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[Sober]

Well, it's a thing worth discussing because killing off LGBT characters is a recognizably trope that is designated toward a particular group of people. There is also the argument to be made that it's a "kill her off to motivate the male lead" sort of thing, but...

This isn't to say no gay people should be killed, and I disagree with the main thrust of the argument until such a time as Shaw dies that the show's LGBT rep has been ruined. I mean, Root was a lesbian character who was in a romantic relationship with another lesbians, so if Shaw survives, I'd be willing to let the show pass because they equally defied the trope by letting Shaw live as much as they went into it.

But simply because a potentially problematic read of a show might be wrong doesn't mean it is bad to talk about such things. For example, suppose that this show had a black and fried chicken loving character. In this show, especially if they were a main character, they'd be more than that. They'd have some kind of special skill, with an interesting backstory, with plotlines that had poignant and engaging arcs. They'd be well written because they are in Person of Interest and the writers know their shit, by and large. Root was more than merely a lesbian, like you guys said.

But bringing such a depiction into question would be a good thing. In PoI's case, I think it works. As a final impetus for the machine to be truly freed, Root makes the most sense. John and Shaw don't have strong opinions on the machines freedom and leave it to Harry to decide because they are the shooty people, and if Fusco would have had opinions on it, it's too soon for him to make such judgements and nobody on the team speaks dog to ask Bear his invaluable opinion. So with Root being the one who has the closest relationship to both Harry and the machine, it honestly does make sense for her death to serve as the final proof of Root's argument that she should be freed.

And if we are truly to respect Root as a character, we have to recognize that, atleast in her own mind, she is not gone. She exists within the machine, all her information and therefore everything that she is, still exists. To ponder the meaning of her death, we have to ponder her last meaningful words. It's a death that meshes nicely with the themes and tone of the show, it is meaningful to Root herself, it wasn't gratuitous in it's depiction so it avoided fetishization, it may diminish the LGBT representation but it does not eliminate it as long as Shaw is in the game, it motivates Harry but it exists as more than that as well, a turning point, and progresses the story, not in a mere plot driven way of the machine being let out to do what it would, but it offers yet another way of looking at what humanity really is (a set of information), a story that will likely in some way be vitally important to the rest of the season.

But we can only recognize good depictions of deaths of LGBT characters if we question them, because stereotypes are a problem and there will be very much more deaths of LGBT characters that fall into the stereotype exactly. Understanding why one depiction works and why one doesn't is the only way other writers will have a chance of avoiding it, so discussing it is a good thing.

The article writer could have been more considerate with spoilers though.

I feel like there are two ways to evaluate this, and both are equal. But maybe also should be kept separate.

On one hand there is the evaluation of the craft itself. Was the death significant? Did it pay off in terms of how it affected narrative or characterization?

A friend linked me to this tumblr post tonight. It's a bit of a read but I recommend it, but I will quote what I think is important:

I think every writer, at the end of the day, wants to believe that their worlds belong to them and that their idea has to be the best one for the story. Writers justify. So I think I have to answer this one as a consumer.

So for Deaths Handled Well, here’s my basic list of critera:

1. The death is in service of not only the plot, but the narrative. It’s thematically cohesive with the world, and carries weight.
2. It allows the dying character to either explore a new side of themself or to be their best self.
3. The death is allowed the room and the time to be significant. It is felt by both other characters in that world, and by fans.
4. The death comes up again in the future; that character and their importance is not forgotten.

And then there’s the iffy last rule:

5. It does all this without playing into tired tropes.*

This poster comes at this evaluation as a writer and as a writer myself, I have come to basically the same fundamental conclusions from my time consuming and evaluating and analyzing the media I consume. In that light, I think Root's death was handled pretty damn well.

