We pick up the action where we left off, and we see that Priscilla (Maureen Sebastian) is starting to realize that everything is not as it seems. Her kids suddenly having no eyes/mouths was seriously creepy! It was also super satisfying to have Aaron (Zak Orth) finally actually take action and declare that Priscilla is the love of his life and beg her to come back to him. It was a terrific scene between the two of them and Sebastian in particular was wonderful.
The apparent win against the nanotech is followed quickly by a limited win against the Patriots. I loved Miles (Billy Burke) dispersing the crowd in the Court House with an exasperated “Run, you idiots!” and blasting his machine gun in the air. Proving once again why the common folk don’t embrace him and like him – but we do! We get to see Charlie (Tracy Spiridakos) use her awesome crossbow skills one last time to take out the Patriot guarding the mustard gas tanks without releasing the gas. Maybe she could show up on The Walking Dead now as a friend of Daryl’s (Norman Reedus)? I miss the days of swords and crossbows...
Averting the gassing of the townsfolk of Willoughby is not an all out victory, and Gene (Stephen Collins) is devastated to find Marion’s (Reiko Aylesworth) body. Meanwhile, Truman (Steven Culp) redeems himself somewhat in President Davis’s (Cotter Smith) eyes by killing Carver (Anthony Ruivivar) anyway, thus getting them a step closer to a war between California and Texas. I did love Davis calling the Californians “granola-eating heathens.”
The most satisfying aspects of the episode for me were seeing Miles take control back and Miles and Monroe (David Lyons) learning to trust each other again. Miles points out to Rachel and Charlie that they’re the ones pressing him to have faith and be more positive. He tells them that he’s known Monroe longer than anyone and he’s choosing to have faith in Monroe. It was a nice indication that while he’s listening to them, he’s still his own man.
One of the most disappointing aspects of the episode was Neville (Giancarlo Esposito) and Connor (Mat Vairo) hooking up to work together. It felt like needless conflict when it would have been so much more satisfying to have them work with the rest of the resistance. It was wonderfully ironic for Neville to tell Connor that his primary motivation for killing Davis was what Davis had done to his family, all the while driving a wedge between Connor and his own father – destroying Connor’s chance at a family for Neville’s own ends.
It seemed like really reaching for Blanchard (MC Gainey) to suddenly be alive. Did Gene even have a back up plan for what to do if Blanchard was dead? I also loved that Monroe essentially made fun of Miles’s hero speech and Miles pretty much agreed with him. Beeson does his usual great job throughout the episode in giving us lots of close up reaction shots from characters.
I also loved Neville and company being staked out on the roof, looking at a long empty road only to hear gunshots and find that they’d been out manoeuvred. Neville’s “you’ve gotta be kidding me” was a classic. As was the entire Patriot army cresting the hill in pursuit of the President. This was another great money shot, especially the second wave of foot soldiers. I did have to wonder why Rachel (Elizabeth Mitchell) and Charlie suddenly didn’t know how to shoot their guns, leaving Miles alone to save them, while trusting Monroe to look after their hostage. They might have been pissed that Miles trusted Monroe with their hostage, but they did nothing to help themselves while they were pinned down. Besides, Rachel’s reluctance to tell Miles what her relationship is to Davis coupled with her volatile unreliability didn’t make her a good candidate to be alone with Davis.
The scene between Monroe and Davis is very telling. Both could be considered ‘extreme’ in the lengths they are willing to go to in order to win. The big difference between them is illustrated by their discussion. Davis tries to talk his way out of the situation. Monroe even compliments Davis on his “God bless America” campaign. Davis is content to rule from afar, but Monroe is used to being in the trenches. Davis, don’t forget had been hiding in Cuba for years. I loved Monroe vowing to take pleasure in killing Davis if they’ve actually lost. Lyons is just delightfully intense whenever the less than heroic side of Monroe surfaces.
