S04.E18: Skip

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Reese must protect a bounty hunter who refuses to let the potential threat to her life deter her from the relentless pursuit of her target. Finch tries to set the plan he began in Shanghai in motion.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Promo:

[SnarkyTart]

Woooo...bring me mah fan!

[stealinghome]

Yeah, obviously the episode has to air before any definitive judgments can be made, but the promo suggests that this woman might be the best of the Shawditions so far. But I'm guessing the fact that she's on Vikings means that even if PoI really wanted her back, her appearances would be few and far between?

[fastiller]

Wow!  A blonde.  Most of the women have been brunettes, right?

[DeLurker]

I seem to recall the only knocking boots pals to be Zoe and, implied, the flight attendant.  Zoe is brunette, but I seem to remember flight attendant as blonde.

 

And, of course, Jessica from the flashbacks, is a blonde.

[stealinghome]

Sneak peek for tonight.

 

I am so there for Root teasing Harold about his love life like a bratty younger sister!

 

ETA: Second sneak peek. Goodness, does Reese have an array of ugly ties just waiting for his undercover gigs?

Edited March 24, 2015 by stealinghome

[janeta]

Cops can't date firemen?

This was a little too bifurcated for me, like two different episodes. And i don't care about the shrink, at all.

[FormerMod-a1]

So much going on this episode! So much!

I'll start with the shallow, because that's easier. Everyone was looking might fine tonight, and I mean everyone. I also usually hate romance in these kinds of shows, but I am loving Reese getting all the kisses tonight, plus the shrink breaking off their professional relationship. And John's "I'm good at keeping secrets".

So sad for Harold. So sad! Root nearly kills Beth, Harold nearly dies to save her and Root instead frames him for discrediting Beth and destroy his trojan entry into Samaritan.

Crazy Root is not listening to the Machine because she couldn't stand it if Harold died. Interesting. What else is she doing on her own?

And Harper is getting texts from the Machine? Not sure I like that.

[stonehaven]

I was bored with the Reese storyline...way too predictable...but I loved..and my heart aches for Finch and Root..I ship those two...The whole episode should have been Root and Finch...I will say..not enough Fusco...

[Bort]

Clearly, they were saving the best Shawdition for last… I really liked Frankie, she clicked with Reese better than any of the others. I loved the fight while they were handcuffed to each other.

[whatsatool]

Root upstaged everyone

[Shriekingeel]

Smh over Reese smooching with Dr. Bland and not Lagertha The Bounty Hunter. So disappointed in him.

Loved the Finch-Root plot, and their intense relationship.

[Starchild]

I'm getting kind of tired of all of these superwomen. Seriously how realistic is this? I suppose the Machine may be orchestrating these encounters to find a replacement for Shaw, but even on a show with this premise it's pretty far-fetched that all these women can continually best Reese.

[Trillium]

This episode was super disjointed. No flow at all. They wasted a good chance to for Reese to get over his guilt and grief to hook up with his shrink. I feel no chemistry there. There better be more to the story than that. I did like Harper a bit better this time and there were some good Root and Finch moments but other than that they just ruined plots built earlier in the season. Hong Kong was for nothing and therapy was for nothing more for Reese to get some ass. Such wasted potential. I expect more from this show.

[Maverick]

 It was a bad idea having Dr. Snooze Button declare her love for John in the episode with the bounty hunter.  Even if the bounty hunter came off off a bit too young for John she was still light years better than Dr. Bore.

 

 I didn't think JC kissed other women, even in character.  Or is that just sex scenes?

[merylinkid]

Of all the Shawditions they had to bring  back Harper?   HARPER???   The least competent of them all.   They couldn't just make Frankie be all bad ass on her own.   Nope, they had to bring back HARPER and then turn Frankie into just another angsty woman T!I!P!    Of course she had a brother killed.   She couldn't just be a bounty hunter going after a guy who did not want to go to jail.   All so fucking HARPER could make a save at the end.   And, of course, HARPER is getting texts from the Machine.   Uggggh.

 

Look, I find JC as hot as the next girl does, but really all these women throwing themselves at him is getting a little old.   And he picks the psychiatrist?   Excuse me, you got a badass fixer that you hook up with.   Stick with her.   You work well together and she won't try to find out your secrets because she has her own.

 

Root is still all kinds of fucked up.   Oh yeah, I'll just kill the woman you are falling for and have set up to help us take down Samaritan to save your life.   Because, I, Root, get to decide who lives and dies.   Fusco has a comment for you on that subject, cuckoo for cocoa puffs.

 

Really where did my show go?   Maybe just cranky.  

[CountryCrazy]

I am in the minority since I like Reese with Iris and think they plenty of chemistry though I do think she might be working for Samaritan but I am hoping not ! I thought their kiss was smoking HOT ,

[stealinghome]

So, this episode wasn't BAD--it was definitely better than the last 2-3, the best since Guilty--but it was highly DISAPPOINTING to me for several reasons.

 

1) What a fucking dud the laptop plot turned out to be. I thought it was going to be kickass and lead into the season ramping up in a big way and would give the team a foothold into Samaritan and set them up for, finally, a big victory. Instead it was all about Harold thinking with his dick instead of his brain? What a damn DUD of a plot. (More on this below.)

