‘The Irrational’ Recap: ‘Scorched Earth’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THE IRRATIONAL -- "Scorched Earth" Episode 108 -- Pictured: (l-r) Jesse L. Martin as Alec Mercer, Maahra Hill as Marisa -- (Photo by: Sergei Bachlakov/NBC)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Eight of ‘The Irrational’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
​
If there one particular truth we want to know about ourselves, it would have to be… how we are doing when we are healing, emotionally. Because unlike our physical wounds, there is no clear way to know how we are mending, since there are no stitches for the soul, nor are there any bandages to change. We just chug along, do the work as best we can and hope we have indeed done enough to find peace and move forward in this life. But while there is no perfect path or clear-cut way to know if we are indeed being put back together, there are some ways to gauge our healing journey.

Specifically, sometimes it helps to straight up face that which wounded us, to see our response. Because that will indeed help us to gauge the pain and well, that particular watermark for healing is top of mind today, simply because it showed up in the next episode of The Irrational on NBC. A feat that ‘Scorched Earth’ accomplished by having Alec drop by the burn ward at the nearby hospital, the one that helped nurse him back to health, to speak with a young woman that recently suffered through a fire in an empty house, in the hopes of giving her faith that tomorrow will indeed be better. But instead, the chat that she and Alec had, flagged an outright crime, one bad enough to be Federal and sadly, the ensuing investigation brought about some tragedy.

Because the deeper Marisa and Alec dug into the case, the more it became clear that a broken family member who was hoping for a big insurance payout from her deceased father’s estate, was disappointed when she learned the family was going to get a small one, and of course… her siblings intended to fight over those scraps. So, she felt that no one deserved a dime and burned it all down, quite literally. With that poor soul inside her father’s house, and to cover her tracks… she went ten steps further. By working with a local unhoused man that had a love of fire, to set more before taking him down for good. But alas, she wasn’t prepared for Alec’s observational skills and outright wit, and that forced her to try and burn him to death as well when he got too close, and that… brought forth the lesson in question.

For Alec has not faced that kind of terror since the day that bomb went off next to him. He’s been healing all this time, both emotionally and physically, and he really did not have a gauge on the latter, until there were flames surrounding him, and then did he learn… he had made progress. He had indeed faced some of the darkness and found some healing but needed to do a little more. Which really was the only positive to come out of that crime spree, one that ended after Alec escaped, and truly… it was fascinating to see this play out. In large part because of what it taught Alec about his healing journey. But also because, it reminded us that… we always believe we will never face our worst traumas again, when in fact, we likely will. For the universe tests us, brings moments full circle and those aren’t punishments, but true gauges and now that Alec has his, he knows what to do next.

Which could not have come at a better time. Because thanks to more fine work from Jace while Marisa was handling this nasty little case, Mathias was confirmed as the solo brains behind the bombing that wounded Alec in the first place. And well, that revelation and everything that came before it, made for one amazing tale. Simply because it was brilliant to have Alec face his past, in the most non-traditional sense possible. For so many other stories do that to either force growth in an unhealthy manner or via irony and/or Deus ex machina. But here, it was all about healthy aspects of facing that which haunts us, and that’s what we need more of on television and well, it will be interesting to see… how Alec handles full immersion into an event he’s only partially healed from emotionally, as the hunt for Mathias gets underway. Until next time.

---

Watch ‘The Irrational’

Powered by JustWatch