- "Oh, God, we're the most wanted people in Cuba."
- —Paige
"Cuba Libre" is the second episode of the second season of Scorpion, and the twenty fourth of the series overall. It aired on September 28, 2015.
Synopsis
Team Scorpion heads to Cuba when a woman from Cabe’s past pleads for him to help catch a Serbian war criminal.
Plot
Walter is tasked with signing a statement admitting that his emotions got in the way of his driving in last season’s finale; otherwise, he faces court time. He won't actually admit to it though because he doesn't have emotions. Sylvester’s anxiety is getting in the way of his feelings for Megan, but before both can truly ponder their positions Sonia arrives.
Sonia first met Cabe when he saved her in Serbia from an awful war criminal named Zoric. Before he left her, he gave her his Silver Star for bravery. But Sonia has tracked him down because she has a mission. She has come looking for Cabe because she decided to find the bravest man she knows. Extract Zoric straight from Cuba and bring him to justice. Adriana Molina, lets Cabe know that Homeland Security has nothing to do with this situation. She warns them that if they're caught, she will deny helping because Americans attempting a quasi-governmental extraction on Cuban soil is dangerous.
After Adriana Molina agrees the team is on an airplane headed for Cuba and soon enough jumping out of one. As Team Scorpion waddles out of the ocean, they complain about being waterlogged and sandy, while Paige sashays out like a supermodel. She immediately catches Walter’s attention, but he doesn't notice because, you know, “no emotions.” The team jumps into the scene immediately and waits outside for Zoric to appear from a restaurant, but an SUV casually blows up and Zoric escapes. Frustrated, the team tries to establish a plan — a plan that must work in seven hours because that’s the amount of time Adriana Molina has bought them. If they don't finish, their plane out of Cuba will leave without them.
The team of geniuses deduce that Zoric will try to change his identity, so he’ll head to a barber to lose his beard. The team is correct, and Zoric goes for a beard trim. In an elaborate plan that requires drain-off water, a van, and the desperate need for a barber with shaky hands, Happy waits near a drain for Zoric’s barber, Ernesto, to slip and nick Zoric’s neck. Impatient, Cabe and Walter sneak in and force Ernesto to leave, but in the exchange, it’s Sonia who ends up with the straight blade to Zoric’s neck.
They get the blood sample, but that’s when Sonia loses her mind and contemplates cutting his jugular outright. Naturally, there’s a fistfight that ends with Zoric getting arrested. Paige, attempting to value reason over emotion, explains to Sonia how important it is to keep her composure in situations like this. The team only has 90 minutes left to get out of Cuba, but they need to pick up a bank ledger with 23 war criminals on it. Unfortunately, Walter and the team gave him a sedative that has knocked him out for hours. They decide to break into the bank on their own. Walter devises a plan to shut off the alarm system to the vault that contains the ledger. Happy and Walter use an app to cancel out all noise while they saw into the steel vault because that’s how science works.
Quickly, they realize that the lock box containing the ledger requires a fingerprint, and they won't be able to get in without Zoric’s thumbprint. A bank worker shows up with a patron, and Happy panics. Toby comes up with a plan and somehow fashions a mimic of Zoric’s thumbprint out of a hot sausage wrapped in cigarette ashes. The team pulls Happy out of the bank, loads up in the van and heads for the plane. As they speed toward the aircraft, Zoric jumps out of the back. The team has everything it needs, but Cabe made Sonia a promise, and Cabe is NOT one to break a promise. Cabe and Sonia bail from the van and go after Zoric. Like a boss, Sonia catches him first, throws him to the ground, and holds him down by his throat with a gun pointed at his head. She doesn’t shoot, though, because her humanity is bigger than his.
Back in the States, the mission is announced on television, and Zoric is officially arrested. Adriana Molina gets credit and sets up another press conference. It’s a big week for everyone, as Sylvester finally admits he loves Megan, and in the warehouse, Sonia thanks Cabe and tells her that she doesn't have to be brave anymore. She hands Cabe’s Silver Star back to him and leaves.
Walter rounds out the episode by asking Paige how to separate logic from emotion, and she explains why she worked at the diner and how she was scared after running out of money for her and Ralph. She didn’t let emotion get in her way, though, and explains that sometimes you have to separate emotion until after the fact. That’s when Walter finally admits to being too emotional behind the wheel last season and accepts his community service. We finish out the episode by meeting Ray, who is doing community service with Walter. While Toby and Cabe drive by eating burgers.
Cast
Main
- Elyes Gabel as Walter O'Brien
- Katharine McPhee as Paige Dineen
- Robert Patrick as Cabe Gallo
- Eddie Kaye Thomas as Toby Curtis
- Jadyn Wong as Happy Quinn
- Ari Stidham as Sylvester Dodd
Recurring
Guest
Trivia
- The title of this episode translates to "Free Cuba".