In the 12th episode of Scorpion’s second season, the show reminds us why we fell in love with it in the first place. In one of the best episodes of the season (and probably the entire show), the team goes under cover at a university, and things go about as you’d expect them to go when Team Scorpion has deal with a mass of drunk, crazed college students. But surprisingly, this was no filler episode. This episode had a level of revealing emotion we really haven’t seen since Robots (episode 4, season 2). The Old College Try stands out as some of this season’s best work in humor, character development, and plot.
I’ll be the first to say that I was not expecting much from this episode. This episode came after the very tragic and heart wrenching death of Megan O’Brien (Camille Guaty) in the previous episode. This episode actually takes place 1 ½ months after her death, according to Paige. And given that the next episode is the Christmas episode and the mid-season finale, I definitely didn’t expect this episode to be as monumental or as thought out as it was. In fact, this episode may just take the title of my favorite episode, which was previously held by last year’s Christmas episode, Dominos. Coincidentally (or perhaps, not a coincidence at all), this episode was written by the same people who wrote Dominos. I think I’d like these writers to write every episode.
Anyways, this episode calls on Team Scorpion to track down a special software that is threatening to crash the US economy, and they trace the source back to a college campus. Each member of Scorpion, besides Paige, is given a role, and none of the team is happy about it. Toby goes as applicant for a position in the college’s Psych department, which happens to be run by the man who stole Toby’s fiancee Amy from him. Sylvester goes as a transfer for the wrestling team. Walter goes undercover as a drama teacher, of all things, and Happy goes as perhaps the most hilariously ironic thing of all — a sorority girl. You can imagine that some hilarity would ensue in these roles.
But the ingenious of this episode comes from the fact that it is these roles, which the team adamantly hated, ended up revealing truths about themselves. Toby’s arch enemy gave him a blunt and harsh summary of the reason he’d lost his fiancee, Amy, and it involved his extreme gambling issues and the lack of attention he gave her. In the sorority house, Happy was way out of her element and really annoyed, but surprisingly it was one Pi Ep sister that told her in order to truly be a part of a surrogate family, she needed to stop putting people off and start accepting the love people tried to give her. Meanwhile in the drama department, Walter had an argument with the students about how little value there was in acting (HA IRONY… because Elyes Gabel is actor…no? Ok) and how they should all just give up now, only to perform a stunning rendition of Shakespeare at the end of the episode. Ya, you read that right — Walter No-Emotion O’Brien recited Shakespeare.
This episode was so inclusive and so well thought out. Each character got their shining moments, as well as backstory that fans have been craving. The plot was organized, and the humor was dead on. There were also great leaps made in both relationships, Waige and Quintis. After many dry episodes between Happy and Toby, fans were surprised with a beautiful slow dance between the two at the end of the episode and Happy stating that she was “letting down her shield”. Waige fans were touched by Walter’s moving performance and the impact of his words, and also by Ray’s goodbye to Paige, when he told her that Walter needs her and that she knows his feelings for her. AWW!!
Speaking of Ray (Kevin Weisman), it sounds like this will be the last we see of him. I’m pretty devastated by this news because I really enjoyed Ray’s character and I thought he brought out a lot of great things in Walter’s character. Ray’s departure was bittersweet, though, because he decides to leave after Walter manages to prove his innocence in the death of his partner and Ray decides that he can now move on with his life.
The episode even gave a few very touching moments to honoring Megan and dealing with her loss.
Overall, this episode was fantastic. I so impressed and surprised because I was beginning to feel like some of these issues would never be addressed. This episode brought back the excitement that I’ve felt has been lacking this season. I’m very hopeful for the coming episodes and the second half of season 2!
