I don’t want to say that this third episode of FlashForward was boring, because at no point during the show was I ever bored. It was, however, slower than any other episode to date. With that being said, there seemed to be a lot of introspective questions raised in this episode, with all of it centering on whether or not these flashes can be trusted.
Demetri had reason to believe that his lack of a vision couldn’t be trusted, the old Nazi certainly raised more questions than he answered, and Aaron dug up the remains of his daughter only to have it confirmed that she is, indeed, dead.
I’ve sort of been working under the assumption that all the flashes were the future, but I am beginning to rethink that. I still believe that most of these things will come to pass, if only for the reason that so many of them seem to be self-fulfilling prophecies. Gina Torres’s character seemed ready to snatch up the little boy at the end of the episode because he was in her vision. How much of her wanting to help the child, however, is due to the fact that she saw that she was helping him in the future, thus making it self-fulfilling?
I suspect these are questions that we will be asking each other until the end of the series, or at least until we get concrete answers about the nature of the blackout. Until then, it’s going to be a possibly frustrating ride. What I would love to see is one character really fighting against their flash. Demetri seems like the likeliest candidate, but he doesn’t have a flash to be fighting against. Perhaps as the big date begins to get closer some of these characters will try to take the future in their own hands.
Some other thoughts, questions, and theories:
What did you think of this week’s episode?
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Oct 08, 2009 @ 21:36 EST5EDT
>> Aaron dug up the remains of his daughter only to have it >> confirmed that she is, indeed, dead.
Not necessarily. It may only have confirmed that the DNA on file for his daughter matched the corpse in the coffin. But if there had been a cover-up of some type, that might be how the body was identified in the first place? So the new test would just confirm the original. A different test might be to compare DNA between the father and mother with the corpse.
What bothers me is that no one even tried to write something like “Pigeon, Utah” on the “D.Gibbons” note that is tacked up on the board. If nothing else, it might indicate if the future can be changed.
But it could cause a Janeway headache. Especially for us if all the characters had their history “rewritten” and only us viewers saw the difference. :)
Yes, I think you’re right, I did simplify the whole Aaron plot. I think that his daughter will most likely turn up alive. You put forth a believable theory. I’m wondering about what “remains” they recieved. Not to get morbid, but… it could just be a leg right, and the rest of her was just missing somewhere, still alive?
I don’t recall if they gave details in the piot.
Liked this episode a lot.
As for the sentence about no bombs going off – was that a mushroom cloud in the distance in Africa in 1991 at the end?
What if the flashes aren’t really of the future? What if they are people’s last memories before they were transported *back* in time which we only think is the “present”?
This episode was much better for me. I do like how the show is examining Pre-Destination vs. Free Will, of course I am a Free-Willer, but I find the exercise interesting.
I am with you Bob about wanting to see someone “fight against their flash”. Olivia is a good candidate for that. But what if she feels she needs to play the seductress for information that could save her husband, daughter or the like?
Generally speaking I don’t care for Mark or Olivia. The rest of the characters are much more engaging to me. I am willing to admit that I may be irrationally angry at Joseph Fiennes for being such a bad man in Elizabeth. ;)
Sorry – I’m done with this show – slow – boring – uninteresting.. the so-called investigators are about as dumb can be.. if you suppose that the event was manmade – you look for other examples (smaller of course).. it took them this look to think of that? And they didn’t even think of it – they linked it to the crows? Are there normally huge flocks of crows flying over Munich and Africa? REALLY? And to change what flashes were seen is as simple as turning the guy in – killing someone – moving away – etc. – doing something different.. so if that’s true – why did the flashes imply that they were in a future that had had an ‘event’ also – this show has the same problems as the Denzel movie that implied that he had already been to the past ‘You can save her’ – but never explained where the other Denzel was – like the Sealab 2021 episode where travel back in time caused a huge pileup of time travellers.
And why exactly did the English guy not know Penny’s name or face? weren’t they in the same room together in the future? Seems awfuly conveeenient..
I agree with BSG in that I’m not that impressed with Mark (Character or Actor), but I”m not yet sold on Olivia much one way or the other.
I’ll keep referencing back to the book, where, in the end, it was discovered that they could alter what they saw in future (When Theo’s, the character that most resembles Dimtri, brother killed himself).
At this point, though, the similarities between the show and the source material are drying up quickly.
Something that bothered me about this episode I didn’t remember in my first comment – looking at the data on crow populations, it seems that 2 months have now passed since the blackout. And, crow populations recover very fast from an 80% wipeout…
Screenshot: https://twitpic.com/kxq4w
Is FlashForward speeding towards its April 2010 finish line, or what?
I was all about having this show be linked with Lost somehow. Even if it was just a little mini series that was like, “Ha! We got you!” But I guess this is fine… ;)
The crow thing might be a projected population increase. I feel like they would have made a bigger deal of it seeming to be December if it actually was. i.e. Christmas things, etc.
On another note, the last bit in Ep 3 with the scene in Africa, I couldn’t tell what they were showing over the village. On my computer screen it looked like the outline of some kind of ship or plane being cloaked like in shows on SyFy or something. Perhaps this is some kind of paramilitary organization testing the blackout as a weapon of some kind. Just a thought, anyway.
Not sure if i saw right either in the final scene but to me it looked like a figure that was crow shaped… and it seems to link in but hey. I could be very wrong, and if I am so be it. Lovin’ the show. Second episode i thought was the best, but they always leave a tense ending which i love.
But yeah, to me it looked kinda crow shaped? Just a thought.
I’m not sure if I like the idea that not all of the flash forwards can be trusted. I think it could make things more exciting, but at the same time it’s a pretty easy out for the writers – “we want Demetri to live, so his lack-of-a-flash means nothing. Next!” If they do it that way it could be kind of cheap.
I’m loving the show so far, but one thing got to me in this episode. To see if the Nazi was telling the truth, they went to corroborate his flash. What on Earth does that prove? That yes, he is telling the truth about his flash, that he is going to be released and come to America. Great. It goes to the core of the problem that people think it will happen in the future, so it must be so. It bears no reflection on whether or not he is telling the truth about anything else, only that they fell for it two times (or one, depending on how you look at it). Also, his 137 and Kabbalah was not much of a teaser, either– how did that explain anything? My point is, if that was an indication of the info he would give them, perhaps they should have known better.
Also, I think I read that Dominic Monaghan would appear starting in the sixth episode.
Sixth?!? Yowza.
I wrote off a lot of the trusting of the Nazi to Mark’s character flaws. I don’t think he was really thinking in the moment, but instead knew that the man was on his wall in the future, and was therefor certain (for better or worse) that he had information that would help them.
I think Mark is way too invested in his own flash, and not thinking clearly because of it.
I must say, I could not agree with you in 100%, but it