I’ve been thinking, “it’s irritating when a dumb kid tells you what to do”, and Miles agrees with me. I guess the producers of Revolution are self-aware. The absurdity of asking a kid to lead a group of four people to rescue the formerly free world indeed.

The Danny quest is put on hold once again and paradoxical Charlie leads the group on an undercover mission to help a group of orphaned children. Yes, the Revolution actors are getting younger with a large surrogate family of kids joining the cast this week. They were orphaned when the militia raided their homes and killed their parents. When the militia returns and captures one of their brothers, Charlie insists on helping them. Miles agrees to the rescue mission but he seems unable to believe he’s really doing it. That, or he’s too browbeaten by the fanciful script to care. Like puppets on a string.

In flashbacks, pre-blackout Rachel and Ben are involved in highly confidential, controversial work at the Department of Defence involving the power pendants. Rachel’s strategy to help her family has really been at a high cost even pre-blackout. Revolution delivers some answers to some questions about the power cut but with a lot of sub-plots and diversions in between. Like the old ship that serves as a soldier training facility where children go in and soldiers come out. When the rescue mission goes momentarily wrong on board the ship Charlie gets branded with the Monroe militia mark. How that’ll play out going forward remains to be seen. Grace and Randall Flynn make an appearance this week. The same Randall who kidnapped her a few episodes back; a slick, creepy Department of Defence government official who, pre-blackout pursued Ben and Rachel to gain access to their work with the pendants.

Finally Aaron the cowardly lion finds his roar as he comes to the defence of the kiddies. He also tells Miles and Charlie about the pendant after it fires up mysteriously. Perhaps we’re beginning to see his raison d’etre. On the other hand, there are so many sub-plots, backstories and diversions in play at any one time, it’s no wonder it feels like the script writers find it difficult to keep track of the storyboard and in moments of panic, rely on thin air to conjure up what’ll happen next. It’ll keep us guessing I suppose.