We Mustn't Disappoint Father - Game of Thrones - Season 4, Episode 6

We start with sails of a fiery heart, stag in the middle, ending a voyage by sailing under a massive stone statue of a warrior, guarding an elaborate cove with peninsulas connected by bridges. Welcome to Braavos, one of the Free Cities. Founded by people escaping Valyrian rule in Essos ages ago, it was secret for many years, guarded by warriors desperate to keep their freedom.

City of Bankers and Killers, guarded by the Titan. And lots of sellswords and pirates.

Stannis isn't here to sightsee. He and Ser Davos arrive at the Iron Bank of Braavos to ask for loans. For fighters. For ships. Ser Davos tries to get Stannis to sit after they've been waiting for hours, but Stannis is in no mood to even look pleasant. When a group of three bankers emerges and sits on the other side of the table, they "invite" Stannis to sit as well. Which he does. When the Iron Bank addresses him as Lord Stannis, Davos rises and tries to correct the Banker, Tycho Nestoris, trotting out Stannis' titles as King of Westeros. The Iron Bank is amused. You see, they've been loaning Joffrey, and now Tommen, loads of money under the impression that those two were Kings of Westeros who needed to defeat usupers arguing over blood rights. The Iron Bank prefers all things reduced to numbers, which he mercilessly goes through with Stannis and Davos.

Sadly, the Lord of Light has no power over money.

Nestoris declines loaning money to someone with only a paltry number of troops and ships, and nothing to feed them with, anyway. Stannis is about to leave in a huff, when he stands and shows the Iron Bank his cut down fingers. Stannis cut them off, years ago, for being a smuggler. As his debt to be paid. Davos reminds the Iron Bank that Westeros is really led by an old man, and there's no one currently in King's Landing who could replace him. Stannis, on the other hand, is younger, yet old enough to be an experienced warrior. Stannis, not Tommen, is actually capable of leading and fighting. Davos holds up his mutilated hand as he tells the Iron Bank that Stannis pays debts, blood and gold.

The guy's a badass. Just give him what he wants.

Davos later sashays into one of Braavos' brothels, where his old buddy, Salladhor Saan, is telling a joke he doesn't realize the ladies have heard before, so they enjoy ending it for him. He takes it well, and even welcomes his friend Davos to join him, having some fun when he gets the ladies' names wrong to Davos. Davos, however, keeps his clothes on and tells Salladhor that they sail at sunrise. Saan insists that he'll be alone and poor if he sails with Davos, who slides a large leather wallet to Saan. He is astounded that Davos has this kind of money. Davos, ever the friend, says more has just been delivered to Saan's wife at his home. Isn't Davos a good friend? Saan knew their was a catch. He has to leave home with just some pocket money, while his wife gets the lion share for the family.

Yara arrives at the Dreadfort as we flash between her reading Ramsay's letter to her men, whipping them up into a frenzy of Dreadfort hate while we see Ramsay doesn't have a care in the world, except for the very energetic lady friend on top of him. That's about to change, as Yara and her men surprise attack Ramsay's men at the Dreadfort, managing to get in pretty quickly and quietly. Some poor kid gets to lead Yara to where her brother's being kept. But not to a dungeon. No, that's for people. Reek lives with his master's dogs in his very own cage in the kennels. And Reek doesn't like these new people, who slit the throat of one of his master's men, break open his cage, and try to take him away, while calling him "Theon Greyjoy". No, Reek wants his cage, and his master. He's in a dead panic as Yara tries to remove him. It takes too long, and they're ambushed by Ramsay and his men. Ramsay has a bunch of new cuts on him, which I'm pretty sure didn't come from his girlfriend.

Who wants to play tag?

Ramsay's all eager to fight, until Yara puts her brother aside long enough to turn the tide, resulting in a stalemate between Dreadfort and Ironborn men. Ramsay solves it by letting loose his dogs, and Yara and her men retreat. Defeated, with only a few left, Yara tells her rowers that her brother is dead. There's only Reek.

And Reek is about to get a reward. Ramsay brings him to a washroom, with a clean tub of water. Reek doesn't know how to react when Ramsay, gently and lovingly, tells Reek he's getting a reward for his loyalty. Ramsay is so sweet, reminding the viewer that some of his worst tortures of Theon/Reek were with this kind voice and winning smile. Ramsay orders Reek to undress, and when Reek will only take off his shirt, Ramsay orders him to be completely naked. Reek is obviously ashamed of his body and the way he's been mutilated, but Ramsay sends him to the tub, where he lowers himself in water, probably the first time he's bathed in months. And Reek realizes this. So used to being treated like a dog, he keeps expecting Ramsay to show his viciousness any second.

Which Ramsay, cleverer than first thought, doesn't do. He takes the towel, lowers it in the clean water, and gently washes Reek himself, as if Reek is a baby and Ramsay is his servant. Ramsay, in a soft voice, says how happy he is that Reek was so loyal, and that he needs Reek's help. Imagine that, Reek has a chance to be useful! Wouldn't that be wonderful? Ramsay needs Reek's help in taking a castle from some bad people. They're bad because Ramsay says so. And they have a castle called Moat Cailin. Which is just north of the Frey's castle, and guards an important means of getting between the River Lands and the North. So, Roose Bolton needs it if he's to be Warden of the North. And he offered to make Ramsay a Bolton, instead of just a Snow, if Ramsay takes it. Ramsay's decided that the best way, is to get Reek to help him. And all Reek has to do is play a part in a play. Would Reek like to be in a play? To help Ramsay? His character's name is Theon Greyjoy.

At last, the dragons are back! A herder outside Meereen, in a valley with his son tossing rocks into a ravine, gets a very unwelcome surprise when Drogon, Dany's black dragon, floats out of the ravine, growling and flapping his huge, magnificent wings. It would be quite a sight, if Drogon hadn't helped himself to goat flambe right then and there, and flown off with his most recent kill. The goat herder is terrified of telling Dany this, in her throne room, which belonged to the Old Masters of Meereen until recently. Both Dany and Missandei coax the goat herder into showing them the remains of his goat. Dany is all understanding, offering the man three times the value of the animals killed, and he shuffles away, backwards, bowing as he leaves. Jorah looks on, pleased that his Queen did the right and generous thing for someone so dependent on her.

Welcome to Meereen, may I take your order?

Hizdahr zo Loraq is her next supplicant. Obviously, from one of Meereen's older houses, formerly a nobleman who now must adjust to life with someone else in charge. Loraq willingly acknowledges her Queen of Meereen, and points out that his father was responsible for the maintenance of cultural landmarks, such as the pyramid and throne room which she now enjoys. Dany asks to meet his father, but Hizdahr informs Dany that she missed her chance when she had his father crucified. Now, his body and that of the Old Masters have been left on their posts to rot in the sun. Hizdahr claims that his father had no part in the scheme to crucify slave children alone the road to Meereen, that he had even objected to it. I'm sure that every slave-owning family will now come forward, claiming to have opposed everything Dany hates, now that they're out of power. It will always be some other family, some other slaveowner, who ordered this atrocity, or that cruel murder. Dany reminds Hizdahr that the crucified children were left to rot, so why should she show any mercy to their owners? Hizdahr claims that their souls will be unable to proceed to their afterlife without funerals. He eventually begs, as a son, for the right to bury his father. He is all humility for something that doesn't even benefit himself personally, only for the chance to do his family duty. So, Dany gives it to him. The exchange is exhausting, as Dany must remind Loraq of Meereen's sins, and that those sins must be answered with justice. As he leaves, Dany wonders how many more supplicants there are. Missandei informs her there are 212 more people waiting. So, now Dany knows what it's like to work as a cashier at McDonald's.

Back in King's Landing, Tommen's Small Council meets for the first time. Oberyn wants to be a Master of Something, and Mace smugly informs him that Master of Ships is already taken. And nobody in their right mind should make this guy the Master of Coin. Tywin walks in brusquely, and all but Oberyn rise to meet him. He starts the meeting with a report of Sandor Clegane, The Hound, killing soldiers in the RiverLands after declaring that someone should have sex with the king. It's treasonous to them all, and Cersei and Tywin put a price on his head. They move on to a full report from Varys on Meereen and Danaerys. It's almost complete- Varys has just left out, or doesn't know, about Dany's new fleet of ships. He seems a little too happy to report that Barristan Selmy, let go by Cersei, is now helping and advising Dany. Cersei dismisses his concern, but Tywin shoots her down. What about Jorah? Varys has to admit, he's lost Jorah to Danaerys. Oberyn says the Unsullied are a dangerous army; Cersei thinks she's just a little girl. Tywin doesn't have time, or money, to attack her. So, he tells Varys to send his spies into Meereen, for some special job.

