Image Credit: Carol Kaelson/ABC

I was a bounteous follower of the execute of Revenge terminal week, which institute a pleasant diatonic variety between soap-opera sparkle and high-melodrama insanity. That's a arduous talk to impact every week, and I full due a drop-off in calibre in the ordinal episode. Not so! To my eyes, terminal night's program followed finished on creator Mike Kelley's promise that Revenge will ready things agitated lickety-split. In meet digit hour, the exhibit featured the start of a Wall Street titan, a post-affair shakedown, a potentially mortal hunch advise for a somewhat irrelevant character (farewell, lovely slummy dad?), and a polo match. I'm definitely intrigued.

In whatever ways, Revenge is nearly endeavor to see aforementioned a info produce of Lone Star, terminal season's best-show-ever-for-a-week. Both shows are most characters who ingest info identities to tangle themselves in wealth super-cultures; both shows see uniquely adjusted to the underway burn-the-rich instance in America. At the aforementioned time, watching both shows gives you a spectator kick: It's recreation watching the flush play, especially when they're activity against apiece other. (Is Revenge as beatific as Lone Star was? Maybe not. But it will expose a ordinal episode, which is nice.)

Last night, Emily overturned her Sniper Rifle of Vengeance on added digit of her father's older friends — a inclose money dealer titled Bill Harmon who has managed to continually attain money during the Recession. I figured we were existence prepped for whatever category of Madhoff melodrama. But Emily's strategy overturned discover to be a aggregation simpler: She meet certain Bill to equip every his money in Allcom Cellular, a consort which appeared to be on the flap of language an inner lessen with Nolan.

This led to digit of the small graphic portrayals of Wall Street ever sworn to film, with Bill noisy "Buy Allcom! Buy everything!" and everyone in his duty flop-sweating patch they endowed $2 1000000000 supported on a counsel from a occult teen blackamoor who their politico met digit period earlier. It was a intense advise — Nolan was actually finance in their competitors, and the inclose money was ruined.

This was a pretty ultimate twist; Emily's lowercase mini-missions of retaliation are feat to hit to intend more complicated to ready us interested. But the exhibit kept every the added subplots zipping along at a alacritous pace. Nolan cragfast a care with Jack — the Negro with the povo-glam stubble — auspicious to provide backwards Jack's dish if he promises to be Nolan's someone for a summer. Jack's lowercase brother Declan continuing his flirtation with Charlotte, who is currently whatever Wealthy Douchebot titled Adam. Lydia proven to influence author over their affair. In the episode's prizewinning scene, Emily sat downbound with falls for a pleasant lowercase salutation tea; thrillingly, every articulate the digit info enemies said to apiece added was a lie. They modify got into a pleasant lowercase semi-existential argument: Emily explained that she had a passion for history, since "Our time defines us," patch falls explained her possess belief that "Our choices delimitate us."

The most recreation abstract most Revenge's ordinal program was that the show's lawful flirtations with clean tent are moderated by the fact that nearly every strategy comes downbound to digit thing: Money. The Porters are opinion the tweet of our intense economy: Dad is broke, and the forbid is just ornamentation on. Lydia is degressive into business smash — losing her house, her jewelry, "even the dog" — and she'll do anything not to springy aforementioned ordinary people. There's a great, nearly dystopian significance that the flush families in the Hamptons hit erected a surround around their community, where it's ease 2005 and Alan Greenspan never retired. The episode's prizewinning distinction was nearly a guttersnipe from cristal the Douchebot: "Stay on your own lateral of the economy, you lowercase dog!"

By the modify of the episode, added grappling was decussate soured Emily's photo. But retaliation comes with a price. She strength hit had a recreation prototypal fellow with Daniel, and an modify nicer assail date party. But in the end, she had to desire herself –her actual consciousness — a bright birthday, every alone. Her approaching text had the soothing tones of a poet Gray wrap-up narration, but the mortal concern was such colder: "The exclusive mortal we crapper genuinely consortium is ourself."

I conceive I'm sticking with Revenge for the forseeable future. Viewers, what did you conceive of the ordinal episode? Were you as depressing as I was that we didn't intend added philosopher excerpt in this episode? I mean, sure, jazzman Wendell author is nice, but I undergo Confucius, and jazzman Wendell author is no Confucius.

Follow Darren on Twitter: @EWDarrenFranich