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Scorpion - Revenge - Review

Dec 13, 2014

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Scorpion, “Revenge,” was written by the team of Elizabeth Beall and David Foster and directed by Mel Damski. In his long career, Damski has had an Oscar and two Emmy nominations, and his credits include Psych, Charmed, and Boston Public. As always, there’s an interesting, time-sensitive case that only our team can solve. There’s a good car chase – mostly accurate – through Santa Monica. But the heart of the show is what this case does to our central characters.

Once again, we see each of the characters use their talents to help solve the case, and that’s one of the strengths of the show. We see Happy (Jadyn Wong) use her technical skill to determine who could have made the metal/plastic casing and use the fire hydrant to stop the thieves from getting away. Toby (Eddie Kaye Thomas) helps narrow down the suspect and then create the sting to get him to talk. I loved the delight Cabe (Robert Patrick) takes in running the sting with Toby, and there’s a great shot of Thomas’ face as he gets dragged out of the interrogation room. Paige (Katharine McPhee) runs interference, but really has the least to do in this episode.

At the heart of the episode, however, is Sylvester (Ari Stidham) being seriously injured. Sylvester is clearly freaked out by the case they’ve been asked to take on, and tells Walter (Elyes Gabel) that he doesn’t think this is the kind of case they should be taking on. Walter simply stares at him and walks away saying, “Duly noted.” It’s hard to tell from his face whether Walter is disappointed in or disgusted with Sylvester. Does he believe that even though Sylvester is denying it, this is just Sylvester’s fear talking? Remember that it was just last week that Sylvester promised to step up and not let his fear keep him from helping in the field.

Naturally, because he is afraid, Sylvester’s OCD kicks in big time and he has to organize the boxes in front of him, leading to the explosion. All of the team members channel their worry in different ways. Walter leaves Megan (Camille Guaty) in charge at the hospital to be his eyes and ears, and it’s her quick thinking that gets them the shrapnel, gruesomely from Sylvester’s chest, that helps break open the case.
While the potential couples learn more about each other, they don’t really come closer to being couples. Happy and Toby are there for each other. We see that they understand each other’s different ways of coping – Toby reminiscing and Happy smashing. It’s a nice touch when Toby is able to fulfill his debt to Sylvester and bring him the comic books he owes him.
Cabe’s former colleague from Interpol, Simone (Karolina Wydra) causes problems between Paige and Walter. I did like her introduction and the banter between Patrick and Wydra. Simone lets the team know that they are getting a good reputation, and there’s a great shot of Paige, Happy, and Sylvester reacting and looking surprised and pleased. Simone ends up relating to Walter because her partner was also gravely injured by Javier (Christian Ochoa) the leader of the Ghosts.

There’s a really interesting dynamic created between Paige and Simone. Paige keeps trying to protect the team and give them time to deal with Sylvester’s condition. Simone, however, is driven to push them. Paige insists that it isn’t healthy to pretend they’re not hurting, and Walter backs her up by letting them take a minute. Paige confronts Simone and tells her you can’t be so driven that you don’t see what you’re doing to other people. She also reminds her that once this case is done, life will go on. Walter’s drive has lead to Sylvester’s injury and the case has far reaching consequences for him too. After Simone follows Walter out of the room and returns with him, there’s a nice reaction shot of Paige. She’s not impressed – is it jealously? Or is she simply annoyed that Walter is listening to Simone? She warns Walter, “Let’s not forget who we are.” This really echoes Sylvester’s plea at the beginning of the episode. I have to say, I didn’t really see how this case was that different from the others they’ve already taken on. They’ve faced danger before after all.

In the end, the case does lead Walter to do something – or not do something that leaves him troubled. When Javier is left dangling from the building, Walter hesitates to try to pull him up. Given the title of the episode – revenge – this is clearly Walter’s desire for that very thing. Walter hesitates, but does try to save Javier in the end – but it’s too late. Cabe feels badly for having pushed Walter. He’d wanted to keep Walter from having no closure, but it’s backfired. It’s a nice scene when Cabe goes to Walter. Walter is clearly lying to Cabe. And there’s a good shot of Paige in the background, and she clearly isn’t buying it either. Does he not want to appear weak in front of Cabe the way that Sylvester appeared weak in front of him at the beginning of the episode? Walter also assures Cabe at the very beginning of the episode that he doesn’t have feelings that will make it difficult for him to focus on the case.