I think on the other hand you have to look at the lgbtq+ fandom that makes up the show. And their feelings are just as valid as a measured critique. If it makes them sad, angry, distressed, well who is anyone to say those feelings aren't invalid? Because at a macro level, this television season was an absolute bloodbath for lesbians in particular. (I am not lumping bi-woman into this list because I can only assume they see themselves different from lesbians and should deserve that distinction.) And presumably there was no weird cabal organizing it; these all were just pure happenstance, but still shows there is an undercurrent that creators especially have to be aware about.

My belief is though in discussing things like this they should maybe be considered separate from one another. It is very much possible to appreciate or criticize the craft but feel disillusioned with this weird trend that we thought had ended a few months back. Mostly because if you try to intermingle both or use one to justify the deficiencies of the other, I think we reach the intersection where the entitlement of fan culture vs. the creators gets a bit muddled and hostile.

 

[BBboy20]

Finch as the perpetrator? Jesus...

 

[Pinkman_ABQ]

Amazing episode. That Nine Inch Nails blaring at the end gave me chills.

 

[Htown]

SAMARITAN

 

[flintstryker]

I have no words to describe what I am feeling now

 

[The Dutch Slayer]

I I I I I I I I I I I I

THIS FUCKING SHOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I JUST, I CAN'T !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ALFKJALFJKDSLJADSFLASIDFJASLKDFJASPOFJAPS:ODAS:KDFJASFJAPFJASFKJASDFfjkldsjfwhgo;akvhlkajdlkvjasdfjasld

Seriously Need some time folks this is just NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Full denial here folks.

 

[Corpekata]

Sort of weirdly echoing what happened to her character in the final season of Angel.

 

[gundamkyoukai]

http://m.ign.com/articles/2016/06/01/person-of-interest-amy-acker-on-the-huge-change-to-her-role

Confirms the voice over in episode 1 of the season is indeed the Machine.

Very fun read .
Next 3 ep going to be so crazy .
Really looking forward to them .

 

[Chariot]

Killing them shortly after they got back together? Come on, this feels cheap. Curse CBS and their dropping of the series. Awakening of Dark Finch could've been an amazing season finale cliffhanger.

 

[Sölf]

Seriously, this just can't end in 3 episodes. This felt like a really good season finale, but NOOOOO, it's just 3 episodes before the finale!

Root's death doesn't shock me as much, but Elias definitely deserved better. And fucking POI youtube channel spoiled Elias' death to me.

But I like dark Finch. Dark Finch would work as a great antagonist.

 

[Johan Liebert]

Fuck man, this show...I don't want it to end ;_;

 

[Aurean_Mentat]

Honestly, this show has the awesome burden of having too many great characters.

There really wasn't a good way to get rid of Elias, but they gave him his due in Episode 100. He got to go out protecting his friend, the person he viewed as most like himself, Harold.

And as sad as I am over Root dying, the way it was handled was superb.

In both cases, the deaths weren't just for effect (Elias' signature arc was in seasons 1 & 4, and any screentime he got in season 5 was a bonus round really). They both got redemptive arcs, oddly enough, both dying to protect the same person.

I would rather them handle this way, because both deaths had weight. While not being done perfectly, they didn't feel like they were just for shock effect, and while Elias' deserved better, he got a pretty good one (more than some shows give their main characters), and the truncated season order and them having to wrap it all up allows me to forgive them other parts.

Because the most interesting story, the one I think we all have wanted to see, is what Finch will do when he lets go of the rules he clings to so tightly, and unleashes himself to do what he has to do to have a shot at winning.

The most brilliant part about all of this is that Finch wasn't winning, and that Dark Finch might not either. But the writers are doing a damn good job, and giving Dark Finch potentially 3 whole episodes to win or lose was the right call.

Conversely, why is this show so good? Why is it getting canceled? And why did CBS have to go to one episode a week now? THIS IS LIKE THE BEST PART CBS, MAKE UP FOR YOUR SCREWING THE SHOW OVER MULTIPLE TIMES AND GIVE US THE FINAL 3 NOW!

 

[xenist]

Why are people whining about Root? If she knew what would happen she would have killed herself in an instant. Joining the Machine and being her voice? That's pretty much a dream scenario for her.

