Things get real
(This review contains spoilers!)
As I said last week, to say that the
overall quality of Timeless’s episodes have been shaky and uneven would be an
understatement. That’s why, despite this episode being the winter finale, I
wasn’t certain we were going to see a follow up that was on par with last week’s
episode. I had my fingers crossed for tonight, hoping Timeless could pull it
off.
And wouldn’t you know it, not only did
they manage to match last week’s episode’s quality, they surpassed it. The
Capture of Benedict Arnold is easily the best Timeless episode yet, as the
directors, writers, actors, and everyone else involved seem to finally really
be trying to create a show that’s worth getting excited about each week.
This episode starts out similarly to
the others; Flynn’s gone back to the day Benedict Arnold betrayed George
Washington, and our heroes pursue him. But surprise! This time Flynn convinces
them to work with him as they attempt to destroy Rittenhouse once and for all
by killing the man who founded it.
Strangely enough, this was how I
figured the show was going to end. I thought the ultimate solution was to
finish off Rittenhouse back before it became the massive entity that it is in
the present, thus bringing back Flynn’s wife and daughter, leading to him never
stealing the time machine, and resulting in the whole show never happening. A
weak, clichéd ending, yes, but it was the clearest path ahead of us that I saw.
Fortunately, Timeless was quick to subvert that by revealing Rittenhouse was
involved in several other parts of history, meaning that even if they get rid
of it history will likely be changed forever, possibly for the worse. I’m glad
the creators aren’t taking the easy road and actually making Lucy and crew’s
mission all the more difficult to accomplish.
So Lucy, Wyatt, Rufus and Flynn team
up with Benedict Arnold himself to take on the founding member of Rittenhouse,
some old guy named David. I must say, the actor playing David did a fantastic
job. He was a very creepy, almost Emperor Palpatine-like character that really
felt like the ultimate brains behind this sinister organization. As a villain,
he also contrasted well with Flynn’s more erratic and loud behaviour, speaking
slowly and eerily, making him all the more threatening. I’m almost certain we’ll
never see him again considering how this episode ends (except maybe in
flashbacks), which I’m almost disappointed about considering how good he is at
being the bad guy.
Speaking of Flynn, I do still have a
concern when it comes to him, and that’s what ends up being the biggest problem
of the episode. Timeless is still trying to sell him to us as a morally grey
character that is ultimately good deep down. The problem is it’s kind of hard
to see him as that when he’s killing people left and right with reckless
abandon. In this episode, he kills a major historical figure (can’t remember
who he was except that Lucy said he did something incredibly integral to
history later on) because he wanted some time alone with Benedict Arnold. Then,
later on, he has a quiet moment with Lucy telling her about how he can’t return
home to his daughter knowing all that he’s done. They’re clearly trying to make him sympathetic, but I
honestly can’t help but agree with him. He’s done terrible things for no reason
other than because he feels like it! I can’t feel sympathy for someone who does
that!
The episode
ended with a big cliffhanger, with David’s son making a run for it, and an
erratic Flynn stealing Lucy away in his time machine, leaving Wyatt and Rufus
behind. There were a lot of implications left behind for us to speculate on
before the show returns next year, including that the world may be changed far
more extensively than it has been before. In fact, the episode opened with the
FBI agent lady giving Lucy a USB with family photos on it, informing her that,
should something happen to them in the timeline, Lucy should show them to her.
Now, this raises an interesting dilemma: should that happen (and let’s not kid
ourselves, considering they put so much weight on that it’s almost certainly going
to happen eventually), would it be better for her to live ignorant of her
family in the other timeline or have Lucy tell her what might’ve been? It’s a
very exciting plot point that I’m excited to see play out.
After several weeks of filler and
fluff, Timeless is finally creating the show I’d hoped it would be at the
start, with all the elements that make a time travel show great. And now with
things beginning to change and Lucy in Flynn’s grasp, we’ve reached a point
where the show can finally kick things into high gear. I honestly hope we don’t
have to wait too long before it comes back, because I’m way too curious to see
where we go next.
FINAL SCORE
9/10
Amazing
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