Scorpion 4x22 Review: "A Lie in the Sand" (I Wanna Make Our Dream Come True) [Guest Contributor: Yasmine]

“A Lie in the Sand”

Original Airdate: April 16, 2018

It’s never easy watching a finale when the fate of the show is still hanging in the air, and it becomes extra hard when the finale is so divisive and ends on the most bitter and infuriating and heartbreaking cliffhanger possible. That was the case with the Scorpion season four finale. With the network still not announcing whether the show will come back for a fifth season, the finale and the way it played out was hard to swallow.

I admit that in terms of the narrative and the character arcs, I am extremely happy and satisfied with how things went. It played out exactly how I wanted and expected it to play out. But the fact that we don’t know if the show is coming back — that is the tough part to make peace with.

For the case itself, while it carried the episode quite well for the length of it and was in classic Scorpion style (exciting, action-packed, and kept me at the edge of my seat, while providing a few laughs on occasion) is, in retrospect, almost forgettable. It did manage to carry the weight required to push the emotional and psychological journeys of all the characters forward perfectly, but it was just another “save the day while all the odds are against them” case. It did introduce us to Sly’s pen-pal, who is also Scorpion’s biggest fanboy, but it served better in how it managed to send everyone on a very important and revealing journey of self-discovery.

Sylvester was the one who brought the case for the team this week via his pen-pal, Alex, in Northeast Africa. Throughout the day, as Alex fulfills his dream of meeting and even assisting the team, it becomes clear that in their correspondence Sly may have taken some liberty with some details. While the stories about the team that he told Alex may have been true, he may have painted a more “super” heroic version of himself. And that’s always been Sly’s problem. Despite all the amazing things he’s achieved, is capable of, and has proven to be able to do, he’s always selling himself short. His lack of self-confidence has been the main reason he has not asked Flo out yet and why he felt he needed to embellish the stories he’s told Alex. This case was the necessary outing for Sly to realize that he is an incredible guy and that he does not need to lie to paint such a picture of himself.

Happy and Toby’s journey, as a couple and individually, has been my favorite part of this season. While I adore Sylvester and love his growth, I think the challenge of keeping a couple’s story interesting after they get married is the biggest one the writers faced this season. And I think they did a great job at not falling into the typical pitfalls with Happy and Toby. I think their desire to have a child together, while seemingly a natural step forward for a newlywed couple, was, in their case, a huge leap forward in their individual story arcs, whether as a reflection of Toby’s growth (and a step away from his immature ways) or for Happy and her desire and readiness to commit and have a family.

I really appreciate that this was the focus of their season and that the writers did not resort or the typical tiresome tropes of adding drama to an established couple — yes, I am talking about love triangles here. Happy and Toby’s love and commitment and their trust in one another was a breath of fresh air and a very welcome change of pace to how such couples are usually handled on TV. So this made their arc of trying and failing to conceive such a heartwarming and relatable story and struggle. Here are two people who have grown so much and are finally at a place where they both know what they want and what they’ve earned and are trying so hard to get it, yet the hand of fate is working against them. It was so beautiful watching them all season continually try and try and never give up, going through it side by side and supporting each other fiercely and with such devotion and love.

I think it was obvious all along that these two were going to end up adopting. It makes the most sense for who they are, their pasts and their story. It was still necessary to see them go through the process of trying to conceive. I think it taught them a lot about who they are and what they want and brought them so much closer together. But in the end, I think it was inevitable that the child that would complete their family would be adopted. I think it’s a beautiful way to take their story forward and is so respectful of both their pasts and their characters. Crossing my fingers that the show gets renewed; I cannot wait to see Toby and Happy as parents!

And this brings us to the other core relationship on the show and I suppose the most explosive storyline of the finale. I have to admit that, as much as I hate it, I certainly saw it coming. I can imagine the fandom is split on this, especially when it comes to Paige’s reaction and the proportion of things and how they escalated. But to be honest, I have to personally side with Paige on this. And just to make things clear, I think Walter’s initial “mistake” — going with Flo to the lecture — was barely even a mistake. It was how he handled everything afterward and how he’s failed repeatedly, not just with Paige but with everyone else, to accept his own shortcomings or to own up to his mistakes (or even try to adapt and adjust) that warrant Paige — and the rest of the team’s — reactions.

Repeatedly, Walter has played down his lying and his deception. And after being given chance after chance — after several confrontations from the team — not only did he disrespect them and their advice, but he also failed at taking these chances. He allowed a small lie to grow and his deception to become more and more damaging. He held his own fate — and the fate of his relationship with Paige — in his hands, and he can only hold himself responsible for how things played out.

My main issue with Walter this season has been his blatant refusal to change or adapt or make room for others, whether in his romantic relationship with Paige or even with the rest of the team. Somehow this has been the most conceited we’ve seen Walter ever. In several situations Walter has shown his disregard for the rest of the team, his refusal to accommodate Paige or her friends, his blindness toward the importance of everyone on this team and how Scorpion is as much dependent on them as it is on him.

I know I am being harsh on him right now. And do not get me wrong, I absolutely love Walter. He was the reason I was attracted to the show and the one character I am constantly rooting for because I think, in him and his character, the show carries all its major themes. I want Walter to succeed. I want him to find happiness within himself and with his friends and family. And this is why I honestly believe what happened in finale is exactly what needed to happen. In order for Walter to understand the value of what he has, of his friends and his family, for him to appreciate what he and Paige share and the life they can have, he needs to lose it all. He needs to fail and lose everything before he can succeed and have it all again.

The scene in the garage was so emotionally overwhelming and so beautifully acted by everyone involved. Paige’s breakdown was raw and vulnerable and I cannot in a million years fault her for how she feels and her outburst. She was one hundred percent justified in feeling the way she felt after everything that happened and how much she invested and sacrificed for their relationship, only to have Walter not even try to show her the same commitment or willingness to sacrifice or change or compromise or even own up to his mistakes.

I still believe Walter and Paige are meant to be together and that they will find their way back to each other. This is just a bump along the way. Yes, it looks like a mountain more than a bump, but all great couples have to face the impossible before they get their happily ever after, right? That’s just it for these two. They will come back to one another when they are ready, when they are stronger and more in love than ever before.

But first they must overcome these hardships and this break-up, which is more than just a personal one. Paige was not alone when she stormed out of the garage. Sylvester, Happy and Toby all did so, too. And rightfully so. Walter has been treating them as less than equals for a long time, and I think they have had enough. Centipede may not be here for long because, let’s be honest, this show is about Team Scorpion, but for the time being it’s a good thing that it is happening. For starters, Walter needs to see that these geniuses are very capable of doing it all without him and that the people he’s considered dispensable can actually do it better, would be a huge wake up call for him. And I also think it’s a good self-esteem boost for everyone else, especially for someone like Sly, who has been putting himself down for too long.

It is absolutely heartbreaking seeing this family so shattered and broken, but I think from a narrative point of view, it is the best thing that could happen to the show and to the characters.

And yes, I am aware I completely ignored Flo here but I just... I do not want to talk about her suddenly having feelings for Walter and breaking Sly’s heart. That is too much for me to handle! Let’s just cross our fingers and hope the show gets renewed so we get the chance to watch this family rebuild from the ashes and come back stronger than ever.

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Scorpion 4x21 Review: "Kenny and the Jet" (I Can't Always Protect You) [Guest Poster: Yasmine]

"Kenny and the Jet"

Original Airdate: April 9, 2018

It’s Paige’s turn to shine again, as the geniuses are distracted by dealing with their own issues (and in Sylvester’s case, facing a combination of all his fears at once). That doesn’t mean the team doesn’t bring their A-game, but they do struggle to balance their own problems with the case at hand.

With only one episode left in the season, making Paige the star and the hero (in more ways than one) of an episode came in the nick of time. It also focuses on the other relationship in her life — the one, in my opinion, more important than her romance with Walter: her relationship with her son.

The case is, in typical Scorpion style, equal parts exciting, emotional, and ridiculous. With Cabe, Sly, Paige, and Ralph on a flight back from Hawaii, Cabe’s instincts pick up something off with the Air Marshal and, after confronting her and the crew, they understand something’s not right in the cargo hold. The team offer their expertise and help, building a makeshift device to detect cell signal... which leads them to the discovery of a young boy hiding in the wheel well. The team back at the garage is already looped in and airport surveillance shows a boy running onto the runaway and sneaking onto the plane. They identify the boy and find out that his father is on the plane. It turns out the boy’s parents had recently divorced and he was living with his mother in Hawaii with his father in LA. The young boy, Kenny, wants to live with his father back in LA and had tried to get there by sneaking onto the plane.

Unfortunately, hanging out in the wheel well is not the best way to do it. He is already unresponsive, low on oxygen, and cold, and the team’s job now is to keep him alive while they figure out how to get him out of the wheel. They need to do all this without alerting the passengers to anything, to avoid a panic. Of course this is Scorpion, so they manage to succeed in all the most ridiculous ways possible — and by ridiculous, I mean that yes, I understand the science they’re using, but it is requiring a lot of suspension of disbelief. But that’s fine. It’s what Scorpion does best, balancing the science with the entertainment with the disbelief.

