Timeless is finally back this week with the story of serial killer HH Holmes (a favorite lurid tale of Eric Kripke!), so what better time to revisit the last episode before the hiatus! “The Capture of Benedict Arnold” was written by Tom Smuts and was directed by John F Showalter, who has a very long list of credits, but most pertinently directed for Kripke on both
Revolution and
Supernatural. The episode ended with a very Kripke-like cliffhanger with Flynn (Goran Visnjic) kidnapping Lucy (Abigail Spencer) after a failed attempt to stop Rittenhouse (Armin Shimerman) that resulted in a number of deaths that means history was likely changed quite a bit.
The episode opens with Lucy having an awkward dinner with Denise’s (Sakina Jaffrey) family, though we only see her wife, Michelle (Marci T House). This was a wonderful look at Denise’s private life – one she clearly keeps completely separate from her work as Lucy is the first colleague that Michelle has ever met. I loved how the show handled their relationship. They’ve been married far longer than same-sex marriage was legal, and it speaks volumes to the obstacles that they no doubt faced and overcame to stay together as a nuclear family in a stable long-term relationship.
Jaffrey gives a fabulous performance as we finally get to see behind the mask of professionalism. She has been shaken by what she’s learned – but she’s not terrified of Rittenhouse, she’s terrified that she’s going to lose her family – because they’ll be wiped from time and her memory by something that the team – or Flynn – does in the past. I loved that she recorded a thumb drive for Lucy to hide on the lifeboat – it’s a lifeboat for her memories.
We also get to see a bit more of Jiya (Claudia Doumit) and Rufus (Malcolm Barrett) – and they’re adorable! Until they are interrupted by Connor (Paterson Joseph) who seems to be coming unraveled. They think it’s the pizza delivery guy but it’s a drunk Connor who’s at Jiya’s door. Rufus is not impressed, but it’s clear that Connor is both afraid – of Rittenhouse – and having trouble with having to threaten Rufus. But Rittenhouse knows that Rufus is tampering with the recordings and the threat is clear. No more tampering or Connor won’t be able to protect Rufus or his family. Why do I think that Jiya is also going to be in danger now?
Joseph is doing a great job as Connor as he tries to explain to Rufus that he really just wanted to help his own mom by building a better vacuum. But it’s hard not to get caught up in the money, isn’t it. Still, Joseph – and the writers! – have managed to infuse Connor with enough backstory to make me be sympathetic with him. I’m looking forward to when all our team members are untied against Rittenhouse.
The team has to chase Flynn to September 25, 1780, and Lucy is convinced that Flynn must be after George Washington (Damian O’Hare). In fact, he’s after Benedict Arnold (Curtis Caravaggio) for information on the letter he found in the clock in “The Last Ride of Bonnie and Clyde.” It seems that Rittenhouse began with one man, and Flynn is determined to stop the snake by cutting of its head. Unfortunately, along the way there are a couple of important casualties – Arnold ends up dead as does Earl Cornwall (Brad Dryborough) who is supposed to negotiate the peace with Napoleon – I can’t wait to see the ramifications on the present of these drops in the pond!
Lucy, Rufus, and Wyatt (Matt Lanter) are all a little awed by being in the presence of Washington. I loved the look on three of their faces. I’m always happy when we get nice tight close-ups on their reactions. It was fun to see the team working with Flynn for a change.
Flynn uses his own knowledge of history by pretending to be Austin Rowe a famous Prussian spy to gain Washington’s trust. He tells them the others are spies too. I kind of loved Rufus stepping up and saying how his value as a spy lay in his ability to be unnoticed! Flynn gains the team’s trust and cooperation by promising to hand over the keys to the mothership if they help him. Flynn says he’d like to end it so he can stop the “god-forsaken trips” – clearly, he’s not enjoying them!
Flynn gives Lucy some pages from “her” journal. Wyatt is still not on board. So Flynn tells him that if he helps him, Flynn will tell Wyatt the identity of his wife’s killer. He doesn’t have to promise Rufus anything because clearly Rufus is totally on board with taking down Rittenhouse and removing the threat from his family.
Surprisingly, Rufus isn’t really on board. He’s resisting because he feels helping Flynn will make them traitors – Benedict Arnolds! Wyatt doesn’t trust Flynn, but he wants his wife’s killer. The journal pages enumerate a lot of the horrible things that Rittenhouse is responsible for through history, but she’s stuck on the fact that they aren’t supposed to change history – not even the bad stuff.
