Why You Should Watch Revenge

When I first started seeing posters of Revenge pop up around subways, I was indifferent to it. I felt that it was desperately self-promoiting. And being my snobbish old self, one who hasn't read any of the Potter books just because everyone's read it (so shoot me), I really couldn't care less about it. Then, one day after I watched every episode of my favorite shows - The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, The New Girl, Modern Family, 2 Broke Girls and Ringer - I got bored and curious - and so began my Revenge addiction.


Revenge tells the story of Emily, also known as Amanda Clarke, daughter of David Clarke. As she says in the beginning, this is not a story about forgiveness. As a child, she saw her father betrayed by the Graysons and members of their company. Her father was imprisoned for crimes he did not commit, and she was institutionalized and made to believe her father's guilt.

The day she finally comes out of incarceration is the day she discovers the truth about her father and the people who betrayed her. It is also the day she learns that she's become a millionaire, thanks to her father's alliance with an internet geek, Nolan. Now Amanda is back in the Hamptons as Emily - and she's out for revenge.

Yes, I've basically narrated the plot of the Count of Monte Cristo and countless soap operas and telenovelas. And make no mistake about it, Revenge is a soap opera, albeit a brilliantly written one. Its plot and revelations are so delicious you can't eat enough  Episode 1 opens with Emily's engagement party to Daniel, Victoria Grayson's son. As the announcement is being made, we hear a gunshot and Daniel is shown being shot by a masked stranger. Screams are heard, and we flashback to 5 months before, when Emily first moved in to the beach house right beside the Graysons' mansion.

Questions arise: Who shot Daniel? What is it really Daniel who was shot on that beach? Is it really the same Sam, Amanda's childhood dog, that's been stalking her? Side story: as a child, Amanda had a puppy named Sam whom she left with her childhood sweetheart, Jack. 17 years later, we see Jack - poor as ever and still pining for Amanda. And Sam is now an old dog who recognizes Amanda's scent. In dog years, Sam should be blind and dying. But let's not little questions get in the way of fun.

What elevates Revenge from being a guilty pleasure to a pure pleasure are the actors' performances, in particular those of Emily and Victoria. Emily Van Camp plays Emily with such coldness that you never know what she's thinking. You can only guess and cheer when she finally takes an enemy down and crosses them off her list (she literally marks the faces of her enemies who've suffered her revenge with an "X" at the end of an episode). And then there's Madeleine Stowe, who plays Victoria Grayson. This woman is a goddess. When she smiles at her enemies, you can feel the anger seething through. When she says, "I will destroy you!" you know it will happen - and run screaming out of the room.

As of late, Revenge has had 10 episodes. We're nearing the scene by the beach and every step of the way has been nothing but pure vengeful pleasure.