Dallas Review: Never Go Against a Ewing
![](https://tv-fanatic-res.cloudinary.com/iu/cs_srgb,d_tv-fanatic-placeholder-square.png,f_auto,fl_strip_profile.lossy,q_auto:420/v1460954502/user/corlando)
No other show has consistently made me laugh, cry, rail and cheer this year the way that Dallas Season 2 has.
As J.R. did his best to put down one family feud, another grew from its ashes in "Legacies."
It's hard to remember how many times J.R. crushed Cliff under his boot over the years. Is that how Barnes became this soulless monster we see now? Was it the hate Digger filled him with for all things Ewing?
In the end, having revenge against one family became more important than his nephew, his daughter, his own grandchildren - and even his freedom.
He deserved the Mexican prison J.R. sent him to from beyond the grave, but with Cliff's money I'll be surprised if he stays there for very long.
Everyone now saw Cliff clearly. Pamela knew he gave the order that murdered her unborn children and Christopher found out his uncle let him suffer for 24 years. Believing that his own mother didn't love him has certainly shaped the man Christopher has become. Somehow it was kinder to finally know that she died instead of the lie that she never wanted to see him again.
I couldn't blame Christopher for not readily forgiving Elena. He's been lied to by so many people in his life. His mother, his uncle and Pamela. Elena was the one person he believed he could trust.
I'd theorized for some time that J.R. could have engineered his own death. As John Ross said in this Dallas quote…
The only person who could take down J.R was J.R. | permalink
The scene at J.R.'s gravesite was one of the best of the night. With Bobby breaking down and John Ross finally choking out the question, "Uncle Bobby, who killed my father?," the show had tears in my eyes once again. It was the perfect way to allow John Ross, Christopher and the audience in on the truth behind J.R.'s master plan to take care of his family before he left this world.
And as an added bonus I loved that they tied it up with an incident between J.R., Bobby and Jock because that's what was at the core of the original series. It was the story of two brothers always vying for their father's approval.
There were many other highlights in the two-hour finale.
Sue Ellen was nothing short of awesome as she played powerful men like a puppet master.
When Ken Richards wouldn't take her protection willingly, Sue Ellen used what the governor had against him to her advantage as she told him…
Just a little something I learned from J.R. If you can't count on someone to do the right thing, don't give them the choice. | permalink
Then she poured the governor a drink as she explained how the power had shifted and it was his turn to do her bidding.
Sue Ellen's smile wasn't quite as gleeful as J.R.'s would have been in her place, but she's getting there.
Emma turned out to be more interesting than I ever would have predicted when she took her father down like a pro. The girl may look like an angel but that smile certainly has the devil in it.
Cliff played a card I didn't see coming when he pulled Elena into his web of vengeance. If he can't get back at the Ewings on his own, he'll use anyone he has to to do it for him.
Finally, I love the quote on J.R.'s gravestone. "The Only Deal He Ever Lost." And even then he bent the end to his will.
There were a couple a disappointing moments as well:
- I'm not a fan of J.R.'s new portrait.
- I wanted to smack John Ross for falling into bed with Emma. I love him and Pamela together. Damn him! Perhaps he's a little too much like his father.
So do you think this is the last we'll hear of the original Pamela Barnes? Will Cliff find a way out of prison? Who the heck is Joaquim? And how will Pamela react if she ever sees J.R.'s letter or finds out about her new husband's philandering ways?
Please TNT, pick up Dallas for season 3. I just can't get enough.
C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.