Interestingly, Walter is able to share his guilt with Sylvester. He says he has a “brain teaser” for Sylvester, but Sylvester sees right through him. He assures Walter that he couldn’t have saved Javier and would have been pulled over and killed himself if he’d tried. Walter, however, says he didn’t know that when he hesitated – it doesn’t absolve him of the guilt he’s feeling. He’s still blind to Sylvester’s dilemma, however. Stidham has little to do in this episode, but the scene with Megan after Walter leaves is fantastic. He’s terrified to go back to work, and he’s terrified for Walter to find out. The question is whether Walter will be able to make Sylvester feel safe ever again or whether Sylvester’s fear of being alone will help him conquer it.

It’s interesting to see both Walter and Paige end their days on separate dates. Simone invites Walter for that drink and there has been a clear attraction between the two throughout the episode. Drew (Brendan Hines) and Paige reminisce as Drew clearly begins to try to woo Paige away from the team. It’s interesting that Drew immediately assumes she is thinking about Walter when she’s a million miles away. She looks surprised and says she’s thinking about the whole team. While her interactions are most often with Walter because he is the team leader and the one most likely to piss off those the team encounters, it’s clear that she is close to the whole team and vice versa. I loved them eavesdropping on Drew asking her out at the beginning of the episode. She knows she can get Sylvester to cave – and then she tells him not to let Toby corrupt him. Seems everyone has a soft spot for Sylvester – and his inherent innocence.

In the end, both Walter and Paige ditch their dates and join the entire team - all of whom have snuck back into Sylvester’s hospital room. This is a fantastic scene, and we see how the entire team has come together as a family. I loved Cabe telling Paige that he’s get Homeland to pay for her babysitter, and Toby and Happy picking out a specific comic for her to read. And of course, there’s that look between Walter and Paige. I was worried throughout the episode that Walter seeming to take Simone’s advice or his own counsel over Paige’s directions were distancing her from the team – possibly making her think she wasn’t needed and therefore pushing her closer to Drew. I loved the scene at the beginning when Walter points out that Ralph likes telescopes and then tries to be more polite about Drew’s give of the Erector set – Paige is having an effect on the team. This final scene seems to reassure us that she’s not going to consider leaving, however.

What did you think of the episode? Are you watching for the cases, the chases, or the team? I did like that Walter plants his phone on Javier – and loses the physical altercation – once again winning by brain and not brawn. Do you think Sylvester will leave the team? Do you think Walter is going to continue to feel guilty over Javier and possibly Sylvester? Do you think Paige will seriously consider Drew’s eventual offer to leave with him? Do you think Drew will consider staying? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

About the Author - Lisa Macklem
I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Forever, Defiance, Bitten, Glee, and a few others! Highlights of this past year include covering San Diego Comic Con as press and a set visit to Bitten. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.

10 comments:

  1. did you get a screener for Monday's episode?

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  2. Thanks for the review! I liked this episode OK, but I have to admit, I have some issues with it.

    I am disappointed with the Drew/Paige stuff. I really don't like how she is acting with him. I don't understand how she went from him cheating on her and abandoning her and Ralph, to looking as if she's willing to give him another chance. Considering everything that has gone down between them, there should be more struggling with her there. And there's really none. I think it's a writing flaw, but it's leaving me disappointed with the character. Even if she and Walter don't get together, I still don't want to see her back with Drew.

    I felt for Sylvester, but I also feel like we need more rationale for why he wouldn't feel safe at Scorpion anymore. The accident didn't happen there, and I understand why he might not feel safe on a job anymore, but not why he wouldn't feel safe at the warehouse anymore.

    Also, considering this was just going to a crime scene and not going to Bosnia, or going on a high speed chase or almost in an explosion or a nuclear meltdown, it felt like a huge leap to go to this job suddenly worrying Sylvester or some of the others.

