Wednesday, June 15, 2016

The Geekcap: 12 Monkeys "Hyena"

At the J.D. Peoples Psychiatric Facility, the Pallid Man receives a message. As soon as he makes his way to a room, he receives a call from Dr. Barbara. Dr. Barbara turns out to be Jennifer Goines who taunts the man with her own plans. She marches through the building with weapons purchased from her father’s money to set the female patients free as revenge for keeping her trapped. The women trap and kill the doctor that secured their incarceration along with Jennifer’s father Leland, splattering his blood everywhere. As a final mark against the man, Jennifer hangs the body of the dead doctor near a splattered painting of the monkey’s natural enemy: the hyena.

In 2044, Whitley reports more casualties of the red storm. Camps surrounding the area are filled with skeleton bodies or men turned into infants as time shifts around them. Cole remarks that preventing the paradox death in 1973 succeeded in pushing back the storm, but Whitley believes it was just a coincidence since no one can explain what is happening. Nevertheless, Jones believes that they have tracked another paradox occurrence between 1951 and 1973. If they can track down the primary in that time period, they can likely push back the storm. Cole decides to ask Jennifer for any knowledge on the primaries.

As Cole gathers weapons, he meets with a returning Ramse. Cole takes this time to express his condolences on what happened to Sam but continues to go after Jennifer. Ramse reveals that Cassie informed him on a place called Titan where they could find the Witness. Cole questions why Ramse would know this since Cassie never informed him, but Ramse insists on going on this path for revenge.

Cole speaks to the older Jennifer who, in her usual form, provides only vague details of the past. She informs him that the way they see things now with him, Cassie, Ramse, Jones and her daughter might only be a distraction from the real trick. However, she reveals that the Pallid Man, the new leader of the 12 Monkeys, would know of the primary between 1951 and 1973. She tells him to go back to 2016 where he and her present self will work to capture the man for this knowledge. Cole questions why she should be vague since she likely knows how everything will end anyway. Jennifer responds that there are many endings. The right one is the one you choose. Cole finally brings up Titan, leading Jennifer to experience a brief flash of shock and death. She orders him to avoid anything regarding Titan since that only leads to pain and death for his friends. For the time being, he, Cassie, and Ramse must stay the course of protecting the primaries.

Jennifer: A wise man once told me there are many endings, but the right one is the one you choose.

Cole reiterates this advice to Cassie and Ramse who are not too happy about having their revenge shelved for another wild goose chase. Cole reminds Cassie that she didn’t even inform him on seeing Titan in the Witness’s head, though Cassie just replies he would have thought she was crazy. Regardless of the connection, he states that it has to wait while he goes back in time to secure the location of the last primary. Cassie remarks that, while their revenge is put on hold, Cole gets his chance to seek revenge against the man who killed his father. Cole then splinters back to 2016.

In 2016, Jennifer’s group, now known as the Hyenas, set up their supplies in a warehouse. Jennifer gladly encourages the disturbed women to fight as they track down the source of their anger: the Pallid Man. On their security footage, they spot Cole wandering the facility. One of the Hyenas, Vanessa, takes her weapon to fight off Cole, but he fights back before they are found by Jennifer who welcomes him. She informs him on her progress in tracking down the army of the 12 Monkeys and gathering the women from the psychiatric wards. Cole questions Jennifer’s choice to release several socially disturbed women, but Jennifer merely calls them misunderstood. The women respond in kind since Jennifer had liberated, fed, and armed them like their mother.


In 2044, the grown Hannah confronts her mother Jones by returning the baby blanket. Jones protests that it belongs to her, but Hannah insists that Jennifer has taught them not to care for sentimental attachments. Jones then informs her that she was born in New York City, and the name on the blanket was hand-stitched by Jones’s father, Hannah’s grandfather. Hannah asks about her father whom Jones then describes as a man about self-preservation. However, he was the creator of the time machine they now use to try and save the past. Hannah informs Jones that Jennifer told her as a child that she was rescued off the back of a swan. Now, she is told that she was a product of an attempt to cheat death. Jones informs her that she tried to change the past to save her as well as billions, but Hannah maintains she prefers the swan story. No one has to die from the machine that caused the red storm.

