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Let's get the inconsequential plots out the way first.
In the most entertaining B-plot: The current VP -- soon to be president, if the accuracy of the flashforwards is anything to go by -- taps Wedeck for a discreet probe into Jericho, reasoning that since someone in his office was running database queries on the subject, surely there's some local interest in watching the "Blackwater? What is this 'Blackwater' of which you speak?" security firm. And thus does Wedeck end up assisting Aaron on his field trip to Afghanistan. This is so Aaron can bring back the intel that presumably helps the walls of Jericho come tumbling down.
In the B-plot we have all seen coming for month: Olivia and Lloyd have chemistry out the yingyang. After Charlie sets up a playdate with Dylan, the two adults end up reconnecting, and later, Olivia swings by and they end up lip-mashing. The flashforwards made them do it!
Now, on to the main event: Demetri and Mark spend the episode running around in Dyson Frost's footsteps -- he's murdered a homeless guy with Mark's old FBI gun, and there's some connection between Dyson and the victim but this show isn't going to tell us what, of course -- and trying to get Marcie to talk about why she's a mole. Neither quest is particularly successful. And then Demetri and Zoey decide to get married the very day, only Demetri gets groomnapped by Dyson Frost, and the episode ends with Dyson at Charlie's school fair. Because… whatever. The guy is a creepy mastermind, and he loves baroque plans and, honestly, he should just get out of the way and let me know if I can go back to fretting about the fates of Kemil and Brycole.
Also, remember how Janice alluded to being a mole last week? You would be the only one, then.
Watch this episode here, discuss it in our forums, then see what we think the cast should do if FlashForward gets cancelled.
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Want more? The full recap starts right below!Two years before the blackout... We're in the LA office where Mark Benford and his hair accessory are busy lecturing a huge clot of new agents on the glory and wonder of working for the FBI. Standing in the very front of the group: Al Gough (we miss you!), Janis, Marcie and Demetri. Mark says, "Today won't be the most important day in your career as an FBI agent. That day is somewhere down the line. You won't see it coming. It sneaks up on you. It'll most likely be an anonymous moment, a crossroads where you're asked to do something, make some kind of personal sacrifice for the good of someone else, and that person may never know your name, or see your face, or even understand what you did." The camera swoops in on Gough standing and listening intently. This show! So subtle! Mark finishes, "But you'll know. And isn't that why you're here, after all? Because you can be counted on to do the right thing at the right time, every time." We land on Demetri.
Then all the new agents are comparing assignments. Demetri originally had Vreede and Gough had Benford, but Demetri begs for a switch because "He's a legend. He's done it all!" And because Gough's a good guy, he does switch. Janis sighs that she's in analysis, but Marcie mopes that she has it worse, as she's reporting to Janis in analysis. "How can that be -- I scored higher than you?" she wonders. Janis is like, "In one category," then tries to cheer Marcie. Gough awkwardly exposits that they've been a team since Quantico, and Marcie -- determined to throw a pity party now that she's decorated for it -- mopes, "What am I, the mascot?" Janis consolingly says, "You're our captain. You'll outpace all of us, I'm sure of it." I really dislike how they're shoehorning in all this back history now, like Marcie's been there all along. It doesn't sync up with any of the prior episodes.
In the present, a somewhat bruised Marcie is about to be interviewed by Mark and Demetri. She looks determined not to say anything. And she sort of sticks to that, in that she says nothing of substance. She doesn't know who tried to blow up the guys in DC. Demetri gets heated, and Mark gives him a time-out from talkies -- after all, Demetri's only got three days left, so why spend them looking at Marcie's sullen mug? -- then collars Janis for help. She either feigns disbelief or is genuinely surprised by this.
So Janis takes a run at Marcie, first by asking what her duties were (Marcie basically did weekly dead drops), and who recruited her. Marcie says only, "I was approached by a man three months before the blackout hit. He asked if I wanted to be a part of something big. You think I sold out my friends and my country, but you don't know me." Janis moves an eyebrow a millimeter to indicate her surprise and says almost mockingly, "Why don't you enlighten us?" Marcie replies, "Come on. Don't you remember my flashforward? [Pause.] No, you don't. Because neither of you ever bothered to ask me what I saw."
Seriously? How, on a show that had FBI agents being polygraphed as they recounted their flashforwards earlier, did the anyone on the Mosaic team manage to slip through the ol' security net? You would think that step one would be going over everyone's flashforwards for leads and indications of where everyone's interconnected. Good Christ, ISIS could run this investigation more competently. And more entertainingly, I might add.
