Episode Title: “Fear and Loathing”
Writer: Anne Cofell Saunders and Matt Pitts
Director: Liz Friedlander
Previously on “Revolution:”
The Olympics are over and the lights are out again as “Revolution” returns with the endless infighting, miraculous rescue missions and snappy zingers that have characterized the second season, thus far.
The “endless infighting” comes courtesy of Aaron (Zak Orth), Priscilla (Maureen Sebastian) and Preacher Pete (Daniel Henney), down in Lubbock Texas. The nanites are dying and begging to be saved in the form of Cynthia and Priscilla’s father. Preacher Pete believes the nanotech he and his friends created twenty-plus years ago is the “new God” and must be saved. Priscilla just wants to let it die but Aaron worries about losing her like he did Cynthia if he ignores its pleas.
The nanotech’s agenda and its manifestation in the form of dead people is the only real mystery we’ve got at the moment but with three separate groups of Revolutionaries to keep up with, there isn’t much time devoted to it. And as entertaining as Monroe (David Lyons) and Neville’s (Giancarlo Esposito) one-liners are, this is a show about a post-apocalyptic America and its survivors, not how weird Thanksgiving is when you’re sleeping with your sister-in-law.
On that note, Tom is right when he says he and Miles (Billy Burke) make a great team – comedy team that is. When Miles catches Tom and Jason (J.D. Pardo) eyeing Doyle’s wagon, he gets the truth out of the father and son duo about their plans to capture and kill Monroe to save Julia. Miles won’t go for it now that Monroe is on his team leading Tom to accuse him of being “blinded by your man-love for that son of a bitch.” Miles does have it pretty bad for Monroe.
Out in New Vegas, the object of Miles’ “man-love” is made to fight Connor (Mat Vairo) to the death by his old boss, Gould (Timm Sharp). And all hopes for a daring rescue by “Mini-Miles” are dashed when Duncan (Katie Aselton) hands Charlie over to Gould in a show of good faith for the failed diamond heist. The “Father versus Son” fight is on, brought to us by the same people who gave us “Timberlake vs. Fatone” and “The Baldwin Family Battle Royale.” If this is what post-apocalyptic entertainment is like, let’s turn the lights out already!
Charlie (Tracy Spiridakos) is chained to a bed to serve as a sex slave, but we know she won’t turn a single trick, as Monroe and Connor need rescuing. She easily overpowers her first customer “Slave Leia” style, choking him with her chain and escaping. At the fight, she saves Duncan from Gould’s assassin and she in turn helps Charlie save Monroe and son. Afterwards, Duncan tells Monroe she’s giving them five of her mercenaries, but they’re only to take orders from Charlie, who truly has earned the moniker of “Mini-Miles.”
“Fear and Loathing” delivers an action-packed hour but the end, it feels like the Revolutionaries have done little more than survive to see another episode. Tom and Miles are at “what they call down in Mexico, a stand-off” and Monroe, Charlie and Connor are presumably headed back, just in time to tip the scale in Miles’ favor.
At least there’s some progress in Lubbock, when Aaron decides to kill Preacher Pete’s “new God” by giving the nanotech a virus. It results in a bunch of sparks flying out of the computer and Aaron waking up to “Mr. Roboto” in his old apartment next to Priscilla in the present day. With the wisecracking trio of Miles, Monroe and Tom presumably soon to be reunited, we’ve only got two factions to follow now – one still in the dark and one hopefully with some answers.
