Timeless (TV series)

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Fandom
Name: Timeless
Abbreviation(s): None
Creator: Erik Kripke and Shawn Ryan
Date(s): October 3, 2016 - December 20, 2018
Medium: Live-Action TV Series
Country of Origin: United States
External Links: Wikipedia: Timeless (TV Series)
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Timeless was a time travel television series that premiered on NBC October 3, 2016.

It was decided in a poll that fans of the show would be called "Clockblockers," a suggestion by actor Malcolm Barrett, and not "TimeFandits," a suggestion by show creator Eric Kripke. Some fans, however, refused to respond due to the agreed moniker due to its crude pun.

Canon

Plot

Timeless follows the Time Team on time travel missions throughout the past and present. During season one, the Team consisted of Lucy, Wyatt, and Rufus (with aid of Agent Christopher, Jiya, and Connor Mason) against Garcia Flynn and his crusade to destroy the true villain: Rittenhouse, a shadow agency manipulating society for over two hundred years. At the end of the season, the Time Team understood that, though his methods were unconventional, Flynn's target was the correct one. The second season subsisted of Flynn joining the Team to continue fighting Rittenhouse and their attempt to change the past in their favor.

Characters

Main
  • Lucy Preston, a university historian whose world is changed when she is brought into the time travel project to stop Flynn from altering history.
  • Garcia Flynn, an antagonist originally thought to be the main villain due to his aggressive determination to change established history.
  • Wyatt Logan, a soldier brought onto the team to eliminate Flynn.
  • Rufus Carlin, a programmer for the time machine, the Lifeboat, and its only remaining pilot after Flynn kidnaps the primary.
Recurring
  • Connor Mason
  • Denise Christopher
  • Jiya Marri
  • Anthony Bruhl, the more experienced time machine pilot and Rufus's mentor. He is kidnapped by Flynn in the beginning only for it to be revealed that they were working together.
  • Emma Whitmore
  • Jessica Logan, Wyatt's wife who was killed in the original timeline but brought back in season two.
  • Carol Preston
  • Benjamin Cahill
  • Karl, Flynn's omnipresent henchman throughout season one. Unlike Stiv, Karl's cooperation seemed more driven by profit than loyalty. Despite Karl's limited part during the series, he still garnered a small, passionate following from fans.
  • Noah, Lucy's fiancé in the newly created timeline. She has no memory of him, despite Noah being in love with her. Due to his kindness and her guilt, Lucy makes multiple attempts to make a relationship work with Noah, but she breaks up with him in the season one finale after acknowledging she cannot tell him the truth.
  • Nicholas Keynes, Lucy's great-grandfather who died during World War I. It was his radical theories which led to the idea of Rittenhouse changing the past in their favor and the eventual funding of the time machines. Using the Mothership, Rittenhouse prevents his death in the premiere of season two and brought him back to present day. He went on to be a primary villain for the season.
Minor
  • Amy Preston
  • Kate Drummond, a fictional 1940s journalist who was fated to die in the original Hindenburg explosion. When it was prevented, her death was delayed, but in the end, she was fatally shot. Wyatt was captivated by her due to a resemblance to his deceased wife.
  • Stiv Casey, Flynn's devoted second-in-command seen only in the Pilot episode before going down with the Hindenburg.
  • Dave "Bam-Bam" Baumgardner, a soldier and Wyatt's threatened replacement during episode 1x05 before actually replacing him in 1x14. Despite a short tenure ended by his death, the character was liked by fans and preferred over Wyatt by some.
  • Lorena Flynn, Flynn's deceased wife, killed by Rittenhouse.
  • Iris Flynn, Flynn's deceased daughter, killed by Rittenhouse.
  • Ethan Cahill
  • David Rittenhouse, founder of Rittenhouse organization and Lucy's ancestor.
  • John Rittenhouse, son of David Rittenhouse who saw his father's vision to fruition after David was murdered by Flynn. When Flynn tried killing John as well on the chance he agreed with his father's philosophy, Lucy stopped him due to John only being a child at the time. John managed to escape, and it was confirmed by the continued existence of Rittenhouse that he did continue where his father left off. John is also Lucy's ancestor.

