There’s emotional and then there’s Timeless emotional. And since you’re reading this, I’m assuming you watch Timeless. And if you watch Timeless, then you know.
In Timeless’ latest hour, “The Day Reagan Was Shot” we were gifted with a beautiful episode centered around the badass Denise Christopher, who shone as bright as any star in this episode. We saw her in the early stages of her career, we learned some backstory, we saw the grace by which she accepted herself for everything she is, and we almost saw her lose it all in an episode that had us sobbing for a majority of the time.
While this episode was all about Christopher, as it should’ve been, there were also some bombs dropped that might have some implications moving forward. From Jessica’s untimely pregnancy shocker (math, guys, math) to more questions than answers about Lucy’s journal to sweet, beautiful Riya, this episode left us emotionally unhinged in the best possible way.
Here are 10 moments from Timeless’ eighth episode of season 3, “The Day Reagan Was Shot” that we can’t stop talking about:
1. Jessica’s Pregnant?
Either way, the kid isn’t Wyatt’s. There’s no way. If you know even some semblance of basic mathematics, you know there’s no way that Jessica + 3 weeks = Wyatt’s baby. Unless there’s some purpose here, I really don’t see the point of Jessica’s pregnancy. Unless it’s to further distract Wyatt because she’s again lying. Usually Timeless doesn’t do these shock-value bombs without meaning. So I’ll hold out for that. But regardless, we can all agree the kid isn’t Wyatt’s. Even Wyatt agrees. The moment that Jessica tells him she’s pregnant (which her face, by the way is so awkward), you see a fleeting moment of happiness on Wyatt’s face as he hears the words he’d been waiting for many years ago. But then in a matter of 1.5 seconds, you see realization set in. Wyatt knows. That’s not his baby. There’s no way. No way.
2. Reunion with Agent Christopher
There were several times that this episode had me sobbing like a baby, and this was certainly one of them. After an hour filled with uncertainty about whether Agent Christopher would survive, if she’d be there when they got back, we got the most lovely reunion that reminded us about the power of love and family. The moment Denise appears in the shot, beaming from ear to ear, I felt myself finally breathe again. And I felt it from the characters, too. “I’ve waited 37 years to say thank you,” she tells Wyatt, as I sob. “Cagney and Lacey.” Gross, ugly sobbing as Denise embraces Lucy and Jiya. This is why television is powerful. Not only in its messages but in its ability to convey human emotion in such a raw, realistic way. It’s what makes Timeless stand apart from so many others.
3. Lucy Shows Denise the Slideshow
Don’t you love a good payoff? This one comes with a reminder of Lucy’s promise to Agent Christopher dating back to last season — If something were to happen to her, make sure to show her this flash drive filled with photos and such of her family. Timeless isn’t a show that does things like this for the hell of it. I loved this beautifully emotional scene where Lucy was tasked with getting Denise to believe her when she spoke of Time Travel — when she needed her to become the badass she was destined to be in order for the Time Team to happen. Watching Denise’s face during this moment as she saw her future laid out in front of her, unattainable for the foreseeable future, was such a raw, emotional moment. And it was beautiful.
4. Flynn’s Conversation with Christopher
One of the things I really appreciated in this episode was Timeless knowing that it had a beautiful parallel between Flynn and Christopher in this episode. They aren’t so different, in a way. They’d both do whatever they could for their family; for their wives, their kids. As Christopher attempted to distract herself from the thought of being erased from existence, Flynn was the only one that could’ve had this conversation with her and convince her to go to her family. What Flynn wouldn’t do to have one more moment with his daughter or wife. You never know when your time is up. You never know when your loved ones will be taken from you. But if you had even one inkling of warning, as Flynn said, then you should be spending the time you have left with your loved ones. Flynn would give anything for one more moment with his daughter and wife. Christopher had the opportunity to do that.
