Person of Interest Season 2 (2 Viewers)

[Bob Gu]

So the Machine is a Hitchcock fan?

I bailed on THE FOLLOWING after two episodes, but I did catch the season finale. 'Stanton' has had a very rough 2012-13 TV season.

 

[ScottH]

I finally just got caught up on this season.

This show is a bit frustrating for me because at times it's just another run of the mill cheesy procedural cop show, but at other times it's really smart and engaging. I definitely enjoy the serialized aspect more, with HR, Elias, and the back story stuff, but that said, the machine stuff seems to have become too convoluted for it's own good. Perhaps things will become more clear as it goes along, or perhaps I'm just a little slow, but that whole bit with the virus and the other company trying to gain control and Greer...just seemed all over the place and didn't make much sense.

Also, I don't think the writers on this show are very good at writing dialog.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

They needed to bury the pipe a little deeper when it came to explaining why everything came down to one phone call. Having Root just guess it all while holding a gun to Finch felt like a blatant information dump.

 

[stevelecher]

I agree with Scott Hanson that the machine stuff seems to be getting too convoluted for its own good but I like the part he feels is cheesy. The show is call POI because they're supposed to have a person to save every week. I like the back story and other things going on but the Maxine is getting too human and too much the center f attention.Oh well, it's still smartly written and clever and it's still a favorite but it might be getting too clever. Look forward to tomorrow's episode and hope some things are resolved and not everything is left hanging til next fall.

 

[Matt Hough]

A fantastic season finale, and not a cliffhanger in the usual sense. yes, there are plot threads dangling, but for once our heroes aren't in great danger (yet) and the episode left me greatly anticipating season three.

Now that we have a new female (anonymous for now) antagonist, I really didn't see much need to keep Root around. Yes, I saw that she's still connected to the machine and I guess she'll try to get in John and Finch's way if they, too, begin getting the calls again. But I really can't stand her character.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

A fantastic season finale, and not a cliffhanger in the usual sense. yes, there are plot threads dangling, but for once our heroes aren't in great danger (yet) and the episode left me greatly anticipating season three.

Perfect season finale. Wrapped up the season-long storylines while launching new plot threads for next season. There's a wonderful elegance to episodes that Jonathan Nolan co-writes; the Machine stuff that felt so convoluted and exposition-heavy in previous episodes worked seamlessly here. Likewise, the event that killed Nathan being the same event that disabled Harold is a wonderful bit of symmetry.

Now that we have a new female (anonymous for now) antagonist, I really didn't see much need to keep Root around. Yes, I saw that she's still connected to the machine and I guess she'll try to get in John and Finch's way if they, too, begin getting the calls again. But I really can't stand her character.

I'm not sure that the anonymous female is an antagonist. She's not on Harold and Finch's side, but she's not necessarily their opponent either. She seems to be the person in charge of the relevant side of the equation.Nor do I think Root will necessarily be a straight-forward antagonist into the future. The Machine is free now, which means it sets its own agenda. It's still abiding by its commitments to the relevant and non-relevant lists, but clearly it was a purpose for Root as well. It's entirely possible that that purpose complements what the government and Finch/Reese are doing.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I'd always assumed that the same event that took Nathan's life injured Harold and we received confirmation. Harold looses his best friend and fiance on the same day, not a good day by any means. Have we seen the book with the cutout before that Grace picked up, confirming for her that Harold had been at the ferry?

I'm not sure why Root is still alive? While I'm not convinced that Harold or Reese would kill her in cold blood, I'm less convinced that Shaw would leave her around as a loose end. I suspect that The Machine may have interceded on her behalf with Harold and as Adam suggests - she will not exist purely as an antagonist.

Excellent episode all in all that sets new parameters for The Machine and while it appears that the numbers will continue to be transmitted, what else is in store for the future? While dense in content, it flowed fairly smoothly.

Best line was Shaw's "So you won't feel inadequate when I drive this thing" Nice deadpan delivery to complement Reece's dry demeanor.

Correction, best line of the night was Pennsylvania Two's acceptance of his fate with the succinct "Fair enough"

And I'd be remiss in not wondering - What is Carter up to? Is she going to form a temporary alliance with Elias to take down H.R. for their actions against Beecher and the threats to Fusco, her and her son? She seems light years away from the straight arrow cop we first encountered in season one.

- Walter.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'd always assumed that the same event that took Nathan's life injured Harold and we received confirmation. Harold looses his best friend and fiance on the same day, not a good day by any means. Have we seen the book with the cutout before that Grace picked up, confirming for her that Harold had been at the ferry?

I'm not sure why Root is still alive? While I'm not convinced that Harold or Reese would kill her in cold blood, I'm less convinced that Shaw would leave her around as a loose end. I suspect that The Machine may have interceded on her behalf with Harold and as Adam suggests - she will not exist purely as an antagonist.

Excellent episode all in all that sets new parameters for The Machine and while it appears that the numbers will continue to be transmitted, what else is in store for the future? While dense in content, it flowed fairly smoothly.

Best line was Shaw's "So you won't feel inadequate when I drive this thing" Nice deadpan delivery to complement Reece's dry demeanor.

Correction, best line of the night was Pennsylvania Two's acceptance of his fate with the succinct "Fair enough"

And I'd be remiss in not wondering - What is Carter up to? Is she going to form a temporary alliance with Elias to take down H.R. for their actions against Beecher and the threats to Fusco, her and her son? She seems light years away from the straight arrow cop we first encountered in season one.

- Walter.

I doubt that, but Elias will repay the favor when she needs a little help.

 

[Robert Crawford]

By the way, a great final episode. Do we need anymore confirmation that Root is nuts. Looks like the team is assembled for whatever lies ahead of them coming next season.

