Sanctuary 4x01 Tempus Review

They really should call this show “The Life & Times of Helen Magnus”. It’s episodes such as this, where we explore Helen in her past, that end up being the greatest ones. In this case, it’s Helen of the present going back in time, chasing Adam Worth who’s trying to change history – specifically trying to prevent the death of his daughter.

The episode begins where Season 3 ended – present-day Helen coming through the time rift and landing on the cobblestones of London in 1898. Helen tries to stop Adam, but he’s got a Praxian laser gun and shoots a blast over her head, hitting a wall, which part of it crumbles on top of Helen, thus enabling his escape and Helen being captured by the police.

It’s Watson that bails her out. That would be James Watson – you know, the ‘real’ Sherlock Holmes. Well, at least for this series, anyway. They go to her Sanctuary, and with Watson being, well….Sherlock Holmes, he fairly quickly deduces that she’s Helen from the future – what with her strange weapons, credit card & driver’s license that are made of plastic, her iphone, etc.
H: will you stop looking at me like that
J: how should I be looking at you?
H: just…leave me alone.
He dumps out her bags of belongings and sees her ID.
J: what the devil is that made of? These numbers…are they significant? (he picks up her phone) the design, the purpose (he turns on the phone) how is that powered?
H: James. Ignore all of this. Ignore me
He picks up her gun.
J: browning automatic. I’ve never heard of that and yet I know every weapons manufacturer in the world.
He releases the clip on the gun.
J: amazing. The release type.
H: leave! Right now.
J: not a chance.
H: It’s my sanctuary.
J: is it? From the moment you walked in here you’ve been behaving as if you were visiting someone’s grave. It may have been your sanctuary a long time ago, but not anymore. … business cards made from a substance I can’t identify. Issued 2010. Expires 2015. Weapons that I have never seen or heard of. Clothes designed for maximum movement and protection.
H: I am Helen Ma…
J: oh you definitely are Helen Magnus, just not of this era. I’m a detective.
H: well, now you understand why you have to leave.
J: because by being here, you may disrupt the timeline and change the future as you know it. But, how is this possible?
H: I came here on a mission. If I fail, everything that is meant to be, everything that I build from now until my present could be destroyed.
J: who are you chasing? … honestly, Helen. Whatever your mission is, it’s gotten off to a very bad start. You need help, and seeing as I know the truth, what choice do you have but to let me in?
H: no questions about the future. Near or distant. … Adam Worth. That’s who I was chasing.
J: from Oxford? What on earth…?
H: he’s come from the future as well. I followed him here after John & I were…
J: John Druitt? Dear God does everyone from our era live on til the 21st century?
H: not everyone.
J: oh.

I love that whole exchange. I love how we can see James internally processing every small piece of information as the scene goes on. I also love how later on, he is the one to keep her focused on not altering the timeline even more when she gets pissy with past-Adam after present-Adam kidnaps Imogene. And it was interesting to see how she was able to give James very subtle hints that it may not have been John doing the latest killings, but an abnormal.

Present-Helen trying to get in to the Reformer Club to talk to Present-Adam was another great moment. First with the obvious Victorian-era sexism of not letting a woman into the club – which I’m sure Helen hadn’t had to deal with in quite a while, then trying to match wits with Adam, which ended with his remarks to the others that she was just a hooker trying to come on to a “family man”.

I was kind of bummed that past & present Helen never officially met. It would have been great to see two Helens kicking major butt together. I did, however, really love seeing present-day Helen watching past-Helen stand up to John Druitt in her house as she was interrogating him about his Jack-the-Ripper killings, and he’s claiming his innocence. It was very strange to see Helen at such a disadvantage and not being able to stand up to him strongly like we’re used to seeing her do. Thankfully we get the kick-ass Helen that we know & love later on when she goes “hunting” and gives Druitt a run for his money.
JD: you’re insane.
Helen: very much so. Fancy some more?
THAT’S the Helen Magnus I know & love. Just like in “Breach” where she kicks Adam’s ass as well.

