REVENGE “Addiction” recap: Love and other catastrophes

We have all done stupid things when we have been in love. It turns out rich Hamptonites are no different. Or maybe it’s just lust. Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference. Would you forgive a cheating lover? An alcoholic wife? A girlfriend whose entire life is a lie? And what of jealousy – that green-eyed monster? What would you do if you thought your boyfriend is still in love with a past love? Alas, sometimes, even the rich can be addicted to love and other catastrophes.

Look at that hair! Photo courtesy of ABC.

Once upon a time in a Paris flea market

There is no doubt that Victoria Grayson has that certain je ne sais quoi that can make Parisian media moguls buy (or borrow) a lot of beautiful things in an attempt to woo the Queen of the Hamptons (I feel the use of a French phrase is appropriate here). We knew that it was Pascale who introduced Victoria and Conrad to each other, but now we know that Pascale and Victoria had dated, long ago, when she first went to Paris on her art scholarship. Most people pick up vintage items and other bargains at the flea market, but Victoria and Pascale found each other.

After a whirlwind romance, Victoria had to return to New York due to visa restrictions but she decided to fly back to Paris to surprise Pascale. Unfortunately for Victoria, she caught the biggest surprise when she found him already with another woman. So, something thirty years and multiple marriages later, Pascale is back in the Hamptons trying to win back Queen Vicky. She tells him he has no idea what she wants, and she is right, but little does she know that there is such a man who knows what she wants, and that is her ex-husband, Conrad.

What Conrad wants, Conrad gets

Victoria’s charming ex-husband is not accustomed to the word “no”. Once he has set his mind on something, he will stop at nothing to get it, and right now, he has his sights set on partnering with Pascale – and by partnering, I mean he wants to take over the LeMarchal empire since the fall of the Grayson Global empire. The only way Pascale would agree to any sort of partnership is if he gets Victoria, the one woman who had no interest in his charms or his money. Fortunately for Pascale, Conrad knows that all his ex-wife number two wants is the deed to Grayson Manor, something which ex-wife number one, Stevie, currently holds due to a dodgy clause in their divorce settlement.

That’s quite the dress, little sister! Photo courtesy of ABC

Under the guise of sympathy for Stevie once the Voulez gossip tip line (managed by none other than Charlotte) revealed that she is Jack’s birth mother, Conrad turns up at her hotel suite, appearing slightly drunk and slightly remorseful over the demise of their marriage. He tells her he thought for a brief moment that perhaps he is Jack’s father, until he did the maths and realized that Stevie had become pregnant when they were already sleeping in separate beds. You have to hand it to Conrad – he was masterful in the way he manipulated Stevie, preying on her guilt over her alcoholism and child abandonment, pretending to have a heart-to-heart talk with Stevie until she voluntarily handed over the deed to Grayson Manor to him. Bravo, Conrad! Well played.

Conrad Junior, aka Daniel

Victoria and Daniel have had so many falling outs that I had almost lost track of which phase of their relationship they are currently in. But mother and son are once again reunited by their mutual hate for Emily, and it would seem Daniel’s trying to master his manipulation technique.  Though he is much less tactful in his approach than his father, the result is still the same.

Nolan’s outfits never disappoint. Photo courtesy of ABC

It was Margaux’s suggestion that they join forces to overthrow their fathers, but she was willing to pull out after Jack encouraged her to take up a job offer in Rome. Knowing that he cannot take down Conrad on his own, especially with Pascale in the picture, Daniel not-so-subtly uses his little sister to remind Margaux that if she was to leave Jack in the Hamptons with Emily, it would not be long before Jack and Emily rekindle their romance. It seems that even with Charlotte specifically insisting that Margaux ignore what Daniel is saying, his trick worked. Before you know it, Margaux is throwing her hat back into the ring with Daniel, using his connection with someone from Interpol, to threaten to investigate Pascale’s use of Voulez as a tax write-off for his global company. Margaux tells her father she will call off the investigation on the condition he hands over control of the magazine back to her. As Pascale says: “I was worried about my little girl swimming with the sharks. Now I am worried for the sharks.” Welcome to the Hamptons, Ms LeMarchal. You have earned your place.

The sharks come out to play

There is always an excuse to party in the Hamptons. How about a Monte Carlo Casino Party organized by the latest former Mrs Grayson to raise money for childhood leukemia? Everyone has a weakness and Pascale’s is high stakes poker. He could not resist the invitation to attend the party, which of course was also enough to lure Victoria to come out to play, never mind the fact that no Grayson was invited, all but Conrad turned up to play.

Pascale thinks it is jealousy that has brought Victoria to the party but how could he resist pitting the two former Mrs Graysons against each other to see who wins? I don’t know anything about poker but I know enough to figure out Aces over Queens in any game and surprise, surprise, Victoria throws the final game to lose to Emily, just to see what she has up her sleeve with Pascale. Emily, in turn, figures out pretty quickly that Pascale had a bug in his Eiffel Tower (sorry, bad pun) to record whatever deal she is about to propose. What a shame that with all his fortune, Pascale could only afford a “cheap imitation whale cam”, otherwise I’m sure Emily’s phone would not have picked up the interference when she placed her purse next to the little statue.

TWM is not The White-haired Man

The initials referred to by Pascale in his note to Conrad about “TWM” remained a mystery until Emily went to the Bahamas to find Aiden. She wants him back but her pride has never allowed her to actually say those words. She tries to convince him that she still needs his help and to remind him that the things she said and did before he went away were not the real her. If only she could actually come out and say words like “I love you”, he might have returned to the Hamptons with her, instead of “I need your help”.

Emily shows him the note that they found in Stevie’s file, which he rips up. But just as Team NolEm seem to have run out of ideas about how to take down Pascale and the Graysons, Aiden returns to the lair. “TWM” stands for Trevor Warren Mathis, aka Aiden’s father. Dun dun dun! We knew that Aiden’s father was the pilot of the plane that went down, but now there’s more to this conspiracy!

Tune in for more Revenge on ABC Sundays at 10/9c.

Photo: ABC. Written by Valerie Leung. Share your Revenge theories with her on Twitter (@valshopaholic) and read her blog LibragirlRules.com.