TL;DR: The NBC sci-fi drama Timeless (2016-2018) featured time travelers altering history. One episode sells us the narrative of the most famous traitor in American history, Benedict Arnold. He turns out to be—you guessed it—a Salem Witch.
As always, I stumbled into all this. Desperate for something to watch, YouTube’s algo gifted me with 5% Entertainment | 10 Incredible Sci-Fi Shows on Prime Video Crushing Netflix & Apple tv+ (5/22/2025). Their #9 pick was the “criminally underrated” Timeless. It already averaged a 7.6 on IMDb! I had never heard of the show but how could I possibly go wrong?
Well, I went both wrong and right. I will freely spoil the show because it’s terrible. The social justice virtue signalers slam the pedal to the metal, the acting is particularly poor, and for being a show about how small changes can alter history, it is liberally sprinkled with plot holes where they ignore those effects. I suggest you never watch it.
Instead, I suggest you study it. I found it ranks only with HBO’s Westworld (2016-2022) in revealing what’s really going on in this world. BTW, there have been many analyses of Westworld and all of them were essentially wrong. As I said, I had never even heard of Timeless nor any “conspiracy” or “occult” analyses, even with some in-your-face conspiracy symbolism. Vitally, though, the antagonists of Timeless pretty closely match the Salem Witches and, further, they speak their worldview in their own voices. To be honest, I found it startling.
Let’s understand more of the raison d’etre of the show: Many people have no historical knowledge at all, considering it completely irrelevant. Pretty much no one retains any of the boring high school textbook narratives, and that’s probably the way it was designed. Really, if The Powers That Be wanted you to actually retain any history, wouldn’t they simply let you retain the textbooks? Could it cost that much? I understand printed textbooks are going away so we see where this is all headed.
For most people, the light sprinkling of history they might actually be able to relate to you comes from—of course—fiction. That’s how we end up with Timeless. Time travelers aren’t changing history on the screen, screenwriters are writing history in your mind. As we have seen, the Salem Witches have been all over history managing events from the shadows. Here they are again, telling you the narratives of what They wish you to think happened. This time around they wrote themselves into the script.
After they let up on the high-intensity virtue signaling, the subtleties of the central conflict finally emerge. We began with three protagonists sent to terminate a “time terrorist”. Bit by bit, it is revealed that the so-called terrorist—as brutal as his actions have been—may actually be the hero, driven to such drastic measures by the threat of the real villains: the sinister and nefarious “Rittenhouse”. In fact, it may have been Rittenhouse that manipulated the protagonists into trying to eliminating a threat to them.
At long last in Episode 10, "The Capture of Benedict Arnold", the heroes (the two white ones, anyway, Lucy and Wyatt) and the so-called-terrorist/possible-hero Flynn head to that famous incident in American history. Flynn has identified Arnold as a member of Rittenhouse and wants to use him to get close enough to the founder to assassinate him, thus ending it all before it begins. That founder is based on a real person, David Rittenhouse (1732-1796).
When they first show up, Rittenhouse’s somewhat creepy tween son is alone, working on one of the many clocks in the room. (The real Rittenhouse had only two surviving daughters—that are admitted to in history, that is, and we’ll come back to that. Also, horology was a big thing back then and the real Rittenhouse was indeed a clockmaker.) Lucy takes the opportunity to chat with young John and maybe get a little intel:
John: My father says that peasants are like the hands of a clock. Round and around they go…. Because a peasant is no more capable of choosing his own path than the hands of a clock.
Lucy: Who chooses the path for them?
John: The clockmaker, of course!
Lucy: Are the members of Rittenhouse the clockmakers?
John: No one else can do it! They’re too selfish, and democracies are too chaotic.
Lucy: So the members of Rittenhouse are not part of any government?
John: Not necessarily. Control is all that matters. Usually it’s best exercised from the shadows.
Wyatt: What about the people that want a voice in how they’re controlled?
John: Peasants can’t govern themselves any more than ants can rule the jungle. Most peasants want nothing more than the illusion of a voice. Father says that’s what democracy is for.
Lucy: What you’re describing sounds more like tyranny disguised as democracy.
John: Father believes there’s no other choice.
Lucy: What do you believe, John?
John: [looking up a bit puzzled] No one’s ever asked me that before.
Hopefully, you understand how shocked I was to hear all this stated so plainly, and with no glib virtuous dismissal. I was recently telling someone how Fritz Springmeier was incorrect in that his paradigm led him to study only the rich and powerful. We have found that riches and power are mere byproducts, tools at best. I don’t think my interlocutor could really get out of that paradigm. And the part about “from the shadows”? It is the universal motif of the Salem Witch research.
Rittenhouse arrives, smells a rat and foils the assassination. Then he launches into the trope of a villain’s long exposition. As I mentioned, I believe this gives us our best look into the psyche of the Salem Witches. Rittenhouse begins by demolishing and humiliating Arnold—a founding member of Rittenhouse, no less—in front of everyone:
Arnold: You know all I ever want is to be of service to you, to the cause.
Rittenhouse: Shut up, Benedict. Did he tell you how I admire his military genius? How when the war is over I will give him a place near me at the table of Elders?... But did he also tell you about his alcoholic father? His poor education? His vanity? His bad temper—
Arnold: [interjecting] Please!—After everything I’ve done for you?
Rittenhouse: You’re an idiot, Benedict, so blinded by your wounded pride that you brought these people into my house to kill me.
Arnold: It was just a mistake, sir. Please, you can trust me.
Rittenhouse: You betrayed your best friend in the whole world, so why would I ever trust you? [he guns down Arnold in cold blood, point blank]
Very interesting to note that at this point, after the gunfire, young John begins to turn back to his work on a clock. I would say this very subtle clue indicates that John isn’t just creepy, he’s being made into a secondary psychopath. That’s a lot of what Satanic Ritual Abuse is about.
