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Season 1
Pilot
- Mason defending how he never told the government he'd created a working time machine until it was stolen.Mason: Yes, because the federal government never screws up and can always keep a secret.
- Rufus' snark can make even the constant racism he suffers bearable.Rufus: So the back of the bus was amazing!
- When Emma sees a bomb with a digital clock, she is understandably very confused. Logan says he's going to tell her the truth... and then says he's Buck Rogers, and the bomb came from space.
- Their aliases prior to that were pretty good too. When addressing an officer at the Hindenburg airfield, Emma comes up with their cover story spur of the moment:
The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
- Mason, when the time machine returns in its blast of wind with papers blowing around: "We really should get some paperweights." As a Brick Joke, near the end of the episode, Jiya indeed has a paperweight on some papers next to her as the time machine rematerializes.
- Rufus, again, has snark on the times when Lucy says it's their job to protect history.Rufus: Yeah, rich white guys' history. A lot of my history sucks.
- Upon learning that John Wilkes Booth's brother was also an actor, and among the most famous in the world, Wyatt comments that the Lincoln assassination was like Donnie Wahlberg killing the president. Lucy thinks for a second, and then confirms that's actually a pretty good analogy.
- Flynn's growing frustration with Booth caring more about the dramatic impact of his plot than the aid Flynn can give him, until he just knocks Booth out and mutters "Actors!"
- Mason noting how Grant was saved by "a little known actress named Juliet... Shakesman..." and then looks to Lucy with "don't tell me" expression as she shrugs.
- The manner in which Lucy "accidentally" spills water on General Grant, trying to get him out of the booth for the assassination time. Then the "Oh, Crap!" look on her face when he returns early.
- When Rufus learns that his saving Johnson was credited to a white soldier in history books, he's less upset and more "yeah, that figures."
- A bit of dark comedy with Jiya's "Keep going... you're almost there..." when Lucy asks how she can still be born when her parents never met. "You got it," Jiya notes as Lucy realizes the man she knew as her father never was.
- The "Oh, Crap!" look on Lucy's face and her weak little "Hello" on meeting her alt!fiancé.
Atomic City
- Rufus continues being a Deadpan Snarker about being African-American in historical times:Rufus: (having successfully sneaked into a wardrobe room to get hotel uniforms) Guys, I got uniforms. We can get in [to the Frank Sinatra show].
Lucy: What? How did you—?
Rufus: 'Cause in '62, I'm pretty much invisible. It's my superpower. - When Lucy gets tipped in her waitress uniform, she has no idea what to do with it since she has no pockets. After a moment's consideration, she stuffs it into her cleavage.
Party at Castle Varlar
- Fleming confronts Wyatt and Lucy on standing out.Fleming: You Americans, you couldn't stand out more if you tried!Rufus: (entering with gun) Don't move!(Fleming takes a moment to look at the black man in Nazi Germany)Fleming: I stand corrected.
- Everyone hesitates a bit over what names they should give Ian Fleming, before finally realizing four episodes in that they can just use their own.
- Logan turns into a total Fan Boy at meeting Fleming, who's naturally puzzled as he's years away from creating Bond.
- When they escape the castle using the secret tunnels, Logan correctly identifies them as "priest holes." He then admits he only knows that because it was in Skyfall.
- Even better is Fleming hearing it and having a look as if thinking "huh...that's not a bad title..."
- The adventure they drag Fleming into inspires a new James Bond novel which is then made part of the film series. Mason is rather surprised to find their report is the exact story of an old action movie, down to their names.
- Logan has the most goofy grin imaginable when he realizes there's a "new" Bond film for him to watch. Not only is it a new Bond movie, according to Mason, it's Connery's best. Words cannot express the awesomeness this implies. Plus, he, Rufus, and Lucy are characters in it!
- Rufus dryly asks what the chances are that in the movie Bond sleeps with "Lucy."
The Watergate Tape
- After contacting W. Mark Felt, Rufus says "Let's go see Deep Throat!" as they leave. This gets a shocked look from a bystander, as the term for the informant isn't yet known so it sounds like he's loudly declaring he's going to a porn movie.
