Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Last night, Syfy started playing 12 Monkeys mini-marathons after The Expanse, and it was so good


12 Monkeys is currently airing three episodes a week after The Expanse at 11, 12, and 1, Tuesday nights on Syfy.

This week, we got "Splinter", "Mentally Divergent", and "Cassandra Complex", the first three episodes of Season 1. I hadn't really forgotten how good the episodes are, but I did forget how great it is talking to other fans live on Twitter while watching them. This was the first show I jumped onboard with so quickly while livetweeting, and I've met so many awesome people because of it--including most of the Professional Fangirls!

It's also interesting, going back to the beginning of a good show, after a gap where we watched other shows, and seeing how much was set up in the earliest episodes. And 12 Monkeys is a fantastic one for this second (or third or tenth) viewing--even if just to sit there and admire the construction of it. So many things that seemed unimportant on the first viewing became secretly important after seeing the end and thinking about it all year, most notably everything Jones says about anything. And now that we've seen ads for S2, there's even a few things that start looking like foreshadowing--like the scene in Cassandra Complex, where Cassie is learning how to shoot by holding a gun on Cole.

One of my favorite things is that they went for the feels right away. Cassie is declared crazy for believing in this man, Cole is amazed that she believes him, it's immediately them against the world, even before they decide to do it that way. Jennifer is joyfully nuts, but also haunted and damaged and looking for...absolution? The truth? And then Cole fights for his one connection in 2015, and gets to see exactly what his showing up in her life did to her in "Cassandra Complex". And, of course, Jones and all her secret feels, and Ramse and his devotion that is so bittersweet once you've seen the end of the season, and Max, and Whitley--and all in the first three episodes! Worldbuilding and character building at once, and it makes everything have all these layers of meaning and context and potential.

And damn, but this show is good. It's so bold and sure of itself and defined. I'm so happy it's back on the air, even in reruns, before the second season launch!

Did you watch those three episodes? Any new theories? Did you see anything in a new light? Are you watching it for the first time and want to talk about it? Share in the comments or come talk to us on Twitter!

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