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Miles brings the crew to the home of an acquaintance, heroin farmer–slash–prostitution enthusiast Drexel, so they can get Nora some medical attention for her infected stab wound. Unfortunately Drexel is a vindictive bastard who wants Charlie to do some assassinatin' for him in exchange for the doctoring. Charlie, of course, assures everyone that she's ready to murder a stranger in cold blood, but what she's actually ready to do is make small talk and then brain him with a teakettle. Good thing Miles is there to actually kill people so Charlie doesn't have to.
Remember how Aaron used to work for Google and be very rich? Well, he and his pretty wife were having a nice anniversary date when the blackout happened, but in the aftermath it became clear that software engineers don't make the best survivalists. After sticking by her side through dysentery and ruffian attacks, Aaron abandons his wife because he feels useless. Also he is a coward.
In Philadelphia, Monroe promotes Neville for doing such a good job of bringing him Ben Matheson. Or his son, same difference. He dispatches Major Strasser to find Miles and kill everyone else in our merry band. But at least Rachel gets to see her son again.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Previously on Revolution: Rachel told Monroe that the pendants are key to turning the power back on. Aaron whined about the good life he had before the blackout. Nora tried to blow up a train, Danny is still kidnapped despite Charlie and Miles's best efforts, and Nate is actually Neville's son, Jason. And yes, the irony of recapping this show today, while a million people in my city are without power, is not lost on me. We're very happy to still have power in south Brooklyn.
The fab four hijack a Monroe wagon. They load injured, unconscious Nora in the back. A militia man shoots at them as they flee, but he misses. Nora's stab wound that she got from the ever-courteous Hutch is now infected, a concept that seems to mystify Aaron, and he asks Miles how far they are away from help. Miles answers that it'll take five or six hours. Aaron tries to reassure Charlie that everything will be okay, and she brats about how that's a lie the grown-ups tell her. Well, yeah. Because you act like a child, Charlie. She blames Aaron for not saving Maggie, and he gets the Thousand-Yard Stare of Impending Flashback (thank you so much for that, Dan Kois).
Night of the blackout. Aaron and a lady are drinking champagne in a limo. He already has his mountain-man beard, so it seems to be a hipster affectation rather than an I've-given-up gesture (but seriously, why does anyone shave after the apocalypse?). They kiss and he wishes her a happy anniversary. Aaron's wife asks where they're going, and he plays coy. She tells him he's being over the top, but Aaron likes spoiling her. Then the lights go out and the limo stops in the middle of an intersection. Aaron calls to the driver, and just then they get T-boned by a semi.
Philadelphia. Monroe's men bring Danny in. His hair is approaching Bieber levels of studied casualness. Monroe tells Danny he knew Ben, and says he's sorry for what happened. He says Neville "will be dealt with." Monroe tells Danny he sees Rachel in him, and Danny meeps, "You knew my mother?" Monroe tells the guards to take Danny back to his room, and reminds him that he's a guest, so if he wants food or unwilling ladies brought to him, he just has to ask.
Neville apologizes to Monroe for Ben's death, and Monroe tells him he's getting a promotion to major, and will head up intelligence and interrogations. So he can't be that sad about it. Neville says this will please his wife.
Miles and the wagon approach a large house, and he tells the guards that he wants to see Drexel. Aaron notices the poppies growing all around, although the largest fields have been burned, and Miles confirms that Drexel supplies heroin to half the republic. They pull the wagon into the gate just as Drexel comes out and calls Miles a son of a bitch. Everyone points guns at them as Miles hollers that Nora's sick and needs medical attention. Drexel tells Miles to get down on his knees and points a gun at his head, then counts to three. Commercial!
The gun clicks and wasn't loaded, thankfully, or we'd have no reason to keep watching. Drexel laughs about his hilarious I-almost-shot-you-in-the-head joke and calls off his men. He invites everyone inside, but not before his men confiscate their weapons.
Inside, Drexel offers the three conscious people wine and hot baths, but Aaron is visibly uncomfortable and says they'd like to stay together. Drexel gets offended and Miles tries to smooth things over. Aaron apologizes. He does that a lot. Miles says he'll go with Nora, and Aaron tells Drexel how glad he is to be there. From upstairs, a couple of languid hookers observe the action. Drexel excuses himself to go dip his wick. He seems delightful.
