Timeless Season 1, Episode 9 That being said, what really worked well in this episode was the chemistry between Lucy and Wyatt, and there’s no denying it: that really carried the episode. Preceding their adventure with an awkward “first date” between Lucy and her stranger of a fiancé, Noah, underscored the closeness of the bond Lucy and Wyatt have formed. Abigail Spencer’s wistfulness and Matt Lanter’s broodiness match perfectly. Their undercover performance as a bank-robbing couple colluding with Bonnie and Clyde was really the only reason to use this particular moment in history; the necklace Flynn sought could have honestly been around anyone’s neck. But the warped love affair of the ’30s natives not only forced Wyatt and Lucy to examine their relationship; it gave viewers the heartfelt tale of Wyatt’s proposal to his deceased wife, Jessica, both strengthening his character and pulling Lucy closer. The only problem is that the Bonnie and Clyde story is flat, like a set piece rather than a true setting, as though most of the Barrow gang’s brutality were being glossed over in order to serve the romantic stirrings between Lucy and Wyatt. Bonnie Parker’s poetry for example, although certainly part of her legend, romanticizes the historical figure such that our time travelers might as well have been visiting the set of the Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway film. The Rittenhouse key also feels straight out of a movie, perhaps National Treasure, but here it’s much more effective. When Flynn unlocks the antique clock causing it to come alive like a steampunk creature to reveal the aged scroll, viewers can’t help but wonder what secrets are written there. The Rittenhouse mythology’s fantastical elements, however, also serve to heighten the unrealistic aspects of the Hollywood version of history. So the episode does succeed in the end, mostly because of the strong character building and mythology reveals. Even Rufus and Jiya got their moment! But as wonderful as the set designs and costumes have been in Timeless, the historical settings are in danger of either making or breaking the effectiveness of the storytelling, and that was nowhere more clear than in this week’s choice of Bonnie and Clyde. Will viewers start pre-judging the episodes based on where the team is headed next? It may have already started happening.
