Dynasty - Season 5, Episode 22

"Compare these two photographs, then tell me you weren't way sluttier with Rock Hudson than I was with Lady Ashley."

"Parental Consent"
Original airdate: 3/6/1985

Episode summary: Alexis travels to Moldavia to try to convince King Galen to allow Prince Michael and Amanda to marry. Blake continues to flirt with Lady Ashley while admonishing Krystle for smooching Rock Hudson.

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Recap: Dex tells Alexis he really really wants to go home now that he's been languishing in his hospital bed all week...and Alexis shrugs indifferently and informs him she's jetting off to somewhere secret and pretending it's a business trip. When he asks her where she's going, she asks him where he went when he contracted malaria...and he shuts down and says he can't talk about it. Alexis rolls her eyes derisively and mockingly says she's pretty sure his trip had something to do with Rock Hudson and one of their adorable "blood oaths to secrecy", then tells him she too has little secrets of her own. With that, she kisses him goodbye and flounces out of the room.

Amanda arrives at the hospital just as Alexis is about to climb into her limo. Amanda says she just heard that Dex is in the hospital and wants to make sure he's OK - but Alexis fibs that he's not accepting visitors right now 'cause he's fast asleep, then urges her climb into the limo with her and head back to the penthouse.  

Blake visits Dominique in her hospital room, where she's listening to an audio tape of herself singing while looking strangely wistful. She tells Blake she's frightened about her health and doesn't know what tomorrow will bring, and Blake assures her that tomorrow will be a great day...and to stop whining so damn much about her health, 'cause the doctors have all agreed that she's going to make a full recovery.

Over an extravagant looking lunch of pigeon and veggies (blech), Amanda calls out Alexis for failing to tell her that Dex was back in Denver and was being hospitalized. Alexis wryly says how touching her concern is - but that it'd be best for everyone if she found a husband of her own to worry about. She then announces that she's about to go somewhere secret for "business", and warns her to not visit Dex in the hospital. Or else.

Jeff arrives at Lady Ashley's suite at La Mirage to smarmily oversee the delivery of five large flower bouquets and then invite her to dinner. When she blushingly accepts, he tells her he'll give her half an hour to get dressed and refresh her ponytail 'do.

Alexis arrives at King Galen's estate in Moldovia, decked out in a fantastic brown suede/fur ensemble, and is given a royal welcome via a red carpet that a manservant rolls out just before she exits her car. She enters the ginormous house, is greeted by Galen, who she promptly curtsies to. He stares at her creepishly while kissing her hand and cooing, "I never thought we'd meet again" ... then keeps her hand clasped in his as he asks her if she ever hoped they would, er, meet again. In lieu of answering, Alexis just stares back at him coquettishly.

"I've missed you so much over the years. Tell me, Alexis, have you missed me?"

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Krystle wanders into the study at 6:00am and finds Steven asleep at the desk. When she pokes him awake and asks him whassup with him not going to bed, he just kind of shrugs and sighs mournfully about how some things in his life are currently great, while others are the shits. He tells her that he's newly re-involved himself with Luke, and that Blake is uncharacteristically accepting of the reemergence of his gay lifestyle. Unfortunately, though, he's still hopelessly torn over who he loves more: Luke or Claudia. Krystle tells him she thinks it is possible to love two people at the same time, then suggests they stop talking about the tediousness of his relentless 'am I gay?/straight?/bi?/fickle?' conundrum and sneak into the kitchen and fry up some eggs for breakfast before Mrs. Gunnerson wakes up and takes over the mansion's meal-making for the day.

While wrapping up a meeting at Denver Carrington, Blake tells Jeff how proud of him he is for ending his sham marriage and having more of a positive 'tude. Jeff beams happily and says he's ready to get on with his life and take on new challenges...and by new challenges, he means he's going to do his damnedest to bone Lady Ashley. Blake's all, "Wuh?" and says he had no idea he was into a May-December hookup with the ponytailed aristocrat...and Jeff smiles goofily and says he finds Lady Ashley to be "interesting and very special" and is pretty sure she's smitten with him too. Blake scrunches his wrinkly face with displeasure as he stares contemplatively into space.

