S02.E10: The Return

[Bort]

A ruthless enemy holds the clearing captive, threatening to kill a beloved survivor if their demands for an unexpected item aren't met. Gavin and Sam lead the rescue attempt, aided by an old friend whose return holds more questions than answers.

Airdate: February 14, 2023

[AnimeMania]

Next Week: Back-to-Back Episodes

[iMonrey]

Maybe I've lost the thread here but it seems like there are an awful lot of time paradoxes going on. When the Harrises fell through the sinkhole in 2021 (?) there was no mention of this being a regular occurrence going all the way back to 1988. So when everyone went to 1988 was it a revised timeline where sinkholes started appearing all over just then? And does the 1998 that Levi just came back from have advanced technology and knowledge of the sinkholes because he was there working with the government? If James fixes the portal and goes back to prevent Isiah from ever being taken (which happened when?) then does he prevent this show from ever happening? 

And where exactly does everyone stand at this point? DIdn't Izzy stop Gavin from blowing up the portal because she believed James could fix it and send them all home? Now she's telling Gavin he can't trust James. Can't she make up her mind? If they're not trying to fix the portal so they can go home what exactly are they doing? Just planning their lives in a clearing in 10,000 BC?

Most of all, wouldn't the kids want to go live in the nice tower with Grandpa? I sure would. Instead we got Lukas asking Veronica to move in with him. Move in where, a car? Oh Geez I thought I was kidding.

Can we be done with Taamet and the Exiles now? There's already way too much going on and now they're throwing in Aaron and some book. Everyone is connect I guess. This is feeling very Lost. Which I'm sure is no accident.

[Frozendiva]

Back in 1998, folks were thinking of Y2K.

Poor Levi, losing in to love to everyone. No Eve, he is stuck in time, gets married, his wife conveniently dies, and we get him coming through some sort of wormhole.  Eve is wondering when she dies.

I would prefer to live in the air conditioned tower - nice comfy bed, air conditioning, food that has already been hunted. Probably a shower and laundry facilities.

In exchange for cancer treatment, one becomes a shrink to James, who is not being honest about anything, has a henchwoman who also is not being honest. We go back to Gavin aka Isaiah being the common denominator of this whole experiment gone bad, his dad is having nightmares that cause insomnia and stress, and we get some new artwork from Isaiah’s first exhibition, including the. Ever mentioned Project Blue Moon.

The Exiles mount a spear attack, fins some book they need and we learn that the henchwoman  has her own ideas, which may be on the now missing grandma’s agenda, or not.

Veronica and Lukas are going to live in a car? What is next? Taking out the floor and using Flintstone feet to drive it? Are they going to find some fuel that is currently fossiling, and use the tower to refine the oil into petroleum?

Three eps left this season - the red wedding two parter - red flowers anyway. The other more tribal people will be back and maybe James will fix the machine or maybe things will go ahead 10,000 years. Or name the town Bedrock…

[Dowel Jones]

So, did the other Exiles at the clearing just pack up and leave when BossMan took a fall?  No mention of the aftermath at all.

You would think that, with all those resources in the clearing, that the DownUnders would spend some time creating viable living spaces, instead of moving into cars.  Of course, they are from LA, after all.

Poor Ty.  He just gets started analyzing James and James cuts the appointment short.  "Wait, we're supposed to have 50 minutes.  Be sure and stop at the receptionist's desk and give her your insurance cards.  I'll still have to bill you."

I take it Virgil the traitor is going to hightail it with his wife somewhere else, because apparently he did murder the other guy, and tried to sell out the Clearing.  I found it funny that Lukas (maybe, I can't remember) spends a lot of time interrogating him when the Clearing is being overrun by the Exiles.  Priorities, man!

Levi faced down a CGI Rhino!  He's the man!

(Scene at the Clearing) Taamed;  "You time's almost up."  Me:  You said sundown.  It's pretty obvious that it's just about noon from the glare of the sun.  Stoner Scott:  "As a cultural anthropology student, after studying you all this time, I have come to the conclusion that...."    Me:  Kill him now.

[Cobb Salad]

6 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

I take it Virgil the traitor is going to hightail it with his wife somewhere else, because apparently he did murder the other guy, and tried to sell out the Clearing.  I found it funny that Lukas (maybe, I can't remember) spends a lot of time interrogating him when the Clearing is being overrun by the Exiles.  Priorities, man!

Levi faced down a CGI Rhino!  He's the man!

(Scene at the Clearing) Taamed;  "You time's almost up."  Me:  You said sundown.  It's pretty obvious that it's just about noon from the glare of the sun.  Stoner Scott:  "As a cultural anthropology student, after studying you all this time, I have come to the conclusion that...."    Me:  Kill him now.

Where are Virgil and his wife going to go in 10,000 BC without having to rely on another group of people?  I hope this is the last we see of him and he doesn’t pop up at some later time out of the blue to add suspense. 

No surprise it was Levi who came back.  Who else would it be? 

About the scene where Taamed was going to kill Scott I was so disappointed when that didn’t happen.  I get he’s a character that’s making things happen (letting Taamed go, etc.) but I’ve had enough of this guy.  

I might have missed something but that Exiles attack at the clearing to get that book made no sense to me.  How did they know it was there or anyone there (other than Gavin’s mother, maybe) would think someone had it there.  Then it just so happens Veronica remembers a book that Aaron (who we barely got to know other than he abducted Veronica and Lily) used to carry around all the time.   Even though it was in the dead guy’s pocket when he was buried it seemed awfully clean for something that’s been buried under dirt for however long it’s been.  

 

[iMonrey]

Quote

So, did the other Exiles at the clearing just pack up and leave when BossMan took a fall?  No mention of the aftermath at all.

What about all the slave labor back at the mining camp? Who's watching over them, and since they are in service of the Exiles who supply the Tower with Unobtanium, shouldn't Gavin be raising this issue with his father? It's like he's completely forgotten about them.

6 hours ago, Cobb Salad said:

I might have missed something but that Exiles attack at the clearing to get that book made no sense to me.  How did they know it was there or anyone there (other than Gavin’s mother, maybe) would think someone had it there.  Then it just so happens Veronica remembers a book that Aaron (who we barely got to know other than he abducted Veronica and Lily) used to carry around all the time.   Even though it was in the dead guy’s pocket when he was buried it seemed awfully clean for something that’s been buried under dirt for however long it’s been.  

The show is just trying to do WAY TOO MUCH. When did Aaron arrive in 10,000 BC? After Veronica and Lily, or before? If before, how was he with them when they fell through the sinkhole? Or did he fall through at the same time?  

[shapeshifter]

18 hours ago, Frozendiva said:

Veronica and Lukas are going to live in a car? What is next? Taking out the floor and using Flintstone feet to drive it?

🤣😆😂Thank you, @Frozendiva!!!
Yabba dabba doo!

 

One question: Who was Wyatt? 
Never mind. Bye-gones. 

[KaveDweller]

When whats-his-face from the exiles died, I thought he was saying Carolina sent him for the book. Apparently he said Keira? Am I supposed to know who that is?

I think Ty broke HIPPA by telling James's assistant that his biggest regret was losing his son.

After they untied Virgil's wife, the next scene was them walking back to the clearing. But she wasn't there. Did they just leave her by herself in the middle of nowhere for the exiles to come back to? I know Virgil was working against them, but she wasn't. And he was doing it to save her life, so helping her brings him back to your side.

Now Aaron having knowledge of 10,000 BC is interesting. Is he originally from James's crew and somehow ended up in 2021 and a kidnapper? If so, it would make sense that he'd want to go down a sinkhole but why kidnap some young girls to bring with him? Is he just a creep?

21 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Maybe I've lost the thread here but it seems like there are an awful lot of time paradoxes going on. When the Harrises fell through the sinkhole in 2021 (?) there was no mention of this being a regular occurrence going all the way back to 1988. So when everyone went to 1988 was it a revised timeline where sinkholes started appearing all over just then? And does the 1998 that Levi just came back from have advanced technology and knowledge of the sinkholes because he was there working with the government? If James fixes the portal and goes back to prevent Isiah from ever being taken (which happened when?) then does he prevent this show from ever happening? 

When Josh and Riley were in 1988 they did talk about how they didn't remember a sinkhole opening by the Hollywood sign before. So they did say that the timeline has changed. But they haven't gotten into the rules of time travel in this universe. Have they created a new timeline? Have they changed the timeline so the universe they go back to is different? Why is Scott not talking about this? At the least you'd think he would be interested.

[shapeshifter]

2 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

When whats-his-face from the exiles died, I thought he was saying Carolina sent him for the book. Apparently he said Keira? Am I supposed to know who that is?

She's the tall, shorthaired lady working in the James Tower who gave Ty the yellow legal pad with the Blue Moon message written on it.

But there are a lot of names to keep track of (or not). I was almost sure Levi's named-but-not-seen dead wife was "Keira" too, but it was "Marissa."

 

6 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

After they untied Virgil's wife, the next scene was them walking back to the clearing. But she wasn't there. Did they just leave her by herself in the middle of nowhere for the exiles to come back to? I know Virgil was working against them, but she wasn't. And he was doing it to save her life, so helping her brings him back to your side.

Back at the camp, in the background we see Virgil and his wife reunited and walking away together——presumably never to be seen or mentioned again unless a plot point requires their presence.

[KaveDweller]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Back at the camp, in the background we see Virgil and his wife reunited and walking away together——presumably never to be seen or mentioned again unless a plot point requires their presence.

So she just found her own way back to a clearing she's never been to before?

Okay, sure, why not.

[iMonrey]

Quote

When whats-his-face from the exiles died, I thought he was saying Carolina sent him for the book. Apparently he said Keira? Am I supposed to know who that is?

I think Ty broke HIPPA by telling James's assistant that his biggest regret was losing his son.

After they untied Virgil's wife, the next scene was them walking back to the clearing. But she wasn't there. Did they just leave her by herself in the middle of nowhere for the exiles to come back to? I know Virgil was working against them, but she wasn't. And he was doing it to save her life, so helping her brings him back to your side.

I had to look up Kira too. There are way too many tertiary characters right now. I couldn't remember who Virgil was either. Where did he come from? Is he the one who escaped with them from the miner's camp? 

And yeah, apparently the Exiles just left his wife tied up against a rock somewhere in the middle of nowhere? WTF? 

[Dowel Jones]

14 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

So she just found her own way back to a clearing she's never been to before?

She just followed the trail of discarded plot lines and red shirts.

[bref]

This may genuinely be the worst show I've ever watched. 😄

[mythoughtis]

Virgil’s wife was untied but they did leave her on the rock.  She must have followed them.  What are the folks in the clearing  going to do about the fact that he killed Wyatt?   Last season they had no problem locking people up.  
 

Aaron must  have found his way to 200x  from 10,000BC using the portal even though James  didn’t know it was used - he had said Aaron disappeared. Since it’s confirmed that Veronica buried him way back in Episode 1 or 2 - who was the skeleton that Caroline  said was Aaron?  And who knew that the real Aaron had fallen in the LA sinkhole? Veronica made it sound like he knew the sinkhole would happen. And why did he bring Veronica and Lily with him or kidnap them in the first place? 

 

Edited February 19, 2023 by mythoughtis

[Cobb Salad]

14 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

Aaron must  have found his way to 200x  from 10,000BC using the portal even though James  didn’t know it was used - he had said Aaron disappeared. Since it’s confirmed that Veronica buried him way back in Episode 1 or 2 - who was the skeleton that Caroline  said was Aaron?  And who knew that the real Aaron had fallen in the LA sinkhole? Veronica made it sound like he knew the sinkhole would happen. And why did he bring Veronica and Lily with him or kidnap them in the first place? 

I thought the scientist Caroline was looking for and found dead was someone we never saw.  I admit I’m having a problem remembering the names of some of these characters since the show seems to go all over the place.  That remark where Veronica speculated Aaron knew about the sinkhole before it happened IMO is introducing an unnecessary storyline in to an already messy show.  Really, the guy died in pretty much the first episode and we’re bringing him up now?   There was that now resolved angst with Veronica and Lily since their kidnapper was dead and they could go around as they pleased without being under his control.  At first I thought he was just a creep who kidnapped 2 girls and now he’s supposed to be some mysterious character?

At least with Lost even though we had a lot of people when they focused on a key group of characters the show made a point of letting us get to know them individually (through their own episodes).  La Brea, no.  Lost had it faults as many have pointed out through the years but it is miles better than this show.  

[Lady Calypso]

This week, on La Brea, Levi comes through the Shiny Green Portal, ten years older and....insert random quick backstory to have the Eve/Levi romance dead (at least for now). I guess that's one way to end our suffering on one romance. Now, just a bunch more to go!

Though, Levi, you may be older, but you definitely aren't wiser. I mean, sure, he wants to kill James, which is smart, but I bet it doesn't happen. And also, he says this but he also wasted eight of his bullets firing wildly into the air, which should have also caught the attention of the people back at camp, ready to kill Scott.

On 2/15/2023 at 8:19 PM, KaveDweller said:

I think Ty broke HIPPA by telling James's assistant that his biggest regret was losing his son.

To be fair, does HIPPA exist in Prehistoric La Brea? HIPPO, maybe, as in a hippo may run through the clearing like those CGI Buffalos from last episode. I know Ty should care about HIPAA, but maybe there are different rules for Prehistoric La Brea.

I forgot Tychologist and Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman were getting married after knowing each other for a total of one month. Because they gotta rush into a marriage so they can start having those kids next week!

So, Scott spent several episodes worried about Lucas when he was in danger. Now, it's time for Scott to be in danger (and he even kills What's His Face) and not a single goddamn peep. Not even Lucas checking in on Scott, no comment about if he's ok, nada. 

Scott deserves better since his best friend is way more concerned about Stockholm Sister.

Izzy, last episode, you were practically worshipping the ground at James' feet. Now, you're all "he's untrustworthy!" Make up your mind! And, no surprise, Wolf Snack does nothing useful, as per usual. And everyone else seems to take their sweet time healing when Wolf Snack heals from wounds in minutes.

Like others, I was like "who?" when they mentioned a Kiera. I guess it's the Blonde Woman who clacks in high heels, but never knew her name until now.

[Camera One]

I thought Taamet's dying words was "Your..." and I assumed he was going to say "Your mother" but Gavin was going to be stumped figuring out who he meant.  

Turns out Taamet said "Kira".  Add me to the list of those who had no idea who the hell Kira was before I looked her up on Google.

We better find out why/how Kira knew someone from the clearing would know where the notebook was.  This show mostly relies on throwing new crap at the audience so they don't bother to look back to determine if anything actually makes sense in hindsight.

Ty better not be trusting Kira just because of her note on the yellow pad.  Was she going to write that on the see-through tablet before he suggested a paper pad?  

So was Aaron the famous Dr. Moore?  I just couldn't care less about any of these "mysteries" or the various characters' secret agendas (well there's James and Gavin's mother and Gavin's grandfather and Rebecca, and now there's Kira and probably a couple more before the season is done). 

Now the worst insomnia would be to be dwelling on this show's nonsensical plot points. 

Had we seen that notebook before in Season 1 when what's her name buried Aaron?

Oh, not Levi again.  

Gavin must have been taking the really slow scenic route because Navy Seal, daughter and redshirts bumped into him heading back to the clearing. 

[Artsda]

I'm glad Levi is back, I can't take Gavin so much. 

[tkc]

On 2/14/2023 at 7:24 PM, iMonrey said:

If James fixes the portal and goes back to prevent Isiah from ever being taken (which happened when?) then does he prevent this show from ever happening? 

Go, James, Go!  😁

Honestly, though, what would we do without this show? We've dropped through a TV sinkhole to find ourselves taken prisoner and toiling in the snark mines... and let me tell you, this is one rich deposit!

[KaveDweller]

On 2/19/2023 at 2:08 PM, Cobb Salad said:

I thought the scientist Caroline was looking for and found dead was someone we never saw.  I admit I’m having a problem remembering the names of some of these characters since the show seems to go all over the place.  That remark where Veronica speculated Aaron knew about the sinkhole before it happened IMO is introducing an unnecessary storyline in to an already messy show.

I thought so too. She seemed pretty sure that was his body and it was his notes around him. But it is possible she found a different skeleton and the guy she was looking for was Aaron, or Aaron was a different scientist on the team that left.