S04.E22: YHWH

[edhopper]

All kinds of awesome, the slow melodic lead up to Welcome to the Machine was incredible. I missed that was the indestrucable case, good catch.

One thing i missed, when did the night-vision goggles come into play? I didn't see them being used.

 

My guess for next season, and there BETTER be a next season, rebuild the Machine in a way that can beat Samaritan. Finch is a better programer than Arthur was.

[MDL]

 

"I won't suffer," being a reassurance?  Gosh I hope no AI EVER has that conversation in real life!

Scary thought, for real life.

 

However in the movies, In 2001 , and in one of the sequels (?), they have a similar convo.

HAL (the computer) asks, "will I dream" and the scientist says "I don't know" , as he shuts him (HAL) down.

 

BTW loved the ep.

[ShannaB]

Well that Season Finale was depressing.  Samaritan and Greer can't win.  I think we all need to see Greer's smug smile wiped off his face.  I would like to see him going down in flames but, better still, rotting in a dark cell reliving his failure until his death.

 

It was a bit much not seeing Reese, Root and Finch looking like Swiss Cheese at the end with all that concentrated gun fire but I am willing to shut down my brain and accept a miracle of bad shooting with some cavalry coming to the rescue.  I highly doubt Elias and Control are goners.  They have to be back for a spectacular take down alongside TM.  I'm upset that Grice is gone.  Grice/Taraby would have been a great asset for TM. That bullet to the head looked pretty darn fatal **rolls eyes**.

 

I remain optimistic that that POI will be renewed because I wouldn't like it to end with last night's episode.  It would be far too similar to ANGEL'S series Finale.  I want another Season to see TM have some success and I would miss Bear just a little too much.

[DeLurker]

One thing i missed, when did the night-vision goggles come into play? I didn't see them being used.

 

My guess for next season, and there BETTER be a next season, rebuild the Machine in a way that can beat Samaritan. Finch is a better programer than Arthur was.

Didn't Reese use them when he had TM cut the lights, fire the smoke bombs and then start taking out Samaritans?

 

I'm having a hard enough time adjusting to the Tuesday schedule, a no PoI scenario is just not acceptable.

 

Thanks for the answers on YHWH.  Much appreciated.

[stealinghome]

One thing i missed, when did the night-vision goggles come into play? I didn't see them being used.

The night vision goggles themselves weren't used--what Root took from them is the battery chip that is self-powering (ie a permanent battery), which they're using to power The Machine in the case (Root's facetious "double As" comment).

 

At least that was my understanding of how that went down.

Edited May 6, 2015 by stealinghome

[Boundary]

One thing i missed, when did the night-vision goggles come into play? I didn't see them being used.

 

Reminds me of Guardians of the Galaxy when the raccoon asks for some guys prosthetic leg because it's crucial for the plan to escape prison, when it's only just a laugh (I just read that sentence again, but in my defence watch the movie, the joke will make more sense).

(DeLurker's explanation is better than mine, the Machine didn't for goggles just because it can.)

PS. Stealinghome's explanation is even better.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Boundary

[DeLurker]

PS. Stealinghome's explanation is even better.

Agreed.  I forgot that what was shown onscreen was what TM was seeing and she (I've adopted Root's pronoun usage) was feeding Reese directions on where to shoot.

[Netfoot]

I *am* excited about the reset scenario for next season though - there are a lot of ways rebuilding The Machine could go.  And the showrunners all but guaranteed that Shaw would be back in Season 5, which will also be awesome!

 

You do realise that it could take half the season to build a machine capable of rebooting those "core heuristics", right?  Or the whole season, even.  They won't be able to pick one up at Best Buy, and they don't have The Machine to help them by fudging some paperwork and having a few supercomputers delivered to them by accident.  So Harold is going to have to bring the genuis.

[TigerLynx]

I'm tired of Samaritan winning all the time.  I miss Season One.  I liked it when it was Finch/Reese working a case with some assist by Fusco and Carter.

[StarBrand]

What about when the machine originally moved itself-all that hardware has to still be somewhere, right?

 

Also, what about that office that had people inputting data back into the machine to get around Harold's daily "wipe" routine.

Edited May 6, 2015 by StarBrand

[MrWhyt]

I miss Season One.  I liked it when it was Finch/Reese working a case with some assist by Fusco and Carter.

