Person of Interest: Lethe
February 14, 2025 2:05 PM - Season 3, Episode 11 - Subscribe
Flashbacks to Finch’s adolescence provide insight into his creation of the Machine. The team receives the number of a man dying of a brain tumor as Reese leaves the POI team behind in the aftermath of the war with the crime organization, HR.
The Machine reviews the events leading up to Carter's death.
Finch is out walking Bear when Shaw calls him to ask if they have a new number. Finch admits that The Machine hasn't called him since Carter's death, and Shaw asks if he's heard from Reese. Finch notes that Reese disappeared from the safe house as soon as he could walk, and he hasn't heard from him since. A nearby payphone rings, and Finch walks away ignoring it. All of the nearby payphones start ringing as well as he continues to walk by.
In Colorado, Reese gets a ride into a small town and goes to a local bar. He looks at the photos of Vietnam-era soldiers mounted behind the bar and then orders a whiskey. When a biker picks a fight behind him, Reese ignores it.
At the Library, Finch visits Root, and she asks him for a specific book on false gods. Once he gives it to her, Root says that she knows that he's had a rough time since he lost Reese, but says that Finch shouldn't take it out on the Machine. She surprises Finch by using the book he handed her to form a social security number. She somehow knows that "she" has a new number for Finch and reminds him that the Machine wants them working together. Finch ignores her and leaves as Shaw arrives, asking if they have another number. Finch says that he hasn't decided, surprising her, but finally looks it up. He discovers that the new number is Arthur Claypool, and Finch stares at the man's photo in seeming recognition before telling Shaw that it's time to go to work.
Finch tracks down Arthur to a hospital where he used his credit card, and Shaw goes in, posing as a doctor. As she looks for Arthur, Finch tells her that Arthur recently worked as an IT consultant with a software company in Maryland. There's no record of Arthur in the hospital computer system, but Shaw spots him in the cancer treatment lounge. Finch confirms that Arthur has a terminal brain tumor, and Shaw approaches him. He doesn't recognize her but admits that he's having memory problems because of the tumor. Arthur has trouble recalling some memories but blurts out others at random. As they talk, Arthur suddenly starts blurting out instructions to someone about checking the database.
A man, Easton, comes over and asks who Shaw is. She shows him her fake ID and quickly leaves. She then tells Finch that Easton is a government man watching over Arthur, and they figure that Arthur's supposed job is a cover story and that he does top-secret work for the government. Easton and two other men escort Arthur away in what Shaw recognizes as a classic three-man wedge formation, leading Shaw to realize that they work for the Secret Service.
1969
A young Harold is watching birds at his family farm as his father works on a broken truck engine. When Harold asks about the birds, his father offers to help him identify them if Harold helps him with the truck. Harold agrees and notices that his father has forgotten where he put his wrench. He gives it to his father and they work on the engine, and Harold's father talks about how every piece has a reason for being there. The phone rings in the house, and Harold's father goes to answer it. When he comes back, he discovers that Harold has taken apart a significant part of the engine and neatly arranged all of the pieces on the workbench. When Harold's father tells his son that he shouldn't be taking things apart, Harold says that if the builders don't want someone to get into it then they should build it better.
Shaw is unable to get close to Arthur again because of Easton and his men. Finch checks and discovers that Arthur has a non-existent digital footprint, confirming that he has a top-secret clearance. Shaw suggests that he come and create a distraction since Reese is gone, but Finch says that he needs to stay with Root, who is acting unruly. Shaw spots a woman with flowers coming to see Arthur, and Finch verifies that Arthur has a wife, Diane. When Diane goes inside, Arthur yells at her and Shaw tries to go in, but Easton and his men stop her. Arthur is yelling that he doesn't remember Diane and that he has to fix something called "Samaritan" and that he won't let "them" kill it. Easton tries to keep him quiet, while Shaw tells Finch what is going on. He informs her that the name "Samaritan" sounds familiar.
When the Secret Service men won't let her through, Shaw visits an upset Diane in the lounge. She insists that Arthur is harmless but admits that her husband works for the NSA. Diane talks about how she keeps coming back in the hopes that her husband will remember her but that it's hard on her after all of their years together. Shaw goes back to check on Arthur and discovers that Easton and his men have taken him to Radiology. As she goes after them, Finch informs her that he's done some digging and confirmed that Samaritan is a classified NSA project that Congress defunded in 2005. Shaw figures that any number of foreign intelligence agencies are after the information that Arthur is freely telling anyone and everyone, and Finch figures that Easton may be there to kill Arthur if he becomes a security risk.
