Don’t blame him
Here are the questions we’re pondering as we await tonight’s telecast of “Guilt and Innocence,” TNT’s latest “Dallas” episode.
• Who survives the blast? At the end of “Ewings Unite!,” last week’s episode, most of the Ewings gathered on the methane extraction rig, along with Pamela and Elena (Julie Gonzalo, Jordana Brewster), for a demonstration. Little did everyone know the platform was rigged with explosives, which detonated moments before the screen faded to black. It’s a safe bet the core characters will survive, but I’m not sure we can say the same thing about Pamela’s unborn twins. One clue: Pamela’s mother Afton (Audrey Landers) will appear in tonight’s episode, possibly to console her grieving daughter. If Pamela loses one or both of the babies, how will it affect her relationships with ex-husband Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe) and ex-lover John Ross (Josh Henderson)?
• Can Cliff be redeemed? The story behind the explosion, part 1: At the beginning of last week’s episode, Cliff and Harris (Ken Kercheval, Mitch Pileggi) joined forces to bring down the Ewings. Cliff promised to give Harris the money he needs to gain control of Ryland Transport from Judith (Judith Light), while Harris agreed to help Cliff undermine Ewing Energies. Harris’s henchman Roy Vickers (Alex Fernandez) arranged to have the bomb planted under the platform, but when Pamela unexpectedly showed up, he called Cliff and gave him a chance to back out. Remarkably, Cliff told Vickers to proceed with the detonation. How will Cliff live with himself after this?
• Will Drew forgive himself? The story behind the explosion, part 2: Drew (Kuno Becker) reluctantly planted the bomb after being blackmailed by Vickers, who threatened to kill Elena if Drew refused to do his bidding. Until then, things had been looking up for young Drew: Bobby (Patrick Duffy) agreed to sell him the Ramos family’s land and Drew went on a promising date with Emma (Emma Bell). What will happen if his role in the explosion is discovered?
• Will Christopher be blamed? The Ewings were on the platform to demonstrate its potential to local government official Alison Jones (Annie Wersching), hoping it would seal their deal to land the city’s lucrative fuel contract. Getting Alison to the platform took a lot of work: When Cliff tried to steal the contract at the last minute, John Ross and Christopher teamed to blackmail Alison into rejecting his bid. Last season, Christopher’s methane extraction technology was plagued by suspicions it was unsafe. Will the bombing raise fresh doubts?
• Will Sue Ellen sober up? J.R.’s will split his share of the Southfork mineral rights between John Ross and Sue Ellen (Linda Gray), who shifted into denial mode about her alcoholism, insisting she didn’t need Gary’s help to stop drinking. After Valene (Joan Van Ark) confronted her, Sue Ellen urged Gary (Ted Shackelford) to return to his wife, telling him she needs to reclaim her sobriety on her own. Will she?
• More questions: Now that John Ross has inherited half of Southfork, will he take up residence at the ranch, perhaps moving into his father’s old bedroom? Did Judith survive her tumble down the stairs? And will we finally get some more clues to the biggest question of all: Who killed J.R.?
What “Dallas Burning Questions” are on your mind? Share your comments below and watch TNT’s “Dallas” tonight.
Dallas Decoder 
Great questions! I only have one additional ???? what is the bombshell referred to in the preview???
Hopefully it’s a clue to “Who Killed J.R.?”!
What about Ann, she wasn’t shown in the promo. and Bobby is running through the hospital shouting Annie in a tragic voice. My grandma thinks it is because Bobby found out Ann killed JR, but I think it was because Ann was horribly injured, what does anyone else think?
Bobby tweeted yesterday that it’s time to make amends with Ann. Could be a clue that there’s more hardship on the way for these two characters.