They manage to poke a hole in the plane, send the passengers into a panic, and almost cause a disaster. But it wouldn’t be Team Scorpion if things went smoothly.

Paige pulls off her most heroic stunt, putting her life on the line to save the young boy, and she proves that she may not be a genius but her mom superpowers can outshine the geniuses any day. Of all the things I love about her, her maternal strength is the most inspiring at times.

Not only does Paige use her super mom skills to keep Kenny calm and then to literally hang on to him as the plane lands, but she also overcomes a huge hurdle with Ralph. Her little boy is growing. He’s a teenager now, and while he may not be a typical teenager, he does have to go through what we all had to. He has a crush on a girl who’s older than him — and he later has to endure the heartbreaking truth of finding out she does not return those feelings. To make things worse, his mom makes him go on a trip to Hawaii with her which means he misses his crush’s birthday party, and he makes sure his mother knows exactly how he feels. Luckily, these two have a beautiful bond and what they go through on the flight only brings them closer and makes them realize they are entering a new phase in their relationship and there are going to be changes they both need to adapt to.

The relationship between these two has always been so precious and so beautiful. Unfortunately, there have been fewer and fewer episodes focusing on it lately, so this was a beautiful moment for it to come center stage and shine.

Another woman on the edge of a new phase of her life is Happy. Sadly, the pregnancy attempt failed and that is tragic for both her and Toby. On the surface, Happy claims she is okay with it, but she obviously is not. And it is heartbreaking watching her in this very hard time in her life. Happy’s recent behavior had shifted toward reckless. She is risking her life every chance she gets, participating in dangerous activities and acting irresponsible and out of control. Toby’s vocal about it throughout the episode and when she finally opens up, she tearfully admits that she’s doing all this as a distraction to keep her mind off the fact that she has not been able to conceive. The two manage to find an acceptable compromise where Happy can keep her mind of the baby and Toby does not have to worry about “having to conceive on his own,” as he put it: mechanical bull riding and a soft cheese plate. A win-win situation for all.

However, there is someone who has dug himself into a hole that looks like there won’t be any “winning” way out of it anymore: Walter O’Brien.

I’ve made my frustration clear as of late about Walter’s behavior and he does very little this week to make me less pissed off about him. While we finally have some recognition on his end that his actions have not been right and have been deceptive and unfair towards Paige, he is still struggling. And, once again, it feels like all these years of growth and developing his EQ have hit such an inexplicable drop. Walter continues to treat his relationship with Paige as a science experiment, and while it could have been cute and quirky at some point, it no longer is. He starts a Pros and Cons chart of telling Paige and the truth, but at the end of the day, even after Paige almost dies saving the day, he still fails to come clean.

And what is frustrating is that the actual thing that he did is so simple and not that big a deal, but it is no longer about him taking Flo to the lecture. This is now about his lies and deception and his treatment of Paige. I personally don’t care that he went with Flo to the lecture at this point. I am pissed at him for failing to own up to his actions, and as much as I love Waige, I honestly believe Paige deserves better than this and better than Walter — or at least the Walter we’ve seen over the past few episodes.

Fortunately, Paige is a smart cookie, and what she does best is read people, and she already knows Walter is keeping something from her. She’s on to him and I am glad because it would have been a disservice to Paige’s character to have her walking around so oblivious.

The next episode is the finale, and I wonder how they’ll clean this mess up between Paige and Walter and poor Flo who has been dragged into this whole thing unwittingly. And I hope Happy and Toby get some good news and that Sly finally — FINALLY — says something to Flo about how he feels because I think he is ready to move on and deserves to be happy.

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Scorpion 4x20 Review: "Foul Balls" (We're About to Lose Everything) [Guest Contributor: Yasmine]

"Foul Balls"

Original Airdate: March 26, 2018

I’ve watched this episode a few times since it’s aired. When I first found out there would be an episode where this team of geniuses would have to play a game of sports, I was prepared for what I knew would be one of the most fun Scorpion episodes ever. However, on my first viewing, it left a bitter aftertaste. I immediately knew why. So, on my second, third, and fourth rewatches, I watched the episode without the Walter scenes. And my enjoyment was enhanced immensely.

It pains me to say this, because Walter is one of my favorite characters on any TV show and his journey (up until a few episodes) ago has been great. Being in a relationship with Paige this season should have been a huge step for him in growing and learning, but it seems the past few episodes has seen him fall into a relapse that has had no trigger story-wise. We’ve seen Walter commit the same mistakes he had made so long ago, we’ve seen him act as though the learning curve of the past four seasons never existed. And it just doesn’t make sense — not narratively, at least.

On the other hand, we see the rest of the team growing and learning and evolving so seamlessly and beautifully. So for me, this episode is split into two: one where Walter forgets everything he’s learned over the past four years and repeats the same mistakes — which, even though they try to justify it with an emotional undertone, I am afraid it’s not strong enough and the damage of his behavior is too far that I personally fail to sympathize with him. And the other part of the episode is this amazing team coming together on one of the hardest tasks they’ve faced so far, overcome difficulties, and putting their efforts toward saving their jobs and saving Scorpion because they know how important and how irreplaceable this family is to each and every one of them.

Walter starts the episode by upsetting his entire team with a recent memo explaining the new shares he’s offering them. The numbers he proposes are not only ridiculous but also insulting. Toby and Happy each get 0.75%, Sly gets a 0.7% and Paige gets a full 1%. When confronted about why his girlfriend gets more, Walter explains that in fact Paige gets 0.25% and that Ralph gets the rest but labor laws prohibit him adding Ralph, so he put it under Paige’s name. And to top it off, Cabe doesn’t get anything because “he is not a member of Scorpion but a Homeland employee.” Suffice to say, the team members are insulted by this and also, rightfully, very pissed off about Walter.

And who wouldn’t be? This is the kind of behavior we would have expected from season one Walter, not the Walter who we assume has grown up and learned the value of this team and the value of friendship and how important these people are to each other and to the success of Scorpion. Caught in the middle of this, Walter decides the only way to fix this team situation is to call in Dr. Cecil Rizzuto (guest star Penn Jillette), and even though his presence does little to actually fix the situation, he is always a fun addition to any episode.

But before the team healing can begin, Scorpion is handed their toughest task to date. Cabe’s Homeland boss, Carson, drafts them to play a softball game against Homeland in an FGSL championship. The stakes are also pretty high because Carson is a douchebag. If Homeland wins, then he terminates Scorpion’s contract with the government. And if Scorpion wins, then Homeland doubles the ratings they pay them. Of course, for the geniuses, just the idea of playing sports makes them want to run for the hills. But Paige and Cabe are jocks, and they are not used to being bullies, so without consulting the team, they agree to the terms.

And yes, these nerds are as terrible at sports as you can imagine, especially since, in order to field a full team, they recruit Ralph, Patty, Dyfrost, Cecil, and Flo.

Walter offers to help Cabe go grab the team some equipment from the evidence locker of a police station, where a friend of Cabe’s does the team a favor by giving them access. In the meantime, Paige captains the team of misfits on the field. And it’s absolutely hilarious — from their pathetic attempts to trash talk to their more pathetic attempts at playing the sport. It’s funny and ridiculous and watching Paige as a jock is an absolute treat. But the reality of their jobs being on the line does not escape anyone.

Except Walter, it seems, who is willing to sacrifice everything in order to not embarrass himself in front of Cabe. That truth does not come out until the end, but to get to that supposedly emotional revelation, the episode is spent with Walter and Cabe being stuck in the evidence cage they were getting equipment from after they lose the key. Cabe claims it was with Walter but Walter denies that, rudely throwing in his face that he is the smart one of the two and he is sure Cabe had the key. They spend the episode trying to get out, with Walter constantly being an asshole to Cabe and sabotaging their attempts to get out.

In the end, the key does fall out of Walter’s pocket and the truth is revealed. The reason behind his actions is that as a kid he got embarrassed trying to impress his father playing soccer and he does not want it to happen with Cabe. I get that, but after the way Walter’s been acting recently and the fact that his behavior had been horrible to everyone, including Cabe, since before the whole softball thing, I find it hard to feel bad for him or to sympathize with him.

But either way, back in the game, Paige is desperate for the team to at least stop losing so terribly. Having read the rulebook cover to cover, Sly finds ways to “cheat” while working within the rules. He tells Paige that there is a range for the size and weight of the balls and so the team decides to tweak Homeland’s balls by sending Toby to a nearby pizza place and put the balls in the oven for a few minutes. This works for a while as it affects Homeland’s hitting and pitching game. Happy also comes up with a suggestion to use sensors to help Team Scorpion catch some balls and her logical justification of it not being cheating is that it’s akin to wearing glasses.

