Scorpion, “Adaptation,” was directed by Sam Hill. The teleplay was by Scott Sullivan with the team of Sullivan and Aadrita Mukerji responsible for the story. This was another action packed episode bookended with the everyday goings on of our unlikely heroes. This week’s case involved working to stop Mexican drug runners from using drones to get their heroin across the border. The title of the episode cleverly refers to both the drones and the needs of the team to grow and change.
The episode begins with Walter (Elyes Gabel) and Toby (Eddie Kaye Thomas) having another therapy session with Rizzuto (Penn Jillette) – and hurray for more Penn Jillette! This time he has them doing puppet therapy and role playing each other. It’s hilarious! Walter is concerned about Happy (Jadyn Wong) and Rizzuto proves once again that while he may seem ridiculous, he’s actually pretty perceptive. He hits the lying button, and Toby has to confess to his relationship with Happy.
Back at the garage, Sylvester (Ari Stidham) is practicing prices. He wasn’t chosen for Jeopardy so he’s just going straight for the Price is Right. Anybody else see a Drew Carey cameo in our future? When Walter arrives, he barely says hello to Happy and she know immediately that Toby has let the cat out of the bag. Toby naturally deflects with humor – that’s a terrible place for a cat! But he’s not wrong. He officially announces that they’re an item, and Happy immediately downplays it.
Cabe (Robert Patrick) arrives with the case and DEA Agent Sanchez (Jorge-Luis Pallo). Sylvester is particularly motivated by footage of a young girl doing math homework in the footage of the civilians getting caught in the crossfire. In order to test their system on the drug drones, Sylvester has to sacrifice Padrony – it’s a nice touch for them to weave previous cases into the new ones.
Walter, however, benches Toby, telling him he’s nothing but a distraction for Happy in the field and they need her in the field more than they need Toby. Walter tells Toby that it’s bad for efficiency for team members to be in a relationship, so either Happy and Toby break up or one of them has to leave the team. Walter expects their answer by the time the team returns.
Once again, Paige (Katharine McPhee) and Cabe work together to keep the team working smoothly. Paige stays back to calm down Toby while Cabe will do the same with Walter. Neither wants to break up the team. Toby remarks to Paige that she was the one who wanted them to be more human, and this is part of his attempt to do so. Cabe points out to Walter that Walter has risked himself for Paige on numerous occasion. Walter, however, simply agrees and says he was wrong to have done it!
The practice run on one drone with their “drone-gun” ends up being an entire shipment. Only the first drone is weaponized, however. I loved them creating a narrow path with static to make the drones go single file so that they could all be destroyed – until one gets through. Its tech allowed it to beat the gun, so the team has to get that drone before it can get to the drug runners.
Cabe and Walter recover the drone – complete with a terrific firefight and chase. I loved Cabe ordering them to stop the car so he can get out and take the shot – and he makes it, of course! Loved his John Wayne shout out! Unfortunately, Agent Sanchez is badly wounded and their engine is hit and won’t start.
It’s going to take 45 minutes for a Medi-vac to get to them. Happy and Sylvester take Sanchez to a nearby safehut and Toby has to talk them through saving Sanchez’s life. Sylvester has the brilliant idea to use a cactus as a sponge to help stop the bleeding but neither he nor Happy want to stick it in!
Toby is angry with Walter because he clearly should have been in the field, not stuck at the garage. Paige tries to point out that Walter couldn’t have known this would happen. Toby, however, cuts to the heart of the matter when he tells Paige that if the policy were to change to allow members to be in a relationship, it would mean that Walter and Paige would have to come to terms with their own feelings for each other.
Meanwhile, Walter and Cabe set a trap for the drug runners. Unfortunately as the two drive through unknown territory, Sanchez takes a turn for the worse before he can tell them where to go – or more importantly where not to go. They end up in a blind canyon. It’s Toby who comes up with a plan using Happy’s phone – that Walter has – and Sylvester’s laptop. It turns out that Toby put a GPS on Happy’s phone so he’d know where she was – creepy, dude! However, it allows them to make Padrony the leader of the rest of the drones and use them to take down the drug runners.
Back at the hut, Toby also saves the day by talking a very reluctant Happy and Sylvester through field surgery. Happy is freaking out, but Toby very calmly and professionally talks her down.
By the time the others have returned, Toby has bought a bunch of cools stuff using the Scorpion credit card, including a cotton candy machine! Sylvester tells Toby it’s not a good idea, but Toby tells him that a SuperFun Guy pinball machine will be arriving the next day for Sylvester. Sylvester, however, tells Toby, “I’m more worried you won’t be here tomorrow!”
Toby apologizes to Happy for the tracking software in her phone, explaining that he’s just scared. She tells him he’s holding on too tight, but he tells her that it really freaked him out when he lost her in the snowstorm.
Cabe tells them that Sanchez is going to be alright, and Walter’s take away is that the case proved the need for laser-like focus. He wants to know if Happy and Toby have resolved their relationship. Paige tells Walter that he heard what Toby did – that was focus! She encourages him to think of the team as more of a living organism – one that can adapt and change. Walter insists that Scorpion doesn’t need to change.
Happy agrees! It’s not going to change because she and Toby are both staying and they aren’t ending their relationship either. Afterwards, Toby tells her she was terrific for standing up to Walter. She tells him that she had to defend his honor! Love these two together as they can go from tender to hilarious. Wong is particularly strong in this episode, and both she and Thomas show their acting range in the episode.
Paige tells Walter that she’s proud of him for letting Scorpion evolve. Who knows where it may go next? Walter, always the pessimist suggests that it could be the dead end that leads to extinction. But for now, he’ll keep an open mind. The two exchange smiles… Perhaps they are finally going to face those feelings!
Another solidly fun episode. What did you think? Favorite scene? Line? Should Walter and Paige just get on with it? 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, Agent Carter, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, The X-Files, Defiance, Bitten, Killjoys, and a few others! I'm active on the Con scene when I have the time. 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.
