonight's dinner is going to be just like the old days. 

 Cliff is meeting with an investigator, who assures him that Olco Industries is a solid company with impressive assets, and describes Wally Hampton as a shrewd man who isn't prone to making mistakes. Cliff thanks him for his investigative work and grins with satisfaction.

After an enjoyable turkey dinner, Sue Ellen pulls Bobby aside and asks him what he wanted to talk to her about, and he looks around uneasily and says it can wait until another time.

 JR calls Sheriff Fenton Washburn to tell him he's worried about Ray 'cause he's been taking Jock's death very hard. He instructs Fenton to have his officers pick up Ray from the Longview Bar and then hold him in a jail cell until he gets there...and the sheriff decides he has no problem locking up an innocent civilian just 'cause JR told him to.

 Ray is huddled in a cell at the Braddock sheriff's station when JR saunters in. He tells his half-bro that Donna didn't look very happy at dinner and is clearly fed up with his boorish behavior, and that Jock would never have given him ten Ewing Oil voting shares if he could see the disheveled lush he's turned into. He stonily says, "You don't deserve them" ... and when Ray growls, "I don't want the damn votes!", JR perks up and hands him papers to sign that effectively transfer the votes to his control. Ray signs the papers without bothering to read what he's signing, then slips them through the bars and onto the floor. JR bends down to scoop them up and tells the officer on duty he can release Ray first thing in the morning...and decrees this as though he's the governing authority of the Braddock law enforcement - which, I guess by virtue of being a powerful Ewing who can order the sheriff to do his bidding, he kind of is.

The next morning at Southfork, JR hears Lucy coming down the stairs, so he hastily picks up the phone and has a pretend conversation with someone about a faux charitable donation. After he hangs up, he tells Lucy that Ewing Oil is planning to make a contribution to the burn unit of Frank Waring's hospital, then outright tells Lucy that if she doesn't hand over her Ewing Oil voting shares to be under his control, he might arrange to have Mitch thrown out of his hospital internship. Lucy firmly tells her uncle that she's keeping her ten voting shares, snaps, "JR, you stink", then gets up from the table and flounces off. 

 Ray returns home, surprised to find Donna sitting by the fireplace, fiddling with wood sticks. He gets himself a beer and says he figured she'd have packed up and moved out by now [as did I], and Donna asks him if that's what he wants, and also if a low-rent floozy like Bonnie is what he wants. Ray replies, "Bonnie is my kind of people", meaning that she doesn't have a fancy background, money, or an important last name. He then whines about how he's had "a bellyful of the high and mighty", is no longer going to pretend he's something he's not, and is going to officially cut his ties with the Ewings. Donna reminds him that she only ever wanted him to be the dumb yokelly cowboy she knew he was, and he grunts, "You married a loser" and says if she were smart, she'd be long gone. Donna asks him if he wants a divorce...and when he says he does, she tells him that he's going to have to be the one who files, 'cause for whatever God-only-knows-why reason, she's not ready to give up on their mismatched coupling.

 Cliff tells Rebecca that after a lot of in-depth research, he learned that Ewing Oil and Olco Industries have been doing a lot of business together lately...and, not coincidentally, JR and Wally Hampton went to the same university and were members of the same fraternity. He says it did seem like kind of a red flag when Wally wanted to recruit him as Chief Operating Officer when he already has a competent person in the role, and can only assume that the offer was a set up engineered by JR. Rebecca asks him why JR would do such a thing, so Cliff says he's now in a position to be a threat to him...and when Rebecca wearily remarks on how much she hates the tedious Ewing-Barnes feud that the Dallas writers seem stubbornly unwilling to ever let go of, Cliff tells her it's their reality, and that she's going to have to choose which side she's on...which seemed like a strange ultimatum, given that Rebecca has never given the impression that she was anything other than Team Cliff.
​
Charles Eccles reads aloud to Bobby the newspaper ad he plans to run in a weak effort to locate Christopher's bio dad. He says he'll run it in a Dallas newspaper and the L.A. Journal, since that's where the baby was born. He then reminds Bobby that he still needs the affidavit signed by Sue Ellen, and Bobby promises to have it for him tomorrow.  

