Carringtons always “Shoot From the Hip,” but no more so than when they’re celebrating Thanksgiving. This “Dynasty” Turkey Day isn’t as bonkers as years past – there’s no hostage situations or dream sequence-causing tornados – but there’s still some fun drama to feast on.
The A-story, unfortunately, is a little dry. It begins with Fallon and Liam basking in the afterglow of their reunion (and sidebar – Evan’s off-screen this week so we don’t find out what creepy revenge he’s cooking up with that chunk of Fallon’s hair), though they’ve agreed to take things slow. That’s put to the test when Fallon learns of an opportunity to pitch/ambush a creative director she wants to work at her magazine. At first content to go alone when Liam begs off, she lets Adam get in her head about the possibility of Liam backsliding in the progress he’s made with his memories if they’re apart. So Fallon fake-assigns him an article at the lodge she’s pitching/ambushing this creative director at so she can kill two birds with one stone. But that backfires on her spectacularly when it turns out that Landon III from London is also L.T., an old chum of Liam’s. And their bro-ing out gets in the way of both her personal and professional objectives.
Tired of Landon ducking her (a declaration accompanied by, hilariously, the sound of ducks quacking in the background) and dragging Liam with him, Fallon invites herself along on the men’s turkey hunt, but takes one in the gut herself when Landon offers Liam a writing gig in London (it’s here I thought, having learned he had a fling with her, that Landon was in league with Liam’s mom, but that doesn’t seem to be the case). After accidentally shooting Landon (which I call BS on. The Fallon Carrington we know would be a pro with a firearm. Remember when she shot up the manse’s living room with her sweet sixteen present from Alexis?), she and Liam get into a larger fight about the toll Liam’s memory struggles have had on them. And while Liam makes some good points about how it’s his entire life that’s been effectively rebooted, not just their relationship, I also don’t like when he gets into this scold-y mode with Fallon, I like them as a couple so much more when her scheming turns him on. In any case, at the end of the episode, Fallon comes to his place with a peace offering and the pair get back on track.
In a sudsier subplot, Culhane confronts Dominique about being Vanessa’s stepmother, but stupidly gives her a day to wiggle out of his ultimatum that she tell Monica and Jeff the truth. Vanessa – who has now met and likes Monica – is okay with them coming clean. And it seems like Dominique is going to, buttering up Monica with an old handprint turkey drawing of hers. But when Monica mentions that she wants to sign Vanessa to sing at Club Colby, Dominique decides against it. And awesomely, she goes to Blake to get blackmail material on Culhane, which he hands over in exchange for an end to her extortion checks. It’s such a fun scene, I really like the dynamic between the Carrington half-sibs and we haven’t gotten enough of them together. Anyway, Dominique successfully silences stupid Culhane. But tired of her stepmom’s controlling ways, Vanessa still detonates the grenade at the Thanksgiving dinner table and, when we leave them for the week, all three ladies are pissed off.
Over at La Mirage, Sam is in a panic because the recent scandal with that Atlantix player getting kneecapped on the premises is affecting bookings. Fallon cashes in a favor and sends Sam over a PR fixer named Fletcher Myers (Daniel di Tomasso, “Timeless”), who’s got a bit of a young Cillian Murphy look to him. The two bicker over how best to reverse the bad press, which is how you know they’re going to bone. Rejecting Fletcher’s advice, Sam hits on the idea of opening up the hotel to the homeless on Thanksgiving, a philanthropic move that’s both selfless and self-serving, and Fletcher comes around on the idea of selling La Mirage as “the hotel with a good heart.” And then he plants a smooch on a surprised Sam, finally breaking his dry spell. I like them together so far, curious to see if and how it proceeds.
Last but not least, with his trial looming, Blake is making a bigger deal out of Thanksgiving this year than ever before (and sidebar – here is where I will comment on the continued Steven erasure. Blake spends the episode putting all this emphasis on this family dinner and family picture and having his family all around him, family that continues to include Sam, but Steven’s name isn’t even mentioned? He’s still supposed to exist in this universe, even if he’s been bullshittingly parked at a Parisian mental hospital. Anyway...). To that end, Adam suggests a ceasefire to Cristal and they team up to bake Blake his favorite pie. But of course, this is all an Adam scheme – with an assist from Nadia – to get Cristal out of the way so he’s the only one around to be in the family portrait (except, hilariously, Dominique is still in the house when this is happening and she and her leopard print dress photobomb the moment). When she finally makes it back to the mansion, Cristal covers for Adam to avoid upsetting Blake, but lets her stepson know she’s now on to his and Nadia’s alliance.
Except, in an amazing cliffhanger, Nadia climbs into a car and accepts a wad of cash...FROM FALLON! Turns out Nadia’s really been working for Fallon, who smiles gleefully while Nadia brags about having her brother wrapped around her finger. Oh how I cheered when this happened, so cool to see Fallon taking a soapy, proactive step against Adam for a change.
What are your takeaways from this week’s “Dynasty?” Hit me with your best shot about “Shoot From the Hip” in the comments section.