Alone in a room, Aaron pulls out his trusty flask and flashes back to two months after the blackout. He's helping his sick wife walk until they have to stop. He asks her how he can help her, then notices a burly blond guy watching them. The blond guy introduces himself as Sean, and says he won't hurt them. He asks what's wrong with Aaron's wife. Aaron says she can't keep food down. Sean asks if they drank from the lake, and when they say they did, he says it's probably dysentery, because without power, sewage runs into the lake. And this is your reminder not to drink from the Gowanus Canal, Brooklynites! Sean hands them his canteen, which is presumably full of water that's not contaminated with shit.
At Drexel's, Nora is laid out on the doctor's table. Miles asks what these moldy gourds are, and the doctor says it's homegrown penicillin. That's lucky. Even luckier, Miles's blood type is O negative, which is the universal donor, so he can give Nora a transfusion. Miles lies down on the table to Nora as the doctor says Nora's in septic shock.
Charlie's room. Girls in tiny dresses fill up a bathtub for her, which she sinks into, and then sinks into a reverie about the day her mom left, and the days Ben and Maggie died. We get it, Charlie, everybody leaves you. Because you're terrible. She gets out of the bath, dripping water all over this nice room Drexel has given her because she is a savage, and pulls her Return of the Jedi lunchbox out of her pack. (I knew she didn't pack anything useful.) She opens it and impulsively tears up her postcards.
Monroe's HQ. Jason comes in and Monroe congratulates him on his report. Neville says he found it a bit skimpy, and Jason gets mouthy. Monroe tells Neville not to chastise him, and shows Jason Rachel's sketch of the pendant. Jason tells them that Aaron has one. Monroe dismisses Jason and tells Neville to give Sergeant Strausser the group's last known whereabouts. This pings Jason's conscience, and he reminds us that Strausser "isn't known for leaving survivors." Well, Rachel's still alive. Monroe says Strausser is going to bring them Miles, and they don't need anyone else. Neville reminds Jason that he's dismissed.
Sgt. Strausser, in the stables, is sharpening his knives and telling a scared-looking boy that his father was a butcher. This does not surprise me. Strausser Père was an artiste, the son says in a rather demented way, describing how his father could carve up a carcass. Neville comes in with Strausser's assignment.
Drexel's. Nora is in bed now, with an IV, and Charlie asks how she's doing. Miles says the doctor gives her a fifty-fifty chance. He starts to pack, telling Charlie and Aaron they should leave immediately. Drexel comes in and is saddened to see Miles getting ready to leave. "I owe you one," Miles says. Drexel's all, yeah, you do. He tells Charlie and Aaron how he and Miles met: back when Miles was still in charge of the militia, he was a fan of putting people in front of firing squads, which helped Drexel bump off his competition, and in exchange Drexel made Miles very rich. But then Miles deserted and Drexel lost his high-level hookup. And now Drexel intends to collect on those favors Miles owes. It occurs to me now that the reason civilization collapsed so quickly and completely in this world is that they didn't have the benefit of Mike Bloomberg's rock star sign-language interpreter. I have faith that Lydia Callis can fix anything.
Drexel walks out on the balcony to show Miles and Co. his front yard, and beyond the fence, his burned-out poppy fields. He says the culprit is a rival up the road, the O'Hallorans. Miles asks what he did to piss them off, and Drexel says, deadpan, "Nothing. Honestly. They just have a problem with heroin. Can you believe that?" Miles can believe it. He says he'll take care of the problem, and Drexel says thanks but no thanks, that he wants Charlie to take care of it. Drexel says Charlie will be able to get into the O'Hallorans' place much easier than Miles will, and this is the price for Nora's care. If she doesn't do it, he'll smother Nora. Charlie agrees. Well. This is not what the previews led me to believe would be happening this week. Bad, misleady previews!
