MovieChat Forums > Person of Interest (2011) Discussion > Any True Fans Agree With This Post?

Any True Fans Agree With This Post?

posted 8 years ago by blondewoman
50 replies | jump to latest

I am curious if I am in the minority and I could very well be. First, I am going to do my best to keep this short as I can type forever and I know people do not like reading long posts, yet prefer getting to the point asap. I am hoping to get answers from hard core fans who have been watching since the very beginning. Let me begin and say that I understand a lot of the thinking that a show like this one must grow and evolve. Examples maybe the computer evolving to have a mind of its own and to make its own decisions in order to protect itself. They say it must keep pushing the envelope by going to new places and create "fuzzy dice" to keep as many bodies coming back for more because of the "neat stuff". I would argue that you do not need fancy things nor gimmicks as we the audience are intelligent enough and will end up caring for the characters if done so properly, i.e. great writing/character development. They new this after season 1 with a perfect cast with great writing.
So true fans, season 1 and probably season 2 were my favorite hands down. I could have went on with that setup without the computer doing all that crazy stuff for as long as the show aired. I enjoyed Reese and Finch working the numbers in NYC with the computer doing minimal. Along side those 2 were Fusco and Carter doing their part and making the show complete for me. Yet, Nolan and company felt that it was necessary for the audience/fans alike to see a large involvement of the computer system (The Machine) and add some lesbo action to the mix. I want to emphasis that I did not want that and was disappointed the minute they went down that road. So, are there any fans out there who would have liked what I would have liked, more of the first 2 seasons into season 3 and on? More or less a continuation of Season 1 and probably season 2. Or do you think you would have gotten bored with Reese and Finch chasing the usual 1 number down? I loved them in the library with the dog and staying local in NYC. Reese always had some good moves to show off every week and Finch being there to get him the info and whatever support needed. Please let me know what you think:)

[–] julaerenee 8 years ago

I think that you need to re-think your wall of text. Nobody wants to see that.

You probably have some good points, but very few will bother to read your post unless it's broken up into paragraphs of about three sentences each. I would recommend you edit your post and you might get more responses.

[–] JDLail 8 years ago

Amen. A wall of text boils down to TL:DR.

[–] Aris25 8 years ago

I liked Caviezel and Emmerson and that is how I discovered the show. I wanted to see what they were up to and found out about Person of Interest midway through season 1. Been watching ever since.

You like to get the point quickly, so I will do the same.

Personally, I don't like procedural shows. I prefer ongoing arcs. I like it a lot more when a show has a big story to tell and tells gradually. Don't get me wrong. Procedural episodes were necessary in the beginning in order to introduce the main characters, their dynamics, their backgrounds and of course the concept of the all seeing AI. However, even in the first 2 seasons, the stand alone episodes that dealt with ongoing arcs like HR, were by far my favorites. I like continuity in shows. The reason I dislike procedurals is that you can easilly miss a couple of episodes and in total you haven't really missed anything, because you can tune in after them and catch up at once. So what is the point of these episodes...? They are almost like fillers...

Based on the above, I really enjoyed the focus of the later seasons. I much preferred exploring the Machine, watching Harold try to teach it human emotions, the intrigue with Decima, the philosophical debates about the nature of life, feelings, right and wrong, responsibilty, the right to privacy and so many more. I didn't expect much in that regard from a simple TV show, but felt that the writing was very well done, considering the difficulty of the subjects it tackled.

Of course that's just me. I am well aware that there are people who feel the exact opposite. But I at least hope I answered your question :)

[–] overman217 8 years ago

Agree^^. I loved season 1 and season 2, but once it started to really hit the mythology the show went from good to oh my god I love this show territory. Even season 1 and season 2 are laced with mythology, but it grows more complex and interesting as the seasons go on. Tons of people don't like the Samaritan arch, but I find it fascinating from a philosophical stand point. Plus all of the other reasons you mentioned. I think season 3 is one of the most enjoyable tv seasons that I have ever seen, and I have seen a ton of shows in my day.

[–] IveGotASecret 8 years ago

overman217, a lot of shows like to claim they're going to do this game changing episode, but I felt Person Of Interest really did it when they flipped the whole show and had Samaritan the one watching everyone while the original watchers [The Machine, Finch, Reese and Shaw] having to hide from it and having to find some way to take down this evil machine.

[–] Natron 8 years ago

I thought we all knew by now that what we thought were procedurals in season 1 were actually part of an Arc. Maybe it's time you go back are rewatch the flashbacks and season 1 so that your post applies to this show.

[–] Aris25 8 years ago

I'm not talking about the flashbacks..! Obviously those were important and a huge part of the story.

I am talking about the cases of the week. Yes some of them from season 1 were part of an arc. Like the one introducing Root or the one introducing Zoe, or the one introducing Elias, simply because those characters turned out to be important.

There were however quite a few episodes, where they saved a PoI and that person never played a part in the story again... That is called procedural. If you don't remember these episodes, then it is you who should rewatch season 1...

