S05.E09: Sotto Voce

[ElectricBoogaloo]

NOTE: In May, Person of Interest will be airing two episodes a week, the first on Monday and the second on Tuesday. In June, the show will revert back to one episode a week on Tuesdays.

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The mysterious criminal mastermind known as "The Voice" returns and traps Reese and Fusco in their own precinct with several armed gang members and the latest POI. Also, Root makes a shocking discovery.

Promo:

Edited May 25, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[StarBrand]

A definition of the episode name, from Wikipedia;

"Sotto voce (/ˈsɒtoʊ ˈvoʊtʃeɪ/; Italian: [ˈsotto ˈvoːtʃe], literally "under voice") means intentionally lowering the volume of one's voice for emphasis. The speaker gives the impression of uttering involuntarily a truth which may surprise, shock, or offend. Galileo Galilei's (probably apocryphal) utterance "Eppur si muove" ("Nonetheless, [the Earth] does move"), spoken after recanting his heliocentric theory, is an example of sotto voce utterance."

[janeta]

Ok, all around good ep. Lionel got read in, Shaw's back, and the voice got it. I'm happy.

[AimingforYoko]

OK, that ending warmed my cold, cold heart.

Finally read Lionel in. About freakin' time. And very appropriate that Elias helped bring down "The Voice" since he used the same gambit with Reese that Elias did. How many times are they gonna fall for that? Hell, how many times am I gonna fall for that?

[TigerLynx]

Finally, Fusco knows.

Finch and Reese made some rookie mistakes this episode.  That's not good.

Elias and Finch, the new odd couple.

I wish Shaw had killed those human smugglers.

[mtlchick]

I would be saying Avengers have finally assembled but it's a Warner Bros production, can I use the Justic League is here? 

 

No?

 

Whatever. FUSCO FINALLY KNOWS! SHOOT! Elias blows someone up! 100th episode tomorrow!

I will miss this show.

[Bort]

I was so happy to see that yellow box around Fusco's head. 

Damn, Root. Over 7,000 simulations and Samaritan never thought she would rather off herself than live without Shaw. 

What episode was it where they encountered The Voice? I'm drawing a blank. But I did suspect that the wormy locksmith was the perpetrator because the writers love that twist (Root, Elias) and I wasn't falling for it again.

[mjc570]

I thought that was dreadful - even (finally!) bringing Lionel on the team, and bringing Shaw back wasn't enough to redeem it.  That whole voice thing was ridiculous - I don't even think about things, but even I knew that it was a set-up for the first guy to kill the second. Everything was just so predictable.   Boy, talk about over elaborate plans, I guess they needed to pad out the hour.  I'm a big EC fan, but I am heartily sick of the omniscient Elias. 

[fastiller]

Finally! Fusco knows. Finally!

And that was the lowest-key family reunion I can recall seeing ever.

I know it isn't realistic, but I don't want any of them to die. Happy endings for all please. What? A girl can dream,.

Edited May 31, 2016 by fastiller
b/c I shouldn't try to post on my phone; errors run rampant when I do that!!!

[Gigi43]

Fusco knows! Fusco freaking finally knows! He has a yellow box! About damn time. He was in a serious amount of danger anyway, I don't think being fully read in ups it too much, it's just a different danger and now he can better defend himself.

 

So does it mean Shaw or Samaritan underestimated Root with over 7,000 simulations without her taking out a gun too?

 

That ending was the closest we'll get to happy one. I'm dreading tomorrow.

[FormerMod-a1]

Damn!  

I don't know how many times I said this during this episode, but many and with different connotations.  Finding the bombmaker and the standoff, Root and Shaw, finding the voice, Elias blowing up "the voice" (and I couldn't quite get Finch's read on that but I'm leaning towards Elias being right in his read), Reese reading Fusco in, and so on.

I love Fusco!  I love Elias!  

One more Damn -  Damn! I'm going to miss this show.  (sniff)

One minor nitpick, but I'm surprised Samaritan hadn't cottoned on to "the voice".

[stealinghome]

I missed the first 15 minutes or so, but from what I saw, the writer, Sabir Pirzada, definitely did NOT improve on last season's Karma. By far the best part of this episode was the last 3 minutes, with Fusco getting read in--fucking FINALLY--and the team reassembling in an Epic Heroes moment. (I really loved the music over the last few minutes, too--anyone know the song?) But the rest of it was so incredibly flat, which is disappointing given that there are only 4 episodes left and Shaw's reintroduction to the team should have been way, WAY more epic. Also, on a side note, the exposition was out of control this episode. Finch and Root particularly had to narrate every.single.thing that happened on-screen like three times. It was particularly ridiculous when Root was saying obvious things to herself, omg.

