Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Revolution: Season 1 Episode 20 - The Dark Tower


Hello everyone and welcome to the Revolution!  Not a bad wrap up for season 1.  A lot of what we had discussed most likely happening did indeed happen, but of course there were twists along the way. And, of course, someone had to lose their life in the process (a couple someones actually).  Let's dive right into the recap!

  • First off, a few corrections from last week.  Randall was not dead.  I made the assumption that he died in the assault but he still had another card to play, literally.  The George W. Bush portrait came into play again this week, as we found out Randall was hiding a secret keycard that would get him to level 12 in it.  
  • Another correction, the "12ers" actually weren't on level 12 at the end of last episode.  They were still a couple levels up preventing our crew from getting any further.  
  • So, we find out that the university that Aaron attended sold his code to the government and it was used to operate THE TOWER.  That has to be a pretty tough thing to learn!  We also found out that Ben intentionally sought out Aaron and made it seem like they met by happenstance.  
  • Rachel was still gung-ho on putting the lights back on saying that there is a 1 in a billion chance that the world will end or burn or whatever.
  • Monroe and Miles had a delay in their altercation to align forces with Norah against a few 12ers. Of course, they were led into a trap that flooded them out of the light cave and to some random creek outside.  I was surprised no one turned into a smoke monster.  Norah held on for dear life and stayed in the tower (turns out this was a big mistake for her!)  
  • Norah ended up doing the Return of the Jedi Han/Leia speech to Rachel when she caught up with them.  "You love him, don't you?  Okay, well when he gets back I won't get in the way."   Okay, so it wasn't exactly like that but I needed a star wars reference or I'd get reprimanded!  Anyway, Rachel all but admitted she was still in love with Miles through her body language.  And Norah knew that Miles would always be there for Rachel over Norah as well. 
  • Outside of the tower Miles and Monroe finally had their fight, weapons free.  We got some additional flashbacks to their relationship after the blackout.  It was more of a character building session for Monroe to make it seem less forced when he is eventually on their side!  They were sitting at dinner talking about their firsts when the restaurant was hit by the rebels.  This was their first introduction to the United States rebels.  Monroe got even by getting the guy who planted the bomb and went after and killed his family too.  This looks to be where Monroe began to unravel.  And he did it out of love for his "brother"/ his family.  At this point, it doesn't appear that Norah was a rebel yet, which makes sense since it was a revelation to Miles earlier this season.  
  • Monroe realized he was getting shot at by his militia crew as well.  Miles ran away from their fight.  When they met up later, he said that Monroe has his own issues to deal with.  We also found out that Miles intentionally never killed Monroe because no matter how much he dislikes it, he's still his "brother".  They have a bond that is too difficult to break over a little indifference on how to run the country.  Once again...character building.  Monroe was captured by Tom Neville's militia.  Miles set him free but also warned the militia about it too.  So, by the end of this season Monroe is no longer in charge of the militia but is on his own.  
  • Tom Neville, on the other hand, DID take over the Militia in convincing fashion.  He even killed one of his detractors and covered it up as a "self defense" ploy.  He also is hell bent on keeping the power off, to keep Atlanta powerless.  He recruits his son for it with the agreement that Charlie and Rachel survive.  
  • So, Rachel continues her plot to get to level 12.  She renders Grace unconscious and they plant some crazy trap for the 12ers that essentially kills most of them.  Of course, some shrapnel from the explosion happened to catch Norah right in the gut.  Oh boy!   She just eliminated herself from a love triangle and the show decided it might need to eliminate her!  (Crazy how that tends to always be the case, right?  It's almost like these shows are scripted or something.)  Of course, this is set to drive a further stake between Rachel and her daughter.  Rachel says that they have to turn the power on NOW.  Charlie refuses to leave Norah to die.  So, the team splits up.  Aaron goes with Rachel and Charlie stays with Norah.  Miles finds his way back into the tower and finds Charlie with Norah.  He refuses to leave Norah essentially proving Norah's theory incorrect about who he'd go after.  Of course, not really, because he picks up Norah and they head towards level 12.  But, on the way, Norah died and Miles cried.  RIP Norah.  You were written off the show because Revolution found their Juliet!  Literally.  
  • Naturally, this sped up their route to level 12.  So, I love how everyone needs this special clearance to get to 12, but then Miles and Charlie just take the stairs.  Maybe I missed something here!  Of course, they did have to face Tom and Jason one more time.  And I'll be honest, I forget how that went down.  But, they did end up getting to level 12!   And Charlie did some good brooding and walking away from Rachel every time she tried to apologize. 
  • So, Aaron turned on the main computer, entered the magic numbers that totalled 108 and pressed execute.  After the commercial break, the power started coming back on!  We see a random shot of Neville's wife seeing the power come on and Aaron's ex wife seeing the power come on.  I wonder where Mrs. Neville is though? They had to flee Philly and he was last working for Atlanta.  So, is she in Atlanta?
  • Anyway, we did see some creepy lightning outside where Monroe is so something tells me that maybe part of that 1 in a billion chance may have happened.  
  • Anyway, now that the power has been restored our main season 1 villain decided to unveil himself.  Randall!  It was all a Long Con!  He wanted our people to turn the power on so that he could enable the ICBMs.  And he targeted a whole slew of them to hit Philadelphia and Atlanta, the 2 main powerhouses of this reborn world.   He wants them out of the equation so that, get this, the United States can return to power.  He is, a patriot, cue the gun to the head and POW.   Randall's out of the equation. 
  • Meanwhile, he trapped Aaron, Rachel, Miles and Charlie in the control room and blasted the controls to stop the attack on Philly and Atlanta.  
  • The last shot of the episode cuts to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  Some advisor talks to a shadowy figure and says that Randall was able to pull it off.  And then he called him Mr. President.  Would this be the President of the US at the time of the blackout?  That would be the assumption I'm making.  And it's also the cliffhanger for season 2! 
So, what on earth does this mean?  Are we meant to think that in season 2, we'll be taking our Revolution AGAINST the United States of America?  I thought we were supporting the Rebels who were trying to reestablish the US?  Or are we meant to think that we were on the same side as Randall the whole time?  I guess we need to know if the President is working on his own plans vs. what the Rebel's goals were. 

