Episode Report Card Pablo G: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Feast or Famine
By Pablo G | Season 1 | Episode 14 | Aired on 02.08.2012
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.A lot of people have their worlds shattered in this one, so let's dive right in. Invitations have gone out for Emanda and Daniel's overtly conceptualized "Fire & Ice" engagement party. This along with news of Conrad and Victoria's divorce brings Grandpa Grayson into town (guest star William Devane). Despite being Conrad's father, he totally has a soft spot for Victoria, and threatens Conrad's control of the company if any of this divorce business sullies the Grayson name. Maybe they should just change the named to "Sully Global." Conrad and Victoria reach a tentative agreement to play nice while Grandpa is in town as long as Conrad patches things up with Charlotte.
Jack stumbles upon the tape of Mason Treadwell's interview with Amanda Clarke that Emanda accidentally dropped under his bed at the Stowaway. After much coaxing, Nolan finally agrees to play the tape for Jack, he and Emanda having planned in actuality to erase the tape magnetically while pretending to play it, thus keeping Jack from finding out the truth. When it gets down to Nolan having to decide whether to stay loyal to Emanda's plan or be a good friend to a heartbroken Jack, he chooses the latter and plays the tape for him. This sends Jack into an angry frenzy.
He shows up uninvited to dinner at Grayson Manor and makes a big scene in front of basically the entire wedding party, accusing Victoria of hiding her affair with David Clarke and keeping Amanda locked away. The majority of the party is very confused except for Conrad who takes every opportunity to place blame on his wife. In an effort to save face, he breaks his agreement with Victoria to keep Charlotte's origin a secret and reveals in front of everyone that Charlotte is David's daughter. He then challenges Daniel's perception that this was the result of Victoria being raped, and clarifies that Victoria had an ongoing affair with David. Victoria is left with no more lies to hide behind.
All of this leaves both Jack and Amily heartbroken, Victoria completely discredited in Daniel's eyes, Charlotte devastated and Grandpa Grayson threatening Conrad's position of CEO at Grayson Global. Emanda is conflicted as she watches everything unfold first-hand, having disillusioned Charlotte and Daniel, who both seem to be pretty innocent bystanders in all of this. When Emanda returns home after dinner, her secret compartment for the infinity x infinity box is open and an RSVP for the "Fire & Ice" party sits propped up in the box with "Will attend" marked. Somebody has a secret revenger.
-- Pablo G. is some guy who lives in San Antonio, Texas. He co-hosts TWoP's original "Trailers Without Pity" with his brother Omar G. Check him out at The YES and NO and Pablog and follow him @PendejoJoe on Twitter.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!We start with a dark red close-up. The camera moves around to reveal we've been focused on the back of a box in Emanda's hand that holds an invitation for the Fire & Ice Ball from the pilot. Emanda voiceover: "Years ago, I met a boy who introduced me to a book -- The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. In it, William Blake writes, 'If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is... infinite.'" Brief montage of everyone's various reactions to receiving the engagement announcement: Ashley happily works on sending them out; Conrad sits in his office, holding it in his hand in contemplation; a maid hands one to Charlotte and she can't hold back a smile; Nolan flicks the faux diamond pendant in the box and sneers. Back to Emanda, sitting up in bed. She smiles when Daniel rolls over into frame, and they start making out in celebration of their love being disseminated to the masses. Emanda voiceover continues: "But in reality our perception is often clouded, by expectations, by experiences. As of late I find my perception is blinded by only one thing... revenge." Cut to an invitation propped upright. We pan over to see a laptop open with more interview footage of David Clarke. He's talking about being convinced that Victoria played no part in his arrest because he's the father of her daughter. Victoria sits at her vanity mirror watching this blankly. She reaches out and caresses David's face on the screen as Charlotte walks in. Her mother immediately shuts the laptop. Charlotte asks if she's seen the invitation, immediately sensing Victoria's disapproval. Never one to pass up an opportunity to attack her mother, Charlotte reminds her that Declan doesn't get much approval either. Victoria is such a broken woman at this point that she doesn't even try to protest.
Casa Emily. In the kitchen, Daniel gathers his things to get ready for work. Ems comes downstairs in all white, as per Victoria's request, for her engagement photo shoot at Grayson Manor. Daniel leaves, and Emanda heads straight for the infinity x infinity box. In her spotless white dress, she sits with her laptop and wears latex gloves. Her laptop is playing David's revelation that he's Charlotte's father again, but Emanda is burning it to a DVD. Her phone rings with a call from Nolan. He naturally opens with a barb about the Fire & Ice Ball invitation. "'Fire & Ice.' Mm... subtle. Were 'Fire & Brimstone' not available?" Then, he gets to the real questions. Last he was aware, Emanda was going to be putting all of her plans on hold. Now he's holding an invitation in his hand that says otherwise. Emanda explains the new wrinkle of Victoria claiming David raped her, and Ems is now waiting for the perfect moment to reveal to everyone Charlotte's paternity. She'll probably do that with the DVD she's just recorded, packed and addressed to Charlotte from "Amanda Clarke." She and Nolan hang up. Then, she happens upon Amily's cell phone in the infinity x infinity box, and sees twelve text messages and seven missed calls from Jack. Sadness.