WARNING: This review contains spoilers!
Last night on NBC hit another home run for the television show, Timeless. The brand new episode, "The Kennedy Curse" aired on its usual time slot on Sunday night and not only did the writers bring the energy up for this one, but the show took a new direction from their regular format. It's no surprise Timeless offers just about everything for audiences of all kind. The show offers a great amount of suspense, romantic storylines, and twists and turns that keep the viewer guessing and constantly intrigued. This show is so smart and well-written, that it always keeps the audience wanting more each week.
The usual format for Timeless for the past season and a half so far has been following Lucy (Abigail Spencer), Wyatt (Matt Lanter), and Rufus (Malcolm Barrett) in the time machine to another point in history. The show has taken their fans on epic adventures throughout time like the Hindenburg, the Salem Witch Trials, 1940s Hollywood, and more. One of the most difficult challenges that comes with time travel in television is constantly keeping a balance between present time and past time, but the show has no problem with that at all. The writing flows effortlessly that it never confuses the audience and the characters are easy to keep track of.
While Lucy, Wyatt, and Rufus are a huge part of the show, as well as Flynn (Goran Visjnic) and the entire time team, perhaps one of the most incredible reasons this show stands out is the historical characters they feature every week. "The Kennedy Curse" took so many brilliant risks that it elevated the strength of the already established Timeless energy. Rather than going back in time, Wyatt and Rufus go with Flynn to 1934 to chase Rittenhouse to stop them from killing a young John F. Kennedy. However, in order to protect Kennedy, Wyatt and Rufus kidnap him, leave Flynn behind, and bring Kennedy to present time 2018.
For the past season and a half, Timeless has brought their Time Team to history and last night, the writers brought history to the fans. Each historical character has been magnificent to watch in each episode. From Bonnie and Clyde to Lincoln to Hedy Lamarr and more; the show has created impressive and lovable versions of monumental figures in time. When it comes to introducing such an important historical figure like John F. Kennedy in the show, Timeless didn't disappoint.
Grant Jordan played the beloved young JFK in the episode and blended well with the other Timeless veterans. Kennedy woke up in the bunker and was greeted by a stunned Lucy, who couldn't believe Wyatt and Rufus kidnapped him. When Kennedy asked what was going on, Lucy informs him that someone tried to kill him and his father requested security watch out for him. She tells him that Wyatt and Rufus saved his life, but when they leave the room, something feels off to Kennedy. Lucy goes back into the room later on to find out that Kennedy has escaped the bunker through the air vents.
Wyatt, Lucy, and Wyatt's wife, Jessica form a search party to find Kennedy. At this point, Jessica has been informed of the time traveling Lifeboat in the previous episode and has come back into Wyatt's life, causing some uneasiness between Lucy and Wyatt. Meanwhile, Agent Christopher is kidnapped by Carol (Susanna Thompson) and threatened when she is trying to find out where Kennedy is.
Kennedy has made his way around present time to a gas station and immediately discovers it is the year 2018 from a magazine. He then, meets a few young students and hitches a ride with them to a party. While on the way to the party, Kennedy's issues with his health start to affect him and he ends up in the hospital. Knowing his history very well, Lucy manages to track Kennedy to the hospital with Wyatt and Jessica. The only problem is that Emma (Anna Wersching) tracks Kennedy to the hospital and tries to kill him.
Kennedy makes it to the party with help from his new friends and eventually tells the young girl he is with that he is John F. Kennedy from 1934. Rather than think he is crazy, she indulges his proclamation and she shows Kennedy who he becomes. Kennedy finds out that he becomes President of the United States, but also that his family suffers tragedy after tragedy. Finally, he discovers he is killed two years into his term.
For every moment in this show, the biggest thing that was important to Lucy and the others was to never mess with history. Lucy was the one member of the team who cared the most about keeping the timeline the same. Timeless decided to take an entirely different route and informed a major historical character of his future before it happened. Grant Jordan's genuine reactions to these events came off the screen phenomenally.
His portrayal as one of the most amazing Presidents in the world was real and heartfelt. His character fit in effortlessly with the Timeless cast. The reason this episode made more of an impact on most of the fans was because Timeless has spent the past season and a half following history, but in this episode the show redefined history.
By bringing Kennedy to 2018, the show created an incredible and unique connection between this amazing historical figure and the fans. The idea that a show can profoundly affect viewers in this timeframe by bringing them closer to people who made huge impacts on the world is one of the most impressive and exciting feelings ever.
When they return Kennedy to his time, he asks Lucy if he was a great President. Lucy informs him that he was one of the best. This moment is a real defining point in Lucy's transformation as well because Rufus tells Kennedy to not go to Dallas. He tries to stop Kennedy from being assassinated and while Rufus makes the mistake in telling him the wrong city, Lucy didn't stop Rufus. Lucy wanted Kennedy to change his fate and knowing how strongly she felt about keeping history the same, watching her make that kind of decision shows how passionately she felt about this amazing human being.
When fans feel that connection with the main characters, when they sense the passion and admiration that Lucy and Rufus have for Kennedy and what he accomplished, it is heartbreaking. Because Timeless has redefined a moment in history for an entire generation that brought them closer to John F. Kennedy himself.
That is the impressive and beautiful thing about this show. Watching it every week is a Timeless Connection to History.
You can catch Timeless on NBC on Sunday night at 10/9c.
No comments:
Post a Comment