#fliv

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OBSERVATIONS

"You sure you can trust that book?"

Stiv does not share Flynn's blind faith in the journal, but he does trust Flynn's judgment. Before they pass the point of no return, he asks Flynn one last time if he's certain they should do this. Flynn nods. He is certain. He trusts the journal. Stiv trusts him. Flynn's surety is all he needs. They proceed.

This is noteworthy in another way. Stiv knows about the journal. He knows at least some of what's inside. He knows they are following its instructions on time travel. The journal is Flynn's guide and Stiv's as well, by association. It's a closer relation between the journal and any of Flynn's other team members throughout season 1. The best after that is when Flynn lets Karl hold it while he shoots down Charles Lindbergh. He won't even tell Emma what it is. (I believe Anthony knew, but he was another equal to Flynn, not a henchman.) In fact, watching 1x06, you can see how little Flynn wants his men involved with its knowledge. He sends them all out of the room before he starts talking about the Watergate Tape and the journal. None of it is for their ears. You see it again in 1x14. Flynn and Lucy's discussion about the journal does not begin until after Karl has left them alone. It is as if the season was staged so no one was allowed to know about the journal unless Flynn permitted it. (Like when he told Wyatt and Rufus at Lucy's expense. Though to be fair, he was surprised Lucy hadn't told them already. Perhaps his expectation was that it was not news to them.)

Circling back around to my point, we can see how different this brief interaction with Stiv is against everyone else. He knows what is in Lucy's journal. At least some of it, the basic outline. He knows they are doing everything under its direction. Flynn told him about the journal.

"Everybody get down on the ground!"

It's Flynn's party, but Stiv is running the show. Flynn's priority is Anthony, and he trusts Stiv to handle the rest, to keep the employees in order until their men make it to the Mothership with Anthony. Even then, Flynn ends up handing Anthony off to Stiv.

Flynn brings up the rear and secures their escape. And I’m sure Stiv knows that Anthony is in on the whole thing, but they still sell it. Mostly, I’m thinking about the way Flynn passes Anthony to Stiv. It’s as if the two of them are this amazing team working in tandem together. They operate like two people very accustomed to doing jobs side by side, a dance without stepping on each other’s toes. Both men know their specific job at any given moment and will work in sync with the other as the plan progresses.

Airfield Arrest

Flynn lets Stiv play with the binoculars. Because partners share. They share binoculars and control. Partners are equals. ♥

The part with the arrest went a little differently in the Pilot script. Although it really could have been the same, if omitted. But I’ll include it so I can comment.

Stiv does not share Flynn's sentiments and protection towards Lucy. He did not meet the future her in that bar. He very likely has not read the journal. (Though Flynn told him at least some of what's inside. Since he knows they are following its instructions.) But Stiv respects Flynn's decision when he says they will handle it another way. He trusts him.

But honestly, this is another missed opportunity to me. It would have been very interesting to watch the season progress with Stiv both understanding Lucy's importance but at the same time questioning how far they should let her interference go. (Always respecting Flynn's decision in the end, of course.)

I would have enjoyed watching when we got to Lucy's "betrayal" in 1x10 and 1x11. By that point, Flynn doubts Lucy as well. Would that become two against one for her? Or would Stiv be one of those characters I enjoy? The ones who care about someone enough to always be their voice of reason, even if it contradicts their own views. So would Stiv continue with not trusting Lucy and her journal anymore, or would he remind Flynn how valuable the advice has been thus far? I love characters who remain level-headed, especially to the benefit of a person they care for. Perhaps that could have been the role Stiv fulfilled for Flynn, always playing the devil's advocate to make certain Flynn considered all options before acting. It is something he definitely needed throughout season 1, especially near the end when his actions became desperate and erratic. Flynn needed support instead of feeling like he was all alone, making decisions by himself. But then, it was also important that Flynn feel alone and helpless by the end of the season. That was why they made Karl and all his other henchmen leave him, so that Flynn felt like 1x16 was his last chance. Perhaps Stiv could have died in another way by then, making Flynn feel more isolated. It actually would have been a great contributor to his mindset in the finale, even more devastating than his mostly nameless men walking out. (Do I have to write this fic? Does season 1 need a Stiv rewrite? Oh nooooo my to-do list. lol.)

Second Shadow

From the beginning of the episode (from Flynn’s very first scene) until Stiv climbs the mooring rope to the Hindenburg, he is at Flynn’s side every moment. They don’t separate. (Except for when Flynn has to avoid the men looking for him and ducks into the airport hangar.) Stiv even snuck onto the ship and helped Flynn plant the bomb. 

They go through this entire mission together, side by side. Flynn depended on him to be there and help him carry out each task. Flynn... depended... on him.

"Something's wrong."

When you realize Flynn is slipping back into his jacket because he and Stiv just changed clothes together.

Again, Stiv is on the side indicating he was going to drive, like with the van in the beginning. Somehow, Flynn manages to give up control to his partner here. And he does it again when they realize something is wrong with the aircraft’s launch.