Cancelled Three Times

Originally slated for thirteen episodes, the success of the Pilot caused NBC pick the series up for an additional three episodes in its inaugural season. Despite its initial popularity, ratings slumped after the winter hiatus following the tenth episode on December 12, 2016. Fans have cited poor advertising as the reason, which left many viewers unaware the show would return a month later on January 16, 2017. On May 10, 2017, NBC cancelled the series after one season. However, fan outcry caused them to reverse that decision three days later, to the surprise of fans and even the actors. Multiple actors published videos on their social media accounts of themselves in character, playing that they went back in time and altered the past to reverse NBC's decision.

Timeless's second season premiered on March 11, 2018 to poor ratings. Following the conclusion of its ten-episode season, NBC cancelled the series yet again on June 22, 2018. Executives kept the door open for fans, letting them know negotiations for a wrap-up movie was on the table. On July 31, 2018, NBC announced it had ordered a two-part finale to properly conclude the series, which aired on December 20, 2018. While some fans praised the final chapter as encapsulating everything they wanted, many more found it failed to efficiently wrap the series and answer the plot-related questions which existed the life of the series.

Tumblr pkzq0xMtXU1qhdmtjo1 1280.jpg

Shipping

Despite Wyatt/Lucy being the canon endgame pairing in the series, Flynn/Lucy maintains an active fan presence and leads in fan content on twitter, tumblr, and Archive of Our Own by a wide margin. Some ships were more popular than others due to canon standing or a noticeable collection of fan content, while others exist on a smaller scale or as humorous jokes.

The current top ships as ranked by content on AO3 are:

  • Garcy Garcia Flynn/Lucy Preston
  • Lyatt Wyatt Logan/Lucy Preston
  • Riya Rufus Carlin/Jiya Marri
  • Wyjess Wyatt Logan/Jessica Logan
  • Garcyatt Garcia Flynn/Lucy Preston/Wyatt Logan
  • Flogan Garcia Flynn/Wyatt Logan
  • Lorynn Garcia Flynn/Lorena Flynn
See Full List of Timeless Ships

