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Last night, ‘Revenge’ returned to scene of the crime(s) in the Hamptons and pick up where it left off two weeks prior: after Tyler’s murder, although we were originally led to believe it was Daniel with the gunshots in his back.
I’m trying to get past the convenience of his death and focus on the repercussions for all players and ultimately how it affects Emily’s plan. I’ll get there, but for now it’s occupying a corner of my mind.
The police have taken Daniel, who is bleeding pretty heavily from the back of his head, off for questioning at the station along with all other members of the Grayson clan and staff. The eyebrow raising moment, however, is seeing Daniel whispering back and forth with his mother out of earshot from Emily. It seems that despite his head injury, he clearly remembers Tyler spilling the beans about Emily. So does he really believe Emily or is he playing her the way she’s playing him? Tis a question for the rest of the season…. When the Graysons convene the following morning, we’re introduced to Benjamin Brooks, Daniel’s attorney, played by the ever debonair Courtney B. Vance. I say they make him the family attorney for the entire run of the show, because you know these people can’t stay out of trouble. Just look Charlotte’s free fall into prescription drugs, which is guaranteed to end really well for her.
Mr. Brooks jumps into digging up information about the events of the evening AND other troubles Daniel has managed to evade. Remember the girl he paralyzed driving drunk and the cover-up by Victoria and Conrad? Yeah. That. He also reveals that the security cameras malfunctioned at the party, which Emily knows was the work of Takeda. And I know that man is not someone who does ANYTHING without a plan. As the episode progresses, Daniel is taken back into custody and charged with Tyler’s murder, arraigned, and ordered to be held in jail by a judge who intends to make an example of him.
As all this unfolds in the Graysons’ world, Emily’s soul mate, Jack, tries his hardest to get into as much trouble as possible (and I say this total Jack/Emily shipper). Case in point, Jack comes back wearing a hooded sweatshirt the evening of the shooting, the same type that Charlotte and Declan saw while they were on the beach reenacting the opening scene of Jaws. Instead of ditching the sweatshirt he wore on the beach, he keeps it, which Declan finds and promptly badgers him about. Jack also tries to track down information about the wire transfer he found in Amanda’s jacket but not without a warning from Nolan and strong encouragement to go to Haiti. Off point, but necessary: Declan could have been caught in the crossfire and I would have been okay with it. I will continue to pray for this plot point the remainder of the season. Also, if he was holding handing with Ashley when this happened I’d be ok as well. This chick not only leaked the photos of Daniel at the murder scene but she’s taken over being the Grayson public relations guru while secretly hoping Daniel burns for murdering Tyler. I’m positive Victoria will take care of Ashley when she learns of this disloyalty and I hope it involves stairs.
The most important moments of the episode, however, occurred in flashbacks. One, Victoria was in love with David Clarke. And I don’t mean the oh-I-love-you-for-getting-me-my-favorite-ice-cream-for-dessert kind of love; I mean the gut-wrenching-spend-the-rest-of-my-life-with-you kind of love. When Conrad reveals the trouble he’s in by laundering money for the terrorists, you see Victoria had absolutely no idea. Looking back at what ended up happening to David Clarke, we know Victoria did not set out to ruin his life – two points that blur the lines of Victoria’s bitchiness and vulnerability. It’s what makes me root for her in one scene and damn her in the next.
The final scenes, a flash back of what actually, or should I say partially happened during Tyler’s murder and right after since we still don’t know what happened to fake Amanda or Jack for that matter. We see that Daniel did shoot Tyler, but only once. Takeda (I told he always has a plan) finished him off with the two shots in the back after cracking Daniel over the head with a rock. Quite simply, he had enough of Emily letting her emotions get in the way of the plan and took control of the situation. Takeda is the only person who can out-think, out-maneuver, and out-fight Emily and he proved it in those last 30 seconds. Interesting that he still hasn’t revealed what happened to fake Amanda to Emily yet, isn’t?
Side Gripe:
Revenge isn’t new again until April, and the last couple of episodes have been after a week or two off. As a viewer, it is irritating to try and remember all the connections, plots, and subplots with a spotty airing schedule. As someone who has seen other shows die a slow death due to viewer erosion it’s exasperating to see a network tempt fate by stringing viewers along with erratic breaks from the show. Maybe it’s time we FINALLY started talking about different TV models on major networks. USA and ABC Family’s successful models is where one should start. Just a thought…
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