Varys stands alone in the throne room, regarding the Iron Throne. Benches are set up, and there are a couple of stands near the front. All ready for Tyrion's trial to start. Varys is not startled by Oberyn approaching him, but corrects Oberyn when he calls Varys a Lord. Varys is not a Lord. He is just Varys. Varys asks, though he probably already knows, how Oberyn knows Essos; Oberyn admits that he has quite a bit of wanderlust, that he plans on seeing this world, and not just one little corner of it. He correctly identifies Varys as from Lhys, and Varys is impressed. But he doesn't confide to Oberyn how he came to Westeros. And he doesn't accept Oberyn's offer of visiting a brother together, admitting that he has no sex life or a wish for one. Oberyn has actually found something that surprises him. A guy with no sex drive- Oberyn hasn't seen this before. Varys explains that by reducing his desires, learning to live without them, leaves him lots of time to stare wistfully at the Iron Throne, probably imagining who he wants to really sit there. And I doubt it's Tommen.

Tyrion's big day comes. Now, we get to see just how busy Cersei's been, building her case. Jaime personally escorts Tyrion from his prison to the Throne Room, in chains. Neither of them like it, but regicide is kind of a big deal, and Jaime came back dedicated to his Kingsguard duties. Tommen recuses himself as judge, leaving Tywin, Oberyn, and Mace Tyrell to sit in judgement. Margaery gets a great front row seat, next to Loras, with Cersei sitting on the other side of the judges. And she's got quite a case; basically, everyone in King's Landing that Tyrion pissed off is happy to testify against him. This includes Meryn Trant, the pissant who killed Syrio Forel, and Maester Pycelle, with his phony list of poisons he accuses Tyrion of stealing. Both could have been easily refuted- Meryn Trant was about to beat a defenseless girl in public; Pycelle didn't object when Tyrion was appointed Master of Coin, or complain of stolen potions before now. Still, the crowd is completely willing to believe everything they say. Tywin is eager to do so, and Mace is eager to please Tywin. Only Oberyn actually tries to ask any sort of questions. When Cersei testifies that Tyrion wanted revenge against her, Oberyn wants to know why. So, she paints herself as a moral creature who just didn't want whores in the Tower of the Hand. Oberyn doesn't ask, by what authority she could order this. Does he wonder whether he's hearing any truth? Margaery looks shaken by Pycelle's testimony, showing how Sansa's necklace, found on Dontos' body, had traces of poison on it, and was probably the murder weapon. Does Margaery, now, fully understand how Joffrey was actually killed?

Come on, I'm too cute to be a killer.

Even Varys testifies against Tyrion, claiming that his marriage to Lady Sansa Stark might have made him sympathetic to the Northern cause of Robb Stark, noting that Tyrion wasn't happy when Robb and Catelyn were murdered. Well, yeah. He's the guy who has to explain it to his wife, somehow. Varys must know this, and Tyrion demands to ask Varys a question of his own, which it pains Tywin to allow. So, Tyrion reminds Varys of his own words noting that Tyrion saved the city from Stannis' army. His question is, did Varys forget these words? Varys, with a straight face, assures Tyrion that he forgets nothing. Even if he wishes he could. Tywin decides he's hungry, and there's a rest for lunch.

***POST SCRIPT UPDATE*** Is Varys, when he answers Tyrions' question, reminding Tyrion of a private conversation they had, months ago, earlier in Season 3, when Varys advised Tyrion on gaining revenge on Cersei?  Is he letting Tyrion know that he's doing the best he can to keep Tyrion alive, considering all that he knows?

Throughout the entire morning, Jaime's been less than impressed with Cersei's witnesses. Probably knowing they're all lackeys to Cersei that she's paid or threatened into testifying (How did she get Pycelle on her side? Didn't she toss him to the curb, like four episodes ago?), he confronts Tywin, insisting that this trial is a farce, a show for the nobles of King's Landing so he can get rid of Tyrion. Tywin is unmoved. He already plans on finding Tyrion guilty. So, the trial is definitely a farce, so that Cersei can get out every horrible thing she hates about her brother before killing him. Jaime basically has to beg for Tyrion's life, pointing out that Tywin has no one he can leave Casterly Rock, or the running of the Westernlands, to. Tywin blames Jaime for this, and reminds him that this is a family, not a Kingsguard, problem. So, Jaime plays his only card. He agrees to Tywin's original scheme, to quit the Kingsguard, leave for Casterly Rock, marry someone else, have children of his own name, basically whatever his father wants him to do. Note, Jaime's willing to throw everything away- Cersei, his job, his prior oaths, his independence from his father, so that Tyrion can spend his days on the Wall with the Night's Watch. All he has to do is persuade Tyrion to take the deal, accept a guilty plea, and ask Tywin for mercy.

Oh, I get it.  You don't really care who killed Joffrey.  

And Jaime's request for that goes about as expected. Tyrion doesn't trust his father to come through, noting that Ned Stark tried taking the same deal, only to be killed right then and there. And, there's no North to rise in rebellion for him. Tyrion seems resigned to being killed no matter what he does. Jaime knows Tyrion doesn't trust the system, or their father. He wants Tyrion to trust him, Jaime. Trials in Westeros always seem like a statement about our system of justice- what do you do when your rights are curtailed any way the law can? What's your best bet for justice? Combat by a sellsword? A deal brokered between the defendant and judge, who is the defendant's own father?

Either way, Tywin gets what he wants...

All this is for nothing, as Cersei calls in her last witness. Tyrion looks heartbroken as Shae, dressed as a plain, but respectable lady, takes the stand, not even looking at Tyrion. Acting humble and contrite, she launches into a story, half true and half completely false, about Tyrion taking her from another knight in the River Lands (sort of true), and declaring that she is his property, and abusing her horribly (not true). Says she did whatever Tyrion wanted, and tries to look like she was afraid of him, and still is. Tyrion is unbelieving as Shae comes up with whatever horrible things she can say about Tyrion. The spectators are horrified. Tywin looks like he was hoping this would come out. Shae claims that he ended up wanting Sansa more than her, and offered to kill Joffrey in order to get Sansa's affections, Tyrion tries to object, begging Shae not to do this. Not to betray him, who she claimed to love. Tyrion is used to his father and sister screwing him, but he really thought he had found love from Shae. And she turned her heartbreak into revenge against him. He is truly, completely, friendless.

Tyrion, after collapsing in his stand, rises only to offer to confess. Tywin is ecstatic; he'll finally be rid of a son he's never wanted. But Tyrion has just decided to tell the world to go fuck itself. He confesses that he is, indeed a dwarf. When Tywin tries to shut him down, Tyrion insists he's always been on trial, for being a dwarf. He then turns to the crowd, and denounces them all, reminding them that he saved the city from sacking by Stannis. But now he wishes he hadn't. He declares he didn't kill Joffrey, he just wishes he did. He tells them all, he was relieved when Joffrey died. And that he only wishes he had enough poison for all of them. Because he never really had a chance to do much, due to others' hatred of his body. Never trusted, never cared about, never praised, never wanted around. Not even by his own family. Tyrion goes from cocky defiance, denying that the wine even killed Joffrey, to resignation that his former friends have abandoned him, to heartbreak when Shae does, to hatred of everyone.

Tyrion, instead, is willing to only accept justice from the gods, and demands to be tried by only them. He demands, to Tywin's visible anger, a trial by combat. This isn't the penitent, humble Tyrion he agreed to send to the Wall. This Tyrion will be executed, horribly, if he loses.

Who will fight for Tyrion? Who will fight for Cersei?

Children's Crusade - Revolution - Season 2, Episode 20

President Davis and Monroe share a common problem- they're not getting the wars they wanted.  They both have their own visions of the future, of a government that they can make right, this time.  So, Miles must stop both of them.  Will he stop complaining about everyone else's psychoses long enough to do something concrete that helps defeat the Patriots?

We start back in DC, with an anxious Ed Truman appearing in the White House.  Davis is polite, very sorry about the mess he made killing Allenford.  Let's hope Allenford regretted killing his own wife before he died.  Davis, to symbolize just how much trouble Ed is in, orders him to sit on the bloody chair Allenford died on.  He does, thinking that this is the time to obey.

