The season premiere of "Revolution" took viewers back into a world that is just as dark, if not darker, than last season.
The fragmented group is dealing with the fallout from the Philadelphia and Atlanta bombings while trying to navigate the persistent anarchy. In the opener, called "Born in the USA," one character did not survive the mayhem. Or did they?
The characters are all facing very different situations when season two opens. Charlie (Tracy Spiridakos) is all grown up. She is exploring her sexual side, but is not losing sight of the main task at hand. She has sex with a bartender, only to find out he was a former Monroe soldier, which brings Charlie back to focusing on the bigger picture.
Rachel (Elizabeth Mitchell) is back in Texas after going catatonic after the bombs dropped. She has recovered, but she is still keeping a journal to write down her conspiracy theories. She knows that Randall wasn't working alone.
Now that Julia (Kim Raver) is missing, Jason (JD Pardo) is finally connecting with his father, Neville (Giancarlo Esposito). Yet, the death of his wife has thrown the previously overconfident Neville into an intense depression. Neville even thinks about suicide, which his son is able to talk him out of.
It was also revealed that Miles (Billy Burke) has a big secret. The former general emerged from a shed and burned down the building, indicating that he was destroying evidence. He then insists on leaving town, lending evidence to the idea that he has something to hide. Yet, his plans to leave are thwarted when he sees an attack by a war tribe. He warns the town that a group from the Plains Nation will be attacking Willoughby. He is not taken seriously, which leads to the town getting attacked. Miles and Sheriff Mason (Adam Beach) then get captured and are held captive by the tribe's leader, Titus Andover.
As for Monroe (David Lyons), Charlie tracks down him down in New Vegas (where David Schwimmer is apparently performing a one-man show). She learns that Monroe has taken on a new identity, and goes by the name Jimmy. Charlie sees that a mysterious man may want to kill Monroe, prompting Charlie to go in for the kill. Yet, just when she is about to strike, the mysterious man knocks Monroe unconscious and takes him away.
The opener also introduced the new Big Bad: The Patriots. The Patriots claim to be altruistic members of the U.S. government who were living in Cuba. Neville knows that The Patriots are not who they say they are, which prompts him to leave his grief behind and focus on taking down the dubious group. "Man just needed purpose is all," he tells Jason. "I am going to rip them apart from the inside until they are begging me to die."
Last but certainly not least, Aaron (Zak Orth) gets his chest sliced open while trying to save his love interest, Cynthia. He seemingly dies, only to jolt awake, postmortem. Is he implanted with the same device that Danny had to keep Aaron alive?
Series creator Eric Kripke, Tracy Spiridakos and Giancarlo Esposito answered some questions about the episode (although not the Aaron question), to TVLine, and gave an inside scoop on what's in store for future episodes.
Tracy Spiridakos said that Charlie definitely has the guts to kill Monroe when she gets the chance again. "She's definitely got it in her," Spiridakos said. "Charlie has gotten a bit more badass. She's branched out on her own and is just taking the world by storm."
As for Aaron, his temporary death will instill a change in him. "He was dead for two hours," Kripke said, "so he went through something. And that's really the kickoff for his storyline this year, because he goes through this impossible, absolutely incredible phenomenon, an inexplicable experience, so what does that do to him? It all sets him off to investigate what happened to him and unravel that mystery."
The premiere also featured an oddly large grouping of fireflies, which Aaron witnessed before temporarily passing away. That begs the question: what do the groups of fireflies mean?
"We have a lot of good mystery questions this year," Kripke said. "There's the action part of the show, the warlord, the Patriots and what they want, but then there's this Bad Robot 'frosting' of mystery. And for us, it's: What are those fireflies? What happened in the Tower? And what's up with the rats [seen in an upcoming episode]? Something is happening in nature that is the result of something that has gone very wrong."
Giancarlo Esposito said that Neville immediately sees that the spokesperson for the new villains, The Patriots, who goes by Allenford (Ari Nicole Parker), is thoroughly transparent. "From the very beginning, Neville sees right through her," Esposito said. "He hears in her rhetoric something he's heard before - don't forget Randall, Randall, Randall - so he sees there's something bigger going on." Neville thinks Allenford "is despicable," Esposito said. "Tom hates her."
And that guy who kidnapped Miles? That would be the warlord Titus, played by Matt Ross ("Big Love"), who Kripke said started a movement "for a very selfish reason" that will soon be revealed.
"Revolution" airs on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on NBC.