Dandan

That’s great that you enjoy them all, and the thing is it’s a lot a matter of what you like. But the very fact that you are grouping seasons 1 & 2 together and then the last 3 as your favorite shows that the first 2 seasons were very different to the last 3 seasons, and because of that there are going to be some people who like the first 2 seasons best and others who prefer the style of the later seasons. However, for those of us who are not as happy with later seasons, our biggest issue is not Root and Shaw but that we feel there is inconsistency in the writing of the characters, particularly Reese & Finch. Many of us, myself included (and I know my fellow blog memebers @nafanya-a-a​, @managerie76 feel the same), have not been all that happy with the characterizations of these two characters in later seasons (S3 & S4 - I have not yet watched S5). @nafanya-a-a, @managerie76 if you’d like to help out in answering, please feel free to step in!

For example, during the entire S4 and for a better part of S3 I had an impression Reese became some kind of good-looking furniture. No matter how much screen time the character has it feels he’s just some baggage because he has very little of meaningful screen time. The show made some significant efforts to distance Reese from practically everyone, most notably from Finch. In season 4, their relationship is eventually reduced to that of distant coworkers who barely interact. Root replaces Reese as Finch’s new best friend, while Carter seems to finally have taken Finch’s part in Reese life. His interaction with Shaw is basically sharing a cool nickname, while with Fusco it mostly looks like his only purpose is to show that Fusco is a God Cop and a God Guy now (any complexity that this relationship used to have seems to have evaporated).  With Root they barely interact, with all the previous issues being conveniently ignored. The only relationship Reese seems to be allowed to have is with Iris who exists for a single purpose of being a love interest. At the same time, Zoe was made a jealous/controlling part of the love triangle. And, finally, does anybody still remember that Bear is, in fact, John’s dog? No? I wonder why.  

Reese’s involvement into the plot is also questionable. He is mostly sidelined from the A.I. arc which is now the show’s main story line. For instance, he was mostly absent in Lethe/Aletheia, or made a Dominic’s captive for the better part of the S4 finale, or sent to therapy in Prophets, or barely present in Cold War, or just there to do some shooting (If-Then-Else, Control-Alt-Delete, etc). It might be said that he’s still included into the Brotherhood arc and helping the Numbers. However, it looks like this part of the plot is no longer considered important and downplayed in favour of a serialized component of the show featuring AI. Number-centric episodes are even called fillers! It seems they (as well as the Brotherhood plot line) exist only to create some distraction/tension when the plot requires it. So, at the end of the day, Reese is just an underutilized character incorporated into some unnecessary sub-plot.

The worst thing is that Reese as a character is now often turned into a plot device, with any established canon about him being ignored whenever convenient. They need to sideline Reese/send him somewhere else? Then Reese holds an idiot ball in that episode (Wingman,Prophets). They need a funny moment/tension? Then Reese suddenly can’t handle something he is good at (Brotherhood). They need to show how cool a certain character is? Then Reese conveniently forgets any of his CIA training (Skip, etc.). They need to show how important Carter is? Then Reese no longer thinks Finch saved him.  They need Root to valiantly save Finch? Then Reese forgets what he usually does when he senses that Finch might be in danger without him (Q&A).

Basically, now Reese is a downplayed character who just follows someone around. So, it feels like he’s absent no matter how much screen time he has. And, yes, I agree that they were going to kill him off sometime (probably in If-Then-Else) in S4.

If Reese was turned into furniture occasionally shooting things, Finch was turned into a witless sidekick. Interestingly, there is a total lack of actions taken by Finch without any external influence with a positive outcome or a positive intention. What we actually see is Finch doing something because:

1. Someone (mostly Root) actively pushes him (Panopticon, Asylum) or subtly manipulates him (Nautilus).

2. Someone (mostly Root) made him see reason/talk sense to him (YHWH, arguably Wingman, Prophets).

3. He might be reluctant, but everyone else is doing it anyway, so what choice does he really have? (Control-Alt-Delete, MIA).

Instead what we see is:

1. Finch takes an action mostly under someone’s gentle or not so gentle guidance and it results in some disaster. Finch vs Samaritan is a perfect example. Root gently talks sense into ‘Harry’ (Prophets). Finch talks to TM and start scheming against Samaritan (Pretenders, Honor Among Thieves, Skip, arguably Q&A). Root saves foolish ‘Harry’ (Skip) and ends his reckless plan. You see, in the end Finch achieves nothing. Moreover, his main plan is shown to be reckless and to some extent ridiculous. Additionally, in Q&A the bug he planted was discovered (Whaoh! The father of an AI couldn’t come up with something more inventive!). The only result he achieves is screwing up ‘Tablets for Kids’ project which turns out to be relatively harmless.

2. While Finch is shown ‘cool’, it is for a comic relief. Harold Egret, for instance, is introduced to make the audience laugh, especially when in the end Root with two guns shows ‘who’s the real badass here’ (Wingman).

3. Finch is show ‘large and in charge’, but only because he has the team to protect him and because the said team obviously made him take an action in the first place (Control-Alt-Delete).

4. Finch takes an action, but his intentions while understandable are violent and vicious (flashbacks in Karma).

5. Finch supposedly makes something heroic… but it is not even shown on screen! (Cold War)

6. Finch follows Root’s advice no matter of his own feelings, believes, priorities, etc (Terra incognita, Asylum, YHWH).

Is this the man who created an AI? Really? Frankly, it doesn’t look this way.

So, at the end of the day, Finch is a character without his own agenda, who is never really allowed to act on his own values or views and incapable of pursuing his own beliefs.

Just for the record, they didn’t even need to make Finch victorious in the end or all the time. But why wouldn’t they show him really making his enemies’ life difficult? I mean, one man revolution from Claire could have been a true statement instead of sounding like a mockery.

So, you see, the characters I’ve grown to love are downplayed and treated as some unnecessary luggage. i can’t say I like that.

And cherry on top. After 4 seasons it’s safe to say that on this show only bad guys are capable of being friends. After S4 the only true friendship shown is between Elias and Scarface. Good guys are friends only when it is convenient. Look how easily in S3&4 Reese transfers his gratitude/affections/etc from Finch to other people. I can’t forget that conversation with Carter right in front of Finch. Every time I see it I scream internally ‘The guy who disarmed a bomb on you deserves a bit more respect!’. I don’t even mention how Finch replaces Reese with Root as his BBF. Of course, it might be said that Finch&Ingram is an example of friendship. But:

1) It’s in the past (Nathan is dead);

2) We mostly see them fighting and struggling with each other;

3) Thanks to all the crap that was done to Finch as a character makes us question if it was, in fact, a friendship (it makes me question even happy moments).

Jim hanging out at USC, Chris Fisher & JC’s mutual frat house 

EYELASH ALERT!!!!   Just because it’s that kind of day and I miss seeing Jim film on the streets of NYC!!!!   Hell, I miss all of Team Machine!

BTS filming 5x13 in Manhattan 8-19-15.  Jim was talking with Erik Mountain.