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Scorpion - Cliffhanger - Review

Apr 18, 2015

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Scorpion, “Cliffhanger,” was written by the creative team of Nick Santora and Nicholas Wootton and was directed by Sam Hill. Santora and Wootton will also be writing the finale. It’s not surprising that the episode returns to key themes and storylines we’ve seen develop throughout the season. The episode ends on a literal cliffhanger – imagine if this was the finale for the season! It seems that the entire team is about to break up and Walter’s (Elyes Gabel) very life is in question. I thought this was one of the strongest episodes of the series we’ve seen in a while with really good performances from Gabel, Robert Patrick (Cabe) and Katharine McPhee (Paige) in particular.

As the episode opens, there’s some tension building in the garage. We have a cameo from Ferret Beuller – yeah! Happy (Jadyn Wong) is still angry at Toby (Eddie Kaye Thomas), and who can blame her. Elia (Andy Buckley) stops by to give Walter a part for his rocket and “lend” (give) him a Ferrari. Happy warns that he’s trying to poach Walter and that the car has strings attached. I liked the way this episode brought in echoes from numerous episodes throughout the season – like “Going South” when we first met Elia, but also the episode in which we see that Walter really likes to drive fast – and isn’t always that good at it – and this will come full circle with the car crash at the end of this episode.

Paige arrives on the way to taking Ralph (Riley B Smith) to school for picture day. She’s let him dress himself and he’s picked a jacket and tie. Paige doesn’t see the implication until Toby gets Ralph to take the jacket off and roll up his sleeves as he helps Walter – and suddenly it’s clear that Ralph has dressed himself in Walter’s image. Sylvester (Ari Stidham) is excited to show Ralph his new action figure – and then give it to him. Paige says they all spoil Ralph. But the team considers Ralph to be a part of the team.

And then, they are off and running to the case of the week. This time it’s a breach at a neurotoxicity lab. However, what ramps up the drama in this case is its link to the incident in Bagdad that drove the wedge between Walter and Cabe. I hate shows that tease out secrets indefinitely, so it was nice to see this one at least get exposed if not resolved in this episode. The hacker – Simon (Alexander Chaplin) – works in the facility and wants all the information about the Bagdad bombings made public. It turns out that his fiancé was one of those killed while he was out of town at the time.

Once Merrick (David Fabrizio) tells Cabe he’s going to make the information public, Cabe does the right thing in coming clean to Walter. Cabe pulls Walter outside of the command center and tells him that he actually knew about the bombings three days before they occurred. He didn’t tell Walter because he knew that Walter would have sabotaged his program, and Cabe would have been tried for treason. For a smart guy who has no emotions, Walter reacts purely emotionally to this revelation.

Cabe talks to Sarah (Vedette Lim) because Paige wouldn’t let Walter, seeing him still reeling from Cabe’s revelation. It’s a testament to the bond between Cabe and Walter that Walter is so hurt by what Cabe did that he suddenly loses it completely and lashes out at Cabe in front of everyone. Toby, Happy, and Paige are all stunned as Walter tells Merrick that he wants Cabe permanently off the team. Cabe leaves, but Paige follows him. He understands the Walter is mad, but he’s not leaving before the case is resolved. Paige tells Cabe that Walter isn’t the only member of the team and that he can’t make unilateral decisions. Sylvester’s concern over whether Cabe is gone is another indication of how the team has come to rely on and care about Cabe – as he has for all of them.

Walter is distracted by Cabe’s betrayal and starts letting it effect his decisions. Paige stops him from making Toby go in to the facility with him, however. I loved the gimmick of using the giant magnets to climb down the incinerator shaft. Cabe and Walter continue arguing, and Cabe tells Walter he still has nightmares about what happened. He was far from untouched by his mistake after all. In the end, Walter has to save Cabe from sliding down to his death. This doesn’t mean Walter forgives either Cabe or himself, however.

Walter sends Cabe to evacuate the hostages while he fixes the server and then confronts Simon himself. It was a testament to how far Sylvester has come that when Merrick tries to evacuate everyone, Sylvester simply refuses to go. Walter is ready to pay for his part in Bagdad to save the other hostages and Simon himself. Walter does try to get Simon out but fails. Cabe tries one more time to apologize to Walter, but Walter lashes out telling Cabe that he’s not his kid. Not anymore. Cabe says that he’ll resign from Scorpion effective immediately. Walter asserts that trust was their only bond – and that’s broken now.

Of course, unbeknownst to everyone during the crisis, Ralph sees what’s happening and decides that he has to join his team to help. He outsmarts the cop who at least stopped him from just walking in but then manages to get all the way to the incinerator before Paige and Sylvester notice him. Naturally it’s Toby who figures out Ralph’s motivation. I loved him using Sylvester’s action figure to seal the hole.