But back on this show, we see Marcie rocking the orange prison jumpsuit and smugly telling her lawyer, "Until I tell them who recruited me, I'm indispensable." In the present, Marcie claims that in her flashforward, she's happier than she's been in years, because, "for the first time since I got here, I actually felt like I was important." Mark actually facepalms, he's so exasperated. Wedeck opens the door and summons Mark; apparently there's an intragency pissing contest over who should keep Marcie in custody, and it appears the NSA (or the CIA) is winning. Wedeck recognizes this as political football, and tries to rally the troops after Marcie's been marched out by the menacing-looking agent. He orders everyone to get back to the whole flashforward investigation -- something made simpler when Demetri pops up to say that his future murder weapon was just fingered in a killing that morning.
We pan out over L.A.'s endless sprawl, and zip over to a church that plainly runs a homeless shelter for the nights. Mark asks for some exposition, and Demetri -- reclining in style in what I can only hope is a clean cot -- explains: "Fifty-five year old, in his cot, presumably asleep. At 3:33 a.m., the shooter walked up to him, and a couple of insomniacs heard him say, 'I knew it would be you. I just didn't want to believe.' The shooter must have had a silencer on your gun, and he plugged him three times in the chest." While Demetri's recounting this, we see Dyson Frost doing the foul deed. ("Doing the foul deed?" What the hell is this, a 1920s silent film? "Quick, Mabel! Ring the po-lice at Arkansas-5400 and tell them of this crime!") The only lead they have: someone saw a foreign, 1970s blue sedan drive away. Mark has a flash of insight: Forget trying to track down the shooter on that slim lead. Focus instead on the FBI agent who handed the gun over: Marcie.
Marcie's being hauled away by the NSA (or the CIA), and they're crossing a runway when Demetri and Mark run up and attempt to simultaneously break the FBI 200m-relay record and interrogate Marcie on who she handed the gun to. She is, of course, as helpful as she is memorable and compelling, so... the guys get jack and squat out of her. She coldly tells Demetri, "You're going to die in three days, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. I'm sorry." I... do not get how anyone who knew Al Gough or who blithely plugged a half-dozen coworkers who presumably had flashforwards can believe in the infallibility of the future, but whatever. I suspect the point to this is to establish that her meager years of working around her Quantico buddies made Marcie all broken and warped on the inside.
And now, this week's Subplot In One Paragraph: Olivia and Lloyd are set up! Charlie arranges a playdate for herself and Dylan at a local park (notably absent: the agent who was shadowing Olivia all last episode), and the awkwardness between the adults eases only after Charlie bonks her head on Dylan's and it takes Lloyd's parental skills (yes! The same Lloyd who went into vapor lock over dealing with Dylan earlier this season!) to soothe her. Olivia watches Lloyd appearing all paternal with Charlie, and you can practically see the thought bubble forming over her head: "Charlie's dad just bailed on her for his precious Mosaic Project investigation. Lloyd here has potential as a replacement. Now, how to take him for a test drive..." And by that evening, Olivia's worked out the test drive angle. She shows up at Lloyd's place sans Charlie (one presumes the urchin is being put to bed by the FBI agent Marc assigned?), there's some mealymouthed blah-blah-blah about how Olivia's been fighting her flashforward, but now she realizes she's as much to blame for the disintegration of her relationship as her I-skipped-town-to-go-solve-crimes-that-haven't-happened-yet husband, and since her marriage is over, why, she might as well follow through on that flashforward. Lip-locking commences and we officially have a new couple on the show. I dub thee Llolivia. Go forth and continue acting in a wildly uncharacteristic fashion! (I swear, this show has less internal consistency than Prison Break, and that was a series based on a magic tattoo and sustained by the re-capitation of a dead person. WHAT DOES THIS TELL YOU, FLASHFORWARD?)
