12 Monkeys - Hyena

I'm sorely tempted to call this a "Monster of the week" episode.  You know, the kind "Smallville" used to have before it found its way.  What did they call it?  "Freak of the Week", that's it.

Clark would have to battle whatever meteor goon was thrown his way and figure out a way to defeat it without harming it.

Those monsters stood pale compared to the creature 12 Monkeys gave us this episode.

Did I say pale?  How about Pallid?

The Pallid Man or "Tall Man" as Jennifer called him, was at his ghoulish best this week.  He was conniving, ruthless, sadistic and possessed some type of lurid evil wherein only his picture in the dictionary would suffice as his definition.

No words needed.

He was almost shark like in his murderous efficiency.

Fortunately, there is a new Sheriff Brody in town and she has a plan to bring the Great White down.

From two places in time no less.

Cole visits the oracle that is older Jennifer and she gives him some much needed advice in slowing down The Witness' plan.  Find The Pallid Man and save the last Primary.

Fortified with this crucial information he approaches Cassie and Ramse and expects the usual team effort in bringing down The Army of the 12 Monkeys.  What he got was a cold rebuke.

Cole was hiding some crucial information about Titan and perhaps the rest of the Mod Squad sensed his reticence in helping them.  But Cassie was particularly cold in her refusal to help.  She nearly taunted him with his own supposed agenda in hunting down the man who killed his father while she and Ramse were left with no outlet for their blood revenge.

Cole had good reason to withhold his information on Titan as Jennifer said it meant only death for those who approached.  The above frame is from that quick cutting collage of pictures we saw during the episode.  It looks to be a blade of some sort and I doubt The Witness is serving cheese for any of his guests.

We also got a quick glimpse of a hooded or cloaked figure as seen immediately above.

Any guesses?  The big W himself?  One last Messenger?  Jennifer? (The older version is cloaked these days.) The grown up Sam held hostage or perhaps not a hostage.

If have this sneaking suspicion The Witness is some they know but they can't kill.  More on that later.


The Wizard in the Woods

I wasn't a big fan of the introduction of "The Keeper."  To me, it was too convenient.  He's a "Tom Bombadil" that lives like a hermit and keeps all the secrets and knowledge.  He only parses out that knowledge to those he deems worthy.

All the characters from Team Splinter have already proven themselves to be pretty resourceful in divining the information they need.  And we already have an Oracle in Older Jennifer.  Why need this secretive loner is a mystery to me.  

 

I was surprised and happy to see Hannah again so soon.  I wasn't so sure they had found a place for her among Team Splinter.  Sadly, she too was conveniently placed to offer the crucial information Ramse and Cassie needed to hear in order to find Titan.

Here, they are wondering aloud how they are going to get the information they need to find Titan and Hannah just happens to overhear them and offer, "You mean like that secret wizard in the woods that knows everything?"

I would have preferred something like this.

Digital Immortality! 

Of course, if I was to survive a pandemic apocalypse, I would be that guy alone in the woods sitting upon a treasure trove of information, sneering at the remnants of humanity and their folly while I sat confidently (and arrogantly) on the entire breadth of mankind's knowledge.

I wouldn't dress like something akin to Darth Vader like The Keeper did.  No, I would be dressed like Batman.  Because, why not?

I guarantee you someone like Amanda Schull's Cassie would show up at my door looking for help to end the post-apocalyptic nightmare and I would be standing there in my Underoo magnificence.

She'd laugh so hard she would turn around and exclaim there must be another way to save the world.  

There has to be!

That would be my post-apocalyptic future.

Operation Hyena

So here's something a little freaky.

Seen above is Jennifer walking through her Hyena headquarters getting ready to put her plan into motion.  Dummies and mannequins. 

Here's Cole on his way to meet Jennifer amidst all the dummies and mannequins.

 

Here's The Witness also walking amidst all the dummies and mannequins.  (Taken from an earlier shot.)

So, what are we to derive from this?

A.  Since they are walking similar paths, Cole is The Witness.  (Foreshadowing my friends.)

Or.

B.  The Witness walks amidst the dummies because Jennifer's HQ is the future location of Titan.

Or.

