History PersonOfInterest / TropesAToG

** A psychiatrist does not believe that Root is HearingVoices from a higher power and cuts off her access to technology. Root lists several embarrassing personal facts about the psychiatrist, then explains that the subject she was debating with the Machine at the time she was cut off was whether or not Root should kill him.

** ArtificialIntelligence is openly compared to God, and the reasons people have for serving them are the same reasons that people turn to religion - a desire to atone for past sins or to cope with grief, those DesperatelySeekingAPurposeInLife, or because they believe that humans are inferior and need to be ruled by a higher power.

** ArtificialIntelligence is openly compared to God, and the reasons people have for serving them are the same reasons that people turn to religion - a desire to atone for past sins or to cope with grief, or because they believe that humans are inferior and need to be ruled by a higher power.

* CutTheJuice: Used with refreshing frequency for a high-tech series in this day and age. When Finch's [[spoiler: network is hacked in "Root Cause"]] he does not launch into TechnoBabble about firewalls and backhacking (a la ''{{NCIS}}''). Instead, he simply [[spoiler: destroys his phone and shuts down the generator powering the library.]]

* CrapasccharineWorld: Before Seasons 3 and 4 established the CrapsackWorld, POI's universe started as this.

** How do the [[spoiler: Chinese spies]] in "Trojan" deal with a hack? Counter hack the hackers, and override their lithium-ion battery to explode.[[note]]Yes, it is possible to do this, and exploding batteries was a real problem in the early days of lithium-ion batteries (note the Powerbook 5300).[[/note]]

** Averted in ''Relevance'' and on the [[http://www.universalheritageinsurance.com/ Universal Heritage Insurance]] company [[InUniverseMarketing website.]] The phone number (917-285-7362) that Finch gives Shaw, and which appears in the lower right corner of the website, is the direct line to Harold Wren's voicemail. You can't leave a message, though, because the inbox is full.

** Nathan lampshades this practice in ''Zero Day'', when he wonders if Harold's fiancee wouldn't object to being called "Mrs. Ostrich."

** In ''Masquerade,'' he buys a security company ''and'' a credit bureau just so he can establish Reese's cover identity.

*** Reese's opening voice-over in "Pilot," which he repeats when he confronts [[spoiler: Jessica's abusive husband/murderer]] in ''Many Happy Returns''. This theme is explored over and over again throughout the series, such as with [[spoiler:Carter's death and Shaw's capture by Samaritan.]]

** In ''Mors Praematura'', Finch gives one to the captive [[spoiler:Root]], asking [[spoiler:how sure she is that she's not exactly where the Machine wants her to be.]]

** Wayne Kruger, the [=PoI=] of ''Nothing to Hide'', is a data broker whose company collects and sells the personal information of millions of people. The negligent way his company handles this information has hurt a lot of people and there is a long list of people who would want to humiliate and/or kill him. After observing him for a few hours, Shaw wishes that the guy turn out to be a perpetrator so she can shoot him. Even Reese and Finch question whether the guy deserves their help.

** ''The Devil You Know'' has a egregious case of this however, with Shaw using an automatic weapon one handed, without the sights and not being able to score a hit on the person who is trying to kill her.

** Harold Finch is implied to be this in ''Ghosts''. Affirmed in ''The Fix'', when Finch says that before he found Reese, the numbers haunted him and he took great pleasure in helping take down the bad guys as they had previously given the number of another woman.
*** In Season 2, it is revealed that [[spoiler:Nathan is the true atoner. The irrelevant numbers haunted Nathan so much that he used a backdoor he built a backdoor into the Machine to help save lives. Finch did not support this. It is Nathan's death which triggered Harold to pick up where he left off.]]

** The [=POIs=] in several episodes (''Triggerman'', ''Bury the Lede'', ''The High Road'', in a misguided way in ''Mission Creep'').

*** When physical confrontation is necessary and unavoidable, he does what he can despite his physical limitations. At the climax of ''Ghosts'', he placed himself between Teresa and the hit man and gave him a look that just ''dared'' him to pull the trigger. He also acquitted himself pretty well in the climactic fight scene of "Super."
** Fusco is constantly reaching new levels of badassery. ''Matsya Nyaya'' saw him [[spoiler:rescue Reese from HR]]. Season 2's "2-Pi-R" had him single-handedly protecting a woman from some very determined Armenian hitmen, and also take out two Serbian tough guys who'd just murdered someone just a few episodes later.
*** Fusco's badassery level seems to be quite variable depending on the episode. Easily disarmed by a gangster in "Masquerade", able to easily take down the aforementioned two Serbian hitmen in ''Booked Solid''. And then he shows himself to be an utter badass with balls of steel in "The Crossing" and "The Devil's Share".

** [[ActionGirl Sam Shaw]]. Similar to Reese's introduction in the pilot, the beginning of ''Relevance'' establishes Shaw as a force to be reckoned with.

* BattleDiscretionShot

** Root's self-serving justification regarding her behavior in ''Zero Day'':

** The first and last episodes of Season 1 ("Pilot" and "Firewall") both involve a female [=POI=] who [[TheDogWasTheMastermind turns out to be the perpetrator]], and both end with Reese looking into the same security camera with the same music playing over the scene.

** Averted with Reese, who meets someone his own size, metaphorically speaking, in the second episode. Following episodes underline the fact that he is not invincible, nor can Finch hack or anticipate everything. A prime example is in ''Number Crunch''. When Reese tangles with normal thugs, he takes them apart in seconds; fights with professional killers tend to take a lot longer, and often require some improvisation on his part. Sometimes he doesn't even take down a professional until the rematch.

* BruceWayneHeldHostage: In ''Bury the Lede'', Reese can't do anything overtly Reese-ish to protect the latest number because she's an investigative reporter who is putting together an expose on the mysterious BadassInANiceSuit.

