Original subtitles

Mac!

I tripped the biohazard alarm.

It's getting difficult to breathe.

The air is being evacuated

to the filtration system, so just, uh,

take slow breaths through the nose and hold them.

- So this is how I die? - You're not gonna die.

At least I get to do it looking at you.

It's not going to happen.

Not going to happen!

Look, whatever happens, I don't...

I don't want you to blame yourself.

I need you to conserve oxygen.

That means no talking.

Can you look at me?

- I'll be back. - No! Don't leave me!

Mac!

Did you hear from them?

They're still off comms.

Cathodes from a battery are manganese dioxide.

Connect those with jumper cables to a car battery

and you have a very short-lived cutting torch.

Weakening the lock, combined with the pressure differential

because there's no air on the other side of the door...

Come on, come on, come on.

Come on!

♪

*MacGyver*

Episode Title: "Rails Pitons Pulley Pipe Salt"

Aired on: February 19, 2021

You're welcome.

Oh.

Thank you.

Mac, I'm okay.

I know, but if I hadn't been there...

But you were. You always are.

Yeah.

- Hey, Matty, what's up? - We're heading back now.

You're not coming home just yet.

We just received a priority red request

from the DoD.

Sending the info now.

This is Jace Olson.

He's a courier for the Department of Defense.

And this is the Marine assigned to protect him,

PFC Marcus Gonzalez.

30 minutes ago, the two were driving

through Uzbekistan backcountry, covertly transporting

an encrypted hard drive containing the force deployments

of several secret U.S. bases.

They're driving alone?

Well, one car is a lower profile than a secure motorcade

or an aircraft, and hard drives

can't be hacked remotely.

I saw this technique in Afghanistan. Sometimes old-school is best.

Yes, well, Olson and his driver were bound

for the Strategic Command in Turkmenistan, but then

the DoD lost track of them.

And now the emergency beacon from Olson's pouch

has been triggered and is transmitting

from deep within Uzbekistan.

- Foul play? - Could be.

Or just a communication breakdown.

All we know is that if U.S. enemies

get that hard drive, thousands of American soldiers

will be at risk.

Yeah, and U.S.-Uzbek relations

are dicey,

so I'm guessing the Defense Department

doesn't want to dump a bunch of troops in their backyard.

And we're already close.

And plausibly deniable.

If you're caught, the U.S. government

will say they know nothing

of the actions of this independent agency

run by a notorious mercenary.

So, you charge extra for us being expendable?

Well, I don't mind the payday, but it's more than that.

When I was with the S.A.S., I ran joint missions

with U.S. forces from those bases.

I served with some good men out there.

Just want to keep them alive.

We're with you.

Yeah.

So, our objective is to find the courier

and recover the hard drive as fast as possible.

Yes, but the problem is, as a private jet

entering Uzbekistan airspace without permission,

you will get shot down.

So you'll need to land closer to the border.

Which puts us how far from the target?

30 miles?

These boots weren't made for that much walking.

Guessing Uber might take a while.

Hey, Boze, what do we have to work with?

A'ight, scanning the area.

Toxic dump site,

abandoned gravel quarry,

and close to you, there's a...

goat ranch?

That sounds promising.

Because goats?

What? No. Farm equipment.

Not a lot of goats.

Or anything.

Why would anyone want to live out here the middle of nowhere?

Well, it wasn't always like this.

This spot used to be right on the shoreline of the Aral Sea,

the world's fourth largest lake,

right up until the Soviets

diverted so much water for farming they drained it dry.

Now the water's gone, but the whole area's riddled

with abandoned irrigation canals and old fish-packing plants.

Well, owners aren't here.

Looks like they took all their farm equipment, too.

There are some old train tracks near you.

They pass close to the courier's beacon,

but they haven't been used in 40 years.

Yes, not to mention you'd need

a little something called a train.

Well, yeah, but I can build one of those.

Build a train?

I'm actually rather sad

that I'm not gonna be there to see that one.

There's another option.

Brown one looks way too old to ride.

Three people on one horse?

