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S04.E15: Q&A

ElectricBoogaloo

By ElectricBoogaloo
in Person Of Interest [V]

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shura

shura

Well, it was kinda obvious that either Claire was lying to Finch with her whole "Let's fight Samaritan, here's the flash drive" or the writers for some reason are going with an inferior story. Not sure the result came out all that stellar.

 

My favorite moment: Finch, after using the urn to knock out the guard, places it on the shelf, notices a dent on the urn and turns it around so the dent is not visible.

  • Love 5
Maverick

Maverick

 I knew Siri wasn't to be trusted.  Creepy bitch.

 

 I couldn't believe Harold fell for Claire's turnaround without question, so I was glad when he snapped out out it.  The story seemed lame because of the way Claire's allegiance was finally confirmed.   I suspected her from the jump, so when she said she didn't even know Harold's name I KNEW at some point she'd tip her hand by calling him Harold.  And sure enough.   

  • Love 2
stealinghome

stealinghome

(edited)

Root! You are delightful. Best ninety seconds you ever had on the show. Harold's guardian angel, if a bit needlessly cryptic--I kind of feel like the writers were poking fun at themselves with that one. But this episode has to be the easiest paycheck Amy Acker's ever cashed!

 

Oh, Claire. You're actually too stupid to live (if only the sniper had missed!). I can't decide whether I think Claire was a genius or bad bit of casting; I find the actress to be a bit shallow/flat, and generally unconvincing (like I was totally unconvinced by most of her scenes with Harold in the funeral home), but then I think maybe that's how the character is supposed to come off--generally as shallow and, well, unconvincing, simply because she doesn't seem to have any original thoughts, she just repeats back what Samaritan/Greer/etc tell her. Maybe they just took an actor limitation and tried to make it work for the character? But whatever's going on, the character just doesn't quite work for me. I get that they're going for early S3 Root-lite vibe, but either the actor, character, writing, or some combo of those three isn't up to the task. Now I just want Claire to be killed by Samaritan after she reaches out to Team Machine and is rebuffed because once bitten, twice shy.

 

I swear John Nolan is aging three years between each appearance.

 

Overall, this was kind of a weird episode; the A and B plots felt like they were beamed in from totally different episodes--I wished the Number had been playing Claire, though, I found her really effective--and overall I felt like the episode was a bit off tonally. I LOVED Finch interrogating Claire--Emerson was so good in that scene, and in the moment where he talked about losing Shaw--but I can't help but feel like this episode wasted a big opportunity to give Finch something to do other than talk about the danger of AIs for the bazillionth time. This could have been a chance to REALLY give Emerson something to play, and give Finch a turning point, and they just didn't even try. Aside from the number, Reese's half of the episode was fine but unremarkable. Very rote.

 

I appreciate that the show is trying to compensate for Shaw's absence by having a succession of kickass women, but at this point, it feels a little overly obvious.

 

This wasn't a bad episode, per se, but definitely the weakest since 4x06/7 (though it's still head and shoulders above 4x04, which was awful).

 

My favorite moment: Finch, after using the urn to knock out the guard, places it on the shelf, notices a dent on the urn and turns it around so the dent is not visible.

Hee! And you could SEE the moment of realization and the cringe when he realized what could (potentially) be in it.

 

Harold's 2-for-2 over the last two episodes in knocking people out. Get down with your bad self, Finch!

Edited by stealinghome
  • Love 4
Waldo13

Waldo13

(edited)

I love Root and I hope someday Root and Shaw are reunited. It would also be fantastic if Root and Shaw would get their own spinoff. It's drama gold that Reese, Harold, Root, Shaw, and Fusco are all business in a very soft spoken way. "Speak softly and carry a big stick,"

I don't know if Harold could ever trust Claire but she could be a great new addition if she sees the light and realizes she is dancing with the devil.

Edited by Waldo13
  • Love 1
thuganomics85

thuganomics85

Eh, wasn't a huge fan of this one.  I didn't care for Claire when she first appeared, and her return didn't make it better, since I knew she was on Team Samaritan, and I wanted to scream when Finch fell for it, after his early reservations.  At least Root showed up to prevent him being captured again, but I still want to shake Finch for being played like a chump.

