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.”
Nice review. I'd agree with the point about Gene. It was great, but it really didn't go with him. It would have fit much better had it been Monroe saying it. Liked the episode as a whole - now half and half between episodes that I've liked/disliked in 2014. Things are improving!
ReplyDeleteI loved this episode and knew Miles letting Dillion live you come back to haunt them. Gene and Miles were great in this episode talking about why they were fighting . It was great seeing Neville being the master manipulator he is and killing Doyle. Thanks for the great review!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yeah, the comments by Gene weren't a big deal, but they pulled me out of the scene for a moment. I believe he called Miles a princess? I'd have to double-check that, but it didn't fit. I loved this episode. It was so focused and action-packed - it really felt like the show was coming together.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting! I loved this episode too. It was a nice mix of action with character development. And Neville was wonderfully manipulative in this one. He had some great lines.
ReplyDeleteSunshine, I believe. Five episodes of the show left (since it will get cancelled) - let's hope they're all very good.
ReplyDeleteYes, sunshine! That's why I didn't include it in the review. I didn't write it down and I wasn't sure I was remembering correctly. Thanks! I know the "c" word is more than likely, but let's not say it until it happens. I like living in denial. ;)
ReplyDeleteI loved this episode...and I love the scenes between Miles and Gene because I think they were a good set up to help Miles realize why he is fighting. Gene was point on..unless Miles finds his reason to fight again he will not win. I also loved it that Miles mentioned the original reason for the Monroe republic to bring order back into chaos and I have a feeling that this will be his reason again but this time in a better way since he has grown and realizes the dangers of his own darker self which he is still fighting against (especially with Monroe around who keeps reminding him of who Miles used to be).
ReplyDeleteWhat I loved most about this episode was that this was Revolution at it's best. We had some character development, some ruthlessness and we got rid of Doyle (yay). Monroe is showing his true colors again and shows he has not learned one thing, and of course this will probably be the conflict in the next five episodes. How do you fight a war against a ruthless enemy..I am looking forward how Monroe and Miles resolve this because we know they will have to work together to win against the Patriots..and really those two compliment each other perfectly..even now when they no longer see eye to eye. In every war you need one who chooses the battles carefully with a vision how to build a better future, and one who is ruthless enough to get the job done..and this is why I feel these two characters are perfect together. Even if we don't get a Season 3 (and I hope we do, there is so much potential still there), it looks like this season will leave us breathless and wondering what other crazy twists the writers have come up with.
The subplots which will also be interesting to follow are..will Charlie completely turn to Monroe's side or will she make peace with her mother and realize Rachel does have a point...there is a future available if you are willing to grab it. And which side will Connor choose..he seemed shocked at the ruthlessness he saw in Monroe..yet in the end he shrugged his shoulders...will he stay on the fence and just go with the flow of his father's ruthlessness or does he have enough of his gentle mother, Emma, in him to see that winning at any cost is not worth selling your soul. Anyway, can't wait for the remainder of this season to see how it plays out.
And this hasn't been mentioned yet, but I thought it was pure brilliance that Monroe inadvertently saved his worst enemy. It was Monroe's surprise attack on the camp that gave Neville the upper hand to kill Doyle.
I get that Gene cares about the people of the town but it just doesn't seem to register with him that they'll never believe him and Miles. They're all convinced the Patriots are "good" and have blinded from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteI was actually glad Monroe and Duncan Page's guys did something - they saw an opportunity to do some damage and they took it.
Thanks for commenting. I guess I'm looking at this differently. I'm not so much judging the wisdom of the specific actions as the characters really can't know how things will turn out and which will be wins in the end. Gene's visit to the townspeople could have turned out very differently.
ReplyDeleteTo me it's about where do you draw the moral lines? The line that Monroe's troops crossed, that Rachel objected to and that turned Marion against Gene, was killing the town's kids - who even though they were brainwashed, might have been able to be saved. They could have at least been restrained so that no one got near enough to them to say the numbers.
Great comment! This is setting Miles up to become a stronger person in the end and a force for good. I agree that it will be interesting to see the Miles/Monroe dyanmic, and them figuring out whether they can work with each other, once Miles becomes set on his priorities. This is still being portrayed as an internal struggle, but I really don't see Miles going back to the man he used to be.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that the kids can be saved. They could have kept that once boy and tried to figure out it they could de-program him but from what we've seen so far those kids have been turned into soldiers and don't even have free-will. Jason Neville sold out his own father because he isn't able to make his own decisions (and we saw that girl shoot on her own father when he read the number on her eye). What the Patriots are doing to those people is wrong - but at some point it's kill or be be killed so I can understand where they're coming from because even though they are teenagers it does sound like they made the decision to enlist with the Patriots to begin with so they made a choice to join the military.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if they could have been deprogrammed or not, but there's a part of me that's thinking - what if they were just relocated far away from the Patriots and hidden? They don't seem to be dangerous if the number isn't read, and it's unlikely that the number will be found under their eyelid - at least for a while.
ReplyDelete