FlashForward: Season 1 Episode 2 - White to Play

Hello Flashers, Prophets, Fate Tamperers and all creepy children of the world (gotta keep trying new names until one sticks)!  Welcome back to the FlashForward Addicts blog, where we are quickly succumbing to our new obsession.  This freshman show has wasted no time in throwing us into this new universe of mystery and intrigue.  If anyone was worried of a letdown in quality from the pilot episode , they shiould have their worries put to rest at least for now.  We had some crazy action, some nice drama, some confusion (the good kind) and even a bit of comedy to lighten the mood from time to time.  And of course, did I mention CREEPY KIDS?!  All in all, an awesome 2nd outing!  If I didn't reserve my WOW ratings for LOST, I'd consider throwing one out for this episode.  But, alas, new blog?  Need new catchphrase!  I'm working on it.  Stay tuned!

You don't want to hear me ramble on and on with filler though.  We need to get into the meat of the story and start theorizing about where this is all going, right?  RIGHT!  So let's get to it!

So for all non-Chess Club members out there (me included), "White to Play" is a term used in the wonderful game and might be short for "White to play and win" which is for the White team to gain a decisive advantage over the black team, usually in having a decisive piece over the competition.   Probably a lot of people rolling their eyes because I'm definitely talking out of my.....  anyway, I don't play chess enough to make heads or tails of it but there definitely was some sort of chess game being played by the good guys and possibly some supposed BAD GUYS in black in this episode.  (hmmmmm white/black, good/evil, backgammon, LOST.....I feel like we've done this in another show!!)  

Mark and the FBI crew continued to try and make sense of everything regarding the FlashForward/Blackout.           We saw Mark and Olivia dealing with the blackout on a more personal level with their personal conflicts from their flashes and with their daughter Charlie's behavior since the flash.  Lots of other little story lines fed into these more major plots and we'll try to tackle them where we can!  Let's dive in folks!

MOSAIC Investigation

Homeland Security in the House!

Very quickly into the episode we are introduced to Deputy Secretary Anastasia Markham of Homeland Security.  She is the skeptic of the group and needs to see to believe that their MOSAIC Investigation is money being well spent.  By the end of the episode, she seems to be on board.  Here are some interesting points to note:

• The blackout happened at EXACTLY 11am Pacific Time which would seem to suggest that this was a planned/scheduled event.  Demetri in denial of his "blank" flash of the future joins Deputy Markham in the skepticism.   
• The MOSAIC Website goes from 600,000 responses to 900,000 within the duration of time covered in the episode.  People are sharing what they saw in their flashes and the FBI is hoping to track a pattern using algorithms and whozeewhatsits to get a clear picture of April 29th 2010 and also determine the cause of the blackouts to try and prevent a 2nd one from happening.   Hey, it's fictional TV, I'll buy it! 
• We hear various times about trying to prevent a 2nd blackout from occurring.  I think this is our assurance that there is indeed things that can happen to lead us into a 2nd season once we catch up to April 2010 this season.   I'm sure it won't be as simple as a 2nd Flash happening, but the idea is out there now.  This may not be a one time thing. 
• FBI Chief Standford Wedeck shows Markham the footage from Detroit's Stadium of the man dressed in black walking around during the blackout.  They are now calling him SUSPECT ZERO.  They are working on refining the image.  But at this point they can tell that it is most likely a man due to his height (5'8) and weight (150lbs).  The guy also doesn't appear surprised so they are suspecting he might be involved in what was going on.  Seems logical!  More to come with this later.  
  

The D. Gibbons Lead

As we all know by now, Mark had a flash of his MOSAIC investigation board during the blackout.  One of the names he remembered and put on the board was that of D. Gibbons.  So, being their only lead, they are trying to track down the name.  Here are the big events that went down.

• While Mark and Demetri are discussing the Gibbons lead, Demetri notices Mark is wearing the friendship bracelet that he saw in his flash.  Demetri gets all freaked out because this is pretty much giving in and allowing the future to happen.  I believe I mentioned something like this last week and questioned if anyone is going to try to do anything to go against what they saw in the flashes.  We get an answer to that later in the episode.   But for now Mark assures Demetri that he does not want the future he saw to happen.
• Janis Hawk interrupted and said that a Miss Didi Gibbons was there to see Demetri Noh!  Ahhh interesting.  Long story short, she makes cupcakes and had a flash of being on the phone in her cupcake bakery yelling at someone about pigeon, Benford and Noh "N-O-H!".  She didn't know Demetri's nationality and yelled out a bunch of different ethnicities.  Demetri in the present time noted that he's Korean.   So...depending on whether these visions become true or not, would she STILL forget in the future that he is Korean?  Based on how loopy she is, I guess I could see that happening.

