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S4 EP2 Knots Landing: Daniel-The "Capri-Cornpone"Episode

• Jett Shae • Episode 325

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The moment JR’s limo door swings open in Southern California, the neighborhood heat spikes. We set out to unwind with Knots Landing and instead tumble into a crossover storm: Val’s thinly veiled novel lights up the gossip circuit, Abby smiles her way through a high-stakes bargain, and Karen refuses to let a slick technicality bury a crime. It’s the kind of hour where a manuscript becomes a weapon, charm becomes currency, and a living-room reading turns into a countdown to chaos. We walk through Val’s creative crisis as “Capricorn Crude” goes from diary-turned-novel to publishing gold, drawing the wrong eyes at the worst time. Joe steps in as editor and ballast, but the ground shifts when new owners arrive—and then shifts again when JR quietly buys into the publishing house. That move reframes everything: will this story see daylight, or will power get the last edit? Meanwhile, Abby and JR meet for a surgical lunch. She wants certainty about Gary’s inheritance; he wants Gary as far from Dallas as possible. The negotiation is sharp, subtle, and slightly dangerous, and it sets Abby on a path that looks like love, strategy, or both. While those plates spin, Karen locks onto a case that slipped through court cracks. Mac tries to slow her charge without dimming her fire, and their back-and-forth builds into a smart portrait of how you fight people who don’t play by the rules. Then the episode jolts into heart-in-throat territory: Laura’s overdue labor hits during Val’s gathering, a detour turns into a wreck, and a backseat becomes a delivery room. Richard’s bookworm prep becomes hero work, and baby Daniel’s first cry resets the emotional arc. By the end, fortunes tilt, alliances harden, and one small newborn becomes the episode’s truest plot twist—life cutting through the noise. Stream now for the full breakdown, the sharpest lines, and our take on who’s really holding the pen. If you’re into vintage prime-time soaps, power plays, and messy love, follow, share, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find the show.

SPEAKER_01:

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome and welcome back to Snowflor. We have personal gathering place for you. We acknowledge that the NOT dialogue and the golden name contact. And your host just contact storylines of the 1990s. Okay, we're back on the West Coast when we add still need to know that. So whether you're going to then start for the list goes back in the door, I don't think it's not five outside. No, I don't think that's one point of time. I don't want to talk about 200. I know the day is taken out well. I hope the hard one behind you got the thing take care. I hope you're chilling. I hope you're at your best. And I hope you're ready for a fun fold edition of Soapor. Or so I thought. The word fun is quite literally the most relative word in that whole statement. Because um I I'm not sure I made the right choice today. I I already told you last episode. I'm just gonna be vibing, I'm gonna be chilling, I'm gonna be watching all of my stories, right? I'm gonna catch up, I'm gonna get ahead, I'm gonna fully immerse myself for the next month or so in my stories. So I said to myself, I said, Jet, out of all the stories, if these people were real, if they were your actual neighbors, who would you be the most nosy with? Who would you be the most curious about? Knott's Landing, obviously, right? It was between Knott's Landing to me and Dallas today. I thought, okay, which one am I gonna do? I decided on Knott's Landing. 10 minutes into the show, I'm already stressed the hell out. This was supposed to be a fun, relaxing moment. I'm not relaxing. And I'm thinking to myself, is it because I've had a rough day? No. They're just stressing me out already. What the hell? I'm gonna try my best to get through half of this show. As a matter of fact, I'm gonna remove this microphone here. I'm gonna put it in a different room. I'm gonna watch half of the show and then I'm gonna move on. Go ahead and pour yourself up something bubbly and bright as we jump into season four, episode two of Knott's Landing. Daniel. Who the hell is Daniel? Got ourselves the first crossover episode of the season. J.R., big JR Ewing is in SoCal. He's in the back of a limo, cackling, reading, no doubt, Valen's transcript, cackling. He thinks it's the funniest thing he's ever seen in his life. He switched out the regular male driver for a hottie blonde driver. She's like, What's so funny? He's like, I'm just reading my life story. Kiki Kiki Kiki. He's there to stir up trouble. One of the first scenes we see beside that, though, speaking of trouble, is of Mac. I've decided to call him and Joe. Joe's like, Mac, what the heck were you thinking? Why did you give my sister those those transcripts from the court? Mac said, Well, I mean, it's public record. It isn't like I could very well keep that from her. Joe says, I know, but you don't really know my sister. Mind you, they're doing this whole thing in very heavy New York accents. They're they're uh they're homeboys, they're they're comrades, want you to know that they're from the same part of the country. So it's it's you know, let me be real with you, you be real with me. You giving my sister this is like lighting a match in a gasoline factory. She doesn't just want to know how the trial went, she's looking for an out. She feels like something is missing, and that's what she's combing over. Do you know, good sir