I guess I did miss one key point here.  Aaron said that when looking at the code he could see that the blackout was not an accident.  It was done intentionally.  So, maybe we're supposed to think that the President of the United States was the one who made the call to reset the world in the first place.  The 15 year blackout was phase 1.  And now in season 2, we're going to see phase 2 of his plan.  That probably makes the most sense.   But, for now, it appears that the power is back on with maybe some potential side effects.   And Philly and Atlanta are slated to get blown off the map.  The fact that we didn't see that happen yet leads me to think that there may be some last minute heroics to stop it.  

Anyway, this is a fun little show and I'm glad that I stuck with it this season.  We'll see if I find the time to continue recapping it in season 2.  But, I'll definitely keep watching.  Having it on Wednesdays at 8pm might be a little better!  Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and maybe I'll see you next season! 

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

On the wall of President's pics is also Obama, so I don't really understand the Bush pic being so prominent, since that was long ago. But somthing political seems afoot here since they are bringing in Guantanamo. I'm betting the Pres will be bad.

In some ways it's like, really, after a complete season we find out about a well known US rebel force fighting to reunite the country. When the power went out, we were led to believe the US gov fell apart and the republics sprang up from the ashes to bring some kind of order out of chaos. That makes sense. But to have another set of US rebels come out of nowhere and yet be so important and known all along makes me wonder again about what else is key and known to ALL, but the viewers.

Miles/Monroe, you just knew they wouldn't kill each other.

Yea, the lightning in the field with Monroe could become an issue.

I think we will find out next season who opened the back door to turn off the power worldwide. BTW, why hasn't any other county used steam or sailing ships to come over here and do some fighting, maybe season 2 or 3.

Tom and Monroe are so much alike--LOL. Kind of like Juliette, oops Rachel.

Richard

Mike V. said...

Well by the end of my rant above I just assumed that it was the President of the US that opened the back door. (or someone working for him) Maybe, I'm wrong there. But they definitely made it seem like the Prez would be bad.

Not sure why only Atlanta is using steam other than the fact that they ended up being the richest "country".

