After being disappointed by “Maya”, La Brea has more than made up for it with Tuesday’s adventure: “Fire Storm.”
We begin in 2021 with Gavin getting kidnapped at gunpoint by a mystery woman. Ty and Sam are once again on the hunt for Gavin.
Back in 10k B.C. Sam’s suspicions about their unnamed contact is proven correct when the person produces a picture that appears to be Eve tied to a chair. Gavin’s gotta find that chip or Eve is toast. Maya tries to get him to think about where it is, but the absentminded pilot is convinced he hid it in 2021. Sam’s got a solid idea – send a message to 2021 via the tar pits. Turns out, Scott knows people who can get it to his 2021 self, though he’s not sure how helpful that him will be.
In other bad news there’s a huge fire headed their way forcing the fort to evacuate ASAP. Luckily, Lucas and Veronica make amends allowing her to lean on him in this hard time. So, while Sam, Lucas, and Veronica help lead the people to higher ground, Izzy, Scott, Maya, and Gavin head for the tar pits. This gives Scott a chance to ask a stupid question (I know your well-meaning teachers told you there’s no such thing, but there totally is). Why oh why would a time travel project want an anthropologist around? Really!?! I mean, Bones made an entire show of an anthropologist solving murders in modern times. You really think a person with extensive knowledge of the PAST wouldn’t be helpful in dealing with a TIME TRAVEL project!? Scott’s low-self-worth aside, they succeed in sending the message.
Before heading off to 2021 we also see Lucas pick up a stray wolf pup much to Sam’s protest. Meanwhile, 2021’s Sam’s got a cop friend searching for the car Gavin was taken in. In a brief moment of downtime Ty and Sam bond a bit until Scott calls Gavin’s phone (which Ty happened to find left behind). Why does Scott’s number come up as if he’s a contact in Gavin’s phone? What does the “Maybe” before it mean? We’ll get back to that.
Ty and Sam try to talk to Scott and he seems vaguely open to listening, to the point he lets them into his home, but he’s not totally convinced. Ty is determined to win him over…with food!
Over in 10k B.C. Lucas and Sam bond a bit when it’s clear the fire is bothering Sam a lot. Thing is, Sam’s faced fire before and had to scramble to get his family to safety. It left him shaken. Unfortunately, returning to the group reveals that Ruth’s scouts are sure the fire will reach the fort. Fortunately, there is a river nearby and if they open the damn the water will flood the area putting the fire out. Unfortunately, it’s in the direction of the fire, so naturally Sam, Lucas, and Veronica volunteer.
The smoke is making things bad for Gavin’s lungs and he and Izzy take a break while Scott and Maya go off to get water-soaked clothes (fire tip, it helps against smoke inhalation!). Gavin has a flashback showing him a paper written by Scott.
2021 Gavin is getting some cryptic answers of his own. The lady is named Helena, and I love how Gavin points out her telling him her name explains NOTHING. Alright, how about she was civilian consultant to the military and is the reason he was one of the pilots selected for the time travel program? Or, that they were working together to stop the military from creating jet fighter time machines? Gavin’s skeptical, but Helena says she’s got receipts!
In 10k B.C. Gavin questions Scott about the paper. Our former pot head is confused as A: he never published it and B: what would a paper about the regenerative properties of prehistoric plants have to do with time travel (again, SERIOUSLY!?!)? Scott asks who showed him the paper and all Gavin can say is the person has three scars on their arm. The fire is closing in though, prompting Gavin and Izzy to head off while Scott goes back to get Maya.
Some millennia later in 2021 Helena makes good on her promise using her thumbprint and Gavin’s to open a safety deposit box wherein lies the stolen microchip (which is HUGE btw).
The damn destroyers of 10k B.C. reach their destination but instead of being able to use the damn the easy way, they’re gonna have to blast it, thanks Veronica! Sam says it’s doable but when the dog runs off into fire territory he runs off after it. This leads Lucas to abandon damn too, leaving Veronica and Ruth to make a bomb.
