Written by Ted Sullivan
Directed by Kenneth Fink
Victoria (re her chair): "It's a memento of a bygone era."
What the fuck just happened there? Did Victoria really just blow herself to fricking bits just to 'end' her ongoing battle with Emily? I can't believe it but only because Victoria is so much of a narcissist to end her life but her pretending to frame Emily, I absolutely could.
However before I watched this episode, I had already been aware of the spoiler and I did read an interview with Madeleine Stowe (is it me or has she been rarely interviewed in relation to this show?) who explained that the death was real and that Victoria had been feeling suicidal. Victoria certainly came across as defeated and extremely paranoid in this episode but even I'm not sure if it were enough that she would willingly do herself in.
With this show increasingly unlikely to get a fifth season (and why bother when the upcoming The Kingmakers in production has a similar premise), the end definitely couldn't have been more spelled out that before. Heck, Emily even managed to get that troublesome flashdrive out of an agent's hands thereby taking away the only remaining leverage that Victoria had against her before the blow up at Grayson Manor.
Speaking of which, if Victoria had to die, then I'm glad it was there. I even got a kick out of seeing her placed on her throne one last time. That was a nice bit of closure I guess. Also with nearly everyone else in her family either dead or scarpered, she'll at least have both Margaux and Louise to romanticise her passing while Emily inevitably ends up getting arrested for the murder of course.
Seeing Margaux and Louise both as Victoria's support was amusing and annoying in equal measures. Any bit of endearment that Louise had earned evaporated in this episode where she outed Nolan and Tony's relationship and foolishly tried to extract a confession from the former about Emily attacking Victoria in the parking lot. Louise certainly backed the wrong horse here.
Keeping with Nolan - I think this was a great episode for him too. It was nice to see both him and Emily make amends and for one last time (possibly) he tried to push both her and Jack together. Also we got to see both him and Tony as a united front as well. After a series of failed/crazy romantic partners, it's nice that as the show begins to properly wind down, the writers finally found someone nice for Nolan to be with.
Of course while Nolan's love life seemed to sorted out, we had the ugly break up with Emily and Ben and the tedium of Jack sloping off to LA. I know we're supposed to feel for Jack but I was on Emily's side here more than his. Jack is just too much of a whinger at times and there's still three episodes left for him and Emily to properly get together anyways. As for Ben - I felt a little bad for him but given the trailer for next week, it does looks like Margaux and Louise will have another person for their 'We Hate Emily' club now that the chairperson blew herself up.
Also to keep with the shock factor of the episode (aside from Victoria/Grayson Manor going boom), this episode also revealed that David has lymphoma - something he confided in Stevie about but couldn't tell Emily while Mason Treadwell reappeared at the end to basically inform Emily that her revenge mission has destroyed her future happiness etc. Basically he's a little pissed off that he doesn't have dibs to her story now, though he did raise a little point in his scathing cutdown of her.
Also in "Burn"
For confirmation that Victoria's properly a goner, read this .... http://www.spoilertv.com/2015/04/revenge-season-4-spoiler-confirmed-to.html
Margaux: "Victoria, I beg you don't let this woman into your life."
Louise: "Well someone has to lighten the mood around here. You're about as depressing as a Yankee groom at a Southern wedding."
Was this show trying to do their own brief version of Once Upon A Time's Queens of Darkness with Victoria, Margaux and Louise?
Tony: "Everything is fixable."
Nolan: "That is debatable."
Victoria (re Emily, to Louise): "She's taken everything away from me - my son, his child, Charlotte. She will not stop until I'm dead and I refuse to give her that satisfaction.
I just realised that Josh Pence who plays Tony actually played a younger version of Ras Al Ghul in The Dark Knight Rises. Maybe Margaux/Louise can get Victoria to a Lazarus pit.
Emily (re Tony): "I hear he's a really great guy."
Nolan: "Go finish this."
Louise: "Good on you, wreck a marriage, get a sugar daddy."
Tony: "Now that's not true."
This episode saw the real Emily's gravestone change (she was born on October 3rd 1985) as well as Stevie getting Carl's birth certificate changed too.
Jack (to Nolan, re Emily): "I'm asking you as a friend, don't ever tell me she loves me again."
Nolan: "I've never met anyone like you."
Tony: "Now you have."
Standout music: Talking Heads "Burning Down The House". Oh, how very fitting for this episode.
Mason (to Emily): "Like the little pyromaniac you are, you started a fire and convinced yourself you could contain it but I know your dirty little secret. You can't exist without revenge."
Chronology: From where "Exposure" more or less left off.
"Burn" certainly lived up to it's title. Whether it was that scathing commentary Emily received courtesy of Mason at the end or Victoria's suicide, this was just an incredible episode. ABC might as well just admit it now that the remaining three episodes will end this show.
Rating: 9 out of 10
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