For most of five seasons now, we've watched as Person of Interest's Reese and Finch constantly found themselves in high-risk situations where their chances of death were higher than The Machine's I.Q. But with only one episode left in the final season, the duo's chances of surviving their final battle with Samaritan are looking pretty slim, considering this isn't a show known for its smile-heavy resolutions. And just look at how creator and showrunner Jonathan Nolan described the tech-savvy drama's last episode.
You know, it's a bloodbath. As usual.
Dammit, Nolan, these are real people's feelings you're messing with when you say such darkly enigmatic things! I mean, I doubt anyone is going into "return 0" thinking that the entire episode would pass without someone biting a bullet or 20, and the bloodbath in question could easily be formed by the life fluids from people that aren't Reese and Finch. But just when you start hoping for the best, that's when the virus really begins to take hold.
For what it's worth, Jonathan Nolan was clear with TVLine that the finale we're getting is one that was planned out years ago, so it should hopefully feel like an organic swan song rather than an ending built specifically to shock audiences. Here's how he put it.
There have been points along the way where we've adapted, changed course, incorporated new things --- Shaw was a character that we hadn't fully conceived of when we started the show --- but this is the end that we always talked about, the end that's indicated in the pilot.
Speaking of the once-absent Shaw, here's a shot of her from the finale to look at happily before we dig into that pilot reference.
You might recall that before Reese decided to permanently team up with Finch in handling irrelevant numbers, he and Finch had a little talk in which the bespectacled genius gave Reese the honest evaluation that they would probably both wind up dead if they went on. I mean, it's possible that Nolan was referring to some other part of the pilot, as it's kind of spoilery to just come out and insinuate that both of these main characters will be killed off. But probably not.
Hell, even the episode synopsis calls the team's effort "one last suicide mission to prevent Samaritan from destroying The Machine and cementing its hold over mankind." I'm pretty sure no one uses the phrase "last suicide mission" to refer to situations that people survive. So don't go putting your feet up in comfort, Fusco and Shaw.
It's pretty depressing that no news has come out yet about either the show returning for more episodes on another network or the spinoff concept that was set up in Washington D.C. a couple of episodes ago. Are we really going to see the month of July get here without The Machine living on in any other form?
Person of Interest's fifth and final season finale will air on CBS on Tuesday, June 21.
