Dynasty - Season 8, Episode 11

In loving indifference
Josh Harris
Season 8, Episodes 5-11

"The New Moguls"
Original airdate: 12/23/1987

Episode summary: Blake holds a press conference to offer irrefutable proof that he didn't indulge in sexy time with a hooker. Steven turns down a business proposal from Vitron Oil, much to the annoyance of Fallon and Adam. Josh overdoses on cocaine.

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Recap: Blake and Krystle are exercising in the mansion's gym when Jeannette brings in a spare rotary phone and informs Blake that he has a call. Blake quickly learns that the caller is a reporter wanting a statement as to whether or not he hired a hooker in Cora Van Husen's Colorado Springs bordello. He denies the accusation, slams the phone down, and grumbles to Krystle about how the Denver press doesn't seem interested in any real issues. He calls the bordello video footage "a cheap smear campaign", and Krystle clucks sympathetically and laments about how unfair it all is. He concurs and says he's hoping they can put their heads together and quickly figure out a way to undo the damage. 

Over at Delta Rho, Sammy Jo chides Steven for causing an embarrassing scene with Josh at the Old English Fair, insisting that she could have handled the matter herself. Steven rightly argues that Josh was the one who caused the scene, then asks her if he really did propose marriage...and Sammy Jo says he did - but that she has zero interest in being the wife of such a dumbass. She says she never intended to have an affair...and sheepishly admits to hitting the sheets with Josh, a mistake she now regrets. Steven softens and says he knows it's not easy for her to thrive within the confines of their sexless non-hetero living arrangement, but points out that Josh brings around the kind of trouble their family doesn't need. Sammy Jo tearfully whimpers, "Please don't hate me", and Steven cooingly assures her that that could never be possible.
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Back at Carrington manor, Jeff is staring at a framed photo of him and Fallon, then has a flashback of their wedding day. After that, he wanders outside, seeks out Fallon's favorite tree, and isn't surprised to find her there, lounging atop one of the heavy branches. She tells him how much she loooooves this tree and likes to do her hardest thinking here...but this time her problems seem far tougher to solve than usual. Jeff tells her that whatever happens, he loves her very much...and she just stares back at him in mute contemplation.

During breakfast, Blake hands Krystle the morning edition of The Denver Mirror, which features a front page editorial on his bordello visit. He says he's pretty sure Alexis is behind it, but has no idea how to prove that...and figures he should just focus on repairing his now sullied reputation. Krystle says she'd love to get a look at the original video, and Blake agrees that, yeah, that'd be a good idea - but warns that if Alexis is behind this scandal, acquiring that tape isn't going to be an easy task.
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Over at the Carlton Hotel, Alexis is meeting with (I'll assume) one of her editors, gushing about how pleased she is with his Blake-bashing editorial. The editor tells her he's still trying to look into the source of the bordello video footage, but hasn't found anything...and Alexis urges him to not waste too much manpower investigating something she would rather remain undiscovered. After he heads off, Krystle drops by and sternly informs Alexis that she doesn't buy her innocent act...and Alexis responds by continuing to feign innocence, then says she can't allow her feelings about Blake to dictate what she publishes in her paper. Krystle points out that, for whatever reason, she continues to feature Blake in every issue of The Denver Mirror [in lieu of reporting actual news], then demands that she hand over the video that was shown at the Old English Fair. Alexis says she doesn't have it, and tells her she should prolly focus more of her attention on what Blake was doing in a bordello. Krystle insists that the video is somehow fraudulent and vows that she's not going to let it destroy his gubernatorial campaign.

"I'm not buying your innocent act."

"And yet I continue to do a convincing job of selling it."

Leslie is milling around Alexis's office, dressed in a chic black business suit with a short skirt [I guess she took Alexis's advice about her office-wear from the previous episode]. Jeff storms in, bellows, "You're not going to get away with this, Alexis!", then looks befuddled when he sees that it's Leslie (and not Alexis) he's yelling at. When Leslie's all 'what in blazes are you talking about?', Jeff asks her if she was involved with the bordello video footage that publicly humiliated Blake, and she irritably tells him she would never hurt her own uncle like that. She [falsely] assumes that Fallon is behind his accusations, snarlingly pronounces that the two of them deserve each other, and decides that their one night stand in New York was "one night too many". Amen to that. 