I for one do not miss Season 1. Procedurals can get boring really fast, to both the viewers and the writers. Having some sort of long term story line is way more interesting than just going through the motions week in and week out.

[Xantar]

I didn't read any prior speculation, but I knew the Machine was going to stuff itself in the indestructible briefcase. I also always figured the Machine had distributed itself across the entire world wide web. Being in the power lines was an interesting twist, I guess, but not all that different. 

 

So the episode was a hell of a cliffhanger, but really writers, we get it. Samaritan is super powerful. It has unlimited goons to throw at a problem. It out thinks everyone. It's getting a little repetitive and tiresome. It puts me somewhat in mind of the Red John storyline from the Mentalist. He thwarted so many plots to bring him to justice so effectively and completely brainwashed so many people that it just got boring. An invincible villain is no more interesting than an invincible hero. You've made your point, writers. Now it's time to turn things around.

[TigerLynx]

They had a long term storyline in Season One (Nathan, Jessica, spies from John's past) along with the case of the week.

[stealinghome]

With the benefit of sleep and some distance, it occurred to me that this episode is kind of a microcosm of the whole season. It wasn't a bad episode by any means, but the pacing was off, and there were things that REALLY worked alongside things that REALLY didn't. It also kind of made it obvious that 4B felt inert because, well, it WAS. It was setting up for S5 more than anything else. (Which means 4B should have been doing strong character work on the principals in the interim, but, well....) And I think I liked it as a setup for S5/reboot of the series more than I did as a standalone episode. nevertheless, still excited to see where the reboot goes--but the writers need to capitalize on the reboot potential in S5 better than they capitalized on it in S4.

 

Random notes:

Root continues to evolve away from The Machine in a really interesting way. When she yelled at The Machine--something like "No more standing on the sidelines. If you want us to risk our lives to save your skin, you need to GET IN THE GAME"--well, can you imagine S3 Root barking at TM like that? Can you imagine even a pre-4x13 Root yelling at The Machine like that? They seem to be evolving toward being equals, which is interesting...

 

...but I can't help feeling like her comment was aimed a bit at Harold, too. All season Harold has wanted to ignore the TM/Samaritan conflict and trust that TM will protect him while standing on the sidelines. This season has pretty much been Root dragging Harold into situation after situation because he can't/won't get involved himself. So I'm REALLY doubling down on my hope that Harold has to become more proactive next season. Even more than TM, he needs to get in the game.

 

I still want Root and Reese in dual God More more often. Because holy hell, that was awesome.

[FormerMod-a1]

I'm tired of Samaritan winning all the time.  I miss Season One.  I liked it when it was Finch/Reese working a case with some assist by Fusco and Carter.

 

 

I for one do not miss Season 1. Procedurals can get boring really fast, to both the viewers and the writers. Having some sort of long term story line is way more interesting than just going through the motions week in and week out.

 

 

They had a long term storyline in Season One (Nathan, Jessica, spies from John's past) along with the case of the week.

 

I was also going to say pretty much the same thing.  The Case of the week eps always had a thread of the overall arc.  It was there from the beginning, just not the A story, more the B or C story, but it is always there.  And even if there was a purely stand alone ep - it's never going through the motions.  You are at least learning about the characters and/or their relationships an building them.

[Boundary]

...but I can't help feeling like her comment was aimed a bit at Harold, too. All season Harold has wanted to ignore the TM/Samaritan conflict and trust that TM will protect him while standing on the sidelines. This season has pretty much been Root dragging Harold into situation after situation because he can't/won't get involved himself. So I'm REALLY doubling down on my hope that Harold has to become more proactive next season. Even more than TM, he needs to get in the game.

 

I still want Root and Reese in dual God More more often. Because holy hell, that was awesome.

 

I like this observation. I was frustrated all season long about Finch and his attitude towards the machine. Understandable at first, it was his reaction to the kill the congressman storyline. But as season 4 rolled out and it became clear why TM wanted to act so strongly, it frustrated me that Finch dug in to his position even more. When it became clear how far Samaritan would go and increasingly how TM was losing, Harold still stuck to his "people are more important" mantra. It was obvious that without opposition, Samaritan would kill even more people. Even in this episode, Root had to drag him to a more urgent task of, you know, saving the machine from existence instead of saving John (by turning himself to the Brotherhood, yeah that's guaranteed to work out very well without the machine's help, Harold).

