Person Of Interest - The Boys Are Back In Town

After an agonizing 27 day wait, Person Of Interest returned to Thursday nights this week. And wouldn't you know it? Like a well-oiled machine that has received a major upgrade, it returned and delivered an absolutely flawless episode. Finch and Reese are back, dudes! What could be more awesome?? Well, maybe the fact that this episode was called "Super", which is exactly what it was!

The mid-season finale left us with the feeling that as far as this show is concerned, the best is yet to come. When we last saw the battle-wounded Reese, he was being driven away by Finch to safety. Of course, we knew he would survive. This is John Reese! Genetically modified mutant gorilla ninjas don't stand a chance against this guy. Turns out Finch had the perfect surgeon in mind to patch Reese up, an Iraqi doctor with a serious cash flow problem, who just happened to be the best surgeon in Najaf back in the day. The awesome factor multiplied threefold when I watched Finch plop the bundles of cash on the dissection table! And it was only too obvious to notice that the surgeon was the same guy from Homeland. You know, the Saudi diplomat. You now, the yummy-yummy-yummy-yummy guy. You know, the guy who said, I suck--well I can't say it, but you know who he is!

Despite Reese's condition, the Machine, apparently indifferent to their situation (Finch forgot to insert the tactfulness program into the damn thing) spit out yet another number for our heroes to worry about. This time, our POI was the super of a building where Reese just 'happened' to be hiding from the CIA (I'll get to those dicks in a minute). It didn't take long for Finch and Reese to discover that the super, Trask (Dexter's David Zayas. Another awesome guest star!! The awesome factor just multiplied tenfold!), keeps a closer than needed eye on the residents.

With Reese confined to his wheelchair (when I say wheelchair, I mean a potentially deadly weapon), it was up to Finch to play 'field agent' for a change. Well, at least he tried. I found it quite humorous to see Finch completely out of his depth! But it also gave us an insight into how seriously he considers their work to be. "The Machine waits for no man". That statement is almost as cool as "Winter Is Coming".

After discovering photos of one of the residents (a ridiculously sexy chef) in Trask's apartment, combined with the knowledge that he could have recently purchased a weapon, the duo came to the logical conclusion that he was a stalker on the verge of making his move. The fact that Finch discovered hidden cameras in the girl's apartment reinforced the theory. However, POI usually pulls a different colored rabbit out of the same hat every week, so it was safe to say there was more to this than meets the eye.

I have to be honest. I figured out that the boyfriend (who wasn't her boyfriend after all) was the stalker five minutes before Finch and Reese did. I attributed Trask's infatuation with sexy chef lady to him being her Dad or something. Regardless of the facts, another case solved, another POI squared away. But as always, the most interesting part of the episode was running in the background. Actually there were a couple of interesting parts.

Although we're now fairly clear where Carter's allegiances lie, I'm a little disappointed Finch had a comfortable face-to-face with Carter this early in the show. I would have preferred if the meeting had occurred a few episodes later, with Carter and Finch (or Reese) still exchanging phone conversations with mutual respect on either side of the line, until then. That being said, it was absolutely brilliant the way Finch made her realize exactly what they do and how they go about doing it. So is Carter an official member of the coolest posse on the planet?? Or are there still trust issues to be resolved?

I was delighted to see more flashbacks in this episode, since I believe Finch's past is the most intriguing part of this show. Although I'm not sure they added anything new to what we already know (except maybe Ingram's first name, Nathan), Finch's in-depth explanation about how the Machine pieces together bits (or as he put it perfectly "the thinnest thread") of information to pinpoint the next relevant number was an absolutely intense and dazzling scene! Let me reiterate, MICHAEL EMERSON IS RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME!

Meanwhile, it seems that for now, Reese has got the CIA (Clowns In need of Asswhooping) temporarily off his back thanks to a little help from Fusco. I don't know about you guys, but another showdown between Snow and Reese cannot come soon enough! Snow and Evans (the guy who shot Reese) need to go. A pissed off Reese is like Vesuvius on crack, although he may not show it. Those CIA dudes have some retribution heading in their direction which I think I'm going to enjoy.

Tidbits

- Imagine being shot twice by a CIA sharpshooter, almost dying, and then being operated upon by an unlicensed surgeon in a morgue. That's Reese's definition of a rough night.
- Reese kicked the stalker dude's ass. Then he threw him out of a window. You would probably think that was Reese being Reese right? But a Reese IN CRUTCHES kicking the bleeding hell out of the guy was just awesome television. John Reese is TV's biggest badass. Period.
- Finch had some awesome lines tonight, my favorite one being "This may be the best catered stakeout in history". Genius!
- Fusco has become quite the trooper over the last couple of episodes. We didn't see much of him tonight, but me thinks Reese should start to cut him some slack from now on.
- I also loved Reese's definition of traveling 'light'. Someone should start a John Reese dictionary!
- What did happen in Ordos?? If I remember correctly, Ordos is a desert in China. Color me intrigued!
- POI has established itself as a utopia for brilliant guest stars. Tonight's episode had David Zayas and Ramsey Faragallah (Mr Yummy-yummy-yummy-yummy).
Who do you want next??

Person Of Interest won The People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama! The world is finally starting to make sense!

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