In this episode of our favorite found-footage program, the characters stand around and watch some found footage of their own! It’s flashbacks within flashbacks within a concept that’s coming apart at the seams.
Before the recap, let’s cut to the chase. There were two major revelations in this episode: first, Dr. Cole and Tess lost their first child, Alice. In the face of that loss, they began making Undiscovered Country, mostly just to keep their minds off their loss. To me, this speaks volumes about their characters.
The second major revelation also changes the way we look at one of the main characters: Lena set off the beacon that led the team into the jungle. She wanted Tess and Lincoln to take up the search again, to provide the resources necessary to find her own father. I’m beginning to wonder if she and Jonas deserve each other.
Editor: The tardiness of this post is my fault, not Estelle’s.
After last week’s fast-paced engagement/murder party and the fact that we have a whole month of March without any new episodes, I decided to switch things up a bit this week…
Ten things that happened on this week’s Revenge:
1. Declan is all of a sudden the smart one. I know, shocker. He’s dealing with the fact that Charlotte is starting to get super dependent on pills after finding out her real father is a criminal and her brother may be a murderer. Declan also catches on to the fact that Jack didn’t make it to Haiti because of “engine trouble” (unless that’s what Amanda is calling herself these days) and that he has a black hoodie a.k.a. “that creepy guy in the hoodie” (as Charlotte remembers him) before the two spotted Tyler’s body.
2. Daniel doesn’t remember anything about that night. Or so he says… he convinces Emily to take the dog for a walk (I think it was around midnight) so that he can dig through her floorboards and find out if Tyler was telling the truth. Was she playing him? His search comes up with nothing.
3. Courtney B. Vance (The Preacher’s Wife, Angela Bassett’s husband) is Daniel’s new lawyer. I I love Courtney B. Vance and he is one tough cookie. Mr. Brooks wants all the possible dirt he can get on Daniel. Emily tells him about Daniel’s horrendous car accident from the summer before, and Mr. Brooks is quick to corner Jack about Amanda’s whereabouts. Since Victoria loves to blame Amanda Clarke for just about everything she possibly can.
4. Emily and Daniel never got to open their engagement presents. Can you believe it? That psycho guy that held them at gunpoint was found murdered on the beach and they couldn’t find a spare moment? Crazy. Victoria is sure to bring over her gift to the couple as long as Emily promises not to open it. (Um, anyone else curious as to what it could be?) She also needs to know if Emily is going to stand by Daniel no matter what. Personally, I think Victoria was being genuine here or she has just mastered the subtle tear. (Favorite quip: perhaps your time in JD will become as asset in this situation. Awesome.)
5. Jack finds the receipt for Tyler’s ransom money in Amanda’s abandoned hoodie. He confides in Nolan, who tries to convince him to just forget Amanda. But Jack, and this is why we love him, is loyal and can’t do that. (I swear this whole thing is going to make him crazy.)
Editor’s Note: Please welcome Melissa Sue Sorrells Galley who will be reviewing ABC’s thrilling new drama The River.
The River is a found-footage style genre mashup of science fiction, horror, drama and suspense, and its first hour is just as complicated as that description sounds. It moves quickly—too quickly. But here are the basics:
Beloved television personality and explorer Dr. Emmet Cole and his cameraman went missing six months ago, and even though the official search party has broken up, his wife and friends refuse to give up the search. They head to the Amazon, track down Cole’s insanely tricked-out boat and find the panic room welded shut.
Believing Cole to be locked inside, they open the panic room, only to be greeted by … well, we’re not sure what. But it moves fast, and it seems pissed off. You can tell because it totally starts destroying everything and generally making spooky noises. Oh, and it kills someone. That’s a big clue.
When the explorer’s family and friends are finally able to regroup, they manage to trick the bad thing into a bad thing lock box so that they can get back down to the business of trying to find Dr. Cole. And we can move on to episode two.
Revenge’s corner of the Hamptons is a bit quieter since Tyler was forced out last week. In fact, my husband usually measures how crazy the show is by the amount of yelping I do in the next room, and Wednesday night, I was pretty much quiet (yet silently stressing while hating on “Amanda” and Jack). Until the end where I shouted: I KNEW IT!
Let’s just skip to the ending. Emily finds out that Charlotte is indeed the daughter of Victoria and her father. As in, Charlotte is her half-sister. For all of Emily’s smarts, I’m kind of surprised that she wasn’t savvy to this possibility. But there it is, straight from her father’s mouth.
To rewind a bit, with Tyler gone, the episode sort of goes back to its original format. Emily has her eyes set on Mason Treadwell, the writer of a book that cemented the fact that her father was guilty in the minds of many. Including hers as a young girl. Back then Mason was known as Leo, a reporter covering the trial. David Clarke trusted him to tell his story objectively. And at first, Leo tried. He interviewed little Amanda, who believes she had to tell that her father was guilty or they would lock her away too. Leo agrees with Amanda that David is innocent and asks her: “How would you like to help me rescue your father?”
