12 Monkeys Season 4 Teasers: What did we learn? Update!

Important Update!

Or not.  Time will tell.  I see my informative little video has been blocked.  If you scroll about midway down or so, you'll see an empty space where that important teaser used to be.  I mention this because it offered what I thought was a quick look at what seemed to be an exasperated Dr. Jones. 

Dr. Eliot Jones that is.  (Actor Peter Outerbridge.)

I didn't mention this in the original post because I wasn't sure of his identity.  But now we have a new Canadian trailer that includes this screencap.

My instincts tell me this is Dr. Eliot Jones in a flashback having an, "Eureka moment" in demonstrating the earliest version of his time machine.  Sure, it could be anything but sometimes you just have to roll the dice.

We also got this from the Canadian teaser.

Is this the Raritan facility in the foreground and is it being "attacked" by Titan?  To speculate, one might wonder if Olivia (The Witness) is seeking to move Raritan in time to prevent or manipulate the origin of Dr. Eliot Jones' time machine.

That would be an interesting development.  Olivia attempting to manipulate the origins in time travel in order to prevent Cole, Cassie and the rest from manipulating the time stream.

My head just spun a little.

More to come I'm sure.

On to the original post!




Before I "bury the lead" with all my juicy speculation for season four, let's get to the grand announcement of the return of TV's "12 Monkeys" for it fourth and final season.

Here is how Entertainment Weekly put it.

"The fourth and final season of 12 Monkeys will launch Friday, June 15, starting at 8 p.m. ET on Syfy. The 11-episode season will then air over the course of four weeks, with three episodes each Friday from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET for the first three weeks, culminating in the two-part series finale on Friday, July 6, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET."

There you have it.  

Accompanying this grand announcement were several fine pictures that deserve further examination.

Shall we dig in and see where the splinters fall?

 

Our "First Look" gives us James Cole and Dr. Cassandra Railly on horseback.  They are obviously set in the old American West as the are replete with six shooters, trail riding gear, cowboy hats and the preferred manner of conveyance.

But why the old West?

Well, first and foremost it was an era of lawlessness.  It was rugged and it was raw.  Everyone pretty much dressed the same way because the environment was as tough as the people that populated it.

What better locale for The Witness and her ilk to do their dirty deeds?  The black or white hats that distinguished good from bad in the movies are absent here.  So, the entire setting is perfect for all sorts of skullduggery.  In other words, there would be no problem for the "Monkeys" to blend in and no coordinated law enforcement to stop them.

The lack of technological advancement also lends itself to perfect manipulation from the Army of 12 Monkeys.  If they should happen to plant the seeds for any apocalyptic future there is no patch you can simply inject into a mainframe to thwart it.

Unless, of course, it's a real virus.  Hmm.

We haven't heard from "Zero" in a while.  It's about time he or she stuck it's desiccated hand back in the story line.  The lack of medical technological advancements in the old West lends itself to mischief too.  In the original teaser for season 4 we got a lot of references to a serpent.  (Or, Ouroboros.)  Serpents play a large part in Biblical lore but they have their place in the wild, wild west too. 

Rattlesnakes are particularly prominent as they were the bane of any man or beast that chose to sleep under the stars.  I would keep an eye out for any references, imagery or scenes that involve snakes that we can tie in to the Ouroboros and or Patient Zero.

Come to think of it, you know what an added bonus would be? Seeing Christopher Lloyd as "The Missionary" in this wild west setting.  It would be a neat callback to his "Back to the Future III" days.  Terry Matalas is known to be a big Back to the Future fan.  

Will we at least see an Easter Egg about this?

It's always a treat to see Barbara Sukowa and Amanda Schull dressed in their finery.  

Here, we seem to be witnessing some sort of formal event.  Ms. Schull is dressed in an evening gown that includes long gloves with period lipstick and hairstyle to match.  Since Railly is not adorned in late 20th century wear (or early 21st century) we can assume she's traveled to a time where needs to blend in much as she did with her wild west gear in order to accomplish her mission.

Sukowa's Dr. Jones is also sporting arm length gloves with hair and lipstick to match.  Yet, her fashion is decidedly different.  Her dress seems to be cut from leather or perhaps a thick black crepe.  Is she an interloper to Railly's formal event or does she actually precede Cassandra for this time period?

Note the counterpoint to the two styles of dresses.  One is nakedly black and a bit more severe.  While the other is a much less threatening and a softer white.  

It gives lie to my dismissiveness over the lack of black hats versus white hats from the old west scenario we discussed earlier.  Perhaps it is a clue that Dr. Jones and Dr. Railly are on two different missions and the cordiality seen above is only to protect the nature of their true identities and their respective missions.  

That could be rather ominous and it's not the first time either has operated with separate goals.

The time frame of the "formal attire" scene was spoiled by a subsequent teaser revealing the two ladies were attending a Nazi gala.

Yes, Nazis.  (I hate those guys.)  See the teaser below.

 

So, like the "Wild West" scenario mentioned above, the Nazi Germany era is also convenient for any "Army of the 12 Monkeys" shenanigans.

In this case, instead of lawlessness, we get the exact opposite in an authoritarian regime.  But, in a sense they are quite similar.  

Whoever holds the gun wields the power.

This works for the "Army" because all they have to do is cloak themselves in the embrace of Nazism and they can do whatever they want.  (Plus, we've seen this era before in 12 Monkeys and it is vital to the origin story for the Monkeys.)  The Nazi era was known for human experimentation and wholesale murder.  What better dark cloud to mask your perfidious machinations?

What to make of this little gem?

A bit of the "Punk era" for Jennifer?  As we've seen with the previous two pictures it's all about blending in.   So, why does Jennifer have to blend in with that crowd?

