I always figured that there would be a place and time when Root and Finch's interests would be aligned, much like how their interests aligned with Elias and HR at different times. All of these grey areas where enemies can become allies, and vice-versa is what makes this show so compelling.

I'd say that both of them do more good outside, so putting them in prison wouldn't really make much sense.

Actually, I'm more vested in Fusco's redemption than I am of Reese. There's something remarkably sympathetic to Fusco's everyman quality (like Chief O'Brien from Star Trek), as opposed to Reese's clinical approach to everything. Reese has done some pretty unspeakable things in his time with Kara and the agency - he…

Finally, a Fusco episode! Things are also getting pretty dark - both figuratvely and literally. Taking the machine offline this early was surprising given that we still have 2 more episodes to go - what are we going to do if the machine isn't around to give them the numbers? It's PoI presents: The Bear & Finch variety…

I find it ironic that we're talking about the original series finale of Futurama just a week after we found out that when the new series finale of Futurama will be. …Let's do a musical about that.

I thought the roundtable comments about the music leaning heavily on previously established character traits being a con were interesting. I got the feeling that "My Musical" was a one-off attempt to make a Broadway style of Scrubs which would appeal to a broader audience, so it didn't bother me as much when the…

I don't particularly enjoy opera but I loved "Leela: Orphan of the Stars".

I thought this exchange was disturbingly poignant:

The thing that upsets me the most from that is that there's 22 days until the next episode.

Absolutely. I miss having him more central to the cases. Also, need to see Fusco and Carter's kids more - can't be all work for them.

I thought Elias was talking about Quinn initially - HR has shrunk considerably so they've tightened their ranks. But it wouldn't be a surprise to learn that Elias sees even farther out to a threat that no one has picked up on - he's usually quite a few steps ahead.

@avclub-d72f705337e5adcf7e33ec0381c5f5b2:disqus  That's the most intriguing part about the idea of the Machine. If you think of the Machine as a sentient being, why would it not be capable of doing evil?

Regardless of the potential nepotism, he seems like a good fit for the role. He hasn't really done that much per se, so far he's just the "shadowy puppetmaster" trope but I hope they'll expand that.

Harold may have extended Shaw the job offer, but he doesn't fully trust her either. Not surprising given how he didn't trust John at the beginning also (i.e. when John used his surveillance techniques to dig into Harold's past - those were chilly times). I think Shaw is blinded by her desire for revenge and her anger…

@avclub-f58c9b865d50d42710c791a720274808:disqus Red is usually the colour to indicate an imminent threat, when violence is the most likely outcome. PoIs start as white - once the Machine determines that the threat outcome will end in violence, it red-boxes them. The Machine might not see the issue of the virus as a…

I'd like to think that with the number of businesses that Harold runs / controls, almost everyone, in some way or another, works for Harold.

Finch is the ultimate ghost. Nathan did a really good job of keeping him hidden - only Alicia Corwin ever figured it out, and that was only after Nathan's son tipped her off by chance. That and the fact that Alicia met Harold before and knew all the specifics about the Machine's origins.

If anything, I feel really bad for Carter - I think that's what most people are feeling too. I liked having Cal around, despite the fact that he was surprisingly naive and couldn't see what was happening even though Elias basically sketched it out for him. But most of us would have probably approached it the same way…

Given that, as a child, her best friend was raped and murdered and she was called a liar for trying to report it, I would imagine she doesn't have much faith in the human race.

That's clever - the idea that the machine is manipulating the data sent to Harold in order to enact a plan in the physical world for self-preservation purposes. But if that's true, does that mean the machine is picking and choosing numbers to benefit itself?