Theodore Cole

**Lieutenant Theodore Cole** is a character in the Apple TV+ series, *Amazing Stories*.

## Biography

Theodore Cole was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. In high school, he was a baseball pitcher and led the team to three consecutive championships. While he earned a scholarship to college, he chose to join the military instead. He met his future wife Pauline while working as a bag boy at the local market. They were married shortly before his deployment to the South Pacific. He had a superstition of never saying goodbye, as he believed that if it wasn't said then it would never truly be goodbye. He carried a photograph of Pauline with him in his plane, where he was a pilot.

On Christmas Eve 1941, he took flight over mountainous terrain in Burman to locate a missing aircraft. After encountering resistance, his plane did not return to base. He was declared Missing in Action and presumed deceased.

## Amazing Story

A Rift opens in the middle of Dayton Ohio in the year 2020. A WWII plane flies through and crashes in a field. The pilot inside is still alive, with a concerned citizen rushing to help. The woman, Mary Ann Whitaker, helps wrench the cockpit door open. Inside, Theodore Cole refuses to leave the plane without a photograph of his wife, Pauline. He then lets her help him to the side of the road where her stepson, Elijah Whitaker, is waiting. The man thanks them for their help, introducing himself as Lieutenant Theodore Cole, Second Squadron. He thinks they're British or Dutch, becoming confused when they claim to be Americans. He think he's in Burma, but Elijah corrects they are in Ohio. He was just in a dogfight over the ridge in Rangoon. He suddenly realizes he's not where he's meant to be. He sees the Dayton water tower and collapses to his knees. He grew up near Dayton. She assures him he'll be okay as they'll take him to a hospital. In the sky above, a fiery red hole stays open.

Elijah sneaks into Theodore's hospital room to find him sleeping. Elijah looks at his dog tags when he suddenly grabs his hand. He's confused as to why there's guards on him. Elijah explains they're worried he's a bad guy. The pilot isn't, as he was fighting the bad guys. He's a real soldier. He can't believe they shipped him home. He worries he missed Christmas, but Elijah assures him it's only September. Theodore thinks it's December 24th, Christmas Eve, 1941. He wants to leave but Elijah knows they won't let him go until they know who he is. Theodore states who he is again - Lieutenant Theodore Cole, First American Volunteer Group. He needs to get out of there. Elijah becomes scared when the man grabs him, so Theodore apologizes and releases him. He tells him about a peace offering in his jacket pocket. Elijah reluctantly takes a box of candy from the jacket pocket. Theodore explains that his wife gave them to him as a good luck charm - so nothing bad will happen to him when he flies. The candy is called a Whiz bar, though Elijah doesn't recognize it. Theodore states it's chocolate. The deputies spot them in the room and begin banging on the door to be let in. Theodore blocks it, telling Elijah to find Sheriff Simmons on Main Street to tell him that his friend Theodore Cole is in trouble. He lets the deputies inside and they restrain him, then drug him.

Later, Cole lurches awake in the hospital and pulls out his IV. He looks out the window to see military vehicles arriving. A nurse arrives with more medicine, but Cole drugs him instead. Nina arrives at the hospital to take the scene. Meanwhile, Cole sneaks out of the hospital by wearing a nurse's scrubs. He grabs a change of clothing just as Nina finds the nurse in his room. Cole walks out the hospital door as he hears planes flying overhead, cars driving by with music playing, and a woman taling on her phone. He tries to steal a car but the alarm blares. Nina hears the commotion and calls her men outside. They arrive just as Cole speeds off on a motorcycle.

He crashes outside of a gas station in front of Elijah and Mary Ann's car. Elijah thinks this is a sign. He shows Cole the picture and Cole explains the people in the photo. Elijah is insistent that he needs their help so Mary Ann eventually caves. Cole needs to see his wife and tell her what happened. They all get into the car.

As they drive, Cole realizes everything around him has changed. He sees his house so Mary Ann stops. He runs up the driveway and into the house, searching for Pauline. A woman appears so Cole explains he's looking for Pauline, but she thinks he's young to be her husband. Elijah explains that he's a friend of Pauline's. The nurse thinks that's nice as after the kids moved away no one's been to see her. Cole's surprised she's alive but she assures him she's fine. Cole looks at the photographs on the wall of Pauline and her family. He decides to wait outside. Mary Ann checks something on her phone, finding his obituary. He crashed in Burman only to be shot and killed while trying to evade capture.

The nurse sees the television with the family on the TV and threatens to call the police. Cole runs inside to see the house surrounded. Bill arrives with Nina as they just want to get him back where he belongs. The ground shakes again. Nina explains it's a cosmic tremor that is caused by him being there and what happened to him. He came through a Rift that made him travel to the future. His Rift is still open. Elijah interrupts as he died in Burma. He rushes Cole to the car while Mary Ann bangs on the hood, trying to stop the military from shooting. Bill and Nina try to talk Cole out of the car. He can't figure out the pedals as there are only two. Cole eventually figures it out and speeds off through the woods.

