Dynasty Season Two Premiere | Review

Hello and welcome back to The nerd shelf!

Today's post is going to be on the season two premiere of Dynasty. Dynasty is a soap opera reboot of the 1980s series of the same name. If you haven't seen the show it's about the Carrington family who is extremely wealthy. The drama begins when the daughter goes home expecting a promotion only to find out that her father has gotten her and her brother a new step-mom who's not much older than her. If you like a dramatic soap that will make you laugh you should watch this show. Also, the cast is AMAZING.

I love this show. I went into it because of Elizabeth Gillies. I have loved her since her Victorious days. And then I found out that Nathalie Kelley was in it too and I was hooked. Sometimes these types of shows can be a bit too overdramatic for me and although this show is very dramatic it just works. There's a nice blend of comedy in there that makes it easier to swallow. This season premiere was great. There were so many great character moments and I loved it.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

So last season ended with a huge cliffhanger. There were a fire and a shooting and we didn't know who made it out alive except for Blake (Grant Show), Fallon (Elizabeth Gillies) and Sam (Rafael de la Fuente). Also, Anders (Alan Dale) daughter came back. Over the summer the news broke that Nathalie Kelley wasn't going to come back to the show as Cristal and I was really sad about it. I don't know why they decided to kill her off but I really liked her character and also I think Nathalie Kelley is an amazing actress. I loved her in The Vampire Diaries so when I saw her in the trailer for this show I was really excited. She was one of the reasons I decided to watch the show in the first place. But she is gone and she seems to be doing okay if you look at her Instagram.

So season two picks up a month after the fire. Blake left everyone when Cristal died and Fallon is not happy about it. She felt abandoned and she had to pick up the pieces all by herself. One line that I found really interesting was "like he's the only one who lost Cristal. I mean Cristal and Fallon became friendly with each other in the end but were they really friends? Maybe this line is supposed to show us that she actually cared for Cristal.
Fallon's selling the company to Liams (Adam Huber) uncle, Max (C. Thomas Howell). The problem is that Max thinks that Liam and Fallon are still married. The only way that this deal is going to go through is if he thinks that they are. And Fallon is with Culhane (Robert Christopher Riley) now. Oh, the drama. Culhane says that he's okay with them pretending to be married until this deal is done. Liam is obviously still in love with Fallon and to be honest I kind of want them to be together more than her and Culhane. I don't know why. I just like their chemistry. Not that Culhane and Fallon don't have any, because they definitely do.

So Culhane says it's fine but when Max is over at the house things get awkward. Culhane is on a run when he runs into Max, Fallon, and Liam. Max basically makes Fallon and Liam kiss, and I mean really kiss, in front of him and Culhane. Max asks if Culhane is going to be at the CA party and he says he can't go, and it's obviously news to Fallon and then he pulls off his shirt. This scene made me laugh a lot. It's the small comments and little moments of people trying to show off or make someone jealous that makes it great. After this scene, Fallon dreams about both Culhane and Liam in the shower. I mean it's obvious she is attracted to both. Max wants her to stay on as a transition consultant for six months which means she and Liam have to fake being married for that time and Fallon is scared that those six months will confuse her real feelings. To me, it seems like she's already confused. Steven (James Mackay) suggests that she finds someone else to sell the company to so she has to ask Jeff (Sam Adegoke) for help. He gets her in contact with one of the first people who made an offer, a Russian guy with a parrot.
So CA is having their 100th-year-anniversary party and it's a 20's theme. I love that they had Elizabeth Gillies singing, I loved it last year when they did the Christmas episode and I'm happy that they are doing more of it. I just love her voice!
So now Fallon has to try to juggle both the Russian guy, Nikolai Dimitrov (Pawel Szajda) and Liam and Max. She's trying to figure out what to do and Liam figures out what she's doing. He confronts her and starts to tease her. He knows that she has some feelings for him and he wants to coax them out of her. But in the end, her father makes her decision for her, because he hates Nikolaj, so it doesn't really matter what she wants. Fallon and Blake have a fight and they both have valid points. He did disappear for a month leaving Fallon to pick up the pieces but he lost his wife. When he says that she shouldn't raise her voice at him because he's still her father I was with Fallon when she said: "then act like one". You can't just not be a parent because you're grieving. When you have kids you are going to be a parent for the rest of your life whether you like it or not. It doesn't matter if your kids are adults you are still a parent.

