Person of Interest: The Contingency
December 1, 2024 2:21 PM - Season 2, Episode 1 - Subscribe
With Finch missing - kidnapped by his hacker nemesis, Root - Reese enlists Detectives Carter and Fusco to get his friend back. Meanwhile, The Machine disseminates a new number to Reese.
This episode relies heavily on flashbacks. In the interest of clarity, flashbacks will appear in bold print.
January 1, 2002 (Day 1): For the first time, Finch interacts with the Machine, asking it if it can identify him. When he asks "Who am I?" the machine indicates Admin which makes Finch very happy.
June 10, 2002 (Day 161): Finch reminds his partner Nathan Ingram that they built the Machine specifically to spot terrorists before they could act.
February 8, 2005 (Day 1135): Alicia Corwin warns Ingram that he would go to jail if Congress found out that he is building the machine.
September 6, 2011 (Day 3546): Finch and Reese meet for the first time (that Reese is aware of) and Finch tells him he has information that he needs help to act upon. (s1 e1)
September 20, 2011 (Day 3550): Following their first POI experience, Finch speculates that both he and Reese will probably wind up dead. Finch goes on to inform Reese that he has a contingency in place should things go awry.(s1 e1)
May 16, 2012 (Day 3789): The Machine issues the number of Caroline Turing. (s1 e23)
May 18, 2012 (Day 3791): Too late, Reese realizes that Root posed as Caroline to lure them out and she captures Harold. Reese then turns to the Machine, talks to it via a camera, and tells it that it's going to help him get Harold back. (s1 e23)
A nearby phone rings and Reese answers it. A computer synthesized voice states several seemingly random words and then cuts off.
Meanwhile, the Machine keeps searching for Harold and finally finds him at a diner with Root. A police officer sits nearby and Root warns Finch that if he calls out, she'll shoot someone else. She asks him not to make her do it and he nods but refuses to talk. Root tells him that she knows enough and Harold asks where they're going. She tells him "the future" and when he denies he's who she's looking for, Root says that she's been looking for him her entire life. She knows about the Machine and hat Finch created it. She wonders why it didn't protect him.
Carter comes home and finds Reese waiting for her. He tells her that Root has taken Finch. He wants Carter to investigate Root's last victim, Alicia Corwin . When she asks what he's going to be doing, Reese admits that he isn't quite sure.
Back at the Library, Reese writes down the words that the Machine gave him and tries to work out what they mean. When he picks up a book and realizes that each tag has the title and initials, he looks for books that match the single word title and the two names, first and last. The Dewey Decimal numbers when placed in sequence form a Social Security number.
Fusco identifies the POI as Leon Tao( played by Ken Leung), and Reese tracks him to a bar. Reese shows Leon photos of Finch and Root. Leon insists that he's never seen either one of them before and Reese realizes that he's telling the truth. He wonders why he's there and notices that several men in the bar are carrying guns. Reese realizes that the Machine has sent him to help save Leon and that Finch made him his backup contact with the machine. Leon insists that he hasn't done anything to anger the men with the guns but the first man comes over and explains that Leon stole money from them. Reese says that he doesn't have time for it and says that he just wants to leave with Leon. The men refuse to accept this, but Reese is able to quickly overpower them. He leaves with Leon.
February 16, 2002 (Day 47): Finch goes out on the street and talks to the Machine via a surveillance camera. The Machine signals him via his cell phone and he tells it that they're going to play hide and seek. The Machine continues to track him using laptop webcams and even reflections, much to Finch's satisfaction.
Reese has identified the mean who wanted Leon as Aryan Brotherhood from their tattoos. Leon admits he stole $8 million but he didn't intend to. He took a job at a startup company and discovered they were using it to launder profits from their meth operation, so decided to take some payback. Reese breaks into a police car and handcuffs Leon to the door. After leaving him for the police and walking away, Reese calls Fusco and tells him to make sure that Leon doesn't get hurt while he's in jail.
Back at the library, Reese goes over the information he has on Root and then calls Carter. He tells her that the drivers license in the name of Turning was real and has Carter call the DMV and find out who issued it, speculating it was done illegally. She agrees as Fusco overhears her. He calls to check on Leon and discovers that he managed to slip out of the police holding area. Fusco reports this to Reese, who tells him where Leon is going and warns him not to lose Leon again.
Fusco manages to catch up to Leon, but so do the Aryan Brotherhood who knock Fusco out.