Nope. I'll scout ahead while Mac builds the train.

Actually, I think you should stay with us.

No, not with this many lives on the line.

Desi, go. Mac, make that vehicle.

All right.

Just scout, okay?

I already almost lost you once today.

I'll be fine. Huh?

Besides, I'm the cavalry riding to the rescue.

How could I pass that up?

Found the farm equipment.

Guys, I'm picking up some movement.

It's a truck convoy.

Looks like they're headed

to the courier's last known location.

- Well, we should warn Desi. - That's not a good idea.

Well, they can't crack the signal, can they?

That's not the problem. There wouldn't be

much radio chatter in a place that remote.

Bozer's right. If they're listening,

a strange signal would stand out.

They could use it to track Desi. Bozer, cut the comms.

So right now, Desi's riding

right toward a convoy

full of guys with guns?

And we have no way to reach her.

What am I making again?

So, that's alcohol fuel,

which...

will power this wheat sifter,

which will act as a drive shaft for these tire rims.

Put it all together, you got yourself a motorized railcar.

Desi might already be in trouble.

You think this is gonna be fast enough?

Mac and Riley have a ways to go.

I wish I could say the same thing about those vehicles.

And Desi's out there somewhere,

alone.

The closest Uzbek

military bases are here and here.

Those vehicles are coming from the wrong direction.

They couldn't travel that far that fast.

There's no way that is the army.

But if those guys aren't local military, they're...

Someone else.

Someone else with the resources

and the skill to launch a well-armed

covert operation in a hostile theater.

Who could that be?

All right, this is it, Mac.

We got to jump!

What?!

I'll explain in a second. Just jump!

Why didn't you build brakes?

I was in a rush to get to Desi.

I only built the parts that were necessary.

Uh, yeah. New rule.

Always build brakes.

Copy that.

No Desi. Desi's horse.

I told you we shouldn't have let her go off on her own.

We didn't really have a choice.

I could've talked her out of it.

Desi can handle herself, Mac.

This isn't like you.

I don't think there's any reason to worry yet.

What?

You were saying?

Gonzalez, Marcus.

USMC. That was the courier's escort.

MAN Tell me where it is!

Where's the drive?

The courier. Olson.

Who are they?

Those aren't Uzbek military uniforms.

Look.

Told you.

- Hey. - You okay?

No.

I had no saddle. I won't be able to sit for a week.

Mr. Olson?

W-We're the good guys.

We're, uh, we're with an independent agency

called the Phoenix.

The DoD sent us to get you.

My name is MacGyver. This is Desi.

This is Riley.

Hi.

Can you tell us anything?

Yeah.

They forced us off the road.

Killed... Gonzalez.

Yeah, we... we found him. I'm sorry.

I stashed the drive in a secret compartment

so they couldn't find it.

They called for reinforcements,

were trying to get me to give it up.

That's when you guys got here.

Can you take us to that drive?

Yeah. The car's just down the road.

Car's leaking gas. We need to work quickly.

Uh, yeah. Uh, the compartment's next to the steering column.

Okay.

Found it.

Looks like the crash moved the steering column,

so the compartment is sealed shut.

What, so you can't get to the drive?

Give him 60 seconds.

Most cars are equipped with

a pair of starter cables and a jack.

But what you may not realize is, with the help of nature,

these two items can become their own jackscrew.

Attach the clamps to the wheel, connect the cables to the jack,

and turn with great force, allowing you to lift any load

despite how heavy it may be.

Got it.

Hey, remember those trucks

Matty mentioned, with the bad guys in 'em?

Yeah. They're here.

Okay. I'm gonna destroy this.

Get their hands on... No, no, don't.

For security reasons, that data was never backed up.

DoD needs the intel on that drive.

Okay. Get him to safety.

- What about you? - Don't worry about me.

I need you to be safe. Go.

The drive, please.

The men who called us. Find them.

You're not Uzbek military.

Who are you guys?

I could ask you the same thing.

Get down!

Got the drive.

Move out!

What about that guy?

