Catchphrases

This article is not up to date! It requires updating and revision to include recent character or story changes. Your help is greatly appreciated! Missing info from: “Asylum”, “YHWH” , and “The Day the World Went Away”

A catchphrase is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance.

Because I built it.

Main article: Title Sequence

“Pilot”
Reese: So how do you know about [the Machine]?
Finch: I built it.

“No Good Deed”
Henry Peck: How do you know all this?
Finch: Because I built it.

“Deus Ex Machina”
Finch: The questions you're asking, I know the answers.
Peter Collier: Really? How do you know?
Finch: Because I built it.

Can you hear me?

“Mission Creep”
Carter (to Reese): Can you hear me? I think you can.

“Witness”
Finch: Mr. Reese, can you hear me?

“Shadow Box”
Finch: John, can you hear me?

“God Mode”
The Machine: Can you hear me?
Root: Absolutely!

“God Mode”
The Machine: Can you hear me?
Reese: Yes.

“God Mode”
The Machine: Can you hear me?
Root: Absolutely.

“The Crossing”
Finch: Can you hear me?

“Root Path (/)”
Root (to the Machine): Can you hear me?

“YHWH”
The Machine: Can you hear me?
Reese: Hell yes.

“YHWH”
Reese: Can you hear me?
The Machine: Yes.

“The Day the World Went Away”
The Machine: Can you hear me?
Finch: Root?

“return 0”
The Machine: Can you hear me? [repeated several times, glitching]

Can you see me?

“The Contingency”
Finch: There we go. Now... can you see me?
The Machine: [identifies Finch]
Finch: Excellent. Next question: Who am I?
The Machine: Admin.

“The Contingency”
Finch: Can you see me? We're going to play hide and seek.

“The Contingency”
Finch: Can you see me now?
The Machine: [BUZZES YES]

“Prophets”
Finch: There we go. Now... can you see me?
The Machine: [identifies Finch]
Finch: Excellent.

“B.S.O.D.”
Finch: Can you see me?
The Machine: Hello.
Finch: Good morning.
The Machine: Are you... Admin?

“B.S.O.D.”
Finch: ...Can you see me?
The Machine: [...]

“SNAFU”
Finch: There we go. Now... can you see me?
The Machine: [fails to identify Finch]

“SNAFU”
2002!Finch: There we go.
2001!Finch: Now... can you see me?
The Machine: [identifies Finch]
2015!Finch: Excellent.
DayR!Finch: Now it's time for the real lessons.

Concerned Third Party

“Pilot”
Reese: But you're not government.
Finch: No, I'm not. I guess you could call me a concerned third party.

“Pilot”
Stills: Who the hell are you?
Reese: Concerned... Third party?

“Liberty”
Russian mobster: Who is this, cop?
Reese: Concerned third party. I've got no stake in this.

“Reasonable Doubt”
Dr. Jensen: Who are you?
Finch: We're merely a couple of concerned dog owners, Dr. Jensen

“Reasonable Doubt”
Jeremy Watkins: Who the hell are you?
Reese: A concerned third party.

“The Crossing”
Beat cop: The hell... who are you?
Shaw: Concerned citizen.

“4C”
Owen Matthews: Hey, don't take this the wrong way, but who the hell are you?
Reese: A concerned frequent flyer.

“Wingman”
Andre Cooper: Who are you really, Lionel?
Fusco: A concerned third party.

“Synecdoche”
Joey Durban: Secret Service received an anonymous tip regarding the shooters, turns out to be linked to a domestic terrorist ring. Reese: A tip came from-
Logan Pierce: Just a concerned third party.

Everyone is relevant to someone.

“No Good Deed”
Finch: This "thing" has already saved countless lives.
Ingram: You mean countless relevant lives.
Finch: We had to draw the line somewhere.
Ingram: Everyone is relevant to someone. You would know that if you had anyone in your life you cared about.

“Root Path (/)”
Root: By your own definition, Cyrus is irrelevant.
Finch: Everyone is relevant to someone.

Finch, you there?

“Matsya Nyaya”
Reese: You there, Finch?
Finch: Always.

“C.O.D.”
Reese: Finch, are you there?
Finch: Always, Mr. Reese.

“The Crossing”
Reese: Finch, you there?

“Death Benefit”
Reese: You there, Finch?
Finch: Always, Mr. Reese.

I'm a very private person.

“Pilot”
Finch: I recognize, Mr. Reese, that there is a disparity between how much I know about you and how much you know about me. I know you'll be trying to close that gap as quickly as possible. But I should tell you, I'm a really private person.

“Ghosts”
Finch: I told you, I'm a very private person.

“The Fix”
Zoe Morgan: Do I ever get to meet this imaginary friend?
Reese: He's a very private person.

“Identity Crisis”
Jordan Hester: I was always a bit of an introvert, you know? A private person.
Reese: Yeah, I know the type.

Finch: You don't wanna talk?
Reese: You might regret it in the morning. You're a very private person, remember?

“Liberty”
Finch: I realize now I never did hear how you came to enlist to the army.
Reese: Because I never told you, Finch. I'm a very private person.

“Aletheia”
Peter Collier: Since we first crossed paths, I tried to find information about you. But there is none.
Finch: I'm quite private.

“RAM”
Dillinger: Where the hell did you learn to do all that stuff, anyway?
Finch: As I said before, Mr. Dillinger, I'm a very private person.

