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It’s the penultimate episode of the second season of Scorpion, and it was one of the most intense of the season. I knew we’d likely have to wait for the final episodes before we got something really substantial plot wise. Thankfully, this episode did not disappoint. I was engaged in the plot the entire time and even interested in understanding exactly how they were going to get out the predicaments they found themselves in (which admittedly I’m not always so focused on, mainly because I’m waiting for ship moments). While this episode was a bit of stretch on the reality meter, it was entertaining nonetheless and we got some great dynamic moments between characters that I’ve been waiting all season to see.
I want to start out by talking about the Walter/Happy moments, because those were rock solid and continue to be some of my favorite moments on the show. Whenever the writers include moments that highlight the friendship between Walter and Happy, I’m reminded of why I truly love this show. The last episode to actually hit on this relationship was 2×04 Robots. Ya, it’s been a while, almost 20 episodes. Anyway, these were really powerful moments for these characters because Happy has always been the one person on the team that Walter feels like he can identify with under nearly any circumstance, and in this episode, Happy is actually encouraging Walter to take the romantic plunge with Paige. She tells him that while there is risk involved, the chemistry between Walter and Paige has been obvious since the day they met and if he doesn’t make a move first he’ll lose her. I cannot express how important it was that it was Happy who was telling him these things because for one, she is a person whose opinion he can wholly trust, and two, Happy Quinn does not speak on romantic relationships often. This is a rare moment for her, and it shows just how much she’s opened up (thanks to Toby) and also how much she wants Walter to be happy. I can’t get enough of these two, and by the end of the episode, Happy acts as a wingman for Walter. Welcome aboard the Waige ship, Happy!
Speaking of Waige, we finally got some good moments out of them too. This episode takes place in Chernobyl, the site of the epic nuclear disaster in the 80s. According to a nice Russian lady, the dome holding the nuclear material is decaying and cracking, and as it does so, toxic gas is escaping the building. This needs to be fixed ASAP and even the slightest mistake can bring Chernobyl 2, and as Toby cleverly points out, “9 out 10 sequels are worse than the original.” This joke made me laugh so hard actually. Basically, the team gets to Chernobyl and while trying to fix one problem, and in true Scorpion fashion, they actually create like six problems.
Sylvester, Paige, and the Russian lady (I don’t know her name, oops) crash their plane into the nuclear plant dome containing highly toxic gas that has escaped from a magma pool of radiation, called the corium. Also a problem, if this magma reaches these pipes at the back of the dome, it would create a nuclear explosion. So what I’m gathering is, there’s a lot of ways to cause an explosion here. Also radioactive gas. Luckily, there’s emergency oxygen tanks in the plane they were flying, though only roughly 20 minutes of air in each. Toby estimates that it will take 40 minutes for the corium to reach the pipes, so Walter, Happy, and Cabe have to get the team out of the dome and find a way to stop the blast all in under an hour.
From there a lot of crazy (and pretty unrealistic) things happen, so let’s just skip to the important stuff. Sly and the Russian lady make it out, but Paige and Walter both get trapped inside the dome. While cross a high rise beam, Walter slips and is clinging to life. Paige and Walter lose their oxygen masks and Walter starts to lose consciousness, so Paige give him the kiss of life. This kiss seems less about CPR and giving him oxygen and more just about the power of love being enough to save him. Honestly that kiss gave him practically no air, but it seems to work anyways because he manages to get back on the beam and they run to safety. They reach the roof just minutes before Happy has to implode the building to keep all the toxic material from escaping, so Walter ties an extension cord around Paige and himself and uses some cool physics to jump off the building without killing them both.
So the world is saved! No nuclear catastrophe today! Back at the garage, Happy convinces Walter to ask Paige out, and he almost does it! He’s about to ask her to a jazz festival with him when he gets scared and just offers the tickets for Paige to take Tim. WALTER WHAT?! NO! She totally would have said yes to you! Urghhhh this was so painful to watch. Happy was not impressed.
And amidst all of this there’s one tiny detail I forgot to mention: MARK COLLINS IS BACK! Yes, Mark Collins, the crazed ex Scorpion member who really just wants to be Walter’s friend again. We haven’t seen Collins since the season 1 episode Plutonium is Forever, which is hands down one of the best in the series. Collins is an incredibly complex and interesting character and I’ve been waiting since the early days of the series for him to come back. At the very beginning of the episode, Toby is called in by a judge to attest to Collins’ mental state, and Collins vows that he will kill Toby. And SOMEHOW he actually manages to escape custody! The final scene of the episode is Toby going to a parking garage to get meet a guy to does custom rings, and as he’s texting Sylvester a picture of the most beautiful and perfectly stunning engagement ring for Happy, he’s hit on the head and kidnapped by Collins. DUN DUN DUH!
I’m really excited for the finale because it’s centered around my absolute favorite character, Toby, and even more so I really get the feeling that we’ll get a ton of emotion out of Happy. I can’t wait to see how Happy reacts to the news of Toby’s kidnapping, especially at the hands of Mark Collins and while he was picking up her engagement ring. This is too much for me right now! THE FEELS! Toby actually had this huge insane proposal planned, and I can’t wait to see how it actually plays out. I’m hoping it’s something small and intimate in the aftermath of what’s sure to be an emotionally scaring event. I really want Happy to vocalize her feelings for Toby, and I think the prospect of losing him in this way will do the trick.
Also it will be really interesting to see where Walter and Paige stand at the end of this season. I know I keep saying that, but it’s because it’s legitimately impossible to say. They’ve had their ups and downs this season and I hope they’re ok going into hiatus.
All in all I enjoyed this episode. It was a big step up from previous episodes, and it was entertaining enough to overlook some of the small details. Join us for the season finale next Monday at 9/8c!
