We open in San Antonio at the Gunter Hotel, November 23, 1936. A record producer sets up for a guitarist to record. The producer’s girlfriend asks to stay and listen, but he asks her to leave, so that she can hear the records later.
Quickly, we discover the guitarist is Robert Johnson and this is his legendary recording that will change the world.
We fade to Time Travel Central where Rufus is still sleeping on the couch because Wyatt and Jessica have the room he and Wyatt once shared.
Lucy offers for Rufus and Jiya to have her room and she’ll sleep on the couch.
Later that morning, Rufus has figured out a way to upgrade the time machine to take four people as Jiya lies about having another premonition.
Connor enters, drunk, and frustrated about it being the day he becomes a “nobody.” It’s when Connor loses control of all his holdings of Mason Industries.
Agent Christopher tells Wyatt she needs to speak to him about an assignment right as the Mother Ship jumps to San Antonio.
When none of the others can figure out why Rittenhouse would jump to that time and place, Connor informs them about Don Law and Robert Johnson recording a series of albums at the Gunter Hotel that changed the world. Without Robert Johnson’s album, there would be no modern blues, blues, rock in roll—No Beatles, no Rolling Stones, etc.
No counter culture: thus, by this episode’s logic, no Civil Rights movement, no end of Vietnam War, no overthrow of Nixon.
Since he knows so much about Robert Johnson, they tell Connor he has to go with them. He refuses, admitting he’s never time traveled, because it’s “too dangerous.” To make things more complicated, Agent Christopher tell Wyatt he’s staying for another assignment and she’s sending Flynn in is place.
Wyatt tells Flynn to keep “them” safe and Flynn responds, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
When Wyatt confronts Christopher about why Flynn went instead of him, she offers for him to take out Rittenhouse for good. She knows where their headquarters are (because of where they kept her when Carol Preston kidnapped her).
They arrive in San Antonio.
A man barges into Johnson’s recording with a gun. He’s shot by Flynn. Lucy enters, stating she’s FBI Agent Taylor Swift and Flynn’s Agent Timberlake. Connor is Lando Calrissian from British Intelligence.
They all encourage Robert to continue recording, but Robert takes off and Don Law isn’t totally convinced that the group are who they say they are.
Connor and Rufus go after Robert as Flynn and Lucy stay to convince Law to continue. She’s successful.
Outside of town, Connor and Rufus find Robert and offer a ride to his sister, Carie’s, place. Robert reluctantly agrees and gets in the car, but he tells them he’s not making an album because he’s cursed.
Meanwhile, back in the present, Wyatt’s infiltrated Rittenhouse’s place. Within thirty seconds of entering, he’s jumped. A fight ensues and Wyatt ends up victorious, but only finds a key on the guard. They get the serial number off the key and know what company it’s from and the client is high priority. Jiya gets to work hacking the client’s information.
Rufus, Connor, and Robert have stopped for Rufus to make a phone call to Lucy and Flynn. They want them to bring Law and the recording equipment to Carie’s place. There, they plan to get the album recorded.
As Rufus uses a payphone, Connor talks to Robert who admits he’s planning to say goodbye to his sister and then disappear. That he has no plans to play the guitar ever again.
Mason tells Robert about how knows his story. About how Robert hated how the other guitar players laughed at him when he played so Robert went to the crossroads and had the devil tune his guitar in exchange for his soul.
Robert listens, but bites back saying the devil tricked him because nothing but suffering and death and heartbreak have followed him ever since. He’s a man who’s given up, sure that bad luck will always find him. We can see it on Connor’s face. He understands exactly what Robert means since he made a deal with his own devil (Rittenhouse) and it cost him everything he had.
Again, Robert says he’s going to say good-bye to his sister and walk away from the guitar forever.
At the Gunter, Lucy and Flynn talk. He asks her how she’s doing with Wyatt with Jessica back and that he knows she keeps a bottle of vodka under her bed. When she asks how he knows this and he tells her it’s in her journal. She’s not totally convinced she gave it to him and tells him so, but Flynn tells her he thinks he knows her better than she knows herself.
About that time, a telegram arrives from Rufus, telling them to meet at Carie’s place.
Back at Carie’s place, Rufus, Connor, and Robert arrive to a packed house. People eating, drinking, and dancing. Connor looks like a schoolboy who’s attending his first rock concert, taking in the atmosphere. This only gets better when he sees Muddy Waters, Eddie “Son” House, Junior, and Bessie Smith. All of them welcome Rufus and Connor with open arms. Rufus loves seeing Connor thrilled and the two pull up chairs and settle in.
Lucy and Flynn tell Don they are heading to Carie’s Juke Joint to find Johnson and he replies, “Yeah Caries. We were trying to find him there last week.”
