“What the hell, Ems?” That’s Nolan’s reaction to Emily’s big announcement at the end of “Clarity,” and it’s exactly what everyone is probably thinking as well as they watch her take the podium and clear Daniel’s name on Revenge.
While Emily is finally honest with the world, Nolan needs to take a page out of her book and be honest in his personal life, especially with Victoria planting seeds of doubt in Louise’s head. Plus, Ben’s brother comes to town and plants some seeds in his head about Emily and Jack, Margaux has to stop a move she didn’t really mean, and Stevie and David try to figure out the best way to be parents.
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What are Victoria and Margaux’s Next Moves?
Margaux seems to be regretting her latest moves, including telling Victoria that Emily pushed her, but while she may consider for a split second telling her the truth, she doesn’t. What she does do, however, is make sure that she puts a stop to the assassin she hired to go after Emily. Margaux’s not willing to give up her soul just yet. Now all she has to do (at the very least) is tell Victoria the truth, apologize to Jack and move far, far away.
Meanwhile, Victoria digs into Lyman’s death, pays Ben a visit at the station in the men’s locker room and an interrogation room, and goes to play nice with Louise in an attempt to find that thumb drive with all of Nolan’s secrets on it. Fortunately, Louise can see right through her and sends her packing, but not before Victoria says just enough to make her start second-guessing just how honest Nolan really is being with her.
Nolan Needs to Get His Affairs in Order
Louise is back from her brother’s funeral, and when Nolan asks what he can do to help, she only wants two things: one of their Wonder Twins nights (which she calls better than 3 Xanax and a rosé) and a baby. Yes, a baby. Louise, you just got married. And it’s not even real. Calm down. Remember, you married Nolan to save yourself from your wretched family. I get that you want a family, that you want to make up for your parents’ mistakes, but this not the way to go about doing it. Nolan, for his part, does a horrible job of covering up just how he feels about it (he’s running for the hills and fast) and runs off to the beach club. Constantly.
Thing are at least going semi-well for Nolan and Tony, and the social worker even wants Nolan to join him for a party with his friends on the beach. When Nolan says he has to check if he’s free, Tony advises him, “Be free.” Yes, Nolan, be free. But first, maybe take care of that “fragile” wife of yours. As Jack says, it’ll only be worse to lie.
So what does Nolan do but lie, lie, lie. When Louise calls while he’s with Tony, he declines her call then calls her back to get her voicemail and tells her he’s swamped at work. Tony overhears, and Nolan tries to explain that his marriage isn’t “traditional,” but Tony refuses to be the Other Man in someone’s marriage. Be honest, Nolan, then maybe he can have a chance with Tony.
But he’s still not honest. Instead, he runs off to work early, avoids Louise’s comments about it being hard to imagine Daniel attacking Emily and gets very uncomfortable every time she brings up a baby. (But in his defense, it really is too soon and not at all the right environment to raise a kid.) He also doesn’t think to check if someone got any photos of him on the beach with Tony the night before. (Someone did, and Louise finds them online.)
Nolan then tells Jack what really happened to Lyman and about Louise wanting a baby, and admits that, yes, he wants a family and a real marriage one day, but with someone “stable,” not with someone he pities. Louise overhears, and that’s exactly why everyone needs to remember to check around corners when talking about someone in the Hamptons. Hasn’t Nolan learned anything from working with Emily all this time?
With that, Nolan goes home, but he’s still not honest with Louise. Instead, after momentary panic that she drowned in his pool, he tells her it’s time to end their marriage now that they accomplished what they set out to do: free her from her family. She says she got carried away with playing house, but she’ll call the lawyers in the morning. Oh, of course, they’ll always be friends. Anyone else worried about what she’s going to do next, especially after she thanks him for being completely honest with her?
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A New “Truth” About the Night Daniel Died
Despite having the votes and a hefty donation from Victoria, the hospital board declines to name the research wing after Daniel Grayson. Emily tries to speak up at the meeting, but it doesn’t matter. The board’s made up its mind, especially with newspapers accusing them of taking a bribe. The decision’s been made, and so Emily tries to come up with a new plan to clear Daniel’s name.
She’ll do it at the gala, she tells David, and explains that Daniel’s death changed Margaux. All she’s doing is trying to salvage the name of someone she loves, just like she did for David. That means coming up with a new story about what happened that night, and for that to work, she needs Jack on board. She’ll say Malcolm broke into her house and tried to kill her, and Daniel jumped in front of the bullet and saved her life. She’ll protect Jack, she promises.
Stevie, however, vehemently protests. “You are a train wreck,” she tells Emily, and she wants her to take responsibility for what she’s done. She later warns Jack against letting Emily be his “glass of scotch.” She knows how he feels about her, and she knows that’s why he’s even considering saying yes to the new plan.
Unfortunately, there’s not much Nolan can do to help change the story of that night since he hasn’t invented a way to manipulate what people have heard yet, but Emily just wants to do something good. “Emily Thorne was not built for good. She was built to clear her dad’s name, which she did, brilliantly,” Nolan points out, meaning that there is only one way this can go (even if the promos hadn’t revealed it already).
Jack joins Emily at the groundbreaking gala and tells her that she was right and the new plan is the only way. He’s not letting her do this alone. He’s ready. Is she? Oh, she is. With that, all eyes are on her when she takes the podium, as this gala is being broadcast all over the news. But no reporter can even begin to guess what’s about to come out of her mouth.
“Good evening. We’re all aware of the scandal casting a shadow over tonight’s announcement. The board elected not to name the research wing after my ex-husband because people believe he broke into my house and tried to attack me. That is the story that I told that night. But none of it is true. The truth is that Malcolm Back was my attacker. He tried to kill me, and Daniel Grayson took a bullet that was meant for me. That night, Daniel saved my life. I told this story to protect myself and the ones that I love, but it only festered. And tonight, it stops. I know that none of this makes sense. There are many unanswered questions, like why was I even attacked that night. There’s only one explanation. There’s one secret that I kept, and it has cost the ones I love more than I ever wanted. I am David Clarke’s daughter. I am Amanda Clarke.”
And the world goes crazy.
Revenge season 4 airs Sundays at 10pm on ABC.
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
If it’s on TV — especially if it’s a procedural or superhero show — chances are Meredith watches it. She has a love for all things fiction, starting from a young age with ER and The X-Files on the small screen and the Nancy Drew books. Arrow kicked off the Arrowverse and her true passion for all things heroes. She’s enjoyed getting into the minds of serial killers since Criminal Minds, so it should be no surprise that her latest obsession is Prodigal Son.
