After weeks of speculation by savvy fans, it looks like Charlotte is indeed Emily's half sister! What a juicy way to end an episode that was already a stunning combination of the show's earliest takedowns interwoven with the soapy threads it's been spinning all season.
Revenge frequently puts ravishing, jaw-dropping dialogue in the mouths of its decadent, over-the-top characters (especially Nolan and Victoria) but the author figure from last night was a perfect mouthpiece for some of their fanciest lines yet. While he seemed a little young to be writing memoirs or fetishizing Underwood typewriters, the Stephen Colbert lookalike played an important role as Treadwell, a biographer who made a hatchet job of Emily's father at the behest of the Graysons, and who's hi8 tapes yielded the series' biggest revelation (yay half sissies!) so far.
This is especially good news for the Christa Allen, because it means she might spend a scene opposite someone other than tiny Declan. Felt very worried for him when I saw he had been pinned to the chair by this book. Doesn't it look like it's crushing him?!
Meanwhile, at Red Lobster: I'm not sure if it's appropriate to straddle the boss in the middle of lunch rush, which is why I no longer work at Shoney's, but I can tell you that chains between your boobs are going to be big in 2012.
Kara wanted to go party in Atlantic City, but Jack was reticent—so Kara partied at the bar with flaming shots and scene reenactments from Coyote Ugly. She also gave an extra-lingering same-sex kiss (handled much less squeamishly than Nolan and Tyler's swiftly edited pecks). Kara made all of this boot-scooting pretty graceful, maybe because she's Russian and therefore was definitely up early to master ballet/gymnastics in the frosty pre-dawns of her infancy? You can't throw a rock without hitting a sexy girl in Hollywood, but Kara has a genuine joy in front of the camera that perfectly suits her character. Team Kara!!!
Meanwhile, we learned that Victoria and Daniel's scheme to combine shares and take over Grayson Global will only be possible if Daniel marries and thereby inherits his full trust. More props to Revenge showrunners, this is a beautiful way to explain how Emily and Daniel got engaged after only one summer of knowing each other. Also, the Hamptons has a gun range?
I know they are once again insinuating that Emily could easily have shot Daniel down in the pilot, but no one is buying that at this point, right? It's becoming more and more clear to me that it must be Conrad's doing. THOUGHTS?
Unaware that he's already been killed, Victoria does not want Daniel marrying Emily, even if at the cost of a controlling interest in Grayson Global. To that end, she dispatched Ashley to tell Emily to discredit any future proposal from Daniel.
Poor Ashley. Even when she thinks she's finally getting some kind of bitchy upper hand, she's just being sad. You look cute, Ashley. Go take that red red lipstick down to the psych ward and see if you can't find another crazy, crazy boyfriend.
Also, I loved Nolan's fuzzy reaction in the background. Nolan's reaction shots are not to be missed, and I frequently find myself watching his knowing smirks rather than the actor the camera is focusing on. Nolan continues to add a piquant sartorial edge and unspoken humor to the show (like smelling the coffee Amanda hands to him and declining to drink it). It truly warmed my heart to see my favorite tow-headed besties both on earpieces, feeding Kara information during her interview with the biographer.
Like, what brilliant cutting and editing of the back-and-forth in this scene. Emily is definitely setting Kara up to take a fall as Amanda, otherwise she wouldn't have planted Kara's Hot Topic lighter when she returned to burn the biographer's house/snatch the tapes of her dad.
The promo for next week is so effing intriguing. In lieu of questions for this week's episode, can I get your take on what we have to look forward to based on this spiciness? Let's watch and discuss.
Questions:
… So Charlotte finds out next week she's related to Emily?
… When Conrad says, "she's been keeping secrets," he's referring to Victoria hiding Charlotte's true dad, right?
… Who would beat up Jack and why? Atlantic City casino hustlers? Kara's ex-boyfriend?
… Why would Kara be angry at Emily: lighter planted in fire, Victoria found out Kara's not Amanda, or Jack's obvious crush on Emily?
Nolan is just made of awesome and win so I couldn't keep my eyes off of him, as per usual, the entire episode.
My husband got into this show. Lately I've been watching it with him because it's on right before he leaves for work. I figured I'd give it a shot. He likes it; how bad can it be?
I hate it.
It's painfully predictable. The second the author mentioned "I never make copies until it's completed", I saw the manuscript go up in flames. As soon as it was established that Emily's father and Victoria had a relationship...I saw the sister act. The characters are all pathetic characatures. There isn't a sympathetic person in the bunch. It's all about how much they hate each other and how they can get back at each other. In all honesty, the show makes me physically ill and depresses me beyond belief.
