What I’m Watching: Person of Interest (Season Premiere)

Person of Interest: Season 4, Episode 1 “Panopticon” (B+)

Often, shows struggle to regain their footing after a major crisis or transformative event which sends their characters to all corners of the earth while the dust settles and things get back on track. Fortunately, this show, which always proves satisfying, manages to surprise once again with a reboot that’s actually pretty terrific, and previews plenty of excitement to come as our beloved team works to fight back against Samaritan and still manages to save people while being careful to stay off the grid. It’s fun to see where everyone has ended up, with Shaw in a dead-end department store job, Reese working narcotics, Finch teaching a class to just a few students, and Root operating, as usual, on her own plane. What’s particularly exciting about all these cover jobs is how they lead into something else, particularly Finch getting led to some sort of startling discovery by writing down the collected typos in his dissertation, Reese becoming Fusco’s new partner, and Shaw going for what she thought was a date and instead becoming a getaway driver. It’s also great to see Reese think creatively and enlist Elias’ help since he knows that wouldn’t put him on the radar. It does appear that his idea didn’t get past the new human enforcer of Samaritan, Martine, portrayed by Cara Buono, an Emmy nominee for her performance as Faye Miller on “Mad Men” a few years ago. She seems like a formidable nemesis for our team, and I’m pretty pumped to see where this season goes.