Could the seemingly innocuous arrival of unexpected gifts be a harbinger of dark intentions? Step right up, and let's unravel the chilling mystery shrouding Knots Landing's "Constant Companion," where suspense intersects with the suburban drama of the 1980s. Together, we dissect the peculiar marriage of Ginger and Kenny, the baffling "Kenny conundrum," and dive into the quirky world of Arthur, the 'short king' with a heart of gold. From mysterious gifts to uninvited dinner incidents, we're peeling back every layer, leaving no stone unturned in a story that blends paranoia with the pursuit of normalcy.
Join me as we toast to Valene's secret academic aspirations, chuckling at her geometry-induced distress while applauding her tenacious leap towards a GED. Amidst the tension and heartache, we find empowerment in education and the resilience to navigate life's moral mazes. We explore complex mother-daughter dynamics, the sting of past decisions, and the humorous innocence of boy-girl interactions. It's a poignant mix of growth, grief, and the laughter that echoes through life's most trying moments.
Finishing off with a flourish, we delve into the curious character study of Arthur, a study in social awkwardness with a surprisingly wholesome twist. As we connect the dots between trust, infidelity, and the oddity of the Knots Landing neighborhood, we're reminded that empowerment comes in many forms, from education to the courage of self-care. So, fluff up your favorite pillow, grab a comforting beverage, and let's sink into the drama that's best left to the screen – with a lighthearted reminder to keep the real-life drama at bay.
If you love Soaplore, check out
Televisionofyore.com for a blow by blow recap of iconic t.v
Join the Vintage Primetime Soap Opera Social Club on FB
Could the seemingly innocuous arrival of unexpected gifts be a harbinger of dark intentions? Step right up, and let's unravel the chilling mystery shrouding Knots Landing's "Constant Companion," where suspense intersects with the suburban drama of the 1980s. Together, we dissect the peculiar marriage of Ginger and Kenny, the baffling "Kenny conundrum," and dive into the quirky world of Arthur, the 'short king' with a heart of gold. From mysterious gifts to uninvited dinner incidents, we're peeling back every layer, leaving no stone unturned in a story that blends paranoia with the pursuit of normalcy.
Join me as we toast to Valene's secret academic aspirations, chuckling at her geometry-induced distress while applauding her tenacious leap towards a GED. Amidst the tension and heartache, we find empowerment in education and the resilience to navigate life's moral mazes. We explore complex mother-daughter dynamics, the sting of past decisions, and the humorous innocence of boy-girl interactions. It's a poignant mix of growth, grief, and the laughter that echoes through life's most trying moments.
Finishing off with a flourish, we delve into the curious character study of Arthur, a study in social awkwardness with a surprisingly wholesome twist. As we connect the dots between trust, infidelity, and the oddity of the Knots Landing neighborhood, we're reminded that empowerment comes in many forms, from education to the courage of self-care. So, fluff up your favorite pillow, grab a comforting beverage, and let's sink into the drama that's best left to the screen – with a lighthearted reminder to keep the real-life drama at bay.
If you love Soaplore, check out
Televisionofyore.com for a blow by blow recap of iconic t.v
Join the Vintage Primetime Soap Opera Social Club on FB
It's one thing, he can let random people sleep with his wife, but you better not pass her no damn birthday cake. Welcome and welcome back to Soap Lore, the official gathering place for newbies, novices and all you OG diehard fans of the golden age of primetime. I'm your host, jet viewing, reviewing, loving and lathering up with one of the soapiest sudziest primetime storylines of 1980. Of the soapiest sudziest primetime storylines of 1980. We're going back to everyone's favorite toldy set for Knott's Landing, season 1, episode 9, constant Companion. You'll never look at chrysanthemums the same. So, whether you're new to this or true to this, sit back and enjoy. Tell the kids it's time to play outside, or out of sight, way out of sight for this episode. So, babe, no questions, suggestions or concerns for the next 25 to 35 minutes. Everyone else in the air shop. Nothing has changed. You can be cool, you can be quiet, or you will be kicked off Because we have got to get to the bottom of this thrilling story. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, this is Soulful. Welcome back, party people, to another fun film edition of so floor, the suspense episode, something like that. I hope you got all the caffeine you needed for the day. I don't need you extra jittery, jumpery, whatever, I'm extra happy guys.
Speaker 1:I fully didn't intend on watching every ounce of this show. I thought I would just kind of peek in on it just to see what it was about while I was doing some editing for the other episode. But I couldn't stop myself. And it's not because the show is so captivating not this episode in particular, but it is. There's so many Easter eggs, there's so many things they're not saying that I just need them to come on out and say, before we get too deep into this Okay. So picture this you got a kindergarten teacher who's minding her own business. Suddenly, over the course of two weeks, these random gifts start showing up. Gift by gift, bit by bit, she starts to slide the mysterious puzzle pieces into place. The creepity creep factor reaches a fever pitch by the show's end and you might get a case of the heebie-jeebies. You'll definitely get a case of the heebie-jeebies, but for all the wrong reasons. You know what it is. Go ahead and settle in. You might want to grab an extra blanket for this one. Pour yourself up something bubbly.
