Travelers Season 2

© by Gerald So | 12:30 p.m.

Having enjoyed the first season of Brad Wright's time travel drama on Netflix last year, I was ready when Season 2 arrived this morning. It opens with our heroes in FBI custody, and the future artificial intelligence The Director, that sent their consciousnesses to the present day, offline.

Following protocol, Traveler 3468 (Eric McCormack) advises his FBI partner to destroy the technological evidence of the Travelers' existence. While examining said device, though, the FBI team is replaced by Travelers, who then help 3468's team escape.

Season 2's major arc involves Traveler 001, sent into the body of Vincent Ingram (Enrico Colantoni) with orders to die in the 9/11 World Trade Center attack. Unwilling to comply, 001 fled the North tower as the first plane hit. Using knowledge of the future, 001 became a wealthy, reclusive man, remaining paranoid that The Director would eliminate him. Deducing that 001 was behind their previous torture, 3468's team pursues him on their own, but The Director pulls them back at the last moment.

The core of the series remains the extent to which our heroes have come to care about the people in their lives. Notably, for his wife's sake, 3468 tries to protect his unborn child, though protocol prohibits Travelers to reproduce. Marcy (MacKenzie Porter) performs a life-threatening procedure on herself to recover her host's memories as well as part of her personality lost when The Director reset her last season. Carly (Nesta Cooper) tries to work things out with her abusive boyfriend in hopes of keeping custody of their toddler son.

Making viewers want what our heroes want, Travelers then deftly jeopardizes what they want.