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Despite Monroe's best plottings, the murder of John Fry doesn't result in instant war between the patriots and Texas. Instead, the U.S. government and Texas join forces to take Monroe down and put him on trial for like four separate genocides. Monroe is convicted, Gene administers the lethal injection, and the patriots bury him. But no way is he dead. No way.
In flashbacks, we learn that Monroe used to be the nice one in his love affair with Miles. As late as three years after the blackout, Monroe had a pretty pregnant wife and was hesitant about stealing from other people, much less murdering. All that changed when Shelly died in childbirth, along with the wee Monroeling, and Bass immediately turned into a monster. But never fear! He's totally not dead.
It turns out Gene is a patriot mole, and he gave up Monroe in order to keep Rachel and Miles safe. Now his agreement with Ed Truman has grown strained, but Gene has an ace—the mysterious Dr. Horn.
And back east, Neville and Ms. Justine have gone looking for Jason. They find him, but not before he's been turned into a homicidal zombie. Neville bludgeons his son a few times so they can get reacquainted and swears he won't give up on Jason, even though Jason wants nothing more than to disembowel his dad with a spoon and make earrings out of his gallstones.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Previously on Revolution: Neville saved Ms. Justine's life in exchange for her promise to take him to the reprogramming center where the patriots sent Jason. Charlie brought Monroe to Willoughby so he could resume his tortured love affair with Miles. And then Monroe murdered the Texas secretary of the interior, in the hopes that pinning the murder on the patriots will trigger a war between Texas and the U.S. government.
We pick up just minutes after we left off, in the mill by the river. Monroe and Miles diligently stage John Fry's assassination by the patriots, dripping blood on the floor, conspicuously hiding a shell casing under three or four sticks of hay. In a Willoughby bar, one of Fry's compatriots tells some pals he can't find the secretary.
Miles and Monroe chuck Fry's body in the river. It's very romantic, just the two of them in the moonlight, with a dead body between them. Like the old days. Fry's pals pass Charlie, Aaron, and Rachel (who seem to make a career of just standing around on Main Street Willoughby, staring with their jaws hanging open) on the way to their horses. Aaron thanks the ladies for another delightful evening of murder and mayhem, and glooms back to his panicky wife.
Reverend Dr. Gene's house. Rachel walks in, with Charlie behind her. Gene hugs his granddaughter and doesn't follow up on the line of questioning he'd started about where his crazy-ass daughter was all night.
Fry's men find the bloodstains and the shell casing Miles and Monroe planted in the mill. "Came from a patriot gun," one of them concludes about the shell. On the riverbank, they find footprints and then, in the water, they stumble over Fry's body. They finish their amateur forensics and decide the patriots are guilty. One wants to slaughter all the patriots in Willoughby, but another counsel's patience.
Watching from the brush, Monroe says to Miles, "You wanted a war. You got one." Dun dun DUN!!
Reverend Dr. Gene's house at morning. Rachel and Charlie make scrupulously polite, simpering small talk. Gene's had enough and asks what the hell is wrong with the two of them and why they aren't happy to be reunited. Rather than explaining the whole Rachel-loved-Danny-so-much-she-destroyed-the-whole-world-and-that-makes-Charlie-cry situation, they just shrug and grimace and Charlie runs off to play with her fucking Ewok lunchbox or whatever. Rachel makes a duck face.
Monroe drags another dead body out of a shack. Miles can't believe he's still killing people, and David Lyons's American accent completely deserts him when he protests that he just wanted to have a chat with the guy! And then he fell on his knife! He fell on his knife ten times! Miles repeats the lie-low-and-wait-for-Texas part of their plan, and Monroe's all, yeah yeah, here's some stuff I got out of the dead guy. Miles is pleased that his boyfriend loved him enough to torture intel out of a rando. He's practically blushing. Monroe asks for a thank-you, but when he doesn't get one, he says he'd settle for help burying this poor schmuck. "You know who'd be handy against these guys?" Monroe muses as they bring out their dead. "Tom Neville."
Speaking of. Ms. Justine leans up against some rubble and declares that this is the end of the line for her. She gestures vaguely and says Jason is two hours that way. This does not please Neville. She protests that she's scared of the reprogramming center and doesn't want to get any closer. Yeah, that's not going to fly. Neville frog-marches her in the general direction she indicated, but they get sidetracked by a tent full of corpses, surrounded by flies. Ms. Justine explains this was an exercise for the cadets from the center -- they were sent out to kill whoever they can find. Tom is alarmed, because, he says, the corpses look like they've been ripped apart by wolves.
