You See Most Things in Terms of Black & White

You See Most Things in Terms of Black & White
Season 03, Episode 13

Air date	February 21, 2020
Written by	David M. Israel
Directed by	Heather Tom
Viewers	0.32 million (320,000)^[1]
Episode Guide
previous "Battle Lines"	next "That Wicked Stepmother"

“	Let's run away together, baby. Me and you. Till the end of time.	”
Liam proposing to Fallon

"You See Most Things in Terms of Black & White" is the thirteenth episode of the third season and the fifty-seventh episode overall of The CW's Dynasty. It aired on February 21, 2020.

Synopsis[]

IT'S ALL IN THE PITCH – In a unique episode, Blake and Cristal contend with their new houseguest, while Adam seeks help from Alexis and Colby. Fallon plans a special gesture for Liam who gets a significant career opportunity. Sam tries a different kind of relationship, while Kirby pines for her crush.^[2]

Plot Summary[]

SPOILERS AHEAD

An extraordinarily healthy breakfast is served at the Carrington Manor, courtesy of Dominique, who is doing a “heart-healthy diet”. Cristal wants to set house rules and Blake fills her on his deal with Dom. She will live in the manor for one-year, non-negotiable, but will also lay low in the East Wing. He adds an addendum that she is no longer allowed to speak to the kitchen staff. When Dom leaves, Cristal isn’t sure if she can handle Dom for an entire year. He praises Cristal’s ability to move past things, such as how she moved past the Alexis situation. Cristal leaves the table to take an important phone call. In the meantime, Blake makes his disliking for the green drink in front of him well-known.

Fallon practices her proposal speech to a very flattered Sam, who assures her that if Liam doesn’t marry her, then he will. He admires the ring and she tells him her plan to propose to Liam at dinner that night. Liam beings heading their way so Sam hides the ring in his jacket. He comments on their weird behavior and they attempt to cover. She confirms their dinner plans for tonight before he leaves to shower from his workout. Sam starts to walk off but Fallon calls him back and gets the ring back first.

Alexis is massaging Jeff’s hand when Adam arrives asking for their help. His license with the medical board is up for review per its six-month check. Blake used to make “donations” to the board to keep things legit, but Jeff corrects that it was bribery. Adam needs money to keep practicing as a doctor in Atlanta, $100,000 to be exact. Jeff reminds Adam of the poisoning and refuses to help Adam financially, even telling him “hell no”. He remarks on how fun being a parent is now before leaving his office.

Dominique meets with Stacey, a producer, to pitch an idea for a reality show, “House of Deveraux” which would be shot in her new home - Carrington Manor. Stacey doesn’t like the idea as Dominique and her nobody daughter aren’t interesting. Blake Carrington, however, is very popular coming off his murder-trial and people are very interested in his hot new bride. Stacey wants to see a sizzle reel that shows an entirely new side of Cristal Carrington.

Sam plans to throw a drink in Fletcher’s face upon his arrival for not disclosing his marital status. Kirby frets over why Adam hasn’t texted her yet. Sam tries to decide between the drinks that will sting more, stain more, or the one that is just nasty. Neither one is paying attention to the other’s problem until Sam asks Kirby to focus. She doesn’t think he’s the drink throwing type which he knows. Moments later, Fletcher arrives asking for just a minute to explain the situation. While he is married, their marriage is open and his husband is aware of everything so there isn’t any cheating involved. Fletcher just didn’t know how to tell Sam because some people take issues with open marriages. Sam is surprised by the truth but Fletcher can’t stay, he just wanted to explain his side and see if Sam was still interested in seeing one another. Sam thinks it’s a good idea and Fletcher promises to call him later before leaving. Kirby tells Sam it’s a horrible idea but he brings up her sleeping with Adam doesn’t give her a lot of say in the bad-idea category.

Fallon consorts with the conductor of the music group she hired to perform a song the moment Liam accepts her proposal. She shoos them off when Liam arrives excited about an opportunity to pitch a book idea to one of the most important publishers in the world. Fallon wants to table the topic for a few minutes while they order drinks, but he stops her. The publisher is London so he has to cancel dinner so he can prepare for his flight tomorrow morning. He asks to borrow the jet and invites her to come with him. She declines so he leaves but asks her to think about it.

Fallon vents to Sam about her situation with Liam while Sam tries to pick the perfect outfit for his date with Fletcher. He suggests she go to London since Liam wants her too and she doesn’t have anything going on in Atlanta at the moment. She thinks about proposing while there and he helps her work through some options. She helps him pick out the perfect outfit for his date, after needing him to explain what was happening again because she wasn’t paying attention.

