Dallas - Season 5, Episode 1

JR's and Sue Ellen's marriage continues its downward spiral into toxic deterioration

"The Missing Heir"
Original airdate: 10/9/1981

Episode summary: JR and Cliff deal with the aftermath of Kristin's mysterious death at Southfork. Lucy and Mitch call it quits after four months of marriage.

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Recap: Sheriff Washburn (of Braddock County) and his subordinates have arrived at Southfork in response to Cliff's 911 call reporting Kristin's lifeless body found floating face-down in the Ewing's swimming pool. Cliff recounts to Deputy Matland how he leaped into the pool in an attempt to rescue Kristin, then looked up and saw JR standing on the damaged balcony above, and naturally leaped to the conclusion that he pushed the saucy vixen to her death.

JR is reluctant to answer Sheriff Washburn's questions about how Kristin ended up dead in the Southfork pool 'cause he's too distracted about Pam absconding with John Ross to Abilene - but Sheriff Washburn breezily retorts that the tot is most likely fine, and that he really really needs to focus his attention on investigating the murder that was just committed in his jurisdiction. Deputy Matland pulls Sheriff Washburn aside to tell him that Cliff is insisting that JR pushed Kristin off the balcony, and Washburn scrunches his face concernedly and says that if he starts treating JR as a suspect "I could be buying myself a whole lot of trouble". He then turns to JR and tells him what Cliff is accusing him of, and JR claims that it was Cliff who drowned Kristin...and Cliff overhears that and angrily replies that that makes zero sense, not least 'cause he barely knew Kristin and would have no reason to kill this near stranger. He rails about how JR is trying to frame him the way he did when Tina Louise was murdered in Season 2, and Sheriff Washburn tells them both to shut it and accompany him and his team to the Braddock Sheriff's Station for a round of formal questioning.

"It's very possible that JR murdered the woman found floating in his family's swimming pool."

"This may complicate my status as a bought-and-paid-for law enforcement lackey for the rich Ewing family."

Bobby arrives at Southfork and is all 'OMG!' when he learns about Kristin's untimely demise. JR pulls him aside to tell him that, amid the suspicious death that should probably be of primary concern to him at the moment, Pam kidnapped John Ross and has him holed up at a motel in Abilene, and would he please travel there pronto to fetch the tot? Bobby agrees to get on that asap, while JR heads off to the sheriff's station.

Bobby gets on the phone and tries to make travel arrangements to Abilene, but soon learns that the earliest commercial flight he can get is for 7am the following morning.

At the Braddock Sheriff's Station, Sheriff Washburn ushers JR into his office, offers him a cup of coffee, and tells him that now would probably be a good time to call his lawyer. 

At dawn the next morning, Bobby briefs Ray about Kristin's death, then climbs into a cab to catch his fight to Abilene. A few seconds later, Lucy arrives at Southfork and tells Ray she heard all about Kristin's death on the radio, then is all 'whatever' and heads inside to move back into her old bedroom.

JR tells Sheriff Washburn that Kristin had demanded money from him before wandering onto his balcony acting all drunk and spacey. Sheriff Washburn asks why she wouldn't just ask her own sister for money, so JR informs him that Sue Ellen no longer lives at Southfork 'cause they're separated. He then claims that by the time he reached the balcony to see whassup with Kristin, she had somehow crashed through the railing and fallen into the pool below...and a few seconds later, Cliff had leaped into the water, and naturally leaped to the conclusion that he did so for the purpose of drowning her. Sheriff Washburn comes right out and asks JR if he pushed Kristin to her death, and he emphatically denies it.

After Cliff is released from the station after questioning, he passes a newsstand and spots the morning's headline in the local paper, Ewing Kin Dead, accompanied by head shots of himself, JR, and Kristin. He makes a beeline over to the nearest pay phone and calls Rebecca to let her know he's on his way to her place.

When JR is finished being questioned, he gets on the phone to call his Dallas-based police lackey, Detective Harry McSween, and leaves a message summoning him to his Ewing Oil office in an hour.

