KNOTS LANDING

[yrfan1983]

^ the ill-fated move from Thursdays at 10pm to Thursdays at 9pm. It was soon reversed, but the damage to the ratings was done.

Thinking of summer '86 reminds me of an interesting Knots story from that time. It really shows how success in Hollywood can sometimes come down to luck and timing.

By the end of Season 7, spring '86, Jill's affair with Gary had wound down, and Jill didn't even appear in some of the final eps leading up to the season finale. Chances are, Jill would have faded out w/o even a goodbye scene. But... as the writers were prepping the season finale - TV Guide contacts the show, as they are interviewing Teri Austin, and want to go on set to watch a scene with her being filmed.  Based on that, the writers squeezed in a quick scene in the finale of Gary and Jill acknowledging their uncertain relationship status.

After that, the rest is history... Jill was brought back for 3 more seasons of increasingly front-burner story.  Imagine if it weren't for that TV Guide article, we never might have seen the Val "suicide" story...

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[te.]

That's interesting - I never knew that. She did initially feel like one of those characters that are recurring one season and then fade away, so her being on it for four years and almost 100 episodes is impressive in hindsight.

 

It's interesting to see how the ratings sank and then shot up again after being moved back to 10PM in season 8 - makes you wonder if it was worth doing the harm to The Colby's after all, which never recovered: http://tvtango.com/series/knots_landing/episodes?page=4

Edited August 7, 2022 by te.

[kalbir]

 

There's also the factors of Magnum, P.I. and Simon & Simon weakening as lead-ins due to NBC's Thursday comedies surging with the breakout success of The Cosby Show, and NBC moving L.A. Law to Thursday 10 pm in December 1986.

1984/85: Magnum, P.I. drops from 6th to 15th. Simon & Simon drops from 5th to 7th. Knots Landing moves up from 11th to 9th (it's first and only Top 10 finish). Over on NBC, The Cosby Show first season finishes 3rd, Family Ties moves from below the Top 30 to 5th, Cheers moves from below the Top 30 to 12th, Night Court moves from below the Top 30 to 20th, Hill Street Blues moves from below the Top 30 to 30th.

1985/86: Magnum, P.I. falls below the Top 30. Simon & Simon drops to 29th. Knots Landing drops to 17th.  Over on NBC, The Cosby Show moves up to 1st, Family Ties moves up to 2nd, Cheers moves up to 5th, Night Court moves up to 11th, Hill Street Blues falls below the Top 30.

1986/87: Magnum, P.I. moves to Wednesday 9 pm. Simon & Simon moves to Thursday 8 pm and Knots Landing moves to Thursday 9 pm where they are now head-to-head with the entire NBC Thursday comedy block. CBS sees the error of their ways and moves Knots Landing back to Thursday 10 pm but they keep changing the rest of their Thursday lineup because nothing was working. NBC counter-programs by moving L.A. Law from Friday 10 pm to Thursday 10 pm. Simon & Simon falls below the Top 30 and Knots Landing drops to 26th. Over on NBC, The Cosby Show remains 1st, Family Ties remains 2nd, Cheers moves up to 3rd, Night Court moves up to 7th, L.A. Law first season finishes 21st.

In the grand scheme of things though, the big four primetime soaps all started tanking Fall 1985 and were creatively exhausted by Spring 1988. Weak lead-ins, strategic counter-programming, sitcoms making a comeback (family sitcoms peaked Fall 1985-Spring 1988), and changing times also played a part.

Edited August 8, 2022 by kalbir

[Soapsuds]

 

[Soapsuds]

 

[Paul Raven]

Great overview of how the networks can gain dominance and lose their grip on a particular night by strategic programming and plain good luck.

ABC were dominant on Thursdays with sitcoms 8-10 and 20/20 at 10.

But they couldn't come up with successful follow ups to Mork and Mindy at 8 or Barney Miller at 9.

That gave CBS the chance to refresh their aging  schedule of Waltons,Hawaii Five O and Barnaby Jones.

Hawaii got moved, Barnaby went to 9 and KL at 10.

Magnum stepped in at 9 to replace Barnaby and lead the timeslot. Then they moved it to 8 to replace The Waltons. After a misstep with KL at 9 it moved back to 10 and Simon and Simon took over at 9.

That lineup was a clear winner for CBS until NBC moved in with Cosby as outlined above.

ABC could not get a look in.