Speaker 1:Let's jump into season one, episode nine knots landing, constant companion. We're going to continue on with the shows we have for the last couple of shows. I'm going to give you a rundown of the episode in under 10 minutes and then we'll come back with some particulars. Those particulars today are not limited to the unseen stalker. How much do we know about this person, and is it really a stalker? If you kind of knew this was coming, flora and fondling the floral fixation this is just team too much y'all. I can't wait to get into it. The Arthur anomaly what happens when the creepiest person on the episode actually turns out to be the most wholesome? The ick factor so many things went wrong that could have been righted very quickly, but weren't. We'll jump into that. And lastly, the kenny conundrum who is this kid? What is he about and why are he and ginger just so, so weird? We'll also touch on a couple of topics that were taboo in 1980 that are not so taboo today, and vice versa.
Speaker 1:Settle in season one, episode nine constant companion. This episode is all about ginger. Ginger has an admirer. Who's ginger? That's kenny's wife, the dude who's always stepping out on her. You, you know what I'm saying. So Ginger has been receiving fresh flowers, chrysanthemums, more specifically, books, all sorts of cute little gifts every day for about the last week, week and a half. Now she's standing in her classroom admiring the gifts at the beginning of the class and the only other adult around is this janitor who has more important things to do, but Ginger ain't exactly reading the room. When it comes to him she says to the janitor hey, have you noticed anyone coming into my classroom? I keep getting all these flowers and these, this, that and the third, and first. He just says no. She keeps on. Well, I just don't know who it could be. Surely it's not the kids. They're only kindergartners. They're not bringing this in. He's over this. He has other things to do. He has things to clean up. He does not get paid to converse. So he says you know what? If you don't, I don't know. I told you what I know. Go ask the FBI if you don't believe me. She does indeed Just to kind of tick her boxes off, make sure she's dotting her. I's crossing her. It's just one of her precautious things. So she's feeling herself as she goes to the parking lot after school, gets in her automobile keys and ignition car won't start.
Speaker 1:Enter new character a short king whose name happens to be author. I did not realize that after I started calling him a short king. But he's short, but he's cute, you know he's got on his own's cute, you know he's got on his own. He's got on a suit, he's got on a tie, he's well put together. But he is giving off Screech Powers vibe. Hi Ginger, can I help you with your car? She pops the hood. He just stands there staring at her. She's like I thought you were going to help me. He's like I would, but I don't really know anything about cars. So she is forced to call the auto club, who just happens to be her neighbor, sid. So this is when things take a turn for the interesting. She's still kind of riding a high. She's not really bothered by the fact that her car isn't starting.
Speaker 1:Sid shows up and this is when he plants the seed in her mind that sets the tone for the rest of the episode. So he's looking over her engine and he goes. You know what, ginger, this looks like foul play. Someone didn't want you to get home today. This didn't just happen. She's like man. That's crazy. Well, I guess I need a ride home Instead of Sid the neighbor offering her a ride. No short, king Arthur offers to drive her home, and he does.
Speaker 1:Now, over the course of the drive, it's revealed that he is living with his mama. He's talking about how mama, over the course of the drive, it's revealed that he is living with his mama. He's talking about how mama, oh, mother, would love this, mother would love that. And she doesn't exactly invite him into her home, ginger that is, but he kind of invites himself and he's so giddy that he's at her house. He runs in, he starts admiring everything. Oh my gosh, this house is so cool, this is so great. Look at this. Look at those records. Wow, look at this. You get to play any kind of music you want.
Speaker 1:He comes off as a six-year-old, but she seems slightly, slightly amused by him and offers him a little bit of coffee. So Kenny, of course, comes home and he is completely unbothered by short-teeing Arthur being in his house. House, as a matter of fact, he invites author to stay. Now you can see ginger's face. She's by this time. She's sick and tired of author. She just wants to kick off her feet, have a romantic evening with her man. So she follows kenny into the bedroom. She's like why did you invite him? I don't want him here now.
Speaker 1:Kenny, you know he's into the group thing, or at least that's my perspective. He's like hey, well, he's cute, why don't you know she goes. No, no, no, absolutely not with him. No, I work with him. It'll be weird. I don't want to do that. I just want him to go home.
Speaker 1:Kenny does what any respectable man does in 1980. He ignores the hell out of what Ginger requests and he says you know what, arthur, why don't you stay for dinner? Ginger's like we ain't got no dinner. I didn't cook dinner yet, we're just gonna have leftovers. We don't have enough for leftovers. He's like oh, there's always enough for leftovers. So kenny seems to be amused by her discomfort as they have dinner and arthur keeps going on and on about he's being. He's just super giddy that he's there. Kenny suggests that maybe he should be the person who comes by to pick up care ginger tomorrow for work. Since they work the same place, it'll'll be real easy. Ginger's not having it. She's like no, no, no, you'll take me, you will take me, kenny.
