[Very
long pause.]
"I'm sorry, Daddy. I let you down. I just flat gave up.
"Back there at that swamp — you were
gone. It was all over. Didn't seem like there was anything worth going
on for for me [sigh].
"And I almost forgot. You left us
something; you left us the company. You built Ewing Oil from the ground
up. And whatever it took — you did it for Ewing Oil. And I'm gonna do
the same. I'm gonna pass it on bigger and stronger to my son.
"I'm back, Daddy.
"And nobody's gonna take Ewing Oil
away from me, or my son, or his son.
"I swear to you: By God, I'm gonna
make you proud'a me."
— J.R. Ewing, in the office of his
father, Jock Ewing, speaking to his imposing portrait on the wall. Soft,
sad music. Rising.
Jim Davis had died some time before,
but the series writers kept his Jock Ewing character alive for some time
in order to develop other plot lines. When his death is dealt with, J.R.
at first goes into denial, then depression.
This is his eulogy to his father, of
sorts, where he comes to final acceptance.
I don't know if art is any less
meaningful or painful than real life. To me, invested in the characters
as I was (and many of you were, I suspect) at the time, it surely was a
message that resonated.
Who are you as a person?
What motivates you?
How will your life be if you never,
in life, deal directly with those whose hold on you is greatest?
Again: One of the most powerful "end
titles" of the series. Incredible story telling, straight to your gut
emotion. And a passionate belief in something, clearly.
