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While Conrad wastes away in a fatalist stupor and awaits the wrath of the Initiative, his company is about to be wrestled away from his control. An investors' luncheon is still on tap even though Conrad is expecting to be arraigned on murder charges, which leads Emanda to expect the Initiative will contact Conrad there. She gives Aiden 24 hours to get Daniel in position to take over Grayson Global. To do so, Aiden goes directly to Nolan to ask that he ultimately protect Emanda with a sacrifice play by giving up evidence that David Clarke invested in Nolcorp. Nolan nobly puts his entire life's work at risk. It's the type of thing we expect Nolan would do, and that's why it's somewhat boring and something that probably should've happened a few episodes ago.
Speaking of things that have been a long time coming, it turns out Mason hasn't exactly put two and two together about Emanda's true identity. Instead, he believes that Ems is Amily's secret lover and co-conspirator in bringing down the Graysons. That's... sort of on the right track. I guess? Amily loses her patience with Mason's investigation, and is on the verge of bashing him in with a crowbar, when Ems intervenes and lets Mason in on her true identity. She makes him think that he's now part of her crusade, but eventually double crosses him. Can't have nosy writers running around with our secrets, now, can we? Emanda has Nolan rearrange Mason's corkboard of revenge connections and plant the flight recorder from Victoria's plane crash in Mason's home to frame him for the murder of Gordon Murphy and conspiracy against Conrad. Ems ensures that Mason will stay locked up and keep quiet by promising that she will go on record for the book she knows he will write about her entire revenge crusade. Mason accepts the deal, partly out of repentance for failing Little Amanda and for his literary greed.
As for greed, there's some measure of it in Daniel moving forward with his coup at Grayson Global. With the proof of David Clarke's investment via Aiden and Nolan, Dan presents his case to the board at the investors' luncheon, and asks for a vote of no confidence against his father so he can lead the company to profits, profits and more profits. Victoria, Aiden and the Initiative's Helen, who is on the board of investors, are all in on the meeting, which appears to go over well.
While this is happening, Krazy Kara goes AWOL. She was supposed to be headed to Florida, but she never boards her flight. To wrangle her back, Ems has Mason call Kara to promise information about the murder of her husband. When they meet, Mason disobeys Emanda's orders and tells Kara that David Clarke was innocent despite Kara being totally unstable, prompting Kara to head back to Grayson Manor and confront Victoria and Conrad. She holds them at gunpoint in their bedroom, and is just about to pull the trigger when Aiden is able to black out surveillance and sneak up behind her. Conrad and Victoria have no idea Aiden was their savior because they were blindfolded and made to get down on their knees just before they were to be offed. She was going to do them execution style! Aiden and Emanda reunite Kara with her psychosis meds, give her some startup cash and send her on her merry way.
Aiden's heroics "RE: Kara" go a long way toward rebuilding trust with Emanda. Ems comes home and immediately starts sucking on Aiden's face. So, there's that.
-- Pablo G. is some guy who lives in Austin, Texas. He used to co-host 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 open with a strange pseudo-fisheye lens shot of Victoria lying awake in bed in the morning, holding onto the gun Conrad gifted her. Emanda voice-over: "Penance is a sacrifice -- a voluntary punishment to show remorse for a sin." In the restroom, Conrad takes a safety razor to his face and intentionally nicks himself with the first stroke. VO: "The more grievous the sin, the greater the self-inflicted suffering." So, Conrad must've killed a fly or something. In her guest bedroom, Kara runs a finger along an attempted suicide scar on her wrist. VO: "For some... the ultimate penance is death." Ems watches Kara on her surveillance laptop as Kara reads the front page of the newspaper with the story that Conrad was released on bail from prison. Kara flings the paper to the ground in crazed disgust. VO: "But for others, it is simply a means to an end." There's a knock at Emanda's door...
