Revolution, Season 2, Episode 5: “One Riot, One Ranger”
Written by David Rambo and Ben Edlund
Directed by Frederick E. O. Toye
Airs Wednesdays at 8 pm (ET) on NBC
We’re right back on track after a horrid encounter last week. No overt threats of rape this time out, just a solid episode that sets the stage for the rest of the season.
It’s clear the Patriots are the bad guys this year. So much so that even Monroe is banding together with Miles et al to take out those who yearn for the return of the United States. These first few episodes have led to this point, getting the band back together and establishing the key threat to their lives. The relationship between Rachel and Charlie has never been more fractured (and, by extension, never more interesting), while the obvious tensions Monroe brings to the table should keep everyone on edge, especially after he blasts a hole through the Texas government official at the end of the episode.
We still have an outlier in Tom Neville, the man entrenched in the Patriots’ affairs, who may still turn out to ally himself with Monroe and Miles, despite his battles in the past with them. Neville seems to be inching closer to exacting his revenge on those who orchestrated his wife’s presumed death, even if he seems to be outside the organization now. He has a more pressing matter in saving his son, however, and it seems that’s the immediate direction he and Allenford are heading in, with the Patriots breathing down their necks.
Elsewhere, we have the requisite action, which, although by no means on par with The Walking Dead, is typically effective and loud enough to grab attention. While the combat previously papered over the cracks in the narrative, it’s becoming slightly less important to the fabric of the show, as our characters become more established and compelling and the improved writing takes over from the stunts.
Despite his quiet emergence as one of Revolution‘s more interesting characters, Aaron’s subplot is the weakest offering this time around. We learn how he and Cynthia met—at his interview to become a teacher at her school. It fills in a few gaps on his life in the immediate aftermath of the missiles destroying Philadelphia and Atlanta (including his apparent solace at the bottom of a bottle) and gives a few more hints as to where Aaron’s sudden pyrokinesis originated, though it detracts from the immediacy of the action elsewhere. That said, the producers are taking a smart approach to handling Aaron’s power. It only seems to manifest when he is under great emotional strife, such as when Miles’s life is in immediate danger or discovering Cynthia’s husband is cheating on her. If he had control over his ability at this point, there would be little point in waging a war against the Patriots when he could presumably snap his fingers and burn them alive.
Solid story progression all round this week, as Revolution continues its marked improvement over the first season.