Summary: Flashbacks show Finch trying to offer the Machine to the government with the help of his friend Ingram. The next POI is a super named Trask. Finch and an injured Reese become tenants in the same building where Trask works. They figure out he is stalking a girl in the building named Lily who has a boyfriend and that he plans to kill the boyfriend. Carter dodges Snow's tails and tries to contact Finch. Finch allows her to and shows her what they do through example. Reese discovers that Trask intends to kill that night and stops him. However, he realizes that Trask is actually helping Lily as Rick isn't her boyfriend but her stalker. Reese, Finch and Trask all team up to kill Rick and save Lily.
The Good: This was another good episode where the show added further proof that it has found its footing. I thought that the idea of Finch and Reese switching roles in this episode due to Reese's injury was really clever and was a good way to keep the show fresh. I enjoyed seeing Finch struggle to do Reese's job as it put over how difficult Reese's job is while also showing us a new side to Finch as he is forced to get his hands dirty consistently throughout the episode. I also got some laughs out of Reese trying to tell Finch what to do. I liked that this episode focused more on the characters trying to get to a solution instead of them simply obtaining the solution easily. The focus on these details made the episode much more satisfying overall. I liked Finch finding a specific doctor to heal Reese who he knows won't ever speak anything about it. I liked Reese preventing Trask from killing Rick by thinking on his feet and turning on the fire alarm. I also liked the explanation as to why the CIA won't find Reese being that Finch has tasked Fusco with providing them with false leads. All of these little details were very good and helped with my engagement with the story. With the characters needing to work hard to prevent everything from spiralling out of control, the story has a sense of danger which is essential for tension-based action shows like this. Carter's story was also strong in this episode for the same reasons. I was pleased that the showed spent an entire scene showing how Carter threw the CIA tail. It shows how intelligent she is while also giving attention to the fact that the CIA would obviously be following Carter after the events of last episode. I was really happy to see her continue to investigate Finch, and their interactions in this episode were terrific (see: Best Moment). I really liked the scene where Trask chased Finch, thinking he had found the thief. The whole scene was brilliant drama and was genuinely tense. The way that Reese got Finch out of the predicament was organic and worked really well too. I was pleased by it. I also like that Reese found a solution for Finch in case this happened again, even if it was a bit too convenient (see: The Bad). The flashbacks were really good. It brought more insight on the Machine and has made me a lot more interested in finding out how exactly the system works. I wasn't expecting this to be addressed, but I am glad that we are seemingly getting an answer on this. The Bad: I was annoyed by one specific line of dialogue. Reese apparently didn't have an open mind regarding Trask's role as either a victim or a perpetrator. Surely after this much time working with Finch he would know better. How did Reese just happen to access a master key for the building? It was too convenient. The climax of the episode didn't deliver. The fight started well, but then it went into ridiculous territory quickly. Reese didn't even appear to be injured during the fight and he even started walking and fighting like it was nothing which confused me. Then, Rick died a laughable death that was over-dramatic to the point that it made me laugh from the sheer ridiculousness of it all. The Unknown: Does Finch plan to recruit Carter to his cause? Is that why he showed her what they do? Who is Ingram? Where is he now? I noticed at the end that the Machine picked up a threat from Ingram. Is that from the present or the past? What is Ingram planning? Does Reese's theory that the Machine in actually Finch have nay merit to it? Is the Machine somehow built into Finch or something along those lines? Best Moment: Finch and Carter's conversation was terrific. I really liked Finch's metaphoric story about him being thrown in the deep end to figure out how to swim. Michael Emerson is such a good actor. Character of the Episode: Finch. Conclusion: "Person of Interest" has become consistently fun. It was a rough road to get here, but now the show is delivering. Score: 67
3 Comments
Joe Y
4/5/2021 11:59:33 am
I'm pretty surprised you didn't bring up the "Rear Window" homage! "Super" is a big improvement on David Slack's previous effort, "Judgement". Great flashbacks, bringing in Carter to the fold, and a very fun main story that happens to be a massive homage to one of my favorite movies. The flashback scenes are terrific because of how they convey exactly who Nathan Ingram is and why we should care about him, as well as charting the difficulties such a system would create.
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Aaronic
4/5/2021 05:18:16 pm
I've grown quite attached to this episode honestly. It's extraordinarily well executed, especially compared to many of the episodes that came before it. Great catch on the "Rear Window" homage, I actually never made that connection! That makes me appreciate this episode even more. In retrospect, this is one of my favourite episodes of season 1, up there with "Firewall", "Many Happy Returns" and "No Good Deed".
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Joe Y
10/5/2021 07:19:53 am
It's quite a simple story, but it does several things that elevates it considerably. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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