Edited May 6, 2015 by Boundary

[CoderLady]

Even in this episode, Root had to drag him to a more urgent task of, you know, saving the machine from existence instead of saving John (by turning himself to the Brotherhood, yeah that's guaranteed to work out very well without the machine's help, Harold).

 

I love how this is so much more satisfying and realistic than what happens in CBS's cookie-cutter procedurals. In shows like any of the NCIS or CSI whatevers, given a choice between giving the bad guy the means to destroy the world and saving the hero's partner/wife/child/girlfriend, the hero always goes for the personal save, even though the bad guy can't be trusted and is going to destroy the world when he gets what he wants. Of course, there is always an Ass Pull or Deus ex Machina  save in those procedurals, but running to save Reese while the machine dies, or not killing the congressman -- those things have consequences in this show as they should.

[stealinghome]

But until I do watch it again, I have to ask -- when Team Machine arrived at TM's location, did the Thornhill guy ask Harold if he was "Harold Admin"? 'cause that is awesome.

Yes! I loved that detail. It was hilarious, and awesome at the same time.

[kwnyc]

Can you imagine even a pre-4x13 Root yelling at The Machine like that? They seem to be evolving toward being equals, which is interesting...

 

Well, if Harold is God the Father, The Machine is God the Daughter (who will rise again on the third day), then Root is clearly the Holy Ghost.

 

Reese can be backup Jesus.

 

(And perhaps Samaritan can be the stranger who saves the wounded traveler).

Edited May 6, 2015 by kwnyc

[Ellee]

As soon as the ep hits OnDemand, I have to rewatch -- I COMPLETELY missed seeing "I love you, Daddy" last night (I've already griped about my own dad interrupting the show). But until I do watch it again, I have to ask -- when Team Machine arrived at TM's location, did the Thornhill guy ask Harold if he was "Harold Admin"? 'cause that is awesome. 

 

Taking the show as a Biblical allegory, last night's episode was Good Friday, but Easter morning is only a couple days away.  ;)

I didn't catch 'Harold Admin'.  There are soooo many things that I miss. 

 

I'm so happy that I was told about this site.  I've always been a POI fan but all of you have made it so much better.  So, thank you.  After I read here, I need to watch the show over (and over) to catch the things you all spot and catch. 

[StarBrand]

So many things to process about last night, I had a zillion thoughts about it, which I'm only now starting to process. 

 

Things got started quickly and never let up. Even as the episode ended. The last scene, of Root and Reese walking directly into another group of Samaritan goons, guns a'blazing. I thought there was no bloody way they'd end this season with us far from sure of everyone's survival, but it's just one way this finale fooled with my expectations.

 

First of all, the reveal about the Machine being IN the world's power grid. I did NOT see that coming. I did figure the team would not save the machine as a whole, but they would not lose it entirely, which is pretty much what happened. This assures that Season 5 cannot initially be about the show's original premise, so they're really wading into uncharted territory here.

 

I thought Control might get one up on Greer and Samaritan. Boy was I wrong about that. It always seemed to me far too basic for Samaritan to resort to mass attacks on people, instead doing something more incisive and insidious. I completely agree with Greer's reasoning-kill 100 random people, nothing changes. Kill the RIGHT people at the right time, and something might change. I never predicted that Samaritan would be responsible for offing both Elias and Dominic. Team Machine knew all along that Samaritan would come after them, but Dominic and Elias had NO idea about was was coming after them. 

 

What else can be said about the Machine's conversation with "Father". The accompanying Pink Floyd soundtrack was perfect. I liked that the Machine apologized for not being able to fix this whole Samaritan issue. It even questioned whether it should still exist in the first place. It told Harold that if he really thought it had gone way too far off the path, then all he had to do was let it die, and it wouldn't fight it. And when it came right down to it, Harold could not let that happen. If there was any shred of doubt in his mind about the Machine's humanity, this has pretty much put that to rest for good.

 

So, the bare DNA of the Machine is in the briefcase, not dead, but far from "living". I had no idea how they'll resolve this problem quickly. And despite everything that happened in this episode, to me it just felt like for the first time in a long time, Team Machine had gotten some sort of victory. The fact the Machine is not completely destroyed. Finch, Reese, and Root are still alive (for now) as well as Fusco. And if I remember correctly, the look on Finch's face seemed very calm, a combination of what he now realizes about the Machine, as well as averting complete disaster. A small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

 

One last question left hanging though-does Samaritan believe the Machine is dead now, or is it aware that it is in that briefcase? Greer's last conversation with Samaritan seemed to indicate the latter...

