It’s 1:30 AM and DC is buzzing. Stan, Vreede, Demetri, and Mark are getting into a car after some kind of hearing. Mark makes a phone call to share some good news which, considering it’s 10:30 PM on the West Coast had either be very, very good news or the person is in California. Suddenly, a black truck comes out of nowhere and rams into them. The occupants get out of the car, aim something resembling a missile launcher at them, and blow the car to bits.
Guess they didn’t think the news was that good after all.
39 hours earlier…
Vreede, Demetri, and Mark are waiting to take polygraphs about their Flash Forwards. Demetri still claims he didn’t see anything. In his, Vreede’s leaving the bureau for the night. He thought he was the only one there, and he didn’t see anyone else on his way out. And of course, we all know what Mark saw.
Mark calls Aaron, who’s fixing the alarm system and the garage door on Mark’s house. He’s a “full service sponsor.” Oh, and Charlie now knows how to drive a stick. Great, a six year old has skills I don’t yet possess. No fair. Aaron reminds Mark that DC has AA meetings too. He might want to go check one out. Liv overhears this and looks concerned. Mark will take it under advisement if Aaron will get Charlie into a few colleges while he’s gone.
Demetri and Vreede are walking up the front steps of the Capitol. Demetri’s carrying a box of evidence that Stan needs to convince the Senate Committee that they’re about to meet with that Mosaic is a viable project. Vreede notes that Stan has a bit of a bug up his behind, and Demetri tells him that Stan used to live in DC. Apparently, it left a bad taste in his mouth.
Cut to Stan at a gym playing basketball with his friend Dave. Dave’s in Congress, and Stan’s using the game to work an angle. They need funding for Mosaic. He’s hoping that Dave’ll be his inside man, but when Dave tells him that “Clemente” is charing the hearings, that plan goes out the window. It’s a surprise to Stan, but whatever the history is between the two , it doesn’t matter because Mosaic is important enough to put their petty differences aside.
Janis is at a martial arts class officially kicking the butt of her sparring partner. Still, he must like it since he asks her out when he catches his breath. She has plans tonight, but says “maybe” when he asks for another time. She’s left standing there with Amita from Numb3rs (seriously, it’s Navi Rawat) who looks like she might be more than a little amused by the whole exchange. Since the writers have already worked Joseph Fiennes’ Shakespearean experience into the script, let’s hope that since Flash Forward and Numb3rs pretty much take place in the same set of FBI offices, if Maya (Rawat’s FF character) ever walks into work with Janis, she makes a crack about their offices being much, much nicer than the ones she usually hangs out in. Because that would be awesome.
After the class, Janis is walking into the office with another agent who’s asking about whether or not “he” has a brother. Janis doesn’t really get a chance to answer because Al hands her a flash drive with data from Somalia. Wasn’t that shut down? Al says it’s “unshut.” They’re looking for something about the crow die-off in ’91, particularly reports about loss of consciousness. Basically, anything Stan can use to keep their investigation alive.
Speaking of Stan, he, Demetri and Vreede are now at a White House Press Briefing. Mark’s not there (he hates photo ops), but Vreede’s excited. His fifth grade teacher always said he’d end up dead or in jail. His fifth grade teacher was a lot like my third grade teacher, apparently. The briefing starts, the Press Secretary(?) introduces the President, and Dave walks in. Talk about a friend in a high place! Stan makes sure President Dave sees him in the crowd. President Dave is asked a question about their not being a centralized agency to deal with The Blackout. POTUS tells the reporters that they’re working on allocating funding to the investigations that are producing results, shutting down the ones that aren’t, and working on coordinating the efforts. When the new VP is finalized (remember, the first one died in The Blackout), he or she will coordinate those efforts. On his way out the door, POTUS is asked why he isn’t sharing what he saw in his flash forward. He says he’s following the lead of the other world leaders and not sharing what he saw. For the record, it’s a Secret Service agent getting him out of bed because “something’s happened.” After the Presser, an agent invites Stan to go with him. Demetri and Vreede are left behind.
Aaron and Liv are finishing up with the Security System. Liv gives him 0312 as their new code. It’s their anniversary, and Aaron makes a crack about how it should be something Mark’s going to remember. Har har. Liv tells Aaron that she overheard him telling Mark about the meetings. She asks if he’s having a hard time. Aaron insists it was just a “friendly reminder,” but Liv isn’t so sure. Mark’s obsessed with the idea of the flash forwards coming true, including Liv’s, and she’s worried about him taking a drink. She loves him, but can she trust him? Aaron reminds her that if she can’t trust Mark, who can she trust?
Stan’s in the Oval Office with President Dave who feels bad that he couldn’t bring him on after the initial campaign. Now that there’s an opening for a positon, he wants Stan for Director of Homeland Security. Stan’s afraid Clemente will block the appointment, but President Dave assures him that Clemente’s got “bigger fish to fry.” Stan promises to think about it.
Janis and Maya are on their first date. Maya’s a chef at the restaurant they’re sitting in, and in her flash forward, she’s in the kitchen wearing a wedding ring. Janis tells her that she’s not out at work, and in her flash forward, she’s on the International Space Station having a three-way with Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. Maya adjusts her ff to say that she’s on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire with Angelina Jolie. She’s been asked a million dollar question, goes to phone a friend, and Janis isn’t there. Janis says that she’d never let her down like that, and they kiss.
