By Sara Brady
Miles, Nora, Charlie, and Aaron make their final assault on Philadelphia. While Miles is out reconning, the others get captured by the militia. So Miles takes Julia Neville hostage and uses her as a bargaining chip to get Nora and Aaron back. Charlie has already been transported to a power plant where Monroe is holding Rachel and Danny, because no one ever taught him not to put all his hostage eggs in the same Eastern Pennsylvania basket.
At the power plant, Monroe makes Rachel agree to continue building the amplifier that Brad was working on (before Rachel stabbed him to death last week) or else he'll kill one of the kids. She promises, not just to save their lives but also because Strausser keeps threatening to rape everyone and then chop them into little bits, because he's basically a serial killer in a world where murder isn't illegal anymore, it's more like a hobby.
Miles and Nora break into the power plant. Charlie manages to get herself and Danny out of their cell, and they meet up with Miles and Nora. Nora and the kids flee and Miles goes looking for Rachel. Rachel clubs Strausser about the head with a hammer, then stabs him to death, just as Miles shows up. She and Miles give each other silent, emotion-filled looks worthy of The Hills until Jeremy tries to kill them. As they're fleeing, they run right into Monroe.
This episode's flashbacks tell us a little more about how close Monroe and Miles were as kids and then as soldiers and finally as co-leaders of the militia. To summarize: they were bros. And Monroe was kind of totally in love with Miles, who stopped him from killing himself after Monroe's whole family died in a car accident, and he's heartbroken and also super pissy without Miles.
So Miles and Monroe fight and Monroe proclaims his love and then they fight some more. Miles gets away without anyone (well, other than Strausser and a bunch of red shirts) getting killed. Only problem: Rachel's amplifier has turned the power on, so Monroe has his helicopters. And one of them is poised to gun down our heroes. That's where we leave it.
Previously on Revolution: I highly doubt you're jumping in now. You know what happened: power out, Monroe bad, Charlie pouts. This week: shooting! Swordfighting! Answers?
Flashback to the Trenton campaign, five years after the blackout. Miles and Monroe are fighting their way through New Jersey and when they take shelter behind a pile of rubble to reload, Monroe starts laughing about how the world (or at least their part of it) is running out of bullets, so pretty soon they'll have to start rationing ammo and/or using swords, like pirates. An explosion goes off behind them and something hits Miles in the gut. As he's bleeding Mr. Orange-style (although much more quietly), Miles tells Monroe to leave him and lead the men, but Monroe chooses this moment to pledge his loyalty: "If you're dying, I'm dying." Miles looks touched. Or nauseated.
Philadelphia. Nora is helping Charlie walk, since her head is still bleeding. Miles says they need to get off the road and find somewhere safe, but Nora says there's nowhere safe in Philly. Through a peephole, we see Nora push up The Girls as she knocks and says she has a gift for Major Kipling. Two of 'em. Someone unlocks the door and Nora says Captain Baker sent her. While her boobs distract the guy behind the door, Miles barges in and puts his sword to the man's neck. Aaron brings Charlie in as Miles tells Kip they need help.
Banging on his bedroom door wakes Monroe and then he's talking to Neville, who tells him about the message from Wheatley. Monroe looks mildly pleased that Miles is in town, but Neville thinks he should evacuate to Boston just for a little while. But as we have just seen, Monroe won't run away from Miles. Because he loooooves him. Monroe tells Neville he's at a critical point with Rachel and also that there might be a war with Georgia soon. Also this is the midseason finale, so having no confrontation between Monroe and Miles would be ludicrous.
Kipling's place. Their host asks Miles why he came back and while he stares at Charlie -- whose bloody head Nora is tending to -- Miles says things are different now. And if he comes face to face with Monroe, he'll have to kill him. He says he has to find out where Monroe is holding Danny, but Nora objects to Miles going out on the street. He overrules her and says he'll be back in an hour. Charlie tells him to be careful and he's very polite not to point out that most of the circumstances that have led to him almost getting killed lately have been her fault. (Title of the episode! Finish your drinks.)
At the sound of the door, they both step away from the vent. Strausser comes in and comments on how Rachel and Charlie are both so lovely and it's turning him on. Ew, Johnny Crowder. What would Boyd think?
Neville's house. He's pouring a drink when Miles says from behind him, "Mind pouring me one?" He has his sword to Julia's throat and asks if Neville wants to make a trade.