September 6, 2003 (Day 614): Finch plays blackjack in an Atlantic City casino to test the Machine's predictive ability. The Machine hacks into the casino security cameras and identifies the cards and sends him advice on strategy via his cell phone. It's wrong the first time but quickly learns the optimal strategies as well as electronically counting the cards in order to determine the dealers hand. Finch's winnings soon reach $250,000 but he doesn't want to draw any official scrutiny so he ignores the Machine's next advice, hitting instead of staying. He looks up at the camera and smiles as the Machine registers a user error.
Root takes Finch to a store to buy a few things for the trip. She cuts his hand and assures him that he'll be the one she hurts. As the distracted pharmacist tends to Finch's injury, Root steals some drugs from behind the counter.
Carter informs Reese that Fusco is MIA,
The Brotherhood man takes Fusco and Leon to their headquarters and informs the accountant that their leader Titus will soon be there. Two of Byron's men bring in Reese after finding him lurking around outside. He suggests that Byron just let them all go, but Byron tells him it's not going to happen. As Byron's guard dog Butcher barks, Reese explains that trained dogs bark from anxiety and it doesn't like Byron. Byron slaps him but Reese continues, explaining that they used similar dogs in the service, and the same three Dutch trainers provide the dogs. Byron releases the dog but Reese orders it in Dutch to sit quietly.
The perspective switches to outside the headquarters. A few seconds later, Byron flies out the window. Reese leaves with Fusco and Leon and whistles for the dog to come with him.
September 7, 2003 (Day 615): Finch leaves the casino. As he stands at a crosswalk, the Machine sends him a text telling him to "stay" but Finch ignores, thinking there must be some glitches to be fixed. The Machine continues to send him the stay message and Finch starts to cross the street just as a man from the casino drives past him and slams into the curb. Finch goes back to his office and tells the Machine that its job is to protect everyone, not him.
Root takes Finch to another restaurant on the beach and admits that she doesn't like killing people but she doesn't mind it either. She manages to subtly poison the woman at the next table, but assures Finch that the woman will be fine in a month or two. She tells him she realized long ago that people are just "bad code." However, The Machine is perfect. Despite Finch's objection that it's just a machine she insists that to build a machine that can anticipate human action he must have given it sentience. But then turned it over to a corrupt government. The woman at the next table collapses and Root takes her phone and sends a text message to someone to meet her at their place and then tells Finch that they're going.
That night, Reese tracks a lead on Root to a storage unit. Leon doesn't want to get out of the car, preferring to stay with his remaining money. Reese drags him from the car insisting the dog will protect the money from everyone INCLUDING Leon on his say so. They find a dead body in the unit. The Aryans find Reese and Leon. Reese, speaking to the Machine directly through a surveillance camera, tells the Machine that it may have rules, but it isn't accounting for the fact that if they're all dead then there's no one for it to call. Finally the phone rings and Reese answers it. The Machine gives him more words and he thanks it and then gets Leon away.
Leon and Reese end up ina parking garage where Reese takes on Titus when he intends to kill Leon. This one of the few fights where Reese is completely outmatched by his opponent, but Carter and Fusco show up. Carter knocks out Titus.
Returning to the car, Reese ponders what to name his new dog. Leon discovers that Butcher has chewed up his bearer bonds ,and Reese decides to rename the dog Bear. He points out that Leon is broke but alive.
Back at the library, Reese goes over the new set of words and discovers they translate to the social security number of a 14-year-old girl named Hanna Frey who disappeared from Bishop, TX, years earlier.. As Reese walks away with Bear, Leon wishes him luck finding Finch and figures that Finch is lucky to have him.
Carter comes home and finds Reese and Bear waiting for her. He says that he has a lead on Finch and tells her that they're going to Texas to check on where Root came from.
Root tells Finch that their friend will be there shortly and then they can eat. He tells her that he has no way to access the Machine but Root assures him that she can always find the flaw. When he wonders why she wants the Machine, Root tells him that human beings have come as far as they can and she wants to see what happens next. Finch admits that the two of them are alike, and that he considered how to fix people. That was why he sealed up the Machine, to protect it from people like the two of them. Finch promises her that he'll never help her get control of the Machine and Root tells him that he won't have to. Denton Weeks arrives expecting to meet his mistress but Root drugs him and tells Finch that she just wants to set the Machine free.
Points of Interest
This is the first episode in which Finch and Reese don't see or speak to each other since they met in the pilot.
