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S3 EP20 Knots Landing: Acts of Love- The " Tipping Point of No Return" Episode

• Jett Shae • Episode 308

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What happens when the pressure building beneath a seemingly calm surface finally erupts? In this episode, we dive deep into Knott's Landing Season 3, Episode 20 "Acts of Love" - an exploration of emotional breaking points and the decisions that change lives forever. The episode pulls us in multiple directions as we witness characters pushed to their limits. Richard's recovery in a psychiatric facility forces Laura to establish firm boundaries despite pressure from well-meaning friends. Meanwhile, Gary's obsession with his methanol business creates the perfect storm for disaster in his marriage to Valene. I share a personal story about witnessing an epic meltdown at Whataburger - when a fry cook named Ray reached his breaking point after 13 hours of staring into bubbling grease. His dramatic counter-leaping exit serves as the perfect metaphor for what happens when we ride the razor's edge too long. The heart of this episode explores a painful truth: sometimes people we love hold us emotionally hostage. Whether it's Richard's manipulation of Laura or Gary's neglect of Valene, we witness characters struggling to break free from these invisible chains. As Valene embarks on an impromptu road trip and meets Willie, a former boxer turned restaurant owner, she gains perspective on Gary's business ambitions - only to return home to a husband who's crossed an unforgivable line. What's your breaking point? When do you recognize it's time to step away before flinging hot grease everywhere? Join me for this analysis of one of primetime soap opera's most pivotal episodes as we examine the art of emotional emancipation and the consequences of riding the edge too long.

Speaker 1:

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome or welcome back to Self Lore, the official gathering place for newbies, novices and OG diehard fans of the golden age of primetime. I'm your host, jed, viewing and reviewing the silkiest, sudsiest primetime storylines of 1982. So, whether you're new to this or true to this, sit back and enjoy. Tell the kids it's time to play outside or, out of sight, tell babe no questions, suggestions or concerns for the next 25 to 35 minutes. Everyone else in earshot. You can be cool, you can be quiet, or you will be put out Because we are watching our stories. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, this is Soap Lore. Hello, gorgeous Welcome or welcome back to another fun filled edition of Soap Lore. Welcome or welcome back to another fun filled edition of Soap Lure. Friend, soap fiend, newbies alike. I hope you're having a stellar day, not just good over the top, wonderful.

Speaker 1:

Anyway, I was ripping and running all morning long. I'm back home, got my silk robe on, ready to kick back, relax and just chill. I like keeping a steady pace, but I've always been a homebody. I love being home. Even as a little kid it was my happy place. I enjoy this, don't get me wrong. I like to go out and have a good time from time to time.

Speaker 1:

I remember in my twenties at some point I decided that I was doing this whole young, single, fun, flirty thing completely wrong, did not feel like I was living up to my single potential. So I said to myself what's the use of being young and vibrant and having a big girl job with a real check and insurance if I couldn't go out and be irresponsible and party like a co-ed from time to time, heavy on the insurance lest I twist an ankle or something from dancing on the table. You know I would never, literally would never. But I felt like I was doing it all wrong. So I convinced my friends that we needed to seize the day, not just the day, we needed to seize the decade. You're only going to be in your twenties once. We need to live it up, we need to have a good time. Let's run it up. Let's go out every night for one week, seven days in a row. Bam, bam, bam, bam bam. My friends agree. They're like yeah, you know, you're right, let's do this.

Speaker 1:

So we decided that we were going to go ahead and do this. We started out strong and we started on a Tuesday because it seemed like the most not go outable day of the week. It would have been too easy to start on a Monday Plus. That felt a little corny. We didn't want it to sort of correlate with the work week. Tuesday seemed like a safe bet because it wasn't the middle of the week and obviously the weekend you were going to go out anyway.

Speaker 1:

On Tuesday we go out to a country bar, we line dance, have a good old time, clink bottles of Coors Light, have a good time. On Wednesday we found a Tejano bar Exemplary time. We cumbia'd, we pop locked and did all sorts of things because they were playing hip hop and Tejano Wonderful, wonderful time. Thursday was Thirsty Thursday at the Amateur Ballpark Fine time all around. We met some people, we did a little tailgating Wonderful time.

Speaker 1:

So Friday rolls around and we decide that out quote unquote doesn't necessarily mean outside so we decided to have a good old fashioned kickback in my apartment Cheap food, a couple people we met throughout the week, cheap booze, just a really good time. Playing board games, just laughing, having a wonderful time in the house, good old-fashioned kickback. So when Saturday rolled around, we decided that was going to be more of a half-day event. We went shopping, we went and got our nails done. It was still somewhat reasonable at the time. We bought a few snacks. We got ready together, did a little pre-gaming, decided who the designated drivers were for the evening we always had to because safety first and then we went out on the town and partied like rock stars at the club. That night was a blast. It was everything you'd want in your 20s. So much fun, maybe we had a time.

Speaker 1:

Now, as is tradition in the sacred rites of Texas nightlife, once a club door swings shut and your body's gone from base thumping sweat slick celebration mode to a slow motion sway of exhaustion, you're faced with two choices. Do you go sit up in someone's apartment and chug one last drink? Do you keep the night going, or do you surrender to the beautiful healing powers of something fried and salty and served under fluorescent lights with rude waitstaff, if you can help it? That night we chose the latter. That night we chose Whataburger. So Whataburger at 2 30 am is sort of hit or miss. Not necessarily because there's a bunch of unsavory people inside, I mean, sometimes there is, but after the club's empty it's just packed. Whataburger is one of the only restaurants I've ever seen at night where from 11 pm to up to probably three in the morning, it's packed Lines around the building. So it's always a bit of a crapshoot.

Speaker 1:

When my friends and I arrived, the thing that stood out to me the most was how nothing stood out. It was so calm. It was full but it wasn't frantic, and the atmosphere was. It was chill. It was full but it wasn't frantic, and the atmosphere was. It was chill. It was packed with people fresh from the club. You might expect you know more jovial crowd or the very least, a rowdy crowd, but that was not the case. Everybody was chilling. It was cool, it was. It was sort of quiet.

Speaker 1:

Despite it being my idea of going out seven days in a row, it's never been my thing to be out at two in the morning. Two in the morning to me means I need to keep my head on a swivel, even if I'm in the car by myself. I don't do it anymore, but just never been a keen of being out super, super late like that. But you know, there was something about the lobby of Whataburger that just made me feel I felt fine, I felt safe. I sort of let my guard down, let my mind drift. My head was not on a swivel.

