- "We take our orders from math and science. Right now we know the odds of survival are slim, but we know that mathematically there's a chance. Some people call us robotic, mechanical, but in situations like this our constitution is a benefit."
- —Walter
"Robots" is the fourth episode of the second season of Scorpion, and the twenty sixth of the series overall. It aired on October 12th, 2015.
Synopsis
Walter, Cabe and Happy are trapped with the crew in a top secret submarine when an explosion sends it to the bottom of the ocean with limited oxygen and a self-destruct function that will soon activate.
Plot
Toby is working a punching bag and Cabe is coaching him. Sylvester is running a computer program to rank his efforts and Cabe calls him a sad kitten. Happy is dropped off by her friend Chet and Toby is annoyed. Toby says she’s parading her new fling in his face. Cabe says to focus on the fight. Sylvester’s computer is impressed by Toby's punches. Katherine Cooper, the new Homeland liaison arrives – she’s the Deputy Director. She says Molina doesn’t want to interact with them.
Katherine says it smells bad in here and asks if it’s intentional. She says Walter, Cabe and Happy can get in her SUV. Then Toby and Sylvester deduce it’s a submarine in international waters. Sylvester says he’s happy he doesn’t have to go. Katherine glares and says they have to keep it confidential. Ray Spiewack staggers out of the trailer in the shop and Katherine says they can’t afford any more issues. Paige says they never talked about Ray staying there and Walter has to kick him out.
Paige offers to take him to pick up his impounded Gremlin. Toby asks how he can kick his new friend to the curb and says he’s surrounded by robots. Katherine tells them in the SUV they can’t discuss the location of the sub. He tells Sylvester he bets he can find it. Katherine says they’re an ocean floor data hunter that’s tapping fiber optics between the Chinese and US. They head out on a boat and they have to hack into this to find out who’s hacking them.
They get on the sub and Happy is thrilled – she calls it gearhead heaven. Hall explains that most of the crew are nuclear engineers. Toby has a submarine sandwich on a grid and he estimates their location. They tell him miss and Sylvester says he doesn’t like playing battle ship with a real battle ship. Hall tells Walter they can’t talk to the mainland and says to cut it off. Walter says it’s illogical but Hall pushes it and they turn off their comms. He crushes them underfoot.
Paige is annoyed that they want $1200 to retrieve Ray’s Gremlin. Hall has Happy at a device that will lower to the cable and find the listening device. They gain access. Hall says it’s Swiss metalwork and Dutch wiring. Walter starts his hack then says it’s too easy and tells Happy to detach. Walter says it’s a dummy interface to lure them there and upload malware to the sub or worse. Hall won’t shut off the mission without an order. The sub shudders and then Toby hears something.
Sylvester says they shouldn’t have played battle sub. The sub sinks to the ocean floor without any power to it anymore. Hall checks on everyone and then Walter says there was an explosive device on the box. Happy says they’re at 40 degrees and Walter says compartments between them and the rest of the crew are likely flooded. Hall says no one knows where they are. He hears tapping in Morse code that says electric down, we’re compromised, trying to get hatch open, no generator.
That means there’s no oxygen. Walter says they have one hour and 10 minutes of oxygen. Cabe asks about immersion suits and Happy says to let her at the communications panel. Toby calls Director Cooper and says there’s an emergency. Sylvester says to work around her. Toby calls Paige to ask for her car keys. She has them with her. He says to go to Cooper’s office to save the rest of the team. She’s lost Ray and starts yelling at him and says she has to go. She hops into his Gremlin.
Ray comes out of the break room with donuts just as Paige is pulling away in his car/home. Happy works on the communications panel and is in freezing water as she does so. She says the system was shorted. She has Cabe flip the breaker and then a live wire drops which is bad since they’re in water. Walter sticks it to the wall with a seat cushion. Happy says the system is shot and they have no communication with the surface. Paige sees a photo in the car of Ray in a firefighter uniform and a medal.
Hall says the others message in Morse that they have the submersive suits but the hatch is blocked. Walter looks at some materials to make suits and Hall says he’s the one in charge but Walter says the one with the knowledge is in charge. Cabe says he’ll risk it for the greater good since he’s least likely to fall prey to hypothermia. Katherine says that the Navy won’t go on a rescue mission until they miss rendezvous. Paige gives the coordinates to her and says her people are smarter.
Paige tells her that people will die if she doesn’t act on this information. Walter and Happy tape Cabe into a makeshift submersive suit and send him up with a list ofcomponents to make an oxygen tank to save them from suffocating while they wait on rescue. Cabe makes it to the surface and looks around. He says – please let this work and shoots off a flare. Walter says if they don’t hear from Cabe, another of them will have to go up soon. He says they have 40 minutes of air left.
The Coast Guard is out there on Katherine’s orders. Paige tells Toby to narrow down the coordinates. Sylvester has inspiration and says he was watching a music video. He says he has the time of 14 seconds between lyrics. He says they know the actual speed as 15.3 knots. Sylvester gives new coordinates and they send a commercial vessel hat’s nearby. Katherine goes to get them a chopper to get onto the rescue boat. Cabe is going into hypothermia when he hears a ship’s horn. He turns over and waves to it.
