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S3 Ep8 Knots Landing: Mistaken Motives -The-“North Star & Soap Star: When the Garys Aligns” Episode

• Jett Shae • Episode 271

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Grief manifests differently for everyone, as Karen discovers when she reluctantly attends a support group for those who've lost spouses. There, she meets Bill Medford, a widower who's been navigating life without his wife for over a year. Their connection is immediate, but complicated by Karen's hesitancy to move forward just four months after Sid's death.

The episode brilliantly explores how family dynamics shift during periods of loss. Diana, already shouldering more household responsibilities, reacts with hostility when Bill enters their lives. Her resistance isn't simple teenage rebellion but reveals deeper fears about her family's changing structure. The role reversal scenes where mother and daughter interrogate each other about their respective dates highlight how grief disrupts traditional family hierarchies.

Meanwhile, Kenny and Ginger find themselves at odds over parenting philosophies for baby Molly. Their conflict represents classic debates between responding immediately to a baby's cries versus allowing self-soothing. When professional advice fails them, they reluctantly accept help from an unexpected source—Valene's mother, Lily Mae, whose folk wisdom about positioning the crib relative to the moon proves surprisingly effective.

The episode features a standout performance from Julie Harris as Lily Mae, whose impromptu musical number at the neighborhood gathering mortifies Valene while revealing her long-game strategy to advance her musical aspirations through Kenny's industry connections. For longtime Dallas viewers, there's an additional meta-layer of enjoyment seeing David Ackroyd (the original Gary Ewing) return to the universe as a new character pursuing Karen.

"Mistaken Motives" ultimately reminds us that healing happens on individual timelines and that the assumptions we make about others' intentions often miss the mark. Whether you're processing loss, navigating new relationships, or just trying to get a baby to sleep through the night, sometimes the most unexpected solutions prove most effective.

Speaker 1:

and sweet little valine is begging the lord above to evaporate her. Send a volcano, aliens, tsunamis, tornadoes whatever you got, please, acid rain, just please make this stop. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome and welcome back to silk floor, the official gathering place for newbies, novices and og diehard fans of the golden age of primetime. I'm your host, jett Bueing, and we'll be reading the Sylvia Sudsius primetime storylines of 1981. We are back on the West Coast, still always and forever doing the absolute most. So, whether you're new to this or true to this, sit back and enjoy. Tell the kids it's time to play Outsider Out of Sight. Tell them no questions, suggestions or concerns until I'm finished with my stories. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, this is Silk Floor. Hello, gorgeous and welcome back to another fun-filled edition of Silk Floor. I'm your host, jax.

Speaker 1:

We're about to dive into season three, episode eight of Knott's Landing, called Mistaken Motives. This episode hit home for so many reasons to me. It's not that it's all that complex, it's actually a very quick one. I wouldn't be surprised if this podcast is under 25 minutes, because there's not a whole lot to talk about. But there's a lot to talk about, if you know what I mean. We're going to jump into a very cool piece of fan mail and we're going to jump right into the episode, so go ahead and pour yourself up something bubbly and bright as we delve into Nod's Landing, season 3, episode 8, mistaken motives. Oh my goodness, where are my manners? How are y'all today? Man, I hope your day is shaping up well. Mine is really really good. I fully enjoyed this.

Speaker 1:

We got a piece of fan mail that ties into this episode, sort of. I don't think this is a spoiler, because I feel like we've discussed this before on the television of your second interview. I believe we touched on some of the characters, not necessarily a spoiler, but the Aunt Viv effect, fresh Prince, where it's still same character, different actress. I'm never mad at that. I think that's such an interesting take, though. What does it take for an actor or actress to leave a show? Do they get to leave on good terms and does it suck more? If you are recast, I would rather them pull a Sid.

Speaker 1:

I don't want to ever come back on the show. I don't want a 2.0 me, because I feel like people will be comparing, but maybe, maybe not. I've all, but forgotten about. First. I'm lying. I liked original face Steven, but I hadn't thought about him as much. Let's go ahead and jump into the fan mail, because we got to get to this episode. It is a twist I didn't see coming. Oh, but God, I love it. Also, as I watch these shows more and more, I'm starting to have not mixed feelings, but I kind of stutter step with a couple of the characters today. I may owe Gary an apology, maybe, maybe not. He's liable to piss me off in the next few episodes. So I'm going to. I'm going to put that on ice. I'm not going to apologize, but I can admit perhaps I was a little hasty in my judgment. If you don't want any revelation whatsoever, maybe skip ahead three, four minutes, something like that VanMill says.

Speaker 1:

My name is Byron and I'm an OG who watched Dynasty as a teenager and young adult and I'm absolutely loving your reviews of the show. Your reviews are so spot on and keep me laughing. By the way, did you know that Dynasty got so popular that there were weekly showings and bars mostly gay throughout the country? Also, blake was a billionaire. He was worth 200 million, which was like a billionaire in the 80s. Now this part is a little bit of a. I don't think it's a spoiler because I feel like we did talked about this in my interview with Erica. I loved original Fallon and you're not incorrect about some of your criticisms of her character development and that is in part. That is part of the reason the actress left the show. Keep up the great work and me laughing, and thank you for all you do. Thank you so much, byron, you absolutely made my day.