 

2) Iris. That whole storyline is so blah. I had brief hope when she released John because of her inappropriate feelings for him, but then we veered STRAIGHT into bad/cliche romcom territory, complete with "I have feelings for you" and an impulsive kiss. JC and WS just don't have much chemistry--John has way more with Frankie and Zoe both--and just, I do.not.care about Iris at all. She is uber bland and the show hasn't built her or her/John up NEARLY enough for me to actually care. Plus, now you just know she's gonna die. Her countdown clock starts ticking down...now.

 

3) This might have been the worst editing job I've ever seen on PoI. All night, the editing and cuts were just AWFUL. The episode had absolutely and utterly no flow. I mean, ITA the two plotlines didn't go together well at all and that's a writing fail, but a better editing job could have salvaged it somewhat. Alas.

 

4) SINCE WHEN ARE ROOT AND THE MACHINE TALKING AGAIN? What the hell, show? Did you forget about Root at the end of 4x13 and her crisis of faith? (More on this below too.)

 

5) The actress and writing were both better tonight, but the show is still trying way too hard with Harper. Not pleased that she's the Shawdition they're obviously grooming to bring into the fold. She's the weakest of all the Shawditions so far. Much, much rather have Silva and/or Frankie back.

 

Disappointing.

 

So, a more balanced view of the episode:

As I said above, the two plotlines in this episode didn't go well together at all, and the Root/Finch plot needed way, way, way more time than it got. The Reese half of the episode was total filler--I mean, I liked Frankie a lot, she had good chemistry with John and they worked well together, and Ato Essandoh is always a delight (come back to Elementary, Alfredo!)--but it ate up way too much time and was trying way too hard to be twisty and complicated just to eat up time. That time would have been much better served going to Root/Finch stuff. But with that said, I think Frankie is juuuust behind Silva on my list of Shawditions, but could easily overtake Silva with another appearance. Winnick had really great presence and delivered on her big emotional scene. She also convincingly kicked ass, and serious props to the scene with her and John handcuffed and fighting, because that was really well shot and choreographed. Helen Shaver (who also directed 3x06) has a really good eye for action scenes. And Fusco getting a kick out of all the women who bust Reese's balls never gets old.

 

The saving grace of this episode was the Root/Finch stuff, which was intense and layered and complex, and which I'm still digesting. My initial thoughts are that I'm very sympathetic to both of them, because this was in a lot of ways the Congressman redux, only Root found a better path this time (only, by another measure, it was the Congressman plot all over again, with the team making the wrong call). Harold/Root have the best chemistry of any type on the show, and tonight was no exception, and they were past due for a blow-up, so putting more tension back in there is good. How they balance each other out came out full force tonight. But I felt like Harold was a little out of character tonight...he doesn't usually let mushiness get in the way of common sense, and I get that he's sweet on Beth, but he met her once. That doesn't merit that level of "turn my brain off" (I can buy it more when it comes to Grace because he was/is deeply in love with her). And drinking the poison? That seemed farfetched.

 

Kind of similarly, I like what this episode did with Root--acknowledging that when she said "we have to be ready for sacrifice!" what she really meant was "We can sacrifice me, Fusco, or Reese, BUT NOT SHAW OR HAROLD, I CAN'T LOSE THEM," delving into her survivor's guilt over asking Shaw to help them in 4x11 (aww, bb, she would've come to help even if you hadn't asked), and remembering that she can be a stone-cold killer and especially regresses when it comes to people she cares about--but it was way too rushed, and because the Harold/Beth stuff was overblown, it was hard to buy into the "tension" of what was going to happen. We badly need a Root Path equivalent this season (though at this point we're obviously not getting it). I mean, aside from Root's many many Shaw and loss issues, what about Root and The Machine???? What did The Machine say to get Root working with her again? What is the status of their relationship????? WHY is the show whiffing so bad on the crisis of faith storyline they set up so well in the first half of the season? (And what is the point of Harold saying I don't want to see you for a while when the previews for the next episode show the team all together again?)

 

I feel like the normal PoI writers went on vacation after 4x13 and haven't returned yet. Usually the back half of a PoI season is much stronger than the front half, but this back half is officially disappointing, and far weaker than the first half.

 

There's no way Root ACTUALLY destroyed the Trojan Horse switch, though, right?

Edited March 25, 2015 by stealinghome

[alias1]

I loved Frankie and Johnny! 

[Izeinwinter]

It wouldn't make sense to stop this plotline here, and giving up on an attack vector against samaritan wouldn't be very Root, so she may have high-jacked Harold's ploy. Problem is, I'm not quite sure how to do so without blow-back hitting Harold, which, as just demonstrated, she wouldn't be okay with. 

[thuganomics85]

Hate to say it, since I absolutely love her as Lagertha, but I thought Katheryn Winnick was off in some of her scenes.  I think her facial expressions were fine, but a lot of her line delivery came off kind of stilted; especially during some of her bantering scene with Reese.  Even when it worked, it felt like she was trying to copy Shaw.  Her big emotional scene was better thoug.  I guess I was just expecting more.  She's still awesome on Vikings though! That will never change.

 

And I'll still take her over Harper.  Disappointed to hear that it sounds like The Machine is interested in her.  I can't see why she would join the team.  They already got both Finch and Root, who are great with computers: do they really need a third wheel?

 

I'm so use to Ato Essandoh as Alfredo on Elementary, that anytime he was being an evil jerk, I wanted Sherlock to pop up and scream "Alfredo, stop it!  I'm deducing that you are acting like an asshole now, and I do not approve!"