Speaker 1:After Arthur leaves, she starts to tell Kenny about all the gifts she's been receiving. You know, I got this little lullaby book today. I got some chrysanthemums, it's. I wonder who's sending them. And Kenny's like yeah, that's kind of weird. I don't know who's sending him. She's claiming to have thought it was him. Put a pin in that thought. So later on that evening the phone rings. When Ginger picks it up, it's this kid and he's just going mommy daddy, mommy daddy, super creepy, super robotic. And she's like that's weird. But she doesn't think very much of it. She's a little bit weirded out, hangs up the phone.
Speaker 1:The following morning she receives yet another bundle of chrysanthemums and a crochet pot holder. A little bit later on in the day, some perfume which is angrily delivered by the same janitor who don't have time for this. He's over it. Now she's got to deal with this janitor being pissed off because Stay away from me, stop talking to me. So by this point Jinder is all but convinced that it's Arthur leaving all of these things for her. And to add to that theory, she's looking out of her classroom window, which is glass, and she catches him staring at her. She's like this freaking freak. Now he's leaving me perfume, he's leaving me all this crap. So she confronts him in the parking lot and one of the things that's striking is that as she walks up to him he's still smiling and grinning and he's like oh, I'm so sorry that I scurried off today. I just got a little bit embarrassed.
Speaker 1:When Ginger gets home, she lays out all of the items that have been dropped off Flowers, books, a potholder, this very specific bottle of perfume. She and Kenny are mulling over it and something is like it's tickling her memory bank, but it's just not quite landing as it should. Well, as they're pondering at all the other gifts and what they could possibly mean, or who's sending them, or why Arthur's sending them, there's a ding dong, ding dong at the door. They go to answer it and it is a singing telegrammer. A telegram, a singing telegram by a singer telegrammer. I don't know what you call those people. I've never actually seen one. Anyway, the person who delivered the telegram and now needs to sing it insist on speaking to Ginger Kilmore. Now, that's not her government name anymore, because she's married to Kenny now their name escapes me at the moment. But she's just smiling ear to ear as if that's not her government name anymore, because she's married to Kenny Now their name escapes me at the moment. But she's just smiling ear to ear as if she's not weirded out that day. Ginger's like oh, that's me, that's my maiden name.
Speaker 1:Well, the telegram person proceeds to do this whole shuck and jive and sings happy birthday, delivers a birthday cake with a figure eight over the top of it. Now, this, this is team too much for Kenny. It's one thing, he can let random people sleep with his wife, but you better not ask her. No damn birthday cake. This is when Kenny decides you know, we're going straight to Arthur in his mama's house and I'm going to go off on him. I'm going to get to the bottom of this immediately. And they do just that. They march over to Arthur's home. He's like's, like y'all. Can y'all keep it down? I know you need to confront me, but do you mind keeping it down? My mom's resting turns out.
Speaker 1:Author is the most wholesome. He's just a little bit weird. Maybe he needed a break from mommy dearest, maybe not, but he's like. No, I'm sorry, I just I left you the potholder because you burned yourself when you were pouring my coffee yesterday. I was just. I thought I was being considerate. I'm sorry if it came off weird and I certainly would never hit on a married woman. That's just like. That's not. Uh-uh, that's team too much. I'm a respectable short king. Well, now they're perplexed. Now, what are we going to do? Kenny decides they need to get the police involved. So he calls the detective.
Speaker 1:Detective meets them back at the house and they're telling him everything that's going on. So he introduces the word stalker and he says you know, a stalker is usually somebody you know. So let's start thinking of every single person you know. Let's make a list. Gender is a little bit overwhelmed by that. That's a daunting task. So he says you know what? I'll come back tomorrow about 6 pm and we'll go over it. Then this is inconvenient for Kenny because Kenny has a standing date. What I'll come back tomorrow about 6 pm and we'll go over, we'll go over it. Then this is inconvenient for Kenny because Kenny has a standing date somewhere. He can't, you know, he can't miss. Whatever the thing is. He may need to leave town for a little bit.
Speaker 1:One of the things that kind of struck at this point is that she thinks the items look familiar. So she's like, yeah, probably do need to go over the people I know. Even though Ginger has what we now know to be a stalker someone is definitely tampered with her car and the items are looking a little more familiar than she'd like she still lives her life. She doesn't return home at the light of day. No, no, no, no, no.
Speaker 1:She returns home under a cloak of darkness to find a manila envelope taped to her mailbox near her front door. Inside said manila envelope is a tape, a mixtapeape. She's super pumped. Thank God she has a state-of-the-art sound system. She puts in the tape and it is. It's just like a series of infant and kids sounds so like kids on a playground, a baby crying, a baby asking for their mom, lullabies, a mom soothing the baby, that sort sort of thing. So she listens to it in its entirety, thinks about it and then runs it back, hits the rewind button, listens again and it's finally at this, I know y'all, I know, I know you're rolling your eyes, like girl you're being. It is what it is.
Speaker 1:It's at this point that she's starting to think that, okay, I guess the only thing left to do now is be freaked out. Now I'm scared. Now she's nervous. So she runs to the phone to call Kenny, her boo-boo. But of course Kenny is indisposed at the moment. He won't be made available until 12 pm tonight or midnight tonight. Mmm, mmm, right about this time she's like this feel a little bit too much like a horror movie for me personally. Let me run next door to sit in Karen's, where I can sit in a house full of people. As she runs for the door, the detective shows up. She's like oh crap, I totally forgot about her 6 pm meeting.
