The last episode of the first season on Eureka is a drama - this is a significant note, as even though there has been plenty of well-played drama throughout the season there has always a comedic element to balance it out on the sci-fi backdrop. This episode is largely sad (and it is from the opening moments) and emotional, but well written and presented (only a cheesy overlap plot line towards the end prevent this episode from being rated as a 10). The viewer is challenged to rethink the motivations and actions of characters from the whole season to see how they look different in light of the season finale. The best episodes of Eureka have been rooted in the heart of the townsfolk of Eureka and Once in a Lifetime is one of those episodes. The emotions ring true even as the landscape of Carter's world changes drastically. They (and we) are set up for an entirely new experience in a familiar setting for season two. Not a happy birth, but the potential (and hope) is there.
3 Reviews
A dramatic conclusion to season one
Tweekums16 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
As this episode opens an artefact is being probed in the top secret Section Five. This is in the year 2006; the next thing we know it is 2010 and a lot of things appear to have changed... Sheriff Carter is married to a very pregnant Alison; Deputy Lupo is dating Taggart; Zoe is graduating at the top of her class and Henry is in charge of Global Dynamics. Everything seems just about perfect... until there is a strange event. A body just appears inside Section Five. Whatever happened to it has left it damaged with even the DNA degraded to a significant level due to transdimensional radiation. This being Eureka that just means it will take a little longer to identify the body. When they do some very difficult decisions will need to be made.
This was a solid conclusion to the first season of Eureka. It featured and interesting story and delivered a real emotional punch. Stories involving alternate time lines have been done before but this brought something new to the idea by setting it in the future. Once we arrive in 2010 the viewer doesn't know that something has been done to change the way things were meant to be and even when it becomes apparent that there is something temporal going on the exact cause is far from obvious. It was fun seeing various characters' future relationships; in most cases the viewer is left wondering if they will actually come to be or whether 'fixing' the time line will stop them before they start. Overall a really good episode that left me eager to see what happens in season two.
This was a solid conclusion to the first season of Eureka. It featured and interesting story and delivered a real emotional punch. Stories involving alternate time lines have been done before but this brought something new to the idea by setting it in the future. Once we arrive in 2010 the viewer doesn't know that something has been done to change the way things were meant to be and even when it becomes apparent that there is something temporal going on the exact cause is far from obvious. It was fun seeing various characters' future relationships; in most cases the viewer is left wondering if they will actually come to be or whether 'fixing' the time line will stop them before they start. Overall a really good episode that left me eager to see what happens in season two.
The worst time travel plot I think I've ever seen
skribs7 January 2023
Time travel features heavily in this episode that takes place 4 years in the future. It is not handled well at all.
The overall plot is the idea of the butterfly effect. Change an event, and it will have significant changes on the future. Unfortunately, that's not what we actually get. What we actually get is just one version of the future, and then that future is suddenly falling apart for...reasons.
The end of the episode features a cardinal sin of time travel. Someone dies. A second person goes back in time to stop the death. A third person goes back in time to stop the second person and restore the original timeline. However, with that timeline restored, there is no reason why the second person wouldn't simply start the process again.
The version of the future that we see ships the current relationships that are being hinted at as the ones we end up with. It's another time the writers make a nice tidy bow of a plot, which only serves to make the world seem small. It would make more sense for some of those relationships to have been nonstarters or been broken up along the way, than for all of them to work out.
I wanted to see what the next season had to offer, and so I forced myself to watch this episode. In previous episodes, I've at least enjoyed the A plot for the first two acts. There was not a single redeeming point in this episode.
The overall plot is the idea of the butterfly effect. Change an event, and it will have significant changes on the future. Unfortunately, that's not what we actually get. What we actually get is just one version of the future, and then that future is suddenly falling apart for...reasons.
The end of the episode features a cardinal sin of time travel. Someone dies. A second person goes back in time to stop the death. A third person goes back in time to stop the second person and restore the original timeline. However, with that timeline restored, there is no reason why the second person wouldn't simply start the process again.
The version of the future that we see ships the current relationships that are being hinted at as the ones we end up with. It's another time the writers make a nice tidy bow of a plot, which only serves to make the world seem small. It would make more sense for some of those relationships to have been nonstarters or been broken up along the way, than for all of them to work out.
I wanted to see what the next season had to offer, and so I forced myself to watch this episode. In previous episodes, I've at least enjoyed the A plot for the first two acts. There was not a single redeeming point in this episode.
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