[Vee]

On a side note, given my now-ending bout with COVID over the last 9 days I am banking a lot of stuff about Knots Season 5. I doubt I'll do full write-ups on each of the episodes I've watched, but I'll try to sort of blend them together to save space. Or maybe I'll do something more staggered. We'll see.

[victoria foxton]

 

  

[Vee]

Well, it was fun while it lasted. As I'd always feared, the KL source on YT went down while I was recovering from a nasty bout with COVID, with me about halfway through Season 5. I don't use Twitter as a user, so should the @cbsknotslanding twitter account bring back its videos on another outlet (like Sharepoint) or people find another access point, DMing me would be much appreciated (and please pass along my regards to the account). In the meantime I'll post my thoughts on Season 5 at some point soon. It's not an ending, just a break. I doubt you can keep that account down.

Edited August 18, 2022 by Vee

[Vee]

Thanks to a considerable backlog of undiscussed eps I had notes on from the last month as well as the kindness of a lovely stranger, my access to KL has been quickly re-secured. Hence I'll try to cover a bunch of Season 5 episodes in rapid succession if you'll indulge me, but we'll start with just Eps 7 and 8 of Season 5. I can't promise the constant frequency of the past pre-COVID due to life and work, but I will try to remain reasonably regular and cover at least all of Season 5 sequentially, and perhaps Season 6 if I feel like it. I will also keep watching the show at my own pace regardless of spamming this thread, lol.

Anyway, where were we? Oh yes - 

Episode 7 (Sacred Vows):

Abby: You know, from the first minute I ever saw you I wanted you. And I've moved Heaven and Earth to get you. And now that I've got you, I'm the happiest woman in the world. I love getting what I want.

I'm pretty surprised they let the cat out of the bag on Lisa Hartman's return so quickly in the opening guest credits for this episode. KL had already faked people out on Don Murray's exit by keeping him in the opening intro with the regular cast for the first two episodes of Season 2 even when he was on the way out, something most shows failed to do to keep surprises secret in the '80s and much of the '90s. You'd think they could have left her name for the end credits as she only appears at the end. But we'll get to that. The real focus this week is Abby's Mission: Impossible - marry Gary before he inherits and secure the bag before he falls back in love with Val, which he's basically already done if you'll refer back to my discussion back on page 100. Gary and Val being about a breath away from having an affair behind Abby's back; irony never dies. He even tells the concerned Cunningham kids that he doesn't think he and Abby are breaking up, so what is he actually thinking at this point, how far ahead? He is a self-aware enough man at this point in life to know he and Val are falling for each other again, so where is his endgame in his mind?

Abby is on the ragged edge for most of this episode, and we rarely see that. She knows something's happened and she's losing. She tells Westmont she knows what she's doing in her play for Gary but we can see that she doesn't. Sumner is still fascinating to her though, and he lets her vent about Gary before becoming the aggressor, sweeping her into a kiss. She's not used to that from a man, she is the seducer. William Devane is an extremely compelling match with Donna Mills, and it makes me wonder what the show had in mind at this point. I know they get together at some point down the road in a different way and that it didn't work out for the show, but they're great in this relationship. "Give my regards to your fiancé," Greg smirks as he exits, and the feeling on Abby's face is clear: Exhilaration among equals.

Diana and Coma Chip at the hospital: I still think he's faked it the whole time tbh. There is a pure Friday the 13th-esque, Harry Manfredini-style horror movie musical sting as he 'flatlines' though. If only.

Laura is the x-factor that changes everything in this episode, needling a shirtless Gary about Val, which was a lot to process with the two of them together visually and Laura wearing the pants, so to speak. She warns him off Val here, again comparing Gary's presence in Val's life to alcohol for him - a comparison Val drew herself at the end of last season. "If you really cared about her you'd leave her alone," Laura says flatly, and for Gary it's here the die is finally cast for Abby - last seen ascending to her palace bedroom at her office seemingly beaten and alone. As it's Laura that is key to Abby's Ewing ascendency, I'm not sure either woman will ever get over it.

Cute Ben lurks on the outskirts of Sumner's crime commission gala and Karen urges him to fight for Val, but at the same time Val's being jilted by Gary at a downtown diner, not unlike the one she worked in for years outside Dallas, pining for her man and her long-lost daughter, except now she's rich and decked out in her newfound finery. I cannot believe Gary just left her there without a call. It's beautiful drama though, classic; him sitting just outside, sacrificing his own happiness for hers. Again, you wonder how much of what is happening between them, how much could happen he has fully processed. 

