Tonight’s new Revolution episode, “Exposition Boulevard” (a common street name in California? I guess?), picks up where we left off two weeks ago, with a Mexican standoff between the Mathesons and the Nevilles. Once that threat fades into nothingness, the road beyond it runs afoul of Patriot Youth, a belligerent Chief of Staff, a love triangle, a new alliance, and more screen time than usual for Steven Culp as Ed Truman, Patriot at a crossroads.

So how did our cast fare this week? Follow along:

About that two-week-long Mexican standoff: The entire scene is moot because the Patriots show up with guns a-firin’ and frighten Miles and Rachel away. Tom and Jason Neville are left behind to scowl at the Patriots who “saved” them.

I’m only Truman, born to make mistakes: This week’s flashbacks peek into early blackout life for Ed Truman, who was a Guantanamo Bay guard when the lights went out worldwide. Under orders to keep everything running as-is, even the imprisonment and torture, Truman was a good soldier who followed orders despite his nervousness at the situation, which didn’t improve when most of the President’s cabinet arrived in a single boat to hide out from mainland chaos. One year later, U.S. Secretary of Defense Jack Davis (no relation to the MAD Magazine cartoonist) would gather the guards for a stirring, militia-esque speech that surely heralded the formation of the Patriots as we know and boo them today. Davis’ first misstep is plagiarizing part of his speech from a Mel Gibson movie that Truman recognizes. Though Braveheart is the usual go-to for guys quoting Gibson, I’m bucking the trend and guessing The Patriot because the writers can’t resist the chance to hurt us with a punful reference. Also on hand for the gathering: Victor Doyle, a prominent brainwashing expert.

Chief of Staff Victor Doyle, vengeful cuckold: Meanwhile in the present, Doyle (Christopher Cousins) arrives in Willoughby so he can personally oversee the grand opening of the new cadet recruitment center, brainwashing facility, and convenient munitions dump. He relishes the chance to lord his power over both Truman and Tom Neville, screaming in their faces and not much caring about whatever other jobs they have on their docket. Doyle’s still really, really bitter about how his new wife Julia turned out to be Tom’s wife Julia, so he doesn’t care if either of the guys lives or dies. Later, after the entire episode goes wrong for them and they’re required to endure one last obnoxious tongue-lashing, Tom proposes to Truman that they team up against Doyle. The longtime company man needs time to think about whether or not forming an alliance would be wise just now. Between Doyle and Neville, which devil is worse?

Dillon and Kim, Teen Patriots: Our Heroes find their morning small-talk and chores interrupted by the arrival of a pair of teens from Willoughby who’ve been sent to spy on them. They’re fresh out of Patriot training, for which they insist they volunteered after one of the guys delivered a really passionate speech about freedom-fighting or whatever. In the eyes of Miles and Bass this makes them dangerous weapons that need to be taken out of commission. Permanently.

Grandpa Gene, Patriot typhus survivor and contrarian humanitarian: Gene knows both kids as average Willoughby citizens. He even delivered them when they were born. Rather than allow them to be executed, Gene offers to escort them back to their parents’ house. First visit is with Kim’s dad Grant (Tyrees Allen), who has to be convinced that Our Heroes are not terrorists, and that the Patriots haze their recruits with torturous methods that have left Kim with a black eye and the digits 20207 tattooed on the inside of her lip. Not exactly standard JROTC protocol.

When Grant reads the numbers aloud, Kim snaps to attention, grabs a gun, and shoots her dad through the chest. Without a second bullet to spare for herself, she trades the gun for a knife and finishes the job in a single, brutal, disturbing move.

Those Patriot “brainwashing” rumors are true, then. In case Jason Neville’s testimony wasn’t enough.

