KNOTS LANDING

[Vee]

The Season 4 premiere (A Brand New Day):

The full-on Knots Landing is finally here, and I am here for it! Opening on a great shot of Val powering down on a beach fast and determined, it's another John Pleshette script which I'm quite excited about. (Of course Val checked into the Bates Motel.) I see Julie Harris and the much-hailed Kevin Dobson have been added to the main cast, but most importantly the terrifying mime shot of Karen from Season 2 that haunts my dreams has finally been removed from the montage and that's that what really matters.

Gary does the walk of shame across the cul-de-sac from Abby's back to, y'know, his actual house. LOL at Lilimae pointedly holding up the paper in front of her like a partition so she doesn't have to look at Gary next to her at the kitchen table I can't believe he showed up to eat at. I'm very pleased at the time-jump from Season 3 (three weeks). I always like whenever primetime shows (or streaming ones, for that matter) make use of the passage of time between seasons to time-jump a little and reset a bit; I seem to recall Melrose Place occasionally working little jumps of days or weeks in between hiatuses, although never months IIRC. I know Melrose like the back of my hand, but it's been awhile. 90210 I seem to recall definitely jumped through the summer months between seasons more than once, and it worked for them to reset the canvas. The same principle applies here. (It should be noted that Melrose Place did do a reset not dissimilar to this at least once - Season 7, its final year and a strong one that should've allowed it to continue, where the show pointedly chose to reset from a very bad year while being creatively re-aligned by... Peter Dunne, who just came onboard for this season of Knots Landing.)

Very cute seeing Diana drive all the Fairgate/Cunningham kids to school together. And there's a pretty epic shot directly after (from the opening credits) of Abby in shorts crossing the sunny drive to a gobsmacked Gary, over sultry sax and a slow zoom in. Great stuff. For some reason I had equated "Don Stroud" in the guest credits with Willie the Kid from Acts of Love late in S3 and was expecting that character, so you could've knocked me over with a feather just like Val when they drove up and saw Rusty and the accursed Cricket, two characters I absolutely never thought I'd see again. Stroud is very hot though, so that makes up for Cricket. Can they bring the ghost girls from Three Sisters back again? That'd be cool.

The late Kevin Dobson makes a strong debut - he's sexy as hell, virile and hirsute. It seems Mack MacKenzie and Karen have met before or at least have some existing familiarity with each other due to the case against Sid's murderers. Mack is very forward very quickly with Karen in ways that wouldn't all fly today, but it's mitigated by her disarming him up front, and by the long, slow work done last season seeing Karen confront several potential suitors as she worked through moving on from Sid. You feel ready as a viewer for Karen to find whirlwind romance now, and Michele Lee clearly is delighted to be sparking off Dobson as a uniquely similar and it would appear, spontaneous and improvisational partner. They are instantly very winning together, and he is instantly a shot in the arm for the male canvas.

Prior to this, I mostly knew Kevin Dobson from his ill-fated stint on OLTL in the early 2000s, as the first Governor Harrison Brooks. Dobson was hired as the first in a string of half-hearted recurring male presences added to the show under Michael Malone's second tenure in those years to try to quiet audience complaints and suggest they were going to give Erika Slezak's Viki a new story and romantic partner, something almost certainly vetoed by ascendent new daytime head Brian Frons (her last love interest, Mark Derwin, was in an irreversible coma). Dobson seemed uncomfortable on the show and on daytime, and stiff with very poor serviceable dialogue. The Brooks character was quickly shifted into becoming a more effective plot device and scheming politico for the political and criminal machinations with Viki's son Kevin and the evil Santi crime family. The role was also swiftly recast, and after a few more Malone-era recurring men failed to launch poor Viki didn't get a true love interest again until 2007. I know Dobson later turned up as one of the various fake Uncle Mickeys on DAYS, but I didn't put myself through that.

