Season one of NBC’s La Brea ended with Josh and Riley accidentally stepping through a portal to 1988. Meanwhile, Gavin, Izzy, and Ella deliberately stepped into a sinkhole in hopes of reuniting with Eve and Josh (in Gavin and Izzy’s case) and Veronica (in Ella’s). They landed on a beach next to a woolly mammoth, confirming they were definitely not in 2022 anymore. A strange tower that will somehow play an important role in season two was teased as the first season wrapped up.
Season two episode one, “The Next Day,” starts with families enjoying a day in Hollywood Lake Park, nestled below the famous Hollywood sign. A young girl has the worst timing ever when she takes her fluffy four-legged family member for a walk just as the Hollywood sign begins to tremble and the earth opens underneath it.
Everyone panics as pieces of the sign come flying down the hill, impaling the grass in the park.
Fortunately, both the child and the dog are okay, but the sign – and the hill it sits on – will need a major repair job.
Catching up with the 10,000 BC’ers, Silas refuses to provide any info on the sinkholes no matter what Eve (Natalie Zea) tries. 24 hours have passed, and Silas remains the only person who knows how to create a sinkhole. Eve and Ty (Chike Okonkwo) confirm Marybeth, Lucas, Aldridge, Scott, and Veronica are still missing.
Ty gives Eve a pep talk and promises they’ll get through this together.
Sam (Jon Seda) and Levi (Nicholas Gonzalez) resume questioning Silas (Mark Lee) about why he believes it was important Isaiah didn’t leave. Silas refuses to talk.
Sam and Levi step outside to argue about their next step. Levi thinks they need to be more humane, but Sam’s ready to do whatever’s necessary to get his daughter back.
Ty reminds everyone Paara’s group is coming that afternoon to retrieve Silas. Sam thinks they’ll just have to wait until he’s done questioning Silas. Ty’s certain Paara’s group won’t go for that because they want to hold him responsible for his actions and for the deaths he’s caused.
Ty continues to be the voice of reason. To survive long term, they need to remain on good terms with Paara. Eve suggests Ty try talking to her about an extension and he reluctantly agrees.
Sam finally gets Silas to talk by holding a gun to his head. Silas says the only person who can bring Sam’s daughter, Riley, back is Aldridge. Eve explains Aldridge is still missing and Silas believes he knows where to find her.
Ty, Eve, Sam, and Levi are stunned when Silas says she’s at a 30-story building made of glass and steel. But there’s a catch – it’s dangerous there.
The gang is all-in on finding this building except for Ty who refuses to believe Silas is telling the truth. Sam opts to stay with Silas just in case Ty’s correct. After Sam leaves, they decide he might not be the right person to keep an eye on Silas, given that he hates the man. Ty volunteers to also remain behind to watch Silas, so only Eve and Levi head out to look for the building.
Paara’s group arrives with food and the hungry campsite’s happy to see them. Ty asks for a little more time with Silas to try and locate Riley and Josh. If Silas’ information on Aldridge’s whereabouts is correct, then they won’t need him anymore. They will gladly hand over Silas then. But until that’s confirmed, they’d like to keep him at their camp.
Ty promises no matter what he will personally deliver Silas to Paara soon.
Levi and Eve walk and Eve’s unusually quiet. Levi knows she’s worried about Josh and he promises he’ll never leave her again. She won’t be going through this alone.
They come across Lucas (Josh McKenzie) and it’s obvious he’s been crying. He buried his mom and has just been sitting by himself, next to her grave. She lost too much blood, and he couldn’t get her to the light. He’s been hanging out here since then.
Suddenly they hear screaming and take off running. A group armed with machetes has Veronica (Lily Santiago) and she’s screaming to be let go.
The threesome watch and plot their next move, but when Veronica stumbles and is kicked while on the ground, Lucas can’t wait any longer. Eve and Levi are forced to follow him.
