Revenge 3x17 - "Addiction"
I love how Revenge has been getting exponentially more captivating since its return in March.
I'm so proud of my show because of how clever, twisty and tongue-in-cheek it is, and "NEmily scheming together at the beach house" are nostalgically my favourite storylines, so I'm pretty much basking in the glory of everything it chooses to be.
Joe Fazzio's Addiction was the latest example of why Revenge is my favourite show! This post will mostly be about this episode, but I'm not responsbile for all the sidebars because I HAVE SO MANY EMOTIONS about everything that came before it & I want to express all of them at the same time DO YOU READ ME, but I will try not to because I kind of want to publish this post before summer.
First of all, can we talk about Victoria's favourite painting Pascal tries to 'bribe' her with because THE ALLUSIONS, these writers really know what they're doing and it's glorious:
George de la Tour "The Fortune Teller"
Wikipedia articulated the description pretty well, I think:
The painting catches a moment in which a young man of some wealth is having his fortune told by the old woman at right; she takes the coin from his hand, not only in payment, but as part of the ritual in which she will cross his hand with it. Most or all of the women portrayed are gypsies, and, furthering the stereotype of the time, they are depicted as thieves. As the young man is engrossed in the fortune-telling-an act which, if discovered, would have repercussions for both him and the gypsies-the leftmost woman is stealing the coin purse from his pocket, while her companion in profile has a hand ready to receive the loot. The pale-faced girl on the boy's left is less clearly a gypsy, but is also in on the act as she cuts a medal worn by the boy from its chain.
CRYING at the irony of Pascal choosing THIS painting to give to Victoria because he is basically the young man in it, and all the women in his life are trying to manipulate him into giving them what they want throughout the episode, right down to Emily who yanks the MEDAL from under his nose to find out what Poker Club he belongs to! And Victoria is totally the younger version of a fortune teller who will not tell you your fortune but also make sure that it happens the way she wants it to, amirite. I LOVE details like that because they add a whole new dimension to the episode.
IN OTHER NEWS, NEMILY CONTINUED BEING MY FAVOURITE REASON TO BREATHE.
I just love the way he walks in as Emily is perusing the contents of her brand new infinity box, the one he had made for her to open only by her touch, and there's something so beautiful and romantic about that gesture. Nolan is the one who has known and protected her secret since the very beginning, and through her darkest hour when she was ready to lie down and take it from Victoria, when he couldn't save the box, but guarded its contents literally with his LIFE (if Patrick had shoved him like he did Jimmy... I dread to think!). But David entrusted Nolan with giving Emily the infinity box, and just like that, Nolan is giving it to her again. And because everything has been stolen from Emily, he wants her to have something that is just hers, so he makes sure she's the only one who has access to the contents. I just... I love the way she doesn't have to tell him what she needs for him to respond to that need. I swear these two save so much time on actual verbal communication because they just look at each other and they know.
And Nolan casually bringing her coffee, most likely having memorised how she likes hers by heart since they were roomies, absent-mindedly ordering the same thing for himself because he's so preoccupied with solving the TWM puzzle for her, only to realise that he actually takes his coffee with sugar mid-scene, sweet-tooth that he is. Then there's the fact that he's always willing to talk about whichever boyfriend she's angsting about at the time instead of throwing a jealous fit whenever she so much as mentions another guy, can you be less secure and trustful? and try to make her feel better by saying things like "It's a Nol-riginal" (thank you for that masterpiece of a Nolanism, writers, and your impeccable delivery of it, Gabe).
Also, who wants to bet he knew exactly how much work would sifting through the database of a media conglomerate in search of the letters "TWM" would be as soon as she asked him to do it, but gave it a go just to "honour her wish"?
I don't think there's anything Nolan wouldn't do for her. Gabriel once said in a Q&A that he might draw a line at killing for her, but what if that determined if she lived or died? I mean he would probably suffer a psychotic break following the incident and stare at his hands for a year, but at that moment, he wouldn't think twice. Which is major, because this character is probably the most anti-violence out of all of them, yet season by season we see that he's working towards building physical strength because he feels he might need that as her partner. He pinned Javier down pretty skillfully, with the moves he learned from Havier, and it was a welcome change from all the previous times someone would break into his house (I hope Javier shows Nolan how to use his house keyes). So I wonder if at some point, Nolan will have to bend his own biggest principle for Emily... I did warn you about the sidebars!