Neville asks Julia if she's okay. She's like, well, it's not my favorite way to relax for an evening, but I'll survive. Miles tells Neville to unload his gun, which he does, sulkily. And then he says grimly, "You went to my home. Laid your hands on my wife." Miles points the sword at Julia's neck and says he wants Charlie and Danny or he'll cut Julia's throat. Julia tells Tom not to say anything and Miles tells her to shut up. She replies that she's not going to beg for her life and tells Neville that Miles is bluffing. Miles is not, but while Julia is convinced Miles won't hurt them, Neville thinks Miles will kill them both anyway. Miles says he just wants his family back. Neville tells Miles to wait there with Julia.
Danny's cell. Poor Danny has a bloody lip and he ran out of pomade ages ago. Strausser brings in Rachel and Charlie, and Rachel exclaims over what a wreck he looks. He says he's okay and Strausser is being awfully patient letting all the Mathesons coo over each other.
Neville brings in Nora and Aaron. Miles tells him to uncuff them, and then tells Neville to go get Charlie and Danny. He puts the point of the sword a little more firmly at Julia's neck after Neville says they're at the power plant north of the city, with Monroe. Miles gestures for Neville to get in the closet and Neville says, "I am going to kill you one day for this." Miles is all, that's a problem for Future Miles to deal with! He shoves Julia into the closet and Aaron and Nora push a desk over in front of the door.
Monroe smarms his way into the room and tells Charlie (whom he calls Charlotte) how nice it is to meet her. Rachel demands to know what he did to Danny, although it looks pretty obvious that someone punched him in the face, and Monroe says he's just about had it with Rachel. He gestures toward an object on the table and asks if she knows what it is: it's a real amplifier, which Brad was building for him before Rachel stabbed Brad to death with a screwdriver. Monroe wants that to shock Charlie, that her mother is a cold-blooded murderer, but one, Rachel shot someone to death in front of Charlie fifteen years ago; and two, the only surviving Matheson who isn't a cold-blooded murderer is pretty wee Danny over there, and that's just because no one lets him use the big-kid scissors.
Jeremy points out that Miles can't count to twelve without taking his shoes off, so he's probably not a secret electrical-engineering savant. Jeremy says the best way to handle the situation is for Jeremy to kill Miles. He's confident he can do it. Monroe asks, "You think I can't?"
Two years before the blackout. Monroe is getting drunk in a cemetery. Miles pulls up and asks what's up. Monroe says he's just having "a little family dinner." Miles tries to get him to leave, but it's time for the Long and Sad Tale of Sebastian Monroe. He says he always thought he'd be dead by now, what with being a marine and doing two tours in Iraq, but instead he's alive and his parents and sisters are in the ground because a drunk driver killed them. Miles looks like he's used to these episodes, but also sensitive to his friend's pain. Monroe says he's the one who should be dead and Miles takes the bottle away from him as Monroe says, "I've got nothing left." Miles says, "You've got me." Aww. It's very bromantic. Miles tells Monroe to give him the gun. He does, slowly, still crying.
Charlie is still trying to get the vent unscrewed while Danny listens at the door. He says someone's coming, and then goes over to help her wrench the cover off. A soldier opens the door and sees Danny crawling into the vent. He grabs Danny's leg and Charlie brains him with the vent cover. She grabs the guard's gun and Danny's shocked to see her armed. She tells him to get on his feet and come rescue their mother. And while they're there, they can raid Monroe's stash of hair product.
Aaron leads Miles and Nora to "an intake pipe [that] leads right to the condensers." I don't know what that means. Nora tells Aaron to stay behind and hands him her satchel full of pipe bombs -- if something goes wrong, he can blow the gate open. And if everything goes right, belated Fourth of July fireworks!
Rachel's lab. She finishes something, then picks up the pendant and switches it on. She fits it into a port on the side of the amplifier. Everything around them comes on, and Strausser looks delighted, because he's really missed being able to refrigerate his victims' body parts for later.
Miles and Nora are inside the perimeter of the plant, amazingly not seen by the half a dozen guards milling around. Aaron is by the pipe, looking like he has diarrhea. Charlie and Danny are stalking through the plant, Danny limping from where the guard must have wrenched his knee. They don't seem to have any idea where they're going, but a guard spots them and starts shooting.