FormerMod-a1 January 28, 2015 Share January 28, 2015 Reese and Root’s hunt for Shaw takes them to a small town in upstate New York where it becomes apparent that not everything is as idyllic as it seems. Also, Fusco teams with a former POI to tackle the newest number. Link to comment
ElectricBoogaloo January 29, 2015 Share January 29, 2015 (edited) Fusco teams with a former POI to tackle the newest number. I hope Leon is coming back! Bear could use a friend. Promo: Edited January 29, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo Link to comment
stealinghome February 2, 2015 Share February 2, 2015 Sneak peek for tomorrow's episode. I'm already cackling--this looks good! 1 Link to comment
basiltherat February 3, 2015 Share February 3, 2015 Bear is not exactly Leon's friend . . . he ate all of the "Bear"er bonds that Leon had, if I remember correctly. Link to comment
janeta February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 Woo hoo! :-) So are we picking up the IA woman? Losing Root? Good ep. Link to comment
merylinkid February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 Not that thrilled with the Root torture show. I watch this show to see how they save people. It's not fun for me to watch someone getting tased repeatedly. While Reese stands by and lets it happen because "my friend is missing" and Harold screams ineffectually about remaining human. Hey, you want human reactions, you don't send a psycho cyborg out to do the job. Well with Shaw gone, they need another woman. Looks like it will be IA lady eventually. 3 Link to comment
MrWhyt February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 Yay Shaw is alive!! And I do love how twisted Samaritan is getting 2 Link to comment
stealinghome February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 FUCK YEAH SHAW'S ALIVE!!!!!! I knew it! Twenty bucks says if/when she comes back, Samaritan has outfitted her with one of the neural implants and said "Do what I want or I'll blow your head off." A perfect setup for Shaw to be at odds with the team/go "dark" like Shahi has wanted, without making Shaw a full-on villain and while keeping her sympathetic. Well played, show. Shaw really is going to be the Winter Soldier. Overall, a great episode! It hit on all cylinders--drama, humor (Reese especially had some lolworthy lines at the start), etc--and, while objectively probably not as good an episode as the previous, was way more emotionally satisfying. THAT was the Root and Reese I wanted to see last week. Amy Acker rocked the absolute, everloving hell out of this episode. Root's slow falling apart, the way she just LOST IT when the chick from the exchange wasn't Shaw, and her utter desolation/loss of faith at the end, was all wonderfully played. I've wanted to see Root's faith in The Machine shaken for a while now. So, SO excited about where the rest of the season is going to take her...aside from on the hunt for Shaw, obviously. But with that said: the fact that The Machine won't just say "Shaw's dead" should tell the entire team that Shaw isn't dead, which they're all too smart to NOT figure out, and I'm a bit disappointed in Harold for giving up on Shaw so easily. I LOVED the scene where Root and John were questioning/torturing the mayor. Just a fantastic push/pull between all three of them. John is an excellent brake on Root because he's willing to go farther than Harold--he gets, in a way that Harold refuses to, that sometimes people respond to fear and pain in a way they don't to gentle entreaties--but he doesn't/won't let Root go too far, and Root respects his pragmatism enough to know she needs to listen to John, and lets him be the brake. I'm excited to see Reese-Root team up more--she's far more like Kara than Shaw ever was, and I think part of what John liked about Shaw was that she wasn't Kara. So John having to be partnered up with someone more like Stanton will push him in interesting directions, I think/hope. Meanwhile I'm all for Root reluctantly having to brotp "Lurch" while they both make pained faces and wish Shaw would come back so they don't have to interact. So in-laws that don't like each other but tolerate each other for Shaw's sake! I liked the Fusco/Silva team-up--though I wouldn't necessarily want to see it as a B plot on its own again--but especially early on, it felt like they were beamed in from a different show. The two halves of this episode didn't necessarily work together super well. Also, did anyone else find the cuts jarring? Especially in the first half of the episode, it felt to me like each scene was shorter than the norm--like just when I was getting into the scene, we cut away. It smoothed out in the second half, but still, the first half seemed choppy. With that said, however, I continue to like Silva, think she has nice chemistry with the rest of the cast, and find her a worthy temporary replacement for Shaw/long-term addition to the cast. I think she has the potential to be a Carter-like character and fill that void in the show. Samaritan is so freaking twisted--it gets scarier and scarier by the episode, seriously, and the creep factor of Samaritan "experimenting" on humans is enough to make me handwave how fast the team jumped to that conclusion--but it was interesting, imo, that The Machine doesn't entirely get humans either. Because I don't think TM saw Root going off the reservation and continuing to look for Shaw at the end. That human element still bedevils it sometimes. Despite my annoyance with Finch, I love the Root-Harold relationship, and the way he kept calling her "Samantha" made me awww. Their last conversation was very powerful. Not excited for a return to case of the week next week/a likely Root-less episode, but I think I saw Zoe in the previews, which gives me something to look forward to! Love Paige Turco in the role. 9 Link to comment
