Post by Torgo on Feb 11, 2018 13:45:30 GMT -5
The Lost Generation
Destination: May 21, 1927
The Lost Generation is anybody who watched ABC during the late 2000's. AM I RIGHT FOLKS?
::dodges tomato::
Upon learning that her father is a member of Rittenhouse, Lucy confronts him. He tells her of her lineage, and how she was born into Rittenhouse herself. She is soon called into action again however, because Flynn has traveled to 1927 Paris and shot down the Spirit of St. Louis, taking Charles Lindbergh hostage. Lucy and Rufus follow suit, taking their new soldier comrade Dave Baumgardner with them. In 1927 they meet journalist Ernest Hemingway, who helps them look for Flynn around a nightclub ran by Josephine Baker. They eventually get into a firefight with Flynn's men and Dave is killed, leaving Lucy and Wyatt without protection. Lucy is then taken captive by Flynn again, who tells her he intends to kill Lindbergh, a member of Rittenhouse, but Lucy convinces him to spare him if she can convince him to leave the organization. Meanwhile the NSA takes over the project and relieves Agent Christopher from her duty. Christopher confides in the imprisoned Wyatt and they conclude that the NSA agents work for Rittenhouse.
If I were to digress just a tad into a different show for a bit, one thing I always found humorous about the TV show Arrow was the flashback segments that littered the first five seasons, which always seemed to find a point that supposedly took place exactly five years ago that's relevant either in theme or in plot to the present day story that unfolds in the episode, and it seems to happen over and over again. That's a somewhat marvelous series of coincidences, don't you think? I hear history repeats itself, but good god.
Timeless is in a somewhat similar state this week, because Lucy learns of her Rittenhouse heritage and needs to come to terms with it. She just happens to be on a mission where she can meet someone else who was born into Rittenhouse and discuss her feelings about it with him. Good thing this all worked out.
But coincidences aside, this wouldn't be so bothersome if the circumstances that lead her to this point weren't kinda poorly written. Flynn takes down the Spirit of St. Louis. Why? Because. Why not? Then he just holds him hostage for a while and tells Lucy he is going to kill him. And he didn't kill him earlier for...what reason? The episode reveals that this was a rouse by Flynn to get Lucy to get information out of Lindbergh, which is a good idea in theory but we don't really have any real insight into Flynn's thought process here, as in what kind of information Flynn expects or why he thought Lucy might help extract it from him. This story would have been so much easier to believe if it were played out a few episodes ago, when Flynn kidnapped Lucy a first time and did nothing with her.
It's kind of a shame this storyline doesn't work out better, because I like the idea behind it and the rest of the episode is pretty good. We get to see an outcome that was always a real possibility, where a member of the team didn't make it out alive. It's a bit predictable that it happened to a "red shirt" character, so to speak, but I imagine they didn't want let go any of their main characters that the audience has grown attached to. The only guys with the balls to do that on shows like this are Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams. But whether this character was disposable or not, seeing Lucy and Rufus react to the situation brings out some good television drama.
Ernest Hemingway and Josephine Baker are excellent side characters, each bringing about their respective quirks to counteract our straight-laced main characters. Hemingway gets most of the screentime, probably because he's the more humorous character, with his hard drinking and blunt observations. Baker brings a sultry class to the proceedings, and hearing Rufus's story about his crush on her is a classic moment.
Also of interest is Rittenhouse taking over the time travel project more personally. I love the way this is done because suddenly seeing this familiar surrounding overrun by men in suits feels a bit claustrophobic, as well as giving off the feeling that you must constantly look over your own shoulder. The scenes between Wyatt and Christopher are fantastic, as sequences of interrogation turn into scenes of paranoia and suspicion, and finally realization that they need each other to survive.
Typing this all out, I'm starting to realize just how much happened in this episode. With so much event happening in forty minutes maybe it's understandable that the scenes between Lucy and Lindbergh don't work that well, because they're the slowdown dialogue scenes of just two people in a room discussing their feelings. This episode may not be great due to a few hiccups in the way it plays out, but there is quite a bit to admire here. It also ends with a great "hell yeah" cliffhanger that sets the stage for the final two episodes of the season.
