'Revolution' Review - 1.02 Chained Heat

        On the newest episode of NBC's Revolution, Miles realizes the gang will need help to rescue Danny and leads them on a search for Nora, a well-known rebel fighter; Aaron confides a secret to Maggie; and Danny lays witness to what Captain Neville is capable of.

        As you may remember, I was not the biggest fan of the pilot for Revolution. I didn't like all of the mundane exposition or the three distinct stylistic storytelling structures. I say premise in the story, so I gave another episode to the series and I am glad that I did. Now, that the show has assembled what it wants to be, it is working much more smoothly. The show still has its basic problems but at least there are some aspects and some performances that I am really captured by. The pilot was schizophrenic but this episode showed that this series has a forward looking narrative and as long as they keep that structure and don't muddle it with plot tricks the show could become a great series.
        My two favorite characters continue to be Billy Burke's Miles and Giancarlo Esposito's Captain Neville. One of the biggest reasons I saw this episode as such a success was from the fact that Miles was in the majority of the hour and not just the last third. That is just such a well-defined Han Solo-like character that just intrigues me as the lead. Esposito is just a phenomenal actor. He has been great in every scene he has been in even though his most impactful screen partner is the character that I like the least - Danny. My only complaint with the Neville story is that so far it feels so isolated from the rest of the show. The sooner he gets back to talking face-to-face with Monroe the better.
        Yes, the flashbacks theoretically aren't necessary to the ongoing narrative but, for some reason, I still enjoy seeing them. You could see the majority of the ones in tonight's episode pointless except the one where Rachel shoots the man but without the others you would have had no buildup to that moment and it would have been wasted. The flashbacks were used much more strategically in this episode and it made for a much stronger episodic flow.
        I knew Elizabeth Mitchell was too great of an actress for the show just to relegate her to flashback roles. I guess the show saw that too as the closing moments revealed that she was still alive. Those last two scenes - Grace and the unknown "Randall" and the interactions between Rachel and Monroe were fantastic and definitely make me want to see the next episode. 

So what did everyone think of the episode? Excited that Elizabeth Mitchell will be more involved in the main action? Any more thoughts on Grace? Would the series become so much better if they got rid of Nate? Share your thoughts in the comments.