Miles vs. Bass, the overheated debaters: Kim may be dead, but Dillon is alive and kicking and freaking out and not yet gone Manchurian Candidate on anyone. Everyone does him the courtesy of not reading off the number tattoo inside his own lip. The question remains: from their Rebel Alliance standpoint, is Dillon now too dangerous to live? Or should the fact that He’s Just a Kid outweigh the potential threat? For that matter, what about all the other teens in training, not just the one in front of them? There’s no question in Bass’ mind the kid is The Enemy and therefore a liability in dire need of a good munitions explosion that would greatly simplify his life. Miles waffles on the subject; he agrees with Bass until Rachel agrees with Gene’s plea for compassion. Between Bass and Rachel, who would he rather disappoint?

While Bass keeps lying about his motivation in the Patriot affair, it’s not hard for Miles to discern that his long-term objective is to return to the conquering biz. Bass defends himself: “At least I got vision.” Bass raises a valid point: what is Miles’ five-year plan? After they take down the Patriots in the season finale…then what? Miles first joined the series because Charlie annoyed him into it because of her dad’s death at Monroe Republic hands. What’s his stake in this conflict? Miles realizes he has no answers because he’s only been doing whatever the writers tell him to. He has much to ponder.

Rachel Matheson, thinking about the children: At long last she’s tired of all the casualties that have been mounting throughout the series, many by her own vengeful hand, and argues that maybe for once doing the Right Thing should outweigh doing the Smart Thing. This is a very big step for her.

FIGHT SCENE EXPLOSION TIME: Rachel’s cogent point is tabled for a while when the Patriots show up, jointly led by Truman and Neville, and armed with rocket launchers. Everyone fights and fights and fights. Bass and Neville scrap for a minute as promised in the promo, but this is made moot by more explosions. Jason discovers that his one-time kissing partner Charlie now has a new man, but the threat of a love triangle is moot when Charlie flattens him with one sloppy punch. And then Our Heroes escape into the night under cover of more explosions, leaving Truman and Tom empty-handed and stupid-looking in Doyle’s eyes.

Charlie and Connor a.k.a. C+C Music Factory: Because everyone can tell they’re making sweet, sweet music together. Thanks to them the Mathesons and Monroes are now the Capulets and Montagues of a new generation.

Jason Neville, captured yet again: After reporting back to Patriot HQ, Jason is accosted by Doyle’s men, who hold him down while Doyle reads the numbers 42474 from his inner lip tattoo. Jason snaps to attention and receives orders he must obey: Doyle wants him to spy on his own dad. Once again we’ll look forward to another father/son throwdown sometime soon.

Aaron and Priscilla Pittman, reunited and it feels so good…for now: While on the long walk from Lubbock to wherever Willoughby is (over 200 miles away by Aaron’s reckoning), the estranged married couple reconnect at last, partly owed to Priscilla’s newfound smiley-faced giddiness at being alive and not murdered by desperate nanobots.

After a night of marital bliss, Priscilla wanders away from camp, has a secret rendezvous with several thousand nanobot fireflies, and stands among them with eyes aglow and seemingly almost merging with them. Is she their puppet? Their new avatar? Their new master? None can say as the episode ends with Priscilla getting a thousand hugs from ten thousand lightning bugs.

To be continued!

* * * * *

If you missed all of last season and would rather read about Revolution than spend hours playing TV catchup, the MCC recap of the season 1 finale has links to MCC recaps of all first-season episodes, in all their uneven glory. MCC recaps for the current season of Revolution are listed below as handy reference for whatever reason. Thanks for reading!

9/25/2013: “Born in the U.S.A.”
10/2/2013: “There Will Be Blood”
10/9/2013: “Love Story”
10/16/2013: “Patriot Games”
10/23/2013: “One Riot, One Ranger”
10/30/2013: “Dead Man Walking”
11/6/2013: “The Patriot Act”
11/13/2013: “Come Blow Your Horn”
11/20/2013: “Everyone Says I Love You”
1/8/2014: “The Three Amigos”
1/15/2014: “Mis Dos Padres”
1/22/2014: “Captain Trips”
1/29/2014: “Happy Endings”
2/26/2014: “Fear and Loathing”
3/5/2014: “Dreamcatcher“