Dallas Burning Questions: Season 3, Week 6

March 31, 2014 by 11 Comments
Dallas, Emma Bell, Emma Ryland, Like Father Like Son, TNT

In control?

Here are the questions we’re pondering as we await tonight’s telecast of “Like Father, Like Son,” TNT’s latest “Dallas” episode:

• How will John Ross strike back against Sue Ellen and Bobby? In “D.T.R.,” last week’s episode, Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) blackmailed Governor McConaughey (Steven Weber) into replacing the corrupt railroad commissioner Stanley Babcock (Currie Graham) with a new appointee: Bobby (Patrick Duffy), who now has the power to revoke John Ross’s Southfork drilling permit. John Ross (Josh Henderson) was furious and vowed to “blow right past” any roadblock Bobby puts in his way. John Ross, realizing Sue Ellen’s role in putting Bobby on the commission, also left his mother a nasty voice mail message, saying, “Now I know I’ve got another enemy I’ve got to look out for. I ain’t going to forget this.” What will John Ross do?

• When will the Rylands strike back against John Ross? Emma (Emma Bell) used incriminating evidence from Harris’s files to blackmail Judith (Judith Light) into giving John Ross access to the Ryland ships for his Arctic drilling venture. Judith wasn’t happy and expressed her frustration to Harris (Mitch Pileggi), telling him it’s time to break up John Ross and Emma. Harris assured his mother that Candace (Jude Demorest), the prostitute posing as John Ross’s secretary, is still laying the groundwork to frame John Ross for a sex crime. Will this be the week Candace puts her plan in motion?

• What’s next for Emma — and her parents? When Ann (Brenda Strong) saw John Ross coming out of Emma’s bedroom, she got into a fight with Emma and kicked her off Southfork. Ann immediately regretted the decision and turned to Harris, who blackmailed CIA agent George Tatangelo (Gino Anthony Pesi) into giving his family extra protection. Eventually, Emma came home and assured Ann she had stopped seeing John Ross, but Ann told Harris she isn’t sure if she believes their daughter. How long can Emma continue to deceive Ann — and will Ann and Harris continue to soften toward each other?

• What will Elena and Nicolas do with their clue? After Cliff (Ken Kercheval) called Pamela (Julie Gonzalo) and failed to mend fences with her, he urged Elena and Nicolas (Jordana Brewster, Juan Pablo Di Pace) to turn his daughter against John Ross. Meanwhile, Nicolas examined J.R.’s autopsy photos and noticed an unusual incision on his chest. Could this be a sign J.R. was receiving chemotherapy before he died, and if so, will Elena and Nicolas finally figure out he arranged his own “murder” and framed Cliff for the crime?

• What’s next for Christopher and Heather? As Christopher and Heather (Jesse Metcalfe, AnnaLynne McCord) grew closer, he learned her secret: She was once married to ranch-hand-turned-roughneck Bo (Donny Boaz) and the two of them have a young son, Michael. Christopher and the boy bonded over their mutual love of Transformers, but Bo didn’t seem very enthused about the idea that his ex-wife is dating a Ewing. Will he cause trouble for Christopher and Heather?

What “Dallas Burning Questions” are on your mind? Share your comments below and watch TNT’s “Dallas” tonight.

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TNT’s Dallas Recap: ‘D.T.R.’

March 25, 2014 by 13 Comments
Bobby Ewing, Dallas, D.T.R., Linda Gray, Patrick Duffy, Sue Ellen Ewing, TNT

Ewings united

Here’s what happened in “D.T.R.,” TNT’s latest “Dallas” episode:

• Sue Ellen struck back (part 1): Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) visited Governor McConaughey (Steven Weber) and gave him a bottle of J.R. Ewing Bourbon, hoping it would persuade him to replace Stanley Babcock, the corrupt railroad commissioner, with an appointee who would agree to revoke John Ross’s Southfork drilling permit. Of course, the wily McConaughey was in no mood to grant Sue Ellen a favor and rejected her suggestion. Dumb move, governor: It turned out Sue Ellen had bugged the bottle, which allowed her and Bobby (Patrick Duffy) to eavesdrop on McConaughey’s conversations — including one with Babcock (Currie Graham), who promised to illegally funnel money to the governor’s 2016 presidential campaign. “The bug in the bourbon cork. I think J.R. would see the humor in that,” Bobby said.

