They’re stuck. In 1754. Around the time of the French and Indian war. Some of Garcia Flynn’s henchmen put explosives on the Lifeboat, the prototype time machine that our main characters need to get back to the 21st century. The henchies were going to blow it up, but Wyatt gets their attention to try and stop them. Wyatt shoots one henchie to death, but another shoots at one of the explosives attached to the mothership.
It’s damaged, the henchmen leave, and Lucy, Rufus and Wyatt are stuck.
Rufus runs down possible ways to fix the machine… then remembers he may not have to. There’s “The Protocol.”
It involves digging a hole three feet in front of the Lifeboat and burying a message on special paper that’s sealed in a special, environmentally-unfriendly capsule.
They bury this message so folks in the future can find it. Then they get to moving… walking. And walking. And more walking. They find a dead soldier and get caught by Shawnee.
They’re in captivity and Rufus makes me wonder where he grew up because he starts talking about how he’s craving Chocodiles!!!! I ain’t neva heard any character talking about Chocodiles. I used to grab one on the way or from school every now and again. They cost a quarter back in the day.
Lucy geeks out when the chief walks in, because this tribe is run by
A woman! And she doesn’t trust the English-speaking white folks.
They’re about to kill Lucy and Wyatt but not Rufus. Why? Because he didn’t have a choice to be there… he was forced. She assumed Rufus was a slave. Of course, he isn’t, but he really didn’t have a choice because he was the only person who can pilot the Lifeboat. Anyway, the chief wanted to kill Lucy and Wyatt because they, according to her words, chose to be there.
Rufus comes to their rescue, like the magical negro he is, and says if they kill Lucy and Wyatt, they’ll have to kill him, too.
So the tribal leader agrees to spare them all because of Rufus’ honor, but if they act shady, she promises to kill them all.
Back in the future, the feds and folks from Mason Industries are digging up someone’s yard in a suburban Pittsburgh neighborhood. The Feds cleared the whole block by saying Zika-infected mosquitoes were found nearby.
They excavate and eventually find a capsule with the paper Rufus buried inside. Only the capsule is cracked and the special paper has partially disintegrated from time’s wear and tear.
So how will they get home? Well, unless the show arc is about to take a sharp turn to the who-knows-where, I assumed they’d figure out a way to get the trio back home.
They did.
You’ll find out when you watch that episode.
One thing to note: All of the angst and mistrust that Rufus, Lucy and Wyatt waded through in the Watergate episode was resolved, it seems. And they all acknowledged the reasons behind each other’s desires… Their pilot doing whatever it takes to keep his family safe, to also keep Rufus from selling out to Rittenhouse (Wyatt threw the recorder Connor Mason gave Rufus in some large swampy-looking hole), to bring back Lucy’s sister, and prevent Wyatt’s wife from getting killed.
Oh, and they made history, too.