 

POI of the week wasn't the greatest, but it had it's moments.  Loved Fusco cold-cocking the main bad guy at the end.  He looked so happy! And even Reese seemed proud of him.

 

Oh, well: not all of them can be winners.

  • Love 1
Agent Dark

Agent Dark

Two words: where's Bear??

Bear was in the subway station sleeping on his bed when Reese was chasing down some info on his number.

 

Like last week, this episode just feels a little flat after the rollercoaster high of the If-Then-Else, Control-Alt-Delete, MIA trilogy.  I did like the little glimpses of Samaritan's plans unfolding with the acquisition of Goo- I mean Fetch and Retrieve and its school where it's indoctrinating kids.  Actually that continues the focus on children that Samaritan seems to have, which is an interesting note to Samaritan itself.  Is that just an easy way to begin it's plans for world domination (ie the "get 'em while they're young") or is it a reflection of how Samaritan see's itself as a child coming into the world with The Machine as the older established authority?

 

Root was the best part of the episode, popping up in the nick of time to save Harold.  Interesting to see she's seemingly still working with The Machine, though I might have detected a little bit of hostility in Root's attitude when she comments that "there's alot that's new". 

 

Now that Claire is possibly starting to question Samaritan's ethics, I wonder if there might be some interaction with her and Shaw whenever they bring Shaw back.  That might be fun to have Shaw play off a character that has some obvious Root parallels. 

  • Love 2
StarBrand

StarBrand

That was perhaps a bit of a mediocre episode, but far from horrible...

 

So Root's been off doing...what exactly? What has the machine given her that makes her want to do things for it again? I guess the threat to Harold was enough to bring out back out in the open.

 

Creepy that Samaritan has revamped an entire education system, but not surprising.

 

I guess Claire tugged enough at Harold's heartstrings to fool him, that he went against what his instincts were telling him. That feeling in your gut, Finch? Trust it.

FormerMod-a1

FormerMod-a1

If Claire believes (or ever believed) the propaganda she was spewing at Finch in the school than she just may be "too stupid to live".  Yeah, they showed she just may be beginning to waver with her question on being shot, but really now.

 

I did expect the Machine to save Harold some how, maybe not immediately or in this ep but next ep at the latest.  I wasn't expecting Root, and for as little as she appeared I don't know that we needed her.  

 

Overall, a solid ep, although I do miss the numbers being the perp sometimes.

  • Love 2
Gigi43

Gigi43

At the end of the episode I got the same wavering vibe from Claire as Dominick's second in command back in last Elias episode. I wonder if they're setting up a whole second string abandonment of the top opposition groups, calling back to Harolds chess game about the ones who "use pawns first"/rank lives to sacrifice instead of doing it themselves are destined to fail.

Harold with urn just made me smile. It was just so... Harold.

Fusco got a thank you! AW.

Reese and Finch in the beginning were cute. I wish I just remember Reese 's line about freak shows. I was hoping that meant we'd continue more of them two like last week.

Over all this wasn't stellar though.

beadgirl

beadgirl

I never liked Claire -- she was far too cavalier with other people's lives in her first appearance, and not even dead parents could make me sympathize with her.  So I'm glad it turns out she's still a budding sociopath.  Also, she's quite naive if she has not figured out that people and institutions can do both good and evil, sometimes at the same time.

 

The MMA artist, on the other hand, was fun (although I wish she hadn't been so dumb as to run into her house; as soon as the medical alert bracelet went off, I knew it was a ruse.

 

The show has a tendency to run several arcs at one time (Control, Elias, HR), focusing on one to completion and back-burnering the others.  I hope the pattern continues, and the end of this season sees the end of Samaritan, leaving Elias and Dominick (and any governmental/Control fallout) for next year.

Trey

Trey

I'll be glad enough when the Samaritan arc is done.  I am getting tired of everyone being somehow part of, or controlled by Samaritan.  I was really disappointed that the blond woman who created the search program turned out to be bad after looking so innocent when the smarmy guy admitted to implanting the evil code.

 

I knew someone would rescue Finch - I don't know why I was surprised it was Root.

wevel

wevel

(edited)
I did expect the Machine to save Harold some how, maybe not immediately or in this ep but next ep at the latest.  I wasn't expecting Root, and for as little as she appeared I don't know that we needed her. 

