Person of Interest “Zero Day”

Wow, what an episode.  A double-edged sword for Person of Interest is the show’s slow burning pace.  Every week there is a new case so you always have a new story and action, but the bigger story can go silent for multiple episodes.  This can give the show a repetitive feel at times because for a couple of episodes the story will move forward, then for a few weeks you watch some random cases, then you get a couple more episodes that move the bigger picture along.  Of course, among the random episodes you might have a clue to two that move smaller stories along, like the constant battle with HR (the secretive sect of crooked cops), but the truly interesting stories about Mr. Finch’s past or the creation of The Machine can take a long time to develop.  This could spell certain death for a show if handled without care, but Person of Interest pulls it off.  Just as I’m starting to think they are getting into a repetitive groove they throw in an episode like this one that has been set up all season and everything just collides.

This week we finally learn what Root has been up to and what trouble the virus installed into The Machine can cause, laying open some bombshells. 

SPOILERS

One of the big bomb shells for me was learning what security features Finch added to The Machine.  For one, Nathan originally made the back door into The Machine that releases numbers for persons of interest that the government deems irrelevant.  Finch, paranoid about getting in trouble with the government, closes the back door just as Nathan’s number pops up.  Then Finch learns that The Machine is becoming sentient so he changed the code to wipe The Machine’s memory every night at midnight.  The Machine, as a means for survival, creates a fake identity and starts a business that copies the code of his memory every day and re-enters them into The Machine.

SPOILERS OVER

I can’t wait to see how this season ends.  We have The Machine rebooting, which will give someone complete access to the world’s information for a day, then it will restart without the safety measures, Carter is in trouble with HR, and Reese has answered the phone that will give him unlimited access to The Machine.  In one of the coolest cliff hangers I’ve seen in a while, Reese answers the phone and we hear The Machine say “Can you hear me?”  So bad ass.

Anyway, there is one more episode of Person of Interest so I will need a TV show to take its place.  If you have a recommendation or request just put a message on this post.