KNOTS LANDING

[Spin865]

 

To me even though the show changes and has a really rough season 8, it always at least watchable to me until around the start of season 13. It takes a long time for the show to have a kind of "why are we still doing this?" feeling that I got from say Melrose Place as early as season 5.

[Vee]

I know some have sung the praises of the latter half of the infamous Season 13 and even Season 14, so I'll be curious about it when/if I get there lol. A story featuring Val and Greg Sumner does sound interesting, at least. I only had a glimpse of it when sneaking a peek at Claudia Lonow's return appearance in the final season and it was a real shift to see the early '90s look and style changes, as well as a much older Diana and Val and Gary's preteen twins. That's the power of longform soap opera, which KL qualifies as given its length of run; you can watch people grow and change in relative real time.

I'd definitely be curious on people's opinions of Seasons 7-9 as I approach them, or earlier. It's welcome any time, you don't need to wait on me. It's also been interesting for me hitting the Peter Dunne golden era, as like I've said I am most familiar with him from his run on the final season of Melrose Place, which revitalized that show considerably and should not have been cancelled - yet I'm pretty sure it was also a fairly similar riff on his story with Ciji, only replacing her with Rena Sofer and a crime in the past.

I sure wish Khan was here.

Edited September 4, 2022 by Vee

[Vee]

Episode 20 (High Ideals):

Abby: I don't want an allowance. I don't want a divorce. Period.

That is Abby's considerably choked-up declaration to James Westmont as they lay out her options now that she's been banished from the ranch, and it resonates - she can get the money if Gary divorces her, but she still wants more than that, still wants him, and with her fantasy of life as Greg Sumner's First Lady/female self punctured it seems like she's only now fully beginning to process how much she still wants Gary after all the awful shít she's done just for her. Much of the next several eps as well as the last one are about Abby getting what's coming to her and then having to reckon with herself, on the ragged edge. She's exiled to the upper-level penthouse apartment of her beloved Apolune/GEE offices, which are locked down by Gary and his lawyers. She lives there for real now. She tries to connect with Olivia at Westfork, but isn't welcome there either by Gary or her kids.

Possibly Abby's most ignoble moment this episode though comes early, as she tries to cover for the disconnected phone service at her offices to Mark St. Claire, breezily claiming it's a problem with the line and trying to shine him on for more cash, pretending Apolune (and Abby) are still functional. This is Abby's core vulnerability exposed; trying to wheel and deal with a much bigger shark even in the face of adversity and increasingly abject humiliation. She has been small before and is determined never to be again, even as she is losing essential services and needs. I can relate. Wolfbridge has Abby over a barrel for cash, and their demands are simple: Get Gary to unfreeze his assets for Apolune and take her back to ensure the future of Lotus Point, or else. There's a vicious shaming moment for her when St. Claire smiles and says, 'be sure to let us know when your phone is reconnected.'

Sumner has his own charm offensive still in full effect, hoping to wheedle Mack (re-drafted onto the commission) into letting go of Wolfbridge. Mack retakes the job after being assured by the governor that he'd be working for him and not Sumner, allowed to continue to quietly pursue Wolfbridge behind Greg's back - are the governor and his aide legit? I have my doubts. Karen is pissed about Mack staying on the hunt, alluding to more offscreen group sessions and the need to move forward. "It's over, forget it, isn't that what you said to me?" she snaps. "About Diana?” My jaw dropped when she took it there, which I wasn't expecting at this last date; it was a smart move to couple Karen's fixated drive to save Diana with Mack’s equally obsessive drive against Wolfbridge, with neither of them fully letting the other in. These issues with the relatively new marrieds still fester, not fully resolved, and I'm glad. "I lost one husband because of his ideals," Karen says, "and I'm not gonna lose another one. I refuse." Mack says he's dropping it all which is of course a lie. He's about to make his marital issues much, much worse.

Ben and Val remain cute together; they planned to jet off to El Salvador but Val is of course too pregnant, which soon leads to a silly subplot for Ben that I don't see a major purpose in.  There's a cute speech from Ben about the still-purely-singular baby though, who he immediately refers to as 'she', saying she can be "anything she wants to be. The three of us are gonna do things together that none of us have ever done before. Things that you and I could never do alone." Doug Sheehan is so good at this sensitive, wry male stuff. There's a whimsy and openness to him that is still masculine.

The Olivia (and Olivia/Gary) thread continues this week, with them bonding more as she comes to him to talk about her day at school, craving any sense of familial normalcy. Gary for his part is kind and attentive but still unique in how he approaches kids, in that he does so with pure candor. He tells Olivia how he's feeling about the situation with her mother and then plainly but not unkindly tells her needs to be alone. Except Olivia is too, and you can see her take the unintended blow behind her eyes. 