Jeff Farraday is in the District Clerk's office, searching for any record of Christopher being adopted by the Ewings, but isn't able to find anything on file.  

Pam shows Sue Ellen her new aerobics studio, then says she was very surprised to see her at Southfork for dinner the other night. Sue Ellen says that she and JR have been getting along really well lately, and that she's chosen to believe he's magically turned into a nicer, more considerate person ever since Jock died. Pam rolls her eyes in dismay and reminds her that JR can be very unpredictable, and Sue Ellen assures her that she's going to take the re-friending slow, but then admits that JR has a way of getting to her, even after all of the horrible dysfunction that went on in their toxic-to-the-point-of-untenable cesspool of a marriage.  

Donna returns home and finds Ray passed out on the bed. She covers him with a blanket, then suddenly gets a peeved expression on her face. She opens the closet, puts on an expensive looking fur coat, grabs a wad of cash, and heads out. 

Cliff drops by Ewing Oil headquarters to smugly tell JR that it didn't take him long to figure out that he plotted with Wally Hampton to get him to take a phony job at Olco Industries. JR admits that, yeah, he assumed he'd take the bait without looking into the company too carefully, adding, "Like the greedy frog to the juicy fly, I thought that you'd snatch it right up." [LOL...I cannot describe enough how much I enjoy watching Larry Hagman deliver these fun zingers.] Cliff chucklingly says there's nothing he can do to keep him from seeing Sue Ellen...and when and JR retorts, "I wouldn't count on that", Cliff says he intends to marry her. JR snaps back that he'd have to step over his dead body to do that, and Cliff shrugs as he replies, "Whatever it takes" before casually sashaying out of the room.

Donna enters the Longview Bar and silently confronts Bonnie, who cheekily asks if she's here slummin' it. Donna tells her she wanted to see what her competition looked like with her clothes on (hee!), calls Ray "a very special man" who's worth more than hanging out in these kinds of dumps [an assertion I can only describe as crazy talk], and orders Bonnie to get out of their lives. When Bonnie tells her there's no chance of that, Donna offers her varying amounts of cash to entice her move: 5K to move to Houston, and up to 15K to move out of state. Bonnie mulls that over and says she'd do it for 15K, but then gets mad when Donna implies that she's a whore for accepting a sale price and throws a drink at her. Donna responds by punching her in the face, then throws some cash at the bartender while nonsensically muttering, "Drinks are on Bonnie", and storms out.  

Sue Ellen is admiring the beautiful sculpture JR just purchased for her, but then tells him she's concerned that the romance they're trying to rekindle is moving too fast. JR assures her he doesn't want to do anything she's not ready for, says the sculpture is a plea for forgiveness, and declares, "I love you" - something, he confesses, he should have said a long time ago. Sue Ellen looks moved by his love declaration...and a few seconds after he heads out, she gets a call from Bobby, asking if he can come over for a private chat. 

 Cliff is having drinks with Jordan Lee and Marilee Stone, trying to get them interested in convincing the cartel to do a deal with Wentworth Tool & Die. Jordan says it's a no go, 'cause right now they're wheelin' and dealin' with Ewing Oil, but Marilee throws Cliff a bone when she says that maybe one day in the not-so-foreseeable future they might possibly do business together.

 Bobby comes right out and tells Sue Ellen that Kristin is Christopher's bio mom, and Sue Ellen pales and murmurs, "It was true, then. She did have a baby." She tells Bobby she knew that Kristin was pregnant...and that she assumed JR was the father, which explains why Kristin was never charged or prosecuted for shooting him. Bobby says he would never do anything to hurt or embarrass her - but really really needs her to sign an affidavit, stating that 1) she has no desire to adopt her sister's spawn, and 2) has no idea who the father could be. Sue Ellen points out that signing an affidavit swearing to the second thing would be lying, then laments being reminded of what a cheating shitbag JR was to her while they were married - just when she was starting to like him again. She tells Bobby she won't ruin his/Pam's life by depriving them of being parents to Christopher, 'cause she knows they'll give the tot a loving home...then blurts out, "Bobby! How I hate that man!" and tears up.

