Courtesy of Showcase
It’s season finale time for Continuum, but I trust you weren’t hoping for answers because this tenth and final episode of S1 ends with a giant question mark.
Let’s bitch it out…
Throughout the season, Continuum has struggled with the question of whether or not Kiera Cameron (Rachel Nichols) can prevent Liber8 from altering the past. In this final episode of the season (written by showrunner and series creator Simon Barry), the answer is both “No” and “We cheated.”
“No” because despite her best efforts, Kiera is unable to prevent the destruction of the building in Vancouver’s City Plaza, an attack that we’re told kills thousands of people, include Kagame (Tony Amendola) himself.
But more problematically, this is also a big cheat. We’ve never once heard that the Liber8 attacks began in 2012 even as it’s clear that this attack is not the result of an altered timeline. We know this because Kiera admits that she can’t remember which building falls (meaning she knew about the attack back in 2077). This is frustrating for viewers for two reasons: 1) this attack should have been the driving force for Kiera throughout the season, but it’s conveniently never been mentioned until the day of and 2) Kiera can’t remember “specifics”? If this was the first, huge attack by Liber8 – the one that initiates everything and kills thousands – she would remember those details. Consider this question: where were you when the first tower was struck on 9/11? Tragic events sear themselves into our memories, so it’s unfathomable that Kiera would not make the connection between Liber8 and 2012 and done her homework. The result is that the entire explosion feels like some kind of revisionist history created by Barry – an “explosive” finale concocted to titillate viewers, but one constructed without laying the appropriate groundwork.
Logistics aside, the finale also spends time confirming elements we’ve longed suspected. Circling back to the pilot, we revisit the rationale for why both Kagame and Kiera were sent back in time. Or rather we get confirmation of who was involved in making the decision, but not the why. The conversation between Alec (Erik Knudsen) and Kagame at the Liber8 safehouse anticipates the “twist” that future Alec from 2077 (William B Davis) is responsible for initiating these events. That’s hardly surprising: Kagame recognized Alec’s handiwork back in 1×08 ‘Playtime’ and we saw in 1×01 “A Stitch In Time’ that future Alec knows about the time travel device. The result is an acknowledgement of our suspicions as opposed to an OMG moment (something I think the show was aiming for). What we truly want to know is why, but instead of an answer, this is the cliffhanger that ends the season.
The result is an episode that confirms many of the suspicions that we’ve speculated on throughout the season, but leaves us with very little to discuss moving forward.
Courtesy of Showcase
Other Observations:
- The finale introduces Canadian actor Nicholas Lea (of X-Files and Kyle XY fame) as CSIS (Canadian equivalent to the CIA) Agent Gardiner. It’s easy to see how Gardiner could be incorporated into the show should it move forward next season since he figures out that there’s more to Kiera than she’s letting on (including her ability to disappear using the suit). I find it pretty amusing that in a single episode he’s able to do what no one else has been able to do in ten!
- We’re also introduced to Jason (Ian Tracey), a man who claims to be from the future who was sent back to 1992. I’m unsure what to make of this character: he’s clearly crazy but Kiera trusts him because he has a lot of information. Naturally at the end of the episode it’s revealed that his time travel machine is a sham (there’s even a tinfoil hat!), but it’s clear that we shouldn’t dismiss his information. The most important piece is mention of “freelancers” people from the future who are there to profit from the past (of whom we can likely include Stephen Lobo’s Kellog). I think if the show moves forward, we’ll meet more of these people
- Our mini Liber8 cliffhanger involves lovers Sonya (Lexa Doig) and Travis (Roger Cross). After implementing Kagame’s plans – thereby ensuring his future – Sonya turns her gun on Travis, though it’s unclear if she kills him. I hope not since there’s been very little development of the remaining Liber8 crew, so I’d like to see expanded roles for them in a hypothetical S2
- Julian (Richard Harmon) gets his big moment in the spotlight…as a pawn in Kagame’s plan. I’ll admit that after last week‘s episode pitted step-brother vs step-brother I was hoping that there would be more fireworks between them. Even though those never developed, it’s good to know that Julian is kicking around in 2077 to educate Kagame on the ins and outs of his step-brother
- Finally, one of my biggest disappointments of the finale: the way the show sidesteps the impact of Kiera’s decision to sleep with Kellog last week. I’ve been hoping that Continuum would revisit the storyline exploring Kiera’s crooked husband, Greg (John Reardon) and it seemed like the affair with Kellog would be a useful way to go about that. Instead Greg goes unseen and the affair with Kellog is casually dismissed as though it’s no big deal. Considering Kiera is crying over her inability to return home a scant thirty minutes later, it’s uncertain what the show wants us to think. By not addressing her reaction (be it elation, guilt, remorse, denial, etc), Continuum suggests we shouldn’t make a big deal out of her decision to cheat on her family with Kellog. But since the entire sub-theme of the show is her desire to return to them in 2077, this doesn’t make much sense
So that’s the end of the season. Did it live up to your expectations, or were you – like me – disappointed that the episode primarily served to confirm our expectations without giving us new elements to care about? Would you like Agent Gardiner to return in S2? Do you even want a second season? And, either way, why do you think future Alec sends both Kagame and Kiera into the past? Hypothesize away in the comments.
