nuDynasty Episode Chat S2E16: Miserably Ungrateful Men

[Daniel Avery]

I think the dialogue writers for Fallon's "feminism" scene knew full well that she sounded like a total hypocrite. She is really good at turning a blind eye to her faults, and blaming her troubles on "miserably ungrateful men" helps her shift the blame for her woes away from the appropriate place. Living the life she has led should allow her to create such fantasy scenarios of how great she is, since so few "real-world" people are allowed to set her straight. When that ghost-writer presented her with a few hard truths, she practically short-circuited. Liam did a similar clue-in and she retreated to her bed for a week. If she were that Strong Woman she claims to be, she might be able to weather occasional criticism...maybe even learn from it.

"The Carrington Wing" of the hospital notwithstanding, I assume Alexis will get shipped off to a burn unit somewhere to be left alone in much the same way Steven's been left alone in Paris, and when her burns have been treated, she'll get plastic surgery. I wish they could inject that tiny bit of realism by saying they're caring for the absent Carringtons--a quick line here or there saying "I spoke to Steven's counselor and they say..." or "X isn't here, he/she is in Augusta visiting Alexis in the Burn Center."

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I think the dialogue writers for Fallon's "feminism" scene knew full well that she sounded like a total hypocrite. She is really good at turning a blind eye to her faults, and blaming her troubles on "miserably ungrateful men" helps her shift the blame for her woes away from the appropriate place. Living the life she has led should allow her to create such fantasy scenarios of how great she is, since so few "real-world" people are allowed to set her straight. When that ghost-writer presented her with a few hard truths, she practically short-circuited

It's so hard to tell these days, given the current culture, as well as media culture. One minute the writers can be sincerely pointing out her hypocrisy, but the next minute, when giving a feministic speech about the amazing and oppressed nature of womanhood, you're supposed to accept it as being 100% self-evident.

So don't you dare talk back to big sister, whether that's Fallon or any other woman making the same point.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I think the dialogue writers for Fallon's "feminism" scene knew full well that she sounded like a total hypocrite.

I don't know...I watched it from Dynasty's "reality" perspective - she said it in the first episode, something like "I want Carrington-Atlanta more than anything else".
The fact that she's a spoilt princess who failed so many business ventures doesn't necessarily make her less ambitious, or less fiercely when someone's standing in her way.
O.Blake considered himself a great business man eventhough he often appeared to be a complete failure, and he never showed the weapons that would "blow Alexis right out of the water". Never happened.
But I believe what the characters believe, otherwise it's too difficult to buy these soap stories.

 

[Ked]

@Willie Oleson Thank you for pointing that all out.

 

[Michael Torrance]

I don't know...I watched it from Dynasty's "reality" perspective - she said it in the first episode, something like "I want Carrington-Atlanta more than anything else".
The fact that she's a spoilt princess who failed so many business ventures doesn't necessarily make her less ambitious, or less fiercely when someone's standing in her way.
O.Blake considered himself a great business man eventhough he often appeared to be a complete failure, and he never showed the weapons that would "blow Alexis right out of the water". Never happened.
But I believe what the characters believe, otherwise it's too difficult to buy these soap stories.

I don't disagree with you about original Blake. While season 1 Blake was quite the ruthless and savvy business man, later Blake (also at Forsythe's insistence) was all talk, no delivery.

But while in episode 1 Fallon claimed she had worked for and deserved Carrington Atlantic, nothing she has done on the show makes me think she is anything than what every tabloid and website writes about her. I don't disagree that she believes it. But does she have what it takes other than inflated sense of ego and unlimited money? Nope. The reason backlash against bona fide causes exists is because people like her take what are legitimate grievances other people have suffered, due to sex, race, sexual orientation, age, etc. and use them as a "card" to claim prejudice when they are obviously hyper-privileged to begin with. A show for a younger audience on a network like the CW could have been meta enough to expose her for the fraud she is, but instead the show is asking for the viewers to buy it hook, line and sinker because she is the show's darling.

I agree with @Alexis and others that the show is a different genre every week. I didn't think last episode was horrible. But after such a great crescendo in the last three episodes, this is quite the whimper tone and plot-wise. And again, I now feel just like Liam does about Fallon: I can't stand the sight of her. Sad for a character that PSM made so iconic in classical Dynasty.

