‘Scorpion’ season 3, episode 10 review: ‘This Is the Pits’ features Walter confronting tar — and honesty
Insofar as “Scorpion” episodes go, Monday night’s installment entitled “This Is the Pits” was fairly straightforward. After all, the bulk of the story revolved around seeing one Walter O’Brien do everything that he could to save a life from within the La Brea Tar Pits, while also risking his own in the process.
This was fundamentally some really beautiful stuff, but not so much because of the aesthetic. Instead, it was more about “Scorpion” doing what “Scorpion” does best, and that is solve problems using intelligence and whatever resources that they have around them. Take, for example, how Walter managed to forge together a helmet with the help of the team to save this woman, who had careened into the pits in her car after an accident. Meanwhile, the team them had to figure out a way to pull her out without her either suffocating or suffering third-degree burns all over her body. Walter eventually was able to rescue her, but after that, he needed some help in order to be rescued himself. This was the sort of mission where everyone pooled their resources, and the majority of the team was there at the Pits in order to lend a helping hand. (We’re not sure whether or not these scenes were done on location, but they absolutely looked authentic to what we know about the place.
Of course, everyone was okay in the end, but this was not really what this episode was about. Instead, it was about being brave, but also doing things the right way.
Veronica’s problem – Paige’s mother had the responsibility to babysit Ralph through much of the mission, which to her meant a chance to show him the ropes of tricking hipsters with some “artisan” ice cream sandwiches that she marked up to an extreme level. He was acutely aware of what she was doing, and really didn’t like it. Yet, this did feel somewhat true to her character — she did love Ralph and wanted to spend time with him, but this was really the only way that she knew how to do it. Nothing was done out of malice or to corrupt him, and that may be one of the reasons why we could still see her around the time moving forward.
It was Walter who convinced Paige to eventually give Veronica another chance, citing some of what the tar-pit victim’s husband had to say during the rescue mission. People can change, and she had to decide whether or not it was worth the effort to try.
Other lessons in honesty – One of the funnier moments of the episode was Walter trying to watch Paige’s movies, smell differently, and wear flannel in an effort to when her over at the suggestion of Veronica. She recognized that he was a good guy and perfect for her, and wanted to help once again in the only way she knew how. After the mission, though, Walter smartly realized that pretending to be Paige’s ideal guy wasn’t being himself, and he ditched most of the frills in favor of just being himself.
The major roadblock for Walter is merely the presence of Tim Armstrong, who after being honorably discharged now seems ready to put down roots in Los Angeles with the team as a permanent member of Scorpion. This is great news within his mind, but terrible news for Walter. What we really appreciate about this storyline is that they’re not trying to lift Walter up by putting Tim down. He is a great guy, but just not the guy that viewers want to see with Paige. That’s why we wouldn’t be opposed to seeing him around the show for many months ahead, but not as a love interest for Katharine McPhee’s character.
Overall – There were no earth-shattering moments in “This Is the Pits,” but there were funny little sideplots (including Sylvester getting his campaign money from Veronica and seeing Cabe as his campaign manager) that kept the show light and entertaining to go along with everything that we’ve said already. Far from the pits, indeed! Episode Grade: B+.