Speaker 1:

I was waiting in line, probably about the third person back, when suddenly this voice comes booming from the back of the kitchen I hate, effing fries, I hate effing fries. What this dude is screaming at the top of his lungs. I hate these mother fries, freaking the hell out. Oh my God. The guy at the fryer snatches the basket you know it's got the long handle and you dip it in the deep vat of grease. He picks it up and he flings it just kind of over his head across the counter. He throws it towards the front, where the counter is His coworkers are there, everybody's kind of ducking and dodging out of the way. Throws it towards the hungry, half drunk crowd, piping hot grease and fry droplets splashing all over the place. Then this fool begins tossing these cartons of fries haphazardly over his shoulder, one by one like one. It was kind of beautiful, actually. Just picture a McDonald's cart of fries.

Speaker 1:

But his Whataburger. He grabs one, flings it, left hand flings it. Right hand flings it, left hand flings it. He is wiling, he is flipping out. He starts to throw off his apron and by this point the manager is running. Ray Ray, chill, chill, chill, calm down. Ray, chill, chill. His co-workers are scrambling, dodging French fries and sauce and whatever the hell else. He's knocking over All while he is stomping his way over to the counter.

Speaker 1:

Now, by this point the crowd starts to dissipate. They start to. The crowd starts to part because nobody knows what he's going to do. He jumps up, leaps on the counter, still shouting expletives kind of bull of this. Been here for 13 hours I could be with my girl Flipping out. So the crowd has completely parted. As good brother Ray stomps out, he jumps off the counter and he stomps out. Needless to say, the atmosphere changed. People were concerned, people were sobering up at a rapid rate. It was an incredible sight to see.

Speaker 1:

But as I watched this man leap over the counter, still shouting about what BS it was 13-hour hate fries it got me to thinking two things in particular. Number one how long had our good brother French Fry been staring into that golden brown, bubbly vat of grease, watching frozen fries turn to golden fries? Frozen fries turn to golden fries. Frozen golden scoop, stack, repeat. Frozen golden scoop, stack, repeat. Was it hour four that did him in? Was it hour eight where he started to allow the invasive thought he'd been thinking turn into fantasies. By hour nine did it start to feel like the walls were closing in on him. By hour 12, he was two frozen 10-pound bags of Idaho's finest potatoes away from one of the most epic meltdowns anyone who's ever done a bright orange Whataburger visor and black slippers and shoes has ever had. By hour 13, it was inevitable.

Speaker 1:

Now we may never know exactly why or which French fry broke the cashier's back, but I know for sure that it was many, many, many years before Ray the French fry guy could smell oil without his eyes switched, and I just know that for a fact. I don't have proof, but I know it. The second thing that was on my mind was how in the hell did he manage to move so fast on a slick floor saturated in French fry grease so fast on a slick floor saturated in French fry grease? Ray showed out. Ray made a complete and total mess. He stomped on grease, a slick floor, slick French fries, frozen fries and whatever else. Sauce he knocked down and I mean he was stomping with purpose. He ran over all that greasy, slick food, hopped up on the counter, still talking crazy, jumped down on the other side and he stomped with purpose out the door. All I could think was well, a couple of things Dang, I bet my order is going to be late. And then I thought well, what kind of rubber is in those shoes? He didn't slip or slide at all. Was this the early phases of a nervous breakdown for good brother Ray? Or was it the greatest slip-resistant Skechers advertisement on planet Earth?

Speaker 1:

This episode of Knott's Landing was a lot like the French Five fiasco of the 2010s, not only because there was a pretty iconic scene in a diner, but because it explores a calm before the storm. Only, we all know there's no such thing as a calm before the storm. You see, storms just don't appear out of nowhere. There's a buildup. There's always something simmering just below the surface. What happens when you realize you're riding the razor's edge for far too long? Do you hold your breath and hope that by suffocating yourself, you can hold on just a little bit longer, or do you leap off the deep end and let the chips fall where they may? How long can you be held emotionally hostage before your emotional emancipation? So, queens, go ahead and pour yourself up something bubbly and bright as we jump into season three, episode 20 of Knott's Landing Acts of Love. If you're an OG. You already know what this episode is about. You already know OG. You already know what this episode is about. You already know what is revealed.

Speaker 1:

This is a long time coming, but before we get to them we need to talk about some of the bit players Now. I believe when last we left, richard had just held his pregnant, estranged wife hostage with an empty pistola, but a pistola nonetheless. We're seeing what the pieces of the puzzle are after this. So Richard was taken to a hospital. He was held in the hospital for a few days before he was sent over to a proper psych ward or some sort of I hate to use the word loony bin in this one. It's funny. On the other soap operas, because you don't actually see the women in it. You know what I mean. They're not there from like a violent or potentially violent act he is. I want to be more delicate, but then I have to ask myself why am I so hesitant to call him nuts? I think because what we saw was a slow decline of a man's sanity. I think because what we saw was a slow decline of a man's sanity, piece by piece, brick by brick, board by board. It's a lot less funny when it's in front of you.

Speaker 1:

So, back in the old cul-de-sac, back in the neighborhood, karen is still front and center. That's her boy, that's her friend. She's on her way to go and visit him. When she sees him she is pleasantly surprised, because the hospital or the facility that he's being held in is quite comfortable looking. He has several windows to look out of, looks like he's got a lot of space. He looks good. He looks like he's himself again. He's cracking jokes, he's keeping it nice and light. But I feel like Karen's one of the few people he can really be himself with all the time. She already knows his dark side. She already knows his light side. She's not judging him in a way where he needs to make amends with her for anything. She was just concerned with her boy.

Speaker 1:

I have to admit, though, I thought about the last episode and something just kept bugging me. It wasn't the fact that the women in the neighborhood wanted to see Richard be okay, but I feel like there was not enough concern for Laura. Yes, they were. I mean, they cared about her. I can already hear you guys, I know it. They definitely cared about her. They definitely were worried about her, but I think maybe the focus was more on Richard because they didn't want some sort of incident to happen. They knew the kid was in the house. Nobody wanted to see guns drawn and the trauma that that's going to cause, and maybe they just feel like Laura's probably strong enough to take it. But I would feel a way if I had to go through that ordeal. I'm still having to take care of my child, I'm pregnant with the other kid and I know that my friends I don't know, I don't know it just it seemed for a little bit to me like they were more concerned with Richard, but I, as I say it out loud and as I think about it, it was probably a situation where they just didn't want something worse to happen. There was a lot of empathy behind doors for Richard and to happen, there was a lot of empathy behind doors for Richard and there was, um, there was a concern for Laura, but nobody and I do mean nobody carries that, probably more than more.