Ms. Justine explains that this reprogramming center is the patriots' boot camp for their special ops soldiers, and Neville growls, "More like Hitler Youth on meth." Ah, Christ, just when the whole damn Internet's smug Breaking Bad hysteria was starting to die down. We get it, you liked a TV show. Can we all move on now? Ms. Justine agrees. (With Neville. Not with my contrariness.) Before they can say any more, several cadets attack. Neville returns fire briefly and he and Ms. Justine flee, pursued by extras from District 2. Just as they're about to escape, Neville locks eyes with one of the cadets—it's Jason. They stare at each other, and then Jason raises his gun, takes aim, and fires at his father.
Neville ducks into a warehouse to hide, and then sits staring, shell-shocked at what's become of his son.
Willoughby. Miles interrupts Rachel's daily Think About How Awesome I Am time. She snaps something about his reunion with Murdery Monroe, and he caustically replies that he's happy to see her, too. Man, it is so pleasant spending an hour every week with these miserable assholes who all hate each other. Great plan, writers, making everyone a dickhead. Miles and Rachel snarl at each other some more. The upshot is she wants to be rid of Monroe, but Miles loves him, and also knows how useful Monroe is in starting and maintaining their war against, let's not forget, the people who put Rachel on a wanted poster. She is, as ever, an ungrateful shit. I almost can't believe I'm on Team Monroe, but that's how much I hate Rachel.
Monroe is planning his acts of mayhem when flash-bang grenades smash in the windows of his li'l murder shack. He comes stumbling outside, waving his knife, to find a whole squadron of patriots aiming rifles at him. He fights viciously, but they manage to subdue him. Ed Truman, accompanied by a Texan, informs Monroe that he's under arrest.
It's time for a hangin'! Truman and his men escort Monroe—in a cage, like a sad circus lion—back into town, along with several wagonloads of strangers. Rachel and Miles watch and she observes aloud that the Texans and the patriots seem to be working together rather than killing each other. Funny, that.
The commander-in-chief of Texas, General Carver (played by a very handsome gentleman from Southland), addresses the crowd, telling them how proud he is that Texas Ranger Malcolm Dove (oy, really?) was able to capture the notorious Sebastian Monroe. The crowd claps and hoots. Among them, Aaron and Charlie watch, not quite as pleased. Ed and Carver shake hands as flashbulbs go off—flashbulbs! Texas really is the promised land—and Carver continues that Monroe will be tried immediately, and if he's found guilty, executed before sunrise.
Aaron doodles the Patriot Symbol on an old Fantastic Four comic. A lady who just rode in with the Texans (played by Alanna Ubach) sidles up and asks about the comic. When Aaron hesitantly explains that the Human Torch can, you know, set things on fire, she meanly assumes he's single. Okay, fuck off, lady, or Aaron might just go all Carrie on you.
She introduces herself as Bonnie Webster and reveals she knows who he is—she used to work at Forbes, which put him on the 30 Under 30 issue back in 2009. Now, she explains, she's with General Carver's press corps. Aaron is surprised that such a thing exists, but I'm heartened—maybe I will have a way to make a living after the apocalypse. (Or I could just wander from settlement to settlement, reciting old Smash episodes by heart, like a Marilyn Monroe–obsessed riot. "Gather round, children, and let me tell you about the time Shark Eyes learned what a bar mitzvah was…")
Aaron asks why Bonnie isn't outside doing her job, reporting the news, and she sneers that she's already written the story: Carver caught his bin Laden, which will keep him popular for years. She continues, matching Aaron cynicism for cynicism by saying she's not in the truth business. She makes villains and heroes, and Willoughby is just the set for this week's fiction. Aaron looks like he wants to set himself on fire this time.
Miles and Charlie case Monroe's latest accommodations. There are, conservatively, a fuckload of soldiers guarding him. But Miles is resolved to save his precious Bass. Rachel watches from a window, probably plotting how she'll maintain her access to high-end hair products after they have to flee again.
In his cell, Monroe stares at the bars and zooms into a flashback. Three years after the flashback, he and Miles are striding through a haphazard camp. Monroe protests against Miles's plan of stealing food from a neighboring camp, because Miles has always been a me-first kind of guy, while Bass isn't yet blond, so he still has a soul. He walks into a tent where a pretty woman is distractedly messing with her hair. Monroe puts his hand on her pregnant belly, and oh god, this poor woman isn't going to live twenty minutes. (Also: Monroe has another secret baby?)
Jason hunts his father. We see his point of view—he's clearly on some pretty heavy-duty drugs, the kind that make everything orange and wibbly. In the room where they've taken refuge, Ms. Justine tells Tom Jason won't stop, and that she knows because she went through this when her own child was in a similar program in Cuba. Tom can't believe she'd stick with the patriots after they did that to her. She cries and says her husband is in the high command, and he's fully aware of what happened to their kid (and, presumably, of the attempt on Ms. Justine's life). She says their son is an officer, but he's been so brainwashed that he's no longer human. Tom grits over Ms. Justine's protests that he's going to get Jason out of this, no matter what.
