I went into the second season finale of ABC’s Revenge with a whole lot of questions.

What was the purpose of wiping New York’s power out? Was Victoria’s (Madeleine Stowe) long-lost first-born secretly lurking around the Hamptons even though he had been paid handsomely to stay away? What would Aiden (Barry Sloane) do now that he killed his mentor and was on edge about Emily’s (Emily VanCamp) re-engagement? Does Jack (Nick Wechsler) know what he’s doing, dealing with the Graysons? Who wouldn’t survive the year? And good God, did Declan (Connor Paolo) really procreate!?

Since Revenge has been renewed for a third season, though, not everything could get answered, the writers preferring instead to let things dangle for next year, but so much more did than I expected. This was two hours extremely well spent!

Note: Spoilers ahead if you have yet to see Sunday night’s season finale.

A lot did go down in this season finale, despite not everything I wanted happening. I thought it was best to bullet-point the action in order to cover all the ground in a concise recap.

• The Blackout: Nolan (Gabriel Mann) was the only one who seemed to be “on it,” trying to figure out how the blackout was triggered, and more importantly, how to turn the grids back on. Emily caught him up to where the audience was at the end of last week, but not without a few excruciating moments of confused-face first. Then it turns into full-on panic that Aiden would befall a similar fate to David Clarke’s, and that’s what made him double-time his attempts to be a hero and create a fake digital trail of cover for him. The actual blackout, though, was over quicker than it should have been.

• The aftermath of Takeda’s death: Emily was once again heartbroken to find someone she genuinely cared about dead, and though this one didn’t die in front of her, she still felt like she should have been able to prevent such a thing. Still, her mission of revenge was set up because of Takeda, and she wanted to continue on in his memory, so she ended up going through his things to find clues as to who could have taken him out. Like she needed a new name to add to her list; she’s strayed far enough already! But this show needs to stretch its story at least over another season, and the emotional turmoil that will come with learning your boyfriend killed your father figure should be pretty juicy. In Takeda’s box, though, Emily found a photo with a face circled and first wrongly assumed he was the killer and that she’d have to warn her boyfriend he, too, could be in danger.

• Conrad’s political campaign: In the middle of Conrad’s (Henry Czerny) latest speech, the Hamptons gets a mass text message saying “Long live David Clarke,” and that’s when Grayson Global was bombed. Of course, Conrad immediately spun the event to try to win public support. He had already been making a speech about NYers’ strength, and “We are the first responders!” He bellowed at the cameras that were on-hand for his perfect press op. But he also admitted that his son had cleared out the company, which made things stink like the sewage that sometimes floats in the Atlantic, and it was a piece of leverage that it turned out he needed against his son, who told him he wanted out of the company altogether.

• Charlotte’s pregnancy: Charlotte (Christa B. Allen) didn’t make any decisions about what she wanted to do with the baby, but she certainly went on a rollercoaster of emotions about the baby daddy, provoked not by newfound hormones but instead her new BFF Regina (Seychelle Gabriel). It turned out Regina was not getting close to Charlotte just to suck off the teat of fame but because she had a crush on her. She concocted some kind of convoluted story for Charlotte about Declan beating her up and robbing her, and despite Charlotte knowing Declan better than anyone, she believed the story for awhile before Declan called Charlotte to tell him he knew (Victoria dropped the bombshell in his lap)– and that her friend wasn’t what she seemed because she saved a video of them kissing. It was completely childish because unless she was planning to sell it to a tabloid, it shouldn’t matter what she did with it in private, but she was so childish, too, she couldn’t admit to Charlotte what was really going on, and their friendship was not sadly short-lived. But I still wish she had ended up alongside Tyler and Amanda and the Initiative lady and even Takeda as not-so-loved and permanently lost characters.

• The Initiative: Yes, they were still talking about it! But the truth finally came out: the Initiative was just a ridiculous, ominous name given to a group of businesspeople doing shady and often illegal deals for their own best interests. They were hiding behind a secretive group title to avoid being caught and held personally responsible, or you know, tried for their sins. Conrad was in on it the whole time, using it to manipulate his son, among millions. Victoria wasn’t.

• Terrorism in the Hamptons: Grayson Global was bombed. Thankfully the company had been pretty much cleared out, but all that meant was no random extras were harmed in the filming of this episode. Instead, though, a few key characters were caught in the crossfire: Daniel, whose father told the public his son cleared out the building, which made it look like he knew it was coming; Declan, who for reasons unknown (maybe he was lured there by Victoria who wanted to harm him after learning he got her daughter pregnant) or maybe he was following his big brother like the lost puppy that he is, who also was lured there but by Ashley (Ashley Madekwe), and Aiden, who was set up as the terrorist. But after the police investigated, it was actually Nolan they were looking at as the real person of interest.

• The Promised Death: It was Declan! After getting hurt in the bombing, he ended up in the hospital long enough to talk about raising the baby with Charlotte and make Nolan promise to look after Jack, but then he succumbed to his injuries.

• A Second Death?: When Daniel showed up at Emily’s, only to find Aiden there instead, the two got in quite the pissing contest, only they used fists to settle the score. Daniel had a lot of pent-up aggression from a combination of things with Emily, Aiden, and his father, and unfortunately he took all of his shortcomings, frustrations, and insecurities out on Aiden, who tried to convince Daniel to let Emily go. Now, we didn’t actually see Aiden get shot, but during the fight, Daniel did find Emily’s gun, and later, Daniel had blood on his shirt. You could argue that blood could be from a fist-fight, sure, but Aiden isn’t the kind of guy who wouldn’t finish the fight if he could, just ask Takeda!

• This is Jack’s Uninformed Plan: Jack still thought he could trust Victoria for a good chunk of this finale. He was naive enough to think she didn’t know about David Clarke being set up, and he was naive enough to let her in on the fact that Ashley was in on things with him. But Declan’s death was the fuel that propelled him further down the road of personal revenge. He pulled a gun on Victoria to get her, and the audience, to realize how serious he was about things. He told her she had to be the one to tell Charlotte about Declan, and he was off to see Conrad about actually shooting someone.

• Emily and Aiden: As aforementioned, Emily was not happy to learn her boyfriend killed her father figure. She saw the bruises on him and figured it out before he could admit it, which made things worse. He tried to claim Takeda had his own agenda because his fiancee was on the doomed flight, and that, too, added up against him. Still, Emily promised to still help Nolan prove Aiden was innocent of any framing Daniel was attempting, which got a lot harder after the events at Grayson Global, which Daniel of course assumed was Aiden’s doing. Aiden tried to convince Emily to leave with him; he wasn’t quite going on the run, but he was still getting the hell out of the Hamptons while the heat was on him. She couldn’t, or there’d be no season three.

• Emily and Daniel: After an episode with an engagement party, Emily and Daniel didn’t spend much time together, so nothing really changed overtly in their relationship. But emotionally, the toll of everything took its turn on her, and she wouldn’t be able to deny Daniel’s involvement in things simply for his bloodline. The most important thing to come out of her time with Daniel tonight was that while she visited him, it provided a plot-pushing-forward moment where she recognized an IT guy as the guy in Takeda’s photo and realized something was about to go down.

• Emily and Jack: Though Jack demanded Emily stay away from his family, she couldn’t keep him far from her mind. When Nolan IDed the guy from Takeda’s photo through facial recognition software and got a match that the guy was an assassin of sorts– she worried he was after Jack, who was sent to Grayson Global on a fool’s errand by Ashley. She searched the building, amidst the smoke and debris until she had to literally be pulled out just to make sure he was okay. But he was too distracted to consider what that meant. It wasn’t until she tracked him down going after Conrad that things got really interesting. She was hell-bent on keeping his hands free and clean of blood; she never wanted him to get so mixed up in this mess. She did the only thing she could to get him to be sweet ole Jack again: she told him the truth. That she was Amanda Clarke. It was the cliffhanger moment, but I have to imagine there’s going to be a lot of initial disbelief from Jack, assuming she’s only saying things to confuse him, and then anger at being duped when she manages to prove her real identity. If I had to put money on it, I’d say her lying to him is only going to push him further away as it not only taints his memories of his childhood friend and long-time love but also his recent wife, for whom he had very real feelings (and you know, a son!) regardless of her name.

• Patrick: Home alone, Victoria couldn’t work up the words to tell her daughter about Declan, but she had a much bigger problem on her hands because her first-born son finally came a knockin’! Literally. He is in the Hamptons now, but how long has he been there!?

Buzz Moments

OMG!: Would they really make Daniel a killer? Sure, it would make him waaay more interesting, but it would remove not only an important Revenger ally but also a personal complication. And removing too many conflicts makes a story take a back step.

Thank you, TV gods: Ding, dong, Declan’s gone! They trimmed the fat, for sure. Now they just need to bump Ashley off, too, and the show will be a lean, mean, interesting story machine.

Awk-ward: Emily and Victoria actually had a conversation about how alike they are. We were all thinking it, but it’s not something we wanted, or expected, to hear aloud.

Hotness: You could hear congestion in VanCamp’s voice, but despite being under the weather, she delivered an on-point performance through all the emotional ups and downs and looked great doing it.

Fab-u-lous: Nolan still gets all the best lines. Tonight’s gem was about his only post-apocalyptic survival plans being to “call Emily.”

Can. Not. Wait.: Yeah, I should care about what Emily’s revelation means for her and Jack, but honestly, I just want to know who the new eye-candy will be next season aka who will they cast as Patrick? Or did they already cast someone; what if Patrick is the IT guy/assassin!?

Celebuzz Meter (1-10): 8 – They finally officially got rid of the Initiative, set up a juicy story for Nolan, killed the useless Declan, and had Emily reveal herself not only to someone important but the most important one. If only these things hadn’t taken so long to happen, I would have graded the whole season this high!

– Danielle Turchiano

With only one episode* left of ABC’s Revenge, the show sure is taking its sweet time diving into the juicy bits of Emily’s (Emily VanCamp)– and now Jack (Nick Wechsler), Nolan (Gabriel Mann), and Aiden’s (Barry Sloane)– titular plans. Instead, the antepenultimate episode spent way too much time focusing on Emily and Daniel’s (Josh Bowman) second fake engagement. It wasn’t a surprise, given that “Engagement” was the title of the episode, but admittedly I was hoping for something a little less literal and more to discuss the arrangements of revenge plans and performances in general.

* Technically, it’s two but they’re being presented one long, back-to-back, “Part One and Part Two” all-night event scenario that’s kind of a cheat.

Note: Spoilers ahead for Sunday night’s “Engagement.”

Naturally, there was a lot of “rubbing it in the Graysons’ faces” that Daniel and Emily were newly betrothed. He sat down and smirked (a face ripe for punching!) with his father about wanting full access to his trust fund. Ah, guess he can’t afford a proper ring on his measly Grayson Global salary, right? Probably, because he announced his plans to cut his ties with the company and move to Paris with Emily. The sad thing is, he really seemed like he believed he was the one calling the shots here, and Emily aside, he shouldn’t for one second believe Conrad (Henry Czerny), who claimed the trust fund money was being “invested” alongside the rest of the family money.