Edited to add: Even Adam's scheme this week was a poor relative of what he master-minded against Steven. And in what world do people use PCs without passwords?

 

[Toni]

Spoiler: Please welcome NuNuAlexis!

 

[Willie Oleson]

But does she have what it takes other than inflated sense of ego and unlimited money?

Why not? I was also supposed to believe that Alexis Colby or Pam Ewing could run an oil empire. They've all been president or vice-president at some point eventhough that didn't always make much sense. But that's how it works in SoapLand.

But while in episode 1 Fallon claimed she had worked for and deserved Carrington Atlantic

It's not just a claim, it's information given to the viewer. If you're going to question the information that's been stated as a fact then nothing in this story is going to work.

use them as a "card" to claim prejudice when they are obviously hyper-privileged to begin with.

But what good does that do if she's still not able to make it to the top? Which, as it turns out, isn't a problem for Adam, Blake's son.
And in hindsight it's mostly used as a vehicle to lure Liam back to Atlanta.
I guess I simply enjoyed this emotional family argument. It reminds me of O.Dynasty's classic library scenes.

I was also surprised to see that that miserable interview had consequenses which resulted in Fallon's vanity piece (and her bestseller written in 24 hours looked like a real book, I like these little details).

And in what world do people use PCs without passwords?

Not to mention the verification code to verify your password All this OTT security is driving me crazy.

 

[Michael Torrance]

Why not? I was also supposed to believe that Alexis Colby or Pam Ewing could run an oil empire. They've all been president or vice-president at some point eventhough that didn't always make much sense. But that's how it works in SoapLand.

But you did watch Alexis take Colbyco to success. The show for two years has shown us Kardashian Fallon go from one blunder to the next. As you state, we need to accept the show's reality.

It's not just a claim, it's information given to the viewer. If you're going to question the information that's been stated as a fact then nothing in this story is going to work.

It is a claim Fallon made. You are confusing objective narration of the show (for example, voice-over or a scene showing us something other characters don't know) with claims made by a character. Fallon claimed Cristal was a gold-digger. She also claimed she deserved the position. Both were claims of that character, not facts. Following Cristal's promotion, the childish antics of Kardashian Fallon actually served as a rather third-person verification that she was full of it.

 

[Alexis]

Why not? I was also supposed to believe that Alexis Colby or Pam Ewing could run an oil empire. They've all been president or vice-president at some point eventhough that didn't always make much sense. But that's how it works in SoapLand.

With all due respect they were not 26 year olds who spoke like they were a supporting character in CLUELESS.

It's not just a claim, it's information given to the viewer. If you're going to question the information that's been stated as a fact then nothing in this story is going to work.

Well maybe only until next week when it's revealed Fallon isn't actually Fallon, she was placed in a cabbage patch on Alexis' pig farm by a Mexican mob family and now they want her back and revenge and a recast. MESS!

But what good does that do if she's still not able to make it to the top? Which, as it turns out, isn't a problem for Adam, Blake's son.
And in hindsight it's mostly used as a vehicle to lure Liam back to Atlanta.
I guess I simply enjoyed this emotional family argument. It reminds me of O.Dynasty's classic library scenes.

But it isn't a problem for Adam because he is a qualified doctor, and he manipulated the entire situation to get to the top. If Fallon was so smart and deserving she would, A - have the requisite qualifications to run a company and perhaps have shown some or any success in that area previous to her attempt to swoop in and run the company. Which she hasn't. B- Be smart, cunning or scheming enough to have made it to the top of the business world/Carrington Atlantic using underhanded means. She hasn't.
It's not at all like O.Dynasty and Alexis.

 

[Alexis]

It's handy that Cristal's hot brother is gay though isn't it? I mean it gives Sammy Jo something of any relevance to do other then be on Instagram.

 

[Willie Oleson]

It is a claim Fallon made. You are confusing objective narration of the show (for example, voice-over or a scene showing us something other characters don't know) with claims made by a character.

Her voice-over merely summed up what CA was all about, and her position in that company (and how she managed to get inside information).
I had no reason to believe that any of this wasn't true.

But it isn't a problem for Adam because he is a qualified doctor

Or so he claims

A - have the requisite qualifications to run a company and perhaps have shown some or any success in that area

Well, she was promised a promotion by the CEO of Carrington-Atlantic.

