12 Monkeys S3 Episodes 4-6

Cole is doubting the mission and suspecting a trap. He and Ramse have been sent back to 2007 to kill the Witness- the information provided by Olivia says that is the best time- but we know that Ramse (and Olivia) are not telling Cole everything. And sure enough it doesn't take Ramse long to ditch Cole and proceed on his own little mission- to kill Cassie. He's not after the Witness- he's after the woman who will give birth to the Witness. The woman Cole just happens to be in love with.  

Oh, and there will be some spoilers in this post. 

So Ramse is out of control. Still broken up over the death of his son, and determined to kill the Wtiness, he's pretty ruthless here- even killing a woman in cold blood when he thinks she's Cassie. But he's kind of an idiot- just because she has similar hair to Cassie (and frankly I didn't think it looked like her) he shoots her from behind and then is mortified when he realizes he got the wrong person. Ramse has always been problematic for me but that pretty much cuts it. He's clearly lost it and I was actually happy later in the show when Cole puts him down.

Meanwhile Jennifer is on to Olivia and confronts her in her cell- these two playing off each other was fabulous. Olivia scares the crap out of Jennifer (and she scares me too) but Jen lays down the law. She knows the truth is just out of her reach- she's having visions and can almost see the big picture, but not quite. Then it hits her. Olivia had a map- a time map I guess you'd call it, a detailed schematic of the different timelines and pivotal events. It's largely how the 12 Monkeys have stayed ahead of Cole at every turn.

Deacon gets Cassie out of Titan in the meanwhile, after waiting for his opportunity to press Mallick. Why is Mallick helping? But it's a year later when they get out (and 2 years for the facility). When they get back to the facility they find it destroyed! But...Cassie discovers a cache of time serum hidden away by Cole, and she knows Cole left it by the butterfly symbol he left behind. So they make it back, and it's a fist- pumping moment when Cassie comes in on the time machine.

"I'm home."

Episode 5 - Causality 

Welcome to the 80's! Cole and Cassie are back together but they decide, over Cassie's initial objection, not to tell Jones that the Witness is their son. And Cole is conflicted, blaming himself for the Witness turning out the way he did- Cassie wants to save him, but Cole feels like he has to kill him.  And now that Jernnifer has gleaned that the map exists, they have to find it- so they can take the initiative. Where is the best place to get the map? Why, the 80's of course. Because of course. The map is hidden in a painting smuggled out of Germany after the war, and they know that Olivia finally gets it at an auction in 1989.

This show is such a mindfuck- when they arrive at the auction house they discover that the painting never went up for auction- Olivia bought it behind the scenes. But by expressing interest in it, Jennifer inadvertently causes it to go to auction. Did they just change time? And when Olivia in '89 is notified that the picture is now going up for auction, the Olivia of 2046 suddenly gets a nosebleed, and it almost looks like there is some connection between these two versions of herself. Is she somehow communicating through the decades?

The usual hijinks ensue (like any good drama, if anything can go wrong, it will) and this one really goes off the rails when Jennifer impersonates her rich mother and later encounters her four year old self at the auction. And when Olivia shows up at the auction it really gets crazy. Jennifer manages to make a copy of the map but in doing so sees that Cole and Cassie are the parents of the Witness. Later when they report to Jones she keeps their secret, to their immense relief. 

Episode 6 - Nature

This episode feels like we're really gearing up for the endgame now. They have a lead, thanks to the map- 1953 is when it appears the 12 Monkeys begin recruiting their forces. So the group goes there and guess who shows up? Agent Gale! Nice to see him back. Christopher Lloyd also appears as The Missionary, a man who recruits from the ranks of the grieving- people who are looking for something that the 12 Monkeys can give them. He is also apparently the father of the Pallid Man. Cole and Cassie manage to infiltrate the gathering, and come face to face with the Witness. And they see firsthand just how twisted the 12 Monkeys are- once they have selected a Chosen One for their ranks, they gas the remaining attendants and Cole and Cassie escape just barely.

During an extended sequence when Cassie is impersonating a grieving widow and trying to convince the Missionary, she goes on about how she was happiest in that short period of time when her and her husband were together. It's clear she's talking about Cole, and as he is listening you can see how it affected him. A powerful moment. And how ironic that the Missionary is talking to the mother of The Witness, and has no clue!

Cassie is also feeling guilty because Gale is helping them, and she wants to tell him when he dies- in 1961.  Things get a little spooky when the Witness is saying things that Jennifer can hear in the future-

607, return to Titan, serpent eating its tail, break the cycle, ring the bell

What does it all mean? This is 12 Monkeys- who knows? But we do learn that the Witness and Jennifer are both Primary. 

Random Thoughts

Episode 4 had me a little frustrated- after all we've seen this before, where Cole and Ramse go on a mission together but Ramse is keeping things back. This time is hopefully the last time- and sure enough Cole has no choice but to shoot Ramse to stop him. At this point I hope Ramse is gone as I feel like he's told his story? But I'm not holding my breath.  

One of the best moments was when Cole and Ramse are raiding a drugrunning operation being run out of a bakery, and they're exchanging bakery- related jokes during the firefight. "Well that plan's gone a-rye" quips Ramse at one point. 

What is Project Charon? Deacon comes upon Jones and Dr. Adler doing something- Jones calls it "insurance"- and since it's a need to know project, Deacon doesn't need to know. I'm sure this is going to come up again. 

Deacon isn't anywhere on the map- is he a wild card? 

Jennifer goes back to get the young version of her tortoise- so now she has two versions. 

Jennifer has a vision again and this time, among other things, she sees a body in some kind of tank. We've seen this kind of thing before- what are the 12 Monkeys doing there? Are they growing people somehow?