This episode was fantastic. Every time I think this show might be getting a little slow, they pull me back in and prove that nothing could be farther from the truth.
Read on for our recap of the Winter premiere of Person of Interest: “Aletheia“.
The episode kicks off right where we left off in the Fall finale. Still held at gunpoint, Harold Finch (Michael Emerson), Shaw (Sarah Shahi) and Arthur (guest star Saul Rubinek) await the actions of the mysterious new villain (guest star Camryn Manheim) and returning villain Agent Hersh. While not much is known about her (from here on out, let’s call her Control) we know that she wants information on both Machines. Root has other ideas. Just as Shaw is about to be shot in the head, Root (Amy Acker) bursts in, guns blazing. Unfortunately, Root is shot and captured while the others escape.
Harold and Arthur make their way to a bank in search of a safety deposit box that holds backups to Samaritan. Their plans are interrupted when both Hersh and Vigilance show up to crash the party. Harold locks himself in the vault with Arthur and the bank teller and tries to convince Arthur to destroy the drives. He believes the government will abuse the Machine and, quite frankly, Vigilance isn’t any better. I keep wanting to like their leader because he’s easy on the eyes but nope. Arthur believes that Samaritan is his child but eventually agrees to destroy them.
Root isn’t having a great day. She is captured by Control and tortured in a variety of creative ways. So much so that I’m watching these scenes through my fingers. Control has a variety of needles filled with barbiturates and amphetamines, a cocktail that will eventually kill. When that doesn’t work, she breaks a bone in Root’s ear to stop the sound from going to her brain. Holy hell! Yikes! Root is a trooper.
And she’s one step ahead of the game. The Machine has been communicating with her through Morse code at a frequency so high that Control can’t hear it. It’s a tie game until Root gets her hands on a knife and is able to speak for the Machine. “Do not pursue me. Or my agents. Trust in me. I am always watching.” It just got real! I don’t think we’ve gotten to hear the Machine speak actual words before.
Back at the bank, Shaw is able to blow Harold and Arthur out of the vault but Vigilance and their guns catch up with them. Once again, held at gunpoint, the trio are saved in the nick of time. But not by Root. Reese (Jim Caviezel) and Fusco (Kevin Chapman) are back from Colorado to save the day. Unfortunately, John’s stay is only temporary. He came back to save Harold but he still blames his Machine for losing Carter (Taraji P. Henson).
John saying goodbye is the start of several scenes to end the episode that will make every viewer cry. Arthur, losing his memory, is gifted videos and pictures of him with his wife from The Machine. A young Harold is seen in a flashback talking to a father that doesn’t remember him. And finally, Greer is back and he has the drives. That’s right, the bank teller was in on it and stole them ahead of time. Round 3 with Samaritan?
Let’s lighten up the mood with Saul Rubinek’s fantastic and hilarious quotes from the episode:
“Do you have any Twizzlers?”
“I played the tumor card.”
“Harold has a certain gravitational pull with the ladies.”
Be sure to check back every week for our continued coverage both here at PopCityLife.com and at Rickey.org.
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