The BEST episodes of Knots Landing season 7
Every episode of Knots Landing season 7, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Knots Landing season 7!
Hoping to ride the crest of its success with Dallas, CBS spun off this series featuring the black sheep of the Ewing Family, Gary Ewing. Gary was a weakened reformed alcoholic who had deserted his wife Valene Ewing, and then remarried her and moved to Southern California to escape the formidable nature of life with the Ewings in Dallas. All the equals in this series lived on the same cul-de-sac in the quiet little community of Knots Landing. In addition to being neighbors, their lives intertwined in other ways. Gary worked for Sid Fairgate, owner of Knots Landing Motors, the local classic car dealership. Sid and his wife Karen Fairgate had three teenage children: Eric Fairgate, Michael Fairgate, and Diana Fairgate. The other two couples on the cul-de-sac were young recording executive Kenny Ward and his attractive wife, Ginger, and Richard and Laura Avery.
#1 - The Confession
Season 7 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/16/1986
Jill tells Karen that someone spoke to the Governor on Abby's behalf, but she'll do all she can to help her. Abby tells Karen that they won't choose her because of her drug problem. Karen tells them about her drug problem, but it's too late - the Governor already chosen Abby. Peter lets Greg know he went to law school. He then visits his "mother" and they talk about how they'll have a lot of money soon. Cathy and Lilimae are grilled by police. The police tell Mac that they may be charged with murder - after all, Cathy was in prison for murder, and Lilimae had run over Chip.Cathy has a new saxophone player on her show, Sonny Harkins. He befriends Cathy and says he'll be there if she needs to talk. Unbeknownst to her, he tapes their conversations.
#2 - A Very Special Gift
Season 7 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/13/1986
Karen and Mac make up.Greg asks Peter to start a social relationship with Abby. Peter tells Sylvia that Greg wants him to spy on Abby, and Abby wants him to spy on Greg. Sylvia is concerned that Peter's double dealing will backfire on him. Gary and Jill sleep together. Later, they run into Peter, who asks Jill if Gary suspects anything. She says no. Mac and Ben think that the Governor must be opening the Westfall case, since Jill is so interested in it. Abby hires a detective to check out Jill. Michael finds that Olivia has a joint, but she says she's holding it for a friend. Val throws a party for the twins' first birthday. They open the card from Gary, and inside is a deed to half of Empire Valley.
#3 - High School Confidential
Season 7 - Episode 22 - Aired 3/6/1986
Michael is booked. He denies the joint is his, but won't say who's it is. Michael tried to convince Olivia to tell the truth, but she won't. Karen suspects it is Olivia's and tells Abby, who is enraged that Karen could think such a thing. Gary is in a race car crash, and is kept in the hospital overnight for observation. Abby shows up and doesn't like that Jill is there. She tells Peter that she values her marriage and to "distract" Jill. Mac and Jill go to check water samples at Westfall. The town doctor, who thinks he recognizes Jill, says that there has been an increase in arsenic poisoning. Mac looks through a Franklin High yearbook, and sees Jill's picture with the name Dorothy Simpkins. Greg tells his attorney to make Peter an offer, but not too big. He tells Laura it is a test. If Peter accepts less than half of the company, then he is not his brother. A guest at Lotus Point gets sick with arsenic poisoning.
#4 - Rise and Fall
Season 7 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/5/1985
Elliot's widow tells Gary Elliot was there because he was dissatisfied with how things were going at Empire Valley. Gary tells Mac. Val and Lilimae are really worried about Joshua. They find him preaching in the mission district. Val offers to take him to a psychiatrist. Joshua tells Lilimae he's come up with a plan for he and Cathy to be together forever. As Cathy drives home from the station, Joshua pops up from the backseat. Holding a knife to her neck, he instructs her to drive to the mission district. He takes her to the roof of a building. He tells her he's going to throw her over and kill himself, so they'll always be together. Laura calls Val's, worried that Cathy isn't home. Lilimae drives to the mission district where she saw Josh preach, and seeing Cathy's car, follows them to the building. Lilimae reaches the roof and yells at Joshua to let Cathy go. She screams that Joshua is cruel and a liar. Joshua puts Cathy down, and starts backing up as Lilimae yells that he's a monst
#5 - Arsenic and Old Waste
Season 7 - Episode 26 - Aired 4/10/1986
Ben's really upset about Cathy leaving. He tells her that he isn't the twins' father. He goes to the beach house with a gift for her and they make out. Val is worried because she feels Ben slipping away from her. Jill tells Gary that she can't see him because she's in love with him, but doesn't want to be. Peter apologizes to Sylvia for his threats.Mac finds out that the reservoir at Lotus Point is loaded with arsenic. Abby admits that Galveston dumped arsenic at Empire Valley. Greg tells Laura that Galveston left Gary the land because he knew it was polluted, but he wants to buy it anyway, because he hates to lose. Everyone argues over who is responsible for cleaning up Empire Valley. Gary thinks Greg should, as Galveston dumped the chemicals. Greg thinks Gary should, as his explosion started the leak.
