Sue Ellen’s story arc

[Billy Wall]

Clayton might have wanted her, but he wasn't going to take advantage of a drunk Sue Ellen.

 

[LMLDallas78]

Clayton might have wanted her, but he wasn't going to take advantage of a drunk Sue Ellen.

Well I know, he was a gent.

But he did try to take advantage of a sober Sue Ellen.

 

[LMLDallas78]

Miss Ellie had plenty of great scenes with her daughters-in-law especially with Pam and Donna who she seemed close to. I always loved the respect they had for their Mother-in-law.

But she also had some wonderful scenes with Sue Ellen which were usually small but still powerful.

When Miss Ellie tells Sue Ellen to go and get a baby anyway she can (don't think she meant by Cliff though)

Miss Ellie visits Sue Ellen in the Sanitarium and longs for her to open up about what goes on in her marriage to JR.

Miss Ellie visits Sue Ellen in her town house to question her if she can handle the relationship between her, Cliff and JR and how it nearly destroyed them all once before.

In the Southfork kitchen Miss Ellie predicts the battle of the Ewing boys will continue for the younger generations.

In the dream season that chat where Miss Ellie tells Sue Ellen she's an alcoholic.

And the scene after the car accident where Miss Ellie shows great compassion.

 

[Jimmy Todd]

The scenes between Bobby and Sue Ellen were wonderful, but they showed how compassionate and gentle Bobby can be. This is not a bad thing at all, especially since Bobby was a big, strapping man who could "tear you apart." However, I could never see Bobby in a romantic relationship with Sue Ellen because he always felt sorry for her more than anything else, and she saw him as her proverbial "knight in shining armor." Bobby even told Holly that "Sue Ellen lives in a dream world. She'd rather crawl into a bottle than deal with reality."
Regarding another relationship Sue Ellen had is the one with Peter. I may be one of the few who liked the story. One of the reasons I liked it is because it made Sue Ellen more sympathetic in how concerned for Peter she could be through much of it. She didn't handle it perfectly by any stretch of the imagination, but she did actually seem to care about him as a person, and not just a boy toy.

 

[LMLDallas78]

The scenes between Bobby and Sue Ellen were wonderful, but they showed how compassionate and gentle Bobby can be. This is not a bad thing at all, especially since Bobby was a big, strapping man who could "tear you apart." However, I could never see Bobby in a romantic relationship with Sue Ellen because he always felt sorry for her more than anything else, and she saw him as her proverbial "knight in shining armor." Bobby even told Holly that "Sue Ellen lives in a dream world. She'd rather crawl into a bottle than deal with reality."
Regarding another relationship Sue Ellen had is the one with Peter. I may be one of the few who liked the story. One of the reasons I liked it is because it made Sue Ellen more sympathetic in how concerned for Peter she could be through much of it. She didn't handle it perfectly by any stretch of the imagination, but she did actually seem to care about him as a person, and not just a boy toy.

You've posted brilliantly about two of my favourite relationships Sue Ellen had.
I've made no secret that I would've loved Bobby with Sue Ellen, even just once, but that's in my dreamy head.

Everything you describe is how it was in reality and how it should've been. I know that really, but something a bit more between them would have been so forbidden and naughty.

Aww yes Peter. Again you describe it so well. You certainly aren't alone in liking that storyline which was so disapproved of by many.
Everytime I rewatch it I like it more. As you say Sue Ellen handled it so badly, but she felt so responsible for him.

 

[Jimmy Todd]

This was a stark contrast to her appalling lack of responsibility for what happened to that other young man who was collateral damage in Sue Ellen vs JR: Mickey Trotter

 

[LMLDallas78]

Yes, I hang my head in shame for her. They were tough scenes to watch as a huge Sue Ellen fan. I really liked Mickey too how he transformed from cocky kid to sensitive loving man. A breath of fresh air in Lucy's pick of men.

My little mind was in turmoil witnessing that story when it originally aired. How could she do that? then behave like that? Which is why my picture above showing Miss Ellie taking her in her arms is so powerful. Miss Ellie can manage to show some compassion and forgiveness so I can?

Saying that I really wanted more from Sue Ellen in regards to taking responsibility and all those enablers around her.

I justify the Peter story by thinking that somehow Sue Ellen didn't want a repeat
and risk messing up another young mans life.

 

[Jimmy Todd]

I don't think Sue Ellen ever had any conversation with Lucy about Mickey. That was a missed opportunity.
When Sue Ellen said to Clayton,"Of course, I feel terrible about Mickey..." I wanted him to get angry and say, "It doesn't seem as if you care one bit about him."
Even the times Pam visited Sue Ellen after the accident and was consoling her, I would have liked Pam to have said something to Sue Ellen about Mickey died, at least partially, as the result of her drinking. Pam could have used that tough love she used on Lucy after Lucy was depressed after aborting the baby which was the result of Roger raping her. Pam told Lucy to stop feeling sorry for herself and "Join the land of the living."
Too much "Poor Sue Ellen," although she did deserve some sympathy. They could have asked her sometimes sister-in-law from Seaview Circle, "Poor Val" to talk to her. "You think you have problems, Sue Ellen? I could tell you about problems!"

 

[LMLDallas78]

I don't think Sue Ellen ever had any conversation with Lucy about Mickey. That was a missed opportunity.

I think she tried to in the kitchen but Lucy was obviously dismissive and so spoke very briefly to Donna instead.

Later Lucy would go to Sue Ellen to talk and ask advice about Mickey and his marriage proposal while Mickey was still in his hospital bed. I guess Lucy forgave her too.