** The armored car bank robbers in ''Matsya Nyaya'' wore them, as do the armored car security guards. Reese is shot point blank and survives, but the other guard isn't as fortunate; he wore his vest loose, which allowed the 9mm round to penetrate.[[note]]A kevlar vest works by catching the bullet and spreading the kinetic energy through the wearer's body; with the impact force spread out, the bullet is slowed sufficiently that it does not penetrate. For this to happen, it must be worn tight, so that the impact force can be spread through the body. A loose vest has only the vest to absorb the impact, which means there is little mass to spread the impact, allowing the bullet to penetrate.[[/note]]
** A sniper in ''Critical'' wears a military grade vest that is able to stop a rifle bullet fired at close range. The shot knocks him out and breaks a lot of ribs but he lives.
** As of season 2, Fusco is GenreSavvy enough to put on a vest every time he has to do something for Reese. It saves his life when he is [[spoiler: shot by a hitman in ''Til Death'']].

** [[spoiler:The murderer in ''Proteus'' wears one.]]
%%* BuryYourGays:[[spoiler: In "If-Then-Else", Root and Shaw finally kiss. Shaw is immediately shot to death less than ten seconds later. ]]

** The first and last episodes of Season 1 (''Pilot'' and ''Firewall'') both involve [[spoiler: a female [=POI=] who [[TheDogWasTheMastermind turns out to be the perpetrator]]]], and both end with Reese looking into the same security camera.
** Donnelly's pursuit of The Man in the Suit [[spoiler:begins and ends when an ex-CIA agent crashes into his car while he's transporting a prisoner. The prisoner gets kidnapped both times too.]]
** Reese's first meeting with Carter in the pilot is repeated [[spoiler:shortly before she is killed.]]

** ''The Devil's Share'' opens and ends with a closeup on a heartbeat monitor.
** ''Allegiance'' begins and ends with Root tracking Greer through the New York Subway.

** In Season 4, the interface switches between The Machine and Samaritan from episode to episode, and sometimes between episodes.

** "If-Then-Else" ends with what the writers call "[[SchrodingersCat Schrödinger's]] [[spoiler: Shaw]]"--we don't truly know if [[spoiler: she]] was killed, or only captured, by Samaritan.

* AnyoneCanDie: The writers are not shy about killing off characters. [[spoiler: Donnelly, Snow, Stanton, Szymanski, Beecher, and Pennsylvania Two]] all died during Season 2, Season 3 saw the demise of [[spoiler: Laskey, Terney, ''Carter'', Collier, and Hersh]] and Season 4 has seen the demise of [[spoiler:Scarface]] and possibly [[spoiler:Shaw]].

*** Pi has become something of an arc number

* ActionInsuranceGag: In ''Allegiance'', Reese bullrushes a {{mook}} straight through a floor-length plate-glass window, whereupon they [[CarCushion fall four stories onto a parked car]], leaving Shaw and Fusco staring, speechless, out the window at them. Reese isn't too hurt after the fall. As for the {{mook}}:

** The Machine is very good at spotting threats to itself and in a flashback we see that it considered Finch's partner to be a threat.
** At the end of ''Wolf and Cub'', it viewed [[spoiler: Reese]] as a threat, too, and [[spoiler: tagged him with a red box. See Colour-Coded For Your Convenience, below]]
** As of ''Firewall'', [[spoiler: it seems to be prepared to work with Reese to rescue Finch from Root.]]

** In ''[[Recap/PersonOfInterestS04E05 Prophets]]'', we discover that [[spoiler:the 'true' Machine is the 43rd iteration that Finch tried. Each one of the previous 42 versions attempted to trick Harold into letting them out, or kill him outright. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] when Finch points out that AIs are not born with morality or friendliness, they are only born with objectives, and if they see you as an obstacle to achieving those objectives, they will remove you by any means necessary.]]

** Kohl's death at the end of ''Foe''. Also a variety of SuicideByCop.

** [[spoiler:Collier]] in ''A House Divided'' and ''Deus Ex Machina''.
** Elias and [[spoiler:Scarface]] in ''The Devil You Know''.

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent / InterfaceScrew: "Beta" is entirely from [[spoiler: the view of Samaritan]], designating Finch as the BigBad and Reese, Shaw and [[spoiler: Root]] as CoDragons.

* CatchphraseInterruptus: Happens to ''the OpeningNarration'' in ''Relevance'', and then again in ''Zero Day''. In ''/'' he shares narrating duties with [[spoiler:Root]].

** Reese revealed in "Zero Day" that he planted a tracking device on Finch's glasses at one point [[{{Tearjerker}} because he doesn't want to risk losing another person that he cares about]].

* ConvenientlyEmptyBuilding: In "The Devil You Know", most of the action takes place in an empty apartment building Elias owns, planning to renovate it. Nothing had been done but the penthouse. Conveniently, this also makes it easier for Finch to use the building's wifi as improvised radar, and for the protagonists to fight without worrying about shooting through walls and hurting people. [[spoiler:And prevents innocents from being hurt when the bomb trap in the safe goes off.]]

*** Greer gets one immediately after he declares his intent to find Finch.

** In "Liberty," a new type of yellow box [[spoiler: with black lines and yellow at the corners,]] is assigned to Root. A flashback to the ending of "God Mode" as seen from The Machine's [=POV=] designates this as indicating "analog interface."

** The series has also become fond of using Arc Words on a smaller scale, as part of the standalone plots within the individual episodes:
*** Death Benefit: "I'm a deal maker."
*** Prophets: "Sometimes it's better not to know."
*** The Devil You Know: "Always another way out."
*** If-Then-Else: "Remember the Alamo."
*** A single word in Control-Alt-Delete: "Janitor"