"I don't trust anybody," Gary admits to Cathy, who's still trying to mend fences with him by working the ranch. The writers also wisely make Gary's trauma and betrayal a character beat beyond just the Abby, Cathy, etc. situation; it extends outward, like it would in a more conventional (or mainstream-acceptable) primetime drama, when he blows off Mack who is desperate to get access to Abby's Apolune files. "Look at you," Mack jabs. "Poor Gary Ewing. Lied to, cheated, misunderstood. You never hurt anybody." He has a point. But his cutting into Gary's self-pity does help move him to action later.

Not without a few peaks and valleys though! Desperate to win Gary back (for herself or Ray or both?), Cathy gives us one of the big moments of the season for me, willingly re-donning Ciji's amazing red space-age dress and holding another impromptu concert in her and Gary's beloved sex gym. It's all deeply fetishistic and ritualized, coupled with Lisa Hartman's vaguely Pat Benatar-esque masculine voice belting out Journey, then lipsyncing and turning down the lights. "This is what you wanted me for, isn't it?" Cathy pleads to the incensed Gary with resignation. "You don't want a ranch hand." "That's all I want," Gary lies. "The only time you were ever interested in me, the only time you ever paid any attention to me is when you thought you could make me into Ciji," Cathy counters. But Gary says it stopped being about Ciji long ago - that his need for Cathy is about her.

I'm not sure how much I buy into Ciji not being a factor, but I do think Cathy is a considerably different woman ('of the land!' as Miss Ellie would likely crow) and I think Gary is drawn to her unpretentiousness, athleticism and candor. I was legit surprised when Gary and Cathy actually slept together - I hadn't expected it, but I was into it and pleased. I quite like them together, sue me; like I said, her masculine energy and toughness plays well with Gary's internal thoughtfulness.

There's another interesting and slightly edgy moment in the afterglow, as the camera cuts in mid-conversation as Cathy tells Gary about discovering her parents having sex, and later a little cloaked banter about exactly when she lost her virginity (pretty sure Gary doesn't wanna know). Again, not domestic topics you often got on early/mid-'80s TV. In the morning Gary is rough with her in bed at first as he tries to take her again (she even says 'you're hurting me') then very tender after apologizing, which is a very quick beat that doesn't appear to be followed up on but an interesting note nonetheless. Incidentally, Cathy's country twang and dialect ("dadgum!") has gotten a lot more pronounced in recent eps. Sorry but I really enjoy these two together - I was not expecting the Cathy character to work for me, and I know it doesn't last with these two but it's a refreshing affair in some strange way right now. I feel for poor Maria the maid walking in on them in this episode though; she's seen it all!

Meanwhile, Olivia has of course taken the wrong lesson from Gary's words and decided to run away. After a nice bit with her saying good morning to all the ranch staff who know her well at this point, she takes to hiking down the road like Bill Bixby at the end of The Incredible Hulk. . She's going by a Big & Tall Men's Store! Past garbage-eating hobos! I would think she cannot possibly walk all the way into and through LA proper and all the way back to Seaview Circle unscathed or with functioning feet (I'm not even sure where Seaview is supposed to be located - near Santa Monica?) but somehow she does. Good Lord.

"I used to hear you were idealistic," Laura says, challenging Greg this week with the intriguing backstory Ben provided for us on Sumner many episodes ago, re: his days as California's own Bernie Sanders. "I was idealistic," Greg concedes. "But let me tell you where my ideals got me: For the past twelve years I have been a member of the state assembly. In twelve years I've stood for all of the right things." But it got him nowhere. With no bills passed and perceived as not being a team player, Greg tells Laura that on his recent 44th birthday, he gave himself a present: "Flexibility. I became flexible. [...] "And when I finally get to where I'm going I'll be an idealist again." He can confess this to Laura, I think and not to Abby because Abby is simply infatuated with his power and empire and would probably never ask (or care). Laura is becoming Sumner's confidant more and more in recent episodes and will only grow moreso.

I still can't believe Olivia walked all the way to Val's, but I am very pleased the show still remembers that bond which harkens back to Olivia's very first episode. I shouldn't be surprised anymore at their attention to detail. Val of course calls Gary, while Lilimae calls Abby purely for trolling value. Olivia's begging to stay with Val is just gutting, but Gary still doesn't let up on the candor when he gets to the cul-de-sac. He is once again plainly honest with Olivia when she asks if he and Abby will divorce, and says "I think so" - in front of a bedridden Val, no less.

