4-10 Tesla + Bell + Edison + Mac

Airdate: April 17, 2020
Writer: Rob Pearlstein
Director: Yangzon Brauen
Guest Cast: Scottie Thompson (Ellen) , Edloe Blackwell (Karen the Librarian)
Ramon De Ocampo (Phillip Lasky) , Amber Skye Noyes (Scarlett) , John Ales (Nikola Tesla)
Mark Boyd (Alexander Graham Bell) , Tom Thon (Thomas Edison) , Jim E. Chandler (Dark Suit #1)
Matt Mercurio (Donnie Sandoz) , Cuyle Carvin (DXS Agent Charles) , Marsha Thomason (Dr. Cheryl)
Jessica Webb (Woman #1) , Erin Ownbey (Woman #2)


When Mac is put into a dream state to help him recall key evidence found in Nikola Tesla’s secret lab that could stop Codex’s deadly plot, he encounters Nikola Tesla, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison…and his mother.

When Desi was all "Babe, you got me a crossbow?! " she gained a few cool points in my book

it's LA, and Russ is wearing a vest in the War Room. poor Ian must have been cold after transferring from Hawaii to Atlanta

somehow I wouldn't have been surprised if she already had one. a bit like Jack who collects interesting weapons

Yay, first concussion in the entire series. They still get out without any scrapes or bruises, though.

But: Mac has been unconscious for hours after a head injury.

Matty used to protect her agents. Now she puts them in experimental drug trials with some obscure doctor friends . I liked that doctor with no brain-to-mouth-filter. But I hope they did at least a proper brain scan before they sent Mac home .

I really liked this episode. I think it's fascinating how they are exploring Mac's turmoil and trauma. Everyone has a dark side and Mac's appeals to his rational scientific brain. His mother admitting it was her idea can only add to the conflict within. I cant wait to see how this all plays out. I know the teaser for ep. 12 implies Mac joins Codex but I don't believe it. My personal take is that Mac pretends to join so he can work from within but he doesn't tell the others to protect them. Now I cant wait for these next few episode

I loved the dream sequence. So much to digest. I loved the comparisons between Tesla and Mac. Also loved how worried Riley was about him.

One thing though and it bothered me from the sneak peek too. Oversight left his code for Mac. Yet Taylor and the others took it upon themselves to work on it without consulting Mac. They were working behind his back. Sure you can say it was for his own good but it wasn't for them to sneak like that. And the looks they gave him. Like he disrupted a secret meeting. They should have been up front before the fact. What else are they hiding from him?

preliminary ratings: http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/the-...-4-17-2020.html

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Inspired from an episode from the OG. I love how they always borrow from the OG but pick and choose what they want to follow

OK but that's neither here nor there. I'm glad his alter ego didn't "trade places" with him, but he was warned about a irreparable changes and asked about psychotic breaks, which sets up the climate for Mac being pschitsophernic.

I was worrying about Desi and Riley fighting over Mac but they are actually sleeping under the same roof, lucky Mac

I've been wondering why Riley is still staying at Mac's place, though. It made sense not wanting to be alone after the break-up, but she could have moved into Jack's place now? To take care of it while he's gone...

He diddn't have the time to clean it out before leaving and didn't know how long he'd be gone, so I think they would have hold on to it. Unless Bozer is staying there

I thought it's weird that when Mac wakes up, he’s still holding onto a bloody compass in his hand. When he’s knocked out in the house, he wasn't holding it, or was he? And besides, how and why would they leave it in his hand during transport and transfer into the chair? Also, logic would have had Phoenix Medical to put Mac in a hospital gown for a brain scan anyway.

There are fan theories on social media that Mac either never woke up and is in a coma or that or codex has him and is playing mind games with him. I've had a similar theory (since the audience has the same "black hole" what happened after Mac fell unconscious, plus the blurring effect like they do when people on TV enter a dream state) - but I doubt the writers would actually pull this off . They've had so many plot twist opportunities in the past and never used them...

Then there's the fan theories of Mac having a twin or his mom still being alive. It's fun how this episode gets all the theories flowing. I expect a lot of fanfiction coming out of this episode

Meanwhile I'm just hoping it doesn't get cancelled...

Time to post my re-watch thoughts (hopefully with less arguing/post deleting... ).

-Tesla is DXS?

-More Codex agents in the past? Still getting Rittenhouse vibes from these guys (for anyone who watched Timeless).

-MacGyver banging away at 6 AM AND making apocalypse backpacks. He is fully consumed by this.

-I guess I'm confused by them being nervous about solving the code when Mac surprises them with coffee...but then it becomes clear that they all are unsure about how "unstable Mac" will react.

-Oversight's favorite movie is The Great Escape. That's high on my list too.

