S04.E06: Final Hour

[greenbean]

 

Kiera and Alec risk everything to stop the future soldiers.

 

[greekmom]

This episode still left me wanting for more.

The good:

Kellogg going too far in the past and meeting up with the natives

Kiera making it back

The memorial to Carlos in the future

The timeline reset

Kagame and Alec being friends. 

The mention of Emily

 

The bad:

Dillion dying

Not enough explanation of what will happen - so is Keira just going to live there watching Sam and her alt self from afar?

Kellogg killing his daughter 

No visual of future Julian and what he is up to.

What happened to Garza!?!? 

What happened to original Jason in the alternate timeline?

 

Just made me wonder if Kiera should have just stayed in the past and had a future with Carlos. At least then she would have had some future and still can watch Sam from afar.  

[greenbean]

I got a bit teary-eyed. You could tell the actors were getting truly emotional in some of the scenes. Nice message to the fans at the end. Never knew this show would pull me in like this. Kudos to everyone involved, I shall miss the world of Continuum.

 

I didn't know how things would tie up, but I'm pretty satisfied. I would have liked Garza to get some kind of noticeable ending, and for Kellog to end up in a less precarious place. But all in all, the story was resolved enough for me.

 

I really liked Alec and Julian being friends. And the ending, with Alec and Kiera was fitting.

 

Stephan needs to land something else. From start to finish, I've loved his performance. His reaction when he found out he'd killed his daughter was so damn good. I hope all the cast go on to bigger things.

[AudienceofOne]

I didn't know how things would tie up, but I'm pretty satisfied.

 

 

Oddly, the ending made sense. Considering the mess the writers had made of a lot of things after season 1, I was pleasantly surprised. The main tension in this, and the tension they never ever explored sufficiently, was that if Keira wanted to create a better future she risked her son never being born. This ending essentially bypassed that tension by giving Keira both. I would have found that supremely dissatisfying. So her realisation that she could have both a better future AND her son only if the person she was never existed gave her victory the bittersweet edge it needed.

 

As for what happens to Keira now - who cares? Alec Sadler threw his rock and he got his tsunami and I like that that rock wasn't Kagame or Liber8 or anybody else -it was Keira and she never realised it.

 

What I also loved - that through this whole thing you think that the Traveller (or whatever his name was - was it the Time Traveller?) was trying to restore the corporate future Keira came from because it was the antecedent of his own future. The realisation that the SadTech future was the mistake he made and that he needed the utopian one restored was a lovely cherry on the story. So often dystopian things result in the realisation you need the dystopia to create something vital. This show concluded that conflict creates nothing vital but that our most optimistic futures come instead from optimism, hard work and self-sacrifice.

 

I did find the fact that all the characters delivered goodbye speeches about how wonderful Keira was through the piece a little clumsy, but she was saying goodbye so maybe that's not so weird.

 

Two things though 1. Julian was missing, something I realised only when Alec kept mentioning his name at the end and 2. I also would have liked to have known what happened to Garza. Somehow I don't see her settling down with a 9to5 waiting for the future she helped create.

[Agent Dark]

I think the ending was pretty good - with so many different elements up in the air it had the real potential to be a disaster.  But what we got was pretty satisfying I thought.  Kiera getting almost everything she wanted expect for the number1 thing - her son - makes for a "good" tragic ending to her story.  Kiera Cameron will go down as one of my favourite sci-fi characters of the last decade or so I think.

 

As much as I liked Kellogg, having Alec pull a fast one on him and send him that far back in time was pretty funny.  I probably couldn't think of a 'better' ending to Kellogg's story lol.

 

I too missed seeing old Garza, Julian et al but that might have just dragged out the final scene a bit too much.  I'd be happy enough to just leave that to my imagination, or perhaps some little stories set in some other medium (comic or novel) if Simon Barry ever wants to fill in the gaps.  Though I like to think that Old Alec missed Kiera's entrance to 2077 because his bladder just ain't what it used to be haha.

[MrWhyt]

Oddly, the ending made sense. Considering the mess the writers had made of a lot of things after season 1, I was pleasantly surprised. The main tension in this, and the tension they never ever explored sufficiently, was that if Keira wanted to create a better future she risked her son never being born. This ending essentially bypassed that tension by giving Keira both. I would have found that supremely dissatisfying. So her realisation that she could have both a better future AND her son only if the person she was never existed gave her victory the bittersweet edge it needed.

Yeah given the shortened season and the general wibbley-wobbely-timey-wimey-ness of it all I think this was the best ending we could have expected. And i wouldn't have been satisfied with a "keira gets everything she wanted" ending, it just wouldn't make sense to have"our" Keira return to her time (but better) and be able to slip right back into where she left off.

