Mark Watches ‘Person of Interest’: S04E08 – Point of Origin

In the eighth episode of the fourth season of Person of Interest, John teams up with an undercover cop to stop a mole, while Dominic escalates his war. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Person of Interest. 

Lots to talk about, but lemme just yell first because HOW DARE YOU END THE EPISODE THERE. HOW DARE YOU.

Second Chances

Of all the themes we’ve seen across this show, this is probably my favorite one. There have been so many iterations of it, too, and the writers have managed to give each of the main characters a chance to reflect on who they once were and who they can become now. That journey has unfolded in real time throughout Person of Interest, so it’s totally fascinating to me that Silva appeared in John’s life at this time. She is an echo of an experience that he once went through. Both were saved by someone who recognized their immense talents and wanted to provide them with a purpose, a chance to do something good. So it’s easy to understand why John was so protective of Silva throughout this episode: he recognized himself in her story.

Silva is an intriguing character in her own right, too, given that she was taken out of training a week before graduation by a man who utterly believed in her. From there, she went straight to undercover work. That’s intense, y’all! As fara as we can tell, she spent no time as a beat cop, at a desk, or doing anything after she was trained as an undercover operative for Internal Affairs. It is easy to imagine how difficult—and lonely—a life like that is. It’s natural that her and John were drawn together, then, because they share such an intense understanding of that experience. Plus, I do love it when one of the guest characters actually shows up John and is better than him. THAT’S SATISFYING, TOO.

Iris

I’m also intrigued by the idea of having both Iris and Silva in the same episode, since these characters add tension due to the fact that either of them could uncover John’s actual identity. But of the two, Silva felt more threatening in this regard. I’m not sure where the show is going with Iris or if we’ll see her again. If we were getting to see multiple of John’s therapy sessions, Iris would feel like she had a greater purpose. But after she witnesses John in the midst of a “case” (which she doesn’t seem to question???), her attitude towards him changes, suggesting that there probably won’t be a need for IA to check up on him all that much. Yes, she says she’s looking forward to the next session, but will that session matter? Will it happen onscreen?

Dominic

The Brotherhood is starting to get more interesting, in as much as the looming gang war is a dynamic plot. It’s a tad repetitive, I suppose, given that we’ve had mafia wars before. The only difference here, though, is that the Brotherhood and Elias’s gang are the only groups left standing after the wars from before and the fall of HR. Elias’s secretive machinations are pretty cool, but what does this arc promise us that is different from before? I believe this is not the first time that Elias’s number has come up from the Machine, and if I’m mistaken, then we’ve still got turf wars, more or less.

Yet it’s Dominic and his bizarre, near-fatalistic philosophy that keeps me hooked. Here, he reveals that he was once the brilliant, quiet kid who sat in the back of class, remained unassuming, and was constantly looked over. It provides a deep emotional motivation for who he is now and why he is so hellbent on taking out Elias and John. He’s done being unassuming, being ignored. At the same time, though, I want this arc to have more depth than just Dominic. He’s an incredibly fascinating character, but everyone else in the Brotherhood is unnamed and unimportant, and it’s telling that this is the case when every member of the Brotherhood is non-white. It feels so… homogenous? Which is not something this show is known for, y’all, which is why I want more.

Martine

First of all: she scares me. A lot. In many ways, she is like Shaw if Shaw had never, ever found her friends, if she’d never been given the option to be someone else. She is cold, uncaring, and one of the most murderous characters in the whole show. Which means that the opening of the next episode is probably going to be a fucking bloodbath. Martine doesn’t care about collateral damage, especially if that collateral stands between her and her target. In this case, that’s Shaw, whose cover has been blown IN PUBLIC.

I am scared for the next episode.

The video for “Point of Origin” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

Mark Links Stuff

My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT, is now available for pre-order! If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter! DO IT.

About Mark Oshiro

Perpetually unprepared since '09.
This entry was posted in Person of Interest and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.