Edited May 6, 2015 by StarBrand

[Netfoot]

(And perhaps Samaritan can be the stranger who saves the wounded traveler).

 

I think Samaritan is the one who Corrected the traveller.  Because he was a disruptor.

 

Naturally, Luke got the story all wrong...

[crystalwearer]

(And perhaps Samaritan can be the stranger who saves the wounded traveler).

Er, no, that was the good Samaritan. Luke mysteriously disappeared before he got to write about any of the others. ;)

Curious thing about those Thornhill Industries boxes: we were watching them be installed throughout the episode. So whatever they did, they weren't integral to the Machine's current operation. Were they actually destroyed by Samaritan's temper tantrumpower surges? If not (or if Thornhill Industries already has replacements ready to install), and they're meant to serve as nodes for an AI living in the power grid, maybe Finch doesn't have to work as hard as we think to get the Machine back. The network might be ready and waiting for when Samaritan looks the other way.

[Terrafamilia]

I know I'm in a minority but given that Pink Floyd is far from being among my favorite bands, its inclusion on the soundtrack took me right out of the episode like a record scratch. Other than that I loved the season finale.

[wevel]

I remain optimistic that that POI will be renewed because I wouldn't like it to end with last night's episode.  It would be far too similar to ANGEL'S series Finale.  I want another Season to see TM have some success and I would miss Bear just a little too much.

 

Yeah, I don't want an Angel-esque "Logic says they didn't make it out alive, but you'll never know" end either!  Even if CBS fails to renew, someone else should pick up at least an abbreviated season.

 

You do realise that it could take half the season to build a machine capable of rebooting those "core heuristics", right?  Or the whole season, even. 

 

Oh, I'm counting on it :).  I *want* to see them struggle to rebuild The Machine, although I doubt it will take all season, given what the showrunners said in one of the post-finale interviews about the team getting back to saving innocent people at some point again during S5.  Rebuilding The Machine could entail great debates between Root and Finch about what it/She should be like, and presumably both of them will have somewhat different relationships to The Machine 2.0 than they did to the original.  

 

With the benefit of sleep and some distance, it occurred to me that this episode is kind of a microcosm of the whole season. It wasn't a bad episode by any means, but the pacing was off, and there were things that REALLY worked alongside things that REALLY didn't. It also kind of made it obvious that 4B felt inert because, well, it WAS. It was setting up for S5 more than anything else. 

 

Agreed; that's a good way to put it.  I *wanted* to be excited every minute of the episode like I was last week, but I wasn't.  As has been mentioned, Reese having time to go talk to Iris stole valuable time (and momentum) from the ep when he should've been racing like a bat out of hell to get to Finch and Root.  And when the team were in dire circumstances while under Samaritan fire, there shouldn't have been so much time to explain how and debate whether they were going to compress and save The Machine!

 

Setting up S5 with this kind of reset didn't have to make 4B so uneven, but the writers did seem to flail a bit after the Shaw tetralogy, before the Samaritan plotline came back front and center.  I understand having Root gone for an ep or two after 4X13, but for me, there should have been (i) a clear Samaritan link in every episode from 4X16 onwards, and (ii) If they were working towards the Dominic/Elias showdown, that storyline had to have been primed better before 4X21.   

 

I didn't catch 'Harold Admin'.  

 

Neither did I; I like these small moments of humor that the show injects into an otherwise tense scene.  My absolute favorite dialogue from the episode, though, was Harold even more wide-eyed than usual, asking Root, "Are you out of your mind?" when it was clear they were about to commandeer an NYPD vehicle, and her replying "Since when is that relevant?" Ha!

Edited May 7, 2015 by wevel

[wellread]

What happened to Fusco after he ducked away in the scene when Dominic was shot?  If he is still alive, why didn't he crawl out from the rubble in the last scene?  Reese reappears,  and then Reese, Root, the suitcase and Finch all head out through the gunfire.  Why no sign of Fusco?  Did he in fact survive?

[pcta]

What happened to Fusco after he ducked away in the scene when Dominic was shot?  If he is still alive, why didn't he crawl out from the rubble in the last scene?  Reese reappears,  and then Reese, Root, the suitcase and Finch all head out through the gunfire.  Why no sign of Fusco?  Did he in fact survive?

