Recap: Bobby arrives at the Ewing Oil offices while Jock and JR are fielding questions from a gaggle of reporters inquiring about the Asian oil lease debacle. When a reporter asks what the rebels' victory [in whatever unnamed Asian country we're talking about] means for Ewing Oil, JR says, "Not much" and explains that Ewing Oil is sufficiently diversified (as of a day ago), and that this is the only non-answer he's willing to publicly give at this time. After the reporters leave, Bobby demands to know what's going on, so Jock tells him that thanks to JR, Ewing Oil is still a thriving company that was largely unaffected by the political unrest in wherever country they had been drilling for oil. When Bobby's all, "Wha-a-a?", JR explains that yesterday he sold 75% of the Asian oil leases for $10 million...and Bobby says he doesn't believe for a second that his timing was purely luck. JR's like, "Was too" and says that he and daddy have been talking for years about investing in gas fields on the U.S. east coast and decided that yesterday just happened to be the day they needed to liquidate the bulk of their foreign assets in order to get in on that deal. When Bobby asks Jock if he believes this obvious nonsense, Jock says he does...and a frustrated Bobby asks why he wasn't consulted about the mass liquidation. JR says he had to move fast in order to quickly dump their Asian holdings - just as Jordan Lee bursts into the room and curses JR for luring him into a faux deal. He accuses JR of suckering the cartel into buying Asian leases, and points out that the timing in light of the rebels' takeover is suspicious to say the least. Jock gruffly reminds him that big oil deals are always a crap shoot, and that there will be plenty of future opportunities for them to make money together. Jordan's like, "I don't think so" and solemnly tells him that Seth Stone (another oil investor) was so devastated by the financial loss that he abandoned all hope and committed suicide this morning. Sue Ellen is sitting up in bed, watching the local news. She stares at the TV in fascination when the news anchor confirms that Ewing Oil didn't suffer too much of a loss in the Asian oil lease debacle. An enraged Vaughn Leland bursts into JR's office and demands an explanation and/or apology for the catastrophic financial loss he just suffered, but JR just shrugs and says he has nothing to explain or apologize for. Jock concurs and says it was a fair deal. Vaughn shoots him a seriously? glare and accuses JR of knowing about the rebels in advance of their takeover, and Jock dismisses that logical assumption out of hand and says he has no proof of that. Vaughn moans that he just borrowed $20 million to invest in this deal and implores Jock to step in and dooooo something to help him - but Jock reminds him what an unsympathetic dick he was when he (Jock) had begged him for an extension of the mortgage loan back when Southfork on the verge of foreclosure. Vaughn snorts in disgust and calls JR "a chip off the old block" ... and after he leaves, Jock asks JR flat out if he knew about the rebels and dumped the leases before the shit hit the fan. JR solemnly fibs, "No sir. I swear it", and Bobby mutters that he doesn't buy that for a second and storms out of the office. Lucy is strolling in the park with Greg, complaining about how they never seem to go out on real dates. When she suggests they go dancing one evening, he reminds her that she's his student...and she's all, "Wuh? Is that all I am to you?" and he quickly replies, "No" and gives her a light peck on the lips. Alan drops by Kristin's condo to show her the day's paper that features the headline Ewing Oil Empire Collapses. Kristin wryly says that that's old news and knows for a fact that Ewing Oil was barely affected by the Asian rebel crisis. When Alan stares at her quizzically, she explains that while "entertaining" various cartel members, she learned that JR sold the majority of the company's Asian leases right before the rebels seized control of their country's government...then holds up a tape recorder and says she has audio recordings of the cartel men babbling excitedly about the sweet deal they just cut with JR. She says she's pretty sure it was Hank Johnson who tipped JR off about the looming rebel takeover, and Alan perks up at that and says it would help if they had irrefutable proof. He stares contemplatively into space for a few seconds, looks like he just suddenly thought up a brilliant idea, and tells Kristin to call Hank right now. Miss Ellie tells Bobby that Pam went to Corpus Christi to look into what happened to her mother. Bobby scrunches his face concernedly and says he's worried that Pam is becoming far too obsessed with the past. A few minutes later, Bobby runs into Sue Ellen and asks her how she's feeling, and she tells him, "Embarrassed and hung over", not least 'cause she barely remembers what a drunken arse she publicly made of herself during the previous episode. She worries that JR could have her put away in a sanitarium for good - but Bobby promises to stop him from doing that, then sternly tells her she needs to stop fucking drinking. She tells him she only fell off the wagon after receiving some shocking news she'd rather not elaborate on, and Bobby says, "I hope you mean it", then urges her to smooth things out with Miss Ellie and try to not feel too stupid about yesterday's bender. A sweaty and enraged looking Hank Johnson phones JR to rail at him for telling Kristin that he secretly traveled to Dallas to warn him about the Asian rebel crisis. When JR says he has no idea what in blazes he's talking