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Everyone's waiting for Daniel to be fully cleared of charges after the abrupt "suicide" and "confession" from Grayson Goon, Lee. That is, except for Emanda, who is pretty wrapped up with finding out more about who was responsible for murdering her father in prison. She inadvertently stumbles upon some info when she goes to talk to Charlotte out of concern for her well-being. Since Charlotte has grown a bit obsessed herself with finding out about who her father was, she has a number of photos and news clippings strewn about her room. Emanda notices a photo of David in prison, dated the day he was murdered. In the photo, he is writing in a journal that was most certainly not delivered by Nolan. She confronts Nolan and finds out he's been hiding it from her (that rascal).
The reason behind hiding the journal turns out to be that it leads straight to an informant David had at Grayson Global... who turns out to be Nolan's aunt (!). He knew Emanda would track her down, and for him, protecting family is much bigger than Ems' revenge plot. Nolan's aunt had been working with another man to try and get David's name cleared, but the Graysons caught on and had the guy murdered, so she faked her own death. The only lead that comes out of this is for Emanda is that the guy who murdered David was a scary-looking white-haired man.
When Daniel is finally cleared of all murder charges, it becomes evident that he is nowhere near being cleared of the perception by the general public that he is a murderer. He agrees to do a televised interview to try and fix that. At the same time, Jack has grown so unsettled by what he knows of the circumstances of Daniel's exoneration not matching up with what he knows that he seeks out Daniel. He confesses about being on the beach that night to cast doubt on Lee's sudden confession, in hopes Dan will be cautious of bringing Emanda into a corrupt family. It raises enough questions in Daniel's head for him to confront his father, who has finally been taken down by Victoria's ace in the hole: her contact at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Conrad tells Daniel the entire story of David Clarke's framing while Emanda eavesdrops through her bug.
Just before Daniel's interview, Emanda gives him a slight pep talk to remind him that he doesn't need to protect the Grayson name, and he might have a chance to be his own man if he comes clean. She very clearly hopes he'll do the right thing and expose his family's crimes... but he doesn't. He endorses his father as a son and a business partner. Emanda is no longer on the fence about Daniel. He has revealed himself to be "one of them."
Speaking of family existential crises, Charlotte continues her terrorist-father-induced downward spiral. Declan, always trying to do the right thing the wrong way, tips off Collins Prep's headmaster about Charlie's drug problem. They search her locker and find her pills, suspending her. Victoria finds out about this and realizes her daughter is completely imploding. She takes her aside to finally explain what David meant to her and how much she sees of the man in Charlotte. It's a genuine bonding moment for two women on the verge of complete disintegration, and seems to be the start of an understanding.
In We Don't Care land, Ashley resigns from her post at Grayson Manor to take a job with Brooks as a media liaison. Just before she starts, Victoria realizes Ash was the one who leaked photos of Daniel to the media, and tips off Brooks, who subsequently retracts the job offer. Conrad overhears all of this and swoops in to offer Ashley a job at Grayson Global, anticipating the coming shit storm. It's not much of a happy ending, but at least we won't have to hear Ash complaining about her job for a while.
-- Pablo G. is some guy who lives in Austin, 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!Snow falls in front of Emanda's out-of-focus face. Ems voice-over: "Absolution is the most powerful form of forgiveness -- a full pardon from suspicion and accountability. It's the liberation of a stolen future -- a future my father never lived to see." Emanda is in a graveyard. She clears off some snow from her father's grave and lays a single rose on it. VO continued: "Absolution is a mercy the people who killed him will never know."
A reporter speaks over a brief montage of protestors outside Rikers Island and Brooks meeting with Daniel. She says there is a great deal of suspicion from people who have closely followed "the new trial of the century" after Lee supposedly committed suicide and left a confession just before the defense was to present its case. The judge has been in her chambers all morning, presumably preparing to drop all charges on Daniel, but the reporter notes this certainly won't clear him in the court of public opinion. And rightfully so; the sweater he's wearing is unfortunate.
The Porter brothers watch this report from the Stowaway and are in full agreement. Jack suggests to Dec that if it turns out the Graysons are indeed behind all of this, he should avoid Charlotte. The new and improved Declan fires back at his brother sarcastically that it would be just like he did with Amily. Dec blames himself for Charlotte's current downward spiral, but Jack thinks that's all the more reason the Graysons wouldn't hesitate to harm him if he opened himself up to it.
