Well, at least they're going out with a bang.

Lucy, Wyatt and Rufus are on the run through time on Timeless Season 1 Episode 15.

Sadly, they aren't able to escape their destiny: foiling whatever the hell's Flynn up to.

They are taking a different tack, following Wyatt's philosophy of "One step at a time."

It seems he adopted this from one of his military instructors, who jumped out of a burning plane with no parachute. When he was asked why, he said, "Well, the plane was on fire. So one step at a time."

Good a plan as any. It served them well, right up until the cliffhanger.

I loved how they managed to get out from under the thumb of the new regime at Mason Industries.

Agree to take on an abhorrent mission, tranq the substitute soldier, then jump back to an abandoned warehouse where Wyatt and Christopher were waiting. 

It was Wyatt's plan, but somehow the two dubious action heroes pulled it off, without Lucy accidentally shooting anyone.

They can now go anywhere in time. Wyatt had a solid suggestion: rescue Lucy's sister Amy.

However, Flynn jumped again, and they were faced with a difficult decision: Chase Flynn or save Amy.

Unlike Wyatt, Lucy put aside her personal agenda so they could go after Flynn.

It must be that Spock "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" kind of logic.

Why us? Because we're it.

Wyatt

• Permalink: Why us? Because we're it.

Explain to me how killing an innocent to prevent Flynn from being born is worse than not finding a way for Amy to exist.

It's one less person either way, but it must come down to the ripple effect in time. Too existential for me.

Anyway, their first step upon arriving in 1931 Chicago wasn't finding a time-appropriate wardrobe, obviously. Instead, they had to find a way to arrest Capone once his tax-evasion charge got tossed thanks to Flynn.

So naturally, they recruit the untouchable Eliot Ness.

I can't believe Ness got killed off after only a couple of scenes. Misha Collins does his old boss, Eric Kripke, a solid by appearing on Kripke's new show, and this is the thanks he gets?

At least Jim Beaver is still on the series, even though his character Neville is a real dick.

So what does Lucy do? She conjures up a footnote from history to come to their rescue: Capone's long-estranged brother Jimmy, working as a Prohibition-enforcement agent under the name of Richard Hart.

That was an interesting twist, to fix history that way, using a lesser-known instead of Fleming or Hemingway or Bowie.

Hart was hardly the sterling figure that Ness was in history. And he was a most reluctant hero. 

If leaving home was the smartest thing I've ever done, this is the dumbest.

Hart

• Permalink: If leaving home was the smartest thing I've ever done, this is the dumbest.

Capone was what you'd expect: A pompous, power-hungry goombah who rules through intimidation. No great loss killing him off instead of sticking him in jail.

It kind of seems like they wasted a trip. Yeah, a free Capone would have been a plague on Chicago, at least until some other gangster comes along to knock him off.

But Flynn was just there to beat some Rittenhouse info out of the mayor, then he skedaddled (is that time-appropriate slang?).

Rufus gets a bullet for his troubles, per Flynn's instructions, and the Lifeboat promises to be lost in time in the previews.

Question: Flynn always seems to be a step ahead of the trio, because he has Future Lucy's diary. If he knows what they're going to do, how do they ever trip him up at all? 

But there was a lot going on behind the scenes.

First, I love Jiya as the trio's double agent.

Granted, she sucked at deceit and ended up being locked in a room. But she built a work station out of stray parts and shut down Mason Industries. Mad programming skills.

And lots of attitude that we haven't seen before.

Mason: What did you do?
Jiya: I still have to pee.

• Permalink: I still have to pee.

Then there's Cahill, who honestly seems like he wants better relations with his daughter Lucy, as long as it doesn't mess up history for Rittenhouse. With priorities like that, no wonder they're estranged.

I thought Mason was just a businessman in over his head at first. But he's turned out to be a devious mother, who's angling to get the government out of his business by co-opting their resources. He's quickly becoming an over-the-top Bond villain.

Christopher was totally wasted. I understand she's flying under the radar, but this was more like twiddling her thumbs.

So coming down to the finale next week, there's lots going on. Rufus was passed out at the Lifeboat control, so what happens to the trio? That suspense should be short-lived, since they seem to be following Flynn to the 1954 Rittenhouse meeting.

What happens to Jiya? How can Christopher help out more? Will Mason shove the NSA out altogether?

To catch up before the finale, watch Timeless online.

Were you shocked by Eliot Ness's short stay? How will the trio find period-appropriate clothing now (resort to raiding clothes lines?)? How do you like having more Jiya? Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.