In season 4, the episode of “Goodbye Cliff Barnes” was the cliffhanger going into the 5^th season of Dallas. In the episode, Cliff had attempted suicide because Sue Ellen had chosen to reject his marriage offer and take the remarriage offer of J.R.. Well, we know money can't buy love, but it sure does a good job of trying.

As the series continued to impress television audiences worldwide, the writers learned to extend the mystery of how to solve the cliffhanger. Season 5 didn't give us the resolution just yet; the show focused on Cliff's recovery in the hospital and other circumstances.

J.R. is voted out as president of Ewing Oil, and he tries his hand at trying to discover the will of his deceased father. This, of course, requires some manipulation and blackmail, something he never gets tired of doing. In the background, Sue Ellen is doubting her decision to remarry J.R., and she visits Cliff in the hospital.

Eventually Cliff Barnes is well enough to leave the hospital and later in season 5, he is the president of Barnes and Wentworth Oil Company. As business comes and goes, Cliff becomes angry with his daughter after she helps Bobby secure a contract with a Canadian company. Some people are not convinced that he is not over his broken heart from Sue Ellen, but on December 3, 1982, Cliff Barnes has no choice but to surrender to the fact that he has again lost to the Ewings when Sue Ellen and J.R. remarry.