 

Yeah, I was happy to see Root again, but I feel like the ep should have provided a wee bit more explanation about whether she's now talking to the Machine again, since she seemed so done at the end of 4X13, where Root was apparently walking away from not just Harold, but her seasons-long devotion to the Machine in order to look for Shaw.  All we got was the cryptic "a lot's changed" - I guess we'll see in upcoming episodes what that means exactly.

 

I wasn't sure how the story with Claire going to end until the reveal, although it was pretty obvious from the beginning that she *might* be a Samaritan agent.  I'd have preferred if Harold had been able to plant more seeds of doubt in her than shown, but perhaps, if she turns, it will happen more slowly.  I did like the scene in the school - pretty creepy (in a way that seeing Samaritan personified as a child is *not* creepy to me).  And the plotline about manipulating our emotions immediately reminded me of Facebook's actual secret experiment on manipulating newsfeeds and our emotions - ugh.

 

Nice to see Bear again for about 5 seconds!

Edited by wevel
  • Love 1
Princess Lucky

Princess Lucky

(edited)

I agree that these past two episodes aren't on par with the awesome quadrilogy we got right before (what could match that, though?) but, frankly, watching the show these past two weeks is giving me such a nostalgic feeling. Much as I miss Carter and now Shaw, and much as I want Root and Fusco to have more screentime, there's just something about watching Reese and Finch handling business. I'm getting season 1 flashbacks and I don't mind at all.

 

I liked the Anna storyline with Reese handling it. At first I thought we were talking about corporate espionage or something, then I thought Samaritan was protecting itself because it was letting people die, people it wanted dead anyway. But it was all about money? Ads? And the faux-Google guy was behind it? Cool reveal. I mean, Google search results are already influenced by ads, deals etc (at least the order in which they come up). Not to mention, our search history affects youtube results and ads as well (corporate synergy). This plot wasn't even far fetched, this was reality. Except a tiny bit more sinister, maybe. A really tiny bit. And what I liked even better was that, even though Samaritan wasn't behind it, it was monitoring the situation, letting it happen, so it (through Decima, perhaps) could then merge with or acquire Google(!). It's like we puny humans are doing Samaritan's job for it.

 

I, too, really liked Anna. The actress was effective and compelling and she had some nice moments with Reese. I also liked how he appreciated her idealism and her fighting spirit (and, it has to be said, her skills). It had been a while since Reese truly identified with a number (remember those days?). And she came to the rescue along with Reese? Awesome. And Fusco took out the main guy? Even more awesome. Also, Reese at the faux Google headquarters was the source of some hilarity. This was a fun, at times emotional, action-packed standalone story with a likeable PoI. I had missed that. Shades of season 1, indeed.

 

As for the big stuff? I, too, don't think the actress who plays Claire is all that great but she's not that bad either, in my opinion. And I agree that a lot of her more annoying qualities are part of the character itself. Thankfully, though, Michael Emerson is fantastic and makes up for a lot. I loved his scene with Claire, when he "explained" Samaritan to her. When she said they had to kill it he just had the strangest expression on his face. In retrospect, it was probably suspicion. I did think Claire was lying from the start, especially when her wound was revealed to be so mild (and because she got shot in one of the off-the-grid locations). So the reveal was not that huge (though I was hoping she had willingly gotten shot, which would make her more hardcore in my eyes). What was huge was what she said. She wasn't authorised to kill Harold. Now, did that mean that she personally wasn't supposed to kill him (since her mission was to turn him into an asset) or that Samaritan doesn't want him dead at all? They are keeping Shaw alive too, after all. I love that Samaritan's first goal seems to be assimilation. It's very arrogant and very creepy.

 

Speaking of assimilation, a Samaritan school? Claire taking Finch there of her own accord was strange but it fit with her youth and her faith in Samaritan. By the way, I liked that Greer was happy to accept her initiative, even if she strayed from her orders, simply because she was doing it for Samaritan's benefit. Claire genuinely believed that Finch might join them if he saw the light. Though she did seem to be a little taken aback at the end there when Greer was all "so what if you die, my dear, there's more where you came from! As long as it's for the greater good!". Her doubt made me think the whole thing did not end in a draw. It's not a win for Team Machine, but it's something.

