Critic’s Rating: 4.8 / 5.0
4.8
Alec was right: learning can be fun, especially if it’s part of a lighthearted mystery.
The Irrational Season 2 Episode 2 featured one of the series’ most serious cases: a serial killer who was inexplicably going after high-profile victims.
Yet somehow, the stakes didn’t feel as high as they would with more serious police procedurals — and that’s a good thing.
(NBC/James Dittiger)
The Irrational Season 2 Episode 2 Offered A Serious, But Convoluted Case
Serial killers have become a tired TV trope.
They raise the stakes to off-the-charts levels, with the detectives having to hurry up and find the killer before the latest victim dies.
Yet they aren’t exciting most of the time because there are so many of them. We’re used to this story and know that the heroes won’t die; it’s a question of how they will find the killer.
It was risky for The Irrational to present this type of case on the heels of the intense kidnapping plot that started the season off.
This show is more of a lighthearted mystery than a serious crime drama, so if things get too serious, it could turn the audience off.
(NBC/James Dittiger)
Alec’s Knowledge Of Neuropsychology Helped Keep This Story Fresh.
The idea of a serial killer that targets high-profile people was compelling and different.
I’d never given much thought to how serial killers target their victims. As a mystery author, I appreciated Alec’s insight that most serial killers target people who no one will miss so that they don’t get caught.
I’m not sure how accurate that is, given the fact that the TV landscape is full of panicked loved ones who can’t get ahold of a serial killer’s latest victim, but there is some logic to it.
(NBC/James Dittiger)
As Alec pointed out, serial killers can’t keep killing if they get caught. So staying under the radar for as long as possible makes sense.
Marisa: You’re still not convinced that this is a serial killer?
Alec: Not the traditional kind. He is choosing the victims he’s choosing for a reason. We just have to figure out what it is.
The connection between the victims was somewhat on the bizarre side, though.
I get it makes for a better story if a bunch of sperm donor babies includes a killer who wants to eliminate the rest of them to increase his inheritance, but I thought there was a more obvious link.
If the victims were all linked by bad teeth, couldn’t a dentist or dental hygienist be using their access to dental records to cause trouble?
(NBC/James Dittiger)
Either way, the idea of victims being linked by a genetic defect that causes bad teeth was interesting. I’ve never heard of that one before!
Alec’s Teaching Career Enhanced The Irrational Season 2 Episode 2
Did anyone else play along when Alec was demonstrating how faulty eyewitness testimony is?
I caught the red spades cards and got two out of the three eyewitness questions right. I missed the color of Simon’s shirt, probably because I remembered the yellowish tint of his jacket.
That demonstration sparked my curiosity about whether there are differences between neurodivergent and neurotypical brains when it comes to eyewitness testimony or whether I was able to catch the unusual red spades because I’ve done similar experiments when I took neuroscience classes.
Regardless, the demonstration was one of the most effective illustrations of why eyewitness testimony is not reliable (take that, Days of Our Lives!)
(NBC/James Dittiger)
I knew what they were doing as soon as Rizwan and Simon began “fighting,” but the students didn’t, and they got a strong lesson in the limitations of eyewitness testimony.
I learned a few other things, though. I especially liked Alec’s emphasis on “negativity bias.”
I work with the mental health side of things, so I know PTSD and other trauma-related conditions can cause people to react to the present as if it’s the past, but I’ve never heard such a clear explanation of the phenomenon.
Detective Brown: If it walks like a duck…
Alec: It isn’t necessarily a duck. It could be negativity bias, which causes people to judge their present situations based on their past negative experiences.
Brown: You saying I’m bad at my job?
Alec’s Assistants Provided Comic Relief On The Irrational Season 2 Episode 2
(NBC/James Dittiger)
My favorite moment on The Irrational Season 2 Episode 2 was when Rizwan tried to convince Alec that he was confident in his choice for a new RA, only for Alec to point out that he was doing his “nervous pacing thing.”
I also liked Phoebe’s storyline, though. I’m disappointed that she hasn’t given up on Rachel Myers yet, though I’m sure that’s coming.
Ava was cute and perky, so it was as soul-crushing for me as it was for Phoebe for Phoebe to learn that Ava was mostly ghostwriting for Rachel in the first place.
There’s nothing wrong with an arrangement like that as long as it’s voluntary, but nobody was open with Phoebe about it, and that’s not cool.
Despite that, Ava seemed like someone who would be fun to hang out with, so I hope we get more of her — even if Phoebe does have to confront her about lying to her.
I liked Simon, too, and I loved Alec’s encouragement to him at the end of the hour.
Who’s Surprised By The FBI’s New Boss? (Not Me)
(NBC/James Dittiger)
While I didn’t predict that Marisa would become the new head of the FBI, it wasn’t exactly a shocking plot twist.
She’s more than qualified, and in retrospect, her belief that it would be some stuffy, boring guy in a suit virtually guaranteed her selection.
It’ll be fun for her to deal with imposter syndrome now that she knows she’s being considered for the job. I hope Kylie can help encourage her.
I love, too, that instead of pushing her into a stupid love triangle with Alec and Rose, the writers have enough respect for Marisa as a woman to make her conflict about whether she feels qualified for her new job instead of some shallow story about competition for Alec.
(NBC/James Dittiger)
What about you, The Irrational fanatics?
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The Irrational airs on NBC on Tuesdays at 10/9c and on Peacock on Wednesdays.
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