12 Monkeys is slowly descending into preposterous levels of ridiculousness, and this week’s episode really starts to show the cracks. I’m not saying it’s jumped the shark quite yet, but it’s certainly started training with dolphins and dipping its toes into the Great White Tank.
Despite the fact that it has not been brought up again, Cole’s expedition into a parallel timeline is still supposedly important. Every episode since The Red Forest has shown the same sequence of flashbacks; a glass of milk falling to the floor, a gun being fired and a silhouette of a woman. The lack of explanation for these flashbacks would suggest that they are pointless, only added in to create an air of mystery to the unfolding drama, yet the prominence they receive has to suggest that they are actually using the events as a plot point for a future episode.
There are only three episodes left before the season finale, and the impetus of the series has stalled somewhat. The writers are trying to inject tension into the series with Cole’s deteriorating condition, but with the show confirmed for a second season, it’s hard to feel concern that anything major will happen to him.