Dallas: The Enemy of My Enemy Recap

When we left Dallas last week, Christopher was busy compromising the holier-than-thou morals his daddy instilled in him by blackmailing John Ross. This week, in the 6th episode of Season 1 (6 episodes already?  Wow!), they crammed in more twists than you might think could fit in an hour, even a combo that got the redemption of Rebecca underway while thwarting J.R. and John Ross at the same time! But as John Ross says to Elena: “It’s funny how life always seems more complicated than you imagine it would be, especially in this family.” Ain’t that the truth?

John Ross and Elena are apparently shacking up right on the ranch already but he can’t sleep. She thinks he’s worried about Bobby, but nah – Bobby won’t fight dirty. He confides his belief that Christopher will say and do anything to break them up. As he goes off to take on the world, Elena says she still doesn’t like the war, but, “I believe in the warrior.” Awwww!

The first person John Ross runs into is his Uncle Bobby who throws down the gauntlet, advising him not to get too comfortable. “J.R.’s big mistake was he always underestimated me.” John Ross tells his uncle to do what he has to do but if he keeps pushing it, he’ll get kicked off the ranch. Bobby angrily accuses him of not caring about the ranch, only what’s underneath it. John Ross starts to tell him why he’s not “all hat and no cattle,” like his daddy, but a worker reports that Ryland has pulled his trucks. Knowing Ryland is Ann’s ex-husband, John Ross accuses Bobby of  putting her up to it (and later runs to his own mama for help – no, the irony was not lost on us). Bobby tells Ann that he’s dealt with thugs like Harris Ryland before. There are always strings and he’s afraid her gesture will soon bite them in the ass.

He discusses the Ryland dilemma with Bum but Christopher storms in demanding that proof he wants on J.R. Ewing Oil, says Christopher, is just as much his birthright and warns John Ross not to say a word about him being adopted or he’ll knock “that cheesy grin” off his face. John Ross believes it’s all about Elena and tells him to do whatever he wants because that DVD doesn’t prove diddly squat. Bum wonders if Christopher will go to the police but John Ross says if he doesn’t get the oil moving, it won’t make any difference what Christopher does. Hmmm … maybe the police will be better than Vicente Cano, who shows up making thinly veiled threats about a price to pay when the son doesn’t fulfill his father’s commitments. John Ross not only looks out of his league, he actually looks skeered.

Bum reports to J.R. who is being tended by a bevy of ladies. He doesn’t feel a bit sorry for John Ross, even if you’re starting to – he threw him in the briar patch on purpose so he could learn how to get out.  J.R. has more important things on his mind – like crushing Cliff Barnes. J.R. says Cliff would push his own mama in a “puddle of piranhas” for a chance to take money from him. We don’t think so since Cliff has more money than J.R. who has to borrow a cool million from Carlos Del Sol to get in right on Cliff’s gambling action, but at least we’ll find out more about Frank now that J.R. is on his trail.

A note and necklace are delivered to Ann from Harris Ryland. She reads the note and dissolves in tears when she sees the necklace. Bobby runs over to Ryland’s office and punches him in the face right in the middle of a business meeting. A lucky break, we guess, for Sue Ellen, although she’s most reluctant to get involved with Harris Ryland even for her beloved John Ross who wants her to use her political clout to bail him out.

It’s one of those “you know I’ll do anything for you, but…” moments that makes John Ross wish he didn’t even ask. You just know this has happened to him before, more than once! But Sue Ellen’s guilt gets the better of her. She visits Harris Ryland and hints at giving him a cushy appointment if elected Governor. Ryland demurs, generously offering to back John Ross for nothing. He offers a huge campaign donation to boot. We know Bobby was telling the gospel truth about them strings by the look on Sue Ellen’s face. If she takes that check, there will definitely be a future bite out of her gubernatorial tush!

Tommy wants to know if Rebecca has found anything to further their con game. She lies and takes what she’s found straight to Bobby and Christopher. Carmen lets her in the house for reasons we will never know. Christopher is abusive — nasty, even — but Bobby is willing to hear her out. She found some papers showing a trust set up by Miss Ellie’s father. The trust owns the mineral rights so the right to drill on Southfork did not go along with the sale. Oh, Happy Day!

Except in order to enforce it, they have to find the original. Christopher would rather continue to blackmail John Ross but no way will Bobby fight dirty. They find a key in Grandpa Southworth’s old desk and bada bing, bada boom, that leads to finding the original document in a safe deposit box at the bank. Oh, Happy Day, however badly contrived! Bobby explains that brother Garrison gave him his share so he owns 2/3rds. We can understand Bobby wanting to be called Robert now that he’s an old man — even Bob — but Gary, we’d think, would be happy to continue with the short version.

On her way out, Rebecca got a nosebleed and felt faint, always a sure sign of pregnancy. LOL. Elena takes her to the hospital without so much as a “what the hell are you doing here?” Wouldn’t the cook’s daughter know a quick trip to CVS or Walgreen’s would be much cheaper? Rebecca expresses her anguish over her part in breaking up Christopher and Elena and says they can be happy now but Elena lets her know it’s over and not because of her or Tommy. Because Christopher’s a jerk.

Fake Marta aka Veronica (but only in bed) pays John Ross a visit but the Ewing warrior is now on the warpath with her. Unwisely, he ignores J.R.’s advice and viciously shoots down her romantic dreams even if she does have a lot of money she skimmed from Vicente. OMG! Well, Marta’s not going down like that. When Elena and John Ross reunite at her place, the door is ajar and someone stuck a knife in the water hose photo. John Ross is really worried now.

As John Ross tries to glue the model oil rig he smashed when he was uptight back together, Christopher and Bobby arrive with the news that he’s beat. “Fair and square,” Christopher crows. And they called John Ross smug? In one way, it’s a blessing Christopher is not a carbon copy of Bobby, has a healthy mean streak and is willing to get down and dirty. In another way, it doesn’t make him very likeable, does it?

If you blinked, you might have missed:

Ann putting the necklace on very lovingly. It means something really heavy to her.

Tommy saying that friendly Texans try his nerves and he wants to get the hell out of Texas. Is Tommy from California, by chance, as in one of Garrison’s twins? Are they Bobby and Betsy Ewing? That would be a little gross, what with Rebecca married to Christopher. Yeah, yeah, we know, he’s adopted. But still … we’re not totally convinced they are siblings. When Rebecca gave Tommy those rings, it seemed more like a permanent attempt at an adios. Everyone knows siblings aren’t that easy to get rid of.

Dallas Season 1 Episodes: 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 : 7 : 8 : 9