Anyway, latter-day daytime never really seemed to work out for Kevin Dobson, but he is an absolute firestarter here. Again, the moves on Karen are a bit swift but seem very welcome from her. I also loved his reaction to having dinner with the kids: "Sounds terrible. I'll be there." I wish we'd seen the whole family dinner.

Speaking of male presences, Stephen Macht works beautifully at the office with Karen and Richard (Macht and Pleshette are a great double act, complaining about the deli sandwiches). Uncle Joe was very poorly utilized for most of last season, and it's a big improvement in the most recent episodes. It's too bad they couldn't do more with him for whatever reason (and I'd like to know what happened with him exiting the show, as I have yet to dig up any info); I've seen Macht at full tilt in other things and I'd be very interested to see if he had any romantic chemistry with, say, JVA. I suspect they may have dumped him because he and Kevin Dobson have too similar a volatile energy, and Dobson was a TV name who was snapped up by the show after another of his shows (on CBS, I think) didn't go to series.

A few interesting comments re: this transition and Don Murray from an interview with Michael Filerman on the indispensable KnotsLanding.net, which is chock-full of interviews. I'll spoiler this simply because it's a long excerpt in an already long post, sorry.

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Anyway, back to the episode: I'm glad they did not really try to pretend Gary could take Don Stroud. Come on now. Gary gets lit up by Rusty which is only right, and staggers home to an unimpressed Abby looking like he was behind the wheel of Sid's car. "Your bed's across the street. Unlike your wife who would be at your side with cold compresses and iodine, I'm not a forgiving person. She's the other woman now, not me, and I don't want to share." Love it! And Karen finally fires Gary, which was very satisfying. There's another great moment where Val kicks Gary's shít to the curb including Miss Ellie's chintzy '70s furniture and informs him he's moving out of the house, not her. This leaves Val and Lilimae living on fold-out chairs, and I'm eager to see how she redecorates for the '80s. Another great beat: Val and Abby locking eyes across the cul-de-sac, as open war begins with Abby sending J.R. Capricorn Crude, setting up the next crossover ep. Meanwhile, Gary finally returns home to Abby who embraces him carnally bathed in twilight. As the dramatic swells, he surrenders himself to who they are: Night people.

They appear to have recast Wayne, the evil mechanic who juked Sid's brakes with an even more obviously evil bit player who Karen cannot seem to realize is creepy. Oh well.

Again, idk how long I'll keep up with episodic posts as the show goes full serial and when my work schedule kicks in harder, but we shall see. I am glad people tolerate them.

Edited June 6, 2022 by Vee

[Vee]

Season 4, Episode 2 (Daniel):

Another Pleshette ep. I loved J.R. cackling reading Val's book and seeming to genuinely enjoy it; his relationship with Abby is also still beautifully matched. "You're just gonna eat him alive, aren't you?" J.R. asks Abby admiringly re: Gary. But Abby resists his latest advances and stands by her man: "He handles me very nicely, thank you." I really hope J.R. doesn't destroy Val's book - I want to see her succeed and thrive on her own terms. I know a lot of people weren't into the Dallas crossovers, but I always am. This show distills those characters to their core elements vs. the extremely repetitive, masculine power fantasy drives (from what I've seen, anyway, dipping in and out of a lot of the early and middle seasons) of the storytelling on the mother soap. I loved J.R. telling Abby to keep Gary out of Dallas because 'the crown is mine,' illustrating that deep down, despite all his stories and jokes about Gary being the family screw-up, deep down he still fears Gary for the same reasons he told his brother about back in S2, the things Abby has brought out of him to the fore.

Abby has an early line of the episode as she comes home to a fun home scene with Gary and her kids who are doing all the cooking for her: "Raise your children right, and you never need domestic help." The kids are already quite used to seeing Val's husband and their mom make out, and it feels like a functional home already. It's interesting that the show seems to be fully committing to Gary and Abby as a unit now. I wonder how long it lasts. I know Gary and Val are supposedly apart for nine years, despite being the rooting crossover couple when the show launched; that's bold, and wild. But it feels organic here because Shackelford and Mills are fire together.