I don't know why they brought The Voice of all villains back, because he wasn't compelling in 3x15 and he surely wasn't compelling now. I just don't care about him at all, and in that last scene, you could see the Elias car bomb coming from a mile away. And while I like Dark Finch quite a bit, 2 minutes of Dark Finch wasn't enough to offset the blahness of the rest. The pieces were there for a great episode; in theory Reese and Fusco being locked into the precinct with a bunch of assassins should have been super engaging, but it really wasn't, it was over too soon and I would rather have had a cat-and-mouse tactical game throughout. I did get a kick out of the show kind of doing an homage to the ridiculous slow-mo shootout, though. But three million cheers for Fusco FINALLY being read in, and John being the one to do it. That's a great, great "full circle from the pilot" moment for them.

I enjoyed the Finch/Elias team-up, but Elias still seems super unnecessary. His role the last few episodes has basically been to give exposition that Finch can be Very Bad when he wants. We already knew that.

I love that Root is so zero-chill that she threatened to shoot herself if Shaw shot herself (Samaritan never saw that coming), but the episode needed to get to that much earlier than it did--I know that Root doesn't know what Shaw went through, but as a viewer, it was frustrating to feel like we spent a lot of time with Shaw recapping what we've seen a lot of over the last few episodes. That should have been done much quicker and the ep should have spent more time on the Mexican standoff. Also, I mean, I enjoyed the aesthetic of the team in the iconic New York skyline spot at the end, but no way paranoid John and uber-paranoid Finch wouldn't be like "ROOT WHAT THIS IS VERY ALARMING SHE SHOULDN'T BE HERE WITH US IS SHE SAFE HAVE YOU THOROUGHLY CHECKED HER!!!!!...not in that way."

Overall, weakest ep of the season except for Truth Be Told, BUT I'm glad Fusco got read in and that the home stretch is here. Next episode looks to be BANANAS.

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One minor nitpick, but I'm surprised Samaritan hadn't cottoned on to "the voice".

Who's to say Samaritan hadn't? It might just have decided he's too small potatoes to worry about (right now). Samaritan recognizes that it will never eliminate street-level crime, and imo The Voice was glorified street-level crime.

Edited May 31, 2016 by stealinghome

[DEM]

The only thing good about this ep was Shaw's Hero of the Migrant Family scene. The rest was terrible.  There better be an actual team reunion tomorrow.

[TheOtherOne]

Guess I'm just an easy touch then, because the biggest thought I had as the episode ended, the thought that I came here just to post, is "I love this show." Despite some logical issues I couldn't be bothered to worry about, I found the episode thoroughly entertaining. Not the best of the season by any means, but it got the job done. I'm going to miss this little adrenaline rush of a show. The action is more engaging and thrilling than just about anything else on TV right now, I love all the characters, and...I just love it. This episode only reminded me and reinforced it for me.

I love this show.

[thuganomics85]

I honestly don't even remember "The Voice" and his past episode, so the big revelation at first really didn't have much of an impact.  And then the reveal that it was the POI all along, wasn't the most gripping of twists.  Hopefully since episode ten will be tomorrow, they'll begin the process of phasing off the one-offs, and start preparing for the endgame, because these past few "POIs of the week" lacked the impact of the earlier episodes.

Still, Fusco!  Being all badass and teaming up with Reese in the shoot-out!  And then after getting shot, Reese finally; FINALLY; decides that enough is enough, and actually tells him the truth about everything.  And he even gets his own yellow box at the end!  I wished we got more of his reaction to everything, but honestly, considering a lot of the stuff that had happened, I could see Fusco being less shocked and more "A machine that sees everything and has been assigning you people who are either going to be victims of crimes or criminals themselves?  That kind of explains a lot..." about it.  Of course, now my big fear is that him being in the know will be all a big set-up to get a tragic death, but I can't worry about that now!  Yay, Fusco!

Shaw is now back for good, although she understandably still doesn't fully trust herself, and is only convinced after Root is willing to shoot herself, if Shaw goes through with suicide.  I guess Samaritan and the simulations never took that into account.  But Root is crazily enough (and crazily enough in love with Shaw), that she would totally do something like that.  It was nice seeing all five of them together at the end, although it was a strangely muted reunion.

Finch and Elias teaming up was everything I wanted.  Which was mainly Michael Emerson and Enrico Colantoni being awesome together.  Although, come on, Finch.  How could you not see Elias placing a bomb underneath The Voice's car?  He wouldn't be Elias if he didn't do that!