Continuum has now finished its first season. Showcase has not made a decision whether or not the show will return for a second. *Update: S2 will premiere in Canada next season
*Don’t forget to read my interview with Victor Webster from earlier this week about what he hopes will happen with his character if the series is greenlit for a second season.
The creator Simon Barry wasted the main character Kiera. The show just jumped the shark. It’s clear to be that someone else wrote previous good to excellent sci-fi episodes. Maybe they fired him/her and replaced with some soap writer hack that can’t write anymore than Kiera having sex with Kellogg. The fact is that you can’t estabilish and develop your main character Kiera as being a strong soldier that kills terrorists and doesn’t cheat on her husband and loves her family and has moral values and then all of a sudden with a U-turn you waste your main character turning her into a w*ore that wants to and has sex with terrorist Kellogg and she is weak and cries and gets drunk. Whoever wrote that tripe trash didn’t even read previous script episodes, maybe it’s a telenovelas writer or he/she was thinking it was a soap Melrose Place style show. It’s just like the mess they did on the lame awful Stargate Universe show disappointing million of fans, there too they wasted all their main characters with same soap sex nonsense sex scenes “for the shock factor” lame writing thing. That show got cancelled after the second season although they tried to fix it but it was too little too late.
It’s just so sad to see a good show being destroyed like it just happened to Continuum only due to an hack of a showrunner and his crew. Simon Barry only deserves to be fired. The show can’t be fixed. All the good writing before has no meaning anymore. It’s just like you are reading a good sci-fi book and all of a sudden someone rips the next pages and replaces those with some lame soap awfully written nonsense ones an hack wrote trying to do his/her own thing thinking to be better than the original writer.
That is what just happened to Continuum. That is the reason why you pointed out so many other inconsistencies. They broke the show. Simon Barry is an hack. He should stick to soaps and ever touch sci-fi ever again.
What a shame! Really. The show jumped the shark. Season2 better not happen anymore. Simon Barry and his crew could only do so much worse as they just proved us.
To be honest, the fact you called the main protagonist a wh*re pretty much leads me to conclude you may have issues with women who don’t fit into a narrowly defined role of good/bad. Perhaps you should evaluate why you had such a strong reaction to a scene that wasn’t even shown on the screen, merely inferred.
Actually I say no such thing – that’s your inference. I simply commented on the fact that it would have been nice for the show to address the situation a little more since it’s clearly an out-of-character move for our protagonist. I take HUGE offense to the suggestion that I have a problem with well-rounded female characters – perhaps you should look at my Lost Girl pieces before you decide to demonize me.
@ cinephilatic, I was replying in response to Jim Phong’s comment above and not your aritcle! I’m so sorry for the misunderstanding. I thought the comments in this article were threaded! Here is the the piece in Mr Phong’s comment I referring to:
The fact is that you can’t estabilish and develop your main character Kiera as being a strong soldier that kills terrorists and doesn’t cheat on her husband and loves her family and has moral values and then all of a sudden with a U-turn you waste your main character turning her into a w*ore that wants to and has sex with terrorist Kellogg and she is weak and cries and gets drunk
Okay…phew! I apologize for my reaction then!
Yeah…we may have had to block that commenter
Give Kiera some credit for using her womanly wiles to get the time travel device without getting emotionally invested. I am amazed at the overstated, emotionally-charged response from Mr. Phong, and I am also surprised that cinephilactic didn’t care for the finale.
I think I just had different expectations than what the finale was aiming for (I occasionally have difficulty separating what I “want” to happen with what actually does)
I do think that the show has set itself up for a lot of interesting stories should a second season occur, which I hope it does because there’s a lot left to explore. I personally don’t have troubles with Kiera and Kellog together – primarily because it’s been established that her husband is shifty (though addressing it, or even reiterating that her husband is a cheater would have helped). I don’t think this turns it into a soap or ruins the integrity of the show, though.
What make me like Kiera and Kellog is exaclty her love for her husband, ’cause it shows how desperate she is, to the point to sleep with Kellog and even flee with him when everything turned down.
