Since the end of the second season, I have been hoping to see two things happen in this series: Introduce a rival artificial intelligence to serve as a direct rival to the mythical 'Machine.' Bring back previous 'irrelevants' to serve as either allies or antagonists.
The former element was introduced last season in the form of Samaritan, now the series' primary antagonist. And while this season doesn't mark the first season where former irrelevant numbers came back into the mix, there are two marked differences. The first is that they have been more prominent, the previous 4 episodes each featuring one former number making an appearance. The second, and more important of the two, is The Machine's team-building aspect. Which is actually extremely reminiscent of what was going on this time last season. Root was recruiting for a team in order to limit Samaritan's abilities a tiny amount. Root is team- building again, but this time likely to do more than just limit Samaritan. So-called 'Team Machine' needs a network that can withstand the mass resources of Decima (and perhaps Northern Lights). And this aspect has the potential to escalate tension even more (despite the writers topping themselves in this respect each season). The inclusion of Caleb Phipps in this team is absolute wish fulfillment for a fan like me. In addition to himself, I would love to see future appearances by any or all of these: Daniel Casey ('RAM', 'A House Dividied') Jason Greenfield ('Mors Praematura', 'A House Divided') Daizo ('/', 'A House Divided') Arthur Claypool ('Lethe', 'Aletheia') Henry Peck ('No Good Deed') Owen Matthews ('4C') Monica Jacobs ('Trojan Horse')
I'm obviously excited by this aspect, although honestly it only reared its head a bit in this episode. The main focus was, of course, this week's number. Going by the alias 'Harper', she did a great job of keeping the team on its toes. And I like how they left her future more uncertain than usual. She could be an ally to the team, but is more likely to end up working for Dominic. The Brotherhood/Dominic angle was more intriguing than usual. Especially the sit-down between Reese and Dominic, them reviewing the 'rules' between Team Machine and Elias, Reese even offering (to my surprise) to treat Dominic in much the same way. Dominic seems too proud to accept, and I like that he's at least as ambitious as Elias, but his character is definitely his own. The mix of New York street crime with dashes of the bigger picture sprinkled throughout was most welcome. The series covers a lot of ground, and the majority of episodes are solely dedicated to focusing on one perspective. Which works, but I like it when they mix things up this way.
As per my habit of nitpicking, I will list a couple tiny, tiny pieces of constructive criticism: The seemingly melancholy music during Root's ('Shannon's) interview at Phipps' company was very out of place, in my opinion. I still loathe the trope of knocking somebody out with a single blow to the head. If you hit somebody that hard, you may have killed them, or at least caused permanent damage. Please, writers everywhere, I hope you stop perpetuating this.
The former element was introduced last season in the form of Samaritan, now the series' primary antagonist. And while this season doesn't mark the first season where former irrelevant numbers came back into the mix, there are two marked differences. The first is that they have been more prominent, the previous 4 episodes each featuring one former number making an appearance. The second, and more important of the two, is The Machine's team-building aspect. Which is actually extremely reminiscent of what was going on this time last season. Root was recruiting for a team in order to limit Samaritan's abilities a tiny amount. Root is team- building again, but this time likely to do more than just limit Samaritan. So-called 'Team Machine' needs a network that can withstand the mass resources of Decima (and perhaps Northern Lights). And this aspect has the potential to escalate tension even more (despite the writers topping themselves in this respect each season). The inclusion of Caleb Phipps in this team is absolute wish fulfillment for a fan like me. In addition to himself, I would love to see future appearances by any or all of these: Daniel Casey ('RAM', 'A House Dividied') Jason Greenfield ('Mors Praematura', 'A House Divided') Daizo ('/', 'A House Divided') Arthur Claypool ('Lethe', 'Aletheia') Henry Peck ('No Good Deed') Owen Matthews ('4C') Monica Jacobs ('Trojan Horse')
I'm obviously excited by this aspect, although honestly it only reared its head a bit in this episode. The main focus was, of course, this week's number. Going by the alias 'Harper', she did a great job of keeping the team on its toes. And I like how they left her future more uncertain than usual. She could be an ally to the team, but is more likely to end up working for Dominic. The Brotherhood/Dominic angle was more intriguing than usual. Especially the sit-down between Reese and Dominic, them reviewing the 'rules' between Team Machine and Elias, Reese even offering (to my surprise) to treat Dominic in much the same way. Dominic seems too proud to accept, and I like that he's at least as ambitious as Elias, but his character is definitely his own. The mix of New York street crime with dashes of the bigger picture sprinkled throughout was most welcome. The series covers a lot of ground, and the majority of episodes are solely dedicated to focusing on one perspective. Which works, but I like it when they mix things up this way.
As per my habit of nitpicking, I will list a couple tiny, tiny pieces of constructive criticism: The seemingly melancholy music during Root's ('Shannon's) interview at Phipps' company was very out of place, in my opinion. I still loathe the trope of knocking somebody out with a single blow to the head. If you hit somebody that hard, you may have killed them, or at least caused permanent damage. Please, writers everywhere, I hope you stop perpetuating this.