3:37pm. Demetri laods Simon into his car. Demetri asks Janis how she could trust Simon? She doesn't know; she just can't do this anymore. She's tired of lying to everyone. Janis instructs Demetri to tell the FBI exactly where he found Simon: at her place. Demetri pulls away, and Janis, making the niversal sign for "I'm thinking about what's important," places her hand on her pregnant stomach. Demetri stops the car and backs up. He asks Janis if she would have helped Simon if Demetri hadn't pulled up. When she replies in the affirmative, Demetri tells her to get in -- they're going to bring Simon to NLAP.
Lloyd reviews a number of pages of equations with Dylan next to him. Dylan, looking at one of the pages, asks his father, "Why did the 8 die?" Lloyd tells him that it is not a "dead 8," but an infinity symbol. As Lloyd tries to explain infinity to him, Dylan begins shuffling the pages, saying that theones with the numbers need to be together; all of the pages (and formulae) need to be in the right place. This seems to be the "Eureka!" moment Lloyd was seeking. Back at the FBI, Mark again questions Hellinger. He demands to know if there is going to be a second blackout. Hellinger responds by telling Mark that he chose the wrong path, and as a result, he's going to die. Mark continues to demand to know when the next blackout is coming. Hellingergoads Mark, telling him that his Mosaic board is just a scrapbook of Mark's failures: the 137 seconds, Somalia, the White Queen. Mark should know that he's failed and give up; because he won't, Mark is going to die. With Mark fuming, Hellinger goes for the jugular, saying that there is one good thing to come from Mark's death: Charlie will be better off...and Mark knows it. Mark breaks, head butts Hellinger (in the worst filmed head butt in television history. He didn't even come close!), and begins to wail on the prisoner. Agents run in to pull Mark out of the room. Wedeck orders Mark from the building. He doesn't care what day it is, Mark has to leave.
4:17pm. Bryce and Nicole grab some supplies and load up the car for a picnic. Nicole asks if Bryce really wants to do that, and he responds that he's eager to see how people react to not having to live in fear of their futures. Nicole says that she's not actually worried about drowning, but rather the feeling of guilt, her feeling that she deserved to drown, that she felt during her flash. Clearly the guilt is already eating away at her, because Nicole tells Bryce that Keiko is in L.A. and being held by Immigration. Brcye gets a bit too indignant, and resolves (in his mind) to find her. Keiko, meanwhile, has a visitor. Her mother has flown in from Japan to post her bond, but she must leave immediately. Keiko protests, saying she hasn't met the man from her flash yet, but her mother insists, lest Keiko be thrown in jail for an undetermined amount of time. In Afghanistan, Khamir tries desperately to revive Tracy.
6:38pm. Mark, dazed and confused from this encounter with Hellinger and subsequent dismissal from the office, wanders aimlessly through a group of revelers. One of the partiers, thinking he remembers Mark from his flash, tells Mark that he looks like he could use a drink, so he gives Mark his flask. Mark contemplates the alcohol contained within the flask, and how he has arrived at this point in his life. He raises the flask to is lips, and takes a drink.
6:46pm. With Simon sleeping in the back, Janis asks Demetri why he turned around. Demetri's not sure, but he knows that when Janis revealed she was working for the CIA, he felt like he lost his best friend. He admits to Janis that he told Zoeyabout the baby. At that moment, Janis grabs her stomach -- something is wrong with the baby. Another medical emergency continues in Afghanistan. Despite his best efforts, Khamir says Tracy is dead. Aaron pushes him out of the way and performs CPR on his daughter, but she is gone. "Let her go," Khamir tells the distraught Aaron.
Lloyd calls Olivia. He is at Olivia's house, but she is not. Olivia is driving with Charlie, and tells Lloyd that she just needs to get away from everything and have some space. Lloyd argues that certain conditions must be met, and that Olivia must be back at 10:00. Olivia interrupts him, saying that she has heard enough about fate and destiny; she needs to think about Charlie's safety. Mark, meanwhile, is at a bar drinking. Another patron remarks that he likes Mark's string bracelet. Further, he thinks Mark was in his flash. Mark says that the guy wasn't in his flash. The guy remarks that he remembers Mark's cheap suit and droopy eyes. Mark asks if that insult is the best the guy can do. The patron responds that Mark is one of "those guy," the kind that fights fate, and it's clear, Mark has already lost. This send Mark over the edge again, as he punches the guy, and a barroom brawl ensues.
Mark is thrown in jail, Bryce enters the Immigration holding facility, Olivia and Charlie walk on the beach, Lloyd and Dylan wait at Olivia's house, Janis and Demetri drive to NLAP and Aaron sits with Tracy's body, all while partiers revel in the arrival of the time and place they hoped or feared to be at 10:00pm, April 29th.
Commentary
With the series having been cancelled, it's hard to watch the remaining episodes with any kind of anticipation, or really, investment. That said, I didn't think this was a particularly strong episode. As is clear from what I wrote above, the episode jumped around way too much. I know the creators are trying to move toward their endgame for the season, so they wanted to show all of the characters head toward the time of the flashes. But all it did, for me, was bring into stark relief how unnecessary a number of the characters and plots are. Yes, the first confirmed connection between Jericho and the blackout was made in Aaron's story, but the whole Tracy story was constructed just to get Aaron to that one sentence the Jericho mercenary. Clearly, this could have been accomplished in some other way. The Bryce/Nicole/Keiko plot doesn't even have the benefit of that one reveal. This story is just dead weight, sucking up precious minutes each week. I hope that if the show had survived another year, that these stories would have been shown the exit, but we'll never know. It's a shame too, because FlashForward for all of its flaws, actually could have been a great show. I have some thoughts on how, but I'll save those for next week, after the series finale.
So, what did you think of "Countdown"? Did you find the bouncing around as frustrating as I did? What do you think about the Aaron and Bryce stories? Were they worth it at all, or should they have been dropped in the beginning? Are you going to miss FlashForward after next week, or are you ready to move on? Please leave your questions and comments below, and be sure to check out TVOvermind for all of your TV news needs. I'll be back next week to recap the series finale. Until then, I'm off to buy cupcakes for Flash Forward Day.
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I agree that the Aaron and Bryce stories weren't necessary and detracted from the quality of the show. I believe that if those 2 superfluous storylines weren't there, the show would have had a much better chance of keeping its original numbers and being renewed. Nevertheless, I'm sad that next week is the last episode. I did become invested in some of the characters, especially Mark. Last night I was saying out loud, "Don't do it, Mark! Don't do it!" when he was debating drinking from the flask. I hope to see Joseph Fiennes in another project soon – I've been a big fan of his since Shakespeare In Love. And I hope they explain the significance of the kangaroo!
my personal mum cherished joe segar, and this song. the girl wanted this kind of tune performed at your ex memorial, if the memorial service dude asked everyone whenever he or she wear it, if it has been okay..we