Since the sniper left after shooting Dominic and Elias (tho' we are unclear if Elias is dead) I imagine Fusco got into elias' car and called in the situation or got the hell back to the precinct

Reese et al were in a different part of town - Brooklyn

[Dowel Jones]

I need to see them proactively making successful moves, and Samaritan on the back-foot.

 

Next season Team Machine will definitely take them for six.

 

What species of bird is an Admin?

[Netfoot]

Next season Team Machine will definitely take them for six.

 

Or even bowl them a hat trick! 

[Boundary]

Love cricket references that no one else probably gets!

[wellread]

Thanks, pcta.  I somehow thought everyone had converged outside the power substation in Brooklyn, and I couldn't understand why no one here was concerned about Fusco's fate.  Now i can figure that he's back at the precinct attacking the paperwork fallout from all the shootings!  I can concentrate now on Elias's fate!

[ABay]

What species of bird is an Admin?

A wise old owl?

[tpel]

I don't want Elias to be dead, but I can accept it if that turns out to be the situation, since he at least got the satisfaction of avenging Anthony and besting Dominic before he went. I loved the conversation between Elias and Dominic in the back of the police car -- a brief moment of almost solidarity between the fellow crime bosses, then Dominic tries to be intimidating and Elias responds with his trademark bemusement ("Are you saying you would make my stay inhospitable?"), then Elias proves that he does, indeed, still have a few friends left. Since the sniper left after shooting Elias, and Fusco is on the scene, I suppose he can call for help. So I guess that leaves a chance for Elias' survival. If he does live, I wonder if he will feel any kind of indebtedness toward Fusco.

[StarBrand]

I sure Fusco was spared because, being a keeper of the peace, he didn't fit in the group of troublemakers Samaritan was "correcting"

[wevel]

Fusco is on the scene, I suppose he can call for help. So I guess that leaves a chance for Elias' survival. If he does live, I wonder if he will feel any kind of indebtedness toward Fusco.

 

Elias doesn't forget those who have aided him in times of crisis (Reese, Carter); I think he will survive, since 

Greg Plageman said that he and Nolan could "neither confirm nor deny" Elias's death in their TVline post-finale interview.

 

I remembered another loose thread that some of us were speculating would reappear in the finale episodes but didn't: the activation device from 4X18.  Root told Harold that she had destroyed it, but we never saw it happen, and I remember reading that the writer of the episode mentioned that a scene of Root making off with the device intact was deleted (or left unfilmed).  Is that going to ever be in play again, I wonder?

Edited May 8, 2015 by wevel

[33kaitykaity]

I know I'm in a minority but given that Pink Floyd is far from being among my favorite bands, its inclusion on the soundtrack took me right out of the episode like a record scratch. Other than that I loved the season finale.

I couldn't disagree more, probably because Pink Floyd -- Animals and The Wall especially -- is near the top of my list of all-time favorite bands, so I was really grateful at Welcome to the Machine's inclusion in nearly its entirety despite what it probably cost CBS in rights to play it.  The music carried me right along into the desperation, futility, and danger facing our crew.  I loved every second of it.  

Edited May 8, 2015 by 33kaitykaity

[immortalfrieza]

The line that took me out of what was otherwise an extremely poignant scene was:

The Machine: "I didn't know how to win."

 

I had to stop my eyes from rolling into the back of my head after hearing that. Now, I've been ragging on The Machine about it's passivity and refusal to make use of it's capabilities to the fullest this season and a good deal of last season, but that line took the cake. Instead of preparing in every way it had available to it, gathering further assets, and making effective use of the resulting assets for moments like this episode, The Machine spent the entire season sitting on it's metaphorical butt letting Samaritan have it's way and allowing it to steamroll over Team Machine left and right with little effort to stop anything it was doing. The Machine says it didn't know how to win, but a 5 year old could have come up with a better plan for victory than "do pretty much nothing but prepare to run away", as The Machine did this season. If The Machine did all that only for Samaritan to crush it anyway that's one thing, but it's impossible to win against an enemy that one doesn't make much of an effort to fight against.

 

Now, I hope it's true that Team Machine will be fighting back next season, because another season of "The Invincible Villain that Nobody Bothers to Try and Fight" show will be sickening. Afterwards, I still hope we go back to the numbers, victim or perpetrator where the show started at, but I'm not holding my breath.