@MicaRM (@MicaRM): you can’t be serious. Really. You clearly are a fan telenovelas and soap. But that is the opposite of qualtiy writing. You can like it but it’s not good. And they wasted the main character Kiera along with the whole plot at its core. She loves her husband so she has sex with terrorists forgetting being a soldier too? Please.
I’m sorry, I’m not a fan of telenovelas and soap, I just happen to like the things that hurts people and move them into doing something they wouldn’t do in normal circumstances. Or maybe I just liked because I was so afraid they would put Kiera with Carlos that other situation made me happy.
But the thing is that Kiera is in the past for a lot of months now, she’s alone, hurt and they put a lot of effort along the season to show us that she isn’t that robot (or soldier) she appeared to be at the beginning (unfortunately…I like the Kiera who is pro-system above all else). It’s natural she would release her tension with someone, specially when she is desperately thinking she won’t be back to her real life. People do strange things when they are down and Kiera is definitely down at this moment.
Aside that, I like a story that has everything: fight, action, sci-fi and also romance. I would prefer seeing her with Greg (because I really like the idea of her being married, and I don’t want to see them destroying it), but I think Kellog is part of her life now, even if he’s not part of her heart and I don’t think it diminish her or change the person she was before, on the contrary, only shows another part of Kiera.
I think her husband is pretty clearly not a nice guy with a lot of secrets. Keira didn’t believe him when he told her they should never keep secrets from each other in that flashback, after she found out aboutt the cheating. It’s not just the cheating, it’s the lying. And then the corporations withholding food thing he knew about. And knowing the lights would come on after 10 seconds (how could he possibly know that…he was up to something.) Her husband is clearly not trustworthy and their marriage was far from stable.
I didn’t get the impression that’s what she was doing. I thought she was genuniely upset and looking for understanding, connection, and comfort, and he was the only one she could get it from. I thought that was pretty clear given her reaction to waking up in his bed. That wasn’t the reaction of someone who had planned that whole thing. I think she saw the opportunity when she was alone in the room to grab the piece, and she did. Simon Barry’s post episode interview also didn’t indicate that that’s why she did it at all.
@Continuum Podcast (@Liber8_MikeDave): please.. you trying to justify the lamest possible cheap trash soap scene they wrote with the whole Kiera going to have sex with Kellogg it’s both fishy and pathetic. I might suspect you work for the hack that showrunner Simon Barry proved to be othewrise you would be just a soap lover and you should stick to soap shows like Melrose Place instead of trying to justify bad soap sold as sci-fi.
The production screwed it up big time. You can’t waste your main character like this and expect everything to be good.
What they just did is not clever. It’s both lame and dumb only an hack would do that.
There is nothing to justify. The Kiera having sex with Kellogg, crying and getting drunk and she apologies to him too it’s negating everything seen on previous episodes all of a sudden with no real reason.
By what previous episodes estabilished she would have just kicked Kellogg or killed him and got the device back. No question asked. THAT is what they should have done if they wanted to do it at all.
The only other viable option for some quality sci-fi writing involving time travel paradoxes would have been that of revealing a second Kiera from an alternate timeline that went back in time and goes to Kellogg to have sex with him.. BUT not the Kiera all previous episodes estabilished and showed us the viewers. THAT would have been some proper quality sci-fi with so many possibilities.
What they just did is the cheapest possible trash an untalentened hack could do.
It’s just a shame. Simon Barry only deserves to get fired. The show is toast. A second season could only get a lot worse.
I really wonder who wrote the previous excellent episodes and what happened behind the curtain at production level. It’s clear someone else stepped in and wrote crap soap instead. And so the lame weak Kiera going to Kellogg happened. When a hack ruins a show.
Yes a third viable proper sci-fi option for some clever nice writing would have been having one of the others female Liber8 terrorists going to Kellogg using a future tech device that turned her into Kiera to fool him. That would have worked too.
Too bad the showrunner/creator/executive producer Simon Barry is an hack and his crew is not up to the task as they just proved everyone and they can’t write some proper sci-fi. Instead they tried to make a fool of viewers writing bad awful cheap trash tripe soap sex “shock factor” scene trying to sell it sci-fi. Lame.
I want to warn people about Simon Barry.
He banned me from writing on both official Facebook Continuum tv series page and on what should be a Continuum fanpage but obviously it’s just their shadow copy under their control.
Also he locked his account after I sent him my complaints about what he did to Kiera and Kellogg.
I never wrote any foul language or insulted anyone. I just said the truth in a civil manner. That Simon Barry is not up to the task. That he is an hack and should get fired. So does that deserve people to get banned, perhaps?
