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

[VampyreWraith]

I'm really glad this show is getting a season 2.

[Perelandra]

Monroe is pure evil-or completely insane

[Ian-S]

both

[the fifth man]

My wife and I are very happy this will be getting a second season. We really have enjoyed things thus far this season. NBC made a wise decision IMO.

[garhkal]

both

As of the latest episode, i am agreeing with that.

[NumberSix]

Glad to see this one renewed. It's the only new show from this season from one of the major networks that I'm still watching. Just wish it wasn't opposite Warehouse 13.

[ZRFTS]

Home

Spoiler:

It seems that everybody on Revolution is constrained, that they seem more like action stars than human beings. Monroe, Miles, Charlie, Aaron somewhat. Everywhere they go, they can't help but to sprout out generic action lines and shoot their guns and this happens almost every time on Revolution. With this episode, it promises to make everybody feel human. Well two people to be exact. Monroe and Aaron.

It's certainly an admirable attempt; it seems like every second that passes in this episode they have constant reminders of the vulnerability and the past lives of the characters from Monroe walking in front of graves to Aaron meeting up with her girlfriend to a special character who has connections to both Monroe and Miles. They try to show that they have feelings, that they feel things such as regret, remorse, sadness, compassion and in much of the episode they succeed; if you've thought you've known Monroe throughout the series than witness as your expectations will be satisfied. He manages to play the role with conviction, seeming sensible and down to earth throughout the entire ordeal. The way he shows emotion in his eyes, the way he interacts with his girlfriend; he definitely knows how to be tender and tender Monroe is way better than evil Monroe any type of the day. And an additional bonus, he makes it seem like this is a locked up side that's barely coming out rather than a full on transformation.

Bunch of people.

Aaron also manages to provide doubt to the audience by showing a side of him that's compassionate and strong. He has certainly grown from the weak geek persona by actually seeming caring and strong; he definitely manages to show that he still cares for his wife and provides a sense of retribution by refusing to let go, by showing regret in the fact that he's not going to let her go. The facial expressions that he shows help towards engaging the audience in his journey; from the grin of determination to the single tear that he sheds, the actor behind Aaron definitely knows how to pick the right emotion and how to utilize that emotion in a way that's beneficial to his character. It makes us care for his journey, it makes us care for his pain. The wife doesn't hold back either, she manages to express that combination of happy and awkward that definitely helps Aaron's scene. You can truly tell that they're glad to see each other but at the same time, bound to commitments that arise from not seeing each other for a long time and that helps to enhance Aaron's journey to the point where we can actually care about them.

This episode does a lot in making us human, in fact I'm afraid it does a bit too much to be honest. Despite the good acting from the focal characters of the episode, the moments leave something to be desired as it tries a bit too hard to show the vulnerable side of them to the point where they break some cliches. Reincountering an old wife, check; Graves with the family members on them, check; faceoff at gunpoint with old friend, check and check. I can understand that you want to make the characters vulnerable but you know what the best way to making characters vulnerable is? Actually progressing it in a natural matter, showing us things that are unique to the character and not showing it just because you want to add something to the character. I was able to predict so many things, that Monroe would be vicious and attempt to kill Miles by any means possible, that Miles would be able to kill the Monroe miltia as if it were butter and that someone would attempt to shoot Monroe thus leading to an escalation of sorts; in fact it interfered with what they were trying to do.

What's worse is that several Revolution cliches manages to rear their ugly head here; I get that they were trying to engage us as an audience in the situation that was going on but did they really need to show the harshness of the Militia which is more tiring than provocative? Did they really need to have some form of overblown action that leads to little redemption. I get that action is a main part of the Revolution formula but every time Revolution does action it sort of goes in the most silliest direction possible preventing me from taking the moment they're in seriously. It hurts the moments where they try to evoke a sense of empathy which range from treating the town like trash to keeping them in a burning building; I'm supposed to care for these moments but instead I'm throwing around a resounding meh.

Aaron, his wife and her friend.

It also effects the sideplot with Monroe's long lost friend; this person is supposed to be the pivitol turning point in both Miles and Monroe's life and she does so by portraying that friendly, warm vibe which helps to expose those little quirks but she ends up being the third wheel in what is essentially just another conflict. She does manage to express those emotions well from the tinge of sadness to the wallop of happiness and confusion; everytime she expresses emotion, it's like she's trying to get either Miles or Monroe to look inside of themselves and find the true personality that lies beneath. If they could just exploit that just a tiny bit more than maybe, maybe the episode might be something more but as it stands, she's just there in order to provide a little more provoking by commenting on the cruel punishment and providing a soap-opera like twist that only serves to make Monroe look more competent.

So this episode does well in making our characters feel more human but the fact remains that this is just another day, another conflict. It provides great character moments for both the antagonists and protagonists alike but it's stuffed within trope after trope after trope after trope and those tropes can get tiring through the remainder of the episode. Still, it does do some good so this episode isn't entirely worthless but be forewarned, if you're going into this episode expecting massive revelations, don't expect to get it.