Roy and Frank the evil car parts mobsters are back, except they've left car parts behind and are stylistically starting to go full Miami Vice. Sure, why not.

I did love Richard being the one to talk Karen down from her fury at Mack. But he's once again being the full Richard henpecking Laura over her pregnancy, condescending, overbearing in his control of their current lives. I am stunned she moved back in with him and is still living with this, yet these kind of sad, creepy domestic situations do happen. She calls him in on the suicide note, his stunts, etc. to get her to move back in, and the labor scenes take on an intense, ugly, almost quasi-rape tone at several points. But her anger is all but forgotten, for now, by the birth of Daniel (shown with his mother over the end credits - or rather, that baby is apparently Constance McCashin's actual newborn son). It's a nice moment, but it seems very fitting that the Averys birthed their second child in a literal car wreck. I cannot see where this goes next.

Val sure is turning the house blue. I actually love the bright new colors and the yellow over the doors though, embracing the garish '80s. The stuff with Mack really getting into the book is great, and then helping Karen with Jason #3 or 4.

Another great line from Gary near the end as Abby gifts him his new apt: "There's nothing worse than a quiet orgy."

Next up: Ciji!

[DRW50]

@Vee I'm very happy you are still doing these, especially as they have little details I'd long forgotten (like Rusty returning).

I grow to loathe Mack around season 9 and that never fully goes away, but he was very important to allowing both Karen and Knots to grow into a more confident place at this point, and the show really needed his energy. He and Michele clicked instantly and Knots wisely did not do what a lot of shows did and set him up as a heavy antagonist before telling us to like him.

Regarding your thoughts on Richard and the community, especially Karen, I think where Richard benefited is that he was easy  to understand. A go-getter who went bust,  someone to pity, someone to take under their wing. Karen liked that because it made her feel good and she could help someone who needed help and would be clearly appreciative of that help. Laura was more complicated, much more guarded, and complexity is something a lot of people do not have time for. Laura tends to be "othered" for much of her time on the show, drawn more toward other damaged people than the designated heroines, which is one of the more realistic elements of Knots for me, and why I think the show loses a lot of its soul without her.

Edited June 6, 2022 by DRW50

[Joseph]

You know you could make all the fans a real favor and help rating the episodes in IMDB i went looking and most episodes if rated at all were rated by less than 50 people what turns the ratings questionable

[Vee]

Episode 3 (Encounters):

Written by James Houghton and sister Mona again. The opening party is a helluva spread from Richard Avery, noted chef and hostage-taker. I loved Karen's line to Mack: "They're my neighbors! Remember, they're only here to judge you."

Another great exchange:

Karen: Oh, Richard, you should open a restaurant.

Richard: From torts to tarts in one nervous breakdown.

The legendary Ciji is here, and as someone who has never seen more than a second or two of this character let alone heard her sing I must say Lisa Hartman Black's voice is an absolute knockout. You can see Ginger tensing up as Kenny watches her - she's seen this before. The Gary/Kenny angle on introducing the character was a smart choice. I am into it.

Val looks amazing in her party wear early in the episode (not the headband mess), and she didn't look frumpy at all - I think she's just not used to '80s fashion vs. dressing like Ellie Mae Clampett like she has for too much of the last few seasons. JVA and Stephen Macht have solid chemistry just as I suspected, as Val rages at Joe saying she wants out of the house, out of the neighborhood, out of the whole suburban dream she built with Gary. And Gary is waffling about moving on but cannot resist his animalistic passion for Abby as their latest blow-up turns into yet more hot sex.

