Date of airing: February 6, 2017 (NBC)
Nielsen ratings information: 2.923 million viewers, 1.9/4 in Households, 0.64/2 with Adults 18-49, 0.3/1 with Adults 18-34, 0.9/3 with Adults 25-54
written by: Kent Rotherham, David Hoffman
directed by: Craig Zisk
The only good thing about the series right now is the impending battle between the trio of time travelers and Rittenhouse, although I am not sure if that is going to be an interesting story for the next two episodes, let alone a story that can fill the next two hours when the show was already doing the standard “time travel adventure history hour” thing in every episode. Maybe there is going to be some entertainment when four people go up against a group of intellectual and smart anarchists that have existed for about 220 years. Maybe there will be a moment during which Flynn becomes an ally for the trio in their fight against Rittenhouse (the final scene alluded to that twist), and maybe there is hope that TIMELESS will end this season as a good show.
Because right now I would not necessarily recommend the series, simply due to its use of cliched mystery moments and plot developments, as well as the fact that it is essentially being used to teach US history to folks who did not think they would be interested in it. TIMELESS may have some solid character drama in it, making use of them for a time travel series when other TV shows of its kind could not even manage to properly depict time travel through established rules, but if I would have watched this series back in 2016 and 2017 when it aired, and it had been canceled for good after year one, I would not have missed it. For TIMELESS to have been a more meaningful show, it should have made use of the ever-changing timeline through mingling in history.
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| Rockets go flying in 1927. |
The episode was slightly boring, since the premise of a famous person of history being altered to fit into the timeline of a scripted show is not only not new anymore, but it was the only premise of the episode. Also, Flynn vowed to himself to eradicate Rittenhouse from history, but as soon as he had Charles Lindbergh in his hands, he did not kill him, leaving a Rittenhouse member alive after he got what he wanted. Yes, Flynn just wanted a couple more names of Rittenhouse members of the 1920s (because apparently, an official roster of members did not exist during that time?), but there was one particular Rittenhouse member who Flynn did not bother killing before he does whatever he was planning to do with Mr. Charvet. It is almost like Flynn does not necessarily want to kill every single Rittenhouse member – and he really wanted to kill every single Rittenhouse member, even a child. How convenient that he decided to let Lindbergh live, just because he happens to be a famous person in real life.
I did like the talk Lucy and Charles Lindbergh had, however. Both were on the verge of becoming different people after they were revealed as part of Rittenhouse, and both had to make a decision. Maybe it was fate that Lindbergh and Lucy were to meet in this episode, to talk about their experience and fear about Rittenhouse, and to question what to do next, because both needed to hear from the other to think about what to do next. And I wonder if Lucy will go down the same route as Lindbergh did eventually, and if Lindbergh’s involvement in this episode was a way to foreshadow events that would make Lucy a villain. If Lindbergh did not manage to stay hidden and live a life not predestined by a bunch of old white dudes, then how is Lucy going to go up against them?
Honestly, with Flynn probably turning into a hero at some point, it would be pretty good and intriguing and unheard of for network television that two characters change allegiances like this – Lucy falling into the Rittenhouse mythology and becoming a villain, while Flynn is turning out to be the antihero the show needed. Because really, what would stop Lucy from going with her father in a couple of episodes? Ben Cahill just needs to promise Lucy that he will get Amy back to her and Lucy will have an in she will take. By the way, it is kind of convenient that he knew about Amy, but I guess that is what happens when you run the most secret time travel project in human history, which the NSA and a cabinet member of the president’s administration also know about.
Also, Rittenhouse has been portrayed as something of a good and positive organization in this episode, and I am getting bombarded with questions as to why I think I liked that story choice. Yes, Ben Cahill was telling Lucy that Rittenhouse moved away from David Rittenhouse’s agenda and that she will see the good in the organization one day, but it could have easily been a lie to lure Lucy in (to make Rittenhouse look like a cult). But I was wondering if Rittenhouse really was as described by Cahill. The only things I know about Rittenhouse are that Flynn’s family was killed by them, that their founder was a patriarch with the hunger to turn women into sex slaves, that politicians are its members, and that they can easily stage a coup without anyone noticing. Questions that have not been answered yet are what Rittenhouse’s purpose with the mothership is (I do not think that “reforming history to their own desire” is a good-enough answer), and what kind of impact they had in history already. Rittenhouse can involve murderers and corrupt politicians, but maybe they just want to save the world from something even eviler than themselves? It cannot just be that they want a sterile and clean timeline – you can get to power much easier by just looking at how Donald Trump became president. Wait... the Kremlin is part of Rittenhouse?
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| Goggling at Pablo Picasso and the Fitzgeralds is a high point for any historian. |
The rest of the episode was okay. I liked the banter between Hemingway and Rufus, as well as the running gag of Rufus finding joy in 1928, which should never reach Jiya’s ears. I also kind of liked Wyatt’s escape from the random blacksite, though he came over as MacGyver here, which looked somewhat silly. Wyatt only needed a paper clip to get out of confinement and back to this team, which is hilarious, considering the MACGYVER revival on CBS was airing at the same time. It made me wonder for a second if this was an intended joke, or if the image of a hero breaking out of prison with a paper clip has been so normalized that it cannot even be considered in connection with Angus MacGyver.
The way Agent Christopher led Wyatt to the escape was funny. The overhead shot of her handing Wyatt the confession agreement was focusing on the paper clip, and I immediately knew that she wanted him to break out and she was helping him to do so (since his words about the coup seemed to have hit her right in the heart). Then I was surprised to realize that an overhead shot like this could even focus on the paper clip on a table. It is just this small little thing, not particularly well lit, but here I was, instantly knowing where that scene would lead to.
