Persons Unknown- It's a Vicious Cycle

Spoiler alert...Below are some thoughts on last night's final two episodes of Persons Unknown, 'And Then There Was One' and 'Shadows in the Cave'. So watch the eps, check the bible for your key, then read what I had to say.

Janet- "How does it work then, Liam?"

Liam- "You kill each other."

Wow! Before I get to the ridiculously good ending to this show, I want to start with both how awesome and actually kind of funny the penultimate episode was. 'And Then There Was One' was definitely my favorite episode of the season. As soon as the body bags show up, and Ulrich explains the program is set for them to kill each other, everyone starts to turn on each other fairly quickly. The rate at which they started to fight, and actually kill each other, was almost caricature-esque. The beauty of it was that they whole thing worked on two levels. At first it was just comical how the whole thing was happening even though it seemed like it never would. Then once we realize (or maybe you're more observant and knew from the beginning) that the whole thing was a hoax, it was nice to see the gang succeed.

But of course they didn't succeed entirely, as the van they escaped in came to a crash and for some reason everyone ended up separated: Janet in the Program-run hospital, McNair being tortured in the "white room," Moira and Erica in Morocco, and Charlie and Blackham on the run in the desert. This last one was the one that made me curious, with the whole Blackham knowing Charlie's wife's name. What was that supposed to mean? Blackham was a part of the Program? I don't get it.

Night Manager- "Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to level two."

While not as good as the caper-esque penultimate episode, the finale was great for many other reasons. For one, much like the Lost finale, I was on the edge of my seat wondering how they were going to wrap everything up so quickly. The answer? They really didn't. Let me say this really loud, I absolutely loved this ending!!!

So they all escaped, except for Joe who sacrificed himself for the group, and then they all get captured again by the Program. But since they made it out and Joe made the sacrifice, he has to stay at level one? What is the reasoning? To end the show with Joe right back where he started, was although on a much smaller scale, still very Jack Shephard like. So Joe is back at level one with Mark Cooper and a bunch of strangers and the rest of our crew is on a giant ship in the middle of the ocean for level two!?! Fantastic way to end it. The cycle starts all over, but those we know is moving up in the program.

Obviously there are a bunch of questions, like what is the point of the program? Now that our crew is in level two, are they on board with it? Or will they again try to escape? But leaving everything up in the air like this makes me think much more about what really went on, and I loved it.

The show had its slow spots in the middle but the final three episodes were great and I'm glad I stuck to it. It was definitely worth it in the end. Not award-winning television by any means, but a great summer series that should have gotten more hype than it had.