JR Announcing Bobby And Jenna's Engagement

[Kenny Coyote]

At the Oil Barons' Ball, JR announces to everyone in attendance that he's very happy to tell them that Bobby and Jenna are engaged and going to marry in a month. Immediately they show Bobby and Jenna's reactions. Jenna looks delighted, but Bobby doesn't. He looks very uncomfortable. Then they show Pam, who looks amazed and very disheartened at hearing the news. Bobby had already asked Jenna to marry him and she said yes, but Pam didn't know that yet.

After returning from the Oil Barons' Ball, Bobby confronts JR about it, angrily demanding to know why JR would embarrass Pam that way, in front of so may people she knew. JR replies that he wasn't thinking of Pam; he was thinking of how happy he was for Bobby and Jenna. It was on occasion for everyone to celebrate. Bobby says he doesn't believe JR and that he thinks JR did it just to embarrass Pam. Sue Ellen says Bobby isn't being fair to Pam. Bobby replies: "I'm being unfair to JR? That's a joke."

It looked to me that as upset as Bobby was, the main reason wasn't that JR embarrassed Pam, if that was even a reason at all. Pam had left Bobby because she didn't want to be married to him anymore. If anything is embarrassing it's that Bobby got dumped by his wife who proceed to fly to France with Mark Graison while she was still married to Bobby. Did anyone ask Pam how she could embarrass Bobby that way?

Eventually Bobby and Pam divorce. Pam continues to see Mark and says yes when Mark asks Pam to marry him. Pam had clearly decided to move on from Bobby. Why should it embarrass Pam that Bobby would then also move on with his own life?

I think the reason Bobby was mad at JR is that while had proposed to Jenna and she said yes, Bobby still wanted the option to break the engagement with Jenna in case Pam became willing to remarry him. Bobby wanted to ability to do that without looking like a jerk for asking Jenna to marry him while still wanting to keep his options open. Now that so many people knew Bobby and Jenna were engaged to be married, Bobby could no longer go back on his word to Jenna without looking bad to a whole lot of people.

It makes Bobby look like he still loved Pam more than Jenna and only proposed to Jenna as a back-up plan. After all, even though engaged to Jenna, Bobby was still seeing Pam on the side. When Mark apparently died, Bobby was hoping he could persuade Pam to remarry him and then break his engagement to Jenna. It looks like Bobby proposed to Jenna so ensure himself he wouldn't also lose his second choice if it turned out that he wasn't going to be able to remarry Pam. I think Jenna deserved better than being used that way as Bobby's "plan B."

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

If I was Bobby, Sue Ellen would have never left that living room alive.

 

[Billy Wall]

If I was Bobby, Sue Ellen would have never left that living room alive.

Sue Ellen really got annoying the few times her and JR got close. She had a VERY bad habit of dumping on the very same people that tried to help her, usually against JR.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

Sue Ellen really got annoying the few times her and JR got close. She had a VERY bad habit of dumping on the very same people that tried to help her, usually against JR.

Sue Ellen was far more annoying when her marriage was going badly, for a couple reasons. One is that she was so disingenuous at those times. It was all fake smiles and saying stuff she didn't mean in an effort to be abrasive. It worked. She was very abrasive when she acted that way! Another reason she was so annoying at those times is because while she constantly complained about how miserable she was, she didn't have the initiative to do what to would take to improve her life. She didn't have the strength to walk away from JR and start a new life. The worst thing was when she tried to justify her staying as because that way she could prevent JR from moving on with his life. She valued making JR's life bad more than she valued making her own life good. JR offered her a divorce and she asked him why she should and if it was so he could marry Mandy. What should it matter to her? She could marry someone else too, but she chose to stay and be miserable.

The night of the Oil Barons' Ball, their marriage was going well, so there is no reason why she wouldn't have said something to Bobby when he started accusing JR of trying to embarrass Pam. Bobby was angry alright, but it wasn't about embarrassing Pam When a woman leaves her husband, there is no reason for her to be embarrassed because he's decided to get married to someone else.

The reason Bobby was mad is because now everyone knew that he and Jenna had gotten engaged. Unbeknownst to Jenna, Bobby was still seeing Pam on the side, trying to get her to want to remarry him. He shouldn't have asked Jenna to marry him if he loved Pam more than Jenna. He'd proposed to Jenna so she didn't give up on him and dump him because then he might be left without either Pam or his second choice. JR announcing to everyone that Bobby and Jenna were going to get married in a month put Bobby in a situation where he couldn't break his engagement to go back with Pam without a whole lot people knowing he'd proposed to Jenna to keep his plan B intact. Bobby knew doing that to Jenna was a d**k move but he didn't want to be exposed as someone who would do such a thing.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Sue Ellen really got annoying the few times her and JR got close. She had a VERY bad habit of dumping on the very same people that tried to help her, usually against JR.

