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Charlie, Miles, and Nora find out they're just a day or so behind Neville's wagon train, which still has Danny. They rendezvous with Aaron and Maggie, then continue their long walk into an abandoned, and supremely spooky, amusement park. Unfortunately, the park is home to a crazy guy whose only companions are his pack of angry dogs.
The dogs attack Aaron and Maggie kills one, so the crazy guy knifes Maggie in the thigh. After much reminiscing about her kids and about how she loves Charlie, even though Charlie is an ungrateful brat, and despite some stressful emergency surgery executed by Aaron, Maggie dies. Goodbye, Maggie! Now you don't have to deal with how eerily gorgeous and not-greasy Nora looks all the time. Seriously, how does she have access to so much matte foundation in a post-apocalyptic wasteland?
Over in Neville's wagon train of soldierin', the men take refuge from a tornado in a rickety old barn. Danny manages to escape for a hot second, but Neville catches him and they wait out the storm in a cellar. When the ceiling collapses, Neville is pinned and nearly killed, but Danny saves his life. A favor Neville will repay by handing Danny over to Monroe, who wants to torture him in front of his mother. Stupid Danny!
Ah yes, Danny's mother. As we know, Rachel is alive and well in Philadelphia, and Monroe still thinks she knows what Ben knew about the blackout and how to turn the power back on. But she's not talking. Yet.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Previously on Revolution: Danny got grabbed by Neville, Nate turned out to be militia rather than just a nice boy who was following Charlie around because he had a crush on her, Maggie pined for the photos of her children locked in her powerless iPhone, Jeremy blew Miles's cover, and Charlie made more wet-eyed goopy looks.
This week: Charlie is running from someone. Looks like a militia guy, from his Civil War-style Nehru collar (I hope some future episode explains why Miles and Monroe mandated that their militia always dress like Johnny Reb. Also I am getting tired of typing the letter M). She falls down and he catches her, grabbing the bag she had. She protests that she was just hungry, and the man says he has to take her in, and she'll be subject to some horrible punishment for stealing a week's rations. But then Miles pops up and cold-cocks the guy. Nora congratulates Charlie on a trap well laid. Miles grabs the guy as he sits up and tells him his name. The guy on the ground can't really believe it. Miles says he's not joking, and "all the stories are true."
Miles asks the man about Neville, if he's seen him lately. The man confirms that Neville passed through, and says yes when Miles asks if Neville had a prisoner. He saw them yesterday. They were on their way to Noblesville. Miles picks the guy up and looks ready to let him go, then knocks the man unconscious. I will have to ask my friend's Marine husband if that's a standard thing they teach you in basic training now, how to smack somebody in the face hard enough to put their lights out with one punch, or if it's just a party trick of Miles's.
Miles, Nora, and Charlie hit the dirt road and Charlie asks what stories the man knew about Miles. He doesn't want to tell her, but Charlie points out that everyone they meet wants to capture or kill Miles, or kill Charlie for knowing him, and they all seem terrified of him. She babbles on and on until Miles finally yells, "Dammit, Charlie, shut up!" YAY MILES! He tells her he doesn't owe her an explanation, and if she wants Danny back she'll just shut the hell up or else she's on her own. She sulks.
Maggie and Aaron are in Lowell, Indiana, where Miles told them to meet. She observes that they're a day late. Aaron seems somewhat less than concerned. Maggie has a flashback to Skyping with her kids from Seattle (as we know because we can see the Space Needle out the window. It's totally true that everywhere in metro Seattle has an excellent view of that instantly recognizable landmark). She says she'll be home to see them in two days, and though they want her to read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to them, she says they need to go to bed. Well, yeah, since it's past sunset in Seattle and the UK is eight hours ahead of the West Coast. Those kids should be getting ready for breakfast, not bed. Just as Maggie tells her son to go to sleep and he begs for just one chapter, the power goes out. Out the window, the Space Needle, and then all of Seattle, goes dark.
