Person of Interest (TV Series) Aletheia (2014) User Reviews

so many extraordinary things about this episode..

[A_Different_Drummer · 10/10 · 16 February 2015]

... that (this does not happen often) I am not sure where to start.

Usually in my reviews (there are a few now on the IMDb) I look to the POV of the viewer, the audience, because that is what entertainment is all about.

But this episode is so astonishing that I want to start with the POV of the production team, admittedly one of the highest pedigree teams on the planet at the time this specific episode was bullpenned.

I am trying to imagine the room. Someone must have said, you know, we have a hit here. We have been following a proved formula for three years, each week Harold and John save someone, be it victim or perpetrator, and we have some nice longer arcs, and a great cast, and the sponsors are happy, and the fans are happy, and my wife is happy, and ....

And then someone else in the room, probably the boss, said, yes, that is all true. But I have an even better idea. Let's BURN IT ALL TO THE GROUND.

Which brings us to this episode which, by its conclusion, takes us to a world where old enemies are gone, new ones have emerged, new alliances have been formed, John and Harold are no longer a team, Chapman continues to steal entire scenes, the "machine" has gone from servant to master, a regular and popular cast member has been killed, and yet another recent cast member has been tortured on camera. (Ouch)

This would be enough for most series, but POI doesn't do "easy" so all this happens against the backdrop of one of the most action-packed episodes of all time, with great acting, great editing and use of flashbacks, and dialog so sharp you could use it to slice a roast.

"It's hammer time" is one example of a snippet of the script that viewers will be remembering long after the screen goes dark.

And the ongoing references to philosophical and ethical issues only raises a bar that is already scraping the ceiling.

As a reviewer, I cannot help but note that this series by the middle of the third season had evolved to the point where the initial review I did for the POI main header (back in Season 1) is now meaningless. I am trying to think of just one other series where that has happened, and I cannot.

Extraordinary. Really extraordinary.

Samaritan's Drivers

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 1 March 2024]

Reese and Finch are locked in a jail in Colorado for fighting each other outside the bar. Root saves Finch, Shaw and Claypool, but is captured by Hersh. Control tortures her severely, but she manages to escape with the support of The Machine. Meanwhile, Finch, Claypool and Shaw head to the bank where the drivers of the Samaritan are stored in a safe deposit box. Out of the blue, Shaw sees the Vigilance arriving and Finch locks Claypool, the Bank Manager and himself in the vault. But immediately after, Hersh and his team arrive at the bank. Finch convinces Claypool to destroy the drivers and discloses to his friend that Nathan and he have built a machine. When Collier prepares to blow-up the vault, there is a havoc in the bank with the confrontation of the Vigilance and Hersh and his men. Shaw heads to the vault to save Finch and Claypool, but they are surprised by Hersh and his men.

"Aletheia" is an episode of "Person of Interest" where the connection of Root and The Machine is showed to Control. The plot of "Person of Interest" has begun with an interesting idea of two men saving ordinary people considered irrelevant by the government. But now, the plot is complicated, with a nasty character as a lead one and an international intrigue of agencies interested in the device. The idea of an Artificial Intelligence "growing up" is interesting but its connection to Root is messy. In addition, Hersh kills lots of people because Reese did not kill him in other episodes. Now, irrelevant people have been forgotten. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Aletheia"