Revenge - Loss - Review:"Father and Child"

This week’s “Loss” was an absolutely brilliant episode of “Revenge,” as Emily fought to clear Jack’s name and saved a family from suffering the same fate hers did.

“Tearing a child away from a parent is unforgiveable.” -Emily

The episode began, demonstrating the parallel between 9 year old Amanda Clarke, and toddler Carl, separated from their respective fathers, putting to light the fact that, trying to separate Jack from his son, probably was the worst thing for Margaux to do, to ensure Emily starts fighting back. It was probably the most effective way to get her attention. Doubtful of Margaux’s inner mastermind villain, I don’t believe it was entirely intentional to hit so close to home, but the effect of her attack on Emily’s friends, when, incapable of a direct hit, ricocheted effectively on the target desired.

To help in clearing Jack’s name, Emily called in the help of an old character. “Loss” had Stevie Grayson resurface in the Hamptons, and I love the writers for bringing her back. Often in shows, they present us characters, guests in the show for a couple of episodes (Natalie Watters, anyone? Or more to the point Charlotte…) then push them aside when their usefulness expires, never mentioning them again, and expecting us to forget all about them.

Jack’s mother, briefed on the new Amanda/Emily developments, is enrolled as Jack’s lawyer, facing up to five years in jail for negligence and child endangerment.

There was not another breathalyser test in this version of TV reality, but a blood sample which found itself conveniently misplaced in the police lab. After witnessing, on Nolan’s security footage, Margaux’s Muscles spiking Jack orange juice, Emily tracks him down. Breaking into his place and getting the upper hand in the hand to hand fight, and getting her hands on his gun, Emily retrieves the blood test that will exonerate Jack. When will the bad guys stop demeaning her physical abilities?

Ben gets the sample back to lab, where, when found, it can be re-admissible in court. After being held in contempt for trying to bring the evidence to light, Stevie realises they’ve been looking into the wrong person.

“Loss” was the perfect example of how an episode falls perfectly together when the main characters work together, to a common objective. Every character had their part to play, and none of their involvement to the cause felt off, or forced, like a well-oiled machine. This is partially what made this episode so great. Emily being the muscles, and the brains. Nolan being the tech savy one. Stevie being the lawyer. David being the voice of reason, and Jack being the victim.

I’m calling Jack the victim, but for once, I’m not using the word pegoratively. He got played, but he didn’t play the victim card, as he often does. He acted, wasn't passive, and didn’t put blame on anyone. I love that he put his petty fight with Emily to the side, at least for this episode, to fight this. I loved that he didn’t let his male pride and ego get in the way of accepting her help, accepted all their help. It proved a great step for the character when he defended Ben, when Emily and Nolan couldn’t understand why Ben’s eye witness testimony was so harsh. Hopefully he’ll be able to see past Emily and Ben, and focus on his son.

“The only thing dirty about Officer Chaffer is his browser history.” -Nolan

I can’t seem to understand what motivates Jack ex-cop friends to hate him so much. I understand judging a man who drives under the influence of alcohol with a toddler in the car, endangering him, but Chaffer showed his dislike before the breathalyser. Why would they hate him for resigning, it’s not like he did something to NYPD, personally. Or am I forgetting something?

Chaffer isn’t the corrupt party in the investigation. They’re after a much bigger, smarter (not so much, in the end) fish. The judge is being bought by Margaux, accepting bribes and endorsements from LeMarchal Publications, when faced with a tough re-election. Nolan, Jack, Ben and Emily orchestrate a scheme to take down the judge, in the same way Margaux tried to take down Jack, by spiking her drink with Acetone, in a takedown reminiscent of Emily’s season one red sharpie take downs.

David, for once, turns into the father figure Emily needs, instead of her dependant. In this episode he managed to push her back into the track of righteousness, away from the path of revenge, where bodies will only continue to pile, until there is no one left to fight back. This revenge addled path is the one she chose, in his absence, all those years ago, when she had no parental figure, there to lead her. It’s the path she chose when she was alone, guided only by her fury, by her need to have someone pay for her misfortunes.

I loved the fact that David got through to her. It demonstrates how much she benefits from having her father back in her life, not for giving a sense to her past, but a new purpose to her future. And despite the initial relief she had from finding out he was alive, having him back hasn’t proved that beneficial for her up to now.

Emily is willing to call a truce, willing to call it quits, despite her initial instinct to make Margaux pay for making her friends suffer. Emily wants it to end, wants to help Margaux, because making people pay isn’t the only way to get her happy ending.

“Loss” made me hate Margaux, and not in an I love to hate her way, although I did feel her pain. It really is time for the Revenging Torch to be passed on, and for her to get less screen time. I find her character incredibly hard to follow, and I get that she’s emotional and she’s erratic, but she’s all over the place, inconsistent from episode to episode in her erratic behavior.

“She’s angry that we had to lie about Daniel’s death.”- Emily

I laughed because it really is all there is: a woman angry they had to lie, and it sounds so trivial. I said last week, the more Margaux moves forward in this war with Emily, the more her reasons for hating her seem petty, and this episode didn’t help sell her case. When Emily says they can have a common goal, reach for it together, Margaux should listen. If Margaux has learned anything about Emily right now, it’s that she’s a lot better than her at this. She’s been doing this a lot longer, so when she says there’s a better way, it’s because there’s a better way.

Margaux gets hit by a taxi, in no way caused by Emily, except that she was distracted, and with that accident, the last remnants of Daniel is gone. I understand that the truce between Emily and Victoria made for a boring, or lack thereof, storyline for Victoria, but Margaux telling Victoria, Emily pushed her in front of the Taxi was ridiculous, and I’m not sure I’ll appreciate if Victoria goes after Emily on Margaux’s word alone. I get that we’re supposed to root for Emily, but must everyone that goes against her have to be evil and twisted, and on the verge of psychotic? Margaux had her reasons, though petty, were understandable, but it’s escalated to a hatred that doesn’t even begin to cover it. It’s not like Daniel was an angel. He shot his wife, and watched her fall at sea.

Also, did Margaux’s reason to vote against the hospital wing made sense to anyone? Because I was with Victoria on that one. I didn’t get it, and still don’t.

After this episode, I can honestly say I love Louise when she’s part of a less dramatic storyline. I enjoyed her immensely as comedic relief in the last few episodes, but in this episode I just didn’t care for her storyline.

Lyman’s body is discovered, lifeless on the beach, where he fell, after his fight with his sister who continued to act as though her brother had passed out in his bedroom, from consuming too much alcohol, until the cops cam a knocking. Last episode, Louise had chosen to keep her fight with Lyman a secret from Nolan. She finally confesses at the end of this week’s episode, and I can’t seem to grasp her sudden change in perspective. I’ll leave it at the initial shock of the moment.

Louise, though, isn’t out of the woods, as the police knows about her strained relationship with her brother. They have no evidence though, and really nothing to go on, so she’s probably safe. The only thing that could possibly bad for her and Nolan is the phone call Lyman made to Margaux, but that piece of evidence is probably long gone by now.

Margaux, learning of Lyman’s death, assumes Emily is responsible, and decides, for a brief moment, to put a stop to the war. It isn’t who she is, being responsible for someone else’s death. It may not be who she was, but it’s who she has become, the day before she pretty much okayed the hit on Ben’s ex-wife without an ounce of remorse, a woman a lot more innocent than Lyman Ellis in the war with Emily. What makes one worse than the other?

Will Nolan have a new beau in Carl’s almost social worker? Will crazy Louise surface because of it? Is it wrong of me to be rooting for the crazy?