S05.E10: The Day the World Went Away

[Bobbin]

It's hard to say how much of Harold's "treasonous" past was real and how much was just manufactured by Samaritan to get the police to hold him until its henchmen could come for him, hence the numerous but otherwise blank digital records. I think Harold's only act of treason was building a back door into the Machine to extract "irrelevant" numbers.

There were many references to memories and existing in memories and memories as legacies. Harold's father had Alzheimer's and died with few or no memories.

So that was the Machine in the season's opening monologue, not Root. Didn't she say she was the only survivor? I wonder what name she'll choose. Root was always a computer genious, so becoming a human interface for the Machine and ultimately its voice, both physically and spiritually, seems like a proper destiny.

A good question for Trivia Night in some bar would be, how many rounds were fired off in this ep?

[stealinghome]

Quote

It's hard to say how much of Harold's "treasonous" past was real and how much was just manufactured by Samaritan to get the police to hold him until its henchmen could come for him, hence the numerous but otherwise blank digital records. I think Harold's only act of treason was building a back door into the Machine to extract "irrelevant" numbers.

No, Harold actually WAS accused of treason way back when. It was laid out in Lethe/Aletheia way back in S3. He did something--hacked ARPANET, I think it was?--and the government figured it out, which is why he originally went on the run as a young man, adopting all the bird names.

[juliet73]

I knew Root would be the first one down! Yes, technically the 2nd, but Elias wasn't really part of the team. RIP Root...you were such a good villian, but turned into an even better hero!

This episode was beyond awesome!  Who knew a network TV show could be so action packed and violent?!  I am so going to miss this show!!

Fusco will survive. They can't take him out. They already did the "dead detective single parent" with Carter so I think he's safe. He might need to change his identity, but he'll live.

If Shaw survives, she'll end up on the Samaritan side because she has no other choice. 

I'm torn on John or Finch. Only one of them will make it. Will they somehow be in a stand off against each other? Or will Finch die and John ends up homeless on the subway again beating up punks because he has no purpose? Or will John die and Finch lives out the rest of his life in prison while all these deaths eat away at him? Knowing how terrible Finch feels when one person dies, I can't imagine the guilt he's going to have when he can no longer try to save everyone. Or will they both die together? Thelma and Louise style?

Why has ME never been Emmy nominated for this show? He should just for the that awesome monologue. "I wasn't talking to you." Brillant delivery! The entire scene!

Edited June 1, 2016 by juliet73

[bros402]

1 hour ago, yellowfred said:

Basically, he made the internet.  Like, he hacked into what was basically a closed, government-run network and made it open so that everyone could use it.  I think the mention of his father, particularly in that context, really emphasized exactly how long he's been hiding and how much of it was pretty fundamentally unfair.  

So, I've honestly been trying to resign myself to the fact that Root was probably going to die before the series ended, this whole episode I was trying to mentally prepare myself for it, but I'll be damned if that wasn't just completely gutting.  I'm glad that she got to go out protecting Finch and I kind of love the idea that the Machine picked her voice (which is kind of fitting, since Root was always the one She picked to speak for Her).  I also appreciated how understated it was, with each team member realizing/finding out and just kind of freezing for a second.  That being said, I don't know how much they'll really be able to deal with the aftermath of it, since they only have three episodes left, but I hope we see at least a little bit of the team tearing shit up out of grief.  

On a related side note, I've gone from hoping that Blackwell wises up and turns on Samaritan to hoping that he dies slowly and painfully.

 

He didn't make the internet - he hacked APARNET - http://personofinterest.wikia.com/wiki/Harold_Finch

[thuganomics85]

Well, damn!  This truly is the final season, to say the least.  Both Elias and Root gone in one fell swoop.  Ah, I still remember the days when they are actually considered the enemies of the team.  My, have times changed.  Thanks, Samaritan.