They watch as Veronica’s plopped next to other captives. Eve thinks that two of them should stay and watch the group while the other goes back for help. Lucas disagrees and moves closer to Veronica. He tosses a rock to get her attention. She sees Lucas and asks the nearest guard for water.
The guard’s distracted and Lucas makes his move, charging into him and knocking him to the ground. Lucas didn’t think this through, and another guard moves in to help his comrade. Levi sneaks up and attacks the second guard and, somehow, they manage to take both men down while Eve gets the key to free Veronica’s handcuffs.
They head up into the hills but at least one guard’s close behind when Veronica’s injury causes her to stop. Levi provides cover and sends the other three on while he faces down the guard. Levi pulls out the gun but that doesn’t stop his pursuer who launches a spear in his direction. Levi jumps out of the way and fires, hitting the man in the shoulder.
Eve’s grabbed by three men as Levi gets into a fistfight. He knocks his attacker out with a blow to the head with his gun.
Levi reunites with Veronica and Lucas and only then do they realize Eve’s missing.
Lucas takes Veronica back to the clearing and reports Eve was taken and Levi’s gone after her.
Levi surrenders to the men and gets thrown in the same cage as Eve. Their attackers have horses, and they get on the move again. Levi reminds Eve he told her he wouldn’t leave her.
Scott and Aldridge Team Up:
Scott (Rohan Mirchandaney) is doing yoga as Aldridge (Ming-Zhu Hii) wakes from a nap. The mysterious tower’s in the background as Aldridge confirms she feels better and that she’s a quick healer. (Silas stabbed her in season one.)
Aldridge has recovered her strength enough to give Scott a tour of the building. But first, she reveals the people inside it want her dead. That means they’ll want him dead too. However, if they don’t make it into the building soon then everyone will die.
Scott confesses he doesn’t like her sometimes, but he’s in since he doesn’t want everyone to die.
They’re still a distance from the building when Aldridge opens a secret entryway.
Josh and Riley Enter the Era of Awesome Music and Bad Hair
And now it’s time to catch up with Josh (Jack Martin) and Riley (Veronica St. Clair). Lilly and Isaiah aren’t near them when they wake up and they think they may be in 1988. A cassette tape tossed from a car proves they’re right.
Moments later, they spot Lilly and Isaiah getting into a station wagon with nuns. Josh thinks they’ll be fine since he’s okay. Isaiah will get adopted, grow up, and be his dad. They can’t interrupt that timeline.
Riley works through the puzzle and figures out they may be stuck in 1988. The La Brea sinkhole won’t open for another 30 years.
Josh thinks no matter what, they’re better off now than they were. At least now they’re not being chased by prehistoric animals or fort people. Plus, they could come across a McDonald’s.
They spot a house and hope the people will offer some help. The first two doors are locked but fortunately, in the ‘80s people were too trusting and one door’s unlocked. They raid the cabinets and fridge for food, and munch on cold pizza and cereal.
Josh thinks they should hurry and grab supplies before the homeowners return. And wouldn’t you know it, just that second the phone rings, their outgoing message plays out loud, and it appears they’ve gone to Catalina for the week.
Riley and Josh have a crash pad for a week!
They kick back and Josh immediately falls in love with Alf, calling the sitcom genius. Josh is certain this is better than being back in time, but Riley really misses her dad. Josh, however, isn’t freaking out because he’s there with her. Riley reminds him that just because they were thrown into a crazy situation doesn’t make them a couple.
Riley suggests they get out of there and then figure out what to do. Josh isn’t happy but agrees. First, he’ll look for cash.
Josh breaks open a piggy bank and leaves behind a sticky note that reads: “Buy Apple stock.”
He’s collected $100 but Riley’s still out of sorts. She explains it all feels like a nightmare and no matter what, the newspapers will remind her it’s 1988. That causes Josh to glance at a newspaper where, featured on the front page, is an article about a sinkhole swallowing the Hollywood sign.
They both realize a sinkhole didn’t open up in 1988 in their timeline. If this is like the La Brea sinkhole, they might be able to return to 10,000 BC.
Riley smiles.
