This is the character page for the TV series Revenge.
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Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke
Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke
"For the truly wronged, real satisfaction can only be found in one of two places: absolute forgiveness, or mortal vindication. This is not a story about forgiveness."
Action Girl: She is a black belt in karate, and quite proficient at kicking ass.
Anti-Hero: Although her motives are understandable and sympathetic, she is far from a morally upstanding protagonist.
Badass: Not necessarily a good one, but one nevertheless.
Batman Gambit: She could give Bruce Wayne a run for his money.
The Chessmaster: Succeeds in out-manipulating pretty much everybody.
Daddy's Girl: This, combined with shades of Broken Bird and a big dose of Magnificent Bastard, makes her a force to be reckoned with where her father's memory is concerned.
Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: A not so rare protagonist version. She does occasionally demonstrate a softer side, having shown affection for Nolan, Jack, Charlotte, and Amanda in the past (not that she wouldn't risk putting all of them but Jack into danger in order to further her aims)
Kill It with Fire: Is implied to be a pyromaniac, or at least favour using arson to eliminate evidence.
Meaningful Name: Emily Thorne, which is lampshaded by Nolan.
Emily itself comes from the latin word "aemulus" which means "Rival" while her birth name Amanda means "loved" or "worthy of love". Both names fit perfectly. Amanda who was loved by her father and the name she adopts Emily, as she takes on those who destroyed her family. Word Of God has confirmed both these names and meanings were intentional.
Pet the Dog: One she learns the truth that Charlotte is her half-sister she has some tender moments with her, and it doesn't even involve her plans for the Graysons.
Not So Stoic: Till the Finale where you can see all she's done finally catches up with her.
The Sociopath: Nolan has canonically called her as one. Although it is uncertain whether she qualifies psychologically, she certainly displays behaviors consistent with sociopathy.
Tranquil Fury: At least during the first half of the first season she keeps her anger at the Graysons a secret, at least until Daniel decides to join the Grayson corporation.
A Friend in Need: Nolan is the only friend of Amanda's father who does not abandon him. When Amanda turns 18 he comes to her and tells her of her father's innocence and gives her her father's 49% worth of shares of Nolan's company (worth billions of dollars) since her father was Nolan's first investor and Nolan believes he would not have succeeded without him. He also is determined to help Emily in her quest for vengeance, even when she doesn't want him to.
In a more present sense of the word, Nolan is more than willing to help Jack out, though like Emily, Jack doesn't want him to.
Adorkable: Holy shit.
Nolan: Throw me a token and put me in front of an arcade cabinet... And I turn into Bruce friggin' Lee!
The above line is absolutely sold by his gestures.
Bi the Way: He's not revealed as bisexual until the seventh episode of the series. Later on gets a Girlfriend
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Weird, socially awkward and eccentric. He's also a computer genius who has more money than God.
Color Contrast: The first time we see Nolan is in the flash-forward to the Fire and Ice Ball five months in the future; the dress code is red for women and white for men, with Victoria specifying that the color theme represents the love between a man and a woman. Nolan is the only guest at the party wearing both colors, possibly an early hint as to his bisexuality.
Cowardly Sidekick: Has shades of this with the decidedly badass Emily. While he is willing to put himself in danger indirectly and risk his safety for the sake of his own morals, he is beyond terrible at physical/hand-to-hand combat. If he senses any threat of immediate violence, his standard reaction to freeze, curl up in terror, and beg not to be hurt.
The Dandy: Is consistently decked out in loud, rather bizarre fashion statements.
Distressed Dude: Is beaten/tied up more than his fair share. Not that fans are complaining. In fact, this, combined with his snarky personality, Woobie status, and bisexuality, seems to render him a Fetish Fuel Station Attendant for quite a few viewers.
The Dragon: Nolan is more or less this to Emily. Whether she likes it or not.
Expy: He's basically a nice, kind version of Chuck Bass.
Friendship Moment: Has a few surprisingly sweet ones with Ashley, despite the fact that they generally despise each other. Nothing says "bonding experience" like finding out that the guy you both slept with is a psychotic murderer.
Hollywood Hacking: And how. Can apparently access any website with a few clicks of his keyboard.
Idle Rich: Possibly a deconstruction of this trope; he possesses insane amounts of money, but is still lonely, awkward, and socially inept.
I Just Want to Have Friends: Pretty much everything he does is in an attempt to win and keep either Emily or Jack's approval.
Like Brother and Sister: With Emily, in an odd, rather codependently unhealthy way. (He is simultaneously terrified of her and desperate for her approval and friendship, while she claims not to need him while calling in favors from him every five minutes.) At the same time, the two of them are probably the only people in the world who know each others' secrets, and they share some moments of genuine affection.