Enrico Colantoni was perfection as Elias, but I feel like this really is the only fitting end for Elias.  I just wouldn't have ever bought him getting an happy ending, so I am find with him going out while trying to save Finch, because despite being a ruthless gangster, he truly did seem to have respect and even affection for Finch, and I could buy him putting his own life on the line to protect him.  I did feel like they went overboard with him getting mentioned alongside Nathan and Carter, because those two were decent people for the most part while he wasn't, but besides that, I thought it was a good final episode for him.

Now, Root though, is a bit more shocking, although I began to have my suspicions when we got all of those (final) moments between her and Shaw. And then once she gave Finch another pep talk, and said something along the lines about how he had to carry on, I had a feeling this was meaning she wouldn't be around for long.  Maybe this will be another fake-out, but I think it's permanent.  Like Elias, I never really saw a happy ending for her either.  If anything, The Machine using her voice is probably what she would consider a happy ending.  I'm a bit surprised that they didn't have Shaw be the one to find her at the morgue, but Fusco actually was a good choice, because I also enjoyed their little relationship ("Coco Puffs!"), and seeing how much it hurt poor Fusco.

Hey, Geoff Pierson!  Always great to see him! 

So, now we're going to just Tuesdays now?  Figured that they decided to do this right when shit is getting crazier.  I want all of them, now!

[yellowfred]

15 minutes ago, bros402 said:

 

He didn't make the internet - he hacked APARNET - http://personofinterest.wikia.com/wiki/Harold_Finch

In season 2, the episode where they first introduced Caleb Phipps, they explain that the reason the internet exists as it is now was because of an unknown hacker who hacked ARPANET, thereby forcing the government to make it open to the public.  Finch implies that it was him, though we don't actually get confirmation of that until season 3.

[llongori]

It's taken me several hours to figure out how this episode made me feel.  Gutted.  I don't do scary or intense movies because I can't stand the tension.  Watching this show was tolerable because I always knew the POI team would survive at the end of the episode and there was always a hint of humor (Harold to Shaw after she walked up behind him, 'Would it be too much to ask you to snap a twig?").  Carter was a kick in the chest.  Seeing Elias go down after becoming an asset to the team and then Root knocked the breath out of me.  Although I won't abandon the show, watching the remaining episodes is going to be tough.

Edited June 1, 2016 by llongori

[Kendall]

4 hours ago, TigerLynx said:

Damn Elias is dead for real.

I was hoping Root would die because I was tired of her constant lectures to Finch and Shaw.  Then she comes back as The Machine's voice.  Double Damn.

Thank you for not allowing me to be the only one.

In the middle of a shootout is where Root turns into Chatty Cathy? Okay.

I hated this episode. It was the culmination of what I disliked the most about the show's switch to a Sci-Fi show after Carter's death: it just wasn't believable in the context of how they originally set up the show. Of all the places in the world, you're going to have all of these fantastic shootouts in New York, and everyone is like, "wow. That was weird." and just gets back to normal?

Absolutely no police showed up for the Root and Shaw shootout and then the police response when they finally stopped Harold and Root was so underwhelming that they shouldn't have even had them caught on the streets. This is the same police department that used to be on the edge of their cruisers for "the man in the suit," but a shootout in the middle of the city generates a big "meh!"

[ppl]

My mind was racing during the episode. Loved everything. My face was pretty much :O the whole time I was watching. I'll miss Root and Elias but I am so anxious thinking about how Harold and the Team will bring down Samaritan in these last 3 episodes.

[ppl]

5 minutes ago, Kendall said:

Thank you for not allowing me to be the only one.

In the middle of a shootout is where Root turns into Chatty Cathy? Okay.

I hated this episode. It was the culmination of what I disliked the most about the show's switch to a Sci-Fi show after Carter's death: it just wasn't believable in the context of how they originally set up the show. Of all the places in the world, you're going to have all of these fantastic shootouts in New York, and everyone is like, "wow. That was weird." and just gets back to normal?

