Courtesy of ABC
Everyone is getting into the REVENGE! business as the Graysons step up their efforts to take out their competitors. I sense a ranking list ahead.
Let’s bitch it out…
Half of the fun of watching Revenge is seeing Emily (Emily VanCamp) make and execute plans to take down the Graysons (the fact that she rarely scores a victory anymore is what makes the show so frustrating). Of course that’s only half the fun because if Emily were just taking down a bunch of non-descript villains, it wouldn’t be nearly as interesting. As a result we’ve been made to invest in the Graysons as characters and while some are more memorable than other, in the last half of S3 they’ve all become a particularly hissable bunch.
With Emily mostly out of the REVENGE! arena this week, a lot of attention is devoted to the villainous Graysons and their various antics. In honour of the approaching season (series?) finale, let’s examine how they’re faring in their exploits:
Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) has always been the most memorable and – strangely enough – the most cheer-worthy because she’s a huge diva bitch. And that makes her fun. She’s also the only one in the family who seems to have an inkling about watching and/or taking Emily out. So long as she’s not sleeping with painters or rekindling her relationship with her first born son, Victoria is pretty solid television. Her development since Patrick left has been singularly focused on Emily, which nearly guarantees that there will be fireworks between the two women before the end of the season. And that’s a good thing. Verdict: The Ice Queen is most likely to end up going 12 rounds with Emily, so for now she’s on top.
Conrad (Henry Cznery), on the other hand, has never been integral to Emily’s plans and as a result he’s always been far less interesting. Nothing has changed with Conrad over three seasons: he remains a cad, a slimeball who’s willing to travel to Miami to steal a meeting simply to shove it in a competitor’s face. If Conrad had any common sense, he’d take a page from Emily’s book and learn to shut his trap until his plans have been completed rolled out. Alas the Graysons – God love ’em – are far too proud not to sabotage their own criminals exploits by blabbing about them. Verdict: Only good for a hostile takeover…an inefficient one.
Pulling up the rear are the Grayson children. This is where the third season has gotten far more interesting of late. Daniel (Josh Bowman) has walked the gray line between hero and villain throughout his tenure on the series, but he’s only recently become a truly memorable villain. While I still think things will come down to Emily vs Victoria, it’s clear that Daniel is actually better than both of his parents at pulling off a long con. Just witness the massacre he’s engineering with both Margaux (Karine Vanasse) and Jack (Nick Wechsler), as well as his own sister, Charlotte (Christa B. Allen). Verdict: Potentially the most dangerous of the Graysons. Bonus points for rocking a cardigan and tie.
Which leaves us with…ugh…Charlotte. Let’s be honest: I hate this bitch. Always have, always will. Charlotte would be completely dead to me if she hadn’t suddenly become integral to Daniel’s plans (mostly because she’s got the oodles of spare time to put together connections he can use ’cause she doesn’t really have a job). Charlotte’s discovery that new love interest Javier (Henri Esteve) has dirt on Em, Jack and Nolan’s (Gabriel Mann) file stealing exploits a few episodes back is just the kind of stuff that could prove explosive before the season is up. The fact that Charlotte is involved in anything other than foreign prep school or some kind of horrible death definitely grates on my nerves. Verdict: Kill her with fire.
And so, in an episode that mostly features Emily sidelined on the other side of the pond and the “good guys” languishing without their esteemed leader, ‘Blood’ gives us a good opportunity to catch up (and hiss) at the Graysons as they start to get their shit together. Now if only they could stand to be around each other long enough to hatch a few plans, this family of incompetent villains might actually be noteworthy.
Courtesy of ABC
Other Observations:
- Aiden (Barry Sloane) and Em travel to the UK to get closure on his father’s suicide and see if they can uncover the Mathis connection to Pascal (Olivier Martinez). While investigating Aiden finally confesses to his mother (Claire Jacobs) that younger sister, Colleen was killed (which we learned about in ‘Union’) and introduces Em as his fiancee, which naturally means they’re back to shagging before episode’s end. Viewers offer a collective shrug.
- Oh yeah, the big return of Mason Treadwell (Roger Bart) is basically just him renegotiating his deal with Em and her faking his death. Talk about a bait and switch. Luckily he does cough up the info that the reporter Em and Aiden are looking for, Oscar Chapman, is still alive
- Frustration thy name is convenient storylines: Javier gets pissed at Nolan for taking too big of a share of their creepy program and vents secrets to Charlotte. Good to know that this is why this character is on the show (wait…am I talking about Javier or Charlotte?)
- Finally, Stevie (Gail O’Grady) dives right back into a bottle of Gin after Victoria makes her blame herself for Mason’s “death”. No one saw this coming, amirite?
Best Lines:
- Mason (when Victoria requests info on Emily): “If you think I’m going to spill my secrets for nothing, your hubris is as offensive as my cellmate’s grooming habits.”
- Mason (to Stevie): “Well at least you still have the bite of a stiff drink.”
- Conrad (egging Victoria on): “What’s the matter? French grass not green?”
What’s your take on Mason’s not-so-big return? Did the random UK adventure feel random? Who’s more on their blackmail/manipulation game right now: Victoria or Daniel? Who’s dumber: Charlotte or Margaux? And which french actor shall we cast as Gideon – Margaux’s brother – since he’ll inevitably turn up at some point? (My suggestion: Gaspard Ulliel. He’s cute and could play preppy and trashy. Should fit right in!)
Revenge airs Sundays at 10pm EST on ABC