Silly Revolution. The lights went out in Georgia long before tonight, so you might want to put more thought into your titles. Goodness knows they rarely make sense in relation to the episode. Now something like, “The Militia Went Down To Georgia, It Was Looking For Some Souls to Steal,” is something I can get behind, even if it is a little wordy.
Monroe Is Crumbling
When word gets back to Monroe that Neville and his wife fled the Republic, and that Jason was seen alive, he’s actually more upset about being lied to than about losing one of his better soldiers. Miles’ treachery must have really done a number on him after all, because his alcoholism and paranoia are starting to peek out from under the covers. The good news for the rest of his army is that if he continues to pour his glass full, his aim is going to be much worse the next time he tries to shoot someone in the face.
There is no sign of Neville in this episode to let us know where he is hiding out now that he’s on the run, but maybe next episode the writers can swap Aaron and Rachel travel to Colorado time out with Neville and his wife. Then again, if those scenes are going to be mostly with his wife complaining about how much of a failure he is, it’s ok if we don’t get back to them for a while.
When Plants Kill
Between the last guy who knocked Rachel out with a sonic gun and Poison Ivy here, it is safe to say Rachel has some pretty scary friends. This one figured out how to kill people with plants! Like The Happening, but slightly cooler because we actually see something happen! Granted, seeing something happen and understanding what you see happen are not the same thing.
If you look closely it’s clear that the plants didn’t actually kill them, but let me have my moment. It looked more like microwaves or something, like the grass and men were being burned to death without fire, but who really knows. Even the lady who cavalierly murdered those men didn’t know what it was past not being magic. FYI, writers, considering how little you explain already, your allowance of “non answers” in which you can get by without actually writing anything has run dry! From now on, we want explanations!
Nanites to the Rescue
The writing staff might have failed in this instance, but they did manage to throw in some more explanations about the airborne nanites that Rachel filled Aaron in on in a previous episode. It turns out that they don’t actually just have two functions, Rachel McLiarface, unless slowing down and/or weakening health issues counts as a subcategory to absorbing electricity and reproducing. But evidently they kept Danny alive with just a slight case of agoraphobic asthma, and microwave keychain lady gets to spend a little while longer calling people like Aaron chubby gentlemen in front of her lady friend who is suffering from cancer.
Goodness knows she better live it up while she can, because when her wife (girlfriend? Lady on the sly? Knitting Circle?) hears that she is the reason the world might not get back power, she goes all in during negotiations and threatens to kill herself if they don’t choose to help Rachel on her journey. Giving up the book full of secrets is actually a path of suicide as well considering the cancer will kick back into overdrive, but at least it isn’t quite as hasty of an option.
Blast From The Past
On their way to chasing down Monroe’s nuke on its path to Atlanta, Miles finds an old knife of his that causes face twitching and flashbacks about his old padawan from the militia days (with names like Monroe Republic and Georgia Federation, a Star Wars term felt more than appropriate). Miles and Alec were close enough for Miles to give him a knife that passed down from previous generations of militant men in his family, so clearly they were pretty close. Matter of fact, they were close enough for Miles to dig a knife into his back for the sake of peace between Monroe and Texas.
Eventually Miles pulls that idiom from Alec and physically forces the unlucky knife back into his chest as they fight for control of the nuke, and Miles gets all weepy eyed again as he comes to terms with hurting everyone who loves him. Alec was given to Texas as an olive branch after an assassination attempt went wrong years ago, and even though we can assume Texas generously released him since no other explanation was given, Miles should still feel bad for abandoning someone who relied on and trusted him.
So Charlie, heed the warning Alec gave you. I seriously doubt that Miles will do anything too bad to Charlie in the future, but there’s still a chance. If the writers remember that this comment was made. They better at least remember to explain what Miles did to Rachel, because I am getting more and more impatient with each episode that doesn’t tell us anything about what happened in those years they were together at the militia base. No more non-answers!
Final Thoughts
With all of these obnoxiously short sighted plot progressions, Miles’ finally gets a larger path to take when the leader of Georgia gives him an army to smuggle back into the Monroe Republic. This might just mean more training montages, more travel time, and not a whole lot else, but there is definitely potential here. Especially considering the impending war that he will be training them for.
So what did you think of this episode? Are you amazed at how many militia uniforms seem to be lying around? Did you think the first person camera work was a stupid choice to mix up the swordfight scenes? Did anyone leaving Atlanta actually stand a chance of surviving the nuke blast radius no matter their gait size and speed of step? It’s a nuke! And what could Monroe do with her land if he nuked it, anyway? Is this just an, “if I can’t have it no one can!” tantrum? I wouldn’t put it past Monroe. Do you remember when the pendants were a rarity? Now they’re everywhere! And last, but not least: where was Jason? This would have been the perfect episode to get some Jason/Charlie time, especially now that NBC has already shown where their relationship is going anyway. Oh well. Let me know your thoughts on this episode, and all things Revolution, in the comments below!