Joe and Val have a wonderful tender scene in her bathroom late in the episode which really makes me wonder if they were planning to pair them up, while Gary basically defects entirely towards the end of the hour in that underground parking lot and begs Val to take him back. It's a wonderful, heartfelt set of performances by both JVA and Shackelford, and I can see why people kept loving them together and wanted them reunited; it reminded me for a moment why I loved them together too earlier on, and maybe will again in future. But you can't sympathize with Gary much here, as it seems like he simply wants to continue having both women, to have his cake and eat it too. And Val can sense that, so she tells him goodbye (and then, heartbreakingly, looks back and finds him gone - such a good moment from Van Ark). I can only hope this is the end of waffling, whining Val refusing to discuss the Ewings or promote her own potential bestseller. Gary is who he is, for now anyway - move on. Is Gary in love with Abby, as Abby seems to be with him? I thought he might be prior to this episode, but I'm not sure now. I'm not sure he knows either, though.

Speaking of Val's brilliant career, Louise Sorel is Val's latest press contact! Even wilder, the gossip columnist is June Lockhart.

I have no idea what Wayne: Mechanic to the Mob is up to now. I did like the scorned Abby's line to the other guests at the end after Gary took off: "He had a Boy Scout meeting." And now Richard the home chef wants to be a true restauranteur. I'd love to support him because I deeply care about Richard and especially his relationship with Karen and I think a career change would be good for him if he stops gaslighting and otherwise terrorizing people, but I also still really, really want Laura to escape that house and stop giving him fifteen to twenty chances.

Episode 4 (Svengali):

Noted Crystal Chappell survivor Michael Sabatino is here. I am aware of a little bit about who Chip Roberts is, and I know what becomes of him but I don't know the hows or whys or schemes or anything in between. Sabatino is younger, sexier and less overly affected here than I've ever seen him on daytime, and instantly shines as a scheming messenger boy turned Eve Harrington, or perhaps Tony Curtis in The Sweet Smell of Success. Louise Sorel is back as his imperious boss Bess Riker(??), who Chip cheerily dismisses at every turn. Watching Sabatino and Sorel together they crackled, but it took a two-shot of them to make me remember Vivian and Lawrence Alamain. No wonder DAYS went for it.

Val is still whining about having written a popular book that is about to become a money-making bestseller. I am really over this shít. Please just get your money, get (on with) your life and live in the now. At least she seems to be coming close to that at the end with her successful TV interview.

Michael is getting big. LOL at Michael and Mack yelling at each other for the benefit of Karen hiding upstairs.

Mack: How about dinner tomorrow night?

Karen [upstairs]: No!

Mack: What time?

Karen: Seven!

Are Karen and Mack official at this point? Are they dating? Have they fully acknowledged or discussed it (not onscreen, as far as I can tell)? It seems like it's in a weird limbo zone for them where they are incredibly engaged and fired up by each other, incredibly into their dynamic but haven't yet put a label on it. To their family and friends it seems like Mack is just the funny guy on Sid's case who keeps coming by the house, taking Karen out and getting closer and closer to her. They know what it is, of course, but do Karen and Mack? I'm not so sure they've fully come to terms with it. I hope they will onscreen.

Lord, the decor at Richard's restaurant. And his tab for 'a modest selection of basic wine!' The Karen/Richard scene re: her plans was great - he's a coward, he says, but she's not. And her investment was very sweet. "Just don't take it to the bank until Monday."

Mike Douglas, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Oz munchkin Billy Curtis are also here. Lilimae hamming it up on the talk show set pre-show was a hoot, but also layered her character and interplay with Val; even then, she couldn't help needling Val about not paying enough attention to her marriage vs. the book until it was too late. Lilimae's daughter is living her dream and I do believe she is truly happy for Val, but I also think she simply can't help but critique her, possibly as a passive form of aggression she is not fully conscious of, partly because she is simply a busybody and needling mother and partly because yes, she wants the fame for herself. Hilariously, she even offers to go on in Val's place. There's layers within layers to what is currently a largely comic character. (Also funny: The fact that schmoozer Chip clearly snuck them onto the set without permission.)