Roger is photographing a swimsuit model named Tanya when Lucy drops by the studio. She makes it clear to Roger that their hook-up was just a one time thing she has zero desire to carry on with - but Roger retorts, "We're just getting started!" and insists that their relationship is very very creepily important to him and implores her to give them a chance. Lucy tries to explain that she merely wants a professional relationship with him - just as Blair Sullivan enters the studio, tells Lucy he saw her portfolio, and invites her to lunch so that they can discuss her modelling options. She's like, "Kewl!" and hastily heads out with him...and Roger gets so incensed that he yells at poor Tanya to get dressed and get the hell out of his studio.

Adoption hearing! Charles Eccles submits to the judge the affidavit Sue Ellen signed, and adds that he's also making a feeble effort to search for Christopher's bio dad. The judge looks over the paperwork and says that, barring any issue with Southfork being a safe residence for a child, he has no problem granting temporary conservatorship to Pam and Bobby. As an elated Bobby leaves the courthouse with Charles, the camera pans over to Jeff Farraday, who's lurking in the lobby, watching. He slips into the courtroom and pretends to the court reporter that he's a friend of the Ewing family who's curious about the outcome of the hearing, and she happily reports that his "friends" just adopted a baby.

 Donna tells Ray she's off to Austin to do more research for her new book, and Ray tells her he got a call from Bonnie and asks whassup with punching her in the face...then says she should have punched him [which...no shit]. Donna says she wants him in one piece and has decided that she'll take him any way she can have him - a sentiment I can only describe as utter lunacy from a woman who could do far, far better in the husband department. She heads out, and Ray puts his bottle of booze back on the nightstand, looking happy with his wife's refusal to kick him to the curb like he richly deserves.

 Bobby races over to Pam's aerobic studio to tell her the good news about the judge's ruling, emphasizing that their tot can officially be called Christopher Ewing. When Pam asks him why he didn't let her know when the hearing had been scheduled so that she too could attend, he tells her he was afraid that something would go wrong at the last minute and didn't want her to experience immediate heartbreak. Pam says she's OK with his need to shield her from the slightest level of discomfort, but that from now on they need to go through this kind of stuff together.

 JR drops by Sue Ellen's house to shower her with his latest gift: a very sparkly diamond necklace. Sue Ellen carelessly pulls it out of the velvet box and caustically says it reminds her of their marriage: a very expensive joke (!). She then complains that every time she starts to believe in him, she's reminded that he's nothing more than a two-faced snake. As JR scrunches his face confusedly, she rails about how "sick sick sick" their relationship is, throws the necklace at him, and races upstairs to her bedroom.

 Recap: JR is on the phone with someone named Chester, barking at him to get him the videotape of a specific TV show, telling him he needs it asap.  

At Southfork, Bobby tells Miss Ellie that the upcoming hearing to get temporary custody of Christopher is considered very routine in the legal world - but Miss Ellie points out that Pam isn't likely to think of it as routine. The two then go outside to the pool area, where Lucy and Pam are doing a stretching routine wearing skintight '80s exercise leotards...and when Lucy tries to get Miss Ellie interested in joining their workout, she gives that a hard no and says she'll stick to her bicycle. JR emerges from the house, ogles Pam and Lucy in their skimpy wear as he remarks, "The sight of you ladies is enough to snap a man's eyes open in the morning", then asks his mama if she wouldn't mind looking after John Ross, 'cause he has a few errands to run. 

Ray is once again looking drunk and disheveled when JR drops by Casa Yokel. He chuckles at Ray's bedraggled state, sarcastically asks him if he's running Southfork by phone these days, then pours himself a drink while offering one to Ray - that is, if he doesn't already have his buzz on. LOL. He backhandedly compliments Ray by telling him he's smarter than he ever gave him credit for because deep down he always knew he didn't have the "make-up of a Ewing or the style", adding, "Your big problem started when you found out that you had Ewing blood." He encourages Ray to go back to being a Krebbs by handing over his ten Ewing voting shares and then permanently relocating to Kansas and maybe dig up his maternal roots. Ray responds by getting all in JR's face and growling at him to get out of his house - but JR urges him to strongly consider his advice, saying, "You know I'm right." 

