TV Recap: Revolution, Season 2 Episode 1: Born in the U.S.A.

Violet recaps the Season 2 premiere of Revolution entitled Born in the U.S.A., where we pick up six months after the events of the season finale! Were they able to stop the nukes in time? What is everyone up to now? Following the recap, Violet and Josh each provide their thoughts on the episode.

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Revolution Episode Recap: Born in the U.S.A., the Details

The episode picks back up right where the Season 1 finale left off, right after Randall has launched the nukes and killed himself. Aaron is frantically trying to shut the power back off so as to knock out missile guidance, while Miles is counting down the seconds. It gets down to 6 seconds left… and then we skip ahead to six months later, somewhere in the Plains Nation, where Charlie is in a bar and the bartender reminisces about the “power surge” that lasted about 4 minutes. But she doesn’t want to talk about that, she wants to sleep with him.

Meanwhile, outside Willoughby, Texas, a blood covered Miles exits a small shed, , then sets it on fire. He returns to town, but ignores Aaron when he asks what happens to his hand. Apparently Aaron has a girlfriend now, and Miles is going by “Stu.”

Rachel is also in town, helping her father treat a patient, who we learn was a Sergeant in the Georgia Federation, and was 30 miles outside of the Atlanta when the bomb dropped. We then get a flashback and see that the bombs hit Atlanta and Philadelphia after all. The cities are now dead zones, and the leftover troops are just wandering rather than fighting.

In the Savannah Refugee Camp in the Georgia Federation, Neville and his son, Jason, are looking for Neville’s wife by showing her picture around. As the camera zooms out, there are tents as far as the eye can see.

Rachel’s father, Gene, doctors up Miles’ cut on his hand, which he claims he got by cutting an apple. After Rachel goes to bed, her father talks about how Rachel was always into bad boys, so he was pleasantly surprised when she married Ben. However, he noticed the way she looked at Miles at her wedding. Miles tries to tell Gene there’s nothing going on, but he doesn’t buy it. He thanks Miles for bringing Rachel home, but tells him he’s pissed at him for letting Charlie go. Gene comments that Rachel’s finally “getting better,” and hints that Miles should leave.

After Charlie and the bartender finish up, we find out that he was Militia. He tells Charlie that he saw Monroe a few weeks ago. Charlie asks which way he went.

Gene walks in on Rachel having flashbacks about Randall, and presumes that it’s the Georgian soldier who caused this setback. Her father tries to talk her down, and says she’s been doing so well and doesn’t want her to have another relapse. Rachel thinks that Randall may have been following orders, though she’s not sure from who.

It looks like some soldiers are setting up metal cages inside somewhere, and we see that it’s the White House.

Back in Texas, Miles is saddling up his horse, getting ready to leave. Rachel questions why, and he has a flashback to the burning shed. He uses the excuse, “This town is not my speed,” and they hug. She seems pretty broken up about him leaving, and asks him to stay a little longer, but he replies, “Bad things happen when we’re together.”

Flashback to six months ago, when Miles showed up in Willoughby with Charlie, Rachel, and Aaron. They went there specifically looking for Rachel’s father. Rachel appears to be pretty out of it, blaming herself for the bombs and for everything.

Back to the present, Miles is leaving town when he hears gunshots. He uses binoculars and sees that some men have attacked and killed some people at their farmhouse. Miles runs through the cornfield searching for the perpetrators, but one finds him first. They fight, but Miles is able to grab his sword and slit the guy’s throat.

Charlie arrives in New Vegas and finds Monroe competing in an organized fist fight upon which people are betting. He wins his fight, but doesn’t notice Charlie watching.

At Aaron’s house, he is forlornly staring at the power pendant, and laments the shape of the world we are living in when his girlfriend asks what’s wrong. Apparently he is a teacher now, and one of his students has come down with polio. She seems optimistic that things will get better, since the lights surged on once, but he is pessimistic, saying the lights won’t turn back on. When he goes outside to get firewood, a firefly lands on his hand. Then he looks up and sees a huge swarm of them. But then just as suddenly as they appeared, they are gone. The next day, he talks to Rachel about how things have gone “haywire” since that night at the Tower, and mentions how a lot of unexplainable “insane” things have happened to them.