2021 Ty and Sam are still making progress with Scott. Ty butters him up using insider knowledge comfort food and his shrink powers. Our dear Mary Sue is suffering from a wicked case of heartbreak. Conveniently, Sam and Ty are both excellent pep-talk givers and Scott shows them the note. Not soon after, Sam’s LAPD contact calls about that BOLO.
Speaking of…Helena has taken Gavin to a lake where she confesses, she’s his half-sister. Their father was a d-bag obsessed with time travel. He used the government’s science to build his own time travel experiment, hence the sinkholes. It’s why Gavin and Helena teamed up to stop him, and Gavin gets on board.
10k B.C. Sam searches the fire and smoke for the dog, successfully finding the little pup. Lucas wonders why it was so important and Sam recounts when that fire happened the family dog was killed. What’s worse is Riley made him feel bad about it. This second chance has a kind of happy ending, he finds the dog, but there is no way out of the burning woods. Thankfully, Veronica’s third time is a charm as she triggers the explosion releasing the life-saving water. Ruth gives her a “good work”.
Over in 2021 Helena takes Gavin to a double aurora. Blue leads to 10k B.C.; Red leads to 1965. Helena says they need to take the chip to 1965 to stop the time travel shit at the source. Of course, Sam and Ty show up at that moment to plead with Gavin for the chip. Sam pulls out his SEAL moves once Helena ups the ante with her gun, but Ty successfully acquires the chip.
Things wrap up in 10k B.C. with Scott realizing Maya is evil, Maya getting the drop on Scott (oh, Scott…you make it too easy!), Lucas and Sam surviving the fire thanks to the water, and everyone returning to the fort in celebration. Even Ty returns with microchip in hand. It’s great! Except for…you know, Maya being evil.
Whew! What a jam-packed episode! A solid final season entry if ever I did see one. There was character development, more explanations of the mythology, and stakes raised!
I had lamented that Scott seemed like a waste and sadly I can’t retract my statement. I mean, this kid is smart. He’s smart enough to be suspicious when Sam and Ty show up claiming to be Gavin’s friends. He even does the classic movie nerd time travel movie evaluation of the situation. That being said, he can’t wrap his head around why a time travel project might benefit from having an anthropologist on the pay role!? Like, come on man, you clearly weren’t born yesterday. You really have ZERO idea why the gov or even a villain of the show like James might need to know which old timey plants could, I dunno…cure cancer, heal terrible injuries, or say, create a fucking super soldier???
And, if that wasn’t bad enough (he asks this question TWICE!), when he realizes Maya is evil, he just straight tells her! Seriously dude??? Aren’t you the one who watches all the movies??? In Scott’s defense, he’s been an idiot before. Remember all that shit with Lucas, and then Taamet? Kid’s got a serious blind spot for real world danger that frankly doesn’t jive with the character they’ve made him out to be so far.
I do appreciate how they finally introduced Gavin’s sister, and through her we get an explanation about his father’s place in all this. Does leave Caroline out in the cold. Also, if they destroy the initial program would it really stop James? Maybe not, but we’re in the endgame now, any loose threads will have to stand. I’m still wondering what’s the explanation for why Scott’s number was seemingly in Gavin’s phone – was it because of Maya? Helena?
Lucas and Veronica’s couples goals are great to see, clearly sped up for the purposes of the truncated season, but hey, I’ll take a little joy where I can on this show. Also, how did it take this show so damn long to get a dog!? Finally, hoping Riley and Josh make an appearance in the next episode, since Ty is back it would give the show a new time period jump excuse.
Only two episodes left guys, I’m very interested to see how this all wraps up. Will we see James again? What about Eve? Levi showed up in the trailer for next week’s episode so…Petra too? Will the next episode reveal who has Eve? Only time will tell…