So, Davis rants that Texas and California should have been fighting now, that Carver, President of Texas, should be dead.  And how did Monroe and Miles manage to keep them from succeeding?  By Ed failing.  Because Ed is in charge of the Willoughby situation.  Ed, who we know is just barely succeeding as an administrator of the town, tries to be conciliatory at first.  But Davis' guard behind him already has his hand on his sidearm.

Ed, desperate, shoots up into the air.  Davis tries to order him back down, but Ed doesn't want to die today.  He'll stand, and protect what little is left of his dignity.  He then accuses the President, a violent dictator, of meddling in Ed's work, sending other people to handle Miles and Monroe, who all failed and interfered in the running of Willoughby.  Davis, instead of killing Ed, wonders if maybe he got it wrong after all.  Maybe, instead of sending Horn and Doyle and Neville, he should just admit that Ed has the balls of Hillary Clinton and give him what he wants.  So, what does Ed want?

Well, a train ride back to Willoughby, for starters.  Since when do trains run through Texas?  Straight to Willoughby?  Where is this train station?  We don't know.  We do see Ed greeted by Shaw, torturing people in Texas for over a year now.  Shaw presents Ed with a local, who repeats to Ed that he's seen the enemy at a local chemical factory.  Ed is thrilled.  Not even back and his hard work with the locals has paid off with intelligence.  Some army dude puts his head in, and wants to know when Ed will need them.  Oh, now.  Ed then orders Shaw to find Neville. And fire him.  With a severance package of lead.

Charlie is wandering through an abandoned golf course (what, Ed didn't re-open the golf course?), calling out for Miles, who can hear her, but not much else.  A bloody, weak hand rises from the tall grass (come on, Ed, just cut the grass and open the course), slowly floating in the air.  Charlie's about to go when, a quick look back reveals Miles' hand.  She runs to him, plunking down at his side as she calls for her Mom.  We next see Miles recovering in Gene's medical tent, doing well enough to be restless.  Rachel wants to coo at Miles for a while, but he has more important things to discuss, and holds up the guitar pick from the basement.  The one that reminded him of Rachel.  She's clueless, and he's a little disappointed that she doesn't automatically remember that night.

Aaron checks up on Nano Priscilla, who doesn't understand that advertising is all fake.  Can't Aaron get her to go outside, interact with some real humans?  For a being that supposedly sees all, the Nano can be duped by magazine pictures.  Aaron starts bitching that he wants Priscilla back, but the Nano tells him that she's doing what she wants for as long as she wants.  Aaron is about to uselessly beg for Priscilla's return, when he hears birds.  Lots of them.  Like, from the Alfred Hitchcock movie.

Either they're shooting an Alfred Hitchcock movie, or you should run

All of the camp is just staring at entire flocks of birds fleeing something.  Really?  Aaron worries that it's the Nano, but Priscilla can only tell Aaron that he should run.  So, Aaron does what he does best, panics, and bursts through the crowd like George Costanza at a kid's birthday party, screaming that they should run.  Everyone is a little confused at first, but then Miles sees the yellow smoke.  And they all panic.  Mercenaries, Mathesons, and Monroes scramble to run as fast as possible through the maze of the abandoned factory, while the gas flows toward them, and Patriots hiding in the gas, take pot shots at people fleeing to higher ground, and collapsed in the yellow haze.   The men who arrived with Ed.  They're a chemical warfare team.

Aaron, with a head start, has managed to scramble up the small hill leading from the factory.  Miles spies an empty tanker truck, with its cargo hold open, so they all scramble in:  Miles, Monroe, Connor, Charlie, Rachel, Dr. Dad, Scanlon, and finally, Aaron, who was actually thinking of going back for Priscilla.  They lock themselves in, Monroe holding a gun to the hatch as a last stand from the Patriots.  Priscilla is taking a gentle stroll through the carnage, disturbed by what she sees.  Two Patriots find her, still standing in a haze of deadly poison gas, and they have a staring contest.    Other Patriots scramble up the hill, encountering the tanker.  Unable to open it, a Patriot decides to shoot some holes in it, for good measure.  The survivors scramble to plug the gaps.  After that, it's a long wait, through cries for mercy and gunshots.

A better world.  A yellower world.

Ed, back in Willoughby, is rummaging through a drawer in Marion's home.  She's surprised, but happy to see him, wondering what he's digging through.  Ed leaves, promising to swing by later that night, after she's home from visiting her dad's grave.   Marion, hesitantly, goes through the drawer.  It's the usual. Uniform, socks, gas mask, scary instructions about something shocking.

I've only got one gas mask.  And it ain't for you.

After nightfall, Team Miles creeps from the tanker.  The air has cleared, and the Patriots seem to be gone.  Priscilla finds them, and they wander off together in the night.  All the mercenaries, except Scanlon, are dead.  They are back to the small group they started with.  Around the fire, still reeling from the carnage, Priscilla claims she hid in a fridge to avoid the gas, having smelled it before anyone else did.  Rachel seems satisfied with the answer.

Monroe, not caring about anyone else's survival, wants revenge.  He decides to steal some mustard gas himself, and take out some Patriots, as many as possible.  Innocent people included.  He tells Miles that he's tired of listening to people who don't want to just kill everybody.  It's time to kill everybody.  Just when you think Miles will try to talk some sense into him, he gets up and agrees with Monroe instead.  Monroe, Miles, Connor and Scanlon march out into the darkness.  Rachel follows, saying nothing, and Miles turns around to face her.

He tells her, frustrated, that he can't think of anything else to do.  He's done trying to save lives, too.  So Rachel, bitterly disappointed, says she's not fighting over Miles anymore.  In true high school girl fashion, she declares that Monroe can have Miles. And Miles can have his war.  But Miles can't do this and have Rachel.  She dumps Miles right there.  As the four men ramble towards wherever an extra can of mustard gas might be, Monroe tries to console Miles.  But there's nothing worse than a sympathetic Monroe.

Miles gets Monroe to tell him what the brilliant plan to retake the Monroe Republic is.   Monroe insists that he still has a ton of soldiers in the Northeast, and that they will rally to him when he re-appears, alive, after the Patriots tried to kill him.  It's never occurred to Monroe, that the Patriots framed him for the nuke that destroyed Philly.  If he sets foot in the Northeast, he'll be slaughtered on sight.  Miles doesn't say this, but it's obvious that he thinks Monroe is an idiot.  But Monroe isn't done.  Once the victory parades in Philly end, he and his instantly reborn Militia will defeat the Patriots in D.C., and take Georgia.

Miles isn't surprised, just disappointed.  He realizes that Monroe wants the entire East Coast, and isn't afraid to use chemical weapons to get it.    Monroe insists that he'll bring some order to the East Coast, after the bloody mess the Patriots have made of it.  Miles reminds Monroe that crazy psychopaths don't bring order.  Monroe, acting contrite, says he's learned from his mistakes, and this time will be different.  Except that, trying to find some mustard gas for wiping out the town of Willoughby, Monroe has already shown that nothing has changed.  And Miles knows it.

Also wandering in the dark, despite Rachel's worries, are Priscilla and Aaron.  Has it ever occurred to characters that all the comings and goings from their new top secret hideout might give them away?  You don't get a hideout, and then go roaming the countryside.  You hide out there.

What did the crazy AI do now???

Aaron follows Nano Priscilla into a dark and creepy house, with horror-movie-shenanigans in every little scene detail.  Aaron at first sees someone reading a newspaper, and retreats to a corner like a scared little kid, but when there's no activity, he slowly approaches, only to find a dead Patriot.  Aaron removes the gas mask to see that his eyes bled, meaning he probably died from some internal hemorrhage.  As he realizes what Nano Priscilla's been doing, the lights and sounds of a 21st century home blast all of sudden on Aaron.  It's momentarily terrifying to be surrounded by what was normal, but Priscilla sashays into the living room, like a 50s housewife in a magazine ad.

She has big news for Aaron.  She thinks, after reading a few magazine articles and reading Neil Gaiman's American Gods, that she's got humanity figured out.  She declares to Aaron that humanity is miserable.  Aaron sarcastically tells her this is not news to him, as he is the Great Wallower in Misery of the show.  Priscilla isn't done.  She's sure that humans being miserable, sad, angry, jealous, whatever, is the source of all their bad behavior.  Figure out how to keep humanity happy and contented, and they'll behave.  Aaron is horrified, mostly because he doesn't think the dead Patriots still sitting around the house look all that happy, though they have stopped gassing people.

