Revolution, Season 2, Episode 7: “The Patriot Act”
Written by Anne Coffell Saunders & Matt Pitts
Directed by Omar Madha Airs Wednesdays at 8 pm (ET) on NBC
Revolution has never met a plot point it couldn’t wait to plunge into. After bubbling under the surface for a couple of episodes, Aaron’s pyrokinesis (or rather, his seemingly telepathic connection with the nanobots) is the prime focus. Gene, who we learned last week has been working with the Patriots, is outed to his family as a traitor. Both of these narrative turns could have spooled out over six to seven episodes before making a real impact. Instead, the show rushes right into them.
This week, the Patriots are unsurprisingly keen to get their hands on Aaron and his new powers and our heroes rush to get Mr. Pittman and Cynthia out of Willoughby, where they will be met by Monroe (who, surprise!, isn’t dead after all, nullifying much of last week’s drama). There are naturally a few hiccups along the way though, and the group discovers Gene’s other affiliation, Monroe hops in to save Aaron and Cynthia from a few goons, and Aaron gets to show off his badass new ability.
But Gene’s apparent partnership with the Patriots isn’t quite as it seems. We learn through flashbacks that the doctor only got involved because he was a passionate American, but more importantly wanted to get his hands on the vaccines and medicine the Patriots had been stockpiling. As we’ve seen in countless stories in the past, Gene teamed up with the Patriots with the best of intentions, but soon found himself over his head, with seemingly with no way out. Now, his family resents him for teaming up with the enemy.
It was no real surprise to see Monroe back from the dead (or chemically induced unconsciousness). While he may initially have been compelled to fight alongside the Mathesons in the face of a common enemy, the reveal last week that Miles knows the location of his son gives the latter some leverage over the generally untrustworthy Monroe. Bass doesn’t seem too thrilled about having to protect Aaron and Cynthia, but as long as Miles is the only person who knows the whereabouts of his offspring, he seems content to dance to his former brother-in-arms’ tune.
As ever, Neville is distanced from the rest of the action both physically and thematically. His storyline is so off-course these days that it seems he may never truly return to the fold, despite sharing a goal with the Willoughby crew. Jason shows his father that he can be trusted despite his brainwashing as he takes out two of his fellow Patriot cadets, yet Neville manages to show his true colors — that he himself can never really be trusted — as he leaves Secretary Justine Allerford for dead and heads off with Jason in tow.
This is an episode that doesn’t really get out of second gear, yet is thrusting forward the plot effectively. The biggest takeaway from “The Patriot Act” is a better understanding of Gene. The rest of the core group may detest him, but he emerges as a sympathetic man who was just trying to do the right thing.