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MacGyver (2016) - General Discussion


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Maybe that is the reason I haven't been interested in the episodes lately.  They aren't fun anymore.  They are kind of dark and boring - sometimes drawn out too long - like when they had to land the airplane.  I thought that episode was never going to end.

I had no problem when they brought Desi in.  I rarely like women in tv shows.  Mostly because they have to tick some boxes and not because they really make the show any better.  I had a problem with it when they put Mac and Desi together.  I don't know why characters who work together can't lead separate personal lives.  I think putting Mac and Riley together would be a mistake as well.  

I think the big plot twist would be that she was really pining after Desi and not Mac, but I think they have pretty much alluded to a Mac/Riley set up. 

In one of the previous episodes - I noticed Levy Tran's name in the guest credit role and not the main credits.  I thought it meant she was on her way out, but it restored in future episodes.  

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Dark MacGyver doesn't work for me despite Lucas Till doing his best to sell the plot. I guess the main problem is that such a turn is just not in the show's DNA. Someone mentioned dark Fitz from AOS the other week and it's an apt comparison. Dark Fitz was chilling and believable because his origin story worked within the overall narrative and that show's world. But dark MacGyver comes out of nowhere and makes no sense. Desi freaking out because she can't distinguish between his act and his genuine nature was just painful writing.

They're really going there with Riley - okay, that means Desi will bite it sooner or later.

Damn James Callis, I'm always rooting for him 😂

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3 hours ago, MissLucas said:

Dark MacGyver doesn't work for me despite Lucas Till doing his best to sell the plot. I guess the main problem is that such a turn is just not in the show's DNA. Someone mentioned dark Fitz from AOS the other week and it's an apt comparison. Dark Fitz was chilling and believable because his origin story worked within the overall narrative and that show's world. But dark MacGyver comes out of nowhere and makes no sense. Desi freaking out because she can't distinguish between his act and his genuine nature was just painful writing.

They're really going there with Riley - okay, that means Desi will bite it sooner or later.

Damn James Callis, I'm always rooting for him 😂

Yep I agree.  Part of the appeal is how he is good natured.  We have been watching the original MacGyver a little bit, a first time for me, and definitely what I like is that he is so calm and good natured--and that is what Lucas does for the role, too.  So to have it be dark Mac, is just not the same.  They really need to get moving with this storyline, and quickly to a new one.   

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I'm very down with no more Mac/Desi. 

Wouldn't mind seeing where Mac/Riley could go [been a low-key M/R shipper since S1].  But man does it almost feel like its come out of nowhere, since this is the first time Riley's been shown as being truly bothered by M/D since about 7 episodes ago.  And then Bozer picks up on it immediately?  Really??

I know they had to find a way to use him (JC) again, but holding the 'Merchant' as a high priority prisoner?  He was a financier and little else.  lol

Maybe its because I haven't watched every episode, but I don't mind 'dark' Mac too much.  I like a little - believable - drama in my fare.  Hard to imagine a guy going through what he is this season as being or staying happy go lucky.  ymmv

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 A financier is an extremely valuable asset.   No organization, illegal or otherwise, operates without funding.   There's a reason for the phrase 'follow the money' in detective work.   The financier knows where the money is coming from, where it's going and therefore knows a lot that could cripple a terrorist organization.   There's an entire Bond film built around a villainous banker (Le Chifre  in Casino Royale).

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31 minutes ago, Trey said:

Does anyone know if this was the season finale?  It had a finale sort of feel to it.

There are several episodes left.  I think they finished taping all of them except one or two so we will see most of the season.

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28 minutes ago, shang yiet said:

I keep expecting Mac's mother to turn up now that the dad is dead.

It wouldn't surprise me if she did turn up.  Long dead people are always showing up alive and well on tv shows.

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4 hours ago, alexa said:

There are several episodes left.  I think they finished taping all of them except one or two so we will see most of the season.