Fan Theories

  • Lucy was Flynn's Wife
  • Wyatt Killed Jessica Due to the conditions of Jessica's resurrection in season two, it became suspicious to some fans whether or not her husband Wyatt had a more overt hand in her original death four years before the start of the series. According to Lucy's journal, the details of Jessica's death were that the couple was at a bar when Jessica ran into an old boyfriend. Wyatt's jealousy led to an argument during their car ride home, and when Jessica could no longer take it, she demanded to be let out on the side of the road. Wyatt stopped the car and let her out, but when he later returned to his sense and came back for her, she was missing. Two weeks later, she was found strangled in the bushes. It was initially believed that the murder committed by Wes Gilliam, a man incarcerated for killing two other women. However, when Wyatt erased Gilliam from history in 1x13, Jessica was not returned to life, leading to the conclusion he was never responsible. The killer was someone else. Jessica was not resurrected until season two by Rittenhouse's intervention. The circumstances of their success were left unclear until the finale movie, wherein, during her argument with Wyatt, Jessica is seen receiving a text from a Rittenhouse agent telling her to get out of the car, thus saving her life. Fans drew the clear conclusion that getting out of the car was never what doomed Jessica. If her killer were on the side of the road, Rittenhouse should have told her to stay safely in the car with her husband. The evidence led fans to assert that her killer was in the car, and escaping it was what saved her life that night. It is theorized that Wyatt, drunk and angry, murdered Jessica in a crime of passion, with strangulation often being the modus operandi in such cases. When one of the writers for the movie, Lauren Greer, was questioned about the conclusions on twitter, she reasserted Rittenhouse was saving Jessica's life before ceasing her replies against fans' reasoning that Wyatt as the murderer begins to make the most sense.
  • Flynn is the Father of Lucy's Twin Daughters Though unsupported by much evidence due to the plot point of Lucy's daughters being seen only briefly at the end of the series, some fans believe that the father of the twins, Amy and Flynn, is not her future husband Wyatt but Garcia Flynn, conceived before his death. This theory is purported mainly by Garcy shippers and hinges on the fact that with their dark hair and general appearance, the girls resemble Flynn while looking nothing like Wyatt. Some fans have embraced this theory for strictly comedic purposes (see: Murder Twins).
  • The Series Ends with Noah/Lucy Relationship Following the events of the Hindenburg explosion in the Pilot, Lucy's sister Amy was erased from existence. In the created timeline, instead of a sister, Lucy had a fiancé named Noah. Despite struggling the entire series to bring back the original timeline and Amy, Lucy decides in the finale movie to stop changing the past. She then commits herself to a relationship with Wyatt and the acknowledgment that the events of the series must be cyclical. At the end, she returns to Flynn in 2015 and gives him her journal so that the series can repeat itself. However, because Lucy never saved her sister, the timeline cannot play in a loop with a seamless return to Pilot events. Unless Amy were saved, the characters now exist in the universe where Lucy was engaged to Noah. When Flynn steals the Mothership and begins the chase through time, the Lucy brought in will have never had a sister but would have a fiancé she loved. (Along with this, all historical changes made throughout the series would also be their new reality. Ex: An unknown gunman shooting President Lincoln instead of John Wilkes Booth.) It creates a reality where the series ends with Lucy in love with Noah, not Wyatt. When questioned about the inconsistency and paradox on twitter, writer Arika Lisanne Mittman maintained the series was a perfect loop until presented with a visual graph explaining otherwise.
  • Lucy is Flynn's Daughter This theory was spread amongst some fans nearer to the beginning of the series. Though there was no legitimate evidence for the theory, fans believed that there would be a revealed twist regarding time travel and familial relations. Due to Flynn mentioning the gender of his lost child during 1x06, fans began to think that he had saved her— or would save her— on the night of her death and that she was implanted in the past to remain safe.
  • Flynn is Lucy's Son Similar to the theory that Lucy is Flynn's daughter, fans also posited the reverse idea that he was her son out of want for a complex time travel twist and to explain their unique bond. Fans proposed that Flynn was from the future, and that was why he had her journal: it was given to him by his mother. Despite episode 1x08, where viewers where introduced to Flynn's canonical mother Maria Thompkins, some fans held onto the belief of a familial relationship between Flynn and Lucy. More cynical fans have admitted that they only pushed the theory out of a desire to invalidate Flynn/Lucy as a romantic option for one another.
  • Stiv and Flynn's Relationship A theory put forth primarily in a tumblr post by user Twilight-Deviant. The theory builds on the importance of Stiv Casey, a minor character introduced and killed off in the Pilot, and why he had such dedication to the mission against Rittenhouse, as well as why Flynn seemed to put so much trust in him. Unlike future henchman, whom Flynn treated as subordinates, Stiv is seen as Flynn's second shadow and equal throughout the Hindenburg mission. Flynn trusts him with knowledge of Lucy's journal and with investigating the circumstances involved when the Hindenburg does not take off like they expect. While fighting Kate and Wyatt on the airship, Stiv is determined that the bomb go off and takes down the Hindenburg, even if it costs his life, a fact confirmed in the Pilot script. The theory questions the dedication and trust between the two men while arriving at multiple conclusions for it, such as they served together in the army or that Stiv was Lorena's brother, Flynn's brother-in-law.
