Summary: The next POI is a boy named Darren whose brother was murdered by thugs. Darren is seeking revenge and Reese befriends him in an attempt to help him and keep him safe. Reese helps get the thugs arrested and gains Darren's respect. Finch continues to meet with Will who gets closer to uncovering the truth about the Machine. Will meets with one of Ingram's partners Alicia who lies about the nature of the Machine. Finch monitors this conversation. Fusco continues to report to Reese. The Machine determines that Reese is a threat.
The Good: I thought Reese was really enjoyable as a character in this episode. Jim Caviezel has been very limited in his acting thus far and that took away from Reese's character in the early episodes. But now the writing seems to have found a way to work around Reese's dry lines and have finally given him an appropriately fun and charming personality which contrasts with Jim Caviezel's performance nicely. Instead of Reese being a boring badass with a Batman voice, he has become a cool and funny guy that carries a certain light-hearted way about him as he does his job. This new Reese is much more exciting to follow than what we had gotten before. I liked Finch's scenes in this episode. I liked that Finch was forced to make a new system as it helps put over how threatening Root was in the last episode. The exploration of Finch's paranoia was very good and I liked how he started following Will to ensure that he doesn't uncover anything. The scene with Alicia raises some interesting questions and I'm excited to see if we get more answers by the season's conclusion (see: The Unknown). The final moments with the Machine declaring Reese as a threat were terrific. I have so many questions about this and I'm really intrigued to see how things play out. The Bad: The POI story was weak. Darren wasn't an interesting character, and without any involvement with Elias, Root or Snow who we are invested in, the story was impossible to care about. I tried to get into it but there just wasn't enough presented to make me care about what happens to Darren. This storyline feels like it belongs in the first 5 episodes of the show. This episode did more to make me like and understand Reese than any other episode. It feels like something we should have seen much earlier than we did. There were a few moments that annoyed me a lot. First was the way that Carter arrested Brick. The scene felt sloppy and I was confused to see that Reese and Carter communicated as friends in front of Brick. What if Brick mentioned this to the police? They are already suspicious of Carter. Furthermore, why wouldn't Brick call for a lawyer immediately if he has already been apprehended? He has been through this before apparently, so surely he should know to get a lawyer immediately. Also, it's hard to imagine Carter being allowed to arrest somebody with such a small amount of evidence. This show loves the cliché of having the POI run away because they don't trust Reese. It's especially sloppy here because Darren has no reason not to trust Reese at this point. He just runs away because the story demands it. The Unknown: Who is Alicia? How does she know Finch? She appeared to be unsettled by the idea that Finch was around somewhere. Why? Is she afraid of him? Is there a side to Finch that we haven't seen yet? What does the Machine mean when it is monitoring Reese? Is it stating that Reese is a threat to the Machine itself, or could it possibly mean he is a threat to Finch? Does Finch have access to this information? Ingram was named as a threat in an earlier episode. I thought it meant Nathan, but it seems more likely that it was his son Will. And Finch immediately sought him out after this, so could he have been aware of that? Does this mean that Finch will view Reese as a threat after this? That could be really interesting. Best Moment: The scene with Will and Alicia was the best moment. The dialogue was really well written and I was worried for a second that Will may actually uncover something big. Character of the Episode: Reese. Conclusion: This episode was a bit of a mixed bag. The POI story was a failure, but the continuation of the overall plot in the background of this episode was strong. Score: 54
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Summary: Rick continues getting phone calls and eventually discovers that they are a hallucination. Glenn and Maggie go out on a supply run. Andrea starts a romantic relationship with the Governor. Merle goes hunting with a group of men to find Michonne. The other men die and Merle determines Michonne is as good as dead. Merle runs into Glenn and Maggie and captures them. He reports to the Governor and tells him Michonne is dead. Daryl finds Carol alive.
The Good: The phone call storyline was excellent. I am extremely pleased that the show is portraying Rick's grief in such detail, giving him two entire episodes to mourn the death of his wife. Andrew Lincoln was phenomenal in this episode and did well to show Rick's declined mental state after he has lost his purpose. The hopelessness that hits him is sad to watch but it's very impactful. Seeing Rick grieving the fact that he couldn't put the group back together is heartbreaking and furthers his story arc as group leader in a new way. There were a few strong character scenes throughout the episode to compliment the Rick scenes as well. Rick and Hershel had a lovely scene as Hershel gets to thank Rick for saving his life. I also like that Hershel clearly notices that Rick is losing it, but has the patience to let Rick grieve and rediscover himself instead of just calling him crazy. Daryl and Carl had a good scene. I liked Daryl's monologue about losing his mother and Carl's emotionless reaction to it was pretty sad. Carl has lost himself after Lori's death, but in a totally different way than Rick. Merle had some nice moments in this episode to let us know that he is still a crazy, murderous bastard despite the Governor helping him find his place in the community. Merle's hunt for Michonne was pretty good aside from one odd moment (see: The Bad). I especially liked the confrontation between Merle and Glenn/Maggie. There was a lot of tension because it was impossible to know what Merle was planning to do with Glenn and Maggie. It was possible that he would simply go with them to see Daryl, but he also could have easily attempted to capture or kill them. Add in Michonne hiding behind the car, and the scene was wildly unpredictable with tons of tension. I thought the pay-off was good too as I could easily buy into Merle outclassing Glenn and Maggie the way he did. The Bad: The discovery of Carol wasn't satisfying at all. The story of her disappearance was pointless in the end and it accomplished nothing. I was annoyed that the writers only allowed Daryl to show some emotion over losing Carol mere moments before he found her. Gargulio's character was highly implausible. The idea that this frightened guy would become a hardened and excited killer was simply ridiculous. The whole transformation was rushed and unconvincing. The Unknown: What is the Governor going to do with Glenn and Maggie? Does he plan to learn where their group is? It's interesting that the Governor wanted Michonne's head and sword to be returned. Was the head for his head collection? It seems that he has more of an attachment to these heads than he lets on. Why is that? How did Michonne find the prison? What does she plan to do when Rick lets her in? Does she want to help Andrea? Glenn and Maggie? Or is she just hoping for a community that is better than Woodbury? Best Moment: Rick's realization that he was hallucinating was sad. His teary admission that he failed to fix the group and keep them together was sad and extremely well performed. Character of the Episode: Rick. Conclusion: This was a good episode that I enjoyed. While there wasn't anything that made this great, it was a solid hour of television. Score: 65 Summary: Finch notifies Reese that the next POI is an ordinary plan named Powell. They suspect that he is planning to kill a congressman but eventually realize he was set up by a professional hacker. They try to hack the hacker to get more information but the hacker is better than they expect and their system is compromised. Powell is arrested and Reese has to get to him to make sure he isn't killed. Finch brings Zoe in and together they figure out that a congressman named Matheson is working with the hacker. They arrange for him to be framed. The hacker cuts ties with Matheson and arranges for him to be killed. Powell is proven innocent. Finch is contacted by the hacker who relishes in a formidable opponent. She identifies herself as Root and reveals to know Finch's identity.
The Good: The opening scene was pretty fun. I liked Finch calling Reese in the middle of a fight and it allowed for some rather funny moments of interaction. Pleasingly, this continued throughout the episode and it led to a few more fun moments between the characters. I especially enjoyed Reese lecturing Finch about stakeouts. Reese brought out some good dry humour which helps with the big issue of his character being boring. The hacking details of this story were well done. The story was easy to follow and never veered into being too complicated which is impressive. Dumbing down hacking to make it understandable for the general population is pretty tough to do and I've seen many TV shows and movies unsuccessfully attempt it. More impressively, the hacker, Root, was able to come out of the episode looking extremely intelligent and threatening despite the simplicity of the hacking. The ending cliff-hanger was really strong and I'm excited by the possibility of a character being out there who is aware of who Finch is and could possibly even be aware of the Machine (see: The Unknown). Powell's story was fine in this episode. I like that his character was allowed to have some common ground with Reese which was nicely explored in the subway scene. The drama in the episode was very strong as expected. The action scenes in particular stood out as all three fist fights were well choreographed. The bathroom brawl was particularly good as it used the environment nicely to add to the struggle. It was nice to see Zoe again even though she didn't do a whole lot. I'm more pleased at this development because it confirms the possibility of POI characters potentially returning if needed. The Bad: The show really likes to cut to commercials with Reese/Finch making some important discovery about the person they are investigating. I've been noticing this pattern in every episode and it's starting to stand out to me. I thought that Finch and Zoe's conversation was a contrived method for them to suspect Matheson. The entire basis of their discovery was based on speculation which is a very unsatisfying way for the plot to develop. They got a little too cute at the end with Reese magically vanishing. The Unknown: Who is Root? How does she know who Finch is? Is she aware about he Machine? How about Reese? It's so interesting to have a character with this much mystique surrounding her. Best Moment: I'll go with the ending. Finch's identity has been so secret that nobody has ever figured out who he is. Yet somehow this hacker managed to derive his identity through his computer. It's a huge moment that feels even bigger because of how frequently Finch's secretive nature has been played up this season. Character of the Episode: Reese. Conclusion: This was a solid episode that introduced another big villain in entertaining fashion. There wasn't anything particularly special here, but it was pretty good. Score: 64 Summary: Reese meets with Carter and enlists her help in the next POI case but he doesn't tell Fusco. The POI, Andrea is a lawyer whose life is in danger and Reese looks into it. Reese grows suspicious when Finch goes to meetings he doesn't tell Reese about. Reese uses Fusco to follow Finch and learns that Finch is communicating with Will, Ingram's son. Reese also learns that Ingram passed away. Andrea is attacked by a friend, Chris who is the villain. Reese and Carter work together to take him out.