These two tactics help Scorpion get back in the game, but there is one more thing causing unbalance in the team: Happy knows that Flo went to the lecture with Walter a few days ago and that Walter did not tell Paige about it. She, of course, goes to her husband with the information and the two decide to investigate because they know that if there is something happening between the two, then that is a recipe for things to be not good. While Toby’s approach is more subtle, Happy is more aggressive and one point actually tackles Flo on the field after Flo herself loses her temper on an opposing player. But in a series of “under the bleachers” chats, Flo admits she has no feelings for Walter, much to Sly’s delight as he continues to have a crush on her, and also admits she does not know why Walter lied to Paige about it.

When Walter finally shows up, it’s his turn to take the bleachers for a moment of truth and he tells Toby that is was a white lie. But Toby isn’t having any of it. He reminds Walter of the delicate situation here; he had dreamed of Flo being his wife and of kissing her. This is not something that passes as a white lie and Paige deserves the truth.

But I guess that is something left for another episode because this one ends with Team Scorpion coming together to defeat Homeland and finally, these nerds have their moment of sports glory — tacos and trophies included!

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Scorpion 4x19 Review: "Gator Done” (Stupid Behavior + Stupid Behavior = More Stupidity) [Guest Contributor: Yasmine]

"Gator Done"

Original Airdate: March 19, 2018

I’m sad to say that the case is just so ridiculous — and not in the fun way — that it puts this episode as one of my least favorites. The plot development tools are too dumbed down, contrived, avoidable and forced. It is not like when the team typically digs themselves deeper because something goes wrong while they are being smart, no, things in this episode, at least when it comes to the case, were just stupid.

To stop a Zika-like virus from spreading, they have to release sterile mosquitoes into the atmosphere. Of course, it’s very time-sensitive and half the team travels to New Orleans to perform the job themselves. Toby’s focus isn’t completely on the job as he is seeing this as his last adventure in New Orleans before he becomes a dad, and that is the entire premise of why the job goes wrong. They have a limited number of mosquitoes to release and as they “sail” over the bayou toward the most appropriate location to release them, Toby’s beads get caught in the fan of the boat — a makeshift flotation device — and it jostles weirdly, which causes the canister that holds the mosquitoes to fall into the water. And if that alone isn’t too contrived, an alligator pops up and swallow the canister.
 
There are many ways they could have written for this case or job to go wrong, but they chose a series of events that just feels too lame. Yes, there it is. It has happened a lot of times that the team or someone from the team does something and it sends things into a downward spiral, but usually it’s when they are actively trying to solve things. Things always go wrong, yes, and they usually do end up making things harder for themselves before they make it easy, but this whole setup just felt too forced and too slapstick for these geniuses. I know I’ve said that I love how Scorpion has embraced some of its ridiculous elements and made them very enjoyable, but I honestly felt this episode failed at that. It was just roll-your-eyes stupid.

And after the alligator swallows the canister — why was Waler holding it in his lap and not securing it properly somewhere knowing how valuable it is? — things just keep getting more and more out of control. It’s not in the fun way, either, but again, forced and contrived and lazy, in my opinion. They find the alligator and decide the best way to get the canister is by Toby performing surgery. They try to put it down but Walter shoots Cabe with the tranquilizer gun instead of the alligator because the boat is shaking. Why didn’t he step out of the boat and stand on solid ground? I don’t know. So with Cabe out of commission and in a state of “he needs the antidote or h will die,” the team splits up. Walter and Paige continue after the gator and Toby has to take Cabe to meet with the guy who has the antidote.

Toby and Cabe end up drowning in quicksand and have to let it take them so they can swim under it, towards a nearby puddle. On the other hand, Walter and Paige find a way to get the canister out of the alligator, and that is by getting it to eat a chicken — yes, there are a lot of raw chickens on the boat — that they stuff with a plant that causes vomiting. They succeed in doing that, but then Paige ends up in the water and is in danger of becoming alligator lunch until Walter revs the engine of the boat and pulls her out.

And yes, they do end up releasing the mosquitoes. And yes, Toby gets Cabe the antidote in time.

Fortunately, the B-plot managed to salvage the episode with a story that was emotionally touching, pure, and at the heart of what this show is. Patty shows up to help Sly and Ralph promote Sly’s water filter and she is not herself. She admits that she had gotten her first tardy as a result of being bullied by a group of popular girls who did not appreciate her asking a popular boy to the dance. As if the embarrassment of rejection was not enough, they had tampered with her bicycle and left a mean note and she ended up late to school for the first time in her life.

Sylvester and Ralph both decide to take it upon themselves to right this injustice, even though Patty asks them not to. Sly, ever the pacifist and the diplomat, resorts to going to the principal to plead Patty’s case. On the other hand, Ralph — with his crush on Patty — decides to take more drastic measures. He ends up locking all the girls’ bicycles together. No real harm done, except that they have to try an impossible number of combinations to unlock them. Unfortunately for Ralph, this does put him in hot water with his mother and does not get him the recognition from Patty. Although I don’t think that he did it for that. He genuinely did want to get revenge on these girls, whether Patty found out it was him or not.

Sly’s successful endeavors do lead up to a beautiful scene between him and Patty where they talk about the hardships of high school and how important their friendship is to both of them. This genuinely sweet and tender moment was the highlight of the episode.

Another shining moment in the episode is the growth that both Toby and Happy portray. These two are about to start the scariest journey in their lives and this episode is an eye opener for both. Happy recognizes that her life-long commitment to being in control is going to come to an end. Having a child and becoming a mother means accepting that she cannot control everything anymore, and as terrifying as the thought is, she is learning how to do it. Her husband, on the other hand, also comes to an awakening, and it is that becoming a father is not just about having a baby, it is about taking care of them. And to do that, Toby admits he has to let go of his man-child persona and approach to life.

Unfortunately, there’s another genius in a serious relationship and that one is really struggling with a lot of things. The start of the season had Walter really trying hard to become a better man and to grow and learn, but the past few episodes have seen him regress. While he does come to personal realization at the end of the episode, it is really frustrating watching as he actively refuses to accept his mistakes every single week until that one moment in the end where he shows he’s made an improvement... only for the next episode to come and show Walter either regressing or just not growing — again.

This week, Walter struggles with white lies. He fails to understand the concept of lying to someone as to not hurt their feelings, and very much like how the case came together, it just felt too contrived and forced and I got the feeling that we have dealt with this with Walter at some point previously. He’s come too far along to have to struggle with this and, throughout the episode, he just comes off as an insensitive jerk. Until the end, where he suddenly figures out how it’s done and uses a white lie to get Paige out of going with him to a lecture she was too polite to tell him she did not want to attend.

So Walter lies to her and tells her it has been canceled. However, instead of this going down as a sweet moment, it only opens up a door that I don’t think anyone wants to be opened. Walter — out of options as to who to ask with him to the lecture — ends up calling Flo. Earlier in the episode, Sly had tried to ask her out but chickened out, and we once again find ourselves having to swallow yet another development in the inevitably disappointing love quadrangle plot.

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Scorpion 4x18 Review: "Dork Day Afternoon" (We're So Far From Fine, It's Not Funny) [Guest Poster: Yasmine]

"Dork Day Afternoon"

Original Airdate: March 5, 2018

On Scorpion, the old saying “it takes a village” has a whole different meaning.

This entire episode revolves around one thing, and one thing only: getting Happy pregnant. And it takes the whole team to get the job done. With Happy waiting at the clinic and Paige there for support, the very time-sensitive task seems simple enough. All that needs to take place is for Walter to drive Toby and his precious cargo the short distance to the clinic. To make things easier, they’ve practiced the run and on top of that, they’ve got Sly and Flo at the garage controlling the traffic lights along the way to make sure they get there in a timely manner and before the sample becomes useless. 

But this is Scorpion, and as convoluted and ridiculous as it may be, something will go wrong. Pretty soon, Toby realizes that maybe Walter is not the best choice for designated driver for this very important task. Failing to truly appreciate how delicate and intricate their job is, Walter decides that a little stop at the bank on their way to the clinic is a smart decision. Ignoring Toby’s very loud and incessant objections, Walter stops at the bank, and unlike the rest of humanity, Walter doesn’t use ATMs — he still withdraws cash from the teller.

I’m honestly impressed at Toby’s self-restraint there. I personally would’ve either tackled and brought him back to the car, or just took over and left Walter at the bank and drove myself to the clinic. But Toby doesn’t do that. He walks in with Walter and immediately realizes something is off. Even with his preoccupation with the little paper bag in his pocket, Dr. Curtis is still the best at what he does, and it only takes him a split second to figure out what is going on.

They’ve just walked in on a bank robbery.

And just like that, Walter and Toby and the potential future Quintis baby find themselves hostages in a bank heist, locked up in the break room with the staff of the bank.

Luckily, these geniuses go nowhere these days without their comms, so they are immediately all hands on deck to stop the bank robbery. While their intentions are pure, it remains hilarious that the pressing matter here is not stopping the robbery, but getting the sperm to Happy in time. The bank robbery is just an annoying inconvenience.