officer Mac, that she hit up our neighbor no less than eight times yesterday? Mac says, Okay, and what's that got to do with me? Well, our neighbor, as Joe tells him, is a dude named Richard who is a lawyer. She's she's definitely going to pursue this, my guy. Why did you open this can of worms? He's like, Listen, I didn't really want to, but what can I tell the lady? Like I said, this is public record. Mac lets down his guard and he tells Joe, this sort of to me feels like somebody dropped the ball. Like the DA was pointing the finger at so-and-so, so-and-so is pointing the finger at DA. Meanwhile, it feels like somebody missed something. Joe agrees. He says, It looks like, based on what Karen has dug up, that this guy got off on a technicality. She's not gonna let this go. I know I said it was 10 minutes in. I'm only six minutes in. Okay, I promise I'm putting it down. So, what does happen the first 10 minutes of this episode? I'll tell you what happened. Uh, the proverbial fecal matter hits the van. J.R. Ewing is showing up in Knot's Landing, not because he's checking on his good old little baby brother and his wife. It's not because he needs some more sun. There's plenty of sun in Dallas. He's showing up because Abby last episode sent him the full transcript of Valen Ewing's book. I'm starting to believe this book is never going to happen because there's so much drama already. Now, she, being Valen, is back at home pacing back and forth. She's talking to Joe, who has become her new editor. She is freaking the F out. This diary entry that turned into a 300-page essay has now turned into a novel, has now turned into one of the most salacious topics in all of the women magazine. There's some sort of spread and some sort of lady magazine where it's very clearly Pam and Sue Ellen and Miss Ellie. It is very clearly them. Like people are starting to pick up on who this book is really about, which is great news for the editor, great news for the publisher. But Valen is like, my God, I this listen, it's fiction. Yes, the people I'm basing it on something, but I'm making up the stories about it. She clearly ain't making up stories good enough to disassociate the people she wrote about. It's just getting thicker and thicker. One of the first things we see is Laura and Richard coming back from an appointment. Guess they'd gone to the hospital because she was having Braxton Hicks, and she didn't know what that was. He was explaining that to her. Now, part of me is like, okay, why would he need to explain that to her? He explains to her in the audience, Richard, that is, that Braxton Hicks contractions feel a lot like real-term contractions, only they're super far apart, like yours were. So I already knew you weren't really in labor. And she's apologizing to him. I'm immediately disheartened by this relationship already. She works so hard to move on, to move through, to co-parent, do the things, only to now be back in his life, and she has shrunk back into that role, baby. She is back to being let me coddle coddle you, Laura. It is devastating. That don't really matter because by the time that Richard and Laura pull up to their home, they see JR's big old country limousine. Who is that? Oh, that's Gary's brother. What's his name? Laura don't remember. Richard doesn't remember. But Richard walks over and he says, Hey, you looking for Gary? JR does the polite thing. Hey, Mr. Uh Avery, Richard Avery. Gary doesn't live with Valen anymore. He's living at uh Abby's house. And JR is like, oh word? What you mean you live in at Abby's house? Right away, Richard's like, oh, I guess you brothers don't talk that often. JR is like, you know how it is. You know how Abby. But go on, go ahead and tell me. So what do you mean? He's living at Abby's house, huh? Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's been living there a couple weeks now. Valen lives at her house with her mama. They don't live together. They are basically separated. JR is like, Word? Dang, that's crazy. Appreciate you, Mr. Avery. And instead of waiting for Gary at Abby's house, JR sees an opportunity to stir the pot. And by the grace of God, he's got a really big spoon. He walks over to Val's house, knock, knock, knock, opens the door. She's already freaking out because of the book, only to open the door and to see JR. And she's like, oh my god, oh no, oh no. Now JR is playing country dumb. Nobody, and I mean nobody but Abby knows that he knows that there's a book. So when he walks in, I don't know if it's guilt or whatever, Val has no choice but to sort of spill the beans a little bit. JR is like, yeah, we I've heard all sorts of things around Dallas, but I told Mama and Sue Ellen and them, don't worry about it. Who would want to read about Little Old Us? What's the name of the book called? Porn Crude? Porn Nasty? Crudy Crude Dude. She's like, it's called Capricorn Crude. By this time, Joe jumps in. Everything's super casual, but Joe is none the wiser about who JR really is. You see, Joe being new, only knows a little bit about Gary. He's not really judging his entire family about it. He didn't know what this information he's about to spill is going to do to Valen and Gary's future. I'm certainly sure of him. So he starts explaining to JR that yes, publishing is going through a little bit of a drought. However, this story is going to be super salacious. There's this whole publishing company out of Chicago. They are amazing. JR says, well, no, not only have I heard of them in Chicago, I think they're out of Dallas too. That's crazy. Do you want me to say something to them when I go back? Jay's like, no, you don't