S03.E10: Compass Calibration

[ottoDbusdriver]

Episode description:

Quote

Ben's pursuit of a vulnerable Passenger's Calling lands him in the crosshairs of an enemy. Michaela unearths a dangerous arsenal of 828 hate. A seemingly natural disaster leads Saanvi to make a bold move. Angelina puts her connection with Eden to a dangerous test.

 

Air Date: May 20, 2021 at 8pm
 

[shapeshifter]

Chekhov’s taser!  
So Astrid used the taser to “save” Ben, but I would never go into a house of someone who warned me with a taser against entering.

[LucidDreamer]

I just wonder why this show is classified as a "Drama" when it is clearly a "Genre" show.  (i know it started out as more of a drama, but that shark has been jumped).

Are we supposed to empathize with the "Girl on Fire"? Because I'm not. But it almost seems that way, with the writers having Cal all upset about her leaving. 

[tv echo]

So Jared has arrested Ben for assault, breaking and entering, and trespass. (And it looks like Michaela might be arresting Saanvi for killing the Major maybe.)  But wait - didn't Michaela commit breaking & entering and trespass in pursuit of a Calling way back in Season 1? And didn't Jared overlook and cover up those crimes because it was Michaela?

If Ben is being tested and probably going to prison, is he like the sacrificial Jesus figure in this show?

What is Grace doing all day that she leaves her baby daughter in the care of a virtual stranger (Angelina) and an elderly woman with dementia? And if Grace had any misgivings about Angelina, why was she okay with Angelina babysitting Eden?

Is Zeke's role now to follow Grace around all day? Aside from his magical empathic ability.

I can't tell if Angelina is supposed to be this good, misunderstood character, as Cal is supporting her, or if she really is this psycho SWF-like character, as she is coming across.  

The Eureka facility has great security (sarcasm). Saanvi is able to walk out with this huge piece of driftwood (the piece of Noah's Ark) hidden in her bag.

Edited May 21, 2021 by tv echo

[cdnalor]

1 hour ago, tv echo said:

And didn't Jared overlook and cover up those crimes because it was Michaela

The 828-hater had a restraining order against Ben and was sent to the hospital with injuries.  Not so easy to sweep things under the rug when it's a matter of record.  Also cops can get away with things that would land us in trouble, shocking!

It looked to me like the guy with Saanvi had that big piece of lumber under his lab coat and managed to walk out of an NSA facility without being challenged.  They must be missing office equipment every damn week.

[CCTC]

OK - my tolerance with Cal ended with this episode.  I will say that if this storyline ends with Cal realizing he was wrong  and he is not a source of infallible wisdom, it might be worth it.   Also of note, Zeke realized his powers are limited and can be dangerously misinterpreted.  

Ben has been heading to this point for a while.  I am probably in the minority where I like Ben, but am glad he is facing some consequences of his obsessive behavior.  Be interesting to see if he steps back and modifies his behavior or goes more off the deep end (am assuming he won't be in prison through the end of the season).    It was nice that they added a little insight to his behavior with his angst and PSTD over Cal.  It gave Dallas a little more to chew on than the more one note writing his character has had this season.  He had a little more of that season 1 when his marriage was crumbling and he did more than just rush from one calling to the next.

I know this is not the best show on television, but I am still enjoying it and am enjoying the craziness, and am curious to see how this all plays out.  I know some people are a bit wary of the religious undertones, but the show seems to be open to showing how bad people can screw up when they think they are the ones who knows what a higher being wants.   Of course my fear is that the finale will end up being a series finale with a ton of unresolved cliff hangers (I think a lot of people are going to be in dire situations at the close of the finale, unlike last year when there was a bit of resolution with Zeke and Cal saved from the meth heads etc.)   

[JayDub1987]

2 hours ago, LucidDreamer said:

I just wonder why this show is classified as a "Drama" when it is clearly a "Genre" show.  (i know it started out as more of a drama, but that shark has been jumped).

Are we supposed to empathize with the "Girl on Fire"? Because I'm not. But it almost seems that way, with the writers having Cal all upset about her leaving. 

She's batshit crazy. If she's supposed to be a sympathetic character, they're doing a piss poor job of it. She's tried to become Olive, tried to come onto her boyfriend and set the damn house on fire. I don't care how much Cal (we jokingly call him teenage Jesus in my house) whines about it. Get the crazy chick out of your house before she burns the whole place down.

Can I also just point out how horrible the fire effects were in that scene? And those were the slowest burning curtains in history. She had time to set them on fire, keep her incantation going while Zeke and Grace had a conversation, got upstairs and Zeke had time to find a fire extinguisher before the fire from the curtains really spread. 

[ottoDbusdriver]

This episode was impressively stupid from start to finish, which is remarkable even for this show.
 

[shapeshifter]

6 hours ago, CCTC said:

Of course my fear is that the finale will end up being a series finale with a ton of unresolved cliff hangers (I think a lot of people are going to be in dire situations at the close of the finale, unlike last year when there was a bit of resolution with Zeke and Cal saved from the meth heads etc.) 

And now we're back to mimicking The 4400.

[KaveDweller]

Ben has fully lost it. Normally I can at least get what he is thinking, even if I disagree with him. But he just lost it on the conspiracy guy.

And I hope we are not supposed to feel sorry for Angelina. She is even crazier. She literally started a fire and then stood there waiting letting the baby cry? All because a woman with dementia used the term "guardian angel"?

It was snowing in this episode, so I guess it has been months since last episode, when it was summer? Has Olive just been avoiding her family this whole time?

[JayDub1987]

20 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

Ben has fully lost it. Normally I can at least get what he is thinking, even if I disagree with him. But he just lost it on the conspiracy guy.

And I hope we are not supposed to feel sorry for Angelina. She is even crazier. She literally started a fire and then stood there waiting letting the baby cry? All because a woman with dementia used the term "guardian angel"?

It was snowing in this episode, so I guess it has been months since last episode, when it was summer? Has Olive just been avoiding her family this whole time?

Yep. Ben's bathshit crazy too. I told my wife last night that if the only way to avoid my death day was to live in this constant state of paranoia like he is, I'd rather just run headlong at the death date. If I was a passenger and he came beating on my door acting like that, he'd be leaving under his own power or somebody else's. Not real picky. He annoys me too.

[solikemybeth]

Don’t these people have smoke detectors in their house? 

[JayDub1987]

1 hour ago, icemiser69 said:

That dude isn't Olive's boyfriend, they were going to go out, but that doesn't classify as a boyfriend.  Did Olive tell her real out of the country boyfriend that they were dunzo?  I doubt it.

They're going to have to put a GPS on that baby somewhere, because that whackjob is mostly likely going to run off with the kid.  Hopefully she will take that obnoxious little snot Cal, as well.

If they were your family, wouldn't you avoid them?

My bad on assuming the relationship status. I'll admit that I watch this show every week because of my wife. I kinda half pay attention at points, so when she flipped out and told the girl to get out, I assumed she was dating the guy. 

Maybe they could work out a deal with batshit crazy girl. They get to keep Eden (she's not really old enough to be a pain in the ass yet) but she has to take Cal. They're connected and teenage Jesus wants to save her so bad, let them ride off together. 

[Camera One]

I think the way Baby Eden was staring at Crazy Angelina is what viewers look like when they are watching this show.  Great acting, Little One.

Angelina is psycho but the way Grace handled it will make things worse.  I agree with the above poster that Angelina will come back to kidnap the baby the first chance she gets.  I'm surprised Zeke didn't agree to take Angelina in, since he needs a subplot.  They should have said she needed to go to counselling and then she could get supervised visits.

It's an earthquake, and Beverly goes over and stands in front of a giant cupboard.  That is what scared me most about this episode.  

I like Saanvi and her two scientist friends.  LOL when he told Saanvi she was holding the wrong arm.  No one is too competent on this show.  It was a nice rootable moment, though.  Took these geniuses multiple episodes to realize bad. idea. to. experiment. with. holy. relics.   I don't get why the seismologist guy said he didn't think the open fissure was important enough to tell Vance about compared to the more "significant" seismic anomalies the day before?  Huh?

So do The Callings want Ben working for them or not?  So now he gets tested by fire too?  I agree he went haywire, though I couldn't care less about that 828 hater. 

I was thinking about how it's great Josh Dallas is actually getting screentime on this show, unlike the previous role he played, where I always wanted to see more of him, but the actor deserves more than the writing he gets on this show.  He's charismatic but the role is so repetitive.

The passenger of the week was nice, though.  The Callings basically CAUSED the earthquake and forces a passenger with anxiety to go save the boy who practically died because of what The Callings did.  Hypocrite "higher" power.

Edited May 22, 2021 by Camera One

[ottoDbusdriver]

17 minutes ago, Camera One said:

The passenger of the week was nice, though.  The Callings basically CAUSED the earthquake and forces a passenger with anxiety to go save the boy who practically died because of what The Callings did.  Hypocrite "higher" power.

But based on all the previous episodes of this series it's apparent that whoever is in charge of the Callings is a bit of a dick, so this wasn't all that surprising.

[Artsda]

Zeke is a babysitter he's at Ben's house all day? Does he not have something to do? And where is Grace going she needs a babysitter. 

Michaela and Jared still seem to work better together and he has a job.

 

[Camera One]

3 hours ago, Artsda said:

Zeke is a babysitter he's at Ben's house all day? Does he not have something to do? And where is Grace going she needs a babysitter. 

I think they were at Zeke and Michaela's house.  Since Zeke was teaching Grace how to cook something?  Not sure why if she's the one who is qualified to open a catering company, LOL.  I think I zoned out during that part.

Edited May 22, 2021 by Camera One

[JayDub1987]

28 minutes ago, Camera One said:

I think they were at Zeke and Michaela's house.  Since Zeke was teaching Grace how to cook something?  Not sure why if she's the one who is qualified to open a catering company, LOL.  I think I zoned out during that part.

They were at Zeke and Michaela's, which begs another question. "I need to get Eden home so she can take a nap." Grace, are you telling me that Eden can't nap anywhere else? Go put that kid to sleep in any of the bedrooms at your sister-in-law's house. 

[Camera One]

1 minute ago, JayDub1987 said:

"I need to get Eden home so she can take a nap." Grace, are you telling me that Eden can't nap anywhere else? Go put that kid to sleep in any of the bedrooms at your sister-in-law's house. 

Yes, I was thinking the same thing!

[Camera One]

6 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

If the writers have a plan for Zeke, I don't know what it would be.  Right now he appears to be in a holding pattern just feeling the emotions of others, and sometimes misreading them.   The only thing he has going for him is that he is not Cal.

The plan for Zeke is for him to make really bad judgements about Angelina and The Major's daughter, so things will blow up in everyone's face just in time for the season finale (hopefully not the series finale). 

[jabRI]

Well, to be fair crazy girl did not start the fire on purpose, but standing there chanting whatever instead of taking the baby to safety, and i don't know, trying to stop the house from burning down was bad enough.  Like really, did she think Eden/God was going to stop the fire because a lady with dementia (no offense, just part of the whole faulty logic, she didn't connect that Angelina was not the mother) said the baby was her guardian angel.

And I don't get how Cal would put his sister's safety at risk.  The whole 'we are more connected than the other passengers' talk was uber-creepy.

Ben and Grace didn't earn any parenting points this episode...let Olive stay someplace else while a basic stranger moves in? Um no. And Grace handing Eden over to Whack-job because of what Zeke sensed?  Again, no.

[shapeshifter]

Grace has always been written as unlikeable to the point that I wonder if the actor had wished to play a villain and the writers are trying to give her a little piece of the Cruella action, LOL. Anyway, throwing out a homeless young woman with mental illness is in keeping with her character. 

[ottoDbusdriver]

10 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Grace has always been written as unlikeable to the point that I wonder if the actor had wished to play a villain and the writers are trying to give her a little piece of the Cruella action, LOL. Anyway, throwing out a homeless young woman with mental illness is in keeping with her character. 

The actress that plays Grace played a villain on Season 3 of 'Zoo'.

[JayDub1987]

10 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Grace has always been written as unlikeable to the point that I wonder if the actor had wished to play a villain and the writers are trying to give her a little piece of the Cruella action, LOL. Anyway, throwing out a homeless young woman with mental illness is in keeping with her character. 

That "homeless young woman" set their friggin' house on fire in the baby's room. I'd have pitched her ass out onto the curb too. Not saying Grace is likeable, but this wasn't a teaching moment where she needed to sit down with Angelina and have a conversation about proper fire safety.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, JayDub1987 said:

That "homeless young woman" set their friggin' house on fire in the baby's room. I'd have pitched her ass out onto the curb too. Not saying Grace is likeable, but this wasn't a teaching moment where she needed to sit down with Angelina and have a conversation about proper fire safety.