 

At the end of the episode I got the same wavering vibe from Claire as Dominick's second in command back in last Elias episode. I wonder if they're setting up a whole second string abandonment of the top opposition groups, calling back to Harolds chess game about the ones who "use pawns first"/rank lives to sacrifice instead of doing it themselves are destined to fail.

I agree, I saw that parallel as well. I also think it's interesting how both Dominic and Samaritan are totally willing to let their people die, but it's the human being (Dominic) who has no morals and the A.I. that is doing it because it maybe wants to help humanity. Samaritan is actually more idealistic, no?

 

So, it needs to be said: Samaritan wanting to help the planet and most people while getting rid of the obstacles, i.e. other people? And controlling the education of our children? Classic sci-fi tropes. The show is full-on sci-fi now. Samaritan may as well be an alien (some have said that's a fair comparison when it comes to artificial intelligence). And I love every minute of it. I also loved it when Claire said 'I told you what you wanted to believe'. She was talking to Finch, but I think that was true of us as well, the audience. It's not like I'll feel sympathy for Samaritan but that tidbit was maybe meant to make us realise our bias. Samaritan does want to help. In its own way.

 

Lastly, Root. I knew she would save the day. There's no way Harold would be captured, leaving just Reese and Fusco. But 'give your boss a message for me. Hi!' *shoots* was just great. Man, I love Root. Reese kind of does too, going by his little almost-excited almost-smile when he said 'are you back?'. Aw. I liked that he didn't ask her how she was (it would be empty words) but he did ask if she was on a new mission. There's a lot that's new, huh? I can't wait to see it all play out.

Edited by Princess Lucky
  • Love 5
DEM

DEM

But she was the one meeting with Greer.  So I assumed she was bad.  It would be nice if she isn't.

She was at the meeting because: a) she was the CEO of the company, and b) the company was facing financial ruin due to the CTO's nefarious shenanigans. She was over a barrel, and Greer/Samaritan swooped in like the vultures that they are to acquire (and control the future direction of) the company.

  • Love 7
stealinghome

stealinghome

(edited)
But she was the one meeting with Greer.  So I assumed she was bad.  It would be nice if she isn't.

I don't think the CEO's bad, I think Greer is manipulating her. He's seeing a weakness in a company that might be valuable, swooping in, and taking advantage. Being manipulated by Greer doesn't make her evil imo--it's the same situation as Laptop Lady from 4x06. They're just unknowing pawns--valuable pawns, but pawns nonetheless.

 

Yeah, I was happy to see Root again, but I feel like the ep should have provided a wee bit more explanation about whether she's now talking to the Machine again, since she seemed so done at the end of 4X13, where Root was apparently walking away from not just Harold, but her seasons-long devotion to the Machine in order to look for Shaw.  All we got was the cryptic "a lot's changed" - I guess we'll see in upcoming episodes what that means exactly.

I agree that I want more explanation (which I assume is forthcoming), but I thought Root was off enough last night to indicate that she's still pretty pissed at The Machine, and I think it's pretty telling that only a serious threat to Harold's life was able to bring her back--for all of 8 seconds, until she ran out like her hair was on fire. (aww, it just clicked for me, the subway station is the last place she saw Shaw alive and happy.) First, I definitely thought Root was lacking her normal joie de vivre; the light has just gone out of her eyes. She used to have a lot of fun doing stuff like she did last night, but no more now. Second, Root seemed low-boil pissed in her brief appearance--and while there was obviously a lot of rage directed at Samaritan (I loved her "Give your boss a message for me. Hi"), she seemed pretty angry in the last scene in the subway station, too. Like she was angry with herself for even being there and talking to Harold and Reese. Annoyed that Harold was in a dangerous situation and she had to rescue him to begin with. Like every word she said was being forced out through clenched teeth.

 

The thing is, Root HAS to be in touch with The Machine on some level--TM is the one providing her new identities every few days. As much as Root might want to be able to totally cut herself off right now, she can't. But that doesn't mean she isn't resenting the hell out of it, I think. I half-expected her to flip the bird to the computer as she walked out of the lair.

 

Do want more Reese-Root.

 

though I was hoping she had willingly gotten shot, which would make her more hardcore in my eyes

I took her statement to Greer to indicate that she had willingly gotten shot.

 

 

Oh, and I have to mention: John's tie. That thing was so bad it came back around to awesome! So hilariously awful.

