3.04 - Guts + Fuel + Hope

Airdate: Oct. 19, 2018
Writers: Rob Pearlstein
Director: Peter Weller


Recurring Cast: Reign Edwards (Leanna Martin)

Guest Cast:
C. Thomas Howell (Vasil) , Andrea Powell (Doctor Nakani) , Greg Sproles (Maintenance Man)
Samira Izadi (Real Estate Agent) , Tiffany Denise Hobbs (Waitress) , Spence Maughon (Diplomat)
Nicole Marie Johnson (Well Dressed Woman) , Davide Ishmael (Well Dressed Man)


MacGyver and Riley must find a way to drive a tanker filled with liquid oxygen through a region occupied by rebels and deliver it to a children’s hospital before they run out. Also, Riley helps MacGyver decide whether or not to allow his father back into his life.

I got some "Second Chance" vibes from this episode. Partly because of the sick kids with breathing problems, and partly because Mac's daddy issues were just like Jesse's son's issues. Well, similar anyway.

Unlike Jesse's son, I sided with Mac. I'm not sure I'm fond of Mac giving him another chance just yet. I'm not expecting him to hold a grudge, but if you ask me, there's a difference between forgiving and forgetting.

I'm glad to see that Jack wasn't in any scenes at all in this one. I'm not wishing for him to die, I'm just glad to have a break from him once in a while.

Bozer's been in the War Room a lot. Is it because Jill's gone or something? Not that I mind, he's actually pretty good in the War Room.

I like the explanation for Jack and Leanna's absences. Simply having Matty say they were off doing other things fit just fine. Like we've all said, they don't have to be in every episode.

I loved the episode (the best of S3 so far), but I thought it was weird that there was no Jack at all.

Though looking back, it finally makes sense why I had a hard time knowing which episode they were filming at and why I couldn't sort my BtS photos correctly: They filmed in parallel; filming for both episodes 3x03 and 3x04 with both directors on Lucas' birthday for example, which is something they usually don't do.

So they probably had to film around George's absence; filming his scenes for 3x03 first and also some of Justin's first because he was having some days off during George's absence as well; flying back to LA to attend his daughter's first day of school if I remember correctly.

Otherwise, they could have had Jack bookend the episode - i.e. Mac/Jack doing the Opening Gambit, then Matty ordering him to go to DC and Mac taking on the mission, so Riley stepping in for Jack. One or two minutes of Jack griping about not wanting to go to DC, Matty saying there's no choice (since she already had to fly to DC the episode before) and voilà, problem solved.

I really liked this episode. While I love the Mac/Jack dynamic, Mac basically on his own was a welcome treat. Also nice not to see Riley glued to a computer. I still wonder how Bozer got to be a spy but I prefer him in the war room or lab. Also, ONE narrative: great. And no superfluous characters cluttering the scenes (i.e. Leanna). Just enough Oversight to highlight Mac's emotional journey. Fantastic job.

Preliminary Ratings via Showbuzz Daily: http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/the-...10-19-2018.html

Lower than last week, but overall stable CBS Friday Line-Up which is good. Every week, the difference in audience numbers between "Last Man Standing" and MacGyver gets smaller.

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I hope MacGyver adjusts up. Getting closer to topping Cool Kids in demo. already close to more viewers than LMS. btw only MacGyver has tough competition. H50 has a news show, game show and cooking. Not a single scripted show opposite Blue Bloods, just news. Here's praying for better numbers next week.

I loved this episode.

And this time I did not even mind that Jack was not there. I think Lucas and Tristan did a nice job together.

Nice to see another Mac/Riley episode. I agree that they do work well together.

Also, as Dragondog already said, this has a Second Chance vibe... even the title fits the message of the episode, giving second chances.

I saw the double cross coming though. Especially any time Vasil disappeared on his cellphone. After the first time that happened and enemies suddenly found them, I was like... I bet he's gonna double cross them. And sure enough... lol

Nice to see Mac's Dad in a positive light... so far, I haven't been a bit fan myself. Maybe that was done on purpose.

Also, with Jill being mentioned again... I wonder if she's really dead. Guess we'll find out eventually. XD

There's a lot I liked about this episode.

But there's 2 things I really didn't like. One was both Matty and Bozer constantly harping over comms for Mac to get moving and hurry up and reminding him the kids were dying.

I guess it was the only way how to incorporate them into the show. But I think they should have stripped the cast down even more for the main storyline; e.g. removing both Matty and Jack; them going to DC together.

If George had been available for the episode, I would have preferred a Mac/Jack Opening Gambit; then Matty intercepting the flight, saying she and Jack have to go to DC together, so Riley stepping in for the mission. In the B-Storyline, Bozer trying to run the War Room; trying to find a hospital with oxygen supply and worrying over them, but without harping into the comms all the time and add to the pressure.