 

The Finch and Root scenes were well acted, but it kind of reminds me of why I can't fully get on-board with Root.  I get that it was suppose to be Shaw's recent "death" freaking her out, but her wanting to kill Elizabeth is just so over the line, and I can't believe Finch isn't still furious over that possible betrayal.  I thought Root was getting better, but she is still full-blown crazy.  In the end, discrediting her with the fake email and making him look like a bad guy worked much better, and had she just done that, I would have been fine.  But, going straight for the kill option is very disturbing.

 

Reese and Iris are happening: I still like Wrenn Schmidt, but this is way too obvious.  And, I have to think this will end tragically. Then again, I don't think anyone will match Zoe when it comes to Reese's love life.

 

Look at that!  Fusco is actually getting shit done by being a good cop!  Glad that the show allows him to actually be great at his job, and not just great for snark and back-up.

[Bort]

remembering that [Root] can be a stone-cold killer and especially regresses when it comes to people she cares about

I think this was the aspect I liked best about the episode. Root's been defanged for awhile, she kneecaps people because it's Team Machine's policy, but she'd probably rather just shoot people in the face and be done with it. I'm glad they've shown that her psychopathic tendencies are still there.

Hate to say it, since I absolutely love her as Lagertha, but I thought Katheryn Winnick was off in some of her scenes. I think her facial expressions were fine, but a lot of her line delivery came off kind of stilted; especially during some of her bantering scene with Reese. Even when it worked, it felt like she was trying to copy Shaw. Her big emotional scene was better thoug. I guess I was just expecting more. She's still awesome on Vikings though! That will never change.

She was the Vikings chick! I thought she looked familiar. I've never seen the show but caught clips here and there. I also thought something was off with her but figured it was the actress covering a foreign accent.

Edited March 25, 2015 by kariyaki

[Abstract]

And to think I was *this close* to giving up on the show entirely. I watched tonight's episode on a whim, and Reese is kissing women. Finally, show!

Yes, I'm that shallow, and pretty much a one-note fan.

Edited March 25, 2015 by Abstract

[benteen]

Lagertha!  I had no idea Kathryn Winnick from Vikings was going to be on this show so it was a very pleasant surprising.  She was great and Frankie had a lot of chemistry with Reese.  Definitely one of the best POI's.

 

Terrific work by Michael Emmerson and I liked Root's storyline there though I was furious that she destroyed the Trojan horse.  I wanted to see that one go down.

 

Nice to see Ato Essandoh.  I remember him from the now defunct Copper.

 

I actually like the doctor.  I think the actress is beautiful.

 

Harper I still don't like.

[JoeSchwike]

There's no way Root ACTUALLY destroyed the Trojan Horse switch, though, right?

 

That's what was confusing to me, maybe it was the editing, but I saw Harold pull the activation switch out of his pocket when he went back to see Beth (and found out about the forged emails).  Then he comes back to the subway hideout, and the drawer's been broken into and Root said she destroyed it.  It certainly seemed like he came straight back (he accuses her of ruining Beth, as if its the first time he's seen her since his visit to Beth), so it seems like he should still have the switch on him.  I'm wondering if he was prepared, left a spare in the subway desk, and still had the 'real' switch? 

 

If not, I agree, it seems like such a waste to plant the seed of the Hong Kong plot months ago, and then bring it back up just to kill it off?

[benteen]

BTW, major props for the Reese and Frankie handcuffed in the butcher shop fight scene.

[stealinghome]

She was the Vikings chick! I thought she looked familiar. I've never seen the show but caught clips here and there. I also thought something was off with her but figured it was the actress covering a foreign accent.

This. I thought her cadence was a little funky sometimes, but to my admittedly bad ear, it sounded to me like she was overcorrecting for a non-native English speaker accent. Also sometimes I think the problem may have been mumbling/enunciation more than anything else.

 

It wouldn't make sense to stop this plotline here, and giving up on an attack vector against samaritan wouldn't be very Root, so she may have high-jacked Harold's ploy. Problem is, I'm not quite sure how to do so without blow-back hitting Harold, which, as just demonstrated, she wouldn't be okay with.

I have to rewatch, but how Samaritan would find Harold was a little unclear to me. I can't remember if Root thought that Samaritan would trace everything back to Professor Whistler because it would be able to pinpoint the time of the attack and know that Beth was meeting with him at that moment, or if she just thought that Samaritan would go over all of Beth's contacts with a fine-tooth comb and inevitably find Finch because one of Samaritan's goon would recognize Whistler-as-Finch. If the problem was the first, I'm not sure why they couldn't just hold onto it for six months and then have Root sit down near Beth at a bar, set it off, and then duck out of wherever Beth was? Unless it had to be done at the precise moment that Beth's stuff was installed into Samaritan? Granted this is banking a lot on human error, but six months after one dinner date, would Samaritan really bother looking THAT closely into Professor Whistler.... Maybe so, I guess. I also think it's pretty weird that The Machine a) didn't see that coming? and b) was apparently willing to take that chance but Root wasn't. TM is usually much more careful with her Admin.

 

Speaking of, as I digest, one of the things that didn't work for me tonight: I also think it was pretty short-sighted of Harold to think Samaritan wouldn't kill Beth the moment it pinpointed her as the source of the Trojan horse. I don't care if it knew Beth didn't know, there's no way she comes out of that alive.

 

In the end, discrediting her with the fake email and making him look like a bad guy worked much better, and had she just done that, I would have been fine.  But, going straight for the kill option is very disturbing.

