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On Sunday, Revenge will kick off its third season on ABC and we’re more than a little excited for weekly dates with our favorite Revengers and their elite Hamptons’ targets.
But as much as we love Emily and Nolan and even Victoria, we have to admit that season two was not our favorite. The Initiative subplot took away from Emily’s mission to Red Sharpie her way through her enemies list and don’t even get us started on the Ryan brothers and the mess that came with them.
Season three has a new showrunner and the writers and cast have promised that the show has gone back to the delicious basics that made it must-see television in the first place. We’ve seen the season premiere and we can say they’ve definitely come through on their promises; we’ve been dying for more since the first screener arrived.
As we prepare to dive into season three with popcorn at the ready, we wanted to do a quick season two refresher for those who might have skipped some episodes or just pushed them out of their minds over the summer break. The following is everything we think viewers need to know before the premiere.
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What is the Initiative?
Let’s get this one out of the way first. It was an organization of business people who did some shady things, including murder people, to pad their bank accounts. The mystery of who was involved and why they were targeting Conrad and Victoria played out over the season and then it turned out the Conrad was actually part of it and Victoria was not happy when she found out (she spit in his face!). Things are as tense as ever in their loveless marriage.
Why is Nolan in jail?
Another big part of the Initiative story involved Nolan and Nol-Corp. and whether or not the company was actually Grayson property because of David Clarke’s initial investment. Nolan didn’t want anyone putting the pieces together that could lead back to Emily so he gave the Grayson’s what they wanted, 51 percent (best friend ever). Unfortunately, he also ended up taking the fall for the Initiative and the bomb at Grayson Global.
What happened to the Grayson’s fortune?
That’s another part of the Initiative storyline. Basically, they hid their assets, including Daniel’s trust fund, in charities. There was a long and complicated logic behind it, but all that really matters is Aiden pressed a button on Nolan’s computer, despite Emily’s objections, and the money was drained from the account, leaving the family bankrupt.
Who is Aiden?
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Like Emily, Aiden went through Takeda’s revenge school. His father was the baggage handler who was forced to put the bomb on the plane and his sister was kidnapped and then killed. Aiden and Emily have a complicated, messy relationship and Nolan accidentally let it slip that Emily had almost given up her revenge plan to be with Jack…something she refused to do for Aiden. But that didn’t stop him from getting into a physical fight with Daniel over her…which ended with Daniel on the floor, eying a nearby gun. The next time we saw Daniel, his shirt had a lot of blood on it.
How did Daniel and Emily end up together again?
After ending their engagement, Daniel spent some time with Ashley until he found out that she’d slept with Conrad too (ick). Emily was dating Aiden and Daniel was jealous with a capital JEALOUS. He wanted her back and obviously it benefited Emily’s master plan to have an in with the family again so she staged a breakup with Aiden and slowly got back together with Daniel, eventually agreeing to put the engagement ring on again, but this time, they were moving to Paris for real.
ABC
What’s up with Charlotte?
The teenager went through every emotion under the sun over the course of the season. She started in rehab, and then she bonded with her ‘sister’ Amanda and her nephew. Charlotte and Declan got back together, but then Charlotte met a new friend and the two staged a kiss to get into a club. The friend wanted more than just a fake kiss and she came between Charlotte and Declan, but the real reason Charlotte was spiraling was because she’d found out that she was pregnant. She kept avoiding Declan, but then he got caught in the bomb blast at Grayson Global.
Why was there a bomb at Grayson Global?
Conrad put it there. After Daniel took control of the company, he spent most of the season planning his bid for governor, which included winning the blue collar vote. He tried using Jack to further his agenda, but Jack was more interested in getting some revenge of his own (more on that next). When Conrad realized that Jack was going to be a problem, he used Ashley’s phone to send a text to Jack in order to lure him to Grayson Global and then he set off the bomb. Since Conrad’s campaign headquarters were across the street, he got to be the first responder on the scene and look like a hero to the voters.
ABC
How did Jack find out about Emily?
No one has had it rougher than Jack since Emily came to the Hamptons. His dad died, his dog died, he thought he found his Amanda and then she disappeared. Then she came back pregnant, but he wasn’t sure the baby was his (it was). They got married and were happy for about 2.5 seconds before one of the Ryan brothers crashed their honeymoon, shot Jack and then blew up the boat, killing Amanda in the process. If that wasn’t enough, the bomb blast meant for Jack ended up claiming Declan’s life. Jack had nothing left to lose (except his baby, but I guess he forgot?), so he went to Conrad’s victory celebration to shoot him, but Emily stopped him and revealed her true identity.
What about Victoria’s long lost son?
We got some insight into Victoria’s childhood early in the season when we met her mother, who is literally the worst. Not only did she manipulate her young daughter into taking the fall for a murder she committed, she also turned a blind eye to the fact that her latest husband took an inappropriate interest in 15-year-old Victoria. But once Victoria’s mommy dearest saw her husband coming out of her daughter’s room, she threw Victoria out of the house. Victoria gave birth to Patrick and she genuinely loved him…until she had an offer to go to art school. Victoria left him with a nun and made her promise never to tell her son or anyone else who she was. Years later, she paid him $5 million to go away, but Victoria didn’t see Patrick until he showed up on her doorstep in the season finale.
ABC
Is Emily’s mission on track?
Emily had a lot of obstacles to deal with in season two, including her own mother. Kara was another candidate for worst mother ever; she tried to drown her daughter. She was also tied up in the Initiative, but Aiden got her out of town after she almost killed Conrad and Victoria. It was hard for Emily to watch Amanda marry Jack, but her desperate attempt to save Amanda and their touching goodbye scenes were truly heartbreaking (seriously, YouTube the scenes). Emily used what she knew about Patrick to try and bring down Victoria, but it still wasn’t enough. More of Emily’s past came back to haunt her in the form of her foster brother, but aside from being dull, that story wrapped up fairly quick. Then she was left devastated and betrayed after Aiden murdered Takeda. But Emily once again put everything aside when she rushed to stop Jack from killing Conrad.
There you have it; season two in a nutshell. If you still have questions, feel free to hit the comments and we’ll do our best to answer them.
Revenge returns Sunday, Sept. 29 at 9/8c on ABC.
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