This week was a strange one for FlashForward. You could almost think you were watching a different show for a while. There was no sign of Agent Benford (Joseph Fiennes), plodding along like the idiot he is. Agent Noh (John Cho) actually had some scenes. Simon (Dominic Monaghan) was nowhere to be seen, and who knows what Lloyd Simcoe (Jack Davenport) was up to because we never saw him either.
Instead we were greeted by Keiko (Yuko Takeuchi), someone that we were unfamiliar with. As I’ve said in previous weeks, the show has the potential to bring in too many characters based on the premise. However, I’m happy to say that, as with Agent Gough (Lee Thompson Young), Keiko works extremely well as a watchable and believable character. Not only is she likeable, but her storyline with Dr. Bryce Varley (Zachary Knighton) is again one that is ultimately more intriguing and meaningful than those of the original main characters.
In the case of Bryce and Keiko, we get a love story of sorts. Two people that see themselves meeting in the future, and are now doing everything they can to make it happen. Keiko is unhappy in her life, sheltered by her parents and in a job with no respect, while Bryce has his health issues to deal with. To see the lead up to Bryce’s suicide attempt gives us a connection to the character that we didn’t have before. After all, should we really care about someone about to kill themselves if we know nothing about them? Now Bryce has been given multiple layers, with a potentially tragic ending. We want them to find each other, but his illness will always be there. So just like Noh’s storyline, there’s a sense of dread but also hope. Bryce knows he’ll be alive to meet Keiko in the future, but how long will he be alive after?
Olivia Benford (Sonya Walger) remains utterly pointless, only having a scene here and there. While her character is one of the worst, I do feel she needs to be built up far more to make her flash forward with Simcoe mean something. At this moment, I couldn’t care less which is a shame, as her future is entangled with the best character in the show. Using Simcoe sparingly is also disappointing. Why can’t the writers focus on the interesting characters? It almost feels as if they are deliberately dragging the story out by switching back and forth between new flashes and the main ones. In some ways, it almost takes me back to the comparisons with Lost, in terms of not being able to focus enough on everyone. Are the writers really going to be able to resolve every single individual question from the flash forwards? Not only those, but the main arc of who is behind the blackout too.
Olivia received a text stating that her husband’s flash forward involved him drinking, and as he had only told two people about it, he naturally asked them both whether they sent the text. These were Aaron (Brian F. O’Byrne), his sponsor, and Assistant Director Wedeck (Courtney B. Vance); both of which reacted in a very negative fashion. Aaron was more understandable, due to his issues with his daughter drinking alcohol, but Wedeck seemed somewhat off. I hope there is something more to it there than just him being unnecessarily angry for no reason. If it wasn’t either of them, then surely it’s a big thing that someone else would know that information?
While I admire the show for trying to do something a little different, it needs to find its footing in terms of being a little more cohesive. If Bryce knew that he was meeting Keiko for the first time in his flash forward, would he really fly over to try and find her? They seemed happy after all, so why would you risk changing that? Some actions just make no sense really. I should say that making a judgment based on a t-shirt is as stupid as Benford’s tattoo assumption, but at least this week the stupidity was a little sweet. It’s easier to swallow if it’s used in the right context. It does leave me wondering how exactly we will follow either character for the next few months without them crossing paths at all. Will we even see Keiko again as a regular in the show, or is she bound to disappear until needed again? These are all things the audience are left wondering, and it must be a nightmare for the writers to juggle everything.
Truthfully I really liked this episode. Even though there is still so much to take in, the balance felt better than in previous weeks. Simcoe and Simon were missed, but everything else worked. I accept that there is just too much for the show to fit in every week, so it will always be hit and miss, and I think this is what keeps it from being must-see television. You just don’t know whether it will be a good week or a bad one. I’m hopeful that the writers will slowly weed out the unnecessary characters, and the storylines will come together in a strong manner. For all the criticisms I have, I realise it’s still early days, and there’s at least another 16 episodes this season. The potential for development is there, and the foundations are forming enough for me to return every week. And let’s face it, if I’ve reached the end of an episode without wanting Agent Benford dead, they must be doing something right.
David Bedwell
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