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S4 EP22 Dallas: Full Circle: The "Grapes & Wrath" Episode

• Jett Shae • Episode 300

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The shocking secrets and betrayals in "Full Circle" demonstrate why Dallas remains the gold standard for primetime drama four decades later. When Sue Ellen receives the devastating news that her sister Kristin has given birth to JR's child, she reaches her breaking point, refusing to continue the charade of their marriage while pouring all her love into raising baby John Ross. JR, ever the manipulator, begins maneuvering for custody while simultaneously courting PR executive Leslie Stewart – unaware she's secretly recording his every misdeed for rival oil company Westar. His audacity reaches new heights when he threatens to "put Sue Ellen in a box" before letting her take their son, showcasing the ruthless determination that made Larry Hagman's character a television icon. Meanwhile, Cliff Barnes finally confronts his long-lost mother Rebecca about abandoning him as a child, in a heart-wrenching scene that adds surprising depth to his character. This emotional reunion occurs just as he discovers evidence linking JR to an international conspiracy involving a counter-revolution in Southeast Asia. When the oversight committee fails to act on the evidence, Cliff immediately suspects Bobby's interference, further straining the Barnes-Ewing rivalry. The episode delivers its most spectacular soap opera moment when Dusty Farlow – previously presumed dead – returns wearing leg braces but determined to walk again for Sue Ellen's love. This unexpected resurrection offers her a potential escape from JR's toxic grip, while setting up an inevitable confrontation. As if these developments weren't explosive enough, the final scenes reveal Kristin's return to Dallas, where she's already manipulating Jordan Lee into believing he's the father of her baby – collecting checks from both him and JR in a classic double-cross scheme that perfectly exemplifies the delicious deception that made Dallas appointment television. Have you watched these classic Dallas episodes? Share your favorite JR scheme or which character you were always rooting for in the comments below!

Speaker 1:

Clearly, our clothes are intact. You need to calm down Lucifer. Lucifer, okay, pet, guess what? Lucifer going back to hell, as in.

Speaker 1:

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome or welcome back to Soapyore, the official gathering place for newbies, novices and OG diehard fans of the golden age of primetime. I'm your host, jett, still viewing and reviewing the filthiest primetime storylines of 1981. So, whether you're new to this or true to this, I can enjoy how we did this time. To play outside or out of sight, tell babe, no questions, suggestions or concerns. For the next 25 to 45 minutes, everyone else in earshot. Cool, quiet or kicked out are your only options. I'm not playing with y'all this deep into this journey Cool, quiet or kicked out, because we are watching our story. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, this is Soap War. Hello, gorgeous, welcome back to another fun little edition of Soap War. I hope your day is shaping up well. I hope you are taking care of yourself, you are hydrated, moisturized, relaxed, preferably reclining. But if that's not possible, I hope you are in a position to listen to the rest of the show, because you know your girl Jet has plenty of opinions. We are down to the wire on season four of Dallas, if you can believe it, we're already on episode 22 out of a 23 full season. I don't know how you say that properly, it don't matter, you know what I'm saying. You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1:

This episode is called Full Circle, and does it come that way? I don this show. Jr is a superstar, god. I just I envy all of you who got to witness him in real time. By the time this show was on my consciousness like for real. For real, he had already gone on to glory. I don't know much about Larry Hagman other than his appearance on Bewitched, which I recognized pretty early on from sitting in the house with my grandma watching TBS. However, just the audacity of this man, go ahead and pour yourself up something bubbly and bright, if you so choose. If you so see fit, which I hope you do, go ahead and chop yourself up a little snack. I like to have sometimes when I'm watching the tiny little charcuterie board, a little bowl of food, just something that means I'm also nourishing my body while I'm nourishing my spirit watching these shows.

Speaker 1:

Let's go ahead and deep dive into season four, episode 22 of Dallas Full circle. When last we left, jr had just told Sue Ellen how absolutely devastating that's the word he used. Devastating. Her appearance was at the Miss Texas Passion that she won by the by. It was beautiful, it was wonderful, it was remarkable.

Speaker 1:

When the phone rang, she picks it up to hear either her baby sister's voice or her mother's voice I don't know who it was. It was one of the two telling her that her baby sister had just given birth to her husband's son. Immediately, a love and affection disappeared. This mother lover played in my face with my baby sister. I went to the clink. I had my Cuella DuVille outfit, disrespected in front of God and everybody in doubt. I'm sitting back in this house like everything is sweet. Meanwhile, my baby sister just gave birth to his baby, who he's been privately funding all this time. This is a warning sign she can't ignore, she can't do it.

Speaker 1:

So at the top of this episode she is in that fever dream of a nursery. I pray that they change this for season five. I can't stand this room. It makes me nauseous. But she's holding baby fist of grapes, double fist. I already know in college, circa 2001, 2000-ish, this kid was double fisting. So I can tell by the way he eats the grapes.