Shaw slips into the room via the ceiling and finds a discarded syringe in a wastebasket. Confirming that it contained Sodium Pentothal, Shaw listens as the technician questions Arthur. He mentions something belonging to someone named Rudy, and the technician leaves as Shaw steps out. Easton and his men suddenly burst in and capture Shaw at gunpoint.
1971
Harold has built a homemade computer memory system in the kitchen. He tells his father that he designed it so that it would remember things for him, but his father says that no one can fix his memory loss symptoms. Harold insists that he can build a machine containing all of his father's memories, a machine that can think. Touched, Harold's father still tells his son that not everything that is broken can be fixed and asks him if he understands.
Easton and his men lock Shaw up in an empty office. While she waits, Finch calls her on a cellphone left in the drawer and tells her that he's in the parking lot. Shaw tells him to watch Arthur but Finch refuses. However, he checks the hospital cameras and confirms that the technician signed in using the name "Elizabeth Ross." Easton comes in and Shaw hastily hides the phone, and Easton asks why she's interested in Arthur.
In Colorado, Reese notices Fusco sitting at a nearby booth and goes over to confront him. Fusco admits that he tracked Reese down with some help from Finch. Reese tells him to go home. Fusco refuses and joins him at the bar, and Reese tells him that he'll have to drink and be quiet if he's going to stay there.
As Easton eats some Chinese fried rice, he questions Shaw, who realizes that he hasn't done any field work. She advises him to focus on Arthur and warns that the people who tried to interrogate him will come after him again. Easton suddenly collapses, unconscious, and Shaw realizes that someone drugged his food. She calls Finch, who confirms that he isn't responsible for the drug, and notes that "Elizabeth Ross" is the full name of Betsy Ross of Revolutionary War fame, meaning the technician is working for Vigilance. As they talk, Finch spots Peter Collier. and a hit squad pull up outside. Finch alerts Shaw to this.
Shaw hurries to Arthur's room and finds Easton's men and discovers that they've also been drugged unconscious. She finds that Arthur appears to be unharmed when suddenly his wife enters and Diane wonders why she has a gun, but Shaw simply says that they have to go. Arthur refuses to go, since he can't remember either of them. However, Finch comes in and addresses him by name. Arthur recognizes him and says that he's glad that he's there, and Finch says that it's been awhile.
1979
An FBI surveillence map shows locations in Lassiter, Iowa where someone has been using "Phone Phreaking" techniques to defraud the phone company. A teenaged Harold is hanging out with two of his friends. They talk about what is going on outside of Lassiter, and Harold offers to let them talk to someone in Paris. He goes to a payphone and uses a whistle to "Phreak" the system, making a free call. As his friends hear a confused Frenchmen on the phone they share a laugh. A state trooper pulls up. He has Harold's father in the back seat and tells Harold that he needs to speak to him about his dad.
As Finch leads Arthur out of the hospital, Arthur talks about how they studied at MIT together and knew that Finch would be the one among them who would change the world. A Vigilance agent draws a gun on them and Shaw kneecaps him, and they escape in Finch's car following a shootout with Collier. Finch drives to a hotel and explains that Vigilance is after Arthur because he worked for the NSA. Arthur doesn't remember anything about Rudy and wonders why Finch is involved, but Finch dodges the question. Diane wonders who they are and Sam simply warns her that they can't trust the Secret Service.
That night, Sam stands watch while Arthur and Finch talk about their time together at MIT. Finch finally changes the subject to Samaritan, and Arthur explains that it's an AI designed to anticipate and stop terrorist attacks. The system learns from experience and upgrades itself. Shaw, overhearing, talks with Finch privately and they realize that Arthur built a second Machine.
1979
The state trooper drops Harold and his father at home, and explains to Harold that his father was out wandering the roads after dark in near-freezing weather. He advises Harold to put his father somewhere where he won't hurt himself and where he can be taken care of. Once the trooper leaves, Harold's father tells his son that he's wasting his life taking care of him. Harold insists that he'll stay in Lassiter and if he can't go to the information then he'll bring it to him using the new ARPANET. His father tells him not to be reckless but Harold echoes their conversation from years ago, saying that if they don't want people to get in then they should build it better.