Speaker 1:

So while Richard and Karen are conversating, they're having a decent time. She's seeing that he's good, a decent time. She's saying that he's good. He keeps saying well, laura has not come to see me, okay, okay, no, she hasn't. No, she hasn't. Karen tells him Laura's doing great, jason's doing great. It seems like he just wants to see her, he wants to talk, he wants to maybe let her see that he's okay. So Laura, on the other hand, is is doing well, she's doing as well as she can. She still has a child to raise. She still has a child in utero. Can't really be bothered with richard in his, his current state. So one night laura is chilling over at kenny and gingers.

Speaker 1:

Oh my god, you ever meet, you ever have a friend who gets either like super religious all of a sudden, or maybe they're on a health kick. All they can do is tell you well, you shouldn't be eating that that has gmos, has blah, blah, blah. You really should take this into consideration. Blah, blah, blah. That's all fine. That's all fine, well and good. You know it all comes from a good place. But imagine some kitchen Carla with a garden that's 14 days old, telling like a master gardener, like Martha Stewart hey, yo, martha, you don't want to use pesticides. You just, you know, that's just. That's not the old fashioned way. You got to get in there with your elbows, go, crack some eggshells or something and put it in the soil. That's how you got to do it, martha.

Speaker 1:

This is how I picture Kenny and Ginger talking to a very pregnant, very already motherly Laura about what she should and shouldn't do in her seven months of pregnancy, especially Kenny. Kenny and Ginger are sitting on the couch with Laura. Well, when are you due? Oh, I'm seven months, so, yeah, doing a couple months. Ginger's like oh my gosh, have you started Lamaze class? Laura's like nah, I ain't really trying to do all that, I'm tired, I feel fat Like I'm not really trying to do all that. Kenny chimes in.

Speaker 1:

Oh, it was a wonderful experience, especially for me as a father. When I watched my wife, who I repeatedly cheated on with the Care Bear I can't even remember her name when I watched her squeeze out my child with two names in a recliner with no bottom, I really felt like a man. I felt so at peace. It was such a beautiful, cathartic experience. We brought life into the world Ginger sitting in that bottomless chair and me in the corner sipping ginger ale watching her through pain. It was amazing. Ginger looked high and she looked like she might have a spinal tap at that second pumping her full of something. Because here she comes with the. Yes, it was one of the most magical experiences of my life. Baby, you have one baby. Laura's Lamaze class, laura's spinal tap, laura's what is it called?

Speaker 1:

Epidural is eight and a half years old and he's perfectly fine. Whatever chemicals flowed through his body, guess what? He's fine. He even managed to climb out of a house where a man was brandishing a weapon. He climbed into the arms of the SWAT team on an aluminum ladder, earned himself a badge. Don't you talk to me about painkillers.

Speaker 1:

Little girl, kenny and Jinder had the audacity to tell this twice pregnant mother. Oh yeah, girl, we know best Seven months. You need to get yourself in a Lamaze class, especially Kenny. Have several seats, sir. Thank God Karen shows up and they're like hey, you want anything? She says oh, yeah, I'll take a piece of pie. Like oh my God, I got to keep better desserts on hand in case I have guests.

Speaker 1:

Well, karen sits to talk to Laura, says Laura, when I saw Richard today, oh, that's cool. How's Richard doing? He's doing great, but he wants to see you. This is a tough ask, Friend or not? Look at this whole list, look at this from all angles.

Speaker 1:

Karen's point of view is listen, richard is. He was sick. He needs to know you care about him. He needs to know that he's kind of in limbo right now. He didn't really know what to think. Laura's point is you know what? I'm sorry you're asking a lot. I don't think I should have to do that. I can't really be worried about him right now. I need to make a clean break. Karen's like girl, why are you tripping? Just go talk to him and go see him. Laura says why? So he can hold me at gunpoint again, which extends my point a little bit.

Speaker 1:

Hearing her say that, mixed with the thoughts I was already having, gives me the clarity I need to say this. It's not that it's I'm picky. I love Richard more or I love Laura more. When your friends are like please go help him, please go do this. It's hurtful, in my opinion, because you saw what Laura had already gone through.

Speaker 1:

She did not come to the decision to divorce and leave him overnight. That was a slow and steady progression. Yes, he may be different. Yes, you don't need to hold someone's past against him. But think about this this woman was on her way out the door and what did he do in order to stop her from doing that? I understand he was sick. I understand he was going through things, but it's really unfair, as my best friend, to ask me to put myself back in a position not to say that he's going to hurt her. Maybe he will, maybe he won't, who knows? A lot of crimes of passion are out of the blue.

Speaker 1:

But she tried to leave. She did everything right. She reached out to him when she needed to. She set up times. He disrespected that time and time and time again. If she's at home, he's ignoring her. He doesn't want her to do anything. He can't celebrate her success the right way. When she leaves him, he goes ape-ish, brandishes a weapon, keeps her and a kid locked in the house. Even if the cops had never shown up she would have been locked in that house all night.

Speaker 1:

And as far as I'm concerned, you can love Richard, but it's time to love him from a distance. That's not fair to ask her to do that, but I mean she feels the need to go see him, for whatever reason. Maybe it's for closure, maybe it's just to put eyes on him. You can. Two things can be true at once. You can love someone and want the very best for them. But things can be true at once. You can love someone and want the very best for them, but also know if I reach out to save you, you're going to drown me too. You're going to take me under with you. So when she gets to the hospital he's cracking all the dad jokes.

Speaker 1:

She seemed to be pretty relieved that it's a nice institution. It does not feel sterile. There's life there, people are busy, they're living a pretty good day. It's like a spa. I hate to use that word, but it does feel more spa-ish than hospital-ish. It's not bad. I mean, it's not where he wants to be, but hey, there are worse places. They have sort of a light banter.

Speaker 1:

How's Jason? Jason's fine. What's the food like? Oh, it's kind of bland, it's kind of plain. I love the way. I don't remember the actor's name, but Richard is. It's so good. You can tell he is.

