What I’m Watching: Timeless (Season Finale)

Timeless: Season 2, Episodes 9 and 10 “The General” and “Chinatown” (B-)

There’s a lot to unpack here, and as of this writing, this show has yet to be renewed or cancelled by NBC. The team’s trip back to the Civil War era was full of predictable tropes like Rufus being all too willing to pose as a slave without an exit strategy while Harriet Tubman demonstrated her impressive ability to get stuff done. That was followed by an expected betrayal by Jessica, who apparently had been working for Rittenhouse her entire life, getting close to Wyatt but not killing them all because she still does love him? It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, since she seems to be pregnant but doesn’t want to be with Wyatt even after Emma went and killed both Carol and Nicholas just because she couldn’t stand them telling her what to do anymore. Why all four Rittenhouse operatives that we know by name and face were together looking for Gia and waiting for the team to show up is an inconsistency akin to high-ranking crew members and captains going on away missions on “Star Trek,” and now we’re expected to believe that all of Rittenhouse will take orders from Emma after she executed their previous leader? Rufus still dying was a confirmation that the universe does in fact correct itself after an attempted disruption, but then we got the biggest shock of all with the arrival of a second lifeboat containing rugged presumably future versions of Wyatt and Lucy. That’s the kind of invigorating twist that this show has needed for a while now, and I’d be pumped for a third season based on that, even though there are many questions to answer that I doubt this show will bother to address. Like last year, I wouldn’t champion this show over others, but I’m definitely intrigued about what a revitalized and more action-packed third season could look like.

Season grade: B
Season MVP: Goran Visnjic as Flynn

What I'm Watching: Hell on Wheels (Season Premiere)

Hell on Wheels: Season 5, Episode 1 “Chinatown” (B-)

I nearly missed the premiere of this show since I didn't even remember that it was coming back, let alone for a final season that's actually going to be spread over the course of two summers. I've always enjoyed this show, though I'm startled by how few original series players are still on the show, with Dominique McElligott, Common, Robin McLeavy, Tom Noonan, Ben Esler, Phil Burke, and Eddie Spears all gone now (though I think that the two of those who are still living may indeed be back later this season). Their absences make the reunion of the Swede and Cullen at the end of the episode all the more fantastic since, after so much time spent being adversaries, they might actually end up being the best of allies. The rest of the episode, on the other hand, didn't exactly move at an exciting pace. The introduction of Chinese immigrants as vital participants in the railroad building process shifts the focus away from other types of outsiders previously involved in the industry and one again reasserts a superior position from which the white men can lord over their underlings and make them feel as if they are lucky to be employed for a fraction of what they would pay someone with a different skin color. Cullen's opening fantasy seemed far too peaceful to be true, and it looks like he's paid a steep price for the path he's taken in terms of his family's well-being. I'm eager to witness his latest competition with lifelong foe Durant and to see who manages to make it across the country first.

What I’m Watching: NCIS: Los Angeles

NCIS: Los Angeles: Season 1, Episode 16 “Chinatown” (B+)

While the case here is certainly a quality one and far more engaging and accessible than some of the recently-featured ones, it’s still the banter that kills me every time. From the first post-credits scene, where Callen claimed to be working out and Sam responded first with his observation of Callen only running when people are shooting at them and then putting on a very high-pitched motherly voice, this episode was full of hilarious one-liners. I particularly enjoyed how they decided to let Nate out for once and how his partnership with Kensi didn’t quite pan out as he might have hoped. His rush to cuff the suspect’s feet elicited an especially negative reaction from Kensi. Hetty saying no to his question before he even had a chance to ask it then staring him down until he went away was funny, but even better was her subsequent answer, letting Nate know that an operational psychologist who became an agent was killed in the second week or maybe even the second day on the job. The little-seen Eric got a chance to get a zinger in there when asked what he knows that the rest of them don’t: “the words to every TV theme song.” Hetty’s seemingly serious explanation that “this video was caught by some bachelorettes” was extremely entertaining just because of the way she said it. I did burst out laughing once in this episode, when Sam asked Callen “do you know what today is” and Callen said, “Wednesday,” only to have Sam angrily respond, “no, it’s Tuesday!” The way these guys talk is just flat-out hilarious, even if their conversation was a run-up to a reference to the still-missing Dom.