Most of this episode involved events in the lives of all of the characters during Thanksgiving week, 2006. The first thing we see is Amanda at a gentlemen’s club, where Aiden is tending bar. Amanda asks Aiden where she can find a man named Sergei and he tells her that he’s in the VIP room with some of the girls.
Well, look at who’s one of the girls. It’s the very ambitious Ashley working her way up to being the head gold digger at the Grayson house. It’s nice to finally find out how she developed her, uh, skills. Sergei is impressed enough by her obvious talents to choose her as the companion for his boss, Dimitri. When Ashley is alone, Amanda slips her a roll of cash with a telephone number and tells Ashley that they can both help one another. Amanda instructs Ashley to call the number when she knows the exact time when Dimitri is to arrive.
The Graysons are at home, preparing for their Thanksgiving dinner when Daniel comes in to talk to Conrad about his college plans. Daniel has been writing poetry and is considering changing his major from Business to something more to his liking. He gives Conrad a folder of his poetry and asks him to read some of it. The maid comes in to tell Daniel that he has a visitor. The visitor, it turns out, is Victoria’s long-estranged mother, Marion. Daniel had met with his grandmother and her new beau, Ben Greevey, and had invited them for Thanksgiving, in the hopes that his mother and grandmother could make amends.
Amanda receives a text message from Ashley which shows that Dimitri is due to arrive at 3PM. Amanda tells Takeda, as the two of them are on a mission and Takeda tells her that her father would be proud of her. They also talk about her plans regarding the Graysons and Takeda, to help her with her own mission, shows Amanda a photo of Conrad in the arms of Lydia. He also has a picture of a girl, Colleen, who was kidnapped in 1993 and sold to Dimitri for part of his prostitution ring. She hasn’t been found yet and Takeda wants Amanda to find Dimitri and determine Colleen’s whereabouts.
In the meantime, Nolan is also celebrating by telling his employees that NolCorp is about to hold its’ IPO. It also seems that Nolan had a boyfriend, well, he was in love with his then-CFO, Marco Romero. So Nolan is not only bi-sexual, he tends to fall in love with his CFOs. This doesn’t bode well for Padma, that’s for sure. While everyone else is celebrating something, Carl Porter and just about every business owner on the dock are dealing with a sinister group of men who are squeezing them for money by threatening them, their families and their businesses. The Porters’ bar is set afire when someone throws a Molotov cocktail through the window and Jack manages to put the fire out, but Carl has a gun, ready to protect everything he cares about.
Dimitri arrives at the club right on time and Amanda walks over to Sergei to tell him that Ashley is sick, but that she’s willing to be her replacement. For $3,000, she can be whoever he wants her to be. Sergei pats her down, tells Aiden to bring some vodka to the table, and Aiden grabs the vodka and a gun. He knows that Dimitri stole his sister and tries to shoot the Russian. Takeda tells Amanda to get out but she stays while Aiden is grabbed by bodyguards. Dimitri tells Amanda to come back at 9PM, information she relates to Takeda, along with a description of the room. She’s still unwilling to leave Aiden and wants to help him. Some time later, Aiden is being beaten by Sergei while Dimitri tries to ascertain who sent him. When the group of Russians leave the room, Amanda enters through an air vent and unties Aiden. She questions him about Flight 197 and he says that his father was a baggage handler at the airport. It dawns on Amanda that both of their fathers were used in the terrorist plot.
Three generations of Graysons and a potential new step-father for Victoria are sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s become obvious that Victoria and her mother are not the best of friends and Conrad’s already suggested that it might be a good idea if Marion and Ben just leave instead of Victoria having to through with the whole thing. The whole thing is just what Victoria wants, though. In fact, she thinks that this is the perfect time to talk about the last Thanksgiving she and her mother shared. She then explains how her mother wanted men for their money, and didn’t really care about anything else, including her own daughter’s safety. During the last holiday the two women spent together, Marion and Tom had an argument and Tom was about to leave. Marion went a little crazy, not wanting to see her source of income walk away, and shot the guy. In a panic, and for the sake of her own self-preservation, mommy dearest tells her daughter to shoot him again. She then makes up a story about self-defense for her daughter. It works with the police but lands Victoria under psychiatric care for six months.