[kahauna]

It was worse last year - now, the team is united save for Sameen, nobody's cover has been blown save for hers, Martine Rousseau is snapped out of it, the IRT station hideout is safe and they've got Bear! : )

Edited May 8, 2015 by kahauna

[fastiller]

I couldn't disagree more, probably because Pink Floyd -- Animals and The Wall especially -- is near the top of my list of all-time favorite bands, so I was really grateful at Welcome to the Machine's inclusion in nearly its entirety despite what it probably cost CBS in rights to play it.  The music carried me right along into the desperation, futility, and danger facing our crew.  I loved every second of it.  

I also very much enjoyed WttM's inclusion.  One of my favourite Floyd tunes.  You mention CBS buying the rights to use it: wonder whether they bought rights for overseas airings &/or syndication/DVD use.  If not, what song do you think they could replace it with?

[Dr Epi]

 

 

"this whole storyline is very Star Wars-esque"

"What has been will be again,

    what has been done will be done again;

    there is nothing new under the sun.  -- Eccl. 1:9, NIV"

What has happened before, will happen again.  Scrolls of Pythia.  Battlestar Galactica

 

And agreed, very Stars Wars-esque. Reese=Hans Solo, Root=Leia, Bear (or maybe Fusco)=Chewie, Samaritan=the Emperor, Greer= Darth Vader, and Finch= Luke!  Except this time, Finch as Luke iin PoI s the father and not the precious child that will save world. But now both Father and Child must be saved by the Princess (Root) and Hans (Reese).

 

(I realize that this analogy down a bit with Finch being both father and child, but bear with me!)

[yellowfred]

So, I finally got around to watching this episode and I really enjoyed it, though I didn't personally find it as tense or engaging as Asylum.  

 

I had more or less expected that the Machine's location wouldn't be one physical site, as it was previously, but the fact that it basically turned the country's electrical grid into one gigantic RAM drive was pretty cool.  I think it'll be really interesting to see how they end up rebuilding Her and how that'll affect Her relationships with the team, especially since She won't have any memories.

 

Watching Root drag Finch around for all those weird errands was fun.  I particularly enjoyed Finch's increasingly wary, "what the hell is happening?" expression, which also gave his calm look at the end that much more impact.  I also really loved his little interaction with Caleb (now I'm really curious about what "project x" is).  It was a nice to see Finch get to come through in the clutch in a way that didn't involve shooting anyone.

[Bort]

And agreed, very Stars Wars-esque. Reese=Hans Solo, Root=Leia, Bear (or maybe Fusco)=Chewie, Samaritan=the Emperor, Greer= Darth Vader, and Finch= Luke!  Except this time, Finch as Luke iin PoI s the father and not the precious child that will save world. But now both Father and Child must be saved by the Princess (Root) and Hans (Reese).

 

(I realize that this analogy down a bit with Finch being both father and child, but bear with me!)

Ha. Except I'd peg Reese as Luke and Shaw as Han (for the Han/Leia pairing with Root) and Finch as Obi-Wan.

[webruce]

Sniper for Decima I think took out Dominic and Elias. Now Reese will be hunting him. Reese saw his face. Lucky Fusco survived. But the person who stopped the Police van drove the Dump-truck and it looked like what Reese did a couple seasons ago. Well I liked that Harper Rose helped Fusco to escape. But I still think she is in that grey area between good and evil to help herself. Which could save her from Samaritans cleansing or not. It was nice for Fusco to have the law with him to come back to visit Dominic. And he said something like, "Your under arrest, jack A**!"
Liked how The Machine plugged back into Reese to take down Brotherhood and then the Decima goons. I thought, sure the biggest guy Dominic is escaping, and then runs into Lionel and his team. But at-least the rest of Brotherhood escaped the execution Elias and Dominic received.

I liked that Caleb Phipps helped "Mr. Swift" Finch and Root. They got the machine downloaded to that hard case. The algorithm worked. There was a ton of Decima men after Reese, Finch and Root. I almost thought that maybe they would turn in a fire-alarm or 911 call to deter all the shooting out side. But wouldn't want any of them shot. Now we know what the boxes were on the power poles. I thought maybe it was a Samaritan thing.

Control and Devon Grice, hated to see him killed. thought maybe he would help find or De-brainwash Sameen Shaw. They thought they had the bomb thing figured out, so it must have been a rouge. Then Senator Ross H. Garrison has his head buried in the proverbial Samaritan sand. I worried that when Control finally confronted Greer that he would come out on top. I kept saying to the tv, shoot him. So now she is in that dark hole somewhere. But the Team Machine will maybe free her.