Rebecca and Katherine are over at Cliff's apartment for dinner when Wally Hampton calls Cliff to request a private meeting. Cliff looks visibly intrigued and, after he gets off the phone, tells Rebecca he hopes that a meeting with a mogul like Wally Hampton will bring about a major business deal for Wentworth Tool & Die. Katherine, meanwhile, looks her usual peeved self whenever Cliff discusses anything to do with being at the helm of her late daddy's company. 

JR surprises Sue Ellen with a catered dinner and says he thought it'd be nice to cap off his visitation with John Ross with a family dinner. After the caterer sets the table, Sue Ellen admits that the spread looks very scrumptious and decides 'sure, why the hell not?' 

Donna calls Miss Ellie from Laredo and tells her she managed to unearth a ton of research material about Sam Culver and is planning to return home tomorrow. She says she can't seem to reach Ray, and Miss Ellie tells her that if she happens to run into the disheveled wino she'll let him know about her travel plans...then invites Donna to join the Ewing clan for dinner. 

Charles Eccles tells Bobby that the court hearing has been scheduled, so they'll need a signed affidavit from Christopher's bio aunt to confirm that she has no desire to adopt her baby nephew. Bobby sheepishly tells him that the aunt in question is actually his ex-sister-in-law and that he's kept that tidbit under his hat 'cause he was trying to avoid embarrassing her. Charles makes it clear how he annoyed he is that Bobby didn't disclose this detail until now and reminds him that, in addition to the affidavit, the sister-in-law has to swear that she doesn't know who the bio dad is or where he can be found. 

JR summons Sly to his office to ask her if she's heard back from Chester...and when she tells him she hasn't, he instructs her to bug the shit out of him by calling him every two hours until he delivers the videotape he wants. He then gets a call from a bartender at the Longview Bar in Braddock to report that Ray just walked in...and JR grins evilly before calling Miss Ellie to tell her he won't be able to make dinner tonight 'cause he's too busy with work stuff.

Later, a visibly drunk Ray is leaving the Longview Bar with an equally as drunk Bonnie. The two climb into his truck - with stupid Ray getting behind the wheel - then drive off, hopefully without killing any innocent motorists or pedestrians. JR, meanwhile, is parked nearby watching, then follows them to the Starbright Motel.

Wally Hampton arrives at Cliff's office, faux gushes about all the marvellous things he's been hearing about his work at Wentworth Tool & Tie, and says he'd like to hire him as the new Chief Operating Officer of Olco Industries in Tulsa. He describes the job as being "the top dog", and offers to..

• Triple Cliff's current salary
• Give him a generous expenses account
• Give him access to the company jet

Wally emphasizes that he needs to fill the position very quickly, and a flattered looking Cliff tells him it's a compelling offer and that he's definitely going to give it some serious thought. Wally then contorts his voice all weird and breathy-like and lays it on thick about how he really really wants him to join his corporate team at Olco Industries...like, really a lot.

Bobby meets up with Liz Craig and tells her he thinks that Pam needs to rejoin the workforce, 'cause her obsessive coddling of Christopher every minute of every day is really starting to weird him out. Liz says she'd be fine with Pam bringing Christopher to the office with her - but it's unlikely that Harrison Page is baby friendly enough to allow that. She asks Bobby why he doesn't just buy an existing business so that Pam can be her own boss, and Bobby mulls that over for several seconds and looks intrigued by the prospect.

Cliff tells Rebecca about the job offer he just received from Wally Hampton, and she says it sounds very impressive and that he should take the job if he feels it's something he wants to do, assuring him that Wentworth Tool & Die will survive just fine without him. She cautions him to thoroughly check out Wally's company to make sure it's legit, then gives him a congratulatory hug.
 
Clayton tells Sue Ellen that Dusty is doing amaaaaazing on the rodeo circuit, then asks how her life is going. She tells him she's fine, and that lately JR has been on his best behavior, pretending to be a thoughtful, warm, and generous person. A wary Clayton urges her to be cautious around her wily ex and reminds her that she's never really been on her own before - but she insists that JR has truly changed for the better after the trauma of losing Jock. Clayton's like, "Mmm...maybe", but strongly advises her to keep her guard up nonetheless.

