‘Timeless’ Retro Recap: ‘The Capture of Benedict Arnold’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

​One of my favorite moments when it comes to any television series I’m watching, is when the saga simply lets loose and drops a powerhouse episode related to the overall plot right into our laps. Because that particular kind of episode tends to be heavier than anything that’s come before it and they’re usually filled to the brim with stunning moments that leave you hungry for more and when it comes to Timeless, I finally arrived at an episode that meets that criteria since ‘The Capture of Benedict Arnold’ dug deep into the history of Rittenhouse and kept me on the edge of my seat thanks to some powerful twists and turns.
 
Which is funny in its own right, because at first glance, this one seemed pretty by the numbers. After all, we got our standard intro to set the stage as to where the Time Team was headed in history, and when they arrived, they were able to interact with America’s first president, George Washington and well, that’s basically where the standard formula for the series came to an end in this tale. For Flynn’s entry into the storyline changed everything since he more or less offered the Time Trio a truce, and a chance to bring down Rittenhouse before they could ever put their evil plans into motion because Benedict Arnold as it turns out, was a member of this awful club and well, if they agreed to help Washington bring the man in, he could lead them to the source.
 
It’s a plan that for the most part worked like a charm since the team was able to get close to their man and eventually Rittenhouse and well, that’s when this episode took quite the turn into darker territory. For when they arrived at David Rittenhouse’s estate, who we learned is  the founder father of this evil organization, the group came across David’s son, John, and that young man gave us insight into the twisted mantra that this group functions upon and it was just chilling to see a boy speak of the need to control the world and the ‘weak’ with such conviction and the darkness didn’t end there.
 
For shortly after we were introduced to John, David took the center stage and well…the elder Rittenhouse was nothing short of a madman. For the way he carried himself and the way he spoke to others and quite frankly how he viewed Lucy as a breeding vessel, spoke to the kind of arrogance that only the truly mad carry and while it was satisfying to see Flynn end him with impunity, let’s be honest, that kind of crazy inspires and engenders more madness and I’m with Lucy and the team on this one in that, it probably didn’t matter that they put down the head of Rittenhouse, his words will resonate for decades and the organization will likely go on without him.
 
Yet, while all of this was incredible in its own right, what also impressed me in this tale was Flynn’s journey, since he opened up about his family and how much these voyages through time have changed him for the worst and you legitimately had to feel for the man and we got to see first-hand how much his thirst for revenge has consumed him since he almost murdered a child. But when all is said and done, wow, what an episode this turned out to be. It was intense, it was powerful and it was downright thrilling to finally learn more about this twisted organization and its origins and well, there’s not much else to say other than, I need to watch another one right now to see what happens to Lucy since Flynn took her away in the Mothership so on that note, I’m off to fire up my Hulu app. Until next time. 

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