Original subtitles

It wasn't my father, but Freddie Mercury

and David Bowie

who warned about the dangers of cracking under pressure.

I keep it in the back of my mind on every op.

While pressure can be a destructive interaction,

one hundred miles below the Earth's upper mantle,

it combines with heat to create something beautiful.

Something strong.

Something that I really hope I can replicate...

in my kitchen.

Hey!

Hey.

Dolo Boze!

Just in time. Come on in.

Close the door. Oh, what the...?

Yeah, it's a chemical vapor deposition system.

I just spent the last 15 hours sucking air

out of its vacuum chamber, and then I added hydrogen

to grow carbon seeds, atom by atom. Isn't that cool?

I'm not sure. Why are you smiling like that?

You inhale something?

Actually, that's entirely possible.

But that is not why I called you over here today.

Wilt.

Angus.

For months, it's been like

Desi and I have been caught in this tug-of-war

between how we feel about each other and our jobs.

We're on, we're off, we're on, we're off,

but things have been great lately.

Really great, so I decided...

...to...

Ooh.

To make...

Mac,

that's a...

- That's a diamond. - Yeah.

I'm gonna ask Desi to marry me.

Oh... Unexpected?

I know. I know, but...

That's what I like about it, you know?

Ever since I lost my dad and Jack,

I've been thinking about the bigger picture,

and a commitment to make things work is exactly

what Desi and I need.

A grand, romantic gesture.

Huh?

Come here, man.

Come here. Congratulations.

Okay.

- I'm happy for you. - Well, thanks, man.

It was, um, super important to me

that you were the first one to know.

So, when are you popping the question?

When...

I wonder who that could be.

She wants us at Phoenix.

Hey, um, when you propose, consider skipping the part

about how you made the rock yourself.

- Okay. Whatever you say. - Okay.

- All right. - All right.

Man's getting married.

*MacGyver* Season 05 Episode 10

Episode Title: "Diamond + Quake + Carbon + Comms + Tower"

Aired on: March 05, 2021

Whoa. Taylor.

Love what you've done

- with the place. - Oh, good.

- You're here. - What is all of this stuff?

These are documents and files

confiscated from Codex's bunker in Montana.

I, uh... I can process it more efficiently

if I have it all spread out ahead of me.

You know? That way, I can see the-the bigger picture at once.

Cool, but why? And where's Matty?

Um, just, uh, tape those up there

on the wall for me, would you, darling?

Uh, Matty. Yes, of course. I'm getting ahead of myself. Ah!

Matty, you're on with the team.

Hey, all, I'm out of town

handling some unfinished business,

but something's come up and it can't wait for me to get back.

For weeks, Phoenix has been working around the clock

to decipher a message sent by whoever

is pulling the strings at Codex

to all of its cell leaders.

The worldwide wake-up call.

Exactly right. And just this morning

I managed to crack their code.

Except, unfortunately...

It was a code within a

- code? - Well, that sucks.

Yes. Donkeys.

The message is comprised of variations

of the astronomical symbol

for Earth, which Codex has used in the past.

But these little buggers,

I've never seen them before.

Hence all the stuff from their bunker.

You're looking for past uses

of these characters to crack the code. - Yeah.

Yes, and while we work to solve the message,

we do have another actionable lead

about where the message was sent from.

Mexico City.

Yes, specifically,

Plaza Loreto.

That message could've been sent

from any one of those buildings.

Could that be the location of Codex's new headquarters?

Well, that's one theory, but the bottom line is

we just don't know, and we must find out

before whatever it is they're plotting is executed.

Bozer, I want you working with Taylor to crack the code.

Mac, Riley, Desi,

you're wheels up to Mexico City.

All right, comms check.

One, two.

Loud and clear. Riles?

Good to go.

All right.

Hi, guys.

- All right, Boze. - Hey, uh, Riley?

Matty wanted me to run one last thing by you.

What's up?

Okay, look, I'm gonna tell you something that I really,

really shouldn't be telling anyone,

but I'm gonna do it anyway,

because I don't know when it's gonna happen

and I think you deserve a heads-up.

