Dallas (TNT): Hurt Recap

There really was a lot of weird stuff going on in “Hurt”, the 11th episode of Season 3 of Dallas (9/1/2014). Like Emma weeping from afar at Drew’s funeral, then later on she is back scheming with the cartel dude, Luis, in her “I’m a big girl” duds, trying to get Harris locked up for good. The fire damage to Southfork was repaired lickety-split because when everyone gathered at Southfork, there wasn’t a beam out of place.

Last week’s episode: Dead Reckoning

Elena spilled the secrets of J.R.’s last letter to the dizzy Southfork dames who all react in their own ways. Bobby’s wife, Ann, is shocked to learn her holier-than-thou hubby is a dyed-in-the wool liar. Sue Ellen feels cheated to be left out of the loop. (Yes we should all confide criminal secrets in the family lush). Before Pamela can even react, Bobby shows just how unrepentant he is. Cliff may have been innocent of the crime he is actually in jail for but Bobby gave him the chance to confess to blowing up the rig and killing Pamela’s babies. J.R.’s death was already a done deal when he got the letter, Bobby rationalizes. He just finished carrying out the plan that J.R. set up to end the feud once and for all.

Elena says that with the way everyone thought J.R. died, they all bought into the fairy tale that he was really a good old boy, when J.R. was a thief and a liar. She produces the documents to show that JR stole her family’s land. What she really wants is her brother and father back but she’ll settle for restitution. She admits that she got this stuff from Cliff. Christopher blames Nicolas and wants to throw hands but Bobby stops them. Elena names her price for the return of the letter: money the Ewings made off Ramos land, some Ewing land plus a pardon for Cliff and she wants an answer by 8 pm.

On the way out, John Ross sneers at Elena that she sure got what she wanted the night before. This is not lost on Nicolas who later asks how she knew about the letter and how she got it. Elena tells a little white lie about where the wallet was when she swiped it. Nicolas gets a call from Luis who warns him that if the Ewing Global takeover gets botched, it’s curtains for him and Elena. Nicolas tells him to leave “innocent” Elena out of it, but Luis is a bad ass, which makes us wonder whatever happened to Nicolas’ wife and kids.

With Emma, Luis is more amused than bad ass, asking if she likes the Beach Boys, and if she is like the girl in their “Fun, Fun, Fun” song – a spoiled brat whose daddy took her T-Bird away. Emma just wants her daddy to go to jail and she’s willing to give Luis extra Ryland trucks to move his drugs in exchange for that. But Harris had Emma tailed and when she gets back, Ann is sitting in the Ryland home with Harris. They reveal that Harris is really working for the CIA. Emma asks why he didn’t tell her. He says he didn’t trust her and with good reason (because you can never trust a child you have done your best to turn into an unbalanced weirdo). Emma admits that she made a deal with Luis to move more drugs but doesn’t tell Ryland her terms — he’s getting locked up.

As for Sue Ellen, after reaming Bobby out for leaving her in the dark, Sue Ellen tells him Miss Ellie would be ashamed of the steward of Southfork. (No doubt — she’s probably rolling over in her grave, wishing she left Southfork to charity). Sue Ellen figures out on her own that it was Bum who shot J.R. and goes over to have it out with him. They really must give Linda Gray something to do besides cry and look miserable. Not only does she look terrible, it’s even a bigger drag to watch her lament her lost love for J.R. than it is to watch her fighting with her son. Criminey.

Christopher is the first Ewing to show up at Elena’s cottage a little after the 8 pm deadline. He takes her off to the barn to dredge up a memory of the real Elena he grew up with. This Elena — it’s all Nicolas and Cliff using her. Elena says he is just jealous but he assures her that he carries no torch for her. Bobby arrives and whisks Elena away to his office where he threw his shit all over the place and it is still a mess because Carmen is no longer around to clean up Ewing messes.

He gives Elena everything she wanted plus something she didn’t even ask for — an apology. She thanks him and he gives her a pardon for Cliff. She can decide whether Cliff gets out or not. He warns her that once Cliff gets out, the feud will start up again and that will be her fault. She says it’s not her problem and she gives him back J.R.’s letter.

Elena calls Cliff who is just tickled to hear he will be getting out and can wipe the Ewings off the face of the earth. Elena is sickened, realizing Bobby was right. She goes over to see Pamela and gives her the deed to land that Jock Ewing stole off Digger Barnes, then she dumps the pardon on Pamela too. Wow, she wasn’t kidding that it’s not her problem. Now it’s up to Pamela if Cliff gets out.

After John Ross finds out from Bum that it was Nicolas who sent Pamela the video of him and Emma, he strong arms his way into their penthouse. He asks Nicolas if he knows how Elena got J.R.’s letter and explains that Elena came to him and he can figure out the rest, but who knew what a thieving whore she was. They can both go to hell, he says and leaves.

Elena begs Nicolas to say something, calling him Joaquin and saying she needs him to forgive her. That was totally unexpected because we thought she was through with his schemes. Nicolas appears close to tears. He says he knows the Ewings drove her to do it and he is sorry he wasn’t there to stop her from degrading herself. Elena wants them to get away and he agrees. But first he has a secret chat with some Victor dude to confirm that the plans to take over Ewing Global are still on.

Meantime, Christopher has been digging through old boxes of letters after remembering that Elena wrote about a childhood friend, Joaquin. He goes and tells Bobby that they must look into it so that they get to the bottom of the whole Nicolas enigma.