We all hope to see at least one Christmas miracle in our lifetime. To see two miracles is something special. That’s exactly what the midseason finale of MacGyver hopes to accomplish going into the holiday season. What would the holidays be without family reunions and family drama, right? MacGyver’s well-equipped to handle most international incidents, natural disasters, and armed invasions. When you put MacGyver in the middle of his colleagues and expect him to mediate, expect plenty of uncomfortable moments on the way to Peace on Earth.
Riley’s just not in a very cheerful mood this holiday season. Bozer tries to help his friend get in a good mood, but she disappears before he gets the chance. Riley isn’t gone an hour before Thorton calls in the team to tell them they are about to face an attack from Chinese submarines in retaliation for an Executive Order for a cyberattack against China. The only problem is that the order was a fake, and China isn’t willing to listen to reason unless the U.S. can produce the person who hacked the NSA to write up the order. Unfortunately, the number one person on their suspect list is Riley. Since she went to prison for hacking the NSA before, the Phoenix Foundation has to find her before anyone else.
Remember when Bozer felt scared and betrayed by the revelation that his best friend is an international spy? Yeah, he’s over that. He’ll do whatever it takes to help Riley, and if he can squeeze his way onto an actual spy mission, so much the better. Basically Bozer blackmails his way on to the mission since he’s the only one who has a clue where to start looking for Riley. Bozer isn’t the only one invested in finding Riley. Jack wasn’t just some random boyfriend of Riley’s mom’s. Jack has actually known Riley since her preteen years, but couldn’t gain back Riley’s trust after he beat up her drunk of a father. Even now, after all the missions Riley and Jack have been through, she still can’t trust Jack with the truth. This hurts Jack even more when he realizes Riley did hack the NSA because her mother Diane was kidnapped.
Once MacGyver saves Diane (played by ER alum Michael Michele) from choking to death, Riley explains how she got involved with a terrorist organization years ago called the Collective. When she refused to do their bidding, she purposely hacked the NSA so they couldn’t get to her in prison. Riley was holding her own and Diane was living her life under an assumed name in Canada, until Jack got Riley out of prison which put her back in the line of fire. The Collective kidnapped Diane so that Riley would be motivated to create a cyber weapon known as Cannibal, which has the capacity to take control of motor vehicles, and maybe anything else with a GPS. Once MacGyver, Riley, and Jack make it to Shanghai to try to stop the Collective, they realize their plan was to take control of the Chinese submarines to force them into attacking the U.S. Riley is able to stop all except one missile, and Jack forcibly electrocutes himself as a connector for MacGyver’s makeshift satellite to divert the missile.
A heck of a lot of raw feelings surface between Jack, Riley, and Diane in the course of this mission. Diane manages to keep her cool when she discovers her ex-boyfriend is a government spy. So long as Jack protects Riley with his life, Diane won’t turn him into a shish kebab. Though Jack makes good on this promise, it doesn’t fix his and Riley’s issues. She really lets Jack have it in China, calling him out for using violence to solve problems like her dad, then just leaving. Whatever they felt then, whatever good intentions everyone involved might have had, they have to find a way to move on in the here and now. Diane looks like she’s willing to give Jack another chance so long as he can protect Riley. Riley can’t spend the rest of her life being angry at a man who has had her back no matter what. This Christmas Jack gets his wish, a fresh start with Riley. Bozer gets the last two digits of Riley’s phone number, which he will no doubt abuse in the New Year. Riley gets her wish for a white Christmas too, courtesy of Bozer and MacGyver’s ingenuity.
If Riley and Jack can avert WWIII and mend fences with each other in the same week, why shouldn’t we believe in Christmas miracles?
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