• Sue Ellen struck back (part 2). After John Ross and Pamela (Josh Henderson, Julie Gonzalo) returned from their honeymoon, Sue Ellen told her son to stop cheating on his wife, but he paid Sue Ellen no heed. “This is all about you wanting to punish J.R. for the way he treated you. Well, guess what, Mama? I’m not J.R.,” John Ross said. Dumb move, junior: Once Sue Ellen played McConaughey her recording of his conversation, he agreed to replace Babcock with a new railroad commissioner — Bobby. (Said the governor upon discovering Sue Ellen’s scheme: “This is why politicians should never accept gifts — especially gifts with J.R.’s name on them.”) Sue Ellen let her son know she was behind the appointment when she sent him a text message that read, “I couldn’t look the other way.” He responded in kind, leaving her a nasty voice mail message in which he shouted, “Now I know I’ve got another enemy I’ve got to look out for. I ain’t going to forget this.”

• Emma gained the upper hand against Judith. John Ross returned from his honeymoon with a gift for his mistress: a necklace, which he gave to Emma (Emma Bell) during one of their clandestine meetings in her bedroom. When Ann (Brenda Strong) saw the jewelry, she and Emma got into a fight and Ann kicked her off the ranch. But Emma wasn’t down for long: She told Judith (Judith Light) she knows all about her prostitution business and used the information to blackmail Grandma into agreeing to give John Ross control of Ryland’s ships for his Arctic drilling venture. After Judith gave her granddaughter some advice (“Never let a man screw you for nothing”), Emma told John Ross she wants a piece of the “Arctic play,” but that’s probably the least of his worries: Judith, fuming over being blackmailed, let Harris know she was frustrated with the slow pace of his scheme to frame John Ross for a sex crime. “How hard is it to get that Ewing boy to drop his pants?” Judith asked.

• Harris gained the upper hand against the CIA. After Ann told Harris that Emma left the ranch, he worried for his daughter’s safety and told CIA agent George Tatangelo (Gino Anthony Pesi) that he wanted out of the agency’s sting operation against the Mendez-Ochoa drug cartel. Tatangelo told Harris it was too late to walk away (“You bought the ticket. You take the ride.”), so Harris threatened to expose expose the illegal “black ops” operations Tantangelo has been conducting on the side. “If you won’t stop the ride, the least you can do is re-route some of those resources and get my family a little extra protection,” Harris said. Meanwhile, Harris and Ann continued to soften toward each other during their search for Emma, who eventually came home to Southfork and told Ann she would stop seeing John Ross — a promise Emma had no intention of keeping.

• Elena and Nicolas got a clue. Pamela was unsettled to see Candace (Jude Demorest) flirting with John Ross, but that was nothing compared to the distressing phone call she received from Cliff (Ken Kercheval), who tried unsuccessfully to mend fences with her. Cliff realized his daughter believes he really did kill J.R., and so he huddled with Elena and Nicolas (Jordana Brewster, Juan Pablo Di Pace) and urged them to tell Pamela the truth. “Turn her against John Ross and she will help you get your justice … and mine,” Cliff said. He also warned Elena to keep an eye on Nicolas. Meanwhile, Nicolas persuaded Peter Bedford (Todd Terry), the state’s attorney whom J.R. once blackmailed, into showing him and Elena the files from the Mexican police’s investigation into J.R.’s murder. While examining the autopsy photos, Nicolas noticed an unusual incision on J.R.’s body.

• Christopher grew closer to Heather — and clashed with John Ross. Christopher and Heather (Jesse Metcalfe, AnnaLynne McCord) grew closer, and he learned her secret: She was once married to Bo (Donny Boaz) and the two of them have a young son, Michael. Christopher and the boy bonded over Transformers when they met, but Bo made it clear he doesn’t think much of Christopher. Or maybe Bo was just stressed because John Ross, his boss at the Southfork drilling site, has been riding the crew so hard. Buckle up, Bo, because things aren’t going to get any easier: After John Ross found out about Bobby’s new position on the railroad commission, he vowed to keep fighting until he taps the oil under the ranch. As John Ross told Bobby and Christopher, “You want to build a roadblock between me and drilling Southfork? Go ahead. If I’m as bad as my father ever was, then I’ll blow right past it.”

What did you think of “D.T.R.”? Share your comments below and look for Dallas Decoder’s critique later this week.