Over lunch at the Carlton Hotel patio restaurant, Fallon asks Alexis if she had anything to do with the bordello video...and Alexis denies it, then hastily changes the subject to the marital problems that are increasingly apparent between her and Jeff. Fallon tells her she's seriously contemplating filing for divorce 'cause of how sick and tired she is of being treated like a child. Alexis cautions her to not throw Jeff away, not least 'cause there are so few marriageable men out there - but Fallon's just kinda 'meh' and says that while she still loves Jeff, no way in hell does she want to live with such a pompous horse's ass anymore. She then decides she's suddenly lost her appetite, and hastily gets up and flees the restaurant.

Josh drops by Delta Rho clutching a bouquet of flowers, and Sammy Jo politely accepts them before ambling into the next room to find a vase...and while she's doing that, Josh fishes around his coat pocket for his coke vial and takes a quick snort. He then spots one of Danny's toys - a clown puppet - and picks it up to perform an impromptu ventriloquist act to admonish himself for his boorish behavior at the Old English Fair. When Sammy Jo says she's already forgiven him, Josh visibly perks up...and then he and the puppet discuss how much he looooooves Sammy Jo and wants to marry her...and when he starts annoyingly waving the puppet in her face demanding a response to his marriage proposal, she shoves it away and shrieks, "I can't marry you! I don't love you!" Josh loses his grip on the toy, which falls onto the floor, causing its porcelain head to smash into pieces...and it defies logic why anyone would buy such an easily breakable toy for a small boy child. Josh poutishly tells her not to say she doesn't love him 'cause he's under the delusion that she does...and Sammy Jo softens slightly and says that just 'cause they hit the sheets once doesn't mean she's ready to marry him, or anyone for that matter. Josh irritably chides her for wanting to live "a sexless lie" with Steven, then storms out. 

Later, Skip Maitland drops by Josh's apartment to supply him with yet more coke...and expresses concern to Josh that the frequency with which he's snorting the white poison is rapidly approaching Tony Montana/Scarface levels. He cautions Josh about not being able to see his imminent demise and tries to look as street-tough as possible as he warns, "Take a look around, man. It's fourth down, the blitz is coming." He emphasizes that last thing by loudly clapping his hands together (lol), then gives Josh (who's barely listening as he busily arranges a line of coke in preparation for his next snort) one last exasperated look before abruptly leaving. In the hallway, Skip runs into Steven, who snarks at him to stay away from Josh so that he doesn't turn him into a cokehead...and Skip informs him that Josh's cokehead train left the station a long time ago, leaving Steven staring back at him with a look of alarmed dismay.

Later, Steven convenes a meeting with Adam and Fallon (and Dana for note-taking) in his Denver Carrington office, specifically to discuss a business proposal from a company called Vitron Oil, which is based in Natumbe (a fictional West African country). Adam and Fallon agree that it definitely sounds like something Denver Carrington should be getting onboard with - but Steven disagrees and says he turned them down flat. When Adam and Fallon are all, "Wha-a-a-a-a?!", Steven explains that Vitron insisted on an answer immediately (which, in his defence, seems like kind of a red flag), and that the deal itself seemed so shady that he didn't think it warranted even being put to a vote. He points out that Blake would have acted just as decisively as he did, prompting an enraged Adam to bellow, "You are not father!" Fallon too expresses outrage at being cut out of the decision-making process, then gets up and storms out of the room. Steven rushes out after her...but in vain, 'cause she dashes into the first available elevator and ignores his pleas to stay and talk this out.

"I rejected a shady business proposal from some rando in a fictional African country."

"How dare you."

Dana remarks to Adam how unpleasant that meeting was and expresses her burning desire to not be a note-taker for any Denver Carrington meetings for the rest of her life. Adam's all, "Noooooo.." and urges her to stay 'cause she's the only person inside the company he feels like he can trust.

Fallon heads straight to the pipeline worksite to ask Dex if he knows anything about Vitron Oil, as well as to grumble about how Steven rejected the company's proposal without so much as a discussion with her and/or Adam. Dex says he actually sides with Steven on this one, and also points out that Steven is desperately trying to prove to everyone that Denver Carrington is in capable hands. He then tells Fallon that tomorrow he just happens to be attending an energy conference on the Ivory Coast, and afterwards can drop by Natumbe and snoop around Vitron Oil headquarters to see what he can uncover.

