"Oh, Jock, no..."

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

No. I think she was more concerned about the rivalry between JR & Bobby to win control of Ewing Oil.

That's the way I read that scene. And yes the rivalry between them made for great drama that year after we sadly lost Jim Davis between seasons four & five (DVD count) when he succumbed to the cancer. Rest In Peace, Jim Davis.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

That is a very nice tribute, @Via The Void

That would have been a nice line in TNT Dallas, but it would have required Lucy to be on the show for more than 30 seconds.

BWHAHAHAHAHA! Great line! And it shows that the writers didn't know what to do with Lucy, even all those years later.

But of course, Jimmy Todd came up with a good idea:

It would have been wonderful if on TNT Dallas John Ross asked Lucy why she never settled down with anyone, and her response was that after she never really got over the loss of Mickey and he was her one true love. That would have been great continuity and would further emphasize how profound the effects of Jock's will were.

As soon as I saw Kenny's thread, I knew there would be some great discussions here. And the above post by Jimmy Todd really shows how much thought people put into the characters.

 

[Jimmy Todd]

Imho, the sign of a well-written, well acted scene is just the right amount of ambiguity

 

[Kenny Coyote]

Imho, the sign of a well-written, well acted scene is just the right amount of ambiguity

That's certainly one good way of doing things. It leads to an interesting discussion.

I started this thread to see which way people saw it, which is why I asked: "Do you think she was afraid that Jock was going to give controlling interest to JR"?

There are people who see it the way I do and there are people who see it as Miss Ellie interpreting that as there would be a contest. It's probably 50/50.

The line "...that's got to be the man who wants it the most" to me describes JR, since he'd was the one son who had spent his whole life wanting it. Bobby wanted it at times, but he also stepped down from Ewing Oil and gave control of it back to JR. Bobby had decided he didn't want to do some of the things the job required of him and there were other things he'd rather do.

I believe that Bobby was very content being "The B Man" and he was good at it too. Had he refused to let Pam talk him into taking on the job of running the company I think Bobby would have ended up a much happier man. He looked much more content at that time of his life than he did later.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Rebecca Wentworth. Did the contest necessitate her being on that plane? Frankly, she was on that plane because she couldn't mind her own business. The plane crashed and it was pilot error. We don't know if it was her pilot or the pilot on the other plane who made the error. Either way, it's hardly fair to blame pilot error resulting in her death on the terms of Jock's will.

I see your point, and as usual you back up your post with solid facts.

So it is only in the spirit of friendly debate that I will disagree that Rebecca was not a casualty of the battle for Ewing Oil. Even if you don't like Rebecca Wentworth, you will enjoy the wonderful performance of Priscilla Pointer when she defends Cliff:

"J.R. used Ewing Oil funds to destroy my son. Cliff is in Dallas Memorial in a coma. J.R. set him up. He lost everything. Last night, he tried to kill himself. This has always been an unfair fight. The rich Ewings against the poor Barnes's. Well this time its even."

I'm doing a rewatch of the series now, and one thing that really struck me during the Battle for Ewing Oil storyline is how the battle affected so many people.

This is a case where a re-watch is even better than the original viewing. You see all these characters (Mickey Trotter) who have NOTHING to do with the feud, and you watch them living their lives and all you can think is, "By the time this is over, you will either be dead or your life will be ruined."

And I had the same exact thought when Rebecca joined the fight.

Ray is the first one I added to that your list, Lastkidpicked because out of anyone not yet mentioned, I believe Ray had suffered the most loss.

Here's one where we can totally agree.

Because of your post, I'm adding to my list of casualties Ray Krebbs. He was a casualty of the battle for two reasons-- the obvious first one is that he lost his nephew.

The second way that Ray was affected is more subtle. Until the battle for Ewing Oil, Ray could keep out of that side of the family business. He ran the ranch, and was happy not being involved in the oil business, especially the dirty tricks that were pulled.

Ray was involved in the Walt Driscol setup which led to Walt's suicide. From that point forward, Ray could no longer pretend that he was just a good old ranch foreman. He was part of the dirty deeds done for Ewing Oil. As J.R. said, "None of us has clean hands, boys."

 

[Kenny Coyote]

Even if you don't like Rebecca Wentworth, you will enjoy the wonderful performance of Priscilla Pointer when she defends Cliff:

"J.R. used Ewing Oil funds to destroy my son. Cliff is in Dallas Memorial in a coma. J.R. set him up. He lost everything. Last night, he tried to kill himself. This has always been an unfair fight. The rich Ewings against the poor Barnes's. Well this time its even."

I didn't like Rebecca, but I agree that Priscilla Pointer gave a great performance. The character Rebecca added some exciting conflict and gave Miss Ellie an adversary - something she had not had before in the show. Without Rebecca we'd never have seen Cliff running a company big enough t compete head-on with Ewing Oil.

The second way that Ray was affected is more subtle. Until the battle for Ewing Oil, Ray could keep out of that side of the family business. He ran the ranch, and was happy not being involved in the oil business, especially the dirty tricks that were pulled.

Ray was involved in the Walt Driscol setup which led to Walt's suicide. From that point forward, Ray could no longer pretend that he was just a good old ranch foreman. He was part of the dirty deeds done for Ewing Oil. As J.R. said, "None of us has clean hands, boys."

Yes. It's subtle, but it's powerful. Ray got involved in something he didn't want to be involved in. Which brings me to this:

Think of how many of the times that Bobby went to work running Ewing Oil with JR or on his own it was because his parents asked him to. He got involved in something he would have been far better off not to. Was there even one time when Bobby started working in the office because it was his own idea, a true desire to do that job?

Pam pressured him to try it, basically saying being the B Man just wasn't good enough for Bobby.

Jock asked him to fill in for JR after he got shot, and Jock also asked Bobby to work with JR to "keep an eye on him

Miss Ellie asked Bobby a favor - to go to work with JR because she was upset about how JR bought up Clayton's oil and stockpiled it.

Jock challenged him to in his will. Bobby couldn't turn down a challenge.

Bobby always did it out of a sense of obligation or to please someone.

It's interesting the first time we see Bobby and Pam, when they're beginning their married life together, Pam pressures him into quitting being The B Man and going to work in the office helping to run Ewing Oil. Just as their marriage is beginning, Pam suggests Bobby take on the job that she'd later blame for the end of their marriage. It's poetic in a tragic way.

 

[Rove]

is the very best storyline

I've considered this era of Dallas as its finest moment. Instead of the writers running away from Jim's death they used his character to create gripping television. All characters were drawn into the Ewing Oil contest. It was sublime.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I've considered this era of Dallas as its finest moment. Instead of the writers running away from Jim's death they used his character to create gripping television. All characters were drawn into the Ewing Oil contest. It was sublime.

And that's always the best way to have the audience handle and accept the death of a character: simply show the other characters reacting to it normally, and make that death a character in and of itself.

They tried to do that with Bobby when he died.

Guess they forgot to with Victoria, yo.

 

[Rove]

tried to do that with Bobby when he died.

Bobby's death should have been the beginning of the end of Dallas. Similar in tone to Jock's Will, Bobby's plans on having Pam assume custodial control over Christopher's share in Ewing Oil should have set the stage for another explosive few seasons.

.....oh the what ifs......