So disappointed customers don’t have the right to complain and must be obliged to shut up as damage control because others might agree with the complaints,uh? Seriously?
So Simon Barry and his crew just confirmed being hacks. They can’t even explain their own mess in a polite way to show viewers like me. They just confirmed they know to have screwed it up big time but they were thinking to be able to get away with it and no one would have noticed.
Going all nazi it’s the worst thing Simon Barry could have done.
Of course I am not going to stop complaining. Why should I ? Since when it got illegal to complain about a product,uh? As long as I do it in a civil manner there is no right to get me banned.
Still these people did it. Absolutely unprofessional. Little kids would do that.
It’s just that they confirmed to be hacks. It’s just the truth. They are doing something they are not up to. And as long as they maintain their jobs they are preventing skilled and talented people to have a chance at it instead.
What a shame!
Alright, well you’ve had your say and we’re all aware of how you feel about the developments, but I won’t tolerate verbal abuses or strong language. If you have something new to contribute then you’re welcome to post but this is for discussion, not rants or personal vendettas
Personal vendettas? I am the one that gets banned for my civil complaints by the executive producer. I never insulted anyone. It’s not an insult telling someone that is not up to the task and should get fired. It’s just telling that his/her job is bad. As simple as that. Nothing personal. But I dislike when good products turns into bad ones like this. And not allowing me or anyone else to complain only proves that Simon Barry really is not up to his task. He could have explained himself, he could have replied to my complaints instead. I would haven’t accepted probably any excuses but at least he wouldn’t have acted professionally. No?
There’s more to this episode than Kiera’s sex life, I don’t think it affects the character what so ever. She certainly took it well when her husband admited to an affair; why would her sleeping with Kellog change the fact that she wants to get home to her son?? I don’t see the link. Moving on, the one thing I do wonder about is why was Kiera’s husband so upset about her being in the room in ep1, obviously he knew something was up right, would he be the one that helped Alec develop the time travel device? Who cleared Kiera’s cover? That’s my big question, who covered for her. The episode had some weak points, but I don’t think it’s because of the writing I think it’s because they had to put SO MUCH into one episode, had we had five more episode this would have been better developped. You mention that you’re upset over the fact that Kiera knew nothing about the explosion, that no mentioned had been done before in the series, well I think that when something happens 65years before your present day, that something happens between 25-30yrs before your birth you may know nothing about it, or almost nothing about it. Some people simply aren’t interested in history. You used 9/11 as an example, but that’s the wrong example, do you remember why the 2nd world war started, and what’s the exact triger point? Or do you remember were you were at the Oklahoma City bombing? I remember hearing about it on the news, but the exact date? Couldn’t tell you, the name of the person responsible, I’d have to sit and really dig into my memory cells. Not all of us are great at remembering details. 9/11 is something different, that was a foreign attack on US soil for the first time in history, and was a bit bigger than just one building. I thnk that Kiera not putting two and two toghether fits, will the local police blame liber8 – or Julian – for the bombing? There’s no way to tell if that’s the event that gives liber8 more momentum than they already have going in 2012. What does Alec tell her at the end? And how exactly will she explain to Carlos and others why she left the site without a word, when season two stars. As you can see I’d love to see a second season, one with 20 episode, then we could get the development that we need. My greatest disapointment last night – we already knew about Alec’s involvment, why spend time on it, it would have been nice to get going on to something else.
I agree – to a certain extent it felt as though they wanted to ensure that we remembered the events from the pilot (that future Alec is involved), but maybe spent too much time on that. It’s easy for me to critique since I wasn’t trying to wrap up an entire season, but like you I would have liked a bit more on the “why”. As you point out one big cliffhanger will be what happens to her now: is she a rogue agent? Will the mysterious Escher get her back in with the PD? Will Gardiner take a personal interest in figuring her out.
There’s a lot of fun directions to take this, but it would have been nice to get to some of that or have those be the “big” cliffhanger
Totaly agree! … looks like there might be a season two after all… the buzz is it might get the big announcement at Faxexpo
I don’t know, I liked the way they showed how Alec was involved, ’cause so far we had our doubts (not so much after the message to himself), but proof it came only on this episode. and I know a lot of people who still tought Julian and Kagame were the same person, even after all the things screaming that they were master and pupil, so it was interesting to see Julian as Kagame mentor and in touch with his brother.
And to be true, the parts I liked the most were exactly the young and old Alec in screen.
I also liked a lot the introduction of Mr. Gardiner….I hope they’ll keep him next season (I really hope we have a new season).
To me the early episodes threw up the question of why is she fighting for the side she is fighting on,.
