By Sara Brady
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.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.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!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.)