Mitch is smooching Evelyn on her couch, then abruptly stops and says he should be getting home now 'cause he has early morning rounds at the hospital. When Evelyn scrunches her face disappointedly, he blurts out, "I can't do this" 'cause he's still married to Lucy. Evelyn calls the end to his deteriorating marriage "just a technicality", but Mitch insists that he and Lucy have a lot to sort out before he starts hitting the sheets with other women. He implores her to understand, promises to call her tomorrow, and beats a hasty retreat.

Sly hands JR the videotape that Chester was finally able to messenger over, and JR excitedly puts it into the VCR and smiles happily at whatever comes onto the screen after he presses play. He then phones Sue Ellen and tells her he has something special to show her and hopes it's OK if he comes over later in the week, and she's like 'yeah sure, why the hell not?'

Evelyn calls Lucy at Southfork to invite her to lunch so they can haggle over which of them gets to be with Mitch, and Lucy's like 'yeah sure, why the hell not?'

Lucy wanders into the kitchen and tells Miss Ellie she just got a call from Ms. Evelyn Michaelson, aka the beautiful, fully grown woman who's making a bold play for Mitch. Miss Ellie asks her if she considers herself to be a full grown woman, and Lucy's like, "Nope, I think of myself as an persistently immature girl-child" [sorry - that was just me, projecting], and Miss Ellie reminds her that she's not a child anymore and that she should be fighting harder for Mitch than she's been doing...that is, assuming she still wants to be married to the dullard.

Bobby is meeting with a pretty blonde woman to convince her to sell him her very successful business so that Pam has something with which to occupy her leisure time beyond smothering - I mean mothering - Christopher. The woman says she's reluctant to sell because she's turned her business into a very successful venture, and Bobby says he fully gets that and expects to pay top dollar. The woman replies, "You're a very impressive man, Mr. Ewing" (?? LOL) and promises to speak to her accountant and come up with an inflated selling price they can both agree on.

Before dinner that evening, Bobby tells Pam he has a surprise for her - but won't reveal it until tomorrow. A few seconds later, Donna arrives at the house and tells Miss Ellie that Ray wasn't home when she got back from Laredo...and the rest of the clan says they haven't seen him in awhile either. Miss Ellie assures Donna that Ray will eventually come around, and JR coos faux sympathetically about how sorry he is about her marriage going down the shitter.

Cliff tells Rebecca he looked into Wally Hampton's company and concluded that it seems on the up and up...and is getting very excited about a job that has an expense account and access to a private jet. 
​
Donna gets a call from the manager of the Starbright Motel to inform her that Ray is in very rough shape and that she needs to come pick him up asap. Donna says she'll be there shortly...and when the camera pans out, we see that JR has bribed the manager to make the call to Donna.

Donna arrives at the motel and is mystified by the do not disturb sign on the door handle of Ray's room. She lets herself in with the room key and is startled to find Ray in bed with Bonnie. She stares incredulously at her disheveled, unfaithful shitbag of a husband, coldly says, "Well, at least I know how you've been spending your time", then storms out as Ray makes a weak effort to call after her. Bonnie, meanwhile, looks positively delighted at being caught red-handed by Donna and points out to Ray that they've been seen together all over town and never bothered to have the decency to hide the fact that they were hooking up...to the point that anyone with half a brain could put two and two together. Ray doesn't disagree, then stares despondently into space and states the obvious, "She has no choice but to leave me now." That she doesn't, Ray. That she doesn't. 

Bobby brings Pam to an aerobics studio and tells her that this is her big surprise. As she looks around and scrunches her face confusedly, he ushers her over to the daycare/nursery and asks her if she thinks Christopher will like it. When she still looks befuddled, he explains that he bought the studio for her to run, hands her a key with a keychain that reads Pam's Aerobics Unlimited, and declares, "You're in the bodybuilding business now." Pam squeals happily and gives him a grateful hug.

In a downtown restaurant, Evelyn tells Lucy that she's very interested in Mitch, and Lucy counters that since Mitch is her husband, there's really nothing to discuss. Evelyn solemnly insists, "I want him", and Lucy cattily retorts that it's kinda cougar-ish of her to be chasing after a young buck like Mitch. Evelyn says again that she really really wants Mitch and that it's long past time they dissolved their short-lived, failed marriage so he can get on with his life, pronouncing that she's fully capable of making him happy. She smugly fibs, "I already have" and a shocked Lucy's all, "Wuh? He swore that you haven't slept together!" Evelyn says he likely didn't want to hurt her feelings, and Lucy glares at her with a look of peeved devastation before abruptly getting up from the table and flouncing out of the restaurant.

