Check out Josh’s recap of this week’s Revolution Episode 12: “Ghost”. Who is Randall? How are the rebels going to strike back at the militia? Find out after the jump, with Violet providing commentary (in the pink font) along the way!
This week’s Revolution episode opens to Danny’s funeral. The group stands silently and mournfully as they bury Danny. It is clear that Charlie has some resentment still towards her mom, as she pulls her hand away when Rachel reaches for it for comfort. After the sad funeral, the episode moves to the rebel camp. Nora discusses rebel scouts not seeing any further choppers with the Rebel leader. They both assume Monroe has no other power sources for the meantime, and begin discussing their future operations against the militia. The rebel leader wants to proceed with “business as usual”, in terms of attacks on the militia. Miles overhears this conversation however, and is not pleased with “business as usual”. Miles explains that to be effective, they have to hit the militia harder, doing more than simply random bombings. Miles says they need to “burn Philly to the ground”, among other tactics. The rebel leader asks Miles how that is possible, and this is when Miles volunteers for the job, on the condition he can bring his own men in. He doesn’t seem to excited for the job, but seems confident he can do it with the right leadership for training their own standing army. Miles has a recruitment plan in mind for leadership, starting with a man named Jim Hudson in a town called Culpeper. It is surprising that a man like Miles would be so easily swayed to join a cause, but given that his story is revolving around the resistance, his story is sort of obligated to eventually have to care. I am curious how recruiting a bunch of ex-Monroe patriots will work out in the long term however. I foresee treachery and ulterior motives by these potential turncoats.
The next scene has Miles preparing his horse for travel as Charlie watches from a distance. Rachel approaches Miles, asking him to stay. Charlie questions who he is staying for, to which Rachel says that Charlie needs him. I have feeling it is more than that, but Charlie clearly looks to Miles as a fatherly figure, as he is probably the only male family member she has left. Miles is set on leaving however, to begin the search for his first recruit. Meanwhile, we find that Charlie, Rachel and Aaron have arrived at what is referred to as “Echo Base”. We learn that Charlie has immediately been absorbed into the rebel cause, and already will be running missions, despite her mother’s protests. It seems that Charlie wants to put her rage into action, as we can see she is not in a very stable place emotionally right now.
I personally felt like it was rather obvious to the both of them that Rachel was just using Charlie as a flimsy excuse to keep Miles there.
The episode moves to a discussion happening between Randall and Monroe. We learn that Randall can track the pendants through their conversation. We, the viewers, now know why the pendants had pulsed previously–it is the tracking device being activated by Randall. We also learn that Randall is tracking the two pendants that Aaron currently possess. During Monroe and Randall’s conversation, we learn some interesting information as to the nature of Randall’s motives. Randall explains to Monroe that he couldn’t retrieve the pendants before due to lack of military resources, thus explaining their partnership. We also learn that there is a tenuous relationship between Monroe and Randall, as Randall indicates that he can go to other nations if he doesn’t like the way he see things going. Randall also promises more pendants and scientists if things go smoothly. I presume this would be people like Rachel and Grace, that he has or is trying to take prisoner.
Randall also reveals that he learned from Grace how to remote activate the pendants. What else has he learned from Grace, who is presumably still trying to get the elevators working so that Randall can have access to “Level 12”?
Miles approaches Nora about Jim Hudson, his first potential recruit for the army he is planning to raise. During their discussion though, Miles seems angry with Nora, saying “I’m fighting for your stupid rebels, what more do you want from me?” I am curious about the source of this anger. Is he not happy about fighting for the rebels? Maybe he is annoyed about his feelings towards Rachel which is being projected as anger towards Nora? Or perhaps a mixture of both. Meanwhile, we flash to a scene, where a rebel seemingly is going to sell out Miles. He has reported to a militia officer, and offers for an unspecified price, the location of Miles’ destination. The militia leader seems skeptical since this man is a rebel, but seemingly decides to hear what he has to say, tossing the rebel betrayer a small sack of diamonds. Unfortunately after the rebel reveals the location (a town called Culpeper), the militia leader has the rebel killed.
Also in the scene where Miles and Nora are talking, Nora is trying to get Miles to open up, and asks him if there’s something he wants to talk about. His hostility toward her was a little overwhelming, the passionate kiss they shared in last week’s episode long forgotten. I kind of felt like his blowing up at her was his way of telling her he’s not interested in her anymore.
Charlie has finished her first raid for the rebel camp, and has returned, covered in blood. Rachel approaches Charlie, to see that she is unharmed. Alarmed by the blooded Charlie has on her, Rachel asks her about her injuries. Charlie responds, “it’s not my blood” rather coldly. Later in this scene, Charlie is nursing a wound on her shoulder, and the wound seems to be rather painful. Rachel comes in to try to talk to her daughter, but Charlie is still remaining emotionally shut off (at least externally) to her, as their friction continues. Charlie begins yelling at her mother about her lack of being there for her, when Rachel slaps her fairly hard. Charlie leaves in anger after this, presumably onto another raid. As she is leaving Aaron walks in. At this time, the pendants pulse, which alarms Rachel. She must know they can be tracked, and must know that Randall is on his way.
