Episode keeps says The Machine wasn't able to locate Harold without Hersh's help but, during one of iconic 'The Machine pov', it just shows where Harold and Greer are, TWO times(first from outside the building, second INSIDE the building showing both Harold and Greer with that identification square.) It doesn't show up more than that but even after this The Machine keeps saying she can't find Harold. This seems like a plot hole to me. What do you guys think?

I know this is like throwing a fire in gasoline but since I was thinking about this for years, I will write it down.

There were many cases the existence of ASIs influenced the numbers(mostly in bad ways) and our protagonists had to show up to either save them from asking too much which will get them killed, or if it's not enough, reveal the truth to save them.

Henry Peck, Sameen Shaw, Arthur Clypool, that Kangaroo court and lastly, our good detective Lionel Fusco, were such cases.(I know revelation to Sameen wasn't done entirely when she first showed up but nonetheless Finch did tell her more than he usually do.)

Other numbers were, mostly, not even needing that or were better off knowing nothing.

BUT, rewatching the show again and again, I couldn't help myself but think there were more cases where Finch and protags had to reveal the truth. Two of which are both related to Samaritan.

Roger McCourt and Sulaiman Khan.

In McCourt's case, while even myself doubt any words would have swayed the man from passing new legislation that will aid in Samaritan's activation, it kinda came weak 'they did everything except killing him' without Finch revealing the truth about Northern Lights to him. I mean, like I said I doubt even this will sway him but still, like everyone said it's one step away from Samaritan activating and killing many people or having him killed to save those casualties. Finch really should try everything else aside from killing him, shouldn't he? Especially when he already did such a thing to the numbers several times.(And before you ask, McCourt clearly didn't know that much about Northern Lights and The Machine other than what's been revealed to the press by Vigilance, so it was worth a try.)

And Khan... The amount of hostility shown toward him by Samaritan was, imo, worse than Simon Lee got. Lee atleast had some place to go back when he 'dropped' his suspicion even though, comparatively, was more threatening to Samaritan and his plan than Khan was(not to mention his state only got worse as he continued to seek truth) while Khan literally lost everything at the opening moment of Samaritan's attack, while he didn't do any harm to Samaritan itself before this happened. Not to mention his own curiosity was too severe to be mitigatigated without knowing the truth. (Greer himself mentioned Samaritan wanted to take this personally and Khan's curiosity will be death of him and it did so this is pretty not a thing to argue about.) I strongly believe when TM had Khan in their safehouse they should had just spilled the bean even just to save him. We CAN think Finch underestimated his curiosity, but the danger he got into? Root was there and, even though god mode was sparsely used during that time, The Machine did know it and should had more ways to notify TM, or, even just consider recruiting him.(Maybe this is why The Machine decided to recruit Harper in next episode...) Yes, you may argue that even this wasn't enough but unlike McCourt, we don't know. He was a complete victim on this case and not that bad person, and considering the amount of dedication on revealing the truth he had shown, I'm certain The Machine was able to sway him to help TM stop any similar case like him to show up anymore, like she did to Root.

PS. I know this will throw MORE fire to this, but these two cases, and Elias' advice and arguement toward Harold during S5 about war, really makes me think Finch DID underestimated what his lack of action(in this case, ofc, spilling the bean) would cause and when he needed to go all in sometimes. Ofc there are many counter cases to this(the mentioned episodes which Harold or Reese did reveal the truth), but when he didn't, it often led to fatal results. Not hating him on this or sth, but you gotta wonder how things would look if he did spill the bean.

Hi, all! I'm an avid fanfic reader (and some times writer) and I'm curious about your opinion on fics for this show.

I've read a few good stories on AO3, and now I wonder if other people here might have similar tastes to mine.

I personally love anything that studies the relationship between Finch and Reese (platonic or romantic, I like both), as long as they're not too ooc.

Reading about Bear, Shaw and Root is also great. I haven't read a fic that picks up right after the finale, but I'd love to find a good one.

(I have a post-series idea I'd love to put into words and upload there, but I don't have the time to do so right now.)

Have you read any fics about our characters?

What kind of stories do you usually like to read?

Just thinking about what has happened between the last season in 2016 and present day in the real world and wondering how Person of Interest (POI) would have tackled the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, October 7 2023 and consequent Israel-Gaza War as well the fall of the Assad Regime in Syria in Dec 2024. They might have even had a Covid storyline and its effect on geopolitics if they had done a season after 2016.

• I hoped that somehow she ( Amy Acker ) served in the SCS (the F6 or America’s MIF) - in the style of Samantha Groves from the TV series Person of Interest - continuing Root's legacy of being bullied by Team Machine into doing dangerous things.

I feel like Person of Interest ended way too early and I think they could have had at least another 2 or more seasons considering how geopolitics has heated up in the past 8 years. Here are also other possible stories:

These are just a few possibilities, but given Person of Interest's knack for weaving real-world events into its narrative, it's likely the show would have continued to be both relevant and thought-provoking.

