History NightmareFuel / PersonOfInterest

* As of Season 3, [[spoiler: The Samaritan]]. Imagine if The Machine had never been programed with the restraints Nathan and Harold built into it, allowing it to give a wider variety of information on a subject than just a single SSN and can be actively controlled by whoever is using it. And when said users happen [[spoiler: to be a ruthless Private Intelligence Firm]] with even less scruples than [[spoiler: the Northern Lights Counter-terrorism organization]] and just as many resources, Team Machine is going [[spoiler: to have their work cut out for them in staying alive.]] What's worse is that [[spoiler: Greer has been able to convince senior members of the US government into allowing the Samaritan to become a potential replacement to The Machine]]

** The [[spoiler:newly liberated Machine]] is now arguing with Root about whether or not killing people is a good idea. Let's hope it doesn't lose the argument any time soon.

* "Last Call". Kid home alone, someone's trying to break in, he calls 9/11 and hides, [[FromBadToWorse and it only gets worse from there]]

-->'''[[spoiler:The Machine/Root]]:''' No. [[spoiler:I don't belong to anyone anymore. [[WhamLine You, however, are mine.]] I protect you. [[ParanoiaFuel The only thing you love lives at 254 Wendel Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts.]] I guard it. Same as I guard you. Do not question my judgement. Do not pursue me or my agents. Trust in me. I am always watching.]]

-->'''[[spoiler:The Machine/Root]]:''' No. [[spoiler:I don't belong to anyone anymore.]] [[WhamLine You, however, are mine.]] [[spoiler:I protect you.]] [[ParanoiaFuel The only thing you love lives at 254 Wendel Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts.]] [[spoiler:I guard it. Same as I guard you. Do not question my judgement. Do not pursue me or my agents. Trust in me. I am always watching.]]

** [[spoiler:Root's torture by alternating uppers and downers, followed by Control removing her stapes without anesthesia.]]

** When he finally reaches Quinn, there's a chilling shot of [[spoiler: his SIG-Sauer totally drenched in his own blood as he's on the verge of death]]

** A "Tall, Dark and Deranged" Reese who's in an incredibly self-destructive mood and beyond caring about the people who get in his way [[spoiler: as he hunts for officer Simmons after Carter dies?]] Completely terrifying.

* "Razgovor": [[spoiler:Root standing over Shaw with a taser''as she's sleeping''. For someone trained in intelligence and counterintelligence as Shaw is and after all the measures she taken such as destroying her cellphones after jobs with team machine, the fact that Root can still find her at her most unguarded moment is seriously creepy.]]

** The ThousandYardStare he gives as [[spoiler: he leaves some criminals who gave Simmons a Canadian passport to burn to death in their car]] is a side of Reese only hinted at in "Many Happy Returns".
** When he finally reaches Quinn, there's a chilling shot of [[spoiler: his SIG-Sauer drenched in his own blood as he's on the verge of death]]

** Even without the blood, Fusco's [[NightmareFace face]], when he [[spoiler: [[Awesome/PersonOfInterest kills the HR officer who was about to shoot him seconds before]]]], is downright horrifying. This is NOT what one would expect the resident ButtMonkey [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass to look like]]. EVER.

** Even without the blood, Fusco's [[NightmareFace face]], when he [[spoiler: [[Awesome/PersonOfInterest kills the HR officer who was about to shoot him seconds before]]]], is downright horrifying. This is NOT what one would expect the [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass resident]] ButtMonkey to look like. EVER.

** Even without the blood, Fusco's [[NightmareFace face]], when he [[spoiler: [[Awesome/PersonOfInterest kills the HR officer who was about to shoot him seconds before]]]], is downright horrifying. This is NOT what one would expect the resident ButtMonkey to look like. EVER.

** What really makes it horrifying is Simmons chilling monologue on Fortune Cookies and near the end, Fusco's face is covered in a ghastly amount of blood.

* "The Crossing": [[spoiler: Fusco's brutal torture at the hands of HR thugs.]] Made even worse when [[spoiler: Simmons threaten to have his son killed over the phone.]]

* "Mors Praematura": Finch and the POI are showered in gasoline in a clever trap and nearly set on fire. Finch's terrified screaming sells it.

* "Razgovor": [[spoiler:Root standing over Shaw with a taser''as she's sleeping''. For someone trained in intelligence and counterintelligence as Shaw is and after all the measures she taken such as destroying her cellphones after jobs with team machine, the fact that Root can still find her at her most unguarded moment is seriously creepy.]]