Happy hears clanging. He calls Sylvester and says they need an airtank to save the others plus a wench and electric fans and a GoPro plus a host of other components. Sylvester and Toby run to Quinn’s dad for the equipment they need. Paige is on the way with the chopper. Walter says the team messaged their time is running out. Hall says he didn’t know that he knew Morse code. Walter says he figured it out once he got on the ship. Happy says they didn’t account for panicked breathing.
Hall asks why they’re calm and Walter says they’re calculating the odds of math and science to save them. Walter has an idea for an unconventional solution. He says if they flood the hatch with just enough water, they can tilt the sub to the correct angle and the others can get out. Walter says Happy and Hall can get out with the others which will leave enough oxygen for him. Then they figure out that it’s a three person job to rescue the others.
Toby and Sylvester make it to the boat with the equipment that Happy requested. Walter calculates the water they need and they open the hatch. It comes flooding in knocking them back. Happy’s dad is welding the oxygen device. The three of them struggle to lock the hatch. They get it. The sub begins to shift and right itself. The rest of the crew starts tapping. Hall says their hatch is clear and they’re thanking them. Toby talks to Happy’s dad about her being rigid.
He says Happy was talking in full sentences at seven months old and wired her dollhouse when she was three. He says he had to take it away because it was a fire hazard and she quit talking to him. Her dad asks if Toby likes Happy and he says he loves her. Katherine tells Paige she’s not okay and it’s her first day in the field on a trawler trying to save lives. She’s overwhelmed and Paige says before Scorpion she was a waitress. They see the other seamen float to the surface.
Walter, Happy and Hall hear more tapping that indicates the crew made it. Happy says their lives are now in Toby’s hands. The team uptop has the oxygen device ready to lower down to save the others. Katherine hopes it works. Sylvester drives it down to the sub and Happy’s dad is shocked that she’s in there. Happy tells Walter she’s not a robot in case they don’t make it out of there. She says her dad is up there trying to save her and says she spent 25 years looking for him and now wants to live badly.
Walter says he saved nine sailors instead of them. She says Walter let Ray the lunatic stay in their garage and he may be sentimental too. Walter says maybe they’re changing and he’s not a robot. Hall tells them they’re not normal. Toby tells them to open the garbage chute to get the oxygen. He says if they can’t hear him, they’re already dead. Happy says it looks pretty good. They wonder if they can use the tank to get away. Happy says they are too heavy but Walter says it’s got 45 minutes of oxygen.
Then Hall says there is sulfur smell. Walter says there’s also chloride likely. Hall checks a device and says it’s chloride. Happy says that will dissolve their lungs. Hall says there’s a protocol on the sub. He says if it’s disabled, he has to set off something to make sure this sub can’t be taken. Happy asks how long they have and he says five minutes. Walter says to start it since they’ll die from the air by then anyway. Now they have to scramble to get out of there.
Walter says an escape pod and says they can use it as an escape pod. She says there’s too much weight but Walter says the blast will propel them upwards. He says to get into the tank and they shove Happy up. She climbs in and says it’s going to be tight. Hall says his duty is to save behind but Walter says his duty is to save lives including his own. Walter pops Hall’s shoulder out of joint to fit in. Happy reverse the spin on the fans and says to brace themselves.
They start to move. Cabe says the rescue sub is 10 minutes out then the ocean is rocked by the explosion. Happy’s dad and Toby are horrified but then the container pops to the surface and Happy’s head comes out. Paige tells Katherine she did a good job for a desk jockey. Happy’s dad gives her a big hug. Cabe tells Toby and Sylvester good work. Hall tells Walter he’s a hero but he says it’s just math. Hall says Walter seems to trust his team despite the numbers.
Back at the garage, Toby has something to show Happy. Ray is there and Toby asks where he’s been. He says he had to hitchhike from Gardena. Paige tells him she’s sorry she ditched him and says it was an emergency. Toby shows Happy a dollhouse he got her. He says maybe they can restore it together. He says he’ll be her apprentice. He says it’s something they can do together with their clothes on. She says don’t shrink him or talk to her dad about her childhood. He says he wants to be a good friend to her.
Happy checks it out and sees the shot wiring. She says if he gets her the wrong wrench she’ll hit him with it. He agrees. Ray talks to Ralph who tells him he’s going to college. Walter says he knows what Katherine said about Ray but isn’t sure they should boot him. Paige says she thinks Katherine won’t mind. Walter says Hall told him he wasn’t as logical as he thought he is. Walter says some of his decision making isn’t the same as it used to be. She asks why and he says contact with humanity.
Walter says it’s confusing then says he saved nine people’s lives by lying. He says he thought emotions would hurt Scorpion but now he’s thinking otherwise. Then he implies that he’s rethinking things with her then Ralph runs over and says he wants to start with Robotics for his first college course. Paige tells Ray he can stay as long as he wants. He thanks her. Ray says let’s get this party started and turns on some music. Sylvester goes to dance with Toby. Even Cabe joins in.
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
Trivia
TBA