Revolution - 1x19 "Children of Men" - Overview & Speculation

Hello Revolutionaries! What an episode!

This week we start with where we left off in last weeks episode ("Clue") with Rachel walking into Monroe's tent with a grenade in hand and pin pulled!

Two Monroe Republic soldiers tackle Rachel to the ground while two other soldier hold Monroe back and he too falls to the ground. Rachel struggles with the soldiers to hold onto the grenade, but rarely looses eye contact with Monroe. Soon the grenade slips from her hands and ends a little ways away from them and it explodes, but unfortunately for Rachel, her pursuits are thwarted as no one is severely injured and now is prisoner of Monroe.

She quickly is taken to the front doors of The Tower where the hand scanner allows her access, but only a handful of people including Randall, Monroe, Rachel, and a few soldier make it inside before the door shuts locking everyone else out. Rachel and Randall discuss how it is Rachel has access and Randall doesn't. Randall suspects it was Grace. Rachel then confronts Randall and how he could ever bring Monroe here and Randell expresses that she should be able to understand self preservation, which is something her actions suggest's she is currently against. Randall takes them to a satellite surveillance room where he explains to Monroe that if they have access to something on level 12, that they will be able to have unimaginable power in being able to control the world. Randall has noticed that the elevators are working and he proceeds to take them to level 12...

In the meantime our band of rebels make it to the Tower and are trying to figure out how to infiltrate the Monroe Republic. Luckily Neville comes across Aaron hiding out in the woods and  explains to them what has happened to Rachel. Tom and Jason stage a coo long enough to give Aaron time to use his book and over ride the access codes, but not before getting shot at, but Aaron is successful and they do make it inside.

Randall, Rachel, Monroe, and some soldiers don't make all the way down to level 12. The elevator stops at level 11! We saw in last weeks episode that there were people, other than Grace, inside the Tower. The minute the characters step onto this level it becomes a massacre! Soldiers of the Monroe Republic quickly turn into paint ball-like blood splatters across the walls, as some kind of weapon fire rings out. Rachel is able to get access to some hidden vault or panic room, but Monroe is able to follow her and push his way in.

Rachel again attempts to kill Monroe, but physically isn't able to. Monroe tries to be rational and says they should work together and that she can get back to killing him later. He then finds a hidden panel which reveals special weapons, but Rachel refuses to help him access it and we see him try to beat away on the special protective glass.

Miles, Aaron, Nora, and Charlie also end up on level 11. They make they're way through several dead bodies. Aaron comes across a room where it appears lab animals, such as monkeys, seem to once reside.

Rachel notices on a viewing monitor that Miles, Nora, Aaron, and Charlie are there, which leads Monroe to also notice. Monroe tries to reason with Rachel, who has forced him to acknowledge that he is responsible for killing her son. He does promise to not kill Charlie and admits to Rachel that he has been rethinking things, as he recently learned he has a son. Rachel, feeling she doesn't have a real choice, agrees. She gets access to the guns and Monroe goes out first and she follows. Charlie and Aaron end up together hidden behind shelves  when they're about to get fired upon, but Monroe protects them and marches on to find Miles.

Rachel gets to Aaron and Charlie and they try to escape, Charlie and Rachel briefly fight, as they move through out the level, but not before long getting captured by the people of The Tower! They are taken to a special room where Grace and a man named Dan greets them. It turns out Dan knows Rachel and that they have been living in the Tower since the night before the lights went out and live to serve and protect level 12. Grace tells Aaron that he is a big deal to them, but they take away his book and burn it. as Dan also points out that Rachel's plan to turn the lights back on could also in theory set the world a blaze!!! (And as viewer Pascal had predicted, this idea of "Scorched Earth" ties back to Jane Warren and her laser ground scorching devise!)

In the meantime Neville and his son Jason have been captured, but Neville is able to manipulate their captures in starting a revolt (the number was "12" when they are released). Jason asks him, "What's your angle?" and Neville just darkly smirks.

Monroe finds Miles. Each armed with an electromagnetic gun aimed at each other...and Nora is nowhere to be seen.

This is definitely my favorite episode of season so far! I wish every episode of Revolution could be like this one!! There was so much action, some nice mythology reveals, and character reuniting after so long, introductions to new characters (YAY for Glen Morshower!!), and a real immanent and thrilling atmosphere!

