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CASSANDRA: You and I both know that we're gonna lose so much before this is over.Why does Cass withdraw from Cole at the end of the episode? She acknowledges that she cares for him, loves him, but she won't allow herself to move to a next level with him…
COLE: I'd rather have that moment and lose it than die never having had it at all.
CASSANDRA: You say that now… But it's the losing that haunts us… This can't happen.
She has just lived through a rather violent episode of possession. She was driven to do things against her will, including abduct and threaten a child. How much of her own thoughts and feelings can she trust at all? Was the Witness's choice to appear as Cole in 2016 a ploy? To plant a seed that she *should* feel love for Cole? Or to doubt what she does earnestly feel? She really can't know.
Katarina explained that she has a series of injections that amount to a treatment/cure for whatever the Army of the 12 Monkeys put in her system. How does one test for efficacy against Immersion-possession? Even if Kat is certain it will work, that doesn't make it true. Whoa. What if part, or even most, of the treatment is psychological, and the injections are mostly sugar and saline. A mind-over-matter solution from Dr. Jones?
[aside]
I’m not certain that Jones *should* “cure” Cass so quickly. Jones described the mental tether as a signal, and Cassandra, having been Immersed, as a receiver. It seems like a lost opportunity to block the signal without trying to trace it to a source, right?[/aside] In any case, with a data set n = 1, there’s no telling if it’s effective (and effective for good). Of course, I’d personally take Katarina's word and science 100%, but for the sake of argument add a bit of doubt, okay?
[/aside]
So, Cass may be vulnerable to another possession, or perhaps just suggestion, or maybe even some form of already-implanted behavior, set to surface when a trigger word, person, or situation arises.
In light of that, Cassie’s unwillingness to start a serious relationship with Cole is completely understandable. If I was in Cassie's place, post-possession, I'd hide my match profile, too.
There are also non-Witness issues at play here…
First, there's all the reasons attached to her displacement in time to begin with. Both the 28 years between 2015 and 2043, but also the eight months since she last saw Cole, spent in 2043-2044.
And then there are the finally-came-out-and-said-the-words revelations of their loopdeloop in Spearhead 2020…
Cole explained to her that although he took the Project Splinter mission in good faith (and under some duress), soon after he met Cassandra, his motivation for saving the world became her happiness and well-being.
COLE: The only world I ever gave a damn about was the one with you in it. All this bullshit, everything I've done, it's been so you have a place to go back to.What happens to Cole's world-saving drive if he and Cassie pursue a true romantic partnership? Even if we discount the mind manipulation of the Witness, 2044 Cassie's principles put the mission first. I wouldn't be surprised if she decides that becoming lovers would compromise both of them in some way and so, the mission. She tells Cole, "Go save the world," as if it's his job or destiny. If he finds happiness with her before the world is saved, what happens to his Johnny Night Room tactics? Does he second-guess himself?
Granted, he already throws caution to the wind in most matters connected to Cassie, but would he have saved and protected Jennifer or even Ramse if Cassandra was More than what she was to him in those moments? In both those situations, Cassandra was dead set on killing them.
Okay. I have to admit, I'm having a tough time selling myself on this train of thought. But it's *possible*, right?
And then there’s what she tells him, just before walking away…”It’s the losing that haunts us.” She has a litany of loss on the tip of her tongue… Aaron, Hannah, Ekland, Samuel, Cole (which is what snapped her out of her possession), the experiences of which are all too fresh for her, thanks to the Witness’s manipulation. I’m not sure, though, if she says this because it’s her primary personal concern—that she will be haunted by the loss of Cole (should he die, or should they succeed and they are retconned)—or if she says it because it’s her fear for Cole—that she will be gone (killed or retconned) and he will be left haunted. She’s the Time soldier with a deathwish after all, sleepwalking, unflinching, into suicide missions.
Unless you’re a vampire with a soul who’s cursed to lose it on experiencing a moment of perfect happiness, you go for it, dammit! Man, I really hope that Jennifer points that out to one of the C’s using just that reference. =)
So…
- Guilt, fear, and uncertainty due to the violation of her mind by the Witness…
- A growing apart in the 8-months-plus since they were last side-by-side and of one mind…
- Her concern over compromising Cole's focus…
- Her fear of experiencing joy, only to lose it…
What if Cassandra is pregnant?
Perhaps a bit melodramatic and soap opera-tastic, but I think in a time travel tale that spans generations—of families, not just time—adding to the next generation is not a stretch and certainly not gratuitous. Her child in 2044 could be considered contemporary with Samuel Ramse and the Tall Man.
I'd actually thought of this as a possibility at the beginning of season 2. Cassandra returns to 2016 after an 8-month stay in the future…? An interesting duration. What if she was pregnant when she Splintered from 2015 to 2043? She would have been carrying Aaron Marker's child. How perversely-amazing would that have been? I mean, if she found herself pregnant with his son or daughter, after leaving him for dead with Cole? Can you imagine?
The problem with that scenario is for it to work would require a conspiracy of silence that would probably include most if not all of the Project Splinter and West 7 members. And what would be done with the child? Given to a kindly scav couple to raise as their own, with "Auntie" Cassie taking a special interest? (Hrm… Could the Daughters be the go-to for post-apoc child care?) Or Splintered back to a more peaceful time in the past? Adopted by a doting childless couple who raise her to adulthood, when she strikes out on her own and lands a job as personal assistant to the Markridge CEO. =)
So, logistically, difficult to pull off without the help of the Witness. O, how I'd LOVE for that to be what horribly happened/happens!
I still think fondly of the idea, but I'm resigned to it not being so (but but also still ready for it to be so). But, hey, we were discussing "right now!" Cassie pregnant now? So… Who would the father be?
Theodore William Deacon. =)
Teddy, Jr. A pretty good reason to not move forward with a relationship with James Cole. Not that it HAS to keep them apart…It's not an insurmountable issue, but certainly not the most auspicious foundation, either.
Now… What if she's pregnant…and it's *not* Deacon's child? (I'm still longshot-rooting for Deacon to be gay, and thoroughly enjoying yanking Cole’s chain for as long as he can.) Whose could it be? Well, how about the Witness's? I hate to consider this possibility, as this act would complete the violation of Cassandra Railly in body and mind, but it would be a horribly perfect piece in the Witness's puzzle. The conception and creation of himself, or perhaps a host form for himself, through the use of one of our heroes (maybe two?).
A truly horroriffic story turn, I know, but consider the powers and abilities the Witness has demonstrated so far. They definitely hint at some advanced tech, capabilities, and resources. Some form of stealthy artificial insemination, or perhaps surrogacy, certainly seems possible. Or, maybe it could be a cruel application of double possession. What if the Witness had another Immersed agent in 2016 or 2044 whom he could direct to play biological father to a Witness-spawn? Could Cole be susceptible to Witness possession via the Daughter's red powder (used on him by Deacon)?
Unmake history!
Keep on keepin’ on~
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