Check out Violet’s recap of the latest episode of Revolution, where we get to visit Miles and Monroe’s hometown! Josh gives his commentary in blue font. More after the jump!
The rebels, along with men from the Georgia Federation, have just finished fighting – and winning – a battle against the Militia. We get a few flashbacks of Miles and Charlie fighting during the battle. The rebels have been assigned a Georgia Federation liaison named Dixon that they have to put up with as their string attached for getting an army. Miles and Jim Hudson don’t like him, and Miles is upset that they lost 22 guys in the fight. The rebels are cleaning up the bodies, and Miles and Charlie exchange a look.
This scene was an interesting insight to the changes Miles and Charlie have been going through. It is almost as if their mindsets have swapped. Miles is very worried about the men they lost, but Charlie still seems as cold as ever.
Meanwhile, at Militia headquarters, Monroe and Captain Baker are looking at a map of where the rebels have taken over and comments that the rebels are winning. Baker disagrees, but Monroe remembers how when Miles was first starting out their forces were small, and look what that turned into. He tells Baker they need to kill Miles NOW. Monroe seems to have a plan in mind, as he says, “We’re not gonna find him, he’s gonna find us.” Monroe flies over a town in a helicopter, and lands there as people watch. He orders Baker to round them all up, and Baker tells Monroe “Welcome home.” If you’ll remember, through flashbacks we learned that Miles and Monroe saved Baker from being attacked for food shortly after the blackout. I’m really curious how the three of them came to form the Militia.
Monroe is really getting worried about Miles, and seems to be getting desperate in his ways to eliminate him. Let’s see what plan Monroe has cooked up now…
Traveling by boat down the Mississippi River, which is the Monroe Western border, Rachel and Aaron arrive at the Plains Nation, paying their passage with a bag of diamonds. The next day, they are at a marketplace in La Grange, Missouri. Rachel is studying Dr. Warren’s journal that she obtained last episode, and Aaron wants to help, but Rachel tells him he can help by getting supplies, as Aaron grumbles about his two doctorates from MIT. While wandering around the marketplace, he sees his wife Priscilla across the way. (Remember, Aaron abandoned his wife several years ago, leaving her with the group of people they were traveling with because he felt like she would be safe with them and that he wouldn’t be able to protect her.) But then he loses sight of her and is unable to find her. I feel like Aaron made a good point to Rachel, as it does seem like he might be able to help her in some way. He was the CEO of Google, after all, and is very well educated.
Aaron should be a fairly intelligent guy when it comes to technology, but who knows how much he can actually help with the disarming of the nanites. Still, it doesn’t seem like an extra set of eyes would hurt anything.
Back at rebel camp, Charlie is working on guns, as they obtained 3 dozen enemy rifles. Miles tells her she did good, and she doesn’t respond, so he asks her if she’s alright. Charlie snaps at him, not wanting to talk to him, and says, “Wanna talk? Let’s talk about what happened between you and my mom.” Unfortunately, we don’t get to hear his explanation, as someone runs up saying that a Militia soldier has been looking everywhere for Miles, because he has a private message from Monroe. He waits for everyone to leave the tent before he delivers his message: Monroe has asked Miles to meet him in their hometown by dawn. If Miles doesn’t show up or if he doesn’t come alone, Monroe will kill everyone in their hometown, starting with Emma. Ugh, great timing for the Militia guy to show up. I’ve been impatiently waiting to find out what went down between Miles and Rachel!
The show is really hyping up whatever it is that Miles did to Rachel. But in other news, does any else smell a gigantic trap being set by Monroe? I think I do.
Just then, we get a flashback to explain who Emma is. Miles is a teenager, and Emma is a little upset, saying that she wishes he would have talked to her before he enlisted, he could get killed. Miles says he’ll be alright. They kiss. A teenage Monroe watches jealously, as he and Emma exchange a look, unbeknownst to Miles.
