Courtesy of ABC
Happy fourth of July! Revenge celebrates Independence Day with an old school take-down of the week, only this time the individual orchestrating the con is none other than Nolan Ross (Gabriel Mann). Also: Daniel (Josh Bowman) can’t keep it in his pants.
Let’s bitch it out…After watching Emily (Emily VanCamp) take out a few dozen evil doers, it makes sense that Nolan would eventually decide to exact his own REVENGE! Unfortunately ‘Resurgence’ mistakes backstory (delivered as exposition) for character development, so the entire rationale for Nolan’s plot against Busy (Ana Ortiz) is comprised of information that seems to have been introduced solely for the purpose of this episode’s plot. Three seasons in and this is the first time it’s been mentioned that Nolan was estranged from his father because Busy outed him in the society pages. It’s not as though I’m opposed to Revenge introducing relevant character details, but the entire storyline feels half-baked and clumsily introduced.
I loved Ana Ortiz back when she was on Ugly Betty, so I was excited to see her return to network TV (she’s a regular on Lifetime’s Devious Maids). I can’t say that my excitement pays off, however. I’m not entirely clear on the intent behind the character, but Busy is parachuted into the narrative as a PR woman extraordinaire that we’ve not only never heard of, but who seems absolutely terrible at her job. Not only is she unable to read people (something Madeleine Stowe’s Victoria correctly calls her out for), but she’s meant to be the keeper of secrets and yet she confesses everything about Emily’s fictitious first marriage in the span of about five minutes. Let’s face it: Nolan is capable of taking this lady out with a pair of Google glasses because she’s really dumb. And that would be fine and perfectly acceptable if the writers hadn’t spent the first thirty minutes taking her up like she’s an untouchable genius.
Ultimately this tale feels lightweight. It’s possible (albeit unlikely) that we’ll see Nolan activate Busy somewhere down the line, but nothing about this storyline impacts Victoria’s plot to use Aiden (Barry Sloane) or Sara (Annabelle Stephenson) to rupture her son’s upcoming nuptials. Does it provide an opportunity for Nolan and Ems to reconnect and pledge the value of their friendship? Sure in fact, the scene between VanCamp and Ross is really lovely). Is this story indispensable to the show and the growth of these characters? Nope…and that’s what makes it tough to care about.
Courtesy of ABC
Other Observations:
- Aside from the disappointing A-storyline, most everything else hums along. Conrad (Henry Czerny) is still mostly searching for a storyline after his disastrous detour in politics. An autobiography seems like a natural evolution out of this since it confirms his obsession with fame and prestige, and will allow him to annoy everyone with his efforts to maintain appearances
- Victoria rebounds with barely a mention of recently departed son #1. She’s back into full fledged “Daniel” mode in an effort to ensure her second born and Emily don’t deliver their wedding vows in one month (apparently the writers are still neglecting that they showed us the wedding day). To this end Victoria kicks Aiden out of the house when she realizes Sara has more “break-up” potential. Not that she needs to do anything to help considering Daniel basically just needs to be within a three hundred mile radius of a woman to forget that he’s engaged. Somebody put a muzzle on that guy!
- Victoria booting Aiden out of Casa Grayson essentially means Barry Sloane is off the show. After his dismissal by Victoria, he’s also kicked to the curb by Emily to go prepare for her “death”, thereby taking seven episodes to do what everyone assumed would happen at the end of last season. As usual the two say their goodbyes completely out in the open, suggesting that Takeda failed to teach his students that they are, in fact, visible to others
- Jack (Nick Wechsler) – the only sane character in the cast – decides it’s time to move on from his sham (dead) marriage and hook up with French hottie Margaux (Karine Vanasse). At this point it’s unclear if there’s more to Margaux beyond simple love interest, but the two have nice chemistry and it’s a change of pace to see two people kiss who aren’t a) lying all the time or b) secretly hating the other person
- I do love how romance on TV is measured in the total number of lit candles on a date. Is Jack trying to start a small fire to keep warm or something?
- Each week I send Charlotte (Christa B. Allen) to a fictitious institution in the hopes that one week the writers will send the character away and never speak of her again. Charlotte’s contribution this week is to remind her mother to prioritize Daniel’s happiness, not just focus on disliking Emily. While this in mind, I suggest Charlotte attend Deepak Chopra’s Speak Your Truth seminar, where she will hopefully be indoctrinated into a doomsday cult that drinks poisoned kool-aid
- Finally, I may not be an expert, but those fourth of July revelers look awfully cold in their full length pants and sweaters. That’s the challenge of situating this show almost exclusively during the summer when the shooting schedule drags into the colder fall/winter months.
Best Lines:
- Victoria (to Sara): “Wouldn’t you be more comfortable watching the fireworks from a field somewhere?”
- Victoria (kicking Aiden out): “It’s the fourth of July, the day we Americans celebrate getting rid of the British”
Your turn: what are your thoughts on ‘Resurgence’? Were you happy to see Nolan and Emily working together? Did Victoria’s decision to dump Aiden for Sara seem incredibly hasty? Does anyone actually care about either Charlotte or Conrad’s storylines? Is there more to Margaux than meets the eye? Sound off below
Revenge airs Sundays at 9pm EST on ABC