JOURNEYMAN: Sweet Caroline (So Good, So Good, So Good)

Life is so cruel. NBC gives us perhaps the BEST episodes of JOURNEYMAN to date right on the heels of this Wednesday’s series finale? Like I didn’t have reason enough to be unhappy with NBC these days.

So much happened during tonight’s episode I don’t even no where to start, or for that matter that I understood everything I saw after just one viewing. From Dan’s biggest drama to date to hints as to some of answers to his travels, bravo to the writers for being respectful to the audience by beginning to wrap things up with some hint of closure.

The long and the short of it was, Dan traveled back to the early 80’s to help a family in crisis and while he was there he accidentally left behind his brand new digital camera. The camera ended up in the hands of a company that created technology well ahead of its time. Dan returns to an alternate 2007, one with advanced technologies well before their time. But a fancy new Jetson’s computer is the least of Dan’s worries. The simple act of leaving that camera behind had much more dire consequences. It erased Zach from existence! Back in 2000, there was a bug with this new technology that threatened to erase all of Dan’s files at the paper. He took off to take care of it, and in doing so left Katie all alone on the night that Zach was supposed to be conceived. No Dan, no sex, no Zach. Crazy!!!

Dan’s new 2007 is further complicated when he finds out that although Zach never existed, he and Katie have a daughter named Caroline. Katie has no recollection of Zach because he never existed in her alternate universe. Dan’s behavior is disturbing her, and the situation is only further complicated when a psychic doing a reading for Katie has an overwhelming metaphysical connection to Dan. She makes mention of something that Dan is missing and reveals the name Zach. Katie is petrified that Dan will go back in time and alter their world again but this time take her daughter away from her. Dan struggles but his love for Zach wins out and he journeys back into the 80’s to find his camera and get back the life he once had.

Livia joins Dan on his travels and reveals that back in her “present tense”, back in the 1920’s, she was to be married that weekend. Dan wishes her well. Can I just say that I’m pretty happy the writers doused the flames on whatever was going on with Dan and Livia at the beginning of the season. In the early days it felt almost as if Dan were being unfaithful to Katie in his newly discovered relationship with Livia. It made me not trust him. But now, it seems that Dan and Livia have discovered a new kind of partnership and I enjoy their on-screen time much more because of it.

In the end, Dan goes back to the 80’s and rights his wrong. The camera is retrieved before it can be used to creative new technologies and Dan returns to his life…one with Zach present and accounted for (whew). Dan asks Katie if there is anything new he should know about (just in case he altered reality yet again) and she said no, other than the news that Theresa is pregnant. Dan asks wearily if he caused that…ha ha. Oh Vassar – you and your time traveling humor.

But it seems that the psychic has not forgotten about Dan. She ran his charts and discovered that he was born on a date that had some kind of unbelievable mystical power – a power that was so rare it was only found one other time in history. Back in the 1920’s…the day Livia was born. Talk about things that make you go hmmm.

While Jack was trying to help Dan get more information on Garrity, the FBI agent, he discovered a picture of a young Dan with Elliot Langley, from NASA. We knew that Langley knew more than he was letting on, but he seems to want to stay uninvolved. Dan confronts Langley, but Langley feigns not to know Dan and Dan is sent home by security.

So some pretty big and dramatic moments this week, but also the start to some questions being answered. I can’t imagine what the writers are going to give us in next week’s final episode. It’s tricky because as NBC has not opted to order any more scripts of the show, it hasn’t been officially canceled (although if the WGA strike wasn’t going on it would have been). So do the writers give away all the big secrets next week? Will they spill the beans on Dan and Livia’s time traveling? What if they do that and then NBC decides to pick up the show again next season. Oh the dilema!!

No matter what they decide to do, I’ll be there this Wednesday at10pm watching the final episode of this incredible show. Shame on you NBC….booo!!!!!