Best Friends Whenever S1 E11

## Plot

Cyd and Shelby go back to the future lab yet again, and lampshade that they always go there when someone says future. They decide to stay at the lab to discover what's going on and put a stop to it. In a bit of quick thinking, they go back and bring scissors to the lab so they can cut their cloth restraints. They were almost hit by a laser. Cyd punches the guy in the hazmat suit. The girls try to leave, but men in suits come in to hold them back, and they take the guy in the hazmat suit away. The girls find out that Janet Smythe is behind the future lab after all. She has a baton that she hits people with. The girls get free and jump back, and decide to ask Barry about Janet to stop her plan for the future lab. The subplot is that Barry and Marci like each other, but the girls keep screwing their relationship up with time travel. They find out that Janet had the idea for GDD and wireless technology in 1991 when she was shocked by a lamp in her garage. They go back there, and make sure to stay together so they don't forget each other like in the 70s. The paranoid young Janet has rigged her garage with traps though, and they keep setting them off. When they jump back to try again, there's a delay. It's the first time they've jumped more than one time outside of their lifetimes. Each time they jump, they lose more and more of their power, and they might only have one jump left, which they need to get home. Then just go to the present, where your power will be back to normal, and try again. You're time travelers. Time is immaterial and has no meaning for you. The girls get past all the traps in Janet's garage. They succeed in breaking the lamp, but Janet still finds out that they're there when she enters the garage. They need more time to jump back. Cyd triggers one of the traps with a wrench and Janet is tied up with rope. The girls jump back to the present as Janet vows that she'll find them again, no matter how long it takes. An alternate timeline where GDD never existed is created. Shelby lives in Alaska, Cyd lives in Peru, and Janet is Barry's mentor. The only constant appears to be Marci and Barry's budding relationship. The girls discover that because GDD never existed, Shelby's father couldn't find a steady job, and they moved to Alaska when the girls were in third grade. Meaning that they hadn't met Naldo yet, but had probably met Barry already. The girls plan to meet at Shelby's old house to make sure Norm gets a steady job in Portland so they can live together. While waiting for Cyd, Shelby discovers that Janet owns her old house, and reluctantly goes inside when she finds her. However, Shelby finds out that she's actually really nice in this timeline. When she goes upstairs into her old room to thank her though, she finds a secret lab. Janet reveals that she recognized her from 1991 and ties her up. Her security cameras caught the whole thing, and she correctly guesses that Cyd and Shelby are time travelers, and that they need to be together to time travel. She impersonates Shelby with her phone through texts to Cyd. Her weapon has now become an electrified baton. Cyd is tricked into going inside and is also tied up, as well as Barry, Naldo, and Marci when they accidentally become witnesses. Janet reveals her molecular disrupter, which will rip apart the girls' chromosomes until she discovers how they can time travel. There's a very low chance of them surviving. Shelby is supposed to go first, but Cyd volunteers herself to save her. While Janet is distracted, Shelby cuts herself free with help from Diesel, but then Janet reveals that she has lasers in her lab. Shelby dodges most of them, but is hit in the leg. Janet tells her that she won't be able to take another hit. After hearing Cyd's cries of pain, Shelby *stands back up,* **takes four more hits, *and still keeps going afterwards,*** even though she's been reduced to crawling. Janet is scared by Diesel. Shelby opens the machine, but it looks like Cyd is already dead. Janet gloats to her, and Shelby is overcome with grief. However, Cyd isn't dead, and was able to get behind them… somehow. She should've at least been in Janet's peripheral vision! She uses Janet's own baton to knock her out. The girls decide to erase this timeline, since it's much worse than the future lab, and they won't be safe. They vow to find another way to stop Janet. Unfortunately, their physical time traveling to 1991 left behind tachyon particles that young Janet collects, possibly *starting* her obsession with time travel in the first place, although it's later revealed that this isn't an instance of a stable time loop.

## Review

So far? **Best episode of the entire season, hands down.** I especially loved Lauren's acting, particularly in the last ten minutes or so. She honestly sounds like she's about to cry at any second. Janet is a great villain. You know you've made a great villain when you can get the audience to be absolutely terrified of them. It's easy to see why: Paranoia, possible insanity, or at least a *very* unhealthy obsession, assault with a deadly weapon, illegal and non-consensual human experimentation, kidnapping, and attempted murder. She might even be okay with torture if her machines and their ability to cause pain are anything to go by. This woman will do whatever it takes, and that's what makes her terrifying. I'm really proud of myself for writing this, because I wrote the whole thing from memory. I had been obsessively watching the episode a lot when it first came out, and couldn't wait to write about it, because it's just so great, so I skipped ahead. I love this show.