Charlie's gotten all tarted up for her big mission, and she looks hilariously uncomfortable in a dress. Miles says this is his fault, but she's not going. Charlie says there's no way to get Nora out without her doing what Drexel wants. Aaron's like, so, murder is cool now? Charlie very nonchalantly says she's done it before. Oh god, we are never going to hear the end of it if she actually kills someone. Aaron says they should be thanking the competition for burning Drexel's heroin, not murdering them. Charlie hollers about how she doesn't have a choice, then turns to Miles and reminds him of how he's tried to toughen her up. "You're right, the world's not a bunch of pretty postcards," she anvils. Jesus, show, we get it.
Drexel walks in and compliments Charlie's appearance. He says the head of the family is Bill O'Halloran. He gives her a pointy thing and tells her to hide it in her hair, because they'll search her, then shove it in Bill's eye when they're alone. She uses it like a chopstick to pin her hair up, because that will sure fool someone who searches her and doesn't notice the giant pointy thing in her bun. Drexel tells Charlie to tell Bill that she wants to switch sides because Drexel has been roughing her up. She asks why he'll believe that, and Drexel thinks for a moment, then punches Charlie in the face. Eek. Miles goes for Drexel's throat. The guards point their rifles at Miles, and Drexel quite calmly assesses the shiner Charlie has coming up. Look, violence is bad, mmkay, but I'm not going to pretend Charlie didn't have a smack coming. On his way out Drexel turns to Aaron and asks if he has anything to say. Aaron does not.
Aaron's flashback, eight months after the blackout. He and his wife and a bunch of other people are shoving things in packs at their campsite because someone is coming. Aaron is the slowest to pack, and before he and his wife can run away, a group of thugs comes out of the woods and grabs Aaron's wife. They beat the hell out of Aaron while his wife screams. And then their rescuer from earlier, Sean, shows up and kills the guy who was clobbering Aaron. Aaron's wife is very pleased to see Sean.
Charlie walks toward the O'Hallorans' while Aaron complains to Miles about how he knew Charlie when she was a kid. I'm on Team Miles here; I'm not sure what Aaron expects him to do. Drexel has them pretty well stuck. Speak of the devil, he comes in and hands Miles some money, then says it's for burial expenses for Charlie, since there's no way she'll make it out alive after she kills O'Halloran. "Now we're square," he says. Sure, they'll just call the local funeral home.
Aaron panics. He tells Miles to go out and save Charlie. Miles reminds him that if he goes, Aaron and Nora are dead. Aaron seems more concerned about Charlie's impending death. He says he'll do the best he can, and he asks Miles to go save Charlie. Miles acquiesces.
Charlie strolls onto the grounds of Ohio State University (ha!), cupping her bruised cheek. A bunch of men gathered around trashcan fires watch her as she passes. One intercepts her and asks what she wants. She asks to see Bill. The guy orders the others to search her.
Aaron pounds on the bedroom door, calling for help. Drexel's guard comes in and Miles kills him. They rush out into the hallway and Aaron shows Miles either a dumbwaiter or a laundry chute, which he says will take Miles down to the kitchen. Miles gets down to the kitchen, but he's not exactly prepared. One of Drexel's men tries to shoot him, which of course alerts everyone in the house that something is amiss. Miles stabs some folks.
Bill's place. Charlie is escorted in. In an office, Bill and his wife are playing with an adorable toddler, their grandson. Bill's wife picks up the little boy to take him out of the room, and asks her husband if maybe Charlie knew someone named Becca. Bill says he'll find out. Charlie's resolve to stab him in the eye immediately wavers, because that little nugget is just so fat and cute. Bill offers her a drink, because he's a nice guy. She's looking at the pictures on the walls, of Bill and the others in his family, who were all cops. Bill asks what Charlie's planning on doing with the great big knitting needle she's been conspicuously playing with. She puts it down.
Miles runs up to the building where Charlie is, and conveniently sees her through a window.
Charlie's still stalling. She asks about Becca, and Bill says Rebecca was their daughter, who ran away to Drexel's, because she thought his big house full of hookers and bathtubs was glamorous. He says Drexel got her addicted to heroin, then sent her body home. So Drexel is what you'd call a really bad guy. Bill says he plans to stop Drexel from hurting any more girls like Becca and Charlie.
