Revenge 3.11 Review: Who Am I?

This is a friendly reminder for all those that have yet to watch Sunday night’s episode of Revenge, entitled ‘Homecoming’, to kindly turn away from their screen before proceeding ahead. For this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

There were some definite ups and downs regarding this week’s post-Christmas premiere episode. Things picked up almost immediately where they’d left off in the December finale. Daniel – to which I’d guessed right before watching the last episode – shot Emily after learning she’d poached his family and faked the pregnancy and after blood loss and some head trauma in the water, she had – of all things – amnesia. In my opinion, while it was a cliché TV trope, I thought that this would be able to bring a refreshing on this series, that has had a stronger third season compared to it’s second, but nowhere near as good as its first. Sadly, it seems that Emily may have gained her memories back by the end of the episode, and I was hoping she would at least have amnesia for a couple episodes.

One thing I do have to say is how completely naïve Charlotte seemed to be when Emily said that her father was David Clarke. Sure, it is somewhat reasonable to believe her damaged memories were spewing out such things because Charlotte was the one in the room, but when she approaches Jack with the confusing information his reaction is so completely obvious to me. He turns away just to keep the look from confirming the information with Charlotte, but she’s still somehow able to believe what he says. It was so obvious on his face for a good few seconds, and I was disappointed that Charlotte wouldn’t catch on and just feign believing what Jack was saying to be true. But then, I suppose the truth is often too difficult to handle. I guess the writers just didn’t want another person in the loop at this point, but I am disappointed with the way they handled that tidbit.

Possibly my favourite part about this episode was Emily VanCamp’s stellar performance. While I do believe her voice over on the episodes can come out dry and tedious, and her performance has been off and on this season giving me the feeling she was often phoning it in, this week’s episode made it seem like she honestly has the acting chops. That performance with Daniel when she can’t remember who she is or where she is was simply beautiful and something I would very much like to see more of. If I were still doing Best Performances of the Week, even without watching all the other performances this week, Ms. VanCamp would most certainly be in the running.

Something I have to say I’ve hated this season is how terribly they’ve been writing Daniel. His character just seems like he’s had character development come completely out of nowhere. Honestly the trajectory he’s had, merely since the character of Sarah has reemerged, seems utterly ridiculous. Yes his character seemed to naturally love Sarah, but then the way he’d react around Emily made absolutely no sense as to why they would get married at all – even with the belief that there was a baby involved. Last season Emily and Daniel seemed to be back in love and set on the path towards this wedding, but all season I’ve felt none of that chemistry that they used to have. Seriously, have these two actors broken up? I know they’d been dating last year, but if they’d broken up since then there’d be an actually feasible reason for their lack of chemistry, even with the introduction of Sarah.

On that note, does anyone sincerely believe that Sarah would try and kill herself? I mean we only got to know her over the course of a handle of episodes, but she appeared to be the most genuine of people and even with the loss of Daniel it would not seem honest in any form for her to try such a feat. Yes, she’d loved him, but, to quote a bad cliché, there are more fish in the sea. I can’t see any possible reason that she would try something so rash. Now, if this is part of the writers plan, then it is completely within reason, but if she actually did do it, then I am losing faith in the skills of these writers. But then, I’ve found a lot of this season to be a bit drab. Sure, there have been some stellar moments, but as a whole last season was almost better.

All in all, there were a lot of good parts to this episode. It did not disappoint me as much as I thought it might, from the grand scheme of the delectable previews, but it wasn’t as fantastic as it could’ve been. This series can still count me as a viewer, but I really hope they fix what they’ve done to Daniel, because his character doesn’t seem like he could’ve gotten to this point in any fashion. He’s dark in a way that isn’t fun to watch – if that makes sense – and this is coming from someone who enjoys dark and damaged characters more than other characters. He’s treading Ashley territory, that’s how much I’m beginning to not like him. The only time he is good, at all, is when he’s around Sarah, and he needs to be able to interact with other characters to be able to keep going on this show.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

No memorable lines.

Okay, so check back soon for reviews of Teen Wolf and Almost Human.

