Warning: Fullfor the episode follow...

"You're reaching out for meaning, but the wrong thing is reaching back."What initially appeared to be a "case of the week" installment (albeit a very fun, intriguing one that aimed to get Finch back on his feet) took a very cool and powerful turn in the middle when our heroes discovered that Samaritan itself was behind the super-genius city-wide scavenger hunt that young, lost Claire - a number - was participating in.I usually don't expect all that much from episodes this early in the season so "Nautilus" was a welcome surprise from a mythology standpoint. And all the parts really flowed together well and turned this chapter into both a Finch redemption episode and a sort of "Claire turns to the dark side" episode. All capped off with some great Portishead music there at the end when Claire flipped the final switch and saw her hopes for a more meaningful existence, momentarily, go up in smoke.

Person of Interest: Amy Acker Talks Root's New Role

So even though Claire ultimately rejected Finch's offer, and wound up finishing the game (discovering an all-powerful guardian angel in the process), Finch was still able to re-discover his own purpose and introduce Reese and Shaw to their new (old) subterranean train station hero base. Because once he saw how Samaritan was actively recruiting lost souls - lost brilliant souls, no less - he took major exception. All of a sudden he did have to pick a side, knowing that Samaritan could easily seduce most people out there looking for a higher purpose. The old Hellraiser movie tagline "Angels to Some, Demons to Others" sprang to mind actually.Not that the POI story hadn't serviced Samaritan well so far, but after the summer break (and not much to do in the premiere), this refresher regarding its ominous omnipotence was hugely welcome. Simply put, it was a great half hour set-up that led to Samaritan hacking into Finch's computer. Which, as strange as this might sound, actually sent a chill up my spine. There's just something about Samaritan representing that sort of powerful, invisible force that's scary.In the past, we've seen The Machine act out in similar fashion when it actually created an entire phony business which had the purpose of chronicling all of her activity. and then using that type of real world power to move herself, piecemeal, to another location. So it makes sense that Samaritan could and would employ similar tactics in order to reach out to people in the real world. It's just a uber-creepy when Samartian does it. And the fact that it simultaneously used Claire (to leak damaging information about a rival) while wooing her was doubly devious.But yeah, "Nautilus," contained a lot of great stuff. Puzzles, mercenaries, invisible snipers taking people out, Shaw torturing a barista, Fusco solving a major number problem. All that was missing here was Root getting in on some of the action. But right now she's in behind-the-scenes mode, following various missions from The Machine and assuming a myriad of identities. Much like she was for part of last season's saga. Meanwhile, Shaw being a "B+" criminal (compensation for he day job) was awesome.