Warning! The following contains spoilers for the La Brea Season 2 winter premiere episodes "Stampede" and "Murder In The Clearing." Read at your own risk!
La Brea returned to NBC for a gripping premiere two-parter that definitely made up for all the weeks it was away. Viewers were treated to Gavin and the sinkhole survivors' imperfect grand plan to destroy the portal, and an even bigger plan that set in motion a ton of events that will likely play out throughout Season 2.
The short version of what went down is that Gavin decided to stop the upload of the virus that would destroy the portal created by The Lazarus Project. His reasons for doing that, as well as everything that happened after, take a bit more to explain. Let's dive into why Gavin decided to abandon the plan he fought so hard to execute and the other events from the loaded winter premiere.
Gavin Agreed To Help James Find Dr. Moore And His Research
Gavin uploaded the virus and was on the verge of successfully destroying the portal that was creating sinkholes in the 1980s every time it was used. He only abandoned the plan after his estranged father, James, gave an offer he couldn't refuse. James told Gavin that he could help save Eve, who Gavin previously saw dying in a vision. Gavin agreed, but only after the additional promise James made that he could fix the portal's destructive side effects and potentially get everyone stuck in the past back home.
La Brea is coming back for another season, but fans may not be so jazzed once they read the details.
Once the virus was destroyed, Gavin's long-lost father explained that his son could help him send everyone home and stop the portal from creating sinkholes if he could find Dr. Moore, a former employee of The Lazarus Project. James had proof that Moore was on the verge of finding a way to stabilize the portal, but didn't have all of his research to continue the work. Gavin decided to trust James in hopes that he could achieve his goals of stopping destruction by portals and sending everyone back to their time.
It seems like a bad idea considering no one outside of Lazarus seems to trust the organization, but we'll see how it plays out for Gavin. Plus, it seemed like Eve had already avoided the death he saw in the vision when she escaped being trapped in the cave with a bear. Perhaps there will be another threat her way soon? Will Gavin be as willing to help James if he no longer believes that Eve is in danger? I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Caroline Found The Research But Made Riley Swear Not To Tell Gavin
Gavin and a team went out in search of Dr. Moore, and they actually found him! The bad news was that he was long dead, but they also managed to find a nearby cave loaded with his research. At first, it seemed like the hideout was a bust until Riley uncovered a folder of documents hidden behind a rock in the wall. Riley showed the folder to Gavin's mother, Caroline, who confirmed this was the information that James requested for the portal.
Caroline didn't have a ton of time to pore over the pages of information but confirmed to Riley that it seemed promising, and that there was a chance of them being able to return home. Caroline needed more time to examine the data and made Riley swear in the meantime not to tell Gavin or anyone else they found the information because she didn't trust her estranged husband, James, with the research. With everything that's on the line, I can't imagine that'll go over well should Gavin find out in the next few episodes of La Brea.
Ty Character Agreed To Be A Psychiatrist For James
After an episode in which he faced massive health struggles, Ty headed to Lazarus in hope of getting treatment for his terminal brain tumor. James granted Ty an appointment after hearing he was friends with Gavin and had some great news. Lazarus had the cure for brain tumors and was willing to offer Ty the treatment to cure him completely.
In return, James wanted Ty to use his skills as a psychiatrist in sessions with him going forward. The Director of the Lazarus Project said that he's often leaned on by the staff to make all of the hard decisions, and he would appreciate the opportunity to have Ty as a sounding board as he works through any choices he has to make. Again, James seems shady, so it seems like he's preying on Ty's desperation for a cure for some goal of his own.
Virgil Killed Wyatt, And The Exiles Are Involved
La Brea's survivors stuck in 10,000 B.C. had to deal with raining fish and a stampede, and once all that was handled, they realized one of their own was murdered. Wyatt was found dead with a stab wound. When Lucas believed that Virgil had committed the murder, he was guilted into ignoring his instincts and turning Virgil loose. It was only right, after all, as Lucas really only had a hunch without any other concrete evidence beyond that Virgil had a collection of knives.
Lucas later apologized to Virgil for the accusation, though La Brea revealed soon after that the apology was unnecessary. Virgil threw a note he had from the Exiles into the fire in front of him, and it had the same logo as the murder weapon that was connected to Wyatt's death. If he's secretly working for the Exiles, this can only mean bad things and more trouble on top of what we already learned.
La Brea airs on NBC on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. ET. It's one of many returning shows on our 2023 TV Schedule, so be sure to take a look at what else is returning in the coming weeks while catching up on previous episodes via streaming.