If Pamela were to use the babies, maybe Christopher and Pamela would have to draw up some new papers excluding the babies, and Pamela could loose some of her shares of EE and it would be a lost for Cliff which serves the SOB right. If Judith’s dead and Pamela lost her babies or any of those councilmen died Cliff Barnes and Harris Ryland are in big trouble and after loosing JR I don’t see the producers getting rid of the other two big villains. They could get away with it, but I would be disappointed if a character got away with cold blooded murder. As for Drew, he is going to tell Elena first and eventually she will tell Christopher, Christopher will confront Drew in front of the rest of the family and things are going to go down, and then all will be forgiven
You may be right, Brandon! Things do tend to get wrapped up pretty tidily on this show.
My top quesion piggy backs on Chris B’s “Can Cliff Be Redeemed?” Will Afton know what created Don Cliff? Maybe she can be the vehicle that will finally reveal his backstory. What kind of showdown will we get between the two? There is no way she is happy with Pamela’s actions and she has to be mad at Cliff for leading her daughter down this road. Once her affair with JR was over, Afton evolved into one of the ultimate moral compasses. No one was capabile of completely keeping Cliff in check but Afton and Pam did more than anybody else to try. Afton truly loved Cliff. In the end she left him only because she tried everything she could think of to turn him around and just couldn’t watch him destroy himself any longer. After she reads him the riot act he deserves, will Afton sense the little bit of good that does seem to be buried deep down in there? Will she take one more shot at helping him? Chris B. has been looking forward to Lee Majors. But this is the guest star I want because of her history with Cliff. (And she still looks good!) She is the only person who has any prayer at all at reaching him.
Other questions of mine:
Is Emma playing Drew? Is Emma playing John Ross? Does she have any actual feelings for either one? Is Emma too screwed up to have actual feelings for anybody at all? Is she a part of anybody’s scheme? At this point she is a complete wild card to me.
What kind of shelf life will Roy Vickers have? He looks like he could become interesting but maybe like Frank before him he is destined to become a Star Trek red shirt.
What exactly is up between Harris and Drew? First we have Drew looking all to eager to shoot Harris. Now we have Harris with extensive knowledge of Drew’s miltary history and he is moving against Drew as well. I’m now convinced these two have an extensive history and neither currently likes the other. Chris B. asks if his role in the bombing will be discovered. Absolutely it will. Sure Roy Vickers tells Drew this is the last thing he will be asked to do. Who really believes that? They will come back asking him to do more dirty work. Next time they can threaten Elena AND threaten to leak his involvment in the bombing. Drew is trapped now. His one chance was to refuse to participate in the bombing, immediately go to Elena and come clean to her and then get her in protective custody so to speak has passed. Eventually it will serve the story that Bobby, Christopher and Elena learn he is the bomber. When that point comes out watch out. Either way he isn’t going to be given a chance to forgive himself because there is more using to come here.
Finally on the lighter side: What happened to Harris Ryland’s office? We haven’t seen it yet this season. Every “home turf” scene is taking place in his home. It just strikes me that some of them should be in his office for balance. Did that set have a disaster?
Comments on Chris B’s questions:
Who survived the blast. You have to think someone is toast and I tend to agree with Chris we aren’t going to lose any main credit characters. That does make Pamela’s unborn children the most obvious targets. So yes, I’m writing them off. Brandon’s theory of an Ann type spending some serious hospital time is good as well. That would sure give Harris some gloating opportunites.
Will Christopher be blamed? It won’t make it any easier for him to do business but you have to believe nobody is going to finger him. There is just nothing there to make me think any false evidence was planted alongside the bomb. Furthermore I can’t see this used to show methane extraction as unsafe either. It has to be quite obvious to the investigators this is a bombing rigtht off the bat.
Will Judith survive? I don’t see her going away either at this point. I think the upcoming story requires Harris to be squeezed between her and Cliff. Her part isn’t over yet.
Thanks for your good insight, Dan. Also: “Star Trek red shirt.” Brilliant.
I believe the life of Pamela Rebecca and the lives of twins she is carrying will be in great jeopardy.