5. Denise’s Last Moments
Which transitions directly into this incredibly emotional scene that had me sobbing before the moment I was supposed to start sobbing. As we watched the evil Rittenhouse agent prepare to shoot and kill Christopher in the past, in the present we saw her walking through the doors of her home to be with her family. With the music and the emotional toll of the moment, if you weren’t crying, I don’t know what’s the matter with you. I admit, there was a moment where I was afraid she might die. I knew there had to be a death this season, and this seemed like the perfect set-up. But thankfully, it wasn’t. Watching Denise kiss her wife and hug her children and just live in the moment not knowing if this would be the last moment she had with them was so emotional because it makes you think what would you do if in the same situation? What would you do in your final moments, if you knew? Who would you spend it with?
6. Not All Rittenhouse Members are Brainwashed
Thank goodness Rittenhouse isn’t this two-dimensional evil organization where being a part of it automatically makes you evil. Because that would’ve been boring as hell. We saw in this episode that not all Rittenhouse agents are evil for the sake of being evil. Some of them actually are aware of how wrong this is. Just like Lucy’s grandfather last season. We saw a genuine sense of care from this guy about his family. Basically, he cared more about them than Rittenhouse, which gives us all hope. He was forced into this life, along with his brother who, unfortunately, wasn’t as open-minded as he and was victim to Rittenhouse’s propaganda. Could this be a parallel to Jessica? Could Jessica actually not be evil and just being forced into Rittenhouse like this sleeper agent was?
7. Rufus & Jiya Can Figure This Out Together
Rufus has been stupid this season. We can all agree on that. But we can also all agree that Riya is super cute, super inspiring, and super in love. It’s been beautiful to watch their journey unfold this season as they’ve struggled with Jiya’s premonitions of the future, which in a way have actually forced them to live in the moment. Knowing that your time might be up, it makes you reflect on life and how you’re living it. We finally saw Rufus come to that realization after weeks of being angry about possibly dying. We saw Rufus realize that whatever time he has left, he should spend it the way that makes him happy. And that’s with Jiya. CUE FANGIRL SCREAMS. But because they’re Riya, there’s no way they’re going down without a fight. So whatever comes their way, they can figure it out together. Like couples do. And Riya are one of the strongest.
8. Future Lucy Did What Now?
Well, talk about getting more questions than answers when it comes to so-called “answers” about Lucy’s journal. Lucy finally confronted Flynn about the journal, and he finally gave “answers?” Well, we’ve got some context finally. Turns out, a future Lucy came to him shortly after Rittenhouse killed his family and she knew everything about him and about Rittenhouse. She also gave him the journal, which she said would help in his goal to bring Rittenhouse down. Future Lucy? Perhaps traveling to the future will be possible soon? What else does this future Lucy know? I NEED ANSWERS.
9. Maybe We Can Change The Future
How amazing is it to have legitimate conversations between two female characters and watch their friendship grow in the process. Honestly, it’s one of the things that I need to see more of on television. Women talking, women leaning on each other, and women bonding. Not to telling us it’s happening, but showing us these beautiful moments. Case in point, Lucy and Jiya’s conversation in the ‘80s. As Jiya struggled to come to terms with what her visions meant — were they meant to help or merely warnings of the people she’d lose. Jiya felt helpless to do anything about any of this, especially the vision of Rufus dying. But Lucy was the guiding hand when Jiya needed it the most. “I used to think history was set in stone. Unchangeable. And then my sister disappeared, and I just …I just see how fragile it all is. If we can change the past there has to be a way we can change the future.” Not only did we get a beautiful interaction between two incredibly strong women, we also got character development. God, I love this show.
10. “I trust the team.”
Perhaps the one thing that rings louder than anything on Timeless is the sense of family that comes through with this show. These strangers, united through tragedy and circumstance, have managed to become family and it’s been something truly beautiful to witness. You saw that in how easy it was for Agent Christopher to put her faith in the Time Team that they’d find a way to save her in the past. Even though she was terrified as hell, her faith in her second family was the constant that she could hold onto. We’ve seen on countless occasions how this Time Team family have been shoulders to lean, saviors, and just good ol’ friends. As a fan, it makes this journey even more emotional, which I didn’t think possible.
What were your favorite moments from Timeless 2×08? Sound off in the comments!
Timeless airs Sundays at 10/9c on NBC. You can also watch it on Hulu or NBC.com.
