DEAD RECKONING

John Reese: "Mark."

The old team. Kara the psychopath with loyalty issues, Mark the sociopath who is very interested in doing the right thing overall but also believes in necessary sacrifices as long as they're not his own, and John, who's not sure if he's also a psychopath or a self-sacrificial martyr. All that, without the backing of the CIA. It can't be good.

Kara Stanton: "You and Mark are gonna run a few errands for me. Execute your tasks in a timely manner and you will remain intact."

Yes, because John is known for caring about his own safety. Or letting himself be manipulated. Kara knows that, too, which is why she's endangering other people – she knows he will try something, in the end. She thinks she can prevent it in any situation – he only has to prove her wrong.

Kara Stanton: "And, John? That's your last warning."

Right. He's really going to need to switch gears. Not quite the CIA, not quite the army, not quite the police, not quite the numbers. Kara knows him... but he knows Kara. He can do it. He has to.

Mark Snow: "You're both damaged goods. Having the two of you take each other out wasn't just efficient. It was poetic."

Ah, yes. Mark's total inability to connect with people – easier to notice when you know him a bit, when he doesn't bother pretending.

Kara Stanton: "If I had to guess, two Delta Force operators with M-4s trained to fire if those elevator doors open without authorization."

So he's going to feel right at home, then. What was it, almost two years in Delta Force? That's where he'd been noticed and recruited by the CIA, his last days in the army.

John Reese: "They're just doing their job and I don't know them. The only person here I'm pretty sure deserves to die is you."

The two men's reports will be interesting to read, to be sure. Fragmented team of two highly dangerous operatives breaks in and starts threatening each other when one tries to kill the soldiers.

Mark Snow: "I guess you have changed, John."

Not so much, no. But he isn't willing to believe blindly anymore, and he knows that the CIA lied to him, at least a few times – not all the time, of course, and most of the time his missions were probably justified. He chooses not to kill, because no one is telling him they deserve it, that he has to – and even if someone did tell him that, he wouldn't simply believe them, not anymore.

Kevin: "Do you guys have any idea where you are?"

No, they took the wrong turn and thought this was a coffee shop.

Mark Snow: "You're gonna get us killed, John."

Yeah, well. That's never been much of an issue for John, has it? And Mark should know it. Maybe he does, because now John is feeling guiltier about the employees who might also die with them, but well. They don't always get the luxury of leaving no victims behind.

Kara Stanton: "I knew you wouldn't follow orders, John. Just like in Ordos. You lost your nerve."

And this is the part where Kara never understood him. It's not about losing his nerves. It's about doing the right thing. He hadn't believed Mark when he told him Kara was a traitor, and so he hadn't killed her. Same thing with Daniel Casey, even if she never knew about that. And here, it seems obvious enough that obeying Kara isn't the right thing – so he isn't doing it. That's all there is to it.

Kara Stanton: "Never were one for the bigger picture, were you, John?"

That's rich coming from the one who didn't even realize they were lying to her until they sent a missile at them, until John had to tell her.

John Reese: "Kara, listen. I know how you feel. I was in Ordos too, remember? And, yes, we were burned, betrayed... but we survived. You've got to let it go. It's not too late. You can end this."

He doesn't believe he can reach her. He knows Kara, and people don't change that much – she only betrays because she was betrayed first. But he might be wrong. He has to try.

John Reese: "Stay put."

Kevin looks like he wants to help – but that's only a way to get him killed. Kara is good with her explosives, and if Mark didn't manage to get it off, it's not an untrained scientist who will succeed.

Mark Snow: "Good luck, John."

He will almost miss Mark. Almost. If only he hadn't been so keen on self-preservation, up to the point of endangering others even when it was for nothing.

John Reese: "You know I do. Because you'd do the exact same thing. Thank you. Both of you."

Carter always wants to do the right thing. But sometimes, in some situations... Sometimes you have to choose which right thing you will put first. Which one is the most likely to be successful, so that the sacrifice of the other will at least be worth it. Carter and Lionel have families. Children. If they try to help him... The chances they lose their lives are higher than the chances they save his. It's not one or the other – it's, perhaps, both, but most likely, neither, if they try. And if they don't, at least the two detectives will survive.

Harold Finch: "But this moment does. I'm not leaving you here, John. So can we please stop wasting time?"

He'd try to dissuade Harold again, but it didn't work the first time. It didn't work either when Donnelly put him in Rikers. John doesn't have the time to convince him to leave – and there isn't quite as much for Finch to lose, as there is for Carter or Lionel.

John Reese: "Pick a winner, Harold."

Not for himself, of course. At least, John spent the last few weeks happy enough. He had a good run, in the end. A good job. So no, it's not to save John's life. It's because if the bomb vest explodes, Harold dies with him. And since Harold wouldn't let himself be dissuaded, since he argued to be there... It better not be for nothing.