Ben

This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the character, Ben Carrington.

Ben
Season 5, Episode 15

Air date	June 24, 2022
Written by	Bryce Schramm
Directed by	Brandon Lott
Viewers	0.25 million (250,000)
Episode Guide
previous "Vicious Vendetta"	next "My Family, My Blood"

"Ben" is the fifteenth episode of the fifth season, and the one hundredth and first episode overall of The CW's Dynasty. It aired on June 24, 2022.

Synopsis[]

THAT WAS THEN – When Blake's brother Ben comes back into the picture, chaos ensues affecting all the Carringtons. Fallon and Adam work together, surprisingly, and the siblings share bonding time. Sam decides to throw a huge event and enlists the help of Culhane and Kirby. Jeff asks Amanda to do some digging and she is shocked at what she finds.

Plot Summary[]

SPOILERS AHEAD

Ben Carrington is a shrewd, dashing art dealer out to prove he did not cause his mother's death some twenty years prior (a notion Blake will not consider). Fallon gets so paranoid when her pregnant surrogate Stacey goes on an archaeology dig that she turns to Adam to help sabotage it. Dominique is swayed to hear Ben's agenda. Jeff enlists Amanda to track the owner of ColbyCo's lost holdings, but she withholds information after learning it is Blake. When Sam is not invited to "Lance Bash", he becomes an irrational diva tasking Culhane and Kirby to stage a last minute Gay Pride gala at the Sahara Club. Ben is foiled at pinning a Vermeer forgery on Blake, so he sues for half of the dynasty instead.^[1]

Cast[]

Starring[]

Elizabeth Gillies as Fallon Carrington
Daniella Alonso as Cristal Carrington
Elaine Hendrix as Alexis Dexter (credit only)
Rafael de La Fuente as Sam Jones
Sam Underwood as Adam Carrington
Michael Michele as Dominique Deveraux
Robert Christopher Riley as Michael Culhane
Sam Adegoke as Jeff Colby
Maddison Brown as Kirby Anders
Adam Huber as Liam Ridley
Eliza Bennett as Amanda Carrington
Grant Show as Blake Carrington

Guest Starring[]

Co-Starring[]

Byron Wigfall as Aaron
John-Henry Hirozawa as Oscar
Annunziata Gianzero as Martha
Sara Spadacene as Chloe
Jax Buresh as Young Blake
Townsend Fallica as Young Ben
Latoya Franklyn as Dr. Keith
Joshua Quinn as Process Server

Trivia[]

Ben Carrington is the titular character of this episode.
This episode celebrates LGBT pride.
As part of the main cast, Elaine Hendrix is credited although she is absent from this episode,
This episodes features a flashback to a young Blake and Ben Carrington. There is also mention of their mother and that Blake believes Ben to be responsible for her death
- Blake explain his mother died drowned. In the original Dynasty series, she died in a fire.
- Joseph Anders is mentioned during the flashback by Blake.
- Thomas Carrington, the father of Blake, Dominique, and Ben, is mentioned in the episode, as well as Dominique's mother, Lo Cox. Blake is revealed to have fired Lo Cox as Thomas' secretary in order to get his lover of the time a position at Carrington Atlantic, which caused Lo to lose the Carringtons' support and fall in economic class.
This episode marks the 100th appearance of Michael Culhane, as he had missed one episode, You See Most Things in Terms of Black & White.
Ben is Samantha Massell (Stacey Moore)'s favourite episode.^[2]
The title of this episode is a reference to the episode of the same name of the Original Series in which Ben Carrington was formally introduced.
- This is the third time a reboot episode is titled after an original one for the arrival of a character. The previous times were to introduce Alexis in "Enter Alexis" and Dominique in "New Lady in Town", just as they were in the Original Series.
The episode celebrates LGBT pride with a special guest appearance by RuPaul's Drag Race season 14 contestant Angeria Paris VanMichaels.
- Liz Gillies and Rafael de la Fuente are known to be fans of the Drag Race franchise.
- This is the second time that the series has collaborated with a contestant from Drag Race, the first being with season 12 runner-up Gigi Goode, who designed a suit that Fallon wore in "The Only Thing That Counts Is Winning".^[3]^[4]
This episode features a performance of the song, "Self Control", by Angeria Paris VanMichaels.
This episode as many references to pop culture :
- Sammy Jo talk about Call Me by Your Name, a movie about a gay romantic relationship.
- He mentions West Hollywood, one of the first pro-gay municipality regions in the US.
- Sam also mentions Tom of Finland a Finnish artist known for his stylized highly masculinized homoerotic art.
- Sam ask Culhane to "stock the bar with enough vodka to fill the Nile," this is a reference to a line said by Gal Gadot in the 2022 movie Death on the Nile.
- Sam quotes a line from the 2021 House of Gucci movie said by Lady Gaga.
- When Fallon and Sam are at the dig site, Fallon is dress like the Dr. Ellie Sattler, played by Laura Dean, in the 1993 Jurassic Park movie, while Adam outfit looks like Indiana Jones (who is mentioned by Fallon).
- Sam says his drag name is Samantha Jones, this is a reference to the character of the same name played by Kim Cattrall from the TV series and movies Sex and the City.
  - This might also be a reference to the fact that Samantha was the name of Sammy Jo in the original Dynasty series in which the character was a woman played by Heather Locklear.
Writer Bryce Schramm posted to Instagram, addressing Dynasty celebrating LGBT Pride. He wrote, "This Friday’s episode is #Pride themed, and I am so honored to have been the writer to pen it (with massive amounts of help, as always). Seeing the cast and crew rally around Pride and give it 110% was heartening, beautiful, and everything I’d want and more. What we made is so much fun and unapologetically queer."^[5]