There is a great quiet moment when Abby arrives at the cul-de-sac, alone in the dark and surveying the neighborhood she used to be a part of, gathering her strength to venture forth to Val's front door as Mrs. Ewing. Lilimae of course needles her about Gary being up there with Val 'for an hour' in front of poor Ben. When Gary does come down with Olivia Abby surprisingly loses it, begging for forgiveness in front of the whole household. Why can't he forgive her like Cathy or Laura (did he forgive Laura though)? "You're my wife," Gary hisses.

Abby's face folds inward as she turns away, and it's once again on Olivia to be the adult with her mother, embracing her and giving her some small bit of solace. "Gary’s gonna divorce you," she says simply. "I guess I better get used to living with you." Abby can barely keep herself together, totally humiliated as Olivia says goodbye to all. The domestic arena of the neighborhood is as strong as ever because of its deep character and story roots, even with supporting players like the kids. And of course we end on another shot of Val and Gary down bad for each other as poor Ben watches.

Episode 21 (No Trumpets, No Drums):

Abby: Listen to this, cause it's important. If a man were conducting his business the way I've been conducting mine, he'd be admired for his aggressiveness but if a woman does it she's considered a shrew. A career is just as important for a woman as it is for a man.

I alluded to this speech last time. Abby is right about how the Greg Sumners of the world are worshipped but she's condemned when she tries to embody him. But Olivia is not totally impressed with her mother's rationale for her behavior as they reconvene at Abby's penthouse: "How many fathers am I going to have before you get through?" Abby downplays her actions and says Gary will understand, that she did it for her kids, but Olivia calls her on their never asking for the shít she's been pulling. Even after getting served with divorce papers this episode, Abby remains certain Gary will miss her - 'he'll come around.'

He's coming alright: Gary and Cathy are still at it! Lisa Hartman looks amazing in just a masculine white tank top and very butch hair; again, Gary is presented as almost prettier than her, even though she's still beautiful. This is another ep credited to Scott Hamner, long a writer for Y&R I believe. But Creeper Ray isn't so happy with Cathy, as he drops the genially condescending mask and finally gets physical with his wife(?), knocking her around. The sexualized violence is constant with this character, who twists her her arm while kissing her neck. Poor Cathy.

Mack is somehow managing back at the commission even with Evil Barbara, the ancient executive assistant, still on the job for Wolfbridge. Greg comes by to schmooze and try to feel his old friend out but Mack plays dumb. Greg seems satisfied with Mack's change of heart: "Next thing I know you’ll be running for office." He's eager to renew their friendship, while Mack plays it remote but accommodating. Back home, there's another cute revolving-camera MacKenzie family dinner scene, with Karen, Mack and the boys bantering about everything but group therapy sessions to their sex lives, while Mack glosses over what he promises is now a much more quiet job at the commission with less risk. He's telling no one what he's up to, not a visiting Ben or his wife. There are, after all, ears everywhere.

Mack does confronts Abby though - he promises immunity and a way back to Gary if she helps him with the Group. Abby seems initially willing at the mention of Gary but plays it guarded; she then leaks the meeting immediately to Sumner, and suggests she’ll tell Mack everything if Greg can't make St. Claire back off her. Sure enough, Mack knew Abby would run directly to Wolfbridge, which was a smart play on his part. There is a neat sequence in a darkened room where Mack with his old stool pigeon in the pitch-black shadows. Meanwhile, Greg gives it a shot with charming St. Claire about Abby, who says there's one option remaining: Take their concerns directly to Gary Ewing.

I do really enjoy Ben and Mack's new friendship - Mack saying 'will you write to me?' was great. Ben and Val say their goodbyes over his stocks of colored plant food, which is adorable. There's a great bit with Joan Van Ark lost amidst the swaths of flowers, thinking about Gary and her pregnancy, then a remarkably swoony beachside farewell with Ben.

As was previously noted, Greg and Laura are now commiserating more and more often outside of just sex. He is consistently seeking her counsel and shoulder. They agree Abby is desperate and in over her head, and Laura privately sympathizes 'just a little.' Greg is spurred by their shared concern to ask Abby if she needs help, trying to intercede with his masters like he did Mack, still thinking he can control all things til he can be the good man again. Abby skewers them both. "Laura's always had a big mouth," she snaps. "But I suppose you know that firsthand by now." Standards and Practices, line one. Abby is too proud to ask for help at first, but in a series of close-ups finally breaks a little and hesitantly finds a way to ask Sumner for aid. There's a tender moment as Greg gives her some condolences about her pending divorce: "The guy's obviously got no taste."

