Revenge (TV series)

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
"This is not a story about forgiveness."
—Emily Thorne

Emily Thorne (Emily Van Camp) is new to the Hamptons. She's met some of her wealthy neighbors, has made a few new friends and seemingly blends into the town. But something is a little odd about a young girl living in a wealthy town all on her own, and the truth is that Emily isn't exactly new to the neighborhood. In fact, this was once her old neighborhood, until something bad happened that ruined her family and their reputation. Now Emily is back, and she's returned to right some of those wrongs in the best way she knows how -- with a vengeance.

A modern retelling of Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo.

Tropes used in Revenge (TV series) include:
  • Action Girl: Emily is very proficient at beating people up with her bare hands. She's also very comfortable with guns.
  • A Friend in Need: Nolan is the only friend of Amanda's father who does not abandon him. When Amanda turns 18 he comes to her and tells her of her father's innocence and gives her her father's 49% worth of shares of Nolan's company (worth billions of dollars) since her father was Nolan's first investor and Nolan believes he would not have succeeded without him.
    • He also is determined to help Emily in her quest for vengeance, even when she doesn't want him to.
  • Alpha Bitch: Victoria rules the Hamptons with an iron fist.
  • Amoral Attorney: Ryan Huntley, Victoria's lawyer, who's willing to fake documents in order to help Victoria nullify her prenup and extort more out of Conrad in their divorce.
    • As it turns out, he's actually been working for Emily. Take that as you will.
  • Annoying Younger Sibling: Declan Porter, probably just as much for the viewers as for his brother Jack.
  • Anti-Hero: Emily's a Type IV; she goes after Asshole Victims but isn't exactly concerned about the innocent people who get hurt along the way, like the employees of an investment firm that she bankrupts.
  • Arbitrarily-Large Bank Account: While we're never given a definitive number on the size of Nolan's fortune, we are told that the combined wealth of the Hampton's elite is worth approximately the same as a week's worth of interest on his money. It's big enough that he can buy Emily's house out from under Victoria, and then give it away. Since Emily owns the other 49% of Nolan's company it seems safe to say that she has this as well.
  • Arch Enemy: Victoria Grayson is Emily's, although the former doesn't know about it yet.
  • Ax Crazy: Tyler becomes even more unhinged when he stops taking his medication. He stabs Nolan and threatens the people at Danie's party with a gun.
    • The real Emily Thorne.
  • The Atoner:
    • Daniel
    • Mason Treadwell
    • Victoria, of all people, starts coming off as this in the last few episodes of the season, as she dedicates herself to taking down Conrad for what happened to David Clarke, no matter the cost.
  • Baby Trap: Apparently Victoria got Conrad to marry her by faking a pregnancy. After the wedding she had a fake Convenient Miscarriage
  • Batman Gambit: Emily has studied her targets and knows which character flaws of theirs to exploit to bring them down
    • The crooked hedge fund manager is a gambler and built his fortune on insider trading so Emily presents him with an irresistible chance to gamble on a 'surefire' stock tip.
  • The Beard: Ashley seems to be this for Tyler.
  • Best Served Cold: Emily cites this in her closing narration of the pilot episode.
  • Beta Couple: Declan and Charlotte, Tyler and Ashley.
  • Big Brother Worship: Charlotte seems to adore Daniel, turning to him rather than her parents when she gets in trouble.
  • Big Screwed-Up Family: The Graysons, although not a big family, otherwise fit the definition pretty well.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Emily can seem really nice to people she wants to win over, but her real persona is very different. Also Tyler, who takes great pains to appear wholesome and impress the Graysons.
    • As the series goes along, the previously comparatively sweet-tempered Ashley is revealed to be something of a naked opportunist who views with contempt the rich people she works for/befriends
  • Bi the Way: Nolan claims to be about a 3 on the Kinsey scale, right after he reveals that Tyler spent last summer living with another man
    • Fake Amanda/Real Emily makes out with a girl at the Stowaway.