Did Lilimae's rambling mania in this episode confirm that Chip and Ciji knew each other before they were officially introduced by others onscreen? I think it does, and that's what I always suspected based on their behavior and how their affair was revealed last season. This institution plot is a bit of a slow one for me but Harris and JVA are heartbreaking.

Knots Landing Motors is seen again, and Eric is working there in uniform! I almost didn't recognize him this episode and in the next one in his monogrammed shirt. Is he in college yet? The strain over Diana remains behind Karen's eyes and in her work patterns, grinding into the middle of the night. Eric can't take it anymore though, confronting Diana and invoking Sid, telling her their father would never tolerate what she's done for Chip. This seems to finally cut into Diana and she turns into a pleading child: "He's my husband, I love him, can't you see that?" She needs that for herself somehow, more than anything else, maybe because she did lose Sid and then the concept of Karen as Mrs. Fairgate, mother and not independent agent. Diana gives constant testimonials to her love to her 'sleeping' man (I still don't believe it!) and her fantasy image of an adult lover, and how 'lucky' she is to be loved by him, but Eric's words have shaken her hard and she's going to tell the cops the truth - which means it's time for Chip to 'wake up'! I honestly didn't think this crazy little bitch would break so soon.

Abby alone blasting classical music by the fireplace in her private palace, pondering the ruins of her grand plans is great - Donna Mills says so much with just a look in her eyes. When Gary does come to her and declare himself after all and agrees to marry her, and they consume each other ecstatically by the firelight, Abby clearly can't believe her luck. The morning after, we have the new opening credits shot of Gary on his steed in his glory finally shown in an episode, as he ponders his whole future spread out across Westfork in a glorious pan of the wilderness he owns while also clearly saying goodbye to Val without any cut to her or any dialogue. It's gorgeous stuff.

The Gary/Abby wedding against all odds is typically early '80s, all fringe and embarrassing fashion, but the intercutting with Val and Lilimae as the latter is institutionalized is great, with great camera angles on Julie Harris. Meanwhile, at the wedding Laura is hilariously chewing on her cheek and rolling her eyes. The Clements women's heartache is juxtaposed seamlessly with Gary and Abby finally united in a way I didn't think was possible or plausible an episode or two ago. Ultimately while I do think Gary has real love for Abby and a unique aspect of himself twinned with her, he did this and married her because of Val, for Val, and I wonder if Abby will ever find that out. They even cut to JVA weeping for Lilimae an instant after the vows, and then cut right back to the marital kiss! The slow pan through Val's lavish, empty house - formerly her and Gary's humble dream home - is beautifully done, with quiet music. As she slowly learns about the wedding over the phone, it's the restraint and sheer amount of time taken in a primetime drama - not something that would be done today with a scene like that - that makes so much of these kind of sequences on this show. They let things sit and process.

Honeymoon Abby is uniquely sated; 'it's just as good legal.' I've seen parts of the big ending twist with Lisa Hartman before but I was waiting for it. While it's blocked and choreographed well and done carefully, I am surprised they showed her full face out of the elevator before Gary saw her in the hotel suite. The tension leading up to it was solid though.

Episode 8 (A Change of Heart):

Still no Lisa Hartman in the opening credits - okay. I wonder when she gets added. Anyway, Diana's eerily-soundtracked police deposition is great, where she confesses Chip's sins through the interrogation room glass, with the reflection-ghost of Mack fading in and out of the one-way mirror of the box, overlaid onto her form. Neat work by director Robert Becker. Diana crying about 'keeping what we had from falling apart' makes her seem truly pathetic, but I have very little sympathy. I think Mack teared up though, but I can't recall for sure.

Even as Diana is confessing that Chip killed Ciji 'for her,' Gary is already preoccupied with Ciji's ghost and his glimpse of Vertigo in her doppelganger, Cathy Geary. I wonder if the resemblance is ever explained; I always assumed she was a blood relation. Meanwhile, Abby is luxuriating in finally being Mrs. Gary Ewing, even affecting a Southern accent to tease her henchman, Westmont - 'ah sweah, Jim, ah don't know what yer talkin' 'bout!' Gary's full inheritance has finally been activated, and this means the new Mrs. Ewing can move in full on the mysterious Lotus Point property and snaking sis-in-law Karen out of it. Sumner wisely suggests forming a PAC (a white-collar maneuver far more relevant today) and the heat between him and Abby is already visible to Laura.