Josh is reading a puff piece in the newspaper on how Ye Olde Kissing Booth (particularly during Sammy Jo's shift) was the most popular attraction at the Old English Fair. He then gets a call summoning him to Steven's office...and he pulls out his coke vial to take a quick snort before rushing out the door.

In the next scene, Steven asks Josh what he thinks about implementing a voluntary drug testing policy for the entire football team. An alarmed Josh calls that "a dumb idea", refuses to set an example by agreeing to having his urine tested, and accuses Steven of tormenting him 'cause of his hookup with Sammy Jo. Steven makes it clear that he's way more mad about the way he's been screwing up his life and football career 'cause of all the coke he's clearly been snorting, and Josh reacts by angrily quitting the team (a second time), snarling, "You and your ex-wife deserve each other! To hell with you!", and storming out of the office.

Over at campaign headquarters, Jeff hands Blake his resignation letter and says he can't help but feel fully responsible for the leak of the bordello tape. Blake points out that he couldn't possibly have known that that was going to happen, and gives him the option of taking some vacation time to recombobulate himself while trying to work things out with Fallon. He gently asks if there's anything he can do to help that along, but Jeff despondently says there's really nothing anyone can do to save their lacklustre marriage. Blake says that whatever happens, he loves both him and Fallon very much...then rips up the resignation letter.

Krystle heads over to the Colorado Springs bordello to tell Cora Van Husen that she could use her help proving that Blake didn't visit her establishment for the purpose of getting down with a hooker. She says she'd really really like to get her hands on the videotape that one of her gals must have filmed...then coyly points out to Cora that her clients likely depend on her discretion and would be none too appreciative of the prospect that they too could be filmed as they muse over which scantily clad prostitute they'd most enjoy getting their rocks off with.

"It shouldn't be hard to recall which hooker was aiming a large '80s videocamera in my husband's direction during his impromptu visit to your bordello."

"Fair point."

Alexis is lounging atop her bed with her adorable Shih Tzu when Sean enters the room...and his sudden presence prompts the Shih Tzu to start growling, which I found hilarious and a totally apt response to the weird creep. Sean tells Alexis that he covertly paid off Cora's hooker so that Krystle won't be able to trace the source of the bordello video, then grumbles about how much he dislikes meeting ladies of the night in dark alleyways. Alexis assures him it's totally worth it to destroy Blake's gubernatorial prospects [is it though?], and Sean gives her a hug and says he missed not seeing her for most of the day. 

Leslie encounters Sean in Alexis's office to drop off a proposal for a new management position...then sheepishly admits that, yeah, she's actually recommending herself for the job. She earnestly explains that she'd do a great job, has a strong engineering background, and was in a similar position in Canada. Sean mulls all that over and says he'd be more than happy to recommend her to Alexis, then creepily adds, "Let's hope you deserve it" ... and says this as though he himself wasn't just handed a top corporate job at ColbyCo solely because he's the boss's new trophy husband.

Dex arrives in Natumbe and meets up with the sinister looking head of Vitron Oil named Harry Thresher (who is also a past acquaintance). Dex fibbingly tells him he was in the area and decided to drop in to see how the company's doing...'cause he's heard they have a ton of crude oil that needs to be moved and would love to be able to get in on that action. Harry plays dumb about any specific deals he's proposed - like, to Denver Carrington, for example - and urges him to go away and fly back to Denver, pronto. Dex doesn't push it and bids him adieu before heading off to the reception area to call the local airport...and while he's doing that, he overhears Harry's receptionist placing an overseas person-to-person call to Sean Rowan located in Denver, Colorado, United States of America. The camera then pans over to Harry, who reports to Sean that he just had a visit from Dex Dexter, who seems to want to bribe his way into the kind of deal he just proposed to Denver Carrington, and Sean looks pleased by that and replies, "Good. The machinery is in motion."

