'Traveler': Who can you trust?
It's taken a surprisingly long time for such a conspiracy-laden show, but Traveler has finally reached the point where its main characters have run out of people to trust.
(Caution: spoilers.)
Before, Jay had his girlfriend, Kim, and Tyler had his dad, Carlton, to turn to for help. (Although, in the case of Carlton Fogg, it was rather dubious help to begin with.) Now, however, the boys have no one. Kim left New York without even saying goodbye, except in a flashback. And Carlton turned out to be just plain bad. He was the one who sold shares of that fine art insurance company before the bombing, and when Tyler confronted him about this, Carlton pretty much confirmed that his plan was to a) make lots of money on the bombing, and b) get rid of his wastrel son in the process. Now that is a bad dad. And, granted, I've never been much of a Tyler supporter, since I always thought that he was the dumber of the two runners, but he was in his element this week. When Jay and Tyler followed the paper trail of the stock trades, it was Tyler who knew what to do and what to look for, because this was his world, and he came off rather well. So, Carlton, your son really isn't as worthless as you thought he was. (Or as I thought he was. Sorry, Tyler.)
Will, too, had problems trusting his former friends this week, although that could have been because he'd just launched his Summer Revenge Tour and the Conspiracy had orders to take him in. He had to shoot a colleague of his when she tried to take him down, and, thanks to some torture that Jack Bauer himself would have been proud of, learned that he had something they wanted -- the painting, presumably. And can I just say what a joy it is to watch Will work? Fighting, pickpocketing, interrogating, amassing a little stockpile of weapons -- it's like watching some fresh, new version of 24. Go Will!
As for the FBI, they just get smarter and smarter. And I'm not just talking about Marlow, who I could almost call psychic, except that she knows what Jay and Tyler have done after they've already done it. But those flashes of insight she gets, such as her sudden certainty that Jay and Tyler went back to New York, are just as uncanny. No, I mean that the entire unit learned more about what was really going on, including, finally, getting a glimpse of Will Traveler and realizing that he was still alive. Also, the prints the FBI got back on the escapee -- Bleached-Blond Conspiracy Guy -- revealed him to be an undercover federal agent.
Now, all this time, I've been calling these guys the Conspiracy, because I was assuming that they had some nefarious anti-government scheme going. This could still be the case, but it's much more unlikely if everyone is actually a government agent. So the question becomes: why does the government want all this stuff to happen? Why pin it on Tyler and Jay? What do they want with the painting? And if the government really does want the painting, why can't they just take it?
Finally, and most importantly, those trust issues affected the relationship between Jay and Tyler too -- the boys fought over Carlton's involvement in the bombing, Tyler punched Jay, and they went their separate ways. Will they find each other again? Are they just on a break? Can Tyler outrun the feds, who just spotted him on the corner? Those are questions for another week, but if I had to guess, I'd say the answer to all three is "yes."
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Why can't it be a "conspiracy"? Are government officials exempt from trying to execute a government coup? White-haired/albino guy makes a creepy conspirator, I think.
Traveler is good summer fun.
I absolutely LOVE this show! Each week's episode gets more suspenseful and exciting. Traveler is turning out to be 100 times better than this past season of '24'.
Last week it was Will's chance to shine and prove worthy of his 'spy' training. This week it was Tyler who stepped up to the plate and proved to his father that he wasn't just a stupid slacker.
It was heartbreaking to watch the conversation in the limo when Tyler finally realized that his own father wanted him to die in the explosion. Now we know for certain that his father and the Homeland Security Guy (Neal McDonough) are working together. I think Carlton Fog has just outdone Lionel Luthor as Worst Father of the Year!
I really enjoyed all the action scenes, especially Will kicking the guy through the window and also shooting his former colleague at the park. I thought those were better fight scenes than we have seen in Prison Break or 24 this year.
Also, one last thing that made me laugh. When Jay and Tyler were arguing about whether or not they should confront Carlton Fog, and then Tyler just punches Jay right in the face. I couldn't help but think "Welcome to The O.C., BIT** !" (a shout-out to Logan Marshall-Green's former show). ;-)
i hope tis show comes back. it would make a great follow up to Lost. ABC should consider doing a LOST/TRAVELER. season. That would rock!!!
This show is WAYYYYY better than 24 ever hoped to be this past season. It's not even close.
I can't shake the feeling that we don't know everything about Carlton Fog. He may not be as cruel as he seems if he has something still up his sleeve that he can't let Tyler know about. He seemed truly upset when Tyler left the limo.
Rosemarie-- that would be a great twist if Tyler's father did not want to kill him in the Drexler explosion. Maybe Carlton has other reasons that he could not reveal while they were in the limo.
I thought it was strange that Carlton just let Tyler out of the car and told him to avoid the FBI agents following them. If he really wanted Tyler to die, I guess he could have kidnapped him right away and taken him to the mysterious Homeland Security Guy.
This conspiracy is getting confusing, but it's still a lot of fun!
I am really getting into this show. Traveler has great pacing which makes you feel like there is more information given to you in every episode.
None of the characters are stupid and over the top and the storyline is still very believable after many plot twists.
I am so scared that the poor ratings on this show will turn into a early cancellation. Hopefully, the network will allow the writers time to finish this mystery before this show gets pulled.
I LOVE THIS SHOW...BUT IM NOT
GONNA WATCH...CAUSE LIKE STUDIO
60....AS SOON AS I START LIKING
THESE GUYS LIKE I KNOW THEM....
THEY'LL CANCEL THE SHOW...
NO MORE EMOTIONAL INVESTMENT
IN ANY DRAMAS. ONE GOOD THING
ABOUT COMEDYS...YOU DONT MISS
THEM WHEN THEY'RE GONE...
I kind of agree with Liz--They probably will cancel it eventually--actually its went on alot longer than I thought it would!! I didn't get into it at first-- & I was gonna stop watching it--& it is kind of hard to follow-- all over the place--but I must admit, the last 2 or so episodes have been pretty good!! I'll keep watching for now, I don't think I'd be to upset if it got cancelled though!! The one I miss is the 9, anyone remember that one?????
"I can't shake the feeling that we don't know everything about Carlton Fog."
Agreed. Seems a little too convenient that he'd just throw his son away. Although, it'd be cool to see Tyler take his father down.
This show is getting better and better. And as much as Will deserves to die for setting up his "friends", it's fun to watch him go all rogue. Imagine how much more damage he could do if he still had his X-men ability.