Ems closes her laptop and cautiously answers the door. It's Mason Treadwell, and he's already on his third cup of pompous this morning. Treadwell: "Ah... the David Clarke house. Now, was it coincidence, serendipity or strategy that brought you here?" Emanda keeps a surprised smile on her face when she replies, "Location." Mason blowhards for, like, twenty minutes about the peculiarities of Emanda and Amily's friendship -- each on antipodal ends of social status -- until Ems puts a stop to it. "As much as we both enjoy the sound of your voice, Mason, why don't you just get to the point?" she asks. Mason pulls out a group photo from the juvenile correction facility with both Ems and Ams. It doesn't really prove anything, but there is the fact that Ems has pretended to have just met Amily recently. Mason thinks Emanda is bankrolling Amily's revenge plot because of a past romantic relationship they shared, and Ems gets a sweet deal on David Clarke's beach house in exchange. It's almost as absurd an idea as them switching identities and attempting to coexist within the same extremely exclusive social circle. If Ems won't fess up, Mason's OK with that because she can just read about it when the story hits the bestseller list. Emanda's OK with that because there'll be an epic libel suit shortly thereafter. Mason: "Not if I write the truth." Ems: "Then do, and we don't have a problem." I love it when Emanda bluffs.
Victoria is still toying with her gun, but now she's up out of bed and about to put it in her purse. Kara's walking by and spots this in a hallway mirror. She keeps walking and bumps into Victoria, who can't seem to avoid being startled by this woman. Kara thinks it's best that she takes her leave of Grayson Manor now, and has booked a flight. She just needs a credit card number for confirmation, which Victoria says she'll happily provide. The Queen takes Kara up in an awkward embrace. I say "awkward" because it's not every day that the woman who stole another woman's husband and then played a role in his death hugs that woman goodbye after having let her roam around her massive mansion for days.
At an outdoor bistro, Aiden and Emanda walk together. It's a good spot for a romantic breakfast... or business, Aiden notes. Ems ignores the idea, and says she has intel for Aiden. Business it is. Aiden has 24 hours to position Daniel to become head of Grayson Global, Ems instructs. She's sure the murder charges against Conrad will be dropped, and that the Initiative will be sending an envoy to an investors' luncheon at Grayson Manor that is to go on as scheduled. Aiden changes the subject to discussion of Kara. Ems is well aware that her mother has booked a flight for herself to Colorado Springs. The hint of disappointment in Emanda's voice prompts Aiden to take her hand in his and apologize for Kara not being what she wanted. Ems pulls her hand away, coldly saying it's probably all for the best. Aiden is entirely that guy who insists on asking you twenty times if you're OK when you obviously aren't and don't want to talk about it.
Jack lays little Carl down in his crib and takes a seat to Amily on their bed. He grabs a folded piece of notepad paper with a bunch of scribbles Ams has made about her dream wedding. Circled in red a million times is the name "Narciso Rodriguez." Amily explains that he was the designer of Carolyn Bessette's dress when she married JFK Jr. Their wedding was essentially her dream wedding, but she knows money is tight and she shouldn't get her hopes up for their wedding. This smells like something Jack is totally going to overreach on to please his love, huh? Ams' phone rings from Mason Treadwell, and she answers it in front of Jack. Mason informs her he just met with Emanda and he knows all about their shared past. Amily replies with feigned joy, trying not to tip off anything is wrong to either Mason or Jack and agrees to meet Mason for lunch. She lies to Jack when she gets off the phone about Mason having one more of her father's journals that he wants to give her. She totally doesn't deserve Narciso Rodriguez.
Victoria finds Conrad lounging out on the beach all alone in a malaise. Apparently, the last time he did this was during the 2008 market crash. It's his little spot at the end of the world. He figures there's no point in killing himself when there's already plenty of people lining up to do it for him. That's the spirit! And if they value him more alive, he's just stuck harboring their assets. Conrad reveals that the Initiative is, indeed, sending an emissary to Grayson Manor for the luncheon. This boils Victoria's blood. She wants to take on the Initiative. Victoria: "Why not? You and I are already doomed. Let them think we're laying down and when the time comes, I say we drag them to Hell with us."
