‘Revolution’ Episode 1.18 Recap and Review: Clue

Most of us at one time or another has played the board game “Clue.” And last night’s episode of Revolution sure had us wondering whodunit!!

We begin this week’s episode with Nora’s life hanging by a thread in the hands of Monroe. After one passing attempt to “play nice” for her Intel, Monroe hands Nora over to some of his men for questioning. We are forced to watch flashes of Nora’s torture, and how her resolve is slowly weakened by repeated beating, drowning, and a combination of drugs forced upon her by one of Rachel’s old co-workers, John Sanborn, whom we first were introduced to in episode 1.11 “The Stand.” Finally, after 21 days of relentless torment, Nora breaks, and tells Monroe’s men all she knows about Miles, Neville, and Rachel. While listening to Nora divulge that Rachel is heading to Colorado to gain entrance to “The Tower,” John stares at her in alarm.

Sometime later, Randall is hauled into Monroe’s office. Visibly irate, Monroe demands to know why Randall has not told him about the Tower. At first, Randall tries to dismiss Monroe’s questions, blandly telling Monroe that it’s nothing more than an old Department of Defense installation in Colorado and not that important. Monroe responds to that by having John brought in, informing Randall that John has told him otherwise: that the Tower is the place where the power can be turned back on by everyone. He further discloses that Rachel is on her way there, and that if she succeeds, Monroe will lose his primary tactical advantage over the other nations, and so in his opinion, the Tower is the most important piece of knowledge that Randall should have relayed to him. Almost quivering with rage, he demands to know why Randall hasn’t told him about the Tower before.

Randall tries to defuse the situation, admitting that he was wrong, but his words only agitate Monroe more, until the man bursts out angrily that he doesn’t like Randall, nor does he trust him. Monroe orders his men to kill Randall, and at first, mocks Randall’s outbursts that he is still needed. He pays attention, however, when Randall tells him that only he can help Monroe gain access to the Tower, and that turning the lights on is the least of it. Randall goes on to say that the Tower was a “skunk works” for the D.O.D.; that there are things inside that the President never knew about, creations that far surpass Monroe’s current drone machines and choppers. Monroe listens to Randall’s tirade, the anger slowly fading from his face as he starts thinking about the power that could be his to command. When Randall falls silent, Monroe turns to John, and asks him if Randall is telling the truth; John can only nod, even as he looks away with a troubled expression. Finally, Monroe turns back to Randall, and wordlessly commands his men to stand down. Randall attempts to regain his composure and his standing with Monroe, tugging at his jacket and jokingly asking Monroe if he’s up for a road trip. Minutes later, as Monroe climbs into a helicopter, we see that Randall is now wearing handcuffs; his status within Monroe’s army has dropped significantly, much to his dismay.

As the helicopter takes off, we return to the dungeons where Nora is still captive. John appears with another syringe, telling the guard on her door that he has been ordered by Monroe to “put her down.” Nora can only watch in a drug-induced haze as John approaches, and groan as he sticks a needle in her neck and apologizes.

On the road to Colorado, Rachel and Aaron walk through a downpour. Rachel tells Aaron that they will be arriving at the Tower soon and that she hopes that they are not too late.

In Atlanta, Georgia, Miles and Jim Hudson are discussing an upcoming battle against Philadelphia, as well as the chances of finding Nora again. Around them, the townspeople of Atlanta are starting to leave the city. Charlie and Jason are in the streets, watching the civilians, and Jason urges Charlie to join them, or perhaps head toward Texas. He tells her that the front has collapsed and that Monroe’s troops are only a few days out. He expresses concern about what might happen if she is captured, and Charlie responds warmly to his feelings and they share a kiss. While kissing, Jason opens his eyes, and he catches a man staring at him and Charlie in the distance. Jason pulls away from Charlie, abruptly telling her that he will meet her back at base. He then walks off, and she looks after him in puzzlement.

In the distance, a car horn is heard, and we suddenly see John Sanborn in an old vehicle, weaving through the Atlanta crowd, with an unconscious Nora in the back seat. She is taken to an infirmary, and when Miles is notified, he rushes to the room where she has been taken. Nora is still heavily drugged, but tries to apologize to Miles, explaining that she was captured by Monroe and that she told him everything.