With Sly and Flo at the garage (and Sly still crushing hard on her), Happy and Paige need to get access to the bank cameras and do so by literally occupying one of the offices at the clinic. The one nurse who tries to tell them it is off limits gets a taste of Happy’s rage and immediately leaves the two alone. Outside the bank, Cabe is working with the police and finds himself commandeering an adorable little puppy at some point.

Inside the bank, all of Walter and Toby’s attempts at stopping the robbery and getting Toby’s sample out to Cabe face failure — until they finally figure out that what needs to be done is to make the dye packs explode and knock out the men in the safe. And as for Toby’s sample? They had attempted to send it out through the pneumatic tubes that banks used for deposits and withdrawals between the tellers and the drive-thru. Unfortunately, it got stuck along the way.

Yes, it is as ridiculous as it sounds.

But more ridiculous is the solution they find: popcorn. Toby tosses corn kernels after it because the heat generated by the dye pack explosion will be enough to cause them to pop and then push the sample out.

The dye pack plan works, the police get into the bank, and the hostages are rescued.

And the slow-motion sequence that follows is pure magic. Toby runs out of the bank, sprints around the block and then leaps into the air in the most athletic performance we’ve ever seen and catches the sample as it flies out of the tube. Then Toby and his sample get an entire police escort to the clinic, getting there in the nick of time.

The two major lessons, character-wise, in this episode go to Happy and Walter.

Walter’s selfishness in this episode may just have cost Happy and Toby the one chance they have at getting pregnant, and everyone’s anger and disappointment is loud and clear throughout. Even though he spends the episode — or at least a part of it — not showing any signs of regret, he does eventually apologize for his behavior. But honestly in recent episodes, I have been really worrying about Walter. His relationship with Paige has taught him a lot and he has often shown signs of growth, but then he goes and pulls stunts like this and I wonder if we’re about to witness a relapse in Walter’s growth that will jeopardize the relationships he has developed with his friends and with Paige.

As for Happy, I love the subtlety with which they always portray Happy’s more vulnerable sides. On the surface, the mechanical genius is the toughest and has the hardest shell to crack, but they always remind us just how gentle and vulnerable she truly is and how her insecurities have the potential to absolutely cripple her. These insecurities come to the surface in this episode, when she finally voices her fears of being a mother. Luckily for her, Paige is there to support and encourage her. And what better mentor can she ask for than Paige?

Sylvester also had a slightly emotional afternoon. With Ralph as his wingman, Sly tries to ask Flo out on a date. When she says yes to grabbing a bite, he thinks he has succeeded in doing so. Unfortunately, he soon learns that Flo took the invitation as just a meal between friends after work and not as a date. After an initial heartbroken reaction, Sly doesn’t let this little bump in the road stop him and he remains hopeful.

And I just hate that they’re doing all this to set up a love triangle... or rectangle or whatever.

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Scorpion 4x17 Review: "Dumpster Fire" (Make Things More Bad) [Guest Contributor: Yasmine]

"Dumpster Fire"

Original Airdate: February 26, 2018

With this episode, Scorpion gave a us a little role reversal situation mixed in with a slight AU scenario. If you’ve ever asked yourself the question, “What if the team was not a group of geniuses, but just a group of normal people with average IQs? What would that look like?” then this episode is your answer.

Although some parts of it went a little over the top trying to portray the geniuses as dumber than normal and had them laugh a few too many times at fart jokes, it still provided an interesting shift and helped certain truths come to the surface.

First and foremost, it showed Walter, Sylvester, Happy and Toby that — although they might not be geniuses — Cabe and Paige are still valuable members of the team with their own strengths and intellect that is just as dependable and important to what they do.

The episode had started with Walter and Paige hanging out with a group of her friends and Walt refusing to “dumb himself down” just to fit in with them. The fact that Walter is not willing to put in an effort there upsets Paige, visibly so, but Walter fails to notice that.

And Paige is not the only one upset by Walter’s behavior recently. Cabe also has beef with the whole team for the way they’d been treating him and Paige about the case they’re about to head out on. Apparently, it’s far too complicated for a non-genius and when they do eventually explain it — once again — they don’t “dumb it down” for him. But the gist of it is that a particle accelerator station in Colorado, the world’s deepest lab, has to have the results of a recent test verified by the team before they can apply for funding to avoid any falsification of results.

Paige and Cabe are not the only two feeling attacked about their lower IQs. Toby is right there with them. Being the genius team member with the lowest IQ, he finds himself the butt of every joke that day and is also made to feel less adequate than the other three.

But none of that matters. Or actually, it all does and comes as a wake-up call to the geniuses once they get to the job site. As simple as the assignment seems — verifying experiment results — there is one very clear warning: staying too long in the underground lab will cause cognitive abilities to decline, and — beyond a specific time limit — the IQs start to fall off a cliff.

So of course after verifying the results, the team find themselves extending their stay beyond that time limit to explore around the particle accelerator because it is their one chance to do so. And if breaking that one simple rule is not enough, one of the prairie dogs used in the lab escapes and chews through the wiring. In typical Scorpion fashion, this goes from a simple electrical malfunction to a full-on disaster situation, where the best case scenario is that the lab blows up and the worst case scenario is that they create a black hole.

And that is the exact situation one wants to find themselves in when the smartest people in the room are suddenly acting like ten-year-olds who’d rather make fart jokes than put their minds to the task at hand.

Luckily for them, Cabe and Paige are up top with their brains intact and they manage to help keep the team focused and on task. Paige and Cabe are there with all the ideas and they guide the team to stop the particle collider from exploding, bringing them back up safe and sound — and these ideas include putting Toby’s brain in a sealed vacuum when he loses consciousness, which proves Paige and Cabe have learned a lot about thinking outside the box from these geniuses.

Back in L.A., Flo and Ralph are attending a Chemistry Expo and Ralph is working as Sly’s wingman. Having realized he has feelings for their chemist neighbor, Sly is still wary of making a move. But luckily for him, the young genius is there to tell Flo all about how absolutely amazing Sly is. To a certain extent, Ralph does do a great job, eventually managing to pair the two up to work on Sly’s water filtration system that he hopes will decrease the amount of plastic waste in the world.

However, Sly is not the only one who Flo shares a moment with. In his declined IQ state, Walter’s EQ had made a rare appearance and he had apologized to Paige for his earlier behavior and promised to make more of an effort with their relationship. However, the minute he gets his IQ back, he forgets all that and blows her off to focus on work. He then goes on to share a moment with Flo over an experiment he’s working on. And honestly, I hate how all this is pointing towards a potential love rectangle between Walter, Paige, Flo and Sly. This is literally the last thing this show needs. The drama that comes with that is absolutely unnecessary and will ruin the precious relationships and bonds between the members of this team, who are more family that team at this point.

One relationship that I love how the writers are dealing with is Quintis. After finding out why they haven’t been able to get pregnant so far, the couple are looking for a doctor to start the treatment. And of course, the selection process is exhausting because it’s Happy and Toby and they are going to pick only the best. After studying all their options, they finally choose one — and much to Toby’s annoyance, he finally admits that the best option is the Brown-trained doctor, which is huge coming from Toby, the Harvard-trained doctor.

This episode had its ups and downs. Watching the role reversal and the geniuses lose their IQs was funny and fun, Ralph as Sly’s wingman was awesome and as always, for me, Toby and Happy and their relationship are everything. Unfortunately, the fact that Walter fails to learn anything from this experience and that after all they went through he still failed to truly appreciate Paige and Cabe was a huge disappointment.

And do not get me started on the potential love rectangle.

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Scorpion 4x16 Review: "Nerd, Wine and Fire” (Scorpion Takes Care of Each Other) [Guest Poster: Yasmine]

"Nerd, Wine and Fire"

Original Airdate: February 5, 2018

It’s Valentine’s Day, but there is more than just love in the air. In fact, it’s the winds themselves that are the problem the team faces in this episode of Scorpion.

The Santa Ana winds are causing havoc around L.A. and just when they think they can have the day off, Team Scorpion is called in to help with a chopper that has been caught in a building that is still under construction. In the helicopter, the pilot and his passenger are stuck and unable to get out. The passenger is a doctor who was on route to perform a procedure only she is qualified for and her patient is hanging on to dear life.

Of course, because that is not enough, there is also a dangerous electrical charge and a leaking gas tank and potential explosion to deal with. And there’s Toby at the hospital trying to keep the patient alive long enough for the doctor to arrive.

The team manages to use the wind to their advantage. They are able to rig a zip-line from the roof across the street to the building where the chopper is stuck. Walter rappels across the street, grounds the electricity and rescues the two from the chopper. But Walter can’t get across because the line breaks and the only way to safety is to actually jump off the building and hope the next gust of winds is strong enough to push him back into the building onto a floor which he can get out of.

And of course, this is Scorpion, and Walter makes it with only minor injuries.

Meanwhile, at the garage, Ralph, still infatuated with Patty, finds himself stuck tutoring a guy in math. The guy is not the brightest one around, and the only reason he is doing it is because Patty has a crush on him and the only way she can go out with him is if he passes. Patty asks Ralph for the favor and he says yes even before he knows what it is — because he is a boy with a crush. But once he finds out the truth, Ralph sabotages the tutoring to try to make him fail, much to the disappointment of everyone around him.

