In the thirteenth episode of the first season of Person of Interest, Finch meets a worthy adversary. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Person of Interest.
My gods, this show is just so relentlessly good. HOW IS IT ABLE TO SUSTAIN SUCH AN INTENSE ENERGY ALL THE TIME? Yet again, we’re given a story that breaks with any patterns established by the previous episodes, since Finch and Reese track down someone who is only the target after someone else dies. Very early into “Root Cause,” the rug is pulled out from under everyone, and that’s the delight of this episode. The audience never quite feels comfortable about practically anything within this story. Right from the start, we might sympathize with Scott, who was driven to desperation because of he couldn’t find a job for eight months, but also: ASSASSINATION. Cool story, still murder. So I went into this wondering how Reese and Finch would thwart an assassination attempt in such a small space, but THAT WAS BARELY WHAT THIS WAS ABOUT.
Once it was clear that Scott was a patsy, this became so much more urgent and frightening. Whomever was behind this – something we don’t even find out at the end of the episode!!! – set up Scott with such totality (sorry, that word is real popular today, so I’M USING IT) that it seemed impossible that he’d be able to get out of it. Worse, both Reese and Finch realized that they were up against mounting odds and an opponent who was clever, cunning, and willing to do anything to stay on top.
So that’s what I mean about comfortability. Even in terms of the way the narrative itself unfolded, it felt like I couldn’t trust anything. I had no real person to focus my suspicion on because the hacker that set everything up – only known as Root – was never actually identified. Oh, sure, Matheson was a scummy person, but he just hired someone else. Each step of the way, Root seemed to anticipate everything that Finch tried to do. And that’s so frustrating for the viewer, since Finch is always the one in that specific role. It’s an electrifying dynamic for the episode, especially as both Finch and Reese come to realize just how much they’ve bitten off with this specific case.
AND WE ALSO GET THE RETURN OF ZOE MORGAN, who is utterly mystifying here. AS SHE WAS THE LAST TIME. Oh, this was such a great episode for her to appear in again, especially since it’s not just a chance for her to work her magic as a fixer. That’s definitely here, and she kills it when she sets up Matheson to implicate himself. BUT HEY, TELL ME I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO SAW ALL THAT FLIRTING BETWEEN HER AND REESE. It was totally real! And y’all: this dynamic is too much. Morally complicated agents of chaos and violence falling for one another? THE FANFICTION IS WRITING ITSELF, OKAY.
I do feel like I got a huge dose of Carter in the past four episodes, so this was disappointing on that level. It’s about the only criticism I have for “Root Cause,” whose consistent pacing makes for an incredible experience. (Of course, how good is an episode if it falls back on ignoring one of its three main cast members, the only one of whom is non-white?) Choosing to keep Root a mystery was a brilliant idea for future plots, but it also demonstrates yet another willingness from the writers to keep the characters and the audience on their toes. These episodes don’t feel repetitive or boring, and for the first season of a show with such a challenging premise, it’s impressive.
(So stop ignoring Carter, THANKS.)
The video for “Root Cause” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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