Person of Interest

In the third season premiere, The Machine resumes giving Finch its "irrelevant" numbers for people in danger, which include a U.S. naval officer in town for Fleet Week. However, with so many sailors flooding the streets of New York City, finding the officer in time presents an even bigger challenge for Reese and Shaw. Meanwhile, Carter has been demoted to a patrol officer as a result of her being set up by the corrupt police crime organization HR, and sets a plan in motion to eradicate them for good. Also, Root tests the boundaries of her new asylum surroundings.

The number comes up for an Internet data broker in the business of eliminating people's privacy, but finds his own being rapidly stripped away. Reese tries to protect him as his life is being dismantled by an unknown assailant and spiraling out of control, while Finch calls on Shaw, Carter and Fusco for help in finding whoever is after him. Meanwhile, the demoted and uniformed Carter finds herself unexpectedly paired with her new rookie partner, Mike Laskey (guest star BRIAN WILES).

Reese and Finch enlist the help of Carter, Shaw and Zoe Morgan (recurring guest star PAIGE TURCO), who use their feminine wiles to bait a chameleon playboy who is either a predator or someone else's imminent prey. Meanwhile, The Machine helps Root to plot an escape from her psych ward confinement before a dangerous enemy can track her down.

The Machine issues the number of a prominent New York lawyer whose husband was recently murdered, and the team has to quickly determine whether she orchestrated the death, or if she is being framed. Meanwhile, Carter faces an issue with her new partner, Mike Laskey, after he spots her with Reese aka "The Man in the Suit."

When Shaw is tasked to stay close to a 10-year-old (guest star DANIELLE KOTCH) identified by The Machine, she grudgingly develops respect for the young girl's skills in surveillance and realizes it could be the very reason why the girl's number has come up. Meanwhile, Carter's mission to bring the criminal organization HR to justice risks exposure.

Freed from her psych ward confinement, Root receives a directive from The Machine that requires Shaw's assistance -- by any means necessary -- and takes extreme measures to gain her compliance. Also, Reese and Finch look for clues as to why a mild-mannered estate investigator's number has come up. KIRK ACEVEDO (Fringe) guest stars as Timothy Sloan.

When The Machine issues the number of a hypnotherapist, the POI team discovers that he is more than just a master of the mind. Meanwhile, Carter tracks down an antiques dealer whose business is connected to the criminal HR organization.

The POI team's war with HR nears a boiling point when Finch receives 38 numbers at once from The Machine. He discovers they are connected to an unknown player who is inciting an all-out war between the crime organization and the Russian mob. Meanwhile, a window into Carter's past is seen through flashbacks with her son's father.

Danger closes in when the epic battle to bring the criminal organization HR to justice reaches new heights. And when the Machine suddenly gives out Reese's number, the POI team faces their greatest threat yet.

As the POI team seeks justice for one of its own, Finch realizes one of his team members may go one step too far, in order to end the war with HR. When The Machine singles out one of criminal organization HR's key players, the number may be up for corrupt NYPD Officer Patrick Simmons, in the conclusion of a three-episode event.

Flashbacks to Finch's adolescence provide insight into his creation of The Machine. Also, the team receives the number of an already dying man, and Reese leaves the POI team behind in the aftermath of the war with the crime organization, HR. CAMRYN MANHEIM and SAUL RUBINEK guest star.

In the concluding chapter to the shocking winter cliffhanger, multiple enemies converge on the POI team as they protect a dying man whose number has come up. They struggle to keep their enemies at bay but without Reese, who has left them and their mission behind following the tragic war with HR, being down one man could have catastrophic repercussions for the team.

Just when Reese thinks he's out, The Machine pulls him back in. Boarding an international flight in an attempt to put the team and the past behind him, Reese is angered when he realizes his travel plans have been manipulated and The Machine has other plans for him.

Reese rejoins Finch in New York, but a daring plan could make his first mission back the team's last. When the team receives the number of a highly skilled antiquities thief, a surprising turn of events finds them planning a high-stakes heist which could land them all in jail.

Finch goes undercover in an emergency call center to protect a 911 operator in a state of emergency, but it soon becomes clear that the threat reaches further than the team could have anticipated.

How did Finch operate before the Man in the Suit? The secrets of his operation before he enlisted Reese are revealed, including shocking ties to present day events.

The Machine assigns Root to seek out a janitor with a mysterious past, but when her very presence puts his life in danger, Finch also receives his number.

Finch and Reese must delve into the murky waters of international politics when they are given the number of a former government contractor who is stalking a UN diplomat. Also, an enemy attempts to gain an upper hand on Root.

Reese and Shaw infiltrate their most dangerous location yet -- a high school reunion, posing as alumnae in order to keep eyes on the latest POI, Matthew Reed (guest star NESTOR CARBONELL). Meanwhile, Finch and Fusco travel to Washington D.C. to investigate the motivations behind Vigilance's latest attack.

Reese poses as a Secret Service agent to get close to the latest POI, a U.S. Congressman who may hold the key to derailing Decima's plans to bring a second Machine online.

As Decima uses Samaritan's feeds to hunt Reese and Shaw, Greer (recurring guest star JOHN NOLAN) exploits Finch's greatest weakness -- by threatening his former fiancée and love of his life, Grace Hendricks (recurring guest star CARRIE PRESTON) -- in an attempt to lure him out of hiding.

When an unknown entity prevents The Machine from seeing the full picture of an impending catastrophic event, it sends the team five separate numbers to help them piece together the bigger picture. Meanwhile, Root's team of hackers arrives in New York.

In the third season finale, the team takes desperate actions in its race to prevent the malevolent AI program Samaritan from coming online and making them its first targets. Meanwhile, the months-long battle with the anti-surveillance terrorist group Vigilance comes to a shocking conclusion.