Soundtrack[]

Angeria Paris VanMichaels - "Self Control"
- Scene: Angeria takes the stage at The Sahara Club for an LGBT Pride celebration performance; Sam, Michael, and Kirby dance together; Fallon and Stacey hug; Dominique and Ben toast with champagne.

Quotes[]

Fallon: Betty is on edge because Ben keeps calling the office nonstop. And do you remember the last time an assistant of mine was on edge? She shot me. Do you want me to get shot again? Because that's what's gonna happen if you keep ignoring his calls.

Dominique: Like I said, keep me the hell out of it, Ben. And don't ever offer me hotel chardonnay again.

Blake: Can it wait? Our little brother's antics have got me on round-the-clock damage control.
Dominique: How about we talk about your antics for a second? Did you have my mother fired from C.A. because you wanted your mistress to work there?
Blake: I'm guessing you talked to Ben, after I explicitly told you not to.
Dominique: You don't control my social calendar. You're deflecting. Is it true or not?
Blake: Fine, okay? Yeah, it's true. But that's ancient history. I mean, i-if I'm being honest, I can't even remember the mistress's name.
Dominique: Do you think that makes you look better?
Blake: Look, had I known that the job was so important to Lo, and that she was raising my half-sister, I probably wouldn't have had her fired.
Dominique: Probably? You didn't just have her fired. You damned her to a different life. A much more difficult life, Blake.
Blake: I'm-I'm sorry. I am. You're hurt. I get that. But can't you see that this is exactly what Ben wants, to drive a wedge between us? Come on, you know that I'm a different person now.
Dominique: What I see is a little boy fighting with his brother like he's playing kids' games again. Good luck.

Michael (to Amanda): Well, look at you. Happy Pride!
Amanda (to Kirby): Oh, I love how awkward straight people are when they say that.

Sam (to Michael and Kirby): No, no, no, no, no. This is all my fault. For putting too much Pride responsibility on a straight guy and a girl who's gay only when it's convenient.

Angeria: Uh, Sammy Jo? Child, what are you doing to yourself in my dressing room?
Sam: Oh, my God. Miss Angeria Paris VanMichaels. Whoa! Almost. I am such a huge fan. It's an honor to meet you. I just need five more minutes of dragsforming, and then I'll be ready for your performance, which is now a duet. So our performance.
Angeria: Uh, I wasn't aware you do drag.
Sam: Well, I don't normally. It's a special occasion. So please allowed me to introduce to you... Samantha Jones. She's here to save this tragic party.
Angeria: You know that name is very taken, right?
Sam: Well...
Angeria: And Angeria doesn't do this duet thing. This pageant queen is all about polish.
Sam: I know it's very last minute, but I need to create a gay watercooler moment. Lance did it at Lance Bash, and if I don't top that, I might never get taken seriously as one of Atlanta's top gays.
Angeria: Okay, hold on. You don't do drag because you're trying to prove something. You got to do it for you. And also, the appearance fees. Come on. Sit down. Look at me. This is who I am, and I'm not trying to be anything but myself. If you have to put on a breastplate that doesn't even match your skin tone, I need you to press pause, breathe, and figure out what's going on with you that forced you into this moment. Is this clicking for you, honey?
Sam: Yes, Mother.
Angeria: Okay.