Miles storms into the room where John is being held. As Neville, Jim Hudson, and Wayne Ramsey observe through a one-way mirror, Miles questions the man on how he managed to sneak Nora out of the militia black site, while also managing to grab a pendant and a vehicle to power it with. Sanborn claims that he was forced to do terrible things, and that when ordered to kill Nora, he couldn’t go through with it. Before Miles can continue interrogating him, Sanborn states that Rachel is in danger. He tells Miles that Monroe took an army to try and find her, and hopefully kill her before she can reach the Tower. He also tells Miles that he knows the way to the Tower.

A helicopter is commandeered, and as Miles and Hudson walk toward it, Miles tries to talk Hudson out of coming along. He tells Hudson that rescuing Rachel is a “Hail Mary:” that the chances of them finding Rachel before Monroe does, or even the chance of them all getting out in one piece, is highly improbable. He starts to mention Hudson’s wife, and Hudson angrily interrupts him, telling Miles that his wife won’t take him back because Miles dragged him into the fight. In one of the best lines of the night, Hudson tells Miles “You’d better put on a dress, ’cause you’re all I have left.” Before Miles can continue, they are interrupted by Neville, who informs them that he will be coming along on the mission by order of President Foster.

Charlie and Jason board the helicopter, after Charlie admits that she has never flown before. As Miles gets ready to climb in, he notices Nora starting to board. Miles tries to talk Nora out of coming, backed up by Sanborn, who states that she can’t be thinking clearly with all of the drugs in her system. However, Nora dispels their arguments simply by stating that she needs to help, as it’s her fault that Monroe is even after Rachel, and that she will be to blame if he catches her. Miles reluctantly agrees, and he and the others board. Using the pendant that Sanborn had taken, the helicopter powers up and lifts off.

In Colorado Springs, within the Plains Nation, Monroe exits his tent. He is joined by Randall, who is still in chains. As they walk, Monroe looks to one side, and comments on the appearance of the “Tower” – which turns out to be a tunnel access burrowing into the side of a hill. Randall responds that the Tower actually goes down, over half a mile under the ground. He and Monroe enter the tunnel, and at the entrance, Randall presses an unseen lever on the wall, which causes part of the wall to slide down and a keyboard and two monitors to appear. Randall presses his palm to one of the screens, but instead of being granted entry, as he obviously assumed, the second monitor flashes an “access denied” response. Confused, and flustered by Monroe, Randall tries to manually override the system; again, the screen flashes “access denied.”

As Monroe continues to harangue Randall about his inability to gain access to the Tower, we suddenly see the two men from another viewpoint – on a security monitor within the Tower. As the camera pulls back, it reveals a group of people inside the Tower, silently watching the two men on the security camera.

Within the helicopter, Charlie grips Jason’s hand as the air craft bumps along the wind currents. They exchange a glance, and Jason thinks back to the kiss he and Charlie shared earlier. We see a brief flashback of the event. After Jason sends Charlie off, he approaches the guy whom he saw watching them. The guy greets Jason by name, and offers him his hand, revealing a Monroe brand. Jason tries to brush him off, calling him Billings and telling him to leave. Billings replies that he has a job for Jason.

Jason is brought back to the present by the pilot, who is telling Miles that they need to stop for fuel. They land at a nearby deactivated air force base, Fort Hanson, within the Plains Nation. Everyone climbs out, and the pilot hands them containers. As most of the group starts heading in different directions to search for fuel, Miles lingers by the helicopter, and notices Sanborn poking through a pack. He asks Sanborn if he needs something, and Sanborn responds that he is fine, before turning and walking away. Nora is nearby, and as Sanborn passes her, her vision wavers in and out as she is momentarily overwhelmed by the hallucinogens in her system. She watches Sanborn as he walks by, and the man appears to turn back and smile at her, pressing one finger to his lips in a silencing motion. Nora’s vision flickers again, and the smile is gone, replaced with Sanborn’s usual nervous expression. As Nora stares after him, wondering if what she had seen was real, Miles approaches, and suggests that she stay by the helicopter. Nora tells him that she is okay before she walks off.

After finding fuel and filling his container, Miles heads back to the helicopter. Charlie also returns, followed by Jason and Hudson. As the men start refueling the helicopter, Charlie turns away, and notices what appears to be blood flowing out of the bottom of a nearby storage container. She walks over to it, pulls open the doors, and the pilot’s body falls out. Charlie screams for Miles, and he runs over, followed by Jason and Hudson. The pilot’s throat has been slashed with an “x,” which Miles tells Charlie is a Plains Nation message for trespassers. Hudson runs back over to the helicopter, and lifts the cover to the engine, revealing pulled wires. Miles is understandably irked at the sabotage. He tells the others that he might be able to fly the helicopter, and Nora might be able to fix it. He then orders them to find the rest of the group and warn them.

