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Revenge - Kindred - Review: "Is there something left?"

Jan 29, 2015

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“Kindred” was Revenge’s last episode before their 5 week hiatus, but did it feel like it was? Not really, because usually, Revenge has a way of going out with a bang. Maybe I’ve come to expect more of these episodes, especially after the incredibly intense episodes we’ve been getting lately, but this week left me with a sour taste in my mouth. Some aspects of the episode were enjoyable, but mostly, this episode was too slow to come close to the pre-hiatus standards I was expecting.

At the end of “Abduction,” I asked myself the question, what now? Emily cleared her father’s name, the hatred between her and Victoria has finally subsided; she’s done with her revenge. Malcolm’s dead, and her friends and family are no longer in harm’s way. So what does this leave for Emily Thorne? It’s way too early for her to be riding off into the sunset, if that is, indeed, how they plan to end the series. (Which I doubt!) The writers seem to be asking themselves the same question, and I hope they can get back on solid ground because this episode somehow fell short.

Victoria and Emily became unlikely allies in last week’s episode, they somehow managed to bury the hatchet, at least for now. With Emily out of the running as her arch-nemesis, Victoria seems to be getting a new storyline, when a new character made her appearance in the Hamptons. Natalie Waters, new to town, and her and Victoria seem to be off to a shaky start, both trying to establish their dominance over the other. It’s hard to predict whether they’ll be friends or enemies. Can Victoria really have friends?


It seems to be back to the basics with Queen Victoria and her loyal, not so loyal court, as she starts a foundation, in an attempt to salvage her son’s memory. Queen Victoria returns, with her court. To her credit, she is keeping the secret of her son’s heroic end, even when the fundraising doesn’t go as she expected, and no one shows up to the art gallery. I felt for Victoria, and for the love she has for her son in the scene, thought it had the perfect display of emotion.

I was half expecting her to cave, and tell the world what had really happened, but instead we had the pleasure of witnessing old-school Victoria. She blackmails her “friends” into giving to the foundation in exchange for her keeping their secrets. It was a pleasure to see this side of Victoria again, she’s been playing the victim way too long for my liking.

The cliffhanger of the episode, if we decide to call it that, seems to lie solemnly on the cryptic call Victoria received. I’m starting to feel bad for Victoria, she needs a break. Who knew this day would come? She is informed, quite coldly, that there has been a death in the family. Is it Patrick, or Charlotte, is it her mother? But my question remains, who was it that called? Guess we’ll have to wait to know, but none of these questions make me itch for the next episode, like “Revenge” cliffhangers do.

This episode of Revenge hosts the time-honored Hamptons party, held by Emily, in Nolan and Louise’s honor, synonym of drama and takedowns. While Emily was being held captive by a violent sociopath, Nolan and Louise were getting married, in the hopes that Louise would escape her mother’s vicious clutches, and have access to the fortune that was rightfully hers. I’m still having a hard time with the Louise and Nolan relationship, and they’re married now. It’s not like I have that pathological need to label things, but what does that make them, still only friends? Are they living together? They’re married for convenience. Are they still dating other people? Is Nolan really off the market?

In exchange for their silence, Louise’s family demand an annulment. An incriminating police report convinces Louise she really was the one that has killed her father, that she pushed him down the stairs, but Emily and Nolan know better than to trust this simple piece of evidence. They, using an unconventional memory returning trick Emily learned in Japan, try to help her uncover her buried childhood memory, to shed some light on the situation. I can’t be the only one that laughed out loud during this scene, I get that Emily is ninja and all, but it was ridiculous. I liked the drowning method, used by Taekeda in the beginning of the second season a whole lot more.


Louise remembers (pretty easily) but lies about it, and commits herself to Clairmont Psychiatric Hospital, but Emily comes to her rescue her from herself, giving validity to the statement: “Marrying a man is marrying his friends.” It really was no surprise that Louise’s mother killed her father because she was having an affair. Maybe they haven’t built up a good enough rapport with Louise or with her family for the takedown to feel satisfying, or maybe it just was the lack of challenge, because the whole thing seemed way too easy.