The Good: I liked the opening scene a lot. The Reese/Carter interactions were really strong and I really liked Carter's continual curiosity about how Finch is able to get all of the information. I thought Reese handled Carter's questions nicely and he was able to recruit her effectively to help them out. Their double-team throughout the episode was good and nicely finished the story arc of Carter discovering Finch and Reese's operation and joining in. Finch's storyline was really strong in this episode and it raises a lot of questions (see: The Unknown). The idea of some distrust between Reese and Finch makes sense considering how closed in both characters are. While they have worked together and formed a bond, they really don't know much about each other and it makes sense for Reese to finally decide to figure out exactly who Finch is and what he's up to. The addition of Will is a good follow-up from the intriguing flashbacks in the last episode and I'm really excited to see where this story goes. I liked that the show continued to show Reese struggling to fight due to his gunshot wound. Wounds like that don't heal quickly, so I'm glad that the show isn't pretending that it magically healed overnight. The Bad: The POI story was very simple in this episode, and it felt like the usual boring and predictable plot. It's hard to have 25 original stories every season and some episodes have suffered because of this. This episode lacked originality. The plot twist at the end was very predictable and mirrored the Rick twist from the previous episode, but it wasn't anywhere near as enjoyable since we literally just saw this story happen. I didn't like that the show attempted to make us sympathize with Terrence by showing that he has kids. It's a lazy way to try to induce our sympathy for a character we have no reason to care about. I had some nitpicks on this episode. It's pretty hard to believe that the CIA are consistently letting Carter escape their tails. They should be much more suspicious by now if she escapes from them over and over again. Are we supposed to believe that Fusco can successfully tail Finch? This is the same overly cautious Finch who knew when Reese was following him in the first episode and told him that they would meet on his terms. It's tough to believe that he wouldn't notice somebody tailing him. Especially Fusco of all people. Let's not forget that Fusco failed to keep his eye on a POI he was tasked to follow just two episodes ago. Reese's reasoning for Carter and Fusco not knowing that the other is also a part of the operation is really stupid. Heck, Reese doesn't even provide a real reason and he simply dodges the question when Finch asks it. This is a clear example of a character doing something because the plot demands it. The Unknown: Is Carter a full member now? Or is she still skeptical of joining Reese? Why is Finch in contact with Will? What happened to Ingram? How did he die? Was Finch responsible somehow? Does it have something to do with Ingram being a threat? Why doesn't Finch tell Reese about this? What else will Reese uncover? Will it create a hole in their bond? Best Moment: The opening scene was the best part about this episode. The interactions between Reese and Carter were really good. Thankfully both characters have grown on me and Jim Caviezel gives a better performance in better scenes like these. Character of the Episode: Finch. Conclusion: This was a decent episode, but it's the most flawed the show has been in a while. While I like where the plot is heading, this episode wasn't the best. Score: 58 Summary: Flashbacks show Finch trying to offer the Machine to the government with the help of his friend Ingram. The next POI is a super named Trask. Finch and an injured Reese become tenants in the same building where Trask works. They figure out he is stalking a girl in the building named Lily who has a boyfriend and that he plans to kill the boyfriend. Carter dodges Snow's tails and tries to contact Finch. Finch allows her to and shows her what they do through example. Reese discovers that Trask intends to kill that night and stops him. However, he realizes that Trask is actually helping Lily as Rick isn't her boyfriend but her stalker. Reese, Finch and Trask all team up to kill Rick and save Lily.
The Good: This was another good episode where the show added further proof that it has found its footing. I thought that the idea of Finch and Reese switching roles in this episode due to Reese's injury was really clever and was a good way to keep the show fresh. I enjoyed seeing Finch struggle to do Reese's job as it put over how difficult Reese's job is while also showing us a new side to Finch as he is forced to get his hands dirty consistently throughout the episode. I also got some laughs out of Reese trying to tell Finch what to do. I liked that this episode focused more on the characters trying to get to a solution instead of them simply obtaining the solution easily. The focus on these details made the episode much more satisfying overall. I liked Finch finding a specific doctor to heal Reese who he knows won't ever speak anything about it. I liked Reese preventing Trask from killing Rick by thinking on his feet and turning on the fire alarm. I also liked the explanation as to why the CIA won't find Reese being that Finch has tasked Fusco with providing them with false leads. All of these little details were very good and helped with my engagement with the story. With the characters needing to work hard to prevent everything from spiralling out of control, the story has a sense of danger which is essential for tension-based action shows like this. Carter's story was also strong in this episode for the same reasons. I was pleased that the showed spent an entire scene showing how Carter threw the CIA tail. It shows how intelligent she is while also giving attention to the fact that the CIA would obviously be following Carter after the events of last episode. I was really happy to see her continue to investigate Finch, and their interactions in this episode were terrific (see: Best Moment). I really liked the scene where Trask chased Finch, thinking he had found the thief. The whole scene was brilliant drama and was genuinely tense. The way that Reese got Finch out of the predicament was organic and worked really well too. I was pleased by it. I also like that Reese found a solution for Finch in case this happened again, even if it was a bit too convenient (see: The Bad). The flashbacks were really good. It brought more insight on the Machine and has made me a lot more interested in finding out how exactly the system works. I wasn't expecting this to be addressed, but I am glad that we are seemingly getting an answer on this. The Bad: I was annoyed by one specific line of dialogue. Reese apparently didn't have an open mind regarding Trask's role as either a victim or a perpetrator. Surely after this much time working with Finch he would know better. How did Reese just happen to access a master key for the building? It was too convenient. The climax of the episode didn't deliver. The fight started well, but then it went into ridiculous territory quickly. Reese didn't even appear to be injured during the fight and he even started walking and fighting like it was nothing which confused me. Then, Rick died a laughable death that was over-dramatic to the point that it made me laugh from the sheer ridiculousness of it all. The Unknown: Does Finch plan to recruit Carter to his cause? Is that why he showed her what they do? Who is Ingram? Where is he now? I noticed at the end that the Machine picked up a threat from Ingram. Is that from the present or the past? What is Ingram planning? Does Reese's theory that the Machine in actually Finch have nay merit to it? Is the Machine somehow built into Finch or something along those lines? Best Moment: Finch and Carter's conversation was terrific. I really liked Finch's metaphoric story about him being thrown in the deep end to figure out how to swim. Michael Emerson is such a good actor. Character of the Episode: Finch. Conclusion: "Person of Interest" has become consistently fun. It was a rough road to get here, but now the show is delivering. Score: 67 Summary: The machine gives 4 POIs at once. Reese looks into them and finds one already dead. Reese follows Wendy, Finch follows Matt and Fusco follows Paula. Paula and Wendy escape. Matt is killed by a bomb while Finch was watching. Finch discovers that the four found money on a guy who died in a car crash and that's why they are being hunted. Carter is contacted by Snow, a man who knew Reese in his prior life and wants him dead. The girls gather at their house and Reese contacts them and saves them from death. The girls go to a hospital to visit their mom where they have stashed the money. Reese contacts them but Paula has been captured and Wendy is expected to bring the money to her at a parking garage. Reese tells Carter to meet at this garage but Carter tells Snow. Finch overhears this. Reese saves the girls but Snow and Carter arrive. Reese is shot and Finch hurries to extract him. Carter gets to them but lets them go.
The Good: This was a very strong episode that proves to me that "Person of Interest" has finally hit its stride. This episode crammed a lot into 45 minutes and was very enjoyable for almost the entire time. I thought the build up to the POI story was pretty good. It was an intriguing mystery and I was never able to figure out very much of it until the characters made the discoveries themselves. The story was also made better by including a few really good moments, mostly from Finch. I really liked Finch being unnerved by watching another innocent die without being able to do anything to stop it. It made him feel more human and Michael Emerson played it very well. I also liked the way that Finch set up the congressman. It's so much more satisfying to see characters set up and execute plots to get what they want instead of just getting what they want without doing much work at all. The best part of the episode was the introduction of Snow as another major player. Before his arrival, Carter's story seemed to be a solid follow-up to last week's episodes. I was actually pretty surprised to see the show immediately capitalize on the momentum it gained after the way it messed up the continuation of the Elias story. I am very pleased though as Carter's encounter has led to an increase in urgency for the Reese investigation. We got some very interesting backstory on Reese (see: The Unknown), and now there is a new big threat to Reese, and this threat actually feels pretty legitimate unlike the one-off villains in prior episodes. The storylines all intersected in a terrific climax. Reese leading Wendy to make the switch became really tense because I had no clue when Carter, Finch and Snow would appear. The swap ended up being tenser than it should have been. But the swap was only the beginning of what was the show's best climactic act so far. Snow arrives and Reese actually gets shot. This genuinely surprised me because it's so rare for Reese to feel mortal. He frequently comes off as an untouchable badass that is never in danger, and to see him struggling to live was refreshing in a way. Furthermore, I thought that the Reese/Finch relationship build-up paid off big time here. After seeing them work together for the past 9 episodes, I bought into Finch's desperation to save him and I understood their friendship towards each other. I thought Carter choosing to let Reese live was a fantastic moment too. It teaches us so much about her by seeing her make a tough decision. In the end, she remains consistent to her righteous side that we learned all about in the last episode, choosing to let Reese and Finch live regardless of the consequences she may be forced to face. The Bad: Does Reese have some camouflage ability that I don't know about? Fusco follows his POI the same way Reese would, yet he is immediately noticed. How has this never happened to Reese? Why did the bad guys kill Matt suddenly? Didn't they need to get his money? Why didn't they do the same with Wendy and Paula? Odd. The Unknown: This special case of four POIs does beg the question of why the machine doesn't do this every time. Why doesn't the machine just give the names of both the perpetrator and the victim? Who is Snow exactly? What was his relationship with Reese? Were they on good terms? Why does he want to kill Reese? Did Reese actually kill Stanton? Was it something else? How did she die? How did Reese fake his death? Will Carter be forced to face consequences for allowing Reese to survive? Best Moment: The final three minutes were stellar. The standout moment in all of it was Carter allowing Reese and Finch to go. Character of the Episode: Carter. Conclusion: This was very good. This had some of the best drama of all of the episodes thus far and the ending of the episode was both powerful and memorable. The show has picked up in a big way. Score: 68 Summary: Flashbacks show Carter's history in the army. In the present, the next POI is Carter. Reese investigates her with Fusco's help and they discover tons of people who may want her dead including Elias and a thug named Hector. Reese helps Carter survive many of these threats and makes contact with her telling her to be careful. However, Carter is betrayed and shot by a friend, BC, who Reese kills. Carter survives the attempt on her life by wearing a bulletproof vest.
