Scorpion New Episode Review: 'Talismans' Continues to Humanize Walter O'Brien

Before we get to the review in earnest, apologies for the lateness of this recap. Scorpion was pre-empted in the New York market on Monday night thanks to the Jets-Bills game that was moved to Monday night, so I couldn't watch the episode until Tuesday. Regardless, the CBS series continued with its debut season on Monday, and the focus was once again on Walter O'Brien and his mental state.

If I've said it once, I've said it 100 times. But let's make it 101. This show functions best when it focuses on Walter and how the man with the fourth-highest IQ in recorded history relates to the world around him. This is true to a lesser extent of his team members, but Walter is the main character, so let's roll with him.

We already learned a few episodes ago that Walter cannot feel fear, so it wasn't surprising to see him charging headlong into battlefield conditions in this episode. He tried to defuse a mine (and nearly succeeded), tried to stop the armed enemy almost single-handedly and performed numerous other actions that would have given a normal man pause.

The action in this episode was certainly tense, so it was thrilling to see Walter and his team in true combat. This wasn't a mission in a corporate office building or a covert spy operation. Walter, Paige, Toby and Happy became soldiers. They survived, and they became stronger for it.

Scorpion seems to have greatly learned from its missteps in the first few episodes. Rather than throw all the focus and budget at the procedural, Plot of the Week elements and neglect the characters, the show has found the right balance. We got some great action in this episode, but the focus remained entirely on Walter throughout the hour. His interactions with Soldier Boy and his conflict over the necklace on the presumed dead soldier's body each highlighted the human being that rests underneath the intellect and inability to process a significant portion of the world around him.

Sylvester babysat Walter's sister (who returned from an earlier episode to make everyone uncomfortable by consistently reminding them of her MS) and described how Walter rescued him from his family. Each time we learn a piece of Walter's history with his friends, it helps illuminate him as a character. Instead of telling us that these people are a family, Scorpion is showing us why they feel so bonded to each other and, specifically, to Walter.

Toby and Happy also got a nice little subplot in this episode when they got separated from the rest of the group in Bosnia. Toby has been doggedly pursuing Happy for weeks now, and I appreciate that the show is not skating around his feelings. As he said, he could die at any moment, so he might as well get his feelings out there even if they're completely obvious to Happy and everyone else. The two shared a bonding moment and, again, delved deeper into their psychological states. Toby becomes sarcastic when things get too real, and Happy shuts down almost completely. Happy showed at the end of the episode that she's glad Toby won't give up, so it seems like only a matter of time before these two crazy kids get together.

It's safe to say Scorpion has found its footing after a rough start. Rather than force these characters on us or overload us with technobabble, the show has elected to peel back the layers and show us who these people are and why we should care about them. Here's hoping this continues for the rest of Season 1.

What did you think of "Talismans"? Let us know in the comments section.