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Post by flummery on Sept 28, 2012 12:50:44 GMT -4
"With Finch captured, the Machine sends the Social Security number to Reese. It takes him to a man named Leon whose owes a large sum of money. John realizes he is the "Contingency", the back up plan to help others." - personofinterest.wikia.com/wiki/The_ContingencyTrivia:
Yet again, Lost references abound- you can find the Numbers left and right.
We find out that the machine doesn't just spit out numbers - Finch programmed it to use the Dewey Decimal System so he could decode them. And, more significantly, the machine uses artificial intelligence. It understands more than what it sees- it understands what people are saying and what they want. Love that they're already adding more layers to the story....this was a great opener for the season.
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Post by fringillidae on Sept 28, 2012 14:22:59 GMT -4
Season 2 off to a fantastic start! Sorry for my ignorance, but should I also put my discussion of the episode inside a spoiler box like you did? I would have thought that people don't visit this thread unless they've already seen the episode. If so, how do I make a spoiler box? Thanks!  |
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Post by flummery on Sept 28, 2012 16:09:24 GMT -4
I don't think we have any official rule on using the spoiler boxes for POI. We have used them in the past threads for big reveals, but perhaps it's not really necessary since don't have as many active members now and you're right, those who are looking in this thread are likely to have already seen the episode. The boxes probably aren't really needed at this point.
In case you do ever want to use a spoiler box,
the code looks like this, except without the asterisks *:
[*spoiler] your comments inside here [*/spoiler]
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Post by fringillidae on Sept 28, 2012 19:46:37 GMT -4
Thanks Flummery! OK.
Act I.
The "Evolution of the Machine" montage. This is brilliant. Another example of the brilliant vis-fx people. One screen in 2002, multiplying seemingly exponentially up to 2012. Tons of speculation material in these scenes, as well as concrete dates for seemingly every important event in the history of the Machine for those nerds among us (read: me) who want to sit down and do the arithmetic.
("And what will you be doing?" "I'm not sure. Math, I think.")
The Dewey Decimal System code is also an ingenious bit of writing. We were prepped for this in s1 when we learned that Finch loves libraries, a reassuring indication that Nolan and Plageman have the story arc all set up already.
Back to the opening scene, here's my only major problem with the show: who can see the squares?
Whenever we (the audience) see the squares, we are seeing the Machine's pov, i.e. the surveillance footage with the square indicating who the Machine is currently analyzing. We have also seen that Finch, as Admin, can pull up any of the surveillance footage on his monitor. Ergo, Finch can also see the squares. Why then, in "Firewall" (s1e23), does Finch not see the yellow square around Turing? If he had seen it, he would have been tipped off that she knew much more than she was letting on.
One could argue that Finch gave the Machine the capability of sorting people into so-called white, yellow and red categories, but prohibited the Machine from disclosing these categories to him (or presumably anyone else) - possibly for reasons of "protecting it from people like you and me," as he told Root at the end of the episode.
But consider this: In the opening scene, we see Finch ask the Machine to identify him, then we see him watch intently as the Machine runs facial recognition software on him, puts a yellow square around him and id's him as Admin. Wouldn't you agree that he actually sees the Machine put a yellow square around his head on the monitor? To me, this is a very strong indication that there is a continuity error in which Finch either can or can't see the squares as the storyline necessitates. That's a pretty big error.
But only one major error in a show that I love absolutely every other aspect of, is admirable. And who knows, maybe Nolan and Plageman will prove me wrong about the squares.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2012 1:01:46 GMT -4
Just to be safe, I'll put my remarks in spoiler box. If there is a call to remove them, I will. What if the machine had merely answered "ADMIN" and that's what Finch saw? Or maybe Finch revised what he can see after he discussed establishing ground rules with the Machine when it mistakenly tried to save his life.
For that matter, why would he discuss such things with the Machine? Couldn't he merely reprogram the Machine? His words suggest that he no longer has that capacity, ergo, control. He has to negotiate with the Machine regarding its function, and get the Machine's compliance.
That goes back to Asminov's axiom about the pitfalls of artificial intelligence and robots. (The Machine is essentially a robot, of sorts.) I don't see a flaw yet. I think all that has been explained. The Machine is more or less autonomous now. Finch is merely acting in the capacity of an agent at this point rather than an administrator. At least that's how I see it.
And that would explain why it gave Reese a number, rather than helping Reese find Finch. Reese had to negotiate with the Machine to gain its assistance, which I think is fascinating.
Two other notes:
I LOVED the Aryan flying through the window scene. Just hilarious.
I like the addition of the dog. I know people might take issue with it, but I think besides being a soft touch to an otherwise mechanistic show, the dog is also an example of training and programming. I know we're going to see the dog with Finch later in the season, so I have to wonder how it happened that Finch got saddle with doggy patrol. LOL
And them's my 2ยข. |
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