Revolution: Aaron Pittman's Journey

He had the heart of a hero.

                  Aaron Pittman went from school outcast to Google Millionaire then back to that outcast where he was beaten up by the bullies on this now giant playground. But I feel that Aaron gained a strength that he never thought he had. Often times he could be courageous. And like Miles, Aaron used sarcasm to deflect.

From riches to rags with a flip of a switch

            Before the Blackout, Aaron was happy and rich with a loving wife who didn't care about his money. Aaron lived to make Priscilla happy but when the power went out, Aaron felt he had nothing. Before his money could provide for her but suddenly Aaron saw that money wasn't going to protect Priscilla. I don't think Aaron felt so helpless in his life since he was in elementary school. But Priscilla still loved him. She insisted that all she wanted was Aaron by her side. He may not have been the strongest but he made Priscilla happy just because he put her first. However, Aaron didn't believe that was enough to protect her. So Aaron left her. I think after that Aaron swore that he would never leave a loved one behind again because when Danny was taken and Charlie went after him, Aaron joined on her quest. He considered the Mathesons as family because they took him in when no one else would. 

Oh God please let this work

           When Aaron first met Miles Matheson, Miles didn't really see Aaron as useful for anything. But in "Sex and Drugs" Aaron surprised Miles with his insistence on helping Charlie. Miles had to choose between helping Nora or saving Charlie and Aaron begged Miles to choose Charlie. Then Drexel forced Nora and Aaron to do a gun fight. Nora didn't want to hurt Aaron but he insisted again to shoot him. He didn't believe he was useful but suddenly Aaron shot himself. It seemed like he was dead but when Drexel went to check, Aaron shot the psycho point blank, killing him instantly. Apparently, Aaron shot his flask and this was all some plan. Aaron got Nora out of danger and went to meet Miles and Charlie and Miles was dumbfounded when Nora told him that it was Aaron who shot Drexel and got out of there. "This Aaron?" Yeah, Miles, Aaron is tougher than he looks. 

"I spy..."

          Aaron still believed that he wasn't worth saving when it came down to life or death. Yet Aaron spent his life being harassed by bullies and after a while one can either continue to cower or say "no more". So Aaron stood up to Miles when it came down to giving up the power pendant. "Aaron, I'm gonna beat you unconscious." "Go ahead and try." Aaron's voice sort of trembled but he wasn't going to give up the pendant for anything. I think he believed that if the power was back on he wouldn't have to be afraid of people trying to hurt him or the people he loved anymore. He didn't want to be useless or helpless. Without electricity, Aaron felt powerless. Understandable because Aaron knows computers and in a world that relied more on them, he felt powerful; no one could bully him anymore. Also he didn't believe that anyone should die from some third world disease or fatal injury without a chance to live. He wanted to help that boy from the Plains Nation but Rachel wasn't going to stop for anything.

"I'm gonna tell you guys about the Ghostbusters"

          Aaron is a very loyal friend. He went with Rachel to turn the power back on, but she wasn't a very good friend to him during their trip. Rachel was very bent on killing herself to get revenge, even fine with being left behind with her broken leg, but Aaron refused to leave her. He was adamant. I think it brought him back to when he abandoned his wife. He didn't want to repeat that mistake. Aaron then finally met Cynthia. He always put her safety first and when she was in physical danger from the Hanover clan, Aaron took up a weapon and went into the fight, not caring about his own life. 

"All these abandoned halls look the same"

           In season 2, Aaron found himself in the middle of something big with the nano tech and he didn't want to hurt his friends by getting involved. So when the nano tech resurfaced, Aaron kept it a secret in order to protect them even more so when the nano threatened to kill all of his friends. Most of the time, Aaron would go off on his own even though Charlie and Rachel were very concerned about him; even Miles was concerned not just because Aaron is connected to the nano tech but also because he grew to like and respect Aaron. I think Charlie always saw Aaron as a goofy big brother. Even though Aaron said he didn't like kids, he showed a deep concern for his students in Willoughby and I think also for Charlie and Danny. Charlie was very angry that Aaron ran off but was glad to see he was okay. 

"Here's Aaron"

              He's not all innocent though. Aaron did break once. When Dr. Horn killed Cynthia, Aaron sort of snapped. At first, Aaron didn't want to hurt people but at that moment he was broken. He didn't just have the nano kill Horn but every single Patriot. He lost another love of his life and he had enough. But we know this was not the right thing Aaron should have done. All Aaron had to do was tell the nano to heal Cynthia and maybe they would have stayed but Aaron somehow disenchanted the nano tech. I think they saw Aaron as humble or that he didn't want to use them like a machine but Aaron would just give them conflicting orders. So the nano abandoned him, leaving Cynthia dead. The fact that this event took place in a school, a place Aaron felt powerless and at the mercy of bullies, I think that helped him regress back to that scared kid but instead of cowering in fear, Aaron let his rage out and finally give these bullies a taste of their own medicine; so Aaron kind of took the power away from the bullies but he himself became one in that moment. Aaron was very afraid of the nano tech. Thanks to Priscilla though I think Aaron gained the strength to stand up to the machine and try to destroy it. Aaron managed to resist the nano when he was dreaming. He could have stayed in that perfect world where he felt safe, but he wanted the real Priscilla not a figment the nano cooked up. 

"Skynet piece of crap!"

             But then Aaron was tricked into helping the nano tech. They possessed Priscilla and began emotionally terrorized Aaron. He tried to teach them that being human was more than books, food, and sex it was about being loyal to the people you care about. Aaron wanted them to find Miles, not caring that the nano didn't think he was worth saving. Luckily Miles gained a new strength to live. But Aaron felt afraid and bullied once more. He was so afraid of the monster he had created that he did everything it told him to do. Thankfully though, Rachel returned the loyalty Aaron often showed her and saved Aaron and Priscilla. 

"Through richer or poorer..."

              In closing, Aaron may have believed himself to be useless and weak but really he showed great courage and displayed fierce loyalty to those he cared about. I think in the end he realized that he didn't have to be afraid anymore because he had his friends and his wife back. No longer alone, Aaron Pittman had a family again. 

"Through better or worse..."