4.21 - "Aftermath"
Directed by Rob Greenlea
Written by Shannon Goss and Christopher Fife
Reviewed by Gavin Hetherington
Hey, Gavin here filling in for Ann-Sophie this week.
'Aftermath' Review
Since this is my first (and possibly only) review of
Revenge I've ever done, I thought I'd put it out there that I have loved Revenge since the very beginning and despite hiccups here and there, I still, to this very day, love this show with every fibre of my being. I have thoroughly enjoyed the show's fourth season (as I did the third) and this episode was yet another great episode. I thought that, in the overall package, this episode was better than the last episode. Just because I felt the last episode didn't have much going on for it until that final moment where, well, you know what happened. This episode was a much tighter episode.
EMILY AND MASON
"Your move, Amanda."
The main filling of this episode was the return of Mason and his need for his name to be cleared. Emily, being the genius she is, concocts a plan to help him so that he can help her in return, but of course things are not as they seem in Revenge-land. Mason meets Emily in her car (all snotty which I didn't think anything of until the end) making demands. I truly thought Emily would still have the advantage over him because nobody turns Emily into a puppet and gets away with it, but it looks like Mason may just be the exception to the rule. "One Big Lie: The Amanda Clarke Story" - that book title could use a little work, but we get the threat. Mason is the sort of underdog in this whole web of revenge so the fact that he has bided his time and waited for his opportune moment to strike back deserves a standing ovation. I hope we see him again in the next 2 episodes so Emily can make him pay for what he's done.
MARGAUX AND LOUISE
So Tweedledum and Tweedletwat are continually on the vendetta for Emily's blood. In a big way, I can understand completely why they go after Emily - Victoria was very close to both of them and now she's dead, that's fine. Part of me hates that Louise is now against Emily in a very big way - possibly to the point of Emily's destruction. Nolan really screwed her over there with the lying and of course Louise would change alliances - I blame Nolan for that. They didn't do an awful lot in this episode except read Victoria's 'suicide' letter, accuse Emily of murder and get the investigation elevated from suicide to murder. Together, they do make a pretty good pair and they seemingly have the upper hand over Emily. With Margaux's resources, I now wonder how far this is going to go. Either way, these two are devastating to Emily and I don't expect either of them to come around to Emily's side of thinking anytime soon (or ever).
NOLAN AND TONY
"Emily, I think... I think I'm falling for him..."
Nolan is so cute when he's falling for someone, don't you think? His little talk with Emily about Tony and planning on a vacation was a very nice change from all the drama happening at the minute in the wake of Victoria's death. I must say though, I don't think Tony was a very good character. Maybe he needed more development but I totally think Nolan deserves someone a lot more... real. I just never really bought into Tony or cared very much so I wasn't totally sad that Tony broke up with him. I was sad for Nolan as he was really looking forward to spending some time with this guy and by breaking Nolan's heart, he broke my heart. Couldn't he have mentioned this adoption thing sooner? It does seem a little strange for me that Tony appeared in Nolan's life, build up a relationship and then depart around the same time the Emily empire starts crumbling. Do you think maybe he's not who he says he is? Is he working the other side? Maybe Victoria's plan went further than we thought? I don't know, but I did find Tony a bit sketchy.
DAVID CLARKE
I will admit, I am not a fan of cancer storylines. I recently lost my cat of 11 years to lymphoma and he had to be put down a week and a half ago, so maybe it's because that's still a fresh wound that I'm not really enjoying the cancer storyline? Well, who enjoys cancer storylines really, but I feel like this was an unnecessary storyline for Revenge just to make David more relevant now his kidnapping/framing/homecoming is old news. How do we make David relevant? Oh, let's give him cancer. It would be the worst possible thing ever for Emily to lose her father now to a disease after all the years of fighting and then finding out he's alive. That would be so cruel for her to get her father back and then lose him thereafter. I do like David but I don't like this storyline.
