Following its decent start, Revolution doesn’t really take a definitive step in either the right or wrong direction as it sets off on a side quest away from the “Find Danny” mission line to bring in some bigger guns to aid in the fight to bring down Monroe.
Shut Up And Stay Here
From what I can tell, Miles has two purposes in this show: to fight (no seriously, at this rate he will be in at least 7 fights next episode) and to not put up with Charlie. Most will say that she is annoyingly overdramatic with her crying scenes pestering Miles to help her get Danny back, but I am on the side of giving her a little more understanding. Think about it: this girl grew up in a post-apocalyptic world, sure, but she was still rather guarded by her father and gated community, giving her plenty of growing up to do, and fast.
With that said, there is still room to make her emotions a little more subtle, a little more contained, especially considering how quiet of a child she is being portrayed as in the flashbacks. She didn’t even seem to flinch when some stranger was threatening to smash her face in, so hopefully with a little more time the writers will figure out a way to blend these two sides of her, toning down the dramatic nature of her scenes.
No Killing
That and she’s going to have to be ok with killing if she plans on saving her brother. Not saying she has to become ruthless considering it is always nice to see that someone is able to stick to their morals when there is every reason not to hold onto them, but we really need less crying, less bleeding heart observations, and a better understanding of the real world. Just look at Batman! He took a stance against guns and killing and is still able to do some major crime fighting in Gotham. Granted Charlie probably has no idea who Batman is, nor does she have a utility belt full of non-lethal goodies…
Like Mother Like Daughter
Though there is much room for improvement, there are still definite signs that she does know a thing or two about taking care of herself. There is this skilled hunter thing that keeps coming up, and she pulled a major trick out of her sleeve to get Nate off her trail. Just as I was about to go off on her again for sneaking off and injuring herself she was already cuffing Nate to a pole and swinging herself out of the way in one motion. As far as the episode shows, he could still be out there actually.
That and when the moment did come down to it she was willing to do what needed to be done, just like her mother did in the flashback. Just don’t go too far in that direction (especially considering next week’s episode looks to put her in a full blown battle). Instead write in more moments like this to gradually build her character’s survival skills; that way she won’t get in over her head time and time again in which she usually ends up on her back using a crossbow or gun to deflect an attacker.
She’s Alive!
Speaking of moms, Charlie and Danny’s real mom isn’t dead after all. Surprise! All viewers probably saw that coming, but the question still remains on how she disappeared in the first place. Since Monroe has her chances are it was staged by his men, but we’ll just have to wait for these answers now that Rachel will most likely be getting more scenes in present time now that the “huge” reveal is out of the way. Not only that, but this seriously puts a kink in my theory that she was the one responding to Grace since I doubt she can hide a computer where she is, but sneakier things have happened in TV shows.
Even with the excitement of having Rachel around going strong, Maggie’s past still seems far more interesting at this point since we’ve had more time with her. Last week she presented herself as colder and tough, having no qualms with killing to survive, and this week she managed to unlock handcuffs with a Swiss army knife. How does she know this stuff!? And now we are seeing the softer side of her as she tells Aaron about the iPhone she carries since it contains pictures of her family. That’s unbelievably heartbreaking (especially if she doesn’t have a charge cord when the power comes back on). Maybe it would be too much like Lost, but Revolution would improve greatly if more characters got the flashback treatment. Wouldn’t you love to see what Neville was like before he became this intense Captain in the militia?
Don’t Forget Danny!
Even though the quest has been updated to search out a woman named Nora, Danny is still out there in need of rescue because Charlie had to go and let go of his hand after her mom told her not to. Fail. These scenes with Danny are basically a reminder of his existence as nothing is really added to his character (other than hair that now looks like a wig), but sitting through moments with him is worth it if they involve Neville. The best moment in this episode, by far, was when Danny’s high-horsed speech about Neville liking the kill was cut short by a hand to the throat and the statement: “I appreciate the honesty.” Classic Neville…
That and Neville also acted as our gateway into the revolution tonight when he took out a rascally rebel. Maybe it’s just me, but the American flag as the symbol of the rebels seems like a misstep because of the weight it carries (which is probably why it was chosen in all likelihood). Granted this goes back to the desire to have more sympathetic villains who are understandable in their beliefs, like The Operative in Serenity, and not one-sided villains who don’t count stabbing guts as torture. But there’s no sympathizing with someone who burns our symbol of America!
Final thoughts
This episode of Revolution manages to keep interest levels satisfactory, but a huge problem could eventually arise from having so many storylines taking place at the same time, especially if each episode continues to contain them all (flashbacks, Maggie and Aaron searching for Charlie, Danny and Neville, Rachel being alive, Grace and her computer, Charlie and Nate’s possible budding romance, and the main storyline of Charlie, Miles, and Nora). Fingers crossed that it all gets figured out.
So what did you guys think of tonight’s episode? What the heck does the title “Chained Heat” mean? How on Earth did no one notice Miles go off to fight a bounty hunter? Who is Randall and how did he get a power source for his cattle prod? Were you surprised Charlie was able to pull the trigger? Let me know all your thoughts on Revolution below!
