Written By Matthew Widdis
Upon watching the first few episodes of Timeless, I had deemed them good enough to introduce to my wife. I was delighted when they earned the “I f***ing hate you” seal of approval from a woman who looks at the DVR queue like a to-do list. She was hooked. It was then that I knew, in my heart of hearts, that the Shawn Ryan/Eric Kripke project was likely to end up in that beloved but dreaded “Firefly” category: a candle that burns brightly but briefly.
Cancelled for three days and then saved from the axe, our modern-day McFlys were truly on borrowed time and The Little Time Machine That Could was officially cancelled at the end of Season Two. But it’s Christmastime and miracles abound. Two final episodes were combined into a series finale and resolved the season two cliffhangers.
When last we left our heroes, history professor, Lucy Preston (Abigail Spencer of Rectify and Suits) and Special Forces soldier, Wyatt Logan (Matt Lanter of Pitch Perfect 3), were on a mission to save their friend and “Lifeboat” time machine pilot, Rufus Carlin (Malcolm Barrett of Better Off Ted and The Hurt Locker) from more-than-certain death in 1848 California. This half of the story seems to be the one that lost the most in the rewrite. They make time for the usual bit of “hidden history” and social commentary but most of it seems to have been lost in resolving the Rufus rescue, a little bit of meta regarding Lucy/Wyatt shipping, and a Deus Ex Machina that gives in one hand but takes in the other.
The penultimate excursion of the Lifeboat crew takes them to Korea and the Hungnam evacuation of 1950 (The Miracle of Christmas that lends its name to the finale.) The overall conspiracy arc pitting the Lifeboat crew and the shadowy cabal, Rittenhouse, comes to an end and, with it, their mission to restore history and liberate America from an unseen bridle. One last drink with an old friend and a haunting version of a Cyndi Lauper classic sends us off to our more happy endings.
Condensed as it may be, “The Miracle of Christmas” is a fitting and enjoyable end of the road for Timeless. It gave us heart, even it was bittersweet. As hard science fiction, it was a far cry from Primer but held the lesson that the inevitable advancement and evolution of technology is a genie that does not return to its bottle entirely. And, one last time, we learn that the legends we need often come from a past that we misunderstand.
Overall rating: 8.5/10
