Episode Title: “Come Blow Your Horn”
Writer: Rockne S. O’Bannon
Director: Charles Beeson
Previously on “Revolution:”
Episode 1.07 “The Patriot Act”
Down in Texas, Dr. Horn (Zeljko Ivanek) wants to know Aaron “Stay Puft” Pittman’s (Zak Orth) secret for self-healing and setting people on fire while in North Carolina, Neville (Giancarlo Esposito) uses Allenford (Nicole Ari Parker) as a bargaining chip with her Patriot Commander husband.
Aside from the sinister vibe Zeljko Ivanek brings to every villain he plays, we don’t know much about Dr. Calvin Horn. This week, we get a little back story on “Revolution’s” latest baddie via flashback as Horn recalls his religious father refusing to get medical treatment for his dying wife, instead waiting for a miracle. The young Horn goes against his father’s wishes and gets medicine for his mother. When she later dies, Horn’s father blames his son for her death.
The flashback ties into Horn’s current situation and why he so desperately needs Aaron. As he systematically tortures Aaron and then watches his wounds heal, Horn explains he’s suffering from a brain tumor and needs a “miracle;” something which up until how, he never believed in.
How Aaron ended up restrained in a chair in Horn’s Patriot HQ isn’t all that interesting. Gene (Stephen Collins) gave up the location of Aaron and Monroe’s abandoned yacht hideout to Truman (Steven Culp), who then captured Aaron and Cynthia (Jessie Collins) as Monroe (David Lyons) fled. The soldiers surround the boat and Aaron is drugged before he can toast anyone. Monroe puts up a fight, but ultimately decides it’s in his best interest to run. Inside Patriot HQ, Aaron begs Horn to let Cynthia go. He refuses and yet Aaron doesn’t set anyone on fire. Horn later explains that Aaron’s ability is triggered by emotional stimuli, however Cynthia is dragged away by soldiers without a fiery incident.
Seeing Aaron heal himself, Horn is convinced he can somehow heal his brain tumor. We’ve yet to see Aaron heal other people and considering he could put easily Horn out of his misery, if he’s in the right mood, the doctor’s logic is a little hard to follow. Horn worked with Randall Flagg Flynn at the DOD, so maybe knows something we don’t, but he certainly doesn’t act like it. Later, soldiers brings Cynthia in and Horn makes a remark about getting out of the room before Aaron does his thing. But apparently these soldiers don’t mind dying, or rather frying, for the cause (sorry!) as one of them stabs Cynthia with a scalpel, getting Aaron all fired up.
As for the rest of the gang, they spend most of the episode deciding what to do about Grandpa Gene, who sold them out to the Patriots. Charlie (Tracy Spiridakos) is willing to get past the betrayal, comparing it to her relationship with Rachel, who on the other hand, nearly gases her own father to death before Miles (Billy Burke) stops her when realizes Aaron is also inside.. The gang then decides to kidnap Grandpa Gene, who tells them the truth about his history with the Patriots. Moments later, troops show up outside and Gene tells Miles, Charlie and Rachel (Elizabeth Mitchell) to run. He then emerges from the hideout as if he’s surrendering but instead pulls a knife on Truman, giving the gang time to flee before the soldiers overtake him and storm in.
As for Neville, he arrives in North Carolina to let Commander Roger Allenford know he’s holding his traitorous wife, Justine captive. Neville offers to bring the commander to his wife to make it look like he captured her, himself. On the way there, the commander pulls a gun on Neville and demands he let Justine go but Neville talks him out of it, explaining that if the two go on the run, their soldier son will pay the price. When they arrive, Justine tells her husband she only did what she did to save their son and begs him to kill Neville and Jason (J.D. Pardo) and flee with her. How exactly he’d do that, who knows but it doesn’t matter. A moment later, the commander shoots her in the stomach.
By the end of the hour, we’ve got a few major developments with Secretary Allenford presumably dead, Neville in good with the commander, Aaron under Horn’s control with Cynthia as leverage and Miles, Rachel and Charlie on the run, yet again. Monroe is in the wind and Gene’s fate is up in the air. Hopefully, he’s not counting on his daughter to come to the rescue.
