La Brea’s “The Road Home, Part 1” sets up for a thrilling finale

For a semi-slow start, Tuesday's episode ramps up quickly culminating in what promises to be a nail-biting series finale.

The groundwork gets laid for things to take off later, so let’s get caught up. Gavin’s not sure giving the chip to the mystery person who has Eve is a good idea. Izzy is worried she’s missing her chance to bond with Leyla when she turns down a date. Paara’s still missing, making Ty worried. And, Lucas has come to suspect there’s a traitor amongst them.

We get three suspects. One we already know is Maya – the obvious choice. Another is Ruth, who reacts poorly when Veronica finds a radio to the air base stashed in the council’s hut. Finally, Leyla, who is acting very shady when it comes to getting Izzy alone in the woods.

Maya is quickly sussed; Gavin sets up a little trap for her which she walks right into. Unfortunately, team 10k B.C. forgets that Maya has future tech, and her watch serves as a tracking device. Her people show up and rescue her, but before they can kill Gavin, Sam, or Ty, Helena shows up and takes out the armed men, sniper style. Helena then fills them in on Maya, who is the head of a private security firm contracted to create the fighter jet time machines. It’s why she wants that chip. In the chaos, Maya gets away via jeep. They all make their way towards the base.

Over at said base, we see Scott get put in a cell across from none other than Levi! Because it’s Levi, there has to be more to the story, and there is. Remember his tattoo? Levi joined up with Maya’s private security firm in order to get back to 10k B.C. so he could kill James. But he assures Scott he’s on team 10k’s side, all the way. Scott is, understandably, skeptical, but still plays along with the “fake” interrogation where Levi suggests Scott should be moved to a more secure location. The ploy works, and Maya approves having the prisoner transferred.

Traveling by river proves nearly fatal when Gavin and the gang’s raft is attacked by a giant alligator. While it gives them all a great story to tell one day, it also gives Gavin an opportunity to try and patch things up with Helena. See, before Gavin lost his memories, he and Helena had a plan to book it to Mexico after stealing the chip. Gavin backed out and his sis was left to run on her own.

Speaking of plans to escape life… Leyla wants Izzy to go away with her, to 2021! That’s right, Leyla lures Izzy out into the woods and lies to her about helping track down her dad, just to reveal that she sold out the fort for a chance to use a double aurora and leave 10k B.C.. Well, that explains Ruth’s sus behavior. Izzy isn’t thrilled, but when confronted by Veronica, Ruth, and Lucas, Leyla does the right thing and helps unlock the radio so the group can spy on the base for a change. Good timing, too, as they hear about Gavin’s party being in trouble.

Levi’s plan to get Scott moved was twofold. He’d heard from the other soldiers that Eve is being held at the same place, so he wanted to get Scott moved so he could see where it was and they could rescue Eve. Sadly, the plan goes tits up when Izzy appears on the scene, and Levi has to break cover to keep her from getting killed. Lucas joins the fight soon after, and Levi breaks off to help Gavin’s group. Izzy gets her shot to play hero after Levi, Helena, and Sam take out most of the enemies, leaving one for her to shoot with an arrow. Her morale boost is quickly lost when she discovers her prey got a single shot off and hit Levi in the gut. When Sam rushes over to put pressure on the wound you can see on his face the prognosis is, well, terminal.

Levi reveals to Gavin that Eve is nearby. Izzy says goodbye to her uncle, as her father forgives him for his transgressions. Levi dies, left unburied because time will not allow it. Scott managed to get the coordinates of the detention center’s location and they gotta go. But the location just has a double aurora waiting for them. Helena explains Maya’s main facility is in 1965, she must have Eve there. Since Josh and Riley are also there it tracks that Gavin, Sam, Izzy, and Helena all go through the aurora.

Man, we’re in the shit now, kids. Important players are dying, traitors are coming out into the open, and time travel might be a thing of the past (yeah, I said it).

Overall, a fantastic penultimate episode. Levi’s death was tragic but not entirely unexpected. First off, he committed a cardinal sin. Second, his wife and kid are dead. Third, let’s all be honest, we know he was still in love with Eve. Boy had to go, and what better way than as a hero for the cause? I’m sad to see him go, and I’m pretty sure that shot was to the chest, but either way it would have been fatal. Having him absent for the majority of this truncated season sucked, but it also made losing him a lot easier. Levi’s arc was complicated; hell, he was the reason the group lost their quick fix to getting out of 10k B.C. I get why he had to pay such a high price, but still…

The traitor angle was fun. At first, I was on board when Ruth being guilty because Paara is still MIA. Did Ruth kill her to take control? It would make sense. It’s a great motive, but sadly, no. My guess is Paara was taken by Maya’s people for… reasons? I’ll be honest, when Izzy heard the flies buzzing in the woods with Leyla I really thought we were gonna find Paara’s body. However, when it turned out to be the soldiers and Leyla wasn’t too surprised, well that’s not natural.

Leyla was a good traitor. She had her mother’s access to the council tent. Most everyone ignored her (or must have for her to be able to do this for as long as she did). But the weird thing is, the way Leyla makes it sound, Maya promised her an escape for her and Izzy to live happily ever after in exchange for information. Problem is, Levi and Petra get kidnapped in the first episode, before Izzy and Leyla meet. Yeah, they meet in the second episode, and by the third episode Maya appears, but still… was Leyla always planning on bouncing and just decided to add Izzy to her plans after they met? Suppose it’s not the worst plot hole. Seems a little forced just so Ruth isn’t the obvious solution, a little red herring for funsies!

How will everything come together? What’s up with Scott’s paper and why is it so important? My only guess there might be that the plants’ regenerative powers prevent the human body from falling apart when it travels through time? Who exactly invented time travel in this entire show? We’ve got Gavin’s mom and dad, who we were told created the science behind it, then it was a secret government project that James built off of, and now it’s Maya? Not loving the changing stories, folks. Also, will everyone in 10k B.C. be able to get back home? And, if they can, will they all choose to? Do the auroras just not cause sinkholes anymore? Finally, will we see Eve for real? OK, finally, finally, is anyone else gonna die? Paara… I’m looking at you…

Latest articles

Related articles

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

A fantastic set up for what promises to be a thrilling series finale. "The Road Home, Part 1" gets all the necessary ducks in a row and features a beloved character's death - the first of many? Maybe not many, but I wouldn't be surprised if dear Levi wasn't the only sinkhole survivor to not make it home in the final stretch. The biggest questions of the series have yet to be fully answered and I'm hoping for a satisfying finish considering how good this episode was. Action, character development, intrigue, and a little dollop of world building makes La Brea's fifth episode of season three one to watch.La Brea's "The Road Home, Part 1" sets up for a thrilling finale