The Gift

"The Gift"
Episode	Season {{#pad:1|2|0|left}}, Number 07
Air Date	November 5, 2009
Title Image	Not Today bullet
Written by	Lisa Zwerling Ian Goldberg
Directed by	Nick Gomez
Guest Stars	Lee Thompson Young as Al Gough Genevieve Cortese as Tracy Stark Mark Famiglietti as Mike Willingham Callum Keith Rennie as Jeff Slingerland Alex Kingston as Fiona Banks Gabrielle Union as Zoey Andata
Co-starring	Lennon Wynn as Charlie Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Debbie Myron Natwick as Romanchak Clint Culp as Jack Barrow Gigi De Leon as Nadine Gary Johnson as James Jonathan Levit as Dewey Ryan Wynott as Dylan Kiyoko Yamaguchi as Suki Dave B. Mitchell as Attorney
Uncredited	Lena Georgas as Celia
Transcript
Episode Images

"The Gift" was the seventh episode of season 1 of FlashForward. It first aired on Thursday, November 5, 2009 on ABC.

Summary

Al Gough and Celia

In a voiceover, FBI agent Al Gough narrates a message to a woman named Celia. Al admits that he knows little about Celia: He does not know her last name or where she lives. He does know she has two young sons, who may be twins. He also tell Celia he knows she did not have a Flashforward. During the voiceover, Celia plays with her sons at a public park. As she returns to her car, Celia sees a flyer from Already Ghosts on her windshield; she pulls the flyer from her windshield and turns it over to read a handwritten message: "We know you are one of us."

During his Flash, Al receives a phone call immediately after the birds strikes the window of Fiona Banks office. An attorney says that Celia has been taken off life support and that her sons will be placed in foster care. Al says, “I killed her” and bewails the fact that Celia's sons are now orphans. He declines to discuss his call with Fiona.

During Fiona's visit to Los Angeles, they discuss their mutual (in part) Flash and Fiona tells Al that she went to the window and saw the bird, still alive, lying on the ledge twitching in pain. She wishes that the could be some way for her to ease its suffering. Al later tells Fiona that she could tape the window so that the bird does not hit it.

Al leaves a note for Demetri Noh. A message inside is the one addressed to Celia. As Demetri reads Al’s words, he realizes that it’s a suicide note. Demetri, Mark Benford, Stanford Wedeck and Fiona rush to the roof of the FBI building where Al stands on the edge. Demetri pleads with him to step back. But Al thinks he’s found a way to "change the game." If he dies, the future cannot be set, and Celia, whoever she is, will live to raise her two young sons. Demetri and the others look on horrified as Al turns his back on them and plunges to his death.

Al’s final words to Celia in the note are, “Live your life. Live every day. And know that the future is unwritten. Make the most of that.”

Ian Rutherford and Ghosts

The Blue Hand death room

Mark Benford, Demetri Noh and Al Gough ride an elevator to meet with Martin Dewey of the Coroner's office. They discuss the three deceased persons Demetri and Al had discovered the previous night. Dewey tells the agents that all three died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds. The three agents discuss the fact that one, Ian Rutherford, will be the center of the Rutherford case which does not yet exist but which Al will be discussing with Fiona Banks during their Flashes. While the three are discussing the case with Wedeck back at the Los Angeles Field Office, Fiona Banks of MI6, arrives for the meeting, explaining that as soon as she heard of the death of Rutherford she knew she had to come to Los Angeles. Demetri explains the Already Ghosts phenomenon and displays their web page on a large screen in the conference room. While the investigators are discussing the Ghosts, audio from the web page announces, "Come downtown tonight."

Mark, Demetri and Al infiltrate the Blue Hand meeting by telling a bouncer they are there at the invitation of Dr. Raynaud. The bouncer escorts them to an interior space where they meet Romanchak. Romanchak places a revolver on a table and asks who is going to play. When Mark and the others feign ignorance, Romanchak points the barrel of the revolver under his chin and pulls the trigger. Nothing happens and Romanchak again asks who is going to play. Al grabs the weapon, places it under his own chin and pulls the trigger. Nothing happens. When Demetri suggests that the weapon is not loaded, Romanchak clears it and one bullet, labelled "NOT TODAY," falls on the table. He then passes it to Al. Romanchak says that is their admission. The agents enter the main area of the building. They ask the bartender, Nadine, where they can find Raynaud. She asks if they are new and explains that Raynaud is a different person at each meeting. Mark and the others continue through the large room, where people are exposing themselves to brutal and possibly deadly assaults. A warning sounds and "Dr. Raynaud" enters. He makes a short speech then makes an attempt at suicide, which Mark prevents. They arrest "Raynaud," who is revealed to be a school teacher named Jeff Slingerland. While Slingerland is being interrogated back at the field office, he tells the agents that Already Ghosts gets its candidate from the Mosaic Collective web page and that there is little anyone can do to stop them.

