Using time travel to fix mass-extinction events is tricky business.

That message came through loud and clear on The Lazarus Project Season 1 Episode 2.

Flashbacks to the same period, the Summer of 2018, effectively illustrated the impact of time loops on Archie and George, even if the latter was totally unaware of what was happening around him at that time.

The two teammates found themselves at the center of a debate about whether resetting time should be used for personal betterment.

A distraught George was exploring all his options after his girlfriend Sarah was mowed down by a rubbish truck near the end of The Lazarus Project Season 1 Episode 1.

Using that term loosely, the good news was that Sarah survived the accident, although it was evident from the noncommittal doctor that she was circling the drain.

Since George was tied up at the accident scene, he missed the capture of terrorist Rebrov by French special forces. It was terrific that raid went so smoothly, so Mum didn't have to wipe history again, based on that earlier fiasco with Rebrov.

But because Sarah was lying near death, that wasn't the time to celebrate Rebrov's capture. Instead, Archie raced to the hospital to be there for George.

George's head was rightfully spinning. Shortly after seeing his teammates gunned down, then them being brought back to life when Mum returned time to the checkpoint, now the love of his life was lying near death.

So it was only natural that George pondered the curative power of resetting time. And it was up to Archie to explain why that was such a bad idea.

First, Archie was alive as a side benefit of Mum resetting time after Rebrov set off a nuclear device in Paris. The world was saved, and so coincidentally were Archie and The Dane. Mum didn't do that to bring back her squad members.

It's the old Vulcan motto, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Understandably, George wanted Sarah restored to her healthy state as of the last checkpoint.

Using that talk about the changing babies after each time reset, Archie did an admirable job explaining why that process should only be used in dire circumstances.

Yes, a dead Sarah would be missed mostly by George and likely her students. She's proven to be a ray of sunshine to anyone who knows her.

But that doesn't mean the world should be reinvented to accommodate a resurrected Sarah. And that was a stern message for George to absorb.

Archie understood what she was saying. She had her own Sarah in Ross, her former partner and lover.

It was almost funny in a gallows humor kind of way (check out our The Lazarus Project Quotes) how Archie and Ross kept attempting to plan a future together. At the same time, their effort to head off a nuclear war in an unspecified Eastern European country failed again and again and again.

It wasn't until they analyzed their failures that the only time they were successful, Ross still reset the timeline to bring Archie back to life.

Yet, when Ross was blown up trying to kill the critical player who kept messing up their plans, Mum refused to reset time since the mission had been accomplished, leaving Archie to mourn his loss by herself.

So the moral of the story was preserving the planet was more important than saving individuals, no matter how enjoyable a character they were.

What was intriguing was watching how George and Sarah's first meeting kept changing, in fact, not happening at all in some cases, as the timelines kept evolving through Archie and Ross's misfires.

What was unexpected was how the perpetually morose Shiv tried to console George. Shiv found George outside the hospital and asked him if he wanted to go eff up Karl, whose grab threw Sarah off balance and in front of the truck.

George accepted this sincere albeit bizarre offer, and they drove to Karl's house. But they didn't follow through on the plan since Shiv got George to understand what's done is done, and beating up Karl wouldn't bring Sarah back to health.

Besides, how likely would the two of them have an edge on Olympic athlete Karl?

Instead, George convinced Shiv to take him back to headquarters so that he could meet mystery man Rebrov.

Not surprisingly, Shiv and Rebrov had some not particularly good history, and Rebrov could describe Shiv's behavior to George.

Considering George's state of mind, Rebrov could get into his head quite quickly and plant doubt about Lazarus's mission. Rebrov genuinely doubted that a world hellbent on destroying itself should keep getting saved.

George got the call he had been dreading and raced to the hospital to say goodbye to Sarah.

Of course, she couldn't just have been miraculously saved. George wouldn't have such an ethical quandary to deal with then.

He went back to discuss his situation with Rebrov to find out how he could turn back time. The big question is whether he'll step over that line next episode.

Are you sorry Ross didn't survive?

What did you think of Rebrov?

Will George do whatever is necessary to bring Sarah back or come around in time?

Comment below, and always come back for more The Lazarus Project reviews!

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