Emily, meanwhile, took a moment to gloat in front of Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) after asking the re-troubled Charlotte (Christa B. Allen) to be her maid-of-honor. Hopefully Emily meant it when she told Charlotte that being her sister through marriage would mean they would be in each others’ lives more because someone has to pay attention to that kid. She managed to get in the tabloids, get pregnant (we’ll get to that in a minute, but yes, seriously), and pick up a friend who unironically calls her “Charlie” with no one noticing at all. Victoria, of course, is up to her neck reading mail from every male born in 1973, climbing out of the woodwork, hoping she’s his long lost mommy to finally get a piece of the gold-flaked pie. But even that’s not really a proper excuse. She tossed one kid aside all those years ago, and she’s doing the same to the one under her roof right now, too.

The thing was, though, that Nolan– with a little help from his hacker buddy who he got locked up and then had the audacity to visit in prison and ask for help– learned that Victoria had actually paid off her son. She sent him five million dollars over to go away and not interfere with her fancy, schmancy life. After the stunt on Nightline, no amount of money would have gotten me to stay away; that interview was just begging for an appearance from the mystery man who clearly cashed in on his birthright but was still denied the fame that came along with his lineage. And in this day and age, everyone wants the fame more than the money, right?

Victoria was also distracted by Jack, who turned up at her house with the evidence of Conrad and the Governor’s wife meeting in secret. Jack claimed he brought it to her because she had the best shot of getting through to her husband, and he was just thinking of the campaign, but he was playing it smarter than most, getting under her skin and scratching at an already picked-over scab in their relationship. She planned to “handle it,” but Olivia Pope she is not. Visiting with the wife, she learned the opponent had a fatal heart condition that might not allow him to live past the end of the campaign, and the wife didn’t want to ruin their remaining days by exposing it to the press. She pleaded with Victoria to see reason: that the job is a death sentence, and if she loves her husband, she’ll convince him to only take on term. Assuming he wins. Me thinks Victoria sees a way out. Dare we say she may start to slowly poison Conrad, blaming his newfound symptoms on the stress of the job!?

Daniel did take about half a day to actually go into his office at Grayson Global, though– you know, putting up appearances that he actually cares about the company and whatnot while really just doing background checks on his employees, namely Aiden. Daniel learned that Aiden’s father was the man accused of putting the bomb on that doomed flight all those years earlier and fired him on the spot, while still managing to let his outrage that he could be misled cloud his judgement not only in not keeping a supposed enemy close but also nearly letting the details about the Initiative slip to this new enemy. That boy is not smart. It just goes to show: you can pay for a fancy education, but you can’t bribe the knowledge to sink in.

The biggest surprise of the episode, though, was that Aiden being found out was not a part of the plan. It was probably a good thing, because as aforementioned, Daniel is not smart enough to be brought up to speed. Plus, he’s such a flip-flopper when it comes to his stance on his family.

Instead, it was Takeda (Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa) who ratted Aiden out, and the two come to blows after the engagement party (of course, it can never just be a normal day, right?). Daniel was tied up bailing the newly pregnant Charlotte out of jail for being mistakenly arrested for public intoxication and underage drinking. Her puking outside the club she really had no business being in was a result of morning sickness coming at night– or maybe the nausea side effects of the “morning after” pill. That was left unclear. Her new social climber pal got her pills, but we never saw what kind they were. Presumably Charlotte has been pregnant for awhile, but I wouldn’t put it past her not to know how the morning after pill works. Intelligence is genetic. And apparently, so is the ability to repeat mistakes of previous generations. Let’s hope Charlotte doesn’t give up her baby to go to Ivy League and then have Grandma pay him off as a teenager, too…

Anyway, Emily and Nolan were rehashing recent events, including her most recent attempt to warn Jack about not getting in over his head. Jack ended up calling a truce with Victoria, but who knows if either of them meant it? While all of these things were happening, Aiden and Takeda were sword-fighting. That is not a euphemism. They literally pulled swords on each other. How…gallant? It certainly should have provided for a tense scene because everyone knows such duels are to the death (and here that remained true, with Aiden taking out his former mentor once and for all), but it was hard not to laugh at the sheer extravagance of it.

When all was said and done, Aiden and Nolan worked together to drain some of the Graysons’ bank account…just as the power went out in New York. Yes, folks, the great Revolution-style threat that the show had been looming all season finally paid off, after weeks without mention. It seemed that computer program Nolan was so worried about was enacted; the writers had not forgotten about it after all, nor decided to scrap it due to the similar story already playing out on NBC. The Falcon held the power (no pun intended) in that situation, and it seemed that even from prison, she was stronger and more capable than her initial easy capture would have implied. Unfortunately, it seemed Takeda could have helped in this situation, if only Aiden hadn’t let his emotions get the best of him. Maybe Takeda was right that Aiden was getting in the way of success…

The Hamptons is in the dark now, and for a group of people so dependent on luxuries, we expect things to get very ugly, very fast.

Buzz Moments

OMG!: Carrion was triggered by the assault on the Graysons’ bank account. Victoria certainly knew what she was doing by hiring The Falcon after all; she protected her most important asset: her money (not her kids).

Thank you, TV gods: Charlotte finally got a real story and a real purpose! Even if it means Declan (Connor Paolo) has reproduced. We’ll try not to focus on that part, though…

Awk-ward: Victoria calling Emily out for not really being in love made me wonder if things go really badly, if Emily could get just as trapped in another bad Grayson relationship and actually end up just like Victoria a decade or so down the line.

Hotness: Aiden should get extra credit for not only using Takeda’s teachings, but also his own sword, against him.

Fab-u-lous: Prison orange is not a flattering color on anyone, but Nolan really rubbed the tragedy of that fashion stumpment in with his stylish prison visit ensemble. Everyone may have hated Smash‘s scarves, but Nolan pulls them off!

Can. Not. Wait.: Who will die on the season finale!? We were promised a major death that will affect Emily reevaluating her own revenge plans. It better be someone closer than Takeda!

Celebuzz Meter (1-10): 6 – This close to the end, this show really needs to step it up with the drama and the deaths and the relationship drama that causes us to care about these characters. Because right now, I agree with Aiden that Emily needs to just give up this mission.

What did you think of “Engagement?” Let us know in the comments below.

– Danielle Turchiano

So much time has elapsed since ABC’s Revenge was last on-air with a new season two episode that when discussion around Padma (Dilshad Vadsaria) resumed in tonight’s “Identity,” I was like, “Her!?” I was hoping we had heard the last about her, when Nolan (Gabriel Mann) was so distraught she had “joined her father” and was then taken in for questioning regarding her case. But no.

Just like how one head of The Initiative was lobbed off only for it to grow another, this is a story that just wouldn’t die (excuse the poor choice of words, please), either. So Emily (Emily VanCamp), Aiden (Barry Sloane), and Nolan set out to track down the Falcon’s true identity and get to the bottom of both of those things.

Emily– and Revenge– may have gotten off-track but the success or failure of the mission within “Identity” would prove to be the marker for her mission in the future.

Note: Spoilers ahead if you have yet to watch Sunday night’s “Identity.”

There was no real time jump with “Identity” but for about twenty or so hours in which Nolan was held for questioning, Emily jumped back into bed with Daniel (Josh Bowman), and Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) called upon the Falcon to fake abortion records for her first born son. But once the episode started in earnest, all of those things were shoved forward exponentially. Nolan was released but still licking his wounds, and in his grief, revealed himself to the Falcon through reprogramming some of her code. Yes, her. We’ll get to that in a minute. Daniel decided Emily choosing him over Aiden wasn’t enough, and he tried to throw Aiden under the bus at work, too, but unfortunately for him to whom he tried to throw Aiden under the bus was Aiden’s former boss, Mr. Takeda, and we all know where his true loyalties lie. And after Conrad first tried to demand Victoria reveal her childhood trauma at the hands of her stepfather that resulted in a teenage pregnancy on national television, the documents she gave him to shut him up were revealed as forgeries. It was not a good episode for most of these characters!

Except Nolan. Because in Padma’s death, Nolan found strength. Having a real life, emotional, meaningful, loving connection with someone gave him something to fight for, and right now that’s taking down those responsible for her death, the Falcon and the Graysons. So he met with the Falcon at an old school arcade and made a deal based on his superior gaming skills to have her erase damaging information about him online. Of course, that was mostly a trap to draw her out in the world and get a look at her so Emily, who hid in a corner of the arcade and watched in a way that made me glad there were no kids there or the cops would have been called for stranger danger, had more leverage against the Graysons. It was ridiculous that the Falcon would actually show up in public to meet someone who ultimately hacked her, especially when she had already proven distrusting of everyone by using a voice disguiser when she talked to Victoria, a woman who already knew her real identity, on the phone. But it was just yet another imperfect detail we were supposed to overlook to push the plot along.

It was also ridiculous that the Falcon would trust anything Nolan, a stranger, would give her to upload to her computer, and sure enough, when she set to work on making good on their deal, she uploaded software to her private computer that gave him remote access. You’d think a superior hacker like her would have firewalls for that! It’s sloppy details like this that make me hope she’s just some hacker minion and that the real Falcon is actually still shrouded in mystery and secret– and maybe even Victoria’s now-grown first born son.

Conrad and Victoria sat down to do their Nightline interview, with the reporter being tipped to Victoria’s son just seconds before the camera were ready to roll. Conrad started to spin the lie, but at the last second, Victoria just couldn’t go through with it– she couldn’t deny a child, let alone that she gave him up for an art school scholarship. Gee, that panned out well for her. I have an original Grayson right next to my Matisse prints and custom Fazzino. While it was a shocking moment of emotion (and growth) from her, though, the rest of the piece on family was as fluffy as they come, including a sit down with Daniel and Emily full of completely canned quotes from the pretty boy. The reporter focused more on potential wedding bells in their future than anything else, forcing Emily to have to say she would be proud to be a part of the Grayson family while Daniel sat grinning like an idiot. Of course, this sent Emily scrambling to cover with Jack, trying to explain that it’s not as it appears without still giving away the real goods. But Jack was already wary of Emily after she got back together with Daniel, a man who is a part of the family responsible for Amanda’s demise, so this was the final straw, and he cut Emily out of his and Baby Carl’s life.

Instead, Jack laid all his hopes on Ashley (Ashley Madekwe), with whom he teamed up to dig up dirt on the Graysons and make them pay, each with their own motives. Together they learned that Conrad is sneaking around with the Governor’s wife, which wasn’t as sordid sexually as it sounds in print but was still suspect because the Governor’s campaign was experiencing leaks all around. Clearly his wife and Conrad were in cahoots to get Conrad elected, though who the hell knows or cares why. Unfortunately for Jack, Ashley’s loyalties have always flip-flopped with a glimmer of any shiny jewelry catching the light. So she brought her proof of his cavorting to him, and he welcomed her back into his campaign. She accepted. Sure, he just wanted to keep an enemy close. And sure, she may just want to stay close to him to get info for Jack, but she may find that the power that comes with Grayson-adjacent real estate is too good to pass up. Who’s to say who’s really playing who there?

Randomly, Charlotte (Christa B. Allen) started out trying to be all about college this week– well, for about three-point-five seconds anyway when she was promising Declan (Connor Paolo) she’d help him with his entrance essays so they could attend Ivy League together. But then she turned back to her wild party girl ways, distracted by a social climbing prep school girl (Seychelle Gabriel) who claimed to want to understand Charlotte’s pain because her brother ODed on pills the previous year but who really seemed to want to push and pry about the celebrity behind being a Grayson. Everyone knows you’re famous by association when you hang out with the Graysons, and I really don’t even believe this girl had a brother, let alone one who ODed. I mean, honestly, Charlotte: do you not have one brain in your head?

