By Sobell
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.Tomorrow is D-day -- the day we catch up to our flashforwards! But today in FlashForwardland, lots happens. Let's break it down by character.
Simon's plot: Lita -- the lady who recruited Janis -- makes Simon an offer he can't refuse: something that involves black lingerie and a tattoo that's very similar to one of Dyson Frost's favorite illustrations. Simon has a counter-offer: He wants to deal with the head of the vast cabal directly. And when he does, he uses his big brain to point out that they need him, and that there's nothing else they can threaten him with to get him to help them out. Of course, he's also been outed as Suspect Zero, so it's not like he has a plethora of options.
Demetri's plot: Zoey wants him to take off for Hawaii. Demetri's all, "Have you forgotten that I work for the FBI and have lots of obligations to my country's security?" Zoey's response is: "I will make you take the middle seat if you keep on giving me lip." And if Janis blowing him off (see below) isn't bad enough, Demetri also gets the full Gabriel experience, wherein the poor savant points at him and bellows, "He has to die to make everything all right." When Demetri tries to follow up with him later, Gabriel tells him that no matter what path he takes, he'll end up where he's supposed to be. That's cold comfort.
Gabriel's plot: Olivia brings him into the office to check out Mark's collage, and Gabriel informs Mark that a lot of it is wrong. He also calls Olivia "Olivia Simcoe," much to Mark's dismay. Anyway, because he is such an idiosyncratic character, it's necessary for Olivia to stick around for Gabriel's debriefing. This provides ample opportunity for Mark to stalk his wife around the office and catch her making eyes at Lloyd. In one of the most redeeming moments Mark has, he asks Gabriel if Olivia will be happy and safe with Lloyd, and when Gabriel tells him yes, Mark seems to understand what has to happen.
Janis's plot: She protests to Agent Vogel that she doesn't want to kill Mark, but he tells her that she really has no choice, or else she'll botch the whole double-agent thing and wreck his pending investigation. As part of her comprehensive burning-all-my-bridges plan, Janis also tells Demetri, "Hey, thanks for the sperm donation, but I plan on shutting you out of my kid's life." Then she goes to hang out with Carleen, and gives up Gabriel in order to stall on killing Mark and/or getting killed herself. Or does she? because when the baddies waylay the van Janis specified, it turns out that Mark is the decoy for Gabriel, and he gets the henchpeople to lead him to the big man in charge. And once Mark gets back, he confronts Janis over her shady work for the CIA, and she admits that she's got orders to kill him. Then she tries to come clean with Demetri about everything, but he is not exactly thrilled to be in on the secret. Her bad day comes to a close with Simon breaking into her house and holding a gun on her as his way of asking for help.
And finally: Aaron delivers the goods on Jericho to Wedeck, who lets the president know what he found. He also asks, "Have you ever asked your vice president what she saw?" The president blows him off with chilly politeness and Wedeck passes the photos on to the vice president. Also, Aaron finds Tracy and, thanks to the time difference between L.A. and Kandahar, it's already D-day where he is -- and his flashforward is coming up exactly as he foresaw.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!In an amusing twist on the usual opening, we go straight to the FBI office, where Wedeck tells his remaining live agents, "On October 6th, the planet blacked out for two minutes and 17 seconds, and the whole world saw the future." But wait! There's more! Wedeck continues, "Some of us were alarmed by what we saw. Others were elated, and rejoiced. Still others saw nothing at all. They were left confused, concerned and otherwise uncertain. But that uncertainty will soon be resolved. Tomorrow is D-Day -- the day we catch up to the flashforwards. Our future both as individuals and as a collective is upon us. This building may very well come under attack tomorrow night. But we will not back down. We are the FBI, and we are open for business." But only between the federally-mandated hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., all federal holidays exempted, and good luck finding someone between Christmas and New Year's when everyone is burning off their mandatory leave days.
Anyway, everyone's on maximum alert, there are extra sniper teams in place, and Vogel looks frankly skeptical that any of this will mean jack and/or squat tomorrow. Fortunately, everyone else is too happily wrapped in the hypnotic effects of Wedeck's ringing exhortations to notice.
And once the U.S. government version of the St. Crispin's Day speech is delivered, Wedeck is on Mark like a Kardashian on the paparazzi, demanding updates on Simon (still missing). Oh, wait! Breaking news! A local TV station is broadcasting footage of Suspect Zero (Simon), except this security-camera footage is taken from a completely different angle. Wedeck wants to know where this footage came from; Mark counters that a better question might be, "Why now?"
Meanwhile, Simon's at a bar, practicing the phrase "My name is David Walker" over and over in an American accent. He's wearing a black fedora and eyeglasses in an effort to look like anyone other than Simon Campos. He underestimates how distinctive his face is. Anyway, who should slink into his bar booth but Lita, the woman who recruited Janis into the shadowy cabal of people bent on wrecking the planet's comprehensive spoiler policy. She grabs his glasses and purrs, "You have such a cute face, Simon. Don't hide it." Then some leaden badinage follows -- truly, the art of the double entendre, or even the single entendre, has deteriorated -- and it works because the two of them decamp to go drink in a different bar.