Rittenhouse: [ice cold after committing murder, now turning to John] Son. Watch. It’s important that you see this. [Rittenhouse’s men push Wyatt and Flynn to their knees and put guns to their heads.]
John: Please don’t hurt them in front of me.
Rittenhouse: Now John, what have I said about seeing the world as it really is? [cue the Deus ex machina to save the main characters]
There’s a lot to sort through and digest in that scene far beyond SRA and psychopathy, but this post is running long and I’ll highlight only three more points.
First, I once heard Mark Passio discussing his time with the Church of Satan. One item he related was that while Satanists would use the cops for various purposes, they despised them and would call them “their dogs” behind their backs. Why? Very simple: these were people that had turned on their own kind. Arnold was (fictionally) killed for it. I have since then been extremely reluctant to conclude that turning on any group would be a part of the solution to our present problems.
The second point concerns the killing of Arnold and the “death sentence” for Wyatt and Flynn. It’s too much to detail here, but I am convinced “They” are allowed to kill only their own. Like JFK and Charlie Kirk, Benedict Arnold’s execution is allowed for his endangering of the Rittenhouse organization.
Wyatt and Flynn are different, though. They are outsiders and I am convinced that “They” cannot simply murder their opponents, nor order their servants to do it. The scriptwriters were instructed to include certain plot points and do not know the backstory of what is really being exhibited. This particular one is only for dramatic effect.
Now, if their servants come up with the idea themselves—turning on their own kind in the process—and carry it out, then that is allowed. You see, “They” are engaged in proving a point, something about their superiority and right to rule, as you just saw discussed. If they simply kill those who disagree with that point and try to stop them, that is proof they are not superior. It means they’re only a gang of murderers.
The thesis we have regarding Timeless is that the episodes are easily digestible cartoon versions of the historical psychodramas of the Salem Witches. The main question then is: who—if any—of the people in this episode are Salem Witches. Could one of the iconic figures of the American Revolution, Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), be one? You know the answer.
When Benedict defected, you’ll see William Franklin (1730-1813), son of Benjamin Franklin, listed in the chain of people he worked with. Ben’s maternal aunt, Bethshua Folger-Pope, was one of the main witnesses at the Salem Witch Trials.
Benedict’s great-great-grandfather was William Arnold (1587-1676). Turns out William was one of the sixteen “original proprietors of Providence” in 1638. Essentially, these were the people that set up the State of Rhode Island. Guess where nine of them came from? Salem, of course.
You can read the fictional narrative they dreamt up about the circumstances for their departure in the wiki for Roger Williams (1603-1683). I mean, you can believe it if you like, but I claim that it was simply an expedition to set up another one of Their strongholds.
Wait—maybe William was just a buddy of Roger’s interested in farming some fresh fields, huh? Well, his son, Benedict Arnold (governor) (1615-1678), the first of four Benedicts in a row ending with the famous traitor…
… was president and then governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving for a total of 11 years in these roles.
What I would like to highlight at this point is something about the timescale. As far as notable historical events, William Arnold teams up with Roger Williams to set up RI in 1638, and then Benedict turns his coat in 1779. There may have been associations both before and after, but that’s at least a gap of 141 years.
Now, you can take this as evidence that what we’re seeing is mere happenstance and the events are unrelated. Alternatively, you may wish to ponder that these Salem Witches regularly work on timescales far longer than anything we’re used to in our world.
How about the man himself, David Rittenhouse? Did They admit something big? No, but maybe yes. If you look at his wiki, he seems to be a very smart guy, very nerdy. First director of the US Mint, but that’s about all that’s really notable for us. Same goes for the WikiTree page for David Rittenhouse (1732 - 1796). He had a daughter that married a Morgan, but even if I wanted to make something of that, it’s a genealogical dead end. We see David was born in Germantown, now in the Philly metro area.
Germantown is between central Philly and Norristown, where this guy was born: David Rittenhouse Porter (1788 - 1867). He was not just some scrub with a matching name, but Governor of Pennsylvania. However—surprise!—for the life of me I can’t find a genealogical connection between the two Davids. I do not think this is a dead end, though, not at all.
You’ll see this younger David had a brother named James Madison Porter, so you might conclude that he was named after a famous personage of the Revolutionary period. Sure, except that he also had a sister named Elizabeth Rittenhouse Porter. The famous David in fact had a daughter named Elizabeth, but she was not at all famous herself. It seems as if, as usual, the middle names reflect an important bloodline.
However, when we look at the “Ancestor” tab of DRP’s WikiTree page, there are no Rittenhouses. How puzzling is that? Well, note that Porter itself is a Salem Witch name, and there are a ton of Parkers on that page, including DRP’s own mother. That is a flashing red light.
Also note the name Todd. In a previous post, we saw that Abe Lincoln was of the Salem Witches. His wife, Mary, was the daughter of a Todd and a Parker. Her great-grandfather was a Porter. Her sister’s middle name was Porter. I mean, c’mon.
What is happening here? I’m just guessing but I’d say it’s possible the inbred Salem Witches desired an infusion of fresh blood and thought they’d get it from the famous supernerd. Okay, maybe not from him since he was hella old at the time, but I might go even farther out on a limb and ask: did they get it from his son, David Rittenhouse, Jr (1771)?
The thing is, both Dave Jr. and his mother supposedly died in childbirth. It is extremely odd, though, that Dave Jr. has his own Geni page. Such deaths during birth almost always result in the baby not even being given a name, and their existence is recognized only in the genealogical records of their parents. Did this guy go on to live under another name and even father children, who were given the name of his real bloodline? Personally, after all we’ve seen, I don’t even find the idea weird.
Thanks for reading!