‘Timeless’ S2 Ep 7 review: Women’s Rights Done Right

Alright, Clockblockers, you already got a sense of what I loved about “Mrs. Sherlock Holmes” in my advance review, but now that you’ve witnessed the awesomeness yourselves, it is time for a deep dive.

David Hoffman penned a very layered and poignant episode. As the show’s historian, he gets history right. What makes this episode particularly brilliant is how the importance of the Suffragette movement unites these dueling teams of time travelers and shows how real the struggle still is for women.

Women from all walks of life, all sides of differing beliefs, and all eras come together in this pivotal moment in history. It is downright eerie that nearly 100 years later, women are doing the exact same thing. That is why we aren’t surprised to see Lucy and Emma’s desperation. What I really LOVE about this episode is that we see Lucy and Emma fighting for their own rights in the present, while also trying to preserve history.

 

We have goosebumps. #Timeless pic.twitter.com/uYJwspzN4m

— Timeless (@TimelessSPTV) April 30, 2018

Now, I’m going to review “Mrs. Sherlock Holmes” through an uber-feminist lense because of this episode’s theme.

We have fun with ships and all, but something is happening in the bunker that is demeaning to Lucy. Flynn and Wyatt are basically bickering over her. Dare I say, out of the two, Wyatt is in the wrong.

Wyatt acts like Lucy is his girl. He’s getting possessive of her…especially when it comes to the thought of Flynn being with her. Yes, I’m deconstructing my usual review because I find myself having two different reactions to everything that goes down. Analyzing Lyatt is fun, but it is also upsetting.

We’ll hash everything out in detail below, but my takeaway is that both Lucy and Emma stand up for themselves. They take control of their lives and put the men around them in their place, directly and indirectly. Then there’s Jessica…who could possibly be a femme fatal in the making.

Take a deep breath Clockblockers, we are going in deep…

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Wyatt and Flynn are Beefin’

I know it sounds like I’m ragging on Wyatt a lot lately. I really don’t mean to be. I’m just frustrated with his behavior towards Lucy. We all know it’s not his fault Jessica suddenly resurfaced and turned his life upside down. He spent all of Season 1 trying to get her back. When he finally moves on and embraces his feelings for Lucy, Rittenhouse revives Jessica and ruins it.

It sucks. For everyone involved. BUT Lucy is trying her best to do the right thing and Wyatt is not helping.

Like Flynn so accurately points out: What does he want from her?

He has a right to feel conflicted. Lucy feels torn too. She obviously wants to be with Wyatt, but he needs to sort things out with Jessica first. After all, she is still his wife.

The opening interaction between Flynn and Wyatt is exactly what we need to see right now. It is honest, upsetting, conflicting, and very necessary.

Breaking it down…

Wyatt jumps to conclusions after seeing Lucy come out of Flynn’s room in the morning. He is jealous that Lucy hooked up with Flynn of ALL people.

MIND YOUR BUSINESS, WYATT. #Timeless pic.twitter.com/OYKmCpTfzx

— Timeless (@TimelessSPTV) April 30, 2018

This reaction is coming from someone who did not hear bang, bang, bang-ity bang noises from Flynn’s room. Imagine how Lucy must feel and take a second…Mmmmkay?

Every truth bomb Flynn drops in this episode is a sobering slap in the face to Wyatt.

Flynn is right. Jessica is his wife. This statement is a broken record this season. It’s not like Wyatt has short-term memory loss and needs a reminder every two seconds, yet he gets a repeated alert every time he oversteps.

Bottom line: Wyatt doesn’t have the right to get mad at Lucy. Honestly, he’s asking too much of her. He can’t pretend that everything can still be cute and flirty between them. He has a wife now and Lucy is not that kind of lady.

Actually, I don’t know what is more disappointing:

• Wyatt thinking Lucy could just go ahead and hook-up with Flynn without any qualms.
• Wyatt judging her for trying to move on and explore her relationship with someone new.
• Or the fact that I feel the need to reiterate Flynn’s very accurate sentiment, yet again, because Wyatt still isn’t getting the point:

"You know she's not your wife, right?" #Timeless pic.twitter.com/r2KBEyPP2v

— Timeless (@TimelessSPTV) April 30, 2018

LUCY. CAN. MAKE. UP. HER. OWN. DAMN. MIND. It is 2018 for crying out loud, Wyatt!

Honestly, the bravado and possessive attitude displayed below is very unbecoming. Especially when this is set against the backdrop of the Suffragette movement.

