Dynasty Episode 20 Review
Dynasty goes all in on some of its best elements, but gets thoroughly bogged down in others. Cristal and Fallon teaming up to take someone down and the father-son dynamic between Anders and Sam were definitely in the win column, while Alexis continues to be a vacant cypher and the Colbys wander back onto the scene. Anders trying to help Sam plan a multicultural gay wedding and then talking him off the ledge when he thinks Steven is cheating is a natural extension of their relationship, and one that’s fun to watch. Cristal and Fallon are always the most fun when they use their considerable talents together, and this is no exception. Unfortunately, Dynasty falls back on its show’s (deeply flawed) premise, and pits Cristal and Fallon against each other once again. Of course they will inevitably team back up again in time for the finale, but it’s unfortunate to see a show that occasionally shows the promise of something more. It’s also hard to gin up much concern about Fallon double-crossing Cristal and Culhane, since it’s pretty clear by now that even if it takes her a while, she will eventually do the right thing. This episode tests the limits of how much Dynasty can rely on the corporate machinations of a group of people who clearly never work. Corporations and titles as MacGuffins, interchangeable objects of film and television pursuit that typically cease to matter as soon as they’re acquired, feel even more ostentatiously arbitrary than when everyone chased after a moon stone on The Vampire Diaries or a party invite on Gossip Girl. Alexis Carrington appears to be on her own show, and it’s wearing a bit thin. What is her goal in meddling with the Colbys? Scheming on a soap works best when it’s structured like a heist movie: we need to know what the plan is so we can watch it go awry, or else know the objective so we can watch competing forces try to outmaneuver one another to achieve it. Without that element of dramatic irony, we’re stuck watching a none-too-thrilling mystery of what Alexis Carrington is up to with her low-stakes puppeteering of her children and the Colby clan. Is it too late to bring back Cristal the dog? The peak into the past was interesting, and certainly made it easier to forget how awful Jeff has been, though it suffered from a lack of clear parallel to the current story. The revelation that Colby is “one of them,” as in a Carrington, seems a bit odd. We know that Cecil has been accused of sleeping with Alexis – was she secretly pregnant and no one noticed? Or did Blake sleep with Jeff’s mom?
