Kudos to Nolan, et al., the writers and actors for this episode, If-Then-Else, which competes right up there with any episode of The Americans, Homeland and other cablers whose greatness everyone knows about **because we hear it all the time**. We do not hear much about PoI from the talking heads and it is certainly no media darling, perhaps because it is a CBS show, or because Jim Cavaziel's Reece's expressionless monotone, or maybe because many critics wrote it off early in the first season. I am glad we stayed with it, as over the years this show has become not just a strong ensemble piece, but one of the most tightly crafted dramas airing on television. And those characterizations that annoyed critics the first season (Reece's grumble-like monotone, the idea of an all-knowing government spying on us) either turned into an important part of the ensemble's interplay, or was revealed as a prescient warning -- "holy crap! the Government actually IS spying on us!"
This uniquely structured episode rewards us longtime viewers with character-driven humor, with pathos and even a sly wink that comes right up the 4th Wall barrier, without truly breaking it. At the same time, If-Then-Else was filmed beautifully with the kinds of additional touches that one does not expect from cost-conscious network shows.
Just, really good job to all involved in this roller coaster of an episode and thank you for respecting the intelligence, loyalty and discrimination of your audience.