In Colorado, Aaron and Rachel crouch near Monroe’s camp, which sits between them and the opening for the Tower. Rachel hands Aaron the journal, telling him that the override codes are inside. She then informs him that she plans on heading down to Monroe’s camp during the night to kill him, and in the ensuing chaos, Aaron will have to make a run for the door, and hopefully gain access before he is discovered. Aaron attempts to dissuade Rachel from this course of action, arguing that she will surely be killed, to which Rachel responds that it is the only way that Aaron will be able to get inside. She goes on to say that she has to kill Monroe, for Danny, for Ben; she starts to cry as she tells Aaron that it’s up to him to gain access to the Tower and turn the power back on.

At Fort Hanson, Miles and Charlie are searching for the others, while Charlie wonders why any Plains Nation people would be there. They hear a shout, and discover Ramsey nearby, gasping for life, his throat also cut in the form of an “x.” Miles sends Charlie off for help, and attempts to staunch the blood flowing from Ramsey’s neck. Miles asks Ramsey who attacked him, and while Ramsey cannot answer, he is able to shake his head, letting Miles know that it wasn’t a local Plains Nation person that hurt him. He dies before Miles can get more information.

Charlie returns with Hudson, Neville, Sanborn, and Jason. As Miles wipes his bloody hands on a rag, the others react to Ramsey’s death, as well as the news that the pilot has also been killed and the chopper has been compromised. When Neville demands to know what happened, Miles informs him and the others that it was one of their group that did it. They all start exchanging uneasy glances, when Miles realizes that Nora is still missing.

They go into a nearby hanger, and Miles holds out a bag, ordering everyone to put their weapons inside it. As Sanborn watches Charlie, Jason, and Hudson drop their guns and other weaponry into the bag, Miles turns to him, and tells him that when he and Sanborn were leaving the chopper earlier, he saw Sanborn take a knife from the pack. Sanborn reluctantly admits to this, pulling the knife from his pocket, telling the others that he took it for his own protection. Neville mocks his words, hinting that Sanborn is the likely assassin. Miles tells Neville to put his weapons in the bag with the others, and at first, Neville refuses. Hudson jumps on this as proof that Neville might be the killer, to which Neville responds that Hudson had been absent from Atlanta for the last few weeks. Hudson tells Neville that he had been in Annapolis, fighting with Ramsey. Miles interrupts the budding argument, ordering Neville again to give up his weapons. Once he does, Miles takes the bag and throws it into the cockpit of a nearby helicopter. He doesn’t remove his own weaponry, and when Neville protests this, Miles tells him that he is going to go look for Nora, and that while he is gone, everyone is to keep their eyes on the bag, and on each other.

Miles finds Nora sprawled face down on the ground outside, and at first he is reluctant to turn her over, assuming the worst. However, when he rolls her over, she has not been attacked, although one of her hands is cut and bloodied, and a knife lies nearby. Nora regains consciousness, and tells Miles that she doesn’t remember what happened; that the last memory she had was of looking for fuel.

They return to the hanger, and Neville is quick to accuse Nora of being the potential mole. Sanborn chimes in, saying that the drug cocktail that Nora had in her system could cause paranoia, hallucinations, and psychotic behavior. Even Nora haltingly says that they could be right. She tells Miles that she had strangled one of Monroe’s guards while under the influence of the drugs, and didn’t remember doing it; that it was possible that she killed Ramsey and the pilot under the same circumstances. Miles refuses to believe her, telling Nora that out of all of them, he trusted her the most. This causes Nora to start crying, and she reminds Miles that she broke under the torture inflicted upon her, and that Miles shouldn’t trust her. When Neville agrees, Miles turns on him, before stating to the group in general that one of them was the killer, and he intended to find out who it was.

Miles begins going through the packs and bags of everyone’s belongings, while the others watch. As Jason stands nearby, he puts his hand in his pocket, and gets a funny expression on his face. Miles notices, and grabs the teen’s arm. He pulls a switchblade out of Jason’s pocket, and when it snicks open, the blade is covered in blood. Jason starts backing away from the others, insisting that the knife is not his and that someone planted it on him. He begs Charlie to tell her uncle that he didn’t do it, and then stares in disbelief when Charlie instead asks him about Billings, stating that she saw them talking and that Jason looked upset. Jason again professes his innocence, and Charlie responds that Jason has lied to her before.

