Emily VanCamp draws the curtain on settling the score in Revenge
AS Emily VanCamp puts down her sword and calls time on the take-downs, we revisit the Revenge characters we loved, loved to hate and who left us mystified
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EMILY Thorne’s (Emily VanCamp) quest for vengeance is over.
Revenge, cancelled in US after four seasons, draws the curtain on death and vengeance in the Hampton’s on Australian screens tomorrow night.
Some say it’s a mercy killing — Emily’s vengeance path took quite a hit when it turned out the dead man she was doing it in the name of — her father — was actually alive.
And really, how many bullets and jail sentences could one woman with a deadly vendetta dodge in a lifetime?
When Revenge launched, audiences relished in its irresistibly soapy — and often barely believable way — of taking down the rich and privileged.
Here are five Revengers we loved, loved to hate, or left us mystified by their gullibility.
EMILY/AMANDA
PLAYED with cunning, bordering-on-psychopathic aplomb by Emily VanCamp, the woman born Amanda Clarke transformed into a killer with a new identity when she found out her dead father was falsely accused of terrorism, and that Victoria Grayson was responsible.
Emily Thorne surfaced in the Hamptons as a wealthy socialite, and started crossing people off her revenge list — red ‘x’s and all — with a special place marked in hell for Victoria.
She either ruined their lives, or killed them.
Along the way she survived being shot twice, buried alive, and found out the whole vengeance thing was misguided because her dad was still alive.
And her Mum, for that matter.
Still, she ploughed on.
And did it all while channelling ninja skills, wearing killer frocks, and sleeping with the hottest blokes on the show. Bravo.
VICTORIA GRAYSON
PURE evil, Victoria threw anyone under the bus — ostensibly to protect her family — but we all knew the Hamptons society queen wanted most to protect herself.
Madeleine Stowe — the mistress of the withering, icy stare and veiled insult — was delicious in the role.
As Emily’s nemesis she faked her own death — twice — locked her own daughter up in rehab, and calmly recruited contractors to kill, or pulled the trigger herself.
Emily locked her up in a mental health facility for six months, and she still walked out unscathed.
The writing was on the wall in season one when she hissed at ‘friend’ Lydia: “Understand something Lydia: Every time I smile at you across the 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. And every time I hug you? The warmth you feel is my hatred burning through.”
NOLAN ROSS
WE loved his many mad hairstyles. We loved his out-there fashion.
We loved his unwavering loyalty to Emily, we loved his smarts and his evil side.
But the thing we loved most about Gabriel Mann’s Nolan was that he got the lion’s share of the one-liners, delivered with sardonic sarcasm and wit.
Some of the gems from the sidekick who often stole the show include: “Sacrificial lamb, reporting for slaughter”; “But then again I’m just a self-made billionaire with a 170 IQ, so what would I know, right?” and “Don’t do anything revenge-y til I get there”.
So loved by viewers that they’re hoping he gets a spin-off show.
DANIEL GRAYSON
LET’S face it, Victoria got all the nasty genes. Her son was a sop. Josh Bowman’s character couldn’t even do evil convincingly. Despite being screwed over by Emily multiple times, he fell in love with her and still kept coming back for more. The puppet occasionally managed to turn string-puller — when he took on his father Conrad for example — but couldn’t channel revenge as well as the alpha-women in his life. When he took a bullet for Emily to save her life, fans mourned, but Bowman confessed he was surprised Daniel had lasted that long. Yeah, he died a hero, but never seemed to figure out he was always destined to be a pawn.
JACK PORTER
JACK was the only bloke, aside from Aiden (Barry Sloane) Emily had true feelings for, but wow, did her former childhood BFF pay for it.
Even the man who played Jack, Nick Weschler, reckons childhood connection, deja-vu and sweet, sweet love aside, Jack should have walked.
The hot barman was lied to, just about killed several times, and lost his dog, family, friends and lovers in the crossfire.
He spent a lot of time in hospitals.
With a protector like Emily, you don’t need enemies. And all he ever wanted to do was get on his boat (which got blown up) and sail off into the sunset. Maybe now he’ll get his chance.
REVENGE SERIES FINAL
MONDAY, 8.30PM, SEVEN
Originally published as Emily VanCamp draws the curtain on settling the score in Revenge