Speaker 1:

I said what I said allegedly, allegedly, allegedly, but she's holding baby John Ross Ewing III having a good old time, when JR probably guilt-riddenidden he might not use those words but he comes by the door and he's like Sue Ellen, he wants to talk about it like hey, we were almost somewhere. Can we discuss this? She says I am not willing to discuss my baby sister's second-rate baby front of my child. God bless America, I don't see how you come back from this, do you? I just, I know full well that this show goes on for many, many seasons. There's even a reboot.

Speaker 1:

But how do you get over the fact that your baby sister, not only laid up with your man or let's change that around your husband laid up with your baby sister, got shot by her? I'm the one keeping the secret. Now she got a whole baby. What am I supposed to do? I agree with you. Don't look at me, don't breathe on me, don't smell, don't get out of my face. I'm liable to set this whole slum bitch on fire in an instant. You pissed me off. You better hope theresa got a fire breakfast, because if I go downstairs and I'm unsatisfied, I'm lighting this up.

Speaker 1:

Now, sue ellen, sun's got a brother cousin. Yeah, brother, cousin. First, are they technically siblings? I would think they would be DNA. Oh, that pisses me off the more I think about it. You got the audacity to flaunt through here with your bootleg pants and your hat in your hand, like girl, let me relax, I can feel myself getting worked up.

Speaker 1:

I got to admit that I admire John Ross Ewing III's fortitude. He will not do a scene unless there are greats present. His mama and his auntie are talking about children and how important it is, and Sue Ellen's trying to convince herself that that's all she needs is a baby, and that's going to be Gucci and golden. But there's something dancing in the back of her mind like, damn, I'm gonna let this be this for now. I'm gonna love this baby, and then we going to be Gucci and golden. But there's something dancing in the back of her mind like, damn, I'm going to let this be this for now. I'm going to love this baby, and then we got to see where the chips fly. Can you imagine, though? Think about it.

Speaker 1:

She has built her entire life on a promise you marry a wealthy man and you're going to be set for life. Only, that's not nearly the case for her. It reminds me of that Billie Eilish song where she says I had a dream. I had everything I wanted. Not what it seems, and if I'm being honest, it might have been a nightmare. Yeah, there's a disconnect sometimes between what you hope and what you experience, and Sue Ellen is tasting that full force.

Speaker 1:

Donkey, kick in the mouth. You enter a new section of the world. You enter a new business. There's this whole catch up thing. Right, we're going to talk about our bit player, ray in this episode.

Speaker 1:

Ray is still gosh. I don't know. I have to kind of sit back in this and think Ray is not he's new to this. In the fact that he's new to the business aspect, no, let me be very specific, he's huge. He's new to the non-ranch aspect of business for the Ewing's. However, he's very savvy when it comes to the ranch part. So a lot of times what I find it, or as an adult who's been in the workforce for a while, is that you have these sort of crossover skills. A lot of things aren't as complicated as we make them, and it seems like he has a good grip on the business aspect. Let me just I want to make sure I reiterate that because I think it'd be very easy to paint him as sort of doe-eyed and incompetent, but that's not the fact. That's not true. He's been running a ranch essentially since he's been about 15 years old let's say, let's give him a little grace let's say 21, 22, he started running it. That's over a decade of work. That does translate very, very well into business. However, what we're seeing on this episode is this it's not that he doesn't understand it, it's that he it's all clicking for him, just a tick slower than the other gentlemen who've been doing this for four or five decades.

Speaker 1:

At this point, ray has to establish himself as a real businessman and I think his nerves are getting the best of him. His wife shows up, donna Culver, who is, you know, she was married to a millionaire. She got to sit at the feet of a millionaire who would bring her into business. He brought her into politics, so she got a world-class education. She essentially got 10 years of college from someone who lived the life that the books were written about. Her ex-husband was a curriculum.

Speaker 1:

I think it's all nerves, ray is. He's settling into this better than I thought. I kind of forget he's on the show, sometimes because he's so accommodating. He's doing fine, according to Jet, sometimes, because he's so accommodating he's doing fine. According to Jet, according to Ray, he needs more work. He's starting to sort of crack. You're starting to see those same sort of mental tributaries that we saw with Gary.

Speaker 1:

I guess Ewing blood runs deep. Speaking of Ewing blood, we got to think about the alternative side. All the Ewings are part Ellie, they're part well, except for Ray, of course. Ray is part his mother, part Jock. The rest of them are Jock and Ellie, and they also we keep. We. We're left to deduce, as the audience, that Ellie is the good, jock is probably not the best.

Speaker 1:

When they came together to make JR, I am reminded of the movie Meet the Parents. I think it's part two or three, where Robert De Niro, who's one of my favorite actors ever, talks about being a double dose. Basically, one of the twins is a double dose of Ben Stiller's character and one is a double dose of his daughter's character. Jr seemed to be a double dose of jock, if I'm left to believe. Time will tell how that works out.

