No thanks to CBS and the Grammy Awards, Revenge finally returns, albeit with dismal ratings. A series low! It’s a shame really, because this week’s episode was the best one yet this season. It’s not uncommon for television shows to suffer a sophomore slump, and some are result of a decline in a show’s quality, whereas some are just unwarranted, to which we respond to with disbelief. Unfortunately it is the former case for the second season of Revenge. The first half of the season, although still enjoyable, suffered from multiple issues: weak/dull storylines (see: the Stowaway hijinx), uneven pacing, and poorly-conceived characters (see: Mama Clarke, Marco the ex-CFO, Padma). Due to a combination of the aforementioned issues, I completely empathise with the average viewer’s wavering interest in the show. However, the show is actually hitting it’s stride in the latter half of the season. The show is actually gaining momentum, and it’s almost as if the things we had to endure is finally starting to pay off.
And with that note, let’s dive into what transpired in this week’s bombshell of an episode, which was filled with confrontations :
source: “http://the-battle-cry.tumblr.com/”
- Confrontation #1 – Victoria vs Initiative Lady: Needless to say, this was the most satisfying turning point this week. It was so exciting to see the great Queen Victoria back in action. Victoria finally confronted Daniel and spilled the beans on the truth about The Americon Initiative (which was what exactly?). This did not bode well with the Crowley lady, who seemed a little unhinged, and threatened to have Daniel killed unless Victoria cooperates and hands over whatever evidence she had against them. Big mistake! Once again demonstrating the incompetence of Initiative members, Crowley decided it was a great idea to sneak into the Grayson mansion and threaten Victoria’s son, UNARMED. It was like she was begging to be shot in the chest. This paved way to the most amusing and yet epic scene of the episode, in which the Grayson Trio bond in typical Grayson fashion: over blackmail and murder. “What on earth did you do?” The expressions on their faces were priceless.
- Confrontation #2 – Aiden vs Emily: Rejoice, Aiden/Emily shippers! Apparently, Aiden’s sister’s overdose happened six months ago, which meant that the Initiative lied to Aiden. More importantly, it meant that Emily was off the hook for causing her death. The scene where Emily pleaded for Aiden to not leave her alone in her Revenge crusade was very poignant, as we got to see a crack in Emily’s cool, calm and collected façade. We saw that Emily was beginning to want something beyond the scope of her mission – a relationship with Aiden. Remember when Emily didn’t want Aiden to get involved with her plans, so much as she threw him in a dumpster for doing so? It’s nice to see some development in their relationship. It was also equally affecting (although that sentiment was undermined by the closing scene) when she came to the crushing realisation that despite their similarities, they are actually quite different: Emily is closed-off, cold and calculating; whereas Aiden is passionate and therefore slightly reckless in his approach to Revenge-ing. At it’s very core, Aiden’s drive for vengeance is starkly different than hers, and despite what she thought, her crusade for retribution is a lonely one.
- Confrontation #3 – Jack/Amanda vs Conrad: Emily finally gets clued-in on the Porters’ dilemma, and helped them out financially so that Jack can buy back the Stowaway from Conrad. Lo’ and behold, Conrad refuses to honor their deal! *cue gasps* This then led to a typical Amanda-sized rash decision, in which she hacked into Emily’s poorly-protected (really, Emily? “infinity”? You’re smarter than this!) surveillance laptop, and blackmailed Conrad into giving up his half of the Stowaway, thus leading them to believe that she has been behind all of Emily’s revenge schemes all along. This reviewer is very excited to see where they take this (semi-false) revelation.
Confrontation #4 – Nolan vs Padma: Looks like they pulled a Nikita (watch that brilliant show, dammit) on us, because of course Padma was working for the Initiative under duress. Against Emily’s advice, Nolan finally confronted Padma about his knowledge of her spying.Nolan finally gets the job he was born for: Planning a wedding.
- The Wedding – similar to Baby Porter’s Christening, Jack and Amanda’s wedding served as a reminder for Emily, of a life she could have had, had she not taken the path of revenge. The part I most enjoyed about the wedding were the flashbacks that it brought about. Although a very common plot device in the show, the utilisation flashbacks are one of the great strengths of the show, as they often manage to deepen the characters and plot. In this case, we got to see a nice parallel between the faux-wedding of little Jack and little Amanda, and the actual wedding of faux-Amanda and (CLEAN SHAVEN!) Jack. This makes the scene where Emily nearly tears up even more moving/effective.
- And with that, Jack and Amanda sails off in The Amanda, into the dark, foreboding waters of doom destined to be shipwrecked. But wait! Nate (look! I learned one of the Ryan brother’s names!) Ryan, thought that it would be a great idea to crash their honeymoon, and somehow managed to hide in that little ship of theirs.
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What did you think of the episode? Do you agree or disagree with me? WHO DO YOU THINK WILL BE THAT BODY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN? Feel free to let us know in the comments section below!