Casa Emily. Ems reads a news clipping about her father's death in prison while sipping coffee. Nolan shows up and cracks wise about Emanda going over her wedding invitation list, assuming her plan to get her fiancée freed from prison works. (Why wouldn't it? She's Emanda) Actually, she's now going over a list of all the inmates involved in the prison riot and she can account for all of them. Though the trail's gone cold, Emanda knows from Conrad's conversation with Lee's murderer that this is likely a repeat of what happened to her father and they've simply covered up the killer's identity. For now, Emanda is off to see Charlotte because she's worried about her.
Grayson Manor. The massive, unfinished painting of Victoria now occupies an entire wall in the house. Victoria stares at it in pain. Conrad enters and, noticing his emotional triumph over his wife, decides to be an ass about his victory over Dominik. Ever proud, Victoria won't give him the satisfaction of admitting her anguish. Conrad expresses his disappointment. Victoria: "When I choose to react, you'll know it. And I guarantee that you'll not just regret each and every one of your petty little torments, but that the suffering you so glibly spread around will come back at you tenfold." It's nice to see there's a little bit of venom left in the broken Queen.
Emanda knocks on Charlotte's bedroom door, whose immediate reaction is to think there's been some news about Daniel. Ems tells her there hasn't and gets invited into the room. She notices right away that Charlotte's bed is covered in photos and news clippings of their father. It's Charlotte's version of father-daughter time, she says. She adds that everything on her bed is all she could find in public records... and some things not public. Charlotte hands Ems a photo she found in Victoria's jewelry box. It's one Emanda's never seen before. Upon examination, Emanda finds that it's dated the same day he was murdered and he was busy writing in a journal. Charlotte needs to head to school, so Emanda sneaks a quick photo of the picture with her phone.
We're at Nolan's office. He fields a phone call from Emanda. She's demanding to know where the journal in the photo went because she's certain she never got it from Nolan. He nervously plays dumb and heads for his wall safe. He opens it and pulls out the journal. As he's walking to hide it, Emanda enters the room still talking to him on her phone. Busted! She slams Nolan up against the wall in a chokehold, snatching the journal from him. He insists he's just trying to protect her father's legacy since he was very paranoid and scared the last few months of his life. Emanda orders Nolan to stay out of this from now on or she'll make him stay out of it. She leaves with the journal. Nolan slides down the wall, sitting on the floor on the verge of tears.
Betrayed 3-D title card and commercials
Nightfall at Casa Emily. Emanda reads from her father's journal by candlelight. David voice-over: "From the moment of my arrest I sat stupid and trusting, believing in a system rigged against me by the people I knew as friends in a life that I can no longer remember." That sounds about right. FLASHBACK (It's been a while since one of these): David sits in the prison yard full of paranoia, looking around and scribbling. VO continued: "The closer I get to the truth, the louder the whispered voices around me, plotting my execution, choosing the time. I now know that I am trapped in a race between fate and freedom. Whichever wins out, I won't go quietly. Not again. C.M will come tomorrow with proof." The infamous riot breaks out. A prison guard with a U.S. Marshal patch on his arm and white hair stabs David in the confusion. /FLASHBACK. Emanda stares at the words "C.M. will come tomorrow with proof." She hops on her laptop to search the Grayson Global employee database, finding a Carole Miller. Unfortunately a GoQuestGo search turns up her obituary. She died in April of 2002, it says.
Stowaway. Nolan is in the middle of telling Jack not to worry about Declan because he's hardly on the Graysons' radar right now. Emanda, however, is about to marry into that mess, Jack points out. Nolan awkwardly mentions that Emanda's not in the mood to take advice from him right now, but maybe Jack should talk to her. When asked what Nolan's going to do, he says he'll be busy actually running his business. Oh right... he has one of those. He quickly hugs Jack and leaves.
We're at Collins Prep for the first time. In an outdoor walkway, Charlotte is greeted by Distrust Fund Adam, who brings her news that she missed a quiz in "Econ" (blech) and also brings a new bottle of pills for her. She needs to make them last this time, he says. In TV speak, that means she's totally doping uncontrollably now. Declan rounds the corner and spots the two just as they each pop a pill. Adam notices him staring and naturally antagonizes him. Dec asks Charlotte if they can talk. No. She walks off with Adam.
