It’s 2008, on an island off Japan, and Amanda and Aiden are being chased by dogs through a maze.  When Aiden finds the way out, a Revenge School instructor declares him the winner of the competitions.   The scene then changes to present day, where the white-haired man, who we now know is Gordon Murphy, is bleeding on the floor of Amanda’s house and Aiden is getting a lecture from Amanda about not needing a nanny.   Across the way, Victoria and Daniel are complaining about the news helicopters that are flying overhead, following the very hot news that Victoria Grayson is alive and her alleged kidnapper is still at large.

Daniel asks his mother what her story really is and she is seen aboard the ill-fated government plane.  While she is waiting for takeoff, she gets a call from Gordon who warns her about the 14 ounces of plastic explosives that he has planted in the cargo compartment.   He tells her that Conrad’s demise would be mutually beneficial to them and that they can split Charlotte’s inheritance, all she has to do is get off of the plane and help him in those efforts.  Daniel, unaware of this, continues to question which causes Victoria to become angry with him, ending their conversation.

Aiden has been going through Gordon’s pockets, where he finds Victoria’s fake “Veronica Clarke” passport along with a bottle of prescription medication.   Amanda then receives a call from Victoria, inviting her to the house in the morning so that they can discuss how to handle the press.  Aiden has also come across a key to a room at the Pine Crest Motel which he places in his boot.  When Amanda finishes her call with Victoria, Aiden asks for Gordon’s cell phone.  The two argue over it and when Aiden turns his back, Amanda cracks him over the head with a wine bottle, rendering him unconscious.

Declan and his new yuppie burglar buddy, Trey, have broken into a house and are busily going through drawers looking for loot.  They leave only when someone in the house turns a light on.   The Porter family, which is now going through some free fall, is also dealing with Emily’s pregnancy.  Emily is dealing with it by pouring a little booze into her milk and Jack is just not really dealing well with anything.   He notices that she has received a $5,000 gift certificate from Charlotte and wants nothing from the Graysons.  Emily wants it all – a connection to the Graysons and Jack’s baby, who really is his even though Emily thinks it’s a lie, because Amanda told her it was a lie, but Amanda was lying about the lie – got it?

Okay, it’s breakfast time at the Graysons and Ashley has arranged for a series of interviews for Victoria, including an exclusive with Vanity Fair.  Conrad isn’t happy with the planned press parade or spending days on end in the house with his wife.  Victoria declares that everyone is grounded until all of it blows over and Gordon is finally caught.  Until then, they are to stay safe sound at home.  Even Amanda has been informed as to how she will respond to reporters’ questions, by telling them that she has had little to do with the Graysons since her breakup with Daniel.   Charlotte’s searching the internet for a place where she can offer her services as a volunteer.  That’s how I see all of the Graysons – as giving, selfless and altruistic human beings.  Victoria quashed that plan anyway, so, nah, never mind.

Amanda has brought Gordon’s cell phone, bullet hole and all, to Nolan because she wants to know if there’s anything about her mother on it.  Nolan says he’ll do what he can because that’s what Nolan does when it comes to Amanda and her requests.   He’s probably a better friend to her than she deserves.  Aiden, on the other hand, is waking up in a dumpster and manages to escape before he’s crushed by the jaws of a garbage truck.   He finds a car, from somewhere, and heads over to the Pine Crest Motel to take a look around Gordon’s room.   When he looks inside the air conditioning unit, he finds the flight recorder from the downed government plane.  After placing it inside the car truck, he’s confronted by an employee of the motel who tells him that he’s not supposed to be loitering on the grounds.  He tells her that he’s a detective with the Southampton police, but when she calls the department, she’s told that there is no officer by the name he gave.

Conrad and Victoria are having another argument, this time it’s Conrad who’s upset with the Grayson lockdown.  He also wants to know is Victoria has been working with Gordon and tells her that he doesn’t trust her.   I don’t trust either of them, but I’ve seen what both of them are capable of and think that they deserve each other.

There’s another flashback to Japan, and Aiden and Amanda appear to be lovers.  He is looking for his sister while Amanda is looking for just about everything.   Their current problem stems from the fact that he left her to go look for his sister, without telling Amanda, leaving her alone and angry.   Back to the present, and Amanda is holding a pocket watch, taken from Gordon’s pocket and inside there’s a picture of Amanda’s mother.   Nolan is packing since Amanda has told him to leave but she takes the time to tell him that the anti-psychotic medication found on Gordon just might belong to her mother.   Nolan is understandably upset with Amanda’s decision to cut him out of her schemes, as well as her secretive nature regarding Aiden.

At the Porter’s bar, Emily is getting ready to leave, telling Jack that she’s going shopping with Amanda, who is so thrilled by her role as the baby’s godmother.   As she’s leaving, a man some in and asks Jack about Declan, while the man shows Jack his younger brother’s driver’s license.   Declan is eventually confronted by the man, Mr. Ryan, and Jack, and is questioned about the burglary at Ryan’s house.  Declan says that he acted alone and promises to return what was taken.

The Graysons, along with Ashley, Amanda and Emily have all gathered for the big press event.    While Victoria is giving her one on one interview, a tsunami of trouble is brewing.  Emily has provided Charlotte with David Clarke’s prison journal, the contents of which damn Victoria to Hell.  Charlotte isn’t happy.  Almost simultaneously Daniel is handed a package which contains that “Veronica Clarke” passport” and a typed note which reads “Faking your death and disappearing didn’t work.  Let’s do the death part for real this time”.     Charlotte’s now stomping around and barges in on the Vanity Fair reporter and her mother to announce what a horrible bitch her mother is.   I’d say it took her long enough.  This family really does run hot and cold.   Daniel is having his own meltdown and tells Conrad what a horrible bitch his mother is.  That’s two for two.  Daniel takes his rant to Conrad and lets him know how Victoria faked her kidnapping and disappearance.

Victoria has brought the whole interview thing to a dead stop in order to do a little damage control among her very damaged family members.  She reminds Daniel how Conrad tried to kill her.  Conrad says that Victoria is crazy.   He wants the whole Grayson clan to leave the country, apparently believing that everything looks better in Paris.   Victoria is still in DefCon 3 mode – there’s still room for two more levels.  She decides to hold a press conference to straighten things out, Victoria style.    While she’s giving her statement about her affair with David Clarke and how happy she is that Charlotte was a gift from that relationship and how thrilled she is that Emily is also a part of the family, Conrad gets a calls.  A woman is telling him that Victoria’s disclosure of Gordon’s role in the alleged kidnapping plot has become a matter of utmost concern for an, as yet, unidentified agency.  It’s also made him a target.

We can get out of the Grayson house, now.  Back at the Porter’s bar, Jack is watching the lovely family hugging each other, including the mother of his baby, on television.  When Emily finally comes back, Jack is furious.  He tells her that he understands her need to be a part of that bunch, but he can’t abide it.  While he may care for their baby, he makes it clear that he can’t remain committed to Emily.    Another relationship may be biting the dust.

Finally, we find out that it was Aiden who sent the passport and note to Daniel.  Although he still wants to be with Amanda, and is trying to win her trust again, he leaves after giving her the flight recorder.  Amanda, sitting alone on the floor of her living room, is listening to a voice mail, on Gordon’s phone, from her mother.   The message confirms that Mom and Gordon did know each other, and that there may have been something even more sinister than a mere friendship between them.

Empress