Reviewer Rating: 4.5/5.0
4.5
Irrational Season 2 Episode 6 isn’t your typical murder mystery, but that’s okay.
Instead of trying to figure out who killed this week’s victim, Alec teams up with data experts to try to prevent a train disaster.
The case was similar to one of those math problems where you have to calculate how often two trains from opposite ends of the country would pass each other, so it didn’t look like an FBI case, although it was interesting.
Alec calls the FBI instead of them calling him
Marissa and Kelly’s involvement was almost an afterthought.
The story of Irrational Season 2 Episode 6 is mostly about Alec teaming up with the woman who believes in using data to predict disasters like time travel and wants his help to prevent the predicted train from happening ACCIDENT.
The FBI later became involved because one of the major factors in the potential accident was someone hacking into a safety system that is supposed to automatically stop trains if there is danger on the tracks.
While I consider hacking to be cybercrime, it seems far-fetched to involve them.
But having Alec and Kelly in the same room working on it outweighs the possibility that the FBI is actually spending a lot of energy on it.
Irrational Season 2 Episode 6 focuses on the wacky prediction company that Alec wants to investigate, before the FBI gets involved.
The idea is to use data to make extremely accurate predictions about the future. However, the way they talk about it sounds like it’s straight out of an episode of Doctor Who.
Company head Willa even sounds like a regular Time Lord when she says they can’t intervene in a predicted disaster because altering the timeline could have dangerous consequences. Therefore, it is crucial to observe without intervening.
I love the science fiction concept of not knowing the consequences of changing timelines, but this… isn’t like that.
In fact, the company featured in “Irrational” Season 2 Episode 6 is in the business of data-driven predictions, not time travel. Their predictions could be wrong or could change with new data.
One of the key points of this story is that predictions, no matter how much data are behind them, are just tools, and we should not live as if the predicted events are inevitable.
Laura: What if Willa is right? We changed the schedule and now the Orlando Express is definitely going to crash.
Alec: The future is not written yet. No matter what happens, we will get through it together.
This message is especially important at a time when many people are anxious about their future after the recent election.
It’s easy to slip into feelings of helplessness and hopelessness when faced with a potentially dark future that seems as unstoppable as the freight train Alec stands in front of.
We need stories that give us hope, and Irrational Season 2 Episode 6 does just that.
The solution to stopping trains is stupid, but it works
I knew Alec would be standing on the tracks trying to stop a train because the commercial for Irrational Season 2 Episode 6 featured one, so it wasn’t surprising.
However, this game of “coward” played by Alec and the Engineer is just too ridiculous.
Kelly: You keep cutting it off and surviving, but that doesn’t mean you can keep doing dangerous things.
As many have pointed out, there’s no guarantee that Chip will stop. He thought to himself that being late would be worse than potentially killing everyone on the train, so why would he stop instead of running over a guy on the tracks?
Plus, these trains are heavy; they can’t stop on a dime. There must be a better solution than this!
This situation is supposed to show that Alec’s trauma response involves a willingness to take extreme risks, which is why I don’t complain about it more.
Alec explains at the beginning of Irrational Season 2 Episode 6 that the more risky things you do without ill effects, the more comfortable you become with them and the less convinced you are that they are risky.
Something similar happened to him because of his trauma.
His near-death experiences made him want to live life to the fullest as possible, and every time he did something dangerous without getting killed, he became more comfortable with the extreme risks.
This is an interesting point.
On the one hand, if you have something to say, you must seize the moment. Life should not be lived in fear, and those who feel the most fulfilled are those who regularly push themselves outside of their comfort zones.
On the other hand, as Robin Williams’ character in Dead Poets Society said, “Sucking all the marrow out of life doesn’t mean choking on the bones,” and Alec’s performance in this railroad chicken It’s an absolutely breathtaking situation in the game.
He promised Kelly at the end of Irrational Season 2 Episode 6 that he wouldn’t take that risk again, but let’s face it. How long will this commitment last?
This is also the reason why Phoebe left in the first place – she didn’t like these extreme risks and wanted safety, but found that safety was not everything it should be.
Phoebe’s subplot is the best part of Irrational Season 2 Episode 6
While I enjoyed this case as unusual as it was, Phoebe’s story was more interesting and relatable.
Neither Phoebe nor her colleagues knew how she fit into the research team.
After her departure, Rizwan was given more responsibilities and Simon joined the team. These guys are used to working only with each other.
I also think Simon might be uncomfortable with being responsible for a woman and constantly giving up knowledge that he doesn’t know.
He never directly said he was, but that’s how I feel.
Of course, I could be misreading; he could just be uncomfortable with Phoebe being able to rattle off case studies and experiments that Simon has never heard of.
Phoebe was previously the lead researcher, while Rizwan was a bit shy and unsure. In Season 1 of Irrational, he gets scared when Alec asks him to take over the speech and mumbles it through.
Since Phoebe left, Rizwan has grown more confident and now works regularly with Alec’s students without any fear.
This change means their dynamic won’t be the same when Phoebe returns, and adding someone who doesn’t yet know Phoebe but is already able to connect with Rizwan poses additional challenges.
I loved Phoebe’s suggestion at the end about how they try to work together. This is really their only way to create a new normal.
“Irrational Pieces” Season 2 Episode 6
- Great to see Nicholas Gonzalez from The Good Doctor again! I was a little disappointed that he turned out to be a hacker, because I was happy to have him on screen.
- Alec’s decision not to have his scars surgically removed is one of the most powerful symbolic messages to survivors to date.
- The abbreviations Kelly used in the first scene had me laughing.
Over to you, irrational fanatic!
What did you think of Irrational Season 2 Episode 6?
Vote in our poll to rate this episode, then voice your thoughts in the comments.
Irrational airs Tuesdays on NBC at 10/9c and Wednesdays on Peacock.
Watch “Irrational” online
