One of the greatest tropes in sci-fi time travel narratives is seeing the same location in a totally different light. Arguably, H.G. Wells pioneered this idea in The Time Machine, since the titular machine and traveler are literally sitting in one spot while the centuries pass at a super-fast rate. The TV series version of 12 Monkeys made good use of this idea in its first season, showing us the Project Splinter facility at its inception, and also its present-tense 2040s status as the base of operations for all the show’s time travelers. But a decade ago, during the week of May 4, 2016, with the third episode of 12 Monkeys Season 2, the series introduced a secondary base of operations for the characters. This episode, “One Hundred Years,” would have huge implications for the rest of the show, and even influence the Star Trek canon nearly a decade later.
“One Hundred Years” is an episode from the golden period of 12 Monkeys, after the Season 2 finalesubtly rebooted the premise of the series, making it not just a time travel quest to undo a deadly global epidemic, but also a battle against the Army of the 12 Monkeys to protect time itself. “One Hundred Years” is a crucial episode in establishing that new direction, because when Cole (Aaron Stanford) and Cassie (Amanda Schull) try to figure out why enemy time travelers are murdering “Primaries” (people who can perceive the flow of time), Cole tosses off this comment about their enemies: “Maybe the plague is only part of their plan.”