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Amily comes into Casa Emily with a hot head. Even though Ems didn't tell Mason anything, there's no way Amily could know that because she's mostly been kept in the dark on all of this. She wants Emanda's gun so she can shut Mason up for good. Ems tries to calm her down, but Amily declares that she's the one calling the shots as of last night. She reveals to Emanda that Jack proposed to her, and now she has a real chance at a family for the first time. Ems only lets this blindside her for a moment before getting her wits about her. If Amily kills Mason, she'll be the one putting her chance of having a family at risk. Emanda asks for Ams' phone, dials Mason and orders her to cancel lunch along with threatening a restraining order. Amily does as she's told, but to Mason's voicemail. She appears to still be holding a grudge when Ems tells her to go home to her family.
The docks. Kenny's taking out the trash when he bumps into his younger brother, Nate. It appears Nate is the one behind whatever hustle they're trying to pull off. He mentions the five boat slips that are part of the property of the Stowaway, which apparently have the potential to bring in more money than the bar itself, but they're under long-term leases, Kenny says. Nate doesn't care about leases or the fact that the Porters are good guys. He's all about the money, and seems to hold some sort of grudge against Carl Porter. Jack walks up and gets introduced to Nate, who is suddenly all smiles. He tells Jack that Kenny has the Midas touch, and the bar should be producing all sorts of crazy profits soon. And death. Don't forget that we have death to look forward to, guys.
Grayson Manor. Kara tries sneaking past everyone with her luggage while they're busy with preparations for the luncheon, but Daniel spots her, taking her aside for what he thinks is a private conversation. Victoria hears this and begins eavesdropping. Daniel wants to know if Kara knew about David's dealings once he joined Grayson Global, but she doesn't really know anything. Emanda arrives and interrupts the conversation under the pretense of dropping off a wedding gift for Victoria she forgot before. She expresses surprise at Kara leaving without saying goodbye to Amily, which cues Victoria to appear and offer to take Kara out to her car. Left alone, Daniel makes a comment about Kara and all of the Clarkes having had rough lives. Ems hesitantly agrees and leaves.
Nolan enters his office at Nolcorp to find Aiden sitting at his desk. It's not enough that he's basically taken Nolan's only friend, he wants his company, too? Aiden says he's there because Ems and Nolan are such close friends, and Nolan is the only one in a position to ultimately save her. He takes Nolan through the plan to get Daniel to the top of Grayson Global by revealing their initial investment in Nolcorp. When Nolan explains that there's no risk to Ems because she cashed out her stock when they went public, Aiden insists that Daniel's forensic lawyers will dig until they uncover Emanda's connection to Nolcorp. Nolan lets out a groan of frustration at the situation, and pulls out the framed check from David Clarke. He smashes the glass on the corner of his desk, retrieving the check. Before he hands it over, though, he demands to know why Aiden is doing this and what Emanda is to him. Aiden admits that he once hurt Ems very badly, and this is his way of making it up to her. Nolan makes it very clear that if Aiden hurts her again, he will pay for it, then grudgingly hands over the check.
In the pool house at Grayson Manor, Daniel places a phone call to Aiden, who's stuck in traffic. He assures Dan that he has the check that proves David Clarke gave Nolcorp startup capital. Now's the time to strike. Ashley overhears the conversation and asks to know what's going on. Dan explains for the millionth time how this is going to work. He's going to gather the company's top investors and ask for a vote of no confidence against Conrad so Dan can take over the company. He just needs Ash to keep Conrad away while he holds this meeting during the luncheon. Victoria comes looking for Daniel to ask him why he was talking to Kara about David Clarke's business dealings. Dan balks at being interrogated when it's just as odd that his mother invited the jilted lover of David Clarke to come stay with them. Victoria warns her son that all she wants is for there to be no secrets between them lest they come back to bite him.
Stowaway. Mason sits alone at the counter. Ams comes swooping in to accuse him of stalking her, along with breaking and entering. Mason's perplexed as he points to the front door of the public place he is currently patronizing, "Through an unlocked door?" Mason threatens to share the group photo from juvie to Jack, sending Ams into a panic. She completely throws Emanda under the bus, saying that she was coerced into some sick plan of Ems'. She'll tell Mason more about it, but it has to be at his house because she doesn't want Jack to overhear. They leave together.
