'Revenge' Review - 2.04 Intuition

        On the newest episode of ABC's Revenge, Amanda learns that playing with the Graysons is definitely playing with fire the hard way; Emily and Aiden each get blindsided; and the wheels start turning as Daniel begins to take matters into his own hands.

        Throughout these first few episodes of Revenge's second season, there has almost been too much plot. There's Emily and her mother; Emily and Aidan; Nolan, Padma and his company; Jack and Amanda; Declan and his friend; Jack and the bar; Daniel, Ashley and their company; Conrad and the Initiative; Victoria's return, etc. All of this added up has made up some very scattered episodes. The stories that share the same motivation aren't being cohesive and it seems as if the show is trying to give everyone a story even though it may not be beneficial to the overall story. Not only that but the show is making even storyline so dense that it has been detrimental to the episodic narrative. With all that being said, tonight's episode worked much more fluidly and does give me hope in the structure of the rest of the season.
        Amanda taking that tumble over the railing was shocking and intense and the show's best soapy moment in a very long time. It also did more than just offer a one-minute thrill. It helped many of the plot threads to actually merge together in a very less murky way. The biggest of which is Kara coming out of hiding to be with Amanda. I haven't loved everything about the ongoing story surrounding Emily's mother but I have the highest respect for the dark psychological undertones the show has crafted with that dynamic. That simple darkness was in full effect in this episode. Those closing moments should do wonders for that character because she is now out in the home - to hopefully interact greatly with Victoria and Emily. What's even better is the tragic aspect of Emily continuing to remember bits and pieces of Emily that only reveal more of her mother's insanity. It is a fantastic tipping off point. One that may actually get me excited for the ongoing main plot again.
        Nolan had the most engaging subplot this week even though he was almost completely isolated from the main drama. So far this season, his distractions with his company and Padma have been a bit lackluster as the story just hasn't carried any real weight yet. This week was definitely a step in the right direction. It allowed the Nolan character to open up emotionally by dealing with his father's death and his romance with Padma. The closing twist of Padma learning about David Clarke's connection to Nolan should definitely help bridge this story back to the main drama and thusly I'm willing to keep going on with it.
        The rest of the episode include terrible subplots that are neither interesting or compelling and we're still likely to be seeing for a majority of this season. The stuff with Declan is way boring and I just don't care what happens to him or what happens to the bar. Conrad is off taking secret meetings with a woman from the Initiative. That scene was long but didn't really advance that plot at all. Finally, Daniel proved to be growing as a more cunning character with the way he learned about Ashley and his father - but it still needs more gravitas for me to care about.

So what did everyone think of the episode? Why does bad stuff keep happening to Jack? Hopeful that the introduction of Kara will bring more focus to the main narrative? Share your thoughts in the comments.