Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 1, Episode 11 of ABC's "Revenge," entitled, "Duress."
The relaxing hiatus is over for the Hamptons elite on "Revenge." When we meet up again with the Graysons, Emily Thorne & co. on the beach, they look stunned, which we then learn is due to the gun Tyler has pointed at them. He walks around the table before pointing it directly at Emily's head. Now, it's time to find out how exactly they found themselves in this little predicament.
It's two days earlier and Emily is not yet in "duress" -- her word of day, which also happens to be the title of the episode. She heads downstairs and is happy to see that Daniel is there, coffee in hand. The two mention that Tyler is still M.I.A. and Daniel says his mom is planning a party for his impending birthday. Like the simple W.A.S.P. she is, Emily suggests a clambake.
Conrad arrives and Emily is quick to excuse herself. He tells Daniel that he hopes the divorce doesn't stop Daniel from loving him and he admits that the situation with Tyler was a mistake. And with that, Daniel's back on board and they shake on it. As the Staples commercial would say: "That was easy."
As soon as Conrad's gone, Daniel calls Victoria, who is shockingly not in a cocktail dress and looking quite different this fine, pre-gunpoint morning. Her son tells her he's in a position to get her everything she needs in order for the divorce settlement to wind up in your favor. He's buttered her up before mentioning the clambake. She's in.
Emily stops by to see Nolan poolside in his red trunks ... and to apologize ... sort of. "I googled friendships on the Interwebs. Apparently, when you have a fight with a friend, you're supposed to apologize," she says. Nolan thinks her joke sucks. Agreed.
Emily explains her trust issues. Nolan says all he wanted to do was help her and her dad and that she was right about Tyler. He stole his whale cam, which has everything he needs to extort Conrad. But Emily suggest it could just be "all the rope necessary to hang himself." Reclaiming his role as "Revenge's" king of snark, Nolan says, "Blackmail isn't just for breakfast anymore." He is tracking Tyler via iPad GPS because this is a 21st century show. Before Emily's off to find their former, unhinged frenemy, Nolan finally gets his "I'm sorry."
Victoria and Conrad are discussing their divorce with their lawyers: Victoria is being represented by Ryan (James McCaffrey of "Rescue Me") and Conrad's attorney is Barbara (Merrin Dungey of "Private Practice" and "Summerland"). Also, Victoria has put on a sparkly daytime dress so, divorce aside, all is right with the world.
Ryan explains that Victoria was pregnant when she signed the prenup, meaning that she was "duress" (Drinking game alert!) and thus, she's entitled to 50 percent of everything. After the divorce discussion, Conrad heads to his office only to find Tyler sitting at his desk. "Connie!" Tyler exclaims. He tells Conrad what's on the tapes and it's clear Tyler knows how to serve up blackmail for breakfast, lunch and dinner. "You really are a son of a bitch, aren't you?" Conrad says. Tyler doesn't respond, but he does give him some awesome crazy eyes. I guess that's a, "Yes."
Victoria is chatting with Ryan about the prenup and it's finally clear what's different about her: She's parting her hair on the side instead of the middle. There's one mystery solved. Victoria explains to her lawyer that she wasn't pregnant when she signed the prenup. He leaves in a huff just as Emily walks in. Emily glares at Ryan, who she recognizes. Cut to a flashback of Emily the Strange, where she is telling him that he gave up on her father.
Emily's at Victoria's looking for a photo from the Grqyson's Memorial Day party for a scrapbook she's making for Daniel's birthday. She tells Victoria that Amanda Clark -- her former neighbor -- is helping Ashley plan the affair. But Vicky G doesn't take the bait.
Emily excuses herself to the pool house where she's looking for Daniel's "squash racquet," if that's geek speak for Shamu cam. With Nolan's help via phone, they find it in a duffel. "It's hiding in plain site, Dora," Nolan says. Then Nolan realizes his Ty-tracker says that the crazed young man is just 30 meters out. Can you say, "Mierda?" (Also, metric system?)
Near Shamu's resting place in the bag is Tyler's bottle of pills, which were prescribed by a Dr. Kutsch. His office explains he's been out "since the attack." When she mentions Tyler's name, the receptionist asks her to hold on, noting they have been looking for him for weeks.
Emily narrowly escapes and watches as Tyler digs through his duffle.
He dumps out the bag's contents in a rage and throws a framed article about Emily and Daniel at the mirror. Then, he stares at himself in the shattered glass like all good crazies do.
Back at Nolan's, he and Emily discover that the pill is a serious anti-psychoctic. "Mmm. Cold turkey means hot mess," Nolan concludes of the bottle's empty contents. Emily says Shamu is on her mantle because she's hoping Nolan can watch after her and Daniel while Tyler's on the loose.
They look up his records and find that he has a brother, Alexander Barrol. While Emily leaves to put the finishing touches on Daniel's soon-to-be shootin' birthday jubilee, Nolan calls and asks Alexander to come down -- of course, he's sending a private jet.
Conrad calls Victoria over and informs her that he called the dean of Harvard Business School and Tyler isn't enrolled. He's convinced the med-less, reckless youngin' has had his eyes on their son from the first day they met.
