In this episode of Timeless, titled “The Lost Generation,” the crew travels back to 1927 Paris to stop Flynn’s latest scheme: kidnapping Charles Lindbergh. However, without Wyatt having their backs, Rufus and Lucy are forced to join forces with another military man as well as a few famous faces.
Agent Christopher, meanwhile, must deal with a major change at Mason Industries while trying to convince a disillusioned Wyatt to stay focused on preserving history. Can our favorite time traveling team complete their mission and guard the past from manipulation? Read on to find out.
The Mission
The episode begins with Lucy speaking with her father, Ben, an influential member of Rittenhouse. He tries to relate to Lucy’s shock at having learned that she’s a part of Rittenhouse, comparing it to his own disbelief and confusion when his own father told him about their legacy. But Lucy won’t have it, and she storms out of his home.
Christopher speaks with Wyatt, who’s being held in a secure location. She informs him that she’s angry, but she’s called a good defense lawyer to help him out of his situation. He declares that he doesn’t want a lawyer and, what’s more, that he doesn’t deserve one.
After briefly speaking with her mother about her father, Lucy meets Rufus and Christopher for a new mission. Flynn’s traveled back to 1927, and Lucy immediately connects the date to the landing of Charles Lindbergh’s flight in Paris — the first transatlantic flight in history. But without Wyatt, Lucy refuses to go. She reasons that Flynn wants to destroy Rittenhouse, and they might as well let him. Rufus, however, realizes that if they don’t try to stop Flynn, people may die. He convinces Lucy to go, and Christopher adds David Baumgartner to their team in Wyatt’s place. Baumgartner has been on call since the team’s mission to the Alamo, and he’s ready to go. He tells Lucy that she’s in charge, and the three head into the Lifeboat.
Changing Times
Flynn stands and chats with Emma as his henchman sets up a tripod in a field. She wonders about the “diary” Flynn is always reading, but he doesn’t offer any explanation. Then Flynn approaches the tripod and, finding Lindbergh’s airplane in the sky, shoots, hitting the tail and sending the plane to the ground in an emergency landing. Lindbergh survives the fiery landing, which Flynn anticipated due to the plane’s slow speed and low height, but injures his shoulder. Flynn approaches him, and the trio takes him away from the scene.
Lucy, Rufus and David arrive in 1927 Paris and make their way toward the area where Lindbergh is supposed to land. She explains that Lindbergh will go on to associate himself with the Nazi party and even receive a metal from Hitler himself. Soon, the group comes across Lindbergh’s plane in flames, and David notices the tire marks on the ground and the shot tail that indicate Flynn’s involvement in the accident. He determines that Lindbergh’s been kidnapped. David also finds something on the ground, which a nearby reporter, famous writer Ernest Hemingway, determines to be a specific type of tobacco that can be found at only one place nearby. He promises to take the group there if he can get the scoop on the story. They agree and arrive at a bar with Hemingway, who soon introduces them to Josephine Baker, the well-known entertainer and future undercover spy. Hemingway and Baker then go off to ask patrons if they’ve seen Flynn and his gang, showing them photos that Lucy, Rufus and David had brought with them.
At Mason Industries, Christopher’s surprised to find that a group of suited men have taken over their entire operation. She speaks to the man in charge, Jake Neville (played by guest star Jim Beaver), who instructs her that the project’s been taken over by the NSA. He orders her to leave her badge to the facility on the table and tells her that Homeland Security will reassign her.
Following the Enemy
Christopher visits Wyatt again and informs him about what’s been going on at Mason Industries. He wonders how Neville could have received clearance not only for himself but also for a dozen other men in such a short amount of time, since Neville had explained that Wyatt’s “joyride” was the reason for their arrival. Wyatt concludes that it must have taken time to get that clearance and that this plan has been in the works for weeks. He decides that a takeover this organized must be a coup.
