Pam's dream, the alternative theory

[RandallAdams]

I choose to believe that Bobby Ewing actually did die and that Pam was so traumatised that she dreamed he came back to life and convinced her that it didn't happen. That means everything AFTER the shower scene is part of Pam's dream, including her being burned alive and then dreaming about Bobby's life without her. But Bobby remaining dead and Pam dreaming the rest of the series is the only scenario that really makes sense, because it explains Dallas' extreme tonal shift and the dissatisfaction fans have with later seasons. They seem so illogical because they are Pam's dream logic. Consider this, she even imagines herself disfigured from the burns of her car accident (and played by another actress entirely) and resigned to be apart from her son forever. That is the stuff of nightmares, not reality.

This also allows us to reconcile Dallas to the Knots Landing continuity where Bobby remained dead and lived on in memory through Valene's baby son, who represents the hopeful symbol of Gary and Val's eventual reconciliation, a place of life renewing out of the grief Gary feels for his brother. Where did Pam's dream actually begin though? I wager it started with the arrival of Angelica Nero. After Katherine Wentworth's crime of passion demise with Bobby, Pam creates various seductive and deadly villainesses in her subconscious such as Angelica Nero and Hillary Taylor, who again bring violence and destruction to the Ewings, like the spectre of her vengeful sister, eternally manifesting in new guises. Think of it as Pam working out her inner trauma.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Thank goodness somebody finally started a thread on this topic! Otherwise, what would any of us do?

My votes: either keep Bobby dead and Pam fighting with J.R. over the direction of Ewing Oil, or Katherine anonymously hired Angelica as an assassin so Bobby was hidden away in the FWPP.

If it has to be a dream, make it Bobby's comatose dream instead of dumping blame on the nearest ex-wife whom the executives hated.

 

[tommie]

In the year 2525
If man is still alive
They'll still be discussing
How to solve Pam's dream
In the year 3535...

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

In the year 2525
If man is still alive
They'll still be discussing
How to solve Pam's dream
In the year 3535...

I'd give you an "optimistic" emoji. But for some reason, it's not available.

 

[southfork88]

Scelgo di credere che Bobby Ewing sia effettivamente morto e che Pam fosse così traumatizzata da sognare che lui tornasse in vita e da convincerla che non fosse successo. Ciò significa che tutto DOPO la scena della doccia fa parte del sogno di Pam, incluso il suo essere bruciata viva e poi sognare la vita di Bobby senza di lei. Ma Bobby che rimane morto e Pam che sogna il resto della serie è l'unico scenario che abbia davvero senso, perché spiega l'estremo cambiamento di tono di Dallas e l'insoddisfazione che i fan provano per le stagioni successive. Sembrano così illogici perché rappresentano la logica dei sogni di Pam. Considera questo, si immagina persino sfigurata dalle ustioni del suo incidente d'auto (e interpretata interamente da un'altra attrice) e rassegnata a stare lontana da suo figlio per sempre. Questa è roba da incubi, non realtà.

Questo ci permette anche di riconciliare Dallas con la continuità di Knots Landing dove Bobby rimase morto e visse nella memoria attraverso il figlio piccolo di Valene, che rappresenta il simbolo di speranza dell'eventuale riconciliazione tra Gary e Val, un luogo di vita che si rinnova dal dolore per cui Gary prova suo fratello. Ma dove è iniziato effettivamente il sogno di Pam? Scommetto che tutto è iniziato con l'arrivo di Angelica Nero. Dopo la morte passionale di Katherine Wentworth con Bobby, Pam crea vari malvagi seducenti e mortali nel suo subconscio come Angelica Nero e Hillary Taylor, che portano nuovamente violenza e distruzione agli Ewing, come lo spettro di sua sorella vendicativa, manifestandosi eternamente in nuove sembianze. Consideralo come se Pam risolvesse il suo trauma interiore.

At least this is a new, very strange but interesting, theory. From Bobby's shower onwards it's all a dream and the worst seasons have never existed.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

At least this is a new, very strange but interesting, theory. From Bobby's shower onwards it's all a dream and the worst seasons have never existed.

I've suggested before that after JR appears to commit suicide at the end of "Conundrum" in 1991, we see JR laying "dead" on the floor, and the picture does that "ripple" thing until it blurs into Pam in bed, she gets up, goes to shower again in search of Bobby, sees only a pink tiled wall, looks down and finds Mark Graison dead on the floor of the shower.

Pam screams "Maaaaaaaaaaaark!!!" and the camera pans past Graison's head and moves in on the drain PSYCHO-style. No music. Fade to black.

