The Time Team follows Rittenhouse to the 1980s in order to prevent them from killing Young Denise Christopher (and eliminating the Time Team). Review of Timeless, “The Day Reagan was Shot”.
One of the things I’ve loved about Timeless is how, from the beginning, the Time Team forged an unassailable bond. And I’m talking about Lucy, Wyatt, AND Rufus. This could have easily devolved into a Lyatt + third wheel situation (especially after the Lucy and Wyatt made their feelings for one another known), but that has never been the case. These three are a family. And through Season 2, we’ve had the great joy of learning how much the other members of the team are essential members of this family too. We’ve seen this with Jiya. Clearly, her badass intellectual skills keep the Lifeboat running and the Time Team able to safely follow Rittenhouse through history. But on a personal level, we’ve seen Jiya’s romantic relationship with Rufus and friendship with Lucy have deepened. With concerns over her visions, we’ve seen the depth of Connor’s and Agent Christopher’s care for Jiya, too. Similarly, in “The King of the Delta Blues”, Connor shined, and his knowledge basically saved Rock n’ Roll and the Counterculture Movement, because fanboys/fangirls DO save the world. And in “The Day Reagan was Shot”, we were treated to Agent Christopher taking centerstage of the episode, as we got to see how important she is to the work they’re doing. So much so, that Rittenhouse decided to go back in time to eliminate her…
Beginning the episode with Agent Christopher, her wife, and their two kiddos having breakfast and planning for the day elevated my whole life. This is the quality content and representation that we deserve! WIth that said, it was also heartbreaking to see that Agent Christopher was estranged from her own mother, who didn’t approve of AC’s job or marriage. But by the time she got to the bunker, Lucy, Wyatt, Rufus, and Jiya were already on their way to Washington DC 1981, literally the day President Ronald Reagan was shot. Yet, AC *knew* that Rittenhouse wasn’t going after Reagan. They were going after her.
For me, the highlight was getting to meet Young Agent Christopher AKA Dhriti Sirivastava (Karen David). She has always been honorable, driven, with an immense sense of duty. These were the things that drove her to become a police officer, as we learned that Dhriti witnessed her father dying in a carjacking gone very wrong. The experience of meeting a female officer for the first time left an indelible mark on Dhriti, so much so, that she assumed her name–Denise Christopher–and went to the police academy. Interestingly, these same qualities lead Dhriti to decide that, in the interest of fulfilling her mother’s expectations and stopping her worry, she would quit her work as a police officer and marry a nice Indian man. As an aside, I lovvvvvvvvved seeing the portrayal of the Indian-American immigrant experience, and watching Dhriti (a first-generation American) negotiate her relationship with her mother. I actually felt kind of triggered as I thought of my own experiences with my Nigerian parents’ expectations, especially around issues of employment and marriage. Again, this is the quality representation we deserve!
In any event, as soon as Wyatt saved Officer Christopher and the team realized Rittenhouse was after her, the Time Team went to work to make sure future Agent Christopher would be preserved. Lucy and Jiya (or should I say Cagney and Lacey) made an awesome team, first helping Dhriti to figure out that John Hinckley was after President Reagan and apprehend Hinckley before he tried to finish the job. And then Lucy and Jiya went to great lengths in order to convince Dhriti to come out to her mother as a lesbian woman–watching Dhriti watch that slideshow of her family and the life that could be hers, that she would be a senior Homeland Security agent, married to the love of her life, a woman, and have two children. It was GLORIOUS… and also a little heartbreaking, with rift between Dhriti and her mother, as well as this burden of knowing the future and hoping you wouldn’t mess it up! But, ultimately, the truth of the matter is no one should ever be forced to deny who they are. JUCY did good… yes they did 😉
Meanwhile, Wyatt and Rufus chased down the sleeper agent, a guy who was surprisingly willing to turn on Rittenhouse and spill all the tea. After a pretty badass elevator fight scene, the agent was ready to confess that his brother was still in 1981 and after Officer Christopher. Of course, Wyatt and Rufus were able to stop the brother by running him over with their car as he was taking aim at Dhriti outside her house. For me, the most interesting things about this situation is Wyatt’s brutality. I mean, Wyatt is always ready to fight the good fight for the sake of the mission, be he seemed… unhinged, especially when it came to interrogating the agent about why Rittenhouse brought Jessica back. But at least Wyatt was suspicious! Also, perhaps Rufus’ sensitivity about his own impending death made him more reticent to take another life. Rufus was so distraught to return to find the sleeper agent dead.
In this, I’m actually quite optimistic. Like Lucy said to Jiya: “…if we can change the past, there has to be a way we can change the future.” Lucy’s optimism is MY optimism and sincere hope that Jiya’s visions could actually help us to make sure Rufus stays alive.
Back in the present, I can’t imagine the stress of that situation, knowing that any moment, you could be snuffed out of history and they lives and memories of your loved ones totally reshuffled. Agent Christopher held it down well. But (I can’t believe I’m saying this), thank goodness for Flynn. Thank goodness for his real talk and insisting that, in this time of uncertainty, AC spend every single moment with her family. Thank goodness AC was able to make it back to her house in time to do just that. And thank goodness for the Time Team doing what they do best and preserving this future.
It was such a joy to watch Agent Christopher reunite with Cagney and Lacey and Wyatt, to have her thank them for all the ways they saved her life. And what was even better was that, in this timeline, Agent Christopher had her mother in her life and the lives of her wife and children. So lovely to get this message of hope and reconciliation.
And in the end:
Riya declared their love, gathered themselves, and got ready to fight to change the future and #SaveRufus!
Flynn finally told Lucy how he got the journal from Future-Lucy, in Sao Paolo, a couple weeks after his family was killed…
We got even more clues that Jessica was suspect… in this timeline Jessica’s brother Kevin were alive thanks to a “cutting edge treatment”? Sounds like Rittenhouse to me! Annnnnnnd Jessica was pregnant. WTF.
Clockblockers, we’re in the downhill slide to the Season 2 TWO HOUR finale, and I can promise you that this is the best of Timeless we’ve ever seen. There will be tears, rage, feels, and a whole lot of OMGGGGGGGGG. So make sure to tune in on Sunday, May 13 at 9:00pm ET|PT and let’s make sure this wonderful show gets a Season 3!