- Personally happy that the "Nolan smells all the things" running joke continues! Even though it's probably not as obvious w/ a cigar as, say, with "dust on a table at the Stowaway", it's great that this little quirk is still there.
Also, let's not forget that these ciagrs are Monte Cristos, which, The Count of Monte Cristo, and didn't David Clarke also smoke these with Bill in the flashback where he met Victoria at the Graysons' Christmas party? Come to think of it, he might have smoked them with Pascal as well at some point, if their paths had ever crossed at the Grayson Global. I love the way
it all ties together on this show.
This popped collar is a thing of beauty, mental note to send a thank-you tweet to Jill for the way it goes w/ Nolan's blazer.
Also, can we talk about how Nolan is there for moral support as Emily steals the medal from Pascal? He literally has no other reason to be around except as her champion & to exchange their trademark co-conspiratory smiles when Emily succeeds which always give me life. They are back as full-time partners, which is everything I love about Revenge.
#NOW KISS
Their scene in Nolan's Pad when Javier enters... I can't even deal.
First of all, I'm just going to leave this here because of reasons as we pretend it's a slow motion GIF:
I believe the words you're looking for are, BE STILL MY BEATING HEART.
Anyway, I just love how Nolan tells Emily what she wanted to know about Pascal & then leans on the table because there's too much personal space between them otherwise and just... gazes at her as she's trying to come up with the plan. The way he looks at her like this sometimes, with a mix of admiration, and complicity, and you can tell that he's hanging onto every word and nothing else exists for him at that moment. It's the subtle things like that which make me want to ship it as long as I draw breath.
And then enter Javier in all his semi-naked glory, and I just love NEmily's reactions, observe:
I just love Henri Esteve as Javier! He was hilarious in this scene w/ his "this is very awkward" grin.
Basically, it's Nolan who seems to feel embarassed on Emily's behalf here, while Emily looks amused and more importantly, not concerned at all that Javier walked in on their super secret scheming about Pascal. This is the first time she sees Javier, yet she already trusts him because Nolan does. The only reason she doesn't share the plan with Javier is because he's not part of it.
Nolan introducing them to each other as "Javier, my wannabe bestie" & "Emily, my actual bestie", though, and NEmily mirroring each other's blissful smiles as he does it, ROLL ME OVER, I'M DONE. I love that Nolan immediately establishes boundaries in this context, that his heart & his loyalty belong to Emily, and Javier doesn't even attempt to question it. I think that Nolan definitely told Javier about Emily in prison, obviously, leaving out her secrets, most likely focusing on the way he feels about her/misses her.
Look at them, so beautiful & happy standing next to each other; happy to have each other!
It's scientifically impossible NOT to ship it at this point js.
Also, how adorable is it that Javier thought NEmily spend their weekends together frolicking through Atlantic City & trying to bribe them into taking him along w/ his new scheme for cheating the money out of the casino? AWW.
Emily's event was SO MUCH FUN. I kept thinking about Gabe's interviews where he says that Emily VanCamp is excellent at poker & she hosts poker nights for the cast at her place - I wonder if that's where the writers got the idea from! I just loved it through and through, starting with my two blondies gossiping about "The French" and the flowers on Nolan's blazer matching the colour of Emily's dress (how gorgeous is Emily VanCamp all dolled up like this, I marvel and I marvel):
Emily and Victoria at a game of poker was one of my favourite Revenge scenes EVER! The part where Emily bet on her engagement ring with Daniel as everyone around them mentally reached for popcorn and Victoria's reaction to it was priceless. I basically had to pause the episode because I couldn't stop laughing. Emily VanCamp and Madeleine Stowe for all the awards!
I really liked the moment when Victoria let Emily win, and everyone is clapping, to congratulate her, and you can just see on Emily's face that she doesn't buy Victoria's ruse for a second. It was like a game within a game. I figured Victoria colluded with Pascal to figure out what Emily wanted from him, but the microphone in the Eiffel Tower I did NOT see coming. It definitely threw Ems out of her comfort zone too. A round of applause to the writers for managing to surprise even us Revenge old-timers!
And how about THAT cliffhanger?