Absolutely no police showed up for the Root and Shaw shootout and then the police response when they finally stopped Harold and Root was so underwhelming that they shouldn't have even had them caught on the streets. This is the same police department that used to be on the edge of their cruisers for "the man in the suit," but a shootout in the middle of the city generates a big "meh!"

I've embraced the silliness and ridiculousness of these shootouts. Even Shaw was asking Root you chose to have this conversation right here and now? This show was never about being realistic in the superfluous details. It was an AI sci-fi show dressed up as a superhero show dressed up again as a crime procedural.

PoI has always been sci-fi. It has been from the very first episode. They did not set up the show as a crime procedural and then changed gears. This has been plotted from the very beginning.

[Kendall]

2 minutes ago, ppl said:

It was an AI sci-fi show dressed up as a superhero show dressed up again as a crime procedural.

PoI has always been sci-fi. It has been from the very first episode. They did not set up the show as a crime procedural and then changed gears. This has been plotted from the very beginning.

No, I disagree. And, my disagreement could be due to my belief that Sci-Fi is something that you need to give into the story's pushing of realistic boundaries, but even with The Machine being how they got the numbers, that isn't something farfetched.

There are cameras on every corner in practically every town and they've become so seamlessly integrated into society, that it actually makes sense that there is a greater purpose for them beyond one of the original reasons of being speed traps and red light detectors.

A vigilante running the streets isn't farfetched either, John was just a more capable, better dressed Guardian Angel. He was actually more reminiscent of when the Nation of Islam used to police various neighborhoods.

I know showrunners always say "this how we always planned it!" But, Carter dying and Shaw arriving weren't originally planned. The creation of Shaw was a request of one of their wives and Carter became superfluous as a result.

But, it is neither here nor there, this is what it became, I made it this far and overall, I'm happy that most of this stuff was "planned" for the later parts of the later seasons.

[Rumsy4]

I am so heartbroken over Root’s death. Root had one of the best redemption stories in all of television. Going into Season 5, I knew the survival rate for Team Machine was going to be 50-50 for each member of Team Machine. But for some reason, I hoped Root would make it after the S5 opening monologue. The writers totally psyched us with Root’s voice there. I do think that it is fitting that the Machine chose Root’s voice for herself. Root has been her Analog Interface for so long. 

I never got very much into PoI ships. I mourned Carter/Reese, but that was never meant to be. I still miss Carter herself more than any potential romance between her and Reese. I really didn’t expect the Root/Shaw romance to protect either of them from being killed. The stakes were set out, and they were too high. However, I do empathize with all those grieving the loss of the relationship. And poor Shaw. She refused to let Root die in 7000 simulations, only to lose Root immediately after reuniting with her in the real world. 

I felt bad about Elias, but he just wasn't in the same league as Root for me.

And now for Finch unleashed...

Edited June 1, 2016 by Rumsy4

[Agent Dark]

I don't really know how I want to feel.  I think the last time I got this upset about a character death was actually when Shaw 'died' - Person of Interest is amazing in how its able to craft characters that I've really and deeply got attached to.  Except at least back with "If-Then-Else" I was able to go online immediately after and read an interview with Nolan and Plageman where they basically straight up said "yeah, Shaw will be back".  Except Root is gone* and I'm devastated.  Like intellectually I know it was probably coming (and I'm now certain Reese and/or Finch won't be alive at the series end, so I've got that to 'look forward' to...) but man it sucks.  However I don't think it means that the show is deserving of hatred in how it has also killed another lesbian character, like I'm seeing around various places.  Unlike some certain other shows this one is actually very intelligently written and that makes all the difference to me.  Intent matters, but so does execution and I think Person of Interest has always excelled at both.

 

Root achieves Apotheosis and I honestly can't think of a more fitting end for her character.  As much as I love Shoot, I think this is the true arc for Root.  Ever since she first stumbled onto the existence of The Machine, and finally finds her place in the universe, has her character been heading towards this point.  Root believed deeply in Her, and now she's one with Her God.  "A good ending would be a privilege" is what Root said to Finch once, and I definitely think Root would consider it a good end.

