S02.E23: Chernobyl Intentions

[shapeshifter]

Team Scorpion goes to Chernobyl to repair the decaying nuclear reactor before a catastrophic meltdown, but must also save Sylvester and Paige when they become trapped inside.

Of course they do.

[Big Mother]

Yes, because the only people in the entire universe who are appropriate for fixing the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, are our mad scientist geniuses.

[shapeshifter]

And if you're in what looks like a pre-war biplane piloted by an amateur pilot, when it starts to crash, she will steer it into Chernobyl.

Those are some energizer bunny light bulbs that have been on since the 80s.

Green glop aside, there are not going to be any baby geniuses unless they have 2 heads, but Walter must already be lacking in reproductive hormones anyway.

The ring was appropriate.

[cam3150]

Just when I think the storylines on this show can't get any more preposterous, I get proven wrong. But I guess that's all part of the fun at this point.

[Free]

Yes, because the only people in the entire universe who are appropriate for fixing the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, are our mad scientist geniuses.

 

Only 'genius' superheroes can fix every problem and defy all logic.

[MDL]

I realize that suspension of disbelief is crucial to enjoying this shoe (which I do!), but did Happy say that the plane weighed 600 pounds? If so, why not tow it from the building using one, or both of the large powerful SUVs?

(Of course, that would take away the carousel trick. :)  )

[Sandman]

Was there really more than half a mile of chain on that reel? Why do I even ask, when the show thinks that "Let's implode a nuclear reactor site! Kale and cod smoothies for everyone, yay!" is a plausible sequence of events?

 

Can't wait for Walter and Paige's two-headed, half-genius, half-nincompoop offspring!

Edited April 20, 2016 by Sandman

[Voice of Joy]

'Preposterous' doesn't do this episode justice at all.

That said, I loved the ring, and I will, of course, watch next week's episode. I'm way too easy.

[Texasmom1970]

Why the hell do they have too mess with Toby and Happy they are my favorite part of this ridiculous show.

[Artsda]

I'm so tired of the Paige/Walter will they or won't they.

[bros402]

So, uh, none of them are able to have children now, right? I don't care what the show said, I think that much radiation would fry the reproductive parts.

[shapeshifter]

So, uh, none of them are able to have children now, right? I don't care what the show said, I think that much radiation would fry the reproductive parts.

So say we all.

And, sadly, they will all recover from radiation poisoning to discover they have cancer.

I agree that this show demands a high level of suspension of disbelief, but radiation poisoning is no joke.

And I'm not happy about the Criminal Minds turn of events with Toby. So unnecessary.

[twoods]

They should have worn protective gear the entire time, then they would have been able to hand wave the radiation exposure.

This show is still entertaining and fun, but Toby being toetured by a nut job next week does not look fun. At all. And the Walter-Paige stuff is getting dragged for way too long. Paige seemed happy about the Jazz invite, but this is about Walter and his trust issues. Sigh.

[Sandman]

Is it wrong that I was halfway hoping that Happy would march over to Walter and pinch him for wussing out? Violence is never the answer, but, oh my god, boy!

[Free]

And I'm not happy about the Criminal Minds turn of events with Toby. So unnecessary.

 

Forced cliffhanger, it seems to be a parallel to last season only with Toby in danger instead of Walter.

[Driad]

I was telling them to send a robot in.  At least they tried one.

 

I have never watched "Supergirl" but apparently it involves a person who can fly.  Is it more realistic than "Scorpion"?

[marketdoctor]

 

They should have worn protective gear the entire time, then they would have been able to hand wave the radiation exposure.

 

That's it--although sometimes it's easier to believe a big lie than a small one, other times I want the show to meet me halfway.  We could pretend the radiation suits were lined with handwavium, which would provide extra protection, so that the kale/cod smoothies would fix the rest of the problems. 

 

Also, radiation sickness isn't on/off--you can be sick with it, and survive for a while (and later get cancer, etc.)  The idea that you're fine from anything less than a lethal dose was...no.  I've seen worse (Alias) but a dose strong enough to kill the engine of a plane, but NOT the pilot?  No.

 

That said, the references to the abandoned amusement park were depressingly accurate, and that 30 years after the disaster, we need to do more for/about Chernobyl, are true.  That's what gets me about this show:  there's a mix of cartoon science, implausible science, and well-supported science in each episode.  It's like Mythbusters except everything is confirmed.