Texans fetch Monroe from his cell. Outside, Miles and Charlie watch from a roof as the guards move the prisoner to the bank. Miles groans that they're keeping him in the vault. So there's only one play here: they'll need a wheelbarrow and a holocaust cloak. In the absence of a giant, Miles thumps his head against the stone sadly. Charlie asks, almost rhetorically, why the guards would move Monroe all of a sudden.
Well, because someone terrible ruined your plans! Miles storms into Dr. Gene's house and asks if Rachel tipped the patriots off. Rachel readily confirms that she did, but denies revealing Monroe's whereabouts initially. Miles is all, okay, awesome, I'm done, why don't you save the town, okay? He storms off to find Dr. Gene's stash of medicinal prune whiskey or whatever. Rachel pretends this was all about her concern for Charlie's life, and Charlie replies that if Rachel actually cared, she might have asked one or two questions about her daughter's welfare while she was wandering the continent alone. You know, when Monroe was the one who saved her from gang rape? Charlie grumps some stuff about how Rachel thinks she's always right, but she's not, and then sulks off. Yeah, she's a shitty teenager, but she also has a point.
A judge sentences Monroe to death, to be carried out at midnight. Well, that was quick. Carver and Ed watch approvingly.
Jason and his cadet pals have torches now. They search the bowels of some industrial building, getting ever closer to where Neville and Ms. Justine are hiding. Neville grabs one of the cadets from behind and cuts his throat. He props the dead man up against the wall, as if he's peeing, and then sets a booby trap with a blanket over a hole in the floor, which a second cadet falls into. I almost expect a Benny Hill score here.
Jason finds the first dead guy, then the second one. And then Tom finds his son and holds a gun to his head. Jason, eyes completely dead, raises his hands but doesn't drop his gun. He and Tom fight. Jason's gotten better at hand-to-hand since we saw him last. Or at least the team makes it sound like he has. He gains the upper hand and is choking his father to death when Ms. Justine clubs him in the head with a fire extinguisher. Jason's bunnies. Tom's alive.
Sebastian Monroe's bank vault of sad flashbacks. His pretty wife (her name is Shelly) is in labor. He mops her forehead as she screams through a contraction, and then, smiling through her excruciating pain, Shelly says she's never having sex with him again. Because TV childbirth is hilarious! They're clearly young and in love and have found something beautiful in this terrible, dangerous world, and that's why it's all going to go to shit in like ninety seconds. Monroe steps out of the tent and Miles asks if it's a boy or a girl. Bass doesn't know, but he's grinning ear to ear.
And then Shelly's screams -- totally different from the productive labor screams, these are, like, my-baby-is-a-fire-monster screams -- pull his attention back. The midwife sticks her head out of the tent and says they need water and towels. Monroe runs off to obey, as does Miles, who grabs as his helper the nearest person, who happens to be Tom Neville.
By the time Miles and Tom get back to the tent, Monroe is stumbling toward them, his hands bloody up to the elbows. He crumples and cries on Miles's shoulder, ruined.
Bank vault. Miles stalks in, unmolested by the soldiers. Monroe gruffs about how adorable it is that Texas is maintaining the pretense of civilization by giving him a lethal injection when a bullet to the head would be so much more efficient. (I find that hard to believe about Texas, specifically.) His last request, Monroe says, was to see Miles. "Why, exactly, would you want to see local nobody Stu Redmond," Miles asks, still trying to maintain his cover. Monroe has nothing to lose, and replies that surely the patriots know exactly who Miles is. Miles sighs heavily.
Monroe haltingly says Miles is the last friend he has in the world, and he wants to shake his hand to say goodbye. Miles does, with his injured hand. (This…does not turn out to be significant. I was sure Miles was passing him a key or a file or a shiv or something, but no.) They make teary eyes at each other as Monroe reflects on the good times they had. "I—I have a kid," Monroe stammers as Miles turns to leave. He means Emma's kid, not Shelly's. He apologizes for banging Miles's girlfriend. Miles turns back and looks absolutely wrecked.
Monroe asks Miles to find his son and take care of him. (His son…who's at least 20, right? If he's still alive, he's surely able to take care of himself.) Miles replies that Monroe's son is fine, and confesses that he knew about him—and he hid the boy from Crazy Unhinged Genocidal Dictator Monroe, at Emma's request. Monroe can't believe Miles deprived him of the chance to know his son, when Miles knew how wrecked he was about the kid who died, and then he goes crazy. Well, that's your reason, dude. Monroe screams as the guards restrain him and Miles leaves.
