Katherine's Letter- a sign of decline?

[Soaplover]

I think Katherine breaking up Bobby and Pam because she was into Bobby was such an over-used gimmick.

Didn't producers say that one of the reasons they killed off Rebecca was because they didn't believe that Katherine would go the dark side if Rebecca was alive? If so, then maybe Katherine could have broken up Bobby and Pam in a twisted way to keep the Barnes and Ewing families out of one anothers orbit since their feud cause her mother Rebecca to die.

Plus.. having Rebecca leave all three with shares to the fortune and company would have further motivated Katherine to break up Pam/Bobby out of revenge.

Katherine could have become the female JR for the Barnes family

 

[Crimson]

She got into bed with him for no apparent reason other than the writers wanted to give JR another conquest. She didn't even like it.

There was an apparent -- if not well thought out -- reason though. Katherine's plans to land Bobby had stalled. Maybe she was succeeding in breaking up his marriage to Pam, but he was moving right into Jenna's arms instead. She thought sleeping with JR would encourage him to help her win Bobby. Obviously a poorly thought out plan, but that goes back to my earlier point about Katherine being more devious than smart. She underestimated his ability to out maneuver her and that he would have a preference for Jenna as Bobby romantic partner.

I think Katherine breaking up Bobby and Pam because she was into Bobby was such an over-used gimmick.

I think they didn't take it far enough. Katherine should have gone full LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN, but the writers seemed to lose interest in her once Jenna was brought in.

 

[DallasFanForever]

She underestimated his ability to out maneuver her and that he would have a preference for Jenna as Bobby romantic partner.

Yes, Jenna posed no threat to J.R., ironically the only woman of Bobby’s that didn’t yet even with J.R.’s approval and support she never could quite land Bobby. Katherine had too much money and J.R. didn’t want her joining forces with Bobby as it could’ve come back to haunt him.

 

[Crimson]

Katherine had too much money and J.R. didn’t want her joining forces with Bobby as it could’ve come back to haunt him.

I like to think JR was sincere -- well, as much as he was capable of being -- earlier in helping Katherine land Bobby. Her hatred of Cliff could prove useful and anyone would have been better, in JR's eyes, than Pam. Plus JR did often show genuine admiration for devious women (Leslie; Marilee; Katherine). But, yeah, once Jenna was back in the picture, JR saw her as a less complicated solution to the Pam/Bobby relationship.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I like to think JR was sincere -- well, as much as he was capable of being -- earlier in helping Katherine land Bobby. Her hatred of Cliff could prove useful and anyone would have been better, in JR's eyes, than Pam. Plus JR did often show genuine admiration for devious women (Leslie; Marilee; Katherine). But, yeah, once Jenna was back in the picture, JR saw her as a less complicated solution to the Pam/Bobby relationship.

Yes, Jenna became the better solution for J.R. She had no wealth to mention and there was no way she could really manipulate Bobby against him foreseeably, whereas Katherine could end up being a thorn in his side later on. And J.R. had just removed a long nagging thorn from the same family.

 

[Werewillie Oleson]

Yes, Jenna became the better solution for J.R.

But was it the better solution for the viewers? It would have been nice if Katherine had believed (at least for a while) that she had won. It would be more dramatic if all of that would be taken away from her and it would make her psychopathy more believable (the way it worked for Jill Bennett).
Let her go to Southfork and tell JR "I'm moving in. Would you mind carry this suitcase inside, it's so heavy". Then going on about how quaint the interior of Southfork is, letting Miss Ellie read between the lines that she wants to redecorate.

And then when she's gone mad and about to kill everybody, she's surprised by crazy Jessica who plants a big knife in her heart. And nobody will ever find out how it happened.

 

[Crimson]

But was it the better solution for the viewers?

No, clearly it wasn't. Even though the season in question is DALLAS at its prime, there are warning signs of what's to come: poorly thought out creative choices. For the writers to look at Jenna, who brought little to no additional conflict or drama to the story, and Katherine, who brought innumerable plot possibilities, and choose Jenna is lunacy.

There's an alternate timeline in my head that starts with Bobby drunk, Katherine (possibly) pregnant -- and, two years later, Katherine still trying to kill Bobby twice. Oh and Jenna gets murdered in the middle.

Gruesomely.