#like. he did NOT deserve that. especially not from sly and happy and toby. paige i can understand a little but not the rest of them

[forestryfae]

AND WALTER DIDNT EVEN. he asked all his other teammates FIRST. e didnt even ask florence until he was out of options!! he tried asking happy and toby and sly first and all of them were busy so he didnt have anyne else to go with and he just didnt wanna go alone plus im p sure the ticket was expensive. and then there happens to be someone they all know who likes science and would probably love to go to the lecture so he asked florence. at no point did it seem romantic it felt like two friends going to a lecture?? walter being friendly with someone his first impression of is "i dont like her" is a GOOD thing. walter trying to make friends outside of work (even if they did work together once or twice) is a GOOD thing also florence bing dressed up is a shit argument for why its a date? even if she did have other clean clothes, which she said she didnt, was she just not supposed to dress up for a night out at a fancy lecture?

[quintisiscanon]

This was a post that was supposed to be up 2 months ago during the hiatus. But school work and procrastination. So here it is.

My views on Scorpion S3 as a whole. Or basically after like months of hiatus and how I viewed that hell of a season. And some theories for S4B. 

Warning: this will be me talking about how I feel, so I will not mince my words. Especially since I haven’t felt that positive about this season. If you don’t want to see a negative view on this season, please don’t read this post. That is also the reason behind why I am not tagging this in the main show tag. But I do kinda hope that you can read this post with an open mind (should you choose to) and understand why myself and some other people in the fandom feel this way about this season. 

Most of this post was done in the hiatus, but the portion after the false positive point was done after S4 premiere. 

#1 Nobody is perfect (except for Ralph)

This was a point that is being shown in this season over and over again. Just think about how people were supporting Toby or Happy, Walter or Paige in the various situations. It may seem like they are perfect, and are faultless in the situations. But I honestly don’t think so. The different situations (Tim, fake marriage, false positive, loss of memory, etc) helped to show us how they would react in such situations. Sure. It is messy. I or you may not agree with what they/he/she have done. But it showed that they are not perfect, and that is an important concept to get. Because if a character is viewed as perfect, that is really dangerous.

Do remember that it is fine to think that there are things that your fav has done is problematic! You don’t have to agree fully with what has been done.

#2 So… much… drama…

This point is really ironic. What made me love about the fandom is how free from drama it was back in S2. Sure, there were small fights and issues. But there weren’t anything major. It was really peaceful as compared to the previous shows that I loved. But S3 was… eventful. Honestly speaking, I don’t think that we will get back to that level in early S2. There were so many fans defending either Toby or Happy, Walter or Paige in the various arguments. I do think that it is good to have fans that are being vocal about who they support. But I just wished that it could have been like less volatile-ish? Idk how to put this across but I wished that there were lesser chances where fans had to pick a side. But I guess that this will increase as the show has more seasons.

#3 More team scenes please?

God. This was definitely something that I hated about this season. Like there were so many situations that made it seem like the team members were on different teams. This resulted in lesser scenes of the team just being happy and enjoying stuff. Like there were really little scenes of them enjoying themselves just because they can? Sure, you can say that it is due to the situations and how there were more pressing issues to handle. But I hated how it greatly reduces the chances to see them having fun just because they want to have fun. So I just really want to see more scenes of them having fun.

#4 Fake marriage

Pretty sure I have said my piece about this scam like 2 million times but here is my final thoughts on this issue. Sure, I am a lot better about this as of right now. But it does not mean that I am okay with the idea of Walter and Happy being secretly married for like 3 seasons. I can totally understand why it had to be kept a secret. But it would have been nice for Happy to try and subtly hint Toby that it could have been better if he doesn’t propose at that point in time. Then again, she could have thought that he wouldn’t have gone through with it. (I have like a lot to talk on this matter but I am gonna cut it short.) But my main question about this even up till now is that was Happy going to cut the marriage short if Toby didn’t propose? Like say if Toby doesn’t propose in the short future, will Happy just stayed technically married to Walter while dating Toby? 

Also, I am kinda upset with how this storyline was executed. This could have been done beautifully and had so much potential. But alas, it wasn’t really executed to the best. (I will expand on this last part in point #5) As a result of this fake marriage, I was super uncomfortable with Plight At the Museum, and most of the Walter and Happy scenes later on. At least up till the S4 winter hiatus. (I don’t do the whole forgive and forget thing easily. So yeah…)

#5 False positive

I was super excited about a Quintis baby. Still am but I am very sceptical now. (which I will touch on in the S4A part later on.) Like I loved the idea of them preparing to be parents. Like they were so afraid and unsure of this whole thing and I was sure that they will definitely get through it. Then came along the reveal which was a sucker punch to my gut.