[Agent Dark]

1 hour ago, stealinghome said:

Also, on a side note, the exposition was out of control this episode. Finch and Root particularly had to narrate every.single.thing that happened on-screen like three times. It was particularly ridiculous when Root was saying obvious things to herself, omg.

I know it was purely for exposition reasons, but I like to think Root was just chatting away to The Machine.  I like Root being weird like that, in a "I wasn't talking to you" kinda way.  And she's not even offended when you call her crazy because "she knows she's right" lol.

 

I think this episode suffered from trying to do too much, and its probably a victim of the shortened season.  It had like 5 different plot lines running at one point, and alot of screentime spent setting it all up.  That would have been fine and probably even engaging for an episode in a regular season, but everytime they cut away from Root and Shaw or from Finch and Elias I got a little frustrated.  Still, there was stuff to like.  Root throwing Shaw's "simulation or reality?" frame of reference by threatening to kill herself too was a great move.  And while Shaw's re-union with the team under the bridge was frustratingly super-lowkey, I really liked Shaw's reaction - she had her hand up behind her ear like she was checking for the Samaritan chip.  Plus Elias is always great, and finally The Fusconator gets his yellow box!

 

1 hour ago, stealinghome said:

(I really loved the music over the last few minutes, too--anyone know the song?)

The National - Fake Empire :)

[bros402]

I really enjoyed this episode, but I wish that the villain to come back had been Alistair from season 2's Critical - but The Voice was okay, I guess.

 

When Fusco had the yellow box, I said to my brother "look! look! Fusco has a yellow box oh my god he has a yellow box!!!"

 

he looked at me weird

[ppl]

Weakest episode of the season by far, maybe even the worst episode of the series. Everything was so predictable and the dialogue was flat. The Shaw and Root dialogue scene should have been more epic with a little bit more screentime devoted to it. Sabir Pirzada, managed to turn a menacing adversary into a kitten. Nothing about the POI's plan screamed 'smartest criminal ever'. Any smart cop would have figured it out within 10 minutes.

I'm sad that some of the most would-be epic scenes were delivered in the clunkiest way possible. Thank goodness I never have to sit through another Pirzada written episode again.

[Bobbin]

Apparently the honchos at the Precinct don't watch enough crime shows to know that any activity that causes you to dispatch all personnel into the field means that it's all a ruse and that the Precinct itself is the target.

How perfect can Samaritan be that after 7000+ simulations, it still didn't conclude that Shaw was never going to kill Root under any circumstances? Joshua would have reached that conclusion long ago.

Four eps left. Are we going to start losing team members one at a time? In an interview in S3(?) when the promos said one of the main characters would die, Kevin Chapman said he was sure it would be his character who would be eliminated and was surprised when it turned out to be Det. Carter. And now here's Det. Lionel Fusco, a member of the A-Team! And maybe destined to be the last man standing. Fusco and Elias, walking off together into the gray mist. "Lionel, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

[DeepRunner]

Excellent episode. Elias was able to exact his wrath on The Voice while saving his friend Harold  (even if Finch was horrified). (Side note--That opening line in this post almost read like Elias was a contestant on "The Voice.") Although it was evident that Elias wasn't going to let Eaton get away and predictable that the car would blow-up, it was still cool.

And finally, finally, F-I-N-A-L-L-Y, Fusco now knows about The Machine and Samaritan. It was fitting that Reese was the one who told him. With 4 episodes to go, will the knowledge save him, or get him killed?

The stare-down of guns between Root and Shaw (with the callback to the playground in "6,741", that Shaw couldn't bring herself to kill Root) was good, if only to prove to Shaw that she could trust that she was in the world of reality, although, one could argue that Samaritan could have run a simulation with a similar scenario.

The final scene of the team together, facing NYC on a deep camera shot, made them look small against the landscape. Great to see them together. But a sense of foreboding.

Four to go.

Edited May 31, 2016 by DeepRunner
clarifying some thoughts.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

My major complaint about the reunion is that Bear wasn't there! I know this isn't a huggy bunch, but everyone was just like, "Oh, okay, you're back. So...now what?"

Loved that when the bad guy was driving away, Elias just said, "Okay, that seems far enough, don't you think?" and blew up his car. His comment to Harold was priceless: "You had to know I'd do something like that, right?"

[Cranberry]

The writers pretty much had to bring The Voice back. I've seen him mentioned many times over the past couple of years as a plot thread that fans thought would never be tied up. Those fans can finally be satisfied! Love that Elias finally got to properly thank The Voice for the car bomb that killed his father. Finch totally knew he'd do something like that, too. I was almost expecting Finch to smile at the end, but we didn't need that.

