This episode was frustratingly empty for a penultimate episode of a season. Aside from Josh and Levi being held hostage, there were hardly any developments outside of what we already knew. The biggest reveal was that Ella was Lilly (which I'm thrilled about because I never predict anything right in TV) but the big cinch about getting Isaiah to the sinkhole before Josh and Izzy die was revealed pretty much in its entirety for the promo of the episode and it turned out they weren't holding a secret twist or development back. All hope now rides on the final episode.
And what is Dr. Aldridge waiting for exactly? Her refusal to share information that seems pretty important is looking more and more like a fairly transparent effort the writers are going to to maintain some mystery and suspense. When they ask her how she knows there's a sinkhole in Topanga? She just says it doesn't matter. I beg to differ, Dr. Aldridge. It matters a great deal and this would have been a perfect episode to get some answers. And this is not the only glaring question. How does she know so much about sinkholes in the first place? Or how about why Gavin is so important (because there has to be more to her wanting him to go through the sinkhole than just saving his kids). Instead we just watch everyone run around the woods looking for either Isaiah or a cow.
I did enjoy Scott and Veronica's scenes. He's pretty much the nicest person on this show and Veronica definitely deserves a bit of kindness after the life she's led, absent mother, religious kidnapper and all. She's feeling lost and alone after the truth about her and Lilly came out which is why it was so heartwarming when Scott gave her credit for helping to find the cow everyone else had dismissed as an hallucination. I don't know how her plan to go through the 1988 sinkhole is going to work out though. I suppose it's possible Lilly and Isaiah aren't the only ones but all the evidence so far is pointing towards it only being them who make it through. I just hope when we find out what happens next week, it's not too devastating.
In any case, there's always the Seattle sinkhole which Gavin and Izzy learnt about at the end of the episode which seems to be opening around the same time the Topanga one closes. Unfortunately none of the characters in 10,000 BC know about it unless Lilly mentions it in the last episode as she is the only one with the map. We all know Dr. Aldridge isn't going to say anything. She's allergic to open communication. I am curious about the origins of that notebook though so thank god there's going to be a second season because I doubt this new mystery's going to get many answers in the final episode.
One mystery the show will probably solve in the next episode though is why and how Lilly and Isaiah lost their memories. None of the survivors who fell into any of the sinkholes over the course of history have lost their memories so is it a one way thing? You can go into the sinkhole without forgetting but when you exit a sinkhole you do?
The main bulk of the episode is concerned with tracking down Isaiah and getting him through the sinkhole. This mostly involved a lot of walking along with Josh saving his kid father from a saber-toothed tiger. It was a nice scene, it's just a shame that Josh's instant go-to when he first found out about Isaiah was dismissive disbelief. Disbelief or anger is his reaction to any new information and it stops his character from having any meaningful development. He is steadily becoming the most uninteresting and predictably bland character on the show and the show wouldn't suffer without him. He's one quarter of the central family and is meant to be important so why is his screentime constantly being wasted on having annoying reactions to everything and having a predictable and boring romance?
There's just one more episode to go in this season and hopefully, seeing as this episode was mostly interested in spinning wheels, the finale makes all the set up of this episode worth it and blows it out of the park. We'll just have to wait and see.
What did you think of the episode? Do you think they'll reveal Dr. Aldridge's deal in the next episode? Will Gavin and Izzy end up in 10,000 BC as well? Sound off in the comments below!