After an extravagant dinner inside the royal dining hall, King Galen coyly tells Alexis he remembers a time when she would not have fended off his passion. Alexis breezily reminds him that that's ancient history, and that now she's coming to him as a parent (and potential briber). She asks about Prince Michael's betrothal to the duchess, specifically what he (Galen) has to gain from the union. When Galen just stares cluelessly into space, Alexis proposes that, in exchange for a marriage between Prince Michael and Amanda, she would offer him a percentage of the profits from ColbyCo's South China Sea oil deal. She adds that that kind of cash could help develop his country's economic resources, and Galen silently mulls over the intriguing prospect. 

​Steven is slumped in a chair at Luke's apartment, staring morosely into space. Luke correctly assumes that he's still moping about his failed marriage to Claudia, and Steven rolls his eyes and gripes that he doesn't want to hear for the umpteenth time how well adjusted he (Luke) is after his epic coming out that followed his divorce. A slightly miffed Luke asks him if he really truly wants to be here with him right now...and when Steven assures him he does, Luke chirps, "Yay! Let's go to bed!" LOL. Steven's like, "Meh.." and makes it clear he'd much prefer to remain slumped in a chair and continue to be the world's biggest downer. 

"Could you possibly try being a happy person?"

"Sorry, that notion doesn't compute."

Lady Ashley is photographing Blake as he shoots pool in the mansion's game room. Blake soon tires of being photographed and playfully turns the tables on Ashley when he grabs her camera and begins taking photographs of her. She giggles happily at the flirtiness, then says she can tell that something is on his mind...so Blake confesses that he heard she's being wooed by Jeff, and is worried that the dumbo is going to get himself hurt. Lady Ashley assures him she won't intentionally do anything to hurt Jeff, then reminds him that his former son-in-law is a big boy and can take care of himself. She coyly asks if it's really Jeff's emotional health he's most worried about...and Blake admits that his ego got bruised when he learned that she might be getting cozy with someone else. Ashley perks up at that disturbing revelation and gives him a lip-on-lip kiss, then chuckles about giving into one of her impulses just now.

Over at La Mirage, Adam meets up with his old college buddy - hey it's Russ from The Bionic Woman! When Claudia ambles over to the bar, Russ gives her an appreciative, not-so-subtle once over and tells her he's here to check out the hotel as a prospective venue for a big conference he's hosting. A few seconds later, Steven interrupts the conversation for a brief one-on-one with Claudia to needlessly inform her that he's decided to pursue a full on relationship with Luke. Claudia shrugs and says she used to hope she'd be his first choice of a partner...but now that she couldn't give the tiniest of rat's asses about who he sleeps with, she totally understands, loves him, and wishes him all the best. 

In Moldavia, Prince Michael enters the sitting room where Alexis is lounging and getting caught up on her magazine reading. She greets him warmly, then explains that she's here on business, discussing potential oil lease profits with his father. She adds that Amanda sends her regards...and Prince Michael stares dreamily into space at the mention of Amanda and coos about what a lovely English rose she is. Alexis begins to lay it on thick about how much of social butterfly Amanda is being these days - but Prince Michael tells her that underneath it all she's a loving, tender gal who just needs to find the right man. Alexis comes right out and asks him if he could be that man - but Prince Michael looks pained when he says it wouldn't do any good if he were. Alexis implores him to toss the notion of duty aside by dumping the duchess and doing what's right for him.

Claudia meets with Russ to discuss booking his conference at the La Mirage. When he openly propositions her, she makes it clear that their interactions will be strictly business, and that getting her in the sack will not be part of any package deal.

A disgruntled Russ tells Adam he's seriously considering leaving Denver 'cause of how "tough and cold" Claudia is acting towards him - then come right out and says he doesn't take kindly to attractive women turning him down flat. Adam clucks sympathetically and says he figured he'd hit a wall with Claudia and decide to take his business elsewhere, and Russ says he has no qualms about doing that whenever "the cooperation is lacking". [Gross, Russ. I liked you so much better as Oscar's sidekick on The Bionic Woman.] 

"I really hate it when the women I want to bone rebuff my attempts to bone them."

"I have a long history of hating that too."

