The title of this week’s Revolution, episode 106, is “Sex and Drugs”, a reference to the apparently now-legal businesses of an old pal of Miles named Drexel. When Miles turns to Drexel to seek medical attention for Nora’s infected wound, he finds that Drexel has procured a comfortable existence as a drug lord, surrounding himself with plenty of armed guards and scantily-clad women. When his less-than-friendly greeting turns to a friendly greeting and then back to a less-than-friendly greeting, Drexel requires Charlie to kill a neighboring do-gooder who is causing him trouble or the whole group faces certain death.

The Kobayashi Maru

For those not familiar with this large piece of Star Trek canon, the Kobayashi Maru is a simulation that all cadets in Starfleet Academy must face in order to test their leadership skills. The cadet is placed in a realistic simulation as the captain of a starship in the midst of an un-winnable life-or-death predicament. The simulation is meant to be a test of character, but a young James T. Kirk was the first to win the no-win scenario by reprogramming the simulation, essentially cheating the test. His reasoning was that he didn’t believe in no-win scenarios.

Similar to the Kobayashi Maru, we saw our characters in this episode faced with no-win situations. For Charlie, she was required to kill Drexel’s neighbor Bill O’Halloran in order to save Miles, Aaron and Nora. However, if she completed the task, she would certainly be killed by the O’Halloran clan before she could get out the door. For Aaron, he was faced with the no-win scenario of killing or being killed by Nora in Drexel’s sick game. If they both chose not the act, they would both be killed. Both of these situations seem to have no outs, but our group were able to effectively change the rules of the “fun and games” in their favor. Maybe there really isn’t such a thing as a no-win situation.

Charlie – Not So Pretty Postcards

This week we see a turning point for Charlie. For weeks now Miles has been chiding Charlie to take things seriously and be smart about the realities of this new world. Charlie was protected in her Little Subdivision on the Prairie for many years and was a bit idealistic regarding topics like how to treat prisoners or how easy it would be to rescue Danny. It seems to have finally sunk in that “fun and games” in the real world is synonymous with “death and loss”. We see an angry and bitter Charlie this week, and one who is willing to compromise her ideals in order to survive. As much as I feel bad for Charlie, these hard lessons will serve her in the future. However, she risks losing those ideals and ultimately her integrity and her soul in the process. It seems like Miles is getting some of his soul back, though, and together perhaps they can find the right balance in this brave new world.

Aaron – Sacrifice or Suicide?

We also see quite a turning point this week for Aaron. What happened to the optimistic guy who said “everything is going to turn out OK”? I can’t decide whether Aaron is heroic for sacrificing himself or whether he has just given up and wants to die. Look at his track record – leaving his wife for her own good (a punk move if you ask me) and facing the dangers of this scary new world alone was tantamount to suicide. I imagine guardian angel Ben was involved in saving his sorry self. He made the decision to accompany Charlie and Maggie on their quest to save Danny, even though he jokingly referred to the fact that they were all likely to end up with their heads on a stick. Finally, he practically begged Nora to go ahead and shoot him in the Drexel gun showdown in order to save the rest of the dwindling Danny-rescue team. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb by saying that Aaron has a bit of a death wish, but if he sacrifices himself, he wants his death to matter.

Burning Questions

The more I hear about Miles’ past the more disparity I see between the Miles we know and “General Matheson”. He truly had a look of regret on his face when Drexel was fondly reminiscing about their past and how much he admired Miles’ cutthroat ways. I am extremely curious how Miles could have changed so dramatically over the years. What was the turning point for Miles?

Strausser gave a super-creepy speech about using the right tool for the right job. Of course, we know that Strausser is the tool — in more ways that one. If Neville is a bad guy with a heart buried deep, deep down inside, then I have a feeling that Strausser is more like the Terminator — no heart at all. I do not see the eventual meeting between him and Miles going well for anyone. But who was that boy that Strausser was talking to in the barn? Did anyone else get a feeling that he will be important?

Question of the Week

We are only six episodes in, but (in my humble opinion) the pacing of the show has been brisk, the revelations abundant, and the character development rich. Are you happy with how the show has progressed so far, or do you feel there is anything that could be improved? Who knows, there’s a big hiatus in store for us (after a few more episodes the show will not be back on until late March), perhaps the writers are listening, so sound off in the comments section below!