Speaker 1:Now the detective as he, as soon as he walks in, he notices that a her husband did decide to go on his little meeting and he can tell that she's shaken up, she's obviously uncomfortable, she's obviously frightened. Now it's at this point in the story that a cold shiver runs up my spine, but not ginger's. So the detective starts asking questions like what's going on? Does this tape trigger any memories? She's. She's starting to like oh god, as you can see, the walls are starting to crumble. She starts, she's on the verge of a breakdown and she's like trying to compose herself. He's like no, no, is this? Is this? Is this triggering anything? How do you feel this is a very strategically placed tape. Like, doesn't it make you feel weird? Her back is to him. I'm looking at him like, oh shh, is this guy the? Is this the stalker? What is this about? Well, he starts to comfort and caress her and I'm like oh, okay, okay, that's what that's about.
Speaker 1:She's grossed out and kicks him out and decides to continue her trek over to Sid and Karen's house. Once she gets there, she makes this major confession, she drops a bombshell and she's like all this stuff that's been sent to me the baby books, the lullabies, the flowers, all this stuff looks familiar because somebody in my past used to give me these things. I got this corsage made of chrysanthemums when we were in high school going to prom. Moms, when we were in high school going to prom, my boyfriend used to buy me perfume. His name was john and I had an abortion, but it was his baby, so I don't know why he's doing this to me. That's the thing she's caught up on, like. Why, all of a sudden, is he obsessing over this? Why is he sending these me, these things? Why is he freaking me out? It has to be him. Who else would know about them? So sid and karen take all this in and they're like yeah, that's, that's crazy. I don't really know why. There's only one way to find out. Why don't you reach out to him? Do you? Do you have a way to get to hold of him? She goes no, I don't really have a way to get hold of him, but I can reach his mom. His mom's always been real sweet to me. I'll just reach out to her Karen's like bet, I'll go with you, we will get this handled.
Speaker 1:So the next day we were introduced to Beatrice this is Ginger's high school sweetheart's mom. Her high school sweetheart name is John and she's just kind of catching up with Beatrice, his mom. Oh, everything's so wonderful, everything's great. They're sitting outside in the garden just sipping tea. Karen thinks she's lovely, beatrice thinks Karen's lovely. She clearly loves Ginger. She's waxing poetic about how much she misses her and how she misses the way her house used to be filled with children, even though her husband died early. They lived in a great neighborhood. Her house was always filled with kids, ginger being one of them. She just really misses all that. So enough of the pleasantries. They start asking for John. Well that. So enough of the pleasantries. They start asking for John. Well, where's John? I just really need to talk to him about something. Well, the mom starts in about how he went to Vietnam a little while back and you know he was wounded and it's just been really hard. Well, ginger interrupts her rude and says yeah, but I mean he came back. Beatrice continues and she says, yeah, he came back, but he was wounded and unfortunately there was some sort of complication with his wounds and John died about six months ago. And they're like, oh dang, that sucks.
Speaker 1:Ginger and Karen get in the car, head back to the cul-de-sac so they're chilling in Karen's house and there's something that's still bothering Ginger. She's just trying to kind of trying to mentally push her way through it. When Karen keeps smelling a chrysanthemum. She's just man. Beatrice had a great garden man. She must really love flowers. You got to be so good to know how to work with flowers, girl. I just these flowers are so strong and wonderful and just I mean I know she lost her son, son, but thank god she has all these flowers.
Speaker 1:So by the 51st time she said flowers, something finally clicks in Ginger's head and she's like it was the mom. It was the mother. She pulled a Jason Voorhees mom. This is who's been sending me these damn flowers. Karen, can you go back over there with me? Karen's like no girl, I got stuff to do, I'm busy, I gotta cook dinner for you know, I got a big family. Karen doesn't want to be involved in it at this point.
Speaker 1:Ginger goes back over and Mommy Dearest is waiting for her and at first she's playing it very cool, but suddenly she flips like Karen Ginger I want to call Ginger Karen so bad because Ginger's so not a main character in the show. Ginger confronts her like why are you this? I know you're sending me this stuff. This is when Mommy Dears finally flips completely. She keeps referring to flowers and how Ginger and Johnny really liked flowers, how much she loved watching them love flowers. And I'm thinking to myself okay, what is that all about?
Speaker 1:Mommy Dears would like Ginger to join her in her pity party and in her misery. Would like Ginger to join her in her pity party and in her misery, and for good measure. Ginger needs to add a scoop of guilt and an extra dose of misery because Ginger is the one who aborted this baby. Beatrice would have a grandbaby to comfort right now, but if not for Ginger and her hellion harlot ways, eight years ago Ginger would have cracked. She would have crumbled like a cheap suit. But she's been on her woosah woosah for a very long time and she's like you know what, beatrice listen.
