Recap: Ben finds a draft copy of Alexis's next instalment of The Denver Mirror featuring the headline $100,000 Reward for Arrest and Conviction in Carrington Hotel Fire! Alexis breezes into the study and chides him for snooping...and when he tells her he'd be more than happy to manufacture evidence faux proving that Blake committed arson and murder, she insists she wants real evidence...and by real evidence she means something that can corroborate her crackpot theory that Blake was so desperate to collect insurance money that he burned down his own hotel while many of his kids were inside. Blake returns to the Carlton Hotel after being questioned by the police and tells Krystle they suspect him of starting the fire 'cause cans of flammable cleaning fluids were found in the service pantry, one of which exploded. [It seems like a major stretch to directly connect the presence of cleaning fluid cans to Blake, but then I'm a recapper, not a fictional arson investigator.] The police also learned that a La Mirage employee named Frank Morrin had a criminal record and was hired (by hotel manager Jay Bradley) on the day of the fire and gave Blake a hard time about not mentioning this tidbit earlier. Blake meets with Jay Bradley to berate him for hiring a man with a criminal record, and Jay sheepishly explains that he was so desperate for extra help 'cause of the strain Dominique's engagement party was putting on the staff that he hastily hired Frank Morrin and simply forgot to mention it. Blake snippily informs him that the police think he concealed evidence when he failed to mention the hiring of Frank, calls the error unforgivable, and growls that he's fired...which seems like somewhat of a moot point, given that the hotel Jay was managing just burned to the ground. Michael surprises Amanda with champagne in the outdoor patio area of the Carlton Hotel. He pours two glasses and toasts, "To our first date", then hits play on a small ghetto blaster so the two can dance to some background music. He natters about his time working at sea and wildcatting, then gazes into her eyes and coos about what a bright future they could have together...and, nope, still no chemistry there. The next morning, Blake is aghast by the $100,000 reward headline in The Denver Mirror, then tells Krystle that after an entire night of stewing about all the inflammatory headlines Alexis has been publishing since she bought the rag, he's no longer willing to be on the defensive about all of the accusations she's been hurling at him. He then says he's been studying the seismic data on the land his ma bequeathed him and is sure it's the answer to a fresh start and a profitable new future. Krystle smiles at him in her obnoxiously serene manner and says he looks like a new man, and Blake happily announces that he and Steven are pursuing this fresh start by meeting up with someone named Nick Kimball. He gives Krystle a canoodle as he firmly declares, "We're going to do it. We're going to make it" and Krystle looks hopeful this means very soon she can resume living the life of privilege and wealth she signed up for as part of her Mrs. Goat Daddy marital contact.
Alexis summons Ben to Denver Mirror headquarters so she can sign a stack of ColbyCo paperwork. While that's happening, some rando named Dan Crane drops by to tell Alexis the tale of how Blake approached him on the Friday before the La Mirage fire and offered to pay him to set the hotel ablaze - but that he turned him down 'cause he's not an evil arsonist. Alexis chews on his story for a few seconds, checks her day planner, and informs Dan she knows for a fact that Blake was in Hong Kong on the Friday before the fire. Dan weakly says he just mixed up the days - but Alexis says she's heard enough, and both she and Ben order him to get the hell out. After Dan slinks off, Ben asks Alexis if she's considered the possibility that Blake might actually be innocent of arson and murder, and she's like 'nope' and insists that somewhere there must be solid, irrefutable proof that Blake set the hotel on fire. When Ben exits the building, Dan grabs him and snarlingly accuses him of double-crossing him and setting him up - but Ben denies it and urges him to go to the DA with the same story, but cite a different date (aka not the Friday before the fire). Blake and Steven are hanging out with Nick Kimball at La Cantina, a gritty beer hall where rig workers in Denver like to gather. Blake wanks Nick about what an awesome pal his father was, and that he (Nick) has blossomed into the best drill foreman in