Finch asks Arthur what happened to Samaritan ,and Arthur says that it was destroyed in 2005, just a few weeks before Arthur insisted that he would have finished it. After 9/11, the NSA hired numerous contractors to create an anti-terrorist surveillance system, but then shut down everything in 2005. Arthur is convinced they did it because they created a working AI system and shut down the other projects to throw people off the trail.
In Colorado, Reese notices that Fusco is drinking club soda. Fusco explains that he's been two years sober, ever since Reese found him and showed him what he was. Fusco then asks Reese why hiding out in his father's bar will solve anything. Reese explains that his father owned the bar before he served in Vietnam, but he died in a refinery accident two months after he came back from his last tour of duty. Looking around, Reese figures that nothing matters because bad things happen no matter what they do to stop them. Disgusted, Fusco tells Reese to go outside with him. Once they are, Fusco punches him and finally provokes Reese into fighting back. The two tackle each other just as a police car pulls up.
Finch uses his laptop to create new passports for Arthur and Diane and sets them up at a hospital in Toronto where his friend can get treatment. Arthur panics, wondering why he can remember Finch but not Diane, and finally tells Finch that he buried Diane two years ago. Diane whispers into a wrist radio, saying that it's a go, and her men burst into the hotel room. They subdue Shaw and Hersh comes in, and Diane reveals that she's Control, Shaw's former employer and the head of the ISA operation. She thanks Shaw for saving Arthur's life at the hospital and leading them to Finch.
Control draws a gun and tells Arthur to give them the drives containing the Samaritan project. Finch speaks up, insisting that his friend doesn't know. Control tells Finch that he has something of hers as well and he's going to return it to her. When Finch refuses, Control tells him that the man who tells her what she wants to know will be the one who gets to leave.
The Machine, listening in, registers the existence of Samaritan and begins tracking the increasing chance that it will conflict with the Machine.
Points of Interest
Lethe (Λήθη) in Greek mythology is the river of forgetfulness. It is one of the five rivers flowing into the Hades, the Underworld; drinking its waters causes the drinker to forget. It is also the name of the goddess of forgetfulness.
Sodium Pentothal is a barbiturate used for anesthesia, and in small doses, as a "truth serum." It is identifiable by its strong odor of garlic and onions, which Shaw detected when she sniffed the syringe.
According to the PET computer, the episode takes place on Dec 17, 2013, the original airdate of the episode.
Root received the number instead of Finch, this indicates that Root has a way to communicate with the Machine without the use of a telephone.
When the Machine begins calculating the possibility of Samaritan's reactivation, it also brings up evaluations of other real intelligence programs, including Able Danger, Genoa, Genoa II, Fairveiw, Bullrun, and PRISM. The first three are listed as "deactivated" while the latter are described as "active decoys" to Northern Lights.
This episode is the first part of a two episode mini-arc; the POI and storyline of this episode carry over into the next episode, “Aletheia."
This episode includes the first appearance of Control. The alert viewer might have seen a red box appear around her when she exits the elevator during their escape the hospital. She only appears on screen for half a second.
The bartender at the Roadhouse is the actual bartender and not an actor.
When the Machine tries to predict the outcome of the situation at the end of the episode, it says that the names: Sameen Shaw and Robert N. Hersh are aliases.
Also when predicting outcomes, in the lower right corner on the screen we can see that the Machine is "Retasking Analog Interface", which is Root.
Again in the Machine's predictions, when it calculates the probability of operational conflicts with Samaritan, we can see for less than a second that there is a 37.16% probability of a Russian Revolution and that the nuclear proliferation in Iran is at 25.28%.
Flashbacks in this episode indicate that Harold is an only child, which means the story he told Joss Carter in the episode Super about his brothers throwing him into the deep end to teach him how to swim was just something he made up and not an actual story of his past.
The Machine reviews the events leading up to Carter's death.
Finch is out walking Bear when Shaw calls him to ask if they have a new number. Finch admits that The Machine hasn't called him since Carter's death, and Shaw asks if he's heard from Reese. Finch notes that Reese disappeared from the safe house as soon as he could walk, and he hasn't heard from him since. A nearby payphone rings, and Finch walks away ignoring it. All of the nearby payphones start ringing as well as he continues to walk by.
