Revenge returned from a three week hiatus with a clear objective—to eliminate the lingering impediments to the wedding (and a few annoying dangling threads)—and it was all the better for it. Of course, setting "Surrender" two days before the wedding helped. It's when the series strays from its main storyline and goes off into unchartered waters that it waffles. But with Emily and Daniel's wedding day so close, and with the return of Lydia Davis at the end of the previous episode, this week felt focused and very different from where we left off. That being said, it's still dragging a bit on the emotional front, even as the plot progresses.
Daniel's conflict between loving and marrying Emily but really loving Sarah was finally put to rest when Sarah told him she was done being the other woman, and when Daniel dropped the necklace she'd returned to him into the ocean. As I've said before, this could have been a very interesting story, possibly charged with some emotion, if it weren't for the fact that A) we were hardly given time to know Sarah, let alone care about her, and B) we already knew the outcome of the conflict. No one likes spoilers because they give away the surprise, so even though there's a lot we still don't know about what happens on that yacht, we do know that the wedding takes place, so any obstacle placed in front of Emily and Daniel would have to be dealt with, swept under the rug, or pushed off a balcony beforehand.
I know, of course, that the events that took place in the premiere were conceived of, written, and shot way in advance of the Daniel and Sarah plot, but these are the kinds of things writers should be thinking about. In a series that takes itself as serious as Revenge takes itself, they need to ask themselves, "Will this make sense? Will viewers relate to this? Will they become invested in this emotionally?" Because the way I see it, it's damn near impossible for anyone who saw the premiere and knows where the mid-season finale ends up, to care about this hiccup on the road to getting there. It was nice to see that Daniel was giving up a life of true happiness to be with Emily and his (fake) child, but it didn't register the way it would have if there was ever a real chance it could have gone the other way.
I don't actually know where the series is going in regards to the Graysons and their storylines after the mid-season finale is over, but when it comes time to say goodbye to Daniel's character—whenever that may be—I kind of hope he and Sarah just run off into the sunset together, just so the few episodes about how deep their love went pays off even a little bit. If she never returns, or if they never revisit that storyline, then that'll be too bad.
Also coming up short on the emotional spectrum was Aiden's proposal to Emily with every three wick candle from Pier 1 Imports as witnesses. I had a very hard time concentrating during that scene because I was suddenly struck with the urge to do some online shopping. How much did all of those candles set him back? Were they all necessary? How big of a fire hazard do you think that is? Where's the nearest Pier 1? When these are the things running through my mind during a scene in which someone is being proposed to, that's probably not a good thing. I know I've never liked Aiden as a character and I've never felt any of the so-called sparks that supposedly fly between them as they are carrying on their own love affair, but this scene didn't do anything for me either. It was supposed to be a big moment for two characters, but because I've never found a reason to care about Aiden as a character, let alone as a boyfriend, it just kind of passed by like any other scene between them. I did chuckle, though, when he took off the ring he gave her and replaced it with Daniel's.
Putting aside the men in Emily's life for a second, I think the biggest problem the series faces is actually Victoria. From the beginning of the series, I enjoyed the barbed relationship Emily and Vee had, because it was fun and it was dirty. Their thinly veiled threats and hate were so juicy that I didn't even care all that much about the grand revenge scheme. But now it almost feels like Vee's been neutered in Season 3. I've recently been rewatching Season 1 of The O.C., and Vee is coming off like a desperate Ryan Atwood trying to convince everyone that Oliver is crazy and not the person they all thought. I guess this makes Emily Oliver in this scenario (Sorry, Ems), but Victoria used to be just as devilish and evil as Emily, and now she's been reduced to any other woman who dislikes his son's future wife. All anyone sees is a woman complaining about everything and whining about how no one will listen to her. It feels like the writers have taken away everything that made me love Victoria as a villain. She's losing every battle against Emily, which makes sense given that Emily's the series' protagonist, but it's taken away some of the excitement from the series as well.
That being said, who knew the only thing Victoria had to do to ruin Emily's final grand revenge scheme was simply not attend the wedding? I think that was probably the funniest and best moment all season long. It's like one of those cartoons where one character has planned an elaborate scheme and waits patiently for the other character to fall into the trap, only to have the character enter through a backdoor and tap the first character on the shoulder. Emily's plan to take down Victoria and the Graysons literally hinged on Victoria attending the wedding and that weird family honeymoon on the yacht—after all, how can Victoria "kill" Emily if she's not even there? Now Emily's entire plan is supposedly in jeopardy because Victoria's not even going. I say supposedly because we all know Emily will figure something out. But that was a brilliant move on Vee's part that reminded me of why I enjoy Revenge at all and why I think I've been so hard on this season. The series stopped being a dirty battle between these two strong-headed women and it became a one-sided battle where Emily thwarts Victoria's every move as she sets up her final plan (plus all the non-emotionally resonating drama).
I definitely enjoyed this episode far more than I have enjoyed the few that came before it, mostly because the plot was so on track, and because there were quite a few moments that made me laugh. Between Victoria finding one last way to eff with Emily, Lydia's entrance as she threw Victoria's dresses out of a window only to steal some more, and Daniel dropping that necklace into the ocean like he was Rose and it was the Heart of the Ocean, I haven't laughed and enjoyed an episode that much in awhile. The series has taken itself too seriously lately with all its dramatic emotional entanglements, and it was nice to see some life back in it. I was, however, bummed about the way Lydia's return was handled. After five minutes she was over her own revengenda and back in bed with Conrad. Yes, it led her to that same photo of Emily she had discovered before which should lead to something good, but I expected a bit more from her after the way she put Victoria in her place. I'm definitely glad the show brought her back though. Maybe it'll bring a bit of the old Victoria back.
That is really good :-d
ReplyDelete