Speaker 1:

How's he coming off? He seems tired, like he might be a little bit medicated, but not in a loopy way. He seems exhausted but really really calm and you can tell he's trying to be pleasant. So he's cracking all the necessary jokes, but there's just something a little bit off. He's not quite himself and he may never be the same person again. I know, I just said.

Speaker 1:

There's no need to to mince words or I can say one thing and mean it, and another thing can also be true. Laura should not be put in a position where she needs to still keep an eye on him. She doesn't need to be tailored to him because he may or may not have another episode. That is a terrible way to live. That is riding an impossible edge. That is, there's no way to ensure that he is going to be on his best behavior and even if he is, it's still feeding into this hope that they can get back together and be that she does. She should not be put in that position. Also, I can understand that he's trying. I can understand that he doesn't want to be the person she saw the last time she saw him.

Speaker 1:

So, as the banter continues, person she saw the last time she saw him. So as the banter continues, they get so, so close. They get like a couple centimeters away from really discussing that night. But he doesn't want to talk about it. He's like, oh yeah, that was. Let's just put us behind us. It's going to be different now. Everything's going to be perfect, going forward. It's going to be so good.

Speaker 1:

It's just like the scene where Laura decided to leave him. I keep going back to that because she's so, she's not a woman of a lot of words, especially when she's with Richard. They sort of slip back into their old roles, and maybe that's why it feels a little bit funny in this scene, because he's still doing all the talking but he's not domineering, and so the air feels a little bit different with them domineering, and so the air feels a little bit different with them. She's still receiving him the same way. She's still just as calm as a cucumber, but you can just feel that something's a little bit off. I didn't think about that until now. It's because, in my opinion, he's not domineering. He's trying to be this, this cool, calm.

Speaker 1:

My mental health is perfectly fine and, listen, we should look forward to the future together. It's going to be wonderful, it's going to be good. It's a little sad. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Laura's got a decision to make. How can I co -parent with this man without picking up the responsibility of his emotional and mental health? It almost feels to me like Richard is still holding her emotionally hostage and he can do that indefinitely if she doesn't put up that permanent boundary. So I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know how all this is going to unfold, but she's got to emancipate herself. She has to free herself from this. It's hostage. It's emotional manipulation, even if he doesn't intend on being manipulated. That's enough about them. That's a bit players for the week.

Speaker 1:

Let's move on to the entree, the moment I have been waiting for. It will be really, really easy to blame it just one person. I'm not going to do that. I will admit I started this episode while I was at work. Let it play sort of in front of me as I did my thing Terrible idea. I kept stopping like what, what? I can't stand Gary. I said I can't stand Gary no less than 25 times this episode and I still feel that way. However, I refuse to let my emotions get the best of me.

Speaker 1:

We're going to look at this objectively and we got to start from the beginning. So Gary's got the methanol business going, or at least it's trying to get going. Requires a lot of attention, all while still being the vice president of Knott's Landing Motor. In all fairness, that's a lot of attention. All while still being the vice president of Knott's Landing Motor. In all fairness, that's a lot on anyone's plate, doesn't matter who it is, he's doing the best he can. The other side of that coin is that he's doing the best he can with Abby to ensure that the business is successful. After all, she's part owner. She has just as much to lose as he does if this doesn't work out. So yeah, they're going to have to partner together to work together to get this thing running off the ground.

Speaker 1:

Side side note Abby is in full destruction mode. She knows that the best way to tear down something is to do it little by little. If you want to watch something crumble, you just take a chunk here, a chunk there. Before you know it, it's going to tilt and it's going to fall one way or another. Perhaps it'll fall in her favor.

Speaker 1:

So at the top of the episode we find Valene out front picking flowers. But it's not like she's not really picking flowers, she's really in her poetry bag. This whole writing thing has really gotten to her. She's having to rewrite her second. I guess this would be her second draft of her book. So she's kind of playing with words, rolling them over, and I suppose, like the garden is helping with that.

Speaker 1:

You know, sometimes you do a mundane thing. You ever just like go, take a drive and suddenly an answer to a question. You come see or watch this, you know something mundane, something sort of tactile. Next thing you know you got it. So this is happening. She's having a moment. Boom, oh, I know what I'm going to say. There, karen comes by to tell her that she's going to see richard. Val announces to karen and to the audience that this is the first night she and gary have had alone in a long time. She's going to do something romantic. She's going to pull out all the stops. It's going to be candles, it's going to be sexy music. She is so pumped to get to spend a little time with him. So let's flip it over to Valene.

Speaker 1:

Valene has just written this book accidentally, but guess what Turns out? She's pretty talented. She's in the second draft of the book Now. I don't know if he knows that right now. I don't know if he still thinks the book's not coming out. He may not know this yet. I just thought about that. He may not be aware of that, but nonetheless, val has a very difficult task in front of her A book where she goes into great detail. Even if it's a little more fantastical than the reality, there's still a whole lot of truth in what she wrote. She has to move just so and deliver this news to Gary in a way that isn't going to send him over the edge. Perhaps dinner and all this soft music, soft lighting in her mind is going to help ease the the blow.

Speaker 1:

Well well, you know, right about this time Gary comes driving up and Val's pumped oh my god, he's home early. Karen's like all right, bye, girl. Now Gary jumps out hey Val, hey Karen. Karen's oh, I gotta go. I'm gonna go see Richard. Tell him how's he doing. We'll find out. Blah, blah, blah.

Speaker 1:

Val's thinking oh my gosh, you're home early. Should have been a red flag, it wasn't for her. He tells her honey, I'm so sorry. I know you probably have something planned, but uh, max from Bayshore Trucks, he hadn't signed all the truck contracts. But I think we can get him on the hook tonight. I have to have dinner with him. I have to go like right now, we have to go early. She's like are you serious, dude? Again, that means no romantic dinner. That means no canoodling. That means no dancing in the dark afterwards. That means he's gonna spend the evening with abby. I will go ahead and defend abby a little bit.