about, Hank explains that Kristin just telephoned to instruct him to mail all of his records and receipts from his recent Dallas flight to the Ewing Oil offices. JR's all, "Ack!" and orders him to destroy that evidence asap, thanks him for the call, and rushes out of the office. Sue Ellen tells Dr. Ellby she barely remembers getting loaded at the bar, vows to never drink again, and says that Bobby has promised to stop JR from locking her away in a sanitarium. Dr. Ellby rolls his eyes and points out that she's fallen right back into the same pattern of giving control of her life to another person...and when he asks her if she trusts Bobby more than she trusts herself, she's like, "Well duh." Pam arrives in Corpus Christi and takes a taxi to the little house her mother once lived in. She approaches an old lady who's walking down the street and asks her if she ever knew a Rebecca Barnes...and the old lady says she did know a lovely young woman by that name who had two small children, and that one Christmas the family suddenly moved out without bothering to say goodbye to anyone in the neighborhood. JR storms into the condo and orders Kristin to explain her phone call to Hank Johnson. Kristin tells him that Alan Beam ordered her to do it after he threatened to tell Jock about their affair - but JR says he doesn't buy that nonsense and warns her that she's out of her league if she actually believes that either she or Alan could blackmail him. Kristin snaps back, "You can't scare me!" and JR coldly tells her if she had any sense she'd be plenty scared right now. He throws a wad of cash at her and suggests she fly to Brazil and disappear forever - but she throws the money back at him and shrieks, "You can't buy me off!" He growls, "We'll see" before storming out of the condo. Pam is at the city clerk's office in Corpus Christi, searching through the records of death certificates. She looks relieved when she's unable to find a listing for her mother. JR snidely tells Sue Ellen he's shocked that she didn't show up to dinner tonight drunk, and was instead uncharacteristically charming and witty. He somehow interprets this to mean that she's headed for a nervous breakdown - but she denies it and says that Bobby has promised he won't allow her to be forcibly locked up in a sanitarium. JR chuckles heartily at that and says, "I always get what I want." When he changes into a more casual outfit to go out, Sue Ellen contorts her face angrily and barks, "Which slut are you going to stay with tonight?" and he glares back at her with a look of hate-filled disgust and replies, "What difference does it make? Whoever it is has got to be more interesting than the slut I'm looking at right now." &%$#!! As he shuts the door behind him, an enraged Sue Ellen starts throwing things across the room, then flings opens her drawers and looks as if she wants to toss her underwear around...but stops when she sees a gun hidden under her dainties. As she stares down at it, she does that weird pouty/twitching thing she's always doing with her strange lips. Cliff bursts into JR's office and interrupts a meeting between JR and Bobby. He holds up the handwritten contract from 1939 he found in Digger's house during the previous episode and urges JR to read it aloud so he can relish the moment. JR indulges him and reads the contract aloud, then smirks with amusement and says this calls for a celebration. As Bobby hastily exits the room, Cliff's all, "Fuckin' right it does" and basks in the glow of his rare victory. JR picks up the phone and calls a flunky named Harry Owens, who he instructs to immediately shut down all drilling on Ewing 23. Cliff's all, "Wha-a-a-a?" and stares at him in horrified bewilderment. Pam tells Bobby she couldn't give the tiniest of rat's asses about Ewing 23, then says she's thinking about quitting her job so she can devote her life to searching for clues about her mother's disappearance. Bobby shakes his head disapprovingly and suggests she instead get herself some intensive therapy. LOL. Lucy drops by Greg's office to remind him about their dinner date - but he tells her he's going to be too busy grading papers to dine out. Lucy grumbles her disappointment and says that maybe they need a break from this flaccid, go-nowhere romance - but he insists he really really does want to date her, and placates her with a kiss. After Lucy leaves, Greg calls a woman named Beth to ask her how little Stevie is doing, and if she needs him to pick up anything on his way home...and from this I think we can safely assume that Greg's ability to forge a mutually satisfying 'married man-mistress' arrangement is subpar at best. That evening, Detective Harry McSween drags Alan Beam into JR's office so that JR can interrogate him about what he and Kristin are up to. He orders Alan to leave Dallas...and when Alan refuses, JR threatens to have Detective McSween manufacture rape charges against him and produce a faux rape victim. Alan glares at him and seethes, "You just leaned too hard on the wrong man!" before McSween forcibly steers him out of the room. Bobby tells Jock and JR that Vaughn Leland has disappeared...and JR chuckles and says he couldn't care less if that loser never resurfaces in Dallas again. Bobby asks JR if he showed Jock the handwritten contract from 1939...and when Jock expresses dismay that Cliff might stand to benefit financially from a Ewing oil well, JR says he needn't worry 'cause he shut down all the wells on Ewing 23 to prevent Cliff from ever earning a dime. Bobby angrily says he had no right to do that without his permission - but Jock argues that JR did good, and that