FlashForward: “Black Swan”
FlashForward: “Black Swan”
By Tiffany Vogt
This article may contain spoilers.
This episode was by far the most surprising to date. It lulled you into thinking this was the same thing we had begun to expect over the course of the last few episodes, and then out of the blue, delivered an unexpected blow. It was not even a death-blow. It was just a major shocker. The “black swan” was not Ned (Keir O’Donnell), the guy who thought he was going to turn into an African American; the “black swan” was Lloyd Simcoe (Jack Davenport). Apparently it’s true when they say the best way to hide something is to hide it in plain sight, because there was no indication that Lloyd had anything to do with the blackout. Thus, the final scene of the episode where he takes the call from Simon (Dominic Monaghan) was a surprise. The hair on the back of my neck and arms rose as I heard Simon tell him, “Talking to me is one of those little inconveniences you’re going to have to put up with now that we’re responsible for the single greatest disaster in human history.”
As continuity goes, it was cool to see Alda Hertzog (Rachel Roberts) again — the blonde terrorist that Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) and Demetri Noh (John Cho) had been chasing at the time of the blackout. She fooled them by cryptically telling Demetri that his time was running out and then sending them on a wild-goose chase. (Side-note: There’s a lot of bird references in this show with crows, black swans and now geese.) As riveting as the interrogation scenes were, it was rather mind-numbing to watch them actually go to India to the restaurant and chase a petty drug dealer. However, Alda, for all her resistance to answering their questions, was actually a font of information, ultimately giving us two significant clues. The first was about the “black swan” theory. She explained that a black swan is something so out of the ordinary that it is used to describe events beyond the realm of the ordinary. The second clue she provided was regarding the Sufi parable about an old man and a young boy with a candle, where the old man asks the boy where the light comes from — and the young boy blows out the candle and tells the old man, “If you tell me where the light went, I will tell you where it came from.” The black-out and the reveal that Lloyd Simcoe was involved with it were the “black swan moments.”
As for the significance of the Sufi parable, perhaps that was to illustrate that it does not matter how the black-out occurred and that they need to focus on the why part of the equation. As Alda told Mark, “You’re ignoring the most profound question: Why?” It is not “who” or “how” that really matter, but the question of “why.” Like the boy and the candle, the disappearing light is not the point. The point is that it happened. Thus, accept it and address the more pertinent question.
With so many cryptic clues slowly being unveiled, it is clear that the visions everyone experienced during the black-out are stressing them out to their breaking points. Even Demetri said, “All I can hear is the clock-ticking everyday.” And with everyone so preoccupied, surely they can’t be doing their jobs effectively. Thus, it creates a window of opportunity for criminal activity to go unchecked or unnoticed, simply because everyone is so distracted. Maybe that was the point of the black-out. Like a magician’s trick, while everyone’s attention is focused elsewhere, they can get away with anything. The black-out is a long-term distraction. For, as Mark told Demetri, “We can use what we saw to stop what we saw. We can solve your murder before it happens.” By effectively taking Demetri and Mark’s attention off of their other investigative work, the diversion is complete.
What Worked
Before learning he was the bad-guy, it was adorable watching Lloyd read Dylan (Ryan Wynott) his favorite book, The Magician’s Handbook, and acting out all the characters in order to connect with Dylan.
As for the hospital patient, Ned, who had Addison’s disease, it was funny to see how as much as Olivia (Soyna Walger) wanted to ignore all the signs that were revealed in Ned’s flashforward, like her efforts to send Dylan to the PT Department, it kept boomeranging back to her. Also interesting was Ned’s analysis that, “All that worrying kept me from being the me I am supposed to be.” It was like watching a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Another fascinating reveal was finding out that Nicole (Peyton List), the awol baby-sitter, knew Aaron (Brian F. O’Byrne) and it was based on his recommendation she got the job with the Benfords. Adding another layer to her story was learning that in Nicole’s flashforward she saw herself being drowned by an unknown assailant. That was just bizarre – for her to witness her own death. Just as horrific was her revelation that she saw, “someone drowning me and I felt like I deserved it.” What on earth does that poor girl do to deserve such a fate, let alone feel that need to atone for whatever she would do in the future that justify being murdered?! It is mind-bending.
What Didn’t Work
It was ludicrous that the priest that Nicole went to see for guidance kept a box of live crickets in his desk drawer and turned her away after giving her a t-shirt The world feels a bit off-kilter with that kind of behavior.
Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due
“Black Swan” was written by Lisa Zerling and Scott M. Gimple and directed by Michael Rymer. FlashForward stars Joseph Fiennes, Sonya Walger, John Cho, Gabrielle Union, Courtney B. Vance, Gina Torres, Jack Davenport, Brian F. O’Byrne, Peyton List, Christine Woods, Zachary Knighton, Dominic Monaghan, Ryan Wynott. FlashForward airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on ABC.
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