Gigi43 February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 (edited) I thought Amy Acker was good but I could have gone without all of Harold's pontificating to Reese because Root IS insane, she's ALREADY gone too far and they've continued to keep are around... What was he expecting her to do on a mission like this? You don't have to be a machine building genius to see this one coming. I did like Reese telling the woman there's consequences to taking orders without questions. It was a nice callback to Reese's own back story and the ongoing themes of these soldiers/teams ect. I really liked the Fusco story and I loved he got decent airtime doing his own thing. But I do agree at times it did feel like two difficulty shows, they didn't really "go together." Next week looks like we're going old school number of the week (plus Zoe??) and I am so excited. I enjoy the new stuff... But its overdue. Edited February 4, 2015 by Gigi43 3 Link to comment
wevel February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 (edited) I agree that the editing felt choppy - it was "Manhattan"-"Maple"-"Manhattan"-"Maple" etc. without any real segues between the two storylines, which I know happens sometimes, but the gravitas of the Root-Reese side seemed poorly matched with the Fusco-Silva case. I must say I rolled my eyes at the seeming cliche of Silva about to be attacked when she goes to take a shower, so I was pleased that she was actually psyching him out with that move. And there were some nice moments of Fusco clearly still processing the stock exchange and the loss of Shaw. But for me, it just didn't quite work in the last episode of this four-part "trilogy." I also thought there was a touch too much exposition about Samaritan's nefarious goals for that to come off as chilling as it could have - the whole show-don't-tell thing - but they were clearly trying to pack a lot into the episode: more or less wrapping up the "trilogy," reintroducing Silva, as well as advancing the Samaritan storyline. I *am* very happy that the writers made it unequivocally clear that Shaw is alive - I didn't expect that, at least not so soon. And forget Root - I don't know if *I* could've survived one to two seasons of not knowing! So it seems like Harold and Finch are going to carry on with the assumption that Shaw's dead/lost indefinitely, while Root is going to have a serious crisis of faith re the Machine but somehow keep looking? I'm not sure if I agree that the Machine didn't foresee Root going against its instructions to stop; in any case, it'll be interesting to see how it handles its analog interface resisting/ignoring what it's asking her to do. ETA: Just noticed upon rewatching that in the previously-on scenes, we got a few different angles on Shaw's last moments at the stock exchange, including her post-kiss shove of Root into Fusco and Martine looking like she's about to put a bullet in Shaw's head. Nice touch. Edited February 4, 2015 by wevel 2 Link to comment
benteen February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 (edited) Great episode! So good to have the show back and I liked everything here. Samaritan using the town as a testing ground was like something out of the Twilight Zone, which is always a good thing. It was cool finally seeing Reese and Root together (we've seen little of those two interact before). It was cool having Silva returned and I liked Fusco mentoring her. I could definitely see her popping up more. Seeing Fusco further immersed in Team Machine (handling the number of the week) was great to see. I was glad that Finch turned out to be wrong about the woman not knowing anything. I saw that whole sequence as a callback on whether or not they should have killed the congressman. Looks like Root's finally lost faith in the machine. Funny line by Shaw at the end, glad we saw her again. Edited February 4, 2015 by benteen Link to comment
thuganomics85 February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 Not surprised that Shaw is still alive, but I'm glad. I'm guessing that her return will depend on how much time Sarah Shahi will need off once she has her kids. But I can only imagine what Greer has planned for her. I'm sure it's nothing good. Interesting bringing Silva back for an episode, and have her partnering up with Fusco on the "POI of the week" case, while Reese and Root were off Shaw-hunting. I enjoyed the Fusco/Silva team, but I think Fusco is one of those characters who just works well with anyone. They really lucked out with Kevin Chapman, because he's just one of those good supporting, character type of actors, who can pretty much work with any type of actor or character. The big reveal that Samaritan basically turned Maple into his own little playground was odd, but I guess I can see why a machine would do something like that. But, it was mainly about Reese and Root doing their thing. The body-count was impressive tonight! And, I think 90% of it was all Root. Losing Shaw is clearly not a good thing for her psyche. Next week looks fun with Finch on jury duty. Since TV land has taught me lawyers prefer their jury members to be not too smart, I have to think Finch is either going to really dumb it down, or he'll find some other way to get on there. Link to comment
Agent Dark February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 (edited) Wow, haven't quite collected my thoughts on the episode yet, but what I can say now is that Amy Acker and Root are probably my favourite actor/character combo on TV right now. I love me some morally grey characters, and Root slipping back into old habits as she is trying to deal with the disappearance of Shaw is like character crack for me. I mean it was The Machine that was able to re-form Root from her murderous misanthropist ways in the first place, but now that She's refusing to help Root with Shaw I think there will be a bit of regression for Root. Root Unleashed if you will, not being held back by the restraining influence of the machine. Love it. Amy Acker is absolutely nailing this role. Really excited to see how this will all pan out. SHAWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! When those interviews first came out after If-Then-Else where the producers were being cagey on the future of Shaw, I was really hoping for some sort of Shaw captured/brainwashed/turned-into-a-cyborg by the bad guys storyline and is appears that is what is happening! Awesome! My guess: Samaritan is going to recruit (possibly forcibly, with those neural transmitter things Root and Reese found at Carrow?) but The Machine is setting Shaw up as a double agent. That is why She is telling Root to stop looking for Shaw - She doesn't want her to interfere either deliberately or inadvertently with Her plans. Of course Root being Root I think that's going to happen regardless. Oh, also in this episode: Samaritan plays The Sims with the people of Maple. I was half expecting a shot of a swimming pool in the background, missing it's ladder to climb out lol Edited February 4, 2015 by Agent Dark 4 Link to comment
