All posts by ElijahKatherineFan89

<p>"Other than that, I am pissed to hell that the Machine has always had the ability to go God Mode, but only decided now to use it now. That would have come in very handy during this season." </p><p>I thought that part was great. It shows it has its code based upon Harold's ethics and this show is about technlogy as much as it's about the ethics about it, I always love moments like that. </p><p>Too much action for my taste especially the end, it seems so redundant and only a transport to a more important place but otherwise, I thought it was a superb finale. I would have been disappointed if Greer and Samaritan had lost but there's still hope since the gang is alive and the Machine, while deactivated, has its codes in that bag of theirs. At the same time, while I value freedom I can't help but see Greer and Samaritan as a good thing for humanity, Samaritans' ethics seem far trustworthy than most humans and it has only been alive for a year while we have had milleniums to try and strive for some kind of ordered society. All in all, I hope conflict continues and once it ends something has actually changed. </p>

<p>I never thought about housing the machine in Samaritan's special servers, that would be very sneaky. The idea of them merging together would also be an interesting concept. </p>

<div class="quote"><i>Rubbra wrote:
I liked this episode for a lot of reasons which have probably already occurred to you all, so I won't bore you... But when I saw the pneumatic cannister I had to chuckle about the cultural ignorance of the characters even though they soon worked it out. Pneumatic tubes weren't just a mail system for banks, but they were in common use in the 1970's for drive-in bank windows. They didn't need a teller station in every lane; they sometimes had one teller serving three lanes, with a tube station for each lane. The cannister would carry the transaction (deposit slip and checks or cash to the teller, or check made out to cash; the tube and cannister would return the deposit receipt or money). It was nostalgia for me, but a well-crafted plot element for the show.</i></div>
<p>I don't live in the US but I wasn't aware they were used that often as they described in the show even if intuitively I could make the connection of its usefulness. I liked Elias's remark about the ingenuity of that system specifically because this is a show about focusing on technology and more importantly how it changes us. There has been other incidents like that episode where a Egyptian ex-military officer created a mesh network of sorts for the Brotherhood that utilized old technology so modern police system wouldn't find it. I wonder how often stuff like that happens in real life on a daily basis. </p><p>But my first reaction was "Hey, they used those in Lost! Probably an easter egg..". I really miss Lost.. :( </p>

<p>Hard to choose for best moment, Root finally killing that bitch or Elias's trick to make Dominic kill his own number 2 and ask the same phrase he was asked. </p><p>Fantastic episode from the homeless hipster Finch to the stage up where the machine might go offline (not forever though, I think Finch has a backup) and Samaritan preparing for a new age for humanity. </p><p>For security reasons I also assumed that ever since the Machine went on its own it incorporated itself into the cloud so that not one specific server can be shutdown for it go completely offline, similar to how Samaritan has hundreds of bases across the world to make it infeasible to go after it. </p>

<p>"once the boogey man was gone, most of those cops just went on with their lives, with no one knowing they were corrupted." </p><p>I thought after time FBI would arrest most of them? The only one who was truly safe from paper work was Alfonso Quinn because he didn't even take a cut from their side deals, all he wanted was power. Unfortunately for him most cops most likely testified against him to save themselves some jail time. </p><p>As for Samaritan arc, they should not sweep that under the rug, it's too ingrained in the series' DNA. What I'm hoping they will do is once it's dealt with it will have a profound effect of the world's technology and how people view it without making it a big media scandal and then when it's over people going on with their lives like nothing happened like any other scandal. </p><p>Comparing Reese and Root regarding deus ex machine isn't fair. Reese as a character, it's like his thing. Making Root do the same it's just cheap. Her thing was being a brilliant hacker who takes her time to solve her missions. There's lacking a great deal of subtlety in her new form and most of the interesting stuff she does (probably) happens off screen which pisses me off. </p>