It was unnecessary to focus even for a bit on Charlotte because it just proved she really has nothing going on. The potential of some other Victoria offspring out there is so much more alluring, and we know nothing about him other than she named him Patrick. And considering Victoria went to Nolan at the end of the episode and asked him for help finding her long-lost son… let’s jut say the other Grayson kids should expect to take the backseat for the foreseeable future. The really far backseat– like in the car at a totally different stoplight.

Buzz Moments

OMG!: Charlotte is really starting to look, dress, sound, and carry herself like Victoria. It’s disconcerting, especially since she is claiming to want to distance herself, even taking her biological dad’s surname.

Thank you, TV gods: It only took almost two full seasons but somebody (Aiden) finally verbalized that there’s no true peace with vengeance. Of course, this just makes the rest of the episodes to come more worrisome because it sets up a perpetual sense of emptiness for Emily.

Awk-ward: Daniel needed to prove his manhood and his relationship so much he broke the news of the engagement (to everyone) during a live TV interview. But what was worse, he made Emily do the heavy lifting, even though it was all (uncomfortable) news to her.

Hotness: Emily can keep fake-hooking up with Daniel all she wants because it not only proves brooding Aiden (hot) but also chances for Daniel to wander around shirtless in early mornings (hotter).

Fab-u-lous: Little Vicky was just as selfish and cold-blooded as the Victoria Grayson she grew up to be. Often with characters so closed off, shows reach into their past to show a turning point or traumatic event to ‘explain’ why they became the way they did: they lost their innocence, faith in humanity, etc. But At sixteen, with a six month old baby she refused to acknowledge as her own in front of sophisticated strangers, Victoria was every bit the manipulative, queen of spin to put her image first we have always known her to be.

Can. Not. Wait.: Where will we find not-so-young Patrick? Will he be calculating like his mother? Will he have achieved as much success? Will he already be someone in her life, lurking in the wings, watching from afar? Will he be yet another man to catch Emily’s eye!?

Celebuzz Meter (1-10): 8

What did YOU think of “Identity?” Let us know in the comments below!

– Danielle Turchiano

Revenge actress Christa B. Allen never fails to disappoint when it comes to fashion on and off camera, but one accessory she’s ready to do away with forever… well, was actually meant to be there forever.

On the top of her biggest regrets list, she confesses to Celebuzz, is her tattoo which — like Angelina Jolie before her — is quickly getting removed.

“It’s the worst thing I’ve ever done,” Allen told CB! of the prophetic etching on her right foot.

“It’s written in Gaelic because I’m of Irish descent and it means ‘you’re feet will bring you to where you’re heart is,’ which I believe. It will be gone, but the sentiment is always there.”

And since the 21-year-old has a low pain threshold, getting the body ink gone for good sounds like it’ll now top her most painful experiences list.

“As painful as getting a tattoo is, getting it removed is at least 30 times more painful,” said the actress.

So she confesses it would be nice to have a helping hand to squeeze… that is, if Brad Pitt can spare his wife-to-be.

“I mean it took me two months to work up the courage to go back for a second session. We need to go together. Someone call Angelina, I need someone’s hand to squeeze.” 

But don’t look for her to make the same mistake twice. You won’t be seeing this actress with Jolie’s too-many-too-count body art.

“I’ve never disliked the tattoo. I just think it’s inappropriate for actresses to have tattoos,” Allen said.

For more on why Allen is saying a painful goodbye to her tattoo, watch the video above.

Whose celeb name would you get tattooed on your body? Or do you have one already? Let us know below.

Last week’s Revenge on ABC dropped a bombshell into our laps by revealing that Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) had another son that she gave up for adoption. Doing the math from her then age of sixteen or now, it seemed clear he was not someone who had been already lurking in plain sight in the Hamptons, but no doubt would soon be dragged there—most likely by the likes of Emily (Emily VanCamp).

However, even Emily needs some time to put the pieces of her plan in motion when she gets such startling new information. Thankfully the show didn’t make the audience sit around and wait while she worked in the background. Instead, “Masquerade” took a six-week time jump to skip past the typically boring procedural parts, including those within Nolan’s (Gabriel Mann) search for the missing Padma (Dilshad Vadsaria).

Note: Spoilers ahead if you have yet to see Sunday night’s “Masquerade.” 

Yes, six weeks later, Padma is still nowhere to be found, and Nolan has taken to scrawling his notes about the “case” on windows. He’s unkempt, bleary-eyed, and lovesick because he found a note that she wrote saying she’d wait for him forever. It wasn’t a good look on him, but thankfully it didn’t last long, as he had his answers about what really happened to her by the end of the episode, and that sent him into a more active, angry rage.

What else was different six weeks down the line? Jack (Nick Wechsler) iced out Emily and was working in full force for Conrad’s (Henry Czerny) campaign; Charlotte (Christa B. Allen) was still mourning; Amanda; Daniel (Josh Bowman) and Emily were no longer trying to rekindle; and most importantly, Victoria was busy planning the Graysons’ annual masquerade ball. And wouldn’t you know it? That provided the perfect way to slip mention of her son in, as an old RSVP card showed up with a postmark from the ‘70s, signed “Your Loving Son.”

Of course that RSVP was something Emily created to mess with Victoria, and she also sent black roses with a card signed the same way. One of the roses Emily kept but provided Victoria with a cut stem so that she would feel a little pang of panic when she saw a man at her party with a black rose tucked into his lapel. It was an interesting dichotomy to know that Victoria gave the baby away decades ago only to see her chase a faceless man through her crowded party now, desperate to know if he was her son. I don’t fool myself into thinking it was purely out of maternal love rather than concern she could be exposed, but Stowe did exhibit conflict to imply it could be a combination of curiosity and concern. Any mother would want to know if her kid turned out okay, if she did the right thing—even Victoria. Unfortunately it ended with her over-the-top fainting in Aiden’s (Barry Sloane) arms instead of getting closure.

Victoria’s firstborn didn’t show himself in the episode, and honestly, it wasn’t even clear if Emily actually found him at all. She followed Victoria to the church where Victoria first “dropped off” her son, and after the nun told Victoria her son only came asking about his mother once, years earlier, Victoria left somewhat satisfied, while Emily sidled up to the nun and fed her the “I’m pregnant and don’t know what to do” line that should grant her a first-hand look at what “process” Victoria went through years earlier. That seemed to imply she didn’t know as much about this side of things as we might assume, given how ahead of everyone she’s been in other areas. But it’s hard to imagine what this fact-finding mission will really give her anyway, as nuns don’t break confidences of other people they’ve helped.

Though we didn’t “officially” meet Victoria’s son, I believe we met a good candidate. Evan (Brandon Keener), Conrad’s over-eager campaign worker definitely seemed to come out of nowhere and seem to be thrust into the story more than one would expect with Jack and Ashley (Ashley Madekwe) still by his side. If he turns out to be the long-lost Grayson, I can’t imagine he found his way onto the campaign by chance!

Daniel met with the new head of the Initiative, who he believed sent him the “warning” bullets in the previous episode, and actually called him out on it. He didn’t take the bait, naturally, claiming that Daniel only knew the story his parents spun for him but instead the Initiative is focusing on rebuilding, rather than destroying because there’s more money in that side of business. The meeting should have been a pissing contest between two men on power trips, but unfortunately Daniel still has nothing on the Initiative, and his ignorance at this stage in the show is just sad. The Initiative pulled out of Grayson Global, and Daniel reached out to Emily over what he assumed was a “win.”

But it was Aiden who took real action, pulling a gun on the new head of the Initiative and telling him to take him to where they were keeping Padma. Though he got what he demanded, when they got there, it was revealed that Padma had finally gotten what she wanted and was reunited with her father—you know, “on the other side.”

Unfortunately for Nolan, he won’t have as much time to grieve for his lost love as everyone has had for Amanda. He spent a good chunk of the last six weeks constantly calling the detective assigned to Padma’s case to try to find out where they were with leads, and that is suspicious on its own. But the coroner’s report, revealing she only died the day before is worse for Nolan, who can’t really account for his whereabouts, eavesdropping on Conrad’s political salon. Only Jack can vouch for him, having seen him briefly. But Jack was distracted with his new backbone, planting a reporter to ask about David Clarke and throw Conrad off his game so much he basically promised to reopen that case if he was elected.

“Masquerade” was an episode filled with exposition and dialogue explaining things the show deemed not important enough for the audience to actually see. Usually time jumps push the plot along so that a show can get to the juiciest bits faster, but there were too many loose ends to tie up first, so the episode limped along, and no amount of ominous music or stony glares from Victoria could save it. The additional use of the masks during the actual Grayson party just cut down on the emotional impact even more, leaving me to wonder how or why to care about these people.

Buzz Moments

OMG!: SO MANY LEAVES, you guys! The set decorator went overboard proving the tine jump by basically dumping a garbage bag full of leaves on the balcony of the Grayson manor set. What happened to their gardener? Did Victoria kill him and roll him up in a rug, too?

Thank you, TV gods: Conrad promised that once he was elected he would fire Ashley! So that means she will finally have to slink out of the Hamptons, and this show, forever, right!?

Awk-ward: Earlier in the season we saw just how terrible Victoria’s mother was to her, and with “Masquerade” we got an extra special dose of that when it was revealed that Victoria’s step-father was the one who got her pregnant, and then her mother didn’t actually help her “take care” of the problem. Let’s hope she stays far, far away at next Thanksgiving, or there is going to be a new kind of discomfort at the Grayson family table.

Hotness: Daniel grew a pair momentarily with his mother to give her a couple of masks and tell her to “use one for each of her faces.”

Fab-u-lous: Grief is turning Charlotte a bit darker. While I was originally afraid she’d spiral, reaching for pills again, she instead stood up for her (presumed real) family by physically fighting someone speaking ill of the dead. She could teach her brother a thing or two!

Can. Not. Wait.: How will Victoria’s other son fit into Emily’s overall Revenge plans!?

Celebuzz Meter (1-10): 6 – Too much talk, not nearly enough action! But there were some great “give me an Emmy” moments from both Stowe and Mann.

What did you think of “Masquerade?” Sound off in the comments below!

– Danielle Turchiano

ABC’s Revenge took a bit of a detour tonight as Emily (Emily VanCamp) and her newly re-surfaced foster brother Eli (Collins Pennie) decided to take action against their former foster mother who milked the state out of chunks of cash for taking in these waywards, only to abuse them and steal from them.

Honestly, I’m not sure why this is the first we’re hearing of her. Maybe Emily felt like she got enough personal revenge by setting this woman’s house on fire as a kid, but considering she went on to foster dozens more—and that the house wasn’t even burnt enough to be unfixable– her sense of right and wrong and justice and all that jazz should have had this woman’s name on a list alongside the Graysons and Mason Treadwell and the like.

Note: Spoilers ahead if you have yet to see Sunday night’s “Victory.”

