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S4 EP13 Dallas - The Making of a President: The " Ewing Ladies Who Lunch" Episode

• Jett Shae • Episode 253

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Welcome Back Soap Fiends! Had a bit of a technical difficulty so this episode is off the cuff. What happens when ambition meets the shrewd world of the Ewings? Join us as we revisit the iconic Dallas, stepping back into the intense drama of season four, episode 13, "The Making of a President." Picture Bobby Ewing leaving the glitzy yet cutthroat oil world for the promise of renewable energy, while JR scrambles to mend fences with the local cartels that have learned to thrive without him. Here, we explore the intriguing power plays and character shifts that keep Dallas a timeless TV classic. Leslie Stewart, the determined PR maven from New York, shakes up the Ewing empire, and her bold maneuvers promise to reshape reputations and alliances in ways that will keep you guessing.

Alongside Leslie's ambitious overtures, we delve into the personal struggles and evolving dynamics of the Ewing women, whose stories resonate with timeless themes of power and resilience. As Afton tries her hand at leveraging JR's wealth, and Pam contemplates Alex's enticing invitations, tensions rise in the Ewing household, particularly between Ellie and Jock. The potential for shifting alliances and rekindled romances adds a rich layer to the narrative, teasing twists and turns that keep the audience riveted. Pull up a chair and relive these memories with us, savoring the wit and drama that defined an era of primetime television.

Speaker 1:

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome or 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, jed, viewing and reviewing one of the sopiest, sudziest primetime storylines of 1981. We're viewing the iconic Dallas season four, episode 13, the making of a president. So, whether you're new to this or true to this, sit back and enjoy it. Tell the kids it's time to play outside or out of sight, babe. No questions, suggestions or concerns. For the next 25 to 35 minutes and everyone else on airshot cool choir were kicked out, shut up. We need to quiet. We are watching our stories. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, this is Soap Lure. Hello, gorgeous, welcome or welcome back, party people to another fun-filled edition of Soap Floor. I hope you are enjoying these vintage gems as much as I am. Man, I really am. I know you're not supposed to have a favorite child and I don't, but when it comes to the soap poppers, I will just say this Sometimes they make it hard for us to I don't know what's up from down. Hard for us as to I don't know what's up from down. You guys already know how I feel about Falcon Crest. I have fallen head over heels head over heels in love with Knox Landing. I'd like to profess my love today for it. But that doesn't mean that I love Dynasty and Dali Dallas I'm calling it Dali any less, especially Dallas. I didn't realize how much I missed them until I pushed play today. Oh my gosh, I had life to forgot. But the writing this season is stellar. There's a reason this goes down as one of the most iconic soap operas of all time. I do believe they shade it. We're not going to get into that right now. That's a whole nother topic for another day.

Speaker 1:

We're jumping back in Dallas, season four, episode 13. We are about halfway ish through the season. Storylines are slowly building, but this episode, hmm, I don't quite know how to describe it. I feel like it's all about the women folk. Again we're going back to the Ewing women archetypes and we're kind of understanding what that means now. We knew what it meant at the beginning of the series. Now we're going to learn what it means circa 1981. So grab yourself something bubbly and bright, enjoy it. Kick off your shoes. Just stop being so generous with your time. It's over when to get out. It's time to kick back. Let's jump into season four, episode 13,.

Speaker 1:

Dallas making of a president. Testing testing one, two, three. Testing testing one, two, three. Unfortunately, I went to go and edit this episode and discovered that everything past the intro has been deleted, so I'm going to have to do this off the cuff and off of memory.

Speaker 1:

Making of a president. And, as you recall, when Lossfully left, bobby decided that running Ewing Oil was not his thing. Only now his new thing is running Ewing Renewable Energy. He's trying to get into the solar, wind and thermal energy game. Jock is okay with this because it's still Ewing name, it's still Ewing energy, it's still Ewing money. He's all go for it. Jr is high key, gloating Like dude. You were here. Why did you give up this throne Body's all? Well, I didn't really want to do it anyway. It's back to you, big bro saw. Well, I didn't really want to do it anyway. It's back to you, big bro.