Speaker 1:

First and foremost, I really appreciate when we have the rate of exchange from 1981 to 2025. I find it fascinating, and $200 million is crazy money today. Oh my gosh, you could probably buy like six states in 1981 with $200 million. So yes, I would definitely say he's a billion billionaire. Which begs the question how rich is Alexis then? Because remember, on season one, cecil God, I miss Cecil. They need to resurrect him. Cecil was hilarious. I will never get over having the foresight and the wherewithal to record a video, to put a plan in action, to embarrass your worst enemy at your funeral. I aspire to that level of petty. I aspire to that level of dedication to anything at any time in my life. That is amazing. But yeah, I wonder how much money he left Alexis, because Blake was number two, if memory serves me correctly.

Speaker 1:

The next point I did know. I feel like I found that out then. I don't feel like that spoils anything because I don't know when that particular actress leaves, especially if the character stays on the show. To me that doesn't really matter, but I totally get it. I can 110% see that, especially after the first season. I know I talk about this probably every other episode of this program, but I can't help it. It's so frustrating and it seems so obvious to me it seems like a glaring mistake, but we'll see how it turns out. I don't know when she decides to pack up her teens. I know they're expensive when she packs them up and leaves, but we'll get to that when we get to that. Okay.

Speaker 1:

As far as the bars go, this is what I knew Before I started the podcast. I did very, very little research, and I mean minuscule. I just wanted to see what were the popular primetime soap operas and I do remember seeing something about the daytime soaps where, like people would have parties, they would like record them. The bar would record it at lunch and then people would come in after work. But I thought it was whoever Luke and Laura is. What is that? All my children general Hospital one of them, something like that. By the way, my mother-in-law was devastated when that went off the air. I think it was General Hospital. She just couldn't believe that it went digital. She was so upset. But no, I did not know that about Dynasty, I didn't have any idea.

Speaker 1:

But you know what, the more I think about it, dynasty is such a communal show, especially season four. They have upped the ante. It is shinier, it is funnier. I've said this a few episodes back. I'm looking forward to the camp now. I can't say I thought that with the other seasons. I definitely enjoyed it. I definitely want to watch it, but now I can't hardly wait to hear what anybody's going to say. Everybody is hilarious, the drama is oh, it's a god, and to think about watching this in a bar is genius. I can't think of a better place. This is amazing. God, I wish I could be there. They have to do some sort of con, right. They have to do like a vintage primetime con. I want to watch a season premiere of Dynasty vintage Dynasty in a bar. That is so awesome. It's funny you bring this up too, because I stumbled across this video of this girl like decorating her bar cart.

Speaker 1:

And I can admit there's a couple of things I've been influenced by by watching these shows. One of them is to step up my glass game. I want better flatware and dining where. You know what is it called? I don't even know what to call it. I want more beautiful glasses. I throw a dinner party for someone's birthday. I wanted to just step up my game a little bit. So I've been going to like a state sales because you know, your girl ain't no Carrington. I got to make my money work, so I've been going to like a state sales because, you know, your girl ain't no Carrington. I got to make my money work and I've started to collect some really, really beautiful goblets and just gorgeous crystal and just really pretty things and I thought I really would like a little bar cart for when I watch my stories. I want just something cute.

Speaker 1:

I'm creating space in my home for not only recording this but just kind of enjoying the shows and a bar cart. I watched this girl DIY one and I remembered I have one in my kitchen that I didn't really know what to do. I think it's holding books or something right now, but I'm going to repurpose that Perfect timing, but just talking about people watching Dynasty and Bars was exact. You sent this on the exact same day. I'm like I am going to repurpose that bar cart and put a little something, something in the corner for myself, for when I want to sit down in my silk robe and watch my stories. Remember, guys, if you have anything to say, you can always text me, check the show notes if you're watching this or excuse me if you're listening to this on your phone. Otherwise, you can hit me up at SoapLorePodcast at gmailcom. I'm doing with a couple of titles here. Can't stand my kid. Yeah, I don't know yet.

Speaker 1:

I don't know what we're going to call it, but the show opens up with Diana on the back of a motorcycle a real one, not a dirt bag, dirt bike with some guy and she's yelling because it's dark, like it's. What does that have to do with her voice? She's yelling at him because she's on a motorcycle hey, I need to hurry up and get home and he's like why? She said my mom doesn't sleep, she's gonna be pissed.

Speaker 1:

Apparently it's late, but not too late, because Val is over the house with Karen stuffing envelopes and at first I thought my gosh, is this that whole chain letter scam that used to run back in the days like in the late 90s. I remember a lot of people got scammed with like a work from home and they would send you tons of envelopes and papers. You would end up like buying the postage and mailing all this crap out and then you'd get like a dollar. Anyway, that's either here or there, what they're actually doing. They're doing something for the school Val. Even comments to Karen I don't know how you do this. Karen says I just like to keep busy. I think she just wanted to stay up. She hears a motorcycle because it's loud. She goes to the door. Diana comes waltzing in with a smile on her face Like hey, y'all.

Speaker 2:

Hey.