the business. He urges Nick to take a giant leap of faith and come along with him on his new venture and persuade his crew to do the same - but a doubtful looking Nick points out that the land in question doesn't actually have any oil. Blake concurs, then reveals on the down low that reports suggest there's a huge deposit of natural gas. Nick looks unimpressed and says it's too much of a risk to start drilling for such a new-fangled energy source...but when Blake chides him for not being gutsy like his father, he changes his mind and tells Blake he's on board. Alexis phones Dex to admonish him for agreeing to work with Blake on his mysterious new venture 'cause she's worried it'll create a conflict of interest with the Lex-Dex Corporation. Dex firmly tells her that whatever work he does for Blake will have zero effect on the Lex-Dex pipeline, then grumbles, "Now get off my back." Alexis snappishly rejoins that she'll get off his back when she feels like getting off his back, threatens to veto any further work on the pipeline purely out of spite, and slams the phone down. After that, Steven arrives at Dex's field office with a couple of reports that Blake wants him to read...and when Dex reacts all hostile and poutish, Steven acknowledges that he was once quite pissy towards him 'cause he didn't trust him while he and Alexis were married. He says that things have changed a lot since then, and that since they may be working closely together they should put all that bad blood behind them. He gently asks Dex if he's still in love with Alexis, and Dex stares contemplatively into space before replying, "God help me, I am", then softens his 'tude towards Steven and invites him to brew some coffee so they can go over Blake's reports together. While jogging together at Delta Rho, Sammy Jo tells Clay that she convinced his ma to drop by the ranch to see Grenada, aka the horse she wants to gift her. Clay warns that his ma is not likely to accept such an extravagant gift from anyone, then abruptly changes the subject and suggests they go swimming. Sammy Jo says she's into that idea and literally kicks Clay into the pool, where the two clown around and smooch underwater. Adam stops by Blake's office intending to have a chat with his father - but runs into Krystle, who tells him that Blake isn't around. Adam makes it clear that he doesn't approve of the campaign Alexis is publicly waging against Blake in The Denver Mirror 'cause he's pretty sure he wasn't responsible for the La Mirage fire...and Krystle wryly says she's glad he realizes that, but then chides him for hurting his father when he jumped ship to work for Alexis. She suggests he leave Blake alone for awhile 'cause he's still trying to sort through that betrayal, and Adam sourly retorts that she'd just loooove it if Blake refused to forgive him and eventually disowned him. Krystle denies that that's true - but says if he were to be unforgiven and disowned, he'd only have himself to blame. Blake drops by Dex's field office with Nick Kimball to discuss a working alliance regarding his natural gas venture. Blake tells Dex he needs to borrow his deep drill gear...and then Nick chimes in about the high stakes of this venture, but that if they do find natural gas, it'd be an enormous win for everyone involved. Dex mulls all that over and decides he's in...and just as he and Blake are shaking on it, Alexis happens to arrive at the worksite and scrunches her face disapprovingly as she spies on them through the window. During a black tie gathering at Carrington manor, Alexis, who's decked out in an absurdly frilly, white see-through polkadot blouse, recounts to Adam and Ben that Blake stopped by Dex's field office to discuss something that was clearly business-related. Adam assures her that he and Ben will work together to find out what Blake is up to - but Ben's like, "Mmm...how committed are you to this goal?" and openly questions his loyalty to Alexis. Adam prickles at his skepticism and grumbles about how he doesn't appreciate his loyalty being questioned, to which Alexis points out that he hasn't actually done anything to prove it. She gleefully suggests they both demonstrate their undying fealty to her by competing against each other to see who achieves the goal of supplying her with all the deets regarding Blake's new venture. She purringly challenges, "Show me which side you're really on" ... and these two grown men somehow decide that proven loyalty to a Blake-obsessed narcissist is some kind of prize worthy of compromising their souls and integrity for.
