History Recap / PersonOfInterestS03E20

* ForeShadowing: In Season 2, Greer pledged to "find Harold Finch and make him irrelevant". Now he is in a position to do both with the Samaritan beginning to compromise Finch's cover identities.

* DespairEventHorizon: The Machine crosses it by giving the team the kill order, as killing the congressman is the team's single last chance of stopping Samaritan from coming online. Reese has figured this out but Harold is still not willing to cross the line.

* PragmaticHero: The Machine, and it's scheme to derail Decima's plans. Sadly, Finch is too idealistic to have the congressman killed.

* SneakyDeparture: [[spoiler: Finch pulls one of these at the end of the episode because he knows he's top priority for Decima to hunt down and thinks his friends will have a better chance without him.]]

* WhamLine: "I think the machine wants us to kill [=McCourt=]."

The new Number turns out to be a member of the United States House Committee on Rules, well-known for his anti-government surveillance stance. Reese and Finch, suspecting that he may be targeted by Decima, travel to DC to watch over him.

* BigDamnHeroes: "You guys going my way?"

* CallBack: To the pilot. "People want to be protected, they just don't want to know how".
* CorruptPolitician: When Finch pressures [=McCourt=] with the threat of exposing his insider trading to the SEC, he drops his facade and reveals himself as a Decima asset who's been furthering the companies agenda.

* DownerEnding: One of the shows biggest. With Finch's refusal to give permission to execute [=McCourt=], John, Sameen and Harold are on the run with Decima Technologies hit-squads hunting them down. Greer has managed to activate Samaritan and manipulated two high ranking members of the US government in letting him demonstrate the capabilities of Samaritan and make it a contender to replace The Machine. The last shot is of him having entered Harold's name into Samaritan with it immediately compromising two of Finch's long term cover identities.
* EvilCounterpart: Samaritan to the Machine. It's even discussed by Team Machine - the Machine is a shield, designed to protect people. Samaritan is a weapon; it's interface literally says "enter target".
* ExactWords: Cong. [=McCourt=] is against government-run surveillance. ''Non-government'' surveillance is another story.

* WhamEpisode: Team Machine is on the run and being hunted by Decima's hit squads, Greer is positioning Samaritan as a replacement to The Machine and at the end of the episode, he activates it, immediately compromising Harold's two most used cover identities.

* YouCantThwartStageOne: Or, rather, you can but you are too ethical to.

* TheNeedsOfTheMany: Reese says this when trying to history killing the congressman.

* CallBack: "People want to be protected, they just don't want to know how".

* RefugeInAudacity: In order to get close to [=McCourt=], Reese opens fire on the Congressman, purposely missing. As a result, the man gets assigned a Secret Service detail allowing Reese to use the appropriate cover identity.

* CorruptPolitician: When Finch pressures [=McCourt=]]] with the threat of exposing his insider trading to the SEC, he drops his facade and reveals himself as a Decima asset who's been furthering the companies agenda.

->''"...the mission, our purpose, has always been constant: to save lives. If that’s changed somehow, if we’re in a place now where [[spoiler: the Machine is asking us to commit murder]]? That’s a place I can’t go. I’m afraid this is where I get off.”''

* [[spoiler: TheBadGuyWins]]

* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler: Congressman [=McCourt=]]] embraces this trope. At the beginning of the episode, he presents himself as a noble crusader against overreaching surveillance and someone who buys dinners for the homeless, but then Reese [[spoiler: catches him having sex with his assistant, Finch finds he's been doing insider trading and then the man himself reveals he's a asset of Decima Technologies and has actively assisted them]].

* CorruptPolitician: When Finch pressures [[spoiler: [=McCourt=]]] with the threat [[spoiler: of exposing his insider trading to the SEC,]] he drops his facade and reveals himself as [[spoiler: a Decima asset who's been furthering the companies agenda]].

