“As long as The Machine lives, you never die.”
Well then. I was warned over and over that something big was going to go down, and there were quite a few hints throughout the episode about who we might lose. Even so, I was still unprepared to say goodbye to both Root and Elias in the same hour, two phenomenal characters who grew into staples of the show early on and never ceased to entertain; it hurts that they’re now gone. Of course, the big thematic idea of the episode–one espoused by Root as she and Shaw are exchanging fire with some baddies–is all about what it really means to be dead or alive. If “the real world is essentially a simulation anyway”, then how does one truly die?
The episode asks those questions with regards to the character of Harold Finch as well. He’s lost people over the course of his life, people he views as “roped into helping” him. Root’s always contended that at least those people have some type of free will, that at least those people made a choice about something they believed in. In addition, she says that The Machine is always watching over them, that they still live on even though they’re physically dead. The guilt swirling around all of this, however, is way too much for Harold to handle, and he’s just plain tired of it. It all comes rushing out of him after two more deaths in that phenomenal interrogation scene, a masterclass in acting from Michael Emerson and perhaps the most important character moment we’ve seen for Harold. “I have played by the rules for so long…no, not your rules,” he tells the cop sitting across from him. “You work at the behest of a system so broken that you didn’t notice when it became corrupted at its core. Your rules have changed every time it was convenient for you.” It’s a scathing indictment of the government, but the scene also brings up some interesting points about Harold’s philosophy, Harold’s “rules”. He’s operated by those rules throughout his life, but his belief in their efficacy is wavering. He’s ready to bring it, and his realization is simultaneously terrifying and badass to watch.
It’s not just about surviving anymore. It’s about being more than just “noise in the system” and being the “symphony” Root talks about. It’s not about hiding anymore, something Root makes clear to Shaw during the episode. “This might be the first time I feel like I belong,” she says, and it’s really tough to hear those words knowing what transpires later in the episode. However, her being dead doesn’t mean she doesn’t still have her place in the fight. She’s still here, her voice being used by The Machine and her determination being absorbed by the rest of the team. Root lives on in her own way, and Samaritan better watch out.
Simply put, “The Day the World Went Away” is a monumental episode, a game-changer. It’s brilliant.
GRADE: A
OTHER THOUGHTS:
– “Grab your guns, Sameen. You’ll feel better once we shoot some people.”
– “And darling, you got a great shape.” I’m so glad that we at least get one more round of Shaw-Root flirting before CRUSHING SADNESS.
-I wonder if Control will pop up again sometime during the next few episodes. She’d be a welcome sight.
-I get why Elias is killed off in this episode, but I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed that we aren’t seeing him help out over the final few episodes.
-Some people are saying that this episode could be a simulation. Thoughts?
-Although the interrogation scene is a big turning point for Finch, what sets him apart from Samaritan is the very fact that he can feel for the people he’s lost, that he can even have a turning point to begin with.
-Three more episodes. Three more Tuesdays. Three more reviews. I won’t be going anywhere.
Photo credit: CBS, Person of Interest
Polar Bears Watch TV 
One of the top 5 episodes in the entire series for sure. Michael Emerson already deserved another Emmy for this but this episode in particular just proves it.
Hi PB!
This episode was amazing! And I want to say more but I need to go watch it again!
I will be back though! 🙂
Excited to see your thoughts! Enjoy again!
All I can say is what I have been saying, I am going to miss this show so very much when it is all over. The fact that it was cancelled makes me think that CBS is run by Greer and that jag Samaritan!
Harold Finch was pushed too far!
By the deaths past and recent of those he calls friends, Root and Elias. The audacity of Samaritan telling Harold that he will work for it. The fact that he has always played by a code/rules that he lived by and tried to be fair but he kept getting slapped down and cheated by the rules being broken and re-gigged when it suited the other side. When he gave his I have had enough speech,kind of like that film Network but more controlled,full of hate and cold, you could see what Elias meant about Harold being the most dangerous of them all. I LOVED when said I am going to kill you, and I loved that he was not saying it to that drone cop but to Samaritan. He IS going to kill it!! I loved that his Machine and Samaritan were both watching the interrogation and Harold knew it! I loved when the pay phone rang and Harold answered and it was Root’s voice but not Root, the Machine honoured her interface and has kept her alive forever. I loved when the Machine told Harold that she can do anything he wants her to do because he created her! I do wonder now that she has chosen her voice just what name she is going to call herself?
I felt chills when Reece said Harold’s number came up not because he is the victim but because he is going to be the perpetrator. Greer and his bunch of jagweeds are all dead!
What made me sad and moved me; Root’s moment with Sameen telling her that she finally feels she belongs and grabbing her hand. When Root told Harold that he brought her into the light from the darkness, her talks about all of us being simulations with Sameen and Harold and of course her death.
Elias standing by Harold and protecting him until his death, and telling him that we must keep fighting because it is better than giving up.
So much to love, the writing and the action on this show are superb!
Yes PB I am going to miss this show when it is all over, but I will have my DVDs . ❤️
Oh and now we know that the Machine has honoured Root by using her voice we know that in the opening of this last season the narrator was not Root. So well done! 😀
“I felt chills when Reece said Harold’s number came up not because he is the victim but because he is going to be the perpetrator.”
I forgot to mention that moment! Don’t know how I forgot, it was absolutely chilling.
I hope it isn’t a simulation. We lost two great characters, but it cheapens the show overall if there is no real danger. They have used the simulation trope to great effect through the series, but if this is just a simulation, than why would I trust anything else that happens on the show? It would actually disappoint me if they pulled that “just a dream” nonsense. Fusco is my favorite character, and if he died I’d be really disappointed, but wouldn’t want it to be a simulation.
I agree with this. Would cheapen the deaths a bit.
If Root’s death is a simulation then so is Joss’s and Nathan’s.
i do not think that this is the case though, Root is dead.
Absolutely the best show ON TV. Save POI. FANTASTIC 100 Episode.
I didn’t get Root’s explanation of being ”a shape” thing
mind explaining it?