Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Revolution: Season 1 Episode 5 - Soul Train


Welcome Revolutioneers!  We are five episodes in and I have to say that this show seems to be improving with each episode in.  That's always a nice thing to see.   I'll get into the recap in a second, but wanted to share this link with you from Showrunner Eric Kripke.  He talks about how quickly he'll reveal answers to the big mysteries and replace them with bigger mysteries along the way.  There's also a couple tidbits that I may cover in the "interesting tidbits" section below.  But, for now, let's recap!

Recap
Noblesville, Indiana
After a funeral for Maggie and some loose quotes/moments from Fellowship of the Ring ("Give them a moment for pity's sake!") Miles and crew finally get to Noblesville, where Tom, the militia and most importantly Danny are.  There is a steam train there (ahhh, so that's how people are traveling long distances!) that they find out is bound for Philly the next morning.  So, they have the day to find Danny and extract him.  Here are some key events that happened. 

  • Tom and Danny got in a fist fight.  It's something Tom likes to do to pass the time.  Danny gets in a good shot but Tom gets the final blow.  Danny calls Tom out on his "brainwashing tactics" and said he's sick of it.  Tom gets angry and almost turns into the Hulk.  But, Danny said he wasn't scared of that either.  



  • Once again, Charlie messes up Miles's plan.  She happens to bump into Captain Tom Neville and had the worst poker face and cover story of all time.  Even worse, she tries to track the Militia Genius tactician.  Tom catches her and almost strangles her to death.  Then, Miles comes to save the day and there's lots of crazy stare downs.  Tom asks Miles why he left the militia, and he basically says "you wouldn't understand."  So, we'll save that mystery for another day! 



  • Meanwhile Norah uses the codeword of the Patriots/Rebels to find her allies in Noblesville.  It's Frank Lapidus!  Or Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson, whichever you prefer.  The code?  "I need a book on Joe Biden."   That's a comical line in whatever year you're in!  (Not to get too political in this recap.  I promise, I would lose in a debate so don't bother!)

  • We find out Hutch's wife and entire rebel forces were wiped out by militia.  He is all on board for a revenge plan.   Norah's plan is to blow up the train and she just hopes that Miles will get to Danny in time so that he's not on the train.  She even tells Aaron to pass on the word to Miles. 
  • Aaron's big job is to guard their prisoner, "Nate".  Somehow, in his nervousness, he loses his pendant to him.  Nate asks all of these questions about the ugly necklace, and Aaron just says it's his wife's and would really like it back.  He does get it back.  But something tells me, the fact that  Nate saw this pendant will come into play later on.  Maybe when a certain sketch happens to come across his eyes.   By the way, long story short, Nate eventually escapes doing some crazy ninja moves with his hands bound.  It was pretty ridiculous!  

  • So Tom moves up the train schedule to try and trick Miles and crew.  He makes some threats and they get on their way.  But, Norah has already loaded up a hollow log filled with some crazy bomb.  She happens to see that a boy is with Tom on the train who must be Danny.  She immediately has second thoughts and Hutch fights her.  He ends up stabbing her cleanly in the gut.  (not vital organs hit as we'll learn!)   

  • Miles and crew just happened to show up at the right time (well, they did hear the train).  Miles and Charlie hop on some horses and chase down the train like Marty and Doc in BTFIII.  They jump from car to car and split up.  Charlie goes after Danny and Miles after the bomb.  Miles gets in a fight with a militia dude but does end up getting the bomb out of the fire.   Charlie and Danny make some silly childish grins at each other and then enact their escape plan.  Danny tackles Tom and then Charlie arrives.  Everything is going well until Nate shows up.  Tom asks Nate to bring Charlie to him, but he defies him.  He throws Charlie off of the train.  Miles sees this and jumps off of the train too.  So, Danny is bound for Philly and they'll have to get him another day.   Tom was not thrilled with "Nate" but there is a reason he was able to defy the man.  We'll get there. 





