New Dallas Season Two Finale

I'll come right out and say it.   I think the second season of the new Dallas on TNT, which flagged a little at the beginning, put together a brilliant narrative after actor Larry Hagman died, and wove that into a superb and satisfying J. R. story capped off with a masterful twist ending last night.

The question after J. R.'s death was, once again, who killed J. R.?   Evidence increasingly pointed to Cliff Barnes, who certainly would have shot J. R. in a heartbeat if he'd had the chance.  And Cliff was indeed in Mexico in the same hotel as J. R. at the time of his death.

But it turns out that J. R., dying of cancer, had one of his loyal men shoot him, to give the Ewings a hand they could play to get the best of Cliff Barnes in his attempt to wipe the Ewings clean out of the energy business.  This was indeed a master plan, and Bobby played it to perfection in the weeks that followed.

Even the acting improved in the series, almost as if the actors were galvanized into better performances, rallying to keep the series flying, after the death of Larry Hagman.  Josh Henderson, who often seemed to rattle out his lines in the first season, and the first part of the second season, suddenly began to almost channel J. R., and Hagman's delivery, in crucial scenes.  The result was a powerful and effective performance.   Julie Gonzalo, who was ok in the first season and a half, also put in some impressive performances as she lost her babies and confronted her father Cliff.   Jesse Metcalf, who was probably the best of the new cast in the first season, continued to put in good work in the second season.

Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray were fine as Bobby and Sue Ellen in the first season and a half, but they too got even better in the aftermath of J. R.'s death.  Duffy in particular put in some of the best acting in the whole history of the series, as he dealt with the death of his brother and strove to implement J. R.'s plan.

At this time, the continuation of the series is not clear, but it would be a shame if it didn't come back.  In addition to perfectly wrapping up the death of J. R., the finale also set the foundation for a new series of  powerful conflicts.  John Ross is not only married to Pamela but sleeping with Emma - continuing the great duplicitous tradition of J. R.   And Elena, spurned to some extent by Christopher - who then changes his mind and wants her back - seems to be forging an alliance with Cliff who's behind bars.

The revived series has found its beat, and I'd love to see what happens next.

See also New Dallas Back for Second Season and Dallas 2.8: The Death of J. R.

And see also The New Dallas: An Outright Pleasure and New Dallas One Season One Evaluation

                                                     

Dallas 2.8: The Death of J. R.

Dallas 2.8 put in a powerful show tonight on the death and funeral of J. R. Ewing, which brought a tear or two to even these cynical eyes.  That's no doubt because J. R.'s death as a development in the narrative was mandated by the sudden death of Larry Hagman last November, so the end of J. R. was more than the end of an iconic character.   The real death of Larry Hagman is also no doubt what brought out great performances from Linda Gray as Sue Ellen and Patrick Duffy as Bobby.  They were grieving for their close friend and colleague, whose fine work was crucial in propelling all three to decades of fame.

But the narrative tonight was also well written.  Most effective was the impact of J. R.'s death on Bobby.  When Annie asks him to talk to her, to share his feelings with her, he lashes out about how she never told him anything about her life, in particular, that she had a daughter.   It's clear that what Bobby is really upset about is how J. R. left Bobby out of J. R.'s most inner wheelings and dealings for years.  Patrick Duffy puts in another fine performance here, as does Brenda Strong as Ann.

Sue Ellen, predictably but powerfully, is driven to drink by J. R.'s death.  When she reads J. R.'s letter which asks her for one more chance, there's again a connection to a deeper reality - the producers of Dallas, I hear, were seriously thinking of getting J. R. and Sue Ellen back together, which would have been satisfying in a decades-long way.

Bobby won't be left out of finding out who killed J. R., because J. R. left Bobby a letter to get him started.  Tonight, J. R. leaves John Ross and Christopher out in the cold, as J. R. did so often to Bobby, but it's likely that that won't last too long.

Ray, Lucy, another J. R. wife, and one his mistresses were back tonight too, which added some good nostalgic depth to the episode.   Gary came home last week and was on again tonight.  He'll likely continue on the show, which is good.  I enjoyed Dallas last year, and I'm betting the show would have gotten even better had Larry Hagman and therefore J. R. lived.  But there's no doubt that J. R.'s murder has jumpstarted the revived series to a new, higher level, not least because it retrieves the classic "who shot J. R." motif from the original series.   So the new series will likely be better, at least this year, because of J. R.'s death.  But I'm still feeling bad that it had to take the death of Larry Hagman to do this.   Rest in peace, you created a character who will live on long after you.

See also New Dallas Back for Second Season

And see also The New Dallas: An Outright Pleasure and New Dallas One Season One Evaluation