Casa Emily. Emanda places a call to the archives department at a hospital to ask what their hours are. She stares at Carole Miller's death certificate on her laptop. There's a knock at the door. It's Jack. He quickly starts talking about Daniel, saying skeptically how amazing it is that everything worked out the way it has. The Graysons are powerful people, he says. Emanda dutifully fires back that Daniel didn't kill anyone. Jack gets frustrated with himself and decides he needs to come clean, but before he can Emanda's phone rings with a call from Daniel. They've dropped all charges against him. Jack can guess what the call is about, so he just excuses himself and says they can talk later.
Victoria meets with a man on a bench in a snow-covered park. He says she's had his business card for over six months, noting she's just now meeting him. "Timing's everything," Victoria says. Part of that timing is that she's cashed out her shares of Grayson Global, according to the man, whose name is Mr. McGowen. Pleasantries aside, Victoria's ready to get to business. She wants full immunity for information she's about to give him. McGowan's from the S.E.C. Oh. Oh dear. He says he can't grant her immunity until he knows what they're dealing with. That's fine. Victoria will just go above his head to his superiors or to the F.B.I. or C.I.A., whichever one wants to lay claim to a domestic terrorist. Uh... spit take! Terrorist?! McGowan's eyes get big with interest. He says he has to make a phone call before they can make a deal.
Daniel sits in a holding cell at Rikers, clearly being affected by the loud voices of angry protesters outside the building. Emanda enters and gives him a big hug. Outside, they push through the disorienting protestors and photographers. They stop in their tracks when they spots Emanda's car has been tagged with "MURDERER" in red paint across the windshield.
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Daniel and Emanda arrive home at Grayson Manor. He's obviously shaken still. His parents come to greet him with hugs and excitement now that this is all over. Daniel knows better. Ashley pipes up to agree with him that the media is posting articles about him, questioning the circumstances of his name being cleared. Victoria thinks they should just starve the media and hide Daniel, but Emanda's got other plans. She thinks a televised interview with Daniel giving his side of the story would be best. Conrad completely agrees. Dan's not ready to commit to anything because he's exhausted, so he excuses himself. Ashley asks to speak with Victoria privately and Ems goes home. In the kitchen, Ashley gives her notice to Victoria now that the trial is over. Brooks has offered her a media relations position at his firm and she's accepted. It's a logical leap for her and Victoria agrees, but since Brooks is still on retainer, she asks if Ashley will remain media liaison if Dan decides to do the interview. She accepts. Ashley idiotically adds, "It's the least I could do for Daniel after what he's done for me," before walking off all happy-go-lucky. The slip-up doesn't go unnoticed by Victoria, who stares at the incriminating photos of Dan that were leaked to the media by Ashley, which are posted up on a board in the kitchen.
Hospital archives at New Mercy Hospital in Manhasset, New York at night. In a lab coat and glasses, Ems rifles through records with a flashlight. She finds Carole Miller's file, but there's a records request form in it as late as 2006. Emanda calls the doctor listed and pretends she wants to cross reference a common patient. He says he has a Carole Thomas who's still alive and well. Interesting.
Emanda has driven out to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to meet this Carole Thomas. She walks up to the door and knocks, but Carole appears behind her. Ems holds up a fake badge from Homeland Security and asks to talk about Conrad. Inside, Emanda asks to verify if Carole was Conrad's personal secretary for 18 years, which she was. Ems asks what she knew about David Clarke. Was she surprised by his conviction? Everyone was. Emanda wanders over to the mantel and notices a framed photo of Carole and Nolan together just as she hears a shotgun cock behind her. She turns to find the barrel in her face. Carole demands to see her badge more closely, but before awkwardness or blood baths can ensue, Nolan comes running downstairs, yelling, "No, no no... Aunt Carole, just put the gun down!" Emanda is like, "Say whaaaaaaa?!" Both ladies are very confused, so Nolan timidly introduces Carole to Amanda Clarke. Carole looks like she's just seen a ghost.
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The three have taken seats at Carole's breakfast table to go over what happened back when she worked at Grayson Global. Nolan had told her after he met David in prison that he believed David had been set up, so she began investigating on her own. She hooked up with Grayson Senior Accountant, Roger Halsted, who had discovered discrepancies in their books connecting Conrad to the terrorists. They were too late to relay this info to David before he was murdered. FLASHBACK: A young, badly coiffed Nolan urgently calls Carole while he drives. He tells her without explanation to get up from her desk at Grayson Global and leave to go into hiding. She walks right past Conrad and briefly makes eye contact with him, but gets out of the office. /FLASHBACK. Carole credits Nolan for saving her life by faking her death. Nolan asks Carole to tell Emanda about "the white-haired man." She goes on to describe a man who regularly met with Conrad in meetings off the books. He had icy blue eyes and a full head of white hair. He terrified even Conrad. When Carole gets up to tend to a kettle, Nolan gets closer to Ems to quietly explain that he couldn't provide Emanda the final journal because protecting his family was more important than her revenge. She understands completely because she would've done the same thing if she had the opportunity to protect her family.
