After last week’s episode and then the beginning of tonight’s “Justice,” something has seemed off about Revenge. I’ve tried to figure out exactly what hasn’t worked since the show has returned, but I’m just not sure.
Could it be that the focus shifted from Emily’s revenge to controlling the mess created from Daniel’s arrest? That’s part of it. Could it be that the few likable characters have become difficult to watch? I’m looking at you Daniel, Charlotte, and even Jack! And, then there was Victoria’s oddly introduced artist lover.
The combination of all those factors had me worrying that Revenge just wasn’t going to be the same favorite show of mine anymore. But, the last five minutes tonight, showed me how wrong I was to be concerned. Plus, it clarified what the show was missing — the amazing twists that Emily is able to work to her favor. And, the quest for revenge.
Did you find it odd that Emily hardly spent time with Daniel after he was released from jail? They are still engaged, right? Neither of them acted like they were a couple in love. Even when Daniel got jealous of Jack, it didn’t appear to come from his love for her, rather from a place of desperation. Everything was falling apart and even Emily wasn’t there for him. Now that Daniel has been cleared, will their relationship survive?
Emily picked Jack. She decided to protect him over Daniel. A convenient series of events and some conniving by her was the only reason she was able to save them both … at least for now. That was some quick thinking on her part to plant the sweatshirt on Lee. Reasonable doubt. That’s all Emily needed to free Daniel. And, with the sweatshirt tied to Lee, she was able to protect Jack too.
But, what about the Graysons? Wow. Is there anything they won’t do to protect themselves? Victoria had her own son beat up in prison, wanted to place the blame on her future daughter-in-law, then suggested her daughter seduce testimony out of her ex-boyfriend, even tampered with the jury by threatening a little boy. Evil!
And, just when Victoria appeared to be the worst Grayson, we find out that Conrad set up Lee’s fake suicide. What the … ? Emily set up Lee to take the fall and Conrad finished him off! Lee wasn’t a good guy, but to be killed? He didn’t deserve that.
What about the final reveal?!? Emily’s spy bugs worked perhaps too well. Conrad ordered a hit on David! Now, Emily will be more committed than ever to bringing down Conrad. He killed her father, which makes his comment to Victoria laughable, “What on God’s Earth have you done, Victoria?” No, what have YOU done, Conrad?
Emily stated it perfectly, “How did I not know this? The Graysons murdered my father.” Wow! And, with that final twist, Revenge was back! But, this new development raises the question: is David really dead? Could he have been saved and in hiding? That would be the ultimate twist!
Odds and Ends
Clacked by Carla Day 
on Apr 26, 2012 @ 02:10 EST5EDT
I suspect that if the show had failed, Daniel would have been the body on the beach, and the last few episodes would have wrapped up Emily’s revenge. Since a second season seems all but certain, they were able to use Tyler as the victim and Daniel as the suspect, but this may have involved some shuffling around of storylines. The showrunner has stated that they had to move the engagement party down a few episodes so they’d have all their ducks in a row first.
For me, this is the first episode that felt like the old show, because Emily was cleanly in control of both herself and her plots. Nicely, she didn’t even break down a little bit when Jack was comforting her in front of her fireplace. She easily could have indulged herself without breaking her cover.
I know the “David Clarke alive” scenario remains a possibility, but I don’t see how they could write that while remaining true to their characters. Why would David set up his own daughter to take revenge rather than doing so himself, or taking the money and her to go live on a beach in some foreign country? Plus, David’s only resource for faking his death would have been Nolan, which would require a level of duplicity and cold-bloodedness on the latter’s part that the writing has not earned. They could just as easily make Jack an undercover FBI Agent, or Ashley an Al-Qaida sleeper.
I don’t think they’d have hired James Purefoy for three scenes, or thrown in the art forger bit, if he wasn’t going to be back this season.
I assume Takeda is too skilled at his craft to leave any physical evidence, or fail to notice any witnesses around him when he was framing Daniel. I don’t see how he could be convicted, even if Emily accused him, because all she has is hearsay.
The biggest thing that really seemed to make these last two episodes seem out of whack from the rest of the season was the artist storyline. That line about turning to ashes last night was just hokey writing, even for a primetime soap. Last week it seemed like they just threw in the first 2 minutes of a late night Cinemax movie randomly in the episode. It was time wasted and I really hope they run as far away from that side story as they can.