B- Be smart, cunning or scheming enough to have made it to the top of the business world/Carrington Atlantic using underhanded means

She did manage to dethrone Blake, which was also Alexis' plan (correct me if I'm wrong) because he was running CA into the ground, thus depriving her children of their future legacy.
To be fair, that seemed uncharacteristically nobel for a person like Alexis

It's not at all like O.Dynasty and Alexis.

No, it's not. But Soap rules don't change.

 

[Daniel Avery]

I have wondered all along if they will reveal (eventually) that Adam is addicted to some of the same drugs he was supposedly stealing to help his adoptive mother. That way, they can have something of an explanation for his more insane actions, while also explaining why he keeps scheming his way back into jobs that give him access to drugs. If they ever believe they have to 'reform' him, that might be a way of doing it. If Steven ever comes back (oh please please being him back), it might be the one thing that would inspire Steven to forgive him since they would have their 'recovering addicts' status to bond over.

Re: Fallon--
Perhaps the one true test of her mettle would be whether or not anyone outside of the Carrington orbit would ever hire her to work for them. Working for the family company is one thing, and of course her ill-fated attempt at her own company fell apart not because of anything she did, but because of Jeff's scheming. I have to say I don't think she would be hire-able in the type of job she thinks is suited to her skills. If she were to take that publishing company seriously and accept that it's something she needs to learn rather than something she just knows how to run, we might get the chance to see this supposed brilliance she assures us she has. It would be kind of Hallmark Channel-ish: plucky young go-getter climbs to the top of the publishing world while flirting with the handsome young author--but hey, that's a genre they haven't tackled yet.

 

[Ked]

Why not? I was also supposed to believe that Alexis Colby or Pam Ewing could run an oil empire. They've all been president or vice-president at some point eventhough that didn't always make much sense. But that's how it works in SoapLand.

With all due respect they were not 26 year olds who spoke like they were a supporting character in CLUELESS.

True. However, Fallon has spent at least 4 years working for her father's company. And there are some things that seem fair to assume: she attended the business college(s) to prepare her for the job, and spent pretty much her entire life observing what was going on.

So at the very least, Fallon has had more preparation for her company than Alexis Colby or Pam Ewing did.

I have wondered all along if they will reveal (eventually) that Adam is addicted to some of the same drugs he was supposedly stealing to help his adoptive mother. That way, they can have something of an explanation for his more insane actions, while also explaining why he keeps scheming his way back into jobs that give him access to drugs. If they ever believe they have to 'reform' him, that might be a way of doing it. If Steven ever comes back (oh please please being him back), it might be the one thing that would inspire Steven to forgive him since they would have their 'recovering addicts' status to bond over.

That actually does sound good! It's a much better reason than the old series gave. Plus, it would give Alexis a reason to 'forgive' her son... while at the same time deciding to keep him on a leash. Perhaps she even finds a way to mess with his medications to keep him in line.

 

[Rove]

And in what world do people use PCs without passwords?

I took note of that but assumed the screensaver had not kicked in. I have mine set at 1 minute but Adam clearly made it back into the office under this time.

 

[Miss Texas 1967]

But while in episode 1 Fallon claimed she had worked for and deserved Carrington Atlantic, nothing she has done on the show makes me think she is anything than what every tabloid and website writes about her. I don't disagree that she believes it. But does she have what it takes other than inflated sense of ego and unlimited money? Nope.

This is what I meant by my point. There's no shortage of times Fallon claims she's the best and deserves everything she wants but there certainly not a lot of evidence we've actually been shown to back up those claims. Just episodes ago I was complaining about her whining about wanting to be treated like an adult rather than a teenager but her behaviour was barely above that of a bratty teenager. The writers are bad at showing rather than telling and that does nothing for the cause they're trying to push with Fallon's character.

The same could be said for most of the characters on the show. Instead of telling us what a powerful, smart person Blake is or how capable Cristal is, show it and let the audience make that judgement themselves. If they want us to believe Carrington Atlantic is anything special show us anyone doing serious work that lasts more than 5 minutes in an episode and has more to do with the larger business than small projects. For supposedly busy, involved, in control people they all seem to have a lot of time to sit around the house throwing witty dialogue around. From people like Sammy Jo and Kirby I sort of expect that, they're established as the moocher characters, not hard workers when it comes to business, but if Fallon wants to be taken seriously then can we have a consistent storyline to back up the serious traits she wants us to believe she possesses.

