In this week’s new Revolution episode, “Come Blow Your Horn”, Željko Ivanek continues his scary run as the diabolical Dr. Horn — making Grandpa Gene pogo like a cheap marionette, revealing more about his interest in Aaron’s uncontrolled Firestarter powers, and thankfully doing absolutely nothing that has anything to do with that dreadful episode title.

How did our cast fare this week? Follow along:

Neville and Son: Tom, Jason, and wanted fugitive Justine Allenford (Nicole Ari Parker) — now their captive — complete the 286-mile walk from Savannah, GA, to Glendon, NC, where her husband Roger (David Aaron Baker from Boardwalk Empire) is indeed a high-ranking Patriot official, presiding over their local outpost at the fictional Glendon Art Museum. (Glendon has a place called the Ackland Art Museum, but I suspect no location shooting or research was conducted on this point.) Rather than drag Justine into custody in broad daylight, Tom offers to let Roger come pick up his wife and deliver her personally to his Patriot overlords so they won’t doubt his loyalty, in exchange for giving Tom a cozy advancement opportunity. While they negotiate, Jason watches over Justine in a faraway shack and begins to exhibit signs of mind-control relapse. When Tom and Roger reach the shack, Roger tells his wife he loves her and then executes her himself. Tom is a little shocked, but he’s not necessarily on Roger’s bad side, either.

Killer Bass: After last week’s aborted attempt to escape Willoughby, Monroe hangs out all night with Aaron and Cynthia at the watercraft graveyard, where the Patriots hopefully won’t find them. After Gene gives detailed directions to a large squad of henchmen, Monroe has to hack up a few until he realizes that he’s about to be outnumbered, and that Aaron and Cynthia are technically safe because Dr. Horn wants them alive. So he ditches the helpless couple, lets them get nabbed, runs away and lives to butcher another day.

Rachel and Charlie: The mother/daughter team seem to have buried their hatchet for the time being. Charlie also makes the conscious decision to forgive her backstabbing Grandpa Gene, given that she doesn’t understand his circumstances, but Rachel’s vengeful nature can’t handle that. When Team Matheson agrees to kill Dr. Horn and any attending Patriots by dumping a nasty chemical surprise down their smokestack, Rachel very nearly proceeds with the plan even though she knows her dad is also in the house. Miles intervenes at the last second as soon as he discovers Aaron and Cynthia have also been captured and dragged inside. They’re nowhere near as disposable, nor as detestably traitorous.

Dr. Gene Porter: Rachel’s dad/Charlie’s granddad continues playing toady for Dr. Horn and the Patriots, up until the family lets him live and instead kidnaps him. Gene’s hyperactive confessing gene kicks in once again and he tells all, admitting that he’s been a Patriot pawn for years because they keep the meds flowing and prevent anyone in Willoughby from suffering the same terminal fate as his wife. Before he can move on to drawing reconnaissance maps or reciting all their sinister plans from memory, Patriot henchmen led by bigwig Truman (Steven Culp) surround their pool-house hideout. As his first step toward repentance, Gene creates a diversion by accosting Truman with a knife to the neck. This only buys them a few extra escaping seconds because all these years of genuflecting toward Patriots have made Gene a bit of a wimp, though Truman is surprised to find that Gene somehow summoned enough inner strength to break the skin. Truman is even unhappier than usual.

Our man Miles: Has a really bad day. The Patriots out him as a not-Patriot and ruin his “Stu Redman” cover story for the entire town. They also pin last week’s tragic bombing on him. Worse still, his mangled sword hand has become infected and ugly discoloration is spreading up his arm.

Dr. Horn: In this week’s flashbacks, we learn his mom died thirty-three years ago of an illness that might not have been terminal if she had been allowed to see a doctor. Unfortunately for young Calvin, his father Marcus apparently belongs to the Christian Scientist denomination, or one of those other types who believe prayer is the one and only road to healing, and that doctors and medicine are Satanic on principle. Or something like that. Dad flies off the handle when his son reveals he tried giving her some medicine recommended by a friend’s father who’s a doctor. In Dad’s mind, medicine negated prayer and killed her instantly. As a result of this tragedy, Calvin grows up an evil atheist.

Cynthia Hostage: Quickly adds two and two, realizing that Aaron was responsible for her abusive husband’s death by immolation (as well as his mistress’, though this fine point doesn’t haunt her quite so much). A frightened, disgusted Cynthia tries to leave Aaron because of his lying, but ends up captured by the Patriots instead, to be used as leverage against Aaron. When keeping her cooped up isn’t enough, they bring her into his room and stab her once.

Aaron the Flame-Broiler: Tries to think of a reason for Cynthia to stop fearing and hating him, but he’s got nothin’. After Bass throws him under the bus, he’s escorted to Dr. Horn’s operating table, where the good doctor tests his Wolverine healing ability by slicing him several times and marveling at the slowly fading results. Horn also reveals the true motive behind his keen interest in Aaron’s nanobot connection: he has a tumor that he’d like very much for the nanobots to neutralize. Horn leaves the room so further power tests can be conducted, starting with the harming of Cynthia as a catalyst. One stab is all it takes. The very last moment of the episode is Aaron screaming as the entire room is overwhelmed by an exaggerated candle explosion, as if an upper-level Final Fantasy character had just cast a Flare spell.

Fade to black. Or possibly to blackened.

To be continued!

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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“