Lucky Charms
Episode 5 of The Irrational starts in a poker tournament, with organisers praising Camille’s prowess in playing the game. But then Ethan beats her in the match, and this concerns her. Although Ethan claims he’s lucky to win, Camille suspects some cheating.
Meanwhile, Alec is at home with Kylie as he takes time off from investigative cases. But he gets a distress call from a former research assistant, Camille, who needs desperate help from Alec.
Relying on gut instincts and knowledge about game theory and human behaviour, Camille has been ranking high in Poker. Suddenly, she is on a losing streak to a mid-level player.
Alec flies to Vegas with Phoebe, Kylie and Rizwan to help his former brainy student. At first, Mercer is hesitant about helping Camille since his instincts tell him she’s hiding something. Camille could have called anyone else if it were only about cheating in a game. She picks up a call, and Phoebe notices Camille is not in control.
While Alec is away, Marisa is still trying to unearth more about the church bombing. Although it’s a case that dates back 19 years, Marisa argues that it’s still crucial since 13 people died. Finding the culprits will give her the necessary closure.
Back in Vegas, Alec decides to approach Ethan as an author. Ethan reveals that he received a device that sends random signals to help him win. As Alec walks away, he gets a text from Rose, an online date. He is still sceptical of dating again, but Kylie tries to push him into the courting world again.
Amid the dating conversation, Alec informs Kylie that Ethan has a device that helps him win poker matches. We can also see Phoebe and Rizwan questioning various gamblers.
Kylie steals that good luck charm from Ethan, but he is still on the edge. Additional data and evidence show that Ethan wins when the stakes are high and loses when they are low. This is a clear sign of a rigged game, and the bluffs need to be called.
So they bring up the matter to the tournament organisers, who promise to investigate it. It also baffles the team why organisers couldn’t install CCVTs to capture the happenings.
Alec always has a plan and promises Camille to solve the poker mystery. But Camille informs Alec that there’s more to her losing the matches. He learns that Camille took a loan from loan sharks who are after her neck. Loan sharks talk with Alec and Camille and want their money back soon. They locate Ethan, who reveals he was offered an 80/20 deal to cheat.
Suddenly, Ethan drops off from the tournament, and Camille has to contend with another amateur gambler, Hank. Unfortunately, Camille loses again to Hank, making Alec more suspicious about the tournament’s credibility. Camille losing again means loan sharks won’t get their money back. So they kidnap Alec as a collateral.
Meanwhile, we can see Marisa insisting on doing more investigation into the church bombing. She tells Jace she has come far with the case and won’t give up when they are too close to a breakthrough. Jace is willing to help unearth the truth.
Back at the casino, Camille and Phoebe seem to have a strained relationship due to their past issues. Alec and the loan sharks try to talk Ethan down to help them unravel the rigging mystery. Ethan reveals he was offered an 80/20 deal to cheat on the game. He admits he has a signal gadget installed in his shoes to help him win.
Using his intuitive skills, Alec plots a plan that will help them understand how rigging is done. He enlists everyone’s role using a two-prolonged technique that depends on watching human behaviour during times of anxiety and heavy stress. They give Hank mixed signals, making him wonder how to react.
Alec associates nerve with drinking pretty fast. This will help them scan the room to find the rigging culprits. When Hank feels confused, the person involved with cheating will react, and that’s how they will notice them. Successfully, they realise the organiser was involved all this time.
Hank loses to Camille, and she redeems herself, wins the grand prize and pays off the loan sharks. After announcing Camille as the winner, Alec informs Linda that some people want to talk with her. The FBI escorts her, though she confronts Alec, knowing it’s all over for her.
In the meantime, Camille is apologetic that she left the team unceremoniously. Phoebe feels Camille did the right thing, taking a risk to join Poker rather than progressing her academic goals.
As the episode ends, Marisa calls Alec, informing him she managed to track down the logo designer, Sylvio. His revelations help the team find a man with the description given.
However, it is a dead end after discovering the man died by suicide just before they got there. Alec wanted answers, but he’s disappointed that the lead that could have ended the case is now gone.
The Episode Review
Once again, we get a sense of who Alec Merce is through this episode. He didn’t hesitate to fly down to Vegas to help Camille, his old student. This episode took us to a new environment and gave us an interesting insight into the science behind lucky charms and luck.
It is always refreshing to look at such things from a scientific perspective. It was also lovely to see Camille and Phoebe have some closure on their relationship.
In the meantime, our girl Marissa worked so hard to follow the clues, but sadly, it was a dead end. Hopefully, the crime scene will give them answers on where to look next. It is a shame that every time they get close, someone is always a step ahead of them.
It piques our curiosity as to why and how this happens. After years of searching for the truth, I hope Alec can find some answers and peace of mind.
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