New Town – New Problems. Recap: Revolution – “Born in the USA”

Season 2, Episode 01

Air Date: Wednesday, September 25, 2013, 8PM ET/PT on NBC

Rating: ★★★★★

“No offense, Jeff, but trust me, the last thing I want to talk about is the power.” — Charlie

“Born in the USA” picks up with last season’s finale as Randall’s (Colm Feore) ICBMs is soaring toward Atlanta and Philadelphia. We see Miles (Billy Burke) desperately countdown as Aaron’s (Zak Orth) futile attempts to stop the bombs are ticking way.

Fast forward six months, and we are in a pool hall/bar somewhere in the Plains Nation and Charlie (Tracy Spiridakos) is getting a bit too familiar with Jeff (Blake Hood), the handsome bartender. It’s nice to see a house band playing music –you don’t need to plug every instrument into a wall socket. Nice touch, Eric Kripke (show creator/executive producer). I mean, you don’t have to have power for everything.

Charlie is on the hunt for Monroe (David Lyons), who’s going by the name Jimmy these days (we’ll still call him Monroe). He’s tucked tail, laying low for a while doing some kind of fight-club boxing to make money. In the company of intriguing lady friends, Monroe seems like half the man he used to be. But Charlie isn’t the only one after Monroe. Did anyone else notice his ‘Monroe’ branded symbol looking a bit mutilated? Does anyone think there’s a chance Monroe will become ‘good,’ so to speak? I hope not. I like him being the mischievous villain type.

Miles (Billy Burke) chases after some bandits in a corn field but these are not ordinary bandits.

Now, let’s turn our sights on a little town called Willoughby, TX. It’s dark outside as Miles bursts out of a small dilapidated shack, fists bloodied, and looking worse for the wear. I don’t know who’s in that shack but I’m sure it will be a major shocker when it’s revealed in a future episode. Miles looks haunted, defeated even – like he’s giving up, which explains why he is ready to leave the little town. But of course, in true Revolution style, something always comes up twisting Miles’ arm into staying put.

There are quite a few guest stars this season, and I think they will add a rich dynamic to our tried and true bunch from season one. Adam Beach guest stars as Mason, Willoughby’s resident Sheriff. Mason is leery of Miles (who they keep calling Stu for some reason) and perhaps feels Miles may be muscling in on his territory. If Mason knew anything, he would know Miles has no interest in being any kind of lawman.

Aaron (Zak Orth) is holding back from his new girlfriend but what exactly is he hiding? What happened in those six months before they came to Willoughby?

Aaron has a new love interest this season played by Jessica Collins. Not sure what her character name is yet but I’m sure we’ll find out soon. I like that Aaron gets to have a girlfriend. She’s obviously had a rough go of things but she remains optimistic about the future and the return of the power. “Point is that they turned on which means they can turn on again.” Of course, Aaron knows something she doesn’t. “That’s not gonna happen.” She looks puzzled and asks, “What makes you so sure?” Indeed…what makes him so sure? What else happened inside the Tower? As Aaron says to Rachel (Elizabeth Mitchell), “It’s not all that happened and you know it, and it doesn’t explain the insane things that have happened to us.” Curse you, Kripke…why must you be so…cryptic?

Another tidbit to keep us on the edge of our seats is Aaron witnessing a strange and wondrous phenomenon with fireflies but there is something very peculiar about the way they light up. In his conversation with Rachel, Aaron mentions the other occurrences that have happened (presumably in the six months we didn’t see) with “starling flies and cicadas.” Wild-hair theory: Could the nano technology that helped turned the power off and then back on have caused a supernatural shift in the balance of nature?

So apparently, Rachel went a little coo-coo after the bombs dropped on Philadelphia and Atlanta and witnessing Randall shoot himself in the head and who can blame her? I’m sure there are plenty of people who would if they knew the whole story. But now, she’s back in Willoughby with her father, Gene (Stephen Collins). Mason isn’t the only one who’s not fond of Miles either. Gene mentions to Miles that when Rachel was young she had a “finely tuned compass for the wrong guy…” Hmm…I wonder who he’s referring to?

After Rachel helps treat a soldier who is badly burned, she begins to spiral downward again. She is writing in a journal her father calls the “book of crazy,” but she may have a point about the reasons behind why Randall did what he did.

Rachel: “…unless he was following orders.”

Gene: “Orders. From who?”

Who indeed? Seems convenient that former representatives of the White House begin emerging onto the scene, in an elaborate fashion, via a large vintage yacht. Maybe Randall was following some kind of orders from the President to do whatever was necessary to disband the Monroe Militia. But why attack Georgia? I thought the Georgia Federation was fighting against Monroe as well.

Tom (Giancarlo Esposito) is at his wits end when he’s unable to find his wife.

Meanwhile, a disheveled and desperate Tom Neville (Giancarlo Esposito) contemplates suicide after fruitless searches for his beloved wife Julia (Kim Raver). Thankfully, his son Jason (JD Pardo) is the voice of reason. “You’re gonna check out now, like a little bitch?” But with the appearance of Secretary Justine Allanford (Nicole Ari Parker), the spokeswoman for the White House in their makeshift campsite, it gives Tom new hope and purpose.

I like that Kripke and his team thought to mention the return of diseases like Polio. With the power out, creating a vaccine isn’t as easy as it used to be, so perhaps we’ll see more of this happening throughout the season. I’m not sure how it will play out but it’s an interesting obstacle for the characters.

As “Born in the USA” comes to a close, two very intriguing things happen. One is quite shocking and involves our beloved Aaron. I’m still putting my eyeballs back in their sockets from the outrageousness of it all. The second involves meeting a sinister new character, Titus Andover (Matt Ross), who is quite close to the group that just tried to kidnap women from Willoughby.

I’ve been a fan of show since the beginning, and having met some of the cast during my interviews with them at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con, what they revealed during our conversations begins to make more sense, fueling my anticipation for the season.

Tune in to Revolution, Wednesdays at 8/7c only on NBC.

For more on the show, go to http://www.nbc.com/revolution/.

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Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.