S4 EP13 Knots Landing: Cutting the Ties That Bind - The "Chip-ing Away the Facades" Episode

Val is staring at divorce papers like they’re a loaded weapon, and I can feel the weight of every memory she’s trying not to bury. “Cutting The Ties That Bind” starts with hesitation and heartbreak, then keeps raising the stakes until the episode becomes less about a signature and more about survival. If you’re into classic soap operas, character-driven drama, and sharp recap commentary, this Knots Landing Season 4 breakdown is the kind of chaos you’ll want in your headphones. We track Val’s push and pull with Lily Mae in her ear, Gary already moved on, and Jeff Munson is offering something that isn’t just romance, it’s a bigger life. The New York trip lands as a turning point: Val gets reminded she’s allowed to want more, take up space, and enjoy what she’s earned as a writer. At the same time, Abby is making business moves behind the scenes, managing the Jeff Munson deal and treating Gary like a piece on the board while Kenny fights to protect his creative control over CG’s sound. Then everything drops when CG reveals she’s pregnant, and Chip’s mask slips hard. What should be complicated becomes frightening, and the episode doesn’t let us look away from the power and danger in that relationship. By the end, Val is signing papers and stepping into her future, while Chip is literally stealing her manuscript, and it’s the kind of ending that makes you want to yell at your screen. Listen now, then subscribe, share the show with a fellow soap fan, and leave a review so more people can find Soap Lore. What’s your breaking point with Chip?

Transcript

Welcome Back And The Plan

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My name is gentlemen, boys and girls. Welcome or welcome back to another fun closed edition episode 4. I'm your host, Brett. I'm still viewing and reviewing this Tokyo Subia's primetime storylines of the 19 early 80s.

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So 19 minutes or two minutes, the back of the door to time for five. Okay, no questions, suggestions, or concerns for the next 25 to 45 minutes. Everyone else in Aircraft cool quiet took down their own off and we won't have time. We are walking for the book. Welcome and welcome back to another fun-filled edition of Soap Lore.

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I'm your host, Jeff, doing what I do, embracing the soap operas of a go, and absolutely trying to make it not be my personality. We're prime for another fun-filled edition of Soap War. This time we are on the West Coast. I think we're doing the absolute most. Actually, I don't know because we are gonna watch this episode blind. I am watching season four, episode 13, cutting the ties bind for knots landing. Last time we were on this show, we were doing a blog party that actually was a fundraiser. I've never been to a fundraiser on a blog party. We had to play money. It is what it is. This is LA. I think things are different. This episode seems to be oh, I don't know. I don't know what to expect. It's called Um Cutting the Ties That Bind. That sounds to me like someone is going to make a life-altering decision. They're gonna cut the strings that are attaching them to someone else. We're gonna find out together. Go ahead and pour yourself off something bubbly and bright as we jump into season four, episode 13 of Knots Landing, cutting the ties that bind. In order to keep the integrity of my program, I am going to watch 15-minute increments and then I'll come back and give you my review of that. That way I'm giving an honest opinion about what I'm seeing without any of the extra fluff, okay? Let's see how this turns out.

