Timeless – Space Race

By: Jessica Wolff

After seeing the successful moon landing in 1969, an older Wayne Ellis (Robert Pine) answers questions for Garcia Flynn (Goran Visnjic) and Anthony Bruhl (Matt Frewer). Using the information, Flynn goes back in time and kills the younger Wayne Ellis (Joel Berg) to take his badge. As they set up for their mission, Flynn calls a plumbing service and kills the plumber that comes to the house for his uniform. In the present, Lucy Preston (Abigail Spencer), Wyatt Logan (Matt Lanter) and Rufus Carlin (Malcolm Barrett) prepare for the mission and Agent Denise Christopher (Sakina Jaffrey) gives them their badges. Lucy is upset that she is posing as a secretary and Rufus is upset about being a janitor, while Wyatt is pleased that he is an FBI agent.

Flynn arrives at a security firm assisting with the moon landing. He talks to the secretary, Maria (Caitlin Carver), a woman who he has a file on. Once inside, he steals materials needed for their plan. Rufus watches the scientists prepare for the moon landing and is in awe of seeing so many of his heroes in one room. Anthony sneaks downstairs and tampers with the machine. Lucy is asked by one of the scientists to get him a cup of coffee and his sexist attitude frustrates her.  As the scientists talk to Neil Armstrong, Rufus finds Anthony. He confronts him about working for Flynn and demands that he help them. Anthony tells him that it’s too late before the NASA systems malfunction.

Rufus tells Wyatt and Lucy about the system malfunction and how Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are now stranded up in space. Lucy tells them that the failure of the moon landing could cost the United States the Cold War. They look through the briefcase that Rufus took from Flynn and Wyatt finds the file for Maria. Wyatt decides to investigate her and gives Rufus his gun while Rufus and Lucy work to repair the systems. Flynn calls Anthony and is surprised to see Rufus here since they trapped them in 1754. Anthony assures him that Rufus won’t be able to fix the machine and stop their plans.

Rufus looks at the machine and finds a modern computer virus. He gets frustrated with his inability to fix the virus. He tells Lucy about the first time Anthony traveled in the time machine and how he was stranded during the mission and then was in the hospital for several months. He tells her that if Anthony is willing to doom Armstrong and Aldrin to the same fate then he doesn’t know Anthony at all. Rufus gets an idea and they ask Katherine Johnson (Nadine Ellis), a black woman whose calculations helped the moon landing be successful to help them.

Wyatt shows the man at the security firm about Flynn and then asks about Maria. He tells Wyatt that Maria sometimes goes with her kid to the park. Maria and her son, Gabriel (Brenden Sunderland), play at the park and Flynn watches them. After a few moments, Flynn approaches her and she recognizes him. They discuss the situation with the astronauts and he asks about Gabriel. Rufus shows Katherine his calculations and asks her to allow them access to the mainframe. Despite her hesitation, she gets them inside and they start to work on the machine.

At the park, Flynn and Maria bond over the loss of their family members. Wyatt observes from his car, but a police officer comes over and points a gun at him after he sees his weapon. Wyatt shows him his FBI badge and the officer lets him go. However, Flynn spots him and disappears from the park. Katherine is hesitant about Rufus, but he tells her to trust him and that she is his idol. Lucy runs into the scientist, who asks about his coffee. She gets angry with him and his sexist attitude.

As Rufus, Katherine and Lucy work on the machine, Anthony comes in and another man points his gun at them. Rufus confronts Anthony about putting the astronauts’ lives in danger and Anthony tells them that he has to in order to stop Rittenhouse. Rufus grabs him and points Wyatt’s gun at him. Anthony is confident that Rufus won’t shoot since they know each other. Rufus shoots the other man and tells Anthony that he doesn’t know him anymore.

The system is brought back up and the other scientists applaud Katherine for saving the mission. Wyatt goes to Maria’s home asks about Flynn, telling her that he is a Russian spy. They watch the moon landing on television when they hear a commotion. Maria finds Flynn sticking a needle into Gabriel. He tells them that it is medicine and that he wanted to save Gabriel’s life. Wyatt chases after him, but he gets away. Back in the present, Agent Christopher shows Lucy, Wyatt and Rufus the file on Flynn. They find out that Maria was Flynn’s mother and that his half-brother Gabriel died from a bee sting allergic reaction. Gabriel is now alive and well, but Agent Christopher tells them that they need to prioritize stopping Flynn over saving their own loved ones. Lucy goes to see Rufus, who sees that Katherine is given credit for saving the moon landing and hailed as a hero. Rufus confesses to Lucy that he has no remorse for killing the man and that he is scared of what he is becoming.