Award-nominated and renewed – but highly flawed
Maybe Revolution isn’t completely flawed and detached from reality. Nora’s stab wound which seemed fine at the end of the last episode is now infected and she needs medical help. This leads the group into what quickly becomes unfriendly territory. As a price for medical help, Miles’ former partner, Drexel who is now a heroin dealer, forces Charlie to kill his neighbour for recently burning their poppy fields. By the end of the hour-long episode, the group has faced the business end of a gun more than once and a few times the trigger is pulled. Danny meanwhile finally comes face to face with General Monroe who promotes Captain Tom Neville to Major…Tom Neville. Hmm.
Clearly I spoke too soon. It remains flawed as ever. Drexel shoots Miles so he’s dead, right? Not so, for this is truly where escapism meets some kind of escapology. “It’s just fun and games, can’t you take a joke,” says Drexel. I’m beginning to realise why it has become harder to care what happens to the characters.
Even in flashback it is impossible to suspend disbelief. This week we meet Aaron’s wife. They’re celebrating their anniversary when the power goes out. Post blackout, they meet a kind stranger who later on is all that stands between them and an attack by a group of thugs. Feeling useless and incapable of protecting his wife, Aaron decides to leave. I’m sure I wasn’t meant to laugh out loud when Aaron is seen looking on from the bushes at his newly abandoned wife as she and a band of survivors leave camp without him.
Poor Aaron. How is he such a jellyfish. Maybe he didn’t get Major Tom’s memo on survival – ‘if you’re weak, you’re dead’. More importantly, how has Aaron managed to survive for the past 15 years post blackout on a diet which has kept him implausibly rotund. No one else is. If he survives the series it’ll be a miracle especially as Monroe now knows he has the pendant.
This episode, which was more about the need to toughen up has moved the plot along adequately enough, but the poor acting and poor dialogue left a lot to be desired. The format of the show has been for the group to travel across States to rescue Danny – so with Danny now at Monroe headquarters, it’s just a matter of time before the group get there. How that will affect the format going forward remains to be seen.
For all its shortcomings however, Revolution has been nominated for a Saturn Award. The Saturn Awards which will be held in June 2013, honours the best in the genre. Furthermore, Billy Burke (who play Miles) and Tracy Spiridakos (who plays Charlie) are up for the Best Actor and Best Actress awards respectively. Obviously I keep missing the bit where they’re doing something right.