Yeah, you know, I'm going back and forth on this. On the one hand, as I said above, it's good to see the show remember that Root is by far the most ruthless of its characters and, as kariyaki notes, would probably rather just kill problems than kneecap them. And her control is obviously more frayed than ever before these days, with losing Shaw and all, so I can totally buy that she'd just want to kill Beth and be done with it. But on the other, Root values her relationship with Harold so much that I think I found it out of character that she would jump to the option that was sure to seriously harm their relationship when there were other options available. Maybe we're supposed to think that Root just panicked/wanted to be absolutely sure Beth wouldn't be a problem, but nevertheless, while her willingness to torch her relationship with Harold to ensure his survival is touching, it also seemed somewhat unnecessary? And Root's not dumb, she should have seen that.

 

I guess ultimately I'm saying that, while I liked the beats within the Finch/Root story a lot (and the acting was, as always, stellar), the overall setup felt very contrived and that ruins it a bit for me. Other episodes have put them at cross-purposes, while still tugging on the underlying threads binding them, much more organically.

 

However, as disappointed with the episode as I was tonight, on some reflection I do want to give the show props for the Root character development (when has she ever gone against what TM advised before, let alone because she loves someone too much?). I feel like the character development has really stagnated this season--Harold has been very inert, and while the Reese-in-therapy stuff was promising initially, we all saw how quickly that devolved--but this episode was, quietly, a big milestone for Root. So, props for that, show (even if I still think it deserved a Root Path-level episode all on its own).

 

Oh, and two Shoot-related notes: Acker apparently decided Root was going to eat pancakes in Shaw's honor (aw); it didn't really click for me until I saw it pointed out on tumblr, but Root's coat was very much a Shaw-style coat.

Edited March 25, 2015 by stealinghome

[bros402]

I liked the episode as a whole, but some individual parts of it didn't click with me as well as I would've liked.

 

 

It wouldn't make sense to stop this plotline here, and giving up on an attack vector against samaritan wouldn't be very Root, so she may have high-jacked Harold's ploy. Problem is, I'm not quite sure how to do so without blow-back hitting Harold, which, as just demonstrated, she wouldn't be okay with. 

 

Yeah, i'm thinking Root stole the activation key from Harold, kept it, and perhaps might access the code for the trojan AI and implement it into whatever project she is doing with that former POI.

 

Or, she could activate it herself, because to Samaritan, she has seemingly unlimited personas. She'd be the perfect person to turn it on, she'd just have to survive long enough for her identity to switch to a new one.

[Netfoot]

Dammit!

 

Here I was, hoping Harper would catch two rounds in the face and that John would hook up with Frankie.  Instead, John and the insipid shrink start something, and Harper is getting e-mails from the Machine?!??

 

And the Harold/Root scenes were dramatic and powerful, but what, the Trojan horse from months ago just vanishes in a puff of smoke?  I'm tired of Samaritan and company getting the upper hand, episode after episode after episode!

 

Team Machine needs a win.  Instead, it's all falling apart.  Shaw is goodness knows where, Root and Harold are at cross-purposes, John is wasting time with the yawn-inducing shrink (who doesn't seem to have a single characteristic that he would be interested in), we hardly see Fusco at all, and they pick Horrible Harper to join the team?

 

Why am I wasting my time with this show?  I'll tell you:  Because each new episode, I convince myself that it MUST be time for their fortunes to turn around.  But each new episode, they prove me wrong.

[Princess Lucky]

While I do agree that the episode had two totally separate storylines that never did quite connect, so I concede that it was disjointed, I actually loved it. Both the storylines were great individually, and the pacing was, I thought, very good. Each main story could have been better served by a separate episode with another minor b-plot, but still. I found this episode to be a return to form.

First of all, it had such a strong start. I'm always here for action coupled with hilarity. And, well, it's true; Reese does have the best pokerface of all time. "She stole my badge" was pretty awesome as well. And Fusco's gleeful little face when Reese admitted he got beat up by a woman? Amazing.

I loved Katheryn Winnick. And Frankie was a solid character; kickass, funny, emotional, not to mention gorgeous. And she interacted well with both Reese and Fusco. Plus, chasing the bad guy while in handcuffs? Shaw would be proud. And the Reese/Frankie fight sequences were all awesome. Katheryn Winnick's real life martial arts skills shone through. Those two made quite a pair. And that last knee-capping of her brother's killer was, dare I say, sweet. Nice little moment between Frankie and Johnny (and I am embarrassed to say I didn't make that connection until the names were said together, heh). I'd love to see her back.

And God but Annie Ilonzeh is gorgeous. I liked what we saw of Harper this time around. Her interactions with Frankie were good and she was again shown to have good instincts but poor judgment (in terms of avoiding dangerous liaisons). And her conflict resolution skills showcased why she could actually be an asset to the team. Which, Thornhill? Mind blown. The Machine already recruited Harper? Damn. I love how the show just subtly dropped that in for us longtime viewers to freak, before explaining it for everybody else. And John's "actually, some say it's a her?". I cheered. I love this show.

Seriously, can we keep Frankie, Harper and Dani Silva forever? Would that be too much to ask? As revolving regulars, like on SVU? One missing at a time? Pretty please? Sigh.

I was glad to see Iris being professional. On most other shows the impropriety wouldn't have even been discussed. And what a discussion it was. Poor Reese, thinking it was his "fault" because as soon as he opened up she saw him for what he really is, a violent monster, and she discarded him. Such a Reese reaction. Both because of his self-loathing and because of his cluelessness with women.

