'Revolution' Finale Review - 1.20 The Dark Tower

        On the season finale of NBC's Revolution, life-threatening dangers abound on all sides as the Rebels infiltrate the Tower; Miles' leadership abilities and character are solely tested as well as his feelings for Rachel and Nora; Aaron's genius comes in handy; and Tom Neville and Randall Flynn bring new meaning to the dark side.

        Revolution was, at one time, a very promising show with the distinct family bonding being the sturdy, emotional backbone for the series. But as the scope of the series grew and grew and the stakes grew larger, the show lost sight of the little moments of family, the flashbacks to the early days of the blackout and the hand-to-hand combat sequences. The show embraced its title and the revolution changed the way this show operated. In the last few weeks, the show grew increasingly frustrating as it actively went through hoops to ensure that nothing of any actual value would happen until the season finale. Well, the finale is finally here so would the show live up on all the promises it teased and actually give a grounded yet shocking conclusion to the first season? And much like the rest of the season, the finale did just enough to get me excited for the second season.

        David Lyons as General Monroe was the biggest casting mistake of the series. He does not command the scene in a way that makes him feel manipulative or in control. The character was written as an increasingly paranoid man slowly falling apart as the people he trusted turn on him. This is an intriguing characteristic for the role but Lyons never really rose to the occasion to fully inhibit the character to its best possible version. The catalyst for his paranoia was Miles' assassination attempt on him. The finale finally shed some more light on the events surround Miles' decision to do that - something I would very much would have wanted earlier in this season. The two do confront each other and talk which is a plot that the show cares about more than I do. Monroe's death was largely the plot I was expecting to see the most in the finale. And yet, at hour's end, Monroe is alive but powerless - stripped of his rule running aimless in a field filled with electrical storms (I'm not the only one hoping he would get struck by lightning, am I?)
        Giancarlo Esposito and Colm Feore have largely been the fantastic antagonistic forces this season. Esposito was especially chilling in the finale as Neville was at his most threatening and commanding yet. He is inspirational in his own sick way - always keeping up appearances to ensure the trust of his men be it the killing of the soldier at the start of Monroe's theoretical trial. He was so menacing in trying to ensure that he got exactly what he wanted - to keep the power off - but in the process has probably lost the two people he is closest with. He has turned on his promise to Jason to keep Charlie and Rachel alive and his wife, Julia, is most likely dead in the impending nuclear blast on Atlanta. Feore, too, was given a role with amass depth that made his motivations mysterious yet clear and simple but complex when finally revealed.
        I may not care about many of the characters - the show has gotten better at writing Charlie but she still is too much to handle as is the often-stubborn and rashness of Rachel. When those two were arguing over what to choice to make, save Nora or turn the power back on, it was clear how the situation would end but the show took what should have been a one-minute scene and stretched it out unnecessarily.
        However, this finale was convoluted and ridiculousness which made it immensely entertaining to watch. The proverbial sh-- finally hit the fan and I was mostly satisfied with the ending we got - even though I wish we didn't have to sit through the slow build to get there in the first place. That final reveal of the former President of the United States' impending arrival back on the main continent to continue his reign intrigues me. What happened to the current government when the lights went out was an aspect of the post-blackout world that I questioned and wanted to know more about. So now, the show is gonna deliver at that. Plus, there still is that mystery of who deliberately made the nanites malfunction in the first place. Less intrigue on that puzzle piece but I'm still probably gonna check back in on this show in the fall when it moves to Wednesday nights at eight. Until then, thanks everyone for reading and have a fun summer hiatus.

So what did everyone think of the finale? Who should be cast as the President of the United States? Are you sad to see Nora go? How about those cameo appearances by Kim Raver and Leslie Hope - who are pretty much dead characters walking right? Share your thoughts in the comments.