At that point in time, I didn’t feel that the false positive arc was used to divert the attention away from the fake marriage. But looking back at it now, it really felt that way. Like we were so occupied. Let’s take a look back at that period of time shall we? At that time, we had Tim and Paige dating (I think???), the fake marriage shit, false positive, Toby being an overprotective dad, Happy being worried about being a mum, and some other stuff that I cannot remember. Like they just threw this arc in front of us and pushed the fake marriage to the back. I did love the arc back then and I would have loved it even more if it wasn’t used as a distraction.

#6 The lack of repercussion and …stuff

This is mainly in relation to the fake marriage part. I hate how it has been swept under the rug immediately after the reveal of the false positive, and how Toby was just suddenly okay with Happy being married with Walter in the next ep. The small mentions of the fake marriage is nice. On the other hand, it feels like a slap that felt like just a device to create shock throughout the fandom. Like it didn’t have any lasting impact? Or even take the center stage on how it was being resolved? “But Happy was pregnant then! That surely is more important! We also got the whole lying-to-INS thing!” Dude, I get it. But the pregnancy could have happened later on at a timing where it could be fleshed out properly. It should have been done with the same level of details (or perhaps more) as Cabe’s case in S4. Imo, that was really the ideal scenario for the fake marriage. There were certain timeline issues that came with the first few eps of the season. It was really jarring and didn’t make much sense. Should Happy be pregnant by the end of S4, I hope that if there isn’t a time jump, it will make sense in S5.

Some other smaller points that doesn’t fit in other parts

I get that Happy and Toby is the side couple. We only get to see them in the garage or when it relates to Walter. I truly get it. That’s why we don’t get to see them do a lot of stuff. But I am getting really sick and tired of missing so much on them. Especially when the main couple is finally canon and we get so much details on them. (Don’t get me wrong. I am happy that they are together and for the shippers too. The shippers deserve the happiness and details. But it’s just really jarring to have so much from one couple and hardly any from the other.) Like can you believe that we only saw them hold hands once up till S3 and two times up till S4? *I might be wrong but that’s what I remembered. 

The ep that they did in remembrance of Megan was really beautiful. I still miss her lots and wished that they continued the Megan Dodd Paediatric ward but… *shrug*

Cabe stepping up and being a dad to Happy was really nice and heartwarming. Even though I still doubt that the… timing of Patrick’s jail time was innocent (I feel like it’s setting up for Cabe to be her surrogate dad), but to see Cabe there for Happy was really nice. 

The S3 Christmas episode was a god damn mess and I wished that I have the ability to erase that episode from my memory. 

If it wasn’t for the Toby and Paige convos and Sly being an adorable human being, I would have burnt Plight at the museum from my memory. Because that’s how much I hate it. (Namely the scenes in the museum.) 

Dirty Seeds Done Cheap is an amazing ep. Like I have no words that can explain how much I love that episode. 

Essentially my view on this season is that you could have taken out S3 and just have Cabe meeting and falling in love with Allie, Sly running for Alderman, Happy and Toby getting married, Walter and Paige getting together over the hiatus and start with S4. Because that’s how much S3 lack an impact on S4 and the characters were. 

I guess that’s my opinion on S3. Being a bitter person that throws shade here and there (and still do when I watch the eps now tbh.) Also, just in case you are wondering how and why I am still watching this show despite so much anger and complains, I am just kinda taking a step back from this fandom and drama. I am not as involved as before because I got kind of tired of how things are going and some personal stuff. I am just turning my brain off a lot more when I am watching this drama. At certain times, I am just viewing this season/ep/parts as if it’s an AU. I was seriously intending to stop watching after S3 concluded but I ended up missing Toby and Happy way too much so…

I didn’t manage to finish the S4 recap before hiatus ended (because way too much bitter shit that I have to delve into) so I am just going to end this post with some theories on how S4B may pan out. I am not updated on any spoilers other than the ones from BTS and official spoilers so I might totally off.

Valentines’ ep should be interesting. I am still kinda suspicious of that Mr Grey line that Happy threw out. 50 Shades is coming out on V Day this year and I heard that this is the one that the female lead gets pregnant? Probably a stretch but a pregnancy thingy may be coming this way. Or maybe more mentions of that storyline. And this is the first Valentines’ that Walter and Paige are gonna have as an official couple! So that’s gonna be fun. 

