Dallas Decoder

The blues

By “Dallas” standards, “Denial, Anger, Acceptance” is a relatively low-key episode. It includes an action sequence at the top of the hour, when Bobby and Christopher rescue Sue Ellen and Bo from the Southfork fire, as well as a trademark fake-out and unexpected death in the final scene. Mostly, though, the characters bide their time by sitting around a hospital waiting room, reflecting on their terrible choices and wondering when the next shoe will drop. Flames not withstanding, the Ewings haven’t gone to hell. They’re in purgatory.

The woman of the hour, once again, is Linda Gray. Sue Ellen experiences all the emotions in the episode’s title — she denies she has a drinking problem to the ER doctor, she gets angry when she sees John Ross, she finally accepts the fact that she’s made destructive choices too — and Gray nails each scene. My favorite: the “acceptance” sequence, when Sue Ellen remembers taking a lighter to John Ross and Pamela’s wedding invitation and concludes — wrongly — that she’s responsible for the Southfork fire. Panicked and desperate for a taste of alcohol, she swipes some aftershave from the hospital gift shop, ducks into a quiet corridor and brings the bottle to her lips. It’s not unlike seeing Sue Ellen standing in the gutter, swigging from a brown paper bag during the original show’s “dream season.”

This time around, though, Sue Ellen doesn’t hit rock bottom. Instead, she tosses the aftershave into the trash and goes to the waiting room, where she tells Bobby, Ann and Christopher that she caused the fire. The more meaningful confession comes when Sue Ellen says, “I’m an alcoholic — and I will be, until I die.” It’s the moment a lot of “Dallas” fans have been waiting for since our heroine fell off the wagon before J.R.’s funeral, a year-and-a-half ago. As much as we admire Gray’s performances when Sue Ellen is struggling, the version of the character we love most is the savvy J.R. protégé who outmaneuvered John Ross and Governor McConaughey earlier this season. Now that Sue Ellen has admitted her problem, let’s hope she recovers her mojo. The Ewings need her.

“Denial, Anger, Acceptance” also gets a lift from Patrick Duffy and Brenda Strong, two pros who make Bobby and Ann’s marital strife feel genuine and painful. I’m less enthused with John Ross and Pamela’s domestic drama. Here’s how she explains to John Ross why she downed a bottle of pills and initiated their threesome with Emma: “I did what I did so that every time you think about screwing that piece of trash, all you’ll be able to see is me on the floor with my eyes rolled back in my head. Sexy, huh?” No, silly is more like it. It often feels like the “Dallas” producers come up with a fantastic scenario — in this case, the wife who’s been cheated on decides to join her husband and his mistress in bed — and then the writers work backward to come up with a reason for the characters to behave this way. Sometimes this approach works fine; this time, it doesn’t.

Nevertheless, all the principals are effective in their scenes. Josh Henderson makes John Ross’s regret seem sincere (especially in his scene with Duffy) and Emma Bell once again shows us Emma’s vulnerabilities, while Julie Gonzalo slides effortlessly back into bitch mode, a side of Pamela we haven’t seen since the second season. It’s going to be fun to see Pamela back on the warpath, especially if the show uses her scorn to put the Barnes/Ewing conflict front and center. Watching Pamela seek revenge against John Ross because he screwed around on her might not be as epic as seeing Cliff and J.R. wage war over blood and oil, but as long as this show has a Barnes and a Ewing at each other’s throats, I’ll be happy.

Regarding the episode-ending fake-out: I like how Bruce Rasmussen’s script leads us to believe Sue Ellen caused the fire, only to reveal the actual culprit is ne’er-do-well Drew Ramos, the character many of us suspected all along. I’m not much of a fan of this season’s drug cartel storyline, but Drew’s execution at the hands of Nicolas’s cronies is nicely done. Kuno Becker has never been better — I love how he delivers Drew’s line about saving a seat in hell for Nicolas — while Juan Pablo Di Pace makes his character feel equal parts sinister and desperate. When I interviewed Di Pace last week, he told me director Steve Robin wanted Nicolas to come off as this “cold, badass guy,” but after several takes, Di Pace couldn’t help but cry. I’m glad the show went with a version that shows Nicolas’s eyes welling up; it’s nice to know there’s a shred of humanity left to this character. Some fans may worry that Nicolas isn’t long for this world now that “Dallas” has turned him into a killer, but remember: Pamela killed Tommy during the first season and Ann shot Harris last year.

The rest of “Denial, Anger, Acceptance” is hit or miss. Judith Light is fun to watch, although a little restraint now and then would be nice. The Southfork fire sequence isn’t quite as dramatic as the 1983 version, and one of the exterior shots that show a CGI’d tent covering the damaged wing isn’t very convincing. On the other hand, I like how Sue Ellen’s flashbacks to the fire are tinted in reds and golds, while Drew’s are shaded in blues and grays. I also like the editing at the top of the hour, when the shot of Bobby scooping up Sue Ellen cuts to a scene of John Ross lifting Pamela off the hotel room floor.

“Dallas” diehards will remember Bobby is also the one who pulled Sue Ellen from Southfork the last time it burned. Perhaps one day she’ll rescue him, although first she needs to finish saving herself.

Grade: B

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Adios, Drew

‘DENIAL, ANGER, ACCEPTANCE’

Season 3, Episode 9

Telecast: August 18, 2014

Audience: 1.97 million viewers on August 18

Writer: Bruce Rasmussen

Director: Steve Robin

Synopsis: Bobby and Christopher rescue Sue Ellen and Bo from the Southfork fire. Sue Ellen confesses she started the fire, but the real culprit is Drew, who is detained by the cartel and later executed as Nicholas watches. Pamela tells John Ross she overdosed to ruin his affair with Emma. Elena learns Nicolas sent the video to Pamela and leaves him an angry voice mail. After Judith tells Bobby she saw Ann and Harris kissing, Bobby suggests Ann leave Southfork while he supervises the reconstruction. Bo, injured in the fire, undergoes surgery and shares a tender reunion with Heather and Michael.

Cast: Kuno Becker (Drew Ramos), Emma Bell (Emma Ryland), Donny Boaz (Bo McCabe), Jordana Brewster (Elena Ramos), Bryan Chatlien (Jake), Dallas Clark (Michael McCabe), Jon Michael Davis (Dr. Pander), Juan Pablo Di Pace (Nicolas Treviño), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Julie Gonzalo (Pamela Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Josh Henderson (John Ross Ewing), Cynthia Jackson (nurse), Antonio Jaramillo (Luis), Judith Light (Judith Ryland), Leticia Magana (Dr. Razack), AnnaLynne McCord (Heather McCabe), Jesse Metcalfe (Christopher Ewing), Joe Nemmers (Lt. Bennett), Pete Partida (Jacobo), Mitch Pileggi (Harris Ryland), Brenda Strong (Ann Ewing), Emily Warfield (Dr. Hirsch)

“Denial, Anger, Acceptance” is available at DallasTNT.com, Amazon and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.