By the time she was released, Marion had already taken up with a new guy, one who was also a pedophile. When Marion caught him sneaking into Victoria’s room, she through the girl out of the house. Needless to say, this trip down memory lane has left Ben a little upset with his girlfriend. If what he’d already heard wasn’t enough to convince him that Marion might not be wife material, she seals the deal by telling Victoria that she was sorry she’d ever been born. Well, Ben picks his jaw and his coat up and walks out the door. And you thought your Thanksgiving was filled with family angst. It turns out that Victoria and Conrad had set Marion up. They’d hired Ben to meet Marion on a cruise and to court her, only to destroy her at that dinner. Ben was paid a pretty penny for his acting skills.
Amanda and Aiden have been discovered by Dimitri and his gang of thugs and are being held at gunpoint. As they’re all walking out of the club, Takeda comes to the rescue. During the fight, Dimitri makes a run for it with Aiden hot on his heels. Aiden shoots him and Dimitri falls, having only been wounded. He asks Dimitri about his sister, Colleeen, but the rotten guy just laughs and says she’s probably dead. To make it even worse, he tells Aiden that, as far as he can recall, Colleen even learned to enjoy the work. He shouldn’t have said that because Aiden kills him. It may have given Aiden some momentary satisfaction, but it didn’t do much to help find his sister.
Nolan and Marco have been having some heated discussions about an account which once had about $500 million in it but, according to the accountants, is now empty. At first, Nolan doesn’t want to tell Marco about the money but finally relents. He tells him that the money was taken out to provide for Amanda Clarke, the daughter of David Clarke and one of NolCorp’s initial investors. Marco is stunned at the fact that Nolan had anything to do with the alleged money man for terrorists, and thinks that Nolan is crazy for having anything to do with the situation. Nolan fires Marco but offers him a severance package. Marco leaves, very angry and lets Nolan know that he doesn’t want any blood money. His parting message to Nolan is simply “Go to Hell”.
Marion is leaving the Grayson home and is angry with her daughter for ruining what she says was her last chance. She has nothing now and it’s all Victoria’s fault. Her daughter seems pretty pleased with the outcome and reminds her mother that she learned from the best when it comes to destroying people’s lives. I think it’s a trait that’s being handed down to a third generation. Maybe it’s genetic – on both sides. For Victoria, it seems as if this much of her darkness has been lifted.
Carl Porter has been getting drunk after paying off the men who have been terrorizing those around the wharf. He hears a shot and runs outside to see his friend, Mack standing there with Carl’s gun and a very dead extortionist in front of him. Jack is awakened by the noise and runs outside. His Dad tells him that the boat backfired and to go back inside. Carl and Mack are now bound together by the shooting – one as the gun owner and one as the shooter.
Finally, we’re taken into the present and Declan is talking business with one of the Ryan brothers. Conrad and Victoria are demonizing the fact that they didn’t let Daniel become a poet. Burning his poetry and having publishers send him rejection letters didn’t work out as well as they planned. While they once may have wanted him to take the helm at Grayson Global, they now realize that it just can’t and won’t happen, if they have anything to do with it. Aiden and Amanda are in bed, rekindling their old romance. She also shows Aiden the contents of the Infinity box, where everything about David Clarke is kept. Daniel has called that former NolCorp CFO, Marco Romero, with a business proposition. It’s all very revengey, indeed.
Double infinity – a journey with no end.
Empress
realhousewifeofaiken 
Pingback: Shawn Johnson calls in the Fab Five for DWTS Finale / Real Housewives of Atlanta / Amazing Race | Lynn's Place
Good Morning! Empress, great recap!
As usual, I have more questions than answers. I found a few things very interesting.
