Wyatt wakes up later, and Lucy tells him that Emma paid Langford to attack them. Langford tried to crash him, and Wyatt fought the man. They crashed but everyone lived except for the pilot. Jiya is removing shrapnel from her leg, and explains that her friend Molly taught her how to treat wounds in Chinatown. Wyatt confirms via the radio that the Meredith Victory sailed as planned so the entire thing was about killing them. They head for the Lifeboat to return to the present.
Connor refuses to accept that the team is dead in 1950. Denise determines that they were in a helicopter crash in North Korea. They survived but the pilot didn't, and they're killed by Chinese troops on December 25 in the massacre at Usang-ri. Denise says that they have to get there before it happens, and figures that Rittenhouse has a timeship and a pilot.
The next day, the team head for the Lifeboat and Rufus tells Lucy that he's still shipping for her and Wyatt even though they have obstacles. He says that when Carol kidnapped Lucy, they all thought that she was gone except Wyatt, who was willing to sacrifice anything to get them back. The team comes to a group of refugees heading for Hungnam, and Lucy explains that if they don't make it then they'll be killed by the new Communist regime. Wyatt figures that they have to get to the Lifeboat before nightfall, or they'll all die.
The team spots a US Army truck but the engine won't turn over. Wyatt tells Lucy and Jiya to go into the nearby church while they work on the engine. Inside, they find more refugees and take seats. Jiya talks about a cathedral in San Francisco in 1888, and going there made her feel closer to Rufus. She says that she loves him, and Rufus thinks he does but he has no idea who she is after the three years in Chinatown. Jiya is scared that she never will be.
A pregnant woman, Young-Hee, sits next to them and warns them to be quiet because there are informants everywhere. She wonders why they're there, and Lucy claims that they're war correspondents that got separated from their unit. A man hears them talking and walks out, and Young-Hee introduces herself and explains that she learned English at a missionary school. Yong-Hee came there to pray, and her husband and son went to Hungnam while she waits for their army to push the Chinese back. She figures that once they do her family will come home. Lucy, knowing what will happen, stays silent.
As they work, Rufus talks to Wyatt about the discrepancies in the timeline caused by Jessica's death. Wyatt finally says that it was his fault that Jiya was trapped in Chinatown for three years, and Rufus said that he'd never forgive him for what happened to Jiya. He admits that he'd be lying to Rufus if he never told him what happened. They get the engine working and Rufus tells Wyatt that he forgives him. The informant returns with soldiers, and Wyatt and Rufus go in to get Lucy and Jiya. Lucy says that they have to take Young-Hee to Hungnam. Wyatt warns that the port is south and the Lifeboat is north, and they won't make it in time if they go to Hungnam. Rufus and Jiwa agree with Lucy.
The soldiers break in a few minutes later and find Young-Hee and the team gone.
The team get to the truck and drive off, and the soldiers open fire but fail to stop them. Once Wyatt loses them, they come to a port and Young-Hee says that she has to wait for her family in town. Lucy warns that they may not return, but Young-Hee insists on waiting. Rufus notices that Jiya is holding a saint's medallion, and she says that she kept her faith and Rufus came back to her.
Emma finishes reading a history book about the team's death in 1950. Cahill comes in and says that Rittenhouse got her out of prison, and he knows every Rittenhouse property on the West Coast. He looks around at the historical artwork that she's collected, and says that she's greedy and selfish. Cahill says that he's come to say goodbye, and Denise comes in gun drawn. Connor is with her, and Cahill explains that he cut a deal with the government to provide protection and immunity for his teenage son, and he'll save Lucy. Cahill tells Emma that it's a family thing and she'll never understand, and walks out.
Young-Hee explains that she's a history professor and the Communist government wants her to teach a false history. She has a contraction and moans in pain, and the engine goes dead. Wyatt figures that they can walk the remaining mile to the port, despite Young-Hee's condition. They head down the road and Young-Hee goes into labor. Wyatt says that he tried to help deliver a baby in Afghanistan but the mother died.
Lucy and Rufus go to Hungnam to find a doctor, and Lucy tells him that Colonel Forney and Dr. Hyun Bong-hak got everyone out. They talk to Forney and say that they need a nurse or doctor, and Hyun says that he'll take care of it. Forney warns that the last boat leaves leave at 1400 hours, and they head out.
Wyatt warns Jiya that they can't wait for the doctor because the baby is coming.
As the trio head through Hungnam, the Communist bombardment begins and bombs land near Wyatt, Jiya, and Young-Hee. They run to the site and Wyatt comes out holding the baby and says that it was close. Jiya brings Young-Hee out, and everyone returns to Hungnam. Hyun tells Young-Hee that there was no time for recordkeeping. Her husband and son run over and hug Young-Hee, and Wyatt gives the husband his newborn daughter. Young-Hee thanks the team for everything and they go to the boat. Rufus says that all of the trucks are rigged with explosives set to go off when the Communists arrive.
