We are one-third of the way through the second season, but trust me, it’s never too late. If you have wanted to give Revenge a spin but felt it was too late to get in the game, here’s your chance.

THE CAST:

Victoria Grayson – When Madeleine Stowe appears in a scene, here’s a tip, put the cell phone or whatever other handy craft, diversion you normally do while watching TV down, and listen to every word she says. If you’re eating potato chips, stop crunching, you won’t be able to catch everything; trust me, I’ve tried. Her writer is a genius in that literally everything out of her mouth is a double entendre filled with a mixture of venom, and I dare say fearlessness. If you thought your mother-in-law was always saying something “else” and you get frustrated because no one else ever catches on, she’s got nothing on Victoria.

Emily Thorne – This shockingly sweet, American Pie, girl next door has some serious issues to overcome. Emily Van Camp’s character not only has to deal with the fact that her father was accused of a crime he didn’t commit, but also the fact that her childhood sweetheart is in love (or so we are lead to believe) with the woman whom Emily switched lives (so she’s really Amanda Clarke – we’ll get to that later.) They just had a baby, there was a murder at her engagement party, and her fiancé at the time, Daniel Grayson, was arrested. Her former fiancé is dating her BFF, Ashley Davenport; her half-sister, Charlotte Grayson, doesn’t know she’s her half-sister because the switched lives with Emily, and she also has just leaned her mother tried to drown her when she was a child. By the way, don’t be too creeped-out that Emily was engaged to her half-sister’s brother; he’s not related to Emily. Phew! The only good thing about Emily/Amanda’s life is that her father was a shrewd businessman who invested in Nolan’s company and left Emily enough money to run around the Hampton’s getting Revenge at every turn.

Nolan Ross – He’s a multi-millionaire, and a dapper, computer geek, who I though was gay last season; now I think he’s straight. I’m a little confused, myself. He’s Emily’s BFF, protector of sorts. Emily has this: “come here, go away; no, come here; no, I said go away; I said come here; didn’t I tell you to GO AWAY?” relationship with him. Nolan seems to have no problem with it, even though Emily ignored the fact his father just passed away. Aww.

Conrad Grayson – The irrepressible Conrad spent his life putting out fires that could expose his association with terrorist secrets the way that most people attempt to master Whack-a-mole. So far, he’s done relatively well at framing Amanda’s father, David Clarke (who died in prison).

Jack Porter & Daniel Grayson – These are the men in Emily’s life. Jack was her childhood sweetheart and Daniel was briefly her fiancé. Both men have moved-on, so to speak. Jack doesn’t recognize Amanda (as Emily) and just conceived a child with Amanda (who is actually Emily). It’s not nearly as confusing as it sounds once you get into it, believe me. Emily stood by her man, her fiancé Daniel, of sorts, while she, in the background, made sure to also protect Jack when Daniel was accused of murder and briefly imprisoned. Daniel is now dating Emily’s best friend, Ashley, which has obviously become either the start of, or the long overdue rift between Emily and Ashley. Jack owns a bar and Daniel is a recovering alcoholic who was drinking during the last episode with Ashley and a business client, Aiden Mathis.

Amanda Clarke – Formerly known as Emily Thorne, she met Amanda while serving in a youth detention facility. There was a horrific cafeteria fight between the two early on, so naturally they became friends and swapped identities. Amanda has proven to be a true friend to Emily. She is even still speaking to Emily after; at Emily’s request, she had a “Cyrano de Bergerac” conversation with Victoria Grayson (Emily in Amanda’s ear, feeding her lines.) This caused her to stumble backwards over a second story staircase and to the ground while pregnant. She’s completely fine now, and all is forgiven. Amanda and her new baby are rooming with Emily for a few days.

Charlotte Grayson – Dear Charlotte is really a typical teenaged girl. She loves her mother one minute; hates her next. At the end of the last episode it was love, but I have a feeling that will change quickly. Charlotte is David Clarke’s other daughter but until recently Charlotte believed Conrad Grayson was her father.

Declan Porter – Declan is Jack Porter’s brother. He is in love with Charlotte, and I sense she’s coming back around even though after Charlotte and Declan discovered the murdered body at the engagement party, Declan threw Charlotte under the bus at the murder trial and lied about what he saw to protect his brother Jack.

Well there you have it! You’re all caught up. Jennifer Jason Leigh was recently introduced as Kara Wallace Clarke, Amanda’s mother, who Victoria is putting up in her home. This is getting very interesting.