Back to the lab again with NBC’s The Irrational. This might be my favorite episode yet. For reasons why that is, I will get to that as soon as possible. For now, it’s time for the smart aleck behavioral science guy Alec Mercer (Jessie L. Martin) to work his magic on a new case.
Episode Four Zero Sum finds Mercer in a new case when he’s approached by Keith Moore (Jerod Haynes) of his kidnapped daughter, Veronica (Rhinhan Payne). He and his ex-wife/FBI Agent Marissa Clark (Maahra Hill) learn from Moore and his wife Tara (Wonser De-Gabon) that the kidnapper is conducting a ransom exchange of $2.7 million dollars for the safe return of Veronica. The problem is the parents do not have that kind of money. Also showing up at a moment’s notice are Ted Akehurst (Vincent Gale) and his son, Trey Akehurst III (Ben Cockell).
Along with the Akehursts is Rose Dinshaw (Karen David), a corporate security and crisis management expert who not so subtly starts flirting with the now single behavioral science guy throughout the episode. A flirtatious behavior Clark is not happy to witness at every single turn.
It’s revealed that Tara once worked for Ted as an employee and soon had an affair with him. Ergo, Veronica is technically a relative to the Akehursts despite Keith’s dismay.
They also learn about Veronica’s ex-boyfriend Carlos (Alec Carlos) who was a known drug dealer and was captured immediately after a high-speed chase. Through interrogation, Corey is not the kidnapper but has information about how Veronica asked him for $200,000 to pay off her art college tuition. He refused and texted someone else to pick her up.
With the help of Alec’s computer genius and younger sister, Kylie (Travina Springer), he learns that Trey is the kidnapper who after failing to convince Veronica of his kidnapping plan to fleece his dad of $2.7 million dollars, ends up doing the deed and proceeding as planned. Alec used the theory of “zero-sum bias” to fully explain this particular case. The theory suggests that love and respect are finite, ergo explaining why Trey has some disdain toward his dad liking her over him. Of course, Trey is arrested, and Veronica is returned to her parents safely. Alec and Rose have another flirting banter suggesting a new relationship is blossoming in the episodes to come.
Meanwhile, Clark’s new boyfriend and fellow FBI agent Jace Richards (Brian King) tells her that she’s got an exclusive interview with Wes Banning (Ben Cotton) which she was unable to break through why he denied his parole. Knowing that the mysterious trench coat man from the very first episode is sitting on his mind.
This episode was a good one. Phoebe (Molly Kunz) and Rizwan (Arash DeMaxi) in this episode, were set to the background in this one. Kylie gets her moment to shine at the forefront of the investigation. The relationship angle is getting a bit spicy since a new love interest has been thrown into the mix. This might upset any Mercer/Clark shippers out there hoping for them to get back together at some point. He has made it clear in the previous episode he’s moving on from Clark which is a good plot development. Seems like the next obvious choice is to ship Phoebe and Rizwan together down the road. The series is not over yet, but they might surprise us.
The Irrational episode four Zero Sum is a good “switching up the formula” episode that doesn’t make the series go stale. The next episode is going to be exciting and audiences can’t wait to see Alec Mercer work his magic again next Monday.