Val Faces The Divorce Papers

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I have to speak on it when I need to speak on it. So we open up with Valen, the Vidalia Onion Queen, sitting at her newly acquired office nook. I don't remember this corner of her home, but it seems to be the south wing of her living room. It is a mauvey. I guess it's it's a deep mauve corner where she has a desk, she has a couple of bookshelves, and she has a she has the opportunity to sit and ponder things. Unfortunately for her, she is a modern woman. It is the 80s, people are getting divorced left and right, and she is one of the quote unquote victims. Or victorious, depending on how you look at this. She can't believe she is about to sign papers for a man she's loved since she was 15 years old. Her mother, Lily Mae, comes through the kitchen eating an apple, an organic apple. I I'm sorry, guys. You're gonna have to just get over this if you're listening to this program. As a millennial, I understand that I have benefited from the organic foods that my parents ate in my gene pool. My children are benefiting from that. But let's keep it a buck. I eat a lot of plastic, starting probably about age five or six. So it always shocks me as I see someone eating, it's like the voice in my head can't let it go. They're eating organic. You probably didn't. Anyway, Lily Mae is eating an apple and she sees that her daughter is in duress, and she goes over to offer some motherly wisdom. Valen, my Vallia Onion Queen. Your husband signed those divorce papers. I don't know what you're stutter stepping about, baby girl. You got a new beau, you got a man who got a lot of money who's very, very interested in you. Valen is, that's not my new beau. He's just a guy I know. She's like, cut off. Forget all that. He is a better man than that two-bit hustler you called a husband from before. Now, I have never agreed with someone so much on a soap opera. I'm with you when you write. Talk your ish. He ain't, he, she ain't, she ain't lying. I don't hear no lies here, not that not yet. Sign the divorce papers. Gary already did it, he did it with the quickness. What the hell are you stutter stepping about? It hurts. But also, that's not your man no more, baby girl. You need to move on. Lily Mae is pointing to all of the beautiful golden moments in her life. My darling, you are an author, you are an award-winning author, probably. You are talented. Sign the freaking papers, move on with your life, forget post shorts, Gary, and move on. Why are we even talking about this? Unfortunately, this isn't happening because Valen is is still feeling very stressed for whatever reason, she can't pull the plug. She's not ready to give up on this marriage just yet. So she says, Mom, I will sign the papers when I am ready. Despite the fact that Gary has already signed the papers, despite the fact that Gary is a complete teetotal hoe shorts wearing fool who I am starting to be a little bit concerned about. Y'all know how I feel about Gary. I don't really care for him. However, Abby is making moves that I am like, oh, okay. Does Abby really give a damn about Gary? I've okay. Here, I'm so confused. I'm so caught up in this conundrum because I watched this woman cry behind closed doors without any other witnesses when it comes to Gary. I feel like she genuinely cares about him. However, she ain't no fool. She ain't no Valen. I'm not saying Valen is dumb, but I'm saying that Valen gave Gary enough space to make whatever mistakes he needed to make without questioning him on that because she knew how he would react. She knew him since she was 15 years old. She knew him as a young man, she knew him as a teenager, she knew him as all that. So she understanded what was going to happen if she were to question him. I feel like Abby is a grown woman who has lived through a divorce. She's got her own children. She

Abby Starts Pulling The Strings

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is a wise woman. Whether we want to understand it or not, this woman is quite savvy. So savvy, in fact, that she holds a meeting with Jeff Munson and she's like, Don't worry about Kenny, don't worry about Gary. I need you to worry about CG and CG only. So any interactions that you have with the two of those, with with you guys, it needs to come through me. I am the handler. Make sure it comes through me. Now I it's early on. It don't seem like Gary knows this. Although this isn't the first time in the last few episodes that Gabby, uh Gabby, Abby has made money moves and Gary hasn't been privy to it. Is she playing him? I don't know. I I I've I've always been a strong component of of nuance, and I understand that two or three or twenty-three things can be true at once, but I really do kind of think this is Jet's opinion here. Abby knows that Gary's a hot piece of tail. He is fun in the sack, but he's also irrational. I think she's taking advantage of this. I think she's taking advantage of this. I don't know. Holler at your girl, please. Please do. My suspicions are only solidified when Abby goes to Mr. Mr. Westmont, who is I don't know if he is a recording artist or like in the art in the music business or if he is some sort of lawyer because he makes this comment. Okay, Abby shows up and she's in all red, like trying to be seductive and whatnot. And Mr. Westmont's like, Pardon my dog, Harry Winkle, Aurora Vidalia. She is acting a teetotal pole. Pardon her. I ain't got all day to be editing, so I'm just gonna have to leave this in. I'm so sorry, y'all. I'm so sorry. Anyway, Abby is sitting in Mr. Westmont's office, and she says she understands that Gary has some preferences and that he has been a little bit slow to pull the trigger on some of these other deals. Mr. Westmont's like, yeah, he's been a client of my dad and I's for three years. And I'm like, Gary has not been in LA that long, but you know what? We're gonna let it be what it is. Is this Harry Hamlin? I need one of y'all to watch this show. This is this looks like a very young Harry Hamlin, or it looks like Harry Hamlin's cousin. For those of you who are not privy, if you are a real Housewives fan, Harry Hamlin is Renna's husband from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Anyway, I don't think it's him. I think it's like a cousin or something. He's definitely he's definitely older than him. Anyway, Abby finesses a deal where she says, I understand that Gary has other contracts that have been paused because of his lack of ability to pull the trigger. Why don't you holler at your girl? Why don't you go ahead and forward those to me and I'll see what I need to do? This is what I'm saying. I'm struggling with this. This, of course, it's a brand new season. None of these thoughts or opportunities rather were presented in the previous season. So it didn't look like Abby was. I'm not calling her a gold digger because that's not accurate. She's not just sitting around being pretty taking Gary's money. She is an opportunist, but she also happens to be savvy within those opportunities. So, like, what the hell is really going on? He does not seem to be aware of any of this, which raises my suspicions.

