“Double Down”

A good sign for a show is that the deeper it gets into it’s mythos, the more complicated it becomes, the more enticing it gets rather than get confusing.  It’s a well paced, finely developed show that should have been a classic.  It’s hard to believe that the show gets canceled after another half season.  But that’s recent television for you.

The Leap of the week is truly background noise.  Dan has to travel back and make certain the gang doesn’t hit the DA’s star witness before he testifies.  But the crux of the show happens when Dan realizes his mission and gets the guy out of a situation before they shoot him up.  Unfortunately Dan dropped his ID badge and guess who picks it up?

Suddenly Dan is in danger of changing HIS future…something heretofore unexplored or even mentioned.  If this is a good series though you can bet that this episode will be a kind of set up for a very special future episode.

This is a good series.

After Dan saves the man he was here to save, he’s weirded out because he hasn’t left yet.  He makes his way to his apartment and finds Livia…right after he finds the gangsters coming out of his apartment after it was trashed.

Livia realizes that the reason Dan hasn’t left is that he has someone else to save now…himself.  With these guys gunning for him at least until the trial, he could severely change his past.   Specifically he realizes that the date is an important one.  It seems that this was the night that Dan had gone out with Katie (they were still friends at this time) and then gone back to the poker tables and Katie had gone to get him, saving him and staying with him all night to make sure he was alright.  It was the night they realized they were good for each other.

Meanwhile in the present, Zach tells Jack about hte Dylan McCleen money and Jack’s laying off goes on hiatus as he takes one of the hundreds and brings it to the police station to check if it’s stolen.

Katie on the other hand meets with an old friend named Eddie who is poised to help her get back on the air if she wants to.  She wants to, but she knows Dan is not all for it yet.

Dan realizes that this night he leaves the game first to come home to get more money.  Livia and he follow himself trying to keep him safe when they see the gangsters staking out the game.  When Dan leaves, Dan knows he has one option.  Hoping that the old him doesn’t see himself, he starts a fight and knocks out his past self, forcing themselves past the gangsters and getting him home.  Unfortnuately Past-Dan is out for the count.   Present Dan realizes that there is no way Dan is getting back so that Katie can save him.

Problem solved, Dan will substitue himself for Past-Dan.  The only problem?  The gangters who roughed up his apartment also took the money Past-Dan had come home to get.   While they brainstorm on how to get Dan the amount of money to sit at the table, (~$10,000), Livia suddenly disappears.  Her leaving is a gold compared to Dan’s silver shimmer so that is something to file away.  Why are they different?

She opens her eyes and she’s in Dan’s closet.  Getting over her sudden shock at seeing Dan’s life, she searches around until Jack comes bursting in downstairs asking Katie about the money.  Forcing himself upstairs, he goes to go into the closet as Livia realizes just why she’s there.  Taking the Dylan McCleen money she vanishes back into time.  Jack tells Katie that they all could go to jail and Zach could go to a foster home.  After Katie refuses to explain, Jack tells her he’s done protecting them.

Dan his entry fee now and gets back into the game, where in a nice twist, the Ed meeting with Katie is at the game and watches Dan plunk down money.  In one of those nice touches, we find out that Ed is the one who called Katie to warn her about Dan.  Katie shows up and takes Dan home where he vanishes just before Katie spots Past-Dan in bed.

Dan and Livia share a few moments, which is all the more intriguing.  It’s a unique situation in drama, but the actors handle it well.  Nothing overboard, but enough surface tension to be real.

Back in the present we find the FBI has come to talk to Jack because his queries about the money have raised flags and they threaten to simply take his case files unless he tells them where he found the bill. Jack hesitates before a moment before saying that his brother gave it to him.

Overall it’s a great episode, leading you from one story to the next without a rest.  Many shows that are still on wish they could have the consistency that Journeyman had.

A

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