‘Revenge’ Season 2 Finale Recap: Truth Part 1 and Truth Part 2

Revenge aired its second season finale on ABC tonight and the show definitely didn’t hold back the punches. While the sophomore season of the show has been flawed (to put it kindly), the last three episodes (tonight was two episodes pushed together) have brought the show back to its soapy roots and we could not be happier about it.

In “Truth: Part 1” and “Truth: Part 2,” a lot of secrets came out. Some were pretty obvious like Regina being in love with and/or obsessed with Charlotte while others were jaw dropping (Nolan is being blamed for the Initiative!). Here are the highlights (and lowlights) from the episodes:

Conrad is the man behind the Initiative

In the interest of full disclosure, I checked out of the show somewhere around Conrad and Victoria’s wedding. The Initiative plot was just getting started and all the talk of secret organizations and conspiracies was like a bad rip-off of Alias. Tonight, Conrad confessed that the organization didn’t really exist and he had basically been in charge the whole time. Victoria was NOT happy and showed her disgust for her husband by spitting in his face (gross, but totally effective).

Conrad ended up winning the election (of course he did), but not before learning that Jack and Ashley were conspiring against him. His plan to get rid of Jack was to send him on a wild goose chase to his office, only to set off a bomb. Jack made it out without a scratch, but Declan was not so lucky.

Declan learns that Charlotte is pregnant and then he dies

After Regina attempted to shut him out of Charlotte’s life, they youngest Grayson realized that she was being played. She cut off her new friend and was about to head home when she saw Declan being wheeled out of the bomb site on a stretcher (if a reason was given for why he was in the building, I missed it). Declan is taken to the hospital and Victoria and Charlotte sit vigil while Emily helps Jack sneak in so he can let the Grayson family think he’s dead. Declan has a nice moment with Jack and another one with Charlotte and it seems like everything is fine.

But it isn’t. There’s a problem with his heart and for some reason, they can’t do the surgery right away. Nolan wants to call in specialists, but Declan asks him for a different favor. He leaves a video message on his phone to say goodbye to Jack. Nolan ended up giving Jack the bad news and after breaking down, Jack regains his composure and sets out to get revenge on Conrad.

Aiden attempts to get Emily to leave with him and then fights with Daniel

Emily is devastated to find out that Takeda is dead and she’s shocked when Aiden admits that he killed him. Aiden explains that he had his own revenge plans and he begs Emily to run away with him, but she refuses to walk away from her mission. Daniel tells the police that Aiden is a suspect in the bombing and they take him into custody. After he’s released, he heads back to Emily’s and encounters Daniel.

The two men brawl and Aiden easily gets the upper hand. He orders Daniel to let Emily go that night. Aiden appears to walk away while Daniel is still lying on the floor, but the next time we see Daniel at campaign headquarters, he’s hiding a large amount of blood on his sleeve. Did something else happen or was it just an injury from his fight with Aiden? Time (and the third season) will tell.

Nolan is busted for terrorism

As Emily raced to stop Jack before he could kill Conrad, Nolan attempted to help, but he was swarmed by the FBI and hauled into custody. They believed he was the man behind the Initiative. Nolan denied it, but the feds had a video confession from Padma, who talked about her inappropriate relationship with her boss and how he was a genius, but he was also a really bad guy who wanted to get revenge on David Clarke. Padma continues to be the worst and things are not looking well for poor Nolan.

Emily confesses to Jack

Conrad took the stage to make his acceptance speech and put in a bit about Declan and how his wife was at home, comforting their daughter. Victoria watched from the couch and then the doorbell rang. There was a man on the doorstep and it took her a few seconds before she realized it was her long lost son Patrick (we were not given a look at his face, which probably means the role has not been cast). Meanwhile, Emily made her way through the crowd, desperately trying to find Jack and finally spotted him about to take aim at Conrad.

She got up there before he managed to fire the shot. Jack told her that it had nothing to do with her, but Emily disagreed. She begged Jack to look at her and as he did, he started having flashbacks to his childhood with Amanda. Emily pointed out that some part of him had always known and then she admitted that she was Amanda Clarke. (Admittedly, this season-ending moment fell flat because the previews basically gave it away by saying Emily was going to make a confession and mixing it with the scene of her telling Jack it has everything to do with her. Fail, promo department).

Clearly, there were some major game changers in this episode. I’ve never been a fan of Jack’s, but it was impossible not to feel sorry for him. First he lost his dog, then his wife, now his brother and suddenly he’s got Emily’s issues to deal with. Conrad will live to see another day, but he doesn’t have a single friend left and it’s probably a safe bet that Patrick is not showing up to wish Victoria a Happy Mother’s Day. Then we’ve got whatever may or may not have happened with Daniel and Aiden; there’s Charlotte and the baby and Nolan in custody…

Which storyline are you going to be thinking about all summer? Tell us in the comments below!