have to do all that. But Valen is looking at the side of her eye, like, okay, if he's interested, I know I'm in trouble for real, for real. JR pretends like nothing's wrong. Valen, baby girl, you make a mean glass of tea. I'll see y'all soon, okay? Bye-bye. It's weird, but it's wonderful. And I'm also having a little bit of trouble figuring out what season JR is from because his face looks more full. He definitely looks different than the JR I'm watching in real time now. Okay, okay. What a pleasant surprise. Not gonna lie, towards the end, I started to get a little bit of deja vu. I thought to myself, am I gonna have to turn this off? Are y'all gonna pull the same little stunt you pulled season three, episode two? Luckily, that was not the case. But let's rewind a little bit and discuss the bit player. The bit player is that weirdo guy. I've already forgotten his name. He's the new shop manager or the new he's a new Gary. The weirdo guy, remember? Well, Karen is very fond of him. She's fond of the way he's running things, or at least the way he's getting acclimated, and she likes the way he decorates his office. He has all these like toy cars, model cars that he's designed and put up. It looks really good. But she's a little bit stressed because with the price of parts going up, she doesn't want that to affect the customers at all. She wants to give the same great world-class service without the super high price tag. And new weirdo guy, it's like, oh yeah, don't worry about that. I think I know a few people. We can probably get the hookup. She's like, Bet. You would think she'd be a little more cautious, considering her whole husband is in a grave in behind cheap parts. She didn't seem to it didn't seem to cross her mind, despite what else is going on during the show. So Weirdo Guy, I'm gonna call him Warren. I can't remember, it doesn't matter. I'll I'll figure it out next episode. Weirdo guy does the natural thing. He was sort of pulled to the side by the mafioso types, so he goes to the mafioso types. Now he's thinking he's doing a good thing. Hey guys, I got great news. You remember that Karen Fairgate lady? Yeah, she needs new parts. We can start running that whole scam again. You can bring in your stolen parts, I can get them sold, blah, blah, blah. They get mad, they get bucked in his face. Now, two things stand out to me on this set this scene. Well, three, it is a beautiful home, be exquisite view. You can see downtown LA. It's like 20 miles out, and it's up in the Hollywood Hills. Beautiful sparkling pool. I'm like, oh my god, it's stunning. Not the best place to die, quite frankly. And new Gary Weirdo guy has no idea that he's walking into a trap. These people don't like him like that. Number two, the two little mob guys who are up in Weirdo Gary's face. I can tell right away, they're not really in the mob like that. They're not enforcers. I've watched enough movies to know, trust me. They really got it like that. I was so distracted in this scene by beautiful scenery. Number two, the fact that these two boholes, there's nothing at all, and I do mean nothing at all intimidating, about them. And the third thing that stood out the most and that was the most distracting was one of them was dressed in the loudest bad cut salmon pants I've ever seen in my life. I was so just baby. What do you have on? He dressed the way a cartoon character looks. Not even a cartoon character. Like when you're in the first or second grade and you can't really draw like that, and all of your people are square, they look like refrigerators. He's built like a refrigerator. Not body shaming. I'm just saying, if you're square, you're square. You don't cut your body in half, or excuse me, in his case, three quarters up, with high-waisted salmon-colored pants and a horizontal striped shirt. I was so distracted. Like, what is he gonna do? Where are you going? What do you have on? There's no way in hell I would let somebody punk me in salmon-colored pants, but that's just me. Weirdo new face Gary and I are cut from a different cloth. They start threatening to push him in the swimming pool. He's like, I can't swim. I thought you guys be happy. He's like, they're like, no, no, no, no. Listen, dude, you don't know us like that. We don't know you like that. We don't sell stolen car parts. You get it? Swear on your mother. They're gonna douse this man in the pool in this crisp, clear, sparkling, beautiful Beverly Hills pool because he was going to bring them business. Can you imagine? So, what the heck do you have him in that position for? What the heck do you have him there at the shop for? It ain't really none of my business, but all I know is a weirdo dude, Wayne, or Wayne. Yeah, I think that's his name. Wayne. What did I say? Warren? Wayne Warren, something like that. He's a little shook if because they were gonna drown him. They just want to make sure he's dotting his eyes, crossing his T, and I guess keeping an eye on Karen Fairgate. JR is in town because Abby has sent him the book. Only she didn't send every piece of the book, which is very, very bright. She skipped about four or five chapters, like two, six, five, eleven, eighteen, something like that. The important ones, obviously. It doesn't seem to matter that much to JR. He seems jovial nonetheless. It's almost like he wants this damn book to come out. So one night, Gary is at home with the kids. They are preparing dinner. When I say they, I mean Olivia. Girl, tell me why Olivia is preparing dinner. Olivia is chopping up a fresh salad. Her brother's coming in there. He's got an attitude because he don't want meatloaf. He wanted