• "
I Hardly Recognized You" (2017) [Cristal Flores/Celia Machado] • "
Twenty-Three Skidoo" (2018) [Cristal Jennings] }} • "
Dead Scratch" (2018) [Cristal Flores/Celia Machado] • "
Catch 22" (2022) [Cristal Jennings] }} }} portrays Cristal Jennings in season 2 of the reboot series. portrays Cristal Jennings beginning in seasons 3-5 of the reboot series.
Casting A
pilot for a
Dynasty reboot for
The CW was announced in September 2016, and
Nathalie Kelley was cast as Cristal Flores, a Latina reimagining of Krystle, in January 2017. Kelley said that producers offered her the role after seeing her work in The CW series
The Vampire Diaries, and she signed on before reading a script. The
first season premiered on The CW on October 11, 2017. In June 2018, Kelley told
E! News that she was not asked to return for
season two. She said in 2020 that she had been surprised to get the call that she would not be returning to the series, and explained: The CW announced in August 2018 that
Ana Brenda Contreras had been cast as "the real Cristal Flores" for the second season. In July 2019, the network announced that Contreras would not be returning for
season three for personal reasons, and that
Daniella Alonso would take over the role of Cristal. In May 2020, showrunner Josh Reims confirmed that Alonso would be back for season four, saying "I kind of wanted to do this thing—which I still might do—where we pretend at the beginning of the season that we're getting another new Cristal. But I don't want to scare Daniella. She's so great in the role, and I'm so excited that she's coming back."
Characterization Noting that Krystle, in the original series, "was pure and the moral center of the show", executive producer
Josh Schwartz said of the reboot version of the character portrayed by Kelley, "With this new Cristal, we liked the idea of not letting her be quite as pure and raising some questions about her past and having her stir the pot—making her more formidable. That really let us lean into this rivalry between Fallon and Cristal."
Showrunner Sallie Patrick said of Kelley's Cristal, "She's scrappy and she's a hustler and she's a fighter and a career woman, but it's not so black and white." Kelley said of the 1980s version of the character, "She's not really given much to do besides be beautiful and look after the house." Kelley also suggested to producers that Cristal should be "at least in her 30s. I don't think women around the world are going to be happy with this rich billionaire in his 50s dating someone who's under 30, and that threshold makes a big difference." Kelley said that Cristal's Venezuelan origins will allow the show to explore the current geopolitics of that country. Patrick said of the Contreras character, Cristal Jennings: Reims promised a "seamless transition" as Alonso assumed the role. He said that the character would be written "a little more real and a little less scary, which is how we were writing Cristal last year."
Storylines Season one In the premiere episode "
I Hardly Recognized You", Cristal (
Nathalie Kelley) is engaged to her billionaire boss
Blake Carrington (
Grant Show), but is immediately disliked by his willful daughter
Fallon (
Elizabeth Gillies). Fallon plots to drive a wedge between them by giving her father photos of Cristal with her former lover
Matthew Blaisdel (
Nick Wechsler, but Fallon's plan backfires, pushing up the wedding and securing Cristal the promotion Fallon wanted for herself. Meanwhile,
Anders (
Alan Dale), the Carrington family butler, makes his dislike for Cristal (and his knowledge of her past) known, and the arrival of her shady nephew
Sam (
Rafael de la Fuente)—who has just slept with Fallon's brother,
Steven (
James Mackay)—puts her in further jeopardy. Matthew is killed, and his wife
Claudia (
Brianna Brown) accuses Blake of murder. In "
Spit It Out", a devastated Cristal puts aside sentiment to prove her loyalty to Blake and help him protect her new family. In "
Guilt is for Insecure People", Sam's mother—Cristal's sister
Iris (
Elena Tovar)—is in trouble, but Anders has made it impossible for Cristal to send her money. Cristal remembers her past as Celia Machado, when the sisters stole a fortune, but only Cristal escaped Venezuela. She is tempted by a diamond necklace worth millions, but Sam takes the initiative and secretly arranges the theft of Cristal's engagement ring and other valuables during a charity gala. While Cristal takes Blake on an impromptu honeymoon in "
