S04.E22: A Lie in the Sand

[thewhiteowl]

The team vs a minefield in Africa. Walter's relationship with Paige takes an unexpected turn. Toby and Happy make a decision.

[shapeshifter]

Oof. I'm glad to get a break from this show. I would like to have Paige find someone else and then Walter and Triangle Point Flo can exist as sexless soulmates, but more likely Paige and Walter will reunite when it's revealed that Sly and Flo have secretly started dating. Regardless, this may be my last episode.

[Rascotes]

I'm just going to say it, I hope they never get Walter and Paige back together.  In fact, I'd be tickled if everyone on the show just forgot those two ever dated.  This has got to be one of the clumsiest, most awkward and unconvincing TV romances I've come across in years.  Please just let it die and move on.

Happy and Toby adopting was pretty obvious but I don't hate the story.  They continue to be a strong point for the series along with Cabe.

The standout moment for me was when Sly pushed Walter.  it was so out of character that it really highlighted how hurt and angry he was.

Like the first poster, I'm definitely ready for a break from Scorpion.  This entire season has been sort of manic and even uncomfortable at times.  I sure hope they figure things out in the off season.

[Bobbin]

37 minutes ago, Rascotes said:

This entire season has been sort of manic and even uncomfortable at times. 

Ditto. Like I said in an earlier post, everything goes wrong with this crew, including relationships. I really like Sly's penpal Alex and that nurse. They're so much more easy-going and likable than most of the Scorpion team while dealing with the same crises.

[AnimeMania]

This episode made no sense. Scorpion flew all the way to Africa to fill a truck up with gas to put in a generator. I was not paying attention, was this special gas that only that village had? Why not siphon a little gas from all those trucks that are driving around in the village. The road from the airport to the village didn't appear to be blocked, there wasn't a gas station along the way they could go to?

The romance drama was as stupid as the gasoline drama.

[madfortv]

The ending was just stupid. I enjoyed the show except for the secret.  Sly's pen pal and the nurse were cute.

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

This episode made no sense. Scorpion flew all the way to Africa to fill a truck up with gas to put in a generator. I was not paying attention, was this special gas that only that village had? Why not siphon a little gas from all those trucks that are driving around in the village. The road from the airport to the village didn't appear to be blocked, there wasn't a gas station along the way they could go to?

The romance drama was as stupid as the gasoline drama.

Seriously. Maybe it was written when they thought the show was going to be canceled? Or maybe they were using this script as a sort of SOS to TPTB to say: Please cancel this show before the plots get even stupider. Otherwise, why not come up with the usual excuse like: According to calculations, there is only enough gas to last two days, but there is a sand storm coming that will last three days, so yada yada yada. 

Maybe they should rename the show Centipede.

[Free]

7 hours ago, Rascotes said:

I'm just going to say it, I hope they never get Walter and Paige back together.  In fact, I'd be tickled if everyone on the show just forgot those two ever dated.  This has got to be one of the clumsiest, most awkward and unconvincing TV romances I've come across in years.  Please just let it die and move on.

There's only so many times they can keep telling us that they're too different for each other before it got so old so fast, anything to contrive fracturing the team I guess.

[mommalib]

That ending was stupid especially considering that the show might not come back. And yes Walter should have told Paige but considering that she was hurt over the dream I can see why he hesitated. But she Paige overreacted and was a little to brutal in what she said to Walter and that's not the first time she has been overly cruel to him. And Sly was just being ridiculous. I;m also tired of everybody turning on Walter, that isn't the first time that happen either. 

[Jack Kerouac]

That story was nonsense. There is no gas anywhere else that they can get? Hell, they could have FLOWN in gas on the ride over. Happy and Toby should go off on their own with Sly and Cabe. Call it Centipede and I'll watch.

With an episode and a season like that, this show does not deserve to be renewed.

[mythoughtis]

It was a stupid story. How is a guy on a ventilator near death vital to ongoing negotiations?  negotiations that did not occur while the crew was there?  How did our gang get driven there if the mountain road was inaccessible? As someone  says - bring gas on same road  they came on.  Syphon gas from all the vehicles there.   

I love Happy, Toby, Sly and Cabe.  Paige can stay if we don’t ever have to hear or see any romance involving her.  Patti and Cabe’s girlfriend too. Send Ralph to boarding school. Lose Flo and Walter.   Since the show is based on a real Walter, that will probably never happen. 