Louise is not crazy and I’m can’t say I’m not disappointed by this. Does that mean her psycho affection for mommy Victoria is over? If that is so, then what was the point in that? It was probably the part I enjoyed the most about Louise’s storyline.


Like us, like the writers, Emily doesn’t have a clue what could possibly come next for her. She had never meant for her to make a life as Emily Thorn, with friends, family. She never expected her father to come back to her. She had never planned on staying Emily Thorne; of being attached to the person she’s become. She was supposed to disappear, to find a new life once her revenge complete.

For the time being, she’s content just being the daughter her father wants, of becoming the family she longed for, to make up for the time they were robbed out of, but as Emily Thorne. She’s not ready to go back, to become Amanda Clarke again, and could she ever be? Amanda Clarke no longer exists. The little girl she once was is forever gone, and having her father back, it doesn’t change that. When she doesn’t know who to turn to, she asks for Ben’s advice.

“Really? With that undercover thing again?” - Emily

It’s always a treat to see the light, smiling Emily, and it’s an increasingly rare treat in this show. I’m not really one for “shipping,” but Ben does seem to bring that out in her recently, which I appreciate. Their scene at the bar was cute, as Ben continued to try to compare his 6 month undercover op. to Emily’s double identity.

I did not expect Emily to go to Ben, but he’s cute, he’s kind, so who would I be to tell her otherwise? I like the fragments of happy Emily, so whoever she ends up with, honestly, I don’t really care, though it’s always been clear Jack and Emily was going to be their endgame. I can only hope they’ll give up the whole childhood crush angle, it just doesn’t work anymore. They’re both two completely different people, even if he was in love with her when she was 9, that girl is long gone. If they want me to root for them, they have to show me he loves Emily, the damaged woman, not the idea of what Amanda Clarke would have become.

Jack isn’t comfortable with all the attention him and Ben are receiving for having saved David, Victoria and Emily from Malcolm Black, shutting everyone way. He’s feeling guilty for having killed Kate, for having covered it up, and ultimately, he feels bad that Daniel’s memory had to suffer because of it. It’s maddening, at least for me, because it was his idea. He spent the first seasons demanding to be included in Emily’s plan, but really, he can’t stomach it when it becomes morally ambiguous.

It’s after receiving a medal of honor for his heroic actions that he gives up being a cop. It’s back to the basics for him, as he becomes the bartender at Emily’s party. I don’t know if that’s what they’re trying to show us, that after all these years, they’re still the same people, as they slowly crawl back to the people they were when the series started. First with Victoria, then Jack. Is that what’s next for Emily, going back to being the vengeful, lonely person she was in the pilot?

I had doubts on Margaux becoming the end of season villain, and still have them, maybe more than before after this episode. She just doesn’t seem like a worthy adversary for Emily. When Emily’s going to start itching, looking for her next target, for something to do, and it’s bound to happen, Margaux will go down. When even Victoria advises against it… maybe Margaux should realise she waging a war she can’t possibly win.

“If you go to war with Emily, no good can come of it. Trust me. Pain and conflict only brings more pain and conflict. So move forward.” –Victoria

If Victoria is willing to let it go, after everything Emily’s put her through, Margaux should realise everything’s not all black or white. She told Emily she didn’t want to dishonor Daniel’s last wishes and it made perfect sense, why is she going against him? And more importantly, why isn’t she telling Emily how she’s really feeling, getting everything out in the open, once and for all. They’ve had one conversation since Margaux learned the truth, and she hid behind lies, maybe she’s jumping to conclusions a little bit too quickly. The whole vendetta seems kind of pointless.

