{"id":2527,"date":"2015-04-27T14:00:58","date_gmt":"2015-04-27T19:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/moniqueocampowrites\/?p=2527"},"modified":"2015-04-25T08:57:03","modified_gmt":"2015-04-25T13:57:03","slug":"why-scorpion-is-awesome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/moniqueocampowrites\/2015\/04\/27\/why-scorpion-is-awesome\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Scorpion is Awesome"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I\u2019ve stated before that I am\u00a0very<\/em> picky about the shows that I watch. I tend to avoid shows\u00a0like\u00a0The Big Bang Theory<\/em>\u00a0in which nerds are portrayed as stereotypical men who barely function socially and obsess over stuff nobody cares about. And it\u2019s not just because \u201coh they\u2019re making fun of nerds and I am one.\u201d I always think that there is a way for nerdy and comedy to go together. Shows like\u00a0Doctor Who<\/em> and\u00a0Buffy\u00a0<\/em>rank very high on the nerdy factor, but there are few, if any, nerdy characters.<\/p>\n

Enter Scorpion<\/em> or <\/scorpion> as shown by the title. It\u2019s allegedly based on the life of Walter O\u2019Brien, but I tend to think that the whole \u201cbased on a real story\u201d was just the selling point for this action\/dramedy. Not only does this show have nerdy characters, but it also shows that there are different ways to be smart. Not to mention *GASP* the rare-in-TV-but-common-in-real-life thing called \u201cfemale nerds.\u201d<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m getting ahead of myself. Let\u2019s start with the plot.<\/p>\n

The premise of\u00a0Scorpion<\/em> is that \u201cScorpion\u201d is the name of a group of geniuses who work as government consultants, under the watch of Homeland Security Officer Gabe Gallo (played by Robert Patrick of\u00a0Terminator 2<\/em> fame). The leader of the team is Walter O\u2019Brien (played by Elyes Gabel), who is the least socially functional out of all of them.<\/p>\n

\"normal_scorpion101_0202\"<\/a><\/p>\n

He rationalizes a lot of his reckless actions and claims not to believe in emotions such as love, but I personally think he\u2019s in total denial of his emotions because his emotions have led him the wrong way before. The humor at his expense often happens when his reckless actions make things worse for everyone else. It took me a long time to warm up to him, but his love for his sister and Gabe (whom he sees as a father figure) and his growing affection for Paige and Ralph helped things.<\/p>\n

\"normal_scorpion101_0236\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sylvester Dodd (played by Ari Stidman) is the closest thing to the more stereotypical nerd: overweight, obsessed with comic books, and amazing with numbers. But guess what? Sylvester is also the first of the team to enter into a happy and functioning relationship. Score one for the geeks getting the girl! In the intro to the show, Sylvester is described as the \u201chuman calculator,\u201d and is seen having OCD tendencies and lots of moments where he has to face some kind of irrational phobia. However, Sylvester is a lovable cowardly lion, able to face his fears. And out of everyone on the team, he has the highest EQ, which means he understands his own emotions better than the other geniuses. It\u2019s also why he eventually gets in a relationship with Walter\u2019s sister, Megan.<\/p>\n

\"normal_scorpion101_0431\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Toby Curtis (played by Eddie Kaye Thomas) is the behaviorist. He can tell how everyone else is feeling by looking at nonverbal cues and gestures. He\u2019s also a gambling addict and he wears the coolest hat. Next to Walter, Toby is usually the one who gets the team in trouble most often, but he has a lot more cool factor because, like Sylvester, he\u2019s more in tune with his emotions. Two major story arcs in the first season revolve around Toby\u2019s flirtations and attempts at having a relationship with fellow genius Happy Quinn and Toby majorly shipping Walter and Paige.<\/p>\n

\"normal_Scorpion-119_0146\"<\/a>
And yes, this is an accurate picture of shippers on Tumblr.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"normal_scorpion101_0266\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Happy Quinn (played by Jadyn Wong) is my second favorite character next to Sylvester because A) she\u2019s a female geek, B) she\u2019s Asian, and C) she is\u00a0not<\/em> the hacker of the team or some other kind of Asian stereotype. Hallelujah, this is how characters are supposed to be written! She is the mechanical genius, a job usually given to men, and like Walter, Happy is someone out of touch with her emotions due to issues in the past. She is also a major tsundere. What is a tsundere, you ask? To quote TV Tropes, a tsundere is \u201cA character who frequently criticizes their love interest and acts cranky to everyone else, but is sweet and lovestruck on the inside.\u201d She\u2019s often saying mean things to Toby and Paige, but she really loves them underneath all that bite.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"normal_scorpion101_0689\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Paige Dineen (played by Katharine McPhee of American Idol<\/em> and Smash<\/em> fame) is the only non-genius on the team and acts as the \u201ctranslator,\u201d helping the geniuses of\u00a0Scorpion<\/em> understand the outside world and vice versa. The best example of this is in the episode \u201cOnce Bitten, Twice Die,\u201d when she figured out ways to keep the diplomats from Belarus, Lithuania, and Latvia under control. She gets recruited onto the team because her son, Ralph, turns out to be a genius and not \u201cchallenged\u201d like she originally thought. Ralph develops a close bond with all the geniuses, especially Walter. Furthering complicating things is Paige\u2019s ex-husband Drew, who plays baseball for a minor league team.<\/p>\n

\"normal_scorpion101_0377\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Gabe Gallo acts as the \u201cparental unit\u201d of the team. As stated before, he\u2019s a father figure for Walter, but he sees the other geniuses as his own children as well. This is because he\u2019s divorced from his first wife and lost a child. The majority of the season revolves around Walter and Cabes father\/son relationship.<\/p>\n

The season develops the characters in a very realistic way. Happy and Toby, for example, embark on a relationship, but Toby\u2019s emotional issues end the relationship before it even starts. Walter\u2019s growing fondness for Paige and Ralph contributes to a seriously reckless action that leads to the season finale. Sylvester faces his phobias and falls in love with Megan and it\u2019s shown that the team really cares about him. And like every other show I love, the Scorpion team develops into a family. I highly recommend you watch this show and I can\u2019t wait for the second season!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve stated before that I am\u00a0very picky about the shows that I watch. I tend to avoid shows\u00a0like\u00a0The Big Bang Theory\u00a0in which nerds are portrayed as stereotypical men who barely function socially and obsess over stuff nobody cares about. And it\u2019s not just because \u201coh they\u2019re making fun of nerds and I am one.\u201d I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2156,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[416],"tags":[692,690,691,689],"class_list":["post-2527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-television-2","tag-cbs","tag-katharrine-mcphee","tag-robert-patrick","tag-scorpion"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Scorpion is Awesome<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I've stated before that I am\u00a0very picky about the shows that I watch. 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I also love musicals and taking pictures on Instagram. Outside of the internet, I teach Catechism, volunteer my time at my church\u2019s social ministry services as well as young adult retreats, knit, read, and make lots of hot chocolate or tea depending on the season. I am pretty much open to whatever vocation God is calling me to. 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