[–] Natron 8 years ago

I'm not talking about the flashbacks..! Obviously those were important and a huge part of the story.

So you are right only if we don't count a huge part of the show?

The main character starts out homeless. Carter is looking for a man in a suit. Fusco is a bad guy. We only start learning what the machine is all about.

These were all pieces of the puzzle being laid out in front of us early.

In episode 11 of this season we learn more about a character introduced in season 1 episode 3, which is arc like.

And there have been case of week episodes this season too, like the horse racing wedding episode. CBS likes to have the case of the week, it's true. And POI is one of the better mystery TV shows after all, so the case of the week isn't always bad.

[–] IveGotASecret 8 years ago

First off, you might want to edit out the word "lesbo", which is, I believe, considered a derogatory name for lesbians.

I've hated the whole Root/Shaw thing, because to me it's pure fan pandering. There was nothing between Shaw and Root on the show when I saw a bunch of online Root fans pushing for the pairing and the show gave them what they wanted. It's not the first time the show has sunk to fan pandering. They did it with the Carter and Reese shippers, as well. But not to the level they did with Shaw and Root. The romantic crescendo of music when they see each other again and the romantic vocal music straight out of a sex scene on a soap opera when they go down on each other. It was like, "What show am I watching?"

Reese and Finch and Fusco all had a deeper relationship with Shaw than Root did, but only Root cares about Shaw and is trying to save her. And Shaw has no problem killing Reese, but she'll blow her brains out before harming a hair on precious Root's head because Root is her safe place. Which had me rolling my eyes. If this wasn't the show's last season, I would have stopped watching after that crap that the Root's fans proclaim is the best episode ever for the show. I find it the absolute worst. Samaritan is supposed to be this super smart machine and it runs the exact same simulation over 7,000 times expecting a different result each time? That's just so stupid and ridiculous and unbelievable. Why would you keep running the same simulation thousand of times when it always ends the same way. That episode was such a bad joke on every level.

I was excited for Shaw to return, but I feel like this Shaw is version 2.0 the lesbian version as the real Shaw was not a lesbian. The most I've ever seen Shaw into someone was that thief she had the hots for.

And I have to admit a lot of times this season I felt like they were making this the Root and Shaw Lesbian Love Fest Show when Finch and Reese are [pun intended] the root of this show and Root and Shaw are just supporting players.

I'm of two minds on the evolution of this show. One side liked when it was just the numbesr as even when they've supposed trying to take down Samaritan the show is still about the numbers. On the other side a show needs to evolve or it can get stagnant. I do think once they had Samaritan take over it was the beginning of the end of the show. After defeating the ultimate foe, Samaritan, there was no place to go from there.

The show did change midway from a show about people being secretly watched by The Machine which was used to save people's lives [although could one person really save all the ones in danger and why did only these people comes up as numbers? Was there something special about them why they were designated numbers and should be saved while others in danger weren't?] to George Orwell's 1984 with Samaritan being Big Brother watching.

Ultimately, I think without the introduction of Samaritan the show might have been able to continue even more seasons than it has, but at the same time it's kind of evolved from a simple procedural into a paranoic thriller about a machine taking over society and warping and changing it into what it thinks society should be.

[–] Daithi-orian 8 years ago

Why does everyone assume the Root/Shaw thing was fan pandering? The writers have stated repeatedly it was because of the chemistry between the two actors and they decided to go with it.

[–] FilmmarathonOlympicChamp 8 years ago

Well said.

Loved Shaw, but shes been "off" since her return and Root is the rotten apple that spoiled the bunch.

[–] The_Dougster 8 years ago

First off, you might want to edit out the word "lesbo", which is, I believe, considered a derogatory name for lesbians.

I don't know if "lesbo" is or isn't considered derogatory but that line gave me a good laugh for some reason.



[–] dbeierl 8 years ago

The point of the 7,000 simulations was that Shaw had to experience it 7,000 times, each time getting a little more worn down.

[–] FieryMaid 8 years ago

I am not a shipper. I'd rather all that just stayed out, and I appreciated the fact that Person of Interest kept that stuff off screen. I didn't think the Carter and Reese romantic tie was a pandering to the fans -- the fact that he cares for her, more than just admiring an awesome person both professionally and personally seemed clear from the start.

The Root and Shaw relationship may not have been a favorite for me, but it made a kind of sense (and I figured Shaw with her interesting emotional thing probably made her flexible and therefore bi). I agree that episode was my least favorite that season, and I wish they'd avoided the sex scene entirely like they always did, but the episode was what was completely in her head so I chose to just forgive it as I fast forwarded through it.

I was under the impression that the repeated simulation had the purpose of wearing Shaw down and ultimately, make it impossible for her to recognize reality from simulation -- and that is what happened.