Speaker 1:

Jr has gone and got counsel. He has found counsel because he is still dead set on marrying Miss Leslie Stewart, who is framing him all episode long by the by. He wants to marry her, but he needs a good case. So he's trying to make sure that Sue Ellen does not get the baby. Do you know that, even though he has knocked up her sister with sound mind and sound body, he has inserted himself into her sister and created a junior? Do you know? This man said he would kill her for custody of his own child, who he never sees? It is the audacity for me, that's what I be talking about. It is the audacity to know that there's no way you can spin around and be like, well, this is her fault. No, it ain't really her fault, it's your fault. But he still wants to win.

Speaker 1:

I am today years old when I have to look at JR out the side of my eye in a different way. Okay, you have a whole different mission here. I thought we was having fun, but you're telling me something else. Shout out to Shelly. Shelly, you're right, this plot is hella thick. I don't know if I actually thought about it before. I'm not know if I actually thought about it before. I'm not sure if I actually compared each plot point. I mean here and there, yes, but if this man is willing to bang Supervillain's baby sister and then be like I'll put you in a ditch before I give up my kid. Wow, I underestimated him. I thought this was all fun and games. But okay, I see you, jr. A cheater, yes. A shyster, yes. A devious business person absolutely, but a fool, absolutely not.

Speaker 1:

Jr Ewing knows what time it is. He tells his secretary who he was boning. By the way, listen, when I got somebody in my office, we don't use names. Stop shouting out, so why are you talking so loud? Now? Everybody know my business. He says this after a brief meeting with Leslie Stewart, who is still his PR person, soon to be his wife, according to him.

Speaker 1:

When Cliff's homeboy comes in I think his name's David, I can't remember his name. Y'all know the one Cliff's Homeboy. He is the sort of in-between guy between West Star Oil and this whole East Asian oil will fiasco. This all gets a little bit blurry if we're talking about Dynasty 2, but just understand, jr basically started a revolution or started some sort of tension in that part of the world and benefited from it. Blake was blindsided by Rashida Med on Dynasty. Okay, I know you're probably like Jet. What are you talking about? This is season four, episode 23. Yeah, I feel you. They didn't even bother to disguise stealing the storyline. But here we are. Dallas did it first in 1981. So you know what? Dynasty? Sit back. Well, we're gonna watch dallas and see how this plays out. Then we'll be able to know how it's gonna play out on dynasty.

Speaker 1:

Anyway, cliff's homeboy has already met with him previously. He's like hey, how badly do you want to take down JR? Ewing Cliff's like you know, that's all I want to do, homie, mind you, he's serving him a plate of donuts and coffee. He is a generous host. So his homeboy is like okay, listen, I'm going to tell you this. You about to get thanks statements, qed reports, oil well report, whatever you can think of. You are going to be able to nail this dude to the cross Thanks to Westar Oil. Just keep your mouth shut, they'll understand. One day you might have a position there. That's all I'm saying. Cliff Slater Okay, all he heard was I can nail JR to the cross. Count me in Flash forward to his overzealous secretary that he was banging, saying this man's name out loud, that I've forgotten.

Speaker 1:

Now it's a whole problem. Jr's like I'll be saying his name when he brings uh, let's call him david for the sake of this argument. I'll correct myself later. When he brings david into the office, david's like hey, hey, how's it going, jr? Jr said cut the small talk. You want a brandy or no? David don't want to drink midday because I mean, he's got things to do. Jr says, okay, now what does Cliff Barn have on me? Because remember, that was also part of the deal. There's a lot of double dipping, which is also the same storyline from Dynasty. It's just if you replace David with Tracy, it's the exact same thing. David tells him nothing at all. You have nothing to worry about. Everything is Gucci and golden, mr Ewing.

Speaker 1:

Meanwhile, cliff is back in his apartment going through all the paperwork. It seems like an open and shut case. Through all the paperwork, it seems like an open and shut case. Jr has funded one of the governments in Southeast Asia. All of a sudden there's a revolution. His do dirt dude disappears from the map. It's not completely cut and dry, but in America we have this whole situation where you can go before like I think it's a grand jury. What is that called? When you have the jury, I forget what it's called there's a jury you can be put on for like a year where they decide. I think it's a grand jury. They decide whether or not the case is worth pursuing. I feel like if this was presented in front of a grand jury, he would definitely go to trial. Flip also thinks that's the case.

Speaker 1:

He's also so confident that he goes to his little bar cart I gotta update you guys on that pretty soon and he pours himself. It looks like tequila or vodka. It's clear liquor. So he's not going to be dancing off the chandelier anytime soon. But he says goodbye JR, and I can't help but admire his beautiful Mexican glass. There's just something if you go to a Mexican restaurant, they serve you a margarita. They have a beautiful, thick, insulated glass. I did myself a favor a couple years back. It was a gift. I bought myself Mexican glass and I have not regretted it since. I implore you, if you don't want to spend the money on the entire set, get yourself a goblet. Get yourself a deep margarita glass and just enjoy it. You will notice that your ice lasts a little longer. It is just beautiful. I love everything about it.