Chip is awake! I still think he was faking. Sue me. Lilimae and her new mental institution bob look great but she stays utterly ignoring poor Ben, who can't compete with Val's angst over Gary, or as she often calls him, 'Garrehhh'. Mack and unexpected '80s belly shirt Michael shoot hoops in the driveway of the Fairgate/MacKenzie house and get to play backdrop to Ben and Val's somber conversation about troubled family. Any attempt at a normal get-together for any of them simply falls on sad ears, and the real ghost between Val and Ben is not just the wedding, but the ONS with Gary she's told almost no one of.

Meanwhile, Karen's reached her Waterloo: Desperate to have Diana home, she appeals to the awakened Chip, prostrating herself before him and struggling to find his virtues. He just keeps grinning and toying with her in his way, and watching Karen's resolve crumble in the face of his photogenic smile and opaque, studied geniality is a masterclass from Michele Lee. At home, Mack pleads with Karen to go away with him bu she's burnt out, adrift and incoherent. (I can relate these days) Finally, staring down a happy Fairgate family snapshot from better days at KL Motors, she goes for the pills.

Gary trailing Cathy all the way to a gym straight out of the Travolta/Jamie Lee Curtis bomb "Perfect" where hyper-aerobicized hardbodies pump iron alongside the unshorn, fried-hair Lisa Hartman makes me wonder how hard butch we are supposed to take her as vs. Ciji. Hmm. Back at Westfork it seems the place has in addition to everything else a gigantic open-air steam room/sweat lodge with hot rocks, because of course it does. Again: How did the folks over at Dallas let KL get away with this without getting an upgrade of their own? Their regular sets look like dated dogshit by comparison to Westfork, I'm sorry. Abby finally allows herself to unveil the big Ewing inheritance news to her new husband, but it seems Gary knew all along. I love his manic, irreverent reaction: "It's Daddy's way of saying 'have a nice day!'"

Diana is having yet another tantrum over not getting her way at the hospital, and like me the cops are over it. "It must be a full moon," the lead slob cop says, and I cackled. But sure enough, Chip is gone and of course this crazy bitch is grinning. I cannot wait to see the back of Diana.

Anyway: More soon, I have a few more eps on ice and more to come.

Edited August 20, 2022 by Vee

[Franko]

I'm so glad they're back, for however long they'll be back.

[DRW50]

So glad to see these back @Vee !

[Vee]

Episode 9 (Money Talks):

Abby: And what makes you happy?

Laura: Money.

Still no Lisa Hartman in the opening credits - still wondering when she's added as a contract player. 

The police are patrolling Westfork searching for Chip/Tony while Diana whines, discovering her own self-obsessed ACAB spirit decades early. Abby, meanwhile, has one of her surprise maternal wisdom moments as she tells Diana she can’t run away from her problems to the ranch or replace Karen with her aunt, and that Chip is running from what he did instead. She's wrong about blaming Karen for Diana's estrangement, but that's Abby's resentments for you. She is still seeking a Dallas-style 'variance' to be able to work on the mysterious Lotus Point property, which makes me think Abby has been watching the same recent repetitive season of the mother show that I casually have on FreeVee where they absolutely could not stop talking about (as always) J.R. and his oil 'variance'.

I didn't realize Karen is now working both in Sumner’s campaign office and out of the house for him, but that's typical Karen. The plot point about Mack's formerly jailed colleague who he is springing gets an unusual amount of play in this episode, and we discover later it's connected to his ongoing investigation as a prosecutor-investigator. More on that later on.

There's some nice slasher movie camerawork as Cathy creeps up right behind Laura at the ranch to talk to Gary, leaving her gobsmacked, but the real meeting between these two is again, a bit down the road. I was amused at first when Laura suggested a shell company to Gary to stable some of his interests, same as the one Abby's hiding from him, but I should've known - in short order we learn Laura sees right through Abby’s existing scheme, calling her on her dummy corporation and her gambit to cut Karen out of Lotus Point. It seems Laura is willing to hide LP from Karen for a cut though, which did surprise me, but their relationship has unfortunately been degrading for awhile and they were never necessarily on the same emotional wavelength consistently. I suppose Laura feels abandoned by Karen over Richard whereas Laura never abandoned her after Sid. She's still clearly wrestling with her conscience re: hiding Abby's machinations from Gary, so it's interesting to see Laura - the rising liberated reformed housewife of the '80s - continue to evolve personally and professionally, and morally. Her blunt line to Abby up top in this post says a lot about where she is trying to protect herself and her emotions after Richard and Ciji. Her success is her armor, but that's the Me Decade for you.

