In the fourth episode of the first season of Person of Interest, Reese and Finch track down a woman they believe is being stalked, only to discover how the victim is not who they think it is. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Person of Interest.
Trigger Warning: For extensive talk of rape/sexual assault, stalking, suicide.
If my rapists died tomorrow, I wouldn’t feel the slightest bit of sadness. I would probably feel overjoyed.
I’m opening with this to let you know that I am biased in favor of Dr. Tillman, who is the twist “criminal” in this episode after The Machine correctly identifies her as planning out the murder of Andrew Benton, the man who raped her sister and contributed to her taking her own life. I think this episode could have been an unmitigated disaster had it made false equivalencies or blamed either Gabrielle or Dr. Tillman for what someone else did, so you’ll have to count me as pleasantly surprised that this script does no such thing. Like the previous episode, it invites the viewer to sympathize with someone whose life was ruined by the acts of another person rather than take a hardline stance when it comes to crime.
Which is fascinating if I could detach myself from the content of this story, something I tried to do as I watched “Cura Te Ipsum.” It’s hard to try to be analytical about a subject that’s so deeply personal, you know? But I saw how this episode genuinely did try to get us to understand Dr. Tillman. We are shown how caring and dedicated she is; we are shown that her sister’s suicide tormented her for years because Benton got away scot-free; we are shown that even though she meticulously plans Benton’s murder, she’s still terrified by what she’s going to do.
What “Cura Te Ipsum” never does is try to get us to relate to Benton. Right from the start, this story is against him. We watch him seek out his next target, who, for a brief moment, is actually the sister of one of his previous victims. Yet even when we find out that the Machine spit out Dr. Tillman’s number, the script doesn’t suddenly turn on her. The real villain is Andrew Benton. Reese finds all the evidence he needs that Benton uses cocaine to exploit women before date raping them, relying on the shame and fear they experience the next morning to avoid any charges being filed against him. People like Benton know exactly what they’re doing, and he truly believed that he’d never, ever get caught.
So why should we feel bad for him? Hell, this episode takes that a step further after Finch outright asks Reese the most important question in the whole script: Wouldn’t Dr. Tillman be doing the world a favor by taking out a serial rapist? Here’s a man who has skirted all legal and personal responsibility, and in the first act of the episode, we see that he’s still trying to assault women. So why care?
The conflict is not what I expected, though. Reese’s concern is for Dr. Tillman’s conscious and happiness. He’s killed more times than he can count, and he knows from personal experience how it can destroy the psyche. What I came to appreciate about “Cura Te Ipsum” is that at no point does Reese ever blame Gabrielle. He doesn’t tell Dr. Tillman that Benton deserves to live. Indeed, he’s quite open about the fact that Benton is a rapist who needs to be stopped. His only focus is to get Dr. Tillman to avoid the risk that killing this man would bring to her life. He knows how much Benton has ruined Dr. Tillman’s life, and he just wants her to not ruin it further.
Reese takes this on to his own conscious instead. I’m surprised at how willing this show is – just four episodes in, mind you! – to be so open about how Reese is INCREDIBLY FUCKED UP. The entire final scene is one giant rumination on whether he’s actually a good person. And what does that mean when he’s sitting across from a serial rapist? Is he a better person if he spares Benton’s life, or is he ethically obligated to kill Benton so as to stop him from hurting yet another woman? I’m still completely blown away by how intense that moment was and also shocked that the show didn’t put the decision on the screen. In the end, what’s more important? That Dr. Tillman could begin to have peace of mind and closure? Or that Benton die onscreen? My hope is that Reese was able to stop Benson no matter his choice, you know?
Mixed in with this is a set-up for future stories and… well, a not-so-great stereotype. See, here’s the first chance to see some Latinx people on Person of Interest and… they’re cartel members. OH WELL, I GUESS. It’s not my favorite trope by a longshot, but I’m hoping that we at least get more of Detective Carter now that Fusco has been propped up as a means to prevent her from getting too close. I suspect that Fusco will only be able to do so much, given how creative and cunning Carter is. Her confrontation with Finch was INCREDIBLE, and I suspect it’s only the start. She’s now seen Finch, so he’s got to lay low to avoid suspicion. That’s gonna be hard, isn’t it? Carter has now seen BOTH of the people behind all of this. IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME, FRIENDS. She’s coming for y’all!
The video for “Cura Te Ipsum” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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