Revenge 3.07 Review: Good PR is a Nightmare

For all those that have yet to watch tonight’s episode of Revenge, entitled ‘Resurgence’, then let me suggest that that is what you do now before proceeding ahead. As this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

I have to say that by the previews, I’m more excited for next week’s episode than I was happy with this one. It’s not that it was a bad episode, it did after all have a take down in the episode, it’s that it felt more like a filler episode than one that fit into the plot altogether.

The relationships in this series are becoming so convoluted. While the objective of this show is Emily’s revenge plan, I actually want Daniel and Sarah to be together. Emily is just too poised that she’s somewhat of a bland character a lot of the time, and she has very little chemistry with Daniel now that they’re getting married. I think she had more chemistry with him the last two seasons than she has this season. Sarah and Daniel are much better suited for each other. And while I do think Emily and Aiden would make a good pair, I just can’t help but still want her to be with Jack, even if their chemistry hasn’t quite been apparent as often as I think it should. He’s off getting acquainted with Margo, who I do think is helping him to get passed his wife’s death, and I do kind of like this pair, Margo’s just too nice that something is kind of off with her.

I am curious, what is this business of the first husband thing? Was that just a ploy to get the take down of the evening, Busy, to cover up something for Emily? Or was she actually married before? I definitely had a ‘what?’ moment right there. Twice. Please let this be explained because it would pain me for it to not be.

Nolan was very good in this week’s episode. I liked being able to see the pain behind his emotion to have not been able to spend the last ten years of his father’s life with him. It makes his character all the richer. There is so much depth to this character that his humour almost makes me sad for him in ways. Also, can I just say how unbelievable it is that Gabriel Mann is forty-one? The man looks like he could still be in his late twenties, especially with this character’s eccentricity. About the only thing that gives him away may be his veiny hands.

All in all, this definitely was a filler episode, and nothing to be quite excited about. I’m finding myself liking Sarah’s personality a lot more than Emily’s. Sure, her father deserves vengeance, but the fact that she is so emotionally stunted makes it hard to relate to her character. More so now than when this series first started. Still, this series isn’t bad; it does bring forth a lot of drama. I’m just really disappointed that Patrick’s no longer in it, his character really brought more normality and life to this series, regardless of the fact he tried to kill Conrad.

My rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“I’m a Clarke.” – Charlotte states, owning the fact she’s not technically a Grayson.

“No, no, I just meant I can put it in a nicer mug.” – Jack tells Margo, regarding the question of whether the coffee will do for her.

Alright, that’s all for the evening. I’m going to go watch more Buffy the Vampire Slayer and try to make another big snowflake. Otherwise, check back in tomorrow for my reviews of How I Met Your Mother, Bones, Sleepy Hollow, and The Blacklist.

Revenge 3.06 Review: Honesty is More Powerful than Manipulation

For all those that have yet to watch last night’s episode of Revenge, entitled ‘Dissolution’, this is the only point where I will suggest that is what you do before reading ahead. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Despite my enjoyment of the final moments between Emily, Nolan, and Jack, this was not as great an episode as last week’s. Sure, I can understand the creative angle driven to write this episode the way it was written, I was a little disappointed in the way certain things were chosen to go.

For starters, Nolan and Patrick only had two episodes kind of together, and I was actually rooting for them and loved them together, but that’s basically down with now. I feel like Patrick just got here, and now he’s being rushed away, despite the possibilities and normalcy his character brought to the show. Yes, he has a weird relationship with his mother, and yes, he tried to kill Conrad, but that doesn’t mean he needed to be written out for a time. I was really liking his character, and how happy he seemed to be making Nolan, someone who really needed it, so I’m sad that this is the way that was chosen, at least at this early point where it almost feels like they made a mistake in the way they’ve written things and are thus fixing them.

Another thing, the chemistry between Daniel and Sarah is so much more obvious than between Emily and him. They have a sense of passion between them that is impossible for Emily with Daniel. But I know that the wedding is gone through with, so what’s the point in dangling this possibility that would be so much better for him than Emily. Emily’s lack of emotions, and almost lack of personality, sometimes makes it hard for me to root for her revengenda, plus the way her plans always seem to be infiltrated before she can fully act them out. It makes it a little strained.

