Timeless: The Darlington 500
March 18, 2018 8:26 PM - Season 2, Episode 2 - Subscribe

The Time Team chases Rittenhouse to a stock car race in the 1950s where Wyatt learns that his favorite race care driver is...

...actually a Rittenhouse sleeper agent on a mission to destroy the American car industry. To stop the Rittenhouse plan, Wyatt, Lucy and Rufus team up with Wendell Scott, the first African American NASCAR driver.

*Vulture recap - Mission Implausible
*Den of Geek review - Strong character building moments and a compelling historical context smooth over credibility flaws in this week’s Timeless episode.
*TV Fanatic review
posted by oh yeah! (13 comments total)
 
This episode was entertaining, but kind of a mess. How is Wendell going to feel when he finds out the trio he helped escape were escaping from just having straight up killed a guy? And I agree with the Vulture recap about the Rittenhouse mural: "Did you buy anything about this ending? I did not. I did not buy that Keynes’ hand-painted “map” (my bad, Keynes, it’s not a map) somehow elucidated Rittenhouse’s mission so powerfully that everyone standing in that room at Rittenhouse HQ was instantly taken in by it. With its muddy tones, faux-calligraphy cursive and faux-Renaissance aura, I didn’t buy his composition at all. (It looked like a ‘90s girly folk-pop album cover.) I didn’t buy the office drones who looked like they’d set aside their TPS reports to blankly gaze upon Keynes’ painting. I didn’t buy that Keynes himself has the makings of a quasi-cult leader. I especially didn’t buy how his map affected Emma and Lucy’s mom so differently. Emma trolls Keynes and his “pickled eggs” one minute, then falls head over heels for his map the next. Meanwhile, Lucy’s mom, who’s just passionately defended Keynes to Emma, appears deeply worried as soon as she casts her eyes on the very same map that Emma found so captivating. Lady, you effectively disowned your daughter because you’re so in the tank for Rittenhouse. How is it possible that this map is what finally makes you feel doubt?"
posted by oh yeah! at 5:03 AM on March 19, 2018


I haven't seen this episode, or the first one for that matter as I'm behind on my TV viewing, but I did want to say thanks oh yeah! for posting this. I look forward to getting involved in the discussions again when I get time to catch up.
posted by sardonyx at 8:45 AM on March 19, 2018


Didn't realize the premiere was last week! I'm caught up now.

The things I like about the show are still here, and the things that bother me are still here. So I'll keep watching. But I will never ever stop being bothered at the idea that in order to have a significant effect on the timeline you have to make big changes to powerful people or famous events. The Hindenburg! The Alamo! The Kennedy assassination! It just makes it so easy to stop you. "Hey, they traveled in time to New Mexico on July 15, 1945! Who can say what they are doing?!?!"

I suppose that's what you get with time travel shows though. It would be pretty boring watching them travel to uneventful time periods to do things to people we've never heard of because of subtle knock-on events 50 years down the line.

Still, the method Rittenhouse uses does require them to be full of idiots who have the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
posted by Justinian at 11:07 AM on March 19, 2018


It's been a utter mess since the first episode, it'd be interesting to have a beer with one of the writers to see when they decided to go with the mom being in the conspiracy crowd, perhaps she was not until Lucy kicked off timeline changes, now that would be fun. But I don't recall any indication that it was part of the initial story.

It is a fun mess.
posted by sammyo at 11:39 AM on March 19, 2018


I suppose that's what you get with time travel shows though. It would be pretty boring watching them travel to uneventful time periods to do things to people we've never heard of because of subtle knock-on events 50 years down the line.

Ziggy says there's a 97% chance you're wrong about that.
posted by infinitewindow at 2:24 PM on March 19, 2018 [6 favorites]


perhaps she was not until Lucy kicked off timeline changes

I'd say she was always with Rittenhouse, but was too sick to be effective in the original timeline.

I thought this was a fun episode. I dunno if Wendell is real but he's fun! But the writers made a good move with having Rittenhouse planting sleeper agents throughout time, so they can always have the team go against someone influential that's not real because they actually weren't in our timeline and not constantly worrying about casting for a historically accurate role. But I am excited to see the famous women they're planning on showing this season. Although I guess not this episode.
posted by numaner at 2:20 PM on March 20, 2018


Wendell's 100% real! Mojo Nixon wrote a song about him.
posted by Kyol at 4:37 PM on March 20, 2018 [2 favorites]




I thought this episode was generally a lot of fun with some really good parts. I loved seeing Wyatt have fun with the NASCAR racing and being a fanboy and I really liked getting more of a glimpse of his back story. I like that although the team have now bonded they haven't forgotten that they've come from very different places and in many ways Wyatt is still the odd man out among the "bunch of coastal elites". The scene where he talked about his abusive father was an interesting callback to the one in the Alamo episode where he talked to one of the Alamo soldiers about his survivor's guilt at being the only member of his team to survive a Delta force mission. Both times he opened up a lot to someone from a similar background who he thought would identify with his experiences and then looked very vulnerable when he realised Lucy/Rufus & Lucy had overheard. I hope we're going to see more progress towards a team who fully understand each other this season.