Mack initially seems to have as little patience for Richard as Gary always did, but quickly softens; the scenes with him, Richard and Karen watching Val's talk show appearance were cute, as was the bit with the kids watching back at Knots Landing. Amusing as well was the autograph-seeker named Eve. In an episode with a few echoes of All About Eve already mentioned re: Chip, I don't think that's a random choice.

Ciji's musical performances (this one apparently written by Rick Springfield) are nothing but bangers so far. The show clearly knows all it has to do is turn on the camera, move it around her a little occasionally and let Lisa Hartman rip. She's that good, and it doesn't yet feel like wasted time on a show so carefully paced that still has almost 50 minutes of drama available, unlike later primetime timeslots with more commercials. It also informs character as we get to learn a bit about Ciji simply from her passion, but also about what appears to be at least two of the male leads' growing fascination with her.

One more thing: It is not lost on me that current KL mastermind Peter Dunne later took over the final season of Melrose Place, which also featured an enchanting knockout of a singer (Eve, played by Rena Sofer who was dubbed for her performances, and a decent character but no Ciji) deeply embroiled in a season-spanning storyline and mystery. I don't think that's coincidence, and I'm surprised if no one's ever brought it up.

[DRW50]

@Vee You'll definitely be getting a lot of Lisa singing in future. It works very well as Ciji - there's one coming up that closes out an episode which is one of my favorite Knots scenes (it's not the more famous scene along these lines). 

I never knew that about Dunne either. It's a shame Melrose ended up having such a poor ending. I need to revisit some of that season and see if I can get over the visual of Rena trying to play nutty in a cheerleading uniform.

[Vee]

I think it was a pretty good final season, and should've been renewed over 90210; some of us have discussed this a lot in the MP thread. The final episode was a bit silly, but it wasn't too dreadful and that happens.

[DemetriKane]

@Vee You're so right and spot on about Joe. I believe he fits into cast nicely, and really works best with Val, i hate it that he didn't last longer. I too, also enjoyed his interactions with Abby and Ginger. 

The writer's smartly continues to play Val and Gary beat all throughout. The heavy breathing and the longing stares etc. 

Season 4, is a very special year to me. I hold it close to my heart for many reasons. It's the season i have revisited the most!

CiJi, Knots very own Laura Palmer, LBVS. She's a true superstar, full of charisma and bounce off the other characters in exciting ways. She pulled out different emotions from everyone and i love it!

I loved watching the entire cast be on the make to a BIGGER/RICHER life!

Interesting enough you spotlight Ciji's music overlapping with the main characters, i do remember a David Jacobs interview and he says using music was like his secret weapon, he didn't speak too much on it because he was fearful of giving away too many secrets.

 

 

 

[Paul Raven]

And the fact that Joe is Karen's brother immediately ties her to his relationships and storylines. that can be useful in terms of keeping characters involved.

[Vee]

This one's a twofer, of sorts, and I'll use a bit more brevity because I've been busy:

Episode 5/6 (Catharsis/New Beginnings) + Dallas (Jock's Will):

The wrap-up on the Karen/mob affair was decent enough. I did like the ending tag with it seeming as though Karen set the whole scenario up to bust the bad guys - I was legit wondering for a few minutes there if she'd planned it to feed Roy and Frank to the bigger mob boss, since it seemed Mack could do nothing. That would've been ballsy. But it worked out well, though Macht and Kevin Dobson seemed to be trying to outshout each other and on the verge of each taking a run at "I'm walkin' here!!'

Abby is snubbed by Gary when he plans to take Val to Texas for the reading of Jock's will, at least at first. There's a pretty hot scene with them in bed, and her nasty note to him cracked me up. But Val shuts him down and there you have it, off they go.

Richard's not taking his shrink appointments while launching Daniel. I'm sure that'll turn out fine.

Everyone's obsessed with Ciji! It is not lost on me that Gary keeps listening to her song over and over, and Ginger's pretty over Kenny doing it too. I didn't realize Gary might enter into the Ciji story on a deeper level, and that really intrigues me.

