Reese and Finch are back! And they're back rather... unspectacularly. Person of Interest returned for its third season with an episode that was as plain as can be, an odd way to kick off what should be a very important season for a series that last season propelled itself toward becoming one of TV's most-watched shows. As opposed to its transition from Season 1 to Season 2, the Season 3 premiere didn't have a big cliffhanger to work with, and seemed more resigned to just get right back to business rather than work on all that mythology that Season 2 had built up.
Perhaps Person of Interest wanted to ease viewers into the new partnership that's sure to irk some viewers, . Samantha Shaw is now a regular member of the crew, even though she's technically still a free agent. In fact, when the episode began, she was running her own assignment with Finch while Reese managed his own operation. From a pure adrenaline standpoint, this was cool stuff: Reese shot up the inside of a van full of kidnappers in Person of Interest's typical "show less and let our imaginations take care of the rest" fashion and Shaw rose up from a horse-and-buggy above an alarmed and undercover Fusco to lay waste to some mystery thugs in Central Park. All in a night's work of littering the streets of New York with dead or crippled bad guys! You'd think the authorities would be concerned about so much ongoing mayhem and carnage, but hey, that wouldn't be as fun.
The question heading into Season 2 wasn't whether seeing Shaw and Reese shoot up gangs of baddies would be awesome, because it always will be; it was whether adding Shaw to the team would disrupt Reese and Finch's chemistry and partnership, the backbone of Person of Interest. Yes, it's going shake things up a little. Too bad, because I adore Shaw. Who doesn't love a hottie who gets a boner over heavy-duty sniper rifles and eats steak that's impaled on a knife like it's cotton candy? Shaw's presence overshadowed Finch's during the episode's main mission, which isn't what we're used to, and it undermined the great brains-and-brawn and eye-in-the-sky-and-beef-on-the-groud dynamics that worked so well in Person of Interest's first two seasons.
I don't think this is a permanent problem. Person of Interest just needs to figure out how to use her better, and that starts with not taking responsibility and importance away from Finch. However, from the writers' point of view, they have a tall task ahead of them and establishing Shaw as a big part of the team is a number-one priority. I love Shaw and her personality, but her presence pushed Finch out of the way a bit, which also meant that The Machine slid back a bit more, too. Aside from compiling that video loop of Reese to fool some bad guys, Finch mostly played dispatcher. At least he got a Boilermaker at the end. But the less Finch we see, the worse off Person of Interest will be. That's a fact.
The biggest change for any character came with (Detective) Carter, who's been demoted all the way down to beat cop (she does look good in the NYPD blues, though!). Aesthetically it's a big change, but right now it appears that her new situation won't affect her relationship with Reese and Finch very much. In fact, if anything, she's more of a man on the inside who can move quietly behind the scenes. You know, like making information boards with the strings and pictures of criminals and old newspaper clippings in her closet so that she can take down HR. I'm cool with this; It also looks like Carter will be the big liaison between Elias and the group this season, as Reese and Finch are too busy to pay their old friend a visit in person.
The only element of the episode that touched on Person of Interest's fascinating mythology was the update on Root. She and her crazy eyes were locked in a loony bin because she says stuff like, "The truth is God is 11 years old and she was born in Manhattan. And she chose me." You and I know she's talking about The Machine, but to everyone else? Cuckoo! But unlike the other crazies in the psycho ward, her line of communication with God is getting her cold, hard facts. Like details exposing her psychiatrist as a pervert who frequents rub-and-tugs.
Culled from Tv.Com