Not to get all ‘Bachelorette’ about it because I can’t stand those shows, but Lucy can vote for whichever man she wants. You can’t threaten your competition to back off, Wyatt. 

Really Wyatt? What are you going to do? Kill Flynn? Until he makes a decision, I’m going to ask the same question: Does he seriously expect Lucy to sit around and wait until Jessica disappears again?

Pssst, Wyatt:

It is sad that Flynn and Lucy have to be the ones painfully pointing him in the right direction. Wyatt is so focused on Lucy that his wife is an afterthought.

Could his goodbye be any lamer?

Just look at them. Do they look in love? Nope! What’s the point if the feelings are gone? Jessica seems too understanding of his feelings for Lucy. She’s a totally different Jessica than the one he married. Is the decision to drop her really that hard? Hasn’t he given it enough time to know by now?

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Lucy Lets Wyatt Have It

It is SO satisfying to see Lucy stand-up for herself. Once again, she makes the difficult move. She stops Wyatt in his tracks and draws the line. She is not going to be a homewrecker. The “babydoll/sweetheart” schtick is only causing her more pain. She needs to protect her heart and keep it professional. He can’t have the best of both worlds.

What I love about the way these characters are written and portrayed is the way they all remain true to themselves. Lucy would never be the kind of person who feels comfortable being the other woman, even if they aren’t technically cheating or sleeping together.

If Wyatt’s heart is split, then he isn’t fully committed to his wife. But it would also be uncharacteristic of Wyatt to just accept these new circumstances. He’s a fighter by nature, so he’s not giving up that easily. His fight is internal, but he’s directing it towards Flynn. Until he makes a choice, we are going to feel gutted at the end of every episode.

Moments like this are just…Actually, I don’t even have words for this:

Ouch. That hurts. #Timeless pic.twitter.com/XrbenlNkRs

— Timeless (@TimelessSPTV) April 30, 2018

Looking at Lucy while kissing his wife. I think it is pretty obvious which one of them he truly loves. He’s straight-up being a dummy about it. Stop being stupid and follow your heart, Wyatt. Also, stop doing things like this to Lucy!

It's hard not to live in the past when you're constantly traveling back to it! #Timeless pic.twitter.com/TkmNx32fsp

— Timeless (@TimelessSPTV) April 30, 2018

DUDE! Lucy is intelligent and impressive, but she is still human. She can’t be any clearer. Lucy does not want to get in the middle of their marriage. She is walking away. Even so, that doesn’t mean she’s running into Flynn’s arms. They were just talking, not that she owes Wyatt an explanation. She doesn’t owe him anything.

He even admits it with his “Thank God” response. He can act like he’d tolerate anyone but Flynn, but we know how Wyatt really feels. He can’t stand the thought of losing her. Which begs the question…again: What do you want from Lucy????

This is one of my favorite tweets from Sunday because it is exactly how I feel during Lyatt’s conversation:

Wyatt got a second chance with Jessica and chose her over Lucy but now he wants Lucy to tell him “where does that leave us?” You’re pissing me off, man! Take a stand and live with it!#Timeless @NBCTimeless

— Renew Timeless 😎🚁 (@RenewTimeless) April 30, 2018

If Jessica is really Rittenhouse, as the final scene suggests, then it seems like Wyatt’s mind will be made for him. Chances are he’ll end up with the woman he obviously wants to be with anyway. But I don’t want him to be with Lucy by some sort of default. I want him to make the grand gesture and openly choose her over Jessica. I think Lucy deserves that much after months of this madness.

Also, bravo Grace Humiston for calling out every single bit of Lyatt tension. I’d love to see her again. She’d make a great Time Team consultant!

How do you feel about Wyatt’s actions? Are you proud of Lucy for being straight with him? Do you think his behavior has been out of line? What do you think about Wyatt and Flynn’s interactions? Are you enjoying the quips?

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We Need to Talk About Jessica

I said you’d be “SHOOK,” but that doesn’t mean we’re surprised…Right? We all had our suspicions from the start. She is the cause of this Lyatt mess and we knew it was for a nasty reason.

We are left with a haunting confirmation when the pieces of the electronic puzzle are put together. BAM! The Rittenhouse footage shows Jessica at their headquarters. Agent Christopher and Connor want to keep this secret from the rest of the team.

Hmmm, not sure how I feel about that. I’m not a fan of secrets. They should all be on the same page. However, they are all pretty vulnerable right now, so they’d probably make it obvious. I’m sure hot-headed Wyatt would immediately want to confront her. Lord knows what Flynn would want to do to her. And poor Lucy…she’d feel horrible for convincing Jessica to stick around. But I’m just listing hypotheticals.

