Revenge Review: “Abduction” (Season 4 Episode 13)
Is it just me, or did “Abduction” feel like it could have been a series finale? The big bad is out of the way and there’s closure (of sorts) for most of our characters. I mean, everything has wrapped up so nicely, hasn’t it?
Well, almost everything.
Emily and Victoria are locked up together by Malcom Black, and they are forced to work together as a team if they plan to survive. Emily also reveals that her father had planned to kill Victoria. Still, when the stakes are high, Victoria saves Emily by shouting out that she was the one who killed Kate. Granted, that doesn’t mean they’ll have some nice relationship moving forward. In fact, Victoria’s plan is more about making Emily suffer. Interesting, since that was Emily’s argument for sparing Victoria’s life in the last episode.
Victoria is later graceful enough to let David go, saying they should go their separate ways, and that he should spend time with his daughter while she mourns for her son. With Malcom Black out of the picture, it seems as though the story could easily end here.
Of course, that’s not the case. We’re not even close to the season finale here, kids, and bigger things are coming. I have to admit, I wish they weren’t. Margaux is Emily’s biggest threat at this point, and while that may get interesting, it’s dragging out the story a bit too much. Probably the most interesting point of this is the moment where Victoria essentially passes the torch of revenge on to Margaux.
Margaux will certainly make for quite the adversary. She has the money, the connections, and the motivations to go after Emily in a big way. Oh, and the knowledge — because Victoria told her everything.
Ben, by the way, knows just about everything now too. So far, he is proving to be a genuinely good guy, especially in his willingness to help Jack rescue Emily and Victoria. Now, he wants to start fresh with Emily, with the possibility of a relationship that rings entirely false. In fact, I’m not sure I understand Ben’s usefulness at all. He’s likeable, sure, but he feels out of place — especially in regard to any romantic involvement with Emily.
Also, Nolan is MARRIED now. That’s right, Nolan marries Louise to help get her out from under her mother’s clutches. I could talk for a while about how the essential ownership of Louise has changed, with a man coming to the rescue here in the 21st century. Of course, there’s more to it than that, and the bigger issue is Louise’s purpose in this story. She is yet another character who simply doesn’t seem to fit.
Other thoughts:
- It’s David who ultimately saves Emily and kills Malcom Black, which is exactly as it should have been. Though for a moment, I hoped it would be the other way around, with Emily saving her father.
- Carolyn Hennesy as Louise’s evil mother is fabulous. I would love to see her go head-to-head against Victoria.
What did you think of “Atonement,” and what are your feelings on the direction Revenge is taking? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below, and give this episode a rating of your own!
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Revenge airs Sundays at 10/9c on ABC.
Ashley Bissette Sumerel
Ashley Bissette Sumerel is a television and film critic living in Wilmington, North Carolina. She is editor-in-chief of Tell-Tale TV as well as Eulalie Magazine. Ashley has also written for outlets such as Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, and Insider. Ashley has been a member of the Critics Choice Association since 2017 and is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic. In addition to her work as an editor and critic, Ashley teaches Entertainment Journalism, Composition, and Literature at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.