Revenge - 1.1-1.7

[dangermousie]

Now, here is a dilemma. I am kinda enjoying the show except for one glaring glaring issue - I loathe loathe loathe and despise the heroine.



The cap above is one of many reasons why (this cap picked for sexytime prettiness - screenshots of angry housewives are less photogenic). I don't care if Emily is out for revenge and wrecks the lives of those who wrecked hers. But she doesn't give a fuck about collateral damage - in wrecking people who are innocent of any wrongdoing, she is no better than those she seeks revenge on. Daniel is the only the most prominent one of these - I don't particularly love the guy, but he seems a decent enough sort whose only crime is being the son of people Emily wants revenge on - wtf? What kind of person seduces and enters into a relationship with someone to get revenge on his parents? How about all these people whose secrets Emily very publically outed via video to bring down that shrink? What do they have to do with her family drama? Why must their lives be ruined? Or the investors in that fund she destroyed? Some little old lady is going to have her income cut in half and struggle to pay the bills now! Or Daniel's sister - her only crime, like Daniel's, is to be born to people Emily hates - so yeah, get the girl to know her mother wishes she was never born.

Anyway, I loathe and despise Emily and want her brought down forever.

This is not a good show experience - to hate the protagonist. I don't have to like them (I love Boardwalk Empire despite not loving any of the characters. I don't hate any of them - they are too fascinating, but then, BE is in another league from Revenge) but if I want to erase that smug face every time I see her, I think it's time to drop it.Maybe, if I loved some other character, but I don't.

I much prefer Ringer - it's not as good but I actually like and root for Bridget (and like Andrew and Juliet as well).

Comments

[celestialdescent]

That's probably my biggest issue with Revenge, too. I wasn't a big fan of Emily in the beginning, but I think the first time I thought "WTF are you doing?" was when she was bringing down that senator and Nolan asked her about the guy's family and she didn't give a damn. Just awful. I'm watching not to root for her, but to see what happens.

I do wish I could watch Ringer because it reminds me of a Filipino drama I watched years ago, but that's not happening anytime soon. I've decided to just save all the episodes for one wonderful binge.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Ringer is deliciously soapy and knows it - it's so very addictive and entertaining.

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

That's why I love her, to be honest. She's so flawed and broken, but still coming out on top. It's refreshing to see a heroine allowed to be all the things that are normally reserved for men. Or Evil Evil Women who must be destroyed.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

To be fair, I am an equal opportunity hater for that sort of thing - the closest analog I can think of is Korean show Bad Guy (similar premise, similar collateral damage, though smaller in range) and I had the same thing with it - I could not root for the protagonist or like him and wanted him off my screen. I have huge loathing for the character of Monte Cristo from the novel, as well, so I suppose it makes sense I loathe every incarnation of that character.

I think my other problem is that I just don't find Emily very entertaining. For example, Siobhan in Ringer is a total sociopath, much much worse than Emily, but I want her on forever, because I find her entertaining.

But MMV.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think we are meant to see Emily as a sociopath (I think Nolan's real goal isn't to help her get revenge, but to bring her closure by whatever means necessary, if that makes sense) even if we understand how she got to be that way (the flashbacks to the therapist-who seems to have been a serious sadist-were very revealing in terms of how her mind works) and to sympathize with the Graysons, minus Conrad. I'm not really convinced that she set out to have a fullblown seduction/affair with Daniel so much as she set out to have a friendship/light flirtation with him and started liking him and got carried away. (Still doesn't absolve her, I'm just not convinced that the relationship as it is was her original intent, or that it's a sham on her part.)

The show in general seems to lack awareness of the concept of collateral damage, not simply Emily not caring about it, which is really my one issue with the show.

That said, I'm firmly convinced that Charlotte is her half-sister and that learning that will be a big game changer for her in one way or another.

[laleia.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, I love this show because I absolutely love Monte Cristo-type revenge stories, and don't care much about collateral damage. My biggest fear is that she's going to grow a conscience and decide to forgive and/or fall in love with Daniel instead of following through with her revenge plot. But then I don't really like Daniel ... But yeah, if you don't like any of the characters, I can see why you'd drop it.