The Ewings pulled off an elaborate masterstroke to regain control of Ewing Energies and get revenge for J.R.'s death in the two-hour season finale of "Dallas." It was a testament to what this powerful family can do when they work together. Of course, in the aftermath of that unity, the cracks immediately started to show.
Their target was Cliff Barnes, who'd orchestrated a hostile takeover of Ewing Energies. The long-time foe to the Ewing family was outsmarted by J.R., working from the grave through his brother, Bobby. John Ross married Pamela, securing 1/3 of Barnes Global, while Christopher finally got definitive proof that his mother had died way back in 1989 -- Cliff had been paying off her then-husband to pretend she was still alive. With her will, Christopher gained another third of Barnes Global, and just like that the Ewings had controlling interest in both companies.
Meanwhile, Cliff was framed for J.R.'s murder down in Mexico. But a graveside reveal by Bobby toward the end showed that Cliff hadn't pulled that trigger. It was all a part of J.R.'s final masterstroke. The truth was that he was dying of cancer and only had a few days left to live. He convinced his closest confidante, Bum, to shoot him. The rest was a frame job masterfully pulled.
The Dallas Morning News predicted that J.R. had orchestrated his own death. As John Ross put it, "The only person that could take down J.R. was J.R.” The whole scene had EW in tears.
For now, the Ewings are back on top, but don't count Cliff out just yet. He may have just secured a new ally in Elena when he revealed to her that J.R. stole that oil-rich Ewing land from her family. Should the show get a third season, things will surely get messy again.
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