Aaron looks ready to give up on ever getting the real Priscilla back.  Nano Priscilla isn't just here to observe for a while.  She's got a long-term project that includes killing humans until she finds the magic way to alter our limbic system into permanent contentment.  As he tries to leave, Priscilla traps him in the house, deciding that he will help her.  But why should he?  He can tell Nano Priscilla will never give him his ex-wife back.  So, what will Nano Priscilla threaten him with next?

Shaw finally finds Neville in the dark, who looks like a shell of his former self.  Agreeing that Ed Truman wants an update, Neville leads Shaw right to his temporary home, and abandoned house (the one from last week?).  Shaw already has his gun drawn behind his back.  Neville can't see it, but we all know that tone he's using; the I'm-going-to-kill-you-before-you-kill-me voice.  Neville pours them both some old hooch, as Shaw tells Neville that he no longer has to look for Monroe.  Neville still doesn't act, turning around as Shaw pulls out his gun.  Before he fires, he steps forward, and the floorboard gives way to a massive, steel bear trap that slices right through Shaw's leg.  He's in excruciating pain and on the floor.  Neville tells him he has time for one drink, and that they're going to talk a while.

Scanlon bitches about being bait for Monroe's plan. When Connor defends his dad's strategic brilliance, and points out that if Scanlon is worth so much more, how are his mercenaries dead, they have a nasty fight, ending only when Connor pulls a stick or blade out the fire and holds it to Scanlon's neck.  In a very strained voice, Connor threatens Scanlon with some unspecified violence, and says that Scanlon has no idea how dangerous Connor really is.  As they are bonding, gas-masked Patriots approach, but Miles and Monroe, in gas masks of their own ambush them.  And look what Monroe now has.

Marion, like she does every Sunday, visits her dad's grave.  At night.  Alone.  Dr. Dad, her former boyfriend, who knows her routine, meets her there.  Marion, who doesn't support Team Miles, ever since Monroe's attack on the kids' brainwashing camp, doesn't want to leave with him, but Charlie appears with a shotgun, and apologizes for kidnapping Marion.

Neville plays with his victim a bit, trying to get Shaw to confirm if his wife is dead.  He spends some time pointing out his responsibility for Jason's death, how he didn't listen to his son, he wasn't there for the kid. But his real blame, real hatred, is reserved for the Patriots that turned his son into a living weapon. He admits that Jason was right, as Shaw tells Neville that he doesn't know if Julia is alive.  But Neville reads his face, realizing that Shaw holds out no hope for his wife.  Shaw, finally, after torturing and killing others, is in the position of begging for his own life.  It isn't pretty how weak bullies actually are.  Shakily declaring his whole family gone, even after everything he's done, tells Shaw, in between stomping on his broken leg, that the Patriots will burn.  He then wastes a perfectly good pillow as a completely ineffective silencer when he shoots Shaw.

Back at the top-secret garden shed/rebel hideout, Monroe tries to offer Miles some hooch, to celebrate their victory.  But Miles defies all Monroe's expectations and refuses to get drunk.  Monroe is stunned.  Miles somehow lures Monroe outside, maybe offering to drink with him there.  Once Monroe is outside, Miles shuts the chain-link gate and locks Monroe out.  We see Rachel mixing something, and she explains that it's lye and something else, made to neutralize mustard gas.  The mustard gas that Monroe just stole to use.  Monroe realizes he's been had, and that Miles had already chosen Rachel, even before leaving with him.  Dr. Dad brings in Marion, and Miles explains to her what they've got.  Marion could have assumed that the mustard gas was really Miles', except that the scary plans she saw earlier prove that the Patriots are moving a chemical weapon into the area.  She tells Miles that Ed Truman is bringing about 100 tons of the stuff to Willoughby.  It's bad news, but Marion is already paying off as a spy, which she agrees to do for Miles.

Yeah, sure, how hard can spying be?

Monroe isn't happy.  He tries to tell Miles that he's pussy-whipped, but Miles isn't having it.  He tells Monroe, again, that he can't be a part of anymore crazy, violent schemes by Monroe.  Monroe has finally been more trouble than he's worth in the war against the Patriots, and Miles tells him he can go or stay.  Miles won't kill him, he can't, but he won't help Monroe do anything.  He tells Monroe that Monroe will end up alone again, and he'll have only himself to blame.  Again. The bromance is officially over.  Rachel had nothing to do with it.  But Monroe knows better, as he saves a specially angry look for Rachel.  Who has the decency not to gloat.  Monroe takes off with Connor, and Rachel is relieved when she hears it from Miles.

Rachel, though, wants to know: why is Miles changing tactics, and cutting ties with Monroe?  What does he want now?  Instead of telling Rachel what he admitted to her dad, that he's fighting just to have something to fight, he shows her the guitar pick again.  Rachel, still doesn't realize its significance.  So, Miles informs her that it's a specially rare pick, made in Germany.  And that he owned one before the blackout.  He was using it to play guitar the night they met.  He tells Rachel that they've both done dumb, terrible things.  But that she's rejected cynicism and chosen hope, and so will he.  For her.  And Charlie.  Because wanting to be with them again is the only reason he climbed out of that basement.

Neville makes a different choice.  Monroe leads Connor back to the chemical factory, totally free of any Patriots now, and he proceeds to some back alley area, where he unearths a trunk full of guns, declaring that their father/son takeover of the nation begins today, and they don't need Miles after all.   Connor is a poor substitute for Miles, though, as Neville manages to take Connor by the neck, almost like his son Jason did just weeks ago.  Monroe thinks that Neville is here for him.  Oh, no.  Neville is here because he and Monroe have work to do.  So Monroe gets his wish from a few episodes back.  The son of a bitch who could get a job done is with him.

The show's damsel in distress.  In distress again.

The Past Is A Foreign Country - Cosmos - Season 1, Episode 9

Every day, we get up, go about our day, and then go back to bed.  Survival, for us, is relatively easy.  But, that is an exception.  For most living things, survival on any given day is not a given.  And if the environment becomes unlivable without enough time to adapt, your whole species can die out.

And for those humans who survive, it means that your perspective of existence is about 80 years.  Out of 13.8 billion.  We don't live long enough to perceive our origins, or how much in our universe has changed.  Our eyes can only see to a certain visibility, so everything at the atomic level appears invisible.  Our eyes can only see to a certain distance, so our universe looks much smaller than it really is.  In one lifetime, we'll only get the slightest glimpse of how the universe plays out.  Science can help us see into the past, see far away, and see down below.

Tyson starts in the Permian Period, about 300 mya (million years ago).  The constellations we know would not have existed.  Earth itself was unrecognizable.  Oh, it was blue and green, but Permian astronauts would have seen a very different world than what Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin saw:

One continent.  Giant Bugs.  No cable.

Insects swarmed the Permian landmass known as Pangaea.  It was the last time our world was really united, and it created lasting mysteries in the fossil and geological record.  But how did we realize it existed?  How did we explain its forming, and its breakup?

The Permian diversity of life was made possible by a new innovation in living things:  trees.  Mutation at the molecular level produced lignin in plants, enabling them to be strong, yet bendable.  This allowed for plants to grow up, instead of out, collecting more light as they got taller and higher.  The result:  more trees made more photosynthesis.  And more photosynthesis produces more oxygen as its waste product.  Oxygen in our atmosphere abounded.  Any living things that survived by inhaling oxygen through their outer shells thrived, and had the potential to be huge.  Dragonflies had 24" wingspans.  

Yeah.  Go ahead.  Try the bug spray.

What happened to the trees, as they died?  Well, lignin was hard for animals and surface microbes of the time to digest, so the trees sat and decayed, leaving behind fossils for us to find.  Over time, they were buried, and the carbon dioxide in their decaying shells was buried with them.  The decaying process literally turned these dead trees into our world's current coal, oil, and natural gas supply.

Exxon is basically dead trees.

This awesome spectacle died, pretty quickly by fossil record standards, starting at about 252 mya.  With Siberia.  Basically, volcanoes set a huge supply of fossil fuel coal on fire over an area the size of Western Europe.  What is known as Siberia today literally erupted.  For years on end, volcanoes spewed lava and ash.  The lava alone covered about 2 million square kilometers.  The ash spread throughout the atmosphere.  Siberia's coal (a fossil fuel from all the trees) combined with the ash, produced sulphur and radioactive ash particles, aka coal smoke.  Imagine London, in one of their coal-induced pea soup fogs.  The haze blocked the sun and caused temperatures to immediately plummet.  But that's not all.  The CO2 realized by both volcano eruptions as well as the igniting of all that coal starting a chain reaction of massive global warming, soon overpowering whatever creatures hadn't died from the freeze.  