Speaker 1:

This seems to be a legit meeting this time, but it doesn't matter. Val's tired of being put on the back burner, gary's tired of having to feel guilty about putting her on the back burner. So of course, they have a little couple spat. I do think he's being a little bit immature about this. He's like what am I supposed to be like? Oh, max, I'm sorry I can't have a conversation with you about a potentially thousands and thousands of dollars worth of gas you're going to buy for me because my wife is uncomfortable by it. You would think she was asking him to skin half of his arm off or something. Is it so weird that maybe your wife would want to have dinner with you? Is that so strange? She's like all I'm saying is you give me a heads up, give me something. This is a bit much, gary. Okay, I'll be a little bit more lenient to him. I can understand.

Speaker 1:

It's going to, like I said, it's going to take a lot of time, a lot of energy to do this. He doesn't really have the backing, like. This is just his money. I got to make this happen, I got to make this work and in his mind, this is going to benefit us. It's not just me, it's going to benefit us. Yes, it's my business, but we will be the ones who get to enjoy the fruits of this. So he says I wish for once you would just back me up. You don't realize how close we are to this. Me and her say at the same time no, when, when? Okay, what? Since? When does she not back you up?

Speaker 1:

Gary is here's the thing too. There's a new little swing in his hips or something. He doesn't seem to be that bothered. Quite frankly, he's going to this dinner period point blank. So, mind you, val's been out in the yard. Karen came by to say hello, gary just got home from work early. He came home way earlier than he usually does. They have this little, you know, communication spat, whatever you want to call it, they have it out in the yard. He goes in the house right after he tells you know, communication spat, whatever you want to call it, they have it out in the yard. He goes in the house right after he tells her. You know, you need to support me. Blah, blah, blah. He goes up in the house. She's still standing outside.

Speaker 1:

Next thing, you know, baby girl, comes across the street. Olivia. Olivia's like hey, girl, I'm here, brian's over at Kevin's, but I'm ready. And Val's like ready for what? I'm ready for you to babysit me, didn't Gary tell you? So that means that Gary and Abby had a full on conversation and made plans. Yes, they're going to dinner. Yes, they need to schmooze this guy. But you made plans and you told somebody else I would watch their kid. I'm not feeling that under any circumstances you could have called me from Knott's Landing Motors. He didn't. So Val goes upstairs. She's like okay, olivia, sit down here, play color, whatever you need to do.

Speaker 1:

They get into another small little spat upstairs. She's like listen, I'm going to keep it cute. I'm going to pretend like I'm not offended that you just turned me into the babysitter's club as a full grown, 30 plus year old woman. I'm gonna let that ride. But what I can understand is that every time it comes down to business or me, you pick the business and you storm out of the house.

Speaker 1:

Gary says well, don't make me choose. You were making it about you versus the business. I'm simply just doing business. He then challenges her Okay, cool, cool. Maybe I storm out, but maybe you're really pissed because I'm doing the business with Abby. That's what it is. You don't want me giving Abby this attention. This is the perfect storm.

Speaker 1:

Actually, at the top of the episode I said there's no such thing as a calm before the storm. It's not calm, it's just not surface level. There is so much pressure building up underneath this you just can't see it yet as a calm before the storm. It's not calm, it's just not surface level. There's so much pressure building up underneath this you just can't see it yet. So, boom, gary is putting his foot down. All I'm doing is business. I'm not going to make your insecurities my business. She's like okay, all you do is business. And I'm not going to ignore the insecurities. I feel, because it's at this point. 80% of your time is somewhere else. Gary really ain't trying to hear that. He walks over to the closet, pulls out two outfits and be like okay, well, which one? Like you really going to blow me off? I wish he would have been. Like you know what, gary, you're looking a little chubby. Not that there's anything wrong with having a little weight on you, but you know he think he's fine. Fine, so let's go ahead and do a little psychological warfare. Cool, I'm overreacting. You looking a little thick. Gary need to lay off the donuts or tell him he's too thin. Either way, he'll think about that the whole night. He'll be seething, but she does neither.

Speaker 1:

Val is so angry, she is so pissed off. She comes to that moment where she's like I got to do something and I got to do it. Right now she goes downstairs, she says baby girl, come get in this car. We're going to take us a little ride. Shout out to Olivia for sitting on the couch, absolutely not doing her homework. She brought over her little trapper keeper and she's definitely reading a magazine as to doing her homework, but you what? Oh well, deal with it.

Speaker 1:

I really, really enjoy the scenes with val and olivia. I forgot how good of an actress this kid is. So val and she are just in the car and you can tell that val's distracted. Olivia picks up on that. She's like is everything cool, something going on with you? And gary valine's like don't you worry, you're pretty little mind about that.

Speaker 1:

Olivia at first thought that she was mad, that Val was mad at her. Val's like no, sweetie, I'm not mad at you, it's just. You know, I'm going through some things. Where do you want to go? Olivia's like hey, I've always wanted to go to Mount Palomar. There's like this giant telescope. We can see things thousands of light years away. Valene's like you know what? That sounds amazing. That sounds like something I need to do. My mind's all over the place Looking through a telescope and seeing stars might ground me. You know what, girl? Yeah, let's do it. Olivia's like bet. So Val says okay, well, which? Do you know where it's at? No, I don't know where it's at, but you know we're having a girls trip. This suddenly became fun. They're doing their whole list we're free, we're independent women, we're Fettleman, louise, without the crash. Val says well, is it north or is it south? Is it closer to Canada or closer to Mexico? Olivia's like it's definitely closer to Mexico. Cool, we'll figure it out, god bless.

Speaker 1:

An impromptu road trip in 1982. They pick up Nary, a map. They ask for zero directions. They drive until it's dark and things start to feel uncomfortable. Right about that time Val's like oh my God, maybe this wasn't the best idea. Olivia's kind of looking around scoping out the place and she's like hey, are we lost? Val has no shame. Yeah, yeah, yeah, probably should have got a map. We are lost, but, as luck would have it, just like the Whataburger sign flashing in the darkness at 2 30 am. They look over to their left and there is a beacon of hope seems to be a little diner that they can pull up in tons of cars. So it's not creepy, they're not out in the middle of nowhere, god knows. Valine does not need another ghost episode. She and olivia pull over and they go on inside. Funny thing is, although the place is really lively, for whatever reason, when Valene walks in she immediately has an attitude.

Speaker 1:

Meanwhile, back in Knott's Landing, the Methanol Twins, as Abby has coined them, are on their way to have dinner with Max, who owns Bayside Trucking or something, or another Bay Shores Trucking or another. Max, who owns Bayside Trucking or something, or another Bayshore Trucking or another, and they're going to lock this deal down Hell or high water. There's a little light flirtation as Abby adjusts Gary's tie. He's waiting for her outside and she can tell something's a little bit off. She's like she wants to make sure his head's in the game. She goes.