[Maverick]

Is there a chance this show won't return?  I figured it was a lock for at least 5 seasons.   If it isn't renewed, I'm good with the ending.   Other than Cabe being stuck with Walter and Flo, I'm fine thinking Centipede just goes on kicking Scorpion's ass for all time.   

 If it does come back, except the first batch of episodes to be Scorpion and Centipede butting heads on cases until there's a CRISIS! SO! BIG! that the two teams have to work together and mend their merry band.

 I thought it was odd Ralph wasn't in this episode.  Not only was it the season finale, but he's wants his mom and Walter together so he should have had a reaction to the breakup.   

[raven]

Hate the name Centipede - I right away though of the Human Centipede (which I won't see, but ugh).

I'm in the Eastern US time zone so this show comes on at 10 pm, which I always thought kind of odd; it could be geared towards family (maybe it's a ratings thing?)  anyway, my point is that I could have been onboard with Paige and Walter having sex and then saying "well, that was great but we really don't want to be together".  I could buy them in a casual sexual relationship.  Since that wasn't going to happen,  I was fine with them together as long as there was no ANGST yet here we are, yuck.

Walter needed to understand that the longer he let it go, and the more people who knew, the worse it would be when Paige inevitably found out.  Then he compounds it by not telling her the whole story when she figures it out.  That said, she was over the top with the insults about his EQ or whatever.  They are just awful when they disagree.  Then Walter was nasty to Sly (though I think Walter really was clueless about Flo's feelings and of course he didn't know how Sly felt about Flo).

I especially don't want to hear that Flo is developing feelings for Walter and arggggggh I refuse to discuss this anymore.

If the show is renewed, it better lose the relationship stuff and go back to being fun.  I liked Happy & Toby deciding to adopt. 

[incandescent]

Walter got off easy with one firm shove. No wonder his entire extended family likes Sly better.

[theatremouse]

I feel like they've done this plot already though where Walter alienates everyone on the team and they ditch him. Redundant as fuck.

I am also supremely disappointed that Flo wasn't gay and having feelings for Paige. (I mean, other than Paige is bleh and I don't really get why anyone's into her, but hey at least it would've been less predictable.)

[Sarah 103]

7 hours ago, Maverick said:

 I thought it was odd Ralph wasn't in this episode.  Not only was it the season finale, but he's wants his mom and Walter together so he should have had a reaction to the breakup.   

I'm guessing he's trying to figure out how to get them back together. The alternative is that he's mad at Walter and is now not sure Walter is good enough/the right man for his mother. 

7 hours ago, Maverick said:

  If it does come back, except the first batch of episodes to be Scorpion and Centipede butting heads on cases until there's a CRISIS! SO! BIG! that the two teams have to work together and mend their merry band.

That's exactly what I thought once I saw the ending, but I think they will all be back together by episode 2 maybe 3 at the latest. 

6 hours ago, raven said:

I liked Happy & Toby deciding to adopt. 

Me too. I had a feeling that's where the plot line would go. They can easily keep it up for an entire season. I can see conversations about foreign vs. domestic. There will be episodes dealing with social workers/home visits. Because it's TV, there will be a story-arc where it looks like they will finally get the baby/kid they want but something will go wrong at the last minute. If we're lucky enough to get a season 5 it will probably be the last one, so I could see a series finale involving Happy and Toby getting a kid.  

[mythoughtis]

The premise of this show and why they need Paige is that their genius brains make it impossible for them to function in society. But that’s not true for anyone but Walter and Flo. Every single one of the rest of the high IQ crowd is perfectly capable of interacting with others.   Yes, Happy has (had?) issues - but that’s more from being in foster care than her IQ. Yes, they  are geeky, and nerdy and not athletic but they function quite well. Except again for Flo and Walter.   

[calipiano81]

Minority opinion, but I was actually impressed with how the show tied all the drama together for that garage blowout scene and how it fit with the "minefield" theme of the episode.

Unfortunately, it also made me sad. I felt each person said things that had truth, but at the same time, each person also said things that were unfair.

I hope Scorpion will be able to recover and reunite. I didn't know that Scorpion was a cancellation risk...I thought ratings were doing OK?

[threebluestars]

I agree that I really liked the entire garage scene and how it related to the minefield. I could just feel how uncomfortable all the characters were.

[bros402]

Hm. Well, uh, that was an episode. This season had highs and lows - at its highs, it embraced the saturday morning cartoonishness of the series and the worst, we had crap like the main plot of this episode and some of the drama this season.

