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S2 Ep11 Knots Landing - State of Mind: The "Abby is Un-Draggable" Episode

• Jett Shae • Episode 234

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Welcome back Soap Fiends!!

Ever wondered how a seemingly carefree character can unravel layers of complexity within a primetime soap opera? Discover the captivating intricacies of Abby from "Knots Landing" as we uncover her enigmatic nature and the intricate family dynamics entwined in Season 2, Episode 11, "Knots Landing State of Mind." Amidst listener shout-outs and questions about shows like "Scandal" and "How to Get Away with Murder," we also explore the anticipation around the upcoming series "Landman," destined to do for the oil industry what "Yellowstone" did for ranching. Your support continues to fuel this nostalgic ride through television's golden age.

Navigate the tangled web of deception and betrayal as Abby maneuvers through legal battles and personal confrontations, with Karen caught in the crossfire of Abby’s affairs. Our discussion captures the unique storytelling approach of "Knots Landing," where not every character takes the spotlight in each episode, allowing for focused and profound character development. We scrutinize Abby's complex interactions with her family and neighbor Richard, showcasing her composed demeanor amidst chaos and the jealous tensions with Jeff over custody battles and romantic entanglements.

Our journey concludes with an intriguing exploration of the drama between Karen and another figure, highlighting the importance of self-disclosure and personal well-being while reminding listeners to keep drama confined to the fictional realm. Through the lens of loyalty, love, and modern family complexities, we offer a nostalgic yet fresh perspective on classic primetime television. So grab your sunhat and join me as we revisit the iconic streets of "Knots Landing," where family intrigue and neighborhood secrets await.

Speaker 1:

There's nothing intimidating about somebody being hunched over and slamming a baby door, then saunters out and his penny loaf is click quack, click quack, click quack. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome, and welcome back to Soap Floor, the official gathering place for newbies, novices and OG diehard fans of the golden age of primetime. I'm your host, jett, viewing and reviewing the soapiest, deadliest primetime storyline of 1980 or 1979. I'll be sure to check on that later. 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. Tell them they have no questions, suggestions or concerns for the next 25 to 35 minutes, everyone else in earshot, please, please, be cool, quiet. We will be kicked out because we have to discuss our stories. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, this is Soap Lore. Welcome back, party people, to another riveting edition of so floor. We are jumping into one of my favorite episodes this season. Now. I say that a lot, but you know what it's worthy. I can say that a lot because these shows are hitting all the right notes. I have a revelation also at the time of this recording, within the next couple of days, I will have been doing this podcast for three years. I want to thank each and every one of you for tuning in week to week, month to month, whenever you get a chance. I know we have people floating in and out and it's all good, because it is awesome to watch this. I am fully converted. If I were ever on the cusp or on the fence about anything about whether or not this was going to be fun, I have been completely converted. I'm in this hook line and sinker. I was fiending for myself some knots landing. If I'm being perfectly honest, I've had a couple of really, really busy weeks, just not getting back into the flow of being able to squeeze this in a little more frequently. Plus, it's the Ember Month and this is binge season, so expect a lot more shows, expect a lot more kind of interaction. We have so much to discuss today.

Speaker 1:

Reviewing Season 2, episode 11, knott's Landing State of Mind. This one y'all, I don't even really know how to approach it. This is an episode where there wasn't a ton going on, but there was so much. It was like those still waters that run deep. There's layers and layers and layers, and we got to talk about Abby. I don't know if this is the drag Abby episode or Abby is undragable episode. I kind of I'm leaning abby is undragable episode. I kind of I'm leaning towards abby is undragable. See the different kind of beats. I didn't see this one coming and I can't wait to delve into it.

Speaker 1:

We're going to do a couple of pieces of fan mail, got a quick question about modern soap operas and then we're going to jump back into this one. So grab yourself a little snacky poo, get a little beverage, something bubbly and bright or warm, if you're lucky enough to be somewhere where it's cold, and let's jump into season two, episode 11, nod's Landing State of Mind. I want to send a shout out to Zola, jeffrey and Jade. Thank you guys so much for listening. They are in Pensacola. Thank you guys so much for listening. They are in Pensacola. Ooh, so yeah, we're probably the same as not much of a winter, but let's enjoy it regardless.