* DownerEnding: One of the shows biggest. [[spoiler: With Finch's refusal to give permission to execute [=McCourt=], John, Sameen and Harold are on the run with Decima Technologies hit-squads hunting them down. Greer has managed to activate Samaritan and manipulated two high ranking members of the US government in letting him demonstrate the capabilities of Samaritan and make it a contender to replace The Machine. The last shot is of him having entered Harold's name into Samaritan with it immediately compromising two of Finch's long term cover identities]].
* EvilCounterpart: Samaritan to the Machine. It's even discussed by Team Machine - the Machine is a shield, designed to protect people. Samaritan is a weapon; [[spoiler: it's interface literally says "enter target".]]
* ForeShadowing: In Season 2, Greer pledged to "find Harold Finch and make him irrelevant". [[spoiler: Now he is in a position to do both with the Samaritan beginning to compromise Finch's cover identities]]
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: In Miami, the camera pans out in the bar Shaw and Root are drinking in [[spoiler: revealing that they have knocked out a gathering of arms dealers with drugged drinks.]]
* HonorBeforeReason: Finch, who refuses to [[spoiler: have the congressman executed.]]
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: This trope comes into play big time when Harold refuses to give John permission to [[spoiler: execute the POI.]] As a result, Greer's [[spoiler: political manipulations go off without a hitch, Team Machine is on the run and Samaritan is brought online]].
* PragmaticHero: The Machine, and it's scheme to derail Decima's plans. [[spoiler: Sadly, Finch is too idealistic to have the congressman killed.]]
* RefugeInAudacity: In order to get close to [=McCourt=], Reese [[spoiler: opens fire on the Congressman, purposely missing.]] As a result, the man gets assigned [[spoiler: a Secret Service detail allowing Reese to use the appropriate cover identity.]]
* SadisticChoice: Team Machine is faced with a massive one [[spoiler: To execute a politician who's been revealed as a Decima asset and prevent the passing of his proposed legislation which would put Samaritan in a prime position to replace the Machine, or disobey The Machine's agenda and refuse to shoot the man in cold blood.]] Finch is able to convince the others to [[spoiler: pick the latter option]].

* WhamEpisode: Team Machine is [[spoiler: on the run and being hunted by Decima's hit squads, Greer is positioning Samaritan as a replacement to The Machine and at the end of the episode, he activates it, immediately compromising Harold's two most used cover identities]].
* WhamLine: [[spoiler:"I think the machine wants us to kill [=McCourt=]."]]
* [[spoiler: YouCantThwartStageOne]]: Or, rather, you can but you are too ethical to.
* [[YouHave48Hours You Have 24 Hours]]: Decima, who [[spoiler: had Senator Garrison give them access to New York's feeds for 24 hours to find Finch.]]

-->'''-Finch'''

->"...the mission, our purpose, has always been constant: to save lives. If that’s changed somehow, if we’re in a place now where [[spoiler: the Machine is asking us to commit murder]]? That’s a place I can’t go. I’m afraid this is where I get off.”

-->'''-Shaw'''

* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler: Congressman McCourt]] embraces this trope. At the beginning of the episode, he presents himself as a noble crusader against overreaching surveillance and someone who buys dinners for the homeless, but then Reese [[spoiler: catches him having sex with his assistant, Finch finds he's been doing insider trading and then the man himself reveals he's a asset of Decima Technologies and has actively assisted them]]
* CrazyPrepared: unsurprisingly, Finch.
* CallBack:"People want to be protected, they just don't want to know how".
* CorruptPolitician: When Finch pressures [[spoiler: [=McCourt=]]] with the threat [[spoiler: of exposing his insider trading to the SEC,]] he drops his facade and reveals himself as [[spoiler: a Decima asset who's been furthering the companies agenda]]
* DownerEnding: One of the shows biggest. [[spoiler: With Finch's refusal to give permission to execute [=McCourt=], John, Sameen and Harold are on the run with Decima Technologies hit-squads hunting them down. Greer has managed to activate Samaritan and manipulated two high ranking members of the US government in letting him demonstrate the capabilities of Samaritan and make it a contender to replace The Machine. The last shot is of him having entered Harold's name into Samaritan with it immediately compromising two of Finch's long term cover identities]]

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: In Miami, the camera pans out in the bar Shaw and Root are drinking in [[spoiler: revealing that they have knocked out a gathering of arms dealers with drugged drinks.]]
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: This trope comes into play big time when Harold refuses to give John permission to [[spoiler: execute the POI.]] As a result, Greer's [[spoiler: political manipulations go off without a hitch, Team Machine is on the run and Samaritan is brought online]]