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Dallas Burning Questions: Season 3, Week 5

March 24, 2014 by 3 Comments
AnnaLynne McCord, Bo McCabe, Christopher Ewing, Dallas, Donny Boaz, D.T.R., Heather, Jesse Metcalfe, TNT

Mystery girl

Here are the questions we’re pondering as we await tonight’s telecast of “D.T.R.,” TNT’s latest “Dallas” episode:

• What will Sue Ellen do about John Ross? “Lifting the Veil,” last week’s episode, ended with John Ross riding high: He secured a permit to drill on Southfork and then exchanged vows with Pamela (Julie Gonzalo) during a lavish wedding ceremony. Not even his meddling mama could get in his way, although she tried: Moments before the nuptials, Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) confronted John Ross over his infidelity and threatened to tell Pamela that he’s a cheater, but he brushed aside Sue Ellen’s concerns and cruelly pointed out the smell of alcohol on her breath. Maybe John Ross should have been nicer: During the reception, when Bobby (Patrick Duffy) told Sue Ellen he doesn’t “have a move left” to stop her son from drilling the ranch, Sue Ellen responded, “But I do.” What’s she planning?

• What will Harris do about John Ross? To obtain his drilling permit, John Ross was forced to strike a deal with Harris (Mitch Pileggi). It began when Harris summoned John Ross to an upscale brothel, where John Ross found railroad commissioner Stanley Babcock (Currie Graham) engaging in some kinky sexual fetishes. Once John Ross had the dirt he needed to blackmail Babcock and secure his permit, he agreed to give Harris a flash drive from the files Emma stole from Harris’s safe. But Harris wants all his files back, so he revealed to Judith (Judith Light) — who turned out to be the madam in charge of the brothel, by the way — his latest scheme: Harris plans to frame John Ross for a sex crime with help from Candace (Jude Demorest), John Ross’s flirtatious secretary, who is secretly working for the Rylands. Will the plot work?

• What will Emma do about John Ross? Before the wedding, John Ross attacked Emma (Emma Bell) for spoiling Pamela’s plan to surprise him with sexy lingerie, calling his mistress “an attention-starved little brat.” He was forced to apologize when he needed Emma to retrieve the flash drive for his blackmail scheme, but she still seemed upset, especially during the wedding ceremony. Later, Emma cried in bed alone while John Ross and Pamela were in a hotel room, beginning their honeymoon. Emma is unlikely to get any sympathy from Sue Ellen, who urged Ann (Brenda Strong) to kick her daughter off Southfork, a suggestion Ann rejected because of the lingering threats against Emma from Harris’s drug-dealing business partners. Will Emma continue to pursue John Ross, or will she find a new way to cause trouble?

• What will happen to Elena and Nicolas? In Mexico, Drew (Kuno Becker) overheard Christopher’s conversation with Lucia (Angélica Celaya), who confirmed that Nicolas isn’t her husband’s real name but said he has nothing else to hide. Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe) returned to Southfork and told Elena (Jordana Brewster) that Nicolas was married, but Elena insisted he was divorced. Later, Nicolas admitted to Elena his divorce isn’t exactly final yet, but he assured her it will eventually be settled. Of course, it turned out Nicolas spoke too soon: Lucia arrived in Dallas and blackmailed her husband into reconciling with her. “The Ewings are determined to know who you really are. If you don’t do as I say, I’ll tell them what you owe and who you owe it to,” Lucia said. What does that mean?

• What will happen to Christopher and Heather? After John Ross and Pamela’s wedding reception, Christopher ran into Heather (AnnaLynne McCord) in the barn, where they made love. The audience still doesn’t know a lot about Heather, except that she works as a Southfork ranch hand and has four brothers; we also know from recent press reports that she’s a divorcee and single mom. Meanwhile, the “D.T.R.” publicity photo above shows Christopher and Heather speaking to ranch-hand-turned-roughneck Bo (Donny Boaz), with whom she briefly tangled in the third-season premiere, “The Return.” What’s her connection to Bo, and what else might we find out about her?

What “Dallas Burning Questions” are on your mind? Share your comments below and watch TNT’s “Dallas” tonight.

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TNT’s Dallas Recap: ‘Lifting the Veil’

March 18, 2014 by 15 Comments
Dallas, Julie Gonzalo, Lifting the Veil, Pamela Rebecca Barnes Ewing, TNT

If only she knew

Here’s what happened in “Lifting the Veil,” TNT’s latest “Dallas” episode:

• John Ross blasted Emma. On the morning of his wedding to Pamela, John Ross (Josh Henderson) received a call from his secretary Candace (Jude Demorest), who told him Stanley Babcock, the railroad commissioner who denied his drilling permit, was willing to see him. John Ross dashed off to the meeting, but not before blasting Emma (Emma Bell) for spoiling Pamela’s plan to surprise him with sexy lingerie. “You may screw like a woman, but you act like an attention-starved little brat,” he said, leaving Emma seething.