According to SpoilerTV, they are planning to show only two more eps and calling the May 8th episode the (provisional) season finale.  If the series doesn't get a renewal, the rest of the finished episodes will probably be aired later this spring/early-to-mid summer. 

But if it is renewed, the unaired eps could be saved as a way to start S5 off with.

Edited by iRarelyWatchTV36
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3 hours ago, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

According to SpoilerTV, they are planning to show only two more eps and calling the May 8th episode the (provisional) season finale.  If the series doesn't get a renewal, the rest of the finished episodes will probably be aired later this spring/early-to-mid summer. 

But if it is renewed, the unaired eps could be saved as a way to start S5 off with.

I hope they renew it.  It isn't the show's fault it had a late start, barely got going, then the virus hit.  I think most shows should get another chance next season if it was doing reasonably well.  Their plan makes sense though, to have some shows to start with since they can't film right now.  

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I don't like Desi as a character. I feel like we haven't seen enough about her to really form a good opinion.  It's "tough girl who doesn't like feelings" for the first season and now "tough girl who is maybe sort of in love with main character."

I miss Jack.

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So, that happened.

Aunty Gwen is not the head honcho.  Guessing we'll find out the next supposed head honcho isn't the big kahuna, either.

Nothing says 'relationship struggles' like oxygen-depriving your SO.

Gotta say, Codex has got "doomsday prep" down to an art form.   That underground city was pretty damn cool.

And aww, Mac grabbed Riley's hand in another emotionally highly-charged moment - after being the only one who believed in him enough to tag along.

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Can someone please add Amber Skye Noyes to the regular cast next season, or give her a kickass starring role on another project? Here, she is the embodiment of the term "fiery redhead". And I like the ambivalence of her character. She's a soldier, but does have a heart. The way she thanked Mac at the end for reuniting her with her sister was genuine and heartfelt.

Otherwise, interesting conclusion with that underground city. Looking forward to next week's "finale".

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The finale is next week, already?  It seemed like a very short season.

IT looks like the're speeding up the Mac/Riley connection, as she was the only one who didn't give up on him and helped him in his mission. 

Was this show renewed?  Does he get the big bad in the finale or do we find out who he is at the end of the episode and it's the next season cliffhanger?

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6 minutes ago, Commando Cody said:

The finale is next week, already?  It seemed like a very short season.

IT looks like the're speeding up the Mac/Riley connection, as she was the only one who didn't give up on him and helped him in his mission. 

Was this show renewed?  Does he get the big bad in the finale or do we find out who he is at the end of the episode and it's the next season cliffhanger?

It was listed above that if they were renewed they would cut this season short and save some episodes for the fall.  I don’t know if they were renewing but it might be a good sign if they are having the finale soon.  I wish they could have had the whole season as planned but with production shut down it makes sense.  

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4 hours ago, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

Nothing says 'relationship struggles' like oxygen-depriving your SO.

By then I don't think Desi had the right to consider herself a significant other.  She seemed to have really turned against Mac.

I was so glad to see Riley turn up to rescue Mac and Scarlett - I agree with @Lambsilencer, the actress/character would make a great addition to the show.  Maybe she could replace Desi as Mac's bodyguard.

I did enjoy this episode and I like where we're at in the story line.

 

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I just read on instagram that Mac is renewed for Season 5.  I am very happy about that as they deserve another season to get things rolling again.  They were really impacted by a short season and the pandemic.  

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(edited)
2 hours ago, alexa said:

I just read on instagram that Mac is renewed for Season 5.  I am very happy about that as they deserve another season to get things rolling again.  They were really impacted by a short season and the pandemic.  

Agreed.  And even though its been 'stuck in a rut' lately (imo), I'm glad Magnum got renewed as well.  Seems like the MacGyver+Magnum+Blue Bloods Friday night trio will stay in tact.