[tessaray]

I was surprised that the ending made me tear up. Oddly, the main thing I didn't like was Alec sending Kellog back to the prehistoric era.  It was good for a quick laugh but when I thought about it, it would have been better to give him a fighting chance.  Of course, even Kellog in the 1800s might have changed history.  

 

Looking forward to Kiera's next chapter, if SB decides to continue the story. 

 

ETA:  I forgot to mention that I found the super soldier blowing heads off disturbing.  I wonder if that will make it into the SyFy airing? 

Edited October 11, 2015 by tessaray

[33kaitykaity]

Good comments all around in here.  I got teary at the end and I will miss this show.  

 

I thought the older Alec really nailed the way the final younger one talked and acted at the end.  It really made me believe that he's the same guy that Kiera had just left a few moments before.  William B. Davis did a great job.  

[shapeshifter]

I loved the thank you to the fans at the end, which echoed more tangible things like the memorial to Carlos, and just the fact of it being a decisive ending.

I also loved the way William B. Davis grabbed Kiera's arm to stop her from going to Sam--powerful bit of acting, choreography, and cinematography.

Kagme was obviously waiting at that spot for a very long time for Kiera to come through the portal. Heh.

Anyone who saw part of Helix would have had the Kyra Zagorsky daughter reveal amplified by a factor of 5 or 6. Heh heh.

main thing I didn't like was Alec sending Kellog back to the prehistoric era. It was good for a quick laugh but when I thought about it, it would have been better to give him a fighting chance.

I think it could have gone either way. They might have had him for breakfast or made him their god. Edited October 16, 2015 by shapeshifter

[wanderingstar]

When Young Kellogg (Our Kellogg) started advocating for himself to Vasquez, I thought "Stay on that hustle, Matthew. Never change." It's hella funny that he ended up in pre-historic times (at least that's where I think he ended up).

 

Loved all the goodbyes. Keira/Carlos (::sniff::). Kellogg to Keira ("I choose me."  Ha!). RIP, Dillon. 

 

I'm just glad My Carlos didn't die!

 

I have to watch this ep. again.

[ketose]

Okay. I was a good American citizen and waited for the finale on Syfy. Someone who was less good told me I would like the ending and I did. I was afraid at one point that new timeline Kiera died and that Timeline 1 Keira would just step in as creepy duplicate Mommy. Also, Alec conveniently missed by a couple of years so older Sam wasn't out of place.

 

Other observations:

• I think Kellogg can only go back 1000 years, so he's in tribal North America.
• The forward in time question was answered pretty definitively.
• William B. Davis rocked it for a guy in his 80's.
• Kellogg's "I choose me," was too much like the climax of a romcom where a girl has two guys fighting over her.
• I suspect that with all the changes Alec, Julian, Kagame et. al. made, that they probably had to fix up Kiera and her husband, as well was Sam's grandparents to make sure there would be a Sam.

 

On to my comments-

 

greekmom:
The Carlos memorial was a little forced, but it was interesting that Emily had to campaign for it. Obviuosly Alec has much less influence in the new future.
As far as the bad, it is fitting that Kellogg killed his own daughter since he was responsible for everyone in his family dying. Garza and Jason will stay in the past. They already went over the fact that original Jason will still exist, but there will be no future Jason.
The problem with Julian is that they could never settle on an actor or bad CGI. I think it's best old Julian was left out.

 

AudienceofOne:
The Traveler stuff really failed to launch. The corporate future happened because of Mark Sadler, who was a Freelancer who was created by the Traveler. He was definitely a story line that was part of the 10 year arc that never was.

 

tessaray:
I saw heads exploding red in last week's and this week's episodes. Maybe that's why Syfy moved it to 11pm.

[TVSpectator]

A few thoughts on this finale:

 

-First seeing Kellog killing his own daughter I wonder how old she is? First, she was part of Travis' timeline, the 2033 timeline, where Kellog was some kind of leader/politician and she had to be, to me,  in her late 20s to early 30s. So, I am thinking that Kellog must've met her mother before this episode. Also, I really didn't like that he did kill her. 

 

- Kellog traveling back future into the past was a twist ending but again, whose to say that Kellog won't find a way to miss up the timeline again?

 

- I did like the ending where Kiera saw her other self and her other son. I guess, that certain things were bound to happen or Alec, Julian, Jason, and Carlos made sure there was a Sammy by 2077. We do know that at least Kiera's mother will be born (since we already met her pregnant grandmother way back in Season 1). 

 

-I like to think that Garza joined Chen's Freelancers and had  weird time travel adventures, between now and 2077.

 

-Since we saw a park that was in memory of Carlos, I am going to guess that he must have passed away by the time Kiera made it to 2077. 

 

-Also, did anyone noticed that Kagame was barefooted when he meet our Kiera?

 

tessaray:

I saw heads exploding red in last week's and this week's episodes. Maybe that's why Syfy moved it to 11pm.

 

I noticed the heads being blown away this episoe!

[wanderingstar]

Just made me wonder if Kiera should have just stayed in the past and had a future with Carlos.

That's what I wanted*, but I knew it wouldn't happen. That Keira/Carlos hug had me in. my. feelings.

 

 

*Actually, what I really, really wanted was a flash to a new future with Keira and Kellogg paired off. In the alt timeline that is my mind, this is what happened. Ha!

Edited October 17, 2015 by Gillian Rosh

[ketose]

-First seeing Kellog killing his own daughter I wonder how old she is? First, she was part of Travis' timeline, the 2033 timeline, where Kellog was some kind of leader/politician and she had to be, to me,  in her late 20s to early 30s. So, I am thinking that Kellog must've met her mother before this episode. Also, I really didn't like that he did kill her. 

Looking at IMDB, the actress is actually 39, a few years younger than Stephen Lobo. In reality, the 2039 timeline is about 27 years after he arrived in 2012. It's possible

 

Edited because I can't do math due to the emotional impact of the episode.

Edited October 17, 2015 by ketose

[shapeshifter]

Looking at IMDB, the actress is actually 39, a few years younger than Stephen Lobo. In reality, the 2039 timeline is only 17 years after he arrived in 2012. It's pretty much impossible for him to have an adult daughter, even one he didn't know about.

It's actually 27 years, right? Kyra Zagorski can pass for 26 or 27, I guess, especially with 2039 moisturizers, heh.

[ketose]

It's actually 27 years, right? Kyra Zagorski can pass for 26 or 27, I guess, especially with 2039 moisturizers, heh.

Oops. Yes it is. She could be maybe 26 if Kellogg got down to business when he arrived in 2012. If she wasn't conceived until after 2014, she'd be 24 tops. With the lack of causality in Continuum, (except for the last episode) his daughter might have traveled to 2014 but would never be born in 2014 if Kellogg were harvested for organs.

[sjohnson]

According to the show previously, Julian/Theseus started the revolution by destroying a mass mind control installation (and many, many people whose minds had been destroyed by the process.) Unfortunately the revolution failed, leaving the corporate congress, CPS, etc. According to the finale, not having the revolution made everything better. I have no idea how Alec managed to keep other corporations like Piron and Sonmanto (sic) from developing this. 

 

Dillon's redemption had no resonance for me whatsoever. 

 

The timeline where the corporate uses the CPS to police life debt still exists, complete with her Sam, doomed to grow up in a dystopian society. I'm not sure this is a happy ending for Sam. 

[ketose]

According to the show previously, Julian/Theseus started the revolution by destroying a mass mind control installation (and many, many people whose minds had been destroyed by the process.) Unfortunately the revolution failed, leaving the corporate congress, CPS, etc. According to the finale, not having the revolution made everything better. I have no idea how Alec managed to keep other corporations like Piron and Sonmanto (sic) from developing this. 

 

Dillon's redemption had no resonance for me whatsoever. 

 

The timeline where the corporate uses the CPS to police life debt still exists, complete with her Sam, doomed to grow up in a dystopian society. I'm not sure this is a happy ending for Sam. 

What's interesting about Continuum is that there is no "other" timeline. There are no quantum realities where Sam exists in a dystopian future.

 

Kiera probably realizes now that even though there is a Sam in New 2077, he is not her Sam. This kid grew up with a mother who was not a CPS officer and a father who was not a privileged bag man for SadTech. Presumably, with some wisdom and different choices, Alec and Julian learned how to fight the corporations without going to war with them. It isn't all about the corporations, either. They took over governments when governments went into debt over-promising to their constituents.

[sjohnson]

If the other timelines don't exist, where did Curtis' mind come from?

[ketose]

If I'm not mistaken, dead Curtis was merged with time traveled Curtis. There are different histories, but only one timeline can exist at a time. We already had two Kieras and two Alecs at one point, but their original timeline was destroyed.

[misstwpherecool]

Thank You Continuum For This One Last Season!

 

Oh I how I wish there was more 'time' to tell and fully elaborate on this story.

 

I think think the last two epi's got a little wrapped up on special effects with the future soldiers. I think the traveler dropping in for one last push wasn't needed because his story needed more developement. Did we really need to see the guy's upper torso blown off with blood spatter. Complex time travel story filled with paradoxes doesn't need the final epi loaded with action unless it tells something.

 

I also thought stuff was just being thrown in for drama like Kellog's daughter or his being sent back to pre settled Vancouver.

 

But Carlos, Jason and Garza survive along with Alex. And rightfully so Kiera did not get the perfect ending ie her son Sam, the/her future had to be altered. She is still basically an outsider.

 

There is plenty of material here for a reboot, movie or novel series.

 

Thank You Continuum For One Last Season!!!

 

 

 

[misstwpherecool]

According to the show previously, Julian/Theseus started the revolution by destroying a mass mind control installation (and many, many people whose minds had been destroyed by the process.) Unfortunately the revolution failed, leaving the corporate congress, CPS, etc. According to the finale, not having the revolution made everything better. I have no idea how Alec managed to keep other corporations like Piron and Sonmanto (sic) from developing this. 

 

Dillon's redemption had no resonance for me whatsoever. 

 

The timeline where the corporate uses the CPS to police life debt still exists, complete with her Sam, doomed to grow up in a dystopian society. I'm not sure this is a happy ending for Sam. 

 

Exactly, The original time line is where all answers and questions are. But for Kiera prime, the original traveler to still exist there still has to be the original time line. The Freelancers are still in play as is Jason.

 

I'm still puzzled how did things like the mind control factory even come into existence. I can't picture a time traveling Kellog pushing that. I thought Kellog lost his sister to the police state. And how the did the future soldiers/invasion crowd get their time traveling technology, all while on the run as revolutionaries? Or enforcers?

[wanderingstar]

or novel series.

 

I'd be all over this. I feel like this story is one that would translate well to the novel medium.

[iMonrey]

That was kind of sad! But it made sense to me and was probably the most satisfying ending they could have come up with. All season, ever since Kiera started talking about going home again, I kept wondering how such a thing would even be possible, and they managed to pull it off. I don't know where she goes from here but that's the sort of loose end I can live with, more or less.

 

They must have had a bigger budget for special effects because they really went to town with this one. Aside from the cops getting their heads blown off (geez - I've never seen something like that on TV before), the time machine and portal were pretty damn impressive looking too.

 

Alec tricking Kellogg and sending him back to pre-historic times was great, and a fitting ending for him.

 

Overall, I'm OK with this being the end. I think a full season probably would have given them more time to flesh out some of the specifics a little more, like the Traveler guy, and the future soldiers and their mission. But I don't know that I would have had the patience to sit through another four or five seasons of this story if that's what Simon Barry originally wanted. We were lucky just to get these last six episodes so they could bring about some closure and I felt like we got that.

[TVSpectator]

 

Looking at IMDB, the actress is actually 39, a few years younger than Stephen Lobo. In reality, the 2039 timeline is about 27 years after he arrived in 2012. It's possible

 

Edited because I can't do math due to the emotional impact of the episode.

 

It's actually 27 years, right? Kyra Zagorski can pass for 26 or 27, I guess, especially with 2039 moisturizers, heh.

 

 

Thanks guys for explaining to me that the actress is much older than what she is supposed to be playing. For some reason, I had no idea how old Vasquez is supposed to be, but if she is really Kellog's daughter then he had  to meet her mother pretty early, after traveling to 2012. Or they are trying to pull off that Vasquez is in her teens/twenties while the actress is in her 30s (and trust me it won't be the first time TV tried to do it). 

 

http://scifiandtvtalk.typepad.com/.a/6a01348361f24a970c0147e1369b82970b-320wi

[sluggish neko]

I'll give the writers credit for writing an ending that made sense and allowed the characters (and actors) to say goodbye, but it only highlighted how stupid Kiera's obsession to go back to her future was. She knew about alternate timelines and alternate versions of herself. She's already an imposter in the current timeline. The version of her and Alec in the timeline they already occupy were (conveniently) killed so they have no doubles to remind them that they're both from a timeline that for some reason, doesn't exist anymore [insert Freelancer gobbledygook explanation here]. Of course if she ended up in a changed future timeline, there would be another version of her. She'd be redundant.

 

Why not stay in the present where she's needed and has friends? Where, in my mind, Carlos, Alec, Jason, Garza, Brad, and Curtis (now that his Traveler boss is gone, he's got nothing else to do) fight crime and corporate corruption and Kellog (cause you know, if it's Kellog, he's gonna find a way to survive, come back, and cause trouble). But no, she'd rather skip off to the better future to see a son she doesn't really know after all the hard work is done. Typical of the selfish, shortsighted Kiera of these last 6 episodes.

 

Honestly, I would have preferred it if they just left things at the end of season 5, before the future soldiers came through the portal. That felt like a more natural ending. Then again, Carlos wouldn't have gotten the thank you and the hug from Kiera that we all know he's been wanting for a very long time. At least that was nice.

 

Another bonus? Watching Dillon get casually gunned down by Kellog. Thank you Kellog for finishing Sonya's mission.

 

Hey, if they're going to show Kiera in a new and happy future, I wanted to see the new and happy versions of Liber8... especially since two of them were killed off like redshirts in this last season. Wouldn't it have been funny to see old Alec show up with a cleaned-up version of Garza as his personal assistant? Or Sonya and Travis finally getting their happily ever after? Or Kellog running a con with his sister? Curtis in a monastery? Lucas designing a video game? The possibilities...

 

Although this last, very short season disappointed me, I still enjoyed watching the show. Making the heroine hold warped values from a dystopian corporate future and the terrorists fight for a noble and sympathetic cause was creative. I wish it had more episodes. The way the Traveler storyline was abruptly ended-- it was obvious the writers really needed them.

 

[zxy556575]

Huh. Kellogg chose himself. Keira chose herself. I don't see why her decision was lauded, supported by her friends, or in any way better than his.

[shapeshifter]

I'd be all over this. I feel like this story is one that would translate well to the novel medium.

There could be separate novels or maybe trioligies, each starting from a different result of what was last seen in this episode. Like maybe the prehistoric people do make Kellog a god in a book prolgue, and then the first chapter shows people entering a cathedral with his image over the altar. Maybe another book starts with Original Kiera marrying a son of Alec--who she names Carlos--and then Sam and her new son Carlos become rivals similar to first season Julian and Alec. Animated web series could work for this too, especially since that medium would allow the characters as we remember them visually to live on through various time scenarios. They might even get some of the original actors to do voices.

ETA: I just realized the most obvious sequel would be old Alec helping Kiera to go back to 2012 or 2015 (what was the year of the finale?) to be with Carlos.

One look at Richard Harmon's IMDb page explains whey he was too busy to appear at the end of the series, which is too bad, but at least we got old Alec and Kigame together.

I also thought stuff was just being thrown in for drama like Kellog's daughter or his being sent back to pre settled Vancouver.

Even though those developments were not anything like I imagined Kellogg's end game, I thought they did concisely wrap up his story. Other writers could learn from the handling of his character, IMO. Edited October 17, 2015 by shapeshifter

[Cobb Salad]

Loved the ending and how it all worked out in the end - Kellog really thought Alex was going to send him back only a few years? The Alex he stole Piron from? Unless he has some god-like knowledge like when's the next solar eclipse he's probably toast with the natives.

Seeing Kiera back in 2077 and not being able to reunite with Sam felt like she had a Twilight Zone twist ending. Isn't it enough to see him happy and cared for? There was no point for her to go back to 2077 otherwise, she should have just stayed in 2015.

I would have liked to see how the rest of Liber8 fared in the alt 2077. It was good to see Kagame again and now he's good friends with Alex and Julian.

Count me in as another who'd read a novelization of this. I wish the show had continued on.

[misstwpherecool]

........

ETA: I just realized the most obvious sequel would be old Alec helping Kiera to go back to 2012 or 2015 (what was the year of the finale?) to be with Carlos.

 

........

 

 

I'm sure there are many unhappy with the eutopian rather than dystopian future because it changed theirs. And theoretically there is a lot of time travel knowledge and tech laying around at this point. Who would've got the machine in the building or would Carlos and Alex had it destroyed-job for Garza?

 

Still stuck on the freelancers and traveler. AND future soldiers from a future yet earlier time, what happend there again?

Edited October 17, 2015 by misstwpherecool

[Bort]

I would have liked to see Kiera have a happy ending but the way the time travel aspect of the show was structured, there was no way for her to get what she wanted AND change the world for the better. And yeah, seeing that her fate is to be a bystander to her own life, it would've ultimately been better for her to stay in 2015. But if she had, she would've always wondered if she could've really gone back and wouldn't have been happy anyway. This pretty much was the only ending that made sense for her.

[ketose]

Going forward in time is like being plucked out of history and dropped in later. Going backward in time means you know what's going to happen and everyone else is clueless. The only way to see the final timeline within the confines of the story is for Kiera to go to 2077. She also knows that she "saved" Sam, but the cost was the future she used to have. Obviously, there are holes in the science of Continuum. Why doesn't causality exist? How did Theseus' writings, Mark Sadler's fatherhood or the meeting between old and young Alec (Bootstrap paradox) happen with only one timeline? On the other hand, I like Kiera's story ending in classic sci fi fashion (someone mentioned Twilight Zone).

 

I can accept that Kiera somehow knew that her desire to go home would lead to fixing history. I can also accept the extreme unlikelyhood of Sam's conception. The reason is that we got a payoff at the end. Kiera used time travel to see Sam again and literally could only "see" him, but could not be his mother.

[AudienceofOne]

Causality does exist. But the show uses the multiverse theory of travel. This postulates that time travel would create a new universe, a new "path" if you like off the original timeline. But the original universe still exists/existed. They established this in Season 1 by killing Kellogg's grandmother. With each change, the timeline branched off to a new reality but the original timeline still existed - that's how everyone from Liber8 still existed in the past when the future they came from was changed.

 

That's why Chen was still alive: they had mined other realities for him.

 

Which brought me to my greatest gripe about the show - if the other realities existed then Keira's determination to "go home" made sense. However, if that was the case, then why was everybody so obsessed with the timeline? If Keira could travel back to "her" 2077 then there was literally no point to the entire show.

 

It's one of the best things the finale established, for me. That yes, these other realities exist but that we are only able to travel within the universe we're currently in. Once a fork branches off, we're now on the new fork until we create a new one. So Keira couldn't travel back to "her" 2077 until Alec destroyed the Kellogg-warlord future and then created a new one. Which he did by talking Kellogg into jumping back into the past and then presume working with Theseus and Kagame to create the future they wanted.

 

And that's why the Traveller was stuck - each new change propelling him into a new branch of the "time tree", able to move at will along that branch but unable to jump to another until he created it. And never able to go back to his original branch.

 

It's also why Keira *couldn't* go back to "her" 2077. That specific confluence of events could never be recreated perfectly and so that branch permanently exists on another, younger, part of the tree.

Edited October 17, 2015 by AudienceofOne

[catrox14]

Man, that's a bittersweet ending. I was really sad that she left Carlos behind and still didn't get her son back :(.

 

Yes she saved the world but man she still lost everything she loved. :(

[shapeshifter]

Man, that's a bittersweet ending. I was really sad that she left Carlos behind and still didn't get her son back :(.

 

Yes she saved the world but man she still lost everything she loved. :(

I think she loved Alec with a brotherly love, and still has that in the time where the show ends--so she didn't lose everything.

When old Alec pulled her back from going to Sam, was that just because it would freak out Sam to see another mommy, or is there some rule of time travel that would keep her from communicating with him so things don't explode? Because maybe she could "meet" him some day.

Okay: Interesting time travel plot: Boy meets his mother's long lost twin, grows up, and finds out she's really his time traveled mom.

[catrox14]

I figured she would not be able to meet him because it would cause a paradox or something.

[Bort]

When old Alec pulled her back from going to Sam, was that just because it would freak out Sam to see another mommy, or is there some rule of time travel that would keep her from communicating with him so things don't explode? Because maybe she could "meet" him some day.

Ha, are you thinking of the movie Timecop, where identical matter can't touch and will turn into a screaming, disgusting blob? I was thinking that Alec didn't want to freak Sam and Other Kiera out with a doppelganger. I supposed maybe one day they might be able to work something out where Kiera gets to meet them but I don't know, that kind of knowledge might ruin their lives in a mind-blow kind of way. I think they'd be better off never knowing. Sucks for Kiera but if she wants what's best for Sam, it's probably the only way to go.

The only thing I regret about the finale is that I never got to see Kiera and Carlos make out. Missed opportunity!

[shapeshifter]

I supposed maybe one day they might be able to work something out where Kiera gets to meet them but I don't know, that kind of knowledge might ruin their lives in a mind-blow kind of way. I think they'd be better off never knowing. Sucks for Kiera but if she wants what's best for Sam, it's probably the only way to go.

What about if the mom of the new timeline died tragically early? Even tougher call.

The only thing I regret about the finale is that I never got to see Kiera and Carlos make out. Missed opportunity!

Yeah, but the TV kiss/hook-up is often less hot than the courtship dance.

[ketose]

Causality does exist. But the show uses the multiverse theory of travel. This postulates that time travel would create a new universe, a new "path" if you like off the original timeline. But the original universe still exists/existed. They established this in Season 1 by killing Kellogg's grandmother. With each change, the timeline branched off to a new reality but the original timeline still existed - that's how everyone from Liber8 still existed in the past when the future they came from was changed.

 

That's why Chen was still alive: they had mined other realities for him.

 

Which brought me to my greatest gripe about the show - if the other realities existed then Keira's determination to "go home" made sense. However, if that was the case, then why was everybody so obsessed with the timeline? If Keira could travel back to "her" 2077 then there was literally no point to the entire show.

 

It's one of the best things the finale established, for me. That yes, these other realities exist but that we are only able to travel within the universe we're currently in. Once a fork branches off, we're now on the new fork until we create a new one. So Keira couldn't travel back to "her" 2077 until Alec destroyed the Kellogg-warlord future and then created a new one. Which he did by talking Kellogg into jumping back into the past and then presume working with Theseus and Kagame to create the future they wanted.

 

And that's why the Traveller was stuck - each new change propelling him into a new branch of the "time tree", able to move at will along that branch but unable to jump to another until he created it. And never able to go back to his original branch.

 

It's also why Keira *couldn't* go back to "her" 2077. That specific confluence of events could never be recreated perfectly and so that branch permanently exists on another, younger, part of the tree.

I guess this is a matter of perspective. The way I look at it, there is one "current" timeline. The only time cause and effect are truly in play is when there is a bridge between times, aka when the time machine is operating. When Liber8 went back in 2012, they changed history, but the show seemed to imply that not much changed. 

 

In season 2, Alec went back a week. That destroyed history itself, along with any of these so-called branches. By Alec going back a week, Kellogg realized there was an incursion in time and was able to change his actions. He had Emily kill Escher. That led to "Evil" Alec breaking with Emily and taking over Piron. Kellogg then stole the company from Alec. History changed and Kellogg was now in a position of power, because Liber8 had taken down his potential competition.

 

The bad (or Brad) future existed until a time window opened again. As 2039 people and old Kellogg came through, history was being destroyed on the other end. One of the soldiers even said that causality only existed while the two times were "tethered." Otherwise, anything that comes through from the present does not feel the effects of there actions. This is different than, say, Back to the Future, where Marty started to disappear when he stopped his parents from meeting. Kellogg stopped that future by taking himself out of the timeline.

 

You're saying that there are infinite quantum realities, but they are locked out and can't be accessed. I say that any previous timeline is destroyed as the new one is created. This is a Schrödinger's cat situation, because we are both right as long as we can't detect or enter another reality. It both does and doesn't exist.

Edited October 18, 2015 by ketose

[AudienceofOne]

You're saying that there are infinite quantum realities, but they are locked out and can't be accessed. I say that any previous timeline is destroyed as the new one is created. This is a Schrödinger's cat situation, because we are both right as long as we can't detect or enter another reality. It both does and doesn't exist.

 

Well, I would argue that if the other timeline ceased to exist then nothing from that universe exists either. Since time is created with the universe and is not linear then the destruction of that reality would also destroy its time. As such, everything from that reality has not and will not happen, so there can't be remnants from its non-existence in another reality. But from the POV of our characters in the show, and of us as an audience, a reality that cannot be accessed is the same as a reality that does not exist. So, yes, it's irrelevant. Both positions are true and not true.

[ketose]

There is definitely a transition period as one reality is destroyed and the new one "branches off" as we saw in the beginning of the third season as Kiera went back a week to the "new" timeline. Things like Kellogg's grandmother being killed seem to indicate that once one is plucked out of time, nothing that happens in the past propagate into that person's current life. I think it is also valid to argue that kind of non-causality can't really happen either.

 

If someone invented time travel, it would be a lot easier to figure out some of these shows.

[tessaray]

Huh. Kellogg chose himself. Keira chose herself. I don't see why her decision was lauded, supported by her friends, or in any way better than his.

 

I didn't see it that way.  Kiera never made a choice to be a time traveler or to save the future.  She coped as best she could when she was thrown in the deep end.  She had every right to try and get her life back if it could be done.  

 

Kellogg was a completely different situation.  Was there ever a moment that he wasn't scheming or double-crossing everyone else?  

 

Did Kellogg send his daughter to the past knowing he would kill her?  

[shapeshifter]

Did Kellogg send his daughter to the past knowing he would kill her?

Interesting question. I'd rather think she knew it would happen but sacrificed herself somehow knowing young Alec would send him back to the stone age and save the future. Edited October 18, 2015 by shapeshifter

[ketose]

I didn't see it that way.  Kiera never made a choice to be a time traveler or to save the future.  She coped as best she could when she was thrown in the deep end.  She had every right to try and get her life back if it could be done.  

 

Kellogg was a completely different situation.  Was there ever a moment that he wasn't scheming or double-crossing everyone else?  

 

Did Kellogg send his daughter to the past knowing he would kill her?  

The criticism of Kiera seems to be her desire to go back. Of course, the point of the show was for her to get back home. Even if that was selfish, Kiera was often selfless about how she went about it. She tried to fight Liber8 by herself. She made sure the future soldiers were stopped before she took her shot. Was her goal irrational? Ultimately, it was, but it was what she wanted. By the time she left, she fixed history. What more did she need to do?

 

Kellogg, on the other hand, was always in it for himself. He helped Kiera when it was convenient. He learned how to live the high life as soon as possible. He figured out how to beat Escher when he tried to stop Kellogg.

 

My guess is that old Kellogg thought that the only woman young Kellogg couldn't seduce was his own daughter. I doubt if he thought Kellogg would kill her.

[shapeshifter]

My guess is that old Kellogg thought that the only woman young Kellogg couldn't seduce was his own daughter. I doubt if he thought Kellogg would kill her.

If this is the case, then I will amend my preference slightly to hoping his daughter withheld her identity from him as part of a plan to get him sent back to the stone age so the future wouldn't be his. Maybe he killed or abandoned her mother and she wanted to get revenge--or maybe she was just a rebellious daughter. Edited October 18, 2015 by shapeshifter

[tessaray]

The criticism of Kiera seems to be her desire to go back. Of course, the point of the show was for her to get back home. Even if that was selfish, Kiera was often selfless about how she went about it. She tried to fight Liber8 by herself. She made sure the future soldiers were stopped before she took her shot. Was her goal irrational? Ultimately, it was, but it was what she wanted. By the time she left, she fixed history. What more did she need to do?

 

I think I could argue that Kiera's desire to go home is actually what changed the future for the better.  She never really gave up on trying to get home to her son, which eventually led to the conditions for a better future being created after all the various parties intersected. It certainly touched young Alec's heart, among others. 

 

So is Kiera Dorothy and Alec the Wizard of Oz?  :-) 

Edited October 18, 2015 by tessaray

[wanderingstar]

I think she loved Alec with a brotherly love, and still has that in the time where the show ends--so she didn't lose everything.

 

I loved Keira and Alec's reunion in the new future (was it 2077 or a few years after?) Because Keira/Alec was one of my favorite relationships on this show. It was also a nice callback to the S3 finale when she and Alec reunited on the rooftop.

Edited October 18, 2015 by Gillian Rosh

[ketose]

I was re-watching episode 1x09 when Kiera and Kellogg spent the night together. I thought it was interesting because I couldn't figure out how much she just wanted to get away and how much she was trying to play Matthew for his "time slice."

 

I also watched season openers and finales. This is my take as to how history unfolded:

 

In the original timeline, Alec would have had to been born to his mother and Mark Sadler (otherwise, paradox)

Alec's life unfolded differently and things in the future were pretty good.

Alec still invented time travel.

Time travel got abused, the Traveler f***ed up the future and decided to start Freelancers.

Freelancers recruited Mark Sadler (maybe after Alec was born?) and he turned rogue.

Mark Sadler / Escher either started Piron or gave Alec the start-up to create Sadtech.

Alec's mother married Julian's father. Julian's father got killed and he started Liber8.

Alec became a corporate overlord. He also created time travel.

Alec got remorseful and decided to change history. He sent Liber8 and Kiera.

 

For this to work, the mission would have failed. Maybe the Freelancers caught Liber8. History didn't change.

This theory basically means that the show Continuum was actually attempt #2.

Somehow Kiera got into the mix (bootstrap paradox) or some other unknown was involved. Possibly Chen dying.

Freelancers were now in 2077 when one confronted Jason before the execution.

The Traveler was able to connect young Alec with old Alec.

Old Alec changed his plans slightly to add Kiera.

Kiera saves history.

[Locutus]

At least Kellogg had the benefit of being darker complexioned, similar to the "native-canadians". Bet he wished he would have held onto that gun. Clearly he did nothing to affect the good time line.

[shapeshifter]

At least Kellogg had the benefit of being darker complexioned, similar to the "native-canadians". Bet he wished he would have held onto that gun. Clearly he did nothing to affect the good time line.

While all of this is possible, I'm not so sure:

I used to be glad of my black hair and suntan when walking through certain neighborhoods in the summer, but historically, being white (or just different looking) seemed to have been an advantage to colonialists wanting to enforce Manifest Destiny in part by convincing locals (or allowing locals to conclude) that the conquerors were gods from the sky.

As for not having a gun, maybe he does? Or some other impressive tech.

And as for not affecting the time line in a negative way, I think there's still plenty of room for that to be revealed in a sequel.