 

[firehawk12]

Why are people whining about Root? If she knew what would happen she would have killed herself in an instant. Joining the Machine and being her voice? That's pretty much a dream scenario for her.

It's not like she becomes the machine. The machine just uses her voice.

Although if she knew that Harold would have freed the machine if she died, then as someone above suggested, she might have chosen to use that in order to "trick" Harold into freeing it.

 

[faridmon]

I really hate the fact that this show has been amazing from day 1, managed to have a great and interesting characters full of colour and vigour, progressed so much in terms of storyline, created a whole dedicated universe, filled itself with amazing twists and turns, tragedies and resolution, Set up some explosive set-pieces, included a lot of important references and reflected a large part of our society in a very delicate and understanding manner, created a very fair equality for all involved, steppe far from stereotyping colour and gender (and sexual orientation)....


.... and the fucking thing we read about on the net is a an outrage of an LBGT character dying.


Political correctness gone wrong. Bloody hell,if the world is trying to correct itself from exclusion and discrimination in this manner, I don't want to be part of it.


I could write a thousand word essay why Root is such an interesting character on so many levels, and how much her talent have lend the narrative, style and the plot to progress so much. And those strong characteristic didn't come from the fact that she was a ''Lesbian''. No, because those come from the fact that the creators and producers of such fine series created such a strong character who just happened to be a lesbian.

sorry for the rant

Spoiler

but Fuck man, she didn't deserve to die, Fuck CBS for killing this show

 

[xenist]

It's not like she becomes the machine. The machine just uses her voice.

Although if she knew that Harold would have freed the machine if she died, then as someone above suggested, she might have chosen to use that in order to "trick" Harold into freeing it.

According to her she is in the Machine now. I bet that the voice wasn't the only part of Root the machine has taken.

 

[firehawk12]

Political correctness gone wrong. Bloody hell,if the world is trying to correct itself from exclusion and discrimination in this manner, I don't want to be part of it.

It's not political correctness though. The problem is that it's a trope that has been a part of storytelling for a while, to the point where people feel the need to catalog every instance of a lesbian dying:
http://www.autostraddle.com/all-65-...al-characters-on-tv-and-how-they-died-312315/

I think the problem is that we're sort of at an intersection in our culture. The tropes still exist, but the writers and the audiences have grown up and moved beyond that, so we have situations like this where Root doesn't die because she's gay, she dies and she also happens to be gay. It's an important distinction to make and I think that people who are angry aren't properly parsing the two.

But it's not just queer characters. The Walking Dead gets A LOT of shit for the fact that the show is only allowed to have 2 black characters at a time. Every time a new black character is introduced, you know that another black character is going to die. Of course, I'm sure the writers don't have a quota, but black characters dying is such a trope - particularly in horror - that it's hard for people not to laugh at how The Walking Dead handles its black cast.

According to her she is in the Machine now. I bet that the voice wasn't the only part of Root the machine has taken.

I know that this show is in crazy land, with the ability for people to watch other people's dreams, but I don't think the show is in the realm of transhumanism yet. Unless I just missed some technobabble line entirely.

I guess the AI could have learned from Root how to act, of course. But I don't think that's the same thing as Root's soul or whatever entering a computer.

 

[faridmon]

I think at this point Machine just took Root's character as it and Root have become inseparable for quite sometimes.

It's not political correctness though. The problem is that it's a trope that has been a part of storytelling for a while, to the point where people feel the need to catalog every instance of a lesbian dying:
http://www.autostraddle.com/all-65-...al-characters-on-tv-and-how-they-died-312315/

I think the problem is that we're sort of at an intersection in our culture. The tropes still exist, but the writers and the audiences have grown up and moved beyond that, so we have situations like this where Root doesn't die because she's gay, she dies and she also happens to be gay. It's an important distinction to make and I think that people who are angry aren't properly parsing the two.