I wonder how they'll use the unaired S4 eps to integrate into S5?  Seemed awfully early in the S4 run to already be 'going rogue' and infiltrating Codex, in the 12 & 13th episodes [considering there was to be 20-22, in all], but will definitely leave me wondering until it comes back in the Fall.

Edited by iRarelyWatchTV36
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That was a really good episode.  I like that they got the gang together fairly early in so it felt like a normal episode, and it was back to some of the original fun of the series--not so dark.  Good to have the real Mac back.  I didn't understand how Desi had the right to be mad at Mac, however, given she didn't believe in him and had mostly turned against him without even trying to give him a chance (last episode).  

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1 hour ago, alexa said:

That was a really good episode.  I like that they got the gang together fairly early in so it felt like a normal episode, and it was back to some of the original fun of the series--not so dark.  Good to have the real Mac back.  I didn't understand how Desi had the right to be mad at Mac, however, given she didn't believe in him and had mostly turned against him without even trying to give him a chance (last episode).  

This is what bothered me about the end of the episode.  Mac and Desi were still friendly with each other.  She didn't believe in him, but it came across and nothing ever happened.  Sort of.  She bought into that he went bad.  I really hope this breaks them up for good.  It would make Mac look kind of sad and desperate if he ignored everything that happened between the two of them. 

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(edited)
2 hours ago, alexa said:

That was a really good episode.  I like that they got the gang together fairly early in so it felt like a normal episode, and it was back to some of the original fun of the series--not so dark.  Good to have the real Mac back.  I didn't understand how Desi had the right to be mad at Mac, however, given she didn't believe in him and had mostly turned against him without even trying to give him a chance (last episode).  

17 minutes ago, Commando Cody said:

This is what bothered me about the end of the episode.  Mac and Desi were still friendly with each other.  She didn't believe in him, but it came across and nothing ever happened.  Sort of.  She bought into that he went bad.  I really hope this breaks them up for good.  It would make Mac look kind of sad and desperate if he ignored everything that happened between the two of them. 

Agree with both these, but her last line is not something I liked for what it implied (them getting back together, again!).

Edited by iRarelyWatchTV36
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(edited)

It was a good "finale". They resolved some stuff and left a few things linger for what's to come.

I wonder if episode 13 was once considered the finale anyway, since the show got a midseason start? Maybe that was the idea, and the five additional episodes were ordered later anyway. Maybe that's why this episode kind of did feel like a finale somehow, and why it was decided to keep the five additional finished episodes for later.

I wonder if Scarlett is really dead. It sure seems that she perished in the explosion. but I found it strange that her character was getting established in the last episode, only to kill her off in the two throwaway scenes she had here.

But, based on Amber Skye Noyes' Tweet, it looks like that's the case.

She could of course be lying, though… 😉

Edited by Lambsilencer
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So I was very disturbed that the show basically tried to say that while the plan was evil, that they started the plan because Mac deserved a better world.  That is fucked up to say "gee, my kid is so important it's worth murdering 3/4 of the world!".  I really would like to see Mac having to struggle with the fact that his mother was Heinrich Himmler and Pol Pot levels of evil.

  I mean one of the main themes has always been Mac came from a family of engineers and scientists who were "hyper-rational".  But Mac's strength is that he's not.  He always wants to save every individual.  So how did he end up so different from his family (I would argue Bozer's friendship was a deciding factor).  But it would be a great recurring story.

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2 hours ago, Janie430 said:

So I was very disturbed that the show basically tried to say that while the plan was evil, that they started the plan because Mac deserved a better world.  That is fucked up to say "gee, my kid is so important it's worth murdering 3/4 of the world!".  I really would like to see Mac having to struggle with the fact that his mother was Heinrich Himmler and Pol Pot levels of evil.

  I mean one of the main themes has always been Mac came from a family of engineers and scientists who were "hyper-rational".  But Mac's strength is that he's not.  He always wants to save every individual.  So how did he end up so different from his family (I would argue Bozer's friendship was a deciding factor).  But it would be a great recurring story.