Anyone who has watched one episode of this show can guess what happened. Maybe even half an episode. (Or anyone listening to the scary music.)
The Graysons. They happen to everything.
Instead, we see a young Amanda crying over Treadwell’s book, burning the picture of her father, and living for many years with the fact that her father was a killer. Fast forward a handful of years, and our Emily is rereading the book, with the knowledge that her father was framed, and she is ready to bring this guy down.
Can I just say I love Roger Bart? I know him basically as a Broadway guy but he did a great job playing this pompous, over dramatic writer type. Anxious for more work but with a little bit of a conscious.
Editor: Estelle is back with another amazing recap of ABC’s Revenge. I apologize for the tardiness of her post. It’s 100% my fault.
A few announcements before we begin:
Victoria debuts a few new hair styles.
It’s still summer in the Hamptons.
These characters reign as “Best Dressed” on TV.
Things are just as crazy, if not crazier, in the land of Revenge.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, this episode opens with Emily regaining control by practicing karate with Mr. T and divorce papers. It’s the beginning of the end of everyone’s favorite couple and Victoria seems thrown for a loop. Crappy for Ashley who is all dressed up for a breakfast and has suddenly has nowhere to go when Victoria doesn’t feel up to breakfast (or Ashley calling her “Victoria”). But Ashley is ready to suck up this morning and Victoria asks her to get Daniel back, which, of course, she can do. And now she can call her Victoria again.
We get the first of the awkward Ashley and Tyler run-ins when Tyler justifies his kiss with Nolan as him being ambitious and doing it for both of them. He invites her out to dinner that night – fancy place – and while she agrees, I’m not sure Ashley is on Tyler’s team like she used to be before.
Then there’s Jack. I thought he was a smart guy. But first, he believes “Amanda” when she says she is his Amanda from childhood. (Still not seeing the resemblance.) And then when Sammy the wonder dog can’t stop barking at her, Jack thinks the whole thing is a fluke. What? C’mon guy. “Amanda” also has blocked out her childhood and doesn’t want to hear Jack reminisce. I guess I can give her a pass on that one. Not too hard to believe that a person who went through what “Amanda” did might want to talk about anything.
For some reason I didn’t enjoy this episode as much as I have the others. The glaring looks and the dramatic orchestrations were just getting on my nerves. I also kept wondering how I was going to write about two people who have switched identities without confusing people. Revenge is not making my job easy.
On the other hand, my husband thinks I didn’t like it as much because I didn’t have to yell at the TV this week. He could be right about that one. Episode 8 was pretty slow paced compared to the others we’ve seen; I guess I can accept that since it was definitely prepping us for something more.
If you remember from two weeks ago, “Real” Emily is in the picture, she has just killed Frank, and seeks out our Emily. As always – total drama.
I wouldn’t say the celebration of Victoria and Conrad’s 25th wedding anniversary was anything to call home about.
Yet again, Revenge was a total trip this week.
Right away, we have a New York Times reporter interviewing Victoria and Conrad about their successful (barf) marriage. (Since when do things like this get on the front page of the NYT?) Victoria is just about ready to burst with the whole manifestation of their fairy tale relationship.
Big question: Does anyone else think that Charlotte is not Conrad’s kid? (And perhaps Emily’s half-sister/David’s Clark’s child?) Think about the Hamptons Exposed video where we have Victoria saying that Charlotte should never have been born. In last night’s interview, Victoria forgets to mention Charlotte when she talks about what has kept their marriage strong. Conrad is also ALWAYS spoiling Charlotte. I know being a daddy’s girl isn’t some new-fangled concept but we know that Conrad uses his money almost always for evil. (Keep in mind that everyone seems to have a two-sided story when it comes to this show, and we still have not figured out Charlotte’s.)
Editors Note: If you haven’t been watching ABC’s newest hit show Revenge, why not give it a try. Estelle catches you up with the events of the latest show and brings you up to speed so you can join in next week.
Spoilers with a capital S.
You know that one moment when everything changes?
Well, Revenge’s moment occurred this past Wednesday evening when Lydia’s dead body was found in a glittery dress on top of a taxi. (Why they felt the need to show her face and then have a flashback when the whole show is a flashback at the moment anyway is beyond me.)
Our first true casualty.
And no, Emily didn’t do it. In fact, this may be the first episode that takes place a day after the last one. This time there is no one person that Emily is after; instead, everyone is still dealing with the repercussions of the night before: Dr. Banks’ kidnapping and release, secrets revealed, and the possibility that Emily could get framed for once.