Lucy wins Arnold’s trust with her historical knowledge of General Clinton. She bluffs that Arnold already knows Wyatt because Wyatt served under him – appealing to Arnold’s ego.
Arnold simply thinks Flynn is mad when he tells him the truth that they are from the future. I loved how we got a mini history lesson on Arnold as Lucy wins his trust by demonstrating that she understands why he would betray Washington. Arnold tells her that it wasn’t his pride that made him betray Washington, it was because Washington abandoned him.
Arnold doesn’t want to take them to Rittenhouse, but Flynn uses his own motivation – “the things we do for love.” He tells Arnold that his wife will hang in his place if Flynn and the others don’t return with Arnold in three days – and of course, Flynn’s entire motivation is to save his wife and daughter. That’s why it’s so surprising later in the episode when he tells Lucy that once he saves his wife and daughter and sees them alive and well, he’s planning on simply walking away. He’s ashamed of all the things he’s had to do and doesn’t feel he is even worthy of them anymore.
Once Rufus knows that Rittenhouse is just one guy, he’s ready to kill him. Lucy asks if he’s ready to kill, and Rufus points out that he’s already killed – and so has Wyatt. Wyatt is on board – it’s killing one evil, son of a bitch. He doesn’t believe history is worth sacrificing hundreds of lives. He also tells her that he knows her well enough to know that she wants to save people. They’re all in.
Flynn tells Lucy that he knows about horses because he wanted to be a cowboy growing up. Loved him referencing Tex Miller comics and his horse Dynamite who protected the good guys against the bad guys.
Arnold doesn’t want to bring everyone to meet Rittenhouse. I loved how pissed off Flynn gets about these being idiotic, unenlightened times. They’ll leave Rufus behind. Arnold has already warned them that Rittenhouse will have no use for either a woman or a black man - both of whom he'll see as less than human.
They meet John Rittenhouse (Jake Brennan) – David’s son – first. He’s clearly drunk the kool-aid. He gives Lucy a crash course on the ideology of the group. They are the clock-makers – the ones who make all the decisions for the peasants who can’t make them themselves, monarchies are too selfish and democracies are too chaotic. Control is best exercised from the shadows. Wyatt asks about those who want a voice. John explains that democracy is simply the illusion of giving people a voice. Lucy says it sounds like tyranny dressed up as democracy, and John says his father says there is no other choice – scary stuff! Even Flynn looks disturbed. When Lucy asks what he believes, John says that no one has ever asked him that before.
Shimerman is a joy to watch as the slimey and horrible Rittenhouse. He asks Lucy to come closer and it’s utterly creepy when John leads her to him. He examines her the way you would livestock and that’s how he views her – as a broodmare. Rittenhouse is nobody’s fool, however, and quickly sees through them, knowing they are there to kill him. Rittenhouse is angry at Arnold, calling him an idiot lead by his wounded pride. He also points out that Arnold betrayed his best friend before killing him with Wyatt’s gun. Which puts advanced technology in the hands of a clockmaker!
Rittenhouse insists that John watch while he kills Wyatt and Flynn. John doesn’t want his father to hurt them. Rufus bursts in, in the nick of time, and Lucy manages to get away free too. Flynn kills Rittenhouse, and Flynn is the first one to notice that John has escaped. He doesn’t want to kill the boy, but he needs to – and he’s not wrong! The others are appalled that he wants to kill a child, but the kid believes what his father was saying – he’s as much a danger as the father was.
Flynn finds John, and Brennan gives a great performance as he begs for his life. Flynn is touched and overwhelmed, and by the time he turns around, Lucy is protecting the boy. Lucy brings back Flynn’s own words – children change. They can all decide to be something different. There’s no way of knowing what John will do. Lucy insists that Flynn can still go back and be a father – but not if he does this. As the two argue, the boy gets away.
The episode ends as Wyatt and Rufus chase the sound of Lucy’s voice calling to them. They arrive to see the mothership take off – with Flynn having dragged Lucy on board! I thought this was a great way to end the fall run of the show. I’m betting that Lucy is going to slowly be won over by Flynn – who is clearly not quite the bad guy we may have thought him to be in the beginning. What will have changed when they get back to the future? Will Flynn win over Lucy? Who is going to help the team with history now that they’ve lost Lucy?
What did you think of the episode? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
