TROJAN HORSE

Harold Finch: "A human being can recognize qualities in another human being without –"

Not a crush, okay. Not a physical crush, anyway. Maybe not a romantic crush, either, but definitely a spiritual crush. Finch likes their number, that much was obvious. And not every king of liking had to evolve into romance and / or sex. Look at John: he likes Zoe and they are definitely appreciating each other's body, but neither of them is in a place to lead it into romance, though they can and do make it into friend and companionship. He likes Carter, too, but her principles would never let her like him back that way, and he's himself not in a place stable enough to let it go further with someone like her. He's starting to like Shaw, too, but they will never be in any kind of romantic or sexual arrangement – even though the fellowship could grow strong here, if she decides to stay around. Speaking of which, night is falling and she shouldn't be long...

Sameen Shaw: "Control killed their son. They didn't need to take their memory of him. Even the CIA wouldn't stoop that low. They'd just sweep their mess under the rug and give him a star on the wall."

Yes, indeed. John doesn't doubt Kara's parents received a letter saying their daughter had died a valiant death in service for her country. A whole bunch of lies – both because the CIA tried to kill her for being inconveniently knowledgeable about the missions she did for them, and because Kara actually died doing the opposite of that – but they are different types of lies, and this one isn't a problem in itself. John, himself, had done enough on his own without needing his employers to lie about him to his family – had they managed to kill him, had they known there was a family to tell.

John Reese: "Your former employers killed Cole for discovering the truth, and nothing's stopping them from killing his parents, too. But you already know this. That's why you're out here and not in there."

Because Sameen Shaw is aware of the lines she's entangled in, the danger she's always courting. She doesn't know everything, of course – no one does, and even when you do it's generally not enough – but she's aware. She knows how much ill her intervention might bring, and she has no desire to risk it just to make herself feel better. She doesn't know what to do, though, so here she is – and for someone with supposedly no feelings, she's displaying a whole lot of consideration, both in her presence and in her caution.

John Reese: "A friend once told me, in our line of work, we walk in the dark. Doesn't mean we have to walk in it alone."

A friend. It's terrible, isn't it, that he can still call Kara a friend – despite everything she's done, despite how it ended. Despite her complete lack of empathy. And here he is, today, reminding a woman who displays some personality problems common to Kara for some, and to John for others, that she doesn't have to be alone. That they could be friends, too. He likes her, after all.

Jerome Eckert: "You're wasting your time. There's too many of us."

Which means you're disposable, dumbass.

Harold Finch: "Lee wasn't spying for a company. He was spying for his country. We just picked a fight with the People's Republic of China."

And he guesses it didn't make it to the relevant list because no mass casualty events are in the works, and this is the job of the other agencies, to deal with espionage... Anyway, a regular Tuesday in John's old job. Nothing to worry about – except that he's a lone operative against a lot of traitors – but even there, it's almost business as usual.

John Reese: "If you two would rather be alone..."

...With their computers, obviously.

Martin Baxter: "There is no value placed on outdated notions like patriotism anymore. And companies like ours, we have to constantly look forward to the future so that we can prepare for what comes next."

Patriotism isn't the point, asshole. It's about doing the right thing by protecting the country's inhabitants. If all countries did that correctly, absolutely everyone would benefit. But when you sell everything – even your loyalty – when you prepare so far ahead for what comes next, you end up with nothing – because what comes next has been entirely destroyed. There can't be a future without foundations, and if everyone refuses to stay behind and be those foundations, to hold the past with one hand while reaching out for the future...

John Reese: "You're gonna miss her, aren't you, Finch?"

Some numbers are harder to let go than others. Some are people who could have become friends – if Finch didn't make it a principle to always disappear, he could tell her he owns IFT, he's behind the job offer, and they could work together. But doing that is dangerous, because it would bring attention to Harold, and Monica might pay for it, too. John can't really comment, because he may or may not be tentatively throwing Shaw a line to fellowship whenever they cross paths – but Shaw is already deep into this, and she knows how to defend herself. Monica can't quite say the same.