In the back, Cassie and Ramse pour over their limited research but cannot find any mention of Titan. Cassie mourns the loss of a database to find more information prior to the virus, leading a listening Hannah to bring up the Keeper. She refers to the Keeper as a having a database of knowledge just as Cassie has described, but he is considerably questionable in his behavior. Jennifer has forbidden the Daughters from meeting with him due to the intensity in his trade in truth. Ramse prepares to search for the Keeper with Cassie planning to join him through her own need for revenge. Ramse warns her that it’s dangerous outside the base with the virus in the air. Despite this, Cassie takes a gun and a gas mask and follows him.

In 2016, Jennifer reveals that they have tapped into the Pallid Man’s phone in order to listen in on his conversations. From there, they hear the man mentioning Oliver Peters, the man who created the virus. Cole remembers that Cassie had found the man and told him to hide, but Jennifer informs him that the army was tracking him. While Peters was adopted to another family, he had a brother. That brother came into Peters’s money which is now being used in a particular way. Jennifer deduces that Peters now works as a janitor at the Hudson University hospital. From there, the hyenas make their move.

At the university, Cole and Jennifer successfully find Peters working as a janitor but also transporting a mysterious vial into the supplies. The hyenas hold him at gunpoint where he persists that he is only a janitor now. When Cole brings up the vial, Peters reluctantly reveals that he has been creating a vaccine for the virus despite Cassie’s insistence to run and hide. The product in the vial is only an experiment, but he continues to work secretly in the hospital. Cole informs him that they have destroyed the virus, setting the army back years in their plan, but Peters is still being tracked for his knowledge of the virus. Peters fears that the hyenas will kill him, but Cole informs him that he is only bait for the Pallid Man.

In 2044, Ramse and Cassie drive out into the woods to search for the Keeper. In her frustration, Cassie removes her gas mask, despite Ramse’s warning of the virus. Cassie throws back that she’s meant to survive to leave the message that will set the entire mission into motion. The two wonder what would happen if she were to die in the forest. As they walk closer, they pass a tree with bloody bodies hung on crosses. On their chests are Latin signs reading “Liar.” Despite this warning, Cassie and Ramse continue to follow the path until they reach an old observatory. There, they are confronted by an armored man who holds them at gunpoint and orders them to drop their weapons. Reluctantly, they obey him.

In 2016, a wheelchair-bound Olivia looks on The Word of the Witness as she questions their mission. The Pallid Man replies that in the changing times they needed to develop to the technology. He believes that the future is still secure according to the Witness, though Olivia is uncertain after what happened to her. On the news, the two watch a report that reveals that Oliver Peters, a member of the controversial Markridge Group, will be holding a press conference. Olivia notes that this was likely not foreseen by the Witness, fearing that Peters will reveal the virus to the public. The Pallid Man does not respond but nearly strangles Olivia before finally leaving to secure the future.

At the lab, the hyenas prepare Peters for the press conference to reveal the virus to the world. Meanwhile, Cole and Jennifer watch the security footage to wait for the Pallid Man. Cole insists to the others that they must remain calm when the Pallid Man arrives, but the other women grow impatient. He then reveals to the hyenas that the press conference was only a ruse to draw out the man, having no intention to reveal the virus to the world. Cole insists that if they were to reveal an extinction-level virus to the public, the public will turn on each other in the fear and chaos. Jennifer argues that they have to fight back, but Cole responds that the people need to be protected. Furious, Vanessa then aims her gun at Cole, believing he is corrupting their mission. To stop her, Jennifer uses an old EKG machine to shock the girl. The remaining hyenas then turn on Jennifer and Cole. Their new plan is to kill the Pallid Man once he arrives and reveal the virus to the world after that.

Jennifer: Don't point the gun at my friend!

