Frequency portrays a daughter fighting to create a time where both of her parents are alive and well while the show itself is fighting for its place in time as so-so ratings rocked its start. With powerhouse episodes like this one can only hope that new viewers are starting to find their way to this show thanks to positive word of mouth. This is a show that has been so well thought out and executed that each episode is a mini-masterpiece. The writers are smart, very smart, and they give fans just enough information to keep us interested but not enough to give away the endgame. The storyline involving Thomas Goff was a prime example of how sly these writers are. With the tiniest slide of hand, the writers delivered and took away the prime Nightingale suspect in a mere two episodes leaving the audience craving more information. While stopping Goff didn't stop the Nightingale killer it did save countless lives given the fact that Goff was most certainly a serial killer in his own right, just not the one they needed to stop in order to save Julie.
Still, for nearly the entirety of the episode, Raimy’s focus was on Goff. She became obsessed with him in hopes of being able to bring her mom home. Her obsession with her work was very reminiscent of her father. He definitely passed his work dedication down to his daughter, except she is taking it to a whole other extreme as her entire life has become consumed by this case. Every single thing she does is rooted in the hope of being able to guide her dad to make the one-time manipulation that will save her mom. She’d rather obsesses over this than accept any reality where her mom is gone forever. It isn’t healthy, but it’s all that is keeping her going at this point. To anyone that knows her, it’s evident that she is spiraling, even her father who is on the other side of time can tell that his daughter is struggling. But, let’s all be honest, if we were in her shoes I’m pretty sure most of us would be in a mental hospital by now, so kudos to her for being able to hang onto any semblance of sanity. Raimy is a woman on a mission and anyone who dares to get between her and saving her mom is going to feel a world of hurt. She could have people reference Goff to confirm that, except he went poof from her time. On that note, something is very curious about that whole sequence, while Goff was technically stopped long before Raimy ever encountered him, her injuries still remained even after he disappeared from her time. Somehow she is immune to these time shifts, and I really hope the show one day explains why she is so special. She witnessed Goff fade out of time right before her eyes and was fully aware of what happened.
One of the many things this show does very well is run the two timeline stories parallel to each other picking the exact right moments to briefly cross them. I think it is very telling of the kind of father that Frank is that even from the other side of time he was still protecting his grown daughter. She would have likely killed Goff had her father not intervened. The true irony of him dropping everything to go after Goff one last time was that he had to ditch young Raimy to help adult Raimy. Talk about the ultimate rock meets hard place for any father. No matter what Frank does he’s stuck in a position that will force him to consistently disappoint one version of his daughter to be there for the other. While his adult daughter is in a place to understand the young version of her isn’t. It’s hard to not feel bad for Frank because he’s trying so hard to be a good father and keeps getting stuck in impossible situations.
One of my favorite moments in the episode was when Frank was talking to Raimy after they stopped Goff. It was very telling that he didn’t think Goff was the Nightingale killer, but that he didn’t challenge her on it. As a father, he knew that this was a journey she had to go on her own because she would never have accepted him saying it. This is the point where I think they truly came to an understanding of how their partnership is going to have to work. I think the fact that she went off on Goff the way she did was a big wake-up call for Raimy. She can’t accept how unhinged she has become, but she is realizing that she’s letting emotions cloud her judgment. At this point, she just knows that she needs someone to keep her grounded. Every moment she is off track and obsessing in the wrong direction takes them closer to losing her mom. Frank is going to have his hands full trying to keep her on track from a whole different time. When she was telling him that she was good the look on his face and in his eyes said that he didn’t believe her for a second. He could hear the strain in her voice. A big part of me hopes that eventually one day they’ll cause a time manipulation that will allow Frank to be with her in the future. I really think it would be epic to see the two of them fight side-by-side in the present. The butterfly effect really makes anything possible. Not even the sky is the limit to what these writers can do within the universe of this show. They can really do anything and have anything happen in the present.
That is something that Raimy is very well aware of. Anything and everything can change with just the slightest shift to the past. She’s reminded of that every time Satch mentions her mom or she encounters Daniel. The scene at the bar was heartbreaking because it was evident how much she still loves Daniel, but there is no clear path for her to get back to him. While saving her mom is paramount to her it would also, theoretically, set her back on the path to having Daniel back in her life. He is becoming more and more suspicious of her randomly showing up in his life. I can’t help but wonder if they’ll eventually find their way to each other in the new present. They had a strong love before the time shift, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility for them to fall in love all over again. Raimy may want to stop seeming like she is stalking him first, but at least for now she does have Daniel’s attention even if it isn’t in a good way. He was very curious about her radio in the original timeline, so perhaps he could still offer her some assistance if they can somehow strike-up at least a tentative friendship. One big question is can she really have everything? Is there any possible path where she can get both her parents and her fiancé back in the present with her? As was shown with Goff, nothing is quite as it seems, so if that future has any chance of happening Raimy is first going to have to go through a lot.