The Good: This was the strongest episode so far. The focus on carter was very welcome and helped transform her from a side character to somebody I am invested in. I didn't care very much about what she was doing in prior episodes because I never felt like I knew very much about her. This episode rectified that by giving me a good understanding of her principles, values, backstory, goals, and character. It was a very strong exploration of her character that sets her up nicely as a protagonist in her own right despite the fact that she is against Reese and Finch. The flashbacks finally delivered something more than just intrigue which i really liked. These flashbacks properly provided insight on Carter's character and had a purpose. In just a few scenes, I was able to understand everything that Carter was about and I shared in her despair when she realizes that the soldiers let Yusuf die. The backstory did a lot of work in making me understand why Carter is going around trying to save everyone instead of simply focusing on her specific job. But more importantly, it made me appreciate the character of Carter and now I am emotionally invested in what she does in the show. This episode built up its story extremely well, barring one scene (see: The Bad). The danger surrounding Carter is amplified by a lot because of the sheer number of people who are out to kill her. There is Hector, there is Elias and there are the dirty cops and you have no idea which ones will pose the largest danger for Carter. Furthermore, there is also the danger of Reese potentially letting himself be discovered while trying to save Carter. All of these factors help make this episode more engaging than all previous episodes and it felt like an episode where something big could actually happen. While I did end up predicting BC turning on Carter about a minute before it happened, I still thought it was an effective twist. With all of these threats around Carter, the actual danger came from the place you would least expect it, which is solid storytelling. It was also an effective way to get Reese and Carter to have a conversation without Carter being able to arrest him. I'm curious to see how their relationship furthers from this experience. I thought Reese had his best scene in this episode. That came when he viciously threatened Captain Lynch. I was impressed by this because it was the culmination of an actual character story that Reese went through in this episode. By following Carter throughout the episode, Reese gains respect for her and eventually ends up supporting her cause. His dedication to her reaches its climax when he threatens Captain Lynch. For once, Jim Caviezel actually puts some emotion into his acting and I feel like Reese is a little more than cool batman in this scene. The Bad: This episode had done well to avoid "Person of Interest"'s long-winded exposition scenes. But then we get one scene with Fusco and Captain Lynch which gave us so much information with nothing being done to earn this information. It stands out even more than usual because of how much better the rest of this episode was by comparison. So Elias is the one who shot Carter. How do they know this? Surely the blood test would track some teacher called Charlie Burton, not Elias himself. Why didn't they just go arrest him then? Where is Elias now anyways? Did he quit his job as a teacher to commit more to being a criminal? Does he have actual protection now? None of these questions are answered, and that's pretty annoying because we now have no idea how much of a threat Elias is. The Unknown: Will Carter be attacked again in the future? It's been established that she has a lot of enemies. Can Carter possibly have an alliance with Reese? So what is Elias up to? Where did he go? What is he doing? Best Moment: Reese threatening Lynch was pretty great. Character of the Episode: Carter. Conclusion: I'm noticing a trend in this series. Whenever the show builds foundation for the future, I enjoy it so much more than the one-off episodes which don't deliver much in the long-term. This was the strongest episode of the series thus far and it gives me hope that I'll like where this show is heading even if there are some bumps on the way there. Score: 66 Summary: The new POI is Ulrich Kohl who is a former spy hunting down his former comrades. Finch and Reese investigate and discover he is getting revenge since his former team were responsible for his wife, Anja's death. However he learns that Anja is still alive and scared of him. Reese fears Kohl will kill her and gets her to a safe location and confronts him. Kohl turns the tables on Reese and escapes. Kohl visits his daughter so he can go speak with Anja. He confesses that Anja was right to fear him and Reese kills him.
The Good: Alan Dale as Kohl was pretty fun. I like the addition of another "Lost" character, plus Alan Dale is very good. I thought that Kohl's story was pretty good and served as a good way to make Finch and Reese reflect on their lives at the end of the episode. The Bad: Unfortunately the show has lost all of its momentum coming out of "Witness". Elias is gone and forgotten for now, so we are sadly back to person of the week episodes that are pretty much devoid of any long-running story to be engaged in. I would be fine with it if any of these episodes provided something worth watching, but unfortunately they don't. This episode made me realize the biggest flaw about "Person of Interest". The whole thing is so predictable. This episode told a good story but completely failed to engage me because it all felt too familiar. Reese never loses or is in any real danger so I'm never invested in the action he gets himself into. The rest we are left with is mystery based around the POI. Unfortunately the show has groomed me to expect answers dished out to us in unsatisfying ways by the end of the episode. The sheer amount of expositional dialogue in all of these episodes is taxing on me and it ruins the fun of solving a mystery since the characters practically just come up with the answers with no effort whatsoever. It's not engaging television and it makes me feel like I'm wasting my time if I try to get invested. It's bad when a TV show leaves me feeling like I shouldn't bother caring about the characters since I know we will never see them again and they don't matter in the long run at all. There were logic gaps in this episode like all of the other ones. Reese conveniently showing up like 4 seconds too late got old fast, yet they must have done it three times in this episode. I was extremely annoyed that Reese was able to talk to the German agent after shooting his car without getting apprehended or anything. Did nobody see this happen? How about the guy that was literally standing right next to the German agent? Furthermore, why would Finch be present for that scene? It seems like an unnecessary risk, especially considering how paranoid Finch is and that Finch has recently been interrogated by the cops regarding the Elias robbery. Lastly, if Kohl is such a great spy that was able to locate his former comrades, how did he not know that Anja was still alive? Also why did he wait 20 years to do this? I don't think this was ever answered, though I may have simply missed something. There's too much exposition, so it's easy to miss something when information is being dished out so much. Did they really pass up on an opportunity to please every "Lost" fan by not having Dale and Emerson in a scene together? Come on. Also, it's not the best idea to cast an actor with a heavy New Zealand accent as a Russian spy. The Unknown: The flashbacks were really interesting. Who was Reese working for before being taken in by Finch? Who were the organization he was associated with? Will they come into the story later? Is Reese not actually his name? Best Moment: I really liked Reese and Finch wondering if they would be buried under different names and if anyone would care. It was a very human moment for both of them and I wish this show included more scenes like that. Character of the Episode: Finch. Conclusion: This episode completely failed to follow up the show's best episode appropriately. This was another dull episode that indulged the show's worst habits. Score: 46 Summary: A Russian mob goes after a witness who saw the death of a man who they murdered. The cops investigate and so do Reese and Finch. The POI is the witness. The witness is a teacher named Charlie who Reese saves from the Russians. Reese gets disconnected from Finch so both of them have to work on their own. Charlie is shot and Reese has to save him, but they are trapped in a building filled with Russians. Finch looks more into the case and discovers that Elias is involved. Charlie revealed that he was told to get a message to Elias by the victim. Reese eventually escapes and captures one of the Russians, Laszlo. They take a ferry and head to meet Fusco who will safely extract them. However, Charlie reveals he is Elias and sends a message by shooting Laszlo. Elias murders Ivan, the leader of the Russians.
The Good: This was a stronger episode overall and it's probably the best episode of the show thus far. I thought the story in this episode was much more tense and exciting than previous ones. The reason for this comes from the story. The focus surrounding this witness allows for Reese and Finch, the cops, Elias's forces and the Russians to all be gunning for the same thing which makes for an episode that feels important with a central plot point and tons of potential for excitement. I thought the scenes in the apartment complex were fairly solid drama and I liked watching it. The best moment of the episode was easily the twist. I am pleased to say that the Elias twist caught me completely off guard and surprised me. It was a combination of the show's previously predictable nature and a plot that's busier than most "Person of Interest" episodes that prevented me from expecting this episode to do anything more than a basic happy ending for Charlie. So when the reveal started clicking in and Charlie turned on Reese, I was surprised and impressed as the show had finally pulled off something worth watching. The twist is incredibly smart in other ways too. The biggest thing it has going for it is that it allows Reese and Elias to have a more personal rivalry which makes us more invested in seeing Reese take this guy out. Had Elias just been another guy, I wouldn't have cared nearly this much about Reese foiling his plans. Furthermore, getting us to know Elias as a smart and friendly guy helps make him a more layered villain which is much more interesting than the bland and generic bad guys in previous episodes. The Bad: This still suffered from the same flaws: Inconsistent storytelling, Reese's bland acting, weak dialogue and so many more things which need ironing out. However, I thought the flaws didn't stand out quite as much in this episode for some reason. Perhaps it was slightly more competent writing in this episode. That's not to say there were no flaws in the story. I think I'll always have holes to poke in this story. It's highly illogical that Reese would get to Charlie before the Russians reached his apartment. The Russians were flooding into the building and Reese was across the street, so I don't see any way for him to make it inside. Furthermore, Elias seems to be a woefully unprotected man considering how powerful and important he is. What would he have done about the Russians if Reese hadn't come along? I thought the idea of a Russian mob was stupid. Another cliché with the generic Russian bad guys. The Unknown: What are Elias' plans exactly? How does he plan to conquer the world? Who are the five families? How are the Russians involved with this? Best Moment: The Elias reveal was the show's best moment so far. It was genuinely surprising and gave the show a crucial plot line to build off of. Character of the Episode: Elias. Conclusion: This was a good episode and it's a big one for the future of the show. This episode sets up a major plot line with a ton of promise that suggests that this show may actually get a lot better. Now it's up to the rest of this season to deliver. Score: 63 Summary: Phoebe is giving birth to the triplets but she decides that she wants to keep one. Monica and Chandler have issues when Rachel sets Monica up on a date. Joey finds out that he has kidney stones.
The Good: The doctor characters were really good here. The doctor obsessed with Fonzie was fantastic and ended up being much funnier than I expected. I also really liked the doctor who kept saying "kidney stones" with perfect comedic timing. This show has always been consistent when it comes to funny side characters. As for the main characters, most of them were great in this episode. Joey was very funny in his storyline and Frank Jr's enthusiasm at becoming a father was the funniest part of the entire episode. I did like Chandler and Monica's final conversation, not what built up to it. The Bad: Some of the storylines were pretty dull which took away from this. I didn't get many laughs from Joey passing the kidney stones being compared to Phoebe giving birth. I thought that Phoebe's idea to keep one child was silly and it takes away from Phoebe's character. It may have worked better if Phoebe said this while under some kind of sedative, but not as an idea that she simply came up with. Chandler and Monica's argument felt petty and I thought that the story was too predictable with how it ended. The male nurse thing wasn't that funny either. Best Moment: Frank Jr getting a kick out of Phoebe making the resident doctor cry was hilarious. Character of the Episode: Frank Jr. Conclusion: This was a fun episode and I really enjoyed it, but some flaws in how the stories were written took away from what could have been a great episode. This ended up being good but had potential to be much more. Score: 67 Summary: Rick goes back into the prison in a rampage after Lori's death. Daryl and Maggie go on a supply run to get baby formula. Michonne prowls through the Governor's quarters and reclaims her sword. She kills walkers that were being kept in Woodbury. The Governor is displeased with Michonne. Michonne and Andrea try to leave Woodbury and Merle lets them go. Michonne leaves but Andrea stays. The Governor holds a gladiator fight with walkers watching for entertainment which disgusts Andrea. Rick receives a phone call.