Speaker 1:

Making of a president is a very interesting episode because it's all about how undesirable JR has become in recent months. Back at the helm, only the original cartel, the one that he screwed over. They want absolutely nothing to do with him. We know this because he goes to the cattleman's club to meet with this kid called Elroy. Elroy is from another cartel in Dallas and he's one of those real yuckum yuckum types, really from the country somewhere. He just says yo, you're a good old boy, jr, I kind of believe you, but I don't know if my daddy's gonna let you in the cartel. That kind of guy. Elroy says he's the one to ask his dad if it's cool to let in JR. Meanwhile, the other cartel is now even richer than they could have ever imagined because that whole swamp deal went through. The one that Bobby was good about, the one that we're going to let Bobby back into. Only he didn't have the money, so he found someone else to step in for him. They see JR and they cackle when he's like well heck, had I been president of the UN, I'd be right here laughing and celebrating with y'all. And they're like but no, baby, we had a piece of lemon meringue pie. You wouldn't get a cut. You wouldn't get a cut of nothing, ever again. In D-A-L-A-A-A Almost missed all Dallas In D-A-L-L-A-S. Yes, sir, see you later, buddy.

Speaker 1:

This is also the introduction of a woman named Leslie Stewart Think Samantha Jones from Sex and the City. Without sex as a weapon, without sex being the upfront weapon. Leslie Jones is this high-powered PR person who has moved from New York to Dallas and she wants a piece of the Ewing pie. She meets with Bobby, but Bobby's not interested. Not because she's not beautiful, which he decides to tell her You're very pretty and you're really good at your job.

Speaker 1:

I don't know why the pretty was a preface, but he is his whole deal. He's like I'm trying to keep a low profile. I feel you, bobby, his family's been doing a whole lot of ripping and running, running and ripping and screwing people over. Last thing he wants is any extra attention on anything he's doing. Let in his mind. He's like let me go ahead and make this legit, then we can talk about it, then we can introduce this to the world. But in the meantime, in between time I don't want anybody to know leslie eventually gets a meeting with jr.

Speaker 1:

She very easily convinces him that he needs her because, well, it's true, he has a tarnished reputation. This is her specialty. Let her work her magic and see if she can't pull him back into the good graces of the world, not just Dallas. Dallas may be done for him. Let's go worldwide. He's all with it. Only he wants to see her deal with a good old-fashioned girl and hey, and she's like no, no, no, I'm going to come up with a contract for he struggles with this throughout the episode. He can't imagine why this woman doesn't want to sleep with him. But eventually he reminds Leslie Stewart is in the building.

Speaker 1:

As far as I can tell, she is sassy, she's got moxie. She is extremely professional and she seemed to be one of those broads who enjoys a bad time. She's really good at being bad. I can tell she's not going to do it up front. We may have a new addition to the Bad Girls Club. This is just a hunch I'm getting and because I am presenting this episode after I've already recorded it.

Speaker 1:

I have seen the following episode. She doesn't do anything outright scandalous, but she's definitely one to watch. Afton is still in town. Apparently, jr had paid for her and her mom to go to the Bahamas. They decided to use the Bahama mama money to get an apartment in Dallas. She comes to the office because she needs him to help her with her career. Now she's more than willing to sign an invisible contract by lying on her back, so she does that very thing. He takes her over to a bar because she is a country and western singer. Actually, I her over to a bar because she is a country and western singer. Actually, I don't know if she's a country and western singer, she's a singer.

Speaker 1:

I expected her to open her mouth like the care bear from knots landing and be terrible. Only she's really, really she's good. I'm trying to say she's really, really good. But she sees a talented woman. She will be a nice lounge singer and she will be staying in dallas and he's like cool. He makes it very clear, no uncertain terms, that you are now in my rolodex. There will be no meeting in person. There will be no meeting for lunch. I will stop in when I stop in. It's going to be what it's going to be.

Speaker 1:

Bobby is busy, pam is lonely and Alex is there to pick up the pieces. That's what you need to know. Slowly throughout the episode, she decides that you know what. I'm gonna take alex up on these lunches. Bobby is breaking promises left and right. Matter of fact, he's been gone for a full week and she had no idea where the heck he was. A full week. So, as try as she may, the marriage seems to be crumbling, or at least going in a direction that she hadn't anticipated. So decisions need to be made. Alex is least going in a direction that she hadn't anticipated, so decisions need to be made. Alex is a very wise man and he knows if he just plays it, if he plays his part long enough, things are going to turn around in his favor, or will they?