Julia February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 (edited) I thought Amy Acker was good but I could have gone without all of Harold's pontificating to Reese because Root IS insane, she's ALREADY gone too far and they've continued to keep are around... What was he expecting her to do on a mission like this? You don't have to be a machine building genius to see this one coming. This. It was whiplash-inducing, the shifts between Root, grieving widow and faithful votive, and psycho!Root, but there was never any doubt what psycho!Root was there to do. It did give me what I'm guessing was an unintentional laugh when Root looked at Reese with puppydog eyes and said "Why would they play with peoples' lives like this?" Because, um. As I recall, her answer to that question was because she could and because it paid well, or because she enjoyed making people suffer, or because she just felt like it. In more or less the same way her answer to anyone who didn't like what the Machine was doing was to suck it up because the Machine knows best. I guess Samaritan is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans. Edited February 4, 2015 by Julia 2 Link to comment
Texasmom1970 February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 I was very resistant when Shaw's character was brought on the show, odd to say I hope she comes back after she has her kids. Did we even get to see Bear in this episode? Link to comment
FormerMod-a1 February 4, 2015 Author Share February 4, 2015 I actually fell asleep during this episode (I lost about 10-15 minutes in the middle). I think because it was so Amy Acker heavy. This show made her tolerable to me, and I do like the Root character, but this much screen time was just overload. I was also surprised they dragged out the Shaw search for so long. I also didn't need to see her at the end to know she was alive. What was good was the Samaritan involvement reveal, The Machine telling Root to STOP and Fusco. 2 Link to comment
johntfs February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 I love the continuing theme of Samaritan as a nasty little kid that likes to screw with ants. And we're the ants. 1 Link to comment
shura February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 (edited) Oh, also in this episode: Samaritan plays The Sims with the people of Maple. I was half expecting a shot of a swimming pool in the background, missing it's ladder to climb out lol It reminded me of that movie with Rufus Sewell, can't remember the name, Dark something. A bit too much straight-up sci-fi than I would like to see on PoI. See, Samaritan is perfectly capable of communicating with people via email, and it works just fine. Why did it have to see the White House Chief of Staff in person again? the fact that The Machine won't just say "Shaw's dead" should tell the entire team that Shaw isn't dead, which they're all too smart to NOT figure out Not really. You can infer anything you want from the Machine not saying "Shaw's dead", but in the absence of facts, Shaw's still being alive is just a hypothesis. I think Finch understands that, he simply has no reason to accept this hypothesis as the truth. Speaking of them all being smart, Reese has never heard of Schrodinger's cat? Edited February 4, 2015 by shura Link to comment
Princess Lucky February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 Whaaaaaaaaat? MY EMOTIONS. I died. Sarah! I suppose that's one way to still film while heavily pregnant with twins. On a bed. Hah. And by hah I mean "aaaaaaaaaah". I wonder, does that mean we might still see Shaw again this season or is this more of a "she's alive, Greer has her, now you know, and some day she'll return"? At any rate, AMAZING. Fusco's character arc remains perfect. He's in a tight spot because Reese is always away, especially now that they're looking for Shaw, so Fusco grumbles, but he's also eager to help. He's like a less damaged Reese. A hero in his own right. It's his duty to save people too (and notice Fusco said "saving", not "helping", aw). Speaking of character arcs, wasn't it great when Reese casually told Root "well, when you kidnapped Finch the Machine helped me find you"? She's come a long way. Kind of. I agree that the episode was disjointed, as in the A plot and the B plot didn't really have anything in common, but I thought both "halves" of the episode worked perfectly on their own. The Root/Reese pairing is always fantastic and the Fusco/Silva pairing was fresh and very well done. Silva is a well-defined character despite the fact she's only appeared on the show twice. When Fusco was all "you'll make a good detective, terrible spouse" and she stared back in a perfect deadpan? Amazing. The hitman case was a nice side-plot. The actor was well cast, and I liked the subversion of the "black guy is a gang member" stereotype (in typical PoI fashion, only after Finch and co assume so themselves). The guy banging his head on the counter totally took me by surprise. Great moment. I love that even when there's no twist (we were told qthat the guy was a hitman) there's something to surprise us. and I also loved. Also, within that case it made sense that she'd need his help. She's smart but he has decades of experience on her, and this episode again showed he's a great detective (I love it when we get to see that). That said, I loved that Dani rescued Fusco at the end and that he politely (and jokingly) helped her. And I liked seeing her rattled by her first kill, to which Fusco had nice words of advice. Person of Interest is so good at having random characters interact in great, unexpected ways. No dynamic has fallen flat do far. Incredible. Oh and speaking of Dani rescuing Fusco, I also loved that Root saved Reese and that girl at the end. I'm sorry but I'll say it; Shaw (and Carter) may be gone but girl power still holds strong on this show. As for Reese and Root? Amazing. Reese's face when Root was charming the pants off of the Chief was hilarious. That fool didn't know he was playing with fire, but fortunately Root showed him. Reese saying "you gotta be more careful!" in disbelief killed me. Root explaining Schroedinger's Cat? To Reese? Did I die and go to nerd heaven? I love this show. It was very simply put (I mean, she was talking to Reese) and very clear. Plus it was an indirect Catwoman reference. And it was good to see Reese kind of acknowledge Root's feelings ("you really think she's alive"). I must admit I winced when I saw the medical tools. Drill and saw? When I first saw the gurney I was glad (maybe Root was too, as Reese said I thought they were trying to save Shaw). But hardcore tools? Craniotomy? Yikes. The doctor describing what happened to the town was chilling. Samaritan took over. At first I thought it was maybe a test, practice, for when it becomes our Dark Overlord. Or that it was maybe a necessity (manufacturing supplies), which it was. By the way, I love those little indications it wants to take over the world (and we've gotten many; the rigged election, the little boy wanting to meet POTUS). But ultimately, Finch laying out Samaritan's plan had my jaw drop. A psychological study. Because Samaritan didn't have Finch teach it about humanity, it had to learn by itself. Amazing. Root drilling the woman's hand has harsh, as was the fact Reese didn't seem to be in a hurry to pull her off. I had a feeling he just wanted to let her blow off some steam, even if it was at the expense of a woman who wasn't really guilty of much. Those moments when Reese goes dark are fascinating. He and Root are reacting similarly to loss (we saw him when he lost Carter) and he's not a hypocrite (unlike Finch, who forgot he was all "kill them all" when Grace was in danger). Sigh. Speaking of Finch, there he was, screaming for them to be humans and not beasts. Beautiful. Another thing I loved was seeing the ways Shaw's loss had affected everyone. Fusco was overprotective with Silva (which she, perfectly in character, defensively took as him patronising her), Reese was legitimately worried about Root (when he was yelling her name). Aw. The team is down to 4. They really can't lose anyone else, and neither can we. As for Root leaving? I had guessed the only way for her to stop looking would be for the Machine to ask her to. I didn't think it was 100% believable that Root would stop, but to be fair she has no leads, no clues and the Machine won't help. But then, of course, she left. She quit. Reese did too temporarily, after Carter's death, but he's different, he needs to save people. Root could not care less right now. Hope is dangerous, and yet in this case Root is right to hope. We know Shaw is alive (and has no head wounds, and is looking great), the team does not. Does the Machine? I don't think she can see into Samaritan's facilities. Let's see how this plays out. Might Shaw resurface near the season finale? What would Sarah even be able to film at that point? Might she film something now, in advance? Or, indeed, this was one last hurrah and we'll see her again in season 5? Lastly: when the shooting starts, duck. That Reese. So helpful. Goddammit I love this show. 7 Link to comment
basiltherat February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 Maple as the ant farm being used to study (and control) human behavior sounds a lot like . . the Dharma Initiative! Or, going back to an earlier Twilight Zone reference, the episode where the husband and wife wake up in a town that turns out to be the dollhouse of a giant-size alien girl. Maple is Marxist "to each according to their need" and Machine is free will. And Samaritan women (Martine, mayor) all look like Hitchcock Blondes, down to the same hairstyle. Pruneface will use Sameen as bait, once she recovers and gets to her new "enhancement" to draw out Harold and company. Perhaps it is the same enhancement that Martine received. 2 Link to comment
stealinghome February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 I wonder, does that mean we might still see Shaw again this season or is this more of a "she's alive, Greer has her, now you know, and some day she'll return"? At any rate, AMAZING. .,.. Hope is dangerous, and yet in this case Root is right to hope. We know Shaw is alive (and has no head wounds, and is looking great), the team does not. Does the Machine? I don't think she can see into Samaritan's facilities. Let's see how this plays out. Might Shaw resurface near the season finale? What would Sarah even be able to film at that point? Might she film something now, in advance? Or, indeed, this was one last hurrah and we'll see her again in season 5? You reminded me of something I forgot to mention last night: the total role reversal of Harold and Root in their last conversation, which I just loved. Not only now is it HAROLD saying "trust The Machine" and ROOT being unable to, it's also Root clinging to hope and Harold, the great humanist, telling her not to hope. To let go and move on. Just a great role reversal. Given that I would have expected the show to be way cagier about Shaw's fate, I'm guessing we'll see her once more this season (probably in the finale). If the show were truly up in the air about her coming back, I don't know that I think they would have aired that final scene. It makes me think there's definitely a plan for Shaw going forward that, barring anything unexpected happening with the twins, we'll see. As to what it might be: I doubt Shahi will be able to film anything else this season--she said she wasn't medically cleared to work past her second trimester, and given that the twins would be at most like two and a half months old when they wrap filming for the season, I don't see her flying to New York to film new scenes--BUT I would not at all be surprised if she pretaped at least one scene that they'll slot into the season finale. Apparently even Amy Acker didn't know about that last scene with Shaw alive, so it is entirely possible the show filmed more scenes with Shaw before Shahi left and are just keeping it insanely under wraps. Re: The Machine, I suspect TM does, in fact, know that Shaw is in Samaritan's clutches. I think the question is why she won't tell Our Heroes. Is it because, as Harold said, TM has a plan for Shaw? Can she work Shaw into being a double agent? Can she simply see the value of a Winter Soldier-esque forced Samaritan worker who might be able to help Team Machine out at a crucial moment down the road? Is it just that TM knows that Root and John would get themselves killed trying to storm an impregnable fortress to get Shaw back, which helps no one? I'm so fascinated by where they're going with TM, and I hope the show doesn't wimp out and take the easy way out by just saying "Oh, TM doesn't know one way or the other." It's way more fascinating to have TM know and to explore her motivations as to why (and frankly, I don't think I'd believe TM doesn't know). 7 Link to comment