Sue Ellen is going to have to get much worse before she gets better.
I am going to be rooting for Drew Ramos. Come on Drew, confess and throw yourself onto the mercy of the Ewings. Bobby sells you South Fork Land and you blow up a Ewing rig? You think your dead daddy would be proud of you? I hope Drew Ramos helps bring down Harris Ryland and Cliff Barnes.
What does Sue Ellen have in store? Will John Ross go running to Cliff Barnes again and spill the beans? Is Judith Ryland dead? What is Harris going to do with his mommy?
I’m glad I’m not the only Drew fan. Thanks Jump!
I hope Judith is still alive. I like the storyline with Harris. And how weird Emma is turning out to be. I think the twins are done for. Maybe Alison too. I’m not sure what will happen to Drew, I think the blame will shift away from him.
I have a feeling Afton and Cliff are still together. He was wearing a wedding band. And I wonder if there is more to the Pam/Katherine story. Why was Katherine even mentioned if she’s dead?? The show could have gone on without her name ever being mentioned…
It’s kind of nice here in Canada I don’t see any previews. Every week is a total surprise.
That’s great you get to see each episode spoiler-free, Morgan. I’m sure a lot of fans in the United States wish they could say the same thing. By the way: Where in Canada do you live? Your country is one of my very favorite places.
Chris, I live in Saskatchewan ! I hate spoilers!
Cool! Much love to all the “Dallas” fans in Saskatchewan!
will Judith survive? i think she will be in a coma; that way Harris keeps control of his company that she threatened to take away and also leaves her character alive in case we get a third season and shes needed to keep Harris on his toes. one of Pamela’s twins will be lost,but probably not both. i seriously doubt any other character will be killed off,though i read somewhere that Elena & Christopher’s relationship takes an unexpected turn…if they killed Elena off that would certainly be an unexpected turn. as for Drew Ramos;i just wish theyd get rid of him.i know he has some fans but i just think hes just another non-Ewing/non-Barnes who is taking up too much air time… Sue Ellen drinking again is a much needed shot of the old Dallas…watching her struggle with it feels very real and although i know Linda Gray didnt want to travel that road again,it has delivered some of her best scenes since the show re-commenced. its funny, that Sue Ellen’s relapse has been one of the hotter topics among people i know who are watching the show.. simply because it is something people can relate to. i cant wait to see how it all plays out.
If they kill off Elena, a lot of people will be upset. She has a lot of fans on Twitter!
They didn’t want to loose Larry Hagman, chances are the main characters, from season 1, are not going to die in this season.
I read blogs were people ask the producers to kill of either John Ross or Christopher. Don’t they know the show would be boring without all the double dealing. Pick a side, but the show would get boring if everything was happy happy all the time.
Does anyone know how much “Dallas” time was in between the end of season 1 and the start of season 2. Because even if Pamela lost her babies by the looks of it we should know the sex of the babies, or did I miss the reveal.
I think a matter of weeks elapsed between the end of Season 1 and the beginning of Season 2. I don’t think we ever discovered the sex of the babies.
Given the amount of tie she was pregnant in season 1, and season two plus the one month later for Ann trial, and the doctor saying 20 weeks, about two months must have been in between seasons. and 20 weeks means she should have known the sex or was going to find out real soon.
Both babies gone just like that, Now did the heartbeat stop for both of them, because I thought that one died for certain and the cliff hanger is did the other one die. I mean is it still possible for one of the babies to be revived.
Barnes, Ryland, Vickers, and Drew are in trouble now, Texas has an abortion in the second degree charge. and Like I said before no babies means a new contract. Christopher does
No babies means a new contract agreement should be drawn up, Christopher would only have to ask for the annulment, which means Pamela wouldn’t have that much leverage anymore. Any Thoughts?
Good questions, Brandon! I wasn’t aware of the “second degree” abortion law. I do believe both babies died, although the second one didn’t flatline until the very end of the scene. It was easy to miss.