  • Blackmail: Attempted by Lydia Davis towards the Graysons.
  • Bodyguard Crush: Between Victoria and Frank, the Graysons' chief of security.
  • Book Ends: The explosion of an airplane.
  • But Not Too Black: Ashley
  • Buy Them Off: The Graysons started the Victims United charity for the purposes of easing Victoria's guilty conscience about the victims of the plane crash.
    • On a smaller scale, Conrad tries to gain Victoria's forgiveness for his affair with Lydia by buying her a sports car. Victoria, in turn, gives the car to Charlotte in hopes of buying Charlotte's forgiveness.
  • Byronic Hero: Emily.
  • Chekhov's Gun: Since the show is a mystery/thriller, this trope is used a lot.
    • There is a literal case in the third episode when Daniel spots Emily's gun at her house, the same gun used in the pilot's teaser that will allegedly murder him.
  • The Chessmaster: Emily is certainly this, given the way she played Lydia and Bill like fiddles to ruin them. Only time will tell, but she is working her way towards being a full on Magnificent Bastard.
    • She seems to have learned everything she knows from the warden of the juvenile hall she was incarcerated.
  • Childhood Friends: Emily/Amanda and Jack were this. We're not given details, but they were close enough that he later names his boat after her and now takes care of her former dog Sammy.
  • Childhood Friend Romance: Jack has fallen for Emily without even realizing that she and Amanda are one and the same. She seems to return the feelings but refuses to act on them due to her revenge plot and relationship with Daniel.
    • To make things more complicated, he and the real Emily (who is impersonating Amanda for Amanda) seem to have a thing for each other.
  • Classical Mythology: Sammy - and his odd longevity - may be a reference to Odysseus's dog Argos, who recognized his master after 20 years of separation.
  • Cliff Hanger: The first season ends with Emily calling off her engagement to Daniel only to find her chances with Jack ruined by Amanda revealing she's pregnant, the plane carrying Victoria (and all the evidence that could exonerate David Clarke) exploding, Charlotte overdosing, and Emily learning that her mother is still alive.
  • Cool Boat: Jack's (now Nolan's) boat is this, a hand restored sail boat that looks nothing short of fantastic.
  • Con Man: Tyler. Unfortunately for him, Nolan is better.

Nolan: You can't con a con.

  • Convenient Coma: Lydia
  • Convenient Miscarriage: Victoria had a fake one after she married Conrad. She was never pregnant and used a Baby Trap to get him to marry her.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: Conrad Grayson.
  • Cowardly Sidekick: Nolan to Emily.
  • Crap Saccharine World: The Hamptons might seem like a sunny world of parties and pretty, rich people but underneath it is built on lies and betrayal.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Mason Treadwell. He comes off, at first, as a smug dandy, who enjoys the fruits of his betrayal to Emily and David. After Emily burns down his house, however, we see him destroy Victoria's chance at defending Daniel and said he would take her down. When threatened with his corruption being exposed, he merely stated that it would be a small price to pay for restoring his soul.
  • Daddy's Girl: Amanda was definitely this, before he was arrested for treason. After discovering his innocence, she's now this again.
    • Charlotte Grayson is considerably closer to her father than her mother.
      • Until it's revealed that she's actually David Clarke's daughter, and their relationship falls apart.
  • Dangerously Genre Savvy: Victoria. At the end of the first episode, she's already checking into Emily Thorne's past.
  • The Danza: Three - Emily VanCamp as Emily, Emily Alyn Lind as Emily in flashbacks, and Ashley Madekwe as Ashley.
  • Dark Secret: Framing David Clarke is the Graysons', and they will protect it at any cost.
  • Dawson Casting: 21-year-old Connor Paolo as Declan, who is 17 (at most).
  • Deadpan Snarker: Nolan also Conrad as of late.
  • Deal with the Devil:
    • Many of the people who helped convict David Clarke did so because the Graysons bribed them.