steak, like he pays anybody's bills. And apparently Gary don't pay anybody's bills either because he just got fired. But Olivia knows how to handle him. She's like, okay, that's cute. Go wash your hands. We'll be eating in a minute. Before we go any further, Abby doesn't work, right? And neither does Gary. Why is this baby making dinner? I'm gonna be Judgy Wudgy was a millennial for a second, only to have the truth slap me in the face. I have helped prepare dinner many a times. Not cook, but I definitely had to set the table, you know, make a fresh salad, blah blah blah. There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with that. However, if neither one of the adults in the home are working, why is this baby preparing meals? Well, luckily, she gets the ick when her mom comes in from a hard day of shopping for new places to live. I'm very conflicted. I'm very conflicted as I watch this because although I don't like that, I don't like what's happening. I can't deny that there might be a little more chemistry between Gary and Abby than there was Gary and Valen, the Vidalia Onion Queen. Quite frankly, I think Vidalia needs to spread her wing, so this is this is all good. However, I like Abby's house better than I like Valen's. And you know what? It would kind of suck to have to move, but also they're obviously Persona non grata in the in the cul de sac. It's much too, it's just going to make things awkward. They're way too tight-knit, it's way too close. It's just going to make things awkward. They need to find a place where they can thrive. So I get it, but she's the one out shopping for the house. So I'm trying to figure out several things this episode. Val is still living in the home, but without Gary having a job, who's paying the light bills? Who's doing all these things? Doesn't matter. Abby comes into the kitchen and she's like, I'm so sorry. It's so exhausting. I've looked high and low, low and high everywhere for a place to live. I just I don't know what else to do. How's the job search? Gary says, Well, Olivia said I should be a movie star because I'm handsome and whatnot. Olivia did say that it just pisses me off. She's not wrong, but she is wrong, but she's also a child. So it doesn't really matter. But like then being him being the family man, I would I'm so conflicted. It should piss me off a little bit more than it does. I think I'm a little bit shocked. That's what it is. I'm shocked at how how easy it seems. The entire family seems to have slipped into this rhythm. Uh, this is mommy, this is daddy, this is a beautiful little family of four. He gets to play house, and I'm like, shouldn't this be a little bit jarring? Shouldn't this be a little bit uncomfortable? Even for the kids, you would think. But I have to stop and remember that they're probably way more used to him being there than the audience is aware of. Obviously, not you ogs, but as someone watching it for the first time, it does seem kind of strange. This is only maybe the fourth or fifth time I've seen him with the kids, really. But they seem to have a whole thing. They are a family, the kids are grossed out when the parents start kissing and smooching on each other. And it's like it doesn't seem natural, but it seems easy. You know what I'm saying? It seems too easy almost. I don't really know what Abby has up her sleeve, other than the fact that she does want to marry Gary. Apparently, she wants to be a Yui. I know this because right about the time that the kids get the ick and Gary and and Abby are smooch-a doochin in the kitchen. He ain't got no job, they ain't got no new house, but they're just in love, and that's all they need. Phone rings, it's JR. He's like, Can you meet me tomorrow for lunch? She pretends like it's her girlfriend. Hey girl, yeah, I can meet you for lunch tomorrow. Well, when she meets JR for lunch, he wants to know where the rest of the chapters are, and also like, why would you only send me these bits and pieces? Abby says, I need to know what's in that daggone will. Gary told me that he feels like Jock really, really liked Valen. So there's a very huge possibility that his inheritance is tied to Valen. Again, JR does not seem all that bothered by this because he already knows. So he's like, Okay, let me see what I can find out, and then you know, you give me the rest of the chapters. So she does that. Later on in the episode, she brings over the missing chapters, she presents them to him, he's pouring the champagne, and he just kind of laughs at her because he thinks she's like, Well, where is the where's the will? I don't have the will. JR, how dare you? He's like, Well, no, I mean, don't worry about it. I don't have the will, but I definitely know what's in it. Gary's about to come into a whole lot of money. So she clinks the glass and she's so happy. But JR really wants to know what's going on. Okay, girl, you you're way too smart. And I feel really bad for Gary at this point because I don't think he can handle you. What exactly is it that you want? JR is thinking she wants to be queen of the ewing. She wants to go back to Dallas and run shop. She's like, I want Gary, that's what I want. So he tells this story about Gary growing up. When he was 16 years old, he wanted this motorcycle. Let JR call it a motorcycle. And Jock told Gary he wouldn't just buy it for him, like he does everything else. You're gonna have to earn it. So Gary did. He woke up early, he stayed up late, whatever they asked him to do, whether it was shucking cow dung or working on an oil rig. He said rig, so I'm like, I didn't think there was oil on Ewing Land, but he definitely said