In the fourth episode of the second season of Person of Interest, Reese and Finch find themselves protecting someone who may not be deserving of their protection. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Person of Interest.Â
So, in many other respects, this would probably be classified as a filler episode. For a show that became almost entirely serialized, “Triggerman” is almost unconnected to other narratives aside from a reference to “Bad Code” and the new “friend” that Elias has in Finch. It doesn’t really advance any of the characters forward, and its central conflict is resolved by the end of its runtime. So, filler episode, right?
If this is what constitutes a filler episode for Person of Interest, then sign me the fuck up. Because THIS WAS SO COMPELLING! Yet again, the writers were able to twist the question of who gets to be saved, who is deserving of protection, and who counts as a victim or a perpetrator. OR BOTH AT THE SAME TIME. The story of Riley Cavanaugh has obvious parallels to Reese, who also killed people based on the orders that he got from his superior officers. So what makes the two of them different? Why is the audience willing to accept Reese, but might hesitate when it comes to Riley?
“Triggerman” does interesting things with the concept of sympathy. In the opening scenes, the only likable character in this specific case is Annie, who viciously tears down mob boss George Massey in front of his son and triggerman. Riley sure isn’t sympathetic, especially not when he’s threatening to murder the owner of the restaurant. So it felt obvious that he was the perpetrator! As the episode progressed, the only reason I questioned this assumption was because I knew I was watching Person of Interest. This show constantly fucks with the audience’s perception.
Thus, what’s fascinating to me about all of this is that technically, they weren’t misleading us. While Riley’s story is ultimately complicated as hell, the audience was right in assuming that Riley was Massey’s triggerman, that he had killed plenty of people without hesitation. There is virtually nothing present in him to find sympathetic! It’s only until we learn that he has been taking care of the widow of another member of his gang that he feels like he’s not a remorseless demon. OF COURSE, EVEN THAT IS A NIGHTMARE. Because this episode’s big twist – that Riley himself killed Annie’s husband and then decided to take care of her – makes him out to be… what? Does that make him a “good” person? Does it redeem what he did before he decided that it was time for him to get out?
I’d argue that “Triggerman” instead merely says that Riley started to seek redemption. It is not a single act. It is not something that requires one little change, and then MAGIC! A person is redeemed! Instead, like we see with Reese, it’s something a person must work toward for the rest of their life. In Riley’s case, this was like the first or second chapter, the beginning of a longer story that he might have been ablet o finish had he not left a path of destruction behind him. Riley’s life caught up to his current one, that much is unmistakable. Was it “good” of him to protect Annie, to give her a chance to have a new life? Perhaps. But Riley doesn’t get saved in the end. There’s a repetitive motif across this episode as Finch urges Reese to choose one of the two targets to save. Why? Because one of them is worth saving. Reese, however, believes they both are, but even in the end, he listens to Riley and chooses to save Annie, leaving Riley exposed. It’s not Reese’s fault, of course, and the show isn’t blaming Reese for that choice.
In the end, this is a tragedy. And if the show was going to give us a tragic conclusion, it fits this character and their story. Maybe Riley really was on his way up, and maybe he really was prepared to redeem himself. But by keeping that crucial secret about Annie’s husband from her, he couldn’t truly begin to find redemption.
The video for “Triggerman” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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