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Critic’s Rating: 4.7 / 5.0
4.7
The Irrational Season 2 Episode 11’s premise sounded like something out of science fiction.
Not only was I skeptical about the whole heart memory thing, but also that this would be a compelling episode instead of a ridiculous one.
The Irrational won me over, though, and “Straight From The Heart” ended up being one of my favorite episodes of the season, full stop.
A Tormented Woman Found Peace After Solving Her Donor’s Murder On The Irrational Season 2 Episode 11.
Whatever Renee was experiencing was more than just Johnny’s memories.
It seemed like she had full-blown PTSD from her heart donor’s death.
She had intrusive flashbacks while awake and nightmares while asleep, had insomnia, and seemed to be popping heart pills constantly to control her anxiety responses.
The idea that all this was coming from a donor heart was a little out there, but I can forgive The Irrational for this strange premise because the mystery was so damn interesting.
Renee and Alec’s investigation led them to a bunch of unique, plausible suspects, and the plot kept thickening.
Megan and her new boyfriend were the most obvious, so in retrospect, I should have known it wasn’t them.
Cookie, the meth dealer, wouldn’t have called 911 if he killed Johnny. That wouldn’t make much sense.
The pieces weren’t fitting together properly, and it wasn’t until Marisa spoke to ex-dispatcher Linda that it all became clear.
It’s not easy to write a mystery that makes sense in the end, yet doesn’t until the final piece falls into place. Kudos to The Irrational Season 2 Episode 11 writers for pulling this one off.
The red herring of Cookie giving Renee water, but not being the one who laced it with amphetamines, was especially well done.
He was so obviously guilty that he was innocent, which is one of my favorite mystery tropes.
Whether or not the memories really came from the donor heart, I’m glad Renee found peace.
Maybe Johnny was haunting her to get himself justice. I’m not sure I believe that, but I suppose it’s possible.
The Big Reason This Worked Was Renee Was So Likable
Renee was a fun character, even if she had no clue how to function in the investigative world.
Cookie: Are you cops?
Renee: No. We’re college professors.
She had no idea how to handle herself around Cookie and his gun, and her one attempt to investigate on her own landed her in the hospital.
That wasn’t entirely her fault, of course, since she’d been poisoned. Still, her entire attempt to confront Xavier was amateurish, and it was dumb luck that her medical emergency ended up clearing his name.
Renee seemed like a very pure soul.
Marisa’s son said his adoptive parents were “compulsively honest,” and that description would fit Renee as well.
She was so sweet and innocent I couldn’t help but root for her, and that’s what made this seemingly silly premise work so well.
Alec’s Change Of Partner Didn’t Leave Much For Kylie To Do
Alec worked with Renee for most of The Irrational Season 2 Episode 11, only getting Marisa involved when he needed to know who had poisoned Renee.
For the most part, that was a good idea. The Irrational needs to mess with its usual formula sometimes to keep things fresh, and having a random colleague of Alec’s did that perfectly.
Marisa and Kylie were mostly sidelined, though, especially Kylie.
Marisa had the subplot about meeting the son she gave up for adoption when she was sixteen, but Kylie was in the FBI office without much of a role to play.
I think she did something with her computer skills at some point during “Straight From The Heart,” but I can’t remember what.
That’s how inconsequential her part was this time, and that’s a shame.
Kylie’s one of my favorite characters.
She’s smart, assertive, and a strong asset to the team. Maybe The Irrational was giving Travina Springer the episode off, but I still missed her.
The Irrational Season 2 Episode 11 Was All About How Memories Can Be A Matter Of Interpretation
The lesson about “typicality” resonated strongly with me.
I had an experience like the one Alec’s students were talking about not that long ago.
I couldn’t find my keys, and I remembered putting them in my jacket pocket. It took six or seven searches of my jacket to accept I was remembering wrong.
Now I know why that happened, thanks to Alec.
Of course, that wasn’t the point of including the lesson in the episode, but I love that I get to learn new neuroscience facts while solving the mystery on each week’s episode of The Irrational.
Rizwan and Phoebe’s demonstration helped drive the point home that memory is subjective.
People often remember what they expect to have happened rather than what did happen, which is why eyewitness testimony is so useless.
This lesson is tied to the question of whether Renee really remembers Johnny’s death. There’s no logical or scientific explanation for it, but other explanations make equally little sense.
Maybe our brains land on the one that feels closest to our beliefs, and that’s why some people think experiences like the one Renee had are definitely memories from beyond the grave, while others think that’s nonsense.
Marisa’s Meeting Her Son Didn’t Go The Way Anyone Expected
The Irrational Season 2 was going to introduce Marisa’s son sooner or later. All the conversations about him meant that was inevitable.
Still, I was with Marisa on this. I’d expected her and her son to search for each other and eventually find each other, not for him to walk into the FBI headquarters looking for her.
Unsurprisingly, Marisa freaked out. Fortunately, she had Alec to help calm her down.
Alec: That was a classic fight or flight response.
Marisa: And I FLEW, didn’t I?
The ending was sweet, with Marisa finally getting to hug her son.
I’m curious as to how he will respond when he learns the whole story of why she gave him up for adoption and where their relationship goes from here.
Over to you, The Irrational fanatics.
What did you think of “Straight From The Heart”?
Vote in our poll to rank the episode before hitting the comments with your thoughts.
The Irrational airs on NBC on Tuesdays at 10/9c and streams on Peacock on Wednesdays.
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