In Colorado, Reese gets a ride into a small town and goes to a local bar. He looks at the photos of Vietnam-era soldiers mounted behind the bar and then orders a whiskey. When a biker picks a fight behind him, Reese ignores it.
At the Library, Finch visits Root, and she asks him for a specific book on false gods. Once he gives it to her, Root says that she knows that he's had a rough time since he lost Reese, but says that Finch shouldn't take it out on the Machine. She surprises Finch by using the book he handed her to form a social security number. She somehow knows that "she" has a new number for Finch and reminds him that the Machine wants them working together. Finch ignores her and leaves as Shaw arrives, asking if they have another number. Finch says that he hasn't decided, surprising her, but finally looks it up. He discovers that the new number is Arthur Claypool, and Finch stares at the man's photo in seeming recognition before telling Shaw that it's time to go to work.
Finch tracks down Arthur to a hospital where he used his credit card, and Shaw goes in, posing as a doctor. As she looks for Arthur, Finch tells her that Arthur recently worked as an IT consultant with a software company in Maryland. There's no record of Arthur in the hospital computer system, but Shaw spots him in the cancer treatment lounge. Finch confirms that Arthur has a terminal brain tumor, and Shaw approaches him. He doesn't recognize her but admits that he's having memory problems because of the tumor. Arthur has trouble recalling some memories but blurts out others at random. As they talk, Arthur suddenly starts blurting out instructions to someone about checking the database.
A man, Easton, comes over and asks who Shaw is. She shows him her fake ID and quickly leaves. She then tells Finch that Easton is a government man watching over Arthur, and they figure that Arthur's supposed job is a cover story and that he does top-secret work for the government. Easton and two other men escort Arthur away in what Shaw recognizes as a classic three-man wedge formation, leading Shaw to realize that they work for the Secret Service.
1969
A young Harold is watching birds at his family farm as his father works on a broken truck engine. When Harold asks about the birds, his father offers to help him identify them if Harold helps him with the truck. Harold agrees and notices that his father has forgotten where he put his wrench. He gives it to his father and they work on the engine, and Harold's father talks about how every piece has a reason for being there. The phone rings in the house, and Harold's father goes to answer it. When he comes back, he discovers that Harold has taken apart a significant part of the engine and neatly arranged all of the pieces on the workbench. When Harold's father tells his son that he shouldn't be taking things apart, Harold says that if the builders don't want someone to get into it then they should build it better.
Shaw is unable to get close to Arthur again because of Easton and his men. Finch checks and discovers that Arthur has a non-existent digital footprint, confirming that he has a top-secret clearance. Shaw suggests that he come and create a distraction since Reese is gone, but Finch says that he needs to stay with Root, who is acting unruly. Shaw spots a woman with flowers coming to see Arthur, and Finch verifies that Arthur has a wife, Diane. When Diane goes inside, Arthur yells at her and Shaw tries to go in, but Easton and his men stop her. Arthur is yelling that he doesn't remember Diane and that he has to fix something called "Samaritan" and that he won't let "them" kill it. Easton tries to keep him quiet, while Shaw tells Finch what is going on. He informs her that the name "Samaritan" sounds familiar.
When the Secret Service men won't let her through, Shaw visits an upset Diane in the lounge. She insists that Arthur is harmless but admits that her husband works for the NSA. Diane talks about how she keeps coming back in the hopes that her husband will remember her but that it's hard on her after all of their years together. Shaw goes back to check on Arthur and discovers that Easton and his men have taken him to Radiology. As she goes after them, Finch informs her that he's done some digging and confirmed that Samaritan is a classified NSA project that Congress defunded in 2005. Shaw figures that any number of foreign intelligence agencies are after the information that Arthur is freely telling anyone and everyone, and Finch figures that Easton may be there to kill Arthur if he becomes a security risk.
Shaw slips into the room via the ceiling and finds a discarded syringe in a wastebasket. Confirming that it contained Sodium Pentothal, Shaw listens as the technician questions Arthur. He mentions something belonging to someone named Rudy, and the technician leaves as Shaw steps out. Easton and his men suddenly burst in and capture Shaw at gunpoint.