The Good: Rick's slaughter after learning of Lori's death was pretty solid. It made sense for his character to bury himself away after losing Lori and shows that her death has had a huge effect on him which will likely change him even more going into the future. At this rate, there may not be much of season 1 Rick left by the end of this season. I liked some of the stuff that happened in Woodbury. The Governor's daughter is an interesting new development. The idea that this character lost his family and is in denial about it is a fresh new look at grief and it helps give another layer to a character who I'm steadily becoming more interested in. This development also helps ask some meaningful questions about the walker research which is going on (see: The Unknown). I thought the idea of a walker gladiator fight was pretty good. I thought the Governor had sound reasoning for including it in there and I think it does a good job of exploring how different kind of cultures and pastimes need to be formed in a post-apocalyptic world. I also think that it's a fair way to get Andrea to be a little unsure about Woodbury as she only views walkers as frightening threats after spending so much time outside of Woodbury. The Bad: Michonne is a big problem for the show. She is portrayed as a protagonist but she is so bad at communicating her emotions and is completely unreasonable, which makes me heavily dislike her. I hate that she is incapable of basic communication with Andrea and she doesn't even try to convince her of how Woodbury is unsafe. She just tells her the place is dangerous with no evidence. Of course Andrea won't listen to that! Worse yet, Michonne proves to be a total jerk as she leaves Andrea inside of what she believes to be a hornet's nest without a second thought. Why should I care about this cold-hearted and stupid person? Furthermore, the show has failed to make Woodbury appear as a villainous location. I don't buy that the place is dangerous because there is nothing that has been presented to me which proves this. So far, the Governor appears to be a string leader of a group he cares about, with the only issues being that the character is clearly at least a little unhinged. That's not bad at all, so I don't know why Michonne is so convinced that these people are dangerous. I'm with Andrea here, Michonne is dumb. I didn't like how heavily they framed the gladiator fight as an inexcusable sin for Woodbury that proves to Andrea how dangerous the place is. Surely Andrea at least slightly understands the Governor's reasoning and doesn't immediately decide that Michonne was right. Additionally, the Governor comes off as a fool for not telling Andrea what was happening beforehand, as something like this would surely be horrific for her if the Governor hadn't mentioned it was staged. The story at the prison was pretty weak. Aside from Rick, the effects of several important characters dying are very minimal. It doesn't feel like the earthshaking event that it seemed like in the previous episode. What hurts the most is how nobody reacted at all to Carol's apparent death. They all just accepted it. Even Daryl, who spent forever hunting down Sophia who they all thought was dead. Why didn't they do the same for Carol? They never found her body. I thought it was hilarious that the show finally decided to give T-Dog some development after he was dead. I was displeased with how carelessly the walkers were handled in this episode. The writers apparently forgot that scratches were fatal as nobody does anything to worry about the scratches throughout the episode, from the Governor getting grabbed by Penny to the gladiator fight scene where the walkers actually grab the guys. Furthermore, I didn't like how careless Merle, Milton and the others were with the walkers they were reigning in. If it were me, I would never do that job unless I was in full riot gear. There were some awkward moments in this episode. The most notable was Carl saying the names of all of those who they lost. It wasn't particularly bad, just weird, and I don't think it had the desired effect. I also wasn't sure what to think of the scene with Rick and the fat walker (see: The Unknown). The Unknown: What was the Governor's list of names for? Why did he write all those lines? Did the Governor actually tame a walker? Was Penny partly tamed by him? That's really interesting. It also adds on to Milton's research on walkers. Did the Governor tame Penny because she knew him when she was alive? Is there actually a more sinister side to Woodbury? There doesn't appear to be so far but I might be wrong. I was very confused by Rick killing the one walker. Was it purely symbolic? Did the walker do something to Lori? Where was Lori's body? Did this walker eat it? What was that phone call at the end? Is somebody else alive in the prison? Is it Carol? Also how is the phone working? Are the generators running somehow? Or is this just a hallucination? Best Moment: Not much to choose from in this episode. I liked Daryl quickly killing the possum for dinner. Character of the Episode: The Governor. Conclusion: This was a fine continuation of the story, but the episode felt shallow with not much depth to it at all. The Woodbury story hasn't been very compelling so an episode centered around it isn't very impressive. Score: 55 Summary: Chandler and Monica continue their relationship in secret, but when Chandler kisses Monica in front of the others, he has to kiss Rachel and Phoebe too to play it off. Phoebe is upset that she missed out on the London trip. Rachel gets Monica to make her decisions for her as she struggles with her feelings for Ross.
The Good: The Chandler and Monica story is the strongest here. Their efforts to keep their relationship secret provide very fresh humour and it delivered with great scenes. The opening sequence with Chandler and Monica in the bathtub was terrific and even better was the kissing joke. The Rachel story is good too and I really liked her interactions with Monica who immediately wants to take control of Rachel's life. I thought their argument in the hall was a great bit of humour. Joey is in the background for the episode, but he comes in at really good times to get some laughs. Ross is excellent once more as he gets more unstable due to his collapsing marriage. David Schwimmer does a great job playing this off and making it funny. The Teddy Bear joke in particular is fantastic. The Bad: The final scene with Ross and Rachel is weird. It's a serious scene but it gets played for laughs and I'm not sure that it succeeds. The idea of Rachel and Ross both laughing at the states of their love life is good but the way it got there was a little off. Phoebe comes off poorly as she ruins her friends' fun because she wasn't able to go to London with them. Best Moment: Chandler kissing Rachel and Phoebe after accidentally kissing Monica was terrific. Character of the Episode: Monica. Conclusion: This was a strong episode with a fresh sense of humour. The score is unfortunately brought down by the odd Ross/Rachel scene, but other than that, this was very good. Score: 69 Summary: Reese becomes a driver for the next POI, Zoe Morgan. Reese and Finch realize she is a fixer and track her involvement to a company called Vitalen, as she has a recording which incriminates them. The company tries to cut ties with her by killing her but Reese saves her. Together, the three of them discover that Vitalen intends to sell a drug with a 3% mortality rate. Zoe and Reese are captured but Zoe talks her way out. Reese gets out as well and is able to get the recording evidence out to Finch. Carter investigates a murder which she connects to the Elias evidence box. She contacts a former detective, Sully, but he turns up dead. Carter collects a blood sample of the person who killed him.
The Good: I enjoyed this episode. While there weren't any particularly great moments or emotion to this, it was a relatively fun drama episode with an engaging plot line. The initial investigation on Zoe was pretty fun and I was engaged by the mystery of what she was doing. That's the one thing that made this episode stand out: the mystery. There were tons of questions being raised throughout which gelled together at the end making this episode a complete mystery, which I found to be fun. However, I've always been a sucker for mysteries, so I may have enjoyed this more than the average viewer. Carter's story was really good here because it promised some big things to come with all of this set-up for Elias. The mystery in this storyline, just like the main storyline, was compelling and it interested me immediately. I especially liked the tense final moments which engaged me a lot due to how unpredictable this Elias story currently is (see: Best Moment). I liked Finch's scene where he got to talk about all of the people he could have saved but was unable to. It was a good showcase for Michael Emerson in a show that hasn't used him properly. I like the addition of Zoe as a new character. I hope to see her more as Paige Turco is pretty good and is a welcome change of pace from Reese's Batman voice solving every problem. The Bad: The beginning of the episode did disappoint me. It was a prime example of a TV show telling us and not showing us. Reese has become Zoe's driver, yet we have no idea how he got to this position or what Finch had to do to set this up. It's a shame because it could have been exceptionally fun to see this get set up. The same flaws stick once more for this episode. While I like Zoe's character, the examination of her as a POI wasn't particularly interesting and her conflict with the villains was bland. Hell, the villains in general were bland too. I wish this show could have some long-running arcs so that the villains could improve. And of course, it wouldn't be a "Person of Interest" episode without at least one illogical scene. The stand-out in this episode for me was the villains taking Zoe on her word that she sent an e-mail instead of simply checking her phone. What makes this worse is that they check her phone later, showing that they had the ability to do this the whole time. The biggest issue with this story is the lack of character moments outside of Finch's brief speech. An episode like this would have been so much better with a proper character arc or emotional conflict that gets explored throughout its run. We don't get anything like that in this episode which prevents it from being good television. This flaw has hurt "Person of Interest" in its entire run so far, and I think it's the main reason this show hasn't connected with me very well. The Unknown: So who was it that killed the suspect and Sully? Was that actually Elias? I feel like it wouldn't be as I imagine that Elias has some other connections. Will we see Zoe again? The show sets it up so we can expect a return later, perhaps as a recurring character. Best Moment: Carter finds Sully dead and gets into a direct confrontation with his murderer. After Carter shoots the unknown person and goes after them, the scene picked up with a great amount of tension. Due to the unpredictability of the Elias storyline, for a moment I had no clue what would happen and actually felt that Carter may be kidnapped, or shot, or something else. It's a great sign when a story has that moment of unpredictability where you have genuinely no clue what to expect. Character of the Episode: Finch. This is getting pretty repetitive now, isn't it? Hopefully the show realizes how much of an asset they have with this character. Conclusion: This was a fairly enjoyable episode of "Person of Interest" thought that's not a particularly high standard. While I liked the episode, it never threatened to fix the problems that I've had with the show so far and suffered from a lot of those problems. Score: 56 Summary: The next POI is a judge, Samuel Gates. Reese follows him but soon after, his son is kidnapped. Reese investigates and is able to link the kidnapping to a case that Gates is overseeing. The kidnappers request that Gates throws the case. The guilty party, a woman named Angela, is in cohorts with the kidnappers. She is declared innocent, but Reese captures the kidnappers and sets them up for the cops. Gates' son is returned to him.
The Good: I continue to enjoy Reese and Finch's interactions. The best parts of this episode happened at the beginning and the end with the conversations between Reese and Finch. The Bad: This wasn't good. This was like a mash-up of everything I disliked about this show and it was disappointing. Reese was uncharismatic, the POI was boring and uninteresting, the action was hard to care about, and the story was filled with inconsistencies. The whole episode was so generic and unimportant that it feels like a filler episode due to the fact that it doesn't even play a role in the overarching storyline. The villains of this episode were pretty poor. They were cliché and forgettable, making them a complete waste of my time. Furthermore, they were all idiots. They look really dumb for letting Reese sabotage all of their plans. Furthermore, they don't keep watch on Gates which is incredibly dumb for a kidnapping story. How did they plan to ensure that Gates didn't go to the cops? It also looks stupid that they allow him to work with Reese. The climax of the episode was poor. The episode did nothing to make me even a little bit invested in this story, so I was bored throughout the climax. The action was very poor too since it's hard to believe that none of the guys would have shot Reese, Gates or his son when they were directly in the open. I was sad to see David Constabile roped into this mess of an episode. His talents were wasted and he really should have been placed in a bigger role. Reese hearing the phone ring and immediately assuming "that's them" in reference to the kidnappers is a perfect example of why this show is failing. First of all, the dialogue adds nothing and is dulled down by Jim Caviezel. Next, how does Reese know it's not just a telemarketer? It's a stupid assumption that would make him look like a fool if somebody else called instead. Third, the line is only in there to make Reese look "cool". If the writers cared even half as much about telling a story instead of making Reese look cool, maybe this show wouldn't be as poor as it is. Fusco really needs to learn when to have his criminal conversations. He steps two feet away from Carter for the phone call, and he follows up by having a conversation about criminal activity with Reese in public, right next to people. Unbelievable. The Unknown: How long will Fusco last before Carter discovers him? He is pretty bad at his job. It's a wonder that Reese hasn't replaced him yet. Best Moment: Finch proving to be overly paranoid in the opening scene. Character of the Episode: Finch. Conclusion: This was a bland, uninspired nothing of an episode that failed to make me care. It was moderately entertaining I guess, but other than that, it was a boring mess. Score: 43 Summary: Ross and Emily get married but Emily leaves immediately after and Ross tries to get in touch with her. Chandler and Monica look for a place to have sex again but they are continually cut off. Rachel tries to find out if Ross saying her name meant something.