Val and Karen hit the beach again this episode, but Karen's clearly avoiding her pain over Diana when Val tries to reach out a hand, instead opting to nudge Val along re: Ben and Lilimae. Karen urges Val to go for it with Ben, which leads to some sweet silent moments at Ben’s beachhouse and then a tentative dinner, and more come here/go away between the two. This relationship has been reset a bit following the swooning passion and searing chemistry of the Gary/Val near-reunion of several recent eps, but I do like Ben and I'm curious to see how things build.

Sumner and Abby continue to spar this episode; she can't put a thing past him and that both infuriates and arouses her. They absolutely crackle together, so it makes me wonder when and how this pairing went south.

Greg: If you're gonna hang around you're gonna have to learn to understand politics.

Abby: I understand money.

Greg: They're not the same thing.

Abby: Since when?

Abby is apparently ready to fùck Sumner immediately after marrying the man of her dreams, which startles and surprises me. Why now? Is she so secure in her new life that she now feels she can make special exceptions? Giddy enough to sing in the shower about it, because he's another powerful step up the ladder? For his part, Sumner brushes Abby right out of his limo when he feels she's being too demanding of his time, all while hilariously using his electric razor as he leaves her on the side of the road to gather up her ego. The key to Abby still working is that they can always puncture her like this, and preserve her humanity with comedy and vulnerability, both her failings and her family connections (like Diana).

Danielle Brisebois from Archie Bunker's Place is unexpectedly here, as Sumner’s daughter! I knew the character existed but wasn't expecting to see her any time soon. Jilted at the train station or wherever, Mary Frances Sumner turns up with a great opening speech roasting her gladhanding father. I know Mary Frances reappears years later but she's a hoot here, cute and fun and does have a sweet chemistry with Steve Shaw as Eric, who I'm excited to see getting what appears to be an actual story as I've always liked Eric. This is something they should continue to cultivate re: shoring up a younger generation, though I'm aware KL has many fits and starts in this area over the coming years. LOL at Eric showing up at the breakfast table looking like it's school picture day as a young yuppie to try to impress the girl.

Sleepless nights for Abby and Ben (and Mack, Sumner and Karen) lead to resolution for at least one party, as Val returns to the beach house late in the night to consummate things with Ben. The scene is steamy between JVA and Doug Sheehan, and seems to deliberately crank up the carnal sensuality (including cozy beach afterglow later) in a way we've rarely gotten to see with Val before while also being deeply sweet and affectionate. Perhaps showing Val can play the same games as Gary and Abby.

Abby takes her petulance over her affair with Sumner out on her husband, fed up with the easygoing cowboy mogul. She's grasping further and she's discontent when Gary finally is - because Sumner dismisses her? Because she can't control him like other men? Greg remains something of a question mark for me, as his role so far seems designed to be a destabilizing power who comes in and shakes up the paradigm of the show and character relationships while remaining somewhat mysterious and set apart. Again, I know they didn't know at first how long Devane would be around or if it was long-term, so it makes me wonder just when they knew for sure and began writing to that end, because right now his role is still intriguingly controlled. Abby crystallizes her ethos to Sumner at the end, touting her embrace of a strings-free affair of rising entrepreneurs with a famous line: "If I ever have to make a choice between love and money, money's gonna win every time." I believe her, though I still wonder where Gary fits in in her mind now. And Abby finally gets the in she wants at Lotus Point with the variance; eat your heart out, J.R.

Edited August 21, 2022 by Vee

[AbcNbc247]

Season 6

[Vee]

Episode 10 (Homecoming):

John Pleshette directs! Always nice to have him back. A lot of the focus this ep is on Sumner and Mary Frances and the interplay between them, as he flakes on her for a lunch date and then they each catch each other with their respective new partners - she knows he is fùcking Abby and not her absent mother. Danielle Brisebois is great with the Fairgate household and Eric, who eagerly hopes to slot himself into her 'past, present and future'. Steve Shaw has great comic timing with her and they really are sweet, and have chemistry bantering and making out. In the scene near the end of the ep where she's in his bedroom wearing just a t-shirt, I admit I wondered if something had already gone down. He seemed fully dressed though, and I have my doubts Eric has popped his cherry yet.