    • Conrad Grayson framed David Clarke in order to cover up the deal he made with a terrorist group.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: When Amanda first met the real Emily in juvie, they got into a brief but brutal fight; now, they seem rather close, enough for Emily being willing to switch identities.
  • Department of Child Disservices: The child psychologist in charge of Amanda's case tried to break her spirit and brainwash her into thinking her father was a despicable human being. She is the reason why Amanda spent most of her childhood in a juvenile detention facility. Victoria bribed her to do so
  • Depraved Bisexual: Tyler and, depending on your point of view, Nolan
  • The Dog Bites Back: Mason's second appearance has shades of this -- Victoria recruits his help in proving Daniel's innocence, but when he's led to believe that she's been deceiving him, he goes in the exact opposite direction, more or less destroying the defense's case.
  • Dogged Nice Guy: Declan towards Charlotte.
  • Doomed by Canon: This looks to be where Daniel is headed given the How We Got Here set up in the beginning of the pilot.
    • Subverted. Daniel's death was a Red Herring -- it was Tyler who was shot, not him.
  • Downer Ending: the Season one finale.
  • The Dragon: Nolan is more or less this to Emily. Whether she likes it or not.
  • Driven to Suicide: Potentially, Charlotte.
  • Drop What You Are Doing: Ashley shatters a wine glass when she walks in on Tyler kissing Nolan.
  • Easy Amnesia: Due to her injuries Lydia cannot remember what happened shortly before her accident and thus cannot tell the police that Frank pushed her
  • Emotionless Girl: Emily tries to be this saying her feelings are irrelevant, but when it comes to Jack getting beat up...
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The one redeeming quality both Conrad and Victoria have is that they genuinely love their children -- well, at least Daniel.
    • Conrad also seems to genuinely love Lydia and is visibly upset when he realizes she's turned on him.
  • Evil-Detecting Dog: Sammy does not like real-Emily. At first, anyway; he seems to warm up to her quickly.
  • Evil Matriarch: "Queen" Victoria Grayson.
  • Family Business: The bar Jack works at: owned by his Dad, run by the two of them plus his brother.
    • Grayson Global was founded by Conrad's father and he is still chairman of the board while Conrad's the CEO. Daniel is being groomed to be the CEO when Conrad retires.
  • Gambit Pileup: Most of Emily's plans involve manipulating people into manipulating each other.
  • Gender Flip: Edmond is now Emily.
  • God Save Us From the Queen: Victoria is the poster girl for this trope.
  • Gray and Black Morality: Emily versus her victims.
  • Have You Told Anyone Else?: Frank, of all people, falls for this. Considering he used to be the one to silence inconvenient witnesses, he should have been more Genre Savvy.
  • Hoist By Her Own Petard: Victoria tries to buy Declan off to get him to break up with Charlotte. He responds by faking breaking up with her in order to get the money, then putting that money towards getting his own place where he and Charlotte can go. And then the two of them have sex. Great parenting there, Victoria.
  • Hollywood Hacking: Nolan can casually hack into other people's laptops and computer tablets. It takes him only a few minutes to hack into Adam's laptop and activate its webcam even though he does not know Adam or what kind of computer the guy owns. Nolan is a computer genius and has access to enormous resources but it is still way too easy.
  • Honey Trap: Emily is actively working on seducing Daniel Grayson (and judging by the opening flashforward, she'll succeed), although her exact plans are unknown.
    • It's implied that Emily also set one for Mike Davis by introducing him to the woman who later became his mistress.
  • How We Got Here: The pilot opens five months after Emily moves in to provide a tease of how far Emily will go to get her revenge, before we go back to her moving in and wait to get back there.
  • Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: All the episodes have one word titles.
  • Ironic Echo: Emily's takedowns frequently fit this trope.
    • Lydia entered the Hamptons upper-crust thanks to her betraying David Clarke - and Emily's revenge gets her kicked out.
    • Dr. Banks made sure Amanda was locked in a small, dark room without any hope of escape - and Emily locked her in a box of her own.
