TV Review: Dallas 3×10, “Dead Reckoning”

Goodnight, Goodnight: The Aftermath

Nicholas and his associated thugs dump Drew’s body. They shoot a phone book to get the appropriate amount of incriminating evidence on Drew’s hand, so I guess I have to give them props for being thorough.

A police officer arrives at South Fork to deliver news of Drew’s apparent suicide to his mother. Devastated, Carmen relays the news to Elena, interrupting her fight with Nicholas over him sending the John Ross/Emma sex tape to Pamela. Nicholas looks like he’s going to vom. Dude, I might feel bad for your discomfort had you not been the person to deliver the kill order. He keeps his vom face on while the remaining Ramos family identifies Drew’s body. Carmen refuses to believe that her deceased son committed suicide, as his Saint Christopher medal was missing from the crime scene.

Elena doesn’t buy her mother’s reasoning. She’s more focused on her own guilt; she believes Drew’s suicide is her fault for letting him know about the deed switch J.R. pulled on her father. She wants to tell everyone, but Nicholas argues instead for secrecy and scheming.

If You Don’t Like Who You’ve Become, Then Do Something About It

John Ross digs through the remnants of his torched room and finds J.R.’s beloved belt buckle, along with a handwritten letter from J.R. that he tries to torch. J.R.’s bestie/henchman Bum Jones stops him: “J.R. told you what to do, he didn’t tell you how to do it.” John Ross admits he’s actually furious with himself for trying to be J.R.

Pamela eventually allows John Ross to see her. “I don’t want to be like this anymore, I don’t want to be the guy who could have done this to you,” he appeals, promising to prove himself to her. Pamela wants none of this. She spent her childhood fighting for her father’s love and replicated the same behavior in her marriage to a scheming, selfish man. Voice breaking, John Ross promises to be better. “You asked me what I want. I want you to leave. Our marriage is over.” Mic drop.

“If You Love Something, Let It Go” And Other Cliches 

Christopher sees Heather and Beau laughing about old times and discovers that Beau has refused pain meds in a show of sobriety. According to the neurologist, things are looking good for Beau; however, she can’t help him further. A colleague in Tel Aviv is working on a stem cell treatment that might work, but he has to relocate to Israel for it. In the end, Christopher presents Heather with the pre-paid paperwork for Beau’s treatment in Tel Aviv and the two share a sad goodbye kiss.

Sassy Post-Suicide Pamela

Sue Ellen visits Pamela, but her counselor is reluctant to leave. “My mother in law will make sure I don’t slit my wrists,” Pamela says, finding it absurd that she’s on suicide watch. “There are other ways of making a point,” Sue Ellen asserts, pointing out that Pamela nearly threw her life away for revenge.

Pamela’s outlook changes after speaking with John Ross. “I wasn’t trying to kill myself. But it doesn’t mean I wasn’t ready to,” she admits to Sue Ellen. Her promise of self-care gets her discharged from the hospital. Sue Ellen offers her a place to stay while she figures out what to do with her marriage. They had no pre-nup, which seems ridiculous since both of them were from prominent, wealthy Dallas families with the tendency for backstabbing. If they divorce, John Ross wins. She refuses to walk away from the marriage with less than she brought to it.

Emma’s Having A Bad Week

As Ann and Bobby are comforting the Ramos family, Harris and Emma show up to get the rest of her stuff. Carmen gives Drew’s letter to Emma–oh hey, guess who totally forgot that those two ever spoke to one another? In the letter, Drew shares his feelings for Emma and claims he wasn’t good enough for her. He apologizes for not being a better man and running away in the end.

Emma does not take news of Drew’s death well. She flips out on Harris for making Drew blow up the oil rig and making everyone’s lives spiral out. If he hadn’t left, she never would have slept with John Ross and Pamela never would have overdosed. Harris is a nightmare, but he does make one important point: “We all make choices.”

Emma shows up to meet Nicholas’s Mexican crime overlord friends, informing them that if anything happens to Harris, she is next in line to the Ryland Transport throne. She has one demand for them: “You got my father out of prison. I want you to put him back in.” Damn, girl.

Where There’s Rocket Fuel, There’s Arson

The fire department discovers the remnants of rocket fuel on South Fork that matches the residue on Drew’s hands. This confirms arson on Drew’s part and apparently, his suicide. Elena caves to her guilt and tells Carmen about the deed switching and its assumed role in Drew’s fate. Carmen realizes that this is why Elena was working with Nicholas against the Ewings. She expected this behavior from J.R., but never Bobby. There’s more: the Ewing men framed Cliff Barnes for murder and the proof is in a letter Bobby received at J.R.’s funeral, the letter that Carmen saw John Ross try to torch that morning.

Elena starts drinking and grabs her ruined diaphragm, so things are about to be very interesting. She seeks out a drunk John Ross and the two talk about how everything has turned to shit. Elena makes a move and the two jump into bed together. Afterwards, Elena gets up and retrieves the letter from John Ross’s wallet. Looks like it’s time for a good old fashioned Dallas showdown!