This season was really uneven, even for a show like this. I don't see how Scorpion without Sly, Happy, and Toby can function - sure, they have a government contract, but Walter is mostly tech stuff, and Florence is chemistry. Centipede is pretty much Scorpion, just with Slyvester being a little bit weaker than Walter with some things - and I bet they'd have Ralph help them out, so they are objectively the superior team and I bet that is going to be a running thing through the first 3-4 episodes of the next season, since it can't be any more than 6 episodes before the team is reunited, but a bit shakily. As someone said above, Slyvester and Florence will probably start dating secretly and they will probably overreact when their respective teams make comments about the other team, to the point where the romance is revealed - or maybe some magical technology will be like "oh look this machine can tell who is in love by pheromones/fMRI/EEG/eating monkey brains" and the only ones not showing signs of being in love are Paige and Walter (Since Cabe has his girlfriend (Fiance?), whose name I forget), as they are broken up.

I probably just ruined the writer's idea

[DrScottie]

On 4/22/2018 at 2:48 AM, bros402 said:

I probably just ruined the writer's idea

That's quite likely going to be a better idea than what the writers of Scorpion would come up with. It's far more coherent than their usual story arcs. Let's not forget about the pointless half-season long subplots too. 

[bros402]

9 hours ago, DrScottie said:

That's quite likely going to be a better idea than what the writers of Scorpion would come up with. It's far more coherent than their usual story arcs. Let's not forget about the pointless half-season long subplots too. 

True. You know, a better half season subplot for a show like this would be a job they have. Make it something longterm that they work on a little bit every episode - maybe have it be the reason why 1-2 characters stay back in the garage.

Also, I bet they are going to have to work together because of that guy who is that recurring tech guy - Elia or whatever. He'll want to hire Scorpion for a job, hires Scorpion, is like "wtf am I paying you this much for without your team? where are they?" then sees they are at Centipede, hires them too, then Penn appears and they kiss and make up and distrust each other.

Then near the end of the season Paige gets some superbug or Walter is facing all-but-certain death, and they admit they still love each other

[Sarah 103]

On 4/24/2018 at 2:42 AM, bros402 said:

Then near the end of the season Paige gets some superbug or Walter is facing all-but-certain death, and they admit they still love each other

Ralph is what brings them together. He is in serious danger/some type of life or death situation. It takes a combination of Paige's emotional intelligence and Walter's high IQ to save the day. They realize they both need each other and are at thier best when they are together. To be honest, I don't care if Walter and Paige stay just friends or get together romantically. As long as Ralph stays on the show and is part of the team I'm happy. The couple I'm rooting for is Sly and Flo. 

[roamyn]

BRing back Tim!  He was a better fit for Paige, is skilled/intelligent enough, and eye candy to boot.

[bros402]

On 4/29/2018 at 12:14 AM, Sarah 103 said:

Ralph is what brings them together. He is in serious danger/some type of life or death situation. It takes a combination of Paige's emotional intelligence and Walter's high IQ to save the day. They realize they both need each other and are at thier best when they are together. To be honest, I don't care if Walter and Paige stay just friends or get together romantically. As long as Ralph stays on the show and is part of the team I'm happy. The couple I'm rooting for is Sly and Flo. 

Maybe Ralph tries to trick them into working together (by putting himself in fake danger), then something goes wrong because these people attract chaos, and they must work together to save Ralph!

[Sarah 103]

11 hours ago, bros402 said:

Maybe Ralph tries to trick them into working together (by putting himself in fake danger), then something goes wrong because these people attract chaos, and they must work together to save Ralph!

I love it. Ralph isn't as smart as thinks he is would be perfect. There's something that he didn't take into account or something unexpected that he didn't factor in and throws off his plan. As things get progressively worse over the course of the episode they keep needing to call in different members of the team until everyone is back working together to save the day.   

[bros402]

12 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

I love it. Ralph isn't as smart as thinks he is would be perfect. There's something that he didn't take into account or something unexpected that he didn't factor in and throws off his plan. As things get progressively worse over the course of the episode they keep needing to call in different members of the team until everyone is back working together to save the day.   

I'm picturing some kind of Rube Goldberg machine that has something for every member of the team (Even Paige and Cabe!) to do in order to save him.