The Averys Meet A New Ally

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Randomly, Laura and Richard are arguing at the restaurant, aka Daniel. She's got baby Daniel, R-I-L, in her lap on her lap, and um, she's basically tired of being up under Richard for 24 hours a day. She says she's ready to get back into the real estate business. He's like, that's cool, let's do that. Nobody's talking about Jason. Is Jason okay? Is Jason on the East Coast? He has some boarding school. They don't seem wealthy enough and they don't seem like the tour of pedigree of people parents, that is, that would send their child to some to a school on the east coast or somewhere in Europe or whatever. But he doesn't seem to be around. They're they're in the middle of this conversation when CG walks in kind of innocently. Richard flips out, like, damn, can I have a moment with my wife? Why you all in my biznae? She's like, she doesn't say anything, she just starts to cry. And I'm like, damn, CG, you awfully sensitive all of a sudden. She struck me as a girl from the projects. I I would expect her to have a little bit of a Teflon skin. She doesn't seem to, but Laura chases after her and she's like, do ignore my husband. He is a complete and teetotal fool 90% of the time. I don't know if you know, but he definitely went stir crazy a couple months back and he tried to kill me and everybody else. It was a whole thing. As one of the sane Averys and as a mother of Daniel and Jason, I would really like to be your friend. Would you like to be the Avery's friends? Just ignore my husband. He's on one. CG seems very grateful. And the more I look at CG and Laura, they actually do favor each other quite a bit. I wonder if there's going to be like a long, a long, excuse me, a long lost sister connection. Although this show does not strike me as the rando relative coming in unbeknownst. We'll see. In an even more odd turn of Legal Lee's events, Karen, dressed in Buffalo plaid, is watching Lily Mae in what I can only describe as lawn bowling. I don't know what this is. It's not polo. It's not I don't know what this is. There are literally she's literally bowling tiny miniature bowling balls on grass, and she seems to be doing well because Karen is cheering. So Lily Mae is pleased that Karen has made her appearance and she's there to pick her up because apparently Lily May's Jalopy is not starting. Lily Mae is like, oh my gosh, I did so well. Ha ha ha ha. Wow, look what I happen to have in my handbag. She pulls out Val's divorce papers. Karen says, Lily Mae, what the F, dude. I told you I don't want to see those. It's none of my business. Karen is right on all accounts. You don't want me to get that's too deep of information, be dipping in, especially if Val's not comfortable. All the Lemay is saying is though, like, Karen, you are influential. I need you to influence my daughter and remind her that she's not really married to Gary. Gary's already moved on. She needs to move on as well. I just need you to to encourage her to look over these papers wisely. You can do that for your girl. Also, she's dressed in all white. She looks like Skipper from frickin' Gilligan's Island. And even more oddly specifically, Gallise,