• The clues eventually lead us to find out that someone has cloned Didi's credit card.  There were 2 charges at the same time.  One in California and one in Utah.  Gotta love some of the one liners when Wedeck suggests looking up if there are locations with lots of pigeons, from Didi's flash, in Utah.  Their search ends up in a town actually called PIGEON, Utah.
• Mark and Demetri are on the case and take the next light-speed chopper enroute to Pigeon.  Okay, I'm kidding about the light speed, but come on, it's not like Utah is a hop, skip and a jump from L.A.!   And Pigeon is in the northwest corner of the state!  It's okay, did anyone watch Fringe last week when they "DROVE" from Boston to Philly several times a day like it was nothing?   Ahhh, gotta love suspending disbelief! 
• Mark and Demetri meet up with a local cop lady who says the town of Pigeon are really distraught and need some leadership (I'm sure like the rest of the world).  We find out that the woman also did not have a flash during the blackout. 
• The fake D. Gibbons had apparently purchased a bus ticket to leave Pigeon.  After hours of waiting around with some snipers by a bus station and watching the bus depart, they don't find their man (or woman).  "D. Gibbons" never picked up their ticket.  There are roadblocks set up around town, but they don't even know who they're looking for.   Demetri starts ranting about how pointless their search is.  How they're going off a whim in a vision of something they're not sure is going to happen.   He nags Mark about the friendship bracelet again.  We find out that it's not the first bracelet Charlie has ever made for him.  
• Just when they're giving up they stumble upon an abandoned doll store.  Mark recalls the photo of the burned up doll from his flash next to the D. Gibbons note on the board. Demetri becomes a little more of a believer.   
• They break into the place with "probable cause" (yep, visions of the future count in these uncertain times).  Mark spots a shadow creeping around upstairs through the windows. Enroute to the upstairs, there is an alarm system triggered that starts playing "Ring Around the Rosie" sung by some creepy kids!  (we hear it earlier in the episode when Charlie and her classmates are playing "blackout"  we'll get there in a bit)    Accompanying the creepy tune are lots of creepy dolls hanging by nooses!  Hope no one watched this episode right before going to bed!
• They get up to the office we see a man standing in front of an entire operation of computers.  We can tell this man is up to some shady business as the PCs are in some kind of flammable fluid. One of the monitors is showing a Bank Vault, another screen has a chessboard (White to Play anyone?  Any chess experts out there feel free to look at the scenario up on the screen and let us know the significance! It's kind of blurry though.)
  
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  As Mark and Demetri yell at the Man, clad in black, to turn himself over...the man preaches to them something that I'm sure will be analyzed on the show.  "He who foresees calamity suffers them twice over".  For our purposes, it would seem that this guy is indicating that he is partially behind the flashes and that people have to suffer anticipating their visions coming true as well as suffering when it actually happens.    The man dropped a lighter in the fluid and blew up his entire operation.   Guns start blazing and the man took a shot at the local cop lady before he got away.   Woa....crazy scene!
  
  
  

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  We find out eventually that the cop died which leads Demetri to believe that his non-flash fate his sealed.    
  
  
  
• FBI take pictures of the crime scene and Mark recognizes the photo of the burned up doll from his vision.  Of course, this is another case where they pursued something from a vision and then it became true because of it.  What if they DIDN'T pursue the doll house?   Well, then we wouldn't have gotten clues to who is behind it.   Catch 22
• Some of the evidence gathered was a cell phone and a Black Bishop chess piece (at least I think it's a bishop!)

• They find out that Fake D. Gibbons was hacking into various networks including the MOSAIC website.  The FBI are not the only people looking into the Flashes.  
• And of course the kicker of the investigation is what they pull from the cell phone records.  6 calls were made prior to the blackout, but one went 30 seconds INTO the blackout.  They triangulated the position of where the call was made and it was to someone in Detroit's baseball stadium!  So now there is Suspect Zero and Fake D. Gibbons as men that were not only awake during the blackout, but talking to each other!   Ahhhh I love a good conspiracy!    Any theories out there yet?   There are hints being dropped by the producers about this Red Panda organization (there even is a website http://www.redpandaresources.com/ ).  Could this be some of its members and do we think the solution to the blackouts is as easy as saying that these folk were behind it?   We're only 2 episodes in afterall!  Surely this is just the tip of the iceberg.  