Here’s what worked about Emily and Eli’s little side adventure: Eli’s commitment was so steely-eyed that whether he was looking Emily dead in the face and reminding her of the promise they made to each other years earlier or cutting a deal with the foster mother to milk the Graysons for as much as possible, you believed him. I honestly could have seen that story ending up either way; with him scamming Emily this whole time or with him being in on it with Emily, like he claimed to be. He’s that good, but he’s also that unknown. And when he stood up at the press conference to finally expose the horrors for what they were, bringing together a number of adult survivors of this particular foster mother’s wrath, I just as strongly felt his pain.

Unfortunately what didn’t work was the “twist” that it was actually Eli who set the fire for which Amanda spent five years in Juvie. All this time we were led to believe she was angry, and she took action. But it turned out she didn’t do it—she didn’t even know he did, so she wasn’t covering for him; she was just another kind of victim. And again, I feel it necessary to point out: the house didn’t even burn down like the show was claiming! It needed refurbishing, sure, but that basement dungeon room was in perfect condition, even after all of these years, so don’t cry for Ms. Hayward anyway, at all.

Emily started to spiral a bit, wondering how different her life would have turned out if she didn’t spend time in Juvie and if her foster mother hadn’t hidden correspondence from her father for her. For once she and Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) saw eye-to-eye and both asked Eli to leave. Bummer, I was really enjoying him. He infused a new energy into what has become a quite rote program. But before he went out, he left with a very sweet parting gift: a letter from the foster mother admitting that she sold off all of David Clarke’s letters to…Mason Treadwell years earlier. Dun dun dun, amiright!?

Not really. But the real “dun dun dun” moment came when Emily actually visited Mason (Roger Bart) in prison. He reminded everyone that she burned down his house (well, hey, she thought she had an M.O. to uphold!) but also revealed that Victoria, too, had a child in foster care. Apparently she was once a Teen Mom, and there’s another brooding male spawn out there somewhere. Let’s hope he has Daniel’s smile but his mother’s cunning. In fact, let’s hope he’s been planning his own Revengeplan all this time. That would certainly spice things up!

Moving on, though, when Jack (Nick Wechsler) hit a snag with trying to find Kenny Ryan (JR Bourne)—I guess he doesn’t read our recaps or he would have road tripped down to Beacon Hills—his baby bro Declan (Connor Paolo) came through by swiping Trey’s phone. Trey, you probably won’t remember, was the kid with whom Declan broke into Kenny’s house. He started texting Kenny to lure him out, and Jack ambushed him on the school’s field, announcing that just like someone had to pay for his dad’s murder, so did someone have to pay for Amanda’s. Kenny didn’t want to be involved; apparently he’s a big ole wimp when his own baby bro isn’t around behind which to hide. He did admit that he swiped some recordings of Kenny’s dealings with Conrad (Henry Czerny) for safekeeping, and you know, leverage, though.

The clock was ticking down on Padma’s (Dilshad Vadsaria) dad’s life, and while Emily took a secluded lunch with Daniel (Josh Bowman) to get back into his confidence, Aiden (Barry Sloane) and Nolan (Gabriel Mann) had to take on the exchange of Carrion for Padma’s dad on their own. They worked hard to get both new identities, to ship them off to parts unknown for Nolan, who lamented the loss of his new love by pushing Aiden’s sniper rifle aside and actually making him miss the shot that would have saved Padma from potentially having to leave at all. But the thing was: they didn’t have eyes on her father, so Nolan didn’t want to risk ruining the reunion. Instead, she got in the car with the new head of the Initiative (didn’t her dad ever teach her never to go to a second location!?) and ended up in the hot seat in the same room in which her father had recently been held. She disappeared, presumably into the bowels of the Initiative, dare I say hopefully to never be heard from again?

As a much more panicked (and therefore sweaty) than usual Nolan raced to try to get answers, he learned the Falcon was now working for the Initiative—just as Daniel was learning he was still being tracked, stalked really, left with an ominous message of two bullets. Well, it would have been more ominous if it didn’t come from his own mother—and if it wasn’t accompanied by a photo of him and Emily on their intimate lunch date. After all, that kind of implies a Romeo and Julietarc, and that’s a tale older than time.

Buzz Moments

OMG!: In the absolute lamest “What’s in the box!?” moment ever, the only head found inside was the little turtle’s from the USB drive, containing the tracking device. I don’t want you to think I’m championing murder, but come on, that’s the only thing that spices this show up!

Thank you, TV gods: With the exception of wanting to work on finding proof with Declan, Jack has been thinking pretty smart about what kind of proof he needs to bring down the Graysons.

Awk-ward: Emily’s interest (or lack there of) in the Carrion project and Padma’s father’s kidnapping just amount matched my own.

Hotness: Aiden and Nolan on a mission together was the Action Jackson bromance spin-off I never even knew I wanted. More, please (even if they did kind of screw up the mission)!

Fab-u-lous: Emily’s complete inability to hide her true feelings during breakfast with the Graysons said so much—about her and also the Graysons, who would have had some choice questions based on her facial expressions if they weren’t such self-absorbed people.

Can. Not. Wait.: Who is this mysterious Falcon and how is he (or she!?) able to play both sides—the Graysons and the Initiatives? Could it be that it’s Victoria’s other son!?

Celebuzz Meter (1-10): 7—I’ll be honest: I knew about this “other Grayson” twist from before the season started, and the fact that it has taken so long to actually show that card made me assume they scraped the story line. The fact that it popped up tonight, out of nowhere, was enough to intrigue me—even when my new favorite Eli was being taken away.

What did you think of “Victory?” Let us know in the comments below!

– Danielle Turchiano

After Amanda’s foster brother Eli (Collins Pennie) showed up at the very tail end of last week’s Revenge on ABC, I was hoping above all hope that the show wouldn’t drag out another reveal with him.

In all honesty, I was expecting it to be that he wasn’t who he claimed; he was just some kid looking to cash in on a dead girl and adopted the position as her childhood foster brother. Who’d be around to challenge that, right? Instead, the show delivered that Eli knew Emily (Emily VanCamp) was actually the real Amanda Clarke based on her infinity tattoo.

But that still doesn’t mean he is who he says, and with a show so heavily steeped in deception like this, it seems a bit shortsighted just to take him at face value! Even Emily herself pointed out they knew each other before they were even thirteen. She has no idea what he would truly look like now.

Note: Spoilers ahead if you have yet to see Sunday night’s “Illumination.”

Not much else went down on “Illumination” than what I have begun calling “the Eli problem,” so it was easy to stay too hung up on our my own crazy theories.

… Actually, wait, that’s not entirely true. Nothing much went on in present day, but “Illumination” played with a lot of flashbacks of Young Amanda and Young Eli in their foster home. It turns out Young Amanda had terribly thick, unrealistically dark hair and liked to play with matches. Normally, I wouldn’t point out a character’s appearance, but I kept waiting for her to set her own hair on fire and then watch her head explode as that cheap flashback wig was surely highly flammable.

She was an angry girl who incessantly carved infinity symbols into everything, too, to remind herself that her father lied to her. It was enough to etch itself into Eli’s brain, and even though years later he is a wanted criminal running “rare book” scams on rich people, he came back to see how things turned out for Amanda. Emily didn’t admit to him everything; she simply told him that she wanted to put her old life and her old name behind her, hence the switch, and she bribed him with a new life if he just started over elsewhere. She’s been distracted enough; she didn’t have the patience for this gnat buzzing around her ear.

Unfortunately for Emily, my instincts about Eli proved to be better than most people’s on this show. He took Emily’s “get out of here” money and donated $100,000 to the new Amanda foundation — to make him co-chair. He entangled himself more permanently not only in Emily’s life by doing this, but also the Graysons. Anyone want to place odds on just when he’ll become a casualty, too?

Meanwhile, Jack (Nick Wechsler) set up a life insurance fund for poor Baby Carl just in case he happens to become orphaned as his daddy dives into the dark side, Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) was setting up a fund to help children like Amanda, in Amanda’s name. Yes, Jack, “like a charity” — only “like” one because it’s secretly an account for the Graysons to squirrel away some funds in case their accounts get frozen. Declan (Connor Paolo) was hung up on why Nolan (Gabriel Mann) had told him Jack and Amanda checked into their honeymoon hotel all fine and happy. Clearly, Declan wanted to ride his big bro’s coattails down Revenger lane, but Jack wasn’t having it. Thankfully. Because, neither would I.

The dark side I spoke of above for Jack was spurred by the fact that his own investigation into his ocean rescue led to Nolan paying someone off and saving his life. Well, to be fair, he is told a “sandy haired” rich guy did it, and Jack immediately thought of Nolan, even without the guy being called “impeccably dressed.” The secrets around what went down on the ocean really started to get to Jack, and he ended up giving a rambling, emotional speech at the (yet another) gala for his wife’s new cause. Nolan managed to cover his ass by claiming it was actually the remaining Ryan who saved Jack. With Teen Wolf up and shooting, J.R. Bourne isn’t available to set the record straight on Revenge. Still, all of this manipulation will only tear Jack further apart, of this I have no doubt! But, Bipolar Jack is at least Interesting Jack.

Poor Daniel (Josh Bowman) was drowning his despair in drink. When this show started, they implied he was an addict. He had certainly been a party boy with at least one stint in rehab. It’s such a shame no one around him now cares enough to keep an eye on him. I would at least think Victoria would want to keep him sober, so he doesn’t accidentally spill the truth about Helen Crowley to God knows whom! He confided in Emily about the Initiative and dropped hints that he might have to sacrifice someone else to save himself. If he were smarter or as “in the know” as he thinks he is, he would have only been testing her, planning to set her up. But he’s Daniel, so all he got out of it was Emily telling him she cares about him — which is one of the only thinks he probably really wanted to hear anyway.

Buzz Moments

OMG!: All this talk from Emily and Eli about “Invisible Children” and — they know that’s already a real charity, right? Come on guys, research; get on that. The internet doesn’t make it hard.

Thank you, TV gods.: I love Nolan a lot, but I have to say I smiled really hard at seeing him get tripped up during one of his usual hacks. He’s good, but he’s been so head and shoulders above everyone else that it’s just nice to see 1.) he’s human, and 2.) he’s about to have an adversary — and a real story of his own.

Awk-ward: Amanda and Eli had a pact to not leave each other when they were in foster care. But all these years later, at the Graysons’ gala, they took passive aggressive shots at each other, all while he was pocketing her hush money.

Hotness: Jack trying to get to the bottom of things and take his life in his own hands (even if he’s not quite succeeding. Yet.) is a welcome change for the character. There is nothing attractive about a doormat. He is finally no longer one.

Fab-u-lous: Aiden’s special sanctuary for/with Emily is a place in which I want to spend more time.

Can. Not. Wait.: Is it possible this “Falcon” is someone we’ve actually already met!?

Celebuzz Meter (1-10): 6 — While I give the show major credit for not dragging out Eli and Emily’s interactions, there was a lot of repetition as the episode told multiple characters things that the audience only needed to hear once. It felt like filler when these conversations could have happened off-screen in order to actually move the story forward. Jack has been dancing around directing his anger over his wife’s death (for example) for two episodes now. There needs to be less talking and more action!

What did you think of “Illumination”? Let us know in the comments below!

– Danielle Turchiano

Watch again below: Amanda’s funeral

Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp) has had a rough few days on ABC’s Revenge. First, she had to watch her childhood love Jack (Nick Wechsler) marry her best friend who also happened to be posing as her, Amanda (Margarita Levieva), and then she had to bury said best friend at sea. That should be enough for the poor girl, right? She should be able to curl up under a cashmere blanket with Aiden (Barry Sloane) and sleep it off until next year’s Hamptons white party.