Private as a Circus", Fallon leaks a sex video of Cristal and Matthew from Matthew's phone. Cristal faces the backlash from her sex video in "
Company Slut". She apologizes to an irate Claudia, who chases Cristal into the street and is accidentally hit by Blake with his car. Cristal insists that a pregnant Claudia stay at the mansion to convalesce in "
I Exist Only for Me". Sam and Claudia bond, but her erratic behavior convinces Blake and Cristal that she should leave. Sam and Cristal learn that Claudia has been taking the wrong medication. In "
A Taste of Your Own Medicine" it is revealed that Claudia has been faking her memory problems. She holds the Carringtons at gunpoint, wanting Cristal to watch her kill Blake, but the rest of the family is able to overpower her. Cristal's pursuers have found her in "
The Best Things in Life", and Anders helps her pay them off. When Blake catches her in a lie, Cristal confesses her secrets to him. In "
Rotten Things", Blake brings Iris to Atlanta for the holidays. Cristal and Anders discover that Iris was behind the extortion plot, and a confrontation with her sister causes Cristal to admit to Sam that she killed his father,
Alejandro Raya (
Luis Fernández (actor)), to defend Iris. Cristal is a pariah at the mansion in "
A Well-Dressed Tarantula". Sam's father Alejandro reveals himself to her, very much alive, and threatens to expose Blake's father's past crimes if she does not help Alejandro close a deal with Carrington Atlantic. Cristal, Blake, Fallon, and Sam work together to turn the tables on Alejandro and Iris. Alejandro and Iris kidnap Fallon and hold her for ransom in a warehouse in "
I Answer to No Man". Concerned about Blake's plan, Cristal sneaks off to make the drop, but is taken as a hostage as well. Cristal helps Fallon escape, but is whisked away in a truck by Alejandro and Iris. Cristal convinces Iris that Alejandro is bad and will only turn on her, and as Alejandro tries to strangle Cristal, Iris shoots and kills him. The sisters reconcile. Cristal sends Iris off with some cash, and tells the police she shot Alejandro in self-defense, not Iris. In "
Promises You Can't Keep", Cristal learns from a journalist friend,
Rick Morales (J. R. Cacia), that Blake regularly bribed Senator Paul Daniels (
Rick Hearst) when he was a judge. To avoid the truth coming out, she gives Rick an alternative story about Daniels' many extramarital affairs. Cristal receives flowers from Rick, and admits to Blake that they kissed, in "
The Gospel According to Blake Carrington". Aware that Rick is secretly working with his nemesis
Jeff Colby (
Sam Adegoke), Blake presses Cristal to get as close to Rick as possible, but she refuses. In "
Enter Alexis", Blake's newly-arrived ex-wife
Alexis Carrington (
Nicollette Sheridan) tells Fallon that Blake bribed a judge to seize custody and exile her, which Cristal confirms. Cristal puts the Carrington resources behind helping ex-Carrington chauffeur
Michael Culhane's (
Robert Christopher Riley) ailing father in "
Don't Con a Con Artist". Learning that his illness is tied to an environmental scandal that Carrington Atlantic covered up, Cristal convinces Blake to go public with the truth in "
Use or Be Used", but he later destroys her files on the coverup and uses a recording of her admitting guilt to keep her in line. While Fallon and Cristal work together to gain leverage over Blake in "
A Line from the Past", he publicly announces Fallon's promotion to COO in place of Cristal. Blake wants to mend fences with Cristal in "
Trashy Little Tramp", but she meets secretly with a divorce lawyer. He finds out, but she has only updated their
prenuptial agreement to remove her potential settlement, as a means to prove her love. In "
Dead Scratch", a resurrected Matthew helps Claudia escape the sanitarium, and they infiltrate the mansion during the preparations for Steven and Sam's wedding. Cristal catches Alexis kissing Hank (
Brent Antonello) and the women fight, which ends with Alexis locking Cristal in the stable house. Claudia snaps and confronts Cristal with a gun. Matthew steps between them as Claudia fires, except that Matthew is a figment of her imagination, and Cristal takes the bullet. The building is set on fire, and Alexis runs upstairs through the flames to release Cristal.
