Too much romance and too little avenging.
Control is our first misstep of the season. Is it so hard to focus purely on Emily’s revenge-quest instead of a zillion romantic subplots? And if we’re going to spend so much time on Emily’s various love interests, can’t we at least have an endgame couple to root for? I know the writers want that to be Jack and Emily, but not only is Jack the most boring character of all time, Emily went on ahead and professed her undying love to Aiden this week (a very bizarre turn from a writing perspective). Sure I prefer her paired up with the fellow avenger, but I’m having a hard time buying it seeing as how Jack is her supposed soulmate. Ugh. This is getting too complicated, and not in a good way.
Interestingly, I often wondered in season one if Emily would ever potentially fall for Daniel thereby derailing her plans. It seems that is completely out of the realm of possibility today which is unfortunate as it strips the show of a very compelling complication. Nonetheless, it was quite cool to watch Emily regain “control” (a theme they hammered onto our heads with subtlety of a cruise liner) by opening up to Daniel about her father (with a picture of Amanda’s family no less). Yes Daniel’s pretty dense and naive but hey, the wedding’s back on.
The culprit behind Conrad’s accident was finally revealed this week and it was none other than Patrick. While that’s not exactly surprising, I was taken aback by Charlotte deceiving her father with her mom’s help by admitting to the crime herself. I actually felt like Krista delivered a terrible performance during that confession, so I was most relieved when it turned out to be just act. Saved by the twist huh Krista?
One thing this episode did very well was continue to develop the dynamic between Nolan and Patrick. Whether the latter is genuine or up to no good, it’s been admittedly intriguing to watch this relationship unfold. In fact, Patrick’s been a welcome addition to the cast, as I’m loving his dynamic with Victoria. They’re a real team now, and it’s surprisingly heartwarming to see her so at ease with at least one person in her life. Let’s hope she doesn’t get burned (which she most certainly will).
Margaux received way too much screen-time this week. Karine Vanasse is doing a fine enough job with the role, but the character is so painfully bland and unengaging. I guess having her kiss Jack with Emily watching at least gets the poor girl on our heroine’s hitlist, but it’s still not riveting enough. Perhaps we’ll be meeting Papa Margaux at some point soon? It sure looked like Victoria foreshadowed that arrival when she spoke of knowing him in the past. Maybe that will salvage this dreary storyline.
Vengeful Bits
– Gorgeous underwater shot of Victoria from Aiden’s perspective in the pool. If only the show was always this nifty with its cinematography.
– Victoria bonding with (more like manipulating) Margaux was a pretty great little scene.
– Was this the first time Emily’s ever exclaimed that she hates being around Daniel? It felt very revelatory.
– Awesome transition with Victoria checking out the blue painting as we fade into Nolan’s pool.
Devious Delights
Victoria: (to Emily) I do hope today’s wedding excursion doesn’t prove to be an exercise in futility. It would be such a shame…again.
Nolan: (to Emily) A submersible crate and a homing beacon – I think it was Town & Country who said they were the must-haves of the season for the Hamptons.
Victoria: (to Margaux) You can spend your life being controlled by powerful men, or you can learn to control them.
Conclusion
With too much focus on the wrong elements, Control is the weakest hour of the season thus far.
Nad Rating
C+
Margaux has got to go her character is full engaging as for Patrick he's actually one of the first new characters that I've actually enjoyed on this show. As for the episode as a whole there was too much drama and little action next Weeks episode looks good