TV Show Review

TV Review: REVOLUTION: Season 1, Episode 5: Soul Train

Giancarlo Esposito Tracy Spiridakos Revolution Soul Train

Revolution Season 1 Episode 5 Soul Train Review. Revolution: Season 1, Episode 5: Soul Train had the best use of flashbacks, real time, and character development since the series began. Arrow is using flashbacks effectively as well, showing how its main character came to be who he is. Soul Train developed the character of Captain Tom Neville (Giancarlo Esposito) of the Monroe Republic militia.

The reason why he was best aspect of the episode was that the viewer was shown how his personality was before the blackout and how it changed because of circumstances that occurred after the blackout.

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No one could have guessed that Captain Neville was a nice guy, a person that cared about others before the blackout. Through this episode segment, the viewer was shown that the blackout didn’t just end lives, it twisted souls.

He is informed that his son Nate (J. D. Pardo) was the captive that Miles Matheson (unbeknowst to Miles) and without blinking (smart because they would have known they had leverage on him), was willing to sacrifice him. He is all about his mission and duty.

The twist that Nate was Captain Neville’s son became obvious in the third act before it was revealed but it was a good plot point none-the-less.

Charlotte “Charlie” Matheson (Tracy Spiridakos) and Captain Neville’s face-to-face meeting brought back memories of Shosanna and SD Colonel Hans Landa’s meeting/conversation in Inglourious Basterds (reviewed here: Inglourious Basterds (2009) Film Review). He was very clever, complimenting her on her looks the way he did with Charlie not knowing how to deal with it, battling different emotions.

What was hilarious was when Charlie tries to kill Captain Neville with a knife. When he stops her and has her up against the train’s wall choking her, the viewer will not be able to shake the feeling that if Charlie were a man, he would be punching her in the face.

Not on this show, not on the NBC network.

Charlie must maintain her looks at all times. The producers won’t have her on the show with a black eye for two episodes.

I also was intrigued that the only member of a so-called resistance in the train station town wanted to blow up a train and kill a bunch of people in loving memory of his dead, resistance fighter wife. In the context it was set, it was believable as was the acting during a later pivotal scene but did Nora Clayton (Daniella Alonso) really have to survive the stabbing (was the knife sterile? How would and did she disinfect the wound in that world? By pouring boiling wine on it like in Game of Thrones?)? How does she know it didn’t hit something vital? She isn’t a doctor. Since Maggie Foster (Anna Lise Phillips) died in the last episode, producers probably felt that someone else did not have to.

For more Revolution reviews, photos, videos, and information, visit our Revolution Page, subscribe to us by Email, follow us on Twitter or on Facebook.

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Rollo Tomasi

Rollo Tomasi is a Connecticut-based film critic, TV show critic, news, and editorial writer. He will have a MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in 2025. Rollo has written over 700 film, TV show, short film, Blu-ray, and 4K-Ultra reviews. His reviews are published in IMDb's External Reviews and in Google News. Previously you could find his work at Empire Movies, Blogcritics, and AltFilmGuide. Now you can find his work at FilmBook.
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