12 Monkeys Episode 2 Recap: The North Koreans Called

In "Mentally Divergent" Cole is sent back from 2043 to question the psychiatric patient we saw last week. Her name is Jennifer Goines. Guess who her daddy is (or was)? Instead Cole ends up North Korea in 2006 (after Jones assured him they would splinter him to Philadelphia in 2015 "right on the money"). Too funny. Thanks to his time in North Korea, Aaron is later able to find Cole's name in a CIA database. This is what eventually gives Cassie the address of the mental hospital.

Trust Me, I Got This Time Travel Thing Figured Out...Sorta

James is told by Jones that he must NOT make contact with Dr Railly. Cassie leaves the message for them in 2017 (her future and their past) so he can not do anything to affect her timeline. If so, Cassie might never exist. Thus, they in the future would never receive the clues she left (and mankind would be doomed).

I Hope This Doesnt End Badly

Luckily Cole is splintered out of North Korea before they can torture him for intel and/or kill him. Off to the mental hospital in 2015 he goes. James meets Jennifer Goines. Jen is a whackjob but manages to impart some useful info in between her ramblings. Two people know the location of the secret lab that holds the virus> It's in the "night room". She's one of the two. And oh yeah, she likes numbers. On a side note, what are they watching on TV in mental hospitals these days...cause I dont think a show about Satan is necessarily good for the patients. Just saying.

Remember That Preacher From "Poltergeist"? Im Getting The Same Vibe From This Scary Dude.

Dr Railly is hiding out in her grandparents abandoned bookstore. Books, how quaint. Cassie is trying to figure out whats up and clear her name. She later finds Jeremy dead at his house. He's covered with flower petals (lavender) for some reason. I dont know why. The killer is still in the house. We dont learn his name. SyFy calls him "The Pallid Man". I'm referring to him as the Man In Black. If she keeps asking questions, she'll end up covered in flowers too (and not in a good way). He wants to know where Cole is but Cassie has no idea.

Later she arrives at the hospital (courtesy of Aaron's sleuthing skills). She pretends to be there to transfer Cole to another facility. Before they can leave, the Man in Black (and his ski masked henchman) arrive and kidnap Jennifer. Cole chases him but doesnt get far. We see in a flashback that the Man in Black previously killed Jennifer's coworkers. He is part of the Army of 12 Monkeys. What is he going to do to her now? And who are the masked guys. I'd bet one is Aaron or perhaps Ramse? See my theory below.

The Gang

We learn a little more about Ramse (Cole's friend in the future). He has made some strange observations which lead me to believe he's up to something. For one, he says Cole has changed since he started splintering. I have no idea what that means. Maybe Cole has gained weight since the food is good and plentiful in 2015? My guess is Ramse is a double agent time traveler. Might he be one of the masked men working for the Man in Black?

On an aside: We learned last week that Cole had met Leland Goines back in 1987. This week Jones tells him they arent capable of sending him back that far currently.

Favorite Quotes:

"Time is cruel Mr Cole. I've learned enough about it to fear it."- Jones to Cole.
"I dont care about your paradox bullshit Cole. Shut up and listen to me."- Cassie.
"Hello Jennifer. We have work to do."- The Man In Black.
"Am I going to die?"- Jennifer. "Not today."- The Man in Black after he injects her with some substance.
"I dont want to do this to you. I dont, but if you ignore this message and make some kind of attempt to scream or to contact the authorities, I will."-The Man in Black to Cassie.
"Just remember you're not from there, you're from here. We do what we have to do."- Ramse to Cole. Hmm, exactly what does that mean?
Cole: "How did you find me?" Cassie: "The North Koreans called." Best line of the night.

Grade: 4 Monsters (out of 5). "12 Monkeys" is moving along. So far I'm enjoying it. In case you didnt know, SyFy released the first 3 episodes ahead of time. I'm reviewing them as they air on TV though. Half the fun is seeing what everyone is tweeting during the show. Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.