Okay.

It has to do with that thing we agreed

never to speak about again.

About Mac.

"Banaito Y Perfumao" by Fernando Cavazos playing...

East side of the plaza is clear. How's everyone else?

West side clear.

No matches to any known Codex associates

or anyone with a connection to a Codex associate.

Riley, if you get a match, call it out.

We'll follow on satellite as you tail them

back to where the message was sent from.

Got it.

Copy.

Copy that.

Russ, any luck cracking what it says?

Not yet.

The message certainly looks like Codex's language,

but we can't find any evidence of these specific characters

in any of their communications.

Is it possible that they've evolved their symbology

since Phoenix raided their bunker?

Hello?

Matty? Des?

Anyone? Hello?

I'm sorry.

Your friends cannot come to the phone right now.

Anyone else hear that?

Don't be shy, Angus.

Admit it.

Admit...

you missed me.

Murdoc?

The one and only.

How are you on our comms? Phoenix locked you up.

Clearly not well enough.

Now pay attention.

I want you to imagine yourself like the avatar in a video game,

only doing precisely what the player controlling you demands.

Remove your comms earpiece or tell anybody else

that this is happening

and thousands of innocent people...

die.

Good boy.

What people?

Well, you're gonna have to earn

that information.

No, I don't buy it. I think you found a way

to hack our comms from halfway around the world,

but you don't have anybody in danger.

Angus, I am disappointed.

You should know me better than that by now.

Mac.

Matty said something's up with your comms. You good?

Careful, old pal.

Their lives are in your hands, so...

so you want to play?

Yeah, sorry.

They're on the fritz, but everything else is fine.

Okay. Good.

Matty, you copy? Riley's checking

for intentional interference.

That was a close one.

What do you want?

And ding, ding, ding,

ladies and gentlemen,

Angus MacGyver has joined the game.

Welcome to level one.

You have 30 minutes

to get to the skyscraper at the corner

of Avenida Presidentey Sevilla or...

...the innocents die.

What the hell?

That's on the other side of the city.

Then you better get moving.

What's on the other side of the city?

The clock starts...

...now.

Mac!

Okay.

Ditched my phone. But this is impossible.

There's no direct path to the skyscraper.

Well, you didn't think I'd set the difficulty level

at easy, did you?

A car couldn't make it there in 30 minutes.

That's the amount of time you have.

I wouldn't waste it

complaining about the rules.

Whoa! That was close one.

No one-ups here.

You lose your health points, it's game over.

How can you still see me?

I'm right behind you.

Say cheese.

What do you mean, he just took off?

I don't know, he was acting weird,

he was talking to himself out loud

like the parrot guy on Venice Beach,

and then he grabbed my map and ran.

He didn't tell you where he was going?

Something about the other side of the city.

I don't have his location.

His comms and GPS locator went off-line.

If he wasn't talking to one of us,

who was he talking to?

Riles, show me the best angle

you have of Mac before he scarpered.

Yeah, you got it.

But the CCTV doesn't have any audio.

It doesn't matter. Just play it back at half-speed.

You're reading his lips.

"Rich

naked people. How's it going, Ron?"

Yes, that's definitely it, isn't it?

Lipreading isn't

solely about the mouth, Boze.

Different sounds are produced by similar shapes,

which is why analyzing subtle facial clues is so important.

Riles, just play that again, would you?

"Murdoc.

How are you on our comms?"

Someone

hacked our comms?

How is that possible?

If it's possible, it can't be Murdoc

because he's in our black site.

Right?

Right here.

An anomaly in the comm systems log

from three months ago.

Since then, the hacker's

been snooping on our network traffic,

mapping its protocols...

then launched an evil twin attack.

That's one of those computer things

with a scary-sounding name

that's actually really boring, right?

It means they haven't been on our comms network.

We're on theirs.

Setting... setting me up to fail.

I can't make it.

Just tell me what you really want.

You know, I have learned so much about Phoenix,

eavesdropping on your cute little convos in the field.

Secrets you don't even know

about each other.

No. You're just trying

to distract me. It's not gonna work.