It ended with the same question.
The moaning on here about her having sex, that you did not see on screen is pedantic to me.
I thought it fitted the storyline and was well done. Name me some SI FI that doesn’t have some sexual element in it. Even kids film Star wars has a bit of sexual tension in it lol..
I really hope there is a new season as it has a lot further to go. I really enjoyed it and it kept me interested.
It threw up a lot of questions about where we are now and what could happen .
To compare it to a soap opera I have heard of, but common sense tells me not to watch it,
Watching said soap opera has clouded your view of what you watch forever.
There is a huge difference between sex scenes put there just to be put there that negate everything about the main character just like they did on this show with the season finale and sex scenes that have a meaning to plot and don’t break consistency. It’s the difference between good writing and cheap lame soap writing. Any hack can write soap and telenovelas stuff. Few can writing quality novels and sci-fi. That’s the difference. Before the Kiera going to Kellogg to have sex with him at the ending of Episode9 the show was written in a good to excellent way but then something changed there like someone else started writing something else. Something that shouldn’t be in this show and which broke the main character Kiera. Everything told to us viewers before has been trashed. They must have fired the writer of previous episodes, the writing did a U-turn all of a sudden and it’s the opposite of everything seen before. And it just plain awful.
Great review. I like the questions this finale opens up. I could pick stuff apart, like I did with the Total Recall film, but I think this TV series deserves a little more credit. I’ve absent-mindedly enjoyed the show, character interactions and developments, and the great chemistry between the cast.
Also, I disagree with Jim Phong that telling someone that they are so bad at their job that they should be fired. It is an insult and it is tacky.
It’s not an insult. It’s what should be told to people everytime it’s needed. When someone ruins a product and does a bad job it must be said plain and simple. Negating the truth and telling lies is not going to make the product any better, it only allows who is in charge to even worse.
The premise of the show is what got me to watch. Admittedly the story is kinda cool.
Unfortunately, after the finale, and the previous episode, the show no longer has any likable / relatable characters.
I’m passing on S2.
Exactly.
It seems likely that this bombing was “originally” (and for all we know, still will be) blamed on “Theseus”, not Liber8. (It was labeled “Project Theseus” in Liber8’s HQ). Kiera’s given no indication whatsoever that she’d ever heard of a group called Liber8 operating in 2012.
Mr. Escher knows about Kiera and he knows about Section 6. He was able to call at just the right time to save Kiera from Gardner’s questions. It’s very, very likely that Jason only thought Escher and the rest were “freelancers”, and that they’re really another “cell” working for Future Alec. (Sonya told Travis he was an important part of “this cell”. The wording makes it sound like she now knows (via Kagame) of OTHER cells.)
I thought this ep was brilliantly done. It answered several questions but in so doing opened up a brand new paradigm to explore next season. Initially we thought it was just Kira (with Alec’s help) trying to stop Liber8. But now Liber8 seems to be part of Future Alec’s larger plan, and we know Kagame was trying to institute that larger plan. Julian is in the mix, and he and Alec seem to have an intertwined destiny (Future Julian called Future Alec his “brother”, while present-day Alec and Julian always call each other STEP-brothers), and it seems likely that present-day Alec will play a role in forging Theseus. We have a massive conspiracy that is just getting more awesome—now it seems likely that Liber8 and Kira/Alec will find themselves sharing goals. Right now there are three time-travelers–Kira, Kellog, and Mr. Escher—associated with the nonexistent Section 6. Future Alec seems to be playing a much larger and more complex game than we realized.
I really like your ideas (it’s clear that you thought it through quite thoroughly). I just found that the episode didn’t address these ideas in as much detail as I would have liked (the Escher reference was so brief, I can imagine people missing it if they were only watching casually). I would have preferred a little less focus on Alec being the one to send Kagame back and more about Escher, the conflict between Alec and Julian and the fall-out from Kellog & Kiera.
You’ve definitely given me some things to think about though. Nice job!
I really like your theory! But who would be Mr Escher?? I like the idea of more than one cell in the past… leaves lots of room for the writers…..
I think it’s unfair to call the explosion storyline a cheat. Firstly I must point out that there is no evidence to suggest that history would have attributed the attack to Liber8. Liberate would have formed at a far later date after the corporations take control. Therefore there is no reason for her to associate the two. Furthermore from Keira’s perspective (as she doesn’t know of older Alec’s involvement)
Liberat8s mantra is to change history to change the future, not to enact atrocities that already occurred which will have no effect inthe future. Like most of Liber8 she also believes that Liberat8 intended to travel back only 5 years not 65 so would not expect this bomb to be part of the plan. Only Kagame knows differently.
