Screengrab
The murder trial of Blake Carrington is finally underway … and of course it is just as the show is approaching the winter break so we’re left hanging until January 17 to see what happens. Is there anyone who thinks Blake will actually go to prison? That would be the end of the show (but with The CW ending its Netflix deal that brought new episodes to the rest of the world three days after air in the US — which is what has kept the show on the air this long — and forcing worldwide viewers to wait until the season finale in May to watch the third season, it may very well be the last season).
But let’s face it, Blake’s trial was ridiculous. The prosecutor isn’t very subtle about her disdain for the defendant. Putting Culhane on the stand with his obvious hostility toward Blake was showy but it didn’t do her any favors as most of his commentary had to be disregarded. Blake’s lawyer is kind of a boob as well. Blake may be better off defending himself.
What did work in the prosecution’s favor was putting Fallon on the stand because no matter how hard she tried to talk in generalities, like ‘anyone is capable of murder so yes, Blake Carrington is capable of murder’, only made things worse … for her because that forced Blake to pull out the big guns and go after Fallon’s character which ended with her grabbing the judge’s gavel and hurling it at Blake’s lawyer. Oh, and Liam is covering the trial as well, so now he’s in a sticky situation of writing a piece about the trial for his girlfriend’s new magazine and reporting about her skills in gavel hurling. What’s a girl to do? She can’t edit Liam’s piece because that would just look bad on him, so she does the next best thing — stages a break-in at the office, carefully downloading all the info and then smashing her computer. And Blake saw right through the ruse, actually proud of her Blake-like reaction to the situation calling her a ‘chip off the old Blake’. That may have been a bit too much for her because it finally made her see the light.
Unfortunately, that came a little too late for Adam. He’s been regaining his eyesight and worried that he’s going to lose Nadia in the process so he actually drank himself unblind but continued to play blind. Until he overheard Nadia and Cristal having a loud argument about Nadia’s affair with Blake, which sent him to the Blue Belt winery in a rage where he set the entire vineyard on fire. Unfortunately he didn’t know the fight was all staged after Cristal discovered Fallon was paying off Nadia to gaslight Adam and she wanted in on the action or she’d tell Blake. She was going to fire Nadia anyway, so it was a win for everyone. Except Adam. And the grapes.
Screengrab
Monica is still pissed at Dominique after learning Vanessa is her stepsister and even cancelled the residency at her club. But she later realized it’s not Vanessa’s fault and invited her to travel to New York where Monica is opening a new club and perhaps Vanessa can launch her career there. Dom isn’t happy that Vanessa is leaving to go it on her own, especially not while she’s making a spectacle of herself at Blake’s trial to get publicity from Hot Tea Atlanta (an obvious TMZ spoof). And then there’s the matter of Jeff being off in Europe for some reason, but telling Dom he’s made peace with her and all of her antics upon his return. Monica is a bit stunned but he also decides to not tell her some news he’s holding on to.
Blake thinks he’s assured an acquittal but the prosecution has a surprise witness waiting in the wings and all roads apparently lead to Kirby who’s been talking to the FBI. Anders and Blake plan to discuss what to do with this ‘traitor’ but Blake takes it upon himself to banish Kirby from Atlanta, giving her a one-way ticket back to Australia. Except she has no idea what he’s talking about. Before she heads to South Carolina with her guru, she tells Sam the FBI has been asking questions about the guru guy and his taxes, not Blake. Oops. And when Anders learns what Blake has done to Kirby, it puts the question of his testimony up in the air … especially after he calls the prosecution and asks for an immunity deal. Will Anders actually sell out Blake over his daughter?
Anders does take the stand and it seems that he’s going to sink Blake’s ship, admitting that his hired gun Mac was at the manor on the day in question. But Anders’ testimony takes a left turn and he confesses that it was he who killed Mac in self-defense when the man attacked him. And there’s nothing the prosecution can do about it after giving him immunity. After a recess, Blake thanks Anders for what he did and agrees that perhaps he was a bit harsh on Kirby, telling Anders to call her back to Atlanta and the manor. But she’s not taking his calls.
Screengrab
But, it turns out the surprise witness was not Kirby after all. Over the defense’s protests, the judge allowed the prosecution’s secret witness to take the stand with the promise that the witness can without a doubt pin Mac’s death on Blake. Entering the room are Jeff Colby and a blonde woman. Blake is relieved because he knows Jeff has nothing on him, but it isn’t Jeff who takes the stand, it’s the woman who when asked to state her name says, ‘Alexis Carrington … Colby’.
Everyone’s jaws drop and we’re left wondering — who on Earth is the actress they got to play Alexis? There was no big name to step into Nicolette Sheridan’s shoes? I’d say perhaps she’s not really Alexis but Elaine Hendrix’s name was third in the opening regular cast credits this week, so she must be staying around for a while. Nothing against Ms. Hendrix but I have to say I am a bit disappointed by the casting. And if anyone knows anything about OG Dynasty, Alexis made her first appearance during the trial of Blake Carrington (for the murder of Ted Dinard, who is long dead on this version by a drug-fueled suicide) in the Season 1 finale. Joan Collins had not yet been cast so the woman who entered the courtroom wore a giant hat that covered her face. Ms. Hendrix’s hat was nowhere near as dramatic. Shame on the costume designer, but then the reveal of someone most people don’t know would not have had the impact it did when Ms. Collins revealed her face under the hat in the original’s Season 2 premiere.
But we have five weeks to ponder all of this. Happy holidays!
What did you think of this episode? Tell us in the comments section below!
Share this post