Speaker 1:

And Zoila's question is what recent shows are you watching or dying to watch? You know there's a couple. For some reason I don't know if it was because of the election here in the States or what but on YouTube suddenly I started getting a lot of scandal snippets and I don't know how I miss scandal. I remember someone telling me to watch it. I love Kerry Washington and all of her movies. I don't think I've ever actually seen her on a TV show. I literally only seen her on like the big screen, so that looked really, really good. I also heard about how to Get Away with Murder. But here's the thing, when there's more than like five seasons above, something I tend to kind of like I don't know if I'll jump into that. I mentioned this before. I've definitely watched Grey's Anatomy. When it first came out because I was broke, I didn't have cable and Channel 2 was one of those channels that came through, so I definitely watched that. When it first came out, I used to watch Desperate Housewives, but right now, the fact that I don't actually have cable everything is on streaming it's a little bit harder for me.

Speaker 1:

Thank you guys for listening. We are three years into. If you've been with me this long, you know how it is. We're. This is a casual conversation, baby.

Speaker 1:

I am excited about Landman coming out, I think Dallas, but the behind the scenes there is so much about the oil field that's just kind of not out and present. Like there's Landman, there's geologists, there's like the blue collar version and the white collar version. There's a lot of money slipping hands. There's a whole oil fill mafia you're not supposed to talk about. It is very scandalous, y'all, let me tell you. So I am curious to see how good this show is going to be. I've watched Yellowstone. I don't know a lot about ranching in that capacity, but oil fields I do. I can't wait, can't wait for Landman to come out. I think it comes out a little closer to Thanksgiving here, so probably November 20, blah, blah, blah-ish.

Speaker 1:

I think it'll be good. What about you guys? Drop me a line in fan mail. Let me know what you're watching or what you're looking forward to watching or looking forward to re-watching. That's always fun In these ember months when life slows down a little bit. That's what I kind of like to do. I like to go ahead and binge a few things. So I think I might go back and watch one of these all the way through. All right now.

Speaker 1:

Season two, episode 11. 11. Abby the funny thing about this to me is that when I'm starting to figure out why, I thought she was much younger than she is, it isn't just that she looks young, it's that she is very, very carefree in a way that only someone without responsibility could be, and this episode shines a really big light on it. Like I said, there ain't a whole lot going on. You don't really see everyone in the cast, but there is so much you learn, and I think the biggest thing I learned with is don't mess with this person. Abby is not the one. Even though she doesn't, she's not really yelling. She's not really yelling, she's not really rolling her neck. We'll get into that.

Speaker 1:

What I love about this show is that they don't try to squeeze everyone into every episode. This one, we don't see Valene at all, we don't see Ginger and we don't see Kenny. We get a little bit of Laura and we get a little bit of Laura, and we get a little bit of Karen and Sid, along with Richard. But by and large, this episode is about Abby and her immediate family and the man she's, you know, messing with right now. So the show starts out. She's at home sunbathing, which isn't unusual in SoCal, of course you got to take advantage of the you know 320 days of sunshine and Richard is trying to get something started. Now he's comfortable doing this in the middle of the you know 320 days of sunshine and Richard is trying to get something started. Now he's comfortable doing this in the middle of the day. We know it's the middle of the day because she asked him what time it is and he's like it's a quarter to one. She's like cool, the kids won't be back for another hour. But she's not trying to get in a bed with Richard, she's trying to work on her tan. But he doesn't understand that. He's like you sure you don't want a little sun going on? She's like no, no, no, it's sun time, it's not. It's not Richard time, it's sun time. So he agrees to slather her backside with oil, hoping to get something started. But she's not feeling it and a part of me wonders if this is because she now has her eyes set on Gary. But anyway, she's trying to keep herself pure. At this point she just just really wants some sun.