Chip Promises A Stolen Manuscript

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we see Chip having lunch with a guy named Thornwell. Thornwell seems to be a publishing powerhouse, and Chip is still presenting himself as Valen's number one publicist. She has a transcript that you need to read. It is phenomenal. And the dude's like, that's I don't know, it feels a little weird. And she's going through the divorce or something. Chip's like, don't worry about all that. I promise you, she's got what she's got. It's amazing. So Thornwell thinks it over and he's like, cool. Um, Chip says, I promise you that by tomorrow afternoon you're gonna have that manuscript in your hand. How he plans on doing this, I really don't know. I have not observed him spending a lot of time with Aline, so this seems like this is coming out of nowhere. I'm suspicious. But you know who isn't really that suspicious? Gary Ewing. Surprise, surprise. And also he's dressed in a full-length plaid shirt and pants, so I already knew he wasn't on his T's and Q's. Abby is in their sunken bathtub. I am so pissed off, quite frankly, by the amenities afforded to Gary Ewing for being nothing but a drunk, runoff, deadbeat dad, deadbeat husband, ho short wearing man. He really pisses me off on all fours. I don't know what all fours means. Ignore that. Move on. Let's move on. Um I'm not pleased with him. But Abby seems to be relatively open. I'm speaking as a woman who has female intuition. She's not necessarily open per se. She is she's delivering information without context, and he is making his own conclusions. So Gary comes into the bathroom and he's pissed because he and Kenny have gotten into it about the production. This is where I'm on Kenny's side. I never thought I'd say that, but I'm on Kenny's side. Kenny is a professional producer, he works in the music industry. That is his that is the way he makes a living for his family and himself. Gary is a businessman, and and I'll be damned if he doesn't have a knack for good business. However, these two things are not mutually exclusive. They also don't really mesh well together if the personalities aren't compatible. Kenny has a vision as a producer. He's been with CG long enough. They they work side by side. He knows her voice, he knows her sound. And I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say he understands what the music market is at this point in time because that is his business. Gary is coming into this as an investor. He knows that this girl is talented. I'm not saying that he maybe he might have the natural Mac. I don't know. I don't know if this is something that is taught or if it's on you. I don't know. But I do know that you should give Kenny the benefit of the doubt because this is the job that he has done for many, many moon. However, he and Kenny had gotten into it a little bit earlier, and Kenny's like, why don't you just calm down, dude? I know what I'm doing. This is my job. So Gary feels away. He's talking to Abby in his brand new Three Layers of Heaven beach side condo. She's in a sunken bathtub and he's he's talking his ish. And Abby says, Well, don't even worry about that, Gary, because I've already talked to Ted Munson and I've already started the deal. Now I'm gonna be real with you, Gary. Ted Munson is not all that keen on Kenny being one of the producers. This is not the impression I got. I feel like Ted Munson was open to Kenny because he understands that Kenny is talented. However, Abby is smart enough to recognize a threat early on, and she has her claws in Gary, so she's very quickly like, yo, let's remove Kenny from the equation and see what happens. Because that's what Ted Munson wants. Gary, because he's not involved in any of these aspects, he's not really that deep into his business, he's going to take her word for it. Plus, he's a horny little goat. And do you know this man climbs into the bathtub with his his polyester bell bottom boot cut, whatever you want to call it, pants and his plaid shirt? It's completely disgusting. Girl, I know this girl ain't pregnant. I feel a little bit slow. Okay, CG gets a call from a doctor. She's all one, one, one, one, one. I'm halfway listening. I'm not even gonna lie, I'm not even really listening. I'm thinking about other stuff. A few moments later, she's in her apartment, she's opening the closet door, which of course has a full-length mirror. She's checking her view from the side. Now I'm a modern woman. I'm thinking to myself, she just wants to see if she's getting thick because she's been with this man. I don't know. She's about to go on tour, maybe she wants a little bass. You know what I'm saying? She wants a little booty. I don't know. Girl, she goes to her couch, she pulls out a stuffed animal and tucks it under her shirt. And I said, I know you effing lying. CG Clarissa James. Also, is her name CG as in the island of Fiji with a C, or is her name C dot G? Whatever the hell. So she's she is Clarissa Geneva, Cassidy Jean. I don't know. Girl. Oh my god. Oh my god. Pregnant? Are you cry- are you okay, okay, okay, okay. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm trying my best. We're like 20 minutes into