Amy is said to be a recurring character so I suppose she is gonna appear again? Or it could be a typo in the ep 13 character list. I am just really excited to see how her appearance could have an impact on Toby and Happy.

I still feel that Collins is going to have an appearance in the S4 finale. Maybe he could have gotten one of the characters again? The last two eps should be tied together as per usual so that will be interesting. (But I think Joshua Leonard is in NYC now so I am not really sure about this theory.)

No. I don’t think for a second that Flo is here to be the third wheel in the Walter and Paige relationship. I know what the Nicks said and I think it was just to stir up something in the fandom. I do think that she might become Sly’s love interest though. 

I have another crazy theory that is based on some BTS but I am not sure. Like I feel that there are conflicting information in that BTS that makes it tough for me to come to a conclusion. So I am going to keep it to myself for now. 

[wrenchbouquet]

Are you feeling any better about the storylines for Team Scorpion, especially Quintis, this season?

Short answer: not really, no

Long answer below the cut

General:

1. Irresponsible mom Paige after fucking Walter the moment they’re able to after getting together vs. being in a relationship with Tim 


Why does Paige just not seem to care about her son’s existence anymore except when it’s convenient for her? Ever since she and Walter got together at the Quintis wedding, it’s like she can’t ditch her son fast enough to go fuck her boyfriend. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that but she’s always been so mindful of her son it’s strange she’s turned into a horny teenager now.) Especially in 4.01, when they literally just got back from three weeks exposed to the elements on that deserted island the first thing Paige did was to dump him on Sly without caring at all if he’s okay? I get that she wants to finally bang Walter, but would it have killed her to spend that first night home with her son making sure he’s not suffering any major physical and/or psychological trauma after a horrific plane crash and being stranded for almost a month? The first time they bothered to include Ralph again was in 4.04 when they went to the churro festival to look at churros they couldn’t afford, but that really doesn’t count as a genuine family outing when ex-wifey tags along too. Then that very night it was back to ditching Ralph god-knows-where so they could run off for a fancy date they could miraculously suddenly afford. 


       * We’re not alone in this, people on FB are commenting too on how Ralph’s appearances are so sporadic especially given how Riley’s promoted to regular cast now. They don’t even know what to do with the kid they currently have (who, while is only 12, is thankfully old enough to take care of himself), but now they want to add a Quintis baby to the mix? You can’t conveniently dump an infant in school like you do Ralph.
            * Yes there are child protection laws that prevents kid actors from working too much, but why can’t they at least have him in the garage more often and give him a more decent arc than being horny for an older girl? Shows like Madam Secretary and Lethal Weapon handle tough cases with sweet (and realistic) family moments every episode, why can’t Scorpion?
        * Ralph “wanting them to be alone” is beyond wrong in itself, that a kid that young only cares about his mom banging her new boyfriend. Though with how much Waige rubbed it into his face on that island that they were desperate for ‘time alone’, it’s not surprising… And as the grownups, it’s not a stretch for a viewer to think that Paige and Walter as the adults would want Ralph to be a kid and think of him rather than vice versa. 


The problem is not that Paige is dating again, not at all. The problem is how she’s behaving now that she’s dating Walter. Remember when she was with Tim? Ralph was invited to every outing- from the date in 3.04 to the dance in 3.07- without any question. Even when Ralph was being a rude little shit to Tim, Tim treated him with nothing but respect and care and even condoned his behavior when Paige was horrified (3.04 “He’s just a kid who loves his mom… Ralph is gonna keep challenging me, and he is right to try and protect you, because you are an amazing woman and he is grateful to have you in his life”). But Walter? That kid all but worships every inch of ground he steps on, but he can barely be bothered to acknowledge the kid’s existence these days unless he’s needed on a case and it’s convenient to the plot.


2. Ralph/Patty is just wrong. 


Patty is in high school, and when this whole crush nonsense started Ralph wasn’t even 12 yet (in 2.22 he said his birthday is 12/11/2005). Young puppy love and crushes I get. But Walter and the rest seeing no problem in how almost obsessive Ralph is becoming, and rather encouraging it? Why is nobody seeing all the potential statutory issues that could come out of this relationship? Yes they are both underage but wow is there a difference between 12 and 15. 


   * Though maybe if the two main couples on the show don’t start and end every. single. day. yapping about how they’re running off to fuck, Ralph wouldn’t think it’s so normal and want to join the club so young…


The geniuses telling Paige it’s not wrong and to let it happen when Ralph is her son and she’s not okay with it is wrong. 
What happened to the strong single mom Paige who stood up to the guys and chewed them out that “this isn’t communal child rearing” (1.07) when they tried to tell her how to raise Ralph then? Letting Ralph turn to the others for genius-related stuff is fine, but when it comes to her 12 year old trying to hook up with a high school girl, that’s when she deserves to take control of how to raise her son. And her caving to peer pressure sets a very bad example. 


3. Cabe’s trial- really?


Of all the federal laws the team breaks and Cabe is the only one arrested for something he really didn’t have a choice about? Where’s Walter and Happy’s trial for marriage and immigration fraud? Where’s Happy’s NTSB investigation for crashing a plane she wasn’t supposed to be flying, not to mention causing an international incident with Russia/Norway?? This picking and choosing of consequence isn’t helping the showrunners case for being well-thought out when it comes to plots and even characterizations. 


4. Continuity
Where’s Heywood? How are Patrick and Ronnie doing?? Why hasn’t Happy mentioned her dad in almost a year, and especially nearing/on her wedding??? Why didn’t Paige use the money Ronnie gave them when the team was too broke to buy food for themselves???? How is the team alive after going from three weeks on a deserted island-Arctic-Africa back to back????? When did we jump to Halloween and what happened between 4.05-4.06 to justify that time jump??????


       * Hell, NCIS mentioned Tony a few episodes ago- they can remember a character who left two seasons ago, but Scorpion can barely remember a member of their main cast (Riley), let alone recurring guest stars from just a few episodes back who had major impacts on the plot/main characters?


What happened to Merrick’s China treason that Homeland was “freaking out” about? Why did Happy only remember her pilot’s license at the very end of 3.23, and not when they were stranded in that Wyoming airfield with “no way” of going to the wedding??
        * It’s almost like she only wants to fuck Toby (honeymoon) than actually bother about marrying him. For happening in the same episode, it’s difficult to to ignore how easily Happy ‘forgot’ her pilot’s license to get to the big wedding she dragged her feet over but when it came to the honeymoon the entire team was joining them on she couldn’t wait to get there no matter how. 


5. Toby’s timeline


S1/2 vs. S3/4 GET A WHITEBOARD AND SOME MARKERS NICKS
    * 1.01: “He got his doctorate at the age of 17”; 1.17: “I had a medical degree from Harvard before most people have their driver’s licenses”; 2.11: the picture of kid Toby was at his high school graduation    * 3.23: “I wore (the wedding tux) to my prom” ← Really? The prom he went to after graduating high school at around 9? He’s wearing the same tux now at 35 that he wore at 9? Really? 
    * Let’s see how they handle 4.13, but if Toby met Amy in Harvard (so before 16, as stated in 1.17) does that mean they were together for literally half their lives? If they were together since their early/mid teens, why (and when) did Toby lose his virginity to that Vegas show girl (2.23: “a showgirl (at the old Tropicana in Vegas) made me a man”)?


Also, what’s with constantly letting Toby down and insulting him just for gags? The poor guy had to lose his pants thrice in just six episodes (3.25-4.05), and by 4.05 especially it wasn’t funny anymore. God forbid Walter was forced into such compromising positions, or either of the girls had to take off their shirts in an episode, everyone would erupt how gross it is. But since it’s Toby getting the brunt of the shitty writing it’s considered fun.


6. Blatantly repeating plots


3.15/4.09 (almost dying in the ocean surrounded by deadly sea creatures); 1.12/4.11 (it’s pretty much the exact same thing- complete with drown-it-to-save-it and the resolution of daddy issues- only it’s a dog now instead of a kid); 4.01/4.12 (Walter hallucinating); 3.23-25/4.10/4.14 (plane crashes). THERE ARE MORE PLOTS OUT THERE PEOPLE GET CREATIVE. Recycling plots this early on isn’t good… 


Quintis:

1. The baby storyline

I’m sorry but I’m not a fan of the baby storyline. It’s no surprise my thoughts on not liking the direction they’ve taken but it’s plain irresponsible to add an innocent child to their mess when they haven’t discussed the huge issues they’ve ignored between just them.  


