12 Monkeys Review: “Resurrection”

“May I have a moment to myself, please?”
–Jennifer Goines, before her conference with Jennifer Goines

The apocalypse is so much more challenging when everyone is crazy and factions are splintering.

The series takes a break next week, with two more episodes before the season ends. This episode sets up the likely plots for each of those episodes

Title: “Resurrection”

Director: Kevin Tancharoen
Writer: Richard Robbins

Aaron Stanford as James Cole
Amanda Schull as Dr. Cassandra Railly
Emily Hampshire as Jennifer Goines
Kirk Acevedo as José Ramse
Todd Stashwick as Deacon
Barbara Sukowa as Katarina Jones
Brooke Williams as Hannah Jones
Demore Barnes as Whitley
Andrew Gillies as Dr. Adler
Ayisha Issa as Emissary
Dylan Brenton as Harris
Murray Furrow as Dr. Lasky
Glenda MacInnis as Emily Hampshire’s double

Premise

With the world about to end, factions decide what to best do about it. Hannah and her sisters come to the rescue, Deacon gets drunk and naked, Jennifer is beside herself, people die, and Dr. Jones goes down with her Machine.

The episode ends with two characters tripping back to 1957 and several others on a quest to Titan.

High Points

Jennifer Goines is the sole character who finds “splintering” is a fun thrill ride, but her appearance as two splintered versions of herself demonstrates her acting ability.

This episode does an excellent job of setting up two conflicts, which will doubtless dominate the remaining two episodes of season two.

Low Point

Cole would not announce his next step to former allies whose skills he knows not to underestimate, especially in a standoff where every moment counts.

The Scores:

Originality: 3/6

Story: 5/6 While I would hope for greater levels of cooperation when the End of the World is Nigh, the rifts did not feel especially forced.

Effects: 4/6 The effects are low-level, but they serve their purpose.

Acting: 5/6

Emotional Response: 5/6

Production: 5/6

Overall: 5/6 The original movie espoused a rigid notions of the effects of time-travel. The show took its own direction, and now matches Doctor Who in its free-form approach to how time-travel might affect events. I’m not even going to ask how unravelling time rolls across physical space.

Will Resurrection Jennifer eventually return to 2016? If she doesn’t, how will she organize the daughters? Where will Mother Jennifer (whom we’ve seen at work in the 2020s and the 2040s) come from?

In total, “Resurrection” receives 32/42