[Jipijapa]

I'm so thrilled the writers took Root where she ended up, that I don't even mind all the "Another Dead Lesbian Trope" whining.  Being lesbian was only one aspect of Root's tremendous character; she was also Machine-philic, which I guess is a concept that not many people want to wrap their heads around despite the fact that this is sci-fi.  Root isn't dead; she's alive in the Machine, with the implication that this is the fate of all of us.  I for one am relieved and overjoyed that Root didn't wind up another garden variety domestic lesbian, which is where the writers seemed to be going by catering to Tumblr fantasies by having her dressing up in cute silly costumes.  

It's a funny thing how many feminists, who long for "strong women" characters, and more lesbians on TV, and more women on TV in general, all want the same things for their characters as, say, religious conservatives want for women: in the end, they want all female characters to capitulate to some sort of domestic/biological destiny.  Saw the same phenomenon with Olivia Dunham on Fringe: the fangirls loved the "strong woman" character but were OUTRAGED that she wasn't shown enjoying domestic bliss at the end of the show.  Because, you know, the natural and right endpoint for all women is to be in love (with another person, man or woman), domesticated, preferably with a wee little one (natural birth or adopted).  Because ALL WOMEN REALLY WANT IS TO BE IN LOVE and a MOM!!!  And any female character who is deprived of that is being poorly served, especially the lesbian characters!  meh.

Root, from the start, was in love with the Machine and with Possibility.  It was so damn refreshing to see a female character -- called crazy by everyone, and maybe she was -- care for neither man nor woman, but for things beyond.  I liked her relationship with Shaw because it was a human adventure (a needed one) on her way to apotheosis.  But I have no patience for the usual shipper crap that plagued the fandom over the 4th season and this season, where Root was seen as some sort of on-screen therapy figure for All Lesbians Everywhere.  (I would also like to remind everyone that Root formerly committed vicious tortures and murders; if her death was an expiation, surely it was for that, not for her being lesbian...)

Damn!  I feel energized, like Root is alive in me, as a viewer, a woman and a science fiction fan.  What a gift.

Edited June 1, 2016 by Jipijapa

[Trillium]

 I'm not even sure Root was a lesbian, I don't see her, or Shaw, being one define themselves or others. She and Shaw just clicked, the fact that they were both women was irrelevant IMO. The character shouldn't be defined by her most superfluous characteristics. Root was and still is all about The Machine, has been since the S1 finale. Her  death so the Machine could use her voice and fight back, that's all she ever wanted. The Shaw stuff was a nice bonus. 

I can't quite process everything but it was fantastic!

Edited June 1, 2016 by Trillium

[ABay]

When I saw Finch in the yellow box, I realized I'd been waiting 5 years for that image.

And now I'm eager to watch Harold embrace his inner Ben Linus.

[benteen]

Quote

Absolutely no police showed up for the Root and Shaw shootout and then the police response when they finally stopped Harold and Root was so underwhelming that they shouldn't have even had them caught on the streets. This is the same police department that used to be on the edge of their cruisers for "the man in the suit," but a shootout in the middle of the city generates a big "meh!"

With the exception of Carter and Fusco (a previously corrupt cops), the police have been portrayed on this show as inept or corrupt.

[elle]

5 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Enrico Colantoni was perfection as Elias, but I feel like this really is the only fitting end for Elias.  I just wouldn't have ever bought him getting an happy ending, so I am find with him going out while trying to save Finch, because despite being a ruthless gangster, he truly did seem to have respect and even affection for Finch, and I could buy him putting his own life on the line to protect him.

So many thought about the show and my computer is having kiniptions!  Thank you for summarizing my thoughts on both Enrico and Elias!

 When Finch was speaking of how all the people he loved were dead, did I miss a mention of Grace's fate?  I had felt that she was the one thing that was keeping him from going completely dark.  Once she was gone all bets were off.

