"Revenge" SnapCap: Second Verse, Same As The First

Posted by

on September 29, 2011

"You're next, Sally Field!"

Now that the second episode of Revenge has aired, the formula has become clear: Emily Thorne will zero in on her intended "REVEN8E" (see, it just looks stupid when you try to use a regular 8 for the big red infinity symbol) target, we'll get flashbacks to her childhood, setting up how said target betrayed her late father, and at the end we'll learn exactly how she carried out the complete destruction of the target, which will involve high-tech espionage and/or stunning disguises.

I'm praying that by end of the season we'll see her dressed up as a flapper or Sarah Palin.

As formulas go, it works.

The signature scene of each show is when she draws a red x across the face of her target, signaling elimination and her victory. The show missed an opportunity here, though. Instead of using a red magic marker, she should use the tear-stained crayons from her childhood Crayola box, which were ripped from her fingers when she was dragged away screaming from her father. Each crayon color could be used to symbolize the targets, and represent their various sins.

For instance, this week's target, Bill, is a former family friend who testified against her father in the trial that wrongfully convicted him. He's a hedge fund manager, and greedy, and that greed brings him down when Emily tricks him into investing all of his company's assets into a 'sure thing" that then goes belly up. His crayon color would be green for greedy!

Of course, if the show does last more than one season, it would be interesting to see what targets get Burnt Sienna, Hot Magenta, and Smokey Topaz.

On second thought, maybe they should just stick to red magic marker.

How did the second episode rate? Let's find out!

BEEFCAKE: Better than the first episode, but still fairly tame. Daniel is seen after a workout (and if i'm not mistaken, his mother calls him a "sweaty beast), and we get a shirtless shot of the evil snob Adam. Bad never looked so good, or something.

Their crayon colors would be Morningwood and Purple Rooster

HEART/DRAMA: Starting to pan out nicely. Aside from the Emily plot, there are other threads to juggle. Jack, the Blue Collar Guy With A Labrador, sells his boat to Nolan to pay the bank loan on his dad's bar. Jack's brother Declan still has the hots for Daniel's sister Charlotte, and for his troubles receives a beat down by Charlotte's boyfriend Adam and his cohorts. It culminates in Declan and Jack's dad having a heart attack.

Queen Victoria has her suspicions about Emily, and launches a full investigation into her background. At first everything is on the up-and-up (thanks to Emily's exhaustive, and expensive altering of her life history), but the P.I. eventually discovers that no info is available about Emily from ages 16 - 18. Victoria's eyebrows snap into arch mode.

AFTERELTON BAIT: The Talented Mr. Ripley type gay character arrives in the next episode.

HUMOR: For all of his money, Nolan walks around looking like the losing challenge on Project Runway.

"I do NOT look like a homeless guy who raided Carson Kressley's closet!"

PRODUCTION VALUES/ACTING:: Still first rate. I'm starting to warm up to Emily Van Camp, but I'm not there yet, and Connor Paolo is still trying way too hard as Declan.

The biggest mystery still remains. If the show is a hit (and the initial ratings were very good), what will they do once Emily's revenge photo is completely covered in red x's? Thankfully, the storylines for Season Two basically write themselves!