The Dynasty reboot, which premiered in 2017 on The CW, began as a much different show than it is today… and not just because the roles of Cristal and Alexis Carrington were recast — multiple times. Each season has had a different tone than the previous, and all are full of their delightfully fun and sometimes terrible soapy stories (in a good way). The Carrington family is also ever-changing with the exits of some substantial members and introductions of other characters that often come to town with naughty intentions. Below, we’ve taken on the unbelievably difficult task of ranking the four Dynasty seasons that have aired thus far.
4) Season 3
Of the four seasons, Dynasty Season 3 is easily the most forgettable, which is perhaps due to COVID-19 cutting the season short by two episodes. The unplanned finale did not leave off on a memorable note. (Obviously, not the fault of the cast or crew.) But, besides this, the stories over the course of the season were more frustrating. Starting the season with Fallon (Elizabeth Gillies) trying to keep her boyfriend, Liam (Adam Huber), after having lost his memory due to a head wound inflicted by Fallon’s brother Adam (Sam Underwood) was not fun to watch. The back and forth between them had already been exacerbated over the previous season, and this new story just really reinforced how absolutely awful Liam’s mother was. When Liam finally regained his memories, only shortly after was a new infuriating obstacle introduced: Liam’s son with his girlfriend from his teenage years, who actually had an affair with his father and revealed Liam’s son was actually his new brother. Yikes.
Meanwhile, another memorably terrible story is what the season did with Blake (Grant Show) and Cristal (now played by Daniella Alonso). Blake started the season arrested and, later, on trial for murder, which dragged out far too long considering there was never any doubt he would get away scot-free. Once free, Blake and Cristal drifted apart despite their relationship being so new, both cheating on the other with new characters that have since gone away. Nothing about the season was very entertaining or fun to watch; in fact, it had the opposite result. It was enraging to see these characters on all of these separate journeys that went nowhere and were dropped in one way or another.
(However, the highlight of the trial — and the season, for that matter — is the arrival of Elaine Hendrix as the new face of Alexis Carrington.)
3) Season 2
After the loss of the original Cristal (Nathalie Kelley) and the destructive fire, the Carrington family is in pieces when we pick up with Season 2. Blake is reeling after the loss of his wife, and everyone else is trying to pick up the pieces as he meets new Cristal (Ana Brenda Contreras) and they embark on a new epic love affair. Following the first season, it’s clear there were some major changes going on behind the scenes. The show changes so much in Season 2, becoming more about the family in the business world than the business world swallowing the Carrington family. For the most part, this new direction was successful. However, it was a bit rocky for a while, and some of the crucial changes really dragged the season down.
One of these unfortunate changes was the exit of James Mackay and his character, Steven, which was handled in such an incredibly disappointing way. When it is revealed that Steven’s biological father is not Blake, but is Blake’s right-hand Anders (Alan Dale), conceived after a one night stand with Alexis (played by Nicollette Sheridan at this time), Steven ditches his family and new husband Sammy Jo (Rafael de la Fuente) to go find himself. Several episodes later, Fallon and Sam fly to Paris to see Steven, and everyone starts to believe Steven is losing his mind.
This is because their long-lost and formerly kidnapped brother, Adam, is actively trying to make Steven think he’s losing his mind, getting him to check himself into a hospital for the mentally ill. He wins, and Steven learns the truth while locked away in the hospital and has yet to be seen again. When first introduced, Adam was a character that you couldn’t help but hate. He pushed Alexis into the fireplace upon his arrival, then gave the plastic surgeon a picture of Fallon when asked for a reference photo to use for Alexis’ surgery. He tried to get the bodies in the lake on the Carrington estate discovered to spite his family, then hitting Liam over the head with a potted plant. And we were supposed to like that he was joining the family?
The stories on Dynasty Season 2 were exciting for the most part, but the execution was not done very well.
2) Season 1
Dynasty Season 1 is inarguably the season most like the original show, and it’s just wild from start to finish. There’s a mystery surrounding the murder of Cristal’s former lover, Matthew (Nick Wechsler), which holds the interest of the viewer from the very start and ends on an unexpectedly brutal and (mostly) satisfying note. Plus, Fallon and Blake going head-to-head over the business aspect of things works quite well, giving Gillies and Show great material to work with.
This is the only season with the original Cristal, and it’s a season of so much growth for her in her new marriage with Blake and how she fits into the Carrington family as a woman still clinging to her morality and uncomfortable with the exceptional wealth that her new family consistently flaunts and abuses. But, learning about Cristal’s backstory shows just what a complex woman she is, and how far she’s come to now being one of the most powerful women in the world. If there’s one thing Season 1 does right, it’s Cristal.
Overall, the season will keep you glued to your TV. It gets off to a slow start, but things quickly pick up speed, becoming more complicated… especially when it comes to Claudia (Brianna Brown). It’s a shame the show did a major revamp after this, but it seems to be embracing some of that again with the most recent season.
1) Season 4
Ranking Dynasty Season 4 as the best season is surely a controversial pick, but the show improved in many ways while working around the restrictions of COVID-19. Cutting things back forced the show to focus more (and more purposefully) on the main players. New dynamics, like Alexis and Dominique (Michael Michele) essentially becoming frenemy business partners, were introduced. Other dynamics that we’d seen briefly before, like Culhane and Sam’s friendship, were developed further. It was exciting to see these characters off in pairings, old and new, with stories that really tested them individually, instead of relying on the glitz and glamour of high society life to cause strife in the Carrington family. It proved that this family will always have problems with each other, and they’ll always get through those problems to come together when it matters.
Finishing out the stories of Season 3 in the first couple of episodes obviously helped start the season with a punch, too, giving it a bit of an unfair advantage over the others. But, the rest of the season was still quite interesting and enthralling. The stories were more simple, yet still filled with your typical, soap-y nonsense. Despite there being aspects of the story that were incredibly frustrating, like Fallon’s cheating with Colin, the story of Fallon’s assistant Eva (Kara Royster) trying to destroy the relationship between the newlyweds so she could be with Liam was devious and thrilling.
Plus, the introduction of a new Carrington child in Amanda (Eliza Bennett), the child Alexis gave to a relative to raise believing her to be the product of an affair, was a major highlight of Season 4. Amanda fits in with the other characters so well, and the new rivalry introduced between Amanda and Adam is quite exciting, especially now that someone finally sees Adam for who he truly is and that she is set on making sure he gets his comeuppance. The little bit of this rivalry we’ve seen so far was captivating, and should most definitely be a highlight of Season 5 as well.
With Season 4, there was a mystery again as well, like the murder of Matthew back in Season 1. We began the season with Fallon, alone, at a funeral for one of her loved ones. Over time, we learned who wasn’t in the grave until the reveal that it was Anders that had, unfortunately, perished. The mysteries of the show have been done quite well, and it was just another exciting aspect that resulted from shaking things up.
The writers did an excellent job with the changes they were forced to implement to keep people safe, and how the relationships developed between the members of the Carrington family is proof of this. So much growth and/or destruction happened in just these 22-episodes, it’s in the show’s best interest to keep this simplified focus moving forward. More of this, please.