PERSON OF INTEREST RECAP: A Night to Remember

Person of Interest 3.19 Most Likely To…

This week’s number is Leona Wainright, a clerical assistant for the government who is visiting NYC to see a Broadway show.  Reese and Shaw watch her get into a cab and then fight with the driver, who detonates a bomb in the cab, killing the woman. Finch tracks the murder back to Vigilance as Leona worked for the government.

Fusco is at the accident scene when Root shows up as an FBI agent. She tells him that Wainright worked in the office responsible for security clearances, which is important, although she doesn’t know why yet.

Control gets a visit from a senator worried about whether the Northern Lights has been compromised. She assures him that she’s got it under control but he’s not terribly confident and is worried that the repercussions will be great.

Matthew Reed (Nester Carbonell! Yay mini LOST reunion!) is the newest number – he’s a prosecutor and he’s headed to his high school reunion weekend. Finch makes Shaw and Reese go undercover at the reunion to protect him. They soon find out that Reed’s girlfriend was found dead in his car senior year.

Amusingly, Shaw is impersonating a blogging dental hygienist that had frizzy hair and braces with headgear back in highschool. Reese’s cover apparently ticked off a number of girls and they haven’t forgotten him, apparently because he slept with three of them as well as one of their mothers.

Fusco and Finch arrive in DC to visit Wainright’s office but it’s already been cleaned out by the feds. Finch plans a hack to get the digital copies of her security clearance documents. Unfortunately, those copies have been wiped, so Finch wants to break into the safe from her office which is now in the FBI evidence lock-up.

A video starts playing in the bowling alley where the reunion is being held and it’s pictures of Reed’s dead girlfriend in his car. Reed stalks out and Shaw offers him a ride home to his hotel and tries to earn his trust. She commanders the hotel room next to his and Reese soon joins her. One room, one small bed, and too large suitcases full of guns. Finch gets them a copy of the police report for the girlfriend’s death, which was ruled an accidental overdose.

Reed sees through Shaw’s cover and she is forced to admit that she’s there to help him. Turns out that Reese and Shaw aren’t the only imposters and Reese follows a suspicious man away from the party. The requisite fight ensues in the school kitchen, and Reese wins, thanks to a can of sloppy joe sauce. But the man’s not there for Reed – he’s Vigilance, and he’s there for Reese and Shaw. He kills himself with cyanide before Reese can question him.

Back in the gym, a body dressed like Claire falls from the ceiling and the party favors are replaced with prescription bottles for the drug that she overdosed on. In a bit of a twist, Reed is the potential perpetrator, not the victim. He lures his old nemesis, Doug, into the chem lab because he thinks that he killed Claire. Doug admits to having drugged her, although his intent wasn’t to kill her. He then let Reed believe for 20 years that he had driven her to overdose. Reed wants to kill him and make his death look like a suicide because of his grief and guilt.

Before Reed can do anything that he can’t take back, Reese and Shaw arrive with Vigilance on their heels and the gunfire starts. Root calls Shaw to apologize – she leaked their whereabouts to Vigilance to find out how they are communicating. She figured Shaw and Reese could take care of themselves and of course they do – Reese manages to take out the last Vigilance gunman with his last bullet, cause that happens all the time in real life.

Finch and Fusco try to get into the safe but while they are there, Vigilance arrives. Finch gets the file from the safe, but turns around to find Collier behind him. He [somewhat correctly] accuses Finch of protecting the government’s surveillance system and forces Finch to turn over the info from the safe. He tries to abduct Finch, but Root shows up guns blazing. Collier escapes with the information, which is soon released to the press.

The senator holds a press conference to deny the existence of Northern Lights. He orders Control to terminate the program, but she’d rather terminate him. He feels similarly, apparently. She makes a call and tells an unseen person to shut the program down, then shreds a “relevant” case file.

Root meets with Finch as we see the Machine realize it can’t interact with the government anymore and shift it’s notification of relevant numbers to Root.

 My Thoughts:

Fish out of water scenarios are always entertaining and this one was no exception. Particularly funny were the covers that Finch chose for Shaw and Reese. However, the rest of the reunion plot line seemed contrived and rather superficial, which is something that I rarely say about Person of Interest.

Things are certainly coming to a head for the end of the season with Northern Lights somewhat exposed, Samaritan soon to be up and running, and Root having WAY too much power…

Memorable Quotes:

I’ve got the car packed. AC/DC or the Dixie Chicks? – Fusco
I think I’m the one being punished. -Finch

Finch, did you know that I’m a good swing dancer? – Reese
And you’re the mattress king of Kinosha, Wisconsin – Finch

I’d prefer accommodations that don’t rent by the hour. Perhaps you’d let me bolster your per diem. – Finch

It’s nice to have a partner that will let you lead – Shaw

I’ve killed lots of people, but my friends keep telling me that it’s wrong – Shaw

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