What I’m Watching: Flash Forward

Flash Forward: Season 1, Episode 19 “Course Correction” (B)

One thing this show does exceptionally well is portray how the blackout itself happened. It’s interesting to see exactly how the blackout actually started, and the beginning scene in this episode was very well-done. I especially love when they all fall down as the blackout occurs. In this episode, however, the overarching theme is that things all still inevitable, no matter how hard everyone works to ensure that events don’t pan out as the flash-forwards predicted. That’s not a catch-all, however, since the now-deceased Gough doesn’t get a phone call about a death and Demetri is much more alive than he is supposed to be. But otherwise pretty much everything is persisting despite the best efforts of the FBI. It all seems rather inconsequential compared to the threat of another impending blackout coming up, regardless of what Lloyd and Olivia may have concluded. I’m far more interested in what Simon is up to, going rogue and pursuing a plan of his own in terms of how to resolve things with the group that has been manipulating his life. Mark’s discovery that Simon is in fact Suspect Zero couldn’t be more poorly-timed, and there’s likely going to be a major confrontation between the good guys and the bad guys on this show soon. The most fascinating part of the show continues to be Gabriel. His freak-out scene where he yells about not liking pickles, lettuce, and onions but ultimately calms down because he likes tomatoes was terrific, and James Callis is so incredibly good in this role.