While I don’t believe she should have connected the event to liber8, I do think it shows poor memory/intelligence/education on her part but no one claimed that she was anything other than human, capable of weakness and error.
On a different note I knew that her sleeping with Kellog would cause uproar. But seriously, she is human, in need of assurance and love like the rest of us and Kellog is the only one she can relate to in 2012. He is her only support in the world and saved her from shooting Carlos in ep8. She has also taken thy leap of faith to trust him(as she has no one), as shown when she left her grandma under his protection. Furthermore he was a late recruit to Liber8 and she is aware of his reasons and can sympathise(cps killing sis). 2012 is a new skate for Kellog. Let’s also not forget he is an intelligent resourceful ally who could be key to her survival. Oh yea, also we’ve seen her husband is an arsehole and we don’t know the state of their marriage. This relationship shows that she is a survivor, and also as vulnerable as any of us pulled away from our world family and friends.
Thank you, I absolutely agree. Kellog is far from one dimensional and has a lot more to him than some are insinuating. He loved his grandma and sister and they both died right in front of him, are people forgetting that? He clearly would have done anything for them. And yes, he’s helped Keira big time, and saved Carlos’s life and hers by stopping her from committing murder. And he protected her grandmother. He needs more credit, and Keira saw something comforting in him, and knew he understood her, they have a connection. Her husband is a shady bastard and although it’s been kind of subtle before the fact that he knew about the corporations withholding food and could not give less of a crap says it all. Also, I firmly believe he knew about the plan to transport the prisoners back in time which is why he freaked out when Keira was in the room, why else would he care? In fact, I think her husband had an agenda when pushing her to become part of CPS. This is a man full of secrets and lies, and as we saw, her marriage before she left was likely already heading downhill. All the happy flashbacks were from way back when he proposed and way before she left for 2012.
WTF are these comments about sex with Kellogg?!!!
Who the fuck cares?
I’m a viewer and I’m not frustrated for two reasons cinephilactic said all viewers are.
1.) Attack in 2012. isn’t considered an Liber8 attack in 2077, but an attack of group called Theseus. That bombing is the reason for collapsing of governments and rise of corporations (corporate congress). So it’s mentioned through the series.
3.) Reason for Kiera not remembering details of explosion is that she is just a cop, not a historian. Comparing knowing about attacks and 9/11 is bad. Off course anyone today remembers where he was on that day, it was only 11 years ago. But does anyone remembers the specifics of German attack on Poland in 1939, which was the begining of the WWII, biggest war in history.
As for sex with Kellog, no big deal. Don’t understand the frustration about that.
Her husband gave her a one-time free pass by cheating on her. While technically she evened the score, it was obviously to get the fragment of the time travel device and at a time of emotional need. I think quite justifiable without ruining the “good” nature of Kiera’s character.
“If this was the first, huge attack by Liber8 – the one that initiates everything and kills thousands – she would remember those details. Consider this question: where were you when the first tower was struck on 9/11? Tragic events sear themselves into our memories, so it’s unfathomable that Kiera would not make the connection between Liber8 and 2012 and done her homework. ”
The only problem with the analogy you’re trying to draw is that most of us reading this article were alive when September 11, 2001 happened. In Kiera’s case, the event happened 65 years before the show starts, which, assuming she’s in her early 30’s, the event would have happened at least 30 years before she was born. Something more analogous might be trying to remember details from the 50’s or 60’s: do you remember the specifics of the beginning of the Korean War? McCarthy’s Communist witch hunt? The introduction of the color TV? Or the assassination of JFK? MLK? Robert Kennedy? Malcolm X? etc… Odds are we know that they happened, but don’t know the specific details. 50 years from now, people will still remember September 11, 2001, but will they remember which tower fell first or if they both fell at the same time? Some people even today might not remember which tower fell first (the south tower, 29 minutes before the north tower).
I agree with some comments that the show’s last episode seemed more of a contrived draw-in then a well thought- out story enhancer. Keira not knowing which building was hit? That seems incredibly unlikely, even so far into the future. Pearl harbor is remembered today by the general American population and those events happened longer ago then the time difference in continuum. Besides that, I’m still intrigued with the story and want a season two. Also, some people are angry about the errr alliance between Kellogg and Keira but I actually enjoyed it. Keira is such a strong woman whose entire life has been altered and she lives with the possibility of never seeing her son again. She only has Carlos ( a person she has to lie to), and Alec (while extremely smart is still a teenager). Kellogg knows who she is and has suffered the loss of significant people in his life. It makes sense for her to have a humanizing moment of weakness with him, although I do wish they had expounded upon it further. Maybe next season!
