5-11 C8H7ClO + Nano-Trackers + Resistance + Maldiv

Airdate: March 12, 2021
Written by: Joshua Brown & Teresa Huang
Directed by: David Straiton

Guest Cast:
Deepti Gupta (Priya Chanani)
Scott Holroyd (Kevin)
Alexandra Grey (Parker)
Tina Ivlev (Teo)
Jeremy Crutchley (Dr. Silas Mercer)


Mac and Riley head overseas together to prevent a governmental collapse and inadvertently inhale new deadly microscopic technology.

Preliminary Ratings: http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/the-...-3-26-2021.html

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Hm... not sure yet how to think about the episode.

I'm not too fond of all the different storylines propped into it at once, although all the different storylines are interesting. That's the crux; I think they deserved to get more screentime for each one. I get why they wanted to get rid of the Codex arc and implement thieir own, but giving every actor their own storyline to shine while also introducing new characters for a potential next season is just too much.

I am intrigued by the nanotech storyline though and we already know that this will set the storyarc for the rest of the season.

Not sure why they felt the need to invest money in a new War Room, though? It's only used in 4 more episodes this season and they're not renewed yet. They could have done the reconstruction over hiatus?

I think they should have just introduced Russ' office. Who cares if it fits with the existing layout of Phoenix; I still haven't figured out the layout of Mac's house yet

For whatever reason they felt they needed new sets, I think it looks too dark and bleak - especially with the blue filter. The old War Room was wooden and warm, now it's just constant night with artificial lights. With the filter, it looks like the first "Twilight" movie . Not as bothering as the "Mexico Yellow" from last week's episode, but still annoying.

Good point about the "Pollution" filters lol


Wasn't a fan of the MacRiley handjob but what else is new.......They were treating Desi like red headed stepchild this week. Bouncing her all over the place with no rime or reason, the helicopter scene was so fake in an obvious way I've never seen before like woah.

Science notes by Tech Consultant Rhett Allain: https://rjallain.medium.com/macgyver-scienc...es-4f5d5d01bffd

Final Ratings: http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/show...-3-26-2021.html

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Hi! I'm still here...just busy.

-Matty has "Oversight" business to attend to...also a great play on words with her all-seeing ability as Big Brother.

-Nothing like walking around freely in a building likely to be held by hostiles. And then of course, getting yourself trapped in a room with fortified walls and no windows. Are we sure these two are trained operatives?

-C'mon, Mac, no freedom fighter who is a #1 target has ever agreed to just leave the country.

-Desi's adventure looked fun. Wish we could have seen more of it.

-More daddy drama.

-Desi's Cairo Day.

-So many transitions!

-Mercer is a great foil for Taylor. Also, we learn a bit about what makes him tick, and what ultimately separates him from just being a heartless merc. Nice touch.

-Great long game by Russ. Nice touch with the Maldives water. Two can play at this game, Mercer.

-Acting Director Bozer is pretty good at this, isn't he?

-It took all of a couple of hours of non-nano-tracked protests for the president to resign? Suspension of disbelief, much?

-Serial numbers? We have our next arc!

A bit light on the observations this week as I did this on my first viewing.

Episode was decent enough. I particularly enjoyed the Russ/Mercer scenes. Thought Bozer was good as well. The rest was a bit disjointed. A lot of shoehorning of messaging (has Riley's heritage ever been brought up before? And how is Mac not already "woke," as the kids say?) that seemed forced against a backdrop of protests for poorly-explained reasons in a former Yugoslav republic (I guess we're just supposed to assume it's all despots, government thugs and misery there). I wanted to care more about Teo, but I was just kind of nonplussed with it all in the end. Seemed more of a vehicle for the will they, won't they (and introducing the next storyline) and neither did much for me sadly. They obviously sent Desi away on some other mysterious assignment to play to that, but the "Desi's Bad Day" check-ins ended up being the thing I wanted to see more of.

Also, knowing that the character was coming softened it I guess, but could Parker have been thrown on us (and Russ) any more abruptly?