The Good: This was consistently hilarious and was a strong way to kick off the season. I seem to say that every season now, as "Friends" has continually done a good job with season premieres. I liked the fallout from Ross saying Rachel as Emily is expectedly hurt by this and leaves her own wedding. Ross' reactions the entire time are funny and he plays the nervous desperation very well and there are several excellent jokes surrounding it. Emily's parents are spectacular once more and they make a number of memorable jokes whenever they are on screen. However, the highlight of this episode is definitely Chandler and Monica. They have surprisingly terrific chemistry in this episode and watching their attempts to have sex get unknowingly foiled was very funny and both characters played off of the moments extremely well. It's very fresh humour that hasn't been done before. The Bad: Ross continually talking while giving his vows was a bit much and took away from how significant of a moment it must have been for Emily. Best Moment: Chandler and Monica arrive in Chandler's room only to be interrupted by Joey who is bringing a girl himself. The ensuing conversation between Chandler and Joey is great. Character of the Episode: Chandler. Conclusion: This was an exciting season premiere with lots of laugh and fitting follow-up to the exciting events in last season's finale. Score: 77 Summary: The next POI is a hard-working doctor, Megan who Reese discovers is plotting to murder a man, Andrew, who raped her sister and caused her to commit suicide. Carter investigates more on Reese and goes to talk with Finch. Fusco gets involved with drug dealers and needs Reese's help to kill them. Reese doesn't kill them and Fusco betrays him. Reese tries to prevent Megan from executing her plan but he is captured by the drug dealers. Reese breaks out and gets to Megan in time and convinces her not to kill Andrew. Reese debates whether or not to kill Andrew. Fusco is assigned to work under Carter so Reese can keep an eye on the investigation on him.
The Good: This was a stronger episode with better drama. I thought that Reese's investigational skills came off better here and I liked the way he identified who Andrew was, though I would have liked to see how he returned his ID. Furthermore, the complexity of the plot made this episode less predictable and I was delightfully surprised at a few points in the episode. Megan is definitely the most fascinating POI so far and her story held my interest better than any previous episode. I thought the character conflict of a doctor having to make the tough decision of taking a life was pretty compelling and added a layer to this episode that the previous episodes were missing. The climax of the episode was handled very well. I really like that all of the storylines (Carter's investigation, Fusco and the drug dealers, the POI) came together for a suspenseful and exciting final act of the story. It was very fun throughout with a few really good scenes. The highlights were Finch lying through his death like Ben Linus to Carter to save his skin, and Reese debating on what he should do with Andrew at the end of the episode. I approve of the decision to end the episode without giving us an answer for what Reese did, allowing us to try to figure out what Reese would have done, giving us that extra amount of engagement with the story. The Bad: The episode was still badly flawed and far from perfect. Reese remains a very poor aspect of the show. This episode gave more focus to Finch which really highlighted the vast difference in the quality of performance between Michael Emerson and Jim Caviezel. Emerson is terrific and adds value to every line that his character says, whereas Caviezel is devoid of any charisma and drags all of his scenes down with his dry and boring line delivery. It's one of the main reasons that Reese is so boring to me, along with the lack of development the character has had. I'm confident that the only reason I like his character when he talks with Finch is simply because Emerson's performance brings the best out of those around him as well. The drug dealer plot is pretty poorly thought out. I have no clue why Reese doesn't just kill them since it would be convenient for him in every way. It helps Fusco stay in line with Reese helping him out and it also prevents any loose ends for Carter to find while she investigates him. With Reese being so sloppy when dealing with them, it makes him look like a total idiot for getting caught while following Megan. Also, how did the drug dealers find him anyways? I don't recall Reese revealing his identity to Fusco in previous episode. If Meg's plan is so well thought out, why didn't she fill up gas beforehand? I feel like stopping at a gas station with a man in your trunk will cause ridiculous amounts of anxiety. Furthermore, the idea that Megan's excuse to leave work is "I'm taking a nap, don't disturb me", is incredibly dumb. What do the hospital people do when they realize she is gone? A one-way trip from New York to Montauk is four hours long after all, and I don't think anyone naps for that long. The mafia drug dealers were laughably cliché. I was wondering how long it would take for this show to indulge in the cliché mafia characters, but I certainly didn't expect them this quickly. So the reason Finch was forced into the crime scene last episode was so this scene could be possible. While I like the development, surely there are better ways to get from point A to point B. The Unknown: How was Finch injured? What was the surgery for? Is it the reason for his limp? I'm very interested in his past. Best Moment: Finch and Carter's conversation was tense and Michael Emerson shined once more. Character of the Episode: Finch. Conclusion: This was a better episode that improved on little things and moved the plot forward in enjoyable ways. However, the show's flaws still prevent it from finding its footing and being something really great. The potential is there, it's just a matter of the people behind the scenes being capable enough of taking advantage of it. Score: 60 Summary: The Machine selects the next POI as an ex-soldier named Joey. Reese follows him and discovers he is a bank robber working with a group of former soldiers, connected by a man named Latimer. Reese joins their group to get more information and assists on some robberies. The cops gain some information on the group and Carter makes multiple attempts to catch Reese, who is saved by Finch's information. Latimer betrays the group and kills all of them except Joey and Reese who escape. Joey leaves town with his girlfriend. Carter gets in touch with Reese through a radio left by one of the dead soldiers. Latimer is killed by a mysterious man, Elias.
The Good: Finch remains a strong point of the series. His character is entertaining and all of the episode's best scenes always consist of his character. I like the way his relationship with Reese is growing and it's worth mentioning that Reese only ever interests me in his scenes with Finch. I'm glad that the show seems to be hinting at an overall story arc with Carter getting more involved with the story and the surprise introduction of Elias at the end. It's a good sign and can hopefully lead to much better television. I'm glad that Joey was given some time to get his struggle across, even if it wasn't explored very well (see: The Bad). If the show steadily improves its character development through its episodes, it could end up being pretty good by the end of the season. The climactic action setpieces have been quite good so far. When Finch showed up in the second robbery, things got pretty tense for a little while which was good. I appreciated the clever way Reese was able to get information from him, even if it didn't make sense in terms of continuity (see: The Bad). The Bad: The logistics of the plots in this show still disappoint me. Finch showing up at the robbery was cool, but why didn't he just tell Reese the information through his headpiece just like before? It's an oversight. Also, Reese's skill of following people needs a lot of work. He is right behind Joey the entire time and doesn't even try to be subtle. Surely Joey would notice this, seeing he is a criminal and a former soldier. It gets worse when Reese has already met Joey and is still blatantly following him. If Joey just looks in his direction, he's screwed. Then, in an incredible leap in logic, Reese relies on Joey paying attention enough to find him for them to talk, which is ridiculous and hilariously ironic. That bar scene was pretty bad too. Those random bankers who starting trashing the war vets was really stupid and seemingly served no purpose. The scene was written really badly and felt like a "yeah soldiers!" moment more than an actual character moment. Joey's story was too shallow to be good. We are given lengthy expositional dialogues to explain his situation but we are given absolutely no time to actually explore his conflict. Did this show never get the "show, don't tell" memo? Was there really only one recently discharged soldier that was left-handed? The Unknown: What is the full story between Reese and Jessica? It seems more complicated than I thought. Who is this Elias? What is his significance to the story? Why did he choose to kill Latimer and how? What connections does he have? My instincts make me believe that Finch is lying and he does know who Elias is. So who is he? I'm fairly certain he has some history with either Finch or Reese. Best Moment: Probably Finch doing push-ups after Reese told him to get in shape. It was a nice character moment which has been rare so far. Character of the Episode: Finch. Conclusion: This was a stronger episode than the last with some good signs for the future, though the show still feels too sloppy and generic to succeed. Score: 52 Summary: Reese and Finch start investigating their next POI, a teenage girl named Teresa who is supposedly dead. Reese locates the girl and eventually learns that her family were killed as part of a greedy scheme from a company. He gets this information from Teresa's uncle Derek. Reese leaves Teresa with Finch as he takes care of the men who are trying to murder Teresa. Teresa's location is discovered and a man tries to kill her but Reese arrives in the nick of time. Teresa is saved.
The Good: The hotel sequence was an excellent use of tension. The entire scene was played really well as both Reese and Teresa had to think on their feet to outsmart the man attacking them. It was a perfect dramatic spectacle. The flashbacks were really interesting to watch as we got a tease of Finch's past and more information on The Machine. I really want to see more of it. I got some enjoyment hearing a musical track towards the end of the episode that I had first heard on "Better Call Saul". The Bad: Unfortunately most of this was disappointingly dull. After the first episode, the show needed to give us an example of what we could expect from the season. Unfortunately, there wasn't very much here that excited me. The biggest issue is how generic and bland this show is. The action sequences, characters and dialogue are very typical of these kinds of crime dramas and the concept of The Machine isn't enough to give the show an identity to make itself stand out. It comes off as just another drama with very little emotional engagement for the viewer. With the show being called "Person of Interest", I was expecting these POIs to stand out and have compelling stories for us to discover along with Reese and Finch. Unfortunately that hasn't been the case so far. I was willing to forgive Hansen's dullness due to the fact that it was the first episode. Teresa's dullness doesn't get the same treatment from me and I'm left annoyed that we are expected to care about a character with such a small amount of development and personality. We need to be given reasons to care about a character; you can't just present a character and tell us to sympathize. A lot of moments in this episode were lame too. In a cop show like this, I expect the characters to be smart so I can be impressed by the operation. This show has done the opposite so far as Reese comes off as a total idiot. The show is so focused on making him so cool that they forget to make his actions logical. There is no reason for Reese to attack the teenager connected to Teresa so blatantly. Surely he would watch quietly and go talk to Teresa on his own when he gets the chance so as to not attract attention to himself. But he's a fool and he doesn't do this. Then he ends up creating a massive scene in a laundromat which is really bad for a wanted criminal. Surely somebody would call the police after a gunfight just happened with Reese and the other guy and there would be reports of this "guy with a suit" that the cops are looking for. The biggest issue is that this isn't just a fluke. It has been a pattern throughout these first two episodes and it needs to be corrected as soon as possible. I was confused by Finch and Reese's immediate assumption that Teresa is innocent, especially since Hansen ended up being evil. Furthermore, I thought Finch had gotten into this business to save lives. Yet he only seems to care about the life of the POI, as he and Reese don't even bother to follow other people to save their lives. It was the same situation with Pope in the previous episode who they simply allowed to die. The Unknown: I don't remember Finch's limp ever being addressed. Perhaps I missed something through the episode's rapid pace. What caused it? Best Moment: The hotel sequence was tense and exciting. Character of the Episode: Finch. Conclusion: This was a pretty generic episode of television. So far the show hasn't made much of an impact but I see potential for some good storytelling if things can be more streamlined. I hope we don't get more episodes like these. Score: 48 Summary: John Reese is a former soldier who has become an alcoholic after his love died while he was gone. Reese is brought in to the police for a scuffle he had with some teenagers on a subway but is secretly whisked away by Harold Finch who gives him a job offer. Finch has a resource that provides him with SINs that correspond to people who will be involved with crime in the future. Reese's first task surrounds a prosecutor, Hansen who is linked to some crime. She is discovered to be the perpetrator of a corrupt police scam and Reese uses his skills to shut it down, gaining the loyalty of another cop, Fusco. Finch reveals that he gets the SINs from a secret back door to a government software that he created called "The Machine". Reese agrees to continue working for Finch.