 

[Ked]

This is what I meant by my point. There's no shortage of times Fallon claims she's the best and deserves everything she wants but there certainly not a lot of evidence we've actually been shown to back up those claims. Just episodes ago I was complaining about her whining about wanting to be treated like an adult rather than a teenager but her behaviour was barely above that of a bratty teenager. The writers are bad at showing rather than telling and that does nothing for the cause they're trying to push with Fallon's character.

The same could be said for most of the characters on the show. Instead of telling us what a powerful, smart person Blake is or how capable Cristal is, show it and let the audience make that judgement themselves. If they want us to believe Carrington Atlantic is anything special show us anyone doing serious work that lasts more than 5 minutes in an episode and has more to do with the larger business than small projects. For supposedly busy, involved, in control people they all seem to have a lot of time to sit around the house throwing witty dialogue around. From people like Sammy Jo and Kirby I sort of expect that, they're established as the moocher characters, not hard workers when it comes to business, but if Fallon wants to be taken seriously then can we have a consistent storyline to back up the serious traits she wants us to believe she possesses.

Excellent points, all around... but now I have to ask, exactly how would they "show" those things? I've never watched shows that focused on business dealings (except maybe "Mad Men." But even then those scenes would be where my eyes would glaze over), so I wouldn't know how a well-done business scene would go.

 

[Miss Texas 1967]

Excellent points, all around... but now I have to ask, exactly how would they "show" those things? I've never watched shows that focused on business dealings (except maybe "Mad Men." But even then those scenes would be where my eyes would glaze over), so I wouldn't know how a well-done business scene would go.

Off the top of my head all that is springing to mind is how Dallas did business. We didn't need to know the exact details in the contracts, but we at least saw Jock, JR, Bobby, the cartel etc. talking business and making deals and those things impacting the family, thus we cared. We got enough scenes of JR's snark toward the entire family without it being his only character trait. I'm sure there are much better modern examples, I just can't think of them to put down here to illustrate it at this moment.

 

[Rove]

I've never watched shows that focused on business dealings

Dallas did this exceptionally well. A blend of business dealings and family squabbles but inevitably the business dealings would affect the family.

but her behaviour was barely above that of a bratty teenager.

This has been my ongoing concern with Fallon. For someone who wishes to be taken seriously in the business world this reboot has shown very little business and when the writers have wished to visit the business angle my impression is its tokenism. The series was based on the premise this was the 1% of the 1% percent filthy rich. How do the Carrington family make their money? Are they living off the interest with the sale of Carrington Atlantic? What's with this soccer team story the writers continue with? Are they hoping for a Special Guest Star appearance from....

​

I'm making every attempt to understand what this reboot is about? Is it female empowerment? Surely not when we look how Alexis and Fallon are being written. Dame Joan's version was a Tour de Force. Nicolette's version was a Tour de straight into the pothole.

The same can be said of Blake Carrington. I cannot remember the last time Blake entered a business meeting. Where is this ruthless businessman? One minute he is beating a man within an inch of his life. The next? An uninvited stranger meanders into the Carrington mansion proclaiming to be his long lost son and Blake just about trips over the living room floor rug to hug Adam.

 

[Ked]

All this talk about Fallon wanting to be taken seriously suddenly reminds me that that was a problem in the old series too: back then, Fallon worried about being taken serious as a smart businesswoman somewhere around Season 3; and yet everyone agrees Fallon was smarter and more confident back when she was a mere socialite. I even recall someone making the case that both Fallon and Alexis were far more influential as "ladies of leisure", as they were able to network and hobnob in order to pick up the phone to ask for "special favors" from powerful businessmen, whenever they needed or wanted something done.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Dale's interview reminded me of Gordon Wales and Alexis.
"Get the hell out of my office!"
"You're nothing but a hack writer, now get your sorry ass out of my house!"

Can't we just tell it like it is? Fallon is Alexis.

Btw, is the Atlantix office the same as the Carrington-Atlanta office? I don't see any difference?