Revolution
Season One
Episode Six
'Sex and
Drugs' - 7.5
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| Star prediction: Should Tracy Spiridakos' career take off, it will likely be filled with her boobies, ala Anna Paquin |
And so,
after five horrid episodes that came disconcertingly close to shredding my
patience and trust in television, JJ Abrams' newest epic serial Revolution
delivers an episode that didn't make me want to kill myself. In fact, it was a
down-right - dare I say it - fun instalment. Not just 'fun' in the dumb sense,
but actually respectable and enjoyable. I'm serious!
The aspect
of 'Sex and Drugs' that differentiates it from past outings was all in Charlie,
who was mere inches away from breaking the boundaries of the average television
protagonist to become a tough, capable girl who is able to do the hard things
when they are required of her. Sure, Miles fucking swoops in and saves the day
at the last minute, preventing her from killing a somewhat likeable and
honourable man, but the intention was there. She even started the final
descent, bringing her knife down towards his eye, only to have her arm caught
by her retarded uncle.
There are
always logic holes in this tale: why couldn't they have killed him? Ok, this
isn't so much logic, but I don't see why Miles couldn't have come in a few
seconds later to discover his niece covered in innocent blood and eye jelly,
then whisks her away to safety like he does? Normally I wouldn't call for such
life to be lost, but I just think by preventing her from doing the deed the
writers have purposely and idiotically outdone the progress the character made
during the episode, turning her back into the moralistic whiney bitch she was
before.
I do have to
say though; Tracy Spiridakos really came into the role tonight. After five
episodes coming across as largely non-committal, she seemed to relish being
able to play a character with strength and questionable morals, an anti-hero
rather than a straight-up good guy. It's the smarter, more relatable
protagonist, and though when you watch the scene with the farmer you don't want
him to die, you realise afterwards what a great story was squandered just to
maintain the status quo. Despite what many previews have claimed, Revolution is
not a show that has the balls to do things any differently. It's about war, yet
what collateral damage have our heroes caused?
In another
surprising twist, I actually enjoyed the flashbacks, which this time featured
the largely unexplored Aaron. Zak Orth, who at first played a standard
background foil, has come to be the voice of reason for the group, and that has
been endlessly irritating. I have always despised the voice of reason, as their
reasons are always stupid. 'Don't do this cause it's wrong!' 'Yeah, well what
about the people who'll fucking die if I fucking don't do it you fucking ass'.
Luckily, he also grew in my eyes, but only because he goes back on his word by
killing the episode's antagonist; Drexel. Anyway, in the flashbacks we see that
Aaron was always a punce, but he was a punce with a beautiful wife who -
despite my initial judgements - loved him, and didn't just want him for the
money. However after a group of bandits raid their post-blackout camp, he
realises how utterly useless he is to everybody and leaves his poor wife alone,
venturing off on some suicidal solo journey. We don't learn the wife's name,
but she wasn't a bad actress, so something tells me we will see more of her.
It was only
an episode or so ago that I actually realised that the flashbacks were here to
stay. I thought that JJ Abrams wouldn't have the audacity to pull two
flashback-heavy shows - A successful and boundless gimmick in Lost's case, a
tired and limited trope in Revolution's - under his own name. I honestly think
it was a stupid decision, and he could have had the gonads to try and pull a
few spoken expository moments, rather than inundate us with generally boring
footage of unimportant events. Characterisation is a yay, definitely, but only
when the character is worth building upon. Yes, Aaron's flashbacks were
successful, but he isn't particularly enthralling.
The dramatic
gun play between Nora and Aaron at the end was the best part of course, as I
definitely didn't expect Aaron to shoot himself, let alone shoot Drexel. Good
show, and good shot. I did think that he was going to die, and for a moment
there I was so proud of this show, but then he had a fucking whiskey bottle in
his pocket. It all turned out for the best, and we did get an awkward 'you did,
but she didn't?' scene between Aaron and Charlie at the end there.
I actually
really, really liked Drexel. He was a fun, sadistic drug lord with a harlem of
whores, heroin and adrenaline - God knows where he got the later - and he was
played with complete abandon by Todd Stashwick. I was a bit put off by his
death, but probably more so by the complete indifference of his guards. That
one dude was pretty much just 'yeah, whatever man. My drugs now!' before
letting Nora and Aaron go. Rightio.
Drexel, a
better Charlie, a well aimed quick shot and some adequate flashbacks made for a
fun experience which for the first time brought me whiffs of The Walking Dead
or any other superior apocalypse dramas. Hopefully the edgy villains and the
questionable heroes are going to come a bit thicker and faster - and no, Miles'
quasi-mercenary style doesn't count as a 'questionable hero' - and we can
really see this show emerge from its already withered bud to reveal a brilliant
and unique flower. Look at that, metaphor. It was shit, yeah, but riskier than
anything this show has done. Kill Miles!
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