rig. Anyway, Gary gets to the motorcycle showroom floor and promptly drives it through the glass window. Now, you and I hearing this story, the moral of the story is don't give a 16-year-old a motorcycle if he's never been on one. Maybe take it outside. But to JR's point, he's trying to say that, you know, Gary's immature. Gary will work really, really hard for something and then he'll blow it all to bits and pieces. Abby says, Ah, it takes different people different time to grow up. So what? So what he drove through a glass pane window. It is what it is. JR said, you know what? Okay, cool, cool. So let's let's let's do this then. I need you to do something for me, and I'll do something for you. She says, Well, what do you want? I want you to keep Gary out of Dallas. It's kind of a weird ask, right? Abby says, What makes you think I would want to be in Dallas? JR thinks that she wants to be queen of the Ewings, like I said earlier. Come to Dallas, run shop, basically steal his thunder, which doesn't seem like that was on anybody's radar. JR says to her, Listen, you are not Valen. Valen managed to keep that man out of Dallas. He didn't want anything to do with Dallas when he was with her. I don't want that changing up all of a sudden when he's with you. I'll give you all the money, you'll get the jewels, you're finna get all the things you need. Just keep your little narrow behind out of North Texas. She's like, done, dude. I'm in LA. Do you really think I'm gonna go to Dallas and do what exactly? So he says, okay, cool. So if I do, what do I get from you? He says, My blessing. It I don't know if anything was insinuated here, but I guess time will tell. I'm not even gonna ask the question, but just there's something sitting in the back of my mind. I hope I interpreted that the right way. Doesn't really matter. Abby knows she's about to come up on some money. So by the end of the episode, she tells Gary they're going to some party. Now, whose party? I don't know, because neither one of them have any friends. They end up going to this apartment, and it is butt naked. So there's absolutely nothing in there. And she says, Listen, babe, I got this for you. I put a small deposit down. Not just so you can get away. I'm not pushing you out or anything, but you need a place of your own. Not only so you can avoid Baleen, but you know you might want to get away from me from time to time. She bought him a man cave. He's grateful. So grateful that he takes her into the next room and takes her down right there on the carpet floor. No bed, no nothing, no curtains. I'm feeling more and more neutral about the Gary Abby situation. It makes me roll my eyes, but also I think I finally come to the point where I've just accepted it. But I don't know, Abby, that well. It seems out of character. The thing I hated for Valen is that Valen kind of got swallowed into his identity, didn't really develop one for herself. She has the opportunity to do that now. Abby has her own identity, and she seemed like she's way too tough to lose that. But girl, do you not see that you're kind of slipping into the same sort of patterns that Val was? The same thing that you scoff at Valen for being his mommy and taking care of him in that way. You're doing the same thing. And maybe that's what JR was sort of pointing out. Like, I mean, he's a big kid. Gary's a big kid. But Abby has also seen him as the man. That's all she knows. So time will tell. I don't think it's necessarily wrong that she found him an apartment. I just think I think it it will. I think it's the first of a long line of things she's gonna have to get used to doing for him. It's interesting though. I feel like with the personality that he's shown so far, having somebody as tough as Abby might just work in his favor. I don't know. Uh I don't see him leaving her. She's gonna have to get bored of him. You know who's not bored? Me? Let's talk about Karen Farragate. Karen Farragate is not bored because she is knee-deep into all these transcripts, and it's gonna get her in trouble. Joe and Mac already had a little discussion about it. Joe convinces Mac, like, yo, you she's my you don't know my sister. My sister's a pit bull in a skirt. She's gonna keep going and going and going until she finds something, and then she's not gonna let it go. Mac starts to consider this and and consider who it is she's investigating. If she keeps that energy up, her approaching them, there's only one way that's going to end, and that's the last thing he wants for her. So one night Karen is hosting dinner, everybody but Gary and Abby invited, and uh Max shows up, she starts flipping out on him immediately. You gotta respect it though. It's like I respect people who are themselves all day, every day, 24 hours a day. She doesn't mind that her friends are there. She starts flipping out because she's figured out that the dudes, the mafioso types, got off on a technicality. She is furious, and she's more mad that Mac didn't tell her. So he's trying to calm her down. He's a little bit embarrassed because he hadn't really met everybody like that. Ginger and Laura are like, Oh, girl, he's fine. Who is that? Oh, he's fine. And let me just say this they're not lying. Episode two has really done it for me. Y'all, Mac is fine, fine. I I like I like what I see here. Mag is hot. It's it's more than just the jerry curl for me. It's it's more than just the uh medium outfits. He's got swag. He's gonna he's tough without being goofy. I don't know. He's hot. I'm into it. I'm into it a lot. I hope he doesn't get shot like I think you will. Anyway, pop Mac is like, yo, Karen, calm the F