Scorpion, “Rogue Element,” was written by the team of Paul Grellong and Kim Rome and was directed by Jerry Levine. While Grellong last wrote “Plutonium is Forever,” this is Rome’s first credit on IMDb. Levine’s many credits include Elementary, Hawaii Five-O, Life Unexpected, and Monk. Levine's experience translates into catching a lot of character moments and reactions. This week’s episode once again has a fast paced case, but this time it provides insight into Cabe (Robert Patrick). I've been wanting to see more of Patrick, and his performance doesn't disappoint as we see him pull back some of the layers on his character - without really losing that badass guy expression - it's those eyes!
The case centers on the assassination of a congressman made to look like an accident in order to stop a water redistribution Bill. The case lands in their lap when Cabe gets a call from his ex-wife, Rebecca (Jessica Tuck), using their emergency code word, gumbo. She’s a lawyer for a lobbying firm and has stumbled onto information on a thumb drive which the team deduces indicated that funds were being collected for a special election fund to replace the Congressman before he died. Cabe determines that they have to stay completely off the grid.
The episode is nicely bookended by Cabe looking out for Walter (Elyes Gabel) and using a run for food (bagels and then burgers) as an excuse to talk to him. The episode emphasizes Cabe’s role as father figure to Walter. We learn how deeply his daughter’s death really affected him. Rebecca focused on moving on, but Cabe wanted to keep the house where his daughter took her first steps. Rebecca only saw the house as where she died. Cabe also takes responsibility for abandoning Rebecca by using his work to avoid her. Toby (Eddie Kaye Thomas) tells us they are a good match. I thought Patrick and Tuck had excellent chemistry, though they were saddled with some pretty stilted dialogue – “you were always pretty badass” and “do you ever think about us?” are only two examples.
However, we see that Cabe is loyal – he doesn’t hesitate to help someone he hasn’t seen for 15 years. He gets very angry at Walter when Walter is almost caught breaking in to Rebecca’s office. I loved Walter ignoring Cabe’s instructions and trying to complete the mission. Patrick is great as Cabe loses his mind over Walter ignoring him and then through his escape. It was also fun to watch him MacGyver the door shut with pennies. His dropping into the car was also great. It was pretty clear to me that Cabe’s anger was merely a manifestation of how much he cares about Walter, so it felt a bit belabored to have Rebecca point it out. Of course, Walter would have a hard time interpreting the emotional outburst. But then again, Paige (Katharine McPhee) doesn’t understand what’s going on either.
Walter actually shows some real empathy for Cabe. When he realizes that it’s actually Cabe and Rebecca’s house, he goes to Rebecca, not Cabe because he realizes that Cabe doesn’t want them to know it’s their house or pry. He finds the letters from Rebecca on her drive and doesn’t read them, but he does give them to Cabe. He clearly sees what we see – Cabe still has feelings for her. When she’s kidnapped, Walter immediately reassures a stricken Cabe that they’ll get her back.
The car chase was great – even if they did crash Cabe’s sweet ride! I loved Walter asking if Cabe thought they’d seen them followed by a shot and then Patrick deadpanning, “Yes.” We also get another demonstration about how much Cabe really means to Walter when he is frantic when he thinks Cabe is really hurt. It was fun watching Walter take the wheel and then use the theory – with some help on the mathematics from the team – to use the PIT maneuver to take out the bad guys car.
It’s that growing empathy that has Walter troubled at the beginning of the episode. It seems that our suspicions about Drew (Brendan Hines) were well founded. He comes to thank Walter for the baseball seminar with Ralph (Riley B Smith) last week. Walter’s tutorial has also improved Drew’s pitching to the point that he has a tryout with a team in Portland – which I totally called in my last review! He asks Walter what the effect will be on Ralph if he takes the job and if he takes both Paige and Ralph with him. He says he only has Ralph’s best interests at heart, but it’s clear he’s going to continue to pursue the dream that took him away from Ralph in the first place regardless. I’m offended that neither of them thought to ask Paige. Paige is not going to give up the security of her job or her place on the team. Walter clearly IS putting Ralph first. When Cabe asks him what he’s thinking about he says he’s preoccupied by the greater good scenario. Walter will sacrifice himself for Ralph. Cabe points out it’s harder when it’s complicated by personal involvement. Cabe then reminds Walter that he has some experience with mentoring gifted kids. And we can fill in the blanks – that Cabe struggled with the greater good scenario because he cared about Walter.
When Drew comes back at the end of the episode, he actually does ask Walter to join them for dinner. Drew tells him he’s trying to do right by Ralph and Walter says he is too. But by pulling back, Walter really is doing what’s best. He’s essentially stepping aside for Drew to be a father to Ralph. It’s interesting that at the beginning of the episode Ralph would clearly rather stay with Walter than go to school with Drew. Walter declines saying he’s not hungry, but Cabe, who’s clearly been listening, asks if he wants to go for a burger and Walter says he’s starving. In the previous scene, which is a good one, Cabe tells Walter that the one thing he was good at other than being a Fed is being a father. Walter admits that when he was young, Cabe was like a father to him and sometimes still is. Cabe thanks him over dinner for saying it – in the heat of the moment, but Walter asks Cabe when he’s ever heard him say something he didn’t mean. And like a father, Walter asks for Cabe’s input about Ralph.
We didn’t see a lot of the rest of the team, though it’s clear that Cabe has come to think of them as his “kids” too. I loved Happy (Jadyn Wong) using Cabe’s badge to get into the docks to look at the wreckage. Her talk with the guard was priceless – I loved her explaining how to pronounce her “Korean” name! Toby jokes that “Jimmy’s” house is more like a haunted house rather than a safe house and he’s more right than he realizes – it’s haunted by the memories of Cabe and Rebecca’s daughter. I also loved Toby offering to help Happy into the window and then simply checking out her behind when she disses him and jumps in on her own.
There were a number of things about this episode that bothered me. Rebecca, working for a lobbying firm should have recognized the code CA 78 SE. How exactly did she get away from the guy coming out of her bedroom? One of the biggest gaffs in the episode would appear to be the timeline. Rebecca and Cabe indicate that they haven’t seen or spoken in 15 years. But it would seem that they split up right after their daughter Amanda died. Yet Rebecca tells Paige that her daughter is 17. They can’t even call the FBI, but Rebecca wanders off for fresh air on her own and is then kidnapped? They’re geniuses, right? I think my expectations are pretty high, but I want cases that are smart - not just loaded with a lot of "smart" talk - don't under estimate the audience!
Overall, this was another enjoyable episode, and it’s nice to see the relationship between Walter and Cabe developing. What did you think of the episode? Did you enjoy the case? Do you think Walter is going to stop Drew from taking Ralph? Do you think Walter should just stay out of it? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