#6 - Thicker Than Water
Season 7 - Episode 29 - Aired 5/8/1986
Gary offers to take back Empire Valley from the twins. He then agrees to sell it to Greg if he will guarantee the cleanup. Greg tells Laura that he wants Peter in politics, because then he will be back in politics. Peter's resistant, so Greg says if he will run, he will publicly acknowledge him as his brother and give him a big settlement. Greg also stops Sylvia's monthly check. Abby also tells Peter to accept Greg's offer, and she sleeps with him. Mac is worried when Karen misses lunch and he can't locate her. Ben tells Cathy he will go on tour with her, and Cathy is excited. He tells Val, who is stunned. Val tries to talk him out of it, and is scared he is leaving her. Ben assures her it is only for 6 weeks, and he really needs the time away to think about things. Lilimae is angry at Cathy and slaps her. Ben leaves. Paige Matheson shows up at the MacKenzies. When Mac gets home, she says "I've wanted to meet you for a long time. I'm your daughter." Paige has arrived.
#7 - Irrevocably Yours
Season 7 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/20/1986
Val and Ben think Gary's gift is out of line, but he's given it to them in a trust, so they can't do anything about it. Ben's furious, and tells Gary that there's a lot more to being a father than genes, and he is the twins' father. Greg and Abby are furious when they find out Gary gave away Empire Valley. Mac finds out that Jill hounded the Governor for months to work with him, but she says it was just a career move. A woman comes up to Mac and Jill, and calls her Dottie Simpkins, and says they went to Franklin High together. Jill says she must be mistaken. Mac finds out that Franklin High is in Westfall. Michael can tell Olivia is stoned, but she denies it. She goes out to dinner with Abby and smokes pot in the bathroom. Michael drops Olivia off at school, and is then pulled over by the police. They find a joint in his car.
#8 - A Change of Heart
Season 7 - Episode 27 - Aired 4/17/1986
Greg takes Laura to Las Vegas to get married at the Wedding Chapel of Joy. She's reluctant, but he tells her how much he loves and needs her. Later, Karen and ask Laura if there's anything she can do to get Greg to help with the cleanup of Lotus Point, and Laura remarks that a wife should have some influence over her husband. Abby's taken aback. Laura asks Greg to clean up Empire Valley for her wedding present.Greg tells Karen he will clean up Empire Valley in 4 months if she will get him all of Empire Valley back, or she can kiss Lotus Point goodbye. Eric comes home from the hospital. Jill again tells Peter that she wants out, and that she doesn't care about Empire Valley anymore, she just wants to stop lying to Gary. Ben and Cathy sleep together. Cathy tells Ben she doesn't want to leave him. Ben feels guilty, but Cathy says he should let himself feel happiness instead of always putting other's first. Val invites Cathy over for a good-bye dinner.
#9 - The Legacy
Season 7 - Episode 25 - Aired 4/3/1986
Greg asks Laura to marry him. She says she will consider it. Greg fires Peter. Eric is very sick with arsenic poisoning. Abby finds out that Galveston dumped acid and arsenic in Empire Valley. She offers to sell Empire Valley to Greg, but he doesn't buy it, suspicious she wants to sell it so fast. Peter's mad at Sylvia for telling Abby everything. Sylvia says she deserves the money, as she really had Galveston's baby. Peter says he has done all the work and threatens Sylvia. Abby tells Peter she wants 51% of whatever money he gets or she will tell Greg that he's not Sylvia's son. When Jill finds out Gary gave Empire Valley to Abby, she agrees to work with Peter to get it from Abby. Gary calls Jill, but she ignores him. Jill tells Peter that she want out of the plan, because she's fallen in love with Gary and doesn't want to hurt him. Peter reminds her that Galveston killed their parents, and that they've come too far to turn back now.