JR arrives at Sue Ellen's house with a bouquet of yellow roses and says he has something very special to show her.

Lucy flees to Studio Creepy, where Roger is working late. She tells him she's been driving around for hours thinking about her disloyal husband, then moans, "How could he?" She further explains that he's been making a fool out of her by sleeping with another woman...and that she ended up here 'cause she needed someone to talk to. Roger perks up at that development and asks her if she's sure she just wants to talk, then kisses her before pointing out, "You didn't come here just to talk. Not at this hour." Lucy chews on that for a few seconds, then kisses the freak back...and then looks totally into it when his kissing gets increasingly and blechingly urgent.  

JR plays the videotape for Sue Ellen, which turns out to be footage of the Miss Texas beauty pageant she entered fourteen years ago, aka the first time she and JR met. He tenderly tells her she hasn't changed a bit, then reminisces about the first moment he laid eyes on her as she pranced across the stage during the swimsuit competition. He says that lately he's been thinking about the old days, decided he really really wanted to be with her tonight, and has come to the conclusion that his life isn't the same without her. Sue Ellen looks touched [by his sudden interest in rekindling the romance that's been nonexistent in their marriage since well before the series began] and leans forward...and the two start smooching before amorously getting it on.

Good grief, Sue Ellen.

​Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying TVofYore's recaps, consider thanking me by buying me a "coffee"!

Recap: JR drops by Casa Yokel while Donna is packing for a trip to Laredo to do some in-depth research for her new Sam Culver book. JR says he's trying to track Ray down, but no one seems to know where he is - and Donna snappishly tells him her husband's whereabouts are none of his business. He advises her to save her deteriorating marriage by convincing the dumb yokel to relieve the burden of having ten Ewing Oil voting shares by handing them over to him...and as Donna chuckles at his self-serving motives, JR points out that Ray is clearly unable to cope with the pressure of being a Ewing and therefore needs to meekly accept that being a foreman at Southfork is as far as he's ever going to go in life. He adds that if Ray continues to hang onto his voting shares, their marriage will continue to circle the drain. 

Bobby meets with his new family law attorney, Charles Eccles, to tell him the half-truth that Christopher has no bio parents after his mom died suddenly and his dad is an unknown male. Charles chews on that for a few seconds before telling Bobby to come back tomorrow, 'cause he's due in court soon and has to think about how to best handle this adoption conundrum. 

Pam brings Christopher downtown, where she meets up with Liz Craig and Jackie. Liz asks Pam what she does with herself while Christopher is napping, and Pam just kind of shrugs all contented-like and says she waits around for him to wake up. Liz shakes her head in bewilderment and says she'd go nuts with so much leisure time on her hands, then abruptly changes the subject and tells Pam that she and Jackie have a fun surprise in store for her.
​
A pensive looking Donna writes a note for Ray, letting him know that she's going to be out of town for the next several days.
 
The "fun surprise" Liz and Jackie unveil for Pam is an aerobic workout at the Renard Dance Studio...and we get lots of gratuitous footage of Pam and a roomful of ladies exercising in skin tight '80 style body suits. Liz tells Pam that she and Jackie do this everyday and that she's welcome to join them whenever she feels like working up a sweat.

Over at Studio Creepy, Lucy gushes at Roger about how much she loooooooves the photos he's been taking of her for her portfolio and asks if she can bring them home to show her family. Roger gets weirdly prickly about the request and says he doesn't want any outsiders evaluating what he calls "our collaboration", pointing out that they still need to carefully select the photographs that will work best for the portfolio. Lucy's like, "Mmm...I still want to show my family the photos", so Roger reluctantly agrees to hand-pick a small batch of his personal favorites. 

Mitch is dining out with Evelyn Michaelson, who urges him to indulge in more relaxation time whenever he's off duty from the hospital. To that end, she invites him to join her for a game of tennis tomorrow afternoon, and he perks up at the prospect.

