Written by: Ezequiel Gutierrez

Episode 2, of my new favorite show on TV, wastes no time getting into awesome territory.  The first episode sets up Reese (Played by Jim Caviezel) as the badass of all badasses. Within moments of a quick recap, Reese lands himself in an elevator with a cheating husband and the two thugs sent there to kill him.  Needless to say, Reese handles the matter, but not without teaching the fickle man a lesson in paying attention to detail. GO!

In this episode we learn that the Social Security Number of a young woman by the name of Teresa Whitaker has come up on Mr. Finch’s (Michael Emerson) Machine.  As usual, Teresa is going to be involved in a violent crime and it is up to Reese and Finch to figure out whether she’ll be a victim or perpetrator.  However, there is something unique about this particular case.  Teresa has been dead for 2 years. While the infallibility of The Machine is brought into question, Reese and Finch may have been handed a second chance.  

While they seek to prevent a crime, Detective Carter (Taraji P. Henson) learns that the crimes committed by a certain Jon Doe Hobo (Reese) begin disappearing in front of her eyes.  When she discovers that Reese’s fingerprints are all over a number of crime scenes, throughout the city, she makes finding him her top priority.  However, she can’t seem to make any headway as all the files on him continue to be redacted. Her partner claims it’s the FBI and above her pay grade, but we all know it’s the job of an Employee of the Month Software Engineer.

That’s right, in one of the best moments in this episode; we learn that Finch’s day job is a software engineer in a company that HE OWNS.  He is hiding in plane sight.

This episode is actually far and away better than the pilot.  Most of that has to do with Emerson.  Not only do we learn about his thankless job in his own company, we are also treated to a series of flashbacks showing the early stages of The Machine.  In the flash back we see a healthy version of Finch, without a limp, talking to his then partner.  The scene plays out a lot like the scene in “The Dark Knight” where Bruce introduces Lucius Fox to the telecom machine he builds to tap into people’s cell-phones in order to find the Joker.  The reaction is slightly different however.  In “The Dark Knight” we feel a sense of vulnerability and violation in which we tend to side a bit more with Fox. He doesn’t agree with the machines purpose.  In “Person of Interest” we see the machine as a tool for good, because it’s in the hands of good people.  If the government is going to take care of you, The Machine will.  That is, however, the brilliance of this show.  It’s asks the question we’ve been asking for 10 years.  Is it worth it?  Where does your moral compass point and what is privacy?

There is still plenty of action throughout as Reese kicks a ton of ass, but the puzzle pieces are staring to make sense as we learn more about Finch.  We haven’t decided where to put the piece yet, but we see the picture on the back of the box. 

Person of Interest airs Thursday nights on CBS at 9pm.  You can watch Full Episodes RIGHT HERE!