Timeless “Public Enemy No. 1” is a gripping installment. Things have come to a head with Rittenhouse’s Rottweiler; Agent Neville, who cracks down on the remaining Mason employees. He orders Lucy and Rufus to take a new soldier back in time to murder Flynn’s mother.
The pair refuse and both Mason and Neville threaten the two with prison. They agree to go on the mission. The new guy is shot with a tranquilizer dart and they stop to pick up Wyatt Logan. Their first mission is to save Lucy’s sister.
This plan is scuppered when they learn that Flynn has gone back to 1931 Chicago. Flynn keeps Al Capone from going to prison and arranges for Elliot Ness to die in his “hidden” apartment. In return, Capone sets up a meeting with Rittenhouse member Mayor Thompson.
After beating the next big Rittenhouse meeting date out of the mayor, Flynn asks Capone to kill Rufus, when he shows up. Later, Capone tries very hard to do just that.
Preston, Logan and Carlin have to hunt down Capone’s brother, a G-man who changed his name, Richard Hart. They talk Hart into confronting his brother and arresting him.
All goes well until Al pulls a gun to shoot Rufus. A short standoff keeps things tense until Capone shoots at the time-ship’s pilot and wounds him. Richard shoots Al and Logan shoots a henchman.
Back in the present, Jiya, who was slipped a burner phone by her boyfriend Rufus, gets into trouble twice. The first time just by the benefit of dating Carlin and the second by shutting Mason’s systems down again.
Previews of the next episode (the season finale) shows Lucy finally agreeing to help Flynn, as he told Preston she does in the pilot episode. He does allude to her coming over to his side repeatedly and now his prediction has come true.
While things have moved forward rapidly plot wise – Agent Christopher is now working with the trio to take back the program from Rittenhouse and Mason – Rufus’s life is in danger, he does get shot by Capone, and time seems to be tuning out for Lucy in terms of getting her sister back.
There was one big boo-boo in the climatic scene in Al Capone’s office, however, that really threw everything out of whack. A continuity mistake, or editing slip-up that yanked us right out of the story.
Thankfully it was not a major character who messed up, but a peripheral one. Capone’s bodyguard, the big chap to the left of the group, pulls two pistols from his holsters…twice.
The second the guns come out, Al’s, Richard’s and Wyatt’s so too do the bodyguard’s. As things heat up and Al takes his shot at Rufus, Wyatt moves to protect the pilot and Hart shoots his brother dead. The bodyguard who already had his pistols out and ready to shoot does not.
The reason?
He apparently holstered them again. The act of drawing his guns a second time allowed Wyatt the chance to shoot him dead.
Oops.
Neither Nicole Baer (who edited this episode) nor director Guy Ferland caught this one and it is a shame as it takes the punch right out of Rufus’ near death experience.
Regardless of this mess up, the episode ends with Rufus collapsing, after muttering “tell Jiya…” with the time machine still whirring but not jumping. A good cliffhanger moment that leaves us wondering if Rufus will make it to another jump.
Timeless airs Mondays on NBC. Tune in for the season finale and see if Carlin lives or dies.
Cast:
- Abigail Spencer – Lucy Preston
- Matt Lanter – Wyatt Logan
- Malcolm Barrett – Rufus Carlin
- Goran Visnjic – Garcia Flynn
- Paterson Joseph – Connor Mason
- Sakina Jaffrey – Agent Denise Christopher
- Claudia Doumit – Jiya
- John Getz – Benjamin Cahill
Guest starring Jim Beaver as Agent Neville, Mather Zickel as Richard Hart/Jimmy Capone, Misha Collins as Elliot Ness, Cameron Gharaee as Al Capone and Richard Portnow as Mayor William Hale Thompson.
Mikes Film Talk 