For example, did you know

that Matilda and Russel recently ran an op

with Elliot Mason,

behind your back?

They would never trust Mason.

Oh, but they did.

And Matilda even trusted Riley and Bozer

to keep the secret.

Riley.

Yes?

We need a little time to figure out

how to explain to Mac

that we are working with Mason, so

do me a favor and keep it between us right now.

Copy that.

So did she explain it to you?

Or did she look you in the eye the next day

and say nothing at all?

And then every day after that.

Just like she hid your father's connection to Phoenix

for all those years.

Uh-uh-uh. I'm taking two minutes

off your time for using a cheat code.

Ah.

There you are.

There was an incident

at the black site three months ago.

Murdoc escaped.

The FBI launched a manhunt,

but they didn't loop us in.

He hacked our systems,

faked the wake-up call message which lured Mac

to Mexico City...

That's why these symbols don't mean anything.

He was just

imitating Codex's language!

Riley, any luck on the comms?

Can't kick off Murdoc.

But I may have found

a way to reopen the channel to Mac.

I just got a text from a random number

with Mexico's country code, saying

"Skyscraper NE."

Well, that has to be Mac.

He can't talk to us, so he texted.

Well, NE could be northeast.

That's the direction he ran off in.

It's also the direction of the city's commercial district.

Full of tall buildings.

Any recent police reports

or other unusual activities connected to them?

A worker reported a break-in last night

at the Torre de Klinda.

Police pulled security footage

and found images of...

Matty?

- Matty, what is it? - I know how Murdoc escaped

the black site.

Riley, Desi, get to that building

right now.

I made it. I did it, now...

let the people go.

Mac.

Can you hear me? Riley?

Thank God.

She re-linked to your comms. We're on our way to you.

Hey. Hey, Murdoc has been listening

to everything that we've been saying.

He said I need to make it

- to the skyscraper... - Mac, we know.

Don't talk, just listen.

Murdoc isn't alone.

He's not alone?

Apologies, Ms. Webber.

"In life, a man must commit himself

"and paint his own portrait,

out of which there is nothing."

Jean-Paul Sartre.

Andrews?

Surprise team-up!

No way you saw

that one coming, am I right?

But how?

And why the hell?

You see, Mr. MacGyver,

everyone carries a shadow.

And the less it is embodied

in the individual's conscious life,

the blacker, denser, it becomes.

You awakened my shadow.

Not to mention it's just plain fun.

See, the general and I

got together so we could all play this game...

...designed to push Phoenix to its limits

and then rip you apart.

Matty,

Murdoc told me that you and Taylor

brought Mason in on an op,

but it's okay.

I'm sure you had your reasons

for keeping it from me,

but we're not gonna let him divide us.

So confident,

Mr. MacGyver,

but I suppose

engineers have to be.

Like the brilliant minds

that erected this magnificent tower.

Built on a fault line,

no less.

How?

Earthquake proofing.

Either rollers in the foundation

or a seismic damper hung from the roof to counteract

the movements from earthquakes.

He's so smart.

But here's a question. Just... hypothetically,

if someone

happened to take control of the damper,

instead of using it to prevent damage from earthquakes...

They could cause one.

No.

Everybody back!

Welcome to level two.

The Mexican National Seismic Network registered

a 5.8 magnitude quake

localized to the building.

Emergency services are responding

to an explosion of 911 calls:

Broken gas lines, fires,

- flooding. - We're heading up

an emergency stairwell

that starts in the parking garage.

Should we help with evacuations?

No, the locals are on it. Your responsibility

should be shutting down the seismic damper.

Don't forget the part about

how the building's structural integrity has been compromised

and how one more Magnitude Murdoc

could bring the whole thing down.

I mean, come on, that's my favorite part.

We may not be able to mute him,

but we can still ditch our comms.

No, that may be

exactly what he wants

and I'm not leaving you in the field blind.

You sure about that one, boss?

Just be aware that he's tracking your locations

and listening to every word,

- you're saying. - Ooh!

Here's an idea. I mean, I'm just spitballing,

but what if la policia cuts power to the building?