But it's not just queer characters. The Walking Dead gets A LOT of shit for the fact that the show is only allowed to have 2 black characters at a time. Every time a new black character is introduced, you know that another black character is going to die. Of course, I'm sure the writers don't have a quota, but black characters dying is such a trope - particularly in horror - that it's hard for people not to laugh at how The Walking Dead handles its black cast.

The fact remains though, This series have done so much, and way beyond, any tropes, to a point that even discussing a trope is such a same and frankly, offensive. This series have let a Black Woman die (and I haven't heard uproar about that considering), did I think i followed a trope? No, because it felt like the creators were going somewhere to tell a story. If we happen to count every second of that occurring and ask our self whether it was part of a trope or not, there wouldn't (and shouldn't) be PoI in the first place.

There is no trope involved, as far as I am concerned. Root died, because that is what the story have become to. Simple as that. and if we can't impartial our self from differentiating a complete storyline where anything could happen and a story that just fills a quota or have a criteria, then we just can't simply a medium of art and entertainment. I don't watch The walking Dead, but if that series had an interesting universe with vibrant characters, maybe I wouldn't mind some people dying, but it sounds like its just following a stereotypical route to tell its story from the sound of things.

 

[bjaelke]

That shape dialogue was something they'd lifted straight out of True Detective.

 

[firehawk12]

Well, my point is that people are so used to reacting negatively to the trope that it's easy to see "queer character dies yet again" and be annoyed at it.

This is why I say we're at this weird intersection, because in 2016 most writers don't see being queer as "tragic". We just need the culture to catch up to this reality and be able to separate a gay character dying in 2016 from a gay character dying in 1986.

 

[Goodstyle]

The shapes scene was so damn good. That romance was really one of the strongest I've ever seen in any TV show. Shaw (violently) working through her grief in the last few episodes is going to kill me.

 

[RS4-]

Sad that this is nearing the end. Beautiful, powerful eps.

 

[firehawk12]

The shapes scene was so damn good. That romance was really one of the strongest I've ever seen in any TV show. Shaw (violently) working through her grief in the last few episodes is going to kill me.

Funny enough, John is broken because his wife dies prior to the series. I wonder if they'll try to do something with that similarity.

 

[Veelk]

did I think i followed a trope? No, because it felt like the creators were going somewhere to tell a story.

There is no trope involved, as far as I am concerned.

You don't understand what tropes are then. Tropes are narrative instances of a thing happening. Stories aren't this ethereal substance that we cannot dissect, but they have substance we can divide by. Tropes are the matter of which stories are composed of. If a thing happens in a story, it's a trope.

What you're actually saying is that you think this is a case where it is a justified trope, or where in many more tropes are at play than just the one where lesbians die.

And this is kind of exactly the problem that I was talking about. The desire to not see a well liked story as potential problematic has bred this sort of resistance to sheer examination, giving knee-jerk reaction of "NO!" that tries to stop discussion without even understanding how the thing works. Which is why the question of Root's depiction is worth asking and examining, even if you disagree. Such things need to be given consideration.

 

[WrenchNinja]

People removing any and all context from the death just to sum it up as "Another gay character died" is doing a real dishonour to the character that was much more than that. You want to take baggage from shows like Buffy and the 100 into it, well you can go ahead and try but at least be honest with yourself and actually look at her character arc.

Funny enough, John is broken because his wife dies prior to the series. I wonder if they'll try to do something with that similarity.

Shaw was all out for revenge for her old partner and she was right there in the thick of it trying to violently find Simmons after Carter died. But when someone like her dad died she hardly reacted. So who knows how she'll really react. I think she'll probably just try to ignore it and focus on getting to Finch.

 

[WhereAreMahDragonz]

So I know my knee jerk reaction was anger, but I've had some time to reflect and actually watch the scene, and even though I'm still new to the show, I can't really be mad at how they handled the death.

