'Timeless' Recap: 'The Salem Witch Hunt'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

​While I may be new to the Timeless universe and fandom, I’m quickly learning one important thing about the series, in that it doesn’t shy away from telling a bold story. It will challenge its audience, and wow it every chance that it gets and for proof, look no further than the ending of the last episode. Because it shattered the joy we experienced over Wyatt and Lucy finally becoming a thing with the revelation that Jessica is alive and well, and to top it off, Flynn, a man they can barely trust, is now the Time Trio’s roommate.
 
All those surprises left me wondering what other jaw dropping treats would be in store for this week, and as it turns out, ‘The Salem Witch Hunt’ once again challenged us by not only kind of/sort of addressing the matters I just made mention of, but by also dropping a few new surprises into our laps. Like the fact that this season might be focused heavily on a temporal paradox, which will be explored by way of Jiya’s premonitions. Because in this tale, she told Rufus about her visions, and how one of them involved him putting down someone in colonial garb and while Rufus laughed that off at first, the warning siren eventually gave him pause.
 
Because the Mothership traveled back to 1692, in the midst of the Salem Witch Trials, which is of course colonial America and that made Rufus wonder if by chance Jiya was on to something. But before he could ponder further on that, he was forced to deal with a tough decision made by Lucy, in that, they were taking Flynn with them to this era since Wyatt was dealing with the whole Jessica mess and while it was awesome to see this time frame play out on screen, it was more chilling to see that despite having knowledge of his own future, Rufus was unable to ensure that the safety of the man he was supposed to kill, leaving me to wonder what kind of crazy temporal causality loop the group has somehow set in motion.
 
In fact, this episode hinted heavily that the timeline changes that both sides are taking part in are causing all kinds of trouble. But, before I let my mind wander too much on that, there is the matter of Lucy and Wyatt and Jessica, because Jess’ return more or less shattered the blossoming relationship we’ve all been waiting for and in all honesty, I’m wondering exactly why Jessica was spared from death by Rittenhouse. It’s something my buddy Matt and I were talking about via text watching this one because he posed the possibility that she might be an agent for them, and I’m pondering on the possibility that her sheer presence in this timeline…is to rattle Wyatt enough to split up the group, and I guess time will tell when it comes to this matter.
 
But what I enjoyed most about this episode, is its subtlety. Because the more I ponder on this tale, the more I come to realize that all of the twists and turns we discussed today are part of a grand set up for plot lines that will likely be filled with consequences and harrowing moments, and I’m dying to know how they will manage to play out in the weeks to come. Either way, this was just another magnificent episode, and I love that Nicholas Keynes is getting more wicked by the day and at this point, the only redeeming value this man has is that he enjoys Tacos, but the fact that he’s ready to murder his great granddaughter without an inkling of thought, overshadows even that. Until next time. 

---