Yes, but that was the dysfunctional point of Sue Ellen. And it helped prevent the audience from being overly sympathetic with her regarding what she suffered from JR.

Sue Ellen was far more annoying when her marriage was going badly, for a couple reasons. One is that she was so disingenuous at those times. It was all fake smiles and saying stuff she didn't mean in an effort to be abrasive. It worked. She was very abrasive when she acted that way!

But you're more sympathetic to JR than a lot of us.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

Yes, but that was the dysfunctional point of Sue Ellen. And it helped prevent the audience from being overly sympathetic with her regarding what she suffered from JR.


But you're more sympathetic to JR than a lot of us.

I am, and maybe that's because he was such an entertaining character to watch but I think that Sue Ellen's decision that she'd rather stay and try to prevent JR from moving on with his life, even though it would prevent Sue Ellen from moving on with her life and her potential to find happiness is something I wouldn't like, no matter whom she'd been married to.

I'm also more sympathetic to Jenna than a lot of the forum, and I think she deserved better than being Bobby's "plan B" in case he couldn't get Pam to remarry him.

 

[Laurie!]

I'm also more sympathetic to Jenna than a lot of the forum, and I think she deserved better than being Bobby's "plan B" in case he couldn't get Pam to remarry him.

You conveniently forget that Jenna embarassingly dumped Bobby for Naldo way before Bobby even met Pam. You also forget that Jenna used her daughter to gain sympathy and money from Bobby even though she knew Naldo was her daughter's father. You also forget that Jenna attempted to rekindle the romance with Bobby while he was married to Pam. You consistently forget that Bobby spent way too much time with Jenna during that time too and instead act like Pam was unfaithful even though they were legally separated at the time she was hanging out with Mark.

In summation, I never once felt bad for Jenna Wade. Karma is a bitch.

 

[Swami]

I think JR just enjoyed seeing Pam's shock, although I agree that by taking matters into his own hands he probably thought he was ending any chance of Bobby and Pam getting back together.

Swami

 

[Kenny Coyote]

I think JR just enjoyed seeing Pam's shock, although I agree that by taking matters into his own hands he probably thought he was ending any chance of Bobby and Pam getting back together.

Swami

Yeah, the idea that JR did it to embarrass Pam doesn't make a lot of sense. She left Bobby. She ended the marriage, she chose to marry Mark, so what would she find embarrassing about Bobby then moving on with his life?

When JR announced it, he put Bobby in a situation where then people knew Bobby had promised to marry Jenna. If Bobby fully intended to go ahead with the marriage there should have been no problem, but if he was still trying to keep his options open, then he'd be angry.

You conveniently forget that Jenna embarassingly dumped Bobby for Naldo way before Bobby even met Pam.

If there is something about Jenna's or Bobby's history that I didn't include here, that's not an indication that I forgot about it. It's much more likely an indication that I didn't find it very relevant to the subject of the thread.

 

[Willie Oleson]

If there is something about Jenna's or Bobby's history that I didn't include here

Well there was that thing in between, his marriage to Pam, that JR is trying to erase from everyone's memory. So I think the emotions are more about Pam and Bobby's past.
Even if they never get together again, it should have meant something. And of course it meant a lot to the viewers since it's such a big and important part of the Dallas history. Which is being blatantly "retconned" by JR when he describes Jenna as "the one girl that he has loved aaall his life".

From a more pragmatic point of view I see it as a shameless teaser to keep that love triangle drama alive by planting seeds of doubt in the mind of the viewers.
It's a classic soap trope, I believe.

 

[Karin]

I think JR only announced the engagement since he had overheard Pam and Mandy talk about how Pam still loved Bobby and JR wanted to discourage Pam from telling Bobby about it by announcing publically that he was taken.

Bobby was unhappy about the annocement since he didn't want to hurt Pam. Yes he still loved her. But he loved Jenna too and he would have married Jenna if Naldo hadn't kidnapped Charlie.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I think JR only announced the engagement since he had overheard Pam and Mandy talk about how Pam still loved Bobby and JR wanted to discourage Pam from telling Bobby about it by announcing publically that he was taken.

I wasn't aware of that, but it seems to be the best reason!

 

[Laurie!]

If there is something about Jenna's or Bobby's history that I didn't include here, that's not an indication that I forgot about it. It's much more likely an indication that I didn't find it very relevant to the subject of the thread.

You used the Pam and Bobby history as relevance to the thread when you said, "Bobby got dumped by his wife who proceed to fly to France with Mark Graison while she was still married to Bobby. Did anyone ask Pam how she could embarrass Bobby that way?"

How is Bobby's history with Jenna not equally relevant?

