Scorpion, “Robots,” was written by the team of David Foster and Nicholas Wootton and directed by Sylvain White, whose other credits include Hawaii Five-0, The Following, and Person of Interest. This week the team handled a case from the Navy that put Walter (Elyes Gabel), Happy (Jadyn Wong), and Cabe (Robert Patrick) in peril. Wong and Patrick give terrific performances in this episode. The episode also introduces their new Homeland handler, Katherine Cooper, played by Peri Gilpin. Due to Alana De La Garza’s scheduling conflicts with Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, it’s unlikely that we’ll see the Deputy Director again.
The episode opens with the usual scene in the garage. Cabe and Sylvester (Ari Stidham) are helping Toby (Eddie Kaye Thomas) with the heavy bag when Happy arrives on the back of Chet’s (Pete Giovine) motorcycle. Nobody at the garage is very happy about how she’s rubbing Toby’s nose in it. The best explanation I’ve heard floated so far is that Chet is actually a former foster-brother and not a boyfriend.
Cooper arrives and is a bundle of nerves as this is her first field op. She tries to take control of the team and of course, they blow her out of the water, immediately surmising exactly what the case is. Gilpin is perhaps a little over the top, but does create a nice contrast between her tentative nervousness at the beginning of the episode with becoming more assured by the end. I really loved Paige (Katharine McPhee) coaching her through.
There’s a nice little side story with Ray (Kevin Weisman) when Cooper insists he move out of the garage. I loved everyone’s reaction to learning he was living in the garage! Paige is forced to take him to get his car out of impound, leading to some nice funny moments – particularly when Ray returns hours later, having had to walk back to the garage but still with Paige’s donut! McPhee does a terrific job with both the humor and drama in this episode. Paige also finds a picture of Ray from what looks to be a happier time. Was he a fireman, and who was that other guy in the photo? Is that a medal for bravery? I expect Ray to suddenly be able to help them with an upcoming case in an unexpected way.
I did like how the title of the episode is taken up as a theme in the episode. When Walter just tells Ray he has to leave without trying to soften the blow, Toby remarks, “I am surrounded by robots.” Walter tells Hall (Travis Van Winkle) that some people call them robots, but in situations like the downed sub, it’s an advantage that lets them work through the problem more calmly and efficiently. I loved that Walter learned morse code while on the sub!
Naturally, as Walter and Happy work through the crisis on the submarine, they discover that they aren’t, in fact, robots. Happy tells Walter, “I’m not a robot. We both play a good game of denial.” And she adds it’s one thing she might beat him at. Walter concedes there is some sentimentality attached to sacrifice and Happy points out that Walter did let Ray stay at the garage. Walter says, “Maybe we’re changing.” And of course, they are. Wong is particularly good in this scene as we really see her pull back that emotional wall.
Patrick is also terrific in this episode, and it was really nice to see Cabe get to do a little more in the episode. Cabe insists he’s the one who has to go up in the jury rigged survival suit because he’s bigger and more expendable. He insists it’s the greater good. I’m not entirely convinced that Cabe wouldn’t have had time to get the bends, but I’ll just suspend my disbelief there. And how utterly silly did he look in that get up? I did love his last words to Hall: “Buck up, kiddo. Didn’t you join the Navy for adventure?”
It’s a little hilarious that Toby takes Cooper’s insistence of secrecy as a challenge to find the location of the sub by essentially playing battleship. It becomes pretty ironic, of course, when the sub actually ends up on the bottom of the ocean. It was great watching Toby and Sylvester work out the actual location.
I loved seeing Happy’s dad, Patrick (Jamie McShane) again and having Happy send the team to him for the items on her list and to help build it. Toby helps him, and Patrick gives Toby some insight into Happy after Toby freely tells him that he loves her. Happy began talking at 7 months and was very chatty. They gave her a dollhouse at 3 and she wired the entire thing. Thinking it was a fire hazard, Patrick eventually took it away, and that’s when Happy went quiet and started to withdraw. Happy is still worried about Toby “shrinking” her, but is clearly touched that he got her the dollhouse. It’s a sign that she is changing as was the massive bear hug from her dad.
Naturally, their final escape from the sub was ingenious and dangerous. Those scenes in the water could not have been fun to film – and Walter seems to be the one most often having to get wet! I did love him simply dislocating Hall’s shoulder to get him in the “escape pod.”
The final scene on the roof between Paige and Walter once again appears to be a move forward for them too. Walter tells Paige that he thinks there may be a variable in him that doesn’t make him as logical as he’d like to think he is. Paige wisely attributes the shift in him to his contact with humanity. Walter also tells her that he’s always thought that emotional decisions would compromise Scorpion’s survival but now he’s not so sure. “Maybe I should re-think some other decision.” And then they are interrupted by Ralph (Riley B Smith) excitedly telling them that he’s chose his first college class: Robotics! Naturally, Walter and Paige decide to let Ray stay. I’m betting she’s going to go digging about that photo.
What did you think of the episode? Did you like the addition of Peri Gilpen to the cast? What was your favorite scene? 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.
