FlashForward, 1x03, “137 Sekunden”

Episode Title: 137 Sekunden
Writers: David S. Goyer and Marc Guggenheim

Director: Michael Rymer

Originally Aired: 10/08/2009
Grade: A-

What exactly were the writers trying to say with the Nazi storyline? I was actually siding more with Mark than with Janis, surprisingly. Of course the man deserved to suffer, but he wasn’t going to live much longer anyway, and prolonging his misery in the name of justice wasn’t worth losing out on valuable information that could end up benefitting the entire human race.

Zoey told Dem that she saw him in her flash-forward, but we certainly don’t see him in the glimpse we’re given. Maybe she’s not lying intentionally, but rather just assumed that because she’s wearing a white dress and walking toward a group of people on a beach, it must be her wedding day. What she saw could have just as easily an act of mourning, although considering the emotional component to some of the other flashes (Olivia knowing she had feeling for Lloyd, Lloyd, Nicole feeling like she deserved her death), you’d think Zoey would have noticed that she felt grief rather than joy and anticipation.

Just because there was a DNA match to the remains found in Tracy’s grave doesn’t mean that was all of her. Perhaps she’s alive but missing a limb, and that limb is what was shipped back to the family. Maybe the charred limb was even mixed in with some other poor, crispy soul.

Finally, what on earth was emanating from that tower at the end? Was it something biological, like an airborn compound? Water vapor? A visual sign of something physical, like a shockwave?

Miscellaneous Stuff

-I don’t quite buy Gabrielle Union as Demitri’s lawyer fiancé. She seems a little too phony and vapid, both to be a lawyer and to be his girlfriend. I cannot picture this woman delivering a believable monologue in a courtroom—she’s just too Legally Blonde for the role, like she’d be tossing her hair and throwing around that megawatt smile. I also don’t feel like the actor’s have much chemistry, and it didn’t help that the writers didn’t introduce her until the third episode, so I don’t feel invested in their relationship at all.

-Janis is a lesbian! I’m glad that Mark didn’t feel the need to have some sort of talk with her about how her secret’s safe with him. He was obviously surprised, but he wasn't scandalized.