Elsewhere in downtown Dallas, JR is dining out with Jordan Lee and Marilee Stone, cackling about the new business deal Ewing Oil and the cartel have agreed to embark upon together. JR then glances across the room and sees Sue Ellen and Cliff sitting at a table together...and he gets so flustered and perturbed by the visual that he orders another stiff drink.

The next morning, private detective Jerry Macon calls JR to give him an update on Operation Surveille Sue Ellen 24/7 and reports that Cliff brought Sue Ellen home at around midnight and thus far hasn't left the premises. JR looks displeased by the news and instructs Jerry to continue staking out her place until he's able to report what time Cliff finally emerges.

Sue Ellen looks peeved that Cliff spent the entire night sacked out on her couch 'cause he was too drunk to drive himself home. She tells him she really just wanted to enjoy a pleasant evening with an old friend, not host a sleepover for a date who's unable to hold his liquor. Cliff apologizes for his boorish drunkenness and suggests they do something fun today, but Sue Ellen nixes that idea and orders him to get up and out of her house before John Ross wakes up.

Ray arrives home and calls out for Donna, but gets no response. He checks out the bedroom closet and notices that some of her clothes are gone...and eventually finds the note she left for him in the kitchen.

Charles Eccles advises Bobby to go the Abandoned Child Procedure route, which means showing up in court for what he expects to be a routine hearing requesting temporary guardianship of Christopher. Bobby tells him that the tot's deceased mother has a living sister, and Charles says he's going to need an affidavit stating that she has no objection to the adoption...and, following that, they have to make a weak attempt to half-heartedly locate the bio dad by placing an ad in the newspaper and then cross their fingers that no one actually comes forward. When Bobby scrunches his face concernedly, Charles explains that it's really just a formality 'cause usually in cases like this the bio dad has no idea that he fathered a child. On the other hand, if someone actually does come out of the woodwork, Bobby and Pam are going to have a boatload of legal problems. 

Jerry Macon reports to JR that Cliff left Sue Ellen's house about an hour ago, and JR responds by barking that he wants his ex under 24/7 surveillance. He then asks Sly to get Wally Hampton (of some big corporation in Tulsa) on the phone, 'cause he needs to summon him to Dallas to request a devilish favor.  

Lucy stops by the marital condo to excitedly show Mitch her portfolio photos - but he's busy getting ready for his tennis date with Evelyn and asks her they could do this another time. A few seconds later, Evelyn arrives to pick him up...and after Lucy beats a hasty retreat, she stares tearfully into space when she eavesdrops on Evelyn chucklingly asking Mitch if he "recovered from last night". 

Sue Ellen calls Clayton to complain yet again about how lonely she is now that she's living by herself for the first time ever, and he's like, "Sucks to be you" and tells her he's about to jet off to Montana, where Dusty is performing on the rodeo circuit. He offers to cancel his trip and come to Dallas so he can hold her hand and murmur reassurances about how she'll be just fine living on her own, but she tells him to enjoy the Montana rodeo and to wish Dusty the best of luck on his bronc rides.

Afton is rehearsing a song at her fancy new workplace when JR stops in to drop the bombshell that Cliff spent the night at Sue Ellen's house. Afton shrugs disinterestedly and says she can't do much 'bout that, and a miffed JR tells her he'd very much like it if she were to actively pursue Cliff. Afton chuckles about the torch he clearly still carries for his ex-wife, smugly mocking, "I think you're jealous right out of your cotton-pickin' gourd" ... and JR scrunches his face concernedly as he's forced to admit to himself that, yep, he truly is jealous right out of his cotton-pickin' gourd. 

Afton stops by Cliff's apartment to ask him if he's in love with Sue Ellen, and Cliff confirms he is and insists that wanting to couple up with her (no longer) has anything to do with getting back at JR. Afton warns that JR is going to crucify him if he continues to tap that, but Cliff smugly reminds her he's in full control of his life and that JR has zero ability to screw with him or his livelihood. Afton sadly says it's pretty obvious that there's no room in his life for her, then insists that JR will never let him be with Sue Ellen. "He'll break you!" she snaps before fleeing the tiny apartment.