Speaker 1:Losing that baby was hard for me. I don't know if it was the right thing to do. I don't know if it was the wrong thing to do, but this is where I'm at today. I'm not gonna join you in your pity party. I've worked way too hard, trust me. Every moment of moment of every day I think about that kid. I know that kid would have been eight years old this year. I deal with this every single day, but what I'm not going to do is deal with you and this. You're not going to make me feel any worse than I already have. I'm going to get on with my life. I'm going to live a good life period, point blank. Sorry for your loss and I'm also sorry that I trampled some of your flowers on the way in, but we'll work that out.
Speaker 1:By Beatrice, feeling like a million bucks, ginger walks with her head held high. She gets home and luckily Kenny's there. Now Kenny still doesn't know about the previous abortion, so she keeps that part of the story to herself and she basically tells him that, yeah, I figured out that it was my high school sweetheart's mom sending me all this stuff because he died and now she's like she misses him, like he's her baby. That's the explanation for the baby stuff. Kenny seems to accept this and before he can even wash the the sin of the other woman he just slept with off of him. They are caught in a warm embrace and the show's over.
Speaker 1:In addition to the gender stalker storyline, we had Valene, the Vid Vidalia Onion Queen, decide that she needed to educate herself. Vidalia Vidalia, valene got her GED. Now, at the beginning of the episode she was kind of secretive about it. She's studying in the living room, poring over history books and math books, trying to figure out the difference between manifest destiny and the Pythagorean theorem. She's struggling and Gary walks in and he catches her and she tells him what she wants to do and he's pumped but she's super irritated. Like you better not go tell those women. I don't want anyone to know that I don't have my GED. I'm working on it right now. Gary's like why wouldn't you tell them? These are your friends. They're going to want to see you do. Well, babe, let's go get you some help. She's like shut up, gary, leave me alone, I need to study by myself. Well, eventually she passes out from exhaustion. Her brain explodes trying to figure out what the Pythagorean theorem is and by the middle of the episode Gary convinces her to just reach out to the girls. They're going to love you, they're going to help you. Sure enough, karen and Laura come over to help her study. Now she's struggling with the Pythagorean theorem in particular. She don't know what that is, and Karen and Laura don't really know what it is either. Like girl, I mean, if I'm being honest with you, I haven't looked at this since high school. In walks little bitty Richard. He's mad because he's hungry. So he just shows up and he's like oh yeah, I can explain the Pythagorean theorem. He reaches in Karen's drawer, pulls out some cutlery, makes a triangle and explains the whole situation. It is clear as day. By the end of the episode, valene is strutting around victorious after completing her GED and passing.
Speaker 1:The themes ripping and running through this episode are many. One of the funniest, one of my favorites, is a scene I left out. It is when Ginger brings up the flower situation to her kindergarten class, teaching all the kids how to pronounce the word chrysanthemums, which I'm probably saying wrong at this point, but it doesn't matter. She's teaching the kids how to pronounce the word chrysanthemums, which I'm probably saying wrong at this point, but it doesn't matter. She's teaching the kids how to say it when one little cutie in particular is just you can tell he's got a crush on her. And she says guys, did anyone bring me any chrysanthemums? And one of the little boys says, maybe, I did, maybe. And he's all smiling. He's super cute.
Speaker 1:He's got this little toothless five-year-old grin and his carpool homegirl is like not having any of it. She says, miss Ginger, no, he didn't bring you anything. I ride with him every morning in carpool. He didn't have flowers, he didn't bring you anything. It's just like typical little girl to be like absolutely not. I'm not going to feed that fantasy for you. We're here to learn. Stop lying. Well, one of his friends from across the room says wait, now, wait a minute. This little boy wait, wait a minute Now. He didn't say he brought him. He said maybe he brought him. And the little boy is like yeah, I said maybe. And it just reminded me of that trend that's going around where it's like girl math, where you return clothing, you get a coupon. All of a sudden you spend $20 more than what you bought it for, and that's girl math. Like this is men and women dynamics. Now the girl is like you absolutely did not bring her a gift. You're not going to sit here and take credit for some romantic gesture, while the boys are like he didn't say he did. He said hypothetically, maybe. So yeah, she asked him a question. Maybe it's just typical boy-girl dynamics Super adorable.
Speaker 1:I think the most important theme, though, is permission to do. In this particular episode, it was about Valene wanting to expand her horizons, wanting to complete something she set out to do and to kind of validate her intelligence. She's surrounded by these women who've gone to college or at the very least, had the opportunity to go. She didn't even have the opportunity to finish high school, her deciding for herself that you know what I'm going to do this? I want to educate myself. I want to do the very best I can. I want to be an example. It's awesome. I am a fan of grown men and women doing the very best for themselves. I am a huge advocate for adult education. It's never too late Way to go. Valene, the Vidalia Onion Queen.