Season two In
season two, Celia/Cristal has died, and in "
Twenty-Three Skidoo" several women appear claiming to be the person from whom Celia stole her assumed identity. Sam is aware of enough details to know that they are all lying. In
Sedona, Arizona, Cristal Jennings (
Ana Brenda Contreras) watches online coverage of the Carringtons. In "
Ship of Vipers", Cristal arrives at the mansion and shows Blake a photo of her with Celia. Cristal explains that she was once in a Mexican hospital, where she befriended Celia and encouraged her to emigrate to the United States using Cristal's identity. Blake pursues Cristal romantically in "
The Butler Did It", but she is uncomfortable when she realizes that he sees her as a substitute for Celia, and goes back to Arizona. Cristal returns in "
Snowflakes in Hell" to give Blake her support when he learns that Steven is not his biological son. Alexis tries to get rid of Cristal in "
Queen of Cups", but she only helps Blake and Cristal get closer. Alexis sabotages their plans to leave town together for Thanksgiving in "
That Witch", but this only leads to a proposal of marriage from Blake to Cristal. Cristal's attempts to rid herself of Alexis fail in "
A Temporary Infestation", but Cristal makes sure everyone learns that Alexis is the one who left the baby at the manor. Blake buys a soccer team for Cristal in "
A Real Instinct for the Jugular". In "
A Champagne Mood", Cristal confides in Sam that she is pregnant. Blake discovers the pregnancy test and announces the news publicly. Cristal texts "M. Jennings" that her baby is Blake's and not his, but she is not actually sure. In "
The Sight of You", Cristal confesses to Fallon that her ex-husband
Mark Jennings (Damon Dayoub) may be the father of her baby. Fallon urges Cristal to tell Blake the truth, but she is unable to when he expresses how excited he is about being a father again. Alexis blackmails Tony the gardener (Chase Anderson) into helping her get dirt on Cristal in "
Filthy Games", and when Alexis learns that Cristal is unsure about the baby's paternity, she makes sure Blake finds out. Blake is upset, but forgives Cristal for not telling him. In "
Even Worms Can Procreate", Alexis tries to convince Mark that the baby is his, and Blake tells Cristal that whatever the paternity test shows, he will raise the child as his own. Mark shows up at the manor to get the truth from Cristal, and Blake asks him to stay with the Carringtons until the test results come back. Alexis lies to Mark that Cristal is still in love with him, and he and Cristal have a tender moment. Blake sees them together, and offers to have Mark's ban from professional soccer lifted if Mark leaves town. Cristal learns that the baby is Blake's and taunts Alexis. A distraught Alexis plans to commit suicide, but sees Cristal and Mark riding, and fires at Cristal instead. Mark takes the bullet, and Cristal's frightened horse throws her off and drags her. In "
Parisian Legend Has It...", Cristal has survived but has lost her baby, and may not be able to have more children. Blake believes his hired muscle, Mack (
Jeremy Davidson, is behind the shooting. A distraught Blake kills Mack with Cristal's approval, and Anders disposes of the body. When Blake loses the site of his new stadium in "
Motherly Overprotectiveness", Cristal and Michael outmaneuver Jeff for a replacement location. Cristal's brother Beto (
Geovanni Gopradi) has secretly helped her, and now her powerful father expects her to visit. In "
Miserably Ungrateful Men", Cristal resists Beto's demand that she hire one of her father's pet players for the Atlantix, but he refuses to leave Atlanta until she capitulates. Sam catches Beto kissing another man, and convinces him to forgive Cristal for betraying their family. Beto backs down, and gives Cristal a dossier that her father has collected about her and the Carringtons. Cristal promises Beto she will keep Blake from antagonizing their dangerous father Silvio (
Tony Plana) in "
Life is a Masquerade Party", but Blake has the power cut at the Flores-owned stadium in Mexico, costing Silvio millions. Cristal invites Silvio to Carrington Manor and brokers a peace between him and Blake, who go into the gambling business together. In "
This Illness of Mine", Blake and Cristal succeed in getting gambling legalized in Atlanta, but Michael learns that they coerced politicians to secure the vote. Michael's evidence is not enough for the
FBI to arrest Blake, so in "
New Lady in Town" Michael alerts Cristal that the FBI is on to Blake's scheme. Blake incriminates himself on tape and is arrested. In "
Thicker Than Money", Cristal objects to Blake's plan to blame her father for his crimes. She goes to the FBI, ostensibly to inform on Blake, but she is secretly executing his plan to exonerate himself and frame Michael. In "
Deception, Jealousy, and Lies", Fallon learns that Blake and Cristal's separation is only a ruse, and realizes that they are framing Michael for Blake's crimes. Before Blake and Cristal are able to marry, two bodies are discovered in the lake.
Reception In 2017, Tierney Bricker of
E! Online dubbed Nathalie Kelley "this season's breakout star". Maureen Ryan of
Variety wrote, "Kelley isn't given much to work with. There's not enough depth or textured drama in any of her scenes; everything about the character seems a bit wan and whiny. Nothing about this Cristal makes her seem like a worthy love interest for Blake or an intimidating adversary for the headstrong and disapproving Fallon, despite the attempts to give her a mysterious backstory." ==Notes and references==