In 2044, the Keeper secures Cassie and Ramse to chairs as well as an old polygraph machine. He reveals that in the wake of the virus he secured copies of books and digital information to protect history. Now, he only records and demands the truth from the people he meets. Cassie immediately requests information regarding a location called Titan, causing Ramse to scoff. The Keeper then questions why the two seem to hate each other. When Ramse claims to not understand, the Keeper shocks Ramse, warning the man that lies are what destroyed society in their fruitless attempts to pacify fears. Cassie then jumps in and claims that she hates Ramse because he is selfish and sacrificed billions of lives for only one. The polygraph, however, alerts the Keeper to the lie, and he demands the true reason. Cassie then admits that the reason she hates Ramse is because the person she cares for most in the world, the one whom she sacrificed everything for, chose him over her. Ramse responds the same. The polygraph confirms that they speak the truth.

In 2016, news broadcasts prepare for the press conference as the hyenas spot the Pallid Man headed into the building. The group move to find the man while one stays behind to guard Jennifer and Cole. In this time, Cole insults Jennifer for recruiting crazy people and losing control. Jennifer responds that she couldn’t trust him. Just as the argument reaches its peak, Jennifer knocks out the guard and steals her gun. The two then head out to secure the Pallid Man before the hyenas.

Using their guard’s communicator, Cole and Jennifer succeed in tracking down the Pallid Man and take him back to the headquarters. There, Cole beats the man as revenge for killing his father. Cole demands to know the location of the remaining primary, but the man claims he doesn’t know. Cole responds by breaking the man’s kneecaps. Meanwhile, the hyenas decide to hold the press conference.

In the midst of the torture, the Pallid Man reveals that the last primary is in Upstate New York in 1957. The death will create a paradox so large that it will destroy the fabric of time and give birth to the red forest. The Pallid Man then reveals that they already had a plan for Peters. While Peters gives his announcement to the public, the man secretly placed a bomb in the basement that is set to explode at precisely eight. Cole and Jennifer attempt to warn the hyenas to escape, but, in the women’s attempt to evacuate the building, the hospital explodes. The Pallid Man also reveals that they were aware of the women’s use of the cell phone. The army uses the phone to track down the headquarters, leading to a shoot-out that Cole and Jennifer barely survive.

In 2044, the Keeper gives Cassie all remaining references to a place called Titan from CIA classified documents. Before the two leave, he warns them that the lies they tell to cover their hatred will be a greater threat to their mission than their hatred alone. The documents reference 1961 East Germany and a doctor named Kirchner, giving the two a new mission. Cassie insists on staying with Ramse to exact their equal revenge on the Witness. Ramse responds by handing Cassie her gas mask for her protection.

In 2016, Cole and Jennifer return to the hotel as Jennifer drinks to console herself. Cole reveals that he rescued her turtle to cheer her up, but Jennifer is still depressed. She mourns the loss of her group as well as the people of the hospital, believing that she was unable to help anyone. Jennifer asks if this is how she ends up in the future. Cole responds, using her words from the future, that there are many endings. The right one is the one you choose. Cole then splinters back to the future. However, moments later, Jennifer answers a knock from the door. She is then greeted by a returning Cole who bears new scratch marks on his face.  

In 2044, a meeting between Jones and Adler is interrupted by Hannah. Adler exits the room as Jones reveals that the two used to share an experience in losing a child. Hannah apologizes for her response earlier, acknowledging that it was likely too direct for ordinary people. Jones, however, responds that they have lost enough time to not be direct. Instead, she asks what Jennifer called her as a child. Hannah reveals that she was called Zeit, the German word for time. Jones then shares with her daughter a picture of her father, Jones’s former husband. Jones explains that her ex-husband gave her two things: Hannah and the time machine. Her daughter was the only one of those things that she loved. Jones’s daughter replies that she would like her mother to call her Hannah.

Back in 2016, Jones’s ex-husband Elliot mourns the loss of his machine and life’s work. The Pallid Man, bruised but still alive, consoles the man by bringing him on a new project: Titan.

Notes from 2044

  • Jones's ex-husband Elliot returns and apparently has some connection to the Pallid Man. Could his creation of the time machine have something to do with Titan?
  • The last primary is located in 1957 while the only known mention of Titan takes place in 1961. Between the two was the splinter of the military men in 1959 as seen in "Meltdown." Perhaps there is a connection.
  • J.D. Peoples Psychiatric Facility makes another appearance since its introduction in the second episode "Mentally Divergent." It is named after Janet and David Peoples, the original screenwriters behind the movie Twelve Monkeys.

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