The Irrational Season 2 ending explained: Borris saves an innocent Derek and Alec decides to keep his scars

The Irrational is an American crime drama series by Arika Mittman that premiered in 2023. The synopsis of the show reads:

World-renowned behavioral science professor Alec Mercer as he uses his unique expertise in psychology, body language, emotion and more to help solve difficult, high-stakes cases. With the support of his research assistants, his tech-savvy sister and his ex-wife -- who also happens to be an FBI agent -- and guided by his fierce curiosity about human decision-making, Mercer truly has brought solving crime down to a science. By asking the right questions, making observations no one else can and studying every scene in new ways, there's no case too tough for his brilliant mind to crack -- except maybe his own mysterious past.

The Irrational is currently in its second season, consisting of 18 episodes, and the final episode aired on March 25, 2025, at 10/9c on NBC and while wrapping up several plot points also left the door open for a third season, though nothing about the show’s renewal has been confirmed yet.

Let us now explore in detail how The Irrational Season 2 ended.

Alec successfully rescues Derek with the help of Borris in The Irrational Season 2

The finale episode of The Irrational dealt with a prisoner negotiation situation. While initially the deal was about two Russian and two US prisoners, eventually it came to three US prisoners, and the episode reveals why the addition of the third prisoner was important.

As the finale revealed, the third prisoner that the US demanded was not anyone big shot and was instead an ordinary school teacher named Derek. He got into prison because he took the blame for carrying some ADHD medication, which was legal in the US but not in Russia. The medicine belonged to Derek’s student, but to save them, he claimed that those were his, which led to his arrest.

However, since Derek’s wife knew Alec as a friend, she contacted him, and Alec made sure that he took him out of prison. In the process, Alec realized that they needed a better understanding of Borris’ case, a Russian prisoner who had allegedly killed a guard.

With the help of Marisa and Kylie, the three of them eventually figured out that Borris did not kill the guard and was framed instead. They proved this, and that made Borris a part of the prisoner exchange that was going to happen. It was through Borris that Alec found the right person with whom he could talk about setting Derek free since he was completely innocent.

Alec decides against surgery and keeps his scars in The Irrational Season 2 finale

Whether Alec will be going for surgery or will keep his scars was an important point of The Irrational, and the finale finally answered the question. Remembering Marisa’s words about good things happening helps Alec to see his scars from an entirely different perspective, and that leads to him making the decision to keep them.

Talking about the same, executive producer Arika Lisanne Mittman said in an interview to TV Insider,

“That was a story that we definitely wanted to play out through the whole season, so we wanted it to take twists and turns and not be kind of a straight line. We didn’t want it to just be like, he thinks about it, he decides and he ultimately decides to not do it.”

The finale also provides insight into the personal arcs of the different characters who were struggling with making decisions. For instance, Marisa finally decides to sell the house, and Kylie does not take the offer of promotion that her boss gave her as she decided that she needed to think about her choices before making one.

The Irrational can be streamed on Peacock.