Translate

Monday 6 May 2013

Revenge 2.18 "Masquerade" Review

                                            
Emily: "All too often, we mask the truth in artifice, concealing ourselves for fear of losing the ones we love or prolonging a deception for those we wish to expose.  We hide behind that which brings us comfort from pain and sadness or use it to repel a truth too devastating to accept."

Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) preens herself in front of her mirror after she receives a letter which Ashley gives her as it was delivered to their campaign office, dated 1973, which has been addressed to Victoria with Conrad's (Henry Czerny) name crossed off.  It's an RSVP saying they will be at the masquerade ball.  Daniel  (Josh Bowman) also tells her about his keeping away from Emily (Emily VanCamp) even though he wants her by his side, he doesn't want to endanger her after the Initiative sent that photo.  She also tells him he's inviting Sloane (Kate Herman) from his past which he isn't happy about as she doesn't really approve of any girls he's been with.  Cue Ashley (Ashley Madekwe) ha.  Well no one approves of her.

Emily turns up hoping to get an invite from Victoria but she refuses.  Actually Emily was practically begging, that did not become you Emily! As most of the cast keep telling us it's been six weeks later.  There's been no word on Padma (Dilshad Vadsaria) and Nolan (Gabriel Mann) desperately puts up all leads on his office window and  detective Durand (Marcus A Ferraez) doesn't have any news for him.  Daniel is angry Aiden (Barry Sloane) went ahead and invested Trask's (Burn Gorman) money, as he shows up.  Daniel shows the photo to of hi and Emily to him and Trask replies they don't threaten in the second but the third dimension.  So he finds out the Initiative didn't send the photo.  Giving Daniel a chance to use it to his advantage.  Firstly by inviting Emily to the ball and secondly by publishing it in the paper, Page Six.  Oh there's another six reference.  Are the writers now beginning to portray numbers as having some sort of significance in the show, well I can ponder.

Jack (nick Wechsler) calls Nolan to ask for his help as Conrad is having a press conference at the Stowaway again and Jack has helped him gain four points in the poles.  Jack plays the snippet of the recording Nate made about Conrad being behind Amanda's death and wants Nolan to put it through Conrad's earwig, to get him worried.  Ashley suggest the earwig so that Jack can prompt him during the Q&A session.  She also suggests Conrad should wear a tie since the people want to relate to him and not have him being related to them.  Jack also tells him he shouldn't refer to them as "working class."  Jack can probably help them get a page 1 headline in the papers again.

Charlotte (Christa B Allen) talks to Victoria as Emily sets up the black roses ploy by taking 12 roses and snipping one off the stem.  With a card saying he'll be wearing that one at the ball, "your loving son."  Victoria says it's just someone who sent them to her.  Later Conrad finds out and asks if she has another son.  She tells him she got pregnant by one of her mother's boyfriend's but she terminated it.  The flashback suggests otherwise and it's obvious Victoria wouldn't terminate one baby and have two others.  He doesn't want anything getting out when he's this close to being elected.  At the Q&A session, Nolan plays the tape so it plays into Conrad's earwig and phases him, prompting Jack to come to his aid.

Aiden kidnaps Trask in a bid to lead him to Padma but he takes him to her DB instead saying she wanted to be with her father and she is, but what of the video he made her record last ep?  Also telling Aiden that there are motion senors so the police will be on their way and find him with one DB or two.  Aiden doesn't shoot him but breaks his neck, for Padma, her father and for Colleen.  So who else from the Initiative will turn up, or is that the last we'll hear of them.

Victoria thanks everyone for coming to the ball and looks out for men wearing a black rose.  Emily shows up too in white with a white mask and Victoria is surprised she's here.  Daniel invited her.  Aiden tells Emily about Padma and she breaks the news to Nolan who is beside himself and blames everyone including Emily for what happened.  He wants to be alone.  Nolan referring to Aiden as the "Phantom of the opera" in his black jacket with white striped collar, beforehand.  Victoria sees someone who is wearing the same jacket as Aiden and a black rose but he disappears, leading her to Aiden.  Where she faints.  Daniel shows how he and Emily are together as he lauds it over Aiden.  Charlotte punches a girl, Regina (Seychelle Gabriel) for saying nasty things about Amanda and she can't let it go, Declan (Connor Paolo) coming to her rescue.

Conrad thinks Ashley was behind the faux paus at the conference and says she will be fired after he gets elected. It couldn't be Jack since he helped him out, but she thinks he could have done that to cover himself. Which Jack overhears.  he reveals he's out to get Conrad and she wants the same thing, so recruits her to help him bring him down.  She swears she had nothing to do with Amanda.  Jack also reminds Victoria that Carl will grow up without his mother.  Again another thing leading her to recall her abandoned baby.

Emily turns up at the house next day as she has seen Nolan and Aiden seems to be cold towards her.  She thinks Daniel will find out about his past and his father since Trask put him onto him.  So his stay in the Hampton's could be threatened.  The way he tells Emily he's disgusted with her, oh trouble in paradise no wonder Emily gets closer to Daniel.  The detective turns up to see Nolan and tells him he withheld things from him, accusing him of being the killer.  As we're shown the Grayson campaign badge once again.  Just as Jack showed it to Nolan before.  Nolan isn't saying anything without his lawyer when the detective tells him Padma died the same day and not six weeks ago.

Victoria goes to the convent where she gave up her son and Sister Rebecca Gallagher (Myra Turley) tells her she hasn't revealed anything to anyone about him, even we he came looking for his mother.  When she leaves Emily turn up feigning pregnancy to gain the sister's trust.  Which was up her sleeve all along as no one knows who Victoria's son is or what happened to him.  Nolan was really grieving over Padma, I just thought is she really dead, you know Aiden wouldn't really have looked and that detective looks a bit shady too.

Masquerade ball, another chance for everyone to get dressed up again and don masks cos everyone was keeping secrets behind their masks.  Victoria's reply to Ashley was funny: "you're right it's just a seasonal trifle, not like yourself."  There was kind of a Phantom of the Opera vibe going on with the music especially when Victoria was looking for the black rose-wearing son of hers.  One of the best scenes was Emily holding Nolan when he broke down and their scenes and relationship really is the centre of the show.  In another similar turn of events Jack gets Conrad unnerved whilst Emily does the same with Victoria and it's about time they really did discover they're both on the same side and are working towards the same goal.

From Emily's face couldn't tell if she was making that up about the pregnancy or if she really is pregnant, she's been with enough men!  Poignant moment, Nolan telling her "I love you too."  When she said she won't leave him alone.

Some great quotes this ep, Daniel when he returns Victoria the bullets, "I believe these are yours, feel free to use one for each of your two faces."
Victoria and her constant references to ghosts and not being laid to rest by anyone, a main premise of the show.  "I try to keep the ghosts out but they always force their way back in."  She follows the man with the rose and he leads to Aiden, could Aiden possibly be her long, lost son?

No comments: