12 MONKEYS: 02x08: Lullaby: Why does Cassie walk away…?

I have some ideas to explain why, but be warned, a couple of them are, well, pretty awful…

(see gifset)

CASSANDRA: You and I both know that we're gonna lose so much before this is over.
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.

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…

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…

But, what if there's another reason?

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~

12 MONKEYS: 02x05: Bodies of Water: Word of the Witness, Immersion, and stuff…

Some *SPOILER*y discussion of the Word of the Witness. If you haven't watched episode 5 (”Bodies of Water”) yet, get thee to syfy.com and do it. Then come back for the crazy talk. =)

THE WORD OF THE WITNESS…

So, while wandering stately Witness Manor, Jennifer Tyler Goines finds “The Word of the Witness,” the reality map that guides the Army, presumably created or commissioned somehow by the Witness. (See a very excellent fan reconstruction-dissection *here*…) It includes the names of some of our favorite players, Primaries, events we've seen and events we have yet to, in the future and past, most with rough coordinates in space and time. Also, familiar phrases, including the mantras we've heard spoken by Olivia and the Messengers, the Druze-y Pact of Time's Custodian, and—most conspicuous to me—"THESE ARMS OF MINE."

What's that phrase doing there? We know it as the song that Cassie and Cole dance to at the museum gala dealio, and a musical theme played throughout season 1, which would be unknown to the Witness unless we're gonna break a fourth or fifth or sixth wall in the future. That could work in a HOLY MOUNTAIN or ANIMAL MAN way, but the payoff would have to be a whole season of action after the reveal. That could/would be amazing. =)

But for now, we're gonna keep it to three walls, and the only important association of that song with our plot and characters so far is that it's the song they dance to. I had a flash to the idea that it would be a detail that Cassie and/or James would pass on in the story of how they met and fell in love, when they tell that story to their child. A sweet idea, yes? But not one that I'm holding onto right now…

Something occurs to me—the Witness created this map. Maybe it's his own handwriting, maybe it's a custom font, doesn't matter. The content of it is dictated (as in decided upon) by the Witness. I think it's safe to say that the Witness knows where it's being kept, right? And, I think it's also a pretty safe bet that in the course of the war between Splinter and the Monkeys, the Witness knew/knows that it would be discovered by Jennifer Goines.

No doubt the Word is a map that describes the Witness's knowledge of past and future events, and is used by his Army as a guide and reference for their mission, but I also think that some of what's inscribed must be meant for Jennifer's eyes. A specific for-instance: the date of her death, made known to her in 2016, may be the inspiration for turning her Daughters of the post-apoc into a badass fighting force rather than a Temperance Society or Prog Rock Band.

COLE: And if the 12 Monkeys ever got to you…
JENNIFER: They won't get me with my Daughters around. My army is better than theirs.

And in general, for Jennifer at that point in her life, coming off the meds that suppressed her natural connection to Time, the Word is a trigger bomb. Who knows how many potential leads she will scribble off in the next few hours or days?

So, with that in mind, why include "These Arms of Mine?"

For someone specific to see it.

Think about it. What does "These Arms of Mine" mean to Jennifer? Maybe her Primary abilities gave her an unsolicited glimpse of that moment, ostensibly an important moment in James and Cassandra's relationship. Maybe not the moment when either fell in love w/the other, but definitely one that they would both recall fondly and over and over again later in life, regardless of how things end or last. How would Jennifer interpret this? I think it's safe to say that the Witness considers the song important, and so, that event—Cassie and Cole's dance—important. But who would know to associate that song with that moment? Only Cassie and Cole (and anyone they share it with, true, but let's keep variables to a minimum and say that no one they tell remembers). So, what else can Jennifer think except that one of them is the Witness. She's already been Primarily clued into some kind of doom associated with the two of them…

JENNIFER: You want her to love you, but she doesn't. Being single is not the end of the world. You two together is, though.

What will Jennifer do with this information? That’s the real question. Time will tell, I suppose. =)
A few other ideas about why "These Arms of Mine" should figure so prominently in the Word. Note that they are not necessarily mutually exclusive with the idea above…

1. It's code. It stands for something else. Maybe a cycle or phase of a cycle. The initial letters strike me as somewhat conspicuous: T A O M. The Army of Monkeys.
2. It's a password. It unlocks the files on the Druze USB stick.
3. It's an anagram. Yeah, what are the chances? Lucky for you, I have trouble sleeping…
   The funnest I could come up with: RAMSE IS THE FENOM =)
   The most serious: TIME FEARS NO SHEM (or SHEM FEARS NO TIME), where "Shem" could be the name of Noah's first born (http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Shem.html), and/or Hebrew meaning someone's essential identity (http://beth-abraham.org/shem.html). The subtleties of Hebrew and Bible Study are not a specialty of mine.
   Some others…
   --- MEN R ASHES OF TIME
   --- RISE OF THE MASMEN
   --- THE ARMIES OF MENS
   --- RISE OF MME ATHENS
   --- FEAR SHOMEN TIMES
   Please let me know if you manage to solve the jumble in a way that really and truly clicks. Thanks! =)

A couple of specific Words worth noting…

Kyle Slade (born 1939) is apparently somehow “equivalent” to (shares a “ring” with) Syria in 1322. The last time I remember Syria being mentioned was in connection to the origin of the Druze. I'm thinking that the Witness or a minion of his gained the trust of a tribe of Druze in that year. Perhaps he used present/future knowledge to save one or many of them from some threat, or win them some important survival advantage or resource? In any case, he engages them in the Pact of Time's Custodian, which I believe involves a series of directions that must be executed at specific times over centuries. The Druze as characterized in 12 MONKEYS are a people who choose to live outside of and apart from global society and technology. They would be highly insulated from ripples caused by tinkering with history via time travel, and thusly, the perfect long-term agents of the Witness in reality.

I’m looking forward to an encounter with a truly mad Primary. How would a Primary choose victims? Wouldn’t they be fated to die by his hand? A curse or a guiltless existence? Whatever the case, the vibe coming off of Kyle Slade at the end of this episode is pretty heavy on bloody murderer. That monkey painting on his unfinished warehouse/loft window looks to be a very particular coagulating red, donchathink?

I wouldn’t mind if it was a cheeky bait and switch, tho. What if he’s dangerous/not like Jennifer and Tommy because he can rationally process his connection to Time? And he leverages it as something more innocuous… A commercial artist? What if he’s doing something like making the Army of the 12 Monkeys cool and edgy?

Yeah… That’s a stretch. Let’s stick w/cerebral serial killer. Always a good time! =)

"The Pact of Time's Custodian must be honored." Seen next to “THESE ARMS OF MINE.” Also a reference to the Druze. I wonder if that time has already passed. Perhaps that's what led to Olivia's acquisition of the ancient relic that hid the USB drive. Hrm… Maybe that’s the case, but the Army has yet to deliver their end on an agreed exchange or compensation. Hrm… I wonder how many Druze have survived the virus and its mutations in the future. Perhaps they will be another force to contend with in 2044.

IT TAKES TWO.

Jennifer dropped this little bomb on Cole…

JENNIFER: And if they paradox even one more Primary—game over.

Now we know—how many Primaries does it take to get to the Temporal Hell on Earth center of a Red Forest Pop…

T-hoo!~ (2)

IMMERSED.

When Olivia guides Cassie to the Red Forest this time, it is at the specific direction of the Witness. He tells Olivia: PREPARE HER.

Executing the Witness's order involves what Olivia and the Tall Man refer to as Immersion.

OLIVIA: I will complete the Immersion with Dr. Railly. Alone. You have a plague to reconstruct for your beautiful, uncertain cycle.

This is the full Red Leaf Tea spa treatment. Cassie is placed in a tub of water treated with the crimson herb. Jennifer and Joan Jett appear to interrupt the ritual, drawing Olivia away from Cassie. However, the words prove to be less important than the brew…

TALL MAN: Dr. Railly's Immersion is complete.

In my mind, I immediately liken Witness Immersion to Smoke Monster Infection. Of course, the rules of that were never exact, so all that that really means is that Cassandra Railly cannot be 100% trusted right now. She may be a passive, unknowing, unwitting pawn of the Witness. Her every decision might be dictated by him (so, her decision to stay in 2016 with Jennifer might not have been wholly her own). She may be the Witness's sleeper agent, fully herself until the moment he decides to set her dial to "evil" at a crucial moment. Immersion seems like it will manifest itself as some kind of programming or mind control.

This begs the question: Who else has been immersed?

Olivia? Tall Man? The Messengers? I think not. As far as we know, these members of the Army have joined willingly, as true believers. Olivia has mentioned her father. We know Tall Man's mother was a Messenger, engineered to serve the Army. Maybe it's done as a kind of baptism for the loyal, and helps reinforce already existing faith? But I don't think it's required of the loyal Army soldiers.

Could Jennifer's mother's attempt on her life have been a disturbed form of Immersion?

