‘Timeless’ Retro Recap: ‘Space Race’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

​When it comes to the notion of time travel, there’s one particular question that immediately pops into our mind when we ponder upon it in that, where would we go if had the opportunity to traverse the timeline? Because the notion excites us in ways we never thought possible, and the chance to see incredible and stunning moments in history would be a thrill to say the least. Unless of course, you work for Mason Industries and are part of the Time Team. Because then, your job is saving every precious moment, and never quite getting the chance to take in the awe and wonder of standing in front of great moments in history.
 
But, as it turns out, that all-important question I posed just a moment ago, was finally toyed with in Timeless. For the next episode in this magnificent series, ‘Space Race’, took the Time Team and the villainous Garcia Flynn to July 20, 1969, the day that mankind landed on the moon and well, that allowed for some incredible things to happen storytelling wise. First and foremost, we finally got to see someone enjoy the moment since this historic day was in fact, a big influencer in Rufus’ formation career wise and everyone he stood next to and interacted with at Mission Control were outright heroes to him, and it was nice to see that level of appreciation mixed into the plot.
 
However, the show wasn’t quite done with the awe and wonder game, since it gave Rufus more to work with than a few incredible visuals to gawk at. He also received the opportunity to work alongside a NASA legend, someone that sadly, at the time, worked behind the scenes at NASA without receiving proper credit for her role in the space program, Katherine Johnson. And it was simply magical to see Rufus and Lucy work with her to help save the astronauts on the moon from certain death thanks to Rittenhouse’s evil machinations and I’m so glad the show took the time to acknowledge Katherine’s contributions to space travel and give her an important role in this episode as well.
 
But, while this was episode was uplifting in its own right since it was indeed filled with heroic moments at NASA, the big philosophical question this episode posed was also explored by way of Flynn, who oddly enough was quite gentle with someone that seemed to be a Rittenhouse mark and well, there was good reason for this shred of kindness. For the person he took a shine to, was his future mother, and coming back to this point in time, allowed for him to help save the life of his half-brother, giving us an important moment when it comes to this character’s evolution, since we saw a softer side to Flynn in season two and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing his better nature emerge here.
 
When all is said and done however, this was quite the fascinating episode. For it was filled to the brim with character development and a lot of grey areas when it comes to choices made by a great many people since both Anthony and Flynn seemed to have a touch of regret for their actions up to this point and well, it was also bittersweet to see that Rufus is beginning to harden on this journey since he did prove to Anthony he’s fully capable of doing what must be done and well, once again this episode proves how dynamic and thrilling this show can be, and if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to hit the time stream once again to see what other wonders await me. Until next time.   

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