Scorpion New Episode 'Cliffhanger' Review: Did That Really Just Happen?

Prior to the airing of "Cliffhanger," the new episode of CBS' Scorpion, I had joked with a friend who also watches the show that I would be extremely disappointed if the hour did not end with Walter O'Brien literally hanging off the edge of a cliff.

After all, I've seen enough of this show now to know how it goes. Subtlety is not exactly its strong suit, so I figured "Cliffhanger" might as well be as literal as possible.

"Yeah, and then the rest of the team can save Walter like that game Barrel of Monkeys," my friend replied.

So imagine my reaction at the end of this episode when both of those predictions actually came true. I could only ask myself one question: Did that really just happen?!

I truly believed I had descended into the maw of madness after watching "Cliffhanger." I thought Scorpion had done everything imaginable to make me roll my eyes, scratch my head, or chuckle sarcastically. Keep in mind this is a show that, as I love to point out as often as I can, averted World War III using snake venom, the blood of a ferret, a taco truck, and a salad spinner.

But then "Cliffhanger" happened, and I watched Walter and Cabe climb down an incinerator shaft using magnets conveniently found in the edit bay of local news team that was covering the neurotoxin situation. I watched Walter burn a hole in the side of said incinerator shaft and barely save Cabe.

I watched young Ralph somehow make his way from school all the way to the facility, hack a police computer, sneak into said facility, somehow instinctively know exactly what the Scorpion team had been doing this entire time, climb into the incinerator shaft, and seal it shut by melting an action figure so that the neurotoxin couldn't escape. I watched Paige, Happy, and Toby then play Barrel of Monkeys to rescue the boy. I watched it, but I don't know if I actually saw it. Was it all a dream? Had I finally gone mad?

I don't want to completely bad mouth this episode, because "Cliffhanger" actually did a few things really well, and I believe in giving credit where credit is due. First of all, Paige proved to be not just useful, but vital to the team's operation this week in that she held Walter and Cabe together after their fight (more on that shortly). Paige's whole "translate the world" gimmick has always been rather thin, but here she was integral to the team.

Second, this episode really delved into Walter's psyche, and that's always when Scorpion has been at its most interesting and enjoyable. The plot of the week was actually tied directly (and effectively) to the often-referenced Baghdad incident involving Walter and Cabe from almost two decades ago in which 2,000 civilians lost their lives. We learned that Cabe actually learned of the true purpose of the mission (to drop bombs rather than care packages, though the target was supposed to be a terrorist rather than civilians) three days prior, a fact he never mentioned to Walter.

Walter, in a rare act of emotion, exploded and told Cabe he no longer wanted him on Scorpion. The relationship between Walter and Cabe has always been a high point of the series, so to see it fractured like this was noteworthy. It seems that Cabe is actually gone from the team, but that could always change in the season finale next week.

The relationship between Walter and Paige, which has had romantic notes bubbling under the surface for months, turned sour when Ralph (dressed exactly like Walter) put himself in mortal danger to help the team because he idolized Walter so much. Paige, understandably, panicked and decided she wants to move her family to Maine with Drew. Walter, also understandbly, lost it on her.

So Walter did what he always does when he gets emotional: he drove a really, really fast car. Only this time, he lost control (much like he did with his emotions throughout the episode) and careened off the edge of a cliff where he's currently...wait for it...hanging.

I'm so happy right now.