I think it’s safe to say that I
haven’t been this excited for an upcoming episode of Revenge since this season’s
premiere. Don’t get me wrong, I love the show, and this season, for the most
part, has been wonderful... it’s just never been that „oh my God, I can’t wait
for next week” kinda show for me, you know? Maybe because I watched the first
three seasons last summer in only a couple of weeks’ time so for me the whole
waiting for next week business only started in September... anyway, what I am
trying to say is, I was incredibly excited for this episode after the one last
week ended with Emily telling the truth about her real identity to the whole
wide world. Where can the show go after a shock like that? Well, I had no idea,
but I couldn’t wait to find out.
So imagine my surprise when after
the promise of a very interesting new plot – Emily’s victims trying to get back
at her, which by the way would have been infinitely more entertaining to watch
than whatever Margaux is up to at any given point – the episode quickly turned
into a clipshow-like series of flashbacks. I know that many people hate clipshow
episodes (if it’s made up of clips we’ve already seen, that is), thinking that
it’s a waste of time and just a convenient way for the writers to not have to
do too much work for that week, but I’m not one of those people. For me a good
flashback episode can be incredibly satisfying, and this, I’m thrilled to say,
might just have been the best that I’ve ever seen.
But first, before I go deeper
into the flashbacks, let’s take a look at what was actually happening in the present.
Louise, upset with Nolan for not telling her the truth about Emily, turned to
Victoria with the flashdrive that contained, according to Nolan, six folders of
information about all the illegal things Emily did in order to bring down those
who’ve wronged her father. Victoria, of course, planned to divulge all of that
information to the media, but luckily Emily got there first... but not before
she had lain into Nolan pretty hard for being so careless with her secrets. I
felt really bad for Nolan in this scene, while at the same time also
understanding Emily’s fear and frustration. Having finally be allowed to
breathe after four years of pain and secrecy, only to see your newfound freedom
threatened almost immediately... it’s understandable that she flipped out.
Still, the next scene with Nolan burning their little whale figurine/camera,
and his heart-to-heart with Jack about how he feels like he’s no longer going
to be a part of Emily’s life, was heartbreaking. However, by the end of the
episode he seems to have overcome those feelings, and his statement that "She's
not revenging anymore, she's just our Amanda now." was equally heartwarming
and adorable.
Elsewhere, Margaux seemed to have
finally come to her senses, telling Victoria the truth about her accident, and
asking her to leave Emily alone... only to change her mind completely by the
end of the episode, urging Victoria to take revenge. Sure, Emily said some
pretty nasty things about Victoria in her TV interview, but the thing is, they
were either true, or she thought they were. I’m not sure how much Emily knows
about Victoria’s childhood and the circumstances of that muder she was forced
to admit to, but in the end it doesn’t really matter. Victoria DID murder Aiden,
and that’s a fact. She also had Emily locked up in a mental institution as a
child, and did countless other horrible things that I can’t recall right now
but I know they happened, otherwise I wouldn’t hate her so much. It’s actually
pretty incredible but Victoria Grayson is probably the only villain I can think
of right now who I don’t feel even a little bit of sympathy for, no matter how
hard the writers tried to sell me on her sad childhood. So when I saw that shot
of Margaux making a really angry face while Emily talked shit about Victoria, I
was really hoping that she was angry at Victoria because she finally saw her
for what she really is. But nope, she was angry at Emily, and thus Margaux’s plan
for revenge lives on. Yawn.
Now, about those flashbacks...
did I mention how much I loved them already? Because I did. This might be a
weird thing to say because I have been watching this show for less than 12
months so it’s not like it’s been four years since I saw Emily’s first
footsteps in her „revengenda” like it probably has been for most other fans,
but watching her take down her first victims again made me feel really
nostalgic. What I loved the most though was the compilation of important
moments of Emily and those closest to her: Nolan, Aiden, Jack, David, and Amanda...
oh, and Sammy of course! It was also nice seeing that the show hasn’t
completely forgotten about Charlotte’s existence. Not that I miss her or
anything, but for those few seconds I was happy to see her too. There were also
a few flashbacks of Victoria’s side of the story, which, for me, made a nice
contrast between Emily’s actual victims, and her „victims”, aka those whose
death Victoria blames Emily for, like Pascal or Daniel. These were brought up
by her to prove to Louise what an absolute monster Emily is, and Louise ate it
all up, conveniently forgetting that one time when Emily saved her life and helped
her get away from her abusive mother, even though she had literally no reason
to do so. I would be sad to see Louise succumb to the dark side for the
remaining four episodes of the season, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the
writers’ plan was, in fact, a Victoria/Margaux/Louise team-up against Emily.
Bored and annoyed, yes, but not surprised one bit.
And now let’s talk a little bit
about the elephant in the room – whether this upcoming season finale will also
be a series finale as well. I think yes. Throughout the whole episode I was
getting major series finale vibes, but especially with that final shot of Emily
and David on the porch, with her saying "For the first time, I have no
idea what's coming next"... indeed, that would have been a perfect shot
and line to save for the end of the final episode. Now, this was obviously NOT
the final episode, that’s not what I’m saying... but episode 4x23 might just
be. And the thing is, I wouldn’t mind. Emily’s revenge has long been complete,
she even has her father back now... what’s left for her to achieve? Four
episodes is perfectly enough time to kill Victoria, convince Margaux of her
stupidity, and tie up all the remaining loose ends. My only wish is that they
end it on a happy note – God knows Emily deserves it.
And last but not least, the
mystery of who circled Emily’s face in the newspaper... my initial thought was
either Lydia, Mason, or Conrad – again, I wouldn’t be surprised if the show
pulled yet another „oh, he’s not really dead!” stunt. I also saw people
mentioning Ashley’s name so that’s another possibility, but ever since someone
reminded me that Emily had previously promised exclusive rights to her life’s
story to Mason – a fact that I have completely forgotten about –, and now broke
that promise by doing that TV interview, I’m now 90% sure that it’s gonna be
Mason. Either way, I’m looking forward to finding out!
Episode MVP: Emily Van Camp as Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke
Quote of the episode:
"She's not revenging
anymore, she's just our Amanda now." :’) – Nolan Ross
Random tidbits:
- You probably noticed it already,
but I’m still gonna call her Emily, and not Amanda, for simplicity’s sake. I
really liked Nolan’s comment about this though, it almost felt like a little
nod to the fans who have been arguing about this for years.
- "The news is calling her the
modern day Monte Cristo." – This line brought a huge smile on my face.
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