Charlotte was also getting under my skin this week. She’s trying to “protect” her brother from marrying “the wrong woman” and it just makes her seem too much like her mother. I liked seeing her grow into becoming her own, manipulating woman, but we already have a Victoria, and for the most part I want her to be taken down, so I don’t really want Charlotte to end up that way too. It’s disheartening to see a maturing woman become a miniature, almost identical, person to an existing character that isn’t all that great. Victoria has her place, but I don’t want Charlotte to take over that place when Victoria is eventually taken down.

While I was a little weirded out and confused by the way the dialogue was written between Nolan and Jack in the bar, I was happy that they were able to work things out.  It was difficult to follow, but I got the gist of what was going on, and I’m glad they were able to work towards a place of friendship again, because I absolutely adore their friendship, especially the way it was in the first season. It’s nice to see that working out for the both of them, it really appears as though they need each other.

I’m not sure how I feel about this whole Aiden and Emily thing going on. I was under the impression that he was there only to help her get things done, but now they’re back together. I know she has no liking for Daniel, ever since he learned of the cover up of her father’s wrongful incarceration and did nothing about it, but I still feel like her and Jack would be better suited than Aiden and her. It almost seems like, at this point, she’s manipulating Aiden to keep him in line and helping her, but that she’s not trying to manipulate Jack anymore. I did finally realize why he’s pretending to help Victoria, pushing her in the direction Emily needs her to be in, but that’s still not enough for me to feel like Aiden and her need to be the way they are.

All in all, a solid episode of television, although my own creative vision of this series didn’t quite fall in line with the showrunner’s this week. Alas, I’ll leave it up to him to decide what is best for this series, so long as it keeps me interested, doesn’t outstay its welcome, and doesn’t become completely moronic that it alienates me and its vast audience. For now I will keep mum about it, and will look forward to the day we learn who shoots Emily, or if it really is the staging for Victoria being blamed for Emily Thorne’s death.

My rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Maybe I was too tired with this and Once to catch any pop out lines, but there were none I felt impressive enough to jot down. So this is my final review of the night. Check back tomorrow night for my reviews of How I Met Your Mother, Bones, Sleepy Hollow, and The Blacklist. Otherwise, good night everyone.

Revenge 3.05 Review: Vulnerability can Create a Strong Relationship

Anyone that has yet to watch last night’s episode of Revenge, entitled ‘Control’, I suggest that you do so immediately. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

For a late night soap opera such as Revenge, this was a very good episode. The writing was tight, the acting perfect, and the little games afoot also spot on. The red herring of Charlotte being the one that caused the car accident (to which I actually thought she had been the one to commit it, and was almost doing a happy dance for having guessed correctly for once) only to turn out to have been caused by Patrick was beautifully written and acted out. I’m curious to know why he tried to kill Conrad, but I think it may have something to do with how the weird relationship he has with his mother, and did so to try and get her out of Conrad’s clutches. But I suppose we’ll learn the answers in coming weeks, I just hope it doesn’t interfere with his relationship with Nolan because Patrick is gorgeous and Nolan deserves some honest, well-intentioned love. Plus that scene at the end: hot, with a capitol H-O-T.

One performance I was enamored with in this episode was Jack’s. His anger during the confrontation with Aiden when he has every right to have wanted Conrad dead was brilliant. Then his whole heated speech with Emily where he asks her what happened to the sweet, little girl he used to know. He really gave it his all, and I’m actually starting to remember why I loved him so much during the first season, only to find him dull last season. While Emily VanCamp is a good actress, her acting as Emily in this series is not the main reason I watch the show. It’s for the intriguing plot and all the other actors that make up the cast, and this week Nick Wechsler brought his all as Jack.

Nolan, as always, I adored in this episode. His friendship with Emily is beautiful and perfect, just the thing she needs. He seems to be the only one she is ever able to fully count on, or trust, because we all know Aiden is a loose canon. Aiden, who tried to threaten Jack out of town, and I believe Emily only said those things to because she saw Jack moving on. I would’ve liked to have seen a little bit more of a loose canon from this week, and for his jealousy to come through a little more clearly, like it seemed to have done in the promo for the episode.

As Emily began to lose her control of Daniel, Nolan gave her a solid piece of advice, to give him a piece of herself despite her incredible aversion to him. She took it to heart and masterfully weaved a bit of her honest vulnerability into the life of Emily Thorne. The tears solidified her character’s ability to both act, and show the side of her she so rarely shows. And just like that, dimwitted Daniel is like putty in her hand. That innocence in his eyes as she told him part of her familial story just told me how naïve he really is. Compared to Charlotte, who is growing to become a younger, more polished version of her mother, Daniel is definitely the artist type.