Dom talks to Anders in the liquor cellar and asks for his advice on how to make Cristal like her more. He doesn’t trust her but she assures him there is no need for trust as she just wants to get to know her sister-in-law. She flirts with him and fills him on her secret crush towards him, and they flirt for a bit. Anders then suggests cooking roasted pork and they part ways.

Liam and Fallon meet on the runway at the airport and he comments on her excess luggage. She alludes to maybe needing something to celebrate but covers that she was talking about his book. While he boards the plane she hides the engagement ring in her bra before hurrying to the plane.

Sam is distracted during his date with Fletcher and admits that he can’t stop thinking about Fletcher’s husband. Fletcher explains that the open marriage was his husbands’ idea but he is fine with it now. He then gives Sam a watch as a present and they kiss.

Dom records Cristal’s entrance then explains the plan for the night. After the pork feast, they will have mani-pedis and waxes courtesy of the best beauticians. Dom is surprised when Cristal’s reaction is less than thrilled. Cristal tells her she’s allergic to pork and leaves to lie down, despite Dom’s efforts to get her to stay.

Fallon wants to make a toast to Liam and is about to pull the ring out of her bra when he stops her as he has a better idea. He wants to practice his pitch for her. He encourages her to give feedback then starts telling his story…

In the first black and white sequence, Liam, now private Detective Leland, sets the scene. He’s wrapping up a nasty espionage case when a rich nightclub owner enters. The nightclub owner, Mr. Sanders, wants Leland’s help in solving a jewelry heist. Leland dismisses the offer so Sanders calls in his lackey, Blaine, to change Leland’s mind. Upon seeing a pile of cash Leland accepts the case.

Leland goes over the specifics of the case with Sanders. Sanders wants him to nab the thief and return the diamond to him. Leland recaps Sanders’s story - he put the diamond in the safe when the power went out. When the lights came on, the diamond was gone. Sanders thinks the new busboy Aidan stole the diamond.

At Club Sanders, the pianist introduces Miss. Veronica Cabot to the stage. Veronica begins to sing and Leland arrives. Veronica is the reason he didn’t take the case at first, as she broke his heart - twice.

Liam asks Fallon what she thinks of the story so far, and she admits it didn’t entice her so far but she does like the singer - Veronica.

Leland begins interviewing the club-goers and the first woman doesn’t have an alibi because she comes and goes as she pleases and no one ever recognizes her face. The bartender claims she would never steal from Sanders who has only been good to her. The pianist didn’t see anyone when the lights went out because it was pitch black. But he knows Leland will never find the diamond. Blaine was moving Sanders’s car and filling it with gas during the heist.

Veronica tells Leland she knows that he’ll find the culprit and prove the busboy, Aidan, innocent. She knows he didn’t do it because Aidan is her brother and is merely being framed. Leland can’t talk to Aidan because he’s in hiding until things calm down regarding the investigation. Leland dismisses her attempts to flirt.

Fallon comments on Leland being rude to Veronica and likens her as the hero of the story.

Leland interrogates Sanders’s wife, Lexi, about no one seeing her at the club the night the Peach Diamond was stolen. She assures him that if she were there they would remember, as she has a face people don’t forget. Lexi was in bed and invites him up to keep her warm on such a chilly day. He suggests standing closer to the fire but she doesn’t like fire. She flirts with him more but his dismissal causes him to be thrown out of the manor by her lackeys, Sal and Little Jo. Little Jo handles accommodations and offers Leland his card for a place to stay. Sal handles Sanders’s cars. The trio chats for a moment before Sal knocks Leland unconscious.

Leland confronts Blaine about his suspicious behavior and his affair with Sanders’s wife, Lexi. Leland says that Little Jo handles the cars which means Blaine was lying about where he was that night. Blaine accidentally confirms his affair with Lexi.

Fallon is confused as certain details in the story don’t match. She wants to know who stole the peach diamond so the story can be over. He teases that he isn’t done just yet, as things are about to get crazy in his story.

Leland returns to his office to find Veronica waiting for him. She doesn’t want to discuss the case despite his efforts to keep things formal. They wind up kissing but Veronica hits the answering machine button by accident and a message from Blaine plays. Blaine has information regarding the theft and wants to meet that night. Veronica keeps Leland enticed by flirting with him and they eventually have sex.

Fallon is kissing Liam and compliments him on the story being great but wants to have sex instead. Liam says they can’t just yet because the plane is going to land soon and he hasn’t perfected the pitch or finished the story. She tells him to keep it spicy, pick up the pace, and skip to the end.

