Reviewer Rating: 4.2/5.0
4.2
“Irrational” challenges the world of K-pop stars—those K-pop stars who have already become famous and have thousands of American fans.
It’s a brilliant episode, a warning against losing yourself in the pursuit of fame and fortune, and a fascinating mystery about who killed an obsessed superfan.
However, this isn’t just an episode of the mystery series. Irrational Season 2 Episode 7 is the midseason finale, and unfortunately, it left me wondering what else was left to discuss during its hiatus.
The case isn’t strong enough to be a joint case between the two, which would have provided a cliffhanger
Most episodes of “Irrational” involve a case that ends at the end of an hour, so I can’t blame “Stan on My Side” for only lasting an hour, even though it’s a midseason finale.
The story doesn’t have enough suspects to sustain two episodes, and delaying Vanney’s arrest until the end of the episode in order to provide a jaw-dropping cliffhanger is unrealistic.
Still, it’s a way to give the story more of a midseason finale feel.
The mystery didn’t even last the entire hour.
The last ten minutes, as Rose and Alec continue to move forward with their relationship, jump a month in time so that we learn that Vannie has ditched her record label and is preparing to go independent so she can live life on her own terms .
It’s an inspiring message, but lacks the excitement needed for the fall finale. By the end of “Irrational” season 2, episode 7, everything was tied up in a too-neat little bow.
Marissa’s conflict with her new boss would have been the perfect choice for the cliffhanger at the end of “Irrational” season 2, episode 7.
Marissa was angry with her for the entire hour. She didn’t like being told she would burn out because she worked so long on the case, and she wasn’t interested in the idea of an escape room.
I’ve worked with supervisors who tend to dislike you if you don’t go with the flow.
Refusing to attend social events because you want to focus on work often results in being fired for not being a team player.
Of course, in Marissa’s case, this might be silly due to the high case closure rate, but still.
Marissa’s conflict with her new boss didn’t cause any serious problems, and the two discussed the matter and agreed to work together as the closing credits rolled.
I wish more executives would embrace the idea that what they’re doing is wrong. I would have loved this scene if this wasn’t the midseason finale.
But I can’t help but think that this isn’t a suspense at all.
There won’t be much talk about what Marissa and her new boss are going to do for the next month or so.
That’s not the point of “Irrational,” and it’s not exciting enough to warrant thinking about for more than a few minutes.
I had to laugh at Kelly and Marissa’s exchange about why Marissa didn’t like her boss’s idea for an escape room, though.
Kelly: It can come from the bias of other people’s ideas.
Marissa: Okay, little Alec.
Kelly was right; if Marissa had come up with the escape room idea herself, she might have loved it.
It seemed like this made Marissa realize that when the supervisor position was offered to her, she should take it on her own.
However, she wouldn’t be happy if she wasn’t there. She has to hunt down criminals like Olivia Benson when she’s supposed to be directing other FBI agents to do so, or she’ll never feel satisfied.
Irrational Season 2 Episode 7 Does Not Emphasize Neuroscience as usual
“Stan By Me” was a small experiment with confusing results.
After recalling a study Phoebe once did that showed people were forced to point out misinformation in surveys, Alec decided to hold a fake Q&A event and have Rizwan provide the misinformation, only for one person to point it out “mistake”.
The suspect then ran off for no apparent reason, especially since it turned out he had nothing to do with the murder and had been trying to get Mia to party with him that night.
The whole incident was strange. Normally the experiments follow logic and help solve the case, but this time it was weird.
I’m also surprised that Phoebe’s original research came up with this result.
There are other well-known studies showing that people are likely to agree with a misinformation if others in the room also agree because they don’t want to be the only one who disagrees.
In Phoebe’s original experiment, the survey was filled out anonymously, so maybe that’s why the results were different – and why the person of interest was the only one who said Rizwan’s “fact” was wrong.
He doesn’t care what others think of him, so he might risk being laughed at or treated like a troll.
Surprisingly, Alec didn’t comment on this factor when setting the sting, as it could mess up the results, something he’s usually sensitive to.
“Irrational” Season 2 Episode 7 Yun Ni’s inspirational ending is after a strange confrontation
Yunni is too worried about losing her record label – which means she’ll lose the income she sends to her family in Korea – to admit that her alibi is that she was with her ex-boyfriend.
This doesn’t make much sense to me. If she goes to jail, won’t her label disappear?
In the end, it doesn’t matter because her manager turns out to be a murderer, which is probably the real reason she decided to go independent.
The final showdown was weird, but I liked it. I’ve always wanted to see a story where a hostage calls the bad guy’s bluff and he realizes he can’t shoot her, and we got one.
It’s also a rewarding moment after Alec calls out all sorts of abusive and controlling behavior from Vannie’s manager. Her whole life was dedicated to maintaining her image, which took the joy out of her music career.
Will Rose run out of excuses as to why her relationship with Alec is falling apart?
The closest we get to a cliffhanger is Rose trying to convince Alec that things are never going to work out between them again.
This gets old fast.
It’s a good switch for Alec to work on cases with Rose instead of Marissa, but Rose needs to stop looking for reasons why she and Alec can’t work out.
I know she’s dealing with the trauma of the kidnapping and probably other things she’s seen or experienced as an MI5 agent, so I’m trying to be patient, but I don’t like going through the same thing over and over again.
It seems like every Rose episode ends with Rose explaining why Alec needs to dump her now, Alec telling her why she was wrong, and the two kissing.
It’s a shame we have to keep having this because otherwise they make a lovely couple. I love their tech-free dating – real life people should try it sometime!
I don’t like it when celebrities take responsibility for other people’s crimes to protect their own reputations, so I didn’t like what Ross did.
I also think Vannie’s boyfriend was stupid for allowing himself to be arrested for a crime, and even stupider for trying to do it when she was charged with murder.
However, this is not the reason for Ross and Alec to break up.
I like Alec’s explanation that most people think they’re being honest even when they’re lying and cheating, but could this be the last time he promises Rose he’s not going anywhere?
Over to you, irrational fanatic.
What did you think of Unreasonable season 2 episode 7? Does the lack of real suspense bother you as much as it does me?
Vote in the poll below to rank the episodes, then voice your thoughts in the comments.
Irrational airs Tuesdays on NBC at 10/9c and Wednesdays on Peacock. The show will return with new episodes on January 7, 2025.
Watch “Irrational” online
