‘Scorpion’ Preview: Lea Thompson Talks Veronica’s Attempt at Redemption

Lea Thompson returns as Veronica, Paige’s mother, on this week’s Scorpion — her fourth episode of the season. Veronica’s shady past (which includes a fair amount of counterfeiting) came in very handy last week, but now that her face has been shown on television, she’s on the run from even shadier folks. “There’s somebody out to get her for sure,” says Thompson of her character’s predicament. “She’s running from people she stole money from … probably,” she adds with a laugh. Apparently, Veronica has double-crossed so many people, both she and the actor have lost track. But Thompson assures us that whatever weirdness she was up to in that warehouse, “We pay that off in this episode.”

This week’s episode, “The Hole Truth,” finds a sinkhole threatening L.A.’s water supply — and Veronica joins the team to save the city from a disaster. “I feel like the writers really loved this character before I even stepped into her shoes, and I think they love her maybe even more now that they’ve seen her on film,” says Thompson, and she’s in complete agreement with them. Veronica is “oblivious in a lot of ways,” while in others she’s every bit as capable as the geniuses surrounding her. Says Thompson, “She’s trying to use her evil powers for good now!”

“She doesn’t really apologize for who she is, which I think is a really interesting character to play.” She certainly won’t win any Mother of the Year awards, but Thompson doesn’t call her a bad mom. “She’s not a smotherer, that’s for sure.” It’s part of what draws her to the role. Veronica and Paige “have been estranged for a very long time, so they have to get to know each other.” She says, “It’s a mother/daughter relationship you don’t see very often on TV.”

And Thompson is someone who would know. “I’ve been playing mothers for, what, 33 years?” says the actress, who had her breakout role as Michael J. Fox’s mom in 1985’s Back to the Future. “I’m an expert at playing mothers. You don’t often get a new take on motherhood. Motherhood is as diverse as women, which is pretty darn diverse, so it’s nice to be able to play all these different aspects.”

She was also helped in the role by her instant rapport with McPhee. “Sometimes, you have a nice gift where you actually really get along and understand each other,” says Thompson. “We both took the same dance classes, so you’d find us following each other’s dance steps. And because we’re both singers.” In fact, the two of them are hoping that the writers will decide to do a musical episode someday. She’s even got a duet already picked out: “For Good” from Wicked.

So, if this is the last we’ll be seeing of Veronica for a while, will we see her relationship with Paige grow in this episode? More to the point, will she say goodbye this time instead of just disappearing like she always does? Thompson reveals nothing: “You’ll have to watch! It’s very emotional. I might even die, who knows?”

Scorpion airs Mondays at 10 p.m. on CBS.