#10 - Unbroken Bonds
Season 7 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/2/1986
Peter tells Laura that Greg needs her, so she invites him to dinner.Gary tells Val that he know the twins are his. She tells him that he needs to respect that she, Ben and the twins are a family. Gary continues to hang around the twins, so Ben tells Gary it has to stop. Abby gets mad when Gary sides with Karen on a Lotus Point issue. He says that he trusts Karen, and doesn't trust her, so he will always side with Karen, and she'd better get used to it. Gary also sleeps with another woman. Jill is in town and tells Karen the Governor wants to know if she'd be interested in being on the State Planning Commission. Karen says yes. Jill is very cool towards Mac, who introduces Gary to Jill. Kenny is arrested for Joshua's murder. Cathy wants to tell the truth, but Lilimae says they will release him if they keep quiet. However, Kenny is charged with the murder.
#11 - Until Parted by Death
Season 7 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/21/1985
Ben and Val get married and go on their honeymoon, where they act really silly. Abby tells Elliot that all the men need physicals on Monday for insurance purposes. Elliot goes to the site and snoops in the underground chamber. On vacation, Abby gets a call that Elliot is dead, so they come home. Abby asks Greg why Elliot had to die, and surprised, he says he thought she had him killed. Cathy's apartment is filled with flowers from Joshua, and she is scared because he got in. She moves back in with Laura. Jason lets Josh in, and he begs Cathy to take him back. Laura orders him out of the house. They fight, and he knocks Laura over. Mac says he's filing a complaint and that Josh better stay out of the neighborhood. Joshua tells them he only hit Cathy to keep her off of drugs. He goes to Lilimae's and talks to her about how Jonathan physically abused him. Joshua is staying with Linda, and he tells her not to worry, that Cathy won't be in their way much longer.
#12 - His Brother's Keeper
Season 7 - Episode 28 - Aired 5/1/1986
Abby wants Karen to take Greg's deal. Gary and Karen try to figure out a way to clean up Empire Valley themselves. They turn to the EPA, Senator Henderson, and even try to get a loan, but nothing works out. Abby tells Gary that Jill's family owned Empire Valley, and that she's only with Gary because she wants Empire Valley back. Later Jill admits to Gary that when she first went out with him, she wanted Empire Valley, but then she fell in love with him. He coolly asks her "Is that it?" Senator Henderson is retiring, and Greg thinks Peter should be the next Senator. The Lotus Point groundskeeper dies of arsenic poisoning, and several people cancel their reservations. Karen decides to close Lotus Point. Val tells Ben that she senses something is wrong, and she'd like to work through it with him. He says he has a lot on his mind. Cathy asks Ben to go on the road with her and be her manager.
#13 - The Longest Night
Season 7 - Episode 30 - Aired 5/15/1986
Paige tells Mac she looked him up because her mother Anne died. He invites Paige to stay with them, but she decides not to. Jill and Gary make up. Val's distraught, and goes to the beach house, where she tears up a picture of Cathy and trashes the place. Lilimae, worried about her, calls Gary. Gary finds Val sitting despondently on the beach. They cry together, and then start laughing hysterically. Ben tells Cathy that he can't go with her on tour. She admits that she didn't want to hurt Val, but she's in love with Ben and wasn't thinking straight. Mac is out of his mind with worry about Karen, and has an APB put out to find her. Karen wakes up in a basement. Horrified, she finds she is locked in. She finds a tire iron and attempts to break a window, but a man comes downstairs and tells her not to.
#14 - Pictures at a Wedding
Season 7 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/14/1985
Gary is sure the twins are his. Joshua tries to break into Cathy's apartment, and then trashes Val's house. Val kicks him out and Lilimae is upset. At the station Joshua finds out that Ben gave his show to Cathy, and he and Ben fight. Cathy tells Ben that Josh is upset because Lilimae is dying. Ben talks with her Doctor, who says Lilimae only has bursitis. Cathy is upset that Joshua would lie to her like that. Greg thinks Peter is snooping too much, but Peter says Greg is sloppy with information. Equipment convoys for the underground communication center are coming to Empire Valley on Monday, so Abby asks Gary to go away with her to get him out of town.Val and Ben ask the McKenzies to stand up for them at their wedding, and to go along with them that Ben is the twin's father. On the day of the wedding, Val and Lilimae make up. Gary decides to drop Olivia off before going out of town and stops to talk to Val. Ben sees this and isn't happy.
