Summary: A mysterious Samaritan operative kills a man who began to suspect Samaritan's existence. Reese, Finch and Shaw get on with their new lives. Reese is a detective, Finch is a teacher and Shaw sells perfume. Root and the Machine keep in contact through subtle means and they give numbers to Reese and Shaw. Reese is kept in check by Shaw as they try to save Ali, a store owner being threatened by a gang. Finch initially doesn't want to risk doing the numbers, but after a conversation with Root, he helps out. Ali is saved by Reese with Finch's help. Using Ali's work, Finch is able to create a communication network hidden from Samaritan. The Machine guides Finch to a new base that's off the grid.
The Good: The episode started on a really cool note. The Samaritan officer killing the man who had started to become aware was really chilling. I thought it was an effective way to show how Samaritan protects itself, and how its awareness is a big benefit to the government. The woman who was sent by Samaritan seems like a big threat, and introducing her early in the season is a good decision, giving the season some momentum right off the bat. It gets more interesting when she arrives later in the episode, suspecting the presence of somebody who is aware of Samaritan. This premiere had a good focus to it. The premise of introducing us to the new lives that each of the characters' are leading is pretty good, and it's interesting to watch. Finch being a teacher makes perfect sense, especially after "2PiR", Reese being a detective is smart and also allows him to keep in touch with Fusco, while Shaw being a perfume saleswoman is hilarious. I can't help but feel that Root gave her that job specifically to mess with her. The focus on these new lives also led to Finch having a very strong story in this episode. Finch is still refusing to work with the Machine, continuing his story from last season. He is stubborn and it leads to some really good scenes where the others try to convince him to help. Both of the conversations with Reese and Root were very strong. Reese and Finch's scene once more highlighted their excellent relationship with callbacks to what they have done for each other. Root's scene was more powerful because it showed us something new with Root playing up her relationship with Finch, but also hitting Finch in personal areas to ensure that he will return. There were a few other moments I enjoyed. Elias' return was great and his interactions with Reese were as fun as ever. The overly dramatic "we are the store" emotional moment near the end of the episode was unintentionally hilarious to me (or maybe it was intentional) and I enjoyed it more than I should have. Jamie Hector was the bad guy! Great casting choice, though I do wish he had a larger role. The Bad: As usual, the POI story was dull and didn't do much for me. It was hard to care about anything that went on involving Ali. Overall, I found myself to be pretty disappointed by how familiar this episode was. After "Deus Ex Machina", the show really needed to make some major changes to put over how dangerous Machine work has become for the main crew. Instead, everything was the same. The force pairing still worked undetected. They could still communicate without issue. They didn't have to be careful enough to avoid crime. It was more or less the same, with some lines of dialogue telling them to be careful. I feel like this was a missed opportunity to make a big change and freshen up the show a bit. I thought the show was very inconsistent with the rules it laid out too. Finch had said that they couldn't even communicate on phones without blowing their cover. Hence the importance of the hidden network that Finch discovers at the end of the episode. I can buy the hidden network reveal because it's likely that The Machine provided Ali's number so they could get this network. But the big issue is the fact that we see characters communicating via cell phone throughout the episode anyways! The show didn't even try to stick to the rules it established which was really disappointing. Would it hurt to have the characters go to safe zones to discuss Samaritan? Surely Samaritan would detect people using its name, so wouldn't the word Samaritan be taboo? But instead many of the conversations are unfiltered and loud, made worse by the fact that they are happening in public places. Would it be too much to ask for a little bit of change? It really diminishes the Samaritan threat if its presence is ignored and the characters seem unconcerned with protecting themselves from it. The Unknown: Who is the mysterious woman? Does she work for the government or is she somehow independent? Does she suspect Reese? Will she investigate further? Will Finch turn that area he found at the end of the episode into a new base? What is Root's job? She is the only one we didn't learn mush about. What is Romeo recruiting Shaw for? He seems like a criminal, so is Shaw about to become a robber? That could be a fun development. Best Moment: Root trying to entice Finch to join the crew again was great. Character of the Episode: Reese. Conclusion: This episode felt too familiar. I'm okay with the season starting off slowly, but I was disappointed by the lack of change after that epic season 3 finale. Score: 50
4 Comments
Ben
5/11/2019 02:29:51 am
I've been rewatching this season since I've only see it the once. I get your problems with this episode. I enjoyed it a lot more on rewatch though. I quite like the idea of the secret network. I really love the opening scene with the Samaritan officer (played by Cara Buono). That was my favourite moment of the episode for sure. On a different note, I've seen Cara Buono in a few things now since Person of Interest finished. She's actually a very good actress with a wide range. Stranger Things really doesn’t make good use of her. Particularly, I recommend an episode of Law and Order called "Punk" (Season 9, Episode 8). It's a very moving performance, and she's completely unrecognisable.
Reply
Aaronic
5/13/2019 01:22:08 pm
Wow, I had to do a quick google search to figure out who Cara Buono was playing in Stranger Things. I didn't catch that one at all. I presume that Cara Buono's character will have a fairly significant role to play for at least a little while, and I look forward to seeing more of her.
Reply
Ben
5/13/2019 01:44:42 pm
Yeah, she has a starring credit for Stranger Things, but it hardly feels like a main role at all. She also received an Emmy nomination for Mad Men and was in the Sopranos, but these are two shows I'm still yet to see.
Reply
Aaronic
5/13/2019 01:48:01 pm
I haven't seen either of those shows either, perhaps I'll check them out in the future. I'm excited to rewatch Lost, I really miss watching TV shows with seasons longer than 10 episodes. Waching Person of Interest has given me the urge to watch a longer show again.
Reply
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
|