 

[Kenny Coyote]

You used the Pam and Bobby history as relevance to the thread when you said, "Bobby got dumped by his wife who proceed to fly to France with Mark Graison while she was still married to Bobby. Did anyone ask Pam how she could embarrass Bobby that way?"

Yes, I did. Bobby's response to JR's announcement was to get mad at JR for embarrassing Pam. Why would JR's announcement that Bobby and Jenna were getting married have been embarrassing to anyone? It's not something genuinely embarrassing, such as Bobby's wife going...well, I've already covered that. Bobby was angry at JR, but he was angry for other reasons I've also already covered.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

t the Oil Barons' Ball, JR announces to everyone in attendance that he's very happy to tell them that Bobby and Jenna are engaged and going to marry in a month. Immediately they show Bobby and Jenna's reactions. Jenna looks delighted, but Bobby doesn't. He looks very uncomfortable. Then they show Pam, who looks amazed and very disheartened at hearing the news. Bobby had already asked Jenna to marry him and she said yes, but Pam didn't know that yet.

This leads up to an unintentionally funny scene later on. It is at Bobby and Pam's second wedding. Please enjoy a fun recap:

Poor Pam! First of all, she was married to Bobby who died and then came back. Then, she was with Mark Graison who died and then came back and then died again.

And out in the driveway is Wes Parmalee, who might be Jock who died and then came back.

Add to this a dead dove looking thing that the wardrobe department put on her head, and things just couldn't get any worse for Pam, right?

Until at the wedding, Pam is fully in her wedding dress (with the dead dove thing on her head) and walks around the corner just in time to hear Ray tell Bobby, "You are walking down the isle with Pam while Jenna is carrying your child!"

BHWAHAHA! I know it wasn't meant to be funny, but it really was.

Almost like something from a dream, isn't it, Pam?

 

[Kenny Coyote]

This leads up to an unintentionally funny scene later on. It is at Bobby and Pam's second wedding. Please enjoy a fun recap:

Poor Pam! First of all, she was married to Bobby who died and then came back. Then, she was with Mark Graison who died and then came back and then died again.

And out in the driveway is Wes Parmalee, who might be Jock who died and then came back.

Add to this a dead dove looking thing that the wardrobe department put on her head, and things just couldn't get any worse for Pam, right?

Until at the wedding, Pam is fully in her wedding dress (with the dead dove thing on her head) and walks around the corner just in time to hear Ray tell Bobby, "You are walking down the isle with Pam while Jenna is carrying your child!"

BHWAHAHA! I know it wasn't meant to be funny, but it really was.

Almost like something from a dream, isn't it, Pam?

Now that you mention, I guess it was funny, though I don't notice it at the time. If there's something funny about JR's announcement of Boby and Jenna getting married it was the contrast in expressions between Bobby and Jenna. Jenna looked as happy as could be. Bobby had this uncomfortable look on his face, like: "Oh no, this means I'm actually gonna have to keep my word and marry Jenna! Otherwise, I'll look bad to all those people who heard the announcement"! Ha ha ha!

Bobby loved his image he'd created as a very moral man, but he wanted the image without having to live up to the image. He wanted to keep the image while still attaining the freedom to do whatever he wanted.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Bobby loved his image he'd created as a very moral man, but he wanted the image without having to live up to the image.

And this was one of the tent poles of the miniseries. Bobby had the luxury of taking the moral high ground because J.R. was back at the office doing the dirty work of keeping Ewing Oil on top.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

And this was one of the tent poles of the miniseries. Bobby had the luxury of taking the moral high ground because J.R. was back at the office doing the dirty work of keeping Ewing Oil on top.

Do you think that JR truly resented having to do "the dirty work" or was it something that maybe he enjoyed? You may not agree with this, but I think JR enjoyed doing the work of keeping Ewing Oil n top, even "the dirty work." I got the impression that as long as what he was doing was having the effect of keeping Ewing Oil on top, he was glad to do it. I'm not saying he enjoyed doing something like laying off employees nearing retirement age. JR still had some feelings for other people and they had been loyal employees so I don't think he enjoyed hurting them; he probably felt that it was distasteful work, especially since there was no challenge to it - it required no skill to fire them. I think JR enjoyed a plan that required a lot of skill and strategy to make happen, such as getting Edgar Randolph to cooperate with him. He also figured that since Barnes would be bidding high, he wasn't hurting the government - just Cliff.

 

[Laurie Marr]

Bobby was often insufferable. His ‘constipated’ look almost always coincided with a moment when he was caught out and the halo slipped.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Do you think that JR truly resented having to do "the dirty work" or was it something that maybe he enjoyed?

I think that during the original miniseries, J.R. resented the fact that he was slaving away at the office while Bobby was out wining and dining clients and politicians.

As the series progressed and Larry Hagman developed the J.R. character, then I agree with you-- he began to relish the fight.