Vale Continuum

Beneath the shiny veneer of social media, we live in interesting times. From shocking statistics on the uneven distribution of global wealth, and struggles to preserve civil liberties—as well as the environment—the battle to build a better future is sometimes bold, sometimes insidious, with technology both helping and hindering. It was from this cultural atmosphere that Continuum first emerged, and proved to be one of the great science fiction television efforts of recent years, if not decades.

On the surface, Continuum offers procedural elements, violent encounters, conspiracies, betrayal, and romance; everything a primetime show is expected to offer. Below the surface, the series is a gem of science fiction and brave storytelling that tackles incredibly complex themes with finesse.

Access to future tech both empowered and disempowered
Kiera throughout the series. A fickle friend at best.

Science fiction as a predictive tool exploring possible outcomes of social, technological, and political trends in today's world is one of the genre's greatest strengths, and most popular incarnations. Classic fiction, like 1984 and Brave New World, take us into potential futures extrapolated from the author's everyday environment.

The show offered many multifaceted female characters.

As fans know, the basic premise of Continuum follows Protector Kiera Cameron and the terrorist cell Liber8, who are thrown back in time from 2077 to 2012. Kiera wants to go home, but to do that successfully she has to stop Liber8 from changing history, thereby obliterating the future she loves. Continuum could just as easily be called Consequence; on a societal level and a personal one, consequences are key, and the time travel trope is used to great effect when exploring this theme.

Kagame in the pilot and Kagame in the finale were representative of their times.

Continuum followed the tradition of what great science fiction is supposed to do—question today's world by extrapolating possible futures. When the series began, some felt the material was anti-corporation and presented the terrorist cell sympathetically. 

The final season dissuaded this notion; the future in which Liberate succeeded in destroying the corporations is revealed to be a dystopian disaster, worse than the democracy-light Big Brother option Kiera and Liber8 hailed from. By the end of the series neither original ideology reigns, because Continuum is not a fairytale looking to gratify the audience with a neat ending.

Seriously, anyone who didn't apply for a transfer from this station after the pilot was insane.
Jokes aside, the role of the police and the potential for privatisation was a recurring concern.

That was the core of the show's power—shades of gray. The goal was to make the audience think. From the first episode our "hero" was flawed, displaying casual brutality as a future enforcer, and scoffing at an intellectual who criticized the loss of democracy. We empathized with her as a mother, but had problems with her ideological stance. Alternately, while we empathized with Liber8's ideological stance (thanks to flashbacks of suffering and persecution), their violent practices could not be condoned or countenanced. Keira was a questionable hero, but Liber8 were questionable villains.

Carlos and Julian developed an interesting relationship.

In the world of Continuum every character believes they are on the right path, yet at some point  the viewer is bound to disagree with their actions. We see their perspectives and histories, understand their motivations, but we don't always agree with their choices. 

Within the framework of the narrative, pressure is often applied. Some character's break, some are slow to change their perspectives. A few put themselves first, others put humanity first. Some will kill many to save one; others will not kill one to save the many. Endless complex ethical and moral scenarios are explored. The audience is encouraged to ponder paths taken and subsequent repercussions; in the end the story does not endorse or subscribe to any particular future, aside from one of moderation.

Seeing these three on the same team was riveting and marked
 a turning point in the series, in terms of narrative possibilities.

In this fictional universe all are flawed, and at some point make (at least one) questionable decision. The characters of Continuum are complex, can disappoint, and are occasionally brave—just like people in real life. Consideration of predestination and fate are added to the theoretical mix because time travel as a storytelling device is fully explored across four seasons, rather than being an introductory tool soon discarded.

Side note: I loved the dichotomy of the stepbrothers Alec and Julian, and their possible futures as ideological enemies. Over time (pardon the pun) their journey helps the audience truly understand that the future is constantly in flux.

Sam is the ghost in the machine of Kiera's mind.

I've blogged before about the theme of motherhood in Continuum. Kiera's yearning for her child in 2077 creates incredible tension in the story, especially when it becomes clear the character can either help work toward a better future for the world, thereby putting her son's existence in danger, or try to maintain the future as she knows it so she can return to her loved ones. The memory of Sam (a contradiction in itself) haunts the storyline. He is the ghost of a possible future our lead character cannot shake.

Sonya and Kellog. Two of the show's most interesting personalities.

My favorite characters, in no particular order, are Kellog, Sonya, Julian, and Emily. I also loved how certain storytelling choices I considered weak on first viewing became fascinating in retrospect. For example, when Alec travelled back in time, thereby resetting the plot, it seemed a waste of bold character development (especially for Carlos), but then I realized the reset illustrated how pointless individual choices can feel when time becomes a malleable concept, far more clearly than a linear narrative ever could.

Absolutely fabulous family dynamic.
Television's most compelling stepbrothers.

Another standout element: having the two versions of Alec diverge wildly till he literally battled to the death with himself (talk about meta). Continuum regularly used love and grief as motivators that could prove advantageous or detrimental to a character's arc. One Alec experienced a level of grief, love, and sacrifice the other had not, bringing about an emotional depth the other Alec could not comprehend.

Experiences change people, that's a core storytelling truth, but Continuum took it further by asking how deeply knowledge of experiences not yet experienced could change a character's perspective. What happens when the future you haven't lived yet is someone else's fixed history, one they bring with them, via memory, to the present day? Continuum explores a glitch in the system of the universe that we, as creatures who live in the moment, have to work to comprehend.

Possibly my favourite scene in the entire series, when the members
of Liber8 learn the future they "saved" would prove worse than the nightmare they came from.

The finale did not disappoint. The ending was, in a word, brilliant. When Kiera started talking about returning to her son in the final season, I was worried years of great science fiction television would be thrown away with a patched on happily ever after. I should have had faith in the quality of the writing; Kiera both did, and did not, achieve her goal. (And what could be a more fitting final moment then a paradox?)

Seeing Jason lucid in the flashbacks to the future  (contradiction
 in terms, I know) highlighted the tragedy of his present day mental state.

The team behind Continuum fused a fairytale ending with a sombre, realistic tragedy. For our hero, wanting to see her son again was her strength and her flaw, and the conclusion echoed this unsettling dynamic magnificently. From the outset Kiera was the wildcard, and as such had the power to completely rearrange the timeline. The only downside to creating a dazzling future for her son? There turned out to be no place for her in it.

"This is the price for making the world a better place. This Sam will grow up in a world free of violence, free of revolution, free of corruption. His future is bright. And it's because of you Kiera. It's the price of love. Real love. You'll understand, in time."