Dynasty Boss Breaks Down Claudia's Reveal, the Show's New Direction: 'We're Cranking Up the Crazy' 

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— the camp and the big, surprising soapy twists,” executive producer Sallie Patrick tells TVLine. “We also felt very strongly that we needed to earn those. It would have been hard to come out of the gate with an episode like this. You have to be with the characters long enough to start caring about them. We’re cranking up the crazy moving forward.”

Wednesday’s Thanksgiving-themed episode, however belated, served up a generous helping of drama (Fallon’s back!) and intrigue (just what 

Steven and Jeff plotting?) before before hitting us with the main course: Not only has Claudia been faking her sickness, but she’s the one responsible for Matthew’s death. As Patrick notes, the episode “brings to a head so many of the stories that we’ve been slowly building. It hits the tone of the show perfectly.”

The episode also gave viewers something they might not have known they needed in their lives: more scenes between Anders and Sammy Jo!

“We’ve introduced their friendship, and I totally ‘ship them together,” Patrick says with a laugh. “Locking them in the basement was so much fun. … Alan Dale is amazing as Anders. From the beginning, everybody wanted to be in a storyline with him. … Sammy Jo is always getting in over his head, so it made sense for him to be the first one knocked out. And the funniest person to lock him in the basement with seemed to be Anders.”

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, Patrick assures TVLine that we haven’t seen the last of her.

“She’s gone off the canvas for a little while, but a character in an institution with a baby is certainly coming back,” she says. “Claudia one of my favorite characters from the original show, so it just made sense to arc the story out this way. We have a few more big characters we’re introducing, including Alexis, so we’ll see Claudia again when she comes back to stir the pot after Alexis is settled in.”

The episode’s other big cliffhangers (will Blake and Cristal go through with their baby plans, etc.) will all be addressed in the coming weeks. For now, drop a comment with your thoughts on Wednesday’s delicious Thanksgiving episode below.

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