At breakfast the next morning, Ben points out to Adam that they're both outcasts within the Carrington clan, and that he (Adam) should meekly accept his father's hatred of him and take control of his own life. Adam shoots him the stink-eye and says it's pretty obvious he wants him to think Blake despises him so he can test his loyalty to Alexis - but Ben insists that he just wants to be his friend, and that he's simply stating the obvious when he pronounces that he'll never get Blake's approval...and says this as though a (nearly) middle-aged man overly concerned with parental approval isn't a troubling indication of some serious daddy issues. Adam accuses him of inciting him to run back to Blake to seek his general acceptance so he can prove to Alexis he can't be trusted and makes it clear that that will never happen...and after he storms out, Ben mutters, "We'll see." That conversation was weird and mind-numbing on so many levels. Back at the Carlton Hotel, Blake and Krystle are having breakfast with Nick Kimball, who complains that he's having difficulty putting a crew together, 'cause apparently the grizzled workers all think he (Blake) is washed up. Blake urges him to gather the men at La Cantina tomorrow night so that he can personally address their concerns - just as Dominique sashays over wearing a fantastic flowy white and black striped coat. She's introduced to Nick, who gushes about what a big fan of her music he is...and after the two stare all intrigued and smitten-like at each other, Nick excuses himself while Blake and Krystle exchange mmm hmm expressions at what looks to be the genesis of a romantic relationship. Dex drops by Denver Mirror headquarters to ask Alexis what she was doing at the worksite the other day, and she tells him how miffed she is about him sealing some sort of deal with Blake. Dex assures her that his business dealings with Blake won't cost her a penny and adds that he's extremely weary and dismayed about the fact that she's so annoyingly determined to put Blake down at the cost of her businesses and relationships. Dominique swings by the hospital to visit Jackie, who's having a troubled sleep and suddenly wakes up from a bad dream. She whimpers to her mother that she saw Claudia with flames all around her, and Dominque gives her a comforting hug and assures her that the bad dreams will eventually go away once the burns start to heal. That evening at La Cantina, Blake buys everyone a round and promises a piece of "the biggest find" the state has ever seen. As the men titter skeptically, the angriest of the crew, Carson, snarlingly mocks, "You're practically on your knees, begging!" and calls Blake out for firing him from one of his rigs. Blake reminds him that he was fired 'cause he got drunk on the job and endangered the lives of his fellow rig workers, and Carson shoots back that he's the one who's now being accused of killing people. An exasperated Nick orders Carson to get out - but Carson ignores him and picks up a beer bottle, then contorts his face all aggressive-like and advances on Blake...who's all, "Ack!" as he hastily gets out of the way so his stunt double can step in to fend off the attack before several other men pull Carson away and drag him outside. A faux roughed up Blake chucklingly remarks, "Almost like the old days", and the rig workers decide that, even after all these years, goat daddy still has the kind of street cred they respect enough to risk their livelihoods over and go all in on his mysterious new drilling venture.
