The nighttime soap fell apart in its second season, but Season 3 has begun to show serious potential. Will Revenge ever be the guilty pleasure it once was?
Richard Cartwright / ABC
When it comes to her revenge plot, Emily Thorne is all about getting back on track. There have been countless moments throughout Revenge in which our vengeful heroine announced a renewed focus on taking down her enemies, whether spurred by a new discovery, the death of a friend, or the writers' realization that the show was spinning its wheels.
The problem, of course, is that in order for Emily to get back on track, she has to have gotten off track to begin with. Revenge's second season was an exercise in frustration, with Emily — and the series as a whole — repeatedly losing focus. Every episode that showed potential was followed by a head-scratching narrative decision, a depressing reminder that we were no longer watching Season 1's delightful high-stakes soap. So when Season 3 purported to once again put Emily on the correct path, the promise was tempered with doubt. Had Revenge strayed too far to ever find its way back?
It's too soon to say if the third season will ever reach the heights of the first, but the most recent episodes of Revenge are at least major strides in the right direction. For the first time since Season 1, Revenge feels like appointment viewing — a show to devour eagerly because you're dying to see what happens next, not because you're morbidly curious to find out which strained plotline the writers will make even worse.
Richard Cartwright / ABC
Where did Revenge go right? The Season 2 finale began the process of undoing all the wrongs, namely killing off Declan, outing Emily as Amanda Clarke to Jack, and removing the "Initiative" from its vocabulary. Season 3 has continued the slash-and-burn, quickly ditching another superfluous character — poor, underused Ashley — and getting rid of subplots that never really mattered. Remember when Conrad was going to be governor? Great, now we can move on.
Without all the filler, Revenge has been able to focus on the greatest asset is has: the blisteringly bitchy relationship between Emily and her soon-to-be mother-in-law Victoria Grayson. Conrad may be the real villain of the Grayson family — he's certainly shown far less remorse for framing David Clarke than Victoria — but from the beginning, Revenge was at its best when it pitted Emily against ice queen Victoria. Madeleine Stowe has perfected the subtle barb spoken through a tight fake smile. And Emily Van Camp shines when Victoria pushes Emily to her breaking point: Just look at the electric showdown in "Confession."
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