It allows all the viewers who'd had a problem with "Pam's Dream" to revisit and renegotiate the device, and indeed the last half-dozen years of DALLAS... was it a dream? A dream-within-a-dream? Did it all ever happen at all??

 

[Seaviewer]

keep Bobby dead and Pam fighting with J.R. over the direction of Ewing Oil

They really should have done this. There have been some good alternative suggestions of how to bring him back without wiping out the season but the ultimate mistake was bringing him back at all.

At least this is a new, very strange but interesting, theory. From Bobby's shower onwards it's all a dream and the worst seasons have never existed.

It's not really new, but starting it as early as Angelica's arrival is a novel twist.

 

[Bean]

I choose to believe that Bobby Ewing actually did die and that Pam was so traumatised that she dreamed he came back to life and convinced her that it didn't happen. That means everything AFTER the shower scene is part of Pam's dream, including her being burned alive and then dreaming about Bobby's life without her. But Bobby remaining dead and Pam dreaming the rest of the series is the only scenario that really makes sense, because it explains Dallas' extreme tonal shift and the dissatisfaction fans have with later seasons. They seem so illogical because they are Pam's dream logic. Consider this, she even imagines herself disfigured from the burns of her car accident (and played by another actress entirely) and resigned to be apart from her son forever. That is the stuff of nightmares, not reality.

This also allows us to reconcile Dallas to the Knots Landing continuity where Bobby remained dead and lived on in memory through Valene's baby son, who represents the hopeful symbol of Gary and Val's eventual reconciliation, a place of life renewing out of the grief Gary feels for his brother. Where did Pam's dream actually begin though? I wager it started with the arrival of Angelica Nero. After Katherine Wentworth's crime of passion demise with Bobby, Pam creates various seductive and deadly villainesses in her subconscious such as Angelica Nero and Hillary Taylor, who again bring violence and destruction to the Ewings, like the spectre of her vengeful sister, eternally manifesting in new guises. Think of it as Pam working out her inner trauma.

no i accept as canon that bobby death was a dream because im glad patrick return to the show and im also a fan of seasons or shows that are a dream thats why i consider the roseanne final to be canon despite being dark but i hate that pam left bobby and jacob and developed cancer and die later so in my mind pam leaving bobby and developing cancer and dying later was another nightmare pam was having while she was in a coma and after the last scene of the revival she wakes up from her coma and than she got plastic surgery and returned to bobby and jacob

 

[CeeCee72]

I choose to believe that Bobby Ewing actually did die and that Pam was so traumatised that she dreamed he came back to life and convinced her that it didn't happen. That means everything AFTER the shower scene is part of Pam's dream, including her being burned alive and then dreaming about Bobby's life without her. But Bobby remaining dead and Pam dreaming the rest of the series is the only scenario that really makes sense, because it explains Dallas' extreme tonal shift and the dissatisfaction fans have with later seasons. They seem so illogical because they are Pam's dream logic. Consider this, she even imagines herself disfigured from the burns of her car accident (and played by another actress entirely) and resigned to be apart from her son forever. That is the stuff of nightmares, not reality.

This also allows us to reconcile Dallas to the Knots Landing continuity where Bobby remained dead and lived on in memory through Valene's baby son, who represents the hopeful symbol of Gary and Val's eventual reconciliation, a place of life renewing out of the grief Gary feels for his brother. Where did Pam's dream actually begin though? I wager it started with the arrival of Angelica Nero. After Katherine Wentworth's crime of passion demise with Bobby, Pam creates various seductive and deadly villainesses in her subconscious such as Angelica Nero and Hillary Taylor, who again bring violence and destruction to the Ewings, like the spectre of her vengeful sister, eternally manifesting in new guises. Think of it as Pam working out her inner trauma.

That also means NuDallas was a dream too, right? Cause if so, I may convince myself you are right.

 

[Chris2]

Pam also dreamed Falcon Crest and Angela’s awful hairdo.

 

[DallasFanForever]

That also means NuDallas was a dream too, right?

No, that would qualify as a nightmare

pam left bobby and jacob

Yes, both Bobby and Jacob deserved better

 

[CeeCee72]

No, that would qualify as a nightmare

Which is such a shame. It had a lot of potential, but the disregarding of so much history made it impossible for me to watch.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Which is such a shame. It had a lot of potential, but the disregarding of so much history made it impossible for me to watch.

Yes, it did have potential. It was just a very different show than what most of us had hoped for. The later seasons of the original show had us hoping for something that would right the ship after 20 plus years but we didn’t get that.

