Year 2043
Ramse and Jones are worried because Cole has not returned and the fact that they are still there, indicates that they didn't stop the army of the 12 monkeys. Cole's coordinates are found and when they try to bring him back, the machine goes wonky. Jones pulls Ramse aside to say that they are losing their real time tether, which means that Cole could be lost in time forever.
Year 2015
Aaron and Cassie talk about the fact that it could potentially be all over. Cassie however says that if Cole's body is still there, then the threat of the virus is still very real. Aaron offers to attempt to get a meeting with Royce to discuss the aftermath of the explosion. The camera centers in on Cassie's watch, where the scratch is still evident.
Year 2043
Jones works with the scientists to fix the core. Jones needs a specific part and Whitley offers to go and get it. Jones does however suggest that Ramse accompany Whitley and of course, Whitley is not pleased with this suggestion. Jones believes that Ramse is as motivated as she is to bring Cole home. It seems that Whitley and Ramse will be traveling to Spearhead - the place where the president and all the top minds where transfered to wait out the virus. The scientists worked there for twenty years before the virus mutated and killed them off. It was Col. Foster who when he lost his wife due to the virus mutating, who started a coup killing the last of the leadership. It was then that Jones left and started project Splinter. Because the virus has now mutated a further two times, Jones is absolutely convinced that the only way forward is to stop it from being released altogether.
Year 2015
Surprise, surprise, Cole isn't dead. He is however injured and dealing with it by pouring alcohol into a leg wound and pulling out a bullet. Outside, he hears people speaking in Russian and Cole calls out to them for help.
Back in Washington, Cassie and Aaron enter Senator Royce's office to ask if anyone survived the drone strike. Royce declares that he is not giving them any more information but Cassie is not taking that lying down and once again threatens to tell the news because if anyone survived, they would be patient zero. Cassie demands to know if Cole survived and is told that Wexlar and his men were pulled out but Cole was not found. Royce declares that no one survived but Cassie asks to be put on the ground under CDC jurisdiction to make sure the coast is clear.
Year 2043
Ramse and Whitley drive into Spearhead where it turns out that Whiteley's father is Foster's head of security. Whiteley speaks to his father and asks to talk to Foster. They are led into the compound where children run around freely. Scientists are working in a lab and Foster is praying when they approach him. Whitley and Ramse confirm that project Splinter works and ask for a stabalizer manifold and suggest a trade. Foster leads them to the computer network he has created, saying that its function is to find a cure for the plague. Ramse however brings up the fact that the virus mutates quickly, making a cure an impossibility but of course, Foster is not dissuaded, firm in his belief that they are only a few years away from a vaccine.
Year 2015
Cole calls out again for help and is answered by Aza and Mikaail, whose first question is if anyone knows that Cole is there. At this point, with everything he has seen, Cole should be suspicious.
Year 2043
Ramse has gone off to brood after being rejected by Foster and runs into Elena, who is one of the lab techs there. It seems that these two have a history together and Elena is a little reluctant to talk. Elena left Ramse because the seven were hunting them and she didn't feel safe. Ramse declares that he would have protected her but Elena replies that it wasn't her she was worried about. Elena then takes Ramse into a play area and introduces Ramse to a child named Samuel
Jones works frantically to try to get the Splitter machine up and working because Foster has turned them down. Jones is told that without the stabilizer, tremendous stress will be placed on the core. Jones calls for the generator to be started, saying that Cole is the priority.
Year 2015
Cole calls out that he believes he can get out of there but is unable to do so on his own. Mikaail agrees to help Cole.
Year 2043
Jones is trying to grab Cole, even as in 2015 he is struggling to get out. The machine however explodes and Cole remains in the past.
Year 2015
Cole starts to cough but calls out that it's just the dust.
Year 2043
Jones learns that they only have 48 hours to get Cole back and that the entire facility is now on backup power.
At Spearhead, Ramse questions whether or not his son knows he exists and learns that Elena has told the boy nothing because she has no idea who is going to be there for the child in the future. Ramse tells her that the virus is going to keep on mutating but it seems that Elena is certain that Foster is going to solve this. Ramse is just adamant that this is not going to happen, adding that the best minds couldn't figure it out thirty years ago. Elena tells Ramse to look around at everything Foster has done there.
Year 2015
Cassandra has her things packed up and says that she knows that it's crazy to travel half way around the world to make sure that someone isn't there. Cassie then asks Aaron to come with her. Aaron however is convinced that Cassie needs to do this on her own and promises to be there when she gets back. The two embrace and Cassie kisses Aaron.
Year 2043
Ramse goes to see his son as Elena watches. They are interrupted by Whitley, who says that things are about to get interesting. It seems that Jones has arrived at the facility. Foster invites the entire Splitter team to dinner.
