The Broken Laws of Revenge – recap + broken laws in the pilot episode of Revenge
The first episode of “Revenge” begins with a bang in the form of a gunshot. Simultaneously, in a voice-over, a female eerily explains her views on revenge. Note that the beginning of the episode takes place in a flash-forward; it happens 5 months after present day in the episode. The woman in the voice-over emphasizes that this story is not about forgiveness. Somebody fires more gunshots, and a young man falls victim to them and collapses on the beach.
Still in flash-forward time, the people who aren’t wearing bullets are dressed in fancy attire at an engagement party for Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp) and Daniel Grayson (Joshua Bowman). Thanks to the fireworks at the party, none of the guests hear the gunshots. Emily is the person who was speaking in the voice-over; she’s wearing a pretty red dress, but it doesn’t seem like she’s in party mode. Her fiancé, Daniel, is a no-show at his own party. A friend of Emily’s, who is working at the party, asks Emily about Daniel’s whereabouts. Emily replies that she and Daniel are having a “thing,” and he took a walk on the beach. Does “thing” mean fight? Or perhaps it means shootout. Emily assures her friend that Daniel will be back shortly. Next, Nolan Ross (Gabriel Mann) greets Emily, but their conversation does not seem friendly. Emily scolds him; according to her, Nolan shouldn’t be at the party. Nolan taunts Emily, “That makes two of us.” Isn’t she the bride-to-be at her own engagement party?
Meanwhile, a teenage male guest expresses his adoration for his tuxedo. He complains that he looks like a jackass. The girl he’s with flirtatiously leads him out of the party and towards the beach, not realizing that they’re walking into a crime scene. A man pulls the dead body out of the beach and onto the sand, then hides when he notices the teenage couple stripping down to their underwear by the water. This man could be a pervert, a murderer, or completely innocent.
Legal Note 1: My blog policy is to explore the broken laws when we know who is responsible for them. Right now, we don’t know who shot the dead guy at the beach, but when we find out, I’ll definitely be exploring this fatal shooting further. I don’t want any readers thinking that I failed to notice that murder is illegal.