Speaker 1:

Val in with a smile on her face like hey y'all, hey Val, I'm going to bed, mom. Mom's like no, you're not. You're hanging out with that juvenile delinquent. Diana says he's not a juvenile delinquent. Karen says oh, is he a grown delinquent? You get it right. She didn't like the kid.

Speaker 1:

Diana's like mom, what you can't do is treat me like a child. Karen says Diana, it's after midnight. What are you talking about? Diana says listen, if I take on your duties, you can't treat me like a kid. Now, this is where things get a little bit sticky for me.

Speaker 1:

Karen says Diana, cooking dinner and washing clothes does not make you an adult. I beg to differ, especially in 2025. Now, granted, yes, I definitely knew how to do laundry very early on. My sister and I would spend so much of our weekend cleaning and stuff. I didn't really learn to cook until I was an adult. But I understand what. I understand what Diane is saying. Like, listen, I am no longer just just a child. Yes, I am a child, but I'm not just a child in this family anymore. I am taking on a bigger role because we have lost someone is basically what she's saying. But also I feel, karen, you're still my child. At the end of the day, I make the rules and regulations. One of those is you can't be on the back of a motorcycle with a delinquent and you certainly can't be on the back of a motorcycle with a delinquent.

Speaker 1:

After 12 am, diana saunters off upstairs and Karen admits that this is difficult for her because Sid was the disciplinarian Val, of course, is always watching, not really judging. Like girl, I know it's difficult. She don't know the half of it. Has she raised Lucy? Oh my God, she don't know the half but, like I said, she's not judgmental, so it's fine. Karen's like girl, let's go ahead and just let's call it a night.

Speaker 1:

Val starts gathering her things. She's like you know my, my roofer right, bill Medford? He's like, yeah, I've seen him. I says, well, listen, he lost his wife last year. He's a widower and he goes to this support group. You think Maybe you know I'm not saying you need it. I know you're tough, rough and tough with your astral puffs and all that, but maybe you could go, maybe you could get something from that. And Karen's like, uh, I don't really want to do that she's. She's put up a really tough facade as up until now, this episode she finally has a little bit of a cry. She goes upstairs, cries into her pillow a little bit. I guess that's where she lets it out every night she just cries in bed, which has to suck. I feel really bad for her.

Speaker 1:

To my surprise, karen decides she's going to go to the support group meeting. So she starts walking in. There's tons of people outside, kind of crowding the doorway. But as she walks in there's a tall, dark, handsome man standing behind the table and I'm looking like I know that ain't. I'll be damned if he ain't the original Gary Ewing, mr David Ackroyd, himself shocked. I was shocked.

Speaker 1:

A little bit of a backstory turns out. Mr Ackroyd and the what's his name, ted Shackelford, knew each other from something in New York. So David shot the pilot for, or shot the original season of Dallas. He really really, really enjoyed the character. But then he said that Knott's Landing happened. So he knew that there was going to be a spinoff. He read Knott's Landing. He wasn't really feeling it. This is season three, so maybe by this time he was like hey, you know what he's like, I'm going to try, I'll go out there. I wonder if Ted Shackleford called him. I was like hey, bro, you need to check real quick. He's like, yeah, sure, why not? I'm in between gigs. Seems like he was busy most of his career, but he's the first person I've seen on all. Well, no, no, no, no, let me take that back. We've got Philip from Falcon Crest is Mr Store on Dallas. We've got Mark Jennings as one of the cowboys. He's only in one scene in Dallas. He was harassing Sue Ellen when she was drunk. And he's on Dynasty. This kid has been on all three. He's the detective who's looking for whoever tried to kill Alexis on Dynasty. He's original Gary Ewing and now he is Mr Bob the Builder or Bill the Roofer on Knott's Landing.

Speaker 1:

Let's get back to the story. So Karen goes in the meeting and it's people of varying ages kind of dealing with death and grief. There's a kid who's lost a parent. There's a widow who has lost her husband. She's given this really sad story about how she went to go pick up his remains after a year and they were explaining to her that it wasn't just like powder, it was something else, and I thought Karen got upset. She just kind of puts her head down and she goes out, excuses herself, goes out in the hall. Bill, aka OG Gary comes tearing out after her. She out there laughing. She can't get over the fact that this woman's husband is in a Dixie cup. She thinks it's the funniest thing she's ever heard in her life. Well, her Valene story, bill is also a widower. So they end up going out to have a little bit of ice cream.

Speaker 1:

And I'm looking at him thinking you know, I've said this before he looks like one of those genders. He looks like one of those genders until Kenny shows up looking like one of those genders and he looks a little bit less like one of them, but he's still a good. He's a striking man. I can't quite put my finger on what it is about him, but he is not somebody you can kind of look away from. He brings a completely different energy and I got curious after I watched this. I wanted to go back and watch the original Dallas and I couldn't find those episodes. But I do remember thinking that he was. There was something kind of magnetic about him. I can't remember at the time if it was just the interest of the story. I didn't realize there was a middle brother or that he would be back. I didn't really think that was going to be a thing, I don't know, but he's got this energy about him. He seems mysterious. That's what we'll call it now. We'll just call it mysterious.

