Scorpion - Cliffhanger - Review

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.