In the fifteenth episode of the second season of Person of Interest, a potential murder mystery turns into an international incident. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Person of Interest.Â
Trigger Warning: For talk of refugees, ethnic cleansing/genocide, war
I grew up with the Kosovo War on television. Truly, it was the Gulf War in the early 90s that introduced me to televised warfare, but the struggle between Kosovo Albanians and Serbians was still all over the news. It was something I understood in only the simplest of terms, the starkest of divisions: the Kosovo Albanians were targeted for seeking freedom and independence, and thousands upon thousands of them died. Were ripped from their families. Were subject to the worst of human behavior. I know now that this conflict is a million times more complicated and horrifying then I knew nearly twenty years ago, but even as a teenager, it was another example of one of the great injustices of this world.
One of the main reasons I’m enjoying Person of Interest as much as I am (and why Leverage was meaningful to me, too) is because of the way the show focuses on people and stories that are often not things you see. At the start of “Booked Solid,†I thought we were going to get a murder mystery of sorts. We knew Mira’s number had come up, and it seemed obvious that she was a victim, not a perpetrator. Numerous plot lines were brought up and exhausted as possible reasons why the Machine was convinced she would die soon. AND IT WAS VERY TENSE. I love plots that unfold in one room or one building, and this was no exception. Was it a random guest? Was it the escort service that the manager was running out of his hotel? Was Mira not who she said she was? WERE WE GONNA GET A TWIST THAT SHE WAS ACTUALLY THE PERPETRATOR???
The script for “Booked Solid†played it straight, yet still managed to hit quite hard. I think it would have been more meaningful if Mira had been played by someone who was actually ethnically Albanian, instead of an Argentinian actress. (Mia Maestro is really great over on The Strain, for the record!) Yeah, casting directors, you should really not assume identities like this are interchangeable? THEY’RE NOT. Still, this is an important story, and Person of Interest never pretends it is anything but important in regards to what Mira went through and how seriously ethnic Albanians were targeted. This woman watched her family get executed, fled her country when she was SIXTEEN, worked her way to a some sort of success, and yet was still tracked down because she could derail a Serbian general’s bid for president.
There’s a chilling moment amidst all of this when Mira tells Reese that she never felt safe after escaping. It’s one of those things that I can’t actually relate to in the context that it’s uttered, and it disturbed me. How many other people are in the United States who fled ethnic cleansing? Who escaped war? Oh god, how many have we turned away because of our disgusting immigration policies? It’s a deeply distressing thought to have, and so it’s important that this show doesn’t question that Mira needs protection. It reminded me of the point I made regarding “C.O.D.†last week. None of the characters in the show blame Mira for what happened to her or the choices she made after her family was murdered. There is no doubt that Mira and people like her deserve to be helped, and they deserve to live a life free from terror and intimidation. They deserve that help here and now. I’m projecting a bit of my own politics on this, sure, but I think you get the idea. The characters who deserve help and protection on Person of Interest DO matter!
Running parallel to these events is a new subplot for Carter that rises and then falls spectacularly, and I’m still FUCKED UP over it. Look, I figured that through some dealings with Fusco and HR, we’d learn more about Beecher and his role in Carter’s life. I DID NOT EXPECT EVERYTHING TO COME SPILLING OUT DURING AN FBI-LED POLYGRAPH TEST. First of all, I was ready to SCREAM once Donnelly’s old partner asked Carter to join the FBI. HE HAD NO IDEA. NONE. I appreciated the thoughtful way in which Finch pushed Carter towards the position, given that he didn’t have to help her in the way that he did. To me, it seemed obvious that the show was setting up a new arc for Carter: she would pass the polygraph test, and Reese/Finch would have a new method of getting help. Plus, Carter might have been a great way to get an inside look at what the Special Counsel was doing. Right?
Instead, Carter’s view of Beecher is horribly soiled when she discovers there are numerous IAB investigations open on Beecher. She found out he wasn’t the man she thought he was DURING A JOB INTERVIEW. Basically, right??? Also, even the audience didn’t know that Beecher was being investigated!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS SHOW, WHY IS IT DOING THIS TO US.
JUST KIDDING, this isn’t even the worst plot twist, because the final scene reveals that the Special Counsel’s assistant, Miss May, IS ACTUALLY ROOT. Like, I barely had time to deal with Reese brutally stabbing Hersh (but sparing his life!) AND his adorable flirting with Zoe before the mother of all twists was revealed to me. Oh my god, she had to have figured out that he was connected to the Machine! HOW??? HOW???
My poor brain.
The video for “Booked Solid†can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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