Scorpion recap: Arrivals and Departures

We can’t say that we didn’t see it coming, but if there’re three things you can’t run from in life, it’s death, taxes, and toxic mold. The most important of the three tonight is death: Week after week, Megan’s health continued to decline, but tonight after a lifelong fight with multiple sclerosis, #TeamScorpion said goodbye to Walter’s sister and Sylvester’s wife (BECAUSE THEY GOT MARRIED LAST WEEK), Megan O’Brien. Tonight is not just any Scorpion episode — it’s an emotional journey. Think of Katharine McPhee’s finale night rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” and then double it. It’s that emotional. Let’s discuss.

The Back Story

The week kicks off with Walter, Paige, and Happy on a high-speed journey through Los Angeles. Cabe has even called in a couple favors to the LAPD to help Walter bypass traffic. The first mission of the night is to…pick up Louise and Sean O’Brien from the airport. Walter and Megan’s parents have flown in from Ireland as Megan’s condition continues to deteriorate. Walter hasn’t seen them in 15 years, and I hardly would have guessed they were his parents. They look incredibly young — like “Sally Field playing Forrest Gump’s mother” young.

As they arrive at this hospital, Walter is still convinced that he can stop the inevitable. He talks about his plan to save Megan, but his dad is hearing none of it. Papa O’Brien is equally uninterested in his new son-in-law, Sylvester, who is ready to introduce himself to the family. Sean and Louise make it known that they’re here for one thing: to be with Megan as she passes.

But it can never be that easy. The hospital begins to be quarantined after a mold outbreak is uncovered. Happy and Toby discover a cafeteria worker who has began seizing, but before they can take him to be cared for, the entire hospital goes into full lockdown, leaving Happy and Toby locked in the cafeteria; Cabe stuck outside; and Paige, Walter, and Sylvester at Megan’s side.

Toby and Happy quickly link the cafeteria worker’s seizure to the blue mold that is growing on the wall. The immunology hospital staff tries to tackle the issue and figure out exactly what the mold is and how to eliminate it. While they’re at work on combating the mold, Walter is trying to figure out how to break out of the hospital so that he can do last minute research on Megan’s MS in an attempt to save her life. Paige tries to pull Walter aside and explain that he’s right where he needs to be, but it’s simply not enough for Walter.

The Execution

As the outbreak progresses, time isn’t working in anyone’s favor. As Megan continues to decline, Happy and Toby are trapped in the cafeteria with a very pregnant woman and a handful of other hospital patrons. Toby marks the wall to help track how quickly the mold’s spores are spreading because once it reaches the ventilation system, the entire hospital will be infected. They return back to the kitchen to check on the seizing patient and find blood on his leg. After inspecting the wound and his shoe, Happy and Toby realize that the mold has come from his shoe and is way more aggressive than they originally believed it to be. The fungus is a specific Meliola that is associated with gold, and if it’s treated with pesticide, its ability to reproduce increases exponentially.

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As per usual, our geniuses know more than the doctors, who are treating the mold with pesticide. Walter attempts to warn the doctors over the PA system, but it’s too late. As it reproduces, the doctors pass out on the floor, leaving the entire immunology staff on nap duty during the worst of times. Walter and Papa O’Brien run to the doors, sealing it off with putty, but the mold isn’t contained. Cabe has alerted the CDC, but it will take four hours for them to get there, which, according to Happy and Toby’s Mold Watch 2015, is about three hours too late.

NEXT: A orange, a wine bottle, and magic

Walter and Paige manage to escape down the ventilation system in hopes of having Sylvester hack into the MRI system, use the magnets in the machine to slow down the force of the fan, lodge the fan with metal poles, and stop the hospital’s airflow. Sounds super logical, right? Papa O’Brien doesn’t think so, which is why he calls Sylvester out on being a guy that just plays with toys. Sly stands up for himself though and says that he’s “the man who’s been taking care of Megan.” It’s been a big season for Sylvester, and he deserved his moment in the sun. Papa O’Brien backs down.

Back in the ventilation room, the poles unlodge and jam the door, trapping Walter and Paige inside as Megan’s condition continues to decline. On the phone, Mama O’Brien lets Walter know that Megan has a bad seizure. She’s awake again, but she’s weak and fading fast. Walter finally admits that he needs to get to her room and that, with no way to stop the ventilation, the hospital needs a cure, not a solution.

The Revised Execution

In the cafeteria, the pregnant lady goes into labor, and Happy and Toby have to deliver the baby. As Toby puts together a plan, Happy sees a giant hand print, free of mold. They realize that it’s Sylvester’s. He’s been using so much hand sanitizer that he’s developed a superbacteria resistant to the mold. All he has to do is get a sample of it and get it to the outside so that it can be replicated by another one of the geniuses. Problem is, all of them are inside — all except one. Cabe goes to school and picks Ralph up, and together they work and come up with a big batch of the superbacteria to fight off the mold. The only issue is the police won’t let them into the hospital to deliver it.

Back inside the hospital, Toby takes the lead on delivering the baby, while Happy is told to coach the father. She tries to put it in engineering terms, explaining to him that the birth of his child is similar to pushing an orange through a wine bottle. It’s enough to literally make the man pass out. That frees Happy up to put Paige’s bacteria boiling plan into action by finding a way to steam the superbacteria into the building by passing it through the heated water system and into the fire-hose line. The only thing it requires is for Happy to go back into ground zero and drive a hole into the gas line. While she’s gone, Toby discovers the pregnant woman’s baby has its umbilical cord wrapped around its neck. Happy appears to help him, but she immediately collapses, falling victim to the mold.

As Megan deteriorates, Walter and Paige finally find a way to escape by shimmying up a chute back to back until they reach Megan’s floor. Cabe and Ralph release the mixture into the system, saving the doctors, Happy, and everyone else who has fallen ill to the mold, and Toby is able to deliver the baby, even without Happy’s help. That only leaves one unsolvable problem.

Don’t Be Afraid to…

Megan’s condition is simply not going to improve. Sylvester asks Sean and Louise for a moment alone with Megan. They agree to step out, and Sylvester pulls out a present for Megan. He turns it on and the solar system shines up on the ceiling, and he says, “Last week, you said you were sad because you’d never see the stars again.”

“All my life I’ve been told I was brilliant for a million reasons, but falling in love with you was the smartest thing I ever did.”

Walter makes it back in time to see Megan’s final moments. “Don’t be afraid,” she says, gasping for air. She starts again and says, “Don’t be afraid to…” and gasps again. Walter tells her to take her time and collect herself, but she closes her eyes and passes away, leaving Walter speechless.

Walter and his parents go back to the garage with Cabe, Paige, and Sylvester. Walter can’t stop focusing on the fact that he’s failed, until he finds a video Megan asked that Walter receive once she died. In the video, she tells him, “Don’t be afraid of who you really are. You aren’t your brain. You’re your heart. Don’t be afraid to love. I love you. Thank you for being my brother.”

Sean and Louise tell Walter good night, but more importantly, Sean finally tells Walter that he doesn’t think his plans were science fiction. Walter stops them from leaving to tell them about the time Megan pulled the fire alarm to keep him from getting in trouble at school. Sean and Louise stay behind, and Paige sits next to Walter, grabbing his hand. The rest of the team sit, and Walter begins the story.