Summary: Finch gets a new POI and discovers that the person, Hester, is actually two individuals and one is impersonating the other. Finch follows the female Hester and Reese follows the male. Reese discovers an ecstasy lab and discovers that one is a drug dealer. Reese suspects it's the male. Finch sees some men going after the female Hester, so he befriends and saves her. However, the female is actually the impostor and she drugs Finch to disable him, leaving him to die. Reese comes into contact with the male Hester and decides to help him take out the female, whose name is Tara. Tara is able to overwhelm Reese and Hester but they both escape and get the cops to arrest Tara. Fusco saves Finch.
The Good: The main storyline was really fun. Whenever the show decides to do something different from the usual POI formula, it results in a better episode. This continued that case as the impostor gimmick worked really well and made for some really tense and exciting viewing. I thought that Tara was a really successful villain for a one-episode storyline. While I did see the big twist coming (see: The Bad), it was built up really nicely with a lot of hints that make the reveal blatantly obvious on rewatch. It was very satisfying storytelling that created an uneasy sense of tension as the episode went on. As it became more obvious that Finch was revealing himself to the wrong person, I became a little more worried about what was going to happen to him since Tara was clearly more than she let on. This helped engage me emotionally and made this episode mean so much more because of that. I think that Finch is criminally underused in this show. He is so vulnerable, so unlike with Reese there is some actual tension in his scenes because it isn't guaranteed that he will get away by being a superhuman. I'm liking some of the scenes where the show addresses how Reese gets out of a pickle. Before, the show used to gloss over these things which left me unsatisfied. But now, the show has started to address them in fun, comical ways. This episode had the great joke regarding the sprinkler system which was briefly touched on to explain how Finch escaped without slowing the rapid pace of the episode. It's a win-win as I get satisfied by the details without the show sacrificing the style that it clearly wants to stick to. Finch getting drugged ended up being surprisingly funny. It didn't add much to the story (minus the great ending reveal (see: The Unknown)), but it was pretty fun. Seeing Finch so vulnerable and carefree is really different from what we're used to and I think that's good. The show needs to be more creative to remain enjoyable. A lot of the jokes were pretty funny and I was pleased to see a fairly accurate representation of what ecstasy does to somebody, especially since the stink of what "13 Reasons Why" did with ecstasy is still relatively fresh to me. The side storylines for Carter and Fusco were really strong. I enjoyed seeing Carter get back to being a homicide detective with a few thoughts regarding Reese, wondering if she did the right thing. But she is still comfortable with her choice which is the right decision. Let this storyline play out before Carter goes back to Reese (because, let's be honest, she is most likely going back to Reese at some point). Fusco had some good moments too as we get some nice metaphors regarding his position as a crooked cop who now wants to be seen as a good cop. His connection with the imprisoned Morris tied in to this story nicely and it gave him a good moment as he helped prove an innocent victim as not guilty. The Bad: The twist was a bit too heavily choreographed and didn't surprise me. It's not a bad thing because I think that the early realization allows for the rest of the episode to have some excellent tension. But the issue comes from the fact that Reese and Finch aren't able to clue into this. Being as smart as he is, it seems weird that Finch wouldn't have a more open mind regarding the case. Furthermore, I find it odd that Reese wouldn't communicate his very clear suspicions to Finch as he continued his investigation. The climax of the episode was underwhelming, but it was always going to be. After Tara revealed herself, it was only a matter of time before Reese, Finch and Fusco took her down. That obvious sense of where the episode was going made the drama after the reveal substantially weaker than the drama before it. Surely using Finch to follow a POI is pretty stupid. He has a limp and is easily distinguishable. I'm certain that I would notice this limping man following me after an hour, never mind an entire day. Why Finch and Reese never thought of this is beyond me. The Unknown: The ending was very interesting. Does Finch calling Reese Nathan imply that Ingram was the man doing Reese's job before the series started? Does this mean that Ingram faked his death to work for Finch? Could he still be alive? There are some exciting directions that this story could go. Best Moment: Finch realizing that Tara is the impostor was a wonderful moment to pay off of the tension which had been building up throughout the episode. Character of the Episode: Finch. Conclusion: This was a strong episode with good drama and a better story than what we usually get. I enjoyed this, and I want to see more episodes like this one. Score: 66
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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