The more I watch “Person of Interest” the more intricate the personal interactions are becoming to me. I consider myself the average viewer, coming into this without the knowledge of season one, but it’s been rather exciting to see what’s been taking shape this season. The team is getting pulled in several different directions after being on the same page at the end of last season, and I can’t help but wondering who’s coming out of this stronger and who’s up for a big fall.
“Shadow Box” was an entertaining hour for sure. Overall the episode was a bit slow in the first part, but considering the build up to the big payoff, it was worth it. Midseason finales are supposed to have the punch you in the face cliffhanger, and it was delivered in this case with the right amount of, “Holy crap, how long until the next episode???”
The characters are going through some big shifts. Reese has not only found his purpose, but this job is making him happy. He’s listening to his own voice, and willing to take big risks for others. Fusco thought he was in the clear and found some redemption, but now he’s finding the past mistakes are there to haunt. Carter is caught between her devotion to Reese and Finch and furthering her career. Finch is, well, he’s got a dog now.
No, I’m kidding. Finch is just as adorkable as ever and the glue holding everything together. I love learning the little things about him that are thrown at us at strange times, like being forced to jump on the back of a motorcycle to flee the bad guys. Despite the fact that the driver pulled a gun on him afterward, Finch confesses to Reese the ride on the back of the motorcycle was exhilarating. Now he wants one. If he gets a sidecar for Bear, that so must happen! I also love how Finch realizes big dogs and baths are never a good idea. I get soaking wet with when my Dachshund shakes, I can only imagine what a German Shepard is like.
Why don’t I get to the person of interest? This week it’s Abby, and she’s gone into hiding. Long story short, she’s a renegade with a cause, backing a veteran named Shayn who was scammed by someone who Reese called “A very bad man.” This bad man scammed a lot of veterans and they want to steal the money back. She’s willing to give up everything, because she loves this guy and she wants to honor the memory of her dead brother, killed in Afghanistan.
There’s also this whole HR business, which is dragging in Carter full into it. She confides in Cal Beecher, who will always be Gordon from Supernatural to me, that she’s investigating a tip she got about missing and presumed dead cop Davidson. Let me see a show of hands from anyone surprised that Beecher was involved with the evil HR guy Quinn? Yep, not seeing any. Do you think Cal is innocently feeding info to him, or is he involved with HR? Also, who sent the tip to the FBI about the man in the suit to get them off of HR? (I’m assuming that’s what happened). I know Carter has helped Donnelly in the past and he trusts her, but is her involvement and a job offer from the Bureau a coincidence? Not sure, but the fact that Fusco was watching Beecher means he doesn’t trust him for some reason, and Carter may or may not be that reason.
In the meantime, Abby and her renegade boyfriend, who were stealing things like motorcycles, drawings and explosives, have a plan. It was enough to get the machine’s attention, giving Finch the clue that they weren’t terrorists, otherwise they would have been sent to the other side of the machine output, aka the government. It turns out their intent was good but their plan harebrained, the giveaway being they had no way to get the stolen money to the veterans once they got it. To get it, they had to set off explosives at the bottom of the bank so the safe deposit boxes would fall down to them. No, that wasn’t risky at all. Very lucky for them, Finch can come up with a plan at the drop of a hat, and Reese has a very soft spot for hard luck cases involving veterans. He ignores Finch’s warning and helps Abby and Shayn with their break in. The bad guys figure out what they’re doing and send enforcers with guns, but not the bank? Glad I don’t have my safe deposit there.
The result is quite the fascinating melee. Team Reese is attacked by the bad guys during the break in, right when the FBI is arriving to catch the coveted “man in the suit.” I figured they would know what he looked like by now, but that would have taken away from that amazing ending, right? Reese gets Abby and Shayn out in time, where Finch is waiting with badges and a cover story, but as he’s pinned down by the bad guys Reese realizes he isn’t going to make it. To one of my most favorite songs ever, The Rolling Stones’ “Gimmie Shelter” (which is very high on my must be played on Supernatural list, but CBS is choosing to flaunt their higher budget), Reese tells Finch it’s been fun, crushes his earpiece and phone, and takes the fall. The FBI busts in and…there are four guys there in suits! The final shot is FBI guy Donnelly exasperated over the fact that they don’t know which one is the real man in the suit. He has them all arrested. It all ends with Reese being taken away in cuffs.
Wow! How is Finch going to get Reese out of this one? He can’t have Carter and Fusco jeopardize their covers to do so, and he isn’t exactly skilled at cat burglar type break ins. He can use his computer skills to divert attention away from Reese, but how? Where was the FBI getting their tips? How did they know about the explosions and not the bank? How did they know the man in the suit was involved? How did they know how to trace Finch’s cell phone communication tricks? It’s almost like someone from the inside is feeding them the information. A setup to make Fusco look bad? Or is perhaps Fusco actually doing it? Root perhaps? Reese’s ex-partner who’s still alive? Gah, what is happening here?
