Look up last week’s review. At the beginning, I mentioned something about last week’s episode putting the characters in a bad spot, but it was likely going to get worse for them. Pretty sure this qualifies. Jennifer tells us, “There are many endings. Today is one of them.” That, plus show-runner Terry Matalas’ statements about this season’s three-part finale are solid clues about what I suspect to be the true finality of last night’s events. I mean, come on! None of this would be possible without Jones and the machine! How can they just be gone?
Jones
Did anyone else see Jones head-butt Ramse? That’s what the Germans call a, “hello kiss.” She couldn’t have given it to a more deserving guy. I knew Jones was feisty, but I didn’t expect her to do that. It made me love Jones’ character and she’s also been a hard character to like. Easy one to respect, but I haven’t liked her until “Resurrection”. Now that she’s gone the same way as her awesome, yet un-loved companion, Dr. Eckland, I REALLY want her back. How does this show work without her? Or, without the time machine, for that matter? Look for a little more on Jones in Cole’s section.
12 Monkeys 211: Resurrection. Old Jennifer passes the torch to Young Jennifer. Image by SyFy.
Jennifer
The episode starts with Old Jennifer foreshadowing what is to come for her, by burning pictures and mementos from her past. Sure, fire symbolizes the destruction we see later on in this episode. Another take on the use of fire is Old Jennifer clearing away the old and making way for the new, young Jennifer to take her place. It was awesome to see Old Jennifer, Mother of Daughters, regain some of the spunk characterized by the younger, party-girl skirt wearing version of herself. It was hard to see her die, but I wonder if her death, and young Jennifer’s migration to the future, represent a shift in the narrative future of the show. More on that in a bit.
12 Monkeys 211: Resurrection. Traitorous Ramse, hoping his best friend doesn’t wise up to him. Image by SyFy.
Ramse
Who else would be leading the coup if Ramse weren’t around? Two seasons, two monumental betrayals on Ramse’s resume. On the one hand, he tells Cole he loves him like family, but on the other he’d be more than happy to allow someone, anyone else to kill Cole for him. He warns Cole about trying to re-take the machine and the lack of restraint he’d be shown. With the words to Cassie, “When the time comes, I don’t want you to think twice,” all I hear is, “Please, kill Cole for me, if you get the chance.”
Getting erased (like Jones and Eckalnd) would be an awesome end to this bro-mance. It would be ideal for Jones to somehow live through this episode, come back, and kill Ramse just to make good on her threat. But I doubt that’s the end in store for Ramse. Hopefully, he’ll find some redemption before the writer’s see fit to end his cycle.
12 Monkeys 211: Resurrection. Deacon gets the drop on Whitely. Image by SyFy.
Deacon
I don’t always watch my screen with the scrutiny I need to in order to catch all the visuals the creators have put into the show, and for that, I should apologize. I think they knew this when they included a naked Deacon in this episode as a way to punish me. For that, we are all square.
When we find naked Deacon, he’s “singing” a song called “Don’t You Forget About Me” by Simple Minds. Younger viewers may know it as a song during the climax of “Pitch Perfect“. Viewers with actual souls will know it from the 80s John Hughes classic, “The Breakfast Club“. This song’s addition to the show will probably resonate elsewhere, but for Deacon, a literal reading of the lyrics gives us what we need to know. He’s still reeling from Cassie’s rejection. He thought he had a connection with her, but as the song states, she was able to just, “walk on by.” He only seems to remember the chorus, but trust me, it’s in there.
Here, we are finally getting to see a lot more of what Deacon is all about. He IS dangerous. He pulls triggers without looking too far ahead (sorry Old Jennifer). Cole reminds him of his brother (something he would have thought since the first time he met Cole). He is also lovesick and is not built to deal with rejection like that. Lucky for Cole, Deacon turns his feelings from self-pity into a desire for revenge. It ain’t pretty, but whatever works, in times like these.
Cole needs Deacon, and more specifically, Deacon’s ruthlessness to be able to reclaim the facility. Deacon however, is mega-drunk. The editing and the music all swelling to the point where Deacon has to stop and puke in the hallway helps make this show great. So many other shows would never do that.
Cassie
Cassie wasn’t very busy this episode, but she had two major actions where she may have revealed the feelings toward Cole that fans have been hoping for. Obviously, in the closing moments of the show she abandons her need for revenge against The Witness in favor of splintering to 1957 with Cole. We at least see the loyalty Cole has shown her finally returned because she can’t let him go alone.
The other scene is when Cole shoots Dr. Adler. Every rifle in the room is trained on Cole. Cole gives them all the excuse they need to shoot him, but before they can, Cassie saves his life by kicking his ass. Her words were not enough to sway Cole’s actions and Adler would have been killed, were it not for Cassie’s intervention. I believe her main purpose though was to put herself between Cole and the shooters, thereby making it too risky to shoot at him. Sure, she had to draw on him after he was down, but that’s more like muscle memory for her at this point. She did that to save his life.
12 Monkeys 211: Resurrection. Cole sets a good example by shooting Dr. Adler. Image by SyFy.
Cole
Jennifer sees in Cole his change into a leader. This episode was built as proof of that. He’s had his mission and usually approached it from a single-minded, “how will I get this done,” angle. Now, there is no way a single person can do what needs to be done. He starts with Deacon. There are cons to adding Deacon to the roster, but overall nothing Deacon did wasn’t fixed somehow. Cole’s willing to give his life for the cause. Who wouldn’t want to follow a person like that when the stakes are so high? Finally, he recruits the Daughters to help retake the facility. He knows their lives will be on the line, but he knows finding the Primary is the right mission and he’ll be leading the raid from the front. Again, this is all very leader-y stuff.
He’s even willing to let someone he’s loves die for the mission. Who does Jennifer mean though? We know he loves Cassie. We see Jones and old Jennifer actually die this episode. God, please let it be Ramse. I think we’d all be very cool if Ramse were the sacrifice Jennifer spoke of.
The shot where Cole hugs Jones was the most emotional of the entire series for me. These two have had a very business-like relationship and Jones is cold and harsh with all the people she works with. The moment Cole confirms his belief in her and her face breaks during their short embrace, I just about bawled. She had no hope of escape and she was having to quickly come to grips with the question all of us grapple with: “Did my life matter?” Cole, the good soldier and now the leader, was able to give that solace to her. No one on these genre shows (not GoT, I mean) ever gets recognized for acting, but man, that was good.
Extra Points: “Mayday mayday! Terrorists have taken over the Nakitomi Building, Century City!” – Bruce Willis as John McClane in “Die Hard“.
I had a hunch the time machine could be used like a Star Trek-style transporter, allowing people to be beamed to a new location without a time shift. What else can the time machine do (assuming we get it back at some point)?
We are starting to run out of reasons to time travel to the past and with all of our beloved cast in 2044, will the point of the show shift away from fixing the past to something else?
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