This week’s
episode of Revolution, “S#!& Happens,” was written by Anne Cofell Saunders and
directed by John Showalter. One site also lists David Reed as a co-writer on
the episode. Reed is a writer’s assistant and was also script coordinator on
Supernatural. As always, Showalter delivers a terrific episode with some
notable performances, particularly from Tracy Spiridakos and Giancarlo
Esposito. Billy Burke delivers in an episode in which Miles is tortured both
inside and out. While the episode itself was solid, I can’t help but feel that
the ridiculously long hiatus since the powerful “Austin City Limits” really
lessened the impact this episode should have had.
The episode
picks up pretty much where we left off with Charlie (Spirdakos) stumbling out
of the building where she was forced to kill Jason (JD Pardo). We pick up with
her shattered and near catatonic face in the back of the wagon as she, Miles
(Burke), Monroe (David Lyons), and Conor (Milo Vairo) make their escape. I
immediately assumed that they were going to have her react in the same way that
Rachel (Elizabeth Mitchell) had after the Tower. And I groaned. But they didn’t
go there, and I really like where they’ve gone with Charlie. She tells Miles
that she doesn’t need a pep talk. He tries to tell her that bad things happen.
That’s life. You just have to do whatever you have to to win. And of course,
the episode goes on to heap the bad things on Miles – both physically and
spiritually.
Monroe and
Miles agree that they are going to have to kill Neville (Esposito), and Monroe
is happy to see Miles back in the game. They split up when a group of Texas
Rangers shows up on their tail, and Miles is able to convince Monroe that they
need to try to avoid killing them if they have any hope in getting Texas as an
ally. And that’s when things go horribly wrong for Miles. His wagon ironically
hits a bumper sporting the bumper sticker S#!& Happens.
He manages
to come out of the accident ok but is forced to kill 6 of the Rangers to avoid
being killed himself. I was struck by the brutality of the fight scenes in the
show. There is a distinct sound of the bullet impacting flesh and a substantial
blood spray. For me, the way the violence is underscored helps to make it more
realistic and gives it a much stronger impact than the bloodless corpses or the
artfully posed ones we see so often on television. After a chase and a fight, Miles
kills the final Ranger but not before he’s received a pretty substantial wound
to his stomach. We later see him checking the wound which is oozing alarmingly
– it’s clearly CGI, but very effective and a well done effect.
Miles then
finds a ruined house, falls through the floor and is sealed in by part of the
wall collapsing on top of the hole. Miles cauterizes his own wound by heating
his sword over fire, which causes him to flashback to a scene which puzzled
many at the beginning of the season when Miles apparently murdered someone in a
shed and then set fire to the shed. This entire event now plays out for us and
ties into the Priscilla (Maureen Sebastian) and Aaron (Zac Orth) storyline in
the episode. We couldn’t have had it more thoroughly explained prior to this
because we didn’t know about the nanotech, which was apparently behind this –
it never really happened, it was simply an experiment they ran on Miles to
learn more about humans.
After two
days, Miles has failed to get out and has lost hope. We see him scratch “I’m
sorry” on the wall as he contemplates suicide. We finally see him walking
toward the shed with fireflies buzzing him. Once inside the shed, the man he’s
following is Ben (Tim Guinee). When Miles immediately thinks he’s dreaming –
because dead brother, d’uh – Ben accuses him of being drunk. Ben is angry about
Miles and Rachel. He then heaps all of Miles’ own fears upon him – that Rachel
and Charlie aren’t his family and that Miles can’t protect or keep them safe –
that he’ll let them down in the end because everyone around him suffers. Ben
asks Miles to abandon Rachel and Charlie the way Miles did Monroe. That these
are Miles own fears surfacing is re-enforced by him punching his own image in
the mirror. He effectively cauterizes the wounds of this encounter by burning
the shed.
This memory
helps to understand Miles decisions up until now in the season, but it’s his
next memory that prevents him from going through with suicide. He thinks about
having played the guitar for Rachel, of her coming to him, and that’s what
gives him the strength to try one more time. He sets fire to the remaining
floor supporting the collapsed wall. He almost suffocates and burns himself,
but the wall collapses in and he is able to pull himself from the pit into
which he’s descended both physically and symbolically. The only person who can
really pull you from despair is yourself. This theme is also picked up by
Charlie in this episode.
Once they
determine that Miles is missing, Charlie, Rachel, and Monroe set out to find
him because despite his own fears, they do consider him family. I quite liked
the scene in which Monroe struggles with joining the search. Connor is clearly
miffed and taunts him about going after his “boyfriend.” Connor doesn’t
understand the bond between the two and is clearly a bit jealous.
