“Perfidia”

With the near promise of cancellation in the future, “Perfidia” had the unenviable task of wrapping up the series, while leaving enough open in case of a miracle.

The miracle never came unfortunately which means looking back we have to look at “Perfidia” as the series finale.  How does it stack up?   Well, after ridding myself of the bitterness that I wouldn’t be able to discover more about the Vasser household.  And that’s the crux, a series that makes you not only care about the hook of time traveling, but how it effects all the characters on the sidelines.

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“The Hanged Man”

“Hanged Man” was a phenomenal episode, dramatic, soulsearching, and wonderfully performed at least emotionally.   It showcases both a good storyline via Bradbury’s A Sound of Thunder in that the tiniest of indiscretions can change things enough to have significant changes in the time travelers lifetime.  It however does fall short in the transitions of getting from scene to scene.

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“Home By Another Way”

It’s time for the Christmas Episode.  Every show has them.  They are usually inconsequential in the overall scheme of an ongoing storyline and Journeymand is no exception.   However the usual focus on character allows the show to go beyond the very special episode.

Christmas seems to be a big deal at the Vassar residence.  Jack is coming with his new girlfriend, and their mother as well.  There is a party and a choir.  It’s all pretty high class.  But Dan has to go into work. He finds out from Hugh that he’s being fired and Hugh himself is gone and it’s all a directive from the head honcho, Dennis Almbacher who has ordered that about a quarter of the staff be fired.
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“Blowback”

“Blowback” evolves quite well on the prior notion that Dan going off rails can have serious repercussions on his present life.  You do have to accept a lot about the character of Aeden Bennett that doesn’t quite add up but it’s not necessarily a dealbreaker.  This episode literally opens with a bang when Bennett throws opens Dan’s door and shoots  him.  Bennett begins to stalk Dan right as Dan vanishes in the past with a bullet hole in his shoulder.
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“Winterland”

“Winterland” is really the opposite of the previous episode.  The Leap of the week has almost no connection with the present events which are really more important in the scheme of things.  Thus there tends to be a feeling of filler which happens now and again on a show, but it certainly makes the episode less important in the grand scheme of things.

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“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.

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“The Legend of Dylan McCleen”

“The Legend of Dylan McCleen” is an episode that moves everything forward slightly, while still telling an interesting and engaging “Leap of the week”.  We concentrate most on Dan’s cats in the cradle relationship with both his son as well as his own absent father. Read more

“The Year of the Rabbit”

Dan’s leaping….er…Journeying is really beginning to take it’s toll on his life and his marriage but he continuously is driven to finish his “assignment”.   What really brings Journeyman above mediocrity is the relationships between the characters.  They are real. That’s what’s most important.  In a story based on something extra-ordinary, the relationships are in no way sensationlized or archetyped.  They simply are true, real relationships and how they would react to the extraordinary.

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“Game Three”

“Game Three” is a continuation of a deliberate tale.  The show has slowly delved into the consequences of Dan’s new lifestyle while maintaining an interesting mystery that we get to solve with Dan as we figure out what he’s doing back in time each time and also what the rules are about his time travel.

Dan jumps back in time and finds himself in an unknown time where he sees a sign that says Game 3 tonight!  Before he can figure out the date, he is run into by a man who is trying to escape some thugs.  Dan helps the man escape and is given a card.  Alan Pratt, attorney.  Just as quickly he returns to his reality.

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“Friendly Skies”

Right away we see how entering Katie into the knowledge of Dan’s storyline pays immediate benefits.  Dan and Katie have planned a vacation so they can go away and “have lots of sex” and possibly create a sibling for their son.  Unfortunately, as could be predicted, Dan journies from the plane leaving her alone to cover for him.  The disappearing passenger doesn’t go over well, so the plane has to turn around.

Dan on the other hand journies back to a plane in the 70s.  What I love about the show is the use of timely music to showcase where Dan is, usually just before they give visual clues…clues that this episode goes a BIT overboard on as they show pretty much EVERYTHING  you wouldn’t get to see on a plane nowadays — smoking, a toy gun, etc.  But you can look past it.  While there he helps to deliver a baby.
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