The Good: This was a decent pilot that started the story nicely. The opening story immediately built up some intrigue and questions were raised and answered at a good pace throughout the next 45 minutes. The standout here was Michael Emerson who is terrific. His character, Finch, immediately piqued my interest and desire to learn more about his past and The Machine. I think the concept of Finch's machine is pretty good and can lead to some fun drama if used correctly. I really liked the brief montage of Reese preparing his operation and surveillance of Hansen. As a huge "Death Note" fan, I thought this was really entertaining as it helped piece together the investigation, allowing me to understand the significance of what's happening. The idea of POIs is really clever. I like the idea that they can be either innocent or guilty and we would have no idea. This can be a really useful plot device as it opens possibilities for some devastating reveals of either innocence or guilt. It was used nicely in this episode with the twist that Hansen is the perpetrator which I wasn't expecting. The Bad: This episode left me breathless. So much happened in such a short amount of time and very little had the chance to stick with me. The task of this pilot isn't one to envy though and that could explain why it feels so breathless. This episode has to introduce characters and story while providing a taste of what the show can do in an exciting storyline all within the usual 45 minute limit which is pretty difficult. Had there been an extension of time for this episode, it may have fared a little better as the characters and story would have time to breathe. While I really enjoyed the initial montage, I was disappointed to get very little of that from the rest of the episode. All of the investigation results felt rushed and flew into each other way too quickly with little impact. Allowing storylines like these to last multiple episodes is a must with this show's format and I hope they do make the decision to do this. Because of how quickly this plotline went down, nothing felt memorable and I wasn't impressed by the logistics of the investigation at all. Instead, I was only treated with a few "cool" action moments. While they can be fun, it isn't practical to base a show off of these. I wasn't a fan of the episode's climax happening offscreen in favour of the twist that Hansen plays a tape confessing her guilt in court. I've had enough of writing about unnecessary surprises after finishing up "Game of Thrones". It was a needless twist and I think it would have been better to actually see how Reese got out of his predicament so he doesn't feel like as much of an invulnerable and perfect protagonist who will always find a way out of impossible situations because... just because. The Unknown: Who is Reese exactly? What is his past and why is there so much concern when investigating his past? What happened that resulted in Jessica's death? Why is Reese believed to be dead? Does it have something to do with him killing the person who killed Jessica? What about Finch's past? What are his government connections? Why is he believed to be dead? Who was the woman he loved? How did he accumulate so much power, including a bank that he bought and forced into bankruptcy? I look forward to getting to know these characters better. Best Moment: Finch was the best part about this. I greatly enjoyed his reveal of "The Machine". Character of the Episode: Finch. Conclusion: This was a solid pilot that opened up the show on an enjoyable if unspectacular note. There are already some worrying signs, but with the compact nature of this pilot, I'm not going to make any major judgments from these first impressions just yet. Score: 63 Summary: Dany's army arrives at King's Landing. She has the meeting with Cersei and frightens her with the wight. Euron decides to go to the Iron Islands and stay there. Cersei is on the verge of accepting the treaty but refuses when Jon reveals his alliance with Dany. Tyrion speaks with Cersei and convinces her to help out. Danya nd Jon take their armies to Winterfell. Cersei reveals she doesn't plan to cooperate and has sent Euron to get the Golden Company. This causes Jaime to abandon her cause. Theon decides to go save Yara. Sansa frames Littlefinger for his crimes with evidence from Bran. Arya kills him. Sam arrives in Winterfell and talks with Bran. They discover that Jon is Rhaegar and Lyanna's son and that he is actually legitimate and not a bastard. The Night King arrives at Eastwatch with his army and his ice dragon. He uses the dragon to burn a hole in the Wall and the army advances.
The Good: I appreciated the amount of focus this episode put on the meeting with Cersei. It was treated like a big moment and so when it happened, it felt like a significant scene with a lot of stakes. That's a good achievement when you consider how poor the set-up for this has been. The scenes in King's Landing were strong with a number of great scenes between characters. I liked Tyrion and Pod reuniting, The Hound and Brienne talking about Arya, Tyrion and Bronn being hilarious once again and the tease of Cleganebowl. I liked the actual meeting too. Euron was a standout again and I like that he was the first to speak before the meeting officially started, addressing Theon directly and taunting him to get him away from Dany. His character has been pretty enjoyable thus far. I also loved his reaction to the wight demonstration. I loved the idea of him just leaving after seeing a terrifying threat even though it was revealed to be a fake move. The demonstration itself was good and I was pleased to see the wights return to being scary and frighteningly fierce creatures. Last episode severely dampened their threat value but it was re-established here. Cersei had a couple of great scenes with her family where emotions came bubbling out. The scene with Tyrion was electric as it was the first time they had interacted since season 4. The two of them got to let out their frustrations at each other which was fascinatingly undercut by Tyrion's other motive to bring Cersei to a peace offer. Cersei's scene with Jaime was great too. They were building up to a breaking point for a long time and we finally got it in a memorable scene. Having Jaime finally stand up to Cersei and tell her what he should have told her 2 seasons ago was satisfying. Theon's story in this episode was good too. I liked his scene with Jon due to the performances from both actors which made it feel meaningful even though Theon hasn't really done anything to gain Jon's approval at this point. It was a good set-up for Theon finally embracing himself and finally making the right decision in the next scene as he goes to save Yara. The wedding reveal was pretty good and shakes up the story in a nice way regarding Jon and Dany's future. This could lead to them coming into conflict which I would like, but I am worried that it will just serve to have a "perfect Targaryen marriage" to end the series. I hope that doesn't happen and I'll optimistically assume that this reveal will take us somewhere good. More than the reveal, I enjoyed Bran and Sam's interactions since it's rare for both of these characters to interact with people outside of their specific storyline. They had a fun conversation with well-written dialogue. Littlefinger's death was a satisfying moment. While I don't like how we got there (see: The Bad), the moment itself was glorious. It was certainly cathartic to see the instigator of this entire war on his knees begging for life as Arya walks up to him to stab him in the throat. The Bad: While this did a lot more things right than the last two episodes, it felt a little disappointing as a finale. This was purely set-up for next season and closed very few storylines. Plus, the storylines it did resolve were done very poorly. Littlefinger's death is the biggest offender for this. His death went exactly as I expected it to go which was extremely disappointing. There was nothing enthralling in the build-up to his death and I absolutely hate that the scene in the great hall was played entirely for surprise instead of any meaningful storytelling. All of the crap at Winterfell we had to sit through in the past few episodes was all so we could have the surprise "Lord Baelish" moment. The worst part is that we never actually learned what Sansa and Arya's plan was and how they set Littlefinger up. There was no explanation or anything, so when rewatching we have to sit through Arya threatening Sansa and wonder why it is even happening. Couldn't Sansa just claim that it happened when it actually didn't? It's not like Littlefinger is Varys who learns anything and everything. Unfortunately Littlefinger's death scene was hampered by poor writing too. Bran's sudden presence comes out of nowhere with all of his accusations against Littlefinger which he apparently went through in detail with Sansa offscreen (ugh). It was an attempt at another surprise which was completely unwarranted. Littlefinger's reaction to being called out is unbelievable. He immediately admits guilt to killing Lysa even though there is no proof. Surely Littlefinger can easily turn the tables on Sansa by mentioning how she lied to the lords of the Vale and is likely making this up because she doesn't like Littlefinger anymore. If I was a lord of the Vale, I would logically believe Littlefinger's story. Furthermore, can't he just claim how awfully convenient Bran's "powers" are and throw some suspicion on him? Spreading suspicions is what Littlefinger has done for the entire series. But instead of cooking up a story, Littlefinger goes from master manipulator to bumbling buffoon in an instant just so we can have his satisfying death. And that death loses the impact it might have had because the story of his downfall is badly written and tedious to sit through. The Cersei story sadly lacked tension because it was obvious that she would never ally with Dany. And in the end... she doesn't and is planning her own scheme. And somehow Tyrion does not see this coming. This really goes to show how awful of a plan it was to capture the wight as it failed to change Cersei's mind which I predicted the moment Tyrion brought it up. There was one other major issue with the Cersei meeting and that is Jon's reveal that he is allied with Dany now. This isn't because he didn't lie (that makes sense due to him being Ned's son), but because of his decision to join Dany in the first place. I mentioned how forced it felt in the last episode, and this episode makes it even worse. It's painfully clear here that the only reason he bent the knee was to stir conflict with Cersei making the decision blatantly something that had to be done for plot, opposed to actual character development. Things like this are why I find it hard to believe that this is the same "Game of Thrones" that I fell in love with back in season 1. I wasn't happy with the Night King bringing down the Wall. First of all, the destruction of the Wall should have felt more frightening and scary yet it didn't capture those emotions for me. The Wall never felt like an obstacle and was only treated as a minor roadblock for the White Walkers which is stupid because it is a 500 foot Wall with only 3 tunnels to get through. Surely the Wall should have been considered in Jon's plans a little more as it's certainly the easiest place to form a defense against the White Walkers. Instead it seems like the characters just say that "oh yeah the Wall is going to come down somehow so we will wait at Winterfell instead". It's very badly done. My point is proven further by the method at which the Wall comes down. Don't get me wrong, it's a cool moment but it raises one very important question: what the hell were the White Walkers going to do if the implausible wight capture plan never happened? They wouldn't have had an ice dragon to bring down the Wall. Were they just going to stand next to the Wall and look intimidating? If that's the case, then just leave them alone and everyone survives. The White Walkers aren't even a problem. There were some other little things that bothered me. Theon getting kneed in the groin would still hurt even if he is a eunuch. To pretend that it won't is just silly. The boatsex scene was hurt by the fact that it was interwoven with the Rhaegar/Lyanna wedding reveal. It's almost like the writers just wanted to gross us out with incest. Also, Bran says Jon's real last name should be Sand when talking to Sam. Except that's wrong and his last name should be Targaryen because he's legitimate! What a silly failure of an error that makes Bran look like an idiot. Lastly, I don't like what has been done with The Hound. He is being used as "funny guy that says offensive stuff" instead of a character which is a shame. It's funny and entertaining, but I will take the complex man from seasons 1-4 over this caricature. The Unknown: How will the Golden Company come into the story? What does Cersei plan to do with them? What will come of Cersei's pregnancy? I thought she couldn't have another child due to the prophecy. Apparently the show has forgotten and Cersei too. Are Tormund and Beric dead? I hope not. Best Moment: Cersei and Tyrion's conversation was really good. Character of the Episode: Cersei. Conclusion: This episode had some strong moments, but it was still brought down by the usual lazy writing that has plagued this season. In the end, season 7 was disappointing. It started fairly strong, but the rushed nature of the season and distracted focus of the showrunners made the final three episodes poorly written and disappointing, failing to give me hope that the show will end in strong fashion. This season did provide one great thing with the episode "The Spoils of War" and I'm thankful for that. Unfortunately it also gave us "Beyond the Wall", the show's worst hour thus far in exchange. It's remarkable how different this season felt from the rest of the show and I can sense a clear disconnect with the showrunners and the story they are trying to tell. I guess we may as well wait for GRRM's final two novels to get a satisfying end to this epic saga since this season gave me no hope for the future. Score: 60 Summary: Phoebe tries to warn everyone about Rachel's impending arrival. Chandler and Monica have a rough day and end up having sex. Joey gets homesick. Ross and Emily's parents arrive and start quarreling.