Year 2015
Cole is still trapped and learns that Mikaail went to find help. Asa asks what Cole will do when he gets out and he says that he does not know. Aza says that she would have strudel if she could have anything and starts to cough as she talks about her mother. Cole asks Aza to find a phone and call his doctor friend. Aza however says that help is coming and that they just have to wait a little longer.
Year 2043
Everyone sits to dinner and Foster says a prayer over the food. Jones demands the core because hers has been exhausted, adding that they have a man who will be lost in time otherwise. Foster snarks about Jones's mishaps and so she declares that she has perfected the process. Ramse is not impressed with either Foster or Jones, pointing out that a lot lives are at stake. Foster suggests loaning Jones what she needs, on the condition that once Cole is returned, Jones joins their efforts to find a cure. Foster then quotes the bible and suggests that Jones is playing Frankenstein. Jones however brings up Foster's coup and the blood Foster spilled in the name of the hope, adding that Foster has nothing to show for anything he has done. Jones reaches into her bag and pulls out a picture of Foster and his wife on their wedding day.
In private, Foster asks how she can be in possession of the pictures because they were all burned when Atlanta fell. Jones tells Foster that he can have his wife back and all of those who were lost. Jones adds that this includes society and culture but Foster calls it all impossible. Jones argues that if Foster hadn't believed in the possibility of project Splinter in the first place, he would put a bullet in her head. Foster says that the pictures are precious to him and then lights them on fire adding that the past is the past. Foster adds that the Core is at the heart of their work and questions if this was all meant to happen, so that they could find a cure. In a cheap shot, Foster brings up Jones's child and is slapped for his trouble.
Elena approaches Ramse and reports that his son wanted to know why he didn't have hair. They share a moment and almost kiss but are interrupted by Whitley. Ramse promises Elena that he will be back and the two share a kiss.
Chechnya 2015
Cassie tries to find a guide to take her into the area where the explosion happened but is told that Russian military has the area surrounded. Cassie pulls out some money and asks the taxi driver how close he can get her. The man takes the money and Cassie hops in the cab.
Year 2043
Whitley and Ramse talk with the scientists of Project Splitter of what they saw at Spearhead. Ramse reveals that their hope is to create a cure every time the virus mutates. Ramse adds that this means they could just move forward with their lives. Adler feels that it's a fools errand but Lasky wonders if it's possible now. Jones pipes up and says that it's all a lie to keep the people complacent. Jones however admits that Foster found a cure for the plague of 2033 - the strain that destroyed Spearhead but not for the one they are facing now, or for the next mutation. Jones is adamant that they need to retrieve Cole because the machine is the only hope for them. Everyone leaves and Whitley is alone with Jones and he suggests making a deal with Foster but Jones is adamant that the deal is a precursor to servitude. Jones wants to take the core by any means necessary instead.
Year 2015
Aza calls out for Cole to wake up because rescue forces have arrived. The taxi has arrived at the check point and Cassie hands the driver a mask and some money to give to the guard. At Cole's location, a rope is being lowered with a harness for him to sit in, as Cassie makes her way through the ruins. Cole gets pulled out of the blast sight as Cassie arrives. For some reason, Cassie doesn't see Cole and calls Aaron to say that now that she is standing in front of the blast site, she is sure no one survived. Cassie declares Cole's mission a success.
Cole asks Mikaail and Aza if the virus got out and is told that there has been a plague all over the world. Cole then asks what year it is and is told that he is in 2017. Cole realises that when Jones tried to pull him back, he jumped forward two years in time. From the mountain top, Cole surveys the damage.
We are starting to see more what is happening in 2043, and exactly what kind of world Cole is trying to prevent. I like these forays away from the time traveling because the paradox of that aspect just simply bores me. Cassandra has already lived through what Cole experiences otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to leave the message in the first damn time.
Clearly the time of 2043 is a world where people have lost much and even in the pockets of civilization that remain, there is disharmony. I am glad we got to learn a little bit more about project Splitter and Jones's background. The more her story is built up, the more interesting she becomes. What way to move forward is clearly going to cause a large conflict and it will be interesting to see how the characters negotiate it.
I am also glad that we got see Ramse separately from Cole. For much of this season, Ramse has been the Jiminy Cricket of the show. This episode we got to see a different side of Ramse, with introduction of Samuel and Elena. I want to see this storyline go somewhere. Now that Ramse has a reason to want a cure, instead of simply changing time, it will be interesting to see if he and Cole will end up on opposite sides of the issue.
Finding out that Cole is alive was so very anticlimactic. Why oh why do television shows insist on putting the protagonist in jeopardy when it's clear to the audience that there is no chance said person is going to die. At best, all that can occur is a serious injury. Furthermore, Cole is easily the least interesting character on the show, even if he is the protagonist.
I am seriously counting down episodes until 12 Monkeys finishes for the year. It started off interesting but seems to be slipping each week and it makes less and less sense each week. Righting a time travel show requires forethought and I have long stopped thinking that the writers have really given thought to what they are doing.