Other Points Worth Noting  

• Chief Wedeck comes clean to Mark about having a "bowel movement" in his flash.   But the odd thing is, he was on the toilet in the present day of the blackout as well!  Now yes, there was the comedy bit about the man drowning in his own pee at the urinal and Wedeck giving him mouth to mouth to revive him, but do we think there is a link to him being on the can in 2 places?    And, I'm going to note in more detail below, do we really think that he will consciously decide that exactly 10pm on the day that the whole world will be anticipating is a good time to go to the bathroom, especially since he knows he was there in his flash?  You would think out of 7/8 Billion people, someone would decide they are not going to fulfill their vision.   Hmmm...maybe I don't need to go into it below!  I've said my piece. 
• After some meaningful discussion, Janis and Demetri both enter their FLASH experiences on MOSAIC.   Janis did it in the event that the sonographer lady might find her on there and share more information about her flash.   Demetri did it in the event that someone might be able to provide more information on why he DIDN'T have a flash.   
• Turns out, someone DID have information on Demetri.  And it's the Iranian actress whose real name I can't spell or pronounce but she played a big role in season 4 of 24 and apparently has won some Oscars and Emmys. (Shohreh Aghdashloo)  Anyway, she calls and was reading some news bulletin during her flash.  (Did anyone recognize the skyline of the city she was in?  I know it's overseas somewhere)  She informs Demetri that he will be murdered on March 15, 2010.  Woaaaaaa.  Anyone keeping a timeline yet?   Something tells me that somehow Demetri will survive this date, but I guess you never know with these shows anymore!
  

Benford Family 

Mark, Olivia and Charlie deal with the Family Flashes
The opening of the episode couldn't have been more freaky.  Having not seen Charlie's flash, I was tricked into thinking we opened right into it where she looked out at a bunch of children unconscious, as I mentioned above all of this intro was to the soothing sounds of "Ring Around the Rosie."  It turns out the children were imitating the tragic event by playing a game called "Blackout".  They all woke up and asked each other what did they see.  Charlie was having none of it, the kids tried to take her crazy stuffed animal away and they ended up ripping it.   Charlie freaked out and ran away off of the schoolyard, almost getting hit by 2 cars and eventually running into a military roadblock!  Pan away into POST FLASH Los Angeles. This sets up the family storyline where the Benfords try to deal with their flashes head on.

• Charlie's teacher calls in Mark and Olivia to discuss Charlie's behavior on the playground.  They compare the "blackout" games to similar things kids did to cope with 9/11.  The teacher recommended finding out what Charlie's flash entailed.   They are too caught up with their own flashes and worried that Charlie might have seen Lloyd Simcoe in her flash too.
• Mark and Olivia have what is quickly becoming their trademark scene.  Making up for awkwardness by pretty much telling each other how much they despise one another.  Quote of the week this week was about getting divorce attorneys quickly followed by how they are never going to let their flashes come true. 
• Olivia takes Charlie to work.  They pass by a wall of "Missing People" since the flash.  Not sure if that's worth noting or if it was a mirroring of 9/11.   I guess there were enough incidents all over the globe that people would definitely be missing after so many accidents.     
• When they get to the hospital Olivia works on fixing Charlie's stuffed animal "Scrolio??"
• Lloyd finds Olivia at work and is frustrated that she is working on a stuffed animal rather tending to his son, Dylan.  Lloyd doesn't seem to recognize Olivia from any flashes.   Could be something bigger, like he's involved somehow in the whole thing.  Or we could take Olivia's word that maybe Lloyd never looked at Olivia.  We caught another glimpse of Lloyd leaving the bedroom but he was faced away from Olivia and he said he had to make a call.   So I guess it's entirely plausible.  
• Lloyd tells Olivia that Dylan is autistic and he's not familiar with the terminology of the level of severity.  He and his wife having been separated prior to the blackout and he is now conflicted with how to tell his ailing son that his mother did not survive the blackout. 
• Obviously Olivia is also conflicted because she needs to tell Mark that she encountered the man from her flash and it's impossible to avoid him because his son is her patient!  Yikes...   She is very distant and cold to Lloyd for the episode trying not to get attached in any way.   I wonder if this will be a situation where she fights so hard to keep her distance that it ends up drawing her closer?   Or will she actually be able to avoid it?
• Olivia does come clean to Mark who becomes very distraught with the information.   He eventually tells Olivia that he was glad she told him because they shouldn't keep information from each other.  (convenient break from the scene shows Mark's flash of him drinking again which he has avoided telling Olivia). 
• Oh right, Charlie also didn't recognize Lloyd when Olivia asked him.  But she, again creepily, recognized Dylan!!!  "WHAT IS WRONG WITH DYLAN?" she started uncontrollably crying.  How does she know Dylan?  From the FLASH?   How does Dylan know Olivia when he wasn't in the same flash?    Hmmm....based on what we know at the end of this episode.  Maybe Dylan and Charlie are abducted by the BAD PEOPLE and somehow Olivia's name and image are involved in Dylan's flash?   Maybe, as a commenter last week noted, Dylan may have strong feelings for Olivia so he has a "memory of Olivia" within the flash of the future?    Very interesting stuff!    Olivia also tells Mark that Charlie recognized Dylan. 
• Mark is now very concerned that the future is happening.   Olivia says that maybe they are just POSSIBLE futures that can serve as a warning.  Or, one of my thoughts, they could be entirely derived visions by an organization out for some evil goal in order to mess with people's minds or to INSTIGATE certain visions happening.  But how can they coordinate 7 Billion flashes and make it all come true?   Yikes, I dunno.  I got into that a little bit above with the Chief's bathroom ambitions and will touch on it again as a homework assignment below!
• Later on Mark and Olivia are reflecting on the day by their fireplace.  Olivia things Mark was in Nevada when he was in Utah (oh boy...already not paying attention to him!).  
• We also see that Mark lit the fire to burn the friendship bracelet Charlie gave him!  Woaaaaa  So Mark is attempting to change what his future holds for him.  But we also learned that Charlie makes them all of the time.  So is it inevitable that he'll be wearing it on April 29th or is this the beginning of people revolting against their fate?  Time will tell!