Munson Deal Sparks Kenny Vs Gary

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the show. Over at Karen's, Ted Munson, who is deep, deep, deep into Valen, the Vidalia Onion Queen, has shown up. Mac is showing up. They were supposed to go out, but for some reason they decide they're gonna stay in there and order Chinese food. Ted Munson is not shy about showing his affection for Valen, the Vidalia Onion Queen. And uh Chip is there with Laura, not Laura, what's her name? Diana, because of Ted Munson being there. CG is quietly waiting at home for him so that she can drop this beautiful information on this fool, but he is too busy being a scoundrel, I suppose. So at some point in the evening, the telephone rings and it is for Chip. Chip goes to answer the phone, and it is of course CG. She's like, Where the hell are you at? Are you coming? I thought you were just saying bye bye, but whatever. Okay, let's not forget. I just kind of forgot about this in this moment. Diana had seen them together at the last event, which was the Hollywood Bowl of Knott's Landing, where CG performed for the neighborhood. God, I hate Chip, actually. I'm starting to hate him a lot in this episode. He's kind of extra, extra skeezy. I don't know. There's something about her okay. Now that I know that she's knocked up, I feel away. I feel away. He's all annoyed and whatever. This motherfucker hasn't had a job in four or five months. Now, Diana is, she knows what's up. She watched them together behind the soundstage, kissing and carrying on. But she hadn't really got a chance to say nothing to him. She's pretending to be an adult with her mom and and Valen and they're clinking glasses. And oh my god, we're these happy couples. I'm not really into it. I'm gonna try my best to make it through the next 10-15 minutes of this. We'll see what happens. In my haste, I forgot a very important scene. Kenny and Ginger are invited over to Gary and Abby's house. Abby, for whatever reason, has decided to play it down a little bit. She's in like this lavender house dress, call it a moo-moo, call it a caftan, whatever. She's serving caviar and champagne, but for whatever reason, ginger is the only person dressed like normally. I guess Abby's dressed normally. She's in her house, she's being comfortable. It's the most covered up I have ever, ever seen Abby. Anyway, Kenny and Gary are there. Gary is in his super, super, super booty short and a skin tight brown top. So it almost looks like maybe he had gone running. And I say that because Kenny is wearing what I perceive to be the first windbreaker ever on TV. I don't know if they're on other shows, but it's the first time I've seen him on any of the shows that we all watch. He's wearing a windbreaker, got the ch the the it's all unzipped. He got on a chain. He looks like somebody doing an SNL skip. He looks like someone cosplaying like a rapper suburban bro for Halloween. And his maybe it's not just the outfit, but maybe it's a cot the the attitude he has to. Kenny is much more vocal. He's much more angry these last few episodes, and it's probably the most emotion I've seen. Him a moat in a very long time. So Abby casually brings up the fact that she saw Jeff Munson and he wants to make them a really, really spectacular deal. Kenny immediately gets all huffy and puffy. He believes that Jeff Munson just wants to buy out their record company. Gary and Abby are, of course, they out, they of course know how he was going to react. I'm going to go ahead and give the the reins here to Abby because it feels like this was her mastermind planned from the Gideon anyway. I'm going to invite him over. I'm going to break the news. I'm going to watch him flip. I'm going to watch he and Gary get upset. So when it's time to actually cut the ties, it's going to be a lot easier to do. Kenny makes a very valid argument, and I'm once again on his side. He knows Jeff Munson's reputation as being this wonderful record producer. However, Kenny feels like with the work that he has already put on into CG and the sound that they have created together, with that being something that Jeff Munson's that Jeff Munson likes, it means that Kenny's on the right path. If he simply passes the creative process over to Jeff Munson, then it's it becomes another Jeff Munson project. And Jeff Munson is even more solidified as a super producer. If Kenny continues to have creative liberties over CG's music and the album is a hit, then Jeff, excuse me, then Kenny himself could become the next Jeff Munson. That's his angle. He's like, if Jeff Munson likes the music because it's already good, that means we're doing a good job. So why would we give a why would we add another person to the mix if we're already doing fine? If he's if it were already on his radar, then that means we're doing something right. Very valid point. Even Ginger, who loves, and I do mean adores Dry Hayden on CG, is like, yeah, I mean, I'm with you when you're right, Kenny. Despite my personal feelings, he's got a great point. Gary turns into this very condescending, like a dad. Oh my gosh, Kenny, don't you think you're being awfully stubborn about this? They're just butting heads. Gary's looking at this as a business opportunity. He's like, we're gonna be, if this dude likes us like he says he does, that means this is the guaranteed hit. We're gonna make our money back. We're gonna put our record company on the map, blah, blah, blah. Kenny's like, nah, nah, nah, it ain't that easy. I'm not really with it. But the fact that he's he's going off like this with this windbreaker jacket on, hoe shorts, and a chain, I am completely distracted, but I'm still on his side. Oh, I listened to this a little bit again. Chip basically says that he is basically CG wants him. He don't want her like that. Don't get it confused. It's just business. This is what I have to do in order to keep her happy as a client. But like, please don't take it personal. My person, my love, Diana. And I guess Abby's kidney allows her to believe this. Oh look, oh, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, uh-oh, hold on. See, I knew this. I knew it. Oh, I knew that. Okay. We gotta jump into CG immediately. Sorry, I'm still watching the scene. I'm not even through it. Um let me get myself together. I knew that Chip was a dirty son of a bitch. I knew this from the giddy of he is a dirty mother lover. Okay.