Bort February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 I would not at all be surprised if she pretaped at least one scene that they'll slot into the season finale. Apparently even Amy Acker didn't know about that last scene with Shaw alive, so it is entirely possible the show filmed more scenes with Shaw before Shahi left and are just keeping it insanely under wraps. I remember in one of Sarah's exit interviews that she said no one from the regular cast was there when she filmed her last day. I had assumed it was the subway car scene in If-Then-Else but now, I bet it was the end scene for this episode (and possibly others). I squeed like a tweeny little girl when I saw Shaw. I had also assumed they would keep us in the dark regarding Shaw's fate. 4 Link to comment
ABay February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 Who is the doctor Reese said was tending to the rescued woman at the safe house? Link to comment
Trey February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 Who is the doctor Reese said was tending to the rescued woman at the safe house? I'm afraid I did not catch the name. I wondered if it was the doctor from Maple who had been wrongly fired from his job. Link to comment
MDL February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 I missed the first 10 minutes, but when I saw Fusco working with Silva (?) I started thinking "she's here to fill in the gaps/physical scenes/attitude due to Shaw's being gone". Later on Fusco said "you remind me of a friend"..... Will Silva join the team? Best and last Shaw's alive! :) Link to comment
Agent Dark February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 It reminded me of that movie with Rufus Sewell, can't remember the name, Dark something. A bit too much straight-up sci-fi than I would like to see on PoI. Oh yeah, Dark City. That is an awesome movie and now you mention it, there's definitely parallels to it in this episode. Particularly with how strangers were getting put into new roles. One of the themes in Dark City was how those Alien Stranger things were using the 'Dark City' as an experiment to gain insight into the human mind. Which is exactly what Samaritan was doing with the citizens of Maple Link to comment
Mars477 February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 I missed the first 10 minutes, but when I saw Fusco working with Silva (?) I started thinking "she's here to fill in the gaps/physical scenes/attitude due to Shaw's being gone". Later on Fusco said "you remind me of a friend"..... Will Silva join the team? Best and last Shaw's alive! :) Hope so. I like her, and she works well with Reese and Fusco. The actress as a bit part as somebody's girlfriend on True Detective and an upcoming pilot, however, so she may not have the time.And yeah, I'm really glad they conclusively established Shaw as being alive. Link to comment
DEM February 5, 2015 Share February 5, 2015 Who is the doctor Reese said was tending to the rescued woman at the safe house? Dr Enright, the cardiologist and trauma surgeon featured in S2's Critical. 2 Link to comment
Mari February 5, 2015 Share February 5, 2015 (edited) I actually fell asleep during this episode (I lost about 10-15 minutes in the middle). I think because it was so Amy Acker heavy. This show made her tolerable to me, and I do like the Root character, but this much screen time was just overload. I was also surprised they dragged out the Shaw search for so long. I also didn't need to see her at the end to know she was alive. What was good was the Samaritan involvement reveal, The Machine telling Root to STOP and Fusco. Yikes. I will admit I found it a little dull, but I can't say I was that bored. :) I like Amy Acker, and she's convincing in the moments, but for me, the moments don't tie together well and make Root into a convincing and compelling character. I'm ready for the show to background Root's grief over Shaw, because I can't make myself see it as authentic, and I think I'm supposed to. As a result, the Root heavy episodes tend to be the least interesting episodes for me. This. It was whiplash-inducing, the shifts between Root, grieving widow and faithful It did give me what I'm guessing was an unintentional laugh when Root looked at Reese with puppydog eyes and said "Why would they play with peoples' lives like this?" Because, um. As I recall, her answer to that question was because she could and because it paid well, or because she enjoyed making people suffer, or because she just felt like it. In more or less the same way her answer to anyone who didn't like what the Machine was doing was to suck it up because the Machine knows best. I guess Samaritan is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans. Yeah. That's definitely some reality that came back to bite her in the rear, isn't it? It is time for Root to be knocked down a few pegs, and doubt the Machine's infallibility. The ending gave the impression that she's walking away. It will be interesting to see how long, or if, that actually happens for a while. Edited February 5, 2015 by Mari 1 Link to comment
benteen February 5, 2015 Share February 5, 2015 I forgot to mention but the half-smile Cavizel shot the deputy with was hilarious. 2 Link to comment