Mood Whiplash: Makes frequent and startling swings from intimidating to flippant, from determined to panicked, from cold to emotional, etc., at the drop of a hat. His loyalty to Emily and David keeps him on board with the revenge plan, but how committed and involved he is varies from day to day based on his personal reactions to Emily's methods.
Morality Pet: Despite his cold, snarky persona, he manages to be this for Emily when her actions cross lines that he isn't willing to condone.
Never Hurt an Innocent: He's all for taking people down but doesn't like going after others who weren't involved. Sadly, Emily does not share this view.
Paper-Thin Disguise: His "Burt the cable guy" costume in the season finale; a uniform, beanie, and rather wispy mustache are his only concessions to concealing his identity. It doesn't work.
Poisonous Friend: Nolan is an inversion of this: while he is fanatically loyal to Emily/Amanda and assists her in her revenge scheme, he also points out that she would probably be happier if she just dropped the whole thing and went off somewhere to enjoy her wealth.
Sacrificial Lamb: Though this occurred sporadically to him throughout Season 1, his status as this reaches a figurative height when Emily, Aidan, and Daniel's machinations in the first half of Season 2 set Nolan up to lose control of his company and hand it over to Grayson Global. Nolan is more than willing to allow this to happen though, if it means 'helping the closest thing to family he's had'.
Later on, it seems he's very aware of his place as this, as he enters an episode saying this:
Nolan: Mm... Sacrificial lamb, reporting for the slaughter...
Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Normally uses a rainbow of a vocabulary to describe situations. Often drops this when he's panicking about something.
Shipper on Deck: For Jack and Emily. Considering his close friendship with Emily and considerable amount of HoYay with Jack, this veers into OT3 territory for some fans.
Spoiled Sweet: Despite being a Deadpan Snarker, and the richest character in the series, he is incredibly empathetic, often looking in the best interest of Jack, Declan, and Emily.
Stealth Parody: His hilariously over-the-top preppy outfits could be, particularly when you take into account Nolan's sarcastic personality and hatred of the Hamptonites, and that he dresses much more casually in flashbacks.
Sugar and Ice Personality: Snarky and awkward on the outside, sweet and kind-hearted on the inside. In Nolan's case, it may be justifiable to protect himself from people who would use that against him.
Technical Pacifist: Aids Emily in her plans to ruin the lives of those who destroyed David Clarke, but dislikes violence and is terrible at any sort of physical combat, preferring to wage war from behind the screen of his iPad.
“Well Done Son” Guy: Nolan's relationship with his father is revealed to be an inversion of this: while he apparently became estranged from his father after the latter kicked him out for refusing to go back to college, after his father's death Nolan discovers that his dad was proud enough of him to have collected every article ever written about Nolan, as well as keeping a massive box of early business documents from the beginning of Nol Corp's founding. As Nolan says in his typically Deadpan Snarker way, "turns out he loved me."
Working With The Ex: On not so friendly terms. Daniel's strategy to take control of Nolcorp is to place Nolan's former CFO and ex-boyfriend Marco Romero next to Nolan and his current CFO Padma. Whether Daniel's reason for doing this is to cause discord on intimate or business terms for Nolan remains to be seen.
Jack Porter
A Boy and His X: Is pretty much inseparable from Sammy, the dog Amanda bequeathed on him years before.
Hot Dad: Real Emily/fake Amanda is revealed to be pregnant in the season finale with Jack's baby. Their baby is born in Season 2.
Break the Cutie: Holy crap does the second season screw him hard. His father's involvement in a murder years ago comes back to ruin his life when the Ryan brothers try to take over Jack's bar when they show up to try and avenge their father. Nate Ryan's later conversation with Conrad Grayson leads to the death of fake Amanda during their honeymoon. Jack's attempt to get revenge for this leads to Conrad's attempt to assassinate Jack in the form of a bombing. The bombing takes Declan's life instead. After all that, can you really blame him for the inevitable?
Hair-Trigger Temper: After Amanda's death, his temper becomes so bad that it's arguable who's got a worse rein on his anger between him and Daniel. After the aforementioned event, he's shown to be increasingly irritable towards Nolan and Emily for their secrets as well as whatever involvement they had in the events between the current summer and the previous one.
Nice Guy: Could be the poster boy for this trope, especially in comparison to the other characters...
Parental Abandonment: Jack and Declan Porter's mother abandoned her family when the boys were very young and they were raised by their father.
Perpetual Poverty: By the time the show begins, all the Porters have left to their name is the bar their father owns and Jack's boat. The boat is sold to Nolan in season one, though because Nolan understands what the boat means to Jack, he does return it eventually. The bar gets enough for the Porters to get by, but their conditions never improve, so maintenance problems with the bar is enough to make them panic. Nolan and Emily are willing to support them whenever the situation becomes too drastic, though Jack's pride keeps him from accepting help from either of them. In Season 2, Jack and Declan's inability to manage the bar pushes them into debt with another pair of brothers that have a score to settle with Jack's now deceased father.
