Conflict Resolution 101
The standoff from two episodes ago ends anti-climactically. Miles is unsympathetic after hearing Julia's life is on the line, declaring her dead anyway. After not convincing Miles to turn on Monroe, and after threatening Rachel doesn't work, Tom's new boss, Victor Doyle (Julia's awful new husband), storms the place with the soldiers who came with him to begin with. He doesn't capture Miles, and Tom is furious, blaming Doyle for losing Miles. Miles, however is right: Julia is dead no matter what Tom does. Does Tom think he'll just demand what he was promised and Julia will appear? If I was the President, I would have had her killed weeks ago. And I'd have Tom killed the second Monroe was really dead, too.
Aaron and Priscilla are just beginning their journey to Willoughby. Aaron calls it home. Home is where there are people who protect you, I guess. Priscilla is tagging along as she no longer has any family or any where to go. Aaron grabs them apples and Priscilla is practically climaxing from them. Aaron is a little confused, but just accepts Priscilla's explanation that she's happy to be alive.
Speaking of the President, Jack Davis, he is helping his kid make a sailboat picture complete with the American flag while telling Allenford that the re-education "cadet" camp in Willoughby is key to re-taking Texas, and Texas is key to retaking the rest of the continent. He then, in front of his kid, promises to shoot everyone if the plan fails. His kid is completely unshocked, absorbed in making his American flag the right colors. Allenford is seriously wondering if he'll survive being a Patriot, even after proving his loyalty by killing his wife.
Monroe, Charlie, Connor and nameless mercenaries are meandering through Texas scrub (is the area around Willoughby grass/trees or sand/brush? would the writers please make a decision?). Monroe needles Charlie about still having sex with his son. Does Monroe think Charlie's not good enough for his son? Or does he want his son to use unfulfilled sexual tension to be a better fighter, a la Bull Durham? One mercenary seems a little unsatisfied with the surroundings. Miles and Rachel approach. They take to the new secret hideout, an abandoned industrial structure. Is it an old refinery? For all of their blathering on about being in Texas, I have yet to see one abandoned oil derrick. Just sayin'. Dr. Rachel's Dad picks up right away that Charlie is having sex with Connor. He seems pretty blase about it; Rachel decides she'll talk to Charlie about it. They're all being watched at the super secret hideout by Tom and Boyband. When Boyband checks them out, he sees that Charlie is with them. Oooh. Suspense.
I can always tell when the kids are gettin' it on... it's in medical school.
Doyle and Tom confab in Truman's office, after kicking out a pissed-off Truman. Doyle brags about how much he wants to kill both of them, now, but President Davis (omg, I just realized why that's the guy's name- it was the last name of the Confederate President during the Civil War) thinks Tom is useful. Doyle's angry speech indicates that Julia might still be alive, as her continued existence seems to piss him off. But I still don't think so. Notice he doesn't say he wants to kill Boyband.
Walking out in the open, like they're not wanted by soldiers or anything...
Miles and Monroe take a field trip to the camp just outside town, again, and spy on cadet training. They decide they want the ammo dump there, and entrap the cadets sent to follow them, forcing them to the secret hideout where Dr. Rachel's Dad recognizes them as Kyle and Kim, local kids. Rachel and Dad feed them, and decide to bring them home to their parents after Kim tells Rachel that they're volunteers. The one dissatisfied mercenary from before, seems to be intently watching the whole thing. He's a Patriot, even though Team Miles probably won't find that out until the next episode.
Monroe wants to kill the kids from the beginning, and he and Rachel play tug of war with Miles for about half the season. Monroe and Rachel are fighting for more than just Miles' support in dealing with the cadets. They're fighting over who has the most influence of Miles now. Monroe points out that everyone is someone's kid, and that's never stopped Miles from killing before. The plan to return Kim goes horribly wrong, with Kim's dad inadvertently causing Kim to go all Manchurian Candidate on them. Kim kills her father with the shotgun, and when it runs out of bullets, slits her own throat as everyone watches in horror, especially Cadet Kyle.
While Miles and company are returning Kim to her dad (or trying), Rachel tries to talk Charlie out of screwing Connor. But she's too distracted by, literally, Connor's ass. They don't blow up at each other, but Charlie seems unconcerned about any issues. Why? Does she have a stash of sponges? Is Connor really sponge-worthy?