Speaker 1:

So they go out to eat, they have their ice cream and you can tell that he's feeling her. But Karen is just being Karen, she's kind of smiley and she leaves so flash forward to her going home. And Diana is sitting up in her robe waiting on her mom to get back. Phone rings. It's Bill the builder saying hey, I just want to leave a message for Karen. Could you tell her I had an excellent time tonight. It was wonderful. Blah, blah, blah.

Speaker 1:

So Diana goes to the exact same post on the door that her mom was at the night before and she's like oh, you got a call from Bill Medford. And Karen's like oh, what I did? What did he say? That he had a real good time tonight. And it was you're a terrific lady, all the things. What does that mean? I love how the roles were instantly reversed. Now Karen's looking all like oh, what, what, what. You don't have to do that. You don't have to explain anything. You don't have to. But if you do want to explain it, I get it. So the remainder of this episode, you need to understand that Diana is pissed because there is a new man entering into the life. But I just want to point out that when the ex-boyfriend came she didn't have any of this energy, not a drop. She was warm and welcoming to him. But there's something about this man she hadn't even met yet she's, she's all in her feelings.

Speaker 1:

So the next day, bill is busy back at Val's house. He's on the roof and here comes Lily Mae with a. Okay, I can't wait to talk about Lily Mae. Lily Mae comes outside with Valene's good china serving this man tea, talking about how good of a job he's doing. She's basically flirting, just having a good old time. Val comes out and she's a little bit hesitant because she doesn't know that Karen decided to go to the meeting. So she's about to write a mischeck and she's like hey, listen, I'm so sorry, just keeping out for my friend, if she shows me, because, oh, karen Fergut, yeah, she showed up last night. It was fun, you know, I got to meet her. I'd like to talk to her again.

Speaker 1:

Well, lily Mae is ear hustling because she just does not go away and she's out there. Well, why don't you come over tomorrow night, honey? What time is your little party. Val's giving her the shut up, shut up, look. So she ends up saying, well, it's not really a party, it's just, it's just gonna be a get together with the neighbors. And Lily Mae's like same difference, you doing anything tomorrow, won't you show up tomorrow? She invites him. So once they're out of earshot I guess he climbs back on the roof. Valene is like damn mama, why did you do that? Why did you say that I didn't want them there? And Lily Mae is like why that is so rude. There's no harm in him showing up. I was like no, I don't want it to seem like I'm trying to set him up with Karen, like I feel like that's very inappropriate right now.

Speaker 1:

This is a good time to point out that Lily Mae is clearly getting on Valene's last nerves and it's also a great time to point out that a new Gary, blonde Gary finds Lily Mae hilarious. Every country bumpkin thing she does tickles him pink. Now Lily Mae gets on Valene's nerves and Gary gets on my nerves. But a new entry I didn't fully see coming is getting on Ginger's nerve and it's none other than her two-name baby. I need to decide what we're going to call her. What is it? Molly, emma, emma, molly, molly, emma, erin, molly God, I sound like an old lady. It's funny how sometimes it takes a whole another person to bring out different things in you. Lily Mae is bringing out Gary's not only fun, playful side, but he suddenly has the wisdom of an afterschool special father or dad on a sitcom.

Speaker 1:

Sweetie, your mom's been through a lot. She was a kid when she had you. She's just looking for the attention. She's fine, she's harmless. Kenny, who was the resident F boy, is suddenly father of the year. Let me hold my baby. I do the nighttime routine. I can rock Aaron Molly to sleep Okay, she's Molly. I can rock Molly to sleep and book hookers for Richard and read every book on parenting that ever happened.

Speaker 1:

So what's going on at Ginger's house is that Aaron Molly does not like to sleep at night. She is hooping and she is hollering. She is crying. She's a baby. Obviously she's just not settled. If I recall right, ginger is a wealthy woman or she was a rich girl. She probably had nannies and such no such thing as rocking your baby to sleep. Let that kid cry in their expensive nursery. She'll be fine. Kenny is like. That is so barbaric. She's clearly having an issue. She needs us. We supply all her needs. We need to get in there and rock her to sleep. So they're kind of at odds with each other over that. But I've noticed they've been at odds with each other over pretty much anything with the baby. So they end up going to a counselor and they're both stating their point.

Speaker 1:

Ginger's like listen, she can't be held every single second of the day. Let her cry, she's going to be fine. There's nothing wrong with that. People have been doing it since the dawn of time. Kenny's like that's lazy as hell. If she's crying, it's because she needs something. We are her parents. We need to go in there and be parents. Now, the doctor can't get a word in edgewise. When he finally does, he says you know what You're the problem? It's you, the both of yous. Get a babysitter and and just take some time away from her gender. You're right, you can't hold her all day, every day. Kenny, you're right, you do need to supply her needs. But there's got to be a balance and right now y'all are just too close to your kid. It's time to back up. Back up because it's on.

