Revenge 2×17 – Victory

Well, at least this was an improvement over last week’s misfire.

It’s been a while since Emily’s had a target-of-the-week and I gotta say I’ve missed those takedowns a great deal. Making that target Emily’s abusive foster mother was a genius move on the writer’s part, as it was extremely satisfying to witness that despicable woman’s downfall. Although Emily didn’t have as much to do with the plot as Eli (loved the crazy press conference), I was fascinated by her regret this week as she wondered how her life would have turned out had the fire not happened. Guess she’s still reeling over Amanda’s demise as a causality in her war.

I’ll give the writers this: I didn’t expect them to write Eli out of the story so soon. I was very happy with this development because while he obviously has an immense sense of twisted loyalty to Emily, the character really wasn’t working for me. Here’s hoping he doesn’t return anytime soon.

I’m not sure how I feel about Victoria having another son. I wasn’t exactly shocked by the development as Revenge can be quite soapy sometimes, but I’m curious to see where they’ll take this. I’ll reserve judgment until the writers reveal what they have planned.

I’m getting particularly annoyed by Jack. While I appreciate the fact that they’re integrating him into the main plot (no more Stowaway subplots please) his sly new demeanor is rubbing me the wrong way. Hopefully his joining Conrad on the campaign trail will collide well with Emily’s revenge plot.

We got quite a bit of forward momentum with the Initiative this week, as Aiden and Nolan failed to retrieve Padma’s dad and lost her in the process. Raise your hand if you wanted Padma’s head in the box. The writers did a terrible job of making her a likeable, sympathetic character. She’s just a peripheral object whom I have zero attachment to. Good riddance.

Vengeful Bits

– Tiny Amanda red penning her daddy in the flashback was brilliant. I love that the red pen of doom got an origin story!

– Eli trapping Hayward in the cell she used on them as kids was awesome.

– Why am I not surprised Victoria sent Daniel a threatening picture with two bullets? This is the woman who had her own son beaten up after all.

– Boohoo turtle in a box, how anticlimactic.

– Can we just meet the frickin’ Falcon already?

– Mason Treadwell’s banter with Emily is always amusing.

Devious Delights

Mason: I imagine you’ll exploit this fresh little morsel with your usual flair?
Emily: You can’t even begin to imagine.

Conclusion
Better than last week’s effort, but there’s still a long way to go before Revenge can reclaim its fiery throne.

Nad Rating
B-