“The War to End All Wars” is episode one of season two of Timeless.
In the season one finale, “The Red Scare”, everything seemed to be going against Rittenhouse partway through. Which is either a sign that things are either getting sorted or are about to go pear shaped. Many members of Rittenhouse were being arrested. The mothership had been recovered and Flynn arrested too (although against Lucy’s wishes). Lucy’s mission to restore her sister had been given the go-ahead.
The first sign that something was wrong was a vision that Jiya, who had been affected oddly by her trip in the lifeboat, had a vision of a rather different future, one in which the Golden Gate Bridge was a twisted ruin.
When Lucy went to tell her mother about her sister and her mission to save her, she got a shock – for her mother told Lucy that Rittenhouse would not allow it. Lucy’s mother is also a member of Rittenhouse, and she told Lucy that the mothership had been captured, by Emma Whitmore as it happened, who Flynn had gone back to find in “The Murder of Jesse James”.
Pear shaped it is.
This episode opens in St. Mihiel, France, September 14, 1918 with biplanes duelling in the sky above the trenches. A U.S. soldier is looking for his captain. The captain is okay but, after the soldier goes, looks for something that he finds under a nearby body. The something is a small leather folder, inside which is an iPhone. Which is not standard issue for U.S. troops in World War I, and possibly kind of useless without the internet or cell towers.
In the present, Wyatt and Rufus are waiting to leave in the lifeboat. Lucy is not answering her phone; it’s on the floor at her home with signs of a disturbance. Wyatt then spots a bomb in the building and Connor Industries explodes.
Six weeks later and Wyatt, who looks to have signs of injury from the explosion, is in a rather shabby bunker. Jiya, Rufus and Connor Mason are there as well, and Rufus is attempting to fix the lifeboat. Lucy is missing and Wyatt is clearly upset over the matter, even if he isn’t admitting his feelings to anyone as yet. They are locked in the bunker, because Agent Christopher has – justified – trust issues regarding them.
Lucy is heading back to World War I, with her mother and Emma. Lucy is giving the appearance of cooperating, which is what her mother wants. Lucy’s mother is excited about going back in time. They have gone to save a specific soldier, but why isn’t stated – or even found out until the end. Along the way, they seek help from Marie Curie. Who still thinks that radiation is safe. At this point, Lucy thinks that the others are all dead.
There is still something wrong with Jiya, although what isn’t known, from her peculiar reaction to time travel. When Rittenhouse’s plans are finally discovered, Agent Christopher seeks help from someone else.