There was a lot riding on this one. I so wanted to love this episode as we’d been building up to it all season long but too many things pissed me off. Nevertheless, I won’t deny the impact this hour will have on the rest of the show as it was a necessary step in Revenge‘s evolution.
Amanda is the first true casualty of Emily’s war. The show needed this sense of urgency and turmoil and her death was absolutely necessary in the grand scheme of things. However I wish we’d gotten here with more finesse. The whole boat scenario was painfully contrived and all the back and forth was awkwardly put together. While the ramifications of this episode will undoubtedly be a turning point for the show, this hour just felt clumsy.
On the bright side, Amanda’s death sequence was spectacular. I loved the flashback to the two girls’ juvi days culminating with Emily finally being able to express her love to Amanda. It’s satisfying to see Amanda as more than just a tool in Emily’s arsenal, but a loyal friend who ultimately meant a lot to her. The show had strayed a bit too much from its original premise (and lost its magic in the process) so I’m glad things got personal again after the coldness of the Initiative arc. I’m hoping this will restore a lot of the show’s heart (which it tapped into perfectly in last week’s standout hour) and bring Emily’s quest back to center-stage.
The Graysons were pretty great in this. It’s awesome to see our trio on the same side (well pretty much) and fighting back against the shadowy organization. Vicki, Connie and naive little Daniel spent way too much time scrambling this season instead of taking back their power like they’ve done in the past week. Speaking of The Initiative, I do like the new face of the company (Mr. Trask) who’s immediately much more threatening than Crowley the crone. I’m not too sure what to make of Victoria trying to frame now-dead Amanda for Crowley’s death but I guess this means Emily won’t be on their radar anytime soon.
I read a theory online that Padma could be at the top of The Initiative hierarchy. If only that turns out to be true because at the moment I’m not invested in her daddy plight at all. Pairing her with Aiden might prove to be an intriguing move but I sadly still don’t care about the girl. She takes away valuable screen-time which Emily could put to better use striking people off her hit-list.
Vengeful Bits
– Victoria taking Helen’s place in The Initiative car was genius. But why didn’t we see the aftermath? The show simply cut to the next morning with her back home. What happened in between?
– Nolan calling Aiden “Mr. Bean” made me laugh.
– Who else caught the stunt doubles on the wide-angle boat shots? I used to love doing this on Buffy.
– Emily spotting Nate on the boat through a picture on the laptop was laughable. I get that Emily had to find out but there should have been a smarter way to accomplish that.
– Love Victoria and Daniel acting in front of Initiative cameras. And her little smirk as she stormed off was priceless.
– Daddy’s finger? You know Padma just because he’s fingerless doesn’t mean he’s not d-e-a-d.
– The green-screen with Emily and Nolan on the speed-boat was atrocious.
– So where’s the laptop now?
– I have MAJOR issues with Emily struggling to beat up a petty thug just for the sake of drama on the boat. She’s supposed to be a ninja warrior!
– Awesome scene with our sinister Graysons on the iconic balcony.
– Emily VanCamp has been on fire these two weeks. Seriously the boat goodbye and her letting Amanda sink into the ocean was stunning and so very moving. Did anyone else get flashes of Titanic?
– What a powerful and gorgeous ending with the red flare shining above a shattered, broken Emily.
Devious Delights
Victoria: (about Helen Crowley) The bitch had it coming.
Victoria: Conrad your gall never ceases to repulse me. Overt flattery aside, this extravagant soiree marks not only the beginning of your farcical political career, but the end of summer.
Mr.Trask: And then?
Victoria: And then I told her to get the hell out of my house. Now, Mr Trask, I would encourage you to follow that advice.
Nate: Who are you?
Emily: You’ll never know!
Conclusion
While I loved the outcome of this episode, I do wish it was more impressive as a whole.
Nad Rating
B-
I think Victoria screwed up by trying to frame Amanda, that or the Initiative people are REALLY dumb! Let's check the timeline, shall we? When Crowley was supposedly leaving the Greyson manner (but already dead), Amanda was already out at sea with her hubby Jack on the Amanda! Post-wedding honeymoon departure… photos to prove it… how could they believe it was anything other than a set-up? sheesh!
For a moment there I thought Amanda would pull through… *sigh* I would have preferred Jack be the loss! Amanda going off on the Graysons' would have been epic!!!
Poor little Daniel… so far down the rabbit hole, he's a goner!
This episode didn't really do it for me… There were a lot of weak points like you mentioned from Emily spotting Nate from the photo (Seriously?!) to Padma's father's finger proving he is not dead (!!) among others.
One thing I really enjoyed though was Victoria and Daniel's little act for the cameras…
We have a long wait now for the next episode…
i think that the show needed an episode like this to set things up in the right direction for the rest of the season. amandas death renenergized the show so this episode was necessary