1971
Harold has built a homemade computer memory system in the kitchen. He tells his father that he designed it so that it would remember things for him, but his father says that no one can fix his memory loss symptoms. Harold insists that he can build a machine containing all of his father's memories, a machine that can think. Touched, Harold's father still tells his son that not everything that is broken can be fixed and asks him if he understands.
Easton and his men lock Shaw up in an empty office. While she waits, Finch calls her on a cellphone left in the drawer and tells her that he's in the parking lot. Shaw tells him to watch Arthur but Finch refuses. However, he checks the hospital cameras and confirms that the technician signed in using the name "Elizabeth Ross." Easton comes in and Shaw hastily hides the phone, and Easton asks why she's interested in Arthur.
In Colorado, Reese notices Fusco sitting at a nearby booth and goes over to confront him. Fusco admits that he tracked Reese down with some help from Finch. Reese tells him to go home. Fusco refuses and joins him at the bar, and Reese tells him that he'll have to drink and be quiet if he's going to stay there.
As Easton eats some Chinese fried rice, he questions Shaw, who realizes that he hasn't done any field work. She advises him to focus on Arthur and warns that the people who tried to interrogate him will come after him again. Easton suddenly collapses, unconscious, and Shaw realizes that someone drugged his food. She calls Finch, who confirms that he isn't responsible for the drug, and notes that "Elizabeth Ross" is the full name of Betsy Ross of Revolutionary War fame, meaning the technician is working for Vigilance. As they talk, Finch spots Peter Collier. and a hit squad pull up outside. Finch alerts Shaw to this.
Shaw hurries to Arthur's room and finds Easton's men and discovers that they've also been drugged unconscious. She finds that Arthur appears to be unharmed when suddenly his wife enters and Diane wonders why she has a gun, but Shaw simply says that they have to go. Arthur refuses to go, since he can't remember either of them. However, Finch comes in and addresses him by name. Arthur recognizes him and says that he's glad that he's there, and Finch says that it's been awhile.
1979
An FBI surveillence map shows locations in Lassiter, Iowa where someone has been using "Phone Phreaking" techniques to defraud the phone company. A teenaged Harold is hanging out with two of his friends. They talk about what is going on outside of Lassiter, and Harold offers to let them talk to someone in Paris. He goes to a payphone and uses a whistle to "Phreak" the system, making a free call. As his friends hear a confused Frenchmen on the phone they share a laugh. A state trooper pulls up. He has Harold's father in the back seat and tells Harold that he needs to speak to him about his dad.
As Finch leads Arthur out of the hospital, Arthur talks about how they studied at MIT together and knew that Finch would be the one among them who would change the world. A Vigilance agent draws a gun on them and Shaw kneecaps him, and they escape in Finch's car following a shootout with Collier. Finch drives to a hotel and explains that Vigilance is after Arthur because he worked for the NSA. Arthur doesn't remember anything about Rudy and wonders why Finch is involved, but Finch dodges the question. Diane wonders who they are and Sam simply warns her that they can't trust the Secret Service.
That night, Sam stands watch while Arthur and Finch talk about their time together at MIT. Finch finally changes the subject to Samaritan, and Arthur explains that it's an AI designed to anticipate and stop terrorist attacks. The system learns from experience and upgrades itself. Shaw, overhearing, talks with Finch privately and they realize that Arthur built a second Machine.
1979
The state trooper drops Harold and his father at home, and explains to Harold that his father was out wandering the roads after dark in near-freezing weather. He advises Harold to put his father somewhere where he won't hurt himself and where he can be taken care of. Once the trooper leaves, Harold's father tells his son that he's wasting his life taking care of him. Harold insists that he'll stay in Lassiter and if he can't go to the information then he'll bring it to him using the new ARPANET. His father tells him not to be reckless but Harold echoes their conversation from years ago, saying that if they don't want people to get in then they should build it better.
Finch asks Arthur what happened to Samaritan ,and Arthur says that it was destroyed in 2005, just a few weeks before Arthur insisted that he would have finished it. After 9/11, the NSA hired numerous contractors to create an anti-terrorist surveillance system, but then shut down everything in 2005. Arthur is convinced they did it because they created a working AI system and shut down the other projects to throw people off the trail.