Speaker 1:

One person who is not suffering with the thought of stepping out and stepping on is Miss Sue Ellen Ewing. Really quickly. The first scene we see her in she has went in one of her many bathing suits. She's putting john ross ewing the third down for his nap after he's been at the swimming pool in this inflatable canoe. That leaves me questioning a lot of safety standards in 1981. But the most disturbing part of the scene is that john ross ewing the third has a telephone in his bedroom at the tender age of a year and change or two, however old he is. I was so jealous when I saw this scene because as a teenager in the late 90s, early 2000s, I never had my own phone line, not one time. But he's got one in his room anyway. It's Willen's college ex-squeeze on the phone. He wants to meet for lunch.

Speaker 1:

She's like sure she knows that jr is already sleeping with afton or he's back to his old ways. He's back to being ahead of you in oil. She knows exactly what that feels like. She is no longer putting up this facade for herself. She's still presenting it in public, but the facade of we are a team, we are in love he's going to be a change. Man is long gone. She's like boy, we're going to do this. What time you want to eat? So she and her ex-college boo go to lunch. But while they're at lunch she looks across the restaurant. She sees pam ewing with alex, gives her a little smirky dirk and later on that evening, before the whole family gets home, she has a little chatter, chatter, chit, chit with pam. Now pam is taking a shot of bourbon to the head.

Speaker 1:

Sue ellen makes a drunk joke like girl, you look like you needed that. Pam's like mind your business, sue ellen, sue ellen goes. I'm the expert. I, you know. I know very well the difference between needing and wanting a drink. You needed that. But then she lays down some just wisdom, ewing wisdom. Ewing down some just wisdom, ewing wisdom, ewing, ewing woman wisdom.

Speaker 1:

She says pam, I saw you at lunch, don't even trip, I will keep my mouth closed. I ain't seen nothing. I ain't heard nothing. Matter of fact, I'm a little bit proud of you, pam's, like what are you going on about? What are you talking about? Nothing's happened. You can't have a professional lunch, she said. Listen, if you don't learn anything else from me, I'm not one one to give advice. But as a human woman, you either got to play the game and sit here and rot or you got to have your own life.

Speaker 1:

Pam snaps I have my own life, I have a job. So I said I'm not talking about work, I'm talking about an entire life, an entire living, breathing existence. That has absolutely nothing to do with your husband and my man, jr, can go out and get love and affection from other places. So can I, pam's like don't you dare compare bobby to jr? So sue, ellen lives in the same house. So she said okay, girl, um, I haven't seen bobby in about a week. Where was he? Pam tells her where he was out putting putting fires out at ewing 23. Suelen laughs she goes no, they have a guy. There's a guy who does that. Bobby's not actually putting out fires. Where was he? She's trying to put her up on game. She's not accusing anybody of anything. She's like I see what you did and I'm okay with that. So bobby does come in the room, that's irrelevant.

Speaker 1:

Su Ellen goes to Dr Elby and she's talking to him like she tells him all about Pam and this man. And his question is like well, why would you care? And she tells him because, in not so many words, if Pam has to do the same thing that I have to do, that means I'm not crazy. It means that being married to a person like that, being married to a man who's obsessed with business or other women, will drive you into the arms of another man. If Pam, who married the best out of the three brothers, is doing it, ain't no way you're gonna sit up here and tell me I'm crazy. Dr Elvey's like okay, but what do you get from this? Is this, is this really what you want? Sue Ellen, do you think you're backtracking? She's not even backtracking. I could have been happy. I could have been happy with Dusty. I could be happy with his name, isn't Cliff? But it's something very similar like that.

Speaker 1:

By the end of the episode, bobby breaks yet another promise. Pam starts remembering something Sue Ellen said. So it's like everything has changed. They're not the newlyweds, they're not the love. So right before JR got shot they were in a little two-seat, remember. They were going to go to California, visit Yuri and Valene. They were going to live their own lives, they were going to say bye. But Bobby changed his mind, and there's nothing wrong with changing your mind. He just didn't let her know about it.

Speaker 1:

So she feels a way she sees herself being isolated more and more and more. He was gone a week and they still have not had any time together. So Pam is left kind of sitting with the fact that her marriage is not what she thought it was. And if she's going to be continued to be married to Bobby, how many more promises, how many more broken this? And that it's interesting. She doesn't hate him, he doesn't hate her. They're not outright fighting and even if she gets a little bit heated, he just leaves. He's trying to get his business off the ground. He's building his dream, but good old Alex is waiting in the wing. So we have this sort of inverse of feeling.

