Revenge - Suspicion

The whole “Real Emily Thorpe” thing is going to wreak havoc on us as recappers, because we were used to being able to use both names to refer to one person. We will just call the duplicitous ladies by their real names. Amanda is the one seeking the revenge, and Emily is the little viper who stole her life, which is a twist that finally pulled Ern onboard with this show. The show would be so much better if Charlotte and Declan weren’t on it, but the show is mostly awesome, so we will accept it.

Emily, who knows Amanda’s attachment to Jack and their history, started seducing Jack. We were all, "NO NO!!! You two-bit whore!" This works alarmingly quickly. Is a brother on the rebound or something? They take Jack’s boat out for a while and then Emily tells Jack that she is his old friend, Amanda. This is the clincher Emily needs to make Jack fall head-over-heels, introduce Emily to Amanda, and show Emily “her father’s” old house. Emily really wants a home and is enthralled by Amanda. But Emily feels betrayed that Amanda wanted to send her to Paris. Amanda is less than pleased with all of this. Emily refuses to leave.

Amanda calls in the big guns - another mentor. It’s a Japanese man who flies in immediately and sees Amanda at Grayson party. Surprise, Daniel! Your girlfriend speaks Japanese. This only makes him love her more, because all men love when women are mysterious and full of surprises. Actually, Daniel might have a little too much of that where Amanda is concerned.

Victoria has been trying to keep Lydia under control with medication, but Conrad takes Lydia away during the party. Conrad is over the whole marriage thing. Daniel is still angry at his mother for having Frank investigate Amanda. Victoria, meanwhile, tries to pay Declan to stop seeing Charlotte. Declan refuses her, and while this was expected, it does help us like him more. Charlotte does the smart thing and tells her mother that Declan dumped her. That was really, really not true. She sneaks out for a romantic night with Declan almost immediately. Ashley sets a lunch date with Victoria in order to give Victoria a little dish on Amanda. Uh oh.

Daniel is back to working for Daddy, and Conrad pits him against Tyler in a race to close an investment deal. Tyler, ever the villain, steals Nolan’s credit card to buy clothes for himself and Ashley so that they can look good at the party and impress the investors. Tyler also asks Nolan to invest in the Grayson business. Nolan finds out that Tyler has that copy of Lydia’s speech and sees that Tyler is looking into David Clarke. Amanda tells Nolan to give Tyler an investment so that he can be distracted with that while she and Nolan figure out a plan to deal with Tyler. At the party, Nolan takes Tyler aside, and Tyler kisses Nolan. Ashley sees this and freaks. Tyler covers by saying that he was just doing it as part of his ambitious plans.

This episode was the show at its twisty best. The Emily/Amanda stuff is particularly inspired. Plus, we’ve found out that Amanda has been trained in the art of revenge, or something, but a Japanese man. This just turned into Kill Bill, in a good way.

Episode grade: A