#12m401

[northbndtrain]

12 Monkeys / S4 / Episode 1: “The End” / Commentary

I meant to do this earlier in the week, not because I think a recap is needed but because I just wanted to put my thoughts down somewhere, but I was busier than I thought I was going to be. I also don’t know that I’ll be able to do this for 402 and 403, especially before the new episodes tonight, but here at least are my thoughts on the first episode of the premiere, including what I thought were highlights.

OPENING: The "serpent/demon" legend is told in voice-over as a group medieval soldiers chases down a group of robe-clad "heretics" and burns them alive for refusing to tell them where the "weapon" is. My favorite part of this sequence is that it features a young girl named "Chorus." Great name.

JONES RECAPS ALL OF THE HORRIBLE THINGS THAT HAPPENED LAST SEASON: Jones is close to death after being stabbed by Olivia in S3. As Hannah begs Cassie to save her, Jones flashes back to the events of the S3 finale, which is a really creative way of recapping exactly who killed whom, who saved whom, who has reason to be pissed at whom, etc. When Jones flat-lines, Cassie snaps out of her "eh, Jones deserves to die because she shot Athan" stupor and brings her back.

CASSIE/COLE SHOWDOWN: Cassie and Cole have a poignant discussion as Cassie packs her things in preparation for leaving. The scene is a good encapsulation of their different personalities and different reactions to the loss of Athan. Obviously, they're both grieving, but they're channeling that grief in different ways. Cole tries to comfort Cassie by reminding her that they did save Athan's soul, which is what he is choosing to focus on. For him -- I don't want to say that's "enough," because he's lost his son. Nothing would ever be "enough." But it's giving him something to hold onto at this point in time, and he needs that if he’s going to move forward with the mission, which is what he desperately wants to do. That mission, and Cassie, are all he has left.

But Cassie rightly points out that, yes, they saved Athan's soul, but that doesn't wave away the fact that something is now happening to her as a result of Athan's death -- she almost let Jones die, and as we will soon find out she is desperate to kill Olivia. She can’t focus on the mission or the increasingly nebulous idea of what “success” would mean because she’s self-aware enough to realize that she’s broken right now. Her reaction to Athan's death isn't necessarily "healthy" or "unhealthy,” or somehow “better” or “worse” than Cole’s reaction -- it is simply a fact. And nothing Cole can say can change it.

But neither can Cassie change Cole's desire to stop running so they can end this once and for all. For the moment, they're at an impasse. But it's not an artificial one dreamed up by the writers to create conflict. This is just who Cole and Cassie are.

DEACON'S NOT A HERO BUT SOMETIMES HE PLAYS ONE IN TITAN: Deacon (I LOVE HIM) is the one who has the idea to distract Olivia and her minions by blowing up one of Titan's towers, and then he's also the one to risk his life to execute the plan. Unfortunately, the explosion only convinces Olivia to use some of the other towers as nuclear weapons or something (”OLIVIA’S GOT HERSELF A DEATH STAR,” Deacon radios back to base), but it was nice to think that the team had a win for a moment, anyway.

THE FACILITY SPLINTERS: With Olivia about to incinerate Raritan with Titan's remaining towers, the gang prepares to splinter parts of the building and anyone inside those parts of the building at the time of departure. Of course, the minute it's revealed that anyone accidentally left outside the perimeter at the time of departure will be left behind, it's a given that at least one person will be. And that person, of course, is Deacon, because why not.

Things I liked about this sequence? Deacon's very human reaction when a desperate Cassie found him on the wrong side of the perimeter just before take-off. Instead of saying something self-sacrificing like, "It's okay, just go!" he quietly, brokenly, pleaded, "Don't leave me." Deacon's not a hero, really. He wants to survive. He clearly still cares about Cassie. In his mind, he went out into enemy territory to buy the gang more time, and now they're shoving off without him. So, yeah. He's got reasons to be so defeated in this moment, to say something almost nonsensical (his tone indicates he knows full well that they can't turn the perimeter off, but he begs anyway).

Things I didn't like about this sequence? That the last thing Deacon saw was Cole dragging Cassie away, because it seemed like an obvious way to try to increase Deacon's anger and resentment for whenever we next see him again. I just don't think that was necessary. But, then, I've always been uncomfortable with this "triangle" (as much as we can call it that), so any reminders of it put me off.

WHITLEY RIP: Whitley sacrificed himself to buy Jones time to fix the core so the team could splinter, and it was all extremely sad, especially when Jones sat next to him for the last time. I know there are a lot of characters on the show, but I wish we'd spent more time with him and he'd gotten more development.

MONTAGE TIME: Heartbreaking montage of Cassie, Cole, and the rest wandering around the desolate wasteland surrounding the Emerson Hotel, which is where they splintered. Everything about the sequence underscores the sadness of the team's situation: yes, they've survived, but for what purpose? Just to hide and mourn their losses and wait for Olivia to find them. As Cassie notes, they’re just running around in circles at this point.

FORTUNATELY, DR. ADLER IS STILL HERE: When Cole demands that Dr. Adler fix the core, Adler snarks, "We need another Adam Cell to kick-start it. To get one of those, you. need. a time machine!" Poor Cole. Every where he turns, there's another loop.

Adler isn't done. When Cole asks if Jones has any thoughts, the camera settles on Jones sitting off by herself and Adler replies, "None that she's willing to share."

JUST WHEN ALL HOPE SEEMS LOST: Great editing choices here, as we go from Cole trying and failing to rally the troops to action (he wants to fix the time machine and find Jennifer and figure out what the hell is up with these weird Ouroboros drawings that are now apparently a recurring feature in his life) -- a really miserable situation -- to...JENNIFER. A reminder that not all hope is lost.

A lot has been written elsewhere about this sequence, which follows Jennifer as she pretends to be the action hero she sees herself as in her head and steals the Ouroboros Puzzle from the museum. All I'll say is that I enjoyed it. I had seen the red-headed Jennifer in promo shots, and I just assumed it was another version of Jennifer from some other timeline. But the show managed to surprise me yet again. I LOVE WHEN THAT HAPPENS. And, fortunately, it happens a lot, because these writers are good.

Also, that shot of Jennifer turning away from the door to smile and laugh over her shoulder at the museum guard felt familiar to me, and I realized that it reminded me a lot of her first appearance in the pilot. I think it was even the same music cue.

(I also loved the museum guard declining to pursue Jennifer because the world is ending and he doesn't care enough to bother.)

COLE AND...HANNAH, APPARENTLY: The episode's cliffhanger is set up by a bit of weirdness, at least for me...Cole goes out exploring and he's joined by Hannah, who was apparently following him for some time before, not on anyone's orders, but because she wanted to make sure he didn't walk alone. And I just...find that weird? I didn't really know what to make of the scene. On another show, I would wonder if the writers were setting up Hannah having a crush on Cole, but this isn't that kind of series. The only other thing I can figure is that the writers simply want to build up this friendship (?) in preparation for Hannah playing a bigger role in this final season.

Anyway, there's not really time to dwell on that because the cliffhanger is Cole seeing his past self walking around with Ramse and realizing that the team has splintered to the final hours before his first splinter. And I was excited about that until I realized that this means the next episode will have Cole feeling guilty about Ramse. (I am over Ramse and over Cole's guilt. I realize that it makes sense for Cole's character to feel that guilt. I realize that this is the correct writing choice. But I am over Ramse. Period. Full stop.)