The "Timeless" team got Lucy back from Flynn in last week’s episode, but that doesn’t mean their work is done. This week, the group goes back to the old west on the hunt for Flynn, meeting Jesse James and the inspiration for the Lone Ranger along the way.
Jiya is ready to train for time travel
In a direct response to Rufus deciding he wouldn’t be a lapdog for Rittenhouse anymore, he finds out at the top of the episode that Jiya has been selected to train to become a Lifeboat pilot. In just six short months, Mason wants Jiya to replace Rufus as the pilot on time travel missions.
It’s no surprise that Rittenhouse would realize that they had to find a way to make Rufus replaceable. The twist of the knife in having his replacement be Jiya though is a good one. It’s an emotional push for both Rufus and the audience, but it also makes sense. She’s the only other person we’ve seen on the team with a similar scientific background to Rufus.
Lucy is feeling the guilt
Part of Lucy’s deal while working in the Lifeboat is that she gets to find a way to bring her sister back. We haven’t heard a ton about Amy in the last few episodes, but she’s at the forefront of Lucy’s mind these days, even distracting her from the mission at hand. She’s not the only one, either.
The episode began with Wyatt going to visit his wife’s killer, who actually knows exactly who he is.
As a result, he spends much of the episode reasoning with himself and everyone else that killing a killer is the only way to go. This is certainly teeing up Wyatt making an attempt to save his wife again in the past, but how will he do it?
Colman Domingo is the Lone Ranger
Actually, Colman Domingo, of “Fear the Walking Dead” is Bass Reeves, the man who is thought to have inspired the character the Lone Ranger.
He was one of the first black US Marshals in the west, and the choice of Domingo in the role was inspired. Domingo brings a great gravitas to his roles that is nearly unsurpassed on television. When he refuses to agree with Wyatt’s feelings about killing Jesse James, he makes you think twice about what the Lifeboat team should do.
Flynn’s mission takes an interesting turn
As it turns out, Flynn wasn’t in this particular time period to kill an important person in history or to cut Rittenhouse off at the head. Instead, he found the first pilot on the Lifeboat, who faked her death and hid in the past to avoid Rittenhouse. Is this the fate a member of the team could face one day?
"You sure aren't from around here, are you?"
— Timeless (@NBCTimeless) January 24, 2017
!!!#Timeless pic.twitter.com/hsZXx1okPY
Lucy pulls the trigger
When the show began, Wyatt was the only member of the team who had killed people. As a soldier, it was his job to protect Rufus and Lucy, and he hasn’t had any qualms about it. We’ve seen Rufus kill to protect the team before.
Now, Lucy has done the same, though this time, it was to protect history. Lucy knows that Jesse James is a killer and that he was supposed to die, but there’s no way she won’t be carrying guilt around for this too, especially after listening to Wyatt and Bass debate when it’s right to kill someone.
The verdict and what’s next
This episode spent a lot of time with moral quandaries, but it didn’t feel preachy while it did it. Instead, it only added to the interesting dynamic and overall story. "Timeless" writers again prove that history lovers need to get out from the whitewashing of the past too as it introduces audiences to a man they've probably never heard of simply because the color of his skin didn't rate a mention in retellings of his story.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
We’re getting closer to the guest appearances of Misha Collins and Jim Beaver, but in next week’s “Timeless,” Wyatt and Rufus are going to take a big risk when they go off book.