‘MacGyver’ episode 16 review: Meet the Colton Family; did Jack, Matty reconcile?
The Colton Family was one of the most iconic crews from the original version of “MacGyver,” so with that it almost goes without saying that we were stoked to see them play out on the series Friday night. The bounty-hunting finale served as a thorn in the side to the team through most of the mission tonight, as they impeded drastically on their mission to get the job done.
Also, they were pretty awesome to boot — they felt reinvigorated for the new generation, and they were genuinely funny … but also dangerous. Basically, they’re what you want in a group of adversaries (if you can call them that) in terms of a motive and personality. There was also a little bit of division within the group, which gave Mac and Jack that little bit of false hope that they were going to somehow be able to escape from their clutches unscathed and with their mark still in towe. That didn’t work out so well.
Eventually, the whole story of the Coltons and their own divisions managed to be roped back into the show’s ongoing story — why hasn’t Jack opened up about his history with Matty? We absolutely get it that the two went through some serious stuff way back when, but sooner or later, didn’t he think that this was going to come out? We’re just happy that the show made a pretty delightful runner out of this, as Jack’s “stories” about happened between the two of them were really just summaries for various Bruce Willis movies. (We actually came up with some more suggested excuses for Jack over here.)
The twist ending – In the end, this was a case that both the Coltons and MacGyver got a little too deep on, as their target had some deep connections to an international crime syndicate. It’s a good thing that Riley and Buzer were brought in to help, largely because we’re not sure that either party would’ve gotten out alive otherwise. The Coltons ended up working with the Phoenix Foundation crew to make sure that everyone was safe — also, Mama’s moonshine ended up being a pretty crafty solution to the entire group being able to emerge from this messy situation in one place. Isn’t it nice to see the crews have a little bit of common ground? Of course, it’s probably easy to do that when you have MANY MEN WITH GUNS POINTING THEM AT YOU.
Another twist was that Jack and Matty did seem to resolve their differences in a brief conversation after the mission — yet, we didn’t find out what happened between the two! While some may have had a “throw remote at the TV” response to this, we liked it! Sometimes, there’s something fun about keeping something a mystery from the viewers. You keep that little nugget floating around out there, and it gives people something to think about. Of course, eventually you get to the point where the truth can never match the level of hype, anyway.
Our overall take – This was a pretty lighthearted episode given that the Coltons weren’t so much enemies as just other people wanting to get the bounty. We honestly could’ve watched a whole lot more of them! Also, the subplot of Riley and Bozer pretending to be married in order to infiltrate the Coltons gives us multiple pet names + further proof that the two should get together in due time.
“This is the best d–n thing that’s ever happened in my mouth” – Jack, while trying out some of Mama’s pie. Episode Grade: B+.
Next week – We’re going to see Bozer out in the field! Specifically, he’s heading overseas for the team, and things are going to go badly. VERY badly. Head over here if you want to read some further news about that right away. (Photo: CBS.)