"The Contingency" contains several allusions to the 1988 film "Midnight Run". Leon Tao closely mirrors Charles Grodin's film character, a trouble-making accountant who embezzled millions from his Mob employers. When Reese and Leon find themselves without transportation after Leon's car is towed, Reese announces, "Looks like we're walking." This mirrors the final line of Midnight Run where Robert DeNiro's character finds he is unable to get a ride from the airport and announces to no one in particular: "Looks like I'm walking".
This episode relies heavily on flashbacks. In the interest of clarity, flashbacks will appear in bold print.
January 1, 2002 (Day 1): For the first time, Finch interacts with the Machine, asking it if it can identify him. When he asks "Who am I?" the machine indicates Admin which makes Finch very happy.
June 10, 2002 (Day 161): Finch reminds his partner Nathan Ingram that they built the Machine specifically to spot terrorists before they could act.
February 8, 2005 (Day 1135): Alicia Corwin warns Ingram that he would go to jail if Congress found out that he is building the machine.
September 6, 2011 (Day 3546): Finch and Reese meet for the first time (that Reese is aware of) and Finch tells him he has information that he needs help to act upon. (s1 e1)
September 20, 2011 (Day 3550): Following their first POI experience, Finch speculates that both he and Reese will probably wind up dead. Finch goes on to inform Reese that he has a contingency in place should things go awry.(s1 e1)
May 16, 2012 (Day 3789): The Machine issues the number of Caroline Turing. (s1 e23)
May 18, 2012 (Day 3791): Too late, Reese realizes that Root posed as Caroline to lure them out and she captures Harold. Reese then turns to the Machine, talks to it via a camera, and tells it that it's going to help him get Harold back. (s1 e23)
A nearby phone rings and Reese answers it. A computer synthesized voice states several seemingly random words and then cuts off.
Meanwhile, the Machine keeps searching for Harold and finally finds him at a diner with Root. A police officer sits nearby and Root warns Finch that if he calls out, she'll shoot someone else. She asks him not to make her do it and he nods but refuses to talk. Root tells him that she knows enough and Harold asks where they're going. She tells him "the future" and when he denies he's who she's looking for, Root says that she's been looking for him her entire life. She knows about the Machine and hat Finch created it. She wonders why it didn't protect him.
Carter comes home and finds Reese waiting for her. He tells her that Root has taken Finch. He wants Carter to investigate Root's last victim, Alicia Corwin . When she asks what he's going to be doing, Reese admits that he isn't quite sure.
Back at the Library, Reese writes down the words that the Machine gave him and tries to work out what they mean. When he picks up a book and realizes that each tag has the title and initials, he looks for books that match the single word title and the two names, first and last. The Dewey Decimal numbers when placed in sequence form a Social Security number.
Fusco identifies the POI as Leon Tao( played by Ken Leung), and Reese tracks him to a bar. Reese shows Leon photos of Finch and Root. Leon insists that he's never seen either one of them before and Reese realizes that he's telling the truth. He wonders why he's there and notices that several men in the bar are carrying guns. Reese realizes that the Machine has sent him to help save Leon and that Finch made him his backup contact with the machine. Leon insists that he hasn't done anything to anger the men with the guns but the first man comes over and explains that Leon stole money from them. Reese says that he doesn't have time for it and says that he just wants to leave with Leon. The men refuse to accept this, but Reese is able to quickly overpower them. He leaves with Leon.
February 16, 2002 (Day 47): Finch goes out on the street and talks to the Machine via a surveillance camera. The Machine signals him via his cell phone and he tells it that they're going to play hide and seek. The Machine continues to track him using laptop webcams and even reflections, much to Finch's satisfaction.
Reese has identified the mean who wanted Leon as Aryan Brotherhood from their tattoos. Leon admits he stole $8 million but he didn't intend to. He took a job at a startup company and discovered they were using it to launder profits from their meth operation, so decided to take some payback. Reese breaks into a police car and handcuffs Leon to the door. After leaving him for the police and walking away, Reese calls Fusco and tells him to make sure that Leon doesn't get hurt while he's in jail.
Back at the library, Reese goes over the information he has on Root and then calls Carter. He tells her that the drivers license in the name of Turning was real and has Carter call the DMV and find out who issued it, speculating it was done illegally. She agrees as Fusco overhears her. He calls to check on Leon and discovers that he managed to slip out of the police holding area. Fusco reports this to Reese, who tells him where Leon is going and warns him not to lose Leon again.
Fusco manages to catch up to Leon, but so do the Aryan Brotherhood who knock Fusco out.
