Written by Sunil Nayar And Christopher Fife
Directed by Romeo Tirone
Stevie (to Jack): “I’m your mother.”
That last scene should’ve come with an eye rolling Jack saying ‘really?’ but aside from what arguably was a pointless reveal, I actually think I like Stevie Grayson a lot. For Conrad’s first wife, she was a lot of fun to watch in this episode.
While I don’t care about her being Jack’s long lost mother, I do like that Conrad can’t seemingly wrap her around his finger and her delight in taking Grayson manor and declaring open season on both Victoria and Conrad was actually a lot of fun to watch. I just hope that the writers can maintain this momentum and give her a few more scenes with Emily as well.
While Emily unknowingly contacted Stevie in order to facilitate one of Conrad’s plans, I did like that Stevie was smart enough to realise that she had feelings for someone who wasn’t Daniel. Hopefully Stevie can be more of a friend than foe to Emily at the moment but this early in the game, it somewhat hard to tell where her loyalties truly lie though.
Speaking of loyalties, it was interesting to see Patrick having some conflict between Victoria and Jimmy and when the latter ended up dead, it seemed more to drive a wedge between Patrick and Victoria than bonding them. I’m actually surprised that Jimmy was killed off so quickly. I thought Jimmy might have had another episode or two in him before meeting him maker. On the other hand I’m not remotely shocked that Patrick ended up being the one who killed him though, even if it wasn’t deliberate.
As for the main plot of the week – Emily’s blackouts. On the plus side, she didn’t actually sleep with Conrad (even I didn’t think the show would really go there) but at the same time, it does seem her actions when she’s blacking are not good. Being hostile to Nolan was one thing but she almost got Aiden killed this week and he wasn’t exactly mollified when she eventually rescued him from a vengeful Niko.
Like Jimmy, I’m also surprised that Niko’s plot came to a swift end but at the same time, not too disappointed. She had every right to want to kill both Emily and Aiden but I guess the miracle here was that she failed without losing her life in the process. I suppose there’s a chance she might resurface once again but like Eli, there’s also the likelihood that she’ll never be seen or mentioned either. You can’t really tell with this show nowadays.
As for Emily’s blackouts and behaviour, this episode seemed to give off the allusion about Emily having similar mental problems to Kara, which I would be surprised/intrigued to see the show follow up on but either way, it would be nice if we got a definitive answer for her behaviour when blacking out sooner rather than later though.
As for Daniel – he was less of an asshole to Emily in this episode but mainly because his focus was centred on getting Charlotte into Voulez and using her to spy on their father. Given that Charlotte’s had nothing to do for quite a while, this might not be the most riveting of storylines for her but it’s at least something though.
Also in “Payback”
Nice visuals with the opening scene as Emily got scanned at the start of the episode.
Victoria: “I should’ve never told you what happened.”
Patrick: “Why? So I wouldn’t find out what a monster he was or that that I’m a child of rape? I’m gonna kill him.”
With Stevie now thrown into the mix and Margaux’s father joining soon, how many more family members is this show going to add now?
Stevie (to Emily): “That look you had in your eyes is a look of love and not for the man you married.”
Nolan: “So blackout Ems speaks the truth.”
Emily: “I’m aware of that, Nolan.”
Anyone else feel a tiny bit sorry for Niko when Emily mentioned that Takeda preferred her?
Victoria (to Emily): “Who are your parents? Where did you come from and why are you still here?”
Emily (re Aiden): “Let him go, Niko.”
Niko: “Not gonna happen. He’s guilty of too many things. Like killing my father.”
Charlotte turned nineteen in this episode, which gave the episode an excuse for another party/social event.
Jack: “So, you’re Conrad’s first wife, huh?”
Stevie: “We all make mistakes, right?”
Jack: “At least you were smart enough to leave him behind.”
Standout music: Lo-Fang’s “Animal Urges”. The singer actually featured in this episode during Charlotte’s party.
Victoria: “This house belongs to me and I will fight you until my last breath.”
Stevie: “Let’s hope that’s sooner rather than later.”
Chronology: Pretty much from where “Hatred” left off.
At the moment, it still does feel a little like the show is coasting a little but I will give “Payback” it’s due – it’s certainly a stronger episode than the three that aired in January but we need to see Emily getting back to her plan and pretty sharpish too.
Rating: 7 out of 10
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