Tonight’s “Suddenly Alec” episode of The Irrational was special because it had a musical inside the murder mystery, causing Alec (Jesse L. Martin) and Rose (Karen David) to step out of their comfort zones and go undercover to infiltrate a community theater production of Little Shop of Horrors.
The surprise for Alec–and, happily, for viewers–is that, in order to get the cast to reveal information about the dead man, Alec had to penetrate the group by becoming one of them. So, he found himself auditioning for the role of the plant, Audrey II, who just happens to possess a soulful R&B voice. Rose initially worked behind the scenes but in the finale, got to join Alec on stage as Audrey.
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“Karen was more excited about the musical than I was, because I was certainly nervous to get that muscle back,” Martin, who hasn’t appeared on Broadway in several years, told Parade. “I was worried like, ‘Oh, God am I going to be able to do this.’ And she had no issues. Suddenly, she was just out there singing, and I was like, ‘Wow, look at her. She’s amazing.’ She’s so tuned to this thing that it was absolutely fantastic to see a fellow actor be so engaged in a way that you never saw it coming, which is why I think this episode is so awesome.”
Photo by: James Dittiger/NBC
Karen’s vocal abilities may be the thing that Martin didn’t see coming. But for Alec, the episode ended with a shocker that was news to him: Rose gets a phone call about her never-before-heard-from husband and she is going to have to deal with it – and we’re left hanging as to what that means.
“What I can tell you is she really does have a husband, and it’s not just for work,” Martin says of the plot twist. “He really was her husband. So, Alec has to take that in as best as he can possibly take it in and continue working and being her boyfriend.”
Related: The Irrational Cast Teases Jesse L. Martin’s Return to Singing in Upcoming Musical Episode (Exclusive)
There’s an entire upcoming episode that will deal with the Rose husband situation, because Alec is in no way ready to give up his relationship with her. And as Martin says, “This is the mystery of Rose. Always something comes up, only when it needs to come up, not necessarily when it should come up.”
Photo by: Sergei Bachlakov/NBC
But Alec has a surprise of his own, at least for his sister Kylie (Travina Springer), who answers his phone and learns that he has an appointment with a doctor to investigate the possibility of removing his burn scars. The idea which was introduced earlier this season when a woman from one of his cases decided to undergo laser treatment, but he pooh-poohed it for himself as being too time consuming.
“What I will say is that Alec goes back and forth in how much he wants to change himself,” Martin explains. “There was a point where when he started dating Rose, he started looking at himself and becoming self-conscious about his scars that he had been living with for a long time. And suddenly it became an issue where he thought, ‘Is she going to like a man who is basically disfigured?’ There’s an episode where I have a long chat with my father and I asked him, ‘If you were able to change your scars, would you do so?’ And he said very simply, ‘I think scars make people beautiful.’ And so suddenly it wasn’t so important for me to change it.”
Related: Everything to Know About The Irrational Season 2
Photo by: Sergei Bachlakov/NBC
But advances in science and technology have changed the treatment process. And Alec suddenly realizes that maybe he can’t get rid of all his scars, but he can reduce them, so he wants to investigate the possibility.
“One of the things that happens with people who have tragic accidents where they have burns, it becomes a big part of your identity,” says Martin, who researched the subject before beginning the role. “So, if you’re able to live a better life by reducing those scars, that’s one thing. But if those scars have literally become part of your identity and you’re okay with them, taking them away may do something to chip away at the person you’ve grown to be. So, it’s a back and forth, like never quite sure if he’s going to do it, but it’s always in conversation.”
The Irrational airs Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Streams next day on Peacock.
Next, The Irrational Star Jesse L. Martin on How Dr. Alec Mercer Will Change in Season 2