ppl February 5, 2015 Share February 5, 2015 (edited) I don't usually post episode reviews but here's a fun M.I.A. review: http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/cbs-week-viewing-diary-day-3-sean-hayes-the-ghost-of-maya-rudolph-and-person-of-mothering-interest/ This person had no knowledge of the show beforehand, watched a 50-50 serialized episode that isn't up to POI's very best standard and he still loved it! The best part of all is that he is supposed to catch as much CBS fare as he can for the week and he either did not watch NCIS/NCIS: NO or he ignored them in his daily review! This review makes me want to recommend this episode to everyone I know that does not watch POI. Edited February 5, 2015 by ppl 4 Link to comment
Princess Lucky February 5, 2015 Share February 5, 2015 You reminded me of something I forgot to mention last night: the total role reversal of Harold and Root in their last conversation, which I just loved. Not only now is it HAROLD saying "trust The Machine" and ROOT being unable to, it's also Root clinging to hope and Harold, the great humanist, telling her not to hope. To let go and move on. Just a great role reversal. Great observation! Also, In last season's finale, when Root was saying that hope was the last thing left in Pandora's box, that was the Machine speaking. Now, the Machine refuses to give Root hope, as you said possibly with an endgame in mind. And, indeed, Finch now chooses to listen to the Machine and Root is leaving her behind. Finch is always having complex reactions to everything (I often write about his hypocrisy but I don't mean it as an accusation, more an observation, something that makes him intriguing and sometimes unpredictable) and in this instance I like that Root is reacting like Reese did. When Finch was kidnapped, Reese said he'd go on strike until the Machine helped him. When he lost Carter, he up and left. Also, before he left, he went on a violent spree, just like Root did. I like the parallels drawn there. PoI always does this so well; everyone remains in character even as they relate to others differently. Reese was more understanding to Root than he has ever been, maybe because he actually knew what she was feeling for the first time. Loss. Reese knows that feeling well. Also, so fun to read that Amy didn't know about the Sarah scene. I'm surprised the show can pull these things off in this day and age. When we saw Greer I actually, physically leaned in, thinking "they wouldn't!". I thought they might show a woman in a hospital bed through glass, with her back turned or something. But boom, full-on Sarah Shahi. Great moment. I agree, we might see her one more time with something pre-taped. Or we might not. We'll have fun guessing, as always. 4 Link to comment
jah1986 February 5, 2015 Share February 5, 2015 I forgot to mention but the half-smile Cavizel shot the deputy with was hilarious. That half-smile made me laugh out loud. It's so rare that Caviziel graces us with a smile and that one was perfect for the situation. I still don't love Root or AA but she was pretty good last night. Always love more Fusco, but I felt that whole storyline was just to start inserting the IA detective more into the action. What was her backstory/deal? She was so rude about not needing help etc. Did we learn that in her first episode? And of course, Shaw is alive! I kind of dread where the show is going to take her character, as in I dread the heartache I know is coming if SS comes back. Link to comment
Mari February 5, 2015 Share February 5, 2015 Now, the Machine refuses to give Root hope, as you said possibly with an endgame in mind. . I've wondered if it's a combination of endgame and knowing the team. From what I've seen, the Machine cannot outright lie to them. Refuse to answer or give slightly sideways info? Yes. Lie? I haven't seen it. Admitting to the team that Shaw is alive would mean they would likely put everything else on hold while trying to get her back. Giving them confirmation about Shaw would not only jeopardize their lives and cover, it would also jeopardize any plans the Machine made by sidelining them for likely suicidal running after Shaw. Link to comment
FormerMod-a1 February 5, 2015 Author Share February 5, 2015 Agree, and I thought they said that in ep, pretty much. That the search for Shaw almost delivered them into Samaritan's lap and continuing to do so would get them all caught. 2 Link to comment
stealinghome February 5, 2015 Share February 5, 2015 Admitting to the team that Shaw is alive would mean they would likely put everything else on hold while trying to get her back. Of course, the irony is that at least temporarily, Root is putting everything else on hold anyway--and by "putting everything else on hold" I really mean "gave The Machine the metaphorical finger and walked away." Yet again, she and Reese are so similar (though amazingly, Reese's body count in Devil's Share might actually have been higher than Root's here). With that said, I expect Root to return to the fold pretty quickly, so I'll be curious to see what happens to bring her back to the team--and whether coming back to Finch and Reese and Fusco is the same thing as coming back to The Machine. Root working with the team while estranged from TM could be quite interesting. I do agree though that The Machine's reasoning is most likely half protecting the team and half having an endgame in mind for Shaw. It obviously won't happen if for no other reason than because the writers want the team in the dark about Shaw's fate, but I do wonder if The Machine's best bet re: Root would be to wait until she cools off, then contact her and say "Shaw IS alive but legitimately your best chance of saving her is to help us take down Samaritan in [insert way]." Root knows instinctively that The Machine does have some information, so an "I don't know" won't cut it, and it's not like withholding that piece of information is cutting it either. Link to comment