Speaker 1:

The kids you might be wondering oh, are they out with Valene? Are they out with Gary? Are they over at Karen's? No, no, no, no, they are with their father-in-law. Their dad has them for the weekend and he's en route to the house. Now the kids, you can tell they had a good time. They're sitting in the front. They're just talking with their dad. These kids are on baby joseph's level. By the way these kids can act. This little girl can't be any older than about eight years old, the little boy's probably about four. But they are professional. They made adult children back in the day. I mean, I guess gen x is the last key kids for a reason. They're very adult and I'd say the older millennials kind of you get it when you get left alone. You just got to figure things out.

Speaker 1:

But the dad and the kids are talking and uh, they keep saying mr avery, richard this, mr avery, richard, that. And he's like who is this mr avery? Why is he always around? Oh, that's mom's friend, he's our neighbor. And the dad's like well, doesn't he work? Is he's putting two and two together like dang they have, he has a lot of free time. And the little girl says no, he, he did work but he quit. So you see a little discomfort on the dad's face. He seems irritated anyway, but he doesn't say too much gets to abby's house. She of course she's not bothered the fact that you know richard is rubbing her back. She stands up like oh hey, jeff, jeff, by the way, not slanding.

Speaker 1:

Jeff Looks a lot like our other Jeff. He doesn't look like Prince Eric. He doesn't have blue or green eyes, whatever color eyes. Jeff has Dark hair, tall, handsome, kind of serious little bit stuffy. Same haircut and everything.

Speaker 1:

So she makes the introduction Richard, this is Jeff. Jeff, this is Richard. Richard's like cool, hi, jeff, I live next door. Jeff is like hi, I used to live in the house. And they, ah, got, got got. When they shake hands he's got greasy oil all over him and you can tell that Jeff immediately feels a way it's also sinking in that. Oh, oh, this is him I love when they don't say too much. Him I love when they don't say too much.

Speaker 1:

One of you wrote I can't remember, I think Kip, a while back, that not slanting is really good with those nuances and those subtleties. This is one he's looking at. Richard Jeff is. He's not growling, but you can tell he's uncomfortable, he's annoyed and it has so much more to do with the oil he's not really feeling it. So he flips his gaze over to Abby and the little boy is like oh my God, mommy, my tummy hurts. She goes okay, babe, go in the bathroom, bring me the white bottle and you know, bring it here, we'll help, that'll help. So the little boy takes off into the house and he comes out with a white bottle. Sure enough, but it was shoe polish Y'all.

Speaker 1:

I don't know why this unlocked a memory for me. My mom one time sent me into the grocery store and she said get a box of oatmeal. Now, box in my head is a square, never mind the fact that I knew what brand of oatmeal we ate. But I thought maybe she changed her mind. I am in the grocery store stressing out, I'm going back and forth, back and forth down aisle four. It's on the bottom row and there's 9,000 boxes. And this is kid kitties. If you're young, and this is before cell phones, this is when kids could run in and out of a store and nobody blinked twice. Nobody was going to kidnap me. I ran outside. I'm like I don't see it. I don't see it. She's like it's there, it's on the bottom shelf. I don't know she didn't have shoes, I don't know why she didn't get out the car, but this was very commonplace for your parents to make you run down the street and run errands. Been running errands at least since I was four or five. No, I was probably about eight, nine at this point.

Speaker 1:

But my little brother ends up coming in. He's super pissed because he had to get out of the car. He was in the middle of playing with his Ninja Turtles. He's super pissed that I interrupted his imaginary playtime and he snatches up a cylinder of Quaker oats. Now, if you know, you know it comes in a cylinder which is also a box, apparently. But what the hell? She said a box, it was a whole thing.

Speaker 1:

So this baby comes out and he has a white bottle. She's like no, sweetie, that's shoe polish. Go get the other pot, go get the other white bottle. Well, this sets off Jeff, who has a handful of grease and nothing else. He's like Abby, why would you just let him? What if he would have drank the shoe polish? He's pissed and he says the only reason he has a stomachache is because he insists on eating a chili bird, a chili dog, because you've messed up their entire diet. They don't even eat healthy anymore. I couldn't get them to eat anything else. Now he has a stomachache. He almost drank shoe polish.