@Shell:
If it seems incredibly unlikely that she wouldn’t remember, then could you, without looking it up, tell us which US ship was the first to get hit in the attack on Pearl Harbor? Were any US aircraft shot down before the attack on the ships began?
William,
You know what? You are right. I do happen to know the sequence of events of Pearl Harbor, but only because I did a research project on the subject once and have been interested in that particular bit of history ever since. The events of Pearl Harbor are discussed in American history classes, but not with great depth. Well I’m now free to suspend disbelief on that point, because I feel you made a valid point!
Yup; I feel like most people are aware that it happened, but are not cognizant of the finer details unless they were fortunate enough to do research and become interested in remembering the details, as you did.
I posed a question to the author of this article in an earlier comment about whether or not people today remember the detailed sequence of events on September 11, 2001; I never got a response, but I would imagine that most people don’t remember the exact order of events.
Yes, you’re right. It was a traumatic events that everybody is aware of, but unless you’ve read about it extensively or have an amazing memory, you probably can’t recall the exact sequence. We lived through that day and are most likely unable to do that, so somebody reading about it decades from now would also be unlikely to know exactly what happened in what order. Good thought!
Sure that makes sense on the specifics, but the authors point still stands IMO. What occurred on the show was more along the lines of “oh right, 9/11… Forgot about that” Not remembering detail is one thing, but seeming to have had absolutely no knowledge that this group had successfully started blowing up buildings in 2012 makes 0 sense *unless* the answer is a divergent timeline.
If her original timeline really had been wholly shaped by the events which would eventually unfold (as has been implied), then she actually should be aware of any huge shenanigans pulled off by the group that would have become well known history. Paradoxically her *own involvement* would have to be included as well (not the memories because she hadnt lived them yet, but the recorded actions because they had taken place in the past)
I really don’t think this kind of story can *ever* make sense without divergent timelines because the paradoxes get ridiculous, but it seems to be the way they want to go.
“Sure that makes sense on the specifics, but the authors point still stands IMO. What occurred on the show was more along the lines of “oh right, 9/11… Forgot about that” Not remembering detail is one thing, but seeming to have had absolutely no knowledge that this group had successfully started blowing up buildings in 2012 makes 0 sense *unless* the answer is a divergent timeline.”
I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with you on this.
It’s been a while since I saw the first season finale, but from what I remember, and from what I’m re-reading in this article, the issue wasn’t that she forgot the day happened; the issue is that she couldn’t remember specific details, like which building was blown up first.
But that’s not an issue, because most people don’t remember details like that. If you, without looking anything up, can remember which US ship was hit first in the Pearl Harbor attack and whether any US aircraft were shot down before the attacks began, then I can see this being a valid point of contention for you. Otherwise, like most people, you know the general facts; that Pearl Harbor happened, that the Japanese attacked the US, that we lost a lot of people and ships, and that the attack was the straw that broke the camel’s back for the US entering World War II.
I scanned the comments, and having just seen the finale, it had some great moments. However a full discussion is in another space, and since there seem to be some offensive comments about Keira, and thus women I say this: she had a crappy day, she killed a kid, the death of Alec’s step father, Carlos… I could go on….the point is that she has the right to get drunk and have sex with a cute guy, because like I said, she had a crappy day. It does not destroy her character because she acted like a human being, who acted out of emotion. In fact it humanizes Keira even more, as she has become more human, depending more on her feelings, and less robotic each episode of this show.
Issues like this are very personal even though its a TV show. For people whom it touches a nerve, they likely consider infidelity a big deal. Perhaps for you if a spouse strayed you could forgive it if you felt they had a bad day.
For me, I tend to agree with the posters above who felt that since it was established the husband had been unfaithful then in a way she has a free pass. I do find it unfortunate though that they had to resort to the cliche of a woman needing to use sex to get what she needed or, even worse, needing the “touch of a man” to help ease her pain. I mean Kierra seemed way stronger than that to me and certainly stronger than not being able to go more than 9 months without sex.
Overall Jim Phongs posts were extreme and insulting, but I can see how some would be put off by this apparent turn in her character or at least, as is the case with the entry author, want to see *some* exposition of what actually went down and how it might have effected her or even just what’s in her mind. If they’re going to “go there” with the main character they should at least fully develop it.
But being strong does not mean never doing anything spontaneous and always thinking about everything, I think that’s unrealistic. I thought it was natural considering they are the only ones capable of understanding each other’s situations, and they are from the same time period. And they’ve always had this connection that I’ve enjoyed. I personally do not think that she planned to sleep with him to get back the piece of the device, that was a spur of the moment opportunity. I think it was her looking for comfort and understanding with the person she knew could provide it, and I don’t think there’s anything more human than that. And actually, I”m not convinced they slept together at all, I think that may be revealed later, which is why they didn’t show it actually happening or them kissing, and which is why Keira had her clothes on when she woke. I hope to see them develop this relationship, I think they have a unique connection and a lot of chemistry.
