Since the pilot we’ve known that Wyatt wanted nothing more than to use time travel to get his wife back. In “Karma Chameleon,” he finally takes the chance as he and Rufus go rogue to prevent the man who killed his wife from ever being born. Stuck in the present without the team, Lucy is the one Anthony turns to when he and Flynn learn a secret about Rittenhouse.
Wyatt tells Lucy his plan
Leading off the episode isn’t a new moment in history, but Wyatt visiting Lucy in the middle of the night. He reveals to Lucy that he has a plan to make sure his wife doesn’t end up murdered.
You would think this would be the lead off to a big adventure for the Time Team; instead, it leaves Lucy sitting in tears on her stairs fearing that this is goodbye.
The scene is surprisingly emotional and tense. Maybe it’s because we’ve watched Lucy and Wyatt grow closer and become people who will be there for one another no matter what. Maybe it’s because if Wyatt gets his wife back, there’s less of a chance that he and Lucy become romantically entangled, which is what the story has seemed to be heading toward.
‘Timeless’ upholds its own rules
When the show began, the rule was that the Time Team couldn’t travel to a place they already existed. Not only does this mean that they can’t double back on their own time traveling, but it also means they can’t interact with their younger selves.
The show, despite traveling to the 80s, keeps its own rules in place for “Karma Chameleon” as Rufus points out that they’re traveling to March of 1983 and he was born in December. This must make him the oldest member of the team since Wyatt is able to go to ‘83 with no problem.
Rittenhouse wants the Mothership
Anthony reaches out to Lucy when he finds Rufus unavailable, and it’s Anthony who reveals that Rittenhouse, as the audience has suspected, wants the Mothership to turn history in their favor.
That’s not the only reveal Lucy gets though. She also finds out that her father is a member of Rittenhouse. We might have already known that, but now we get to see how she reacts to that news.
'If you love someone…you tell them something like this.'
Wyatt and Lucy are clearly being set up as show’s big couple. We’ve seen their chemistry in past episodes, and we saw their kiss while “acting” for Bonnie and Clyde.
There have been plenty of breadcrumbs along the way, but Jiya’s proclamation embedded in her worry for Rufus and her anger that he didn’t come to her, might be the biggest one.
Jiya believes that when you care about someone, you don’t shield them from danger, but come to them to let them know what’s going on - which is exactly what Wyatt did at the top of the episode. It gives both women pause when Lucy reveals it, though she’s also quick to make the excuse that Wyatt needed her to cover for him.
There are going to be plenty of excuses. Anyone who knows their TV drama knows that writers have to drag some plots out for a certain amount of time, and relationships are one of those things. I’d expect plenty more teasing on this route.
Wyatt’s plan hits every roadblock
You imagine it, and Wyatt and Rufus go through it. Not only do they end up stuck somewhere as the result of a storm, but they get caught in nearly all of their lies by the people they interact with. Everything they do ends up causing their plan to spiral out of control until Wyatt, who promised Rufus that no one would get hurt, loses all sense of control in his effort to get his wife back. Considering that Wyatt is a desperate man here, it’s no surprise that things go too far. Wyatt’s actions don’t save his wife after all.
The verdict and what’s next
Seeing just what happens when Lucy isn't on the case makes us hope it never happens again. Such a great way for things to play out!
4 out of 5 stars.
Next week, Wyatt is going to see some serious consequences for his rogue actions in “The Lost Generation,” while Lucy and Rufus will have a new soldier join them on a mission to Paris in the 1920s.
