Two Takes: Person of Interest “B.S.O.D.” 

Are you as emotionally drained as we are? It’s been a year since the Season 4 finale and we’ve been waiting a long time to discover whether or not the team was able to save the Machine. It turns out, we still don’t know but in “B.S.O.D,” we see Root, Harold and Reese re-commit to each other, in a way. No man, woman, or machine gets left behind. If Harold and Root are able to resuscitate the Machine, will they allow it to become more like Samaritan? The Machine doesn’t see humanity as a threat, but would that change if it became completely autonomous? Only time will tell.

Kara: Tina, I have never rooted for an inanimate object harder in my life. This episode was an emotional roller coaster and such a great way to kick off the fifth and final season of the show. Can we talk about how ride or die Harold, Root and Reese are for each other? Can we talk about how emotional Harold got over the Machine — in the present and in 2006?

Tina: Ride or die, Kara. And they all got their badass moments. So much great action. But what hit me more were the emotional elements of the premiere. Forget about Harold’s reaction to the Machine. Let’s talk about how emotional I got, especially in those flashback scenes featuring Finch and his creation. I teared up. Can you believe it? So unexpected. It really felt like it was a father talking to his child. Just thinking about him creating a code that would effectively erase its memories at the end of each day — it was heartbreaking to see how hurt the Machine was and how much it hurt Finch to do it. I can’t believe I’m writing those words. A machine that seemingly feels. Incredible.

Kara: Same, same, same. I can’t believe I care this much about the Machine, but I think that just goes to show how successfully Jonah Nolan, Greg Plageman and all the other writers and producers have pulled us into this world. The fact that I genuinely care about a machine — and this fictional world so much — is such a testament to their great storytelling. I must admit I also got really emotional when Reese and Root had their moment in the warehouse. It really looked like Root was about to be assassinated and here comes John to the rescue. Not only that, but she wouldn’t leave him to fend for himself. Yes, the Machine is important. But if Root’s learned anything over the course of the past few years, it’s that Harold, John and Sameen (and Fusco, kind of) matter too. Just like John wouldn’t leave a comrade behind, neither will Root.

Tina: Reese was pretty awesome in this episode. The scene with Root — he told her she was needed back at the subway with Finch. He was going to stay in the warehouse and fight. Because according to him, he’s useless in the subway. He knows he’s not the one that’ll be able to resuscitate the Machine. But he also knows where his strengths lie. It did pain me a little to hear him call himself useless at all, but I get what he means. Yeah, I really enjoyed Reese a lot. He was there for Root. He mentioned how they’re going to have to go get Shaw. He had to give Finch a major pep talk. He also had to secure some help from Fusco. He was on the move for the entire hour.

Kara: And he uttered one of my favorite lines from the episode. When Root is explaining how she and Harold are going to use the stolen game consoles to build a super computer, he just gives her a dumbfounded look and says: “I don’t speak nerd.” I mean. I laughed. And when we get such an emotional and serious episode, I always enjoy the humor.

Tina: Ha! I loved that line as well. I even wrote it down. This show is always good with the one liners.

Kara: But let’s go back to Fusco for a moment, because all of that was pretty interesting. Unfortunately for him, he’s still out of the loop when it comes to what the team is up to with the Machine. And just when it looks like IA is about to come down hard, Samaritan seems to take care of his little Elias and Dominic problem. We know Dominic was killed by a sniper, but “the lab” found that the killing shot was fired by Fusco’s gun. And guess what, he’s a hero. But after Fusco finds that shell casing, Samaritan tags him as a potential disruptor. Samaritan already took Soriano out by making his pacemaker fail. So, as Samaritan continues to keep track of all of them, Fusco and the rest of the team need to be smart, especially since Samaritan can now activate it’s operatives and almost any other person it wants to.

Tina: Well, as you know, it’s Samaritan’s world and we’re all just living in it. Poor Fusco. I think his head hurts from not knowing exactly what’s going on but knowing enough to realize everything’s gone bonkers. Might he actually get clued in to everything? Does he actually want this to happen? I don’t know. But I’m excited to see how far he gets pulled into the madness. He might need to get a new identity sooner rather than later.

Which brings me back to Root. She makes a stop at that warehouse to meet up with an old friend. Well, not so much a friend but someone she used to work for. Someone who lives in the “shadow zone” — meaning no cameras or anything like that. She asks Bella to create a new identity for her. I’m only bringing this part up, because of something she says to him in passing sort of. I almost missed it. I can’t remember the set up but she says something like:

Root: “Just needed a change. Got a new job. Fell in love.”

Did you hear that part? She sounded like she wasn’t serious but I feel like she was deadly serious. From that point on, all I could think about was Shaw and what she must be going through. I hope they figure out a way to go after her a.s.a.p.

Kara: Well we know how serious Root is about Shaw, but I also enjoyed the offhand way she told Bella she fell in love. To me, it just means she’s always thinking about Sameen. Since we know Sarah Shahi will be on the show sometime this season, I haven’t given up hope. But the problem is, how did Samaritan change Shaw and can she be trusted? When Root and the rest of the team find her, will she be the same woman Root fell in love with?

Tina: I can’t wait to find out. I also can’t wait to find out if the Machine is the Machine. I felt bad for Finch. He’s thinking that what he did to it in the past may have crippled it and there’s no way to revive it. But he tries. I did enjoy that final hero moment for a “useless” Reese when he’s able to figure out how to cool things down with that liquid nitrogen. Was it enough?

Starting next week, Person of Interest will air every Monday and Tuesday at 10/9c on CBS.