[fastiller]

26 minutes ago, ABay said:

When I saw Finch in the yellow box, I realized I'd been waiting 5 years for that image.

 

I think you mean Fusco?

[ShannaB]

10 hours ago, kaygeeret said:

The actor playing Shaw has been in my 2 favorite less well know series....POI and Life....if you haven't seen Life I urge you to check it out....but I digress.

 

Woohoo!!  Someone else who watched LIFE!  Loved that series which wasn't easy since NBC kept moving it around without good hints to find an episode.  It had best Series Finale.  Sarah Shahi and Damien Lewis were amazing and I must say Garret Dillahunt was terrifying.

Harold is breaking bad.FINALLY!!  And in a 'right' way.  I cried.  Real tears.

[kwnyc]

Quote

She refused to let Root die in 7000 simulations, only to lose Root immediately after reuniting with her in the real world. 

While it may be small comfort for Shaw, Root didn't die at Shaw's hands (which was Shaw's greatest fear) and Harold's number did not come up because of Shaw's escape (does Shaw know that?)

Root's thesis that we are all living in Harold's world now (because he created its Goddess) means that Finch will somehow survive literally, or as a permanent presence in the world because of the Machine.

[ABay]

fastiller, no I meant Finch, the image at the beginning when Greer says "victim or perpetrator."

[janeta]

--and there's never anything wrong with Nine Inch Nails over the closer. :-)

I had kind of been hoping that Reese and Finch go off their separate ways at the end, leaving Root in the Finch role with the Machine, and Fusco as the cop (of course) and Shaw as the muscle.  Oh well, I still think there will be some iteration of that left.  And Elias wasn't too much of a surprise--he's been a gangster all his life; they don't have a very good life expectancy.  He would have been taken out at some point anyway. As others have said, good he went while protecting Finch.

[fastiller]

10 hours ago, kaygeeret said:

 

The actor playing Shaw has been in my 2 favorite less well know series....POI and Life....if you haven't seen Life I urge you to check it out....but I digress.

 

&

18 minutes ago, ShannaB said:

Woohoo!!  Someone else who watched LIFE!  Loved that series which wasn't easy since NBC kept moving it around without good hints to find an episode.  It had best Series Finale.  Sarah Shahi and Damien Lewis were amazing and I must say Garret Dillahunt was terrifying.

 

Life was a great series.  And Shahi went from playing Dani Reese to working with John Reese.  The Shahi/Lewis dynamic was indeed amazing.  And let's not forget Christina Hendricks (I didn't watch Mad Men, so this is where I 'met' her).

15 minutes ago, ABay said:

fastiller, no I meant Finch, the image at the beginning when Greer says "victim or perpetrator."

Understood.  I thought you meant Fusco once he'd been read in.

[Enigma X]

I know I am in the minority but of all the characters, Root and Elias were my least liked. So if people had to die, I am glad it was them.

I loved Harold Finch morphing into Ben Linus.

Season's ago, I let the unbelievability of core parts of this show go and started enjoying it for the core character interactions, so I am very satisfied with the way that these people go to bat for each other. This episode showcased how they all did that for Finch.

[stealinghome]

1 hour ago, kwnyc said:

While it may be small comfort for Shaw, Root didn't die at Shaw's hands (which was Shaw's greatest fear) and Harold's number did not come up because of Shaw's escape (does Shaw know that?)

Yes--Root told Shaw in the safehouse in between rounds of thugs that it was Finch's mistake that got him caught, not Shaw. Cold comfort, but....

[TigerLynx]

Harold didn't build the backdoor into The Machine, Nathan did.  This time around Root was the one who built a backdoor/phrase for Harold.  I'm not sure why Root and Elias dying would motivate Harold.  I could believe Nathan dying and Grace being in danger causing Harold to make the changes he did and hire Reese to help him with the numbers, but why decide to kill Samaritan now.  Finch should have had this epiphany last season.