For those that can’t wait, Elle2 has some scoop coming for you! She attended a conference call with Person of Interest executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Greg Plageman and got some great info about what to expect in episode 11 and the second part of the season. We will have that report in two parts, both coming within the next two weeks, leading up to the show’s January 3rd return. Follow us on Twitter at @TVFTROU and watch for the links when the reports are posted.
Great recap/review, Alice,
I think some scenes were missing from Shadow Box that would have perhaps cemented Reese’s emotional attachment a bit more. The press release listed a “young Reese” and a “Laura Reese” (likely name ‘placeholders’ since Reese is not his real last name (at least as far as all information shown has indicated) and I’m betting there was to be a flashback inserted at the place in the episode when Reese finds Abby’s shadow box honoring her brother and the camera shows him sitting in the apartment window looking at it. I’m thinking the missing scene shows young “Reese” and his mother learning about the death of his father in action. Not sure though and as fate (and fear) would have it…I failed to bring that up in the conference call.
Still, ’twas a great episode and hopefully those missing scenes will show up somewhere else.
Thanks for the write up…sure hope you get Season 1 under your Christmas tree…it’s worth the wait. I’m rewatching my DVDs now during the break (up tonight, Foe).
🙂
Great recap/review, Alice,
I think some scenes were missing from Shadow Box that would have perhaps cemented Reese’s emotional attachment a bit more. The press release listed a “young Reese” and a “Laura Reese” (likely name ‘placeholders’ since Reese is not his real last name (at least as far as all information shown has indicated) and I’m betting there was to be a flashback inserted at the place in the episode when Reese finds Abby’s shadow box honoring her brother and the camera shows him sitting in the apartment window looking at it. I’m thinking the missing scene shows young “Reese” and his mother learning about the death of his father in action. Not sure though and as fate (and fear) would have it…I failed to bring that up in the conference call.
Still, ’twas a great episode and hopefully those missing scenes will show up somewhere else.
Thanks for the write up…sure hope you get Season 1 under your Christmas tree…it’s worth the wait. I’m rewatching my DVDs now during the break (up tonight, Foe).
🙂
This episode got to me emotionally. Mostly I was really annoyed, bordering on angry, at Reese for putting himself in a position to get caught like that. I felt (still feel mostly) that he should have listened to Finch and gotten out!
I mean doesn’t the job that’s bringing him the first happiness he’s felt in years obligate him to keep himself out of harm’s way as much as possible?? I do realize how naive that sounds but in this case he had MULTIPLE chances to get out and create a different outcome. Instead he risked EVERYTHING for two people that I didn’t find the least bit compelling.
And there’s the rub isn’t there because clearly Reese DID find them compelling. Which brings me to another point. I’m so glad I forgot this was the episode where young Reese and his mother were supposed to make an appearance. Had I remembered this while watching I would have been really annoyed not seeing it. I mistakenly thought those scenes were scheduled for a later episode. I agree with elle2 those scenes might have helped me feel the connection Reese did with Abby and Shayn.
I love that Fusco stood up to Simmons. Something is going to blow up in their faces there and I’m excited to see it go down. Also Beecher is Quinn’s godson. It’s hard to hear but there’s a line where Quinn says something like “the Mayor knows I’ve got a godson with his ear to the ground.” So Beecher could go either way.
Overall I LOVED the episode. The fact that Reese’s actions could annoy me to that level is a testament to the great writing and acting. There’s so much more I could say but I’ll leave it at that. Excited to read about the conference calls!
This episode got to me emotionally. Mostly I was really annoyed, bordering on angry, at Reese for putting himself in a position to get caught like that. I felt (still feel mostly) that he should have listened to Finch and gotten out!
I mean doesn’t the job that’s bringing him the first happiness he’s felt in years obligate him to keep himself out of harm’s way as much as possible?? I do realize how naive that sounds but in this case he had MULTIPLE chances to get out and create a different outcome. Instead he risked EVERYTHING for two people that I didn’t find the least bit compelling.
And there’s the rub isn’t there because clearly Reese DID find them compelling. Which brings me to another point. I’m so glad I forgot this was the episode where young Reese and his mother were supposed to make an appearance. Had I remembered this while watching I would have been really annoyed not seeing it. I mistakenly thought those scenes were scheduled for a later episode. I agree with elle2 those scenes might have helped me feel the connection Reese did with Abby and Shayn.
I love that Fusco stood up to Simmons. Something is going to blow up in their faces there and I’m excited to see it go down. Also Beecher is Quinn’s godson. It’s hard to hear but there’s a line where Quinn says something like “the Mayor knows I’ve got a godson with his ear to the ground.” So Beecher could go either way.
Overall I LOVED the episode. The fact that Reese’s actions could annoy me to that level is a testament to the great writing and acting. There’s so much more I could say but I’ll leave it at that. Excited to read about the conference calls!