Menacing Mammoths and a Shocking Discovery
Izzy (Zyra Gorecki) just arrived in 10,000 BC and is already sure she hates this place. Gavin (Eoin Macken) apologizes for bringing her and she reminds her dad it was her choice; they both want to find Eve and Josh. Their plan is to walk 20 miles a day but at that rate, it’ll take forever. (There are 1,100 miles – and probably just as many carnivorous animals – between Seattle and Los Angeles.)
Neither Gavin nor Ella (Michelle Vergara Moore) have had a vision since going through the sinkhole. They believe the visions were from when they were kids and now that their adult versions are in this time period, the visions are over.
They hear a noise and Gavin checks out their surroundings – his only weapon is a long, pointy stick. Ella and Izzy are already on each other’s nerves and Gavin has to remind them they won’t survive unless they work together. They didn’t bring food, supplies, or even a compass; they made the jump completely unprepared to actually deal with the environment.
They’re hungry and Gavin heads out to hunt. He spots a pig and launches his stick, spearing the animal.
Unfortunately, its death squeal gets the attention of a woolly rhinoceros with a sharp horn and a pissed-off demeanor. And now, Gavin is stickless. He’s forced to make a run for it and rolls down an embankment.
Gavin escapes and cooks up his kill, suggesting they eat as much as they can before they start walking again.
Ella thinks she made a huge mistake going through the sinkhole, and she only did so because she owes her life to Veronica. Since she can’t see her anymore, she isn’t sure she’ll ever see her again. Ella also questions whether she’s strong enough to survive down here.
Izzy looks for water by herself and slips on the gravel. She tries to keep walking, but it hurts. When she lifts her pant leg, she discovers she’s cracked her brace. Her dad comes to fetch her, and she pretends everything’s fine…but it’s definitely not.
They start walking again and Gavin’s acting all nervous and antsy. He finally confesses he came across a woolly rhino and he thinks it’s stalking them. Thank goodness he’s got his wooden spear back.
A rustling in the nearby bushes causes them to prepare for an attack. Out pops a baby woolly rhino that’s super cute. Izzy pets it and decides it wants to be friends.
It runs off and they follow it. Unfortunately, the baby was just heading back to its parents and now the threesome’s exposed in a field with nowhere to hide. Gavin remembers woolly rhinos are nearly blind so he’s going to create a noise distraction so they can escape.
He tosses his spear into a tree in front of the woolly rhinos and they move toward the sound. It worked, but Izzy falls and screams in pain, drawing the attention of one of the creatures. Gavin and Ella help Izzy to her feet but as they turn away from one angry rhino, the one that was stalking them enters the field. Great, now they’re trapped by two massive creatures!
They can’t run so they hit the ground. Luck’s on their side as the two rhinos fight. They make their escape while the battle’s going on.
Gavin does a quick temporary fix to Izzy’s prosthetic and she’s okay to walk. It’s still painful but she claims it feels better. They’ve only gone a short distance when they come across the Hollywood sign (broken apart, of course).
That doesn’t seem possible since they jumped through a hole in Seattle. They scan the horizon and not too far away is the building that’s part of Eve’s group’s camp. Ella’s seen that building back home and Gavin chuckles as he realizes the sinkhole actually brought them back home to Los Angeles.
- Season 2 Episode 2 “The Cave” Recap
- Season 2 Episode 3 “The Great Escape” Recap
- Season 2 Episode 4 “The Fog” Recap
- Season 2 Episode 5 “The Heist” Recap
- Season 2 Episode 6 “Lazarus” Recap
- Season 2 Episode 8 “Stampede” Recap
- Season 2 Episode 9 “Murder in the Clearing” Recap
- Season 2 Episode 10 “The Return” Recap
- Season 2 Episode 11 “The Wedding” Recap
- Season 2 Episode 12 “The Swarm” Recap
- Season 2 Episode 13 “The Journey Part 1” Recap
- Season 2 Episode 14 “The Journey Part 2” Recap