Here’s the first question that came to mind: WHY would Jessica help Connor and Jiya reassemble such damning evidence against her?

Did Jessica not realize she was on there? Did she want them to find out? Is it possible that she’s unaware of her own actions? Has Rittenhouse found a way to control her? It gives a whole new meaning to “sleeper agent” if she’s in the dark about her betrayal to Wyatt and the Time Team.

We’ve seen how cunning Rittenhouse can be. Emma assured Lucy that she went to great lengths to stop Amy’s return. Who knows how many hoops she jumped through to bring Jessica back just to screw with the Time Team. Now we have so many questions about her role within their organization and her true feelings towards Wyatt.

Has Jessica been trained as a Rittenhouse agent? Is she being blackmailed like Rufus was in Season 1? Does she buy into their ideology like Emma? Is she even aware of the life-changing mess she’s caught up in? How much of her life has changed since Rittenhouse brought her back? Did she ever love Wyatt in her new timeline? If she is a double agent for RH, then what is her mission?

Like I said, we have loads of questions. I screened the next episode, “The Day Reagan Was Shot” (my teaser-filled advance review is coming soon). All I can say is that we will still have more questions. They drop hints, but I assume we aren’t going to get any more solid scoop on Jessica until the finale. Unless the Timeless Writers want to keep us guessing into Season 3. (Please dear God don’t do that to us!)

What are your theories on Jessica? What questions do have about her? How much do you think she knows? Is it possible that she disagrees with RH in some ways, the way that Emma does?

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Behind Every Great Man is a Great WOMAN

Sticking with the Womens’ Rights theme of the episode, we see a whole new side to Emma. We always knew she was smart, fearless and kickass. So it is refreshing to see her put those skills to good use and help the Time Team out for a change.

She sure knows how to make one helluva an entrance! Both times, she struts in like it is no biggie, kills the baddie with finesse, throws some playful shade at the Time Teamers and leaves viewers in awe. Annie Wersching is rocking this role!

Emma point-blank saves Flufus before throwing down with Flynn. Of course, she needs to prove herself before getting her gun back. That’s when we finally get a tiny bit of backstory.

Her dad was an abusive drunk and if the Suffragettes fail, she and her mother would not have been able to escape his brutal clutches. She also would not have been at the top of her class and recruited by Rittenhouse. So see? There’s a softy in there somewhere.

I love how everyone on the Team feels uneasy with Emma being on their side. Even when she is obviously saving their lives, they are all still suspicious of her. Wyatt is ready to run off and kill her until Flynn stops him. The way Lucy ducks for cover when Emma appears is heartbreaking. “Princess” gets this one time pass for the greater good. The look on Grace’s face is priceless too. There is a whole lotta badass girl power in that alley! It would be pretty awesome if Emma’s assistance becomes a regular occurrence.

Saving the Suffragettes isn’t the only thing Emma and Lucy have in common. Both women have men that are crazy about them. If Wyatt seems possessive, then I don’t even want to see what extremes Nicholas Keynes will go to for Emma’s well-being and loyalty.

We have to hand it to Emma because she dominates across the board in this episode. She’s got some lady-balls on her! Keynes tells her to stay out of harm’s way because she is the only one he trusts. He wants someone else out in the field doing the “dirty work.” Hey man, that’s the part she’s best at…Yeah, but he has a different kind of “dirty work” in mind for Emma.

Bow-chia-wow-wow!

Get a Ritten-room. #Timeless pic.twitter.com/hX92D2ZaKN

— Timeless (@TimelessSPTV) April 30, 2018

Seriously though, I feel like Emma is playing a long con on Keynes. She sneaks off and disobeys two of his orders. I know she started off thrilled with his vision, but how can she support a man who wants to undermine women in such an appalling way?

We’ve realized that even Emma has her own code of ethics. She and Carol clearly have their disagreements with Keynes. It’s just that Emma keeps those thoughts to herself.

I think she’s trying to place herself at the helm by sleeping with the boss (obviously NOT an option for Carol…eww!). I won’t be surprised if Emma dethrones him and takes over Rittenhouse to fulfill her own vision. Imagine what could happen if Season 2 ends with a shift in RH’s power dynamic. What if Emma gets Jessica to be on her side? Crazier things have happened. A Rittenhouse coup isn’t that absurd.

Obviously, it won’t be easy. Keynes might be new to this century, but he isn’t a dummy. We aren’t even sure if he is totally blinded by Emma. If he learns about her betrayal, he’ll be livid. For all we know, Emma may have just ensured her own death with the stunt she pulled.

