Thursday, May 22, 2014

Revolution: Season 2 Episode 22 - Declaration of Independence


Hello and welcome back for the last time to the Revolution!  It was a decent show that got a very surprising 2nd chance.  It was a 2nd chance that gave us hope that we never should've had that it might be able to stick around for awhile.  It certainly improved over the 2 years as it was allowed time to figure out what works best, but the viewers were already gone by the time they figured it out.  The series finale certainly had moments that made it feel final, but it was really just bringing closure to the season 2 arcs and maybe some of the season 1 stuff.   But, clearly they left things open for future stories.  The cliffhanger pretty much indicated what we had already speculated would be the larger battle of the show.  My guess is that Kripke and crew wrote the finale knowing that it probably could be the end, but with a glimmer of hope that they could get renewed or picked up by another channel/service.  I just don't think there will be enough demand to make that happen though.   So, I promised that I would write a recap of this show and I'll do a very brief one.  But, obviously there's not much point speculating on a show that is over!  Here we go:

Discussion Points
  • It it would appear the President was not among the people locked in that town hall that was going to get poisoned.  And Truman showed he was willing to go to great lengths for the Patriots by killing some Texas Rangers (including their chief dude) and then shooting himself all in the name of setting up a battle between California and Texas.  This would have been bad news as it would've made the West ripe for the taking by the Patriots.  
  • Fortunately, Miles and the good guys found a way to stop the gassing, kidnap the "President" and talk to Mr. Friendly in Austin and convince him of the foul play that had gone afoot.  They were able to fool the President into revealing his master plan in front of Mr. Friendly and that pretty much pitted Texas against the Patriots and cleaned them out of Willoughby.  All they were missing was someone holding up a tape recorder and saying, "You're soooo going to jail!!"   If only they had power!  But yes, while Patriots were being killed off left and right, Truman was seen escaping and the President was Texas' captive. 
  • We saw a turning point for Monroe as he sided with Miles over his son setting up possible future conflicts with him and Tom Neville.  Even Rachel thanked Miles for being trustworthy with not killing the President.  
  • An attempt at closure was in some happy discussions between Miles and Charlie where they talked about what they'd do after they cleared out the Patriots that summer from Willoughby.  Charlie basically told Miles she supported him and Rachel being a thing, regardless of the weirdness there.  
  • Shocker of the season, Rachel's dad survived!  
  • Then of course there was the nano story.  Aaron was successful in getting the nano to leave Priscilla by expressing his love for her (and the whole electrocution thing).  But, she had a vision on her way out of nano-land of some smiling face and their plans to take over the country, the world.   We then were treated to a montage of people being visited by dead characters.  Truman was visited by his fiance he killed (Ethan's mom from LOST, Michelle from 24), President was visited by his father and Tom Neville was visited by Jason.  They all were very similar visions to what Aaron was getting all season.  They instructed them all to go to some crazy town in Idaho.  Priscilla indicated that the nano were going to make the Patriots look like boy scouts.  And the final shot of the series was of this town Bradbury, Idaho.  The smiling face of some neon clown lit up on an ice cream shack at the center of the town.  Then the whole small town USA lights started flickering on the main street as we saw hundreds/thousands of people descending upon Bradbury.  
And that's that!  We had already seen Nano-Priscilla manipulating Patriots to her liking, so it would've seemed that these people along with Tom, the President and Truman would have been manipulated as well.  We had been saying all season that the battle against the Nano probably would've been the end game of the series.  Maybe Kripke had thought that if they even had a chance at renewal, season 3 would certainly be their last season.  I guess you never know if someone will pick this one up, but I'm not holding onto any hope.   It was a decent show that entertained me while it was on.  It was fun watching the show grow into something fairly good and writing about it along the way.  Thanks for everyone who stuck with it and took the time to read my rants on it as well.  RIP Revolution!  We'll be here if you come back somehow.  Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you in future TV endeavors!  

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yea, I don't see it getting picked up. But I think it would have been by now since keeping the gang all together would be important. I thought the Rachel/Miles get together was kind of a wrap up. And the nano will be the big battle, but we've seen how to fight it, more or less with itself like the electrocution to weaken it. I also thought the shot with Monroe standing next to the Gen at the hanger when they shot the Patriots gave a glimmer of hope for Monroe to be a leader if not the leader? I thought the best acting came from Neville and Miles. I would like to see Elizabeth in a different role, one which is very different than a moody woman on a mission--lol.

I would like for Kripke or someone to release something on where the show would have ended.

I think that leaves The Blacklist and Grimm on NBC for me. With Revolution, NBC I think had the most shows I watched vs other networks.

