In Season 3’s third episode, Person of Interest presents their version of Charlie’s Angels and it was fun to watch. I really like that Finch kept Carter’s profile as a police officer – and that’s exactly who Ian made a beeline for. A flag begins to wave that perhaps this guy isn’t all bad. Is it creepy that he researches his dates, creates files, and then seeks to please them because he knows what they like? Yes and no. Sure, the research part is creepy, but then again, what do people expect when they flaunt all their personal data on social site after social site? Oh, you mean you still expect privacy when your every movement of every day is tweeted or posted? Please.
(As an aside, I do have a Facebook account. Occasionally I even update my status. Hey, if you want to see photos of my dog and cat being adorable, then come to my page. If you want to know what I ate for breakfast this morning, or that I’m thinking of taking a nap, don’t bother. I don’t post that. But oh, I have friends (real friends, not just the Facebook moniker of ‘friends’ either) who post about their every stubbed toe and every tuna sandwich.)
And let’s face it, no matter how ‘liberated’ a woman is – or claims to be – she does like it when a man notices what is important to her and makes an effort.
This episode didn’t seem the least bit crowded with four ladies in the mix. (I suppose five if you want to put the Machine in there.) I have no idea what the Machine sees in Root or why it’s communicating with her, but I do like that Root is willing to allow the Machine to direct her moves. She doesn’t kill Hersh because the Machine tells her not to. Good! (Also because I really want Reese and Hersh to have another confrontation.) Amy Acker is excellent, not only with the exposition but the action. She had a Sarah Connor vibe to her in that final action sequence that made it excellent to watch.
Shaw continues to fight for the sake of fighting. I loved watching her fight Reese to row the boat and he finally, and patiently, acquiesces at the end. Hey, if a 100 pound little waif wants to row the boat with a 200 pound guy, let her. She’ll get tired and he’ll get to rest. Let her wear herself out fighting a fight not worth fighting.
Shaw was at her best, however, when she was bonding with Carter over guns – love the look of childish glee as she fished out her gun to show it to Carter and then almost shyly said: “You – you can borrow it any time.” Her whispered should I shoot him as she was backing Carter up could become a trademark line if done correctly. After all, there is a void in my TV viewing schedule for a gun-toting, shoot-‘em-first lady now that Burn Notice ended its seven-year run. I also liked Shaw and Reese sharing a bit as they kept watch in their sniper’s perch on the roof.
Shaw keeps circling the group but she’s moving closer. She makes friends with Carter and she’s making friends with Bear – she even bought him gifts. Sometimes when you’re lonely and unsure of your place, the best friend is an animal. They don’t judge. They just love. It’s a good start for Shaw.
Zoe, how do I love this character? She comes and she goes. She’ll come back again I hope soon, and she never wears out her welcome. I love that John’s little present was a pink taser! Oh, John, you do know how to woo a lady. I like that these two make it clear they enjoy each other’s company but there isn’t anything gushy and mushy to get in the way of a quickly-paced story. We know they see each other. We know that John has gotten her a present (hah!). And we also see that he’s content to wait for her to finish up her drink and walk her home…awww.
Carter attracted the date. I bet that thrilled her a bit too. I really like how she was on that date. She was able to maintain her cover easily as she is a police officer. She didn’t have to pretend anything. It was good for her. I also think she and Ian made a nice couple. Who knows, since he isn’t a bad guy, perhaps he’ll return now and again – a la Zoe with John. Carter had a chance to show multiple sides of herself. She was vulnerable with Ian to some extent, she was commanding in the group, telling Shaw they’d work on her angry look (Bwah!), and she was police officer when she needed to be.
Fusco still has power with the ladies as he at least this week had the fun of being in the club and keeping an eye on the ladies – ahem, all the ladies. Good for you, Fusco!
Finch’s worry in the first two episodes comes to fruition here as he gets a call from the Machine alerting him to Root’s predicament. Now, was the Machine alerting him to Root’s planned escape? I think not. I think it was the Machine alerting Finch to Hersh’s discovery of Root’s confinement and his plan to eliminate her. Finch’s fear at the end is not to be taken lightly. Root is free and the Machine is helping her. Interesting that the Machine has split itself into three separate entities, and in so doing, it protects various people. It protects Root from Hersh, summoning Finch to bring aid; it prevents Root from killing Hersh because Hersh is part of Control, thus an asset; and it aids Root in escaping. Very interesting entity our Machine.
Season 3 is underway with victims and perpetrators, successes and failures as well as new enemies added to the list. Root is free, the Machine is free – in a sense – HR is winding up, Elias is out and about, Control is continuing to search for its enemies (our heroes) and it’s only episode 3. Finch and Shaw argue about what to feed Bear, Reese is patient and I’m eager to see where this season goes.
Sorry this review is so late and likely misses a lot of the fun from this episode. My week has been quite busy (thankfully!) and I’ve not seen the episode a second time – and it shows. I’ll be rewatching it again tonight, but if I wait for that, this review likely won’t get written at all for the weekend is already full.
Many thanks to Alice who has talked me off the ledge over my ratings fears for PoI. I’ve been tracking the 10:00 p.m. shows on CBS and PoI has the best ratings of all of them. That means something. While their ratings were better at 9:00 p.m. – and their new comedy block isn’t exactly measuring up to what I suspect were their expectations – PoI is in no danger. Also, with the wonderful announcement of PoI being sold into syndication – bowing in two years on WGN as one of their tent pole shows as this channel rebrands itself similar to TNT and USA – PoI is sitting fine. No way CBS cancels this show, not when they’ve got syndication set to roll out in what will be Season 5. Thank you, Alice and Percysowner who ‘talked me off the ledge’ at the beginning of the season!
As always, thanks for reading. Elle2
