Sunday, October 15, 2017

Scorpion 4x03 Review: "Grow a Deer, a Female Deer" (It's Time to Order Up a Little Womb Service) [Guest Contributor: Yasmine]


“Grow a Deer, a Female Deer”
Original Airdate: October 9, 2017

I hate to admit it, but I found this episode rather lackluster, especially compared to the intensity and tension of the last episode, and I think I was especially let down by how easy it was to bail Cabe out of prison. Granted, the episode did have great character moments, and — as the nerd that I am — I loved Toby’s puns that no one else on the team did.

This week’s episode started with the team learning about Cabe’s arrest and they quickly bailed him out. But to do that, the team had to put everything on the line, sell their most valuable possessions, and mortgage the business. When he learned about this, Cabe was angry instead of grateful. That storyline carried throughout the entire episode, with Ralph eventually added to it to be the voice of reason.

With Cabe sidelined — forced to remain in the garage — the team took a non-government job that saw them traveling to a fictional African country to help local activists locate where poachers have been illegally hunting endangered animals and selling them on the black market. Once there, in typical Scorpion fashion, things get more complicated when the team intercepts a poacher who had just shot a deer. Upon inspection, after the poacher escapes, they realize that it’s an endangered species and, to make things worse, she’s pregnant.

The team’s job got harder just then — saving the injured deer and the fetus, as well as stopping the poachers. One of my favorite things on this show is when Toby gets to show just how good of a medical doctor he is, and this was a great moment for him to shine. Not only did he manage to save the fetus by creating an external womb for it, but he did so while cracking one terrible joke after another. And he also did all this while managing to figure out what was happening with Walter, who had been acting strange all day long.

Walter was struggling with the guilt he was feeling with regard to Cabe’s arrest. According to Walter’s logic, he was responsible for Cabe letting Collins go and, consequently, getting arrested. Of course, Cabe vehemently disagrees with him, insisting he never does things because people want him to do it. He makes his own decisions. Both men are terribly stubborn and this carried with him through the episode. It caused Walter to make some not-too-genius decisions as he tried to be Cabe on the mission — from wearing Cabe’s sunglasses to trying to handle a weapon and also trying to knock out a poacher, failing in all these things.

With the team leader acting unlike himself, the position was open for someone to step up and run the show. And with a pregnant mother in jeopardy, Paige’s maternal instincts kicked in to the max and she was the real hero in saving the animal and her child — or at least to whip the team into shape to get them to do what is necessary. I must admit that watching Paige go above and beyond to save the deer was really great. The moment with her using her own body heat to keep the fetus alive was quite powerful.

And an unexpected added bonus was watching how all this affected Happy. Like everything else with the mechanic genius, those moments were quite subtle and perfectly portrayed by Jadyn Wong. Watching as Happy silently reflected some of Paige’s maternal instincts and drive to protect the mother and child was a very interesting thing, and moving forward that could mean a lot for the character and her husband.

And finally, another character who had a big moment this episode, albeit not as subtle as Happy’s, was Sylvester. I love Sylvester’s growth and how every week is a chance for him to overcome one of his fears and grow more and more. This week was a chance for him to overcome one his most deeply rooted fears, something stemming from his childhood. Sylvester went from not being able to come near the animal to in the end throwing himself over her to protect her from bullets that were flying in their direction and then again saving her life when her heart stopped.

Sylvester’s political career was also a topic of development in this week’s episode. He has not really been tested much as Alderman yet and even though he seems to be confident so far, this week brought him a reminder that he is a rookie at this and has no political experience. This week saw the return of the young reporter from the West Altedenia Shopper, who had endorsed Sylvester in the elections last season. As part of her school credit she is required to intern with the Alderman — much to her dismay. She might not be too excited about her new job but someone is.

Ralph. The young genius finally came back for a full episode, helping Cabe and the team from the garage, and proving once again he is as important a team member of Scorpion as anyone else. And now it seems like Ralph will be getting a new adventure to embark on. The young man was left totally smitten by Sly’s intern, something that has Paige absolutely terrified. Her young boy is growing up.

Finally, after the team had rescued the day — animals safe and poachers captured — they were back at the garage and Cabe, having heard a few reprimanding words from Ralph about his behavior, took the opportunity to apologize for it. He then left to apologize to Allie while the team gathered around to watch a live feed from the animal hospital of the deer — aptly named Jane Doe by Sylvester — and her child.

It may have not been the most exciting episode when it came to the case itself, but the character moments, and especially the closing moments with the team being a family, were important and I admit, rather precious.

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