Dynasty Review: Stars Make You Smile (Season 4 Episode 17)
Drama ensues on Dynasty Season 4 Episode 17, “Stars Make You Smile,” as Fallon disregards Liam’s needs. Meanwhile, Kirby returns home from rehab, and Culhane comes up with a new idea for club promotion.
The slippery slope that is Liam and Fallon’s relationship isn’t getting any better, unfortunately. Fallon is actively pushing him to the side with zero disregards for his feelings and instead focusing on business, yet again.
While the portrayal of Fallon and Liam’s marriage problems may be relatable for some of the audience, it doesn’t mean it isn’t disheartening to watch.
Fallon is a busy woman who has goals in life, and that’s admirable. She should never have to give up her dreams for happiness. She and Liam both have exciting jobs and have to make time for them once in a while, but that doesn’t mean disregarding the entire relationship.
Fallon acknowledges the fact that she continues to bail on Liam, so she gets some credit. However, she isn’t doing anything proactive to change the situation. Instead of hiring a second in command, she continues to spread herself thin, ruining much of her personal life in the long run.
My feelings toward the cheating/rocky relationship storyline are somewhere between “I hate this” and “please shoot me.” It is not enjoyable to witness characters you favor make heinous decisions, especially when there’s no sound reasoning behind it.
The “will they/won’t they” scenario between Fallon/Collin and Liam/Eva feels like a basic, forced storyline. It seems as if the writers don’t know where to go with the Liam/Fallon relationship, so a cheating scandal is mixed in to derail character growth for fun. It feels almost desperate to have a cheating scandal between the two.
At the beginning of Season 4, Fallon showed progress and was actively working on her carbon copy portrayal of Blake, but now, she’s becoming the spitting image of him. After watching someone deal with relationship problems while running a business their entire life, you’d think it would be common sense to avoid the same situations.
Power comes at a cost, will Fallon be able to pay the ultimate price?
There is more potential to Eva’s character than just being a side-chick, so hopefully, the show can utilize that before the end of the season. The layers on her character have been slowly peeling away episode by episode, showcasing her genius side with Fallon and her mischievous side with Liam . It’ll be disappointing if there’s nothing substantial for her character besides being thrown in the middle of Liam and Fallon.
Kirby’s transition portrayal feels authentic, even if that makes matter worse. Kirby is smart when she wants to be, but unless she has a clear path of what she needs to do she can be a bit of an air head. She’s focusing her attention on the staff and minimal people in her life that she hurt, but fails to recognize what she did to the people closest to her.
It takes Sam snapping on Kirby for her to realize that she’s directing her grief and apologies to the wrong people. It could be that she thinks Sam should already know how she feels about him, but either way it’s always nice to reassure the people in your life that you love and appreciate them.
Watching Kirby and Sam have a genuine conversation and reconnect is one of the best moments throughout the episode because it’s the first time Kirby is honest with her feelings. My only hope for Kirby is that we can be past the drug addiction storyline once and for all, letting her finally shine on a new journey.
Amanda’s introduction into the Carrington family was always sure to be a hassle, but Blake’s consistent picking causes more commotion than it should. His denial to leave Amanda alone has him convinced that she’s his daughter, but until there is valid proof, that’s still on the fence, in my eyes. I’ve learned never to just go with the flow on this show. It it nice, though, to see someone put Blake in his place.
Jeff and Culhane should be the new full-time duo, even though I like Culhane and Sam together. Culhane joining Jeff’s forces on the space mission and taking Blake Carrington down is already ten times more exciting than the construction on La Mirage, and there’s only been one mention of it. Sam has chemistry with Culhane, but nothing like what Jeff has with Culhane.
Other Thoughts:
- Please, for the love of god, let Sam be free of the full-time headache that is La Mirage. I’m ready for new things to come his way.
- Adam acting like Amanda can’t be trusted because she’s related to Alexis is downright laughable. Who the hell does he think he is? Has he magically forgotten all of the grimy things he’s done or the fact that he’s also her son?
Favorite Quotes:
- “Well, I’m from England. We love Scandal. I mean, haven’t you seen The Crown?” – Amanda.
- “My life was spiraling, not my fashion sense.” – Kirby.
- “I don’t need to do anything. See, our lives, they barely intersect. I was raised in an upstanding family in Kensington, I graduated from Oxford, and now I work for one of the most prestigious law firms in London. So, if me getting to know my birth mother derails your campaign, well, it sounds like your campaign might need some help.” – Amanda.
What did you think of this episode of Dynasty? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Dynasty airs Fridays at 10/9c on The CW.
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Cade Taylor
Cade Taylor is a television and film critic living in St. Louis, Missouri. He is a Senior Writer for Tell-Tale TV. His love for television developed at a young age, with a concentration on queer stories, sitcoms, teen dramas, and science fiction thrillers. In addition, he works full-time as a news producer, telling the stories of Missourians and helming "Produced in the Bi-State," a segment spotlighting actors, musicians, and entertainers from the St. Louis area. He can be reached by email at cade@telltaletv.com.