An hour later at Ewing Oil, Detective McSween informs JR that some unknown person picked up John Ross from the Abilene motel this morning...and when he ran the license plate, he learned that the vehicle is registered to a Steven Farlow. JR stares confusedly into space as he mutters, "Farlow.." and deduces that it must be someone from the Southern Cross Ranch in San Remo County. He wonders aloud what a wealthy clan like the Farlows could possibly want with his son, then rushes out of the office to look into that puzzlement.

Bobby retrieves Pam from the Abilene motel, and she recounts to him how appalled she was when JR physically snatched John Ross away from Sue Ellen and then instructed his security guard to drag her off the ranch. Bobby says she should have called him before she removed the child from his home...so she says she wasn't able to reach him - but was secretly glad, 'cause she didn't want him to sway her from doing what she thought was right. Bobby asks her if she doesn't think that this ugly custody battle is something that JR and Sue Ellen should prolly work out themselves, and she's like, "Uh, nope" 'cause a helpless child is at the center of the conflict. Bobby makes it clear that he doesn't believe she did the right thing, but she tells him he'd think differently if he had seen how happy Sue Ellen was when she (along with Dusty) picked up her son at the motel last night.

"I don't think you should be sticking your nose into JR's and Sue Ellen's bidness."

"Whereas I feel that that's exactly where I should be sticking my nose."

Over at Casa Yokel, Ray is surprised when Donna pulls up in a cab, returning home from her D.C. trip earlier than expected. She admits that she cut her trip short on account of how worried she is about him withdrawing $3 million from their joint bank account, then says she thinks he's moving way too fast on the Lubbock housing project, pointing out that he has zero background and/or experience with real estate development. Ray insists that he learned a lot just by watching Jock and Punk Anderson wheel and deal in association with the Takapa development before the writers abruptly shut down that tedious storyline [due, sadly, to Jim Davis's terminal illness]. He adds that just 'cause he's a cowboy doesn't mean he can't become a savvy real estate developer, and Donna manages to keep a straight face at that delusional lunacy while she half-heartedly agrees and leans in for a hug and kiss while continuing to stare concernedly into space.

Cliff fills Rebecca in about Kristin's untimely demise in the Southfork pool, including his run-in with Sheriff Washburn, whose head is so far up JR's ass that he'd sooner declare him (Cliff) as the prime suspect in a murder that makes way more sense, at least circumstantially, for JR to have committed. 

Pam tells Bobby she's stunned to hear that Kristin is no more and wonders what Cliff was doing at Southfork late last night. Bobby explains that Cliff had stopped by to accuse him of misconduct 'cause he's convinced that he gave JR access to whatever proof he had about his role in the bloodless Southeast Asian coup. Pam breezily calls that accusation nonsense, but then wonders aloud how in blazes JR could have gotten his hands on Cliff's secret files.

Lucy drops by the condo to discuss with Mitch the rapid deterioration of their ridiculously ill-fated, four-month marriage. She fully admits to being a spoiled brat who's never had to work for anything in her life, but then digs in about how much she's enjoyed her luxurious lifestyle and really can't see herself living any other way. She tells him she has zero desire to wait for what she wants and/or to spend her days sacrificing and budgeting, and Mitch is all, "But that's the only way I know how to liiiiiiive!" Lucy tears up and says that while she loves him and doesn't want him to have to change who he is, she can't bear to stay married to such an uppity scrounger who's constantly irked by her family's wealth. She abruptly says goodbye and hightails it out of the condo, leaving Mitch staring after his soon-to-be ex-wife in stunned bewilderment.

"I can't want to pretend to be a poor person."

"And I can't not want to spend my life scrimping and pinching to make ends meet."