It's still Olivia Hours! I love that little Tonya Crowe even has a co-starring credit now, just like Claudia Lonow did last season. Poor Olivia tries to curry Gary's favor by playing the piano full force for him at the ranch, but breaks down under the pressure of Gary's breakup with Abby. Olivia hopes against hope they'll reunite, even as Gary assures her she's always welcome there. I do wonder how Gary will figure into the well-known addiction storyline for Olivia in a few years; it would be very unlike KL not to weave him in given this wonderful sustained relationship they're giving a surprising amount of play for a kid, let alone a primetime soap kid. Of all soap kids they're often the ones least seen and heard due to the supercharged strife and sexuality on the nighttime soaps. Not on Knots.

Olivia does of course spot Gary with Cathy and confronts her. Sure, blame the soft butch. Laura and Cathy finally get to clear the air re: Gary in a nice scene. "For as long as I've known Gary he has never been alone," Laura says simply. She says that instead of booze, he '[drowns] his troubles in the next available woman. [...] Gary's a binger." Sex, love and money have replaced alcohol for him. With Laura juxtaposing Val and Abby against Cathy - saying one provided home and security and the other excitement and ambition - Cathy says she hopes she can give him all of the above. She wants Ray gone, but he assaults her just in time for Gary to spot him. Gary chases Ray into the Chip Roberts Memorial Stables and after a considerable struggle (Ray is a real thug, Gary is just an ex-juicer yuppie) Gary pummels the creep, taking out his aggression over Abby and going a bit too far as he smothers Ray face-first in horse dung, because why not. Ray vows revenge. Sure thing.

Val gets her big twins reveal this episode, much to the joy of herself, Lilimae and Karen in a cute series of scenes. JVA plays the mixture of happiness and anxiety well though, both doubled as she realizes her increased responsibility to Gary and the truth. The ladies celebrate just as the bad and to my mind fairly pointless news about Ben going MIA comes over the phone from El Salvador. This would seem to be to be another example of the writers 'winging it' as Gollance says about the final act of the season, as I just don't see the need, unless it's meant to crystalize Val's commitment to Ben. Anyway, onward.

Edited September 5, 2022 by Vee

[Spin865]

The end of Season 13 and 14 were big improvements. The short Val/Greg storyline was the best story Val had in years since she's probably the main character to suffer the most in the post-peak years. You know it's funny how the show was on for such a long time that it was competing with the 90's Fox soaps. by the end (well just for the first season of Melrose).  

[Vee]

Episode 22 (Silent Missions):

It's nice to see someone finally tracing things back to the source on Lotus Point - Gary has taken over Abby’s Apolune lair and he and his people are poring over everything. They discover the spit of land and quadruplex Karen still owns a piece of; it sounds like it was already leveled and Abby and Apolune were trying to make her think it wasn't. GE is prepared to sue Abby for the whole shebang - amusingly, Abby tries to play the community property card she's so fond of mentioning, which I'm not sure she can since they're not divorced yet.

Evil Barbara lurks in wait! Frustrated with Abby, Gary visits Mack at the crime commission to compare notes re: the original quadruplex/Lotus Point site and Apolune, but Mack has to play it cool because of Barbara as he's pretending to play nice. (This is also where Gary hears about Ben having gone missing.) I think we also get a surprise glimpse of the original quadruplex site where this all evidently began, out on a beach where Sumner and Mark St. Claire appear to be surveying it, presumably as a site for Wolfbridge's new headquarters. St. Claire makes it clear he will not accept Gary not unfreezing assets for Lotus Point; one way or another he will cooperate.

As Greg tries to keep working everyone and avoid bloodshed he's leaning on Laura more and more, right down to speech advice; now he goes to her for help talking Gary around on Apolune. Laura is still guilt-ridden but Sumner makes it clear in his own calculatedly casual way that they're in jeopardy (though he never makes it clear just how much). I did laugh at Laura attempting to book it from Sumner's campaign HQ as soon as Abby arrives, but instead she's stuck having to hang around and watch them talk. Laura thinks Greg's plea for aid with Gary was all about Abby, but Greg is silky smooth as he gracefully elides the lethal details about the risk to Gary, saying he didn't get her in too deep "because I care so much for you." Charisma and charm is how Sumner navigates his way through real danger, even now - perhaps because even the thought of breaking kayfabe (a pro wrestling term) and his studied political character makes it too real, too risky. If he can stay in character he can stay in control of the variables.