 

[LoganRhinewood]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has always been a bit weirded out by the fact that Sue Ellen didn't seem to care about Mickey's fate at all, at least not for very long - once she learns that the accident wasn't her fault because there was another car that led to the crash she just seemed to not really feel any remorse at all anymore (okay, she was more busy with dealing with JR, as always, but still). That has always seemed more than just weird to me.

 

[LMLDallas78]

I wanted him to get angry

Yes, if Clayton saw himself as a Father figure for her (he once saw himself as a lot more of course) he should have had a proper talk with her about Mickey and told her some home truths.
Sue Ellen also said he like a Father to her and would have listened to him.

 

[Jimmy Todd]

I don't remember that scene in which Lucy asked Sue Ellen for advice about Mickey's proposal. I'd like to see it. It's odd the writers would have this happen instead of Lucy going to Miss Ellie, Pam or Donna. She never even liked Sue Ellen.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

I thought that the writers resorted to Sue Ellen's drinking problems too often. It just became lazy writing.
I would like to have seen Sue Ellen win a major victory in favor of Ewing Oil, and have the Ewings
acknowledge her accomplishment

 

[LMLDallas78]

I don't remember that scene in which Lucy asked Sue Ellen for advice about Mickey's proposal. I'd like to see it. It's odd the writers would have this happen instead of Lucy going to Miss Ellie, Pam or Donna. She never even liked Sue Ellen.

It's during the episode "The quality of Mercy" Sue Ellen is sat outside by the pool as Lucy approaches her. It was a nice but too brief scene as these two rarely shared nice scenes (apart from the humourous one in paternity suit).

Miss Ellie also wasn't around so it well might have been her if she had been. Pam also wasn't on Southfork.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Saying that I really wanted more from Sue Ellen in regards to taking responsibility and all those enablers around her.

Once it’s revealed that Driscoll was driving the other car and was trying to kill J.R. instead the focus of blame for Mickey seems to shift. I get that, as they were trying to set up the Ray and J.R. confrontation and the cliffhanger but everyone magically seems to forget that Sue Ellen was still driving drunk and it led to a permanent paralysis and eventual death of an innocent young man. And her guilt and sense of responsibility seems to vanish along with it.

 

[LMLDallas78]

Again this was an example of a Ewing escaping justice for the sake of exposing a scandal. A recurrent theme in Dallas and the world of the Ewings.

Sue Ellen's drinking was kept pretty much within the realms of the family.

Who else knew? Dusty kind of knew before this because she had told him when meeting him in the penthouse of a hotel, "I think I might be an alcoholic" when he offered her champagne. Of course Dusty wasn't around at this time. Maybe he would have thumped her in the face like he did in the "dream" bar.

Marilee and Linda Bradley knew from their time together on the Daughters of the Alamo. That was when Sue Ellen was pregnant so maybe they thought she had beaten it.

Everyone just seemed to turn a blind eye.

Considering she was an alcoholic, she and the Ewings managed to hide it from the outside world and avoid any repercussions from it's consequences.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

Once it’s revealed that Driscoll was driving the other car and was trying to kill J.R. instead the focus of blame for Mickey seems to shift. I get that, as they were trying to set up the Ray and J.R. confrontation and the cliffhanger but everyone magically seems to forget that Sue Ellen was still driving drunk and it led to a permanent paralysis and eventual death of an innocent young man. And her guilt and sense of responsibility seems to vanish along with it.

it's almost like a low-key version of sweeping the Lucy-Ray thing under the rug... they probably didn't want something so dark sticking to a favorite character.

(what a stupid way to try to kill someone, too... was Driscoll just hanging out there in the evenings, idling on the shoulder of the Braddock Road waiting for JR's Mercedes to head down the dark driveway so he could somehow time it perfectly and ram into him *just right*? As former OLM heads go, Walt made Cliff Barnes look like a genius!)

 

[CeeCee72]

I wish we knew more about the early years of JR and Sue Ellen's relationship. By the time we meet them, they are miserable together. We see Sue Ellen try repeatedly to get JR to work on their marriage and resulted in constant rejection. There was some kind of deep connection between them - it's a shame viewers never got enough information to fully understand it.

As for Sue Ellen and Bobby, I always wished we saw them build a deeper friendship. I don't think they would have worked together as a couple. Bobby would always think of her as JR's wife. Hell, he initially rejected April just because she slept with JR. I doubt Bobby could have stomached being with a woman who was married to JR for so many years. But I would have loved to see them grow into lifelong friends with a deep love and commitment to each other instead of just the few scenes we have of them interacting.

 

[LoganRhinewood]

Yeah, as much as I ship Bobby and Sue Ellen I also think it wouldn't have worked if Sue Ellen had been married to JR first. I think she even says this to Bobby at some point - something like if only she had met HIM first and not JR, if only she had married HIM and not JR. That's the only way this would truly work because we all know Bobby had a few issues with being with women JR was with. I mean there's a whole Katherine Wentworth plot centered around this (even though it didn't matter to him when it came to Katherine since he had no interest in her).

 

[LMLDallas78]

I thought that the writers resorted to Sue Ellen's drinking problems too often

Yes they did, but the story was popular and viewers saw how miserable and vulnerable Sue Ellen really was as opposed to the bitchy Sue Ellen we knew she could be.

Linda always said the writers continually had her drinking because she played it so well. Linda often battled hard to persuade them to get Sue Ellen to quit drinking. Of course that's what contributed to her eventually leaving.

I wish we knew more about the early years of JR and Sue Ellen's relationship

Yes I do too. It seems JR had to marry her in order to get her into bed after pursuing her.

Sue Ellen once told Dusty she didn't know what real love was like until she saw what Bobby was like with Pam.

She tried so hard to get JR to show her affection and I imagine it was probably that way from when they first got married.

After their close relationship it would have been fitting for that relationship to have grown more in the later years. At times they seemed almost frosty with each other which was very different from past years.