There were a lot of questions raised by the Time After Time series premiere that we definitely need answers to sooner rather than later.
Those that checked out the series premiere of Time After Time last night probably left the episode with a myriad of questions about who to trust, how much time travel is feasible before you completely screw up the space/time continuum, and some version of “Why you wouldn’t double tap Jack the Ripper when you’ve knocked him unconscious?!?”
We couldn’t agree more. While I’m sure we all have a million questions like that last one, we’re going to focus on the big picture questions. Here are a few of the most pertinent questions on our minds when the two hours ended. Surely we’ll get answers to a few of these in upcoming episodes, while others are bound to take a little longer to suss out.
1. Who is the ginger, stalker guy? Is he working for someone?
He has quite the collection of leads for an investigator, or one hell of a crazy wall if he’s just a stalker. Could he end up being an ally for H.G.? If Vanessa doesn’t turn out to be the good-hearted, billionaire, great-great-great-granddaughter she seems to be, maybe this guy is working against her by trying to figure out what is going on with John, and H.G. Also, how did he know to start following them?
2. Do we trust Vanessa? Should we? Is she really H.G.’s descendant?
There’s just something about her that doesn’t sit quite right. She may have completely pure motivation here, but if I were a betting woman, I would bet against her. Somehow I completely believe that she’s H.G. Wells’ descendant, I just think that she has spent way too long waiting for him and has thought up some reasons why she should have access to the time machine herself.
3. What is her boyfriend, Griffin Monroe, up to? Could he possibly have dishonest intentions toward Vanessa?
Is he only with Vanessa for nefarious personal reasons? Does he know something more about H.G., John, or Jane than we would expect? There’s just something about how easily he believed that H.G. was thee H.G. Wells. Even if his girlfriend is obsessed with the guy, it would take a little more to believe that a figure from more than 100 years ago just showed up in your house.
4. Why did John leave that woman alive? Did Jane get to him?
John had us all believing that he slaughtered that poor, bound girl in a fit of rage over Jane’s accusing him of not truly wanting to be a killer. Knowing the story of Jack the Ripper and what he is capable of had us all believing that poor girl was dead. The reveal that she was alive was a much bigger surprise than just about anything else in the episode. Why did he spare her?
5. Has John Stevenson (aka Jack the Ripper) been to the future before? H.G. has a LOT more trouble adjusting to the culture in 2017 than his less technology-minded friend.
One of the biggest criticisms I have seen (apart from people being disappointed that Jane didn’t just clock John an extra time before escaping) of the premiere is that Jack the Ripper has a hell of a lot easier of a time adjusting to 2017 than H.G. Wells, the inventor of the time machine. It seems odd that the roles weren’t reversed. Is it possible that somehow, John has seen this time before and his acclimation was easier because this isn’t his first shot at time travel?
6. Could Vanessa be related to Jane Walker as well?
This last one is a bit of a stretch, but is there any possibility that somehow Jane Walker could be related to one of the involved parties as well? When it comes to time travel, there are all sorts of possibilities for familial ties, and it just seems that somehow, some way, Jane will be a much bigger player in this game than just the assistant curator that happened to be involved with the exhibit.