I did like how Reese told Iris Campbell to leave town. But his time as Detective Riley might be over.

[Camera One]

I was very disappointed Grice was killed.  He would have been a good recurring guest character.  It was nice to see Control get her comeuppance, but of course, her innocent agents had to be killed but she's fine.  I wanted Control to do a little bit of damage, to at least have someone working against Samaritan from another angle.  I wish she had shot Greer. I just can't stand his smug face any longer.  I was disappointed that Samaritan is still all-powerful at the end of this, with nary a setback.   The Machine is just in survival mode.

 

I'm not too intrigued by this latest cliffhanger, of the Machine in a suitcase.  I'm sure the show will make it interesting though.  They always do.

 

Overall, there were some good bits.  I liked Root and Harold working together, as usual.  The standoff at Dominic's dragged on for way too long.  He kept popping back up like an annoying groundhog.  How was he completely okay after his side of the car was hit by a truck?  That was so very unlikely.  I didn't find his death too satisfying.  It could have been better.

 

I didn't get why Harper would save Lionel, though I was glad someone did.  She is just so unconvincing to me that she sticks out like she doesn't belong onscreen.

 

I don't want Elias to die, since he's an interesting recurring character, though it would make no sense if Samaritan let him live.  It was kinda crappy of him to leave Fusco in that turned over car, though.  

 

I also loved Reese getting messages straight from the Machine to help him.  

[Maverick]

 I don't think Control is dead (she would have gotten a headshot right there like the others if they didn't have some plan for her) and I think she's going to be at least a semi-regular member of Team Machine next year (I've been thinking that since the episode where they kidnapped her and she starting her own investigation).  I know she's done some bad things things, but none of Team Machine are saints; they've all got some dark stuff in their past (some darker than others).

[bros402]

I was very disappointed Grice was killed.  He would have been a good recurring guest character.  It was nice to see Control get her comeuppance, but of course, her innocent agents had to be killed but she's fine.  I wanted Control to do a little bit of damage, to at least have someone working against Samaritan from another angle.  I wish she had shot Greer. I just can't stand his smug face any longer.  I was disappointed that Samaritan is still all-powerful at the end of this, with nary a setback.   The Machine is just in survival mode.

 

I'm not too intrigued by this latest cliffhanger, of the Machine in a suitcase.  I'm sure the show will make it interesting though.  They always do.

 

Overall, there were some good bits.  I liked Root and Harold working together, as usual.  The standoff at Dominic's dragged on for way too long.  He kept popping back up like an annoying groundhog.  How was he completely okay after his side of the car was hit by a truck?  That was so very unlikely.  I didn't find his death too satisfying.  It could have been better.

 

I didn't get why Harper would save Lionel, though I was glad someone did.  She is just so unconvincing to me that she sticks out like she doesn't belong onscreen.

 

I don't want Elias to die, since he's an interesting recurring character, though it would make no sense if Samaritan let him live.  It was kinda crappy of him to leave Fusco in that turned over car, though.  

 

I also loved Reese getting messages straight from the Machine to help him.

Harper saved Fusco because the Machine offered her whatever price she wanted to keep Fusco safe.

[Dagny]

I now feel for all of the doctors and lawyers who watch TV. The penultimate scene in the "substation" was almost physically painful to watch. 7200VAC transformer? Then down to 5VDC jumper cables? I guess I should translate it as "Root, we must [electrical] by the [electrical] to [electrical]. Throw words in a blender because 99% of the people won't get it and of the remaining 1% (0.5% don't care).

 

I did love the walking out with Pink Floyd playing. :)

[DEM]

Hee, Dagny!  The psych stuff is often painful too.  "Shaw has an Axis II personality disorder which means, technically, she's a sociopath."  =  "Shaw has a car which means, technically, she drives a Porsche."

[bros402]

Hee, Dagny!  The psych stuff is often painful too.  "Shaw has an Axis II personality disorder which means, technically, she's a sociopath."  =  "Shaw has a car which means, technically, she drives a Porsche."

Yeah, that Axis II line hurt my head.

[FinnishViewer]

 

her innocent agents had to be killed but she's fine

I wouldn't describe any of Control's agents as innocent.