Rufus was anything but a sidekick. Were you surprised at how the show made him an equal protagonist? Do you ship him with Jiya? What was your favorite Rufus moment in Season 1 and what do you want from him going forward?
Lizzie: I’m going to be honest here – very, very surprised. It’s just not what shows usually do with minorities, even when they’re billed as having a main role. And it’s so, so easy to push Rufus to the back when you have two actors with amazing chemistry that you can write a romance for. And yet, the show never did. The show game him his own concerns, his own storyline, his own romance and his own relationship with both Wyatt and Lucy. And yes, they made him funny too, but that’s not all he is. You can be the comedic relief without being just that, and Rufus is the perfect example of that.
As for Jiya, yes, I ship it. I didn’t know how much til that final episode, when she was not doing well and she was pleading with her to stay with him and confessing his love. Oh, my feels. My hopes going forward is that they can continue in this vein, with Rufus being a separate entity from the team, with his own concerns, loves and separate thoughts, and yet, at the same time, that he continues to value his friendship with Lucy and Wyatt and wants to remain part of that team.
Alyssa: Honestly, in the beginning I was expecting Rufus to be sidelined as a sidekick. But I’ve should’ve had more faith in Timeless. Timeless gets it. They understand the importance of each of these characters in this narrative. Sure, Lucy and Wyatt get a lot of the hype. But Rufus is so integral to this story, and it’s so gratifying to see him get that chance to shine. It would’ve been easy to limit Rufus to just time travel stuff. But Timeless expanded his story to include romance with Jiya, which has only added to his character. We get to really see the emotional side to Rufus, and we get to see the man that he is deep within. Sure, Rufus is the comic relief. But he’s so much more than that. Timeless has never confined him to being that comic relief. It’s just a characteristic. Rufus is the character. Going forward I really want to see more of his relationship with Jiya. I want to see him working with her to tackle whatever the hell is happening to her. I would actually like to see his family, as well. It’s something that’s been alluded to, but also something that has been secret. I want to know all of the things about Rufus.
Lyra: Watching Rufus not get sidelined as the sidekick of this show is one of the best things about Timeless. He’s treated with the same love, care, and respect as Lucy and Wyatt. He has family he worries about, secrets he keeps, and Lucy & Wyatt see him as their partner. An equal. To top it off Rufus has an actual romance with a character that has her own storylines brewing. Rufus is not there to prop up Lucy and Wyatt and Jiya isn’t there to prop up Rufus. All of them are independent characters that end up making a complicated and dynamic tapestry of a show that keeps you watching and interested in all of its aspects. As for my favorite moment, I’ve got to say when he was caring for Jiya and muttering rushed promises, hoping that she would survive the night. Swoon alert.
Erin: What I admired about Timeless was that they made everyone an equal part of the team. Lucy, Wyatt, and Rufus – none of them could do it without each other. I admire that, because a lot of shows want to have a sidekick. Rufus is extremely important to the team. He deserves to have an amazing life and to be loved. So yes, I ship Riya. They are perfection.
Sarah: Rufus being allowed to stand his ground and be one of the invaluable members of the trio without any hint of sidekick or that air of he’s not as important you, was for lack of a better word wonderful. One of the best parts about Timeless is how equally invested they are in all of the OT3 and Rufus being written this way really had my heart singing with joy (and lots of surprise because I don’t think I’ve ever seen as well done before). I love his relationship with Jiya, the two of them are so adorable and true and deserve all the good things in life. I hope we get to see the two of them more in Season 2 (hint hint writers). Truthfully its hard to narrow down what my favorite moment for him was, but what always comes to mind is when he finds out the Lone Ranger is black. It’s a small thing, but his absolute joy just was wonderful to behold. More than anything I want to see more of his story in Season 2, his family being with Jiya, and adventuring through time with Lucy and Wyatt.
Lindsay: Rufus is my favourite character. He is my Hero in a Hoodie. It makes me so happy that he wasn’t sidelined because he’s such an interesting character. From the shy nervous pilot, to the hero we know at the end of the season. One of my favourite moments was when he allied with Agent Christopher, simply because if you look at the Rufus at the beginning of the season would you seriously think he would have done that? He has had the most powerful and significant development. It brings me so much joy that he hasn’t been dismissed as the comedic third wheel, because Rufus has a story to tell and damn – it’s only just starting.