You forgot to mention that Charlie stripped down to her bra for the fellas! Rachel’s trying to play mother, but Charlie hasn’t had a mother around in so long that she doesn’t know what it feels like to have a mother to hover over you and constantly worry about you. Now that Rachel is all of a sudden there to do those things, it probably feels to Charlie like a case of too little, too late, and Charlie resents the fact that Rachel wasn’t around when she needed her.
Miles and Nora are walking around Culpeper, Virginia, as they begin looking for the man named Jim Hudson. Curiously no one has heard of him, probably a rather unusual occurrence in a small town like this is portrayed to be. Miles has a notion to visit the town’s library, and seems to have found who he is looking for there. He finds a man there, to which he hails as Jim Hudson. The man seems to recognize Miles, but says he doesn’t know anyone by that name. I would venture a guess, that he is trying to avoid any altercations with the militia. We learn his new name Henry. We also find that he is married, as his wife walks in question who Miles is. Jim tries to play Miles off as a salesman and usher him out, but Miles says he isn’t leaving anytime soon. Jim tells his wife that he needs to talks to Miles in private, but rather than want to talk, he draws a pistol onto Miles. Through their conversation, we learn that Miles may have attempted a previous assassination on Monroe, which failed and left many people on the run. He has made his point clear–he is not going to assist Miles in anyway. For now at least….
The writers of this show sure are obsessed with Stephen King. There’s a whole section of the Culpeper library dedicated to Stephen King. Last week, the episode was entitled “The Stand,” which is a Stephen King novel. Additionally, the villain in that novel is named Randall Flagg… sound familiar??
At the Rebel camp, Rebels have sounded the alarm, and the base has spotted militia humvees in route, which they and we can assume is probably due to Monroe’s deal with Randall. The rebels seem to be planning a retreat, however Charlie and Aaron are unable to find Rachel. They finally locate her, and Rachel is working to destroy the pendants so that Randall can’t retrieve them or track them. Charlie and Aaron try to get Rachel to leave, but Rachel refuses to until the pendants are destroyed. We find that Randall has arrived with a substantial militia force, who begin patrolling the area. Aaron now learns that the pendants are actually flash drives, but Rachel has destroyed them. This causes Randall to lose track of them, but likely tips him off that Rachel is around, as she would be the one to know how to destroy the pendants. Randall has his solders seal all of the exits, as he figures Rachel must still be inside.
Oh, NOW she’s worried about her mom? Make up your mind Charlie, do you want her around or don’t you?
Back in Culpeper, Miles and Jim seem to have calmed down. Miles has explained his plan to Jim, but he thinks Miles is crazy to attempt to kill Monroe again. Jim is still has not changed his mind about leaving, and explains to Miles that he is working on building this town up, and has started a new life with his new wife. Miles seems to think this is preposterous, and that they can’t run from who they really are. Miles and Nora are tending their horses, looking as though they are about to leave as Nora expresses they may have to find someone else. Miles however sees that the militia leader we saw previously has come into town. Miles finds Jim in the library, warning Jim that his cover is blown and the militia is in the town. Miles wants to stand against the militia, but Jim does not seem interested in this idea. Miles then begins a small rant, telling Jim that he can’t run from who he is–a killer. At this moment, Jim’s new wife has overheard this conversation, and begins asking questions. The scene cuts away before we can hear the answers however.
During Miles and Jim’s conversation, Miles tells Jim that guys like them can’t have a normal life, because if you care about someone, you’re just gonna let them down or get them killed, and says “Believe me, I know.” Who is he referring to? Rachel?
We have our first flashback of the episode, to one year before the blackout, which is fairly short and is actually of Randall. It is a sad one as well, as a military officer has knocked on his door. Randall and his wife learn that their child Edward Flynn had died in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Back at “Echo Base” Charlie, Rachel and Aaron are trying to avoid militia patrols. During this scene, Aaron learns that Randall was the assistant secretary of the DOD and Rachel also was working at the DOD. Randall then begins to address Rachel from a bullhorn outside, stating he is not there so much for the pendants, but for her brilliant mind. The trio continue sneaking around the base, and during a brief pause they have, Rachel has a minor meltdown. She begins apologizing to Charlie for letting her down, but she is interrupted by soldiers. Charlie shows her skills with the crossbow, and even just a bolt as she eliminates two solders rather quickly. She has gotten separated from Aaron and Rachel in the scuffle though. Charlie runs into Aaron as she is moving about the hallways, and they begin searching for Rachel. Unfortunately, Rachel has been surrounded by Randall and soldiers, and is taken captive. As they are leaving, Rachel and Randall have an interesting conversation, where we learn more of Randall’s intentions. We learn that he wants to keep power limited to certain political powers, as a means of control. As Randall and his soldiers and Rachel are about to enter their vehicles, we find gun fire being shot at them from an assault rifle. Charlie is able to create enough confusion, that Rachel is able to slip away.