  • Charlie turns into the girl that Miles had asked her to be from the beginning and is sick of hearing excuses for why the plan didn't work.  She rallied the troops and everyone is on board to walk to Philadelphia.  Sweet!  That'll only take a few months!   Okay, well I Google Mapped it.  Walking would take 8.75 days non-stop.  So, with breaks, maybe a couple weeks.   But, I'm sure they'll find some mode of transportation along the way!  Horses even? 



Tom's Flashbacks
  • We find out Tom was just some geekly squirrely insurance salesman before the blackout.  On the day of the blackout he got fired by his boss.  (Did anyone else get the John Locke and his young "douchey" (Hurely's words not mine) boss vibe here?  i.e. the Blackout/Island transformed him into the new man he is today)

  • Tom returned home and his young neighbors are throwing a party which seems to be a recurring thing.  He complained about the noise and asked his neighbor to turn it down so his son, Jason, can sleep.  The neighbor ignored him. 

  • We find out Tom's wife is Kim Raver (from 24 and Grey's Anatomy fame).  Her name on the show is Julia.  He lies to her about his job and doesn't tell her he was fired.  But after a few seconds of talking to his son about Optimus Prime, he goes to the basement to punch the hell out of a punching bag.  



  • When he's about to let Jason take a few swings, the power goes out.
  • They lived in fear for 6 weeks.  Julia told Tom they should leave and Tom is too scared to do anything.  Then, they hear a break-in.  It's the neighbor trying to steal some supplies.  Tom tries to defend his home, and they get into a fight.  The neighbor is choking Tom but somehow he gets out of it and then beats the guy to death.   And alas, the new Tom Neville is born!   He killed a man defending his family and home.  


  • And then, we see him and Jason training to defend themselves in the future.    

Philadelphia, PA (nice!)
First of all, it's nice to finally see confirmation that the building Rachel has been staying in IS Independence Hall.  (or at least a building in Old City Philadelphia. Looks like Monroe's HQ is Independence Hall)  I had read on the Revolution website that it was in Philly, but thought it was a mistake.  It wasn't until I saw the train that I thought it was realistic that Monroe would be able to travel such a far distance so quickly.  I also liked the shot of City Hall at the end of the episode.  In case you all didn't know, I've been a Philly "suburbian" all of my life, so any time Philadelphia gets a focus in a show or movie, I'm all about it!  Here's what went down here. 


  • Monroe and Rachel have more stare downs.  Rachel pleads to let Danny go and she'll tell him whatever he wants. Monroe says that she will tell him anyway because he has Danny.   But, he does eventually say that Danny will not be hurt any more.  And Rachel spills some beans.  (See Pendant conversation in the section below)   It remains to be seen how much information Rachel withheld, but any smart prisoner wouldn't show all her cards right away. 


  • The train arrives to Philadelphia and Julia is waiting for Tom at the station.  They haven't seen each other in over a year.  But, here's the twist you may or may not have seen coming.  We finally learn Nate's name.  It's JASON!  Yup, he's Tom and Julia's son.  Nice little reveal there.  I'll admit, I should have seen it coming but I must have turned my brain off when watching the episode (and taking some notes).  I do think this adds a little bit of depth to the show so it will be fun to watch it play out! 



Interesting Tidbits
  • Location of the blackout - Eric Kripke mentioned that in the pilot episode (and pretty much every episode since) we saw the lights go out on the globe.  He said that the pattern of the lights going out wasn't random and will play into the story.  From what I can tell, it appears that the power outage started on the east coast of the United States and worked its way out from there.  Just thought I'd throw that out there for discussion! 

  • The Pendants - Well, they've referred to them as pendants in 2 episodes now so I guess we can't call them "magic necklaces" anymore.  Well, we can do whatever we want but we'll choose not to!  So anyway, apparently there are 12 magic necklaces out there, but there was probably 1 more pendant forged in the fires of Mordor.  One Pendant to rule them all!!!  Okay, kidding obviously.  So 12 necklaces.  We've seen 3, right?  Aaron has one, Grace has one and Randall has one.  So, I guess with the other 9 there's 9 seasons worth of television!  Kidding again!  This could be a plot for the first season, or maybe the first few I don't know.  But, I'm sure there will be a race to get them.  Rachel told Monroe that she was working with Ben on this.  So, did they create the pendants?  Did they cause the blackout?  Maybe they were aware of the blackout approaching and came up with a way to fight back.   What happens when all 12 pendants are in one place together?  Do they start glowing like the stones in Temple of Doom?  I'm sure that's in Kripke's plan.   As I mentioned above, the fact that Jason/Nate saw the pendant and Rachel has drawn a picture of it will probably come into play.  Maybe, Miles and crew will not be chasing after Danny as much as the militia will be chasing after them.  