[ INTERMISSION AS THIS FLAWLESS HUNK IS DOES THINGS TO MY FEELINGS ]
[ BACK TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING ]
So... Aiden's father is TWM. Like you, had no idea, but thinking about it, it makes the perfect sense. Let's back up a bit to the scene where Emily flies out to Bermuda in order to reconnect with Aiden. He's growing a break-up beard, he's drinking, he's determined to get over her. They are no longer together, so he isn't interested in helping her. So what's the one thing that would make him come back? Making the mission about him again, making it personal for him with Pascal who probably ordered Colleen's kidnapping. And just like that, Aiden pieces it together (literally!), and he's back.
"I'm not here for you." I'm sorry, but this, right there, is why I could never board this ship. It's Emily's great goal in life we're talking about, something that is extremely important to her, and they are supposed to share this love for each other. I think Emily even uses the words "you're everything to me" describing how she feels about him at some point. And yet, if she no longer wants what he wants, for example, to go away together, she's "selfish". That was so baffling to me. After all these years, doesn't he get how important it is to her? That the circumstances changed when Daniel shot her TWICE on that yacht, with lasting consequences. That she can't just leave anymore? This was, in a way, reconciled in 3x15, when Aiden actually acknowledged the importance of Emily's bringing justice to David... only to leave the ~love of his life~ to fend for herself in the lion's den so that he can drink himself into oblivion on some island instead of helping her? I'm sorry, I just can't get behind this as a great love, let alone endgame, worthy of my homegirl, I can't. Emily broke. my. heart. when she told Jack that it's HER OWN FAULT for "pushing Aiden away" because I'm sorry, it's all he could do not to break into a sprint because she wasn't pushing away fast enough.
It's interesting how Aiden actually articulated my issues with Aiden/Emily himself by telling her, "I'm not Nolan. You can't just give me the cold shoulder and expect me to come running to save you the next day." Now, on the surface it looks he's dragging Nolan for being a doormat, right? However, seeing Emily's surprise and discomfort at these words reminded me of the fact that Aiden is onto something because she keeps doing it - looking for Nolan's qualities in the men she loves, and getting hurt when she realises that they simply don't have them. That no one but Nolan understands not just her objective to clear David's name, but also the feelings behind it, the deeply personal undercurrents that keep her going, to the point that he kept going on her behalf when she couldn't. That no one but Nolan would fight for her and stand by her even when she gets scared, or angry, or obsessive, and pushes people away; he dusts himself off and tries again, and again, as long as it takes, because he knows the person she's underneath that exterior, and he'd sooner die than let her go it alone. Take his choice to go after the WHM, the Initiative's deadliest assassin, so she wouldn't have to, even though Nolan couldn't even throw a punch to defend himself back in S1. That no one but Nolan could ever replace Nolan, and I think it scares her; it scares her to imagine a life without him in it.
Nolan explains his devotion to Emily by reminding her that he'd made a promise to her father, but let's be honest, that's more his way of making her listen than anything else. His actual commitment at this point is to her, fuelled by the way he feels about her and the memory of her father, which makes him into her perfect ally.
I love their matching facial expressions.
If Pascal really ordered the kidnapping... I'm looking forward to NEmily working with Aiden to take the bastard down.
_____________
OTHER POINTS
- Javier did not waste ANY time getting to know Charlotte, did he, and it was unexpected, and bold and awesome. I love that he won her over by being honest with her from the first, and that was a great kiss to say goodbye.The one thing Javier could NOT do with his Char-vatar! (How do Revenge Writers come up with these names? LMAO.)
The guy immediately to their right ships it, and so should you.
- Daniel pushing Charlotte into his dirty games & Charlotte being all for it and pitying him made my soul cry tho. I hope Javier will keep Charlotte away from Daniel's manipulative paws because making out with an ex-convict is a much more fun way of being a bad girl than helping your violent brother harrass his ex-wife.
Also, lol @ Daniel ticking all the boxes in terms of looking like a spoiled douche by running his mouth at Emily while being a guest at her event, thinking he'll make it to the next season after conspiring against her friends, drinking himself into oblivion & most likely blowing through an obscene amount of mommy & daddy's money in one night. At least that was for a good cause?
