Revenge "Guilt" Review

Sometimes I feel as if Revenge creator, Mike Kelley, intentionally bludgeons the audience about the head with an episode's theme. ABC, the network, has a long history of employing show runners who consider the audiences to be morons incapable of picking up on the most basic themes of an episode. No Ordinary Family's writers treated its viewers like a kindergarten class most weeks. Revenge's writers room write dialogue like the audience is in 6th grade. The writing's atrocious, made even worse by the unnecessary narration at the beginning and end of every episode.

"Guilt," shockingly, is about guilt. Most individuals feel the need to make amends for a wrong they've done when guilt overwhelms their conscience. The characters in Revenge have completely different reactions to guilt though. Lydia, the exiled Hamptonite, returned to Victoria's territory with $10 million in the bank account. The guilt she feels for her adulterous affair is non-existent; therefore she must die. Emily Thorne, the daughter of the framed David Clarke, feeds off of the guilt she feels during her plans for revenge. Victoria, a woman who set the events in motion to frame David for the plane crash, couldn't overcome the guilt she felt. After all, she and Conrad were responsible for a plane crash that claimed over 200 lives, affected many families, and ruined one family. Instead of ignore the people involved, she created a Victims Outreach program to aid the families grieving over the loss of loved ones. A benefit for the Victims Outreach program's at the center of the dramatic episode in this week's episode.

Revenge, if nothing else, is a convoluted series. In my opinion, Nolan and Emily have enough evidence to destroy the Grayson empire; however, Emily's a sociopath, as is Nolan, and the series needs to tell a season's worth of stories, so the revenge scheme continues with more nonsense complicating Emily's delicate plans. Tyler, Daniel's old college roommate, is the wildcard Emily didn't foresee. Likewise, Lydia's confidence and swagger took Emily by surprise. I suppose $10 million in the bank will make anyone more daring and confident. Lydia returned to the Hamptons with intentions to reclaim her former life: her former house and her place within Victoria's circle of wealthy white women. Lydia carried the truth in her arsenal, in her threats perceived as empty. She made it clear to Victoria and Conrad that she meant to expose them for their role in the terrorist attack if her needs weren't meant. And all she wanted was a little friendship.

Emily circled the situation from afar, like a shark, waiting to pounce when she needed to. Lydia demanded some of her things be returned from the house, which Emily had no problem doing because she filled a box full of evidence tying the woman to the recent sequence of events in the Hamptons--the disgraced senator and leaked therapy tapes; however, Emily wasn't aware she parted with a picture that had her in it. After her release from a federal facility, she took a job as a caterer to gather information on Victoria and Lydia at a ball--as Amanda Clarke. Lydia noticed Emily Thorne in the back and smiled venomously. Emily and Nolan moved like lightning to remove all traces that she's actually Amanda Clarke. Kevin, the chief of security, actually helped the two sociopaths out when he murdered Lydia following a confrontation about her involvement in the senator fiasco as well as the therapy sessions. Lydia pleaded innocence but that made no matter--he threw her off of a roof.

"Guilt" is designed as a game-changer because no one's died before, and Emily wasn't involved in the murder. In the teaser, she remarks that 'every action has an opposite and equal reaction' in revenge. Even though she's innocent of the murder, her influence in the community caused Lydia's death. Nolan's freaked by the murder. Emily hasn't heard about the death but I imagine she'll react with a coolness she wears like armor. Things will continue to get messy as a result of the domino effect she's created in the town.

We learned guilt drives Emily more than revenge because, for years, she loathed her father for his involvement in the horrific terrorist attack. The revelation makes the character more human. Emily's been more robotic thus far. The truth that she needs to make amends for the years she despised her father should make it easier to invest in her; however, the writing's so damn bad. None of the emotions feel natural because of the clunky dialogue. The whole thing about 'guilt feeds me' made absolutely no sense when first uttered because it lacked context. I just remembered the flashback placed in the episode to tie it together.

Daniel Grayson learned more about his family than he wanted to know, which caused him to shun the family business for a life of freedom (trust fund be damned). Daniel's becoming more saint-like each week because they're going to kill him during sweeps (as the pilot showed). This week, he apologized to Jack and Emily, bailed Charlotte and Declan out of jail, yelled at Tyler, and took a job bartending at the Porter tavern.

I have nothing else to write about this episode. I expect my reviews of these episodes to take on the tone of my NOF reviews because the series is bad, but I'm going to continue writing about it.

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