It is called fetacide I believe. Somebody has to be blamed for that, and I have a feeling it will be Drew, and he will plea, and blame Roy Vickers. Roy could out Harris, who could out Cliff, but I see in the end Roy Vickers being the one going down for this,
like Vicente was the only one who was arrested for the SF fraud, when JR, John Ross, Mitch Lobel, Veronica Martinez, and even Frank and Cliff were involved in the fraud. I see Harris and Cliff escaping this, and Drew getting immunity for a plea, and Roy Vickers taking full blame, or being offed by Cliff or Harris, before he can point fingers. What doe you guys think?
I think you sound like a legal expert, Brandon! Impressive! It’ll be interesting to see if the show addresses this. If Ann doesn’t go to jail for shooting Harris, I have a feeling Drew won’t be going to jail for blowing up the rig.
I do want to be a lawyer one day. In season two of Dallas 1.0 Cliff lost the senate election because everyone found out that his fiance died due to a illegal abortion he had done. Bobby knows that, and clearly Cliff has no feeling for unborn babies.
Good memory, Brandon!
I do not think the producers know much about Texas law, because marriage to your cousin in Texas, is not recognized as a legal union. So Christopher wouldn’t have to settle with Pamela and the wedding would be annulled.
The legality of two cousins marrying — that never occurred to me, Brandon. Thanks.
Does anyone else feel bad for Harris and Judith. They are so demented that it is sad
Heaven help me, I kind of feel sympathy for them too.
I want to know who the mystery blast from the past that is supposed to be on the show tonite that Keck was tweeting about last night. After thinking about it….maybe Mitch? He is Pamela’s uncle and he is a plastic surgeon (may e she has an injury? ). If he suddenly shows up I am thinking some link to Pam as well, perhaps. After the wreck, Pam would have needed extensive plastic surgery…and Mitch dealt with burn victims or such years ago if I recall.
Lol…I know that I am reaching for extremely wild straws here!
BTW…I think that Drew has no idea who Ryland actually is. Harris made a reference to this in last episode. But, Harris knows him. Of course, if you are running a smuggling ring you would want to know everything about your employees and not want them to know anything about you. BTW. Harris looked a little beyond upset over Drew going on a date with Emma. Think what he would do if he knew about her and John Ross.
Btw…Emma….while I still don’t buy it….one of my friends is convinced that Emma is all involved with Ryland’s dirty work.. I keep telling her that Emma might start feeding him info but is just a wild child. She is so adamant about her being a ‘spy’ of sorts. Lol. It has been fun debating it with her!
Hel, I think this will answer your question regarding Mr. Keck’s tease:
http://www.tvguide.com/News/Angel-Film-Scoop-1063120.aspx
And I’m with you: I don’t think Emma is a spy. Doesn’t mean she won’t become one, though.
Does Emma want Drew or John Ross she should make up her mind. Does anyone believe Judith
No one should believe Judith, ever!
Interesting article from Mr. Keck. I am very interested in Cynthia Cidre’s remark re Katherine. Her bashers are convinced that it was a huge flub by the writers…..which I disagree with, btw.
I refer back to my past remarks regarding how circumspect this creative team is with their dialogue. They mentioned Katherine’s name for a reason. I am thinking it is a red herring. I don’t believe that Katherine is really dead. Bobby thinks she is…but that is in no way proof. He could have just read an article in some paper stating it.
I think you might be right, Hel.
This may be a little out there but what if Pam’s unnamed assumed husband was Harris. What does anyone else think about that
Oh, man. That would be wild! I bet Mama Ryland wouldn’t have liked Pam either.
Well Mitch Plegge or whatever and Brenda Strong, both played unnamed characters in the original Dallas and both had a connection with a Barnes. I thought it would be interesting if the Ryland’s went after the Barnes and now years later are pursuing the Ewings.