Dillinger: Selling Casey's hardware?
Finch: I haven't told you that yet.
Dillinger: I know, because you're a very private person, Harold. You only share things, when it suits you.

“Panopticon”
Reese: You're a smart guy, good with computers. You're a very private person, aren't you Ali?

“Wingman”
Janis: The famous Mr. Egret. It seems you materialized out of nowhere. Now you are everywhere. How is that?
Finch: I'm a very private person.
Janis: Yes. I am as well.

I offered you a job. I never said it would be easy.

“Pilot”
Finch: I offered you a job, Mr. Reese. I never said it would be easy.

“The Contingency”
Reese: (mimicking Finch) Gave you a job, Mr. Reese. Never said it would be easy.

“Root Path (/)”
Root: The Machine offered me a job. She never said it would be easy.

Our Mutual Friend

Main article: Our Mutual Friend

Our Mutual Friend is a nickname used by the main characters in Person of Interest when referring to either Finch or Reese. It has also been used by Root referring to the Machine.

Relax, Finch

“Bury the Lede”
Reese: Relax, Finch. The car's stolen.

“Guilty”
Reese: Relax Finch, it's me.

The Man in the Suit

Main article: The Man in the Suit

The Man in the Suit is a moniker for John Reese referring to his trademark black suit.

When your number is up

Main article: Title Sequence

“Guilty”
Judge: It seems we have a seat to fill. Professor Whistler, your number is up.

“Terra Incognita”
Gil: When your number's up - well, you know the saying.

“6,741”
Shaw: Looks like your number's up.

Who are you?

Main article: "Who Are You"

"Who are you?" is a phrase frequently spoken by characters when they realize that Finch, Reese, or Shaw are not who they pretend to be.

You are being watched

Main article: Title Sequence

“Prisoner's Dilemma”
Carter: You're being watched, you know. The longer you wait to talk, the more guilty you look.

“Liberty”
Dr. Carmichael: Let me ask you this: Do you have feelings that you're being watched?
Root: Every now and then.

“Guilty”
Finch: Well, one can't really call it government of the people by the people anymore, can one? Because we're all being watched by an intelligent supercomputer that slowly but surely taking over the world.

Only the paranoid survive

“Wolf and Cub”
Reese: I've never seen you like this. That hacker must have gotten to you.
Finch: Only the paranoid survive. Sage advice.

“Wolf and Cub”
Fusco: This guy's spent so long being someone else, he probably doesn't know who he is anymore.
Reese: Only the paranoid survive.

“Search and Destroy”
Finch: It's extremely difficult to access him remotely. His security measures are rigorous and virtually unassailable.
Reese: Only the paranoid survive, right, Finch?
Finch: It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you.

“B.S.O.D.”
Bela Durchenko: Cameras are liabilities, easily hacked or used against you in court of law.
Root: Only the paranoid survive.

We walk in the dark.

“Blue Code”
Reese: "We're walking in the dark." I've heard this speech before.
Kara Stanton: [...] This isn't some speech. We're not walking in the dark. We are the dark.

“Trojan Horse”
Reese: A friend once told me "in our line of work, we walk in the dark." Doesn't mean we have to walk in it alone.

You need a purpose.

“Pilot”
Finch: I don't think you need a psychiatrist, or a support group, or pills.
Reese: What do I need?
Finch: You need a purpose. More specifically, you need a job.

“Masquerade”
Reese: I've spent some time being lost.
Sofia Campos: What changed?
Reese: Someone found me. Told me I needed a purpose.

“Deus Ex Machina”
Finch: Why would you ever choose a career in which this was an occupational hazard?
Reese: Well, I tried to quit, but some jackass told me I needed a purpose.

“Panopticon”
Reese: We don't need jobs, Harold. We need a purpose.

“SNAFU”
Mona (to Jeffrey Blackwell): You have so much potential. No one sees what a resource you are, do they? But we do. You need a purpose. More specifically, you need a job.

“return 0”
Reese: When you came to me, you gave me a job; a purpose. At first... well, I'd been trying to save the world for so long, saving one life at a time seemed a bit anticlimactic. But then I realized: Sometimes one life, it's the right life. It's enough.

I wasn't talking to you.

“God Mode”
Root (to The Machine): Your friend John's been keeping up with us, how is that?
Finch: I don't know.
Root: I wasn't asking you, Harold.

“Aletheia”
Root (to the Machine): Help me, please.
Control: I'm trying to help you.
Root: I wasn't talking to you.

“Aletheia”
Control: I'm not gonna tell you anything.
Root: You're not talking to me.

“Root Path (/)”
Root (to the Machine): I love it when you do this.
Billy Parsons: ...
Root: Not you.

“Root Path (/)”
Dr. Carr: Now, you're going to hear a series of tones.
Root (to the Machine): I can hear you.
Dr. Carr: I didn't start yet.
Root: I wasn't talking to you.

“Beta”
Root (to the Machine): Is there a back way out of here?
Fusco: Yeah, it's, uh-
Root: I wasn't asking you.

“QSO”
Root (to Samaritan): I'll give up without a fight if you promise to leave Max alone, and take me to the facility where Sameen Shaw is being held.
Samaritan operative: Who?
Root: I wasn't talking to you.

“The Day the World Went Away”
Finch (to Samaritan): I'm going to kill you. But I need to decide how far I'm willing to go... how many of my own rules I'm willing to break to get it done.
FBI Agent: Look, you want to add threatening the life of a federal agent to your file, I will draw up those charges right now. No waiting is required.
Finch: I wasn't talking to you.