The ONLY good thing about the show was the brilliant preview ad they had a couple of weeks ago...sitting at the table...no dialog...the gun...THAT was a work of art, but the only redeeming thing about this series.moreless
There are developments that have been predictable, especially the fact that Charlotte might be Amanda's half sister. But on the other hand I didn't think Emily would burn down an entire house to destroy the copy of the memoires until I saw that she stole the tapes.
Personally I like the show because I am 24 and I guess I'm right in that marketing target audience (so it's a perfect fit?), but I can relate to the fact that to some people it might be difficult to understand the characters beyond their actions. This show is not only about "how much they hate each other", it's about how one person's weakness and another one's cruelty can affect so many lives. To me this show, and they can call it whatever they want, is not just about revenge - it's about change, forgiveness, hate, love and even redemption. What I like so far is the way that Emily has changed from a cold-hearted revenge-driven judge and executioner to this new person she is now: still dead set on taking down the people who wronged her father, she has emotionally started growin, she even apologized to Nolan and she is falling in love with Daniel (which is the reason her sensei "abandoned" her) even if she does not admit it to herself. She is starting to care about those people and that's what I love about this show. I want her to avange her father, but I also want her to become the person her father wanted her to be: forgiving.moreless
Man this show draws you in. And I laughed out loud at the "Bobsy Twins Reboot 2012". Hilarious.
-I say she finds it out. We've had instances of information slowly percolating out in this show, it'd be nice to have this just come out straight forward.
-I'm hoping that the secrets refers to something more, just because I think that a Conrad-Victoria fight for the future of this show would be great.
-I think Jack's going to get beat up by someone sent by Team Emily/Nolan. I think that will be part of their plan to get Kara off Emily's real boyfriend, as well as move suspicion all around.
-Oh, I think that Kara and Emily will have a bit of a fight, too. A little bit lighter, a LOT bit Jack/Emily/Kara.
Well who ever guessed that Charlotte was Emily's half sister congrats you get a cookie. That last part had me like WOW! Seriously!? But going by next week promo's it looks like that bit of news doesn't change up Emily plan. Speaking of next week's promo I wonder who the hell is beating up Jack?
I can't believe how much I like this show.
It's exactly like "VD" - came out outta nowhere, and now I can't fathom missing one episode!
Evidently, next week, the proverbial poo will hit the fan. That being said, I don't think Charlotte will learn about her Clarke connection, at least not this season.
Conrad may have been speaking of Emily or Amanda, for all we know... let's face it: there's not a whole lot of female on that show he doesn't have issues with!
Jack getting beat up will DEFINITELY have something to do with him hooking up with Kara - trust me: crazy, unstable hot chick are always great in the beginning, but, sooner or later, you always end up in a street fight because of them. It's just the rule...
Finally, Kara got plenty of reasons to be piss at Emily, but here's my question: why is Emily mistreating her so badly? Doesn't she see how valuable an ally she is? Let's be frank: Real Emily admires real Amanda so much, she would take a bullet for her, no question ask - did you see how she jump at the chance to help her nail Mason. In her mind, the only issues they have is her not going to Paris and hooking up with Jack. But Emily? Boy does she wants to get rid of her something permanent! Hey, I guess certified sociopath do not need friends to get their backs...
Basically, the only thing I'm sure of come next week is that Dan is going to propose to Emily... which will ultimately get him killed. Ain't love great?moreless
I love Kara's loyalty. It makes her character that much more sympathetic, and I agree that Emily doesn't value her enough (or Nolan, which is particularly ridiculous because he's given her literally everything she has). The only thing I have against Kara is when she killed that private detective. That was nuts, I wish they could "undo" it in some way. The show's creator said at one point that the "Revenge" plot would shift protagonists from season to season ideally, so that once Emily's revenge was complete, it would set up another character to want to get revenge on her, and etc. Its interesting to try and figure out who they are setting up to wear the mantle of revenge next. Charlotte, so far, is a good bet.
Saw this half sister plot from miles away.