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Nolan and Ems arrive at Casa Emily. Probably still unsure about the risk he's just taken, Nolan asks to know more about Aiden. She's been so mum on details about him that it's odd that she's just now revealing to Nolan that Aiden is also one of Takeda's protégés. Nolan: "Well, you might've mentioned that. 'Hey, Nolan... This one time at revenge camp, I met this fellow avenger, and, oh, guess where's he's going to be summering.'" Why all the questions about Aiden? Nolan explains that Aiden wanted David Clarke's check. As a reflex, Ems pulls out her phone to try and stop Aiden, but it's too late, Nolan says. Emanda is utterly shocked that Nolan has put his... everything at risk. Nolan: "It means nothing if it could potentially hurt the only real family I've ever had." Oh, hell. Where are the tissues?
People have already assembled in the courtyard of Grayson Manor for the investors' luncheon. Conrad and Victoria bump into the Initiative's super villain woman, Helen. Conrad introduces her to Victoria as a top shareholder, but she sees through that. Helen whispers to Conrad that she looks forward to speaking privately and meeting Kara. Always so ominous, Helen.
In the study, Aiden presents the David Clarke check to Daniel and Ashley. Ems and Nolan watch on surveillance. Nolan takes this as a good opportunity to ask how serious things were between Ems and Aiden. Emanda's not having it, so Nolan changes the subject to Kara. Is Ems really going to let her just leave? Emanda's been tracking her online transactions, and figures that this is the best thing for now. She can always track Kara to Colorado Springs once things die down. As if things couldn't get annoying enough, Emanda gets a phone call from Jack, reminding her that -- oh, yeah -- the love of her life is now engaged to the girl posing as her. Ems offers congratulations, but the real reason Jack is calling is to ask for Mason Treadwell's phone number since Amily left to have lunch with him and is late to come take over baby duty. Shit! Emanda plays it cool despite being alerted that Ams has gone against her wishes of letting her plan for Mason play out. She has no time to acknowledge Nolan freaking out over news of Jack's engagement because she needs to haul ass over to Mason's.
Cut to Amily staring at Mason's corkboard of intricate yarn connections. Mason takes this opportunity to apologize for the role he played in David Clarke's death, but assures Ams that his new book will clear his name and tell the whole world about the sociopathic socialite that's been stalking her. While Mason prattles on about all of this, Amily is noticeably detached. That is, until Mason brings up the odd coincidence of Henchman Frank's death coinciding with Amily's last day working at the strip club. Mason's trying to work out the details of pinning the murder on Ems when Ams pulls out a crowbar and rears back to bash in the back of his skull. Emanda comes rushing in to stop her. As Mason cowers, Amily relays to Ems that he knows everything and they must do this, but Emanda knows better. She tells Ams to "choose family" and leave. Having just avoided having his brains beaten out of him, Mason slowly catches up to the situation. He confirms his suspicion that Emanda was the mastermind of all of this. No point in hiding now. Ems comes clean that she is, in fact, Amanda Clarke.
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Emanda shares her disappointment in Mason for failing to use his words as weapons against those who doomed her father. Mason offers his apologies, but we all know that that's meaningless at this point. Ems takes a phone call from Nolan, who's on his way to enact a mystery plan for Emanda, but they've got a problem. Kara has ditched her flight and paid for a rental car with Victoria's credit card. She's gone rogue. Ems turns to Mason, "Time to start making amends, Mason." Cut to Kara walking through an airport parking garage. She gets a phone call from Mason, who says he has important information regarding the murder of Gordon Murphy. He invites her to meet him in half an hour to discuss it.
Out in the courtyard at Grayson Manor, Conrad gives a rather limp speech to the investors about assuring them that they will see gains in their portfolios and stocks and bonds and markets and whatnot. Meanwhile, Dan works his way through the crowd, whispering in the ears of choice investors for them to meet him for a super secret exclusive meeting. Conrad starts to notice something is up as he finishes his speech, but Ash steps in to assert that he had promised a Q&A for the crowd. It's true, Conrad. You must keep your promise of accessibility.