Garcia Flynn, a man who hates delegating, trusts Stiv to climb onto the Hindenburg and handle the problem himself. Flynn remains powerlessly on the ground and waits for results. It is one of the very few times in season 1 that Flynn surrenders control. He knows Stiv is capable and does not doubt him.

“A soldier’s only as good as the guy beside him in the foxhole.”

Stiv was a man with whom Flynn shared his control. They were equals, and Flynn knew Stiv would come through for him, get the job done in his stead. It is such a stark contrast to the rest of season 1. If Flynn is not doing a mission all on his own, he is doing the lion's share of the work. (With the exception of 1x08, in which he agonizes over his non-contribution but had to prioritize saving Gabriel.) You can’t imagine Flynn relinquishing control to anyone else like this, not for something so important, something the entire mission depended on. But he did with Stiv.

So above, with the journal, you see that Stiv trusted Flynn. And now here is more evidence that Flynn trusted Stiv. They undeniably trusted one another, and in their line of work, that is not a trait which comes easily. Especially from Flynn, not after he was burned so badly by the NSA he believed. In return, Stiv trusts Flynn through all of this, even though association with the man, conspiring with Flynn, makes him a terrorist as well. If he had a semi-lawful life before the mission, it is over now. And yet the only time his dedication wavers is over whether or not they can trust the journal.

Dedication

Make no mistake, Stiv would have defeated Wyatt in that fight. He had an undeniable upperhand a few times, but Kate was there to keep intervening and save Wyatt. This man was a very good fighter. Would have been a great asset throughout the series. Just saying.

Now, for reasons we do not know, Stiv was single-mindedly dedicated to protecting the mission. As I mentioned at the very beginning, he tries to stop Wyatt and Kate from deactivating the bomb. Stiv knows the bomb doesn't have much time left, but he fights with everything in him to make certain it goes off, even though he is right next to it. He is on the ship it will destroy. He is completely willing to sacrifice himself for for this. It's true. Here's that section from the Pilot script:

The only question is... why? Why does he care so much? Why is he so dedicated?

Well, unfortunately, that is where canon leaves us. Stiv is burned alive on the Hindenburg and we never get any more answers about him. We’ll (probably) never know why the mission was so important to him or why he was such an equal to Flynn.

All we have... are headcanons.

HEADCANONS

In Business Together

In 2008, Flynn started his own firm in the private sector with global contracts. Two years later, he established a contract with the NSA and became an asset to them. Let us never forget how impressive this is, okay? This is amazing. Not only was Flynn great at his job (literally world-class) but he had the business sense to run his own firm and secure high-valued contracts. And it was apparently a successful business until he was burned in 2014. Now, Flynn worked with a team. It was not solely him doing everything. And while it is impressive that he built this firm, it is more believable to posit he had help in doing so. It is rational to imagine two men (who are familiar with each other and trusting of each other through war) going in and retiring from the military together to use their expertise in more profitable, independent ways. (It's the military equivalent of civilian friends who constantly threaten to quit their day jobs and open a bar together.)

So this is me suggesting that Flynn and Stiv knew each other prior to 2008. They met, perhaps, during a war Flynn participated in that America did as well. Like Afghanistan or Iraq. A joint effort between forces brought them together. So that sometime between 2006 (Flynn's last war) and 2008, the two men discussed retiring from the military. And they did. They began their own firm together, as business partners. Sharing the burden like that would explain some of its success. Otherwise, that would be too much work for one man. From there, they recruited more men for their team. Possibly those Chechen guerrillas Flynn fought in two wars with and kept friends from. Or just any soldier of fortune. But I believe their business, like the events of the Pilot, was Flynn and Stiv in charge and everyone else worked for them.

Friends

To me, calling Flynn and Stiv “friends” isn’t even a stretch. If they weren’t friends, Stiv was the closet thing Flynn had to one. He was most definitely a confidant, someone upon whom Flynn could depend, someone he could talk to. I choose to believe they were friends-- with a history together. And the great thing is... no one can stop me. lol.

As mentioned above, given their experience and the way they have each other’s back in the Pilot, I think they have fought together in at least one war. I think they knew each other for years before everything went down. I think they were in business together and I think they were friends. Fight me. Because it is just something nice to think about. That Flynn kept someone from his past life, that someone believed his innocence after he was branded a murderer and terrorist.

And then you get lots of lovely and painful headcanons to go with that. It’s a package deal. Like thinking about the night Flynn’s family was killed. We don’t doubt he was hurt that night, shot. He “barely made it out alive.” We’re fairly certain Flynn knows some first aid. I think he could patch himself. But in this moment, why not call a friend for help? I don’t think he would have gone to Stiv’s house, since police might have inquired with known associates, but maybe they met somewhere. Stiv helped patch him up and was a supportive shoulder to cry on. Then he helped Flynn get out of the country for awhile. See, isn’t that painful and fun?

But there can be nicer headcanons. Like because Flynn had no brother in the original timeline and that familial obligation wasn't an issue, Stiv was totally the best man at his wedding. Fight me.

