o I discovered 12 Monkeys last year and it quickly became one of my top favorite TV shows, right up there with TVD and Teen Wolf. I know there are quite a few Doctor Who fans that would disagree with me, but I have to say, for me, 12 Monkeys is the best time travel show I have ever watched. I love it! It is so complex and it blows my mind how how incredible the writing is. Like if I could be half of the creator that the creators of this show are I will be happy.
Last week on Friday, the final two episodes of the series aired and I just thought I would write an appreciation/goodbye post. Like I said, the plot is incredible! If you love good writing and time travel and timelines that are so intricate and amazing, then you will definitely love 12 Monkeys. It has everything: action, stakes, romance, friendship, comedy, deep themes, lots of twists and turns.
*Heads up there may be minor spoilers and a a lot of 12 Monkeys gifs ahead*
The whole show started with one character: James Cole. It started with him on a mission to save his future and really, James Cole is the heart of the show. He is the reason the show has kept going. Yes, the rest of the cast is phenomenal and I seriously love all of the other characters and the show wouldn't be half as good without them, but Cole is main the character and man, he is one of the best main characters I've ever seen. He's just... perfect. He's gone through such a huge character arc and development. When the show first started he was sort of gruff and on mission. He was willing to kill to complete his mission and he wasn't going to let anyone stand in his way. Cole had a lot of rough edges and a difficult past. He did a lot of horrible things in his life growing up in a post-apocalyptic world where the only way to find food and shelter was to steal and kill for them. And I think he genuinely didn't believe he was worth saving. He felt so much guilt and regret for all the things he had done.
But by the end of the show, in this final season he's grown into a tried and true hero. Like the epitome of hero. He fell in love, his rough edges were softened. No longer does he kill without a second thought. Cole isn't willing to sacrifice anyone for the mission. He's driven and endearing and just a real genuine hero. I feel like he's even forgiven himself for a lot of what he did in the past. If you need one reason to watch this show, James Cole is that one reason. He is a seriously amazing main character. Someone you can cheer for and what to see win and succeed.
And then there's Jennifer. Pretty much the minute I first saw her, I knew she was going to be a great character. She is one of the best parts of this show. At first she starts out in a mental hospital... She really is crazy, spouting off "nonsense."
But I loved Cole relationship and friendship with her from the get-go. At first they were complete strangers to each other, but Cole really was the only one who treated Jennifer like a normal person. He sort of respected her, I think and he cared about her. While everyone else sort of kept their distance and thought she was really crazy (I mean I'm sure he thought she was crazy too) Cole saw something in her that others didn't. He saw potential in her and that she was more than just some delusional, nonsensical girl. He saw the special in her and gave her the benefit of the doubt when no one else would.
Jennifer is just plain hilarious, but her character arc is so cool. Like I said, she started out in a mental hospital from a messed up family and a messed up past. But throughout the four seasons and with the help of Cole and Cassie and Joans and everyone else, she's survived and gotten through so much. I said Cole was the heart of the show, but Jennifer is the heart of the cast of characters. There was one scene where Ramse (Cole's best friend) said to Jennifer "what's it say about this place that in order to be human you gotta be a little crazy?" She's so... crazy but in a funny, wonderful sort of way and by the end of the series her potential and importance have been realized. Jennifer goes from being just some crazy girl stuck in a mental hospital because her dad's a jerk, to being one of the most important people in the show because her nonsensical talking and weird drawings and visions are all pieces of a puzzle that only she can see and that everyone else needs.
Cassie or Cassandra Railey, is really the person who softened all of Cole's rough edges.
She's his love interest, but she's also so much more. Cassie becomes her own person, her own character and is just as important in the story as Cole is. Without her, season three, and the entire 12 Monkey's organization wouldn't even be a thing!
But it's interesting because her character arc is sort of the opposite of Cole's. When the show first starts he's rough and willing to make sacrifices and the tough choices. He shoots first and asks questions later while Cassie has a moral code. She's from the past and didn't grow up in a post-apocalyptic world. She doesn't believe in making sacrifices for the greater good, in killing and torturing. But by season 3, she's wielding a gun right alongside everyone else. She makes some tough choices in that season and in season 4. Cassie knows what it is to make sacrifices and to do what she believes is right even if no one else believes it to be right. But I like how, by the last season, both her and Cole are on the same page. They have been going backward with each other when it comes to their individual stories, but by season 4 they're in sync, on the same page and that's pretty cool.
Cole and Cassie's relationship was the only main romance in the entire show and man was it ship-worthy! From the very first episode I shipped them so hard!
They compliment each other so well from start to finish. Cole takes action while Cassie is the moral compass and like I said before, by season four they're just so in sync. Near the end of season 3 they're united with a common goal and are pretty much unstoppable together.
Plus I mean, they're just so perfect and adorable together from start to finish and I am truly so happy they got their happily ever after.
Katerina Joans is the fourth main character. I don't know... she's an amazing character and I love her, but I never resonated with her the way I do with the other characters. But I have to say her journey has been just as huge and wonderful as the other characters. She was the "mad scientist" willing to kill and do whatever it took to make her time travel machine works. Torture, cruel experimentation on people. She was an ice queen with no attachments to anyone.
But by season 4 her ice has melted and she knows what it is to love and be loved. Joans realizes that love and family and friends are just as important as completing the mission. That some people just aren't worth the sacrifice and the pain of losing. It's a pretty beautiful journey, especially when you realize in season 4 just how much family she's been surrounded by for all these years without even realizing it.
And of course I couldn't forget Deacon. He was a character that snuck up on you. At first he was a real bad guy, like a really bad guy. A jerk and a killer without remorse. But then you start to see the man he really is.
