12 Monkeys - The Keys - Review

12 Monkeys, “The Keys,”was written by Sean Tretta and was directed by John Badham. Tretta is a relative newcomer with a few low budget horror films to his credit while Badham has a long resume, including Nikita, Supernatural, Psych, and a couple movies you might have heard of – Saturday Night Fever and Short Circuit to name two. I loved that we had a dance sequence and a hacker figure into the plot. This show continues to deliver with clever writing and terrific acting.

The episode begins with disorienting flashes of light and snippets of dialogue that will only become clear when the events play out chronologically for us. The episode is interestingly set completely in 2015 in the span of one week, yet still represents one of the twistyiest plots time-wise.

We see the return of Oliver Peters (Ramon De Ocampo) from the “Pilot” as he briefs the CIA on the bioweapon that has been developed from the virus. They are determined to use it in Operation Troy to kill CIA analyst turned hacktivist, Adam Wexler (Ari Millen). They think the virus is a better alternative to get him in his Chechnya stronghold than bombing because the Russians would object to the bombing.

Meanwhile, Cassie (Amanda Schull) and Cole (Aaron Stanford) are tracking down leads that take them to a gala attended by Edward Garrett (Alex Hatz) to get information on the picture of pottery fragment from the greenhouse. Cassie is still suffering from flashbacks to her trauma at the greenhouse and Cole helps to ground her in the present. Cassie begins to notice that Cole doesn’t look well. Now that he knows his time is really limited one way or the other, Cole really starts to take notice of the things around him.

I loved the scenes at the gala. Stanford brings a sense of innocence and wonder to his portrayal which contrasts starkly with the violence we know he’s capable of. In fact, it’s highlighted later in the scene when Cassie turns him loose on Garrett. There’s a real childlike quality that’s brought out first by his complete lack of social graces when he takes all the tandoori skewers and then again when he tries to touch the painting that has him so enthralled. Cassie catches his hand like you would a child and explains there’s no touching. To which Cole replies in particularly adult fashion, “That’s bullshit.”

I very much liked Cole asking Cassie to just take a minute and “just be ‘us’ for a while.” He tells her, “We’re here. Let’s be here.” Cassie’s response is “Have we met? The mission is this way!” This scene is beautifully reversed in the last scene when Cassie knows she will never see Cole again and she wants to just take a minute while he is determined to stay on the mission. In the first instance, Cole knows he’s dying, that the splintering is slowly killing him, yet he doesn’t tell her.

Cole wants to enjoy all of his senses and is drawn to the music. Cassie rightly guesses he doesn’t know how to dance but gently shows him. The choice of song is a really interesting one. In Dirty Dancing, a coming of age movie, Baby goes to Johnny and while this song plays, he basically tells her he’s nothing while she insists that he’s everything. Of course, in that movie it’s Johnny that teaches Baby how to dance and Baby who teaches Johnny his self-worth. Clearly, Badham’s previous directing experience stood him in good stead with this scene!

Cassie breaks off the dance to continue the mission, learning that the pottery is from the Druze religion and a specific sect based out of Chechnya. Garrett tells her that the pottery references a pact between God and man as time’s custodian – and doesn’t that resonate with the show?! He also tells her that there are no converts to the Druze religion – you must be born into it. And as soon as she brings up the Army of the 12 monkeys, he freaks out. It's time for good cop/bad cop again, and Cassie tags in her muscle, Cole.

       There's a beautiful shot of Cole behind the skull of a dinosaur that is a nice reflection of the extinction they are trying to prevent by stopping the virus. Cole is able to learn that Garrett was visited by the tall man – our Pallid man (Tom Noonan). Cole also learns from Wexler that he also knew about the Army of the 12 monkeys. As a CIA analyst, he was interested in the “weird ones.” He tells Cole that he remembers “him” – who can only be the Pallid Man again or maybe that’s Goines? – at a briefing in 1987 at a place called the White Dragon. Wexler confirms that death, time, and rebirth are all mixed up for them. He brings it all together as he points out “monkeys like hours on a clock.”

I loved watching everything play out – and then seeing Cole in the future learn what he’d need to know in the past. Aaron (Noah Bean) really steps up in this episode. Bean is terrific as he plays the lighter side to the character, admiring Cassie in her cocktail dress and worrying about his tux, but we get to see a lot more of his character here and why he’s good at his job. I loved how he lifted the thumb drive and then hid it back under the desk. I also loved that he’d already tucked away “insurance” before they went to the CIA.

The scene with Royce (Bill Timoney) is great. He compares Aaron to his loyal dog when he was growing up. The dog allowed himself to be lead in front of a car by a cat to be killed. Royce completely underestimates Aaron, however. He may love Cassie, but he was never going to wander blindly into the line of fire. I loved that he was the reason that he and Cassie got out of the CIA and were, in fact, still standing when all was said and done. It remains to be seen if he kept his job though.

Schull is also terrific in this episode. She is tender with Cole, but professional with the CIA. I liked her not backing down to either Oliver or Pratt (Conrad Coates). She stays on the line with Cole until the final minute, trying not to let him know she’s crying. She tries desperately to figure a way for him to change what’s happened, but he’s determined that this is the only way – they could fail if they tried anything else. I loved Cole reassuring her: “You can do it. I know you can because you already did.” I like that they keep the character smart and strong without denying her any feelings at all.

Aaron agrees that they have to stick to the script. There’s a beautiful moment between Schull and Bean as he leaves the store after giving Cole the information. He doesn’t say a word to her, but he gives her the strength to get through the last few minutes with Cole. It’s another great moment in the script when Cole tells Cassie that he only understands what happened in their last meeting from the vantage point of his now.

        He tells her the answer to the question she asked him that he didn’t have time to give then. In the game they played when he was in foster care of where to go to be a better me in a better place, he chose the Florida Keys. And that is the Keys of the title. It may also refer to a number of keys that may relate to unlocking the mystery of the 12 monkeys thought too. Because even though there’s no indication that Cole splintered as the stronghold was bombed, we know he can’t be dead, right?

Cole’s final scene with Wexler is also interesting because it gives a voice to the other side. Wexler speculates that releasing the virus could act like a re-set switch. Chaos and then order. But Cole assures him that that doesn’t happen. People simply revert to being animals. This actually plays out as Wexler sees his men turn against him to save themselves. Cole urges them to die like men or leave like cowards, killing everyone they’ve ever known. It’s only then that Wexler finally believes.

While this was another great episode, the one problem with a television series is that we can be pretty sure the star isn’t going to die – though they’ve upped the stakes pretty good here! The mystery is really in how Cole is going to get out of this. What did you think of the episode? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

About the Author - Lisa Macklem

I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Forever, Defiance, Bitten, Glee, and a few others! Highlights of this past year include covering San Diego Comic Con as press and a set visit to Bitten. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.