Steve Kanaly returns as Ray Krebbs for the next 5 episodes, and is reinstated onto the opening credits rather than credited as a 'Guest Star'. This brief return is treated as the character's official farewell, after leaving as a regular character the previous season in a somewhat low-key manner.
The impressive shot of the dam explosion would be used as the opening shot of the new titles which would debut in the next season and continue through to the end of the series (as well as the two TV movies)
The trailer for the following episode Showdown at the Ewing Corral (1988) featured a scene in which J.R. attempts to escape from the Harper house but is stopped on the stairs by a growling Rottweiler. Cally then tells him to come back to their bedroom. No such scene appears in that episode.