I like how Rachel had to clarify for Charlie that “DOD” stands for “Department of Defense.” I already knew what it meant, but some people might not have, and such an acronym would not have been familiar to Charlie, as she was just a little girl when the DOD still existed. (By the way, readers, my husband had to tell me that a “bolt” is what a crossbow arrow is called. I never heard of that before! Did anyone else not know what it meant, or was I the only one??)
Meanwhile, back with Monroe, Neville enters Monroe’s office. Monroe asks about the mourning of Jason’s death. We learn that Neville has requested to see Monroe, and to ask why he is not a part of the Rachel retrieval mission. Monroe tells him that Randall is taking care of it. Neville then asks if Monroe trusts Randall to which Monroe responds, “No I don’t trust anyone”. Does this include Neville? Does he maybe know a little more about Jason’s “death” than Neville thinks he does? I am also fairly certain that based on these few scenes revolving around Randall and Monroe, we will see an eventual betrayal by one or both sides. Who will come out on top is hard to say at the moment, but Randall does have the electricity on his side. We also have another scene in Randall’s past, where he Rachel and Ben (Charlie’s father) are discussing the use of some tactic to stop wars. What this tactic is, is not explained, but must have to do with the black out. What we also learn is that Rachel and her husband are initially opposed to the idea, but Randall threatens to use any egghead he can find, and it will happen with or without their help.
Back in Culpeper, the militia leader is patrolling the city with his soldiers. The patrol comes across both Miles and Jim, who have seem to have given up, only to have Miles inform the militia that they are surrounded. Fighting breaks out, and Nora joins the fray as well. While the fighting continues, Jim’s wife witnesses Jim’s slaughtering of militia soldiers in disbelief, probably foreshadowing of the eventual change of heart that Jim will have regarding joining the resistance. As their fight scene continues, we can see that clearly Miles and company are going to win the battle. As a last ditch effort, the militia leader attempts to take Jim’s wife hostage in the library. This doesn’t go as planned however, as Jim comes in, hacking the militia officer to pieces in front of his wife, likely traumatizing her. The scene moves to evening, with the dead soldiers being carted off, and Jim tries to reconcile his deceit with his wife. She is not accepting of it however, and Jim, while still furious with Miles, has decided to join the cause. I guess Jim has realized who he really is.
Miles was right about what he said earlier. Jim almost got his wife killed, and he definitely let her down. There’s no way she’ll ever trust him again. He has no choice but to join the rebel team because there’s nothing else left for him.
We have one final flash back to the past, the night of the blackout. We have a scene taking place in a military teleconference room, where Randall seems to be in charge. The person on the monitors indicates a virus is in place, and is asking for permission to execute their mission. While Randall is holding his son’s dog tags, he tells the soldier to proceed with the mission.
There were two people on the monitor, at two different locations, one of which was Kabul, where Randall’s son was killed in action, and the other was “The Tower,” which was referred to in the last episode, and which it appeared in the preview scenes has something to do with how they will get the power back on. Why was Kabul one of the sites, and what is the significance of the Tower?
Finally, to end the episode, Charlie, Aaron, Rachel, Nora and Miles all meet up at the rendezvous point. There are some touching family moments, with Charlie apologizes to her mom for her pent up anger, and frustration over losing Danny forever after just getting him back. The others watch solemnly, while Nora grabs Miles hand for comfort. Later, Charlie is sleeping when Aaron approaches Rachel, demanding answers, feeling he deserves to know what is going on given how close to death they continue to be. Rachel says he doesn’t want to know, but Aaron continues to press. Rachel finally says she will tell him everything that she knows. She begins with a place called “The Tower”, and then the episode ends. Talk about a cliffhanger!
Ah yes, the writers again push the family theme with the emotional mother-daughter bonding. Also, apparently Nora didn’t get the hint earlier when Miles yelled at her, and she seems oblivious to Miles’s feelings toward Rachel. Poor Nora thinks she and Miles still have something, and to be fair, Miles doesn’t refuse his hand when she reaches for it, but in the scenes from next episode we see Miles and Rachel kissing.
As for my thoughts on this episode, I enjoyed it. Charlie’s darkness has been interesting, and she is shaping up to be a strong solder. Miles attempting to raise an army brings many questions, considering his recruits are all ex-Monroe officers. I am curious to learn more about this virus Randall had initiated for the blackout, and how his coalition with Monroe plays out. I guess we will see what happens in the next episode!
Hopefully they hurry up and tell us what this “Tower” is and don’t put it off for yet another episode!
