Revenge - Recap: The Invincible Conrad Grayson

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So the big story this week is that Conrad is pretty much the luckiest man on Earth. Not only does he survive a catastrophic car crash that is entirely his fault, but he also gets off scot-free from law enforcement, who believe his ridiculous lie that the late Father Paul had been driving the car in an attempt to relive his youth. So it's no jail time for our favorite ex-governor not named Schwarzenegger, and even more surprising is the reveal that he never had a plan to kill Father Paul. Last week's cliffhanger seemed to imply some level of involvement from Conrad, that he intended to rid himself of the one man who was compelling him to turn himself in. But nope, Father Paul's death was just a happy side effect of an accident Conrad didn't plan on occurring, as we discover that his brakes were cut. Someone was trying to kill Conrad, but they only ended up killing Father Paul and ensuring he wouldn't face justice for framing David Clarke, as Conrad now has decided he's better off not confessing after all...especially now that he's received a clean bill of health. Yes, Conrad has discovered he was mistakenly diagnosed with Huntington's Disease, and while he doesn't yet realize he was being poisoned the entire time, his discovery has him feeling more powerful than ever, likening himself to God. Of course, he only thinks he's invincible, and that belief in his own invincibility is a very potent delusion. With that said, a powerful Conrad is dangerous. But a powerful AND deranged Conrad? I shudder to think.

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Yet there is much more going on in the Grayson household than there appears to be on the surface. Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) has employed Patrick (Justin Hartley) in helping her frame an old friend of hers for the illegal trafficking of stolen artwork, so that she can take over as owner of the friend's popular art gallery. Patrick's adeptness at scheming tells us more about him than anything else we've seen so far, as he easily smooth-talks the gallery owner into admitting she's been trafficking paintings and selling them privately. All in all, he and Victoria make a hell of a team, and even though Victoria hasn't been a bowl of cherries this season, it's remarkably cathartic to watch her verbally dismantle her old friend, explaining that the woman now has no choice but to give up the gallery to her.

Credit: ABC

But there is plenty Victoria still doesn't know about Patrick. For one, she doesn't recognize how eager he is to leave the Hamptons, as he makes constant references to cutting ties altogether, once while scheming the art gallery owner, and again while talking with Nolan (Gabriel Mann). And while one instance was certainly part of a longer con, I'm not sure if Patrick was necessarily lying when he said the same thing to Nolan about wanting to leave. Then again, Patrick could still be playing the longer con, just like Nolan is. We see Nolan using technology to track down Patrick's ex-wife, who reveals to Nolan that Patrick is gay. Or, at least, we can infer this from Nolan later approaching Patrick and making a move, which Patrick initially rejects...only to later reciprocate. So for anyone shipping Patrick/Nolan, this is your episode! That said, I don't think the connection between the two is in any way genuine. This is two clever schemers in a game of one-upmanship, and I'm intrigued to see what the endgame is for both men. Who knows? Maybe there is a kernel of genuine affection there. Or, at the very least, perhaps it might develop over time.

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As for Jack, I doubt any genuine affection is going to develop between him and Emily, at the rate they're going. Jack inserts himself into Emily's plot to prove Conrad was driving the car at the time of the accident, and he proves invaluable in actually obtaining evidence that the brakes were cut deliberately. But right on cue, as they're going over the vehicle in the scrap yard, the car is scheduled for demolition. With their last piece of tangible evidence lost, there isn't all that much either of them can do except catch hell from the Graysons and their faux-allies: for Emily, she's frozen out of Daniel's life after she vindictively reveals his drunk driving arrest to the magazine copyeditor for his biography. She does this as a passive-aggressive reaction to witnessing Daniel paying off the detective in the car accident. However, we learn that Daniel didn't do this to cover up for his father, but instead to keep yet another Grayson scandal out of the papers, since it could seriously damage the launch of his magazine. By the time Emily learns this, it's too late for her to properly mend fences with Daniel, and this throws her entire plan into disarray, as she needs Daniel to continue to have an excuse to be in the Graysons' lives. Yet, try as she might, she isn't able to satisfy Daniel with reasons for why she loves him after he asks her to explain why they're even getting married. Emily is in a bind, and it'll be a hard sell getting Daniel back on board, I would imagine.

Credit: ABC

As for Jack, he becomes the target of Victoria's false ally, Aiden, who confronts Conrad and reveals that the brakes to his car were cut...and Jack Porter is the culprit. It's hard to imagine this isn't another instance of Aiden going rogue, as Emily never wanted Jack involved in this in the first place. So what's Aiden's endgame, then? To throw Jack under the bus so he'll have one less obstacle to Emily's affections? I love that everyone has motivations that are completely unknown, at the moment. Some might call it lazy, and on a lesser primetime soap it might be, but this is just crazy fun TV, full of potential for speculation and theorizing all through the seven days in between new episodes. "Mercy" is keeping up the wonderful pace of this season, and continuing to show just how great this show can be when stripped back to its scheming basics.

Thanks for reading my recap and review of Revenge - Season 3 Episode 4, "Mercy"!