Timeless series finale recap: The Miracle of Christmas Part 1 & 2

TIMELESS — “The Miracle of Christmas Part l ” Episode 211 — Pictured: (l-r) Goran Visnjic as Garcia Flynn, Claudia Doumit as Jiya, Matt Lanter as Wyatt Logan — (Photo by: Darren Michaels/Sony/NBC)

Timeless takes one last trip in this holiday-themed movie wrap-up.

It was announced not too long ago the beloved NBC show would be getting a TV movie serving as a series finale. Our first fear was that the segment would be rushed to try and give fans closure just because of the December premiere date. However, both parts of “The Miracle of Christmas” are Timeless at its best. While it’s bittersweet to be saying goodbye to such an underrated show, it’s at least nice to see it go out on a high note.

Edgy future Lucy serves as our narrator through the initial recap of the past two seasons. She’s no longer living in the bunker, but a desolate house with bare furnishings. She sits by the light still filling her trusty journal with details of her life. It’s the perfect way to show how far Rittenhouse has gone to destroy the world we know. Lucy was once a teacher with a loving family, but here she’s a hardened soldier whose lost almost all hope.

Unfortunately, we don’t get to spend that much time with future Lucy and Wyatt. Instead, the two need to quickly pass off the journal with the cryptic message that its contents will help save Rufus. Bringing the journal back after its mystery was put on hold in the second season is a smart decision. It helps bring Timeless full circle, with the journal once again being delivered to Lucy with the promise of saving the world. While the team is excited to learn they can save their friend, Wyatt is given some pretty heartbreaking news. Turns out, Jessica is lying about the baby just to manipulate him.

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This probably won’t come as a surprise to fans, with many guessing she was manipulating him. It still comes as a bit of a shock to Wyatt, who was excited at the prospect of becoming a father. At least he can wryly admit Jessica probably wouldn’t have been the best mother. He settles in with Lucy to focus on finding the key to saving Rufus in the journal. Unfortunately, they stumble upon a passage which reveals Lucy will eventually have a passionate affair with Flynn.

If Timeless had a few more seasons, the Lucy/Flynn relationship probably would have happened on screen. The couple became a surprise hit with fans in season two after Wyatt reunited with his wife. However, this is a movie wrap-up so the show doesn’t wait too long to draw that love triangle to a close.

Other romantic woes include Rufus and Jiya, with the latter desperate to save her boyfriend any way she can. The slow progress is too much for her to handle, and she eventually snaps at Wyatt. It feels like a lifetime ago that his decision to trust Jessica led the team down this path. Nevertheless, it’s easy to forgive him now that he’s back to being his usual self. This includes grabbing Rufus’ Christmas gift to Jiya from behind the Spaghetti-o’s to help give her some hope. Their sweet moment is interrupted by an alert about the Mothership taking a ride through time.

Yes, Emma is officially in charge of Rittenhouse and she isn’t interested in playing by anyone else’s rules. When a henchman tries to quit, she coolly shoots him in the back. The remaining members get menial jobs, like setting up her new office. Everyone except for Jessica, who has settled in as Emma’s right-hand man. She’s sent back to Coloma, California on January 28, 1848, at the height of the gold rush.

Thanks to future Wyatt and Lucy, the Time Team gets a new Lifeboat to work with. Since Rufus hasn’t survived in this timeline, this means future Jiya is the one who did all of the engineering. It’s nice to know she’s still out there being the best engineer possible even in this bleak future. This new Lifeboat is equipped with autopilot, which makes it easier for any member of the team to step into the pilot’s seat.

A heckler makes some comments to Lucy, which sets her off immediately. At least he reveals two other women passed by earlier and posted some “wanted” posters for the time team. Knowing their gender will make them stand out more, Lucy and Jiya are quick to change into more masculine clothes. After riding a few stolen horses away from the town, it seems like they’re in the clear. Lucy takes the opportunity to question why Flynn conveniently left out their relationship when talking about the journal. While he claims his initial reservation was his simple disbelief, he finally reveals it’s because their affair ends badly due to her love of Wyatt. This seems like Timeless‘ way of confirming they would have explored Lucy/Flynn but Lucy/Wyatt has always been their endgame.

Their discussion gets interrupted by the arrival of Joaquin Murrieta and his men. It wouldn’t be Timeless without the appearance of a famous historical figure who can help the team along the way. Lucy is able to bargain with Murrieta: the horses in exchange for the location of the gold. He agrees, and both groups set off. But Lucy catches up everyone else as to who Murrieta actually is. He’s one of the most infamous bandits of all time (nicknamed the Robin Hood of El Dorado in real life), who took vengeance on the men who murdered his brother, raped his wife, and beat him. In fact, Murrieta is the real-life inspiration behind the notorious character, Zorro.

Understandably, Flynn immediately relates to Murrieta. He admits he once wanted to hunt down and murder the men who hurt his family. Flynn admits that murdering the perpetrators wouldn’t bring his family back but his mission did make him lose sight of himself. Murrieta still believes they should be punished, but Flynn thinks revenge won’t help him in the long term.

TIMELESS — “The Miracle of Christmas Part l ” Episode 211 — Pictured: (l-r) Paterson Joseph as Connor Mason, Malcolm Barrett as Rufus Carlin, Claudia Doumit as Jiya, Matt Lanter as Wyatt Logan — (Photo by: Darren Michaels/Sony/NBC)

Meanwhile, Wyatt realizes the key to saving Rufus is going back in time to murder Jessica. If she doesn’t survive the night of their fight, then Rufus will never be in danger. He knows what he has to do, and after this mission, he knows he’ll do it. Lucy doesn’t want to sacrifice Wyatt to save Rufus, but Flynn points out one of them will have to die. Wyatt knows Jessica’s return is his fault, and it seems like his fate is sealed.

That is, until Flynn steps in. He tells the group that he’s going ahead to scout the group when in reality he takes the Lifeboat back to that night. We get to see Wyatt and Jessica fighting, which inevitably leads to her getting out of the car. Flynn quickly kills the Rittenhouse agent sent to protect her before moving onto Jessica. She’s already well trained and doesn’t go down easily. Not to mention, Flynn is already suffering from the effects of traveling to his own timeline. Ultimately, he is able to kill her, thus saving Rufus.

It couldn’t come at a better time either since Rufus comes crashing in to save the team after they’re apprehended by bandits looking to make money from the bounty on their heads. As happy as we are to have Rufus back, Flynn’s death is heartbreaking. His letter to Lucy shows just how much he’s grown from the first season. This fight with Rittenhouse led him astray while the others have always remained true to themselves. In this way, he sacrifices himself for both Lucy’s happiness and the good of the team.

At least his final moments are watching his family before succumbing to the time-traveling complications. Seeing Flynn jump back out of the Lifeboat before sending it back to the team makes it clear he was ready to die. This isn’t his fight anymore, and he doesn’t want to use time travel just to extend his life.

Back at the bunker, the team raises a glass to their fallen teammate. Even Wyatt has a nice word to say about Flynn, a guy who he never trusted. Is this timeline the original one? Since Flynn murdering Jessica seems to be the catalyst to set Wyatt down this path before the Timeless pilot. Now the team has bigger issues to deal with: namely an angry Emma. She’s furious the team took Jessica out of the equation, which also leaves Rittenhouse broke and scrambling. Her top priority is killing the remaining members before doing anything else.

As for Murrieta, he seems to give up his pursuit of vengeance. He gets a massive amount of gold, and Lucy reveals he survives to become an entrepreneur instead of a bandit. It’s always nice to see someone get a happy ending!