I found the season premiere to be lacking in a lot of areas. Very average and I think it's because they didn't pick up where the season finale left off at. Having it 6 months later kinda cheats the fans out of seeing the bombs dropping and the aftermath that follows. Sure, we can always do the flashbacks which is how they will dole stuff out. But as a viewer and fan of the show, I wanted it to pick up where we left off. Oh well. The ending with Aaron was predictable. I knew that he was going to come back to life in the final shot of the episode.

A better episode than last weeks, but it's still missing something. Not sure what that is though. Aaron's story arc has gotten more interesting since returning from the beyond, but what's the plan with him? Are the writers hinting at him becoming a Christ-like figure, someone that will now have the ability to bring people back himself? Obviously the townsfolk will learn of his "miracle" and begin to worship him. And what's the deal with the rats? I thought maybe it was residual effects from the radiation fallout, but that can't be right because it's only been 6 months since the bombs dropped and there is no way all that radiation could have been cleared.

Still not clear on who the hell Titus is and what he has / had to leverage power and become the defacto leader of the Clan. Clearly he isn't in charge and is only the "face" of the outfit. So, what does he have to keeps him from getting whacked by his own 'Puppet Master'? I dunno. So, is Monroe gonna become a big old softy and follow Charlie around like a lost puppy? Naw.

I knew that the "US Army" was nothing more than a ruse for another bunch of marauder's to come in and try and claim what was formerly known as the United States. Never bought it for one second that they were who they said they were. Rachel thought the same thing. What I didn't see coming (Rachel too) was that her friend was one of them. But I thought his "transformation" at the end was a bit too much. He went from being her "friend" to Sociopath in 2 seconds flat. It didn't fit his character, even if he was putting on a front the entire time. He just came off really creepy digging that hole in the ground for Rachel.

The most interesting thing to come to 'light' was the revelation that Aaron is more or less a 'Firestarter', or something close to pyrokinesis with the help of those little glowing green nanotechs that fly around in the sky. He also has some form of mental projection so that he can now 'see' things elsewhere. Veeeeeeeeery interesting. This isn't the same show it started out to be. Different and very unpredictable....which I like. I also like that they are pairing up Charlie and Monroe to give them seething animosity toward each other while also having to depend on each other to reach their destination.

I knew that Monroe would eventually do something "stupid" that would go against what Miles and the rest of the gang stand for. So, when it killed that Texas Ranger for the sole purpose of framing the Patriots, it didn't surprise me one bit. I think it's great having him in the mix of their group because it's going to elevate the tension and he will stab them in the back eventually. It's just a question of when. The big twist revolves around Aaron. It was naturally assumed that the nano-tech was the cause of his new-found powers. But in his flashback scene (4 months prior) we see that he had the same ability of pyrokinesis. This just jumped into the super bizarre now.

Not for one second do I believe they killed off Monroe with lethal injection. I know that the nano-tech was slipped to him by Miles while in captivity and that whatever "it" is, was hidden in Miles hand cast. What I don't know is how the nano-tech is administered. Is it a vile of liquid that one drinks? I thought it would be some sort of operation. I dunno. We will see next week for sure. I wasn't surprised to see that Gene Porter is not only on the side of the Patriots. It was expected. What wasn't expected is that they seem to fear him, based on his connection to some 'Doctor Horn'. And with the arrival of Zeljko Ivanek onto the show, I'm guessing he is said Doctor. But then again, Gene is a Doctor and maybe he has a super scary side to him, an alter ego, one that likes to torture people.

Not a bad episode by any stretch, but it really didn't move anything forward. Monroe lives. Gene Porter revealed as a traitor. Aaron sets two more people on fire. And Tom pulls a fast one on that "President" Chick. Just a lot of going around in circles in this one. I did like how everyone is now becoming more dependent on Monroe to get out of their sticky situations though.