Snowy winter shots of the Hamptons beaches transition us to a knock at Daniel's pool house door. He's as surprised as we are to see Jack. When Daniel demands to know what the hell he's doing there, Jack calmly hands him his own cell phone and explains he got it from Tyler's jacket the night he was murdered. The two slow gears in Daniel's head grind to a halt. Jack very quickly explains that he was on the beach that night, as well as what he saw. Dan wants to be angry that Jack was just going to let him fry, but Jack reminds him that he never claimed to know who the killer is. The one thing he's sure of is that the hoodie found on Lee was his, and he's semi-sure Dan's parents paid him to steal it. Dan's not following closely enough and when he says aloud, "And then what, convinced him to confess to the crime and hang himself?" he realizes just how stupid that sounds. Jack's telling him this because Dan owes it to Emanda not to get her involved in something like this. Jack leaves Daniel to think.
A large set of cutters remove a padlock from a locker. There's a group of kids watching a police officer and the school's headmaster crack open the locker. Charlotte comes running down the hall to yell that they have no right to be doing this, but it's too late. They've found her pills. She's in direct violation of the school's honor code and state law. Charlotte doesn't even digest this before flying over to blame Declan, who was in the crowd watching. He tries to say that he knows she needs help, but she slams him up against a locker in front of everyone and calls him pathetic. She adds she'll be telling her father to cut off his tuition.
Brooks walks into the kitchen at Grayson Manor where Ashley sits reading. She gets up excitedly to greet her new boss. About that... Brooks says he's rescinded the offer after doing some digging on Victoria's recommendation and finding out Ash is the one who leaked photos of Daniel to the media. He can't have liars working for him when he's already busy protecting liars. Ash is shell-shocked. Conrad overhears this as he's walking by and out into the landing. His phone rings as he spots Victoria watching from the head of the stairs. She smiles. He answers a call from a receptionist at Grayson Global who says the feds are there seizing everything on the authority of the S.E.C. They want Conrad down at their office tomorrow morning to answer questions with his lawyer.
Emanda comes home to find Daniel waiting for her at the breakfast table. He notices happily that she's still wearing her engagement ring. Gradually, Dan takes Ems through the same thought process Jack did with him about Lee's involvement with getting his name cleared. He's decided to do his interview tomorrow. Emanda suggests maybe this interview's an opportunity to distance himself from the Grayson name and his family's dirty secrets. They hug it out. Dan says he's going to run home to grab his things to stay the night with her
While there, Dan happens upon Conrad sitting at his desk drinking into a deeper depression. He asks if his father's alright. He certainly isn't. Conrad says the family's on the verge of catastrophe and he suspects it's all Victoria's fault. This sounds like the type of marital crap Dan's heard his whole life until Conrad reveals Victoria paid to have Dan beat up in prison. Tumbling further down the rabbit hole, Dan asks if Lee's confession was legit. Conrad admits it wasn't and to having Lee killed. He does what he has to do to protect his family. Before Conrad will go any further in revealing anymore secrets, he asks Daniel to promise that he rebuild the company and protect his sister when the authorities come for him. He asks Dan to close the office doors before he continues. Emanda is listening in on the conversation with her laptop when Conrad says he needs to start from the beginning so Dan can understand what they did to David Clarke and "his innocent baby girl." Ems looks like she just overheard her parents talking about her Christmas gift and regrets it.
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Victoria finds Charlotte in her room still poring over her David Clarke memorabilia. Charlotte tries to lie about having to get to school, but Victoria just got off the phone with the headmaster who told her about Charlie's suspension. Fast forward through some trademark Charlotte downward spiral self-deprecation and Victoria breaks down, asking how she can help her daughter if she won't let her. She tells Charlotte she won't find answers in pills or in Treadwell's book. That's when Victoria notices the prison photo of David. She's emotionally sideswiped. Charlotte says she had to seek out answers on her own because Victoria wouldn't provide any. Is this why Charlotte started taking drugs? Victoria seems to have realized she may be the reason behind her daughter's implosion.
