Fusco staring dreamily at Katheryn Winnick and saying "I'm gonna miss you" is me.
And Root and Finch's scenes, oh my god
Dang, we started with pretty much just the main 3 we have right now (plus Carter), but it's so sad to watch this without Shaw, Root, and/or Carter right now. Makes me realize how much they added to the episodes' vibes. I was so happy when Root finally came back at the end (I kind of knew she would the minute Finch was cornered).
Thank god for Lionel's one-liners lol
Also, Finch almost leaving Claire then falling for it again just... agh that was so frustrating. Can't say I blame him, I mean this is the Finch we love, can't really expect him to just walk away with the kind of argument Claire made. But damn, for a genius, Claire was delusional.
Two decades later and I feel like I still know several of the lines by heart. There are small details I notice more now, but somehow it's still as magical as the first time around, even though the CGI and effects are noticeably from the early 2000s, this was pure magic back then.
I remember my first rewatch of this as a kid, the first book in my hand because I realized it was a very close adaptation, and I would look for the page in the book where the current scene would be and I was be so happy to hear the lines on the page being spoken onscreen. (I've stopped expecting book adaptations to be accurate since then, of course, but it was a nice memory, a reminder of simpler times.)
Okay, I was fully prepared for this to be a possibly boring, filler episode (I usually find it hard to enjoy jury episodes), but they got me hooked in the first few minutes. Small moments in this episode made this a great one: Reese and Harold pointing out that it was, once again, just the two of them; the way Harold almost got out of jury duty (that was so funny); and Reese sending Harold Morse code messages with a sniper.
I did like how Reese finally became concerned about Fusco's safety when he ropes him into their cases, but I'm also glad for Fusco standing his ground at the end of the episode. Reese looked so proud (I know I was!).
And that shot of Reese seeing Shaw's cover passports? That got me.
I loved Reese's smile when he was talking about his dad, it was pure joy that I don't think has been seen on his face in a while, but I kind of don't feel this thing they're developing between him and the doctor. We'll see.
Case of the week side-note: I saw the twist with who was trying to fix the trial coming, and I was worried for a sec that the fixer was actually Zoe (that would have been a shit twist lol).
That brief moment of Root wondering what Samaritan was doing with the town made me realize just how much she's changed, from the early Root who thought people were bad code and needed. Right now, sure, she's single-minded about finding and worrying about Shaw, but in other circumstances, she likely would have genuinely cared about what was being done to those people.
I also wasn't aware we were going to get a glimpse of Shaw at all after If-Then-Else, so that was great. I was starting to wonder what it would have been like for the live viewers that the show was playing this out, and I thought we were going to be left wondering if she was actually alive. (Also, despite this having aired 6 years ago, I genuinely thought that episode was where she was gonna bite the dust (Googling after watching it told me otherwise, welp). So yehey for more Shaw!)
I absolutely LOVE how this show handles episodes that follow and focus on characters outside the main group. This was so good.
The transition from the 2 messed up simulations to the last one with the kiss and meta lines was so unexpected, I have no words to describe how perfect and funny that was (except I died).
This episode's flashbacks and its culmination are probably one of my favorites of the show.
The 10-year-old was so frustratingly cute and creepy at the same time, but I also kind of couldn't get over the fact that the scene was basically 2 machines having a conversation.
Can't believe it's gotten to the point where I'm routing for Elias.
AND HOLY CRAP THAT CLIFFHANGER, that would have been frustrating to watch live.
Their safe space made me laugh so hard.
Great return! Loved seeing the glimpses of their new lives, and Reese now a legit cop? This is gonna be a sight to see. And no joke, but I'm looking forward to him actually working side-by-side with Fusco. Him getting Carter's desk... damn, can't believe Carter just died a few episodes ago (for binge-watcher me), it feels like it's been forever after everything they've been through at this point.
Poor Shaw and her mismatched job, but looks like she'll fit right in with her new one (which I still don't quite know what it'll be, but I'm guessing this will play a role for the Machine's plans later on?).
Also, can't help but see the irony in Reese (and Carter previously) working with Elias now, realizing he's the "necessary/better evil"... after working so hard to send him to jail in Season 1 and seeing his absence land them several of their numbers. I know he kind of seemed like he liked Carter and even got revenge for her death, or maybe that was just him making 100% sure that HR has no more chance to return. I wonder if working with him will at one point in the series blow up in Reese and the team's faces.
Side-note: cute that they were upgraded from the burner flip phones to iPhones. XD
Shaw!!! This episode was very, very good to her character. This made me feel so much about her. I laughed, I almost cried, I got angry with her, and I officially love with her. So good.
