TV Recaps

Revenge: Season 1 Mid-Season Cheat Sheet

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With the best new show on television returning this Wednesday with another round of twist and turns and OMFG moments, TVSource decided a recap of the first half of the season was necessary. There are so many characters, twisted plots, murders, cover-ups, and psychopaths running around in theHamptons that it’s difficult to keep it straight. 

With the best new show on television returning this Wednesday with another round of twist and turns and OMFG moments, TVSource decided a recap of the first half of the season was necessary. There are so many characters, twisted plots, murders, cover-ups, and psychopaths running around in theHamptons that it’s difficult to keep it straight. A flow chart would have been messy, a Venn diagram would have overlapped so many times it would have been unreadable, so we went straight to the basics: a list.

The Body on the Beach: The show began at Daniel and Emily’s engagement party. Someone was shot on the beach andCharlotte and Declan found the body. Viewers were led to think it was Daniel, but if my fictional boyfriend dies I will start a very, very big riot.

The Plane Crash: While the details have yet to get too specific, we know that David Clarke was framed for a terroristic plane crash that killed lots of people. He went to prison, causing his daughter to be scarred for life and become a tiny bit psychopathic, and now she’s come to theHamptons to declare war on everyone who did this to her father. I can’t really say I blame her.

David Clarke:  The innocent man who was framed by the Graysons and everyone at their company. From flashbacks we know he loved his daughter, the beach, and Victoria Grayson.

Emily Thorne: The alias of David’s daughter, Amanda, who will stop at nothing to get revenge. After spending the first half of her life locked up and convinced her father was an evil man, she was corrected by Nolan Ross and spent the years after formulating her current subtly hostile takedown of theHamptons. She chews people up and spits them out before most people have even gotten out of bed in the morning. In three words: she is fabulous.

She’s also beautifully complex. Yes, she’s psychotic, but you understand her decisions and even root for her, making her a perfect villain. And she’s involved in a delicious love triangle with Jack and Daniel, the latter of whom we know she becomes engaged to. Jack is her childhood sweetheart and Daniel is the man she is trying hard not to fall in love with – it really doesn’t get soapier than this.  

Lydia Davis: Emily bought her beach house, which is also Emily’s childhood home.Lydia started the season in the midst of a divorce, trying to play the victim while carrying on with Conrad, her best friend’s husband. When Queen V found out, she literally ran her out of theHamptons. Determined to stand her ground,Lydia decided to expose the Graysons, butVictoria stopped her by promising to be friends again. Of course, Queen V was just playing around and this led to a lot of dramatics that ultimately causedLydia to nearly die. She also found a photo of Emily that would’ve started all kinds of trouble, except when she fell she lost her memory temporarily, giving Emily time to have the picture photoshopped.

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Frank Stevens: The Graysons P.I. extraordinaire – if dirty work needed to be done, he was their guy. He knew about Lydia’s affair with Queen V’s husband, but covered for him. In fact, there’s not much he wouldn’t do for them, even going as far as to try and killLydia when she threatens to expose the Graysons for what they really did to David. Frank also uncovered that Emily’s true identity is Amanda Clarke, which led him to a stripper, who then murdered him. The investigation is underway and it’s not looking too good for the Graysons.

Victoria Grayson: Queen V is the HBIC when it comes to theHamptons. She’s Emily’s equal when it comes to pulling evil strings. She was in love with David Clarke and manipulated into framing him by her husband. Like Emily, she’s complicated, driven by the love of her children above all else, even if it forces her to make some very drastic decisions. She’s also ruthless, runningLydia out of theHamptons, trying to buy off her daughter’s boyfriend, covering upLydia’s near death, and hiring a P.I. when she knows something is off.

Conrad Grayson: Victoria’s husband, who had a sleazy affair withLydia, which was unveiled by Emily. He and Victoria are in the middle of a divorce. He knows she loved David Clarke and is convinced that she’s the reason Frank tried to killLydia. Oh, and he’s currently being blackmailed by Tyler, who foundLydia’s speech with all the dirty details about David Clarke.