Well Kate has confirmed she's finished on the show... so my guess is yes she is really dead.

Yep. For me, that was the only negative thing about the episode.

Overall, this was probably the most MacGyver-like episode of the series, and I really hope we see more episodes like this one. I understand the comparisons to "Second Chance," but I found this to be MUCH more entertaining than that episode. I thought this had a perfect mix of action, MacGyverisms, and heart. Scaling down the cast, and focusing on just one story throughout the episode really worked well. Easily one of my favorite episodes of the series.

Here's the blog post (and videos) about the MacGyverisms in this episode by Technical Advisor Rhett Allain: https://rhettallain.com/2018/10/21/macgyver...on-3-episode-4/

Well Kate has confirmed she's finished on the show... so my guess is yes she is really dead.

Most likely, but I'm a Supernatural fan... that means very little to me now. lol

One of the stronger episodes of the series. Opening gambit was funny, though I'd have liked to see Mac's plan in action.

As much as I like the Jack character it was nice to have a breather from him. I always like the interaction between Riley and Mac. There's a good rapport there for sure. Nice to see her out from behind a computer as well...though that development was kind of over-shadowed by the omnipresent direction from the war room...perhaps the only real downside of the episode.

Thought Vasil was well-played by C. Thomas Howell.

A possible error though: Early on they mention the truck is old and doesn't have GPS capabilities. When Vasil turns he reveals he knew where the truck was going thanks to "on-board navigation." Granted this could simply be from a paper manifest, but the wording of the script makes you think otherwise.

Yes I caught that as well but rationalized that it may have had some sort of off-the-shelf plug-in unit like like a Navman or Tomtom. They don't transmit just use GPS signals and the maps stored in memory.

Final Ratings are in: http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/show...10-19-2018.html


As per usual, MacGyver lost a bit in audience while H50 and BB plus LSM won a bit. On the upside, it got to keep the demo rating. For now, it's still Episode 3x03 with the highest demo and audience number in Season 3.

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hm... you'd think someone in a position as Oversight maybe shouldn't sit in the same restaurant on the same day at about the same time... if you're so predictable, the bad guys will find you

Very good point!

Maybe this is how he got promoted to oversight... he was so bad as an agent... all brains, no clues.

hm. somehow I never came back to this episode

Another thing I didn't like was how everyone's pressuring Mac to forgive James. While I liked that they had a scene between Mac and Riley talking about trying to re-connect with their fathers that left them, this seems to be something that can't just be solved within a few "lunch meetings".

I also felt Mac looked way too happy in the diner; already joking with his dad, though that could have been actually footage of Tate and Lucas bantering before they started to film some dialogue.

For once, I don't really think you can just wipe the slate clean and start anew like Mac says in 3x05. Second, James still hasn't even apologized once to Mac. He says he tried to protect him and amends that probably this wasn't the right way to do it, but he never apologized - not just for leaving, but also about how he manipulated Mac's whole life; also manipulating others (e.g. Harry, Matty) to lie about it.

Generally, I think this is too similar to "Hawaii Five-0" and the storyline with Steve and Doris McGarrett - the way it was set up, but also the way it's getting resolved.

Yeah, I didn't care for it either. I don't mind Riley pointing out that she knows how Mac feels, and saying that she's glad she gave her own dad another chance, but no one should expect Mac to do the same thing.

I didn't care for it back in early season one when Jack was pressuring him to try to find his dad either. When he said, "Hey, I'd give anything to have one more day with my dad," I thought, "Yes, because you actually liked him."

But my dad sucked too, so maybe I'm biased.

This was another nice one alright. Again, single storylined episodes show to be better. And yes, the absence of Jack, despite that I like him, was a nice breather and I like Bozer in the War Room much better then in the field. As I always said Jack is more a babysitter then anything else and Bozer is just in the way. With them out of the way, there is a lot more breathing space. Bozer's place is in the War Room.

The phone calls were a little predictable that a betrayal was on the way yes.

Also I didn't like the fact that the team indeed seem to pressure Mac into forgiving his dad. Before they located the tanker, Riley even stopped the car as if they all had to talk sense into him? OK, they were at a crossroad and maybe she was supposed to stop according to traffic rules, yet they were in hostile territory so who cares, still it seemed very likely they stopped for the very reason to talk sense into him and I expect Riley would know better then that, especially when kids lives are at stake.

What I thought was strange was that Bozer seemed to be so affected by Jill's death. Where did that came from? As far as I know they barely knew each other.

The ending with Mac in the pressure room was cool. A great nod to Trumbo's World with a home made costume to go in. Yes, this was a good episode.