The nanotech was in the Matrix as well and it was trying to trick Aaron. The nanotech is everywhere, so it could make some sense that it’s in Aaron’s brain. But then why was Aaron trying to wake up? Wouldn’t the nanotech still be in his brain there too?
This was an episode co-written by Ben Edlund, credits shared with Paul Grellong. Fans familiar with Edlund’s work on Supernatural will recognize that that means it’s a trip way down into the rabbit hole. With some of these Edlund episodes, I follow as far as I can, and then just have to take it on faith that it makes sense to someone somewhere.
This was a fun episode. While premise seemed a little predictable and played – the nanotech was trying to trick Aaron into revealing something he didn’t want to reveal by convincing him his previous life wasn’t real – the episode made up for that in humor. Always good for snark and one lines, the Miles-Monroe-Rachel trio apparently are especially funny when they’re saying what Aaron would have them saying in his head – at least I think that was what was going on.
Joking aside, and putting the critical hat on, there are some gaps in the logic in what was going on here. If the nanotech are machines and are everywhere, does it make more sense that they control a part of Aaron’s brain – memory and perceptions to create a dream reality – or would it be less problematic to set them up so that they can affect the physical reality, but not people? If they’re inside Aaron deep enough to affect his perceptions, why can’t they just make him do what they want? Or better yet, access the part of his brain that would understand the programming problem and fix the code themselves?
But this was a fun episode. Cameos of a grinning insurance salesman Tom Neville, as he talks about people dying, or Nora as an irritable pedestrian Aaron bumps into on the street, added an extra touch. There was also a lot of coffee. I have no idea if that means anything other than Aaron really missed coffee, but it was everywhere – the coffee shop, the shot of coffee brewing in the kitchen, and Aaron always with a coffee cup in his hand.
High Points
The scene when the nanotech started attacking the world, eviscerating people with lightening strikes, comes in a close second. Cool effects there, and an awesome show of power from what promises to be a formidable foe.
Low Points
There was a moment early in the episode when I realized that the this was a dream, and was disappointed. I would have preferred there was more reality mixed in with this alt-reality.Hottest Action
Best Quotes
Aaron: “I’ve seen that guy before.”Priscilla: “Which guy?”
Aaron: “This little bald dude, him.”
Aaron: “You’re the belly shirt girl.”
Charlie: “It’s like The Matrix."
Aaron: “How do you know about The Matrix?”
Charlie: “Not Charlie. In your head. Are you getting any of this?”
Miles and Monroe: Who’s Beardy McGee?
Aaron: “If they catch up to us, I just need you to … to do your thing.”
Miles: “What was my thing?”
Aaron: “The thing where you …. just go all bizerko with the sword, you know, and you kill everybody.”
Miles: “Oh, yeah, your friend’s nuts.”
Monroe: “Oh, what the hell is all this, huh? Rachel, I just came to town to try and stop this guy from stalking you. You could help me by not stalking him back.”
Aaron to Rachel: “You’re not some soccer mom. You’re actually a little scary, and I need you to be that.”
Aaron: “Miles, you are not some shady drunk. OK, you are a little, but in another world, you are a warrior.”
Aaron: “You’re my friends. Sort of.”
Aaron: “Right now, I need you to be who I need you to be. So. Be it. Be you. Right now. Be it! Right now!”
Monroe: “He’s an interesting cat.”
Miles: “What he might need is some thorazine.”
Monroe: “I remembered. Stay Puft.”
Rachel: “What makes you wake up from a dream? Fear? Death? Embarrassment?”
Monroe: “Snake chasing me every time.”
Miles: “Nobody asked you.”
Miles: “Any luck you’ll wake up before you hit the pavement.”
Aaron: “And if I don’t?”
Rachel: “Either way the nano won’t get the code.”
Miles: “All right. Let’s do this. Long walk. Short pier. Here we go.”
Aaron: “You’re a machine. You’re parts and programming, and you’re dying. And you’re losing control every second, you reject Skynet piece of crap. I’m not afraid of you anymore. So get the hell away from me.”
What did you think of the episode, and what was your favorite line? Sound off in the comments!
Usual thoughts from me. Monroe and Miles make a poor episode tolerable.
ReplyDeleteHaha. I didn't think this was a poor episode. I found it really funny - funny enough to save it. But I as I mentioned in the review, the logic behind the premise didn't really add up for me - but maybe I'm missing something.