Sometimes I watch Revolution with my mom and although we usually come off with very similar insights, she's had theory since "Nobody's Fault But Mine" that I can't ignore after viewing this episode. A lot of us has speculated that Miles is most likely Charlie's father, but my mom thinks that could easily be a red herring, as she thinks Charlie could be Monroe's child!! When she first said it me back before we took our lengthy break, I agreed that Charlie does look like Monroe, even though I think she often behaves like Miles. Since we've come back from our break, I kept thinking this would better the story if Miles was her father, as it would make better excuse for why Miles might feel so strongly for both Rachel and Charlie, but I have to admit this other idea of my mom's would be a real twist. What really struck me was how Monroe was with Rachel here. Sure he needed to use her get access to all kinds of things, but really, why did he keep his promise? Is he really only becoming sentimental, because of his son?? We also have to ask why he kept Rachel alive so long? Why he didn't he find Ben sooner? And why did he want Miles to think Rachel was dead? Does he care for her?? Is there a history between them as well?? Of course it doesn't necessarily mean that Monroe would be Charlie's father, but the prospect that  Charlie could then have a "half"-brother I find intriguing.

At any rate I really liked David Lyons performance in this episode. His character was finally acting rational and there were no traces of his sometimes nervous breakdown of a wishy-washy sociopath, --granted this is also one of the few episodes we see him removed from his element (Philadelphia/his office) which is often where I think he behaves the worst.

I also had thought The Monroe Republic could fall apart by the end of the season, but I didn't expect Tom Neville to claim a new leadership status and cause a revolt! I don't know if he'll be able to rise to power with a new militia for very long, or if he just plans on destroying Monroe and re-emerging elsewhere (is he still with the Georgia Federation??), but it seems likely that he wants to climb the ladder, but just imagine if everyone around him might burn to the ground?!

Going back to The Bad Robot Factor section of last weeks overview, I had made parallels with these now Tower Protectors with the Others, Dharma, and the Hydra Dharma Station, including possible speculation of animal experimentation and animal genetic modification might relate to The Tower. It's unclear then what is on Level 7, as I'm not sure if The Tower Protectors had access to other Levels before Grace fixed the elevators, and considering we now know that there where animals there at some point it, seems reasonable that Level 7 might have some deadly animals and it was not just the Tower Protectors that killed the guard.

Something tells me Aaron will have a key role in finale. despite the book being destroyed. They have to warship him for a reason and it would be nice to see him rise to the occasion, because I think he is the other heart of gold of the series.

It was also curious that Glenn Morshower's character's name was Dan. It makes me think that perhaps Danny was named after him.

The showdown with Monroe and Miles and the way in which some of level 11's architecture appears is reminiscent to Star Wars' Death Star interior scenes and similar to the show down between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader at the end of A New Hope...I hope that doesn't mean Miles is going to die and become all ghost like (but I would be cool with a near death and?or super human ability), but it might support my Mom's theory about Charlie's father being "Darth Vader" and maybe even that there isn't only one Tower...At any rate I hope they blast each other at the same time causing them to each fall back, proving to be equal forces.

So what did you guys think?? Did you like the episode? What do think is going to happen in the fianle? Are the lights coming back on? Is part of the world going to be burned to the ground? Or is something else going to happen? Who do you think will make it to next season??? Sound off in the comments below!

References:

Children of Men is a 2006 science fiction-Dystopian film from Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron loosely based on the 1992 novel The Children of Men by P.D. James. The film tells a story set in the future where infertility has left humanity on the brink of collapse until one women, a refugee seeking salvage becomes pregnant and a civil servant, whom lost his child to flu pandemic, serves to protect her so she and her child can survive. Cuaron has many cultural references laced through out the film. The novel's title, "The Children of Men" is a Catholic Allegory from Psalm 90 (89):3, but Alfonso Cuaron has expressed he was interested in preserving spiritual archetypes, but not dogma.

In terms of this episode and the series, the title relates to the film in terms of being in a Dysopian future and in both cases the science fiction aspects are visually kept to minimum, as both Revolution and Children of Men seem to not want futuristic aesthetic to take away from relatibal drama. Additionally from flashbacks in previous episodes we know Rachel had to go to risky lengths to keep Danny alive during the early stages of her pregnancy, and although this episode didn't feature Rachel's pregnancy, it still relates to Children of Men's themes about protecting the future of humanity, as we have people who live to protect level 12 of The Tower.