Jason starts to tell the others that Billings was just “some Georgian that got in his face,” but he is called out by his father. Realizing that he can’t lie, Jason admits that Billings was Monroe Militia, and that he had told Jason that if he killed Miles, Jason could have whatever he wanted. Jason tells the others that, while he wanted nothing more than Charlie’s safety, he refused to accept Billings’ offer. His words are met with skepticism, and when Miles starts to draw his weapon, Jason runs off.

In Monroe’s camp, one of his soldiers comes across a fire pit, the blackened wood still smoking. When he kneels down to take a closer look, Rachel attacks him from behind, choking him to death.

Miles goes in pursuit of Jason, and follows the teen into another airplane hanger. As he searches the building, he hears a door open, and spins around to see Sanborn entering the building. He demands to know what Sanborn is doing there, and Sanborn holds out the switchblade that Miles had pulled from Jason’s pocket. Sanborn tells Miles that Jason didn’t do it, that the switchblade had a stamp on it – “A-MD” – for Annapolis, Maryland, where the blade was made. Miles is just beginning to realize who in their group had recently been to Annapolis, when Hudson attacks him from behind. Hudson throws him against a wall, and then shoots Sanborn in the chest. Miles regains his feet, and he and Hudson face off. Miles asks Hudson why he killed the others, and Hudson responds that the Monroe Militia has his wife, Sophie, and that they will kill her if Hudson doesn’t do what they say.

Miles realizes that Hudson was the one who has been feeding the militia information all along, up to and including the upcoming drone strike they were planning. Hudson attempts to rationalize his actions, declaring that their war against the militia was hopeless, and he wasn’t going to let his wife die for a lost cause. He reveals that he was after not only Miles, but also Neville, Ramsey, and Sanborn, and their stopping for fuel gave him the perfect opportunity. He goes on to say Miles ruined his life, causing him to lose everything, and he won’t lose Sophie also.

Hudson rushes at Miles, and the two fight. Hudson manages to gain the upper hand, knocking Miles to the floor. When Miles struggles to rise, Hudson kicks him back down, taunting him, before grabbing him and throwing him against the side of an army vehicle. He grips Miles’s neck, choking him. When Miles struggles free, they again exchange blows. Hudson manages to shove Miles against a chain link fence, and as Miles rebounds and falls to the ground, Hudson raises one fist to continue his assault. Before he can carry on, he is shot down, and as his body collapses, we see Neville on the other side of the fence, staring at Jason, who was inside the hanger with Miles and Hudson and had managed to sneak up behind them as they fought, shooting Hudson when he had the opening. He and Miles stare at each other for a moment, and then Jason flicks the safety on and tosses the gun at Miles’s feet. He walks outside to where Neville is standing, and stops in front of him. No words are exchanged, only one long, painful stare, before Jason steps around Neville and continues walking.

Afterwards, Miles walks back to the helicopter, where Nora is finishing repairs on the wiring that Hudson had damaged. Nora thanks Miles for backing her up, and then she and Miles climb into the cockpit, while behind them, Neville, Jason, and Charlie finish loading things into the cabin. Charlie attempts to apologize to Jason, but he brushes her off, stating that she was right, he has lied to her too many times for her to trust him. He then climbs into the helicopter, sitting next to his father, and Charlie chooses to sit in front of him instead of by his side. As the helicopter powers up and begins to lift off, Jason glances at his father, catching Neville watching him, and he looks away, while across from him, Charlie stares with a troubled expression.

Our episode ends back at Monroe’s camp in Colorado Springs. A nervous Aaron hides in the woods, while Rachel moves through the camp, wearing the uniform of the man she had killed earlier. She walks up to the tent where Monroe and several of his officers are, and casually walks in. She greets Monroe, and as he and his men looks up, Rachel casually pulls the safety pin out of a hand grenade and then clicks the striker.

Thoughts on Revolution Episode 1.18: Clue

Well! What did everyone think of last night’s episode? Of all of the possible people, did anyone suspect Hudson? I find it interesting that with all of the finger pointing that went on, only Charlie really escaped scrutiny. At one point or another, everyone else in the group was accused of being the mole, and even did things to make you think they were the killer. Sanborn taking that knife, Nora admitting to killing someone while in a drug-induced fugue, Jason having that switchblade – not to mention the general bad feelings against Neville, especially when he was quick to point fingers at everyone else. Were you surprised at Hudson’s deception? What do you think of his reasons for betraying the rebels and the Georgian army? And what do you think about the ending of the episode – after all that has happened, do you think Rachel will succeed? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below!