What I’m Watching: Person of Interest

Person of Interest: Season 3, Episode 2 “Nothing to Hide” (B+)

I’ll admit that I thought myself to be so clever midway through this episode when I was certain that I had put together the big reveal that would come at its end: that it was the machine who had sent the dirt to each of the plaintiffs to try to exact justice on those who don’t value privacy. That theory was wrong, but the idea that there’s an organization out there with different aims than HR but who still pose just as big a threat to Finch, Reese, and their merry band is absolutely intriguing. This episode feels darker than most, since Reese rarely gets shot while the person he’s trying to protect gets executed right in front of him. I liked when Carter pulled over one of the suspects and told her that the NYPD is always watching, a nice way of using the machine’s omnipresence to exert her authority. I am worried that her new partner is equally prone to spying on her for HR as he is to vomiting at crime scenes. Shaw continues to be used exceptionally well, providing gun-toting backup when needed for Reese but also grumbling when she has to sit at a desk pretending to type while overreacting to the simple act of a janitor trying to empty her trash (a bad example, of course, given the fact that he wasn’t really a janitor). We didn’t see any of Root in this hour, but there’s so much going on now on this show that it’s not a problem at all. I didn’t think season three could outdo season two, but so far I’m quite impressed.