Revenge - Season Finale Recap: Truth

Recap and review of Revenge - Season Finale - Truth:

I've harped a lot on Revenge this season for the aimlessness of its plot and the obnoxious vagueness of the Initiative. My complaints, of course, came from a place of earnest fandom, as this is a drama I've long adored, and have wanted to see return to its salacious glory. The second half of season two has done a remarkable job in getting the series back on track, jettisoning much of what didn't work about the first half, such as the Ryan brothers plot, Padma, the entire business with the Initiative and its roster of ambiguously sinister villains like Helen Crowley and Trask. The two-hour season finale, "Truth", is the coup de grace on a stellar back-half for season two, a mini-movie that ranks as the series' finest. It's an episode that is so labyrinthine in its plotting, so devastating in its drama, and so exhilarating in its last-minute revelations that it demands to be rewatched. If ABC hadn't already made up its mind this week to give Revenge a third season, this finale likely would have sealed the deal. I don't know that I could be any higher on this finale than I am -- the cast, the scripting, the pacing, every element delivered in a big way.

Credit: ABC

Though the first half of the first hour mostly depicts the aftermath of the blackout, and Emily's (Emily VanCamp) brief investigation into the murder of Takeda, things explode in quick fashion. Emily discovers that Aiden (Barry Sloane) murdered their master, and though he tries to explain that it was self-defense, Emily has no interest in hearing him out. Aiden, however, insists that Takeda had his own motivations for revenge, and this revelation exposes the true purpose behind Takeda's revenge academy (for lack of a better term): Takeda's fiance was killed on Flight 197. She wasn't on the flight manifest because she was a flight attendant who was seated in the jump seat. Emily wants Aiden out of her life, and storms off, though Aiden tries to get through to Emily via Nolan (Gabriel Mann), leaving evidence of Takeda's fiance's existence in an envelope for her. Things are even more complicated now, since the Initiative rigged the Carrion program to activate when Nolan and Aiden hacked into the Grayson database. Aiden is now implicated in the terrorist plot, and it only gets more out-of-control, as Conrad (Henry Czerny) learns that Ashley (Ashley Madekwe) is working with Jack (Nick Wechsler) and uses this information to try and lure Jack to Grayson Global so he'll be killed in the Initiative's planned bombing of the building.

Credit: ABC

However, Jack gets Nolan's text about the setup just in time, and narrowly avoids becoming a victim. However, Declan (Connor Paolo) is not so lucky. Overall, it's been a rough episode for Declan, who first gets accused of hitting Charlotte's (Christa B. Allen) friend Regina. Regina also accuses Declan of stealing Charlotte's bail money while they were trapped in an ATM vestibule following the blackout. Declan tries to get through to Charlotte, telling her that Regina is trying to split them up because she's in love with her. Charlotte recognizes that Declan is telling the truth and kicks Regina to the curb, and it's just as well, since Declan learns from Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) that he's going to be a father. Or rather, he was.

After getting caught in the explosion, Declan requires open-heart surgery. He records a farewell message to Jack on the off-chance something goes wrong, and it proves to be an accurate bit of foresight: Declan's aortic valve ruptures during the procedure, and he dies. The resulting fallout, in which Jack tearfully watches Declan's goodbye, before Nolan tries to convince him to run away from the Hamptons with him is brutally effective stuff, as is Jack's blood-drunk rage. This is a man who has lost everything due to the Graysons, and he's not about to let the deaths of his loved ones go unpunished. He confronts Victoria and lets her know that he's going to let her live a long, tortured life, so she can explain to Charlotte just why Declan isn't around anymore, in addition to explaining to her grandchild why he/she doesn't have a father. The Porters have been the most put-upon characters in the series, incapable of catching a break, and this latest development just had me wishing that the narrative didn't pile on them so frequently. Even though I find Conrad immensely entertaining, it's hard not to want him dead after what's happened.

Credit: ABC

In fact, it's even harder to abide his survival when he reveals that there's no such thing as the Americon Initiative. The Initiative was little more than a consortium of business moguls intent on profiting from national crises. He explains to Victoria how Flight 197 led to company stocks soaring, in the wake of those very companies receiving some of the most lucrative security/defense contracts in history. And now Conrad stands to profit from the explosion at Grayson Global, as he was among the first responders. This builds to the race against time that fuels the second hour, as Conrad wins the gubernatorial race, becoming the governor and preparing to give his speech -- while Jack races to the victory party to gun down the man who's cost him everything, and Emily races against time to stop him before it's too late. Concurrently with this, we have the FBI, who had arrested Aiden earlier, releasing him from custody. This results in Aiden confronting Daniel (Josh Bowman) at Emily's apartment, leading to a fist fight between the two men in which it's implied that Daniel kills Emily's former flame using the gun Emily keeps in a stand by the staircase. We don't know for sure, we just see Daniel notice the gun before cutting away. The next time we see Daniel, he's covering up a bloodstain on his shirt cuff. Was that blood from their fight? Did he take Aiden's advice and walk away? Or did Daniel reach for the gun after all, finally putting a bullet through Aiden Mathis? It could go either way, at this point (otherwise, they wouldn't have framed it as a cliffhanger). I enjoy that sort of ambiguity. However, this is hardly the sole cliffhanger of the episode...

Credit: ABC

With Aiden free from custody, the FBI's attention turns to Nolan, who is arrested on suspicion of terrorist activities. His claims that the Falcon was behind everything fall on deaf ears, particularly since a video from Padma has surfaced in which she condemns Nolan as one of the masterminds behind the Initiative. Nolan can't help but cry, recognizing that this was a video Padma was forced to make, and likely represents one of her last moments on Earth before the Initiative killed her. It looks like Nolan is now on the hook for the entire Initiative plot, which could lead to a long, unfortunate incarceration for the series' breakout character. Things aren't going much better for Victoria either, as she realizes she can't bring herself to tell Charlotte about Declan's death, and so decides to let her daughter have one last night of peaceful rest before learning the truth. Yet, as she gets herself drunk at home, the doorbell rings. "Hello, mother," says the mysterious stranger, as Victoria drops her glass upon recognizing that her long-lost son, Patrick, has finally found her.

The revelations don't end there, however, as Emily races against time to prevent Jack from throwing his life away. When Ashley fails to prevent Conrad from taking the stage to deliver his victory speech (rationalizing that the bastard deserves it, after he tells her how he intends to use Declan's death as a talking point in his speech), Emily realizes she's running out of time. Thankfully, she sees Jack up in the press box just in the nick of time, and is able to confront him. Jack tells her to get out of his way, saying that this has nothing to do with her. Tearfully, Emily exclaims, "It has everything to do with me." She asks Jack to look at her, to really look. "Deep down, you've always known the truth." Jack has flashbacks to his childhood, and though the look on his face says it all, Emily makes the full confession: "I'm Amanda Clarke." And that's our season.

Credit: ABC

I honestly can't even begin to say how much I enjoyed this finale, with its wall-to-wall twists and explosive plot developments. I'm exhilarated at the prospect of the show getting back to what made it so unabashedly enjoyable in its first season, and so intense in its second. The show is evolving into the perfect blend of high-stakes drama and soap opera scandal. This finale is the best thing the series has ever done, and gives me immense hope for the show as it enters into its third season.