Speaker 1:

I think this is a little bit of the zillennial raising. You got the hovery helicopter parent, who kind of want to make up for things, lost. You got the other parents, the boomer mom who's like she's going to be fine, and here you start to see the last bit of the latchkey kids. In my personal opinion as an elder millennial, this is going to flow all the way through the 80s. If you're born between 1981 and 1989, you're probably a little more independent than your brethren born in the early 90s just a little. Finally, they agree we're gonna go ahead and get a babysitter and this babysitter is gonna come over and watch my molly the baby. I'm sick of this damn gonna come over and watch the baby until they get done with val and gary's party. When the babysitter shows up, she's everything you want her to be. She is an elderly woman, she is gentle, she's clearly raised a lot of kids. She's gonna be just fine. Ginger is immediately put at ease. She's like let's go, it's time. Time me to shake my tail. Feather, let me do something.

Speaker 1:

I love how the tables have turned in this story as well, because kenny used to be the party animal. They used to have all these parties at their houses. He was constantly on the go. All ginger wanted to do was come home and spend some quality time with him. Now ginger Ginger's like I'm sick of you and this baby, let's get out. I need, oh girl, I need a cocktail. I need a song with a lot of bass in it so I can drop it like it's hot, or whatever people did in the seventies and eighties.

Speaker 1:

I don't know. She wants to do the hustle or something. Maybe she break dances, I don't know. Either way, she's ready to go. Kenny wants to stay home. Can we just stay here? If you need anything, just please come and get us, call us, check in with us every 15 minutes. Thank God there weren't cell phones. He would have been driving this woman crazy. Ginger's, like Kenny, let it go. We're literally across the street. We're 15 steps away. If anything happens, she's fine. So the time has come for the party to finally happen. Karen is none the wiser.

Speaker 1:

The builder is going to be there, and I'm at the edge of my seat because I want to see old Gary and new Gary walk in front of each other or something like it's a I don't know, like it's a metaverse or something. I was so excited for this. I just don't really want to know I wanted to see them interact with each other because I have such strong opinions about Gary's broodiness. When we met gary, uh, bobby had gone to vegas for some oil convention and, to his surprise, his older brother is one of the bar guys and this is a big deal. This was a big deal because gary used to be a drunk and we know that baby. We got to see him in action of the season finale. Oh man, oh man, that was good. I missed Drunk Gary just a little bit, but I'm very proud of him being on the straight and narrow. He's had a little bit of stress since then and he's kept focused.

Speaker 1:

But it was Bill playing Gary at that point and, like I said, there's something so magnetic about him. There's a chill. I think I finally figured out what it is. Let's get back to the story, the story, and then I'll tell you what I think it is. So Bill and Karen see each other and it's very clear that he is a little bit more into her than she is to him. She is liking him. She's not necessarily a shy woman, but I think that's what he's reading it as.

Speaker 1:

So the day previous, right after he was invited to Val's party, bill saw Michael, karen's youngest boy, outside playing basketball so he goes over to play basketball with him. This somehow ends up with him being invited in for dinner. Bill wanted to take Karen out to eat. She's like no, diana's already making dinner. So Michael says well, can he just stay for dinner? Karen says well, sure, she goes in the house, tells Diana to make a little bit more. She starts making more vegetables. Diana's like mom, dinner's almost ready, you don't have to do that. Karen says we have a guest. It's Bill. Diana gets pissed Like how can you be doing this already? Karen tells the girls make a salad. I, I'm gonna go set the dining table. So they have dinner.

Speaker 1:

And bill is not as charming as ex-boyfriend, but michael likes him. If nobody else does, karen likes him. Middle boy eric is yeah, he's cool enough. He's not really worried about it because he has a date and diana is not happy at all that he's there. I feel like they filmed this out of sequence. They should have put this episode before the ex-boyfriend comes back, because it would have made a little bit more sense. Her attitude this is the second man who's been invited over. That dude was over at Christmas. The ex-boyfriend I feel like that's way more intimate.

Speaker 1:

So after dinner's done, bill asks Karen if she wants to go to a movie. She says no. He offers to do the dishes. Diana says no. So he says well, it's. I mean it's Friday night, I'll take everybody to the movies. Eric said that's great, I'd love to. However, I have a date. Michael is like yeah, let's do it. Karen agrees, as long as it's nothing too violent, doesn't have sex or anything. Then they just kind of joke like oh, let's not watch anything. So understand, by the time that the party happens on Saturday night they have had a few. They would be categorized as dates in another lifetime. But Karen is not seeing it that way.

Speaker 1:

After the movies on Friday, bill comes in and he and Karen are talking in front of the fire about their respective spouses, how they used to go on trips with their spouses. It's really sweet. Karen's talking about how they used to go camping. Bill is saying he and his wife used to go this places and they'd make up funny little names for the towns and stuff. She asked what happened and Bill's wife took her, took her own life. And so he's left with the not only the sorrow of her being gone, but he doesn't really know why, because she didn't leave a note, and so they have this moment as two people who are trying to live life without the person they love and they hug. And, of course, because life is lifing, diana comes downstairs and she sees this hug and she gets immediately upset. Karen doesn't know that. She saw this, though.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so let's go back to the part Lily darn May. Lily May is. I see why Gary gets such a kick out of her, because I do too. This woman, this actress, is killing it. You could not convince me that she and Valene I know it's Joan Van Ark and I forget the woman's name. I think it's Julie, something or another. You couldn't convince me. This isn't a real mother and daughter from south of the Mason Dixon line, that the accents are on point. The nosy old lady is on point. Oh my God, now y'all. Lily may has been walking around with this real cute sort of short bob all this time, but on tonight I don't know if she went and got a perm, if she stole some perm rods and did like a wet set with some setting lotion or something.