  • Wyatt as Rittenhouse The idea that Wyatt was an agent of Rittenhouse is founded on the notion that the canon alternative makes less sense. In the series, it is not until the end of season one that Rittenhouse finally installs one of their own to assassinate Garcia Flynn, their greatest threat. Fans pointed out that it would have been more reasonable for Rittenhouse to put a Rittenhouse agent on the Time Team from the beginning and none more logical than the soldier, the most exchangeable member and the one responsible for killing Flynn. It would also give them a more characteristically active role in fighting Flynn than having Rufus passively record audio of their trips for the first several episodes. Wyatt as Rittenhouse also explains his unwavering determination to kill Flynn, even after Rittenhouse was proven to be the larger, more significant threat. To fit the theory into canon, it has been posited that Rittenhouse killed Jessica as Wyatt's demonstration of loyalty, just as Emma was made to stay in the 19th century woods. Rittenhouse putting a hit out on Jessica explains why even after erasing Wes Gilliam (whose blood was at Jessica's murder scene), she was still killed, because they simply had a backup assassin. (See: Wes Gilliam as Rittenhouse.) Wyatt was promised that if he were loyal to Rittenhouse, they would use their time machine to one day bring back his wife, but he had to be patient and obedient. However, their time machine is stolen by Flynn, and Wyatt's promise goes with it. He can do nothing but continue following orders, however, because he does not know who Rittenhouse sent to kill Jessica, not until Flynn tells him. Finally, when he grows impatient and does not feel he can trust Rittenhouse to deliver as they have no time machine, Wyatt tries to save Jessica himself in 1x13. He fails and his loyalty wavers as he begins letting Jessica go while becoming closer with his team. In response, after recovering the Mothership, Rittenhouse brings Jessica back to remind him of his true loyalties. The theory survived as a fanon AU discussed back and forth due to the fact nothing in canon overtly contradicted it and because it would finally give Wyatt a connection to the larger plot. Despite contradictions that Wyatt acted against Rittenhouse at times, it can be pointed out that Emma behaved the same way in season one until she, a sleeper agent, was activated.
  • Noah as Rittenhouse Due to familiarity with Carol and the kind, understanding nature of Lucy's sudden fiancé Noah, some fans theorized that he was Rittenhouse, being "too good to be true." The theory never saw confirmation, however, leaving fans with a recurring character who was simply that nice and considerate.
  • Wes Gilliam as Rittenhouse The notion that Wes Gilliam was Rittenhouse began by picking up on clues from his mother Claire in 1983 when she tells Wyatt that she ran away from home after a cryptic falling out with her mother. It mirrors other mentions of families telling their children about the Rittenhouse organization once they become of age. Benjamin Cahill states that, despite coming around, it took him a long time to come to terms with it. The account he gives of his father Ethan learning the truth is that he "ran away when he was told." The theory elaborates that, like Ethan, Claire was running away from being part of Rittenhouse, until she became pregnant with Wes and returned home. Adding to the believe that the family was Rittenhouse are the untold circumstances surrounding Jessica's death. Despite being an accused serial killer, Gilliam expresses regret for Jessica's death, claiming he would take it back if he could. His choice of phrase implies he feels remorse after the fact or that he never did it of his own volition in the first place, that it was under an order or duress. Other peculiarities to support the theory include the fact that Flynn received Gilliam's name from sources higher than local cops. His source traced Gilliam's DNA from the blood found at the scene but did not report it to the local authorities so that Gilliam could be charged with the murder. It implies that someone up the chain purposefully concealed the evidence, protecting Gilliam from conviction for Jessica's death. However, he would go on to kill two more women, for whom he did not receive assistance or clemency. The potential to elaborate on the Gilliam family and whether Wes was a part of Rittenhouse could have been followed up after season one, but writers chose to abandon the premise entirely. Any truth of the theory in Wes's character and backstory remained untapped.
  • Kate Drummond: Woman Out of Time A fan theory based off trailers before the show premiered. Because of how the trailer was cut, showing the fictional Kate Drummond's death and proceeded by the words, "History Will be Rewritten," it was believed her fate would be altered and the character would survive. However, due to the fact she was meant to die, her continued presence in 1937 would upset the timeline, meaning that, if she were to live, she could not do it there. The theory made assumptions (without future canon knowledge of the Lifeboat's three-person capacity) that Kate would return to present-day with the team and the series would explore the "Man Out of Time" trope with her character. However, following the premiere of the Pilot, it became clear that Kate was a one-off character who suffered a different ending but the same fate.