And in the end I loved that it was Iris who "manned up", if you will (ironic because Reese seemed content to just give her the cold shoulder). She told him, and she kissed him. Boom. Professional but also a player. Good for her. And Reese's dumb "oh" just made my day. Interesting that this is the first time we're actually seeing a normal relationship develop, well, normally. It's like we saw all the Reese kisses we hadn't seen all those years. I do hope Iris is not a mole and I also hope she doesn't die because Reese won't be able to take it. Nor will I.

Lastly, Jessica Hecht is so fabulous. She and Michael Emerson were such a great pair. Poor Finch. He actually liked her.

So. To the good stuff. Root was back. And she seemed a little too chipper at first, which I chalked up to her missing the action a bit, missing Finch even. I was happy to see her healing. And all her scenes with Finch had a sweetness and a gravitas. It seemed at first that she was saying 'hello again" but then it seemed that she was maybe saying "goodbye".

And then the reveal? That Root was the threat? I called it about 2 seconds before Finch did. I loved the setup: 1) Root was all too eager to blame the ex to divert suspicion 2) she was being cutesy with Finch early on to easily get more info about Beth and 3) she was saying all those sweet, nice things to him later on because she knew he'd probably hate her after she killed Beth. Which, by the way, was a great way to highlight the contrast between Finch and Root. She will kill. Probably. Unless a friend gets to her.

That was an amazing scene between Root and Finch, when she finally told him the truth. It was somehow both chilling and heartwarming. The Machine was actually willing to let Finch risk his life for a chance to defeat Samaritan, maybe because she finally learned what he was trying to teach her; all human lives are equal, including his. But it was Root who couldn't lose him, for a very human reason of her own. It would be one loss too many after Shaw.

And, let me tell you, as unique as their bond has been, at first I worried the show was playing up the Root/Finch connection too much (at the expense of Root/Shaw), but I was appeased when Root mentioned Shaw. Indeed, with her gone, Harold is all Root has. That reminder was lovely. And them wanting to singlehandedly take on responsibility for Shaw's "death" while reassuring each other they were not to blame? Wonderful. And amazing performances by Amy Acker and Michael Emerson. Season highlights.

Oh and Finch actually ingesting the poison? He proved that he really believes what he taught the machine. I was strangely proud of him in that moment, even though I was also making the same "wtf" face as Root. The conclusion to that storyline was solid; Beth was killed professionally. And Finch forgave Root (though he sent her away and, goddammit, what do we have to do to have Root appear more often?). And I agree with the comments above; I don't for a moment believe that Root destroyed the device. "It would have gotten Professor Whistler killed". But maybe not Root.

I don't know, I just loved this episode. It felt like the show is back on track. We got some interesting tidbits/takeaways that will likely play into the season finale, like the device/trojan horse and Harper getting numbers. Bring it on.

Edited March 25, 2015 by Princess Lucky

[Boundary]

Well, Frankie is a better Shawdition than Harper for sure but I'm getting tired that they all seem to have this swagger where nothing phases them. And, unlike regular POIs, they are never grateful when Reese saves their ass even after they initially blew him off. Team Machine also seem quick to let them in on operational secrets (like cloning phones, or their hacking skills). Maybe I'm not ready for Shaw to be replaced yet.

 

I'm sort of ok with the Iris romance but they need to build up that character a bit more. She's done nothing but sit and listen (obviously) but now that they are hooking up we need to see more of what she's like outside the therapist office. We need to be invested by the time she gets kidnapped (you just know it's gonna happen, if not by Samaritan then definitely by the Brotherhood). 

[yellowfred]

So, I feel a little bad about this, but I was actually relieved when it turned out that Root was planning to kill Beth.  All of her scenes with Finch in the first half of the episode seemed like her way of saying goodbye to him, so I was totally prepared for the reveal that she had some one-woman suicide mission planned.  The fact that she was actually saying goodbye to their friendship was somehow sadder, though, since he's kind of her only friend.  

 

I liked Harper a lot more this episode.  I don't think she'd ever really take Shaw's place on the show, just because she's pretty much the anti-Shaw.  From what we've seen from her, she has little to no combat expertise, but she knows how to deal with people (well, she knows how to talk criminals out of killing her, which is still a valuable skill).  It could be interesting to see the team work some problems from more of a grifter angle.

[Coxfires]

I don't think she'd ever really take Shaw's place on the show, just because she's pretty much the anti-Shaw.  From what we've seen from her, she has little to no combat expertise, but she knows how to deal with people (well, she knows how to talk criminals out of killing her, which is still a valuable skill).  It could be interesting to see the team work some problems from more of a grifter angle.

 

 

ITA. It would be stupid of them to "replace" Shaw by a carbon copy, the character had her uniqueness, so adding someone with a different set of skills is a good idea. Loosing Shaw/Shahi was a real bummer noy only for the character, but for the whole Team dynamic, it allowed lots of different interactions/pairings, and they never managed to get their foot back ever since MIA.

 

Root/Finch is always a win, and I loved this one. Root going against the Machine because she values Harold more than the Machine herself? Wonderful. And Acker + Emerson are just a delight to watch. I hope root won't be away too long. I would not rule out the possibility that Root didn't completely put Harold's plan down, though, I have a feeling she will continue Harold's plan, but direct Samaritan on herself, maybe via her connections to Caleb.

 

So the Machine texts Harper, huh? Between that, Root "working" for Caleb, Grice letting Shaw go, Control having doubts, I feel like Team Machine is slowly acquiring more and more potential allies that could lead them to have help against Samaritan, be it in the fight or IT department.

