I’m doing something unprecedented! Well, for me anyway…I’m writing my review on the day that the new episode (webisode anyway) aired! Why you ask? Well, I’m just that enraged…
And because of my rage, I feel that I should put a disclaimer…The views of this author are not necessarily the views of
www.tvfortherestofus.com , or anyone else for that matter, but solely the views of the writer, who is very angry, and may need to watch something completely escapist and non-thinky to chill out…like say Sea Patrol…
Part 2 gave us one interrogation technique of Neville’s, where he was trying to find out what he could about Miles’s assassination plan from the “eyes and ears” of a Philadelphia whorehouse. We find out that Miles was holding secret meetings, apparently to stage some kind of coup against Monroe. In Part 3, Neville enters the home of a militia soldier who is on his list of traitors and conspirators in the plot to assassinate Monroe.
First and foremost, I fail to see how collecting weapons, missiles and military vehicles equates to crazy behavior. If you ask me, anyone with half a military mind would think to do that, if only because the current lack of power MAKES NO SENSE. Aaron spoke about that way back in the first episode and again in the second episode. There was no rhyme, no reason and no science behind why the lights went out and didn’t turn back on. Or the fact that the power went off for EVERYTHING. It wasn’t like the world lost electricity. It lost nuclear, geothermal, battery, even SOLAR power, too. How does that happen? Like Aaron pointed out, it could only happen if the loss of power was a man made thing. Which means it could be reversed once figured out. If you ask me, it’s craziness that more people weren’t trying to find out what happened to the power. Why weren’t more people obsessed that all of a sudden we all reverted to troglodytes with even the colonial period more technologically advanced.
That was the reason for the militia soldier saying Monroe went around the bend…well, that and that Monroe was torturing and killing for no apparent reason. Now we know that Monroe is in his office a lot, when he isn’t in a General’s tent ready for all out war. He has a system in place and was surprised that Miles just walked in. Sure Monroe is other places as well, but he has all kinds of checks and balances and this guy didn’t really seem to be that important. How would this random soldier who claims he only opened the gate to the city (which seems to mean his post would be WAY OUT AT THE GATES OF THE CITY) be in the know as to what Monroe is doing with his time? I’ll bet that like us, he is only hearing it from other people. And quite honestly, finding out what happened with the power and where there are weapons that could be used when the power is restored, seem as good a reason to torture as any other…And we already know where Monroe learned all he knows about torture…
Another thing that came out was that once the plan to assassinate Monroe failed, most everyone involved high tailed it out of there…Except this shmuck who stayed because of his sick son. And of course Neville can understand a father’s need to protect his son…This sets off another flash of red moment for me. Anger over the family thing…Because basically, the only person in the Revolution-verse who doesn’t have anyone right now (well, except possibly Grace, and that nefarious, elusive Randall character) is Bass. Why doesn’t he have anyone? Because the one person who was family to him plotted against him, then ran when it didn’t work out, and now that a cute piece of ass showed up and got him to maybe care again about life and stop sulking and wallowing, he’s going to help start a revolution against his best friend and hang his best friend out to dry like some old towel. (Did you see what I did just there? Flash Douglas Adams allusion. Happy Birthday Douglas Adams!) Does this mean then that if circumstance makes someone stand alone, they are unworthy of redemption? Because personally, I think the person that can find the need to become better for the sake of being a better person much more of a hero than someone that does it because others expect/need/want it for him or her.
See, this is why Kripke can’t have nice things. I wanted Miles and Bass to become friends again. I wanted Miles to realize what an ass he was being. Now, I think Miles doesn’t deserve a friendship with someone who would set off to protect his family, drop everything to stand by his side and put aside his own moral compass to be there for him. What has this web series done? It has firmed my position very solidly in Bass’s camp. Why does Miles get redemption? Miles conspired to kill his best friend after being the one to start the whole damn thing. Miles betrayed his best friend. Miles ran away and wallowed in self pity for four years. Why does Miles get all these chances? Because he has family that cares about him? How is it Bass’s fault that his entire family was killed in a horrible accident? And then we’re supposed to get on board with the Rebel group that are publishing copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a form of psychological warfare on Bass? Just no.
This is what happens when we have to wait too long for a new episode. During this hiatus, I went from finding out I was in love with Sebastian Monroe and Miles Matheson to deciding that I just love Sebastian and Miles can just kiss my white, Franco-Scots-Irish-Italian ass.
And I am definitely writing up an Angel/Spike Miles/Bass juxtaposition analysis. I’ve already started taking notes and cruising through Buffy-wiki pages. I haven’t been this upset with Angel since I realized he was cast as the “abusive boyfriend” character of the Buffyverse.
And pardon my rage. It’s not Charlie’s fault (sorry about the cute piece of ass comment), but I do wonder if Miles would have told, say Danny, to pound sand if he showed up in Chicago to ask for help…
The scene had the same sophisticated feel of the others, a longer scene, although the length of Part 2 not Part 1. Here we have a story being told in about two minutes, so barebones and to the point but a lot of subtext…The subtext of course being what got my feathers all ruffled…
I feel so much better now that this is out! Let me know what you thought of the episode, and whether you’re still Team Miles, or Team Bass, or Team Neville? Charlie? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Caps from the webisode are my own, scenes from various episodes of the first half of Season One are from grand-caps tumblr.
And if you would like to view the webisode again before commenting on how guano crazy I am, here you go!
http://youtu.be/q_nODq3Laqs
You are all rage-y about this aren’t you? 🙂
I am really hoping that the politics of this landscape are more gray than Monroe = bad and the rest = good. I can’t imagine that, in the aftermath, choices were made by all of these players that seem “bad” but are survival techniques. One of the things I love about what they’ve shown of Monroe so far is that he was the one aghast at Miles’s brutal behavior and that he was the one who wouldn’t leave Miles behind. It seems there is a good man there who has had to make horrible choices; a man who chose a bad idol, Miles, and has tried to live up to that image only to be betrayed by the person he loved most.
I find the Miles/Monroe backstory the most fascinating and I hope that it’s not a simple “he is bad” storyline.
As always, Nicole, thank you for doing these reviews. Can’t wait for next week!
-Linda
I totally agree, Linda! I am hoping that this whole push to make Monroe look evil is just a red herring and that Randall is the real Big Bad….I totally want Bass redemption, but agree it’s probably a bit down the track. I can’t see how allowing him to go into the dark cavern of villainry can possibly make Miles look good…