Revenge - Season 2

[Artemis@BC]

^ Her gameplan seems to change as she goes along and uncovers new info. Obviously when she started down this road she had no idea about The Initiative. I doubt she's feeling any kind of sympathy toward Conrad and Victoria in the light of that relevation, but it does alter her strategies.

I wonder too at what point "justice" supercedes "revenge." Obviously the latter is name of the game (and the show), but would she be satisfied with clearing her father's name? But of course for that to happen the real villains have to be named ...

[mpal2]

How was marrying Daniel supposed to achieve any of those goals?

She told Takeda that marrying Daniel was her way in to the company. It would allow her to search for evidence clearing her father. Of course this was also when Takeda was questioning her ability to stick with her revenge plan and said she was too emotionally involved with Daniel.

All in all I kind of like that Emily seemingly drifts around her goals for revenge. It matches with Takeda's criticism of her ability to follow through. She is steely and determined and then seems to lose focus as she gets distracted by something else. Her contradiction makes her character a little more realistic to me because the ass-kicking never failing Emily would be too perfect for me to believe after a while.

ETA: I think it fits with her trying to figure out what she really wants in life. She either wants to be close to people or push them away and use them but she can't have both. I don't think she really knows yet even though she tries to act like she does.

[manhn]

Regarding Mason's willingness to go along with the plan, I will give the writers the benefit of the doubt and believe that Emily had a Plan B up her sleeve if Mason never agreed to the plan from the get go. Since Mason accepted her initial deal, Emily didn't have to go to the alternative route. I further believe that Emily will have a Plan B should Mason stop cooperating at some point in the future, especially if Emily takes longer to enact her revenge than Mason expects/hopes.

[cruisin]

She told Takeda that marrying Daniel was her way in to the company. It would allow her to search for evidence clearing her father. Of course this was also when Takeda was questioning her ability to stick with her revenge plan and said she was too emotionally involved with Daniel.

All in all I kind of like that Emily seemingly drifts around her goals for revenge. It matches with Takeda's criticism of her ability to follow through. She is steely and determined and then seems to lose focus as she gets distracted by something else. Her contradiction makes her character a little more realistic to me because the ass-kicking never failing Emily would be too perfect for me to believe after a while.

ETA: I think it fits with her trying to figure out what she really wants in life. She either wants to be close to people or push them away and use them but she can't have both. I don't think she really knows yet even though she tries to act like she does.

I also think that her plans waver because she is realizing that she is more human/kind than she realized. Her hatred of Conrad and Victoria was all she felt, initially. Then she met Daniel and more importantly her half sister Charlotte, and realized she was not the only victim. She did not expect to feel compassion. She has held Nolan at arms length, but clearly there is an unexpected bond there.

[Coco]

Yeah, that's why I was particularly impressed with her acting in the scene where she broke down and cried on Aiden's shoulder, after her mother's complex history/reality came to light. The way she cried seemed so anathema to her character. (Did I use anathema correctly? God, I need to read more...)

And I think for someone who was wronged as a child, by authority figures, you want revenge but at the same time it's terrifying to confront the wrongdoer/authority figure. So even though she's now an adult, she still sees the Graysons as authority figures. Crushing them would mean there are no more adults, and that's a scary proposition.

[Jenny]

All in all I kind of like that Emily seemingly drifts around her goals for revenge. It matches with Takeda's criticism of her ability to follow through. She is steely and determined and then seems to lose focus as she gets distracted by something else.

And she knows it, which is why she went back for further training.

Regarding Mason's willingness to go along with the plan, I will give the writers the benefit of the doubt and believe that Emily had a Plan B up her sleeve if Mason never agreed to the plan from the get go.

Still though, even though the prospect of a blockbuster book/scoop of the century is appealing to a writer, the price is an undetermined time in prison. He's being convicted of murder, so he'll be placed with hardcore criminals, and he's a gay man, who likely will not fare well at all. You'd think he'd at least have shown some concern when she said he'd stay there as long as she saw fit, and countered with some more concrete idea of a timeframe.

[Artemis@BC]

Regarding Mason's willingness to go along with the plan, I will give the writers the benefit of the doubt and believe that Emily had a Plan B up her sleeve if Mason never agreed to the plan from the get go. Since Mason accepted her initial deal, Emily didn't have to go to the alternative route. I further believe that Emily will have a Plan B should Mason stop cooperating at some point in the future, especially if Emily takes longer to enact her revenge than Mason expects/hopes.

The is not that Emily would offer Mason the deal ... but that Mason would accept.

