Anyway, onto the actual episode. Starting with Greer, it was fantastic to have him back in the fold. Decima's presence as a major villain seemed to end when they failed to gain control to the Machine. We should've known better than to think they'd give up. Quite what Greer will do with Samaritan is yet to be seen, but I can guarantee that it will cause serious problems for an already dysfunctional Team Machine.
Of course, with Samaritan having gone online, Claypool was in serious danger from Control (the Christmas cliffhanger) and Vigilance. Starting with Control, we learn that she only wanted access to Samaritan in fear of losing access to the Machine. Having been decieved by Claypool's "tumor card" and after Root rescued Claypool, Finch and Shaw, Hersh managed to capture Root. And this is where it got brutal.
Despite having seen torture scenes multiple times on multiple shows, I should be used to it by now. Of course, shows find new ways to make me grimace. I did enjoy seeing Root be tortured though, considering she isn't exactly a nice character. Yet, I found myself Rooting (pun intended) for her, purely as Control is even more evil. I particularly loved the fact that even though she was being tortured, Root still found the whole thing funny. "You think you're in charge. It's adorable just how wrong you are." was a highlight of this episode.The moment with the Morse Code was fantastic. I had seen some opposing views as to whether people could hear it or not, and having performed my own test, I can safely say this was a genius idea from the writers. The fact that it was exactly as Root said was a fantastic touch. I was able to hear it. The Machine adapted superbly in order to communicate with its interface, and it was a joy to watch.
Root speaking as the Machine was creepy. Until now, we've only heard her responding to instructions. It's obvious that she has opened herself to being controlled by The Machine - she wasn't lying when stating that she is the interface. The Machine is obviously protecting Control (and the only thing she loves) because she is part of the government, and it was designed to assist the government. However, if she continues to be a villain, or goes near Root again, I have a feeling that The Machine will cease to send numbers to the government.I enjoyed the inclusion of Vigilance in this story. Their methods, however warped, are fun to watch, and the group posed a clear threat (as usual). It was brilliant to see Collier ramble on about how Claypool and Samaritan need to be exposed - not even remotely aware of Finch's creation. They are never likely to win on a show with a concept like Person of Interest has, but it's fun to watch.
Reese's refusal to return to his day job of helping people was annoying. As we expected, he has been seriously affected by Carter's death. Hell, when Jessica died, he went after her husband and spiralled into an alcohol-fuelled depression, contemplating suicide. Now, he appears to be returning to that time. This is obviously a changed Reese, as the one we've known for the past two years would most certainly not consider saving people "delaying the inevitable". There was no doubt in my mind that he would return to save Finch, but I expected him to leave again. I hope that he soon realises that helping people is a useful cause.
Flashback-wise, it was a continuation of those seen in 'Lethe'. Harold had showed off his phone hacking skills last time, but we saw his computer hacking skills here. I enjoyed seeing how his idea of helping his father had developed into hacking into the government. It was also interesting to realise why Harold has so many aliases (due to his illegal hacking), and why a lot of them are names of birds. He clearly never lost that connection to his father, even if it wasn't reciprocated.
Odds and ends:
- I still don't know who the threat to Claypool was. Was it Control or Vigilance?
- Seeing Claypool's box turn yellow was fantastic.
- If Root's two-gun approach is not featured on a weekly basis, I will not be happy.
- I am glad that Root isn't working with the team for the moment. If she is able to find out from the Machine where anyone is at any one time, chasing numbers becomes too easy.
- Reese called the Machine a 'he'.
- Is Hersh dead? He is the Person of Interest equivalent of the Terminator, so he can't possibly be.
- "It's hammer time."
Promo for an episode which will not be as good as this one (and if it is, well done writers):
I think part of PoI's brilliance is its ability to juggle the action, the sci-fi/government conspiracy mythology as well as the emotional. I love what they're doing with Reese. His moments with Fusco in these last two episodes have been brilliant character insights. Fusco is showing himself a true friend here, going to Colorado after Reese, sitting with him and trying to get this highly closed off man to speak -- and Fusco is the only character, aside from Finch who knows a lot about Reese through his research, who has actually had John share something private and truthful. Even Carter only ever got shades of the truth. Then Fusco picks a fight with John knowing that if sitting and talking isn't going to get Reese to open up, perhaps a little fist pounding will release some of that anger and sorrow.