- Jack pulling an Emily leaking the story about being Stevie's son to the press on his own terms! Guy is learning FAST. I think Stevie is a great influence on Jack. I love their dynamic and the way she challenges his perception. I mean, let's be honest, if it weren't for mommy dearest, he would still be judgmental about Emily going after the Graysons for framing her father, never mind that it's something that's extremely important to her. He's entitled to be angry at her for lying to him, but it's the fact that he refused to understand her motivation for coming to the Hamptons in the first place that I had an issue with. I think it just further proves that the connection they had is mostly a thing of the past, not present. So it felt GREAT when Stevie explained it to him that "We need to help Emily" and Jack was like, "UMM NO WHY WOULD WE DO THAT" and she was like "David Clarke was an INNOCENT MAN whom Conrad threw under the bus, do you not get how the Graysons deserve to burn in hell for this" & Jack was like, "K good I'm totally in". Thank you, Stevie, hopefully that means more common missions for Jack & NEmily and no more using Emily's secret as a bargaining chip to make ~ultimatums on Jack's part... yes, I still have residual feelings about that.
- Stevie managed to resist the bottle this episode, but why do I feel like we'll see her at her worst before the season ends? I think it's probably the way she says, "You've never seen me drunk. And thank God you never will." That's like saying NEmily will never kiss on Revenge, I can't stop picturing them doing just that ever since. Passionately. By the ocean. In the rain.
- Conrad "giving" Victoria to Pascal as a piece of property sort of made me die inside as someone who believes that ConVict belong together forever. The only thought that consoles me is that Conrad would never let actual harm to come to Victoria, and he knows there are unresolved feelings between her and Pascal, so Pascal might actually make her happy AND give Conrad what he wants in return. He's a sly devil like that, but ultimately, I don't think he'll ever be able to quit Victoria for good because he loves her in his own twisted way.
- Conrad and Stevie's scene was so beautiful, and then Conrad had to go and ruin it by using their reconciliation to his advantage to procure the deed for Pascal. Still, amazing job by both Gail O'Grady and Henry Czerny, which made me believe that Conrad & Stevie's heart to heart was at least somewhat real on Conrad's part, and he came there because he was genuinely upset to find out Stevie cheated on him w/ Carl. The chemistry is through the roof with these two.
- How adorable was the scene where Victoria told Daniel about her past with Pascal? It was so great to see her let go a bit
and act almost playful, getting in touch with her sixteen-year-old self who fell madly in love with a French boy. Madeleine did a great job with this scene, I love it.
I'm so proud of my show because of how clever, twisty and tongue-in-cheek it is, and "NEmily scheming together at the beach house" are nostalgically my favourite storylines, so I'm pretty much basking in the glory of everything it chooses to be.
Joe Fazzio's Addiction was the latest example of why Revenge is my favourite show! This post will mostly be about this episode, but I'm not responsbile for all the sidebars because I HAVE SO MANY EMOTIONS about everything that came before it & I want to express all of them at the same time DO YOU READ ME, but I will try not to because I kind of want to publish this post before summer.
First of all, can we talk about Victoria's favourite painting Pascal tries to 'bribe' her with because THE ALLUSIONS, these writers really know what they're doing and it's glorious:
George de la Tour "The Fortune Teller"
Wikipedia articulated the description pretty well, I think:
The painting catches a moment in which a young man of some wealth is having his fortune told by the old woman at right; she takes the coin from his hand, not only in payment, but as part of the ritual in which she will cross his hand with it. Most or all of the women portrayed are gypsies, and, furthering the stereotype of the time, they are depicted as thieves. As the young man is engrossed in the fortune-telling-an act which, if discovered, would have repercussions for both him and the gypsies-the leftmost woman is stealing the coin purse from his pocket, while her companion in profile has a hand ready to receive the loot. The pale-faced girl on the boy's left is less clearly a gypsy, but is also in on the act as she cuts a medal worn by the boy from its chain.
CRYING at the irony of Pascal choosing THIS painting to give to Victoria because he is basically the young man in it, and all the women in his life are trying to manipulate him into giving them what they want throughout the episode, right down to Emily who yanks the MEDAL from under his nose to find out what Poker Club he belongs to! And Victoria is totally the younger version of a fortune teller who will not tell you your fortune but also make sure that it happens the way she wants it to, amirite. I LOVE details like that because they add a whole new dimension to the episode.
IN OTHER NEWS, NEMILY CONTINUED BEING MY FAVOURITE REASON TO BREATHE.
