Summary: Flashbacks show Finch making the fateful decision to wipe The Machine's memories every 24 hours. In the present, Reese, Root and Finch struggle to get back to the subway base as they are being hunted by Samaritan agents. Finch and Reese meet up but Root is still missing. Finch observes that the case can't take any damage or data will be lost, and he also realizes that The Machine's battery life is draining. Reese and Finch finally make it back and Finch works to restore The Machine. Root escapes countless predicaments and is eventually saved by Reese. Together, they bring 300 PS3s back to Finch so The Machine can be uploaded onto them. The operation is risky but ultimately successful. Meanwhile, Fusco is under scrutiny for murdering Dominic and Elias despite his claims that he witnessed a sniper killing both of them. Reese advises him to keep his mouth shut about the sniper and Fusco complies. Fusco is hailed as a hero but continues to investigate the sniper. Samaritan notes Fusco's actions.
The Good: I really liked this season premiere. The pacing was perfect and it set up the story really nicely for a (hopefully) explosive and exciting final season. From the first moment, the tension and stakes were established. It almost reminded me of the first scene of season 5 of "Breaking Bad" with how we got a brief glimpse of the ending that raises more questions than it does answers (see: The Unknown). The eerie showing of a destroyed subway base while Root vaguely speaks in the background raises many questions and lets us know that something big is happening this season, increasing my investment. Then the episode throws us into the chaos. The feeling of the characters trying to survive at all costs in Samaritan's world is exactly what I had expected to get back in season 4. There was a huge sense of urgency as the characters felt trapped with nearly no safe places to go. What's most impressive is how this urgency didn't fizzle out as the episode went on. Somehow the chaos continued throughout the entire hour, and the suspense was almost always there. Some of the scenes that did this best included Root being listed as a criminal as she hides in the subway, Finch desperately trying to prevent The Machine from decompressing and Finch losing the Samaritan agents on the bus. I liked the ending of the episode with The Machine being uploaded to a supercomputer consisting of 300 PS3s. It's a bit funny (I'll never look at my PS3 the same way again), and it also nicely demonstrates how little the team has to work with. Samaritan in on a supercomputer and has an entire building manned with hundreds of agents while The Machine is located on a PS3 in an underground hole. Fusco's story was really great in this episode, and I'm always pleased when Kevin Chapman gets something good to work with. I really liked that there were direct consequences to Fusco watching Dominic and Elias die. He was investigated, and now it seems that Fusco's awareness of The Correction is going to lead into him being targeted by Samaritan. It's a classic case of a character going too far to satisfy their curiosity and it looks like Fusco may be put in an incredible amount of danger because of this. I wouldn't be surprised if he comes up as a number in a later episode. The flashback story was surprisingly powerful and it provided the main source of emotion for an episode which was mostly created with suspense in mind. The flashbacks nicely allowed us to take a breather as the quick pace was reduced and we got to see Finch grappling with the tough decision of whether to strip away The Machine's memory or not. I loved how this conflict went deeper than it initially appeared when Finch first brought up the fact that The Machine's memories reset in season 1 or 2 (I can't remember at this time). The concept of stripping away The Machine's memories reminds Finch too much of what happened to his father, so doing the same thing to his own creation was tough. I was able to really sympathize with him and Michael Emerson did an outstanding job selling Finch's unease, sadness and fear when he made up his mind. With the season shortened, it looks like production will be better than ever. Perhaps it's only for this episode since it's a premiere, but I noticed a large uptick in budget. The world was focused on much more than usual with scenes taking place all across New York, I think there were more Samaritan POV scenes than usual, and the new transitions into the flashbacks were gorgeous. Lastly, the music choice was impeccable (as usual), and added to the tension. All of these improvements added to the cinematic feel of the episode. As a side note, I really laughed when somebody was using the vending machine that Finch and Reese use to access their base. Reese knocking him out right when we think he may help the guy get his candy so he will leave was consistent to his character and it made for a great laugh. The Bad: Some of Root's scenes were far too over-the-top and felt like they came right out of any other ordinary action drama. The spray of bullets all somehow missing Root while she casually walks with no cover, Root's incredible accuracy (which has consistently been a problem in the episodes where she doesn't have The Machine's help), and Root's ability to win fights she probably shouldn't have really detracted from the episode. The tension was strong at first, but it gradually got stripped away when it became clear that Root could still win any fight she needed to even without The Machine. Speaking of a lack of tension, the one aspect of the episode that failed to acquire the tension it was looking for came when The Machine was lit on fire and it looked like it was dead. I never believed that The Machine would die, so the episode trying really hard to get me to believe it didn't really work. While it was cool to see Finch program The Machine into the PS3s, I never had any doubt that it would work so the attempts to make us think it wouldn't work fell completely flat. Also, Reese managed to get that liquid nitrogen pretty fast. Did he teleport to get to it? Also did nobody care that Reese just stole a canister of liquid nitrogen in broad daylight with hundreds of people around? The Unknown: So what's going to happen to the team in the future? Apparently something big is happening and Root doesn't know who lived or died. With the way she was talking about herself as a voice, it seemed like she had left a recording and that could explain how she doesn't know who lived or died. Also, who ended up winning, Samaritan or The Machine? How did the subway base get destroyed? Best Moment: Finch deleting The Machine's memories was a wonderful scene. All of The Machine's dialogue was perfect for the moment, and it was written extremely well to be able to get Finch to confront all of his doubts and emotions before going through with the act. Michael Emerson was so good in this scene, as he has been the entire show. Character of the Episode: Finch. Conclusion: This was a really tense premiere that kicked off the season in excellent fashion. I look forward to seeing where the story goes from here. Score: 69
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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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