  • Why the lights went out - Kripke mentioned in his article that he's not big on dragging mysteries out because then it raises expectations for the answer, inevitably causing people to expect "The greatest answer in the history of mankind".  (ahem...This is to you disappointed LOST fans in the ending.  Come on, it wasn't humanly possible to make everyone happy.  I was though!)   So, it sounds like we can expect an answer to WHY the lights went out by the end of season 1, but it will open the door to the next mystery/mission.  
  • Map of the Monroe Republic - We see on the map that the Monroe Republic is pretty much the Northeast of the country stretching west past Lake Michigan.  But there are other Federations that will no doubt be places of conflict eventually.  The Georgia Federation.  And is that the PLAINS Federation?  

  • Monroe's Takeover - Monroe is hellbent on taking over the world.  First goal is North America.    He wants a helicopter, as we've seen before, but he thinks people would bow down to him if he had one and an operational one at that.   And he plans to kill those that bow anyway.  Dude is a little deranged wouldn't you say?  Can't believe he's fallen so far since his vigilante days as The Cape! 
  • Cars still being used - I thought there was a fun shot in Noblesville with a car moving down the road.  At first, I was confused but then I saw 2 horses dragging it down the street.  The new horse and carriage! 

  • Hutch/Lapidus was pressing a book when we meet him.  And it just happened to be Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  Finally, a book I've read!

Okay, that's all I have for today.  Once again, I wrote too much.  Unfortunately, I feel myself getting into the show a bit more each week.  Hopefully, I'll find a way to slim it down one of these days!  But, at least we get a week off next week.  Not sure why, maybe NBC doesn't want to compete with MLB playoffs or something.  Of course, there always are breaks before November sweeps, so it could be just that.  Anyway, we'll continue our Walking Dead and Fringe recaps as well so tune in for those!  And, starting next week I will be posting a separate weekly thread to discuss the REST of TV that usually ends up in the comments sections of these recaps.  Hopefully, that will get things a little more organized!  Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you in a couple weeks! 

24 comments:

Mike V. said...

Random heads up to American Horror Story watchers. You may want to check your DVR Season passes. The show has a new title this year so you may need to set a new season pass:

American Horror Story: Asylum

Not sure when I'll be watching it but wanted to give the heads up!

Mike V. said...

Revolution rose in the ratings again!

http://tvline.com/2012/10/16/ratings-revolution-castle-90210-partners/

Leslie said...

Charlie’s really not good at following instructions, is she? I have to admit that I didn’t see it coming that Nate was gonna be Neville’s son, but when they revealed that, it was kinda like, well, duh? Yes, I thought of Locke with his boss when they flashbacked to Neville getting fired! lol Then, we see Lapidus (or Hutch)! Hadn’t heard he was gonna be in this. Good thought about all 12 pendants glowing like in the Temple of Doom! lol Rachel did say that getting the power back on starts with the pendants.

Mike V. said...

Touche' Rachel did say it "starts" with the pendants. Of course it could be the first step in a very big process of turning power back on. We don't even now how powerful these pendants are. It has powered a discman, a smartphone, a light bulb and an old school computer. Would one pendant be able to power a helicopter, per say? Would 12 be able to power more when they're together...say a city block or a whole city? Should be interesting to see how they reintroduce power and how rapidly they do it.

Curt Sminkey said...

Yay Philadelphia! Totally saw the Neville's son angle as soon as they showed him in the flashback. I was hoping they wouldn't revel it right away so I could act smart over here.