She seems to be wearing as topcoat over leather apparel.  (Leather being always in with the "12 Monkeys" crowd.)  The hair is dyed a morbid red.  She seems to have a nose piercing and a black choker around her throat.  We've got the classic "Smokey Eye" with a maudlin visage to match. 

What most intrigues me?  The leather strap across her chest.  I figure it to be for a shoulder bag.  And what are shoulder bags good for?

Smuggling things.

There's a "vial drop" in one of the trailers and it breaks as it hits the floor.  It looks to be in an airport or perhaps a lab but it leads one to believe we may see a comeback for the virus.  (This is a time travel show, anything is possible.)

So, perhaps Jennifer needs to hook up with someone that has access to a lab and that is also part of the Punk scene.  Maybe she can infiltrate that crowd in order to get Dr. Jones the information she needs to counteract the new/old virus strain.

Jennifer has always been willing to take chances.  The Punk scene isn't necessarily dangerous but it is set apart from the mainstream.  Will Jennifer be able to call for help if she gets in over her head and her allies aren't close by?


On to one of my favorite subjects.  The big W.

Last season's reveal of Olivia taking the mantle of The Witness was a stunning development.  I wasn't surprised "Big W" turned out to be a woman because I always thought that cloak was hiding a female figure.  There was a season 3 teaser that actually had the face of Olivia seguing into that of The Witness but I stubbornly stuck to my hope that the reveal would turn out to be either Jennifer or Dr. Jones.

There is a season 4 teaser that shows Olivia's somewhat wounded visage segue into that of Patient Zero.  So, it wouldn't be a leap to guess our new Witness also becomes Patient Zero held in that glass bio-storage case.  Yes?

Does she sacrifice herself in order to perpetuate the seemingly endless cycles The Army of the 12 Monkeys embraces?  

Does she infect herself with a virus or does she accidentally become infected?

The difference being the nature of that "wounded" look.  Here's something I captured last season that made me think she is not entirely well.

Not the best of screen grabs but you can tell there is something wrong with her.

Olivia could be experimenting on a new strain of virus wherein she eventually perfects what she wants from it and then infects herself.  She has her body left in the frozen mountains only to be discovered much later as Patient Zero and therefore perpetuating the cycle.

Or.

The wounded look is a product of her constant time travel and she's left herself exposed to various maladies throughout the ages.  You could add to that the rigors of time travel itself may lend itself to the dilapidated look she eventually sports.

I suggest this because of the nature of the Witness costume she wears as seen above.  Tubes going in, tubes going out, goggles, dials and that umbilical that extends off to something we can't see.  Plus, let's not forget the classic Plague Doctor mask.  

It could be the Witness outfit acts as some sort of survival suit for her.  Sure, the well worn hood, robe and mask instill fear and Army fidelity.  But those steam punky tubes suggest an obvious utility.

I posted this picture on Twitter recently to give light to this "utility".

Seen above  is a group of the old Gemini astronauts.  The umbilicals extending from their suits are attached to, can you guess?  Air conditioners!  Yes, the atmosphere in side the suits could be so stifling they needed to cool things off for our intrepid spacefarers.

This suggests to me The Witness may also need a conditioned atmosphere for her to survive.  Is it one of the deep future where she succeeds and now has been acclimated to and must carry with her to survive through her jaunts across time?  

Or,

Is it for self preservation due to the exposure to the ravages of time with all it's maladies across the time stream?  

Heck, you could even suggest she is deliberately exposing herself to whatever eventually becomes what is known as "Patient Zero".  

The odd thing is that steam punky look.  With all that technology at her finger tips this is what she is reduced to wearing?  All this for the fear factor or has she successfully destroyed much man's advancements that she is left to cobble together what she can?

Food for thought.


Crackpot Theory Time!

"End at the Beginning"

Can  you really stop something that suggests both an end and a beginning at the same time?  Aren't they mutually exclusive?  With all the talk of cycles, defeating The Witness or killing The Witness will we ever see an end?  Especially if the significance behind "The Ouroboros" is the theme of this season and that suggests something that is infinite and constantly re-creating itself.

I'm starting to think no and this what makes me feel so.

Yes, a season 4 teaser picture of Todd Stashwick's Theodore Deacon.

He is sort of a pitiable sort.  A tough childhood, a more difficult adulthood.  One of heroism, sacrifice and pain.  It's like it never ends.

Uh-oh.

My mind started reel as Deacon as the perpetual victim/hero.  It's the type of thing that would happen to him.  Never any rest.  Never any peace.

But he bears it.

So here we go, what if Deacon takes over  the role of The Witness by season's end?  Except this time he is a benevolent Witness.  One that keeps the cycles turning because they never end!  The cycles always are there but we never see them because they happen in the background fought over by unseen villains and heroes!

Deacon takes over, voluntarily, to keep the cycles moving so time itself will move.  He plays both hero and villain so that we can all move on.

Ouch, poor Deacon.  An eternity of pain and rapture.

Then my mind took another leap.  Who better to deserve such a fate.  I mean truly deserve it.

That's right, my favorite lady.

Double ouch.  But she really deserves it.

Experimenting on human subjects, fighting her own team, betraying allies, messing with the time stream over and over again.  She's a murderer, we've seen her do it.

Does time heal all wounds?

It does if Dr. Jones has her hand on the tiller of perpetual cycles.  A new age Sysyphus that bears our sins and carries it's weight.  Forever defeating and creating new cycles.  It is something out of Greek mythology.

So, I'm torn.  I do believe we'll see a "Perpetual Witness" that keep the cycles turning and time intact.  But who will it be?

I wouldn't wish it on anyone.  But, it would give 12 Monkeys a bittersweet end.  Life will go on.  Our loved ones will finally get a chance to be together.  A happy ending.

Just not for everyone.

You can't have heroism without sacrifice.