Sure enough, Gary beelines to Val's as soon as he hears about Ben, which changes the energy of everything there with Val and her girlfriends. Man, these people are really dressed warmly for LA (especially now as we're in a terrible heatwave). Val vents to Karen about her fears for Ben, and it's nice stuff with the two BFFs but I just can't be that bothered at this point. We all know Ben isn't dead and I'm not sure what the purpose is. There is a nice scene where Val and Lilimae have the MacKenzies over for dinner to try to distract her, only to get even more bad yet vague news from Salvador. Fine. JVA is playing her heart out of these scenes at least. Pretty soon, Gary's calling the house for Val 'just to check up,' back to being emotionally involved with Val behind Cathy’s back just like Abby before her. The difference is that here he confides in Cathy about it, which genuinely surprised me, and she seems to understand.

It's nice to see Cathy and Laura warming to each other in this ep; Laura shows up at Westfork to try to get Gary to free up Apolune, warning him of danger. Gary of course blows her off. I did laugh at Mack's appraisal of Gary and Cathy when he arrives at the ranch ("you're managing well"). Mack appears to be spending the rest of the season snowing Karen about his undercover op against Wolfbridge, which, woof. I'll have more to say about all this soon enough, but as I'm two episodes from the end of the season I'm still not entirely sure what Mack planned when and how.

Unexpected cute moment with Abby and Olivia in this one where mother tries to teach daughter how to use a curling iron. Abby can still be the mom even now, not just the queen bitch. There's an interesting little discussion of female 'types' - Olivia used to be a tomboy but announces she's leaving that and her cowboy boots behind with the ranch, putting a brave face on the state of things: "Who needs Gary anyway?" Her mother isn't so sure.

Sumner finally makes his play to schmooze Gary on Lotus Point, but if anyone is less impressed with Greg's schtick than Laura it's Gary. He isn't buying, and Mark St. Claire isn't buying Sumner's valiant attempt at a timeshare pitch to spare the Ewing scion's life just a little longer. Later he broods with Laura, and we finally get a peek behind the veil at the place where he keeps his remorse and regret. "This whole thing was out of my hands all along," Greg muses, which seems slightly self-serving to me but I get it. "I got myself into something I should've kept out of. If I had just used my head, followed my instincts, listened to that little voice."

We only get Abby's reaction to Wolfbridge  informing her they'll liquidate Gary from her side of a phone conversation - Mills sells it. Pretty soon Abby is pacing her penthouse loft in the cross-hatched sunsetting slats, calling Greg but getting Laura. He begs off the call and desperate, she tries the ranch to warn Gary who of course is not taking her calls. Every plot thread converges on the ranch - Abby calling, Mack driving over to conspire, Val heading there to cry her eyes out some more, Creeper Ray stalking the property. The assassination sequence with everyone colliding is well shot and cut - I knew a "death" for Gary was coming but not what, how or when. I thought he might fake it with Mack, but this doesn't seem entirely faked or planned. Even in the next ep (the last I've watched, I wanted to save the finale eps for when I had more of these write-ups done) it's not entirely clear what went down. But man, Mack is in for it one way or another.

Edited September 5, 2022 by Vee

[kalbir]

Also Knots Landing season 12-14 overlapped w/ season 1-3 of Beverly Hills 90210.

Dallas final season overlapped w/ season 1 of Beverly Hills 90210. Knots Landing final season overlapped w/ season 1 of Melrose Place. Funny how the final seasons of the first 1980s primetime soap and its spinoff (technically both premiered in the late 1970s but they are mostly associated w/ the 1980s) overlap w/ the first seasons of the first 1990s primetime soap and its spinoff.

[Vee]

Now that's incongruous. I remember firsthand how much of a beast 90210's summer season was in that exact period when I was a kid and the hype over Dylan and Kelly, along with the heavy, heavy promotion for Melrose Place which I also eagerly watched at the time. Back then I remember hearing about Dallas' finale and thinking of it as a dinosaur, while reading a bit about Knots Landing ending, finding the title mysterious and wondering what exactly it was. Two very different eras of primetime soap.

Edited September 5, 2022 by Vee

[Vee]

Episode 23 (Finishing Touches):

Sumner: You don't know what you're talking about. You're making dangerous accusations, serious accusations. You're calling people murderers.

Abby: I'm calling us murderers.

Lord, Janet Baines' slovenly partner Morrison is back! "Knew I'd wind up back on this ranch someday," he grouses. You know it's a big episode when Peter Dunne writes and David Jacobs directs, and the 'death' of Gary Ewing ripples seismically across the whole canvas. My first thought while watching was that if this is a pre-conceived hoax by the men involved (Mack and Gary) then it's truly sick to do, especially to Val who could easily miscarry. Instead upon hearing that Gary is 'dead' she turns into into a raging wild animal, with an incredible and primal performance from Joan Van Ark with Val pushed just too far. Great stuff.