Agree. But maybe because I watch too many crime shows, homeless Angelina is likely to offer to hold the baby of the next mother she sees struggling to get her purchases into her nice home.

Anyway, I would probably have yelled at Angelina to get out too. But I don’t have script writers ordering my actions.  😉

Edited May 23, 2021 by shapeshifter

[Camera One]

The writing is simplistic because it goes to extremes.  Angelina either gets to stay in lieu of Olive, or she needs to be kicked to the curb.  That then reflects on the characters making the decision (in this case, Grace, who goes from one to the other within the course of an episode).  Of course, Angelina's behavior is extreme as well, but as I said earlier, there's no reason why Zeke couldn't take her in.  Especially with the "lifeboat" theory.  I would have laughed if Grace went "Your parents had the right idea!" and locked her in the closet.

Edited May 23, 2021 by Camera One

[jabRI]

2 hours ago, Camera One said:

there's no reason why Zeke couldn't take her in.

Yeah, she could look after Beverly so Zeke could get a real job.  He'll probably end up the cook in Grace's restaurant

[Daff]

I’ve been really patient, waiting to glean some inkling of where this is going. After this episode (WAS kind of looking forward to it), I now think I know what’s going on. 
 

Writers in a room said, “Let’s take every obscure element from religions (all), mysticism, superstition, psychology, sociology, and all of the “pure” science knowledge from the beginning of time, throw it all in a blender, and see how long we can keep the ratings up!”! Some idiot in a suit liked the idea. Voila! Here we are. Original Star Trek, it’s not. 

Edited May 23, 2021 by Daff

[Angeleyes]

I don’t understand why the guy who kidnapped his son didn’t go and check on him after the earthquake happened? He didn’t seem concerned about his son at all except to get him away from fellow 828’ers. It made no sense. 

[tennisgurl]

Kudos to the tiny baby actress, she really was nailing that "...so your a crazy person" look when Angelina was trying to set herself on fire. 

The Calling meanwhile is creating earthquakes and injuring children just to give the poor people its bothering some kind of vague ethical test or get them to conquer their anxiety. The Calling is a real asshole. 

Edited May 24, 2021 by tennisgurl

[Camera One]

Let's break down the "trial by fire" concept.

Lady with anxiety gets a Calling with the Skull and "checkers board".  She was being "tested", even though she wasn't doing anything morally wrong, unless having anxiety was bad.  Plus there was no way she could have figured the out the location of the kidnapper dad because she didn't realize the board of checkers was actually racecar flags, plus she had never seen the garage before, so she wouldn't know where to look.

Which means that The Callings counted on Ben to respond.  But then later, Ben was being "tested" by fire, when he was hurting the kidnapper dad.  So Ben's test was what?  Keeping his emotions in check?  Did he "pass" the test?  He only stopped hitting the guy when Michaela and Jared rushed in.  

But Ben being stupid and reckless is what saved that previous woman during her "trial by fire" (the one who was going to shoot her ex-husband).  

In the previous episode, Saanvi was being "tested" by fire, which stopped when she admitted she killed The Major.  So the "test" had nothing to do with the driftwood, then?  Since it seemed like the cloud of smoke/volcano Callings was all about stopping the testing of the driftwood at Eureka.  She delayed going to jail, though, and her picture didn't flame back up, so what does that mean?  The Callings didn't care if she didn't go to jail?

Now, why wasn't Angelina's photo on fire for going wacko?  And why wasn't that slimy thief guy's photo on fire but being duplicitous?  

By Ben being the only one with the wall of photos, isn't The Callings making him responsible?  Thief guy and Cal both saw the burning photos too, but they just happened to be in Ben's garage.  So now who's going to monitor the wall now that Ben's in prison?  

Edited May 24, 2021 by Camera One

[mythoughtis]

Ben can stop worrying about the lifeboat. He and Angelina sank it this episode.  If it wasn’t already sunk by Saanvi killing the major. She got herself to quit bleeding by confessing ... but that’s not redemption. 

Call’s make up artist needs to be a lot lighter on the make-up and also try to match his skin tone.  Make up was really noticeable. 
 
Olive is still in high school and her parents allowed her to stay with Levi?  You’d think parents of three children understood biology? 

[Daff]

The kidnapper father couldn’t check on his kid because he was waylaid by Ben & Co’s calling. But I agree that his aim in kidnapping the son was to punish the ex (you can’t have him, I’M having him-just the kind of power and control narcissist he is). 
And now we know why baby always wears a cap. 

