Sunday, October 8, 2017

Scorpion 4x02 Review: "More Extinction" (I Speak Fluent Russian, Guys) [Guest Contributor: Yasmine]


“More Extinction”
Original Airdate: October 2, 2017

Picking up where the premiere left off, “More Extinction” completes the two-part season opener, and once again sees Team Scorpion save the world from a catastrophic event using their brains, teamwork, and a little bit of peeing in a pool. Because it wouldn’t be Team Scorpion if things didn’t require some awkward out-of-the-box shenanigans.

The premiere ended with the cliffhanger of hundreds of methane geysers opening in the earth and if the team doesn’t find a way to fix it, then mass extinction will begin within a few hours. With no help from the government, the team must come up with something quick — and when a state-of-the-art Russian helicopter flies overhead, they do just that.

And they plan a heist! All they have to do is cross the border and steal a military Russian helicopter from where it’s parked: in a highly protected luxury spa retreat for top Russian military. Luckily, the place technically has all the material they need. They just have to break in and steal it.

Also luckily, Mark Collins speaks fluent Russian... or maybe that’s not really a good thing.

Despite his insistence, the team still does not believe Collins is on the path to redemption, but they still have no choice but to trust him and work with him.

With the plan in place, and Collins’ Russian getting them through the front door, the team splits up to get the material they need. The plan is to meet back at the helicopter, which Happy will pilot, and then disperse the chemical into the atmosphere over the fissures, producing snow that will fall into them and then freeze up to stop the methane gas leaking into the atmosphere. Pretty simple.

To keep things interesting, Walter and Paige team up together, Collins — because of the ankle Taser he is wearing — has to stay with Cabe, and Sylvester teams up with the newlyweds, who are struggling with the rocky end-of-the-world beginnings of their married life.

It is a very rare thing, but almost the entire episode is just the heist to secure what they need. Usually Scorpion episodes tend to jump from one task to another, so it was nice to see them focused on one task and letting it play out while threading through it the more important character and relationship moments that really are the core of this show.

And naturally, this is all intertwined with ridiculous funny moments that include Cabe and Collins applying a full body wax on a Russian General to keep him from leaving, Walter giving Paige a very bad shoulder massage, and Toby walking around in a bright green speedo and having to pee in a pool. All in a day’s work for these geniuses.

Oh, and Happy accidentally fires a missile into Norway, effectively a war declaration from Russia against its neighbors.

The mission doesn’t go so smoothly, and the war declaration is not the main reason, but the team still manages to get the job done and once again, Team Scorpion saves the world.

And the biggest question from last week — is Mark Collins redeemable? — is also answered. Much as the team had expected, the former Scorpion member turned criminal had been playing them all along. He had been lying and manipulating and using them every step of the way, and unfortunately his ruse works and he manages to escape.

However, not every bomb he planted goes off. What Mark Collins continues to underestimate is how close and tightly knit this team has become. They are a family and no amount of taunting and manipulating can do that lasting a damage on them. Granted, they are all treading through new, uncharted territories in their life, but they have been through enough and have learned so much over the past few years that they somehow, every single time, manage to make it through. Evidence of this is shown beautifully through Toby and Happy and through Paige and Walter. Each couple is at the starting point of a new stage in their relationship, and they will have to go through a lot, but we can say that they have passed their first test.

One of my favorite moments in the episode is Happy making Sly a permanent wedding band from the remains of the band-aid one he wore, which he had thought he lost in Norway. That moment was so tender and so sweet and so perfectly in-character for both of these geniuses, who have had the best character arcs in my opinion.

Another character who shines in this episode is Cabe. He is always the level-headed father figure for this family and he does it again this week. He manages to make sure the mission is a success and he has to make the toughest of decisions along the way. Unfortunately, one of those decisions leads to Mark Collins escaping, and this in turns leads to the shocking cliffhanger that the episode leaves us with. While both ships, Waige and Quintis, are recuperating from Collins’ intervening and settling into their “happy place,” Cabe is on his way back home to Allie. As he’s walking there, Director Carson confronts him and arrests him for instigating an escape. Cabe asks for a lawyer and the director tells him he is going to need one.

Just how much trouble is Cabe in? How will the team react to the news and what will they do to rescue him?

This episode proved once again how close and strong this family is and moving forward, I cannot wait to see what they will do and how far they will go for Cabe.

0 comments:

Post a Comment