I find it hard to understand why Person of Interest is struggling in the ratings, when it remains one of the smartest shows on network television, despite the challenges it has had to overcome in this rocky fourth season.  I have to wonder if people are reacting to the fact that the show presents a disturbing world mere steps beyond our reality, especially at a time when government overreach regarding surveillance and personal privacy are a hot topic. 

But the show can’t go wrong focusing on the threat posed by Samaritan and its ultra-draconian means of eliminating threats to its existence.  In this scenario, Samaritan places CEO Sulaiman Khan in the crosshairs.  Khan is a wunderkind who created ubiquitous anti-virus software, and Samaritan wants to use that software to hunt down The Machine.  And so, with that initiative poised to launch, Khan is a liability, and so Samaritan quickly and efficiently orchestrates Khan’s downfall.  And one gets the very real impression that Samaritan chooses to toy with its victim this time around.



What I like about the episode is that it doesn’t mince words, nor does it fool around with last-minute saves.  Team Machine is essentially incapable of preventing the inevitable without exposing themselves, and they end up in direct conflict with Samaritan assets anyway.  The message is becoming rather clear: the tipping point is rapidly approaching.  There’s very little Team Machine can do now without exposing themselves to the enemy.

That inevitability with Khan is balanced by two potential gains.  The Machine wanted some impregnable briefcase for some future purpose; my guess is to house some kind of physical storage device that The Machine can “hide” in to make Samaritan believe, very soon, that it has eradicated its enemy.  Meanwhile, Root very nearly took out Martine, and Martine was not happy about how cavalier Greer was about the whole thing.  Could Martine become a mole in Samaritan’s wetware division?  As twists go, that would be a juicy one, and could give the writers something (someone?) to work with until Shaw can come back in the fifth season.