Paige is understandably totally freaked out, but Ralph confirms what Toby had surmised and tells her, “I had to help for the greater good. I’m part of the team.” This ties in to the shot of Ralph completely imprinting on Walter from the beginning of the episode and Paige’s fears from earlier in the season that Ralph is in danger from his proximity to the team.

The final scene between Paige and Walter was what many fans had feared. Paige is quitting the team to re-locate to Maine with Drew (Brendon Hines) who has gotten a coaching job there. Walter is still angry enough over Cabe that he lets that anger spill over to Paige. She tells him of her fears for Ralph – that he worships Walter and copies him, and she doesn’t think that it’s safe for him at Scorpion any more. Walter wants to know if it’s so awful being him. Paige lashes back and says she doesn’t want Ralph becoming him and that Walter is not Ralph’s father. Walter points out Drew’s failings, but it’s too late.

Walter insists that he doesn’t need either Paige or Cabe – but we’ve seen that he does – and drives off in the Ferrari. The episode ends with that literal cliffhanger as Walter loses control and goes over the cliff. I don’t think any of us really think that Gabel is about to be killed off, but it sets up the last episode to be about saving Walter. Will it be enough to reunite the team? I have a hunch they may just leave us with another cliffhanger over the hiatus.

I think this was a tightly written episode that began to really tie the season together. What did you think of the episode? Do you think Walter should forgive Cabe? Should Cabe leave the team? 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.

15 comments:

  1. I totally disagree with U. I think this is one of the weaker episodes in Scorpion's season 1 run. To me it felt forced, rushed and really poorly acted on Gabel's side.
    Gabel doesn't do panic and anxious well, he didn't deliver the right feeling in those moments, at least not for me. I noticed taht in the ms finale with drowning boy episode, far overplayed.

    I don't like how the other characters are approaching Walter he isn't made out of glass. He won't break and he doesn't have the right to treat people the way he does.

    The others characters were fine. I liked Ralph going a bit rogue and making Paige reconsider her life choices. But on the other hand the things that followed were predictable.
    Hoping for the finale to be much better and give more edge to the overall story.

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  2. I really enjoyed this episode. I'm glad we finally got to see Walter show some emotion, even though he has now broken Paige's heart, as she has broken his, fired Cabe, and is now literally hanging on the side of a cliff. I loved the part where Paige tells the team bye and they are looking at Walter like what did you just do. The looks they give him sometimes are priceless. I think Walter's accident will bring the team back together, but it will take time for Walter to trust Cabe again. As for Paige and Ralph, I think they will stay, or at least I really hope so, but Paige and Walter are going to have to remind Ralph that he is still a little boy. I know Walter is not Ralph's dad, but Ralph looks up to him and will listen to him. Lisa, do you think Paige and Ralph will stay or go?

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  3. I'd almost bet money that they will stay - well... we might get a cliffhanger where they will leave, but I'm betting they are back in the first episode (or second) next season. Definitely don't see them leaving the cast.

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  4. I agree. If she goes it will be to talk to Drew in person instead of over the phone and for Ralph to see his dad.

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  5. I also thought this was one of the better episodes this season. There was a common thread that ran throughout this episode with several characters. Sometimes something can affect you on such a deep and personal level that all you can do is react when the wiser approach would be to listen. Starting with the lesser intense situation. Happy is still very upset with Toby so much so that she isn't noticing how much he is trying to make up for letting her down.

    Cabe always knew he would have to come clean with Walter about the bombings. Unfortunately, Cabe's hand was forced and he had to confess to Walter at the worst time possible. Cabe did the best he could by Walter by not telling him of the military's true intentions for Walter's aid package program. Yes, Cabe's actions subsequently shielded himself, but his first and foremost concern was protecting Walter. Cabe tried to stop the abuse of Walter's plans, but there was nothing he could do. When Walter screamed at Cabe to "Shut Up", his reaction was as if Walter just struck him across the face.

    There were times where I wanted to give Paige some slack ... and there were times where I didn't. I totally understand how upset and even traumatized Paige was in seeing Ralph dangling in the vent. How could she even imagine her son would do something so dangerous? Here is the irony with Paige. She is on Team Scorpion to help the gang interact with people. Paige needs to realize that she also needs to learn how to communicate with and understand Ralph. There is no way she could have forseen Walter telling Ralph that he was a member of Scorpion would lead to something so dangerous, but it needs to be a learning experience for her as well as Ralph. Speaking from personal experience, having a son who doesn't conform to the "social norm" is a case where you're not always going to get it right on the first try, but you have to keep trying. What I can't give Paige slack is for taking away the phone from Walter and saying that she will talk to Sara because Sara needed "to talk to someone human". Not acceptable Paige, not acceptable.