The only damage she managed to do this week, was including Emily and David in the gossip pages, hinting they were together, and I laughed, what do they care about the gossip pages? They’ve been wrongly accused of terrorism. She has nothing on Emily, so they decide to throw a wider net, and they catch Emily and Jack, and I really don’t know what they’re going to do with it, and if we should care.


Sorry for my rant.
You guys agree? Disagree?

19 comments:

  1. Great review/rant :)

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  2. I disagree with you saying the writers don't know what happens next. They obviously do cause they are almost finishing writing the season. Did they pick a good storyline to go with? We won't know that till the show returns; but I have hope they chose a right way to go.

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  3. Great review, and I agree completely: this was by far one of the most disappointing episodes of Revenge, if not the most; slow paced, with some enjoyable moments, but the lack of crazy twists and plot development killed it for me. Seriously, even if it had its moments, as a whole it was quite boring.

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  4. Great review. Though this episode has had some great moments but overall this is the first episode this season that has left me disappointed. it was a slow paced episode that mostly focused on irrelevant characters like Margaux and Louise. For a show thats struggling to survive in ratings, this was definitely not the type of episode that should've had as an endpoint before a long break. The fact that the promo also doesn't look promising won't help the show either, i'm hoping that when they get back from the break they will surprise us and come back with a bang.

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  5. Haha thanks, I get from that you agreed ;)

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  6. Yeah, they know where they're going of course, but so they know what do with the characters that will make the show captivating, is the real question. I guess it was more a figure of speech ;)
    I hope so too, because despite the episode, I really love the show!:)

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  7. It doesn't help that I had my expectations extra high after last week's episode and given that they were going on hiatus... this is not going to help with the ratings going back in, in March. This episode was definitely lacking... which is a shame.

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  8. Thanks, they need to stop with Louise and go back to the core characters, I absolutely agree with you, it's what's slowly killing the show.
    I think they had meant for last week's episode to be the last one before the hiatus, it wouldn't have made "Kindred" any better, but at least, the show would have gone out strong, instead of poorly.
    The promo looks awful, they're putting all their faith in the Jack and Emily romance, really? Argh...

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  9. Dont get me wrong I want Jack and Emily together but putting that for a promo is just awful. Thats not the only reason i watch the show, whats the point of promos if there not going to tell us that there will exciting stuff happening ahead. I would've been less disappointed in the episode if the promo was at least exciting. As for Louise, her storyline just doesn't interest me.

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  10. The whole David thing ahs been a dissapointment. i was expecting so much more that the horrible storyline thye gave us. I still expect they kill him for real.
    You know I think what made this episode so bland was that it didnt felt like an mid season finale. there was something missing and that phone call to Vic telling her someone is dead, was like "Really?, after Daniel?" . so Who could it be? Charllote that agauin brokedown or Patrick? tho Patrick's death wouldnt make sence at all.
    I have to tell you that i really enjoyed the episode and it was mainly because I love to see Nolan and Emilly working togetehr for and oldschool takedown, like they did with crazy not crazy woman's mother. I felt sorry for Lyman tho. (I quite dont get how Nolan didnt tap him).
    And Victoris' balckmailing hr friends was such a cool thing. That made me like the episode, but yeah as far as midseasons finales go, this was the worst.
    Another thing that's bugging me is that they could've done the Flasforwards thing at the beggining of the season with Emily and Victoria being taken. That would've certainly leave us asking for WTH was going on in there.

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  11. I agree that this was a great review! This episode was the most soap- like of all 4 seasons. The sets felt off, or more fake than usual. When scenes are shot "outdoors", even is it's just a good green screen and a wind machine, it still gives the show a more "fresh" sense when watching it. That is what separates it (in my opinion) from the hard core soap operas, from which you can take a 20 year break and then catch up in a single 20 min episode. This episode felt forced and stale, it takes a fair bit for me to admit that my favourite show disappointed me- and so this week I was disappointed and left not at all excited about the March return.