ReplyDeleteIt was reasonably funny, but the premise irritated me even when I saw the press release. And the fact that he woke up 4 times before it was really annoyed me. I abhor the nanotech story, so the fact that they won and Aaron repaired them made me angry.
ReplyDeleteI did like the Tom advert though. And for the first time in weeks, Aaron was actually fun to watch. But the story was crap, and no amount of humour can redeem an episode from that.
"Joking aside, and putting the critical hat on, there are some gaps in the logic in what was going on here. If the nanotech are machines and are everywhere, does it make more sense that they control a part of Aaron’s brain – memory and perceptions to create a dream reality – or would it be less problematic to set them up so that they can affect the physical reality, but not people? If they’re inside Aaron deep enough to affect his perceptions, why can’t they just make him do what they want? Or better yet, access the part of his brain that would understand the programming problem and fix the code themselves?"
ReplyDeleteGood point, but I think the obvious answer is that they wanted it to be his choice or "realization". They didn't really want to take his freedom away, because to some degree they still respect him.
Because the nanites are "metaphysical" we have to assume that despite that they could take over everything, which maybe in time they will, the point of having them in the series like this is to be able to have the characters (at this point Aaron) reflect on whom they are...they might be about "bettering" people, not controlling people. (Plus I think the idea is that no one character or being ever holds all the cards)
I still find it interesting that they played on his fears and that the writers choice to make to nanites in parallel to The Patriots could foreshadow something.
I really liked the episode (It was FUN!), but even though it is a Dreamscape, it's still a "virtual" dreamscape and thus it still is a kind of alternate reality. I too would have prefered a kind of parallel "corporeal" reality, however this does open the door on what the nanites can do! We know now they can physically change matter and now they can allow people to consciously zone out and experience other versions of reality!
I'm very curious about where in the heck the show is going now and to see if this experience of Aaron's will relate to upcoming events!
Thanks for another GREAT review, Chris! :)
This episode was a freaking waster of time. HOrrible.
ReplyDeleteSeriously? Some of these comments are a true surprise to me! I loved this episode. I thought it was fun and well written and filled with clever one-liners. I thought it gave us a better look at who Aaron is - by letting us peek into his head a bit. I felt I got to know Priscilla better even if only through the version of her that Aaron's memories had created. The belly shirt stuff was funny and I loved the interaction between Miles/Monroe/Rachel.
ReplyDeleteFrankly all the gaps in logic or whatever don't bother me at all. To love science fiction, or fiction at all is to embrace the suspension of disbelief right? If you are looking for something on tv that holds up under every bit of scrutiny, I think maybe you should be watching National Geographic channel or HGTV. Save the scripted dramas for those of us who LOVE them even when they don't make perfect sense.
I think the above review is solid. I thought the way Miles/Monroe/Rachel were in Aaron's mind was adorable. I loved how they were a little bit themselves, but also quite different. Loved when Miles saw the Neville advertisement and called him a dick in the way he does so well. Loved when they called Aaron Beardy McGee. Loved when Monroe remembered and called him Staypuft. My favorite lines were between Aaron and Monroe... when Aaron make a snarky comment about the civil war inspired uniforms, and we see a sort of nerdy Bass Monroe defend himself by saying he is a fan of that era. Just loved it.
In spite of the negative stuff I'm seeing here in the comments here, it would only take a quick view of Revolution's Facebook page or the chatter on Twitter to see that a LOT of us enjoyed this one very much (and do every week for that matter)! If anything it made me even more excited to see next week's episode. I love Revolution. I love it in spite of any little details people might try to use to pull it apart. I love the characters and the sci fi angle. I love the actors and the writers. All of it.
Anyway, thanks for the review! I always enjoy them. I hope I can continue reading your thoughts on this show next season (hint hint NBC) :)
Agreed! This was a great episode, very fun and creative. The scenes in the hotel room with Miles, Aaron, Bass and Rachel were hysterical! I rewatched it again a day later and laughed all over again. One of the best episodes yet, I don't know what others are bitching about.
ReplyDeleteI think it remains to be seen. Episodes like this, similar to Kashmir, have a kind of foreshadowing quality to them, From Kashmir I was able to draw a parallel from Nora's hallucination back to Maggie (animal bites = death, theme of "plagued" dogs) along with all the dropping of Texas (where Nora is from) and knew she would die from that moment onward.