 

[Bean]

I choose to believe that Bobby Ewing actually did die and that Pam was so traumatised that she dreamed he came back to life and convinced her that it didn't happen. That means everything AFTER the shower scene is part of Pam's dream, including her being burned alive and then dreaming about Bobby's life without her. But Bobby remaining dead and Pam dreaming the rest of the series is the only scenario that really makes sense, because it explains Dallas' extreme tonal shift and the dissatisfaction fans have with later seasons. They seem so illogical because they are Pam's dream logic. Consider this, she even imagines herself disfigured from the burns of her car accident (and played by another actress entirely) and resigned to be apart from her son forever. That is the stuff of nightmares, not reality.

This also allows us to reconcile Dallas to the Knots Landing continuity where Bobby remained dead and lived on in memory through Valene's baby son, who represents the hopeful symbol of Gary and Val's eventual reconciliation, a place of life renewing out of the grief Gary feels for his brother. Where did Pam's dream actually begin though? I wager it started with the arrival of Angelica Nero. After Katherine Wentworth's crime of passion demise with Bobby, Pam creates various seductive and deadly villainesses in her subconscious such as Angelica Nero and Hillary Taylor, who again bring violence and destruction to the Ewings, like the spectre of her vengeful sister, eternally manifesting in new guises. Think of it as Pam working out her inner trauma.

i accept bobby death to be pam dream because bringing patrick back was the right thing to do and im a fan of dream seasons or shows that is a dream thats why i accept roseanne final as canon and thats why dallas dream season is my favorite season and because i hate pam leaving bobbu and christopher and i hate that she developed cancer and die later i believe that pam leaving bobby and chrisopher and developing cancer and dying later was another nightmare pam was having while she was in a coma and after the last scene of the revival she wake up from her coma she made plastic surgery and came back to bobby and christopher

 

[DallasFanForever]

i accept bobby death to be pam dream because bringing patrick back was the right thing to do and im a fan of dream seasons or shows that is a dream thats why i accept roseanne final as canon and thats why dallas dream season is my favorite season and because i hate pam leaving bobbu and christopher and i hate that she developed cancer and die later i believe that pam leaving bobby and chrisopher and developing cancer and dying later was another nightmare pam was having while she was in a coma and after the last scene of the revival she wake up from her coma she made plastic surgery and came back to bobby and christopher

You’re not alone in that opinion, as others have made similar suggestions here over the years. Personally I’d rather they would’ve ended the original series this way and made everything after the dream season a dream if VP had agreed to return for Conundrum.

And welcome to the site @Bean

 

[Bean]

You’re not alone in that opinion, as others have made similar suggestions here over the years. Personally I’d rather they would’ve ended the original series this way and made everything after the dream season a dream if VP had agreed to return for Conundrum.

And welcome to the site @Bean

im glad bobby death was retconned as a dream but i wish that in reality jr and sue ellen marriage was fixed just like in the dream season instead of sue ellen leaving.j.r and sue elen marriage being fixed is someting from the dream season that i did like and i wish that did happened when the show go back to reality

 

[Crimson]

When suggestions are made here on how to fix the Dream resolution, I don't think the ideas get to the root of the issue. If we're going to engage in revisionist wishful thinking then go big: Patrick never should have left and Bobby never should have died. Everything else is just a different shaped Band-Aid on the problem.

After that, my declining order of preference:

Bobby should have stayed dead. Patrick made his decision and his return resulted in a mess. I'd have preferred Pam & Bobby having a happy ending but Victoria would leave soon anyway, resulting in an even bigger mess.

Keep the Dream resolution, but assign it to Bobby, in his coma, as Snarky suggests. Also the strands of S8 and S10 needed to be tighter.

Some variation on Bobby not having actually died but hidden away to keep him safe from Katherine or whatever.

 

[CeeCee72]

Patrick leaving wasn't the problem. The problem is that they caved into his demand that Bobby die on screen. Once that was done, it was going to be a nightmare to undo - no matter what the solution.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Keep the Dream resolution, but assign it to Bobby, in his coma,

If it has to be a dream then I agree that this made more sense than it being Pam’s dream. A comatose Bobby dreaming a full season is much more believable than what they ended up doing. I wonder why they decided to pin the dream on Pam? I’d love to know if they considered other characters having the dream instead and why they decided on making it Pam’s in the end.

 

[CeeCee72]

I think if it is a dream, it has to be JR's.

He got Ewing Oil.

He became Ellie's favorite son by default.

He got his happy family.

He got to have sex with three beautiful women (Mandy, Angelica, Sue Ellen).