Daniel – so, we learned that his initial college plan included poetry. IMO, this might be important info for two reasons, Either we became privy to this poetic side of him to demonstrate that Daniel does not have it in him to be sinister or coniving even though he is trying to play that game. Maybe it will play out that his soft side, the side of him that is sensitive, will make him unable to follow through with his revengey-ness. OR maybe showing us, the viewers, his senistive poet side depicts how much he has changed thus illustrating the power of his family’s influence over him.
I also realize that Ashley never saw Amanda’a face in the bathroom. Does she know it was Amanda that “saved” her? I am curious about how they actually develop a relationship. Does Amanda tell her it was her that helped her that night or is that still a secret? Either way, it’s very clear at this point that Ashley is very much willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants.
It seems clear that Victoria is just like her mother – the apple did not fall far from that tree! But my curiousity peaked when it was revealed that Victoria was in psychiatric care for 6 months! I have a gut feeling that somehow Victoria’s psych stay is connected to Amanda and Kara’s psych treatment. Maybe she learned ‘the ropes’ or developed inside connections that she later used to for her benefit in getting Kara or Amanda locked up. This might be a stretch.
Also, it seems that Carl Porter had issues with the father of the very men that are now partners with Jack. At the end, we heard one of the Ryan brothers say that his dad referred to alcohol as “Rich Man’s Candy”. Ealier in the show, we heard that same phrase used between Carl and what I believe is the Ryan Brothers father. Seems like that family has been after the StowAway and the naighboring businesses for quite a while. I really hope Jack makes that connection asap. I wonder if the flasback that we saw two weeks ago was of Carl dumping the dead body and sinking The Amanda to cover it up and then maybe he went out and got another boat with the insurance money? LOL – I know that is a very specific hunch!! Okay, so that is another stretch – but maybe something like that – dumping the body but who knows when or how The Amanda sinks. I am very curious. I also want to know more about the shooter. I take it that he and Carl were friends.
There were so many little tidbits of info threaded throughout the show. I figure they are all important chunks of info otherwise they wouldn’t be part of the story line. I am going to re-watch this epi at some point to see if I missed anything.
Hey Boobah! Boy, some hostess I am. I invite everybody over and then I take a road trip. 😉
You’re right – Ashley didn’t see Amanda’s face. During the 1st season, they said something about knowing each other before meeting up again in the Hamptons, so there may be more to their story than just that one encounter at the club.
I don’t know why Carl didn’t tell Jack about the problems with the man – the one who I’m pretty sure was the Ryan boys’ father – taking money and harassing the business owners unless he figured that since the father was dead, the problem was taken care of.
LOL@road trip!! I know you were really just out re-stocking all the ice cream we ate!
Okay, then there is definitely more to Ashley and Em’s ‘friendship’. That should be interesting.
The Ryan bros’s plotline is just beginning, IMO. Somehow The Amanda sinks and if the Ryan bros are anything like their Pop, they might just have something to do with it.
Good Morning Empress & Boobah! I tried to watch last night but got interrupted….so I have to go back and watch the whole thing later today. There were so many little details about all the story lines, so I want to get my notepad and pen and watch/listen closely to pick up all the juice!
Having said that….I just have to say….I called it! LOL! I mentioned I had a feeling Emily/Amanda had known Ashley before she went to work for the Grayson’s. Boobah, you are correct in that Ashley never sees Em’s face last night, but I think this is the first step in Em getting Ashley on her side to use her. Remember, she ended up doing the same things with Amanda/Emily. She finesses these relationships so she can “repurpose” them later!
I don’t want to say much more before I watch the entire episode in detail…..but my spidey senses skyrocketed about Marco Romero, the former CFO. I got some kind of feeling he has something to do with Padma coming on the scene. Also……now we know why Nolan didn’t want to hire another CFO! Bad memories!
Also….the trail of that original check from David Clark to Nolan is still a bee buzzing in my bonnet….and now it is inviting other bees in since we find out last night about the $500 mil Nolan gave to Emily/Amanda. There is something verrrry interesting there that I can’t quite figure out yet. I was watching old epi’s off and on these last 2 weeks (waiting for the new epi) and I jotted down some notes about Uncle Bill….way back in the epi where he is talking to David Clark about a hedge fund they both had invested in and Bill having a mole in the company and the Grayson’s found out and were going to go after Bill. Then the doodoo hit the fan and everyone testified against DC. Sooooooo, where did the money for that check REALLY come from??
