‘MacGyver’ episode 15 review: Was the Zodiac Killer back?
Tonight, “MacGyver” brought to you an episode that may very well be its most frightening of the entire season. It also just so happened to be the one where Jack punched a robot in the face. While this may not have pertained to the case of the week all that much, it’s hard to care since Jack’s inherent fear of a robot uprising may be one of the things that we love about the show the most.
Our conclusion on Jack is this — he’s the sort of guy who watches “Westworld” and then has terrifying fever dreams about it after the fact.
A personal case – This one wasn’t technically one authorized by the Phoenix Foundation. Instead, it was one close to Matty Webber’s heart after her goddaughter and her boyfriend were found dead in San Francisco. This was heartbreaking, but also the perfect counterbalance to the character’s full introduction last week. Meredith Eaton got to show a softer side, and we got a really great case to boot about whether or not the Zodiac Killer was back and inflicting chaos on the streets of the city.
If there is good news, it is that this: We weren’t actually seeing the real killer on the loose. The show, alas, is not redefining crime TV history. However, the copycat at the center of this was very much dangerous in his own right, and he put one of the team in grave danger in Riley.
Bozer to the rescue – Remember all of those times where Bozer was creepy over the course of the season? Well, there are two things about him that proved to be incredibly valuable in this episode: His knowledge of serial killers (apparently, he is a connoisseur) and also his knowledge of Riley’s password. This helped him to figure out the full extent of her research, and got the two a little bit closer to where she could be. After all, they weren’t going to be fine just with letting some psychopath have her and torture her to their heart’s content. They held nothing back in their search, and you have to appreciate them for that.
The unfortunate part of the search for the killer was that the more the team uncovered, the more they realized just how sinister his plan was — he’d be tracking his victims for a rather long time before striking, and he knew the original Zodiac’s M.O. incredibly well.
Of course, eventually we did see Riley rescued, and in that sense, the good guys won! They managed to figure out who the guilty party, and some interesting connections to boot. Who else appreciated the little “Hawaii Five-0” shout-out to Dr. Madison Gray? Think of this as a nice little Easter egg to tide you over until you get the crossover a little bit later this year.
One of the best episodes of the season – There’s no doubt here. This is the show starting to find its groove, and finding interesting uses for all of its characters. Going into the series, one of the questions we had was whether or not the ensemble feel was going to work for a show that, in its original iteration, was more of a solo affair. We can’t imagine “MacGyver” now without the cast.
This episode was funny, but at the same time dramatic and heartfelt. It was basically everything you could’ve wanted in an hour of TV. Grade: A-.
Next week – You’re going to get a chance to see some iconic characters from the original “MacGyver” turn back up! For some more news when it comes to this episode, be sure to head over to the link here. (Photo: CBS.)