Warning: Spoiler Alert
Let’s address the elephant in the room before we proceed with this recap. After four seasons of consistently ranking as a Top 20 show, the CBS series “Person Of Interest,” could end up getting cancelled by the network. The reason such a move would be made is purely financial, the show would qualify for syndication if it airs a fifth season. That usually calls for a large salary increase for the show’s stars, Michael Emerson and Jim Caviziel. The factor that weighs against Person Of Interest getting the green-light for a fifth season is the fact that the network doesn’t own the show, as it’s produced by Warner Brothers.
It would end up as far more cost-effective for CBS to air NCIS: Boise, next September than for POI to return. The question that network that was referred to as the “Tiffany Network ” in another age, needs to consider is whether quality’s more important than the bottom line.
Although Executive Producer JJ Abrams and series creator Jonathan Nolan, have stated recently in interviews that they intend to find a way to keep telling their story, the season finale airing Tuesday night, felt more like a series finale. Samaritan seems stronger than ever, as “The Machine’s” been reduced to just its bare essentials. Saving just enough of itself that its creator Harold Finch can rebuild it.
“The Machine’s” human operatives survived a firefight despite overwhelming odds, yet faced a new attack as the episode drew to a close. Meanwhile Samaritan spent the episode eliminating what it perceives as threats, outliers and those that would fight the new age it intends to implement. Although all the regular characters survived the purge, many familiar faces met their demise in this episode.
The evening started with scenes from the previous episode, we then see a telephone lineman installing a box on a utility pole. Root and Finch are in their control center when they hear a phone ring. Root says it’s behind the wall and seconds later she’s knocked down the wall with a sledge-hammer and they see an old rotary-dial payphone ringing. Harold picks up to find “The Machine’s” sending a distress signal, but it also sends another message the numbers 314, which Root realizes is a call for help. Although their destination’s unknown they take off.
Dominic and the Brotherhood are still holding Reese, Fusco and Carl Elias prisoners and Dominic tells Detective Riley that he wants the same deal with he and Harold that Elias has. He tells him he wants the keys to the city. John tells him there’s no arrangement or any keys to the city. Dominic asks if the detective thinks he’s stupid, John responds that Dominic’s just smart enough to get himself killed.
The Brotherhood leader tells his female soldier Floyd to go kill Fusco, however Harper Rose beats her to the cop and picks the lock on his handcuffs and gets him out of the building. Floyd comes back reporting that Fusco escaped and Dominic knows that Harper Rose freed him, as she always plays both sides against the middle. She’s tied to a chair next to Elias.
Greer enters a car to talk to one of his operatives named Gregory about the status of “The Machine” and the operative tells the administrator they’ve almost got that fox treed. Greer smiles and says very good, now let’s burn the tree.
We then head to Washington and see Control talking to one of her agents about Samaritan planning an attack on May 6. The agent tells Control the only buzz in the area is the house that’s off-limits to all intelligent agents located in Columbia Heights. When Control asks the agent who issued the memo, the woman responds that Control did.
Root tells Finch that “The Machine’s” talking to her again as they enter a high-priced apartment building. Root steals the keys off a fireman to control the elevator and she takes them to the penthouse. The man who lives in the penthouse is hosting two Russian gangsters, trying to sell the man weapons and a pair of self-charging night-vision goggles. Root shoots the Russians in the legs then takes the night-vision goggles and she and Harold get back into the elevator, but their access was overridden. The Russians are shooting at the elevator and have penetrated the door. Root looks into a surveillance camera and says enough standing on the sidelines. If you want us to save your skin, get in the game. “The Machine” reconfigures the elevator and they ride down to safety.
Root and Finch then head to former number, Caleb Phillips company as Root says they need to get an algorithm. Root hacks the server and starts to download but she realizes it’s a trap. Phillips asks what she’s doing, she tells him the truth and he asks why he should believe her. She tells him perhaps she’ll trust her friend more and Harold comes out and tells Phillips they do need the algorithm. Caleb interrupts Harold then puts what they need on a flash-drive, he says whatever Harold needs he’ll supply him with, since Harold saved his life. Finch thanks him and they head off.
Dominic brings out a box of cellphones and dumps it on the floor in front of his captives. He tells John to unlock the phone and contact Harold, or he’ll put a bullet in Harper and Carl’s heads. Harold answers his phone thinking he’s talking to John and calls him Mr. Reese, but Dominic’s on the other end. He tells Harold to meet him in 15-minutes or Mr. Reese will die. Root tells Finch that “The Machine” revealed that it’s located in Brooklyn, but Harold says he needs to save John. Root tells Harold that “The Machine” needs Reese and it will save him, but they need to save it.