While she is lacking any family in the new present she does still have Satch. I can’t help but hope that Frank will clue in his best friend at some point so that Raimy can have a little extra backup. He is like a father figure to her in the present, so if Frank can’t be with her I’d think Satch would be a good candidate to fill his place for the time being. He was genuinely disappointed in her when she refused to go to her mom’s service and the look on his face was a very fatherly look of disappointment. He knows that Raimy has no family left and he’s trying to be there to support her, but it’s hard when he can’t figure out why she is suddenly acting so erratically. They need to give her a sidekick or aid in the future because her sanity can only maintain its fragile grasp on reality for so long without some sort of anchor. I keep hoping it’ll be Gordo because he means so much to her as a friend, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious that their friendship terrifies her now. She’s afraid to be too close to anyone for fear of losing them. But, right now, whether she likes it or not she needs to either bring Satch or Gordo in on the truth because she needs a tangible person by her side. Frank can only do so much for his daughter given the circumstances.
The emotional turmoil they put these characters through is intense. This isn’t a fun loving show where they can poke fun at things to diffuse the tension. Even Gordo, who seems like he would be the comedic relief of the show, still can’t cut through the darkness surrounding Raimy. But it is that steady tone that helps the stakes feel very real. Everything and everyone of importance to Raimy is on the line and those stakes are about as high as they can get. Each performer nails the tension in both times. While Raimy is dealing with having lost everyone Frank is desperately trying to prevent that future. He has everyone he loves with him and wants to keep it that way. But, with Julie’s abduction date growing nearer, the stakes in his time are just as high, especially since he can’t get Julie to understand exactly what is going on without sounding like a crazy person. Her days are ticking away, but I have a feeling they’ll figure out how to save her. I don’t foresee them actually killing her off and parting ways with the very talented Devin Kelley. So, surely they’ll find a way to save her by mid-season. Hopefully, anyway, but then what? If they do save her someone else close to them will have to be sacrificed in order to keep them working together. Or, and this is a still a possibility, they could actually fail to save Julie, and their mission for the rest of the season will be to track down and end the Nightingale killer once and for all. I'm thoroughly hoping that this last scenario isn’t the one that ends up playing out. Anything is possible, so buckle up, because I think this ride is about to get very tense in these coming weeks.
Here is something that has struck me as interesting. Frank and Raimy have already manipulated a lot of things in time, yet they’ve been unable to stop the Nightingale killer. He seems to be able to stay just a step ahead of them in their joint quest to stop him. It might be a bit early to speculate this, but could there perhaps be another team capable of communicating across time? Could the real killer have someone guiding him from Raimy's time? This show exists in a reality where communicating across time is a real thing, so surely someone else has the same capability as the two heroes of the story. It would be quite interesting for them to each have a time manipulating foe to deal with.
The ratings for
Frequency aren’t phenomenal, but they are stable which is at least something. Keep talking about this show on social media and help new fans find their way to this ingenious show. This show has an infinite amount of story to tell, so as fans let’s help ensure that it gets a chance to tell its story for seasons to come. Help this be one of those rare shows that can tick up in the ratings versus falling off. If Raimy and Frank can fight together across time to help those they love the fans can fight in the present for
Frequency to have a future. This episode showed how fragile time is and how the smallest of things can cause massive changes in the timeline. Each episode so far has flowed perfectly finding this sweet spot of time allocation for each side of the story. Essentially each week the show treats the audience to two stories that run parallel to each other within the confines of a single hour. That is storytelling brilliance at its best and current fans need to help others see the magic that is
Frequency.
Tune in on
Wednesday, October 26th on the CW at 9/8C to see if they can find a way to save Julie.
Hit the comments with your thoughts about this episode. Can Raimy find a way to rekindle a relationship with Daniel in this reality? Is it possible for Frank to find a way to repair his marriage with Julie? Are Raimy and Frank going to find the real killer in time to save Julie?
About the Author - Aimee Hicks
Aimee works for a newspaper in North Carolina and has a BA in Broadcasting and Cinema. She has been a TV lover since before she really understood what TV was and has a passion for analyzing performances and theorizing what may happen on her favorite shows. Her interest in television covers just about every genre, but her first love is the sci-fi/fantasy genre. For the 2016/2017 season she will be reviewing Chesapeake Shores, Dark Matter, Frequency, Gilmore Girls, Jessica Jones, Lucifer, and Orphan Black. She will also be handling the Best Scene Polls for Supergirl and previewing several new and returning shows. She also oversees the popular SpoilerTV feature, Performers of the Month (#POTM) which highlights the most outstanding actor and actress from each month. You can email her at aimee@spoilertv.com.