    • Bill got involved in the conspiracy because of his gambling debts and insider trading - and loses everything when Emily tricks him into betting big on an insider tip.
    • Tom Kingsley launched his political career by participating in the frame-up - and lost it when Emily framed him.
    • Mason Treadwell took away the only opportunity David Clarke had to get his story out there - and Emily burned the only copy of his new book. Also, after reading his first book's lies as a child, Emily burned a treasured photo of her dad.
  • Ivy League for Everyone: Daniel and Tyler were Harvard roommates. Justified since they're legacies.
  • Jerkass: Tyler. His motives for trying to break Daniel and Emily up and appear like he's protecting Daniel to his family aren't clear, but his methods certainly are asshole-ish.
    • Apparently he was merely doing it for the evulz... until his psychotic break, that is.
  • Kill It with Fire: How Emily dealt with the corrupt biographer.
    • Specifically, the biographer's house, which contained his research and manuscript.
  • Killed Off for Real: Frank.
    • Tyler.
    • According to Word of God, at least one of Lydia, Victoria, and Charlotte, as of the season finale.
  • Like Brother and Sister: According to the actors, Emily and Nolan are supposed to be like this.
  • Lonely Rich Kid: Nolan is this, a problem he attempts to solve by bribing Jack into hanging out with him.
    • On the other hand, he apparently has enough company at the mansion to have a collection of "house bikinis" onhand.
  • Love Dodecahedron: It started out as a nice, simple Love Triangle: Daniel and Jack are both in love with Emily, who has romantic feelings for Jack but has to stay with Daniel (for whom she may or may not also have feelings) because it's part of her plan. Then things got complicated: First, there's Tyler, who's in love with (or at least obsessed with) Daniel, but is dating Ashley while having an affair with Nolan. Then, there is "Amanda" who is dating Jack while pretending to be his childhood friend and you've got a web that should keep everyone tangled up for several seasons. And that isn't even getting into the older generation...
  • Love Makes You Evil: Lydia.
  • Make It Look Like an Accident: Lydia's near death; it didn't go the way Frank planned, but he was probably making it look like suicide even if she hadn't fallen off her balcony.
    • Which he clearly did a great job of given that he physically confronted her before throwing her off the roof...aren't signs of struggle the first indicator of non-suicide?
  • The Man Behind the Man: Takeda is more or less this to Emily, as he taught her everything she knows about the art of revenge, and moves in and out of the story whenever it's necessary for him to aid her, even when she doesn't want it, including killing Tyler and framing Daniel for it in order to keep her scheme on track.
    • The Americon Initiative, represented by the White Haired Man, is this to Conrad and the Graysons.
  • Manipulative Bastard: Tyler so very much.
  • Meaningful Name: Emily Thorne, which is lampshaded by Nolan.
    • The Porters, who are the poorest characters on the show.
    • The Graysons.
      • "Grayson" may also qualify as an Ironic Name, given that the original meaning of the name was "son of a servant."
  • Minored in Asskicking: Emily was a Little Miss Badass in juvie, but now using her brains to get revenge in the Hamptons.
    • And she's trained in the Japanese martial arts.
  • Morality Pet: Unexpectedly, Nolan for Emily. Jack, to a lesser extent.
    • Charlotte serves this function for Conrad.
  • Ms. Fanservice: Original Emily/Fake Amanda. Her first appearance is as a stripper, and it pretty much goes downhill (or uphill, depending on your perspective) from there.
  • My Beloved Smother: Victoria to Daniel.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: Nolan has this reaction after watching the video of Frank attack Lydia, an event that he inadvertently helped set in motion.
  • Nakama: Despite Amanda's manipulations, and her constantly keeping Emily in the dark and getting her in a lot of dangerous situations, it's clear that she really does love her like a sister, and will follow her to Hell itself.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Emily ultimately decides not to kill the White Haired Man (the man who killed her father), because she knows her father wouldn't want her to be a killer -- but since he's still alive, he's able to blow up the plane carrying Victoria and all the evidence that could incriminate Conrad and clear David's name.
