What I’m Watching: 12 Monkeys

12 Monkeys: Season 3, Episode 8 “Masks” (B+)

Now, this is more like it. After a season that’s felt all over the place, here’s an hour that actually is but still manages to seem much more coherent and compelling. Cole and Cassandra definitely have some cool new tricks as they fight their pursuers and use their time suits to jump around and gain the upper hand, though there’s also some artistry going on, like Cassandra having to improvise after getting her hands tied behind her back mid-fight. I enjoyed watching Cole teaching Cassandra how to pickpocket followed by her showing him how to dance, and they needed all the preparation they could given that Jones herself deemed it worthwhile to travel back in time to express just how furious she was that Cole had betrayed her. Fortunately, Jennifer used her turtle to cause a paradox so that a perfectly willing Dr. Lasky could send her back in time to dress up in the witness mask and shoot fireworks off as a distraction. Jennifer really is endearing, and it’s a shame that she helped them get away and now she’s the one in a cage, something that’s going to continue to drive her crazy. It’s still intriguing to see how the witness has gone down his path, and I didn’t recognize the superb casting choice of James Callis, best known as Gaius Baltar from “Battlestar Galactica,” as the man to play this mythical being who we’ve previously only seen in a mask or as a ghost of sorts writing stuff on the wall in a very creepy way.