My Review of Revenge's 1x02: "Trust"

Written by Mike Kelley And Joe Fazzio
Directed by Philip Noyce

Nolan (to Emily): “Call it whatever you want. I’m just happy to be here, coach.”

Okay, maybe I’m jumping the freaking gun here but if this episode is anything of an indicator, maybe the real star of this show isn’t Emily Van Camp after all – maybe it’s Gabriel Mann because as Nolan, he really leaves something of an impression on me.

Maybe Nolan embarks the cliché of rich oddball who really wants friends but damn it, it certainly worked a treat. He was less interested in buying the ‘Amanda’ boat from Jack and actually more interested in befriending the guy. Granted, Nolan’s techniques for trying to make friends could do with some tweaking but it’s hard not to feel bad for him.

He seems to be the only rich person in the Hamptons that isn’t vacuous and despite Emily’s resistance towards him, she should be thankful that he actually bought her home and put the deed in her name before Victoria had her evicted. With an enemy like Victoria, Nolan is definitely someone you’d want in your corner.

Also, I’m actually convinced he wants to help Emily. Again, the episode went down the cliché route of having Nolan’s desire to help Emily be down to the fact that her father was instrumental in getting Nolan’s company up and running but it works well for the character and if Emily is smart, she will definitely keep Nolan on side.

The little stunt she pulled with ‘betraying’ information from Nolan in order to ruin Bill Harmon might have worked well for the both of them this week but future stunts like that could end up causing problems between Emily and Nolan down the road. That being said, Nolan didn’t seem too shocked when she gave out false information to take Bill down.

Ah, Bill – another Grayson lackey who ended up spelling David’s downfall and another one who seemed not to care about doing so. Is Victoria the only person on this show whose betrayed David and actually feels bad about it? I suspect so but I kind of hope that I am wrong as well on that score.

As a character, Bill felt a little flat and I found myself more intrigued by Lydia losing everything in her divorce battle than I did about Bill getting charmed and played so easily by Emily. That’s actually twice we’ve seen Emily financially ruin people. I do hope she’s got more up her sleeve as the show progresses.

Speaking about people having things up their sleeves – I do love Victoria doing her level best to outwit Emily throughout the episode. She failed with the house (thank you, Nolan) but it does seem those missing years for Emily and a mystery bloke are interesting. That being said though, I have a feeling that Frank is going to end up being disposed of before Victoria can actually get anything proper on Emily.

Of course, it’s not all about big schemes as well this week; even little ones like Declan trying to get Charlotte away from her meathead of a boyfriend backfired big time. I’m still not really that fussed about either Declan or Charlotte as characters but I felt a little bad for the former, especially considering the crap his family is going through at the moment.

I can also buy into Carl not wanting Jack to help bail him out over the bar but trying to kill himself isn’t a solution either. If the writers wanted us to sympathise with Jack, then they’ve got it in spades. Already I like the character and I also hope there’s more interactions between him and Emily as well.

Last but not least – Daniel isn’t a total airhead after all. That’s good to know. No, in all fairness, I think he does genuinely seem to like Emily a lot, so it’s too bad for him that she’s clearly sinking her claws into him to get at Victoria. I think I’m more of an Emily/Jack fan but I do like Daniel, probably more than his father or sister but nowhere near as much as his scheming mother.

Also in “Trust”

Is this show gonna be like Smallville and have only one word episode titles?

Conrad: “I stopped playing game with you when I fired you eighteen years ago.”
Bill: “I say that particular game worked out pretty well for the both of us.”

I just noticed that in the first episode, David was played by Marc Blucas but here, he’s played by James Tupper. I wonder why they changed it.

Daniel: “I was hoping you wouldn’t be here to see this.”
Emily: “Sorry to disappoint you. If it helps, I made a bet that you’d win.”

Frank (re Emily): “Why are you so interested in this girl anyway?”
Victoria: “Because she’s interested in my son. Need I remind you what happened to that cocktail waitress Daniel fell for last summer?”

Ashley and Daniel threw a surprise party for Emily moving to the Hamptons while Emily celebrated her own birthday in flashbacks and alone in the present day.

Jack: “You don’t know how to sail?”
Nolan: “Was thinking we might make another arrangement.”

Victoria: “I think it’s time you and I got to know each other a bit better.”
Emily: “Looking forward to it.”

Is that dog Sammy actually Amanda’s instead of Jack’s originally? I actually thought Jack was the owner in the first episode.

Emily: “I told you if you get in my way, I would take you down. You stole my house.”
Nolan: “If I hadn’t, Victoria would’ve.”

Victoria: “I’d say our choices define us.”
Emily: “Maybe for the lucky but sometimes in life, we’re not always given the choice.”

This week’s event (after from the party at Emily’s) was a polo match that Daniel had taken part in. Emily seems to know her stuff about horses as well. She also spun Daniel a false story about her parents.

Emily: How should I dress?”
Daniel: “Surprise me.”

Jack: “I’ve been busy.”
Nolan: “Doesn’t look like it.”

Standout music: Agnes Obel’s “Avenue”.

Emily: “But trusting your heart is the riskiest thing of all. In the end, the only person we can truly trust is our self. Happy birthday, Amanda.”

Chronology: Twelve weeks before the opening scene of the “Pilot” episode.

As a second episode, “Trust” is a solid episode. Emily used Bill’s trust in her to ruin him while at the same time is resisting trusting Nolan, gaining Daniel’s trust and not Victoria’s, which she will need. Something tells me that with Victoria, Emily may have bitten off more than she can chew.

Rating: 8 out of 10