PERSON OF INTEREST Recap: Ladies’ Night

Person of Interest 3.03: Lady Killer

Reese and Shaw are fighting over who gets to row their boat, literally, while they stake out this week’s POI, Ian Murphy, who is on a date. The guy seems like a good guy – handsome, charming, an orphan whose uncle left him 100k which he used to start his own business.

Murphy leaves the park and Reese checks out his apartment while Shaw follows him to bar where he picks up another girl. He’s is apparently quite the ladies’ man. In the apartment, Reese finds info on lots of other women, including one that has been reported missing and another who died recently in a car crash, making him wonder if their POI might be a lady killer, literally.

Finch and Reese investigate some of the woman whose data they found in Murphy’s apartment. Finch wants Reese to go to the club that he frequents to observe him, but Reese has another idea – they send Carter, Shaw, and Zoe (!) in undercover as bait. Finch makes profiles for them on the dating site that Murphy uses (Shaw is a yoga instructor!). The women, somewhat surprisingly, get along well and Zoe is determined to make the best of the situation, so they have a few drinks and hit the dance floor.

Eventually Murphy arrives and makes a beeline for Carter. He’s clearly not concerned that she’s a cop (her profile was truthful) and he turns on the charm. Her invites her to his place the next night for dinner and she accepts (with Finch’s strong encouragement). Later, Carter leaves the bar and Murphy tails her with Fusco following him. She starts to get really creeped out as she walks down the street with Murphy trailing her. She finally looks behind her and he is suddenly gone. Neither Reese nor Fusco saw where he went, but they assume he went after another victim.

Finch traces the money that Murphy received and finds out that it came from a shell corporation owned by the father of the woman who died in the car crash whose picture was in Murphy’s house.

Carter goes to Murphy’s apartment for dinner, made rather awkward by her fear that he might try to kill her. Outside, Reese and Shaw discuss relationships while she has a sniper rifle aimed at Murphy. The dinner is uneventful, and he walks Carter out to the street. As he goes to kiss her, two armed men show up. He throws them his wallet, but that’s not what they want. Shaw shoots one and Carter shoots the other.

Elsewhere in the city, Hersch is searching for Root. Meanwhile, she’s telling her therapist that it’s time for her to leave soon, but she’s not sure when. He really wants to help her with her “delusions of grandeur” and asks her why exactly the Machine’s plan involves her being incarcerated (very good question!), and she tells him that she’s not sure yet. 

Fusco investigates the thugs and finds out they work security for Bruce Wellington, the father of the dead woman who’s picture was in Murphy’s apartment. Reese, Carter and Finch confront him at the safe house and he denies killing any woman – he collects info on them to be more attentive to their needs and draw them closer – he’s a jerk, but not a killer.

He was in love with Wellington’s daughter, Dana, nine years ago when they were both in college and she got pregnant. One of Wellington’s men showed up at his door a few days later and told him that Dana had an abortion and gave him money to leave town. He never heard from them again until her heard of her death and went to her funeral and Wellington flipped out when he saw him (and apparently put a hit on him).

Finch finds a picture online of a young boy named Alex that is supposedly Dana’s nephew. The kid is a spitting image of Murphy, obviously his son. Finch takes Murphy to Alex’s school to try to get a DNA sample of the kid.

Meanwhile, Reese and Zoe meet with Wellington under the guise of looking for a specific painting. While Reese and the men talk, Zoe helps Shaw break in and get into the safe looking for Alex’s birth certificate or other evidence. While in the house, they find plane tickets – the kid has been enrolled in a boarding school in London.

Finch and Murphy wait outside of Alex’s school. Finch tells him that Alex is headed for boarding school in London the next day. A payphone rings and Finch runs to answer it. It’s the Machine, of course. He gets the number and immediately calls the hospital to ask about Root, posing as her uncle. He’s told that she is fine, but he’s the second to call and ask about her but the other man didn’t give his name.

While he’s gone, Murphy impersonates his son’s driver and kidnaps him. Shaw and Zoe are unable to find Alex’s birth certificate, so Reese drops his ruse and confronts Wellington. Murphy takes Alex to a park and tells him that he knew his Aunt Dana back when he was in school. Carter approaches in uniform at that point and pulls him aside to tell him that she’s not going to let anyone take his son away again. Back at the station, Carter gives him a copy of Alex’s real birth certificate, which he can use to prove that he’s Alex’s father. He thanks her and they hug.

Root tells her therapist that it’s time for her to go because there’s a government operative coming to kill her, so it’s time for her to move on. She tells him she’s going to disable him and take his car keys. She’s going to use the anesthetic that she stole to gas everyone in the building via the ventilation system to enable her escape. The phone rings and her plan is set in motion.

She steals a gun and phone from an unconscious guard. Her therapist comes to in time to watch her get into a gunfight with Hersch, aided by the Machine. Root has Hersch on the floor with a gun pointed at his head, but the Machine tells her to spare him, so she begrudgingly leaves him lying on the floor.

Zoe, Shaw, and Carter celebrate later at a bar. When they finally all split up they all head home to/with their prospective men – Carter to her son, Zoe with Reese, and Bear with Shaw.

Finch arrives at the mental hospital to find that Root has left and Hersch is alive on the floor.

My Thoughts:

This episode had a fun premise and it was nice that the POI story line had a happy ending when it started out looking rather grim, although the three woman undercover actually catching a serial killer could have been exciting as well.

I was thrilled to see Zoe back, but disappointed that she had a rather minimal role, although that was somewhat mitigated by her going home with Reese. I’m curious as to how much she really knows at this point about what Finch and Reese do – it sure seems like she likely knows at least as much as Carter, but not as much as Shaw in terms of the origin of the numbers.

The writers are certainly trying to make Shaw more likable with her buying toys for Bear, and discussing relationships with Reese, but the chemistry between the two of them isn’t half as enjoyable as that between Reese and Carter and Reese and Zoe.

The Machine’s endgame with Root remains a mystery. Why wouldn’t it let her kill Hersch? Where is it leading her next? We haven’t gotten any clues about from whom Hersch is taking orders, either.

Memorable Quotes:

Our guy just went from blueblood to hipster, faster than you can say ironic facial hair – Shaw

…sociopathic…not that there’s anything wrong with that! – Shaw

God doesn’t need AT&T – Root

Something elegant…but…umm…less than conservative… – Finch

You’ll have to use your charm, Shaw, not your sidearm
You look fine Shaw, you just look…angry…all the time – Reese

So, you’re a nun? – Reese to Shaw

Watch Person of Interest on Tuesdays at 10/9c on CBS!