 

I'm getting kind of tired of all of these superwomen. Seriously how realistic is this? I suppose the Machine may be orchestrating these encounters to find a replacement for Shaw, but even on a show with this premise it's pretty far-fetched that all these women can continually best Reese.

 

 

I'd say John has always had a blind spot when it comes to women, he is a bit old school like that. But it is indeed somewhat cringeworthy to compare how competent/hyperaware he was in the earlier seasons to how often he seems gullible in this one. But that is a common trope when you introduce new characters, writers have the tendency to disminish the older ones' capacities to enhance the new character's. 

 

Too bad Frankie's actress is otherwise taken, I really liked her (more than Harper anyway, although I really liked her better this time), and she had great dynamic with Reese, the handcuff fight was awesome. I'd really like to see her more often.

Iris/John: I'm pretty indifferent. Glad the unethical aspect of the situation was called out, now I'm not sure where we are going with this, or if it is even going to last . I mean, he basically lies to her about everything and we still don't know jacksquat about her. Her being tied to HR/the brotherhood/Samaritan is still possible. As for why would John date her rather than Zoe or Frankie, I think that is because Iris is the most remote from his activities. No fighting, no shooting, no link to his extracurricular activities. I really hope there is more than just romance behind this, because it feels a bit out of place in PoI.

[beadgirl]

Wow.  I loved Root and Finch's story, and how the show continues to contrast their approaches.  I especially love that Finch is sticking to his moral viewpoint; I think he would have taken the same approach even if he hadn't liked whatshername -- he won't allow an innocent person to die if he can help it, even if it means sacrificing his own life.  And despite Root's promise, as Finch's comment earlier about the men she killed when she kidnapped him, I don't think she will ever be "redeemed" or won over to Finch's viewpoint.  She's too much of a consequentialist, has killed too many people, and is more than a little psycho.  I like that, actually, that she's not all "You're right, Finch! Your way is better!"  I still think that whatever the Machine/Samaritan endgame is, she will sacrifice her life, not for other people, not even Shaw, but for the Machine.

 

Reese and the psychiatrist -- eh.  At least she was professional about ending the relationship.  I'm ok with a relationship if it is mostly off-screen and if there's no loved-one-in-peril nonsense later on.

 

I really don't like Harper at all.

 

 

I'm getting kind of tired of all of these superwomen. Seriously how realistic is this? I suppose the Machine may be orchestrating these encounters to find a replacement for Shaw, but even on a show with this premise it's pretty far-fetched that all these women can continually best Reese.

Not only that, I'm beginning to get tired of tiny little women beating the crap out of hordes of men literally twice their size.  That's why I like Zoe, actually -- she's effective without being "kick-ass," which is refreshing.  The butcher fight scene was lots of fun, though.

 

 

I feel like Team Machine is slowly acquiring more and more potential allies that could lead them to have help against Samaritan, be it in the fight or IT department.

I'm hoping for an amazing finale where all these disparate people come together from all over to take down Samaritan.

[shura]

I felt like there were way too many characters in this episode. I kept going "Who is this guy? Is that Beth's ex? No, that's the Florida guy who is after Ray. Why is he after Ray again? Did Ray skip town with the guy's money and that's why there is a bounty on him? Wait, no, he actually skipped bail. Why is the guy looking for him then?" It's hard to keep everybody and their stories straight when there are so many of them.

 

I had to laugh when Frankie actually tried to shame Reese for going after her in that bar in the beginning of the episode. How dare you, I am a bounty hunter, what did you think I was? I help justice prevail! Yes, yes, it's all great and noble, but I do need my badge back...

 

As for why would John date her rather than Zoe or Frankie, I think that is because Iris is the most remote from his activities. No fighting, no shooting, no link to his extracurricular activities. I really hope there is more than just romance behind this, because it feels a bit out of place in PoI.

 

I just can't see why he is interested. Has she ever said or done anything interesting?

[Proteus]

I don't think anyone is going to replace Shaw. The actress is on maternity leave and at this point the show still believes that she will she back.

[FormerMod-a1]

I just realized, the number (Frankie) turned out to be the perp and not the victim.  There were twists and turns for sure, but she really want to kill the guy for what he did to her brother, not just as a bounty hunter.

[Jonsi Igo]

I liked Finch/Root's half of the story way better than Reese's. It's interesting to see Root's still her old self deep down in her core when she feels her people are in danger. I'm looking forward to seeing more of their friendship's evolvement. Root's my fav character and I'm glad her off-screen activities seem to be in the past now. :)

 

I'm still undecided on Harper, but I don't mind her getting messages from TM. TM needs more assets to win the war, but I'm hoping the creators find the organic way to plug new characters in with the established ones.

[basiltherat]

I thought that somehow Finch would fake Root out by only pretending to drink the poison.  He is as intense in his actions according to his creed as Root is to hers.  I hope Root found a way to install the Trojan Horse anyway. 

 

Frankie was the best notShaw of them all so far.  Don't think Iris is the girl for John --there's no chemistry like with Zoe.  Iris is like Jessica -- delicate flower put on a pedestal.  Zoe and Frankie, not so much.

 

Where was Bear to comfort Finchy?

[DEM]

Did The Machine give Harper the Ray assignment so she could -- unwittingly and in a strange, roundabout way -- provide back-up to Reese (to protect Ray from Perp Frankie)?

