Review: MacGyver 503 Eclipse + USMC-1856707 + Step Potential + Chain Lock + Ma
MacGyver 503 finds the team breaking out a reformed psychopath nicknamed Ma to rescue a kidnapped Russ. Meanwhile, Desi and Mac suss out their feelings after the events during taking down Codex.
Photo credit: CBS
The Eclipse, RIP Morty, and the Grill Out
Riley(Tristin Mays) and Mac(Lucas Till) are pretending to be on a date, watching an eclipse. Mac’s telescope, Morty, is being a third wheel. They are actually there to catch a terrorist with information about a suitcase nuke on a zip drive. Desi(Levy Tran) isn’t jealous at all.
The drive is retrieved, but Morty is sacrificed.
Later, the gang have a grill out. Bozer(Justin Hires) asks Mac if he has had a date with Desi since the team took down Codex, and Mac admits they have not. Riley also confides to Bozer that her crush on Mac was not long lasting. Pffft.
Russ(Henry Ian Cusick) hasn’t made it to the grill out, yet. He calls, alerting them that he is being followed, and the team hears him crash. Finding his abandoned vehicle, the team gets a call that tells them they will exchange Russ’s life for USMC-1856707. Mac explains that those are dog tag numbers.
General Ma
The tag belongs to Eric Andrews(Joe Pantoliano), a killer with a lot of skill sets. He has been in custody since his capture after killing a foreign attaché and his family. His lust for killing earned him the nickname General Ma(it means devil or demon). His weapon of choice was a chain.
However, the government won’t loan the killer out to Phoenix, not even to Matty(Meredith Eaton), but Mac and Desi are allowed to visit him.
Surprisingly, Eric doesn’t want to leave. He has found a path to peace, and doesn’t want the temptation of leaving his cell. MacGyver knocks him out with homemade chloroform, and he and Desi make their escape with the madman. After Mac jams the tracking signal in Eric’s tooth filling, Eric gets away. He is soon recaptured, and the trio make their way to a warehouse to trade him for Russ.
Who Wants Ma?
The team still doesn’t know who has Russ, as Russ has no connection to Eric. When Eric is in transit, it is revealed that the remnants of Codex want Eric. He had worked with Leland(Tobin Bell), but not as Codex. But Leland wants him, and something that Phoenix possesses called The Sceptre. It is Roman(Zach McGowan), badly burned on one side of his face, that has Russ.
The Return of Ma
The exchange, of course, does not go smoothly. Russ entices Eric with his favorite weapon, a chain whip. Mac tells Eric to fight, even if it means Eric losing himself. If not, they all will die. He removes the signal jammer from Eric, alerting the FBI to their location.
Freed by MacGyver, Eric, er, Ma, takes up the chain, and wreaks havoc. The FBI comes, rescuing Mac, Russ, and Desi, but Eric has embraced his violent side yet again. He disappears in a cloud of Mac made fog, but not before telling Mac
Better to reign in hell, than serve in heaven.
The Sceptre
Russ reveals that the sceptre holds every Codex file and document, dating back centuries. Leland may be free, but he will never have the power he had before.
The Date
Russ gives a speech thanking them, and tells Desi and Mac to go on a date.
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