Revival Season 1 Episode 6 Review: Bloodlines

Revival Season 1 Episode 6, “Bloodlines,” takes some dark turns as the episode ramps up the violence and drops some major supernatural twists.

“Bloodlines” is the first sort of stumble for Revival this season. It’s a decent episode, but it doesn’t quite come together the way the previous episodes have. That said, A LOT of big things happen on “Bloodlines” that set up what’s looking to be a pretty crazy second half of the season.

The Patsy

The least surprising revelation of the episode occurs right away. It turns out that while McCray is part of the reviver black market scheme, he isn’t the one who shot Dana and Aaron. 

The real shooter turns out to be Brent. The one officer Dana seems to like and trust the most. He is also the one leading the investigation into the shooting, so that’s convenient for him. 

For those who clocked it, the first clue that Brent was the shooter came on Revival Season 1 Episode 5, “Triage,” when Dana hits his shoulder. The playful punch seems pretty light. However, he still flinches, giving at least the most attentive viewer a clue that his arm is injured.

The actual twist of Brent being the shooter isn’t that surprising, particularly after that mysterious argument in his car. The revelation itself, though, is quite startling and well done. 

It is much better than the fight scene between Dana and Brent that follows, which is the first time the series had a less-than-stellar action sequence. As brutal as it is (and Dana dropping that TV on his head is legit shocking), my attention wandered a bit during it. 

If I’m being honest, that is one of the reasons this episode is a bit weaker than the others. The action, normally a major strength for the show, is not as tight or visually compelling. 

The revelation that Brent was the shooter does bring up the question of why. We aren’t much closer to figuring that out after “Bloodline” than we were at the end of Revival Season 1 Episode 4, “Run Along Little Lamb.” In fact, we know less than we thought we did at the end of “Triage.”

The Blackdeer Case

It’s probably time to talk about the Blackdeer case. The Deeborn case was introduced in Revival Season 1 Episode 1, “Don’t Tell Dad.” It’s one of the very first things we learn about on the show, even before we see the return of the revivers.

Despite being part of the plot from the beginning and consistent teases, we know very little about it. 

We know it’s an old case that Dana worked on and that people blame her for botching. The fallout from that case is a very sore subject for her. It’s a point of conflict between Dana and Wayne, and something that seems to have caused some bad blood between Dana and May Tao, the journalist who keeps popping up on the show. 

More recently, we learned that the case involves a missing woman. Perhaps most ominously, the burned reviver that escaped from the incinerator on “Don’t Tell Dad” is connected to it and working to expose something about it.

Side note, I’m curious if the burned reviver got all of those burns on Revival day. If he did, they should be healing. Maybe they are, but the injuries are just so extensive that they are taking a very long time.

It would be cool to have his face heal slowly, showing his identity as we learn more about the case, and then have his identity fully revealed once the Blackdeer part of the puzzle falls into place. 

Another thing we know about the Blackdeer case is that Aaron was involved somehow. It’s far more likely that whoever he was afraid of is connected to the Blackdeer case than the reviver black market situation. My big question, then, is whether Em’s murder has a connection to the Blackdeer case.  

The Check Brothers Check Out

If you were betting on the Check brothers being this season’s big bad, “Bloodline” did away with those theories. Or, rather, Em did as she went into feral mode to rescue her sister and brutally dispatched them.

The Checks may be gone, but they created plenty of havoc before their demise. 

The brothers broke their deal with Dana almost as soon as they made it, and as suspected, Dana’s slip telling them Em was a reviver came back to bite the Cypresses pretty hard on “Bloodlines.”

Between kidnapping Em, Cooper, and poor little Jordon, who is just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and leaving Dana on death’s door again (man, that woman can’t catch a break), they also push Wayne over the line by threatening his family. 

Wayne goes full-on team rendition and torture in his efforts to find his daughter and grandson. Pointing a gun at a defenseless McCray is bad enough, but throwing Rhodey in that prison is going to be hard to come back from, especially because he has no proof he is involved in anything. 

It’s hard to see Em forgiving Wayne for what he’s doing to Rhodey when she finds out. Wayne may redeem himself before the season is over, but he steps into real villain territory on “Bloodlines” that they can’t just wave away if he has a change of heart.

I can’t say I’m sorry to see the Check Brothers go. 

The Check Brothers were a solid entry point into the underbelly of Wausau, but at this point in the season, there are far more frightening and more compelling dangers to focus on. I am glad that Mama Check is still around, though, and wouldn’t be mad about seeing her again.

She has the makings of a completely deranged villain that would be a lot of fun to watch.

Some Supernatural WTFs

With all the drama and chaos that happens on “Bloodline,” the episode still manages to save the biggest WTF moments for the end. 

First, we finally see the creature from the woods and Blaine’s initiation ritual. It’s some sort of crazy light alien with a connection to the revivers. 

Even though the creature makes Jordan disappear, seemingly permanently, in this weird burst of light, the creature does not seem like a predator. The moment is a peaceful one, and Jordan looks relieved, if not happy, to go.

There is some sort of supernatural kinship between the creatures and at least some of the revivers. Did they cause Revival Day somehow? Or, perhaps they were drawn to Wausau because of Revival Day?

Whatever the case, we have a new, and frankly unexpected, mystery to unravel. That includes Blaine’s connection to them. The creatures themselves might not be evil, but we can’t say the same for whatever Blaine is using them for. 

After seeing the creature, Blaine’s mysterious agenda feels even more nefarious and dangerous. However, we still don’t have enough information to really theorize about what that agenda is.

Perhaps relatedly, the other WTF supernatural moment on “Bloodlines” is that Em heals Dana after Anthony Check stabs her. 

There isn’t an explicit connection made between Em’s new healing powers and the light creature, but the light coming from her hands looks a lot like the light the creature emits.

Plus, Em was with Dana when she was shot on “Run Along Little Lamb,” and didn’t heal her. It can’t just be a coincidence that she taps into her healing powers the moment the creature shows up, can it?

Final Thoughts

“Bloodlines” might not be the best episode of the season, but it is a big episode. Part of why it doesn’t feel as strong as a stand-alone episode is that it is a bit of a transition episode to the last act of the season. 

There is so much going on in this episode that it’s almost hard to focus. Still, what it sets up has the potential to lead to a pretty thrilling conclusion in just a few more episodes.

Even if this episode mildly underwhelmed me, I am very excited to see the fallout from everything that happened in it.

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Revival airs Thursdays at 10/9c on Syfy.

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