Kara and Emily have been dancing around this issue for a while: the fact that Jack obviously has feelings for Emily and Kara is having trouble wrapping her head around that. My bet is on Kara for beating up Jack and Emily trying to stop her. There's got to be a point where either Kara ruins everything by exposing Emily for who she really is or Kara goes down. Or both...at the same time. Not sure about Charlotte finding out about her true parentage, but if she didn't already hate Victoria enough, this will certainly due the trick and push her closer to Conrad and Declan. Unless Conrad knew Charlotte wasn't his daughter all along in which case she'll be pushing away from both her parents. But I don't think knows, otherwise he wouldn't be fighting to keep her. Unless he just wanted to spite Victoria...which wouldn't be totally out of the realm of possibility. I'm more interested to find out what happens when Conrad finds out that Victoria wasn't really pregnant when they got married and is using that "duress" as an excuse not to give up all of her precious possessions.moreless
I think Conrad finding out Charlotte isn't his will cause a huge rift between him and Charlotte, as well as between her and Victoria. It will be particularly interesting if she briefly thinks Kara is her half sister and starts tending bar and going buckwild.
- It just shows them hugging, nothing more. In fact, if you think about the voice over, it kinda sounds like Emily's involving Charlotte in her games.
- The juxtaposition made it seem like he was referring to Emily, but that could be misleading advertising.
- considering Nolan saying that Emily's got Jack's blood on her hands, I'd say that somehow she was involved.
- I'm guessing that Emily has to explain planted lighter. I'm betting that Emily has a plan to deal with the question though; you can see it coming a mile away. But there are lots of possible answers.
I thought the bit with Ashley telling Emily about getting the shares was interesting... I mean, we know that she'd be happy to marry him for those shares, surely Victoria doesn't believe otherwise? I wonder if this was really just about Victoria setting up a test to see how Emily will react.moreless
The lawyer who sold out David Clarke telling Victoria to let Daniel go ahead and get engaged to Clarke's daughter (who he has seen POST-juvie,and thus would be far more likely to recognize in "Emily" than those who only saw her when little) is the first thing that leads me to think there might be something to his (under duress or otherwise) working for "Emily",as some have suggested.
And so the plot thickens... I was clapping like mad at the end of the episode! One of my suspicions has come true! YAY! Okay, Lily you beat me to it but I was waiting for this nut to be cracked! I so agree with you that Nolan's facial expressions are worth more than one look. In fact I am going to rewatch some scenes as I seem to have missed at least one of his good ones. ^^ Am I the only one who thinks that Emily won't tell anyone about her relationship to Little Miss Charlotte? At the engagement party she seemed far too carefree and happy to me to have known she was spawned from a convicted killer. But she might get over it with the help of Declan? I don't know but he seems so incapable of anything that I really doubt it. Oh, and stop tempting me! It was so difficult for me to refrain myself from watching that teaser for next week! Help! Thanks by the way for your weekly insights to this really amazing show. It's like dessert after the main course of Revenge for me! :)moreless
One thing i'm not getting. Why would Emily frame Amanda. If Amanda gets caught she could spill the beans about everything, that she ISNT Amanda after all. Quickie little dna test will prove it and Emily will be in deep. Unless "Amanda" is not going to be alive to tell anything.
The lighter alone won't prove anything. I don't think that prints can be taken off it as it would be burnt. And moreover Amanda/Kara has an alibi as she is with Jack all the time and off to Atlantic City the time the flames burst or so I suppose. But it will sure make Victoria cringe when someone tells her that Amanda's lighter was used to set off the fire. This will add to her paranoia and anxiety concerning Amanda.
This episode was awesome as usual. Noone does the stonecold, dead eyes look as good as Emily (VanCamp) Hell she owns that look and I love it. Wouldn't have thought sweet and beatifull Emily could pull it off, but that would have been araound the time i still thouhgt Terra Nova might be something worth watching.
I would totally buy that T shirt. If it would also feature her eyes, her beautifull, brown, stone cold, dead eyes.
hmm too bad kara has an alibi she was "with" jack
But so does Emily... That's why she visited Daniel soon after, imo.
I am planning to desing a shirt that says or What Would Emily Do.
I can't wait for next week's episode!
"The chain-cleavage of Kara"(copyright) - Was it me or were those literally in the middle of every shot of hers ?
Plus : Background-Nolan is awesome, best laugh I had with Declan - he should start with smaller books he so tiny !!!
Also a mention of Amanda and Treadwell in their white/pinkpurple match-up and of Emilys super tiny hood - she is a cute lil ninja !
But I have to wonder : isnt it dangerous for Emily to set up Kara like that - she could get arrested ? I know, Emily wants to smoke them out with that fire , but still...
I am reading the review on the train and when I got to "poor man's kindle" I giggled out loud people looked at me - LOL.
Luv this show, great review again Lily.
