The Lie

I did not start watching this series until its second season and I was a fan for the remainder of its years on the air.

During that time, I found the character of Laura to always be intriguing and I could never understand her motivations. Why exactly did she say or do some of the things that she said or did ? This episode explains it all and now I understand just why Laura was the person that she was, and I realize just how wonderful Constance McCashin was during her time on the show. She left in 1987 after her 200th episode, but you must see this episode to completely understand the Laura character and how excellent McCashin was - definitely an underrated asset to the series.

The plot involves rape, which is NEVER, EVER excusable, but, to me, the purpose of the episode is to also show how a woman's unfortunate choices can have catastrophic results. And will she learn from them ?

McCashin is excellent, as is Joan Van Ark as Laura's neighbor, Valene, and John Pleshette as Laura's husband, Richard. There is a terrific scene between Laura and Valene performed superbly by McCashin and Van Ark on the stairs in Laura's house that explains so much about Laura.

And this has one of the best final scenes of any episode of Knot's Landing. It takes place in a restaurant. It's almost haunting and leaves you feeling disjointed. Did Laura learn anything from her horrible experience ? No words are spoken but the looks on the faces of Laura and, particularly Valene, says it all.

This episode is the one of the very best of Knot's Landing, its writers, and McCashin.