Abby gets the news about Gary from Mack, and Donna Mills' performance is the opposite of Van Ark's - she's shellshocked, not unlike her reaction to Sid's death, and leaves without a word. Abby goes straight to Greg Sumner to rage and blame herself and him, suffocated by guilt, leading to the quote above.

Meanwhile, Cathy reacts (somewhat mysteriously but for good reason, in hindsight) by packing up and leaving Westfork immediately. Sure enough, Diana turns up full of nosy and frankly rather blasé curiosity about Gary. She's beyond tone deaf and seemingly eager for more drama. Cathy ignores her (good!) and runs into Abby on her way out. "You've been crying," Cathy snipes as a parting shot as they meet on opposite sides of the road. "Whatever for?"

Dunne and Jacobs revisit a lot of the ripple effect material from the aftermath of Ciji's death last season (an episode they also double-teamed, IIRC) - there's another very stark morgue scene with Mack and Morrison talking the coroner about the body. Notably Gary is not seen, supposedly because his head has been blown off. Uh-huh. More things start to pile up which seem quite interesting given the reveal at the end of the hour, as Cathy beelines to Ray's trashed motel room, which seems like a really bad idea at first. I was initially baffled as to why she'd be crying over what she finds there let alone crying for Ray, despite her dysfunctional loyalty to him. Later I surmised the corpse at Westfork must be Ray, and Cathy and Mack may be the only people who know it, hence her booking it off the ranch and heading straight there. I think? Probably? Either way, it was an interesting misdirect early in the episode that only seems illuminated in hindsight (I say that having not yet watched episode 24, I'm just playing Sherlock Holmes).

Val has a wonderful reminiscence with Lilimae as her audience - remembering moving to the cul-de-sac with Gary with borrowed furniture, building a life, then throwing Gary out, redecorating it all with her new riches, building a new life and rejecting everything that made her think of him. "I changed everything in this house," she marvels. "Except me." Not entirely true, Val did change, but I take her point. "But this house has never been without him," she confesses. "Because I've never been without him. And I know now I never will." There is absolutely stunning reaction work from Julie Harris here, who I don't think has any lines at all. The tears and understanding in her eyes about Gary and Val is all new.

Equally unbelievable work from Donna Mills and little Tonya Crowe, as Abby talks it through with Olivia who's adrift in a rowboat out on her beloved pond at the ranch. Jacobs is fond of wide shots, either of vistas or interior tableaus (including one nice scene with Laura and Greg done only in a distant wide shot through a doorway), and there's a great one here of them just as figures on and by the lake, with Abby kneeling on the shore, rapidly losing her composure, while little Olivia is drifting on the water lost in herself.  "I'm gonna need you," Abby pleads with her daughter. "I need you to be with me, I need you to help me now." Olivia angrily rejects her as she shrieks for Gary in the boat then slips into the pond; Abby rescues her as Olivia sobs inconsolably on the dock and it barely seems like acting from Crowe who absolutely howls and bawls. A top moment for both Mills and Crowe.

If you ask me Claudia is enjoying playing consoler-in-chief to Aunt Abby a bit too much! I'm not saying she's evil, I'm just saying she is a messy bitch from Hell who lives for drama. And of course she's still giving that poor slob Morrison attitude after everything she put him, Baines and the LAPD through. She's very, very lucky she avoided being charged with obstruction, conspiracy or God knows what else over Chip and Ciji. Get bent, Diana.

There's a great, smaller twist this ep with Cathy spending time Laura and her boys at her place (is baby Daniel still played by Constance McCashin's son?). The easy friendship with Laura is both surprising and unsurprising to me; Cathy is more blunt (both physically and mentally) and candid than Ciji, not unlike Laura herself. I frankly think they have a bit more chemistry too. This is the twin Richard should've been worried about. I honestly have more of a sense of who Cathy is now than Ciji, who was more of a dreamy, spunky archetype to me.

Mack is apparently just going to sit here with the MacKenzie/Fairgate blended family as they all mourn for Gary over dinner and worry for Val. He is very clearly (and adeptly) lying to all of them about what he saw at the ranch, and it is uncomfortable to watch knowing or at least suspecting that as he smoothly answers the boys' questions while Karen watches. If he planned this ahead of time he is truly gonna be beneath the doghouse. I assume atm he did not; I assume Mack, Gary and possibly Cathy stumbled upon the assassination attempt with Ray caught in the crosshairs with Wolfbridge and then made a snap judgment and impulse decision. Which is still not awesome of any of them to do, but it would be more seemly than this being wholly premeditated (which I don't think would make sense with what we saw last episode either).

