Revolution - Episode 2.07 - The Patriot Act - Review

     Picking up from last week's execution of the tyrant known as Sebastian Monroe, Revolution wastes no time in establishing the clear fact that Monroe was not actually killed. When NBC goes to the trouble of posting on their Facebook page, "Is he REALLY dead?" it's pretty obvious that he isn't. Beyond this, I think it would be a major misstep on the part of the writers to kill off one of the best actors on the show. While I enjoyed the fact that they didn't kill him off, I found it a little forced. My original thought was that the fireflies would bring him back from the dead like Aaron, but maybe that's just what they wanted us to think. The writers of Revolution have done a good job of slowly adding to the mythology of the fireflies, but I think they could add a little pep in their step for this part.

     Speaking of the fireflies, what about that last scene? We all knew it was coming, but it didn't make it any less amazing to watch. Aaron will likely begin to learn how to control his fire power, but not before some bickering with his new girlfriend. I must say that the women that they have paired Aaron with have been increasingly dull. Aaron's wife from last season had a brief and very boring role, but at least it was brief. With Cynthia entering the show as a central character, I worry that too much screen time will be focused on her fear of Aaron. The fact that she is more afraid of Aaron, than she is of a suddenly back from the dead tyrant is not only bland, but overly unrealistic. I simply don't see such a thing happening.

     Then again, perhaps she shouldn't be overly trusting of newly introduced family members, considering Rachel's discovery that her father has been working for the Patriots the entire time. While the promo for next week's episode showed a vengeful and overall pissed off Rachel, ready to kill her father, I honestly doubt she will follow through with it. Rachel may be mad, but I don't see her as being angry enough to kill the one person other than Miles to actually be able to comfort her. I mean for Christ's sake, her daughter even hates her now!

     And that brings us to Charlie! Charlie is meant to be the central character of this show, but her role was greatly reduced in this episode. Without actually bothering to time it, I think the person with the longest amount of screen time may have been Zeljko Ivanek. Ivanek has long been a favorite of mine since the first season of 24. Ivanek has developed a skill in his ability to play a truly creepy character. His last line of the episode was excellently delivered. "...I might not be able to control myself…" Such a creep, but in a good way. Special note to Losties: Did anyone else want to scream at the TV with joy when Zeljko Ivanek and Elizabeth Mitchell reunited? Unfortunately, for Juliet… I mean Rachel, there aren't any buses around to hit the creepy doctor. Also one last comment on the Lost analogy: In the promo, did anyone else have a Season 5 finale flashback when she's holding the jars (gas or explosives?) over the chimney. I can still hear Mitchell screaming, "Come on you son of a bitch!" BOOM.

     The storyline that appears to have slowed suddenly is the storyline which I am normally most fond of: Captain Tom Neville. Neville's son has changed so much, I don't think of him as the same person. It's like the writers just decided they needed a new character so they sent him off to camp and he became an entirely new person. I'm not saying the new Jason is bad yet, but I'm wondering if they are eventually going to bring the old Jason back. If so, in what capacity and how natural will it feel? The Revolution writers have done an excellent job in the past with Neville's story so hopefully this will turn out ok.

Rating: 8.6/10

     This episode has a few structural problems that could end up hurting the show in the long run, but the introduction of new characters (specifically Zeljko Ivanek's doctor) and an excellent furthering of mythology helps balance out the good and the bad.