Like a Bad Penny Recap: Dallas (TNT)

In “Like a Bad Penny,” all things are coming to a head in preparation for next week, which will be the last episode of Dallas until August. We’ve got the 3-way contest for Ewing Global. Bobby Ewing doesn’t really care who Nicolas Trevino used to be anymore, he is a corporate raider so Bobby knows he has to deal with both him and John Ross. He also has to get Sue Ellen back on her feet so John Ross cannot control her shares. John Ross will have to contend with Bobby and Sue Ellen. He doesn’t know Nicolas and Elena are threats yet. But there are other forces out there:

Drew Ramos is one. He returned to Dallas because he can no longer deal with the guilt over his part in the rig explosion that caused Pamela to lose her and Christopher’s babies. Drew went to apologize to Christopher who exploded with rage and beat his ass. Drew later went through a box at Elena’s where he came across the deeds that showed J.R. Ewing stole Papi’s land. Elena tried to defuse his anger, explaining there is a plan in place to get justice. Drew wasn’t down with any long-term plans for justice and stormed off.

Emma Ryland is a loose cannon for sure. Would be sex-retary Candice got fired twice – by John Ross who instructed Bum to check into her background. Harris Ryland had no further use for her either and told her to give back the keys to the townhome they supplied her with and “that dress.” Emma Ryland waited for Candice at her place and found out Candice was planted at Ewing Global by her father. Emma confronted Harris who claimed he thought she was raised better than to think John Ross would leave Pamela for him, even if he did reject Candice. Harris showed Emma the photos taken when he had Judith’s girls crawling all over John Ross at the brothel. Emma took the photos straight to Candice and she told Emma she was supposed to get John Ross’ DNA on a dress supplied by Harris. Emma whipped out the photos and Candice admitted it was the dress in the photo. Later, we see Emma with the dress looking in the mirror, plotting somebody’s downfall.

The angry ex — Bo McCabe. Heather and Christopher are getting so close that Christopher goes to her after the Drew beatdown. She tends to his bloody hands and is glad he decided to let the law go after Drew. She thinks Christopher’s need for a family is what drew them together. Bo doesn’t. He shows up to plead for another chance with Heather. When he sees Christopher there, it’s too much. With a wild swing at Christopher, Bo loses his balance and lands on his ass. Good guy Christopher takes him home. The next day, Christopher shows up at Bo’s door with the keys to Bo’s truck and an offer of a job. Bo is not too enthralled with Ewing charity. Christopher gives him a lecture on letting his wife move on and preserving his relationship with his son, Michael. Bo says if he knew he was going to get a lecture from the guy screwing his wife, he wouldn’t have touched that bottle. “Suit yourself,” Christopher replies and sails off with Heather. Really, Christopher, let a man have some dignity.

Can anyone trust Sue Ellen? John Ross confessed to Pamela that getting his momma committed was a bit much, but he’s sure he can never trust Sue Ellen again. Bobby and Ann deemed it necessary to get Sue Ellen out of the psychiatric facility asap. The doc in charge told them the judge left it in their hands to decide when Sue Ellen could be released, but the patient had a very high level of alcohol so a proper detox was a necessity. Without that, they could be liable for any harm and Sue Ellen might even be a danger to herself. Bobby was all assurances. He would sign whatever it took to get Sue Ellen out right then and there. Sue Ellen didn’t look too tickled to find out she was going to Southfork with Ann and Bobby as her keepers, plus they knew she’d been tippling for a lot longer than she had admitted. Do we need to point out that caring for a determined alcoholic is like having a tiger by the tail?

Any one or any combination of those mentioned above can throw a monkey wrench or two into the plans of John Ross, Bobby and Nicolas. And here’s where those three stand:

John Ross went off to Las Vegas to get in on a poker game with a wealthy sheik in an effort to get the capital for the Arctic leases. J.R. had some unfinished business going on with the sheik in Abu Dhabi. The sheik’s son, Prince Nasir, wasn’t having it. It was disrespectful of the Ewings to let so much time lapse without completing the negotiations begun by J.R. Pamela managed to get John Ross a seat in the poker game with her Catherine the Great earrings, the only ones in the world. John Ross ran out of money when the stakes were raised so he put up J.R.’s watch with a big blah-di-blah about how much it meant to him. He lost. On purpose. Pamela demanded to know why threw the game. The watch, he said, felt like “an albatross” around his neck. Now he was free to be his own man. Pamela pointed out that there were lots of other ways to get rid of the watch. John Ross said sometimes you’ve got to show you’re not afraid to lose in order to win. Smart boy. Prince Nasir showed up later with news that his father would provide the capital to secure controlling interest in Ewing Global as soon as the public offering was in the works, and he returned the albatross… er, J.R.’s watch.(Alas, the Catherine the Great earrings were gone for good.)

Bobby figured out a way to make the public offering work to his advantage. He introduced stock expert, Cal Hanna, an old college friend, to John Ross. Cal also had been in on some of Bobby’s dealings with J.R. John Ross wasn’t going to bite until his mother appeared, and he realized he’d been outfoxed for the moment. Bobby told Cal he was positive John Ross would be coming for him, and he should let John Ross think he’ll get the upper hand.

Nicolas Trevino questioned Elena about the email their surveillance had sent before Candice got fired. Elena explained it was not Candice in the video evidence, but Emma. She could not bear to show it to Pamela because it was something she could not get over herself, someone you thought was a friend. Trevino agreed but as soon as he was alone, he called the investigators and asked for another email to be sent directly to him. Later he emailed it to Pamela, right before meeting up with Hunter McKay, who was practically crapping in his pants. Nicolas forgot to mention they were meeting with armed members of the Mexican drug cartel. Nicolas, it turns out, is raiding Ewing Global to protect his family. If he can’t deliver Ewing Global so they can launder their drug money for “years to come,” Nicolas will learn the pain of losing a child first-hand. Nicolas has one more thing to say: he needs their help in finding Drew Ramos. Of course, he has fixed it so the “fury of a woman scorned” will soon be unleashed. Will Pamela run to Elena for comfort? Even so, Elena will be furious herself that Nicolas lied.

Sure looks like we’ve got plenty going on for a humdinger of a cliff-hanger next week!