Amanda overhears some gossip on “Revenge.”
Credit: ABC/Colleen Hayes
Hello again, readers! Thank you for joining me for another week of this convoluted show that knows no bounds of trickery. What mindless twists and turns will we face this week? Let’s dive right in, shall we?
Ah, spring, you know what that means for rich people: The Kentucky Derby. Everyone’s there, naturally, wearing headpieces that rival Princess Beatrice’s in their stupidity. Pasquale calls for a meeting with Amanda to get her on his side again, but she’s able to sniff out that he’s really Team Grayson so she’s like thanks but no thanks.
The camera pans over the Manhattan skyline (nice product plug for W Hotels there) and we see Aidan rigging his way into a basement where he’ll get some intel on this Oliver Chapman character who faked his own death. Meanwhile, it’s coitus interuptus for Javier and Charlotte (which Nolan doesn’t realize is happening when he knocks on the door). Charlotte reallllllly wants her new lover to partner up with Daniel, not Nolan, for a deal, but Javier’s not into it. But for Charlotte, he’d do anything, so OK, fine, he’ll take the meeting.
Back at the Derby (are they really at the Derby, btw? Or some second-rate Hamptons Derby?) Daniel shows Margot the aggregator technology that Javier created (guess that meeting went well!) and Margot’s totally into it. Suddenly, Victoria stumbles upon another blast from her past, a fellow by the name of Luke Gillian, who will become Amanda’s target for the night. He’s in town to receive an award for his eco-friendly business. He and Vicky go way back: It was actually supposed to be Luke to take the fall for the terrorist attack, but the plan somehow failed and they went to David Clarke instead. Now, Luke’s been holding on to a lot of evidence, and he’s none too pleased to see Victoria again, even though, as he says, they got away with everything scot-free.
Amanda, who of course overheard Luke and Victoria’s chat, knows that Luke has information that she can use. He’ll be the target of her red pen tonight (which Aidan promptly gives back to Amanda tonight).
In the city, Margot and Jack are having some work-life balance issues. Jack was helping Stevie get settled back in LA (bye, Stevie!) and he and Margot didn’t talk once while they were apart (ouch). Jack wants to get back on schedule, and Margot’s like “yes, as soon as I close the deal,” which I don’t know, doesn’t seem to please Jack, who’s trying to make things right.
Conrad further complicates Victoria’s life by hinting that Pasquale was involved in David Clarke going down. Nolan tells Javier (who wow, I keep forgetting is REALLY short compared to Nolan) how he sees himself in him, but Javier’s not into it because this is just like when “that terrorist” David Clarke saw potential in Nolan. And Jack visits Amanda to join her takedown of Luke, which will start with her meeting with him tomorrow.
Nolan and Aidan are off to get more clues into Oliver Chapman—they found that a woman named Brenda Evans was the last person to clear his bank account, so they want to go to her. Nolan arrives to meet Aidan with a burrito in tow, because there’s no “stakeout without takeout.” While they’re together, Aidan spills his daddy issues, mainly the fact that his dad was no hero, like David Clarke really was, because he planted the bomb on the doomed plane. All the weaponsry training can make Aidan strong enough to get past his baggage.
Victoria calls Pasquale out on the rumor Conrad put in her head, and Pasquale explains that he was brought in as an investor, and when a story was going to implicate her and Conrad he took the fall because he loves Victoria. Readers, do we believe him?
Amanda arranges a meeting with Luke under the pretense of her looking for a job, and as he drones on about his eco-friendliness, Jack (whom you’ll recall Amanda has hired for his very purpose) steps in and was like “Nuh-uh! You’re a liar!” Amanda steals a water sample from Luke and then stands up to Jack on Luke’s behalf. This all really impresses Luke and he invites her to be his makeshift PR girl at the award ceremy the next day.
Daniel and Margot try to buy Javier’s business by not only getting his probation anklet off but also giving him a drive in a swank carp. Meanwhile, when Nolan and Aidan confront Brenda, she tasers Nolan, and Aidan tackles her…only to realize, it’s a him. It’s really OLIVER CHAPMAN IN DISGUISE! Alas, it’s true: The people he’s hiding from never stopped looking for him. And he does have intel on Aidan’s dad. It turns out, his dad took his story to Oliver. His dad wasn’t the coward Aidan thought he was. He actually had no idea he was planting a bomb. So that whole thing about him killing himself? Yeah, that was a ruse. Pasquale really set up his murder. Aw man, poor Aidan didn’t know! This makes him sad. Nolan and Aidan beg Oliver to come forward, and, because this is “Revenge” and everything is unrealistic, after a number of years in hiding, Oliver’s suddenly like, “I’ll do whatever you need.” Because that makes sense. ANYWAYS. Charlotte is mixing business and pleasure. She’s into Javier, but she still reallllly wants him to sign his business with Daniel, not Nolan. Think about it, she says: You can be next to Nolan Ross, or the next Nolan Ross. Interesting. Tempting. Javier’s got some pondering to do.
