‘The Irrational’ Recap: ‘Stan By Me’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THE IRRATIONAL -- "Stan By Me" Episode 208 -- Pictured: (l-r) Arash DeMaxi as Rizwan, Molly Kunz as Phoebe, Jesse L. Martin as Alec Mercer, Karen David as Rose Dinshaw -- (Photo by: Sergei Bachlakov/NBC)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 208 of ‘The Irrational’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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There is a fascinating evolution taking place in the hit NBC series, The Irrational. In that, every single episode in season two is offering us so much more than what we are accustomed to with this series. For now, that everything is established in this series, it is taking the time to dive deeper into the characters we already know and love and explore what makes them tick and drives them. Giving rise to powerful moments and growth that we simply cannot get enough of, and the show is even adding to its already unique hook. In that, we are no longer just getting one generalized lesson regarding what makes us irrational in a singular episode, but we are being treated to multiple explorations. 

Which is allowing for us to learn about the human condition like never before and for proof… well just look at last night’s midseason finale. For ‘Stan By Me’ provided Rose and Alec with quite the unique case involving a K-Pop star named Yoonie, who was being accused of murder. For she found the body of a superfan she had a past with, and was covered in that’s fan blood and all signs pointed to her being the killer. But of course, through Alec and Rose’s amazing, paired skill set, and Riz’s love of K-Pop, they were able to prove that her manager was the one responsible for cold-blooded murder, mainly because he had secrets to hide of the embezzlement kind and well, it was everything that led to the resolution and truth of this matter, that showcased those enhanced aspects of the show.

For instance, Yoonie kept a lot of secrets, because she was filled to the brim with fear. Fear that her label would come after her, fear that truths about her life that she wanted kept quiet, and the label wanted kept quiet, would come to light. So, she lied and did so because fear really does make us irrational, and it was fascinating to see that play out here. And of course, her manager and his decision to steal mountains of money from his star talent, made it clear that greed is something that can make us irrational. Especially when we don’t want that gravy train to end, since the superfan was about to expose him for his dirty deeds, and that was a lot to examine, but it was welcome, and it truly painted a powerful picture of the human condition in its irrational state.

But there was mention of character growth here, the kind that went above and beyond, and that was mostly handled through our new favorite power couple on television and Marisa. Who finally met her new boss and immediately struggled to find common ground with her, mainly because the new boss had ideas that fade from most of our minds with time. Since she was all about work life balance and let’s be honest… we eventually abandon that when we dive deep into our careers. But rather than fight and resist and create chaos, Marisa took good advice from Kylie about being a little more open with the new boss, so they could find common ground and work together. Which is a powerful moment of growth that not everyone holds to, and our power couple only added to the wonder of that.

Since they were open and honest here about their feelings and had real discussions about real problems and concerns that some would ignore and push past. All of which reminded us that communication is a big deal and goes far in this life, and well… all of this made for a supremely unique midseason finale. Simply because most finales are grandiose in scope and feature some kind of epic cliffhanger or stunner of a moment. But this… this was just business as usual, and it was glorious. Since we love these characters, we love learning about the human condition and going this route informs us, one can enter the winter break on a wholesome note, courtesy of next level storytelling that gives the audience what it wants, and now we can patiently wait for more of this magnificent series, when it returns in 2025. Until next time.

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