Speaker 1:

Lily may shows up to the party in jerry curl. Realness, baby, she's got a tight little Angela fro. If nothing else, she's gonna keep a down home uh southern outfit on. So she is mixing and mingling and she sees Kenny. Now she knows that Kenny is a big, important man in the music industry. So she starts talking. To listen, kenny, I know you're so important and I have created something called a cassette tape with some new songs that I've written. I'd love for you to hear them and maybe you can talk to some of your big, important friends about me.

Speaker 1:

Lily Mae had a whole ass plan this entire time and I respect it. So, in addition to her inviting Bill, much to the chagrin of her very gentle daughter Valene, she had a plan for tonight. She was going to be the musical entertainment. Now I could tell you about Lilium A's song, but in the South there's something else they say I can show you better than I can tell you. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I'd like to present to you, fresh off a bid in Los Angeles County Jail. Being a sticky finger princess, I present to you the original Loretta Lynn. Miss Lily Mae.

Speaker 2:

Was the clouds lifting high in the pine country On a warm summer's day, with the sun peeking through In a sky that was a patchwork, but mostly was blue and the handsomest man I ever did see.

Speaker 1:

It is worth noting that all during this entire rendition of this song, everybody is looking to and fro. Gary is fighting for his life, trying not to laugh out loud, and sweet little Valene is begging the lord above to evaporate her. Send a volcano, aliens, tsunamis, tornadoes whatever you got, please, acid rain.

Speaker 2:

Just please make this stop, it doesn't stop tomorrow at two, and the last thing I'll see is that sky that's so blue, and the last thing I'll see is that sky that's so blue sing it.

Speaker 1:

Lily Mae. Oh my god, valine wants to die. She would rather be anywhere else doing anything else. She can't stand. Lily may, for real, for real. But everybody politely claps and I thought I gotta see more of this. I pray that for the rest of this season lily Mae figures out new ways to slip herself in front of an audience and starts singing. I just love that. Whenever you see her she has an arm full of something. She's either got tea, she's got a quilt or she's got that weird little I don't know what the instrument's called the little lap guitar. So Kenny missed this rendition because he ends up going home to check on baby two names and by the end of the night, once the party disperses, lily Mae realizes oh, wait a minute that Jenna looking boy wasn't here listening to my music. So she goes over to drop off her mixtape in the middle of the night and Kenny and Ginger are arguing because the baby won't shut up and go to sleep. As soon as they open the door, lily may starts her little mixtape spiel. When she hears the baby, she goes. Well, I can help with that.

Speaker 1:

This woman waltzes all through kenny and ginger's home, go straight to baby two names his nursery, which, by the way, is not a fever dream, it is very underrated. I enjoy it starts moving financial around. She's opening the window, she's looking at the moon. She's about to do some appalachian holler hoodoo on this child. Now kenny and ginger are so tired at this point they really don't care, so they're just kind of watching her, still sniggling. You know they're sniggling too because ginger went and told him how whack lily may tilts the crib this way. That way opens the window and she says all right, the head's got to be towards the moon, feet towards the northern star. Do you know that this baby shuts up and goes to sleep? She really did do some backwater appalachian no shade to the Appalachians listening but she did some backwoods, hoodoo, and it worked on the baby.

Speaker 1:

Go figure, it's crazy, though A lot of that stuff sometimes works. Some people put like an egg over the door of the baby's teething. I don't know. There's a lot of old traditions that maybe they work, maybe they don't, but in this case it worked. Everybody's happy, happy, well, almost everybody's happy.

Speaker 1:

Bill walks karen home and, long story short, he he basically says he wants to date her. She says she's not ready. So bill is porter's heart out. But he is not a fool. He can see that karen doesn't really want him. He leans in for a kiss but he can tell it's just not the right time. So he backs up and he's like Karen, I don't want to. I don't want you to be in a position to where you do something because you feel sorry for me, because my wife ended her own life. It's as if he's reading her mind, but he doesn't quite get it. For him it's been a year, for her it's only been four months, and that's where she's at. I almost called him Gary. Oh gee, gary, bill the builder, it's not you with me, it's just not the right time.

Speaker 1:

And something clicked for me as I'm watching this scene, because I had a lot in my head about this man and it was a little bit conflicting, because on the one hand he is very magnetic, without being over, he's got a charm. But I would say his charm is that you are so curious about him. He is very gentle in the way that he moves. He's very gentle in the way that he talks, but he's also sort of going for what he wants. This scene ends with Karen basically saying hey, you got to come back and check Val's roof at some point, right? He says yeah, I got to come back and check it after the spring rains. She says well, when you do, I want you to stop by and tell me all about it, because, I don't know, spring rains make me awfully chatty. And she says I'm all ears. So they walk away from each other with the understanding that these wounds they're carrying are very fresh. They're not going to solve them in each other, but the friendship might be worth pursuing. She just needs a little bit of time.

