MovieChat Forums > Dynasty (1981) Discussion > Adam & Amanda missed opportunity

Adam & Amanda missed opportunity

posted 8 years ago by lferrigon-1
6 replies | jump to latest

I would have loved for Adam and Amanda to have a similar relationship to Steven and Fallon. Each could have been a shoulder to cry on or seek advice or help at times. Adam was seen as an outsider something that Amanda could have understood.

[–] radrobd 8 years ago

Why would they do that? Fallon and Steven's bond was that they grew up together in Blake Carrington's house, sharing many of the same experiences (their mother leaving at a young age, parents' divorce, etc). Adam and Amanda were virtual strangers. They had completely different life experiences, Adam was raised by his "grandmother," grew up poor, but managed to go to Yale and become a lawyer. Amanda wasn't poor. She grew up with two parents (Hugh and Rosalind) and was somewhat wealthy upbringing.

[–] lferrigon-1 8 years ago

I am not suggesting that they could ever be like Steven and Fallon who grew up together but have this sense that they are sort of outsiders in their family since they did not grew up with Steven or Fallon they are not going to be close to either of them.

[–] b73142 8 years ago

I understand what you mean. That would have been nice to see.

[–] jarrodmcdonald-1 8 years ago

It might have been more interesting (and soapy) if Adam had the hots for Amanda when she first came to town, like he did with Fallon when he came to Denver. But I suppose that wouldn't have worked because even if Amanda was not Blake's daughter (as Alexis claimed at first), she would have still had the same mother as Adam. But they could have introduced Amanda as if she was a god-daughter of Alexis, making us think for half a season that she was Hugh and Rosalind's daughter, and the truth of her parentage not coming out till later. If Adam had gotten too close to Amanda in a romantic sense (not knowing Amanda was his sister), then it would have compelled Alexis to come clean about the deception.

Of course, there was always some doubt about whether Adam was the real missing heir. In the days before DNA testing, the baby rattle was the so-called "evidence" but then later we were led to believe the infant had died during the kidnapping and Michael Torrance was a replacement. Blake and Alexis formally adopted him at the end of season 7. Then that was undone at the end of season 8, when headwriter Jeff Ryder made him the real long-lost son again, probably so the baby with Karen could be a blood Carrington. That whole thing of "is he or isn't he" a Carrington was confusing at times.

[–] radrobd 8 years ago

But they could have introduced Amanda as if she was a god-daughter of Alexis, making us think for half a season that she was Hugh and Rosalind's daughter, and the truth of her parentage not coming out till later.

Except that Adam and Amanda would still be related. Rosalind was Alexis' cousin, so Adam and Amanda would be second cousins.

[–] jarrodmcdonald-1 8 years ago

Except that Adam and Amanda would still be related. Rosalind was Alexis' cousin, so Adam and Amanda would be second cousins.

Yes. Instead of Rosalind being a cousin of Alexis, she could have been a friend from school. I think the true parentage of Amanda should have been delayed. We should have seen Alexis trying to be Amanda's "guardian," but knowing it was really her daughter. I would have brought Rosalind to Denver for a few episodes saying she was there to check on Amanda, but she was really there to check on Alexis' behavior about Amanda. And Rosalind should have helped keep up the charade, because she and her husband back in England were being paid by Alexis to hide the truth from Amanda and Blake.

But Rosalind would have told Alexis during her visit to Denver that she and the husband wanted more money now, or they would go to Blake Carrington and tell him who Amanda really was. This with Amanda's growing closeness to Adam, as well as Amanda's first meeting with Blake, would have been what started to push Alexis to reveal the truth.

And the first step, to prevent Adam from having an incestuous relationship with Amanda would have been Alexis revealing she was Amanda's mother. But then has some some ex-lover in Europe pretend he is the father. Meanwhile, Blake is more and more suspicious about the whole thing and begins to believe he's Amanda's father. Blake flies to England and visits with Rosalind and Rosalind's husband and gets the whole truth out of them. But that should not have happened until February, almost two-thirds of the way into the season.

The audience should have been kept in the dark during the first half of the season, and Amanda should not have had her first scene with Blake until Thanksgiving or Christmas. She should have just seemed like a hanger-on, not a real Carrington at first, then her true identity gradually revealed. That way we could get to know her as an individual, instead of it being an obvious attempt to replace Fallon with another female Carrington offspring.

Another reason to delay the revelation would be to show this whole power dynamic where Alexis is determined to keep one of their children from Blake, all to herself. But of course Adam, Rosalind and Amanda's own curiosity are the things that sabotage Alexis and ultimately unite Amanda with Blake against her mother. A lot of mileage could have been gotten out of introducing Amanda, the same way Dominique's identity was mysterious at first then gradually revealed.

I would have also delayed the introduction of the prince. I would have shown Amanda in those early months as kind of rebellious, flirting with a bunch of different bad boys (including Adam) where she does not seem like princess material at all. Then after she finds out Blake is her father, that's when she's calmed down and meets the prince. I think the courtship with Amanda and Michael could have built to their engagement in the last episode, meaning the Moldavian wedding would not have happened until the following season. The season 5 cliffhanger could have been the first assassination attempt on Michael, which misses him and puts Amanda's life on the line. For the first time, Blake and Alexis have to work together on Amanda's behalf, to try and find the person responsible for almost killing their daughter.

And I think I would have had them nail the culprit at the beginning of season 6, but make Amanda temporarily blinded (like Blake had been earlier). And then she regains her sight and the wedding takes place in November or December. I would not have had a massacre happen right away. I would have done the whole storybook wedding thing and have them be happy for awhile. Amanda and Michael would have taken a long honeymoon cruise then eventually gone to live full-time at his family's castle in Moldavia. Then at the end of season 6, show the massacre but have the rest of the Carringtons in Denver, hearing news reports, deciding with Dex's help to sneak into the war torn country to rescue Amanda.

At the beginning of season 7, Amanda would have been back to Denver. It would be presumed that Michael didn't make it out of the country alive. Now we have Amanda as a young widow and as the ex-royalty of a small country that has fallen into the hands of communists. And of course, some of those commie bad guys come to Denver to try to get something valuable from Amanda that she doesn't even know is in her possession. Like this whole thing with Amanda could have gone on with all kinds of intrigue. And by that point, Amanda is pregnant with the dead prince's child. But of course, Michael is not really dead and he staged his death in the hopes of going back to overthrow the bad guys and reclaim Moldavia. And that would lead up to the season 7 cliffhanger.