Discussion Post: 2x07 "Mrs Sherlock Holmes"

[wendelah1]

This is the discussion post for episode 2x07, "Mrs. Sherlock Holmes." It is meant for folks who are watching the show on the U.S./Canadian schedule, but you should feel free to join in any time after you've seen the episode. Please try to keep comments spoiler-free of anything that comes after season two, episode seven. Thank you!

Air Date: April 29, 2018 in the U.S. and Canada
Written by: David Hoffman and Kent Rotherham
Directed by: Douglas Aarniokoski

Memorable quote
Wyatt Logan: "We're The Beatles — we don't need Yoko Ono."
Garcia Flynn: "You do realize there were four members of the Beatles, right?"

Watch on YouTube

I'll post reviews, recaps, and other items of interest as soon as I spot 'em.
An Elementary Lesson in Women’s Suffrage: “Timeless” Season 2, Episode 7, Recapped (The Smithsonian) This time, they got all of the history wrong.
Timeless Recap: Suffragette City (Vulture)
Timeless recap: 'Mrs. Sherlock Holmes' (EW)
Timeless Season 2 Episode 7 Review: Mrs. Sherlock Holmes (Den of Geek)

If you see one I've missed, leave the link and I'll edit it in.

Remember, if you can, watch in real time, tweet in real time, etc. If you're recording the episode to watch later, it doesn't count in the ratings. Watch On Demand, or on Hulu or at the NBC website. Those are the numbers that matter to the network because those are the numbers that matter to their advertisers.

Comments

"You Don't Own Me"

[wendelah1]

I liked Smart Ass Flynn in this episode. I love that he had to remind Wyatt to say good-bye to his wife.

I didn't like Wyatt telling Flynn to stay away from Lucy. As Flynn pointed out, Lucy is a grown woman who gets to make her own choices. She's not Wyatt's wife. She isn't anyone's property. From what Jessica was saying to Wyatt earlier in the season, this is the kind of possessive bullshit that got his marriage to Jessica in trouble in the first place. He's not one person with Jessica and another one with Lucy. That's not how it works, unfortunately.

I loved the scene where Lucy told Wyatt off. The romantic gobbledygook I see circulating about how Wyatt is a changed person now because of his "relationship" with Lucy is nonsensical. He is who he is. And he and Lucy spent exactly one night together before he went to Jessica and begged her for a second chance. That's not a relationship. It's a dalliance. He needs to stop acting like he can have his cake and eat it, too!

I wish the writers hadn't felt the need to change the character of Mary Grace Humiston. The case that earned her the moniker "Mrs. Sherlock Holmes" was only a tiny portion of her accomplishments. She was a practicing attorney with a law degree from NYU. She was independently wealthy which allowed her a great deal of latitude in the cases she pursued. She created the People's Law Firm to take cases of the poor, women, and immigrants. Her work to expose the peonage system in the South led to her being appointed a Special Assistant United States District Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The writer's decision to kill off Alice Paul in order to turn Humiston into a suffragist would have enormous consequences, which don't get acknowledged, not even by Lucy. I don't see why they couldn't have just kept the focus on Paul. There was no speech that day, by the way. They made that up for dramatic effect! Plus there was no need for it--President Woodrow Wilson had already made up his mind to support women's right to vote.

Most people loved this episode. Since I honestly don't care who is sleeping with whom, I would give it a C based on its utter lack of fidelity to historical facts.

EDIT: Also, Rufus needs to stop acting like he's an immortal until they head to the Wild Wild West. Maybe he won't die but he can still get badly beaten, so there is no need for him--or anyone--to take unnecessary chances. (This is so obvious that someone as smart as Rufus should already have figured it out.)

According to Emma, Lucy's Evil great grandpa has put out a contract on Lucy. This is so stupid. She's replaceable, apart from being a main character on a tv series. It's Rufus that Rittenhouse should be trying to kill. Without Rufus, they aren't going anywhere, not in the lifeboat. Flynn was mistaken in deciding not to put a bullet in Emma. This theory that Rittenhouse (and the Timeless writers) are operating with--that you can change the course of history and eliminate something as inevitable as women's right to vote by taking out one person, however influential, is outdated. It makes me question the showrunners alleged interest in history.

Emma and Lucy's Great-Grandpa are a thing? ICK. Why would she even be interested in him, given that he wants to put women in "their place"?

[tinny]

To be honest, this is the first episode this season that I unequivocally loved.

The show has always been good at writing women (I sometimes think the female characters are all better developed than the men), and of course it shines with this topic. Of course the racism angle has to take a backseat this time, but I wouldn't blame the show for that. I think it was pretty realistic that the sufragettes would all have been white.

Rufus is always there to remind us of the racism. (His one word to Connor, "cops", was like a punch to the gut.)

Speaking of Rufus, I liked how he and Jiya resolved their problems - and his conviction that he wasn't going to die was typical.

I loved Emma turning on Rittenhouse. Finally not evil for the sake of evil. For once. It definitely worked for me.

I also liked everyone harping on what's going on between Lucy and Wyatt - and I loved both Flynn and Lucy tearing Wyatt a new one for being a troglodyte asshole who's making everything about himself. I could have done without the last scene between Lucy and Wyatt, but I liked her unwillingness to be touched.

(Honestly, it's all a huge mess I could have done without.)

The image they found of Jessica points to what we've all been fearing: that Jessica is Rittenhouse. I'm not making any more guesses. There is just no way they can resolve any of this without breaking hearts.

Still, this episode alone was worth the mess that is this second season.

[wendelah1]

The only thing I enjoyed about this episode was watching Troglodyte Logan get told off, first by Flynn, then by Lucy. Wyatt is my least favorite, non-Rittenhouse character right now.

(Honestly, it's all a huge mess I could have done without.)

I agree.

I loved Emma turning on Rittenhouse. Finally not evil for the sake of evil. For once. It definitely worked for me.

It did seem like she found a line that she couldn't cross, but it was only to save herself, not to help anyone else. And then as soon as she got home, she went right back to the Super Creep's bed. I'm sorry, but that doesn't make any sense. And I don't see Rittenhouse as being evil for the sake of evil. They have a plan, a stupid plan, but a plan nonetheless. They want to fundamentally change the character of American society by making it even less free, more inequitable, and much less diverse. They want to undo all of the positive changes that have happened and consolidate political and economic power in the hands of a few white men. Kind of like the Trump administration...

The image they found of Jessica points to what we've all been fearing: that Jessica is Rittenhouse. I'm not making any more guesses. There is just no way they can resolve any of this without breaking hearts.

It points to something. Here is the question that not a single person in this fandom can answer for me: If Jessica is working for Rittenhouse, why hasn't she already revealed the location of the Time Team bunker to them? What is she waiting for?

(If the writers can come up with an acceptable explanation, I will be very surprised.)

All the picture proves is that she was on their radar. It doesn't even prove that it was something they did in the past that resurrected her in the present. (Doesn't it seem odd that no one has yet even attempted to figure out how that happened? I hope the picture gets Agent Christopher on the case!)

The best resolution for Jessica at this juncture would be if she told Wyatt, I'm done playing soldier's wife here in the bunker. I want a life of my choosing, and this isn't it. Come away with me, if you want to be with me. If she's really the love of his life, he'll go with her. If I was writing an ending to the series, that would wrap up their arc nicely.

If she's being used by Rittenhouse, I don't think she's aware of it. From what we know of her character, I don't think she's that good of an actress or that smart of an operative.