<p>"It just seemed unsettling. John should have capped Martine as she lay on the ground. Imagine what a sniper rifle would have done at that range... Sal was captured and killed. He could have become a great ally. His software found the Machine and all... But instead Finch refused to let him in on the secret. Its not like it would have mattered, his life was over, his career shot, Samaritan already had him blacklisted AND he already knew about both machines at that point." </p><p>I agree with this but I still enjoyed the episode. The idea to use an established, global anti-virus to search for the unique code that made the machine happen was brilliant and I actually suspected that from the beginning which made it even more fun. Kudos for the writers to give Finch's his own coding language as the core build up of The Machine, not digging the idea that it was made in a traditional one like he was just a regular coder but with great skill. </p><p>Rubbra @ But to the episode's detriment, and the series, I'm getting a little tired of the deus ex machina crap. Root has shown up as a convenient angel a little too many times. The card is getting a bit worn out, and it challenges the contract of willingness to suspend disbelief. </p><p>I agree and frankly it was over the 3rd time, it was fun the first 2 times but after that it became the same old thing not to mention to the detriment of Root as a character. Whatever happened to her being a brilliaint hacker? Her independence is also gone as she became The Machine's bitch and loss of her anti-hero & anti-villain status (unique and awesome) to make her a generic hero that of course had to fall in love with another main character. At least her intellectual sparring with Finch hasn't stopped, that never gets old. </p><p>As enjoyable as the show is too much focus is on the potential release to the media about existence of A.Is and the "war" between them but otherwise an enjoyable episode and with some evil tendency on Greer's part; loved the idea that he ordered cigars for $50,000, that fits a villain in my eyes. </p>

<p>It's refreshing when they make the POI character interesting, really digging Dominic character (can't say much for his people though) but the ending with Caleb and Root, that really made it to the next level. I hope we get to see actual screen time with them. </p><p>With Caleb returning it reminded me of Mr Phoneguy and Alistair and I hope they bring them back too. </p>

<div class="quote"><i>Rubbra wrote: Greer is not the head of Decima; he is, at the end of the day, still an underling.</i></div>
<p>I think they mentioned his official title at Decima (when it was a legitimate company in China) was Head of Operations (and Logistics?). For all we know he's the head, he merely joined up with company because he knew the actual CEO or he recruited people with necessary talents and descretion without either the CEO or the boards' knowledge. Given how we saw his flashback, I don't think he would woudld jump from a superior as a double agent to some greedy corporate heads; he learned his lesson and most likely took charge until he could find someone that could rule like a potential A.I can. </p>

<p>What a great episode! I'm feeling the Person of Interest spirit once again. I actually didn't expect Claire to betray Finch one moment just until she did, I don't know but something about her story was well-presented, not too much and not too little. Professional liars must have trained here at Greer's organization. </p><p>I also liked the whole ad industry issue and how it represents a real life issue that is not really focused on enough. Just another reason to spread the love of people who create AdBlockers. </p><p>The ending accumulated well into what the episode had been about, both regarding Claire and the place that POI worked at. And Greer, oh man.. he's such a fabulous Big Bad. I can't wait for the next episode. </p>

<p>I don't know why but I haven't enjoyed a POI episode like this in a long while, I think it had something to do with Fusco's detective skills being displayed and that we actually follow Root as a character rather than some pistol wielding demi-god being controlled by a god and how her entire personal life mission might have changed at the end. That cliffhanger was damn annoying but a good one too. Looking forward to the next episode. </p>

<p>Aside from the excessive amount of shooting (not necessarily compared to other episodes, just to my preference) and the lame cliffhanger (I don't like them unless I can see what happens immediately afterwards, they lose their point) it was an interesting episode. My favourite, as usually, was the flashbacks. We already know that what defines Finch is his utmost deep feeling that all life has equal value and the conflict that must have risen in him when he built as the machine for "the greater good" must have been inexplicable. </p><p>Anyone else tired of what happened with Root? I want her to be a damn hacker, not a speaker for the machine or some Lara Croft shooting heroine. </p>

<p>Great episode, very intense and as mentioned the flashbacks to Greer was very revealing if a tad predictable. He said something about an A.I never sleeping with her secretary in an earlier episode which was kind of a foreshadow to his superior's betrayal and combination with the Blitz it's no wonder he's so motivated and with his capabilities why would he stop? From his POV Team Machine is just in the way to a bright future for humanity even if it's a gamble due to the nature of the A.I. and given our history, such a gamble might be worth it. </p><p>I wonder if the Machine could, if Samaritan gets the upper hand, release information about the existance of A.Is and specifically where Samaritan's servers are on the net and media outlets to force Samaritan and Greer out in the open, they are having it relatively easy running things from the background. </p>