I just love the way he walks in as Emily is perusing the contents of her brand new infinity box, the one he had made for her to open only by her touch, and there's something so beautiful and romantic about that gesture. Nolan is the one who has known and protected her secret since the very beginning, and through her darkest hour when she was ready to lie down and take it from Victoria, when he couldn't save the box, but guarded its contents literally with his LIFE (if Patrick had shoved him like he did Jimmy... I dread to think!). But David entrusted Nolan with giving Emily the infinity box, and just like that, Nolan is giving it to her again. And because everything has been stolen from Emily, he wants her to have something that is just hers, so he makes sure she's the only one who has access to the contents. I just... I love the way she doesn't have to tell him what she needs for him to respond to that need. I swear these two save so much time on actual verbal communication because they just look at each other and they know.
And Nolan casually bringing her coffee, most likely having memorised how she likes hers by heart since they were roomies, absent-mindedly ordering the same thing for himself because he's so preoccupied with solving the TWM puzzle for her, only to realise that he actually takes his coffee with sugar mid-scene, sweet-tooth that he is. Then there's the fact that he's always willing to talk about whichever boyfriend she's angsting about at the time instead of throwing a jealous fit whenever she so much as mentions another guy, can you be less secure and trustful? and try to make her feel better by saying things like "It's a Nol-riginal" (thank you for that masterpiece of a Nolanism, writers, and your impeccable delivery of it, Gabe).
Also, who wants to bet he knew exactly how much work would sifting through the database of a media conglomerate in search of the letters "TWM" would be as soon as she asked him to do it, but gave it a go just to "honour her wish"?
I don't think there's anything Nolan wouldn't do for her. Gabriel once said in a Q&A that he might draw a line at killing for her, but what if that determined if she lived or died? I mean he would probably suffer a psychotic break following the incident and stare at his hands for a year, but at that moment, he wouldn't think twice. Which is major, because this character is probably the most anti-violence out of all of them, yet season by season we see that he's working towards building physical strength because he feels he might need that as her partner. He pinned Javier down pretty skillfully, with the moves he learned from Havier, and it was a welcome change from all the previous times someone would break into his house (I hope Javier shows Nolan how to use his house keyes). So I wonder if at some point, Nolan will have to bend his own biggest principle for Emily... I did warn you about the sidebars!
- Personally happy that the "Nolan smells all the things" running joke continues! Even though it's probably not as obvious w/ a cigar as, say, with "dust on a table at the Stowaway", it's great that this little quirk is still there.
Also, let's not forget that these ciagrs are Monte Cristos, which, The Count of Monte Cristo, and didn't David Clarke also smoke these with Bill in the flashback where he met Victoria at the Graysons' Christmas party? Come to think of it, he might have smoked them with Pascal as well at some point, if their paths had ever crossed at the Grayson Global. I love the way
it all ties together on this show.
This popped collar is a thing of beauty, mental note to send a thank-you tweet to Jill for the way it goes w/ Nolan's blazer.
Also, can we talk about how Nolan is there for moral support as Emily steals the medal from Pascal? He literally has no other reason to be around except as her champion & to exchange their trademark co-conspiratory smiles when Emily succeeds which always give me life. They are back as full-time partners, which is everything I love about Revenge.
#NOW KISS
Their scene in Nolan's Pad when Javier enters... I can't even deal.
First of all, I'm just going to leave this here because of reasons as we pretend it's a slow motion GIF:
I believe the words you're looking for are, BE STILL MY BEATING HEART.
Anyway, I just love how Nolan tells Emily what she wanted to know about Pascal & then leans on the table because there's too much personal space between them otherwise and just... gazes at her as she's trying to come up with the plan. The way he looks at her like this sometimes, with a mix of admiration, and complicity, and you can tell that he's hanging onto every word and nothing else exists for him at that moment. It's the subtle things like that which make me want to ship it as long as I draw breath.
And then enter Javier in all his semi-naked glory, and I just love NEmily's reactions, observe:
I just love Henri Esteve as Javier! He was hilarious in this scene w/ his "this is very awkward" grin.
Basically, it's Nolan who seems to feel embarassed on Emily's behalf here, while Emily looks amused and more importantly, not concerned at all that Javier walked in on their super secret scheming about Pascal. This is the first time she sees Javier, yet she already trusts him because Nolan does. The only reason she doesn't share the plan with Javier is because he's not part of it.