Edited by stealinghome
  • Love 3
DioxinBlues

DioxinBlues

Claire is basically Root without the charm and good acting. I am not a fan. Nor was I much of a fan of this episode, either, given that I fell asleep twice while watching, something I've never done with this show. Whoever pointed out that the writer of this one is the same as the one who put together the mediocre "Last Call" from Season 3, thank you. Now I know which ones to avoid, or at leas put off until later, when I see his name again. Especially when it comes to Episode 15. The "twist" of Claire setting a trap for Harold was far too obvious to the point I was certain it had to be a misdirect, that her intentions and fears were genuine but Samaritan had set her up as unwitting bait for Harold. But, no. And as far as the Fetch and Retrieve plot went, it was barely developed and the actor who played the "big bad" executive - not to be confused with the "big bad" executive from 'Guilty' - did everything but twirl his moustache at the end. 

 

Anna Mueller was fine but she had zero chemistry with Reese, which was glaring after his big chemistry-with-the-ladies ep from last week, and I'm not talking romantic as much as just interactive. Root has no romantic chemistry with Reese but their twenty second exchange at the conclusion of the show was a highlight. I did like the way he was almost (for him) eager with his, "Hey, Root. You comin' back?" and she was essentially, "Peace out, Big Guy. Gotta grab this computer and do some mysterious work. See ya soon." I do want more interplay between them, it's like finding an untapped vein of gold. 

 

It was nice to see Bear again, however briefly. Bear makes everything better. 

 

As far as the past two Shaw-free and (mostly) Rootless episodes go, 'Guilty' was light-years better in that it was actually quite good. This one? Not so much. 

  • Love 2
shura

shura

Speaking of assimilation, a Samaritan school? Claire taking Finch there of her own accord was strange but it fit with her youth and her faith in Samaritan.

 

Oh yeah, she was supposed to take him somewhere else, wasn't she? So, those men in long coats weren't waiting there for Finch, they just hang out around school children habitually? I'm sure the parents have no questions about that.

Trillium

Trillium

Anna Mueller was fine but she had zero chemistry with Reese, which was glaring after his big chemistry-with-the-ladies ep from last week, and I'm not talking romantic as much as just interactive. Root has no romantic chemistry with Reese but their twenty second exchange at the conclusion of the show was a highlight. I did like the way he was almost (for him) eager with his, "Hey, Root. You comin' back?" and she was essentially, "Peace out, Big Guy. Gotta grab this computer and do some mysterious work. See ya soon." I do want more interplay between them, it's like finding an untapped vein of gold.

It was nice to see Bear again, however briefly. Bear makes everything better.

As far as the past two Shaw-free and (mostly) Rootless episodes go, 'Guilty' was light-years better in that it was actually quite good. This one? Not so much.

Agreed. Claire is good in theory but the actress isn't strong enough to make her a compelling recurring character and Anna was ok but just didn't connect as much last week. Reese has a decent rapport with pretty much every one but last week was a highlight for sure. He's got a great patient/therapist dynamic with Iris (really hoping it stays that way and she's not a plant/ potential romantic partner) and he and Zoe have always had a spectacular chemistry both as working partners and romantic styles. Maybe if this episode had aired first and Guilty after it wouldn't have felt so flat.

I don't expect every episode to be gold, it's on network TV. There's always going to be one or two meh episodes. Root was too brief and Finch had a nice moment when he was interrogating Claire. Just wish he would have stuck to it.

Netfoot

Netfoot

Samaritan wanting to help the planet and most people while getting rid of the obstacles, i.e. other people? And controlling the education of our children? Classic sci-fi tropes.

 

Some years ago, a large software company offered the local university several million dollars worth of free computer hardware.  In return, all the uni had to do was drop all teaching of other operating systems and application software from the curriculum, and teach students only about their products.  The uni refused, but I can't help wondering how many other institutions were approached, and agreed!

 

If Micros- I mean Samaritan wants a compliant population, one way is to train the population to be compliant, starting at a young age.  It's been done before.  It's not really sci-fi.

  • Love 1
prican58

prican58

I really did not think Root would show up. Honestly, I did not give her much thought. But I was so happy to see her that I had to fist pump quite a few times.