<div class="quote"><i>Brenster23 wrote: Thats just it, Simaritian is designed to be completely task oriented and it's current tasks where searching for Shaw and root, and locating terrorist plots. The Machine was designed with the purpose of saving people. </i></div>
<p>Arthur created it as an open system which then Greer's organization modified it to be able to give commands, not just follow them. At least that's what it looked like to me at the finale of season 3. </p>

<div class="quote"><i>Brenster23 wrote: Actually a good hacker can prevent that notification from ever coming through, and Simaritian is focussing all of it's resourses on finding root, shaw, and preventing terrorist attacks. unlike the machine, Simaritian has to be pointed in a certain direction to start searching. </i></div>
<p>I don't get this. I thought because it was an open system it will develop an identity like Finch's A.I did and started developing its own code like for example focusing on saving him before everybody else. I know they need to be careful to not overdo it since theoretically an A.I could is too powerful so they need some kind of limit. I find a storyline in which they give Samaritan its own identity far more promising than merely being a tool for Greer and his organization. In fact, once Samaritan and Greer doesn't have the same goal any longer the main story will be very interesting. </p>

<div class="quote"><i>TheSamaritanUknow wrote:
I'm a sucker for season 1 throwbacks, when everything was peaceful. Who else got a chill when Elias walked down the beach in the end?</i></div>
<p>I did. </p><p>I forgot to mention something. Anyone that has any concrete regarding Dominic's comment about "game within a game"? Did he mean something like a special trick like how Elias was able to lead organized crime even behind bars through that accountant of his who likely will get a more important role now that Scarface is gone. I also enjoyed how that accountant at the end had already begun constructing a list of untrustworthy people in Elias's organization. I'm a sucker for lists of important people. :) </p>

<p>A surprisingly fun episode. A pity with Scarface, always liked him even if he was a minor character. I hope Elias returns and wipe out everyone in The Brotherhood but I wonder what would cause Dominic to suffer. He didn't even flinch because a few "soldiers" died so I suppose taking away his chances to grow his gang at all and breaking his will would put him down then a slow bullet until he's dead. </p><p>Regarding Root, is her cover really blown? Her current one, sure, but she's like a chameleon. I think it's safe to say that Shaw's role will be be quite isolated for the time being and I can't help but find that annoying. Too much homeground stuff. I like it when they mix it up with international connections because, after all, New York City is quite an international city. I hope they do something Reese too. His reaction to therapy is typical movie predictable ("it doesn't work, my issues are too deep") and making him a cop was a poor decision. We already have Fusco for that. </p><p>Martine seems to be going up the food chain. I wonder if she's just a terminator like Hersh or Scarface who will never disobey. Can't say I would like Greer to be killed by someone in his own organization for the sake of a power grab but the idea that Samaritan and Greer won't be on the same side by the end of Season 4 would be interesting. </p>

<div class="quote"><i>Quote: I bet this is the episode where he finally finds out about the Machine.</i></div>
<p>It will be interesting to see what he will do with that information. I'm hoping he will up his game by trying to get into the A.I business and maybe even interfere with Greer's organization. </p>

<p>It would be very disappointing if Dominic manages to get Elias killed and then become some kind of mafia boss for a while. As I said, too much "gang" affiiliation in this show (and cops for that matter). </p><p>Caleb should return with his super compression algorithm instead, fits this show more appropriately. </p>

<div class="quote"><i>Palatura wrote: I'm guessing you're new. Only few episodes of this entire show focuses on gang wars if they focus on it at all. Did you try watching first, second and third seasons?</i></div>
<p>I watched all episodes. I'm merely bothered that there are too many gangs and cops and the worst mistake of season 4 was to make Reese a damn cop when the show got back to its original track (my opinion) after HR fell and Carter was killed off. </p>

<p>I wish this show had more focus on actual surveillance and not gang wars. </p><p>That said, the ending was terrific. </p>