The Irrational season 2, episode 6 recap and review: "The Wrong Side of Maybe"

When Laura comes to Alec with devastating news in The Irrational season 2, episode 6, he jumps into action. This is a great lesson in probability, playing God, and corruption.

Caution: This post contains SPOILERS from The Irrational season 2, episode 6.

There was the perfect storm in The Irrational season 2, episode 6. Laura got Alec to arrive at her workplace under false pretences, but it was for a good reason. She knew that there was a high chance of a catastrophic collision. Hundreds of people could die, but her company had a policy of running the data but not getting involved.

Why would you do that? Well, Laura’s boss Willa points out that it’s because they could end up causing a bigger problem. Sure, an 89% chance of a fatal train collision is terrible, but that could kick-start a change reaction of events. Willa describes herself and her company as time travelers. Just because you know something will happen doesn’t mean you should go back and change history.

I have this thought a lot. Would I go back and stop World War II if I could? We all get asked, would we kill Baby Hitler? A lot of people say no, but not because it means killing a baby. It’s because how do you know that this wasn’t the best case scenario? Do we all get to play God?

Alec ignores the warnings in The Irrational season 2, episode 6

It’s not surprising though that Alec ignores the warnings from Willa. He gets to work on finding a way to prevent the 89% chance of a catastrophic event. He teams up with Laura, the brilliant data analyst, and works on the company that owns 70% of Line 2. This is something we saw in the sneak peek for the episode, and it was clear this meeting wouldn’t go the way planned. She wasn’t swayed by one person’s story.

So, Alec, Phoebe, Rizwan, Simon, and others had to get to work on finding another way to stop the situation. They had to find a way to stop people traveling, and the best option was a news conference. Alec didn’t scare people by saying a catastrophic event was coming. He told them that there would be heavy traffic delays and cancellations, which meant that people changed their plans. It was a brilliant move, to be honest, and it should have worked.

This was where playing God didn’t work, though. What Willa predicted would happen, happened.

Kylie dealt with the hack on the warning system

The whole event was created by a perfect storm. Trains ran late, there was work on one of the lines, and most importantly, there had been a hack in the system that warns companies of problems and potential catastrophic failures.

That hack was an important part of the problem. While the hacker was good, Kylie is better. She was able to find out that it was military-grade software, and she found out exactly where equipment was stolen from. It didn’t take too long to get a confession, only to find out that the equipment had been sold to someone else.

There was a bit of a chain here, but Marisa and Alec got to the bottom of it. Yes, it turned out that Zed, Willa’s No. 2, was behind it all. He owed money and so he created a perfect storm to cause Laura to want to act. This caused Alec to want to act. It was a bit of a convoluted plan, but it shows how much data doesn’t lie. Sure, variables change the data, but those numbers are there for a reason.

Zed knew that Laura would want to work to get the passenger trains off the line. This put the crude oil trains on, which Willa called “bomb trains.” With a collision, they would cause thousands of deaths, and the probability of a collision rose to 91%. It was worse, and as Phoebe said, they caused it. Remember, we don’t always get to play God.

While everyone tried to get the main passenger train on the line to slow down, the train driver made it clear that he was in trouble for delays in the past. He wasn’t going to take his foot off the gas. Alec made it essential for the train driver to do this. He literally stood in front of a moving train, and yes, Kylie and Marisa were angry at his actions. Kylie more than anyone. Her brother keeps putting himself in dangerous situations, and it’s time for him to stop. Alec often overlooks what he causes other people to feel, and we’re reminded time and time again why Alec and Marisa didn’t make their marriage work. Alec isn’t a perfect person, and he doesn’t claim to be. He’s a refreshing male lead.

But Alec caused the train driver to have to stop. It was one life to save hundreds. It’s that scenario that we always play out when it comes to morals and personalities. Which one would you chose? The train driver slammed the brakes on, saving everyone.

Alec’s trio of researchers figure out their place in The Irrational

While all this happened, Phoebe, Rizwan, and Simon had to figure out their dynamic. Phoebe was lead researcher when it was just her and Rizwan. With her departure, Rizwan took that role, and he’s still in that role even though Phoebe is back. Meanwhile, Simon had a place with Rizwan, but he doesn’t have the same camaraderie with Phoebe…yet.

It’s Phoebe who is able to figure out a way to make it work. They just have to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. That’s never easy to live with, but sometimes it is necessary. In this case, Phoebe is right. None of them have dealt with something like this, and Simon and Phoebe are still getting to know each other. Simon needs to deal with Phoebe and Rizwan having history, while Phoebe has to deal with Simon and Rizwan having that bromance forming.

I love that this was solved in an episode in a mature way. So many other shows would have them competing here and there. We’d see a fight break out, until they had no other choice but to figure out a way to make it work. Yet, they’re adults and they’re smart people. They should be able to use their skills to figure out a way to create a bond and learn how to work together. The Irrational continues to break the tropes down, so I hope this is another one it continues with. Allow adults to actually adult!

The episode does end with an interesting twist. Alec had originally called the data analytical company to find out the probability of getting some new sort of treatment to lessen his scars. He wanted to know if it was worth going through. Well, after saving people and catching Zed in his criminal act, Willa decided to make it up to Alec by putting the info together. There’s an excellent chance that all the scars will be gone.

Will Alec go for the treatment, though? For the longest time, he’s wanted to get rid of the reminder. People constantly ask him about the scars. However, these scars are a part of who he is now. It’s a great look at the human mind and what our scars mean to us.

The Irrational airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on NBC. Catch up the following day on Peacock.

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