Other things worth noting

• Not exactly Benford related but Bryce has a scene with Lloyd with all of his positive outlooks on life.  He tells Lloyd the visions provided a gift in knowing what is gonna happen.  And now it's up to them to choose what to do with what they see.  
• Lloyd eventually does tell Dylan about his mother dying in an accident.  Dylan acknowledges his mother is no longer there but he responds with "I want to see Olivia."  Hmmmm what on earth did he see/feel?!   
• One of the first scenes of the episode was Mark and Aaron Stark at another AA meeting.  Alan Ruck (most notably for me Cameron from Ferris Bueller's Day Off!) played an alcoholic off the wagon and ranting on about the flashes.  Seems like a big time actor for such a small role.  I foresee we see him again!    Aaron keeps beating the dead horse by telling Mark that everyone had visions not just Mark.   And giving us John Lockian like phrases like "We're all prophets."   Aaron has been a minor player so far, but I'm sure we'll eventually get a storyline focusing on him.     

Charlie's FlashForward
Charlie is having a rough night and Mark comes in to console her.  Charlie wonders if the FlashForwards are going to come true.  Mark tells her only the good ones will.  The bad ones are like Yellow Lights, warnings. (there you go Mark, listening to your wife!).   Charlie then begins to talk about her "Yellow Light" of a FlashForward.  I'm sure we'll see more in future episodes but for now it is enough to leave us with "D. Gibbons is a bad man"!!!

Yowza! (okay, doesn't pack the some punch as my trademark WOW!  I'll keep working).   FlashForward is already getting good at the cliffhangers.   So Fake D. Gibbons was most likely in Charlie's Flash.  Like I was saying earlier, do we think Charlie and Dylan are abducted by this guy?  Where does Olivia fit in?   2 episodes in and I'm hooked!  Can't wait for next week's episode!

Homework

Okay, so before we go, here are just some things I've read or have been pondering since last week.  And also some things to look forward to in next week!

• As I mentioned earlier, we should be on the lookout for Red Pandas.  There were 2 in the Pilot episode.  One in Mark's flash and one on the side of a bus.  Were there any in this one?  I didn't see any.  But the website may point them out:  http://www.redpandaresources.com/  Doesn't have quite the ring as The DHARMA Organization has, but maybe it will grow on me!
• Google 137 (# of seconds of the blackout) and do some research for next week.  Besides it being a prime number, all the talk of physics is way over my head!  
• I also mentioned earlier, if people know where they will be at 10pm on 4/28/2010, will they still decide to do that?   Wouldn't people be congregating in like say Times Square and waiting for something to happen?  Like the paranoid people of the world may think it's the END OF DAYS!  Would Chief Wedeck really be in the bathroom if he knew that's where he was going to be?   Will all 7/8 Billion people in the world do the same thing if they knew where they were going to be?   Seems improbable! 
• Why was Demetri so far from Mark after the flash ended?  Could it have something to do with him having no flash of the future? 

I have tons more questions, but I'll probably add them when I think of them in the comments.  And please, feel free to add your thoughts and findings too!  Some good discussion last week.  Let's keep it up!   Thanks for reading and see you next week!

Special Thanks again to THE ODI for posting screen captures from the episode!  

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