Team Machine has to face some of it’s most deadly adversaries, Vigilance and a high school reunion. Not necessarily in that order.
***SPOILERS BELOW***
The episode starts out with bang. Literally. Reese and Shaw just got eyes on their new number and the cabbie picking her up blows the taxi. It’s unusual for the team to fail completely to save a number and its even more shocking for it to happen in the first five minutes. Seems that Vigilance wanted some information about Northern Lights (The Machine) and now they are a step closer. However, the numbers keep coming, so Shaw and Reese are sent to a high school reunion while Finch and Fusco work on Vigilance. This feels like a bizarre division of labor, but an entertaining one.
The Shaw and Reese team up at the reunion brought a kind of humor to the show that hasn’t been present since Finch and Reese took care of a baby back in season one. Watching a parade of women slap Reese was funnier than it should have been and screams for a music video or meme. Just put that bit on repeat. They also squashed any romantic notions anyone might have had about Reese and Shaw. She opened the hotel door in her underwear and Reese did not react. They both decided the floor was preferable to sharing a single bed. No chemistry at all. Plus the scary twin packing of their clothes and guns was creepy. The other interesting development is Shaw getting a bit flustered by the actual person of interest, Matthew.
Shaw is more charmed than she is comfortable with, but we all know she doesn’t do dating. Good thing he’s the perpetrator trying to kill the guy that killed his high school sweet heart. Well maybe not a good thing. Shaw understands the motivation and is not terribly put off by it either. The big showdown is cut short by a hit squad of Vigilance assassins, which makes Matthew’s dispute seem trivial. Apparently, Root gave Vigilance Shaw and Reese’s location so she could hack their network. Fortunately, both of them are made of badass and took out the hitmen in short order.
Meanwhile, Finch and Fusco are on the case in D.C. tracking down the information Vigilance is pursuing. Fusco in a robe enjoying the luxury accommodations Finch provided was a great moment. Their personalities are so different that any banter they have is hilarious. Finch has a bit more mischief in him than his prim exterior would suggest and he loves the idea of breaking into the D.C. police evidence lockup. I also think he wants to steal the diamonds the team was joking about several episodes ago. The caper is going swimmingly until Collier shows up to steal the information out of Harold’s hands. Talk about timing. Root is a fan of great timing as well and swoops in to save Harold from Vigilance. Question. Did Finch not fear for his life since Root has been there to save him the last three times he was in danger or did he see her over Collier’s shoulder? Hmm.
In the biggest change/twist in this universe, Collier goes public with the information on Northern Lights forcing the government to shut down the program. What? No more relevant numbers? Well, maybe but now The Machine has re-routed those numbers to Root. She looked excited about this development. Terror may be the proper response.
