Revolution 2.02 Review: Dead Rats, Fireflies, and a Whole Lot of Blood

Sorry for not posting this earlier, my internet decided to stop working just when I was about to. Otherwise, I had this done about seventeen hours ago, so enjoy now.

This is my only warning. For any that have yet to watch last night’s episode of Revolution, titled ‘There Will Be Blood’, and are hoping to do so without spoilers, please exit the premises now. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILER! You’ve been warned.

Well, I have to say I was expecting a little more. While this wasn’t a terrible episode, the scenes I was most looking forward to this week, between Monroe and Charlie, were a little too fleeting. I am glad Monroe wasn’t able to kill the one bounty hunter, and I expect Charlie and the man will begin to work together, but I was really hoping for more interacting between Monroe and Charlie. I know it’s foolish of me to think it, particularly because of the age gap and the fact he inadvertently killed her brother, but there is a certain amount of chemistry between the two, and I’d really like to see more scenes between the two of them.

Along the lines of Charlie, I was extremely happy with her this week, for the most part. The lady’s acting has improved so much; she’s simply amazing this year. There’s so much more to her, playing this deadened character than that naïvely hopeful girl last year. Her ability to give the dead look in her eyes makes her deserving of some type of award. Although she didn’t get as much onscreen time as I would have liked, she did tremendously well with the time she was given. I hope immensely to see more of her next week.

Aaron has also improved this year. He’s definitely confounded by his coming back to life – although wasn’t he given the nanotech in an episode last year, or was that Rachel? Either way, I am glad he is alive, because this show wouldn’t be the same without his ironic sense of humour. And can I just say how much I loved his telling of the Ghostbusters story; people of other generations definitely need to understand that reference.

The shaky camera does work for this series, but I also really liked that slowed down motion when Neville pretends to save Allenford’s life. Both of these techniques work surprisingly well for this series, about the only place where I do like the use of a shaky camera. It’s not done too over the top, so it fits properly in the moments it’s used in.

I’m curious to know what the need for the blood was all about. I suspect it has something to do with the woman in the bed, who I suspect somehow relates to the Titus character, but I don’t quite know what for yet. Not being one partial to the sciences, I couldn’t even begin to speculate the need for it, for her. And what possible test could that parchment like paper possible conclude? Also, why drain all the blood, which I suspect they do?

Another question, what is it with the rats? Does it have something to do with Titus and the woman? Or does it have to do with the fireflies? Perhaps it ties in with Aaron’s resurrection? This series is posing so many questions, but I have every confidence they will be answered in due time. I can’t say with certainty I’ll like all the answers, or find them all feasible, but I do believe there will be a reason behind them.

One more thing I have comment on, the flashback sequence. I think it’s commendable that there was so little of one this week. Last year a lot of episodes were heavily riddled with flashbacks, possibly to set up this series, so it’s nice to see an episode not rely utterly on the use of flashbacks. I do think there is grounds for this series’ need of them, but it’s refreshing not to have too much thrown in my face.

In short, I want more Charlie and Monroe. Especially more Charlie, but also more scenes between the two of them. I would really like this series to develop chemistry between the characters that have it, despite the writers not possibly wanting it. But if it stays true to these characters, particularly because I see so many similarities between Charlie and Monroe, it needs to be fleshed out. And don’t try to force Monroe and Rachel, she so obviously wants Miles.

My rating: 7.5 out of 10 (Yes, I’m moving up to a scale of ten, as of now).

Best Lines:

“For a dead guy? Okay. A little dehydrated, hungry for brains.” – Aaron, pretending humour based on his resurrection.

“The microscopic robots in the air magically resurrected me. That sounds totally logical.” – Aaron, sarcastically responding to Rachel’s calling of it being the old logical explanation.

“Yay!” – Miles replying ironically.

That’s all for tonight. Check back here tomorrow night for reviews of Grey’s Anatomy, The Crazy Ones, The Originals, and The Vampire Diaries. Then stick around for the third weekly edition of Best Performances of the Week.