We spoke about this;

Arrogance is

failure's favorite companion.

Yeah, well...

Cutting the power won't work.

Earthquakes down power lines, so

the damper has its own dedicated source.

Aw, shucks.

I really thought we were onto something there, Boy Scout.

Why would Eric Andrews involve himself with this?

Don't know.

He and Murdoc have been behind our systems for a while,

- putting the fear of Codex into us. - Murdoc I get.

He's a psychopath

who's wanted Mac dead for years.

But Andrews? He's... he's calculated and disciplined

and could've just slipped away.

Hi, Wilt.

It's almost our five-year friendiversary.

Which means I would never lie to you.

Unlike your new pal Russel.

Ooh!

You would not believe

the secret he's keeping.

What's he talking about?

He's just trying to get into your head.

Don't let him.

Okay. Got to find the emergency stairwell

for the next 30 floors.

It's locked.

'Cause Murdoc didn't just hijack the seismic damper.

He-he owned the entire building...

He locked the floors from here to the top.

All right. Hold on, everybody, back up.

No, Desi, no...

Heat-strengthened, laminated glass.

We got to find something exceptionally hot or sharp

to weaken it against low-velocity bullets.

And the only thing that I have up here

are cigarette butts and chewed gum.

And rocks.

- The other door! - What?

We're trapped.

If I guessed it will you tell me?

Just... focus on the mission.

- Do not let Murdoc distract you. - Course not.

But you have to have some idea

- what secret he's talking about. - Bozer...

I operate a covert spy organization

with personnel at multiple levels of clearance.

Technically, I've lied to you four...

No, five times this morning.

Like when you said you liked my shirt

- or something bigger than that? - I love your shirt.

- Six. - Hmm?

Could it be?

MacGyver the Magnificent, stumped by little old me?

No. I don't believe it.

Trust me, Angus,

there is always a way.

You know, every word you speak

is another punch to the face when I see you.

I see why you like her, Mac.

She's a firecracker.

A real diamond in the rough.

Anyway, while we have some downtime...

You know that cute little thing you guys do,

how you tap your comms earpieces

to power them on and off?

Well, I made some tweaks

so now we can power them on remotely.

And I learned the most interesting thing

during Wilt and Riley's sidebar over at Phoenix earlier.

Ring...

- ...a bell? - No, no, no, no, no, no...

- What? What is it? - Bad.

- Very bad. - Just use your words, man.

Look, whatever lie you told me, I guarantee this is worse.

Like a hundred million times worse.

Angus, I believe there's

a question that you had for Desi.

Why not ask now?

I mean, it's probably not how you imagined it,

but you can't beat that view, man.

Shut up.

Hey, whatever he's talking about, just ignore it.

It's showtime.

Okay, look, I'm gonna tell you something

that I really, really shouldn't be telling anyone,

but I'm gonna do it anyway because I don't know

when it's gonna happen, and I think you deserve a heads-up.

Okay.

It has to do with that thing we agreed never

to speak about again; About Mac.

You know what, I'm just gonna fast-forward.

Yada-yada-yada.

Okay, now,

hereis... my favorite part.

You want me to say it out loud?

Fine. Yes.

I had feelings for Mac.

There, I said it.

And, yeah, watching him and Desi together

was breaking my heart.

So I moved out of his house.

Should have said something to him a long time ago,

but I didn't, and now it's over.

For good.

- Guys, look... - Riley, don't.

Angus, who you gonna give the rose to?

It's such a tough choice.

- Look, Desi... - Hey, just stay in focus.

Okay, we all need to stay focused.

I think I'm on Team Riley.

The point is, the next thing you're gonna hear

on that recording...

We're not doing this, okay.

We're not letting them manipulate us.

Yeah, good call.

Uh-oh, Matty, three of your agents broke the rules.

That means three times the punishment.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Whoa. Why do you have that?

Riley, laptop battery.Yeah. Yeah.

Okay...

So this isn't quite how I imagined

getting down on one knee today,

but remember what I said about pressure?

It can be a destructive force,

unleashed by suddenly ripping the lid off

of your most carefully guarded secrets.

