"Every plan has a fatal flaw. Sometimes it's the heart."
So Revenge has been back for three weeks, and it just kept getting better with every episode. I'm glad I finally have a chance to express my abundant feelings about it! This contains spoilers for the latest two episodes which I loved a lot.
Apparently, the show won't be back until February 10, which, all the more reason to flail/rant together to pass the time!
I feel like my show is slowly but surely giving me back what I've always loved about it the most - Nolan/Emily as a One True Partnership. (They just can't help being my OTP in every possible way, can they.)
They looked breathtakingly gorgeous together scheming & side-eyeing Aiden at the charity auction:
The distance they talk at, as in lack thereof. Be still my heart.
Also, I just can't handle all the awesome Nolanisms this season. Nolan alluding to Emily's multiple boyfriends will never not be hilarious. Also, enter the extended Bond metaphor where Nolan became Q & Emily Moneypenny:
"Faux-mance." Brilliant.
... although somehow I feel like it's Emily who is the real Bond in disguise here. ;) The only thing that ticked me off about this scene was Aiden's condescending, "Good to have you on the team" to Nolan. Um, excuse you, Aiden, Nolan has been on the team before you even met Emily, and you just waltzed back into her life, so you're not exactly in a position to get territorial here.
It broke my heart how happy Nolan was at the Aiden/Emily break up in the previous episode because he thought that meant he'd regain his rightful place as her sole partner in crime. Incidentally, even though it was a "fake up", things did start to look up for the N/E partnership. A lot of that is due to Aiden's complete lack of trust in Emily, as it turned out, which is kind of IRONIC given that HE's the one who betrayed her w/o a second thought in the past.
"You asked me to trust you, well, you need to trust me too." - Emily as the voice of reason
It actually says a lot about Emily as this character with deep-rooted trust issues and vengeance as her sole goal in life who, nevertheless, allowed herself to forgive and trust again the person who abandoned her. That gives me hope for her, same hope that Nolan never loses, always believing the best in her, even if she doesn't herself.
But I digress...
It was SO good to see Nolan & Emily work together again in this major way - gassing & kidnapping Helen & Aiden (who was in on it)! I actually didn't even imagine it could have been Emily interrogating her in that distorted voice, especially since the person who did it got "killed" in the beginning of the ep. As to the tattoo, I thought it was an ally unknown to us. Which made the reveal even more shocking & awesome, when, even less expected, the other shooter turned out to be no one other than my golden-haired favourite:
One of the BEST scenes this season. Bravo indeed.
Also, Nolan was shooting a gun for the first time outside the range to protect Emily's identity
(and did a pretty good job doing it), even though he's generally opposed to weapons!
Just... look at the concern on his face changing into relief and pride when he sees her get up. Gabriel & Emily are just perfect working together, and despite the fact that they have so little screen time these days, their scenes always outshine everyone else's because Nolan & Emily are perfect.
Now, as far as I understood from the episode that followed, the kidnapping took place to pit the Initiative even more against Victoria because Helen's first thought was that it was Victoria working with Aiden. Something tells me that Aiden not killing Victoria later only proved their suspicions, and they killed - or pretended to kill - Aiden's sister, which means that this plan epically backfired (they didn't want Victoria dead prior to it).
Really, Aiden should know better than to trust the Initiative... that video could be years old, or they could have revived Colleen as soon as the camera was off. I feel like they did a divide & conquer act with Aiden - most likely with the intention that he'd freak & walk out on Victoria as his partner in crime, but it was their lucky day because they separated him from an unknown & thus more dangerous enemy: Emily.
We do still believe the Initiative has no idea about Emily's true identity, don't we?
I found it interesting that Emily saved Victoria's life because... she didn't want Aiden to become an assassin for the Initiative & Victoria is hers to revenge, on her own terms. I think there's also an underlying moral value of Emily's here at play: the punishment should fit the crime, and Victoria's betrayal of David doesn't merit her death. However, I do wonder if Emily's decision would have been the same if the Initiative threatened the life of someone close to her. Obviously, those people aren't messing around, and I do think she'd kill for the people she loves. Same way I think that if it should come down to it, Aiden would sell Emily out for Colleen because this season is all about family.
Nolan has had some serious trouble with his partners too. How about that Padma reveal? I knew she was trouble ever since Nolan didn't remember hiring her. She's quite the multitasker - snooping around for Carrion & setting up Marco to take the fall. Nolan fired him again, but I really hope that now that Nolan got wise to Padma's tricks, they will work together to take her down. I believed Marco when he said he was he was trying to rebuild the trust Nolan once had in him, "not destroy it", and despite what Nolan told Padma about his feelings for Marco being "fleeting", I still believe there are strong unresolved feelings left there. SIGH. One day, my new ship will stop hurting e/o and causing me so much sadness. I just want some happiness for this flawless human being, is that too much to ask:
Putting on an extra polo for his conversation with Marco because he feels vulnerable.
... also, perfectly matching pants & topsiders. LOVE.
Now, I do wonder what the Initative has on Padma to get her to spy on Nolan for them. For all my negative feelings toward her for deceiving him, it seems that she's also the victim in this case and doesn't take pleasure in hurting Nolan. I was fuming on my first watch of 2x12, but when I calmed down and watched it back, I saw sympathy & regret toward Nolan in Padma's eyes, and a thought occurred to me:
How dramatic would it be if Nolan is the subject of Padma's blackmail? If it's Nolan's life against his secret R&D weapon?
