Person of Interest - If-Then-Else - Review: “Chess is but a game, life is not”

Person of Interest’s unending ability to deliver mind-blowing episodes is, fundamentally, what makes it the best show currently on television. ‘If-Then-Else’ delivered a plethora of incredible moments, many of which were utterly mind-boggling, forming what is easily the best episode of the season, and quite possibly the best the show has ever done.

From the promos, which appeared to show Reese, Finch, Shaw and Root all being killed, many fans (including myself) anticipated that the episode would mostly play out in a simulation-like way. I could never have imagined the sheer brilliance by which they’d pull it off.

With this episode, the show hit unchartered territory. Sure, shows have done dream-like sequences before, but this took it to a whole new level. For what’s happening to be real but at the same time not was phenomenal. For 25 minutes (roughly, not excluding flashbacks), nothing happened. Those 25 minutes covered, in reality, 13.5 seconds. But SO much happened.

Given that I had already assumed from the promo that Finch’s death would be simulation, the effect of seeing ‘SIMULATION TERMINATED’ and ‘RESETTING TO REAL TIME’ on screen was a little lost on me the first time round, but that is probably one of the biggest and most shocking moments the show has done. To give no hint within the episode to that point that this wasn’t real, only to drop that bomb on viewers is something I find incredible. It gives me shivers (in the good way) just thinking about it.

Not many shows would get away with showing the exact same scenes and/or slight rehashes of scenes three times in an episode, but Person of Interest did it magnificently. The simulations brought about some great moments: Finch being upset about the picture being shot, Reese waiting for Shaw’s punch line that never was, “I’m busy making death threats to Samaritan operatives” and of course, Fusco kissing Root. I actually had to pause the episode and stare at my screen in disbelief for the best part of 90 seconds. The Machine was clearly having fun with that simulation, and it was all the better for it.

I also loved the ‘simplified’ dialogue in the third simulation. “Coolly delivered sadistic warning.” “Self-deprecating inquiry into the time necessary to infiltrate system.” “Mildly embarrassed defensiveness bordering on hostility.” The writing for these lines was genius. It illustrated perfectly that the Machine knows these characters so well that it can summarise their speech.

‘If-Then-Else’ writer Denise Thé wrote ‘The Crossing’, so she’s no stranger to killing off major characters on the show. Not a lot of people have the ability to say that they wrote the deaths of four out of five main characters in an episode that wasn’t a series finale. The thing that I felt was missing with the simulation deaths was that I didn’t feel as emotional as I expected to, mainly because I knew it wasn’t real. Still, that didn’t take away from the shock factor of it.

Of course, what was emotional was the actual death of Shaw. The Machine hadn’t taken her survival at the Stock Exchange into account because it never expected her to show up. The task window (shown left) conveyed desperation in such a strong way – far more so than ‘The Crossing’ did. Seeing that window flash, combined with Ramin Djawadi’s excellent score made me feel as if the Machine was a person, shouting “WHAT CAN I DO FOR HER?!” at me. That is something I’ve not felt on this show before, and it was incredible.

Looking back, Shaw’s death could have easily worked the other way around – whereby Root sacrifices herself to save Shaw. It would have been interesting to see how Shaw reacted in this instance, because while she likes Root, it isn’t to the extent that Root cares for her. Amy Acker portrayed Root’s anguish superbly.

Of course, this came after the kiss between the pair. Their relationship has been developed so well over the course of the show, and while the kiss wasn’t romantic (let’s be honest, Shaw only did it to shock Root and push her back in the elevator so she could save them all), it was a nice way to bookend their pairing. It’ll be interesting to see how Root copes going forward.

I should point out here that we didn’t see Shaw take the final shot, and as such, there is the possibility that she isn’t dead. However, in her interview with EW, Shahi admits that she is pregnant with twins and that if Shaw is alive, she doesn’t see herself returning to the show for at least two years, and a season 6 isn’t even guaranteed yet. From this, I’d much rather Shaw be found dead in the next episode so that it doesn’t hang over the team’s heads that she may come back. If she was to come back, I feel it would lessen the impact of this episode and that’s not something that’s needed.

Team Machine need one another to survive. That was the point that the Machine’s ‘successful’ simulation made. By splitting up, the mission would fail and the team would die. By sticking together, they’d have the best chance. If we think back, Reese was a loner after Jessica’s death, Finch was reasonably paranoid (for good reason), Shaw was is a sociopath and Root was a killer for hire. Now, they all care about one another and rely upon each other to stay alive. This show has developed its characters so well and this was a great way of showing how much.

The slow-motion of the team being shot at as the Machine tried to run scenarios was amazing. The Machine’s graphics when returning from the failed scenarios were infinitely better than they usually are, and they’re always pretty damn good. My favourite was the grey outline shot of New York just prior to the first flashback. That was almost exactly how I’d imagine a computer system visualises the world, and it was so fantastically crafted.

The flashbacks were a great way to show how the Machine was ‘trained’. Given the uniqueness of chess (those facts about how many unique games there are were true), the Machine had to learn not to try and evaluate every possible option, because it would be there forever. Instead, it learned to rely on the queen and look for the best possible aggressive move with her. Finch’s teachings (shown in ‘Prophets’) that it should look to save everyone (in that case Bob and Alice, rather than just Bob) was furthered here by him telling it that “I don't think that anyone is worth more than anyone else.” The Machine took this into account in its present day assessments, as it tried (and failed) to save everyone.

Odds and ends:

• In the second simulation, Finch called the Machine “she”! Clearly, the Machine considers itself female. (Thanks to Podcast of Interest for pointing that out)
• That great piece of music that played during the simulations was ‘Fortune Days’ by The Glitch Mob.
• Loved the names that Fusco called Root – “Banana Nut Crunch”, “Nutella”, “Nutter Butter” – they were fantastic. In fact, Fusco had so many great moments in addition to this and the kiss. “Curly what?” and him telling Shaw about the cop who killed himself were brilliant.
• Nice of Reese to save Fusco and sacrifice himself in the second simulation, only to blow a grenade and probably kill Fusco too. Heroism at its least effective.

This episode was simply stunning. I was a little worried as to how they’d pull off a simulation episode, but they did it flawlessly. My only other feeling towards it is that Shaw needs to be dead to keep the impact there. If she remains dead, then this episode overtakes ‘The Devil’s Share’ for best episode of Person of Interest yet, and long may it continue.

So what did you think of the episode? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

About the Author - Bradley Adams

16 year old based in England, currently Senior Staff at SpoilerTV. Most of his posts are news/spoiler based, though he is currently the reviewer of Person of Interest, as well as being in charge of the yearly 'Favourite Episode Competition'. A big TV fan, his range of shows are almost exclusively dramas, with some of his all-time favourite shows including 24, LOST, Breaking Bad and Friends. Some of his current favourites include Person of Interest, Arrow and The Walking Dead. He also runs an Arrow blog, ArrowFansUK, and aside from TV, is a keen cricketer. Get in touch with him via the links below or via email bradley@spoilertv.com

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