Not a swing and a miss, but more like a swing and a foul ball to stave off the strikeout.

Hmm, so far season 5 has been entertaining methinks. The whole reboot has walked the mission impossible route all along, sometimes badly, sometimes better.
This was definitely a low point for me. Desi's adventure was like action for actions sake, office drama back home and evil neo-nazis with space age weaponry really made me miss episodes where new Mac and team were searching for the dog or the original series

I finally watched this and yeah a lot of the wokeness felt shoehorned in..

overall the macgyverisms were good but I felt the episode was weak

Another multiple storyline episode. I guess they haven't learned after all. I know it's about keeping the family together but if there is no room for a character, no need to shoehorn them in so they're in every episode. Three storylines in one episode does not work (even four if you count Bozer and that visiting lady). It's too much for 45 minutes.

I did like the mental game Russ and Mercer played and this is the sort of thing I expect from someone like Russ or even from both of them. Being the British guys, playing psychological games with each other like it's a chess game and than take it like the British, all stiff upperlippy and all that.

Sending Mac and Riley together on assignment is good though it seems weird after Mac appeared on her doorstep and ask about her feelings only to have them buried once more in order not to make working together awkward. Yet, they're all that's left of the original team and I don't count Bozer since he joined in later. And MacGyver also seemed able to fight all of a sudden. Guess they were out of options, or maybe I was just right in my last review and Mac is more than able to fight to at least stand his ground. Even Riley has been fighting since at least halfway season 3. She can do more than just use a laptop.

Don't know how I feel yet about newcomer Parker. I wonder why she is called Parker though.

Adressing Black Lives Matter and woke... Just like I was saying I didn't expect an episode about the pandemic, I didn't expect this either but they just dropped it along. It didn't feel shoehorned in as some of you say, it was simply adressed and they moved on. It also didn't feel like: let's adress it to adress it in order not to step on anyones toes or force it down people throats. It was adressed the way it should've been and than back to business.
I just never thought Riley would be targeted in racism. Bozer more obvious because he's black. I know Riley is a Latina though her heritage is never mentioned before but she is definitely Latin American, maybe Mexican, yet Elwood and her mother seemed pretty white to me. I would almost think Riley could've been adopted.

Also am I the only one who finds Riley's hairdo a bit too tight pulled down on her head. She almost looks German.

For a moment there when Mac checks Riley's blood, I thought they were going to say that Riley was pregnant but apparently there is something with a serial number that might continue the storyline.

So am I. And it's actually quite a scary way knowing you could be inhaling something that is nanotech without even knowing it and you could be spied on by your own government. Well, actually we already are. Do anything bank related and they know who you are and who knows what they are injecting us with like they did during the pandemic. Of course we don't want to know about it because they all say it's good for us so we take it, but there could've been nanotech in there for all we know that registers everything we do until our body breaks it off.

Indeed, it seemed a bit early with only five more episodes to go, but maybe they thought a sixth season was in the pocket anyway so they made a few set changes. And you have a point. It looks rather cold with the blue light but I have to admit, I like the exterior night shot of Phoenix with the blue light.

It's not that hard you know. You walk in, kitchen's on the right. Next to the stove there is a sidedoor but I don't know where it leads to. A garage? I think Riley's mother left through the door and is the only one to do so. You have the living room and the windows. The door that leads to the steps to the terrace. On the other side there are other steps and another door that leads to his office with his desk. There is another door that probably leads back to the hallway near the entrance door and than at the back you have his bedroom. That's about it, I think.

Getting slowly tired of reading "Big Brother Matty" here now. It's not a funny comment. Never was to begin with and you write it each time, she's not around. It's tiresome.

No, he's not.

Where were the Neo-Nazis and space age weaponry? I must've seen a different episode.

Sometimes I really don't know what you guys are commenting on except that it is to bash the reboot and think you're funny about it too. I know it triggers a lot of critique and I'm giving it too. I don't agree with lots of things but we can do it without the sass.

I think something's been lost in translation in the years since these have aired.