The Good: This was a very funny episode and a strong way to end the season. The Gellers were a delight as always and provided a lot of great lines, with Jack Geller stealing the show again with some excellent jokes. Their arguments with Emily's parents over how much they are paying was very funny and enjoyable to watch. I really liked seeing Ross get caught up in the mess and being forced to sort it out. Chandler and Monica's storyline was great and served as a shocking twist that both excited me and surprised me. Their interactions after having sex were funny and I really like the idea of them getting in a relationship. The concept feels fresh and gives us something to look forward to seeing next season. Rachel and Phoebe were excellent as the outliers. Phoebe's phone calls were terrific comedy and I thought that the obnoxious man that Rachel sat next to on the flight was hilarious and I loved the callback to "we were on a break". Lastly, the final cliffhanger was a terrific ending to the episode. It seemed unlikely that Ross and Emily's relationship would last long as Emily certainly wouldn't be promoted to a series regular so I was curious to see how their relationship would end. The method they chose here was terrific as it smartly allows for two people who love each other to fall apart without making any of them behave poorly. It's also a great hook to get us to watch the season 5 premiere to find out what happens next. This is an example of a great cliffhanger between seasons as it doesn't feel cheap and has us excited for the next season. The Bad: Nothing I would call bad. Best Moment: The "riding the tube" joke was clever and made me laugh hard. Character of the Episode: Jack Geller. He's too good. Conclusion: This was an awesome season finale with a lot of humour and some exciting plot developments to develop some buzz which sets up season 5 nicely. The season as a whole started off pretty strong and consistent. However a few weak stretches of episodes in the middle and ending of the season hurt it and prevented it from being a terrific season, even though it had the best episode of the series so far. As the series has gone on, there has been an uptick in the amount of weaker episodes per season. The series still remains very enjoyable and a few episodes still achieve greatness but the impressive consistency of seasons 1 and 2 have been lost. Despite this, season 4 was still a very strong season of comedy that I enjoyed watching. Score: 80 Summary: The friends head to London for Ross' wedding. Chandler gets annoyed by Joey's tourist antics. Ross and Emily argue on what to do with the wedding when they discover the wedding hall Emily wanted is being torn down. Rachel realizes that she loves Ross and decides to go to London and tell him her feelings.
The Good: This was an energetic episode that felt like the first part of a season finale. There was a lot happening here with a consistent flow of jokes in every scene. I particularly enjoyed Ross' story as his conflict with Emily felt real and did a good job of including some fun humour. A couple of the jokes with Joey and Chandler are good. The Bad: Unfortunately credibility is stretched to the limit for most of the jokes here. Chandler and Joey's story is mostly unfunny filler as Joey comes off as childish while Chandler comes off as pretty mean. Rachel's sudden love for Ross comes off as a forced conflict. It would have been nice to get some foreshadowing for this instead of Phoebe just conveniently saying that everyone knew about it. It's especially odd considering that Rachel was with Joshua around 4 episodes ago. Best Moment: Ross' pants were a clever way to infuse humour into the Ross/Emily conflict that made me laugh a lot due to Ross' increasing frustration with Emily and then the pants. Character of the Episode: Ross. Conclusion: This was a fun episode that sets up the season finale nicely, though it stretched credibility which hurts its score. Score: 63 Summary: The prisoners appear again and Rick wants to send them on the road. Hershel starts walking around on crutches. Walkers suddenly appear and attack. Lori, Carl and Maggie escape into the tunnels together. T-Dog and Carol escape together but T-Dog is bitten and dies. Carol's fate is unknown. Alarms start blaring and Rick, Daryl and the prisoners go to shut them off. Rick finds Andrew there and the prisoners kill him. Lori has to give birth in the tunnels but it doesn't go well. Maggie is forced to do a C-section and Lori dies in the process. Carl shoots her head. Rick learns of what happens and breaks down.
The Good: This was a great episode that featured some of the show's most powerful and heartbreaking scenes so far. I was pleased by the initial discussion regarding the prisoners. I like that each of the characters got to make different suggestions for what to do based on what we know about them. I like that Rick was willing to listen to them but still follows his gut instincts instead of others when making these decisions. I thought the prisoners came off fairly well too and Oscar's comments regarding Axel's odd attempts to be friendly were pretty funny. Then the episode devolved into chaos. Having the hope from Hershel walking around again being transformed to horror when the walkers attacked was a signature TWD moment. The tension escalated immediately and I was worried that the show would do something shocking by killing Hershel right after he had just recovered. Even though that didn't happen, two other central characters died in this episode which is pretty big. I heavily praise the show for making it feel like anyone can die at any given moment as it has led to these walker attacks having unbelievable amounts of tension. It's impressive that I was still nervous for the characters after T-Dog was bit because there was always the possibility that some other characters would face some extreme consequences. This leads into Lori giving birth in the prison tunnels which was extremely tense. Eventually it became clear that Lori wasn't going to make it, and then the episode took a dark and tragic turn. It's impressive that the show made me feel so much from the death of a character I never liked. Lori's death was powerful because of the impact it had on other characters. Watching Carl witness his mother get cut open and die was brutal and worse was his cold decision to shoot his mom to prevent her from turning. It was a rough experience that succeeded hugely in hitting me hard with the depressing nature of the show. When the baby came out and wasn't making any sounds, I was genuinely afraid that the baby would be a stillborn and that Lori died for nothing. It was a horrific moment to watch and had me completely engaged the entire time. But horror isn't enough to provide compelling television. We need some emotional engagement for it to really stick. And we got the emotional engagement through Rick, a character we do care about. Rick's reaction to Lori's death was heartbreaking, stemming from a terrific performance by Andrew Lincoln who conveys Rick's sadness really well. The scene made me genuinely feel sad and I really felt bad for Rick after everything he did to keep Lori safe in the prison. I really like the detail that Andrew is the one who caused this chaos. This makes it so it was Rick's decision to not outright murder Andrew that indirectly caused his wife's death. It wasn't because he lost himself to the world and became too dark, but rather he didn't go far enough to save Lori. It's a distressing story to tell and sets up Rick's character very nicely for change during the rest of the season. I thought the Woodbury scenes were solid. I continue to like the Governor and the way he manipulates people. We got to see him manipulate Andrea and Merle in different ways that allows him to get what he wants for his community. While there are clearly hints of him being downright evil, he has been portrayed as a smart man who is willing to do whatever he needs to for his people. I liked Merle and Andrea's scene as well. The dialogue was good and I like how they touched on the fact that both of them were left behind by Rick's group. The Bad: There were a few small issues I had with the walker assault. First of all, they appeared far too quickly for it to be realistic. It was a good reveal, but it made little sense. Furthermore, Maggie taking Lori into the depths of the prison was a bit dumb. Hershel and Beth stayed outside the prion, so why didn't they? It would have been much smarter. The death of T-Dog wasn't very impactful since we hardly knew him. Had he been given more character development in the show, the moment could have been much better. I wasn't pleased by Daryl's lack of reaction to Carol's apparent death. Surely he would have at least a small reaction. Michonne continues to be bland. If she really wants Andrea to leave, why doesn't she just tell her that she thinks The Governor killed the military people? That should certainly help Andrea open her eyes to what Michonne believes is really going on. The Unknown: Will Merle go find Daryl anyways? He doesn't seem like the kind of person to just listen. What happened to Carol? Is she dead or still surviving? How will Rick and Carl take Lori's death? How will that affect their characters? Best Moment: Rick's reaction to Lori's death was extremely effective at making me feel something for him. Character of the Episode: Lori. Conclusion: This episode was very strong with good developments and some riveting moments. Some of the scenes here were the best that the show has ever done making this one of the show's better episodes. Score: 72 Summary: Arya confronts Sansa about the letter she wrote to Robb. Sansa goes to Littlefinger for advice. Sansa sends Brienne away. Beyond The Wall, the fellowship of the throne are attacked by wights. Thoros is wounded and eventually dies but they capture a wight. The army of the dead chases them and surrounds them on an island. However, Gendry runs back to Eastwatch and sends a raven to Dany. The wights attack the group on the island but Dany arrives with her dragons to save them. The Night King kills Viserion in the ensuing chaos. Everyone leaves but Jon is left behind. Benjen saves him but dies in the process.
