Revolution (NBC) : News/Speculation/General Discussion SPOILERS S2

[Perelandra]

Welp, if they keep going as they are, there won't be any of the main cast left for season 2

Yep a couple of characters from this last ep seem doomed unless some sort of miracle happens

[Ian-S]

someone will tackle her and it'll miraculously roll out of harms way, but hopefully it'll still be enough of a distraction to get the plan rolling, either that or the fuse is bust.

Grace

Spoiler:

Was sitting at the console watching the CCTV in the wide shot - who those other people were that were standing around here, now that's another question....

[ZRFTS]

The Longest Day

Spoiler:

It's a known fact that the show is centered towards action; in every episode that you see you have people shooting guns constantly, exquisite swordfighting and moves not known to mankind. It is the title with the episode that suggests that there's going to be lots of action, lots of hecticness and tons of revelations, you'd be somewhat right on that note.

It's admirable that Revolution is raising the stakes, making it harder for our heroes to actually fulfill their mission. You have actual death and carnage here and there, you have the idea that Monroe is truly winning an unfair fight and you even have several of your main characters trapped or otherwise injured. The initial attack could be considered one of the episodes best moments as it showcases the carnage perfectly and engages you in the moment of it all. It gives a reason for a lot of the action that is happening and for once, you actually feel compassion for the Georgians and our heroes as they have to deck it out through this carnage.

Boom!

Unfortunately, the momentum is slowly lost as Revolution regresses to it's usual tactics. There were a few things that were good such as Nevil caring for his son Jason and yes you have characters facing perilous situations but thanks to the laws of television, most of the shock is gone. You're going to expect Miles to get out of this situation easily, you're going to expect Charlie to make it out alive (somehow she's able to beat the odds) and you're going to expect them winning against impossible odds. Granted they do try to switch it up by having one of the main characters go missing and placing Nevil in a situation of harm for once but even these changes aren't enough to distract you from the real issues.

One of the benefits this episode has is that it explores the characters somewhat. Take for instance Monroe; now he's been a Darth Vader like fella for since the show has started but in this episode he's explored a bit. He's depicted as a paranoid fellow who fears for his own life and doesn't trust his own friends. That paranoia helps in making Monroe feel more human and dynamic per say. For once we could actually connect with him as he utilized his ruthless tactics in order to protect himself from said paranoia; if there was a best performance for Monroe than this would be it and the best part, it justifies his decision as a ruthless killer even though I still don't believe him. However, there are times where the Monroe subplot can go nowhere and at most times, can even regress to his former self, thus negating any character growth he might of had.

In addition, the subplot of Rachel and Aaron is also one to talk about; it really shows their dedication to each other even though Rachel is the more ruthless one of the two. Aaron speaks in volumes when he says that he's not going to leave her behind, that he's going to heal her no matter what. That alone screams determination. The twist of being captured in order to help heal someone also affords more character exploration and it gives Rachel a chance to be cunning. Never have we seen Rachel like this, she's basically saying "screw humanity, I want the power back" and it's a strong sentence nonetheless; one that most accurately describes her character and one that'll connect to viewers, it helps that the injured subject actually looks injured and not just faking it, that alone gives Rachel's message more weight.

A sticky situation.

Unfortunately, Rachel's flashbacks don't hold up to the same scrutiny as the present scenes. While it attempts to show the same ruthless Rachel which we've seen in the present, it ultimately ends up reducing Rachel to a broken record and ends up being nothing special. Even worse is that they attempt to add some abusive guy in order to gain the empathy of the audience ultimately ending up a stereotype in itself. It's nice to know that Rachel's desire to turn on the power transferred over to the flashbacks and it's great to see Rachel's motivation but really, did we really need to be repeated the message of "I don't know where Ben is, but he's the only one who can turn on the power." It would of worked had they included much more variety in the flashback scenes but as it stands this is a stillborn.

Despite this, it actually comes across as a good episode. They're not afraid to take punches and they're not afraid to explore the characters; the situation is brutal and bloody and what we learn of the characters are worthwhile and some of it actually manages to grab the viewer, however; there are times where the episode can fall flat and when it falls flat, it falls flat; dragging the episode down with it. Without those scenes, this could be a bonefied Revolution classic but as it stands, it's just a good episode.

6.0/10

[mr_kennedy]

The way you guys where talking i thought

Spoiler:

Nora kicked the bucket, so i was like yeah your right they are gonna run out of main characters, but i wouldn't exactly call Malik Yoba's character a main character

I have a feeling that Neville might die in season 2

[garhkal]

I am wondering what stuff they will find tonight in the tower!

[Ian-S]

Yet more questions and not a lot of answers

[LtColCarter]

I like the cool guns they've found!

[Perelandra]

^^ me too and

Spoiler:

looks like Neville is going to try to take over the Monroe militia?, we get to see a more "human" side to Monroe, will there be a truce between Miles and Monroe?

[LtColCarter]

^^ me too and

Spoiler:

looks like Neville is going to try to take over the Monroe militia?, we get to see a more "human" side to Monroe, will there be a truce between Miles and Monroe?

Hmmmm...we shall see. :-)

[Ian-S]

I can see....

Spoiler:

Neville taking over the Monroe Republic, getting power hungry, leading to a subsequent truce between Miles and Monroe to try and regain power with the help of Rachel and her family, you know the old saying, Enemy of my Enemy is my friend.

Neville's son will finally see the light about his father and defect (again) because he's just sooooo in love with Charlotte he can't bare life fighting her.

While the people in the Tower go off the rails proper and decide to wage war on 'those that want to turn the power back on' - i.e. everybody outside.

All that wrapped up into a nice season 1 cliffhanger...

Well I got the previous cliffhanger in the tent right

[LtColCarter]

I can see....