Oh, and Helen’s run-in with Spring-Heeled Jack was great. At least that timeline wasn’t altered and he agreed to seek asylum in the sanctuary again. It would be nice if we see him pop up in present-day timeline now.

Yes, both past and present Helen each got in a “Bloody Hell” remark. That’s kind of become her signature – along with “Cheeky Bastard”.

So one thing I’m confused on… okay, I think there’s more than one, but the biggest one that’s bugging me at the moment – if present day Helen exiles herself to a 113-year vacation and then rejoins the timeline when we get up to present day … won’t there still be two Helens then? Maybe as this season 4 goes on we’ll actually see both Helens exist together. This is Sanctuary, you know. Anything is possible. Maybe since Imogene still died and Adam still blames Helen & John, he’ll still try the time travel thing again.

I found it interesting to realize that Helen was making a toxin as a “last resort” if she needed to kill Imogene herself. Even though she knows what it’s like to lose a daughter, I know she still would have done it if needed – just as she would have killed herself if it had been the only solution. It was really, really weird to hear Helen even think about killing herself so she didn’t factor in changing any more of the timeline.
H: now that we’ve cleaned up all evidence of Adam and the technology he brought with him, I suppose there’s only one thing left undone.
J: what to do about you.
H: I can’t be here James, we both know it. Everything I touch, everyone I meet…could ruin my future.
J: you best kill yourself.
H: I’m glad we both agree
J: Helen, suicide? You’re so melodramatic.
H: do you have a better idea? I’m trapped here & I’ve no way home.
J: you can always go home. It just might take a little while. It’s one of the benefits of your incredibly slow aging. Disappear. Go somewhere remote with limited contact with the rest of the world. Spend the time thinking about all the things you’ve lived through.
H: 113 years of seclusion.
J: then you rejoin your timeline just after you’ve left it. Unless of course, you’re determined to do yourself in.
H: a vacation.
J: from what I gather, you’ve rather earned one.

So, if Helen does come back after a 113-year seclusion – we know she won’t be idle during that time. I’m guessing that might be what the upcoming “going rogue” storyline for the sanctuary is. This will be the ‘present day’ Helen coming back from 113 years in hiding. We may see that during that time, she was able to build an “underground” sanctuary system and start that up now that she can come out of hiding.

“Humanity isn’t completely dead in the future. Just so you know.” Loved that line.

This show continues to blow my mind. I’ve never found myself saying “WOW” with any other show as much as I do with Sanctuary. It’s not just the stories, it’s not just the acting, it’s not just the wonderful visual effects (which just keep getting better) – it’s all of it combined.

Kudos to Amanda for being able to play both the past & present Helens so very differently. As much as I hate Adam – well, psycho Adam at least – I love Ian Tracey and how he portrays both the gentle and evil parts of the character.

It’s funny how great episodes with Helen, John, James, and Adam (no Tesla or Nigel? Damn.) make me forget that there’s no Will, Kate, Henry or Biggie. Yes, I’m a sucker for episodes that are either about The Five or ones that take us back to Helen’s past.

As I was watching the scenes where past & present versions of Helen & Adam both exist, I couldn’t help but think of how we’ll hear a very excited director, Martin Wood, explaining the shooting of it on the dvd commentary.

Backing up to the opening credit sequence – we see Helen, Will, Henry and Biggie in the main picture. Wow. That really doesn’t look right. No John. No Kate. I know Agam had scheduling conflicts while they were shooting season 4, so Kate’s been relegated to “recurring” status. Still, it sucks.

On a final note: every time I see an episode about time travel, I can’t help but think about Stargate SG1’s episode, “1969”. In that one, it was General Hammond, then a lieutenant, who had been visited by a future (which was the current) SG1 and he gave them a bit of help by slipping the note into Sam’s pocket before they left on the mission. And it was Sam who was the one most concerned about not screwing up the timeline. It also brings to mind the SG1 episode, Moebius, where the team goes back in time. That one had some major timeline adjustments – which I’m still not sure they were actually solved to satisfaction.