We finally know who’s ship outta luck.
Revenge this week returned to the fateful event it teased in the season premiere: the sinking of the Amanda and the demise of at least one person on board. Warning: You may want to don a life vest, so adrift will you be on currents of disbelief at various points during the narrative. Now, without further ado, let’s review what went down—besides Jack’s beloved boat – in “Sacrifice.”
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A RAT ON BOARD | As the episode opens, Jack and Amanda are in bedded honeymoon bliss on the boat while Nate hides out in the closet — so not only is the Ryan brother a murderous thug, he’s also a creeper. Lovely. The next morning, just as Jack is puzzled by a pack of cigarettes and a lighter he finds tucked away on board, Nate makes his presence known. And he’s got a gun. Jack has no idea what their captor is talking about when he says Amanda’s responsible for Conrad pulling out of the waterfront-development deal. While Mr. and Mrs. Porter are locked up belowdecks, Amanda whispers that they’re going to have to kill Nate because he’ll never let them escape with their lives. And while I think she’s probably right, I have to hope Jack was at least a little freaked out by how quickly his new bride went there.
Meanwhile, back in the Hamptons, Ashley tips Emily off that Amanda blackmailed Conrad with some serious dirt. Em’s voice says, “I’ll talk to her.” Em’s face says, “I’ll rip her beating heart from her chest, blend it into a smoothie and sip it through a straw.” She boots Ashley from the house and checks the secret hiding spot, from which the laptop is conspicuously missing. She then visits Amanda and Jack’s apartment, where she finds Charlotte making a slideshow for her “sister” with photos from the wedding. Char shows Em one cute shot of the marrieds just before they shoved off, and Emily immediately zeroes in on something miniscule in the background: Nate’s thug face peeking out from the lower decks like a puppy in a pet-store window – a nasty, plot-superfluous puppy. (Side note: I laughed out loud at Em’s realization. A little too easy, no?)
Emily summons Nolan for an emergency meeting, during which he tracks Nate’s cell phone to where it last pinged: out in the ocean, halfway to Jack and Amanda’s honeymoon destination of Nantucket. So Little Miss Lies-a-Lot and her sidekick jump in a motor boat and take off after the Amanda. (Side note regarding that cruising-the-high-seas-at-top-speed sequence: Did we learn nothing from Ringer?)
A SINKING FEELING | Back on the S.S. We’re Screwed, there’s a big, complicated subterfuge as Amanda makes Nate think the laptop is in Montauk, then Jack tries to make Nate think Declan’s laptop is the one he’s looking for, then Jack and Amanda fake a fight to cover the sound of them prepping the raft for a speedy getaway. They manage to lock the talented Mr. Ryan in the cabin – where the laptop is conveniently left open, allowing Nolan to watch what’s going on via a hacked webcam (I know, I know – but on the upside, those vests you put on earlier are not only crucial to your survival, they’re quite slimming. You look great.) So Nolan and Em watch as Nate shoots his way out of captivity – hitting Jack in the process. Aw, Jack. Your luck is truly terrible in all situations. Then Amanda pushes her hurt hubby into the inflatable so he’ll get away safely; she stays on the boat and tries to wrestle the gun away from Nate, but all she gets is a head injury and some unconsciousness. Meanwhile, despite its shabby exterior, the Amanda must have warp capability – because by the time Nate realizes what’s happened, Jack’s raft is about three light years away from the boat.
Night has fallen by the time Emily and Nolan find her childhood love, hopelessly bobbing in the deep blue like a tiger-free Life of Pi. Jack rushes the pale Porter to shore and the hospital; Emily commandeers the raft and, using its outboard motor, races to catch up to the Amanda. She does so just as the craft’s electrical system shorts out, thanks to Amanda opening a valve that floods the lower third of the boat. The three of them fight, with Amanda eventually landing a shot that fells Nate (and pierces the propane tank in the process). With gas and water filling the cabin, Emily hustles her old pal into the raft but at the last minute, Amanda goes back to grab the necklace Emily gave her as she left juvie. At that exact moment, a not-dead-yet Nate flicks his lighter and… the boat goes boom, tossing the ladies into the drink.
When Emily pulls Amanda onto the half-demolished raft, she realizes that the former exotic dancer is headed for that great strip club in the sky. “Jack and my baby, I need to know you’ll take care of them,” Amanda says, pressing her necklace into Em’s palm. Emily cries, promises and cries some more as Amanda dies in her arms and eventually drifts off into the depths as the raft’s air supply dwindles. Goodnight, Amanda, you nutty, Frank-killing, Emily-worshipping mess of a girl.
TAKE THE INITIATIVE | Back at Grayson Manor, Victoria is unrepentant about killing Helen. “The bitch had it coming,” she remarks as Daniel and Conrad wrap The Initiative operative’s corpse in a carpet. Vicky quickly comes up with a new plan: The Graysons are going to offer up Amanda to The Initiative, hoping that the secret organization will take down their shared threat. She even goes to The Stowaway to invite Charlotte to the family’s Labor Day party which, for reasons I seriously don’t get, is doubling as the announcement of Conrad’s run for the governor’s seat. (Side note: Take a look at baby Carl’s face in this scene. I swear to you, he rolls his eyes at Victoria’s lame reasons for wanting her daughter home for the evening. Smart kid.) While Charlotte and Declan get their things together, Victoria slips Helen’s phone and scarf under Amanda’s bed… where an Initiative dude named Trask, working off a tip from the Graysons, finds it later.
Meanwhile, Aiden’s trying to help Padma find out whether her father is still alive. She eventually talks to Trask, asking for proof that he’s not already gone; Trask says the package she just signed for contains the evidence she wants. It’s her dad’s finger. Exactly how does that prove he’s still among the living? (I know. Just like all of those safety videos say, I should’ve put on my own life vest before telling you to wear yours.)
Now it’s your turn. Did you guess that Amanda would go to her watery grave? How do you think her death will affect Emily? Think Jack will pull through? Sound off in the comments!
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