‘The Irrational’ Recap: ‘Anatomy of a Fall’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THE IRRATIONAL -- "Anatomy of a Fall" Episode 205 -- Pictured: (l-r) Jesse L. Martin as Alec Mercer, sorority sisters, Maahra Hill as Marisa, Meg De Lacy as Summer Bennet -- (Photo by: James Dittiger/NBC)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 205 of ‘The Irrational’. To revisit the previous episode, click here. This article also contains discussions regarding suicide and suicidal ideation, which may be triggering to some individuals.
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We like to believe that when we harbor a strong moral core, we are immune from making utterly rash decisions, and it makes sense as to why we hold to that. After all, a strong moral core can guide a person and quickly inform them when there’s a chance to do something silly, that perhaps they should not. It is in essence, a little cautionary angel on our shoulder, keeping watch and whispering into our ears that we should definitely not do the thing, because that would go against our code, and everything we believe in. But alas, that is nothing more than aloof thinking really. Because we are human beings, and the right circumstances will always make us do irrational things. In fact, a strong moral core might push us deeper into an irrational rabbit hole, as evidenced by this week’s episode of The Irrational on NBC.

Which ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ explored by way of a shocking case on campus. In that, a brilliant student, one committed to making the world a better place through an improve organ donor selection system on campus, and a bill she was drafting to help people secure organ donations, died in an apparent suicide. Which shocked the school to the point where Alec was asked to figure out how this could have happened. Especially since other students had recently succumbed to such ideations and well, digging into the case, immediately threw up some red flags for Alec. Simply because, there were no warning signs for this student to commit to such an act, and forensics tests showcased that she didn’t commit suicide, she was outright murdered and that brought forth a fascinating investigation.

One that also showcased how irrational we are without a moral core. Since this student belonged to a sorority and her sisters covered up her death to keep the charter alive and keep their noses clean since they were doing illegal things within the walls of their house. But that led to the truth, and the central theme in question. Because it turned out, that all of the deceased’s hard work in creating an honest organ donor program went up in smoke when some rich dude bro bribed his way to new liver, and a nurse and fellow sorority sister, a person who signed up to help people… because of a good moral center, was the one responsible for this atrocity. So, rather than do the right thing and let that core fix this, this nurse instead chose… to preserve the look of her moral center by killing an innocent.

Which speaks to how that moral core means nothing to a human in severe distress, since that nurse was going to be exposed and lose her job and be shamed and that could indeed make someone snap and want to preserve the image, they are a moral beacon. All of which made for an incredible case, one that was once again balanced out nicely by growth moments for some of the other characters. Which in this case, was just Phoebe. Because the consequences of doing the right thing came forth in this tale. Since that scuzzy professor let her go from her post for blowing the whistle on her, and she of course… blacklisted Phoebe to try and keep her from working anywhere on campus. But she worked with Kylie to persevere and discover a few truths about herself before doing what should have been done ages ago.

In that, she spoke with Alec honestly about rejoining the team and what she would need to be successful in this job to manage her anxiety and Alec was happy to accommodate and welcome her home and even Simon, endured some growth here by facing his own sordid past regarding suicide in his family. Which brought forth, another amazing episode from one amazing series. Since it spoke to how few things keep us rational when we are backed into a corner, and how important it is to understand that. So that we don’t think we have a saving grace and will hopefully take a moment to think logically before acting. But that aside, it was also nice to see Phoebe come back to the department and see everyone working to lift one another up in this tale, and truly, this leaves us eager for more of this magnificent series and its amazing explorations regarding the human condition. Until next time.

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