For over two years, Emily Thorne had been planning her wedding to Daniel Grayson – the event that was meant to be the end of her revenge journey. As the big day drew nearer, it was looking less and less likely she would get her happy ending. Despite always believing that she had a fool-proof plan, things were never looking good for this particular blushing bride.
A wedding day to remember. Photo: ABC
Revenge Recap “Exodus”
Let’s take a walk down the “where did we go wrong” aisle for a look back at the events leading up to Emily ending up in the water.
The Mother of the Groom is worse than Bridezilla
Having failed to convince Daniel to break off the wedding, Victoria declines to attend her son’s wedding, threatening to ruin Emily’s plan to use the wedding night to frame her new mother-in-law for her own murder. Fortunately for Emily, Conrad is on her side, having won him over during his illness when he thought he was dying of Huntington’s disease. Even more fortunate is the fact that Victoria has another son whom she apparently loves more than Daniel. Conrad agrees to help Emily by bringing the exiled Patrick back to reunite him with his mother. The Oedipal relationship between Victoria and Patrick is a little scary but the trick worked.
The doomed groom
They say breaking up is hard to do, and it certainly is for Daniel, who, after years of being a playboy, thought he had found happiness with Emily and was prepared to settle down with her. Then he bumps into former love, Sarah, and realizes he is more in love with her now than ever. He tries to do the right thing and breaks up with Sarah when Emily tells him that she is pregnant. Torn between heart and head, Daniel chooses to go through with the wedding, although you can’t help but feel like he is doing all he can to avoid it, even going to the office hours before the wedding. He goes through with the ceremony but spends the entire reception thinking about Sarah. It’s not a good start for a marriage when the groom calls his former girlfriend during his own wedding reception.
Goodbye Jack
At the start of the summer, Jack told Emily that he does not love her anymore and gave her an ultimatum to end her revenge path before the end of the summer season or he would give up her secret. And now the time has come for Emily to bid her childhood love a final farewell. She confesses that she was with Amanda and held her as she breathed her last breath, promising to look after him and Carl. This final admission does not impress Jack – he accuses Emily of being selfish and responsible for taking everything he loves from him and sends her unhappily on her way.
The ‘Other Woman’ steps up
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Lydia is one scorned woman who refuses to leave. One might consider her naïve for returning to Conrad even after knowing that he had tried to have her killed, but Conrad’s charms are hard to resist. She pulled out of her deal with Margaux to reveal all she knows about the David Clarke case but was not able to convince Conrad that she is forever loyal to him. Whatever her flaws, Lydia deserves 10 out of 10 for her tenacity. She takes the photo she found of brunette Emily as a waitress and blackmails Emily into giving her the beach house she was forced to sell to her when she got divorced. She needn’t have worried – as Margaux confirms to Conrad that Lydia had withdrawn from her deal with the magazine, Conrad finally comes to the realization that Lydia is truly in love with him.
Garter belts have never been so practical
Remember when we all wanted a whale-cam? Well, next time I go sailing, I am going to demand a garter belt emergency beacon. If it came with a flare, a floatation device and an inflatable boat as well…? Enough said.
<‘Til death do us part
Marriage vows have never meant more than the words uttered by Emily, as she declares that Daniel helped her become the woman she was meant to be, as she flashes back to memories of all that his parents had taken from her – her childhood, her innocence, her father. There could not be a more unhappy couple standing at an altar than Daniel and Emily, marrying for all the wrong reasons. As the priest asks if anyone has any objections to the marriage, “speak now or forever hold your peace”, you could almost feel the death stare from Emily to Victoria. If it was not for the presence of Patrick, one would have no doubt that Victoria would have jumped out of her seat in protest.
Save the last dance for me
Having stood by Emily’s side through everything, it is only fitting that Nolan steps into David Clarke’s place to walk his daughter down the aisle to send her off to marry the son of their sworn enemy. After the bridal waltz, during which Emily points out to her new husband that he is drinking for two while he is clearly thinking of someone else, Nolan cuts in for one last dance. Emily asks him to make sure Patrick is not on the yacht after the reception:
Nolan: “You can trust me.”
Emily: “I do…with my life.”
Nolan: “Long live David Clarke.”
Family
Who doesn’t love starting married life with their in-laws, parents, siblings, and mistress of your father-in-law? Instead of the traditional wedding toast as the family sails towards Nantucket, Emily announces that she has secretly prepared a video of Grayson memories from the past two years. The only person who finds this gesture romantic is Charlotte, who is not only excited that she has gained a new sister (little does she know that Emily is more just her sister-in-law), but that she is soon to be a new aunt again.
The truth comes out
There’s nothing like being stuck at sea in a confined space with everyone you hate, especially when one of them is your former best friend who stole your husband. But when Lydia and Victoria work together, it leaves Emily with little choice but to admit she faked her pregnancy to make sure Daniel doesn’t leave her. Aiden interrupts the little tete-a-tete just in time to chloroform Victoria so that they can continue with their plan. Unfortunately, just as Aiden is carrying Victoria off, Daniel appears from the dark. He has heard everything and demands to know why she has spent the last two years deceiving him. He is drunk and distraught after getting news that Sarah has just tried to kill herself. He sees the gun that Aiden left for Emily and *gasp* shoots her. Even more shockingly is that instead of being concerned that he has just shot his new wife and that she has fallen overboard, Daniel throws the gun overboard then brushes his hair back and returns to the party as if nothing happened.
Tech geek with a tech problem
It seems almost inconceivable that the man who made his billions from being a tech geek would not own a universal remote control. How is it that Nolan has a drawer full of remote controls for all his systems? Yes, Patrick, put on some music but choose the wrong remote and suddenly, the painting opens up to reveal a hidden safe – but what’s behind the safe that Nolan would not want Patrick to see?
M.I.A.
“Man overboard!” screams the crew. Suddenly, the party-goers are woken from their reverie (or maybe coma from watching the Emily-Daniel Love Story) and go up on deck to find a pool of blood on the floor and a bloodied garter belt hanging off the handrail. Meanwhile, there is no sign of Emily or Victoria. As the crew frantically search for the missing, Aiden is swimming back to shore to meet Emily. Instead, he finds Jack on the beach, also looking for Emily expectantly. He tells Aiden that she should have Amanda’s necklace which Emily had only returned to him earlier that day as a parting gift. Aiden tells him that Emily should have been on shore ten minutes ago and she had not switched on her emergency beacon, not knowing that the beacon was still on the yacht. Next thing you know, they find a bloodied wedding dress washing ashore, but with no body in it.
Photo: ABC. Written by Valerie Leung. Share your Revenge theories with her on Twitter (@valshopaholic) and read her blog LibragirlRules.com.
REACT: Where is Emily Thorne?
Tune in to ABC on January 5th, 2014, when Revenge returns at 9/8c.
