Person of Interest Season 2 (1 Viewer)

[TravisR]

First off, she didn't make a move to the car door, but instead towards the back seat towards Snow.  Furthermore, I'm pretty sure the FBI guy told Carter they identified the remains of Kara and Snow.

I took a look at the end of the episode and you're 100% correct. I'd say that there was enough time (using TV logic again) between when we see her reach for him and when the car blows up for her to have gotten out but like you said, the fed that Carter talks to confirms that the bodies of Kara and Snow were ID'ed. That'll teach me to watch TV just before going to bed.

 

[Steve_Pannell]

First off, she didn't make a move to the car door, but instead towards the back seat towards Snow.  Furthermore, I'm pretty sure the FBI guy told Carter they identified the remains of Kara and Snow.

Actually he said, "We identified the suicide bombers who broke into the DOD facility." He never said anything about their bodies.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Originally Posted by Steve_Pannell
Actually he said, "We identified the suicide bombers who broke into the DOD facility."
He never said anything about their bodies.

The point is they identified two people not one person that died in the bombing, a male and a female.

 

[Walter Kittel]

While not proof of her death, remember that when Finch entered the SSN from the Machine on his workstation, information on Kara Stanton was displayed; which is indicative of a high probability that she would perish, without the intercession of our heroes. - Walter.

 

[Stan]

While not proof of her death, remember that when Finch entered the SSN from the Machine on his workstation, information on Kara Stanton was displayed; which is indicative of a high probability that she would perish, without the intercession of our heroes. - Walter.

She had to have been killed in the explosion, there was no time for her to get out of the car and far enough away. Of course she never should have survived the cruise missile in China, so who knows. With fiction you can get away with anything, so maybe she'll be back.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Revisited the episode again with a friend today. Studied the final surveillance footage and noticed that... As Kara approaches the car there are two bounding boxes on the screen in the foreground of the video. A moving one on Kara as she gets the call and walks to the car and and a second stationary one on an occupant in the rear seat of the car. She enters the car the video jumps to a moment before the explosion (approximately 7 or 8 second gap in the video to pre-explosion) and both bounding boxes are still present on the camera as the bomb explodes. - Walter.

 

[Bob Gu]

I was hoping they would have used the old "lucky he was wearing his vest" trick with Donnelly. After all, Stanton didn't try for a head shot at Reese in the Ordos mission. This is the second time they have killed off good characters that had actually outsmarted Reese and Finch. Corwin was able to find the Library HQ and track Finch down for a face-to-face meeting. I hope they acknowledge that Reese and Finch's activities directly caused the deaths of Corwin and Donnelly. I need to see some angst from Reese and Finch over that. Speaking of bringing back dead characters, I wonder if there will be more Jessica flashbacks, or if the actress will ever appear as a POI in a different role, whose resemblance to Jessica causes problems for Reese.

 

[Paul D G]

Originally Posted by Steve_Pannell
I don't think Kara is dead.
1. She escaped the missile in China with apparent ease. I know she got hurt bad, but still...

I don't think she escaped, per se, I think the explosion didn't kill her.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Found tonight's episode to be one of the weaker ones of the season, at least in terms of the primary case. It felt uneven and I really could not muster much empathy for the target. Reese's approach of confiding in the target was different. They established Logan Pierce's interest in Reese and Finch and continue to expand the universe of interested parties that revolve around them. I enjoyed the backstory flashbacks of Harold and Nathan more. We already knew that Nathan had engineered a backdoor without Harold's participation from prior episodes but we got to see the initial non-relevant usage of the machine and established that The Machine became operational, somewhere out West, during 2009. We already knew that 9-11 galvanized Harold and Nathan but we also got to see that this evening. It is pretty safe to say that we will eventually see how Harold takes over the reigns of the non-relevant cases from Nathan at some future date. - Walter.

 

[TravisR]

We already knew that 9-11 galvanized Harold and Nathan but we also got to see that this evening.

I liked that Finch was so caught up in his work that he didn't even know about it until hours later.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Based on the Machine's sliding flashback timeline, this episode was set at some point in 2013. So there's been a time jump of at least a month and half from the last episode to the current episode, and possibly as much as two and a half months if they've synchronized the show's timeline to the air date.

Found tonight's episode to be one of the weaker ones of the season, at least in terms of the primary case. It felt uneven and I really could not muster much empathy for the target. Reese's approach of confiding in the target was different. They established Logan Pierce's interest in Reese and Finch and continue to expand the universe of interested parties that revolve around them.

I liked that the Person of Interest was at least as sharp as they were, and that his flamboyant flippancy masked keen observational skills. He's a very dangerous person to be sniffing around them, and judging by the final moments, the Machine's already started calculating contingency plans to counter the potential threat. My guess is that this pretty standard-fare episode was about establishing the character so they can use him again later.

We already knew that Nathan had engineered a backdoor without Harold's participation from prior episodes but we got to see the initial non-relevant usage of the machine and established that The Machine became operational, somewhere out West, during 2009. We already knew that 9-11 galvanized Harold and Nathan but we also got to see that this evening. It is pretty safe to say that we will eventually see how Harold takes over the reigns of the non-relevant cases from Nathan at some future date.

My guess is that Nathan's early attempts to do with Reese and Finch are doing is what got him killed, and that's both what convinced Finch to act and convinced Finch that he needed "someone with the skills to intervene." There's been a lot of instances where anybody without Reese's unique skill set would have gotten killed or captured doing what they're doing.

