Jun 28, 201209:45 AMThe Telegraph
The Premier Blog of the West
TV Recap: Top 5 Things To Know About 'Dallas' Episode 4
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Betrayal and blackmail figured heavily in this week’s installment of Dallas, the TNT cable network’s ambitious reboot of the phenomenally popular prime-time soap opera. As usual, we’re offering a day-after recap of Wednesday evening’s episode. But be forewarned: This summary is stuffed with spoilers.
If you missed Wednesday’s episode – “The Last Hurrah” -- here are the Top 5 things you need to know before you tune in next week.
PLOTS AND COUNTERPLOTS: J.R. Ewing and his son John Ross agree there’s only one way to keep Ewing family lawyer Mitch Lobell from demanding too much money for his part in their plan to seize Southfork: They must hit the shyster where he’s most vulnerable. This means finding (or manufacturing) proof that Lobell’s two-time loser son is back to using drugs, and subject to “Three strikes and you’re out” prosecution. J.R. suggests using the faux Marta Del Sol to seduce the son into substance abuse. But John Ross fears – with ample justification – that Marta’s getting a tad too clingy, and suggests using another temptress.
YOU’VE GOT MAIL: Last week, John Ross learned that it was Rebecca – the new wife of Christopher, Bobby Ewing’s adopted son – who really sent the fake email that caused Christopher and former fiancé Elena Ramos to split shortly before their planned marriage. This leads John Ross to suspect – again, with ample justification – that his cousin’s spouse may be some kind of con artist. So he blackmails her into agreeing to drag Lobell’s son back into drugs. At the last moment, however, Rebecca finds herself unable to go through with the nasty scheme.
BONDING AND BREAKING: A day or so before the big party where Bobby Ewing plans to celebrate the sale of Southfork – to, he thinks, a conservancy – he and Christopher bond while helping a cow give birth to a calf. Christopher reveals his conflicting feelings about Elena and Rebecca – and Bobby tells his son that he knows Christopher will do the right thing. Christopher attempts to do just that by paying Elena $20,000 for her help with his clean energy project – and telling her that he’s giving her the money to keep her from making any future claim on his business. In other words, he hopes to effect a permanent split by convincing her that he’s an SOB. He appears to be successful.
SOME THINGS SHOULD BE LEFT TO EXPERTS: John Ross realizes he’ll have to rely on the increasingly unstable Marta to seduce the lawyer’s son. Around the same time, however, he agrees to help Elena sweet-talk a reluctant land owner into granting her oil-drilling rights for her new business. This leads to Elena and John Ross sharing a short-lived embrace – perhaps a fleeting rekindling of their recently ended romance -- that’s just long enough be captured by the camera of a sleazy private eye employed by J.R. (OK, that’s the second sleazy private eye the series has introduced so far. Are we supposed to believe that Dallas – the city, not the show -- is haven for such unscrupulous types?) J.R. shows the photos to Marta, Marta turns over to J.R. photos of herself and Lobell’s drug-wasted son – and then J.R. leans on Lobell. Not surprisingly – well, not to long-time Dallas viewers – J.R. orders Lobell to cut John Ross out of the deal to take over Southfork. The sly old trickster wants the family estate all for himself.
THINGS TO COME: Sue Ellen isn’t at all happy about John Ross’ dealings with J.R. – but J.R. is even more upset that Sue Ellen is enlisting his old nemesis, Cliff Barnes, in her planned campaign for governor. Meanwhile, Rebecca – who’s feeling pressured by her brother, Tommy, to concentrate on their mysterious plot to undermine the Ewing family – takes Christopher aside at the big Southfork barbecue, and tells him she has something important to say. It’s about that email …
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