And Carter!!! You boss ass b*tch!
Root on her own was already a force to be reckoned with. Her with the Machine? They never stood a chance.
Shaw's book club scene was the best scene of this episode LMAO
Carter's demotion is obviously unfortunate for her but her being boots on the ground and actually being in on the action a bit more kinda makes up for it. I always thought Taraji was being wasted in the past seasons with her just sitting behind the desk, looking sketchily at/with Fusco and digging up stuff for Finch and Reese, save for a few episodes that just proved even more how talented she is and deserves more screen time and development.
I have a really bad feeling about her trainee though. New character getting close to another character, being given a lot of lines (and at least personally for now, I'm really not feeling him) and is a mentee figure, possibly soon-to-be turned traitor? A pattern we're all too familiar with at this point.
Finch's annoyance at the way Shaw operates is so amusing to me, I cackle every time they interact, mainly because a) he insisted on Shaw joining them, and b) pretty sure Reese was somewhat the same in the beginning. I guess it's been long enough with Reese that he's forgotten lol
Case of the week side note: I'm so glad the POI died. I have 0 sympathy for the guy lol. I didn't expect it to lead to a possible arc though.
Wasn't particularly invested in the case of the week, but Root and Carter's stories, and Shaw working with the team? Loved it!
Holy sht, Nate's attitude and annoyingness went from 50 to 100 from the last episode. WTF
His closing scene legit had a supervillain vibe lol. Can't wait for them to take him down a notch next season.
I GASPED when Shaw showed up at the library! She literally came out of nowhere, it was one reveal bomb after another.
"Hanging around a derelict library with you, your poorly socialized guard dog... and Bear here?" LOL poor Reese would need an ointment for that burn.
Okay, wow, a great follow-up episode to the previous one. With that really good, story-crucial, main character-introducing episode, only a good case-of-the-week would be watchable after, and this was it! Suspenseful, and the guy playing the creepy pyscho killer was pretty good.
"She certainly makes an impression." - understatement of the year!
Loved the twist of seeing another hacker-agent pairing chasing down POIs! That last couple of scenes with Fusco and Carter (and Bear) was soo good.
And okay, Root's still crazy but I'm warming up to seeing her lurking around. Enemy of your (in this case John and Finch's) enemy, after all... I'm trying not to spoil myself too much despite knowing some things to come, so I don't want to search for it, but I'm definitely hoping we'll see Shaw again very soon. I was kind of hoping the last scene would be them recruiting her. I don't know how I can bear just going back to the case-of-the-week stuff after that (but I will anyway)!
Viva las Vegas! Cute wordplay. ;)
Cutting out Gamora's episode this season when she was still part of the finale was a bad (okay yeah, a sad one since it was because of COVID delays) choice. I'm guessing / pretty sure it's the episode that was pushed to Season 2, but still. Now we know she and Tony will be allies in the end (and judging by the leaks, they weren't in the beginning of their episode).
That fight scene was badass! (Although I do agree, it was almost too easy, but at this point, I was so sick of Ultron as a villain overall that I just wanted it to be over.) When they "beat" him around the halfway mark, I knew there was no way they were done, it was stressing me out. Glad Nat found a new home; I was just wishing that that would happen to her; I was confused for a second and didn't recognize that she was sent to the Avengers Assassinated verse.
I like how the big bad in this episode was a good match for Reese and Finch. There was a high-level threat feel to them and it almost felt like they were actually gonna fail.
Leon was fuuun. Questionable dude, but fun, so hopefully his number comes up again someday lol.
I was sort of worried for a second that featuring Carter's side investigation was just a random incident that they were going to try to start where they were going to start showing the other characters have their own case of the week thing; while I want them to be featured more, that would have been weird, so I like where this went eventually.
And please tell me they at least pay Fusco for his troubles. Poor guy can't seem to do much detective work when called on by Reese lol.
The best part of this episode was finding out what Elias wanted in exchange. And yeah, Reese relating to one of their POIs.
Does poor Fusco still get to do his actual job? Because damn.
I actually thought Finch would be the type to prefer to stay in the relative safety of being just behind his screens, so I was surprised when he was so willing to go out and get his hands dirty in Season 1 (at least after the first few episodes where he did kind of question his usefulness on the field), but mostly just because he seemed to be sort of anti-social. But the development of him being scared to step out after his trauma with Root does make more sense story-wise. I'm glad Reese didn't push, and that little reference to Finch giving him purpose was such a nice moment.