Val copes with Gary's apparent demise by tending to Ben's gigantic plants some more, until she can't abide anymore. This mostly silent sequence and some others like it earlier in the season and last season, all with Val, were of note to me in the past, and were discussed by longtime KL writer Richard Gollance, again from his interview with Tommy Krasker:

Upon heading to Westfork Val runs into Abby, which leads to another of several absolute standout scenes in this ep - there's a few too many to keep up with. Val is there to mourn and sympathize, and that's the one thing a numb Abby can't abide or handle. The anguish inside of Donna Mills as a crumbling Abby tries and fails to keep up her cool facade is spellbinding.

Val: I know how much he loved you.

Abby: Do you?

Val: Yes. And I know that you must love him very much.

Abby: No, no. You don't know anything.

Val: I know how much you're in right now. I share that with you.

Abby: Oh, no. I won't let you share my pain. You have no right to share my pain. Gary's dead and I'm his widow. Not you. Me! You're nothing to him. Absolutely nothing.

On paper, without context or performance, this exchange is easily just another soap vixen being the queen bitch. Onscreen, thanks to Donna Mills (and JVA's serene maturity as Val) it is completely different; Abby can barely keep her composure the entire time, and is choking out her words through tears and heartbreak. Her tiny little voice when she says "not you, me!" is pathetic and small. She doesn't believe a word she's saying, she comes off the loser. And you totally feel for her despite all she's done. The scene ends on an angled close-up angle of Val's growing belly, which Abby sees. Do the wheels start turning for her right then and there on Gary and Val? I think so. And of course there's a convenient cut to studio soundstage El Salvador, where poor Ben is shirtless, sweaty and very much alive while nuns from Central Casting mumble vaguely Spanish things.

Abby now has very little buffer between herself and Wolfbridge, and is summoned to a mandatory conference with St. Claire which she cannot leave of her own volition. Which leads to this incredible exchange as Abby lays herself bare about Gary for a man who could not care less.

Abby: Mr. St. Claire, I loved my husband. You may find that hard to believe. I've had my affairs, I've skimmed profits off the top. A lot of things. I did those things for me. I never did them to hurt him. Because I loved him. He counted in my life. So I'm not gonna rest until I settle the score.

St. Claire: Let's get one thing straight, Mrs. Ewing. I don't care if he counted. I don't care that he was killed. I have no sympathy for you. And I have no fear of you. If you want something to count on, count yourself lucky that you're the one who's rich and he's the one who's dead.

If this doesn't radicalize Abby against Wolfbridge I don't know what will. She cocoons herself in her finery in front of the raging fire at Westfork, where Sumner pays his respects (again in another beautiful wide shot from Jacobs) and tenderly kisses her cheek. Their relationship has changed.

Another fascinating, elliptical moment comes with Mack and Karen as they prep for Gary's funeral. His 'death' resonates with Karen, who's still tender from her own losses and worrying over Val (who, it must be pointed out, also takes time out to pray for Ben's safe return, Gary or no Gary). "I love you," she says simply to Mack. But it unnerves him, deep in his guilty conscience; you can see Kevin Dobson's face shift through several secret chambers inside. His non-sequitur response is fascinating: "You look so nice." Karen sees it, senses something.

So there's a service at Westfork but with no Lucy? No Ewings? Really? Did Mack and Gary keep it that quiet? There's a rare First Brian from Tremors sighting, and even he's crying over Gary. Even Jason No. Whatever is here! Olivia remains an anchor for the show though; they obviously love Tonya Crowe and writing for her. She rushes to Val on sight at the ranch, and her reaction to the news of Val having twins is great: "How'd you do that?" Val genuinely misses her company as they embrace, but Olivia is self-assured: "We'll work that out." We get a few interesting reactions bouncing off that duo - Abby watching them on the outside, while Mack broods over the whole affair.

There's a cool scene with Cathy being greeted by the ranch hands - we don't see much of them. Cathy’s very masculine, queered-out funeral suit is amazing, BTW. She explains her rap sheet to Laura and then promptly gets hauled downtown by Morrison for what initially seem like curious reasons. Laura, to her credit, is unfazed and tells Cathy dinner is at 7 at her place. See, if this show was on today Laura and Cathy would 100% happen. I'm here for a Gary/Cathy/Laura/Greg quad.

Aww, Eric and Michael kissing Abby. Even Karen is sweet to her when Abby thanks her and Diana for their support. "(Diana) loves her Aunt Abby," she assures Abby. "She loves her mother too," Abby replies. "We're family," Karen promises as they hold hands. "If I can help I want to." Cherish these moments when we get 'em, I guess.