wevel February 5, 2015 Share February 5, 2015 (edited) With that said, I expect Root to return to the fold pretty quickly, so I'll be curious to see what happens to bring her back to the team--and whether coming back to Finch and Reese and Fusco is the same thing as coming back to The Machine. Root working with the team while estranged from TM could be quite interesting. Well, with Reese in S3, he was fully away for 3 episodes after 3X10, right? Seemed like he was back for 3X12, but then we got that wrenching scene at the end when Finch says tremulously "John, you can't go," and John leaves anyway (OUCH - I don't ship Reese/Finch, but their bond is pretty damn profound). But he was back by the end of the next episode. So yeah, maybe Root's separation from the team will be a similar length, although she'll be up to different things than Reese was in those post-Devil's Share eps. From what I've seen, the Machine cannot outright lie to them. Refuse to answer or give slightly sideways info? Yes. Lie? I haven't seen it. Interesting - I hadn't thought about this before. It does seem like all along it has been deciding what information to communicate and when, but yeah - not outright deceive them. I wonder if the growth/evolution of the Machine, especially in the light of its battle with Samaritan, will change that; the omission of information it (perhaps) has about Shaw seems already taking a step further towards the controlling position of the Machine over the team, but if it's playing the long game against Samaritan, what else might it do in order to achieve its objectives? Or will Finch's original programming continue to constrain it? Edited February 5, 2015 by wevel Link to comment
Mari February 6, 2015 Share February 6, 2015 (edited) Well, with Reese in S3, he was fully away for 3 episodes after 3X10, right? Seemed like he was back for 3X12, but then we got that wrenching scene at the end when Finch says tremulously "John, you can't go," and John leaves anyway (OUCH - I don't ship Reese/Finch, but their bond is pretty damn profound). But he was back by the end of the next episode. So yeah, maybe Root's separation from the team will be a similar length, although she'll be up to different things than Reese was in those post-Devil's Share eps. I cannot claim to any accuracy when it comes to predicting what Root will do. I have yet to accurately predict even to myself exactly what POI would do with her. However, it wouldn't surprise me if the separation is longer, or if she returns to the team unwillingly, for a while. Reese was mourning Carter and what he saw as Team Machine's failure to save her. What seemed to bring him back was a concrete reminder that he could still help people--that yes, he lost one person, but his purpose is still there. Root is not only mourning Shaw, but her relationship with the Machine, and her concept of the Machine. In a lot of ways, that's a much bigger loss. She not only lost her favorite person, but what she saw as her purpose and self-concept--being the Machine's living avatar and doing its will. With Root's obsessive believe in the Machine, and belief in her own relationship with the Machine? If that truly took a significant hit, I don't know how quickly she'd get over that. If I understand Root's character arc so far, she rebuilt herself around believing in the Machine. If that's gone now, what does she have? And how much interest would what's left of her have in being part of Team Machine? (But, like I said, I am most likely very wrong.) Edited February 6, 2015 by Mari Link to comment
tessaray February 6, 2015 Share February 6, 2015 I don't usually post episode reviews but here's a fun M.I.A. review: http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/cbs-week-viewing-diary-day-3-sean-hayes-the-ghost-of-maya-rudolph-and-person-of-mothering-interest/ This person had no knowledge of the show beforehand, watched a 50-50 serialized episode that isn't up to POI's very best standard and he still loved it! The best part of all is that he is supposed to catch as much CBS fare as he can for the week and he either did not watch NCIS/NCIS: NO or he ignored them in his daily review! This review makes me want to recommend this episode to everyone I know that does not watch POI. I laughed at the way he called Root Samantha. Of course, he sees one of the few episodes ever where someone uses her real first name. It was a great review. Especially since it's kind of how I started watching. I'm not sure now but I think I might have watched the 2nd season finale and then watched 3rd while still catching up. (I will watch season/series finales of shows I've never seen. Weird, I know.) 2 Link to comment
Camera One February 6, 2015 Share February 6, 2015 (edited) I'm happy that Shaw is still alive, but I didn't expect the show to reveal it like that, nor so soon. It kind of cheapens the whole shock value of her death, and I'm not sure what the point is, if the actress won't be able to film and have doubts that she can return in such a capacity with her life changes. They killed Carter so cleanly, and yet this needs to be ambiguous? I agree with the point that the episode was a bit disjointed between the two subplots since they did not relate to each other at all. I didn't mind the new cop, but she was frustratingly stubborn for much of it. I liked seeing more of Fusco though. I didn't like the torture scene with the Mayor, with Root and John being so sanctimonious about how she deserved what she got. She was basically pretending to be Mayor, or she would have been killed. What was she supposed to do. They have saved plenty of people who have done worse. I did like John and Root working together. I'm a little disappointed she'll be off on her own again, probably with her own little subplots like before? Edited February 6, 2015 by Camera One Link to comment
Syme February 6, 2015 Share February 6, 2015 (edited) I like Amy Acker, and she's convincing in the moments, but for me, the moments don't tie together well and make Root into a convincing and compelling character. I'm ready for the show to background Root's grief over Shaw, because I can't make myself see it as authentic, and I think I'm supposed to. As a result, the Root heavy episodes tend to be the least interesting episodes for me. My view differs. We have a person very different than the norm, one that makes Lisbeth Salander look well-adjusted. Root has slowly grown emotionally, moving some of her affection for Her, over to Shaw. Suddenly, she is ripped apart from her new love, and her original is, in her mind, betraying her by telling her to stop looking. (That line reminds me of a classic I loved: AG: Do not look for me. My very best regards and wishes. . . . NW setting up one of the best reunions in crime literature....) In short, I find Root's behaviour very believable. Edited February 6, 2015 by Syme 3 Link to comment
