What an intense episode! There are many deep themes in this one; AIs, morality, sacrifice and this season's favourite, survival. And after being absent from last week's episode, it is time for a Root-centric story and it is amazing.
I usually don't like storylines involving elections (or politicians in general) because I hate politics, but this was surprisingly good. It was clear to me from the start that Samaritan was behind the rigging, so that was not a surprise twist, but the episode kept me wondering why until it was explained by Greer.
That scene where Harold and Root are working side by side, discussing the Machine. So awesome and we learn that the Machine cannot talk freely to Root anymore since Samaritan would see it. And it kinda breaks my heart. She is so devoted to this entity and now her connection to it is almost completely severed. Like Harold said, how lonely must she be...
John is still having trouble with his cover and following the rules of his new job. So much so that he lands in therapy. And then he almost breaks cover because he cannot let people die on his watch. I wonder how long John can keep this up. Also the scene where he talks about Carter was so sad. I miss her.
The flashbacks are back! I have always loved the way the show explores the past and how it affects and parallels the current events, and I especially love all flashbacks that involve Harold. There is still so much I want to learn! The flashbacks here examine the nature of the Machine and, I suppose, all AIs. They may be intelligent, but they are not sentient. They have no moral codes (well, the Machine does now, because of Harold), and they do not care about people. They have an objective and will do anything to accomplish this.
These flashbacks show the nature of the Samaritan since we can assume that it functions in the same way as the early versions of the Machine did. Except it might be worse, since Samaritan has been allowed to grow and gain control. And I have to say, this is a scary thought. The Samaritan has politicians in power that will obey its commands, it has operatives that will kill anyone without a thought and it sees and hears everything. Both Harold and Root have said that things will get a lot worse in the future and it terrifies me because how much worse can it get? This season is going to be one hell of a ride... Also, we are used to thinking the Machine as a benevolent entity, so it is interesting to see what the early versions where and how it could potentintially be something close to what Samaritan is.
I did not expect that moment where Root tells Harold to relay a message to Shaw if she does not survive. I'm glad it happened, but for some reason I assumed that their connection would remain mainly subtext, like Destiel in Supernatural, but that remark makes it canon. And it makes me happy.
I'm also happy Root is not dead. This show has established that characters do die and it has been said many times that not everyone is going to survive this war against Samaritan, so I was really worried that she would die. It would have been horrible to lose her now.
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