PERSON OF INTEREST ROUNDTABLE: Sotto Voce

Person of Interest S5 Episode 9 Sotto Voce

Sotto voce (sot·to vo·ce \ˌsä-tō-ˈvō-chē\; Italian: literally “under voice”) means intentionally lowering the volume of one’s voice for emphasis. The speaker gives the impression of uttering involuntarily a truth which may surprise, shock, or offend.

The  long-awaited Shaw-Root reunion

Rueben: FINALLY!! I have to admit I knew it was going to be Shaw who Root was following after she saw someone else take down her target. That part was a little too obvious; but the scene between them where Shaw isn’t sure if she’s still actually in a simulation or if her reunion with Root is real was very moving. I’m just very thankful that their reunion didn’t end the way of her simulations. That would’ve been too much to bear.

Cay: She seemed to get back a bit easier than one would expect with her having been held captive in South Africa! Although I guess they don’t have time for her to spend 2-3 episodes finding her way back home. Root knows to go after Samaritan agents because of The Machine, but how would Shaw know who to go after and where? At least she was pretty straight with Root right away, leaving out only the part about how she killed Reese multiple times in the simulations.

Karen: Gotta say, except for the Coyote part, I wasn’t happy with how it played out. I wasn’t UNhappy either though. The rest of the episode was so good that this felt sub-par next to the rest. How is Shaw going to fit in to the rest of the season – we don’t have much time left with her, and they may have squandered it. We shall see.

Easton is The Voice…and Elias executed him in front of a not-so-surprised Finch

Rueben: Okay, I did NOT see that coming at all! And, Elias bombing his car – that was a shocker too.

Cay: You’d think after all this time that they wouldn’t be able to fool us anymore – especially after Elias – but once again, I fell hook, line, and sinker for Easton as the victim. And once again it almost ended very poorly for Team Machine, or at least Reese and Fusco. It’s really a good thing that bad guys can’t shoot! Then, after Fusco confronted him, I was exasperated that Finch was going to let him go – hasn’t he learned his lesson on that yet? And then Elias blows up his car, while Finch just stands there looking horrified, but not exactly surprised! I think it was a great scene that encapsulates this season – it’s life or death for everyone, and when you get the chance to improve the odds, you have to take it, even if it means killing.

Karen: Another nice twist – I love it when POI turns the story on it’s head and does a fake-out. I dig that Elias said what I was thinking, that Finch may have subconsciously been using him as his enforcer for when they caught “The Voice” – and I don’t think he was far off the mark. I’m so happy they’re going back and tying up these loose ends.

Fusco is FINALLY in the loop

Rueben: It’s about damn time!! For far too long Fusco has been in the dark about what has really been going on and he deserved to be told.

Cay: Wow, what will we talk about next episode if we’re not complaining about keeping Fusco in the dark? I like that Reese was the one to tell him. It seems he took it pretty well, but I think he must have known, even if he couldn’t confirm it.

Karen: HOO-RAY! Now let’s see what he does with that information. He can make informed decisions now, and that gives him so much more power. I think he’ll be a much larger asset to the team during the final “acts” of the play between The Machine and Samaritan.

Favorite Scenes/Lines

Rueben: Watching Shaw take out those two coyotes (the men who were going to leave that family out in the middle of the desert to fend for themselves) was priceless!

Karen: YES! THIS! Especially when she told them to go Northwest like they had to the refugees!

Cay: I liked the scene at the end, when the team, including Fusco, is all back together under the bridge. Although, it seems very unlikely that they are all alive to stand there together in episode 13. I also liked that Shaw basically told Root exactly what happened, rather than the writers playing the whole “Shaw seems normal but can she be trusted” game. At least everyone will know the situation, although if Root can be trusted to have good judgement about it remains to be seen.

Overall Thoughts

Rueben: I did find myself a little bored by the episode until closer to the end with the Shaw and Root reunion, the shoot-out in the precinct, Elias taking out “The Voice” and the long-awaited reunion of Team Machine.

Cay: I liked this episode a lot. It tied up a previous plot with The Voice (although I’m embarrassed to admit that I don’t really remember the original episode – I’ll need to go do a re-watch later this week), brought Shaw back, brought Fusco into the know – a ton of plot points came together here to set up the final four episodes of the series (it still feels weird/sad to be saying that!). I liked the elaborate plot The Voice had to protect himself. Matt Fowler (of IGN) likened it to the Joker’s arrest in the Dark Knight, which is quite appropriate (Jonah Nolan, creator of POI co-wrote the movie with his brother Christopher).

Karen: I LOVE LOVE LOVE when Finch and Elias go on adventures together. It happens so rarely but they’re great together. Such a tenuous truce between them, yet they both have a strong code of ethics that they stick with. It’s not the same one, but they understand each other because of this common thread. Elias has an ulterior motive, but ultimately, he wants to repay his debt to Harold and John. That slate may never be wiped clean as far as Elias is concerned.

Memorable Quotes:

He’s like us, except that he has a license for breaking and entering – Reese

Elias can be very persuasive – Finch

Careful, compassion and loyalty make people weak, easy to exploit. – Easton/The Voice
Well, that’s some stinking thinking and why you’re gonna lose. – Elias

I thought you were dead. – Raul
I thought about keeping it that way, – but where’s the fun in that? – Elias

You feel better? – Reese
Mucho. – Fusco

The simplest way to break someone is to rob them of their reality, and they did that well. – Shaw

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