    Walter was on emotional overload this entire episode. Worse yet, he doesn't have the emotional skills in how to deal with that kind of overload. The team was shocked to see Walter lash out at Cabe. What the team doesn't understand is the burden Walter has carried on his shoulder since the day of the bombings. We find out that he is trying to save a life for every life that was lost all those years ago. That is a terrible thing to live with. I question a continuity problem. When the crisis was over, we see Paige intently staring at Walter and Ralph fist bumping each other. My question is did Walter even know what Ralph did because I can't image Walter not seriously addressing that situation with the boy. Walter delivered sharp words to Cabe, then received even sharper words from Paige. Paige telling Walter that she didn't want Ralph to be like him was like Paige slapping Walter across the face. If Paige took a moment, she would've seen the tears in Walter's eyes.

    I don't think any lasting harm will come to Walter in the car accident, but I don't think things will be resolved on Team Scorpion either in the season finale.

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  6. I was actually laughing when Walter went over the incline..Im not even sure why.Maybe it was because the whole episode was ....weird?

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  7. It was a little "over the top" wasn't it...

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  8. Great points about Paige. Honestly, at what point is she responsible for his actions as his parent? Why hasn't she more seriously addressed the danger issue after the last time? She was as hurtful to Walter as Walter was to Cabe - I agree. Toby as a behavorist should also have had more insight into Walter's meltdown...

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  9. Great point about Toby. It would be good if he stepped in to help Cabe, Walter, Paige, and even Ralph.

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  10. I loves this episode. It really showed what we have been seeing unfold over the season that Walter does have lots of emotion and cares deeply that he was responsible, indirectly for the death of those civilians. The effect that Cabe betrayed him by by not telling him affected him deeply because Cabe was one of the few people that Walter trusts and understands him.

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  11. I totally disagree with the criticism of Paige here. She was understandably freaked out about what happened with Ralph, and all she's doing it what she thinks she needs to do to protect him. I'm sure any mother would have had that reaction. Sure she maybe overreacted and panicked, but her son nearly died! She clearly cares a lot about Walter and the team, and let's not forget that in the Kill Screen episode she was constantly defending them to Drew. But the truth is that Walter isn't emotionally mature enough to be a good father figure for Ralph. Yes he is in many respects with the way he connects to Ralph, but not in understanding that Ralph needs to still be treated as a little kid, which he is. I mean, he was high fiving Ralph at the end of the day, when a responsible person would be making it clear that he can't act like that. I'm not saying what Raph did was Walter's fault, and Paige wasn't saying that either, but Paige realises that the influence of Walter, with the way he is, Is only going to put Ralph in more potential danger. Her decision wasn't because of Drew, but he is Ralph's father at the end of the day, so it makes sense that if she's cutting herself off from the team, however that painful it is, then she would go to Mane, so Ralph can spend time with his father.

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  12. I think this was the whole point though. Paige sees Walter fist bumping Ralph, and pretty much congratulating him, and that clearly influences her decision. Walter clearly doesn't get that what Ralph did was wrong, and he doesn't even acknowledge it when Paige says she's leaving because she needs to keep Ralph safe, and copying Walter is not allowing that. And Paige was clearly upset in having to break off from the team because she clearly loves them all, but she's thinking with her head and not her heart in making that decision. in any case, looking at th preview I'm sure there's gonna be at least some resolution between the two of them. They're end game afterall!

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  13. As a general point btw, I kind of hope they make s2 less about the Walter show, and more about all the characters ..... spread the love around! Each character is well defined enough by now, that I don't get why it's always Walter who has to save the day and be the focus. He's definitely grown on me as a character as the season has gone on, as he has evolved more and more, but the way his personality is, he's not always easy to love and root for.

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  14. That's the continuity problem that I'm talking about. We didn't get to see exactly what Walter did or did not know about Ralph's actions. If Walter knew how Ralph risked his life then later simply gave the boy a fist bump instead of a serious talk, then Paige's reaction toward Walter would carry more weight with the audience. Instead, we see Paige (even tangentially) blame Walter for putting Ralph's life in danger and that's not what happened. I'm having a hard time believing Walter knew exactly what happened with Ralph and didn't take steps to make sure nothing like that would ever happen again. Especially not since Walter was perceptive enough to Ralph's feelings to assure him that he was a member of Scorpion. For me, these are pretty big details to gloss over because it was a catalyst (next to Cabe's confession) that spit up Scorpion.

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  15. I know we didn't see it, but the implications are pretty clear in my opinion from that scene, and especially the last scene with Walter and Paige. Paige says she has to think about Ralph's safety and yet Walter talks about the greater good, as if somehow what Ralph did was a good thing. Walter has definitely evolved emotionally but he is not mature enough to be a responsible father figure yet that Paige can wholly rely on. It all comes back to the Kill Screen episode when Paige asks Walter what she should gamble on. And she isn't blaming Walter, she's just stating facts ..... that Ralph did what he did because of the influence of Walter.

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