[basiltherat]

Yes, indeed, I was waiting the entire episode for Finch to WAKE THE HELL UP!  He allowed himself to be led around by both Machine and Samaritan forces as if he were a rag doll.  He sat where he was put and never made a move to FIGHT BACK!  He's the one who hired Reese, etc. and allowed his old friend to lead Pruneface to Samaritan in the bank vault, to let the Voice leave (Elias solved that problem).  He lets everybody do whatever they want to he and his loved ones, and NEVER SAID A PEEP OR A POP.  It was about damn time for him to explode, or more likely for him, to implode and finally, as he must, go all Rambo on their asses!

[alias1]

2 hours ago, stealinghome said:

Yes--Root told Shaw in the safehouse in between rounds of thugs that it was Finch's mistake that got him caught, not Shaw. Cold comfort, but....

This was the one thing that made no sense to me.  Finch forgot where he took Grace on their first date?  That setup seemed unbelievable to me. 

Otherwise, great episode.  I got goosebumps when Finch said to the federal agent, "I wasn't talking to you."

It was no surprise that Root would end up as the voice of the machine (her version of the afterlife).

[StarBrand]

It took me a while before I could write anything coherent about this. I'm shocked (although not entirely surprised) that Root died. She was always going to die for Harold and/or the Machine, and she did. There was no way everyone-or possibly anyone-was going to get a happy ending here, and unfortunately not for her and Shaw either-although they did have some moments before things went to shit. Root's admission to Shaw that for the first time in a long time, she felt like she belonged, was a part of something, was a big moment. After all this time, she'd found some sort of peace. The surprising thing about Root's death was how they revealed it-Finch thought he was talking to her, but was talking to the Machine, taking the voice of Root, followed by the shot in the morgue. Some people thought there was trickerly afoot, that this was a fake-out, but it seemed very final to me.

And boom goes the dynamite.  Finch has finally had enough. His monolouge about breaking his own rules was chilling. ME is awesome. Finch unhinged is not going to be pretty.  Samaritan has fucked with him and his family one too many times.

Shaw's reaction to Root's death was a little muted, but I chalk that up to her going into warrior mode-pushing it aside for now, to do what needs to be done. You can bet she will unleash scorched earth when the time comes.

An extrodinary hour of tv I won't forget very soon.

Edited June 1, 2016 by StarBrand

[Dagny]

For half a minute when Root was discussing with Shaw that they were all shapes and the Machine has also run simulations on them, I thought that this episode was going to be another simulation. Flashing back to to Brazil and Matrix.

I agree with Sierra Mist.  Has Howard eaten at so many restaurants that he forgot that he went there with Grace?

I don't remember, but I thought the when Root installed the seven servers, it erased them all and provided cover. How did Samaritan pick up on Grace and Harold being important?

[DarkRaichu]

That was a fitting way for Elias to die, so random and unexpected.  Since when do Samaritan's operatives aim for the head?

Lol when Root got screentime with every other character and pretty much said her goodbye, I kind of expecting it would happen

 

I wonder if the rise of Dark Harold is precisely what Samaritan needs from Harold to complete its world domination plan.  The only way for humans to willingly submit to Samaritan's absolute control is for a formidable opponent (Machine/Harold) to rise up and challenge the current status quo.

[CoderLady]

24 minutes ago, SierraMist said:

It was no surprise that Root would end up as the voice of the machine (her version of the afterlife).

This got me thinking about Caprica, where an AI was able to construct reasonably accurate virtual simulations of existing people based on the data it was constantly collecting on everyone. The media interviews with Amy Acker point to no more physical appearances from her, but I could almost see The Machine being able to project a holographic image with a close if not perfect approximation of Root's personality as its digital interface. Not enough time to do that, I guess, but if there had been a longer season it could have been done.

[Gigi43]

Shaw said she's been back a week, yet did she mean she was in NY for a week or the week it took her to get back? Because the way Finch said "good to have you home" seemed off if she'd been around a week. She was also in the same clothes, it looked like, at the end of the last episode. Would they all really leave her alone after being held by Samaritan? I mean she would resist, sure, but, I can't see them all being too distant at the very least being worried about her mental state. Root was with Finch in the beginning and Reese and Fusco were together, Shaw obviously wasn't at the apartment, where was she? 