- Logan tells Rufus he's going to be spying on Rittenhouse for them.Rufus: So I'm a double agent? I barely have a handle on being a single agent.Logan: Congratulations, you're promoted.
Stranded
- When Wyatt is pretending to be sick for the benefit of the French soldiers, Lucy (pretending to be his nurse) takes him to the camp doctor. The doctor thinks she's incompetent for suggesting that's it's an "infection," and claims that it's obviously an imbalance of the humors. His treatment starts with shooting a syringe of mercury up Wyatt's rear, and Lucy knocks him out before he can continue. Wyatt doesn't speak French, so he just stands there the whole time, blissfully unaware.Wyatt: What was that?
Lucy: Trust me, you don't want to know.
Space Race
- Rufus continues to amusingly lampshade the way racism affects his ability to adopt believable cover identities for the destination era (in this case, the late 1960s):Lucy: I just feel like I would be able to cover a lot more ground if I weren't a secretary in the typing pool.
- Flynn gets fed up by Anthony nearly losing his important briefcase to Rufus.
- Rufus is appalled at the ancient 1960s technology he has to deal with, but as he's standing next to NASA's premier mathematician and computer programmer, Katherine Johnson (a black woman whom he respects greatly), he has to edit his terms a little bit:Rufus: What a piece of... [looks aside to Katherine] state-of-the-art machinery.
- Also, given the immense strides in computing power and storage over fifty years, it's very amusing when Katherine proudly proclaims that the mainframe has two megabytes of memory and the time to upload an application from the tape drive is a mere ten minutes.
Last Ride of Bonnie & Clyde
- Rufus tries to escape from Hamer, after Flynn tells Hamer he's part of the Barrow Gang:
- Hamer: He says your name is Rufus.Rufus: [pulls out driver's license] What does this say?Hamer: [camera cuts to Hamer walking out of the interrogation room towards Flynn] His license says he's Wesley Snipes?Flynn: He is not Wesley Snipes!
- What makes that even better is that if it was on his license, he didn't just come up with it on the fly; he decided that back in mission control and they made the ID for him.
The Capture Of Benedict Arnold
- When Flynn kills a British general who was supposed to negotiate a peace treaty in ten years, Lucy is horrified, but Flynn just rolls his eyes.Flynn: Then someone else will do the treaty! Once you've seen one redcoat you've seen them all.
- This exchange between Benedict Arnold and Rufus on the way to Rittenhouse:Arnold: Let's stop here. The horses need water, and I could use a thunder mug.Rufus: That sounds good! What do you drink from a thunder mug?Arnold: You urinate in it.
The World's Columbian Exposition
- Rufus being surprised that Teddy Roosevelt is so skinny.
- Rufus referring to Cahill as "creepy Rittenhouse guy whose name I still don't know."
- Harry Houdini trying to steal Wyatt's gun.
- In a conversation with Rufus, the Historical Domain Character Sophia Hayden
(an architect and MIT's first female graduate) tells tells him that she studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Rufus responds that he's also an MIT graduate. After being puzzled for a moment, Hayden enthusiastically concludes that Rufus must be Robert Robinson Taylor (an architect and MIT's first African-American graduate). Not knowing where to go with this, after a Beat Rufus tells her that he was the "other black guy" who was there at the time.
The Murder of Jesse James
- Rufus reflects that the Old West is different than he thought it'd be: "A lot more cold sores."
- When asked why the townspeople are hostile, Rufus is told that they're a group with two black men and an Indian.Rufus: So it's like the scary version of Blazing Saddles.
- Rufus asks their Indian guide how they'll find Jesse James.Rufus: Follow his horse's footprints, stuff like that?Indian: Yes, find broken twigs, smell the wind, the Spirits will guide us.Rufus: Really?Indian: No, we'll interview witness because that's what we do! We're lawmen!
Karma Chameleon
- Rufus wonders why kind of 80s-style wardrobe Wyatt picked out.Rufus: If you brought parachute pants, so help me...