 

I need to watch this again and pay closer attention to the plot shenanigans in the Frankie/Ray/Florida Guy story.  Admittedly I was a bit distracted so I might have heard wrong, but I could have sworn at one point that Florida Guy said to Frankie, "You disappoint me, Frankie. I followed you all day so that I could find Ray, and then you lost him," but in the next breath said, "Where's Ray?"

[Trillium]

Iris/John: I'm pretty indifferent. Glad the unethical aspect of the situation was called out, now I'm not sure where we are going with this, or if it is even going to last . I mean, he basically lies to her about everything and we still don't know jacksquat about her. Her being tied to HR/the brotherhood/Samaritan is still possible. As for why would John date her rather than Zoe or Frankie, I think that is because Iris is the most remote from his activities. No fighting, no shooting, no link to his extracurricular activities. I really hope there is more than just romance behind this, because it feels a bit out of place in PoI.

Ethical issues aside, Iris not knowing who Reese really is is a problem for me. I'm not talking about his past but his current situation that he's only playing a cop to hide out from an assassin team sent by a rouge AI who will kill him and anyone close to him. Not to mention the Brotherhood. She has no clue she has a huge target on her back, and it seems super OOC for Reese to not even seem to care about the potential danger to her life. She might be willing to sacrifice her career but her life is something entirely different. I was hoping after her grand confession that Reese would say he had feelings for her too but his life is super dangerous and complicated and they should stay away for a bit. I might have been able to get on board with them if that had happened but it was like whatever "new habits" he's working on including willing putting people he cares about in grave danger without their knowledge. Which is so far from what we know about him. And I doubt we'll ever see him in therapy with Dr. Idontcare that he was referred to. Wasted potential on real insight to him. Suddenly to her office is right in the precinct? Ok. With all this show has going for it, I'm not interested in seeing them sneakying around like horney teenagers. That's so not the tenor or structure of the show. I hope there's an actual point to this other than the cliched a broken man like Reese just needs to find "true wuv" to be healed. It also seems super rushed since they didn't develop Iris at all before they put them together. Reese and Zoe had buckets of chemistry for a long time and they never took advantage of it. And now I'm dreading her next appearance because I'm afraid they're going to ruin a great character and asset to the team because for whatever reason they want Reese and Iris to happen instead. If that's what they want, fine, but please don't kill or ruin Zoe.

[MDL]

I really liked the Root/Finch story line. In a way Root showed her humanity(?), albeit in a in a somewhat sick and twisted fashion, with   "I'll kill her, rather than sacrifice Finch, because I can't face loosing Finch after loosing(?) Shaw"

 

I also liked Frankie. Harper, not so much, but she was better/less annoying than last time.

 

Iris/John: okay

 One question: Near the end, When Iris (that is the shrink's name?) said to Reese "My office, John", she walked through a typical police station glass door, yet when the scene continued, Reese walked through a somewhat ornate wooden door, into an apartment like office? Huh?? It took me out of the scene for a moment.

{or was it previously established that, for some reason, this office was specially constructed within the precinct? was this due to bad editing,  (or possibly my inattention)?}

[TV Anonymous]

Lagertha! I like Katheryn Winnick. She is pretty, she is hot and she can actually fight. Also she is a Torontonian. Considering that she has leading role in Vikings, I think she will just be either a one-off or a recurring character. Just like Zoe and her The 100 and Elias and his Remedy.

 

I do not like the Harper character if she is supposed to be one of their allies. So far she does not have any redeemable quality and she does not have anything on the table for Team Finch to utilize. 

 

Reese gets kisses from two different women? I thought Jim Caviezel avoided scenes like that because his wife did not like it?

 

This. I thought her cadence was a little funky sometimes, but to my admittedly bad ear, it sounded to me like she was overcorrecting for a non-native English speaker accent. Also sometimes I think the problem may have been mumbling/enunciation more than anything else.

 

Winnick speaks Ukrainian fluently. Is that accent noticeable? I can not tell, being a non-native speaker myself.

[stealinghome]

Some interesting tidbits from Ashley Gable, the writer of last night's ep:

 

Originally it was going to be Zoe, not Harper, in the episode (goodness I wish). Although maybe it's good, because having Zoe around would have highlighted just how much chemistry she has with Reese and just how little Reese has with Iris.

 

The show shot a scene with Root keeping Harold's triggering device, but cut it. I KNEW there was no way Root destroyed that thing.

Edited March 25, 2015 by stealinghome

[FormerMod-a1]

Regarding Jim Caviezel and kissing scenes.  From what I understand, it's only sex scenes that he won't do out of respect for his wife.  Post coital, lying in bed with the TV-friendly L-shaped sheets is fine even for him, it's the actual sex scenes that are out.  Even if there is no nudity.

[wevel]

4) SINCE WHEN ARE ROOT AND THE MACHINE TALKING AGAIN? What the hell, show? Did you forget about Root at the end of 4x13 and her crisis of faith? (More on this below too.) <snip>

I mean, aside from Root's many many Shaw and loss issues, what about Root and The Machine???? What did The Machine say to get Root working with her again? What is the status of their relationship????? WHY is the show whiffing so bad on the crisis of faith storyline they set up so well in the first half of the season?

 

Yes, this is something that is long overdue to be addressed, and if the show didn't do it in such a Root-heavy episode, it seems like it's not going to happen at all this season?  Which is just a shame, because it was set up in the front half of the season as a, if not the, major plotline for Root.  Are we just supposed to handwave that she was seemingly all done with TM at the end of 4X13 but then concluded that she was wrong somewhere between then and 4X15?  Even if the writers decided for whatever reason that they weren't going to foreground this storyline, they should have given us at least some brief scene(s) to wrap it up, e.g. a Root-Machine exchange that showed Root reluctantly listening to The Machine again (because Harold was in danger in 4X15, or something to do with Samaritan - just something).