Spoiler:

Neville taking over the Monroe Republic, getting power hungry, leading to a subsequent truce between Miles and Monroe to try and regain power with the help of Rachel and her family, you know the old saying, Enemy of my Enemy is my friend.

Neville's son will finally see the light about his father and defect (again) because he's just sooooo in love with Charlotte he can't bare life fighting her.

While the people in the Tower go off the rails proper and decide to wage war on 'those that want to turn the power back on' - i.e. everybody outside.

All that wrapped up into a nice season 1 cliffhanger...

Well I got the previous cliffhanger in the tent right

Sounds plausible.

[Perelandra]

I can see....

Spoiler:

Neville taking over the Monroe Republic, getting power hungry, leading to a subsequent truce between Miles and Monroe to try and regain power with the help of Rachel and her family, you know the old saying, Enemy of my Enemy is my friend.

Neville's son will finally see the light about his father and defect (again) because he's just sooooo in love with Charlotte he can't bare life fighting her.

While the people in the Tower go off the rails proper and decide to wage war on 'those that want to turn the power back on' - i.e. everybody outside.

All that wrapped up into a nice season 1 cliffhanger...

Well I got the previous cliffhanger in the tent right

yes you got the tent scene right, I'll bet you're mostly right about the scenarios you propose-we'll see!

[Ian-S]

I hope not, it'll be a major letdown if that is the cliffhanger.

Personally I'd like to see Neville be bumped off by his Son sometime soon.

[ZRFTS]

Clue

Spoiler:

Also known as "Mystery", "Who Dun'it" and "An Affair". This episode of Revolution takes a detour from the mainly action orientated path it's known for and places it on the mystery path for which it has never been before. Certainly this looks to be an interesting episode what with it's divergance from it's usual path so let's see how this episode fares compared with the rest.

Much of the episode's beginning was good, it was like it was setting itself up for the big epic event ahead, one that'll certainly pay off in the weeks ahead and they certainly went to great lengths in order to ensure that this is epic. We got our revelations such as "The Tower", we got our bad guys stronghold such as the Monroe republic setting up camp and we got our heroes looking optimistic for the future. With every word that they say, with every emotion that they emote, they're certainly showing to us that they're willing to try, they're willing to believe in the long run and man can that grab people; the hope, the optimism, just everything about their journey that finally puts to place the puzzle pieces of which Revolution has been setting up for all this time.

Sabotage!

Of course, there has to be the mystery element of which this episode proports and it happens during the middle half of the episode. Boy what a mystery it is, they have it all; potential subjects, misdirection, the unexpected surprise. It's always something when a mystery is solvable by it's audience and here you have it, you have your potential hints you have to piece together, you have your past experiences of which to judge their alibi with and you have the character performances to back it up as well. You'll have fun as you focus your eyes on who could be the subject and you'll definitely be fooled as to who it could be. Could it be Jason the spy who's lied before; could it be Nora who's under the influence of drugs; could it be the switcher who brought Nora back, the possibilities are just endless.

And the episode definitely provides the paranoia vibe to back up the mystery element. You have your slit throats along with people on their deathbed and the usual sabotage. There's the element that this is to be expected but the episode does such a good job with the colors and the cinematography that the element of surprise is exploited; rarely have I seen cinematography that emerges me in the action and this one definitely did me in, the details that they focused on such as the broken wires and the bloodied switchblade knives were something that were relevant to the plot at hand and added to that feeling; you definitely get the feeling that someone or a group of people with ulterior motives are trying to keep our heroes trapped here, unable to complete that mission of which they were made to do.

Of course, I felt like more time could of been associated to the mystery element of the show. We have all of these characters preparing for the great adventure, waving goodbye, setting up shop and it's all good and all but there's a mystery that's supposed to be solved and I feel like this could of been put in another episode but on the downside, we wouldn't have the explanation as to why they're at the tower and much of the intensity of the last two episodes wouldn't be set up. "Stargate Atlantis" and "Babar" at least kept their focus on the mystery, they introduced to us events that were pivotal to the mystery at hand, they included a subtle sense of cultural observation or implausibility that helped to enhance the mystery and they definitely made sure that the mystery was the first thing people was focusing on whether it was a joke or even some action.

Bodies everywhere!

Still, for what it's worth; the mystery element is as good as it lasts and as a plus, it even forces the other segments to be better. The action here which is usually long and indulgent is short and sweet with only the punching, the motivation and the betrayal at focus here, it also helps that there's only one of these scenes in the entire episode; the punches come through with crystal clarity and the definite skill of the fighting is one that'll actually have people rooting for the fight instead of being frustrated that they're easily winning, you'll actually feel as if the other guy is going to win instead of the other way around. And if that isn't enough, the characters hare are explored to satisfactory depths; we get the growth of Charlie and Jason as a couple, we get a look inside the relationship between Jason and his father and we get just how much Miles cares for his friends; so it makes those following the series from the beginning satisfied.

I might be compelled to come out and say this but I think this might be one of the good episodes of Revolution, it's got everything. Mystery, sensible action, actual character growth and even though it might drag at places, the good overwhelms the bad and actually makes the episode enjoyable even though the bad can be bad. And to think this episode comes before the episode where everything actually matters, this was actually very surprising and entertainable.

7.5/10

[Perelandra]

Spoiler:

I don't know anything about how power plants or electricity works, but I can't believe you would just flip a switch and everything just starts working again-wouldn't the infrastructure be so damaged after 15 years(never mind power lines being down,ect after15 years) that it would take weeks,months,years for people to get their power back?
And it looks like Atlanta and Philadelphia? are toast? Plus major character death this time, with no going back.

disappointed, but I did really like the Miles/Monroe exchange. their relationship is complicated to say the least.