 

It was Samaritan who picked up on Finch, right? Because Root going on about the Machine knowing them better than they know themselves seems like the real entity that would connect the restaurant being a Finch/Grace place, so I'm a bit confused.

 

More and more the episodes like the Wedding, the entirely simulated one, and even the one about Reese's past and the CIA guy now knowing about him, have me hoping they somehow come back to play a major role somehow because otherwise, why do them when with so little time certain things are becoming kind of scattered or lost because of the time crunch. Granted scattered PoI is still great, but it's bothering me more and more now that things are kind of getting scattered. I don't really get how Elias was able to walk around with Finch last episode without tipping off Samaritan. This episode, fine, they were too focused on Finch to notice or care? Is being declared dead by Samaritan's hit men real or not the key to getting off Samaritan's radar? Or is that really why they shot for his head this time?

Edited June 1, 2016 by Gigi43

[elle]

1 hour ago, SierraMist said:

This was the one thing that made no sense to me.  Finch forgot where he took Grace on their first date?  That setup seemed unbelievable to me. 

Otherwise, great episode.  I got goosebumps when Finch said to the federal agent, "I wasn't talking to you."

I don't think he forgot, or did he say that he did?  I thought he was saying that it was 10 years ago and he thought it was safe to go there.

i wonder how many of us said that line with Finch. ;0)

btw, who was the silver haired actor playing the federal agent, the voice was very familiar, but I could not come up with a name.

[Kendall]

Harold didn't forget that he took Grace there, the reason why he went was to celebrate their anniversary. He forgot that when he took her, it was before he went into hiding as a result of the ferry boat bombing. Samaritan had the ability to connect him to his identity prior to his new one as Professor Whistler. He forgot about that possibility.

[kwnyc]

Quote

Yes, indeed, I was waiting the entire episode for Finch to WAKE THE HELL UP!  He allowed himself to be led around by both Machine and Samaritan forces as if he were a rag doll.  He sat where he was put and never made a move to FIGHT BACK! 

This has been his character arc for the entire show: he didn't want to have a backdoor into the machine (Nathan did); he does penance by helping irrelevants. He doesn't want to kill the Senator...Samaritan gets access to the US government. He doesn't want the Machine to be open or fight back...and Root is killed, BUT she becomes one with the Machine (after doing some "additional coding" before Harold closed the system again).

So Harold has finally stopped inching forward and taken a stand. It took that kind of the world going away (literally) for him to change. But given the character we've been shown all along, and his journey and Michael Emerson's fantastic acting: the long-delayed arrival of Dark Finch was well earned and inevitable.

My completely unspoilered prediction for the final episode: The Machine/Root's voice is talking to Shaw in the flash-forward we saw at the beginning of the season. Shaw will be the last one standing. (With Lionel having disappeared with his son off the grid.)

[DarkRaichu]

11 hours ago, Kendall said:

 

Absolutely no police showed up for the Root and Shaw shootout and then the police response when they finally stopped Harold and Root was so underwhelming that they shouldn't have even had them caught on the streets. This is the same police department that used to be on the edge of their cruisers for "the man in the suit," but a shootout in the middle of the city generates a big "meh!"

Why should they when Shootseeker classified the shootout as firecrackers?  Plus that analyst with good ears was on vacation that day :P
Oh and all the 911 calls reporting speeding dark SUV with machine gun blazing from its top were directed to fake 911 call center to be ignored

Seriously, I believe Samaritan had almost complete control over the city.

[basiltherat]

I always thought New Yorkers were more savvy than that!  When did they become sheep who stood in line to get "vaccinated"?  (I'm from Chicago, and we have shootouts on the damn expressways!)

[Netfoot]

The cops not showing up is easily believable -- if Samaritan wanted them to stay away.