Speaker 1:

Abby is unbothered, she is unfazed, she's still soaking up the sun and she's like why on earth would he drink shoe polish? She has a point it and she's like why on earth would he drink shoe polish? She has a point. It isn't like it was going to spill out. It's one of those white cylinder, like the white bottles, with the spongy tip on the end. He wouldn't have drank it.

Speaker 1:

And the dad goes. Well, he obviously didn't know that wasn't medicine and she goes. If he knew it was medicine I'd have to hold him down to take it. There's no, what are you talking about? This pisses off the dad.

Speaker 1:

Jeff goes bursting into the house, into her kitchen. He just starts looking under the sink. Look at all this poison, look at all this tax and stuff. You are so irresponsible, abby. She is unfazed. She's almost laughing like oh my god, dude, all of the bleach and crap you barked at me about is up high. They can't even Richard. I mean, excuse me, woo, freudian slip. They can't even reach it. It's fine, he goes. Well, if you spent a little more time being a mother instead of being Richard's, whatever, none of this would have ever happened.

Speaker 1:

Well, richard comes in. Right about there. And Richard, don't have no kook. It's one thing that y'all are out here outside like this. When you hear adults arguing, everybody knows you pretend like you don't hear anything. Go get leaves out of the pool or something, richard.

Speaker 1:

But no, he comes in and Jeff is super pissed. He slams a cabinet door, which is very difficult to do when you are a tall person. It just there's nothing intimidating about somebody being hunched over and slamming a baby door. Then saunters out and his penny loaf is click clack, click clack, click clack and she goes. Aren't you going to say goodbye to the children? I already did. I thought he was going to jump in his automobile and drive off this spin a block in the cul-de-sac. Maybe you know a little tire marks just for a little drama, not the case? I guess the skid marks were taken care of by the do dirt, dirt bags. That one episode. But I want to see a little more drama on the street. I digress.

Speaker 1:

He goes practically running over to Karen and Sid's house. I'm like, oh yeah, I guess he would know them. I totally forgot about that. So he knocks on the door. Karen's like oh my God, jeff, oh, you look rough. What's going on? He comes in and they start talking and it's funny to kind of think about this.

Speaker 1:

I'm sure she and Jeff are the outsiders in Sid and Abby's family technically. I'm sure they have a little bit of a bond. So he's like he's frustrated, he's telling her about the weekend. He misses the kids so much. Now Sid's home, but you know Sid don't never say anything. So they seem to have a pretty good relationship with Jeff. The kids aren't eating well, like, do you think they're doing well? He's asking Karen specifically because he probably knows that she's taking care of the kids. He already knows his ex. And Karen's like yeah, the kids are great, they're adjusting well, they're happy, they're doing good in school. And he goes well, what about? Is there a rotating door here, or is it just the Richard guy? And Karen, without even thinking she's like as far as I know, it's just Richard.

Speaker 1:

Sid's like Karen, oh well, I mean, I don't know about Richard, and Jeff was kind of scoffing, like all right, then y'all, I'm gonna see y'all later. So he leaves and Sid gets on to Karen. He's like you, why would you tell him that he's just gonna throw it in her face? This is where things get a little bit awkward and again it's a lot of the things they're not saying that make you go. Hmm, karen's like well, I didn't, he didn't trick me into anything and at the end of the day, you know, you know what's going on. He's like you don't have any proof. So it implies that he definitely knows. It is quite obtuse, but you can't deny.

Speaker 1:

At that barbecue there was no doubt that there was something going on. There was something going on and little later on Karen's like your kids know, her kids know. You know why are we all pretending like we don't know? This is a. This is not a fun situation. He's like just just don't stab her business, don't, don't give him any ammo. Sid is content to let his sister be his little sister. I don't know if it's because he's 15 years older, but he doesn't seem all that bothered about her hotel, motel holiday and activities. He ain't dumb, but he plays dumb. I feel like he was playing dumb and Karen's like okay, fine, whatever. I can't remember if it was at this point.

