Person of Interest S2x12 "2πR"

I review Person of Interest’s latest episode to air in the UK, 2πR – the twelfth episode of the second series. You can expect spoilers inside!

Person of Interest has now, since its return, reached my Top 5 favourite currently ongoing TV series that I’m watching – right up there with the likes of Orphan Black, Arrow, Game of Thrones and Supernatural. It’s a show that’s just that good, and this episode in particular was another awesome one, putting Finch in the spotlight when the social security number of a High School Student Caleb Phillips is given to him by the Machine. With Reese captured by the FBI, Finch must also work with Carter to get him out before they learn the identity of the Man in the Suit.

With Reese out of the picture, we good a Finch centric episode. This gave us something big to talk about as it showed how Finch is capable of solving problems without Reese’s involvement, even if the social security number that was given to him seemed to be a bit convenient given Finch’s skillset. But it was good nonetheless to see Finch feature heavily in an episode – and the execution did pay off, delivering a fun and entertaining episode of television.

When series take risks like this and remove one of the main characters from the equation, it’s great news. Whilst Reese isn’t exactly gone for good per say, Person of Interest continues to raise the stakes by delivering us another stunning episode proving that it doesn’t always have to be about his character getting into one fight scene after the next to make it entertaining viewing. This episode however did have a missed opportunity in delving into Finch’s character and his background, because nothing that new was revealed about him here.

Finch himself acts as a substitute teacher and pulls off the role well. It was good to see that this episode was another one that had large amounts of plot going on, because this is largely where the show excels and Person of Interest delivered us yet another good episode despite any problems that I had with it – I still couldn’t help get the feeling that this show remained incredibly gripping throughout and where it goes from here will be interesting indeed, especially given the ending that makes it clear that Reese isn’t getting out of jail anytime soon.

Carter herself is an example of how characters can develop and change over the course of this episode. Originally on the side of the police, hunting Reese and Finch, she’s now doing everything she can to bust Reese out of jail – and the result is great indeed. Fusco doesn’t get as much to do and isn’t as developed as Carter – but is still a pretty solid character nonetheless and there are no weak spots here.

This episode itself feels like the second act in a trilogy – the previous episode, Shadow Box, was the opener – with Finch getting arrested, and presumably next week’s one will look at how he is able to escape from prison. However, with a show like this – and where the writers aren’t afraid to take risks, anything is pretty much up for grabs and Reese could stay in jail for longer. But still, it was good to see a Finch/Fusco/Carter heavy episode and this show yet again failed to disappoint.

VERDICT: 4/5