Revenge: Season 1
  • Network: ABC
  • Series Premiere Date: Sep 21, 2011
  • Season #: 1 , 2
User Score
8.2 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 197 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 172 out of 197
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 197
  3. Negative: 14 out of 197

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  1. lunafromage
    Nov 15, 2011
    3
    In one word this series is boring. There's a lot of suspense and very little payoff. The main character is so deadpan as to be unbelievable. I suppose she's supposed to come off as calculating... instead she comes off as dull. Someone who's dedicated their life to revenge is passionate. She's about as passionate as a dead fish. Do they really expect us to believe that she charmed Mr. Richy-Rich just by doing that half-hearted squint and closed-mouth thing she calls a smile? She has no personality. The other characters aren't in much better positions. We don't learn much about them before they start going down one by one. Not that the viewer is enticed to care very much. All we get are these half-assed flashbacks that aren't convincing enough to make me hate them. If you want to see revenge drama done right, watch Veronica Mars.… Expand
  2. J921
    Jan 8, 2013
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First, this show is nothing like The Count of Monte Cristo. But what we can easily detect about the real "surprise" plot - it is just way too obvious if you read between the loose lines - is that Nolan Ross is the person seeking revenge. He has set up every one of his moves (apparently, to get to the Initiative) and has been using Emily Thorne's survival skills to his own advantage. So now that we know the plot, there isn't much left except to know that the story just needs to keep going in the same soap opera direction with Nolan weaving his way deeper into the Initiative's bowels (or he may be the leader of the Initiative - that can be decided two minutes before the show's end) with a few reversals tossed in here and there all leading up to the supposed surprise reveal. And, let me guess, it will be revealed that one other character (not Emily) has been working along with him. Probably a male lover.… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
66 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: Emily Nussbaum
    Dec 8, 2011
    70
    Revenge is too juicy to write off as junk. It's got strong performances, from actors who don't condescend to their flamboyant dialogue.
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  2. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Dorothy Rabinowitz
    Oct 14, 2011
    80
    The arrival of one pure and unadulterated drama about a passion as old as man is something to celebrate. That's particularly true when that drama is as spellbinding in its satisfyingly gaudy way, as Revenge turns out to be.
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  3. Salon
    Reviewed by: Matt Zoller Seitz
    Sep 22, 2011
    60
    Revenge might sound enjoyably soapy in the abstract, but its execution is problematic.
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