Nolan introducing them to each other as "Javier, my wannabe bestie" & "Emily, my actual bestie", though, and NEmily mirroring each other's blissful smiles as he does it, ROLL ME OVER, I'M DONE. I love that Nolan immediately establishes boundaries in this context, that his heart & his loyalty belong to Emily, and Javier doesn't even attempt to question it. I think that Nolan definitely told Javier about Emily in prison, obviously, leaving out her secrets, most likely focusing on the way he feels about her/misses her.
Look at them, so beautiful & happy standing next to each other; happy to have each other!
It's scientifically impossible NOT to ship it at this point js.
Also, how adorable is it that Javier thought NEmily spend their weekends together frolicking through Atlantic City & trying to bribe them into taking him along w/ his new scheme for cheating the money out of the casino? AWW.
Emily's event was SO MUCH FUN. I kept thinking about Gabe's interviews where he says that Emily VanCamp is excellent at poker & she hosts poker nights for the cast at her place - I wonder if that's where the writers got the idea from! I just loved it through and through, starting with my two blondies gossiping about "The French" and the flowers on Nolan's blazer matching the colour of Emily's dress (how gorgeous is Emily VanCamp all dolled up like this, I marvel and I marvel):
Emily and Victoria at a game of poker was one of my favourite Revenge scenes EVER! The part where Emily bet on her engagement ring with Daniel as everyone around them mentally reached for popcorn and Victoria's reaction to it was priceless. I basically had to pause the episode because I couldn't stop laughing. Emily VanCamp and Madeleine Stowe for all the awards!
I really liked the moment when Victoria let Emily win, and everyone is clapping, to congratulate her, and you can just see on Emily's face that she doesn't buy Victoria's ruse for a second. It was like a game within a game. I figured Victoria colluded with Pascal to figure out what Emily wanted from him, but the microphone in the Eiffel Tower I did NOT see coming. It definitely threw Ems out of her comfort zone too. A round of applause to the writers for managing to surprise even us Revenge old-timers!
And how about THAT cliffhanger?
[ INTERMISSION AS THIS FLAWLESS HUNK IS DOES THINGS TO MY FEELINGS ]
[ BACK TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING ]
So... Aiden's father is TWM. Like you, had no idea, but thinking about it, it makes the perfect sense. Let's back up a bit to the scene where Emily flies out to Bermuda in order to reconnect with Aiden. He's growing a break-up beard, he's drinking, he's determined to get over her. They are no longer together, so he isn't interested in helping her. So what's the one thing that would make him come back? Making the mission about him again, making it personal for him with Pascal who probably ordered Colleen's kidnapping. And just like that, Aiden pieces it together (literally!), and he's back.
"I'm not here for you." I'm sorry, but this, right there, is why I could never board this ship. It's Emily's great goal in life we're talking about, something that is extremely important to her, and they are supposed to share this love for each other. I think Emily even uses the words "you're everything to me" describing how she feels about him at some point. And yet, if she no longer wants what he wants, for example, to go away together, she's "selfish". That was so baffling to me. After all these years, doesn't he get how important it is to her? That the circumstances changed when Daniel shot her TWICE on that yacht, with lasting consequences. That she can't just leave anymore? This was, in a way, reconciled in 3x15, when Aiden actually acknowledged the importance of Emily's bringing justice to David... only to leave the ~love of his life~ to fend for herself in the lion's den so that he can drink himself into oblivion on some island instead of helping her? I'm sorry, I just can't get behind this as a great love, let alone endgame, worthy of my homegirl, I can't. Emily broke. my. heart. when she told Jack that it's HER OWN FAULT for "pushing Aiden away" because I'm sorry, it's all he could do not to break into a sprint because she wasn't pushing away fast enough.
It's interesting how Aiden actually articulated my issues with Aiden/Emily himself by telling her, "I'm not Nolan. You can't just give me the cold shoulder and expect me to come running to save you the next day." Now, on the surface it looks he's dragging Nolan for being a doormat, right? However, seeing Emily's surprise and discomfort at these words reminded me of the fact that Aiden is onto something because she keeps doing it - looking for Nolan's qualities in the men she loves, and getting hurt when she realises that they simply don't have them. That no one but Nolan understands not just her objective to clear David's name, but also the feelings behind it, the deeply personal undercurrents that keep her going, to the point that he kept going on her behalf when she couldn't. That no one but Nolan would fight for her and stand by her even when she gets scared, or angry, or obsessive, and pushes people away; he dusts himself off and tries again, and again, as long as it takes, because he knows the person she's underneath that exterior, and he'd sooner die than let her go it alone. Take his choice to go after the WHM, the Initiative's deadliest assassin, so she wouldn't have to, even though Nolan couldn't even throw a punch to defend himself back in S1. That no one but Nolan could ever replace Nolan, and I think it scares her; it scares her to imagine a life without him in it.
