pofinterest_chat | Discussion Post: 3x11

I absolutely have to sleep rather than type, but I will say one thing before I crash out: wee Harold was adorable.

Oh, he was so darling. And Harold wanted to build a machine that remembered everything! Interesting motivation...

I'm oddly resistant to tiny!Harold's charms, but the thing that impresses me is that they made it all fit. I was so frustrated by the memory machine bit; I was like, show, you already told us his origin story; he doesn't need a second one. But then between his apparent one-time insistence that AI was impossible (the result of dashed hopes?) and the hints about the youthful recklessness that led him attend college under an assumed name, it all lined up again. Impressively.

Multiple identities require multiple origin stories, perhaps? Because while he was inventing other things (and contradicting himself over and over) he invented himself repeatedly.

I also liked the bird reference, and the confirmation that he did actually have other friends at MIT besides Nathan.

Whatever else happens, I will never forget the image of Reese and Fusco wrestling in the rain with "The Sky is Crying" wailing in the background. My baby don't love me no more.

Aside from that… I'm feeling very cautious about committing myself, and I really do have to watch it again because long day, but I'm pretty sure I like where this is going. One of the things I appreciate about this show is their ability to tackle game-changing stuff, even if they sometimes do it stupidly, but here I'm willing to believe that both Reese and Finch would (temporarily) want to quit their mission, and that Finch would end up having the same staring contest with the Machine that Reese did at end of S1, but blink first. Where the Machine actually wants this to go is another question - perhaps she had too much confidence in Finch's abilities, or she's forcing everyone's hands in an effort to find her sibling? (Machine sibling!) Or she expected him to take Root along, probably. And ha, she's found a way to communicate with Root despite the Faraday cage; knew that was coming.

The flashbacks were great, and the MIT song; give me more Finch backstory and I am always happy. And I had several moments of saying "I bet that's not really his wife" but was taken utterly by surprise when she turned out to be Ma'am (despite seeing Hersh in the opening credits, I mean, duh). Someone will sweep in in one of the next couple of eps and save the day, right? It will probably be Reese and Fusco, but I'm kind of hoping it's Root and Vigilance.

Also, Shaw. <3 "Talking is overrated." I love Shaw more and more, and it's great to see her working with Finch.

All sorts of illogicalities and plot holes will no doubt occur to me on rewatch, but for now, just pleased about the utter mess these people have gotten themselves into, yay show.

Oh! and it just occurred to me: Samantha, Sameen, and Samaritan. Huh.

I'm angry about this, because I haven't reached a place where I actually feel okay about liking this show without Carter on it, but I think I liked this episode.

At first I was just angrily amused at how dedicated they were about destroying everything about the show -- Reese leaving town without a word to Finch, Finch ignoring numbers from the Machine, Reese deliberately walking away from the cries of someone in need of help -- but at some point I did have to admit that it was nice to see Finch and Shaw working together so closely, and then, well, Control happened.

My excitement about that is partly predicated on Root riding to the rescue -- I desperately need Control to be her own personal nemesis -- but we'll see.

The weird thing is that I'm actually interested in seeing.

Well I loved it. Just downloaded it tonight and watched it twice. New project: watch seasons one and two and catalog the damn flashbacks by episode and date of event because right now I'm betting that 3005 is when Nathan gave Alicia that first number and proved that Northern Lights worked.
I loved all the young Harolds, but especially Cap'n Crunch Harold. And once again Astolat called it with Harold coming from Iowa.

2005. I hate my phone's keyboard.

I *loved* the episode!

Highlights:

--Harold wanted to make a machine to help his dad remember--which he then made FORGET ITSELF DAILY. That look of horror on Root's face when she realized, Harold knew that look from the inside as he's seen it in the mirror before.

--Fusco admitting what we all knew about his sobriety and telling Reese to get hold of himself. Also being a detective! I do wonder what it is about all the dad stories though. Shaw's dad, Finch's dad, Reese's dad... moms not required for the narrative (even if we do know Shaw's mom came and got her). Feels a bit Disney-esqe there.

--Singing Finch! Also his voice when he tells Arthur it's time to go, so sad and coaxing. UGH.

--I KNEW there had to be more machines!

--Camyrn as Control!! Aliasofwestgate on tumblr told me she thought Camyrn might be recurring as Control though not sure why it came to her, so when it aired we were both on the look out. The patient lounge scene with Dr. Shaw? She was PLAYING Shaw so hard!

--and can I shout HERSH HERSH HERSH HERSH any louder?! In a sea of red squares on his "side" of things, he alone is given a simple yellow square of knowing about TM (Control does too, obviously, but still got red), and I have to wonder what his game is and why TM knows about it. I think *HE* will be the surprise help next episode!

Edited 2013-12-20 21:46 (UTC)

Discussion Post: 3x11

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I've got a bad, bad feeling…

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Lethe

Re: Lethe

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