Notes for season 5 episode 12, “.exe“
10:15 Even in the alternate Machine-less timeline, Carter has a Dell 2009W on her desk.
18:52 The HAL-looking prop for the iris/retina scanner at the NSA is an actual biometric access device, an LG IrisAccess 3000.
19:30 As Finch enters the server room, there is actually some suggestion of ambient noise, unlike the totally silent servers we’ve experienced so far.
25:50 Greer extols the benefits of a benevolent ASI. Global food distribution, pre-emptive health screening. And sure, a small number of people needed to die for the efficient reallocation of resources.
27:25 “80211” is a reference to “IEEE 802.11” the standards document series for wi-fi. And the wireless router Reese and Shaw find (sitting next to a Dell 2009W) was recovered from the residence of one “Snowden, Edward” in 2013. Reese mentions needing a “nipper net line”, referencing NIPRnet, the DoD non-classified network.
34:18 Reese’s simulated grave is marked with “091611”. I think this is intended as retroactive dating for the pilot episode. While the Pilot’s on-screen graphics imply the main plot was taking place in April 2011, the second episode (set days after the pilot) was established as 22 September 2016, pushing the Pilot timeframe to mid-September. The original pilot script implied John was going to throw himself off a bridge had he not been approached by Finch, so we can assume the number on the headstone probably refers to the date of the Pilot (September 16th 2011).
34:40 Is this the first time the earpieces are referred to as “earwigs” in the show?
39:21 In the simulation of the Machine-less world, Greer is talking to the Senator about how handing over control to an ASI has resulted in reduced unemployment. So I guess UBI wasn’t the Samaritan plan? On the monitors we see a red double-decker drive through Piccadilly Circus, implying that in this alternate reality even London is under constant electronic surveillance.