What do you think? Is Emma playing Keynes? What is her agenda? Do you want to learn more about her backstory? What other tests did RH put her through? Do you want to see her help the Time Team again? Is there any chance Emma would ever be compassionate enough to bring Amy back to Lucy?

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Rebellious Rufus

Flynn’s reaction expressed how we all felt during this episode. Don’t be an “idiot!” Rufus knows he’s going to die, so he’s behaving like a reckless daredevil. We know Flynn acts as their bodyguard, but even he can only do so much. Rufus boldly confronting the enemy was too racy by “cuckoo” Flynn’s badass standards. Why? Because the unspoken rule is don’t get yourself killed.

Bless Malcolm Barrett for that hilarious “Flynn it up, Flynn” ad-lib!

 

Flynn is a verb now. #Timeless pic.twitter.com/E1y2Y3nKeE

— Timeless (@TimelessSPTV) April 30, 2018

It made the scene even more hilarious when Flynn was like, “Are you crazy?!” You know it is bad when Emma becomes your savior!

I understand why Rufus might feel a little bulletproof, so to speak, since he knows roughly when and where he’s going to die. However, that doesn’t mean his fate is set in stone. With Rittenhouse’s schemes, the past, present, and future can always be in flux. He shouldn’t take anything for granted. For all we know, Rufus’ stunts could only get him killed sooner than expected.

How do you feel about his actions? Were you surprised to see Rufus act so daring? Do you think he’s going about this the wrong way? Should he try to be more careful instead of tempting Fate like this?

We NEED More Flufus

All of that being said, Flynn and Rufus are sensational together! They need to pair up more often because it is too much fun. Barrett and Goran Visnjic’s chemistry and comedic timing are perfect. Their riffs totally paid off. As mentioned during the live tweet – we need a spin-off! I would love a web series of those two Flynn-ing it up together throughout time. All joking aside, Rufus and Flynn have a breakthrough moment.

So far, Jiya is the only one he’s spoken to about the fatal premonition. He hasn’t been very nice to her about it either. She wants to help him and he’s being flippant or plain old mean to her about it. He’s scared. He has a right to be. But she is too. Jiya doesn’t want to lose him. She must be having these premonitions for a reason. Maybe they are meant to prevent her visions from happening. She’d be freaking out if she knew the way Rufus was acting in the past. His behavior is so drastically uncharacteristic that Flynn needs to ask him what is going on.

It is surprising to see Rufus share his secret and fear with Flynn. I expected him to shrug it off, instead, he gets candid about it. Flynn can’t really help him out with the problem, but he can Rufus safe. For a smart guy, Rufus makes some major bone-headed moves. Tussling with the cops in the middle of a protest? I feel like we’re all with Flynn when he says, “invincible doesn’t mean what he thinks it means.”

Knowing how you die does not make you invincible, Rufus. Please don’t get our Hero In A Hoodie killed!

On the bright side, I think his partnership and chat with Flynn helped him patch things up with Jiya when he came back. He has a new perspective, so hopefully, he won’t try to pull any stunts during their remaining missions.

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This One’s for the Girls

Ultimately, the beauty of “Mrs. Sherlock Holmes” is the way it put women at the forefront of the narrative. ‘Timeless’ is extremely thoughtful of the historical events it chooses to cover. Viewers didn’t see the extent of the brutality suffragettes faced, but Lucy’s description and Abigail Spencer’s moving performance conveyed how terribly these women suffered fighting for equal rights.

Alice Paul sadly died in this version and Lucy has a right to feel devastated by that. The movement lived on, but the woman who pioneered it, starved for it, bled for it and ultimately died for it could not see what she accomplished or reap the benefits of her unyielding efforts. Although Alice did not get the same amount of screen time as Grace, her importance was made perfectly clear.

Mrs. Holmes got all the great moments. Deducing Lyatt, calling out the cops, using a vote to identify the culprit and then snatching her bullets. It is all so brilliant! It won’t be surprising to see a new female-driven version of Sherlock in the works after this episode.

We expected Lucy to make the speech, but Grace felt compelled to do it herself. (Which is a relief because Lucy’s face could not have ended up on the front page.) The result is one of the best historical moments in this remarkable and very necessary series. Who would want to renew ‘Timeless’ after watching this?

https://twitter.com/GARClAFLYNN/status/990958925854932992

Yet again, ‘Timeless’ delivers an A+ educational episode full of intrigue, action, heartbreak, and humor. Bravo!!!

Share your thoughts below!

‘Timeless’ airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on NBC.