Amanda’s all ready for her takedown of Luke—she’s got a flashdrive that contains “his undoing,” as she puts it. Meanwhile, Pasquale visits Conrad with some incriminating evidence: He’s got their 1993 conversations on tape, and he can release them at any time. Since he’s got the tapes, “I control you,” Pasquale eerily sneers in his French accent. Creepy.
Nolan and Aidan have bro talk about unresolved daddy issues. Nolan goes in for a hug, but Aidan’s not feeling it. Someone has captured this interaction on camera—uh-oh! Back at Grayson Manor, Victoria fills in Daniel on Luke and his story—she actually brought him back to town to “test a theory.” Hmm.
So Javier has chosen to work with Daniel, which really disappoints Nolan. Then, we quickly cut to the awards ceremony (is this the “Revenge” fete of the episode? Looks like it, though it’s certainly smaller than in episodes past). Luke accepts his award, ending with a word to his skeptics (which, honestly, who receiving an award has ever done??). He says his practices are so green, the chemicals he puts in the ground he can put in himself. He proceeds to take a swig of one of his sample tubes (we learned not to do that on the first day of high school chemistry, dude!) and of course it’s the tube Amanda tainted. Sadly, he doesn’t die, just convulses for a little bit and winds up in the hospital. Actually, Amanda and Victoria for the first time are in agreement in an outcome—both are happy to see this dude go down.
Pasquale visits Oliver, where he promptly kills him. Guess we know who was behind that photography earlier! In the hospital, Luke is watching his own news coverage (egomaniac!) when a creepy masked face appears. It’s Amanda (though he doesn’t know that thanks to her warped voice and hidden appearance), saying she wants the leverage he has on Conrad, and that she will make him pay til she gets it.
Jack visits Margot at Voulez. He’s upset that Nolan got screwed by Daniel taking on Javier. Jack tries to get Margot to see that Daniel isn’t her friend and that he’s using her. She doesn’t get it. He leaves in a huff. They’re not in a happy place.
Daniel buys Charlotte a Bentley. Suddenly there’s a tiny explosion. It’s Nolan. “Consider this war,” he tells Daniel. A sub-revenge plot within “Revenge!” Oh dear. This could get ugly. Conrad finds Aidan at a bar, tells him that Pasquale’s killed Chapman and warns that he’s next – unless he gives Conrad something he wants. Aidan’s not interested, but Conrad’s like, it’s better to be my friend than enemy. Aidan leaves and some shady guy reminiscent of Frank the Bodyguard asks if everything’s going OK. Guess he’ll come into the picture more next episode.
Jack and Amanda learn that Gilliam had money transfers from the terrorists, which proves Conrad’s involvement but doesn’t get David off the hook. By the way, they discover this while drinking wine by the fire. Jesus, can they just get together already? Ugh. She’s like, “good luck with the move!” and Jack’s like, “Oh yeah, we’re probably not gonna make it.” Well, guess they’re done, because it’d be weird for him to say “we’re probably not gonna make it” and then stay together. Anyway, in a verrrrry dramatic fashion, Amanda draws out her revenge pen and x’es out Luke. Remember in the beginning when the red pen thing was kind of fun? Now it’s just overplayed. Anyway, the camera shifts to a black Sharpie—it’s Victoria, making the same x mark, on her own picture from the company picnic! No, it’s not a Victoria revenge list, unfortunately, but it is her keeping track of the Hamptons hits so far. Victoria pieces together that Amanda has been doing all of this not just to take down the Graysons, but as revenge for David. Revelatory, maybe, but still not super-satisfying for us. What do you think? Will we ever get some closure in this show? Do you think it will be renewed for a Season 4? Sound off, and also let me know what you think on Twitter (@meredithatmetro). “Revenge” is off next week (happy Easter!) but see you in two weeks, where, from the looks of it, Pasquale and Victoria will be getting engaged. Blech.