All in all, I quite enjoyed this episode. Seeing the straining muscles in Patrick as he shed clothing and also while he painted. Also seeing Jack’s nice abs as he totted Carl around was wonderful. Emily was beautifully dressed for the launch party for the magazine Daniel works for, with her hair and jewelry perfect. As in most of this season, I also enjoyed Charlotte’s look a great deal throughout this episode, including her ensemble as she told Conrad she had been the saboteur, and her hair during the dress shopping. The emotions, the writing, the acting, it was all just great for this series.

My rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Phones still have numbers?” – Nolan sarcastically asks Patrick in rebuttal.

“But then again, I’m just a self-made billionaire with a 170 IQ, what do I know?” – Nolan remarks to Emily, in reference to Aiden’s accountability.

Alright, folks, that’s all for tonight. Check back in tomorrow for reviews of How I Met Your Mother and The Blacklist. Bones and Sleepy Hollow don’t return until November 4^th.

Revenge 3.04 Review: Everyone has a Hidden Agenda

All those that have yet to watch last night’s episode of Revenge, titled ‘Mercy’, then I suggest you go and do so now or exit this screen. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Well, for the most part I quite enjoyed this episode. So much seemed to happen all in one episode, but it mostly all came together quite well. A lot of the characters appear to have taken major steps forward. Conrad knows he’s not sick, and begins to try and take control of his house back. Victoria initially gets a job, and then ends up taking over the business through conniving blackmail. Emily and Daniel’s relationship is rocked when passive aggressive behavior is not so easily smoothed out. Jack made his own choices and helps out Emily without her approval. Nolan made steps back towards tech-dom and made headway with Patrick.

I’m beginning to like Daniel less and less. He’s no longer this hopeful type trying hard not to be controlled by his family, but this man that makes power plays and thinks about only his own future. Jack, however, I’m liking more than I did in the first episode of this season. He’s not letting Emily control him, and is taking his own steps to help her takedown go smoother, but not giving her all the cards. I also really liked Aiden in this episode, surprising enough. While last week he played it like he was strictly there to help Emily out, and she wished they could be more, but this week it seemed more like he wanted her to lean on him. That vulnerability he showed in that strong desire was breathtaking. I absolutely adored that two steps back when he learned Jack knew Emily was really Amanda Clarke. The previews for next week look amazing; jealousy looks good on the man. While I do want Emily and Jack together, I’m seeing more to Aiden’s character than I had before.

Nolan was hilarious in this episode. That whole back and forth about his addiction to tech was fabulous. Gabriel Mann plays this character so spectacularly every week; he’s always so comedic. I’m extremely excited to learn what he found out about Patrick; no doubt it will be quite intriguing. When Nolan went in to kiss Patrick, I was a little confused by his pulling back; there was such great chemistry between these two men. Then Patrick went in and kissed Nolan, and my heart just swelled for the man. Nolan deserves some happiness, and the way he was smiling just made me feel like he’s going to have that for a little while. Still, I’m not sure why Patrick pulled back at first.

Overall, pretty good episode for the series. I do think it was a little soon for Conrad to learn he didn’t have Huntington’s, but this series never seems to do what I expect, so I’ll give my faith over to them, for once. Definitely want to see more of Aiden’s range of emotions this year; they’re much better this year than last. And I’d also like to see more of Jack and Emily working together. Plus, Charlotte needs a little more screen time next week, stop focusing so much on Conrad. And one final note, that emotion Emily allowed herself when Father Paul died was simply perfect.

My rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Just once. Yeah, then I can stop. I can stop any time.” – Nolan says, acting like any typical addict.

“If I can’t stop, then I can write a program that will make me stop.” – Nolan continues, reveling to the blind that his addiction is to tech.

Alright, that’s all for tonight. I’m free to spend the next few hours as I wish. Maybe I’ll write, maybe I’ll go watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who knows?Bones, How I Met Your Mother, Sleepy Hollow, and The Blacklist.

But check back in tomorrow for reviews of