Daniel Grayson: My fictional future husband. He’s definitely the hottest thing in the Hamptons, Emily’s eventual fiancé, and the Grayson prodigal son. Thankfully he’s not the typical rich bad boy. He’s made mistakes (drunk driving a cocktail waitress into a pole) and learned from them (doesn’t drink much unless being drugged by his one time best friend), wants to break into the family business earnestly, and is one of the only people who’s figured out what an awful putzTyler is. His love for his mother is sweet; he’s not afraid to stand up to her, but he stands by her side when she needs him. And he really, really loves Emily, and that bitch better love him back or else.

Charlotte Grayson: Spoiled rich daughter with all the typical issues: not enough attention from her parents, too much money to spend, and in love with a poor boy. I can’t even deal with her half the time. Just go sit down and shush it.

Nolan Ross: A young billionaire thanks to David Clarke’s belief in his company, which Emily is also a shareholder in. He’s awkward, funny, and dresses quite snazzy. Between him and Emily, they could own theHamptons. He was Emily’s right hand, capable of pulling as many strings and screwing people over as she was, until he fell in love withTyler. He made a sex tape with him for blackmail purposes, which started a slippery slope. Before that, he was setting up surveillance inLydia’s apartment, dealing with Amanda Clarke the stripper, and vying for Jack’s friendship. All he wants is a friend, but all he seems to do is alienate everyone.

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Jack Porter: I get that he’s supposed to be Emily’s childhood sweetheart, but it’s a little too Dawson Leery for me. He’s running a family business, has a strong attraction to Emily, but he’s currently being duped by the Stripper Amanda Clarke. He went from having super strong feelings to Emily to being all happy that his childhood sweetheart is back, except she’s not really her. He’s clueless. If he can wise up and stop this heart on his sleeve stuff, I’ll be cheering him on. He doesn’t quite deserve Emily… yet.

Declan Porter: Jack’s irrelevant to me little brother. He lovesCharlotte. He is clueless about life and he’s always getting into some kind of stupid trouble or situation.

Ashley Davenport: Introduced as Emily’s best friend, Ashley has turned into a jealous, ungrateful shrew, making impossible to like her. She dislikes how easy it is for rich people, feels like working hard gets her nowhere, and is disgusted by Emily. This characterization is such a stark change from who she was at the start of the season, one of my only issues with this show. I need an explanation for why she’s being so awful to everyone yet working side by sideTyler. I also need to know why she’s okay with finding out her boyfriend is having sex with a guy.

Tyler Barrol: He used to be Daniel’s best friend until he started messing with his relationship with Emily, drugging Daniel and making it appear as if Daniel beat him up, and inching his way into the Grayson’s company. We don’t know much about his past except that he has no wealth, is on anti-psychotics that he just ran out of, and had a secret affair with Nolan while still dating Emily. He found out the truth about the Grayson’s and is blackmailing Conrad into letting him keep his job.

Real Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke/Stripper: While in a juvenile facility, our Emily befriend another, bought her identity, and the two never spoke again. Frank’s investigation, started by Queen V, led him to Amanda Clarke the stripper. This girl is somewhat of a basketcase. She has some serious more than friends feelings for Emily, refuses to leave theHamptons, and has convinced Jack that she is his childhood sweetheart. Emily is playing along with her, filling in gaps to her and Jack’s past and encouraging their relationship, all the while making sure that Queen V learns David Clarke’s “daughter” is back in theHamptons. She’s feeding her to the wolves so to speak and I can’t wait forVictoria to finish her off.

Sammy: Emily Thorne’s dog that Jack gracefully stepped in and took care of when her father was arrested and she was taken into custody. He’s like a million years old, but still running around like he’s a puppy. Basically though, he can never die.

The Promo: When Revenge went on hiatus, the preview showed a small, tense beach party for Daniel’s birthday.Tyler was standing at the far end of the table pointing a gun at everyone.

Basically, it’s about to get real.

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Amber Cunigan
Amber Cunigan is a sarcastic mid-twenties undergrad, extreme book hoarder, Netflix addict, and reality TV aficionado. She enjoys excessive amounts of chocolate and caffeine, tweeting, and all things Ezra Fitz and Ryan Gosling. When it comes to TV, she expects to be thoroughly entertained and when not, she will slam and mock you, but still tune in next week. She's a glutton for punishment. Basically, she's awesome.

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