taking familial relations out of the equation, people seem to be more often put off by the age gap between Sue Ellen (40-ish) and young Peter Richards (a few years into college, probably about 21) than JR (pushing 50) and Kristin (planning on starting college in the fall, probably 18). Must be young Peter’s blond hair or perhaps his sporty jeep that makes it seem more egregious.
The difference is that Lucy was an underage minor, Kristin wasn't. J.R. was certainly extremely sleazy for making advances to his wife's much younger sister, but I'd say that Ray was creepier for having sex with an underage minor.
I think the reason J.R. seems to get a pass with his pursuit of Kristin is because of what the entire storyline ended up leading to. Obviously we all agree what he did was wrong but it was so well written and ended up giving us the greatest cliffhanger in Dallas lore so I think a lot of us tend to overlook what he did for those reasons.
I agree, but the discussion is inevitably coloured by hindsight.
I’ve always looked at it that maybe they didn’t know they were related but it really doesn’t change the fact that they still were. What I’ve always wondered is had Ray not turned out to be Jock’s son then would they have ever made mention of him and Lucy ever again, or would it still have been totally forgotten regardless?
Yes, both true but still his wife’s sister. I liked the Kristin character but it’s hard to give J.R. a pass on that one. I can more easily accept if he and Sue Ellen were already divorced and then he went after Kristin but going after her while he was still married to Sue Ellen is another thing altogether, even if the marriage was a sham at this point.
The writers clearly didn’t think Ray and Lucy were related at the time. That’s a fact.
As I said, I agree with you. But the original question was why the Ray/Lucy relationship is more frequently criticised than the JR/Kristin one, and I still think the subsequent reveal that they were related is a factor.
The barn.scene between Ray and Lucy was just.plain uncomfortable to watch. Steve Kanaly was even uncomfortable filming the scene with Charlene because of what people would think because of their age difference.
Are you really making the case that JR Ewing, the most hated man on television, got a pass for his immoral behavior?
Ray was retconned into the family. When they had their fling they didn’t know they were related.