I don't think you should consider a scientist evil because they noticed a problem and figured out a solution. The scientist wouldn't be doing their job properly if they didn't try to think of every solution possible. The real solution to the problem might not be doing a lot of just one thing, but a little bit of a lot of different things. You never know how well something will work, so the more options you have, the more likely the problem can be solved. Mac's mother came up with one scenario for how to solve the problem and the government killed her before she could offer any other alternatives. Mac is already thinking of different solutions to the same problem, but the powers that be seem to have locked their minds into thinking there is only one answer to the problem.

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(edited)

From Vanity Fair: Interesting (I thought) article (exposé?) on the end of now-former showrunner Peter Lenkov’s production deal with, & employment by, CBS. It mentions a lot about the on-set atmosphere under his leadership on all 3 shows (MacGyver, Magnum P.I., & the recently ended Hawaii Five-0), including a story about Meredith Eaton needing to have hip replacement surgery for an injury incurred during filming, & Lenkov seemingly trying to rush her return to work after the procedure; it also seems to say that a 5-page letter sent by Lucas Till to CBS’ Human Resources Department, about the working conditions on the MacGyver set, was what triggered the investigation which led to Lenkov’s downfall.

You probably have to use the Reader View function (which should be somewhere in the box where you type the web address for the site/page you’re looking for) to read the article, otherwise you get blocked by magazine-related pop-ups you can’t remove (I couldn’t anyway).

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/07/the-fall-of-a-cbs-showrunner

Edited by BW Manilowe
To fix the spelling of a word.
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Premiere date set.

Quote

“Resort + Desi + Riley + Window Cleaner + Witness” – Mac and the team infiltrate a glamorous hotel used as an international hideout for criminals to find a woman with vital information on Codex. However, their target has a new secret identity, including a completely new face, on the fifth season premiere of MACGYVER, Friday, Dec. 4 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

 

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On 10/31/2020 at 8:47 PM, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

Wasn't last season only 13 episodes?

Might get the same in S5, or an increase to between 16 and 18 eps [at most].  Covid-19 protocols are adding another day+ to episode production time.

Didn’t they film something like 20 episodes for last season but only aired 13 so the season could finish at a proper stopping point? 

On 10/24/2020 at 9:07 PM, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

Considering what we watched last season, no surprises at all about the start of this upcoming season....

MacGyver' Season 5 Heats up With a Love Triangle & a Prisoner Exchange

On one hand I hate love triangles on principle, on the other, Mac and Desi are a simply terrible couple with no chemistry so if the Riley thing at least ends that couple I’ll be happy. I’m still not sure I want Mac and Riley to happen either but  they’re at least more interesting than Mac and Desi.

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2 hours ago, dippydee said:

Didn’t they film something like 20 episodes for last season but only aired 13 so the season could finish at a proper stopping point? 

On one hand I hate love triangles on principle, on the other, Mac and Desi are a simply terrible couple with no chemistry so if the Riley thing at least ends that couple I’ll be happy. I’m still not sure I want Mac and Riley to happen either but  they’re at least more interesting than Mac and Desi.

Yes, and they did say after the s4 finale that they would air the extra episodes at beginning of s5 - or would have this past summer, if not renewed - but I don't know if was because of stopping point in the overall story, or the network wouldn't air the episodes past the concluding 2019-2020 season's 'end date'.   *shrugs*


I also want to see the end of Mac/Desi.  And if it takes Mac/Riley to make that happen, so be it.  Actually have been a little bit of a M/R shipper since s1.  I am just hesitant to really want it to happen, because I don't want it to wither and wish it's end like I have been doing with M/D. 

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19 hours ago, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

Actually have been a little bit of a M/R shipper since s1.  I am just hesitant to really want it to happen, because I don't want it to wither and wish it's end like I have been doing with M/D. 

Yep. I’ve been torn because I do see chemistry between them but I love the Mac/Riley friendship, they seem to really get each other and I’d hate to see that bond lost if they get romantic. This show doesn’t do romance so well so it’s a real worry.