I luv how Nolan was around Emily heaps, sorta like her young padawan. It's great that Emily used the Tyler situation to explain why Nolan is around all the time. Works for me!
I'm intrigued how Charlotte will find out and what the relationship will be - I thought Emily Thorne doesn't have any connection to Graysons!
At Emily and Daniel's engagement party, Emily isn't happy to see Nolan. Does this mean they're destined to have a falling out?
I went back and watched the Pilot to see who the late night frolickers on the Beach were, who was dragging the body of who we are led to believe is Daniel up to the sand dunes and why Emily (the real Amanda) tells Nolan he should not be there. Nothing was solved by me except it was Declan and Charlotte going for a frolic in the surf.
Hm, that's a good point- although she's pretty chilly to him on a general basis. Might go back and rewatch the beginning of the pilot now.
Awesome episode. Loved Emily and Nolan together and I paid close attention to all of Nolan's background smirks... He's so awesome. Love that they added Charlotte as Emily's half-sister, I do believe that David was correct about this).
My worry is how bad the person is who put the beating on Jake and who they are to Kara. I'm pretty sure that they have something to do with her past. The girl is good, but she is so bad news!!! I'm also worried about how guilty Emily will feel if Jake is really hurt and that he got hurt because of Kara, which would also be because of Emily, since she allowed Kara to stay in town without forcing her to go the 2nd time.
I am sure Jack's beating has every thing to do with Emily/Amanda/Kara's life and choices in her life and nothing at all to do with Jack.
Another great thing about the marriage clause in Daniel's trust fund is that we finally see that Daniel can be a schemer and is not just some love sick puppy following Emily around. Makes him more intriguing as a character and maybe have a little more impact in the twisted web between all the characters
Very much agreed!! Respect for Daniel has shot up exponentially.
I loved the episode, and was really happy they had a new takedown, as its been awhile since the last. I did also notice Nolans awesome faces throughout the episode, and must admit he and Emily working together is the best part of this show.
As for Charlotte, i might have been shocked if it were not for the fact, that i have been wondering for 12 episodes when they would include Charlotte into the Revenge plot. Instead of her and Declan having their own sideplots all the time. So the half-sister "shocker", seems like a logical plot twist.
The big question now is if David was correct and Charlotte indeed is Emily's half-sister.
And if she is, who is gonna find out first?
She'll tell Nolan first. Or Nolan will find out.
Thanks Lily! Great recap as always!
Now this was a great episode! I was so disappointed over the last episode, so this was a pleasant surprise. I like that they managed to incorporate the takedown of the week with the soapy elements. As for the cliffhanger, I already knew that Charlotte was probably her sister so I wasn't that surprised. Maybe that's why Victoria didn't want to have Charlotte, because she reminded her of David. It's sort of like The Thorn Birds, where the female protagonist had always loved the son that had being product of an affair with the true man she loved, whereas she hated her other children. In comparison, Victoria loves Daniel because he's from Conrad and sort of hates Charlotte as she is a constant reminder of her true love.moreless
p.s. Is next episode not suppose to be the engagement party? remember a q&a were the creator says that the party was in episode 13.
They changed the schedule and moved the party to Episode 15 once they got the full-season pickup that made an Episode 15 possible.
not to nit pick - ok maybe a little, but the hamptons aren't in New England so the quaint new england charm thing doesn't really work.
somebody better explain that to these guys. http://www.newenglandhamptoninns.com/
I believe that's a name of a hotel group throughout New England. The actual Hampton towns- are in Long Island, New York. Not that it really matters, i'm just commenting
Hampton Inns are national,they're not the type associated with the tonier parts of Southampton and Easthampton.(And you can't walk your dog from Montauk to Southampton with any ease,whatever may show up on a TV show created by a man who's never been to either).
Nolan with a gun.
I Haven't laughed so much for a while.
Didn't see the sister thing coming. Just ten minutes before I was thinking I'm not interested in her story, but now I am.
Show is getting better and better.
I loved it, the takedown of the week part is awesome and Colbert's reaction to the fire and Nolan's comment about Emily being a bad girl was amazing I doubled over laughing!
Overall an ok episode, but the twist ending more than made up for the rest. I realized I didn't miss the "take-down-of-the-week" format much. This show works a lot better without the procedural aspect.
Also, are we supposed to think that the 9 year-old Emily set fire to her foster house?
I think so yes. She didn't want to stay with them so she lit the house on fire.
No,just that little Amanda burned her father's secret picture when the book convinced her that he was guilty.