In the present, Emma goes to talk to Monroe, who tells her that the occupation of his forces is for the town’s protection from a terrorist threat, ironically explaining that these men would hurt Emma as a way to hurt him. Very tricky of Monroe to say that, since that’s the very thing he is doing to Miles. Emma calls him out – they’re old friends, so she knows when he’s lying. Monroe suddenly turns cold, saying, “Yeah we’re old friends, but that doesn’t give you the right to talk to me like that.” Then Baker beats up a guy, and Monroe tells him to get Emma and all the townspeople inside. Baker asks Monroe if he really thinks Miles is going to come, and says that they’re gonna have a hard time getting a clean shot, but Monroe says he’ll just have to trust him. Baker protests, saying it would be safer if Monroe was home, but Monroe says, “This is my home.” Um, okay, this is your home, but you’re willing to kill everyone there just so you can have a chance at killing Miles? What is wrong with this guy? Seriously, when do we get to find out when he snapped and turned bad, and what was the cause of it?
Well as we know, Monroe is a lunatic. Therefore trying to rationalize why he is going to thrash his hometown and murder his friends and other people he knew is impossible. Clearly Monroe is seeing red and his only care is Miles.
At rebel camp, Charlie hears someone getting beat up inside the tent and checks it out. Hudson and Dixon are trying to get info out of the Militia guy. Nora reports to Charlie that Miles snuck out a few hours ago. Charlie and Nora set off on horses to follow Miles. Charlie comments that if Monroe is really there, she wants to make sure Miles kills him this time.
So cold Charlie! She didn’t seem particularly concerned about Miles, more so that Monroe dies. Seems like Charlie’s humanity is a little “wobbly” at the moment.
Monroe goes to visit the graves of his family, who died in 2010. He picks up fresh flowers that have been left on the graves. He then walks to the home where he grew up and stands outside, and we get another flashback. Teen Miles is passed out on the couch and Emma covers him up, commenting to Monroe that that Miles will probably be out all night again. Monroe brushes her hand with his, and holds it.
Dun dun dun! Looks like Monroe had his hands on Miles’ girl. I wonder if Miles knows about this? I guess at this point in the story it is fairly moot, as Miles wanted to kill Monroe already.
Rachel thinks Aaron imagined seeing his wife, but then he sees her inside a bar and goes to talk to her. She is very cold and distant to Aaron. There’s a guy sitting next to her at the bar, to whom she introduces Aaron as an “old friend,” and then introduces the man as Steve, her husband. Funny, the guy didn’t seem concerned at all about her conversation with Aaron, and there was no indication that they were together at the bar, he just seemed like a random guy sitting next to her. Anyway, Aaron asks Priscilla if they can go talk somewhere, to which she replies, “Take care of yourself” and ignores him. Rachel convinces Aaron to leave the bar, and after they leave we see that Steve is pointing a gun at Priscilla under the table. Rachel tries to convince Aaron that they should leave town, that where they’re going, his wife is better off without him. She tells him he can’t just apologize and everything will be okay, it doesn’t work like that. But Aaron insists that something wasn’t right, and says that he’s not leaving her again. They way that Rachel was giving advice to Aaron, I felt like she might have been speaking about her own situation with Miles, that Miles can’t just apologize and everything will be okay. But we have yet to learn anything about that.
The “husband” seemed very uninterested in the conversation, so I thought something would be up. When the gun is revealed, I was wondering what trouble Priscilla could have gotten into. Rachel seemed pretty cold as she told Aaron to basically forget about his wife. Although, to be fair, Aaron shouldn’t have ditched his wife in the first place.
