The episode was written by Loraine Despres, and revealed who had shot J.R. Ewing (played by Larry Hagman) in the third season finale "A House Divided".
[2] For an eight-month-long period of media frenzy after the broadcast of "A House Divided" episode (wherein Dallas archvillain J.R. Ewing was shot by an unidentified perpetrator outside his office), oddsmakers created a set of odds for the possible culprits.
"[6] His New York Times colleague John J. O'Connor described him as "the eldest son of the oil-rich Ewing family..." who is "...a sadistic bully and a swindler" that "captured the public's imagination".
[12] In order to preserve secrecy before the episode aired, multiple endings were filmed, including the aforementioned characters each firing the gun.
When Sue Ellen earlier showed up at her sister's apartment with the gun (looking for J.R.), Kristin calmly offered her a drink, with the knowledge that she was drunk and would most likely pass out.
Some suggest that the resolution of the whodunit was delayed until the November "sweep" period as a ratings ploy by network CBS for the 1980–81 television season.