I liked that Finch was so caught up in his work that he didn't even know about it until hours later.

That was a great touch. I also like how attuned the production design team is to the specifics of whatever year a given flashback is set in. Finch has multiple sets of glasses tied to specific years, and the technology in the offices change. For instance, the 2001 flashback had early-generation flatscreen monitors.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Good observations, Adam. I would agree that last night's episode was about establishing Logan Pierce as a potential hindrance to the team. Good pickup on Finch's tech from 2001. Not sure where they are going with Fusco and Carter. You'd think as deep down the rabbit hole as Carter is now, that she would be more understanding of Fusco's past misdeeds. One for all, and all for one and all that. Edit: Despite the time jump to 2013, Reese referenced events of November 2012 when Finch asked him if he was anxious. I guess being stuck at Rikers and wearing a bomb vest will stay with you for awhile. - Walter.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Originally Posted by Walter Kittel
Good observations, Adam. I would agree that last night's episode was about establishing Logan Pierce as a potential hindrance to the team. Good pickup on Finch's tech from 2001.
Not sure where they are going with Fusco and Carter. You'd think as deep down the rabbit hole as Carter is now, that she would be more understanding of Fusco's past misdeeds. One for all, and all for one and all that.
Edit: Despite the time jump to 2013, Reese referenced events of November 2012 when Finch asked him if he was anxious. I guess being stuck at Rikers and wearing a bomb vest will stay with you for awhile.
- Walter.

Or as a potential ally depending on the circumstances. Glad to see our girl is back next week.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Not sure where they are going with Fusco and Carter. You'd think as deep down the rabbit hole as Carter is now, that she would be more understanding of Fusco's past misdeeds. One for all, and all for one and all that.

The bigger question is: What happens when Carter finds out that John was the one who killed Sills and put Fusco back in deep with H.R.?

Edit: Despite the time jump to 2013, Reese referenced events of November 2012 when Finch asked him if he was anxious. I guess being stuck at Rikers and wearing a bomb vest will stay with you for awhile.

Indeed!

 

[Matt Hough]

I certainly agree that the PoI was not someone whom one would have empathy for, but the more interesting thing about him was his infinite resources and his interest in John and Harold. Undoubtedly, we'll be seeing more of him in the future. The writers are certainly building themselves a rogues gallery of people on which they can draw for future stories.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I revisited Thursday's episode with a friend today (something I tend to do most weekends) and I have to say that my overall opinion of the episode improved upon a second viewing when I wasn't approaching it from the expectations of the standard template the show has established for most p.o.i. victims of the week. While I don't think Pierce is confrontational or antagonistic towards Harold and John, he is inquisitive and commands major resources; his investigation may unearth something that will put our duo at risk in a future episode. Finch is wise to trust his instincts with regards to Pierce. - Walter.

 

[Iain Jackson]

It's a (very!) long time since I last posted here at HTF, but I have continued reading from time to time over the years, especially the TV forum. Anyway, I spotted something in the last episode of POI and felt compelled to share: Did anyone else notice some of the security camera feeds they use to establish new scenes were "glitching"? At least twice I spotted what looked to be a couple of frames of a blue screen with binary code all over them. Given that the previous episode featured an unknown computer virus being uploaded to the global network, I can't help but feel that these are the first hints of what will presumably be the events of the season finale. I wasn't able to freeze-frame to get a better look, so maybe I was just imagining it!

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

It's great how they can get their big recurring characters to come back for a scene or two in episodes, like Enrico Colantoni as Elias in the prison yard a few episodes back, or Paige Turco back as Zoe doing her own thing in the hotel the same time the boys are doing theirs. And of course, the surprise guest star in the final scene. Lots of little moments I loved in this episode. My two favorites were John's reaction to bumping into Zoe in the elevator, and the way he introduced Fusco to the maid. I continue to be impressed by the attention to detail; they don't show Fusco suddenly wielding John's advanced martial arts to take down two trained killers. Instead, he does it just like a former dirty cop would: he catches them by surprise, and then he takes them down with lethal efficiency before they have a chance to recover. He knows his first shot is going to be his last, however it goes, and he doesn't hesitate. I do wonder what impact John's act of mercy toward the Washington big-wig's man in the field will have down the road. Next week:

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Former "Life"/"Fairly Legal" star Sarah Shahi becomes the latest recurring character, playing an operative who targets names on the Machine's relevant list.

 

[schan1269]

This was a great episode. I liked the end with Zoe confidently looking giddy at the thought of the Presidential suite.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I was hoping that Zoe would have figured a little more prominently in the storyline, but still nice to see secondary characters bumping into the team from time to time. I find that a lot of times I am posting as much, or more, about where the show is headed as I do concerning what just transpired. I believe that the anticipation of events yet unrevealed is a big part of my attraction to this series. As Adam mentioned, one wonders how John's act of (professional courtesy?) towards one of the henchman from Washington D.C. will play out in the future. I could also envision scenarios where Finch's newly acquired hotel could serve as a venue for future stories. Of course, the Cal Beecher storyline with Carter opens up new possible threads as well. I was kind of anticipating the final reveal of the show based on how earlier shots of that set were composed. Still, a nice way of building anticipation for a future episode. All in all, an excellent episode. - Walter.