Revenge "Pilot" Review (series premiere)

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Revenge isn't subtle. Emily Thorne, the lead character, tells us that Revenge isn't a story about forgiveness but one about revenge. Indeed, the series deals with binaries: white (or gold) and black; fire and ice; privileged and underprivileged. The premise of the series is centuries old, made famous by French author Alexandre Dumas in his classic The Count of Monte Cristo. Emily Thorne had ten years of her life taken from her after the wealthy Graysons conspired to ruin her father's life. The Graysons implicated the man in a situation that involved the terroristic attack on a plane that claimed over 200 lives. Emily (actual name: Amanda Clarke) spent ten years in a state-run facility until her eighteenth year where she stumbled upon 49% ownership of a successful company as well as the truth about what happened to her father, so she took her money and lust for revenge to the Hamptons where those that hurt her family reside.

The pilot episode's very confident. Mike Kelley, the creator, knows his characters and their backstories well, which is refreshing from other scribes who pack in way too much information within the 42 minute run time. The Ringer pilot, for example, was bogged down by too much exposition and not enough character developments. Revenge, though, mixes the exposition and character development naturally. It helps that we learn about Emily's back story through flashbacks, and that she has a friend who plans fundraisers and parties for the families because said friend summarizes each major character in concise sentences.

Emily VanCamp's quite capable of successfully portraying this revenge-fueled woman. Critics were hesitant about the actress’s ability to play such a character because she's naturally sweet and affable in whatever role she's in; however, her character uses her sweetness and affability to disarm her neighbors into trusting her. Emily observes that revenge isn't always best served cold; sometimes it's best served in warm hot soup. The pilot opens with three gun shots and the death of Emily's fiancée, the beloved son of the Graysons. Once the body's discovered, hysteria erupts amongst the gathered guests at the party as Emily awaits the guy who shot her fiancée to answer the phone. The situation seems clear--Emily had someone shoot her fiancée as part of her vengeance, another slice of sweet, warm revenge--until we learn that the shooter's the dutiful, hard-working and wholesome Jake Porter who used be Emily's childhood sweetheart. It's the one area of grey in the pilot because Jake could've acted out of jealousy or as part of Emily's revenge. Her face betrays nothing as Victoria Grayson venomously asks what happened to her son.

The shooting won't happen for five months, though. Presumably, the first season will culminate with the hysteria of Emily's engagement party. Anyway, I mentioned binaries in the beginning. Victoria's matriarch of the Grayson family--a woman with dark hair, dark clothes, and a dark heart. Emily emerged from the state run facility with dark hair and the demeanor of Ephram Brown until she learned the truth and changed her appearance. She has flowery golden brown hair along with a lightly colored wardrobe. When the two women meet, Emily's dressed in a white and Victoria's dressed in black. The theme of the engagement party's fire and ice. Victoria personifies the metaphorical implications of ice--cold, harsh, and sharp. Emily's the quintessence of fire--able to melt away the facades of her neighbors.

We meet the people connected to Emily's past quickly. Jake Porter stills hold a torch for his childhood sweetheart, even naming a boat for her. He took care of her dog for the last decade. Lydia's co-owner of the house Emily rented, and happened to provide the devastating testimony that ruined her family's life. Nolan Ross is the tech-whiz who records video of every major event in the Hamptons and who happens to be connected to Emily in a way that's unexpected. Victoria's family includes her adulterous husband, spoiled daughter, and rebellious son (who becomes Emily's fiancée). Jake Porter's family includes his blue-collar father and mischievous brother. The former struggles to pay for his business property while the latter charms the spoiled Grayson daughter (she responds to the charm as evidenced by their skinny-dipping at the party, five months later).

Everything's insular and connected in Revenge. It's contrived but convenient. The only characters with redemptive qualities are the ones who work for a living, who struggle to earn the money that comes so easily to the privileged peoples of the Hamptons. Daniel Grayson, the future fiancée, possesses the potential to complicate Emily's desire to destroy his family because he's not snobby or spoiled like his sister nor cold-hearted and adulterous like his parents. Indeed, we learn he hurts the image of his family because he's content with lowly waitresses, which Mike Kelley uses to signify Daniel's good heart. Characters are portrayed as absolutely good or absolutely bad with no in between; however, the flash-forward suggests more complex characterizations in upcoming episodes.

There are questions unanswered such as: Why did the Graysons destroy Mr. Clarke's life? Why did Jake shoot Daniel? Why did Emily call Jake? How much does Victoria know in five months? I'm fairly interested in the answers because of the structure of the pilot. Nothing made my jaw drop but the reveals were earned. The melodrama's fairly low. I'll continue watching until the melodrama goes into overdrive because I adore Emily VanCamp and I'm interested in the story. ABC wants the show to hit with audiences because it's promoted the premiere during every commercial break. I think the show will find success because it's the kind of ABC show audiences know--soapy, dramatic, and full of beautiful people.

Revenge premieres tonight at 10PM on ABC.