As for Episode 6, the crossover with Dallas on the same note re: Jock's Will, the show instantly feels more modern here - sleek, all-white hotels, sexy sax, Val dolled up for her book launch, even if it is all in Dallas itself. I wasn't expecting the KL episode to take place half in Dallas with appearances from more than J.R. I love the shenanigans Gary and Abby get up to in their suite, the elevator, etc. Mills and Shackelford are so much fun together, while J.R. and Abby still uniquely have each other's measure. I did love that Abby asked him outright why he is so afraid of Gary if his brother's such a loser, and J.R. said it was about Gary's rage. Still, he compliments what Abby has helped bring out in Gary without challenging him. "Gary with guts," J.R. marvels. I do think Abby loves Gary here and now - partly she considers him a project, an investment in his emergent, more powerful self, but she loves him for that and for what she sees in his potential, and has fallen for him genuinely. YMMV. (I also loved Shackelford's monologue about Jock's death and its effect on him.)

Lord at Lilimae invading the Bess Riker agency, monologuing about her arrest and prison break! And somehow, utilizing both his and Lilimae's own personalities and penchants for fibbing and/or skullduggery in Chip's case, Chip Roberts has managed to scam his way into the Ewing home. Michael Sabatino and Julie Harris are uncomfortably good together, with the strange romantic edge as he wheedles his way into Lilimae's heart to get what he wants. I don't know why I was surprised to find out that he was also sleeping with Bess (Louise Sorel). Interesting to see both Chip and Bess openly calling him 'young and pretty' - non-masculine signifiers. The show is really heating up on a level it hasn't before with the addition of this storyline, and the more concentrated focus on Gary and Abby's rise to power and Val's career (which she finally seems happier with, this week anyway).

At first I was not a massive fan of how Mack talks to Karen's sons ('yer ugly faces') when we've barely seen him get to know them. He was a bit too familiar as the patriarch for a man at best dating their mom. I guess he and Karen are technically official now, though they've never quite said it. He won me over completely though in the great scene with Diana, where he sort of dissects himself and his too-familiar or aggressive behavior with them, and people in general, to try to mend fences with her. Everything he said about himself was absolutely right and you understood him better for the telling of it. Of course Diana in her infinite wisdom then goes out and befriends Chip Roberts, and Mack is back on her shítlist. Oh well.

Speaking of "Jock's Will," I've enjoyed a fair amount of idle watching of Dallas Season 5/6 during these crossovers, and I haven't binged all of it, but I am inclined to agree with some of the KL bloggers out there: It's occasionally diverting fluff, but very little ever changes on Dallas. Smiling men in suits meet at restaurants to either deal with J.R., team up to get J.R., or worry about what J.R. will do to them. "The cartel" is regularly discussed. Bobby and Pam (a far cry from her earliest self) worry over J.R. or, too often, something to do with Pam's health, babies, or mental health re: babies. Cliff Barnes grins like a March hare and says something stupid meant to mock the sworn enemy of J.R., while constantly vowing to get J.R. who has already destroyed him and/or driven him to suicide at least five times. Sue Ellen, a far cry from her earliest self too, cycles through wretched hairdos while worrying about J.R. or a man in her life (be they infantile like her son or simply mentally infantile like her lovers) who could fall prey to J.R. while staring at the crystal decanters on her shelves. Barbara Bel Geddes sighs, purses her lips and thinks of Jimmy Stewart and "Vertigo" in between crying jags. Lucy's varying deranged, bland or dead men (Mickey was cute) come and go while Lucy's acting ability and characterization fail to find any new heights. And Steve Kanaly remains very hot to me.