ReplyDeleteThis one tended to do a lot of backshadowing, but the super irony that Nora was there and that Texas is where the majority of season takes place IMO is great writing, very ironic.
I keep thinking that Patriots know about the Nanites (maybe from Horn?) and that could also be what the reality was trying to spell out...whether they want to control them, or if the nanites are [predictably] their best defence, we shall see...
"I think the above review is solid. I thought the way Miles/Monroe/Rachel were in Aaron's mind was adorable. I loved how they were a little bit themselves, but also quite different. Loved when Miles saw the Neville advertisement and called him a dick in the way he does so well. "
ReplyDeleteMe too! It's one reason I love Bad Robot so much, because there usually is various kinds of "doppelgangers" to contrast main characters, which points out an empirical "what if" aspect of whom anyone "could" be.
I agree with Chris Review too. It was fun and delightful one! Def a favorite episode for me!
"I love it in spite of any little details people might try to use to pull it apart. I love the characters and the sci fi angle. I love the actors and the writers."
Agreed! I'll be crushed if we don't get one more season!
I really am not a fan of the dream-iike stuff. Kashmir wasn't one of my favourites.
ReplyDeleteThe Patriots DO know, since Horn had a load of them with him when he was asking Aaron about controlling them etc.
I know Horn knows about them, but what I meant was did he tell others that he knew about them??
ReplyDeleteThere was an introduction to Horn video that wasn't shown in show, but it highlighted the fact along with what Monroe and Charlie also come to assess in that The Patriots wanted Rachel ALIVE...it implies that they must have a nanite-related agenda. (we could gather that from Randall too)
This episode provided great insight into Aaron's mind. Afterall, that's where the Nanos took the ideas for the dream from.
ReplyDeleteI was very surprised how close Aaron feels to Rachel and can't wait to see their real reunion now. Going by this dream and from what Rachel must have told him in real life, she also feels very close to him. Hopefully, both really get to work together again on this Nano problem. (one of my pet peeve this season was that Rachel just left Aaron alone with his Nanos problem when she must know something about it, since she helped program them with his code).
I also thought it was interesting that the Nanos will use the form of Cynthia when they want to be on Aaron's good side, and I wonder if they will continue to use Horn's form when they want to show their power. Would love this as the actor of Horn is so wonderfully creepy that I was disappointed when he was killed off so soon in the series.
This wasn't my favorite episode of the season (2.05 and 2.06 are equally favorites in my book) but I enjoyed seeing more of Aaron, and actually being able to get a bit deeper into his character even if it was just in a dream like state....and for the first time this season, I actually liked Priscilla and think I now understand her place in Aaron's life. Until now, I didn't understand why she was brought back.
The episode was a dream...and as any dream, it was supposed to be crazy and make no sense..that's what dreams are like. Of course, the dream was induced by the Nanos, based on what they found in Aaron's memory...but it was still a dream like state of mind and as such the episode made sense to me. I am, however, glad that this will be a one off..and we are going back to business with the next episode.
Anybody else notice the great irony that the two characters "everybody" wants to see dead, actually died in this dream episode? Charlie and Rachel....again a masterstroke by the writers...give the viewers what they want...but do it in a dream so it's not reality.
For me the best part of the episode was seeing what great actors Revolution has.....for our main cast (especially Billy and David) to do a 180 turnaround on their characters and make fun of their characters in this adorable way was fantastic
Thanks for a great comment! That's an interesting theory that the nanotech didn't want to force Aaron to save him. It would hint of emotional development beyond what I've been giving them credit for, because it would imply that they could put something else above the basic instinct for self-survival. I'm thinking now of the earlier line that they wanted to get to know their parents. Maybe this exercise was an attempt to reach out and get to know each other better.
ReplyDeleteThe Patriots know. Even if the lowest of the low foot soldiers don't, Randall and Horn did. So the President knows. Therefore, any Patriot could know.