And at least Finch has goodboi Bear now. Ack, adding Bear was a great move, I love him.
AHHH REESE GOT A DOGGY
Nate's development is annoying, but honestly realistic. It was as Keeley put it somewhat: people like them have more to prove; Nate was literally the towel boy / kit man before his promotion and has a father whose approval he yearns for. I feel for him and can see where he's coming from, and where he wants to go. Even his defensiveness about his new position in life that he presents as cruelty to his successor, Will, and even Colin, (currently the only people he can exert some power over) is behavior I've seen in real life with people who climb up ranks. But not everyone who does this goes through a similar transformation. tl;dr Nate: Cool motive, still a dick move though.
I wonder which Ted will meet Nate in the fallout though: kind Ted who forgave Rebecca, or a rare, angry Ted who's gone through a rollercoaster of emotions in the past few months (weeks?).
I wasn't surprised he tried to kiss Keeley, too. Saw that coming the minute he asked for her help to pick out a suit. And yo, I thought Roy had good chemistry with the teacher. In my head, I immediately established it as a possible fallback for Roy if Keeley goes back to Jamie. I don't know, for some reason, I'm just not feeling Keeley and Roy this season. Roy looks so aggressive next to her lol
I loved Ted and Sharon's scenes. Their dynamic is a pleasant surprise for this season.
Holy wow, that was intense. Reese getting cornered by HR and the FBI, Finch pulling through at the VERY last minute (cut it real close there, but of course, what would this be without the thrill), AND Alicia snooping around. SO good. Also very glad that Carter and Fusco now finally know about each other.
Always a pleasure to see Clarke Griffin's mom back as the sultry fixer Zoe Morgan.
I'm jealous of everyone who got to watch this and the reveal at the end without knowing (what I have sadly known long before starting this) that the POI is Root and that she would eventually become part of the team. Because daaamn, Amy Acker did such a switch there, very convincing as the good doctor and then did the psycho hacker well lmao (come to think of it, it is very Claire/Whiskey too; I kept wondering why this particular actress x character combination felt kind of familiar).
Also... The Machine is sort of sentient? I know about AI, but that's a whole 'nother level.
Agh I feel bad for Fusco every time Reese points out that he picked him because he was dirty when he's obviously trying to change (and stuck with HR because of him).
I was hoping this episode, after showing more flashbacks to Reese's past, would have him realize in present day his hypocrisy of keeping Carter and Fusco in the dark about their ops when that was the very thing he went through with the CIA. I mean I get not telling them about The Machine just yet, but he at least needs to tell them about each other.
I know it's probably gonna come eventually (at least, I hope), and I wanna know when he starts treating Fusco like an actual partner instead of as a lapdog, and with Carter and Fusco together, but (for once) I'm to scared to search for it because I know I'll get spoiled by page 1 of Google.
High Finch, good cop Fusco, and Carter still struggling with what to do with Reese made this episode pretty good. Otherwise, this episode's case of the week was just a bit predictable.
Oh my god, ultimate face palm at Uatu accidentally unleashing Ultron onto the Multiverse lol all he had to do was quietly narrate in his head once Ultron started to become aware. :laughing:
The The glimpses of the different worlds and universes during the battle were great! President Steve Rogers took the cake lol, and the visual of Ultron looking like Galactus was SO GOOD, I had to pause and stare to reinforce that 'nope, this isn't him' to manage my expectations.
Ultron's voice made the character not so intimidating unfortunately. I understand that the voice change is (might be?) because he was in his Vision body and not his mech one, but in lieu of James Spader, even Paul Bettany's voice would have been better. This one made him sound a bit silly and missed marks for me (in my useless opinion).
I also immediately noticed the less that 30-minute runtime for this episode and immediately knew that this would be better than the previous episodes. Because of course the shortest one would be one of the good ones. Whyy — jk I get it, but here's to hoping the finale is a bit longer and good. They built up Ultron as a big, universe-destroying, virtually unbeatable killing machine, hopefully they didn't rush it.
"Cheer up, Keeley. It's a funeral." - best line of the episode
Would love to see more Sassy!
Rebecca singing Rick Astley for her eulogy made for a better scene than (what I thought was going to happen) her lying or being painfully honest about her father. Also glad she finally figured out a way to talk to Rupert that won't contribute to him being insufferable, but that Nate exchange was sus though. And here I thought that, after the past few episodes, the theories where Nate will sabotage Ted someday were bull.
Also always knew that Jamie and Keeley weren't just over. Not really looking forward to how this will affect the three characters in the long run, hopefully the writers will do this right.