down. Joe says the same thing. So they they managed to corral her into the kitchen, and Mac's like, listen, I care about you. I don't want you digging into these people. I'm sorry I didn't tell you every single little piece of it. I'm sorry. Joe comes in and he's like, listen to her, listen to him, please. He's trying to help you. I agree with him. You need to calm the F down. She's still going off. She must sleep on it and come to her senses because the next day she shows up at Mac's office and she keeps kicking the door. This man is very patient. I would cuss you out if I'm at work. Don't kick my door six times. But it's because she has like a box full of stuff. She go, he goes to open the door, she comes in and she basically apologizes for acting a fool the night previous and says she's prepared to give him back the uh the transcripts. He says, Well, if you want any more, you're on your own, kiddo. I just can't be doing this. This is very dangerous. She's like, I understand. I'm not Michael Colleone. I got caught up for a moment. I thought I was in the Godfather. I'm not. I'm sorry. I don't believe she's gonna stop. There's just no way. Maybe she won't go as hard, maybe she'll be a little more stealthy, but there is zero chance on earth that Karen Farragate is not gonna take this to the ends of the earth to get to the bottom of us to make sure that these men are held accountable for what they did. Now, Max's point is that these sorts of guys, they never they're not a one and done type crew. They're not gonna just run this Ponzi scheme or run this whatever on this other side. They're gonna keep doing things eventually, they're gonna get caught. So he's basically telling her, let's play the long game, let's let's just stack as much evidence as possible against them. Eventually, we're gonna get them. I promise you, it's gonna happen because they're not gonna stop. I love that. Also, I love Joe still being the voice of reason here. He's like, girl, that's why we have laws, that's why we have people to enforce the laws. Richard even told her the same thing. He's like, People like you and me, we don't get in bed with these other types of guys. We're we're a different breed of people. You cannot play the same rules, don't apply. There's you can't just burst into their operation going off expecting that to end well for you. There are people put in place, i.e., Mac, who are who can handle that.

SPEAKER_00:

Let him do his job, trust him to do his job. Speaking of jobs, Joe's got a brand new one.

SPEAKER_01:

Part of it is being the new editor, the other part is calming Valen Ewing down. I already touched on this a little bit. She is not handling this new book well, she is freaking the F out. On top of that, she's also rearranging her house like she's painted. She got rid of all the other furniture that Gary's that was Gary's or that it was Gary's mama's. Got rid of that. Her and Lily Mae are Rebuilding their life piece by piece. So Joe explains that he'd explained to JR earlier that the publishing business isn't so great, and that I guess his company was going to be sold. Looks like they found a buyer, right? I'm confusing this a little bit, but it doesn't really matter. By the end, it doesn't matter. The new owners of Joe and Valen's publishing people company, they're in town, and Joe wants Valen to meet them. She's like, Oh my god, I can't meet dude. No, please, no. My house isn't ready. I don't, I have like three pieces of furniture. I am in no position to host anything. And I really don't feel like going to another party. Last time I went to a party, found my man in bed with the Hoochie next door. Joe's like, relax. They didn't actually say that part, but just think about it. The last time she was promoting this book, that's exactly what happened. I think she's past that. She's just like, dude, I'm not in a position. I'm so sick of this right now. I can't do it. Valen, just talk to these people. It'll only be them. You can invite your neighbors over. It'll be super sweet. I couldn't help but notice that when the new editor, the new owners come over, it's a cute husband and wife, older couple. The wife is giddy because she's run the she has read the book front to back, back to front twice. She loves it so much. She wants the tea. She's like, girl, is this about the Ewings for real? For real? Please tell me this is true. Valen is still pushing that narrative. That it's not true. It's it's fictionalized. I made it all up. But it doesn't matter. There's a point where she is by the fireplace and Joe is standing right behind her. He's like right up on her. They look so good together. I really, really hope that pans out. They look so good together. Joe's hot too, but I'm I'm kind of into Mac now. Well, the they have a little party. Everybody's there. Like I said, I fell asleep earlier, so I didn't catch it. But when I watch it again, somebody was reading pieces. Let me rewind a little bit. New owners are there. They love Valen. New owner's wife loves Valen's book. Joe wants Valen to relax and see that this is not going to be as painful as she thinks it is. Just talk to these people. Boom, boom, boom. New owner, older gentleman, pulls out the cover of Valen's book, Capricorn Sun, not corn pwn or Capricorn Porn, as JR called it. The front cover is elementary at best. I don't know who did the art on the front, but Valen's headshot on the back is stunning. They should put that on the front. It is so pretty. But later on, we are blessed with a small little chapter. We get a little piece of this literary masterpiece. Y'all, the book is so salacious. It is so juicy. Somebody is reading