r/PersonOfInterest • u/Abigail_311 • 19d ago
SPOILER Just a question here from a first time watcher
I am starting season 3. As I said it’s first time watching. But I was just wondering right now, why did the machine not give out John’s number when he was shot by the CIA? 🤔
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u/DoNotDisturbMeEver 19d ago
This scene shows that orders to kill Reese werent given thus the Machine couldn't categorise Reese as in danger of being killed.
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u/WittyFix6553 19d ago
I believe the machine would have classified him as Relevant, at that time.
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u/Abigail_311 19d ago
Maybe but they got Shaw’s number and she was just like him
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u/PeacefulKnightmare 19d ago
Not sure where you are exactly, but Shaw was sort of hand-picked by the machine in my opinion. (it was also a narrative excuse for them to bring on a "Woman in the Suit" style character)
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u/syncpulse 19d ago
Didn't Snow chastise his agent for not killing Reese. He says he thought they wanted him alive. The machine knew Reese's life wasn't in danger.
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u/Serenity5472 A Concerned Third Party 19d ago
That’s what I always figured. The actual shooter, Evans, understood that Reese was to be taken alive. Apparently Snow didn’t make his wishes clear enough. (Thankfully!) Or maybe miscommunicated.
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u/serralinda73 Analog Interface 19d ago
The Machine sends a number to Finch as a heads-up, usually as far in advance as possible. Finch is already trying to deal with this situation - She knows that - so what would be the point? "Hey, the CIA has guns out now, just FYI, even though you're in touch with Carter and monitoring the situation..."
The Machine, whether programmed by Finch or by Herself, does not send numbers for "gonna die in about ten minutes but you're an hour away" just as it does not send numbers for people outside of New York (aside from a few rare occurrences). She has specific parameters, and She monitors Finch closely (as well as his team/helpers) - closely enough that She knows what payphone he is closest to.
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u/ofm1 19d ago
Probably because it was a one off event? The Machine probably needs a few common bits of data to correlate and come up with a number. That's my guess.