Interview time. Dan's being prepped with make-up on the pop-up set at Grayson Manor. Ems is there to give some words of encouragement. She reminds him he doesn't have to follow in his family's footsteps. Victoria walks up just as she's saying this and half-jokes about taking offense before asking to speak with her son privately. After a diatribe from the Queen about Emanda's moral high ground only giving her more distance to fall, Dan asks his mother why he was granted house arrest. He wants to know if she had anything to do with it. Victoria completely deflects it, demanding to know who's been putting such crazy ideas in her son's head. Ashley interrupts to tell Daniel it's time for the interview before he can get Victoria to admit anything. He takes a long look in the mirror after she walks off.
Daniel sits across from Nightline's Cynthia McFadden. She asks straight out of the gate if he murdered Tyler. Dan says they struggled for control of the gun, it went off and he'll never know what happened between Tyler and Lee after that. What does he think about all the vitriol aimed at him from the general public? He says simply that people should pay for their crimes. This gives McFadden a good segue into the S.E.C.'s investigation of Conrad. What does Daniel think about that? He looks at his parents and then at Emanda, who gives him an encouraging smile. Daniel chooses to completely back his father as a son and as a business partner. Emanda's face drops.
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Conrad goes up to Daniel in the aftermath of the interview to briefly thank him. Emanda walks up to ask him if it's really his plan to return to Grayson Global. Daniel points out that it's not impossible for him to be both his own man and his father's son. Ems can barely hold back her disgust. Victoria watches this whole exchange and then has her attention pulled away by Charlotte. She tells her daughter to get her coat.
Outside, Conrad leans up against a brand new Lexus. Ashley walks by and he calls out to her to say she's forgetting the key to her brand new [product placement]. He says she can either drive it out of the Hamptons forever or go park it in her new parking space at Grayson Global. Unlike Brooks, Conrad admires someone who doesn't mind getting their hands dirty. Ash hops in the car and asks about Victoria. Conrad: "What both you and Victoria have yet to grasp is just how little she matters... to anyone." Ashley digs her new car.
Stowaway. Jack has just been told by Dec his tuition has been pulled by Charlotte. Nolan reaches for his wallet, and Jack objects, but Nolan makes a pretty damn good argument for his generosity. Someone once looked out for him when he needed it, Dec won't be relying on the Graysons anymore and he certainly deserves an education. Jack smiles, so Nolan makes a call to his accountant to cut a check to Collins Prep.
Victoria and Charlotte walk through a snowy graveyard, arm in arm. Victoria says her biggest regret was keeping Charlotte from David. He was a good man and her daughter reminds her of him. Charlotte abruptly asks if her mom loves her even though every time she looks at her Victoria sees him. That's the reason she loves her even more. It's actually really nice to see these two getting along. They arrive at David's grave and see the rose Emanda left behind.
Stowaway. Ems sits down near Nolan at the bar. She needs a drink. Jack heads to the back to get some good liquor. "Rough day at the office?" Nolan snipes. "He's one of them," she replies defeated. She explains Conrad confessed everything to Dan. He could've come clean in his interview, but didn't. Nolan asks what she'll do now. She's going to marry Dan, track down the man who killed her father and kill him.
Emanda voice-over: "Absolution is the washing away of sin." Dan enters Conrad's empty office at Grayson Manor and sits in his father's chair. He thinks of what might be. VO continued: "The promise of rebirth. And the chance to escape the transgressions of those who came before us. The best of us will learn from the mistakes of the past while the rest seem doomed to repeat them."
Warpaint's "Stars" plays as Ems watches an old video of Conrad speaking to Treadwell -- who is behind the camera -- about David Clarke back in 1995. He says he liked the guy and that the fact he fit in so well is what made him dangerous. Carole comes into frame to interrupt and say "that man" is here to see Conrad and won't take no for an answer. She sounds terrified. The camera turns to see the white-haired man enter the room just before shutting off. Ems VO continued: "And then there are those who operate on the fringes of society, unburdened by the confines of morality and conscience." Emanda rewinds the video and freeze-frames on the man. She pulls out her phone and brings up the photo she snapped of the prison picture of her father. VO continued: "A ruthless breed of monsters whose deadliest weapon is their ability to hide in plain sight." She notices the white-haired man in his guard uniform in the background of the photo. "If the people I've come to bring justice to cannot be bound by the quest for absolution, then neither will I." Emanda sits motionless on her couch as the snow continues to fall outside her window.
-- Pablo G. is some guy who lives in Austin, 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.
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