A Riphole In Time is the third episode of season one of Future Man. It aired November 14, 2017, along with the rest of season one.
Summary[]
With their mission in 1969 failing to stop Dr. Kronish, Tiger and Wolf decide that the easiest solution is to simply kill Kronish. Reluctantly agreeing to help, Josh takes the pair to Kronish Laboratories only for Josh to realize he can’t go through with it. Navigating the ripple effects their time travel has had, Josh puts himself at risk to get in the way and save Kronish’s life. He isn’t the only one that wants to keep Kronish alive as Biotic soldiers begin to appear, having come back from 2162 to protect Kronish.
Synopsis[]
The episode starts with a flashback sequence (or flashforward, depending on how you view time) of the Resistance in 2162 preparing to steal the TTD that Tiger and Wolf use to travel back to 2017 and recruit Josh in “Pilot.” Tiger leads the Resistance through a tunnel into a Biotic trap where she crosses some thermal wire and triggers the tunnel to fill with diametric chloride (DMC) gas that kills all forty-five of the Resistance members except for Tiger and Wolf.
In 2017, Tiger, Wolf, and Josh head back to the Futturmans’ house to come up with a new plan. Josh finds a gun suddenly mounted on the wall in the home and questions it, to which Gabe and Diane tell him they’ve always had a gun—ever since the house was invaded on the night of the moon landing. Josh realizes that their actions in “Pilot” and “Herpe: Fully Loaded” have caused several changes in history as a sort of ripple effect.
Tiger and Wolf decide their new plan is to kill Dr. Kronish no matter what it takes. Josh implores them to come up with a new plan, but the best idea they can come up with is to get Kronish out of the building so no innocent people get hurt when they kill Kronish.
The trio go to Kronish Laboratories and send Josh in to lure Kronish outside. While inside, Josh discovers that due to the ripples, Dr. Stuart Camillo and Kronish are now business partners that co-own Kronish Labs. Josh discovers that losing the dance-off in 1969 shattered Kronish’s confidence in himself, causing him to take a string of lovers and contract herpes again. Partially responsible for this, Josh backs out on the plan to lure Kronish outside, instead warning the man that his life is in danger and that he needs to abandon his research.
Meanwhile, Tiger and Wolf grow impatient outside. They sneak into the lab through a focus group and fail to locate Kronish on their own. Josh tracks the pair down and admits to aborting the mission, trying again to get them to take a non-violent approach. Tiger secretly puts a tracker on Josh and tells him that if he can go talk to Kronish and get a reason not to kill the man, then she will spare his life. This is merely a trick to get Josh to lead Tiger and Wolf to Kronish so they can kill him without Josh getting in the way.
Tiger and Wolf camp out on a roof nearby while they wait for Josh to get to Kronish’s office. When he does, Josh learns that Kronish has released all of his research to the public, so killing him will not stop the cure from existing anymore. Josh tries to signal for Tiger and Wolf to stand down, but they don’t listen, shooting at Josh as well.
Biotic soldiers from 2162 arrive just in time to keep Tiger and Wolf from killing both Kronish and Josh. There is a fight outside that eventually ends with the Biotics dead. It is revealed that the Biotics are actually Josh’s coworkers. Biotics are human, and they could be anybody in the lab.
Cast[]
- Josh Hutcherson as Josh Futturman
- Eliza Coupe as Tiger
- Derek Wilson as Wolf
- Ed Begley Jr. as Gabe Futturman
- Glenne Headly as Diane Futturman
Cultural References[]
- Josh references the movie Minority Report, which Tiger thinks is some kind of actual report.
- Jeri uses the movies Freaky Friday and The Matrix as comparative answers to Josh’s question about the world being recognizable but different at the same time.
- Josh compares his experience with altered history to the end of the movie Back to the Future.
- Jeri also references Back to the Future, comparing Stu to Biff Tannen.
- There is a mention of Steve Jobs, who either no longer exists or who no one knows anymore due to the ripples.
- A woman in line for a focus group calls Tiger and Wolf Fleetwood Mac because of the way they’re dressed.
- There is an advertisement for apple iphones except, due to some alterations in history, they are now called blackapple πphones.
Gallery[]