Dominic’s ready to kill Elias and Harper, when a fax machine rings and Floyd reads the fax aloud. It’s instructions to Reese, telling him how to take out the guard next to him and free himself. John takes out the soldier and cuts his zip-ties, then puts his earpiece in. “The Machine” asks if he can hear her and she starts telling John where to shoot to take out all the soldiers. Soon they’re all dead except for Dominic, who tries to escape but he’s stopped by Fusco and two uniforms carrying automatic weapons.
Control and Shaw’s former partner, break down the door of the house in Columbia Heights, but the Samaritan operatives have fled. The agent says they built fertilizer bombs there, enough to blow up the entire floor of a Federal building.
Control summons Senator Garrison, the man who negotiated the deal with Greer to give Samaritan the unfiltered feeds to all US Intelligence information. She asks for his phone, then puts it in a box on her desk which she says assures them nobody can monitor them via the phones. She then tells Garrison about the attack Samaritan has planned for May 6, called the correction. She tells him they need to cut off the feed to Samaritan and suggests they go back to using “The Machine” as their information source. Garrison tells her she’s losing it and says she needs to get a grip on reality. She actually cloned his phone, while it was in the box, she sends a message to Greer that he believes was sent by the Senator.
Elias and Dominic are taken into custody and Fusco feels kind of hinky about them attempting an escape and rides in the vehicle talking them to the precinct. John tells Lionel he needs to go and help Finch, but he congratulates him on doing an outstanding job.
Greer arrives at the NSA and starts talking to Garrison as he enters the room, but his talking’s cut short when he sees Control’s sitting there with a gun aimed at him. She tells him she knows all about the correction and she tells him she knows they’re planning to bomb a Federal building the next day. She says he can save himself from being dropped in a black-hole, if he tells her what building they’re bombing.
Reese shows up in Brooklyn just as Finch and Root arrive, unfortunately so do a squadron of Samaritan operatives with automatic weapons. Root and John hold off the gunmen long enough for Finch to get them in the building. Harold realizes they’re in a telephone substation, located in the middle of a residential neighborhood.
Root’s instructed to build a rudimentary computer in the briefcase. Harold realizes that “The Machine’s” actually there. When it relocated two years before, it sent itself into the nation’s electric grid, now Samaritan’s trying to destroy “The Machine” by sending power surges and brownouts throughout the system. It’s plan is for Harold and Root to upload just enough of itself to the computer in the case for Harold to rebuild it.
Control believes that Samaritan’s planning to bomb SCOTUS, the following day as they planned to hear arguments on government surveillance. She calls Shaw’s former partner and tells him to have the building evacuated and to track down the bomb.
As the vehicle carrying Elias and Dominic gets close to the precinct, a large truck side-swipes it and the vehicle flips onto it’s roof. One of Carl’s men come over and pull Elias out and they head to his car. Dominic climbs out soon after, and he shoots Elias’ man, then aims his gun at Carl, but he drops his weapon as Fusco surprises him from behind. Suddenly shots ring out, a sniper takes out Elias and Dominic but leaves Fusco alone, the sniper’s a Samaritan operative.
Samaritan operatives have the building that the team’s in surrounded. There’s a breach at the back door and Root starts picking off operatives as they enter. She looks for Reese, but he’s at the front of the building ready to take on what looks like about three dozen gunmen. He asks “The Machine” if it can hear him, then tells it to kill the lights. Reese fires some smoke bombs and then “The Machine” once again tells him where to shoot.
Control’s agent calls her and says that there’s no bomb in the Supreme Court building. She then asks Greer again what building they’re planning to bomb and he laughs at her. He says that Samaritan would never have planned that kind of attack, that would have shined the light on itself. Greer then says that killing a hundred or so people is an empty act, but if you target and kill the right people, they can accomplish a lot.
Samaritan’s monitor suddenly reads, this was not an attack this was a test. Greer then thanks Control for identifying the agents that would have caused them trouble. We then see the two agents that Control informed about the correction are dead, then some men come in and throw a black bag on her head and take her away.
As Finch attempts to upload “The Machine” to the computer in the briefcase, it sends Harold a message on a laptop calling Harold father and apologizing for failing him. Harold says they still have time and “The Machine” responds that it thought Finch wanted it to live, but now thinks he’s changed his mind. Harold says you’re my creation, I don’t want you to die. “The Machine” replies if it doesn’t survive it wants to thank Harold for creating it.
A power surge comes down the line, heading for “The Machine,” Finch closes the top of the briefcase and gets jolted hard enough to knock him off his feet. Root asks if he saved “The Machine,” he looks at the briefcase and sees a blue power light on and says he thinks so. Root tells him they need to leave and it won’t be easy.
However when they get outside, they see all the Samaritan operatives on the ground. Root calls for John and he’s unharmed. However three vehicles of Samaritan operatives arrive and Reese and Root are once again in a firefight as the screen goes black.