Aaron's voice brings Maggie out of her reverie, and he says that they can't tell Charlie and Miles about the MacGuffin and how they just rediscovered electrical power last week. Maggie asks if he doesn't trust Charlie, and he points out that people would kill--have killed -- for that kind of knowledge. Then Charlie, Miles, and Nora show up. Maggie hugs Charlie, who seems to have forgotten that she's a sulky teenager who hates her father's girlfriend. Miles tells Maggie and Aaron to grab their stuff and get a move on.
The fab five hike through the night. Miles has a torch, which he uses to illuminate a small pack of dogs eating a deer carcass. So some people's pets did make it. The dogs look pretty pissy, though, because Miles tells the others to run. So run they do, with the dogs in hot pursuit. As they're escaping over a chain-link fence, one of the dogs bites Aaron's leg. Maggie shoots it with a crossbow before it can make a Beggin' Strip out of Aaron's ankle, but that still has to sting.
Neville's wagon train. Danny no longer has sleeves, and he looks like the forgotten sixth Backstreet Boy. Danny calls to Neville, who halts the train, and he says there's a storm coming. Neville's all, and will you melt if you get wet, sweet cheeks? Danny asks if he doesn't feel the shift in the air, and says they should find shelter. Maybe he think there's a tornado coming, or lightning? You'd think people without electricity would be really excited about lightning, and possibly worship it like it's their god. A militiaman asks Neville why they've stopped, and he says the boy wants to stop. The militiaman says if they keep going they'll be in Noblesville by dawn.
In her luxurious prison, Rachel Matheson is drawing something octagonal, and so help me JJ Abrams if this turns into another pointless clusterfuck of red herrings and endless pathetic smoke-monster-assisted bitching about what it all meeeeeeans, well, I don't know what I'll do because it's my job to write about this show, but I will be EXTREMELY PEEVISH. (I did not like Lost, you guys.) She puts her notebook away when Monroe comes in. She asks what he wants. He says, "As if you don't know." We're supposed to think he wants to sleep with her but actually he wants her to tell him how to turn the power back on. She says she's already answered his questions a hundred times before.
He asks what Ben was working on. She says Ben was an algebra teacher (like Grace! CLUES). He asks why an algebra teacher would be working with the department of defense, why he had full security clearance, and why he called Miles the night of the blackout and told him the power was going out five seconds before it did. He insists that Ben knew why the blackout happened and how to end it. In that case, you'd think Monroe would've told Neville he wanted Ben alive, and under no circumstances were they to kill him. Monroe starts pacing and talking about how nice he's been to Rachel, not putting her in a dungeon or killing her, because he respects her. Strangely, she does not fall to her knees, weeping with gratitude at his boundless generosity (although she seems to have three hots and a cot, which I would guess makes a pretty good life in this uncertain, kind of lawless world). Monroe calls in Johnny Crowder, who lays out his torture tools. Rachel regards him coolly, looking bored. He addresses her as "Mrs. Matheson," and apologizes in advance for, you know, torturing her face off.
Maggie bandages Aaron's wounded leg. Charlie looks around the area where they're camped. Someone seems to be watching them. Away from the others, Nora tells Miles he should go easier on Charlie. He says he'll make it much easier by leaving. Nora says he's just taking the coward's way out of his responsibility toward Charlie, and he accuses her of making this about their relationship. They argue some more about what Miles owes Charlie, and he says, "It's not my fault her dad's dead. Not my fault what happened to her mom." So it's possible Miles knows that Rachel is alive? Miles says family or not, he's bailing, and then of course turns around to see Charlie behind him. She just makes a weepy face like she does ALL THE TIME.
Flashback. Rachel hugs small-child Danny and Charlie asks why she has to leave. Ben says she's going to get supplies. Rachel says she'll be back in a few months, and Charlie begs her not to leave. Rachel tells her to help her dad and look out for her brother, and then she leaves, as Charlie screams behind her.
