Spoilers Timeless Season 2 - SPOILERS

[Christopher]

Jiya looks great with '80s hair.

I didn't realize Jiya was Lebanese. Her name is Indian.

If it's impossible for people to go back to times after they were born, that makes Rufus at least a year younger than Malcolm Barrett, who was born in 1980. The other actors are young enough to make it, though just by 5 months in Abigail Spencer's case.

I find it hard to believe that revealing Denise's whole future to her would change so little about it. I'm reminded of the fortune-teller's line from "Lisa's Wedding" on The Simpsons -- "Just try to act surprised."

 

[E-DUB]

And without sparking a "right to life" debate, do "you" exist from the moment of birth or the moment of conception? Could Sam Beckett have traveled in time up to nine months before his actual birth date?

And does anyone know yet if it will be back or is next weeks two-hour finale going to be it?

 

[Aragorn]

That was an unnecessary sleeper agent. They could've killed Christopher at any time. Why would he need to become a secret service agent just so they can use Hinckley as a diversion?

 

[Christopher]

That was an unnecessary sleeper agent. They could've killed Christopher at any time. Why would he need to become a secret service agent just so they can use Hinckley as a diversion?

Well... if it had just been some random sniper, there would've been an investigation to find the killer. But if it had been friendly fire from a Secret Service man protecting the President, it would've been chalked up to misfortune and the case would be closed.

But, yeah, that does seem like a minor benefit for such a major investment of effort.

 

[Romulan_spy]

That was an unnecessary sleeper agent. They could've killed Christopher at any time. Why would he need to become a secret service agent just so they can use Hinckley as a diversion?

Well... if it had just been some random sniper, there would've been an investigation to find the killer. But if it had been friendly fire from a Secret Service man protecting the President, it would've been chalked up to misfortune and the case would be closed.

But, yeah, that does seem like a minor benefit for such a major investment of effort.

I agree with @Aragorn . It seems rather convoluted to put a sleeper agent in the Secret Service just to use a failed presidential assassination as a cover to kill a nobody cop. They could have just had the sleeper agent do a drive by shooting at her house like the brother tried to do at the end of the episode. Sure, there would be an investigation but Rittenhouse could retrieve the agent after the shooting and bring them back to 2018 and I doubt the police in 1981 would ever find out the truth.

 

[Romulan_spy]

Also, why does Rittenhouse have to send someone back in time to activate the sleeper agents? I know it gives our heroes a nice heads-up so that they can travel back in time to stop Rittenhouse but it seems unnecessary. Can't Rittenhouse just give the sleeper agents their instructions in advance when they first place them in history?

Also, since our heroes are in the future compared to all these historical events, shouldn't all of Rittenhouse's "attacks" have already happened from their perspective? I think it would have been better if in the season premiere, our heroes had woken up to a dystopian reality where Rittenhouse had already won and then each episode was about our heroes travelling back to a historical event and trying to undo what Rittenhouse did piece by piece until history was gradually restored back to normal.

 

[Guy Gardener]

The man with the plan, Lucy's Gampy, was elevated to leadership after all the sleepers where placed through out time while the Life boat was laid up and broken down.

 

[Mr Awe]

That was an unnecessary sleeper agent. They could've killed Christopher at any time. Why would he need to become a secret service agent just so they can use Hinckley as a diversion?

I don't get their use of sleeper agents. I agree about this story and there was at least one previous story where a sleeper agent was overkill. For Agent Christopher, they could've sent a regular Rittenhouse time traveler to go and take her out at any point in the past. There's no need to have a sleeper agent invest 12 years to do this.

 

[Marc]

I don't get their use of sleeper agents. I agree about this story and there was at least one previous story where a sleeper agent was overkill. For Agent Christopher, they could've sent a regular Rittenhouse time traveler to go and take her out at any point in the past. There's no need to have a sleeper agent invest 12 years to do this.

you take her out at some other point (drive by shooting etc) then there's an investigation and who knows what might get exposed (law of unintended consequences). Christopher gets shot while hinchley tries to kill Reagan and it goes down as part of the failed assassination attempt and nobody looks any further.

 

[Romulan_spy]

you take her out at some other point (drive by shooting etc) then there's an investigation and who knows what might get exposed (law of unintended consequences). Christopher gets shot while hinchley tries to kill Reagan and it goes down as part of the failed assassination attempt and nobody looks any further.

If you retrieve the sleeper agent right after the shooting and bring them back to 2018, I don't see how any investigation would be a problem. It would just be chalked up to an unsolved drive by shooting. It would be much easier than planting a sleeper agent into the secret service for 12 years. Heck, there would be a much higher risk of unintended consequences from having a sleeper agent in the Secret Service for 12 years than doing a drive by shooting at night and pulling the agent out afterwards.

 

[Christopher]

Also, why does Rittenhouse have to send someone back in time to activate the sleeper agents? I know it gives our heroes a nice heads-up so that they can travel back in time to stop Rittenhouse but it seems unnecessary. Can't Rittenhouse just give the sleeper agents their instructions in advance when they first place them in history?

That actually kinda makes sense to me, compared to most of the sloppy thinking in this show. The less the sleepers know about what they're supposed to do in the future, the less chance that they'll give it away somehow. Also, if they're reluctant like this guy, then telling them years in advance that their mission is to assassinate someone might give them years to develop a conscience about it and warn the target or devise a way to defect or something.

