‘Timeless’ Retro Recap: ‘The Red Scare’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

​Well, sadly the time has come my fellow Clockblockers. For we have in fact, reached the end of our run through the first season of Timeless, and by bringing these Retro Recaps to a close, we must also prepare ourselves for the final mission that awaits the Time Team in tonight’s two-hour series finale. But, before we shed any tears and say our farewells to Wyatt, Lucy and Rufus, we do still need to reflect upon one more episode, the season one finale, ‘The Red Scare’, because this particular tale was nothing short of outright spectacular since it brought everything season one addressed, together in beautiful fashion.
 
Case in point, the push toward heroism that was prevalent throughout the entire back half of the season came to a head here since the Time Team worked together seamlessly to pursue Flynn to Washington D.C. in 1954 in the hopes of stopping him from once again wreaking havoc on the timeline and thanks to plenty of ingenuity on Wyatt and Lucy’s part, they were able to finally track down Flynn and Lucy was able to do what seemed to be the impossible…rationalize with him. For after all this time, Lucy finally figured out that both sides were fighting the wrong fight in trying to change the past, and that there was a better way and she presented an interesting idea in that, they needed to embrace yesterday and find a way to use it to their advantage to bring down Rittenhouse.
 
As it turns out, the best way to make that happen was by way of Lucy’s grandfather, whom she asked to fulfill quite a promise since he wasn’t 100% sold on Rittenhouse and their ideals and thanks to her ability to sway others to her side with kindness and truth, she was able to get her grandad to keep meticulous records of every last Rittenhouse dealing, so that when she returned to present day, she could gift Mason (who finally stopped being a jerk in this tale) and Agent Christopher with everything they could ever need to put an end to this evil organization and well, the plan actually worked. One by one, Rittenhouse agents fell, and sadly, a reformed Flynn found himself arrested before he could enjoy justice for his family.
 
So, since I started in season two, all this finale really provided for me, was to fill in the last of the gaps in my mind storytelling wise, because knowing what was to come did remove the gravity of learning that Emma is a double agent and that Lucy’s mom is all about that Rittenhouse and that’s okay, because it was still cool to see how all of that came together. And it was equally as awesome to see this episode bring to a close the journey that Wyatt and Lucy and Rufus have been upon when it comes to becoming heroes, for they were at their strongest here and they pulled off some incredible feats in this tale. But when all is said and done, let’s not make any bones about it, this was a supremely bittersweet episode to watch when all is said and done.
 
For there is nothing left for me to enjoy when it comes to older versions of these adventures. I’ve seen it all now and reaching the end serves as a fine reminder that this series deserved a longer run and finishing season one also serves as a fine reminder of how incredibly good this show was straight out of the gate. Everything was fleshed out early on, the characters went on a complete journey and you can’t ask for much more than that. But what makes this bittersweet is the knowledge that now that I’m done, all that waits for me is the series finale and a farewell that I’m not ready for and well, as we all brace ourselves for a two hour special full of feels, I just wanted to thank all of you for joining me on this journey through season one, it was a blast, I’m glad I took the time to properly appreciate every facet of this show, and I truly will miss it after it says goodbye tonight.   

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