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shallowness) wrote2020-06-21 08:15 am
shallowness) wrote2020-06-21 08:15 am
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Scorpion season 1, the rewatch continues
This bunch of episodes is about the team shaking down and introducing regularish guest characters.
‘Shorthanded’ moves the team development on, as they take a non-governmental job in Vegas. (First out of towner.) Walter ends up in prison, out of arrogance mainly, although he easily breaks out as soon as he needs to (hee). This ep is mainly about Walter and Toby butting heads (well, the plot is about Walter getting framed for an armed robbery that took place at the hotel they’d just been helping out with security and him and the team needing to prove his innocence by uncovering who was guilty). But there’s also good stuff for the ladies: Paige steps up as team leader when Walter is hors de combat, Happy saves her life and they back each other up a lot.
The ep ends with Walter conceding to Toby that he may have daddy issues WRT Cabe (NO, U THINK?), and Toby conceding that they’re friends.
Disc 2
‘Plutonium’ introduces Mark Collins (who turned up in season 2 and confused me), a former team-mate who is…problematic (TOXIC) and works as Water’s dark mirror. He calls on Walter and the team to help stop a nuclear facility from the 80s from melting down by undermining them – we and Paige see why the rest of the team are chary of Mark’s return.
Shipwise: in this ep, we see that Toby genuinely cares for Happy and she…isn’t opposed to it. Mark offers outsider POV of Walter/Paige potential, Walter certainly reveals how pivotal he thinks Paige is to the team in its current incarnation.
So, we learn more about Walter’s recent past and what he doesn’t want to be. The most feels come from Cabe fathering him.
‘Father’s Day’ is emotional gold as personal issues permeate the case of the week (more so than usual).
Drew, Ralph’s birth father, contacts Paige, wanting to get in touch with his son (after seven years’ absence). The already attached-to-Ralph male members of team Scorpion are against the idea. Paige (rightly) observes it’s her call. Walter is plagued by flashbacks to his official father figure letting him down, while Happy tries to pretend she wasn’t hurt by her own father’s abandonment. Toby tries to be her friend (while getting turned on by her mechanical ability).
The case involves an almost-genius hacker who the actual geniuses are invested in, and use as part of their arguments to Paige as to why she shouldn’t allow Drew to contact Ralph. Also they use ingenious/ridiculous methods to solve the case.
At various points, Ralph, Walter and Happy are heartbreaking – Ralph’s detailed memory of the last time he saw Drew, Happy arguing why Paige should let Ralph see his father and Walter stopping Paige from endangering herself for Ralph’s sake. Having watched more episodes, it’s clear that Paige will have to accept how invested the team are in raising Ralph – she always gets extra protection because she is Ralph’s mother (not just from the partial Walter, either,) and they all have a part to play in nurturing him.
So, the episode ends with Ralph getting to see his father again, watched by a protective/stalkery Walter, accompanied by his adopted father/enabler Cabe. Although it was based on a running gag all episode, the moment where they bit into their biscuits simultaneously was too on the nose.
In ‘Risky Behavior’, we learn that Walter is engaging in such (drag racing with rented cars) because, as Toby (a gambler in remission, so he should know) diagnoses, Walter is trying to distract himself from the return of Drew to his protégé’s life. And to Paige’s. In fairness, his worry about its negative impact on Ralph.
The theme of the episode is ‘Don’t be afraid (of being yourself)’ and it’s nicely worked into all the stuff surrounding Walter-Ralph-Drew, and Toby trying to ask Happy out. Her language choice IS telling, but she’s actually showing an interest in the supersmart (but non-genius-level) musician at the heart of their case.
Walter gets electrocuted twice in a day, Toby gets dangled upside down from a balcony and the team almost outsmart themselves. The case involves the music industry, so we inevitably had some Paige singing and everyone is spellbound. Shipwise: WALTER’S FACE.
This ep does a good job of building on the previous ep and the Las Vegas one.