Fan Jokes

  • Moses Logan A commentary that upon Jessica's pregnancy announcement to her husband Wyatt, Lyatt shippers would be unable to move past it and ship him with Lucy again unless the child were gone. It begat a joke that they would have to put the child in a basket and send him down the river, like Moses in the story from the Bible, rather than accept the fact Wyatt had a child with his wife. When the finale movie premiered, it was confirmed in the first few minutes that Jessica lied about her pregnancy, thus clearing the way for the Lyatt ship while confirming that Moses Logan had to go.
  • The Garcy Millionaire Between the hiatus of season two and the finale movie, Timeless writers released deleted scenes from the second season on their twitter. When one of these deleted scenes featured an endearing scene between Flynn and Lucy, the video gained overnight attention. The intense popularity led to opposing shippers alleging that Garcy fans were buying bots to bolster views in an attempt to make the ship appear popular. One antagonist to the ship even vilified shippers for "buying hits" instead of donating to causes such as cancer. As views on the video grew beyond what any person or group of people would reasonably spend, however, a joke arose that no one would throw so much money at such a low stakes cause unless they had vast amounts of disposable income. Garcy shippers embraced the notion and created a fictitious figure known as The Garcy Millionaire, their benevolent benefactor. To date, there is no existing evidence that views were bought or that the popularity was anything other than fans repeatedly watching the video.
  • Lyatt Spiral Lyatt fans often began a chain of tweets with gifs of the ship, tagging the posts with the series's hashtags in an attempt to make it trend on Twitter. The belief worked in opposition of Twitter's algorithm (made to keep only new topics trending), but it would cause Timeless to appear in one account's weekly round-up of frequently mentioned television series.
  • Fluits VS Flurtleneck
  • The Writers Don't Understand Time Travel— Or Time There were multiple instances where fans had to correct writers about time traveling anomalies as well as basic matters such as character ages. While some fans found the constant canonical mistakes frustrating, others joked over writers' inability to understand the principle upon which the show was based.
  • "An Impossible Situation" After Jessica was returned to life in season two and Wyatt went back to her over pursuing his new relationship with Lucy, many non-Lyatt shippers mocked the often-repeated defense by shippers and writers that Wyatt was put in an "impossible situation" and was not wholly responsible for his forced decision. Despite claims it was unprecedented, the exact situation played out in Once Upon a Time (TV series) when Robin Hood (OUAT)'s deceased wife Marian was returned to him through time travel at the moment he and Regina Mills came together in the Outlaw Queen relationship. Despite being torn, Robin still chose Regina over Marian, though Regina repeatedly tried to do "the right thing" and insist he be with his resurrected wife. Even with a precedent of the exact situation existing, those in Timeless insisted Wyatt had no choice in being with Jessica, though when he was first reunited with her, Jessica presented him with divorce papers and no wish to continue the relationship. She gave him a second chance per Wyatt's insistence.
  • São Gorlo
  • [Garcy] Goats Started as a joke among Garcy fans on twitter in early 2019. At first, as a laugh-off that Garcy fans had been treated like scapegoats of any show's failure by anti-Garcy fans. From the show's failed attempt to trend on twitter to fail of getting renewed for season 3 despite the effort of some Timeless fans, which included sending paperclips to Amazon HQ and surprising journalists with gifts in their hotel rooms at a random conference. Anti-Garcy fans have expressed a resentment that Garcy folks refused to spend money on gifts for Jeff Bezos and chose charity instead. But more importantly, the goat meme has become popular within Garcy twitter, because goats are cute. It was eventually discovered by a twitter garcy fan Lia that Croatia national flag also features a goat. Croatia being Garcia Flynn's father motherland, where the time bandit has also served in an army as a teen. Garcy's and their unhinged humor were impossible to stop after that discovery.
  • The Last Strawberry Strawberries are one of the things the Garcy fans love. But the origin of this story is far more dramatic, far more damaging to a soul. Originally, a garcy fan made a typo while trying to say that a particular thing about the forecoming Christmas Finale sounded upsetting, "it was my last straw." Only they typed in "It was my last strawberry" instead. The rest is history. The expression is used both to comment on something negative about the show and for random shitposting purposes.
  • Character Days A tradition to dedicate a day of the week to a Timeless character and post graphics, meta and other appreciation content. Started on twitter in 2018, been mostly popular on twitter and other media, including tumblr and instagram.
    • Flynn Friday (#FlynnFriday tag on twitter) The tag blew up on twitter in spring 2018 after the beginning of season 2, when the fans became more active on this medium and Garcia Flynn fanbase started to grow in geometric progression. The tag speaks for itself: post something cool about the time bandit on a Friday. Enjoy yourself. Repeat. Even Timeless creators know that. While the fandom activity has slowed down over the years, the tag is still used by Flynn fans to this day. The tag has largely inspired other Timeless fandom tags of the same purpose.
    • Lucy Monday (#LunesdeLucy tag on twitter) The tag to celebrate the beloved historian who is the heart of Timeless.
    • Rufus Thursday (#RufusThursday tag on twitter) Everyone's favorite time machine pilot and engineering genius Rufus Carlin wants some chocolate and love on Thursdays. That's the rule.
    • Karl Sunday (#KarlSunday tag on twitter) The infamous Flynn's henchman and the third wheel when it came to witness his boss's obvious affection of his rival-turned prisoner-turned? time-traveling acquaintance Lucy Preston. People loved the boy.
  • Murder Twins A joke that the father of Lucy's twin daughters, Amy and Flynn, is not Wyatt but Garcia Flynn. Fans of the joke asserted that the twins would inherit his "violent tendencies" and begin murdering at a young age. Multiple photo manipulations were created of young, creepy girls that had Goran Višnjić's face. This one is highly appraised as the flagman art, though there are more of them that actually depict the said "tendencies".
  • Lart Born from a typo that misrepresented Wyatt's name as "Wart," fans reached the obvious next conclusion that the Lyatt ship would then be called "Lart." It is used in a derogatory manner by anti-Lyatt shippers when referring to the ship or those who ship it.
  • Limeless When one fan attempted spelling out the Timeless title with clock emojis on twitter, the formatting slipped and turned the beginning T into an L. It began a humorous expansion on the new sister show, Limeless, much like the original but with more limes. Limeless is pitched as, "Timeless but more fun," as it inherently about making jokes and not taking the source material too serious.