CG Says Pregnant And Chip Snaps

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He finally makes his way over to CG's, and of course, he wants to get right to business. They get in the sack, they do the do. Right afterward, she tells him she has some news. Now he thinks it's about months, and so he is like, Well, you don't have to tell me because I already know. And she's getting excited, thinking, I don't know, he he could see her her womb changing or something. She says, Well, no, this isn't about months, and this is about you and I. I'm pregnant. At first, he just stares off into space like he's in shock, which is hey, valid and fair. And you know what? I wouldn't even hold it against you if you were like, no, no, right at first. Knee jerk reactions sometimes are heavy on the jerk, right? Well, it this appears to be the place where a commercial might have gone originally, because the next time we see CG, she is tightening her robe on the bed, and you can tell she's like been crying. She doesn't understand why he is so upset. And he's like, Why am I so upset? Why am I so upset? I'm so upset because you're about to get a record contract with Jeff Munson, and now you want to have a freaking baby. Why would you want to have a baby right here? Now it takes two detangle. You have spent every free moment you could in her bed. Something's bound to happen. She's getting progressively more and more upset. And she tells him that he's very selfish and he only he's only concerned about how he feels. He's not worried about how she feels. He goes, No, on the contrary, you were the most important person in my life, CG. You're about to go on tour. You're about to have everything you ever wanted. Having a baby right now would just ruin everything. She's a needy little girl. Babies ruin everything. CG disagrees. Babies don't ruin everything. They're wonderful. Is this why we've been seeing baby two names and Daniel all of a sudden? I really didn't think nothing of it. I thought maybe it was just time. Maybe they're letting them get bigger so they can bring in like a three-year-old or something. I don't know. Chip implies that he would like her to get rid of the kid. You know what he means, a full-on abortion. CG is appalled. Oh my god, no. Do you know this man snatches her by the back of her hair? Pulls her head back and tells her to get her ish together. I think that's what he said. I'm not gonna lie. I immediately started recording after that. I'm gonna have to rewatch it to see what he said. It doesn't matter. He got physical with this girl, and I knew it. Do y'all remember that episode where he had, I don't think, yeah, he must have just moved in with Lily Mae. This is before Val knew he was living there. And Lily May had gone into his room to drop off something, and then she just started cleaning up. Well, when he came in, he was pissed. Like I thought he was might like actually get in her face and do something, but she was so charming, he quickly he didn't let her fully see that anger. But I thought, uh-huh, that's a little peak of something. Chip is one of them people. I'm gonna tell you what. CG better sleep with both eyes open. I haven't seen anybody on this show with a gun other than Richard that one time. And I hadn't seen any horses other than the polo event. But if day if nighttime so proper tells me anything, girl, you better not go up or down any steps. Hell, it's not slanting. You better check your brakes when you get in that car. If that man don't want you to have that baby, she's not gonna have that baby. I'm gonna tell you that. He's definitely gonna try to push her down the steps. I promise you. I know he is. Don't tell me, but that's my guess. Let me sit down and shut up and watch this. Oh, yeah, he's crazy for real. He said nothing is gonna interfere with what I have planned for you. Nothing. Saying this on his way out. That's a bad sign. That's I don't like that. I actually don't like that, okay? Was being a little bit funny before, but yeah, he's crazy. She better watch, yeah. Watch your breaks. Here's my thought though. He's not gonna jeopardize his shot at fame and fortune either, but he's probably gonna drag her to a clinic at the very least, or poison her food or something. She she's getting pushed down some stairs, for real. Okay, I was able to finish the whole episode.

