In a year of fake-out deaths: first Aaron (Zak Orth), then Monroe (David Lyons), it is hard to still believe that our heroes can actually die on REVOLUTION. But evidenced by the deaths of Ben (Tim Guinee), Maggie (Anna Lise Phillips), Danny (Graham Rogers), and Nora (Daniella Alonso) in the first season, people do die.
So in “Austin City Limits,” when Charlie (Tracy Spiridakos) was forced to kill Jason (JD Pardo), we felt like our heart had been ripped out. Jason was one of the heroes. He was supposed to be untouchable. He had survived and overcome so much that it seemed doubly cruel that it was his turn to be sacrificed.
Last season may have been about dismantling Monroe’s Republic and turning the power back on; but this season has been all about the Patriots and their devastating plans to conquer the entire country. Their plans have been in place for nearly two decades. The Patriots have been plotting, scheming and strategizing ever since the day the power went out. Getting the power back on (albeit briefly) was just a means to an end for them. They needed the resources to devastate Monroe’s army and anyone else’s that stood in their way in one swoop. Then they sent in their brain-washed soldiers to clean up the remaining areas of resistance.
After seeing how effectively their brain-washing technique worked on Jason and the other cadets, it is terrifying to imagine how many more of such mindless soldiers are out there under the Patriots control and ready to do their bidding. They are the sleeper agents from hell; virtually unstoppable because you cannot see them coming.
It was horrifying watching how Charlie could not get through to Jason, and the only thing that stopped him was killing him. It was just as Monroe and Miles (Billy Burke) had predicted – there is no way to save those who have been turned by the Patriots. They can only be put down. The Patriots had created an army that could not be reasoned with or dismantled, each soldier would have to be killed in order to keep them from being used as mindless robots at any future time. It was a sacrifice that no one wants to make — to kill off an entire generation of youth simply because they cannot be trusted. It is a waste and potentially devastating in a time when the world’s population is already on the brink of extinction.
But those are the bigger issues that make the hair on the back of our necks stand on end. A little closer to home will be the threat now posed by Tom Neville (Giancarlo Esposito). Neville has always been an unpredictable viper. He will strike when you least expected it, and he would not hesitate to kill – no brain-washing necessary. The only thing that ever kept Neville in check was his deep love for his wife and son. So the death of Jason will strike into the heart of his soul and he will be relentless in punishing those responsible. But the question remains whether Neville will understand that Charlie was forced to kill Jason, or whether he will target her along with every single Patriot responsible for Jason’s death?
In this week’s new episode “$#!& Happens,” Neville and Tracy will come face to face in the aftermath of Jason’s death. It remains to be see if Tracy will survive that encounter. Would REVOLUTION dare kill off another hero so soon? It is a show that has proven it will kill characters as the world they live in is deadly and treacherous. It would be foolish to believe that everyone could survive with so many people driven to the edge of reason and forced to survive every day as if it were their last.
So be sure to tune in for an all new episode of REVOLUTION on Wednesday, April 30th at 8:00 p.m. on NBC. Find out what lengths Neville will go to in order to avenge his son and make the Patriots pay.
Tiffany Vogt is the Senior West Coast Editor, contributing as a columnist and entertainment reporter to TheTVaddict.com. She has a great love for television and firmly believes that entertainment is a world of wondrous adventures that deserves to be shared and explored – she invites you to join her. Please feel free to contact Tiffany at Tiffany_Vogt_2000@yahoo.com or follow her at on Twitter (@TVWatchtower).