Revenge, the TV show on ABC has drawn me in from the very first episode that previewed what to expect —and that very first season as Emily picked off her enemies and destroyed their lives, one by one. I’ve had my issues with the show at times. (The whole subplot of that secret group that ate a season for one was not a favorite of mine. I was quite happy when they ended that storyline.) But last season, they moved back on track with the focus on Emily and the Graysons. And this season seems to be no exception.
Note: Spoilers from Sunday’s episode included
When the show returned from winter break with a commercial that claimed Emily had lost her memories, I was intrigued. I thought it would be fascinating to see how she would navigate the shark-infested waters of the Hamptons without all her faculties. Granted, I also love a good amnesia story. There was so much potential and promise for how that could play out, and what I really appreciated about it was the idea that it was different from the last few seasons. It was a complete twist on itself.
Then, that amnesia thing got wrapped up on one episode. I admit to being a bit disappointed. I appreciated that Emily’s plans got foiled. I mean, she went the entire first season winning every revenge plot she set forth. So it’s nice to see Emily lose once in a while. But in the general scheme of this show, how has Emily grown? Changed? After this episode, she is right back at square one, day one. For half this episode, it seemed that the distance from her memories and then remembering all that pain had changed her. Had made her realize it wasn’t worth it anymore. But that also was resolved after one conversation and one episode.
Her battle for the rest of the season is with Daniel, more than anyone, and I imagine that will make for some soapy moments. We’ve been through the cycle of “she’s ready to walk away” and then the Graysons do something else to make hate them more, and she’s back to Agenda: Revenge. We’ve seen this more than once. But it isn’t doing Emily any favors in the character department nor does it seem like fresh writing anymore. When you call a show Revenge, it really does sort of stick it in a box. But still, I’d like to see some actual character growth within Emily…and I don’t think we’ve seen much.
What do you think? How did you like the twists for the rest of the season?