Nashville 2.02 Review: A Time for Letting Go and Moving On

All right, let’s keep this brief. If you haven’t watched last night’s episode of Nashville, titled ‘Never No More’, then now would be the time to do so. Otherwise, it’d be a good idea to exit this blog, as there may be spoilers pertaining to the episode. I repeat, THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Beautiful episode, all around. The character and story progression, the realness to these people’s situations, all of it felt so genuine. I know that this is a drama series, and at times those shows can get a bit soapy, but this series isn’t feeling like that to me. All of what happened in this episode felt like something very possible, and not at all outrageous.

First, let’s consider Scarlett. She just had some fabulous scenes with Deacon. I really feel like her character has grown in strength since last season, particularly since she found her own footing after her split from Avery. The progression she has found within merely a year’s time is simply astounding. Her awkwardness with Gunnar was spot on, and her brief encounters with Avery were wonderfully well done.

Then there’s Gunnar, aside from his moments with Scarlett, I really liked his interactions with Zoey. Although I really hope they don’t go the route of a romance between these two, because that really would become soap opera territory, I’d like to see a friendship bloom between these characters. Just the real ease they seemed to have with each other, despite not really having spent any time alone together was really nice to see.

It was really nice to see Juliette this week, opening up. Though it’s likely just as a PR stunt, to see any real emotion from this character other her usual territorial, climbing for the top emotion, was a nice change. While I can completely see where this character is coming from, getting to see anything into her past is an oddity, but she is easy to get.

When it comes to Avery, his interactions with Juliette were really nice. Although it’s clear he still loves and wants Scarlett, and that he’s not going to fall for the fame thing again, I like seeing this new kind of friendship with her character. She normally doesn’t have anyone she can really trust to be there for her and for her fame, and it’s enjoyable to be able to see that he’s just there for her. And I also really liked his brief moments with Scarlett; he really looked like a boy crushing on a girl. The writers really seem to have a handle on his character this year, more than last.

Okay, was anybody else thinking that when Will signed onto Edgehill Records, he was doing it self-sacrificially for Gunnar? When he spoke with Gunnar, about not being an artist, just being a performer, it felt like something was clicking there and that he was going to suggest him as his alternate with Raina. I really thought that was going to happen. But maybe he just thought he could grow best with the conglomerate record company, rather than her artist oriented company.

For once, I really liked Maddie in this episode. She really seemed to be a much less annoying character. While her sister really isn’t all that great, being that she doesn’t have much of a role, she is very much becoming her own person. The way she voiced her issues to her mother about her true parental lineage was phenomenal. Not only did she make that instance believable, it also didn’t make me want to scream and bitch slap her across the face. So I really hope they keep going this route with her character. Also, keep the glasses away from her; her face looks much better without them.

Then we get around to Raina. I can see how her near death experience has really gotten to her. She really does have this fresh outlook on life. While I completely agree letting go of Deacon is the right thing to do, I’m still hoping this isn’t the end of their relationship. But they definitely do need some time apart. And I would really like to see a Raina in charge of her own record company because she may have built Edgehill Records, they don’t really seem to able to grow her anymore, as an artist. I really do like this Raina, just trying to leave her life, and keep on looking forward.

Finally, there’s Deacon. His encounters with both Scarlett and Raina have seemed to kind of really put him on the right path, particularly his exchanges with Scarlett. He finally seems like he’s going to move forward and become the man he needs to be, on his own two feet, not with Raina. This character really needs to grow up, get passed his addiction, and become the man he always should have been. Only then will he be good enough to be with Raina, and be the father he should have been.

Overall I really loved this episode. It progressed the story perfectly, and the music fit quite well. All of the character interactions, particularly with the two new characters of the episode, were intriguingly done, and I look forward to the way this show goes with all of them. I’m not beyond excited for next week, but I am looking forward to it.

My rating: 4 out of 5.

There were no particular lines that jumped out at me this week, although there were a few well-written speeches, specifically the ones between Raina and Deacon, and Teddy and Raina.

Okay, ladies and gents, I’m off to watch the show I was most looking forward to this week. The one, the only, Revolution. Check back here in an hour or so for the review on that.