Talismans

"If I'm going to blow up, I'd rather die in a purple patch of lilies than die in the dirt."

- Paige

"Talismans" is the tenth episode of the first season of Scorpion. It aired on November 24, 2014.

Synopsis
''Team Scorpion tries to recover stealth technology before it falls into enemy hands when a military plane is shot down in Bosnia. Meanwhile, Walter's sister takes a break from her MS treatment and spends time at the garage with Sylvester.''

Plot
Walter goes to pick up his sister Megan in jail. She left the hospital and got busted for drinking. She begs Walter to take her to work with him for a day. She meets the team at Scorpion HQ. Happy suggests an upgrade to crutches. They're interrupted by a call from Cabe Gallo.

They report to an Air Force command center where they're briefed on a plane that just went down in Bosnia carrying cloaking software. They're worried a violent rebel faction will get to it first. They need Scorpion to extract the software from the wreckage. A SEAL team will be escorting them and retrieving the downed pilot's body. Sylvester stays behind to work on pinpointing the plane's exact location and Walter asks him to keep an eye on Megan.

Before they leave, the pilot's wife asks Paige to retrieve her husband's necklace and gives her a photo of his family to put in his pocket. Once in Bosnia, they follow Sylvester's text directions to the plane. But they're traveling without lights to avoid detection and get a flat. Before Happy has a chance to try to fix it, they start taking fire.

James, the SEAL leader, blasts the rebels with a bazooka, but in the chaos Happy and Toby tumble (unharmed) down into a ravine and are separated from the group. Walter calls Sylvester back home to get high-definition satellite images. He tells both groups they can converge on plateau in about six miles. Via phone, Cabe orders Toby to toughen up and puts Happy in charge.

James and Walter get into whose fault the situation is and Paige has to keep everyone on the mission of finding the plane and the downed pilot. Back at the Scorpion garage, Sylvester waits for hacking software to download and Megan goes through a keepsake box of Walter's. She finds an old bracelet she thought she lost when she was 12. He also has a chip from the casino where Walter found Toby. But Sylvester is mum on a hotel room key.

Back in Bosnia, they find the wreckage of the plane. Paige digs through for the pilot's necklace but Walter explains it was incinerated in the crash. Then he finds the software is old and was planted. Cabe finds blood nearby. The fire was staged, the software has already been stolen and the pilot is alive. They're now on a rescue mission. Somewhere, the rebels beat the tar out of Captain Javier Barrios to get the encryption code out of him, but he's not talking.

Walter goes through the plane's flight recorder and finds it was hacked. They look for a position high enough for a satellite to send signals to the plane from. Happy finally agrees to let Toby examine her injured ankle and asks why he's not a real doctor. His mom was bipolar and he watched his father struggle with her illness. When he starts cracking wise, she calls him on it and he admits it's just what he does when he's around her to hide the feelings she already knows he has.

They notice a house up on a hill. Meanwhile, the SEALs and the rest of the team cross an open field. One of the SEALs tosses his MRE and detonates a land mine. They survey the ground and Walter suggests they walks in the patches of lilies, concluding the rest of the ground cover died from the chemicals in the mines leeching into the soil. Happy and Toby reach the cabin, with a satellite dish out front. When it seems empty, they go inside. There are A-Team and Charles in Charge posters. They're foraging for food when the cabin owner, Igor, confronts them with a shotgun. But everything turns out fine—he loves Americans. He mans a satellite for the government and is currently watching the Facts of Life.

The other group reaches the end of the open field and is almost to safety when James activates a mine. Walter works on deactivating the detonator and cutting the right wire. Cabe tries to tackle Walter to safety and the mine clicks. It's a dud. Back at the cabin, Igor lets the "lost hikers" borrow his laptop and Happy notices the false GPS coordinates he sent roughly 24 hours ago. Happy grabs Igor's gun and confronts him. He thinks he was paid to send porn and is angry to learn he accidentally helped the rebels. They call the others and give them the location of the rebel base, courtesy of Igor.

Back at the Scorpion garage, Megan convinces Sylvester to tell her about the motel key. He tells her about hacking $2,500 from a bank and running away when he was 16. A forensic analyst from the bank tracked him down and never told the bank about him—it was Walter. Sylvester feels guilty he was too scared to go with them. The team finds the rebels and makes a plan before going in the farm house. Walter and James find a secret door and ladder leading down to where the rebels are torturing Barrios for the code. When the rebels take a break and leave the room, Walter and James race over to free Barrios.

Out back, Cabe tries to get a truck started and realizes the fan belt is missing. He can't reach Happy so he calls Sylvester, who tells them to braid toilet paper to use instead. Meanwhile, down in the bunker, the rebels surprise Walter and James. They're wailing on James when Walter offers to decode the software for them. He starts the download, then backs up to a wall and unscrews a pipe. James sees what he's doing and is ready. The rebel leader realizes Walter erased the software and Walter tosses James the pipe. The SEAL takes out three other rebels holding guns, but the leader draws on him.

Walter splashes gasoline on jumper cables near the leader's feet and the gas ignites. James uses the opportunity to jump the leader and pound on him. They get Barrios out of there and Cabe picks them up in the "Charmin Express" out front. They're driving down the road when they see Toby carrying Happy. "None of you saw this," she says. Back home, Barrios is reunited with his family. James gives Walter his unit challenge coin, for exemplary service on the mission. Walter gives him a code for free war movies for life.

Back at the garage, Sylvester promises Walter he'll be on the mission next time. Happy thanks Toby for taking care of her. "I could take better care of you," he says. "You never give up. Good," she replies, giving him hope. Walter puts the SEAL coin in his keepsake box. Later, Walter admits he hates that he keeps those things because they mean he's weak. Megan tosses the bracelet she found and tells Walter they need to make new memories. He diverts from returning her to the hospital and they go watch the sun come up.

Main

 * Elyes Gabel as Walter O'Brien
 * Katharine McPhee as Paige Dineen
 * Robert Patrick as Cabe Gallo
 * Eddie Kaye Thomas as Toby Curtis
 * Jadyn Wong as Happy Quinn
 * Ari Stidham as Sylvester Dodd

Recurring

 * Riley B. Smith as Ralph Dineen
 * Camille Guaty as Megan O'Brien
 * Brendan Hines as Drew Baker

Trivia
TBA Glücksbringer Semper fidelis