Choose or lose, honey
In “The Long Goodbye,” a seventh-season “Dallas” episode, Pam (Victoria Principal) answers the door in her hotel suite and finds J.R. (Larry Hagman) on the other side.
PAM: What are you doing here?
J.R.: I want to talk. I think it’s important for both of us.
PAM: Nothing you have to say is important to me.
J.R.: Are you afraid of me?
PAM: I dislike you intensely. But I’m not afraid of you.
J.R.: Well, then why don’t you let me in? It won’t take long. I promise. [She opens the door. He enters.] Well, it must be kind of difficult, living in a hotel.
PAM: Do you really care?
J.R.: No. No, I don’t. You know how I feel about you. I’ve despised you ever since Bobby first brought you home.
PAM: Is that what you came here to tell me?
J.R.: No, I said that so that you’ll know that what I’m about to say is the truth. Now you might find that hard to believe, but I think I can convince you.
PAM: All right, J.R. What’s this all about?
J.R.: [Begins to circle her] Well, I’m talking about the two people you love most in life: Bobby and Cliff.
PAM: [Turns to face him] And Christopher.
J.R.: Oh, yes. Yes, of course. Christopher. He figures into this too. Pam, I know how close you and Bobby are to a divorce, and I’m sure it must be very painful for you. And when you do get that divorce, it’s gonna hurt. [Circles her again] Believe me, I know. But eventually, you’ll pull yourselves together and find happiness of another kind. I know you will.
PAM: How nice! You’re concerned about my happiness.
J.R.: Oh, no. I don’t give a damn about you or your happiness, honey. But I do care about what’s good for me.
PAM: Well, that I believe.
J.R.: Well, then try to believe this: If you divorce Bobby, I’m going to do certain things. [Circling] For instance, I think he and I could live in peace. Now, it might not be an easy peace, but I know that he and I could work together at Ewing Oil in harmony. And with you out of the picture, I think his natural instincts would lead him out of Ewing Oil and into something else. He never cared for it as much as I did anyhow.
PAM: I certainly hope that’s true.
J.R.: And as far as your brother goes, if you divorce Bobby, I’ll leave him alone. If he wants to become the biggest independent oilman in Texas, I won’t stand in his way. And to all intents and purposes, the Barnes-Ewing feud will cease to exist.
PAM: [Snickers] I find that hard to believe.
J.R.: Well, then try this one on for size: If you return to Bobby, all hell is going to break loose. I’ll call off this truce that exists between him and me. We’ll be in a dogfight that will make what went on before look like a love match. And as for your brother, I’ll use every penny at my disposal — and Ewing Oil’s disposal — to destroy him. I’ll bring Mr. Cliff Barnes down for good. And whoever goes down with him, so be it. Now, you’ve known me long enough to know I don’t make idle threats. So I promise you, what I have just said will happen — if you return to Bob. It’s your choice, Pam.
[He exits, leaving Pam looking unnerved.]