Unfortunately, there’s no time for that in this world, but that’s actually better than okay because Emily has been newly reinvigorated with her Revengenda. And when Emily has new energy for the same old purpose, so does the show.

Note: Spoilers ahead if you have yet to see Sunday night’s “Retribution.”

The first fifteen minutes of “Retribution” let Amanda’s family think she was merely missing, not dead. Thoughts could have been racing with what could have happened to her — if she ran away or befell a horrible fate. Emily knew the truth, but kept it to herself. Unfortunately, she couldn’t do so for too long, though, having to break the news to Jack in his hospital bed (where he was recovering from being shot).

While Emily had time to get her anger under control, Jack was a ball of emotion at the definitive answer on her fate. It allowed the usually cool, calm, and collected character to ride out almost all stages of grief. Jack went from being a hysterically sobbing mess to a wild-eyed revenge monster himself, convinced Conrad (Henry Czerny) was responsible for Amanda’s death — which, actually, so was Emily — and he wanted to take the elder Grayson down. The two are going to team up now, right!? Well, hopefully by the end of the season, but certainly not by the end of the episode.

For now, it’s not looking likely that he’ll have much luck in getting to the bottom of things. Emily relies on Nolan (Gabriel Mann) for that — he even figured out the Graysons killed Helen and were planning to set up Amanda like they did David years earlier. Dry crying Jack– sobbing so hard it almost sounded like laughing — is not hot. But, give it a week for his grief to settle and anger to set in and Dark Jack should be very nice.

Conrad and Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) had bigger problems than Jack Porter, though. The Initiative has sent someone new after them, and though Victoria did everything possible to point fingers at Amanda, the untimely death left her scrambling without a scapegoat. Jack and his barely idle threats were barely a blip on Conrad’s press conference.

Unfortunately with Emily and Jack so preoccupied, it left Charlotte (Christa B. Allen) to have to ID Amanda’s body at the morgue. Charlotte hit the pills pretty hard before, and this was reason enough to start again, but instead she leaned on something worse: Victoria. She barely knew Amanda as her sister — she certainly didn’t have any fun, sisterly bonding type times with her — and yet she was responsible for the heavy stuff. It’s no wonder she, too, looked like she wanted revenge (but on whom!?) for the murder and immediately started researching those in Amanda’s young life to feel more of a connection to her.

Daniel (Josh Bowman) seemed to have gotten over the fact that he was involved in covering up a murder pretty well. Maybe, he is better at the Grayson life than could be expected. Instead of needing to talk things out — or better yet, write things out in a new poem— he first threatened his parents over their potential involvement in Jack’s shooting. But then, he focused on Nolan, specifically trying to keep his computer program that could wipe out Manhattan’s power out of the Initiative’s hands. Nolan was working feverishly to finish it, so Padma’s dad wouldn’t lose any more limbs. But, he was panicking in his own way about being involved with the Initiative, so he ended up leaning on Aiden. The two are a fun new bromance from which I want to see more, expositional outbursts aside.

I have to be honest, I completely blocked that program from my mind, though — much the way I block the entire NBC series of Revolution from my mind. Revengeis never going to go post-apocalyptic, full dark — it’s not a genre show — so I feel like this is unnecessary filler.

However, Amanda’s funeral, which wasn’t as big a part of the episode as I hoped or expected, managed to be both an emotional character moment for Emily but also one of pushing the plot along as along showed up Emily’s old foster brother (Collins Pennie). Assuming he is who he claims, will he derail her plans or prove to be in on them from years ago? If it’s not the latter, I’m going to throw something at my TV because she hasn’t made any real progress on her mission this season. And just when it looked like she finally would get back on track, here he was to challenge that. Emily promised she would make the Graysons pay so many times during this episode alone it could have been its own drinking game. The show better deliver on this promises or risk her credibility.

In the aftermath of the funeral, Jack stumbled across the key to Emily’s hiding place, found her computer, and learned she was in Juvie with Amanda. But, of course, Aiden came to the rescue and stole his proof. Jack won’t assume he imagined it all in his grief, but his assumption that Conrad was behind the destruction of evidence at least keeps the finger pointing at the Graysons. They may not be taken down for terrible things they actually did, but hey, as long as they get what’s coming to them in general, right?

Buzz Moments

OMG!: Another new character!? How about servicing all the ones you have with solid stories first?

Thank you, TV gods.: Jack got closer than ever about learning the truth about Amanda and Emily, so hopefully he won’t be deterred by his evidence going into the sea (along with his dead wife … too soon?). Keep digging, Jacky boy; I believe in you!

Awk-ward: Charlotte visiting Amanda in the morgue was the longest time the two ever spent together, wasn’t it?

Hotness: Jack confronting Emily about the lies she kept added an intensity to him that actually matched hers, proving why they would not only work together but be hot together. Did you see a little flash of excitement in Emily’s eyes at seeing him like that or was it just me?

Fab-u-lous: Emily looked classically stylish in her little black dress at the cemetary.

Can. Not. Wait.: Will Team Emily soon be five strong, expanding to include Eli, or will he just be another casualty in this war?

Celebuzz Meter (1-10): 7 — This episode was a bit uneven with its deeply grounded mourning and Emily’s returned intensity, peppered with almost cartoonish Initiative and mustache-twirly Grayson moments. The fact that it showed potential for both Jack and Charlotte to want their own revenge was a big deal, though. Those characters have been doormats, pushed to the back burner, and mostly just underused. Hopefully no more!

What did you think of “Retribution?” Let us know your review in the comments below.

– Danielle Turchiano

Watch a tribute to ABC Sunday night’s villains:

Revenge hit a boiling point just before it went off on hiatus. But, the soapy ABC series returns on Sunday.

The cast and producers attended “An Evening With Revenge” presented by The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in North Hollywood on Monday where they dished on Season 1 and what to expect on Season 2.

When it returns, we’ll see the aftermath of Amanda’s (Margarita Levieva) watery death and how that strengthens Emily’s (Emily VanCamp) need for vengeance. And, we’ll apparently see a new side of the freshly widowed Jack (Nick Wechsler).

Here’s more of what we should expect on Revenge:

Get to know a young Victoria better: Revenge fans got to take a peek into Victoria’s past and how her mother played a role in making her the woman she is today. Creator and executive producer, Mike Kelley, says that Victoria’s backstory will become clearer. “We’ll see how she began to start fending for herself and how this woman was born.” And viewers won’t have to wait long, because Kelley says that it’ll come up on the episode they are shooting next.

An alternate fate for Victoria? Stowe seems to have her own theories on the show. Even though she plays a main character she confesses that there is still a lot to learn about Victoria. “I think she has a borderline personality disorder,” says Stowe, “I started going through this book and she has all the symptoms.” Stowe isn’t sure if that’s where Kelley is taking her character, but she thinks it’s a definite possibility for her villainous Victoria.

And Stowe’s theories don’t stop there, she’s even created her own ending for the series. “I actually have a fantasy for how the show would end,” she begins, “I have some kind of suicide because Emily’s driven me so insane. And Emily’s sitting in my chair in Grayson manor and she’s turned into Victoria.” But just like her first idea Stowe is still unsure on where the hit show will go next.

Aiden over the edge. Kelley teased a storyline for British hottie, Barry Sloane‘s character Aiden. “He’s going to get closer to revenge and be able to speak to what that feels like and it’s going to be really interesting.”

The love square. Aiden has been pretty worried about how far Emily will go in her manipulation of Daniel (Josh Bowman). Kelley also spills that Aiden is going to start think about how Emily and Jack (Nick Wechsler) fit together.

Revenge returns Sunday night at 9PM on ABC.

The looming murder on ABC’s Revenge — something that was glimpsed on the first episode of the season but only revealed with the most recent episode, ”Sacrifice” — has been pretty much the only thing I have been interested in all season. Well, that and getting to know Aiden (Barry Sloane). So, it felt like a long time coming to finally get some answers.

Thankfully, the Revenge writers knew just how much anticipation was around this episode, especially after killing off only incidental characters throughout the rest of the season. So, the result was an hour chock full of changes — many more than just the fatal one we expected.

Note: Spoilers ahead if you have yet to see Sunday night’s “Sacrifice.”

“Sacrifice” started out as a continuation from its wedding-murder extravaganza of last week. Jack (Nick Wechsler) and Amanda (Margarita Levieva) were out on The Amanda, on their honeymoon, with Nate Ryan (Michael Trucco) tagging along unbeknownst to the lovebirds, whining about how stories weren’t adding up, and someone had to pay for making him lose out on a bunch of Grayson money.

Just as Amanda was growing her strength — and growing on me — things took a turn for the worse, though. Nate had emptied Amanda’s gun of bullets, but she managed to talk him down from shooting her point-blank by spilling that she was really only in the Hamptons to get revenge on the Graysons for what happened to her dad, and she was willing to cut him a deal. She sweet-talked him while Jack found Declan’s old laptop on the boat and attempted to… well, I assume dial 911 through Skype? It wasn’t really clear.

What was abundantly clear, though, was the gunshot wound he received after Nate’s whining turned to being about the detriments of being married and a botched attempt to lock him up downstairs. Amanda set Jack adrift on a lifeboat, ignorantly assuming this selfless act was saving him and not merely dooming him to die of blood loss and dehydration on the high sea.

Of course, this was the perfect time for Emily (Emily VanCamp) and Nolan (Gabriel Mann) to turn up. After all, Emily, ever on alert, noticed Nate in the background of some of Charlotte’s (Christa B. Allen) late night photos of the lovebirds on the boat, and the two immediately set off for a little water rescue.

Nolan got Jack to safety, while Emily went after Amanda. The boat was taking on water (you know, bullet holes will do that!), and while Emily and Nate fought, a gas line was hit, too, resulting in an explosion seen in the previews for the episode. Nate was consumed, but so was Amanda, who went back for a necklace and left without her life. Emily searched the water for her friend-like-sister, and she actually found her in one piece. But, Amanda only had enough strength to deliver the soapy “take care of my family” dying wish to Emily before succumbing to her injuries.

It’s kind of a shame she had to go out now (though it was obvious once she started revealing too much of the real plan that she was a loose end to be tied; she was in way over her head!), and it made me feel even worse for Jack. Some of the last things he heard her say was that she was only with Jack as part of her way to stay in the Hamptons to get to the Graysons. Will he be able to believe she was just trying to appeal to Nate’s own evil side? Or will he gradually have more doubts and come out of this experience a more hardened man who believes his childhood sweetheart was a real b*tch after all?

Meanwhile, back at home in the Hamptons, Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) and crew were cleaning up Helen’s murder and planting a fight between mommy and son in his bugged office for the rest of the Initiative who didn’t yet know their fair leader was dead. Victoria asking the men in her life to unroll the dead body so she could put on Helen’s scarf to fool her driver was ridiculous, and yet I couldn’t help but love every soapy second. This season has taken characters off in a hundred different directions, but this was the overconfident Victoria we know and love!