Desi, gun. Now!

Or shooting a lithium ion battery at point blank range.

Go! Go.

Controls are sabotaged.

Murdoc and Andrews must have jumped ship,

leaving the building to rip itself apart.

If this giant earthquake ball thingy is still swinging,

why isn't the building shaking?

It is. Probably 20 or 30 feet off of its center.

But we can't feel its lateral deflection

this close to the source.

Like an... eye of the storm kind of thing.

So what now?

Okay, we can, um...

We can focus a stream of gas supercharged with oxygen,

and make a plasma torch,

cutting those and releasing the ball, and then

we can talk about everything else later?

Okay.

The fire department is reporting cracks starting to form

- in the foundation. - No, no, no.

Speaking Spanish rapidly...

They give it 20 minutes

before the building starts to come down.

Taylor...

- Taylor. - I'm on the phone, darling.

Is it just me, or do those look like symbols

from the wake-up call message we intercepted?

Where... in Codex's bunker

did this document come from?

Leland and Gwen's residences.

But if the characters are real...

Then so is the message.

Written in variations of their code language

used by their leadership.

You were right. But we're missing something.

Hey, fellas, uh sorry to interrupt,

but I am on the edge of my seat dying to find out.

Wilt, did Russel ever bare his soul

and confess his sins?

I hope so, because I haven't seen you

get along this well with someone

since your ex-GF.

Right. I am muting this man.

The secret has to do with Leanna?

No. I want to hear it.

You tell me or he does.

Russel, last chance.

Leanna was on an undercover CIA op.

She was killed.

Sorry.

Everybody out. I need a clean space.

How long ago was she killed?

Does her family know?

If this wake-up call message

really did come from Codex,

we were on the verge of discovering something

really big in Mexico City.

Everything that Murdoc and Andrews are telling us

- is just a distraction. - Why wouldn't you tell me?

Taylor, answer me. I was in love with her.

Leanna was...

well, she was killed six months ago.

Six months?

You might want to get back.

As soon as I cut this one,

this thing's gonna come down hard.

Did I hit anything?

Shot came from two o'clock.

Beretta, 20-round mag.

Mac, keep doing your thing.

We'll handle Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.

Look, I didn't tell you

because I was trying to protect you.

- Protect me? - I made an assessment

that you couldn't handle the news without it

- distracting your work. - It"s not up to you to decide that.

Unfortunately, it is.

Do you know who killed her?

No.

Your assessment was wrong.

I could've handled it.

If that is true, ignore everything you're feeling

right now and consider this.

Why did Murdoc choose this moment

to tell you about Leanna, hmm?

Because he is trying to deter us

from deciphering this message,

whatever it is, whatever it says.

It is that important.

So help me.

Help me before it's too late.

Prove me wrong.

Oh, ladies...

18... 19...

twenty!

Neat trick.

It's a polygraphic substitution cipher.

How many unique characters did you solve for?

Fourteen. Is it enough to translate

the wake-up call message?

Well, hopefully enough to get close

and then we'll fill in the blanks.

Whoa, darling!

Oh, hi.

Come here.

Okay.

They did it, guys.

The area around them stopped shaking.

Right. Let's see what mysteries will be revealed.

It's an IP address with the log-in credentials.

To access a server at Plaza Loreto, Mexico City.

A server hosting what?

Looks like it's some kind of online forum

for Codex cell leaders.

The comms hack and earthquake ball was a distraction

to stop us from breaking up an evil Zoom meeting?

Don't... Wait, wait, wait...

That's my cue!

Stop, please, everyone. Stop.

Can I have my chain back, please?

Apologies for cutting the foreplay short,

but we have a... prior commitment

that requires our attention.

Now, Riles...

here.

There you go. Desiree.

Secure yourselves to the nearest something or other. Come on.

Nice and tight, ladies.

No cheating.

And through it goes.

Ladies, gentlemen,

thank you, thank you for joining me.

Earlier this year, you lost a battle

to our common enemy, the Phoenix Foundation.

Months of hiding in the shadows has left your organization

fragmented and weak.

