12 Monkeys “Bodies of Water” was written by Kristen Reidel (The Blacklist, Nikita) and was directed by Mairzee Almas (iZombie, The 100, Defiance). This was another terrific episode that really demonstrated that both the writing and the acting in this show are way above average. It’s rare that the entire main cast of a show is this strong but there are terrific performances from Todd Stashwick (Deacon), Emily Hampshire (Jennifer), Kirk Acevedo (Ramse), Aaron Stanford (Cole), and Amanda Schull (Cassie). Cassie and Jennifer finally connect in this episode – in 2016 – while Cole and Ramse must deal with Deacon in 2044 which also results in an unexpected understanding.
The episode begins with Olivia (Alisen Down) taking a trip to the red forest. It’s here that they speak to the witness, who tells her to Find Cassandra Prepare Her. It’s literally the writing on the wall! Olivia is pretty pissed at the Witness because of the change to time – it wasn’t what was foretold. She wants to kill Cassie, but the Witness adamantly tells her no.
Olivia wakes up with a bloody nose and tells the Tall Man (Pallid Man? I’m going with Tall Man from here because that’s how he’s referred to in the show – played by the ever creepily cheerful Tom Noonan) to find Cassandra Reilly and bring her to her.
Cole and Jones visit 2044 Jennifer, but she’ll only see Cole. I loved him telling her “You never call. You never write” and her giggling. Cole wants her to come to the facility, but she insists her army is better than the 12 Monkeys’. She tells him that if the Messengers manage to kill one more primary and cause another paradox, it’s game over. Cole is ready to go back to prevent it, but Jennifer insists that it has to be Cassie because that’s how she remembers it.
Ramse is hilarious as the team discuss the mission: “Chicken, egg, omelet – no straight lines!” And yet, that’s still pretty straight, right? Ramse and Cassie do agree that Jennifer is crazy and Cole still has a soft spot for her.
I’m still really, really enjoying the dynamic between Eckland (Michael Hogan) and Jones (Barbara Sukowa). She’s watching the red storm when Eckland tells her that Cassie is ready to splinter. She tells him to go ahead without her. She’s clearly distraught that she may be inadvertently making things worse. I also have a horrible feeling that she’s going to slowly fall in love with Eckland only to experience yet another time shift and lost him – maybe he’ll die, maybe she’ll be with someone else in that timeline. Regardless, here he tells her “Stop your horseshit and get in and do your thing.” I also love his cursing! She’s clearly amused and asks, “Did the other Katerina let you talk to me this way?” And of course she did! He’s adorable!
Meanwhile, one of Deacon’s men – Clem (Nicolas Van Burek) – returns alone from patrol. They ran into The Foreman (David Dantes) who killed the other three. Deacon is convinced that Clem made a deal and just shoots Clem in the head. Ramse and Cole are both shocked. Deacon tells them that that’s how they deal with traitors. Ramse comments, “You have all this responsibility and you’re still a homicidal asshole.” Ramse and Cole genuinely worry that Deacon is simply a ticking time bomb. However, we do see that he’s taking his meds – we never got the scene in which Cassie brought them to him, but I love that the show pays off her promise to him.
Cassie also reprimands Deacon for killing Clem – you had to kill him? And Deacon explains himself to her – he was a bad guy. Someone has to make the hard choices. And she accepts it. I loved both Deacon and Cole showing up to see Cassie off – and them having a pissing contest over her! Stashwick gets one of the best lines in the episode – and nails it: “Hey look – It’s time-Jesus.” Cole points out that Deacon let in the Messengers and Deacon throws back that Cole is best friends with a mass murderer. When Deacon turns to leave, Cole tells him not shoot anyone in the face on the way out!
Meanwhile, in 2016, Jennifer has learned to manage her condition. I loved the montage to “Mary’s Theme” – the theme song from The Mary Tyler Moore show of the 1970s – a nice shout out to them going to the 70s in the next episode. It’s also a symbol of the independent woman – and Jennifer’s relative mental health. We also see her get her pet tortoise! Aw!
Jennifer has taken to hanging out in the Emerson Hotel bar – she’s made friends with Don (James Murray) – the desk clerk – because she’s really waiting for Cole to reappear. She’s not happy when it turns out to be Cassie. And then she finds out that her “friend” Stacy (Grace Lynn Kung) actually works for Olivia. Not a good day! Cassie explains that time is collapsing in 2044 and the death of Tommy in 1944. But Jennifer isn’t having visions anymore!
Jennifer tells Cassie she needs a new source and better sources – and Cassie insists that Jennifer was her source. Jennifer remarks that “every version of me thinks you’re kind of a bitch!” Cassie knows she needs a trigger to set Jennifer off and consults Jennifer’s files from JD Peoples that Cassie has stolen and kept in storage. Cassie settles on the Markridge summer house. Jennifer remarks that being crazy is exhausting, but Cassie tells her maybe that crazy can save the world. Cassie thought the plague was bad – but the collapse of time and space means the end of everything.
Cole complains to Jones about Deacon – and like any good “parent,” Jones tells him to work it out. Jones insists that she needs him for security, but Cole insists that he’s dangerous and a savage. Ramse agrees that Deacon is going to prevent them from every being safe, so they set Deacon up by telling him that they are going to check out an anomaly. He naturally insists on coming just because they don’t want him to. But it’s all a set up to turn him over to The Foreman. There’s an interesting moment between Cole and Deacon when Cole asks about The Foreman, and Deacon asks, “how can you save the future if you can’t survive it?” He’s actually hopeful for the future – is this what he’s learned from Cassie?