But Dallas is no Knots Landing. I don't know how long they got by doing so many variations on the same old thing, though I will say S5-6 are far more diverting than some other episodes so far, and I may keep following along this Jock's will plotline where he's divided the company. I've been fooled before, though: The intriguing development where Cliff and 'the cartel' had J.R. truly over a barrel in Season 5, then Jock's death hit and J.R. began spiraling further was compelling, but it lasted maybe an episode and a half before J.R. had recommitted himself to being J.R. 'for Daddy' and began scheming in earnest anew, reclaiming Sue Ellen for perhaps the third or fourth time and vanquishing pathetic Cliff yet again. I nearly tune out when, well, half the characters are onscreen at this point. I just can't watch the same old thing in perpetuity. You don't get that on Knots, at least not yet. At least Priscilla Pointer is here as Pam and Cliff's imperious mom - and I'm pretty sure she cacks it soon, too.

Edited June 8, 2022 by Vee

[Vee]

Episode 7 (Investments):

Cannot believe even Val, an easy mark for her mother too often despite her still-visible resentment, just swallowed her gut and acquiesced to Chip staying with them. Val has a long way to go.  I knew Diana would get involved with Chip, but I didn't know she'd be that hot and heavy that fast. What a simp. I did think the instant Ciji saw Chip that they knew each other and had a bad history, but I can't tell here if she seems to be yet another woman enamored of his pretty, pretty face. I did like that he twigged onto the driving ambition Ciji has, and hooked into it with his own.

Karen has a great line to the cocky Mack about their sleeping together: "Call me an anachronism, but I like to be consulted on decisions like these." Her turning cold with Diana was a studied moment, but Michele Lee makes it. I liked her pulling back from Mack, and them meeting each other halfway at the end, admitting they're both nervous and scared, just in time for afternoon sex.

A fascinating insight into both Gary and Abby's evolving philosophies when he takes her and the kids to see his latest dream: A ranch of his own, having never left behind his love of Southfork and working the land. Abby sees things differently, and very '80s: "Use [money] to make more money. Build bigger dreams." She sees the bifurcated Ewing in Gary - the one who can be an empire-builder, a la Jock or J.R., despite his lifelong love for the peace of the wild. I think both those men exist in Gary (like his love for both Val and possibly Abby), but Abby's only truly interested in one.

Anyway, Gary's already found his next bigger dream: Ciji! I LOLed when he told Kenny "I thrive on risk" with a straight face. No shít! That's his whole history! That's why J.R. told the story to Abby about teenaged Gary driving his new motorcycle through a plate-glass window seconds after buying it! I have to believe the writers have a sense of irony about Gary once again embracing his impulsive, sometimes very rash judgment, yet at the same time this is Gary actualized in a lot of ways, finally. He is able to explore the power of his heritage and begin to flex it, and the record label is a solid choice; it also helps to finally begin to consolidate story for key players together, like a more full-on soap. KL Motors didn't quite cut it the same way, and Ewing Records or whatever they call it is much more of the moment with the '80s.

The scene with Gary and Abby reconciling their differences over business and ambition were great, and I do believe Abby is being honest with Gary - or as honest as she can be - about her needs, her willingness to meet him where he is, etc. I think she also believes she can nudge him the rest of the way to where she wants for their shared business interests, hence her being delightfully heavy-handed with Richard about Daniel in the delightful sequence where she gets him over a barrel about cutting a deal for Ewing cash. Was it cruel and demoralizing for Richard, particularly to be cowed by the glammed-out rising executrix, the self-crowned 'Princess of the Ewings' who was once just the divorceé housewife he had nooners with while still operating as an upstanding corporate lawyer? Most likely. But I can't blame Abby - look at Richard's track record, both mentally and professionally. Will she come down hard on him and crush his dream, almost certainly, but Richard has been doing Richard for a long time.

Evidently it is now time to abruptly write Joe out of the show mid-story. I won't really miss him, though I do think Joe improved a lot in his place on the canvas in recent eps. He had significant chemistry with Val and it seemed like they were positioning him to continue in her sphere even mid-episode, before he told Karen was leaving. I really wonder what happened behind the scenes there.

