“Minute Man” is episode two of season three of Continuum.
So, in the previous episode, “Minute by Minute”, Kiera’s timeline was falling to pieces because young Alec had left it and gone to another. Apparently that was far too big a change; Alec was simply too important. The head of the Freelancer cell had got Kiera to use a device which would transport her to the same timeline as Alec. Presumably, the entire timeline she was in at that point would be utterly destroyed – effectively, everyone she met and her entire family, and world, would no longer exist. Instead, there would be the friends, family and world of the Kiera of the other timeline. Sure, they’re effectively the same people in one respect, but in others they aren’t. Time travel can be confusing.
Original Alec has already changed things; he stated he was just going to change them a little, but they are probably going to snowball. By speaking to Kellog about the threat Escher posed, Kellog had got Emily to kill Escher after their meeting this time. So Escher is now dead. Given that Piron also had a notable effect on the timeline, it seems odd that Escher’s death doesn’t seem to be causing the same problems. Perhaps he’s already done most of the significant work. Alec was planning to leave the country with Emily; when he got back to the lab, he found what seemed to be that timeline’s Kiera dead, and his Kiera there as well. The Freelancers had told Kiera that she might have to kill herself, so did she actually do this? She may have to kill one of the Alecs as well. This is getting complicated.
This episode opens in Vancouver, 2067. It looks like Kiera’s grandparents have died and things are being carted away from their apartment for sale (it’s the law) – and if you want to keep anything, you have to pay for it. Kiera’s younger sister finds a box of printed books. Which is contraband; ‘seditious printed material.’ The person in charge of clearing out the apartment sees the books and is not happy.
In the past/present/alternate present/whatever, Original Kiera asks Alec who killed her. So it would seem she didn’t do it. They both want to know which version the other is; they are both the originals. Kiera is not happy with Alec for betraying her in “Second Time”. There are also now two time travel devices, the one Original Alec used and the one from this timeline. Kiera wants to know where the new one, that Kiera Two had just recovered, is, and who killed her. Kiera explains to Alec that she has been sent back by the freelancers to clear up his mess, and that she has to get rid of one Alec. The way she currently feels, she’s perfectly willing for this to be Original Alec.
Original Kiera calls Carlos and shows him the body of Kiera Two. She wants help getting rid of the body, and she wanted him to help so that it would be easier to explain what was going on. At which point they both found out about Escher’s murder. Carlos also realises that Kiera Two, the dead Kiera, is his friend and partner. Original Kiera is not trusting Original Alec, and is blaming him for everything that’s going wrong.
To make things even more complicated, Original Kiera is speaking to Alec Two, who notices that there are things wrong, including the fact that the slice of the time travel device they had is missing (Original Alec took it), he can’t communicate with her CMR and that things are not working correctly with his network, thanks to Original Alec. Alec Two also notices something, blood, where Kiera Two was killed, and finds the rest of the time travel device. Alec Two is becoming distrustful of Original Kiera – she is hiding things after all. Alec Two receives the information that he is related to Jason, and so he thinks Jason is his father. Original Alec knows that it’s the other way around. Alec Two figures it out too.
Jim, the new mayor, is approached by a lawyer who says he works for Liber8, just like Jim does. The lawyer says that Jim does have a problem, given that his attempt to get Travis and Sonya to eliminate each other in “Second Guess” massively backfired and just put them back together. Fortunately for Jim, the two have plans for him, and are willing to put revenge on hold. So Jim seeks help from Dillon and the police. He wants immunity in return for information.
There are a lot of confusing conversations, given that there were two Kieras and are two Alecs. Travis is of course not dead any longer, and Garza is free, released by Original Kiera. Travis is rather surprised to hear that Kiera released Garza. Sonya and Travis are planning something and Kellog has figured out that something’s up.