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Let's take the Continental from John Wick and make a slightly disguised copy of it!

Riley has some nice biker jackets but she looked fantastic in that secret agent trenchcoat. I hope she keeps it.

I'm glad we won't be spending too much time on trust issues. I don't watch this show to see the good guys/gals getting in each other's way.

This episode was pretty fun overall. It's nice to have some lighthearted action/adventure on TV again!

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I know it was a 10 month jump between 4.13 and 5.1, but the reconciliations felt undeserved in that they happened a little too soon.

When we last saw this show, they just had the big trust break over dealing with Codex. Then when the show comes back, they're all making up at the end of the hour. They've supposedly spent the last 10 months in very limited contact with each other - if any at all - but go on a mission, and afterwards its all water under the bridge again. I guess I'm glad it won't get dragged out overly long, but felt the resolution was too quick and too easy.

Another thing was I expected more Desi pushback when she asked Riley why she went after Mac when he 'defected' and Riley said she trusted & wanted to protect him. I was waiting for Desi to come back with something like "I'm the security person here and his 'girlfriend'". Guess the whole Desi-Mac-Riley triangle stuff will start a little later on.

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I liked that this was back to what the show used to do.  It was getting far too serious last year.  I like the episodes that have a single problem, they work it out, have a good ending, and then start over again the next episode.  This was much more fun than they had been for a while.  I hope they keep this up.  

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That was another fun episode.

I wonder if it is deliberate that they are Team Non-Lethal now. One mook got shot in this episode and did not die from it. I don't think there were any deaths via gunfire this time around.

Funny how bad guys or secret agencies or secure vaults always have laser grids with holes in them just large enough to accommodate a woman if she contorts herself into a bunch of sexually suggestive poses.

I actually felt bad for Russ in this episode which is a first for me.

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Season 5 Episode 2: Thief + Painting + Auction + Viro-486 + Justice   AKA  The Desi Entrapment Episode

When Taylor’s former protégé is killed while preventing a bio-weapon from falling into the wrong hands, Mac and the team must find the weapon so Desi can pull off the ultimate heist before it’s sold to a terrorist cell. 

Airdate: Friday, Dec. 11

A few things that bothered me:

Why were there no lasers 3 feet above the ground, maybe they were there and I was just missing it. Why drop straight down, drop at an angle 3 feet to the right and you would miss all the lasers entirely (Mac can you think of a device to make that happen), giving you more time to disable the security.

I have to give props to Hannibal Teague's security team. They just stood there without moving as Desi fired a handgun and a machine gun at them. I would have definitely tried to find some cover before returning fire.

Why do people who steal millions of dollars and retire to a quiet low profile life still need to try to steal more money, learn when enough is enough.

Russ hit's Teague in the head with a gun and Teague is still conscious? Russ didn't hit him as hard as I would have.

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2 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Why do people who steal millions of dollars and retire to a quiet low profile life still need to try to steal more money, learn when enough is enough

Because like anyone who makes more money than the can spend in 10 lifetimes--corpirate execs, politicians, sports figures, movie stars--theyre doing it as much or more for ego.  The thrill of being the best, the attention it brings, the notoriety, the feeling of being better than everyone else.   Any or all of the above. 

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41 minutes ago, Maverick said:

Because like anyone who makes more money than the can spend in 10 lifetimes--corpirate execs, politicians, sports figures, movie stars--theyre doing it as much or more for ego.  The thrill of being the best, the attention it brings, the notoriety, the feeling of being better than everyone else.   Any or all of the above. 

It does seem so, as I was hearing on the news about Howard Stern's new contract-- I mean after a certain amount of millions, how many more do you need?  So of course it must be ego at that point.

8 hours ago, dwmarch said:

That was another fun episode.

I wonder if it is deliberate that they are Team Non-Lethal now. One mook got shot in this episode and did not die from it. I don't think there were any deaths via gunfire this time around.

