Person of Interest Review: Sotto Voce (Season 5 Episode 9)
One of the silver linings of a television show getting to end on its own terms is the tying up of previously loose threads from seemingly “forgotten” plotlines. So far, Person of Interest has done a marvellous job of never leaving its audience hanging, and now it can check the mysterious Voice off its short bucket list with “Sotto Voce”.
We first met the Voice way back in Season 3, when he was thwarted by Team Machine in “Last Call”. I found that episode relatively forgettable in that particular batch of episodes post-Carter, but the Voice always stood out as a good, engaging villain that was due a comeback of some sort.
Truthfully, the Voice doesn’t prove to be as engaging this go-around. His identity was a delightful surprise after a series of misdirects involving a gang and a hitman, but ultimately, any intrigue his reveal may have had is buried under the other massive, more interesting developments that came to light in the episode.
ELIAS: I’ve already lost my two friends. I cannot afford to lose another.
I never could have dreamed that Elias would be playing this big a role in this season, but here we are at episode 9, and his previous ominous and on-the-nose warnings to Harold are put aside to allow him to become an active agent in the story once more.
Elias’ re-involvement with the underground workings of New York comes with an interesting look inside Harold’s mind. He was warned by Elias himself that there is a darkness inside him, and we are shown the truth of that when Elias kills the Voice.
A part of Harold knew Elias would never let the other man walk away; he allows Elias to do what he deems needs to be done to prevent the Voice from ever committing another act of violence again. Harold may never pull the trigger, but it doesn’t mean he’s not pulling the strings.
Elsewhere (and arguably, most importantly), the for real, honest-to-goodness, holy-crap-it’s-happening reunion finally occurs between Root and Shaw. And in true Root and Shaw fashion, guns are involved — because of course they are.
We discover that Shaw still isn’t sure if she’s in a simulation or not. She’s been hunting Samaritan agents since she escaped from the hospital (and prison, and apparently Africa), but she still hasn’t encountered anything that can convince her that she’s not still under Samaritan’s thumb — until, of course, Root.
It’s heart-wrenching to hear Shaw recite a tale as old as time by now: in order to stop her simulations, she always kills herself, because she cannot kill Root. Shaw’s tried and true solution to ending her computer-created hell (a bullet to the head) is completely flipped by Root raising a gun to her own head.
ROOT: You can’t live with me, and I can’t live without you.
Root is Shaw’s constant, and here she proves that with a real, physical affirmation. In the simulations, Shaw could never kill Root, and her own death to avoid that was her way out.
In reality, it’s Root threatening her own life that finally opens Shaw’s eyes — Root is real, Root is there, and Root is willing to die to make sure Shaw knows she’s safe.
It’s Root’s safety that finally brings Shaw back into the fold. With John’s revelation to Fusco that he’s been working for an AI this entire time, Team Machine finally reunites and stands tall against the New York skyline.
They’re ready for war, whether they want it or not.
Stray Thoughts:
- Fusco! With a yellow box! Fusco with a yellow box! I’m so glad he’s now been folded into the Team properly. They’re going to need all the help they can get, and it was about time Fusco found out what the hell his friends have been doing for the last five years.
- Elias calls Finch his friend a number of times. With Elias still in Finch’s debt, what will he do to repay it? What horrible thing does Elias have up his sleeve?
- It took nine episodes, but John Reese finally kneecapped someone. It’s about time.
What did you think of this episode of Person of Interest? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Person of Interest airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 10/9c on CBS.
Brittany Rae
Brittany is a writer and avid TV blogger hailing the infamous year of 1989. She trained at Vancouver Film School in screenwriting for television and film, and has gone on to become a graphic designer and blogger in her free time. When she’s not watching the Food Network, she’s trying to consume every bit of sci-fi television she can get her hands on (current favorites include The 100, Person of Interest, and Doctor Who). She’s always up for female-led dramas and, of course, a literal interpretation of the phrase “Netflix and chill."