Lyons is also fantastic in the scene with Connor. I particularly appreciated how his voice shook with emotion as he tried to explain his loyalty to Miles without losing his son. It was a nice payoff to Monroe’s slow slide toward redemption. In reality, he did initially build the republic to save people from tyranny. It isn’t worth letting people slaughter each other needlessly so that those who are left are easy pickings. Connor insists that Miles isn’t blood they way he is, he’s Monroe’s son. But just as Miles tells Rachel and Charlie - his blood – that he’s known Monroe longer, Monroe is bound to Miles by their past and that tie proves stronger than blood. Connor’s own past, working for a blood-thirsty, ruthless drug lord is what really shapes Connor’s own choices.
It was time to say goodbye to Scanlon (Billy Lush), especially as his loyalties seemed to have morphed several times along the way. I loved Monroe’s faking out Connor and Neville and locking them into that building. Poor Neville, however, is once again faced with an empty box rather than the President. Monroe finds acceptance back with the others as his reward for fulfilling Miles’s trust of him. I loved Rachel thanking him. Of course, the thanks were for him coming back but also for proving Miles right in trusting Monroe.
I loved the Miles plan. I was completely taken in and freaking out because we were so close to the end of the episode, and I was afraid it would end with no victory for any of our characters. It was also really nice to see Rachel play a strong central role again as she did in freeing Priscilla from the nanotech. I loved her getting Davis to state that he’d rape Texas and destroy California. Smith is terrific in this scene as well.
Monroe finally smiles when he and Blanchard “end the treaty” with the Patriots at the front. This is, after all, the alliance that Monroe wanted in order to get back his Republic. One has to wonder if that is going to be possible. Once Texas takes care of the Patriots, it seems more likely that they will simply rule themselves, but they are without a President at the moment...
Miles is able to make Gene happy by telling him that the first town they’re going to take back from the Patriots is Willoughby. Gene is almost pathetically grateful that he’ll have a chance to redeem himself and save his town. Charlie and Miles then talk, and Charlie gives Miles her blessing for Miles to be the “one” for Rachel. Spiridakos does a great job as we finally see her regret over not having had a chance with Jason. One of the best things the show did this season was develop the character of Charlie. I could barely tolerate her in season one, and this season she has grown to be one of my favorite characters – belly shirt and all!
It would seem that most of the characters have had some kind of victory. We then cut to Priscilla who has a chilling message for Aaron. The nano is going to find others to help it take over if Priscilla and Aaron won’t help it. She tells him that she saw the nano’s plan to make everyone mindless drones – like the fireflies or ants. We then cut to the people that the nano is able to manipulate – Davis is visited by his father, Truman by Marion, and Neville by Jason. All are told to go to Bradbury, Idaho. Davis’s father tells him it’s God that’s chosen him, while Jason asks Neville to do it for him.
We then cut back to Priscilla whose final warning is that it all starts with a grinning man. The grinning man turns out to be a neon clown’s face. Is there anything scarier than a clown? Our final shot is of a large group of people arriving in Bradbury, Idaho at the nano’s invitation. The last shot on our screen, however, was a plea to help the 1.3 billion people on earth who live without electricity and a link to www.action4energy.org – and it’s a legitimate site if you are interested in helping.
This definitely didn’t feel like a series finale all wrapped up in a nice bow, which makes me wonder whether they knew it was coming when they shot the last episode. There is lots of closure, but there are also lots of unanswered questions, even beyond what to do about the mindless army of nano-bots. There is a declaration of independence from those opposing the Patriots and there is a declaration of independence from the nanotech as it does turn away from its creators.
Where do Miles and Monroe really stand with each other – I really wanted a last scene between those two. What if Monroe makes a bid for President of Texas? What will Monroe do about Connor – and will Connor simply follow Neville to Idaho? I was pretty surprised that Kripke didn’t write this episode – even if it was only supposed to be the season finale. Traditionally, he has always written the first and last episodes of every season when he’s show runner. I would have expected him to have wrapped things up a bit more tightly, knowing it was the series finale.
What did you think of the episode? Were you satisfied with where it ended? Did you scream NO at your television? What scene would you have liked to have seen? Are you heartbroken to lose the show? Are you hoping a campaign to save the show will be able to save it? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and feel free to share links to those petitions!