Blake returns to the Carlton Hotel and runs into Ben, who smugly informs him he reinstated Stu McEwen as Denver Carrington's third biggest customer. Blake wryly informs him he dropped Stu when he learned of his corruption and warns Ben that if he keeps him around, he'll steal him blind. Ben changes the subject with a taunt about how the La Mirage fire is going to do him in, and Blake argues it won't, then happily declares, "I'm just getting started." Alexis offers to pay Gordon Wales triple his current salary to carry out a special assignment...and when he jokes, "Who do I have to kill?", she says she wants intel on Blake's new venture, and that she wants it within the next 48 hours. [I guess this means that, despite the Loyalty Contest she instigated at dinner the other night, she doesn't have confidence that Ben and/or Adam have the kind of sneakery chops it'd take to uncover this coveted information.] Over at Denver Carrington, Ben asks Dana Waring (a secretarial assistant to Blake we've never seen before) what was in Blake's secret box of files he was allowed to take with him...and instead of just saying, "Dunno", Dana tells him she'd consider it unethical to disclose the contents of that box. Ben issues her an ultimatum - tell him what was in that box or seek employment elsewhere - and Dana stonily replies, "I'll get my things together" and heads back to her desk. She sits in her chair and tears up, so Adam - who was eavesdropping on the conversation between her and Ben - hands her a tissue, and the two stare at each other all intrigued and smitten-like. In the next scene, Adam takes Dana out to lunch in a lovely restaurant patio. He tells her how impressed he is by her loyalty to Blake and offers her a job as his assistant, but she declines 'cause she doesn't want to be caught in the middle of him and his shitty uncle. Adam just kind of shrugs at that and tells her that the offer remains open in case she changes her mind. Dana remarks on how nice this restaurant is, muttering, "It's certainly a far cry from Billings, Montana" and a startled Adam is all, "Wha-a-at do you know about Billings, Montana?" Dana breezily says she knows a lot about a lot of places - just as the waiter comes by to inform Adam that he has an overseas call. Once Adam is safely out of her orbit, Dana opens her purse and pulls out a newspaper clipping detailing Adam's return to his bio parents after his decades-long kidnapping. Emily Fallmont gushes to Sammy Jo about how beautiful Grenada is, but declines to accept him as a gift 'cause he's much too valuable to just be given away. Sammy Jo argues that there's huge publicity value in a former Olympic equestrian being seen riding atop a Delta Rho horse, and Emily chews on that for several seconds, then suggests they discuss it over dinner sometime this week. Sammy Jo beams happily and says she'd looooove that, then heads off to tend to Grenada. An irked Clay asks his ma why she'd want to have dinner with the skanklet he's currently boning, so she tells him she finds Sammy Jo delightful in a non-pretentious kind of way, and that he could do a lot worse in the girlfriend department. Clay replies that while he likes hitting the sheets with her every now and then, he's not remotely close to being done sampling all of the single available women who are out in the world...and a mildly dismayed Emily murmurs, "Oh Clay.."
Krystle storms over to Denver Mirror headquarters to admonish Mr. Eckland about how deep in the gutter the newspaper has gotten. She shows him the latest report from the Fire Department, which indicates that La Mirage passed a fire prevention inspection prior to the blaze - but then, for whatever reason, the sprinkler system hadn't been turned on again. As Mr. Eckland ponders the significance of that, Alexis enters the office and smarmily applauds Krystle for standing by Blake, but digs in about how she's going to continuing to publish what she believes passes for the truth. An enraged Krystle barks, "You'll soon find out what the truth is!" before storming out. Sammy Jo runs into Steven at Carrington manor and tells him how vexed she is that he moved their tot to an apartment without bothering to inform her. She says that Danny could be living with her in the splendor that is Delta Rho, but Steven sourly retorts that he doesn't want their son growing up on "a stud farm", witnessing "the breeding process, as demonstrated by you and Clay Fallmont". Sammy Jo bitchily retorts, "Well, at least he'd see how it's done by straight people" - ouchers - and Steven shoots her a withering stink-eye before silently stalking off. Ben summons Jay Bradley to his office and asks him what he told police regarding the La Mirage fire, so Jay recounts that he admitted to being the one who hired Frank "The Felon" Morrin. Ben points out that by doing so, he absolved Blake of all responsibility, and that Blake, in turn, showed his appreciation by dickishly firing him. He devilishly suggests to Jay that he change his story and tell the DA's office that Blake was the one who instructed him to hire Morrin, thereby clearing his name and sharing The Denver Mirror's $100,000 reward. Jay perks up and says he definitely likes the sound of that plan, and both men grin as they sip from their booze glasses. Blake tells Krystle that his new venture is really starting to come together, and that he's loving making things happen and feeling as though the tide is somehow changing. He thanks Krystle for her love, support, and encouragement - just as Lieutenant Calder enters the office to inform Blake that he has a warrant for his arrest, and that the [baseless] charges are arson and first degree murder. Blake and Krystle are all, "Wha-a-a-a?!" and stare back at him in horrified bewilderment. Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying TVofYore's recaps, consider thanking me by buying me a "coffee"!
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