I liked the Root/Shaw reunion. It wasn't an epic romantic thing, but that wouldn't have made sense for these characters (and Root seemed to find, "Seven thousand simulations. I killed a lot of people. But the one person I couldn’t kill… was you" plenty romantic). I love that Samaritan (and Shaw) underestimated Root that much; not once did they consider that she'd off herself if Shaw died.

[StarBrand]

They had me fooled for a second-based on the opening scene, I was pretty sure Root wouldn't see Shaw until next episode. Glad to see I was wrong.

I liked that Root was all "who the fuck keeps beating me to the punch", and it turned out to be Shaw, being a one-woman Samaritan agent killing machine. The real-life reunion was played rather well, I thought. I liked how Shaw admitted (thought not at first) how the one person she could consistently not kill was Root, and would rather kill herself now then let that happen for real. I wasn't expecting Root to threaten to off herself, although it makes sense she'd go to extreme lengths to prove to Shaw this was NOT a simulation.

The group gathering at the end was a bit more subdued than I thought it would be, although the sight of all five of them by the river, together at last, gave me a hint of optimism, which has been in short supply lately. I take the muted reaction by the others as being they are glad Shaw is back, but they all (except for Root) have doubts about if she can be trusted right now. And the look on Shaw's face seemed to indicate she knows that...

[benteen]

Loved the ending and the fact that Lionel was FINALLY read it.  I wish we could have seen his reaction to the Machine though, that would have been fun.

Definitely like the Elias/Finch team-up and Elias taking out the voice.  The shootout was really well-done.

[mtlchick]

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The shootout was really well-done.

Apparently the shoot out in tonight's (May 31) episode is such a doozy it ate into the budget for the episode that airs next week!

 

Edited to add:

 

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One thing I absolutely loved was the acting by the guy who played Amir. The scene where he realizes he's been made by Fusco, and his face changes from that of the scared taxi driver to that of a hitman who knows he doesn't have to pretend anymore? Wow.

YES.  He went from fearful to a smug bastard in seconds just by his slow facial movements. 

Edited May 31, 2016 by mtlchick
added on

[shura]

2 hours ago, Cranberry said:

The writers pretty much had to bring The Voice back. I've seen him mentioned many times over the past couple of years as a plot thread that fans thought would never be tied up. Those fans can finally be satisfied!

Honestly, I had no recollection of "The Voice" (was he ever even called that?) and thought he was some new character from Finch's off-screen past. I remember the episode where, as it turns out, he was introduced, and I have to say, if this plot thread had never been resolved, I'd have been fine with that. He is just not as epic as I feel I was expected to think he was. 

I liked Elias and his doings in this episode, but wasn't crazy about his corny declaration that Finch is his great friend and he can't afford to lose him too. Show, don't tell, people. Same goes for Shaw's "you are the only person I could never kill" to Root. I know that one is kinda hard to show, but at least make Shaw more matter-of-fact and less "romantic" about it.

One thing I absolutely loved was the acting by the guy who played Amir. The scene where he realizes he's been made by Fusco, and his face changes from that of the scared taxi driver to that of a hitman who knows he doesn't have to pretend anymore? Wow.

[StarBrand]

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Same goes for Shaw's "you are the only person I could never kill" to Root

I was fine with that. It's old news to us, but not to Root. She had to tell Root just to let her know killing her is a line Shaw would never cross, under any circumstances.

[MissLucas]

So how did Shaw escape and how did she manage to keep track of Samaritan agents? And why did she say to Root first that she did not fail the simulations and did kill - and in the next scene she says that she never managed to kill Root.

Quote

I couldn't come and find you because it wasn't safe.
Why? When they had me, they put me through these tests, these simulations.
Simulation? Over 7,000 of them, and always with the same goal.
To turn me against all of you.
To kill you.
- Well, obviously they failed.
- No.
They didn't, because in all the simulations, that's exactly what I did.

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7,000 simulations.
I killed a lot of people, but the one person that I couldn't kill Was you.
So I killed myself.
Over and over again.

Color me more confused than touched - though I appreciated the call-back to the pilot in the finaly scene.

[wevel]

25 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

Color me more confused than touched - though I appreciated the call-back to the pilot in the finaly scene.

I took Shaw's initial "in all the simulations, that's exactly what I did" to mean that she did indeed end up "turning against" the team, and although she didn't kill Root in any of the simulations, she clearly felt a Samaritan-fed compunction to do so.  That's why Shaw ended up choosing to shoot herself in the head - because she had lost confidence that she could keep herself from killing even Root if the simulation went on.

