2.01: The Contingency

[Lenny]

Seeing as there has been some interest in this, as per Ursa's suggestion I'm going to start a thread for the first episode of the second series. If it proves popular, then the same can be done for the following weeks until a sub-forum magically materialises.

It probably goes without saying, but as with all other episode threads: here be spoilers.

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Reese enlists Detectives Carter and Fusco in his search for the kidnapped Mr Finch. Meanwhile, the machine produces a new number which Reese must deal with alone.

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I must admit that I had forgotten how much fun PoI is, particularly the episodes driven by the story arc.

One thing that annoys me about new episodes that follow a series-ending cliffhanger is how everything tends to be resolved within the episode. So many times has a four or five (if not longer) episode story been chopped into forty-five minutes so we can go back to the status quo for the next episode.

I'm pleased to say that that isn't the case here! Which means we ought to see quite a bit more of Amy Acker's Root over the coming weeks, and her quest to set The Machine free.

There was a lot about this episode to like - Reese seemed almost lost at times, without his little birdy (Finch, in his ear, telling him things. Geddit? Yeah? No? Nevermind...), but he made do with the new partnership of Ruscoe and Carter, who are no longer trying to hide from each other. Root was shown to be quite the planner, with her drugging of the woman to steal her phone to set up a meet, and also with her payment method to the guy who faked her driver's license.

What I really liked was the extra bit of backstory - Finch training his machine like a person might play with a child. I liked how, after making a fantastic gambling partnership, The Machine saw the potential accident and managed to get Finch to stop before getting plowed down by the unconscious driver. Now I was convinced, in the run up, that Finch ignoring the warnings, would be hit - finally, the story about his leg! It wasn't to be, which makes me think that when the accident finally happens, The Machine watches on, and Finch realises he has taught The Machine to completely ignore any danger to him. As a computer scientist myself, I appreciate how correct it is (well, to a degree), from Finch's initial tests, his hide and seek play, the card counting, and all the way to the final product. I can actually believe that it's possible. What I do wonder is how long before the turning on in 2002 (where The Machine identified Finch as "Admin") Finch had been working on it, because building such a system is a monumental task for a single person. It is possible that I've forgotten some comment from previous bits of backstory, though (maybe something about teams of people in a dev house working on components, not knowing what the whole would be).

The comic relief with the dog was nice, and I hope we see it in future episodes.

Next week we may be off to Texas! Which I hope means that the story arc episodes will carry on for a while before dropping back into the usual filler.

Oh, and in the background of all this, we have this mysterious group of people that Root seems to be tracking down. I can't remember exactly what Alicia Corwin was up to, but she appears to have been a member of this group. Their motives are yet to be revealed. Bets?

 

[FireDragon-16]

I must admit that I had forgotten how much fun PoI is, particularly the episodes driven by the story arc.

One thing that annoys me about new episodes that follow a series-ending cliffhanger is how everything tends to be resolved within the episode. So many times has a four or five (if not longer) episode story been chopped into forty-five minutes so we can go back to the status quo for the next episode.

I'm pleased to say that that isn't the case here! Which means we ought to see quite a bit more of Amy Acker's Root over the coming weeks, and her quest to set The Machine free.

There was a lot about this episode to like - Reese seemed almost lost at times, without his little birdy (Finch, in his ear, telling him things. Geddit? Yeah? No? Nevermind...), but he made do with the new partnership of Ruscoe and Carter, who are no longer trying to hide from each other. Root was shown to be quite the planner, with her drugging of the woman to steal her phone to set up a meet, and also with her payment method to the guy who faked her driver's license.

What I really liked was the extra bit of backstory - Finch training his machine like a person might play with a child. I liked how, after making a fantastic gambling partnership, The Machine saw the potential accident and managed to get Finch to stop before getting plowed down by the unconscious driver. Now I was convinced, in the run up, that Finch ignoring the warnings, would be hit - finally, the story about his leg! It wasn't to be, which makes me think that when the accident finally happens, The Machine watches on, and Finch realises he has taught The Machine to completely ignore any danger to him. As a computer scientist myself, I appreciate how correct it is (well, to a degree), from Finch's initial tests, his hide and seek play, the card counting, and all the way to the final product. I can actually believe that it's possible. What I do wonder is how long before the turning on in 2002 (where The Machine identified Finch as "Admin") Finch had been working on it, because building such a system is a monumental task for a single person. It is possible that I've forgotten some comment from previous bits of backstory, though (maybe something about teams of people in a dev house working on components, not knowing what the whole would be).

The comic relief with the dog was nice, and I hope we see it in future episodes.

Next week we may be off to Texas! Which I hope means that the story arc episodes will carry on for a while before dropping back into the usual filler.

Oh, and in the background of all this, we have this mysterious group of people that Root seems to be tracking down. I can't remember exactly what Alicia Corwin was up to, but she appears to have been a member of this group. Their motives are yet to be revealed. Bets?

I was very happy that we get more out of this particular story arc than just having Reese find Finch in the pursuit of keeping the number safe. Root is a very interesting character and it would have been upsetting if we only got to see her in a couple episodes.

