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The Carrington ladies — current and former — were in the spotlight on this week’s Dynasty, either manipulating others or being manipulated … or both.
When we last saw Cristal, she was about to storm into the hospital room of Michael Culhane’s father to deliver some scandalous news about what may have caused his illness. And Blake was there to surprise her. We didn’t see what transpired in the room, but it’s safe to say Cristal was not going to be the knight in shining armor she thought she was because Blake was more concerned about how the revelation that Carrington Atlantic may be responsible for a high cancer rate in an area they dumped tons of toxic waste could affect the company’s bottom line than he was about Culhane’s health. But, he also agreed that it was time for CA to put out a statement to appease Cristal’s concerns.
Meeting with the company’s legal team — which recorded the meeting, with permission — Cristal admitted that when she first started working for CA, she killed a story about the toxic waste dumping and the inherent health concerns, and Blake also admitted that CA had dumped those toxic chemicals. The lawyer said it was premature to release a statement, but they would look into the situation. Returning the next day, it was advised that the company undertake some top secret soil sampling to determine what chemicals were in the ground and if they may have caused the 16 residents of the county to develop cancer. That process would take years, certainly too long to help the Culhanes and putting others in the area at risk. Cristal realizes she’s been played … again … and storms off to her office to get her files. And finds a team of people already in her office shredding everything. Back at the manor, she waits for Blake in his office, furious about what he’s doing but determined to make things right. Except there’s one little problem — that recording of their meeting with the lawyer. Blake didn’t have that destroyed because it incriminates his wife, so he’s basically blackmailing her into silence. She says he’s not the man she married and he says he is. She came into this with eyes wide open and knew what she was getting into. She tells him she’s not angry or disappointed with him, she’s scared of him. His response: ‘You should be.’
Seriously, how much longer can Cristal stay in this marriage?! It’s been one thing after another with Blake, who at this point is just pure evil, and now he’s blackmailing his own wife into silence? As Whoopi Goldberg said to Demi Moore in Ghost, ‘You in danger, girl.’ And to quote Lakeith Stanfield in Get Out, ‘GET OUT!’
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Meanwhile, Alexis is continuing to manipulate both of her kids. She’s got Stephen lying about going to DC for political reasons while he’s actually in Fort Worth looking for clues to find his long lost brother Adam. Back at home, she’s continuing her poking at Fallon about her ‘husband’ Liam, not believing that’s his true identity and that he’s up to something. Yeah, she’s trying to be motherly to protect her daughter, but she’s kind of forfeited that responsibility at this point.
Fallon, meanwhile, is actually developing feelings for Liam and the two plan their ‘first date’ with Liam offering to prepare dinner. Alexis finds him sharpening a knife and he claims he was almost a chef in Paris but she’s not buying it (too bad she didn’t see the fabulous six course tasting meal and wine pairing he prepared). Alexis did find a gift basket for Culhane’s father and just casually brought up the subject to Fallon right as she was to have dinner. The news stunned her and took her mind off the dinner. Liam told her to go to the hospital and he and Anders ended up enjoy the meal together.
Alexis offered to drive Fallon, and when she got there Michael was out but Fallon got a few words from his mother. She said that he didn’t need her presence there because he needed to focus on his father’s last remaining hours (if it was that dire, why was he out in the first place?) and she’d just be a distraction. And then Mama Culhane told her to go be with her husband. Oh, snap. Outside, Alexis saw Culhane and stopped him, told him Fallon was inside and that she really loved him. And that she knew he loved her too. But mama’s words hit home and Fallon just walked past him on the way out and told Alexis to take her home.
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And while all this drama is taking place, Fallon is also attempting to make on offer to Jeff Colby for him to buy back his shares of Colbyco that she got from their sham wedding. Sending Sammy Joe as her proxy, he and the lawyers found a drunk and disheveled Jeff still angry about the ‘theft’ of his shares and said he’s pay her one dollar. Reporting back, Fallon told Sam that Jeff was just acting, trying to come off as pathetic so she’d lower her asking price. She’s not about to buy into his act. But the scenes with Sam and Fallon prove we need to see more of them together.
Attempting a second ‘first date’, Fallon told Liam to get dressed for the La Perla event, not that he knows what a La Perla is (it’s a real fashion line with creative director Julia Haart playing herself). With press in attendance, Liam begins acting a bit strange, like he doesn’t want to be seen. Could Alexis have been right about him hiding something from Fallon? During the fashion show he still keeps his head buried, claiming to be studying a card describing all the fabrics, and then Jeff shows up. Drunk and disheveled again. Spotting Fallon — all during the fashion show — he yells at her and when it appears he might get physical, Liam springs to attention to protect her. Before anything can happen, Jeff vomits all over Sam’s bedazzled shoes and embarrasses himself even more. But Fallon now believes that this isn’t an act at all.
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While gathering themselves to leave, Alexis is stopped by Haart who is impressed that Fallon landed jack Lowden for a husband. Who? Why, writer Jack Lowden who just got a seven figure deal from Harper Collins to write a tell all about a wealthy family. So he is just using Fallon, right? Giddy with the revelation, Alexis gives the news to Fallon, and she confronts him at the car. Turns out Liam Ridley IS is name, at least his middle names, making him Jack Liam Ridley Lowden, a ridiculous name even for Dynasty. But he’s using the name to disassociate himself from his own terrible family. Fallon isn’t having any of it and takes off, leaving him with nowhere to go and no way to get there.
Liam finally does make it back to the manor and is summoned to meet with Fallon before he takes his leave. But Fallon isn’t there. Alexis, however, is there to gloat and give him the check to complete the terms of the contract he had with Fallon. Liam has something for her as well … the manuscript of his book. Wondering how he had time to write and complete such a thing, he revealed that the book wasn’t ever about the Carringtons, it was about his own terrible family. After he left, Alexis seemed to almost feel badly about what she had done but … instead of telling Fallon the truth, she burned the manuscript and then went to get Jeff back in fighting shape. What is Alexis up to? Is she trying to help or hurt Fallon? Is she teaming up with the Colbys to screw with Blake even more?
What did you think of this episode? Tell us in the comments section below!
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What’s the nane of an actor named jack lowden ?????
Adam Huber
I liked this episode a lot, but Cristal is really starting to grate on my nerves.
She acts like she’s innocent, yet she was the one who killed the story all those years ago.
Nicollette Sheridan is great as Alexis, but they need to promote her to series regular.
As a long-time fan of the original series, I’m puzzled by the whole Blake/Cristal dynamic. Unlike in the original, it’s clear these two don’t belong together so they really need to have them become a united front instead of always backstabbing each other. Krystle on the original was always the moral center. They don’t have that on this version, although I suppose for the most part that would be Anders, but even he’s done things that don’t exactly make him the ‘saint’ the original Krystle was meant to be. They really need to bring Blake and Cristal together to fight a common enemy whether it be Alexis or the Colby family instead of fighting each other.
I’m sure now that the series is a go for season two, Sheridan will be upped to a regular. Although it really depends on how much she wants to be tied down to the show, salary demands and the like. It’s not unprecedented for a ‘regular’ cast member to be listed as a ‘Special Guest Star’ (for instance, Heather Locklear was listed as a ‘Guest Star’ for her entire run on Melrose Place even though she was definitely a regular and a main character). Usually when a new ‘regular’ is added to the cast midway through a season, it would require renegotiations with the already established cast to adjust their own billing in the credits, something that could become a headache with a show already in production.