  • No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup: A writer keeps all copies of the manuscript for his new book and all his research material in his home. Emily sets fire to the house
    • Inverted in the case of the psychologist who was not supposed to record her sessions and keep copies of the recordings.
  • Once an Episode: Emily destroys the life of someone related to her father's conviction. Hinted at during a news report she was watching in the second episode that described the person testifying as "one of many" former friends now testifying. Looks like she has her work cut out for her. This gets dropped after a few episodes, though.
    • Emily's opening and closing narrations, on the other hand, are still used.
  • Parental Abandonment: Jack and Declan Porter's mother abandoned her family when the boys were very young and they were raised by their father.
  • Poisonous Friend: Nolan is an inversion of this: while he is fanatically loyal to Emily/Amanda and assists her in her revenge scheme, he also frequently points out that she would probably be happier if she just dropped the whole thing and went off somewhere to enjoy her wealth.
  • Promotion to Parent: When their father dies from a heart attack, the adult Jack becomes Declan's guardian.
  • Put on a Bus: Tyler.
  • Rage Breaking Point: At one point, Emily is considering taking a break from her quest for vengeance due to fallout from her latest power play to destroy the Grayson's divorce proceedings, and even considers leaving Daniel. Then, she learns instead of admitting that she had affair, Victoria claims that Emily's father raped her, she smiles, and instantly recommits to annihilating Victoria, all thoughts of collateral damage and remorse forgotten. The last shot of the episode is of her staring at Victoria in the distance with cold, chilling rage.
  • The Reveal: Several episodes have flashbacks revealing how Emily managed to ruin her target's life.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Emily gave Tyler a major one in episode 11 also count as Kick the Son of a Bitch for framing him for Frank's murder which he didn't commit, but he deserved it though.
  • Revenge: What were you expecting, a story about forgiveness?
  • Rich Suitor, Poor Suitor:
    • Charlotte, Victoria's daughter, has both - Declan Porter as the poor, and her ex-boyfriend Adam as the rich.
    • Emily herself has Jack and Daniel.
  • Sadistic Choice: Emily knows that Daniel is innocent of murdering Tyler...but she also knows Jack was the other guy on the beach. Any steps she takes to protect Jack will hurt Daniel and vice versa.
  • Sarcastic Confession: Emily: "Because that's exactly what I wanted. My most embarrassing confessions about [Daniel] broadcast for all the world to see."
  • Scary Black Man: Nolan's bodyguard, Big Ed.
  • Secret Keeper: Nolan for Emily.
  • See You in Hell: The last exchange between Conrad and Victoria in the season finale:

Conrad: If you get on that plane, it's the last thing you'll ever do.
Victoria: Then I guess I'll see you in Hell!

  • Setting Update
  • Shout-Out:
  • Shipper on Deck: Nolan seems to be shipping Jack/Emily, although his motives remain unclear. It's possible he just wants to anchor her to her happy past and not lose herself in the revenge. The two are also the closest things he has to actual friends/relationships.
    • And Sammy, the suspiciously long living Labrador.
  • Sins of Our Fathers: Emily definitely views Daniel as fair game in her revenge schemes, despite the fact that he would have been in elementary school at the time her father was betrayed. Though she has stated that while Daniel is part of the plan, he is not a target.
  • Smug Snake: Tyler and Lydia.
  • Spanner in the Works: Lydia tries to be one, and is thrown off a roof for her trouble.
    • "Amanda" (the real Emily) is threatening to become one as well.
    • Tyler's been steadily increasing as one since he first showed up. And it gets him killed.
  • Spoiled Sweet: Both of Victoria's kids seem to be this, Daniel is a nice guy who has simply made some mistakes, and Charlotte tries to treat everyone equally regardless of social status. Emily was this as a child, and her public persona has everyone believing that she is one as well, but she isn't this at all.
    • Nolan. Despite being a Deadpan Snarker, and the richest character in the series, he is incredibly empathetic, often looking in the best interest of Jack, Declan, and Emily.
