(This post will include spoilers about the two seasons.)
Person of Interest did a good job of ending with a nice cliffhanger before its midseason break. While helping their last “number” and her boyfriend, Reese (Jim Caviezel) couldn’t get out before the FBI arrived. Special Agent Donnelly (Brennan Brown) finally cornered “the man in suit”, despite Carter (Taraji P. Henson)’s best efforts. Luckily for Reese, 3 other men in suits (hired guns of the man after the “number”) were also trapped.
2×11 has become my favorite episodes of the series as it is a fresh, sad, exciting and entertaining episodes. It outdid my expectations, because I certainly didn’t expect it to be so smooth, Reese being locked up and not being able to kick ass and intimidate people. Or using his sense of humor. Or just being cool in general.
In the episode Reese is in prison, along with the other suspects and Donnelly will keep them there until one of the man’s DNA matches the one they have.
Finch’s (Michael Emerson) “number” is a high school student (Luke Kleintank) who’s doing average on purpose, and Finch is dealing with the case in the “field”, having filled in as a substitute teacher.
2×11 does several things differently, and that’s why it works:
-Fusco (Kevin Chapman) doesn’t grunt or complain. Or he isn’t cornered or threatened by HR. He helps out, and seems genuinely interested in solving the case.
-Finch finds that he has more in common with the kid then he thought, but how the kid’s mind works and his motives often surprise him. And while the kid can’t outsmart Finch, he is pretty up there in the IQ department, but does some pretty weird things.
– Carter gets badass (stealing from the FBI) to save Reese, but before she can get badass, she gets her flirt on-so that she can get what she needs.
***
To be honest, I am no longer an addict of the show. The beginning of first season was top-notch entertainment with Reese’s over-the-top methods with getting rid of/catching criminals. He kicked more ass, used bigger weapons and often freaked Finch out. But somehow Reese got milder, and it kind of killed the excitement for me a little bit. There were some good developments and changes in character dynamics (Reese and Finch getting closer, Carter finding out, Fusco and Carter working together), but the storylines stopped being that compelling somewhere in the middle.
But then 2×11 came, and we saw that when everyone ups their game, the show can maintain its level of audience engagement, even without Reese.
Let’s see what 2×12 will bring.
P.S. I still want Reese back in his (early season 1) former glory.
P.P.S. Thanks to the writers for making Pi seem more interesting than our math teachers ever could.