Speaker 1:Ginger's permission was a little bit trickier. I feel like they wove in the theme of motherhood through the eyes of a would-be mother in Ginger and a grieving mother with Beatrice. Both women were aware of the situation where there there should have been by all intents and purposes should have been an eight-year-old kid there, and what Beatrice doesn't know is that Ginger really wanted a kid, but the decision was made for her to avoid her pregnancy. It's strange to me that it doesn't come up before then, because it seems like Beatrice wasn't. She didn't want to comfort Ginger at any point, so she, she, was well aware of the fact that Ginger she, she knew this eight years ago. She knew that Ginger had become pregnant because she was watching them from the window, which is so weird. We'll get to that in just a minute. But she never reached out to kind of comfort. It's like she didn't want to talk about it as long as her son was alive. And in my mind she's probably thinking you can have another kid, my son will get married again. It's not a big deal.
Speaker 1:But once that opportunity was gone, she immediately honed in on gender and was like you robbed me of something, you took something Now, with gender's guilt, that she'd already felt she'd been carrying around with her for the last eight years. She could have easily crumbled and folded and comforted this woman, but she had permission to or at least gave herself permission to in this episode to stand up for herself, to defend a decision or defend an event, even if she's still not 100% sure if the decision was the right decision. But she decided to forgive herself and move forward regardless. It would have been so easy for her to fold in on herself and move forward regardless. It would have been so easy for her to fold in on herself and get lost and get depressed and just really reel from the situation. But she's taken the proper steps to heal from it and it seems like she's hoping to have kids someday with Kenny Now. Will that happen? That remains to be seen.
Speaker 1:The way the show is going, I feel like if she does get pregnant, he's going to be super upset about it and she may be back in the same. I feel like I'm slowly acclimating to 80s television. It's still shocking to me that they tackle subjects like this the way that they do. It just goes to show that there really is nothing new under the sun and as these different themes and topics come up in life, everybody kind of experiences them at their own pace. The TV I watched growing up it would probably be a little bit shocking to my kids today, and this is no different. I was super shocked that they not that they went there, because we already knew that she had an abortion. She mentioned that on. I can't remember which episode that was, but that's how we figured out that Laura lost her mother young and we figured out that Karen's mom didn't want her to marry Sid that sort of thing you saw Valene running from. I can't remember what episode that was, but I love the many layers on this show and I like that.
Speaker 1:These people are flawed and they know they're. With that being said, give yourself permission. That is the theme of the day. That seems to be the running theme. You can choose to surrender to your fear. You can surrender to the shame.
Speaker 1:Valene could have very well kept it under wraps if she never graduated. She could have let her pride keep her from actually succeeding in her GED, but she didn't. She finally said you know what she confessed. She faced it head on. Her friends came over to help and she got exactly what she wanted. Ginger could have succumbed to the guilt of not being a mother. She could have crumbled as soon as she opened the door and that eight was on that cake. She knew what that meant, but she said you know what, instead of folding, let me look toward the future. Let me hold my head up Let me see what else is in store for me. All right, all right. Enough of that. Rah rah, sis, goombah, happy ending stuff.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about Ginger. Beginning of the episode, she thought she's just getting these cute little gifts. She's getting baby books. She's definitely getting chrysanthemums. At the end of the show, where we saw Beatrice's house, I can't even I can't stress the fact that there were so many flowers. There were the identical flowers being sent to her and they were covering her yard. Now, I don't know if this flower is native to Southern California and it just didn't trigger anything, but it seemed odd. But it could very well be the equivalent of receiving roses today. It's just not something she noticed. Okay, okay, fine, maybe she didn't notice the flowers, but surely the baby books, the baby booties and the perfume were a dead giveaway. There was no need to drag it out any further, especially if you don't want your husband knowing the full story. She played that very, very dangerously. To me, it's like you were two conversations away from being found out. If that's what you didn't want to happen, it just seems a little strange. She was sitting on a secret most of the show, but once you get to the end and you think about it like if the only person she thought knew about it would have been Johnny. It would have been very obvious, probably around the baby book, especially if she's got a constant companion, ie guilt, that sits with her every day of her life Just seemed a little weird, but you know what it was. Entertaining nonetheless.
Speaker 1:It introduced us to Arthur. Now in real life. I would be hesitant to say anything about Arthur. Would he be weird? Yes, is he peculiar? Yes, he seemed harmless about halfway through the show. Now, right at first he was super eager. He's standing really close to her. I'm thinking, oh, he's trying to make his move, but why would he be introduced first person on the show? It's just kind of one of those telltales Never going to be that first person, not in the way you think. So as time goes on, you realize that Arthur he is a teacher at the same school as Ginger, he lives with his mom, who he seems to adore. He likes to wear a full suit to class every single day and he's fond of crocheted household items. I was a little bit shocked that as the show progressed, as this particular episode progressed, he turned out to be the most wholesome person on the show.
Speaker 1:It was very weird to me that when Ginger's car broke down and he offered to give her a ride, that Sid, her neighbor, didn't pick up on what she was throwing down. She didn't want to get in the car with this dude. And you would think her neighbor would be like no, I'll take you home or you can come hang out at the shop with me or I'll call Karen. There were a million different ways to get her home, but Sid, sid is obtuse. He just kind of shrugged and was like it's cool, you want to get in the car with this little weirdo, that's fine. All this man ended up doing is is crocheting her a little oven mitt, Not even a little oven, I don't know what you call it, just a square that you pick up hot things with. Gave her one of those, and he didn't even feel disrespected really.