Senator Clemente is hearing testimony on different causes of the blackout. The head of the CIA, who’s played by the guy who was Bartlet’s lead agent on The West Wing, claims that China had something to do with it because they suffered a fatality rate of less than half a percent. Clemente points out that that’s because The Blackout happened at 2 in the morning, and everyone was asleep. Clemente calls a recess and then they’ll hear from Stan.
Stan’s talking to his wife in the hall when Joyce Clemente approaches. The Senator asks him if he’s enjoying DC. Apparently, Stan did something with a woman six years ago that Clemente couldn’t prove enough to get her the White House, and she’s bitter about it. Still, she saw herself as President in six months. That’s a nice thought.
Stan’s testimony is that Mosaic is getting results. Clemente snarks about his Machiavellian ways, but another committee member asks to hear from the agent who saw the vision that started the whole thing. Clemente likes the idea. She recesses with the expectation that they’ll hear from Mark in the morning.
The next morning, Janis is making eggs. Maya’s there and tells her that she should let a professional do that. Janis has to go but she invites Maya to stay and eat. Remember, this is their first date.
Mark’s testifying about the crows and the other things he learned. The committee keeps asking about why he thinks the LA office is charge, and they do the loop about how Mark’s investigating because he saw himself investigating again. Then, he tells them about the masked gunmen. Clemente isn’t amused.
Al and the boy-crazy agent are reviewing the data. Janis comes in and boy-crazy starts asking about the date. How was it? Was there groping? Al seems amused that she even had a date, but Janis asks them to just focus. They review the satellite footage and find something that looks like pylons or towers and an asphalt road in the middle of nowhere.
Clemente is still grilling Mark. He invites her to review the polygraph, and she tells him he has a copy of it. Unlike most of the people she’s talked to, whose visions are vivid and memorable, Mark’s is hazy and disjointed. Why? He doesn’t mention the drinking, but he asks if she’s talked to all 7b people on the planet. Clemente hasn’t; she’s only talking to the ones who want millions of dollars to investigate. In his gallery chair, Stan’s getting more and more upset. When Clemente starts going on about voodoo, he storms out.
Forty minutes later, the guys still haven’t found Stan. Demetri and Vreede start to admit that maybe what they saw was a little hokey. Plus, Mark probably shouldn’t have mentioned the doll heads. Then, Janis calls and tells Mark to get to a laptop. She shows them the pictures of the towers. They don’t know what they are, but they were completed on the date that, as Janis put it, “the crows did a face plant.”
Stan’s outside the hotel. He calls Janis and asks for a favor.
Janis meets Maya at the gallery opening. Maya gives Janis the world’s most annoying alarm clock and asks if she dates guys. Turns out, Maya “Mosaiced” Janis and learned about the baby. Maya keeps stepping in it by saying that she’s wearing a wedding ring and that it could be theirs. Janis tells her that she can’t do this, and leaves.
Apparently, the favor Stan asked for was to track down a woman named Renee. When he knocks, we learn that Renee’s got a son who’s about five. I can do the math…maybe Clemente doesn’t need to look that far for proof after all. Next, Stan’s in the Oval Office drinking brandy with President Dave. President Dave asks if he’s thought about the DHS job, but Stan pulls out the picture of Dave and Renee. He found her through Mosaic, and even though he was the man who paid her a whole lot of cash to go away six years ago, she’s living with her son in Georgetown. Guess that’s a “no” on the job, then. Still, Stan needs the investigation to continue. If President Dave stops Clemente from shutting them down, he’ll shred the negative. He leaves, and President Dave makes a phone call.
Vreede, Mark, and Demetri are at a karaoke bar. Vreede’s wailing on “Sister Christian” while Demetri’s doing shots. Mark asks if Demetri wants to slow down, but since he’s got five months left to live, he doesn’t really think he needs to. Then, Demetri gets up to join Vreede and commits the ultimate karaoke faux pas by hogging the microphone and requesting “Like a Rolling Stone.” Seriously, one song per person and you wait to be called. Stan comes in, and Mark accuses him of leaving him twisting in the wind. Which, he totally did. When Stan leaves, Mark storms out behind him. Stan points out that he should have asked the question about Mark’s Swiss cheese memory weeks ago. He starts hounding Mark about it, and he finally admits that he was loaded at the time. Stan realizes that he put his entire career on the line based on Mark’s flash forward. Now, he’s officially hosed. Demetri and Vreede finally stop playing karaoke-nazi and ask if everything’s okay. Stan buys a round, they’re celebrating the fact that he got them their funding.
Liv’s setting the alarm code and can’t get it to work. When she picks up her phone to call Aaron, she gets an anonymous text that Mark was drinking in his flash forward.
The guys are leaving the karaoke bar and catch a television report that President Dave has nominated Clemente for the Vice Presidency. Stan doesn’t get this town…everthing’s a trade off.
Janis is leaving the grocery store. Mark calls from the car, and we’re back to the beginning of the episode. Then a man approaches Janis. She beats him away with her martial arts mojo, but she ends up getting shot by another man. At the same time, there’s a shootout in the garage set to “Like a Rolling Stone.” The four men survive, but Janis is left bleeding on the street, flashing back to her baby-filled flash forward with the alarm clock telling her “Wake up, it’s time to get up.”