Speaker 1:

There's there's some scene within the show where Jeff is surprised to hear that Abby has a job. He's like why do you have a job? I make more than enough to support you. Again, there goes my Roman Empire. I'm like oh my god, this man has two households that he's supporting in Southern California with two children. She is that enough. She is set up enough to not have to do anything. But she's like I just, you know, I just need something to do. It's a little bit of bookkeeping. I work for my brother, no big deal, it's part-time. Then they say you, let's, let's paint a picture, if we will. Abby definitely does work part-time. But Then they say let's paint a picture if we will. Abby definitely does work part-time. But her kids are indeed with Valene most of the time, if not with Valene, they're with Karen.

Speaker 1:

She's not really a hands-on mom, she's not a neglectful mom, she's just not hands-on. She does not drive herself to or from work. Someone's always doing that. She didn't actually go out and find a job. Her little brother gave her. I mean, her big brother gave her one. All these things put together don't necessarily make her a bum. It doesn't make her a lazy person. But when you start to think about it, it's Richard is going over fixing her sink. Someone's always doing her laundry.

Speaker 1:

Abby is a she's a little kid, she's never fully had to grow up. But here's the kicker. She is fully aware of this. There's nothing about, there's nothing you can say to her that's going to surprise her about her. And how do you, how do you cooperate? How do you work with somebody like that? You just kind of have to accept them when they're out. You have to be content to let her be herself. So keep that in mind with this next scene.

Speaker 1:

She um walking out about to go to work in socal with like this full-on wool outfit. That's the second or third time I've seen her in that and I'm like girl, you're not gonna tell me, you're gonna be head to toe. Even in a beach town you're not gonna be head to toe wool. This kid in a brown car pulls up and he's like are you abby? Blah, blah, blah, yeah, that's me. He out, he hands her a little something. She opens it up. Jeff is tired of playing with her shoe polish hoiling ass. He wants her to surrender custody of them children. He's going to get them back on vegetables and whatnot. Enough is enough. She can't believe it.

Speaker 1:

Now, I don't know how she knew, but she immediately knew that Karen had said something. So again, I don't know what their past is, but she immediately knew. She goes over to Karen and she's like did you tell Jeff about me? And Richard, karen's like I mean, not exactly, I bet you did. I bet he asked you one thing. And you said, yeah, just Richard, and Karen was like dang, that's kind of exactly how that went. I didn't mean nothing by it, abby, I wasn't like telling him he was just talking. She goes, you can't. How do you know me and Richard are having an affair? Because I know that's how I know Abby goes. Do you have proof? And Karen's like, well, I mean no, I don't have a videotape or anything. But yeah, I know, but you don't know though. But you know, I know, but you don't know though. So Karen finally has to concede okay, no, I don't know that. Oh my gosh.

Speaker 1:

Let's talk about our girl, laura and Lavender. She is changing the world, one home at a time. She had a particularly difficult customer not like pain in the butt, it didn't seem like but he just didn't know what he wanted. She claimed they looked at 300 houses. I'm sure she's, you know, just being facetious. But the guy finally buys a house.

Speaker 1:

Her boss, the one who kissed her in the mouth, wants to take Laura. I hope I didn't call her. Karen Wants to take Laura and her client out to dinner. They agree to do it on Tuesday. Long story short, he ends up kissing her. That's why they went through so many houses. It wasn't because he was particularly picky, he wouldn't even pay attention to the houses, he just liked to hear her talk about the houses because apparently she is her, she is so good. Well, he kisses her and she's like oh, I'm so glad you waited to do that. I really liked it. I did want you to kiss me.

Speaker 1:

However, this is the first time in my life that my husband really needs me and I want to be there for my husband, which is so odd to me because she is as sure as the day. He's pretty much told her he's sleeping with Abby, so she knows this, but she does that thing. Laura and Abby are very similar where Abby's comes off a little more like life is what it is, but it always works out for me. Laura comes off as like life is what it is, but it always works out for me. Laura comes off as like life is what it is, but I have to keep playing this role like one has duty, one has the freedom, and it's odd, or it's funny, that they're both kind of connected to Richard in that way, but she, she, is convinced that he needs her. Now, in another scene, he's like I don't need you, you are smothering me.