Revival Efforts

  • Paperclips
  • Lifesavers to Hotel Rooms It was one of the campaign's efforts to send Timeless-themed Lifesaver candies to journalists' hotel rooms hoping for positive press on the show. Multiple journalists involved publicly tweeted that the gesture unnerved them as they did not like the idea that strangers had access to their rooms, even if it was through the hotel, as it would open a door to other fan campaigns in the future or to fans with less innocent intentions. In response to their objections, the Timeless fans responsible condemned them as entitled and ungrateful.

Ship Wars

Initially hailed as a series without ship wars, the energy of the Timeless fandom suffered a steep decline following season two. During the first season, there were differences of opinions with ships, and despite a few squabbles, most fans kept a mature, "Agree to disagree," outlook. Many rejoiced in the non-toxic environment. When the second season premiered, fans (including previous Lyatt shippers) were thrown off by the speed at which Wyatt and Lucy were rushed together (for the sake of fitting the arc into a shorter season). From the season one finale leaving the characters "open to possibilities" to Rufus one episode later accusing Wyatt of being in love, some fans experienced a sensation of "whiplash" with characterizations and rationalization within the romance arc. By the second episode of season two, Lucy and Wyatt were shut in a car trunk together in Forced Proximity and nearly kissed; further fans fell off the ship and some from the show entirely. It was the third episode when the relationship was pushed to both characters confessing their feelings, kissing, and sleeping together while in the past on a mission. While many Lyatt shippers held on and were delighted having the relationship confirmed, there were others that were turned off by the quick pace at which it happened. 2x03 was also an episode where the season saw one of its greatest ratings drops. While no one can vouch for every person's motive in leaving the series, some confessed they were not interested by a sci-fi show giving so much focus to romance arcs.

