S02.E11: The Old College Try

[possibilities]

Happy knocked down the bad guy and he dropped his gun and she not only left the gun there for him to pick up, but she neglected to tie the dude up and just left him there to continue causing trouble! Ray is happy to have a friend and so decides to leave for the great unknown. I swore I wouldn't nitpick this show anymore, but....

[Big Mother]

Darn you show for making me cry the last ten minutes! ahhh!

Here are my really, really dumb questions:

 

1) How did that professor upload his software onto the quantum computer in the first place? Couldn't Scorpion use that same method to upload their anti-code? Why the need for the space suits? How did they get hold of spacesuits in a 5 minute span, anyway?

 

2) How did Ryder think he'd get away with killing Paige, near a fountain right in the middle of the college? He'd shoot her, and then take off? and no one would catch him? really? And did he think no one would notice him pressing a gun into her back? How did Ryder realize in the first place that he was found out, and started chasing the two college kids?

 

3) Why didn't Cabe just alert campus security to locate Ryder? Or get campus security involved in general, to give them access to the quantum computer without needing all that theatrics?

 

4) Why did Toby's electromagnetic detector go off when he hugged the professor if the prof was innocent?

 

Those last few scenes! and the Happy Toby dance! ahhhh! :D

Edited December 8, 2015 by Big Mother

[possibilities]

The space suits were at the college already-- Sylvester mentioned wanting to see them when he heard they were going to do a mission at the campus, but everything else you ask, I think is not you being stupid but the writers. Also, I wondered what leverage the guy thought he'd have if he did kill Paige. Surely no one would pay him after he'd already killed her and had nothing else to threaten them with.

 

This show is like a virus itself! It gets into me and I can't stop it, even though I know it's full of nonsense.

[Actionmage]

Happy knocked down the bad guy and he dropped his gun and she not only left the gun there for him to pick up, but she neglected to tie the dude up and just left him there to continue causing trouble!

 

Traces back to the witness they were protecting last season. The team was being hassled by the drug kingpin himself (wtf, right?) and there were two ambushes where guns and better, more maneuverable cars were available, yet guns and ammo were left, as were better cars.  Oh, and phones!  For geniuses, their tactical thinking stinks when the script demands it.

 

I hated the scene where that one rush basically tells Happy that if she wants to rush, she's not only doin' it wrong, but unable to have even a surrogate family because she isn't a carbon copy of every female in the sorority.  Just because Happy isn't "normal", doesn't make her less than, but we ended up with a scene where Happy is actually lamenting her lack of "normal"!  If she was normal, she wouldn't be on Scorpion and know the awesome folks she knows and wouldn't have been in a position to find her birth father and well, so much more. All because she is Happy, not just another "normal".   I know, #NotAllSororities, but this script did them no favors either. To make Happy's response of "Elon Musk" supposedly bad?  If nothing else, the man is smart, tech-savvy, rich and goal-driven. Are these things sororities hate? I notice we didn't get reactions from the questioners. Was that because we were supposed to of course side with co-rusher?   Happy has been shown to know her worth and her current, emotional limits. Happy Quinn is the last person who should have had a social group-based moment of wondering.  The woman just had a set at a comedy club! Yes, it bombed in general, but the writing did not earn the feels it seemed to want.  Being a sucker for Happy/Toby, I was okay with the dance at the end, but did not like the script's path to get there.

 

Toby? Inappropriately working out his demons since Episode1. You'll get there, Doc.

 

Cabe just cannot ever not be cool. The universe will implode and cool off- or whatever- before that happens. Giving the "fellow" campus cop the collar and the clever use of white lies to achieve a very swift resolution to the immediate problem? I would follow that man anywhere, pretty much. Cabe is amazing and I hope he remains so. 

 

Sylvester? I just want to hug him. The sweetest guy around and the one who is the heart.

 

Ray's story takes an interesting turn now. I hope it leads to exoneration for Ray, but I also hope Ray takes it easy with this new, science-based knowledge. Sometimes a little knowledge can be dangerous.  Ray misremembers Paige as Pam.  I am not sure Ray should leave just yet.

 

Paige needs to be shown taking some defense classes, or Cade having boxing lessons for Toby and Paige. I don't know how many times Paige has been held hostage- not that the others haven't been- but it seems that being the least genius-y team member should learn to protect herself a bit more, just on general principle. I like that she doesn't back away from the subject of Megan. Whatever happened to Cade's "taking care of Walter" about Megan and her death. We get a cutesy/funny moment where Cade ducks out with Toby while Paige tries to get Walter to talk. Cade needs to be held accountable for his part, Paige. He's super cool, but he's a member of the team too.

