Episode Report Card Sobell: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Don't Be Stupid, Be a Smarty …
By Sobell | Season 1 | Episode 3 | Aired on 10.08.2009
Outside the interrogation room, Janis valiantly attempts to derail Mark's train of thought by pointing out that Geyer is a lying Nazi who lies, and is also a Nazi. It is like talking to Squirrelio. She points out, "Mark, this is full pardon or nothing -- and that's exactly what Geyer's going to give us." Mark denies it, since he had his vision of his big collage of clues and Geyer's featured on it. Janis is like, "Meanwhile, in the present, the only thing we know right now is how much we don't know. Mark, you're talking about letting a mass murderer go free in exchange for potentially nothing." Mark rebuts that the several billion people currently wondering what in the hell happened to them don't exactly constitute "nothing." Janis is too jetlagged to point out the obvious argumentum ad populum, and when Mark appeals, "The guy makes me sick, but he's 86 years old. He's on his way out," she does not snap, "Leave the conjunction effects at home." So Mark blithely continues, "As much as I'd like to personally help him on his way, I have to ask if the ends don't justify the means here." Janis finally scores one with "They never do, Mark." Oh! Oh! She's on a roll! She points out that Geyer's age is irrelevant, and that there's no statute of limitations on pure evil. She concludes, "Geyer deserves his punishment, and his victims deserve him getting his punishment, and you can't take that away from them on a hope." Mark looks at her all, Oh, yes, I can! I am a lead on this show, lady!
Back in the states, Olivia's having lunch with Mrs. FBI Boss Dude Courtney B. Vance, whom I am going to just call "Felicia," because a) that is the character's name, and b) "Mrs. FBI Boss Dude Courtney B. Vance" is entirely too much nickname for any one human being. Both women are carping about their workaholic husbands, and Felicia dolefully notes that since FBI Boss Dude Courtney B. Vance became an assistant director, he apparently feels the need to work twice as hard as everybody else in the bureau. That's because he's twice as awesome. Felicia continues, "He's pulled two all-nighters in a row trying to write the eulogy for this memorial service. Like if he found just the right words, he could bring these agents back to life." Olivia rebuts, "Mark's convinced that what he saw in his flashforward is somehow going to save us all." And that lets the ladies segue into their respective flashforwards. We see Olivia's (drink!) and she demurs, "Nothing important. What did you see?" Felicia's happy to dish: She was in her college-aged son Jason's room, only it was outfitted for a smaller boy. Felicia continues, "He was about eight or nine years old, and I was putting him to bed." We see him say, "Goodnight, Mom," and she replies, "Good night, Attaf," and kisses his forehead. Felicia's never seen this kid before but "I don't know how, but in the next six months, this little boy's going to come into my life and I'm going to be his mom. I refuse to believe these visions are random. There is a purpose, I know it." We cut to Olivia who is surely wondering what the purpose of a shirtless Lloyd sitting on her couch could possibly be.
We zip back to Munich, where Geyer's lawyer suggests a compromise: "An offer of proof -- you verify certain aspects of my client's flashforward, pardon him, and then he will give you the remainder of what he knows." Mark's game. He asks, "The 137 seconds. Why?"
Geyer breaks out the full crazy we all knew was lurking within: "In my time at Treblinka, I obviously came into contact with many Jews. I also came to learn about certain aspects of their beliefs, their culture --" "Is this going somewhere?" Janis asks. Geyer continues, "Tell me, Miss Hawk. Why do you wear a ring on your left thumb? In some Eastern European countries where homosexuality is illegal, a ring on a woman's left thumb is considered an indication of her proclivities." Mark is like, "I was totally unaware that Janis's sexual orientation had anything to do with the duration of the blackout. The point? Get to it, please." Geyer works his way around: "I am merely referencing a certain kind of code. I will now make a reference to another kind of code. Have you heard of Kaballah? In [this form of Jewish mysticism], everything has a hidden meaning." And then Geyer pulls a fast one using the Hebrew characters for "Kaballah" and some numerology mumbo-jumbo to basically point out what amounts to a big, dumb coincidence: if you add up the sum total of the Hebrew letters that spell Kaballah, you arrive at 137.
Mark is not amused by this revelation. Geyer insists, "I have information that will prove crucial to your investigation, and I know it because in my flashforward, I was being repatriated to the United States, and I had bought my freedom with the second piece of information." We then get Geyer's flashforward: He's in an American airport, clearing through Immigration. The man processing his documents had the nametag "Jerome Murphy." And in the flashforward, Geyer remarks that it's disappointing that Agent Benford isn't here to welcome him home, and when Jerome makes dorky small talk, Geyer shuts that right down with, "I'm returning home, actually. And I have one murder to thank for it."
Back in the present, the "m" word grabs everyone's attention, but Geyer and his lawyer refuse to elaborate further on "their offer of proof." They coolly tell the FBI to locate Jerome Murphy, compare Jerome's flashforward to Geyer's, and if they match up, make good on the pardon. Stefan snaps, "Are you enjoying watching us jump through hoops? I hope you are. Because you're never leaving this prison, Geyer." Geyer insists that he'll leave: "It is a future that has already happened." I sincerely hope Stefan has a black-ops department he has access to, plus a healthy scientific curiosity about what happens if you eliminate someone prior to them fulfilling their flashforward. (Also: why has this not happened yet? You'd think that some moron would have seen a flashforward where they were stuck with their same ol' spouse/coworker/cellmate and decided to change the future courtesy of a little impulsive homicide. And then everyone could think themselves into knots trying to rationalize whether or not we've reintroduced randomness into the future. Get on it, writers!)
Outside the interrogation room, Stefan is rightly incredulous that Mark is going to run with this. Mark's all "The future! My vision! Blah blah blah!" and Janis rolls her eyes in embarrassment while Stefan points out that if Geyer's free in six months, it could be due to Mark's credulity and not, say, Geyer's innate honesty. Aaron calls just then, and Mark picks up because why would he care about international roaming charges when it's the U.S. taxpayers picking up the tab?
Anyway, Aaron wants a favor. Can Mark maybe find a crafty way to circumvent federal law so that Aaron can get Tracy's remains exhumed and tested against the DNA samples the military has on file. He adds, "I'll listen to any 'This isn't a good idea' speeches you've got to give if you can swear you wouldn't do the exact same thing for Charlie." Mark asks, "Leaving aside the illegality, have you thought about what'll happen if the results come back positive and the person in that grave is Tracy?" Aaron has not, because he is so firm in his faith regarding his flashforward.
Cut to Demetri, back in the office post-romp, agreeing to do Mark's dirty work with "I'll call when I've got the warrant." This word catches the attention of FBI Boss Dude Courtney B. Vance, but Demetri deflects it. Then the two of them natter about J. Murphy until we find out that he's not a current customs agent, but rather an applicant.
And then Demetri's at a small, rundown bungalow in one of those anonymous neighborhoods that sprawls away from the 405, too far inland to be at all pleasant or scenic. K.C. and the Sunshine band is playing -- drowning out Demetri's knock, really -- and when Demetri goes around back, he beholds Jerome gettin' down in his tighty whities. I always feel so sorry for actors who have to play these roles. They're probably all, "