When Rachel
and Monroe are looking together, we also see that they are also jealous of the
other’s relationship with Miles. I have to admit enjoying Monroe telling Rachel
that she was the girlfriend from Hell and a screwdriver wielding psychopath. We
also learn that they had at least a one night stand in Philadelphia. It seems
likely that Miles doesn’t know about this and that this has got to be a
significant revelation in the not too distant future. Rachel intimates that she
only slept with Monroe because she was his prisoner. I had to wonder if this
happened after Miles attempted to kill Monroe and left Philadelphia –
essentially abandoning both of them. Or perhaps, this is what precipitated both
actions?
Rachel
tells Charlie she’s sorry about Jason and is there for her when she’s ready to
talk. But that’s not really what Charlie needs. Naturally, when they have split
up, Neville happens upon Charlie and takes her prisoner. Neville is also
jealous of Charlie’s relationship with Jason and taunts her about her “candy
ass,” demeaning their relationship and attributing it only to a sexual
attraction. Given Neville’s own devotion to Julia (Kim Raver), it’s interesting
that he gives so little credence to his son’s choices.
The scene
in which Neville realizes that Jason is dead is simply magnificent acting by
both Esposito – which we’ve simply come to expect – and Spirdakos. Neville once
again proves that he can read people by intuiting that Jason is dead. Of
course, Charlie’s feelings of guilt and grief have been overwhelming her and
are pretty clear to see on her face. But the only answer Charlie makes to the
question of whether Jason is dead is that her eyes fill with tears. There is a
terrific cut away shot to an exterior of the house as Neville empties his gun,
into what we think is Charlie only to discover it’s the wall.
It seems
Charlie has dodged the proverbial bullet. But when asked, she tells Neville
that she was the one to kill Jason. It’s her own suicidal moment in the
episode. She tells Neville that she hates herself and that he should kill her.
He puts the gun to her head and actually pulls the trigger! I doubt we can hope
that that really was a watershed moment for him and that the symbolism of
killing Charlie will be enough for him – but I’m hoping it will be enough to
make him want revenge on the Patriots enough to join forces with Monroe and
Miles. Charlie leaves Neville sobbing on the floor.
Like Miles
this low point has Charlie emerging transformed. She tells Connor that she’s
gotten a second chance. She tells him “Now I get to figure out what my tomorrow
looks like and I want Miles to be there.” Connor is clearly also jealous of
Miles relationship with Charlie. It should be interesting to see if this
friction between Connor and Miles develops into anything.
Meanwhile,
we get some interesting insights into what the nanotech have been up to.
Sebastian is doing fantastic work as Priscilla-bot – she’s downright scary! We
see her being waited on by Aaron who brings her the things she wishes to
experience as a human. It’s clear, however, that she doesn’t really experience
things in the same way. Her very mechanical way of assessing music –
determining that “We Built This City” by Jefferson Starship is the best song
ever written is a clear indication of this. Aaron tells her it is a terrible
song, and even if you like Jefferson Starship, you have to admit that there are
more accepted best works of music. There’s also a nice Supernatural connection
here – see the episode “Mommy Dearest” in which Dean names the new monsters
Jefferson Starhips...
We also see
Priscilla reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Kripke has shown an affinity
for Gaiman as an influence in the past and was even linked to a possible
Sandman series at one point. However, American Gods is particularly apropos
because it’s about Gods and mythological creature who exist simply because
people believe in them.
Priscilla
tells Aaron that she can find Miles, but she’s more interested in trying pizza.
She also tells Aaron that Miles isn’t worth saving because he has dark
thoughts. This is when we learn that the nanotech has run experiments on 3, 289
people because it was curious about people. Aaron looks a little crushed that
he is, in fact, not all that special to the nanites. However, he does ask her
repeatedly to find Miles, finally appealing to her on the basis that he did
create her.
He also
points out to her that she can’t really know what it’s like to be human through
books, music, or food. Aaron tells her that being human is about loyalty, about
being there for a friend who’s been there for you. Priscilla does acknowledge
that Aaron made her and that she will always love him but she tells him that he
doesn’t control her, it’s the other way around. She then chillingly tells him
that if her brings it up again, she’ll kill him and his friends.
While some
of the storytelling in this episode may have been a bit heavy-handed, the
terrific performance more than made up for that. I love the way some of the
questions from early in the season are having a payoff here so late in the
season. Kripke does a great job with the long arc, so I’m looking forward to
seeing how the rest of the season plays out – though there is still no news on a
renewal for the show. What did you think of the episode? Were you surprised
that Charlie told Neville the truth about Jason? Do you think Aaron is going to
find a way to deal with Pricilla-bot or at least tell someone about her? Let me
know your thoughts in the comments below!
