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Message: <blockquote data-quote="shaqattaq32" data-source="post: 397415" data-attributes="member: 2283">5. Season 9 (Valene is passed out on the floor)Now we're at the part where every remaining elimination is difficult and sad.Pushed to the brink by Valene and Gary's never-ending drama that they feel the need to constantly pull the rest of Knots Landing into, Jill has just spent the previous two episodes coming up with an elaborate alibi and plan to kill Valene. Is this a heel turn for Jill, or has she kinda always been a low-key villain? Re-watching season 7 recently, I'm inclined to believe the latter.Some people don't like this whole sequence, and I can understand why. It's certainly campy. This would seem more at place on Melrose Place than on Knots Landing. The dialogue, as TommyK mentions in his <a href="https://thatsallsiknow.blogspot.com/2016/05/knots-landing-season-9.html" target="_blank">review of the season</a>, is a bit too perfect. Hearing the dialogue, you understand what the expression "kill your darling" means. And yet, it totally works for me. I can understand where Jill is coming from. As much as I love Valene, Jill's point about "Poor Val" is completely valid. And the way Val and Gary never really tried to get out of each others' orbits really has been unfair to every lover each has had since their separation -- 6 long years ago by this point. So I guess I'm down for it. Haven't we all wanted to be Jill before, finally getting revenge on that horrible, annoying person who just refuses to go away, finally finally squashing that obnoxious interloper like a bug ? Or is that just me? So watching Jill make wisecracks as she enacts her plan of getting rid of Valene is almost like wish fulfillment. It may not be very realistic, but it's just too fun not to enjoy.So now we arrive at the cliffhanger. Jill has made it back to San Francisco where David, her "one night stand" that she drugged, slept all night and wakes up to find Jill getting out of the shower. She has the perfect alibi. Then we see Valene's house with Jill's voiceover singing "Mockin' Bird Hill" and we find Valene sprawled on her carpet, passed out, her disconnected phone in hand.We don't know what's coming next season. Surely Valene is not dead. But then, we thought Sid wouldn't be dead, and he was. But then we thought Gary was dead, and he wasn't. So who knows? But realistically, Valene is not gonna be dead, and Jill probably forgot some crucial detail in her plan that is going to lead to her getting caught 4 or 5 episodes into next season.Still, even though you know there's a 99% chance that Valene is not dead, and a 95% chance Jill is going to get caught and everyone forget about it quickly, the idea of watching the conclusion play out is so tantalizing. I couldn't wait to see what happened next.I think this cliffhanger isn't quite as good until you start watching the season 10 premiere -- holy crap, they added Jill to the opening credits? Is she gonna get away with it? This storyline really grows wings and becomes one of the best in season 10. So this is at number five, since the top four cliffhangers all stand better on their own without knowing how they're resolved.Cliffhangers ranked thus far:12. Season 11 (Karen's stalker is revealed)11. Season 10 (Paige in the rain, does she choose Greg or Ted?)10. Season 7 (Karen is revealed locked in a basement by a male kidnapper)9. Season 2 (Sid goes over a cliff)8. Season 8 (There's a crack in the cement where Abby just buried Peter)7. Season 12 (Karen takes a joyride)6. Season 13 (Pierce is alive and appears behind Paige in her car)5. Season 9 (Valene is passed out on the floor)Cliffhangers remaining to be ranked:Season 3 (Valene leaves Gary and the cul-de-sac)Season 4 (Diana has left with Chip/Gary is in jail for Ciji's murder)Season 5 (Karen is shot, Abby is kidnapped)Season 6 ("Harry, go, they wanna take the babies!")</blockquote>

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