I thought it was really well done and eloquent. I've been following Shaw and Root since before I even started watching the show, so I feel like I've got a pretty accurate understanding of their individual characters and their relationship. And like, I don't really understand the death in the context of the plot to any great depth, but I do get that it's endgame and things are winding down. It makes sense. I'll probably have more thoughts as I actually get to this point in the show in my watching of it, but for now I can say that this is vastly different than the shit that happened on The 100 and I'm not bitter.

Mostly I'm just disappointed that the trope exists, but I do think Root's fate is more of a means to an end rather than "omg look at how tragic her death was, gays can't ever be happy on TV!". There's no malicious intent behind this one. She didn't die because of her love for Shaw, she died because of the mission. It meant something, and that makes all the difference. I do think the trope needs to be discussed, because it's more than just a coincidence at this point.

Sorry for my pissed off posts earlier, I just got a little ruffled without really looking at the situation fully. Bad habit.

 

[torontoml]

Wrong thread

 

[Setsuna]

Someone tell me theres an OST

 

[Nobility]

Someone tell me theres an OST

Oh my yes.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/person-interest-original-television/id869369456
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/person-interest-season-2-original/id794040639
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/person-interest-seasons-3/id1080831736

Perfect timing too because I was wondering if anyone noticed new original pieces since the beginning of S5, I may be wrong but I think they did a new variation when Finch revolted against his rules.

 

[RS4-]

What days are 11-13 airing? Because 10 was last night and not the 6th, as mentioned in OP.

One per week? Two next week, finale on the 13th or 14th?

 

[Nobility]

What days are 11-13 airing? Because 10 was last night and not the 6th, as mentioned in OP.

One per week? Two next week, finale on the 13th or 14th?

One per week, every Tuesday.

Series finale on June 21.

 

[MartyStu]

So I know my knee jerk reaction was anger, but I've had some time to reflect and actually watch the scene, and even though I'm still new to the show, I can't really be mad at how they handled the death.

I thought it was really well done and eloquent. I've been following Shaw and Root since before I even started watching the show, so I feel like I've got a pretty accurate understanding of their individual characters and their relationship. And like, I don't really understand the death in the context of the plot to any great depth, but I do get that it's endgame and things are winding down. It makes sense. I'll probably have more thoughts as I actually get to this point in the show in my watching of it, but for now I can say that this is vastly different than the shit that happened on The 100 and I'm not bitter.

Mostly I'm just disappointed that the trope exists, but I do think Root's fate is more of a means to an end rather than "omg look at how tragic her death was, gays can't ever be happy on TV!". There's no malicious intent behind this one. She didn't die because of her love for Shaw, she died because of the mission. It meant something, and that makes all the difference. I do think the trope needs to be discussed, because it's more than just a coincidence at this point.

Sorry for my pissed off posts earlier, I just got a little ruffled without really looking at the situation fully. Bad habit.

Wish more people ended up reflecting like you do.

In any case, I would hazard to say that it is not so much that queer characters are killed off because they are queer, but that characters marked for death are seen as safe to be made queer.

Not actually much better come to think of it. May even be much worse.

Anyhow, I really am not happy with the idea that this particular issue will probably end up overpowering the discussion when it comes to this episode and maybe this series. I think it is a conversation worth having, just not really a fan of it in this particular context.

 

[Jarrod38]

 

[MegaManTrigger]

Well, it's a thing worth discussing because killing off LGBT characters is a recognizably trope that is designated toward a particular group of people. There is also the argument to be made that it's a "kill her off to motivate the male lead" sort of thing, but...

This isn't to say no gay people should be killed, and I disagree with the main thrust of the argument until such a time as Shaw dies that the show's LGBT rep has been ruined. I mean, Root was a lesbian character who was in a romantic relationship with another lesbians, so if Shaw survives, I'd be willing to let the show pass because they equally defied the trope by letting Shaw live as much as they went into it.

But simply because a potentially problematic read of a show might be wrong doesn't mean it is bad to talk about such things. For example, suppose that this show had a black and fried chicken loving character. In this show, especially if they were a main character, they'd be more than that. They'd have some kind of special skill, with an interesting backstory, with plotlines that had poignant and engaging arcs. They'd be well written because they are in Person of Interest and the writers know their shit, by and large. Root was more than merely a lesbian, like you guys said.