As the team walk to the Lifeboat, they find a dead nun by the side of the road. Wyatt realizes that they're surrounded by Communists and they need to hide, and the team duck into an abandoned church. Rufus doesn't want to die, and Jiya says that they won't die after everything they've been through. When he makes a joke, Jiya chuckles and then says that she's glad they're together. Rufus tells her that they're still themselves and for him, there's no one else he'd rather face Communists with. Jiya agrees and they kiss.
Wyatt asks Lucy what she's thinking about, and she tells him that the last thing that Garcia said is that if they all die saving Rufus, there will be no one to save the world. When Rufus says that he isn't giving up and it's up to fate, Lucy smiles and says that she had him convinced there was no such thing. She says that after the explosion, she thought Wyatt was dead and her world ended. When Lucy held the baby, she knew that she had fallen in love with Wyatt and nothing that ever had or would happen would change that. Lucy tells Wyatt that she's loved him since early in their missions, and Wyatt says that he wanted to choose her and wishes he could take it all back. She says that Garcia already did and all they have between them is a past that only they remember. Lucy doesn't care about the past and they may not have a future, and all that matters is right now.
As Lucy and Wyatt kiss, the church bells ring and a noise sounds outside. Wyatt goes to the door and peers out, and they see Connor and Denise emerging from the Mothership. A handcuffed Emma is there, having piloted them, and she frees herself. Wyatt and Denise draw guns on her, and Emma says that she can bring Amy back. Emma admits that she admires Lucy and they would make a hell of a team. Lucy tells her that she wants it all to be over, and Emma says that she just has to trust her. Lucy doesn't, and tells Wyatt to shoot Emma if she gets any closer to her. A Communist sniper kills Emma, and the others get into the Mothership and depart.
Rufus takes them to the future-Lifeboat, and Lucy and Wyatt prepare to return in it. Wyatt suggests that their future selves wanted things to turn out differently for their present selves. He suggests that they try to get Amy back, but Lucy tells him that they've seen what happened when Garcia tried to get his family back, and Wyatt got Jessica back. She figures that it would never end if they kept trying to save their loved ones. People lose others that they love and find a way to go on.
Wyatt sets the auto-pilot and they return to 2018. Rufus and Jiya go to their quarters and celebrate their return, and Rufus asks Jiya what now. He points out that they're going to have to get new jobs, and Jiya notes that he'll get to see his family. She realizes that Rufus is asking to move in with her, and she agrees.
In their quarters, Lucy confirms that Young-Hee died in her 80s in 2007, and her daughter is a teacher just like her mother. He says that they lived because of Lucy's call, and they kiss beneath a piece of mistletoe that Denise hung up. Lucy notes that it's the first time that they've kissed in 2018, and Wyatt suggests that they make up for lost time.
The next morning, everyone gathers to celebrate Christmas. Denise hands out the scarves that she's knitted while waiting, and they share a toast to defeating Rittenhouse. Jiya wonders if it's their last family together, and Denise says that they're all free to go except Wyatt, who is assigned to special projects with her. Connor is in a foul mood, and takes out the last piece of the Mothership. He admits that a machine that powerful is too dangerous in anyone's hand. Denise says that they're keeping the Lifeboat there under armed guard to stop anyone else who creates a time machine. Rufus and Jiya cover the Lifeboat over.
At Palo Alto, in 2023, Lucy is teaching history at college and assures her students that she knows all about history. One student wonders why they're only studying woman, and she says that she didn't just have the time. Wyatt is playing with their two daughters, Flynn and Amy, and Lucy goes over to join them. The happy couple kiss, and Lucy tells him that she got tenure. They kiss and Wyatt asks if Lucy is ready for it.
Rufus and Jiya go to the opening of a community center that Jiya Industries is funding. Jiya goes over and gives her autograph to a student, Paulina, and then she and Jiya kiss. They go to the bunker where the others have arrived, and Connor says that it's under federal contract. Lucy admits that sometimes they miss saving the world, and Denise asks if they're ready to save the world one more time.
Lucy, Wyatt, and Rufus get in the Lifeboat and they travel back to Sao Paolo in 2014. Garcia is in a bar drinking on Christmas Eve, and Lucy gives him the journal as Wyatt and Rufus watch from the doorway. She says that she will be a friend, and knows what Rittenhouse did to his family. Lucy explains that one day they're going to work together, and Garcia realizes that Connor built the time machine. After a brief headache, Lucy tells Garcia that he's going to have sacrifice everything for a cause that almost no one believes in. She assures him that he will never lose his humanity, but admits that Garcia won't get his family back. Lucy promises him that he's maybe the greatest hero of them all, but he's going to need her help. She gives him the journal and tells him that he's going to save history, kisses him, and leaves with Wyatt and Rufus as Garcia looks at the journal.
Later, Garcia reads the journal, goes out, and steals the Mothership to stop Rittenhouse, and history continues as it did before.
At home, Paulina is working on her science calculations and makes a sketch of a time vessel of her own.
Written by Gadfly on Dec 21, 2018