Dynasty Season 2 Episode 5 Review: Queen of Cups
Lizzy Buczak
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It seems that there isn't a single person in the Carrington mansion who is capable of telling the truth.
Everyone's secrets and lies floated to the top on Dynasty Season 2 Episode 5 making for a very dramatic and unpredictable hour.
For starters, Fallon can spin any news story even if it's one of her cheating on her second husband in less than a year.
She's got some real grit.
Photos of her romance with Culhane were leaked to the media, but instead of panicking about the deal falling through, she threw her energy into an extravagant divorce party.
Or, in Gwyneth Paltrow's terms, "conscious uncoupling."
I never understood the term when Gwyneth used it, and after what went down at Fallon's shin-dig, I'm even more confused about all of it.
Related: Dynasty Season 2 Episode 4 Review: Snowflakes in Hell
Yes, they may have publicly ended their fake marriage on friendly terms for the wealthy shareholders, but Fallon is more conflicted than ever regarding her feelings for Liam and Culhane.
Fallon still had lingering feelings for Liam. However, she probably would have been able to curb those emotions had she not assumed Culhane was having an affair.
To be fair, Culhane didn't try too hard to squash her concerns or convince her otherwise. Dodging her co-showering requests, always having "secret" plans, and ditching the divorce party she was hosting would make any girl spiral.
Not to mention Culhane was stupid enough to leave his phone out in the open which led her to pick up a call from a "friendly" woman and assume the worst.
Though I liked Culhane more on Dynasty Season 1, he's not the right guy for Fallon anymore.
Without the back-and-forth of their cat-and-mouse game, the chemistry has dissipated.
And though he was doing right by her on Dynasty Season 2 Episode 5, he was also unintentionally pushing her right into Liam's arms.
Liam didn't miss a beat either; his speech to Fallon during their "untying" ceremony made me swoon.
I was certain she was going to stop Sam from cutting the rope and setting them free.
Was it a little messed up of him to be responsible for the photo leak only to force Fallon to make up her mind? Absolutely. But she's also been stringing him along, giving him hope and mixed signals.
Culhane is doing everything to protect Fallon which is why rooting for Liam feels so wrong, but how can you not? He laid it out in black-and-white, he loves her and everything about her, even her quirks.
I have no idea how Fallon is going to make a decision. Will Culhane even forgive her once he finds out the truth about what happened at the divorce party.
For now, Culhane has more pressing matters considering his best (and only) option was to loop in Colby.
Though I had my reservations about Culhane opening up to Colby because I thought Colby would betray him or sell him out, I see that neither of them was gangster enough to out gangster Ada Stone.
She now has them both by the privates. Hey, at least their messed up in this together.
Culhane was so scattered jumping back-and-forth from divorce party to an illegal poker game to their "hideout" that they were bound to get caught up.
This was a perfect example of Colby thinking that money could solve their problems. However, this time, throwing money at the issue didn't work.
Culhane kept warning Colby about how dangerous Stone was, but they both underestimated Stone and her goons.
Unfortunately, if they take any missteps, it doesn't just blow up for them, it blows up for Fallon and Monica, the latter of which has absolutely no involvement in any of this.
Monica's involvement in Fallon's relationship drama, on the other hand, is as awkward as things could get because she slept with Culhane to spite Fallon.
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I have to give props to Colby for being a decent ally to Culhane and also, for checking Fallon about taking responsibility for what she did.
If you paid attention to the opening credits, you probably noticed a certain someone was removed.
James McKay, who portrayed Steven Carrington since the premiere, has been let go as a series regular.
It seems his self-serving trip to Paraguay just got extended indefinitely.
The abrupt move is disconcerting and unwise for The CW because prematurely ends a storyline with so much potential.
Steven just got married, they just introduced a pregnancy storyline, they just revealed Blake wasn't his biological father, and now, boom, it's over.
Why wouldn't they tie up loose ends? Why wouldn't they give a fan favorite a proper sendoff?
And are we really to believe Steven would just run away from his true love Sammy?
What's the point of Sammy looking for surrogates if his husband is gone, unless he misinterpreted the psychic's predictions about new life?
I'm sorry, who is she again? Please save your cheesy, inspirational quotes for your Instagram, and don't tag me.
Fallon
And please don't tell me they are going to try to substitute Kirby in for Steven because last I checked, half of the fans can't stand her, while everyone is pretty smitten with Sammy and Steven's romance.
McKay's exit is also a major loss to the dynamic of the show as Steven was the only one who kept things realistic and grounded in the mansion.
As I said, the news is that he is out as a series regular, but whether or not they allow him back as a guest star is uncertain.
Steven's departure may explain why Blake and Anders patched things up so quickly and moved on from the shocking news.
Cristal finally revealed why she's just casually hanging out at the Carrington household -- her company closed up shop, and she has nothing better to do.
She swears that she's not an opportunistic gold-digger, but we've heard that one before.
However, as we've seen on numerous occasions, Blake doesn't seem to care if someone is a freeloader. Case and point: Alexis still lives there after all the shady, money-hungry things she's done.
I thought Cristal had managed to transform Blake into a more rational and zen man, but alas, I was duped.
A leopard never changes his spots, right?
Blake is "writing" his destiny and making sure Cristal doesn't go anywhere by buying her company and shutting it down.
Extreme? Definitely. I hate how Blake thinks he can own women and their actions because he has money.
I still don't know his motive behind keeping her around. Does he seriously believe she's the one?
I think he either found something on her, or she reminds him of Cristal so much that he'll do anything to fill her spot and who better than the woman whose identity she stole.
Part of me hopes Celia, aka the OG but not OG Cristal, comes back from the dead to wreak some havoc.
How great would all three of them be together? Throw in Alexis for a real showdown.
Meanwhile, Alexis thinks she has everything under control when it comes to fake Hank, but little does she know, the real problem is another Carrington nemesis, Claudia Blaisdel.
Oh, and she gave birth to a baby boy named Matthew. He lives on!
Claudia doesn't seem too happy about Hank's inability to get the money Alexis promised, so she's going to do it "her way," whatever that means.
May I remind you, we last saw Claudia on Dynasty Season 1 Episode 22 setting the fire that killed Cristal. So yeah, she's deranged and dangerous.
Psychic Adriana: A man strong, bare-chested.
Sam: Wait, are you sure that's not my card? Cause that could be Steven.
Fallon: Get your own card.
Seeing as Alexis can weasel her way out of any situation, I'm sure she'll figure this one out as well.
As for the psychic's prediction, is she saying that Blake is going to "expire"? Or is it Anders?
Which one of the old friends does Alexis still want very much?
What do you think of Steven's exit? Do you trust Cristal? Who should Fallon choose?
The OMG moments never stop coming, but if The CW doesn't get behind their show, those same moments will soon cease to exist.
Be sure to watch Dynasty online and share your comments below!
Lizzy Buczak was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in June 2021..
