12 Monkeys - Blood Washed Away?

What did the Joker say?  "Love that Smylex."  No, not that one.

"It was all part of the plan."

Oh, that's right.  If there was ever a dark night, it was the way 12 Monkeys ended it's last and penultimate episode of season 2.
 

Don't worry.  12 Monkeys will be "back" for one more episode.  But things are a little different for our heroes.

They've been played.

I guess when we found out who Charlie really was the cookie began to crumble.  Make that the whole bakery.


All Part of the Plan I

Yeah, Cole.  Be with her.  You don't know how good you've got it?  Don't let her get away.

"It's not that way."

No?

Everyone in the Red Forest knew it but you.  Well, and Cassie too.

And, man, are those two tough on each other.  What did she call him?  "Coward."  And then she plants a big kiss on him and it's all down hill from there.  Well, at least the Shippers finally got their moment.

Happy now?

Cole and Cassie were literally thrown into each others arms.  Across time, across space, through the decades and into the bedroom.

And to think, she's been there before.

Cassie's memory of tomorrow finally came true.

All the repeated visions.  The haunting voice of The Striking woman.  Her endless mantra.  All of it came true.  Yet Cassie didn't run from it all. 


Of course, she wanted to see Cole again.  She sought him out.  Her chapter with him had not ended and she felt abandoned by him.  She also had a score to settle and a final confrontation was needed.

She was as shocked to see him at the House of Cedar and Pine as was most of the viewing audience.  But, when she approached him, Cole was not too surprised to see her.  Then the blood dripped and the voices called again.

So why didn't Cassie run?

There's the reasons I formulated myself as elucidated above.  Sort of an external logic one would  assume Cassie was thinking.

But with her visions of the house and the circumstances surrounding it screamed run. 

This was all executed by the Witness and the Army of the 12 Monkeys.  It was driven into her head either when she was under their thrall or still influenced by it.  Run.

To compound this dilemma, the very reason she went back in time was to face her fears and thereby stand up to The Witness.  Run.

Yet, she capitulated.


All Part of the Plan II

It didn't long for Cole to realize he'd been played by the shaky Reginald.

Reg played the part convincingly and even his resume included the requisite monkey-gram.  A nice little touch.

The events at the factory that preceded the "Love Shack" reunion with Cole should have provided enough impetus for Cassie to flee.

The fact that Charlie revealed himself as a Messenger and his wife a Primary should have added up as big trouble for Cassie and Cole.  

With this information, Cassie should have fled the House of Cedar and Pine.  Run.

To complicate matters, Charlie was not your ordinary Messenger.

Much like Vivian Rutledge, Charlie had found love in the past.  Also, like Vivian, he stayed true to the plan.  But, his deception of Cole was one thing, ending the life of the woman he loved was another.  Even with her suffering, he could not bear to do it.

He told Cassie he was a Messenger no more.  He confessed, "Not everything The Witness said was true." 

Then something happened.  Cole arrived.

 

Whoa, what happened to the heartfelt sentiment Charlie just professed to Cassie?

Was seeing Cole the straw that stirred the Whiskey soda?  I mean, broke the camel's back.

Who didn't believe Charlie when he spilled his heart out to Cassie?

The above declaration to Cole was odd too.  What did Charlie mean by, "But you of all people should understand this."?

To those who think Cole is The Witness, this was your fist pumping moment.  To those who think there is a "Witness Baby" you just took a hit.  (Plus, the dates on the Witness chart don't match your theory.)  

 

Inexplicably, Charlie struck.  The room was consumed in red. Cole grabs Cassie and they find shelter.

You know the rest.  Cassie lay in a coma for over a year.  She eventually comes out of it.  Advances the science of medicine a decade or so and eventually finds Morris Morrison. 

Anything else?


All Part of the Plan III

 

Ramse and his intrepid group make it into the inner sanctum of of Titan or "Titan City" as I hear it is now called.  This too was foreseen.

How do I know?

 

As I feared in my last blog post, The Witness had allowed Ramse's Raiders to approach.  

"Titan only leads to death."

 
  I have to admit my heart was pounding at this moment.  At last The Witness revealed!

"Turn around" barked Ramse.  "Take off the mask."

Argh, Ramse.  What was the mission again?  Kill The Witness.  Shoot him and you take off the mask.  

Nope.

This was a difficult scene to watch.  One by one Ramse's Raiders were cut down in brutal fashion.  Marcus, Hannah and then Deacon.

 

The Witness stands triumphant.  All was foreseen.

 

You know, they all do look pretty much the same in their Witness-nomadic-plague-doctor gear.

How do we know which one is truly The Witness?  Is it the one whose cycle is ascendant?  It might explain the "lies" or how The Pallid Man defines his cycle versus how Olivia defines hers.

Just a thought.

So, there were a few blips in this episode.  Not shooting the big W.  Not running from the House of Cedar and Pine.  Charlie's abrupt about face.  But over all I really liked it.

Fraught with tension.  Steeped with anxiety and lastly, pierced with heartbreak.

How are they going to fix this one?

Well, for one thing, the original Cassandra Railly, Madeline Stowe, will join the fray in the final episode of season two.  Charlie said the other Messenger was dead.  Should we believe him?  Charlie also called the other Messenger a "he."  Should we believe that too?  Billed as an eccentric woman with visions of the apocalypse, she'll supposedly get Cassie and Cole to do the "unthinkable."

What would that be?  Kill the child that is Katerina Jones?  Hmm, Time still might be protecting her as a child.  How about siding with Olivia or seeking out Vivian Rutledge?  Vivian seems a little, "driven" let's call her.  Still, a maybe.   But Olivia may be open to negotiations.  Maybe she'll even snatch them out of the past with the 2016 Splinter Machine.

 

This photo has been circulating on the internet this week.  It sure does look like Cassie and Cole at Titan City to me.  Blue and Red.  Large cylindrical objects.  The mark of The Witness. 

How the heck did they get there?

C'mon 2016 Splinter Machine!

I'm going to save the "Odds and Ends" for a little later.  There's a lot to cover there too.  (You know, like men were still Pervs back in the fifties.  Poor Cass.)  And I might do another 16 second break down of the finale teaser.

Until then, c'mon 2016 Splinter Machine and Team Olivia!