Richard

Mike V. said...

General consensus on Elizabeth Mitchell by the geek community is that she only knows how to play one role which is why she's the same in every show. lol I didn't even realize there were people that hated her on LOST. I always thought she was a great addition.

I forgot to mention the Monroe scene at the end, but yeah that was a good one.

I could see Kripke doing that, of course he may not have really known. Maybe they had some ideas, but I'm sure they didn't flush out the ending fully yet. But, if they were envisioning the 3rd season as the end game based on the ratings, I guess there are chances they thought it out. lol

I'll have to consider watching Blacklist this summer...don't know if I'll have time. But, I still love NBC's comedies. Well...I say that but I think only Parks and Rec is left and that is ending next season.

Actually...I think the network tv shows I watch is really dwindling vs. the shows on AMC, HBO, Showtime, FX that I watch. But, apparently NBC's dire situation is on the rise. I heard that their ratings in the key 18-49 demographic were #1 for the core 4 networks. That's pretty crazy. I'm sure CBS still had the highest ratings in general.

Mike V. said...

Saw this on EW in the comments section of a Revolution article

Posted on Jon Favreau's official Facebook page:

"Spoke to Eric Kripke about Revolution being cancelled by NBC.

He's not on social media and I told him how many messages I've been receiving from disappointed fans. I explained that many of you would like him to consider finding a new home for the show.

Having a show cancelled is not fun, as you can imagine. It's a very abrupt end to a project that has been your entire world for a long time, especially for a dedicated writer/producer/show runner like Eric. I know he pours everything he has into his work.

I asked Eric if he had anything to pass along to the fans of the show. He said to convey that he was disappointed, but extremely grateful for your support.

If I hear any news about the show, I will pass it along to you. Know that, though I can't respond to all of your posts and tweets, I, like Eric and the whole Revolution family, appreciate your support. It was a fun ride and I had the pleasure to meet and work with some extremely talented and hard working people who were dedicated to doing the best job they could for you.

And thank you to those who watched and stuck with the show. You are truly appreciated."

Mike V. said...

http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/05/22/revolution-series-finale-react/

Anonymous said...

Juliette was one of my favorites on LOST. So, I was excited to see her in REvolution. But, her role as Rachell was for whatever reason very similar to Juliette. A woman with "homicidal tendecies" per her own words--lol. I actually saw more range in her portrayal of Juliette with Sawyer.

Thanks for the link, I see he liked Neville too. Billy Burke deserves more too.

Richard

Mike V. said...

I would say Elizabeth Mitchell had better material to work with on LOST which could have led to more range. But yes...I think we all agree Rachel wasn't a far cry from Juliet in terms of the way she portrayed her. lol

Anonymous said...

This is what I've been saying, that Abrams has had some significant losses. A lot of people are also concerned he's going to muck up Star Wars. I've read a lot of negative things starting to surface.

http://www.classicalite.com/articles/8407/20140521/star-wars-j-abrams-cancelled-revolution-series-finale-spoilers-human.htm

I will say from just a personal perspective. I was originally excited about Abrams doing Star Wars. But, after the on and off they've got with their hero girl stuff and these other problems, I've been getting concerned. Which means that whenever I watch Star Wars VII, I will be looking for problems whereas beforehand it hadn't even crossed my mind.

They say you need 7 goods to overcome 1 bad, we'll see.


A pretty interesting review/comments on Revolution.

http://revolutionnbc.net/possibilities-questions-remain-following-revolution-finale/

Richard

Mike V. said...

I keep saying it's a totally different thing to have JJ's name attached to something compared to him actually being hands-on involved. His name was attached to both Revolution and Almost Human but he was barely involved. LOST, he co-created and directed the pilot and even had ideas for the first season, but beyond that even THAT wasn't his. It was Damon and Carlton's baby. (More Damon's since he was a co-creator as well)

People are concerned about Star Wars due to some hardcore trek fans' distaste for Star Trek Into Darkness (Which I personally loved). And yes sometimes people associate all of these failed shows with Abrams too.

You know, Steven Spielberg's name is attached to a lot of stuff too these days. His name was on TERRA NOVA for goodness sake! LOL And also the 4 Transformers movies (one coming out this summer). That doesn't take away from his oscar caliber career with Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Lincoln...or his blockbuster status with Indiana Jones, Jaws, E.T. etc....

People are way too concerned with this. Abrams is a very capable director who is now very aware of his obsession with lens flare. lol He LOVED Star Wars as a child and will treat this movie with the utmost respect. Will it be good? I have no idea. I have faith that it will be at least better than Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones.