But bringing such a depiction into question would be a good thing. In PoI's case, I think it works. As a final impetus for the machine to be truly freed, Root makes the most sense. John and Shaw don't have strong opinions on the machines freedom and leave it to Harry to decide because they are the shooty people, and if Fusco would have had opinions on it, it's too soon for him to make such judgements and nobody on the team speaks dog to ask Bear his invaluable opinion. So with Root being the one who has the closest relationship to both Harry and the machine, it honestly does make sense for her death to serve as the final proof of Root's argument that she should be freed.

And if we are truly to respect Root as a character, we have to recognize that, atleast in her own mind, she is not gone. She exists within the machine, all her information and therefore everything that she is, still exists. To ponder the meaning of her death, we have to ponder her last meaningful words. It's a death that meshes nicely with the themes and tone of the show, it is meaningful to Root herself, it wasn't gratuitous in it's depiction so it avoided fetishization, it may diminish the LGBT representation but it does not eliminate it as long as Shaw is in the game, it motivates Harry but it exists as more than that as well, a turning point, and progresses the story, not in a mere plot driven way of the machine being let out to do what it would, but it offers yet another way of looking at what humanity really is (a set of information), a story that will likely in some way be vitally important to the rest of the season.

But we can only recognize good depictions of deaths of LGBT characters if we question them, because stereotypes are a problem and there will be very much more deaths of LGBT characters that fall into the stereotype exactly. Understanding why one depiction works and why one doesn't is the only way other writers will have a chance of avoiding it, so discussing it is a good thing.

The article writer could have been more considerate with spoilers though.

Even with the controversial "bury the gay" trope being a thing in TV, I think there needs to be a distinction made between identifying the death and its impact, as well as, whether it actually satisfies the conditions of the trope. In this case, I don't think POI handles Root's death as if it were another meaningless lesbian casualty (more on that later as it pertains to how social media reacted last night). Also, you could argue that there were a multitude of factors that motivated Finch to go above and beyond and consider breaking his rules. Factors such as Elias's death, and if we want to take a step further, we can suggest things like all the numbers Finch wasn't able to save after Samaritan came online. It's not simply Root's death alone (though it does act as a catalyst, just like Elias's death). Additionally, this is very in-character for Finch. When Grace was offered as an auxiliary target by Samaritan, Finch told Reese and Shaw to shoot to kill if Grace was in anyway harmed.

I don't mind a discussion into LGBTQ representation, and one thing I appreciate in this thread is how people are focusing on not only the death itself, but also the context in which that death took place. However, in Twitter, it's not even close. People are outraged simply because either 1) another Lesbian/Gay character is dead, or 2) The death takes away their expectation that Shoot was going to be a thing post-show. This are very narrow-minded view to take because the death in of itself wasn't about punishing Root and Shaw's sexuality, or taking a heteronormative stance on relationships and "apologizing" for having gay/lesbian characters that other shows have a habit of doing. It's not so much about them being wrong, it's about being so limited to an aspect of a character that one completely forgets about the character as a whole. One reason why it's particularly concerning is because if we suppose that this became a huge outrage moment, there's a chance that other shows would see this and be more aversive to killing off gay/lesbian characters to avoid offending people. It'd be less about creating poignant character arcs and great writing for these characters, and more about making sure they don't die. At which point, it becomes less about creativity, and more about pandering to audience wishes.

Shaw was all out for revenge for her old partner and she was right there in the thick of it trying to violently find Simmons after Carter died. But when someone like her dad died she hardly reacted. So who knows how she'll really react. I think she'll probably just try to ignore it and focus on getting to Finch.

To be fair, Shaw was a kid when she had no reaction to her father's death, whereas she was an adult when she took revenge for her old partner and Carter.