Forget him. We got to go.

Move out! All right, let's go.

Go!

I think our cover is effectively blown.

I'm back on comms.

You guys catch the show?

Yes, couldn't miss it.

Status?

The courier's safe.

But the mercs who killed Private Gonzalez,

well, they stole the hard drive.

I'll track their vehicles.

And I'll have the DoD red-flag

every road, flight and train out of Uzbekistan.

Whoever's doing this,

they're not gonna be able to transport that hard drive

out of the country.

Mac.

There's something in the Mercs' truck

that I think you should see.

Oscilloscope?

With a high-speed linkup?

Well, this is not good.

So, the drive... Hardware and software encrypted?

Yeah.

Okay, so think of this drive like a locked box

with the secrets inside.

The, um, hardware encryption is the locked box,

the troop info, the digital secrets inside.

Now, this equipment

allows one to crack open the hardware encryption.

To crack open the box.

But they're gonna need a signal relay

to transmit the data.

A fat one. Bozer?

Already checking.

And... got it.

There's one high-volume

data relay tower in the area.

I can disable it to stop the transmission.

Send me the tower location.

Okay, but you're not gonna like it.

Does anyone else feel queasy?

'Cause I do.

Matty, please tell me there's, like, stairs,

or a road or, I don't know, an escalator.

Okay, it looks like there is a road

up to that tower,

but... it's on the other side of that ridge

and it's completely inaccessible, which means...

We got to climb that rock face.

When climbing a sheer cliff face,

I'd like to not be pulled toward the ground,

so for a harness, starter cables, seat belts

and metal to act as pitons can be fashioned

to give myself some semblance of safety gear.

You made only one harness.

There was only enough materials for one.

That's why it's got to be me who climbs the cliff.

That cliff?

It's the quickest way from "A" to "B."

It's the quickest way to die.

You could just say "good luck."

You're gonna need a lot more than luck.

Handhold at two o'clock. You see it?

Uh, yeah. That's great. Thanks.

Dropped Olson as close as I could to the border.

Okay, I'll have our tac team extract him. Mac?

- How you doing? - Uh, hanging in there.

You built the safety gear, right?

Out of truck parts.

So "safety" is a relative term, I guess.

Any news on the Mercs?

Backtracking the route Taylor noticed

when we first spotted them, we got a signal.

Records say it's in a abandoned fish cannery

four miles due east of you.

Given the dearth of radio activity

in the area, we believe this is them.

Even if Mac stops the transmission,

they'll still have the drive.

We can't watch the border forever.

They'll eventually find a way through and

find another relay.

Okay, so while Mac climbs,

Riley and I will go get the drive back.

You're gonna need my help

and I'm halfway up the mountain.

It's gonna take me a second to get down.

No, Mac. We have to move

on this right now or we may miss our shot.

As long as they have the drive, our soldiers are not safe.

So you're just gonna leave me hanging?

You can do this on your own.

We still need you to stop that transmission.

All right.

The cannery is nine minutes out.

I'll make it in six.

You know, when Mac said

he was the only one who could disable that tower...

He was lying his ass off, dude.

I could've climbed

up to that tower.

He was just worried about you.

Us. He's worried about us.

All of us.

Mac's superpower is that he can improvise his way

out of any situation, right?

Never, ever loses control,

always a Plan "B."

Plans "B" through "Q."

But that didn't keep his dad from dying,

didn't save his aunt,

and none of us were there for Jack.

So, in order to protect us,

the people he's still got,

he insists on putting himself in danger.

Needs to take the risk so that we don't.

Mac's becoming that guy that needs to kick down the door

and enter first. And in our line of work,

well, that's a dangerous place to be.

Wait a second.

That's not rock. It's wood.

How's the altitude up there? You hallucinating?

No.

Oh, it's a mine shaft!

Probably a relic from the Cold War.

I'll try to find schematics.

Maybe...

...I don't have to climb up to the transmission tower.

Maybe I can just walk up.

Well, somebody's in a better mood.

See, guys?

That's what I'm talking about.