There's an interesting moment early in this ep with Gary in his element at Westfork, riding on his steed with Cathy to triumphal music while Diana is the odd artist out. Cathy takes his offer to work on the ranch and then discovers Ciji's album cover, but still is willing to go out on the town with Gary and adorn herself with all-new clothes and hair, including a very Ciji-adjacent red spangled dress. "My wife's at the office," Gary drolly explains at what is presumably a Beverly Hills boutique. "She works, I shop. It's a very modern relationship." Gary is very clearly doing Cathy up a la Hitchcock's Vertigo, which I understand was the original intent for this storyline - supposedly they'd planned something where Cathy was going to gaslight or torment Gary, but I don't know the details at all of this supposed early concept. Nonetheless, Cathy here seems to be more the ingenue, lost in a whole new world and fascinated by the spectre of Ciji amidst Gary's psychosexual obsession, with Ciji seemingly more confident and capable than her. Seeing her lipsyncing to Ciji's greatest hits in her clothes practically makes Gary nut.

Ciji's song hits Laura even from outside Westfork as she approaches the main house, and there's some interesting jump-cutting here to Ciji herself as both Gary and Laura look on at Cathy. They're both stunned and both clearly still smitten, on one level or another (even if I believe Ciji and Laura's relationship was at least physically platonic). Gary tells the outraged Laura that they both loved her and he's right; Ciji and that torch is something they share. I think Gary believes what he tells Laura about having pure motives, and being driven by his guilt over what happened. But that's not all of it, and you can see it in his eyes every time he watches Cathy invoke Ciji in some way. Cathy and Laura together is more pointed and accusatory, but Cathy's candid admission that she'd let Gary do whatever he wanted for what he's giving her was refreshing and not cynical. She seems, at least, very earnest.

At the other end of the Ewing household, Laura is now openly fùcking with Abby about Lotus Point and Apolune, her shell company. As she coolly lays out what all her other neighbors and friends and ex-friends have gained over the last couple years (new life, wealth, love) vs. what she has - an empty home, a husband who walked out, a small child - she simply states she wants more and is willing to break or bend old rules to get it. If that means Karen (who was not exactly a pillar of support over Richard, but I don't think that's all her fault) gets the rock, so be it. Pleshette seems keen to focus in on Constance McCashin as much as possible in this episode, and there's a lot of slow zooms in on her as she tells us where she's at on her terms, both her inner and outer life.

Gary and Cathy's softcore '80s workouts are too much, and clearly Abby agrees - the framing of the shots as she walks in on Cathy once again pumping iron makes it look like Abby found them mid-coitus. The look she gives Gary is beyond astonishment as she tries to process the doppelganger in their home, but she takes It remarkably in stride the next day, tolerating Gary's confused honesty about his motives, presumably because she's enjoying fùcking Greg Sumner too much. Until Eric and Mary Frances crash her party at the office, that is.

Lilimae seemed a little too restrained in and out of the institution as Val finally sprung her. That seems a little too pat for me, I'm not sure where this is going. Meanwhile, Greg's secret parking lot meeting with his mysterious political benefactors is shot and played just like Alan Pakula's classic '70s conspiracy thrillers, a la The Parallax View, All the President's Men, etc. Presumably the "they" being alluded to here is the dreaded Wolfbridge Group or whatever, which both Ben and Mack later seem to allude to at dinner and after as Mack admits to Karen Ben is onto something - he's after some sort of circle of white-collar criminals (operating out of Century City! perish the thought). Again, this raises the question of when and how did they know Devane was staying, because here Greg is very clearly in bed with some murky-seeming people and drawing other characters into it as well.

I did like that Mack was classy and genial enough to wipe the slate with Ben and apologize after snapping at him at dinner. He knows Ben is on the right track, but wants to do things his way. Karen couldn't give two [!@#$%^&*] about any of this though, she's still fixated on Mary Frances as a Diana substitute and too dosed on her new happy pills for sex; there's a nice pan to her pill bottle on the nightstand as she dozes off in front of a frustrated Mack. The only thing that cracks Karen's new calm is a painful lunchtime scene with Lilimae and Val. Now that she's out of the cracker barrel Lilimae's instantly gossiping and prodding people again, and that means pill time for Karen! Poor thing.

Ben and Val arguing about Mack and making up was sweet. They're already very cozy together but she's not ready for him to stay over. I guess she'll just keep nailing him at his amazing house.

Of course Diana is hiding Chip in the stables. What a slug.