#15 - The Key to a Woman's Heart
Season 7 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/6/1986
The tabloid has an article about how Joshua tried to kill Cathy. Ben tells her that Sonny works for the tabloid. She breaks down crying and Ben comforts her. Cathy slaps Sonny, who tells her he had to do it, to tell her side of the story.Greg tells Laura that Galveston kept a file on Sylvia, and sent her monthly checks. Greg tells Peter that he can prove his loyalty by working with him to recover Empire Valley and bring down Gary and Abby. Jill continues to investigate Westfall, but won't tell Mac why. Mac gives her back the key and it upsets Jill. Mac apologizes to Karen and gives her flowers, but she's still angry, and he accuses her of blowing it out of proportion. Val takes Mac's side, saying he didn't use the key and that she shouldn't lose her marriage because of her hurt pride, but Karen insists she feels betrayed.
#16 - Web of Lies
Season 7 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/9/1986
When Abby hears that Karen is being considered for the planning commission, she tells Greg that she wants the seat. Abby tries to talk to Gary, but he says it's over, and he invites Jill for a drink. Ben is angry that Gary knows about the twins, but Val swears she didn't tell him. Greg sends Laura a note that says "I Love You Very Much" and takes her out for a romantic evening. Laura asks Mac how she can get divorced, since she can't find Richard. Cathy still wants to tell the truth, and is depressed over the situation. Ben tries to cheer her up. Cathy finally tells Mac the truth, and Mac tells Val to talk to Lilimae. Val tries, but Lilimae says it would tarnish Joshua's memory. Finally Val gets through to her by saying that Kenny has a mother too. Lilimae goes to the police station.
#17 - To Sing His Praise
Season 7 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/12/1985
Cathy wants to tell the police what happened, but Lilimae tells the police that Joshua and Cathy were getting back together, and that he called her to meet him, but was dead when she arrived. Jonathan comes to town to perform Joshua's funeral.Gary confronts the surveyor, who tells him that Greg and Abby paid him off. Gary confronts Abby, and want to know what is "really" going on at Lotus Point. He shakes his head at Abby and says, "God, we're different". Coblentz wants Gary out of Empire Valley and hires a hit man to kill Gary and Abby. The hitman tries to run Gary off the road. Gary snoops around and finds the underground chamber. He goes into a room that is filled with technical equipment and white coated technicians.
#18 - Alterations
Season 7 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/23/1986
The police decide not to prosecute Lilimae and Cathy, however a story about what happened is in the tabloid that Sonny works at. Peter and his mother discuss her relationship with Galveston, and how Peter is Greg's half brother. Jill tells Mac that the Governor wants her to work with him, and she'll be moving into the office next to his. She gives him the key to her room at the Bryant Hotel. Mac drives by the hotel, but decides not to go in. Greg calls Abby, and Olivia picks up an extension. She hears Greg threaten to tell Gary that Abby knew all along that he was the father of the twins, and that she knew they were alive. Upset, Olivia asks the McKenzies if she can live with them, though she won't say why. Abby and Gary go to get her, and she tells Abby that if she doesn't let her live there, she will tell Gary about the twins. Olivia asks her how she could do something like that, and Abby leaves, very upset.
#19 - While the Cat's Away
Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/10/1985
Greg tells Abby he's having problems with Elliot, the construction foreman. Abby tells Elliot they had new soil samples done so he can blast. Gary returns home, and breaks down over Bobby's death. At the station, Abby promotes Ben to General Manager, so now he's Joshua's boss. Mac meets with the Fishers and says they are victims too, and they should work together. The Fishers weren't approved for a conventional adoption because Sheila had had a nervous breakdown. Val is having a ball with the babies and doesn't have much time for Ben. Joshua does his show on how the power of prayer brought back the babies. Val's angry and tells him that SHE kept the faith, not him or his viewers. Ben finally spends time with Val, but is upset when Gary comes by and she invites him to stay. Val tells Gary she is naming her son after Bobby, and Ben is really hurt.
#20 - The Christening
Season 7 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/17/1985
Mac decides to investigate adoptions and asks the governor to send him someone to help him with the red tape. He sends Jill Bennett. She and Mac flirt and they kiss. Greg sees Laura with a co-worker and is jealous. Greg gives Abby a phony report that says the site for the TV station is better then where Gary wanted it. Ben tells Joshua that his ratings are slipping. Josh apologizes to Cathy and asks her to sing on his show again. Val plans the babies' christening. She asks Mac and Karen to be the godparent's. Val decides to name her daughter Elizabeth (Betsy) after Ben's mother.Lilimae's shoulder hurts, and so she goes to a few doctors' appointments, but it's nothing serious. Joshua tells Cathy that Lilimae's dying, so he can't move out. Sheila Fisher follows Val and the babies around. Harry's worried about her. They go to Val's and tell her they're moving, but will always love the babies. Val lets them say goodbye to the twins.