You face your fears,

sometimes you get rewarded with a nice,

easy...

...way out.

I found those schematics.

Good news:

The mine shaft you're in will lead you to the tower.

Bad news: You still have to climb about two football fields

to get there.

Super.

Sorry, man.

I Don't kill the messenger.

Hold on, I may have a Hail Mary for you.

There's a control room for the transmission tower

so you don't have to get all the way to the top.

Should be off the shaft you're climbing.

Now we're talking.

And that's only one football field away.

Uh, that does not look abandoned.

There's too many to take in a fight.

- We're gonna have to go stealth. - Yeah.

I'm gonna hack their comms, see if I can gain an advantage.

What is it?

Something in their code.

Guys, check this out.

I know those symbols.

They aren't just any mercenaries.

It's Codex.

Riley and Desi are going up against Codex without me?

Don't worry. We'll be fine.

This is Codex we're talking about.

The world's deadliest terror cell.

Do not underestimate them.

Ready?

Mac's breathing is rapidly escalating

and there's a tremor in his voice.

I know.

Halfway up a mine shaft

is no place for a panic attack.

There is one solution.

What?

Me.

Hey, man, let's talk.

How you doing over there?

How on earth...

are Codex reforming?

We destroyed all of Leland's hard drives,

denied him access to his hidden funds,

his infrastructure.

I myself put a drill through all the drives.

We left him a fugitive

with nothing but the clothes on his back.

And what's strange is this doesn't even fit

Codex's previous patterns.

I mean, their whole agenda

is to save the world from climate catastrophe.

How does learning about secret U.S. bases

help them achieve that goal?

Unless the goal's changed.

Well,

Leland's too bloody-minded for that.

Doesn't add up.

We're missing something.

Gas up the vehicles.

We move out when the transmission is complete.

Oh, look over there.

It's decryption equipment.

That's where they're transmitting the signal from.

Okay, he's copying the data to the mainframe.

It'll take some time for the decryption.

Mac has to stop that transmission

and we need to get that drive.

Not much to work with on this side.

Wait, yeah.

Okay.

I see a... a better path.

It's on the opposite wall.

You got this.

It's no use. I can't reach it.

- We were doing so well. - Yeah.

God, I knew it. They're in trouble!

I got the drive.

Let's go. Yeah!

Okay. Okay.

You know...

there's another foothold.

If I can reach it,

I might be able to push off to grab the handhold.

And that would mean...

unhooking my safety line

and free climbing my way up.

Okay, gonna stop you there.

I just realized, I'm down

to my last cable, and it's too short.

I don't have a choice.

Here goes.

We got to find out where that shot came from.

Okay, here's the scouting report.

Downside: They're blocking the exit.

Yeah. Upside:

They haven't seen you yet.

Uh, what are you getting at?

If they catch us both, they get the drive and our soldiers die.

I'm trusting you to get me out of this.

- Get you out of what? - Come on out!

Surrender and we won't hurt you!

Okay.

You got me.

Take her to Finch.

Let me guess.

You're Finch.

You think that's gonna break me?

I once put a man through hell for three days,

and he wouldn't utter a sound.

And, um, day four,

I arrive eating a

very particularly crispy...

Red Delicious.

Minutes later,

he's spilling his guts like a celebrity on Oprah.

Turns out he had a disorder called misophonia.

Sufferers develop acute anxiety when they hear

chewing.

Maybe you have it.

Do I look like I have it?

No.

But... that was delicious.

I know who you are.

You, I assume, have guessed who I work for.

Codex.

You're getting the organization back together.

Mm, that is actually being worked out right now.

So...

...where is MacGyver?

And I'm sorry, I don't mean to be insulting.

I read your file.

You are very dangerous.

I respect that.

But he gave my guys quite a bit of trouble.

And I don't like having him out there

as a loose end.

We split up.

No idea where he is.

Hmm.

Well...

Why do I have to have this hood on?

We both know you're gonna kill me.

What?

No, that's horrible.

No, in case the courier wouldn't talk

when we found him, we just... we brought a bunch of truth drugs.