Execution time! Monroe, shackled, clanks down Main Street, between parallel rows of Willoughbeans. Gene will be administering the injection—with Rachel helping him? Sure, that seems impartial and appropriate. Like anyone should trust her not to rip out the prisoner's throat with her teeth? Carver and Ed share a joke while Bonnie watches sourly. Aaron and Charlie are among the last people Monroe passes on his way into the courthouse. He tells Charlie to take care of Miles. So…he got over that mad right quick.
Gene introduces himself as Danny Matheson's grandfather. "I've been asked to prepare you for execution," he says. "And may I say, it's an honor." Monroe's a bit alarmed. Rachel's staring holes in him. Flashback. Monroe toasts a job well done with a couple of men. Miles comes into the tent and asks what's happening. Monroe, drunk, says they did what Miles wanted to do—they raided the other camp. They took the cattle, the guns, anything they could carry. Miles asks about casualties, and Monroe glibly says the question should be if there were any survivors. Miles is all, who said anything about murder? Monroe replies, "Who asks for anything, Miles? Bad things…they just happen."
Soldiers strap Monroe down on the gurney. Outside, Charlie and Aaron stare up at the window of the courtroom, surrounded by townspeople. Miles seems to be the only one not attending the evening's festivities—he's alone, tossing back booze in Willoughby's only bar. Monroe makes his Jesus-on-the-cross face as Rachel hands Gene the syringe. Monroe whispers, "I'm sorry." And then Gene sticks the needle in his arm and depresses the plunger. Monroe gasps a few times, and then his open eyes fix on the ceiling.
Ed and Carver look pleased. Gene closes Monroe's eyes. He checks for a carotid pulse. He nods. Outside, the bell tolls for Sebastian Monroe. Miles raises his glass and finishes his drink. Yeah, I do not believe Monroe is dead. Nanites, y'all. Beware the nanites.
Jason slowly revives, tied to a chair. He groans, "Dad." Neville asks Ms. Justine for water. Neville asks if Jason recognizes him, and Jason suddenly jerks against his chains and says yes, he does recognize him, which is why he's going to rip his lungs out. Neville thinks it's just the drugs talking, and asks if Jason's mind is really so weak that he'll let the brainwashing work.
Jason proves he still remembers the events of the last five episodes or so as he says he doesn't think what Tom is doing is so much nobler by trying to get revenge on the patriots for Julia's death. Jason hisses that Julia was unfaithful to Tom, stunning him. "You must have known, you're so good at reading people," Jason says, twisting the knife. Tom clubs Jason across the face and hisses that he will not lose his son. Even though his son is a petulant twit and a far inferior actor.
Willoughby cemetery. A Texan supervises as two men unceremoniously dump Monroe's coffin in a hole. I'm surprised they went to the trouble of a coffin. (And not a Viking funeral, just to be safe). They begin covering it with dirt. Y'all…he's totally not dead.
Charlie comes to find Miles in the bar. She pats him in effectually on the shoulder and says she's around if he needs her. He grips her hand, opens his mouth as if to say something, looks close to tears, and then lets her go without speaking. Aaron's watching from across the room. Bonnie raises her glass and says it was nice meeting him. She invites him to go with them, since Carver signed a treaty recognizing the patriots, and giving them control of Willoughby. Which they plan to use as their own Guantanamo, which is a gleaming example of…something? I have no idea what she's talking about.
Neither does Aaron. He asks Bonnie to elaborate, and she explains that there's no way, in her opinion, that Ranger Dove tracked down Monroe. She thinks Monroe was handed to him. Although she doesn't know who did the hard work. And she doesn't really care. She leaves. Aaron ponders.
Ed's in his office with Reverend Dr. Gene. They discuss how they stopped a war with Texas. Ed's not so happy, and says they wouldn't have had to do any of that damage control if not for Rachel and Miles. Gene replies that he reported everything Miles and Rachel did and he gave them Monroe. Ed says he's not questioning Gene's loyalty, but those two are still a pain in his ass. Gene threatens to take the matter to someone named Dr. Horn if anything happens to Rachel or Miles. (He doesn't secure the same protection for Charlie…maybe she's just not on the patriots' radar?)
Aaron walks out onto Main Street just in time to see terrifying animate cadaver Zeljko Ivanek arriving in a wagon with the Patriot Symbol on it. Oh great. The only man creepier than Colm Feore. We have reached peak skin-crawling.
Under a full moon, Rachel starts digging up Monroe's grave. See, I knew he wasn't dead.
time: Zeljko is Dr. Horn, and he's interested in Aaron.