Timeless – The World’s Columbian Exposition

By starrymag | January 23, 2017

By: Jessica Wolff

 

The winter premiere of “Timeless” picks up moments after Lucy Preston (Abigail Spencer) is taken by Garcia Flynn (Goran Visnjic). The time machine arrives at headquarters and Wyatt Logan (Matt Lanter) and Rufus Carlin (Malcolm Barrett) step out. They inform Agent Denise Christopher (Sakina Jaffrey) and Connor Mason (Paterson Joseph) of Lucy’s disappearance. Jiya (Claudia Doumit) tells them that Flynn has been jumping all over the timeline. At Flynn’s headquarters, his time machine arrives and Flynn steps out. He tells Lucy that because of her refusal to let him kill the younger Rittenhouse, his family is still dead and nothing has changed. He demands that Lucy find the boy and Lucy tells him that there is no record of him. She speculates that he probably changed his name and went underground because Flynn murdered his father.

 

Furious, Flynn drags Lucy into the time machine. Jiya sees that Flynn has traveled to 1893 and Agent Christopher recognizes the date and location of the Chicago World’s Fair. Wyatt wants to follow them, but Jiya tells him that the machine needs to charge for four hours. Flynn shows Lucy the first ferris wheel and tells her that members of Rittenhouse Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and J.P. Morgan will be meeting the next day. To Lucy’s horror, he intends to kill all three men. Flynn tells her that she is supposed to help him stop Rittenhouse and that her refusal to help him makes her expendable.

 

Mason confronts Rufus about the blank recording and Rufus tells him that he erased the tape to erase the evidence that they helped Flynn murder Rittenhouse’s founder. He tells Rufus that he has to run and offers his assistance to help give Rufus a new identity. However, Rufus refuses his help and says that he won’t run from Rittenhouse, especially not until they find Lucy. As they step into the time machine, Rufus assures Wyatt that they will find Lucy.

 

After they arrive in 1893, Wyatt spots one of Flynn’s men, Karl (Chad Rook), in the crowd at the fair. They chase after him and follow him into the World’s Fair Hotel. Inside a tent, Flynn tells Lucy more about the meeting between the three Rittenhouse members. Lucy refuses to help him and tells him he should just kill her. Karl comes over to tell Flynn that he led Wyatt and Rufus into the hotel as asked. Flynn reminds Lucy that the World’s Fair Hotel was owned by serial killer H.H. Holmes and was laden with so many traps for his victims that it was nicknamed “The Murder Castle.”

 

Wyatt and Rufus search for Lucy inside the hotel and Wyatt asks Pat Quinlan (John Hensley) for help, but he provides no answers. Flynn tells Lucy that he needs Harry Houdini (Michael Drayer) to help him get inside the Rittenhouse meeting. They watch his show and Lucy excitedly volunteers herself when Houdini asks for help from the audience. Wyatt bumps into a woman, Sophia Hayden (Katherine Cunningham), in the hallway and he helps her pick up her architectural drawings and bring them into her room as Holmes looks on through a peephole drilled into a wall. Rufus goes into a room and finds a bone in a furnace. The door locks behind him and gas leaks into the room. Wyatt tries to leave Sophia’s room, but finds the door is locked. Wyatt tries to escape as the gas leaks into the room, but he is knocked out.

 

During the show, Lucy assists in handcuffing Houdini and locking him inside a trunk. A curtain is pulled up and Houdini comes out of the trunk when the curtain falls. Lucy is amazed by seeing the trick first hand and waits after the show to talk to Houdini. She tells Houdini that she’s a big fan of his and lies that her “uncle” wants to book him at his theater. She brings him to meet said uncle where Flynn points a gun at him. Wyatt wakes up surrounded by George Henry (Joel Johnstone), Sophia and Rufus in an airtight hidden room. Wyatt and Rufus attempt to escape and yell for help, but Sophia tells them that they are wasting oxygen. George hands them cracker jacks that had debuted at the fair the day before. Wyatt speculates that this hotel is the work of a serial killer and then has to explain what a serial killer is to George and Sophia, as the term hasn’t been officially invented. Wyatt figures out that Flynn led him and Rufus to the hotel on purpose.