We got, um, scopolamine,

amobarbital,

flunitrazepam.

Wow. It just sounds complicated.

Of course, now, I get this part wrong,

you'll die of a heart attack in that chair,

like the last... two men I did this with.

So...

Okay, guys,

Desi's running out of time and I'm seriously outgunned.

Can you give me an assist or what?

Sorry, Riley, I've tried all our friends in the region.

No support teams can get to you fast enough.

So it looks like you're on your own, Riley.

Is there something you can hack there?

What? No, no.

This is a cannery abandoned in 1982.

There's gears and pulleys

and a couple tons of salt. I'm set for margaritas,

but not for getting Desi out of this.

Should we, um, should we loop Mac in?

No. No, no.

Mac needs to focus. I can do this.

Desi trusted me.

I got this.

What was Desi thinking?!

Mac, take your time.

No, I need to go faster.

- I need to get to the... - No, Mac.

Slow down and talk to me.

Ow!

Mac!

But, hey,

you've never been big on talking, right?

All those years, growing up,

crashing at my house, I knew you wanted to talk,

about your mom dying,

your dad being gone, how that made you feel.

But you couldn't, so...

I talked.

But now I need you to return the favor.

All those years I never asked you to talk, now I am.

You tell me...

why can't you slow down?

Because I can't lose them!

I get it. I get that, Mac.

But listen to me, you can't help Desi and Riley

if you don't help yourself.

Okay, for the next five seconds,

stop being a hero.

And just find that one next thing to hold on to.

Hey, Boze?

Yeah, Mac?

Just keep talking, okay, buddy?

Yeah.

Oh, wait.

Tap...

and squirt.

There, see?

Forgot to do that the last time.

Bubble in the vein, right to the heart.

Boom, dead.

Oh, my God, are we gonna get this started

or are you gonna keep explaining how you suck at it?

Mm-hmm.

Your confidence is real.

You're not even worried

about us cracking the hard drive.

Why?

'Cause you figured out we're transmitting the data,

didn't you?

Oh, and you think you can stop it.

Is that what MacGyver's doing?

Stopping it?

Okay.

Do we have a team at the relay tower?

Negative, Mr. Finch.

Send one. Now.

Yes, sir.

Oh, we done here?

See, now...

you've been trying to distract me.

You know what? Let's see how this goes.

If I get MacGyver,

I don't need the both of you.

Hmm.

Riley, what did you come up with?

Uh, a crowbar.

A crowbar? Like, a-a regular piece of steel, crowbar?

Taylor, don't doubt me, okay?

Okay, you can doubt me.

Riley? What was that?

A baller-ass move I really wish you saw.

But, uh, more importantly,

I just had an idea.

I write code.

Coding is just a bunch of

complicated "if/then" statements.

Right, but there are no computers where you are.

Yeah, yeah, I know, but if I hit a lever,

and then the gears and pulleys, I should be able to program them

to do whatever I want, right?

That is so nerdy.

Team Three,

please report your status. Do you copy?

We just arrived at the mine shaft.

I think they're here.

You got to make it to the control room, Mac.

Oh, sure, no biggie.

As if it wasn't hard enough without the bullets.

I made it.

We did it!

Mostly you.

Thanks, Boze.

Couldn't have done it without you.

Let's see what we're working with.

No matter how complex a circuit board might look,

the best way to stop an upload

is to switch the input source before it's complete.

Then interrupt the electric current for added measure,

and as long as it's not too far along in the process...

Hold your breath, everyone.

We stopped the upload.

Great job, Mac.

Now get out of there.

Yeah, I-I'm not gonna do that.

Come again?

Look, we know that Codex is reforming.

And this cell was transmitting valuable intel,

so it stands to reason

that they were sending it to a central command.

- Leland. - Exactly.

If we trace this signal,

it's our chance to find him and stop Codex once and for all.

Access the tower's digital logs

and find out where it was sending the intel.

Okay, I'll mobilize a tac team.

Get their location.

Okay.

