Person of Interest 2x01
Oct. 1st, 2012 01:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dorindaI finally had a chance to watch the season premiere of Person of Interest!
When you find that one person who connects you to the world...:
Oh, JOHN. You are a HOT MESS. ♥ I love the consistency of it, the way that Reese really is only tenuously connected to the world, and Finch is the person who grounds him. Without Finch, Reese becomes, like, Little Terminator Lost. The Little Match Terminator. Basically, a super-focused, anxious killing machine whose only goal in life is to Find His Friend.
*(Footnote: which makesButcher Bear thematically perfect, because: anxious killing machine, misused by his previous owners, who needs a new connection to the world and a new lease on life? Of COURSE Reese instantly bonds with him.)
Over and over Reese tells people, in so many words, I just want to find my friend. I was saying toklia earlier, that's really all he wants or needs or can think about--and if it takes protecting some guy he doesn't care about or pummelling a bunch of neo-nazis he will, but none of that is the point for him. The other stuff is purely a distraction.
In fact, I particularly liked the way that John's tenuous connection, the fragility of his humanity, showed through there. He never did warm up to, or feel personally protective of, Leon. Leon was a piece on the board, and if Reese did the right thing with him it might get him to Finch, period. So he kept trying, but never for its own sake, only for the sake of OPERATION FIND FINCH IF I HAVE TO KILL MYSELF TO DO IT.
And we saw John's humanity-slippage-while-obsessed on the personal side, too, with him repeatedly letting himself into Carter's place, waiting there in the dark, compleeetely inappropriate and kind of asking to get shot in the face. And each time, she's like, Oh WTF, you are ridiculous. But he doesn't even notice. Boundaries? What are they? We go find Finch now? How about now?
When that person is taken from you...:
And oh, FINCH. It must be petrifying to be trapped with her, given her combination of unpredictability, ruthlessness, and insight into his character. (Also, having to wear the same suit and not being able to shave. :( )
I loved the flashbacks to the Machine's awakening and education. Hide and seek! Hit and stay! With nothing but text and a vibrating phone, it was already showing a personality. And a protective one at that, which was really interesting--that past-Finch basically had to instruct empathy out of the equation.
I suppose it makes sense, if we assume that Finch always had that basic humanity somewhere inside, but not as much of a prime directive as it later became. He used to be more able and willing to look at people from a distance, as units, as something to be fixed. It was his disconnection from the world, his own humanity-slippage-while-obsessed, that allowed him to set up the original deletion of the "irrelevant" list--but, his own consciousness of this slippage that let him wall off the machine from his future interference. He knew enough about his own flaws to try and protect the world from them. I can't help but think Nathan had a role in this somewhere...he was the one who first reacted with horror to the deletion protocol, and the very idea of irrelevancy.
Whiiiiich in turn slots Nathan right into being Finch's "person who connects you to the world," who is then taken from you, which forces you to become something else.
And in conclusion:
♥ _________________ ♥
When you find that one person who connects you to the world...:
Oh, JOHN. You are a HOT MESS. ♥ I love the consistency of it, the way that Reese really is only tenuously connected to the world, and Finch is the person who grounds him. Without Finch, Reese becomes, like, Little Terminator Lost. The Little Match Terminator. Basically, a super-focused, anxious killing machine whose only goal in life is to Find His Friend.
*(Footnote: which makes
Over and over Reese tells people, in so many words, I just want to find my friend. I was saying to
klia earlier, that's really all he wants or needs or can think about--and if it takes protecting some guy he doesn't care about or pummelling a bunch of neo-nazis he will, but none of that is the point for him. The other stuff is purely a distraction.In fact, I particularly liked the way that John's tenuous connection, the fragility of his humanity, showed through there. He never did warm up to, or feel personally protective of, Leon. Leon was a piece on the board, and if Reese did the right thing with him it might get him to Finch, period. So he kept trying, but never for its own sake, only for the sake of OPERATION FIND FINCH IF I HAVE TO KILL MYSELF TO DO IT.
And we saw John's humanity-slippage-while-obsessed on the personal side, too, with him repeatedly letting himself into Carter's place, waiting there in the dark, compleeetely inappropriate and kind of asking to get shot in the face. And each time, she's like, Oh WTF, you are ridiculous. But he doesn't even notice. Boundaries? What are they? We go find Finch now? How about now?
When that person is taken from you...:
And oh, FINCH. It must be petrifying to be trapped with her, given her combination of unpredictability, ruthlessness, and insight into his character. (Also, having to wear the same suit and not being able to shave. :( )
I loved the flashbacks to the Machine's awakening and education. Hide and seek! Hit and stay! With nothing but text and a vibrating phone, it was already showing a personality. And a protective one at that, which was really interesting--that past-Finch basically had to instruct empathy out of the equation.
I suppose it makes sense, if we assume that Finch always had that basic humanity somewhere inside, but not as much of a prime directive as it later became. He used to be more able and willing to look at people from a distance, as units, as something to be fixed. It was his disconnection from the world, his own humanity-slippage-while-obsessed, that allowed him to set up the original deletion of the "irrelevant" list--but, his own consciousness of this slippage that let him wall off the machine from his future interference. He knew enough about his own flaws to try and protect the world from them. I can't help but think Nathan had a role in this somewhere...he was the one who first reacted with horror to the deletion protocol, and the very idea of irrelevancy.
Whiiiiich in turn slots Nathan right into being Finch's "person who connects you to the world," who is then taken from you, which forces you to become something else.