 

The saving grace of this episode was the Root/Finch stuff, which was intense and layered and complex, and which I'm still digesting. My initial thoughts are that I'm very sympathetic to both of them, because this was in a lot of ways the Congressman redux, only Root found a better path this time (only, by another measure, it was the Congressman plot all over again, with the team making the wrong call). Harold/Root have the best chemistry of any type on the show, and tonight was no exception, and they were past due for a blow-up, so putting more tension back in there is good. How they balance each other out came out full force tonight. But I felt like Harold was a little out of character tonight...he doesn't usually let mushiness get in the way of common sense, and I get that he's sweet on Beth, but he met her once. That doesn't merit that level of "turn my brain off" (I can buy it more when it comes to Grace because he was/is deeply in love with her). And drinking the poison? That seemed farfetched.

 

Kind of similarly, I like what this episode did with Root--acknowledging that when she said "we have to be ready for sacrifice!" what she really meant was "We can sacrifice me, Fusco, or Reese, BUT NOT SHAW OR HAROLD, I CAN'T LOSE THEM," delving into her survivor's guilt over asking Shaw to help them in 4x11 (aww, bb, she would've come to help even if you hadn't asked), and remembering that she can be a stone-cold killer and especially regresses when it comes to people she cares about--but it was way too rushed

 

I agree that the Harold-Root stuff felt kind of rushed.  When Root was having coffee with Harold and said to him, "I'd do anything for you, Harold. Anything," there seemed to be something off about the way she said that, but before I had time to process that properly, she was seemingly out of nowhere talking about them being friends, saying she couldn't imagine who she would be without him, etc. that was clearly foreshadowing some kind of crisis between them, and then before I could process all of that emotional sharing, we had Harold following Root into Beth Bridge's hotel room and having his fears confirmed re Root's plans to kill Beth.  And all that wasn't even the most intense part of their interactions!

 

But from the hotel room onwards, their scenes really worked for me.  Yes, it was kind of contrived for Harold to suddenly care that much about Beth - Root even called him out on that - but I can see it as stemming from his guilt about losing Shaw, this angst about putting people he's connected to in harm's way.  And then to see Root and Harold have an emotional conversation about what happened at the stock exchange was gutwrenching, and quite revealing for both characters.

 

I loved the setup: 1) Root was all too eager to blame the ex to divert suspicion 2) she was being cutesy with Finch early on to easily get more info about Beth and 3) she was saying all those sweet, nice things to him later on because she knew he'd probably hate her after she killed Beth. Which, by the way, was a great way to highlight the contrast between Finch and Root. She will kill. Probably. Unless a friend gets to her.

 

Yeah, on first watch, I didn't realize why she was being so sweet with Harold, but it all made sense afterwards.  That final scene between them, when he put a hand on her shoulder while telling her he didn't want to see her for a while, was also really strong for me.  As yellowfred noted, without Shaw, Root really doesn't have anyone else besides Harold, so I was glad he essentially said to Root, "You've really upset me with your actions around the device and Beth Bridges, but I'm still here for you, in the long run." 

 

As far as the way the A and B storylines went, they were somewhat disjointed, but I found Reese's story entertaining enough.  I did roll my eyes at all the kisses he was getting - is that some kind of dictate coming down from the network or something?? - but at least he had chemistry with Frankie, and she was a pretty fun character.  Like several people have already mentioned, I really did not want the show to go the Reese/therapist route, especially not with such hackneyed dialogue and dynamics.  The only thing I can think is that this is setting up a crisis for John, e.g. he'll be forced to reveal his identity in some way (e.g. losing his cover identity vis-a-vis Samaritan or telling Iris who he *really* is, besides not being a real cop) that has serious consequences for the team.  Otherwise, this dubious romance has no narrative value for the show or character value for Reese.

 

I'll have to rewatch the episode again more carefully, because I missed The Machine's text to Harper. I was pretty blah on her introduction episode, but she was more interesting in this one.

Edited March 25, 2015 by wevel

[stealinghome]

I'll have to rewatch the episode again more carefully, because I missed The Machine's text to Harper.

You know, this reminds me: a few weeks ago we had a debate in one of the episode threads about whether The Machine was recruiting other people unbeknownst to the team to help fight Samaritan/help with Irrelevant numbers. Last night was our first definitive proof that TM is, in fact, doing so, which I find fascinating (and I agree that the way it was slipped in there, it was easy to miss). It also seems to validate the notion that for the last season-plus, TM may well have been consciously steering the team toward particular numbers that had the possibility of helping the team in some way (thinking also of Ali and the mesh network in this season's opener).

 

Harold is not going to react well to any of this. But I'm super excited to see where it goes.

[Mars477]

Ugh, I told you not to fuck your therapist, Reese.

 

Either Iris stays around (in which case she's a waste of screentime), leads to some relationship drama from not being in the know (what the fuck), or dies (been there, done that).  She doesn't even have the good grace to have decent chemistry with Reese (Zoe, Frankie in this ep) or act useful to the team (Zoe again).

[mjc570]

Has Harold completely forgotten about his wife, Grace?  I know she believes he is dead, and is in Italy with a new identity, but it seems like it's hardly been long enough for him to have gotten over his grief.