Kara and Mason meet face-to-face. Mason meanders a bit when Kara asks how he knew Gordon, but Emanda sets him straight through an earwig while she sits out in the car. She instructs Mason to hand over the pocket watch locket to prove that he was close with Gordon. While he advises Kara to get as far away from here and from the Graysons as possible, he regards Kara's scar on her wrist. Mason softens, probably realizing the horrible pain he inflicted on this woman indirectly. He says there's one more thing he has to tell her, definitely going off-script, as far as Ems is concerned. He tells Kara that David didn't lie to her, and the Graysons were responsible for framing him for his crimes. Mason continues revealing the role he played in the plot despite Emanda's protests that Kara is off her medication and unstable. Kara runs off. Pissed, Ems pulls out her phone to dial Aiden. She gets his voicemail and warns him to keep an eye out for Kara, who's most likely headed to Grayson Manor, out for blood.
Aiden didn't pick up his phone because he's currently in the secret investors meeting with Daniel. The speech is pretty convincing. Dan says he's aware that many of the investors plan to pull their money from the company, but that he has proof that the company is undervalued by as much as fifty percent due to an overlooked stake in Nolcorp. If they will vote to put him in charge, he guarantees the company can triple its earnings in less than a year. Victoria enters the room as Daniel is reaching the crescendo of his spiel. Everyone, including Helen, appears to be sold.
Nolan arrives at Mason's deserted home and heads straight for the corkboard. He snatches his own photo off of it, and then just marvels at the board. So much yarn.
Kara sneaks into Grayson Manor unnoticed, heading straight for the surveillance camera console in the hallway (it's a neat touchscreen). She disables the majority of the cameras.
Outside, the Q&A session isn't going to well. Investors want to know what's going to happen when Conrad goes to prison. He assures them that's not a concern, and if it does happen, he'll appoint someone to take his place until he's acquitted. Conrad turns to Ash to declare this is a disaster, asking where Daniel and everyone has gone. A maid interrupts with an urgent message from Victoria to meet her in the master bedroom. Cut to Conrad standing and waiting in said bedroom. Victoria enters with bad news, but before she can say anything, Kara pops out from behind Conrad with a gun and orders Victoria to shut the door.
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Ems frantically searches the surveillance feeds of Grayson Manor from Casa Emily and can't find Kara or the Graysons. Cut to Kara holding Conrad and Victoria at gunpoint. She wants a confession of what they did to David. Conrad steps forward and tries to take all of the blame, but admits that he pawned off what should've been his guilt on David because he was losing his wife to the man. Conrad figures Kara of all people should understand that pain. While Conrad is talking, Victoria tries to reach into her purse for her gun, but Kara notices and shows her that she already grabbed the gun and stashed it in her waistband. Kara orders the Graysons into the dressing room.
At Mason's, police are snapping crime scene photographs of the corkboard and searching for other evidence. Mason enters and is greeted by Detective Gunther, who says they have a warrant for Mason in connection with the murder of Gordon Murphy and conspiracy to frame Conrad. "Conspiracy, indeed," Mason says as he notices the changes that have been made to his corkboard that make it appear as though Mason had plotted against Conrad. A police officer alerts Gunther that he's found something. It's the flight recorder from Victoria's crash. Mason knows he's been had.
From the shadows, Aiden watches as Daniel speaks with Helen. As he eyes Helen, Aiden opens up his attaché case, which contains a handgun and chloroform. His phone rings. Ems demands to know why he hasn't been answering his phone, but the real news to Aiden is that they've made first contact with the Initiative. Emanda brings Aiden up to speed about Kara being there as she tries searching the surveillance for a sign of her or the Graysons. She realizes that some of the cameras have been disabled, then instructs Aiden to head for Victoria's bedroom. Aiden tells Ems to disable all security cameras, and heads for the stairs. Emanda's hesitant, but he insists that she trust him. She enters the keystrokes that bring down the whole system.
In the dressing room (which is the size of my bedroom), Kara tosses the Graysons some blindfolds. They continue trying to talk their way out of death. Victoria insists that she's lived a life of guilt ever since what happened to David, and Conrad reveals that Gordon was directly responsible for David's death. Kara violently thrashes at these notions, clearly unstable, and unwillingly to believe that the man she loved could be responsible. Victoria directs Kara to her jewelry box where she can find the other half of the photo from the last day of David's life, which proves that Gordon killed him. At this point, Kara is so off her nut that the truth doesn't matter. She makes Conrad and Victoria put on their blindfolds and get down on their knees facing away from her. Conrad takes Victoria's hand in his and she squeezes back. It's... comforting to think that these two would take on death together despite everything that's put them at odds. Just as Kara's about to pull the trigger, Aiden silently bursts in the room from behind Kara, putting a rag over her face to knock her out with chloroform.