In Colorado, Reese notices that Fusco is drinking club soda. Fusco explains that he's been two years sober, ever since Reese found him and showed him what he was. Fusco then asks Reese why hiding out in his father's bar will solve anything. Reese explains that his father owned the bar before he served in Vietnam, but he died in a refinery accident two months after he came back from his last tour of duty. Looking around, Reese figures that nothing matters because bad things happen no matter what they do to stop them. Disgusted, Fusco tells Reese to go outside with him. Once they are, Fusco punches him and finally provokes Reese into fighting back. The two tackle each other just as a police car pulls up.
Finch uses his laptop to create new passports for Arthur and Diane and sets them up at a hospital in Toronto where his friend can get treatment. Arthur panics, wondering why he can remember Finch but not Diane, and finally tells Finch that he buried Diane two years ago. Diane whispers into a wrist radio, saying that it's a go, and her men burst into the hotel room. They subdue Shaw and Hersh comes in, and Diane reveals that she's Control, Shaw's former employer and the head of the ISA operation. She thanks Shaw for saving Arthur's life at the hospital and leading them to Finch.
Control draws a gun and tells Arthur to give them the drives containing the Samaritan project. Finch speaks up, insisting that his friend doesn't know. Control tells Finch that he has something of hers as well and he's going to return it to her. When Finch refuses, Control tells him that the man who tells her what she wants to know will be the one who gets to leave.
The Machine, listening in, registers the existence of Samaritan and begins tracking the increasing chance that it will conflict with the Machine.
Points of Interest
Lethe (Λήθη) in Greek mythology is the river of forgetfulness. It is one of the five rivers flowing into the Hades, the Underworld; drinking its waters causes the drinker to forget. It is also the name of the goddess of forgetfulness.
Sodium Pentothal is a barbiturate used for anesthesia, and in small doses, as a "truth serum." It is identifiable by its strong odor of garlic and onions, which Shaw detected when she sniffed the syringe.
According to the PET computer, the episode takes place on Dec 17, 2013, the original airdate of the episode.
Root received the number instead of Finch, this indicates that Root has a way to communicate with the Machine without the use of a telephone.
When the Machine begins calculating the possibility of Samaritan's reactivation, it also brings up evaluations of other real intelligence programs, including Able Danger, Genoa, Genoa II, Fairveiw, Bullrun, and PRISM. The first three are listed as "deactivated" while the latter are described as "active decoys" to Northern Lights.
This episode is the first part of a two episode mini-arc; the POI and storyline of this episode carry over into the next episode, “Aletheia."
This episode includes the first appearance of Control. The alert viewer might have seen a red box appear around her when she exits the elevator during their escape the hospital. She only appears on screen for half a second.
The bartender at the Roadhouse is the actual bartender and not an actor.
When the Machine tries to predict the outcome of the situation at the end of the episode, it says that the names: Sameen Shaw and Robert N. Hersh are aliases.
Also when predicting outcomes, in the lower right corner on the screen we can see that the Machine is "Retasking Analog Interface", which is Root.
Again in the Machine's predictions, when it calculates the probability of operational conflicts with Samaritan, we can see for less than a second that there is a 37.16% probability of a Russian Revolution and that the nuclear proliferation in Iran is at 25.28%.
Flashbacks in this episode indicate that Harold is an only child, which means the story he told Joss Carter in the episode Super about his brothers throwing him into the deep end to teach him how to swim was just something he made up and not an actual story of his past.
Interesting little study in memory. Saul Rubinek (Claypool) is fantastic as usual.
Enjoyed Reese and Fusco's fight, with Reese three sheet to the wind.
Hope the unpacking goes well!
posted by porpoise at 6:32 PM on February 14 [1 favorite]
Enjoyed Reese and Fusco's fight, with Reese three sheet to the wind.
Hope the unpacking goes well!
posted by porpoise at 6:32 PM on February 14 [1 favorite]
I would never have caught that fake story about brothers. Thank you for being so thorough!
posted by janell at 8:33 PM on February 14 [1 favorite]
posted by janell at 8:33 PM on February 14 [1 favorite]
Seconding (thirding?) the good wishes for your move having completed without too much of a hitch.