What do you all think? Could Root have had another couple of seasons if they wanted considering what's happened in the real world since 2016?

By weaving these contemporary issues into its narrative, "Person of Interest" could have maintained its relevance and provided a gripping exploration of the complexities of modern geopolitics and national security. Here are a few potential areas the show might have explored:

1. U.S.-China Relations.
2. Global Pandemic Response.
3. Middle East Dynamics.
4. Domestic Terrorism and Political Polarization.
5. Climate Change and National Security.
6. Cybersecurity Threats.
7. Intelligence Community Evolution.
8. Pandemic Response and Bioterrorism.
9. Russian Interference
10. Technological Advancements.

NOTE: I've been watching "The Brave" on NBC and love it (very similar feel to TV Show Homeland)...i think its being produced by the same people as Homeland. You guys should watch it... its a great way to spend time while waiting for Homeland to get back on! The drama focuses on a Special Ops group led by Commander Michael Dalton (Mike Vogel) while Patricia Campbell (Anne Heche), Deputy Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and her analysts support Dalton's team with intelligence.

Just finished 3.9. Feel like I will need a break before I can watch any further.

Are people normally floored by the ending of this one or am I one of the few who didn'tt see it coming?

This might the best hour of TV of all time. And I’m a Sheild/24/BB/BCS/Lost fan

I'm currently watching through season 5 for the first time.

I just find it hilarious how every episode of season 5, the penny drops for them and they realise it's Samaritan behind the peculiar nefarious acts.

Like, ffs! Are they really not expecting Samaritan at this point? Or was this element added for the benefit of 'case of the week' casual viewers?

I'm enjoying the show. This just makes me laugh every time as it's literally every episode.

That was said by Zoe to Captain Crooked Cop in the first season. Even though the show takes place in NYC the Nolans have roots in Chicago, and Councilman Rush refers to Bobby Rush, who eventually became Congressman Rush.

The importance of the name drop was to announce the political leanings of the show and the nefarious ways surveillance is used against citizens. Bobby Rush was a member of the Chicago chapter of the Black Panther Party at the time Fred Hampton was the chairman and was murdered by the Chicago police. The murder was carried out in part by using police informants for surveillance and to drug the organization's dinner so that they were incapacitated when the police raided. Fred Hampton was in bed with his eight-month pregnant girlfriend when the room was shot up.

Like the titles of the books Harold reads and the names of some of the characters, this iykyk moment was loaded with meaning.

It's also related to Samaritan's "Correction," but that's a topic for a different post.

I was just looking at the broadcast dates of each of the seasons, basking in the glow of the one season per yer clockwork and consistency of the viewing schedule.

I then noticed season 4 ended almost a whole year after the first episode was broadcast. It started in September 2014 and ended in May 2015.

And during that time, there were gaps in the broadcast schedule with some episodes not shown for weeks after the previous episode was broadcast, or weeks randomly being skipped.

Why did CBS make the viewing schedule so erratic and draw it out for so long?

Did it affect the ratings?

https://preview.redd.it/6g9oqy5ki9ge1.png?width=825&format=png&auto=webp&s=4fca82d305e3ef838bfdc4998f3049a69ec8fb4b

I'm a fan of POI, and I really hope it continues. I'd like to create a website for "The Machine" AI agent. Does anyone have any suggestions?

https://themachine.space

updates:
I've just been learning about AI - related programming recently, and I thought it would be really interesting to use AI to create The Machine. Of course, it's impossible to achieve the same effect as in the show. That's why for now, there's only one page, and I don't know how to proceed with the rest...
If you guys think this idea is kind of offensive, I'll delete it.

Just rewatched this episode and had a couple good laughs.

Walter: How do you do that voice?

Reece: What voice? (in gravelly whisper)

****

Walter: Your girlfriend is awesome!

Reece: Sameen? She's not my girlfriend.

Walter: Why not?!?!?

Good stuff.

I haven't seen this mentioned yet. She is on the new Hulu series Paradise. She plays a therapist (and likely more), and has the third starring credit. She was not in the first episode (though she was credited), but she had a decent presence in episode 2. and episode 3 was kind of named after her character.

So far it's very interesting. Highly recommend. Sarah is great, as usual.

Oh, and Sterling K. Brown (Cal Beecher) is the main star.

I forgot how abrupt the ending was, I remember the last season being short and to the point, but man it really meanders till BAM stuff all happens at once. Reminded me of a video game called kingdom hearts 3.

The show really holds up, but also hilariously doesn't. There was a short scene where harold and a teacher are talking and the teacher says he just can't wait till schools are torn down so he can teach at home and not have to wear pants (cause remote work)...in 2013...

Then you get to how they fit an AGI on a couple dozen PS3 consoles...given what openAI needs to run a 'dumb' AI, this is very funny.

But ya, the writing really held up, not to mention how it blended monster of the week with serialization. It is interesting watching it in 'current year' as well.

