Charlie is being held down and branded as a member of the Monroe Militia.
Confused? Now we’re going to go 2 days earlier. Yes, I don’t like this trick either. Tell your story in order – storytelling 101
The team see another prisoner being taken by the militia, Charlie, of course, wants to leap forwards and rescue them but thankfully (or not) Miles is there to restrain her from total suicide. As they move on he tells her they can’t save everyone. She says nothing and seconds later they see an unconscious child – she rushes forward (of course) and it’s an ambush by lots of other kids with home made medieval weapons.
I think Charlie’s learning curve looks something like this: ________________________
They want to know where Peter is and check their arms to see if they’re militia. Seeing that they’re not, their leader, Michael starts to turn away but Charlie speaks up, asking if Peter is the boy they say being taken prisoner by the militia – yes he is and the leader’s brother. And they find there’s a whole camp of kids with no parents at all.
Their parents hid them in the basement when the militia came for them because they had an American flag and Peter was their leader, the oldest of them. They need to get him back so plan to launch an attack on the militia – which is likely going to be as messy as it seems. Charlie decides to intervene and volunteer them to help the kids get Peter back. This time it’s Aaron’s turn to politely ask Charlie what the hell she’s thinking (Miles may have worn out his “what the hell are you thinking” speech and come to the conclusion that she isn’t. Ever.) But this time Miles is on board as well – if they don’t save Peter the kids will try. Aaargh, the Charlienesss contagious! Suddenly I think I know why she is getting branded for the militia – Miles has sent her in to spread her spunkiness through the whole militia!
At Monroe central in Philadelphia Danny is having dinner with his mother, Rachel, and showing that the spunkiness runs in the family, not eating and trying to discuss leaving at the dinner table. Before she’s called to speak to General Monroe who tries to keep up the pretence he’s a host not a gaoler. Monroe is upset that they can’t find any of her colleagues with their pendants where she says they’d be. She points out she’d been out the loop for a little while – for some reason. But they did find one – Dr. Bradley Jaffey who has been there for 3 weeks and they’ve been “cracking” him. Rachel agrees to talk to him to encourage him to co-operate – which Captain Neville appreciates.
Flashback time! 3 years before the blackout when a very pregnant Rachel sees Ben, Brad and Grace explaining their project to a man from the Department of Defence that their invention to provide infinite clean power is a failure – but dramatically it disrupts all electricity. And him becoming very excited and willing to make them very rich. Rachel takes him aside to explain how very unhappy she is he's working with the DoD and they may make his invention into a weapon. Rachel, it's the department of defence "may" doesn't come into it.
Aaron doesn’t understand why Miles has suddenly had such a change of heart but Nora tells him that the kids they saw, all the orphans, became orphans while Miles headed the militia, it happened on his watch. Which is when Miles finds that Michael has followed them. Charlie tells him he has to go back but he refuses and Miles has the line of the night “irritating when a dumb kid tells you what to do.” Yes Charlie, it is. The Aaron matches it with “awesome, like a pack of hairless ewoks.” But during the hijinks with kids, Miles sees Aaron’s necklace and notices that Aaron is nervous about it. Any speculation’s cut short by finding Peter has been taken to a re-education camp.
Time for another flashback! Rachel having pregnancy problems with Danny, which brings us back to the present in Philadelphia where the worse-for-wear Dr. Brad is brought in for Rachel to talk to. Rachel is locked in a cage – saying she’s posing as a prisoner is wrong since she is a prisoner – just not this imprisoned a prisoner. She asks him if he hid the pendant (he did) and tells him they have friends among the guards. She tries to convince him to tell her where the pendant is, but he’s not a fool and becomes suspicious and clams up.
Next step is to put Rachel in her normal rooms and have Brad brought in. She warns him they will kill him and he says there’s worst things than dying – like betraying all your friends. She counters that they have her son. And Captain Neville arrives with his daughter – Rachel’s information made it easy to find her.
Back to Charlie – she wants to go undercover in the camp. Guilt and protectiveness from Miles, spunky can-do attitude from Charlie and eventually she gets her way. They need a master key – which is apparently going to hurt (the militia brand I take it). She arranges to have herself captured .
Once there and in the not-nice indoctrination boat (yes, it’s a boat) she picks a fight and gets put in the infirmary – where she can inject the doctor with his own sleepy juice. And then she’s caught – and branded with the Monroe Militia “M” on her arm.
Miles and Nora, worried that Charlie is late, decide it’s time to go get her. And of course Michael decides to go as well. Time for some fight scenes with Miles and Nora tearing up the place . 1 rescued Charlie. 1 rescued Peter. And Michael held captive at knife point.
Meanwhile Militia are investigating the building Aaron and the rest of the kids are hiding in – and this is when Aaron’s pendant decides to flare to light, turning on the generator and all of the lights. The light from the lighthouse stuns and distracts everyone on the boat, giving Miles and Nora chance to free Michael and kick more arse. And Charlie stabs someone! Militia search Aaron’s basement – and he clobbers them with a blunt instrument.
Everyone returns to shore and Miles asks Aaron about the lighthouse – and Aaron tells him about the pendant. And that the pendant came from Ben. Miles asks for it so he can smash it – it can’t fall into Monroe’s hands. Aaron refuses – Miles threatens to beat him unconscious and take it but Aaron stands his ground – it could be the most important thing in the world, he will not destroy it. Charlie leaps in to spunky everywhere and they have to tell her the secret as well and about Grace.
Flashback to the past and we see Rachel, with her pregnancy trouble, approached by the DoD guy who happens to have contacts with people who may be able to save her baby. And this is just for friendship, honest.
Flipping to Grace we find she’s being held prisoner as well – but someone who won’t let her go because it’s too dangerous. Her gaoler is Randal, the DoD guy who seems just as unpleasant as Monroe.
Ok, so Charlie goes undercover sneaks on the boat and… and… seriously what was her plan from there beyond spreading the spunky? Give Miles extra motivation to kill everyone on the boat because for some reason (I vote masochism or a desire to punish himself for being such a bad man) he wants to keep her around? What was the point? Why didn’t Miles and Nora just storm the place since that’s what they ended up doing? And Charlie’s foolishness is constantly validated – what did she do that Michael didn’t? Go on the boat and get captured – but his actions nearly gets them all captured or killed while hers is somehow… what brave and noble? It’s not even productive!
Aaron is also rapidly having his rehabilitation from passive man to proper he-man. I sometimes wish we weren’t right.