it out loud. It took me two or three looks to figure out that's Diana. What happened to Diana's hair? Lord. Here's the thing, here's the thing, here's the thing. I like a short perm. I just said that I love Max hair. I do. I it it it transformed her in a way that it's not bad. I just don't think that look is for her. I didn't realize who that was until I listened a few more times. I was like, oh my god, that's Diana. Girl, Diana reading the book out loud. Like it's like it's Edgar Allan Poe or something. Ginger is hot and bothered. She's got her top button unfastened. Kitty's probably looking from her crossroom, like, oh yeah, you know what's up. Kitty, go warm up the car. You know what's up. Reading a rather smutty excerpt from the book. Max standing behind her. He's grinning. He's into it too. He's smiling and what kind of y'all. This is not this isn't the sort of book you read out loud. This is the sort of book that you you go to the dollar store, right? And you get one of those books with the slippery sleeves, and you just put that over the smut you're reading in the airport. You don't need everybody knowing what you're reading. Oh my gosh. It it sounds like it's very salacious. It seems like a romance novel. So I see what she's saying. This is this is fictionalized. It definitely reads like a Danielle Steele, from what I heard. From what I'm not gonna call Diana chickenhead. That's so rude. But I'm not into it. I don't like Diana's new hair. Hate it. Hated it. Among the neighbors at the party is a very annoyed, very irritated, very pregnant, very past her due date pregnant type Laura. She's over this ish. The long and short of it is that she doesn't want to have a natural childbirth, and Richard's getting on her last damn nerves talking about it. It seems like he's being more possessive, but the more I watch, the more I realize he's just I don't know, he's kind of hyper-fixated, and like he has anything else to do. He's reading all of the scenarios. I guess a lawyer would be like that. He'd be very into the literature about childbirth and why natural is so good. Laura had stopped by the Knott's Landing Motor one day to talk to Karen, telling her that girl, I need my epideral. I need to be doped up. I'm not trying to have no natural childbirth. Karen's like, girl, it's so wonderful. You should look at I don't I don't agree with that. It's so wonderful. You should look into it. It's it's so much more to childbirth than pain. Yeah, I get that. To each their own, do you? But also let people make their own decisions. It isn't like this is Laura's first baby. I I guess she would have been knocked out the first time. She's acting like she's never experienced labor. Seems sort of impossible. But Karen's like, girl, just don't worry about the pain. Ella's like, girl, no, it ain't the pain. Do you know people die from this? Do you know people actually die giving birth? Yeah, that is very true. Very true. Let her be comfortable. I think she's just over it. She's annoyed. It's kind of everything is compiling on itself. So flashback to this little party Valen is hosting in her house, her very scantly furniturized house. Richard and the gang are overlooking at the book cover. Everybody's fawning over how gorgeous it is. Laura is sitting very calmly on the couch and she said, Richard, we need to leave. And he goes, Man, we can't leave now. Yes, we need to leave now. He goes, Oh my god, are you having another contraction? He seems to think they're still Braxton Hicks. Braxton Hicks aren't isn't that at the beginning of the pregnancy or like towards the middle? It wouldn't be at the end. If she's a week over her due date, she's probably having a real contraction. He doesn't seem to think that's the case. She says, Okay, no, I'm not having a contraction. My water just broke. Her water just broke on a baby blue couch. Oh my god, I just realized that Val painted her whole house baby blue. Is that a what is that? Yeah, well, uh Laura says that she she just her water just broke on the baby blue couch, but later on, it's just Val and um Joe, I think, Lily May and the publishing couple. When the phone rings, the dude takes a phone call. J.R. Ewing, long story short, has invested in his company. He's now the owner of it. That new that uh publishing company is now under the umbrella of Ewing Oil. I don't know what that means going forward because, like I said, he doesn't seem all that upset. JR that is, he does not seem all that upset about the book, and more than anything, he seems entertained, very unbothered. So maybe he does want it to come out. I don't know. And now with him being part of the publishing company, who's to say he can't make changes right there at the end? Who knows? Maybe it'll never see the light of day, maybe it will. Doesn't seem like it'd be that difficult just to go to another publishing company since there's already buzz, but I don't know. This is 1982, this is not 2025, I have no idea. What I do know is that Laura and Ridge are on their way to the hospital when, of course, because it's nighttime, there's obviously construction in the middle of the road. Everyone knows if you're on a soap opera, there's always going to be night construction, so they have to bust the Yui and take a super secret alternate route to the hospital down the back roads. Now I didn't know LA had back roads, but I mean, what do I know? They end up slipping and sliding on the road because it's wet. Again, we're soap tack, soap tack, soap tacks. Slam through a fence. Oh my gosh, no, no, now we're stuck. Laura's pissed. Richard, fix the tire, take my ass to the hospital. He can. He's