Speaker 1:

You make me feel so insignificant, and this is where I get outraged. You have the full audacity of a man, fully capable, eight feet tall, somebody really handling business. He has talked to this woman like T-Rash the entire season, the seasons. Rash the entire season, the seasons. But she keeps that little smirk on her face. I just, I want more from them. I really need to know their past and like what it's presenting, because, in my perception, she's not really doing anything. She can't be at home to cook meals every single night, so if he feels a way about having to do it, that's him. She hasn't actually done anything. She can't be at home to cook meals every single night, so if he feels a way about having to do it, that's him. She hasn't actually done anything.

Speaker 1:

And then, a little later on, let's go back to Karen and Abby. They're talking about the relationship that Karen has no proof of between Richard and Abby and she goes well, you know, his wife, just you know, beats him down and he's just, he needs encouragement, blah, blah, blah, basically defending him, like both are incredibly delusional. Now, why she would go this hard will be revealed here in a second. We're learning a whole lot about her character. So long story short.

Speaker 1:

Karen is sitting down listening to Abby, probably thinking, damn, like I was just. I was just Abby, I just answered my door. I didn't ask for any of this drama, none of this. Who shot John? He came to me. I let it slip that. You are continuing to be a whore. What am I supposed to say?

Speaker 1:

Abby stands up and she was like okay, karen, let me tell you something. One thing's for certain, two things for sure Mind your business, stay out of mine. And number two if you come across me again, business Stay out of mine. And number two if you come across me again, I'm going to play really dirty. Now Karen is from New York. She says oh yeah, what is that Like? Are you threatening me? I was like nah, I don't threaten, I promise, baby. And I believed every word she said. And she walks out. So they're looking for a lawyer that they can go to court with. And Karen does feel bad because at the end of the day, they were just having a casual conversation.

Speaker 1:

It's no different than if Jeff had been like hey, is Diana in the play? Yeah, for sure. How are your sons? They're doing well. Yeah, that kid still need to run 15 laps a day. He definitely does. Abby still out here hoeing oh, absolutely, it was that kind of conversation here hoeing? Oh, absolutely it was that kind of conversation.

Speaker 1:

And what's more, the next scene tells us even more about why they divorced. Now, when I first saw him come in the scene, he's acting a complete, he total fool. Over the shoe polish that the baby didn't drink, I thought, ooh, okay, maybe he was super controlling, but she doesn't seem to be afraid of him. She doesn't seem to be afraid of or bothered by anyone. So she does what Abby allegedly does all the time. She calls him up um, they have a little dinner. She consents if she don't do nothing else. She know how to seduce a man. She may not cook, she may not clean. She's going to show you how she got this ring. They're having a good old time.

Speaker 1:

And she's like can we please have a conversation about what's going on? Why are you dragging me into a custody battle? And Karen had talked to him at one point. She's like nobody wins in a custody battle. You don't want to do this. She's not like she's, she's her. Just let her be her. And he's like Karen, you know she don't take care of them kids. I know she doesn't, she doesn't do anything. And he's not wrong because when he was dropping off the kids I guess the second time in walks Gary and he's like, oh hey, I'm just bringing the kids back by, val got caught up so I'm dropping them off. This just pisses him off. Even more pisses Jeff off because this is another dude. He's probably like, oh, she's definitely sleeping with him. So let's go to this conversation. So it means I do tell these a little bit out of sequence and it's okay. It's the general gist of the show.

Speaker 1:

Jeff pops in several times after, right before he served her, they had gone to dinner. I had to go back just to get that, get clarity and make the timeline make sense. He drops off the kid the first weekend they go to dinner. He announces that he would be better off taking care of the kids because she's lazy. And that's when it's revealed that she's not really picking them up, she's not really taking them to school, she's not really participating like a mom should. There is a little truth in everything he says. That's when she gets served the papers. She's super pissed. She goes off on Karen. He comes back to either pick them up or drop them off. I'm still not totally clear.

