Take Three: Flash Forward

Flash Forward: Season 1, Episode 3 “137 Sekunden” (B-)

This show is starting to flail a little. A fascinating series premiere presented lots of unsolved mysteries, but once things start to be revealed, some of the magic disappears. It’s not that knowing too much is a problem, it’s that what’s behind the curtain isn’t as interesting as it initially seemed. The spiritual reasoning behind the amount of time the flash-forwards lasted and the way that the Nazi prisoner calculated it using the values of the Hebrew letters in the world Kabbalah give the show a far more religious feel than it should have. It’s science fiction, and it feels too much like faith and spirituality. The incorporation of a Nazi prisoner also didn’t feel quite right, and his very speedy extradition seemed forced. All these flash-forwards become a self-fulfilling prophecy, especially the clues Mark ends up having on his wall. The note that said “137 Sekunden” (the title of this episode) is weird, because Mark would likely just write it in English instead of in the native German that he doesn’t understand. It’s far more intriguing if it’s written in a foreign language, but it’s just too extravagant. The search for the truth is, to be honest, far more interesting than the future-looking romances of Demetri and Zoey, and the path towards an alcoholic relapse for Aaron. There’s still hope for this show, but “Lost” only attributed island-related spiritual journeys to a few of its cast members and focused far more on the time-bending nature of the show. This series could benefit from doing the same.