Conrad (Henry Czerny) pushed up his gubernatorial announcement, and of course this was the perfect timing for the newest Initiative bad guy to turn up, asking questions about Helen, and making general threats towards the Grayson family. It’s far from over for them, but there are more powers mounting against them simultaneously, as Aiden securing some proof (a finger) that her father is still alive has officially turned Padma (Dilshad Vadsaria) into a member of Team Revenge. She just doesn’t know all the details yet. And then there’s Daniel (Josh Bowman), who got his first look at just how far his family will go, and it seemed to leave the taste of bile in his mouth. I’d love to see him spiral down a rabbit hole of addiction (the first season hinted at his dependency issues anyway) in order to cope with the crime he helped cover up. I’m sure the show won’t go there, but it would go a long way towards making him sympathetic again.

Oh yeah, and Declan’s (Connor Paolo) air conditioner broke. That’s the most exciting thing to happen in his neck of the woods in awhile…

Buzz Moments

OMG!: The Graysons buried Helen under a new children’s hospital. Like those poor kids aren’t in enough pain; now they have to be haunted by ghost, too!?

Thank you, TV gods.: Conrad sending the Initiative after Amanda just has to end in his own detriment, too, right? The Initiative does the manipulating; it doesn’t take kindly to attempts at being manipulated!

Awk-ward: Emily and Nolan racing across the water to save their friends was Ringer pilot-level bad green screen.

Hotness: Jack may have just been putting on a show for Nate when he got angry and started yelling at Amanda about their sham relationship, but it was a good look for the guy who has, thus far, always been a good guy to the point of being a doormat.

Fab-u-lous: Emily VanCamp is an expert crier, and Sunday’s episode was the first real time she had reason to be severely upset by the turn of events (and death). Amanda was truly family for Emily, something that does not come in long supply, and she mourned her friend beautifully. Of course, she was probably mourning her carefully made plan, as well.

Can. Not. Wait.: Will Nolan buy Declan a new air conditioner!? Just kidding, no one cares about that. On a more serious note, will Amanda’s death inspire Emily to go doubly as hard at Conrad, as opposed to both elder Graysons?

Celebuzz Meter (1-10): 8 – It was great to finally have answers on the mystery set up from the beginning of the season, but the additional death promises a lot of changes for both Emily’s and Conrad’s plans to come. Revenge is finally firing on all cylinders again.

What did you think of the deaths in “Sacrifice?” Sorry to see those characters go? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

– Danielle Turchiano

You know, for an episode entitled “Union,” ABC’s Revenge sure took its sweet time actually getting to Jack (Nick Wechsler) and Amanda’s (Margarita Levieva) wedding.

And even when it finally showed the beachfront ceremony, officiated by none other than Nolan Ross (Gabriel Mann), the sweet and sentimental moments were cut short — probably to keep the audience from welling up too much. After all, this is still supposed to be Jack and Emily’s (Emily VanCamp) love story, so the show doesn’t want you to get too emotionally attached to Jack and Amanda.

Note: Spoilers ahead if you have yet to see Sunday’s episode, “Union.”

What was interesting about “Union,” though was that Emily seemed to resign herself to “losing” one childhood friend to another. Maybe, it was because she saw just how dangerous things were getting for the loved ones in the lives of people like Nolan and Aiden (Barry Sloane) that she wanted to keep him at a safe distance, but it made her a stronger person than I.

After reminiscing over her pretend wedding to Jack as a kid and fighting accusations she just didn’t “feel” enough, she handed over her pipe-cleaner ring to Amanda to give to Jack during the ceremony, recalling that memorable play date and filling Jack’s heart with love. Watching Wechsler’s face during the wedding was everything you’d want from a guy in love, committing to one woman for the rest of his life. It was a shame it couldn’t be celebrated more. So, I wanted to highlight it here in the clip above.

Instead, “Union” jumped all over the place. It should have been enough to have Nolan decrypt the video file of Aiden’s sister’s death to learn it actually took place six years ago, but it just made Aiden want to chase down the truth in person. He and Emily wasted valuable story space visiting the place she died and looking at the coroner’s report. Meanwhile, Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) attempted to reason with Daniel (Josh Bowman) about the kinds of people he was getting in bed with, so to speak, with the Initiative, while her husband Conrad (Henry Czerny) got deeper under the covers with someone equally bad (especially from a story POV), Nate Ryan (Michael Trucco), who wanted to turn Montauk into Atlantic City.

While Daniel sweated it out about the Initiative, Helen (Wendy Crewson) turned up at Grayson Manor, and Victoria seized that opportunity for what it was: a chance to take down the enemy — literally — before any more harm could come to her family. We’ve already seen the incredible lengths to which Victoria will go for her family, so this one certainly came as no surprise, but unfortunately it wasn’t all that satisfying, either. In fact, it actually became quite the sitcom moment when the whole family was home, standing over the body, at least one of them with an “Aw, shucks, now what do we do?” fear of guilt and the unknown.

When Emily heard of the debt Jack and Amanda were in to the Graysons, she cut them a check to repay Conrad immediately, but he wasn’t having it. Jack’s empty threats made him sound like a kid throwing a tantrum on the playground, and it was Amanda who attempted to come to the rescue by breaking into Emily’s evidence laptop and blackmailing Conrad with the old David Clarke tapes. He was smart enough to realize that if she had access to this information, she has been the one causing trouble all along, and he gave into her immediately.

Nolan’s feelings for Padma (Dilshad Vadsaria) made him wonder if she could be manipulated by the Initiative the same way Aiden was, so he read through her emails and came to the conclusion her father had been kidnapped, and she was only doing what she was doing out of fear for his safety. Yawn. It was the show’s attempt to make her more sympathetic, but she would have been so much more interesting if she was just infiltrating his company for sport. Nobody cares about Padma, right? Or is that just me?

Jack and Amanda sailed off on their honeymoon, leaving Declan (Connor Paolo) and Charlotte (Christa B. Allen) to play house with Baby Carl, only to reveal that Nate had stowed away on The Amanda and was out for some revenge of his own now that his casino deal had been halted. It made for a strong cliffhanger, but just made the whole episode that preceded it feel like one big preamble to this moment.

Buzz Moments

OMG!: Amanda certainly proved how she ended up in juvie tonight. It’s one thing to blackmail Conrad Grayson, but it’s another to do so in such a sloppy way to not even consider the plans in motion around you that you’ve just upset by revealing something that wasn’t yours to begin with!

Thank you, TV gods.: Helen was ridiculous and completely uninteresting for someone who was supposed to be so menacing. Good on you, Victoria Grayson — especially for not just shooting her in the back like a coward.

Awk-ward: Uh, Jack did you forget you have a kid? Because a wedding ring won’t make Amanda stay in your life forever, but that kid sure will.

Hotness: Nothing says a beach wedding like a man in an open-collar shirt and a white suit.

Fab-u-lous: Whoever decked The Amanda out in a Just Married sign and twinkling lights had the right idea — even if those lights instilled the feeling of Christmas more than a wedding. It was festive and romantic, but jolly, too.

Can. Not. Wait.: So, there’s no way this Ryan brother hiding out on the boat isn’t the one who doesn’t make it out alive, right?

Celebuzz Meter (1-10): 7 — This episode certainly set a lot of great things in motion for conflict to come, but it devoted far too much time to simply setting things up, rather than actually having those things happen now.

What did you think of Jack and Amanda’s wedding and all of the filler stuff surrounding it? Let us know your review in the comments below.

– Danielle Turchiano

If there’s one thing ABC’s Revenge is known for, it’s throwing lavish, drama-filled parties. It’s not enough for the Hamptons’ finest to get decked out in their finest, the showstoppers are the gunshots or police interference, not the gowns. But maybe that’s just when the Graysons are involved. When it’s an “average person’s” special day, things are apt to go a lot more traditionally, right…

Jack (Nick Wechsler) and Amanda (Margarita Levieva) baptised their son without a major incident, though Emily’s (Emily VanCamp) ego was bruised a bit along the way, and now they are embarking on their beach-front wedding (with Gabriel Mann’s Nolan officiating!). Again, Emily is out to realize just how much she’s sacrificing, but things won’t start to go wrong for the happy couple until the honeymoon. That’s progress, right?

“Looking back now, I never realized what I was going to lose,” Emily says in a special trailer for the next new episodes of Revenge.

Is she talking simply about losing Jack to Amanda in marriage? After all, the nuptials bring Emily back to her childhood, when she and Jack played pretend and got married in nearly the exact same spot on the beach when they were just kids. Emily can’t help but be reminded of it when she stands up for her good friends, but whether or not Jack does, too, doesn’t seem to be an issue. He still thinks he is marrying his childhood friend, after all. Though, we have to point out that marrying someone who is signing someone else’s name to all of the paperwork makes their “union” about as legal as Jack and Emily’s back in the day!

Though the wedding goes off without a hitch, Jack and Amanda embark on their honeymoon, taking the boat out for some peace, quiet, and relaxation on the sea and under the stars. What they end up with is anything but something so serene and romantic, though, as surprise after surprise unfolds. They never check into their destination; they find something unexpected under the deck; Emily shows up to ensure they’re okay; and the boat explodes, leaving at least one casualty in its wake.

It seems Emily is losing a lot more than just the hope of marrying her childhood sweetheart. She may be losing a friend more permanently. We’re willing to take your bets on who doesn’t survive!

Watch the special sneak peek above.

Revenge airs Sundays at 9PM on ABC.

Are you looking forward to yet another big party event on Revenge, or do you just want the show to hurry up and reveal the casualty from the aftermath of The Amanda’s explosion? Let us know your thoughts on the show, in the comments below.

– Danielle Turchiano

Calling all avid TV watchers and fans! It’s time to step up to the plate and support your No. 1 show.

Celebuzz has compiled a list of our favorite series and we want to ask the ultimate question.

Which Celebuzz fave TV show has the most dedicated fans? We know it’s so hard to choose.

Are you a Gleek? A Vampire Lover? Want to see the “A” team go down? Or are you hoping for Emily’s ultimate payback? Maybe you’re into traveling the nation battling ever-changing demons? Or are the entanglements at Seattle Grace tugging on your heartstrings?

Nielsen can measure ratings, but we want to know which show has the most dedicated fan base – that’s what we care about.

Which show has the most loyal fans? Cast your vote below and come back every day this week to vote again.

If there was anything the latest episode of ABC’s Revenge gave us, it was a fun drinking game.

Take a shot/drink every time a character used the actual title of the episode, “Collusion,” as a verb. Take a shot/drink every time Emily (Emily VanCamp) had to save the men in her life from their own shortsightedness. Take a shot/drink every time the Initiative storyline made you roll your eyes. Drunk yet? Then maybe you had more fun with this episode than I did…

Note: Spoilers ahead if you have yet to see Sunday night’s “Collusion.”

“Collusion” started off with what should have been a celebration in the Grayson house, as it was Charlotte’s (Christa B. Allen) 18th birthday. But considering she’s kind of the afterthought of the family, everyone was too busy with their own business and schemes to really even remember, let alone acknowledge her. Conrad (Henry Czerny) was getting the goods on the truth about Joe Ryan’s murder from Amanda (Margarita Levieva), Daniel (Josh Bowman) was jetting off to Los Angeles to close a business deal and Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) was following her baby boy there — to try to ensure that Jason Prosser (Dylan Walsh) land the company instead.