Destination: May 21, 1927
The Lost Generation is anybody who watched ABC during the late 2000's. AM I RIGHT FOLKS?
::dodges tomato::
Upon learning that her father is a member of Rittenhouse, Lucy confronts him. He tells her of her lineage, and how she was born into Rittenhouse herself. She is soon called into action again however, because Flynn has traveled to 1927 Paris and shot down the Spirit of St. Louis, taking Charles Lindbergh hostage. Lucy and Rufus follow suit, taking their new soldier comrade Dave Baumgardner with them. In 1927 they meet journalist Ernest Hemingway, who helps them look for Flynn around a nightclub ran by Josephine Baker. They eventually get into a firefight with Flynn's men and Dave is killed, leaving Lucy and Wyatt without protection. Lucy is then taken captive by Flynn again, who tells her he intends to kill Lindbergh, a member of Rittenhouse, but Lucy convinces him to spare him if she can convince him to leave the organization. Meanwhile the NSA takes over the project and relieves Agent Christopher from her duty. Christopher confides in the imprisoned Wyatt and they conclude that the NSA agents work for Rittenhouse.
If I were to digress just a tad into a different show for a bit, one thing I always found humorous about the TV show Arrow was the flashback segments that littered the first five seasons, which always seemed to find a point that supposedly took place exactly five years ago that's relevant either in theme or in plot to the present day story that unfolds in the episode, and it seems to happen over and over again. That's a somewhat marvelous series of coincidences, don't you think? I hear history repeats itself, but good god.
Timeless is in a somewhat similar state this week, because Lucy learns of her Rittenhouse heritage and needs to come to terms with it. She just happens to be on a mission where she can meet someone else who was born into Rittenhouse and discuss her feelings about it with him. Good thing this all worked out.
But coincidences aside, this wouldn't be so bothersome if the circumstances that lead her to this point weren't kinda poorly written. Flynn takes down the Spirit of St. Louis. Why? Because. Why not? Then he just holds him hostage for a while and tells Lucy he is going to kill him. And he didn't kill him earlier for...what reason? The episode reveals that this was a rouse by Flynn to get Lucy to get information out of Lindbergh, which is a good idea in theory but we don't really have any real insight into Flynn's thought process here, as in what kind of information Flynn expects or why he thought Lucy might help extract it from him. This story would have been so much easier to believe if it were played out a few episodes ago, when Flynn kidnapped Lucy a first time and did nothing with her.
It's kind of a shame this storyline doesn't work out better, because I like the idea behind it and the rest of the episode is pretty good. We get to see an outcome that was always a real possibility, where a member of the team didn't make it out alive. It's a bit predictable that it happened to a "red shirt" character, so to speak, but I imagine they didn't want let go any of their main characters that the audience has grown attached to. The only guys with the balls to do that on shows like this are Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams. But whether this character was disposable or not, seeing Lucy and Rufus react to the situation brings out some good television drama.
Ernest Hemingway and Josephine Baker are excellent side characters, each bringing about their respective quirks to counteract our straight-laced main characters. Hemingway gets most of the screentime, probably because he's the more humorous character, with his hard drinking and blunt observations. Baker brings a sultry class to the proceedings, and hearing Rufus's story about his crush on her is a classic moment.
Also of interest is Rittenhouse taking over the time travel project more personally. I love the way this is done because suddenly seeing this familiar surrounding overrun by men in suits feels a bit claustrophobic, as well as giving off the feeling that you must constantly look over your own shoulder. The scenes between Wyatt and Christopher are fantastic, as sequences of interrogation turn into scenes of paranoia and suspicion, and finally realization that they need each other to survive.
Typing this all out, I'm starting to realize just how much happened in this episode. With so much event happening in forty minutes maybe it's understandable that the scenes between Lucy and Lindbergh don't work that well, because they're the slowdown dialogue scenes of just two people in a room discussing their feelings. This episode may not be great due to a few hiccups in the way it plays out, but there is quite a bit to admire here. It also ends with a great "hell yeah" cliffhanger that sets the stage for the final two episodes of the season.