At the bar, David spots Emma grabbing a bottle of absinthe from the bartender. The gang follows her outside, but they’re soon shot at. David shoots back, but to Lucy’s surprise, he has a gun from the 1920s — not a modern weapon! He explains that he was following orders, and while shooting back at their enemies, his gun malfunctions. He’s shot in the chest, and despite their rush to his aid, Rufus and Lucy find that he’s dead.
Hemingway Joins the Team
Lucy and Rufus speak with Baker about their friend’s death, and she determines that they can’t go to the police. The cops will only suspect them — the two Americans. Lucy worries that they can’t go on without a soldier with them, which prompts a drunk Hemingway to offer his services. While Lucy initially declines, noting his intoxication, Hemingway insists. At the direction of one of Baker’s friends, Lucy, Rufus and Hemingway head off to find Flynn. Once they arrive, Hemingway insists that someone accompany him outside to be sick, and Rufus reluctantly agrees to go along. However, once they return, they discover Lucy to be missing.
Flynn’s henchman brings Lucy to his boss. Lucy and Flynn fight, arguing about why Flynn never told Lucy who her father was and about the fate of Lindbergh. Flynn claims that he wants him dead but, at the insistence of Lucy, will spare him — if Lucy can convince Lindbergh to change his future and not become the horrible man they know him to be. She accepts his challenge and heads into the room where Flynn’s holding Lindbergh.
Speaking with Lindbergh
Lucy tells Lindbergh that she knows about Rittenhouse. He attempts to feign ignorance, but Lucy stops him, sharing that she’s a part of the organization too. She bonds with him over their fathers’ claims that they’re Rittenhouse legacies even though neither wants to be a member. She encourages him to decide his own future and not listen to his father’s instructions. They drink absinthe together, and she asks him what he wants. He admits to wanting to get married and buy a small farm where he can raise a family. She informs him that everyone thinks that he died in a plane crash, and he can start a new life without anyone coming for him. He disagrees, saying that he was supposed to make a phone call once he landed to someone from Rittenhouse, who he suspects is now searching for him. Flynn, who had been using Lucy to gather information from Lindbergh, recognizes the man as the founder of Charvet Automobiles and heads off to have a chat with him.
After a heated discussion about “being a man,” Rufus and Hemingway explore the catacombs beneath the nearby buildings. Rufus calls out for Lucy, signaling his whereabouts to Flynn’s henchman, who finds him and pulls a gun. But it’s all part of the plan, and Hemingway attacks the man, knocking him down. The pair soon finds Lucy, but Emma stands in their way. Rufus aims a gun at her, but Emma moves aside, allowing them to pass.
In the present, Christopher meets with Wyatt again and tells him all about Lucy’s biological father. After an intense conversation regarding his wife’s imminent death, he decides he wants to get out. But as guards approach, Christopher states that she doesn’t know how he can and, as she gathers her papers, she leaves behind a paper clip, which Wyatt grabs.
Later, Wyatt uses the paper clip to unlock his cuffs, and then he MacGyvers a way to shut off the power. When a guard comes into the room, Wyatt grabs him from behind, causing him to fall unconscious, and he grabs the man’s gun and runs.
Back to the Future
Lucy and Rufus return to the present and find a dozen men in suits to be running Mason Industries. At first, they worry that they somehow changed the future, but they soon understand that Christopher was replaced. After answering questions about their mission, they leave. At home, Lucy studies the history books and learns that Lindbergh never changed his future. Her mom then approaches and explains that she understands that Lucy must be stressed after learning about her father. She hands her a box and encourages her to write — something their family always does when they’re going through tough times. Lucy opens the gift and finds a blank journal with her initials on it, the same journal Flynn uses to navigate through history.
Later, Lucy meets up with Rufus, Wyatt and Christopher. Christopher informs them that Rittenhouse is now in charge of their missions at Mason Industries, but they have to keep working. Wyatt tells them that he’ll protect them, and the group decides that they’re going to fight Rittenhouse.
What did you think of “The Lost Generation”? Did you enjoy seeing Hemingway and Baker join the Timeless crew? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Timeless season 1 airs Mondays at 10/9c on NBC.
(Image courtesy of NBC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
