IN EXTREMIS

Richard Nelson: "Aah! You! I know you from the reception. Get away from me!"

Understandable, but not helping.

John Reese: "Finch, things just went completely sideways. And judging by his symptoms, we're already too late."

He's seen those before – he's caused those before. He's not yet certain of what Nelson was poisoned with, but he has an idea, and it's definitely not good news. If he's right...

Richard Nelson: "But you were at the reception. You slipped something into my drink."

A logical conclusion from a brilliant mind, but wrong. Nelson knew three things: he'd been poisoned, John had been present and serving drinks, and now John was here again. The idea that two suspicious people had been present for two different goals, one to kill him and one to save him, wasn't quite obvious.

Richard Nelson: "I'm aware how radiation affects the body, but how do you know all this?"

Trivia night – okay, no, experience in poisoning people.

John Reese: "Look, you can stay there and die in that bed, or you can get up and help me find the bastard who murdered you. Clock's ticking, Doc."

There is no saving him, now. The number came too late, and yet. They can still act. They can avenge the professor. John will, whether or not Richard Nelson wants to do it himself. If someone is out there poisoning people with polonium... So yes, John can still do something, even if the number came too late, and he will. But it's not as good as saving a life.

Richard Nelson: "I'm a doctor. People ask me things all the time, advice. You know, that drug and this diet and – Oh... it's just an excuse. What I did was wrong, and now I'm a dead man. All because I couldn't keep my mouth shut."

So what? There will always be something you can say two, three ways. Maybe he shouldn't have said it, but at the same time, a doctor can't stop doing their job for fear of their pieces of advice being used for something else. Maybe he should have been less naive, but that's about it.

John Reese: "You made a mistake. That doesn't mean you deserve to die."

Everyone makes mistakes. Some people make many of those, but that's not Nelson's case – and yet those people are still alive.

Brandon Boyd: "I had to. We got investigated. He asked if we'd been exposed. Said he'd take care of it."

John can feel the need to grit his teeth. That trader didn't do it on purpose, and he probably doesn't want anyone to die, but he's also unrepentant in his choices. He made a mistake, yes, and it's not his fault his boss would rather kill someone than assume the risks taken, but even with the victim of his choices dying in front of him, he's only talking about himself.

John Reese: "We all make mistakes."

Some make the wrong choices. Some the right ones. And sometimes, the right choice is a mistake, because you don't know everything and you tried to do the right thing based on wrong assumptions. And sometimes, the wrong choice turns out to be the thing to do, because your reasons were shitty but unknown variables somehow made you the good guy by default. So yes, everyone makes mistakes, and no one would be left if each mistake warranted a kill. John thinks of Adam Saunders, of the fact that he tried to do the right thing, and it almost got him killed – of the fact that he went looking for information where he shouldn't have in that quest, and it almost got him killed too. Both Adam and Richard Nelson fell prey to insider trading, and John managed to save one, but he can't save the other – maybe, then, it's John who made a mistake this time. It doesn't mean he deserves to die – not for that, at least.

John Reese: "I always thought he was your partner."

Carter wants him to do something, but she needs to understand: either Lionel is worth saving, or he isn't. It doesn't matter if it's John who does it, or her. She can't ask him to do something she wouldn't do herself, not if she wants to keep her principles. In the same way, she can't expect him to value Lionel more than the lives he works to save, if she won't do the same herself. Hypocrisy is a reality, even in the most righteous, because even when you deal in absolutes you sometimes end up in situations which are neither one nor the other – and feelings exist, even against your principles.

Joss Carter: "Not after what he just told me. Do you know what he's done? He deserves to be behind bars."

By those standards, John should be there, too. Much more so than Lionel – but John is also the one who got Lionel to change, so perhaps jail isn't the answer to everything. Now, what the detective needs is a better person than John to tell him he can do it. And that, that's Carter.

John Reese: "I always thought it was in your book. Once a dirty cop, always a dirty cop, right? You'll have to excuse me. I have to get back to work."

"Dirty cops" is a complicated attribute, anyway. Is it about personal gain? About principles? About work ethics? By that last standard, Carter herself should be in jail, given the liberties she took to help them save lives. That's what Donnely thought, too – because he didn't have enough knowledge of what they did, because sometimes the right choice can be a mistake.

Richard Nelson: "I think you mean us. Uh, your nose is bleeding. You have $9 billion, but you only have 24 hours to spend it. I hope you invest it wisely."

It's been a long time since he last murdered someone like that. A proper assassination – and on top of that, Nelson is good at dying speeches of revenge, apparently.

Richard Nelson: "For giving me another shot. At all this."

He'd have wanted to do more. To be there soon enough, to save his life. To send Cochran to jail for what he did – to frame him for something if necessary – for what he would have tried, but failed, to do. It wasn't enough – because the Machine isn't working right, and without it, John can only avenge, and not save. Richard Nelson deserved more than what John can offer right now.

Harold Finch: "Off the hook for now. My chess partner in prison says Azarello had a change of heart and recanted."

Of course, even if Carter hadn't changed her mind, John and Harold would have done something – they have done something, and they would have done more if needed. But if everyone does their part – then they can really do something worthwhile.