Thursday, July 30, 2015

Summer DVR Dump: 12 Monkeys 1.08: “Yesterday”

“Tell me, what hope was there for the men of Spearhead who opposed you? When you put bullets into their heads? I remember the day you spilled blood in the name of hope.”
- Dr. Jones

Things are not as hunky dory as we might hope for our time-travelling team in either time period. In 2043, the time machine is losing power and they need a new part to fix it. Unfortunately, the only place that has the part they need, is a former government compound where Jones used to work. We get a little history of the scientists who assembled to try and come up with a cure but when one of the high ranking generals (Foster) lost his wife, he went nuts and killed the rest of the military leaders. So Jones left and started Project Splinter. It seems that Ramse and Whitley will have to make the dangerous journey to secure the part and face the crazy general if they have any hope of getting Cole back. The trip doesn’t start off to well. The head of security at the compound is Whitley’s own father and the general is definitely kind of loopy. He’s built a giant super computer that is supposed to figure out and synthesize a cure that anticipates any possible mutation of the virus before it happens. Yeah, okay. Clearly his plan hasn’t worked. I know the Project Splinter people haven’t completely succeeded but they are at least getting closer. We finally get a bit more history about Ramse in this episode as he runs into Helena, his ex. She took off on him five years earlier when the West Seven were after him. It turns out she had good reason to run. She had to think about their son, Sam. Yeah, hell of a bombshell to drop on a guy.

Back in 2015, Cassie is still unnerved by what happened in Chechnya. She fears that what happened may not have stopped the plague and she needs to know if Cole was found dead at the site or not. Well he certainly isn’t dead as we see him wake up with a bullet wound to his leg. He manages to clean it with some alcohol (ouch) and it looks like he might even get rescued. A girl and her father find him buried under the rubble. But I just get a very bad feeling that they aren’t people Cole should be trusting. At least it seems Cassie has convinced Senator Royce to allow her to go to check out the site under the auspices of the CDC. Please let her get to Cole before the 12 Monkeys do!

In 2043, Jones and her team try one last time to get Cole back but their efforts completely destroy the core of the machine. So desperate times call for desperate measures and Jones goes to the compound to seek out the core in Foster’s machine, not just the part. Before she gets there, though, Ramse tries to bond a bit with his kid. I really hope he gets a chance to know his son more. Once Jones arrives, she and Foster get into a heated debate over dinner about who is right and who is making more progress finding a cure (as Ramse puts it, they’re having a dick measuring contest). Maybe it’s because we’ve gotten to know Jones over these last few episodes but I see her point more. She points out that Foster is a monster who killed people in the name of hope and yet he’s done nothing concrete and tangible to show people that it was worth it. And then she adds fuel to the fire by tossing him a copy of his wedding photo. I guess she’s got his attention now. She says that Cole got the photos before Atlanta burned but Foster just won’t believe her. He dismisses her notions of clinging to the past and memories of those lost and says they need to focus on the future. It would appear Ramse might be willing to drink Foster’s Cool Aid if it means taking the guy’s deal of using the core and then Jones going back to work with Foster on the cure. It would mean he would get to spend more time with his son, that’s for sure. But Jones refuses to believe Foster has the best interests of anyone at heart. Ultimately, she decides that the best thing to do to further their aims is to take the core by any means necessary. Let’s just hope none of the kids get hurt in the process. I can’t imagine Ramse would be very happy.

Back in 2015, Cole is not doing so well. Nearly being splintered back to his time and failing had to hurt. But it seems I was wrong about the girl and her father. They may just be people trying to help. Cole gets concerned when the girls tarts coughing and her father has gone to seek help. This may be how the virus continues to spread. Lucky for them, Cassie is on her way from the US (without Aaron because he insisted she go on her own to get closure).

Time gets a little confusing as Cole is finally rescued from the hole. We see Cassie bribe a whole bunch of different people (including guards at the blast site) and we see her smile around the same time Cole is being dragged from the hole. So we are led to believe that they are in the same time. But she calls Aaron and says that Cole is gone and the plague must not have been let loose. Oh how wrong she is. Cole was splintered two years into the future to 2017 where the plague has consumed the world. He must be getting really tired of constantly failing after thinking he’s succeeded. But I don’t doubt that he’ll find a way to Cassie and try to make things right.

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