First things first: Conrad, Amanda, and Jack (Nick Wechsler) sat down to discuss Jack’s legal woes. And ever the good guy (cough, sucker) that Jack is, he refused to snitch on Matt for the murder. Amanda had no problem spilling the beans, though, and Conrad came up with a plan: He would buy the Ryans out of the bar, as well as give them proof on who shot their father (which, let’s face it, is not nearly as interesting as vintage Dallas’ “Who shot J.R.?,” though it has the same tone). Of course, this meant the Porters were now in business with the Graysons, and we all know how slimy the Graysons can be. But it was the lesser of two evils, really.

Maybe. See, Conrad is running for mayor, so when Kenny (Michael Trucco) went to him to try to buy the bar back, he actually appealed to his platform by explaining how he could use “muscle” to turn the hardworking businesses of the docks into gambling arenas. The odd thing was that his big bro (J.R. Bourne) didn’t seem to want to push it nearly as hard, just happy to have the truth (and soon, justice) for their dear old dad. Disagreement within that family is sure to leave one of them on the bottom of the Amanda. I’ve been saying for a long time that it will probably be Bourne and this episode did nothing to convince me otherwise.

Over in Los Angeles, where Daniel dragged Emily (surprise!), it was all about appealing to the philanthropic side of a woman (Sherri Saum) who was looking for a company to continue on her father’s legacy. Daniel stumbled; Emily saved the day. Emily used Aiden (Barry Sloane) to convince Jason he didn’t even want the account, to give Daniel the edge. Victoria basically promised herself to Jason, if he made sure to outbid and outsmart to outlast Daniel. It was a whole lot of manipulation and deception about a boring business deal. Honestly, the most interesting element to come out of it was the fact that Victoria was willing to basically prostitute herself to get her way.

And speaking of prostitutes, it turned out, that’s what Aiden’s sister was up to. The Initiative had her and they were supplying her with drugs. Helen (Wendy Crewson) promised she would be safe if Aiden just did one teensy favor: kill Victoria. He was all set to do so — family first and all — but Emily stopped him. She had real reasons, but in the end, when the Initiative killed his sister and made it look like an overdose (which they filmed and sent him), all he could see was that Emily probably still wanted to take care of Victoria herself.

But that’s getting harder and harder to justify. Sure, Victoria is right up there with the world’s worst mothers, Norma Bates included, but the Initiative is driving so much of the story, and of Victoria’s actions — which are mostly reactions to things the organization is doing — that they’re really the ones Emily has to focus on. And the further “outside” the Graysons she looks, the more convoluted the corruption and conspiracy becomes.

Emily came clean to Daniel about the fact that his mother put her up to reconnecting with him initially, but she kept the fact that she was still working with Victoria to herself. He claimed to have his suspicions about all of this, since there’s not one aspect of his life in which his mother doesn’t meddle, but it’s hard to believe he could be so aware of that and so oblivious about just about everything else. Still, it was a nice moment for those two, even if it’s getting harder and harder to root for them as a couple.

The only interesting part of “Collusion” for me was when Nolan (Gabriel Mann) casually let it slip that he was working on a program that could shut off all of Manhattan’s power. Um, literally? Because that’s the start of NBC’s Revolution, only that’s a version of that show — and this one, actually — that I would much rather watch. Let’s get to telling that story soon, hmm?

Buzz Moments

OMG!: Can’t Daniel do anything for himself? He needed Emily to help him land business deals before he was CEO (and let’s not forget the technicality that let him become CEO in the first place), and now he still couldn’t drive the deal home without her? Clearly he should have stuck to poetry.

Thank you, TV gods: The Ryans finally learned the truth about who killed their father. Sure, it wasn’t enough, and sure, Jack couldn’t muster the self-serving nature needed to snitch, but at least it’s all out in the open.

Awk-ward: Charlotte’s first adult decision was to change her name. Not move far away from the parents who lied to her and stole from her and manipulated her. But, simply change her name to feel “free.” Obviously, she still has a lot of growing up to do.

Hotness: Los Angeles looked colder than usual when Daniel and Emily visited, but at least it was warm enough for him to strip down by the pool!

Fab-u-lous: I rarely notice Emily’s infinity tattoo, but when I do, I smile because it reminds me (and should remind her) of why there should be investment in this increasingly crazy story in the first place. I don’t know if she tries to cover it so the Graysons don’t get suspicious, but it was pretty visible when she was in Los Angeles. And it’s a style choice I approve!

Can. Not. Wait.: How much of a loose cannon will Aiden turn out to be? And will Emily have to take action against him just so he doesn’t ruin her plans?

Celebuzz Meter (1-10): 6

What did you think of “Collusion?” Let us know in the comments below!

– Danielle Turchiano

ABC’s Revenge has been spiraling down the rabbit hole that is the Initiative all season long, and it seems like things are only going to get worse before (if?) they get better.

Now that Aiden (Barry Sloane) has proven some fake loyalty to them, the Initiative only wants more from him. And in the next all-new episode of Revenge, entitled “Collusion,” the ominous Helen (Wendy Crewson) tasks Aiden with a task proven to be quite difficult in the past: take out Victoria Grayson (Madeleine Stowe). Permanently.

Yes, that’s right, Helen asks Aiden to kill Victoria, who is allowing her worries over Daniel (Josh Bowman) to get in the way of the Initiative’s major plans. Not to tip his hand, Aiden prepares to put on a good show for them, hiding in the bushes outside Grayson Manor with a sniper rifle. But, we all know Victoria is the socialite that just can’t die, so while she will undoubtedly come out of “Collusion” unscathed, it may prove to be the beginning of the end for someone else…

After Conrad (Henry Czerny) stepped in — at least partially — to help with the Porters’ new legal woes, Jack (Nick Wechsler) and Amanda’s (Margarita Levieva) futures end up in his “unlikely” hands. Conrad has never quite been the hero before, so something tells us his own self-serving interests will get the better of him here. Our money has been on him for be to be the one at the bottom of The Amanda since last week’s episode. He doesn’t seem nearly as untouchable as Victoria. No offense to Czerny.

And then there is Daniel, who goes toe-to-toe with a new business rival, Jason Prosser (Dylan Walsh), in order to land an important deal. Though Daniel has proven himself more business-savvy than we expected, his mother is out to stop this particular deal. And when it comes to the two of them, our money would be on Victoria any day! Poor Daniel. Hasn’t he had enough heartache, emotional manipulation, and physical setbacks!?

Watch a sneak peek below.

Revenge airs on Sunday nights at 9PM on ABC.

Are you glad to see Revenge expanding the worlds and story lines for these supporting characters, or do you want the show to get back to the basics of Emily and her revenge list a.s.a.p? Let us know what you think of season two so far in the comments below!

– Danielle Turchiano

Last week on ABC’s Revenge, Emily (Emily VanCamp) came thisclose to being found out — not that she was really Amanda Clarke, of course, but that she was conning Daniel (Josh Bowman) to get him to fall for her (again). But this week, petty relationship problems paled in comparison to Jack (Nick Wechsler) behind bars and the Initiative closing in on a couple of key players…

Note: Spoilers ahead if you have yet to see Sunday night’s “Sabotage.”

“Sabotage” sees Jack sitting in jail, where Amanda (Margarita Levieva) visited him and tried to convince him to take bail money from one of their friends. She was convinced his case would be easy and that no one would believe the drugs were his. But good guy that Jack is, he didn’t want to drag anyone else into it — nor did he want to uncover the truth about the gun, which he knew Matt used to kill the Ryan patriarch. Believing the cops were the ones who tipped off the Ryans, resulting in them moving the drugs out of the bar in the first place, Jack knew he was in much deeper than any previous time he bailed his little brother out of a jam. He warned Amanda not to do anything against the Ryans or they might hurt her (or Declan), but this was one time we wished she wouldn’t listen to reason.

Declan (Connor Paolo), of course, doesn’t listen to Jack’s warnings, and he stands up to the Ryans, declaring he knew they set Jack up. The younger Ryan (Michael Trucco) wanted Declan to sell him the rest of the bar, but Kenny (J.R. Bourne) tried to play nice. Clearly, he still had a major piece of his plan up his sleeve. His revenge list may be as elaborate as Emily’s — only not with quantity of names but instead quality of takedown.

Amanda ended up going to Conrad (Henry Czerny) for help, but he refused, saying only that she needed to keep her distance from his family. Because of Charlotte (Christa B. Allen), Conrad offered Declan space in Grayson Manor while his brother was in jail, but Declan, being stubborn, refused. Eventually, Conrad came around — but only because it would help his own public image when he ran for office, which apparently he wants to do now.

Jack’s situation was serious, but so was Aiden’s (Barry Sloane). He spent some time first brooding over having seen Emily and Daniel kiss, even though she claimed it didn’t mean anything to her. He knew that it meant something to Daniel, though, and that might be worse. But really what they should be concerned about is if Daniel catches wind that Aiden isn’t as “over” Emily as that fake fight might have set up.

For now, Aiden and Emily were distracted with the Initiative. He confided to her about the conversation regarding his sister. And while she first seemed worried about him trusting a dangerous force, in the end she and Nolan (Gabriel Mann) helped stage a kidnapping so Aiden could show the Initiative just how much they could trust him—so he and Emily, in turn, could get valuable information from them. Good to have them all on the same team, indeed! Not good that the show tried to fake out the audience first by showing Emily and Nolan lurking, “wondering” what Aiden and Helen (Wendy Crewson) could possibly need to talk about.

Emily and Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) continued to work together this week, bringing Conrad’s rival (Dylan Walsh) into the mix. Emily convinced Daniel to throw a charity gala at which Victoria set it up for this rival Jason to show and get under Daniel’s skin. The auction turned into a bidding war between the two men (all over wine!), as Victoria knew it would. Though the show stated she did it so Daniel would seem more in control (and rich) to potential business investors, to us, the actions looked more like cracking Daniel’s cool, calm, and collected armor and showing the “I need to win; I need to have everything” child underneath. And Daniel was showing cracks in other areas, as well, as he demanded Nolan release reports to him that bordered on the micromanaging. Paranoid Nolan, though, assumed someone tipped him off to the money he moved around years earlier — money only Marco (E.J. Bonilla) and Padma (Dilshad Vadsaria) knew about.

Oh, and Padma was actually back this week, asking Nolan for her job back, while Ashley (Ashley Madekwe) was also hoping Conrad would take her back — professionally, of course. Both men caved, claiming the women were of good use to them. But let’s be honest, it certainly seemed like personal feelings colored the decisions. With Marco still buzzing around Nolan, as well, he started to question which one he could trust, as each one tried to point an accusatory finger at the other. Children! They’re all children! The episode answered that for the audience, though still leaving the character in the dark, as we saw Padma call Helen. Just how deep does this conspiracy run!?

Buzz Moments

OMG!: Declan has some b*lls if he thinks he can threaten the “wrong side of the docks” Ryans — even a little bit. This kid may have seen one too many “teenager saves the world” movies.

Thank you, TV gods: It was short, and it was all about the Porters’ problems, but it was nice to see a sisterly moment between Charlotte and Amanda.

Awk-ward: Marco is quite entitled and defensive for someone who walked out all high and mighty years ago and is lucky to have a job at Nolcorp right now at all.

Hotness: Jason calling Daniel “Master Grayson.” We sense that will find its way into many a fan fiction after this episode.