And in conclusion:
♥ _________________ ♥
no subject
Date: 2012-10-01 08:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-01 08:45 pm (UTC)*stealth hugs you*
no subject
Date: 2012-10-01 08:59 pm (UTC)And wow, the stuff Root revealed about her psychopathy was absolutely terrifying. She's bored, so she kills people and creates anarchy? That's full-on cuckoo bananas. And, I'm sorry, I don't want her in jail or a psych ward, I want her dead. Someone like her would find a way to get out of whatever facility she got sentenced to.
The other thing I found really fascinating was the contrast between Alicia and Root. Alicia thinks the machine is too dangerous and wants to shut it down; Root sees it as a potential way to a new world of chaos, and wants to set it free to wreak its havoc.
I was thinking, too, that a lot of PoI's female characters -- Carter, Zoe, Alicia, Root, and even Jordan from Identity Crisis -- remind me of Angelina Jolie's character in Salt, because they could all be male characters without needing to be rewritten, really. And that's so cool!
no subject
Date: 2012-10-01 09:30 pm (UTC)Root definitely finds humanity boring, but I don't think her point is therefore to create anarchy per se. I think one big reason she finds humanity boring is that she thinks evolution has stalled, and she thinks it's time for the next big step. So, to that end, she's eager to unleash what people these days call The Singularity, or the emergence of a true advanced Artificial Intelligence, which (according to those who foretell it) would change human society as we know it. (Which, as you say, could be a world of havoc...a big part of the Singularity discussions is that it would be such a complete change that there's no way to predict or understand what might come next.)
Her main problem with Finch seems to be that he has rules and conditions laid down for the Machine's behavior and scope, and she sees that as him having potentially created this first amazing evolved AI life, and then cramming it into a little cell and throwing away the key. Of course, she's not troubled by questions of boundaries, ethics, or privacy, just to name a few of her problematic issues. *g*
they could all be male characters without needing to be rewritten, really.
That is so true! I love seeing them listed like that, and I'd add Kara Stanton, too, now that you mention it. The badass senior partner who takes in the rookie and rules him with an iron hand, the mentor, the person who [spoilers *g*]...call her "Carl" and you wouldn't have to change one other thing that I can remember. And that is so refreshing, when it happens. I crave it.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-01 10:22 pm (UTC)Root seems to want to rip apart and recreate society by letting the Machine loose, which... well, personally, I feel people like her, and anarchists who want to create chaos for chaos' sake, are just plain crazy, but that's just my opinon.
So, even though the idea of this sort of technological singularity is interesting, at least as an intellectual exercise, in reality I find it terrifying. Btw, I just watched the ST:TOS ep The Ultimate Computer yesterday, and M-5 really freaked me out (and Spock speaking out against it was really something). So, HAL, M-5, Skynet, the Machine -- whatever name given to that sort of technological leap? *shudder*
no subject
Date: 2012-10-02 01:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-01 09:32 pm (UTC)I totally agree with, well, everything!
I was especially going to agree with, though, your comments about John's disconnect with Leon and helping him. He's so focused on "Must find Finch," that he never treats Leon as anything more than a nuisance he has to deal with. "I have to save you because that's what I do, but you are not Finch so let me save you so I can go on to something IMPORTANT!"
It's interesting, too, because as a "victim," Leon wasn't particularly sympathetic. He wasn't a good person, per se, wasn't even a good person who made a bad choice. He WAS an embezzler, he did get away with the money, and I'm not sure I completely buy that he had no idea who he was working for in the beginning. All of which just made it easier for John to not really care beyond a "This is what I do, so I do it BUTWHERE'SMYFINCH?!" mentality.
I agree with Klia, too, about the creepy stalker-ish, not-particularly-self-preserving behavior of lying in wait for Carter in her dark apartment. Really, John? REALLY?
no subject
Date: 2012-10-02 01:35 am (UTC)So, for instance, if Leon hadn't escaped the police station on his own, mightn't an Aryan Nation-allied prisoner have killed him sooner rather than later, just as Leon feared, which would mean John's first hasty solution (smash cop car, cuff Leon to it, done, now WHERE'SMYFINCH???) would actually have cooked Leon's goose? I mean, if Oz has taught me anything *g*, it's that Leon wasn't just being self-serving when he said the Aryan Nation is very influential within US prisons... although I'm sure he was also being self-serving, since he certainly wanted to get the bonds and skip town.
I kind of admired Leon, actually, despite him obviously not being an innocent man. He rolled with the punches pretty well, considering, so I can totally imagine the kind of guy he was, including how he got in that situation in the first place and decided to take the money and whatnot. He had dug himself quite a hole, but he didn't panic or give up. Resourceful, I guess I'm saying. Even if he was also shady.
But really, the thing I liked the most about him was his final statement to John. "Your friend--I hope you find him. He's lucky to have you." That's something John badly needed to hear, I think. It shows not just honest gratitude, but empathy and awareness, Leon knowing just from his short time with John how desperately he wants and needs to find Finch. And that even a Terminator can use some comfort.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-02 04:53 pm (UTC)Oh, don't get me wrong, I kind of like Leon. He's just not your typical Number of the Week. You're right, too, that it's probably a good thing that he wasn't: John wasn't at his most focused. Or rather, he was, just not on Leon. :-)
I was just rewatching the episode last night, and I guess I had kind of missed the "He's lucky to have you," comment from Leon, and it does make him more likeable. Just acknowledging that there was something going on not about him, and not as a way to get Reese to leave him alone/protect him helped.
I am still weirdly excited about the prospect of a Carter-Reese roadtrip.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 12:56 pm (UTC)TimPeck. (I worry about Peck.)And Fusco getting all "Hey, you're on a first name basis with him?" with Carter. :D I loved that.
Oh, SHOW! ♥ I need to rewatch, stat.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-05 12:50 am (UTC)