Also at the garage, Paige has stayed behind with the flu, but her illness is not the worst thing she has to deal with. Walter has taken this holiday to heart and is trying to win the boyfriend of the year award by copying every move from the Boyfriend’s Guide to Valentine’s. He’s there with the flowers and the chocolates and the surprise singing woodland creature telegram. As sweet and supposedly romantic that all is, it is not what Paige wants or needs. And on top of that, Flo finds out, accidentally, from Sly that Paige knows about the dream and things get awkward between the two, again.

Fortunately, Paige and Flo have a heart to heart in which Paige tells Flo there is nothing to be awkward about and Flo reassures her she has no feelings for Walt. As Flo describes her perfect guy, Sly overhears the conversation and realizes he would be Flo’s perfect guy. But while Sly considers that maybe he does have feelings for her, he still does not think he should act on them because he does not want to be unfaithful to Meghan’s memory.

As the team returns to the garage, Paige finds the tape that Walt once did for her that has the song he’d written and recorded for her. While I do wonder why Walter has not cleaned under his bed in months, it’s still an adorable moment between the two when Paige listens to it. She tells him he does not need to do all those overt gestures for her or to follow some made up rules for what Valentine’s Day should be about. This tape is perfect because it’s honest and from his heart and that is what Valentine’s is all about.

But a happy Valentine’s Day is not the books for everyone. Happy and Toby are still trying to get pregnant but it does not seem to be working, so they went to a doctor to get tested. Unfortunately, the results to show that the reason is Toby. And while there is a treatment, it is one that would be very expensive and the couple would not be able to afford it.

That is where the team comes in. They inform Happy and Toby that they are all going to pitch in for the treatment because Team Scorpion watches out for each other — even the members who are not born yet. They are doing this for baby Quintis.

And that moment for me is what this show is about: this family that will do absolutely anything for one another, no questions asked.

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Scorpion 4x15 Review: "Wave Goodbye” (I Cannot Let You Lose Control) [Guest Poster: Yasmine]

"Wave Goodbye"

Original Airdate: January 29, 2018

The focus on the two main relationships — Quintis and Waige — continues in this episode of Scorpion, and they’re even going head-to-head in the battle of the ships. Toby and Happy want Walter and Paige’s desks to be able to spend more time closer to each other, something they believe would help them get pregnant, and the way to get it is to go up against those two in a little trivia game that determines which couple know each other better.

It’s interesting that it comes at a time like this for Walter and Paige. Those two are relatively out of the honeymoon phase in their relationship and starting to have to deal with new challenges and real world relationship issues, and this game makes things interesting on that front.

It does not start great for Waige, since their practice question is about their first kiss and even on that, they disagree. Paige considers the one during the Quintis wedding as their first kiss, while Walter says the one at the garage way back when they were trying to prove there was nothing between them was their first kiss. Then Cabe pipes in to point out the kiss when Walt was unconscious at the hospital. The two spend the episode arguing this matter — even though they were once again trying to save the world — and still cannot get to a consensus.

But before the battle can officially commence the team takes a quick trip to Mexico to patch up a nuclear reactor that is threatening the area it is in.

Toby asks to be benched, promising to help from the garage, and he stays back under the pretense of being hurt and needing the rest. However, Toby’s true reason to stay behind quickly becomes clear as the others head out. His ex, Amy, shows up with a problem she needs his help with. After the fiasco at the bunker, Quincy left her but not after stealing all her money and selling her identity in the black market. She knows Toby’s past had him in circles with unsavory types and needs his help to fix this.

Toby agree to help her but unfortunately for him, he is seen driving with her by Sylvester, who is also staying behind for this job. Sly doesn’t tell anyone of what he has seen but he is obviously shaken by it. For a while, he manages to keep it to himself to help the team.

And speaking of the team, the seemingly simple patch-up job takes a turn for the worse — which is what we have come to expect with these people. This time it is not their fault when an earthquake hits, a tsunami looms on the horizon and chances of evacuation are slim.

But the team manage to use what they have and a little bit of out of the box thinking and they actually stop the tsunami from happening — using some good defensive blocking — and once again save the day.

Unfortunately, things are not going so great for Toby. His journey through his dark past puts him face to face with the people he had thought he’d gotten out of his life as well as people who are not too happy to see him, and he is faced with temptations that seem too hard to fight back against. It all ends with him and Amy being buried alive, but someone who seems to be the kind to hold a grudge. While buried together and caught in a tight spot, Amy kisses Toby. But the doc, ever faithful to his Happy, puts a quick stop to it. However, Happy has spent all day worrying about him, and while she does manage to rescue him in time, she is livid.

Back at the garage, Toby admits the truth that he was helping Amy to a very unhappy Happy. She’s rightfully pissed off at him for lying and for getting himself involved in this mess in the first place. Toby is honest and open and does not keep the kiss from her, but what Happy is angry about is not that. She never thought for a moment he would be unfaithful. Happy is angry at him for going back to that world, where he was once so lost and a mess. She admits that she worries about him losing control and falling back into that world she worked so hard in helping him quit. She fears losing him to that world when they are trying to start a family.

Toby promises her that any other man would have lost control. But he has Happy Quinn and he would not risk losing her for anything.

Finally, Paige and Walter agree to let Happy and Toby win the battle of the ships after the rough day they had. However, these people are too competitive for their own good and when Quintis call them chicken they decide to go ahead with the battle.

But they still cannot agree about the kiss: Walt now believes it was the kiss at the wedding and Paige says it was the one at the garage.

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Scorpion 4x14 Review: "Lighthouse of the Rising Sun" (You Make a Good Team) [Guest Poster: Yasmine]

"Lighthouse of the Rising Sun"

Original Airdate: January 22, 2018

The episodes leading up to the Valentine’s Day-themed episode and the hiatus had a very strong focus on relationships on the show — whether established dating, married, crushes or potential hook ups — and a special focus on Happy’s and Toby’s relationship. The different relationships are all at different stages and hitting their own milestones, and it was interesting seeing how these people who are at different places emotionally and romantically deal with the obstacles and the challenges in their relationships.

The episode starts with Walter doing science experiments with a group of teens at the garage while Patty films it. This is part of Sly’s Alderman project and it is not going at all as planned. Walter is used to Ralph — a child genius — but he’s not used to normal teenagers.

Elsewhere, at the Lighthouse, Cabe and Allie have planned a romantic getaway, only to be surprised to find out that Toby and Happy had the same plans. The couples don’t have enough time to lament this misunderstanding because a solar storm hits and cuts off all power and communication. With Sly and Paige on the road, the team manages to make contact with each other via comms and they confirm the solar event.

Walter is able to make contact with Homeland via a low frequency channel and uses Cabe’s credentials to ask how Scorpion can help. As it turns out, Homeland does need the team’s help. There is a private plane that they cannot make contact with that is being piloted by a young man with no training to fly at night. The young man, and his date, are both panicking and terrified.

The team, appropriately split into three, has three things to do. First, they need to calculate where the plane’s location is. They should next find it and establish communication. And finally, they need to guide them into a safe landing.

First up are Sly and Paige, who need to break into a government facility to be able to calculate where the plane should be. Sly’s math is always accurate of course, but the problem is what the two are going through on a personal level. Sly is struggling with the decision to run for a re-election while Paige is still having trouble with the fact that Walter dreamt he was married to Flo. Paige and the chemist had a moment earlier that day, with Flo coming to Paige for help with a business pitch, and Paige had not been her usual lovely self with her. Sly calls her out on it.

Back at the garage, Walt needs to rig Birdroni, Sly’s beloved bird-shaped drone, to be able to establish contact with the plane after he sends it off and pilots it to sit on the plane. Of course, nothing is impossible for Walt, but things are made slightly inconvenient and infinitely hilarious by the fact that he is babysitting a handful of kids. I never thought I needed to see this until now and it was absolutely precious and hilarious.

Finally, at the lighthouse, the others have to find the plane in the dark sky, get the lighthouse to do its job and help the kid land the plane safely. And of course, they need to do all this while also juggling their own personal issues. Toby and Happy are still trying to get pregnant, for example, while Cabe and Allie are also at an interesting place in their relationship. Ever the old-fashioned gentleman — and the butt of Toby’s jokes — Cabe believes he is ready to tell Allie he loves her. However, his fear is that she won’t say it back, something that Happy finds absolutely ludicrous.

The lighthouse team manage to succeed with their first two tasks. However, when the plane cannot land, they need to resort to a more drastic solution. And because this is team Scorpion, their answer is that the two teens in the plane need to jump out. The teens manage to show a maturity and trust that is beyond their years; trust in each other and the strangers down below. They jump and land on the giant net the team had managed to build for them.

