The Breakdown
This episode of Revolution begins with Miles and Aaron burying Danny while the rest of the group looks on. That night, Rebel scouts report that there have been no chopper sightings in the area. It appears that Danny saved their lives by shooting down the helicopter and destroying the amplifier in the previous episode.
Miles encourages the Rebels to change their strategy. He tells them that they have to hit Monroe hard. Miles then requests to recruit the officers from the militia who supported him when he tried to assassinate Monroe. The surprised rebels question why they should trust him. Miles replies that he’s with them now.
The group moves to Echo Base while Miles searches for one of his officers, Jim Hudson. Later, the rebels receive reports of militia in the area, and Charlie joins a group checking on the situation. Rachel disagrees with the decision, but Charlie tells her that she has to do something.
Aaron is unpacking his bags and lay outs two of the pendants on the table. They both light up. Meanwhile, Randall shows Monroe the location of the two pendants on his screen. He explains that they can monitor the pendants when they are turned on. Randall states that he can give Monroe the entire continent through these pendants.
Miles finds Hudson’s brother, who points him to Culpepper, which is 20 miles away. A man with a scarred face watches Miles as he leaves. The man reports back to the Northern Virginia militia camp and tells the commander, Joseph Deckert, that Miles is on his way to find Hudson. Deckert listens and has the man killed.
Back at Echo Base, Rachel is studying the electronic device she pulled from Danny’s abdomen. She sees Charlie walk by and is stunned to find blood on her daughter’s face. Charlie coldly tells her that the blood isn’t hers.
Miles and Nora arrive in the peaceful looking town of Culpepper. They find Hudson in the library, but he says that he isn’t the person they are looking for. Miles coaxes Hudson into speaking with him after threatening to stay in town. They go into another room where Hudson pulls a gun on Miles and tells him to leave. Miles tells Hudson that he’s trying to kill Monroe.
Charlie takes off her shirt and exposes a wound on her shoulder. Rachel sees the injury and tries to help her, but Charlie refuses to accept it. Rachel then tells Charlie to stay inside the base. Charlie replies her mother wasn’t there before, and she doesn’t get to be there now. Rachel slaps her daughter but immediately apologizes. Charlie leaves.
Aaron enters the room just as the pendants start buzzing. Rachel sees the pendants and asks when they started lighting up as alarms go off in the base. Humvees and trucks are heading towards the base; Monroe has power again.
Back in Culpepper, Hudson argues that he’s building a library and that he can’t go off to fight Monroe again. Miles replies that he can’t run from who he is, but Hudson won’t budge.
Meanwhile, Randall arrives at Echo Base looking for the pendants, but Rachel destroys them.
The show flashes back to a year before the blackout. Randall is sitting at his kitchen table eating breakfast when the door rings. He receives word that his son Edward was killed in Afghanistan.
In the present day, Miles and Nora watch as a kill squad enters Culpepper looking for him. At Echo Base, Rachel and the others hide from Randall. Rachel explains that she worked with Randall at the Department of the Defense. Randall uses a megaphone to call for Rachel. He states that he could do without the pendants but not without her.
Miles and Nora go back to warn Hudson that a kill squad is on the way. Hudson immediately blames him, but Miles encourages his former officer to fight back. Miles tells him to stop being something he’s not. They’re killers; that’s what they are.
Tom Neville asks Monroe why he wasn’t sent on the mission with Randall. Monroe insists that Tom needs time to grieve. Tom expresses his concern over whether or not Monroe can trust Randall.
The episode flashes back to a month prior to the blackout. Randall tells Rachel and Tim Matheson that they are deploying their weapon to Afghanistan. They disagree with his decision, but Randall warns them to have the weapon ready.
Back at Echo Base, Rachel and the group continue to hide. Rachel tries to explain her mistakes to Aaron and Charlie, but they are cut off by a search party. Charlie kills both of them as Aaron and Rachel escape.
Commander Deckert and his party encounter Hudson in the Culpepper town square. Miles also appears and tells Deckert that his squad should surrender because it is surrounded. A battle ensues, and it’s going well for Miles until Deckert notices Hudson looking over towards his stunned wife.
Charlie finds Aaron, who tells her that he got separated from Rachel. Meanwhile, Randall captures Rachel and tells her that he got the team back together. Randall informs her that he plans on keeping the power off, except for a few people who will wipe everything clean. The conversation is stopped short by Charlie, who opens fire on Randall and his guards. Rachel escapes with her daughter.
Deckert finds Hudson’s wife in the Culpepper library. He’s just about to kill her when Hudson bursts in and kills the commander instead. However, his wife is shocked by her husband’s actions. Later, she asks him if anything was the truth. “The very important stuff,” Hudson says. He tries to explain, but she won’t listen and walks away from him.
Distraught, Hudson tells Miles that he has ruined his life again, but he’s still going to go with him. Hudson believes he has no other choice.
Everyone meets at the rendezvous point. Charlie tries to apologize to her mother for the things she said earlier. She explains that for a long time all she wanted was to get Danny back, but she knows she never will. Mother and daughter finally let go of their issues and embrace as Nora and Miles watch.
A final flashback returns to the night of the blackout. Randall executes the virus which presumably shuts down power all over the world.
Back at the camp, Aaron asks to know what’s going on. Rachel tells him that he doesn’t want to know. He pleads with her to let him help her, and she agrees to tell him everything. “There’s this place called The Tower,” Rachel says.
Analysis
Revolution isn’t the most thought-provoking show on television, but you can always count on it to keep you on the edge of your seat. “Ghosts” was no different. The episode moved at a solid pace while constantly pushing towards a resolution in the plot. That’s why this episode was one of the best installments of the show thus far.
Don’t get me wrong, there are times when I’d appreciate a more intelligent story. However, the one thing Revolution has going for it is the fun factor. “Ghosts” was a lot of fun to watch, and now that there some signs of better plotting, Revolution has a chance to finish the season strong.