[Sarah 103]

13 hours ago, bros402 said:

I'm picturing some kind of Rube Goldberg machine that has something for every member of the team (Even Paige and Cabe!) to do in order to save him.

I'm not sure how a machine would work. Here is what I pictured: Walter is the mastermind who thinks up a rough idea of the solution. He needs Sly to do the calculations and figure out what they need. Sly calls Happy to build the thing. To build the thing or save Ralph they are going to need something that Flo can create in her lab. Cabe uses his government connections to get equipment or block off an area. Toby is there to keep an eye on vital signs. Paige is there to keep Ralph awake and talking while the team works on the solution. 

[bros402]

10 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

I'm not sure how a machine would work. Here is what I pictured: Walter is the mastermind who thinks up a rough idea of the solution. He needs Sly to do the calculations and figure out what they need. Sly calls Happy to build the thing. To build the thing or save Ralph they are going to need something that Flo can create in her lab. Cabe uses his government connections to get equipment or block off an area. Toby is there to keep an eye on vital signs. Paige is there to keep Ralph awake and talking while the team works on the solution. 

Maybe Toby and Flo work together to make some kind of medicine while Happy and Sly try to work together on some kind of tool, but then they realize they need Walter, who doesn't want to help at first, because "well if they wanted to start their own company they should be able to do it themselves!" then a cry from Ralph "Just work with them you moron!" and he goes to help. 

Oh - maybe it will involve that genius guy who seems to be a sort of villain that Cabe was on trial for freeing. Maybe he traps Ralph in some kind of deadly escape room to test his IQ (because this show is stupid and thinks IQ is some kind of brute force you use to do things).

[Sarah 103]

8 hours ago, bros402 said:

Maybe Toby and Flo work together to make some kind of medicine while Happy and Sly try to work together on some kind of tool, but then they realize they need Walter, who doesn't want to help at first, because "well if they wanted to start their own company they should be able to do it themselves!" then a cry from Ralph "Just work with them you moron!" and he goes to help. 

I pictured Walter and Paige there at the start, because Ralph called both of them when it was only fake danger. Overall, I like your idea. There's just one problem, Flo is with Team Scorpion and Toby is on Team Centipede. Happy and Sly are on the same team so I could see the two of them working together to create the tool/rescue device. Toby knows what type of medicine Ralph needs but can't make it himself. This is when Walter would say your line "well if you wanted to start you own company you should be able to do it on your own!". I love Ralph's cry of "Just work with them you moron!" being the thing that gets Walter working with the team again. That's when Walter would call Flo to have her make the medicine. 

[bros402]

15 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

I pictured Walter and Paige there at the start, because Ralph called both of them when it was only fake danger. Overall, I like your idea. There's just one problem, Flo is with Team Scorpion and Toby is on Team Centipede. Happy and Sly are on the same team so I could see the two of them working together to create the tool/rescue device. Toby knows what type of medicine Ralph needs but can't make it himself. This is when Walter would say your line "well if you wanted to start you own company you should be able to do it on your own!". I love Ralph's cry of "Just work with them you moron!" being the thing that gets Walter working with the team again. That's when Walter would call Flo to have her make the medicine. 

Yes, they are on different teams -- but they seem the most likely members of the two teams to work together organically - no bad blood between them, so Toby might be like "I guess I need to be the one to do it! I'll call Flo!" Then Sly says "Florence! She likes to be called Florence!" and then Toby has a quip like "Just go with the Flo, big guy."

[Sarah 103]

10 hours ago, bros402 said:

Yes, they are on different teams -- but they seem the most likely members of the two teams to work together organically - no bad blood between them, so Toby might be like "I guess I need to be the one to do it! I'll call Flo!" Then Sly says "Florence! She likes to be called Florence!" and then Toby has a quip like "Just go with the Flo, big guy."

That works for me. You've convinced me that Toby makes the call to Flo after Ralph's cry of "Just work with them you moron!" I can picture Flo being back at the lab while Walter goes into the field to save Ralph. Of course, Flo ends up in the field after mixing up the medicine back at HQ. 

[bros402]

13 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

That works for me. You've convinced me that Toby makes the call to Flo after Ralph's cry of "Just work with them you moron!" I can picture Flo being back at the lab while Walter goes into the field to save Ralph. Of course, Flo ends up in the field after mixing up the medicine back at HQ. 

I bet our random forum posts will be better than whatever the writers come up with.

 

But if they happen to browse here and want to steal it, I am fine with that.