3 hours ago, Cranberry said:

I liked the Root/Shaw reunion. It wasn't an epic romantic thing, but that wouldn't have made sense for these characters

Yeah, I felt it was very fitting, actually - Root tearfully effusive and Shaw letting her be, before she put her guard up again.  It's interesting that Shaw imagined their union more romantically in the simulations (not to say that that might not still happen, although with only 4 episodes left, I doubt it), but I guess what we saw in the 6741 Shoot scenes until the final one was a Shaw not yet or only barely aware that it *was* a simulation.

9 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Although, come on, Finch.  How could you not see Elias placing a bomb underneath The Voice's car?  He wouldn't be Elias if he didn't do that!

Yep, but Elias pointed out that Finch *must* have known that Elias would in fact do something like that.  And therefore for the first time, Finch is now complicit in an outright murder, when only last week he voiced his discomfort about Max's death.  I'm looking forward to Dark Finch, finally, but it (among many other reasons) makes me wish this season were a few episodes longer to see both that development and the aftermath (assuming the aftermath isn't Finch's death - please, no!).

I agree that in some ways this episode wasn't the strongest, but the final scene of the five of them together against the skyline was beautiful (although I suppose that could have been a director's choice rather than being explicitly scripted).  I really don't want anyone to die, but I guess that's too much to hope for ...

Edited May 31, 2016 by wevel

[juliet73]

I agree about too much going on in this episode - I really wish they would have gotten a full season. I know a lot of this show is unrealistic and I'm fine with that, but Shaw getting from South Africa to Texas in a week with literally just the clothes on her back, was probably the most unbelievable.

I have a feeling Root will be the first one down. I think Fusco will survive. 

[Sakura12]

Finally Fusco gets read in. I would have rather seen him meet the Machine instead of not hearing Reese tell him about it. I did like seeing the whole team back together at the park. Team Machine has all hands on deck now. 

The reaction to Shaw was kind of subdued. I guess they felt they didn't want to repeat the reunion we saw in the simulation. Root threatening to shoot herself with Shaw being the thing that Samaritan never saw coming was a great way for Shaw to know it was real. I do feel for her having to wonder what's real or not real, what happened or didn't happen. As she said that's the best way to break someone. 

I do wonder how Shaw was finding the Samaritan agents by herself. Was she researching people that could be considered threats, watching them and waiting for a Samaritan agent to show up? Was there a list of agents in the car she stole? That made no sense. 

I also don't remember the Voice and I binge watched this show. He wasn't that memorable to me. 

Edited May 31, 2016 by Sakura12

[MDL]

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That ending was the closest we'll get to happy one. I'm dreading tomorrow.

My feelings exactly...but I want a "they walk off together to continue the fight" ending...but I doubt that I'm going to get that...

I'm glad that they read Fusco into the situation, and that he's back fully with the team.

While I thought it was pretty obvious that the "quicker than Root" assassin was going to be Shaw, I did yell "yes" when it actually was her.
Question: did anything occur (on screen) between them between the time they both had their guns to their own heads, and when the whole team met by the river ? (damn phone!!)

 

I loved Elias and Finch together. After they confronted "the Voice", I thought that Elias would shoot him, and was surprised that  they let "the Voice" drive away. But as they watch the car go down the street I thought that Elias was up to something. I'm glad that he was.
I think that Finch's reaction to that explosion was one of horror, but horror mixed with a cold realization and acceptance that "this is how things are now."

Edited May 31, 2016 by MDL

[StarBrand]

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Question: did anything occur (on screen) between them between the time they both had their guns to their own heads, and when the whole team met by the river ? 

Considering Shaw's state of mind right now, I believe, unlike the simulation, Root decided putting the moves on Shaw at this point wouldn't be the best idea. Maybe she just took Shaw somewhere we she could have an honest-to-god peaceful nap for a while.  

I really hope they are together for more than next week's ep. The writers have to be well aware of the "kill the lesbian" trope. I can't help but think they'll subvert expectations by having them both live. Maybe they might be the only ones. Maybe Root becomes the new admin for the Machine, carries on Finch's work, and Shaw goes around kicking asses...

[Bort]

1 hour ago, shura said:

One thing I absolutely loved was the acting by the guy who played Amir. The scene where he realizes he's been made by Fusco, and his face changes from that of the scared taxi driver to that of a hitman who knows he doesn't have to pretend anymore? Wow.

I really loved that too. His face melted from one expression to another and it was seamless.

It had been bugging me who the actor was playing The Voice and it finally dawned on me this morning: he was in a season 1 episode of Fringe (and the alt-universe reboot of the episode in season 4) as the guy who mutates into the giant porcupine man. 

[mtlchick]

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I have a feeling Root will be the first one down.

Like I need Amy Acker to die again before a series ends.

