Episode Report Card Kim: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Rebel, Rebel
By Kim | Season 1 | Episode 4 | Aired on 04.05.2009
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.King Silas announces a plan to give over more land than previously announced to Gath as part of the peace treaty, and that land will include David's family farm. David goes to Silas to ask him to reconsider, and Silas turns it around and orders David to publicly support the new plan, even though it means his family will disown him. David goes to the rally at Port Prosperity with his family and totally throws them under the bus and pledges his support for the king's plan. His brother Ethan disagrees and starts a big movement to revolt against the king.
Silas refuses to intervene despite increasingly urgent reports, and goes fishing instead. The rally turns violent and the Gilboan army shoots into an unarmed crowd. This gives Ethan and his team the impetus they wanted to turn the rally into an armed insurrection, over David's protests. When Silas gets the news, he acts unperturbed, and Thomasina gives him a lecture on how he's turned mean.
Michelle heads down to Port Prosperity on her own and tries to convince the rebels to lay down their guns in exchange for amnesty. One of the rebels decides to take Michelle hostage to force the king's hand, which finally gets to Silas and he orders his military to kill the rebels and rescue his daughter. David risks his own life when he tries to convince his brother to give up. He fails, and the army kills everyone except David, Michelle, and David's brother Ethan, but not before Ethan saves Michelle's life.
William starts gathering support for a new king. He gets a vague promise from Jack but not so much from Samuels, who thinks that God and not man should choose the new king. Jack goes to the biggest news network and orders them to continue covering the insurrection even after Silas orders a media blackout, in an attempt to embarrass his father. A rich former Playboy model named Katrina Ghent (played by Leslie Bibb) tries to buy a seat in the king's cabinet (called a ministry) to gain respect, but Silas refuses. However, her wealth comes in handy when Silas convinces her to buy the news network and order them to follow the blackout. Jack gets so pissed off that he agrees to help his uncle overthrow his father. While William is meeting with his fellow plotters (insurrection #2), he gets a text message telling him to get out, so he does. Moments later, the rest of the group is killed.
In the aftermath of the dual insurrections, Jack apologizes to Silas for his role in the media coverage. Silas forgives him and says that he's going to offer a ministry to Katrina Ghent in name only and he wants Jack to do the actual work, even though he won't get any credit. David and Michelle have an emotional reunion. Silas calls David in and reveals that he knew for weeks that Ethan was plotting an uprising, and his reaction was predetermined to see who would join in so they could be killed. While Ethan should be tried for treason, since he did save Michelle in the end, Silas offers to release Ethan into David's custody pending trial against his general's advice. Silas wonders why William and Samuels weren't captured with the rest of the plotters, and vows that their day will come. Then we find out that the general is the one who sent William the text message that saved his life because he thinks Silas has grown soft. Oh yeah, and David's family refuses to talk to him -- even his own mother! Damn, that's harsh.
Discuss this episode in our forums, then see what vlogger Sean Crespo thinks of Manhattan--er, Gilboa in No Prior Knowledge!
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Open on a cornfield. Is Shoeless Joe going to step out for a catch? Is this Iowa? Are gay couples staging a wedding-in? Oh, it's the Shepherd farm. David and his younger brother Ethan are walking around and checking the crops. David's on a two-day furlough to visit family. He wonders why Ethan wouldn't take the money he offered, and Ethan says he doesn't want Silas's money. Looks like someone inherited his mother's tinfoil-hat government distrust! David explains that he just wants to help out now that their older brother is dead, and since he can't (won't) be there in person, he sent money. This discussion of the ethics of familial responsibility is interrupted by Ma Shepherd calling the boys in for dinner.
At the dinner table, David's brothers tease him about his recent tabloid activity. One of the brothers, Daniel, is flipping through television channels to "check the score," but he finds that the king is broadcasting on every channel. He asks his family (who aren't watching the television, so how would they know?) what's going on. Maybe the king is subbing in for the local sportscaster and he's going to announce the highlights from the game? Dummy. Obviously, there's some sort of major announcement or catastrophe coming.
Cut to Silas explaining to his public the terms of the peace treaty he negotiated in the previous episode. He's returning Port Prosperity to Gath as promised. But he's also giving back all the land that Gilboa won in the Battle of Prosperity, a wide strip of land north of a river. And guess what's in that strip of land? The Shepherd farm, not to mention like three major cities. WTF? That's like saying, "I'm going to pay you the negotiated amount for this car. We agreed on that. But just as a sign of good faith, let me also sign over my home and firstborn child. That's fair, right?" Ah, dramatic license. I mean, if we'd have some hint that Gath was unhappy with the terms, or given SOME reason for the king to do this other than to create dramatic tension with the Shepherds, I might buy it. But it's kind of horseshit. Anyway, as you'd imagine, the Shepherds aren't happy about this development. Ma Shepherd begs David to talk to the king, but David says he's not nearly important enough to have influence on this decision. His mother urges him to at least try.
On the news, Reverend Samuels gives his reaction to the announcement. He understands that it's the king's right to make this decision, but thinks it's an injustice. Silas, watching this on the news, turns off the TV and takes a big old slug of wine before announcing to his general that everyone wants peace but no one wants to pay the cost. Except that Silas gave away the store when Gath only wanted to buy one item. The general knows that this action is going to stir up a ruckus among Silas's critics. Before Silas can give orders to kill people or whatever, David shows up. Silas wants to know how the Shepherds reacted to the announcement. David says, "They felt betrayed, sir. My father and brother died to defend our home, and you just gave it to the ones who killed them." I think he has a reasonable argument. David starts offering up alternatives to the plan, but Silas says he just wants to know if David is going to be loyal to his family or to his king. David says he sees the merits of both sides. Silas says that there are forces at work beyond them both (i.e. God's will), and he needs David to trust him. General Edward James Almost says that David needs to go to a forum at Port Prosperity and publicly endorse the king's position. David realizes that his family will disown him if he does, but the king says that's why he needs to do it; David's endorsement will carry great weight. General Almost says that David also needs to "identify anyone attempting to undermine the king's decision and bring them to [his] attention." In other words, they'll be jailed and/or executed. Silas brings the matter to a close, claiming that he needs David's help. David looks like he just got an attack of diarrhea. Which he probably did.