We have to give it a chance before we just slam it. People are far too quick to criticize stuff that doesn't even exist yet. I can't believe how much I've read about Batman vs. Superman already and Ben Affleck, Jesse Eisenbeg, the girl playing Wonder Woman....geeze people..we haven't even seen a trailer yet! lol People were quick to judge Heath Ledger's casting as the joker and he turned in an Oscar caliber performance (which yes...dying helped him win it, but I think he still would've been nominated)

Let's just wait and see! I'm excited regardless....we're getting a new star wars movie EVERY year. Disney has done a great job with Marvel Studios. I think they're going to treat Star Wars with care too. Sure there is a chance to beat the thing into the ground...but there is an entire sandbox and universe for great directors and actors to get in and play with. I'm looking forward to this new era...especially with a young boy growing up at exactly the right time for me to reap the benefits of it too! LOL Evil Geniuses George Lucas and Disney!!! LOL

Mike V. said...

I read that Revolution article, but I was expecting to read a list of loose ends and mysteries that needed to be wrapped up and all they could really muster up was the Nanotech, which we had discussed as well. lol

But yeah...clearly Sci-Fi/high concept dramas have not been working on NBC. But, I'd argue they haven't really been working on any network lately. LOST hit a sweet spot by fooling the massees that it was a mystery drama about pretty people on an island and slowly unveiled the sci-fi side over years.

You'd think in today's geek culture that Sci-Fi would be able to pull in a bigger audience, but I think it's the serialized storytelling that scares people these days. Committing to something that you have to watch every week and not knowing when it's going to end. It's a totally new world out there, which is why we are seeing the return of the Mini-series in some crazy new forms (like the anthology series: American Horror Story, True Detective, 24 Ressurected, Heroes being ressurected, etc...). It's just tough to pull off a high concept drama for 22 episodes a year now and retain the audience.

Even Fox is shortening their seasons to 12 for these shows (Sleepy Hollow is getting 18 for season 2, but it's also a hit now). It's a smaller number for people to wrap their heads around.

Back in the day, people didn't think of TV in terms of number of episodes or long story arcs. They just knew what was on each week at a certain time and would check the TV guide to see if it was new or a rerun. They knew there were no new episodes in the summer but could still catch a rerun if they wanted to. That time is long gone and TV viewers have gotten smarter and more efficient with their TV viewing. And networks will have to change with the times. And they are.

Anonymous said...

Some good points on TV viewership. I like the 24 ep shows, those are needed for shows like LOST and Blacklist to develop. Maybe it's that more people are ADD and bored more easily--lol. One thing I don't like about Vikings or GoT is the very short season which makes for too much of a time gap to the next season. This huge gap in time allows me to forget or loose interest. So, True Detective a mini series I can buy into much better. I don't like the multi season shows with only 10 eps, but like the mini series single season to get it finished, like 24.

The scifi geeks are not so much regular TV viewers, but computer/dvr viewers. So it has been argued that the viewership is there, just not accounted for with normal Nielsen ratings. I mean look at the junk on the syfy channel that makes it--lol.

I do recall LOST loosing some of my friends as fans when it began transitioning into more of a sci fi show. The time travel/multi dimensional stuff is hard to keep up with and they didn't want to invest the energy to keep up when they could just go watch an easy comedy. Most people don't blog about their shows--lol.

I'm not saying Abrams will fail, I hope he succeeds in a great way!! I am saying his reputation is being tarnished for good reason. When you're a big brand name you have to be careful to whom you lend your name--PR101. At the least, he's showing bad judgement allowing his name to be used to promote so many shows that fail. Maybe he should be more involved in shows where his name is used? I can tell you that many gourmet/big brand chefs are very careful who uses their name and on what. It's all about QC of the brand--marketing101.

I was one that didn't like Star Trek Into Darkness that much--we've spoken about it.

I will see Star Wars with as much open mind as possible. BUT, if his name hadn't been attached to these failures I wouldn't have even been exposed to those negative thoughts. And that's on him, pure and simple--for whatever reason. It's a reality that shows with his name attached have failed, it's not my responsibility to avoid that association and cause myself to be ignorant--he signed contracts to make that association legal/real.

And the casting issue rumors don't help.

I agree about forecasting bad performances may not be fair. But, I wouldn't want to see anything where REvolution's Charlie was the main actress--lol.

Heroes is coming back? I thought you said it wasn't worth watching? I watched some and got turned off. The last several eps were horrible. I wonder if they're going on with the same story arcs?

Richard

Mike V. said...

