Timeless “Party at Castle Varlar“ was written by Jim Barnes and directed by Billy Gierhart, who also worked with Ryan on Terriers and The Shield and whose other credits include The Walking Dead and Sons of Anarchy. Barnes also wrote with Kripke on Revolution. This episode takes the team back to Nazi Germany and a missile launch on December 7, 1944. The show continues to entertain me because of the mini history lessons, but also because of all the little nuances, especially the things that are changed when the team returns. This particular episode is memorable primarily because of who the team encounters in the past: Ian Fleming – the creator of James Bond. The episode also reminded me an awful lot of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Rufus (Malcolm Barrett) does not want to go back to Nazi Germany! But the team has to follow Flynn (Goran Visnjic) to December 4, 1944. Luckily, Wyatt speaks German and Connor (Paterson Joseph) apparently has a warehouse full of clothing for every year and locale. And it would seem that a lot of that wardrobe is labelled Morgan – is it just Morgan industries, I wonder? Lucy (Abigail Spencer) remarks that it seems a bit excessive, but Connor points out it’s better to have and not need than vice versa.
Wyatt knows that there has to be another soldier as one wouldn’t be out there alone. They find the other, Wyatt kills him. Lucy is angry – “If you don’t have to kill someone, you shouldn’t!” But while they have to protect history, Wyatt is not okay with protecting Nazis. It’s the problem with sending people back in time – they are almost always going to have a subjective agenda. In Wyatt’s case, we learn that his grandfather fought for the allies and that Wyatt became a soldier to make him proud.
Wyatt and Lucy go to Das Steinhaus to try to make contact with an Allied spy. Rufus doesn’t want to show himself, but they tell him to get a car. I’m curious if they are ever going to travel to a time in which Rufus is not going to have to hide or be in danger simply because he is Black. It’s a really wonderful way for the show to shine a light on that aspect of history.
It was nice to see Wyatt being the huge fanboy this week – and it was also a nice touch that he was actually a fan of the books while Rufus was really only familiar with the movies. There are layers to Wyatt! The team assumes that Flynn is going to power the rocket with the atomic core, so the plan is to infiltrate the party and disarm the bomb. It’s also hilarious as Fleming hits on Lucy! Is Wyatt jealous? And is he jealous of Lucy or Fleming in this situation?!
When they return, Rufus tells Connor that he’s been risking his life for Wyatt and Lucy and they’ve been doing the same for him because of the trust they have in each other. He tells Connor that he’s not a spy because spies don’t trust and that he can’t do it. Connor is clearly scared and seems a lot less threatening as he explains that he’s in deep with Rittenhouse. He tells Rufus that he needs his help – it’s much more a plea this week than a threat. This week the threat comes directly from Rittenhouse at the end of the episode. And I have to admit that I was really worried that we were about to lose Rufus. The mystery of Rittenhouse deepens…
Both Fleming and Wyatt want to kill Wernher von Braun (Christian Oliver). And they both want to do it for subjective reasons. Fleming wants revenge for the bombs of the Blitz that killed his brother and Wyatt wants to stop the invention of the atomic bomb. But Rufus points out that von Braun is also the father jof NASA and Lucy adds that the US rocket program would have been nothing without von Braun.
Lucy tells him that she shouldn’t even be there. She was driving to her mother’s house to tell her that she was dropping out of her history degree and joining a band when she was in a terrible accident. Since that time, she’s avoided putting herself in situations that she can’t control. And she really has no control here!
It turns out that Flynn’s plan isn’t to use the atomic core in the rocket. His plan is to turn von Braun over to the Russians. Once again, he tells Lucy that he’s not a bad guy – he’s a patriot! I loved Flynn tossing off to Fleming that he loves his movies.
Once they are free, Rufus attempts to talk to von Braun who clearly looks down on Rufus because he is Black, due to the rampant racism of the time. I love that he used Math to gain his respect!
The discussion widens in scope, however, once again illustrating why the show is a hit with me. It’s able to tackle some pretty interesting philosophical issues. In this case, von Braun points out that he only cares that his rockets go up. He doesn’t care where they come down. He’s only concerned with getting to the moon. Rufus has been stewing about his own scientific contribution. He tells von Braun that he created something better than von Braun and he worries about the destruction it’s caused and the people it’s hurting – he means the time machine, of course. Von Braun counters with the fact that if you knew beforehand, you’d never have invented it. Anyone can use any invention for a bad purpose.
When they return to the present, Connor is particularly excited that their story is the plot of the Fleming novel Weapon By Choice – which naturally didn’t exist before they left! And way to go show for inventing a completely plausible new Bond title! We also find out that Anthony was actually converting the atomic core into a battery for the mothership, so now it won’t be traceable in the present due to energy usage – and it can basically go to any time.
I thought this episode really hit the highlights of what makes this show special. They had some fun with the history, but it also provided some thoughtful commentary on it. The acting was very good, both Maguire and Oliver delivered solid performances in the guest roles and Barrett continues to really impress. The scene between Spencer and Lanter in which they open up to each other was also a highlight.
What did you think of the episode? Let me know in the comments below!
