'FlashForward': Meet Lucas Hellinger (again)
At the start of this week's "FlashForward," Wedeck promised us that 'tomorrow is D-Day, the day we catch up to the flashforward.' Yes, that statement meant that the season finale and the revelations it will (hopefully) contain is drawing ever more near, but it didn't mean that this week was to be totally without interest.For instance, Zoey tried to convince Demetri to take April 29th off. She even bought him a ticket to Hawaii. I completely appreciated her efforts to get Demetri away from work that day - especially after last week's course correction stuff - but maybe a trip to Hawaii was, for lack of a better term, really incredibly stupid. In her flashforward, Zoey was on a beach in Hawaii for Demetri's memorial. Why would she want to make it more likely that such a thing could occur by trying to take her fiancé to Hawaii on the date in question? I think her heart was in the right place, unfortunately her brain wasn't. Perhaps a trip to Antarctica might have been a better choice.
Still, I don't want to say too much bad about Zoey because I feel like she has a temper. I wonder what she would have done if she found out that after that conversation with Demetri, Gabriel got all upset at seeing that Demetri wasn't yet dead (he later told Demetri that in every future he died). I figure that Zoey either would have forcibly put Demetri on the plane, beaten Gabriel to a pulp, or perhaps both. She seems the type.
That was just a small part of tonight however, the many story dealt with the reintroduction another bad guy - Hellinger. Yes, that's right, we got another lead bad guy tonight. Okay, it's true that the show kind of needed a new bad guy having killed off the last few, but at a certain point the whole thing just becomes silly doesn't it? That shocking reveal were we learn that the real power behind everything is so-and-so has gotten repetitive. Hellinger was first seen, if I recall correctly, when Lloyd was handcuffed in the basement.
He initially came up tonight because Lita told Simon about him (right after she slept slept with Simon). She oh-so-nicely informed Simon that Hellinger, was 'their boss.' Hellinger then showed up to offer Simon a job. Whatever he may have done wrong in his past, it was nice to see that Simon wasn't biting on the job offer. It was another good moment for one of the best characters on the series - he's conflicted, he's clearly strayed to the dark side, but he's still doing his best to make sure that it doesn't forever dominate his destiny. I like to see that sort of thing.
Back at the LA headquarters of the FBI, Gabriel got his first chance to see in reality, not a flashforward, Mark's board. The poor guy was less than happy that Mark had things positioned somewhat differently than Gabriel had drawn them in his notebook. Actually, Gabriel went so far as to try to redo the board himself, a task which Mark completed for him. That means that on the day before April 29 Mark felt as though his time was best spent rearranging his little board. Oh sure, hugely productive use of a couple of hours, it's not like tomorrow is the biggest day of the guy's life or anything. Maybe though his issue is that he's so unprepared he doesn't even know where to begin.
What Mark did next was far more productive. He was to move Gabriel to a safe house, but actually took Gabriel's place during the trip. That meant that when the transport van was attacked, Mark and company were ready for the bad guys and got the drop on them. The baddies then took them to Hellinger and the FBI arrested him. Hopefully that means we'll find out what game Hellinger is playing, because right now I can't guess as to what his motivations are. Why cause the blackouts? What's the advantage? Who is Hellinger actually working for (because I assume he has to be working for someone)?
Mark got help arresting Hellinger from a terribly unlikely source, Janis. Early in the episode, Janis tried to tell Vogel that she wanted out because she had been asked to kill Mark. Vogel, full of heart, told her that she couldn't say 'no' to the order. She instead tried to delay the murder by telling her pet store lady that Gabriel was talking to the Feds. The way she was acting made it clear to Mark that Janis was a mole and he confronted her. She even told Mark that she had been ordered to kill him. I wonder if she'll do it still, I think that would make for a pretty great April 29.
Quick flashes:
- Demetri definitely seems to be Janis' baby daddy.
- Nhadra Udaya was apparently at Raven River.
- That was a weird look Mark gave Olivia tonight when he was talking to Demetri about the future. Does he have designs on his wife again?
- Aaron got Tracy this week and Wedeck called the President and VP about the nefarious doings in Afghanistan. Frankly, I still don't care.
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Nice recap, as usual. Normally I would be all for having Mark buy the farm, but he was kind of competent, effective, and a little noble this episode. The one who got on my nerves was...JANIS! Getting caught on purpose and then her indignation when Mark confronted her. What was she expecting? And whatever about her baby as exit strategy.
Continue loving James Callis as Gabriel. I don't mind the reveal that Hellinger's in charge. At least we've met him a few times before. For a second, I thought it'd be Lita. And Simon, what is there to say about him? I like that he's clearly extremely conflicted and I have no idea WTF he'll do next. And am I the only one who found it funny that Lita only slept with him to make sure he stayed in the room?
I appreciate Zoey's efforts; in general it's been refreshing that she hasn't been sitting around crying or moping. She does things! It's not like Demetri can take care of himself. She would definitely forcibly put him on the plane, and I would LOL.
Love that you relegated Aaron stars in an ode to "Taken" to a footnote.
Wow, I must be in the minority in that I really like Mark. I agree with Cameron, Janis acted ridiculous when Mark confronted her.
I think I like Mark because I cannot stand Olivia. I love Sonya Walger (Penny on Lost is one of my favorites), but I hate what the writers have done with her character. The whole Olivia/Lloyd thing just seems outlandish. She wanted to save her husband from death and move away, but since he stayed to do his job to find those responsible for killing millions of people, she kicks him out and starts getting the hots for another man? No wonder he starts drinking again.
Love Simon. He's a breath of fresh air on this show. I want more of him.
Great, great episodes.
I actually found great the confrontation scene between Janis and Mark (great acting by Christine Woods!).The double-agent life must sucks. Mark should have been a bit more nice to Janis since she manage not to kill him!
Am I the only one who likes Olivia? I get why she would prefer Lloyd over Mark.
So, Demetri's the biological father... That's what I thought! Am I the only who thinks that was a very sweet thing to do for his friend? Poor guy...If he is really destined to die, knowing is letting something after him isn,t a bad idea... And isn't James Callis great as Gabriel?
Sadly, the show's been cancelled. I wonder if the finale is going to wrap everything up? I hope so. I really liked the show and now am very curious about why everything happened.
Of course Dimitri is the baby's father. That was never in doubt. When they were away on their really dangerous field trip, she told him that the baby needed to be conceived right then and he made the offer (it was more conversational than this indicates). There was a great line when she mentioned that she was a lesbian, and his response was that "so after we do it, you'll be more of a lesbian".
It looks to me as though their visions were of themselves in an alternate universe. But I'll likely never, never know.