As the waters warmed, the change in surface water temps caused massive current changes, churning bottom and top water.  This churn, and warmer water near the ocean floor, melted huge chunks of methane ice.  And methane is an even more potent greenhouse gas.  As methane ice melted, then evaporated, our atmosphere retained even more heat.  In addition, methane gas then destroyed the ozone layer of the time, exposing all living things to the worst of the sun's UV radiation.  Eventually, oxygen literally ran down, as plants producing it died out.  It was like a perfect storm to end all life on Earth.  And it almost did.  The Permian-Triassic Extinction is the worst mass extinction known in our planet's history.  About 90% of our world's species died out.  Only small things lived, things that could survive the heat, the low oxygen, and the extra radiation.  Our planet's Tree of Life took about ten million years to recover.

Living things looked very different in a period of 10 million years.  So, our perspective of biodiversity is missing the branches lost from the Permian.  It requires careful looking at the fossil record to understand just how many different living things the earth can support.  But the fossil record and the geological sediment record seemed to be fucking with us. Fossils of identical animals could sometimes be found on both Africa and South America, from the same time period.  How could identical animals have lived at the same time across thousands of miles of oceans?  How could mountain ranges appear and disappear, and appear to cross oceans as well?

People have noticed, since maps were first made, that Africa and South America look like long lost puzzle pieces.  Abraham Ortellius, producing a map in 1570, guessed that the two continents were once united, and chalked it up to earthquakes or floods.  Alfred Wegner, an early 20th century meteorologist, guessed almost correctly, giving us the idea of continental drift, the idea that continents move.  But how, how does higher solid land move across the ocean floor?  With limited views of the world, without a proper idea of what was beneath our own feet, we could not imagine how Wegner could be correct.  

In 1952, Bruce Heezen and Marie Tharp collaborated on a project to map the floors of the oceans.  Using sonar onboard ship, Heezen collected data on elevations all over the ocean floor.  Tharp was restricted from conducting her own research onboard, as women were not allowed.  So, she took Heezen's data and processed it in New York, producing the maps.  Marie noticed a mountain range right smack in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, now called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.  First publishing a map of the Atlantic Ocean floor in 1957, they produced a truly worldwide map of the world, showing ocean floors as well as landmasses, in 1977.

Our real world

Once you can really see the world, you can literally see how it's stitched together, usually in our oceans, but also along the Pacific Coasts of the Americas and Asia.  Like stitching on a baseball, these are the tectonic plates of Earth's crust.  The crust of our planet, is like an eggshell to an egg- a very thin surface over all sorts of activity deep inside.  This includes our liquid and solid cores, made of iron and other heavy metals, as well as an inside layer of mantle, literally hot lava under the crust, filling in the space between core and surface.

Basically, anything orange and red.  We live where it's blue.

The mantle is constantly churning crust, because it's fucking hot and kind of liquid.  The crust resists.  Depending on who wins, the mantle or the crust, and how much energy has built up in their shoving match, landmasses can split or be scrunched together.  

Just watch the movie.  It's in color.

It requires something else to understand how our landmasses are shaped, and the effect on life that has.  Not as catastrophic as the Permian Extinction, the breakup of Pangaea started about 175 mya.  First, north broke off from south, into Laurasia (North America, Eurasia), and Gondwanaland (South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia).  Then, east and west split, as the Americas drifted together, separated by a sea where Central America is now, water moved around freely between Atlantic and Pacific.  Plate tectonics changed that, shoving Panama up from the ocean floor where it is now, creating the ocean currents (and associated air streams) we currently know.  

Plate tectonics created the Mariana Trench, about 6 miles deep (height of Everest, but inverted), with water pressure at about 8 tons per square inch.  You and I can't live there, as it's too cold, too dark, and would crush us like bugs.  But other things can.  Lots of things.   Without light, the animals of the deep produce their own through bioluminescence, which is using pigment, an enzyme, and oxygen to make light.  Without plants, the bottom of the food chain hangs around vents in the ocean floor, imbibing hydrogen sulfide.  

As if below isn't bad enough, above is even crazier.  Venus isn't large, but it's close (relatively).  Jupiter and Saturn aren't close, but they're fucking huge.  Their gravity pulls and pushes at Earth, affecting our tilt and our orbit, creating the Milankovitch Cycles.  Even a small change can produce an Ice Age, with glaciers covering about half of the Northern Hemisphere.  But we've survived them.  As a species, not as individuals.  The last ended about 20,000 years ago.  But we have no records from our ancestors about surviving them.  We had to learn about them from fossil and geological records, which are the true survivors.  The next isn't expected for another 50,000 years from now.  Tyson hints that the Halls of Extinction have our next chapter.  Well, not ours.  So, about 70,000 years will exist, in which humanity has a nice weather window.  On a 4.5 billion year-old planet.  In a 13.8 billion year-old planet.  Our tiny perspective is from when the sun is shining, not from when the perfect storm comes. 

Water Dancing - Game of Thrones - Season 4, Episode 5

It's a whole new vibe in King's Landing as Tommen is crowned.  He is young, but he looks determined to give this King stuff a try, and the Septon recites all the attributes from the Seven Gods of Westeros that Tommen will receive.

Oh, Fuck it.  Just be better than Joffrey, kid.

Remember who Mommy almost poisoned that night?  Now, he's King.

Tommen is already making eyes with Margaery, as if they already had a private joke about his crowning to smile together at.  With the Lannisters on the dais with him, and the Tyrells in front seats over all others, it's clear who will still be running this realm.  Cersei catches the last of their shared, not-well-kept smiles, and decides to have a heart-to-heart with Margaery.  Really.  She seems finally ready to accept that the Tyrells are Lannister's allies now, and have to be kept happy.  Instead of a veiled threat, or self-serving insult, Cersei admits that Margaery is better off without Joffrey, telling Margaery that she dodged a bullet by not having Joffrey as a husband for more than a few hours.  Margaery plays this very diplomatically, and I think Olenna is right to trust her with Tommen and his future.  She respects Cersei's feelings for her son, good and bad; she demurs from criticizing Joffrey herself (knowing that Cersei would use it later against her) and doesn't say an outright yes when Cersei suggests she marry Tommen.   Margaery says she must defer to her father's judgement.  Cersei notes that she has the same restriction.  Two women, one fully grown with two sons on the throne, and they can't do anything without Daddy's say-so.

Tywin is sympathetic to the match.  After both agreeing, in hushed tones, that two weeks ought to do it for both kids, they agree to suggest the match to the Tyrells.  Has Joffrey's death made them realize how vulnerable they are, both in and out of King's Landing?  Tywin decides that it's finally time for Cersei to marry Loras, The Flower Knight, and Cersei doesn't have it in her to put up a fight.  Sounding resigned, she listens patiently as her father explains why her marriage is important.  The West's gold mines have gone empty, not turning up any new gold in three years.  Casterly Rock, and House Lannister, are going to have money problems.  Soon.  

And so will the realm, as wars are expensive, and the crown has borrowed heavily from the Iron Bank of Braavos.  Tyrion briefly mentioned them last season; if you don't pay them back, they fund your enemies.  Cersei doesn't understand why they don't talk to someone at the Iron Bank; Tywin says there's no one who would talk to them, even if they could find an actual person to talk to.  The Iron Bank doesn't enforce its loan terms with Sheriffs or courts; they just have you destroyed by another debtor.  So, you pay up, or you die.  In the end, no matter who runs Westeros, the Iron Bank will profit by it.  Remember, Ser Davos applying to them in the last episode?  

Like zombies, they can't be bargained with, or frightened/injured into stopping.  Tywin admits that they have an enemy that not even Tywin can scheme around.  So, Cersei understands now why she must marry Loras; Lannister needs the Tyrells' money to pay the Iron Bank.  Marrying Loras will cement their alliance, making the Tyrells more willing to pay the crown's debts.  Gold is more valuable, but the good land of the Reach can be farmed forever.

Before parting, Tywin tells Cersei that he's fine with her making whatever kind of case she wants for Tyrion's guilt, but he won't- "wink wink"- talk to her about it, as he has to pretend to be an impartial judge.  Cersei just has to give him enough so he can say they tried him, and present just a little bit of good evidence.  Cersei goes on about their family name, implying that by getting rid of Tyrion, they can be the family she's always wanted.

