NEW!: FlashForward 1:22 - Future Shock

Overall: 8.2

For a while there, I was concerned about the direction in which this show seemed to be heading, but this turned out to be a solid finale. It's a shame that, for the moment, we're going to have to accept this as THE END.



Plot Synopsis:

The official recap can be found here.

Writing: 9.0

I'm not going to blame the writers for any unanswered questions this last installment leaves behind. Granted, I would love to know why Janis' doctor had a QED, I'm itching to know how Mark escaped the blast (based on Charlie's second flashforward, I'm going to go with the optimistic assumption that he did), and et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But I'm sure this episode was already in the can before the show runners got the word that ABC was pulling the plug. I suppose all we can do now is cling to the possibly vain hope that SyFy picks up FlashForward -- or that someone somewhere will at least oblige us with a television movie to tie up some of the loose ends.

In other news, I was so relieved to see that things did not turn out precisely as predicted. The most important alteration is, of course, the fact that Demetri is still alive and kicking despite all this talk about the universe pushing back. But there are many subtle differences too, including the fact that:

Mark does not have the flask with him in his office.

Mark's phone call to Lloyd goes down differently.

Janis' baby turns out to be a boy.

Charlie does not see Vogel talking to the other agent.

Olivia and Lloyd keep their clothes on. (Thank God!)

It seems the characters' choices have indeed pushed the world into a slightly different timeline. That's good news for those of us who don't embrace fatalism.

By the way, I particularly like what's done with Nicole. All along, Nicole believed she was being murdered in her flashforward, but the reality turns out to be 180 degrees opposed to her and our expectation. I call that pulling a J. Michael Strazcynski. Once we get to the relevant feature episode of Babylon 5, you'll see why I consider this a compliment.

Acting: 7.5

I can't really think of a specific scene that grabbed me in this competently acted episode. I think the focus was more on bringing us to a climax than on putting depth into the performances.

Message: 8.0

While I would've liked this series' defense of free will to be a little more robust, I think, as I noted above, we can safely say that pure and bleak determinism did not win out in the end. As Aaron states in one of the episode's best scenes, there are always decisions that are completely up to us. It may be that our past choices have narrowed our options considerably; I believe it's valid to say that at any one moment, our alternatives are not actually infinite. But we will very rarely - if ever - be stuck with just one path to take.

After reflecting on the matter, I'm willing to concede that my co-author is right: we do still have a romantic attachment to the idea that some people - or all people - have "destinies" to fulfill. At the same time, most ordinary Americans are also committed to the notion that we are completely free to choose our fates. I think this is a tension that will exist in our culture in perpetuity -- and I think this tension is pretty well reflected in FlashForward.

There are still some elements in this series that leave me with a slightly bitter taste in my mouth. For example, the whole "our adultery is necessary to save the world!" nonsense between Olivia and Lloyd makes me roll my eyes so hard that they almost pop out of my sockets and land on the carpet. But honestly, from a philosophical perspective, things could have turned out much worse.