In the present, Maggie finishes patching up Aaron just as more dogs howl in the distance. Miles tells everyone to shake a leg. (An uninjured one.) They break through a fence and come across an eerie, abandoned amusement park. They venture into it. And then, behind them, we see a grim-looking man (although is there any other kind on this show? Other than Aaron) feeding a Doberman a treat.
The storm is starting, and Neville's wagon train is racing for shelter. Danny just looks mildly put-out that he's still shackled in the back of the wagon. They find a barn and pull the wagons and horses inside. Neville directs the men to stack crates against the doors, to reinforce them. A soldier puts Danny over on a box and tells him not to move. Danny notices he's to an open window, and grabs a shard of wood to pick his handcuffs. I sure hope we find out in another scintillating flashback how he got so good at criminal-type stuff. I can't really see Ben teaching him that.
Aaron is explaining that he used to be a dog person, and even had a King Charles spaniel. There's a big difference between that and a slathering Doberman, you know? Especially since Aaron's dog was named Zoe and wore a sweater. They're moving through the empty amusement park, and then Miles runs into Nate. They fight. Miles is about to clobber Nate when Charlie breaks up the fight, because she is a moron. Miles points out that Nate is militia, and Charlie says his name's not Nate, and when everyone wonders how she knows that, she confesses that she saw him near Pontiac. Nate whines that it took him two days to get free after she cuffed him to a pole. Well, yeah. You are a bad guy, Nate. Try to keep up. Miles says that Nate is a spy, and he's been following them. Charlie argues that they should find out what he knows. Miles is stunned that the words coming out of her mouth make a tiny bit of sense.
Flashback. Maggie's in Buffalo, New York, asking a man how she can get to England. He says that's not possible. She says a man in Montana told her that this guy could help her, but he says there aren't any more ships that can make that crossing. She's crushed by the news, especially since she just walked to freaking Buffalo from Seattle.
In the barn, Danny gets loose. He frees a horse, and then in the distraction, climbs out the window. Outside, the storm looks all kinds of violent, and Danny makes the mistake of stopping to look around. That's when Neville tackles him. They both run for a conveniently nearby cellar and dive inside.
At the amusement park, Nate and Charlie are all chummy again, because she totally wants to see his wee-wee. Behind them, Maggie is quietly asking Miles if he's leaving. She says Charlie told her about Miles's past, and observes, "That makes you a murderer, right? Maybe one of the great ones." Miles says she ought to understand that Charlie will be better off without him. She asks if he'll be better off without Charlie, and because all we have seen of Charlie's contribution to Miles's life is nearly getting him killed about twelve different ways, Miles asks why Maggie thinks that. She says she spent years trying to get back to her children, but eventually she gave up, and knew that she'd never see her kids again, and that they probably died scared and alone. She says she went to Wisconsin, found a nice spot, and poured herself a cup of poison. And then Ben found her. In the flashback, Ben hunkers down and asks Maggie to join him and the kids at their campfire, for dinner. She says she came to love Charlie and Danny, and they gave her a reason to live. She says Charlie might do the same for Miles. Ehhhhh...but Maggie, you're forgetting that Charlie is the worst.
Maggie and Miles rejoin the others, but they're suddenly surrounded by more angry dogs. Miles points to a nearby diner, and says on three they should run for it. They run. Luckily, the front door is unlocked, and the diner received an A grade from the health inspector! Although its level of service might have lapsed recently. Maggie didn't make it inside, though -- the grim-looking dog man has grabbed her. He has a knife, and as they fight over it, he stabs her deeply in the thigh. The man runs off, and Miles picks up Maggie and brings her inside. Maggie says the man told her she killed his dog. She says, calmly, that the man severed an artery, and she's going to bleed to death.