New York Flips Val’s Future

SPEAKER_02 29:22

I like how this one ended. Chip is nuts. Chip is absolutely off of his rocker. I had forgotten already about him telling that guy he was having lunch with that he could get a copy of Valen's manuscript. I didn't realize that meant he was gonna go into his in her bedroom and remove it from underneath her bed. He had the opportunity to do that because Val decides to go to New York with Jeff Munson. He asks her to go with him when they were all over at Karen's house being cute little couples or whatever with Chip and Diana, Mac, and Karen. And she kept saying, No, no, no. And of course, Lily Mae gets wind of this and is like, girl, no, yeah, you need to go. Jeff Munson walks her home and he tells her, honey, I'm not taking no for an answer. I'll pick you up tomorrow morning. We're gonna go to New York. You're gonna have a great time. Mac and he were talking about it over dinner. Once they realized that Val had never been to New York, he's like, Munson says, I absolutely have to be the person to take you. You're really gonna enjoy this. They have a wonderful time, but she's not, she's feeling like it's too cosmopolitan for her. She likes a small, quaint town. She likes a small neighborhood. She likes to feel like she is a part of something. And in New York, she feels like she wouldn't be able to be to get that feeling. He quickly changes her mind by taking her to a local restaurant, a local Italian restaurant, super charming. They're playing all this music. It's a real fun atmosphere. Like the dude in charge is walking around greeting everybody. It's very communal. It feels very wholesome, very warm, like you are part of the family. And he tells her that he actually grew up a couple blocks away. His dad had worked in this restaurant for 40 years. Matter of fact, when his dad passed away, they held a service there for three days and three nights. Beautiful. The community came together, they played music the entire time. She's charmed by this. Like, okay, I guess I can, I guess I can be a part of a place. But they were up on the rooftop before this. And Jeff Munson said something that tickled my brain in just the right way. Val was saying how she didn't belong in New York. Everybody's so fancy, she's not. And he tells her that she should give herself a little more respect. You deserve nice things in the world, just like everyone else. People don't just go to New York in movies. It happens in real life. And if it happens in real life, you can be a part of it. As a matter of fact, you have earned it. You wrote a book that has entertained people and given them insight, insights to themselves. You are putting out a beautiful service in the world and you need to enjoy all that life has to give. And she's like, you know what? You write. Then they go to a little restaurant. Well, whatever happened after the restaurant, she had a gut full of delicious meal. They're saying in a penthouse suite. The next time we see Valen, she is wrapped in a robe. She's out on the terrace. She's got notebooks and pens and paper everywhere. She is writing up a storm. You can tell that something has flipped in her mind. Now, what she didn't know was that Lily May, who has been trying to get this girl to sign these papers all episode long, simply slipped. No, she did know this. I take that back. Lily Mae had slipped the divorce papers into Valen's suitcase. Valen had seen them, but she was she got upset at first. But Lily Mae told her just take them. They're light, they're not gonna cost you anything when you get to the airport. You don't have to check your bags. She probably didn't have to check her bags anyway. I'm sure they flew on a private jet. And she's there, girl, just just take them with you. You might change your mind. Well, by the end of the episode, she does. She signs a paper, and I think, what does he say? He says something like, Valene, are you ready? And she's like, I'm ready. I.e., she's ready for the world. Meanwhile, CG, while Valene is riding a brand new high, CG is at an all-time low. She goes over to visit with Laura, and she doesn't actually tell Laura that she's pregnant, but she just wants to be around her. She is Laura sort of adopted her as a younger sister, and Richard is a fantastic host. Richard is chomping very loudly when CG walks into the house asking her, would she like any coffee, tea, whatever? She's like, nah, I'm cool. Well, a little later on, Richard comes upstairs with a beautiful tray of hot coffee, piping hot, fresh croissants. He's trying to pour it up, make everything real nice. Not that, you know, I like that. I'd like to see a good host. Okay, I need to back up just a little bit so we can talk about Gary.

