'FlashForward' - 'Queen Sacrifice' Recap

(S01E15) After reading that title, I got out my chess board to watch this episode. While amateur players tend to strive to protect their queens, experts know that sometimes the best strategic move is a queen sacrifice. Is that idea what 'FlashForward' was going to be exploring this week, or is it just Aaron selling all his old Queen LPs to finance his crusade against Jericho?

It's a bit of a blow for me to find out that the characters won't be reaching their April 29 flashforward moments on the April 29 episode. I was looking forward to the synchronicity, and it at least gave me hope that I would know what day it was in the show for a moment. That hiatus has shifted things back, and now we don't know when the characters will meet their dates with destiny.

What we do know is that while Mark seems to be taking big steps toward helping his flashforward come true by moving out of the house, at least one major character seems to be doing everything in his power to thwart his.

Bryce and Keiko are supposed to be connected and in love by the time April 29 comes along, but alas, they seem to be headed in the opposite direction. Actually, by the end of this episode, we have no idea where Keiko's heading, but "back to Japan" seems a likely end for her. And all after she'd shown up those mechanics by knowing what she's doing under the hood, and being able to do it while wearing boots with heels.

Bryce and Nicole isn't a huge surprise, as they've been working under a cloud of sexual tension for weeks now; with her only keeping her distance because of his commitment to finding Keiko. He came pretty close twice this week, which means fate is trying to bring them together. I think the problem is that Bryce is not taking fate's calls right now because he's got Nicole on the brain.

We didn't get to check in on Aaron's one-man crusade against Jericho this week, but we did get to see Lloyd trying to piece together that formula he'd written on Olivia's mirror, while Mark went on a two-man crusade against the entire FBI office he works out of to uncover a mole.

Janis seemed like such an obvious choice, because getting shot and not dying from it really is one of the best covers you can use -- it's so good it's become kind of a rite of passage for most sub-par mystery and suspense movies. The takedown of the other mole was certainly an effective technique to draw suspicion away from her. I got a little suspicious when she came running out of the building and happened to be in just the right spot to take her counterpart down.

It's a shame Simon's in so deep himself, or he could totally reveal her. Speaking of reveal, why didn't we get to see who was under that motorcycle helmet? I'm sure it was no one we'll recognize, but that doesn't mean it's not going to bug me. While Wedeck may think he was the queen in Mark's queen sacrifice, it looks like Marcie was the queen in Janis' queen sacrifice. So far, Janis has the upper-hand in this particular game.

The fact that she's a mole calls into question, even, her vision. Did she really see herself pregnant? She has been going to fertility clinics and talking to specialists, but that could be an elaborate cover-up. We already know that Simon lied about his flashforward, using a flashback instead, so who's to say Janis isn't doing the same thing. Whether she's lying or not, I'll bet Demetri is going to feel like a complete jackass when he finds out the women he probably slept with is a traitor.

I'm looking forward to seeing how all the pieces fit together. I can't wait until Mark can get some one-on-one face time with Dyson Frost. The video tape was awesome, but not nearly as intricate as his 50 move chess tournament win, all so he could give Mark a telephone number via morse code. Mark must be the greatest puzzle solver since Robert Langdon to have deciphered all of that so quickly. He definitely should have had that board figured out by now ... especially since he can remember his whole flashforward now.

There's also the consideration that Frost says he's going to die the same day that Demetri will, which is too coincidental for those two incidents to not be related. The big question is if 'FlashForward' would kill off one of its primary characters. So much effort has been expended in letting us know that these futures are not set in stone, but taking out Demetri might drive home the point that the closer to April 29 we get, the harder these futures may be to prevent.

I was glad to see them pick up on Charlie's "uncle" murder from earlier this half-season, as it felt like a dangling plot point for awhile there. I guess now that we know it was Janis on the scene, the fact that nothing has come of it from the FBI side makes perfect sense. Simon is someone they need for whatever purpose, so she'll cover up his little mess. Now that he's onto her, though, she may find out he's a bigger handful than she suspects.

[See if you can spot the clues with clips and full episodes of 'FlashForward' on SlashControl.]