ABC’s “Revenge” wraps it’s 4-year run on Sunday, which for fans marks the end of Emily VanCamp‘s roller coaster ride as Amanda Clarke/Emily Thorne.
Viewers have watched Amanda plot her vengeance against Victoria Grayson (Madeline Stowe) as she sought justice for father David Clarke’s (James Tupper) false conviction and subsequent fake death.
But amidst all the deaths, heartache and destruction in Amanda’s life as she crossed enemies off her hit list with a red marker, at the heart of the show was her childhood soulmate Jack Porter played by Nick Wechsler. As the series’ ending draws near, fans are anxiously awaiting to see whether or not Amanda and Jack will finally get a storybook ending to their relationship that began on a Hamptons beach as children.
On the eve of the show’s closer, the very charming Wechsler talks about what fans can expect from Sunday’s finale, his favorite moments, Jack’s highs and lows and how why he felt he failed himself at times during the show’s run.
TheWrap: We know what it means for fans that the show is ending Sunday, but what does it mean for you?
Nick Wechsler: It means not having a great job to go to every day. It means not going to work with my friends and my family, and that’s a bummer. I’m not one for adoration; I get uncomfortable with the fan dynamic, although I appreciate the support. But I am going to miss interacting with the fans, seeing their response, and hearing from people who really connect with it.
Can we expect any surprises in Sunday’s finale, and will fans get their happy ending with the Emily and Jack love story?
You will get some surprises and you will get some traction on Jack and Emily. It feels like a good way to end.
So you’re happy with the way it’s ending.
I personally had some ideas that I wish we could’ve seen happen, but it’s not my show. Network TV has to answer to many people and there are only certain things you can do. My ideas were too… something… too off-putting. I would’ve felt more satisfied if it would have been a darker ending. I’ll say there is a little brightness [in the finale]. It should satisfy a lot of people.
If you could have written Jack’s ending, how would you have done it?
I would’ve had Victoria turn out to have been a good girl all along. Watching the show in retrospect you’d think everything she did was justified, you were just looking at her through the eyes of our protagonist. I would’ve had it turn out that David was not only alive all along but was also the grand villain of the whole thing, and that she was using him to as an instrument to his greed. He would think, “I can falsify these journals and set it up so that my daughter is going to want to get revenge. I’ll have this guy, Nolan (Gabriel Mann), point her in the right direction.” So Nolan would be David’s insider. If he said to Nolan to give her these journals that are made up and help her fund her whole thing and discourage her just enough if she ever suspects you.
Through this, I would’ve had Jack end up being killed by David and I would’ve had Emily put her own dad down the rabbit hole when she realized that her dad made Conrad Grayson (Henry Czerny) look like Mickey Mouse.
At first, she was just planning on taking him down, but then he killed Jack, and she’s like, “Now I have to kill you.” And the one person she has killed on the show was her own dad. That would be amazing to me.
What has been your favorite episode in the whole four years and why?
My favorite episode is the very last episode of Season 2. It was the most like a film, it was a long episode, and it was really tense. One thing the show has done really well was that they never passed it off like it was a soap. They never leaned into the soap thing too much. We tended to transcend into the soapyness and soap genre, but that was one episode where I felt like it was a movie and it didn’t feel like a soap.
In the show, you are a male hero but then your character suffers these great tragedies. How did you transition between that — sometimes even in the same episode?
I didn’t do a lot of research for this guy; he felt really human. I didn’t have to prepare anything necessarily so he just felt life-like to me. I could draw on my own experience, so that was the only preparation I did. If I had to be emotional, and would have to go to a dark emotional place, I would listen to music and recall some of my own heartbreak and trauma and that would get me there. And putting myself in Jack’s shoes would keep me there. I‘ve got a strong, angry, revenge-desiring streak in me when I feel wronged, so I would just go there in my mind.
During shooting was there anything that you were told to do but couldn’t necessarily pull off?
Not in the way you might be thinking, but I felt like I had failed myself a lot throughout the show. I always told myself I wanted to be able to get to this certain level and I didn’t get it there and that’s on me. While people might have seen it and liked it, I thought it could’ve been better.
Most of the time, I thought I was failing myself. There are times when I didn’t though, like when Sam died, when I had to confront Amanda about the tapes in the hotel room, when Amanda died and I’m in the hospital… I felt really good about that stuff and the end of Season 2. I try to keep in mind that it’s not for me, it’s for the audience.
Did you take any memorabilia or tokens from the set when the show wrapped?
No, I didn’t. I heard that Emily wanted to keep the infinity carving on the porch. If I did, it would be some cocktail shaker or something. There are certain items of clothing that I thought we’re cool. I’m OK, I just want to take the friendships and the confidence I got from doing that stuff.
What’s next for you?
It sucks because I want to play the game where I get asked that and my response is, “I got this and this.” But my conscience tells me to just tell the truth. The truth is that it’s back to trying to get a job. I’m not in a position to have anything lined up. I have to prove myself again. I’m going in with confidence so that’s huge for me. It’s just hitting the bricks again.
What are your summer plans?
I’m going to go on a little vacation, go to see family. I am also going to ATX Television Festival at the beginning of June. I’ll going to see some friends in Sweden and hit it hard.
The final episode of “Revenge” airs on ABC, May 10 at 10 p.m.
