Revenge - Recap: Bad Bromance

Some might call it a bit of a stretch to blame the end of the David/Nolan bromance on Emily (Emily VanCamp). It was David who decided to hold a live interview. It was David who decided to invite Nolan under the guise of supporting a friend. It was David who chose to ambush Nolan on the air by accusing him of pocketing Amanda's inheritance for himself. And it was David who went to Nolan's house afterwards and punched him out. But to blame David for this elides Emily's own culpability in what happens to Nolan. In protecting Emily's secret, Nolan can't reveal that he actually did give Amanda her inheritance, since proving it would mean exposing that Emily IS Amanda. And, for whatever reason, Emily still isn't ready to reveal that just yet, even though there's really no good story reason for her to wait. Well, okay, that's not technically true. The show tries to create a reason in hindsight for Emily not to confront her father just yet, as her own investigation into David's story of imprisonment and torture suggests to her that the entire thing was staged.

Credit: ABC

Of course, this only explains why she isn't revealing her true identity to David Clarke now, not why she wouldn't reveal it before. Hell, I'm not even all that sure it does explain why Emily won't tell him the truth now. What does David's story being fake have to do with learning his daughter is still alive? If anything, I would think Emily would want to help her father cover up Conrad's murder. Even though she claims to have never killed anyone before, Emily clearly has no qualms about helping a person cover up their crime. Case in point, she helps Charlotte (Christa B. Allen) cover up the self-defense killing of her abductor, a man who apparently didn't believe David Clarke's claims of innocence...which I guess is a decent enough solution to that little side mystery. Although one wonders if he might not have been working with someone else, considering the paper trail of David Clarke-related news clippings he left behind. But it's just as well, at this point, since Charlotte has decided to go off to rehab after Emily reveals to her that Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) killed Aiden. It feels kind of strange that this would be the straw that broke the camel's back, but hey, I'll take it. She gets a pretty good kiss-off scene with her mother, letting her know just how she's ruined their entire family, and how she's basically a monster for the secrets she's keeping from David Clarke. That said, my joy at Charlotte's imminent departure is somewhat soured by her discovery of a letter Emily slipped into her purse. What does the letter say? And will it compel Charlotte to leave rehab and return to the Hamptons? And did Charlotte really tell Daniel the truth about Emily's identity? I mean, she just says she needs to tell him something about Emily, but we don't get the other side of that conversation. Not that I'm necessarily desperate to know, if I'm being honest. At this rate, I'd be fine if Charlotte just disappeared for a few episodes. Let her come back when she actually has a better reason to be in the story than to test the patience of the audience.

Credit: ABC

The rest of the episode was a fairly middling affair, with Victoria blowing off Louise (Elena Satine), who has an amusing daydreaming sequence that reveals the true depths of her obsessive mommy issues with Victoria. This woman is IN (maternal) LOVE with Victoria, and seems to be acting out by going after Daniel (Josh Bowman). We also have Ben (Brian Hallisay) getting uncomfortably close to the possible truth about Conrad's murder, which means Jack (Nick Wechsler) is going to have to stay close to his partner to do damage control. Neither of these storylines is particularly riveting, and I actually think Ben is downright obnoxious with his persistence, questioning the daughter of a deceased cop at the man's own wake. It's rare that someone depicted as being an honest guy who's good at his job can turn out to be so damn annoying, but I'd be happy if we didn't have to deal with Ben that much longer, even if the story does involve Jack, whom I enjoy. Luckily, the stuff centered on Emily, David, and Nolan is strong enough to carry the episode. In particular, Gabriel Mann does a stellar job playing Nolan as someone who is wounded by David's accusations of theft. Hell, the accusations appear to hurt Nolan more than it hurts David to make them. In one of the most poignant moments of the entire season so far, David punches Nolan and then says, "If I were your father, I'd have done that a long time ago." Nolan, hunched on the ground with a bloody nose, says (paraphrasing) "You're just like him then." Nolan hasn't had a lot of love in his life, and is just as much of a loner as Emily, in a lot of ways. So to have a man he viewed as a father figure condemn him both publicly and privately is devastating. It's no surprise he takes out his anger on Emily, blaming her for David's outburst, declaring, "Your lies have finally caught up with me." Emily's need to continue living a double life has compromised the safety and well-being of those she loves, as David has gone off the deep-end, not only assaulting Nolan but asking Victoria to move in with him. David is downright volatile, and it's no surprise given Emily's unwillingness to let him actually know that Victoria isn't the only connection to his past that still remains.

Credit: ABC

Yet, with all that said, I can't fault "Damages" for the drama it brings to the table. I was impressed with how Revenge is able to now tell parallel revenge stories, with Emily forging on for her father's sake, and David forging on in the memory of Amanda. It's poignant, in its own twisted, surreal way. And that's the kind of storytelling that's kept me glued to Revenge for four seasons now, and will probably keep me glued to it for as long as it runs.