Anyway….I’ll be back after I watch the whole epi. Boobah…..I love your thoughts about Daniele and his poetry and Victoria and her mother….the lovely Adrienne Barbeau, still sporting her 70’s hairdo from the sitcom Maude with Bea Arthur! LOL! Gosh, I feel old to even remember that!!
Thanks for the cushy place to land with our obsession with all things revengey Empress! I hope your Monday is off to a delightful start! Hugs to you and Boobah too!
Mardrag – you DID call it!!! OMG – I barely remember Uncle Bill – do you happen to remeber what epi? So, the Grayson’s were going to set him up? Well that certainly adds more to the story!
Yes, I see ehat you mean about Em’s repurposing relationships. Ashey definitely fits in this catergory. I recall Em’s stating that Ashley was an easy target. I guess that meant that she saw Ashey in a vunerable state and knew she would be easy to manipulate.
Poor Nolan! Again I think you are 100% correct that his relationship with Marco soured him on having another CFO.
Hey Boobah……I think it was the 2nd (or 3rd) episode from the first season that Emily/Amanda targeted Bill. There is a scene where he is telling David Clark about the hedge fund stuff and DC says, we have to do something about it, and chides Bill a bit.
There is just something about this rendezvous of this money that I can’t quite put my finger on….yet. I only saw a moment of Nolan talking to Marcos….but did he say HE gave the money to Emily from his business because HE felt a responsibility to help/protect her? Because….when he showed up at the prison when Emily was released and he gave her the box and the check, he said it was all from her father….indicating the money was too…..and told her her father wanted her to know the truth and do something with it and the money. So, if it was Nolan’s money, but from the company he started with the check from DC, why wouldn’t he say that? Why would he tell her it was specifically from her father?
Hmmmmm. Is there even more Nolan is not revealing? Empress……you are right….we do have poor Nolan all over the place hiding everything! LOL!
Thanks Mardrag – I will go back and re-watch those epi’s.
Lol@ us having Nolan all over the place!!! So true – soon I am going to have a theory that puts him behind all of this debauchery! Lol – Maybe NolCorp is just a cover becasue he really is a member of The Iniative!! I’m kidding! Poor Nolan.
I could be wrong, but I felt like the money in the infinity box that Nolan gave to Em’s when she got out of Juvey prison was David’s Clarke’s investment return that he put aside for his daughter. Maybe like a trust fund of sorts through Nolan so that it couldn’t be traced back to DC? . I don’t even know if investments work that way but for the sake of my revegey theory, why not?! Lol! Kidding aside, there is something fishy with all that.Was it Nolan money, Grayson Global money, or her money?
I’m probably going against the grain here but I don’t usually care for these flashback episodes. We did learn a couple new things and I am interested in the Daniel – Marco angle that is about to come into play. Often, I find myself wishing that they would just get on with the storyline. I guess this is a season for old stuff coming back to haunt our tv characters though. Amanda seems to be Done with Nolan. She’s gotten all she needs from him, until she needs something else. She seems to have lost sight of what her original goal was. To take this family apart because they killed her father.
I wonder if, Adrienne Barbeau’s hair is permanently shaped like that. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her in anything, the last being (that I remember) was Back To School with Rodney Dangerfield. She played his cheating shrew of of a gold digging cheater of a wife, Vanessa. Strange how well she fits so well into that role. Somehow, I don’t doubt that there are mothers out there, just like the character that she played. Do you think we’ll see her again? Unless dead, most of these characters don’t stay gone.
Hi MelTH! I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Marion again. That part of last nights storyline told me that Victoria learned from the best. Maybe Victoria will call upon her to do some dirty work in exchange for money? I forget – did they mention Victoria’s dad?
