In Willoughby Texas, a very rundown and bloodied Miles stares as a wooden cabin starts to burn. He the heads into a bar in a factory, where he walk right past Aaron. Rachel is in a makeshift hospital giving medical care. Her patient is a man who was thirty miles from Atlanta when the bomb dropped. Rachel asks Gibson what it's like back east and he tells her that Atlanta and Philadelphia are gone. He tells her to be glad that she is where she is.
In Savannah refugee camp, Neville walks around with a picture of Julia asking if people have seen her. Jason joins him and the two continue the search together.
Back in Texas, Miles gets his injured hand taken care of. Jean tells Miles that he should have seen Rachel when she was a kid, with a finely tuned compass for the wrong guy. He adds that when when Rachel met Ben, he was relieved until at the wedding, he noticed the way that Rachel glanced at Miles. Miles assures Jean that there is nothing going on between him and Rachel. Jean makes a point of reminding Miles that Rachel was married to his brother and adds that he owes him for bringing Rachel home, reiterating that the last thing Rachel needs is the wrong guy.
The morning after, Charlie is getting dressed, and when Jeff asks her if she has any family to go back to, Charlie says that she doesn't have any family. Jeff takes note of Charlie's tattoo and says that they are brothers in arms because he was briefly conscripted. Jeff then says that he saw Monroe a few weeks ago and that he looked like cold hell warmed over. Charlie asks which way Monroe went.
Rachel keeps having flashbacks to the night that they turned on the power. Jean asks if meeting with the Georgian soldier upset her and asks her to put away her work. Rachel wonders what Randall was doing and Jean tells her to stop, because though the last few months haven't been easy, she needs to avoid looking for a relapse. Rachel wonders if Randall was following orders and Jean asks from who.
At the White House a big military project is underway.
Miles is packed and getting ready to leave and Rachel thanks him for looking after her but wants to know why he has to leave. Miles flashes back to the burning cabin and says that the town just isn't his speed. Miles and Rachel embrace and she asks him to stay just a little longer. Miles answers that bad things happen when they are together
In a flashback to six months ago, we see Charlie meeting Jean. Jean wants to know what they are doing there and Miles admits that he had nowhere else to go. Rachel sits in a jeep in an almost catatonic state. She tells Jean that the bombs are all her fault and that she broke everything.
Miles is sitting on a horse when he sees men attacking and runs into a cornfield in pursuit. A fight quickly ensues.
Charlie approaches New Vegas at night and a barker announces Dave Swimmer, "the last surviving friend." I have to admit that I chuckled at this. Charlie walks into a tent where Monroe is bare knuckle boxing. She stays hidden while he wins the fight.
Aaron is a alone and stares at a pendulum. Aaron is obsessing over the fact that a student in his class was just diagnoses with polio. The woman says that things will get better and reminds him that if the power can turn on once, it can turn on again. Aaron says that this is not going to happen but refuses to go into more detail. Aaron heads outside where he sees a large gathering of neon green fireflies and is almost mystified. In town next day with Rachel, Aaron says that what he saw was not just fireflies. Aaron asks Rachel if she can explain the insane things that have happened and Rachel responds that Randall dropped the bombs
Miles is talking to Mason the local sheriff about the bandits that he stopped. He says that they probably wandered down from the plains nation and will eventually come in for the kill and everyone will be slaughtered. Miles starts asking about security and Jean tells Mason that he needs to listen to Miles.
Jason walks into a tent to find Neville with a gun in his hand in despair. Neville says that Julia would never have left Atlanta because she would have waited for him to return. Jason asks him for the gun and questions if Neville is going to "check out now like a little bitch." Jason tells Neville he won't let him but Neville believes it will be like Christmas morning for Jason if he dies. The struggle between father and son is interrupted by a ship coming into harbor. Jason says that the men aren't rebels.
