Revolution S2Ep22 Series Finale Declaration of Independence Review

Eric Kripke’s Revolution has ended prematurely after two seasons. The show that was produced by Bad Robot Productions, J.J. Abrams and Jon Favreau drew criticism from the very first episode onwards. The series had a lot of promise with its innovative premise of trying to imagine what happens after all the electricity in the world fails. Sadly, the show also felt rushed. The first ten episodes saw Charlie (Tracy Spriridakos), Miles (Billy Burke) and Aaron (Zak Orth) go on a endless road march to free Charlie’s brother and mother. The drama too often got in the way of the action which was the real staple of the show. The mystery of why the electricity had failed was never going to match that of a series such as Lost. Only David Lyons and his portrayal of the then villain General Monroe kept the show from losing its entire audience. The first ten episodes are what caused this show to be cancelled after its second season. The strangest thing is that it is not uncommon for Bad Robots Productions series to have such rushed first seasons. Alcatraz and Almost Human suffered similarly and have also been cancelled. That leaves only Person of Interest as the only BRP series currently airing.

As for the series (season) of Revolution. It was clearly written with the possibility of cancellation in mind. The episode entitled ‘Declaration of Independence’ doesn’t disappoint from either a drama or  action point of view and despite it being a improvised series finale it does offer some good character resolution. It many ways it is amongst the strongest episodes of the show, proofing that had Revolution been developed with more care it may have gone on for a few more years. As viewers may remember from last week’s episode the Patriots were going to kill General Carver of Texas with Mustard gas to incite a war between Texas and California. The attack is prevented but the Patriots still manage to kill Carver and put the blame on California. Miles contemplates abducting President Davis of the Patriots. Meanwhile Connor and Neville plan to kill Davis. Miles and Monroe manage to beat them to it but are pursued by Davis’s patriot bodyguard. Miles entrusts Monroe with escaping with Davis while he holds back the patriots with Charlie and Rachel. Rachel fears that Monroe won’t come back. Davis taunts Monroe with his loss of the Monroe Republic but Monroe replies he will still have the pleasure of slitting his throat if the worst comes. Connor and Neville fail to take Davis from Monroe after a tense standoff and Miles is visibly relieved that Monroe did not betray him. Rachel’s father Eugene is meanwhile in Austin to get help from General Blanchard who was wounded by a patriot earlier in the season.

Rachel confronts Davis, she says she know who he is, he replies he knows who she is as well. She blames him for all the violence that has happened and for the suffering he brought upon Willoughby. Then at a arranged time some of Miles’s friends from Willoughby disguised as Patriots pretend to free Davis. Davis gloats to Rachel that he wanted to incite war between California and Texas because he believes people want security over freedom. Davis realizes too late that General Blanchard has overheard everything. Davis becomes a prisoner of Texas while Miles and Monroe hunt down every Patriot with he help of Texas. In the end only Truman manages to escape the slaughter. Miles seems confident in a Texas victory as they outnumber the Patriots 4 to 1. Charlie asks why in that case he wont pursue a more permanent relationship with her mother Rachel, Miles hints that he will. Meanwhile the nano contacts those that have missed on the Texas victory: President Davis, Truman and Neville and starts manipulating them. The episode ends with a shot of a town in Idaho being illuminated by artificial light.

The episode was effective in given most characters a form of resolution of their storyline. For Monroe the fact that for once he kept his word means that he has finally been able to grow out of the shadow of Miles. Miles and Rachel seem destined to form a couple while Aaron has managed to free Priscilla from the Nano. Not everyone gets a happy ending, Charlie doesn’t get Connor and Neville does not get his revenge. However, for a episode that was never meant as a series finale it does a pretty good job it. In hindsight it may have been better to kill off Neville in a previous episode because now with a left with the bittersweet taste of a superb character not receiving the resolution it deserved. Revolution has come to an end a end many predicted would happen after the first episode aired two years ago. I will miss the show but I have to admit there is a lot of other shows on TV that are a lot better. I certainly hope to see the principal cast back on TV or the big screen soon. This was Revolution S2Ep22 Series Finale Declaration of Independence Review

Score; 8.3 / 10.

Source; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_(TV_series)