Truth hurts

Sue Ellen refuses to believe Holly Harwood’s claim that she’s sleeping with J.R., so Holly invites her to visit her home and see for herself. At the end of “Tangled Web,” Sue Ellen accepts the challenge. Our heroine, clad in a huge fur coat, parks her car in Holly’s driveway, where J.R.’s Mercedes sits. She exits the vehicle and slowly walks toward the house, her heels clicking and clacking with every step. The door is unlocked, and for a moment, Sue Ellen seems to lose her nerve. But she presses on, and in the final shot, she stands silently in the bedroom doorway and sees her husband making love to Holly.

This is a brilliant, devastating sequence. The shots of Sue Ellen are interspersed with scenes of J.R. and Holly in bed; the audience knows what Sue Ellen is going to see before she does, allowing the tension to build until it’s almost unbearable. Director Nicholas Sgarro shows Sue Ellen parking her car, and then he cuts to J.R., wrapped in a bed sheet, popping open a fresh bottle of champagne as Holly massages his shoulders. We see Sue Ellen begin to cross the driveway, and then we cut to Holly pulling J.R. close. For most of Sue Ellen’s scenes, there is no underscore; the only sounds we hear are her heels on the driveway, some crickets in the distance and the soft music playing in Holly’s bedroom. And then, the final shot: a tight close-up of Linda Gray’s tear-streaked face. In a poignant touch, we hear her sniffle as the frame freezes and the credits flash.

When I listed “Dallas’s” 35 greatest moments in the spring, I ranked this scene at No. 20. I now wonder if I should have moved it a little higher. The sequence is much more artistic than what we usually see from “Dallas” and other early ’80s television dramas. The toggling between Sue Ellen in the driveway and J.R. and Holly in bed reminds me of the crosscuts that have become a signature of TNT’s “Dallas,” although if these scenes were produced today, it almost certainly wouldn’t be so eerie and quiet. The sequence also makes me wish Sgarro had directed more episodes of the original series. “Tangled Web” is his only “Dallas” credit, although he helmed 54 hours of “Knots Landing” and no doubt had a hand in establishing that show’s stylish look.

“Tangled Web’s” ending is easily this episode’s best moment, but it isn’t the only good one. I also like when Miss Ellie questions Clayton about his relationship with Sue Ellen. Barbara Bel Geddes stammers through her dialogue, as Ellie gradually musters the courage to ask Clayton if Sue Ellen is the mystery woman he once loved. Bel Geddes’ halting delivery is her trademark and one of the reasons Ellie always feels so believable. She speaks the way people do in real life. The actress also possesses a sincerity that other “Dallas” cast members, no matter how wonderful they are, lack. Consider the “Tangled Web” scene where Ray tells Aunt Lil that Jock was his father. This is another moving scene, and Kate Reid is quite good here, but her delivery feels more deliberate than Bel Geddes’. When I watch Reid, I never forget I’m seeing an actress affecting a homespun, humble sensibility, whereas Bel Geddes regularly disappears into her role. In other words: Lil comes off like a character, while Ellie feels like a person.

“Tangled Web” also offers several fun moments, including the scene where J.R., returning from his triumphant tour of the Caribbean, sweeps into the Ewing Oil offices with presents for the secretaries and a box of cigars for Bobby. “That little deal I made down in Cuba is going to make me the new daddy of Ewing Oil. Have a Havana?” J.R. says, reaching into his suit pocket and retrieving a cigar for his brother. (I wonder how Larry Hagman, an anti-smoking zealot, felt about that line?) Indeed, David Paulsen’s script is chock full of terrific one-liners. Katherine to Cliff, after he denies Bobby the use of the Tundra Torque: “You vicious little man!” Clayton to Sue Ellen, after she’s told him about J.R.’s trip: “Doggone, old J.R. went to Cuba. And they let him out?” Afton, after Cliff laments that he thought of himself “for once” in his life: “For once? No, not for once. For always! Cliff, you are the only person you ever do think of!”

“Tangled Web” also marks the end of Pam’s vacation on the French Riviera, one of my least favorite sixth-season subplots. Pam has left Bobby, but is it really appropriate for her to travel halfway around the world with Mark Graison, a man who quite obviously has designs on her? Toward the end of “Tangled Web,” Pam seems poised to sleep with Mark, but the mood is killed when Afton calls to warn her that Katherine has set her sights on Bobby. It reminds me of the fourth-season episode “Start the Revolution With Me,” when a tipsy Pam is having a jolly time in her hotel room with Alex Ward — until Bobby calls from Dallas.

Perhaps Pam should stop answering the phone call when she goes away. Better yet, maybe she should stop traveling with men who aren’t her husband.

Grade: A

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Exposed

‘TANGLED WEB’

Season 6, Episode 25

Airdate: April 1, 1983

Audience: 21.3 million homes, ranking 4th in the weekly ratings

Writer: David Paulsen

Director: Nicholas Sgarro

Synopsis: J.R. is released from the Cuban jail, collects his $40 million and returns to Dallas. Sue Ellen walks in on J.R. and Holly in bed. Bobby plans to ask for Pam’s help getting the Tundra Torque, but Katherine tells him that Pam is in France with Mark. Afton calls Pam to warn her about Katherine’s interest in Bobby, prompting Pam to cut short her vacation. Clayton tells Miss Ellie that he once loved Sue Ellen. Ray tells Lil that Jock was his father.

Cast: Tyler Banks (John Ross Ewing), John Beck (Mark Graison), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Morgan Brittany (Katherine Wentworth), William Bryant (Jackson), Lois Chiles (Holly Harwood), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Nate Esformes (Perez), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Dennis Holahan (George Walker), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Kenneth Kimmins (Thornton McLeish), Audrey Landers (Afton Cooper), Cindy Landis (waitress), Tom McFadden (Jackson’s partner), Santos Morales (Cuban leader), Marnie Mosiman (manicurist), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Kate Reid (Lil Trotter), Debbie Rennard (Sly), Jacqueline Ray Selleck (Marie Walker), Danone Simpson (Kendall), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing)

“Tangled Web” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.