Dynasty season 5: Could Nathalie Kelley reprise her role?

Three years after exiting the show in dramatic Dynasty fashion, could it be possible for Nathalie Kelley to make a grand reprisal?

Dynasty will kick off its fifth season this month without another beloved series regular (RIP Anders) which means there’s an empty spot at the table, and who better to fill it than an OG cast member? Many fans would love to see forgotten sibling, Steven (James Mackay), return to seek revenge on evil brother, Adam (Sam Underwood), but maybe another reunion would set the stakes higher for the crafty Carringtons.

Season 4 ended with quite the cliffhanger; Fallon’s (Elizabeth Gillies) life is hanging in the balance after she was shot by a crazed, obsessive stalker – sound familiar? There’s no doubt that Fallon will survive, unlike her former stepmother who suffered the same fate way back at the end of the first season.

Is Dynasty’s Cristal Carrington really dead?

Nathalie Kelley made a shocking departure from the show in 2018 when it was revealed that Cristal had died following her encounter with Claudia (Brianna Brown) during the season 1 finale. The last time we saw her character, she was suffering from a gunshot wound as flames roared around her.

The big question of the day is: could Kelley reprise her role? Well, technically yes. No one actually saw Cristal die. It was off-screen and the only confirmation we had was the urn of ashes in Carrington manor. Would it be a stretch to suggest they maybe weren’t even Cristal’s?

Weirder things have happened for the Carringtons. Maybe Cristal faked her death after the fire; she’d already began making plans to leave Blake (Grant Show) in episodes prior. The opportunity finally arose and she had the chance to cut all ties with no loose ends.

Throw in a time jump to season 2 and suddenly everyone’s in mourning without any sort of closure towards Cristal. Kelley played an integral role in the opening chapter to this reboot and her absence came at the behest of a corporate decision, though the door has never completely closed.

As the theory goes, Cristal is off somewhere thriving in a life without inevitable Carrington chaos. The show saw a lull in riveting thrills recently when the focus drew upon marital problems for some couples. Should they search for a shake-up, they may find one in the form of Nathalie Kelley.

Imagine how she would react to discovering the woman whose identity she assumed is now shacking up with her husband – technically they’d still be married, right? Divorce lawyers and death be damned. Perhaps she’ll team up with Fallon again, those were always fantastic scenes. The opportunities are endless.

Sadly, it’s highly unlikely Kelley will actually reprise her role in the near future – if at all. Instead, the regular spot will be taken by recurring guest star, Eliza Bennett, as Amanda Carrington, and when Dynasty returns, all we can do is pine over the memory of another original gone.

Dynasty season 5 will premiere on Dec. 20, 2021 on The CW.