Miles begins to sneak into the town. Emma reports to Monroe that they guy they beat up earlier is dead. She also tells him she knows about his plan to lure Miles there, as she heard his men whispering about it downstairs. Emma tells Monroe that she knows he loved her once, and that she loved him too. The flashback picks up where it left off, as teenage Monroe and Emma kiss. Back to the present, her statement angers Monroe, who exclaims, “You’re just telling me that now?!” Emma tells him that there has to be a part of him left that is kind and decent, and if there is, then please let them go. Outside, Miles cuts a soldier’s throat, and gunfire erupts. They hear it inside and know that Miles has arrived. Monroe realizes that Emma was the one who put flowers on his family’s grave. He tells her that she has a good kind heart, and sees the best in him, and that he wants to be that guy so bad for her. He kisses her, then tells her, “But he’s dead,” and proceeds to order his men to lock everyone in the basement.
While Monroe tried to seem cold hearted, I think he still had feelings for Emma. Monroe is just so hell-bent on destroying Miles he is too blinded to let his emotions in at all. Just a quick side note: How is Monroe able to stay in power? It seems like very few people like him, and as an authority figure, you would think that at least some people would have to respect him. I guess if you look at Hitler or Stalin one could argue the same thing though.
Aaron finds his wife in the back of a wagon. Steve tells him she a fugitive and to get out of here. Aaron attacks the guy, and they fight. Aaron appears to be losing, but then Priscilla hits Steve on the back of his head. Brave of Aaron to try to attack the guy, considering that it seems his fighting skills have not improved much. Good thing Priscilla was able to save him.
I was expecting Aaron to “handle it”, and miraculously take down the bounty hunter, but I have to say, I appreciated the realistic take on their fight, where he needed Priscilla’s assistance.
Back in Monroe’s hometown, the courthouse is on fire, and everyone is coughing due to the smoke. Miles exchanges gunfire with the soldiers as he uses a large metal plate as a shield, but gets shot in the leg. Monroe watches as Miles runs into the courthouse, and tells his men to make sure he doesn’t leave. Miles finds the basement door locked, shoots it to unlock it, and releases all the hostages. He finds Emma and tells her to follow him. They try to get out, but fire is blocking their way on one end of the hall, and Militia soldiers are shooting at them from the other end. Nora and Hudson show up just then and kill those soldiers, allowing the townspeople to escape the building. Miles tells them to go to the woods behind the high school.
I have to say, I am not sure why Miles thought it would be a good idea to head into burning building that is surrounded by guards waiting for people to exist. I also had a little problem with the reality here. If a few dozen people are locked in a burning building, I am fairly certain that they are going to charge out no matter what is waiting outside the building.
Charlie and Miles exchange gunfire with Militia soldiers on the other side of the building, but then Monroe brings Emma out with a gun to her head. Charlie and Dixon tell Miles to take the shot on Monroe, but Miles doesn’t want to hit Emma, and tells them he will kill anyone else who takes the shot. Then we get a big reveal: Emma has a son – and it’s Monroe’s! Nobody knew about it because she had it while he was away at basic training, and her parents wouldn’t let her tell anyone. The flashback continues past the kiss and we find out the baby was conceived that night. Back to the present, Emma says that her son is not here. Monroe asks where he is, but just then Dixon decides to take the opportunity to shoot Monroe, to which Miles turns around and immediately kills Dixon, as promised. Although Monroe has been shot, he doesn’t seem too bad off. His men drag him to the helicopter and force him onto it against his wishes, while Miles checks on Emma, who has also been shot. Charlie tells Nora that if Dixon hadn’t shot Emma, she would have. Nora disagrees, but Charlie insists that to kill Monroe, she would have. I’m not really sure why none of the three of them were able to take a shot on Monroe without hitting Emma, as they are all experienced shooters. Maybe it was the angle they were at, but it seemed like they could have hit Monroe only. Maybe Miles was just paranoid about Emma accidentally getting hit, which is what ended up happening.
Monroe is really devastated by the news of his son, and we actually seem some emotion from Monroe. I am curious as to how the scene would have played out had Dixon not been so brash. I also wonder if sacrificing civilians is going to be a part of the Georgian military strategy, as I feel this would turn them into being the “bad guys”. I wonder how the news of Monroe’s son will be continued. With the mother dead, it seems like it would be really difficult to figure out who his son is. Also, if the Georgia Federation is able to locate the son, they would have good leverage to use against Monroe, if they want to attempt to use that angle and are able to find anyone who knows about the son.