Gary Checks On CG Then Chaos

SPEAKER_02 33:59

I guess he felt bad after the way after Kenny kind of blew up over at the house. Abby's laying out on the terrace reading the paper when Gary comes out there and he's kind of worried about how CG's gonna take the news. He's like, Do you think we did the right thing? Like, do you think CG's gonna feel a way that Jeff Munson is taking over her contract? I feel kind of icky about it. Abby's like, No, I actually don't get that vibe from CG. I think she's gonna be just fine. Well, the truth is Gary feels bad because he noticed how frightened CG had gotten when he and Kenny got into that fight at the beginning of the episode. She was very startled. She looked really uncomfortable. So Abby tells Gary, why don't you go ahead and go over to her apartment and talk things over with her, kind of see where her head is at? And he goes, Okay, you want to come with me? She's like, No, that girl has a huge crush on you. I basically need you to go over there and make sure everything is sweet. Are they, is she? See, this is what I'm talking about. I know she cares for him, but also she was not upset. That time he was gone all day with CG. She just let it be. Like she almost kind of sniggled, like, okay, you slip with her, that's fine. Doesn't seem like they hooked up this episode based on, or they doesn't seem like they hooked up that episode based on something CG says this episode. But Abby is well aware that CG is at look at least looking him up and down, down and up. But I could have sworn that episode where CG's performing in the restaurant, and it's the first time that Val had ever seen CG perform. And that's when we realized that Jeff Munson might have been a little bit sweet on Val. I could have sworn earlier that episode that Abby got annoyed when she saw CG and Gary together. I don't know what game she's playing, but she's basically her mind is on her money, she's staying focused, she's letting the main thing be the main thing. Go over there and uh make sure your little girlfriend thinks she feels special, is practically what she tells him. Well, CG is ripping and running all day, just trying to get her mind right because she's realized she's having a baby with a psychopath, but she can't really tell anybody about it. She doesn't really tell Laura. She ends up just going to Daniel's to go ahead and rehearse early. And Gary comes by there, assuming I guess he she wasn't at her apartment, so we assumed she was there and he was right. So he comes by and he can still tell that she's a little bit uncomfortable. So he goes, Well, do you want to talk about it? Is there something on your mind? She goes, Yeah, we can talk about it. He goes, Yeah, what are friends for? She goes, Wow, I thought we were gonna be a little bit more than friends there for a little bit, but we both behaved ourselves now, didn't we? And they just kind of laugh, like, yeah, we did. They go to sit down and they're it seems like she wants to open up to him. And she's just she's basically saying she doesn't know if all this is worth it. Like, I'm going to have to give up so many things in order to have this career. I'm just really not sure where my head is right now. Gary actually seems like a really good listener. Much as I hate to admit that. You know what? Many things can be true at once. He's not a horrible human being all the time. He's just a little bit annoying. He's not an awful person. He did show, he did prove to be rather sensitive this episode. He just wanted to talk to her. And they were starting to open up, or she was starting to open up rather, when Kenny shows up and he's he's on edge. He already feels a way about this Munson thing. Now he sees Gary privately talking to CG, which has probably happened a million and twenty-five times. But on that day, it really pissed him off. So he walks over and he goes, Oh, what are we talking about here? I bet Jeff Munson's name came up over and over, didn't it? You guys having a private conversation? Can I join in? Gary looks him up and down and says, Fool, you are so paranoid. It's so weird. Okay, he's like, I'm not paranoid if it's true. So they don't really get to get into the conversation too much. CG goes to change because it's almost time to perform. Here comes Chip slinking in, all crazy looking. You know what this fool says? I saw your car parked out of the Avery's house today. Were you talking to Laura? What did you tell her? Did you tell her that you were pregnant? Did you tell her you were pregnant by me? CG is keeping it cool. I didn't, I'm not gonna tell you what I talked about, but no, I didn't tell her. I haven't told anybody that I'm pregnant by you. And he goes, Well, that's really good. I think it's really good. You don't tell anybody until we get rid of our little problem. She says, Sir, I ain't got no problem. I have a child and I'm going to keep my child, whether you like it or not. Now he don't look too pleased. But he's sleazy and he doesn't really have the amenities he used to anymore, so he has to be cool for the time being. CG goes on to perform, Life

Chip Threatens Then Steals The Pages

SPEAKER_02 38:44

is Good. But that's when a little bit later we get to see Chip stealing Valen's her new manuscript. And the funny thing about it is I guess he had excused himself to go up to his room because Diana and Lily May, this is the next day, obviously, Diana and Lily May are in the kitchen, and they're both going on and on about how wonderful Chip is and how intelligent he is and how he's gonna be the biggest publicist ever. Lily Mae really lays it on thick, saying it's not just that he's got that boyish charm, it's that he has so much integrity, he's got so much hard work in him, he's so bright. Meanwhile, he's crawling around on Valen's bedroom floor stealing her stories. End scene. Fantastic as usual. Chip is crazy. Chip is crazy, chip is crazy. So is Kenny now. Kenny is starting to amp it up, he's very angry all the time, which seems completely out of character for him. But if I'm being honest, I don't think there's ever been a really deep episode surrounding Kenny. We've seen Ginger kind of go through the gambit of emotions and really go through stuff, but Kenny, not

Final Thoughts And How To Reach Us

SPEAKER_02 39:52

so much. All right, guys, join me next time as we jump back into another vintage soap opera. I hope you enjoyed yourself today. Remember, you can always reach out to me via the show notes. If you're listening on a mobile device, check the show notes. There's a link that says send us a text. You can send me whatever your heart desires. I'd love to read it on air if it's cool with you. Uh, if you prefer to chat over email, you can send me an email at soaplorepodcast at gmail.com. That's S-O-A-P-L-O-R-E-E-O-D-T-A-S-T at gmail.com. You can also bless us with a voice note. I'd love to hear from you and I'm sure everybody else would too. In the meantime, in between time, oh my god, couldn't be clapping doors close if chip. I don't know what chip's last name is. A horizon and dip on the shoulder or whatever is in the vicinity. Make sure your door doesn't fast and tight, won't you do your intellectual property, your actual property? And when you eat the mind, you have when you stay hydrated, stay moisturized, mind your own business, and you put all of your drama on TV.