Brothers? ...in-law

Hear me out. This is just a fun theory (AU?) kicked around by some people as we suggested that, perhaps, Stiv was Lorena's brother. ...........Okay, I know that sounds insane and overreaching, but do hear me out.

Stiv's first name is popular in Russia and other East European countries (though he himself is American). @victoriel-chan pointed out it is a name used in Croatia as well. I rather like the idea of Stiv’s mother being European (father American) as a mirror of Flynn's mother being American (father European). That’s fun. Then, despite also being American, Lorena has a name used in Croatia (specifically Croatia) as well. So here we have two American characters connected to Flynn, both with European/Croatian names. It’s quite a coincidence, isn’t it?

So if you want to say Stiv/Lorena are siblings, there are two directions the headcanon can go from here.

Option 1: Stiv's mother knew Asher. Stiv and Flynn grew up apart but knew each other, perhaps interacted with each other throughout the years during travel back and forth. This would also mean that Flynn knew Lorena most of her life, meaning their relationship grew from being childhood acquaintances. (She is one year younger than him.)

Option 2: Stiv's mother is from Croatia, and while they may have taken trips there during his life, he never met Flynn and his family. They did not know him. In 1991, the Croatian War for Independence began. Perhaps Stiv, feeling loyalty to his mother’s home country, joined to help it. There, he met Flynn, who we know fought in that war. I think I may prefer this option, and because it’s a little less straightforward and can be expanded upon, I’m going to talk about it some more.

Now, Goran Visnjic did fight in this war in real life, and it seems the creators wanted to use that for Flynn as well. The only problem is Goran actually was of age when the war broke out while Flynn was not. (Because they made Flynn three years younger than Goran.) Flynn was only 16-years-old at the time. From here, you can dismiss that as an error due to Timeless's notorious bad math skills. Or... We can spin a new story.

Flynn lied on his enlistment form and joined even though he was underage. (For added pain, this would probably mean he dropped out of high school to do it. But definitely got his diploma equivalent later because my son is smart.) Stiv is about the same age as Flynn, if not a few years older. (All my research puts actor Doug Chapman at... maybe... being born in 1972? If not before?) For the sake of pain, I'll say Stiv is a few years older than Flynn. He enlisted in the military as a legal adult. He meets Flynn. They hit it off, become friends. Eventually, Stiv discovers Flynn is too young to be there. But doesn't report him. Instead, he keeps Flynn's secret and looks out for the kid. And really, having help is probably one of the best ways Flynn was able to keep his secret during that war. (If we are going along with the canon fact that he joined at 16, as established by his file. Which was right above his birth year. Someone reviewed this, yes? Knew they did this?) So yes, let’s say that happened. It would inspire a sense of responsibility and loyalty towards one another until the bitter end. By the way, this whole story you can have without Stiv being Lorena’s brother, but I can get back to that now.

So let’s keep going with these two men fought together and knew each other. They were friends, best friends. One day, Stiv introduces Flynn to his sister Lorena, and... they hit it off. ♥ They get married, Stiv’s the best man, Flynn and Stiv become brothers(-in-law), Stiv becomes an uncle to Iris. It’s sweet and picturesque. Can’t we leave it here? Please? No? Okay. It is nice... until the night Lorena and Iris are killed. When that happens, Flynn and Stiv both lose them. Stiv loses his sister and his niece. And the authorities name Flynn as the murderer. I have been saying for a long time now that Lorena’s family (at least some of them) do believe in Flynn’s innocence because of the headstone.

Iris being “daughter” can be in reference to Lorena. But Lorena herself is “wife.” Being a terrorist fugitive, Flynn wouldn’t have been able to make the arrangements himself. Someone from Lorena’s family probably did, and when they did, they let Lorena be forever identified as Flynn’s wife. It’s something that can only make sense if her family believes his innocence. Otherwise, they never would have allowed it to happen. So... what if her brother, Flynn’s friend, believes his innocence, campaigns for it? I’m simply saying, he could be our man on the inside who helped make this happen.

Now, jumping forward a little, to the Pilot. Why was Stiv so determined to help Flynn and his mission, to stop Rittenhouse, to bring back Lorena and Iris? Because it was a pain he shared, a wrong he wanted to right, and he was willing to die to make it happen. He wanted the mission to succeed, their first step against Rittenhouse, even if it meant his life. What is more blinding than grief and hatred?

Conclusion

Stiv’s loyalty to Flynn and to the cause has no canon explanation. Therefore, all we can do is assign it headcanons. It can be as extreme as the idea that Lorena was his sister, Iris his niece, or it can be as simple as stating that he wanted to do everything in his power to help his friend, Flynn, to save America like him. But it cannot be denied that Stiv was different from anyone else Flynn worked with in season 1. (Except Anthony.) He was treated differently than any other henchman. There was an equality and a familiarity with this man. And whether Flynn and Stiv met many, many years ago or not, it is clear they knew each other longer than right before the series began. They were undeniably closer than the other mercenaries Flynn takes with him.