Reese did seem to have a little trouble working without Finch but I think that was because he didn't really know how to deal with The Machine. I liked when he finally said he was through and wasn't going to do anything else until he got somewhere with Finch. Leon's reactions were pretty funny, especially as Reese is talking to a camera while they have gun-wielding nutcases chasing them. He renamed the dog Bear! That's my dog's name! (Sorry, we were kind of excited here in my house...)

Not to sure about the people that Root was tracking down, but the ones that were trying to dead end the Corwin investigation seemed to have something to do with The Machine...not sure what that means, but it looks like Reese is going to have a fight on his hands soon.

 

[ctg]

First of all, I'm happy you'll be taking over this series Lenny. Thank you.

Which means we ought to see quite a bit more of Amy Acker's Root over the coming weeks, and her quest to set The Machine free.

Not the machine, the AI. She says she wants to set the AI free.

I have to say, I'm a little bit surprised that they so strongly talked about the AI. Showed how it evolved, started caring and even got reasoning. But setting the code free to the internet? Does Root even know about much of machine power the AI needs? Is Finch going to tell her?

What I really liked was the extra bit of backstory - Finch training his machine like a person might play with a child. I liked how, after making a fantastic gambling partnership, The Machine saw the potential accident and managed to get Finch to stop before getting plowed down by the unconscious driver.

Like you, I liked that as well, and continuation of showing Its personality - never give up. But then again, who would or could say that a machine can or will give up as it's part of their nature to keep continuing, yeah?

Now I was convinced, in the run up, that Finch ignoring the warnings, would be hit - finally, the story about his leg!

But it's not his leg. It's his whole body that got shattered after his partner got whacked. If you'll check the last season episodes, you'll see that up to the end, 2009 something, Finch was moving all right. But they haven't shown anything about how he got whacked, and what really caused him to move like a robot.

What I do wonder is how long before the turning on in 2002 (where The Machine identified Finch as "Admin")

That was it. The first moment. The first spark, a flash behind the optical sensor. That was when It started. Remember Finch said that he started to work on the "machine" couple of months after the 9/11.

The comic relief with the dog was nice, and I hope we see it in future episodes.

Would say it was a comic relief, although it was funny. The dog as Reese companion makes a lot of sense.

 

[J-Sun]

One thing that annoys me about new episodes that follow a series-ending cliffhanger is how everything tends to be resolved within the episode. So many times has a four or five (if not longer) episode story been chopped into forty-five minutes so we can go back to the status quo for the next episode....

Next week we may be off to Texas! Which I hope means that the story arc episodes will carry on for a while before dropping back into the usual filler.

Spoiler from ep2:

Spoiler

Well, they wrapped it up, in a sense, in just three episodes this time, but Root will obviously return, so there's that, at least.

The comic relief with the dog was nice, and I hope we see it in future episodes.

Slight spoiler from ep2:

Spoiler

I initially thought it might be a one-shot but it seems he is part of the cast now. As I say in the ep2 thread, I don't hate having the dog but I could actually do without it. I like the generally dark/serious (or sardonically humorous) tone of the show.

Oh, and in the background of all this, we have this mysterious group of people that Root seems to be tracking down. I can't remember exactly what Alicia Corwin was up to, but she appears to have been a member of this group. Their motives are yet to be revealed. Bets?

I read an article that said to enjoy this show now before the Abrams-mythology penchant kicks in and I hope that doesn't become the case. I don't mind the HR stuff at all and I don't even mind some of the Corwin/Evil Suits stuff but I hope it doesn't get carried away with that sort of thing. Not really spoilers, as I 'd have thought the same last week and it doesn't really spoil anything but,

Spoiler

I think they just naturally want to use The Machine for their own purposes, while Root wants to use it for hers - and against theirs

.

I have to say, I'm a little bit surprised that they so strongly talked about the AI. Showed how it evolved, started caring and even got reasoning. But setting the code free to the internet? Does Root even know about much of machine power the AI needs? Is Finch going to tell her?

That was actually my biggest problem with the episode. If they can't do it perfectly, I'd rather they not try to detail The Machine at all and just keep it a "god in the black box".

My favorite part, probably: Reese pretending to be a (dirty) cop and the bad guy finally figuring out Reese might not be who he seemed. "So who are you?" - "The guy that shot the cop and took his badge" (or words to that effect) and then - blammo - empty room. They cheated on the second combat scene when Reese got the dog by having it be impossible odds and then having it happen off-camera but the first one was pretty hardcore.

 

[clovis-man]

Good so far. Don't mind the dog. Good change of pace. Need some moments that are less than total hard core now and then. And Amy Acker makes a good antagonist. She's almost carrying over her Dollhouse role. I'll forego any comments about the machine.

And Fusco is becoming likeable. Go figure.

I don't think I've created any spoilers.

 

[ctg]

She's almost carrying over her Dollhouse role.

Um, what do you mean by that? Dollhouse role?

 

[clovis-man]

Um, what do you mean by that? Dollhouse role?

She played the part of Dr. Claire Saunders/Whiskey in Joss Whedon's sadly truncated tv series, Dollhouse. If you watched it, you know the convoluted and tortured soul that her character represented. If not, scroll down in this link to "Whiskey":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dollhouse_characters

I got the impression from her role on Person of Interest that whatever we saw on the surface of her character was a mask covering a similarly much more complex individual.