[DarkRaichu]

Hmm, I felt a bit underwhelmed by this episode as I watched ep 7,8, & 9 back to back.  I just did not think it worked in post-Samaritan world

1. How the hell did "the Voice" planned all of the intricate details in setting up bombs and capturing the precinct without Samaritan knowing about it?  Wasn't Samaritan built to prevent bombs from being planted in multiple areas in a metropolitan like New York???  It should have been able to prevent this whole thing while planning world domination.  I called shenanigans!!

2. Also, how did Samaritan miss the shootout in the precinct when it has shootseeker that basically could catch every single word in normal conversations ???

3. How did Shaw get from South Africa to New York in less than a week without any money and without being traced by Samaritan??  When she escaped, the car radio broadcasted the flu virus outbreak in ep8. *

4. Given how far ahead Samaritan from Team Machine in ep8 (ie. S planned mass extinction while TM barely prevented an outbreak), I thought for sure Shaw's escape would be the lynchpin in S' plan to cleanse the world.  I believed Shaw was also 1 of those people who could carry the flu virus but not affected (like Blackwell).  She had spent months in S' medical facility.  The simulations were merely decoy (or icing on the cake) as I believe Samaritan put something else in her (ie. mutated virus or nuclear bomb)
*well unless Samaritan allowed her to escape of course :P

 

Fusco is in, now we can fear for his son's safety :(

Edited May 31, 2016 by DarkRaichu

[Gigi43]

I don't think Finch working with Elias is really too big of a deal, I get we're suppose to look at it as "Finch going dark", but, technically, Carter was the only good person Finch worked with. He claims to hate violence, but, he recruited Reese -and his arsenal-, then gave Shaw his number, because he knew it has to be done. I like Root's talks with Finch about the Machine and this season I find myself agreeing with her more than Finch, but she's the most expendable to me on the team because I've had such a hard time adjusting to how quick, to me, she went from complete psycho to Finch basically saying she was changed/trustworthy, when to me she was just in a state of "I won't kill because I want to be in on the Machine" not because she actually believed it would be some moral wrong to kill.  I don't buy working with Elias is so much worse than working with Root.

 

I'm choosing to believe Bear was running amok in the beginning because he could sense Shaw was headed back to NY. They better have a proper reunion, dammit!

[stealinghome]

Quote

1. How the hell did "the Voice" planned all of the intricate details in setting up bombs and capturing the precinct without Samaritan knowing about it?  Wasn't Samaritan built to prevent bombs from being planted in multiple areas in a metropolitan like New York???  It should have been able to prevent this whole thing while planning world domination.  I called shenanigans!!

Were there actual bombs, though? I got the impression that at least some of the bomb threats were fake, just called in to get people out of the precinct.

The more interesting answer would be that Samaritan knew and let The Voice operate, which begs the question of why....

Quote

2. Also, how did Samaritan miss the shootout in the precinct when it has shootseeker that basically could catch every single word in normal conversations ???

I don't think Samaritan missed it. By the end of the episode there were a bunch of cops in the precinct. iirc Fusco had also called for backup before the big shootout. I assume that other cops had responded quickly but not instantaneously.

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4. Given how far ahead Samaritan from Team Machine in ep8 (ie. S planned mass extinction while TM barely prevented an outbreak), I thought for sure Shaw's escape would be the lynchpin in S' plan to cleanse the world.  I believed Shaw was also 1 of those people who could carry the flu virus but not affected (like Blackwell).  She had spent months in S' medical facility.  The simulations were merely decoy (or icing on the cake) as I believe Samaritan put something else in her (ie. mutated virus or nuclear bomb)

Ha, I'm slightly skeptical of the escape, but for another reason--I know Samaritan is cocky and all, but I would have thought they would have implanted Shaw with some sort of GPS tracker just in case she somehow got out. It just seems like a sensible precaution. Not that Shaw couldn't have found it and cut it out, but you would think it'd at least be a plot point.

I re-watched the episode (including the first 15 minutes), and while I still think it's among this season's weakest offerings, I have to say that I liked how it played the Reese/Fusco relationship. Fusco was playing hard to get/giving John the cold shoulder at the start, but the moment shit started to go down at the precinct, he instantly got over it and worked as a team with Reese. I feel like on another show, we would have had to sit through Fusco nonsensically giving Reese the cold shoulder through half the emergency and/or almost getting killed before he would be open to working with him.

Also, seconding the love for the guy who played Amir. He was excellent.

[elle]

8 hours ago, Bobbin said:

How perfect can Samaritan be that after 7000+ simulations, it still didn't conclude that Shaw was never going to kill Root under any circumstances? Joshua would have reached that conclusion long ago.

