37 - victims of love

My post on the Ultimate Dallas Forum from September 13, 2014 (episode aired on September 8, 2014):

Loved:

- Basically, that great three episodes in a row was something that didn´t happen in this show since the end of last season. They have proven to be able to deliver good episodes when they´re not too obsessed with shocking value and strict plot-driven stories. I loved the last 3 episodes for different reasons: "Denial..." because it showed a great improvement in character development and actors´ chemistry; "Hurt" because it brought me back the flavor of the old show, and this one because seems to lead the misfired storylines of this season to a quick end. Also, because the Ramoses presence was hardly symbolic.

- Excellent performances by all with no exception (though I just can´t get how Cidre is giving such dumb dialogues to Ms. Forte!): Duffy showed Bobby´s old persona at his visit to nuTracey and how I´ve been missing him! Linda is a gem in every little scene she gets and I hope they will give her some more good scenes before the cliffhanger; Julie is magnificent: when she goes to see Cliff, she´s so self-constrained, so icy-cold, that again she made me think that maybe is Katherine´s daughter after all! That would be a good twist! Kenny looked frail but he made me think also of good ol´Cliffie, and after all that´s happened because of him, that´s a compliment for his excellence as a thespian.

- Josh´s humorous touches: His character really NEEDS humor in his scenes the way JR did: without it he´s much less of an anti-hero; Metcalfe is measuring his past mistakes and is more interesting now that has no partner. Brenda and Mitch nailed their mini-scene when they tell Emma about CIA.

- The direction: Again, subtle touches of style throughout this episode, especially the quick Dallas buildings pans.

Liked:

- The re-casting of Tracey was not that bad after all. The writers did their homework and summed 2+2. Anyone who had watched TOS could perfectly remember who Tracey was despite of the new actress. Still, she looks too young but I guess that Mrs. Steven Carrington is not an active actress anymore. I really enjoyed the body contact between both of them in their few scenes: Tracey holding Bobby´s hand at the sofa, and then Bobby comforting her at Hunter´s. And thanks for not making him his son.

- The speed that the much-tired storyline of drug lords is taking: I was sick of having to watch those drug-related scenes and the guy who plays the drug lord (who is a good actor, btw) but the little homage to "The Godfather" was really something: as I said in another post, we saw tomatoes only but they should have used the mafia symbol for the upcoming deaths: oranges. Though the story Cidre seems to hint (a rivalry between the Mexican "half" brothers) is exactly what she did on her previous series "Cane". Also, I´m wondering if the CIA Agent actually is working for CIA. What if he´s another imposter which is one of Cidre´s vices?

- It was about time that the show was about oil (or merely corporate) business again. Kudos to the writers for helping us understand what the hell they´ve been doing with Nicoquín, Barnes Global and Elena´s vengeance until now. Also a big thank you for mentioning the right Ewing field that Digger lost!

Hated:

- The gore touches: Candace´s hands in a box? Poor weirdo Hunter found dead? Not in "Dallas".

- The Judith "guilty pleasure": No pleasure for me. She´s out of element and hammy all the way. She belongs to a new sequel of "101 Dalmatians" as suggested her own son.

- The sad thought that Ken Kercheval´s days on "Dallas" maybe gone forever. I still think they should find a way to redeem him or pairing him with someone worse than him (Judith?) or one of his exes.

- And last but not least, the fact that it had to be just the McKays and Tracey (and not the Krebbses, Lucy, James or any other character who earned his right to be on this show) who returned in this episode. Too late for that?