like, I can't, I can't change it. I'm stuck. She ends up going into a more frantic type of labor. He he gets his hunter-gatherer on and manages to find a single lone orange and forces it down her throat so her throat doesn't get dry from breathing. She's still freaking out. She's like, No, no, no, having a kid hurts. I'm not really trying to go through this pain. My mama told me just to lay here and let it pass. Richard's like, it doesn't really work like that. I tend to agree with Richard. So, meanwhile, back in Nant's Landing, Karen has decided to go over to Richard and Laura's house because Jason is getting upset. He hadn't heard from his parents, and he was expecting a phone call once they got to the hospital. He's excited, he wants a baby sister, and Karen's youngest boy, Michael, is over there with him. But she she talks Mac into walking over there with her to hang out with the kids, and he does an amazing job. He he tells Jason nothing to fret over, they're just busy with the baby, and he's like, Your dad's probably pacing up and down the hallway. He does this whole little thing, and you could tell it puts Jason at ease. They faint on the couch, they have popcorn. It makes him 10 times hotter than I already think he is. Yeah, I said it. I said it. It's true. Jeez, Louise. It's it's it's the confidence for me, it's the swag. He he seems to be in control. He could have very well popped off at Karen. I don't think he ever would, but he's he's in control in a better way. Like he's not afraid to step to her. He has no problem letting her know what's going on. She has no problem yelling back at him, she has no problem yelling at anybody. But to see him be so at ease with her family, I like it. And I like that Joe likes him. I like it all. I'm not mad about this, this new casting. Okay, so eventually Laura has no choice but to start pushing. Richard has no choice but to start coaching, but she is fading fast. The more she pushes, the more she starts having these really invasive thoughts. She starts remembering this girl who died in high school. She starts remembering how many women die at childbirth. It just starts getting really, really more morbid. Richard starts to get really worried. He can tell that the baby's heart rate is dropping. He's like, Laura, please, please, please. He's something's wrong. You gotta push, please. She does, it's like she refuses to push again. Soap tax, soap tax, soap tax. I'm not a gynecologist, but I feel like your body if something wants to come out, it's gonna come out. It is much harder to keep something in than it is to push it out. So she's just talking very casually, and he's like, Honey, you're 99% there. Please, you have to get them out. So he screams at her, and she I guess she mentally pushes. I don't know. She doesn't seem to be straining. Because oh, there he is. Richard goes down to pick up a baby. And maybe it's me. Uh maybe everybody in the 80s kept betting in their back seat because the baby is quickly swaddled. Only he's not crying. This is where I started to get nervous, and I'm like, Y'all, please don't do this to me again. Can we not? Can we not open every season with something devastating? Luckily, Richard, because he was nerding out for the last six months and he read every single article and book, and he knows all about anesthesia versus the spinal tap or whatever. He knows about CPR and he knows exactly how many baby breaths to give his new baby. And he puff puffs in the baby's mouth, puff, puff, pass, puff, puff, pass. Boom. Lil baby starts crying. Laura is immediately snapped out of her stupor. Oh, I'm so sorry, baby. I almost killed you. I'm so sorry, my bad. So then they gotta get down to the business of naming the boy, baby boy. And he's like Alan. And all I'm thinking is, okay, this is a millennial. We can't, what kind of name I thought his name would be like. We already got a Michael, Jason's a very good name. Justin, something like that, is what I was thinking. Brian, well, we already got one of those. Dang, I'm just naming all the names they got. I just talked all that trash about there only being so many names in rotation up until 1930. And I literally can't think of very many more boy names other than Michael, Brian, Jason, Justin. I'm trying to think of people I went to school with. They end up going with Daniel, and I'm like, oh, I kind of forgot that was the name of this episode. So baby Daniel is healthy and well, born in the backseat of a Mercedes man. That's a great burving story. That is an incredible story. I bet he still wants to hear that every Christmas. Not a bad episode. I am really, really itching to see. I'm gonna actually go ahead and push play on Dallas right after this. They're not syncing up. This is all happening because this is my first time watching it, but I'm really wondering how that how that plays out. And because this is so far ahead. You see what I mean? Like this is 1982, Knott's Landing. Jock has already been deceased. They already know this, they're already to the point where they're gonna read the will. JR said they're gonna read it in about a month. But on Knott's Landing, I hadn't even seen Ellie yet. Excuse me, not on Knott's Landing. On Dallas, I hadn't even seen Ellie yet. So it can't be long, but we need to figure out what happened to Kristen too. So I'm gonna go ahead and wrap this up. I hope you guys enjoy this. Thank you again for your patience. Join me next time as we jump back into another vintage prime time soap opera episode of Exodus. In the meantime, in between time, stay hydrated, stay moisturized, mind your own business, and keep all of your drama on TV.