The Irrational Season 2 Episode 18’s Compelling Cliffhanger Takes A Risk That Had Better Pay Off

Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0

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The Irrational had better return after that cliffhanger!

NBC has yet to renew the off-beat, neuroscience-based procedural for Season 3, and the season finale came close to wrapping everything up.

The last 30 seconds threw in a cliffhanger that could remain unresolved, which is the thing I hate most in all of television.

I Don’t Want To Be Left In Suspense Forever — NBC Better Renew The Irrational

In 1995, a show I loved called Under Suspicion was axed after a cliffhanger involving the lead detective being shot.

Thirty years later, I’m still mad that I don’t know if she’s alive or dead.

Now The Irrational is the second of two shows I love this season that ended with a strong cliffhanger and no guarantee of returning in the fall to finish the story.

Maybe that was supposed to be a bargaining chip. NBC won’t want millions of angry fans demanding closure.

If I were a conspiracy theorist, I’d think Alec’s discussion about decoy offers was a hint about how negotiations are going — maybe there’s something to this theory that writing a cliffhanger ending is an attempt to force the network’s hand on renewal.

Nah, probably not. But I do want to know who is following Alec and Rose, so let’s hope that The Irrational Season 2 isn’t the final season.

The Irrational Season 2 Episode 18 Was All About New Beginnings

Rose faced a major decision when her husband (to whom she would like not to be married) encouraged her to return to work full-time for the MI-6.

Her decision to turn that offer down to stay with Alec represented a huge change for her.

Alec has worked hard all season long to get Rose to stop trying to protect herself by running away from their relationship, so for her FINALLY to decide to choose Alec over her old job is a significant turning point for her.

The parallel was a little bit too on the nose, with Kylie also deciding she’d (probably) turn down the offer to go to Quantico and definitely had no interest in the high-paid work-at-home job.

Still, The Irrational Season 3 could easily pick these threads up again if it becomes a thing, yet if the series ends here, it makes satisfying conclusions.

The same is true for Phoebe and Simon dating and Rizwan claiming he’s okay with that.

That’s BS. I know it, and so does Alec.

But if the series doesn’t return, losing that love triangle won’t be the end of the world.

A mysterious person following Alec and Rose, on the other hand, is the kind of cliffhanger that needs an explanation, so if it stops here… well, let’s just hope it doesn’t because I’d be beyond pissed off about that.

Rose’s Secret Was Slightly Underwhelming But Led To An Interesting Case

I expected more from Rose’s secret than we got in the season finale, though I don’t know exactly what.

Amitting she had a husband that no one knew about was a shocking twist, I guess, but it felt like a lot of build-up for nothing.

Rose and Alec discussed it and then got to work, but Rose ultimately rejected Logan’s interest in working with her again.

I’m not saying that Alec and Rose should have split for the sake of drama. But after dropping a secret like that, SOMETHING more should have happened than what did.

It was a neat twist that Logan was more interested in talking to Alec, but it quickly gave way to Logan’s borderline flirting while talking about how much he missed working with Rose.

The Irrational often subverts annoying tropes, but this one was played more or less the way you’d expect, which was disappointing.

Still, the main case was interesting, even if the international intrigue felt more like a typical Madam Secretary plot than the types of stories we get on The Irrational.

The Irrational often has unique stories that set it apart from other procedurals, so I didn’t mind that this one was more intense and political than past stories.

Plus, the politics seemed incredibly timely and relevant.

That said, this didn’t seem like the type of case Alec would usually pick up for consultation.

It would have made more sense if the season finale focused on Derek’s release, especially since some of the twists in this prisoner exchange were hard to follow. That also would have kept the case personal for Alec.

Alec’s Determination Was The Best Part — So Why Did We Need The Last Ten Minutes?

I loved Alec’s determination to bring Derek home, but I couldn’t help thinking it got the short end of the stick.

After the plan to include Derek in the prisoner exchange fell through, Alec had one conversation with Boris, and Rose used her contacts once, quickly solving the problem with ten minutes to go in the episode.

I’d rather have the second half of the episode dedicated fully to Derek’s release, making it more challenging and ending the season finale with Derek finally coming home.

I think season finales should include feel-good moments like that. Plus, what was the point of building such a high-stakes story for Derek, complete with another prisoner beating him up and the threat of “disappearing” him soon, only for the finale to release him quickly?

I did like Boris’s refusal to cooperate with an earlier exchange that didn’t include Derek.

In retrospect, Julia’s insistence that he get on the plane should have told me that she was up to no good.

As much as I loved that twist, Alec only had ten minutes remaining to find her.

His deductions felt less like Sherlock Holmes and more like rushing to wrap up the case so that the episode could continue planting seeds for next year (assuming the show gets a renewal).

Over to you, The Irrational Fanatics.

What did you think of The Irrational’s Season 2 finale?

Do you hope they renew it for a third season?

Sound off in the comments, and don’t forget to vote in our poll to rank the episode.

The Irrational Season 2 is over, but you can stream it on Peacock.

Watch The Irrational Online

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