Fallon is scared that she's going to lose Culhane if she goes through with the deal with Max and to prove her wrong Culhane takes her out to a beautiful dinner that he has set up on the property and he proposes. Blake gave him a ring before he disappeared. She says yes. I like that we get to see a more sensitive and softer side of Fallon. She can be so selfish and it's nice to see that she actually can love someone in the way that she loves Culhane. She even asks him if he's sure because she knows that she has many flaws.
The next day Liam comes to pick her up to sign the contract with Max and Fallon and Culhane makes a show of how much they love each other in front of him. They end up at the airport where a private plane is waiting for them and Liam surprises her with them going to New York to meet the rest of the family. There are armed guards by the plane and Liam makes a comment about Max having enemies. I don't doubt it at all. I can see him being a person who doesn't care about other peoples feelings when it comes to business and that can cause you to gain enemies.

So we first see Alexis (Nicolette Sheridan) in the hospital where she has been staying for way longer than she has too. She has nowhere to go since it was her house that burned down in the fire. She has surrounded herself with flowers that she has sent herself which I think is hilarious. Hank (Brent Antonello), who I suppose everyone still thinks that he's a Carrington, is the main suspect in Cristal's murder and the fire. Alexis is on the news being interviewed about him and in that interview, she stirs up a whole thing by saying Cristal's real name. She is such a bitch. Cristal is dead, can you fucking let her rest in peace?! When Alexis is packing her stuff to get out of the hospital Hank calls. He, by the way, is just so dumb. He reveals that he was the one who set the fire, but he tells her that he didn't shoot Cristal which we all know is true. Alexis tries to have him on her side still but he starts to blackmail her for money. He threatens her to go to the police to tell them their plan and take a DNA test to show them all that he's not her real son. He gives her 48 hours to get him the money. So she goes home to the Carrington estate. She comes into the house in a fucking wheelchair. Fallon is certain that Blake is going to kick her out when he comes home. Sam comes down the stairs and confronts Alexis about her talking shit about Cristal and Alexis is playing dumb, of course. Steven tries to smooth everything out but they all get in a fight. Anders tries to break it up but the only thing that does it is Blake coming in through the door. He has a full-on beard and he looks like a wreck. He sees them all fighting and he just turns around to walk away. Alexis stops him and then she reverses her wheelchair into a table where Cristal's urn is standing. She knocks it over and it crashes to the floor. It actually seemed like an accident to me but if there is one person who would do that on purpose it's Alexis. Blake slams the door which he has every right to do.
At the CA party, Alexis gets a phone call and goes outside to take it. Hank recorded their conversation from earlier and is playing her confession to her. He managed to sneak into the party and his costume is a bit weird, but again he is pretty dumb. He hasn't gotten his money yet so he gives Alexis three more days before he goes to the cops.

We see a quick glance of Blake walking around in the wreckage of the barn and you can tell that he is just torn up about it all. He sleeps in the office after drinking too much. He's trying to drown his sorrows in booze. Fallon comes in and wakes him up. It's obvious that she wants to confront him about how he left everything. Alexis walks in and tries to ass Blake for money in a smooth way. She asks if the barn was insured and if they are she should get the money since it was in her name. She tells him that she has no money and nowhere to go. Fallon, of course, is not on board with this. But Blake tells her that she can have the insurance money. I think he just doesn't want a fight. A woman comes to the house to see Blake who claims to be the real Cristal Florez. She's trying to get money, and she says that her life has been hell since her identity was stolen. Sam walks in and starts to question her. How many years ago did it happen, where was she when it happened. She claims that Cristal stole it when she was in Florida and she can't remember when it happened. Sam tells her that Cristal got it from a woman in a hospital in Mexico. Blake decides to cut her a check, he just wants this to be over. Everyone else is telling him that this is a bad idea and I agree but he does it anyway. This woman tries to hug him, which is so fucking disgusting.

