Dynasty power rankings: Fallon Carrington’s finally back in business

As Fallon settles back into a new business venture with Monica, Alexis and Cristal have a classic Dynasty catfight over Blake, babies, and burned plants. Who’s got the power?

Don’t call it a comeback, folks. After selling her family’s company and taking a brief hiatus for relationship drama, Fallon Carrington’s back to building a brand new dynasty. This time, she has her sights set on breaking into the music industry with Monica. (Dynasty or Empire?) While their first foray into signing artists was a disaster, it wasn’t the only disaster this week.

Following their Thanksgiving festivities, Alexis finds herself saddled with Claudia’s baby, care of Hank’s rash abandonment. Alexis thinks on her feet and presents the baby to the family, but she’ll have to contend with Cristal’s expert level scheming. Who comes out on top? Here’s how the power struggle stacked up in the latest episode of Dynasty Season 2. (Warning: Spoilers ahead!)

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1. Cristal

It’s about time that Cristal took the gloves off and hopped in the ring. For weeks, I have been opining that there’s more than meet’s the eye with Cristal, and I don’t even think this week’s look into her darker side scratches the surface. Tired of playing Alexis’ games, Cristal concocts her own game for an inception of mental catfighting. Cue Phoebe’s “they don’t know we know they know we know” line.

Cristal burns Alexis’ plants and makes her loft appear haunted, and Alexis frames Cristal for scribbling Spanish phrases on Blake’s bedroom wall. But Cristal pulled the strings the entire time. During the loft’s saging when the sprinklers went off, Cristal spotted the baby Jesus doll in Alexis’ linen closet, and later sends Sammy Jo to find it resting in the real baby’s car seat inside Alexis’ trailer. See, that’s artful manipulation, and Cristal holds all the power.

2. Fallon

Even though Fallon’s still floating in some strange foreign limbo that’s uncharacteristic of our girl, she reclaimed her time, power, and business savvy this week. She’s still got her eyes on the Van Kirk’s shares and her mind on Liam, but when she spots the band set to perform at Club Colby, Fallon decides to start a record label with Monica.

This push toward music seems like it could be a ploy to spend more time at Club Colby and to get Liz (who wore the famous meme dress) back in front of a microphone. After Culhane’s dangerous distraction, the future of Broken Glass seems shaky at best, but Fallon’s getting her groove back one step at a time.

3. Sammy Jo

For much of “A Temporary Infestation,” Sammy Jo has what we would call the opposite of power. He vets potential nannies for the new baby with Kirby, he gets matching tattoos with Kirby, he decides to raise a child with Kirby… Basically, he’s entering a haphazard Will & Grace situation with Kirby in Stephen’s absence. But Cristal hands him the biggest power of all: The truth about Alexis and the mystery baby that appeared in the Carrington’s nativity scene.

4. Alexis

Oh, Alexis. It’s a week by week case with her, isn’t it? Some weeks she’s got it, some weeks she couldn’t save herself if someone plopped handwritten instructions in her lap. You have to hand it to her, putting the baby in the nativity scene and recreating the baby-on-the-doorstep moment to make it the whole family’s problem was clever. But pining for Blake and pestering Cristal will be her fatal flaw. She might be back in her loft, but Cristal’s got Alexis backed into a corner.

5. Culhane

After begging for a unit of measurement every time Ada Stone tells him to jump, Culhane managed to weasel his way into a modicum of power over her… or so it seems. He tries to wash his hands clean of being Ada’s lapdog, but she won’t let him. And what’s worse, she has her sights set on Club Colby, the same night as Fallon and Monica’s showcase. In order to keep Ada, donning a black bob wig, from further crossing paths with Fallon, Culhane creates the world’s most asinine distraction: a fake fire. Are Jeff and Culhane going to come clean or keep poorly covering their tracks?

Honorable Mentions:

• Monica. Does Monica have power? Getting into business — a new business — with Fallon was risky and leads to a broken ankle. Although, that’s thanks to Jeff and Culhane’s secrets with Ada Stone. Is her broken ankle going to end up fake? You never know with this show.
• Let it be known that Blake continues to have zero power, as he pays no mind to Alexis’ attempted blackmailing of Cristal. On second thought, maybe that means he does have power. The power to exclude himself from narratives that don’t serve him. Go on, Blake.

What did you think of the latest episode? Let us know in the comments!

Dynasty airs Fridays at 8/7c on The CW.