Sheriff Hawkins (of San Remo County), along with his flunkies and JR descend upon the Southern Cross Ranch. Patriarch Clayton Farlow greets Sheriff Hawkins et. al. and admits that, yep, his son Steven (aka Dusty) picked up John Ross from the Abilene motel and brought him to his ranch. A few seconds later, Dusty exits the house and limps over...and JR stares at him as if he's trying to place why he looks so familiar, then recalls that he was the rodeo rider who once made a pass at his wife. JR says he couldn't care less about him and Sue Ellen hooking up 'cause he really just wants his son back - and Sue Ellen emerges from the house and angrily declares that not only is John Ross going to be living with her full time on Southern Cross, she's suing him for divorce. So there!

After the commercial break, Clayton assures JR that John Ross is safe at Southern Cross in the custody of his mother - but JR insists that he wants his son returned to Southfork, like pronto. When Sheriff Hawkins concurs with Clayton and points out to JR that it doesn't seem as though a crime has actually been committed, JR accuses him of being in Clayton's pocket [kinda like how Sheriff Washburn is firmly in the pocket of the Ewing family]. He then tells Sue Ellen he'd like to speak with her privately, motioning to a spot several feet away as he assures, "Your boyfriend can come to your rescue in one mighty hobble." LOL. Sue Ellen's like 'sure, why not?' ... and once they're far enough to be out of earshot of everyone, JR breaks the news about Kristin's death. Sue Ellen first accuses him of lying, then of murdering her sister 'cause he had the biggest motive of anyone. She asks whatever became of their love spawn, and JR points out that Kristin had never offered any actual proof that she had been pregnant...but despite that, he'd opted to pay her off rather than call her bluff. He shrugs and says it's very possible that Kristin was never pregnant, then urges Sue Ellen to return to Southfork for a fresh start to their never-ending marital dysfunction. Sue Ellen snappishly tells him that knocking up Kristin wasn't the only reason she left him, then adamantly declares that 1) she's never stepping foot on Southfork ever again, 2) he'll never get custody of John Ross, and 3) she's deeply in love with Dusty. JR's all 'fine whatever' about that last thing, but refuses to accept that she's going to have full custody of their son. She reacts by rushing back to the safety of Dusty's arms, and an infuriated JR storms off.

Upon returning to Southfork, Bobby calls Cliff to ask him if there are any new details about Kristin's death, then sets up a tête-à-tête outside the courthouse for the following day.

Pam is sitting in the rocking chair in John Ross's fugly nursery, starting blankly at his empty crib. Bobby urges her to lay down and get some rest, but she moans about how lonely the house is without the little boy and hopes that he returns home soon.

Afton is rehearsing in the Stardrift Lounge when a glum looking Mitch drops by and asks for a whiskey. She heads behind the bar to pour him one and ask him whassup with the long face, so he tells her that he and Lucy are officially Splitsville. Afton rolls her eyes and calls him a fool for imposing his idiotic budgetary standards on his wife, 'cause it's clearly what drove her away. She tells him he's got booksmarts, but zero common sense, as was demonstrated when he repeatedly made such a big fucking deal of Lucy coming from a rich family. Mitch argues that he's not at all comfortable being around so much wealth - but at the same time wants Lucy back. Afton says his only hope to successfully rekindle things will depend on him figuring out how to amass a fortune of his own so that he can offer Lucy the life of leisure to which she's become accustomed.

"I'm bummed 'cause I can't convince my wealthy wife to fully embrace my preferred pauper lifestyle."

"You're the dumbest dumbfuck I've ever known."

While horseback riding on the vastness that is Southfork Ranch, Donna tells Bobby she's worried that Ray is getting in waaaaaay over his head with the Lubbock housing project. Bobby agrees that she's probably right to worry, and thinks that Ray is mostly trying to impress Jock with his non-existent business acumen. He then shares that Pam's recent mood swings are kinda freaking him out, and Donna sympathetically clucks that Pam wants a baby soooooo badly it's clearly making her go a bit squirrelly. She suggests getting Pam some professional help, and Bobby says he's tried, but that she hasn't been too receptive to the notion of talking to a psychologist. The two then agree that they each make good sounding boards for the other, then get back atop their horses and gallop off.

