'Revolution' Midseason Finale Review: A New Beginning

I haven't been writing about Revolution since the pilot because I watch each episode a day or two after it airs. Also, I haven't had very strong feelings about the show so far. It's definitely not the best show on TV, but I do enjoy it very much. That said, it still has a few kinks to work out, especially in the dialogue writing, but it has proven itself to be a success since it has gotten very strong ratings and decent critic reviews.

I did watch last night's episode live, and it was the show's midseason finale. This means we will not see the second half of the season until March. Therefore, I decided to write a review of the episode. I don't usually do this, but I am going to give a SPOILER ALERT because I want to address the episode's ending. So please, if you haven't seen the episode and would not like it to be spoiled, do not read this review until after you have watched it.

Knowing that this was the midseason finale, I was expecting an intense showdown between Miles (Billy Burke) and Monroe (David Lyons). The show has been building up to this moment ever since we found out that Miles used to be a commanding general in the Monroe militia, and the scene did not disappoint. After Miles takes out Monroe's soldiers, the two point guns at each other and have an intense face-off. In a scene of great acting by both Burke and Lyons, Monroe puts down his weapon and reminds Miles how they are like brothers and invites Miles to rejoin the militia. Miles puts down his weapon, but tells Monroe, "You're no the same person. ... We aren't brothers." He also says he's sorry he didn't kill Monroe the first time. The two then have sword fight which was great while it lasted. More soldiers come and Monroe tells them to kill Miles, but Miles is able to jump out of a window just in time. At first I was disappointed that nothing happened in the fight, but upon looking back, I realized that this was only the midseason finale, and we still have a whole half of a season for a resolution in the Miles-Monroe conflict. With that in mind, I think this scene was handled very well, and it provided a look into how each of them feels about their relationship.

Another great scene was when Charlie (Tracy Spiradakos) is reunited with her mother, Rachel (Elizabeth Mitchell), after being thrown into the same cell. There wasn't much dialogue between the two, but through her facial expressions and body language, Spiradakos was able to portray the confusion, anger, and joy that Charlie must have been experiencing all at once. Spiradakos, in my opinion, has proven herself to be the right choice for this show. She still has a little farther to go to become a great actress, but she is doing a fine job so far.

As I mentioned in my introduction to this review, the writing needs a little work. Overall, I think the writers have been doing a great job in how they are progressing the plot, but some of the dialogue has been cheesy. For example, in this episode, when Rachel is being taunted by one of Monroe's henchmen, he says something along the lines of, "That daughter of yours is quite the little peach, and I could eat peaches all day." My friends and I immediately started laughing at how ridiculous that line was, so hopefully they can work on some of the dialogue. But like I said, the plot development has been good, and I still like the flashbacks. This episode didn't have many flashbacks, but the few that it did have provided insight into the relationship between Miles and Monroe. I especially liked the flashbacks to their childhood that were placed among their scenes together in the present. Given that there are fifteen years of untold story, I hope the writers can continue to make good use of the flashbacks to tell that story.

The last thing I want to address is the ending and where the show goes from here. I am very glad that the showrunners decided to have the gang rescue Danny and Rachel. This half of the season was all about them trying to rescue Danny, and while it was a fine first half, I wouldn't have wanted to see that plot in the second half. It seems that the rest of the season will focus on Monroe using the amplifier that Rachel built to power-up his army and "flex his muscles," showing everyone who has the power. What I would like to see more of is the other republics. They have been mentioned a few times so far, but I think a whole story arc involving the interactions between republics would be very interesting. Also, I am interested in how Charlie and Danny will interact with their mother, whom they believed was dead. We have already seen Rachel kill two people, so I wonder how that will affect her relationship with her children. In any case, I look forward to the second half of the season, as there is potential for a new beginning for both the show and its characters.

As always, feel free to leave your thoughts on the episode, the show as a whole, or where you would like to see it go from here.

Arrow "Legacies" Review: A Break from the Norm

It's been far too long since my last post, and there are two reasons for that. 1) I've been quite busy the last month, so I haven't had much time to write. 2) For most of my shows, I don't watch them until the night after they air, so sometimes I feel like it's too late to write about them. However, I'm making an exception today because I watched Wednesday's episode of Arrow last night, and I thought it was a very strong episode and worth writing about.

First, I want to recommend this show to any of you who haven't been watching it. You don't need to be a comic book fan to enjoy it (although there are some nods to DC Comics, but those are irrelevant). Also, it's not your typical CW-style show. It has a darker tone and it isn't directed at teenage girls. It could easily be on any other broadcast network, and I would even go so far as to say it's better than some shows on the Big Four (CBS, FOX, NBC, and ABC). Arrow is a great story of a man correcting the wrongs of his father and starting a new life as an entirely different person after five years of solitude. Plus, the action sequences are brilliantly shot and choreographed. So I recommend at least giving it a shot.

This episode, titled "Legacies," really showcases the supporting characters, especially Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell). So far in the series, Tommy has mainly provided comic relief and given a glimpse of Oliver's life before the island. However, in this episode we see a deeper side to Tommy and that he has feelings for Laurel (Katie Cassidy). He tries to win her over, but we can tell that she has reservations because of her past with Oliver. This sets up what will likely become a love-triangle. Donnell and Cassidy played those scenes very well and we can see via their acting the complications of their relationship. Also, although Laurel is ultimately supposed to end up with Oliver (at least according to comic canon), we can't help but be sympathetic for Tommy thanks to Donnell's portrayal.

Another supporting character that has gotten more screen time lately is John Diggle (David Ramsey). He is now working with Oliver in his fight against corruption, and it is great that Oliver has someone in whom he can confide (it also gets rid of the need for the voiceover, which was my biggest complaint from the pilot). Ramsey is one of my favorite actors on the show and Diggle one of my favorite characters, so I'm glad he has a larger role. In this episode, Diggle convinces Oliver to stop the Royal Flush Gang, a family of bank robbers loosely based on a group of the same name from the comics. Oliver is reluctant because he wants to focus on the task given him by his father, to stop the corruption of Starling City's wealthy, and finds street crime a distraction from that task. However, Diggle is able to convince him that by stopping the Gang, he is still saving the city.

I really like this plot because it provides a nice deviation from the plots of the previous episodes, in which Oliver takes down a corrupt billionaire every week. By giving Oliver a different motivation, we see a different side to him. However, the father of the family was a former employee of Oliver's father and got laid off, which led to the life of crime of his family. I have a problem with this because Oliver was atoning for the sins of his father, which means that his motivation was not as selfless as I would have liked. That said, this episode provided a bridge to what will hopefully happen in the future: Oliver stopping street crime.

The only other thing I want to say is my one issue with this episode. I didn't completely buy the scene in which a drunk Thea (Willa Holland) throws herself into Tommy's arms. It wasn't really the scene itself that bothered me but rather Holland's acting at that moment. I thought her drunkenness was a bit overdone, which is a shame because I thought Holland did great in her other scenes, especially those with Donnell. I understand that this is part of the character, but I thought Holland just overdid it this time.

Other than that, I thought this was one of the strongest episodes so far. And that's saying a lot because I thought every episode has been good so far. The show is off to an excellent start and I look forward to the rest of the season.

A few minor notes:
-Tommy invites Laurel to Coast City, which is the hometown of Hal Jordan, AKA the Green Lantern.
-The burger joint seen a few times in the show, including the end of this episode, is called Big Belly Burger, and that is taken from the comics, where it is a well-known burger chain.
-We see Felicity Smoak again in this episode. I really like her character, and I hope that she too becomes part of Oliver's team as the tech expert.