Of course having unique connectiond with others other than your own spouse is completely moral right? No wonder the divorce rates are so high. People actually justify affairs. Gone are the days when a couple truly stuck together for life. Smh
Thanks all for deeper insiht into the finale!
Whenever I have a strong feeling about a TV episode (shocked, elated, confused, disappointed) I want to know what others thought. Yes, mostly to validate my impression but also because others have such interesting viewpoints.
To Jim Phong- While I respect your opinion and support your right to express it, you took nothing from the fact that virtually no one shared your view and you refused to allow that differing opinion is anything other than a sign of our inferior intellect or tastes. Your inability to state a point, consider alternate views, and then rebutt either cleverly or respectfully is why, dear sir, you get banned. If you take a breath, read, and digest forums like this, I trust you will better grasp their discoursive nature.
The offensive part is that she had to resort to that tactic to accomplish her goal and that the man was Kellogg. It weakens the character, pure and simple. Understandable? For some characters, sure, but out of character as already established for her.
She is devoted to her husband AND her child and this choice has the potential to hurt both of them. Not to mention makes her more vulnerable to a man who is possibly an enemy.
She should have been able to obtain the item without betraying her family. The talk of “free passes” is ludicrous. Wrong is wrong, and revenge or “getting even,” in my opinion, is wrong.
As for her loneliness and need–she’s human, I could see it happening under certain circumstances. I guess I just don’t buy it in these circumstances and especially not with Kellog. He has earned a little sympathy, but not any credibility that she would be interested in that kind of relationship, casual sex only or not. I’d buy a stranger in a bar who she will never have contact again over Kellogg (not saying a better choice, just makes more sense if her motivation was a need to fill the void). Choosing Kellogg is weak, and makes her vulnerable, and seems like more of a betrayal both of her goals and her family than a casual fling.
As for the other details, I had no problems. Jury is still out. I just hope they have the “science” of the time travel paradoxes figured out ahead of time, and are not writing the plot points for story appeal first and then going to try and explain them later… “Lost” anybody?
I don’t think she slept with Kellog because she needed the piece of the device back. She knew that he had it but the reason she went there is because he is the only one that understands her, he comes from the same time she does and he gets her situation. And we’ve seen that whe Kellog is not as selfish as he makes himself out to be. Yes, he cares about money, but he went to great lengths for his family and he risked his life for Keira when she was under that mind control. And they do have chemistry. Then the next morning, she used the opportunity. It was NOT my impression at all that she planned the whole thing. She wouldn’t sleep with him to get it back. And is everyone forgetting that we don’t KNOW if they actually slept together or not? She was fully clothed when she woke up. Who gets fully dressed after sex? I’m guessing they didn’t actually sleep together, and it will be revealed later.
And as far as “betraying her family”, I don’t see how it could be construed that way. She loves her kid no matter what, and her husband is not just a cheater, but is clearly shady as hell and it has been heavily hinted at that he not only knew about the plan to transport the prisoners back in time, but that he also was involed in shady business with the corporations that he also kept from Keira. It was my strong impression that their marriage was failing before she left. All the positive flashbacks were from way before she left, whereas the closer to her leaving they got the less happy her marriage seemed and they often focused on her kid. I think it’s pretty obvious that marriage won’t last,and the show has made it obvious that the cheating was just the tip of the iceberg with her husband.
If Kiera was a male action star and had sex, this issue wouldn’t even be discussed. No one would be calling him a “whore” and in fact, most would be grinning and high-fiving. Please don’t pretend anyone out there resents Don Draper on Mad Men for all the tail he gets!
YES, Keira had sex with Kellogg….like none of us ever did wrong things we later regret. Its not as if she’s abandoning her family, but frankly she has no way of knowing if she’ll ever see them again OR IF THEY EVEN EXIST ANYMORE. I’m not excusing her infidelity, but we’re not all the chaste virgins you clowns expect us to be. Thanks
Kirea being unfaithful to her family ruined the entire show!
Ugh – enough of these comments. If you don’t like it, don’t watch the show. But enough of the morality police
So true
Can’t believe that you guys support cheating, but once you are married, you have to stay committed and not cheat or whore out. I don’t ship anyone except a true husband and wife :).
And enough with these plots that the husband is a bad guy secretly and a lover is a good guy (trying to justify affairs); having affairs is bad period.