'11.22.63' Recap: 'Soldier Boy'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

Sometimes in storytelling, in order for the characters to truly learn anything about themselves or their purpose in the story, they have to be completely and utterly broken down. They have to be at their absolute lowest in order to pick themselves back up and accomplish wonders...or horrors and that is exactly what 11.22.63 did with its seventh and penultimate episode, 'Soldier Boy'. Both Jake and Lee Harvey Oswald were truly put to the test this go round, suffering in ways we have never seen when it comes to these two men and the end result was absolutely spectacular, and incredibly intense.  

The word intense gets used here simply because of the fact that the clock is ticking this go round. This episode constantly reminds us that we are mere days away from the Assassination of John F. Kennedy and while Jake healed up, Lee Harvey Oswald finally found his inspiration to perform the act. It wasn't necessarily about sending a message to fascists as he has proclaimed here and there, it was simply a thought that occurred to him at his absolute lowest point. His wife no longer loved him, he felt as though he was a failure in every possible way, so this seemed like a chance at redemption and an opportunity to make the world a far better place, at least in his own mind and one has to wonder...had Marina taken him back sooner this episode, let him know she just needed more time to think, would he have changed his mind? Well, that's a question that the show addresses this in cryptic and powerful fashion, but more on that in a moment.

Because the more painful moments of the night came from Jake, who recovered from his wounds, but suffered from a heavy bout of amnesia. He knew he was here for a purpose, what that was exactly he never quite understood. Thankfully Sadie was there every single step of the way to try and jog his memory, with little progress, but during Jake's struggle, Deke said something quite powerful that resonated when it came to the story because it applied to both men. He made mention that, 'a man who's lost his purpose, is a man who's scared to death' and well, that's about as spot on as it gets. Jake has in essence lost his way in this story, trying to balance too much and making some poor decisions in the process. One of which was committing Bill, and that choice came back to haunt him as well. Because Jake and Sadie try to get Bill out of the Asylum, only to find that he has been confused and shattered and subjected to electro shock therapy and at this point he is so confused and afraid...he takes his own life rather than deal with coming to the possible realization that he was put in here, and went through all this suffering...for nothing.

After Bill's untimely death, a memory does flash through Jake's mind and it leads he and Sadie to Jake's old apartment and eventually...a face to face meeting with Lee Harvey Oswald and at last, everything comes flooding back for Jake. Prompting him to make a move now and put down Lee, but the fact that Oswald has his baby girl with him, forces Jake to rethink his actions. Instead he and Sadie finally come to an understanding, once Jake tries to move on in the mission without her, that's she's part of this now too and the two head to Dallas in the early hours of the morning of 11.22.63 to prepare to stop Lee there instead. But before the morning comes, Jake is visited by the Man with the Yellow Card and we learn that much like Jake, he too has come back in time to stop an awful event and has learned despite being trapped in some kind of temporal loop...there is no changing the past, it will unfold exactly as it is supposed to and the episode ends with one chilling image, of Lee Harvey Oswald, setting up his lunch and an orange soda by the window at the Book Depository as he settles in with his rifle...with a sly smile on his face.  

So here we are ladies and gentlemen, the big day has arrived at last and we are mere hours from seeing if Jake can alter the future, or if the Man with the Yellow Card was right and wow, was this episode about as brilliant as it gets. Our characters were indeed stripped down and rebuilt and now Jake is refocused and Lee has his purpose and the breakneck speed that this episode operated with, simply took my breath away. But while we know what waits for us next, one big question still looms over this episode...was the Man with the Yellow Card telling Jake the truth? Because according to this mystery man, Lee was always going to do this and I wonder if this was just the past being gentle with him for a moment to steer him off course because...Jake has in fact altered the future. The Dunning family will be different in years to come, since he killed Frank, and Bill is gone through his actions as well...so is it more that only certain points in time can never be changed? We may never quite get a full explanation, but one gets the feeling, that question will indeed be addressed in some fashion in what should be an epic and powerful series finale. Until then.

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