NBC’s The Irrational starring Jessie L. Martin is back! Back for more irrational shenanigans that might follow the Spider-Man 2 plot of the “you can’t keep doing this forever” plotline. I am excited to see how this season will turn out. As I do recall from the end of the previous season, Alec Mercer’s new girlfriend and former MI6 agent Rose Dinshaw (Karen David) got kidnapped by a couple of guys who were up to no good. The premiere episode finally exposes the irrationality behind it all.
THE IRRATIONAL — “Collateral Damage” Episode 201 — Pictured: Jesse L. Martin as Alec Mercer — (Photo by: Sergei Bachlakov/NBC)
Episode One, “Collateral Damage,” picks up with Mercer assisting his ex-wife/FBI agent Marisa (Maahara Hill) in taking down another crook. Hoping to meet Rose on their dinner date, Mercer starts worrying about why she has not appeared. He visits her apartment to find evidence that somebody was after her. This prompts Alec to request Marissa, along with his sister Kylie (Travina Springer) their help in finding Rose.
THE IRRATIONAL — “Collateral Damage” Episode 201 — Pictured: (l-r) Jesse L. Martin as Alec Mercer, Travina Springer as Kylie — (Photo by: Sergei Bachlakov/NBC)
Meanwhile, Dinshaw awakens to an unknown underground location with her spy colleague/ handler Harry St. Clair (Adrian Hough) who was also abducted. Their kidnapper was a private military contractor Gavin King (Greg Perrow) who learns through St. Clair’s publication of his memoirs about an operation that touched a nerve with King and wishes to seek vengeance for those who have murdered his fiancé—Fiora. Rose confirms Harry’s side of the story that his fiancé was collateral damage prompting King to murder her handle and subjecting Rose to torture.
THE IRRATIONAL — “Collateral Damage” Episode 201 — Pictured: (l-r) Jesse L. Martin as Alec Mercer, Molly Kunz as Phoebe, Arash DeMaxi as Rizwan — (Photo by: Sergei Bachlakov/NBC)
Alec instructs his teaching assistant Rizwan (Arash DeMaxi) to conduct an experiment involving motives regarding revenge. Of course, experimenting wouldn’t be complete without Phoebe (Molly Kunz) coming to help out. The experiment reveals that it’s impossible to talk somebody out of revenge. As a suspicious black van tails him, Mercer urgently tells Rizwan to alert Marisa that he’s been abducted.
THE IRRATIONAL — “Collateral Damage” Episode 201 — Pictured: (l-r) Garfield Wilson as Agent Quinn, Maahra Hill as Marisa — (Photo by: Sergei Bachlakov/NBC)
After a while, Mercer’s gamble becomes clear: He allowed himself to get abducted to get into King’s head to understand why he’s doing what he’s doing. Thanks to the information that he gained from an official working at the MI6 office disguised as a British school, he distracts Gavin by giving him the location of the office prompting him to lower his guard in time for the FBI to neutralize him. Thanks to Alec’s quick thinking, he saved Rose, their relationship, and the people who work at the undisclosed MI6 office.
Mercer finds Rose packing up for a job in Dubai. The two share a kiss together before they go their separate ways again, until the next time they meet.
THE IRRATIONAL — “Collateral Damage” Episode 201 — Pictured: Jesse L. Martin as Alec Mercer — (Photo by: Sergei Bachlakov/NBC)
All right, Episode One sets the tone for what kind of irrational shenanigans might happen this season. It seems as if the series is hinting at a darker tone by way of the usual “How long are you going to keep doing this?” and “Somebody you love might not make it to tomorrow” ordeal. Something drastically fatal could happen to Mercer’s inner circle and let’s hope that everything goes fine. Who knows, life itself is irrational as NBC’s The Irrational, which continues this week with Episode Two!
Image via IMDb/NBC/Peacock