Promotion to Parent: When their father dies from a heart attack, the adult Jack becomes Declan's guardian.
Revenge: After a season and a half of decidedly attempting to stay away from the Graysons, Amanda's death puts him on the same warpath that Emily's been on for most of her life. His amateur attempts at joining the revenge game ends up ruining his life further than solving anything. Declan's death drives him to the brink of executing an assassination on Conrad, to the point where it takes Emily revealing her true identity to him to stop him.
Took a Level in Jerkass: Amanda's death has him out for Grayson blood, but his disdain isn't entirely aimed at them; he begins to openly show contempt towards anyone that might be involved during the incident and makes it very clear that he's sick of Emily and Nolan for keeping secrets from him and trying to keep him out of the way of the Graysons' sights.
Defeat Means Friendship: When Amanda first met the real Emily in juvie, they got into a brief but brutal fight; now, they seem rather close, enough for Emily being willing to switch identities.
To the point where she panics at the thought that Emily might not be as loyal to her. She briefly sides with Tyler in an attempt to try and fix her connection with Emily.
Yandere: She has shades of this in regards to Emily/Amanda.
Alpha Bitch: During the first season rules the Hamptons with an iron fist.
Anti Role Model: Told her own daughter to not regret seeking Revenge, while she was crying and in a dark moment, implying things DON'T get better, even if she does try.
Arch-Enemy: Victoria is Emily's, although the former doesn't know about it yet.
The Atoner: Victoria, of all people, starts coming off as this in the last few episodes of the season, as she dedicates herself to taking down Conrad for what happened to David Clarke, no matter the cost. Though there is at least some question as to whether this is because of a genuine desire to atone or because the whole affair is a convenient weapon to use against Conrad (Victoria was careful to secure immunity for herself and separate her assets from his before she said anything.)
Dangerously Genre Savvy: At the end of the first episode, she's already checking into Emily Thorne's past.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The one redeeming quality Victoria has is that she genuinely loves her children.
Despite helping to destroy David Clarke, she appears to have genuinely loved him and even refused to let Conrad sell or bulldoze the beachhouse for several years, as it was her one last connection to the man she loved.
Evil Matriarch: There's a reason she's known as "Queen" Victoria.
Faux Affably Evil: She can smile politely while plotting on destroying you.
So Beautiful, It's a Curse: As a young teenager she was pursued by her mother's suitors. When her stepfather molested her, her mother threw her out of the house.
Man Scorned: He's furious about Victoria's infidelities (though he's quite the adulterer himself) and hates that she loved David and Dominic more than him.
From Nobody to Nightmare: Subverted. Conrad argues that Daniel wouldn't go anywhere in the world without the Grayson name, which might have been true if his parents' machinations didn't place him as the CEO of Grayson Global. Now, Daniel's just concerned with not becoming the nightmare that he's fully aware his parents became a long time ago.
Parental Abandonment: Jack and Declan Porter's mother abandoned her family when the boys were very young and they were raised by their father.
Promotion to Parent: He and Charlotte are the ones that take care of baby Carl Porter when Jack and Amanda are unable to, which happens more often when Amanda dies and Jack goes after the Graysons. Ironic, considering that Jack had to do the same thing for him when their father passed away.
Evil Mentor: And how! He was raising Aiden and Amanda for his personal revengenda rather than helping them towards their own goals, and tried to kill Aiden when he tried to nudge Emily off her path.
Break the Badass: Watching Emily return to Daniel while Aiden's still very much in love with Emily (despite the knowledge that she's in love with Aiden and is only using Daniel for appearance's sake) isn't sitting well with him. Finding out his sister's really been dead all these years gave him a BSOD that made him leave Emily on her own for a while. His realization that revenge doesn't bring any sort of fulfillment causes him to try and redirect Emily off the path of revenge, but she refuses his offer to run away with him. He's forced to kill Takeda, who was raising him and Emily to fight against the Initiative. He also might have been killed by Daniel in the Season 2 Finale.
The Dragon: To Takeda and to a lesser extent Emily.
Heel...er...Face...? Realization: Him being neither a complete hero nor a complete villain makes him hard to classify what this is, but after killing Trask, Aiden realizes there's no fulfillment after revenge and thus tries to push Emily towards abandoning her vendetta to save her from the emptiness that he himself is feeling.
Idiot Ball: Hitting the button that releases Carrion onto the city cements his place as another fallguy for the Graysons/The Initiative and leads to him and Nolan getting arrested definitely qualifies as this...
Meaningful Name: The name Aiden means 'protector,' which fits in well with his actions over the course of Season 2.
Sacrificial Lamb: The Graysons plan on turning him into the next David Clarke.