Veronica is performing at Club Sanders when Leland arrives to speak with Blaine. He observes some strange patrons including a woman with a newborn baby who was drinking alcohol. When he finds Blaine sitting on the couch it doesn’t take long for him to realize Blaine was very much so dead. Leland locks down the club so no one can enter or leave, as he knows exactly who murdered Blaine. Leland reveals that the busboy, Aidan, did it and came back to tie up loose ends. He merely disguised himself as the invisible man - or woman. He rips the wig off the woman holding the newborn baby and reveals the person to be Aidan in disguise. The baby was just a doll. The vial in Aidan’s jacket is a poison that way probably used to kill Blaine. Veronica exclaims that she won’t let anything happen to Aidan before she seemingly vanishes.

Leland stops Veronica on the tarmac of an airport where she is attempting to flee. He has solved the case. Veronica manipulated Aidan into stealing the peach diamond for her, then manipulated Sanders to hire Leland, intending for the trail to lead straight to Aidan. She calls him crazy but he isn’t finished. She had Blaine killed when he found out the truth, which is why she called Aidan back to town. He isn’t sure why Aidan, her brother, would kill Blaine for her. He tells her it’s simple - because Aidan isn’t her brother but her lover! Leland figured it out by the look on Aidan’s face when she said goodbye. The only thing he doesn’t know is what she did with the peach diamond. He pulls a gun and removes the diamond from her handbag. She swears she can change and offers to run away with him until the end of time. They kiss but she uses the moment to steal his gun. She pulls the trigger but Leland emptied the clip before he even got there. He then proceeds to arrest her.

Liam’s pitch lasted the whole flight. Fallon liked the idea but recommends postponing it for a few weeks or a year. She elaborates that certain things in the story didn’t make sense. How did the detective figure everything out? Why was Aidan in a dress? Were Sal and Little Jo cops or security guards? She thinks Veronica was too manipulative but Liam doesn’t agree. He thinks she just didn’t understand the story because she isn’t a sophisticated reader. She angrily storms off the plane.

Kirby doesn’t think Fletcher is serious about Sam and tries to convince him. He wants her to be supportive. He thinks the open marriage thing won’t last long so the marriage won’t either. While Fletcher hasn’t said he’s leaving his husband, Sam is hopeful because he’s falling in love with Fletcher.

Dom confronts Anders about fooling her into thinking Cristal likes pork. Dom says she’s a fool for taking advice from such a loyal man. She takes some champagne to bring up to Cristal but stops under the staircase when Cristal leaves talking to a stranger on the phone about meeting up.

Alexis couldn’t convince Jeff to give Adam the money but she tells him that if her plan with Jeff goes her way she’ll have more then enough money to buy him a medical license. Her plan would take too long as he needs a solution now. He decides to sell the vineyard he bought for Blake and use the money from the sale to get his license. The deed is still in Adam’s name, but the deed is in Blake’s office in the manor - but Adam is banned.

Dom follows Cristal to a high-end hotel and witnesses Cristal meet with a man. Dom takes pictures of them embracing, thinking they’re having an affair.

Kirby catches Adam sneaking into the manor and he lies about being there to give her an in-person apology. Instead of having sex in her room, they go for the dangerous route of having sex in Blake’s office on his desk. After, he starts to get dressed and tells her they shouldn’t keep doing this as it’s too messy. She doesn’t agree and refuses to leave because she knows he wasn’t really there to see her or have sex. Adam takes out the deed to the vineyard he bought, Ruddington Vineyards, and explains that he needed the deed. She is fine with it but tells him that if he needs something stolen from the manor he can ask her.

Fallon returns to the hotel in London where Liam is waiting for her. She begins to mock his book proposal but he says he didn’t go. The truth is the PI had the Peach Diamond the whole time. He lets her into the hotel room where dozens of roses fill the room. She drops her bags in surprise. When she turns around he is down on one knee holding a ring box. The ring is a peach-colored diamond. He asks her to marry him before elaborating that there was never a pitch. He made it all up on the plane to get her to London. He saw her ring the other day and wanted to be the one proposing this time. He knew if she was angry she wouldn’t propose so he pretended she didn’t understand the story. He stands and slides the ring onto her finger, asking her to run away with him until the end of time. She agrees and they kiss.

Kirby visits Fletcher to talk to him about Sam. Fletcher confirms that he is also falling in love with Sam and praises him highly. She tells him that if he cares about Sam then he should do the right thing no matter how hard it is. She then leaves.

Cristal gives the man the rest of the $20,000 she promised him and a picture of Alexis. She tells the man Alexis killed Cristal’s ex-lover, unborn child, and tried to put her husband in jail. The man tells her that this is the ultimate price to pay for Alexis’s crimes.