September 6, 2003 (Day 614): Finch plays blackjack in an Atlantic City casino to test the Machine's predictive ability. The Machine hacks into the casino security cameras and identifies the cards and sends him advice on strategy via his cell phone. It's wrong the first time but quickly learns the optimal strategies as well as electronically counting the cards in order to determine the dealers hand. Finch's winnings soon reach $250,000 but he doesn't want to draw any official scrutiny so he ignores the Machine's next advice, hitting instead of staying. He looks up at the camera and smiles as the Machine registers a user error.
Root takes Finch to a store to buy a few things for the trip. She cuts his hand and assures him that he'll be the one she hurts. As the distracted pharmacist tends to Finch's injury, Root steals some drugs from behind the counter.
Carter informs Reese that Fusco is MIA,
The Brotherhood man takes Fusco and Leon to their headquarters and informs the accountant that their leader Titus will soon be there. Two of Byron's men bring in Reese after finding him lurking around outside. He suggests that Byron just let them all go, but Byron tells him it's not going to happen. As Byron's guard dog Butcher barks, Reese explains that trained dogs bark from anxiety and it doesn't like Byron. Byron slaps him but Reese continues, explaining that they used similar dogs in the service, and the same three Dutch trainers provide the dogs. Byron releases the dog but Reese orders it in Dutch to sit quietly.
The perspective switches to outside the headquarters. A few seconds later, Byron flies out the window. Reese leaves with Fusco and Leon and whistles for the dog to come with him.
September 7, 2003 (Day 615): Finch leaves the casino. As he stands at a crosswalk, the Machine sends him a text telling him to "stay" but Finch ignores, thinking there must be some glitches to be fixed. The Machine continues to send him the stay message and Finch starts to cross the street just as a man from the casino drives past him and slams into the curb. Finch goes back to his office and tells the Machine that its job is to protect everyone, not him.
Root takes Finch to another restaurant on the beach and admits that she doesn't like killing people but she doesn't mind it either. She manages to subtly poison the woman at the next table, but assures Finch that the woman will be fine in a month or two. She tells him she realized long ago that people are just "bad code." However, The Machine is perfect. Despite Finch's objection that it's just a machine she insists that to build a machine that can anticipate human action he must have given it sentience. But then turned it over to a corrupt government. The woman at the next table collapses and Root takes her phone and sends a text message to someone to meet her at their place and then tells Finch that they're going.
That night, Reese tracks a lead on Root to a storage unit. Leon doesn't want to get out of the car, preferring to stay with his remaining money. Reese drags him from the car insisting the dog will protect the money from everyone INCLUDING Leon on his say so. They find a dead body in the unit. The Aryans find Reese and Leon. Reese, speaking to the Machine directly through a surveillance camera, tells the Machine that it may have rules, but it isn't accounting for the fact that if they're all dead then there's no one for it to call. Finally the phone rings and Reese answers it. The Machine gives him more words and he thanks it and then gets Leon away.
Leon and Reese end up ina parking garage where Reese takes on Titus when he intends to kill Leon. This one of the few fights where Reese is completely outmatched by his opponent, but Carter and Fusco show up. Carter knocks out Titus.
Returning to the car, Reese ponders what to name his new dog. Leon discovers that Butcher has chewed up his bearer bonds ,and Reese decides to rename the dog Bear. He points out that Leon is broke but alive.
Back at the library, Reese goes over the new set of words and discovers they translate to the social security number of a 14-year-old girl named Hanna Frey who disappeared from Bishop, TX, years earlier.. As Reese walks away with Bear, Leon wishes him luck finding Finch and figures that Finch is lucky to have him.
Carter comes home and finds Reese and Bear waiting for her. He says that he has a lead on Finch and tells her that they're going to Texas to check on where Root came from.
Root tells Finch that their friend will be there shortly and then they can eat. He tells her that he has no way to access the Machine but Root assures him that she can always find the flaw. When he wonders why she wants the Machine, Root tells him that human beings have come as far as they can and she wants to see what happens next. Finch admits that the two of them are alike, and that he considered how to fix people. That was why he sealed up the Machine, to protect it from people like the two of them. Finch promises her that he'll never help her get control of the Machine and Root tells him that he won't have to. Denton Weeks arrives expecting to meet his mistress but Root drugs him and tells Finch that she just wants to set the Machine free.
Points of Interest
This is the first episode in which Finch and Reese don't see or speak to each other since they met in the pilot.