Speaker 1:

It's at this point of the show that I really really start to contemplate my feelings for Gary Ewing as a character, with David Aykroyd being the original actor. I couldn't shake it. I was like I have to go back, I have to watch original Dallas, because I think when I watched it originally I liked him at first and then I didn't like him because of what he did to Lucy. That's all I could see is like, wow, you're really willing to leave Lucy Naval in that episode definitely stood up for Lucy and of course we know that she comes back and the rest is history. But I couldn't shake it so I went back on Amazon. I'm looking for the show. All I see is season 2, episode 16. So in my mind I'm like, okay, they have decided that Dallas season one is episodes 1 through 15. 16 on is season 2. But something told me no, no, that's not right, keep digging. I did and I realized I just didn't toggle back far enough because I'd already watched all those. It's on there. It's just for the record. Dallas starts starts at season two. Episode one is the original airing. So episodes one through five are the original Dallas. Six through 20, whatever on I suppose, are season two. Quote unquote. It's very confusing, but I was able to go back and I watched episode six, where these are six or seven. It's called the Reunion.

Speaker 1:

It's a two parter where Bobby sees Gary and we, the audience, meet him for the first time and again he has this ease, this sort of charm about him. But there is something, you just feel it. There's something he's sitting on. The biggest difference I noticed is that he had this confidence because Gary had left South Fork because he couldn't take his family. He then goes on the road all this time just taking these odd jobs, but he ends up kicking the habit of drinking and kicking the habit of gambling by putting himself in the middle of it, by facing his demons, by putting it right within arm's reach, by watching other people struggle with it, and he overcomes it. So there is sort of this confidence and this power that is radiating from him on Dallas. And you see that, right up until the time where he's in the Ewing study, pam comes in to say goodnight, ellie brings in milk and cookies, lucy comes in A little milk spills all over the paperwork. He gets flustered. But you know, new eyes, new time, perspective A lot of things have changed for me watching this show.

Speaker 1:

I'm really watching it, and I can see that he is. He's battling. He doesn't want to freak out, he doesn't want to lose his cool, but he goes from zero to 60, freaks out over the milk. He storms off into the Pre-game room where they all meet before dinner. He pours a drink. Val comes in behind him. She doesn't watch the whole thing. She's afraid he's going to get drunk. He holds the drink, he stares at it. The next day he decides to leave. She confesses to him as he's leaving that she's never loved anybody like she's loved him. He didn't really respond to that. He just says wow, I was only here three days and almost got drunk again. I have to leave because basically it's undoing the work I've already done for myself. He has success. Maybe it wasn't in business, maybe it wasn't in maintaining healthy relationships, but he had success over kicking the demons that he'd been carrying all while he was on the ramp.

Speaker 1:

Originally I was so frustrated that he would leave Lucy again. I felt like that was so hurtful, even though JR had a hand in it. It was just I was like, wow, what a coward. So when he finally comes back on season two, I guess, or early season three, and he's throwing a fit in Val's apartment, I was instantly pissed off. It didn't matter that it was a new actor. Ted Shackelford had taken over the role as Gary. I was just frustrated with the attitude. So in my mind I think I had turned the way Ackroyd had walked off the ranch into the way Shackelford sort of pouted in Valene's apartment. Either way I was holding a lot of resentment for the way that he had left again like you left your wife and kids or ex-wife and kid again over something so trivial, totally had forgotten that he had really come a long way in his battle and in his journey to become a healthy person that he could tolerate, totally forgot about that.

Speaker 1:

Another thing too going back and watching it today I realized that they were already setting up for Kott's Landing. That's one of the things I love about walking into something blind like this, especially TV. I didn't pick up on that. There were a lot of little nuances. There's a lot of little seeds they're planting about future stories. That didn't catch on to, didn't click in my mind. It was just I was reacting in real time.

Speaker 1:

So now flash forward to Gary Ewing, season three, totally recast, having the original guy on the show. There's a lot. Oh, how do I say this? The essence of Gary is not lost. I do feel like Ackroyd brought a little bit, not more per se, but his sort of cool demeanor, his charm, his ability to sort of draw you in.

Speaker 1:

You suspect he's brooding under the surface, but he doesn't really let you see it. It's like he has these moments where he's God. I can't quite put my finger on it. You know Fredo from Godfather. What's that actor's name? John Cazale, something like that? He had that thing too. Hopefully I'm not spoiling the Godfather for y'all. I'll keep it vague. But there are several moments in Godfather 2 before a couple of things happen that you can see on Fredo's face. He wants to be present, he wants to be important and you can see in his eyes that he believes it until his brothers show up. And then suddenly you see him sort of battling to keep that confidence and you can see it sort of waning from time to time. You see that with Ackroyd, right. You can see that on this episode with Karen. Yes, he's not Gary, but you feel that in his acting and I noticed it when I went back and watched Dallas you could see it there too. So he brings that sort of subtlety brooding underneath the surface.

