Final episode! Emily vs Victoria: fight to the death
Emily and Victoria face off for their final battle as Revenge ends its four-season run forever.
For their final showdown in Revenge (2011-2015) on Saturday 2 January, Victoria Grayson’s (Madeleine Stowe) dressed in white and Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp) is in black. With all this nail-biting tension, we’re ruining our manicure here, because as the saying goes, “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” Is Revenge about to end its four seasons of all- out war with its bitterest rivals as corpses? Or will one femme fatale finally win the Battle Of The Hamptons? As Victoria prepares to attend her own funeral and Emily plots to break into and then out of prison, let’s look at the final knockout teams…
Revenge agenda: Emily (her real name is Amanda Clarke) was sent into the brutal foster care system after her dad David Clarke (James Tupper) was jailed because his lover Victoria and her husband Conrad Grayson (Henry Czerny) framed him for financing terrorism. Emily originally believed that he was murdered during a prison riot.
Triumph: we’ll never forget the clockwork perfection of her first strike, when Amanda targeted David’s exsecretary Lydia (Amber Valetta) who’d lied on the stand to help frame David. Emily, disguised as a waitress, tampered with Conrad’s soup during his tryst with Lydia, sending him to the hospital. She later “innocently” mentioned meeting Lydia and Conrad together at the South Fork Inn in front of Victoria at her art auction, making Victoria realise that Conrad was having some “afternoon delight” with her ex-best friend Lydia. (episode 1, August 2012 in SA).
Finale allies: computer genius Nolan Ross (Gabriel Mann), adoring childhood love Jack (Nick Wechsler) and supposedly dead dad David.
Emily VanCamp on the finale: “The idea that Victoria will follow her for the rest of her life is an interesting one. You do not want to see Amanda get off without any kind of pain or suffering. Emily will never truly be happy. She’s driven to be this person by this woman, which in turn created so much hate in this young girl. To have her gone is bittersweet in a weird way.”
Ambiguous Nolan Ross remark: “I’m just a hacker who provided the software that ran Emily Thorne. Now that Emily is gone, I’m obsolete.”
VICTORIA
Revenge agenda: teenaged Victoria’s mother Marion (Adrienne Barbeau) kicked her out of the house after her birth father raped her. A string of further rapes, pregnancies and betrayals followed until Victoria became ruthlessly manipulative. Choosing between the “love of her life” David and her rich hubby Conrad was no contest – Victoria chose security at any cost, including (she thought) destroying any chance of David’s daughter Amanda exposing the cover-up.
Triumph: set up an actor to seduce her mom so that she could humiliate her by exposing Marion’s past at Thanksgiving dinner, prompting him to “dump” her. The fact that Conrad helped set up the scheme revealed a deep loyalty in their marriage (season 2 episode 8 in 2013).
Finale allies: Emily-hater Margaux (Karine Vanasse), fellow asylum inmate Louise Ellis (Elena Satine) and her mom Marion’s corpse. One of these will turn on her in the finale.
Madeleine Stowe on the finale: “She made the decision to betray David because her son was being threatened and that isn’t something a lot of people pay attention to. I understand why she would view Amanda as the enemy all the way to her grave. She’s determined to go to the grave and take Amanda with her.”
Ambiguous Nolan Ross remark: “Ding dong, the b***h is dead. Victoria Grayson has actually taken her last breath.”