March 17 Dallas Episode Recap: Lifting the Veil

Lucia Trevino defends her husband Nicolas to Christopher, telling him that Nicolas was an orphan who built himself up from nothing to become the success he is today. Chris isn’t buying this excuse for Nicolas’ lack of history prior to 1997 and hints at Senor Trevino’s less-than-faithful interests back in Dallas. Lucia gets the message, which is also not lost on Drew, who calls Nicolas to share his temptation to turn himself in to the cops for blowing up the Ewing oil rig. Nicolas manages to dissuade him, for now. On the morning of his vows renewal with Pamela, John Ross is torn from the amorous arms of his wife by a call from his secretary Candace, who’s arranged a last-minute meeting for him with Stanley Babcock, the railroad commissioner with the power to rescind the injunction Bobby got against his fracking attempts on Southfork. When John Ross arrives for the meeting, he’s not pleased to see that Harris Ryland has taken the commissioner’s place. Harris suggests a trade: leverage against Babcock to get the injunction lifted in exchange for a flash drive that Emma swiped along with other important Ryland Transport files while Daddy Dearest was cooling his heels in the slammer. Back at Southfork, the Ewing women help Pam prepare for the ceremony. Sue Ellen can barely contain her anger at Emma and projects her animosity onto Pamela’s mother Afton Cooper, whose incessant bitching about John Ross’ absence grates on Sue Ellen. After a confrontation between the old rivals is broken up, Sue Ellen sneaks a drink. John Ross calls Emma away from the preparations to get her to turn over the flash drive and reminds his sullen lover that their dalliance is just business. It’s hardly just business to Miss Ryland, who nevertheless turns over the flash drive to Bum after purposely taking her time to make John Ross late for his wedding ceremony. John Ross meets Harris at a bordello with security cameras that capture its clients’ “transactions.” Stanley Babcock is taped playing kinky games with a hooker dressed in a doggy costume. John Ross barges into the commissioner’s room and nonchalantly begins negotiating a deal to get Bobby’s injunction reversed. Harris arranges to get some photographic evidence of John Ross being pawed by two of the whorehouse’s young working girls. He downloads the CIA files that were in the flash drive and turns over the footage of Babcock to John Ross. Their business complete, he takes a moment to issue John Ross a not-so-friendly warning to stop sleeping with Emma!

John Ross makes it back home in time to get a cool reception from Sue Ellen, who confronts him about sleeping with Emma, and Afton, who’s been consoling a fretting Pamela. John Ross manages to calm his bride down and the two renew their vows as a heartbroken Emma and a concerned Sue Ellen look on. The bloated comic relief duo of Lucy and Ray (Charlene Tilton and Steve Kanaly) are on hand to reminisce about past Southfork weddings and remind us what the ravages of time can do. After the ceremony, John Ross tells Uncle Bobby about overturning his block on the fracking on Southfork but a desperate Bobby gets an unexpected offer of help from Sue Ellen, who’s furious at her son for following in J.R.’s cheating footsteps. Nicolas convinces Elena that he’s close to getting divorced from Lucia after Christopher blabs to Ms. Ramos about meeting his wife in Nuevo Laredo. Trouble is, Mr. Trevino also needs to convince his wife, who’s arrived at his Dallas pad to inform him she’s decided to hold on to their marriage. If he insists on the divorce, she’s going to tell the Ewings about his “debts.” While Christopher enjoys a roll in the hay in a Southfork barn with Heather and John Ross finally attends to his wife’s womanly needs, the Rylands are plotting their next move against the Ewings. Harris informs his mother – who owns the bordello (big shock!) — that he plans to pull a Monica Lewinsky on John Ross using the photos he had taken of John Ross’ brief encounter getting pawed by the two hookers. One of those gals was only 16, Harris shares, and her dress will bear the evidence of Mr. Ewing’s trumped-up dangerous liaison. How will Harris get the “DNA” needed to frame John Ross, Mama Ryland wonders. Harris reveals he’s planted a Trojan horse of his own at Ewing Global: John Ross’ secretary Candace. And if history proves any indication, she’ll be taking a lot more than dictation from John Ross very soon.