They drive through a family's backyard as Cole tells Elijah to trust him. there's a road leading to Miller's River, but Elijah doesn't see it. They go over the ledge to the field below, but the tire punctures causing them to stop. Cole makes sure Elijah, who is giddy, is safe. Cole leads Elijah across the river, where a large house sits on a hill. he danced with his wife there before he shipped out. It doesn't matter now as he didn't even get to say goodbye. He thought by never saying goodbye meant he didn't really leave. He asks about his obit. Elijah explains what it said. Cole thinks he should let them send him back since he doesn't belong there. Elijah should be with his mom, too. Elijah shrugs it off since she wants to dump him with his aunt. They both don't have anyone. Cole doesn't see the point in staying as Pauline lived a whole life without him. Elijah is adamant that he can't leave or die. Cole asks why he can't let it go, so Elijah shows him a photo of his father. He died in Afghanistan last April. Cole apologizes for his loss, but this world doesn't have anything for him. They sit on a bench together. Elijah wonders if there's a way to get Cole's life with Pauline back. He wants to change things. He wants to get Cole a Kevlar vest or better gun. That's why the Rift brought him - to give him a second chance.

Elijah wants Cole to see Pauline but he doesn't want to impede on her life since she moved on. Elijah doesn't understand why he knows she's moved on. Cole explains that he took her to the movies on their first date. He bought her a box of cracker jacks with a green four-leaf clover pin inside. She said it was a sign of good luck and that they would always be together. When they got married and bought the house, the first thing she did was nail the pin to the mantel. He checked for it but it was gone. She probably pulled it out decades ago as she doesn't want to remember him.

Elijah takes Cole to the Army Surplus store which amazes him. Elijah wants him to pick the lock, but Cole doesn't know-how. He tries to jimmy it but it's all steel. Cole and Elijah hear sirens so they run through train tracks. A helicopter lands as the military arrives in full gear. Mary Ann requests to talk with Cole first. Bill allows it, so she approaches. Elijah thinks she doesn't understand what he and Cole are doing. She corrects that he is the one who doesn't understand. Cole has conditions that they must meet before he goes back - a weapon and Kevlar. He wants to beat this thing. She knows he can't do that. The Rift has happened before and if he doesn't go back exactly the same way he came, then everything in a 10-mile radius day. Elijah doesn't believe them and hugs Cole. He's sure they're lying. Mary Ann pulls him off. She wants to save him too, but this is how things have to be. Cole remarks that destiny is a son of a bitch. He is ready to go when she stops him to explain The Rift might have appeared for a reason. She doesn't know what it is, but Elijah thinks he might know.

Bill, Nina, Mary Ann, Cole, and Elijah head to Pauline's house. Cole has five minutes with her before he has to leave. He enters the house and sees Pauline sitting at the kitchen table. She sees him and smiles, breathing his name softly. He apologizes for letting a superstition stop him from saying goodbye. He knows she's moved on and forgotten about him, but he needs her to know he always loved her and always will. He doesn't have much time. He gets up to leave when she stops him. She opens her locket to reveal the four-leaf clover on one side and his picture on the other. He smiles and touches the locket. He asks her to dance with him, though she's reluctant. He assures her he's got her. They begin to sway together in a box step. He whispers goodbye to her and leaves as she watches.

Cole walks through the field to the plane. Elijah calls out to him so he walks back. Elijah hugs him tightly as he cries. Cole knows Elijah will be okay as he has a good head on his shoulders. He thanks him for everything then asks for a moment with Mary Ann. He and Mary Ann walk to the plane where he remarks that California gets lonely. He knows about her plans to drop Elijah off in Indiana. She can't take care of herself let alone Elijah. He thinks he came to this timeline not only because Pauline is there, but because she is. He's a pilot who is killed in combat, while she lost a pilot of her own. He's supposed to say goodbye to Pauline, but she has to do something too. She should know what her husband would say. Bill gives Cole his radio and wishes him luck. Cole is about to board when he realizes something. He jogs back to Elijah to ask for the Whiz bar back. Elijah sniffles that on the way back he got hungry, so he ate it. He hands the wrapper back to Cole. Bill knows they won't make it back to the minimum safe distance in time. Cole thinks it's okay as he did what it wanted him to do. It wasn't about a random Whiz bar. He climbs into the plane, puts on his gear, and turns the engine back on. Mary Ann mouths "thank you again" to Cole, who nods in return. Elijah salutes Cole.

Cole clutches his photo of Pauline, putting it against the console with shaky hands. He stares at the photo as he flies the plane toward the Rift. The scientists and everyone gathers in the field together. The Rift will close in one minute. Everyone waits as the sky glows and then the Rift expands before the colors vanish. Everyone applauds their safety.

## Obituary

Lieutenant Theodore Cole was declared Missing in Action and is presumed dead after his plane went down over Burman during a dog fight.
Lieutenant Cole was flying one of five aircraft of the 2nd Fighter Squadron, on a mission to locate a missing aircraft when they encountered resistance from an enemy squadron. Lieutenant Cole was last seen leveling out his Curtiss P-40 Warhawk after taking a dive over rugged, mountainous terrain. His aircraft did not return to base.
Cole was at talented athlete and an [..] baseball. As a pitcher for his local high school [..], he held the team to three consecutive championships, winning the banng for his junior and senior year. He earned a scholarship to college, but [..] to join the military instead.
He met his wife, Pauline, while working as a bag boy at the neighborhood market. They were married at the courthouse shortly before his deployment to the South Pacific.
Lieutentant Cole is survived by his wife [..] and his parents.