4.14 Guilty

[REBerg]

Good to see Paige Turco return as Zoe. I would love to see her character as a regular, filling in for the missing Shaw and bringing to the team her impressive ability to make things happen. I suppose her role on The 100 limits her availability.

 

[Dave]

I really liked that episode. On the surface, it seemed back to the normal 'perp of the week' and that not much happened, but actually there were a number of subtle things set up. I liked the understated plot at the beginning when Harold tried to get off the Jury by saying some outrageous things about a government supercomputer controlling us, but then the machine rang another jurors phone even though it was switched off to get him removed and Harold back on. Anyone watching PoI for the first time would think the narrative was a completely different one.

Good to see Paige Turco return as Zoe. I would love to see her character as a regular, filling in for the missing Shaw and bringing to the team her impressive ability to make things happen. I suppose her role on The 100 limits her availability.

I like Zoe and would like to see her more, but her skills compliment the team and she is not a replacement for Shaw. If they really need another agent they should approach Shaw's old partner. I don't remember his name, but beard, dark hair and let Reece go last season. Otherwise, the only other option is Fusco. It is long overdue for Fusco to say what he said. If I was him, I would have been pressing for much longer to find out what the hell is going on with these "side projects." He is a very intelligent man and would have to know where this information came from. He has also risked his life many times without knowing why and then there was Carter. Fusco also needs a new partner, and I expect to see more of the female policewoman we have now see several times.

I think Reece opening up to the psychiatrist doesn't bode well. If he is her patient then she must keep confidentiality. However, if he wants a romantic relationship then she cannot remain as his psychiatrist. So, I'm not sure where that is going. Also, if he tells her anything real at all, then he will put her in danger. Fusco has asked for that, but she hasn't. She suspects something, and she is from a cop family, but she couldn't possibly have any idea of the truth.

Harold and Emma could probably have easily gone somewhere too. Harold is never going to commit himself again. He already knows what happens if you become attached to someone.

 

[markpud]

Great to see Blair Brown again after her great role on Fringe.. I enjoyed the twist when Finch & co thought Emma wanted to get the guy off and then had to backtrack!

On the surface this was a POI of the week, but it progresses all the remaining characters. Reese opening up over some issues with his father was interesting, and goes some way to show why he is the way he is. Finch got to bond with Emma, and Fusco got to call them out on their attempt to shut him out. As Dave mentioned, Fusco must be close to joining team-machine at this point.

The whole trial plot was OK, but I don't really see why the company would try to cover up the massive health hazards of 5K (not 5G, honest!), there's no way it could go to market and if it did, it'd bankrupt them pretty quickly. Or did I miss something?

Bonus points for Finch climbing over the balcony, even if he had to lug his bad leg over by hand!

 

[willwallace]

I felt it was a little bit of an offbeat episode, but very enjoyable.

 

[J-Sun]

Very happy as soon as I saw Paige Turco in the opening credits - it's just a shame we only get her because we're short our two Sams and, as great as Zoe is, that's not really a trade I'd take if it was offered. (But I'm very relieved they didn't just drop Zoe. I hope she lasts to the approximate end of the series (she should) but, if not, she should get a proper sendoff and not just be dropped, which was what I was afraid had happened.) But, with just Finch, Reese and a bit of Zoe and Fusco, it was sort of like old times. Just needed Carter to make it complete.

Completely opposite of old days, though, I think I'm going to start calling that shrink "Delilah". I don't like that development in both the sense that I don't want Reese "sharing feelings" and in the sense that it'd be extremely poor judgment for him to do that with a civilian anyway. I could be overreacting but I really think the writers might mean to go in this direction and they need to seriously rethink that. (Or maybe they're just setting her up to be yet another casualty, but still...)

The episode itself was fine and you do need breathers in a relative sense to allow the bigger ones to have their full effect but it was definitely a minor one and I look forward to more Elias and Samaritan and other larger story lines.

***​

On a more general note, I've said before that I'd be happy with more seasons but the most important thing to me is that it gets wrapped up right whenever the end comes. Came across something that argues that we will get a fifth season, though, even if the ratings aren't the strongest they've ever been: article. The thing arguing the other way is that it's already guaranteed a minimum syndication deal, its ratings are below average for CBS which tends to be pretty harsh, and I'd hope the storyline for a finale would call for more money than usual (but CBS wouldn't be happy about that). Adding to the article's arguments for a fifth season (or more) is that PoI would have a better syndication deal with five seasons and it hasn't even been moved to Friday yet, which many long-running CBS shows get as a way to stretch out a final season or three. (And, as mentioned in the article, WB could insulate any cost-rise in the last season from CBS.) So I'm sort of 55% positive - leaning in agreement with the article, although it wouldn't surprise me either way.

 

[markpud]

So when Harold was trying to hack his way out of jury duty, was his distraction the reason he accidentally placed himself into the next group, or did the machine intend that to happen? I think the latter was implied. But again we don't know the wider significance.

I barely recognised Zoe as the same actor from The 100, she doesn't get to dress quite as well on there!

 

[ctg]

So when Harold was trying to hack his way out of jury duty, was his distraction the reason he accidentally placed himself into the next group, or did the machine intend that to happen? I think the latter was implied.

You are absolutely correct, and there is no doubt in my mind that The Machine wanted him in there. And it was lack of its communication skills for Harold ended up being in that particular position.

 

[sinister42]

I've been binge watching this show for a while now, and this is where I am! Glued to it! Excited to see what happens, even if they do only get one more season...