Tom approaches Truman later, when the poor guy gets his office back, and gets his support for raiding the new super secret Team Miles hideout. Together, they'll humiliate Doyle, share the credit, and get Tom's wife back. Truman reluctantly agrees. But only because we learn that Truman was a lowly corporal from Guantanamo Bay's gulag (sorry, I mean "detention facility"). Tom shows that he's not an orders guy, and will always act to save his own skin over duty if given the chance, when he complains about feeding prisoners when they're barely eating themselves. His bitching continues until senior administration officials turn up in unexplained sailboats from D.C. to meet an amazed corporal Truman and his commander, who we recognize as someone Tom later will kill (The asshole from the cafeteria, I think).
Aaron and Priscilla get their cuddle on, make out and have sex at Priscilla's urging. She's all sweet and happy to be with Aaron. He's starting to get a little suspicious, but decides not to question his luck.
Team Miles is discovering that Kyle, who they've dragged back with them, also has some numbers tattooed on his bottom eyelid, just like Kim. Only now, everyone has the good sense not to read those numbers out loud. Monroe insists on killing Kyle, and Miles is starting to agree with him, telling Rachel he tried it her way. He tells Rachel it's the smart thing to do. Rachel says that her always doing the "smart" thing has been the cause of everyone's troubles. Rachel actually has the nerve to call her actions "smart". She and Dad are totally unwilling to kill Kyle. Rachel's reason has more to do with the fact that her own son was killed; she doesn't want to kill a kid about his age. Dad is unwilling to kill members of the town they're trying to save. Monroe really super wants to kill the kid. They're still debating when Tom and Truman starting shooting the place up.
Uh... Hi.
Uh... hi back.
Here, let me give you enough time to get away.
Boyband briefly sees Charlie, but they don't really have time to catch up, and Boyband gets knocked out during Team Miles' escape. Connor seems a little jealous. Tom actually traps Monroe, pointing a gun at him. But he doesn't shoot, maybe wanting to parade Monroe in front of the Patriots first before killing him. Big mistake. Monroe steals the gun away, and Team Miles manages to retreat, losing mercenaries. Why do people always give Monroe a chance to live? Rachel sets Kyle free, and after a tense standoff, Miles refuses to shoot him. Here's hoping Kyle knows better than to go home. Maybe he's living the Mexican dream as we speak.
As Team Miles gets away, Tom and Truman realize they're in big trouble. Which they are. Doyle screams at Truman that he, Doyle, is in charge, not Truman, and humiliates him in front of Tom. He then re-threatens Tom's wife. At this point, both men are going to want him dead and it's not long before they're plotting to kill Doyle.
At a new safehouse, some abandoned place in the Texas scrub brush, Miles and Monroe confront each other. Monroe is angry that he lost to Rachel over Kyle's life. Miles demands to know why Monroe is even here. He goes through a couple possible motivations, but the only one that makes "sense" (such as it is in this world), is that Monroe wants to defeat the Patriots to get his empire, army, and spiffy Civil War era uniforms back. Monroe doesn't deny it, and Miles even correctly guesses that finding Connor inspired him to acheive a Darth Vader-Luke Skywalker type father-son dictatorship. He tells Monroe it's a stupid dream. Monroe's defense is that at least he has one. What does Miles want? To sit around, getting old? Miles realizes that he really has no long-term plan. What if he gets rid of the Patriots? What then? Go back to Willoughby, be Rachel's stay-at-home dad while she helps Dr. Dad in the doctor's office? Miles has no end game, which makes him vulnerable to Monroe co-opting him for his own.
Back right after the blackout in Cuba, the guy who is now President Davis gets a confab together at Guantanamo, with Truman, Allenford, and Doyle in attendance. Davis gives them a rousing speech. He starts by explaining that the current President is dead, along with the Speaker of the House. This leaves only the current Vice President, now the President, in charge. No word on who that is or what became of said Vice President. Davis then goes on a rant about how the nano wiping out the power is an opportunity for fate to wipe out the weak. They can kill the Vice President, and retake a better, stronger, more American America. Everyone there is on board, despite Allenford questioning whether it's really possible. All questions cease when Davis introduces Doyle to the crowd. He wows everyone and scares Allenford by telling them that they'll get recruits. By hook or by crook.
As if to prove it, current-day blackout Doyle has Boyband brought into Truman's office in Willoughby. While two soldiers hold him down, Doyle finds a number tattooed on Boyband's bottom eyelid, just like Kim and Kyle's, and reads it out loud. Boyband immediately calms down and Doyle tells him he wants to know what Tom is up to. Guess he's not going to rekindle that flame with Charlie anytime soon.
Aaron is asleep. Priscilla gets up and wanders away. At first, you think she's ditching him like she did before. Instead, she finds a nice little clearing where she communes with the nano tech, ecstatic and blissful. Is she even still in control? Has the nano been controlling Priscilla? Guess the nano's not done affecting the plot. How will the nano deal with the Patriots? And what does it still want with Priscilla?
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