C.  The Witness is on his way to attack Jen and Cole and she better find a new HQ pronto.

Food for thought.

Jennifer the Elder has the benefit of experience on her side when she guides Cole to capture the Pallid Man.   Jennifer the Younger, with her schoolgirl urban combat outfit, so awesome, has a quixotic guile to guide her and when old pal Oliver Peters resurfaces she sets in motion a plan to trap The Pallid Man.

Old Home Week Continues

 

Look who else is back!

Thank god I was in Florida this and not by spoiled by Facebook of her return.  (Poor Florida BTW. So much went wrong last weekend.)

Olivia has returned and sadly she looks stricken instead of her usual mode.   She seems to be researching The Witness' cryptic map to decipher his vision of the future.  

She concludes he is a liar.

It's okay to think that Olivia, just don't give it voice in front of The Pallid Man.  Now that he is top dog, he doesn't take kindly to any criticism of the supreme leader.

And speaking of leaders.

Jennifer's carefully crafted plan is working out rather well.

Unless, of course, you're willing to factor in the amount of a beating he was going to take.  There's a few digits that won't reach immortality. 

Why?  To buy time.  Yes, he dropped little nuggets about 1957 and "The birth of the Red Forest"  But you can't trust a guy that was willing to shed that much blood and is sans his favorite overcoat.  Damn shell game.

At first I didn't like this faraway shot of the Hospital exploding.  It looked liked something "Arrow" would do to save money.  Then I grew to appreciate it and in retrospect I found it quite devastating.

Jennifer was quite devastated also.

Emily Hampshire has this capacity to switch from manic joy to abject heartache.  It's like flicking a light switch for her.  I had to prepare myself mentally for the tears that were sure to follow but we never went that far.

Still, you're really earning your paycheck girlfriend.


Old Home Week Again

  

Wow, look who else they dredged up.

I never thought we'd see the other Dr. Jones again.  ( Foreshadowing to start the episode.  Missed it!)  I'm bitter about not asking Terry Matalas  if we'd see Peter Outerbridge again.  It was on the list but not the short list of questions for Terry.  Damn.

He doesn't look that well.  I guess cancelling his project because of one dead body didn't help much.  

So, it looks like he's got a new job now.  Titan!

So that mean's he's The Witness riiiiight? 

Actually, I would be okay with that.  He built it and now he is stuck there.  Call it fate.  I was going to say he should have listened to Cole and Jennifer about choosing fate but maybe he did choose "Witnesshood."  He was pretty bitter about his time machine being shut down.

Welcome to your own personal Hell.



Oh, right, Death and The Witness

   

If you recall from earlier in this post I referred to a theory wherein I said The Witness can't be killed because he is someone they know.

Cassie had a Witness flashback when she saw her reflection in the mirror.  I thought to myself, "She's The Witness because when she sees herself she sees him."  Oh wait, him.  Even Terry Matalas calls The Witness a he.  So it can't be Cassie.


Definitely not a he.

Sooo, I want to pass this crackpot theory by you anyway.  What if Ramse and Cassie reach Titan and they find out Cassie is The Witness.  Cassie is too shocked to do anything about it and for that matter, so is Ramse.

Thanks to their hesitation The Cassie Witness escapes.

So what is Cassie's solution?  She kills herself.  She can't bear to be what she will become and it explains why The Witness so vehemently told Olivia to leave Cassie alone.

Self preservation.

Someone is going to die on this series and since Cassie dies anyway why not this way?

Then again, The Witness is Sam and Ramse isn't about to kill his own kid and won't let Cassie do it either.  Blah, blah, blah.


In Conclusion

How was that for a turn around?

Cole says goodbye to Jennifer and the next thing you know he's at the door pleading entrance.   He looks a little beaten to boot.  (Doesn't he have a key to his own place?)  It couldn't have been the Pallid Man.  He would have been a lot more savage in his revenge.  Deacon?  Eh, maybe.  

My money is on either on Ramse or Cassie.  Pre-suicide Cassie that is.

But what do I know.  I'm the guy spending his time in the post-apocalyptic world in his Batman Underoos.