"The Plague Dogs" was a disappointing episode - and I really hate saying that because all of the ingredients for a good installment were included here. 

But, when everything is mixed together and you taste the end result, things just end up turning out bland and overdone.

Maggie’s death is supposed to bring dramatic weight and spark a change in the characters she’s surrounded herself with, and while that change might have come to fruition in Miles... did anyone of us actually think he would pack up and leave Charlie?

That kind of emotional plot threat doesn’t ever work because viewers know that isn’t going to happen unless he gets skewered by an arrow, and only Charlie’s head nearly intercepted an arrow’s flight path tonight.

Getting back to Maggie: it’s sickening that the only decent character that sparks any resonance in the post-apocalypse-pack aside from Miles is getting axed almost immediately. She literally went to the ends of the country to get back to her children in England after the lights went out, and she had the pleasure of reliving all the things she wished she could have done better had she been given a second chance.

When she got denied any opportunity to get to England, Maggie lost all hope. And she was so defeated and searching, without any success, to find the words that accurately described her helplessness and her guilt. So much so that she poisoned herself. Is a character with that much potential really one we should be sacrificing when the rest of the cast hasn’t been elevated to that status?

Nate is supposedly a militia member, but whatever amazing skills he brings to the table suddenly vanish when Charlie is around because he’s so completely, unbelievably, love struck that any and all attempts to save her are rendered useless. Miles might be a giant jerk, but Uncle gets the job done whether it fits Charlie’s highly evolved moral compass or not.

Check box number one: overdone.

Revolution’s continuing epic saga of walking in Danny’s general direction would have a whole lot more impact if it could be set up in a way that made me care about Danny. But aside from the family bond, I don’t particularly have any interest in his character. Zero of the plot has been set aside for his character in terms of building it up in any way whatsoever, and, aside from his run in with Grace, hanging out in the back of a horse cart gets old quickly.

Charlie continues to be a character that I flip flop on. At times there’s moments of greatness and heroism, and at other times she is full of bad decisions and teenage meltdowns. Those traits don’t exactly fit with the girl that has been forced to grow up too quickly. The only reason I don’t wish that arrow went right through her skull is because of Maggie. Maggie sold me on that special something Charlie brings to the table, but I do hope it shows up sooner rather than later.

Check box number two: bland.

So, what did I enjoy about the episode? The core three of Miles, Tom and Rachel elevated this episode from hair pulling. There are layers and motivations for their actions, and it seems they are all beginning to come together. Tom knows what Danny’s worth to Monroe, and he’s proven himself to be a smart man who can read people, so it’s not hard to imagine that Danny is just the bait to get what Monroe really wants: Miles or Charlie.

Monroe probably thinks that one of them has the pendant, not Aaron.

Miles being a part of the Militia at one time continues to bring up interesting questions, and the list grows longer as we find out he is the one that ripped Rachel away from her family. Speaking of Rachel, the scene as she walks away from her family is incredibly powerful in the way it’s set up.

In the first shot we’re just shown her back, and there is nothing but hardened resolve. For Rachel to show anything would break her children’s confidence, and that is something she didn’t want to do in that scene; so, as we near the end of the episode and are treated to what’s going on with her back to the children, it becomes readily apparent she didn’t want to leave them - in fact, she was barely keeping it together.

Two other thoughts:

1. Rachel is drawing up plans for a machine. Please don’t be human powered.
2. Do all flashbacks happen on one paved road?

What did you think of tonight’s Revolution?