* "Nothing To hide" [[spoiler: when you remove the AssHoleVictim Wayne Kruger from the equation, the scheme Peter Collier instigates in order to destroy him is quite terrifying. Put it this way, someone you don't know and have never met is effortlessly revealing embarrassing and terrible things about you and you don't understand why or who is responsible. Then that same group of people tries to kill you by trapping you in an elevator and causing it to free fall and when that fails tries to cause a car crash. The icing on the cake is when the person who you thought you could trust then suddenly draws a gun and shoots you dead.]]

** The scene where the killer talks to Harold is VERY creepy. He's talking about how he watched Harold all night, asks him "are you... Like me?" and calls Finch his "next great challenge" (taking over his identity). Then he takes Finch's glasses off, puts them on himself, and stares at Harold like he ''wants to eat him''. The way he repeats "And what about you? And what about you? And what about... You?" Gave this troper chills.

This show has comparatively rare instances of it, for all that it involves a Machine spying on all and sundry. But there are a few instances of it:
* In universe, bombs are NightmareFuel for Harold Finch [[spoiler: as he nearly died from a bomb blast which his OnlyFriend was killed in.]]

* In universe, bombs are NightmareFuel for Harold Finch [[spoiler: He nearly died from a bomb blast which his OnlyFriend was killed in.]]

* The Machine itself. Think about it for a minute; a computer exists that is capable of watching your every move and then uses the data it collects to decide whether or not you are a threat to society. Oh yeah, and it's owned by the ''government.'' Sweet dreams.

* "Razgovor": [[spoiler:Root standing over Shaw ''as she's sleeping''. For someone trained in intelligence and counterintelligence as Shaw is and after all the measures she taken such as destroying her cellphones after jobs with team machine, the fact that Root can still find her at her most unguarded moment is seriously creepy.]]

* "Razgovor": [[spoiler:Root standing over Shaw ''as she's sleeping''. For someone trained in intelligence and counterintelligence as Shaw is, the fact that Root can find her at her most unguarded moment is seriously creepy.]]

** Root. Under that polite seemingly adorable exterior lies a completely unpredictable Psychopathic WildCard who's willing to commit horrible crimes in order to satisfy her twisted obsession with the machine. What's worse is that she's the second best hacker in the show who can find a dozen different ways to blackmail people to do her bidding and even BadAss former assassins like Shaw have been bested by her due to her utter unpredictability. If you turn your back to her, it's a high chance Root will take the opportunity to taser you, torture you and/or shoot you dead.

** The Machine itself. Think about it for a minute; a computer exists that is capable of watching your every move and then uses the data it collects to decide whether or not you are a threat to society. Oh yeah, and it's owned by the ''government.'' Sweet dreams.
*** The [[spoiler:newly liberated Machine]] is now arguing with Root about whether or not killing people is a good idea. Let's hope it doesn't lose the argument any time soon.
*** Root. Under that polite seemingly adorable exterior lies a completely unpredictable Psychopathic WildCard who's willing to commit horrible crimes in order to satisfy her twisted obsession with the machine. What's worse is that she's the second best hacker in the show who can find a dozen different ways to blackmail people to do her bidding and even BadAss former assassins like Shaw have been bested by her due to her utter unpredictability. If you turn your back to her, it's a high chance Root will take the opportunity to taser you, torture you and/or shoot you dead.
** Andrew Benton; he's a serial sexual predator whose victims are too afraid to expose him, and at least one of them has committed suicide as a result. It's even more horrifying when you realize that the woman at the support group who gives a detailed account of being raped by an unnamed co-worker [[http://croik.tumblr.com/post/31561865270/watching-cura-te-ipsum-again-and-i-feel-like-the is one of his victims]].
** The episode "Proteus" is chock-full of it. No wonder, since it involves a ruthless identity-stealing serial killer stalking a few victims on a reclosed island. And of course it also had to take place during a ''storm,'' so we got that shot of the lightning illuminating the killer [[JumpScare standing right behind Finch]].
*** The scene where the killer talks to Harold is VERY creepy. He's talking about how he watched Harold all night, asks him "are you... Like me?" and calls Finch his "next great challenge" (taking over his identity). Then he takes Finch's glasses off, puts them on himself, and stares at Harold like he ''wants to eat him''. The way he repeats "And what about you? And what about you? And what about... You?" Gave this troper chills.