At the garage, another teen had spent his whole day trying to impress a young woman as well. Ralph’s crush on Patty is growing but unfortunately, she does not see him the same way. He does get a lucky break in the end when Sly decides to run for re-election and Patty asks him to be her assistant campaign manager.

Another couple growing in their relationship and moving to a new stage are Walter and Paige. They’ve faced their first real obstacle and Paige goes back to apologize to Flo about her behavior, promising the other woman that she had done nothing wrong and the two share a sweet moment cementing their friendship.

Paige then tells Walter that she does trust him. Walter reassures her that even in his dream she was the only one he trusted and depended on and knew could save him. He tells her that in his dream, he was looking for her to finally be able to rescue him.

The “honeymoon” phase is over and they are starting to face real challenges and have to get their head out the skies. This is real.

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Scorpion 4x13 Review: "The Bunker Games" (He Wouldn’t Do That for a Consolation Pick) [Guest Contributor: Yasmine]

"The Bunker Games"

Original Airdate: January 15, 2018

Scorpion picked up after the holidays with the team getting ready for a new job sometime after the Christmas episode and Walt’s accident. There’s a single running theme in the episode: one that resonates with the case itself and with every character as they try to escape an unexpected life or death situation.

And the theme of “The Bunker Games” — another awesome title in a season of awesome titles — is this, “How irreplaceable are you?”

The first to struggle with this dilemma was Cabe. The reinstated Homeland Security agent has to undergo a physical exam to determine if he is fit for the job. Unfortunately, as Cabe pointed out, the test was designed for young recruits fresh out of college and not someone of Cabe’s age. Cabe is rightfully worried he would fail the test and be replaced by someone younger and with less experience. Luckily, he has Paige planning his training regimen and she promises that what she has in store for their handler is foolproof for getting him back into shape.

Cabe is not the only one who’s dealing with this issue straight off the bat. Happy and Toby return from their honeymoon — one that had gone horribly wrong, from the flat tire on the way, to being cheated by the hotel when it came to their room and finally Toby failing to live up to his marital duties — in time for the new job, only to find out the client had asked that Toby be benched, since they have their own behaviorist who will replace him on the job.

The job they got is to inspect a state-of-the-art new doomsday bunker that is run completely by AI. On the ground, the client has requested Walt, Sly, Happy and Flo, since they need a chemist. The news comes as a blow to Toby, who is already starting the day with a fractured ego. Finding out he is not needed and has been asked to stay in the garage was not what he was expecting. But this is Toby, so following orders is not necessarily his strong suit, and that will play into how things unravel for the team when they head out.

But before they do, the big question concerning AI arises: whether machines can or will ever replace humans. Cabe argues against the rise of the machines, but of course, it’s Walt who counters with the argument that robots are the future. And that was enough foreshadowing moving into the rest of the episode.

The team arrives at the bunker and are immediately shocked to find Quicy Berkstead, the pop psychologist who sells books in supermarkets, otherwise known as Toby’s arch nemesis and the man who stole his fiancé. It turns out, Quincy is the not just the behaviorist who is replacing Toby but also one of the minds behind the bunker. Working with Quincy provides a moral conflict for the team, who see it as betraying Toby, but when offered more money, they have no choice but to accept.

The team enters the bunker through a main entrance that is controlled by Quincy’s gut flora or gastronomic fingerprint and once inside, he starts showing them around. Part of his presentation is pictures from his honeymoon with his now wife, Amy, who also happens to be there. Meeting Amy comes as a shock to one specific person: Happy. The mechanical prodigy finally understands why Toby has never shown her pictures of his ex. Amy is incredible! She’s gorgeous and feminine in ways that Happy is not. And also, like, a foot taller.

Speaking of Happy’s husband, Toby follows the team and manages to get into the bunker because Sly had asked Quincy to keep the door propped open in account of his hating enclosed places. As Toby walks in, face masked by a scarf, Quincy warns him not to take it off. But of course, Toby does and the AI system, Dorie, immediately identifies him as a threat and shuts down the bunker. Apparently, Quincy needed to write a sample threat into the system and decided to make that threat Toby Curtis on account of Toby having pretended to throw acid at him the last time they met.

With the bunker now in shut down mode, Dorie proceeds to figure a way to eliminate the threat, which essentially means killing Toby — and everyone else if need be. So it is up to the team to figure out how to save Toby and themselves and how to outsmart an artificial intelligence program that can hear them and see them and anticipate their every move.

The team manage to get in touch with Paige and Cabe for a moment before Dorie cuts off all communication. While the two on the outside try to track down someone who has worked on the bunker, the team on the inside struggles to fight back against Dorie, who is at least five steps ahead of them at all times.

Of course, the task is made harder by the personal tensions between them. The Toby and Quincy rivalry is the most pronounced, but it is not the only one. Happy is feeling resentment towards Amy, and towards being a second choice to Toby after all. Sly, being the one who has to go head to head with Dorie, is having trouble outsmarting the AI program. And finally, Walter, still affected by the dream he had while unconscious where he was married to Flo, is acting strange around her, pushing her away and being dismissive to avoid her.

Even though Walter talked to Toby about his dream and the psychiatrist assured him that the dream means nothing, he still does not feel okay about having dreamt about Florence and what that could imply. His behavior toward Flo is awkward and rude and it leaves the chemist confused.

As one attempt after another fails, the team finally gets some help from the microwave. Yes, the microwave. On the outside, Paige and Cabe manage to get ahold of a disgruntled ex-employee of the company that developed the bunker, one who had always been anti-AI. He lets them know that in the design he had built a hidden escape route. As the team work on getting all they need to escape before Dorie disperses a fatal gas into the bunker, Quincy betrays them all by hiding in the only safe place and locking them all out.

Fortunately, they manage to get what they need — his gut flora — to open the doors, and the way to get it out is to have Toby parachute out of the bunker through an air shaft.

While getting things ready, Amy and Happy share a moment. In their heart to heart, Amy admits that she has never been first choice, not with Quincy, who always puts his work ahead of her. She tells Happy that even their honeymoon, which in the pictures looked perfect, had been planned around a conference and that all the pictures had been staged. It had been the same with Toby, who always placed her second to his gambling. When Happy tells her that Toby has quit gambling because she, Happy, would have walked otherwise, Amy informs her that he would have never done that for a consolation prize.

And that is when it hits Happy that she isn’t Toby’s consolation prize.

Sly finally manages to outsmart Dorie. When all science and logic fails against the machine, Sly resorts to philosophy and sends Dorie into a form of malfunction when he throws at the computer the old Liar’s Paradox.

Back at the garage, Toby convinces Walt to tell the ladies about his dream, promising him that nothing bad would come out of it since they will both understand it was just a dream. Unfortunately, when he does, both women do have a reaction to this. Flo’s is a more understated as she’s caught off guard. Paige however, she’s more vocal with her reaction and the episode ends with her explosive “WHAT?”

The episode was a fun return after the hiatus, and I absolutely loved the running theme and everyone having to deal with it in their own way. Moving forward, I’m still worried what the writers might do with the Paige/Walter/Flo situation, but I think having Walt come clean was a good step in the right direction.

Secrets are never ever good.

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Scorpion 4x12 Review: "A Christmas Car-Roll" (I’m Not Married to Big Bird) [Guest Contributor: Yasmine]

"A Christmas Car-Roll"

Original Airdate: December 18, 2017

It’s Scorpion’s version of A Christmas Carol and, of course, who other than Walter O’Brien can be Scrooge in this situation? The episode is in its entirety a huge lesson and an opportunity of major growth for a Walter. This season has been an important one for Walter, who — through his new relationship with Paige — is having to learn so much, and this episode comes to give him a more advanced lesson than he’s ever had.

Without taking into consideration the others’ Christmas Eve plans, Walter agrees to a job on the day. He’s dismissive and rude to the team’s feelings and concerns, even Paige and Ralph’s, and when they all refuse to work, he lets them know that he can do it on his own anyway, and that he does not need them.

With the team leaving him alone at the garage, Walter prepares for the job. As he steps down the stairs, he trips and falls, hitting his head badly. With no one left at the garage, Walter lies unconscious and bleeding for a while before his next-door-nemesis-turned-somewhat-friendly neighbor stops by with her Christmas gift. She immediately calls the team, and one by one they come back to the garage. Fortunately for Walter, the first to arrive is Toby with his medical expertise, and he immediately gets to working on saving Walter while they wait for the ambulance. The team then all manage to return one by one, as Walter’s condition goes from bad to worse and they do their best to keep him alive.

But the episode’s story is actually in Walter’s head, as he’s stuck while he lies unconscious in the garage. Walter “wakes up” in an alternate universe where nothing is familiar, but also everything is extremely familiar. In this world, Walter never founded Scorpion and the team is not together. Not only that, none of them know each other and they all live their own seemingly happy and successful lives, without Walter being a part of it. Walter is a university professor and he is married to Flo! Yes, the chemist from next door who he can barely stand!

Stepping out of the garage, Walter starts to realize that this world that does not have Scorpion has suffered some major tragedies — tragedies that in the real-world, the team had managed to stop. And just around the corner, Walter finds another tragedy ready to happen: a horrific car crash that has a person stuck inside a car, just a short time away from being crushed by a truck. The person inside the car? It’s Walter.