Within the span of the second season's third episode, Timeless saw the brief rise and fall of Lyatt as the couple consummated their relationship only for Wyatt to leave Lucy at the end when it was revealed to him that his late wife Jessica was alive once more. The timing of Lyatt's pacing coincided with the rise of Garcy as a ship in the very next episode. While some jumped the Lyatt ship after dissatisfaction of 2x03, more left it after seeing the potential chemistry between Flynn and Lucy as they were sent on a mission with Rufus to Salem in the 1600s and Flynn immediately labeled them as a married couple. The Garcy ship gained immediate popularity within the fandom. Unfortunately, this caused the previously quiet or non-existence schism between the ships to explode as former Lyatt shippers were labeled traitors and new or old Garcy shippers told writers on twitter that they hoped for more exploration of the relationship between Flynn and Lucy. Wyatt/Lucy shippers became more defensive of their ship, insisting Garcy was fleeting, only friends, acted more like siblings, would be revealed to be secretly related, or that shippers were supporting abuse due to Flynn's past actions towards Lucy when he was the antagonist (including grabbing her by the throat to stop her from saving Lincoln and kidnapping her when she stopped him from killing John Rittenhouse). Lyatt shippers insisted nothing would or should come of the Garcy ship and that Wyatt and Lucy must be reunited before the end of the season. Tension escalated as Wyatt was confirmed wanting to try again with his wife (beginning the Wyjess ship) while Lucy, neglected by Wyatt, grew closer to Flynn. Some fans were appalled by the show's repeated message of feminism being questioned when Wyatt resumed sex with his wife but tried to shame Lucy when he caught her coming out of Flynn's room one morning (though nothing sexual happened between the characters). The feminist message of the show felt further lost as fans began to vilify Jessica, using degrading, anti-feminist terms such as "bitch" against her as well as other fans.

When the fandom's atmosphere devolved into further antagonism, some fans (primarily Garcy shippers) began blocking those with whom they no longer wanted to argue. As it worsened, fans began preemptively blocking anyone with opposing view points to prevent future arguments. This move was ridiculed by those blocked that some people were too sensitive to acknowledge people shipped something else. Despite being blocked, fans often went around the boundary through different means to spy on the blocking accounts while still claiming they were faultlessly being baited into harassment.

Lyatt shippers took criticisms of the Wyatt character personally despite those with the problems citing personal reasons why his actions upset them. Multiple anti-Lyatt shippers confessed that some of his behavior throughout the series (especially season two) came too close to personal experiences with abuse. While anti-Garcy shippers claimed the same of Flynn's behavior, despite its more fanciful, unrelatable elements, such as kidnapping Lucy through time travel. Those against Garcy cited numerous other objections to the ship. Some where more understandable but others were less so, like condemning the characters' eight-year age difference, despite the accepted canon couple of Rufus and Jiya being the same eight years apart.

Doxxing

There were multiple instances of doxxing within the Timeless fandom, exclusively Lyatt shippers doxxing Garcy shippers as an intimidation tactic. Of the multiple throw-away twitter accounts Lyatt shippers created to repost screenshots of Garcy tweets, one such tweet addressed a Garcy shipper by their first name, though the victim had not disclosed that information publicly on their twitter. Another Garcy shipper witnessed a twitter account created using their real first and last name, then having that account addressed on the Lyatt intimidation twitter while tagging them so they would see it.

The most severe case came when one Garcy shipper was approached by her boss at work and reprimanded for a fictitious report that she "disrespected the military and should be fired" after receiving an anonymous email. Though her boss knew the complaint was false due to the victim's sister being enlisted and took no action against her, the victim was terrified for some time, at that point unsure of how low the attacks would sink and if it would come to physical harassment once they knew her name and general location.