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Kara wakes up in the passenger seat of Emanda's car, startled to see Ems. Emanda promises everything is fine, and that Aiden, whom she remembers as Agent Mathis got her out of Grayson Manor. Aiden, standing outside the passenger window, hands Kara the bottle of her medication found on Gordon's body, and tells her that she's free to go as long as she never comes back. Kara's surprised that she's being set free by the FBI. Aiden tells her there's a car and some money waiting for her, and leaves mother and daughter alone one last time. Ems asks Kara if there's anything she would want to tell Amily. "Just tell her I wish that I could've been a better mother." She gets out of the car. FLASHBACK: Kara and Little Amanda sit together in a parked car in the rain. Ever so gently, Kara kisses her daughter's head and begins to sing to her. /FLASHBACK. Emanda watches her mother walk out of her life through her car's driver-side mirror. Aiden hops in the car to ask if Ems wants him to stick around, but she says she has one more loose end to tie up.
Nolan enters his office and finds Padma on the floor with bloody feet. She jokes about workman's comp. Of course she does. It's a bit hard to believe that Padma didn't notice the huge shards of glass on the floor from Nolan smashing the frame that held David's check. It's not like there was just a sliver that Nolan missed. Anyway, Nolan sits down on the floor to Padma and asks if she'd still want him if things changed and he wasn't exactly who he currently is. Conditions can change but he can't, she says. She'll always see him as "Nolan Algernon Ross." His middle name's actually Mitchell, he corrects. They share a sweet kiss.
Mason sits alone in an interrogation room. He hears footsteps and without looking up announces that he won't say anything until his lawyer arrives. It's Emanda. She takes a seat across from Mason. He assumes she's there to gloat about making the police believe he's capable of all of the conspiracy that truly belongs to Gordon, Conrad and herself. Actually, she's there to cut a deal. Emanda tells Mason that he's going to waive his right to an attorney and give a full confession. He will go to prison for crimes he didn't commit, just like her father did. Mason's resistant at first, but Ems threatens that she will see to it that evidence mounts against him. She reveals that she recorded Mason's conversation with Kara, which would implicate him as having ties with Gordon, and that only through this deal can Mason hope to gain the one thing that could ever exonerate him: a full confession from Emanda, herself. She will free him once her vengeance has run its course, and that will likely be just enough time for Mason to write a book about it all -- the book that they both know he can write. It'll be the book that will introduce the world to the real Leo Mason Treadwell. It's poetic justice. Mason agrees to the deal.
Emanda voice-over: "To properly do penance, one must express contrition for one's sins." Jack walks in on Amily playing with baby Carl on their bed. VO continued: "And perform acts to repair the damage caused by those transgressions." Jack says he's been thinking about their wedding. Amily has, too. She doesn't want a big, fancy wedding, after all. She's happy just with Jack, Carl and a few friends on The Amanda.
Conrad enters Victoria's bedroom where she's having a glass of wine in bed. If I had the kind of day she had, I'd be hugging a box of wine. Conrad looks exhausted and defeated when he tells her that their security cameras blacked out when Kara disappeared. They assume the Initiative was responsible. Victoria tries to tell Conrad about Daniel's move to unseat him, but he stops her. It can wait until the morning. Of course.
We see Mason silently give his confession to Detective Gunther on-camera. Ems VO continued: "It is only when those acts are complete that the slate can truly be wiped clean." Aiden waits for Ems on the porch of Casa Emily at night. VO: "And amnesty gives way to a new beginning." He says he just wanted to check on her. He knows she had a rough day and wants to know if she's all right. Without giving an answer, Emanda rushes up to Aiden and lays a passionate kiss on him.
-- Pablo G. is some guy who lives in Austin, Texas. He used to co-host TWoP's original "Trailers Without Pity" with his brother Omar G. Check him out at Pablog and follow him @PendejoJoe on Twitter.