If you were watching network television back in the early 2010s, then it was impossible for you not to have seen some sort of promotion for the NBC series Revolution. (The network even posted the pilot online weeks before it aired on TV.) The whole concept was quite mysterious, and from the very beginning, we didn’t know much about this show beyond its post-apocalyptic American setting. The power is out, and it’s seemingly never coming back. But there was more to this show than that. Between being Eric Kripke’s first post-Supernatural series, the rest of the behind-the-scenes creatives involved (including Jon Favreau and J.J. Abrams), and the strong cast that featured future Fire Country star Billy Burke, Tracy Spiridakos, Giancarlo Esposito, and Elizabeth Mitchell, there was a lot going for this sci-fi production in the very beginning. It’s too bad it all ended so soon.
What Is ‘Revolution’ About?
Aside from the impressive list of cast and crew involved, Revolution was notable particularly due to its fascinating premise. Set in 2027, 15 years after all electrical power is suddenly shut off (called “The Blackout”), the world has fallen into a post-apocalyptic state. Different nations have risen to power and warlords rule much of what was once the United States of America. In many ways, Kripke took clear inspiration from The Lord of the Rings (which initially confused producer Jon Favreau), though the series found its own voice pretty quickly. Sure, it felt a bit like a “quest-of-the-week” show at the start, but Revolution soon ventured into a new direction, becoming far more than that. Over time, the show delved further into the series’ creative mythology and expanded the world and its characters, eventually becoming a full-blown science fiction series. It turns out, the cause of the Blackout is a sentient A.I. made up of nanotechnology. This revelation changed the show’s entire dynamic, not to mention its tone.
Stripping the power from our industrialized world meant that guns and ammunition, cars and tanks, and other modern conveniences were scarce. In fact, most of the time, characters carry swords and crossbows, and ride on horseback (or simply walk) from place to place. In this sense, Revolution was quite revolutionary. It felt like a particularly interesting and unique way to explore a societal collapse, one that limited everyone involved and forced true human nature to come out. Without the ability to enforce the law, many government institutions were toppled, and those who took power did so by brute force. While other post-apocalyptic shows, such as the TNT series Falling Skies, aired at the time and explored many of the same ideas (though clung tightly to modern, and even advanced, technology), the distinct limitations placed on Revolution by its writers made for some swashbuckling adventures that often felt more fantasy or Western in nature. It was only as the plot developed that the sci-fi elements came in full force.
‘Revolution’ Wasn’t Afraid to Put Its Characters Through the Wringer
Interestingly, though, when it came to its characters, Revolution had no problem shaking things up. Tracy Spiradakos’ Charlie Matheson is initially introduced as the series’ protagonist. It’s through her eyes that we see the sudden death of her father and abduction of her brother, and it’s her perspective that the show initially follows. However, she soon takes a step back as the series pivots to prop up her uncle, Billy Burke’s Miles Matheson, refocusing on him as the lead during the first season. A former Marine turned militia general who helped the Monroe Republic come into power, Miles feels immense guilt about his part in this new world order. In fact, Bass Monroe (David Lyons) was once his best friend, and it’s because of this that Miles, at first, tries to keep out of it. But what sort of story would this be if the heroes took a backseat? With a group of fellow travelers, Charlie and Miles pursue the former’s missing brother, and find themselves in direct conflict with Monroe’s armed forces, namely Giancarlo Esposito’s Major Tom Neville — who is really just utterly fantastic here as far as TV villains go.
What made Revolution so compelling was that— much like another post-apocalyptic series from this era, The Walking Dead — the series was never afraid to put its characters in the line of fire. Over the course of the program, many main cast members (and some fan favorites, in particular) end up dead, even within the show’s first few episodes. Some of these characters are seemingly set up to exist throughout the entire series and prove central to either the plot or another character’s emotional development. However, in true Eric Kripke fashion (look how often he killed his leads on Supernatural), nobody is safe for long. This heightens the very real dangers of this post-apocalyptic hellscape, and keeps the audience on the edge of their seat, wondering if their favorite characters will be safe. Of course, many of the show’s main leads do make it through to the end, but there are a few surprises in there for sure.
As touched on earlier, the tone of Revolution changes a bit throughout, largely due to the external forces surrounding the Matheson family. While Season 1 offers a bit of hopeful optimism in the face of tyranny, this shifts by the end, when it seems as if all hope is lost. But that more altruistic, exciting tone was important to the series’ structure, as Kripke described it in an interview with Collider: “It was so important to us that this not be a harrowing, depressing world, but instead be an exciting, romantic world that everyone wants to visit, every week, and have it be funny and swash-buckling and exciting and daring, and all that stuff.” While that is certainly felt throughout the first season, Season 2 took a far darker turn. Sending Miles, his sister-in-law Rachel (Elizabeth Mitchell), Charlie, and the others further south in Texas, the group deals with massive loss. As the world shifts under our heroes’ feet, so does the look and feel of the show. While this may sound like a downside to Revolution‘s two-season run, it’s actually a strength that kept the program interesting, even in the face of some pretty rough plotlines.
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‘Revolution’ Concluded With a Four-Part “Endgame” From DC Comics
Unfortunately, Revolution lost a good number of viewers throughout its second season (partially due to the move from Monday nights to Wednesdays). This ultimately led to the show’s impromptu cancelation after only 42 episodes in 2014. It’s a shame too, as Revolution was a show that continued to get better with age, adding new and interesting elements to its larger mythology and challenging viewers week in and week out. While the series did end on an unsatisfying cliffhanger (as so many canceled-too-soon shows do), the Revolution writing staff had one more chance to wrap up the story. Teaming up with DC Comics, the writers crafted a four-part digital-exclusive comic book finale in 2015 titled Revolution: Endgame. Not only did this book serve as a more official series finale, but concluded the narrative as best it could — even revealing a truth many suspected about its main characters.
The comic series was originally published weekly on ComicBook.com, but later found its way to other social media outlets. Whether you enjoy Endgame or not, Revolution as a television series was a lot of fun and an engaging weekly watch. With compelling characters, interesting worldbuilding, and fun network TV action, it’s a real shame that this adventure ended so soon. Like many two-season programs, it deserved far better and could have been great if it had found the audience. Needless to say, this was no fault of the writers or the stars, who thrilled faithful viewers (such as this author) each week.
Revolution is available for purchase digitally on Prime Video and Apple TV+.
Revolution
- Release Date
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2012 – 2013
- Network
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The CW
- Showrunner
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Eric Kripke
- Directors
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Eric Kripke
- Writers
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Eric Kripke