“We?” Asks Lucy right when Don’s girlfriend shoots him and at Lucy and Flynn. She kills Don (Great, who’s going to discover Johnny Cash, now?) and gets away.
As Lucy and Flynn drive to save Robert, Rufus, and Connor, they talk about their histories and those they’ve loved before. Flynn admits he doesn’t know her, but he’d like to get to know her but understands if she’s not okay with that.
They share sweet stories of their loved ones, Flynn his wife, Lucy her sister, both admitting how they each miss the “little” things their family did.
Flynn apologizes for Lucy’s sister disappearing, that he never intended for that to happen. Lucy states that they are never getting them (her sister, his wife) back, but Flynn tells her that they won’t only if they give up hope. He’s determined they will be successful.
Connor blisses out watching Waters, Smith, Johnson, and House talking and laughing. Rufus hopes Lucy and Flynn got their message and should arrive soon.
After hearing Robert talk, Connor decides he’s leaving when they get back. That he’s going to disappear and this only distresses Rufus, telling Connor that they don’t have time for his midlife crisis. That they have to figure how out to get Robert Johnson to record those albums.
Robert’s sister, Carie, arrives and they know time is running out.
Wyatt has now entered Rittenhouse and all hell breaks loose. He kills several Rittenhouse guards, but one sets off the alarm. Nicholas hits the self-destruct button as Wyatt comes face to face with Carol.
Agent Christopher gives a go for Wyatt to take out Carol, but he can’t pull the trigger.
Nicholas arrives, using Carol as a shield. They get into the lifeboat with Emma, and they are off.
At Carie’s place, Robert and Carie say their good-byes Rufus and Connor wonder what do to. Robert begins to leave, but Law’s girlfriend arrives and attempts to kill Robert. Rufus slams into her before Connor shoots her, saving Rufus and Johnson.
In a wonderful moment, Rufus convinces Connor he’s the only one who can get Robert to play his songs because not only does he know how the music is supposed to sound, but he loves and believes in the music.
Connor replies, “Fanboys don’t save the world, Rufus.”
“But I was your fanboy,” Rufus states back, reminding Connor of the time he flew all the way to MIT to help Rufus two weeks before finals when he had a meltdown. It’s a touching moment, reminiscent of a father and son, two wonderful men who respect each other.
Robert comes out of hiding, still determined to walk away.
Connor convinces Robert to stop, stand his ground and fight.
As his sister, Smith, Waters, House, Rufus, Flynn, and Lucy watch, all tapping along, Robert records his albums, keeping our counter culture in tact.
At the house destroyed Rittenhouse Headquarters, Christopher asks why Wyatt didn’t take out Carol Preston, when he had the chance. He says his gun jammed, but Christopher isn’t buying it. She explains Carol is the enemy and whatever it is what Lucy he has, he needs to deal with it. They can’t have this mistake again.
The team arrives back at Time Travel Central and we can see Wyatt’s having a hard time not being with Lucy. He asks how the mission went and she tells him she’ll talk with him tomorrow. That he needs to get back to his wife. Wyatt’s lost look explains it all. He knows she’s not going to wait around for him and that’s killing him.
Connor listens to his Robert Johnson album, seeing it was produced by Lando Calrissian.
Lucy’s sleeping on the couch with her bottle of vodka. She walks to Flynn’s room, knocks. Flynn opens the door and lets her in.
Jiya tells Rufus her last premonition shows him dying.
Patricia W. Fischer, Clockblocker
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- Timeless Season 2: Episode 8 – The Day Reagan was Shot - May 13, 2018
- Timeless Season 2: Episode 6 – “King of the Delta Blues” - April 29, 2018
- Timeless Season 2: Episode 5 – “The Kennedy Curse” - April 22, 2018
I’m split on how to feel about Timeless. On one hand, they highlight some truly wonderful, nearly forgotten people almost every week. On the other hand, they so often make an absolute hash of history. Their attempt at the Salem Witch Trials was a joke that bore no relationship to history, and I’m absolutely baffled why they think the Civil Rights movement, the end of the Vietnam War, and Nixon’s impeachment had anything to do with counter cultural music. The Civil Rights movement was entirely led by “squares,” Vietnam’s growing unpopularity is a much more complicated issue than that, and Nix’s impeachment rested entirely on “squares” doing ordinary things.
I’m not even convinced that the lack of Johnson’s recording would end up ultimately being a blip on the road to rock and roll, since he wasn’t the only early bluesman. Especially since he didn’t get notice until his record was rereleased in 1961, long after it would’ve been influential.
The Hollywood episode also gave me quite the headache, though at least it wasn’t wildly wrong about Hedy.
It’s strange comparing this to Quantum Leap. QL makes my historian heart happy with its “kisses with history,” usually. Timeless makes my historian head ache.