Speaker 1:When Kenny and Ginger came over to the house you know Mama's in there trying to sleep he took his tongue lashing like a man and was like listen, I may be short, I may be socially awkward, but that's about the, that's about the long and short of it. No pun intended. People get such a bad rap for just being overly nice, but I don't know if socially awkward was a term before or if it was a term back in the day. I don't really remember hearing that growing up at all, but it's a very real thing. He's just a little too wholesome for these, uh, potential swingers which, listen, I'm tired of playing with it.
Speaker 1:I need somebody to just tell me, just come right out and tell me okay, when kenny gets home and ginger has had her fill of Arthur, she's like I kind of want this kid to go home. Don't we need to spend the night together, um, or don't we need to spend the evening together, kenny? Kenny's not picking it up on it, but he, he is, though that's the thing. He knows that she's uncomfortable. It's not even that she, just she's visibly uncomfortable. She tells him and he encourages her, if I'm understanding this correctly, to go on and get it in with Arthur. Are they swingers? Somebody please just tell me, because on the episode previous there's a couple episodes back, the one where he ended up having pizza with her at the beach after just this very long series of him not listening to her, him needing to party a lot because he's in the music business and he needs to make contact. But she admitted she didn't like it. She don't like when his friends are all touchy feely on her, but he doesn't seem to mind that. I thought that he was okay with this because it meant business. It meant that he's going to climb that corporate ladder a little bit quicker because he has his hot little wife and that touchy feely thing seems to be okay. But this is just some random dude from her school. Now why would you want to do that? Why would you put her in that position? I can't wait for this to come to light. I'm so tired of thinking about it Either way.
Speaker 1:Kenny is a crap husband. He's not cool, he's definitely not self-aware and I just wonder why he keeps putting her in this position. Him and Richard seem to be the scumbags on the show, and it's no surprise to me. They're also the same guys who's already had an affair, now unbeknownst to Sid and Karen. Kenny, if you recall, has already hooked up with Annie, who's Sid's daughter, 18 year old daughter. And then Richard, this last episode hooked up with Sid's wife. Sid is a common denominator here. I didn't think about that. Oh, he's scandalous.
Speaker 1:The ick factor was super, super high, high this episode, not only because of the potential swinger thing. Not only because of um Beatrice, who we'll get to in a second, but Ginger. Almost every time she was in a vulnerable position, someone was there to take advantage of her. Luckily, arthur turned out to not be a creep. He just really did want to make sure she got home and he probably needed a few minutes away from his mom. But the detective? I seriously thought the detective was going to be her stalker and I was trying to figure out how they're going to work that into the equation. I thought maybe he worked at the school or something. But he clocked from the beginning that their marriage was a little bit funny and he immediately tried to make a move. As soon as she started crying, he wants to caress her face, and all that Just doing the absolute most.
Speaker 1:Does no one have any couth? This is where I have to take off my millennial glasses and be like okay, television or not, people do all kinds of crazy stuff on TV. I'm never shocked by that, but just kind of the unapologetic let me put my hand down your shirt, type of stuff. I'm not used to it not being like chastised. That's the thing about this show. That's the difference between then and now. If someone did that on TV today, yes, it would still happen, but somebody would think that was weird.
Speaker 1:On Knotts Landing, on Dallas, on Dynasty, on Falcon Crest, these sort of things are par for the course. There's no such thing as sexual harassment. Okay, just deal with it. That's really not funny. But it's just interesting to kind of take off the lens in which I watch television. The way I grew up and be like, okay, this was a long time ago. Things were a little bit different and I would say they've only recently changed. What has never changed and I do mean never is that it is always creepy and weird to watch other people growing up you know what I'm saying especially when you're related to them. Period, right, can we all agree that anybody's trying to watch their parents get down? Nobody wants to see that and nobody wants to. I don't want to think about the reverse. Not the case on this episode.
Speaker 1:Beatrice is a little bit of a creepy woman in the window, weirdo during the scene with she and gender, where she kind of confesses that she knew that gender had become pregnant because she watched her and johnny in the garden. At first I was thinking is she still talking about all the kids playing in the garden. No, she's talking about them getting it in in the garden doing a lot of gardening in the garden. You watched this, that's. That's another thing. They just kind of brushed over that. Now she didn't say I caught, she watched them in the garden and then decided to sit on that secret for eight years, like we'll just see what comes of it. It just makes me wonder, like why not bring it up before? Why not comfort her? Why not say anything? It could just be that she didn't want to get involved. But regardless of whether this resulted in a pregnancy or not, there is a full grown woman watching from the window upstairs. It is beyond creepy. It just makes me wonder what kind of relationship did Johnny have with his mom? That's it. That's all I'm done with that, because I'm starting to feel a little bit gross, as much as I'm enjoying this retro rewind.