Petyr Baelish and Sansa reach the Eyrie, not seen since Season 1.  After getting Sansa to cover her unique red hair, he then instructs Sansa on how impregnable the Eyrie is as they proceed through archers ready to shoot at the slightest hint of attack to the Bloody Gate.  It's here that the Vale usually defeats their enemies, as it's the only way through the Mountains of the Moon.  Armies have been dying here for 1,000 years, which is why Lysa literally fled here after her husband's death.  She now will bend the knee to Tommen, but on her terms.  

And what a wonderful reunion, as Sansa is finally united with a relative, her mother's sister Lady Lysa.  Lysa is widow to Jon Arryn, whose death made Eddard Stark the Hand in the first place.  Lysa also set Catelyn onto House Lannister, starting the outright enmity that ignited Jaime Lannister and the Mountain in the first place.  We see that Lord Robin, Jon Arryn's son by Lysa, is hopefully not actually breastfeeding anymore, although he is still staring lovingly at his mother's breast, like a dieter regarding chocolate.  The little guy is ecstatic to see "Uncle" Petyr again, lovingly caressing the mockingbird crystal Baelish has brought him, and joyously tossing it out the Moon Door, to demonstrate to Sansa what the drop is like, and because he likes to see things "fly" out of it.  He's seemingly sweet, but he'll kill you without a second thought, just because the sight of it excites him.  Sansa's a little put off, but is happy to go off with someone who's being nice to her.

Leaving Lysa to pounce on Petyr like Miss Piggy on Kermit:  

Oh, Kermie Kermie Kermie Kermie....

Lysa, also like Miss Piggy, wants to be married immediately to her Kermie.  She feels she should get what she wants with no more waiting, and we find out that she poisoned Jon Arryn, her own husband.  She lied to Catelyn about the Lannisters, which led to fighting all over the River Lands as her lie played out.  All for Petyr, and at his urging.  She's been more loyal than any wife, and she's done waiting.  When Baelish tries to get a few hours before the ceremony, Lysa opens the doors to reveal that she's already lined up the Septon.  Then, she goes full Miss Piggy as she reveals she's dressed for a wedding, and totally ready for that wedding night.

Sansa tries to sleep through their lovemaking, unable to ignore Lysa's screams of ecstasy.  Lysa finally gets what she wants. And like Miss Piggy, she can be pretty loud when she does.  The next day, Sansa enjoys eating lemon cakes, and she's lulled into liking Aunt Lysa with a shared memory of her mother's love of sweets.  Lysa segues from an embarrassing story of Catelyn, into how the lemons required for the cake got to the Eyrie, and how it was all by Baelish, for Sansa.  So, Sansa's grateful, right?Because she should be.  But not so grateful, because Lysa is already extremely jealous of Catelyn's daughter.  Lysa clearly was always jealous of Catelyn.  Lysa loved Petyr, and always suspected that he loved Catelyn more than her, even when Lysa had sex with Petyr years ago.  Lysa got old Jon Arryn as a husband, while Catelyn got Ned Stark, who gave her five healthy children.  But now, Catelyn is dead, her children almost all gone, and Lysa has her heir of the Eyrie, and the husband she's always wanted.  Her glee at imagining herself the winner is obvious, and her ability to turn on Sansa frightens her.  Fortunately, Sansa has spent the last year or so learning how to placate very stupid tyrants.  By telling them what they want to hear, that she's still a virgin, that Tyrion never touched her and neither did Petyr, that Lysa has nothing to fear from her.  And it works.  Lysa holds Sansa to her bosom as she insists that Sansa will marry her son, the grossly immature Robin.  Sansa looks like she wants Tyrion back.

Dany holds a Small Council meeting, with Ser Barristan Selmy, Jorah Mormount, Daario Naharis, and probably Missandei and Grey Worm, though they don't have any advice for Dany.  Daario presents Dany with Meereen's navy, which he took on his own initiative, as a present for her.  Dany has to look away so Daario doesn't see that she's pleased, despite Daario moving without her say-so. She pretends to accept Daario's present, only because he's captured enough ships to possibly strike at King's Landing.  Selmy is ready to take the ships, the Unsullied and the Second Sons to King's Landing and see if it's enough. He tells Dany that all of Westeros will rally to her when she arrives.  Mormount, while not calling out Selmy's bullshit,  isn't so sure that they have enough to take more than the capital.  He also informs Dany that Yunkai's slaveowners have control of the city again, reinstating slavery.  And Astapor, freed first, has been taken over by a tyrant named Cleon. Her experiment in emancipation is backsliding.  

40 acres and a mule ain't gonna cut it

So, sail for Westeros, and maybe get her crown back?  Or, take the one she already has, and make her campaign for freedom more long-term?  Dany is worried by her own lack of experience, and even more concerned for the people who look to her for help.  She confides in Mormount that it's time for her to be a Queen, now, to the people she already rules.  So she will rule.  She moseys out to the balcony, looking over her conquered territory, as a home.  For now.

Podrick is horribly unsuited for his new job, which Brienne spends all day reminding him.  He never rode anywhere with Tyrion, he never cooked food, he really only poured lots of wine and washed Tyrion's clothes.  Like a valet at Downton Abbey.  He can barely keep up with Brienne, who rides smoothly along the Kings Road, intent on reaching the Wall and Castle Black, where Brienne thinks Sansa has gone to be with her brother, Jon.  Brienne is exasperated by Podrick's inexperience, until she learns that Podrick killed a member of the Kingsguard to protect his Lord.  So, the kid may not be the brightest star, but he's loyal.  So, Brienne relents and asks for Pod to help her out of her armor.  Which he leaps to.  

Cersei and Oberyn share a stroll.  Oberyn tells her that he writes very bad poetry for his daughter by Ellaria, one of his eight baseborn daughters, known as the Sand Snakes.  Ellaria is mother to about half of them, including the daughter Oberyn named for his murdered sister, Ellia.  He confesses that she is a handful, and Cersei guesses it is because of the effect of Ellia's name and tragic end on Oberyn, that his daughter bickers with him.  

Okay, enough about you.  Let's talk about me now.

Cersei is on a roll, three relatively benign conversations in one episode.  Here, she's worried about her daughter and desperate for information about whether Myrcella is happy.  Oberyn assures Cersei that Princess Myrcella is fine, and playing with the Martell kids in Dorne.  Cersei's not convinced.  But she trusts Oberyn to bring Myrcella her name-day present, a handsome little sailing yacht, perfect for a little girl who loves the sea.  Oberyn is impressed and happily accepts the assignment.  He, once again tries to reassure here that Dorne would never mistreat a little girl.  Cersei calls that wishful thinking.  Neither girls nor women are safe anywhere.  

The Hound can't sleep through Arya's night time recitation of her kill list.  At first, the Hound is sympathetic with Arya, saying she may as well keep going from hate as anything else.  He even fully supports killing his own brother, the Mountain.  But Arya has one more name on kill list.  His.  When he awakes the next morning, and finds Arya practicing her old water-dancing moves, he outright mocks how each move is fussy, requiring extra movements.  He mocks Syrio Forel, who was killed by a Kingsguard that the Hound thinks is barely competent.  If Syrio was the best, why is he dead?  Arya insists that with her moves and little sword, she can kill, and tries to demonstrate on the Hound.  

Who is completely unharmed from her perfect lunge, as her knife can't even dent the light armor he wears.  The Hound takes Needle away, and swipes her in the face, knocking her to the ground so he can point Needle at her.  Victory doesn't go to people with fancy moves.  It goes to whoever has the longest sword and the best armor.  Arya can put his name on her kill list all she wants.  The Hound will sleep well anyway.

Oh, Good Grief!

And now, we come North of the Wall, where the Mutineers continue to terrorize Craster's wives, forcing them out into the cold as they continue the sexual violence.  Locke, Jon's fake new friend, scouts out the place, the men left, and even finds Bran and his friends.  And he almost faithfully, reports on all he sees.  He's not here to kill Jon, just sneak his little brother away to Roose Bolton.  He even warns Jon from going near the tent where Bran is kept.  Best to keep him out of the way, and let him be none the wiser.

Bran, Meera and Jojen can't see any way to free themselves.  But Jojen is admant;  Bran will get to the Three-Eyed Crow.  Jojen urges Bran to complete his journey, even if he must leave them. He, like Bran, has seen the weir tree that Bran must find.  As the hut fades away, we see Bran, still tied up and bloody, sitting in front of the tree.  Bran is relieved that Jojen also sees the tree. But the moment is ruined.