I <3 you for that reference! ;0)

30 minutes ago, Gigi43 said:

'm choosing to believe Bear was running amok in the beginning because he could sense Shaw was headed back to NY. They better have a proper reunion, dammit!

This...

6 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

My major complaint about the reunion is that Bear wasn't there! I know this isn't a huggy bunch, but everyone was just like, "Oh, okay, you're back. So...now what?"

and this... I was thinking the same thing, this isn't a "huggy" bunch; though I did expect a better reaction from Lionel.  For emotional reunion, it will be Bear who will provide that.  Remember the scene when Reese came back?  I always wonder when I see that scene if Jim C actually lost his balance rather than it being a planned slip.

1 hour ago, MDL said:

My feelings exactly...but I want a "they walk off together to continue the fight" ending...but I doubt that I'm going to get that...

Oh, me too! (and sadly, me too)

[stardanced]

I thought the Shoot reunion was appropriate for the characters. Of course those two would quickly escalate to a suicide stand-off as soon as they saw each other again. They have each been ready to sacrifice themselves for the other since Shaw ran into gunfire to allow the others to escape in the elevator. Shaw killed herself in 7000 simulations to avoid killing Root. And Root has been using her own life as collateral to play chicken with the Machine to try to find Shaw for a year, starting with her walk on a windy ledge that led to their trip to the asylum. We saw in Root's butter-churning and ballerina identities that she has never stopped asking the Machine to find Shaw for her, and she was more than willing to blow her own cover to push the Machine into action. Samaritan wasn't able to turn Shaw, but it was (maybe inadvertently) successful in conditioning her to blow her own brains out if she ever ran into Team Machine again. The only reason that it didn't work is that Root has been inadvertently conditioning herself to immediately put her own life at risk to save Shaw without wasting much time on any less-drastic options.

The fact that Samaritan never once guessed that Root would do that to save Shaw is a prime example of how Samaritan just doesn't get it. Because Samaritan sees every life as irrelevant and replaceable, no one is worth sacrificing anything for. Samaritan doesn't understand loyalty or sacrifice even after watching Shaw commit suicide 7000 times because it doesn't understand the value of life. Harold taught the Machine the value of life so well that it was willing to sacrifice itself for Harold and Root in the season 4 finale. It recruits killers like Root, Shaw, and John to do its bidding, but each of them demonstrated a deep loyalty and attachment to someone they would risk danger to avenge (Root's friend Hannah, Shaw's partner, Jessica) even before the Machine brought them into the team. And they all, especially Root, have a stronger appreciation of human life since they began working with the Machine.

[Trey]

I wish we could have seen the expressions on Lionel's face as John explained the situation to him - I'm sure we would have seen him mouthing "No Shit!" frequently until finally it would be "Holy Crap!". 

I liked the low key reunion at the end - I thought I saw the start of a smile on Fusco's face when he saw Shaw but I could have just been projecting.

That was such a stupid convoluted way of getting the Voice into the precinct to kill Amir.  And since he already had a crooked cop on site, why didn't he just get the cop to kill Amir?

[Dowel Jones]

So, after a night's shootout which leaves multiple fatalities in the precinct, widespread destruction and the like, the NYPD finally gets things under control and secured.  An officer wipes his brow, says to himself, "I'm glad I work over in 15", walks out the door, and gets killed by a falling cellphone that Reese just threw off the roof.

[Trillium]

Maybe if he would have been more of a prominent villain I would have enjoyed "the voice's" demise a bit more. That should have been wrapped up last season not at the end of the series.

Seriously, if this random character (if you could even call him that) gets a conclusion, they better at least mention Zoe before all is said and done. I know the actress is busy, so if getting her back on wasn't possible, they can refer to her helping, or something. 

But glad the team is back together, if only for a short time. If you want a happy ending, this should be your series finale. 

[benteen]

I'll be honest, I didn't remember who The Voice was either.  He was good in this episode although the villain I always wanted to see return was Julian Sands character from Season 2's "Critical", where he played an ex-MI6 agent who remembered John from his CIA days.  They teased an eventual return for him at the end of the episode but it looks like it's not meant to be.

With the show almost coming to an end, I wish this season had been longer too.  Team Machine is still taking a beating from Samaritan and I wonder how that's going to turn around in a manner that doesn't seem rushed.

Sadly, I doubt we'll see Zoe again but I hope we get a reference too.

Edited May 31, 2016 by benteen

[kwnyc]

Worth it or the reunion by the river. (And i know I wasn't the only one watching wishing that Carter were still with them.) 