#21 - Friendly Enemies
Season 7 - Episode 18 - Aired 1/30/1986
Peter tells Greg that he's his brother, and brings Sylvia to meet him. Laura thinks Peter is up to something, and is frustrated that Greg seems unconcerned. Abby overhears Laura telling this to Karen, and she asks Peter out for a drink. Gary decides to go into racing. Karen finds Jill's hotel key in Mac's pocket and confronts him with it. He tries to explain that he would never use it, but it made him feel younger, more alive, like life wasn't passing him by, and he hopes Karen will understand. Crying, she says no. Mac's upset that Jill went through his Westfall file without permission. Sonny accidentally drops a tape marked "Cathy #3". Val plays the tape, and hears Sonny's notes about his articles. Meanwhile, Sonny is out to dinner with Cathy. She tells him how Joshua tried to throw her off of the roof, and that Lilimae saved her life. Sonny says he's sorry for what Joshua did to her.
#22 - Aftershocks
Season 7 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/26/1985
Linda goes to the police and says she thinks her boyfriend Kenny murdered Joshua. Lilimae wants to move back in with Val, but Val isn't sure, as she's always so mean to Ben. Ben teasingly says "If she gets out of line, I'll rap her up side the head!" Gary ignores Abby and stays at Lotus Point. Greg gives a press conference saying that Gary blew up Empire Valley because of structural damages. Greg speaks to a portrait of Galveston about how he let him reach back from the grave and manipulate him. Greg says that Coblentz gained control because he was weak, and not mean, hard or cruel enough to hold them off, because he was not a barbarian like his father. He says, "Congratulations, you've hatched a new breed of barbarian," and he then vows to go even further than Galveston in creating his own empire, and will let nobody and nothing stand in his way.
#23 - A Question of Trust
Season 7 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/31/1985
Joshua is upset that Cathy gets more fan mail than he does. Ben shows Cathy how much the ratings rise when she is on. Cathy asks if Joshua knows that and Ben says yes. Gary's upset that the TV station was built on the wrong site. Greg tells Abby that she'd better get Elliot to back up their phony report (as Peter listens in on the phone). Abby tells Elliot that she found out his son was once arrested on a drug charge. He's graduating from law school and Abby threatens to tell his employers, so Elliot lies to Gary about the phony report. Karen's jealous of Mac working with Jill, and tells Val that the way they argue reminds her of she and Mac when they first met. Jill tells Mac she is going back to Sacramento, but he says he'd like her to stay.
#24 - Awakenings
Season 7 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/7/1985
Jill tells Mac that she loves him. Peter listens in as Abby tells Greg that Gary called the surveyor to come into town. Peter has a man call Gary pretending to be the surveyor and rectifies the situation. Karen offers Laura a job overseeing the next phase at Lotus Point. Joshua doesn't show up for a taping, so Ben has Cathy sing for the whole show. Josh sees it, and is really upset. He meets a waitress, Linda, and makes out with her. Joshua has Cathy meet him and he beats her up. She runs to Ben's. They have a heart to heart talk, and Ben tells her to leave Joshua. Cathy points out that he doesn't leave Val. Val tells Ben she loves him and is ready to get married. He says that's not a solution, but she convinces him. He says he will, but that he wants to be the twins father - their only father, and Val agrees. Gary stops by to see the twins, and begins to suspect that he may be their father.
#25 - Phoenix Rises
Season 7 - Episode 24 - Aired 3/27/1986
Abby doesn't want a divorce, and tells Gary that if he doesn't give her the rest of Empire Valley, she will drag out their divorce, and involve Val and the twins. Gary gives it to her. Abby tricks Sylvia into telling her that Peter is not really her son. Abby has Peter escort her to a fundraiser. Gary is there with Jill, so Abby says if Peter doesn't distract her, she will stop paying his attorney. Peter says he'll tell about the twins. Then Greg threatens Abby with the twins. Abby, tired of everyone holding this over her declares in front of everyone that she knew about the twins. She knew the twins were alive all along, but didn't want to say anything until she had proof, and as soon as she got it, she was the one who brought Val to the babies. Then Ben steps in and tells everyone it's none of their business. Cathy tells Ben she's been offered a tour. Abby brings Olivia home. Eric gets sick and is taken to Intensive Care.