Revenge - Recap: Infinity Times Infinity

Because David said so.

Okay, it's a bit more complicated than that, but that's more or less what it boils down to. After spending the better part of the episode being standoffish towards Emily, asserting that he never asked for her help, and treating her like a complete stranger after failing to recognize why she might not exactly feel like helping Victoria (Madeleine Stowe), David realizes the error of his ways and makes amends with Emily. He lets her know how proud he is of her, and how much he loves her ("Infinity times infinity," he tells her). However, he says they can't see each other openly because there are still dangerous forces at work around them. Namely, the person who really kept David imprisoned all those years, the one who took the pictures of Amanda and used them to threaten David by implying he could have her killed if he didn't obey. Whoever this person is, David doesn't reveal, and he forces Emily to promise she won't try to solve this mess on her own. But David is kind of a lunkhead. In much the same way he probably should have known that leaving Emily a box of revenge instructions would ultimately lead her down a path of revenge, he should probably know that he can't just tell Emily, "I'm in danger. But chill at home and don't do anything about it, okay? Thanks. Love you." And so Emily tortures a guy who attempted to abduct David. She hopes to get the truth about his employer, so she can put an end to all this ugliness and finally have a relationship with her father, although she tells Nolan (Gabriel Mann) initially that she is going to respect her father's wishes and stay out of it. Yeah...so much for that.

Credit: ABC

It's a story that I'm not sure works as well as the show probably thinks it does. So much of this particular narrative rests on David Clarke being an unlikable, shortsighted character. Yes, maybe from an outsider's perspective, what Emily has been doing IS twisted. In that case, this then becomes the story of two twisted people, a father and daughter ruined by circumstances, in a fight to get back to a point where they can be like they once were. But the show doesn't present the story this way. It comes across as David wanting to keep Emily away until he can figure out not only how he can stop whoever is behind these attacks, but also how he can have both Emily and Victoria in his life without them trying to kill each other. Naturally, I admit 100% that this isn't going to be how the majority of viewers read the situation. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if I was one of the few who view David from a selfish perspective, since he's objectively not in the wrong in how he deals with Emily. Hell, if anything, it makes him more human to have to process his feelings about Emily and her actions before he can fully embrace her again. But I just didn't get that feeling of catharsis that should have been there for both Emily and David, and for the viewer as well. I can only rationalize that this is the point of the story: that under different circumstances, Emily and David would have fallen into each other's arms, weeping uncontrollable tears of joy. These circumstances prevent that happy, cathartic ending, and so it forces the viewers to become invested in seeing those circumstances changed. But while I do want to see things change, I'm not sure I'm all that invested in another nebulous threat after sitting through a season of the Americon Initiative.

Credit: ABC

I'm really not down on this episode overall, since I thought there was plenty of good drama. I just felt like the direction of this season has been a bit warped. For the culmination of a four season journey, none of the resulting drama has had as much emotional weight as that initial moment in the police precinct when Emily recognizes David is alive. I've been hoping for that kind of power, and while last week's big reveal came damn close, it feels a lot less effective now in the wake of "Contact". If anything, the real emotional power was between, of all people, Victoria and Daniel (Josh Bowman). Daniel visits his mother while she's in the hospital, recovering from getting electrocuted, and it leads to a fairly incisive conversation about why Daniel feels he's incapable of real emotions. Victoria is horrified to find that Daniel blames her for what he's become, and turns the tables by insisting it was Conrad's business practices that forced her to make gruesome choices, such as sacrificing David Clarke to the authorities. However, Victoria states that her choice wasn't against David so much as it was for Daniel, and she adds that she'd choose Daniel every time. But this is the last thing ol' Danny Boy wants to hear, since he considers this exactly the kind of emotional manipulation that has twisted his feelings around to where he can't even feel anything when Margaux (Karine Vanasse) tells him she loved him after their breakup. It's a powerful scene and among Bowman's best in the series. And Stowe is excellent as well, playing Victoria as someone who has to fake it to make it so often that it can be hard to convince even her own son that she's been real. I would have preferred far more of this sort of drama, and less of Louise (Elena Satine) conspiring to become pregnant with Daniel's baby, or Nolan lamenting his damaged public image. Louise, in particular, is taking over WAY too much of this show. As much as I like Elena Satine, it's a story that isn't nearly as interesting as the show probably thinks it is. At least not as interesting as the ongoing drama between Emily and David. Even when that particular story isn't firing on all cylinders, it still manages to be gripping in a way that few storylines can be.

Credit: ABC/Gilles Mingasson

"Contact" is far from the perfect episode of Revenge, due to some fairly contrived storytelling. But I'm in it for the long haul. The Emily/David story just has too much potential for me to look away, and while I'm not sure where the show is going, I'm more than willing to stick with it to find out. Perfect episode or not, I still love Revenge, at its core. And if this leads to father and daughter teaming up on their revenge mission? All the better.