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  12. Good review! I find that both Emily & Victoria have had character development in the last eps and maybe their relationship has been overexplored for now, so they are taking a step back. I feel the Nolan/Louise marriage is a way to separate Nolan/Emily, while giving him sort of an Emily surrogate. Louise has been badly treated and was close to her father, and as fake as this marriage is, they seem to be fairly honest with each other. Since Nolan has always been portrayed as super loyal, he might surprise as husband yet, not to mention that he would probably enjoy being permanently part of a duo. Maybe they learned their lesson from not developing Padma/Nolan and are taking their time, but I think this marriage might surprise everyone - and they have to give something for Nolan to do. At least he is still alive for the time being, they've killed off every other male in Emily's vicinity! I have to agree with your comment re the promo - it was cringe worthy..

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  13. Yeah, I don't think the death will be Patrick or Charlotte, because they won't bring anything new out of Victoria expect more of the mother grieving her children.
    Ohhh yeah, you got me there! There is definately going to be a Nolan and Lyman storyline, I can just feel it. Spot on, Ron!
    It was a wierd, wierd mid-season finale, I still think they meant to have the hiatus before this episode, after Abduction. It would have made more sense.

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  14. Well if Jack/Emily are to work out as adults, it's best if Nolan stays out of it. He can't always be the third wheel in her relationships, that's unfair. I am not hugely invested in the marriage SL but hey, they haven't killed Nolan yet. And frankly I think your reaction of Emily/Nolan against the world might be exactly why they separate them, for us to miss it?
    Completely agree about promotion for next episode!

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  15. Thanks, I get what you mean about separating Emily and Nolan, and Louise being the surrogate Emily, only a lot less badass. It makes sense, I just don't think I like it, haha. I like Emily and Nolan against the world, at least this episode had them working together. I'll try to keep an open mind, and hopefully, the marriage will surprise me!


    They're going to have to promote the sh*t out of the next episode to get me excited to the point where I'd like to be!

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  16. Thanks! ;)
    The Emily bringing back Louise's memmory felt so wrong for me...
    I hadn't even realised there had been no outside shots, and you're right, it does make a difference. I'll still be back in March though, it's the kind of show I can't seem to tear myslef from! :P
    Though I don't think you can miss too many Revenge episodes before feeling utterly lost in the storyline, am I right?

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  17. I felt the same with the memory scene! I actually found it hard to watch. I can't stop watching the show either, and will continue to watch it while it remains on the air. I do like re watching old episodes, especially from season 1. I watched an episode from season 3 after this episode as I was a bit confused as to why Victoria was looking at what looked like her old throne (chair with print on it) whilst still in Emily's now home after Nolan's reception. If memory served me correctly this chair was ruined after Lydia tipped red wine on it, and Patrick later made comment that it wasn't there, to which Victoria replied that it had been tarnished. Maybe Emily bought another one as some kind of reminder/ trophy?? ;)
    Despite my complaints about this episode, I cannot wait for Revenge to return in March. I'll be watching old ep's until then! :)

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  18. Станимира ТричковаFebruary 3, 2015 at 3:41 PM

    I think Nolan never was a third wheel in Emily's relationships, he was always only a friend, nobody was threatened by him, no one ever reacted like ""hey why are u here between us"" (not Aiden, nor Daniel..). It is a separate life from being a friend that Nolan needed and also Emily doesn't need him so much anymore, because she is doing no revenge now...but Nolan is always there for her, now with separate, full life...

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  19. Well, let me put it this way: Nolan has been much more than "only" a friend to Emily, he has been her family and only constant. Maybe Aiden/Daniel never questioned it because they knew this was off limits for Emily. Nolan was part of her package? Has Emily ever really appreciated all Nolan has done for her? Not so much. She's never not been #1 of his priorities and I hope this will change. I hope Nolan could finally get a good SL far away from Emily and especially Jack. .To this day I find it sad that we never got to see Contrad/Nolan interact, Conrad being a favorite of mine.

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