LOST was a unique beast that's for sure. But what you get with those 22-24 episodes is story arcs stretched over that span with lots of filler. It was fortunate that LOST had good writers who focused on character development in those filler episodes and they ended up being entertaining for the most part. The good thing about shorter seasons is having a tight knit story without going off the rails. Game of Thrones, yeah it would be great to get 2 or 3 more episodes per season, but I think that's a sacrifice of quality with the production values on that show. That's an expensive show to produce and it takes basically the whole year just to make those 10 eps.

Very true on computer/DVR/device viewers. That also encompasses a lot of the younger generation of TV viewers. But networks have been factoring in other elements other than the Nielsen ratings lately. I just think Revolution was lacking in general buzz...even from the internet community. lol

LOST certainly shed some audience when it showed its true colors. But they retained a lot of people too that normally wouldn't be watching that stuff. And that was because they were invested in the characters.

I brought up Spielberg as an example to contest your PR101 rule. lol Sure, it may give an impression to some...not me. I tend to judge things he's personally involved with rather than stuff his production company is involved with. But, I get that not everyone makes that distinction.

What casting issue rumors are you talking about? The main issue I heard is people just complaining about the level of Secrecy Abrams has for his projects and that people were grasping for an nuggets of star wars intel. But, that's the case with all his projects and I prefer it. Although maybe there is some concern with the fact that Michael Arndt was let go and Abrams and Kasdan took elements of his script but basically changed it.

I wouldn't even think Abrams was involved with casting Charlie...but maybe he was. Granted...she was better in other shows I've seen her in. Well show...she was in an episode of "EPISODES" on Showtime. lol

I absolutely said Heroes wasn't worth watching, but it definitely is coming back. lol I have no idea what they're planning, but it's probably going to be a new cast...and I think it's a miniseries a la 24. The 1st season was really good until the finale...and everything just fell apart. If Tim Kring can come up with an idea and sell it over 12 episodes...it might work. I dunno.

Anonymous said...

Yea, Spielberg lost his luster--lol.

I'm looking forward to the movie!

I didn't realize Revolution couldn't bring along the "geeks"--without that they were dead for sure. I wonder why? Maybe they needed a younger actor with a major involvement. Oh wait, they had Charlie, nuff said--lol. Seriously though LOST had a pregnant girl who was at least likeable. The show didn't have any major scifi attraction to begin with though. Maybe you're right, it's an NBC thing--lol.

Richard

Anonymous said...

OH yea, the Blacklist is one of those unusually great shows that can do all those eps, produced very well and no to little filler. It really is a great show. There's a reason great actors want on the show.

And the young lady in this show proved she could act toward the end, very well.

Richard

Mike V. said...

Spielberg has also been in the game a long time, but still has a solid reputation. And I certainly can separate his directed movies from ones he attaches his name to.

Oh know...I think the stereotypical "GEEKS" were watching Revolution, but "Geek Culture" has reached mainstream levels now with comic book movies and the success of the latest trek films, etc....and just looking at the levels of Comic-Con ridiculousness it's easy to see. But, the masses still tuned out Revolution.

Of course, it all comes down to story and characters. If you engage the audience with those you can do some pretty weird things with macguffins and sci-fi weirdness. Hence: LOST lol Sure, the core sci-fi audience was p.o.'d in the end because they had invested countless hours into solving the puzzle that is LOST and tying all the rabbit holes together. But, there is no question that the show's success was really attributed to the fact that on an hourly basis, the show gave us entertaining characters and told a pretty solid story. The craziness and the discussions were awesome, but at its core was a great story. Revolution was getting there in season 2...but it had already lost the audience. If they came out in season 1 with the level of focus they had in season 2, it may have been a different ballgame. But, it takes time for stuff to gel...it's very rare that shows are hitting it out of the park on day 1 and that's unfortunate.

I'll see what I can do with Blacklist. It's procedurally based so it makes sense they can do the full seasons.

Right now, we're time traveling back a couple years and trying to finish the last season of 30 Rock. It was only 13 episodes but we fell behind and never caught up! lol It's on Netflix now so we'll fly through it. lol

Anonymous said...

Your blog was one reason I hung in there with REvolution. I couldn't stand watching Charlie and the stupid story lines around her. To her credit, there were other stupid story lines--lol. The one with Rachel comes to mind in S1--lol. There were several, hence why it got panned--that and Charlie's inability to act--lol. It was a pleasure and a HUGE surprise to see it turnaround it's second season. The fact that most agree with or stated those assessments of S1 and S2 is something that show runners should listen to.

Richard