Alec Baker, a well-known behavioral psychology professor with a distinctive understanding of human nature, is the focal point of The Irrational. He provides his knowledge to a number of high-stakes issues involving governments, businesses, and law enforcement.
But a female domestic terror suspect proves to be his equal and completely upends his universe. Did your top suspect match up with Alec and Co.’s identification of the perpetrators of the 2002 church bombing in the Season 1 episode of The Irrational? The evidence pointed more and more toward Sen.
Sanford being the mastermind of the violence as the hour went on. His motivation, however, remained unclear: Why would a politician ruin his own event?
The man who murdered Wes Banning claimed to be Matthias, the mastermind, but Alec and Marisa soon saw that he was just “the perfect patsy,” with a background that didn’t align with the bomber’s modus operandi. They eventually came to the conclusion that Matthias was either a bureau employee or had an informant in the FBI.
Recap
After a protracted investigation, Alec and Marisa learn that Sanford had several sexual encounters with women connected to his campaign. And one evening during a fundraiser, Natalie, a young employee, ended up overdosing in a bedroom alone herself with Sanford.
It turns out that the church bombing was orchestrated to hide the fact that Sanford had his war buddy, Bob Caswith, Marisa’s FBI mentor, dispose of Natalie’s body there. This was a place where people would have anticipated her to be and where her death wouldn’t have been called into question following the explosion.
After luring Bob outside and nearly convincing him to give up, Sanford shows up and shoots Caswith, saying that he was doing it to save Alec and Marisa’s lives. The senator appears to be getting away with it, which would have helped him in his presidential bid, but Alec catches him alone right before a major news conference and manipulates him into acknowledging his involvement in the explosion and Natalie’s death.
And that’s it, when Alec discloses that Kylie activated the senator’s microphone and his admission was aired to the journalists awaiting outside. Plus: Sanford was accountable for another murder when Bob passed away from his gunshot wound.
Six weeks later, Rose, who had come back earlier in the hour and had resumed their amorous relationship with Alec, had a flat tire. Conveniently parked close by, a tow truck driver offers to assist. Suddenly, the driver and two of his friends are attacking her. Eventually, they throw a sack over her head, throw her into a van, and drive off.
