Contributor: Edmund B.
Written by Nic Van Zeebroeck and Michael Sopczynski
Directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá
“Person of Interest” explores partnerships and relationships of all sorts in “The High Road.” The Machine serves up hardware store owner Graham Wyler, who is living a bucolic, if boring, in Reese’s estimation, life with his wife, Connie, and daughter, Izzie. The twist is he’s doing it in Far Rockaway, one of New York’s neighbourhoods that is truly suburban. With Reese standing out like a sore, and ticketed, thumb, drastic measures are called for. In what could be called an act of fan service, at least, for this fan, Reese asks Zoe Walker to “marry” him for the duration.
The Zoe-Reese pairing isn’t played for as much humor as I expected, turning more on their fish-out-of-water situation. Their time alone is rather workman-like, winding up with the stake-out staple of poker. This can also be a sign of two people aware of their attraction, and keeping things professional, due to the extreme complications of acting on it. They certainly do a fine job of simulating a happily married couple, aided by the perfect dog, as Bear eases into field work fueled by that other surveillance staple, the donut.
The problem for Graham is that he’s living his own lie, hiding out from his safecracker past. His feelings for his family are real, but his identity is not. The return of his old gang, eager for a big score, with a side of revenge, after getting out of prison, is a standard setup. As is Reese infiltrating the robbery to rescue Graham, with Carter running interference. What isn’t expected is Graham taking the high road of the title, turning himself in when he’s given the opportunity to walk. Reese has been trying to guide people onto better paths all season. This one time he offers a shortcut, it’s shown to be an error. Graham pleads out, winding up on house arrest, with Connie standing by him.
Finch stays on the sidelines for the main action. He does provide some comic relief, when he and Reese switch roles for the security system installation, a neat solution to the problem of limited camera penetration in the suburbs. He is also a fascinated observer to the girl talk between Zoe and Connie. But that is just grist for his main contribution, which is in the flashbacks.
When Reese met Finch’s fiancee, Grace, last season, it remained a mystery how such an isolated man wound up with such a sterling woman. The revelation that the Machine played Cupid, and did it early in its development, adds an amazing layer of empathy and complexity to its character. This episode is a bit of a breather, a day in the country away from the conspiratorial complexities of the big city. But, instead, it deepens our understanding of the main characters, and provides some intriguing possibilities for the future.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Directing: 2/2
Style: 3/4
Total Score: 9/10