ReplyDeleteThere are shows that I watch that have massive gaps in logic, and I wave it away as a fan just because I enjoy them. When I'm writing reviews though, I feel a little like pointing those type of things out kind of goes with the job description. But you're right, this was a really fun episode. I think I laughed more on the second watch than the first, catching more of the details of the conversations. Thanks for commenting! (Fingers crossed here too on that renewal)
ReplyDeleteI loved the creepy look on Nano-Horn's face as he delivered that ending line, “Now we can move on to, other things.” Zeljko Ivanek really sold it. He looked almost equally as odd when he was on the TV screen during the press conference. I was fascinated by watching his eyes. I was disappointed when Horn got killed off earlier because his arc seemed too short, but that would be great if he became at least the part-time face of the nanites. He'd be the perfect actor to carry off what will be a very unusual character.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed getting to know Aaron better also. It was pretty cool to see his life similar to what it was before the blackout. It was also wonderful to see them one of these characters in a "normal" environment. I'm not sure why I got so excited to see a coffee shop, but for some reason I found that really comforting. Maybe I'm the one with the coffee obsession.
The Tom advertisement on the bus was hilarious! I completely lost it when I saw that.
ReplyDeleteI preferred the TV advert. Miles' reaction to it "That guy's a dick" was just as fantastic.
ReplyDeleteThat was very funny too.
ReplyDeleteMost likely, (But the truth is we have yet to see these conversations take place or have any proof that higher ranking officials know about it) , which is my point in that the writing isn't as bad as some make it out to be, because there are certain things in place...things still to get back to.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally there are a lot of ties to things pertaining to last season and given the heavy Dark Tower influence, I suspect that we are going to deal with The Tower (or a Tower counterpart) in some way. A major Stephen King Dark Tower theme is that everything is "fated" and circular, the Tower is apart of everything in existence, and that even it's more noticeable tie-in, The Stand, has themes of denial...(This is also way alternate realities are important too. It adds weight through allusions to The Dark Tower, as just about every King novel ties into the Dark Tower)
Because in any reality, Miles would come to the same conclusion and/or the nanites know despite Aaron's absence that Miles just called him that in 'the real world!' :D
ReplyDelete"Maybe this exercise was an attempt to reach out and get to know each other better."
ReplyDeleteDefinitely! I think they are smarter than they appear. Kripke had said that they first appeared in an image of Aaron's childhood friend, because they 'emotionally' were in the equivalent to a "child" state of being in terms of their own evolution --implying that would continue to evolve..So I think you're right and that is another good reason for this meeting. :)
Another thing I really liked was seeing the incredible difference in power between Aaron and Miles/Monroe pre and post blackout. We heard Aaron say he was worth $80 million of course, but seeing the building and all the amazing stuff he had.... juxtaposed with the cheap hotel for Miles and Bass in his plaid shirt both drinking generic beer. Yes, it was just in Aaron's head... but it was cool to think about how the blackout GAVE M & M their power while also sucking away most of Aaron's. Loved when Aaron said, "Yeah, I lost a lot." Understatement of forever? haha
ReplyDeleteActually it was a virtual reality that created a dreamscape.
ReplyDelete"he episode was a dream...and as any dream, it was supposed to be crazy and make no sense..that's what dreams are like."
I Disagree. With the exception of Charlie and the Patriots being "out of place" the whole concept gave us a pretty exact replica of what it would have been like shouldn't of the electricity gone out. (But if you notice Rachel still was apart of Nanotech and this weird isolated war-fare insidence--so The nanite tech still might have existed, just not a conscience existence"
It back shaddowed a lot of things we knew about the characters before the blackout and things that were happening after the blackout. It made a point to show us how underwhelming the lives of Miles and Monroe in particular would be and that even Aaron leadership role comes as a "false facade" to the type of person he is actually becoming....
I also am willing to bet that the episode will foreshadow upcoming events, especially since many things from season one have repeated and are coming back to the surface. (Charlie - sex slave evolution, Kashmir & Dream Catcher = insight from alternate reality + Aaron reunites with Priscilla again, Nora tie-back-Texas irony, Grace - The Tower...)
SO I don't think the experience didn't make sense, but rather this type of reality allows for the laws of physics to be "broken", which is exactly what the nanites can do!
Really loved this ep and Zak was great!
ReplyDeleteThis episode blow me away I was disappointed when i realized that the end was in his head,but one of the better one's in this season!
ReplyDeleteThat's a really good point about the difference in status between Aaron vs. Monroe and Miles pre and post blackout.
ReplyDeleteFor me, one of the best episodes.
ReplyDelete