TV Review: Dallas 3×13 – “Boxed In”

If You Watched Last Week’s Dallas, You Know That We’ve Got Ourselves A Good Old-Fashioned Kidnapping On Our Hands!

A frazzled Judith promises Luis that the trucks are on the way. “If anything happens to my granddaughter, you and everyone you love will regret it,” she shakily threatens. After Judith goes upstairs with her meds, Bobby arrives to ask Harris to contact the CIA regarding the cartel’s takeover of Ewing Global. What a bad surprise he gets!

Bobby and Harris request that the CIA get their loved ones back, but they’ll only help if they can also bust El Pozolero and the rest of the cartel. Harris and Judith have the drugs moving, but they don’t have the protection of the CIA at the border. John Ross is making his own plans, though Bobby requests that he check in with him before doing anything rash. Good luck with that, Bobby.

Nicholas is Lame, But Lucia is a Badass

Nicholas comes clean to Elena about his involvement with the cartel. With Hunter dead, it’s starting to look like the threats against Elena and his sons are very real. Elena is horrified and furious. “You were the one person I thought I could trust,” Elena says.

Christopher takes matters into his own hands by going to visit Lucia, Nicholas’s wife. Lucia explains that her family comes first, regardless of any extramarital activities on Nicholas’s part. Christopher argues Nicholas running off with Elena means he isn’t putting the welfare of Lucia first.

Lucia leaves with her children, making at stop at South Fork. “Nothing gets in the way of family,” she explains. “Even infidelity. This changes when the family becomes subservient to the mistress. I know more about my husband than he knows.” Explanation: she was the one having Nicholas and Elena followed.

Pamela for Queen of Dallas

Back at South Fork, Pamela and John Ross are hashing it out again. “My father’s fued with the Ewings is over, but mine is just beginning. I’m staying here, in this marriage, until my idiot husband gets the company back. And then I’m going to take him for everything he’s worth,” Pamela promises. John Ross concedes that her goals are fair, but then drops the kidnapping bomb on her. He’s attempting to broker another deal with Nasir—if the Sheik can give him the money to buy the shares, he can buy the Ewing Global back. The cartel is selling off the consumer division of Ewing Global for 70 cents on the dollar. He requests aid, as she’d be able to to make it happen before he would.

Vegas: Pamela meets with Nasir, who is way happier than when he dealt with the “dishonorable and inept” John Ross. John Ross is having a terrible day (month?). Pamela asks for the money to buy the discounted shares. Those shares include the technology for arctic leases, which can only be purchased by an American company. Nasir is skeptical; he’s already been burned by the Ewings. “But not by a Barnes,” Pamela argues with a smile. She makes the deal, but not for John Ross—only for Ann and her own legacy.

They Shoot Hostages, Don’t They?

Mexico: Luis receives a call informing him that the Ryland Transport trucks were stopped at the border. He smashes everything in sight and whips out a gun, carting Emma away. He calls Judith and tells her he only needs one hostage, shooting the wall in order to scare the ever-loving shit out of everyone. “I want you to think of the emotion you just felt, then think about feeling it every day. You have one day to get the trucks moving,” Luis warns. Ann is thrown in the back room with Emma. They are less than pleased to find themselves sharing the space with some fresh corpses.

Dallas: Bobby appeals to the senator, who argues that he can’t level the safety of two citizens against the safety of a whole nation. Bobby won’t be discouraged; instead, he proposes an emergency drill that will shut down railroad track security on either side of the border. They can transport way more drugs over the border without having to worry about security. When Sue Ellen asks if Bobby understands the stakes, he isn’t worried. “Little jail time,” he says, unconcerned. Sue Ellen corrects him. “Federal prison for the rest of your life.”

Bobby shows up, pitching the idea of the emergency drill as a means of opening up the border for the drug transfer. “Why would I give up my only leverage?” Luis asks. Bobby suggests that he gives back the women and takes all of the credit for the railroad transfer. Aaaand we have to wait to see what happens next!