Just then, Miles returns to town with the body of the dead guy on his horse. As Gene and the Sheriff examine the body, Miles points out the guy’s tattoos, which signify how many people he’s killed, and explains that he’s from a war clan. Miles warns that the war clan will surround the town and then come in for the kill. Miles advises the Sheriff to send for the Rangers in Austin, gather up the handful of guns, and to firm up the gaps in their wall. The Sheriff questions who “Stu” is, but Gene tells him to listen to him. Gene correctly assumes that Miles isn’t leaving yet.

Back in Savannah, Neville realizes that his wife would have been in Atlanta when the bombs dropped. He’s feeling sorry for himself, seeming like he’s going to shoot himself, but Jason slaps him. They hear some commotion outside, and go to see a nice big ship sailing down the river, with the American flag waving proudly.

Flashback to four months ago, as Miles is trying to convince Charlie not to leave, saying that Rachel needs her daughter. But Charlie says she can’t be with her because too much has happened. Miles just says “okay” and doesn’t try to stop her. He tells her, “Try and keep your stupid to a minimum” and hugs her.  Rachel looks out her window in tears as Charlie leaves.

Back to the present, Charlie has her eye on Monroe. She bribes a bookie to help her get close to Monroe, who is now going by “Jimmy King.”

Rachel goes up to visit Miles, who is up at the front wall of the town, keeping an eye on things. Miles thinks they should run, but Rachel insists on staying so she’ll be there when Charlie comes back. Rachel tries to apologize for Nora, but Miles tells her to stop, and that he’s not going to leave her right now.

The bookie comes to get Monroe in his trailer, telling him there’s a girl in the bar tent who wants to meet him. Monroe is reluctant at first, but the bookie convinces him. As he walks toward the bar tent, Charlie is hiding, aiming her crossbow at him. Right as she pulls the trigger, someone else comes up and knocks Monroe out, so her arrow narrowly misses him. However, the arrow goes unnoticed, as a couple of guys carry Monroe away, throw him into the back of a horse drawn trailer, and drive off with him.

Over in Savannah, Secretary Justine Allenford with the U.S. government tells a tale about how after the blackout they were forced off the continent by warlords like Monroe to huddle in Cuba. Then she says that they have incontrovertible proof that Foster and Monroe brought the power back just to launch the nukes. At this point, Neville and Jason exchange knowing glances. She continues, saying that when they heard, they knew they had to return to help however they could. She reports that the President is on his way to the White House, and that they are Patriots and want the country to be great again.

Aaron looks out the window and sees the fireflies swarming again. He tells his girlfriend to go to bed, and says he’s going to stay up and keep an eye on things. Meanwhile, we see bandits sneaking into town.  His girlfriend invites him to bed so they can both stay up, and he suddenly changes his mind.  However, when he reaches the bedroom, he finds that a bandit has gotten ahold of his girlfriend. He’s able to fight the guy off of her, and tells her to run. They get into a sword fight, but the guy slices Aaron’s chest open, and escapes through the window. She goes and gets Rachel and Miles from the wall, and Rachel tries to doctor him up. Meanwhile, Miles goes outside and tries to fight off the bandits, with the help of the Sheriff. They are able to free a few women, but there are too many bandits, and Miles and the Sheriff are overtaken. Gene shows up to help with Aaron’s wound, but it is too late.

Jason returns to his tent to find his father shaving. Apparently, he has now found a purpose in life. He scoffs at the Secretary’s statement that they have “incontrovertible proof” and finds the timing of their arrival suspicious. He also speculates that Randall was in with them. Neville doubts that these people are “God fearing Americans,” but thinks they are something else entirely. He concludes that these people were responsible for the bombs, and therefore, for his wife’s death. Now he wants revenge.

Miles and the Sheriff are taken captive by the war clan and brought back to their headquarters. Everyone there looks tough and scruffy. That is, until they are brought to the leader, who is more clean cut looking. He welcomes them, introducing himself as “Titus Andover,” and says that this is his family.

Back at Rachel’s house, her father reports that the bandits are gone, but that no one’s seen Miles or the Sheriff.

Outside Aaron’s house, Aaron’s girlfriend is crying, and she sees the fireflies swarming around. Meanwhile, inside, Aaron opens his eyes and gasps. And the episode ends there.

Scenes from Revolution, Season 2 Episode 2, There Will Be Blood

Here are scenes from the next Revolution episode titled There Will Be Blood: