Revolution – Episode 2.16 – ‘Exposition Boulevard’ Review and Highlights

This was an episode that branched off in many directions to cover several characters and plotlines, but if there was one central question to tied many of these stories together, it was posed by Monroe to Miles near the conclusion: “What do you want?”

There’s a lot of action to this show, and there’s always some new development or a mission to be completed. While there was a mission in this episode too – several actually – this was a time to take stock at the characters and see what motivates them and where they draw those lines that they just won’t cross.

- For Rachel, this came in realizing that the line she wouldn’t cross was sacrificing children. She’s taken enough personal losses – she lost her son to the war, she left her family for the greater good – and she won’t do “the right thing” if it costs other parents their children.
- Monroe now is also clear on why he’s doing what he’s doing, and this was the first time that Miles heard it confirmed. Monroe sees building the Monroe Republic as “the family business” and wants to build a legacy with his son.
- We learned what the Patriots want. Through flashbacks we learned that Davis, now commander and chief, but previously secretary of defense when the blackout hit, sees the blackout as a chance for cleansing the country from the sins of the past – specifically the “perverts and parasites.” He has a creepy Hitleresque view of society and talks about the post-Blackout loss of 70% of the population as “natural selection.”
- We learned that Aaron wants Priscilla back.
- We learned Doyle wants Neville and Julia dead.

But the big question of the night was what Miles wants. Torn in two directions – one represented by Monroe, and that is a return to the person he used to be, and one represented by Rachel, the person he thought he’d become but now is not so sure – Miles vacillated all episode, concluding the hour still unsure of which path he’ll choose.

The subplot of the brainwashed children served to present an ethical dilemma to force Miles to choose. It also set the groundwork for furthering the Neville family storyline, with the revelation that Jason, like the other children in the reeducation center, has been brainwashed to follow Patriot demands at will. All the Patriots need to do to trigger his programming is read the number he was assigned while in the camp.

One of the more interesting moments to me, though, was the flashback scenes to a Gitmo prison about six months after the blackout. I’d wondered since the Patriots were first introduced, what if any legitimacy this group had in presenting themselves as the US government. We learned that they were, in fact, former government officials who had sought sanctuary at Guantanomo Bay in Cuba after the blackout. We also learned that although they were government officials, their power was seized through a coup by removing the vice president after the president and several senior staff members were killed in a plane crash at the time of the blackout.

The other big revelation of the night was that Priscilla is bonded with the nanites in some way. She has either embraced them willingly, the same way that Pete apparently had, or she’s being controlled by them. Knowing this, it’s interesting to rewatch the episode and the dialogue she has with Aaron, looking at it from the point of view that it’s the nanotech, and not Priscilla, talking. He makes comments about how happy she is that she’s alive and that they got through it, and she’s happy that Aaron’s with her. It builds further credence to the theory that last week’s episode about Aaron being put through tests to encourage him to choose to save the nanites was not because the Nanites needed Aaron to fix the code, but that they wanted him to fix the code because they want a relationship with him.

High Points - For me, the flashback scenes at Gitmo added that bit of context that made me take the Patriots a little more seriously. It helped me understand them better and the danger they posed.

Low Points - I didn’t really have any “low points” this week, other than to say the first half hour dragged a little. The storyline with the kids served a purpose, as I outlined earlier, in both setting up the plot and presenting ethical dilemmas for the characters, but the real movement really didn’t start until really pretty far into the episode.

Hottest Action - By far, the gun fights when the Patriots finally attacked wins this category. It was Neville Sr. vs. Monroe Sr. and Neville Jr. vs. Monroe Jr. Add in a Charlie into the mix, and things got interesting.

Best Quotes
Chief of staff: “Ed, you’re dismissed.”
Ed: “But this is my office.”

Monroe: “So tell me something, Earth Wind and Fire, back here, they’re here with you 24-7, right?”
Charlie: “Yeah, so?”
Monroe: “Wow … how do you find the time to sneak off and bang my son.”

Monroe: “You know it’s interesting. Of all the guys you choose to screw, you choose a Monroe.”

Miles: “I had money you’d screw us over, but I’ll give you this one, You did all right.”
Monroe: “Well one, suck it. Two, it wasn’t me. It was your niece.”

Gene: “Well, I hate to be the one to tell you, but they’re sleeping together.”

Miles: “So you’re happy your kid’s a killer?”
Monroe: “Hell ya, I’m kind of proud, you know. This is like the family business.”

Monroe: “You really want to win this thing, it’s got to be with you and me calling the shots. Not Yoko and her dad.”

Davis: “You will be the new founding fathers.”

Ed: “I didn’t sign on to be …”
Neville: “A phony little bitch who can’t seem to stay in his own office?”