Ricky Church reviews the 100th episode of Person of Interest…
In this day and age of television, it is an achievement for a series to reach 100 episodes. Its no easy task to accomplish and when a show reaches this milestone they usually celebrate by either looking to the past or the future, fundamentally changing the show going forward. Person of Interest was no different as it changed everything in the lead-up to the big finale and delivered plenty of emotional moments, most of them tragically so.
‘The Day The World Went Away’ was a big game changer as Finch accidentally blew his cover, allowing Samaritan to chase him all over the city. It’s been a rare occurrence when Finch has been directly in danger and the fact that his emotional ties to his previous life were what led to his blown cover was a huge moment for him. It certainly laid the groundwork for his decision at the end of the episode and the seeds for a potentially darker and emotionless Finch in Person of Interest’s last few episodes, a possibility that has been hinted at before by the two casualties of the story, Elias and Root.
Since his introduction way back in season one, Enrico Colantoni has been one of the most memorable recurring characters in the series. Seeing him be a somewhat active part of the POI team this season, especially after ‘Sotto Voce’, was a great way to do something new with the character. I said in my review of ‘Sotto Voce’ that he viewed Finch as an equal and the fact Elias willingly put his own life on the line to protect him said a lot about that friendship and how much he himself had evolved. His story even came full circle as he took to Finch to hide and ultimately died in the very same tenement complex viewers first met him. It was certainly a shame to see him go out and Elias will be missed.
The ultimate tragedy, however, was Root’s death. In hindsight, this moment has been built up over a while these past few episodes as Root kept insisting to Finch that he had to let The Machine control itself and fully help them rather than going back to the way things were done before. Root’s death still came as a shock as her fate was left hanging in the air until the closing moments of the episode. She certainly had plenty of memorable moments in this episode as well, from flirting with Shaw mid-battle (arguably the only time Shaw feels like herself) to, and I can’t emphasize the awesomeness of this enough, taking out a pursuing van from the sunroof of her car while driving it with her foot (seriously, that was awesome!), Root stole several scenes. The fact that she sacrificed herself for Finch was a great way to end their relationship considering how it began in the first place.
Even after she was shot, the show still played with the hope that she was alive as we didn’t actually see her die. Once the phone rang and Finch heard Root’s voice, there was a split second of joy before realizing The Machine chose to speak in Root’s voice. This move was entirely appropriate and a great way to close Root’s arc out. In many ways she was more connected to The Machine than even Finch and seemed to understand it much more as well. Technically Root is now one with The Machine given her near religious-like belief in it and talk of meta-physical existence with it. The Machine’s choice serves as a great payoff to Root’s character and how much the former hitgirl grew attached to everyone on the team. Her death is without a doubt tragic, but looking back seems like the only possible end for her.
Michael Emerson gave a stirring performance throughout the episode, possibly the best he’s given yet on the show. His final monologue to Samaritan was chilling, recalling some of his best moments as Benjamin Linus on Lost. As I said before, the fact that Finch seems to be in a much darker mindset leaves open a wealth of possibilities. Person of Interest’s 100th episode delivered on all fronts, from character, story, action and certainly emotion. I’m excited, yet incredibly nervous, over where the story will go in the final three episodes for all involved.
Ricky Church
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https://youtu.be/b7Ozs5mj5ao?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published June 2, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