Speaker 1:

Anyway, while he's enjoying his tequila or his vodka he's in Texas. Let's believe it's tequila, right. Pam comes knocking at the door and she's like yo, I need you. Now he feels a way because he tried to take her to lunch the day previous, but she didn't want to go to lunch with him because he wasn't all goo goo gaga over their mother, who abandoned him at age four. So Pam's like, hey, hey, bro, I can't have a baby. He's like I'm sorry, baby girl, that sucks, but I don't know what I can do about that. Why don't you go talk to your revered mother? Maybe she'll have some suggestions for you?

Speaker 1:

The scene actually pisses me off because once again, all of a sudden, pam is painting Cliff as this guy who was this egomaniac. He's only searching for his own enjoyment, his own elevation, his own promotion. I don't feel like that's been the case. I'm so glad I get to watch these in the order I have, without like a full summer in between. Pam, what are you talking about? She goes on to say, cliff, don't you care about anybody but yourself? Do you want to be alone your whole life? Baby girl, didn't you just turn him into some sort of vicious monster because he doesn't want to hang out with a woman who abandoned him? Is it me, am I the problem? I don't think so. Now I feel, okay, he's being slightly insensitive because she's obviously upset. This is your girl, this is your baby sister. Y'all been close since you can remember, in her entire life. But I think it's just that Rebecca is getting in the way of these two. She goes on to call him a coward for not wanting to have children. She admits she can't, I can't have them. You too scared to have children. She admits she can't, I can't have them. You too scared to have them. Our mama's, the only living relative we have. Not to mention what happened to Aunt Digger what's her name? Digger? Barnes' baby sister, who raised them. You see what I'm saying. This is my thing.

Speaker 1:

Shout out to Erica for pointing out that these shows were never meant to be watched the way we watch them today. Yes, the invention of the VCR might have changed that a little bit. However, when you watch this in succession, it's a little bit infuriating sometimes how, from one season to the next season, they change the entire DNA of a story. They change the entire DNA of a character. Cliff has always had one mission. He wanted to succeed, but he knew in the back of his mind that the Ewings were always interfering with that. He saw that in real time. He felt a way. It isn't that he was greedy. He was never looking for the money, never, never, anything. If anything, he just lost money. Think about Cliff's career. Cliff has lost more money in behind the ewing's than he has gained. What are we talking about here? But I suppose on a soap opera, soap tax, soap tax, soap tax.

Speaker 1:

When you introduce a new character, you have to make them fit into a story, and this season is that Cliff is this money hungry, just sort of vicious, full, fangs out, claws out type of guy who is not accepting this poor little old woman I'm sorry, baby girl, not today, not in this economy. Am I going to believe that? Are you tripping? She been married? Married'm not even going to say married married to a million cabillionaire Houston Texas oilman, meanwhile y'all struggling with a drunk daddy. I'm sorry I missed the memo on where. I missed that lesson on how to alchemize my anger into love and affection for somebody who left me destitute. Are you tripping right now, pam she tripping? Bye, pam, get out his house playing, get back to your beautiful tequila in your Mexican glass, cliff.

Speaker 1:

To my utter shock, awe and dismay, this speech hits home. He looks at his beautiful mexican glass of tequila and he says not for me, not today. He picks up the newspaper and he scribbled her name down on you, remember. He went ahead and looked it up, but he didn't quite make himself call her. He does this episode and he says mama, how about your boy? Well, she ends up coming over a few scenes later. Deep moment, beautiful moment. I just don't think they're giving him the space he needs. Now let me walk you through it. Cliff washes up and he puts on his finery. He gets a cake, he gets carnations, he gets different little snacks, little peanut platter, just you know, nothing too big. He wants to make a good impression. Even though he's angry, even though he's a child in this situation, he still wants to make the best impression that he can.

Speaker 1:

Rebecca shows up in sort of a flesh color which I'm not really great with on camera. I don't think it's a great idea for camera, but she shows up and I don't know what it is. She. I don't think it's a great idea for camera, but she shows up and I don't know what really she's expecting. I think she's expecting the same reception that she got from Pam. Cliff explains to her and to the audience that she looks a little different than he remembered. Mind you, he was only four when she left. She seems more poised. She's got a strength about her that he does not call, and so it's hard for him to kind of put these two visions together the mother that left him, the mother that he sees before him. So he sort of nervously fritters around his apartment while Rebecca looks around trying to find things that compliment him on. It is very clear that they're both Trying to find things that compliment them all. It is very clear that they're both not willing to jump in headfirst to the topic at hand, which is the abandonment from Rebecca.

Speaker 1:

Cliff is a gentleman, after all. He's in a three-piece suit. He pours her up a little coffee. They sit down. It is time to get to business. He explains his life as best he can, knowing that she knows a lot without having Google.

Speaker 1:

But you know, I bounce around a little bit. Mama Took me a little while to find what I needed to do. Then Pam tells him that she found you Can you tell me a little bit more about that? And she's like. She explains that she's been in Houston, but then she doesn't really say a lot. He has to draw it out of her, she. She admits that, yeah, since I lived there for a long time and the undertone of this whole thing is that like, okay, I grew up, you were around, you were close enough, despite Texas being this giant state, it doesn't, it doesn't matter, you can fly.