Disc 3
‘Rogue Element’ is a gut-punch of an episode. It’s bookended by Drew floating a hypothetical, ‘What if I got a job in another part of the country, and the family came out with me, how would Ralph react to that?’ to Walter because he’s the Ralph whisperer. Walter is STRICKEN at the thought of Paige and Ralph leaving. This is obviously Paige, the parent who’s always been in Ralph’s life’s call, the Paige who, as far as I could tell, vanished in the middle of one scene.
But the ep is mainly about Walter and Cabe and Cabe’s EX-WIFE Rebecca. The couple split because of how Cabe took their daughter’s death. Rebecca has a new family and is a lawyer who saw a file she shouldn’t have and is now in danger. Cabe only trusts Team Scorpion to protect her and beat the conspiracy she uncovered. By his standard, Walter is in tune with the emotional undercurrents going on.
‘Talisman’ is another one with emotional heft, and introduces Megan as an adult, who runs away from hospital and barges in on Walter’s life, which means meeting and hanging out with Sly, because the rest of the team have to go to “Bosnia”. It’s the first time they go abroad. (The show’s take on geopolitics is best not thought about, really.) They’re going along with a SEAL team who are there to rescue a pilot, while our lot are there to retrieve software.
Happy and Toby are separated from the rest, she’s put in hagrge by Cabe (heh) (but also it makes sense). She gets injured and so we learn that Toby is a medical doctor. I think this was something they retconned, myself, when they realised they needed someone who could cover the medical side as the show went on Apparently Happy has noticed by now that Toby has feelings for her, he now shows that they’re serious. She gives him a smidgin of hope.
Meanwhile, if you’re inclined that way, Walter is having slashy vibes with the SEAL team leader. I liked how Paige, just as much as Walter, earns the SEALs’ respect by the end of the mission.
Sylvester reveals to Megan that he’s a member o the cult of Walter. Walter has been hypocritically sniffy about other people’s talismans, but we discover he has a box of his own keepsakes. Megan is a bit more realistic about her chances of dying because of her condition than her brother.
‘Shorthanded’ moves the team development on, as they take a non-governmental job in Vegas. (First out of towner.) Walter ends up in prison, out of arrogance mainly, although he easily breaks out as soon as he needs to (hee). This ep is mainly about Walter and Toby butting heads (well, the plot is about Walter getting framed for an armed robbery that took place at the hotel they’d just been helping out with security and him and the team needing to prove his innocence by uncovering who was guilty). But there’s also good stuff for the ladies: Paige steps up as team leader when Walter is hors de combat, Happy saves her life and they back each other up a lot.
The ep ends with Walter conceding to Toby that he may have daddy issues WRT Cabe (NO, U THINK?), and Toby conceding that they’re friends.
Disc 2
‘Plutonium’ introduces Mark Collins (who turned up in season 2 and confused me), a former team-mate who is…problematic (TOXIC) and works as Water’s dark mirror. He calls on Walter and the team to help stop a nuclear facility from the 80s from melting down by undermining them – we and Paige see why the rest of the team are chary of Mark’s return.
Shipwise: in this ep, we see that Toby genuinely cares for Happy and she…isn’t opposed to it. Mark offers outsider POV of Walter/Paige potential, Walter certainly reveals how pivotal he thinks Paige is to the team in its current incarnation.
So, we learn more about Walter’s recent past and what he doesn’t want to be. The most feels come from Cabe fathering him.
‘Father’s Day’ is emotional gold as personal issues permeate the case of the week (more so than usual).
Drew, Ralph’s birth father, contacts Paige, wanting to get in touch with his son (after seven years’ absence). The already attached-to-Ralph male members of team Scorpion are against the idea. Paige (rightly) observes it’s her call. Walter is plagued by flashbacks to his official father figure letting him down, while Happy tries to pretend she wasn’t hurt by her own father’s abandonment. Toby tries to be her friend (while getting turned on by her mechanical ability).
