Revenge - Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned

Picture it – The Hamptons, Labor Day weekend, a big party on the beach hosted by the most known couple and family on the Hamptons. Then a gun goes off three times and someone falls dead on the beach by the water while the fireworks are going off. Cut to the party where we meet Emily as she talks to her friend Ashley about a fight she is having with a man named Daniel who is her fiancée. Then another friend Nolan comes up to her and they tell each other that neither one should be there (at the party). Cut to the beach again where we see a man pulling the dead body away from the shore to a marshy area with tall grass – out of sight. We see a couple run away from the party to the beach area and attempt to go swimming but see someone else there and go to investigate, shocked at what they find. AT the same time, the host of the party, Victoria Grayson is making a speech about the party which is an engagement party for her son Daniel and Emily. She gives her blessing to Emily in front of everyone and then asks in a hushed voice, “where is my son?” Then a blood curtailing scream from we find out is Victoria’s daughter about the man that she and her boyfriend saw at the beach and Victoria and her husband are out running towards the beach to take a look at what her daughter was screaming about. She is saying her son’s name the whole time and right when she gets to the body, the screen goes blank and opens with a note saying 5 months earlier.

The producers and creators know how to get someone addicted right from the start – with a present day 5 minute shot that gets immediately flashed back to 5 months earlier right before a big reveal. Everyone that I spoke to wanted to know from that moment who the victim is, who the killer is, and why did Emily have sand on her hand at the party? When you look back at those 5 minutes, you honestly cannot tell who the victim is. The only “clue” you think you get is Victoria yelling for Daniel because he is the only one unaccounted for. From a girl who watches a lot of television, that is too easy of an answer.

Revenge is about a young girl, Emily (played by the adorable Emily VanCamp) who comes to the Hamptons for the summer. She rents a house next to the most famous family – the Grayson’s. It is revealed throughout the episode that Emily is not who she appears to be – for example, she has been the Hamptons before, in the same house she is renting, with her father when she was a young girl. Her father was framed for a terrorist crime that he did not commit and both of their lives were ruined. Oh, and her real name is Amanda Clarke, not Emily Thorne. Emily/Amanda is back in the Hamptons to exact revenge on the people who ruined her and her father’s lives – especially her new neighbor’s the Grayson’s since they were responsible for the framing job. And so begins the journey that Emily/Amanda takes to get her revenge. But as she said in the very first episode, “before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” Confucius also said this.
Emily VanCamp and Madeline Stowe (Victoria Grayson) are perfect opposite sides of the same coin. They play off each other’s acting and characters so well it is scary that they aren’t related in real life. The chemistry is what makes the characters so lovable and hated. If the chemistry was not good between these two actors, the audience would see it and there would not be as huge a following as there is – no one would care about the identity of the victim or the killer on the beach.

Slowly, Emily is beginning to unravel and the audience is getting to see that she has some holes in her revenge plan that even she wasn’t anticipating. The reveal of the killer and victim from the pilot is going to be the big unravel where someone dies that she had a hand in but didn’t pull the trigger and she is not going to be ok with that. She recently had an invisible hand in hurting someone she cares about – her actions caused this person to be physically hurt and she was almost willing to put a halt to her plans for fear of anyone else getting in the crossfire.

One of the best things that I love about this show is I can’t think of another show that is reminds me of. It might also be my love of soap operas but this show is addicting and my guilty pleasure. I find myself talking about as if they are real people who live just down the street.

I have my theories on who the victim is – I don’t think it is Daniel. I heard someone make a good point. The producers would not kill off 1/3 of the love triangle that is Daniel/Emily/Jack. That triangle makes good television. I have a feeling that Jack will be framed for his murder but I just can’t see Jack killing anyone – unless that someone threatened Emily or Amanda Clarke. I guess we will find out on February 15^th when all will be revealed.

Being invested in a show such as Revenge and Once Upon A Time means that you have to accept the fact that there is going to be a lot of guessing. The reason – the producers don’t want to give anything vital away too soon and have people stop watching it. The producers give enough time for the audience to become invested in the show, have them keep coming back each week to watch and then they will reveal the answers and bring up new questions. That is why this show works – on February 15^th, the viewers will find out who the killer and the victim are but it will bring up a new question – is the killer really the killer or are they being framed? The show Lost kept us all thinking and coming back for more and no matter who the dead person is or the “killer,” in Revenge I know I will certainly be coming back each week to see what moves Emily has up her sleeve – and of course the fallout.