FlashForward, Episode 1.04: "Black Swan" (Thoughts & Theories)

Welcome to this week's analysis of episode 1.04, "Black Swan."

As a reminder, I use FF in place of flashforward and GBO to indicate the global blackout.

Al Gough (FBI)

Until this episode, we only knew that Al's FF involved an early morning meeting in London with a woman discussing the Rutherford case. A bird flew into the window during their meeting, which is an indication that the birds in that region were affected by the GBO. But now we have to ponder who Celia is, as he was searching Mosaic for her name. I'm also wondering if she is either involved with the Rutherford case or if he knew her beforehand and suspects her involvement with the GBO.

Alda Hertzog

If I'm not mistaken, there are a few photos of her on Benford's FF bulletin board. 

Even if it turns out that she wasn't involved with the GBO, it certainly seems as if she knew about it beforehand. If I had to guess, she and her co-conspirators were on their way to a location to prepare for the GBO when Benford and Noh's pursuit threw a wrinkle into their plan. 

Could Alda be a far more significant player in the GBO? Is she perhaps the White Queen?

Nicole Kirby

We learn that see that she was friends with Aaron's daughter Tracy. That fact alone leads me to believe that she is far more than a babysitter and plays a larger overall role in the GBO picture; that perhaps she knows something about Tracy's status (alive or dead) and her FF drowning may be related. 

Thus far, Nicole's FF seems to be the only one in which she dies during the 2:17. Of course she may have just seen herself passing out after being choked in the water, but it will be interesting to find out if anyone else seems themselves dying during their FF.

Lloyd Simcoe

Simcoe is a physicist and was involved with the creation of the GBO. It is now a safe assumption that the GBO was scientific in nature. 

If Simcoe was involved, he would have known exactly when it was going to take place. I'm sure that the phone call he received during his FF relates to it. But why is it that he experienced a FF rather than remaining awake like the man in the stadium? 

In Simcoe's FF, we clearly hear the sound of two children playing. Here is where there is a gaping disconnect, in my opinion. Those kids should be his son Dylan and Olivia's daughter Charlie. However, Charlie did not recognize Simcoe in the hospital after the GBO, and Simcoe did not recognize Olivia (or at least is pretending not to). 

Simon

Welcome back to the small screen, Dominic Monaghan.  For what it's worth, at Comic-Con I had the opportunity to ask series co-creater David Goyer if Dom had been cast before that infamous ABC promo aired in June, and he confirmed that he had. So they had Dom in mind when they created Simon, and knew that he would not be appearing until now. 

We know nothing about Simon, but I look forward to finding out exactly how he knows Simcoe and where he was during the GBO...if not Suspect Zero.

Bryce Varley

Is the woman from his FF and drawing going to be Janis, Nicole or someone we've already met? 

Bryce was obviously at his lowest point right before the GBO, when he was going to commit suicide on the pier. It seems odd that he would choose to do so in such a public location, especially with children walking around. Aside from that, his behavior and attitude following the GBO have made me reconsider why he was going to kill himself in the first place. I am now thinking that perhaps Varley knew what was going to happen or may have been involved himself on some level. 

Animals

There were birds flying in the air during Ned's FF, when his bus hit the water. So it appears as if birds were not affected during this GBO...at least in Los Angeles. But a bird hit the window and died in London, and an entire population of them died in Germany during the 2:17.  Were they affected in Europe alone, and if so, why?

In Alda Hertzog's FF, she mentioned that she was somewhere else and that the horses were scared. Add horses to our list of animals that survived the GBO.

Nicole's priest had a box of crickets; it is unclear whether or not that is a new batch or if that group of them survived the GBO. 

Dylan has a stuffed kangaroo in his room. Is he the connection to the kangaroo loose in NYC immediately following the GBO? Was it a gift from his father, and if so, did Simcoe's visit down under relate to the GBO?

Black and White

Let's see...we've seen the White Queen and now we're finding out about the Black Swan. Recurring theme alert. And if White is to play, Black (i.e. the blackout) is to stop...the world.

Customer Choice Restaurant Group

I don't think that Alda's clue was a wild goose chase entirely. I have a feeling that the initials (CCRG) will come into play in the near future. 

In addition, it is possible that she intended its location, Indio, to be important to Benford and Noh. Indio is a national bird sanctuary after all...

The Future

Every week we wonder whether or not they can change the future. They arrested the pot dealer in Indio, throwing a wrench into his big pimping FF. 

So if you believe that what people saw during their FF does indeed take place six months from now (versus another point in the future or in an alternate reality), we are getting proof that these visions can in fact be altered. 

[sidenote: I don't know if it's a clue or simply a nod to John Cho's role in Harold & Kumar, but this is the second week in a row that Noh has encountered someone with marijuana; first was future airport immigration officer Jerome Murphy with a bong in his house, and then the suspect in Indio with the briefcase full of baggies.]

The GBO

At least in the case of Ned, it is fascinating that the GBO has prevented the deaths of some. If he had not been that bus crash during the GBO, he may never have gone to the hospital or been diagnosed with and treated for Addison's Disease.  

Alda points out to Benford that they should be more focused on WHY the GBO occurred rather that who was responsible. Given that at the end of only the fourth episode of a brand new series, they are revealing the responsible parties...I have a strong suspicion that we should also analyze the possible reasons why someone would orchestrate such an event of that magnitude in the first place. 

Crazy Theory of the Week

Noh's fiance Zoey is associated with 3S (the big three, at least thus far): Suspect Zero, Simon and Simcoe. She is a criminal lawyer who found herself on the wrong side of the law after being blackmailed to (hopefully) save her future husband's life. That is why she planted the seed with Noh that Alda is being held without an attorney; Zoey will probably be the one who winds up defending her. 

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Apologies for the shorter post; I finally recovered from illness and just returned from a brief vacation! Thank you again for reading and for your comments. I'm sure that I missed something this week, so enlighten me my friends! See you next week.

-Jo