Dallas Season 2 Finale Preview: “Guilt By Association” and “Legacies” [PHOTOS and VIDEO] 

Back in the day, it was big news when we found out who shot J.R.

According to TNT, in tonight’s Dallas season 2 finale, we’re going to find out who killed J.R. Ewing. While I wasn’t a big fan of Dallas‘ second season playing out in the first part of 2013 (I prefer it as a summer show), I really enjoyed what the writers and producers came up with, particularly in the second half of the season.

• First and foremost, I found a new couple to worship and that’s John Ross and Pamela. They started out as enemies, then enemies with benefits and, finally, they ended up husband and wife. Sure, there are massive financial ties to this union. I get that. But I really feel like the two belong together and have developed real feelings for each other. I’ve never seen John Ross act the way he does with any other woman and that includes Elena. I don’t know how long these two will last but they are the show’s true supercouple (well, after J.R. and Sue Ellen, that is).

• In season 1, Pamela was “undercover” as a good girl who married Christopher. Then we found out she was Cliff Barnes’ daughter and a new villain was borne. This development really turned this character from kind of a bore to a revelation. She instantly became interesting from that point forward as she exhibited greed, guts and quite the evil side to her. But at the same time, she was damaged and you could see the vulnerability shining through. Julie Gonzalo quickly became one of my favorite reasons to tune into Dallas.

• Josh Henderson (John Ross) really came into his own this season as well. He was good last year. But there’s something about the amazing performances he keeps turning in that has me glued to this show Monday nights at 9/8c. He knows this is soap opera and he relishes every bit of it. You can tell he’s having fun playing out the schemes, machinations and seductions his character is given. I really grew to love John Ross this season and that’s because of Henderson.

• It’s just an amazing thing that the show continues to pay homage to the original series. 1. They keep bringing in so many of the vets we’ve loved in the past. This season, we had so many classic Dallas sightings and I appreciated every single one of them. I mean, Val and Gary? Score. With J.R.’s funeral, there was plenty of opportunity for these beloved characters to return. 2. But they also mined the show’s history when they had Sue Ellen struggle with her sobriety. Damn, that was some great stuff Linda Gray got to play out. 3. Cliff is one of the big bads. He was always an obstacle in the way of Ewing glory. Why should things change now?

• On the original Dallas, the rivalry between J.R. and his brother Bobby was legendary. And I savored every bit of it and almost always rooted for J.R. even though Bobby was the good guy. But having said that, it was the times when the Ewing brothers had to unite against a common foe that I adored. I knew peace wouldn’t last that long but I loved it when they worked together as allies. And that’s a lot of what happened in this second half of the season. I wasn’t really into John Ross and Christopher battling each other. It wasn’t until they were forced to ally themselves in order to fend off the attacks that came courtesy of Cliff and Harris Ryland that I really began enjoying this season. Again, I have no idea how long this truce will last. It’s definitely a tentative alliance. But Bobby working with John Ross and Christopher is just so much fun to watch.

In the interest of fair play, I have to say I wasn’t into everything that went down this season.

• As much as I love to hate Harris Ryland and as much as I looove Judith Light, I just couldn’t believe that she was hired to play Ryland’s mom. In real life, there’s a minute age difference. I would have loved to have seen Light play someone else on the show.
• I’m glad Christopher and Elena found each other again but the show needs to find a way to make those two more interesting to me.
• Elena’s brother, Drew Ramos was hit and miss for me. I did like the connection he was developing with Ann’s mess of a daughter, Emma. I guess I wish they had brought him in last season so we could have known him longer before he became the patsy to Cliff and Harris’ evildoings. I know they threatened his sister but he was an idiot to think that they were on the up and up when Harris’ man told him no one was going to get hurt from the bomb he made. And he didn’t give me enough reasons to care why he wanted to save his father’s legacy.

But now let’s get to tonight’s drama. Here’s a synopsis for each of the back-to-back episodes:

“Guilt By Association”: When John Ross and Pamela make a shocking discovery about an enemy’s whereabouts the night J.R. was killed, Bobby is compelled to reveal more of J.R.’s master plan to them and ask for their help in a surprising way. Meanwhile, Christopher heads out to search for his mother, but as an unexpected secret comes to light, a rift drives Christopher and Elena apart. At the same time, Sue Ellen makes an impassioned plea to convince Ken Richards (guest star Lee Majors) to do the right thing, even though it may have dire consequences for him.

“Legacies”: In the electrifying second season finale, the Ewings unite to execute J.R.’s master plan.  Twists and turns abound as each family member tries to ensure its success in ways that would make even a scoundrel like J.R. Ewing proud. When the shocking answer to the question “Who killed J.R.?” is finally revealed, the stage is deliciously set for new alliances and new battles to begin.

So who do you think killed J.R.? We don’t have much longer to find out. The Dallas two-hour season finale hits airwaves tonight at 9/8c on TNT.

Our link to thoughts on and favorite quotes from the Dallas finale.

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Photo Credit for all images: Van Redin/Dallas, TX