* SadisticChoice: Team Machine is faced with a massive one [[spoiler: To execute a politician who's been revealed as a Decima asset and prevent the passing of his proposed legislation which would put Samaritan in a prime position to replace The Machine or disobey The Machine's agenda and refuse to shoot the man in cold blood.]] Finch is able to convince the others to [[spoiler: pick the latter option]]
* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: Shaw and Root's misadventures in Alaska and Miami.
* WhamEpisode: Team Machine is [[spoiler: on the run and being hunted by Decima's hit squads, Greer is positioning Samaritan as a replacement to The Machine and at the end of the episode, he activates it, immediately compromising Harold's two most used cover identities]]
* WhamLine: [[spoiler:"I think the machine wants us to kill [=McCourt=]."]]

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: In Miami, the camera pans out in the bar Shaw and Root are drinking in [[spoiler: revealing that they have knocked out a gathering of arms dealers with drugged drinks.]]

* BigDamnHeroes: "You guys going my way?"

* DownerEnding: One of the shows biggest. [[spoiler: With Finch's refusal to give permission to execute [=McCourt=], John, Sameen and Harold are on the run with Decima Technologies hit-squads hunting them down. Greer has managed to activate Samaritan and has managed to lobby two high ranking members of the US government in letting him demonstrate the capabilities of Samaritan and make it a contender to replace The Machine. The last shot is of him having entered Harold's name into Samaritan with it immediately compromising two of Finch's long term cover identities]]

* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: Shaw and Root's misadventures is Alaska and Miami.

* CorruptPolitician: When Finch pressures [[spoiler: McCourt]] with the threat [[spoiler: of exposing his insider trading to the SEC,]] he drops his facade and reveals himself as [[spoiler: a Decima asset who's been furthering the companies agenda]]
* DownerEnding: One of the shows biggest. [[spoiler: With Finch's refusal to give permission to execute McCourt, John, Sameen and Harold are on the run with Decima Technologies hit-squads hunting them down. Greer has managed to activate Samaritan and has managed to lobby two high ranking members of the US government in letting him demonstrate the capabilities of Samaritan and make it a contender to replace The Machine. The last shot is of him having entered Harold's name into Samaritan with it immediately compromising two of Finch's long term cover identities]]

* RefugeInAudacity: In order to get close to McCourt, Reese [[spoiler: opens fire on the Congressman, purposely missing.]] As a result, the man gets assigned [[spoiler: a Secret Service detail allowing Reese to use the appropriate cover identity.]]
* SadisticChoice: Team Machine is faced with a massive one [[spoiler: To execute a Politician who's been revealed as a Decima asset and prevent the passing of his proposed legislation which would put Samaritan in a prime position to replace The Machine or disobey The Machine's agenda and refuse to shoot the man in cold blood.]] Finch is able to convince the others to [[spoiler: pick the latter option]]

* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: Shaw and Root's misadventures is Alaska and Miami.

* ForeShadowing: In Season 2, Greer pledged to "find Harold Finch and make him irrelevant". [[spoiler: Now he is in a position to do both with the Samaritan beginning to compromise Finch's cover identities]]
* RefugeInAudacity: In order to get close to McCourt, Reese [[spoiler: opens fire on the Congressman, purposely missing.]] As a result, McCourt gets assigned [[spoiler: a Secret Service detail allowing Reese to use the appropriate cover identity.]]

* CorruptPolitician: When Finch pressures [[spoiler: McCourt]] with the threat [[spoiler: of exposing his insider trading to the SEC,]] he drops his facade and reveals himself as [[spoiler: a Decima asset who's been pushing their political agenda in secret]]
* DownerEnding: One of the shows biggest. [[spoiler: With Finch's refusal to give permission to execute McCourt, John, Sameen and Harold are on the run with Decima Technologies hit-squads hunting them down. Greer has managed to activate Samaritan and has managed to lobby two high ranking members of the US government in letting him demonstrate the capabilities of Samaritan and make it a contender to replace The Machine. The last shot is of him having entered Harold's name into Samaritan with it immediately compromising two of Finch's long term cover identities]]

* CallBack:"People want to be protected, they just don't want to know how".

* CrazyPrepared: unsurprisingly, Finch.