Speaker 1:

I would argue that Ted Shackelford does the exact same thing, except his brooding is a little more amplified. So it was as if he and Aykroyd got together when Shackelford took over the role of Gary and decided, okay, this is a guy who's been hurt, this is a guy who has something to prove. But the major difference that I see is that in Aykroyd's character at the beginning he was confident walking into this life because he was confident enough to go back to the ranch, because he thought he kicked his demons, he found a way to survive, he found a way to be okay, he didn't have to be a Ewing. But after he left the ranch it's as if Shackleford picked it up a Ewing, but after he left the ranch it's as if Shackleford picked it up. And now all that confidence that Ackroyd's Gary had is gone because he knows what it means to be in Dallas. That's kind of what I'm picking up on Ted.

Speaker 1:

Shackleford's Gary is he's a lot more pissed off. He's a lot, he's got a lot more to prove. So when you move that Gary to California, then you get to see okay, that's why he's going so hard as a salesman, that's why he's pouring everything he has into it, because he has to rebuild himself. And yes, he's looking at Val. Well, no, I'm not going to take up for him there because I still feel like he's me in an ass. I feel like the second Gary is a little bit more of a brat, but he knows that Val has seen everything. He knows that Val knows what he's fighting because she's seen both. Well, she's seen both versions of him, but she's only seen a very small portion of successful Gary. And so as he's in California trying to rebuild himself, it makes a little bit more sense to me, and I do like that.

Speaker 1:

Ted Shackelford brings a little bit more of an explosive personality. Aykroyd, you had to, like I said he went from zero to 60. And I do like that Ted Shackelford brings a little bit more of an explosive personality. Aykroyd, you had to, like I said he went from zero to 60. I think that was the most shocking part, because he didn't really reveal that he was ever angry. No one's saying that, they just said he was a drunk and a coward. So we're only assuming that he was a drunk and a coward as a kid, because when, by the time, aykroyd's Gary shows up, he doesn't appear to be that because he's been clear and clean for so long. He hadn't even been tempted. But when you get Shackleford's feeling all that work slipping away. It makes his bender all the more.

Speaker 1:

Enjoying. Man. Did I ever tell you I love this show? I love both shows and I love the way that they meld together. I'm so glad I went back and watched that. Val even says at some point on Dallas Gary, jr is setting you up. I'm telling you, just go away, go to California. We'll meet up another time. In my mind at the time I thought that was just the furthest place away. Go to California.

Speaker 1:

If you've been listening for a while, you remember I did not take it well when I realized that Gary and Val were the spinoff characters for Knots Landing. I really thought it was going to be Lucy or Kristen. To me that made the most sense. I didn't think it'd be him, but I'm glad it is. I'm glad to see the growth and I just have to say his brooding gets on my nerves. It still does, but I also get it. I get it now. I forgot that he is rebuilding all of his confidence and now he's got to face the other parts of his life that he ran away from. Very cool. He's still not as talkative. I'll say that the shackle for Gary is pretty, pretty quiet. Most of the time he didn't really say a lot. I guess he's too busy working out or whatever. But either way, I think a very thin layer, like on an onion, of my heart has thawed towards gary, and I enjoy both characters. What a a time. All right, y'all.

Speaker 1:

This is a little longer than I had expected. I would highly recommend, if you are semi-new to this or if you hadn't seen the parts of Dallas that pertain to Knott's Landing, go back and watch. It's on Amazon. Everything says season two, but watch episodes. I think it's six and seven or seven and eight. It's called the Reunion. You get your intro to Gary, oh, so good.

Speaker 1:

Oh, also, I discovered something else while watching this episode. Gary Ewing, when he left Dallas, when he literally walked down the driveway, he also stole JR's shirt literally walked down the driveway, he also stole JR's shirt. I have proof. I have proof. Finally, so there is a safari jacket in short sleeve. It is khaki.

Speaker 1:

I believe JR wore it when they all got in that fight the first time he got shot in Louisiana. They all got in that fight at the bar and J and JR was sitting there drinking his beer. I think he had it on then. He's worn it several times, but I noticed Gary had it on a few episodes on Knotts Landing. So I'm thinking he was being a petty little brother. And he's like I can't beat JR up, I can't out business savvy him, but I can steal his clothes. He definitely stole his jacket. So the fan fiction that I'm writing is Gary was so pissed he didn't take the drink. He went in JR's room, stole a couple of clothes probably boots and a belt and he took it all to California when they eventually moved there because he wears it sometimes and JR came into the room, he's like Sue Ellen, are you using my safari jacket? It's gone. Somebody went and ordered him a new one. That's a fan fiction.

Speaker 1:

I also left out a good chunk of Diana's story, but we will pick it up next time because I had a little bit of a problem with it. All right, guys, that's it. That's all for this episode. Join me next time as we jump into another fun-filled edition of Soap Lord. We're going to watch a little bit more knots landing in the meantime. In between time, if you can't get sleep right, I need you to crack your window open, turn your head towards the moon, your feet towards the north star, and it'll be gucci and golden for you for the next eight hours. Stay hydrated, stay moisturized, mind your own business and keep all your drama on tv. Take it away, lily Mae.

Speaker 2:

The loneliest thing I ever will see is the gallows a-standing in the pine country. They are taking me out there tomorrow at two, and the last thing I'll see is that sky that's so blue. I'll see is that sky that's so blue, and the last thing I'll see is that sky that's so blue.