​Lady Ashley is visiting with Dominique in her hospital room, reminiscing about "the good old days". Lady Ashley says she's enjoying her life just as much now...and when Dominique asks her what she really really wants, she smarmily replies - just as Krystle steps into the room in time to overhear her response - that she wants to have fun in Denver and take advantage of whatever opportunities come her way. Krystle contorts her face into a pensively bitchy glare as a smug looking Lady Ashley flounces past her on her way out...then tells Dominique how much it irks her that Lady Ashley is so brazen about wanting to make a move on goat daddy. Dominique urges her to patch things up with Blake asap, 'cause otherwise his eye might start to wander in Lady Ashley's direction and create one dull-as-fuck love triangle for viewers to endure. 

Alexis and Galen are enjoying a game of gin when Alexis once again brings up the marriage issue and says it's pretty clear that Prince Michael has agreed to marry the duchess out of a sense of duty, not love. She reminds Galen that his father had rejected her as a prospective royal bride when they hooked up all those years ago...and that she's now blaming that rejection for the two shitty marriages she has under her belt:

1. Blake, who banished her from Denver [after catching her in bed with Roger Grimes]
2. Dex, who she's pretty sure is cheating on her [with Amanda, awkwardly enough]

Alexis poutishly implores Galen to reconsider condemning his son to a loveless marriage...and Galen mulls that over before cooing about how much he's thought about her over the years, especially what might have been. He says he'd really like it if they got it on tonight, then gives her a smooch while moaning, "I want you" ... and Alexis relaxes in his arms and gets more into the smoochfest.

When Krystle returns home, Gerard hands her another anonymous envelop that arrived in the mail...and inside she finds a photo of Blake and Ashley kissing in the game room. She marches over to the study to demand an explanation from Blake, and he looks bewildered that a compromising photo was taken from inside the mansion - but insists that it was nothing more than a friendly kiss. Krystle tells him she doesn't buy that and that for some time she's been wondering whassup with the two of them always flirting. Blake instantly gets peeved, pulls out the photo of her and Rock Hudson kissing...then holds the two photos side by side and growls, "Is there any comparison?!!" According to his reasoning, the fact that Rock was laying atop her makes that kiss so much worse than the harmless peck on the lips he got from Lady Ashley...and Krystle looks away shamefully as Blake shoves the photos in her face and barks, "Look!!!" What a fucktarded asshole he is. 

"Admit what a shameless hussy you are!"

"I never should have agreed to wedding #2."

Alexis tells Galen she needs to head back to Denver now, and he smilingly says that these past few days have made him happier than he's been in a long time. He gives the back of her hand a final kiss as the two bid each other adieu.

Over breakfast, Adam tells Blake that the booking of a big conference that was to be held at the La Mirage fell through, and points out that the hotel won't earn any revenue for the 100+ rooms that Russ was prepared to reserve. Blake's all, "Wuh?" and scrunches his face concernedly.

Blake summons Claudia to his office to ask whassup with the big conference falling through, and she assures him that she did everything she could professionally do to save the deal. Blake's all, "What do you mean professionally?" and Claudia clams up and says she doesn't want to get into Russ's icky sexual harassment. Blake tells her he has confidence in her hotel management skills - but reminds her that she's running the place on behalf of Little Blake...and that if she screws the pooch on the brat's inheritance, he's going to hold her accountable.

Claudia 'fesses up to Adam about how Russ came onto her, and how dickish Blake was to her about the whole thing. Adam smiles with smug satisfaction, says, "I told you so", and gleefully points out that the old goat finally revealed his true self to her. Claudia acknowledges that, yep, he definitely had been right about Blake all this time and feels foolish for not seeing this side of him before now.

Amanda is sitting idly by the penthouse fireplace when a weak looking Dex stumbles off the elevator and staggers toward her. Startled, Amanda asks him what he's doing out of the hospital, and he says he missed the penthouse and was determined to return home to his loving wife. Amanda asks if he's not tired of being bossed around by the shrew, and he's like, "Well d'yuh" and grumbles about how sick he is of all women, then suddenly feels so weakened that he nearly falls over. Amanda rushes over to him, props his arm over her shoulders...and is steering him towards the upper level stairs when Alexis and Prince Michael make an unexpected arrival. As Amanda shoots her mother the stink-eye for bringing the royal dork with her to America, Alexis responds by grinning cheekily and chirping, "Aren't you going to say hello?"

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