ReplyDeleteReese's comments to Fusco about it being only a matter of time before he goes back to being a corrupt cop are really Reese's confession regarding his own descent into darkness. Lest we forget, Reese pulled the trigger three times on Quinn. In other words, despite having Finch and all the others there to ensure Quinn did not escape and despite now having Simmons's exit strategy and the ability to capture him (as Shaw and Fusco were there with Reese and Finch) Reese became the monster that he has tried for over two years to banish. For want of an empty clip, Reese would have committed cold-blooded murder. Reese's disillusionment is a brilliant display of characterization. That the writers can effortlessly juggle that, all while spooling up the government conspiracies and giving us several gunfights and explosions is a tribute to the brilliance of the crew.
I think next week's episode will be quite good: if Finch isn't sending Reese on a mission, who is? Is it Root? If so, she is likely doing it at the request of the Machine. Lest we forget, the Machine, through Root, told Control not to come after her 'agents'. I think Reese is considered by the Machine to be one of those agents. What if the Machine itself is directly manipulating Reese into continuing the work he had been doing with Finch, what does that mean for Reese's connection to the Machine? We should also remember that it was Reese at the end of Season 1 and beginning of Season 2 who spoke directly to the Machine via surveillance cameras and got the Machine to enact Finch's 'Contingency' as well as alter its mathematical equations and provide Reese with the information to find Finch. Also, at the end of Season 2 Reese again spoke to the Machine and told it that he would not continue to save lives unless the Machine led him to Finch. Each time Reese has threatened the Machine in order to save Finch and the Machine has acquiesced to Reese's demands.
This show just gets better and better.
"only beat Claypool to perfecting it by a matter of mere hours"
ReplyDeleteNop, a few days: Kurzweil number, Feb. 08 - 2005.
"I still don't know who the threat to Claypool was. Was it Control or Vigilance?"
Mmm... Control.
Nice review :)
Vigilance was a threat to Claypool as well. Control only wanted to use Claypool to get Samaritan, whereas Vigilance wanted to kill Claypool for crimes against privacy or something.
ReplyDeleteThose were some great insights into Reese Fusco and the Machine. i think you are on a good track with where things are going and I agree.
ReplyDeleteGood recap and I agree on the quality of this arc. In fact it was on the same tension and consistency level what the best cable shows provide.
ReplyDeleteStorywise I have the hunch that Decima and Vigilance is one. More precisely, Vigilance is puppeted by Decima, though I'm sure they know neither Decima's mere existence nor their goals. Vigilance appeared suspiciously right after Greer's failure and their actions (to get the hardware/software and eliminate everybody who was in connection with it) are perfectly match the criteria of a "false flag" operation from Decima.
I loved the background story of Finch - this is TV characterization, if you can show, than do it, don't tell it. To me that's what "subtlety" means, not vagueness.
I also appreciate the courage of the writers for daring not absolving Reese from his pain in a week time. In for a penny, in for a pound, killing a main character has to have a lasting impact on the others for a time, not just being a used as a tearjerker episode scene. I miss Reese as much as anybody else, but his pain and disillusioned attitude is the honest and organic thing. I'm glad that Nolan's team respects both his and Carter's character to show the depths of this instead of flipping to the next page instantly under the excuse that the audience wants to be entertained and doesn't want angst. It doesn't mean I like to watch it, I mean it's tough and yes it's frustrating, but this came from showing a real human character, not just frustrating for itself.
Great comments! I never connected the idea that Decima is perhaps the puppet to Decima's puppeteer. You are correct, they do match the criteria of "false flag." Great insight.
ReplyDeleteAs for your Reese comments: Kudos! In my last review of this episode (I review it on another site, not sure if I'm allowed to mention that here, so I won't out of respect to SpoilerTV which I adore) I spent 80% of my review on Reese and the characterization that is occurring. It's the characters that are always going to grip me on a show. You hit the nail on the head here: "H his pain and disillusioned attitude is the honest and organic thing. I'm glad that Nolan's team respects both his and Carter's character to show the depths of this instead of flipping to the next page instantly under the excuse that the audience wants to be entertained and doesn't want angst. It doesn't mean I like to watch it, I mean it's tough and yes it's frustrating, but this came from showing a real human character, not just frustrating for itself." (Quoted that from yours -- can't figure out all the ins and outs, how to highlight, italicize et al.)
Thanks for your comments.
Thank you, you are very kind! Seems we are in the same shoes, I also write reviews about PoI (and about a number of others) on our local site, but those aren't in English.
ReplyDelete