12 Monkeys - Shonin - Review

12 Monkeys, “Shonin,” was written by Sean Tretta and was directed by Mark Tonderai, whose other credits include House at the End of the Street and Hush. This was another fantastic episode as this show finds new ways to bend time each week. Kirk Acevedo is excellent as the episode follows Ramses’ journey to become the Witness. It was great to see Zeljko Ivanek back as Leland Goines, especially with all that hair! And I thought the effects to make him younger were excellent – better than the aging of his daughter last episode.

I loved the atmospheric take on the 80s in the White Dragon in Tokyo. Ramse and Cole (Aaron Stanford) converge on Goines who is about to turn down Nakano’s (Denis Akiyama) torso. I was with Goines in being shocked that Nakano simply wheeled the torso into the middle of the club. Of course, then Goines kicks it, remarking on what old technology it is. It’s Cole who piques Goines’ interest by telling him that the torso contains a virus. Just the first of a number of very clever time twists in the episode. The brutal fight between Ramse and Cole ends with Ramse apparently killing Cole.

Then we see that Ramse is in prison, having been found with blood on his hands. Of course, we know that they couldn’t have found a body, so one does have to wonder how they really had grounds to keep him. An Embassy Official (Brad Austin) tells Ramse he can’t help him without a social security number, and naturally, Ramse doesn’t have one. I have to admit to being shocked as the years pass and no help comes for Ramse – at least not from where we would expect it to. And speaking of hands, we see that something has happened to Ramse' - no doubt a side effect of his splintering.

Olivia (formerly the Striking Woman – Alisen Down) writes him a letter and sends him the Art of War by Sun Tzu. We see that a thug (Jung-Yul Kim) is beating him up regularly in the yard, and this goes on through 1990 and 1995. Finally, Ramse tells the rest of the men in the yard that the thug has been reporting on them to the guards. Ramse has learned the art of war – subdue the enemy without fighting. He tells the thug, “I killed you without lifting a finger.” And this is also what’s going to happen with the virus. The virus will do all the killing.

Finally, Olivia sends clothes and a passport for Ramse, bringing him to the rest of them in Virginia. The Tall man (Tom Noonan) is there and happy to greet the traveler. The Tall man makes a comment that Olivia’s father was right – but we get no more explanation of who her rather might be.  He and Ramse are wearing the same pendant, and Olivia uses them to create a paradox.

        It’s a great special effect as a red forest springs up. It’s great watching the scenes we’ve seen before play out in slightly different ways. Olivia refers to it as the “period of interference” and they determine that they can’t do anything to change history, because anything could prevent Ramse from coming back in time.

It was fun to move through the “time of interference” and see various scenes recontexturalized. We find out that the 12 Monkeys released the virus in Haiti that subsequently drew Henry out. We also see that they become involved with Markridge. Leland makes a comment that Olivia’s company seems to be able to predict the future – 911 etc. We never do get an explanation for how Olivia knew Ramse – the Traveler – was in jail in Japan in 1987 – was her father from the future?

We see that Olivia asked Aaron (Noah Bean) what he’d be willing to do to keep Cassie alive. It’s interesting too that Ramse won’t let them kill Cassie (Amanda Schull) – she has to be alive to bring Cole back in the first place. Aaron comes to Cassie drunk and want to run away and hide. She refuses to run, insisting that there is still hope. She sends him back to Royce (Bill Timoney) who has fired him as he prepares to run for President in 2016. Lucky him – he’ll be President when the plague hits! Aaron asks to be assigned to a private project – The selective disaster survival project – which is being run by none other than Olivia’s company.

Olivia has also taken Jennifer (Emily Hampshire) under her wing. She tells Jennifer that they have much in common. Oliver’s father was the same as Leland. Her father also had plans for her. Olivia tells her, “I was a thing in a box with instructions.” She tells Jennifer that she can protect her and asks her if she’d like to be a daughter again. Jennifer fervently wants that. There is a beautiful shot of Jennifer shown in the 3-part mirror, a nice reflection - if you will - of her fragmented self.

The episode then loops back to the beginning of the episode and we see that Jones (Barbara Sukowa) sends Cole to 2015 just before he is shot in 1987. He ends up in Cassie’s shop, bleeding out – but alive. Back in 2043, however, they’ve lost his tracer signal. He’s now stuck in 2015. I have to admit to being a bit disappointed that we won’t see Cole or Ramse back in the future – at least that’s how it seems now.

Dr Adler (Andrew Gillies) is Jones’ new right hand man. They discuss children, and Jones says that they can make us or destroy us. She refuses to leave the facility even though it appears hopeless. She says, “Hope is the luxury of those who are unburdened by fate” and this resonates with Cassie’s earlier insistence that there is still hope.

Whitley (Demore Barnes) has also lost faith in Jones and has no hope for the project, insisting that they must leave. It’s a nice throw back to the episode in which Jones shares a drink with Cole, Ramse, and Max. Barnes is simply marvelous again in this scene. When Jones says Whitley doesn’t drink, he responds, “I told you if I did, it would be with you.” She asks if he’s leaving, and he responds, “We lost the tether. Cole is gone. The mission is over.” There aren’t enough men left to secure the facility. Whitley is angry. He left his father and he killed for Jones and it appears it was all for nothing.

I loved the final reveal at the end from Cole that he knows who the witness is – and it’s Ramse. This was another really well acted episode. I loved Acevedo’s restrained performance, particularly after he becomes a student of Sun Tzu. He has become ruthless and single-minded about saving his son. It’s interesting that he doesn’t appear to age, and Olivia makes a passing comment that suggest there are others like him. The episode is really interestingly structured, but really plays out almost chronologically. What did you think of the episode? Let me know 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.