Although not the greatest episode out there, I did enjoy the episode. I think I can see some of the things that let it down, though. Personally I think at least a small part of the problem wasn’t so much the flaws themselves, but the expectations that made the flaws more apparent.
The previous episode was well packed, had a major cliffhanger, and was tow weeks previous. So instead of a week’s wait to resolve it, there was a fortnight. Then after that, no resolution after all.
The other expectations were slightly more immediate. The opening post-credits showed that Zarek and Romo were both going to be in the episode. Then Zarek seemed overlooked, and Romo taken in a slightly different direction that wasn’t explained until the closing scenes.
Personally, I sort of like that Zarek has now shown up a couple of times without necessarily taking centre-stage. It’s somewhat more realistic in that, as VP, surely he’d be present at Quorum meetings even when he wasn’t doing a great deal.
Yes, the episode had its flaws. Yes, it wasn’t quite at the same level as the previous one. But I do think that it’ll measure up better in a rewatch or bulk-watch.
Knowing that you’ve waited a fortnight for answers that won’t show up for at least a further week can’t really help the episode’s standing.
I also like that Romo’s motives, as ever, are not entirely clear. When he did finally gear up to putting Lee’s name on the board, I go the distinct impression that it was as obvious to Romo as it had been to me. Which makes me wonder why he went through the whole charade which, in fact, is very ‘Romo’ to me.
Part of me thinks that he went along partly to see if he was wrong, and that someone else would prove viable, or that he wanted to test Lee to see how conscious and how committed his desires were. And it does feel to me that Romo showed Lee that he was subconsciously seeking power, as well as proving that Lee wasn’t the kind to back down from danger if threatened.
BTW, “Hi, I’m new”.
And, yes, I can go on quite a bit. 