Out of all the westerns out there of people chasing down a train on horses, I also immediately thought of Back to the Future! I was waiting for a woman to yell, "Emmett!". Childs of the 80's i guess.

Show is starting to pick up steam but Charlie's constant diarrhea expressions make it painful at times.

MJ said...

'ahhh, so that's how people are traveling long distances!' - Might just be me but I got the sense that using this train was new.

Ken Hutchinson !?! That the name (I'm dating myself now) of Hutch from Starsky and Hutch ! Too funny. LOL on Biden - guess we find that funnier then some since he's from our Tri-state area.

Maybe I was off my game, or just not paying attention but this show surprised me with Hutch refusing to back off the bomb plan and stabbing Nora, and that 'nipples' Nate (great line) was Tom's son. Just didn't see either coming. What I did see coming was that Tom was once a nice guy, even mild and meek. That has been predicted for quite awhile - that they all had to become hardened for whatever reason to survive or for their families survival.

Yeah - I thik we all said that Aaron was an idiot for playing with that pendant right in front of the prisoner ! My biggest issue was the non-plan to get Danny back. Once they could not find him in town my plan would have been to be down the tracks outside of town and either get on or stop the train. Just saying.

I've not been paying that close attention but since Kripke says the pattern of outtage means something and now we know 12 pendants - did the outtage occur in 12 groups? I will have to watch next time.

Thanks for the heads up that it's not on nexct week - didn't notice that. Now that I've read the recap and comments I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that did not see the reveal of Nate as Jason !

I'm caught up on most shows - just lacking time to read recaps/comments and just post myself.

Mike V. said...

@Curt - Nice on thinking of Back to the Future III also. lol Totally agree on Charlie. My wife doesn't see it as much but it's nails on a chalkboard bad to me sometimes. But, she's growing on me. lol She's the main character, so we pretty much have to get on board as she's probably the safest character right now. lol

@MJ - I never watched Starsky and Hutch back in the day (I think it was right before my time lol) but I should've caught that! So true on Biden. That dude has been driving me crazy since the Clarence Thomas hearings back in the day. lol

I didn't see Hutch stabbing Nora (probably because Lapidus would never do such a thing! lol) or the son thing. I was totally off my game with that one. lol But yes, Tom definitely came from simple upbringings and totally changed his life as a result of the blackout. It's a very Lockian story. Of course, John Locke's life was pretty darn tragic all the way through to the end. lol

Very true on the lack of a Danny plan. Didn't make much sense! lol

Hmmm...I don't think so...the outtage seemed to just span out in both directions from the East Coast...but maybe there were 12 specific outtages. lol We'll need a frame by frame recount of that global outtage! And maybe will need to check the pilot ep if it's a longer view of it. lol

I'm lacking time to comment on shows too. But SOA - WOW!!!! Definitely need to discuss that one at some point. I'm half way through B.E. and will comment on TWD recap when I'm done. AHS tonight, but I doubt I'll get to it. So I'll probably start it tomorrow after I finish B.E. (the wife is out on AHS this time around lol) I'm on such a weird schedule! lol

Leslie said...

Revolution - Just like MJ, I got the sense the train was a new thing, too, because the guy who was working to get it ready was pressured to get it done earlier by Neville. I'm with you, MJ, I also thought of Starsky & Hutch (after Lapidus, of course). And, I totally agree on Charlie's expressions. They are actually distracting to me. lol

Can't wait for AHS tonight!

MJ said...

Revo: I'm with your wife - I don't see Charlie as that annoying. ;-D

HIMYM: Guess we discuss this here now ? That game show was hysterical. As was them all recounting what's new in their head to determine if it's high enough.

SOA - OMG what a great ep. Jax's face giving that guard a beat down. All were right - Clay is behind the invasions. I thought not when he gave one of the guys with the bandage on the necka strange look - so they fooled me. LOL How brilliant was Perlman after Juice dropped him off and he went from hobbled to just walking !!! Meant to comment last week - did we see Gemma wake up with yet another naked chick ? Where is this coming from ?!? But when Nero's crazy half-sister made them get naked in the bed, then blew her brains out - I almost fell off the couch ! Can't figure out what Tara is up to - Otto told her not to come back but she is clearly going to since she told Jax that she hadn't seen him yet. But Tara and Jax are slowly becoming Gemma and Clay - the lies and half truths. Oh - and Uncer telling Gemma off ! Too great. This show just keeps getting better each year. I've officially decided I'll be buying the blu-rays.

