Harold Finch and his team have rescued The Machine on PERSON OF INTEREST and CBS has brought us back up to speed after putting us on hold for a year. And so, what they’re calling “the final chapter” continues.
In the May 9 episode, Finch and Root were held up in their underground lair trying to resuscitate The Machine but ran into problem after problem. First they needed more processing power, which Finch and Reese solved by raiding a data storage facility. Then The Machine had an existential meltdown, unable to distinguish past from present, the result being that it equated Reese, Fusco, and Root’s past transgressions with the present. Talking with The Machine didn’t help. Meanwhile, Reese and Fusco were given 30 numbers as possible persons of interest, none of which turned out to be risks. It wasn’t until two final numbers arose that things turned serious, as Fusco was sent to save a man in trouble with the mob and Reese was confronted by an assassin sent by The Machine. To solve the problem, Finch grounded The Machine in a reality check by showing it files from the past in which the team saved lives, all which The Machine used to create a new context and eventually apologized for its bad behavior. Finally, the team emerged from underground, safe. Curiously, they don’t seem to have a problem with Samaritan recognizing them as a threat.
On the May 10 episode, The Machine finally spit out regular numbers, in twos. Root was dispatched disguised as a delivery driver and discovered a mysterious series of electronics shipments that turned out to be an attempt by Samaritan to spread malware. Root and Finch made a copy of the malware to study it and Root isolated it on a laptop and watched it replicate and morph itself, risking that it might somehow infiltrate The Machine. Reese was sent to watch over a corporate security worker whom he discovered accessing secret government files, which got him a visit by the CIA. It turned out running that operation was Beale, Reese’s former CIA boss, whom Reese was forced to counter without revealing himself. But Beale still recognized Reese and the threat existed to uncover his work for The Machine. In the end, Reese confronted Beale yet did so while gaining Beale’s continued respect and silence.
This week, on Monday night, we see the return of Shaw. Everyone on the team thought Shaw was dead, but she was under the care of Samaritan boss John Greer, who has been conditioning her for work against The Machine and its team. Shaw escapes her captors, but Finch, Root, and Reese are unsure of Shaw’s mental state when she shows signs of paranoia and begins to act reckless.
Then, on Tuesday night, Reese protects an NYPD analyst whose investigation into a software glitch has drawn the attention of Samaritan. Also, Reese and Fusco are threatened by an ally of the late Elias, who is looking for revenge for his friend’s death.
On a sad note, I have learned that this is indeed the final chapter for PERSON OF INTEREST. After this season, the series has been canceled. Enjoy it while it lasts.
Watch the clip below and tune in to an all new PERSON OF INTEREST on May 16 and Mat 17 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
