‘The Irrational’ Recap: ‘Formal Ties’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THE IRRATIONAL -- "Formal Ties" Episode 204 -- Pictured: Jesse L. Martin as Alec Mercer -- (Photo by: Sergei Bachlakov/NBC)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 204 of ‘The Irrational’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.

If there is one particular emotion that truly makes us do irrational things, that The Irrational on NBC has explored on several occasions, it would be love, and rightfully so. Because love really does shake us up and make us take part in wild acts. Some of them are good, albeit horribly embarrassing and silly. While others… can be in that grey area or scary. If we have to say… do something brave to keep our lover safe, such as when Alec risked his own life to keep Rose safe, and the rest… are certainly bad. Because love can prompt us to hurt people emotionally or physically, if our heart so deems it and that particular aspect of it is top of mind today since that was put on full display in the next episode of the show.

A feat that ‘Formal Ties’ accomplished by bringing Professor Mercer and Riz to a diplomatic wedding at the Italian Embassy. Which took place there because it harbored a powerful Romanian fugitive, named Cosmo, who sought asylum there, and well, if he left the compound, he would be extradited so the wedding had to happen within its walls. Which seemed to be the only major hiccup for what looked to be an innocuous evening. One where Riz was eager to use this event to learn about non-verbal cues and for Alec, it was going to be an evening of catchup and relaxation. Since Marisa dropped by in an effort to just have a nice night out free from FBI stuff, so she could ponder upon whether or not she was taking that promotion. But alas, this was not to be the sweet evening that everyone hoped for.

Simply because a guest died from a food allergy mix-up and that opened the doorway to an assassin sneaking in. Who went after Cosmo hard. Which of course, prompted our heroes to spring into action and take part in a fascinating murder mystery complete with secret passages and a genuine whodunit. One that eventually came down… to love. Because Riz came to learn that the Italian Ambassador and his closest male aide were a couple, through those non-verbal clues no less. And well, it was that aide that was responsible for the chaos. For he thought his love was nearing the end of his term, and that the exit of Cosmo would allow for that to happen. But he learned Cosmo was staying and that his love was thinking more and more about staying in government, even if that involved getting into a heterosexual marriage. So… he panicked, thinking he would lose his other half… and acted brutally, out of the belief that somehow that the end of Cosmo would keep his relationship afloat.

Which spoke deeply to how… love simply makes us do crazy and ugly things sometimes. Especially if we think we are going to be denied it, and jilted lovers have before… caused harm to others in the desperate hope they will be seen again, loved again because of how badly they crave what it gives them. Which was a fine lesson for certain, one that was broken up in this story by more growth for others. Since Phoebe worked with Kylie to find courage to do what she knew would be tough, which was to turn her professor in. Thankfully Kylie discovering the professor was laundering grant money in addition to stealing student’s work helped Phoebe to make the call. Plus, Marisa finally realized… that if she became the boss, she would lose out on field work, and she could not have that. So, she passed on the promotion for now and opted to be where she worked best.
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Which showcased that Phoebe is becoming a bolder and stronger person, that Kylie is becoming a leader in her own right and Marisa… knows where she wants to be right now. All of which added to a refreshing and fun episode. One that once again, surprised us. Because normally, there is a structure to this show and the cases our heroes’ work. Which is not a bad thing, because we love that setup. But this… this felt like an old school detective story. Complete with a grandiose setting and minimal resources available to the gumshoes, and that was just a real treat. Mainly because it led to an engaging mystery. One that really did let our trio shine with their detection skills and intelligence and well, all this episode does, is leave us eager to see, what other kinds of surprise episodes lie ahead as season one of this magnificent show continues along. Until next time.

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