Also, since our heroes are in the future compared to all these historical events, shouldn't all of Rittenhouse's "attacks" have already happened from their perspective? I think it would have been better if in the season premiere, our heroes had woken up to a dystopian reality where Rittenhouse had already won and then each episode was about our heroes travelling back to a historical event and trying to undo what Rittenhouse did piece by piece until history was gradually restored back to normal.

The idea is that history doesn't change until the Mothership returns from its "activation" trip, and the Lifeboat always follows quick on the Mothership's heels. But, yeah, that is very contrived and implausible. All those changes to the past should've "already" kicked in.

Although the heroes couldn't have "woken up" to the dystopia and retained their memories of the previous timeline, since if they were in the present when it changed, their memories and lives would be changed with it. They would've had to be returning from a time trip when it happened.

 

[sttngfan1701d]

I'm sorry, but I laughed out loud when Denise was calling off the wedding, and Jiya and Lucy were just sitting there while a rather subdued discussion was happening in the background. This is an Indian family, in 1981, and a wedding was called off inside a home. It would not have been subdued if that happened. At all. And the mother would've done far more than slap her.

Good episode all told, though. I liked having Jiya on the mission. In truth, they all looked good in the 80's clothes, but yet again they don't bother to do anything to Wyatt's hair to make him blend into the time they travel to. That always annoys me. I don't know why, but it does.

 

[Mr Awe]

you take her out at some other point (drive by shooting etc) then there's an investigation and who knows what might get exposed (law of unintended consequences). Christopher gets shot while hinchley tries to kill Reagan and it goes down as part of the failed assassination attempt and nobody looks any further.

Who cares if there is an investigation? Even if their plan worked, there'd be an investigation. They'd check the bullets and find that it was not Hinckley who shot Christopher. Who else shot at that time? Was it a conspiracy? It becomes a bigger thing given the context.

If it was a drive by instead, they'd investigate but never be able to solve it. That happens. I'm sure Rittenhouse could live with that!

 

[Romulan_spy]

That actually kinda makes sense to me, compared to most of the sloppy thinking in this show. The less the sleepers know about what they're supposed to do in the future, the less chance that they'll give it away somehow. Also, if they're reluctant like this guy, then telling them years in advance that their mission is to assassinate someone might give them years to develop a conscience about it and warn the target or devise a way to defect or something.

Good point.

Although the heroes couldn't have "woken up" to the dystopia and retained their memories of the previous timeline, since if they were in the present when it changed, their memories and lives would be changed with it. They would've had to be returning from a time trip when it happened.

I am not quite sure how to make it work but I still like the idea of a season premiere where everything is dystopian and throughout the season, our heroes have to slowly restore things back to the way they used to be. It would be a nice way to shake up the status quo of the show. You would have to find a way for our heroes to know what historical events were changed. Maybe you could Jiya's visions where she would get visions of what history used to be before Rittenhouse screwed things up?

 

[Mr Awe]

That actually kinda makes sense to me, compared to most of the sloppy thinking in this show. The less the sleepers know about what they're supposed to do in the future, the less chance that they'll give it away somehow. Also, if they're reluctant like this guy, then telling them years in advance that their mission is to assassinate someone might give them years to develop a conscience about it and warn the target or devise a way to defect or something.

That does make sense. What doesn't make sense is some of the specific ways they have used sleeper agents. It's been inefficient at times. Like in last nights episode. Really? Have an agent spend 12 years to do something that could've been accomplished as a drive by?!

The rationale you describe makes sense but the writers return to their sloppy thinking for how to use the sleeper agents in some cases.

 

[Mr Awe]

I am not quite sure how to make it work but I still like the idea of a season premiere where everything is dystopian and throughout the season, our heroes have to slowly restore things back to the way they used to be. It would be a nice way to shake up the status quo of the show. You would have to find a way for our heroes to know what historical events were changed. Maybe you could Jiya's visions where she would get visions of what history used to be before Rittenhouse screwed things up?

I like your idea a lot. All they would've needed was someway to shield the Time Team from the effects of a changed past. Either some sort of shielding around their base or maybe they too were in the past and returned to the dystopian future. But, it would've been fun for them to try to restore history.

 

[Christopher]

You would have to find a way for our heroes to know what historical events were changed. Maybe you could Jiya's visions where she would get visions of what history used to be before Rittenhouse screwed things up?

Yeah, I thought of that -- making her Guinan in "Yesterday's Enterprise," basically. But how would she convince the others? And would the Lifeboat even exist in that context?

 

[Aragorn]

The rationale you describe makes sense but the writers return to their sloppy thinking for how to use the sleeper agents in some cases.

The race car driver sleeper agent was the first one that didn't make any sense and that was episode 2!

 

[Mr Awe]

The race car driver sleeper agent was the first one that didn't make any sense and that was episode 2!

Agree 100%. They just don't seem to have a good sense of the real value of a sleeper agent!

 

[Mr Awe]

Yeah, I thought of that -- making her Guinan in "Yesterday's Enterprise," basically. But how would she convince the others? And would the Lifeboat even exist in that context?

Oh, it could be much simpler than that. Have the team be in the past when the changes are made and they return to a changed future. They then have to figure out how to undo it. Either that or use some technobabble shielding that protects them from the changes.