JACK PORTER
Jack left the Hamptons at the end of the last episode to live with his mother, which was nice to see that potential ray of sunshine in their life. But I was surprised at how quick he returned and was questioned by Ben, who let's admit is getting on everyone's nerves right now. His frosty conversation with Emily before he got interrogated was a little painful to watch as I prefer them working together and being on the same page, in harmony, but the friction there spelled trouble for the horizon. Everything seems to fall apart when Team Emily falls apart. I was glad Ben told him about Emily going to catch his plane but missed him - perhaps the only good thing he did in the entire episode - so I'm assuming Jack went to patch things up with Emily when she was arrested. I'm not against Emily and Jack becoming a thing but I'm not sure I'm totally for it either. I love independant Emily and I feel like she doesn't need a man, but I think the writers have built up a love story here that I'm sure that's the direction it's going.
THE QUEEN VEE
"Hello Amanda. I'm sending you this message to tell you I'm ending your game of revenge. By the time you receive this, I'll no longer be among the living. But I would be remiss if I didn't thank you for that brilliant idea I found on that flash drive of yours. Just as you were planning on making it appears as if I had murdered you on your farcical wedding night; I'm going to make it appear as if you murdered me in your own home. The only difference - you never actually had the guts to kill yourself. But I do. So I suppose that makes me the victor in our little game but then who's keeping score? Enjoy your life in prison, my dear. May you suffer greatly."
 |
| Pre-Suicide Selfie! |
I had a feeling the Queen of the Hamptons would do everything she possibly could to have the final say. There was no conceivably way I could rationalise Victoria just snapping and killing only herself without taking Emily down with her. Well, it appears my first thoughts were right. I mean, she helped frame Emily's father for murder, right? Now she's framing Emily, it's coming full circle in this potentially final season. Victoria's move was huge, extreme, but then what else could we expect from her final move in this game of revenge? I would have been severely disappointed if she went out any other way. I was still shocked, to the bone, that Victoria blew up Grayson Manor with herself inside it. I am still reeling from that loss so I am still pretty much sensitive because, come on, Victoria was simple perfection in opposing our anti-hero Emily. The video Victoria sent Emily was swiftly deleted after but it showed how wicked Victoria can actually be. She has won... for now. It seems a shame that the truth will out, surely, which will make Victoria's elaborate move a fruitless one. But nonetheless, Victoria will be remembered forever.
Of course, Victoria didn't do this alone. Mason Treadwell helped her in a shocking (?) twist. I mean, I kind of saw this double-cross coming by Mason when his phone appeared disconnected. I also tie him with being the unknown man who weirdly attacked Victoria in the parking garage in the previous episode, not Emily. But Mason, who I love to loathe, played Emily like a fool which led to her being arrested at the end of this episode. It was such a great scene too. The video of Victoria basically telling Emily she's screwed was perfectly timed to end as the police lights flashed through Emily's window and the sirens blaring. I can't really remember but is this the first time Emily has genuinely been so screwed that it looks like there is no hope beyond this? Season four has pretty much derailed Emily as far as her perfect plans have gone and this ending was the epitome of that fact. It was quite traumatising for me to watch Emily get taken away as she screamed her innocence, and to have Jack show up too. It did lead to the best line of the night, for me at least:
"That bitch set me up!"
EPISODE VERDICT
There were so many good moments in this episode, including Nolan's comedic timing and the suspenceful pacing. I thorougly enjoyed it, though the main absence of Victoria was deeply felt. I truly believe Revenge is best when both Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke and Victoria Grayson are head-to-head, so the repurcussions of Victoria's suicide is going to be felt all the way into the final 2 episodes of the season, but if the show is renewed, what then? I was all for Revenge having a short fifth and final season but if the writers have wrote a satisfying ending to bring the Emily-Victoria revenge-etta to a close, then I'm happy with that. I was desperate for 100 episodes, but I guess 89 will have to do as long as the show delivers a truly epic finale. Great episode, and only 2 to go.
What did you guys think of 'Aftermath'? Let me know in the comments and be sure to watch the next new episode of Revenge on May 3rd, 10pm on ABC!
About the Author - Gavin Hetherington
Award-winning author of 'Abyssal Sanctuary: Remnants of the Damned'. Gavin joined SpoilerTV on August 9, 2014 and will be reviewing 2 Broke Girls, Mistresses, Orange is the New Black, Pretty Little Liars, Salem and Sleepy Hollow in the 2014-15 season. Gavin's favourite shows include Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Desperate Housewives, The Walking Dead, Once Upon a Time, Revenge, Scandal and much more. You can contact him at gavin@spoilertv.com.
