Episode Report Card Pablo G: A- | 467 USERS: A- YOU GRADE IT Homecoming
By Pablo G | Season 1 | Episode 1 | Aired on 2011.09.21
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Amanda is met at her new home by her friend Ashley, who will be the party planner for the engagement party five months from now. She has a bottle of champagne which serves as a segue since it's not for her pal's housewarming, but instead for Victoria Grayson -- or "Queen Victoria," as she's known in the Hamptons -- whose Memorial Day party Ashley will be planning. Amanda asks how much it costs to get on the guest list. Only $10,000 a ticket. Amanda flippantly says, "Count me in for one," like she's just asking her friend to pick her up a lottery ticket from the store. Ashley leaves and Amanda's face slowly dissolves into an ice-cold stare we'll all get very used to.
As Amanda unpacks her new home, Victoria takes notice and watches her from her literal house upon the hill. She mentions Amanda to her husband who is busy on the phone doing business. He just regards Amanda as lucky to have landed the property from Lydia and Michael Davis. Victoria doesn't believe in luck. The Graysons are interrupted by their daughter Charlotte who teases them a bit provocatively, like supposedly clever older teens are written to do on TV shows these days. She walks off after zinging her mother for not remembering she was told Charlotte would be going out the night before. "Mom, you're too young and too pretty to be this senile." Mr. Grayson tells Victoria to lay off, because Charlotte got straight A's this semester. Victoria: "Nobody's accusing her of being stupid." Not yet, Victoria. Not yet.
We're at the docks in the daytime. Two young guys are loading up a boat and quickly reveal through their banter that they're brothers who work for their dad at a bar. The youngest gets chastised for hording a crate of beer and responds by saying he'll have all the beer he wants when older brother is gone. Older brother sends younger brother to go do some menial labor. That's brotherhood. Older brother's always right. Older brother's name is Jack Porter and he's now being approached by Nolan who is wearing a sea captain's hat. Apparently, he's been working through some things and one of those things is an interest in all things nautical. He starts in on Jack about wanting to buy the boat, which is named "Amanda." That's not a coincidence one should overlook. Jack sternly shoots down Nolan's inquires about maybe purchasing the boat. Finally, Nolan narrowly works up the nerve to call Jack out for never liking him. Jack won't deny it and coldly says it's just one more thing for Nolan to work through.