shura February 6, 2015 Share February 6, 2015 I didn't like the torture scene with the Mayor, with Root and John being so sanctimonious about how she deserved what she got. She was basically pretending to be Mayor, or she would have been killed. What was she supposed to do. Yes, exactly. Reese made it sound like she had made a bad choice and has to suffer the consequences, for which she should blame herself. As if her other choice would have been any better in terms of the consequences! It's like, do you want to die for reason A or for reason B? Reason B? Oh, you are such a despicable person! Whatever, Reese. I was very impressed, though, when Reese was carrying the girl out of the facility, the door in front of them opened and a guy popped out ready to shoot. Reese was holding the girl, couldn't shoot the guy, couldn't possibly know that Root was there to save them - so he simply turned around to shield the girl, essentially accepting that he will die protecting her. No drama, no emphasis on that, just a simple turn around. 3 Link to comment
MrWhyt February 6, 2015 Share February 6, 2015 I'm happy that Shaw is still alive, but I didn't expect the show to reveal it like that, nor so soon. It kind of cheapens the whole shock value of her death, and I'm not sure what the point is, if the actress won't be able to film and have doubts that she can return in such a capacity with her life changes. They killed Carter so cleanly, and yet this needs to be ambiguous? It's ambiguous because they don't if/when SS will be back. They don't want her off the show and yet don't have a time frame for her return. it kind of cheapens the whole shock value of her death, what death? The story was framed in such a way that the viewers may have suspected she was dead, but it was never flat out stated that she was. That was the whole point of the last two episodes: is she alive? if so, where is she? 3 Link to comment
DeLurker February 6, 2015 Share February 6, 2015 (edited) I'm creeped out thinking about Shaw in the hands of Greer (and Martine!) so impact-wise, Greer trumps Death. Edited February 6, 2015 by DeLurker 2 Link to comment
stealinghome February 6, 2015 Share February 6, 2015 (edited) Yes, exactly. Reese made it sound like she had made a bad choice and has to suffer the consequences, for which she should blame herself. As if her other choice would have been any better in terms of the consequences! It's like, do you want to die for reason A or for reason B? Reason B? Oh, you are such a despicable person! Whatever, Reese. I don't necessarily disagree, but I also thought that speech had way more to do with John's own issues, and clear guilt/self-loathing for being an unquestioning order-follower earlier in his life, than it had to do with the mayor herself. He was talking to/about himself just as much there, imo--we've seen in the past that it's a hot-button issue for him to begin with. It's actually kind of a nice callback to 4C, where Reese went off on the computer guy but really he was furious with Harold/The Machine. People dying on him tends to bring that out of him. :/ I do agree that the stuff with the mayor, and more broadly the town, was rushed in general though. The more I've been thinking about it, the more I've been wishing that the show had held off on the Fusco/Silva B-plot until this upcoming week, and had really focused on exploring Creepy Town. Or even had made Creepy Town its own episode unconnected to the Search for Shaw. It was a really rich, fascinating, horrifying idea, but the show really rushed through the implications. And since next week looks to be a return to the more standard Number of the Week, the Fusco/Silva plot might have been a better match instead of feeling totally tonally disconnected. I'm creeped out thinking about Shaw in the hands of Greer (and Martine!) so impact-wise, Greer trumps Death. Truth. Someone on tumblr made a really good post about how the audience knowing that Shaw's alive creates a disconnect between the audience and the team--when they finally find Shaw, the team is going to be focusing on the fact that she's alive, but we, the audience, are going to be focusing on finding out what Samaritan did to Shaw. Especially if they go the Winter Soldier/some similar route with Shaw, but even if they don't, that opens up a lot of creative possibilities for the writers, a whole slew of ways to make the audience members nervous/be in suspense for several episodes. These writers are good enough that they could use that disconnect in expectations to great effect. Edited February 6, 2015 by stealinghome 1 Link to comment
Netfoot February 6, 2015 Share February 6, 2015 I'm happy that Shaw is still alive, but I didn't expect the show to reveal it like that, nor so soon. It kind of cheapens the whole shock value of her death, and I'm not sure what the point is, if the actress won't be able to film and have doubts that she can return in such a capacity with her life changes. They killed Carter so cleanly, and yet this needs to be ambiguous? I took Shaw's brief appearance to indicate that she does intend to return. If she was planning to move on or was undecided, we wouldn't have seen her. setting up one of the best reunions in crime literature....) Uh... Holmes and Watson? 1 Link to comment
Syme February 6, 2015 Share February 6, 2015 (edited) Uh... Holmes and Watson? Nope. You can find the quote; it's NYC not London based..... (There's a dictionary involved....) Edited February 6, 2015 by Syme Link to comment
ABay February 7, 2015 Share February 7, 2015 (edited) Archie Goodwin, Nero Wolfe? So sort of Holmes-related. Edited February 7, 2015 by ABay Link to comment
Syme February 7, 2015 Share February 7, 2015 Archie Goodwin, Nero Wolfe? So sort of Holmes-related. Yes, "In The Best Families" but I don't see any relation besides the most general: of being detective fiction... [Well, you can say Zeck =~= Moriarty...] Link to comment
Recommended Posts