Meanwhile, back in the real episode, Wedeck's also hanging out on a runway. The difference is, the runway he's walking across is currently hosting Air Force Two. After he boards the plane, he's ushered into the VP's office. Vice President Clemente tries making small talk, and Wedeck is all, "Would you mind telling me why the hell I'm here?" She chuckles. "It's nice to know my new position hasn't changed your attitude toward me." Wedeck makes a visible show of biting his tongue. Clemente then asks, "Does the name 'Jericho' ring a bell? They're a private contractor working over in Afghanistan. In my security briefing this morning, I learned that Jericho's CEO just tripled the security around his Malibu compound. I think you should take a look." Wedeck says, "Wrong department. NSA is who you want to call." Ah, but Clemente wants this done quietly. Wedeck presses, "The vice president doesn't fly across the country because some guy hired an extra night watchman." Clemente says, "In my vision, it was clear that Jericho had done some things that threatened our national security." This is, by the way, the same vision where Clemente is our chief executive. She says, "I was there because Jericho did something that triggered a political crisis. I can't find out anything about what they're doing. But if it's bad enough to bring down President Segovia, it must be significant." (That is understating the case: Google the name "Jamie Leigh Jones" some time to see what lengths contractors went to in an effort to cover up their misdeeds. Or Google for articles on why Blackwater changed its name to Xe. And no politician ever felt any fallout. So unless Jericho's doing a test project on Soylent Green using American Idol contestants and NFL players, there's not a damn thing they can do that will topple anyone's career.) ANYWAY: Clemente thinks Jericho's up to something. Wedeck is all, "Even if I did know something, Segovia and I go way back." Clemente puts it to him bluntly: "These flashforwards are coming true. Segovia is going down. You want to be out with the old, or in with the new?" We end the scene watching Wedeck weigh his loyalty against his ambition.
Back in the office, Demetri and Mark are trying to figure out which end is up -- the gun's in Los Angeles, they have no idea who's using it, nor who owns a car as was described earlier -- and Wedeck peels Mark away to mildly ask, "Jericho -- you used our database to look into them a few months ago? Just curious why you did." Mark says it was a favor for a friend, and Wedeck drily replies, "Do all your friends ask you to research Third World military contractors?" Mark explains that his friend had some questions linked to his daughter's death in Afghanistan, and when Wedeck asks, "He thinks Jericho was involved?" Mark gets uncomfortably evasive. But when Wedeck asks if he can talk with Aaron, Mark's all, "Ha! Good luck finding him!" His conscience relieved, Mark takes off. Wedeck is all, "O ho ho, Benford, you have no idea what I can do." I want a spinoff where it's just Wedeck being all awesome. Can we have that, please? (Also, it looks like the score is: Loyalty, 0; Ambition, 1.)
Mark is looking at the file on this episode's Dyson Frost Presents: Random Murder Victim! schmuck, and Demetri comes in all excited because the LAPD is busy chasing down someone who sounds exactly like the man who came into the shelter and shot up their victim. Whoosh! We're at the scene. It is, of course, bonkers, as one imagines that hostage scenarios are. Demetri goes a little renegade and decides to chit-chat with the crazed gun-wielding maniac in question.
He kicks out his gun and the guy shouts in response, "I told them the only person I wanted to talk to was Randy Savage!" Buddy, if hostage-taking guaranteed access to professional wrestlers, there would be an outbreak of women wielding guns and demanding quality time with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. (And really, who would blame me -- I mean, them?) Demetri is not unfamiliar with the work of the Macho Man, but this fails to establish an immediate rapport. We do, however, find out more about the hostage-taker's particular brand of crazy: he thinks the ubiquity of mobile phones caused it, and mobile phone salespeople were the blackout's willing henchmen and women. [Interestingly, this scene was filmed in the famous Bradbury Building (named for Lewis, not Ray), which actually does house a cell phone store. - Zach] Demetri makes a big show of disarming, and keeps on walking toward Ross-the-crazy-guy, saying, "Everybody's afraid of dying. I'm scared of dying. You are. She is. It's what makes us human, don't you think? You're scared. That's fine. When people get scared, judgment gets clouded. I'll be honest, man: you have made some really bad decisions today. But you can make a really good one right now if you just give me the gun. Ross, it'll save your life." Ross flings aside the hostage and aims at Demetri, but Demetri whips out a third, hidden pistol and shoots Ross above his heart.