Criticism

Fandom

  • Common tropes in fanworks Since the air of the two-episode finale on December 20, 2018, the popular tags for the show on Archive of Our Own have become Fix-it and Christmas Isn't Canon (with variations), reflecting many Garcy, Lorynn, Flynn, Riya and other non-Lyatt fans' astonishment at writers decisions in the said finale.
  • Fandom backlash after Flynn's death Many fans from different corners of the fandom were surprised by the finale writers Arika Lisanne Mittman and Lauren Greer's decision to kill off Garcia Flynn. Things escalated as the main writer for the finale, Arika Mittman explained in her post-finale twitter post, that this decision had been made because 1) the production couldn't have appointed Garcia Flynn's actor Goran Visnjic for many scenes [because he was filming another project] and 2) Arika personally thought that after killing A. Lincoln and other things Garcia Flynn had done he was unlikely to deserve a happy ending. She also pointed that the finale had enough of happy endings. On the heel of losing their favorite character, numerous fans found it an unnecessarily cruel answer.
A few reasons. One, we had a lot of happy endings. Two, Goran was only available for part of our filming time. Three, I don't know that after all Flynn has done (killing Anthony, killing the astronaut, killing Lincoln!) that he does deserve a happy ending...

https://twitter.com/arikalisanne/status/1076186224719622144

  • Fandom Post-Finale Consensus Following months after the finale, most non-Lyatt (and some Lyatt) fans have agreed that treating 2x11 and 2x12 as non-canon would be the best way to keep on the fandom energy and continue to enjoy things fans love about the show. Since then, the two-episode finale is often referred to as "The Christmas Movie", "The Wyatt Movie" and in some cases "The Arika Movie", due to the finale writer Arika Mittman's openly-expressed bias over the years and her sudden decision to focus on making Wyatt the center of the story at the expense of other characters, including the protagonist Lucy Preston.
  • Jessica as Rittenhouse Almost immediately after Jessica's introduction at the end of 2x03, some fans (primarily Lyatt shippers) looked for reasons to criticize the character. Because Rittenhouse was responsible for bringing Jessica back to life, it crossed the minds of most fans that Rittenhouse might be pulling some strings with her, though many hoped otherwise. Despite which side fans fell on for which desired outcome, it was predictable to almost everyone when the Rittenhouse Jessica "twist" was introduced at the end of 2x09. While some Lyatt shippers were glad to be proven right in their vilification of Jessica, believing it would clear the way for the return of their ship, others found that it weakened Wyatt's choice if he went back to Lucy only afterwards, having not done so of his own volition sooner, propelled by nothing but a love for her. Further dividing the reactions were those who became fans of Jessica and the WyJess ship and did not appreciate that after dying because of Wyatt in the initial timeline, her backstory was then altered to include brainwashing by the show's primary antagonist because of him. Despite being another victim of Rittenhouse, writers chose to portray the character as a villain following the discovery. When Jessica was accused of lying about her pregnancy in the wrap-up movie and murdered in 2012 with Wyatt's consent, it soured fans' opinion of the writers further, where Jessica was concerned.

Media

When a NYT bestselling author, who had just discovered the show a week before and binged it, posted a thread on twitter with her thoughts on the Christmas Movie, pointing out that killing Garcia Flynn was a writer's choice to push Lucy and Wyatt together and that Wyatt did not face any consequences for his actions - she was immediately attacked by Lyatt fans, who, among other things, threatened the author to never read her books because of her opinion on the show.

killing Flynn was so not how the emotional dominoes would fall. It was just so Lucy and Wyatt could get together without him in the way. I don't believe he wouldn't have gotten back in the lifeboat.

https://twitter.com/stdennard/status/1079215178904940544

Also, Wyatt was unforgivable.

No comment on the actor (I thought he was great), but the way his character handled "two ladies" was absolute crap. And the narrative didn't show consequences for that.

He was jealous, which is unacceptable anyway. But especially when...

https://twitter.com/stdennard/status/1079216016360652800

...he chose wife over Lucy. You don't get to have feelings for her and show them after that. Deal with it. Also, the fact that he chose Jessica over the whole team somehow becomes Jessica's fault and not his...? Rufus dies because of him and the narrative just glosses over it.

https://twitter.com/stdennard/status/1079216598068666369

Example Fanworks

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References

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