So many other tv couples who have/want to have kids worry about their jobs and how it might affect their family- Deeks/Kensi (NCIS: LA), Henry/Elizabeth (Madam Secretary), Jessica/Neil (The Good Doctor), and JJ/Will (Criminal Minds) just to name a few. And they don’t just worry about it, they actually talk openly and honestly with each other about it more than once. And the couples mentioned above who are in law enforcement/government service acknowledge how unsafe their jobs are and how they’re going to balance kids when the reality is they could get killed at any time. But Quintis? Nope. They literally just came back from being exposed to toxic vapor/nuclear radiation yet again but saw no problem in immediately trying for a baby. You’d think after all their exposure to radiation and dangerous chemicals they’d at least want to get checked up to make sure they’re healthy enough to have a baby, but once again what are consequences on this show especially when it comes to Happy?  They should start trying for a kid after talking it through and making the necessary plans (and sacrifices) and when they’re financially stable, not just because “oh we’re married now time to have a baby”.


       * (And that is not to mention how they were literally too broke to buy a churro at that point in time, but were still irresponsible enough to push for a baby with no regard for how damn expensive babies are.)
        * This team obviously can’t take care of Ralph or Bueller as is, both of whom only appear when they are needed for the plot and conveniently disappear otherwise. Why then are they trying to add yet another child, especially an infant you can’t just toss aside when it’s not needed, to the mix?


2. Happy’s continually disappointing behaviour 

Happy is still showing she doesn’t care too much about Toby/blatant hypocrisy
: 

In 4.01 she was bitching about Collins sitting next to Toby while she was cozy in the back with Sly- anyone who has ever seen an SUV knows that the people sitting in the very back row have to get in first before those sitting in the middle row. If she actually cared about Toby not getting close to Collins, she should have stuck with her husband the whole time instead of jumping to the back first and then bitching about Collins. And then, when Toby was almost killed by Collins yet again, she continued talking to Sly about Megan instead of freaking out that her husband almost died again. 
        * If she was such an experienced ice road trucker, why didn’t she just drive that SUV when they were travelling on ice and get Toby in the front passenger seat away from Collins? 
            * Sidenote: Why is her stupid Portuguese song the only confession from 3.24 they seem to remember? What about her ice road trucking? What about being a side ho for Jake Gyllenhaal, while he was publicly dating Reese Witherspoon? (This isn’t personal bitterness, it’s fact based on the timeline canon told us via Happy.) 


In 4.04 she couldn’t so much as nod when Toby asked if it was a good thing they got together, but the moment she decided she wanted a baby it was all “I want a family because I love you”. If she really loves him then she needs to show it throughout, not only as lip service when she wants something from him. I mean, she went literally their entire wedding without saying ILY to her brand new husband. Sure her speech was sweet and all, but would it have killed her to say those three words anytime before they were about to die in a plane she wasn’t supposed to be flying?


The 4.08 public sex was illegal, and disgusting. Trying to conceive means unprotected sex, and since there probably wouldn’t have been any showering facilities in that hay loft it means that unless they stole wet wipes from Sly, then Happy would’ve spent the whole day with cum running down her legs. And why was everyone so excited about that?? Happy can demand public sex during Sly’s birthday celebrations, but when Toby calls her by a sweet nickname in the garage she treats it like such a violation of their personal lives?! The double standards are startling and unfair. 


4.09 ex-spouses baby naming/“Toby manipulates you” 
was wrong. Happy agreed to think about naming the baby after Walter if they kept it a secret from Toby (which, really, won’t be that hard for the robots considering they kept their marriage a secret for over six years). But god forbid if Toby secretly agrees to something that Happy hates just because he was guilt tripped into it. And when has Toby ever manipulated Happy?? Every step of their relationship he had expressed his feelings loud and clear but always waited for her to make the first physical step. Whereas Happy was the one who led Toby to believe their relationship was healthy and secure when she was secretly married the whole time and never bothered to tell him about it, not to mention her physical abuse and lip service when she wants something from him. Hopefully she won’t name their child a name he really doesn’t want but at this point nothing about her doing that is surprising. 


Yes there was a sweet moment at the end of 4.10, but once again it was when Happy was feeling insecure that it happened. Would it kill them to have a sweet moment initiated by Toby’s insecurities and Happy stepping up to comfort him instead of vice versa? Because if we learnt anything from that episode it’s that Toby has a lot of past baggage too that could very realistically haunt him whenever. Them being the side couple shouldn’t prevent them from having a cute and genuine moment during their journey towards parenthood. If the writers are unable to devote time to show a healthy progression and growth of their relationship and individual characters, why did they pair them up and marry them off so early? 
        * (Also, how convenient is it that she’s still not pregnant when they’re finally having this kid conversation? If they were immediately successful she’d be 3-5 months pregnant by now, a little late to have the “will our kids turn out okay” talk- which goes back to point #1 about responsible parents.)