 

Walter? I loved his clapback to the snotty blonde student. I loved that Elyes got a chance to do something actor-y.  I think it was a big step that Walter snapped at Paige, making a situation about him, but then apologizing ASAP.  I don't think Walter's done that much. It's a nice note.   As for his test with the tank? If Ray wasn't at fault, he's going to follow the trail to see what happened. Our Man doesn't like false accusations, false accusations against friends, and hates Bad People Getting Away With Stuff.  It's Waltnip and I can't wait to see this unfold. I love when Walter is personally insulted by venal Badness; he is delightful to watch.  I did not like his reaction to the acting class the first time, though. Like enough folks don't already tell them nothing will come of their dreams and goals.  Still, Walter's idea of a Drama Professor was funny. 

 

The preview looked interesting as well.

[shapeshifter]

So one minute Elyes Gabel is making me cry with Shakespeare (and I'm not even a fan of The Bard) and the next minute he and Katharine MacPhee are walking along doing terrible line reads. I had thought maybe they gave her the part so Elyes Gabel wouldn't be the worst actor on the show, but now it seems like he's just following her wooden lead.

Or maybe he should just stick to Shakespeare?

Edited December 8, 2015 by shapeshifter

[sigmaforce86]

Walter? I loved his clapback to the snotty blonde student. I loved that Elyes got a chance to do something actor-y.  

 

I really wanted to count that as the best line of the night; Student:  "It's called micro-aggression",  Walter: "Well if it's micro it can't be that bad" (not the exact quote but...).  Then Cade came along with undercover DEA let's see those backpacks bit.  There was a lot of funny and sad in this one.  Toby's old nemesis was not at all wrong in anything he said at the end and Toby knows it, but it was still sad to see him walk away because he knew there was no comeback or argument he could make in return.

I think they didn't get campus security to help because they didn't know who was involved.  If they had asked security for help the plot would probably have been that Ryder was posing as a guard or a couple of the guards were on his payroll.

 

Considering nearly every episode, no matter what time or day or night, ends with "I have to pick up Ralph" Paige must have a very understanding babysitter who I hope is being paid by homeland for all the overtime.

[DeLurker]

My favorite part of any ep - Ray - apparently won't be around.  Boo.

[marketdoctor]

 

1) How did that professor upload his software onto the quantum computer in the first place? Couldn't Scorpion use that same method to upload their anti-code? Why the need for the space suits? How did they get hold of spacesuits in a 5 minute span, anyway?

 

2) How did Ryder think he'd get away with killing Paige, near a fountain right in the middle of the college? He'd shoot her, and then take off? and no one would catch him? really? And did he think no one would notice him pressing a gun into her back? How did Ryder realize in the first place that he was found out, and started chasing the two college kids?

 

3) Why didn't Cabe just alert campus security to locate Ryder? Or get campus security involved in general, to give them access to the quantum computer without needing all that theatrics?

 

4) Why did Toby's electromagnetic detector go off when he hugged the professor if the prof was innocent?

 

Let me see if I can answer these, using my degree in Handwavium Science:

 

1.  The virus was loaded before the quantum computer quantum tunneled to the Federal Reserve.  Once it did, any changes to the quantum computer would break the connection, because quantum depends on being observed changing that which is observed. 

1a.  As noted, the space suits were already on campus.  Naturally the best way to deal with a very time-sensitive clock is to put them on first, then walk across campus very slowly, to slow down the surrounding time.  A ride in a campus security car would have taken much too long.

 

2.  Ryder was counting on no one noticing the gun, since open carry is an entirely normal thing on a campus where Homeland Security is investigating terrorists.

His escape plan was to blend in with the crowd fleeing from the crazed guy holding a gun on a woman; possibly by changing into a space suit so he wouldn't be noticed.

 

3.  Campus security is probably how they got the spacesuits, etc.; campus security has limits, though, which is also why they couldn't increase the A/C in the building--they were still looking for the right keys to the room that has the thermostat.

 

4.  The innocent prof. forgot to turn his cel-phone to "do not set off plot devices".  It's in Settings-->Advanced-->Plot Points (he probably thought he was setting the slider to "no" when he was setting it to "on", because he was looking at it upside down.)

 

Generally, I'm glad they went with a silly/implausible plot (for example, there are multiple Federal Reserve Banks, in case there's a problem with one of them) and they still didn't get it right. 

 

Also, I had a similar response to "micro-agression" the first time I heard the term.  Apparently, so did the writers. 

[Gregg247]

Did we already know that Paige was a college graduate?  For some reason, I assumed she was a high school grad, and that's why she was "so different" from the rest of the Scorpion crew (along with her empathy).  I guess she and Ralph's father (the professional baseball player) met in college rather than HS then.

 

I actually liked the sorority house segment of the show because the girls weren't the "mean girls" I was expecting.  They seemed nice (though overly peppy) and the one girl tried to "help" Happy fit in with the rest of the girls by giving her what she hoped would be some helpful advice.

 

I couldn't stand the acting group and I loved Walter's snide remarks to them.

 

I agree with the poster above: Paige needs to self-protection kung-fu skills, STAT!

[CoyoteBlue]

Did we already know that Paige was a college graduate?  For some reason, I assumed she was a high school grad, and that's why she was "so different" from the rest of the Scorpion crew (along with her empathy).  I guess she and Ralph's father (the professional baseball player) met in college rather than HS then.