Episode 8 (Man in the Middle):

Again, let's be real: Is anything Abby is saying to Richard re: Daniel super evil or way off? More seating, more lunch service, Sunday brunches? She is not wrong - even if Richard or the audience takes issue with her tone as she, his former suburban housewife mistress, humiliates and emasculates him moments before his wife arrives. You see both sides of the equation, esp since restaurants take real time to turn a profit.

And it turns out TPTB are doing just as Peter Dunne and co. did at MP almost twenty years later, like I mentioned before: Consolidating story around the musician character and the businesses. Ciji Dunne goes to gig at Richard Avery's Daniel just as Eve Cleary on MP became the singer in residence at Kyle McBride's Upstairs jazz club in its final season. If a formula isn't broken don't fix it, even if Rena Sofer's Eve, while mysterious and viable for the plot, was never as intriguing as Ciji (until she went batshit crazy). Anyway, it's smart storybuilding and canvas outgrowth, tying so many threads and people together.

Speaking of MP, Gary Ewing did the Michael Mancini maneuver long before Michael: Cheated on his wife and moved to the beach with his sidepiece! That is a hell of a beach house. Way bigger than Michael and Kimberly's!

The tone and disposition Sabatino's Chip affects with many elders, but especially Lilimae is fascinating - often obsequious, yes, but at times very tentative, meek and eager to impress. Obviously we know much of this is an act from a natural born grifter, and Chip bows and scrapes to flatter and please in order to manipulate, but when he nervously tries out his wardrobe in front of Lilimae I don't think it's all bullshít. I think he is genuinely a nervous manchild not born to privilege who is trying out high society duds, and so the mother/child, Oedipal thing with Lilimae hits deeper in these moments, as does the crypto-romantic desire Lilimae has for him that she denies to Val. You can read everything on both Harris and JVA's faces in those scenes, and they're heartbreaking.

I was not surprised to find Ciji and Chip in bed together. I had a feeling when they met that they'd known each other before - it's not made clear here one way or the other re: how long this has been going on, but I still think so. Chip running game on Rolling Stone and other contacts for Ciji is great, and I liked Abby listening in and admiring his scammer hustle. Gary trying to play Phil Spector was funny as hell, and led to Abby marking her territory, sensing the spark between Ciji and her man.

Seeing Val and Karen together for the first time in a minute, their bond here feels fresher and more spontaneous in their gabbing about Mack, the tour, etc. Val seems lighter of spirit and it's not all about Karen bucking up her sadsack friend. It's more enjoyable to watch. Speaking of happy people, the Averys seem unusually happy together this week; it seems bringing Daniel into their life (both Daniels) has temporarily smoothed things over.

This episode is all about Chip and his machinations, and Michael Sabatino performs it all beautifully. It's really something and the show is ascending onto a bigger, grander canvas and scale, in tune with the '80s and upwardly mobile suburbanites. But I don't feel it's lost its roots - it feels of a piece with the changing times, just like Season 3 did. The web of connections and secrets just clicks together beautifully.

Edited June 8, 2022 by Vee

[DRW50]

@Veeglad you are keeping these chugging along. Not only do they remind me of story beats I had forgotten (like Abby's involvement in Richard's restaurant), the psychological insights also add more value to characters I was too irritated by to  study (like Lillimae).

[Chris 2]

Restaurants are notoriously bad investments - Abby should have known that! She would have been better off investing in the used car lot

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[FrenchBug82]

First fwiw let me say how much joy I am getting out of following your KL journey and thought.

Considering what we later find out about Alec Baldwin’s character  I’d assume the cannon now is that her obsession with Chip was proxy mothering but considering that backstory didn't exist at the time I always thought that the Thornbirds subtext was so incredibly daring and JH’s very subtile work there absolutely some of her best.

[Vee]

I think it's still a little of both, which makes it very layered. I don't think you can untangle the crypto-sexual intimacy with Chip from the rest of her issues (and I know a little about Baldwin's character). And thanks!

Edited June 9, 2022 by Vee