Aaron, Mike and Tracy

Tracy comes home

Upon arriving for work, Aaron Stark is told by Jack Barrow that a man who claimed service with Aaron's daughter Tracy is waiting to see Aaron. When Aaron meets Mike Willingham, Mike first apologizes for not having come to see Aaron earlier, but explains that he had been trying to find employment and a place to live. Aaron acknowledges that it can be difficult re-adjusting to civilian life. Mike goes on to explain that he had promised Tracy that, if anything ever happened to her, he would return her pocket knife to Aaron; he hands the knife to Aaron, who remembers giving the knife back to Tracy in his Flash. Aaron tells Mike that having the knife helps explain how, in his Flash, he could be giving it to her again. Aaron embraces Mike and thanks him.

Sometime later, Mike returns to tell Aaron that he should know the truth; his Flash of being with Tracy was not possible because Tracy is dead. Mike goes on to explain that he was with Tracy the day she died. Their vehicle was ambushed by employees of Jericho, a private military contractor operating in Afghanistan. Tracy had been unable to exit the vehicle before it was hit with a rocket propelled grenade. Mike describes having gone back to look for Tracy, finding her dead with her right leg amputated above the knee, and having to flee because he came under fire.

Later, Aaron invites Mike back to the Department of Water and Power to tell him that he had found him a job with the department, assuring him that he was not the first "screwed up" veteran that had been hired.

That evening, when Aaron returns home from work, he finds Tracy, minus a leg, sitting at his dining room table.

At the Hospital

Nicole does volunteer work at the hospital and quickly strikes up a friendship with Bryce, who asks for her help interpreting a symbol he saw behind the woman who was in his flash forward. It’s a Japanese letter meaning “believe.” Bryce does not know who the woman in his flash is, but he had strong feelings for her. Nicole urges him to put his story up on the Mosaic, as he has to find her.

Lloyd tells Olivia that he is moving back to the Bay area as soon as Dylan is cleared to transfer.

Demetri and Zoey

Demetri tells the truth

Zoey Andata tells Demetri Noh that they need to meet with the printer to select their wedding invitations. Demetri asks if she can just do it by herself. She tells him no, but he misses the appointment and they argue about his lack of commitment to the marriage. Demetri storms out of the apartment to go to the Ghosts meeting. When he returns late in the evening, he brings a peace offering and finally explains to Zoey that he did not have a Flash that matched hers and, as a matter of fact, did not have a Flash at all. He does not tell Zoey about the anonymous phone call. Zoey tells him that, because they have two different experiences, they can select the one they want.

Simon

Simon Campos is seen clutching a bracelet that spells out the name “Annabelle.”

Trivia

Production Notes

• Christine Woods (Janis Hawk) was credited but did not appear.

Bloopers and Continuity Errors

• In "No More Good Days", Fiona Banks was referred to as "our liaison at New Scotland Yard;" in this episode, she was referred to as "Fiona Banks, MI6."
• According to the passport seen in "Scary Monsters and Super Creeps", Ian Rutherford's birthdate is December 25, 1985, which would make him 23 years old in the immediate weeks after the Global Blackout. However, in this episode, Al Gough states that Rutherford is 25 years old.
• The leg shown following the attack is too long for what is missing from Tracy's body.
• The shot of Ian Rutherford's passport shows his Nationality as Scottish; UK nationals' passports show Nationality as British.

Unanswered Questions

Unanswered questions
Do not answer the questions here. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer. Avoid questions that are unlikely to be answered. More details...

Theories for these unanswered questions should go on this article's theory page.

General

• Why was Ian Rutherford so important?
• How did Mike get Tracy's knife?
• Was Gough really responsible for the accident that killed Celia?

External links

• Episode's article on IMDB