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Thanks to midterms, those lovely, soul-sucking exams, I missed out on recapping last week’s episode, but have no fear I am back. And just in case you need a quick reminder of what happened last week, here’s the rundown: Victoria began extensive press coverage of her “kidnapping,” Daniel made the decision to stand by his mother, but only to play her game – the art of manipulation runs in the Grayson blood – Amanda was not only brought into the Grayson fold, but accepted by them as well, and the white haired man’s name was revealed to be Gordon Murphy.
Yes, that was a long, possibly run-on sentence. Go ahead and judge me. Also, Emily’s tall, dark, and handsome friend was revealed as Aiden, a former lover from her early days of training with Takeda. They were supposed to run away together, but he abandoned her, breaking her heart and becoming one of many things would harden Emily’s soul. Sounds like a Taylor Swift song, eh?
Things got even more interesting tonight when Emily’s manipulation of Amanda reached an all time high, Daniel tested Ashley – and she passed?!, Nolan made a move on Padma, and Mama Clarke arrived in the Hamptons.
And because I’m still drowning in research papers, readings, a take home exam, and like ten thousand other things, the rest of tonight’s recap will be done in a top five format. So, without further adieu, the top five moments/stories (in no particular order) from tonight’s episode are:
1. Emily and her mama are clearly cut from the same cloth.
Aiden decided to pay another visit to Emily’s mother, who refused to give him any information. So he did what anyone does when they want something on this show and pulled a gun on her. Silly Aiden thought she was actually going to comply, and when she pretended to by giving him Gordon’s documents, he put his gun – and guard – down. Mama Clarke took this prime opportunity to shoot him with a stun gun. This kind of stealth craziness obviously runs in Emily’s blood.
When he came to, she had tied him to a chair and threatened to kill him if he didn’t come clean about who he worked for – the initiative or the Grayson’s. Aiden is just too pretty to died, so I had all the confidence that he would live… and I was right. Thanks to some badass chair throwing and slicing into his own hand with broken glass, Aiden broke free and tried to warn Emily that he’d found her mother. Meanwhile, Mama Clarke was on the road and overheard a news report on the car radio about Amanda Clarke – but more on that later.
2. Daniel proved he has a brain.
In an effort to maintain her status as worst social climber ever, Ashley continued to Conrad’s pet and stalk Daniel, who was still checking up on his father’s finances. I’m kind of sure that what happened next was planned. Daniel ended up telling Ashley everything about his mother’s kidnapping and the financial wreckage the family company was facing. It seemed like a stupid idea until later on when he distracted Ashley long to check her voicemail and confirm that she was basically babysitting him for his father. I have never been so proud of my favorite Grayson.
Later, Conrad confronted Ashley about ignoring his calls and she told him she was done being his spy. Daniel listened in. Does this mean Ashley is having a change of heart because Conrad is destined to fail and ruin everyone’s lives? Or did the social climber extraordinaire realized her meal ticket was listening in across the foyer? I will never trust this girl.
3. Amanda almost died.
Since Jack was so displeased about Amanda’s acceptance into the Grayson fold, she chose to move out and in with Emily, unaware this would be the biggest mistake she could make for herself and her baby. Emily used this as an opportunity to find out information on her mother. Forever gullible Amanda feels so warm and trust-worthy anytime Emily tells her something about her life, unaware of exactly how Emily’s confessions manipulate her into doing exactly what Emily wants her to do. Poor Amanda, guys. And after what happened, I’m not even kidding.
So Victoria wanted David Clarke’s journals and offered Amanda $100,000 for them. This fed right into Emily’s need to get Victoria’s signature to compare to the visitor’s log from her mother’s crazy hospital. I’d imagine there were easier ways to get Victoria’s signature, but that’s beside the point, I guess.
By the grace of her ice cold heart, Victoria offered to throw Amanda a baby shower, which again worked in Emily’s favor. Amanda showed up at the baby shower with a bunch of her stripper friends, a prime distraction she later told Emily. While the Hamptonites were all caught up in the unique guests, Amanda was able to get Victoria alone, accept the $100,000 check and make accusations about her mother. Meanwhile, Emily watched from a handy-dandy camera and fed lines to Amanda through an earpiece. Technology is so amazing these days, isn’t it?
This is where things took a turn for the force. Amanda confronted her with the papers from the visitor’s log and showed how the signature matched the one on the check. Victoria threatened to throw her out of the house, but at Emily’s urging, Amanda pressed on. Finally, Victoria told her that her mother tried to kill her, leading to the two snatching at a piece of paper. In true soap opera fashion – any veteran viewer of soap operas saw this twist coming ten minutes away – Amanda stumbled and fell over the railing, landing on her back in the middle of the Grayson’s foyer. Suddenly it became the worst baby shower ever. Emily was aware of the entire thing, practically watching as it happened, and unfortunately she manipulated Amanda into doing this, so the blood is on her hands as much as it is Victoria’s.
Later, Victoria told Conrad that Amanda is close to figuring out that she hand delivered Mama Clarke to Gordon Murphy. Meanwhile at the hospital, Jack and Emily made the decision to save Amanda’s baby first, not her life. Amanda had requested that happen before being taken away in the ambulance. The doctors went ahead with their request, leading to the baby being born via C-section and Amanda in a coma.
Like whoa. I’m going to need an entire week to process this. It was just that crazy and happened so fast. And quite honestly, I need Amanda to live because having Emily and Jack bond over this baby would just be a mess. A big, fast, stupid mess.
4. “Regrets suck.”
Padma delivered the unfortunate news that Nolan’s father was dead. He got seriously upset and tears filled his us, which of course meant we were all upset too. Turns out Nolan’s father had a storage unit that was going up for auction soon. Padma did Nolan the favor of going to the unit and returned with a photo album that showed his father had documented his rise to billionaire status. She told a terribly sad story about choosing work over her grandmother’s death, which ultimately convinced Nolan to go. Together, the two searched through his father’s belongings, leading to an extremely cute tumble from Nolan when he went in for a kiss. Thankfully, Padma gave him another chance. They were adorable and sweet and I jumped up and down in my bed. Team Nolan and Padma for like-ever, guys.
5. Emily saw her mother.
Except her mother thinks that Amanda Clarke is actually her. Emily went to check on Amanda and found her mother sitting at her bedside, telling her she was there for her.
Seeing her caused Emily to have another horrific repressed memory, one where her mother held her under water and tried to drown her. Holy crap, you guys. Distraught, Emily went home to deal with her feelings, ultimately breaking down in Aiden’s arm. When Emily cries, you know life is like way serious.
Although I kind of hope that Aiden comforts her… when they aren’t wearing clothes. Yes, I’m shameless.
That’s all for this week, folks. I’m going to take some time to process these last sixty minutes of incredible television, and I’ll see you here next week.
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