Journeyman: "Double Down" (Episode 107)

Ohhhh! "Double Down"! Now I get it!

Well, the writers’ strike is upon us, which means ironically that I will have to continue to recap this show for the duration of the thirteen episodes that they produced, since every network is scraping up every last hour of scripted programming that they can find. However, the fact that the ratings are in the toilet pretty much guarantees that NBC is going to air the thirteen episodes that they are able to produce and call it a day.

This week at least started to play with the concept of time travel a little, but I fear that it was far too little, too late. The show doesn’t quite know what rules of causality and continuity that they want to follow, totally avoiding the line so they don’t have to commit to any particular time travel rules for this universe. It’s a shame. And it looked like NBC went a little overboard with their “Green is Universal” theme, with all of 1999 looking a little bit putrid.

We begin with Det. Bro continuing to attempt to soften his image for the viewers, but thankfully there’s no sign of his annoying girlfriend that we don’t care about. He’s playing Monopoly with his nephew while babysitting and, unfortunately for Dan, is taken by Lil’ Dan to a strangely unfinished closet to show off Dan’s Monopoly money. Although the kid isn’t that bright… either it’s play money or it’s real money. But he seems to think Dad’s Monopoly money that can still buy pizza. Det. Jerk-Bro pockets one of the McCleen bills. Again, why do they let Dan’s estranged detective brother into the house when they know that he’s suspicious of Dan and everything that he does. Just because he’s a free babysitter?

Serious, does no one see that?Dan and Wifey arrive home and Dan mocks both his wife and the audience by faking a timey wimey migraine as a joke. Real funny, jerk. Det. Jerk-Bro absconds with his McCleen bill, leaving the couple to clean up the mess he made making chili dogs. Again, jerk. But maybe that makes Dan is the real jerk, because he leaves Wifey to clean up the mess alone, just as she tries to tell him that she wants to go back to work. And somehow she doesn’t notice the bright flash that seems to accompany Dan leaps through time.

Not racist, because we're in San Fran.Dan wakes up in 1999, which we know because that was the only moment in which “La Vida Loca” was popular. He awkwardly awakes in the backseat of a guy’s car, still holding his family’s recycling. This of course gets him pegged as a homeless person, but just as he’s about to skulk away, two Asian men climb out of a following car and pull guns. Dan knows that this is his mission and helps the guy escape his would-be assassins. He still takes a bullet in the gut, but at least he’s alive. In the commotion though, Dan dropped his ID badge, giving the assassins his name and place of business. Whoops.

Cue crazy backwards credits.

The guy with the gut shot is being taken care of at the hospital and Dan is still around, which is confusing to him since he doesn’t seem to have any hotdogs to eat or personal issues to investigate. Dan calls his 1999 Jerk-Bro to get some information on the guy whose life he saved. He’s a witness in a mob trial. He also manages to check out Wifey doing a news report in renaissance garb, which seems to amuse him oddly considering that he would have remembered her in the clothing as 1999 Dan is with her later. Dan always seems strangely confounded by his own life and chalking up all the gaps in his memory to booze and gambling addiction only goes so far.

Meanwhile (is it meanwhile?) in 2007, Det. Jerk-Bro investigates the McCleen money and a currency expert tells him that it’s in amazing condition for being so old. They plan to run the serial number, but we already know what they’re going to find.

At home, Wifey takes a call from a previously unseen old friend. He’s now a news director and he wants to rehire her. Whatevs. Is anyone watching this show for home/workplace conflict? It’s a show about time travel!

Back in 1999, Dan tries to use his apartment as a homebase again (isn’t that going to get dangerous? Causality and all?) only to find that the assassins have tossed his apartment in 1999. He conveniently finds his ID badge on the floor and puts it all together. Livia shows up to tell him that his mission is now to protect himself. Livia helps him put the apartment back together and asks him when 1999 Dan is going to be home. Dan answers “I don’t know. That’s kind of the problem.” Does no one remember their own life? They’re not sure how to warn Dan as 1999 Livia is dead already though and Dan can’t speak to himself. Dan attempts to understand causality and spells it out for all the idiots in the audience that have never even seen Back to the Future.

Livia and Dan narrowly miss Dan, Wifey and the newfound old friend coming back to Dan’s apartment. Wifey has newly dumped Jerk-Bro and she and Dan seem to be at the beginning of the things… only seven months after Livia’s non-death, to her chagrin.

You may be a jerk, bro, but you're no Jack Bauer...In 2007, Jerk-Bro is confronted by a federal agent, who is following up on the McCleen currency. Jerk-Bro lies to cover Dan’s ass and pushes the agent off for awhile. Dan and Livia stakeout 1999 Dan’s place, but he’s not staying in for the night. He’s off to a secret illegal poker game. Livia also seems to encourage Dan to talk about his past self in the third person, which is extremely irritating to me. The assassins follow 1999 Dan to the poker game and Dan and Livia know that something has to be done. It’s at this moment that Dan “suddenly” remembers how the night went the first time. Or did it? Or did it just change? But they didn’t change it yet. In every other instance, Dan remembers the original events before he changes them (or Spyder Finder does), but in this case Dan Vasser 2007 was present on this night all along? It’s not consistent. And I’m starting to sound like Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory.

Another era, another stolen car...Dan and Livia debate how to deal with the assassins so they don’t kill 1999 Dan and so 2007 Dan doesn’t mess up the timeline. But if he was going to die, wouldn’t he have already died? So confusing. So Dan’s answer: to whisper at himself and distract himself. 1999 isn’t going to listen to 2007, so 2007 has to tackle him and fight him to keep him away from the assassins… as well as ensure that 1999 doesn’t see his face. Sure, he was drunk in 1999, but he doesn’t remember getting the crap beat out of him? Or finding all the bruises in the morning? Livia charges the assassins with the car and they abscond with 1999 Dan Vasser.

In 2007, there’s some relationship drama crap with Wifey and the “old friend” and going back to work on the broadcast news. Yawn.

Never believe the "passed out drunk" excuse.Dan and Livia bring 1999 back to his apartment and Livia asks is ’99 could have seen him back there. Dan says he doubts it. But wouldn’t he know if he had? He would now remember having seen himself. Sigh. Make Dan naïve for the audience at home, but at least make Livia sound like she knows what she’s talking about. The writers gloss it over simply by having Dan point out that the details of the night were fuzzy during a bad year of his life. Dan relates how horrible it was after he lost Livia and she offers nothing as consolation. Where does she go when she’s not around him? Is she a ghost? Am I even supposed to wonder about that?

Dan reveals to Livia that important things happened after this point on this night in 1999, but conveniently they are things that Dan doesn’t remember. Wait, doesn’t that mean that it will be impossible to get them right? ’99 was supposed to go back to the poker game and get pulled out by Wifey, setting them off on their love affair. Dan plans to replace himself at the game and act out the events to set the timeline right. But my only question is whether ’99 was ever there, or whether it was 2007 all along. And the writers leave it as vague as possible.

Dan’s ready to fake the first important moment of his relationship, except all of ‘99’s buy-in money has been stolen by the assassins. Crap.

In 2007, Det. Jerk-Bro continues to investigate Dan and we watch the whole thing, even though we know all the answers and the outcome to this storyline. Yawn.

Is she The Evil Leaper?Desperately trying to figure out how to get the money for the poker game, Livia is snatched(?) by fate and leaps to Dan’s home in 2007. Right to the unfinished closet where Dan has stashed the McCleen cash. Huh? So how and why do they leap? Livia couldn’t have possibly sent herself as she didn’t know anything about where the cash was hidden, yet the timing was so perfect that it certainly seemed implied that a higher power (besides striking writers) was at work. Although I now know that I would rather watch a show that follows Livia’s perspective.

Guy peeping = creepy, Livia peeping = hawtLivia acclimates herself to her location and awkwardly observes Wifey from the closet. After narrowly dodging her, Livia sneaks out and soaks in the life that Dan now leads. She’s clearly conflicted, but still knows that she’s there to get something done. Det. Jerk-Bro shows up at the front door demanding that Wifey pull out the bag of McCleen cash that Dan has stashed. Livia overhears this and understands. She bolts upstairs and finds the money moments before Jerk-Bro opens the closet door. But when he does, both Livia and the bag of cash are gone. Wifey is more confused than Jerk-Bro is.

Dan follows the assassins, hoping to get his cash back, but instead follows them to the hospital and narrowly averts a second attempt on the life of the witness. His 1999 cash is gone, but Livia shows up with the McCleen cash to save the day. Just in time, Dan gets back into the poker game to take the place of ’99. Wouldn’t this be a problem for a gambling addict? Is his problem now rekindled so he can travel through time feeding his problem?

Wifey, why did you have to get old?The newfound old friend is in the poker game as well, and when he sees Dan losing all the McCleen money he is concerned and calls Wifey ’99. She arrives to rescue ’07 and seems to see something new in him, which is of course the love that ’07 has for Wifey ’07. So would ’99 ever even have fallen in love with Wifey ’99 if ’07 hadn’t already been in love with her?

Back at ‘99’s apartment, ’07 sneaks out, leaving Wifey ’99 with the unconscious ’99 in the bed. He opens his eyes from inside his stupor (and probably concussion) and the two ‘99s share a moment and this show just had the first moment that even approximated the way the pilot ended.

Both of their missions accomplished, Dan and Livia share some touching parting words. She disappears into her flash of red and he disappears into his flash of blue. But what did Livia vanishing look like from Dan’s perspective? Was there a flash or not?

Back in 2007, Det. Jerk-Bro is again approached by the federal agent interested in the McCleen money and he’s out of patience. He threatens Det. Jerk-Bro and without hesitation, Jerk-Bro gives up his brother.

NEXT WEEK: Dan’s meddling in the past catches up with him. Or does it?

"Whisper sweet nothings to me, me."