Aaron's in the front yard, surrounded by men with torches. He asks Drexel to do whatever to him, but please let Nora go. Instead, Drexel's men drag an unconscious Nora outside. The doctor injects her with adrenaline (I suppose you can grow that on spoiled vegetables too?) and she wakes up, gasping. Aaron asks Drexel if he's going to shoot them. No, he's going to have them shoot each other. Yes, that seems like an excellent supervillain plot: give the people you're trying to kill loaded guns!
Miles works out some of his rusty parkour skills on the Ohio State building. Inside, Bill asks Charlie what she has to tell him. She says she'd like that cup of tea he offered her earlier. As he pours, she crosses the room and grabs a letter opener, then cartoonishly raises it above his head. He disarms her, but she grabs the kettle and knocks him unconscious. And then rather than fleeing the scene of her stupid, stupid crime, she kneels to him and apologizes, then again raises the letter opener to stab him. Miles catches her hand at the last minute. Excellent timing, Miles. She really could've nicked him with that thing.
Nora asks Aaron what the hell is going on (right! Because she's been unconscious the whole episode). He's like, long story, Charlie is a jackass. Aaron tells Drexel they're not going to do this. He says it's a fun game, and says whoever shoots and kills the other one wins and gets to stay alive. (Sure.) He holds the guns out and says if they refuse to play, he'll shoot them both. The answer here is clear: take the guns and shoot Drexel, you idiots.
Aaron's flashback. Aaron is trying to make fire with some rocks. His wife comes over and wants to help. Aaron snaps at her that this is the one thing he can do. He apologizes for snapping, and muses that he used to spend a lot of his time thinking about how he could give his wife everything, and now he can't do anything for her: can't hunt for food, can't keep her safe, can't build a fire. Aaron's wife says none of that matters to her (really? Cold, hungry, constant danger of robbery, rape, and murder? Call me shallow, but it would start to matter to me) and it never did. He asks what if what happened today happens again. Maybe you guys should stick with Sean. Just a thought.
Drexel's yard. Nora and Aaron both have guns, and Drexel stands behind the door of an armored Humvee so they can't shoot him (but his head's still pretty well exposed). Aaron tells Nora he's not going to shoot her and wants her to shoot him. Nora's still in a druggy haze and can't really understand him. Aaron says Miles and Charlie need Nora, but no one needs him. Drexel is so sad no one is making the guns go shooty bang bang. Nora protests some more, but Aaron raises his revolver and cocks it. Then he shoots himself in the chest.
Drexel's men rush to take Nora's gun away. Drexel walks over to where Aaron lies on the ground, then Aaron sits up and shoots him. Because he had his flask in his breast pocket, and it deflected the bullet. Aaron gaspingly asks if anyone knows how many bullets Drexel put in the gun, as he points it at Drexel's men, then grabs Nora and tells the men he just wants to leave. The only guard who gets lines jerks his head toward the house and tells Aaron and Nora to get their stuff and go. They do not seem very broken up about Drexel's death.
On the road, Miles and Charlie find Aaron and Nora and ask how they got away. He asks if Nora's okay, and her complexion is once again beautifully matte and glowing rather than pasty and sweaty, so she must be fine. Nora tells Miles how Aaron shot Drexel, and Miles kind of can't believe it. Aaron says he might have a broken rib. He asks Charlie if she killed Bill. She says she did not. Aaron and Nora hand over Miles and Charlie's luggage, and Miles is like, good job team! Let's move.
Flashback. Aaron's wife is asleep on the ground. She wakes up and looks for him, but Aaron has left her his wedding ring and a note that says he can't protect her, so she's better off with "them," presumably the other people camped nearby. Aaron's wife calls out for him, waking up the whole campsite, but he's gone. She tramps off through the woods with the others, still looking behind her for her no-good husband. He watches her from behind some trees.
Philadelphia. Monroe's men escort Danny to a bench, where Rachel is sitting. They stare at each other for a little while, then hug. Danny is still unable to focus his eyes or close his mouth.
week: There are no weeks because I'm watching on Hulu. But I assume the power will still be out and Charlie will still be awful.