  • Start of Darkness: The flashback episode "Legacy" is this for Emily.
  • Stepford Smiler: Victoria Grayson rarely stops smiling, even as it becomes clear that she loathes many of the other characters (her husband, Emily, Lydia...). Invoked by Victoria during a particularly vicious spiel to Lydia:

"Understand something, Lydia: every time I smile at you across a room, or we run into each other at a luncheon, or I welcome you into my home, let that smile be a reminder of just how much I despise you."

    • Emily herself is something of a heroic version of this, as she appears sunny and nice but is in actuality motivated by making those who hurt her father suffer
  • Take a Third Option: Due to Takeda's manipulations, Emily is stuck with choosing either Daniel or Jack to be framed for Tyler's murder. Instead, she frames one of Victoria's goons, thus protecting both boys.
  • That Man Is Dead: Emily declares Amanda to be no more in the pilot.
    • Which isn't entirely accurate -- she swapped identities with the real Emily Thorne (her cellmate), so Amanda Clarke still "exists", it's just someone else's identity now.
    • Emily has given Amanda (the fake one) a new identity now, although she doesn't seem to want to take it
  • The Unfavorite: Charlotte for Victoria.
  • Token Minority: Ashley.
  • Toxic Friend Influence: Tyler purposely is this to Daniel.
  • Tranquil Fury: Emily often displays this. Of course, this typically is lost on everyone but Nolan.
  • Unlimited Wardrobe: Justified, considering the setting.
  • Unwitting Pawn: Just about everyone is this to Emily, except for her mentors and Nolan (who's more of a witting pawn than anything else)
  • Villainous Breakdown: Between running out of his medication and losing all his blackmail material, Tyler has a rather impressive one.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: So far, all of Emily's victims.
    • Actually, there's a bit of logic behind this; if their life has been ruined already, there's no need for her to do so.
  • Violently Protective Girlfriend: In "Doubt" Emily beats the crap out of the guy Victoria hired to steal the tapes from Jack and who also arranged for Daniel to be beaten severely in prison so that he could be transferred to house arrest. "This is for Jack." "That was for Daniel!"
  • Wham! Episode: "Chaos". The person killed in the series-opening flashforward was Tyler, not Daniel, who appears to be the one who killed him.
  • Wham! Line: "Six months after the trial, Victoria gave birth to a baby girl. Ask her who the father is."
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Subverted. While Nolan does point out to Emily that her revenge is hurting innocent people, he himself doesn't seem too concerned about it. In fact, he almost seems impressed by her conviction. Until recently, anyway.
    • On the other hand, he does call her out when he finds out that the real Emily killed Frank, but it's somewhat unclear if he's upset about Frank's murder or just the fact that Emily got him involved.
    • He really lets her have it after her actions lead to Jack getting beat by one of Victoria's goons, and he hasn't stop calling her out on it since.
  • Whole-Episode Flashback: "Legacy" takes us back to late 2002 and the infamous Grayson New Year's Eve party of 2003.
  • Woman Scorned: When Victoria finds out about Lydia and Conrad's affair, she crushes Lydia, and effectively exiles her from the Hamptons.
    • Of course, then it's Lydia's turn to be scorned, and she threatens to expose the truth about David Clarke if Victoria doesn't take her back -- Frank actually refers to her as this at one point (though he was referring to Emily's actions, which she had been framed for and which she was innocent of).
  • Yandere: The real Emily Thorne has shades of this in regards to Emily/Amanda
  • Your Cheating Heart: If a villain on the show is married or in a relationship, he/she will be cheating:
    • Both Graysons have or still are cheating on each other.
    • Both Lydia Davis and her husband.
    • Charlotte's rich prick boyfriend.
    • The senator who was the DA who convicted Amanda's father had a mistress who got pregnant.
    • Tyler is cheating on Ashley with Nolan. Tyler says he's just doing it to (unsuccessfully, unbeknownst to him) manipulate Nolan, but how true that is remains to be seen.
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