5.5/10

[Sp!der]

I'm doing catching up with this show because mostly the other shows are over and I decided what the hell - and so far I like the second part of the season it is an improvment of the first one and I like where this is going. Revolution you won me back

[Ian-S]

grr, why didn't they grab the horse and use it, would have saved her falling down the hill

Now all I want to know about is...

Spoiler:

what or who was in the lift, cos that made one hell of a mess but I doubt we'll get an answer to that for another few episodes.

The Tower is what is keeping me watching this, and Aaron wrote the original software so knows how to hack the bugs, but doesn't know it yet cos they never told him what they did, bah bet he wishes he never released it under the GNU now....

[Perelandra]

^^

Spoiler:

who was in the lift-I got the impression it may have been the guy that was guarding Grace but I agree we won't know for sure until a couple? of eps. Wondering how Rachel and Aaron are going to get out of this one in a way Rachel was right he needs to
continue on to the Tower but I doubt he'll leave her--

[Ian-S]

Yes we saw him go into the lift, what I meant was, when the lift re-opened...

Spoiler:

There was a very large amount of fresh blood over the door, indicating that something had happened after the CCTV went off (along with the screams), at level 7 iirc. So my question was more of what happened to the guy - i.e. what got into the lift with him...

[jelgate]

Revolution moves to Wednesday next Fall

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/201...esdays/182261/

[Rosehawk]

Revolution moves to Wednesday next Fall

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/201...esdays/182261/

Awesome. Wednesday will work out much better for me to watch this coming Fall.

[ZRFTS]

The Love Boat

Spoiler:

It seems that the second half of Revolution is where all of the better stuff is happening. Things are actually happening for a reason, there is more explanation, Charlie doesn't speak at all but there is a point in time where the better stuff has to cease and well, this is it.

First off, the episode provides an interesting concept; in the bigger picture of the whole war, we have people capturing each other just so they can do the same work for different people. It is here where the perils of humanity are shown, the darker side that we don't know much about. We capture people, we almost kill people, we can even be blindsided by the stuff that we do. This episode has an interesting pallet to explore said concept by placing everything in a steamboat, hence the titular title of the episode. Nobody knows what happens when on said steamboat and it seems like anything could happen; realizations could come at any second, alliances could be turned, action can happen and with Nevil onboard as part of the Georgia Republic, it seems like the sky should be the limit for the episode.

...With guns.

Unfortunately, the episode doesn't seem keen to exploit it; much of the episode is predictable with only a small number of twists serving to break up the episodes monotony such as Rachel twisting her leg. We see Miles and Nevil getting at each other as expected but is there any exploration about what makes them the same, is there any deep, thought provoking discussion here? No, it's just two people talking to each other making sure they say the edgiest lines so that it's provocative side can remain visible. There doesn't seem to be much difference from Nevil and Miles other than one of them has a daughter who he is especially protective of and one of them doesn't have much of a care for anything else; in fact you could replace Nevil for Miles and vice versa and nobody would notice the difference.

Charlie also has more lines in this episode and the episode suffers because of she does the same poor acting that she did before and she even pulls the episode down to the gutter with such cliches as "girl holding gun and trying to look sexy", "girl standing up for herself and looking tough", "girl trying to seem heartbroken and vulnerable", never in the episode had I cared about Charlie's escapades and whenever she was in a scene, she just made the investment value worthless. For example, The Monroe Republic predictably searches the ship in the episode, now do you think that as they look around the ship that the tense situation would have you at the edge of your seat? No, because they don't grab you, they don't make you care about them, they just expect you to care about them because they're the main characters of the show.

Fanservice.

The episode also tries a bit too hard to be introspective; again, the episode has an interesting concept but when the episode plays along with the idea that they're starting a revolution and then includes something such as "OMG, you're just like them" than you have to scratch your head mainly because it seems forced and out of place; to be introspective, one has to truly explore the subject at hand, actually make us think about what's happening. This doesn't make you think, instead it throws action at you and demands that you accept the message for what it is; there's much more to a show then gun toting and having characters rebel against their mission and there's much more than just having Miles justify the decisions than suddenly learn his lesson at the end of the episode. Speaking of action, why is it that there are more senseless action scenes than introspective scenes? I guess this is an action series but even Stargate Atlantis has more introspective scenes than action scenes.

I guess there's a good part to the episode and that has to do with Aaron and Rachel even though it was sorely there to reinforce that Aaron is not going to leave somebody. Both people manage to provide value to the scenes they're in by acting above average; Aaron manages to make himself a caring person who would never leave someone while Rachel acts convincingly like a person in pain, focused on the better good rather than herself. When you watch these people, you are noticing is genuine heartfelt emotion, all of the screams, they manage to make Aaron much more important even though it seems like they're retconning the story to suit it's improved needs.

So this episode isn't the revelation that many are expecting; the characters/action is predictable, it doesn't explore the concept behind the episode and it seems like it's forcing the introspective stuff in a way that is not enjoyable. I'll admit, Aaron and Rachel were good but nobody watches a show just to get 10 or less minutes dedicated to them while the majority of the episode is filled up with subpar stuff. This episode has potential, it could of explored something but instead it just decided to go the safe route. Shame.

4.0/10

[mr_kennedy]

I've really enjoyed the last couple of episodes, Bass is starting to come into his own as a villain

Happy about renewal btw