They may have mentioned him Boobah, I don’t remember. I would question if Victoria even knows who Dad is. Seems like until she was tossed out of the house, her life had been a string of sugardaddies for mom who would stop at nothing, including offering her 15yo daughter up as bait, to continue fronting the lifestyle.
I agree Boobah & MTH…BUT….there always seems to be a reason they bring characters into this show, then they fade for an epi or two, then they come back connected in another way. I do get the feeling that they will bring Victoira’s dad into the picture because they set up the “dysfunctional family history” with the mother last night. But that, of course, is JMHO. You never know with this show and its twists!
I wouldn’t be surprised at all, now that you mention it, if Vic’s Dad comes into play somewhere along the line.
well mth.. I have to agree with you…. dont care for flashbacks that consume almost the whole epsode…i get bored with it and change channels…. so needless to say…didnt watch much of it..wake me when it’s get back to what i loved about revenge…winks
hugs and peace
diva
DIVA!!!!!! How are you? I am so sorry about your recent difficulties! I have been thing about you and Mr. Ford. I really hope things make a turn for the BETTER soon. Sending you my prayers. ((Diva))
I don’t particularly love flashbacks either but this epi seemed chock full of infoi that I think will come into play later.
Well the whole flashback thing was lost on me for the first half of the episode. I had two dogs sleeping on the edge of my bed, and I couldn’t see the bottom of the screen. I was too comfy to sit up; I was so confused by what was going on. Blame it on too much turkey and pie over the weekend.
LOL Trudie! I think a lot of us spent the weekend in a tryptophan induced coma. I had a hard time reading my own notes to write this post. They had a lot of nerve asking us to figure out flashbacks and new (or old, as the case may be) characters when we can’t even keep our eyes open! 😉
Wanted to say hello too Diva and send you good wishes, healing energy and hugs!!
I have to agree somewhat in that, at least the part of the show I got to see, it seemed to jump around alot and looked like a bunch of scenes just strung together. But, it did have alot of back information that we will likely say at some point….remember in the flashback epi? LOL! I am headed downstairs now to watch the entire epi, so I’ll come back later or tomorrow with a more informed opinion.
I have to admit Revenge is losing me a little. I wasn’t that into last night’s episode with all the flash back stuff. I told my daughter I wish they’d just cut to the chase, but she said if they did that, then it would all be over. She has a point – Lol! It’s become a little too slow and draggy for me. Watching The Walking Dead right afterwards made Revenge seem a little dull by comparison.
Hi All…late to the “Revengy” chat today…I could really do without MONDAYS!!!
I liked the flashback-its gives little clues to what the hell is going on-I need that as I get a bit turned around following sometimes!! Of course Empress dresses the whole show up perfectly so even though I missed a few parts here and there last night I feel like I know whats happening!!!
The flashbacks did fill in some of the blanks and – I can’t believe I’m saying this – I kind of felt sorry for Victoria after meeting her mother and hearing about those childhood experiences.
OK….I watched the whole epi last night and I really do not have too much to add to my previous comments. It did feel like kind of a “filler’ episode and, like the Empress, I felt like after the holiday food coma, it was alot to decipher. I am looking forward to seeing what Daniel is up to with Marco….and I have questions about him, of course! Like, how did he come to be CFO? Why was he so upset about Nolan giving that money…it is his company? And, if he had stake in the company, as indicated when Nolan tried to give him his “share” when he fired him, why did he turn it down like that? No one walks away from that kind of money…..unless they have a reason. Hmmmmm, revengey! 🙂
Hey Mardrag! I think Marco was upset over the terrorist aspect of it – that and the fact that Nolan didn’t bother to tell him. What good is a CFO if you don’t know where all the $$$ is? “Holiday food coma” – we’re not supposed to be able to think on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Sloth Sunday – that’s how it SHOULD be. 😀
LOL! Totally agree with those last sentiments! I guess we will have to wait for next week to see more deets. And, didn’t the announcer say at the end that next weeks epi is the “winter finale” or some such nonsense. I suspect that means no more new epi’s until after the holiday. I hate when they do this! And ABC is famous for it!
Hugs to you!