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‘Timeless’ Recap: ‘The Darlington 500’

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(Photo by: Justin Lubin/NBC)

Wyatt Logan can drive.

Our favorite soldier showed off his mad skills during the latest hour of Timeless, which sent the team back to 1955 for a mission no one quite understood when they saw the Mothership make its jump.

Lucy, who’s still struggling with accepting her new circumstances and everything she saw and did with Rittenhouse, couldn’t pinpoint why or where 1955 South Carolina might matter. When Wyatt and Rufus failed to come up with a better suggestion, Agent Christopher reluctantly agreed to give Lucy a chance to ask Flynn.

(Photo by: Justin Lubin/NBC)

Despite his request to speak with Lucy on last week’s episode, Flynn wasn’t exactly forthcoming at first. He started off by mocking Lucy not knowing the truth about her mother and pointed out how she’d been groomed for Rittenhouse (did anyone else notice Agent Christopher looking a little uneasy at that fact? As in maybe she doesn’t fully trust Lucy).

Rather than cave to Flynn’s emotional blackmail, Lucy tossed back some of her own: she reminded Flynn they had the same goal and if he didn’t help, his family died for nothing. Harsh, but true enough to make him give up a South Carolina address he happened to take off a Rittenhouse agent back in the day.

Dressed in the finest 50’s garb Old Navy offered, the team made the jump and pretended to be reporters when they spoke to Ryan’s wife. She mentioned a redheaded, freckled reporter had been there first and Lucy’s mood darkened fast (not that we can blame her because Emma is the worst). So the gang headed to the track to save Ryan.

Of course Ryan was the Rittenhouse agent and his plan was a suicide mission: he planted a bomb in his own car and he was going to take out all the major auto company people with him. Emma was hanging around because she didn’t trust him to do his job due to the whole wife and kid situation, which was not part of the plan.

(Photo by: Justin Lubin/NBC)

The Time Team found themselves on the wrong side of a gun battle, but they were saved by Wendell Scott, the first black NASCAR driver. He smuggled them off the track in his car, but the team needed to be smuggled back in to stop the bombing. Needless to say Wendell had a difficult time believing Ryan was a bad guy.

After Rufus’ engineering skills failed to transfer to engine parts (more on that later), Wyatt stepped up and showed off his knowledge. He fixed Wendell’s car and he shared a personal story: he used to smuggle things across the Texas border as a teenager and his abusive dad forced him to learn how to fix cars by leaving him stranded in the dark woods and tormenting him. Eventually, Wyatt ran away, stole his dad’s car, and drove it into a lake. BAMF.

Lucy and Rufus overheard the confession and just like at The Alamo, Wyatt was a little embarrassed (it’s so much easier to share emotional pain with strangers, isn’t it?). Well, Wyatt and Lucy had some one-on-one time to discuss it further when they were hiding in Wendell’s trunk like something straight out of fanfic (and no, that is not a complaint. It’s a compliment).

(Photo by: Justin Lubin/NBC)

Wyatt and Lucy talked about how they’d both idolized their parents—even through the abuse—and how much it hurt to realize they sucked. And they shared these deep thoughts while cuddled together to ease Lucy’s claustrophobia (smooth, Wyatt). And then they almost kissed again only to be interrupted by Rufus and Wendell this time (sigh—it’s hard to be a fangirl, guys).

Back to the mission: Ryan put up a fight and attempted to drive off with the bomb—the one he’d armed—so Wyatt had no choice other than to shoot him. Then, Wyatt, Lucy, and Rufus jumped in the car with the ticking, pressure-sensitive bomb, and drove off at breakneck speeds with the police on their tail.

How awesome was this scene? Wyatt fed off Rufus and Lucy’s panicked pleas as he drove through twist and turns and over bridges, easily outrunning the police, and then spinning the car around to reverse into Wendell’s waiting garage as if they were out for a Sunday stroll. BAMF. Also, Lucy’s relieved laughter turning into genuine excitement was adorable. She hasn’t had much to smile about lately.

Speaking of awesome, Wendell was a fantastic character, wasn’t he? From suspicious to savior to partner in crime, he nailed all of it. But the best part came when the team—who knew what happened in his career—gently tried to tamper down his expectations for winning. But Wendell knew what was up—he didn’t expect them to reward him with a trophy. All he wanted was to prove that he was the best. Glory or no glory.

(Photo by: Justin Lubin/NBC)

Now, let’s flip back to 2018 to address the side stories of the hour, starting with Jiya. She had another vision: this time of Rufus with a burn on his arm. The same burn he ended up getting from Wendell’s engine. Jiya kept the truth to herself, which seems like it’s going to be a problem. Because who’s going to help her if she doesn’t share?

Then we have Connor. I never quite know how to feel about him. He’s a genius and he seems to want to do the right thing, but he’s also so damn arrogant and egocentric. He gave up his fame and fortune to help the team except he’s already looking to make it back. He defied Agent Christopher’s wishes and prepared to speak at an event only for her to show up and arrest him.

It was hard not to feel sorry for him when that other dude was mocking him. But Agent Christopher is right. He’s putting the team at risk. If Rittenhouse finds the bunker, they’re screwed. And he did bring this on himself by working with the bad guys in the first place.

Finally, we have Nicholas, who appears to be having a hard time adjusting to present day for someone obsessed with time travel. He misses the comforts of home and he’d rather paint than talk. This led to another fight between Carol and Emma. Carol blamed Emma for failing in 1955 and Emma blamed Lucy. This is going to be a problem, guys.

Of course the bigger problem was when Nicholas got his act together and showed off his grand plan for reshaping the human existence. Basically, weed out all the “bad” and keep only what he deems “good” until they have perfection everlasting (side note: did any other UnREAL viewers snicker when he said “Everlasting”? Just me?).

Emma appeared enamored by his speech while Carol looked uncomfortable. Perhaps Lucy’s mama may have a change of heart. Too little too late or could she end up on the right side of history after all? Time will tell.

Mandy Treccia
Mandy Treccia has served as TVSource Magazine’s Executive Editor since 2016, formerly as Editorial Director from 2012-2016. She is an avid TV watcher and card carrying fan girl prone to sudden bursts of emotion, ranging from extreme excitement to blind rage during her favorite shows and has on more than once occasion considered having a paper bag on hand to get her through some tough TV moments. Her taste in TV tends to rival that of a thirteen-year-old girl, but she’s okay with that.

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