It’s not very often that the second season of a series actually captures my attention significantly more than the first season, but Revolution is doing just that. I loved this episode! The second episode of Revolution’s second season, “There Will Be Blood,” was directed by veteran Phil Sgriccia and was written by Paul Grellong. Two things that really struck me about this episode were that it is beautifully shot and the dialogue was vintage Kripke. And yes, I realize I just wrote that after pointing out that Paul Grellong wrote the episode, but for me, that’s an indication that the writers’ room is really starting to come together and think about these characters as having distinct voices. So, it’s natural that characters turn to expletives with a very Kripke-esque feel to them like ‘asshat’ and ‘douche’ (staples in the Supernatural vernacular by-the-way).
As we’ve come to expect with Revolution, we start getting answers to questions right away. Of course, more questions are still raised, but we have the satisfaction of at least getting some answers. We also get more of a flashback to what happened six months ago the night the bombs dropped. And yes. Some questions are answered, but more are asked. Characters make plans, but not all of them play out the way they intended.
I’m very much enjoying how the season is structured with essentially three separate storylines: Plains Nation, Savannah, and Texas. Each storyline has some terrific new characters, and it looks like the storylines may come together in unexpected ways. Patrick Heusinger as Adam brings a smart alec vibe, and Nicole Ari Parker as Secretary Allenford is going to be interesting to watch. Stephen Collins (Gene Porter) really impressed me in this episode. Matt Ross (Titus Andover) is fantastically creepy – even Miles (Billy Burke) is creeped out by him! And yes. We will find out why this guy is so creepy. And we find out what’s behind the red door... Both David Lyons (Monroe) and Giancarlo Esposito (Tom) are fantastic in this episode – as they pretty much always are! But it was great to see Tom a bit more back on track this episode, and I’m very much looking forward to the direction of Monroe this season. Last season, Lyons turned in great performance after great performance, but he was the ‘bad guy’ so it didn’t feel like I could really root for him. This season, they seem to be trying to redeem him – and I’m all for it!
As always with Revolution, we are treated to a couple of great fight sequences. There is also a mystery that may have either a scientific or supernatural explanation. I know some viewers won’t be as receptive to its being one or the other, but I’m willing to wait and see how it plays out – I’m intrigued!
You won’t want to miss this episode of Revolution on Wednesday, October 2, on NBC at 8pm. If you haven’t watched the show, it’s probably one of the easiest shows to get up to speed on – the montage at the beginning of each episode tells you everything you really need to know, and while there are continuing storylines, this season feels like such a new beginning, I feel it would be easy to just jump in. Are you looking forward to the second episode? Check out the sneak peek here. And check out the promotional pictures for the episode here. If you missed my review for the first episode, you find it here.