If you were looking for some soapy drama, Dynasty Season 4 Episode 17 had it all.
We got bombshell revelations about Amanda and Alexis, Kirby on an apology tour, Jeff and Culhane teaming up against Blake’s campaign, and some fractures in Fallon and Liam’s relationship.
We’ll start with Amanda because I wasn’t completely sold on her on Dynasty Season 4 Episode 16, but “Stars Make You Smile” proved that she was a straight-shooter who is not about to get caught up in all the Carrington family drama.
Alexis concealing the fact that it was Blake’s daughter was not a surprise. If you watch Dynasty online, you know Alexis has had a turbulent relationship with her children, so of course, she would use Amanda as another chance at being a mother.
Blake’s tenacity to find out the truth was probably the most passionate he’s been about a cause since the series debuted, but it was one of those rare occurrences in life in which you know something’s falling into place.
I appreciated the early rivalry between Amanda and Blake because Blake was so vocal about wanting to know about the skeletons in Amanda’s closet.
Given the severity of his crimes, it was a bit rich, but at least we didn’t have to wait around for a definite answer. I’m not entirely sold on how quickly it was revealed, but at least it was a fun little bump in the road.
Amanda does not want to be caught between her mother and father, but if they keep taking shots at each other, she might decide that she’d be better off back in London with her high-flying job.
However, this being Dynasty, I expect Blake to find a place for her on his campaign.
Hopefully, Amanda questions what happened to Steven because he’s her half-sibling that she’s supposedly never met.
Steven’s return would be the perfect way for the show to address the crimes of Adam. It’s difficult to connect with Adam because of his past indiscretions.
He’s not the easiest character to like, and his holier than thou approach to Kirby made me hate him even more.
Game on, Oliver Twisted!
Fallon
Yes, Kirby did some bad things, but she was spiraling out of control. You would think that, given the circumstances, he would have been able to understand that she deserved the time of day.
My biggest issue with the apology tour is that everyone knew Kirby was struggling, and many of the characters felt like she owed them something.
She didn’t do anything that would have ended a friendship. Friends are supposed to support friends when the going gets tough, but I can’t discount the fact that Kirby wanted to apologize.
Give this girl a break and let her get back to her former self.
Fallon’s latest round of competition with Colin was actually a lot of fun this time around. Watching them go toe-to-toe gave us some witty one-liners, and it was satisfying watching Fallon win the support of the board.
Colin has been against Fallon since the beginning, so it was only a matter of time before he tried to usurp her power.
What surprised me was how Fallon checked him out, defeated him, and then offered him a job at Fallon Unlimited.
The show is purposefully pulling Fallon and Liam apart, and it’s a shame.
We witnessed their troubled beginning, their turbulent middle, and now it looks like they’re about to be driven apart for good.
The issue here is the way Fallon keeps brushing her husband off. She should not have agreed to the drink with Colin — not while her husband had been vying for her affection.
Liam seems to think everything with Eva is platonic, but you could tell by Eva’s look at Liam she wanted to rip his clothes off when they were on the hike.
The series spent so much time throwing hurdles in the way of Falliam that it feels cheap and tacky to throw some temptation in between them.
Liam has put up with a lot from Fallon, but her lack of support is starting to get to him, which could send him into Eva’s arms.
Eva is manipulative, but she can see that the man struggles with many aspects of his life.
As for Jeff and Culhane teaming up, I love when these two work together.
They’ve been put on opposing sides far too often, and they have both proven to be resourceful.
Let’s hope they can work together and not fight over a woman again because that’d be poor storytelling.
“Stars Make You Smile” was more grounded in reality than recent episodes, and while it was a lot of fun, some of the characters continue to be written frustratingly.
The show needs a creative reset for Dynasty Season 5 and maybe a reduced episode order.
That would allow the writers to craft a tighter and more compelling arc for the season.
Many of the plots right now are plucked out of thin air, with little connective tissue between episodes.
It’s a real shame.
What are your thoughts on that paternity reveal?
Are you tired of the show dragging Falliam apart?
Hit the comments.
Dynasty continues Fridays at 9/8c on The CW.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.