Speaker 1:

There's many ways to keep in touch with someone and he tries his best to understand that you're not this rundown woman I remember. You're this poised woman who had this extravagant life in Houston, texas, while me and my baby sister that you abandoned were left with this drunkard. Rebecca's not ready for this. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the difference between generations. This woman begins to walk out on him again and this just really pisses me off. This is, I don't know what generation she is, but she's before a boomer. Whoever raised the boomer where children don't have an opinion. Let me just tell you about yourself, and you're supposed to respect me because I'm your mother. I find that really, really unfair.

Speaker 1:

Every point that Cliff is making it incredibly valid. I understand this woman was battered, I understand that she had to get out and do what she needed to do, but you still left two kids and you're expecting all the things. This is the most heartbreaking part. Cliff kind of unleashes on her like damn, how did you walk out on us? We were your kids. How did you not think about us as you stepped out and lived this extravagant, beautiful, wonderful life A life, mind you, that she lived up until her husband died. She wasn't even willing to blow up her own spot. So I'm always looking Rebecca out of the side of my eye I don't really care what she does going on this fort, going forward. She was willing to think of herself first, long after Digger Barnes died, and she waded into her newest husband died so that she could keep that secret. She waded into her newest husband died so that she could keep that secret. So my sympathies do not exist for this woman. Quite frankly, I am team cliff all the way.

Speaker 1:

I don't care what Pam thinks in season four. Also, I've noticed something. I don't want to really say this too much because I don't want to dig into it. I am assuming that something pops off with uh, what's her name? Victoria Principal? That's Pam, because she's not in any of like the more recent press for Dallas. I don't know what happened. I hope they don't kill her off because I really like her on the show, but I noticed she's not really in the mix like that. Don't tell me. But if you can tell me without telling me, tell me. Tell me in the show notes or you can reach out to me via email. Back to cliff.

Speaker 1:

Cliff is letting her ass have it. You ran on two kids. I'm a five-year-old. Somebody told me you were dead woman. Somebody told me you were dead and then, two days ago, I find out you're not dead. Not only are you not dead, you, paris Hilton, rich. What am I supposed to think? She gets up to leave One more again. I didn't expect you to forgive me. She says, any more than I can forgive myself. Oh, but how I pray that you could try. I hate the manipulation. I am not team Rebecca JG Wentworth 877-CASH-NOW.

Speaker 1:

Do you know that this man went out and bought black licorice? Do you know how disgusting black licorice is? He bought black licorice because he knew his no good, nothing, mama. But she loved a good piece of black licorice, so he purchased it. And that's the thing that breaks him down. As she's leaving, leaving one more again, he sees the back of her peach colored dress and he says I bought you black licorice. That's the thing that makes her turn around and hug him this month. I'm not even gonna go. I am gonna go there. Why the hell do I have this podcast otherwise?

Speaker 1:

She showed up expecting him to be like oh my god, I love you. I missed you so much. I can't believe you're rude to me. I don't know what it is with the previous generation. You know what. I do know what it is. I know what it is with the whole world too. Not to jump into my whole, here's my soapbox. But when you're not accountable, when you don't have to look back at yourself, it's very easy to say things. It is what it is. So I suppose it's supposed to be a great moment. I would love to hear from the OGs if it really mattered when Cliff reunited with his mother, because, quite frankly, it didn't matter to me. Can't stand you. Jg Wentworth, 877-hag.

Speaker 1:

Now Shout out to the actress who plays Jackie Pam's assistant. She is killing it every single scene. She knows when to leave, she knows how to read a room. She bounces. Once Rebecca shows up to inform Pam that she reunited with Cliff, pam has the audacity to say well, does he know? You're rich, pam? Stop. I will not tolerate this, this cliff slander also y'all. Pam couldn't handle all the, the maintenance of curly or kinky or textured hair. Baby, she's blown that out. She is back to the straight. You know what I'm saying? She ain't doing that. Somebody else can keep up with the perm. Pam will not be doing that on today, on 1981, today.

Speaker 1:

I don't appreciate this family drama that is manufactured, but there's some that isn't. Don't forget that Cliff has been awarded. He has been blessed, if you will, with information about JR Ewing and a possible overthrowing of a government through nefarious activities. He's forced to bring it before the committee that Bobby is on. But he didn't want Bobby to be any of the wiser, so he blindsided him with this information. It's interesting their dynamic. Sometimes I forget that. That has to work out, I guess, because up until now Cliff and Bobby had never really worked in the same space. But now that Cliff is working for Bobby it does make it a little bit uncomfortable. He did his best, despite how Pam tries to paint him, he did his best to keep Bobby out of it. Well, at the end of this episode it's at least a moot point, because the committee does not see this evidence the same way that Cliff does. They feel like there's a reasonable doubt. They, as a matter of fact, they take a whole week off or whatever. He ain't convicted like we thought he was going to be convicted.