Funny how bad guys or secret agencies or secure vaults always have laser grids with holes in them just large enough to accommodate a woman if she contorts herself into a bunch of sexually suggestive poses.

I actually felt bad for Russ in this episode which is a first for me.

I liked the extra character they had on this time as well....she was kind of fun and helpful.  

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This ep was decent, but not great.

I liked the extra person  guest star, and that they didn't make her too hard to like... but this episode felt more like "watch Desi get bendy, for close to no reason" [see comment above that they could have done things to avoid most of the need for such extreme limber acrobatics] and less like a team-oriented critical mission.  But that could just be my own skewed POV.

Edited by iRarelyWatchTV36
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On 12/12/2020 at 10:42 AM, alexa said:

It does seem so, as I was hearing on the news about Howard Stern's new contract-- I mean after a certain amount of millions, how many more do you need?  So of course it must be ego at that point.

I think Stern likes his job, and now that  he doesn't even have to leave the house to do it why quit? What exactly would you expect Howard Stern to do if he isn't doing his broadcasting? Some people have no life out of the spotlight and doing their work and have many assistants doing all the drudgery for them. People at companies who as a group win the Powerball tend to still go back to their low paying jobs mostly because they like the people they work with.

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4 hours ago, UnknownK said:

I think Stern likes his job, and now that  he doesn't even have to leave the house to do it why quit? What exactly would you expect Howard Stern to do if he isn't doing his broadcasting? Some people have no life out of the spotlight and doing their work and have many assistants doing all the drudgery for them. People at companies who as a group win the Powerball tend to still go back to their low paying jobs mostly because they like the people they work with.

I was just talking about the part about the money in reference to the show--  see above for the conversation that someone started.  I used him as an example.  I could care less if he works/quits, whatever.  Just that he fit the mold of someone with a huge contract and at some point how much money is enough?  Again, I don't really care.... just a conversation.  

Now back to MacGyver....

 

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On 6/28/2020 at 9:43 AM, AnimeMania said:

I don't think you should consider a scientist evil because they noticed a problem and figured out a solution. The scientist wouldn't be doing their job properly if they didn't try to think of every solution possible. The real solution to the problem might not be doing a lot of just one thing, but a little bit of a lot of different things. You never know how well something will work, so the more options you have, the more likely the problem can be solved. Mac's mother came up with one scenario for how to solve the problem and the government killed her before she could offer any other alternatives. Mac is already thinking of different solutions to the same problem, but the powers that be seem to have locked their minds into thinking there is only one answer to the problem.

The most absurd thing about this is that Mac is seen trying to come up with that solution himself in one episode and is frustrated that he can't... and nobody points out how ridiculous this is. Mac is one guy, a very smart and perhaps genius man but one guy. He's trying to solve a problem countless people across the world just as smart or smarter than him have been trying to solve. Of course he's not going to figure it out! There's billions upon billions of variables to consider and that's probably way lowballing it. Even a massive group like Codex isn't going to be able to do it, and it's obvious they didn't even try and are just going for a KILL EM ALL solution for their own gain.

I am so glad we got back to Macgyver just saving people and stopping nutjobs because just like any attempt to do some sort of arc it just doesn't work with this show, it really doesn't. Seeing Mac coming up with inventive solutions to problems while the cast all snark at each other the whole time is what I watch this show for, not to deal with some big bad villain failing to get stopped for stupid reasons episode after episode all the while monologuing about nonsense.

Regarding the most recent episode... it really was just an excuse to get Desi contorting for no reason, especially since the thing they were after wasn't even there. It took her a lot longer to learn the ropes of that whole laser wire practice considering how agile she normally is. I spent the whole time thinking that Desi be able to do it easily.

That, and the fact that there would be no reason to put the lasers in such a haphazard fashion and instead just put them in a couple straight rows that would be impossible for a person to contort to pass through.

Edited by immortalfrieza
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