I found myself wishing at the end of this episode that NBC had just decided to go all out and give us a two hour series finale event—last Wednesday. Right after the episode I called @bookdal we discussed how we thought the series was going to end. I have to agree with her in that I think we will see a “Thelma and Louise” or “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” ending. I don’t think we will KNOW if Miles and Bass survive getting the mustard gas out of Willoughby, and indeed this could be different…but I kind of foresee an epic Shakespearean Tragedy ending with blood everywhere and tears. No, I don’t think that Kripke was sure the ep was going to be the end of it all—after all, NBC just announced the cancellation of Revolution—but I do believe that Kripke will end things in a very dramatic way where maybe we don’t know if they live or die, or it might look like they probably died, but there was an escape hatch so they could show up in like episode three or so of the third season…you know, if there was going to be one…
In “Memorial Day” we pick up right where we left off. Neville has a knife to Connor’s throat, but really that was just so that Bass wouldn’t shoot him in the face the second he showed up. Neville wants Monroe’s help to take out the Patriots. Neville wants payback for Jason and Julia, as we knew he would. Meanwhile, Miles and the gang learn that the Patriots plan to dump a whole tanker car full of mustard gas onto President Carver in Austin They are going to need to hijack the train…As Scanlon says, this is a time when having Monroe would have really been helpful…Interesting that Miles thought that Bass would have been far away by now, but Scanlon knew they were close… On the “help” front, Miles and Company only have a couple of townies who don’t know anything about fighting or combat to help them that Marion was able to find for their “resistance”. The fun twist—the two people are the father and the sister of the Patriot boy that Miles had to kill in Austin. Miles plans to tell them…after they are all out of danger.
Another twist is that the mustard gas isn’t on the train at all. It was a trick by Truman, who has designs to use the mustard gas in Willoughby. To take out Carver at least, but methinks he may have plans to take out the President as well…he showed himself to be pretty cold hearted with taking out Marion. We knew that was coming, but he killed her because she saw the gas, not because he knew she was working with Miles. Maybe he did know? Somehow, from what he said it doesn’t seem likely—he said he wished she hadn’t seen THiS…not that he planned out the whole train fake to get Miles out of town. I would think he would want Miles IN town to try to take him out with everyone else. I guess we will have to see about Truman, but I don’t think he is as much as shove around schlepp as he has lead everyone to believe. Suffice it to say, I think Truman will be cracking skulls in the last ep, and I don’t think the skull cracking is going to be reserved for only President Carter…
Anyway, Scanlon finds Monroe and tells him about Miles’ plan to take the train. I thought this was interesting. Of course someone had to tell Monroe so that he could show up and then wind up choosing Miles and Charlie over his own son, but I found it fascinating anyway. Scanlon found him, which I guess shouldn’t be that surprising since he was able to find Monroe in the first place. It seems that even though he was bitching about Monroe and what good he was doing them, he chose his camp over Miles’ and helped Monroe. I do have to wonder why he would though, and I wonder what is going to happen as far as Connor and Scanlon not going back to Willoughby.
How scary are Tom and Bass as a team right now? “You had me at mustard gas”? “Make Sherman’s March seem like a 10K fun run?” yeah, these two are a perfect couple made in a very dark and evil place…like Mordor…Bass needs some cute kitten and puppy therapy…he needs to be talked down off the crazicakes train…
Luckily he doesn’t want that crazicake train…and it was because he wrestled with Neville over Neville threatening Charlie’s life that a gun goes off and would have depressurized and sent the gas everywhere if there had been gas in there. With this we see where Bass’s loyalties lie—if we had any previous doubts, and we also find out there is no gas in the tanker car!
We saw some more of that Connor jealousy over Miles…and now he has confirmation that Bass will do the stupid thing to cover Miles and Miles’ family over staying with him. It seems like Connor feels like his father becomes a chump where Miles is concerned. In this episode Connor insinuates that the only way that his father will take back the Monroe Republic is if they get rid of Miles. It seems like Connor was working up trying to get Neville on his side with getting rid of Miles.
That whole Gene and Marion thing really creeped me out. I felt like I was watching a Supernatural episode with someone talking someone else into doing something that was going to get them killed. We knew Marion’s time was short, but she was petrified and they should have just let Marion stay with them. Instead, they send her back. Gene did have a great line though that may be one of the best definitions for bravery I have ever heard. Dumb enough to do the right thing and smart enough to be terrified by it… Yes, that about sums it up…
Rachel finds the wonderful home of Aaron and “Nanocilla” as she is being referred to on twitter. We find more out about the nanites’ end game as far as humans are concerned. They plan to “reprogram” them, as they have been reprogramming computers for as long as they have been in existence. The simpler life forms—like the fireflies—were easier to control—to get them to work in unison and peace. Next they moved on to rats. Oddly, this reminds me of Jasmine, Gina Torres’s character on Angel…Where she wanted to make everything better, but took free will, choice away from everyone. We see that here. The nanites want to take choice away to create a synthetic harmony. This is not entirely unlike what the end game of the Patriots looks like as well—the idea of taking away choice—making everyone fall into line and want the things they want, conform to the way they want them to be…that isn’t freedom. Freedom is dirty, it can be ugly, but it is the chance to be more than you are today. Sure, that means there is the chance to be less, as well, but the power comes in the chance to stand or fall on your own. The chance that each unique, individual soul has that immense power over itself and the power to change the world around it…
Rachel has showed that they are not omnipotent or omnipresent, as Aaron believes. They are limited, and the longer they spend within their limitations, the more attached to the limitations they become. This idea that becoming more human comes with a price. They can be fooled, they can be out maneuvered…it is about finding that weakness…This makes me feel that maybe there is a bit in there about how we have made deity of our technology. The devices, computers—these are what we seem to worship now. We use them for everything from regulating our day, planning our lives, communicating…But they are a false god. They should only be seen as tools to achieve our own goals, but we now seem to be owned by them. We need to see their limitations—and how they limit us with the illusion of power. And notice the irony, as we are reading about this on the internet, and watching this story unfold on our nice HD televisions…
So we have just the one episode left! Will Miles and Bass ride off into the sunset and save humanity? Will Connor come back to help his father, realizing that backing your family’s play is what is important? I’m more apprehensive about this series finale than I have been about a finale episode in a long time…maybe ever…let me know what you thought of the episode! Screencap from grandecaps.tumblr.com
