Trust



Trust is the second episode of Season 1 and the second episode of Revenge overall.

Summary
Emily Thorne sets her sights on her next target, Bill Harmon, a wealthy Wall Street hedge fund manager and trusted family friend who testified in the trial that wrongfully convicted her father. She uses her connection with Nolan Ross to her benefit, unbeknownst to him, and also manages to go on her very first date with Daniel Grayson. Meanwhile, Victoria Grayson's suspicious about Emily grow and she starts digging to find out a little more about this new arrival to The Hamptons. And the situation over at the Stowaway Tavern gets even more dire for the Porter men.

Overview

 * "When everything you love has been stolen from you, sometimes all you have left is revenge. Sometimes, the innocent get hurt. But one by one, the guilty will pay. Nothing ever goes exactly as you expect. And mistakes are life and death. Collateral damage is inescapable."- Emily Thorne

Daniel isn't fairing well during his polo match. Bill, head of Wall Street's most profitable hedge fund, wants to make a friendly wager with his former business associate, Conrad Grayson, on the young man's second half performance. Conrad won't take the bet on his son, but Emily will.

The smooth-talking Mr. Harmon is someone Emily used to refer to as "Uncle Bill" back when she was known as Amanda Clarke. Emily makes it known that she is friends with Nolan. She also lets Harmon know that she's interested in doing business with this man who testified that her father funded terrorists. He also accused David Clarke of illegal insider trading, a practice Harmon actually engaged in with no remorse.

Bill logs in to his computer to show off a list of his top investors and their profitable returns. Emily soaks in all the info. At a follow-up meeting, Emily fools Harmon into believing she has inside info that Nolan's corporation is merging with a particular cell phone company. Harmon scrambles to get his top clients to invest based on this inside information. The problem is that Nolan is actually merging with the company's chief competitor.

Harmon wants to keep the big loss news from his clients but Emily had swiped the confidential phone list from his computer. She proceeds to make calls to Harmon's top dogs to let them know about all the money they lost thanks to the man they trusted with their investments. Harmon the hedge fund king is ruined and Emily crosses him off of her list.

Emily is one of multiple bidders on the sale of Lydia Davis' house. Speaking of Lydia, she shows Conrad photos of the two of them that triggered the fidelity clause in her pre-nup and now she's broke. Lydia wants Conrad to write her a check, a big one. As for her house, Emily is furious when she learns Nolan swooped in to buy it so that it would keep out of Victoria's hands. He also put the deed in Emily's name. Nolan says it's a gift for Amanda, who is to celebrate a birthday tomorrow. Frank, the head of Conrad Grayson's security team, tells Victoria that Emily is squeaky clean. If she wants to know more about her, he suggests she go right to the source. A short time later, Emily is invited over to Grayson Manor for tea. As the informal inquest of her guest draws to a close, Victoria is mortified to hear that Emily closed the deal on her new home.

Frank manages to dig up some info on Emily. He learns that she was on the board of the New York Landmark Preservation Society with Lydia Davis' ex-husband, Michael Davis. There had been rumours that Michael had been sleeping with a young lady during this time and Victoria seems to think that it could have been Emily. When Victoria learns that no info exists on Emily Thorne between the ages of 16-18, she orders Frank to start following her.

Jack Porter completes the sale of his boat to Nolan, who is no sailor. He is, however, the kind of guy who can get his friends onto some killer guest lists. If he had any friends, that is. He then offers Jack the position of being his new best friend for the summer.

Declan Porter texts Charlotte Grayson to invite her out for a boat ride but he is shocked when she shows up with a half dozen of her closest friends. One of the rich kids is a guy named Adam, who introduces himself as Charlotte's boyfriend. Things go from bad to worse for Declan when he sees his brother's boat is not at the dock.

Jack's dad, Carl Porter, is upset when he learns that his son had sold his boat to save the bar. Down in the bar, Declan is getting ready for a second chance date with Charlotte but unfortunately, Adam intercepted his invitation text. He shows up with a few of his mates to put a beating on Declan. Carl comes down to chase them away but an angry Declan has some harsh words for his drunken dad before fleeing the room, so no-one is around when Carl collapses to the floor.

Emily has a nice first date with Daniel. It looks as if it may end with a kiss on the front porch but Nolan and Jack interrupt. They are there for a surprise "Welcome to The Hamptons" party Ashley Davenport has set up with Daniel.

Jack assures Emily that he's not stalking her, though he can't say the same for his dog, Sammy. He says it was good to see her again. Emily doesn't respond, but the unsure look on her face seems to indicate that she reluctantly feels the same way. At the end of the night, Emily finally does have that kiss on the porch with Daniel. As for Jack, he's devastated when he returns to The Stowaway to find his dad unconscious on the floor.

Flashbacks reveal that Emily had seen her dad with Victoria in the past. She also overheard David say that he trusted the wrong person. At the end of the episode, Emily sits alone at the table with a birthday candle lit atop a cupcake to which she says, "Happy birthday, Amanda" as she blows out the candle.


 * "Trust is a difficult thing, whether it's finding the right people to trust... or trusting that right people will do the wrong thing. But trusting your heart is the riskiest thing of all in the end. The only person we can truly trust... is ourself."- Emily Thorne

Main Cast

 * Madeleine Stowe as Victoria Grayson
 * Emily VanCamp as Emily Thorne
 * Gabriel Mann as Nolan Ross
 * Henry Czerny as Conrad Grayson
 * Ashley Madekwe as Ashley Davenport
 * Nick Wechsler as Jack Porter
 * Josh Bowman as Daniel Grayson
 * Connor Paolo as Declan Porter
 * Christa B. Allen as Charlotte Grayson

Guest Cast

 * James Tupper as David Clarke
 * Max Martini as Frank Stevens
 * Yancey Arias as Senator Tom Kingsly
 * Amber Valletta as Lydia Davis
 * Matthew Glaves as Bill Harmon
 * Brian Goodman as Carl Porter
 * Robbie Amell as Adam Connor

Co-Starring Cast

 * Emily Alyn Lind as Young Amanda Clarke
 * Diane Mizota as Anchor
 * Elena Evangelo as Valerie