Maybe it’s because Emily’s revenge scheming seems to have been halted somewhat but the pacing seemed a bit off during tonight’s episode. That doesn’t mean it won’t be fairly tortuous to wait weeks or possibly longer for the series to return with more episodes. Curse you winter hiatus!
Satoshi Takeda
Tonight’s episode opened with Emily sparring with Satoshi. So we know she’s trained to fight, which could come in handy. Satoshi seems to be her primary revenge mentor and if there’s one person that knows the bulk of what Emily’s up to, it’s him. He also happens to be a very perceptive man and it didn’t take him long to see that Emily’s in love with Daniel. That’s apparently a deal-breaker for him. With words like, “If you let your emotions guide you, you will fail,” used at the start of the episode, it wasn’t all that surprising that Satoshi would disapprove of the feelings Emily’s developed for Daniel. The problem is, he wasn’t willing to work with her any more after that. But before he left, he participated in a $50 million lie with Emily that came in the form of an investment to Conrad’s firm, which will hopefully get Emily closer to the Grayson’s business.
I’m actually glad this business with Satoshi took place tonight as it finally gave us more insight into Emily’s thought process with regards to Daniel. It seemed like her feelings for him were becoming more and more genuine. We saw fewer icy stares from her when she’s with him, anyway. Now we know, she does actually care about him.
Feelings are proving to be an unplanned obstacle for Emily. She has feelings for Jack, but he’s off falling for Fauxmanda. She has feelings for Daniel, even though she’s trying to destroy his family. And she has feelings for Nolan who’s sometimes a huge help and sometimes just an additional problem.
Sex tape drama...
The sex video Nolan took of himself and Tyler caused some major drama tonight, resulting in numerous spats. Emily managed to come across it after Nolan left her alone with his computer (big mistake) and this resulted in Tyler getting fired by Conrad for supposedly blackmailing Nolan in exchange for his investment. At that point, Tyler didn’t even know there was a sex tape. He found out from Conrad, who found out from Daniel, who found out from Emily. The whole thing was like a circle of dominoes, which eventually came around to knock Emily over. Let’s break down the aftermath of the sex tape just to keep things straight:
Tyler - got fired by Conrad because Conrad doesn’t want investments achieved by unethical means. The idea of Conrad passing judgment over something unethical is just laughable. Tyler responded to this by threatening to expose Conrad and Victoria for their involvement in plane crash. Needless to say, their relationship is probably a bit strained because of that.
Daniel - Eh, he was already irritated by Tyler by the time he found out about the blackmail and the sex video but it was the weapon he needed to give his frenemy the shove he needed to reclaim his place by his father’s side and/or that coveted corner office.
Nolan - Tyler confronted Nolan about the tape and the two had it out. Nasty words were said and Nolan’s laptop got thrown in his pool. I would’ve preferred an Andrew-Garfield-style smash to the floor but that infinity pool isn’t getting nearly as much use as it should be. Tyler made off with Nolan’s little video camera/flash drive and found a video of Lydia on it. It sounded like she was talking about something going on in court. Was it old video from the David Clarke case? Or something more recent?
Emily - Nolan and Emily had it out. Nolan was pissed at Emily for stealing the sex tape. She was pissed at him for “falling for a hooker” and getting in her way. The confrontation ended with Nolan essentially telling Emily that her father would be ashamed of her. I don’t think the word “shame” was used, but it was in the air. Props (no pun intended) to the set people for adding the curtain in place of the door for this scene as it made for a much more dramatic moment when Emily followed Nolan outside.
Keep your Frenemies close...
Moving on, while Tyler has proven to be a major detour for Emily in her scheming, Amanda is also presenting an issue. Emily managed to keep that ball in the air tonight while jugging the sex tape mess by giving Amanda a journal from her foster care days. It’s essentially a cheat sheet that’ll help fake-Amanda pretend to be real Amanda. It also apparently has things in there about the Graysons. More on that in a sec. For tonight, the journal was used by Amanda to get closer to Jack. Now she knows about the jar of sea glass they once buried together and some of the other adorable stories Jack and real Amanda have held in their hearts and minds for years and years. While Amanda may be fooling Jack and eating his pancakes, she isn’t fooling the ageless dog Sammy. Sam knows what’s up. It’s funny that he reacts to Amanda much in the way Daniel does. It’s not just indifference, but an acute awareness that something’s not right with this chick.
My theory on the journal is that, beyond using it to keep Amanda occupied and under everyone’s radar, it’s also going to lead her to/at Victoria Grayson. When Emily was talking to Satoshi, she described Amanda as a ticking time bomb. He told her to steer clear of the blast and to consider using one of her other opponents to take Amanda out. We’ve seen Emily use this tactic before and I’m thinking that’s what she’s doing now in somehow manipulating Amanda through the journal, possibly leading her to Victoria in some way that will result in Victoria drop-kicking Amanda out of the Hamptons as fast and efficiently as she possibly can.
Declan and Charlotte
After Jack offered Declan some very good big-brotherly (more like fatherly) advice, he’s decided not to get an apartment with Charlotte. As much as he cares about her, he needs to finish school. He’ll burn through that money fast anyway. $25k wouldn’t last him very long where he is, even if he lived cheap. He’s going to continue with college and aim a bit higher for himself and his girlfriend.
Charlotte seemed to be very understanding of Declan’s decision and she didn’t take it as a sign that he didn’t want to be with her. Of everyone on this show right now, their relationship seems to be the most balanced. Perhaps it’s because they have nothing to hide from one another... yet, anyway. Charlotte gave the money back to her mother and told her she was moving in with her father, which I’m still convinced is not really her father.
Huntley
Speaking of the Grayson’s family situation, Conrad filed for a divorce from Victoria. For some reason, I’m convinced they won’t split up for good. I don’t know why. But for now, they’re moving forward with a divorce, which prompted Victoria to hire an attorney. Mr. Huntley is the same guy that helped Lydia with her divorce. We also learned later that he’s the attorney that worked with David Clarke and that for some reason (possibly Grayson-involvement) he declined to help David with his appeal.
The episode ended with a flashback that showed Emily/Amanda, visiting the attorney with the letter he sent to her father. So we know Huntley has met Amanda. It’s possible he’s even on her/Emily’s list.
The last bit of noteworthy news from the episode is the tentative friendship forming between Ashley and Victoria, and the new, slightly more honest relationship between Ashley and Tyler. I still see Ashley coming in this last or close to it in this race to out-do and one-up each other. At this point, she’s barely trying to pretend to be friends with Emily. Sooner or later Emily’s going to notice.
Previews
While we probably have a while to wait, the previews for the next new episode showed one brief, scary scene: Tyler pointing a gun at Emily and the Graysons, who were seated at a table. We know Tyler’s on some kind of medication, or he was, and he’s run out. It looks like he may be about to go over the deep end.
Image ©ABC