- Emma is overjoyed to finally get her hands on the one thing she missed stuck back in 1880.Emma: God, I missed beer.
- Wyatt goes to some flight attendants with Rufus having to remind him they're still called "stewardesses" in this time.
- Wyatt is trying to Ret-Gone his wife's killer:Wyatt: Rufus, he cannot go to her room.Rufus: Right. 'Cause if he does, they'll bang and conceive a Serial Killer. Got it. *Beat* That is not a sentence you say every day.
- Rufus is trying to keep the killer's dad (a bartender) occupied.Bartender: (points towards girl who has blatanlty hit on Rufus) Dude... go talk to her.Rufus: Phew, she kinda scares me. It's the whole "Olivia Newton John of it all... anyway, I'd rather just stay and hang with you.Bartender: (stares uncomfortably)Rufus: ...because you're super cool.
- It's Black Comedy to say the least, but at one point, Wyatt barges in with a gun drawn to force Joel and Claire apart - and Claire, who can only assume that he's driven by jealous rage over her choosing Joel over him, desperately starts giving him the "it's not you, it's me" speech.
The Red Scare
- Wyatt and Lucy have discovered that her grandfather is gay (or perhaps bisexual) upon following him to a 1950s clandestine gay bar. At least one man openly appreciates Wyatt's looks:Wyatt: He's looking at me like I'm a piece of meat.
- While interrogating Wyatt, Joe McCarthy launches into a rant about "eliminating the cancer" of Communism while beginning to light a cigarette. Wyatt finds this amusing.McCarthy: What's so funny?Wyatt: Just thinking about cancer...(McCarthy puts the cigarette away)
Season 2
The War to End All Wars
- When Wyatt and Rufus are caught trying to steal a car in World War I.Wyatt: Isn't that Captain Phillips' car? He told us to save Private Ryan, so...
- Rufus calling out Wyatt on the obvious feelings he has for Lucy.
The Darlington 500
- Wyatt gushes about legendary race car driver Ryan Millerson only to have the rest of the team stare at him blankly.Wyatt: You guys really are coastal elites.
- Even better, Millerson actually is a fictional character, meaning the show was (probably accurately) counting on the better part of its fans having no idea who the big NASCAR figures are to sell the twist. Although this might be justified in that Millerson was a Rittenhouse agent and history was altered accordingly.
- Lucy's mother being gobsmacked at finding out Nicholas Keynes printed out all of Wikipedia.
Hollywoodland
- The team tries to sell a musical about Alexander Hamilton in 1941 Hollywood, which understandably gets a response of It Will Never Catch On.
- Rufus poses as Langston Hughes, and when asked to give a sample of his newest work gives the theme song to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
- Rufus notes the team's tendency to rob in different eras.Rufus: So we're stealing things like a pre-Stranger Things Winona Ryder?
- Rufus walks in on Lucy and Wyatt in bed together the morning after they had sex. His eyes practically pop out of his head.Rufus: Well here you are. And this is me... leaving.
- Rufus later can't resist teasing Wyatt about the latter finally hooking up with Lucy:Rufus: Sooo.... how was your night?
The Kennedy Curse
- Lucy being overjoyed upon realizing that, since they're operating in the present for once, the team can use cell phones to communicate.
The King Of The Delta Blues
- Mason's amazement and excitement about time travelling to 1936 for the first time is short-lived when he gets sick and throw up on the spot.Flynn: And BOOM goes the dynamite!
Mrs Sherlock Holmes
- A cop catches Rufus and Flynn (who are still on bad terms) while they're searching a crime scene.Flynn: We're Pinkertons.Rufus: Yes, I am... John McClane and this is Hans Gruber.
The Day Reagan Was Shot
- Lucy and Jiya have the awkward task of convincing young cop Dhriti Siristavana to come out of the closet in 1981 so that she will cancel her Arranged Marriage and go on to Quantico, and thus become Denise Christopher, their boss. Lucy's initial attempts to broach the subject of Dhriti's sexuality cause the latter to think that Lucy is hitting on her, at which point Lucy insists that she and Jiya are a couple.