Tell me you took care of MacGyver.

He's jammed our upload.

They've sealed the borders. There's no way out.

Sure there is.

We have a bargaining chip.

Princess is coming on the trip.

If we're not given safe passage, she dies.

Uploading the digital logs now.

Got 'em. I'll track the I.P. address

to get a physical location.

379 Pinedale Drive, South Gate.

I'll have our tac team meet you there.

Right, tell them to hurry, because I drive fast. Bozer?

I want to be there for this.

What about Desi and Riley?

You've got bigger fish to fry.

I mean, you may have stopped the transmission,

but how are you gonna get out of there?

I'll improvise.

Get up.

Time for a ride.

Des, come on.

You're safe?

Yeah, we're good.

Mac, I know it's good news,

but you've got to get out of there.

Yeah, I am working on it.

In mining, in order to process minerals on a large scale,

you need water, lots of water.

All I have to do is find the pipes.

When it's scarce, like in the mountains of Uzbekistan,

it must be siphoned from a local source.

In this case, the Aral Sea.

Where are you going with this?

Underground.

All I have to do

is go through those pipes, and I should be able to come out

on the other side of those Codex agents.

Assuming those pipes are clear.

They haven't been accessed in 30 years.

Just be careful, Mac. We don't know what's down there.

Matty, uh,

if I don't make it...

Mac, go.

This is the spot.

According to these old schematics.

There's no sign of Mac.

He should be here by now.

Mac?

Mac.

That was better than Six Flags.

Come on, let's get in.

We traced the signal to Leland's location.

Tac team's on the move.

Copy that. Let us know

the moment you find him.

Bozer, Taylor, did you find Leland?

We sure did.

Or what's left of him. Dude's burnt to a crisp.

We'll pull dental to verify.

Never realized how much I miss you.

Seems like every day.

I don't come out here much.

I'm not really sure why, but, uh...

Thought I might find you here.

I hope I'm not interrupting.

No. I'm glad you came.

I get why coming here is tough.

You see all the times you've lost and you worry

you'll lose who you got left.

People like us, we got to remember all the wins, right?

Millions when we beat Codex.

Thousands of U.S. soldiers today.

You can't save everyone, Mac...

- We have... - We have to save each other?

That's actually a pretty decent pep talk.

Well, I've been practicing.

All right, well, it's late, so...

Wait, what? You just said you don't come here enough

and now you're gonna leave early? No.

Sit.

You are gonna stay and get cozy with something

you've never felt comfortable with.

And I am gonna be right here with you.

You brought snacks.

Well, we are gonna be here a while, so...

And this is a hoagie, not a snack, okay?

Grand Dons with hot and sweet peppers.

Just like Dad liked.

Oh...

You know, under that tough exterior,

you're surprisingly sensitive.

Well, that makes two of us.

So, you're saying I'm tough.

- No. Those words did not come out of my mouth. - Yeah...

- I didn't say that. - No, I'm pretty sure

that's what you're saying.

- Just eat your hoagie. - Okay.

Today was a victory but a temporary one.

With Leland dead, we're still no closer to stopping Codex.

As I said, we're missing something.

You said the body was burned.

Yes, but that's not what killed him.

7.62 NATO round. It's a sniper's bullet.

Shot was probably taken from a thousand meters out.

Killer put it right through his aorta.

Millimeter precision.

And then they burned the body.

That's not just a kill.

That's a message.

Did the lab estimate a time of death?

They said he'd been dead for about 24 hours.

So maybe the order to capture the courier's drive

didn't come from Leland after all.

Well, that would explain why their plan

bore no relation to the original mission.

They don't care about the original mission.

Because "they" is someone different.

I don't think anyone has full control yet.

You know, I've been in countries where there's been

a power struggle for the leadership once it collapses,

and that's what this stinks of.

Kill the old leader in a very public way

to send a message.

Factions psyching each other out,

establishing dominance.

It's Codex 2.0.

We need to figure out who these people are

and what's going on.

Before Codex rises again.

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

Subtitles Synchronized by srjanapala