FlashForward, 1x11 and 1x12, “Revelation Zero”

Episode Title: Revelation Zero: Part 1
Writers: Seth Hoffman and Marc Guggenheim

Director: John Polson

Episode Title: Revelation Zero: Part 2
Writer: Quinton Peeples

Director: Constantine Makris

Originally Aired: 03/15/2010
Grade: A-

This felt a bit slow for me, probably because it was two hours long, but overall, I liked it.

I loved meeting Nicole’s crazy mom and seeing the penny wall (I kind of want one now). I was glad that Nicole was smart enough to get Bryce to hang out nearby while she had coffee with the self-professed “super-religious weirdo dude.” Nicole and Bryce are sweet together.

It’s not surprising that Lloyd and Simon didn’t cause the blackout—I called that one a long time ago. I also called it that Mark talked to someone he didn’t remember in his flash-forward. So far, Lloyd is the prime suspect in texting Olivia the tip about Mark drinking in his flash-forward, though it seems like an uncharacteristically petty move for him.

The real story here was Simon’s, though. I always thought he was the most obvious candidate for Suspect Zero, but I discounted him because a) I thought Janis said the suspect was 6’ tall, and b) Simon looks nothing like the man in the video. It turns out that Janice said the wall was 6’ tall and the suspect was 5’8,” which makes the reveal easier to swallow. However, there’s still a height discrepancy between the man in the original surveillance footage and the new flashback scene with Simon. I’d be shocked to find out it was actually Dominic Monaghan in the original video, since that guy looks about 20-30 pounds heavier than Dom.

It seems like the only reason for Simon be awake at the Detroit stadium was to get recorded by the surveillance camera. Nothing else of significance happened there, aside from Simon throttling Skeevy Henchman A. Whoever caused the blackout already knew about the surveillance footage before it happened, and that’s why Simon was there. In fact, Simon’s whole life was engineered by people who knew how it would play out—or knew how it should play out to best benefit themselves. I was thrilled when Simon killed Flosso/Smarmy Fake Uncle Teddy. Not only was he responsible for cutting off Simon’s finger, murdering his dad and his favorite college professor, and kidnapping his sister, but Ricky Jay is a terrible actor. (I know some people like the guy, but ack, his line delivery’s are so awkward and stilted!)

I’m ultimately conflicted as to how I feel about Simon’s storyline. Suspect Zero was portrayed as a “bad guy,” and just as we find out that Simon is that bad guy, we also find out that he’s… not that bad. He may have made some sketchy choices, but he’s a victim and a pawn, not a sociopathic murdering scumbag.