Laura and Val get a private moment before the service to once again talk about “when [you and Gary] were seeing each other again”- not quite how I remember it, but okay. Laura drops the bomb on Val about why Gary stood her up, because he wanted her to move on to a better life without him. "He married Abby not because he loved Abby but because he loved you," Laura explains. Again, maybe a half truth IMO given Laura's opinion of Abby, but close enough. Abby, meanwhile, is almost prepared to spill her guts to Mack until she sees St. Claire at the service.

I do like the ranch hands following the funeral procession through a meadow choked with leaves. I did not love Mack telling Karen not to 'worry [your] pretty little face about' his investigation. Shut it, Mack. I did laugh at his perturbed reaction to the ranch hand playing acoustic guitar throughout the eulogy. He was not feeling it.

They really milked this to fake people out - even the subliminal cuts to Gary at the very end initially are framed as though they're flashbacks from the women who loved him, until the scene fully transitions and we discover they're actually a reveal of the very much alive Gary cooling his heels in police lockup, then passionately embracing a seemingly unsurprised Cathy as the credits roll. I was not expecting that. I am dying to figure out who knew and did what, when and how. Then I'm dying to figure out how long Mack is going to be sleeping in the garage on a cot next to Sid's old toolbelt next season. Onto the finale hours.

Edited September 5, 2022 by Vee

[Spin865]

The interesting thing is due to I guess the huge difference between the number of CBS viewers and Fox viewers in the early 90's, Knots in it's last seasons always beat 90210 (at that shows peak of popularity!) in the ratings (well not in the younger demo ratings I assume) http://www.thetvratingsguide.com/2020/03/1992-93-ratings-history.html    

[Vee]

Also the difference in cultural mores and changing times in the emerging '90s. 90210 was the talk of the playgrounds, dorm rooms or watercoolers, while I didn't even know what Knots was back then. I don't think that was the fault of Knots per se, which did seem like it tried to evolve to each era (unlike Dallas). I just think the age of the '80s Lorimar/Spelling, etc. megasoaps had been left behind. Spelling reinvented his TV slate to suit the new decade, while I believe Lorimar merged and dissolved though I may be off on the timeline or facts.

Edited September 5, 2022 by Vee

[Chris B]

I know she's controversial, but I loved the Latham/Lechowick era of Knots. They recognized that times were changing and that you had to update the format of the show for it to remain relevant. Not everything they did worked, but I liked that they attempted to bring the show forward and they were successful with many of the changes. Most importantly, the show still always felt like Knots.

When it comes to LML's time on Y&R, I am in a small minority I know, but I think her Y&R was still very good until she lost Victoria Rowell. You could tell Rowell was a bit of a muse for her and I love the heavy screentime the minority characters got during her tenure. I think had Ed Scott remained as EP and it was a team of LML/Jack Smith/Kay Alden they would've been perfect for the show. I think the biggest issue was making her EP and HW and allowing her to change the show too much. 

[DRW50]

It's interesting you mention this as CBS did run ads along the lines of, "Dallas is entering the '90s," and, "Women are strong on Dallas now," but it just wasn't going to matter. Dallas was too identified with the '80s, and JR, who was not in any way a '90s character. 

Knots didn't have the same dating problem, as it just wasn't as publicly defined (when I was growing up my family watched Dallas and Falcon Crest but never mentioned Knots), but I think most of the characters just didn't have any real life left in them by 1993. They could have tried a show with some of the younger crew, but they had all been written out or just weren't well-developed, aside from Paige, who probably wasn't going to stay on much longer as Nicolette was trying for bigger things. 

As always I am appreciating your rundowns, which give me a lot more insight into characters I wasn't very focused on, like Cathy.

If you ever get there I will be most interested in your thoughts around seasons 9-11 as those are not especially compelling years for me, with a few exceptions.

[Vee]

I'll definitely be curious for your thoughts on S6 and especially the post-Dunne seasons after. You don't need to wait on me getting there though, I've perused this thread at length in the past and of course any poster can opine on whatever you like.

Did Dallas ever actually live up to those female-centric ads?

Edited September 6, 2022 by Vee

[DRW50]

I haven't seen those last years in a long time, but if I get past the horrid ending for poor April, Michelle Stevens (her sister) was a fairly independent character, even if she was mostly passed off to men. Cally also grew over time. Not much else to say about the women at the end, as they were dead or gone. I always remember that moment in the finale, probably the only part that was effective for me in terms of dramatic power, where

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Edited September 6, 2022 by DRW50

[Vee]

Oh, I know all about the Joel Grey finale, you don't need to spoiler tag anything about these shows for me lol. The Joel Grey devil weirdness is one of the things I remember reading all about as a kid, and then saw years later.