Another flashback, and this time to four months ago in Texas with Charlie and Miles. Miles is trying to get Charlie to stay but Charlie says that she cannot be with Rachel because too much has happened. Charlie is shocked that Miles is not trying to stop her. Miles instructs her to try and keep her stupid to a minimum. That's a tall order because Charlie just loves her spunky.The two embrace, and Charlie walks off with Rachel looking at her through a window. Back in present day, Charlie is watching Monroe from a distance. Monroe is now going by the name Jimmy King and has apparently been in New Vegas a couple of months.
Miles is outside and Rachel approaches asking if he is a deputy now. Miles says that the sheriff has no idea what he is in for and suggests that they run together. Rachel doesn't want to leave because she wants to be there when Charlie gets back. Rachel says that she could have stopped Charlie but understood how angry she was. Miles admits that Charlie is a little wrecked now but is certain that she will find her way home. Rachel apologizes for Nora, but Miles tells her to stop because he is not leaving here with what ever is out there right now.
Monroe is reading about the Philadelphia Holocaust, when he gets a knock on his door about a girl who wants to meet him. As he leaves his tent, Charlie has him in her sights but before she can shoot, Monroe is attacked and dragged off.
Secretary Justine makes a speech about how the goverment huddled in Cuba after the blackout and when the power was turned on, Monroe and Foster launched weapons. Apparently, when the government heard about the devastation, they had to return. She announces that the president is making his way to the White House as they speak. She asks that rebel forces to join them and calling them patriots who want the country to be great again.
Aaron is staring out of the window at the fireflies again. Aaron asks his lover (heaven forbid they give the woman a name) to go to bed and says that he feels better keeping an eye out. She tells him about her husband, who came at her with a paring knife and that sweet is a rare and valuable commodity. She then suggests that he come to bed so they can both stay up. When Aaron follows her, she is being attacked in the bedroom. Aaron continues to fight and she runs into the street asking for help, where she meets Rachel and Miles. Rachel starts to work on Aaron's wounds as the assassins attack again. This time, they meet Miles and he starts to fight and is pulled out of the fire by the sheriff. Unfortunately, the sheriff is hit from behind and Miles is once again surrounded. Rachel continues to work on Aaron with Jean's help but he dies on the floor.
Neville now has a straight razor in his hand and has begun to shave. He tells Jason that he feels better and that he just needed a purpose. Neville snarks about Monroe and Foster having WMD's and using them. He adds that only six people on the planet know that this is a lie and that he is suspicious about the timing of the government's arrival. Neville says that he doubts that they are god fearing Americans and are someone else entirely. Neville vows to rip them apart because they are responsible for Julia's death.
Miles and the Sherriff are being escorted by the men into a building. They are brought before Titus Andover. Who asks if they would like some sweet tea. Is Titus this years tyrant?
Jean says that the deputy has scoured the town and the men are gone. Rachel asks if anyone has seen Miles or Mason. Aaron's lover is on the porch crying and when she looks up, she notices the electric green fire flies. Aaron suddenly opens his eyes and takes a large intake of breath.
I didn't like the constant flashbacks in the season opener but I suppose it saved us from having to watch Rachel being taken to her bed. Normally having a character cry about the fact that a disaster was all her fault would irritate me, but in this case Rachel isn't wrong. She actively encouraged Aaron to push the button. I suppose it was about time to see someone dealing with PTSD, but my question is why it's always the woman who needs to be taken care of?
I am really not pleased with the dismissal of Nora. Yes, she died last season so they could do the whole Miles and Rachel are prefect for each other routine, but why can't we have someone mourning her? It's like her death meant absolutely nothing.
I was really excited to see Adam Beach playing Mason. When it comes to POC, Revolution does not have a great record. Beach is rather a large name to have for a one off meaningless character so I hope to see his character grow into somebody important on the show, and not someone who simply follows Miles around taking orders.
From what I can guess, this season is going to come down to Rachel, Miles, Aaron, Charlie, Jason, and Neville fighting to bring down the returning government. Obviously, the appearance of the fireflies suggest that the deal with the power is still going to be part of the problem. The issue for me is that with the exception of Neville, I find myself barely able to invest in these characters.
