Second Look: Continuum Season 1, Episode 2 – “Fast Times”

Continuum Season 1, Episode 2 “Fast Times”
Written by Jeff King
Directed by Jon Cassar
Aired June 3, 2012 on Showcase

After an ambitious, focused premiere episode, Continuum stumbles out of the gate a bit in its overstuffed, occasionally miscalibrated second episode. But where “Fast Times” awkwardly flails at introducing a few more procedural elements and subplots, it still remains strong when its focus remains on Kiera’s character – and even surprises, when she makes the desperate choice to try and tag along with Liber8 as they attempt to return to the future.

From a top-level view, “Fast Times” really only has two major running plots: Kiera’s attempts to cover her ass and convince everyone at the VPD she isn’t a Liber8 mole, and Liber8’s sudden change of heart to try and head back to 2071, the time where they originally planned to go. But within these stories, “Fast Times” quickly introduces a number of branching plot paths – many of which are at least vaguely intriguing, but altogether are a bit too much weight to lay on the show’s still-forming foundation.

When the show bears down on these two parallel paths, it is able to start tugging at some of the more interesting plot threads in the early episodes of season one; with Kiera, it comes mostly from observing her incredible skill set, some of which come from her enhanced super suit (and brain implants, which we see administered on her first day of work in the episode’s opening flashback) and the rest of which come from her willingness to lie and manipulate her way out of tough situations. Her evolving plan to lead Dillon, Betty and Carlos down a dead end makes for some interesting, if slightly superficial fodder; it doesn’t exactly drive the plot forward much, but it certainly presents an interesting characterization of someone used to wielding the power of the corporate state, and the necessary lack of morality it would take to operate within that job (and as Kiera’s husband points out, she is willing to lie, even to her son).

Some of this doesn’t feel entirely intentional – “Fast Times” does paint Kiera’s behavior as equally ingenious and necessary, but the effect snowballs through the episode until the climactic moments, when Kiera takes one of the Liber8 members hostage, as Lucas tries to use the time travel thingamajig to send them forward to 2071 – where the ‘revolution’ was supposed to begin, and where most of the group suddenly feel they need to belong, only a few days after talking about the exciting potential of starting the revolution early (is it a bit distractingly inconsistent? Yes). After Kiera hunts down the group, who’ve taken a professor hostage in their attempts to use a linear collider generator to time travel, she takes one of them hostage, not to save the professor – but to ensure her own trip home to the future, even after Alec points out she has no idea what future she might be returning to (a little wink, wink to some of the bigger sci-fi themes the show would explore in later episodes and seasons).

Though it’s not exactly surprising, given the flashbacks of Kiera putting her son to bed and telling him her new job as a corporate bootheel isn’t going to affect bedtime, “Fast Times” does a good job of making Kiera’s actions feel poorly thought out, desperate attempts to chain lies and half-truths together just long enough for her to get back to her future, and the life she so clearly enamors. Once Liber8’s attempt to use the time travel device fails, her desperation slips away into pure despair, and “Fast Times” closes with Kiera, her new identity as a secret federal agent intact (more on the VPD and their intelligence levels later), just as she feels completely lost and separated from the life, and self, she lived just a few days ago.

“Fast Times” is a bit too busy to do much with this except like Kiera cry (preceded by a poorly written scene where Alec starts asking her about family, just as she’s about to intercept Liber8 – read the room, kid!), but the sadness is palpable, Kiera clearly clinging onto the last images and feelings she experienced when she was in her home, in her time, with the family she’d chosen and built for herself. But is that life even there anymore? As Kiera begins to reconcile the fact she may never be able to return home, Continuum would begin to wrestle with this question in a number of fascinating ways; in “Fast Times”, it’s more a suggestion than an explicit theme, but the seedlings of those stories are here, and helps elevate an episode that quite frankly, relies on quite a bit hand-waving for its plot to make sense (which, let’s be honest – is just part of the show’s formula, to some degree).

Carlos, unfortunately, suffers the most from the show’s slightly deranged logic; he gets manipulated, assaulted, handcuffed, and led into a gunfight by Kiera, a woman who at no point, has shown any sign of being a reliable, trustworthy entity. “Fast Times” tries to hand wave it away with Carlos’s stated appreciation for having saved his life in “A Stitch in Time” – but the plausibility of it is already stretched so thin, everything that happens in the VPD precinct feels like the series asking for a free pass when it comes to certain logistical realities in its storytelling. Though I’m perfectly willing to engage some logical shortcuts, especially in service of character, theme, or even just really fun plot, the amount of times Dillon and Fonnegra have to convince themselves of the very obvious truths about Kiera are laughable, and stretch the show’s credulity a bit too thinly for a second episode still building trust with an audience.

However, some hokey subplots and goofy logical holes aren’t enough to entirely neutralize “Fast Times”, which does a good job of contrasting Kiera’s desperation with something like Kellogg’s own attempts to manipulate events to his will, which leads to his Liber8 members being disgusted with him. Rather than rush immediately back to the future, Kellogg is looking to Biff his way through the past a bit; he brings a big bag of cash to the bank to open an investment account, then travels to his childhood home (where he meets what I imagine would be his future grandmother?). Again, “Fast Times” is so busy with Lucas’s plan and Kiera’s spastic movements to really dig its nails into Kellogg’s attempts to set up himself up in 2012 (and apart from Liber8, whose trail of bodies is already growing pretty long) make for one of the more intriguing early elements of Continuum – especially since the rest of the group failed to travel, and are now stuck in the past with the self-righteous, shit eating, smile-having Kellogg pulling at their fringes.

Even though “Fast Times” isn’t exactly an impressive second episode, the confidence in its storytelling (except when it tries to tease romantic conflicts, which sticks out like a sore thumb) and its strong, complex presentation of Kiera Cameron certainly makes it a watchable episode. It clearly has a few flaws its still figuring out (mostly, making the VPD seem useful and not just a group of drooling idiots), “Fast Times” is definitely a step in the right direction for Continuum, even if the genesis of some of its ideas and stories are not perfectly calibrated or delivered.

Grade: C+

Other thoughts/observations:

• We get a brief scene with Alec’s family again, where we briefly see his emo-looking stepbrother silently eating breakfast.
  
• Future cops don’t give a shit about people and their skills: “what’s going to make you a great Protector is the tech.” It’s really an important theme of Kiera’s self-discovery in this series, and I like how it is framed in this episode’s cold open flashforward.
  
• With the Corporate Rights Act 50 years away, Kellogg tries to make his case to the group: “I see inequality, injustice, the rich getting richer. But freedom still exists here… even the president gets on TV and tells the corporation to suck eggs.” Are we sure this took place in 2012, because I feel like that stopped happening in the 1970s, at least in America.
  
• Kiera tasing Carlos and him never asking how that happened is hilarious, as is his reaction when the elevator opens in front of everyone. “Oh, don’t act like you’ve never been handcuffed to an elevator before.”
  
• Ahh 2012, when every TV hacker was “using Tor”. Simpler times!
  
• Kiera immediately abandoning the ceasefire with Liber8 ten seconds after the time travel device fails – classic.
  
• Before leaving the precinct for the night, Kiera notices someone putting a segment of the time travel device into evidence.
  
• The indie emo music montage over the end is more 2008 than 2012, but we’ll allow it.
  
• How high is Agent Cameron’s fake cover? “as high as it gets”, which is enough for Dillon to start a task force on the spot and ask her to join. It’s silly, and makes no sense, but I’m ok with it!
  
• “want me to call you a taxi?” “You’re a taxi.” Alec, not one for good timing.