Contributor: Edmund B.
Written by Sean Hennen
Directed by Frederick E. O. Toye
“Person of Interest” has built up a sizable stable of villains. Even my initial disappointment at Cara not being Root has been upended by having both Amy Acker and Annie Parisse now available to wreak future mayhem. The prospect of adding another would seem dangerously close to having too many balls (or bombs?) to juggle. But there’s always room for one more, when he’s played by Julian Sands as Reese’s doppelganger, Alastair Wesley, the British Man in a Suit.
But, before Wesley starts pulling on strings, we are treated to the first recurring number when Leon Tao (Ken Leung) literally crashes back into Reeses and Finch’s orbit. (Which I believe finally exhausts the teaser clips we were treated to at Comic Con.) It gives them a chance to expand Bear’s duties to prison guard, aided by Leon’s ignorance of Dutch. And Finch gets to work on his trust issues when they have to call on Leon’s mad forensic accounting skills later on.
Mr. Wesley puts this episode’s number, a top-flight heart surgeon, squarely on the horns of a dilemma. She must leave the prominent CEO she’s about to operate on dead on the table, or Wesley’s team of ex-SAS soldiers will kill her wife. The unending election cycle may have dulled my political radar, but, until I saw some of the comments on this episode, I hadn’t realized the stark contrast the writers set up. One outcome appeals to extremists of the Occupy ilk, while the other pleases their counterparts on the other end of the spectrum. Thankfully, within the episode, this wasn’t harped on, and, personally, I was happy to see a lesbian marriage presented as unremarkable.
The introduction and build-up of Wesley works well, as he boxes in the good doctor. Even Reese doesn’t realize how much redundancy is built into the team, as he takes out one sniper and thinks he’s got the upper hand. Wesley’s invitation to the bar, and the cagey drink that followed, certainly promised more cat and mouse moves to come. That will apparently have to wait until the return heralded by Wesley’s departure from this episode. One of the disappointments was the relative ease with which Reese dispatched this entire SAS team. Facing men with similar training to his own, I expected Reese’s superhuman abilities to face more of a test. After all, last season, a professional team actually shot him, albeit when he had to very swiftly improvise.
I was also a little disappointed in Finch not realizing the OR nurse was Wesley’s inside plant. He can perhaps be forgiven for not being in direct line of sight of some of her over-acting as she urged the doctor on. And, of course, if he had realized, we wouldn’t have been treated to the spectacle of Finch being thrust into the “squishy” situation of scrub nurse. “All That Jazz” still holds the title for ‘Most Horrific Cardiac Surgery Scene’, but this one’s vying for ‘Most Humorous’.
Meanwhile, Carter’s getting her strings pulled, as well. Agent Snow plants some cryptic clues after a shooting to lure her into a clandestine meeting. He manages to blurt out a vague warning before Cara crashes the party. I’m enjoying the way they’re keeping Stanton’s storyline percolating without really revealing anything. Although given their past connection, I wonder if Wesley’s return might just intersect with Stanton’s agenda.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Directing: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Total Score: 8/10
