Commentary Review: I watch the show, I scribble some notes as I watch. It’ll be fun. Today, Scorpion: Single Point of Failure (Season 1/Episode 2). Every network 2nd episode is the series first real episode as a series (since the pilot was made months before show are given the greenlight), so I’m expecting some subtle changes. Let’s see if this show holds up or collapses.

• The introduction of the characters is just…meh.
• Subtle Change #1: Walter has a new haircut….ohhhhh…
• Flashback: Okay, the way O’Brien said all numbers all divisible by 4 with remainders was awesome. And the fact her sister pulled the fire alarm to get her brother out of trouble was cute.
  • And then present day to find out she has MS is rough; but saw that set-up a mile away
• The smart kid rigged the thermometer so he could get out of school. TEACH US YOUR WAYS!
• New mission of the week: Daughter of governor gets sick from a bio-hacker’s virus and she has 24 hours to live
  • Okay, that. That is a wicked cool idea.

• Is it just me, or is the way they’re presenting his story just…not flowing…
• They follow the trail to a hacker who tried to run away until Walter comes out of nowhere! WHAT?! Did Walter really slam him to the ground like that? DID A NERD JUST TAKE OUT A NERD? This is what Big Bang Theory is missing.
• Come to find out 3 other children have the same disease, all connected to a pharmaceutical pill that (surprise) was discontinued, but which could have saved lives. Someone apparently haven’t forgiven the company for that and is targeting the children of those who discontinued it. So Scorpion has to find the guy who was on the trial list. Which is housed in a pharmaceutical company….which won’t release the list in time to save the daughter.
• Walter tells Paige about his sister, and we have the feels…
• We’re robbing a pharmaceutical company? Did Walter watch Doctor Who‘s Time Heist episode? Well, Sylvester is go in to memorize the list. So he’s a bit anxious.
• They try to be funny on this show, but their little quips that may work on NCIS don’t work here. I’m sorry, these characters aren’t that charming.
• Subtle Change #2: The reckless Toby (the psych guy) has a wife he cares about now, and it’s obvious he’s the only one who cares about that relationship
  • Happy tells him people suck: “Tools don’t let you down, people do”. That’s the best thing Happy’s done/said ever so far.
• Happy and Toby pretending to be the accident couple for the distraction was pretty funny. In a subtle way.
• I know Walter and Paige have the special relationship, but having Walter talk about his sister in the 2nd episode ever is a bit too strong, don’t you think? Especially since he never brought her up ever before…
• To escape the building, Sylvester has to face his worst nightmare: bio-hazards.
  • Paige walks him through it brilliantly and creatively. So. Well done. Her purpose is valid now.
  • We also find out that money makes Sylvester anxious. Foreshadowing…..
• Toby talks psych jargon about humans wanting vengeance to be considered whole, so they need to find who lost the most out of the drug’s discontinuation and finds a guy. But then, Agent Gallo OWNED him with a better selection.
• Subtle Change #3: This episode has a connection b/w Walter’s sister and the assignment, but Agent Gallo obviously is affected by this assignment too. There’s something there, a side we weren’t even hinted in the pilot.
• They find the guy who made the disease, and within a few minutes Walter reverse engineers all the diseases. HOORAY!
• But the guy who created the virus created a specific diesase for the governor. And they’re about to meet. Boo.
  • But I gotta say. Nice way to keep the keep the intensity up.
• Upon exposing the virus, Walter fixes it by….making it rain? Did he just make it rain!?! And it saved lives!?! Someone call Fat Joe!
• All lives saved! and everyone goes off and becomes…sad…I guess this whole episode was about family and everyone’s connection with them
  • We learned last week Sylvester hadn’t talked to his parents for years, but he donated his money to a children’s school(?). Yay, foreshadowing.
  • Happy did have tools that failed her, and that broken trust with her parents just left her damaged
  • Walter sees sister and promises to fix her, and you can tell he’s deathly serious
  • Wife wants nothing to do with Toby…and now he’s back to gambling.
  • Something happened to Agent Gallo’s family, this assignment bring too close to home for him. Nice to see his personal side, although it got way too emotional for me way too soon in the series
• Am I the only one who thinks Walter and Paige are going WAY too fast in the relationship spectrum without being in a relationship?

Overall, the show was weak in a lot of areas. Pacing within scenes felt awkward, and every set design looks like the same set with different props. But, it was still fun. Kind of. Yeah, it was fun. I decided it was fun.