So we start out in the breakfast room at South Fork, with JR being mean to Teresa the maid. Then Sue Ellen wanders down and is mean to JR. Miss Ellie totters up, and is all unfocused because she’s worried about what Clayton is up to. Then Bobby comes in. (Are these people lined up outside the door? What is going on?) Bitchy things are said, and then they all leave.
Once again, no one has touched a morsel of the breakfast food that Teresa has lovingly prepared.
Cut to Ray and Jenna’s house, where Charlie has taken mom’s advice, and she apologizes for being a lying slut. Ray grudgingly accepts, and they all decide to start fresh with a clean slate, including letting Charlie see Randy. Hurray! Charlie gets to snuggle with Brad Pitt some more.
Ellie meets Mavis at lunch to discuss more boring details involving charity hospital beds. Ellie is still unfocused, paying no attention. Mavis tries to pry, but Ellie brushes her off, forlornly announcing there’s “something I have to do.” What? Find some real dialogue?
Quick scene with Clay and Laurel at his office. Nothing important, but we have to establish that the two ARE indeed at his office, otherwise a later scene just won’t work.
Sue Ellen and Nick traipse into Cliff’s office, wanting to talk about why Cliff is basically helping JR take over Westar, buying all that stock and such. Cliff, clearly having not watched the last several seasons, offers Sue Ellen a drink. Then he fesses up that JR is basically blackmailing him (that whole easement mess where Sly dressed up like a country tart and rode a porch railing.) Sue Ellen is not happy to hear about this.
Scene with JR and Kimberly. He continues to waffle about how long it will take to get Sue Ellen out of the house, and she continues showing her displeasure about his tardiness, tossing out the line “maybe you’re not worth waiting for.”
Cut back to Clayton’s office, with he and Laurel parading out the front door of the building. He’s being a little cozy, with his arm around her as they walk, but it’s really nothing. Of course, Miss Ellie spies them from afar, scrunches up her face and starts to tremble.
Bobby jets to Washington to meet with a couple of the senators who might be able to help him get the Ewing Oil name back. They are a little stodgy at first, but the second that he offers to make campaign contributions, everybody’s best friends.
During the discussion, there’s a senator’s aide with her hair tightly pulled up in a menacing bun on her head. It obviously doesn’t go with the rest of her couture, so she know that nest is coming down soon. Sure enough, at the end of the meeting, she offers to take him to the airport, and we all know what that means.
Sue Ellen arrives at South Fork, and the ugly Ewing grandkids, John Ross and Christopher, are nearly bursting with the exciting news that Miss Ellie is drunk. (Really?) Sue Ellen goes to Miss Ellie’s room, and there she is, sprawled across the bed and looking haggard.
Sue Ellen: “Wanna talk?” Ellie: “Let’s talk about disappointment. You know a lot about that.” Ellie swigs down some more of whatever. Sue Ellen: “Are you mad at me?” Ellie: “Nope. I just want the world to go away.”
Miss Ellie rambles some more, either forgetting her lines or doing some method-acting, because most of it doesn’t make any sense. Then she drunkenly screams at Sue Ellen to just get OUT, then grabs another bottle. Throughout the whole scene, I’m wondering if Linda Gray and Barbara Bel accidentally picked up each other’s script.
Back to Bobby and the Senator’s aide (“Kaye?”), in the back of a limo. Her wares are clearly up for grabs, but Bobby’s got other things to worry about.
Quick scene with JR telling Sly to sell all her Westar stock, then he marches out of the room to go confuse somebody else. Sly, as usual, looks pensive for a moment, then she gets that look which means, well, if JR said to do it, it must be God’s work, and off she goes.
Next day, Clay tries chatting with a hung-over Miss Ellie, hoping for details. In response to his asking why she would drink alone, she yells “There was nobody here to drink WITH!” (Nobody to drink with at South Fork? Did you not leave your room? And I’m sure Teresa would have appreciated a nip or two.) But she doesn’t tell Clay what is really on her mind.
Clay and Laurel at a showing for her artist friend. When she wanders off to study a really ugly piece of sculpture, the artist hits Clay up for a loan. And Clay gives it to him. This makes no sense, so something must be in the works for a later episode.
Ray and Jenna’s house, where they are spelling out the new “dating rules” to Charlie and Randy. Both kids promise to be on their best behavior, swearing and all that, so you know it’s only a matter of time before there’s a big mess of trouble. And the whole scene I’m thinking, wow, Brad Pitt has really grown as an actor. Based on his work here, I’m surprised we ever saw him again.
April asks Bobby to stop by her condo, where she goes into a long, rambling g speech about when she first arrived in Dallas, hungry for power, and “I was gonna do anything. She fesses up to Bobby about bumping uglies with JR the one time. Now he’s blackmailing her with this Westar thing, and she’s had it. “Now you know everything.” Bobby is very, very quiet.
Then Bobby is suddenly back at his office (the magic of TV!), and Ray comes through the door. It’s a little tense at first, but Ray apologizes for his harsh words when Bobby tried to stand up for Charlie, and next thing you know they’re best buddies again.
April arrives at her condo after what looks like a day of pointless shopping, to find that the police are there and her condo has been trashed. A detective asks her “You know of anything that might be missing?” (She’s been there approximately 5 seconds, how could she know?) Detective: “Anybody after you?” April: “Uhh…” Detective: “I see. Well, let us know if you think of anything. Boys, let’s go.” And the whole squad races out the door.
Miss Ellie gets a call from Clayton. He’s going to be out of town on business, gone for a few days, he’ll let her know. Ellie hangs up, bursts into tears, and screams “Damn you Clayton!” Honey, isn’t there a nice doctor you can call for some cute little pills? Because you need them.
At South Fork, Bobby gets a call from one of his lawyer guys, Paul. Seems Lisa is back in town, and a custody hearing for Christopher is on for next week. Bobby is appropriately surprised and confused, probably trying to remember who Lisa is, because this episode’s script had a lot of pages, what with Miss Ellie getting drunk and all.
Finally, we have JR meeting with Kimberly’s dad, waffling once more about how long it will be before he can marry darling Kimberly. Then JR tries a different approach, telling Daddy that maybe “you’ll have to separate Kimberly from my running Westar.”
This does not sit well with Daddy. JR marries Kimberly or there’s no company for JR to run. So JR brings up the fact that Westar stock is falling (because he had Sly sell her shares), and actually threatens Daddy by implying that he can do even more damage.
Daddy: “Bring it on.”
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