With Ray suddenly showing up to help, Walter realizes that the only people who can save this man — who can save him — are the members of Scorpion, and it is up to him to find them and convince them to work together and help him. But the problem is, they are all happy and successful in this world in Walter’s head, the world where he is not a part of their lives. Or so they think. It is up to Walter to reach deep into his “training” to figure out how to talk to each of them, how to reach them on a personal level and convince them to help. What doesn’t help is the fact that Ray is invisible to everyone else, which makes Walter look like a crazy person, and the fact that the parameters of the accident keep on changing, throwing new challenges into their path as they try to figure out how to rescue the Walter stuck inside the car.

One of the running jokes in this episode is that Sly’s real-world intern, Patty, is literally everywhere. The first time we meet her, she’s a police Sergeant to Cabe’s Chief of Police. Upon first meeting Walter, who’s talking nonsense and disturbing the peace, Cabe is not a huge fan of him, willing to have his sergeant stun him. But this is Walter’s first test, and he has to convince a Cabe, who has little faith in his skill sets and talents, that there can be no other man, or better man, to help his rescue the man in the car accident.

After Cabe, Walter needs Happy, who in this world has her own podcast on cars and mechanics and it’s quite popular. And of course, her assistant is Patty. Once again, Walter is faced by a version of his friend who is successful and has no intention of helping him. His crazy ramblings and talk of a parallel world are not helping either. Walter needs to get personal with Happy. He shows her that he truly knows her, proves to her that they’re friends and shows her that he knows that what she truly wants in life is a real human connection and that she hates being alone. He reminds her that all she wants is a family, and promises her that he can introduce her to the man who is the love of her life, Toby.

Next, while Toby and Happy in the real world are drilling through his skull, Walter needs to find Sylvester in the imaginary world and get him on board as well. In this world, Sylvester is an extremely successful video game designer and kind of a douchebag as well. After having disregarded his work on the video game as childish, Walter really has to dig deep and apologize to this Sly in order to get him to join them. Walter praises Sylvester’s view on life and his refusal to let go of the wonderment of childhood as his true brilliance. Walter also offers Sylvester a fix to the glitch in his game and that gets Sly on board. And yes, his receptionist in this world is also Patty.

As Walter’s condition, both the one unconscious in the garage and the one stuck in the car accident gets worse, it’s time to call on Toby, who in this world is a successful motivational speaker who seems to have the answer to the question of finding true happiness. After getting chastised by his assistant, Patty, for interrupting Toby’s rehearsal, Walter gets a chance to talk to Toby, but what truly happens is that Toby and Happy meet for the first time. And the spark they share in the real world is just as strong in this one. Their connection is immediate and with a little push from Walter, the two, in their own Quintis way, agree to a date and Toby agrees to help.

Back at the site of the accident, Walter, Cabe, Toby, Happy and Sylvester are trying to rescue the Walter in the car, but things are not going well at all. Yes, these geniuses have the skill set to fix the situation, but their egos get in the way. They are unable to work together or to communicate, and of course, this requires the unparalleled skill set of one person: Paige Dineen.

The team shows up at the diner where they assume she works as a waitress, but instead Paige actually owns the diner. After a slight altercation with one of her waitresses, Patty, Walter finally gets a chance to talk to her. Once again, Walter sounds like a crazy person for a moment before he figures out just how to get to her. And of course, it’s through Ralph. Instead of being the highly functioning young genius he is in the real world, thanks to being a part of team Scorpion, Ralph is who we met all the way back in the Pilot. He’s sitting at the counter “making a mess.” Walter talks to Paige about Ralph, the most important thing in the world to her, and how every night she prays that he finds someone like him, who can help him and make him feel like he belongs. Like in the Pilot, Walter plays chess with Ralph and proves to Paige he knows what he is talking about, and that convinces Paige to join. (One fun detail was that the IT guy fixing the router at the diner this time around is Richard Elia.)

Back at the site of the accident, Paige takes charge, whipping the geniuses into shape so that they can rescue the Walter in the car.

When Walter finally wakes up in the hospital, he is surrounded by his team, his family — including Ray. Walter tells the team about his dream and how in that world they all had what seem like awesome lives that Walter was not a part of. He admits that even though he had said he didn’t need them, the truth is that they would do better without him. Toby, of course, is the voice of reason and helps Walter realize that they all need each other, that they all are all better together and think so highly of each other.

The episode is a lesson for Walter in humility and importance of other people. He is not alone and he could never accomplish any of this alone. But also, they are all better together, no mater what perfect world they thought they had, being a family is their greatest strength and source of biggest happiness and peace and belonging. They all make each other better and they all need each other. None of them can be the people they are today without each other. No one owes anyone anything and they all owe each other everything.

If that had been all, it would have been the perfect Christmas episode, but that’s not all. There is a small detail I’ve been avoiding and it’s time to bring it up, I suppose: the detail of Flo. In Walter’s dream, Flo was his wife. She was the one in the real world who called 911 and the reason he didn’t die. And in the end, when she shows up at the hospital to check in on him, Walter and Flo share a look. I don’t know where this is going, but it certainly looks like they’re trying to set up a possible love triangle here between Walter, Florence, and Paige. I really hope they don’t. The Waige storyline does not need a triangle to make it harder or to test it. They’ve already been through a lot and the nature of their relationship as it is is already challenging enough.

Like I said, I don’t know where this is going, but I really hope they don’t fall into the triangle trap.

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Scorpion 4x11 Review: "Who Let the Dog Out ('Cause Now It's Stuck in a Cistern)” (You’re Coming Home) [Guest Contributor: Yasmine]

"Who Let the Dog Out ('Cause Now It's Stuck in a Cistern)"

Original Airdate: December 11, 2017

It’s finally here: the day absolutely no one was looking forward to. It’s the day of Cabe’s trial and no one is dealing with it well. As the day progresses, the general attitude among the team only goes from bad to worse as things pile up and nothing goes as planned. This Scorpion episode had all the makings of a very tense and emotional episode, but somehow, in a way that only Scorpion can, enough lightness and humor were added — through subtle character-driven plotlines and a side case — that the episode never once felt melodramatic but still managed to deliver all the emotional notes required to make it a home run episode.

The day starts with the team, minus Cabe and Sly, trying to do everything they can to make sure the verdict sways Cab’s direction. Paige is first up. She accidentally “bumps” into the judge with her soothingly-scented lavender perfume. Walter is up next and he switches his morning tea with decaf, then Happy tampers with the ventilation in the court room to make sure it is set at the ideal temperature, and finally, as the judge walks up the steps, Toby is there posing as a street performer providing some comforting tunes from the tropics. Unfortunately, Cabe, who had spent the morning leaving gifts on their desks, does not take kindly to their trying to manipulate his case.

Either way, none of it matters since the judge appointed to the case gets called away with a family emergency and is replaced by one whose nickname is “Maximum Max” Talbertson because, according to Toby, he hands out convictions and hard sentences like breath mints. On top of that, the case is going to happen behind closed doors, so the team cannot attend.

Like I said, things just keep going from bad to worse. At the courthouse, the judge from the makes it clear from the get-go that he agrees with the prosecutor and will not be listening to evidence from Cabe’s past years of service and will only listen to facts pertaining to the case — that in which Cabe unlocked Collins’ ankle cuff and allowed his escape, which the prosecution claims Cabe was a part of. Sly and Cabe’s entire defense was based on Cabe’s past and his character and Sylvester suddenly finds himself lost and flustered,blowing his opening statement.

Back at the garage, the team has managed to hack the cameras in the courtroom but they have no audio. But again, this is not their worst problem. Homeland informs them that they will be getting a visit from an Agent Micklethorn, the man who would replace Cabe if he ends up in jail — and even then, only if Micklethorn deems Scorpion still beneficial to the government.

And the worst of it all, is not what is happening around them, but what is happening to them. Unable to control the Cabe situation and not fans of not being in control, the team start coping in ways that are anything but healthy. The always confident Happy is beating herself up about everything. She refers to herself as an idiot and a dummy and loses her faith in anything she needs to do. Her husband, on the other hand, starts engaging in any activity that endangers him, becoming the daredevil he never is. And Walter, apparently, is a person who eats his feelings: for the whole episode, Walter O’Brien is eating one thing or another.

Lucky for them, they have Paige, and when the time comes, she knows how to whip them into shape. Trying their best to get their minds off the case, the team hear of a dog stuck in a cistern and the police are unable to pull him out, so they decide to offer their help. It sounds like an easy enough job for these geniuses, but once again, bad turns into worse.

The dog apparently has diabetes and is in a weakened state because of that, plus a broken leg. The dog’s owner is there and is not taking it well, as the dog has been the only thing helping her through the loss of her husband. To add to that, Micklethorn arrives on site and is already judging the team. All these factors, and the fact that none of them are acting like themselves, means Operation: Rescue Puppy is probably one of the toughest jobs this team has had to do, and they have had their share of tough jobs.