• Harris and John Ross cut a deal. When John Ross arrived for his meeting with Babcock, he was surprised to find Harris (Mitch Pileggi) waiting for him instead. Harris offered him a deal: If John Ross agreed to return the top-secret Ryland files, Harris said he would help John Ross get his permit from Babcock. After some haggling, John Ross agreed to return only one item from Harris’s files: a flash drive that Harris covets above all else. After John Ross met with Emma and sweet-talked her into agreeing to give up the flash drive, he was summoned by Harris to an upscale brothel, where Babcock (Currie Graham) was indulging in his kinky fetishes with a prostitute dressed like a dog. John Ross interrupted Babcock and persuaded the humiliated man to give him the drilling permit.

This left John Ross and Harris with nothing to do but wait around the brothel for Bum to retrieve the flash drive from Emma and bring it them. Harris killed the time by presenting John Ross with a wedding present: the “company” of two prostitutes who were all too eager to please John Ross. But before anything serious happened, Bum (Kevin Page) showed up with the flash drive and gave John Ross a stern look. “You’re flying mighty close to the sun with all this,” Bum said.

• Sue Ellen clashed with Afton — and John Ross. Back at the ranch, the wedding guests began arriving, including Lucy and Ray (Charlene Tilton, Steve Kanaly), who couldn’t help but notice John Ross was nowhere to be seen. Pamela (Julie Gonzalo) noticed too and grew increasingly anxious, while Sue Ellen (Linda Gray), upset over her son’s infidelity, took a nip from her flask. The tension finally erupted when Afton (Audrey Landers) turned to Sue Ellen and snapped, “All the despicable things J.R. did to you through the years. You’d think you’d have taught your son better than this.” Sue Ellen’s cutting response: “Just so you know, Afton, the most despicable thing J.R. ever did was you.” Poor Ann (Brenda Strong) had to referee.

But the drama was just beginning. Once John Ross arrived, Sue Ellen finally confronted him over his affair with Emma, but he told his mother the relationship was his business. Sue Ellen refused to back down and threatened to tell Pamela everything, but John Ross pointed out how his mother’s breath smelled of liquor and said, “You have looked the other way your whole life, Mama. One more time’s not going to hurt.”

• John Ross and Pamela exchanged vows. After Afton slapped John Ross on the back of his head for going AWOL, he urged Pamela to forgive him. “We are meant for each other. I know that with every cell of my being. OK? I’ll prove it to you. I just need you to give me the chance,” he said. She agreed and went through with the ceremony, but before the couple sped off in Ewing V for their honeymoon, John Ross let Bobby (Patrick Duffy) know that Babcock promised him the drilling permit. “I’ll give you credit, John Ross, you are more and more like your daddy every day. But he never drilled this ranch. And mark my words: neither will you,” Bobby said.

But Bobby wasn’t nearly as confident in private. After blasting Babcock over the phone, he turned to Sue Ellen and told her he doesn’t “have a move left” to stop John Ross from drilling. Sue Ellen’s response: “But I do.”

• Christopher and Elena continued to move on. In Mexico, Drew (Kuno Becker) overheard Christopher’s conversation with Lucia (Angélica Celaya), who confirmed that Nicolas isn’t her husband’s real name but said he has nothing to hide. Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe) returned to Southfork and confronted Elena (Jordana Brewster), who said Nicolas is getting a divorce. “For someone who needed an annulment before marrying me, you seem pretty cavalier about playing around with a married man,” Christopher said. Elena’s response: “I’m not playing around. I’m playing him.”

Later, Christopher and Heather (AnnaLynne McCord) made love in the barn, while Nicolas (Juan Pablo Di Pace) assured a rattled Elena that his marriage is indeed over. But this turned out to be not so true: Lucia arrived in Dallas and blackmailed her estranged husband into reconciling with her. “The Ewings are determined to know who you really are. If you don’t do as I say, I’ll tell them what you owe and who you owe it to,” she said.

• Harris and Judith schemed. Harris’s precious flash drive turned out to contain encrypted CIA files; once the drive was back in his possession, he was summoned to the office of the madam who runs the brothel, who turned out to be … Judith (Judith Light). When she asked how Harris planned to get the rest of the files from John Ross, Harris showed her pictures of the prostitutes trying to seduce John Ross and told his mother one of the young women is only 16. Harris suggested he was going to frame John Ross by making it look he actually had sex with the girl, but Judith couldn’t fathom how her son would accomplish that. This is when Harris introduced his mother to his secret weapon: Candace, John Ross’s secretary, who has been secretly working for Harris all along.

What did you think of “Lifting the Veil”? Share your comments below and look for Dallas Decoder’s critique later this week.

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