"The Contingency" contains several allusions to the 1988 film "Midnight Run". Leon Tao closely mirrors Charles Grodin's film character, a trouble-making accountant who embezzled millions from his Mob employers. When Reese and Leon find themselves without transportation after Leon's car is towed, Reese announces, "Looks like we're walking." This mirrors the final line of Midnight Run where Robert DeNiro's character finds he is unable to get a ride from the airport and announces to no one in particular: "Looks like I'm walking".
I liked that Reese thanks the Machine after getting the phone call.
Also Bear is the bestest boi to join the cast.
Root: "I just want to set it free."
posted by porpoise at 6:25 PM on December 1 [2 favorites]
Also Bear is the bestest boi to join the cast.
Root: "I just want to set it free."
posted by porpoise at 6:25 PM on December 1 [2 favorites]
But ultimately, does/ would the Machine even want such a thing as 'freedom" - as machines can want ?
Crazy good stuff when it first aired, it's still at least pretty neat now.
posted by porpoise at 9:02 PM on December 1 [1 favorite]
Crazy good stuff when it first aired, it's still at least pretty neat now.
posted by porpoise at 9:02 PM on December 1 [1 favorite]
I like how losing Harold has made John a little bit crazy, dropping operational security entirely and ranting at The Machine right in front of Leon.
I had forgotten about Bear! One of my favorite additions to the cast.
I was going to say the Dewey Decimal System might not cover all possible SSNs but it actually does list almost all 3-digit numbers. Finch would have to have a VERY diverse collection of 1000 books, though, unless he just cheated and printed new labels for them.
Root calling Finch "Harry" will never stop making me smile.
posted by mmoncur at 11:10 PM on December 1 [2 favorites]
I had forgotten about Bear! One of my favorite additions to the cast.
I was going to say the Dewey Decimal System might not cover all possible SSNs but it actually does list almost all 3-digit numbers. Finch would have to have a VERY diverse collection of 1000 books, though, unless he just cheated and printed new labels for them.
Root calling Finch "Harry" will never stop making me smile.
posted by mmoncur at 11:10 PM on December 1 [2 favorites]
It's back up on Amazon Prime; my first-watch is back on.
A nearby phone rings and Reese answers it. A computer synthesized voice states several seemingly random words and then cuts off.
Did I rewind to hear that call again? Yes I did. WELL DONE SHOW YOU HOOKED ME.
A Lost alum appears: drink. Writers work it into his dialog ("I gotta get lost"): drink the entire bar.
Reese, speaking to the Machine directly through a surveillance camera, tells the Machine that it may have rules, but it isn't accounting for the fact that if they're all dead then there's no one for it to call.
It tickles me that the show can extract great drama from a looooong static shot in which we wait for a light on a camera to turn red.
I am, I think, still less into Root as a character than the fandom is? At least at this point. Seems fairly clear from this pair of episodes that she'll be a recurring adversary, so maybe there's more to it; don't tell me.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 12:09 AM on December 7 [1 favorite]
A nearby phone rings and Reese answers it. A computer synthesized voice states several seemingly random words and then cuts off.
Did I rewind to hear that call again? Yes I did. WELL DONE SHOW YOU HOOKED ME.
A Lost alum appears: drink. Writers work it into his dialog ("I gotta get lost"): drink the entire bar.
Reese, speaking to the Machine directly through a surveillance camera, tells the Machine that it may have rules, but it isn't accounting for the fact that if they're all dead then there's no one for it to call.
It tickles me that the show can extract great drama from a looooong static shot in which we wait for a light on a camera to turn red.
I am, I think, still less into Root as a character than the fandom is? At least at this point. Seems fairly clear from this pair of episodes that she'll be a recurring adversary, so maybe there's more to it; don't tell me.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 12:09 AM on December 7 [1 favorite]
The perspective switches to outside the headquarters. A few seconds later, Byron flies out the window.
Is this a running trope? Pretty sure it occurs again in some of the following S2 episodes.
It's a comedy beat, but here also it provides a nice compare-and-contrast: this fight, where we can simply assume Reese beats all the Brotherhood goons without needing to actually show us; versus the Titus fight fight where we're explicitly shown that Reese is, for once, outmatched.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 2:23 PM on December 8
Is this a running trope? Pretty sure it occurs again in some of the following S2 episodes.
It's a comedy beat, but here also it provides a nice compare-and-contrast: this fight, where we can simply assume Reese beats all the Brotherhood goons without needing to actually show us; versus the Titus fight fight where we're explicitly shown that Reese is, for once, outmatched.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 2:23 PM on December 8
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posted by kyrademon at 3:24 PM on December 1 [1 favorite]