Revenge: Emily, You in Danger, Girl

Revenge, on ABCRevenge is one of those shows from the new season that I've been watching religiously since I was able to catch up online after missing the pilot. I always get nervous dedicating my energy to a network drama that is potentially at risk of cancellation right off the bat. Fortunately, Revenge seems to be holding its own, and I am thrilled because it is AWESOME!  

The story is an old-fashioned (a plus in my book!) serial drama with elements of a procedural as well, meaning it's got at least a season-long arc with short-term  resolutions baked in. If you don't know the story, I'll keep it simple: young girl Amanda's father gets accused of a heinous terrorist crime he didn't commit, goes to jail and dies. Amanda knows that some rich folks in the Hamptons conspired to make this happen and subsequently destroyed her life, so she decides to take action. Years pass, Amanda rechristens herself Emily, and Emily plans and plans and plans to get all these people back for what they did. Boom: you get a long arc, and evil people to check off each hour as she takes her revenge. (Please note that in this and any future discussions, I'll be calling Amanda Emily, because that's what everyone calls her on the show.)

Anyway, the procedural formula might only take you so far in a serial drama, and happily, Revenge has already veered off its original course.

The first four episodes set up the story and what we think should be the consistent progression: Emily targets one person, stays a step ahead, and person gets what's coming to him/her. It's all wrapped up in a nice little bow, easy peasy, very satisfying and fun. As of last week, that formula is on hold, and everything's getting really complicated for Em/Am. Emily has weaved a tangled web and she's finally starting to realize that she can't control the universe she's thrown herself into; chaos is stirring itself up, and there's more than a whiff of danger floating around. One of her early targets is in a coma, her boyfriend (but does she really care?) Daniel is getting roofied by his best "friend" Tyler (please don't make Tyler an evil gay, please, please writers), her pal Nolan's getting roughed by by Evil Security Guy, and Evil Security Guy now knows that Emily's got something up her sleeve. And he's armed. And kind of nuts. But I still like him, and so does Victoria. It's tasty stuff--conflict, drama, angst, unrequited love all over the place, sexiness, amazing costumes and lovely sets. Basically, I'm all in this season, so I will just pray the audiences stick with me so I can ride out the next episodes in peace.

If you don't watch, I highly recommend you catch up online or on demand--five episodes are up at hulu or ABC.com at the moment. I watched live last night and DVRed BBC America's 2009 series Whitechapel, so we'll see what that brings when I get a chance to catch up. But it won't be tonight, since Parks and Rec is on, and if the episode is as good as the previous new one, Pawnee Rangers, I might have to watch it twice in a row.

Here are the last two episodes, for your viewing pleasure:

Intrigue, from 10/26

Guilt, from 10/19