He lost his brother and he ends up becoming a real hero type.
He's so funny and his friendship with Jennifer is literally one of my favorite parts of the show. One of my favorite episodes is Causality in season 3 when Jennifer and Deacon team up. They also just compliment each other so well during a mission. Jennifer is super crazy and outrageous and Deacon just rolls with it and will back up anything she says during the mission to make sure they get what they want.
As for the show as a whole, I don't know if I can even begin to explain the plot... It's so complicated and seriously, you have to watch it from episode one to the final episode of the series to fully grasp the genius of what these creators have done with this show. To fully understand the big picture and what has even been going on the past 4 seasons! I mean, yeah, you get a lot of answers and ah ha! moments along the way, but by the end of the series it all ties itself together. The loop, the cycle, as they call it, comes together and everything makes so much more sense. It's like one huge AH HA!! moment and it makes you so, so happy and glad that you stayed on this journey and got to watch everything unfold. Seriously, this show is unlike any other time travel show out there. Doctor Who is good, but for real, this show is so much more complex and the fact that they managed to compact so much, such a huge timeline involving so many characters into four 13 episode seasons? It. Blows. My. Mind! The ending was just so beautiful and so perfect and... I think the one word that really does sum it up is beautiful. I don't want to give anything away, but that season finale trumps any other season finale in anything other show I have ever seen. It truly was perfect and ended in the best way possible while also not being cheesy. It was just... perfect. By the last five minutes I was crying and smiling from ear to ear.
So, I am really sad about 12 Monkey's ending, but I am so happy that I found this show. It's amazing and it will be a show that I watch over and over again for a long time. Please, please give it a try because it it will blow you away! And unlike some shows that have ended and you know the finale isn't great, you don't have to worry about that with 12 Monkeys. Rest assured if you start 12 Monkeys you will finish it satisfied and happy getting to see your characters get from point A to point B.
Last week on Friday, the final two episodes of the series aired and I just thought I would write an appreciation/goodbye post. Like I said, the plot is incredible! If you love good writing and time travel and timelines that are so intricate and amazing, then you will definitely love 12 Monkeys. It has everything: action, stakes, romance, friendship, comedy, deep themes, lots of twists and turns.
*Heads up there may be minor spoilers and a a lot of 12 Monkeys gifs ahead*
The whole show started with one character: James Cole. It started with him on a mission to save his future and really, James Cole is the heart of the show. He is the reason the show has kept going. Yes, the rest of the cast is phenomenal and I seriously love all of the other characters and the show wouldn't be half as good without them, but Cole is main the character and man, he is one of the best main characters I've ever seen. He's just... perfect. He's gone through such a huge character arc and development. When the show first started he was sort of gruff and on mission. He was willing to kill to complete his mission and he wasn't going to let anyone stand in his way. Cole had a lot of rough edges and a difficult past. He did a lot of horrible things in his life growing up in a post-apocalyptic world where the only way to find food and shelter was to steal and kill for them. And I think he genuinely didn't believe he was worth saving. He felt so much guilt and regret for all the things he had done.
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| This was in episode 1 of season 1 I believe and is one of my favorite scenes lol |
And then there's Jennifer. Pretty much the minute I first saw her, I knew she was going to be a great character. She is one of the best parts of this show. At first she starts out in a mental hospital... She really is crazy, spouting off "nonsense."
Cassie or Cassandra Railey, is really the person who softened all of Cole's rough edges.
Cole and Cassie's relationship was the only main romance in the entire show and man was it ship-worthy! From the very first episode I shipped them so hard!
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| One of my favorite scenes in the whole show |
Katerina Joans is the fourth main character. I don't know... she's an amazing character and I love her, but I never resonated with her the way I do with the other characters. But I have to say her journey has been just as huge and wonderful as the other characters. She was the "mad scientist" willing to kill and do whatever it took to make her time travel machine works. Torture, cruel experimentation on people. She was an ice queen with no attachments to anyone.
And of course I couldn't forget Deacon. He was a character that snuck up on you. At first he was a real bad guy, like a really bad guy. A jerk and a killer without remorse. But then you start to see the man he really is.
As for the show as a whole, I don't know if I can even begin to explain the plot... It's so complicated and seriously, you have to watch it from episode one to the final episode of the series to fully grasp the genius of what these creators have done with this show. To fully understand the big picture and what has even been going on the past 4 seasons! I mean, yeah, you get a lot of answers and ah ha! moments along the way, but by the end of the series it all ties itself together. The loop, the cycle, as they call it, comes together and everything makes so much more sense. It's like one huge AH HA!! moment and it makes you so, so happy and glad that you stayed on this journey and got to watch everything unfold. Seriously, this show is unlike any other time travel show out there. Doctor Who is good, but for real, this show is so much more complex and the fact that they managed to compact so much, such a huge timeline involving so many characters into four 13 episode seasons? It. Blows. My. Mind! The ending was just so beautiful and so perfect and... I think the one word that really does sum it up is beautiful. I don't want to give anything away, but that season finale trumps any other season finale in anything other show I have ever seen. It truly was perfect and ended in the best way possible while also not being cheesy. It was just... perfect. By the last five minutes I was crying and smiling from ear to ear.
So, I am really sad about 12 Monkey's ending, but I am so happy that I found this show. It's amazing and it will be a show that I watch over and over again for a long time. Please, please give it a try because it it will blow you away! And unlike some shows that have ended and you know the finale isn't great, you don't have to worry about that with 12 Monkeys. Rest assured if you start 12 Monkeys you will finish it satisfied and happy getting to see your characters get from point A to point B.
It's been a wild ride!
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