Revenge is an American television soap opera, directed by Mike Kelley that embodies three genres; drama, psychological thriller and mystery. The key actors/actresses include Emily VanCamp (Emily Thorne), Madeleine Stowe (Victoria Grayson), Josh Bowman (Daniel Grayson), Henry Czerny (Conrad Grayson), Gabriel Mann (Nolan Ross) and Nick Wechsler (Jack Porter). The following series consists of 4 seasons with +- 22 episodes in each. Revenge has an excellent plot in which viewers such as myself are drawn into due to its suspense, drama and surprising plot twists. The actors/actresses are well suited for their roles within the series due to the overall image each of them portrays, the location in which the characters work and live in emphasises the characters images of wealth, superiority and greed. As a devoted viewer of this series, I believe that the director and producers did an excellent job in creating such a nail biting, suspense filled television series, and no doubt many other viewers felt the same as four seasons were produced.

 

Set in Long Island, New York, Emily Thorne arrives in the idyllic Hamptons for the summer. Emily Thorne dazzles the members of high society by making herself well known in the exclusive social circle of Grayson Global CEO, Conrad Grayson and his socialite wife Victoria Grayson. It soon becomes clear that young philanthropist Emily Thorne has a dark past. Emily was once known as Amanda Clarke, a young nine-year-old girl whose life was torn apart when her father David Clarke Grayson Global hedge fund manager was falsely accused of channelling money to a terrorist organization responsible for the downing of a commercial airliner. Now living under an assumed identity, she is determined to seek vengeance on the people who destroyed her father's life.

 

The pilot episode opens with the sound of gunshots, the camera pans to a mid-shot of a fallen, dead body on a beach at night. There is voice over, a woman speaking about revenge from a child’s perspective.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The camera continues to pan away from the fallen body towards fireworks in the sky, text appears at the bottom of the screen indicating that it is Labour Day weekend in South Hampton New York.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shortly afterwards a close up camera angle of someone firing a gun appears and then the camera pans towards a marquee where there seems to be party going on. The camera pans through the party, where guests are seen socialising and dancing. The voice over continues to speak about revenge and how her view of revenge has changed, the voice over ends, stating that the following story is not one of forgiveness. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The camera focuses on an ice sculpture following the hand of a woman with a beautiful engagement ring. Shortly after the first character is introduced, Emily Thorne, she is called upon by her friend to ask where Daniel Grayson, her fiancé is, at this point the camera pans to an extreme close up shot of Emily’s hands as she brushes beach sand of them implying her shooting or being involved in killing Daniel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The scene ends with Victoria Grayson announcing Emily and Daniel’s future nuptials, the camera zooms in on Victoria as she tersely questions Emily, “Where the hell is my son?” the camera fades quickly to the beach where Charlotte Grayson cries out for her mother Victoria to come quick, Victoria screams out Daniels name as she realises something is wrong, due to her daughters screams, she runs towards the beach. The camera pans towards Emily who is still at the Marquee and zooms in on her face as she looks on in shock, posing the question: ""Is this the beginning of her path in clearing her fathers name?""

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The following camera angles were used to move between two scenes, one of happiness and love to one of death and pain. The camera angles were also used to highlight certain aspects such as the sand on Emily’s hands suggesting that she is involved in her fiancés murder. The way in which the camera pans between the two scenes and focuses close up on characters facial expressions allows the viewer to understand that all is not as it seems.

 

In conclusion, Revenge is a complicated television series with a lot to grasp as there are many characters who are introduced at the beginning and fade out just as quick, they are all of importance but it is imperative to understand the significance of the main characters who play vital roles within the storyline to fully grasp the entire plot. The pilot episode introduces viewers to Emily’s path of Revenge as she hopes to clear her father’s name by destroying the lives of those who were involved in him being framed and killed. It is up to the viewer to follow Emily on her journey of revenge in order to see whether or not she manages to clear her fathers name despite the many obstacles in her way.