In the third episode of the third season of Person of Interest, the team tracks a stalker, and Root makes her move. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Person of Interest.Â
Trigger Warning: For discussion of stalking, nonconsensual drugging.
THIS WAS TOO MUCH.
Ian Murphy
This… this did not go as I expected. I cannot believe I had so much fun watching an episode of a show that dealt with a stalker, and it speaks volumes to the way this was handled, as well as the sheer overwhelming power of the Trio: Zoe, Shaw, and Carter. This was creepy, make no mistake, and it was unbearable watching Ian stalk around that club, looking for his next victim. What I loved about this, though, is that Ian’s bizarre behavior isn’t validated by the text, despite that he wasn’t doing what the team thought he was.
And that distinction is important because I did get worried that the writers were just going to hand-wave away what Ian had been doing to impress women. He saw it as intense, but romantic. He thought he had a better chance with women if he got to know them better, but the means by which he went about this were just REALLY FUCKING INTENSE. And not one member of the team says otherwise, even when they confront him face-to-face and tell him that his methodology got him pegged as a serial killer! Dude, if you don’t want to be interpreted as a creepy asshole, don’t do creepy things. Don’t hide folders full of personal information in your house! Look, you can be attentive and kind and anticipate the needs of others, but you need not collect information like you’re some awful repository, as if the key to unlocking a woman is merely memorizing stats. THIS ISN’T AN RPG, OKAY.
I am also very used to this show dropping some horrible twist on me, so I kept expecting the show to do something awful. I admit that Ian’s story fizzled out a bit towards the end, especially since we never saw anything of Mr. Wellington, nor did we see an actual reunion between Ian and his son, Alex. I assume the kid found out? Was there a custody change? This show usually provides a tiny bit of closure, but not here. I get it, though, because there’s so much else going on. LIKE THE TRIO BEING THE BEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED. They all hung out! They got to know one another! THEY HAD ACTUAL FUN AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL AND THEY WERE ALL SO SUPPORTIVE OF ONE ANOTHER AND I LOVED IT DEEPLY.
Plus, this episode was very Carter-heavy, which was much-needed from this show. She’s the woman that Ian focuses on, and despite that she’s on a job, the writers still let her be real and vulnerable. Even if it’s part of the way she gets Ian to open up to her, I loved that Carter was able to talk about her demotion and what it meant to her. MORE CARTER ALL THE TIME.
Escape
Yet it was actually Root’s plot that frightened me the most. I knew that Acker was talented as Illyria, but this specific performance as Root has shown me just how chilling she can be. Root’s obsession with the Machine is so unnerving, especially as she spends the majority of her time in this episode being absolutely truthful with her therapist, Dr. Carmichael. And because he is so unwilling to just listen to her, he never realizes just how truthful she’s being.
At the same time, I believe there is some delusion on Acker’s part, given that she still views herself as the sole person with a connection to the Machine, and that connection is holy to her. Root treats the Machine like a divine voice, one that guides her actions and her morality. Which is really, really creepy, obviously, and Acker plays Root with an obsessive dedication that is A LOT to watch. But where does Root go from her? Her escape from the psychiatric facility is violent, horrifying, and resulted in Hersh getting shot. WHAT ARE THEY DOING WITH HERSH? I’m more interested in Root’s next step. Is the Machine aware of what she’s doing, or does it simply view her as an Admin, and thus, it protects her?
I NEED MORE.
The video for “Lady Killer†can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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