I liked the sleeper agent having gone off track by getting married and having a family and I wonder whether this is something we'll see more of in later episodes. They really are very isolated, no means of communication in either direction with Rittenhouse and even if very committed to their cause years in isolation are likely to have an effect (and clearly here a useful way of indicating just how brutal Emma is willing to be for the cause). I also really liked the black guy nod stuff for Rufus. As a series I feel they've been keen to not gloss over the many ways Rufus is treated poorly in many eras (and Lucy to a lesser extent) and I'm pleased to see the quote from Abigail Spencer saying that they're aiming to showcase more women & people of colour.

In general I'm loving the show and this season does seem to be getting off to a good start. The team behind it seem to have really committed to their 2nd chance and to want to give it everything they have in hopes of a renewal (there's a LOT of twitter engagement going on). I'm not a very critical viewer generally but especially in this context although I can see some of the issues above I'm happy to give them a pass. Regarding Lucy's mom:
"Lady, you effectively disowned your daughter because you’re so in the tank for Rittenhouse. How is it possible that this map is what finally makes you feel doubt?
I feel like they've been showing her as less certain this season. The first episode made it very clear that she really wanted to bring Lucy into the fold (despite Emma having observed more rationally that Lucy isn't likely to change allegiance). At the end of that episode she did appear somewhat stricken in response to Marie Curie's statement that her daughters were her most important work and to waver somewhat when when Lucy urged her to leave Rittenhouse. I agree that it makes no sense for her to spend most of this episode bringing Keynes pickled eggs and urging him to work then be doubtful about the map itself but like I say, I'm letting a lot of stuff go on goodwill.

I'd say she was always with Rittenhouse, but was too sick to be effective in the original timeline.

I think that's likely but I also wondered whether her husband (Lucy's non-biological dad & Amy's father) might have influenced her away from Rittenhouse's evil viewpoints. We don't' know much about him but Lucy seems to have regarded him affectionately (although she also admired her mother so not necessarily a very good barometer there) but it seems possible to me.
posted by *becca* at 5:54 AM on March 21, 2018


I think if I have a lasting sort of complaint is that they've failed to really explain why Rittenhouse is a bunch of baddie mc baddersons against whom it's worth doing what the good guys are doing. Even the sorta cockamamie Flynn storyline at least had sort of a target, but so far we're just sort of getting a "Rittenhouse is bad because they want to shape a future in which they're even more powerful" which I mean.. OK? But they haven't shown Rittenhouse to be much more than a bunch of ruthless rich dudes and not Stalin/Hitleresque UNT NOW VE KILL THE POORS or anything.

Unless if I've forgotten something from the Flynn storyline. Which, hell, maybe I have, I was reading a lot of metafilter during the last season.
posted by Kyol at 11:36 AM on March 21, 2018


I think if I have a lasting sort of complaint is that they've failed to really explain why Rittenhouse is a bunch of baddie mc baddersons against whom it's worth doing what the good guys are doing.

I see your point. I feel that the drive to keep them mysterious has been at the expense of clearly showing that they are evil.

We know they commissioned Mason to build a time machine (presumably in order to carry out Keynes' plans). We also know they made Rufus spy on his new team and when he refused to they threatened him, his mother and brother. If we believe Flynn's account (which I think at this point we are supposed to) they killed his wife and child and future Lucy was keen enough to stop them that she gave Flynn her diary to help stop them. We know that their founder espoused some horrendous views and there isn't much evidence they have deviated from them. Benjamin Cahill, Emma and Carol are the only modern Rittenhouse members we've seen on screen for any length of time and Benjamin & Emma have both been portrayed as cold and ruthless, Carol is slightly more nuanced but still fairly cold and ruthless.

I feel they have at least shown them as very ruthless and unlikeable people with an agenda that is at best extremely murky. We don't know much about their overall aims but the general message is that they're promoting their own interests over the interests of society in general, likely composed exclusively of upper class white people and happy to kill (even children) to get their way.
posted by *becca* at 4:19 PM on March 21, 2018


And at least a certain amount is a, I dunno, natural consequence of time traveling stories - what makes the prime universe objectively better than any alternative futures? It's easy enough to root for the home team when there's a lot of shared history ("don't you go messing around with my boy Jean Luc, Trek writers!"), but establishing that rapport and blowing it away in the very first episode makes it a tricky line to walk.
posted by Kyol at 4:59 PM on March 21, 2018


Just remembered that Rittenhouse also blew up Mason Industries, killing 20 people(? reported as 22 but I think both Wyatt and Rufus were reported dead for protection purposes). They are definitely not good guys.

what makes the prime universe objectively better than any alternative futures?

Absolutely. They did at least attempt to grapple with that in the Abraham Lincoln episode - Rufus arguing to try to save him because of the potential to improve black history in the US, Wyatt arguing for it (because he also wanted to change his personal history to prevent his wife dying), Lucy insisting it was their job to save history not Lincoln but then trying to save him anyway - but haven't really revisited it since I think. I think they're relying on the initial assumption (Flynn is a terrororist/Rittenhouse are bad guys so Must Be Stopped) combined with the uncertainty of any changes to the timeline could lead to any of them losing more family members like Lucy did but I agree it is a bit hand wavey.
posted by *becca* at 5:54 AM on March 22, 2018


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