In the scene: Demetri's busy looking at Ross's gun in an evidence bag when Mark comes over to deliver the good news: the EMTs say Ross is stable, and the FBI guys can question him in the hospital. Demetri tells Mark that the gun in the evidence bag isn't Mark's old FBI piece; the serial number is totally different, ergo, Mark's gun is still out there. Mark asks, "So you almost got yourself killed for nothing?" Sensitively put, my friend. On the bright side, Demetri did take out a hostage-taker and rescue an innocent woman. But Demetri's frustrated by the overall weirdness of the whole thing. He groans and asks, "Do you remember the speech you gave the first day on the job? How you had to be the kind of person who could be counted on to do the right thing at the right time. And man, since October 6, when I didn't see anything, I have had a lot of trouble being that person." Cheer up, Demetri! You're still doing better than either Marcie or Janis. Demetri asks Mark for help, so of course Benford makes it All About Him and segues into a little speech on how his life has gone to the dogs. Mark does say, "I'll do anything to help you, and I'm going to tell you something, so I really want you to listen: Get out of here. You and Zoey just get out of here." Awww, Mark, it's cute how you freely dispense advice you can't take yourself.
And then we flash back to the first time Demetri and Zoey met. She was grilling him in a courtroom, and it's well-nigh insufferable, and then she's dismissive of Demetri's irritation in the hall afterward, and then -- displaying an uncanny inability to read people -- asks Demetri out. He turns her down with "There's not a chance in Hell I would ever go out with you" -- and yet ... here we are in the present, in their gorgeous loft, and Demetri's all, "Let's get married tomorrow! And hang out in Hawaii through, say, April." Zoey's response: "Hell, yes!" Sensible woman, her. Even if she did woo Demetri with all the charm and subtlety of Godzilla going through the KGC drive-through.
Now if you want to talk real charm, how about Wedeck? He is chilling in the manky motel room where Aaron's hunkered down, and he does not even blink when Aaron pulls a gun. Then he reveals how he used his detective-fu to track down Aaron (via a computer in Echo Park doing Web searches of "Jericho" "Parwar" and "Afghanistan" and "Jericho murder U.S. soldiers" and some shoe leather), and makes an offer Aaron can't refuse: "Mark didn't want to tell me why you're so interested in Jericho. But some very powerful people would love to take them down, and all they need is proof." Aaron unspools his sad tale about Tracy and how he's headed back to Afghanistan to get his daughter back. Wedeck stammers in disbelief, "You're-you're going to Afghanistan?" and gently steers Aaron to the harsh realities of his current plan: "I know you were in the service, but how were you planning on getting there?" Aaron was planning to fly to Uzbekistan and cross the border at Termis. "And you're doing this with a U.S. passport," Wedeck inquires, still politely skeptical. Aaron is. "You'll be dead before you leave Hairaton," Wedeck says firmly. He then cleverly plays on Aaron's desperation: "If I could help you get to Tracy, do you think she could tell us the whole story?" Silence as Aaron thinks it over.
Across town, Wedeck's underlings are feting Demetri on the eve of his nuptials. Janis is delighted to learn that thanks to the power of the Internet, Vreede can officiate at the wedding. He'll even do it for free as a wedding gift. Demetri drunkenly embraces Vreede with "Have I ever told you how awesome you are, Shelly Vreede?" "Awww," Vreede says, patting Demetri's back, "You make me feel awesome." You know, we are two-thirds of the way through the first (and very likely only) season of this series and it's too late to correct the course now, but if we had time, I would say: Every episode would be greatly improved if you had Vreede and Demetri in a bar, getting their drink on while Benford glowers in dour sobriety. Since Demetri is now hailing everyone as awesome, Mark is like, "Time to go home, tipsy!"
And poor Wedeck has to miss all this because he's busy briefing Aaron on what he's to do in Afghanistan. (Hint: "Gather intelligence, upload video testimony or whatever" pretty much encompass the to-do list.) Aaron's now got military clearance, a meetup point so he can get a military flight home, and some brand new firearms (none of which can be traced back to the FBI). "If they find you, you're on your own," Wedeck cautions Aaron. Aaron's not fazed. The two men shake hands, and off Aaron goes to fetch intel for Wedeck and Tracy for himself.
Janis is walking the drunken Demetri out to get a cab, and here, I do have to tip my hat to the writers for floating the mole possibility, because now every single one of Janis's actions is now freighted with a viewer wondering, "Is this the moment where she betrays everyone?" O, the tension! Anyway, Demetri inquires -- in the slow and charmingly simple way of the very drunk -- "Do you think I'm a chicken for running away?" She tactfully replies, "Sometimes the best offense is a good defense." Demetri leans against a cab and says, "No, Janis, I'm just scared." She quasi-consoles him: "You played this out as best you could. Everybody needs a successful exit strategy. This is yours." Then she plops Demetri into the cab and he says out the window, "I want you to know ... that night in Somalia?" "Oh, Demetri, don't?" Janis says, trying to cut him off, but Demetri insists: "I want to. I have to --" Janis interrupts, "Stop. Just stop." But Demetri persists, "This may be my last chance, all right?" Janis ends the conversation with "I'm pregnant." This is news to Demetri, but his cab is headed in one direction and Janis is headed in the other, so we still don't have hard confirmation that Demetri made the relevant donation, or if Janis had some other means of getting what she wanted. Hands up, all who care about this continuing mystery.
