- Title: Scorpion – Cliffhanger
- wiki: link
In an episode with big ramifications going forward, including setting up next week’s season finale, Team Scorpion is called in to help when a scientist with an old grudge takes control of a Los Angeles laboratory and begins killing others inside. Given that the man wants to draw attention to the bombings in Baghdad tied to Walter‘s (Elyes Gabel) work for the U.S. Government the situation hits close to home for everyone, especially once Cabe (Robert Patrick) finally admits to further culpability in the attacks which he kept from Walter for years.
There are two major pieces of “Cliffhanger.” The first is the ticking-clock conundrum that the team must solve by finding a way into the smart lab before the mad man kills anyone else with the deadly toxins inside. The second is Walter’s heightened emotional state which causes him to fire Cabe from the team even though he will need the agent’s expertise to defuse the situation. Also added to the mix is Ralph (Riley B. Smith) taking Walter’s words of encouragement about being part of the team to heart choosing to skip school and put himself in mortal danger to help save the day. Paige‘s (Katharine McPhee) reaction to the situation, and the danger her son willing allowed himself to be put in, leaves the team yet another man down.
With Paige, Ralph, and Gallo all having a foot out the door as the episode comes to a close, “Cliffhanger” makes good on its name as Walter takes his new toy for a spin leaving him literally hanging from a cliff as the episode goes to black. I’m guessing Walter’s near-death experience will help pull the team back together from the brink of disaster and likely force Paige to reconsider moving to Maine. I’m guessing each of these threads will be tied up neatly in the finale, although the show could surprise me by leaving one or more of the threads left hanging until it returns for its Second Season.