Neville and Danny's Cellar o' Dramatic Speeches. Neville asks Danny how he got out of the cuffs. He says Danny reminds him of his son. Danny can't quite believe Neville has kids, and Neville replies that he's not a monster, not so different from Ben. Danny says again that Ben didn't murder people. Neville says Danny probably doesn't remember the first days after the blackout, when everyone was starving and panicking and dying. He says if Ben survived those days without resorting to some evil behavior, he was a better man than Neville. Well, maybe Ben did. Rachel sure didn't.
At the diner, Charlie attends to Maggie, putting pressure on her profusely bleeding wound. Miles tells Aaron he and Nora are going out onto the roof, to find Psycho Dog Man and "convince" him to call the mutts off. Charlie asks Maggie how she can help, and instead of suggesting that she sew her femoral artery back together with her pocket fix-it kit, Maggie tells her they should leave her, that they're wasting time and need to catch up with Danny. Nate is still across the room, glowering, and with his hands in plastic zip ties. Charlie apologizes to Maggie for being such an insufferable brat. When is my apology coming, I wonder?
Tornado Town. The storm is ripping the roof on the barn. In the cellar, Neville looks genuinely rattled. Then it passes over, and Neville hollers, "Amen!" Just then, the ceiling collapses.
Maggie tells Aaron and Charlie the tourniquet won't work. So she tells Charlie to get her bag and a sewing needle -- oh my god, you guys, I was KIDDING! She tells them Miles might have some whiskey they can use to sterilize the tools. And then two arms pop through the pass where the food used to come out and grab Charlie. Aaron just stands there ineffectually and screams her name, because he is a useless nerd.
Miles and Nora come down from the roof and say they couldn't find Psycho Dog Man. The others tell them that he has Charlie. Nate says he's heavily armed, with multiple knives. Doesn't that describe pretty much everybody, though? Miles cuts Nate's cuffs with his sword and says Nate's coming with him. Aaron, panicking, says he needs to operate on Maggie, and he needs help. Nora says she'll stay with them. Miles tells Maggie he'll bring Charlie back, and she seems to be in that woozy state of blood loss where she's like, sure, fine, pick me up a Double 'N Cheese and a chocolate shake while you're out, okay?
In the cellar, Neville is trapped under a pile of debris, including, possibly, a fridge. He asks Danny if he might consider helping him out. Danny seems disinclined to lend a hand. Neville tells him that leaving him there is just like killing him, and Danny asks if Neville expects him to show mercy. Neville cannily brings up Ben's memory, asking how he'd feel to see his son murder someone in cold blood. I know the Monroe Republic's justice system is a bit different from ours, but I have to believe there's still a distinction between depraved indifference (or even just negligence) and first-degree homicide. The pile of debris shifts, bringing Neville ever closer to being pancaked under a household appliance. Neville desperately asks Danny for help. Danny, sweet little half-naked lug that he is, grabs a shovel or a pipe and pries the weight off Neville, who repays him by slamming him up against the wall and handcuffing him. Danny, you are so stupid.
Charlie's still alive (of course, because she is the lead of this show and this isn't The Walking Dead). But she's tied to a chair, with a crossbow pointing at her face. Psycho Dog Guy is saying she's safe, here in his home, which looks like a maintenance shed under one of the roller coasters that I'm sure includes a stockpile of disembodied clown heads or stillborn Doberman puppy corpses or something. Charlie asks him to let her go, and he manages not to laugh, saying she'd obviously kill him. She says she doesn't want to hurt him, and he says no one wants to hurt anyone, that everyone is at heart a good person, or at least that's what Lila used to say. Lila, his daughter. I bet she's somewhere in that shed too. He says she's dead. Yep, still think she's in the shed.