MJ said...

Soa - almost forgot, I got lost with the It's a Small WOrld cause that wasn't the song playing on the snow globe !

And that guy (who I can't place) with Gemma at the bar in the end - I'm guessing his story will NOT end well. LOL

MJ said...

SOA - just read a headline but no deets - the guy in the bar with Gemma will be a baaaad guy! And here I was thinking he'd be in trouble.

Justified casting scoop for 2 new cast members. another article is embedded in this one.
http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/10/justified-season-4-ron-eldard-heads-to-harlan.html

Mike V. said...

Revolution: I'm trying to have an open mind on Charlie! lol

HIMYM - Yep, I think so. This is a perfect example why I'm going to get a separate thread. This, and going all the way back to Fringe to discuss Grimm. lol The problem with Grimm is that it will always be discussed in the "NEXT WEEK's" thread. But, I think that'll be okay. lol

Game show was fantastic. I said to my wife right when it started, "I love fake game shows on sitcoms". LOL Instantly reminded me of FRIENDS when Chandler and Joey went against Monica and Rachel for who knew each other the best (TOW The Embryos). And of course, Chan/Joey ended up winning their apartment. And of course there was the episode when Joey had to audition for a game show host job and the 3 guys played BAMBOOZLED! lol Hysterical stuff. For some reason, I can't remember the "if it's high enough" part....but I'm sure I'm just having a brain fart. Ted's puppet thing was pretty funny, and the fact that they somehow get Future Ted to show his kids it too. lol

SOA - Yep, it was so obvious to me by this episode that Clay was leading up these invasions. I think even Unser was suspecting it. I thought the opposite when Clay gave the dude a strange look. lol I thought it was a dead give-a-way! Unless we're talking about 2 different looks. Perlman was awesome with his whole "I'm still sick and helpless" act. lol The only thing I can remember from last week is Boyd Crowder. lol But it's possible Gemma woke up with another one! The whole scene with Nero's half sister was intense!!

Yeah, I wonder if Tara is going to give into Otto's demands. OF course, I wasn't sure if Otto was serious with the request or if he was just making a point of how he's not going to do anything for SAMCRO. Unser telling Gemma off was nuts too. And of course Gemma meets Community and The Soup's Joel McHale in the bar! lol I had heard he was doing a guest spot this season, but didn't see that coming! (just saw your other comments on him. Interesting!)

Nice on the blu-rays. I think I'd only do that if they removed the show from Netflix. lol I'm conflicted right now of getting Fringe season 4 (and 5) since they will be on Amazon Prime! lol Of course, it also may depend on how this Fringe season ends. I'm getting nervous! lol

Small world....well, maybe they didn't have the rights to the Disney song! lol

Thanks for Justified link!

MJ said...

LOl on Fringe - have faith !!

Mike V. said...

Oh I have faith! I think subconsciously I feel like something may get missed because both showrunners aren't involved in the final season. Jeff Pinkner jumped ship before the final season. It didn't make sense that he wouldn't stick it out until the end unless maybe he didn't agree with where they were going to take things? (Just my conspiracy theory) The official word was that the show was running itself at that point. They had mapped out the story and just needed to execute it. Probably true. But still! lol

Mike V. said...

Clear version of us map in revolution

http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/10/17/revolution-map-north-america/

Mike V. said...

AHS - Woa...so that was pretty intense! I'm really digging the new story so far. And ummm...was Kit abducted by aliens for real??? LOL So aliens are framing him for the murders of various women? Interesting. Of course, I guess we could find out it's all in his head. But then what was up with that microchip that turned into a transformer insectacon at the end in James Cromwell's operating room? Crazy.

Jessica Lange as a nun with needs...nice. she's awesome as always.