I always thought that Root either didn't believe Shaw was dead or refused to believe it, while Reese, Finch and Fusco did think Shaw was dead so, longer connection or not, I understood Root's drive and the lack of the other three. I'm not sure I'd say the three men have a deeper connection with Shaw, because while she worked well with Finch and Fusco and Reese, the only "deep" connection I really remember her having with anyone besides Root (remember they have some similar enjoyments like giving and taking pain) was with that little girl she was protecting.

I think the show had the overall arc of what the world would be with AI and was never a simple procedural. As Finch created the Machine he had fears of what that would mean and knew he couldn't begin to predict what would happen. Samaritan coming into the show was a logical development. I love how, even now, watching the series over again, everything clicks and makes sense and was clearly thought out and planned from the first episode to the end episode instead of just made up as it went along so things at the end make the beginning not make any sense as so many series to.

~ I keep my expectations low -- then I can be pleasantly surprised.~

[–] readerf61 8 years ago

I honestly think your post is an insult to blond women everywhere. They are not really dumb. Your tangential flights of fancy while claiming to keep it short were laughable. So, there was that.

Secondly, everything about this show makes me think it was well planned. The long game was *always* the machine. One of the main characters was always The Machine. How so many people missed this continues to surprise me.

[–] Sluggr-3 8 years ago

Secondly, everything about this show makes me think it was well planned. The long game was *always* the machine. One of the main characters was always The Machine. How so many people missed this continues to surprise me.

The show could have been better titled "Unintended Consequences" because that is exactly what Harold has worried about since the beginning and has been pontificating more and more recently. He took a major action with good intentions, but failed to realize how the tech could be misused despite all his precautions. We see it all the time, a good intentioned liberal creates a problem, and then only they can fix it, and the series of fixes usually just makes this worse and worse. The thing that surprises me is that many fans fail to see how evil Harold can be in terms of limiting peoples free will. He is a megalomaniac who is always deciding what people can and can't do based on how *he* sees the world. There really isn't that much difference between Harold and Greer. Greer just unleashed his dark side a bit earlier.

My Chimp DNA seems to have lost its password temporarily. Sluggr-2

[–] FieryMaid 8 years ago

I completely agree that Unintended Consequences would have been a good name for this series. Even though Harold knew there would be unintended consequences from creating the Machine, he knew he couldn't possibly know all of them. But he did know that when someone created such a machine -- if they didn't take very careful steps -- those consequences could be even worse and so he took it upon himself to create the machine. Call that hubris, but when you look at Samaritan over the Machine, I'm glad Harold created the Machine. I disagree about Harold being a megalomaniac limiting others' will. He has ideas, like everyone else on the planet, of what people should and shouldn't do. John, Root, Shaw, etc feel the same way and they differ from each other and Harold in those ideas.

Greer just felt a machine should make the decisions of what the world should be like as humans cannot be 100% trustworthy. Correct thinking, just illogical to trust something not human to look after human interests....

~ I keep my expectations low -- then I can be pleasantly surprised.~

[–] slackersmom 8 years ago

If my skimming of this long "short post"  is correct, then what you're essentially saying is...

"I prefer the Number of the Week rather than the long-term story arc." (See how concise that is?? Fourteen little words. )

No, you're not alone, there are others, and if you read a number of these threads, you'll see that. I'm not necessarily in that camp, I've enjoyed some of the longer-term storylines.

[–] julaerenee 8 years ago

Thanks for the summary, slackersmom! I didn't have the patience to read and interpret the OP's ramble.

I for one love that this show has both the procedural number-of-the-week element as well as the long story arcs. The combination of focus on character development and small stories with the larger overarching story is what makes it great in my opinion.

[–] phelix-josie 8 years ago

Agreed. Thanks SlackersMom! I also enjoy the intertwining of the procedural numbers game and the longer philosophical arc.

[–] maryrosenkranz 8 years ago

I like the route they took, but I would have been happy the procedural route(I have a mix in my tv repertoire). To me, they had good stories. But ultimately it is the characters that I enjoy the most. However, there are people who love procedurals & only procedurals. And those who prefer serial, & only serial. Those who think shows should grow & change(or it gets boring), & those who hate change more than death(in some cases that's where the change occurs). No tv show/movie will ever make everyone happy.

As for the lesbian scenario, to me it was a brief part of the relationships(didn't matter to me one way or the other). Maybe it was fan pandering, but then some people complain when writers don't listen to fans.

[–] bratface23 8 years ago

add some lesbo action to the mix

Lesbo? That term is really offensive. Also 'The Machine' is paramount to the story.

Maybe life is a dream and we wake up when we die?

[–] aussie_grrrl 8 years ago

Lesbo? That term is really offensive. Also 'The Machine' is paramount to the story.

Why is it offensive? The word lesbian is derived from the Island of Lesbos in the Aegean Sea, home place of Sappho.

[–] maxpierreburke 8 years ago

Disagree. There was absolutely nothing wrong with root and Shaw getting together. They have had great chemistry since their first scene together... It only made sense