Among questions addressed was the one pulled out for the episode title, “Why We Fight.” The question, “what are you fighting for,” was posed last week as we saw Rachel arrive at some insight into why she was fighting and what lines she wouldn’t cross. We also saw Miles struggle with this question as he was pulled in two directions – one represented by Monroe (fighting at any cost) and the other by Rachel (fighting for a better future).
This episode cemented the two lines of thought as we saw more characters pick a side. Monroe was quoting back the cynical mantra earlier voiced by Miles, “people will always do the stupid, selfish thing.” So Monroe’s team is just fighting to do damage. Joining Monroe’s team was Charlie, Connor and now about 2 dozen of Duncan’s men, following Duncan’s murder.
On the other team are Rachel and Gene. Gene wants to make things better and Rachel is fighting for her daughter, so that Charlie won’t become like her. Miles is still waffling in the middle.
The Neville family storyline also saw a little bit of closure with Tom’s murder of Doyle and the revelation to Tom that Jason is under Patriot control because of the brainwashing they had performed on him while he was at the reeducation center. Neville played the serpent in this episode, working on Ed Truman to try to get him to kill Doyle and had some great lines. While Neville isn’t my favorite character, he does have his moments, and he was fun to watch in this episode.
High Points – Most of all, I loved how a lot of the stories seemed to start to come together. Monroe was always a loose cannon - we saw that when he killed the Texas ranger - and now he’s got his army so there’s nothing holding him back. The philosophical conflicts are coming to a head as the sides are being drawn – Rachel and Gene on one side, and Monroe and Charlie on the other.
Low Points – This show excels at snark, but there were some snarky lines written for Gene that just didn’t work for me. The dialogue has to be right for the character, but this point is nitpicking, really.
Hottest Action – The fight scene, when Monroe’s new army invaded the Patriot camp, was without doubt the best action sequence in the episode, and in several weeks. Paired with the consequences of this fighting – Marion learns about the murdered cadets and turns against Gene and Miles, and Gene is shot – a lot of the buildup over the season came to a suspenseful climax.
Best Quotes
Tom: “You know what I admire about you, your mask. Congenial, a little bland. You would have made a great game show host. People either trust you or they outright dismiss you. It’s a good mask, but I see beneath it.”
Ed: “And what do you see?”
Tom: “Squirming, conniving, ambition. Understand, I mean that as a compliment.”
Miles: “You know what I could use right now? My friggin’ sword.”
Charlie: “I’m just picturing you and Monroe. Hey, were you guys thinking matching thrones, because that would be adorable?”
Miles: “How have you not figured this out yet? People will always do the stupid, selfish thing. 10 times out of ten.”
Miles: “It’s blood and more. And you want to know why? Because people will always do the stupid,selfish thing. Me most of all. I’m just trying to make up for that. That’s it.”
Gene: “So you’re not fighting for anything. You’re just fighting back, against your own demons? No wonder you keep losing.”
Charlie: “That’s the man you want to follow? Good luck with that.”
Rachel: “I’m sorry.”
Charlie: “For what?”
Rachel: “You’ve been watching me and Miles, the way we act. The awful things that we do. How could you be any different? We did this to you. We made you into this weapon. This soldier.”
Charlie: “What are you fighting for?”
Rachel: “You … I’m fighting so you won’t be me.”