    It just felt like a lot of the writing just took great leaps for dramatic purposes, that didn't work with what had happened in previous episodes.

    I do like that Walter's sister is sticking around. I hope she continues to. I like the actress, and the character is fitting in nicely with the group. It's nice to see one of them has a supportive family member who understands and loves her genius relative!

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  3. Thanks for reading!
    I don't think Drew cheated on Paige - I think he just took off to play baseball. It makes sense for her to be civil to him for Ralph's sake. In fact, I like how she treats Drew if only for Ralph's sake. They have a shared history and a child together, so I'm ok with there always being feelings there - that's pretty normal. We don't know that she is going to want to get closer to him. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up not being interested.
    Sylvester has an anxiety disorder - they've made that really clear, so I was ok with him being so freaked out by being hurt that he didn't even want to go back to the warehouse/garage.
    I do agree that having them all have misgivings - even if this is an Interpol case - especially after being in Bosnia - really was a bit of a leap.

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  4. Actually, in the pilot when Walter tried to tell her about herself, he said something about her broken marriage, and she said she got divorced because of some blonde woman her husband went off with. So it did sound like Drew had cheated on her to me. I don't actually have a problem with her being civil with Drew, it's this whole letting him off the hook thing that bugs me. They just seem to be having her fall back into a comfortable routine with him as if nothing happened and she has no reason to be wary of him. I'd rather see her be leery of him on her behalf and on Ralph's, especially since we the viewers know Drew's already pulling crap behind her back regarding baseball and Walter's presence in their lives. Having a healthy bit of skepticism wouldn't preclude her still trying to foster a civil relationship with Drew for Ralph's sake, IMO.

    I totally understood Sylvester being freaked out about going back to work, I think it was just the wording of the warehouse not feeling safe to him anymore that didn't quite work for me. Because they made it sound like as if going into the warehouse was the problem, not work itself.

    I think this would have worked better if the Bosnia episode had never happened. Which, granted, Sylvester didn't go with them, but that was a HECK of a lot more dangerous and out of their comfort zone then just going to a crime scene to try and figure out who some thieves were! They've been to the location of bomb sites and murders and other horrible things, so this sudden "Sylvester doesn't think they should work these cases" was from out of left field.

    I really do think it was just the writing that was off for me. I think I will go back and look at the writer of the episode and compare previous episodes. Because there was just too many things that seemed to happen just to make the episode work, but they didn't make sense in the context of previous episodes.

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  5. I'd completely forgotten about her saying that in the Pilot! I still think they've had her show enough skepticism. She spent an entire episode deciding whether to let Drew into their lives at all and at least 3 or 4 getting to know him again before sharing a meal with him. She does ditch him to go to the team for comfort too - she doesn't just fall into his arms. I wonder if she would have gone at all if Walter hadn't pushed her by showing interest in Simone?
    Again, I think Sylvester is still easily explained by his anxiety disorder. They are often extremely associative - so anything to do with Scorpion would freak him out whether it was logical or not.
    Foster also wrote the 2nd episode - "Single Point of Failure" - and Beall also wrote "Shorthanded" (4) and "True Colors" (6).

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  6. This was a great episode. My favorite part was the end when they all came together to be with Sylvester. I don't think he will leave, but I think it will take time for him to feel safe again. As for Walter and Paige, the looks they were giving each other at the end show, just shows how much they do care for each other. I think this will probably be a relationship that builds during the season. I hope Meghan continues to be on the show, her character fits in with everyone.

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  7. I agree - they are building the Walter/Paige relationship slowly - but I like that!

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  8. Had to come back after tonight's episode to say that I now completely agree with you about the inconsistencies of Sylvester's anxiety disorder.

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  9. "great leaps for dramatic purposes": yes. Much as I do enjoy this show, I have some issues with it, and this is one of them. The writers/producers seem not to think that the inherent drama of the storylines is enough so seem to feel compelled to create additional tension/obstacles. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does seem to be an overdone one, and Sylvester's going from "I'm a'gonna step up!" to "I'm a'scairt!" from one episode to the next is a particularly overt example.

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