Ashley and Daniel are chillin', chillin', mindin' their business (and playing on the clearly-advertised iPad) when Emily walks in and shows them the drugs.
Back in the poor Hamptons, irrelevant baby brother Declan and boob-tastic Amanda talk about Daniel's party. "It's so Jack" to to throw a party for the boyfriend of the girl he likes, Declan says, before mumbling something else. Apparently, Blake Lively and Penn Badgley rubbed off on him during his stint on "Gossip Girl."
Amanda asks Jack how he and Amanda met and Jack tells her about Sammy pummeling her. "That dog's amazing," she replies, which is true because he should be in his twenties according to the show's chronology.
Daniel heads to the pool house where he finds Tyler sitting in a chair (again, something crazies love to do). He says he's going back to California and asks Daniel to come. But Danny is over it and he wants Tyler to get out of there. Tyler says it's a good thing his dad has money since he's dumb and that's the final straw for Daniel. He tries to call the police, but Tyler pushes him and tells him to have a nice life before he completes his dramatic exit.
Emily heads back home where Daniel is holding the gun out of Tyler-related concerns. They are interrupted by a call from Nolan, who tells Emily that Tyler is on his way back to California according to the phone tracker. He's sure because "unlike people, technology never lets me down." Based on the first few minutes of this episode of "Revenge," he's dead wrong.
Emily invites him over for the clambake and as soon as he hangs up, a knife-wielding Tyler approaches and asks for copies of all the videos in question. Nolan swears he doesn't have them, but Tyler doesn't believe him and instead, he slices his beautiful pinstripe shirt. Oh, and he's bleeding.
Suddenly, Tyler realizes Nolan is connected via computer camera to Emily's house and he watches Emily and Daniel as they head upstairs. After revealing he sent his phone back to California, he's headed for the party; but not before he takes off his tie and asks Nolan, "Now what am I going to do with you." Kinky?
Upstairs, Emily gives Daniel the scrapbook and they take a trip down memory lane via poems. She says, "You already feel like home to me." Seemingly, they are less into S & M.
Meanwhile, Nolan sits tied up and bleeding in his living room and his efforts to escape only lead him to fall over, like a Vineyard Vines Weeble Wobble.
Party time! Emily wins for tightest dress this episode. Eat your heart out, Victoria, who is looking at Amanda with daggers in her eyes. Cue Victoria's flashback to spending time on the beach with David Clark. Amanda says she's sticking around a while and then heads outside to help Jack. Is that worry and/or guilt attempting to show on her Botoxed brow line?
Nolan is still crying from the floor and Tyler's brother Alexander arrives looking for him. He finally calls to him and says, "There's a key. In the planter. By the dolphin." Nolan is really into marine life. Once freed, he calls Emily's phone only to get Tyler. What are the chances he would take a message?
Emily and Daniel toast to family before Victoria shows Daniel the scrapbook she made him. We get it, Victoria. You're the only lady allowed into Daniel's life.
Inside, Tyler discovers the squeaky floorboard and its trap door to her box of Clark goodies, but he can't get into it before Emily walks in. He tells her he wants the "whale figurine" and when Emily says she doesn't know what he's talking about, he's not satisfied.
They argue with their noses nearly touching while she slides something that appears to be wall-like into his coat pocket.
She walks away and he grabs the gun as the rest of the clambakers discuss what a watch says about a man. Emily walks out with the lit birthday cake. (YES!) But Tyler is behind her with the guy, chiming in on the "Happy Birthday" singing. (NO!)
Despite Daniel's use of the term of endearment "buddy" in his effort to make Tyler put the gun down, he has no luck. Tyler's not a fan of the nickname and he suggests a party game instead: "Truth or Die." Sounds like fun!
Conrad's request to put an end to this doesn't sit well with Tyler either and it's game on, Connie! Tyler asks for the truth about David Clark, but Conrad just answers with a request to calm down. Instead, he cocks the gun at Emily's head.
Then, like a knight in shinning wire-rimmed glasses, Alex arrives! He tries to soothe Tyler and the minute he lets his guard downs, Jack tackles him and Daniel punches him in the face.
The cops come and reveal that Tyler had Frank's wallet on him, making him the prime suspect in his murder. Nicely done, Emily.
As Tyler ducks into the cop car, Nolan says, "Well, we sure know how to pick 'em" to Ashley and the two walk arm-and-arm on the beach. Why can't all girls and their boyfriends' male lovers get along so well?
In a voice over, Emily says duress either drives people apart or bond them. While Victoria takes the slowest sip of her beverage ever, Amanda suggests to Jack that there's more to Emily's story, and Daniel and Emily thank God they're alive and make out.
After Victoria finally finishes the sip of her wine, her lawyer enters with a manila envelope, saying there's a doctor willing to manipulate the papers to make it look like she was pregnant during the prenup signing. There's nothing left to do, but zoom in on her smirk.
Next week on "Revenge": Daniel puts business school on hold and asks his dad to hand over the trust. But it looks like he and Emily have to get married for that to happen.