Qarl Tanner, the assassin of King's Landing, now living large in Craster's Keep, rejoices in finally getting to rape Meera, who is scared but resolute.  She tries to resist getting chained up, but there are two Mutineers working on her, and Qarl scares the shit out of her.  Bran is uselessly begging, Hodor is trying to free himself, and Jojen suddenly offers Qarl his services.  As a seer.  To save his sister.  When Qarl mocks his gift, Jojen gleefully foretells Qarl his own death.  The sounds of fighting start, Qarl runs out, and Jojen predicts the place will burn, with his hand catching fire to demonstrate.  

Weird, right?  It just does that...

The fight is pretty quick, at least outside.  Locke, after the fighting begins, sneaks back to the hut.  After slicing Bran's leg to demonstrate that he is the crippled Bran Stark, he begins to cut Bran free.  The others realize that Locke is here to kidnap Bran and leave them, and Hodor becomes frantic, pulling at the chain and plate that hold him in place.  Jojen is calm, though, nodding at Bran to do it. As Locke hoists Bran on his shoulders for the trip to the Dreadfort, Bran wargs into Hodor.  This gives Hodor the extra edge to free himself from the wall, chase after Locke, and kill him with Hodor's bare hands basically crushing his skull.  Bran falls onto the ground next to Locke's dead body.  He looks up and can literally see his brother Jon, cleaning up the mess of the Mutineers. He wants Jon to see him, help him.  But Hodor has freed Jojen, who gives Bran a choice; keep on his journey, or the safety of Castle Black.  Because Jon won't let him go.  Bran, after a long look at his brother, silently has Hodor slip them away.  Safety would be great.  Family would be great.  But the Three-Eyed Crow won't stop until Bran has come.

Jon spies Qarl Tanner running back into the main house, and they have a rousing sword fight, the night's main action.  Qarl Tanner is sure of winning, even when Jon gets in a few good blows.  Qarl is quicker than Jon, and has more fighting experience.  But Qarl has more enemies than Jon.  Just as he's about to win, a sword pops out of his mouth, bloody from the back of his head.  Qarl falls aside as we see one of Craster's wives, black eye healing nicely, getting revenge for herself and her sisters.  Qarl, despite his huge wound, can still stagger up, grab her, and is about to kill her when Jon finally kills him from behind.  The fight is over.  The Mutineers are almost wiped out.  Only one remains.  Cuntface, who like all horror-movie victims, is stupidly running through dark woods in a panic.  He stops in a clearing, where we hear a sinister growl.  Cuntface's good buddy Ghost shows up, and gets his revenge.

Jon and his buddies are surveying the wreck of Craster's, when Ghost finally emerges from the dark, to Jon's joy.  

Let's see Janos Slynt call my dad a traitor now.

Craster's wives look on, about ten of them.  Finally free of both abusive father and intruders, Jon would like to take them to Castle Black.  They're not interested.  They brush off all the dangers Jon brings up, and tell Jon to burn the place down.  They've had enough of men protecting them from the outside world, only to be more dangerous than anything outside.  They'll live or die on their own now.  They are fascinated when their home and hell burn, watching it crumble as their old lives end and their new ones begin.   Free.  In a world where women lose, horribly, all the time, it's nice to see them win once in a while.

Hang In There, Kitty! - Revolution - Season 2, Episode 19

Who really knows Miles?  Who knows him best?  Who knows him, deep down?  Who knows what he really needs?  Who knows what's best for him?  Certainly not Miles, who only seems to want to live to the next episode.  Which is what he spends this episode doing.

Charlie's doing poorly.  She looks like she's on Valium from the second she leaves the building in Austin where she killed Jason.  She stumbles through the panicked crowd.  No one notices her, not even a cop.  Except Miles, who has magically evaded being tackled himself after killing the would-be assassin.  He whisks her away, where she can stare blankly behind them as the wagon they flee Austin with proceeds to Willoughby.  They're close to home base now.

Miles, somehow knowing what happened but not the details, tells her that bad things happen, that at least they won this round against the Patriots.  Monroe is all for this sentiment, and wants to know what Miles has planned next.  Miles just wanted to console Charlie, not give Monroe a chance to go commando again.  But Monroe won't be stopped.  He tells them killing Neville is next, to prevent him from killing Charlie once Jason's death is known.  Their plans are cut short when seven Texas Rangers ride into hearing and then sight.

Monroe instantly wants to kill them.  Miles, like a tired parent with a five year old, explains that it's great if you don't kill people whose help you want. Miles shoos everyone off the wagon and sends them to find cover, while he'll take the wagon and lead them away and lose them.  It goes great, until Miles literally hits an old piece of trash, with the logo $#!& HAPPENS stuck on it.  It's big enough that the bump rips the harness off the wagon, and Miles pretty much flies off, tumbling down in time to grab a knife and gun.  The Rangers catch up in time for Miles to hunker down behind an old car left in the forest(?).  At first, they bicker over whether Miles tried to kill Carver or prevented someone else from doing it, but eventually there's a shoot out, which consists of Miles picking them off, while none of them got a shot in him.  He runs out of bullets before he can shoot the last one, and dashes off into the forest.

All your days are bad ones, Miles

The last Ranger follows and catches up to him, so of course they sword fight.  They go back and forth, and the Ranger draws first blood, a nasty looking gash that will need stitches.  Just as the Ranger is about to press his sword into Miles' neck, Miles grabs the guy's head and slams it into the sword handle.  A second later he stabs the Ranger in the gut, and the Ranger dies.  Miles stumbles off.

Aaron is still helping Nano Priscilla experience all the joys of human living, including the joy of hearing 80s music on a real Walkman.  Priscilla is impressed by Starship's We Built This City, a song that could not be more cringe-worthy.  Bur Priscilla loves it, once she powers it up and puts on the headphones.  She's hooked on tacky 80s pop.  Way to go, Aaron.  Outside, Monroe only has a moment to notice Stay-Puft is back, but Charlie is hysterical when she realizes that Aaron is safe and sound, scolding him for running off.  Rachel comes to say a strained hello, and hear Charlie claim she's fine.  When Charlie realizes that Miles isn't back yet, she, Rachel and Monroe go off in search.  But only after Connor gets in a bitchy, petulant teen-angst-ridden dig at Monroe's love for Miles.

Miles needs the help.  He's staggering past an abandoned electrical tower, when his coat becomes an unbearable blood rag on him, and he takes it off, reveal a gaping, oozing wound in the process.  He stumbles into a ruin of an old house, looking through shelves and finding nothing, until he sees a First Aid Kit.  So close, just across those old boards.  The Miles can hear breaking the second he steps on them.  He willingly falls into an old basement, rolling around until the pain subsides, wondering why this is his day.  Well, at least he can crawl out, until more weakening floorboards causes a nearby wall to collapse right over the opening.  So, now he's trapped in a dark basement that will eventually run out of air.

As they track Miles, Rachel must have found out about Jason, because she offers Charlie a sympathetic shoulder.  Charlie, of course, shuns the offer.  When they realize Miles took the wagon on pavement, and the tracking is done, they split up.

Aaron finds Nano Priscilla still listening to Starship, which you think the Nano would know enough to be embarrassed by.  Aaron asks if she could find Miles?  Sure, but it's not worth it.  Nano Priscilla knows, because six months ago, the Nano probed Miles' mind, and found some dark matter there.  Or maybe dark energy.  Something dark.  Something she reflected back at Miles.  Turns out, the Nano have probed exactly 3,289 people, to satisfy her curiosity of humanity.  Now, how 'bout Aaron lets her get back to Starship?  What's Miles compared to the best music ever?  Oh, and how 'bout a pizza for someone really curious about human eating?

Miles checks out his basement, which lacks food or water, but has an old aerosol spray can of something, a fixed window giving him some light way above him, and a poster in a corner of a cat holding on to a rope, saying "Hang in there, Kitty".  Well, at least he has inspiration.  After failing to break the window, he realizes his wound won't wait, and rips apart a bed for fire kindling.  He lets his sword hang in the fire until it glows red-hot, sticks something in his mouth, and lets out an agonized scream as he cauterizes his own wound.  All this fire reminds him a certain burning shed.  About six months ago, to be precise.  Later, after recovering from the pain but losing sanity due to his injury, dehydration, and hunger, he tries rummaging.  The only thing he finds is a kitty figurine that he thinks is insulting him.