I don't know if this is one of my favourite episodes, but it's probably up there. A less efficient show might have spun out Finch's back story over half a season and/or exposition-dumped his motivations for creating a reasoning machine, whereas this trusts the viewer to put things together.
posted by sarble at 12:41 AM on February 15 [2 favorites]
I don't know if this is one of my favourite episodes, but it's probably up there. A less efficient show might have spun out Finch's back story over half a season and/or exposition-dumped his motivations for creating a reasoning machine, whereas this trusts the viewer to put things together.
posted by sarble at 12:41 AM on February 15 [2 favorites]
The move was far more difficult than I planned (and I planned for it to be hard). The movers somehow made off with my largest bookshelf! I'm still unpacking, ordering stuff to help organize the new place, and purging some old stuff. Packing crap up felt like it was taking forever and now unpacking is ALSO taking forever. I am so over it. But the only way out in through.
On the bright side though, I'm now in a place with a lot more activities that I enjoy. This weekend a friend came from DC to help me unpack and while he was here dragged me to both a beginner pilates class (ouch!) and drag bingo brunch! So I'm scheduling some activities for this week now that most of my clothes are unpacked...although I still haven't found either of my winter coats.
But thanks for all the well wishes and joining me on this rewatch. It's helped keep me sane while I deal with all of this.
posted by miss-lapin at 1:23 PM on February 18 [2 favorites]
On the bright side though, I'm now in a place with a lot more activities that I enjoy. This weekend a friend came from DC to help me unpack and while he was here dragged me to both a beginner pilates class (ouch!) and drag bingo brunch! So I'm scheduling some activities for this week now that most of my clothes are unpacked...although I still haven't found either of my winter coats.
But thanks for all the well wishes and joining me on this rewatch. It's helped keep me sane while I deal with all of this.
posted by miss-lapin at 1:23 PM on February 18 [2 favorites]
I really liked this one. The running theme of lost memory -- and boy, that flashback really throws Harold's decision to have the Machine wipe its memory at reset each day into even sharper relief; he knew how much pain that could cause a person, but he considered it acceptable to do to the Machine because ... he didn't consider it to have personhood at that point?
The Diane/Control reveal was so good; the episode does a lot of footwork to set up Arthur as an unreliable narrator of his own life, so it is credible to both him and us that he doesn't remember her.
More good Fusco stuff too: "What, you think I won my detective shield in a poker game? ... Glasses helped a little." Fusco's sober because of Reese! Fusco's best solution for bringing Reese back to his senses is A PARKING-LOT PUNCH-UP!
My first-watch was long ago that I don't quite remember, but is teen Harold's phone-phreaking tool a Cap'n Crunch whistle? I feel John Draper's certainly one of the points of reference for the Harold character; the vague allusions in this and other episodes to Harold having gotten into some sort of trouble for hacking ARPANET feel like a parallel to Draper's toll-fraud convictions.
Root received the number instead of Finch, this indicates that Root has a way to communicate with the Machine without the use of a telephone.
The Machine, listening in, registers the existence of Samaritan and begins tracking the increasing chance that it will conflict with the Machine.
Hard same on my first-watch. "Another AI; oooh that seems like it could be bad."
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 6:42 PM on February 24 [1 favorite]
The Diane/Control reveal was so good; the episode does a lot of footwork to set up Arthur as an unreliable narrator of his own life, so it is credible to both him and us that he doesn't remember her.
More good Fusco stuff too: "What, you think I won my detective shield in a poker game? ... Glasses helped a little." Fusco's sober because of Reese! Fusco's best solution for bringing Reese back to his senses is A PARKING-LOT PUNCH-UP!
My first-watch was long ago that I don't quite remember, but is teen Harold's phone-phreaking tool a Cap'n Crunch whistle? I feel John Draper's certainly one of the points of reference for the Harold character; the vague allusions in this and other episodes to Harold having gotten into some sort of trouble for hacking ARPANET feel like a parallel to Draper's toll-fraud convictions.
Root received the number instead of Finch, this indicates that Root has a way to communicate with the Machine without the use of a telephone.
Is this ever resolved? vague spoilers within
Events in the next episode do involve Root's various means of receiving communications from the Machine, but I don't think it confirms that the same mechanism was in play here. Does "how did she get that number" remain forever a delicious/nagging mystery to Finch?The Machine, listening in, registers the existence of Samaritan and begins tracking the increasing chance that it will conflict with the Machine.
Hard same on my first-watch. "Another AI; oooh that seems like it could be bad."
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 6:42 PM on February 24 [1 favorite]
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posted by techSupp0rt at 3:05 PM on February 14 [1 favorite]