 

 

I have never watched "Supergirl" but apparently it involves a person who can fly.  Is it more realistic than "Scorpion"?

 

It is, in the sense that it's more consistent.  Supergirl has a nearly consistent set of rules; Scorpion has a connection to science that cuts in and out. 

Edited April 19, 2016 by marketdoctor

[33kaitykaity]

They have to really try hard to make a show that's supposed to be about geniuses so goddamn stupid.  

 

Plus one on the "please get over the Paige/Walter will they or won't they" drama.  It's tiresome.  

 

Also plus one on the "of course they'll solve the problem" sentiment.  What bugs me to no end about this show is there's no suspense when they put our heroes in the most fraught-with-danger moments the writers can possibly come up with, only to know in advance that at the very last possible second one of our geniuses will come up with a way to solve the problem.  Zzzzzzz.  

Edited April 19, 2016 by 33kaitykaity

[roomtorome]

TV writers revert to 13 year olds whenever they write these tortured "romantic tension" things - I just can't stand it.  Overally, I never care if characters get together but sometimes, it more well written than others and this one is just so juvenile.  

 

And, the rest of it?  Ridiculous in the extreme.

[possibilities]

Would it have worked to smash the windshield of the plane and crawl out that way, instead of towing the entire plane out and leaving through the side door?

[twoods]

Would it have worked to smash the windshield of the plane and crawl out that way, instead of towing the entire plane out and leaving through the side door?

Were there back windshields? I thought just the tail was sticking out and the rest was covered.

Supergirl is based on a fictional hero in a comic so of course it's not realistic- Scorpion is based on real life geniuses so there should be a little realism. Too bad I watch TV more for the entertainment instead of realism so I'm stuck watching it.

[shapeshifter]

They have to really try hard to make a show that's supposed to be about geniuses so goddamn stupid.  

 

Plus one on the "please get over the Paige/Walter will they or won't they" drama.  It's tiresome.  

 

Also plus one on the "of course they'll solve the problem" sentiment.  What bugs me to no end about this show is there's no suspense when they put our heroes in the most fraught-with-danger moments the writers can possibly come up with, only to know in advance that at the very last possible second one of our geniuses will come up with a way to solve the problem.  Zzzzzzz.

I was going to post that this episode was Sharknado meets Scorpion in terms of science and logic, but your post makes another comparison worth mentioning: Even Sharknado has more suspense.

[Brian Cronin]

What really annoys me about the Paige/Walter stuff is that he's SO obvious about it, and that's the thing. Paige doesn't owe Walter a darn thing, romantically. However, she's specifically here to help Walter interact with the world, so to then NOT help him when it involves her seems so harsh of her. By all means, don't go out with the guy if you don't want to go out with the guy, but help him get through this stuff - as it is the entire purpose for you being on the team! There's no way that she's that oblivious. She just wants him to make the first move, despite her knowing that he is effed up socially!! That seems oddly cruel of her. 

[shapeshifter]

There's no way that she's that oblivious. She just wants him to make the first move, despite her knowing that he is effed up socially!! That seems oddly cruel of her.

Ah, dear Brian Cronin, but you forget (understandably) last season (I'm pretty sure) when Walter laid down the law to her about not being involved with a coworker. Of course, we have Toby and Happy, so I'm not sure this has been retconned--or maybe they have a Does Not Apply exclusion.

[Brian Cronin]

Ah, dear Brian Cronin, but you forget (understandably) last season (I'm pretty sure) when Walter laid down the law to her about not being involved with a coworker. Of course, we have Toby and Happy, so I'm not sure this has been retconned--or maybe they have a Does Not Apply exclusion.

Ha! Touche. Yes, he did say that (this season, as well, when he was going to fire one Toby if he and Happy got together), but even there, when he said that, Paige gave him grief over it, because she saw how it was a bad thing for him to do that. But now here? When he's clearly dying to ask her out but he's such an emotional wreck that he can't go through with it? Now she says nothing? I mean, I get that people have character flaws, and I suppose this is just hers, but it still seems a bit out of character for her to be this...calling it cruel is probably too much, but almost cruel. 

Edited April 21, 2016 by Brian Cronin

[shapeshifter]

^ I'll give you "unintentionally cruel."