Sam tells Kirby that Fletcher broke up with him under the guise that his husband can’t handle the situation. She comforts him with a hug.

Cristal goes home and has a nice conversation with Blake about her moving on.

Liam, Fallon, and Sam celebrate their engagement at La Mirage. Sam reveals he knew that Liam was going to propose so he made sure that Fallon was on the plane to London. Sam is happy for the couple and Fallon promises to never dumb Sam. The trio has a group hug before Fallon leaves to plane the re-engagement party with Sam. Now alone, Liam turns around and freezes when he sees his ex-girlfriend, Heidi. They talk for a moment before she brings up Switzerland and putting their child up for adoption. She looks behind her to a young boy sitting on the couch playing on his tablet. She tells him the boy is their son, Connor, and it’s time that Connor meets his father.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Elizabeth Gillies as Fallon Carrington/Miss Veronica Cabot
Daniella Alonso as Cristal Carrington/Club-goer
Elaine Hendrix as Alexis Carrington Colby/Lexi Sanders
Rafael de La Fuente as Sam Jones/Little Jo
Sam Underwood as Adam Carrington/Aidan
Michael Michele as Dominique Deveraux/Bartender
Robert Christopher Riley as Pianist
Sam Adegoke as Jeff Colby/Sal
Maddison Brown as Kirby Anders
Adam Huber as Liam Ridley/Detective Leland
Alan Dale as Joseph Anders/Mr. Sanders
Grant Show as Blake Carrington/Blaine

Guest Starring[]

Co-Starring[]

Vince Foster as Wayne
John Jackson Hunter as Connor

Trivia[]

According to Adam Huber, "You See Most Things in Terms of Black & White" is a big episode for Liam. Massive even! Something's gonna come up where everything starts going great and everything looks like he and Fallon and going to take their relationship to the next level, something happens at the very end that will make you go, 'boy, what's gonna happen now?!'^[3]
This is the first episode of the series (and by far only) not to feature Michael Culhane. While Robert Christopher Riley does appear in the noir segment of the episode, he doesn’t portray Culhane.
Alexis and Cristal Carrington's recastings are discretely referred to twice in this episode. Both times by their noir-counterparts.
- When Leland tells Lexi to stand closer to the fireplace, she reveals her disliking for fire. This is a reference to Alexis's face being burned in a fireplace in "Motherly Overprotectiveness".
Liam being hit over the head with a potted plant, in season two,^[4] is referenced when Leland mistakes Little Jo moving a potted plant for an attempted attack. Liam's amnesia is also indirectly mentioned when Leland wishes he had amnesia so he could forget Veronica.
The baby Adam holds being a doll is a reference to the infamous fake baby plot in the second season.^[5]
Cristal Carrington refers to Mark Jennings as her ex-lover to the hitman she hires to kill Alexis Carrington. In reality, Mark Jennings is her ex-husband, not her ex-lover.
The title "You See Most Things in Terms of Black & White" is a reference to the line said by Blake Carrington to Krystle Carrington in season five episode "Amanda" of the original Dynasty series.
Both Daniella Alonso's and Michael Michele's favourite Dominique and Cristal scene is the one from this episode in which Dominique makes pork to impress and befriend Cristal, only to find out that Cristal is allergic to it.
The title of the episode was first revealed via a picture of the script cover on director Heather Tom's Instagram account.^[6]
This is one of Liz Gillies' and Adam Huber's favourite episodes.^[7]

Soundtrack[]

Why Try To Change Me Now (performed by Fallon)
The Man That Got Away (interrupted) (performed by Fallon)

Quotes[]

Fallon: [practicing proposing with Sam] Liam, you and I have overcome so many insane obstacles. And by insane, I mean your mother. But I have never been more sure that I am ready to spend the rest of my life by your side and in your arms. So, Liam will you marry me?
Sam: Yes, Liam will marry you. And if he doesn't, I will.

Alexis: Well, maybe there's something I can do.
Adam: Nah, I said "recourse" not "intercourse."

Kirby: That's a terrible idea.
Sam: Oh, said the genius who slept with Adam Carrington?

Fallon: Are you saying I'm dumb?
Liam: No just an unsophisticated reader.

Detective Leland (Liam): I saw the look on his face when you gave him the ol’ see you later. I’d recognize that look anywhere. It’s the look I saw on my face when you gave me the ol’ see you later.
Lounge Singer Veronica (Fallon): “Well that makes no sense. You can’t see your own face.”
Detective LeLand (Liam): I’m assuming that’s how I looked, okay!”