Revolution S1, Ep8 “Ties That Bind”

Our team of heroes marches on – their goal is Philadelphia, Danny, and hopefully not dying.

When last we left our noble heroes, they were more determined than ever to save Danny. In “Ties That Bind” – Revolution’s eighth episode – they are in a precarious predicament, but then again, that’s nothing new. It’s also the status quo for pretty much every character; trapped by dangerous alliances and past mistakes.

As Miles, Nora, Aaron, and Charlie attempt to cross the heavily guarded Allegheny River, things rapidly go from “dangerous” to “imminent death.” They escape machine-gun-wielding guards, and hide in an abandoned building. Apparently machine guns mean Strausser – that crazy, crazy bastard – is nearby. By the way, he is the only person Miles is afraid of.

Aaron wants to go a hundred miles out of their way to another bridge. Boats are a lost cause as Miles – during his tenure as Chief Bad Guy – had them destroyed. What we know about Miles: He was a really good bad guy.

Which leads me to a question that I want answered more than “what’s the deal with the blackout?” – what made Miles leave the Dark Side? He certainly wasn’t living a heroic life in that makeshift bar when Charlie found him. He certainly didn’t join the rebels, who he continuously scoffs at. It wasn’t for Ben or Rachel (as far as we can tell), or the kids. Why did he leave?

Back to the temporary hideout – looks like Aaron wins. They’re walking to Morganville. Or not, as they receive a fiery message from Strausser, who lets them know he has some leverage: Nora’s kid sister, Mia, strung up on a light post.

Flashback time: In Texas, teen Nora and little Mia are hiding under the bed in Nora’s room as a mysterious figure with a gun ransacks the place. They spend the night clutching each other in terror, climbing out when the sun comes out. Nora finds their mother dead in her room, but tells Mia she’s not there – she’s left a note for them to meet her at their father’s place. They take off, leaving behind what amounts to their entire childhood.

Back in the present, the gang is presented with a terrible choice: trade the pendant and Miles for Mia. Clearly Nate aka Jason has told them about the pendant, which means Monroe wants it, which means they have to destroy it. Or turn it over for Mia. Or…Nora will just tell them to keep it and come help rescue her sister while killing as many militia as they can.

In Philadelphia, Neville’s happy homecoming is rapidly losing its luster. He finds Jason tied to a chair, having the crap beaten out of him for starters, and when he complains to Monroe, he gets more bad news. Apparently Jason tried to bribe a stableboy to find out where Strausser was going – and chances are that was to somehow help Charlie. Whoops. No worries, says Monroe. Colonel Faber, his right hand, has made an excellent suggestion. How about sending Jason to the California Commonwealth, the journey to which is a sure death sentence? No? Then he’s tried for treason and killed a lot more quickly. Neville is panicked – how is he going to save his son?

Nora and the gang light up the sky and a few bombs to try to save Mia. They attack the militia camp, managing to free her sister and escape, with Strausser and his men hot on their tails.

Flashback: On the beach in Galveston, Texas, Nora and Mia reach their father’s home, which is abandoned. Nora admits to her sister that their mother is dead and she has no idea where their father is. She promises that they’ll find him – and that they’ll stick together.

The gang hides, eluding killer Strausser as they try to come up with their next move. Mia tells Nora she’s found their father – alive and well – and he’s waiting for them in Texas. It’s time to leave this craziness behind and go home. Nora can’t; she’s made a promise and that means Philly. Which is a deathtrap, as Mia points out. They head downriver and arrive at a crossing to find it burned. Strausser must’ve beaten them there. And with that Mia’s out – she’s going to Texas, thanks for the fun guys! She guilt-trips her sister a bit and it works on…Charlie. Family is family and Charlie releases her from any obligation. With a heavy heart, Nora says good-bye to everyone (Miles gets a kiss right on the mouth thank you very much) and heads off to Texas with Mia.

In Philly, Julia Neville has some interesting news for her husband. Seems their maid also cleans the house of Colonel and Mrs. Fraser and gosh, turns out their son is working with the Resistance! If only they could parlay that information to save Jason…

The colonel ends up in Jason’s place – literally. He has the crap beaten out of him as Monroe tells Neville the information he gave has been put to good use. Faber’s son is dead, and Faber might as well be – how can Monroe trust him ever again? The conversation is very clear: Monroe is going to spare Jason as repayment for Neville’s tattling, but he needs to be on a short leash. The sins of the son will be taken out of his father’s hide.

To the surprise of no one, Mia and Nora are soon surrounded by Strausser and his men – at which point, Mia turns over the pendant she stole from Aaron. It was a trap! A big fat Nora-is-a-militia-bounty-hunter trap; she hasn’t found their dad, she didn’t have a choice, and sorry! Nora is furious, of course. Mia unhelpfully points out that Nora lied about their mom being alive all those years ago, which really doesn’t compare, but okay. Nora takes off, officially ending the reunion on a “screw you” note.

Aaron realizes the pendant is gone and accuses Miles of stealing it. This argument doesn’t get too far as Strausser and his men arrive to surround them. Miles surrenders as he and Stausser discuss the latter’s crazy-sauce tendencies, as Nora sneaks through the militia ranks. She steals a gun, mows down a few folks, and saves Miles et. al. They jump into the river and are swept downstream to safety.

Safe and sound, Nora apologies to Charlie for her sister’s betrayal. She flashes back to her promise to keep Mia safe and sound. Now that her sister is a bad guy, might that loyalty be switched to saving Danny? Miles and Aaron fight about the pendant – there is no love lost between these two. At what point does it come to a head?

Stausser gives Miles the pendant. There’s going to be a reward for his loyalty. Maybe some kittens to drown?

Julia checks on a sleeping Jason, who is back home. She goes to Neville and puts a little bug in his ear; Monroe hasn’t been the same since Miles left. He’s paranoid and he’s erratic. The Republic needs a real leader, a stable leader. Someone like…Tom Neville. Sounds like treason, but Julia has her purr down quite well. Will Tom take her advice?

Julia thinks “First Lady” might be a better title than “Captain’s Wife.”

In other pendant news: Monroe drops his off in Rachel’s workshop, where she’s building…something. At the same time, Grace is released from her cell and led into a room with a bank of monitoring equipment. Randall – the Department of Defense baddie – wants her to track the pendants. He knows Monroe has one…

So Randall and Monroe are not working together? We have more than one Big Bad?

Mercy.

This was a decent enough episode, but a bit on the draggy side compared to others. The reveals weren’t overly interesting, and Stausser would be a more interesting bad guy if he was something more than just crazy-cakes. Onward and upward – the gang is getting closer to Philadelphia and the inevitable reunion between Monroe and Miles.