Revolution is back this week following a much-needed break from the slightly disappointing start to the series, bringing the big guns out according to the title. Luckily the dependency on these elements is rather low, instead going for a series of flashbacks to really drive this episode home emotionally.
A Man And His Drugs
Now I am not going to judge Miles like Charlie does each week, but he really needs to reconsider the people he spends his time with if it includes people like Drexel. The heroin is actually the best side of him as he greets Miles with a gun to the head, possibly because of a slight grudge he holds for the treatment he received for his “Team Miles” t-shirt following Miles’ desertion. Slightly disturbed, completely creepy.
Based on his comments about burying himself in tail and Charlie having the right amount of biscuit showing from the dress he uniformed her with, this episode could have gone a very different route than it did. Luckily Drexel kept his hands to himself and managed to remain far more of a gentleman than I expected, not even leering in at Charlie during her naked, “F you postcards and all the people who leave me!” meltdown through a secret peep hole (which was surprisingly not a part of this scene considering how often they play into scenes like this in many cases). Not saying punching her across the face was acceptable, just that she should be happy that this is as far as he went in concern to laying hands on her.
Charlie may have been doing her best to mask her emotional instability with feigned toughness towards doing what had to be done, but it is pretty surprising how far she made it in Drexel’s revenge plot considering how much she was deteriorating in the episode. Her emotional struggles aren’t always presented strongly in the episode since she often ends up slightly annoying in how she deals with things (such as yelling at Miles), but she’s been through a Hell of a lot and is bound to break down at any second, so much so that after her thoughts of her mother and Maggie I doubt she would have survived killing a man with his son not too far away (especially considering his backstory involving Drexel). She probably would have completely shut down into herself just to avoid the guilt, so thank goodness Miles showed up when he did.
Aaron The BAMF
Aaron never really has his hero moments, and when they do come to pass he tends to quake where he stands until they go away. Why exactly did he volunteer to come along on this quest again?
This is definitely something to ponder when considering his past, which we are now privy to with this week’s flashbacks. After the pilot episode I always like to picture Aaron rolling around in mounds and mounds of Charmin while using a Google device on his private jet, but I guess his life wasn’t as shiny as I made it out to be. At least not when we jump in. The night the lights went out, Aaron and his wife celebrated their anniversary by being T-boned by a semi. Luckily they survived what appeared to be a horrific accident in the split second it happened, though the editing then did an awkward job of brushing this plot point under the rug, just in time to catch back up with our couple as Aaron’s wife is on her way to pooping herself to death. Yay dysentery. Through the accident, health problems, and attacks, Aaron’s dignity has taken such a beating that he has convinced himself that she would be better off without him than with him. Which brings us back to questioning why he would think that he would be capable of helping Charlie. Tonight he finally steps up to the plate by basically ordering Miles to go after Charlie to save her, putting his own life at risk. The thing is, after seeing where he came from this moment takes on new meaning because it isn’t a heroic act so much as an acknowledgement of worthlessness because of how he views himself. Even ordering Nora to shoot him further plays off this lack of self-worth, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he even realized in that moment that he had that flask in his chest pocket. It’s most likely that he did know about his hidden savior, but based on the sadness in his eyes throughout the episode it’s believable that had the flask not been there he would have still done the same thing to keep the more important person (as he sees it) alive. He might have just aimed for his head instead.
Back At The Base
With the train aiding their progress, it doesn't take father and son much time to get back to report in to Monroe’s. Neville played it cool enough to stick to a snide comment or dirty look here or there as Monroe praised Jason for his work, but there’s still plenty of time later down the road for the two to get into it about Jason disobeying an order by pushing Charlie off the train. Besides, Jason was too busy disobeying the orders I shouted at the screen this time to not tell Monroe about Aaron having the pendent. How could you, Jason!?
For better or worse, Jason still is a soldier so we have to expect him to act as such, but there is no way he is going to sit idly by as Strausser goes out to hunt down Miles and the pendant, killing the rest who just happen to be there. Let’s just hope he cuts his hair first.
Speaking of hair: the new shirt Danny wears to his introduction to Monroe does little to distract from the mop on his head. Luckily Monroe is decent enough to look past it, even offering Danny whatever he wants as a guest. What’s the catch? I know you’re not supposed to look a gift horse in the mouth, but we all know that Danny getting to see his mom again is not going to be as joyous when he is having teeth ripped from his skull. Monroe promised to use Rachel’s son against her to get the information he wants, and I doubt he will wait long to test her limits.
Final Thoughts
Even though “Sex and Drugs” doesn’t really do much to change the episodic approach to the series so far as each week’s plot is a bump in the road to finding Danny, the attempts to have the flashbacks feed into the present day storyline reaches its strongest attempt yet with some details of Aaron’s past. Fingers crossed that the strength of this blend of past and present continue in the episodes to come.
So what did you think of this week’s episode? What did you think of Drexel as this week’s bad guy? Creepy, yes, but still pretty entertaining. I, for one, did not see the dueling pistols coming. And big props to Aaron for making his own rules to the game! Are you wondering why Aaron needed three dumbwaiters in his house? Because one just isn’t cool enough… How exactly was Aaron supposed to save Nora with Miles making such a huge commotion in the house though? How hard do you have to hit someone to have a bruise form that quickly (assuming he did not have paint on his knuckles)? Will Charlie be as happy to see her mom as Danny was considering she was old enough to really remember her leaving? Leave your thoughts on this week’s episode, and all things Revolution, in the comments below!