Cora Van Husen drops by Carrington manor to tell Krystle and Blake that, upon further reflection, she doesn't like it when her hookers do shady shit right under her nose...then hands Blake a VHS tape that contains the boring footage of his infamous bordello visit. She says there's no audio on the tape, declines Krystle's request to make an official statement about any of this, and wishes them good luck with restoring Blake's reputation. 

Steven is meeting with the head football coach when Sammy Jo storms into his office and shrieks, "You fired Josh?!!" Steven confirms he did, then turns his attention back to the coach and asks him to please gather up the rest of the coaches for an important football update meeting in half an hour. An irked Sammy Jo demands to know why she had to read about this latest development in the newspaper (that's some speedy journalism), and Steven assures her that the firing had nothing to do with her bumping uglies with Josh, but rather his excessive cocaine use. As Sammy Jo stares back at him in shocked bewilderment, Steven firmly decrees that he doesn't want the druggie around her and/or Danny anymore.

Alexis giddily tells Sean that the bordello scandal is going to keep Blake busy and distracted from his gubernatorial campaign - just as Blake drops by her office to inform the two that he's holding a press conference in thirty minutes to expose her cheap trick of making people believe that he pays hookers for sex. He suggests she tune in to the seven o'clock news to watch "the re-run" of a tape she's no doubt familiar with...and smugly adds that this one will have a new and surprising ending.

Press conference! Blake admonishes the press for being so disproportionately intrigued by the character assassination of a gubernatorial candidate, then turns the floor over to Krystle, who explains that she was able to get a hold of the bordello video that makes it look as though Blake is negotiating the services of a hooker. She says that since the audio is missing from the tape, she decided to enlist the services of a professional lip reader to determine the exact nature of Blake's conversation with Cora. The lip reader proceeds to peer closely at the television screen in order to examine the footage and report back to the many fascinated reporters in attendance the exact nature of the one-on-one interaction between Cora Van Husen and Blake:

• Cora offers Blake a drink, which he declines
• Cora remarks that he had said he wanted to talk about his brother, then proceeds to natter about Ben's illicit affair with Emily Fallmont the night Ma Carrington perished in the fire, blah blah..

"Blake then says to Cora: 'I'm not thirsty...but if I were, my afternoon beverage of choice is herb tea with a pinch of lemon'".

"We're on record as not being titillated."

Alexis, who's glumly watching the non-titillating press conference from her ColbyCo office, snaps at Sean to turn off the TV. He obliges, then chucklingly remarks what a giant fool Blake just made of her...and says that if she expects to go toe-to-toe with a savvy public relations genius, she needs to deliver more of a knockout punch. Alexis begs to differ, then poutishly points out that she may have lost this round, but that the fight is far from over...and says this despite the fact that she could simply stop antagonizing her ex-husband on what seems like a daily basis and just live her damn life. ​

Sammy Jo is trying, in vain, to get a hold of Josh. She glances over at the broken puppet head, then rushes out of the house. 

Dex calls Fallon from West Africa and tells her he's decided to hang around a bit longer. He tells her that the head of Vitron Oil, Harry Thresher, is a low-life who's somehow connected to Sean Rowan...then quickly asks her to keep mum on all this while he digs around for more intel. A few seconds later, Jeff ambles into the bedroom to once again discuss the tedium that is their failing marriage. He points out that, despite their many problems, the marriage has survived - but Fallon argues that she wants to do more than just survive - she wants to thrive, damn it. Jeff sadly asks her if she still loves him...and when she just mutely stares into space like a deer in headlights, he finally grasps the full reality that this marriage is 100% dunzo.

Sammy Jo arrives at Josh's apartment and lets herself in when she finds the door unlocked. As the radio blares out a muzak version of Michael Jackson's Thriller (yes really), she wanders around and mumbles, "Oh my God.." at the sight of drug paraphernalia strewn across the living room table. She heads towards the bedroom, and is horrified to find Josh collapsed on the floor. She's all, "Ack! Josh!" and frantically tries to revive him...but when he doesn't respond, she races to the phone and calls an ambulance to report the probable drug overdose. As she waits for the paramedics, she tearfully cradles Josh in her arms - just as a news report comes on the radio about the local football team, specifically that Josh Harris reportedly refused to take a drug test. The announcer goes on to detail the enormous pressure Josh has been under to win every game, then ponders, "Was it too much pressure?"

Apparently yes. 

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