MacGyver (TV Series) Abduction + Memory + Time + Fireworks + Dispersal (2021) User Reviews

Series finale

[notar0b0t · 9/10 · 4 June 2021]

I think, given the circumstances, it was an okay finale. It wrapped wrap everything up. It wasn't the send off I would have wanted but it gave us closure.

Sure, they didn't show flashbacks of Jack when Mac was in the hyperbaric chamber having his life flash before him, but they didn't show Samantha or Leanna either. Heck, they didn't show Mac's dad or his aunt or Bozer's parents... and they had just as much impact, if not more, on Mac as Jack!

I do not think it was intentional, but even if it was, Jack had been gone since Season 3, for 2 entire seasons! Just like Samatha, gone since Season 2, for 3 entire seasons. And Leanna, gone since Season 3, for 2 entire seasons.

A good episode.

No Jack?

[Gislef · 7/10 · 2 May 2021]

Maybe I missed it, but when Mac had his "life flashing before his eyes" moment, Jack wasn't there? Way to memory-hole George Eads, production staff!

And the absence of George Eads is part of why 'MacGyver' ended not quite as good as it started. I'll admit, I wasn't a big fan of the Jack character when the series started. Yes, the "new format" with Mac as a part of a team of government troubleshooters required someone who can... shoot. Even if a gun-wielding partner was part of what made the show not very original-MacGyver-ish.

But Jack did grow on me, mostly because of Eads' charms. Such as they are. He provided better comic relief than either Justin Hires or, later, Russ Taylor. And maybe Levy Tran as Desi did better action stunts.. But Jack managed to be both funnier than the latter (the Wilt-Russ fake brawl at the end of this episode is painful to watch), and Desi got enmeshed in the whole Mac-Riley romance subplot that according to the current show-runner, would have got deep sixed if the series had gone to season six anyway.

The whole romance subplot was another reason the series ended. Like the production team was running out of ideas, and they figured, "Hey, let's have three of the main characters form a romantic triangle!" was what the series needed. Particularly with Jack gone. It didn't, and we got a new romantic relationship (or two: Russ and Sofia), when we had previously established ones dropped. Remember Reina? And Billy? We got rid of them for what we did get?

Part of the overall weak series was the fact that it seemed like the production staff forgot or ignored what 'MacGyver' was initially about. One kinda nerdy guy who demonstrated that brains is better than brawn. Having someone there to shoot the bad guys while Mac feverishly tries to improvise something just goes against the spirit of the original series. Which isn't bad per se, but who was the new series reaching out to?

And the plots, particularly when they decide to go serial in the later seasons, were kind of eh. Ooh, a big conspiracy-type group with Codex? Been there, done that. The whole nano-thing dragged on way too long.

What redeemed the series was the generally likeable cast. Lucas Till was decent with what he was given. So was Tristin Mays as Riley. Hires did the best he could with what he was given: the mildly racist comic sidekick. Eaton was good once they settled on her as the Phoenix Oversight. Parker... who knows? I guess she's still working for the government version of Phoenix.

The finale seemed like a good jumping off point for the nu series returning to its "roots", with Mac as a freelancer of sorts. The interviews with the show runner suggest that if we had gotten Season Six, we would have gotten more of the nano-conspiracy government plot, just without the government. Oh well. Maybe we're lucky we never got that.

But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?

GREAT episode

[shaysavestheday · 10/10 · 1 May 2021]

This episode had it all: science, plot, action, resolution, and heart! The cast is so talented, the writing continues to get better, and the show has so much more potential for the future. They deserve more time and this episode is more proof of that. #SaveMacGyver.

Bring it Back!!!

[macgrl17 · 10/10 · 15 November 2021]

How can we bring this show back? , For at least one more long season to end it better than it did. I need this to have a Mac and Riley story, happy or sad.

Lame & Boring Series Finale

[Johnny_West · 1/10 · 5 May 2021]

Nanobots, the imaginary friends of MacGyver & Desi, make yet another appearance, so the producers can keep costs down. The actual story itself is so incredibly stupid that it is not worth discussing. The Phoenix team spend a lot of screen time at MacGyver's house drinking beer and whining. That keeps costs down. The other scenes are at a warehouse and in the Phoenix lab's hyperbaric chamber. No expense was spared.

The Phoenix team finally deal with the nanobots, the bad guys get caught, and the U. S. Government gets blamed for funding terrorism against U. S. Citizens, children, military veterans. I guess they had to toss in a shot against the USA to get Hollywood's seal of approval?

MacGyver quits the team again. Then he changes his mind again. Then somebody tells him the show was cancelled, and nobody could care less what he wants to do. Time to call in those favors with the Swiss Army Knife company and get a job at the mall.

A Schizophrenic Finale for a Soap Opera Season 5

[kemurikat · 5/10 · 13 May 2021]

The CBS network disappointed a majority of MacGyver fans by forcing new showrunners and writers to incorporate a garbage 'love-triangle' in a show that absolutely didn't need to go in that direction thus sacrificing Angus MacGyver's, Riley Davis' and Desi Nguyen's character integrities tor OOC fan-service.

The tongue-in-cheek espionage, action-comedy and rudimentary science lessons that made the show unique were shelved to make way for bad high school drama.

Meanwhile, the show's fandom is completely fractured by a ridiculous 'ship war,' split three ways between the the MacRiley shippers, MacDesi defenders and general viewers of the show.

The arrival of Desi Nguyen's character breathed fresh new life into a tired old formula when Jack Dalton left, but her character was unfairly criticized and even rejected by Jack Dalton fans and further brutalized by the rise of Mob Rule MacRiley fanatics.

Sadly, negative fandom behaviour was ignored and even encouraged by the network, its showrunners, writers and by the actors themselves. Rather sad for a show that supposedly promoted teamwork, family and unity through diversity.

The show's demise truly isn't a surprise for a majority of viewers who don't over-participate in social media but affect the (more important) overall ratings.

The real tragedy is the loss of the socially progressive, diverse and inclusive casting whose combined talents were wasted and buried under the rubbish of poorly structured episodes.

Well?

[nakrugt · 5/10 · 24 October 2021]

Well, that ending could use a rewrite. I started watching the show with no expectations. Character relations kept me watching, though. And Riley was, of course, my favourite.

Maybe primevideo could pick up the show for 10-episode seasons in the future?

I would watch it.

Show went downhill ever since Dalton left

[jeff-cossey · 4/10 · 30 May 2021]

I don't know why the show was ever entitled MacGyver, he was just a small part of a team.

It's a shame they couldn't follow the formula a little bit closer to the original MacGyver it would have done so much better.

Weak

[dekoninck_pieter · 1/10 · 4 September 2021]

As a series finale, this was just a weak episode. Boring.

This was possibly the worst episode in the series.

[DaggerSpawn · 3/10 · 4 July 2021]

The plot was predictable, but more importantly, the first half of the episode the dialogue's writing was horrible. It was so bad that I feel like the actors should have refused to say the lines. For many of the lines, it didn't even sound like their characters' personalities, in terms of the content being said. The second half and ending was not as bad. So to their credit, perhaps the producers focused on making the end decent.