he'd have done the exact same thing. Bobby stares at both of them, looking a combination of aghast and fed up, before stalking out. Bobby heads upstairs to rail at Pam about Jock agreeing with JR's decision to shut down Ewing 23. He says he's so incensed about it that, first thing tomorrow, the two of them will pack up and leave Southfork for good. Pam somehow manages to refrain from letting out an excited woot while uncontrollably happy dancing and asks him if he absolutely, really, truly wants to move out of his family's home and put an end to her daily torture of having to live under the same roof as his shitty, Barnes-hating family members...and he tells her he needs to leave while he still knows the difference between right and wrong, and that he's done putting up with all the wheelin', dealin', and backstabbin' he's been mutely condoning up until now. The next morning, Bobby and Pam pack their bags and prepare to leave the ranch...and Bobby asks Pam to wait in the car so that he can break the news about their departure to his parents. He heads over to the dining room, where Jock and Miss Ellie are having breakfast, and announces that since he can no longer live in the same house as JR, he and Pam will be moving out. Miss Ellie's all, "Wha-a-a-a?!" and begs them not to seek life elsewhere as independent adults, and Jock irritably growls that he should have discussed this with them before packing their bags. Bobby tells his daddy he can't fight JR and him and insists that he tried as hard as he could to make this untenable situation work - but is now determined to get as far away from Southfork as possible. He gives his weeping mother a goodbye kiss and heads out - just as JR and Sue Ellen enter the room and ask whassup with all the drama. When Miss Ellie tearfully tells them that Bobby and Pam are moving out, Sue Ellen turns to JR and sassily points out that not only has he driven Gary away, he's now responsible for the abrupt departure of Bobby and Pam. She sarcastically congratulates him for cheating his friends and doing all manner of underhanded shit to get what he wanted. After an inconsolable Miss Ellie flees the room with Jock trailing after her, an enraged JR rebukes Sue Ellen for daring to humiliate him in front of his parents. He declares her "drunk and unfit" and vows to get her locked away in a sanitarium just as soon as he can arrange it. As he storms off, Sue Ellen stares despondently into space while doing that weird pouty/twitching thing with her lips. Harry McSween barges into Kristin's condo and informs her and Alan that he has a warrant for her arrest. When she asks what she's being arrested for, he tells her prostitution - but that he'll drop the charges if she leaves town, pronto. Kristin looks over at Alan and mutters, "I'll kill him", and Alan nods and solemnly says, "Take a number." JR calls the family doctor and tells him he wants Sue Ellen gone from Southfork tonight. He orders the doctor to send a team of men in white coats over to the ranch this evening, forcibly remove Sue Ellen from the house, then lock her away in a sanitarium before throwing away the key. The doctor somehow refrains from pointing out that committing a non-criminal to a sanitarium against her will is illegal and tantamount to kidnapping, and tells JR he'll have the sanitarium commitment papers ready for him to sign tonight. After JR hangs up, he gets a call from Vaughn Leland, once again demanding that he refund his money from the botched oil deal. When JR refuses, Vaughn growls, "This is the last crooked deal you'll ever pull!" and slams the phone down...and JR stares concernedly into space before heading out. Sue Ellen is pacing the bedroom while periodically staring over at the gun she placed atop the bed. Eventually, she decides to put the gun in her purse before heading out. Cliff is at the cemetery, visiting Digger's grave. He apologizes to Digger for letting JR beat him, then says he's off to do something that will stop JR for good. Sue Ellen rails at Dr. Ellby about how determined JR is to get her committed to the sanitarium, and that his reign of terror must be stopped. She vows to not let him get what he wants, then thanks Dr. Ellby for constantly pointing out that she shouldn't rely on other people to do what needs to get done. She stares down at the gun that's wedged inside her purse and purposefully strides out of the office. JR is working in his Ewing Oil office late into the night. He gets a phone call, looks puzzled when there's no one on the other end, then wanders over to the kitchenette to pour himself a cup of coffee. He shuts off all the lights...and when he hears someone enter the office, he barks, "Who's there?" and steps back into the hallway to investigate. A few seconds later he's shot twice by an unseen assailant and collapses to the floor, clutching his abdomen. The prime suspects.. Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying TVofYore's recaps, consider thanking me by buying me a "coffee"!
4 Comments
Amina
4/30/2020 05:03:39 pm
Tony Montana's li'l friend .LOL
Reply
Molly
3/24/2021 04:56:14 am
I hate how Ellie equates one of her children moving out to “losing a son.” The Ewings are so weird.
Reply
Isabel K. French
3/24/2021 10:00:51 am
It gets even worse for Miss Ellie when Jock finds out Ray is his bio son, and Gary expresses great relief about not having to feel any lingering guilt about continuing to live in California and not return to TX to run Southfork.
Reply
Sandy
8/25/2023 07:05:33 pm
It’s not weird Gary litterally driven away by Jock and J.R.
Reply
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