Scorpion, “Once Bitten, Twice Die,” was written by David J North and directed by Guy Ferland. North’s credits include NCIS and Rizzoli & Isles, so he’s very familiar with crafting a procedural. Ferland’s extensive credits include Elementary, Sons of Anarchy, The Mentalist, and The Walking Dead. This episode features an interesting case and some terrific moments between the team members, but I’m becoming increasingly irritated by the show going one twist too far in each episode. Did Paige (Katharine McPhee) really need to drop the ferret?
The stakes are very high in this episode as the team try to prevent World War III by taking part in peace talks between Belarus, Latvia, and Lithuania. The episode opens with Breaking News about the situation in the area, and this is paralleled later in the episode when the team uses Walter’s (Elyes Gabel) software to create their own fake news program to convince the Presidents to really negotiate.
We are back in the LAX traffic control tower, which really took me back to the “Pilot.” However, this is a bit of a red herring as we quickly flash to the garage and it’s Sylvester (Ari Stidham) who has made the plane carrying the Presidents disappear from the radar. This is a bit of a switch up from what has become a standard opening of the team playing some sort of game when Paige comes to work and Cabe (Robert Patrick) then arriving with the case. We do, however, get the usual personal stories also laid out here.
Paige checks to see if Walter has read the 25 page report she prepared on the customs and habits of the area. Walter, in typical Walter fashion, has blown off the report completely, negating both the importance of the information and how important it was to Paige. It’s also typical that when Paige tells him she’s gone back to school, he dismisses it. He’s particularly dismissive of the value of a liberal arts education when she tells him she’s studying European history. Naturally, we see that Paige’s courses come in very handy during the case. I have to say that I was very happy to see that the show did support the liberal arts!
In fact, everyone discounts Paige. She runs into real trouble with the diplomatic liaison, Renee (Fernanda Andrade). I really liked that Paige did serve an actual function, but it seemed a bit much that she would be so much better at diffusing a diplomatic situation than someone who was trained to do so. I also thought that Renee was won over to Paige much too quickly. I’m all for them showing Paige’s value to the team more, but this really stretched credibility. Renee was terrible at her job – she should have been better at handling both Paige and Walter – not scolding Walter for how he spoke to the President or telling Paige she wasn’t to speak at all. Not to mention apparently not knowing a lot about the Presidents.
The opening sequence also has Happy (Jadyn Wong) giving Cabe a hard time for being a fanboy of an old western that was filmed on the compound where the secret negotiations are going on. Of course, his fanboy knowledge comes in handy to get the team off the compound, and gives us an excuse to see Cabe have the shootout on the still existing western set and even get to say the hero’s line – no doubt to the utter confusion of Alesko (Matt Lasky).
Toby (Eddie Kaye Thomas) also approaches Happy about how she’s been avoiding him. She doesn’t want him to be treating her differently and maintains that the kiss didn’t mean anything. However, when Toby steps up and really puts Dr Chong (Keong Sim) in his place, Happy suddenly realizes that Toby is HOT – and lands a really hot, passionate kiss on him at the end. Happy is still Happy, however, and tells him to just walk away afterwards, but Toby is clearly thrilled to see that the first kiss wasn’t just a fluke.
Lots of great action in this episode to save the Latvian President, Kreshenko (Timothy V Murphy), after he’s poisoned with snake venom. I loved Paige, Happy, and Walter’s escapades – from stealing the taco truck to breaking into the science center. Typical Walter to dismiss his own safety by letting the snake bite him to make sure they had the right one. I did like them really upping the stakes there, but as I’ve said, having Paige trip and drop the ferret was just one twist too many. Another great McGyver moment to make the centrifuge out of a salad spinner – though I’m wondering if that would actually work…
During the rest of the chaos we see Cabe come into conflict with Merrick (David Fabrizio). He threatens to reveal to Walter what really happened with Walter’s software in Bagdad. Cabe threatens Merrick right back, but it’s clear that Cabe never wants that information to come out. Perhaps this is what we’re working toward in the season finale. Will Cabe’s secret be revealed, leading the team to break all ties with him? I really liked the final scene between Walter and Cabe. Cabe clearly cares for Walter and tells him off for taking such a dangerous risk. He also tells Walter, “there’s a million reasons why people keep secrets. Sometimes you just can’t understand.” Patrick is excellent in the episode, easily moving from intimidating to comic to caring. I hope they don’t either kill him off or have the team go in another direction!
Walter does come to understand that Paige’s going back to school is important to her and calls in a favor to make sure she doesn’t miss her final. We see a delirious Walter tell Paige that he’s sorry. He had reservations and didn’t take her out. It doesn’t seem that she understands what he’s talking about, but he is clearly still regretting Valentine’s. In the final scene, he tells her he’s proud of her – for going back to school, but also how she’s grown within the team. I’m still very much enjoying how slowly they are taking this relationship. However, I hope they don’t add one too many twists here too.
I thought this was another solid episode. I’m really happy they kept the ferret – and I loved Happy naming him Ferret Bueller! And of course, the fact that Walter didn’t get the reference. Now, I just hope he’s a regular cast member. What did you think of the episode? Are you getting impatient for more to develop between Walter and Paige? Are you dreading Drew’s return? 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.