Speaker 1:

Let me guess Val was upset that we're doing business again. She's just so uncomfortable. She's so jealous of me. It's weird. Couldn't be that y'all had decided that she's going to watch the kids while y'all go do whatever you need to do. But that's neither here nor there, because when they get to the restaurant, when I tell you I can't stand Gary, I can't stand Gary.

Speaker 1:

So they get to the restaurant, they're chilling right before Max arrives and Abby's making sure that Gary knows a game plan. Gary just shut up, we're going to go for this price. And he says, well, we don't have the manufacturers, we can't get all that pumped out. She says don't even worry about that right now, let's get the deal, we'll figure out the rest later. She's sipping her wine and he's looking at her all seductive, like and she's like boo or see something you like. He's like I like your confidence, anything else? Yeah, super flirty, super smoochy face, so much so that when max walks in, he immediately picks up that there's, there's a little something going on here.

Speaker 1:

Also, as luck would have it, the actor who's playing Max this episode is also Avril Dawson over on Dynasty. What are the odds? Well, I guess it's not that hard. Seems like the soap opera world is very, very small. But what are the odds that I would meet, see him make his debut on one show and then his debut on the other?

Speaker 1:

Anyways, abby is phenomenal during dinner. Max is on the fence. Now, I don't know y'all. This seems a little funny. I don't know. I did a little research and you were mortgaged up to your eyeballs. Well, abby said. Well, since you were doing so much digging, then clearly you know about Gary's family, the Ewing's. Well, this makes Max's ears perk up a little bit. He's like the Ewings. Huh, the Ewings are backing this deal. Abby plays coy. I'm not saying they are. I'm not saying they aren't. I'm not saying a single thing about it, heavily implying that they are.

Speaker 1:

Gary's sitting there all goofy, like licking his lips because he liked the way this sound. Then he starts sipping his liquor. Is it me or is it me? Doesn't Gary want to be on his own, not attached to his family name? That's not important to him. It ain't important to him. Until it's important to him, he didn't mind Abby using this as a way to a sleight of hand, if you will. Matter of fact, he likes it. Max likes it too, because he says you know what? Let's go ahead and draw up the contracts, let's get this thing popping.

Speaker 1:

Gary and Abby celebrate, hooting and hollering inside of this very classy establishment. Gary's all like I can't believe you said that. I'm not saying the Ewing's are backing. I'm not saying they're not. He thought it was wonderful. Mixed signals, mixed signals. Well, you know, it was not so much of a mixed signal a romantic walk on the beach, I suppose in an effort to celebrate their first contract, which I get. I'm going to give you all that.

Speaker 1:

Gary and Abby made their way over to the beach before you know what they're making out. Let's just go ahead and skip to the good part. It's excitement, just like the excitement when they got the rubbing alcohol to work down in Mexico. They're jumping, they're vibing. All of a sudden Abby ends up back down on the sand. Gary climbs on top of her and they kiss, they, they smooch, they make out. They must make out for a very long time because once it's all said and done, they start leaving the beach.

Speaker 1:

Gary, mind you, he's got his arm around her. He's like Abby, we can't do this. This is wrong. We can't do this. She said you know what? I'm real, real, real sick of this song and dance. Gary, don't tell me what we can and can't do.

Speaker 1:

When you were playing this ridiculous game with me every day, what do you mean? She uses the phrase razor's edge, and I like that a lot. She's like you. Like going on the razor's edge, you like taunting me, you like teasing me, you like that, I like you. I'm getting tired of playing that. Gary. You feeling froggy, you need to jump. What you're not going to do is do what we just do and then act like it's all my fault. Nothing's going to work. I'm not just some side chick, I am important.

Speaker 1:

Here's the thing that gets me, though. I have been questioning for a while after the kiss in Mexico. Of course I was pissed, but I'm like I don't know if they're still doing something and it's just not on camera, or are they not? I thought up until then they were not doing anything, but at the beach she says, she says over and over, we get ourselves into these situations, and then you pull back and start lecturing me. So does that? Does what does it mean? Does that mean they made out a lot? I don't know. I'm really confused by that. I don't really know what she meant. I had it in my head. They weren't, but it doesn't really matter what I thought then, because this is we're talking about what I know right now, which we'll talk about here in just a second.

Speaker 1:

I love that she called him out, though. I love that she called him out Like, listen, you can't keep playing these games. You're flirting, you're having your fun, you're stringing me along, you're enjoying the teasing back and forth, and then, when push comes to shove, all of a sudden you want to be super righteous and do the right thing. You don't get to have it both ways. Plus, I have feelings for you, gary. I think you have feelings for me. I'm tired of being the only person who admits it. It would be very easy to say this is her being schemey, scammy and seductive. I don't really know. Maybe she has feelings. I mean, she clearly does. She clearly has some feelings for him because she has pursued him. She's going through a lot of work to obtain this man when she really wouldn't have to. You know what I'm saying. If nothing else, she wants to. She wants to roll with him a couple times.

Speaker 1:

Meanwhile, back at the diner, like I said, valine walks in with an attitude when they walk in the bar, there's, there's this yokelish kind of guy at the bar, really animated, telling the story. He's got people captivated, big personality. You know what I mean. Well, the minute he spots val. Oh my God, let me go holler at this young lady over here. Ma'am, ma'am, welcome to my restaurant. It's a lot. He shadow boxes with Olivia. Val's not in the mood. She goes to sit down. I think she's probably just uncomfortable because this is not in the plan and they're super lost. Well, once Willie withdraws, his name is Willie, he goes by kid, but I like to call him Willie withdraws.

Speaker 1:

Here's Val, southern draw he's oh my God, we got something in common. I hear country in your voice. He doesn't say I hear Tennessee, I hear Macon, georgia, I hear Tuscaloosa. I hear country in your voice. We must have a whole lot in common, val's. Like the only thing we got in common is that you serve food and I'm hungry. So he's still friendly.

Speaker 1:

Throughout the meal she and Olivia finish, he comes back over for round two. Val's just ready to go. She's not really trying to have no extra conversation. He offers him dessert. She don't want to do that.