Speaker 1:

Pam is where Sue Ellen used to be. Once upon a time Sue Ellen was a faithful, loving wife who didn't want any trouble, but then she grew to realize that if she didn't have her own thing. It was going to be a miserable existence. Sue Ellen is past the point of you can be redeemed. We're going to rebuild our marriage. It's going to be wonderful. She sees him for who he is. She knows that he's back at the helm. She knows he's back to ripping and running, running and ripping and ripping people off. So now she's going to openly enjoy her life consequences. Be damned.

Speaker 1:

Now the two other ewing women. That would be miss ellie and the former lucy ewing. I can't remember her. What's mitch's last name? Mrs mitch, they have a little bit of a cameo in this episode. We gotta talk about my girl, lucy. So lucy's mother-in-law, who I will continue to call in dora because that's who she looks like and it's easier for me to remember her name she and Afton come by the apartment and Afton's pumped because she has a new job and Lucy's like oh my God, girl, that's so much fun. What are you doing? Oh, jr helped me. Lucy keeps that smile on her face that you can tell she's like oh, jr helped me. We all know what that means. Afton may as well have said I am sleeping with JR. So Lucy just smiles at her like okay, girl, well, good luck Miss Ellie. On the other hand, she has a meeting with another kind of interesting person on the show to me, miss Donna Culver.

Speaker 1:

I have to tell you'all about her drip. She is a lavender dream. She is wearing a light pink felt easter sunday hat. All the hair is tucked underneath. I really love that. Look, she's giving pam from falcon crest a run for her money, this light pink hat, and then it has a lavender polka dot bow. The polka dots are white, the bow is, the ribbon is lavender and it's like around the perimeter of the hat. I don't know what you'd call that, but the outfit she's wearing is lavender and it's all polka dot. It's like a skirt suit, so it's a blouse, a jacket and a matching skirt, all of which are in a polka dot lavender pattern Same color as her bow. Only the polka dots on the jacket are smaller and the polka dots on the shirt are larger. It could be very busy, it could be very weird, but it is a beautiful 1981 woman's outfit and I love everything about it. She's having lunch I presume maybe brunch with Miss Ellie, and you can tell pretty quickly that Miss Ellie is drunk. She is faded. It can't be any earlier than 10 in the morning. It can't be any later than about 1 pm. She is schnocker.

Speaker 1:

Donna Culver wants Ellie's group, her um, her stepson campaign to keep this swamp thing going. This is a silent declaration. This is the declaration of war. Ellie is still reeling from the fact that gary ewing is never, ever, ever going to come back to dallas. He is happy being a low-key scumbag in cal in California and that's where he's going to stay. And she's blaming it all on Ray. Now. I can't condone that. As far as I'm concerned, ray is a child in this situation. Ray was perfectly lovely and fine all these years. Why is he a problem now? He's a problem now because she sees Jock giving Ray the sort of attention he never gave his boy. Because she sees Jock giving Ray the sort of attention he never gave his boy, she's pissed. So as she hears Donna's campaign to basically keep this swamp a swamp in the back of Ellie's mind she knows that Jock is working to turn this same place into a resort she's like, okay, that's an easy yes, cool, I'll talk to the other rich bitties in dallas and we'll get you some money, get your boy nominated and make sure we can support him.

Speaker 1:

She then goes home and jock says ellie, where the hell have you been? She doesn't check him for cursing at her, she's just, you know, stumbles in. I've been where I've been because theresa's been holding dinner for 45 minutes. I really wanted her to say this is my house, teresa will serve dinner. When I say serve dinner, teresa ain't dripping, so why are you? But she doesn't say anything. She just says well, I guess we should go eat it. Then Turns on her heels and wobbles into the dining room and nobody says boo. I guess how could you say boo when everybody's holding a cocktail in their hand on their own? All right, guys, I have to go ahead and go.

Speaker 1:

I'm sorry for the poor quality of this one. Again, I just deleted all of my information, but that is the long and short of this episode. We got ham considering stepping out on bobby suelving, confidently stepping out on jr jr nangrata who needs miss Leslie Stewart. Tell them Miss Leslie Stewart is in town to do business we just don't know what kind yet In the next time as we jump into Dallas, season 4, episode 14. In the meantime, in between time, save your work. Save your work. Save your work. Click that little disc icon in the corner and click it off. Stay hydrated, stay moisturized, mind your own business and keep all of your tumor on TV Bye.