Now that the power is on..I wonder if the show is going to go more global....we did see shots of London and Paris from the tower last episode. I wonder if that's a hint.

Anonymous said...

We agree the new Prez is likely bad at some level. But could be another case of bad now, good later and/or the enemy of my enemy is my friend?

We could also very easily end up with 3 main competing groups. 1Atlanta, 2Tom/Philly and 3US Prez/Miles/Rachel.

Richard

MJ said...

Dang! I liked Nora, and Miles chose her. Too bad she did not see that her rebels won out in the end with the return (possibly) of Putus. Nice new wedge for Charlie and Rachael to overcome too. Freaked me out when Randall killed himself though, and that he did it so the real Potus could come back. And the Pres has been at Guantanamo? Did not see that coming. Lightning was freaky, and they are nuking Philly and Atlanta ! LOL Neville was extra amusing tonight - being nice to the prisoner while his son was there then shooting him once alone. Nice ! And what was the point of bringing his wife on for the ep? All we saw of her was her sitting in some house we don't even know where when the power come on ?!? The best was Neville's comment to Monroe about his erotic fixation with Miles - I was cracking up. Can't believe they killed all those living in the tower - and these are the good people ? Yikes. Thought it was funny that Charlie couldn't understand what a back door in code even meant - her life experience with computers is pretty much non-existent.

Mike V. said...

Hmm...I thought the power DID come on wherever Neville's wife was? And I assumed she must be in Atlanta since that's where he was last. And there's a nuke heading towards Atlanta. I'm guessing Tom and crew will probably have to free Aaron because he'll be their best bet to try and stop the missles.

Didn't even consider Charlie's life experience. It's tough to remember that there are 15 years worth of people who have never experienced power in their lives. And people like Charlie were probably too young to appreciate things like backdoor code. lol

Tom did get some nice one liners in last night. I didn't focus on them in the recap...but yes the erotic fixation was a classic...and pretty much true. lol

Anonymous said...

I don't think Tom's wife will make it, that's why we saw her, imho. This will infuriate Tom who didn't want the power on to begin with, it will also leave a leadership vacuum re Atlanta. It sets up Tom vs Miles/Rachel/Charlie and puts his son in a sticky situation with his mom being killed by part of his girlfriend's actions. Tom could potentially control the whole East coast--or what's left of it. And enter the Prez somewhere. Monroe will likely head back to Philly or try getting some alliance deal somehow.

Richard

Anonymous said...

Great way to end the season. They set the stage for next season quite well. There is no way the power is staying on. Grace is still lurking and turning off the power may be the only way to stop the missiles. Plus it is way too soon to turn on the power for good.

It will be interesting to see how the US Colony and POTUS plays into next season.

Leslie said...

Pretty good ending! I enjoyed the second half of the season more than the first. Monroe just couldn’t let it go! Liked it when Miles said Monroe had bigger problems like his own men who were shooting at him. Yep, Neville had some good lines. He has a great evil expression! Aaron looked so shocked when he realized it was his code. I remember learning about the back door from WarGames way back. Wonder if the lightning is like a power surge or something? I hope Philly is okay for your sake, Mike. lol

Mike V. said...

@Richard - Quite the elaborate theory! lol Seems plausible...we'll see what happens!

@Anonymous - good point about Grace. Maybe you're right that it's too soon for permanent power. But, the way I've been thinking about it lately is that power was a means to introduce us to this new world with new rules and new governments. Giving the people power doesn't change the new setup. But, I like the idea that maybe the power being turned on is only temporary. Gives the world a taste of it but it's not permanent. There could be some story possibilities there.

Yeah...with POTUS...it certainly seems like he's being setup to be the villain for now. We shall see!

@Leslie - Yeah...agreed. The show just kept improving so it's nice that one of these high concept shows finally got a 2nd season and we can see what they'll do with it. If you like Neville's evil expression...you should watch Breaking Bad!! He has nothing on Gus Fring! lol But, being the same actor, it's the same gravitas brought to the role. Great actor.

LOL on Philly being okay. Well, if not, I still have like 15 years or so to move to some desolate area of the world! :-)