Timeless - Party at Castle Varlar - Review

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.

In the present, Jiya (Claudia Doumit) has found the mothership – using the incredible energy drain required to run it to pinpoint an exact location. Wyatt and his team set off to secure it. Anthony (Matt Frewer) must hurry to secure the atomic core so that they can jump before Wyatt’s (Matt Lanter) team breaks in.

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.

It was bound to happen that the time machine would materialize in front of a witness, and it happens to be a German soldier. Wyatt manages to pull himself together in order to shoot him. It’s interesting that they are all still experiencing ill effects from time travel. Does that indicate a more lasting effect as well? In 12 Monkeys, the time travel was killing Cole until Jones tweaked the formula.

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 looks like they may have failed to make contact when the code of ordering Remy ’23 doesn’t seem to work. Lucy’s hand shakes as she lifts her glass – the first sign that she’s not dealing well with their situation. I have to say that at first I thought maybe it was an effect of the time travel. However, a German Captain comes to their table and tells them to exit via the rear door. It turns out he’s actually the British spy they were trying to make contact with. He tells them that as Americans, they couldn’t stand out more. And then Rufus arrives, and he adds, “I stand corrected.” And of course, this is Ian Fleming (Sean Maguire). Did anyone else really, really want Wyatt to use the name James Bond?

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?!

Rufus asks Fleming for spying advice. He’s clearly still not comfortable spying on Wyatt and Lucy for Connor. Fleming tells him that he’s not lying when he is undercover, he’s playing a part – which is a nice compliment to his literary side and the characters he creates for that. He also tells Rufus to never trust anyone. It can only be about the mission. But that’s not who Rufus is.

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.

While Lucy is getting ready for the party, we see that she is shaking again. Wyatt has notice too. He tells her that she’s either got to get over the hump or crack up – he’s seen this before with new recruits in the field. Lucy wants to know how to get over the hump. Wyatt tells her to talk. She points out that he never talks, and he tells her – very matter of factly – that he’s over the hump!

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.

Rufus and Wyatt blow up the rocket. Fleming wants Wyatt to kill von Braun, but Wyatt tells him that while he agrees with Fleming – von Braun should die – he trusts Lucy – so he does what she asks. I loved Lucy recognizing the symbol that identified the Priest holes – and Wyatt remembering they were used in Skyfall! It was also a definite shout out to Indiana Jones. But secret passages are always cool.

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.

Lucy thanks Wyatt for getting her over the hump. Fleming once again makes a play for Lucy and asks her if he finds himself stateside after the war, will she be waiting? Lucy tells him, “Definitely not!” And of course, it’s hilarious because we know why! And then Fleming says, “Never say never” to which Wyatt adds, “Again” – completing the future Bond title.

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.

Lucy takes a hard line with Denise (Sakina Jaffrey). She tells her that she has terms for continuing with the team. She wants a cover story to explain her absence from the college. She wants to be appointed as an historical consultant on a confidential project to Mason Industries. More importantly though, she wants Mason Industries to be working on getting her sister back. Denise agrees.

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!