Summary: Flashbacks show Finch’s childhood. In the present, Reese has vanished without a trace. Fusco goes to look for him, finding him in Colorado. Finch is no longer accepting numbers from the Machine. Root gives him the next number instead. Finch recognizes the next POI, Arthur who is a man dying of a brain tumor. Shaw poses as a doctor to get information on him and discovers he has a secret service guard and that he is unable to control what he says. They discover Vigilance is after him so they hide him away with his wife. Finch learns that Arthur created Samaritan, another Machine and that is what Vigilance is after. Arthur's wife is revealed to be Control who wants information from Arthur. She threatens to kill Finch and Arthur with the person who tells her what she wants being allowed to leave.
The Good: This was a really strong return for the show. It felt different and nicely continued to build off of Carter's death. Most other shows would have its characters move on quickly after a major character death. But this show is proving its quality by allowing Carter's death to significantly affect the characters and plot, making it feel like the pivotal event it should be. Things like Reese vanishing and Finch being hesitant to get more numbers are awesome little stories. The episode did a terrific job of building mystery too. Arthur's vague responses, the fact that Finch clearly knows who he is, and the involvement of the secret service and Vigilance only served to make me more invested and intrigued as the episode went on. I was hungry for information and I desperately wanted more, which is a sign that the mystery worked spectacularly. The suspense was awesome too. This episode feels like a complete package for drama with many different ways of keeping my interest. There was loads of tension created by Shaw posing as a doctor (which was a great pay-off to the doctor reveal from last episode) and investigating in some really dangerous business. The interrogation scene with Easton was excellent, and the escape from Vigilance and the hideaway was equally enjoyable. After these early scenes packed with mystery and action, we got a lengthy expositional scene where we learned about Samaritan, the second Machine. The reveal was a genuine surprise, and while I'm not fully aware of what this reveal could mean for the series as a whole yet, I'm eagerly waiting to see where it leads. Samaritan has been treated with major importance so far, so I'm sure that this will lead to something big. The Samaritan reveal wasn't the best reveal of the episode. Instead, the twist that Diane was actually Control who had infiltrated Arthur's inner circle was superb. Unlike the Samaritan twist, the implications of this were evident immediately as the government people immediately flooded in, desperate to get their hands on some valuable information. This reveal stunned me, and provided a really dramatic cliffhanger which makes me eager to watch the next episode. Furthermore, there is also the interesting dynamic of Shaw speaking with her boss which I'm excited to see more of. The brief scenes with Fusco and Reese were excellent. Fusco continues to show his more aggressive side, which I'm all for, while Reese is getting a pleasingly in-depth storyline coming off of Carter's murder. Great stuff. I'm also liking that Reese's reaction to Carter's death is very similar to what happened when Jessica died. Perhaps we will have to see Reese learning to dig himself out of his own hole, instead of having Finch intervene to save him this time around. The flashbacks were interesting too. They deepened our understanding of Finch and even confirmed that Harold is his real name. I like that this episode delved a bit more into Finch's past not only in the flashbacks, but also with Arthur, as he and Finch got some nice scenes to reflect on the past. The Bad: Unfortunately, Samaritan comes off as a Macguffin until I know more about it. While I'm sure this won't be a long-term problem for the show, it does make the big reveal fail to be as memorable as it could have otherwise been since I'm unclear on how this affects both the story and the characters. The Unknown: Is Samaritan still active? Why? Who rebuilt it? Or was it never destroyed to begin with? What are the drives that Control mentioned? Why does she want Samaritan? Does she no longer trust the Machine now that it has gone rogue? Best Moment: The Control reveal was dramatic. Character of the Episode: Shaw. Conclusion: This was a great hour of drama. It sets up future storylines neatly with exciting, fast-paced drama which made this feel like more than just a set-up episode. Score: 70
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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