 

Lucy apologizes to Houdini for getting him involved with Flynn and explains that she didn’t have a choice. She insists that she really is a fan of his and that she knows what it’s like to be trapped underwater. Houdini tells her that fear isn’t real and that his secret is to clear his mind and focus on escape. She asks him to teach her the cutpurse trick and Flynn asks him to pick the lock. He brings him inside to a door with multiple locks. Houdini sees an air vent and climbs into it. After he climbs into the room, he unlocks and opens the door from the other side. Thomas Edison (Link Baker), Henry Ford (Chris W. Greenfield), and J.P. Morgan (Marcus Hondro) arrive and Flynn introduces himself before reaching for his gun. He finds that Houdini has stolen it using the cutpurse trick and takes the bomb out of his hand as he handcuffs him to the table. He introduces himself to the three men as he makes his exit.

 

Outside, Houdini knocks out Karl and handcuffs him to some bars. He thanks Lucy for reminding him of the cutpurse trick and says goodbye. Before he can leave, Lucy asks for his help rescuing Wyatt and Rufus. Running out of oxygen, George and Sophia talk about the family that will lose them if they die. Sophia mentions that she went to MIT and Rufus tells her he went there as well. She assumes that he’s Robert Robinson Taylor, the first black man to go to MIT. He tells her that he’s the other black guy. Wyatt tells them that he knows what it’s like to lose someone and assures them that he will get them out of there alive. A guard comes to take Flynn, but Flynn attacks him as soon as he’s out of the handcuffs and escapes.

 

Sophia figures out that they can drill a hole in a decaying brick and hands Wyatt a tool to help him. Lucy and Houdini begin their search of the hotel. After several moments, Wyatt finishes making the hole and calls out for help. Lucy is able to hear him and she and Houdini find a secret entrance behind a bookcase. Lucy tells them that she’s brought Houdini and Wyatt and Rufus are in disbelief. Houdini unlocks the door and frees everyone from the room. Lucy embraces Wyatt and Rufus as they leave.

 

Wyatt confronts Quinlan and accuses him of being Holmes. He denies it and his identification verifies his identity. He tells them that Holmes is in his office on the third floor. Wyatt tells Lucy to call the police as he drags Quinlan upstairs. On the wall, Lucy sees a photo of Holmes and realizes that George is really Holmes. As she calls out to Wyatt, Holmes appears and captures Lucy. Everyone hears her screams and rushes inside to help her.

 

Lucy wakes up in a dark, enclosed space. Holmes is nearby preparing for his kill. She begs him to let her out before he slams his hand on the box and tells her to be quiet. Remembering what Houdini told her, she focuses her thoughts only on her escape. She calls him by his real name and uses her historical knowledge to try and get through to Holmes. She tells him that she knows so much about him because she is a psychic and that she’s seen his past and future. Wyatt puts a gun to Quinlan’s head demanding he tell them where Lucy is and he tells them that his boss sometimes goes down to the basement.

 

Holmes refuses to believe that Lucy is a psychic, but she continues to use her knowledge of his life. She promises him great wealth and power if he lets her go. Before he can move, Wyatt bursts in and points a gun at Holmes. He tells Rufus to release Lucy and is surprised to see that Holmes is actually George. Holmes tells him that he likes to watch the fear on his victims’ faces as they die and that he can’t help that he’s a killer. Wyatt asks for one reason why he shouldn’t shoot him and Holmes tells him that he can give his victims’ families closure if he stays alive. However, Lucy confirms that Holmes is a serial liar as well as a serial killer and Wyatt shoots Holmes.

 

Lucy, Wyatt and Rufus say goodbye to Sophia and Houdini as they wait for the police to arrive. Houdini asks Lucy to be his assistant, but Lucy declines and tells him to lookout for someone named Annie, Francis or Bess. As Houdini walks away, Wyatt realizes that his gun is missing and demands that Houdini give it back. The three walk away, thrilled that the team is back together.

 

Back in the present, Rufus makes a recording for Rittenhouse. He tells them that he will help them bring down Flynn, but that he won’t be their errand boy. He tells them that they can’t threaten his family anymore and that they need to listen to him because he is the only person who knows how to pilot the time machine. Rufus instructs Mason to give the recording to Rittenhouse and tells Mason that he’s no longer scared of them. He tells Mason that he should pick a side like he did. Wyatt receives a phone call from Flynn who congratulates him on surviving Holmes and saving Rittenhouse. He tells Wyatt that he’s a man of his word and gives him the name of his wife’s killer: Wes Gilliam. He tells him that he can’t directly stop the murder and the only way to prevent it is to kill the man’s parents before he is born.