 

I was pretty resigned to the fact that I could be Root-less for a few episodes. I like the edge she brings. Still miss Shaw due to my sick girl crush on Shahi, but to not have either one? Scarier than diving into a Decima fortress with a bunch of nerds.

  • Love 4
kwnyc

kwnyc

I'm on board with the consensus that the actress playing Claire is not particularly good. The part is pretty thin to begin with, but she's not bringing anything to it.

 

I'm also thinking the observation that there are a lot of disillusioned seconds out there who will play into taking Samaritan down is on point.

 

To me, the whole episode was worth it for Root's brief appearance.

 

If they are auditioning badass chicks to replace Shaw, the IAD cop has been the best so far; the MMA girl was nice, but not noteworthy. 

 

If there's more Elias next week, I'll appreciate it.

  • Love 3
Hanahope

Hanahope

I took her statement to Greer to indicate that she had willingly gotten shot.

 

It was my impression that she thought the sniper was supposed to miss her.  She assumed that she got hit because the sniper was cutting things a little 'too' close and she mentioned that if she had moved even a tad more, she would have been killed.  Then Greer said, well, at least your death would have been for a good cause.  So I think that was a bit of letting her know that she is expendable and replaceable, which may or may not sit well with Clair.  Sortof like how the seeds are being planted with Control to potentially turn her into a Machine ally/anti Samaritan as well.

 

Showing up at the school, I thought Finch was going to be introduced to Samaritan's Avatar.

 

Whenever I think of a machine controlling our lives, trying to do what is "best" for humanity, it reminds me of the plotline to Serenity.

shura

shura

Then Greer said, well, at least your death would have been for a good cause.

 

I don't think the bastard even said "at least"! He was like "you can't be serious even mentioning this, it's for a good cause, why would such a trifle as your death matter?" Even the dumb Claire, who thought nothing of standing in the middle of the road to read some message in a quest game, caught on that something is not right here.

 

Is it smart, economically speaking, to abandon a programmer job in favor of becoming a professional MMA fighter? If she is VERY successful (and lucky to last a while without being seriously injured), Anna might make a few millions over her fighting career. And then probably spend them on treating her concussion-related health issues. Why do it? 

Mari

Mari

It really isn't. The Gates Foundation, and many not-really-not-for-profit groups, have been driving the "reforms" in education from K-12 to universities for years.

The last "tech in education" workshop I was at was like a three day infomercial for Apple products. Some of the activities suggested were truly ridiculous, with the sole purpose apparently "Put Apple product in child's hands"

  • Love 1
Mrs. Stanwyck

Mrs. Stanwyck

 

At least Root showed up to prevent him being captured again, but I still want to shake Finch for being played like a chump.

 

I don't think he looked like a chump; I think Harold is always trying to see the best in people - it's one of the things that makes him a good guy.

 

 

Is it smart, economically speaking, to abandon a programmer job in favor of becoming a professional MMA fighter?

 

I don't think she was a programmer - she was a transcriber.  Her friend was the programmer.  I don't believe she would be making that much money just typing up transcripts.

  • Love 1
DeLurker

DeLurker

Is it smart, economically speaking, to abandon a programmer job in favor of becoming a professional MMA fighter? If she is VERY successful (and lucky to last a while without being seriously injured), Anna might make a few millions over her fighting career. And then probably spend them on treating her concussion-related health issues. Why do it? 

Mrs. Stanwyck already clarified she was a transcriber and not a programmer, but one of the reasons she said she did it was to get out of the house because watching her sister in such a condition was tough.  I don't think it was said, but I imagine her frustration of seeing her sister so ill made her need an outlet to physically release all the anger at the situation (not anger at her sister, just the anger and frustration one feels when something bad is happening that is beyond your control and seemingly undeserved).

  • Love 2
Netfoot

Netfoot

Okay, I was meaning to ask, too - how did this transcribing thing work? What were they transcribing and how did it help with their voice search?

 

I got the impression that when people used the service by voicing a query like "How do I make a bong?" the transcribers enter the textual version of the spoken word, so the search software can proceed using that text.  As a transcriber, that's how she was aware of the guy asking for help with depression, because she heard him say the words and transcribed them into text.

 

Technologically, it was very weak, and didn't make sense, but I accepted it for the sake of the larger story.

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