EPISODE 26: LAST OF THE GOOD GUYS
Really good. It starts with a great opening scene and pretty much never stops going. We find Ray in bed with Connie, waking up unsure of what’s just happened. He offers to give her money. "I am not a whore!" Connie protests, but certainly doesn’t give up. She shows up at Ray’s and asks him if he’d rather sit around waiting for his corpse of a wife, or would like to take a dip in her ladypond. The actress is so good. Before long, Ray gives in.
Bobby tries to get O'Dell’s support once again but fails. Amusingly, it looks like O'Dell may have his Knots Landing portrait as Paul Galveston hanging in his office. Who said there never were any more DALLAS/KL crossovers after Bobby's return?! Bobby decides to do something interesting: He orders Phyllis to find him anything he can use to blackmail O'Dell. Phyllis, however, guilts Bobby into being a decent person (roll eyes). OK, I’m kidding. Kinda. But it was a cute Bobby/Phyllis moment. Bobby goes back to O'Dell and gives him what he wanted, provided he gets the Ewing name back.
I like the way they are handling Cliff’s pill addiction at the moment. It’s much subtler. He receives two visits, one by Casey and one by April. In each case, he makes sure to hide the pill bottle before they see. High as he is, Cliff agrees to take a look at Casey's land. During April's visit later, they have a laugh over Bobby's search for a virgin wife, which is fun. There’s also a hilarious moment as April settles down on the couch when she notices a half-eaten egg roll on the table next to a book titled, "Oil, Sex and Power".
Last time, Nicholas was pissed Sue Ellen wanted to get personal. This time, he’s pissed she doesn’t want to get personal. Boy, being with that man would give you high blood pressure, and it wouldn’t be just because of the height of his bouffant. Later, Kimberly comes bitching to Sue Ellen about J.R. (is it customary to go to your lover’s wife to tell her how mean your lover is?). It’s all good, though, because Sue Ellen has just bought $30 million worth of Weststar stock and wants Kimberly to become her ally against J.R. "Yas, girl, yas!" says Kimberly. "Girl power!" cries out Sue Ellen. It’s really neat stuff.
Clayton demands he speak to Miss Ellie. For a while, it’s a really good scene, as Clayton decries putting on a front for the sake of the public, but it takes a sudden turn when Miss Ellie announces she no longer wants to be separated from Clayton. It’s all too sudden. They didn’t build up to it at all. But the rest of the Laurel Ellis/David's murder plot is really good. Once again, J.R. is in top form. Of course, the interest does take a dip when the Plant Lady is involved. Her acting hasn’t improved with the story. But J.R.’s still interested: "I wouldn’t mind spending time with that myself!" he says charmingly. "I wonder what’s troubling Clayton!" he remarks during a quiet Ewing dinner.
Things take a very interesting turn from here: J.R. visits Plant Lady and convinces her to move into one of his apartments. Laurel’s exactly the kind of dumb that would go along with this. As he’s leaving, J.R. runs into the Annoying British Lad, and becomes suspicious. Suddenly, you realize this is how it’s all going to be unveiled. With Harry McSween's help, he tracks Brett down and has someone take pictures of him. It’s a nicely directed scene by Preece. Something about the way it was done managed to give Brett a little more dimension; you can almost picture him as a sociopath at this point, where before he just came off dead.
J.R. moves Laurel into her new apartment. Interestingly, from behind, with her long, wavy hair, I thought it was Kristin Shephard for a moment. Didn’t she also get moved into an apartment before being betrayed? The apartment is honestly just an explosion of 80s hideousness. I mean, it’s truly, truly vile. "I hope this is not some set up for seduction!" Plant Lady whines. GOD she’s annoying. But, I have to admit, that little bit of turning down champagne because it gives her a headache and then refusing caviar because it gives her heartburn, and J.R.’s reaction to it, was really very funny. "Why do you treat me like a whore and then treat me like a princess?" she asks J.R., pointing out his inconsistencies. "You’ll find out by the end of the episode," he says.
Indeed, J.R. finds witnesses that can point to Brett going into David's apartment after Clayton left and we get to see David suffocated to death. In perhaps one of his cruelest, vilest moments, J.R. tells Laurel he has everything he needs to exonerate Clayton – if she sleeps with him. J.R.’s motivation ("Clayton deserves a break") isn’t very strong, nor can this be completely excused by saying he just wanted Laurel that badly. I mean, why would he? It would have been better if he was doing it to get rid of the negative publicity or whatever, but there we have it.
Kimberly runs to her creepy father to tell him the good news about Sue Ellen. He’s so excited that he dies.
J.R. tells the family that Clayton's off the hook. "You have no idea how much this has meant to me!" he smiles. What a bastard!
I’m a little said the murder plot was wrapped up so quickly, but the fallout of what J.R. has done to Laurel should be great!
DDD