 

[flintstryker]

Harold's speech is already top 5 monologue for me, very powerful and it kinda reflects what he said some season ago about the minute he takes up a gun we will all truly know all is lost since this episode he was given a gun by Root and actually took it.

 

[WhereAreMahDragonz]

Wish more people ended up reflecting like you do.

In any case, I would hazard to say that it is not so much that queer characters are killed off because they are queer, but that characters marked for death are seen as safe to be made queer.

Not actually much better come to think of it. May even be much worse.

Anyhow, I really am not happy with the idea that this particular issue will probably end up overpowering the discussion when it comes to this episode and maybe this series. I think it is a conversation worth having, just not really a fan of it in this particular context.

The Bury Your Gays trope is a hot button topic right now. It's only natural that people's first response is to loop this into the discussion of the trope. I mean, I still believe that this is a different situation, but it's still kind of relevant and some people are gonna be angry about it. It's to be expected. Despite Root's death being one of the better examples, it doesn't change the fact that the LGBT community is incredibly underrepresented as it is, and when something like this happens, shit is going to hit the fan, despite how it's portrayed.

The issue isn't something that can be categorized by one specific instance in one specific show. It spans across many forms of consumable media and the discussion needs to include both positive and negative examples.

 

[Jarrod38]

Harold's speech is already top 5 monologue for me, very powerful and it kinda reflects what he said some season ago about the minute he takes up a gun we will all truly know all is lost since this episode he was given a gun by Root and actually took it.

I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.

 

[MegaManTrigger]

I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.

Imagine he manages to get God Mode from the Machine...

Samaritan is going to regret ever coming online.

 

[T Dollarz]

Holy fucking shit, that was a top 3 episode for the series, simply incredible.

I really don't want this to end.

All hail Dark Finch.

 

[Jarrod38]

That Finch speech is up there along with the Conrad Grayson one from Revenge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb7KJ1aD_as

 

[Niraj]

Great episode. I felt that the character deaths made sense, and this was never the kind of show where everyone would get a happy ending. I think Elias would have been satisfied to know that he did help save his friend Harold, and Root would have been satisfied to have her theory of living on via The Machine manifesting and sort of proving itself in the way that it has. Harold's speech was obviously a highlight, and a continued testament to how good Michael Emerson is. Not too many episodes left now

 

[MaKTaiL]

Finch's powerful speech is up on Youtube!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAABxd_KLAQ

 

[marvelharvey]

Harold's speech is now one of my favourite TV moments. Right up there with "I love you Penny".

 

[Sheppard]

I am stating what everyone else has said, God damn that ending.

 

[Lord_Byron28]

I know that this show is in crazy land, with the ability for people to watch other people's dreams, but I don't think the show is in the realm of transhumanism yet. Unless I just missed some technobabble line entirely.

I guess the AI could have learned from Root how to act, of course. But I don't think that's the same thing as Root's soul or whatever entering a computer.

For the degree of accuracy that the Machine has it has to know people pretty well to begin with. We've already seen in If-Then-Else, that the Machine is capable of performing simulations where the main cast is portrayed spot on. Root was saying in the car how the Machine knows them better than they know themselves. Root has been the Machine's analog interface for almost 3 seasons now, it makes sense that the Machine and her would become one. They've been building this AI slowly into a character for years, now it has a voice and personality.

 

[streetsahead123]

That was pretty much PoI's Ozymandias.

 

[LCGeek]

Finch's powerful speech is up on Youtube!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAABxd_KLAQ

Nodding and smiling the whole time.

Elias was right to have that quiet one sentiment, now it's here and god damn is it good.

 

[Baskcm]

god damn god damn

bring on the warpath harold

 

[Lonestar]

Nodding and smiling the whole time.

Elias was right to have that quiet one sentiment, now it's here and god damn is it good.

At least he wasn't around to see it, like he said.

 

[Veelk]

Finch's powerful speech is up on Youtube!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAABxd_KLAQ

That poor agent must be so confused. "Why don't his records exist? What did this guy do? What is he talking about? Who is he talking to? The fuck is going on?!"