Revenge 1x01-1x10
Tue, Oct. 9th, 2012 02:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterSo instead of finishing off the multiple things I am in the middle of, I started a new series based on various things heard around my dwircle in the spring.
Spoilers
This is a good show for mainlining, since there are about a billion twists per episode. However, mainlining probably also highlights just how convoluted things get.
This also feels very much like a "have your cake and eat it too" show, in which we get to see the lives of the wealthy paraded about for the envy factor and the soap opera factor, but we also get the moral satisfaction of Emily taking them down one by one. At least, in the beginning. Right now Emily has not taken down someone in a while, and I am very uninterested in a lot of the interpersonal drama and would prefer a return to Emily's quest of vengeance.
Things I like: Emily setting everyone up to take the blame for her actions. Emily locking the therapist in a storage unit (creepy!). Emily's way of saying perfectly nice sounding things unless you actually know what she means. Emily being amazingly good at lying to police and etc. Emily and Amanda being BFFs forever. Nolan and Emily's weird relationship. Backstabbing and scheming going on behind polite smiles. Emily and Victoria circling each other like sharks. Frank dead in a ditch.
Things I dislike: Pretty much all the romance plots. I like Jack as a character but I hated Nolan pushing him toward Emily, and I am much more disturbed by how much he pedestalizes kid!Amanda than the writers seem to be. Childhood crushes, nice! Learning who people are as adults after not seeing them for a decade or so, better! Tyler. I hate Tyler OMG hate. Evil gay hustler sex (SO MUCH HATE). Mystical Asian Dude (ARGH). Hints that Emily may be losing her touch due to actually falling for Daniel. Convenient amnesia. Declan. Everything Declan OMG he is so boring why do we keep getting him SO BORING. Also I hate him! And want to slap him!
There are actually more POC than I had expected, given the show's setting, but it's also a woman of color acting as personal assistant to wealthy white woman, black security guard, black detective, and ambitious cheating politician. I actually didn't mind the politician as much, since it's nice seeing actual POC among the hordes of the rich and powerful, but of course they are one-offs. Oh, and Mystical Asian Dude who teaches Emily karate or something.
And while there are some positive male-male interactions (Declan-Jack) and female-male interactions (Emily-Jack, Emily-Daniel, Declan-Charlotte), the positive female-female interactions (Emily-Amanda, Emily-Ashley) seem to be rapidly souring for the sake of drama. Please note I am actually not positively inclined toward nearly all the positive human interactions except Emily-Amanda, but the writers seem to be pitching them as basically good.
Really, I am hoping for much more ruthlessness on Emily's part. So, is it worth it to keep watching? Or does all the soap opera get in the way of revenge?
ETA: Also, why is it that all fiances destined to DOOM due to their loved ones' secret other lives are named "Daniel"? Revenge included, I can think of four off the top of my head.
Spoilers
This is a good show for mainlining, since there are about a billion twists per episode. However, mainlining probably also highlights just how convoluted things get.
This also feels very much like a "have your cake and eat it too" show, in which we get to see the lives of the wealthy paraded about for the envy factor and the soap opera factor, but we also get the moral satisfaction of Emily taking them down one by one. At least, in the beginning. Right now Emily has not taken down someone in a while, and I am very uninterested in a lot of the interpersonal drama and would prefer a return to Emily's quest of vengeance.
Things I like: Emily setting everyone up to take the blame for her actions. Emily locking the therapist in a storage unit (creepy!). Emily's way of saying perfectly nice sounding things unless you actually know what she means. Emily being amazingly good at lying to police and etc. Emily and Amanda being BFFs forever. Nolan and Emily's weird relationship. Backstabbing and scheming going on behind polite smiles. Emily and Victoria circling each other like sharks. Frank dead in a ditch.
Things I dislike: Pretty much all the romance plots. I like Jack as a character but I hated Nolan pushing him toward Emily, and I am much more disturbed by how much he pedestalizes kid!Amanda than the writers seem to be. Childhood crushes, nice! Learning who people are as adults after not seeing them for a decade or so, better! Tyler. I hate Tyler OMG hate. Evil gay hustler sex (SO MUCH HATE). Mystical Asian Dude (ARGH). Hints that Emily may be losing her touch due to actually falling for Daniel. Convenient amnesia. Declan. Everything Declan OMG he is so boring why do we keep getting him SO BORING. Also I hate him! And want to slap him!
There are actually more POC than I had expected, given the show's setting, but it's also a woman of color acting as personal assistant to wealthy white woman, black security guard, black detective, and ambitious cheating politician. I actually didn't mind the politician as much, since it's nice seeing actual POC among the hordes of the rich and powerful, but of course they are one-offs. Oh, and Mystical Asian Dude who teaches Emily karate or something.
And while there are some positive male-male interactions (Declan-Jack) and female-male interactions (Emily-Jack, Emily-Daniel, Declan-Charlotte), the positive female-female interactions (Emily-Amanda, Emily-Ashley) seem to be rapidly souring for the sake of drama. Please note I am actually not positively inclined toward nearly all the positive human interactions except Emily-Amanda, but the writers seem to be pitching them as basically good.
Really, I am hoping for much more ruthlessness on Emily's part. So, is it worth it to keep watching? Or does all the soap opera get in the way of revenge?
ETA: Also, why is it that all fiances destined to DOOM due to their loved ones' secret other lives are named "Daniel"? Revenge included, I can think of four off the top of my head.
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Wed, Oct. 10th, 2012 05:38 pm (UTC)