Not so easily believable is that the car took several bursts from a mini-gun and not only still looked like a car, it was actually capable of driving!

[DarkRaichu]

10 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

The cops not showing up is easily believable -- if Samaritan wanted them to stay away.

Not so easily believable is that the car took several bursts from a mini-gun and not only still looked like a car, it was actually capable of driving!

1000 likes for you.  One Samaritan operative had a machine gun in the alley, he was shooting directly at where the white sedan was parked.  This was not counting the machine gun on dark SUV :D

Samaritan really needed to upgrade to that brand of car considering its SUV actually blew up after just a few shots from Root

[DeepRunner]

The scene with Fusco, Reese, and Shaw, after that human travesty Blackwell shot Root...Fusco had to know Root was already dead when he told them he would go to the hospital. He wanted to spare Shaw the grief.

My hope is Finch goes all Will Munny on Samaritan, releasing his inner Michael Corleone for sheer vengeance. But I want Shaw to give Blackwell what's coming to him.

[alias1]

59 minutes ago, Kendall said:

Harold didn't forget that he took Grace there, the reason why he went was to celebrate their anniversary. He forgot that when he took her, it was before he went into hiding as a result of the ferry boat bombing. Samaritan had the ability to connect him to his identity prior to his new one as Professor Whistler. He forgot about that possibility.

Oh, so he was lying to the waitress when he said he'd never been there.  But is it likely she would remember his order from the last time?  Something still seems off to me about the setup.  Or was the waitress supposed to be Samaritan?

[Ellee]

When Finch was being escorted to the holding cell ... did anyone else find it odd how robotic the person escorting him was?  How he turned when called back.  Didn't even look at Finch.    This was right before The Machine/Root called on the phone.    

Just curious.

 

ETA: Is it my imagination that he is almost wearing the same suit as Finch, is the same height.

Edited June 1, 2016 by Ellee

[janeta]

Well, I *did* think it was weird that he just left a prisoner standing there by himself in the corridor; if it had been Reese instead of Finch, he would have taken them all down and disappeared in that time.

[whatsatool]

7 hours ago, elle said:

So many thought about the show and my computer is having kiniptions!  Thank you for summarizing my thoughts on both Enrico and Elias!

 When Finch was speaking of how all the people he loved were dead, did I miss a mention of Grace's fate?  I had felt that she was the one thing that was keeping him from going completely dark.  Once she was gone all bets were off.

Did she die?

[AimingforYoko]

Just now, whatsatool said:

Did she die?

She's in Italy under a cover ID. The Machine showed Harold surveillance of her in the season's opening episode.

[Bobbin]

It's logical that Samaritan was responsible for the lack of police presence during the shootout, but it's also a staple of crime and action shows that prolonged gang shootouts, running gun battles and citywide car chases somehow never draw a police response.

Elias did avenge his father's murder, in kind, so he did have closure. I'm sure the bullet through his brain, in daylight, was just to make certain this time that he was "not only merely dead, but really most sincerely dead!"

Agreed, Harold's icy comment, "I wasn't talking to you," has to be the most predictable, understated, charged bit of dialog ever!

How could Harold be sure that his monologue at the café was being taken in by the Machine only and not also by Samaritan? Likewise, when he was warning Samaritan in the interview room that the gloves were finally coming off, wasn't the Machine also listening to him and that's why she called him to offer her help?

Maybe somehow Samaritan will be defeated in the end without starting WW3. Or resulting in anarchy. But sometimes the bad guys win. And popular series with loose ends sometimes eventually have sequels. One can hope.

[StarBrand]

Well, if the writers say they left the series' finale open enough to continue the story, then somebody has to be left standing. My bet is on Shaw.

[Dagny]

23 minutes ago, StarBrand said:

 

Well, if the writers say they left the series' finale open enough to continue the story, then somebody has to be left standing. My bet is on Shaw

 

And Bear. Can't forget about Bear. He knows all, sees all.