In this penultimate episode to next week’s supersized finale, it seems that the Initiative’s latest plan to create fear and chaos is afoot with a city-wide blackout. I just wish the rest of the episode made as much sense as this gutsy move. While some characters seemed to be reciting dialogue from previous episodes (Victoria still doesn’t want Daniel to marry Emily? Le sigh), others seemed to be rushing to ridiculous conclusions.
First up, we have Takeda’s betrayal of Aiden, who decides that his former star pupil is ruining everything and gets him fired by Daniel. I would think there might be more subtle ways to pull Aiden out of the game — maybe a nice cup of tea and gentle conversation — but no, he had to make sure that he burned the bridge in a magnificent fashion.
Getting fired causes Aiden to think about his life, however, and he realizes that his quest for revenge has left him feeling empty. Thus, he has a new plan — to put an end to Emily’s end game with the Graysons, steal all their money, and run away! It all sounds very romantic but not entirely logical. I mean, once Aiden was fired, there was no way his password to all things Grayson Global wasn’t changed almost as soon as he left the building, right? I mean, even if he wanted to, he couldn’t, say, check his e-mail or, like, steal millions of dollars, right?
Oh, yeah. Apparently not, as Nolan simply asks Aiden to type in his password and voila! Because corporations that deal with millions of dollars in investments often overlook things like this. Hey, maybe they do, but if so, please don’t tell me about it or I’ll start compulsively checking my savings account balance. Seriously, this was like something out of “Office Space.”
Why Nolan is involved is also a little perplexing. Aiden, who apparently knows about Takeda’s “real” plan (and the fact he never intended to let Aiden or Emily survive once the job was done), has a reason to want to get out of dodge. Nolan, however, listens to Aiden explain that Emily will only be unhappy pursuing revenge, then decides to jump on board the massive theft plan. Because… he was bored that day? I understand that Aiden needed some help in draining the Graysons’ accounts, but that he’d so quickly agree to help out Aiden without checking in with Emily doesn’t sound entirely like Nolan.
I was going to say that I hate how Takeda just pops up whenever an anonymous killer or an annoying flashback is needed, but seeing how the guy is now dead there doesn’t seem to be much point in complaining. I’m sure we’ll soon learn what Takeda really had planned (I guess a guy doesn’t train two angry Americans how to be Zen soldiers without having something at stake), but I hope this doesn’t add another layer of silliness to the show. There’s quite a lot of that already.
Speaking of silly, I’m starting to feel that one of my favorite characters, Victoria, is being given old pages from past scripts to rehash. So, Emily’s engaged to Daniel? Again? Time to hate Emily! I’m hoping she might have more scenery to gnash if Patrick, the son she gave up for adoption, comes back into the picture despite his $5 million payoff. I hate to see Victoria having the same old gripes — though I will say she did seem to have a moment of awareness when Emily started talking about “Amanda’s” old porch swing. It may have just been my imagination, but I have to think Victoria is going to figure out this Amanda/Emily switcheroo one of these days.
I guess some sloppy twists and turns may be forgiven if next week’s season finale pays off. We do have a teen pregnancy (that nutty Charlotte!), a possible Paris wedding (if Daniel survives next week, which I’m not entirely sure about) and lots of blackout bonding potential. But it better be one heck of a payoff, don’t you think?
What did you think of Aiden’s battle with Takeda? Were you surprised by Charlotte’s pregnancy? Do you think there will be a wedding?