Speaker 1:

Now Cliff immediately smells a rat in the name of B-O-B-B-Y. Okay, bob, you put pressure on him. Listen, I respect that. That's your brother. I did this the way I had to, not to involve you, but it is what it is. You read the evidence, you saw it yourself. You tell me with a straight face you don't believe your brother has something to do with this coup. So you know what does Bobby do? He goes home and he talks to JR personally. He said JR, please, please, please tell me you didn't stage a coup in the Southeastern Asian Sea. Please tell me you had nothing to do with this counterrevolution. Jr tap dances around this like Sierra. He pop locks and drops it like Britney Spears. He does all the Janet Jackson moves around all of the obstacles. I didn't do anything. I don't know what Cliff is talking about, absolutely not. That wasn't me, nevermind that I've been there.

Speaker 1:

Now he knows what Cliff actually has on him, despite the information, the intel he got before from David or whatever the guy's name is. He now knows that's not true. He now knows that people are snooping. So he calls his dude Dirt Dude from Southeast Asia and he says listen, dude, you need to keep your head on a little bit more of a swivel. They're collecting all sorts of information about you over here. Do better, my guy, because if you don't do good, I don't do good. You know what I'm saying. Do better, that's that. On that, let me throw in another little, just insignificant piece of people who need to do better.

Speaker 1:

That is sweet, sweet little Lucy Lou, the North Texas Lolita, and her husband, mitch King Cooper. Actually, he's not. He's not a king, he's just I don't know what he is. He's just a regular degular dude with a wife who happens to be rich, with a face card that does not decline and it affords her certain responsibilities and rewards. She has to go to Houston on the first thing, smoking, because she is Miss Dallas. Make it, make sense. She's got a fly and she's like Mitch I know you don't feel good about this. Tell me not to go and I won't go. Well, much like on Knott's Landing, he don't want to be the sweet little husband at home who doesn't want his spouse to prosper. He's like I can't really tell you that Now, can I? What he can do is confide in his medical student home girl who is a willing ear. I guess she's in the exact same boat as he. Mind you, she's not married, but she understands the commitment he has to dedicate towards his craft. And it's not that Lucy doesn't understand, but it's just it's different. Lucy and Mitch are not doing great. Let's get to my girl, sue Ellen. That's what we really need to talk about.

Speaker 1:

Sue Ellen has resolved to just pour all of her love, affection, hope, dreams, everything she's ever thought she wanted with JR. She's going to pour that into her child, minus the you know husband-wife crap, right, and so long as grapes still grow in the world, she's gonna be cool, because if he don't have his fresh set of grapes every scene he's gonna act as T-Tobel, and I respect that. Remember the length I told y'all. Jr was willing to go to keep John Ross Ewing III within his possession, which is, which is the perfect word for this. John Ross Ewing III is a possession, as is Sue Ellen, and if either of them are unavailable, it makes him a little less him. So she's minding her business.

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She's in her Julia Roberts wolf, wolf wolf dress that she wore at the Derby. Only hers is navy, blue and white, poke it out With sleeves. She's putting on her makeup, minding her business and JR's like oh, I see you're going into town today implying that she's going to hook up with Clint. I guess you're done with being a mom. She's like, on the contrary, I'm going into Dallas because God, god forbid I not bed rot on this God forsaken ranch. Actually, my growing toddler, he needs new clothes, so I'm going to go into town and buy him an entire new wardrobe.

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It's quite disappointing, despite the circumstances, that JR is still trying to paint her as an unfit, unwilling mother. He goes on to antagonize her. Oh my gosh well, I'm sure, gosh well unsure, likely story you're going to buy playthings and clothes for our son. Wouldn't you be happier in town, like in an apartment or something, one day of motherhood? And you can't hack it. You got to be all out this house. Mind you, he's saying all this because his mama, his mama, is on a honeymoon with jock, which still sort of breaks my heart when I know the real, the real behind the scenes deal. Sue, ellen has been through many, many, many, many sessions with dr lb and she is unfaded. What you're not gonna do is run me out my money, jr. That's cute. That's Believe what you want. I'm going to go buy clothes and teens for our child, not my sister's baby. Deal with it.

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It's interesting though, as he's antagonizing her, the way the scene is shot JR is putting on his cufflinks, his tie, etc. Sue Ellen has already gathered her things for the shot. Jr is putting on his cufflinks, his tie, et cetera. Sue Ellen has already gathered her things for the day. She's leaving with her standard issue soap opera clutch and a jacket. And the look on his face is he's not a hundred percent comfortable with what he's saying.

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It's very clear that he's searching for a reason. He's trying to poke the bear. He wants a reaction. He wants something from her so that she'll pop off and he can use it against her. But she is determined. She has been through this 50, 11 times. You're not going to play me. I'm going to give my baby some clothes. I'm going to give my baby some grapes. I'm going to give my baby some new play things. If I have a rendezvous in the middle of town in an apartment, that's my business. Just like you knocked up my sister God, that is the best line ever. You knocked up my sister. I don't care what she does. From here to kingdom, come If he becomes diabetic and she forgets his insulin. You knocked up my sister period.