Your leader Leland

has been killed.

However, sometimes, by losing the battle

you find a new way to win the war.

You must elect someone to replace Leland,

someone who has the discipline to beat those

who oppose you.

Someone like me.

Oh, hell no.

I don't expect you to take my word for it.

So, as proof of my abilities and resources,

I have arranged for you

to watch me achieve retribution

on your behalf.

My offer is simple.

I kill Phoenix front man

Angus MacGyver,

nephew of Titan,

who thwarted your grand plans,

and then...

This isn't a meeting.

...I have your support.

This is an election.

Murdoc and Andrews timed it to kill Mac

and then seize Codex's throne.

All right.

Into the spotlight, hero.

Hey, Wilt, check out

the new combo move I learned.

Come here.

Arrow up,

arrow down.

X, Y, A.

Nope.

Finish him.

We're just supposed to stand here

and watch Mac get killed?

Well, that's the idea.

Come on!

Mac!

"Life is uncertain.

Death is certain."

Buddha.

What a cool gizmo, Angus.

And how perfectly poetic to finally

put you down

with one of your own inventions.

I have to admit,

you've meant a lot to me over the years.

My truly only worthy companion.

Do you remember that time that I broke into your house and then

you shot me off the deck with that

high-pressured wine bottle gun?

I mean, uh, that was cray-cray.

Or, uh, when we went on our cross-country road trip

away from Helman?

♪ Good times.

To be honest...

...I'm gonna miss you, pal.

Know what they say.

It's better to have loved and murdered

than to never have...

Ah!

You okay? Yeah.

Mac, behind you.What...?

It was his idea.

Genius move, Double-O-Boze.

I wasn't gonna lose anyone else today.

Mac, look...

Y-You don't have to say

anything if you don't want to, really.

I want to.

Last year, in Germany, I-I realized I was starting

to have feelings for you.

Real feelings.

I didn't want to make anything weird between you and Desi,

and... I didn't want to mess up our work or our friendship,

and so I decided to bury it until the feelings passed.

Emotions aren't a science.

You can't control them.

♪ I work in the night

♪ I'm a certain kind of crazy

♪ I live in my own mind

♪ I find ways to breathe

♪ I'm deep undercover

♪ I don't look like me...

Um, hey.

I had... plans for us,

and Murdoc ruined them.

Forget about Murdoc.

Actually, let's just pretend

that the last 24 hours never happened.

Okay? That he never got in our ears,

or our heads.

Clean slate, okay?

Okay. Clean slate.

Look, Mac, just do whatever you feel is right.

Good job. Today you thwarted Andrews's election coup.

And I couldn't be prouder of all of you.

General Ma at the helm of Codex?

I don't even want to imagine

what that would look like.

Well, we don't have to.

Law enforcement agencies all around the world

are currently apprehending cell leaders as we speak.

They will soon be joining Andrews and Murdoc

in a deep, dark hole.

So does this mean Codex is gone?

For good?

Consider them off the board.

So where's the champagne?

It's on its way,

but first, I would like to say something.

I didn't know Leanna,

but from what I hear, she was a first-class operative

and an even better person.

Doing this job is hard.

We...

I...

often have to choose between two difficult options.

I won't always choose the right one,

but I promise...

...that I will always do what I think

is best for this team.

Bozer.

From the bottom of my heart...

...I'm sorry.

And Bozer, please know

you're not the only one mourning her.

"A diamond looking rough for a diamond in the rough."

That's awful. I can't start with a joke.

Especially if it's not even a good one.

♪ Cold sheets

♪ Oh, where's my love?

♪ I am searching high

♪ I'm searching low in the night ♪

♪ Ooh, does she know

♪ That we bleed the same?

♪ Ooh, don't want to cry

♪ But I break that way...

Mac.

♪ Did she run away?

Everything okay?

I can't just pretend the last 24 hours didn't just happen.

They did, so I got to ask, did it work?

Did what work?

Hiding your emotions and letting them pass.

Did they go away?

♪ If she ran away, if she ran away ♪

♪ Come back home

Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org

♪ Just come home... Synchronized by srjanapala