Charles: Rufus being an equal partner in the team has been a great thing to see. I wasn’t surprised to see it but it was almost relieving not to see him be cast as a “wacky sidekick” or something like that. He is just as strong, stupid, courageous and mistake-prone as Lucy or Wyatt and that puts him on equal ground with them. I do ship him with Jiya but I would like to see more of them away from the workplace. I look forward to season 2 of seeing this relationship grow and flourish. As for favorite Rufus moment, it would be his finding out the Lone Ranger was black. It was a cool moment to Rufus meeting a hero of his and just the moment was awesome to see.
What are your feelings on Flynn? Ultimately, did the end justify the means? Was it all worth it to try to stop Rittenhouse? Did you ever find yourself rooting for him?
Lizzie: Do the ends justify the means? The easy answer, the rational answer, is no. And yet that’s a hard no, and that’s always been the reason why Flynn has been such a compelling villain. It’s impossible to hate him outright. It’s also impossible to completely sympathize. I did, however, find myself rooting for him, especially at the end. I wanted him to get his family back – even if he couldn’t stay with them. I wanted him to hold them in his arms. I really, really did.
Alyssa: The thing that I’ve really enjoyed about Flynn is that he was never classified into a box. He was never the villain or the big bad. He was more an antagonist — and that depends on how you look at the situation. Yes, he’s a bad guy because of the actions he has committed. But it has always been fairly complicated with Flynn. I’m not letting him off the hook, but I understand where he was coming from. It’s so very human to be driven by your emotions. Only because of the things at his disposal, Flynn took it to a new level. I loved how Timeless looked to be setting Flynn up to be our Big Bad but ultimately ended up revealing Rittenhouse, and showing us that sometimes there’s a greater evil out there.
Lyra: I never hated Flynn or thought of him as completely evil because I knew that his master plan was driven by grief. That in itself makes Flynn even more dangerous. With those bedroom eyes and his sad story, he made me flip week after week on whether I’d help him out or not. I know, crazy talk. But he was a man who lost his family because of a power hungry organization. Emotion and loss sell. Ultimately the end didn’t justify the means because he didn’t get him family back and created a whole hot damn mess. But this is Season 1. Maybe, even though he got arrested, he started Lucy on a path to destroying them and somehow getting his family back wayyyyy down the line? We won’t know until we get our hands on Season 2. *pointed stare at NBC*
Erin: To be honest, I want to write Flynn off, but after that ending, I realize that I know nothing. Flynn is driven by his grief and because we don’t know exactly what happened to his family, but we know it’s affected his whole life, I can’t write him off. I just have to sit here and wonder – does he find that what he’s done isn’t wrong, because all that he’s done makes sense to him. And I think that we are finding out so much about him that we can’t really know what is going on with him yet. But I don’t like him. At all.
Sarah: Flynn has always been hard to completely write off as a one note antagonist because while I hated all the horrible things he did especially when he directly hurt any of the OT3 his motivations kept him from being a typical black and white villain. I liked that he was unabashedly human in his ruthlessness and determination to accomplish his mission all for the sake of saving his family from danger he holds himself responsible for placing them in. While that doesn’t justify all the horrible acts he committed, at the end of the day he was always honest about what he was capable of to accomplish his mission. As much as I wish I could fully sympathize with him, even if his motivations were pure he caused a lot of damage. He has some work to do to make up for that in my opinion. As for Season 2 all I want for him is to get broken out by the time team and work together (even if it’s reluctantly) to defeat Rittenhouse.
Lindsay: Whilst I sympathise with Flynn and the horrifying things he has had to endure, I can’t let him off for what he has done. He chose the easy option, revenge and that has only led him down a path of danger and misery. He deserves it. I hope he realises this and starts his journey to redeem himself. He has a long way to go.
Charles: I wish I could have sympathy for Flynn but he caused a lot of damage. I know it was because of Rittenhouse but a lot of innocent lives were still taken by him. And no I don’t believe the ends justified the means. Flynn failed in his mission to stop Rittenhouse as it seems they are bigger and stronger than ever! I never could quite root for him because he’s the bad guy! Haha! Seriously I can almost understand him with what happened to his family but I couldn’t root for him.