Ep 8. Playing Cards with Coyote

The episode Playing Cards with Coyote is the eighth episode of the first season of the television show FlashForward. In this episode, we see the characters dealing with the fallout from the flashforward visions they experienced six months earlier. FBI agents Mark Benford (played by Joseph Fiennes) and Demetri Noh (played by John Cho) are still investigating the potential causes of the global blackout, which lasted for two minutes and seventeen seconds and caused everyone on Earth to lose consciousness and see a glimpse of their future.

As their investigation continues, Mark and Demetri discover that a man named Lloyd Simcoe (played by Jack Davenport) may have been involved in the blackout. Lloyd is a physicist who was conducting experiments at the time of the blackout, and he believes that his research may have caused the blackout. Mark and Demetri bring him in for questioning, but Lloyd denies any knowledge of what happened.

Meanwhile, other characters are dealing with their own flashforward visions. Mark's wife, Olivia (played by Sonya Walger), saw herself with another man in her vision, and she struggles to come to terms with what it could mean for her marriage. Another character, Aaron Stark (played by Brian F. O'Byrne), saw his deceased daughter in his vision, and he's desperate to find a way to prevent her death.

In Playing Cards with Coyote, the characters start to come together to try to make sense of what's happening to them. They attend a support group for people who experienced a flashforward, and they start to realize that they may be connected in ways they never imagined.

The episode takes its title from a metaphor used by one of the support group members, who compares their predicament to the Native American legend of Coyote, who tricked the other animals into playing cards with him. The game ends with Coyote winning all of the animals' possessions, but Coyote himself ends up losing everything when he tries to cheat. The support group member explains that they are all like the animals in the story, trying to make sense of what's happening to them and struggling to understand their roles in the larger picture.

As the episode progresses, the characters start to make progress in their investigations. Mark and Demetri discover that Lloyd's wife, Gabrielle (played by Gina Torres), may have been involved in the blackout as well. They also find out that Lloyd has been working with another physicist, Simon Campos (played by Dominic Monaghan), who may have information about what happened.

Olivia, meanwhile, confronts the man she saw in her flashforward, a surgeon named Bryce Varley (played by Zachary Knighton). Bryce reveals that he saw Olivia in his own flashforward vision and that he's been waiting for her to come to him. Olivia is shocked by this revelation and begins to question her marriage to Mark.

Towards the end of the episode, the characters' investigations start to converge. Mark and Demetri locate Simon Campos, who agrees to help them figure out what happened during the blackout. Meanwhile, Aaron goes to visit Lloyd and Gabrielle Simcoe, hoping to find a way to prevent his daughter's death. The episode ends on a cliffhanger, as a major twist is revealed that throws everything the characters thought they knew into question.

Overall, Playing Cards with Coyote is a crucial turning point in the first season of FlashForward. It advances the overall plot and brings the characters closer together, while also introducing new questions and mysteries. The metaphor of Coyote and the card game serves as a poignant reminder of the characters' vulnerability and uncertainty, as they grapple with the aftermath of a world-changing event.