Deja vu to a couple weeks earlier when rival soap DYNASTY's 1982-83 season ended in a strikingly similar fashion with two leading characters trapped in a blazing building. What are the chances it's all just a coincidence?
This sixth season was a strong one and I'm sorry to see it draw to a close. I was especially hoping the J. R. vs. Bobby subplot would be resolved before the curtain fell, but that one carries over into the seventh season, as do the Bobby and Pam endless breakup and Mickey hovering between life and death while Lucy emotes at his bedside. Both of those threads have long since frayed and need to be snipped. Send Granny Trotter back to Kansas along with her golddigging son. Hey, Ray married himself a rich girl, so it's only right his little padowan Mickey would want to lasso one of 'em too, right?
Speaking of Ray--or Rye, as Donna calls him--we've witnessed his slowly coming unhinged over the last couple episodes. Barking at the specialist caring for Mickey, bullying the sheriff, and beating up J. R. Blaming J. R. for Mickey's predicament is a stretch--and Ray knows it. That's why he's enraged and wildly deflecting blame. Ray knows it was the James Bond briefcase switcheroo stunt pulled by him and Bobby that sent Walt Driscoll cascading into madness and hate-fueled revenge. J. R. Finally acknowledged his role in Rebecca Wentworth's death, so when will Ray own up to his role in driving Driscoll to drive into the car carrying Mickey?
One has to appreciate the writers and their four-d chess skills in weaving together into a tapestry the season's seemingly disparate plot threads. Bringing Walt Driscoll back for this final grandstand play was genius. Cliff's own 4-d chess moves to nab Bobby's Canadian deal opened opportunities for Katherine to move in on Bobby and forced Pam into a fork-in-the-road decision. Holly Harwood's role in Sue Ellen's relapse was another unexpected plot twist. Afton's meddling brought the pot to a boil, and now that it's spilling over and making a mess she walks out on Cliff. A fine place to leave a suicide-risk. Pam says she regrets he's her brother, Katherine smirking triumphantly at his every defeat, and Afton all but proclaiming he's devoid of any redeeming qualities. And why? Because he wants to win?
Okay, the writers are not perfect in plotting ahead, however. Lucy's return to fashion modelling fell by the wayside, as did Pam's aerobics studio, which subplot was likely included only to help the real-life Victoria Principal promote her lucrative line of books and videos. Donna's job on the Energy Commission appears forgotten now that it accomplished its purpose in thwarting J. R. Add J. R.'s gas stations and senatorial aspirations to the trash heap of spent plot contrivances.
The whole Mickey subplot was rudderless until recently, and Mark Graison's role as over-eager suitor almost sexual predator is wearing thin as Pam plays the perpetually fickle and hard-to-get prize. And on that note, the protracted subplot of Clayton courting Ellie may finally be heading towards a resolution as Clayton spirited away the hangdog-faced Ellie before the sparks really began to fly.
Who said season finales need cliffhanger endings? I suspect producers of all the prime-time soaps wanted to recapture the buzz of that singular "Who Shot J. R.?" summer of a couple years earlier. Ray making a punching bag out of J. R. while Southfork burns stretched believability and came across as contrived. But that doesn't mean I won't be eagerly tuning into the seventh season! We're not even halfway through the series yet and it's still humming along and firing on all creative pistons. Oops, did someone say "fire"?
This sixth season was a strong one and I'm sorry to see it draw to a close. I was especially hoping the J. R. vs. Bobby subplot would be resolved before the curtain fell, but that one carries over into the seventh season, as do the Bobby and Pam endless breakup and Mickey hovering between life and death while Lucy emotes at his bedside. Both of those threads have long since frayed and need to be snipped. Send Granny Trotter back to Kansas along with her golddigging son. Hey, Ray married himself a rich girl, so it's only right his little padowan Mickey would want to lasso one of 'em too, right?
Speaking of Ray--or Rye, as Donna calls him--we've witnessed his slowly coming unhinged over the last couple episodes. Barking at the specialist caring for Mickey, bullying the sheriff, and beating up J. R. Blaming J. R. for Mickey's predicament is a stretch--and Ray knows it. That's why he's enraged and wildly deflecting blame. Ray knows it was the James Bond briefcase switcheroo stunt pulled by him and Bobby that sent Walt Driscoll cascading into madness and hate-fueled revenge. J. R. Finally acknowledged his role in Rebecca Wentworth's death, so when will Ray own up to his role in driving Driscoll to drive into the car carrying Mickey?
One has to appreciate the writers and their four-d chess skills in weaving together into a tapestry the season's seemingly disparate plot threads. Bringing Walt Driscoll back for this final grandstand play was genius. Cliff's own 4-d chess moves to nab Bobby's Canadian deal opened opportunities for Katherine to move in on Bobby and forced Pam into a fork-in-the-road decision. Holly Harwood's role in Sue Ellen's relapse was another unexpected plot twist. Afton's meddling brought the pot to a boil, and now that it's spilling over and making a mess she walks out on Cliff. A fine place to leave a suicide-risk. Pam says she regrets he's her brother, Katherine smirking triumphantly at his every defeat, and Afton all but proclaiming he's devoid of any redeeming qualities. And why? Because he wants to win?
Okay, the writers are not perfect in plotting ahead, however. Lucy's return to fashion modelling fell by the wayside, as did Pam's aerobics studio, which subplot was likely included only to help the real-life Victoria Principal promote her lucrative line of books and videos. Donna's job on the Energy Commission appears forgotten now that it accomplished its purpose in thwarting J. R. Add J. R.'s gas stations and senatorial aspirations to the trash heap of spent plot contrivances.
The whole Mickey subplot was rudderless until recently, and Mark Graison's role as over-eager suitor almost sexual predator is wearing thin as Pam plays the perpetually fickle and hard-to-get prize. And on that note, the protracted subplot of Clayton courting Ellie may finally be heading towards a resolution as Clayton spirited away the hangdog-faced Ellie before the sparks really began to fly.
Who said season finales need cliffhanger endings? I suspect producers of all the prime-time soaps wanted to recapture the buzz of that singular "Who Shot J. R.?" summer of a couple years earlier. Ray making a punching bag out of J. R. while Southfork burns stretched believability and came across as contrived. But that doesn't mean I won't be eagerly tuning into the seventh season! We're not even halfway through the series yet and it's still humming along and firing on all creative pistons. Oops, did someone say "fire"?