Psycho Dog Guy says he failed to protect his daughter, that he stored food, medication -- everything except a gun, which is what he needed. He tried to fight off her murderers, but at one point Lila stepped on a nail and died of tetanus. He seems to be saying that looters took the medication that could have saved her? I'm distracted by how Psycho Dog Guy looks like a deranged combination of Christopher Lloyd and Kelsey Grammer. He says Charlie reminds him of Lila, and she could stay with him if she wanted to. He strokes her hair. Ick. She cringes, and he calls her a bitch. A man with such a close relationship with his dogs should really have more respect for bitches. They do all the heavy lifting, after all. Charlie hears Miles calling her, and she screams back to him before Psycho Dog Guy duct-tapes her mouth.
Nate and Miles arrive at Psycho Dog Guy's lair. They fight, and Nate stabs him in the chest with an arrow. Charlie is still screaming through the tape on her mouth, and we see the trigger on the crossbow pointed at her is rigged to the door handle. Miles takes the key Psycho Dog Guy had around his neck. Charlie struggles to loosen the bolts holding her chair to the floor, so maybe she can get out of the line of fire. Nate opens the door, and Charlie has managed to wiggle enough that the arrow embeds itself in the wall to her head.
Back at the diner, Aaron is sewing up Maggie's leg. Maggie looks almost disconnected from what's happening. Charlie, Miles, and Nate come back in, and Charlie grins hugely at Maggie. She thanks Charlie for saving her life, and then asks Aaron to give her her phone. She stares at its blank screen, almost like she sees the picture that used to be there. She flashes back to reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to her sons who are both cute moppets and I'm sure on Revolution: UK they're leading a merry gang of singing pickpockets on the streets of Bristol. Maggie's eyes close and her head droops. Charlie begs her not to go, but she's back with her kids now. And then she's dead. Charlie cries unattractively, and then makes it all about her, of course, whining, "Everybody leaves me. Please don't." Even Miles seems affected, and he crouches and hugs Charlie as she sobs. He says he's not going anywhere.
Independence Hall (or at least I think that's where Rachel is being held). Monroe comes in. She doesn't look like she's suffered overmuch from Johnny's attentions. He asks her what kind of mother she is, to abandon her children. Well, she left them with their father. That doesn't seem like abandonment to me. He asks if it hurt to leave them, or if she's a cold bitch who doesn't feel anything. Monroe says Danny will be there soon, and they'll see how tough she is when they torture Danny. Oh, The Cape. What happened to make you such a monster? Other than being separated from your precious boyfriend, Miles, obviously.
On the road, Rachel kisses Ben and the kids goodbye, and cries as she walks away with Charlie screaming behind her. She arrives at a barn, and says to someone, "I came. Like you asked." That person is Miles, wearing the militia's Confederate-style uniform. She asks Miles to promise she'll see her kids again. He handcuffs her and doesn't reply.
time: The travelers hear a train whistle (so steam power, or at least coal, still works). They need to destroy the train to save Danny, and then our remaining four encounter Neville, who seems downright delighted to see Miles again.
Independence Hall (or at least I think that's where Rachel is being held). Monroe comes in. She doesn't look like she's suffered overmuch from Johnny's attentions. He asks her what kind of mother she is, to abandon her children. Well, she left them with their father. That doesn't seem like abandonment to me. He asks if it hurt to leave them, or if she's a cold bitch who doesn't feel anything. Monroe says Danny will be there soon, and they'll see how tough she is when they torture Danny. Oh, The Cape. What happened to make you such a monster? Other than being separated from your precious boyfriend, Miles, obviously.
On the road, Rachel kisses Ben and the kids goodbye, and cries as she walks away with Charlie screaming behind her. She arrives at a barn, and says to someone, "I came. Like you asked." That person is Miles, wearing the militia's Confederate-style uniform. She asks Miles to promise she'll see her kids again. He handcuffs her and doesn't reply.
time: The travelers hear a train whistle (so steam power, or at least coal, still works). They need to destroy the train to save Danny, and then our remaining four encounter Neville, who seems downright delighted to see Miles again.