-This house certainly is in great shape for not being used for nearly a century.

-They (Bell, Edison, Tesla) were all DXS? This is blowing my mind too, MacGyver.

-Scarlett! My girl's back. "They sent the mean one."

-There's gonna be a Desi/Scarlett fight to the death before this arc is over, isn't there?

-Sure, Mac, just take this drug with a wide range of side effects. It might work.

-"Tacos" is a great safe word.

-Good night, MacGyver.

-This is silliness...lol. And absolutely something the original might have done.

-A very intriguing way to show the internal struggle that Mac is facing and his subconscious in general, the battle of good vs. evil, being wracked with guilt/regret over the Lasky situation and what he perceives is his mother's involvement behind File 47 (being that this is his subconscious, I'm still skeptical that's the actual reality...stay tuned).

-I kind of like this Desi picking up on things from Mac...i.e. the torch.

-"About to Pulp Fiction ya"...I understood that reference!

-Scarlett really is evil Desi. "We can wait...we've got snacks."

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It's hard at this point to grade these episodes, as unlike the original where most of the episodes were standalone adventures, this particular story arc is being nursed along episode by episode. How this ties itself up will ultimately determine just where these episodes rate.

I can say that I was still entertained, however.

It's sitting in a pretty good place from what I can tell barring some change in direction from CBS regarding Friday nights as all three of those shows are forecasted for return.

The real unknown in all of this is the current world situation. Hard to order too many new pilots when everything is shut down for an unknown amount of time.

I hadn't considered that, and you make an intriguing point. Oversight was dying, but it was so important for his last words to tell Mac his mother didn't want any of this.... can't wait to see how this works out.

I love the idea of the scientists being in DXS. The idea of scientists and men of letters belonging to secret organizations for the betterment of man has long been explored in novels and other works. Think DaVinci and all the founding fathers as members of the Masons, etc.

Looking forward to Friday and the continuation of this story line as well as how Riley will show her feelings for Mac.

I think his father not showing up in conscious tinged dreams, especially with all the issues they've had and the way his chapter closed was a missed opportunity.

Still thinking about that compass. Sure, it could have been a continuity error or plot hole. But...

Mac didn't have the compass in hand when he got knocked out by Scarlett. He was holding it when waking up at Phoenix Medical, with blood in his hand. When he entered the dream state, the compass and Mac's hand were fine again. The blood and the breaking of the compass didn't happen until Lasky crushed it in Dream!Mac’s hand. During the dream state, Mac says several times that the compass is the key. What if it's a key for the audience as well?

I’ve been mulling over that plot twist theory I had when watching but I still don’t trust the writers to pull it off after being disappointed for unused plot twist potential since 2016

Sometimes my friends complains about shows with lazy writing and unused plot potential, and I'm always telling her "You want to see a show with those issues? Let me direct you..."

Final Ratings: http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/show...-4-17-2020.html

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the episode made it into SpoilerTV's "Quotes of the Week": https://www.spoilertv.com/2020/04/quote-of-...f-april-12.html

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Blog post by Tech Consultant Rhett Allain: https://rhettallain.com/2020/04/22/macgyver...la-bell-edison/

Before Mac wakes up he says, "The compass was the clue but it's wrong. West is east..."
Then Tesla goes, "And east is west. Wakey wakey..."

Perhaps that was also a clue to the viewers too... Nothing is what it seems?

I really hope they don't pull this season was all a dream because... that would be stupid but then if it is Mac never killed anyone soooooo……..

no still would rather Mac have blood on his hands then the whole it was all a dream scenario writer only use when they work them selves into a corner.

Knocked unconscious and suddenly we're in the dream world. I wonder where that came from?

Finally something happens to this Mac. Our Mac was like shot 3 times, blown up and had a car accident at this point. Anyway, I like we are digging into the pasts of the companies: DXS, Codex. This is also something that was left unexplored in the original series. How far does DXS go back or Phoenix? Did DXS for example existed during WWII in the original show? This is all real interesting stuff just as this episode for the most part is actually a dream episode and we meet Ellen MacGyver.

Maybe there really is all weird stuff happening in this one and again I may have missed a lot if not many clues out there. The weirdest part for me was that Desi was making soup (even though, she did say that's what her family does when they're feeling down) and they shared a real romantic moment together onscreen before that interesting twist by showing us that dark figure creeping around on his terrace. It might make you think if he is actually awake or not.

Also bringing him in a dreamstate is a massive throwback to Silent World as they did with Carrie. Dream analysis or sleep analysis could be real intriguing I think but also real heavy.

I think we're slowly entering a psychological thriller phase in the show and we are not going to know what is real or not anymore. I just really hope as Dash said they take it to it's full potential and not miss out any opportunities as they have left them more than once to get really interesting.