MacGyver season 2 episode 19 review: Is this a new Dawn?

MacGyver season 2 episode 19

Almost from the get-go tonight you knew that MacGyver season 2 episode 19 was going to be one of the most entertaining installments this season. How else can you describe a show that basically began its episode with an incredible homage to the movie UP?

As soon as we got into the case itself, it was clear that poor Jack Dalton had his work cut out for him — Dawn was back, and the last time he saw her things didn’t go all that well. There is some sort of attraction there, but also a realization that Dawn is someone who is out for her own best interest.

Tonight, Dawn turned up following the death of Paul, her new CIA handler – she wasn’t on the job all that long, but it was pretty clear already that trouble had found her yet again. The more investigating that was done, the more it came into focus that his death was somehow tied to a counterfeiting ring, one that originated in Lima, Peru — which of course meant even more chaos for the Phoenix Foundation crew as they found themselves in a position where they had to find the crew responsible for making the fake money.

What we got from here was a pretty classic MacGyver shootout scene, one in which the Phoenix Foundation were the underdogs who ran out of resources and had to improvise in order to figure out the right way in order to survive.

Here’s the big twist: It turned out that someone who was really tied to the CIA the whole time was responsible: Julian, an old colleague of Matty Webber who got so burned out by the agency that he turned to a criminal life. Paul was actually onto what Julian was doing and that, in turn, led to what happened. Julian took Matty hostage, but if there’s one thing we’ve come to learn about her, it is this: She has a real knack of finding a way to get out of tough situations. The odds were stacked against her but she still figured out a way to survive … only to have Jack be the first face that she saw at the hospital.

How did Matty take him out? In a car … with a cigarette lighter. She’s learned a lot from Mac over the years!

Why Riley was so concerned over Jack and Dawn

Given Jack’s relationship with her mother, it made some sense for her to have some pause over the idea of the two of them being together. Beyond that, though, there was another major concern here on her part: She just wanted to make sure that Jack didn’t end up getting hurt, especially since she knew about Dawn’s reputation and what already happened in the past.

Ultimately, Riley was partially right — she did help the team finish their mission, but she then took off with some of the money … only to give it to an orphanage tied to her own past. In that way, Dawn has learned something!

Related What to get some other news all about the next new episode?

CarterMatt Verdict

Another fun, engaging episode of MacGyver that reminded us more of what we enjoy about the show — the tremendous sense of action, some of the humor, and getting to meet new faces along the way. This wasn’t the first time that we saw Dawn, but after tonight fingers crossed that she becomes a part of the greater MacGyver universe for quite some time.

The only thing that we’re currently advising all shows, including MacGyver, about is scenes where the tech expert says something super-advanced and then one of the other characters gets them to dumb it down. After this happens once or twice, don’t you just think the tech expert would do this by default?

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