Nolan explains his devotion to Emily by reminding her that he'd made a promise to her father, but let's be honest, that's more his way of making her listen than anything else. His actual commitment at this point is to her, fuelled by the way he feels about her and the memory of her father, which makes him into her perfect ally.
I love their matching facial expressions.
If Pascal really ordered the kidnapping... I'm looking forward to NEmily working with Aiden to take the bastard down.
_____________
OTHER POINTS
- Javier did not waste ANY time getting to know Charlotte, did he, and it was unexpected, and bold and awesome. I love that he won her over by being honest with her from the first, and that was a great kiss to say goodbye.The one thing Javier could NOT do with his Char-vatar! (How do Revenge Writers come up with these names? LMAO.)
The guy immediately to their right ships it, and so should you.
- Daniel pushing Charlotte into his dirty games & Charlotte being all for it and pitying him made my soul cry tho. I hope Javier will keep Charlotte away from Daniel's manipulative paws because making out with an ex-convict is a much more fun way of being a bad girl than helping your violent brother harrass his ex-wife.
Also, lol @ Daniel ticking all the boxes in terms of looking like a spoiled douche by running his mouth at Emily while being a guest at her event, thinking he'll make it to the next season after conspiring against her friends, drinking himself into oblivion & most likely blowing through an obscene amount of mommy & daddy's money in one night. At least that was for a good cause?
- Jack pulling an Emily leaking the story about being Stevie's son to the press on his own terms! Guy is learning FAST. I think Stevie is a great influence on Jack. I love their dynamic and the way she challenges his perception. I mean, let's be honest, if it weren't for mommy dearest, he would still be judgmental about Emily going after the Graysons for framing her father, never mind that it's something that's extremely important to her. He's entitled to be angry at her for lying to him, but it's the fact that he refused to understand her motivation for coming to the Hamptons in the first place that I had an issue with. I think it just further proves that the connection they had is mostly a thing of the past, not present. So it felt GREAT when Stevie explained it to him that "We need to help Emily" and Jack was like, "UMM NO WHY WOULD WE DO THAT" and she was like "David Clarke was an INNOCENT MAN whom Conrad threw under the bus, do you not get how the Graysons deserve to burn in hell for this" & Jack was like, "K good I'm totally in". Thank you, Stevie, hopefully that means more common missions for Jack & NEmily and no more using Emily's secret as a bargaining chip to make ~ultimatums on Jack's part... yes, I still have residual feelings about that.
- Stevie managed to resist the bottle this episode, but why do I feel like we'll see her at her worst before the season ends? I think it's probably the way she says, "You've never seen me drunk. And thank God you never will." That's like saying NEmily will never kiss on Revenge, I can't stop picturing them doing just that ever since. Passionately. By the ocean. In the rain.
- Conrad "giving" Victoria to Pascal as a piece of property sort of made me die inside as someone who believes that ConVict belong together forever. The only thought that consoles me is that Conrad would never let actual harm to come to Victoria, and he knows there are unresolved feelings between her and Pascal, so Pascal might actually make her happy AND give Conrad what he wants in return. He's a sly devil like that, but ultimately, I don't think he'll ever be able to quit Victoria for good because he loves her in his own twisted way.
- Conrad and Stevie's scene was so beautiful, and then Conrad had to go and ruin it by using their reconciliation to his advantage to procure the deed for Pascal. Still, amazing job by both Gail O'Grady and Henry Czerny, which made me believe that Conrad & Stevie's heart to heart was at least somewhat real on Conrad's part, and he came there because he was genuinely upset to find out Stevie cheated on him w/ Carl. The chemistry is through the roof with these two.
- How adorable was the scene where Victoria told Daniel about her past with Pascal? It was so great to see her let go a bit
and act almost playful, getting in touch with her sixteen-year-old self who fell madly in love with a French boy. Madeleine did a great job with this scene, I love it.