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The real piece de resistance is that, right after this whole encounter, the phone rings and tell me why it's Ellie on the phone. I love this scene so much because Ellie is shouting into the phone in 1981, like any other old person in 2025, screaming into the thing as if a microphone means I only hear a little bit. That's not what that means. It means we amplify your voice, but, for whatever reason, once you pass 70, you just don't really understand that. She's shouting into the phone hey, boo, how y'all doing? Oh, hey, mama, we're doing great. Well, you know, your daddy has been running me ragged. Baby, I'm two inches shorter. We ain't gone to bed any earlier than 4 am every night. Lord, have mercy. Where is Sue Ellen? I want to talk to my girl. Oh, she's going shopping. Mommy, she's shopping for John Ross Ewing III. Oh, my gosh, how I miss him. I'm so glad JR is wrestling with this because he has forgot that his mama and him love, love, love, love, sue Ellen, it's a problem. Okay, oh my gosh, I totally forgot this part. Not that it's insignificant, but it is insignificant. Bit player, bit, player, blimp pair.

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Lucy comes back from Houston, not Houston Houston. Lucy comes back from Houston, not Houston Houston, and she discovers that Mitch is sleeping on the couch while homegirl med student is sleeping in the bedroom. Despite the innocence of the situation, I'm team Lucy in this scene, even though I know Mitch didn't do nothing. Why is she sleeping in our marital bed Period? Why? Why couldn't she go home? Why couldn't you have have driven her home? Why couldn't you have called her a cab? Why couldn't she have not been in my space when I entered it? Period? Because lucy's the wife I'm team wife.

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Mitch is like calm the down. Clearly there was no fortification. Clearly we're in two different spaces. Clearly our clothes are intact. You need to calm down lucifer.

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Lucifer, okay, pet, guess what? Lucifer? Going back to hell, as in, I am going back to the godforsaken ranch because you don't appreciate me as a wife. I have microwaved your dinners, I have glanced at your textbooks, I have bought you encyclopedias. I have done my due diligence as a half-witch wife. How dare you, mitch? Mitch is Mitch slapped with Lucy telling him that she's going to return to South Fork. To South Fork, but if I recall correctly, during their marriage ceremony. I heard that the condo was a gift, so that means he ain't really got to do nothing. We're going to see on the finale how this turns out. But Mitch and Lucifer, north Texas low leader, are donezo, according to her, but she's still rich. Please believe she's going to have someone send for her things. What does she look like carrying out boxes packing Please, please.

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Hope is not for what you have in the moment. Not always Hope is what you hope for in the future, what you believe that thing will blossom into. It's a reason people buy lottery tickets. It's a reason you swipe left or right and you go on the date or you don't go on the date because you believe something is going to come up. Some of the best feelings you get in life is when you have completely forgotten about something. Think about this how many times have you lived an entire year? Next thing you know it's November. You reach in the back of your closet, you put on that coat, you reach in the pocket and there's a $20 bill. Tell me that doesn't set your whole day up Like oh my God, $20 by George Doesn't buy you a lot now, but if you play your cards right, you can get a magazine, or you can get a book and a very plain coffee in a very plain coffee, or you can buy whatever you can buy yourself lunch. It's just such. It's the greatest feeling ever, not expecting something that you've already planted the seed for.

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Enter Sue Ellen. Sue Ellen is resolved to be John Ross Ewing III. His mother is going to town to get him toys, clothing and probably a bushel of grapes. While she's minding her business, it's like she feels this weirdness over her shoulders. If you were intuitive enough, you can kind of tell when someone's staring at you. She turns around. Tell me why. There is a full limousine rolled down the window and it is nobody than our dearly departed or we thought dearly departed dusty baby.

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When I tell you, dusty has collected himself a pair of forrest gump uh apparatuses to help him run for his run, he was so moved by sue ellen's love that he said damn it, doctor Electron, do whatever you got to do, frankenstein, me, I need to be able to walk for my lady love. And that's what he does. He puts on the little, the arm apparatuses. All of a sudden he can move his legs. He said baby girl, your love has motivated me to move forward in my life. Yes, exhaust, listen, I'm going to walk 10 feet and I'm going to have to sleep 10 days, but it is what it is. That is a privilege of being good looking and wealthy. And do you know, sue Ellen says baby, I don't care if you have to crawl on your stomach like a centipede, I am married to a vampire. I will gladly and I do mean I will gladly bless you with my presence. Dusty, it's amazing.

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I'm always rooting for this woman. When I started this show, I just I mean, granted, I didn't know who she was. I really had no idea who she was. The only Sue Ellen I knew was from Don't Tell Mom, the Babysitter's Dead, but I have found myself so drawn to her. She seems to be the most complex character on this show. She's always putting up this mask.

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The dude who died in between invisible mountains that do not exist in hill country has come back from the dead. He has moved, he has run away, he has come back and he has found her. He has been her angel on her shoulders, silently watching, making sure that everything she needed was in place so that she can live a life that was conducive to her being healthy and wealthy and wise. I am rooting for them. I don't know how this is going to turn out, but I am rooting for them. We are so close to the season finale I have to believe it's going to turn out, but I am rooting for them, and we are, oh, we are so close to the season finale I have to believe it's going to pop off.