She must have had to drop out or something (possibly when she got pregnant?) because wasn't she going "back to school" for her degree earlier?

[theatremouse]

In retrospect, it was unclear whether she was going back to school to finish her degree because she didn't have one at all, or rather that she was going back to get a specific (additional) degree intended to up her usefulness in her current position. Or handwavium they forgot/changed their minds. Which with this show is possibly the most likely answer to anything.

Edited December 9, 2015 by theatremouse

[Free]

My favorite part of any ep - Ray - apparently won't be around.  Boo.

 

I figured something was going to happen since they didn't really do much with the character.

[Actionmage]

Walter? I loved his clapback to the snotty blonde student. I loved that Elyes got a chance to do something actor-y.

 

 

I really wanted to count that as the best line of the night; Student:  "It's called micro-aggression",[snip]

 

 

 

I was meaning the Romeo & Juliet speech after the unearned ( and super tired) " ... those who can't, teach."  We did not see Walter trying to teach the class, just try to pick-up the signal. So to have Walter give a lovely reading of a moving speech which shut up everyone, imo, was a poetic clapback.

 

I hated the micro-aggression response and the whole first encounter with the drama class. Both sides were awful and did themselves no favors, regardless of the respective ages or IQs.

[bros402]

Well, at least the show used something a bit fantastical, like quantum computing (Though it is just something in its infancy, not super fantastical - just something that wouldn't really be functioning like portrayed in the show, which was more like an AI) to be used in the silly plot of the episode.

 

I really doubt a quantum computer would have a regular computer case with a USB port.

 

They'd also probably be able to access it from that room Cabe and Toby were in.

[Reishe]

Apparently I'm micro-aggressive , 'cause I grew up in the Midwest and we all said "you guys" to mean "y'all." I still do.

 

I am tired of other characters reminding Paige and Walter how much they mean to each other. But then again, I wish Paige would run away from Walter as fast as humanly possible, b/c the writers can't make up their minds if he's supposed to be Sheldon, or Data, or an alien inhabiting a human's body in a '60s space drama.

[DeLurker]

Apparently I'm micro-aggressive , 'cause I grew up in the Midwest and we all said "you guys" to mean "y'all." I still do.

 

I am tired of other characters reminding Paige and Walter how much they mean to each other. But then again, I wish Paige would run away from Walter as fast as humanly possible, b/c the writers can't make up their minds if he's supposed to be Sheldon, or Data, or an alien inhabiting a human's body in a '60s space drama.

I'd watch that show.

[Noirprncess]

I'm not sure why Walter as a character has become a bit of a curmudgeon this season. But I liked his reading of "the Bard".

I think the writers just wanted to slow down the Walter/Paige relationship. Especially since it looks like this show might make it to year 4 or 5.

[Texasmom1970]

My favorite part of this episode was the Happy and Toby dancing, love them! I couldn't care about a Walter and Paige romance no matter how much they try to push it on us!

[thuganomics85]

After the last episode, I'm not surprised they would follow it with a lighter episode, and having Team Scorpion going undercover at a college is certainly a way to go. They even made sure to go down the obvious route of having Happy being forced to go to a sorority pledge. And Walt would totally clash with a bunch of theater students (and I really am out of the loop, because is saying "you guys" considered offensive, now?  If so, I have a lot of people I need to apologize too..)  Little disappointed they didn't find some way to have Sly get revenge on the wrestling tools.  Of course, this experience would be used as a humbling moment for Toby.

 

Cabe was the most awesome campus security guard of all time.  Robert Patrick always seems to be having fun on this show.

 

Once again, I find myself rolling my eyes at all the Walt/Paige moments, and yet I am somehow kind of charmed by the dance with Toby/Happy.  I really can't figure out why I can enjoy those two compared to Walt and Paige.

 

Looks like that is it for Ray, but it sounds like they left the door open for a future return.

 

Happy just leaving the killer (and his gun) and running, was stupid.  That guy was clearly out of commission.  Just a dumbass moment from this show, but I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, since did something similar last season too.

[paigow]

or an alien inhabiting a human's body in a '60s space drama.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has that covered...

[John Potts]

I suppose it is true to life that Team Scorpion will always take the most elaborate, complex method of solving a problem when a simple one is available, since that bit is true to life: I remember a friend of mine who wanted to arrange a "Secret Santa" among a circle of our friends (in which we were both taking part) and tried to work out a program to choose the circle "blind" - instead of maybe getting an outsider to make the draw (he did come  that conclusion in the end). Likewise, I couldn't understand why Paige was  trying to get Happy to act like a Pi Epsilon when she could go in herself. And of course the idea that they simply pose as (say) janitorial staff  so they could go ANYWHERE on campus "unseen" (pretty much what Cabe actually did as a Security Guard!) simply never occurs to them. And releasing the Professor until it's over AND not taking the villain's gun (I would have been fine with him having a back up - I bet Cabe does) were just criminally stupid.