MORS PRAEMATURA

Harold Finch: "Ms Shaw may be violent and uncommunicative, but she is never tardy. Something is amiss, and I need you to find out what."

Great. Anything that can take out Shaw is probably a huge pain to deal with. The former ISA operative is like John on that point: very hard to take out in any way. Oh, you could hinder her, of course – just like it'd happened when they'd gotten Genrika Zhirova's number the other day – but she'd fight you tooth and nail, and no matter the state she'd end up in, she'd still walk out to finish the mission you'd interrupted with your meddling.

John Reese: "Knowing Shaw, it's possible. But if I had to guess, I'd say she's in trouble."

He actually can't see a scenario, however improbable, where Shaw would do that, so someone had to have tased her... Probably.

Lionel Fusco: "Yeah, and a crazy story to go with it. Guy over there says this medical supply van was just stolen by two women driving that car. One waves them down, engine trouble. When he goes to take a look, the other one knocks him out with some kind of martial arts. I hate to tell you, but Root and Shaw, they're working as a team, a scary one."

John doesn't like it – he can't, he won't forget how convincing Root had been as a fake therapist, he won't forget how she's forced Finch to work with her two times already. What he saw of Shaw doesn't make him think she'd willingly betray them for Root's craziness – and maybe he's wrong, but most likely he isn't – so no, John doesn't like it. He's almost worried.

Harold Finch: "Mr Reese!"

There. He knew this would end badly. Was he right? Yes, of course. Someone just tried to deep-fry Finch, because the older man had been going at it on his own – and no, Harold isn't fit for field work. He probably wasn't even before he'd started limping, because it's not just about being able to run away from danger – though that helps, too, and it's something Finch can't do.

Harold Finch: "I believe I know who tried to burn us alive. The last time I saw code like this, it was used by this man. Peter Collier. He's a member of a group trying to send a message about government surveillance and privacy."

Joy. Peter Collier, or whoever he really is – the self-righteous asshole who'd shot John to kill just because he stood in his way, and without even a warning, at that. The more John learns about that guy – which, admittedly, isn't much for now – the more he starts to sound like a domestic terrorist in the making. The kind of people John and Mark and Kara were sometimes sent to deal with before they could start trouble.

Timothy Sloan: "Hey. I'm coming with you. You should stay here. You're looking for the key to this code, right? Well, there's something I do better than anybody else, and that's finding things that people keep hidden. Please. Let me do it for Jason."

...Sounds efficient – letting Sloan do what he does best, instead of Finch who isn't a specialist and is frequently in danger whenever he goes on the field – but at the same time... It is dangerous for Timothy Sloan too, and John doesn't know the man, which means he also doesn't know the mistakes he's likely to make on the field. If Sloan comes with him, John will have to stay aware of his every move.

Harold Finch: "Mr Reese, are you all right?"

No, and he's really starting to hate Peter Collier and his band of merry terrorists-to-be. Damned sanctimonious asshole who thinks he can dispense "lessons" about the reality of things and then shoot anyone who disagrees.

John Reese: "Shaw?"

Whatever this is, there are two possible options for what's going to happen now – besides the obvious threat to Sloan: Root will fuck shit up and John is there to try and prevent that on top of dealing with Collier, or Root and Shaw somehow ended up working on the very same number as them, which is worrying for many reasons – starting with the Machine's supposed trust in Root. Or the fact that Root seems to think she knows everything about what the Machine wants – as if the Machine truly wanted anything... Maybe Root does in fact want to act on the Machine's behalf – maybe – but that would still not mean she's to be trusted. The woman has her own habits, and for all that the Machine can somehow contact her, it's not the same thing as having a parole officer on your ass if you fuck up. What will the Machine do – what could it even do – if Root goes too far? Not even out of duplicity, but simply because she doesn't get it, because she degraded herself into such a sociopathic individual she didn't think anything of taking a life only a few months ago.

Sameen Reese: "Know the feeling."

...So they're really on the same case, uh? It does answer some questions, and assure Root isn't here to destroy anything or abduct anyone... Which still brings a big interrogation mark as to Root's involvement in all this. Her exact place in this mess – if the Machine really called her here, if she truly was trusted with any kind of responsibility – is mysterious at best, and definitely dubious.

John Reese: "I'm the guy you shot in the back, and I'm here to return the favor."

John might want to be a good guy, but he's never been above killing assholes, especially those who put others in danger and don't give a damn for collateral damage. Don't be mistaken – there will always be collateral damage, but that doesn't mean you can just decide it's alright to cause it on purpose. Even if you know it's going to happen, you still try – and more often than not, you fail, but that's not the point and it will never be – to do as little damage as possible. You have a goal, and you stay true to it – even if it means that you will lose some people, that you will destroy some lives – but you don't just consider collateral damage as a quota you can afford to reach. Collateral damage exists because no matter your choices, someone will die – because sometimes if you don't act one way, someone will die, and if you do act one way, someone else will die. The thing is, here? Peter Collier has killed before, and he will again – it's easy to guess, it's obvious, really – but if John kills him first...

Harold Finch: "Equally troubling, the Machine appears to have sent two teams into the same battle with different goals. Why keep us in the dark about Root and Shaw?"

Oh, John has no idea about that, really. Maybe because Finch only gave It a minimal way to contact them, so It couldn't exactly be wordy in Its explanations – sorry, Its lack of explanation given that It can't tell them anything. John isn't trying to say Finch was wrong to code It that way – or that he was right, either – just that Harold made a choice, and therefore the older man doesn't get to act surprised when the consequences to his choice aren't helping them.

John Reese: "Speaking of which, have you figured out what to do with Root yet?"

They've tried the mental hospital already, and there's no way they'll trust her right now. Never, probably. Not after the things she's done – John and Shaw have done terrible things in their lives, too, but at least they did those things for a reason other than anger and personal gain. So yes, he is asking: what are they going to do with Root?