PERSON OF INTEREST ROUNDTABLE: SKIP

4.18 Skip

Root finally feels the brunt of betrayal, and Reese is a love machine in the 18th episode of Season Four. Cay is on the road, so Reuben and Karen are taking the lead this week. Here are their thoughts – feel free to join in below in the comments!

•  Thoughts on Frankie, and the return of Harper (and their subsequent story dovetail)

Karen: I *knew* that Harper would be back. She was much too intriguing to keep away, although I wasn’t expecting her back so soon. Quite a surprise that the Machine is feeding her info though. That will be problematic for our little band of misfits. Frankie was quite a handful. Fifty Shades of Bounty Hunter? She definitely has the hots for Reese, too bad he has eyes for someone else. I’d love to see her back again at some point, although since her story was about vengeance, I’m guessing that’s a no.

Rueben:  If actress Katheryn Winnick weren’t already a series regular on the History Channel’s Vikings, then I’d love to see her character of Frankie appear another time or two.  It would help fill the void by Shaw being presumed dead (i.e., Sarah Shahi having time off due to being pregnant with twins). I thought her backstory was quite intriguing, and she was enough of a tough-ass bounty hunter (set on revenge for her brother’s death) to stand alongside Reese and hold her own. I also figured that Harper Rose (guest star Annie Ilonzeh) would show up again, as she is not only an interesting character, but adds that extra dynamic to the stories.  I’m sure the writers will find a way to bring her back again.  Also, Harper getting details from the Machine, that was very unexpected.

•  Harold, Beth, and Root. Messiest Triangle EVER?

Karen: Okay, why can’t Harold get some love? He’s like a perpetual tragic hero, which I guess is what makes his character so great. It’s just HEART. WRENCHING. However, I AM glad that Beth gets out alive. Root gets stuck between a rock and a hard place when Finch decides to make the call to kill himself, and then she devastatingly destroys the virus that Finch and Beth were creating that might’ve taken down Samaritan once and for all. Root is still one of those characters I just can’t love, although I feel bad for her in this episode.

Rueben:  I didn’t see it coming that Root was after Beth until the moment it happened.  And, how brave (or crazy or both) of Harold to put himself in harm’s way to safe Beth.  I knew Root wasn’t going to let anything to happen to him, but what a move.  I think, despite the way they came together (Root and Harold that is) that Root now she’s Harold as a pseudo father-figure (in a way), and again she’ll now protect him to the end.  But, Harold doesn’t want to see her for a while so it’ll be interesting to see when she’ll show her face again and if Harold will be receptive of that appearance.

•  Turning the Tables, Root turning on the Machine, instead of Finch

Karen: As Harold did at the beginning of the season, Root has now begun to hate what the Machine is telling her to do. She’s gone from worshiping it (she even reminds us that she thought of it as God), to showing revulsion at it’s ‘command’ to leave the situation between Beth and Harold alone. She intends to defy it’s instructions, and kill Beth, in order to save Finch, and it’s all because of the betrayal she feels over the Shaw situation. Ah love… a fickle thing.

Rueben:  This whole situation just shows how much Root has changed; and to a degree how much Harold has changed too.  They have become a team, dedicated to each other and the cause.  And while Root may have worshipped the Machine in the beginning, she is learning that it is a “machine” and not God.  She’s not going always going to like what it tells her and I have a feeling she is going to start questioning it a bit more now.

•  Reese, the Love Machine

Karen: Turns out Reese is Mr. Hawt in this week’s episode. Harper’s got eyes for him, Frankie lays a smooch on him, and right at the end – Dr. Campbell decides to break her silence and come clean with her feelings as well. We know where his affections lie – with the lovely Doctor, but he’s got to have a bit of an ego after this week, right?

Rueben:  It was only a matter of time until Reese and the doc had some romance.  I think we’ve all seen that coming, right?  But, can or will it last?  Will her conscience start to play a role in the relationship?  Will something happen in a future “number” to pull them apart?

•  Any other thoughts?

Rueben:  Will Harold find another way to get at Samaritan?  I honestly believe that he is not going to stop until he can dismantle that other machine in one way or another.  And that will be the big showdown for the end of the season.  Just my honest opinion there.