JENNIFER: They started as stick figures. Got better as I got older. My mother hated them. The disturbed images disturbed her already disturbed mind.
CASSANDRA: Your mother was mentally ill?
JENNIFER: Not Primary, just sick. She hated them. The things I saw… Madness feeding madness… There's a monster. She wants to destroy the world… It's me… I'm the monster. She tried to drown me, but the tub overflowed, then the maid came, called 911. Daddy spent a lot of money to make that one go away… And then he sent her away, and then eventually it was time for me to go away…

The psych records that Cassandra had indicated that Jennifer's Primary behavior manifested after her near-death at her mother's hand. Could that have been an intended result? What if Olivia (or another Army lieutenant) had Immersed Jennifer's mother? Could her mental illness have resulted from trying to fight the manipulations of the Witness? Would be some grand turnabout if Olivia was responsible for Mama Goines's illness.

When Jennifer rescues Cassie, she has to snap her out of the Red Tea trance. Half-dazed, Cassie says one word to Jennifer…

CASSANDRA: Olivia…
JENNIFER: Yeah… Right.

The way Cassie looks, the way she says "Olivia…" Jennifer knows exactly what Cassie means. Extreme prejudice. She confronts Olivia…

JENNIFER: You tried to make my friend crazy. No more tea, no more water, no more *baths*… You know what the difference between you and my mother is? I get to say good bye to you.

Did we just witness Jennifer's first attempted homicide?

TALL MAN IS A FAN OF THE SHOW!
*So* love this meta-dialogue! =)

TALL MAN: It's 1975 to be precise. We sent two of our Messengers there after him… We *will* send… It's all this time travel! It's tricky to follow… It's rewarding when you do. Memories…
CASSANDRA: How did you survive the paradox at the bookstore?
TALL MAN: Oh, me? I have really good genes…

Good genes. Half Messenger, engineered by the Father for resilience and time travel. The other half…? I'm still rooting for Agent Gale.

HOW WELL DOES TALL MAN KNOW CASSIE?

TALL MAN: My how you've changed…

To which Cassie is Tall Man comparing her to? Does the Army not know that Cassie shot the Traveler? Perhaps that knowledge is overshadowed by Mama Vivian's story of how Cassie gave up a Primary to save that mifit nobody under the Witness's protection, James Cole.

MOVIN' RIGHT ALONG…

This, when Cole, Ramse, and Deacon pile into a truck for a field trip to an anomaly factory…

DEACON: You are… Lady Macbeth at best.
RAMSE: I never pegged you as a reader…
DEACON: Books didn't die in the apocalypse… which reminds me…
COLE: Jesus, would you shut up! I swear I'd drive this thing into an anomaly right now if I could get away from the sound of your voice!

There was a lot of great jibber jabber among the boys this episode. Including this perfectly pitched dumb boy stuff early on, when Cassie is getting ready to Splinter back to meet young Jennifer…

DEACON: You all keep going on and on about how dangerous it would be for these Primary wackos to fall into the wrong hands. Maybe the smart move would be to gather whatever information you need and take them off the board.
COLE: Yeah, that would be your solution, wouldn't it, Teddy boy?
DEACON: Hey look, it's Time Jesus.
COLE: See you soon.
DEACON: Watch your back.
COLE: Splinter safe.
JONES: Gentlemen, if you please.

I'd love for Deacon to come out as gay, or otherwise somehow definitively declare his completely platonic relationship w/Cassie. I so want Deacon to be pushing Cole's Cassie buttons. Cassie doesn't even have to be in on it, because c'mon, put yourself in her shoes. It's ridiculous, why bother clearing the air when there's nothing to clear, right?

Not that Deacon doesn't have other buttons to push…

DEACON: Glad to see Cassie's cleaning up your mess.
COLE: My mess? How's that now?
DEACON: Weren't you supposed to save the world? Bang-up job. Love the red skies.
COLE: My job would be a hell of a lot easier if you hadn't walked the Messengers in through the front door. And for a guy who's always going on about traitors...
DEACON: Said the man whose best friend is a mass murderer.

Gotta say, I love how Cole and Ramse win Deacon's respect. The post-apoc outside of Splinter and Spearhead truly is a wilderness, and the human culture that survives in that has seriously different standards and expectations compared to so-called civilization in 2016. I really appreciate the grizzly reminder of that difference given to us this episode by Deacon's bloody return to the facility after Cole and Ramse's trap.

DEACON: Now, my guys… They don't know what you tried to do, do they? I won't tell if you won't. Respect. Hey, next time you go to the past, why don't you bring back some whiskey? We can finally have that drink.

Think about what dating must be like. =)

Unmake history!

Keep on keepin' on~