Speaker 1:

She's flipping through her purse and she realized in her haste, in her anger with Gary, she walked out the house without a pocket book. She has no wallet. She has no way to pay for this meal. Now she's got to eat crow because she was all slick mouth, adam. Now she's got to go up to the bar and be like hey kid, hey willay, willay, willay. Funny story. I left the house in a huff and I forgot to grab my pocketbook.

Speaker 1:

Truth is he doesn't really care about it. He's like okay, well, I mean, you know, enjoy, I hope you had a good time with the meal. But Val's a proud woman. She's very frustrated. She's like listen, I can write, you write your check. Let me just pay for the meal. He said I don't take checks. You know, I don't really know people like that, which I don't blame him, but she's getting frustrated. Well, how am I gonna pay for this? I need to do this. He's like man, would you step aside? Let me take money from my paying customers. All right about this time. A waitress comes by, she grabs a pot of coffee. Val's like hey, you may have heard of me, I am a world-class waitress. Let me go ahead and work off our meal. Well, the other waitress was like absolutely So-and-so called in, so I definitely need the help. This man goes in the back and gets her a full uniform, tells her to go call your man, tell him you're going to be late because you're working late tonight. She's like a duck in water.

Speaker 1:

Valene, on the floor at a restaurant is a sight to behold. She is spilling drinks, she's taking orders, she's solving short-term problems, she's keeping people from breaking their diets, she's flipping and moving around french fries. She is killing it, as a matter of fact, she is so impressive. The girl olivia, is standing in the corner just watching her and all like wow. I'm telling you, she's got about eight tables. She is handling it. She is rejecting handsy men. She's keeping her skirt down when they try to touch her. She's making little jokes. They got a little whip. She's got a quip right back at them. Incredible sight. And you know what? It doesn't go unnoticed. Kid aka willie withdrawals is impressed. Man, it was impressive. Doesn't matter much, though, because by by the time the shift is over, by the end of the night, a sheriff comes in and he alerts everybody in the bar hey, hey, hey. Y'all be very, very careful going home. If you're heading back up north, it's going to be a little bit of trouble. Some tanker flipped over, there's fire and debris everywhere. Can't really get home till morning. So now she's like oh, my God, I got to sleep in this restaurant.

Speaker 1:

Thankfully, willie, aka the kid, is not a pedo or a pervert in any way. He is sweet on Valene, the Vidalia Onion Queen, though, especially after she impressed him with that world-class waitressing. I think he owns some sort of like lodging, some sort of cabins surrounding the restaurant. Val insists on getting one of those rooms or one of those huts or whatever, while Olivia is sleeping on the table, like the restaurant is empty. No one is there, but she, the three of them. She's like listen, listen, I don't care about your house rules, I am going to write you a check and you're going to give me one of those cabins. He's like I'm sorry, I don't have cabins, they're all booked up for the night. I had no idea you were coming. Also, I had no idea there was going to be some hazardous vehicle spill. It's like I can't, I don't know what to tell you.

Speaker 1:

So he is a little bit feely and she's super pissed at this point. So she's like you know, I'm so sick of this happy-go-lucky, the guilt. You are a giant child and I'm sick of this and I'm sick of your giant playpen. And just because you're this overgrown school boy, you ain't done it. She got really let them have it. She flips out. She has that I hate freaking fries moment. Sick of being a you being a school boy, sick of this big giant playpen.

Speaker 1:

Now, this hurts willie's feelings because at the end of the day he's an honest man. He's like listen, listen. You can say what you want about whatever you want, but please don't make fun of my restaurant. I work real hard to earn this. Okay, now the offer's still yours. If I want to use the apartment, that's one thing, but you can't come here with a chip on your shoulder, with an attitude barking to me about my establishment. I ain't been nothing but good to you.

Speaker 1:

So then olivia starts sniffling. She seems to be sick. Val breaks down, they go to the apartment and she and willie get to properly know each other. So meanwhile, back at nonce landing, gary drives ab Abby to her house, which is directly across the street. I understand you, being a gentleman, park at her house, walk her to her door. I don't care if she lives, you know, ten feet away, it is what it is. Walk her to her door. Well, he walks her to her door and then he walks her to her couch and right about then the phone rings. Mind you, this point is dark. It rings twice, it goes to almost a voicemail. It goes through the machine. Abby presses play and is lily may.

Speaker 1:

Lily may is letting val uh, abby know that olivia is not coming home tonight. She and val got caught up in something. But they're fine, they're healthy, they're happy, nothing's wrong. They'll be home in the morning, which leads me to believe. Well, where is the other? Where's the son? Maybe he's upstairs asleep, maybe he's sleeping over at a friend's. But once oh, this makes me so mad once gary and abby hear lily may confirm that thou will not be home that night, they immediately embrace each other, go upstairs and sleep together on a cheap pair of silk sheets, slipping and okay, I gotta stop. Yeah, just like that didn't even occur to gary that, wait a minute. My mother-in-law's still home, so if I'm super late or I don't come in, she might notice he doesn't give a damn, he don't care at all.

Speaker 1:

Meanwhile, back at the restaurant, val and a very and I forgot to mention of the kid is handsome kid's quite handsome and kind, a little bit goofy, but it turns out he used to be like this golden fist boxer. He knew his career wasn't gonna be very, very long, so he opened a restaurant. He's very, very proud of it. He's like a man. You just not a man. You have to have something that's your own. This restaurant is a legacy that's going to last 30 years. I had maybe 10 years to box. I'm going to have the rest of my life to build this legacy and it's at that moment that Val's like dang, I feel you, I feel you, I understand. By the way, willie, my name is Vidalia Valvoline, the East Tennessee Onion Queen. I go by Val for short. She said all that, but she didn't have to introduce herself.

Speaker 1:

William Lee McCoy is pleased to make her acquaintance. He wants her. She doesn't seem to want him, but he's respectable enough. He's trying to flex around his you know, his little wife beater or whatever, but he's listening to her and he can tell right away that it's man trouble. So, as they're talking in front of the fire, she does tell him hey, you know, I just wrote a book first time. My novel will be coming out. He's impressed. He makes a joke about putting him in one of her books and she says well, I can't do that because I only write about what I know. I mean, hey, you want to get to know me? He tries to kiss her, but not in a creepy way, and she's like you know what I can? I'm very married, but I appreciate you. William McCoy, aka the Kid, aka Willie Withdrawals, he respects her.