The case involves an almost-genius hacker who the actual geniuses are invested in, and use as part of their arguments to Paige as to why she shouldn’t allow Drew to contact Ralph. Also they use ingenious/ridiculous methods to solve the case.
At various points, Ralph, Walter and Happy are heartbreaking – Ralph’s detailed memory of the last time he saw Drew, Happy arguing why Paige should let Ralph see his father and Walter stopping Paige from endangering herself for Ralph’s sake. Having watched more episodes, it’s clear that Paige will have to accept how invested the team are in raising Ralph – she always gets extra protection because she is Ralph’s mother (not just from the partial Walter, either,) and they all have a part to play in nurturing him.
So, the episode ends with Ralph getting to see his father again, watched by a protective/stalkery Walter, accompanied by his adopted father/enabler Cabe. Although it was based on a running gag all episode, the moment where they bit into their biscuits simultaneously was too on the nose.
In ‘Risky Behavior’, we learn that Walter is engaging in such (drag racing with rented cars) because, as Toby (a gambler in remission, so he should know) diagnoses, Walter is trying to distract himself from the return of Drew to his protégé’s life. And to Paige’s. In fairness, his worry about its negative impact on Ralph.
The theme of the episode is ‘Don’t be afraid (of being yourself)’ and it’s nicely worked into all the stuff surrounding Walter-Ralph-Drew, and Toby trying to ask Happy out. Her language choice IS telling, but she’s actually showing an interest in the supersmart (but non-genius-level) musician at the heart of their case.
Walter gets electrocuted twice in a day, Toby gets dangled upside down from a balcony and the team almost outsmart themselves. The case involves the music industry, so we inevitably had some Paige singing and everyone is spellbound. Shipwise: WALTER’S FACE.
This ep does a good job of building on the previous ep and the Las Vegas one.
Disc 3
‘Rogue Element’ is a gut-punch of an episode. It’s bookended by Drew floating a hypothetical, ‘What if I got a job in another part of the country, and the family came out with me, how would Ralph react to that?’ to Walter because he’s the Ralph whisperer. Walter is STRICKEN at the thought of Paige and Ralph leaving. This is obviously Paige, the parent who’s always been in Ralph’s life’s call, the Paige who, as far as I could tell, vanished in the middle of one scene.
But the ep is mainly about Walter and Cabe and Cabe’s EX-WIFE Rebecca. The couple split because of how Cabe took their daughter’s death. Rebecca has a new family and is a lawyer who saw a file she shouldn’t have and is now in danger. Cabe only trusts Team Scorpion to protect her and beat the conspiracy she uncovered. By his standard, Walter is in tune with the emotional undercurrents going on.
‘Talisman’ is another one with emotional heft, and introduces Megan as an adult, who runs away from hospital and barges in on Walter’s life, which means meeting and hanging out with Sly, because the rest of the team have to go to “Bosnia”. It’s the first time they go abroad. (The show’s take on geopolitics is best not thought about, really.) They’re going along with a SEAL team who are there to rescue a pilot, while our lot are there to retrieve software.
Happy and Toby are separated from the rest, she’s put in hagrge by Cabe (heh) (but also it makes sense). She gets injured and so we learn that Toby is a medical doctor. I think this was something they retconned, myself, when they realised they needed someone who could cover the medical side as the show went on Apparently Happy has noticed by now that Toby has feelings for her, he now shows that they’re serious. She gives him a smidgin of hope.
Meanwhile, if you’re inclined that way, Walter is having slashy vibes with the SEAL team leader. I liked how Paige, just as much as Walter, earns the SEALs’ respect by the end of the mission.
Sylvester reveals to Megan that he’s a member o the cult of Walter. Walter has been hypocritically sniffy about other people’s talismans, but we discover he has a box of his own keepsakes. Megan is a bit more realistic about her chances of dying because of her condition than her brother.