[jabRI]

I don't remember, if I ever knew, who is Levi that Olive is staying with?

[ottoDbusdriver]

6 minutes ago, jabRI said:

I don't remember, if I ever knew, who is Levi that Olive is staying with?

Levi is the guy at the university working for Ben that was piecing together that 2000+ year old parchment, that Olive and Angelina were working with.  Same guy that Angelina tried to kiss in the previous episode.

And suddenly Olive is staying with a guy that she barely knows with her parents approval -- which makes complete sense in the context of this show.

[shapeshifter]

5 hours ago, Daff said:

And now we know why baby always wears a cap.

Because...?

[MattCW]

My biggest problem with this episode was Saanvi's betrayal of Vance. What clinched it for me is how when she was in that explosion, Vance immediately called "Saanvi!" and ran to her. He wasn't concerned with the wood, or the equipment, his tone was soft and full of concern, and he didn't call her "Dr. Bahl." He truly cares for her. I'm both curious and a little afraid how that will turn out.

As for Angelina, yes, she should have been in counseling. To be on 828, then have the guy she loved (however contrived we may think it) be killed in front of her after thinking he was safe, it would crack anyone. I guess the Stones were going for a "nurture" form of counseling, but maybe they trusted a little too easily, especially once Olive said she didn't trust Angelina.

As far as Ben, he's in deep trouble. But this is one place where I agree the writing wasn't all that great. The memory of Cal's diagnosis is what pushed him over? Maybe, but I still think that's a bit much. Maybe 8 years since Cal's first hospitalization or something else with greater impact. But I think this is leading up to a lot of things around 828 coming out in court. Michaela's questionable leaps and realizations in cases. Perhaps before they get buried in some police report, but now they'll all come out. Maybe one of the passengers goes to the press about the callings. Maybe the stuff the NSA is doing comes out? Since those earthquakes were real, someone other than the NSA scientist saw them and could trace the epicenters.

Edited May 25, 2021 by MattCW

[circumvent]

This show is not really my favorite drama but I enjoy it enough, with all its silliness.

Angelina is a sociopath. Having the parents she has, and no support, then being in the middle of this supernatural stuff, there is no chance she will recover. They will probably have to kill her off. 

I can't stand Saanvi. I think it is the actress and the acting.

I am curious: do religious people really believe that the Noah's Ark was real? The story of the Ark as it is told in the Bible (and the Quran) didn't happen, it would have been impossible. 

[shapeshifter]

12 minutes ago, circumvent said:

I am curious: do religious people really believe that the Noah's Ark was real? The story of the Ark as it is told in the Bible (and the Quran) didn't happen, it would have been impossible. 

Having had quite a few religious friends in the 80s and 90s, I think some do unquestioningly accept a lot of stories like Noah's Ark as historical fact --especially those who were "raised in the church" and even more so among the subset of that group who never attended college. 
But for a lot of religious people who revere the bible, I think it's more of a "God inspired" allegory.
Often the shorthand manner of speaking about bible stories and verses makes it impossible to tell the difference between those who believe the stories to be literal and those who see them as allegorical --and that shorthand then serves as a kind of glue to keep the congregation together.

[circumvent]

17 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

But for a lot of religious people who revere the bible, I think it's more of a "God inspired" allegory.

Yeah, I grew up Catholic, had my first communion and confirmation, then started questioning the role of religion as an organized institution in every spect of life, until I realized I don't believe in anything any religion has tired to convince me of - and I did spend years searching for "the right place" for me.

It is the same with Adam and Eve. If they were the first and only ones, it would mean that we are all descendants of incestuous relationships, which would also have to occur in the Noah's family, to repopulate the planet. I have't talked those issues with peopel in a long time, it usually ends bad. Curious if things have changed, in general. Apparently not.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, circumvent said:

I have't talked those issues with peopel in a long time, it usually ends bad. Curious if things have changed, in general.

There's no "Small Talk" thread for this show, and maybe it's just as well, since, as you have correctly observed, many a discussion about religion "usually ends bad." I will just end my thoughts on the subject by noting that there are some interesting interpretations.

