Revenge "Illusion" Review

It's the little things that get people. Iago used a handkerchief to begin his manipulations of Othello. Desdemona didn't need to sleep with a man at all; Iago had a handkerchief. Emily Thorne's been careful since the day she came back to The Hamptons to exact vengeance on behalf of her deceased father. Whenever her ruse seemed ready to fall apart, she thwarted it. Any card she needed from her proverbial pocket was there when she needed. Imagine, then, an absence of a scar of Fake Amanda's back as the detail that threatens her entire plan and identity. Mason didn't need photographic evidence of the girls' switch nor birth certificates or any forms of identification; he just needed an absence of a scar to connect the red thread and reach a dramatic conclusion about who Emily Thorne truly is.

"Illusion" concludes on the shot of Mason putting the picture together in his head, making the dramatic connection between Emily and Amanda. Revenge tries to distract the audience through Emily's set-up of Conrad Grayson in the murder of the white-haired man. The plan involves Mason Treadwell's demise, though Emily is coy about the specifics when questioned by Nolan. The Grayson re-marriage happens on the day Mason discovers the white-haired man's corpse. The cops then arrest Conrad, whose evidence was at the scene of the crime. Emily carefully set up the details of the scene. Conrad blames Victoria for the set-up. Later, he makes a deal with The Initiative to free him from imprisonment. Victoria points the gun her husband bought her when he surprises her in their bedroom, just free from prison. It won't take much at all for the Grayson's happily-ever-after marriage to crack then shatter.

The first half of "Illusion" is a tremendous waste of time. Jack anticipates the bar re-opening, unaware he's going to get screwed sooner than later by douchey rich guy who set-up Declan to set-up whatever his plan is with the bar to destroy the Porter boys' lives. Amanda and Emily go over a lie about the removal of the scar. Nolan makes Emily frown when he tells her he's bringing Padma to the wedding. Jennifer Jason Leigh paints on a beach and mumbles her lines. Accent Guy accompanies Emily to the wedding.

The action picks up in the second half after Mason lights the fuse in The Hamptons. The bar opens. Bearded Rich Man sits in the corner and looks conflicted when Jack celebrates him as a businessman but even more importantly as a man. Victoria smiles in secret, thinking of the happy life she'll have without Conrad but with all the perks of being married to him. Okay, that stuff was still boring. The crazy is unleashed in Jennifer Jason Leigh upon news of her husband's death. Anyone who serenely paints on any coastline is suspect, but the character's past as attempted-child killer solidifies that aspect. She menacingly approaches Victoria outside on the upstairs patio of Grayson Manor, talking of the pain of suddenly losing the person you love, on the edge of MURDERING Victoria Grayson. Victoria's ignorant of Leigh's character's spouse, which amps the tension. No murder happens, of course. Jennifer Jason Leigh retreats. Earlier, she told Emily the Graysons will get what's coming to them.

"Illusion" is similar to every preceding episode of season two in that it's mostly about set-up, with the odd character moment to re-establish Declan and Charlotte's connection, or Jack's devotion to Amanda through a proposal of marriage. Pay-off seems inevitable next episode, considering the break the week after for an awards show. The Houston Astros 2012 team was more exciting than the first six episodes of Revenge.

Other Thoughts:

-Emily Vancamp getting to wear some rather revealing dresses this season. Extra! covers the show, which depressed me greatly (because I'm writing about a show pimped by gosh darn Extra); Vancamp's dresses have made my Revenge experience this season better.

-I loved how the white-haired man promised to retire following his one last job. You fool of a took, white-haired man, no one lives after openly remarking they'll retire after one last job. That was my favorite scene in the episode.

-Michael Foley wrote the episode. Bobby Roth directed it.

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