Back in the courthouse, Sylvester isn’t having the best of days. The judge seems to agree with everything the prosecution is presenting and their defense is week. Poor Sylvester even resorts to using the electrocuting cuffs the judge to demonstrate the pain that Collins was in, which Cabe was protecting him from when he uncuffed him, but even that ill-advised stunt doesn’t do the trick.

The team finally get an idea to flush the dog out of the cistern, and in a final attempt to rescue him, they call on an old friend, their chemist neighbor Florence, for help. They need one of her concoctions to make a fast solidifying cement mix to close the drain and fill the pipe with water and get the puppy out. Flo’s mixture works, and after a scary moment where it looks like the puppy might drown, the team manage to rescue him. But that is not where Flo’s assistance to the team ends. Sly calls from the courthouse. He has a Hail Mary play and needs someone from the team to head over to the library and send him a picture from a rare law book of an 18th century case that might help Cabe.

Toby and Flo head off, running way too many lights on their way and forced to flee from the cops, but Toby finally manages to get those pictures to Sylvester. The case Sly submits to the judge is an old maritime case in which it was determined that, the captain of a vessel has the right to release his prisoners if he fears for their safety.

Somehow, the works and yes, Cabe Gallo deserves the not guilty verdict he gets, even if it happens through the most unconventional of ways. Sylvester may not have had a great first case, but he does get a win — and his second case is not that far away as the cops bring in a cuffed Toby and Florence, for whom Sly manages to get community service.

Once again, as the geniuses were falling apart, it was up for Paige to take charge and keep it all together. But by the end of the episode, it becomes her turn to express all her pent-up frustration and the poor phone operator at Kovelsky’s is the recipient of her anger when he gets an earful about them not having fermented fish.

But none of that matters because the team is finally together, Cabe is safe and back in his old job (he tears up at the intern badge that Toby had made him) and Flo is given a warm welcome and thanks for her help in everything. Back in the garage, the team opens the presents that Cabe had left them: for Sly, an action figure of Sir Ainsley from Chair of Blades; for Happy, a vintage 1959 tool of sorts; for Toby, Cabe gives him his father’s old hat; and for Paige, an old copy of Tech Talk Made Easy, which Cabe tells her he had gotten way back when he met young Walter, hoping it would help him get closer to him and understand him. It’s his way of telling her that he finds comfort in the fact that the team has her.

And finally for Walter, Cabe leaves him a copy of the letter Cabe had written for Walter’s visa application. In the letter, Cabe describes the then twelve-year-old Walter as someone who will grow up to be the most remarkable person he would ever get to meet.

I think they could not have written a better episode for Cabe’s trial; touching, emotional, tense throughout — whether with the puppy case or with Cabe’s court case — and still funny and entertaining and lighthearted. We’ve all been worried about this since Collins escaped and I think they absolutely nailed it.

One thing that did bother me? The episode title. They have been absolutely brilliant this season but this one just didn’t work for me. But otherwise? Absolutely flawless episode!

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Scorpion 4x10 Review: " Crime Every Mountain" (So Much for Boring and Uneventful) [Guest Contributor: Yasmine]

"Crime Every Mountain"

Original Airdate: November 27, 2017

In this episode of Scorpion, hilariously titled “Crime Every Mountain,” no one is having a good day at the garage. Tensions are high and everyone is stressed out because of Cabe’s approaching court date. Everyone is trying to deal with it in their own way while they all try to help with the mock trial. However, Walter’s way of dealing with it is anything but helpful, or healthy for that matter. He’s regressing to his old self and his old ways by pushing people away — especially Cabe, being harsh and antagonistic towards him to prevent himself from the pain of possibly losing him. Walter’s attitude only gets worse throughout the day, causing everyone to feel attacked and uncomfortable around him, not just Cabe.

Eventually, Paige has enough of his attitude and talks to him, in the way that only Paige can talk to Walter. She reminds him that instead of pushing him away, he should be savoring the possible last moments with him. Finally, Walter admits he cannot process the thought of losing Cabe. Paige shares something from her past, when her mother left, and tells him that pain is the price of love and urges him not to push Cabe away because if the worst happens he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.

Walter’s attitude is not the only reason the mock trial is not going well. Cabe wants to take the stand but Sylvester does not think it’s a good idea. Cabe is not performing well in the mock version — especially not when Walter confronts him and is extremely hostile in his questioning. But in general, Cabe is not handling being questioned or the case against him well at all. And things only get worse as the day progresses.

While Happy, Toby, Paige and Walter head out on a job — for once something that is not about Team Scorpion trying to save the world — Sly and Cabe stay back to work on the trial. But their prep is cut short when the Collins tracking software Sly and Walter had secretly been working on, the C.L.A.M, gives them a lead. The software is an elaborate one that is more or less illegal in some of what it does, but it helps them track any activity that can be related to Collins. The clue they get has Sylvester excited, as it might lead them directly to him when they find out a pawn shop has just bought very advanced radio equipment that only someone like Collins could have, and another clue leads them to believe Collins may be taking his grandmother to a retirement home that same day.

But after a wild goose chase around the city, they realize that Collins had been stringing them along. And worse of all is, by the end of the day, they realize that Collins had deposited a large amount of money in a bank account under Cabe’s name, making it look like the Homeland Security agent had taken a bribe to help Collins escape, making Cabe’s legal situation that much worse.

In the meantime, the others had arrived to test Happy’s new winch, hoping to sell it to Search and Rescue in New Mexico, but their client never shows. Instead, a small plane crashes nearby, and the four find themselves trying to save its passengers — a father and daughter.

While the father makes it out of the crash unscathed, the daughter suffers a broken leg. Happy and Toby stay with the daughter, Jessie, to fix her leg while Walter and Paige go with the father to help him find his son, who he says had jumped out of the plane with a parachute just before they crashed. However, it does not take long for them to realize that it is all a scam. The “son” is actually three bags of cash that the father and daughter crime team need to pay to a drug cartel. Unable to carry the bags alone, the father enlists Paige and Walter — at gunpoint — to assist him while Jessie also holds Toby and Happy hostage in the plane. For once there is no actual case for the team to solve beyond trying to survive and outsmart these two criminals, which offers a nice change of pace for the show. It is fun to watch how each couple uses all their skills and their superior intellect to outsmart their captors.

And while they are way smarter than them, this doesn’t mean that they don’t manage to find themselves in uncomfortable situations. Paige and Walter manage to escape by throwing themselves off a cliff, but that only leads them to be caught in a cave in. Luckily for them, Happy and Toby have also managed to outwit Jessie and, using the walkie talkie that fell with them off the cliff, they make contact. While Toby goes off to rescue their holed-up friends, Happy stays back to set up the next step of the plan.

I have to admit, that next step was surprisingly dark for a show like Scorpion. When Jessie gets locked in the car and it starts to roll off with no brakes toward the edge of the cliff, I was really shocked. A part of me knew that nothing would happen to her — that the show wouldn’t have these four killing a teenager — I still felt a little uneasy that the risk was even taken by them.

Finally back at the garage, Happy voices the concern that had been bothering her all day.  As if the pressures and anxieties of trying to get pregnant are not enough, Happy and Toby had been made more so by a comment from Walter about their pasts, both having dabbled in some illegal things. Happy is worried that their child will end up being a criminal because that would be ingrained in their DNA, and during their ordeal while held hostage, Happy had gotten to talk to Jessie about how she’d so easily joined her father in the criminal life.

Happy opens up to Toby about her fears, and what he tells her to ease her concerns is probably one of the most beautiful things ever said on this show and the most perfect testimony to this family and how close they all are and how strong they are together – and I hope it is foreshadowing what will happen in Cabe’s storyline. Toby tells her, “Sweetheart, it's nature vs. nurture. Jessie was nurtured by a sociopath. Our children will be nurtured by you and me... We're gonna be great. I mean, all parents do suck, sometimes. But when we do, we got Super-Mom Paige to watch out for us. And Walter's already reading up on early-stage neurological development. Sly's gonna give that kid a daily sanitizer dip. And Cabe will put his foot up our ass if we so much as miss a violin recital. If anything, we got to worry about them screwing up our kid. We're gonna be fine.”

Once again, the doc knocks it out of the park with his husbanding skills. Who thought when we first met him that Toby was going to end up being such an understanding and attentive husband? I am not going to lie, the way the writers are writing this marriage and this relationship can serve as a lesson to any writers.

Finally, as the events of the day — especially what Collins had put them through — take their toll on him, Cabe breaks down in the most emotional, most vulnerable and the most raw moment we have ever seen. He finally opens up, expressing everything he has been holding in — his anger and frustration — and it so painful to watch him like this. And yet what Sly sees is something positive. He tells Cabe that this is what he has to bring to court. That this kind of brutal honesty is what the judge needs to see.

All this is leading up to a huge emotional showdown with Collins, and while I have faith in this family and their ability to support each other, I must confess that I am very worried about Cabe.

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