The day, Zoey's kvelling over the loveliness of the church where she and Demetri are about to get married. The pastor says, "I'm happy to let you use the space, but since you're not members here and since you didn't do any premarital counseling --" Demetri breezily stamps all over that concern with "We don't need any premarital counseling. We've been living together for a year." The pastor sighs, "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." The upshot: the church is Demetri and Zoey's for the using, but they'll need an officiant. Hey! Try Dyson Frost! He's been spying on you from the choir loft, so clearly he's got some interest in the goings-on.
As dusk falls, Mark and Wedeck are shooting the breeze in Wedeck's office, and Wedeck smoothly lies about how he couldn't track down Aaron: "I guess he didn't want to be found." Mark looks like he might suspect Wedeck of lying, but before he can make any pointed comments to that effect, Vreede comes in with surveillance footage of Frost walking out to his 1971 Citroen DS -- powder blue, silver top, and matching the description given at the shelter. Wedeck is all, "Hold the phone: Dyson Frost made a videotape for you 19 years ago, then encoded a phone number for you to find, then after all that, instead of meeting with you, he's murdering a homeless guy?" Gosh, when you put it that way, it sounds illogical. Mark valiantly attempts to justify where this is headed with, "He used my gun to do it. He may be crazy, but he isn't random. There's a method here. We just don't understand what it is yet."
Demetri is home alone in his loft, getting ready for his wedding alone, and let me stress how very alone he is. Because when you've spent the past few weeks learning that your murder is tied to the death of an evil genius who's got the drop on you, flashforward-wise, why wouldn't you spend the day before your presumed death completely unguarded? Gaaaaaah. This is, of course, why Demetri ends up knocked out by Dyson Frost.
And now, the amusing wedding scene where the groom's half of the bridal party is talking shop and it takes the mother of the groom to point out that her son's not picking up his cell, so maybe something's wrong? Because there is no need for this scene to have even happened if anyone had thought, "Gosh, let's keep an eye on the guy scheduled to be murdered in less than 24 hours," let's look at the bright sides here. First up: Janis looks fabulous in a merlot-colored dress and her hair all did. Mole-ing pays for the good coifs, it seems. Second, Vreede as the officiant, in his all-white suit, is just about the most glorious thing ever. If the man ever wants to leave the FBI, he should move to Vegas to hold down a wedding chapel. Third, Zoey makes a lovely bride, even when realizing that her worst nightmare has just begun unfolding in real time.
The lovely Citroen is parked outside what appears to be a carnival, and we see Dyson Frost carefully covering Demetri's body with a blanket before exiting the car and heading out for a night of ferris wheel riding, or whatever it is crazy evil geniuses do on Murdering Eve.
Oh, quelle coincidence, it's the school carnival where Charlie is running around comparatively unsupervised (not even an FBI tail in sight to chase after her) and Olivia is gamely hawking the wheel of fortune game. Her phone rings. It's Mark, calling to tell her to keep Charlie for the evening. Olivia does not reply, "If I can find her," but rather inquires as to why Mark won't be coming by. Mark says, "Something's happened to Demetri. We're not sure what yet, but I just thought you should know." Ah, vague and ominous updates -- so useful. Mark signs off with "Kiss Charlie for me" and Olivia has a look on her face of "Charlie what now?" as she absently assures him she will. She hangs up and begins calling for Charlie.
Speaking of whom... she's face-painted quite stylishly (it's vaguely reminiscent of a Chinese opera mask) and hanging out alone on a bench. But she's not alone for long. Dyson Frost comes over, sits down, and says brightly, "Hello, Charlie." Charlie gives him a somber look, and ...
We'll just have to wait until week to see what happens . I can wait.
Watch this episode here, discuss it in our forums, then see what we think the cast should do if FlashForward gets cancelled.
Find out what this show's chances are for getting a second season.
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