Speaker 1:

Val is stuck downtown so she can't come pick up the kids. So she sends Gary to go over and pick up the kids, to take them to the theater, so she's basically their surrogate mom. So Abby thinks, okay, I don't want to lose my kids, I'm not really trying to do all that mom crap to me, I don't like my kids. So she invites Jeff over to the house, she makes him a little something, she butters him up and they start having a conversation and the gist of it is like we agreed last year but I was gonna, the kids were better off with me, they need their mom. Why the sudden change of heart? And he's like you're irresponsible, you're lazy, you don't need, you're not doing the right things and you're probably hooking up with this whole street. He basically says she hooked up with everybody like she used to.

Speaker 1:

Back in the day in her neighborhood she was sleeping with people left, and right now you would think she'd be flustered or upset. But she's like well, I mean, okay, it's none of your business if I'm sleeping with him. He's like are you sleeping with richard? It's none of your business if I'm sleeping with richard. She's still not bothered. She gets only a little bit flustered here, just a little. And it's the first well, second outburst. She told karen to mind her business, or she was gonna start minding karen's business, but she's like dude, what do you want? Why are you acting like this? And he loses his crap, he flies off the handle and then he buries his face in the couch like a little kid and he's just like I just want you, I want you back. So he's jealous, but he knows who she is. Her boining, her boining, half of the neighborhood is irrelevant because he just wants to be mixed in that number. So of course she does what she needs to do. She sends them upstairs, they have a nice little rendezvous.

Speaker 1:

The next morning he's making pancakes and all that and talking about oh, you slept in, I can't believe you didn't make it to breakfast. He's like you know, whatever you were down here, I wasn't worried about it again, totally unb, unbothered, totally unapologetic. I'm not even going to pretend to be embarrassed by any of this. You know what it is and you still want me. That's the point. And he's thinking okay, where are we getting back together? She's like no, we just had sex, that's it. He starts getting mad. She's. He starts getting mad. She's like don't you dare try to flip that on me because, boy, as soon as you thought we were getting back together, you stopped saying anything about those kids. So I already know that you just want me. You're not even worried about them, kids like that, you're just trying to get back in my pants. You just want to control me. He gets upset and he has to leave all over again. I want you to know something.

Speaker 1:

If you choose to go back and watch, I tried my very best not to give away too many details. I might be telling you the story, but when you watch it for yourself, you'll still have a reaction. This one I got to tell you about it, though. Do you remember when Abby was being chased around by the mafia goons in her church shoes at the showroom floor back at the dealership, when Gary beat the brakes off of the chunkier man? Okay, I said it then, and I said it to myself as I'm watching this. Abby, why aren't you needing people in the balls? She has every opportunity to do so, she doesn't, but this time her husband or ex-husband is getting a little bit out of pocket. You'll see it for yourself. She reaches back to Memphis, comes acrossoma and the great plains over the rocky mountains and comes smooth across his face with one of the most beautiful fluid slaps I've seen on television ever. She slaps the sanity right back into him all without flustering her hair anything else.

Speaker 1:

There's a lady I follow on tiktok, I think her name is. It's like nikki or nick kermit's version and she does reviews of old movies and she's hilarious. We'll talk about her at one other point. But she was. She was talking about these, whatever it was in Hollywood, like you couldn't show a toilet, you couldn't have someone have an affair without there being a consequence. There was this whole sort of law sort of thing.

Speaker 1:

I'm wondering as I watch this, because this is circa 1979, 1980. There are certain words you couldn't say on tv. There are certain scenes you couldn't have. I wonder if you couldn't like knee a man in the nuts. Back in the day. Now, me being an 80s, maybe 90s kids, I saw people get kicked in the balls all the time on tv. But I'm slowly as more as I get into this vintage stuff, I'm noticing that there's probably a reason you don't see any. Sorry, seriously, if you are an older, millennial period, millennials completely. How many of our shows, of our kid shows, are people getting hit in the nuts? America's Funniest? I saw someone get hit in the nuts once a week, I promise you, like most of my life. So it was odd to me that that wasn't an option. But that good old fashioned soap opera slap is a way to go. Got the message across, okay.

