Tonight’s episode Irrational It literally started with a bang. A woman opened the door for a man posing as a utility worker and was shot in the chest when she opened the door to let him in. As if that wasn’t cruel enough, the man stepped on her to get the job done.
It turns out the woman killed was journalist Serena Barton. She wasn’t the only murderer – this was the third such killing. Alec was called in to help. Serena only had two items missing from her home, but her wallet was outside (Cash visible and everything) unaffected, what is the real reason behind this murder? Also, what is the purpose of crushing teeth? Before our analysis, the serial killer had targeted victim number four.
“Kick in the Teeth” – Irrational – Pictured: Jesse L. Martin as Alec Mercer and Arash Demaxi as Rizwan. Photo: James Dittiger/NBC © 2024 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. all rights reserved.
Alec doesn’t think he fits the profile of a serial killer (Despite actually killing multiple people) because most serial killers don’t want to be caught, but what about this one? He killed in broad daylight, in full view of the cameras. Detective Brown believes they have found the killer; a witness said she saw a construction worker running from Serena’s home and identified the man, Carlos Perez, as the killer. Now, eyewitness testimony can be inaccurate and cause more harm than good. Because of Carlos’ past, Detective Brown believed they had found their match. As Marissa pointed out, there were a lot of construction workers in the area, how could this woman be so sure it was Carlos without any other evidence (We don’t even have his DNA, do we?).
When Alec calls Detective Brown about this bias, pointing out that many people tend to judge people based on their past, using past experiences to fit them into the present narrative, he immediately gets defensive. This isn’t a case that’s easy to open and close, so what’s the urgency about this case, detective? Alec tells Marissa to interview Carlos while he conducts his experiments.
“Kick in the Teeth” – Irrational – Pictured: Maahra Hill as Marissa and Rene Rosado as Carlos Photo: James Dittiger/NBC © 2024 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. all rights reserved.
Back in the classroom; Alec quizzes students. He took out some cards and asked them to determine the number of spades. When they answered incorrectly, he pointed out that the students missed the different colored spades, to which he explained “[…] The mind sees what it expects to see. I already knew what he was going to do.
Once he explains the technique, Rizwan and Simon act out a scene in which an argument breaks out and Rizwan’s wallet is stolen. Technically, all students in the classroom are witnesses because they were there to see what happened, but can they correctly identify key details that are acceptable? Alec asked them again for details, and the results were telling. Although most students believed they were 100 percent sure of their answers, only 15 percent were able to answer all questions correctly. Sound familiar? The woman who witnessed Carlos fleeing Serena can be as confident as she wants to be, but eyewitness testimony isn’t always trustworthy.
“Kick in the Teeth” – Irrational – Pictured: The Students, Jesse L. Martin as Alec Mercer. Photo: James Dittiger/NBC © 2024 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. all rights reserved.
The killer strikes again; this time at night. The MO has changed again, which is not consistent with the characteristics of a serial killer. Now this means that this killer may be targeting specific people. Over dinner, Alec and Kelly bond (The point is not a hatred of cilantro); all victims have completed dental treatment. Alec believes the victims are related. -In a sense, this turned out to be true; they were both children born through sperm donation. Marissa and Alec travel to the home of sperm donor Steve Thomas. Here, they learn that after Steve’s death, his estate will be distributed to his biological children (Yes, math starts math now). By killing each of these “brothers and sisters,” the murderer can gain more from the inheritance. The search for each of the donor siblings has begun, but so far nothing has brought them closer to the killer. Simon, who returned from sick leave, came up with another idea: Maybe the “sibling” they were looking for was not a donor sibling, but just one of Steve’s children.
“Kicked in the Teeth” – Irrational – Pictured: Mahala Hill as Marissa and Jesse L. Martin as Alec Mercer. Photo: James Dittiger/NBC © 2024 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. all rights reserved.
While surveilling the home of one of the siblings, Detective Brown saw the killer, but he was frightened and left. It turned out to be Eric Dent, who claimed to be a customer who called after hearing gunshots. Forgetting his siblings, Eric heads to his father’s house to kill him. Alec finds Eric and tries to talk him down – which works, and Marissa and Detective Brown put handcuffs on him.
This episode focuses on negativity bias: how the tendency to focus more on negative messages than positive messages can hinder people’s development.
What did you think of tonight’s episode? Irrational? Share your thoughts below or connect with me on X/Twitter @chenfordhugs