The episode title may also be a play on words, as it is Danny that motivates that drive Rachel to kill Monroe and it is Charlie that makes her have to move on from her own stand.

There might also be a reference to Terry Gilliam's semi-futuristic science fiction film "The 12 Monkeys", as we have people (including scientists) in the future living underground trying to save humanity, the number 12 is highlighted, and there might be rampant [experimental] animals on the loose in and/or out of the Tower. (Could this then also be a hint of time travel for Revolution?)

And as mentioned above, there might also be more Star Wars references such as parallels and allusions from the end of "A New Hope" and there's also an allusion to "Return of Jedi" (also referenced in The Pilot), as Aaron tried to open 'the blast door' while being fired upon.

Bad Robt Factor:

This episode of Revolution didn't really make as big deal about it as it might later, but Rachel's plans basically are thwarted, because Charlie (and Miles) came looking for her, thinking that she needs to save Rachel from Monroe or Randall, not knowing that Rachel had other intentions. Rachel briefly expresses her disappointment as they were trying to escape. This is very similar to how how Jack reacts to Kate on Lost when she comes to barracks to save Jack from the Others, not knowing that he had made a deal with them and was going to leave the Island. ("The Man From Tallahassee"). Additionally John Locke further screws up that plan by blowing up the submarine with C4 from the Flame Station ("Enter 77"). There could be upcoming parallels between John Locke and Tom Neville...

Additionally, as I had noticed in the Pilot Recap, Grace continues to have a similar Beatrice Klugh (<-sounds like "clue") like leadership status among the Tower Protectors, as Bea has with the Others on LOST.


There are also two upcoming science fiction Bad Robot film projects that already share subject matter with Revolution specifically relating to the officially introduced Hardon Collider. The first project tentatively titled "God Particle" will be directed by Julius Ohna and written by Oren Uzeil and tells the story of people aboard an American space station who witness the Earth disappear, presumably to the idea that the Hardon Collider created a black hole and swallowed the Earth! (The part about people being alone in space sounds a little like Solaris). The other is tentatively titled, "Collider" and will be directed by Edgar Wright. Rumors have it that "Collider" tells a story about a group of people form various time periods who time travel to the future by means of a Hardon Collider trying to figure out if they can get back. The association/rumor has to do with a series of comic like-web series dubbed as "Collider Motion Comics" stated to relate to a film called "Collider" out fall of 2013. Each webisode features a back story of a character. But I stress there has been no official confirmation about the plot of "Collider" and/or if these comic webisodes go with this film.

You can read about God Particle and Collider at the links provided :)))

**********SPOILERS - BELIEVE - PRESS RELEASE****************

Special Note: As mentioned above in "references" Children of Men's title comes from dystopian science fiction film directed by Alfonso Cuaron. Just recently NBC picked up another Bad Robot Pilot for next mid-season titled, Believe, which has been directed by Alfonso Cuaron. Cuaron will also serve a writer and executive producer. Believe seems to take a page from FRINGE, being about a little girl with special kinetic abilities (Think: Cortexiphan Kids!), who needs protected from those that fear her power. A group known as "The Believers" seek to help protect her, including springing a wrongly convicted man named Tate (rhymes with Nate) from jail to specifically do so.... Alfonso Cuaron also directed the third Harry Potter film: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. In both cases (Children of Men/Harry Potter 3) a man serves to protect someone special and/or important to the future of humanity. Harry Potter is also a common Bad Robot pop cultural reference as seen on LOST ("Dues Ex Machina"), Revolution ("Soul Train"), and possibly Beyond the Fringe Comic #3-B --and sudo-sister show Once Upon A Time ("Broken").  Once Upon A Time also seemed to reference Believe in the season 2 finale with  Greg and Tamara belonging to an anti-magic group (opposite to Believe's Believers) also calling themselves "Believers" and Jamie Chung, who plays Mulan on OUAT, is also playing a character set to appear in the Believe Pilot (No word yet if she's a series regular on Believe and/or how many episodes she is set to appear in and/or what that means for the future of Mulan on OUAT!?)