It's just... even never having shipped Nolan/Padma, watching more closely, I felt like she meant what she said when she gave him that keyholder: "His name is Hanuman. He's an avatar of Shiva and a deity that wins against demons and bad spirits. He'll keep you safe in your new home." I don't think she wants to hurt Nolan, and it's possible that she has to in a smaller way, so that he doesn't end up hurt in a major way. IDK.
Nolan just kept breaking my heart in this episode.
Except for when he HAD to smell Hanuman as a running joke, that was amusing.
I also couldn't help laughing through tears when they went house hunting and Nolan said she staged the place with all his favourite things tho because given that it's Padma, half of those things was probably already bugged with the Initiative equipment.
"Nothing is perfect. Except maybe you." No, that's you, Nolan. It will always be YOU.
This house was pretty awesome, ngl, especially given the secret passageway - perfect for quality Nolan/Emily scheming! - and also, this is the best:
Remember when Nolan gave Emily the beachhouse for her birthday? IT'S THEIR THING.
"Please stay on the line. Your call is very important to us."
... but I get why Nolan decided not to buy it. He wanted to live there with Padma. In other news, this Nolan/Emily scene was INCREDIBLE:
- Nolan?
- Welcome back.
- Is this the house I'm buying you?
- No. Seems nothing can save me from evil spirits.
It's just so... beautiful & romantic how they stand there in low lights, staring into the distance.
I also love how Nolan was clearly angsting holding Padma's gift in his hands when he is on his own, and Emily showing up gets him to smile - a smile you can actually hear when he says, "Welcome back". The world keeps letting them down, but at the end of the day, they'll always have each other.
- I hope I helped the cause with your faux beau.
- It's only a matter of time before Victoria poisons me to Daniel.
- Well, not if you poison her first, which is a far more fitting end than a bullet, don't you think?
Nolan's nicknames are always my favourite, especially those that include "faux". Also, I love how Nolan understands Emily's MO for saving Victoria here - death wouldn't be a fitting punishment for her. Emily can always find a complicity and understanding in Nolan that she won't be able to anywhere else, that's one of the reasons their bond is so strong.
I loved Nolan confiding in Emily about Padma & Carrion. It was so intimate, just the two of them - and honesty.
- That's what Marco was looking for.
- Right program. Wrong CFO.
- I'm so sorry, Nolan.
I love that Emily genuinely sympathises with Nolan because she knows he had feelings for Padma. During their conversation, we find out what Carrion actually is: "a million lines of binary brilliance that have the ability to knock Manhattan off the power grid in less than a millisecond", which casts some light on the Initiative's plan - to stage a massive blackout - but we're not sure what they're going to use it for.
Earlier in this episode, Daniel's rival Prosser told about a disastrous blackout back when he was a kid & the role Stonehaven played in its aftermath. I didn't pay attention to it on my first watch, but when I was re-watching, I realised that it wasn't just some story, but foreshadowing of sorts. I love this show, and I'm VERY excited for this blackout storyline.
Also, Emily gave Nolan the best advice:
Nolan's reaction to Emily's question tugs at my heartstrings so much. He looks so vulnerable & lost, like he's still dealing with betrayal and hasn't even started contemplating retaliation yet, but he's going to be fine because Emily has his back.
Nobody messes with my OTP.
Now, I didn't expect Nolan's plan to be actually offering Carrion to Padma, but since he was clever enough to keep the final sequence enabling it to work in his head, I guess he actually gave her the rope to hang herself... in which case I hope my suspicions that his own life is on the line (or will be as a result!) are wrong. On a less serious note, that scene was very fun - especially because it included a cameo from Nolan's infamous whale cam, Shamu! :')
"I guess it's your turn to pay." I see what you did there, Nolan.
Other thoughts:
- Developing a casino arcade on the docks? THAT's why the Ryan brothers want the Porters out of the Stowaway? And there I thought this was only about revenge. Conrad is in over his head with these mongrels...
some of us believe he's the one who will end up at the bottom of the ocean doing business with them.
Quite frankly, IDK if Ashley's return & whispering in Conrad's ear helped or caused more trouble for the Porters. Why do I feel like Jack was better off staying in jail?
Also, I was pleased by Conrad's idea to become a politician because then it's a good chance we won't have to see him in that polo/shorts combo ever again, lol. Seriously, only goes to show that Nolan is the only one who can pull the look off.
- Is it wrong that I loved the Charlotte/Fauxmanda sisterly bonding? Carl's hand print was an adorable birthday gift, and obviously, Fauxmanda is a good influence on Charlotte in terms of keeping David's legacy - I did NOT expect the twist with her changing her surname to Clarke! I like Fauxmanda a lot & Margarita is VERY easy on the eyes. I hope she's not the one who's getting killed off.
- Nolan playing Tetris during a business meeting with Daniel. Hilarious.
- Emily being back with Daniel & the core partnership rolling back to Nolan/Emily gives off such a wonderfully familiar S1 vibe. I've missed it a lot.
Daniel figuring out that Victoria put Emily up to getting back together with him & calling Emily on thinking he was HILARIOUS because she actually did think that... we ALL did, for that matter. Do. Sorry, Daniel, your mother was right when she said you "float through life on crests of women, unable to make your own decisions" (lmao), but it's cute when you're trying to prove us wrong.
Also, Emily wearing her infinity earrings for her business trip with Daniel was wonderful:
L O V E
How are you liking Revenge this year, guys? What were your favourite scenes, and which ones did you find the most shocking? Do you think Padma & Aiden will ultimately be on Nolan & Emily's side?
... and most importantly, who dies on the Amanda in the next episode?
Click to viewSO EXCITED & TERRIFIED. Is it February 10 yet, or.
Also, Nolan being shown as "one of the people Emily loves", this is the best.