Speaker 1:I got to put my millennial glasses back on and there's just a couple things on this episode that were taboo then that aren't taboo now, number one being Arthur. Arthur is one of Jinder's colleagues. He's obviously a teacher who works at the school with her, but we're supposed to cringe at him a little bit because he still lives with his mama now, in 1980, maybe being a teacher in SoCal, in LA specifically, wasn't that difficult. Maybe you could afford a beautiful home. I know today if I met a 20-something-year-old new teacher living in SoCal, or anywhere in the continental US for that matter. Well, it kind of depends on where you live. You'd probably do okay if you live in the south, so long as you don't live like next to a metropolitan there, you'd probably be okay. But we all know teachers starting salaries are huge. If I met a 20 something year old teacher who, like, owned their own house in la but who else? What else do you do? Clearly they're an influencer.
Speaker 1:This is your first time watching this show or listening to the show. My roman empire is cost of living, I think about years ago and just like how much you could have. It is one of my constant thoughts back in 1980. I'm sure a teacher could buy a lovely home in SoCal, probably could have a couple of kids and a spouse and be perfectly fine on that one salary. It is laughable today to judge him.
Speaker 1:Most teachers I would say most young teachers, most hell, most millennials, if I'm reading things right, the younger ones at least aren't really buying houses like that. It is no shame to live with your parents. If I'm reading things right, the younger ones at least aren't really buying houses like that. It is no shame to live with your parents for as long as you need to. Inflation be inflating. Okay, nobody's there.
Speaker 1:Also, this one is a little bit sad to me, but if a random childless woman walked into a school with flowers every day and she's dropping them off in a classroom every single day in 1980, she could do that in 2024 or 2010 and beyond. There's no way you're walking past the office. She would have been slammed to the ground like who are you here to see? There's no way you would make it past the office. I mean I laugh to keep from crying because it's really sad. I mean I got a call yesterday. The schools were on lockdown. It's just, it's not great. It makes me really sad, but to think, gosh, there was a time where your parents could just walk in.
Speaker 1:I remember there was a random cold spell that hit when I was a kid I was like eight years old. That hit when I was a kid. I was like eight years old and I just remember looking out in the hallway and my mom was there. Her and like several other moms, were just dropping off sweatpants and coats because they'd sent all their kids to school that morning in shorts because it was hot and then it was like 20 degrees by the end of the day. It was weird. But you can't do that anymore. You can't just walk into a school, at least not in the US, I don't know where. If you live somewhere else that's probably not the case, but we can't do that here. You have to check in at the office. They need your license, your blood type. It's just, it's different. But in this episode a stalker was able to walk all the way in and drop off just really weird gifts every single day. Drop off just really weird gifts every single day, flying under the radar because she was a woman. The mixtape Okay Now mixtape hand-delivered in a manila envelope to your mailbox in 1980, was only mildly questionable, if I'm to believe Jinder's reaction. She didn't seem to freak out, despite the blaring red flags around her. She didn't think it was weird. Matter of fact, she listened to it twice.
Speaker 1:Now, if I came home and found a random mixtape, I would be beyond excited that A that it's a tape and that it's a mixtape and I wouldn't be able to contain my excitement when I told my kids about it. The only trouble would be I'd have to find someone with a tape player, because I don't have one. Like I'd have to find someone with a tape player because I don't have one. Like I'm positive I have a DVD player. I actually have a DVD player in my bedroom because I had to watch Yellow Rose, but I I don't know if we still have there was probably a VCR. I'd have to call my parents and see if they still have a. Oh man, I don't know anybody who has a tape deck. I guess I might have to go to the library or something to figure out how to play it. But that would be really cool. But then I'd have to think about how weird it is that I received it and I'd probably get on like Nextdoor or something and see if anybody in my community has one, and then it would be a whole story. So if I was being stalked, my entire town would know about it within like 20 minutes because, hey, some weirdo left a random tape on my thing. Can I go to your grandma's house and listen to it? But it would be fun. Okay, so that would only be.
Speaker 1:I don't know if much would change between 1980 and 2024. I would. I would be a little bit excited and, much like Ginger, I would definitely figure out a way to listen to it. Not knowing what the Pythagorean theorem is in 1980 and in 2024, you know what. If you're a math whiz, that's great. If you know what it is, that's cool. Those of us who don't know or don't remember are doing just fine. From 1880 till today, as you hear this, we're all doing just fine. From 1980 till today, as you hear this, we're all doing just fine.
Speaker 1:Not knowing what that is. I mean, I kind of knew. I knew it was math, but my brain immediately shuts off when it's time to do geometry. I'm like that's not my ministry. I'm not even gonna wear myself out with that. I look like Valene, passed out in the middle of the living room trying to figure it out. But with that being said, lastly, I think a grown woman deciding that she's going to educate herself, she's going to go back to school and finish what she started, whether it's 1980, 2080 and beyond, it is always, always, always, always, always going to be a good look. All right, guys, that's it. That's all for this episode. Thank you for joining me on a very fun filled and suspenseful episode of Knots Landing. Join me next time as we jump back in to vintage primetime debauchery. Keep your friends close, your enemies closer and your soaps closest. Treat yourself well, because you deserve it. Stay moisturized, hydrated, mind your own business and keep all of your drama on TV. Bye, thank you.