Of ALL the supervillains they've battled...the Voice is the one who gets a return engagement with 4 episodes left? And, as pointed out above, why didn't he just hire someone else to take out his assassin? And I'm still trying to figure out exactly WHO the Voice was that he came up with all these nefarious schemes. We were given to understand that he was sort of a super-hired-hitman, but he doesn't have any real reason for the odd villainies he was performing. 

Elias sort of fits in an old-school gangster kind of way (a very, very smart one). Now that Lionel is read in, I wonder if Elias will pressure him for info, since the two of them agreed to share information.

Also, the "off the grid" package that Root gave Lionel earlier this season may still come into play. I wouldn't think that something like that would be a lost plot thread this late in the game. And that Lionel's intelligent enough to hold onto it if he has to grab his kid and get out of town.

Oh, show. I will miss you so!

[stealinghome]

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I'll be honest, I didn't remember who The Voice was either.  He was good in this episode although the villain I always wanted to see return was Julian Sands character from Season 2's "Critical", where he played an ex-MI6 agent who remembered John from his CIA days.  They teased an eventual return for him at the end of the episode but it looks like it's not meant to be.

tbh, I always kind of assumed they had The Voice in S3 because they had wanted Julian Sands back but couldn't get him.

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It's interesting that Shaw imagined their union more romantically in the simulations (not to say that that might not still happen, although with only 4 episodes left, I doubt it), but I guess what we saw in the 6741 Shoot scenes until the final one was a Shaw not yet or only barely aware that it *was* a simulation.

 To be fair to Shaw, she definitely didn't seem like she was expecting to run into Root in this way. ;) In the sim, she orchestrated the reunion. Not so here.

But I do also think that the sim was generally more emotional than Shaw/the other team members usually are, probably because it was in Shaw's head.

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Yep, but Elias pointed out that Finch *must* have known that Elias would in fact do something like that.  And therefore for the first time, Finch is now complicit in an outright murder, when only last week he voiced his discomfort about Max's death.  I'm looking forward to Dark Finch, finally, but it (among many other reasons) makes me wish this season were a few episodes longer to see both that development and the aftermath (assuming the aftermath isn't Finch's death - please, no!).

This. Finch knew exactly what he was doing when he brought Elias along for the ride, even if he didn't want to admit to or acknowledge it. That was the whole point of Elias' line--to highlight that for the audience.

I do wish they had gotten to Dark Finch sooner in the season.

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Also, the "off the grid" package that Root gave Lionel earlier this season may still come into play. I wouldn't think that something like that would be a lost plot thread this late in the game. And that Lionel's intelligent enough to hold onto it if he has to grab his kid and get out of town.

Yes, I'm just waiting for it to be used. That seems to major to NOT factor in somewhere down the line.

[DEM]

13 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

My major complaint about the reunion is that Bear wasn't there! I know this isn't a huggy bunch, but everyone was just like, "Oh, okay, you're back. So...now what?"

I honestly entertained the idea that Jim Caviezel and Kevin Chapman were reacting to a green screen.  There's "not huggy" and then there's dead...pan.  I think the desire to have an Iconic! Group! Shot! worked at cross purpose to having authentic character reactions.

Shaw tracked Samaritan agents the same way Shaw, elite ISA agent, has tracked other people, I suppose. After all, she tracked down Root way back in S2 using only a list of blown aliases.  Perhaps this will be a plot point in upcoming episodes: Shaw wants to go on the offensive and others aren't sure that's wise?

Edited May 31, 2016 by DEM

[Cranberry]

8 hours ago, MissLucas said:

 

So how did Shaw escape and how did she manage to keep track of Samaritan agents? And why did she say to Root first that she did not fail the simulations and did kill - and in the next scene she says that she never managed to kill Root.

That bothered me too, and then I decided that she was trying to scare Root off for her own safety, but when that (of course) failed, she just gave up and told the truth.

[tessaray]

Count me in the group who didn't remember the Voice. Well, vaguely but didn't really care.  I begrudge every second in the show's final hours that doesn't contribute to either Team Machine interaction or AI war planning. 

The actor who played Amir is Raj on Royal Pains. I had no clue from RP that he was that good. 

[Rumsy4]

I had to wikipedia the Voice to remind myself who it was. Odd choice to bring back. I liked the episode, mainly becasue of the Root/Shaw reunion, and Fusco finally finally being clued in. I loved that it was John who made the decision. 

So glad Elias was in on the action. 

I too found it odd that Shaw was able to track the Samaritan agents by herself. Didn't make sense. 

The reunion of Team Machine was rather subdued, but perhaps understandable considering the grim nature of events. I'm so afraid to watch tonight's episode...