Tuesday, May 3, 2016

The Geekcap: 12 Monkeys "One Hundred Years"


In 1944, a woman prepares for a night as her military husband calls for her to leave. Suddenly, the lights in her room flicker. In the back, the female messenger appears and kills the woman while another messenger kills her husband. The two then pose as the couple to sneak into a party where their destinies are set to be fulfilled.

In 2044, the group make adjustments to the machine while loud music is played by Dr. Eckland. According to Adler’s research, the six messengers that escaped have already made multiple rifts in the timeline, making their current plans hard to decipher. Jones quickly shouts at Eckland to turn off the music which he obliges with a wink. Jones then responds to Adler that at this point the best they can do now is adapt to the new normal.

Meanwhile, Cole and Deacon fight in the prison until Cassie comes to stop them. Deacon’s furious at Cole for defending Ramse, but Cole fires back against him, questioning Cassie why they let Deacon to the base in the first place. Deacon then goes back against Cole on Cassie’s behalf since he was there to help her survive. Cassie nevertheless asks Deacon to calm down as she works with Cole, though she questions how Cole can defend his relationship with Ramse. Cole asks Cassie the same question regarding Deacon.

The group then track an anomaly in 1944, the time of the photo, to the death of a man named Thomas Crawford by an unnamed couple on September 1, 1944 at a Columbia University party. Through further research and Ramse’s insights from the army, they discovered that Crawford’s grave was then dug up after his death in 2044. Cassie questions why the messengers would be interested in a time period decades before the introduction of any viral or time travel theories, but Cole and Jones believe that 1944 could provide a new beginning for the army. Cole reminds Cassie that he traveled back to 1987 under the same premise, only for Cassie to remind him how well that ended. Since Cole and Cassie are meant to be present in 1944, Jones agrees to send both of them back in time, even though Cassie is unused to concept of time travel. Jones still argues that Cole is used to time travel while only Cassie can recognize the messengers in other time periods.

Cole, Cassie, and Jones then prepare for the travel one hundred years into the past. To assist them, Jones offers Cole a box of her old jewelry, useless in the present but invaluable in the past. Unfortunately, since they can only send them back one at a time with Cassie arriving hours or even days after Cole. Cole then suggests meeting at the Emerson Hotel as a rendezvous point. Before he leaves, Jones remarks to Cole that having Deacon has been a help to the base with a fortified defense but also acknowledges that Ramse has helped them at this time. Cole offers that they could show their appreciation to Ramse by letting him see his son. Cole is first sent to the past. After Deacon warns Cassie to be careful, Cassie is also sent back and sees Manhattan 1944.

As planned, Cassie goes to the Emerson Hotel and is immediately accosted by the bellboy for her unsuitable clothing. Cole then comes to her defense by claiming that she is his wife Cassandra Cole, at least for the sake that the hotel only takes couples if they are married. Cassie is less than thrilled at the prospect, but Cole then fills her in on his situation as he has acquired a room, proper clothes (thanks to the use of the old photo), and a new lifestyle after revealing that he has been in 1944 for two months. Cassie warns him about straying from the mission, but Cole then reveals that he got them into a Columbia University through a large donation. Cassie’s satisfied with the plan but tears the photo in two. Since they plan on taking the photo tonight anyway, having them both could cause a paradox. Before they prepare, the bellboy arrives with a phone call for James Cole. He answers the phone but finds no one on the other end.

Cole and Cassie arrive at the party. Almost immediately, a photographer offers to take their picture. While it takes a try, the two pose for the future picture. A woman from the university also welcomes Cole to the party when Cassie introduces herself as Cole’s sister. The woman then congratulates Cassie on her brother’s donation which includes a valuable necklace he gave to the woman himself. While Cassie looks for the messengers, Cole stops by a bar where two FBI agents are conversing about their pasts. One agent asks Cole about his history in the war, though Cole can only answer vaguely. Cassie then spots one of the messengers talking to Crawford and beginning to lead him to a back room. Cassie then interrupts Cole speaking with the agent by simply claiming that he fought against the Japanese in 1942 and suffered immense torture and wounds, including “down there.” He doesn’t have to answer to them. With the agents taken care of, Cole and Cassie search for Crawford.

Cole: Why did it have to be "down there"?

The messenger takes Crawford while her partner incapacitates him. They tie him and surround him with flower petals to begin a ritual. Finally, she stabs the man with a bone. However, she is then disappointed with the result, revealing that they may have made a mistake. Crawford was not a primary. The two escape just as Cole and Cassie find the room and the dead Crawford. Cassie wonders what they wanted with Crawford when she then spots a framed drawing of a monkey.