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Let's, let's just wind it back just a little bit. Jr says he will put her in a box If she tries to take his son. She says she don't really care. She worried about the baby If she ain't leaving nowhere. Homeboy, this is my money, it's my mansion, my money, my mansion, if you know, you know. Side note, I didn't tell y'all. Last little piece is that, while we were all minding our business watching the drama unfold, shout out one more time to shelly you, not wrong, baby girl? This is one heck of a storyline. Tell me who comes sauntering back into Dallas. You already know who it is Kristen. Shout out to Kristen for getting a spot on Knott's Landing and a double dip in Dallas. She put a whole two, three bullets in a man and showed up like nothing happened. Oh hey, boo, I just had a baby. Oh hey, boo, I'm back in town. Actually, she does not announce. Do you know what she does? She is wearing that same piece of.

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I've just never been a fan of peach it. It has never grown on me. I used to always hate the color orange. Just to see it into wear, I never thought it was that beautiful. As I get older, I can appreciate orange. Now peach is still growing on me. It's one of those like it's not hideous, but it's just like it screams 80s. Peach and teal together is just a deadly combination. I hate it so much anyway. Uh, kristen, kristen has dropped fresh bed me, though, but now I'm like okay, kristen, you really walking around 10 minutes after you had this baby girl. For real, that's how you do. Where's your mother? Where's your sister? Definitely ain't helping with the baby and I don't blame her. I am team Sue Ellen.

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But Kristen has flown back to Dallas. She, talking about the baby, is with friends. She ain't worried about that baby. She is a gen, she is, she is a baby boomer. She don't give a damn about that baby. That's nobody else's problem. No shady boomers who were active parents. But you know, I said what I said. She comes back in town, she checks into a hotel and, ladies and gentlemen, poor girl, let me take a sip, hold up Down to the bottom of my beverage.

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Do you know that by the end of this episode, our good sister, kristen, has invited quote, unquote the father of her child into her home, excuse me, into her hotel room? To my shock, awe and utter dismay. Actually, I was dismayed at first and then, when I thought about it, I was like you seem like a type, you seem like a mark Girl. It is Jordan Lee. Hound dog face Jordan Lee.

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Jordan Lee shows up and this man says well, what do you need, christian? Let him tell it he's been sending her a check every month. So let's, let's put this in perspective. Christian put she, put the gun, the blicky to the side, shot up jr, moved to Cali, hit up Balene and them for 10-15 minutes, moved on with her life. She was trying to find another mark while she was in the hotel, only to know that JR is supplying her needs. That's what we all fought, right.

Speaker 1:

Tell me why Jordan say he been sending her a check every month. She let him know what. Listen, okay, that's cool. That was prenatal. What about postnatal? I need to take care of your son, who looks just like you. She's getting two checks a la Tracy on Dynasty. Two men believe they are the father of her children. All she had to tell Jordan Lee was that, hey, the baby looks just like you. He literally walked into her hotel room and said that's all I need to hear. You said the baby looks just like me. He sits down and writes her a, a sizable check.

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So right before the finale, we know that bad girl kristen is back in town. Bad girl kristen has convinced jordan lee that he is her baby daddy. It leads me to the question of who else has she told that's her baby daddy? When we saw her on this landing Remember, she was the one she was looking for a dude. She was sipping champagne because nobody cares about fetal alcohol syndrome in 1979, 1980, 1981. No one cares. Drink as much as you want. What is she up to? Oh, so juicy. Just to reiterate, jock and Ellie are out of town because I mean, unfortunately, irl, jock's health isn't so great.

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Bobby is a senator who's having to thwart Cliff's effort to not frame but expose JR. Jr has staged a coup overseas, done some nefarious activities that could land him in prison, but he's also knocked up his wife's sister. He is also trying to marry Leslie Stewart, who I forgot. This episode Let me just reiterate real quick. Leslie Stewart is what we she has peeped name, as we would say back in the day has been recording jr from the get-go. She can put two and two together. She understands that he definitely there's no doubt about it has something to do with this coup in south asia and this whole counter-revolution is basically his fault, which is, I mean, it's kind of a flex, but it's also kind of devastating, depending on who's listening.

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She has partnered with Blackstar to decide, you know what we need to have a couple conversations. I think I might have something you need, you might have something I need. She's guaranteeing herself a job there. So, unbeknownst to JR, he has three ops in town. He has Cliff Barnes, he has his sister Kristen, his sister-in-law, baby mama Kristen, and he also has his new love of his life, soon to be wife. Quote unquote according to him, leslie Stewart.

Speaker 1:

What a show. All right, guys. That's it, that's all. Thank you so much for listening. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. Join me next time as we jump back into some vintage prime time debauchery. It's time to jump back into dynasty. You know they're acting up over there in the meantime. In between time, my gosh, if you're going to pay your baby mama, dna, dna 23 and me, there's a plethora of things we can utilize in 2025. Do not be a Jordan Lane cutting checks for a girl who you are way, way, way out of your league. Stay hydrated, stay moisturized, mind your own business and keep all of your traumas on TV. Thank you, bye.