Summary: Root takes Shaw to deal with relevant numbers while Finch and Reese work on the next POI, a congressman named McCourt. Reese poses as a secret service agent to get close to him. Decima is after McCourt and leaks that Reese isn't who he says he is so Reese is forced to kidnap McCourt to keep him safe. After capturing a Decima agent with a returning Shaw's help, Finch and Reese discern that Decima made a deal with McCourt for Samaritan and are actually trying to protect him. Reese wonders if the Machine gave them McCourt's number because they have to kill him, but Finch refuses to do the deed. Eventually the group decides to leave McCourt alive and escape. Samaritan comes online for a 24 hour beta test and Greer begins to hunt down Finch.
The Good: This was a rock solid episode of drama with an outstanding final ten minutes. I'll start at the beginning first, before I get to that though. The episode felt important from the get-go with the focus being on discovering how Decima/Vigilance were involved with congressman McCourt. It was interesting to learn about McCourt, and unlike the mysteries in the usual POI cases, this one feels important due to its connections with Samaritan, which becomes a terrifying threat by the end of the episode. I enjoyed seeing the Finch and Reese dynamics again. With Shaw a part of the team, we don't get one on one interactions between Reese and Finch as often. It felt special to see them tackle a case together and the dialogue between them is as entertaining as ever. The story of the episode was exciting too with Reese becoming a secret service agent to investigate more into McCourt, just like a classic POI episode. But what made it stand out was Decima actually exposing Reese's identity, forcing Reese to actually kidnap the POI. It was a fresh new take on the POI stories with Reese's cover actually being blown. Everything after McCourt was taken was really fun to watch. I loved Finch's reaction to Reese's sudden move, and watching the group go on the run from Decima was very exciting, with lots of fun action and interesting interactions. This led up to a great plot twist when we learn that McCourt is actually Decima's link to activating Samaritan. It was a surprising change and it turned around everyone's comprehension of the mission they were doing. This led into the stellar final ten minutes as Reese brings up the possibility of the Machine actually sending the group on a mission to kill someone, a fascinating idea. This sparked a stellar debate involving Reese, Finch and Shaw as they debate on what to do with McCourt. What's so fantastic about this scene is the amount of character development being showcased in this episode. We get to see Finch fighting to save a man's life like he always does, sticking to his morals. Finch's disgust and disappointment at the Machine putting him in a position like this was wonderful to see and built up a nice conflict for him. I really liked Shaw getting a moment to recognize how much she had transformed by actually siding with Finch to save lives. That left us with Reese who brilliantly brought up Carter's death as a reason to go kill McCourt to save lives. This argument was terrific because all three characters were sticking to motives that made sense and that allowed u to have an emotional connection with what was going on. Furthermore, the idea of the heroes having to cross a line and actually kill somebody in cold blood was a very dark place for the story to go and I really liked it. The ending montage after Reese made his decision was terrific with perfect song choice and brilliant editing. It was a really atmospheric scene that suggested that Reese actually went through with the killing, which was a really dark turn to believe. Tying this in with the activation of Samaritan gave off a vibe of impending doom for the rest of the season and completely changed the stakes of the show. Next episode should be really fun. I enjoyed the scenes with Greer. The deal he made with Garrison was very big and it suggests that Control and the government may soon be tied in with Samaritan rather than the Machine. As ever, Greer's dialogue was great and he was a joy to watch. The Bad: I was disappointed with the cop-out reveal that McCourt survived. I feel that the dark ending would have fit much better with the tone of the episode and would have really opened the door for how far Reese could be willing to go to save the world. I thought the Root and Shaw story was odd. I liked the bar shot revealing everyone being knocked out, but it felt like a very random scene. Furthermore, I was confused by the purpose of Root taking Shaw with her if Shaw was simply going to come back by the end of the episode. The Unknown: Will Decima use Samaritan like Finch said? I feel that they may have a more sinister purpose than selling information to the highest bidder. I definitely want to learn Greer's motivation soon. Will there be consequences for Finch not letting Reese kill McCourt? Will Samaritan pile up on the body count when it gets activated? Did Shaw get shot there at the end? Let's hope she is fine. Best Moment: Everything from the moment Reese brought up the possibility of the Machine trying to get them to kill McCourt was phenomenal. Character of the Episode: Reese. Conclusion: This was another terrific episode. The first half of the episode was strong, but not quite great. However, the final ten minutes were outstanding and brought the quality of this episode up by a lot. I can't wait to see what happens next. Score: 75
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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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