Charlie is wandering a dirt road somewhere when Neville gets the jump on her.  Charlie turns around, knowing that, at best, she can buy herself some time.  After Neville has her disarm at gunpoint, he demands to know where Jason is.  Neville looks like he's been awake since losing Jason.  Charlie tells him she doesn't know where Jason is, so Neville forces her to walk on, leading him to Team Miles.  As they start off,  Neville starts insulting Charlie, blaming his son's desertion on Charlie's ass and Jason's crush on her.  In other words, anyone but himself and his own obsession with revenge.  He tells Charlie that he's going to get his boy back, and then Charlie is going to leave him alone.  Yeah, 'cause Charlie was really stalking him.  As if Charlie is to blame.  As if Neville isn't.

You are all getting on my last nerve.

Rachel and Monroe find the Rangers' bodies.  They do a bit of Forensics, guessing at what happened. Monroe insists on hitting higher ground, without bothering to find Charlie, because that's where Miles would go and they can't waste time.  Besides, Monroe knows Miles, and knows where Miles would go.  Rachel points out that Miles knew Monroe well enough to try to kill him. Twice.

Miles has piled every piece of rickety furniture in that basement up, and tries to use his sword as a crowbar on the opening, but it's useless, and his hopeless ladder collapses, knocking him out just in time for Monroe and Rachel to show up above and call out a few times.  When they hear nothing, Monroe decides to look elsewhere, and when Rachel bitchily nags Monroe about changing his mind, Monroe decides that he's had enough of Rachel questioning him.  Yes, they're finally going to get into the three-episode tug-of-war they've had over Miles' future.  So they list each other's worst qualities, starting with Monroe laying into Rachel for being a hypocrite, despite always whining over doing the right thing.  Monroe goes into great detail, saying she's the dictionary definition of "girlfriend from hell".  Monroe tells her she's just a psychopath with a screwdriver, which is a reminder of the colleague she killed in Season 1, just to stay alive herself.

Rachel listens calmly, before she tells Monroe he's an insecure child, that he's a poisonous devil on Miles' back, urging him on to do the worst thing possible, and Miles hates him for it.  Monroe is dragging Miles down into the mud with him because Monroe can't stand to be alone there.  She calls him pathetic.

Oh, no.  The bomb drops when Monroe demands to know why she did something bombshell-ish with him in Philly.  Something at night.  Something that Rachel's probably going to have to explain to Miles one day.  Rachel reminds Monroe that she was his prisoner.  For years.  Monroe reminds her that he didn't force her.  They slap each other, and then Monroe grabs her head and makes her kiss him.  She breaks it off, grabs her gun and tells him to stay away from her.  So, Rachel couldn't even be faithful to the guy she cheated on her husband with.  Is Monroe's hatred for her from being jealous over Miles?  Or, is he jealous of Miles over her?

I've always hated you, except for that one night

Charlie leads Neville to a dud- a safe house long since abandoned, except for the extra-handy knife still stashed under a table.  Neville keeps her from grabbing it, though, and starts demanding to know why Charlie's lying about Jason.  She evades his questions a couple of times, but eventually has to admit that he's dead.  You can see Neville's brain collapsing on his face as he tries to deny it.  He fires the gun, and multiple shots go into the wall above Charlie's head where she's crouching on the floor.  As she gets up, Neville insists on knowing whether it was Miles or Monroe.  Charlie, who's resisted talking about this with both Miles and Rachel, opens up completely with the man she probably hates most of all.  The man who killed her father and kidnapped her brother, setting up her long journey into hell.

Charlie can't hold back tears as she tries to convince Neville that it was self-defense, that the Patriots must have read his number, because he could not be stopped, only shot.  Charlie assures Neville, through her tears, that she cared for Jason and didn't want to kill him, but he was no longer himself.  She admits hating herself for doing it.  She lets Neville place a gun on her forehead, and jumps when the gun clicks.  The clip is empty.  Tom is done.  Charlie pretty much bared her soul to the guy.  Jason needed a dad who would get him as far away from the Patriots as possible, not futilely try to get his wife back all the way from Washington, D.C.  Jason needed a dad who wasn't always trying to con Patriots so he could hatch a clever revenge plot.  Jason never had a chance of beating Neville's own selfishness.  Neville falls to his knees, crying over a son he took for granted would always go along with whatever crazy idea his dad had.   Charlie slowly walks away, leaving Neville alone with his grief.

Rachel and Monroe also get a chance to share some feelings when Rachel finds Miles' coat, covered from the inside with blood. Lots of it.  Rachel starts freaking out, while Monroe stays in denial mode.  He goes down on one knee to reassure Rachel that Miles is alive, goddammit.   So, Rachel believes Monroe this time when he insists that he knows Miles is alive.  Together, they get up and keep searching.

They're still searching, two days later.  Connor tries to talk Charlie out of going searching again, saying he's sorry and all, but Charlie shuts him down and goes on about how she doesn't deserve to live, not after her brush with Neville.  Gone is the fatalistic nihilist of the mid-season.  In her place is someone really thinking about what tomorrow should be, and it will include her uncle.  Rachel and Monroe are totally in sync now.  They'll fight over who knows Miles best, or who he wants the most, when they've found him.

Aaron watches them go, and begs Nano Priscilla to help them find Miles, offering her pizza made with ingredients he will personally harvest.  He even offers to milk a cow.  Nano Priscilla puts down Neil Gaiman's American Gods, and like a mother annoyed at being disturbed by her five year old, tells Aaron it ain't happening.  Aaron yanks the book away, and tells her that she's only looking at superficial elements of being human.  What matters is your loyalty to the people you say you care about.  And then he plays the I-created-you-dammit card.  Nano Priscilla assures Aaron that she does love him, but that she will definitely kill the real Priscilla's brain, and maybe a few more, just so that Aaron gets the point.  She doesn't owe him anything.  She takes back her book and tells Aaron to work on her pizza.

Miles is awake, but even worse off.  Still bleeding, he's left a trail of blood to the place where's he's sitting, scratching "I'm sorry" into the wall.  He can't see the point in going on and that fucking Hang In There, Kitty poster is just mocking him at this point.  With the image of a whiskey bottle.  In a bar.  And a strangely familiar man walking past him and out the door.  Miles can't resist, and he follows the stranger to an ominous-looking shed in the middle of nowhere, just like the one from the premiere.  It's empty.  The camera makes a point of showing no one behind Miles, so when he steps into the room and we hear a voice, Miles turns around to face..

Ben.  Ben fucking Mattheson.  His dead brother.  He looks grizzly, but alive, and Miles realizes that this is a vision.  Ben doesn't contradict him, just spends some time reminding Miles of all his moral failings.  Ben is pissed that Miles fucked his wife, but he's even more pissed that Miles couldn't admit it to him.  Ben tells Miles that Miles must be glad he's dead, so he can really have Rachel all to himself.  Says he wouldn't be surprised, as decency isn't Miles' great talent.  So, was it Ben that knew Miles best?  All of Miles failings, made even more bitter because they involved his wife?  Ben claims to know Miles, knows that he's a savage, and that is why the people around him suffer.  That Rachel and Charlie will die if he stays in their lives.  Miles doesn't want to believe him, but a mirror magically in the shed reveals Rachel's and Charlie's bodies, throats slit, and Miles punches into the glass without thinking, breaking it and ripping open his hand and wrist.  He has blood on his face, and the mirror is shattered.  And Miles is alone again.  The Nano is done taunting him, and has gone on to another human.  Miles opens the shed up, turns around, and realizes that his hand is still bleeding.  For some reason, he can't leave the shed as it is, and burns it to the ground.  Just like in the premiere.  Is this the original intent of this season?  Was it always vague so the writers could give it any meaning they wanted?

Miles can't even kill himself.  For a second, it looks like he'll just waste away there, until he spies an old, dusty guitar pick on the ground.  It reminds him of something else.  Playing music for a woman he loved, who's still alive and worth living for.  So Miles gets back up, and uses the aerosol spray to build yet another rickety fire.  He stuffs the Kitty poster into the space between the floorboards above and the collapsed wall, and uses it, properly, as kindling.  What else should one do with a useless motivation poster?  The fire causes another cave in, but this one re-opens the hole, and leaves a lot of rubble for Miles to climb out on.  With his bloody hands just barely holding on above, Miles stumbles out of the hole.  Yay.