Warning: The following contains massive spoilers for Timeless’ two-hour finale, which started (and thus ended) about 15 minutes late in some markets.

Renewal or not, Timeless went all out for its Season 2 finale.

A brief recap of the wild and crazy twists: Secret Rittenhouse agent Jessica — who really is pregnant with Wyatt’s baby — kidnapped Jiya, who managed to escape to 1880s Chinatown. When the Time Team caught up with her, Jiya refused to go home, believing that Rufus would die if she did. Eventually, she relented and actually prevented her boyfriend’s death… only to witness him die a different way just moments later. Meanwhile, a fed-up Emma shot and killed both Carol and Nicholas.

Back in the present, Wyatt told Lucy that he loves her, as Flynn — who earlier in the episode seemed to be on the verge of confessing his own feelings for Lucy — looked on. The quiet moment was then broken up by a huge surprise: An upgraded lifeboat suddenly appeared in the bunker, and out walked future versions of Lucy and Wyatt! “Well, what are you waiting on?” scruffy future Wyatt told the shocked group as future Lucy added, “You guys want to get Rufus back or what?”

Below, executive producer Shawn Ryan talks about the unexpected cliffhanger, Rufus’ death, the potential Lucy/Wyatt/Flynn love triangle and more.

TVLINE | Where did these other versions of Lucy and Wyatt come from?

The episode that aired this past Sunday, Flynn referenced that he got the journal from Lucy. It seemed as if a future version of Lucy had given it to him, so that was a little bit of a tease that that was possible. It’s something that we hope to address in greater detail in Season 3 [if the show is renewed], exactly where that particular Wyatt and Lucy came from and what their circumstances are.

TVLINE | Just taking in their appearance, they look like they’ve been through some serious stuff.

Yeah. That was actually a rare time that I was on set, when we were filming that moment. It’s something that [co-creator] Eric [Kripke] and I and the other writers had talked about was — and it’s actually in the script — that it feels like they’ve just sort of come off the battleground, so to speak. They’re in the middle of it. They’re in the middle of something big, and obviously look different than we’re accustomed to seeing them look, and also seem to have a sort of closeness, a partnership, as well, that we’re interested in diving into in future episodes.

TVLINE | It is just the two of them that come out of that other lifeboat. Should we be worried that none of the other current team members are with them?

Well, I think that’s intriguing for a couple reasons. One is that, usually, in the rules of our show, you need a pilot to pilot these things, and at least in the current version of the show, neither Wyatt [nor] Lucy knows how to pilot [the lifeboat]. So the question is: Have they upgraded the machine so that anyone could pilot it? Or did one of them learn to pilot it? So I wouldn’t read too much into who’s not in there in terms of what that means for their particular fates. But it raises an intriguing question: If there’s a future Wyatt and a future Lucy, does that mean there’s a future Jiya and everyone else, as well?

TVLINE | When I’ve talked to you and Eric in the past, you’ve said that you don’t really want to go to the future because it’s always just so grim.

It’s definitely hard to do. So we’ve done the next best thing, which is bringing the future to us. One thing we talked about a lot is that this show is much more a historical drama than it is a sci-fi show, and this twist is by far the biggest sort of hardcore sci-fi thing we’ve done in the show. But I don’t think it’s our intention that that takes over the show. We’re still a show, going forward, that wants to visit different historical times and see our heroes trying to save history and, thus, the present. We still are reluctant to try to portray a future on the show. That’s a rule that I’m sure, one day, we’ll find the exception for, but for the moment, Eric and I aren’t interested in going there.

TVLINE | You’ve been playing all season with this idea of fate versus free will when it comes to Rufus’ life. Why did you decide to go through with Rufus’ death in the end?

We really like the idea of Jiya’s visions and how powerful they are, and the idea that what she saw were things that did come true in a way. One of her first visions was that Rufus was going to kill this pilgrim, and we ultimately saw in that episode that he actually didn’t shoot the guy, but the guy ended up being run over by horses and a carriage and died anyway. So the idea that there is some sort of fate thing that was going to befall Rufus, that despite all their best efforts to avoid it, they couldn’t, was something that was powerful to us — although, obviously, in the context of the twist end, where there’s a feeling like, “Hey, there’s a way to get him back now.”

TVLINE | I’ve really been enjoying what Flynn has added to the dynamic in the bunker this season: this sort of snarky, unpredictable energy. But when it comes to Lucy, it feels like there’s more going on there. What are his feelings for her?

I think we’re going to want to explore that going forward. I think it’s clear in that final episode that he has deep feelings for her. Do those take the form of something romantic? Is it something deeper? The one thing we’ve always liked is the idea that because he has this journal that Lucy wrote and really has been sort of privy to her innermost thoughts, he understands her in a way that other people don’t. He also has the shared experience where she lost her sister, he lost his wife and daughter, and in a way, they’re two people kind of on the same journey. …. Being in the bunker with Lucy, being aware of the problems she faces, being somebody that she can talk to in the middle of all this drama with Wyatt and Jessica and everything, brings them closer together as people and humanizes Flynn in a way that if you were watching the series from the very beginning, you might not have been able to anticipate. So that’s what really appealed to us as writers. Now what the form of that Lucy/Flynn relationship will be going forward is something that we’re already having long conversations about and will figure out, but we’re still working on that.

TVLINE | Lucy’s feelings are a little bit harder to pin down, especially because she has this history with Wyatt. What should we take away from the fact that she didn’t say “I love you” back to Wyatt? Is she confused about how she feels with regards to him and Flynn? Or is it just that Rufus’ death is overwhelming?

Viewers can make up their own judgments. My judgment of that is that Lucy’s been in the worst position of the group this whole season. [She handed] her heart over to Wyatt in Episode 3, only to then find out that his wife has returned. Lucy did what I felt was a really noble thing, which was to support Wyatt trying to make it work with his wife, even though it must have been extraordinarily painful for her. So I think the fact that she doesn’t say “I love you” back to him is a bit of an acknowledgment that there’s a path that Wyatt has to go to win her back.

He did make choices that were painful for her. And you can say whether they’re right or wrong. David Mamet would always talk about, “Good drama is never the choice between right and wrong. Good drama is the choice between two wrongs.” Wyatt had a choice between two wrongs: One was to not try to make it work with his wife, who’s now back, which was the thing he was pining after from the beginning of the series. The [other] choice was to abandon the new relationship with Lucy, which is what he ultimately chose to do. And so I think there’s some winning back of Lucy that Wyatt has to do. I don’t think the relationship is on equal ground at the moment. It was a great step for him to admit that those are his true feelings. It was an important part of the process. But for Lucy to just say, “Oh, I love you, too,” and all is hunky-dory after everything she’d been through, I don’t think would have been true to her character.

TVLINE | Carol’s last words to Lucy are: “It still belongs to you. All you have to do is take it.” Theoretically, if Lucy took control of Rittenhouse, could she turn it into something that does good for the world?

I would argue that Carol thought she was doing good for the world. That’s the age-old thing, right? One person’s good is another person’s bad. There’s a lot about Rittenhouse that we still don’t know yet, and Carol teases that as well. But Lucy, at the beginning of the season, was stuck with Rittenhouse for six weeks, and I don’t think that’s something that she wants to revisit. So I don’t think that’s something that Lucy is necessarily considering. But those dying words from her mother are intriguing in that way. Who knows what Lucy might be able to do with Rittenhouse or with time machines if she wasn’t always having to play defense?

Timeless fans, what did you think of the season ender? Grade it via the poll below, then hit the comments to back up your pick!