 

[stevelecher]

Yes, it was an entertaining season finale and I'm glad that Root isn't holding Finch hostage for another summer. Much of this is very satisfying. However, am I the only one thinking it's a little over the top that the machine can now, in real time, direct Reese on how to escape from protagonists or when one is coming at him at 1:00 or 9:00? That it can conjure up cars for them to drive when they need one immediately? I wrote a week ago or so that the machine seems to be getting too fantastic. What will the machine be able to do next year?

Anyway, when Carter saved Fusco's butt a couple weeks ago, I thought Carter's really getting her hands dirty, doing the admirable thing. I loved her saving Elias last night, and enjoyed the scumbag cop pleading for his life. What a weasel. That's two trips out to the woods that Elias has survived. How do the bad guys get him out of prison for a hit? Isn't that going to raise some flags? Wouldn't the hit happen in jail?

When Root's old boss handed the phone over to his hitman henchman, he must have thought this isn't good.

Just been OK with the character of Shaw, but really liked her last night. I agree it would have been hard for her to let Root go. Is Root just in the hospital, free to go when she recovers?

It's great fun and I too will be looking for it next fall.

 

[Robert Crawford]

If you buy into the machine monitoring all cameras and phone and computer conversations then coming up with the SS # of people who might be in danger then how can you not accept the premise of last night?

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

If you buy into the machine monitoring all cameras and phone and computer conversations then coming up with the SS # of people who might be in danger then how can you not accept the premise of last night?

Exactly. Compared to predicting the future, serving as a threat assessment and valet service seems downright simple.

 

[todd s]

Person of Interest and Arrow are the shows I will miss the most over the summer hiatus.

 

[stevelecher]

If you buy into the machine monitoring all cameras and phone and computer conversations then coming up with the SS # of people who might be in danger then how can you not accept the premise of last night?

You've got me there. I think a lot of monitoring goes on in real life and I accepted the premise of the show. You're right of course, that this is a TV show and some suspension of belief is required. Still, is Reese going to get that level of assistance next year when he's in a jam? I'll be there to find out.

 

[ScottH]

I thought it was an okay finale. The episodes with Elias are always better, they need to make him a series regular.

Who knew there were still that many payphones in this country? I was in NYC last month and I'm pretty sure I didn't see one payphone.

Not sure I agree the story with the machine got any less convoluted. And what exactly did Finch do then when he was switching the phone cables right before they rang? And I still have no idea what Root's role in all of this was.

If you buy into the machine monitoring all cameras and phone and computer conversations then coming up with the SS # of people who might be in danger then how can you not accept the premise of last night?

I think it's because we've never seen the machine get that specific before. If it can do that, then why just give an SSN with NO other information whatsoever?

 

[Walter Kittel]

I think it's because we've never seen the machine get that specific before. If it can do that, then why just give an SSN with NO other information whatsoever?

This question has come up before and Finch established in the first episode that the reason the SSN was the only piece of information communicated for non-relevant cases was so that the transmission would be small enough to avoid calling attention to itself (in terms of the size of the data and the bandwidth associated with the transmission.)

I've kind of questioned this myself when clearly relevant cases (in the episode that introduced Shaw this season) operated solely with a number despite the sanctioned usage of The Machine.

------

I believe that it is safe to assume that The Machine's evolving defenses, courtesy of the code that Harold provided, as discussed in the Season 2 finale, have changed the ground rules and we may see The Machine taking a slightly more interactive role in Season 3. (Time will tell. I hope that if the rules have changed, the writers will maintain internal consistency with regards to how and when The Machine interacts with our heroes.)

Or, is the following more likely?

Did The Machine actively communicate with Reese and Root only during the first 24 hour period after initiating the calls to Root and Reese? Once the instance of The Machine re-instantiated itself at Midnight (Eastern Time Zone?) the following day did active communications cease? I cannot recall. If so, then perhaps it was a one off situation and won't be repeated in Season 3.

- Walter.

 

[Quentin]

Pretty, pretty, pretty good. Pretty good.

I like that Root is now some sort of wildcard for the Machine...if only because we get to keep Amy Acker around.

I also love the way the show reinvents itself - for the beginning, it was mostly the procedural along with learning about Finch and Reese, then Carter and Fusco were put together and Elias set in motion and we had this battle for control of the safety of the city, then Root and the Government came in strong along with this Super-Corp evil (ummm...speaking of whom, where did they go??), then we get more Reese past and Shaw and the show is a government conspiracy thing, then the virus sends us on a wild goose chase to control the machine...and, now next season will begin a sort of clean slate show: looks like we'll still have occasional POI of the week cases (Reese and Finch got a call at the end), but we have a reinvented Carter, a Fusco who owes her his life and who wants to make right, a Shaw who has chosen to help Reese and Finch when needed, an Elias in debt to Carter and both out for HR's ass, a new government villainess, and Root as a freelance something. All fun!

 

[Robert Crawford]

You have to wonder which actress is going to play Control/Ma'am next year? Do they get a well known actress to show up in certain episodes.

 

[Quentin]

You have to wonder which actress is going to play Control/Ma'am next year? Do they get a well known actress to show up in certain episodes.

Every supporting casting decision thus far, from Colantonio to Acker to Turco to Shahi...even Ken Leung have all been master strokes so far. One can only hope they keep it up.

 

[stevelecher]

To me, the voice of the female " Control/Ma'am" sounds like she may be a bit older than the babes that have been on here to date. It is true that they have a pretty clean slate for the beginning of the next season. Look forward to seeing what they do. Does Elias go back to his cell? I love the Carter, Fusco, and Elias characters too. This show is good!!