Timeless – Stranded

By: Jessica Wolff

In 1754, French soldiers capture Lucy Preston (Abigail Spencer), Wyatt Logan (Matt Lanter) and Rufus Carlin (Malcolm Barrett) and bring them to their camp. The three continue to be at odds with each other and bicker about their situation.  Wyatt asks Lucy to tell him how to say, “I had sex with your mother last night” in French and she gives him the translation after a little hesitation. Wyatt repeats the phrase to the general and uses the point of the soldier’s bayonet to break free of his restraints. A fight ensues and Wyatt gains the upper hand by shooting him with his modern gun.

Once free, Wyatt asks for Rufus’ recording device and throws it into the river. Rufus tries to tell him that Rittenhouse won’t buy that he lost the device again, but Wyatt is too angry to care. Lucy is unable to figure out why Flynn went back to 1754 and Wyatt sees Flynn’s men attaching explosives to the time machine. Wyatt shoots one of them before he triggers the explosion, but the time machine is damaged in the ensuing gunfight. Garcia Flynn (Goran Visnjic) and men escape in their time machine, leaving the three stranded in 1754.

As Rufus tries to fix the time machine, Wyatt speculates that Flynn’s objective was not to change history, but to trap them. Lucy tries to get Wyatt to talk to her, but he is still mad at her for not telling him about the journal. He is also upset about her deal with Agent Denise Christopher (Sakina Jaffrey) to get her sister back and that a similar deal wasn’t offered to him to get his wife back. Rufus interrupts them to report on the condition of the machine and the items that he would need to fix it. Lucy tells him that there is a French camp not too far where they can get the supplies they need. While Rufus tells them about their slim chances of survival, he remembers the protocol that he was taught.

In the present, Connor Mason (Paterson Joseph) and Jiya (Claudia Doumit) wait for the time machine. Jiya is worried that the time machine hasn’t come back yet, but Mason reminds her about the protocol. Wyatt digs a hole in front of the time machine and Rufus buries a tube with a message inside for Mason. Though Lucy is skeptical that the message will stay buried in what will become a suburb of Pittsburgh for so many years, Rufus tells her that it’s their only option.

Outside Mason Industries, the Rittenhouse agent (John Getz) calls Mason and asks about the missing time machine. The agent is worried about Lucy and the team and Mason asks why he wanted Lucy for the mission over all of the other possible historians. After he hangs up, Agent Christopher asks about the phone call, but Mason brushes her off. In 1754, Wyatt and Rufus argue and Wyatt admits that he can’t do his job effectively because he doesn’t trust his team. They see the French soldiers looking for them and they walk through the lake to cover their tracks. On the other side, they find a dead French soldier. Wyatt begins to pull of the soldier’s uniform and several Native Americans surround them with arrows pointed at them

The three are tied up and discuss their chances of survival. In the present, a construction crew digs up the Pittsburgh suburb and Jiya admits how worried she is about Rufus. In 1754, the group discusses what they wish they could have done before they die. Rufus says that he wants a Chocodile (a Twinkie wrapped in chocolate) and then says that he wishes he could tell Jiya how he feels about her. Wyatt mentions his wife and Lucy apologizes for what was written in the journal, telling him that he deserves to get her back. Wyatt responds that she deserves to get her sister back as well and that he will ask Agent Christopher about a deal to bring his wife back.

The tribe chief, Nonhelema (Karina Lombard), approaches them and they are surprised that she is a woman and that she speaks English. She introduces herself and Lucy recognizes her name immediately and gets excited about it. She introduces herself as Doctor Quinn, a medicine woman. Nonhelema is skeptical of Lucy’s claim that they are not here to hurt them. She has her soldiers mark Lucy and Wyatt for death and tells Rufus that he will live since he was forced to be here. Rufus pleads for his friend’s lives and tells her that they have saved his life on more than one occasion. After he tells her that she will have to kill him too, Nonhelema spares Lucy and Wyatt. The excavation crew digs up the note and Jiya is disappointed to find that it has been ruined by age.

As Wyatt steals the French soldier’s clothes, Lucy thanks Rufus for saving their lives. The three infiltrate the French camp and Lucy speaks to the French while Wyatt and Rufus remain silent. She tells him that Wyatt can’t speak and they need to let him rest. Rufus walks around the camp looking for supplies they need to fix the time machine. After doing several tests on the note the only words that Mason and Jiya can make out are “Death” and “Millennium.” Rufus continues preparing supplies and the camp surgeon demands that he take a look at Wyatt. The surgeon refuses to listen to Lucy and tries to inject Wyatt with mercury. Wyatt and Lucy get away and reunite with Rufus. Soldiers come into the compound looking for the three and they climb over the wall of the camp to escape.

Rufus and Wyatt get to work on repairing the machine while Lucy keeps a lookout for the soldiers. Rufus warns them that without Jiya and Mason’s help there is no guarantee that they will survive the trip back. As Jiya tries to decipher the note, Mason talks to her about Rufus. Mason shares his memory of how he met Rufus and Jiya talks about Rufus’ love of Star Wars. She comes to a realization about the note, figuring out that it is supposed to say, “Pull us in like the Death Star did to The Millennium Falcon.” Rufus informs Wyatt and Lucy of the plan and they decide to go through with it despite the dangers.

The French soldiers surround them and they jump into the time machine. The soldiers are disturbed by the sight of the time machine and shoot at it with their guns. Rufus tries to start up the time machine, but nothing happens. Rufus makes a quick fix and the machine boots up and travels back to the present. Jiya works to bring the machine back safely and they land slightly off the landing base. The three step out of the time machine and they are welcomed back.

Rufus and Jiya talk about the note and Jiya kisses him. Agent Christopher asks Patrick Ramsey (Hector Hugo) for authorization to launch an investigation on Mason. At a bar, Rufus reads a news article about the first UFO sighting in 1754 and they drink to their mission. Lucy gives Rufus a box of Chocodiles. Lucy tells Wyatt her fears they she really was the one to write the journal and that she will one day help Flynn. Wyatt tells Lucy that history is a series of choices and she can make the choice to not write the journal or help Flynn when she comes to that point.