I know this is reddit, and all, but none of my friends will watch the show so im getting it out of my system. I was surprised at the amount of focus there was after i wanna say season 2 in regards to female focused stuff.

The first two seasons were pretty grounded and real, but then you get into the more...silly and cartoony. I wanna say it was in full swing once root regularly went guns akimbo everywhere, just, silly but eh im not against serious grounded stuff going whacky woohoo, xfiles did it, to an extent. Added levity, supernatural did the same thing.

But ya, the amount of female focus seemed like a clear shift. Not saying its bad, or 'woke' or anything, in fact if anything I would call it a prime example of the meme "the authors thinly veiled fetish" At least the root/shaw stuff.

But it was funny noticing how every bad guy group had to have a token female thug, or like how reese just gets nerfed in some scenes so someone from the growing cast can save him. Like at first he could handle groups, then he loses a 1v1, it wasn't really egregious just had its moments.

I think the most silly one was when they were trapped under wall street with all the simulations (good episode), and it shows the probability of success at like 10% and dropping, then shaw shows up...not with anything crazy, or like an ambush, just joins them and the success rate skyrockets, I just laughed.

I know im focusing on the girlboss or bad ass chick thing but i mean, its probably a new take here? Everyone here knows the show is good, and said the same things about it im sure. I am just pointing out what i noticed on rewatch after years.

The other thing would be the AI stuff, just really interesting seeing this show again in a current year chatgpt and 'AI' obsessed culture, like watching back to the future 2 in 2015.

IDK about anyone else, but the shaw/root relationship felt very much like a fetish put on screen, at least at the start, by the end they made shaw the only thing root cared about, only to have her also care about harold randomly in some episodes, idk. Personally it felt the writing of their relationship was on par with some smutty spy novel or something.
"Im going to taser you"
"Mmm i like that"
Like, come on. Also, pretty sure the sex scene in that simulation was the only time in the show shirtless/bra scenes were used, just saying guys...seemed like "the writers barely disguised fetish" kinda like that show riverdale. Just not nearly as bad obviously.

Any way that's it. I never rewatch shows I wanna say this is the first one i ever did, maybe cause i watched it week to week, supernatural at least got binged via DVR back in the day, but i think i watched POI exclusively live when it aired. So forgot a lot of stuff, like I forgot elias was practically introduced at the start of season 1. I thought he was introduced in later seasons, also I forgot about the dog. Also they rarely used that dog...I thought reese took him on missions, but nah.

I'm still going it seems. The amount of characters it kept introducing only to do nothing with them, that was weird, like the potential love interest for lionel, she at least got handwaved away later, but like reeses police boss chick, never seen after couple episodes, miles; the asian dude who was introduced with bear, why didn't they cameo him in with the second machine team? I was even thinking they forgot zoe, but she was brought back for a couple episodes near the end. The ginger therapist felt pointless, but the zoe jealousy was funny. There were others that appeared once or twice, but ya, kinda lame they didn't just do a solid recurring cast. Then you had that guy in the final season, i think i get what they were doing, the show wanted to put a face to bad guy hurting the good guys...but like, they already had a few of those. Greer, but also the tall black dude who was regularly showing up, or the chick but she was roots little nemesis so eh, but ya, adding that painter guy at the end, just, felt bloated. It should have been claire, maybe actress got busy, idk,

OH! One thing that DID remain consistent with both times i watched the show.

Fusco, man, they treat him like garbage for sooooooooooo long. They do right by his character by the end, but its like, at the very end. I wish he would have had an F U moment earlier like in season 3 cause ya, he was treated like crap, specially by john. Anyway just thought i would add that since it was something i remembered from watching it live, and was very much a thing still when rewatching.

Oh, speaking of characters, I hated how they just killed off characters, like its ballsy but also it felt cheap, namely control, isa guy, and dominic. The "great correction" literally just felt like a meta way for the show to say....yaaaaaa we are going into a smaller final season and just kinda need to kill off and wrap up all this side crap....oh ya same thing with the finch computer hack plan on that one lady.

BUT THEN SEASON 5 INTRODUCES NEW SIDE CRAP. Binging it was pretty funny though cause it fake out kills a character, only for not long after, actually killing them. I think they just scrambled to close as many narratives as they could, which is commendable, but they just couldn't help adding more, again, really woulda been nice if they had a solid recurring cast, not just new ones added regularly. That then had solid conclusions. Zoe, and elias for example, one had no real closure, the other had a rushed one, they both also rarely appeared. Miles was oddly prominent for a few episodes, then dissapears. Though i just chalk that up to "hey my LOST buddy needs a few paychecks".

Oh, might get hate for this but, shaw and root's relationship was pretty toxic, like lol, they both threaten to kill themselves if the other does. This also happens at the end where their relationship is 'developed', its just as cringe as the "i like being hurt" "I like hurting" intro they had. Just saying.

Ok now I am done.