I've often wondered what millionaires do all day if they don't have jobs. In the case of Victoria Grayson, scheming is a full-time occupation. Well, that and occasionally spending time with loft-dwelling artists, but those days are gone. Winter is in full effect on Revenge, and with it, lots of snow and perhaps some icy cold vengeance? There was plenty of snow, but not much vengeance tonight, but there were some interesting developments.
"I promised that I would protect your father's legacy. That's exactly what I've done"
"Absolution" was such a great episode for Nolan. At first it seemed like maybe he and Emily were on their way toward another spat. After Charlotte showed Emily a photo of David Clarke in jail, she noticed a journal in her father's hands, which she didn't recognize. She immediately went to Nolan, who immediately went to his safe, revealing that he'd been hiding this little book from Emily. Of course, sneaky Emily was right there to see him take it out, saving the writers the hassle of trying to figure out a way for Emily to believably infiltrate Nolan's fortress and happen upon it.
It seemed odd at first that Nolan was hiding the journal to protect Emily from knowing her father was paranoid during his final days. He was on the verge of being murdered! His paranoia turned out to be justified fear. What's there to hide? As it turned out, he was hiding the identity of his Aunt Carole, who was involved in Nolan's investigation of the Grayson's, and who had to fake her own death and change her identity once David Clarke was murdered.
It was great to get to know Nolan a little bit better tonight, and also finally seeing a bit more of his part of this whole picture. Nolan also scores big points for whipping out his figurative checkbook to pay for Declan's tuition, which would likely soon be revoked from the Graysons. Between Declan lying on the stand, and then reporting Charlotte's drug use, he's not exactly the kind of person the Graysons want to gift a prep school tuition to. But that matter's settled thanks to Nolan's seemingly endless supply of cash (assuming he has enough time to tend to his business).
"I now know that I'm trapped in a race between fate and freedom…"
Emily managed to find some vital information about her father's death. Now that she knows Conrad was behind her father's murder, she also needs to know who actually pulled the trigger (or technically, stabbed him). From the video, it looked like a prison guard did the job, but it was actually a white-haired guy with blue eyes who works for Conrad. Emily found the same man on one of her old tapes, going into Conrad's office, dressed in a suit. Whoever he is, he's on the list. But this is the kind of guy who stabs people in prison, so Emily might want to tread carefully with this one.
"Our family is on the verge of absolute catastrophe"
Daniel's out of jail and he's chosen a side… and not the right one. Granted, he just got out of prison and maybe he thinks the best thing he can do is strap himself to his family name and move forward that way, but wow. Jack told Daniel about the bloody hoodie and went on to suggest that the Graysons hired Lee to steal it. He was on the right track, anyway. Daniel confided in Emily and seemed to be leaning toward distancing himself from his family. And then he had a heart to heart with his father, which involved Conrad pretty much telling Daniel everything, including that Victoria had him beat up in prison, and the story of what happened with David Clarke. What did Daniel do in response to this? He stood by his father, using a post-prison press interview as a sort of formal way to declare his loyalty.
Daniel knowing the truth and choosing to stand by his father's side is telling, to say the least, and it may make it easier to feel less sad if/when he's dragged into whatever mess Emily makes for his parents. What's more, because Emily's bugging Conrad's office, she now knows Daniel knows everything and is choosing to stand by his family regardless. Maybe the comfortable seat behind the big desk, and the opportunity to finally prove himself to his father was just too tempting to resist.
As for Victoria, she's talking to government agents about Conrad's dirty dealings, which has put Conrad in some hot water. Between what happened with David and more recently, with artist-Dominic, Victoria seems intent on taking Conrad down.
Are we in agreement that Victoria was responsible for Brooks learning that Ashley leaked the Daniel pictures, which caused him to promptly un-hire her? Conrad overheard the conversation, but his initial indifference suggests to me that he had nothing to do with that. Of course, he did use it to his advantage later when he bribed Ashley with a fancy car and hired her to be his dirty-hands-getting representative. Ashley aligning with Conrad will (hopefully) prove to be a bad decision on her part. Not only will it make her more of a target for Emily, but also for Victoria.
And we'll close this out on a sort-of positive note. Sure, things are kind of a mess for Charlotte, but she did manage to have a sincere moment with her mother. Victoria took Charlotte to the cemetery where David was buried and the two had a heart-to-heart, which basically had Victoria saying, your dad was a good guy who made one mistake in getting mixed up with terrorists. And then they saw the rose Emily left there, which will likely haunt Victoria more than it haunts Charlotte.