Lucy arrives at Studio Creepy an hour late and tells Roger she doesn't much feel like posing for photos while he barks, "More! More!" 'cause she just learned that her estranged husband is interested in another woman. Roger says he finds that utterly impossible to comprehend and coos, "Can't he see how beautiful you are?", then grabs her and plants her with a big wet smooch. Lucy stares back at him in shock, then decides she's into it after all (ew) and kisses him back...and Roger says he wants them to put a pin in their amorousness so he can snap some photos of her looking all moody and upset.

Sue Ellen's nurse-nanny, Mrs. Chambers, announces that since it's the end of her shift she'll be heading home now...and Sue Ellen balks at the prospect of spending the evening alone and invites her to stay for a game of backgammon. Mrs. Chambers [refrains from asking why in blazes she'd be willing to spend unpaid time entertaining her lonely employer and] politely says she can't 'cause her nephew is taking her to dinner, then wishes Sue Ellen a lovely evening before beating a hasty retreat. ​

Sue Ellen wanders over to her wet bar [I find it interesting that she keeps so much booze in the house, given her history of alcoholism] and touches one of the bottles and removes the lid...but then wisely thinks better of it and quickly puts it back on before firmly closing the cabinet. 

Donna calls Ray to let him know that her research is taking longer than expected and that she'll be in Laredo for a few more days. She adds that an extended stay is probably for the best, given what a tool he's been acting like ever since he flamed out on the failed San Antonio real estate venture when he was too dumb to get the soil tested prior to making the land purchase.

Rebecca and Katherine drop by Wentworth Tool & Die headquarters to visit Cliff, who appears to be working very industriously. He proudly says he's going to make this company the best in its field...and Katherine rolls her eyes and looks her usual peeved self whenever the topic of Cliff being at the helm of her late father's company comes up. She grumbles that they're late for dinner, and Rebecca urges her to lighten up and says she should admire her half-bro for striving so hard for success.

JR warmly greets Wally Hampton when he arrives at Ewing Oil for their tête-à-tête, then gets right down to the reason he summoned him: he wants him to offer Cliff the job of Chief Operating Officer and promise a huge salary (which JR offers to cover) ... and then six months later fire him "for embezzlement or something equally as disgraceful". An unfazed Wally's like, "Sure thing, JR" and jokes about how Cliff may become so disgraced that he'll never be able to find gainful employment again, and a gleeful JR says he's definitely counting on that. 

JR arrives at Sue Ellen's house to pick up John Ross for a day of court-approved father-son bonding. He tells Sue Ellen that he's taking their son to the nearby kiddie park and asks her if she'd like to join them...and Sue Ellen mulls over the prospect of spending the entire day with her wily ex before deciding 'ah fuck it, why not?'

While lounging by the Southfork pool, Bobby asks Pam if she's considered returning to work, and Pam says she might go back to The Store when Christopher is a bit older. She then asks Bobby if a court date has been set for the adoption hearing, and he says it hasn't - but that his lawyer told him it's very routine and (fibs) that most mothers don't even attend the hearing. Pam tells him she wouldn't miss it 'cause she wants to hear the outcome of the judge's decision with her own ears.

Sue Ellen looks on as JR rides on a little merry-go-round with their son, leads him through a concrete maze, and pays an organ grinder to play a personal request. JR then lays it on thick to Sue Ellen about how good it is for John Ross to see them both getting along, and she agrees and admits that she's having a very nice time.

Lucy is sunning herself by the Southfork pool when Mitch drops by to tell her he now has time to look at her portfolio photos - but Lucy sourly tells him she's not interested in sharing them with a cheater. He explains that his new friend Evelyn is a nice person who's been going through a rough time lately and needed someone to talk to, and Lucy snaps, "Pillow talk?" and asks if he's hit the sheets with her. When Mitch assures her he hasn't, Lucy bitterly replies, "You mean not yet..?", and an irked Mitch blurts out, "That's right." Lucy ends the conversation with an abrupt goodbye, prompting Mitch to storm back to his car.

After a day of fun at the park, JR invites Sue Ellen to join him, John Ross, and the rest of the Ewing clan at Southfork for dinner...promising that he'll drive her home anytime she wants. Sue Ellen mulls it over, but in the end declines his offer and says she should prolly be getting home now.

Later that evening, JR tells his son a bedtime story, then adds that he has a strong feeling his ma is going to be back at Southfork real soon, and that they're all going to live happily ever.