Summer may be over in the real world, but in the Hamptons it’s still in full swing. Revenge has decamped to the far reaches of Long Island for yet another season of soapy high-society sabotage, as Emily Thorne (née Amanda Clarke) searches for the truth about her family and rains vengeance on those who betrayed them. This year, we’re keeping track of her quest — and the schemes of her friends, allies, and sworn enemies — by declaring winners and losers for each episode. Discover who came out on top in last night’s Season 2 premiere, which found Emily reaching deep into her own psyche for clues about her mother, after the jump.
WINNERS
Emily: Our heroine is off to a smashing start this season, unlocking some vague memories of her mother’s last days in the psych ward and recruiting poor Nolan to accompany her on a fact-finding mission through its ruins. Already, they’ve realized that Victoria may have also orchestrated her mom’s demise. By the end of the hour, Emily knows Victoria isn’t dead and has even visited her, passing on information about the crooked doctor who’s keeping Charlotte locked up because “I’m just so glad you’re alive!” Which is, of course, true — but only because it means she’s still around for Emily to pump for information and, ultimately, destroy.
Victoria: Hey, she’s not dead! Obviously she’s not dead. She’s just hiding out under government protection, helping build a case against Conrad and trying to run her daughter’s life via secret cell phone. What, you thought Revenge would drop Madeleine Stowe after only one season? Pssht! (Plus, she was in some of the Season 2 cast photos.)
Ashley: Last year she was Victoria’s assistant; this year she’s Daniel’s new girlfriend and the new lady of the Grayson household, running the show with the help of a brand new minion. Upgrade!
LOSERS
Nolan: OK, yes, he and Emily are a team again. We’re all super-psyched about that. But when we first encounter him, he’s at a boxing gym and in the process of selling his house in the Hamptons. Although he’s a fairly good sport about bunking with Emily while she insinuates herself back into the Graysons’ circle (“sounds revengey”!), Nolan seems ready to move on.
Jack: Oof. Poor Jack has decided to do the right thing — he’s stuck by pregnant Amanda even though his heart belongs to Emily (who, you will recall, is the real Amanda he remembers from childhood). He kicks off the season pretty dejected, and allows Emily to plant some doubts about whether Amanda’s baby is really his.
Amanda: “If he learns the truth about me, everyone learns the truth about you,” she threatens Emily. So, while she’s hung on to Jack this long, it can’t last. We see her lying awake at night after he asks about the kid’s paternity, and on this show, that can only mean he really isn’t the father.
Daniel: He’s drinking, brooding, and dating gold-digging Ashley? Someone stage an intervention, STAT.
Conrad: With Charlotte clearly loyal to her mother and Daniel refusing to sign over his trust fund money to Grayson Global, Conrad’s got family problems galore — and he doesn’t even know Victoria’s still alive yet!
Charlotte: The youngest Grayson has worked hard to kick her pill addiction, but her sketchy doctor is in cahoots with her dad, fabricating blood test results to keep her locked away. Of course, she knows something Conrad doesn’t, and that’s bound to bite him soon enough.