Back in 2044, Ramse spends time with his son Sam playing a game. While they have a good time, Sam asks what happened to him after his mother died. Ramse simply says that he went away for a while, but he can tell Sam believes he did something wrong as he ended up in the prison. Jones then arrives to escort Sam out as she talks to Ramse in private. She assures Ramse that Sam will always have a place at the base though she admits having Ramse there has shaken foundations. Ramse believes that means Deacon, but Jones relates to him that she has only loved three people: her father, her husband, and her daughter. All three were taken by the virus that Ramse helped to create to save a son he barely knows. Ramse argues that she has a time machine. She could always save her daughter herself. Jones instead fires back that her goals were always in line with saving billions of lives while his were meant to destroy them. With that, it looks like Ramse is not meant to last at the base. He asks if he could see his son one last time. Jones replies that he already did.

The police as well as the FBI agents investigate Crawford’s murder, feeling just as confused as Cole and Cassie before them. Cole and Cassie, in the meantime, return to their room at Emerson to wait for Jones to tether them back to 2044. Cole, however, then finds that behind the picture frame is a certificate made out to Thomas Crawford Jr., Crawford’s son. He was sent to a Mission Cross Mental Institution after hearing voices and incessant behavior. Cole then deduces that Crawford Jr. must be a Primary just like Jennifer since he experiences the same symptoms. Cassie is reluctant to find Tommy Crawford, but Cole snaps back at her choice to kill people more quickly but feel hesitant now. Cassie then reveals that she cannot trust Cole in this situation ever since he let Aaron die to protect her. Because of that, she can’t be certain of what Cole would do. Nevertheless, she agrees to help find the younger Crawford.

At the mental institution, Tommy Crawford murmurs to himself as he draws large monkey images on his walls. He turns to the door and exclaims that the monkeys have finally come for him. Back at the 2044 prison, Ramse wakes up to Deacon knocking him out with the back of his gun.

Cole and Cassie arrive at the institution but quickly find the guard and doctor murdered. They search Tommy’s room 313 only to find the wall paintings of the monkeys, the red forest, and the words “catch me if you can.” Cassie wonders how Tommy could have known this would happen, but Cole suspects that Tommy, like Jennifer, is connected to time on a different level. Cassie questions what this has to do with the plague, but Cole believes that perhaps the plague is only part of the plan. The two run into the messengers and are held up at gunpoint. Fortunately, they are saved by Tommy who causes a distraction while Cassie shoots the male messenger. However, the female messenger takes Cole hostage since Cassie ultimately refuses to take a shot with Cole in danger. With the two gone, Cassie takes Tommy to figure a new plan with Tommy recognizing Cassie by name. When she asks how he knows that, he simply points to his head.

Cassie: There is no such thing as fate.

Tommy then reveals that the messengers were sent to kill him today using a collarbone stolen from his grave. He recognizes himself as a primary, which he refers to as part of the brain of all that is time. The female messenger in the meantime straps Cole to a table and electrocutes him as an incentive for Cassie to save him.

Back in the future, Deacon with the help of his gang lead Ramse in the middle of a forest to kill him once and for all.

Cassie agrees to trade Tommy for Cole. As Tommy walks by Cole, he secretly whispers to him that the only failure is giving up. Once Tommy reaches the messenger, Cassie shouts at him to run, but Tommy stays where he is. He reminds Cassie that this was the day he was meant to die since the Witness has spoken. The messenger takes Tommy and locks them in a room where she begins the ritual. Cole and Cassie manage to break down the door but not before the messenger stabs Tommy. This time, the stab causes a paradox as the old collarbone touches Tommy’s living one, creating an explosion throughout the room.


The police and FBI agents come to examine the institution after the paradox. There, they find the dead body of Tommy Crawford as well as the unconscious bodies of Cole, Cassie, and the messenger. In the future, Deacon prepares to kill Ramse, but the world around the two begins shifting. The forest turns red, and rifts appear out of nowhere and kills some of the men. Ramse manages to take one of the guns and aims it at Deacon. However, in the midst of the chaos, Ramse choose to let his gun down and escape with Deacon out of the chaos of time shifting. 

Notes

  • If Tommy's message to Cole sounds familiar, it should. It's the same advice Cole's father gave to him in "Paradox." Wonder what that could mean?
  • For those of you keen viewers, you may have also noticed that 313, the number for Tommy's room, is also a primary number just like 607!
  • Looks like a little more happened between Deacon and Cassie in those months in 2044...

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