“I’m sorry, are you guys closed?” asks John Reese (Jim Caviezel) who’s just deliberately walked into a diamond transaction gone bad between the Russian mob, corrupt commandos, and a sailor who’s trapped in the middle in the season three opener of the crime drama, Person of Interest.
The Machine’s whereabouts still remain unknown, but it continues to generate the numbers of people who are in danger and are either victim or perpetrator of an upcoming crime. Reese and Mr. Finch (Michael Emerson) are still working together to save as many people as they can, aided by their new ally, Shaw (Sarah Shahi), an ex-assassin who’s still having trouble only shooting to wound instead of killing. This time the number is of a sailor on shore leave in New York City whose best friend seems to have a knack of getting the both of them in trouble. When he goes missing, the sailor is nearly taken by commandos who are involved in smuggling diamonds. It’s up to Reese, Finch, Shaw, and Detective Fusco (Kevin Chapman) to save both sailors from angry killer commandos and a few greedy Russian mobsters.
Meanwhile, Detective Carter (Taraji P. Henson) has been demoted to a beat cop by HR which still has control of the NYPD and is doing business with the Russian mob. Down but by no means out, Carter on her own time helps Reese and Finch whenever she can and continues her own private investigation into those who may be part of HR and who could be at the head of it.
Suspenseful and engaging, Person of Interest season three picks up right where season two left off. The series still has a strong cloak & dagger feel and style to it, with two great leads. Jim Caviezel is perfect as John Reese, the “Man in the Black Suit” who works with Finch to save those in life-threatening trouble. Caviezel’s cold, icy, and at times half-smirk delivery of his lines to the villains in the series is reminiscent of another famous secret agent who has a license to kill and whose operative number is 007.
Michael Emerson is the moral and emotional center of the show as Mr. Harold Finch, the rich, computer mastermind who sacrificed so much of his personal happiness to protect those he cares about and to help those who would be lost to violent crime if not for him and Reese. The strong chemistry between the two men who have become trusted partners is another strength of the show, but in this episode it’s thrown off a bit with the addition of their new ally, Samantha Shaw (Sarah Shahi), who’s become a series regular. Shahi is well cast as Shaw, the ex-CIA assassin who’s teamed up with the guys since she’s fresh out of friends and a job, considering her last employer tried to kill her several times last season. However, with Shaw backing up Reese in the field, the scenes between Harold and John have been cut back to considerably less in this episode. Here’s hoping the addition of Shaw doesn’t permanently throw off the wonderful balance of the series’ tone and Reese/Finch scene time.
Still, with great action scenes, suspenseful shoot-outs, sharp dialogue, and more dangerous enemies coming out of the shadows, Person of Interest season three is sizing up to be one of the must-not-miss shows this television season.
GRADE: B