He sleeps in the office after drinking again. He's spooning the dog which I think is so cute. Pets can have such a comforting effect on you when you're hurting. Anders wakes him up and tells him that they are having an issue at the front gate. There are a shit tone of Cristal's there trying to get money for getting their identity stolen. It was a bad idea paying of the first one and now he's paying the price. Sam is at the gate trying to get everyone to go away. There is paparazzi there as well and one of them is trying to get a rise out of Sam but Blake is holding him back until the guy says that Blake is being played by Sam just like he was played by Cristal. He punches the guy and that was so satisfying to watch. It wasn't smart in any way but it was so satisfying. Right after that we get a scene between Sam and Blake and I loved this. They are in Blakes office and they are talking about Cristal. Sam is upset that people are trying to get something out of his aunts death. Blake says that she deserved more than that and that she deserved more than him. I like that because at the end they had such a rocky relationship. I like that he can see where he went wrong even though it's to late. Sam asks Blake if he's okay and his kids haven't even asked him that. I love that he did though. It kind of feels like they are bonding over their grief. They were the ones who were the closest to Cristal and they are the ones who are hurting the most. When Blake is holding his speech at the CA party he mentions Sam and tells him that his aunt would have been proud of him and that Sam has a kind heart. But then of course he airs Stevens secret in front of everyone. I think that Blake did it so that Sam would find out and not be lied to but still it's pretty shitty move. His speech was great though. It was scandalous and funny and he really got his feelings out.

After the party, Blake walks in on Alexis in his bedroom trying to get into the safe. He confronts her of having no respect for Cristal and she actually says "she's dead Blake. And I'm not". Like that makes it any better. You can still show some fucking respect. I really don't like Alexis if you couldn't tell. Alexis says that she knows that he wishes that she would have died instead of Cristal and he tells her that it's not true because she is still the mother of his children. He feels like Alexis only cares about the money and she says that the only way he shows affection is through throwing money at people. He gets frustrated at that comment and opens up the safe and just starts throwing money around. They get into this standoff and Blake is asking her what she wants and then they start making out and they fall onto the bed. I do not like this because I hate Alexis. And also his wife has been dead for a month. Come on.

In season one we found out that Anders has a daughter, Kirby (Maddison Brown), who had a pretty messed up history with the Carringtons and the in the season finale she shows up at the house. Anders has put Kirby in a hotel where she is partying like crazy. Anders gets everyone out and they have a conversation. Kirby wants to stay at the Carrington manor but Anders wants her to lay low for a while. He doesn't want the Carringtons to know that she is in town until they have found the one responsible for the fire since the last time they saw her she was accused of starting a fire. Kirby claims that Fallon framed her and I honestly don't know what to think here. On one hand, I can see Fallon doing something like that but I also don't know anything about Kirby.
Kirby sneaks into the house during the CA party. Anders finds her in Fallon's room. She is stealing some of Fallon's stuff and I don't know if that's all she wants to do or if it's something worse. I hope that she is good so that Anders can have her back in his life. He hasn't even asked Blake if she can stay at the house but tells her that he denied his request. She sees right through it and she feels abandoned. He says that she should be in Australia with her mother. Again, I don't know her enough yet to know what I think about her.

Last season we found out that Steven got Melissa (Kelly Rutherford) pregnant. He hasn't told Sam yet because of everything he's going through. I get why but I he's only putting him through more pain when he finds out that he has been lying to him. I find Melissa really manipulative. She obviously wants Steven for herself so she tells Steven that she won't lie about who the father is because "it isn't fair to the baby". Steven doesn't know what to do so he goes to Blake to ask what he should do about child support. He didn't cheat on Sam so this situation is tricky to explain.
Melissa shows up to the CA party and she talks to Sam without Steven knowing. She's trying to pressure him to tell him. And then Blake tells everyone anyway. Sam surprises Steven (and me) with saying that yes he's pissed but he feels like maybe this baby is just what he needs to pull him out of this dark place. He wants to raise the baby with Melissa and Steven. He's so supportive of this messed up situation. Steven is happy about it. And then Alexis comes in to put the idea of it not being Stevens baby in Sams' head. I don't know where this is going to go but I know it's going to be messy.

The last scene we see is of a woman, Cristal Jennings (Ana Brenda Contreras) who is watching the footage of Blake punching the pap. Her friend says that she is obsessed with the Carringtons and suggests that she tries to claim that she's the real Cristal Florez since she already has half the name. She is a main character this season so we are definitely going to see more of her I just don't know in what capacity yet. And what if she is the real Cristal?

I loved this season premiere and I can't wait to finally watch the rest of the episodes that have already aired. I'm really excited to see what happens with Fallon and Liam, and I hope that something bad happens to Alexis.

/Johanna