Is it a hoax? A dream? An imaginary story? A holodeck accident? A parallel world ruined by Walter Bishop? A mess for the Doctor to straighten out? A pilot for a new spinoff series called Leave It to Google?

Tonight’s new Revolution episode “Dreamcatcher” throws brainy sidekick Aaron Pittman into a strange old world filled with working electricity, first-world tech-biz problems, cold beer, product placement, and familiar faces in incorrect places. As with most such stories, the question isn’t whether or not Our Hero has awakened to true reality — it’s about how many levels of unreality he’ll have to escape before he’s back on his old show.

So how did our cast fare this week? To be honest, the main players appeared only in dream versions because this episode was filtered entirely through Aaron’s POV. For once it was his turn in the spotlight, where his armed pals to can’t save him from the machinations of several quadrillion dying nanobots.

Last week we ended with a computer exploding in Aaron’s face when he tried to sabotage the nanobots with fake coding repairs. He awoke to find himself living in modern-day Minneapolis (I’m guessing, based on his odd craving for Timberwolves tickets), still married to Priscilla, running his own tech company called Pittman Digital, enjoying the fruits of working electricity, and forgetting all about things like Willoughby and Patriots and nanobots and fireflies and pyrokinesis and scary women who murder anyone that messes with their family. Yes, in this incredible simulation, everything is awesome.

Best of all, when Aaron wishes aloud for some Bud Light, lo and behold, there’s Bud Light in his fridge. Aaron grabs a can of Bud Light, pops it open, takes a long swig, keeps the logo prominently displayed, and cradles his sweet little can of Bud Light as if it were his favorite child. That brand again: Bud Light. Ask for Bud Light by name at your local alcohol retailer, especially if you’ve just spent the last fifteen years without refrigeration or Bud Light corporate breweries and could really use a frosty cold Bud Light right about now. If you have time after chugging four to twenty cans of Bud Light responsibly, don’t forget to swing by the set of TV’s Chuck and grab a five-dollar footlong from Subway, too.

Meanwhile in Aaron’s immediate surroundings, some strangers begin to look familiar. Rachel Matheson is a talking head on MSNBC. Miles Matheson is her secret lover, though swords aren’t his thing, not when he can watch TV and drink all the brand-X beer he wants. Same goes for his loser roommate, Bass Monroe. Perhaps their fake dream lives would be more meaningful if they bought Bud Light instead of the cheap store brand. Also, even the late Nora Clayton (Daniella Alonso in a cameo!) is a momentary passerby on the street.

Though we see no sign of Grandpa Gene, or of Jason and Julia Neville, unless I missed them all, rest assured if you and your family are interested in serious financial planning advice, the Tom Neville Insurance Agency will be there to assess your needs. Bilingual operators are standing by.

As you’d expect from an Everything You Know Is Wrong story, little cracks begin to appear in the scenario. Some of Aaron’s underlings really, really need him to solve an algorithm in a major project now now now. When their pleas become insistent, hardcore Charlie Matheson strolls in and murders them all in the meeting room. Charlie freely admits she’s a figment sent by Aaron’s mind to rescue him from this elaborate nanobot scam. In response, the nanobots send in the late, abominable Dr. Horn (a returning Zelkjo Ivanek!) and precisely five goons to capture them. Imaginary Charlie is gunned down after cracking a joke about The Matrix, just so the audience will know the showrunners are well aware this episode isn’t blazing any new paths.

Because it’s a dreamworld, Aaron calls a cab to drive him from Minneapolis to Chicago (a seven-hour drive), arriving at night so he can beg dream-Rachel for help. He has to “awaken” her first, but a subconsciously summoned revolver helps with the process, though her stun-gun response hinders the debate. They flee together anyway when Dr. Horn and his five guys show up in pursuit. In the car, Aaron begs her to snap out of it, even though she’s his creation and not an autonomous consciousness: “You’re not some soccer mom. You’re actually scary and I need you to be that. Please.”

Rachel drives to the apartment of wacky roommates Miles and Bass, who keep calling Aaron “Beardy McGee” because they have the same favorite joke book. Aaron begs them to remember their warrior ways, with mixed results. Priceless exchange as they try to remember, but don’t quite:

BASS: “…I’m kind of into the Civil War.”
AARON: “Yeah, we get that.”

When Dr. Horn and his cruel quintet show up and nab Aaron, he subconsciously arms the two buddies with their favorite edged weapons, which jump-starts their return to form, and then there’s blood.

As Team Aaron drives away together from the carnage, Aaron realizes the simple solution is to wake up. Based on his past experience of waking up quickly from dreams about falling, they drive downtown so he can plunge to his doom and save the day.

At the moment of truth, the nanobots erase everyone but Aaron and reinsert Priscilla to plead on their behalf one last time.

Aaron jumps. And awakens.

Aaron is strapped to a torture chair while Dr. Horn prepares to stab, slice, spindle, and mutilate the nanobot repair code out of him.

Like a confident Nightmare on Elm Street sequel, Aaron asserts his control over “reality”, wills the torture chair straps away, disarms Horn like a real American hero, and makes the conscious decision to wake up.

Aaron awakens again to the scene we saw last week: exploded monitor, shattered room, Priscilla and their ex-friend Peter knocked for a loop. Quoth Aaron: “Yay.” He’s already missing that cold, smooth Bud Light.

Aaron and Priscilla force their way out of Peter’s house, walk from Lubbock back to Willoughby, and meet up with Miles and Rachel. The situation’s changed, though. The dying of the nanobots is causing random power flickers and inciting the townspeople to loot and hoard appliances in case the apocalypse is about to be reversed. The ground is littered with the tiny carcasses of dead nanobot fireflies, their low-watt abdomens fading and blinking out.

The nanobots refuse to take their death lying down. Their next trick: massive lightning strikes. Hiding inside Phil and Harry’s Electronics does Our Heroes no good because the nanobots know how to aim lightning through a large store window. A bolt zaps Rachel and sends her flying.

Thus do the nanobots deliver a more effective ultimatum to Aaron: fix the code so they can heal Rachel, or she and they die.

To Aaron that’s no choice at all. He runs to the nearest computer, types furiously, uploads the fixes through a presumably functioning internet connection, and presto. Everyone and everything lives.

A Dr. Horn avatar materializes on behalf of the nanobots to thank Aaron for saving them at last. Before fading away, he/they cryptically mention that they’ll now be moving on to their next project,, whatever it might be.

Aaron awakens again to the scene we saw last week: exploded monitor, shattered room, Priscilla and their ex-friend Peter knocked for a loop. Aaron’s been had. With his nanobot overlords restored to normal functions again, the real Peter is more than happy to let Aaron and Priscilla leave uncontested.

The unhappy, frightened couple exit Lubbock and begin the long, quick walk back to Willoughby, surrounded once more by their desolate reality, with not a single can of cold, smooth, refreshing Bud Light in sight.

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”
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“