REVOLUTION: Jim Beaver Guest Stars in “One Riot, One Ranger” [Recap]

Jim Beaver was last night’s guest star in a new episode of Revolution, called One Riot, One Ranger. Jim played Texas Ranger Fry who comes to Willoughby to size up the situation there and try to get the Patriots to leave.

Meanwhile Aaron is struggling with his new-found powers in the only way he knows how – by running away. Actually, and to be fair, he’s afraid of hurting someone he loves accidentally, since he doesn’t know how to control the nano-thingies that blow people up when Aaron gets angry. Rachel manages to convince him to return home.

Also, Charlie is reunited with Miles, Rachel and Aaron, but she brings a surprise with her in the form of one, Sebastian Monroe.

Imagine the conversation between Eric Kripke and Jim Beaver, when Kripke tells him that he got the part of the Ranger. “Wow, that’s great, Krip! It’ll be fun working with you again.” Kripke: “Yeah, well don’t get too comfy cozy because I’m killing you off this show too.” Beaver: “Jeez Krip, what did I ever do to you?”

It was good to see Jim on another Kripke project, though, even if it was brief.

As the Rangers ride into Willoughby, they are watched by Monroe and Charlie. Of course Charlie, much like her mother, wants to just drop all and run into the town to find Rachel. Bass stops her though and tells her they need to scope out the place and see what their options are.

Charlie manages to get into the town undetected and finds Miles. Happy reunion, yay! Then she blows it all by taking him to Monroe. That was a reunion that doesn’t go well, but the two ex-friends decide to call a truce and work together against the Patriots.

Miles meets Fry and tries to convince him to join with them against the Patriots, but Fry’s boss is getting ready to sign a treaty with them and requires proof of their villainy to take back to his leader. Miles tells him to meet him at the old train yard at midnight and he’ll have his proof.

Things don’t’ go as planned, though. The train car holding all the prisoners is found empty and the three are ambushed by Patriots. Working together as they once did before, Miles and Monroe manage to kill all but one Patriot, whom they take hostage as the proof that Fry needs.

Meanwhile, Aaron passes out again and has a vision of Charlie and Miles with Monroe in the old building at the train yard. Rachel and Aaron go there and find them all, and the reunion between mother and daughter is quite cold.

Fry shows up and Miles takes him to their prisoner hoping the Patriot will talk, but finds he had bitten a cyanide tablet and died. Dismayed, Miles tries to convince Fry to try and stop his boss from signing the treaty, but then Monroe comes up behind the ranger and shoots him dead. His thinking is to frame the Patriots for Fry’s death, thus beginning the war Miles wanted.

So the gang is all together once more, albeit lacking in trust. Elsewhere, Neville is escorting Secretary Allenford to another camp when they are assaulted by Patriot troops who open fire on them, wounding her. Neville and Allenford manage to escape and Neville presses her for more information on the camp. She tells him it’s a new reprogramming facility where they use drugs and other methods to brainwash people. Basically, it sounds like these Patriots are the replacements for Monroe’s induction camps.

Allenford tells Neville that she is rebelling against these camps and that is why they were fired upon. Neville makes to leave her but she tells him that they have Jason. So he tends to her wounds and I’m thinking he’ll continue to escort her so that he could get Jason back, although I’m not too sure if he’ll succeed since he threw Jason over (again) so that he could gain access into the higher ranks of the Patriots.

On next week’s episode, things don’t look very good at all for Monroe. It may be the end of the line for him, but that would kind of make me sad because I was liking the Monroe/Charlie collaboration. We’ll see.

Tune in for “Dead Man Walking”, October 30, at 8/7c on NBC.