Stashwick is good in this scene (because he’s even better later!). He realizes that they’ve set him up – but also like a good “parent” – he actually admires the way that they did it. He tells them it’s what he would have done. They’ve finally learned what he was trying to teach them. Cole remarks that it’s not like they were ever going to work things out over a drink. Deacon doesn’t beg either Cole or The Foreman. But Cole and Ramse should be concerned that they – like Cassie – have learned to be more ruthless because of Deacon. He’s definitely had an effect on them.
Cassie and Jennifer arrive at “Casa de Childhood Trauma.” More clever writing – thank you show! We learn that her father didn’t make his money, he inherited it through her mother. Jennifer’s room is filled with drawings that she’s done her whole life. There’s even a picture of Jones from 2044. Jennifer tells Cassie that her mother, Caroline (Sarah Murphy-Dyson), hated the pictures and they made her already disturbed mind more disturbed. Jennifer clarifies that her mother wasn’t primary, just sick. She also tells Cassie that Caroline tried to drown her in the bathtub as a child because she thought she was a monster.
This is a terrific bonding scene between Hampshire and Schull and they are both terrific here. Jennifer asks if Cassie’s mom was nice and she tells her that she lost her mother when she was young too – she died in a car accident when she was 10. Jennifer says that she never got to say goodbye either. Jennifer forgives her mother for thinking she was a monster who would destroy the world because she was right. But that timeline has changed. Cassie tells her, “she was wrong and so was I.”
Jennifer is able to identify Kyle Slade as a primary from New York. Cassie recognizes Fear City from a documentary she saw on hip hop that pinpoints the time to the 1970s. The Tall Man arrives at that moment and tells them 1975. Somehow, he seems to carry multiple timelines in his head. Jennifer has a picture of him being paradoxed at the bookstore, and he tells them he survived because of his good genes. We learn later that he was in a coma for some time and is covered in scars now.
Cassie threatens to shoot Jennifer, but in the end, she can’t do it now. They are taken and Olivia gives Cassie the red tea again. Cassie is fiercely ready to embrace it, but what she sees clearly shakes her and leaves her vulnerable – she finds Aaron (Noah Bean) in the house! Is he the Witness?
This leaves Jennifer to rescue them. She manages to take out Stacy, but finds the Word of the Witness – a time map of sorts. There are all kinds of important points where the curved lines intersect – primaries and James Cole are two such points. Even the song These Arms of Mine gets an entry! Jennifer also learns the date of her own death – September 23, 2044! She hasn’t got long…
Jennifer lures Olivia away by playing Mary’s Theme. Jennifer gets Cassie out of the tub and goes after Olivia. They end up at the empty pool, and Olivia tries appealing to Jennifer as her daughter, relying on her previous brainwashing. Cassie is clearly worried as she watches, but Jennifer still has her wits about her. She tells Olivia that at least she gets to say goodbye to her, something she didn’t get to do with her own mother. Then she stabs her and pushes her into the empty deep end.
Back in 2044, Jones is livid that Ramse and Cole have betrayed Deacon. They explain that they had to strike because Deacon was a problem. Eckland points out that “That’s some weapons grade irony, right there!” Because that’s what Deacon said about Clem! They all assume he is dead – until he shows up covered in blood and badly beaten – and somewhat slashed! Stashwick is fantastic in this scene.
Deacon is utterly calm as he explains that The Foreman thought himself a hunter and he collected trophies. The knife The Foreman pulled when he first saw Deacon and the one he was clearly going to use to torture and kill Deacon turns out to be a knife that belonged to Deacon’s brother – whom The Foreman killed. Had to be a reason that was such an unusual knife, right? I loved that it was all twisty – no straight lines – just like time and the way the characters have developed.
Deacon gives the knife vest to Ramse – respect. After all, Ramse did get one up on him. Deacon is most concerned that his men don’t know what happened. He’ll lose their respect, and control over them, if they know he can be taken. He tells them that he won’t tell if they don’t. Deacon limps off, but he offers Cole an olive branch – “Next time you go to the past, bring back whiskey and we can finally have that drink.”
The Tall Man finds Olivia in the pool. She’s not dead, but she does appear to be paralyzed. He really isn’t too concerned. He tells her how disappointed he was when he woke from his coma to find that the world hadn’t ended. He’s determined to take over because Olivia clearly can’t get the job done. The Tall Man takes the tea and visits the house in the red forest. The Witness tells him that he’ll entrust the Tall Man with the next cycle: “It is your birthright.”
Cassie is in the Emerson Hotel bar when she sees the lights flicker and knows Cole is on his way – she orders him a whiskey sour. I loved how touched he was that she remembered. It’s clearly her peace offering to him. He recognizes that she’s troubled and tells her that even though things have been strained between them, she can always talk to him. She lies and says she’s ok, but that she’s not going back to the future right now. She’s going to stay and look after Jennifer who has a mild concussion. Cassie does tell him that the Tall Man is still alive and where and when to find Kyle. Cole gets the bottle of whiskey to take to Deacon.
However, we see that Jennifer has lost her equilibrium and is drawing like crazy. The voices are back in full force. Is Cassie staying to look after her new friend because she feels guilty that she caused this relapse? Or is she staying so that she can find a way back to Aaron by using Jennifer?
The final scene flips from Jennifer drawing to Kyle drawing – in blood? He pauses, and says, “Finally. James Cole is coming for me.”
This was another great episode! Am I alone in wanting to see Deacon in the past? I think it would be utterly hilarious to see the others try to keep him in check and out of trouble! I love that Stashwick can convey the crazy with him in such a restrained way – it often all happens with his eyes. Hampshire’s crazy is so very different, yet still effective. And of course, the one liners are always fun on this show. What did you think of the episode? What surprised you the most? Any theories on who the Witness is? 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, Agent Carter, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, The X-Files, Defiance, Bitten, Killjoys, and a few others! I'm active on the Con scene when I have the time. 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.
