Scorpion New Episode Review: Valentine's Day Episode 'Love Boat' Sinks

Scorpion returned with a new episode Monday night entitled "Love Boat," and the Valentine's Day themed installment returned the show to a lot of its bad habits. It did, however, progress the plot in several ways, pushed some characters together, and drove others apart.

As we've said repeatedly in past reviews, this show functions best when it explores how these geniuses, specifically Walter O'Brien, relate to the world around them. "Love Boat" touched on that somewhat, but the plot getting there was clunky and awkward.

But let's start with the good. Walter began the episode by deciding to take Paige on a date even if he refused to call it that. Toby prodded him about the situation, and it seemed like we were going to get a significant step in the relationship between Walter and Paige.

Of course, Walter ran into his ex-girlfriend during the mission (because of course he did) and later asked her why it didn't work out between them. She admitted that Walter can be frustrating to deal with sometimes (no kidding, lady), but the real problem was that he eventually lost interest in her, and it hurt her so much that she did not want to stick around anymore.

So at the end of the episode, Walter decided to cancel the date. It's frustrating at first if you legitimately want these two to get together or if you just want the show to get them together so that we can move on from this "will they won't they" plot. But for all of Walter's intellectual speak and cool detachment from the world, it's evident that he cares about those close to him.

He's building a damn rocket to try to win money so he can help his sister recover from MS. He has shown individual care for each member of his team. He views Cabe as a father figure. So in his own way, Walter is showing how much he cares for Paige by pushing her away because he doesn't want to hurt her. He doesn't want to get bored with her and brush her aside as he has done in the past.

Toby and Happy also grew closer as they helped Ralph woo a girl in his class. Of course, the show pulled the old "they're about to kiss when something interrupts them" cliché, but at least we got some legitimate progress on this front.

Finally, Paige convinced Sylvester to take Walter's sister, Megan, on a date. He decided not to tell Walter the girl's identity, but Walter said any girl would be lucky to have him. He even gave Sylvester the reservation he had made for himself and Paige. This is actually a big move for Sylvester who is afraid of...everything...so let's see where it goes.

The plot of the episode was typical ridiculous Scorpion. Cabe actually said the line "Who's ready for some James Bond action?" Toby asked if he should call 911 because Walter was a liar liar whose pants were on fire. Walter turns into a gymnast briefly when he swings off a pole and kicks a bad guy. Walter used a beer can as a microphone. Rockets collided in midair because Ralph hacked a Japanese submarine. It was all absurd.

At the very least, Scorpion is still developing its characters, so we can be thankful for that.

Notes:

- "I think that 'when your feet are frozen, that's when the fish are the warmest' may be the most insightful thing I've ever heard." - text message from a friend during the broadcast

- Sylvester using his girth to take out that raft was actually pretty cool.

- "I had limited resources." Ralph is cool.

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