Joseph Fiennes as an american priest...as comical or more comical than his american FBI agent in Flashforward? Discuss. lol

Adam Levine as an actor - COMEDY? Discuss. Will be intersting how much they focus on that modern day setting. Seems like they can't go much further with his arm decapitated like that, but this IS a Ryan Murphy program. lol

Lots of fun stuff to explore over 12 more episodes this season.

I do have a sneaky theory though that might link up the 2 seasons. I saw Dylan McDermott was cast to reappear in the show at some point. When Connie Britton's character was giving birth last season...didn't he have some crazy vision of himself in an insane asylum? It was probably a hint at the plot for season 2...but what if it was a linking between the 2 stories? What if these characters/same actors are reincarnated versions of themselves doomed to repeat similar themes over and over again. What if Kit is really a killer just like his modern day counterpart was?

It's just a crazy theory and I'm not going to bring it up every week...but that would seem like something Murphy would do. Like last season, he never told us this was an anthology series. So, at the end of this season he could be like "JUST KIDDING!!!" LOL Oh well...we'll see. One thing is for sure...I'm sure it will screw up the submission categories for awards season again. lol

Mike V. said...

AHS - Ryan Murphy speaks!
http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/10/18/american-horror-story-asylum-ryan-murphy-premiere-exclusive/

Leslie said...

AHS - Wow! Pretty insane! (pun intended) lol All kinds of crazy stuff going on here! Even the opening is creepy. Glad they kept the same music. It's just so fitting for this show.

Interesting theory you have. I thought it was strange last year that they didn't promote it as an anthology because they may have had an even bigger audience since a lot of the viewers today don't want to invest in a new show fearing that it will be cancelled, and they will be left hanging. With this show, I think anything is possible.

Mike V. said...

@Leslie - Agreed on all points! lol

MJ said...

AHS - it was interesting. I guess we are supposed to be wondering who's the crazy ones and who's the sane ones ? Between the head nun and the doctor I think the crazies are running the asylum. LOL i can't see how they can keep going back to the present day much though - at least not with what we only know now.

I'm still worried Murphy will Nip/Tuck this into ridiculousness. The metal bug was creepy.

Kept thinking this was supposed to be Pennhurst but maybe not since it's in massachusets.

Mike V. said...

AHS - Yeah, based on Ryan Murphy's interview, sounds like the present day thing won't be every episode. Probably when it's relevant to the story. But yeah, I'm with you...the crazies are running the place. lol

Oh Nip/Tuck is just the first example (which I didn't watch). You're worried he's going to "Pull a Ryan Murphy" on this show and totally understandable! lol The thing they have going for it is that it's a completely new story this year so it's not like they have to worry about a sophomore slump (theoretically). Of course, if we go with my wacky theory, they could definitely make things ridiculous!

MJ said...

AHS - if by your theory you mean that they reincarnate and repeat same themes - that would already not fit with what we saw. The nun is very repressed about sex and lange's character last year was anything but repressed.

What he did on Nip Tuck was take a show that had some great twists but in order to top himself year after year he went over the top so-to-speak.

What surprised me about AHS was that they were so accuate in portraying a catholic sentiment towards sex and lesbians in 64 but they had that doctor doing the cremations. A no-no in catholisism back then I thought.

Mike V. said...

AHS - well maybe there doesn't have to be EXACTLY the same themes. Sister Jude may be repressed for now, but that doesn't mean she'll continue to be! lol

And I know what he did with Nip/Tuck. He went too crazy with Glee too and it's never been the same. (He also had his whole "gay bullying" agenda that he fit into season 2 which seemed like "the life and times of Ryan Murphy in high school" which...while I'm sure is a big issue..was pretty painful to endure on a weekly basis)

As for the cremation thing...yeah it's a catholic no no, but I don't think the Doctor has any issues with going against the church or Sister Jude. Plus, I'm not exactly sure that he really cremated anyone. What the hell is out in those woods!? lol

Mike V. said...

LOST - Carlton Cuse reflects on his sudden celebrity status as a "Showrunner" for LOST

http://www.vulture.com/2012/10/carlton-cuse-lost-showrunner-celebrity.html