“Who’s in the casket?” It’s the question Dynasty fans have been asking all season, and Friday’s episode finally gave them their answer — for better or worse.
We’ve waited long enough for this reveal, so we won’t bother beating around the bush: While saving Fallon and Liam from a pair of mustache-twirling kidnappers, Anders (played by Alan Dale since the reboot premiered in 2017) suffered an injury to his ribs that proved to be tragically fatal. Well, the injury isn’t technically what killed him, but the pain did distract him during a drive to visit Cristal in the hospital, causing him to crash.
It was certainly a twist, though Anders’ sweet moment with Fallon earlier in the hour provided enough dramatic foreshadowing to spell curtains for the Carringtons’ beloved butler. “Nothing’s going to happen to you while I can help it,” he said. “You’re like a daughter to me.” And when she asked him if he’s going to forgive Kirby, he replied, “I already have, and I’ll be glad to tell her so when I see her next.”
It’s a mystery that’s been building since the funeral was first teased in the season premiere. The only thing we knew from the jump was that the supposed loss would hit Fallon especially hard. As the weeks went on, we were able to rule out both Sam and Adam as potential victims, since they were revealed to be in attendance via flash forwards.
So, did you correctly predict who was going six feet under? We wouldn’t blame you for miscalculating, considering the myriad red herrings: Cristal has been undergoing experimental treatments for her recently discovered brain tumor, Liam has been thrusting himself into harm’s way to prove that his father didn’t die of natural causes, Culhane has found himself in business with some dangerous mobsters, and Kirby has been falling back into bad behavior now that Oliver has reentered her life. Some fans even speculated that Dynasty might be giving poor Steven, last seen in Season 2, an off-screen demise.
Of course, this isn’t the first major loss that the Dynasty cast has suffered over the years. The original Cristal (played by Nathalie Kelley) was killed off between Seasons 1 and 2, which led to the arrival of Cristal 2.0 (played by Ana Brenda Conteras), who then exited between Seasons 2 and 3. We also bade farewell to the original Alexis when Nicollette Sheridan unexpectedly departed the show midway through Season 2. And as mentioned earlier, we haven’t seen heads or tails of Steven since James Mackay departed the show during its sophomore season.
Your thoughts on the show’s latest casualty? Drop ’em in a comment below.