Pam is sitting by the Southfork pool, enjoying a cup of coffee, when JR exits the house and snarlingly warns her to "stay out of my sight". He adds that he came close to having her arrested for kidnapping his son, to which she retorts that she was simply reuniting Sue Ellen with her child after she was so cruelly thrown off of Southfork. JR says he wouldn't expect any better from an illegitimate child of a ranch foreman and stepdaughter of the town drunk...and Bobby, who's now within hearing range, yells at JR to shut it and takes a swing at him. Ray rushes over to break up the fight as JR yells at Bobby that he's not through with him or Pam yet, then storms off...and an unfazed looking Pam just stares spacily after her furious brother-in-law.

JR arrives at Ewing Oil and tells Phyllis he has a ton of dictating for Louella to do, so Phyllis reminds him that he fired her during the Season 4 finale for not ensuring that Claude Brown fled the country before he could be called to testify at the Southeast Asian counter-revolution hearing. JR's like, "Oh yeah. Oops", then heads over to his office, where his lawyer, Howard Barker, is waiting. JR tells Howard he needs him to represent him during his divorce and subsequent custody battle, and Howard warns that it's likely going to be a problem to get full custody of John Ross - unless he can somehow prove that Sue Ellen is an unfit mother.

During a staff meeting at The Store, a dazed looking Pam stares blankly into space...and when Liz Craig asks her why she's so quiet, she just kind of shrugs and says she just doesn't have a whole lot to contribute today.

Back at Ewing Oil, JR orders Phyllis to call a temp agency to rustle up some potential secretaries for him to interview, correctly assuming that she wouldn't want to give up her gig as Bobby's secretary to become his secretary, remarking, "I guess Bobby's got you broken in the way he wants you." Phyllis smiles in response to his brazen misogyny and cheerily replies, "He seems pleased." $#&@!
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Outside the courthouse, Cliff rails at Bobby for tipping off JR about the evidence that he had accumulated to prove he was the instigator of the South Asian coup, and Bobby denies doing any such thing and says that either there's a leak on their team they need to suss out, or that JR truly is innocent of the accusations. Cliff lets out a bitter chuckle at that second thing and insists that JR is a criminal and that he's never going to stop trying to unearth the truth. Bobby warns him that if he tries to drum up political support to implicate JR in such a serious crime, Austin isn't going to be a welcoming town to him on account of he broke the chain of command when he went over his head. He caps off his rant by snarling, "You're through in politics." 

Back at the Southern Cross Ranch, Sue Ellen strolls with Dusty and happily tells him how free she feels after breaking away from JR. Dusty's like, "Uh, that's nice" and says he wishes they'd hooked up under less acrimonious circumstances, and she's like, "I looooove that you're my white knight who came to my rescue." Dusty looks less than comfortable being billed as a white knight and tells her she's always free to change her mind at any time about staying or leaving his ranch. Sue Ellen ignores what sounds to me like an 'I've bitten off more than I wanted to chew' type reflection and just stares at Dusty lovingly and says she wants to spend the rest of her life with him, and the two hug and kiss while he stares concernedly into space. 

"Feel free to leave my ranch anytime."

"I will interpret that remark as your declaration of love for me."

Over at Southfork, Lucy sees Bobby staring into space by the pool, so she totters over in her high heels to inform him that she and Mitch are dunzo. She says she really does love the dumb lug, but knows it's not enough to keep a failing marriage together when the husband is so hung up on the Ewing riches...and Bobby envelopes her in a comforting hug.

JR is at Ewing Oil, discussing with Howard how to win the custody battle for John Ross...and Howard strategizes that Sue Ellen's history of adultery and boozing could definitely work against her during the divorce proceedings. Sheriff Washburn arrives at Ewing Oil and interrupts the meeting to inform JR that he just got a call from the Assistant District Attorney in Dallas County, who has proof that Kristin confessed to shooting him during the Season 3 finale. He says that this confession could be interpreted as a motive to wanting her dead - but JR breezily brushes off that theory as nonsense. Sheriff Washburn sternly tells him they're going to need to look into this in greater depth at the sheriff's station, then sternly advises him to bring his lawyer along.

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