An emotional rollercoaster follows Emily’s (Emily VanCamp) shocking news, “I’m Amanda Clarke.” The media frenzy surrounds her, as she delves further into her sordid past. It’s not until halfway through the second interview that you start to catch on. Amanda’s not done with her revenge plot–this “I’m Amanda” declaration is just another move in her scheme to overthrow Queen Victoria (Madeleine Stowe).
But can Victoria be defeated now that she’s teamed up with former bughouse roomie, Louise Ellis (Elena Satine)? It’s a good thing Victoria’s enlisted psycho-ginger Louise as her new sidekick. Especially since her last sidekick, Margaux LeMarchal (Karine Vanasse) disavowed her and sided with Amanda. Mon dieu!
Amanda has eviscerated Victoria before, but without sassy hacker Nolan Ross (Gabriel Mann) by her side, she might have some trouble. Remember she dropped him from the revenge squad for making a human mistake. Amanda, who’s used to dealing with other assassins, cannot compute when it comes to Nolan’s emotions.
He carelessly held onto four folders containing hundreds of files from Project Emily Thorne. What was he thinking? How could he be so careless? Perhaps because Nolan is a sweet, caring hacker with real, human emotions (not a sociopath like Amanda). So after he and Amanda devoted their lives to this revenge plot–he kept a digital yearbook. Awwww.
Too bad that digital yearbook got swiped by woman scorned, Louise Ellis, who is now teamed up with… Victoria! Oh, shit. I feel bad for Nolan. He just wanted a memento of his life’s work–of his friendship with Amanda. And Jack (Nick Wechsler) feels bad too, he bros out with him before flashing back to the death of his entire family.
These flashbacks work really well and it’s cool to see the ripple effect Amanda’s news has on the Hamptons yacht club world. The truth of Amanda’s identity has drawn her closer to her father, David Clarke (James Tupper). Yet, the news has felt like a slap of betrayal to some (hot cop Ben (Brian Hallisay) is so pissed–it’s adorable). Oh well–they were doomed from the start.
But hey, we get to Aiden (Barry Sloane), hot and alive, serenading Amanda with his sexy English accent. And that “I’d kill anyone for you” assasin gleam doesn’t hurt either. Then we see him die in Amanda’s arms, lifeless and cold. Amanda’s one true love Aiden, dying, again. So sad.
In fact, if you make it through this episode without crying–you’re probably not human. Especially when another flashback shows a Golden Retriever dying slowly. That flashback shows young Amanda forced to give up her dog during an FBI raid. Then we jump to the dog dying in Jack’s arms. We see Jack crying again, saying he’s lost a true friend. Oh my god.
But it’s not just Amanda’s mind we jump into. Between Victoria and Amanda are a series of flashbacks from within the minds of each character. And usually, within a show, I absolutely hate that strategy. I even never finished Newsroom because they did such a hack job assembling flashbacks in the finale.
Yet with Revenge, the writers do an amazing job using the past as a tool. It’s insanely tense and powerful–hard to watch, yet addicting. For me it’s like watching Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind and not wanting to admit that the deep sadness the characters feel is familiar in a way.
With few exceptions, Revenge tends to be a heartless, witty slaughtering of honors and lives. Yet this episode breaks the mold and bring us something new and fresh. “Exposure” has so much intensity and drama–I didn’t look away for a second. But seriously, unless you’re a heartless assassin, have tissues nearby.
Promo for next week, “Burn”: