TIMELESS Recap: “The Murder of Jesse James”

By Ruby Campos

The Lone Ranger Just Got A Lot Cooler

If you remember at the end of last week’s episode, Flynn gave Wyatt the name of his wife’s killer, as promised. Wyatt doesn’t hesitate to look up the killer and ends up meeting the man, who is in prison for the murders of two other women. The man is confused as to why Wyatt is even there if he isn’t going to press charges but Wyatt just wants to know. Of course, he may have a few ideas and advantages up his sleeve thanks to the time machine.

Elsewhere, Lucy awakens from an upsetting dream in which her sister, Amy (who is still wiped from existence) guilts her for enjoying her time-traveling adventures when the whole reason she decided to continue this job was to get her back.

At Mason Industries, Jiya informs Rufus that Mason is going to start training her to be a pilot for the time machine. Jiya is, of course, excited about this opportunity, but Rufus knows Mason is already looking for his replacement (last week, he chose a side and decided Rittenhouse couldn’t do anything if he didn’t follow their command because he is the only pilot they have left).

With all three of our lead characters a little worse for wear in some shape, they get word that Flynn has just landed at April 3^rd, 1892, the day that Jesse James is killed and Christopher and Mason send them off to put a stop to whatever havoc Flynn will bring about this time.

They guess correctly in thinking that Flynn would save Jesse James from getting killed, as his first scene in the episode shows him saving James’ life by killing the Ford brothers instead. Flynn then takes the outlaw to a bar and shows him a map and requests his help finding the person the map leads to, but it isn’t until he is offered a sack of money that James agrees to help the cause. Flynn suggests that the two sneak out the back when two Marshals enter the bar. However, Jesse James, being who he is, loudly directs their attention to himself and shoots both men before he finds it suitable to leave.

Once again, the trio arrive to the scene a little too late, but they do find out from the bartender that he overheard Flynn and James talk about heading South; with that being their only lead, Wyatt starts to find some horses so they can make better time, but Rufus talks some sense into him; South is a pretty vague direction and they have no idea where they are.

After rationally deciding they need help, they actually end up finding Bass Reeves AKA The Lone Ranger, who also happens to be black, and as Rufus points out excitedly, it’s awesome. They explain to Bass that they have a lead on Jesse James. After hearing that James is headed into Indian Territory, Bass agrees to help them as long as they do it his way, which means they don’t kill Jesse on the spot but bring him back to jail. Bass also enlists the help of his close friend, Grant Johnson and they head off in search of Flynn and James.

As Flynn and James get closer to their destination, James decides to interrogate him about the importance of his apparent cause. Flynn tells him that if he is successful, his cause will have made the world a better place. Jesse scoffs and recalls a time when he named his motives a cause. He now realizes that causes and excuses really aren’t too different and that he was just looking for a reason to kill. However, their conversation on morality and reasoning is cut short when they realize they are surrounded from above.

For the third time, the good guys appear too late, and they happen upon the dead bodies of the Native Americans who were seen surrounding Jesse James and Flynn. Bass and Grant decide to pause so they can bury the bodies.

While they sit around a campfire, Wyatt reveals his plan to go against Bass’ wishes to take Jesse James alive; he’s going to kill him the first chance he gets. He also uses this moment to tell Rufus and Lucy that he met the man who killed his wife. Rufus, who doesn’t want to disappoint Bass and Grant, urges Wyatt not to kill again. He has been having trouble coming to terms with his kill in Houston and he doesn’t want them to become people like James who don’t feel anything for the murders they commit. Wyatt isn’t in that mindset and reminds him that they have a job to do. Lucy, who has been oddly quiet and off her game thus far, interjects that she just wants to get her sister back and go home.

Flynn and Jesse reach their destination and it turns out that the person Flynn was looking for is a woman named Emma Whitmore, and she’s from the present. Flynn has done is research and reveals her story. She was a pilot for Mason Industries who faked her own death in the 1800s to get away from the eyes of Rittenhouse. Flynn wants to team up with her because she knows things about the shady organization that would help him destroy the group. They flee and Flynn gives Jesse the rest of the money he promised and unwillingly parts with a huge gun from the 21^st century.

The Lone Ranger and his team end up at the cabin and Rufus recognizes Emma’s name tag among the strew of modern objects. Jesse, always one for a big entrance, uses his newly acquired gun to shoot up the cabin from the outside, killing Grant. Wyatt manages to sneak outside and injure the outlaw but is left in a standoff with Bass who won’t allow him to kill James — who just surrendered himself — even though he killed his friend moments before. However, Lucy surprisingly ends up shooting and killing James from behind.

They return to town and Bass gives Lucy the reward money for killing the murderer but warns her that her actions will haunt her. Ignoring Rufus’ plea to speak to reporters so his story isn’t stolen by some white guy, The Lone Ranger rides off to continue catch the bad guys and do right in the world.

In the present, Mason warns Jiya to stay out of private matters, like looking into Mason Industries’ database to watch video logs of previous time travel pilots, because things could get so much scarier if she sneaks around again.

Lucy who is now home is still visibly shaken by the day as a whole and sheds a tear as she looks at an old photograph of herself next to Jesse James’ dead body.

Rufus meets up with Wyatt in a bar and the latter doesn’t hesitate in making a big request of the former. He wants Rufus to help him steal the time machine so he can save his wife’s life. He begs the scientist to help him because he has no one else. He can’t sit knowing who her killer is without doing something.

Catch Timeless Mondays on NBC at 10/9c