Like I said earlier, it's the kind of thing that only makes sense in TVland/Revengeland, and only if you don't think about it at all and just go with it.

[Evilynn]

They're throwing too many new characters at us. Now there's a brother to the guy that co-owns the bar (I can't be bothered to remember his name)? They're working some sort of revenge against something Jack and Declan's father did to them? Please - too much. Then there's Padma's contined jerky insertions into the narrative, and the Initiative lady. I almost long for the simpler days when Emily just worked on putting an "x" through the face of one person at a time.

I still don't know what to make of Padma, and I really couldn't care less about Brothers Clueless, although I have to admit I have soft spot a mile whide for Michael Trucco, so adding that particular character might save that story line for me.

The is not that Emily would offer Mason the deal ... but that Mason would accept.

Like I said earlier, it's the kind of thing that only makes sense in TVland/Revengeland, and only if you don't think about it at all and just go with it.

Yeah, makes no sense at all, even if he felt massive guilt that does seem extreme.

[michiruwater]

Michael Trucco is in the latest episode???

Why have I waited so long to catch up?? Off to go watch this immediately...

[Bostonfan]

In the TV Guide magazine, there's some non-spoilery stuff from the Revenge producers:

Mike Kelley offers some encouraging news to fans who may feel as though they've been treading water waiting for Emily to resolve her mommy issues and get back to what she excelled at last season: plotting revenge against the Graysons for the death of her father. December 2nd will be the last episode aired before the winter hiatus. Kelley says we can expect one of Emily's "old school-style takedowns" and what we learn will help propel viewers through the winter hiatus.

[Coco]

I loved the flashback episode. Victoria is so vengeful!!! Interesting that they are setting up parallels between Victoria's habit of avenging wrongs done to her as a child with Amily's* need for revenge.

Journey without end indeed.

*do I mean Emanda? Which is which? I'm talking about the real Amanda Clark.

[manhn]

That was a much better flashback episode than last year's.

Ashley was the one I was most interested in. How does one even get herself involve in such a scene?

[my little pony]

i guess ashley didnt recognize emily's voice when she met her later. i'd be eternally grateful to the person who saved me from a liam neeson movie.

[Coco]

I'm guessing she's so ashamed of being in that position that she's trying to block out details. But who knows what she'll remember in the future...

[manhn]

And a bathroom in a nightclub is usually dark and noisy so she may not have been able to really hear Emily clearly. But I would keep that note with the phone number. Maybe Ashley is an expert in handwriting...

[cruisin]

All of that leads one to question how did Emily and Ashley meet? I thought they were friends, from way back. If they already knew each other when the bathroom incident occurred, wouldn't she have recognized Emily's voice then?

[my little pony]

if you cant get a job in a gallery, is internationally trafficked girl the next logical conclusion? i know, i know it's a soap opera but i couldnt stop laughing at ashley.

[Artemis@BC]

All of that leads one to question how did Emily and Ashley meet? I thought they were friends, from way back. If they already knew each other when the bathroom incident occurred, wouldn't she have recognized Emily's voice then?

In the season opener I believe they said something about meeting in the context of some charity, I think for a museum or gallery. I got the impression that Ashley was in her party planner mode at that point, so definitely after this encounter. Plus I also got the impression that Emily had not yet solidified her identity as socialite lady-of-leisure at the point of this flashback episode.

[Coco]

I can't remember when I started texting, but I guess it was reasonable to expect someone who struggled to pay rent would have texting on their phone in 2006 ... barely

[*Jen*]

All of that leads one to question how did Emily and Ashley meet? I thought they were friends, from way back. If they already knew each other when the bathroom incident occurred, wouldn't she have recognized Emily's voice then?

Ahh, if only my memory was this good when it came to my studies...

Emily and Ashley met at a charity thing about 6 months before the series started. However, when Aiden asked her the other week how she'd 'picked up' Ashley, she said she'd found her 6 years ago and that she was an easy target. Aiden replied something like 'Are you sure she wasn't too easy?' Could be more to Ashley than we know...but interesting that Aiden didn't recognise her given that he was so interested in saving girls and avenging his sister. Maybe he did, and there's more to that too...

I can't remember when I started texting, but I guess it was reasonable to expect someone who struggled to pay rent would have texting on their phone in 2006 ... barely

I first got a phone in 2001 and started texting in...2001. I think I'm around the same age as Ashley and Emily are supposed to be, and as a university grad in 06, there is NO WAY I wouldn't have had a phone given I was looking for a job. I know texting wasn't as popular in the US until later, but Ashley is English. Texting is second nature!