Speaker 1:

So the final scene is Jeff pissed fresh off a pancake and post coitus he comes out of the house. He's angry because he's not getting Abby or the kids. He agreed to drop the suit. Karen comes outside and she's like hey, she feels bad but at the end of the day, that's still her sister-in-law and she cares about the kids, she cares about her husband and she clearly cares about Jeff. And she's like hey, I want you to not do this. Think about this. Nobody wins in a paternity suit. This is going to be awful for them. It's going to be awful for you, like y'all already have an agreement. Just, you know what it is. And he's pissed, but he's, he's holding it together, he's being a gentleman and he goes yeah, yeah, yeah, I bet you do. You know you and abby are family. I bet you want it. You want what's best for her and she's like I want what's best for both of y'all, and so does Sid. He wants what's best yes, that's his little sister but he wants what's best for everyone. So Jeff sounds a whole lot like Abby. Where Abby told Karen mind your business or it's gonna get ugly, jeff's like okay, I will drop the suit. But please believe this is not. This is nowhere near the end of this End scene.

Speaker 1:

Knott's Landing has done a superior job of bringing in people, little side characters that are top tier. Of all four of the soap operas Dallas, dynasty, falcon Crest and this one they are like the acting chops are second to none. It makes a lot of sense that this was going to be the first one, and it is. It leans a little more into drama. It really does. It seems like Abby is a scoop of soap, but they added to the mix. But this wonderful.

Speaker 1:

I love Jeff, love him, love Dr Boyfriend of Gingers, whose name escapes me at the moment. I loved uh, what was her name? Jill and drunk Earl. I'm feeling everybody so far, except for for the first ever lady mechanic in the whole world. She's a little goofy, but I hate. I'm going to go ahead and say this I don't love it when kids are in kind of dramas and kids ranging I mean Diana's kind of a brat as a teenager, anyone about 19 and under. They don't really know what to do with them. It's hard to squeeze children into adult situations and make it seamless unless you kind of compartmentalize, and I don't always like that compartmentalization in a soap opera. So far, so good. These kids have their acting chops. They went to the same academy of Baby Joseph. They're doing really well. But it's just the mechanic girl is a little goofy. I haven't seen her in a few episodes, but nobody seems to go away on these shows.

Speaker 1:

I watched this one twice because I fully enjoyed it, but I gotta admit I wasn't really sure how to approach this one. This seems like a backstory for Abby that we are obviously going to need and, man, I feel like she's the blueprint for all of the reality stars today. To me Abby's like a seasoned influencer who just released like this viral or you know a horrible video and people might try to quote, unquote, cancel her. But she's already two steps ahead of you. She's capitalizing on the bus. She's not embarrassed. It also reminds me of Eminem and 8 Mile, at the end where he goes up against that kid or Jeff or whatever his name was, and he basically says everything that that guy was going to say about him and it's like well, what do you say? How do you approach somebody who's not ashamed? That is, owning it. Abby's past misdeeds don't faze her, because she owns them completely. She is the queen of her own narrative. You can't throw shade on someone who's turned their entire existence into that brand and this is what it feels like.

Speaker 1:

Abby understands that, yes, I'm lazy, no, I don't take care of these kids. I'm not really paying any bills. I kind of work when I want to. I refuse to drive, I'm not even dropping these kids off at school. I don't do my laundry and I sleep with any man I want and what. That's how you spell Abby baby, that's P-A-R-T-Y. That's me all day. And what Responsibility. Who Bills where? Worry why I'm just? I'm flabbergasted. She's like nope, this is who I am. This is what I'm going to do and you're going to love it or hate it.

Speaker 1:

I am really curious to see what will transpire between she and Karen. I don't think Karen is one to be trifled with, but I also don't think this is just going to go away. I'm really curious to see how this is going to play out. All right, guys, that's it. That's all for this episode. Thank you so much for joining me. Remember, if you got any secrets, it's always best to blow up your own spot. Nobody can hold anything over your head that you expose first. Mind your business, stay hydrated, stay moisturized. First mind your business, stay hydrated, stay moisturized. Keep your friends and remote closed. You can keep all of your drama on tv. Bye, thank you.