Fab-u-lous: Any fancy party is an excuse for beautiful gowns, and Victoria looked stunning in red. So did Nolan, actually.

Can. Not. Wait.: Will the Ryans take out Conrad for his newfound “tough on crime” stance as a political candidate?

Celebuzz Meter (1-10): 6

What did you think of “Sabotage?” Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

– Danielle Turchiano

Nick Wechsler has called his Revenge character, Jack Porter, “the most relatable guy in the world” and the “moral compass” of the show on more than one occasion. So, it certainly didn’t surprise him when Jack took the fall for the drugs stashed on his boat that the Hamptons PD thought belonged to baby brother Declan (Connor Paolo).

Though neither guy was actually guilty, pointing fingers at the Ryan brothers would be bad for the Porters– and a dear old family friend. And Jack is too good to throw people under the bus like that.

“I would [tell the truth] just because I would not go to f**king jail for someone else’s bulls**t!” Wechsler told Celebuzzat ABC’s Television Critics Association Press Tour party in Pasadena, Calif.

“But, I think he’s such a stand-up guy that he doesn’t want to take Matt Duncan away from his kids. Ultimately, it would probably all come out. If he goes to jail because he confesses or Jack outs him, then it would ruin his life.”

Jack may have the best intentions, but if he keeps putting everyone else first and sacrificing himself, at a certain point not only does he cause more damage to his family, but he may also be considered kind of a sucker. After all, right now he’s sitting in a jail cell, and just because he’s never been in trouble before doesn’t mean it will be easy to beat a drug charge .

“Basically, Jack tries to get Matt to confess,” Wechsler said, noting that the heat would shift off the Porter family and that would allow them to help Matt.

Just like when Daniel (Josh Bowman) went to jail on Season 1, Jack’s time behind bars won’t be too long —  and it won’t nearly be as brutal. His brother and his fiance both visit him, and Wechsler admitted Jack in jail “gets resolved a little quickly.” Of course, it brings its own set of problems to follow for future episodes, though.

“He gets into another kind of trouble getting out. He’s out in time for a wedding, but he’s in other trouble!” Wechsler said.

So far Jack has always been able to keep his cool head — and moral compass — but Wechsler said that action might absolutely have to be taken against the Ryans. And yes, he thought Jack was able to carry out such a task — but getting ready and being willing is what has taken some time.

“I think he puts up with [the Ryans] for a while to try to keep the peace, but I feel like if anyone messed with his family too much — like if they really pushed it, he’d hurt them. It’s all been kind of manageably awful right now. He’ll only do it if it’s the only option,” Wechsler said.

“I think if they had Declan, and they were hurting him, and they mailed him Declan’s figure or something, I think it would be, ‘I’m going to try to get him out of that situation. But if I can’t some other way, I’ll kill the guy to get him back.’”

Revenge airs Sundays at 9PM on ABC.

Do you want to see a more ruthless side to Jack or are you happy with him being the show’s “nice guy”? Let us know in the comments below!

– Danielle Turchiano

ABC’s Revenge returned from a winter hiatus with an episode that should have sizzled so as to suck the audience back in after so much time away.

But between elaborating on the Initiative, which is just a departure from the cunning series with two strong women at the center, and getting back to its “name of the week” element, Revenge returned much more quietly than we would have liked.

Spoilers ahead if you have not yet seen Sunday’s episode, “Power.”

“Power” put Emily (Emily VanCamp) right back in the position she was in when we first met her on the pilot episode. She was on a mission to cross off yet another name from her little black book — this time that of the judge (Geoff Pierson) who sentenced her father — and seduce Daniel (Josh Bowman) for more nefarious purposes. This time, of course, her every interaction with the eldest Grayson heir (who now walks a little cockier thanks to his position as CEO of Grayson Global) is much more weighted due to their history. And despite the fact that she’s still actually hooking up with Aiden (Barry Sloane), she still runs the risk of real emotions getting in the way of her plans. It’s just a mess!

After “vetting” the couple’s guilt over dinner, Emily showed up at the judge’s wife’s (Clare Carey) gala — ironically for a charity that helps falsely imprisoned people — and convinced said wife to help her take down her own husband. Emily was emotional and raw with the wife in a way she is not with just about anyone, and it was the perfect way to reach the woman. The wife actually stood up in front of her gathering and revealed that David Clarke was the subject of a tainted jury. If you’re worried she’ll have second thoughts in the morning, don’t be. Apparently the judge was beating her, so you know, she got her own revenge on him; it just took someone else to get her to the point where she was ready to.

When it came to Daniel, though, Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) was actually a help in steering Emily back towards him, as the women had a tete-a-tete, and Victoria revealed just how much Daniel cared for Emily. Concerned about her son’s safety with the Initiative basically using him as a pawn right now, she must have figured Emily was the safer of the two “evils” because she could at least keep her eye on one, small girl. It all worked, too. Emily did what Victoria asked and “stepped in,” which had Daniel knocking on her door for a booty call of sorts. It was a nice bookend to Emily’s early-episode fight-then-makeout with Aiden (Barry Sloane). But don’t worry, Aiden was in on Emily’s plan to get Daniel back, even going so far as to stage a breakup fight with her in front of him at a restaurant.

Speaking of Aiden, he is deep in with the Initiative now, after they revealed to him that his sister is still alive. We probably shouldn’t be so sure that he’s not just being manipulated. But for now, his own emotions are making things messy, too. He and Ems may really be meant for each other!

Daniel went to Nolan (Gabriel Mann) for help after learning his father had even more secret accounts than he expected, but this action basically played right into what Emily and Nolan wanted — as Nolan now has access to Grayson Global’s system in a whole new (with permission) way!

Nolan was partially preoccupied with Marco (E.J. Bonilla), who certainly appeared to still be in love with him, giving him gifts — and wouldn’t you know it? The computer chip he gifted Nolan just “happened” to be the one that would help Nolan infiltrate Grayson Global even deeper. We’d say that was just too convenient not to be a trap, but considering Bonilla recently told Celebuzz fans might come around to Marco, it must be real, because this would certainly be a way to do it. If there’s one thing the Revenge fans all agree on, it’s that they love Nolan and want him to get everything!

In the Porter camp this week, Declan (Connor Paolo) found out the truth about what the Ryans were doing in the bar: running drugs. He wanted to go to the police, and Jack (Nick Wechsler) insured him he had “buddies” on the force that would help with that. First Jack sent Amanda (Margarita Levieva) and the baby out of harm’s way, though, but it turned out he should have sent his brother with them because when this so-called buddy found the stash (which had been moved to The Amanda) — and a gun — he arrested Declan! Of course, Jack is too good a guy to let that fly, and he probably had guilt over being the one to set up the sting anyway, so he stepped up and took the fall. Um, what??

Buzz Moments

OMG!: WHAT IS WRONG WITH JACK? Why does he keep stepping in for Declan? Sure, Declan wasn’t guilty this time, so there wasn’t any mess to actually clean up, but come on, Jack: use your head. If you go to jail, Amanda will go back to stripping, Declan will lose the family business, and baby Carl will probably be sold on the black market for v-neck tees.

Thank you, TV gods.: The Montauk PD finally showed their faces! So much goes down in the Hamptons that we just can’t believe they ignore. Even if it took a “tip,” and even if they nabbed the wrong guy, at least they showed up and earned their keep tonight.

Awk-ward: Declan and Charlotte’s (Christa B. Allen) romantic little dinner for two on the boat got busted up in the worst way when that drug-sniffing dog bounded in!

Hotness: Marco trying to lure Nolan back over to the dark side of a project he once “abandoned for a reason” makes Marco so much more interesting. And attractive. But that probably says more about us than him.

Fab-u-lous: Amanda’s seaglass necklace from Jack was shiny and blue, two of our favorite things. But his reasoning behind it (“something new from something old, something borrowed from the sea, and something blue”) was bordering on Saccharine.

Can. Not. Wait.: With Emily cozying up to Daniel again, and Aiden now out on a personal mission of his own, just what will become of their own partnership!? Paging Takeda…

Celebuzz Meter (1-10): 7

What did you think of Revenge’s winter return? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

– Danielle Turchiano

ABC’s Revenge is gearing up for one tumultuous love triangle for Nolan Ross (Gabriel Mann) with the more permanent return of ex-business partner and boyfriend Marco (E.J. Bonilla)!

“I think that what sets Marco apart from almost anyone else on the show is his history with Nolan, is the fact that he’s known him before he was ‘Nolan Ross.’ He knew Nolan when Nolan was broke and they were together just trying to make this company happen,” Bonilla tells Celebuzz when he visited our Hollywood studio recently.

“And I think that says a lot. And when history comes to the forefront, comes to the present, it has to be deal with, doesn’t it? It has to be.”

Though Marco left Nolcorp (and Nolan’s bed) years earlier when Nolan refused to confide in him about what happened to some missing money, he has returned to the Hamptons and forced himself back into the entrepreneur’s life through a puffed up form of blackmail.

Marco learned on his own that the money went to Amanda Clarke — but he doesn’t know who the real Amanda Clarke is. In order to not make things messier than they already are, Nolan reluctantly gave Marco the job back at Nolcorp that he was asking for.

Whether or not Marco wins Nolan back over is not really the concern here — Nolan is a big boy and can take care of himself. Or, at least he can have Ems (Emily VanCamp) step in and take care of things for him. What matters most may be whether or not Marco can win over the fans, though. No one wants another Declan (Connor Paolo) situation!

“I understand that fans hate him right now, because they think he’s messing with Nolan. But, don’t hate him, because I think he’s a really sweet guy. I think he has good intentions,” Bonilla suggests.

“The tide may turn. I think fans will be in my corner soon.”

One of the ways Bonilla thinks (and hopes) this will occur is through seeing the relationship Marco and Nolan used to have.

“They were in love, I think so. And I think you just can’t help but have that sort of mess with the now, unresolved issues,” Bonilla says of the character history we’ll see come into the present day storyline.

Marco walked away from Nolan once, though, seeming to break his heart, and even Bonilla acknowledged “[cutting] the cord” between them seemingly permanently. What does that mean for the long-term of Marco and Nolan?

“Honestly, I don’t get my script until the day before we shoot,” the 24-year-old says. “So, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I may be dead already!”

Watch our interview with Bonilla above and below.

Revenge returns Sunday at 9PM on ABC.

Do you want Marco back in Nolan’s life?

– Danielle Turchiano

It’s been a fashionable year for TV.

Not only did the number of style-centric shows grow, with the debut of Fashion Star and the return of MTV’s House of Style, but some of the silver screen’s stylish standbys also expanded their reach. Project Runway launched its star-packed spinoff Project Runway All Stars, while America’s Next Top Model announced the addition of male models to the show.

While we said goodbye to TV’s most stylish shows since Sex and the City, with this week’s finale of Gossip Girl, we also welcomed an array of fashionable new characters into our living rooms in 2012.

Stylish newcomers like Revenge packed a serious style punch, offering eye candy for every style type, from country fans to uptown girls.  And, of course, the well-dressed stars of Game of Thrones and Hart of Dixie continued to influence our off-screen style, even infiltrating the fall and spring fashion runways.

So as we countdown to 2013 (and the return of some of the most stylish shows in January), we’re counting down the year’s most fashionable shows.

Check out the 8 most stylish TV shows of 2012.

Do you agree with our picks? Who did we miss? Dish below.