Sadly, it turns out Emma was killed, and we find out that Miles used to be engaged to her. Tough break for Miles to have found out this way that his fiancée cheated on him with Monroe and had Monroe’s kid. Miles tells Hudson if this is how Monroe wants to fight, he has no idea what he’s in for. Meanwhile, Monroe flies away in the helicopter, and says he’s fine, despite his tears, as he looks down at the town. No doubt he was thinking about how he can find his son. I wonder if this new information will make him softer, and what his plans are for the son, who would be an adult by now. One would assume he’ll try to recruit his son into the Militia.
Pretty rough scene for Miles. You can’t help but feel sad for him. Although he has probably destroyed hundreds if not thousands of lives himself. Perhaps a little karma was due despite his recent heroic deeds.
Turns out the guy traveling with Priscilla was a bounty hunter, who had captured her because she was wanted for murder by the Monroe Republic. She had stabbed a Militia sergeant for trying to hurt “someone” she “cared about.” Aaron apologizes to Priscilla, telling her he left her because he was trying to protect her. But she tells him that everyone he left her with died, and he says he wishes he could take it all back. She then reveals that the person the Militia was trying to hurt was her 11-year old daughter, and that she has a family waiting for her in Texas. Aaron tells her she should get back to them. She tells Aaron she’ll always love him, and they kiss. Both of them in tears, she tells him not to worry about her anymore.
I am curious to see how Priscilla’s character will play out, if they even continue her subplot. It seems odd to bring her in just to have her around for one episode and announce she is married and moved on. One reason I could see for this however, would be to open up the possibility of a Rachel/Aaron relationship. Aaron no longer has to be hung up on his wife, not that he knows she has moved on. I guess we’ll see though!
The final scene of the episode takes place at the Presidential Compound in the Georgia Federation. A man in a business suit asks the President, “Are you sure we can trust him? It could be a setup.” The President replies that he’s given them senior officers, and that they’re sending him where they need him the most – to Miles Matheson. Dixon obviously couldn’t handle it, so they need someone who can. The doors open to reveal Dixon’s replacement – Neville.
A typically cheesy twist, turning one of the top bad guys of the show to the other side. At first I had a hard time accepting this as something that could truly happen, but I had to remind myself that the Georgia Federation’s leadership may not know the extent of Neville’s evilness. What I won’t be able to believe is Miles willing working with Neville.
I feel like we didn’t make much progress this episode, and that it was more a step backward than a step forward. Not that it wasn’t a necessary step backward, as I have been curious as to what happened to Aaron’s wife, so I’m glad they resolved that question. However, I’m disappointed for Aaron that their relationship is over for good. As for finding out about Monroe having a son, definitely a plot twist I did not see coming, especially since the mother was supposed to have been with Miles, not Monroe. I wonder how this information will affect Monroe. Oh, and they’re replacing Dixon with Neville? Really?? I can’t believe they would trust him. It seems like Miles and the other rebels would be able to complain to the Georgia Federation about their personal experiences with Neville to convince them that Neville cannot be trusted, but in the scenes from next episode it seems like they’re stuck with him. I guess it’s possible that he might have changed sides and is now officially against Monroe, but he could be acting as a double agent to get back into Monroe’s good graces. I guess we’ll find out next episode! Or at least start to find out how it plays out anyway. Also, hoping for some actual info on the Miles and Rachel situation next week.
My final thoughts on this episode–While it was a bit slow, I think he did learn a lot. Miles is opening up emotionally more and more, and Aaron is struggling with the definition of “being a man” still, which was even further ignited with the reintroduction of his wife. This was definitely a Monroe/Miles focused episode however, with Rachel, Nora and Charlie being on the backburner for the most part. I also wonder if Priscilla is still going to be around, but I guess we have to wait until Monday to find out!
