TV Review: FlashForward 1.21 – “Countdown”

Episode: FlashForward 1.21 – “Countdown”
Original Air Date: May 20, 2010

I don’t have too much to say about this week’s FlashForward. It was better than last week’s episode, that’s for sure. But overall, my interest in the show has just waned so much. Spoilers ahead for those who will keep reading!

It’s finally here: “Flash Forward Day!” We’re finally going to see what visions are realized, and which ones aren’t. Well, sorta. We don’t get to see the whole night play out.

Demetri tells Zoey that he’s fathered a baby with Janis. Whoa! That’s a pretty big deal. Zoey freaks out and leaves for Hawaii alone. She’s really mad, and I think that’s a legit reaction. I mean, you should be mad that your fiancé slept with another woman. The interesting spin here is that she doesn’t seem mad about the action as much as she’s hurt by their differences in philosophy. Zoey always believed Demetri would live, and clearly he thought he was going to die. I’m not really sure how you can be mad at him over that. If I had all the info Demetri did, I’d probably bank on not being around much longer either.

Hellinger is the big head guy in charge of all these flash forwards, as far as we know. The FBI wants info from him, but he’ll only talk to Mark. He tells Mark that during all of his many visions of this day, Mark dies. Every time, Mark Benford dies. He explains that no matter what Mark does, he flips out. We’ve seen Mark’s vision a ton of times, and we know he ends up drunk at the office and some kind of shoot out with masked men plays out. At the end of the episode a recovering alcoholic randomly sees Mark on the streets. The random drinker saw himself sober in his flash forward, so he hands a flask to Mark because he wants to live out his sober prophecy.

As Mark was holding the metal flask I couldn’t decide if this was cool or dreadfully cheesy. He takes off the lid and throws back a swig. Looks like it’s all downhill from here for Agent Benford. I guess we shall see?

Nicole and Bryce are all smoochy and lovey dovey when her guilt gets the best of her. She spills the beans that she knows Keiko is in L.A. Bryce runs off to go spring her from the detention center she’s being held at (immigration drama has landed Keiko is some sort of pokey). But, gasp, Bryce just misses her! Keiko’s mom has shown up, out of the blue, to come get her. So now how will they ever make their fated meeting in the Japanese restaurant? Bryce was so obsessed with Keiko all season, I didn’t think it likely he’d just drop her completely since things with Nicole were going well. But at the same time, he doesn’t know Keiko at all and his feelings for Nicole seem legit. It’s all a pretty big mess, and I am genuinely curious to see how this one plays out.

Lloyd is about to crack some kind of code, or put together some kind of theoretical puzzle and he needs Olivia to cooperate and set up the scene they both saw in the vision. They need to be in bed together, because that’s when he finishes the formula. But Olivia has other plans and she’s getting out of dodge. Literally, she’s trying to avoid Lloyd, Mark, her house, everyone connected to her visions. I think her flip out is kind of awesome and I’m pretty sure I’d do the same. I think if I didn’t like the fate I was slotted in my vision, I’d go to pretty big extremes to buck it.

Maybe Demetri should take a page from Olivia’s book and stop trying to get himself killed all the time. Or well, maybe he should just get killed already. I’ve kinda been waiting on that to happen all season!

Tracey dies in Afghanistan. I didn’t see that coming, honestly. I really did think since Aaron was able to get there and re-enact his vision so accurately, that she’d be okay. I’m not sure what the budget is for each FlashForward episode, but I’m pretty sure they brought in Sylvester Stallone to be Aaron’s dialogue coach this week. Really, could he have sounded any more like Rocky? I thought he was going to scream “Adrian!!!!!” when Tracey died. It was some really weird “acting.”

I guess I should talk about Janis and Simon and the whole major points of the plot. But this is where I’m so confused, and I don’t really feel qualified to say I get what’s going on. Nor do I care for the show enough to re-watch the last few weeks to nail down all the little squirrelly details. Some people know Janis is a double agent, and some don’t? Simon is trying to get her to help him with his last desperate ditch to run away? Because he’s Suspect Zero, that means he’s wanted. Right? All I know is any time Janis is in an action secquence she grabs her belly and we’re supposed to think she’s miscarrying every five minutes. It’s a little played out. I’m not really sure how she’s so deeply entangled in all of this, and still has a job? Who is okay with her questionable affiliations that’s keeping her employed? Maybe since the CIA is in charge of her double agent status, there is some kind of protection for her? That’s what Vogel does?

I’m such a terrible show reviewer if I don’t even get what’s really going down. Or does that just speak to the show itself, that they’ve spread the plot out too thin, brought in too many useless characters that detract from the plot and just confuse the message, muddle the waters? I kinda like to trust my own viewing skills, so I may lean towards the writers getting things a bit messy.

We’re almost there. The flash forward time is getting so close, so I am going to keep watching. I’ve come too far to turn back now!

Rating: 2.5 / 5 Stars