Flash Forward Flashback: Episode 2 Impressions…and a Theory!
Posted by: Matt Bergin on October 6, 2009 at 11:00 am
Episode 2 of the new ABC series Flash Forward has left me with mixed feeling. My Lost-loving geekboy self loves the crazy high concept–everyone on the planet blacks out at the same exact time for the same exact duration and glimpses the same exact moment in their individual futures; then they wake up, minds boggled. I also like that, like other shows hoping to be “the next Lost,” the show is trying to duplicate things that the island saga has done right from the start–online ARG, big multidenominational cast that allows for broad storytelling, mysterious and unexpected WTF moments. But the shows grand attempt at correcting Lost‘s biggest flaw (that it was too confusing for new viewers to jump on after the pilot) has been done so blatantly and clumsily in these early episodes that it constantly kills the show’s momentum. Instead of an exciting, hour-long, big-budget drama, Flash Forward feels like an epic half hour with a second half hour’s worth of footnotes for the televisionally challenged.
The obvious and heavy-handed drive to idiot proof the show could become its ultimate downfall. If grandma can’t keep up with the complicated tapestry of character arcs after that initial “previously on Flash Forward” intro, she should watch Leno at 10pm or start TiVoing repeats of Murder She Wrote. I don’t know how many more refresher flashes I can take recapping what the principal players saw. If this is supposed to be a smart, progressive show, pace it for smart, progressive viewers.
And while I mentioned above that I do like that there is an online “game” for this show allowing viewers to continue their experience and immerse themselves in the show’s world beyond the weekly hour, every mention of The Mosaic Collective so far has been shoe-horned into the script in a way that screams infomercial. Joseph Fiennes might as well turn to the camera, breaking the fourth wall, and say “Hi, viewer! Did you know that you can visit this website that we’re discussing in clunky, overexpository detail right now? And while you’re there, don’t forget to click on some ad links!”
The story and the acting are good, though I haven’t had a John Locke moment yet, where one character sets off all my “character to watch” alarms. But then again, no character has whipped out his suitcase full of knives yet. As for the look of the show, I turned to my wife at one point, during yet another scene set in the FBI offices (or maybe it was in the hospital) and mentioned how one of the reasons I like Lost so much is that I love looking at the lush island setting. I don’t think I’d be as into that show as I am if not for the transportive effect of that vibrant tropical backdrop. Flash Forward is all offices and buildings and fluorescent lighting…which unfortunately does nothing to separate it visually from other programs.
But these gripes are all about execution. This show is going to live or die by the strength of its storytelling and the ingenuity of its writers. And so far, that part has still got me hooked–so much so that I am already working on my first bound-to-be-debunked theory about the blackout!
THEORY: “The future has already happened!” Remember the creepy old man with the answers who says this in the Episode 3 preview? I’m thinking what this cryptic proclamation means is that time on this show as we’re seeing it is not absolute or obviously what we think. We’re not watching the show’s present–we’re watching flashbacks. The present is the future of the flash forwards. Sure, we’re fully embedded in the flashback timeline, but only until we catch up to the date and time from everyone’s future vision. And at that point, we will get confirmation that someone, somewhere (perhaps D. Gibbons and his baseball fan friend) has created a time machine or some other sort of temporal travel mechanism, and that moment seen in the flashes is the exact moment that the device is turned on. And the destination programmed into the device? The exact moment of the blackout.
The way the show will continue beyond that revelation is that one of the principals will manage to flip the time switch a second time, giving everyone another chance at a do-over. If Flash Forward makes it through all of this into a second season, expect it to enter trippy time-loop territory and become decidedly more sci-fi.
Please be sure to consult your own vision of the future and let me know whether there are spoilers in this post. :)
3 Responses to "Flash Forward Flashback: Episode 2 Impressions…and a Theory!"
1 | Jon Haehnle
Good points, and not a bad theory. But since talking about time travel & continuity can be headache-inducing, let me just wait and see.
I re-watched episode one again and there’s something really suspicious about John Cho’s character (I mean on top of the fact that he supposedly didn’t have a flash forward): Why was he nowhere near the car when Fiennes found him? He didn’t look banged up like one would expect if he got thrown that far from the car, and regardless shouldn’t he have gone to see if his partner was okay? As it was Fiennes had to drag himself out of a possible death trap while Demitri is just wandering around. Is it possible that Noh is shady? I don’t know if I find that would make him a more or less interesting character.
2 | Shola Akinnuso
Noh seems an interesting character regardless, but I hope that he isn’t shady. I enjoyed the first episode, but after watching the second I’m not sure if I can stay with the show. It’s not too heady or anything…it’s just I don’t like the storytelling device. The idea of spending seasons watching him fill up a wall of shit that seems to be predetermined seems like an exercise in torture. The show seems like it would’ve been a LOT more interesting if we never saw the wall to begin with. I understand why the writers felt that was a strong visual framework to pull people in, but now it bothers me. The slow inevitability weighs the show down. Hinting at possible future seems a lot more fun than showing one that MIGHT happen. Gimmie Fringe…
3 | Mickey
I am addicted to this series. It’s premise is unique, the characters are complex and, for the most part, sympathetic, and the pacing is compelling. The online mosaic is a little, if you ask me, but maybe there’s more to it than meets the eye. I find myself watching the episodes over and over to try to glean some hint at what’s to come. It’s been a very long time since a TV series had me at hello.