[MattCW]

I'm currently a practicing Christian, and yes, I believe the flood story. I do however believe there has to be some wiggle room though. Perhaps the flood was more localized. From what I can see, most sources date the flood to about 1600 years after creation. By that point, humanity wouldn't have spread very far. So the "whole world" wouldn't actually encompass a huge portion of the planet. The Bible can't always be taken strictly literally in some places. If you read Genesis, just through Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel, there should be all of four people in the world. Yet in Genesis 4:17, all of a sudden, Cain has a wife. Literally no mention of other people until 4:17 and Cain's wife...where did she come from? Genesis 5:4 does go on to say Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters. So yes, their relationship and Noah's children's would have been incestuous. My personal view is that the Bible is intended for all audiences, from small tribes isolated for millennia from the developments of the world, to the smartest people in our modern, connected civilizations. As someone closer to (though not in 😝) the latter category than the former, yes, I understand and believe the science, but I also believe the Bible.

I know this isn't a religious discussion but maybe one more example just to share my personal viewpoint. I believe the story of Creation, but I also believe in the scientific theory of the big bang and of evolution of life. How? Because again, to someone disconnected from the world, they have no concept of cosmology or string theory or protons, neutrons, electrons and how else can you illustrate God's greatness than by creation of everything in 7 days, days being a concept everyone is familiar with. So to me, the big bang is merely the way that God spoke the universe into existence. Then if you're familiar with cosmological development, the earliest universe was too dense and hot for light to exist. But as it expanded and cooled, it could, and so as in Genesis 1:4, there was now separation between light and dark. Then Genesis 1:6 as “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” could be analogous to the coalescence of matter in the universe into stars and planets rather than being spread uniformly throughout the universe. So to me, the big bang, cosmology, evolution, are just God's tools. Maybe you think that's a cop-out answer. That's fine if you think that way, but it is my sincere answer.

I'll stop here. I'm just trying to answer circumvent's question being as I'm the intended audience of that question. I just wanted to provide more than "yes I do." If you wish to talk further, feel free to message me, I'll talk if you're open, but I do try not to push myself on others.

[Dowel Jones]

Then again, when even the plotlines of the show can't be understood, why would they throw in something as complex as the Bible and creation theory?  /snark

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Dowel Jones said:

Then again, when even the plotlines of the show can't be understood, why would they throw in something as complex as the Bible and creation theory?  /snark

/unsnark
to deliberately confuse and distract us further?
/snark

[ohjoy]

11 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

There's no "Small Talk" thread for this show, and maybe it's just as well, since, as you have correctly observed, many a discussion about religion "usually ends bad." I will just end my thoughts on the subject by noting that there are some interesting interpretations.

As it turns out, there is actually supposed to be a Small Talk topic — it seems the previous one has disappeared, so I’ve made a new one, located here. Please feel free to take further religious and other show-adjacent discussion there. Thanks!

[Bklyndeb]

Why doesn't the Stone home have smoke detectors??

[Camera One]

1 hour ago, Bklyndeb said:

Why doesn't the Stone home have smoke detectors??

That would be like cheating on The Callings.

[Daff]

On 5/24/2021 at 12:46 PM, shapeshifter said:

Because...?

Sorry, didn’t see this. About the cap…in the scene with the room on fire Grace was clutching an obviously smaller, “dummy” baby so hard that a real one would most surely have been injured. The audio of Eden crying was excessively frantic and loud, and paired with the (much smaller) capped head, served to convince the audience there was a real baby (or so they thought). I found the scene to be surreal. Bottom line-cap is used so no one questions inevitable scenes shot with “dummy” stand-in. 

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Daff said:

Bottom line-cap is used so no one questions inevitable scenes shot with “dummy” stand-in. 

Ah-ha! Thanks for replying. I still hadn’t figured that out, LOL.

[Paloma]

This episode had another (probably incorrect) clue to the timeline: Ben said it's been 8 years since he found out that Cal was probably going to die (I think he referred to the "official diagnosis"). I'm not sure how much time went by between that diagnosis and the trip to Jamaica, but it probably wasn't more than a few weeks or couple of months. So with the passengers gone 5 years (or 5-1/2 years), 8 years from diagnosis would mean they have been back for about 2-1/2 years. That would be consistent with Ben's previous mention of "years" of research, but not consistent with Eden's age--even if she is closer to a year old than the 6-9 months I previously estimated, with the 7 months of pregnancy they could not be more than about 18-20 months from the return of the passengers.

I know I should just give up trying to figure out the timeline, since the writers obviously did.