The Good: The production in this episode was great. Everything looked really good throughout the episode. As a big "Lord of the Rings" fan, I did like the idea of making a "Game of Thrones" fellowship and I thought the character interactions in the first half of the episode were pretty good. Tormund and The Hound were consistently entertaining in their roles and their conversations with each other were good. I especially liked Tormund talking about Brienne to The Hound. Jon and Jorah had a pretty good scene as well and I'm pleased that they touched on Longclaw in their conversation. I liked Tyrion's worries about succession regarding Dany. With her unable to reproduce, it makes perfect sense for Tyrion to put some thought into Dany's future and things that he may need to take care of. Having the Night King kill a dragon was smart. Now Dany doesn't seem quite as invincible and the White Walkers are even scarier than before. The addition of an undead Viserion is bound to lead to some exciting moments down the road. The Bad: Unfortunately, this was easily the worst episode that "Game of Thrones" has ever done. There was an unbelievable amount of plot holes, clichés and gaps in logic which just added up more and more as the episode went on. While I liked the idea of the fellowship, the idea of it is in total contrast with everything I loved about "Game of Thrones". The very existence of a group of heroes going on a quest is not in the spirit of the show and shows that the writers and showrunners and losing sight of what this show is all about. The polar bear fight was very poor. First of all, the whole battle was practically pointless as it accomplished nothing and existed solely because the showrunners wanted a zombie polar bear (they actually said this on camera). Furthermore, the logic surrounding the battle was baffling. First things first, who were those redshirts that were killed? Were they people who joined up with the fellowship? I swear we have never seen them in any other scene. Or were they just random people who happened to be around? It's so forced and makes little sense. Furthermore, why did nobody do anything while Thoros was fighting the polar bear. The Hound was petrified, but what about everyone else? Were they too busy sipping on tea as they waited? Lastly, the polar bear wight was killed by a stab to the head. A polar bear WIGHT was killed by a stab to the head. If the dagger was dragonglass, then fair enough. But how would anyone be aware that dragonglass kills wights along with the White Walkers? They haven't done it ever before, so surely they should at least react to the bear getting killed by the dragonglass. Furthermore, Tormund attacked with his axe and it did nothing. Why would he refuse to bring a dragonglass weapon when it's the only weapon that would work? Same goes for Gendry's hammer. This takes me to Thoros' death. Talk about a meaningless death. Deaths in this series have all existed for a purpose, but this one felt more like a "someone needs to die on this mission and we pick him" kind of death. I expect things like this from "The Walking Dead" not "Game of Thrones". The next action scene was the scout party battle, and it was still terrible. First of all, the actual idea of a scout party is beyond stupid. What the hell are they scouting? There are pretty much zero people beyond The Wall currently, and the only reason Jon's crew were there was because they are idiots going on an idiotic mission. So why would the White Walkers need a scouting group. I'm fin with Jon killing the White Walker, but I'm not fine with every wight dying except one. How convenient!! How implausible is it that every wight doesn't die and that just one survives for them to take? It's downright unbelievable. Then we get into the group running when the army of the dead comes after them. My first question is, what the hell was their plan of getting away going into this? Did they not plan any of this out? Did they seriously just charge an army of thousands of wights with no plan to escape? What a terrible plan. Logically, they should have had a method to get a wight and get out of there immediately. Yet they don't do this. They just waste time until the cold comes and then they run. But they don't even try to run back to where they came. They send Gendry to Eastwatch and everyone else just goes somewhere else for some reason and they get trapped on a frozen lake like incapable idiots. Why didn't they all run with Gendry and only send him ahead when it was clear that all of them were dead? Also, I think Dany would figure out they died when no word comes back from them, so Gendry running back should hardly be a concern for them. But nope, Gendry has to run back so that Dany can come back and save the day, so he just has to go regardless of how it makes no sense. The actual retreat to the lake was really poor. First of all, the idea that the ice would break in a perfect circle around the island is dumb and extremely convenient for everyone to survive. Next, is the idea that the wights would surround the group. We haven't seen any intelligence from these things before, and they have only ever charged their enemy with intent to kill. Yet for some reason, these guys now have the wits to surround them on the lake before attacking them? That's inconsistent. Worse yet, are their random showings of intelligence later. They are too stupid to dodge a rock that The Hound throws, yet they are smart enough to notice that the way is clear for them to attack? What the hell. Also, why didn't all of the wights attack after that? Just one went out after seeing the frozen ice. Were the others just daydreaming? The writers weren't even trying to be consistent with wight intelligence. The actual battle on the island was terrible, even worse than the polar bear fight. It was awfully nice of the wights to go like 5 at a time to the island while all of the others waited around. Whatever happened to the terrifyingly quick and vicious wights that were at Hardhome? Those wights would have crushed these guys in like 2 minutes. But we can't have that happen, so all of the wights are suddenly less threatening because the plot says so. Maybe you can make a case and say that the wights were smart enough to realize that the ice would break again if they charge, but that once more highlights the inconsistent intelligence flaw. The tease of Tormund's death was poor because the moment he went down, he should have died. But the wights have become incapable now and they don't kill him so he can be saved. I guess the wights just got tired from walking all the way to The Wall. The biggest issue with this battle was that it had zero tension. We were obviously killing time for Dany to come in for the save so that's what I was waiting for the entire time. Dany's attack did nothing for me and also managed to piss me off by being totally ridiculous. First of all, I don't have any emotional reaction to seeing dragons burn stuff so it has already lost my interest. The showrunners apparently think that we enjoy this show because dragons not because of all the other stuff that we actually watched the show for in the first four seasons when dragons weren't doing much. So I was pretty bored by the whole dragon attack scene, but then the boredom eventually turned to anger due to how dumb everything got. The Night King killing a dragon was cool, but why did he attack Viserion? Drogon was literally totally still on the ground but the Night King instead attacks the difficult target for some reason. Why would he not go for Drogon? Killing Drogon will also prevent any of the others from leaving which would cause all of them to die. Plus then the Night King gets a bigger dragon. It's a win-win for him to target Drogon. Also, if he is accurate enough to hit Viserion from that distance while he moves, that makes it even more ridiculous that he would miss Drogon when Drogon flew away. Also, if the Night King has such accuracy with these spears, why didn't he just rain them down on Jon's group on the island while they slept? They wouldn't be able to do anything about it and the Night King would save himself some trouble. Suddenly, the Night King has gone from terrifying villain to another idiot of a villain who is only terrifying and smart when the plot demands it. Also, I was displeased that the dragons never even attempted to attack the White Walkers with their fire. Shouldn't Dany really go after the main threat instead of the random army? Furthermore, it would be way more satisfying if the Night King killed Viserion while Viserion was trying to attack him. The end of the battle was one of the worst conclusions I have ever seen. So Jon decides to fight the wights because... I have no idea. What was he trying to accomplish? What could he have done? Nothing! So just get on the dragon Jon, you idiot. I was downright angered by this decision because of how stupid, needless and out-of-character it was. Jon is supposed to be a heroic and selfless person not a suicidal fool. The save from deus ex Benjen was ridiculous too. Nice of Benjen to get under two minutes of screentime for him to provide the convenient save and die. That's just bad writing. Furthermore, that makes two deus ex machinas in one episode of this show. Let's not forget that this show was all about avoiding popular fantasy clichés in the first four seasons. To put so many cliches in this one episode is a literal spit in the face of George RR Martin as the poor man has to now watch his masterful works get slandered in the hands of incapable showrunners who have no clue how to provide a satisfying conclusion to this epic franchise. And of course, I can't forget to mention the ridiculous time jumps that happened in this episode. Just how long were these guys on the damn island? Gendry pulled an olympic marathon by running to Eastwatch, recovered, sent a raven to Dany all the way on Dragonstone which is extremely far away, Dany read it, contemplated what to do, decided to help, flew north on dragons and found the exact spot where the group was. That must have taken several days of time due to the ridiculous distances that would have to be covered, and this entire time the group was just sitting on the island? That's extremely bad. The ending of the episode with Dany and Jon left me annoyed and disappointed. First of all, I was disappointed in Dany's reactions to the dead army and the death of Viserion. Surely we deserved more of a surprised reaction from Dany when she first saw the army and the Night King. But the biggest offense here is her reaction to losing Viserion. She has commonly referred to the dragons as her children but she doesn't have a motherly reaction to her child's death. Instead she seems more saddened by Jon's apparent death which is just wrong. Furthermore, I was confused by Jon sayign he will bend the knee. Why? What changed from before that forced him to bend the knee now? He has no reason to do this and it's just as stupid as his decision to stay behind to fight. Now on to the end of the episode. The chains came completely out of nowhere. Where did the White Walkers get them? More importantly, how the hell did they get them onto Viserion? Do not tell me the wights did it, because they were unable to go into the water 20 minutes before this scene. The most annoying part is that this seems like such an unnecessary plot hole to include. How hard is it to just make the Night King raise his arms again and have Viserion burst out from under the ice? Hell it would have made for a better reveal anyways, especially since I immediately figured out that Viserion was coming back as a wight after I saw the chains pulling him up. And to think that I have written this many complaints without even getting into the Winterfell story. That one is just as bad as this. The showrunners are blatantly setting up for Arya and Sansa killing Littlefinger but they are doing it in a stupid way. They want us to be surprised so they are making it look like Littlefinger is playing Arya and Sansa against each other so that we can be surprised when they turn on him. It's too predictable and that makes it really tedious to watch. The issue of course comes from the fact that they don't appear to be faking it in their scenes. Why is it necessary for them to fake it anyways? In case Littlefinger has spies? If that's the case, how did they communicate this plan without him knowing anyways? The story is very poorly thought out. It's even worse if it turns out that the two aren't faking it and are genuinely at odds. I didn't wait for them to reunite only for them to start fighting each other. There are so many other conflicts I would rather explore over a Stark family dispute. Furthermore, both characters come off poorly in this conflict. Sansa is foolish for confiding in Littlefinger and sending Brienne away. Arya is totally out of her league and unsympathetic for getting mad at Sansa over something so trivial. Her entire argument makes it seem like she never really grew up past her hate of Sansa at all. So either way this goes, the result is going to be unsatisfying. And it has to be resolved next episode where it will likely be rushed. How did this show come to this? The Unknown: Is Littlefinger being set up or is he actually playing the Starks against each other? What will Cersei's reaction be when she sees the wight? I highly doubt that she actually helps Dany and Jon. Having The Hound use the word "dick" was odd. I don't believe that word has ever been used before so I'm not sure that it exists int his universe. That could be a large inconsistency which perfectly highlights how sloppily the show is being written now. However, I may be wrong so I'm leaving it in The Unknown. Best Moment: Tormund and The Hound talking about Brienne was entertaining. Character of the Episode: Tormund. Conclusion: This was an illogical, stupid and downright insulting episode. The show has fallen off a cliff in the last two episodes and no longer resembles itself. This episode was downright painful and sad to watch because it showed us how far the show has fallen. Score: 36 Summary: Monica and Rachel throw a baby shower for Phoebe who is experiencing a ton of mood swings. Ross picks Joey to be his best man but Joey loses Ross' wedding ring.
The Good: There are some nice moments throughout this episode. I liked Rachel and Monica attempting to make Phoebe feel better about losing her babies. I thought that Joey, Ross and Chandler had some fun lines in their story. I especially liked them confronting the stripper in Chandler's office. The Bad: Most of this was a bit dumb. Phoebe's mood swings are ridiculous and excessive which removes any potential humour from them. Monica and Rachel being afraid of their friend was pretty stupid for a story. I also thought that the moment where Monica and Rachel came up with the baby shower felt forced and unrealistic without providing anything funny. The guys' story had some issues too. For one, it didn't produce any particular funny moments and falls short of some of the better Ross/Chandler/Joey stories. The jokes surrounding the duck felt out of character for the show and weren't funny either. Best Moment: I liked Chandler suddenly getting pressured by Ross and Joey over a wedding that he doesn't even think will happen. Character of the Episode: Chandler. Conclusion: This was a weak episode which is far below the standard I would expect from this show. Much like season 3 before it, season 4 is suffering from a much weaker back half. Score: 50 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
February 2024
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