[cali1981]

You would think that, after 2 full seasons of crazy attraction between Walter and Paige, she would have enough insight into his battered psyche to know that she has to make the first move but nope.  This is worse than Castle, although when that situation was finally resolved, it was the hottest 5 minutes in the show's history.  Somehow I don't see Scorpion heading down that road.

[piedmontgirl]

They have to really try hard to make a show that's supposed to be about geniuses so goddamn stupid.

 

I have to agree.  Mostly I have enjoyed this show because there is usually some semblance of real science.  But, Chernobyl?! This episode was beyond stupid.

[shapeshifter]

I have to agree.  Mostly I have enjoyed this show because there is usually some semblance of real science.  But, Chernobyl?! This episode was beyond stupid.

I sometimes think we're supposed to enjoy it because there's no semblance of real science. I have to admit to chortling a bit that they didn't have hazmat suits from the start--even the ones with the light up helmets so we can see the actors' faces.

[theatremouse]

It's just really annoying to me that we see them calculating all sorts of batshit probabilities of their success/failure at given tasks every five minutes, but they don't ever seem to do, you know, risk assessment. Sure they planned to use the robot but it really does make absolutely no sense that they'd fly halfway across the world for big super secret important critical radiation containing mission and they would not at all have any protective gear even with them at all.

 

And did I dream it or did Happy say in the scene when they first got there (before they even did anything) that an hour in there would be fatal exposure? So in the part when they were all "42 no 39 minutes" I was like...ok so you're 75% to dead anyway. I mean, I know the proportions are direct here, but like...you have an hour to die from radiation poisoning and 40 minutes to die from lack of air. The whole "oh no hurry" thing seemed even more underwhelming than usual. There's already no suspense. And I know it's always their thing to add in another imminent cause of death and do some sort of countdown in minutes, but still the juxtaposition of an hour vs 40 minutes so close together was like...why bother? Unless I misremembered the hour thing, but it distracted me the whole episode. You know they're going to do the "running out of time" oh wait "running out of even less time" thing, but they set the clock too low to begin with if my memory's not failing, such that it was even more pointless than usual to both with the "hurry!" bullshit.

 

Each time they put Paige 14 seconds from death I hope the show surprises me and kills off the character, and then next season turns into some sort of Ralph-turns-young-Bruce-Wayne and goes into a dark dead parent spiral. Change the whole tone of the show. ;)

Edited April 23, 2016 by theatremouse

[thuganomics85]

I foolishly keep thinking this show can't get more ridiculous and then sure enough, our band of "geniuses" are somehow in Chernobyl, where it's about to go off again, only thirty times worse, and they miraculous save the day, by basically blowing up Chernobyl themselves, before it could it.  I guess.  Really, I didn't understand what the hell was going.  All I saw was that, Sly, Paige and Russian lady crash into the building, Walt and Happy using the world's longest chain to pull them out with a merry go-around, Walt and Paige then get trapped, they scale a wall despite Paige having a hurt let, lose their oxygen tanks, so they just hold their breaths for a good minute or so while doing physical activities, scale down the building with an electric cord and cinder block, and then everyone heroically runs away with an explosion. And the only damage is a wee bit of radiation, that can be fixed with some cod juice!  I honestly think the writers just built a wall of crazy shit and threw darts at it, to determine how this was going to work out.  But now they finally gave themselves an out for future episodes!  Just say the radiation gave them all super powers!  It would explain so many things, because I have a feeling it's only going to get crazier!

 

This Walt and Paige "will they or won't they?" thing continues to be so stupid.  Walt's being an idiot, but at this point, Paige has to see the obvious signs, or either make a more or tell him to knock it off.  Avoiding it isn't healthy for anyone.

 

I vaguely remember the Mark character!  So, I guess the finale is going to be him kidnapping Toby and his hat.  I'm sure things will work out.  He just better hope Happy doesn't get her hands on him.

[DeLurker]

On 4/19/2016 at 0:23 AM, Artsda said:

I'm so tired of the Paige/Walter will they or won't they.

I don't even care if they will or won't.  They are the least enjoyable people on the show.

[shapeshifter]

Amusing post from IMDb:

Quote

Then I watched the Chernobyl episode. People standing in the same room with melted nuclear fuel rods. How will they top this? The team travels to the surface of the sun, where they go for a stroll?