NBC’s new drama Timeless brought us back to 1972 during the episode “The Watergate Tape” where we are told America is involved in a major conspiracy, and like a cancer, should be attacked.
Lucy (Abigail Spencer), Wyatt (Matt Lanter) and Rufus (Malcolm Barrett) follow Flynn (Goran Visnjic) back to the Watergate scandal under the assumption he is after the infamous 18.5-minute gap on President Nixon’s tape.
While there, the team gets captured by Flynn, who plays a section of the deleted footage, revealing President Nixon was involved with a group called “Rittenhouse” (in which Rufus is also involved) and would lose his wife, daughters and Presidency if exposed. He then exclaims they must get a “doc” back.
Flynn takes this “doc” to mean document and sends Lucy and Rufus on a mission to retrieve it, leaving Wyatt as a hostage. Lucy and Rufus meet up with Mark Felt, aka “Deep Throat,” and he tells them his reasons for leaking the information: “All I want is a president who plays by the same rules as everyone else. Now is that too much to ask?”
During his captivity, Wyatt speaks with Flynn about Rittenhouse and the impact it has on America. Flynn attempts to justify his actions to ruin American history by claiming America and Rittenhouse are one and should be attacked.
Wyatt: Hey, Flynn! Let's just say, if I believed you--big if-- and Rittenhouse really is that dangerous...
Flynn: Yeah?
Wyatt: Well, there's got to be a way to take them out without destroying America. I mean, what you're doing-- it's kind of scorched Earth, don't you think? –
Flynn: No, Rittenhouse and America are so intertwined, sometimes it's hard to tell one from the other. They're a cancer. There's no other choice. To save the body, you have to attack the body. –
Wyatt: Well, then, that settles it. I guess you really are a creepy sociopath.
Flynn, unfortunately many others do share your opinion on America being a horrible place. Maybe they should visit a communist country like Cuba or China…they’ll be begging to come back.
Later, Lucy and Wyatt find the “doc” is actually a woman who is rich in knowledge of Rittenhouse, explaining its founding travels all the way back to 1778 and the members are held in the utmost secrecy, thus revealing our country was always involved in some conspiracy. This show certainly appeals to all those who are so bent on conspiracy theories and the implications they have within our government.
While America may not be perfect, we certainly are fortunate enough to have such great freedoms and opportunities. And while we perhaps will never find out what truly was a part of those Watergate tapes, we can still hold out for Hillary’s emails…
