Revenge: A Rock or A Gem?!

Hello, Everyone! At the behest of some of my readers and friends, I have decided to blog about a new series that premiered in 2011 that seems to be continuously gaining in popularity. I must warn readers at this early stage that this piece will contain SPOILERS, however I will do my best to limit them to the overall story-line and not give away specific episode plots. I want everyone who's reading this to know, I have spent the last 2 weeks catching-up with revenge and have just watched the latest episode of season 1, (ep. 18-Justice) and this have good hindsight on which to base my review of the show on.

Let me start by saying that the reason this show is so popular is because it is about getting payback on the rich; that 1% that pretty much everybody else envies and would still like to see brought down. The Germans coined a term: "schadenfreude", which essentially means that people "delight in the misfortune of others". If you were a fan of the late show Boston Legal, you will no doubt remember the reference to this term in the brilliant closing of Alan Shore in the finale of season 2 whilst he was defending a Hollywood star for attempted murder. The truth is the 99% enjoy the misfortune of the rich for a variety of reasons; envy, jealousy, anger etc and it is perhaps the scientific reason why many are so enamored with the show.


The writers of the show give you every reason to hate The Grayson family; they have a ridiculous amount of money, they influence everyone and everything around them for their own benefit, they easily get away with crimes and pretty much every falsehood and wrong they commit- essentially they are above the law, if not the law themselves proving that indeed  "MONEY IS POWER"! Therefore, from the get-go the TV show rallies you to be on "Emily Thorne's" side as most would agree that her vendetta is justified, me being amongst them. You therefore ignore small facts like she is also ridiculously rich, her absorption with revenge is affecting good people around her, she exploits pretty much anyone for her benefit as well- but what the hell- she deserves revenge right!

I guess what my point is- the show is enjoyed for very superficial reasons! Most successful TV shows create characters you can relate to and make them an intricate part of the story-line so that you can root for them with time. Even superficial shows like Gossip Girl and/or the OC had relatable characters in the form of Dan and Ryan at least in the first season of each. (I couldn't watch the other seasons- the shows were just too ludicrous i'm afraid). Revenge tries to have a relatable character to the 99% in the form of Declan and Jack Porter. Truthfully, Declan is an annoying character who is blinded by puppy love of a teenage rich kid. He is so obsessed with getting to be with this girl and becoming the man that the rich girl deserves that he becomes unrelatable. People desire wealth, don't get me wrong, but seldom is it ever because you want to be deserving of the daughter of one of the richest families in the world. Speaking of Charlotte Grayson, she is also an annoying character- teenage rebel who is dating the "not wealthy at all" Declan to piss her mom off and will self-destruct, start drugs etc.. too much of a cliche to even warrant more comments. Another completely pointless character is the "Ashley chic"... I mean really??? Girl from Croydon who wants to be wealthy so bad that she will kiss the ass of whoever to get there and hopefully, she'll marry into wealth or a big bag of money will fall out the sky and fall in her lap! If I were the writer, and since there is time for the show, there is still an opportunity to do this- instead of her being loyal, they should groom Ashley to be another villain to the Graysons.. If she want's to be rich so bad, the easiest way there is Blackmail- especially in her circles.


The fact is, the show as it stands only requires a few main characters because at the end of the day, that is where the story revolves. I will say this however, the show has done a remarkable job of hiring guest stars. The show is pinned as a story about revenge, and therefore a certain amount of darkness is expected with the plot. Tyler Baroll played by Ashton Holmes was an inspired character and in fact became one of the major reasons i continued watching the show. He was nuts, smart and determined to get what he wanted.. if anything, Ashley through dating him should have become more like him- that would certainly have made her a much more interesting cast member. Additionally, the role of "Amanda Clarke" played by Margarita Levieva is also interesting because we can all see an air of unpredictability and craziness. That is what this show needs, instead of the several lovey-dovey plots it has going on.

The main plot involving the Graysons, Emily and Nolan Ross is sufficiently interesting though, not WOW- but interesting enough to keep a regular viewership from most television watchers. Personally, because I'm such a TV-addict, I fear that this show will do what most shows or movies with such a plot do and that is "cop-out". I believe that in the end she will abandon her pursuit of revenge and instead pursue love, even though she will have caused some damage to The Graysons, it will not be as intended- and that infuriates me. Then again, if the writers don't cop-out, I will be very impressed. But we all know how such plots are; it is inevitable. I would sincerely doubt my conclusion if the show took a bold move like killing one of its regular cast members, something that takes balls and very few shows have done i.e LOST, 24... and those are perhaps the most successful shows of all time. REVENGE, DO SOMETHING BOLD, and THEY MAY BE HOPE YET TO BECOME A GEM.. For Now, You are simply a Shiny stone that is unidentifiable.


Revenge: 6.5/10. A Harsh Review, but an honest one! I am sure most would disagree on principal, and I will get a backlash for this- oh well!