Speaker 1:

Next day, as she and Olivia get to the car, out comes Willie Withdrawals with a little envelope. He's put some money in that to give to her. He's like well, here's your payment for your shift, thank you so much. And she's so I can't take this. I mean it's like well, I mean, honey, you're strong and I love that you're a good country woman. So I have no doubt that you know how to get back home. But what you can't do is push this car all the way down. You're going to need some gas money. Thank God for Willie Cause I didn't even think about that. Like duh, she doesn't. She can't use Apple pay or anything. She's going to have to pay cash somewhere.

Speaker 1:

They just sort of give each other handshake at first and then a warm embrace. But she's really grateful to him because she can understand. She sees Gary for the first time. She understands that him pouring so much into the business is not about him being, you know, trying to sleep with Abby. Again, two things can be true at once. But she understands now what it means to have a business, to have something of your own, to make sure that it's successful. It could be your joy, it could be your pride and joy. And she's like dang I have been so, so disrespectful to him. I have not let him grow. I've been on his back about spending time with me, when he's just trying to. He's just trying to have something for himself. She fully gets it, fully prepared to drive back to knots landing and make amends.

Speaker 1:

Meanwhile this fool is rolling around on chief satin's sheets with abby. So let's flash back a little bit. He stays the night, y'all. He doesn't even get up and go home. He can't even be bothered to pull up his baby blue shorts and walk the 10, the, yeah, 50 or so yards across the street to his house. Even closer than that, probably 20. But it's three, four in the morning.

Speaker 1:

Lily may can't sleep because the house is too quiet. It's like dang, where's everybody? She's walking around drinking a glass of milk. Luckily she's the neighborhood looky-loo. She looks across the street and she sees Gary's car parked outside of Abby's house and all the lights are turned off. She knows good and well, ain't no damn business meeting, trifling, trifling. So the next day Val gets home and she's none the wiser that Gary hadn't been there all night. She's calling throughout the house Gary, gary, mama.

Speaker 1:

Gary comes down the stairs and what pisses me off is he don't even look like there. There's not really any remorse. There is like a moment's hesitation where he can't tell if she knows that he's been out. There's a kind of a brief thing, but before he can say too much, she goes in. Gary, I'm so, so sorry I haven't been more supportive. I understand now and I understand that we can work out our problems and our differences. Gary, I love you, honey, I love you. I understand about the business, gary. I understand about Abby. I'm so, so sorry. I love you and that's all that matters. This fool, I love you too.

Speaker 1:

Lily Mae's in the kitchen by this point and the look on her face is like I'm hurt, I'm disgusted. God, I want to say something so bad, but I can't. Oh, it's so good. Oh, you're trifling. It was bound to happen. I knew the moment abby said if she the, the moment she decided she wanted him. It was a matter of time. It was a matter of time he went from not being able to, not even her. She wasn't even on his radar it didn't seem like, and for the longest I didn't. I'm like he's not really reciprocating any of this, but he just likes it. He like you know what it is.

Speaker 1:

Him and Stephen on Dynasty kind of remind me of each other in a way, because I think they are whatever the noun is for someone who has wanderlust. You just like to kind of move from space to space, even if it's not physically. You like to move from thing to thing. They like excitement. Now, stephen, I ain't seen that in a long time, but when he was chasing after Sammy Joe, and then he's hooking up with hookers, all these things, you're chasing something.

Speaker 1:

Gary too, with the God he seems to have a way with women who have things for cowboys. It was like if I can be a hero in any way, he can help himself. Abby doesn't have to see him as a man who's you know at any minute could relapse or something. She treats him like the boss. If he says something goes, okay, you're the boss. Doesn't argue with him. That way she steps in to make him look good. She's building his business. I mean that versus someone who knows all of your deep, dark, dirty secrets and is like, why are you not keeping your promises? I mean, I get it. I'm not justifying it, but I get it so interesting though we're going to see if I can't wait to see what's going to happen. Matter of fact, I'm gonna watch that next, I cannot wait to see what goes down.

Speaker 1:

We're closing in to the end of the season, so I don't know, I can't really remember on the at the end of the other knots landing. Was that the car accident? The end of season two? I guess it was. I'm sure they won't disappoint they have yet to disappoint me but decisions have to be made. How long do you keep up? The charade Seems like Gary and Abby decided we're going to just leap off the edge and let the chips fall where they may.

Speaker 1:

I hope Laura continues to stand her ground. She does not allow Richard to hold her hostage emotionally. I hope he gets better and eventually lets this go. I really don't think they need to get back together. I really don't.

Speaker 1:

And good old Valene, the Vidalia onion queen girl, I need to figure out this whole book situation. Does he or does he not know about her book yet? Either way, she's gonna have to make a decision. She's gonna have to woman up and be like, hey, I delivered this book, I'm going to keep enjoying it. Just like you're cultivating a business, I'm cultivating a brand and that's going to be that. Val needs to have her real.

Speaker 1:

I hate these effing fries moment. You know, after that week, after the epic blow up by good brother French fry Ray, I had a moment of realization. I actually had a moment of realization probably the Friday before that. I didn't really need to go out every single night of the week. That is not necessary to enjoy your life or enjoy your single life. I was following a template versus my own desires.

Speaker 1:

But that man snapping and flipping out and leaving he couldn't fry another french fry. It's a great way to look at your life sometimes. You got it. You got to figure out how to leave the kitchen before you sling in hot grease and french fries all over the place. You got to know when to step out. You got to know when your soul is over it. I don't know if Val ever will.

Speaker 1:

All right, guys, that's it. That's all. Thank you so much for joining me on this. I think very noteworthy, very sort of tide shifting episode of not landing. Join me next time as we jump back into even more soap opera debauchery. Remember, you can reach me in the show notes. If you're listening on a mobile device, just look for the link in the show notes.

Speaker 1:

If you're listening on a mobile device, just look for the link in the show notes that says send us a text. If you'd rather ride a leather, feed me some tidbits, I'm game. You can reach me at so floor podcast at gmailcom. That's S O A P L O R E P O D C A S T at gmailcom. Matter of fact, need you guys to do me a favor this week? What is your? I need you guys to do me a favor this week. What is your? I hate these fried moments. Are you stuck in a loop that you feel like you can't get out of? What is a thing that would make you leap over the counter? For me, it's Gary Ewing wiggling his eyebrows one more time. Stay hydrated, stay moisturized, mind your own business and keep all of your drama on TV. Bye.