What I’m Watching: Person of Interest

Person of Interest: Season 1, Episode 22 “No Good Deed” (B+)

With such a focus on Reese’s past in recent episode, it’s good to sit down and take a look at Finch’s life before the death of his business partner and the privatization of his business. Most surprising is the revelation that Finch was engaged to a lovely woman played by Carrie Preston of “True Blood” and “The Good Wife,” who thinks he is dead and only speaks kindly of him. Nathan’s concern about putting a back door into the machine seems to have led to him putting one in himself, and hopefully that won’t prove destructive if it’s something about which Finch continues to remain unaware. Henry sure managed to get himself targeted quickly as soon as he tried to tell others about the machine, and that explains why Finch and Reese are so reluctant to fill Carter in on all the details, not that Reese actually knows much about the way it works either. Fresh off last year’s “Lights Out,” Elizabeth Marvel is likely to become a major player as the mysterious and paranoid Alicia, who managed to listen in to Finch’s conversation with Henry in which he admitted that he was the one that invented the machine. Fusco’s impending meeting with HR seems like great fodder for the season finale, which will also transition the show into its second year, which presumably need not be much different in its format. I do predict one major surprise during the finale, and I think Carter and Fusco, if they both make it through alive, will be made aware of each other’s actual allegiances.

What I’m Watching: Burn Notice

Burn Notice: Season 5, Episode 4 “No Good Deed” (B+)

This is a prime example of how this new format works extraordinarily well, with Michael taking time for side mission without it distracting from his CIA job, only to find that Max has been shot in his absence. I did enjoy the banter between Max and Michael, with our favorite protagonist being told that he’s a nut for being obsessed with the people who burned him and Max making up a fake gas to scare the maintenance man, and I’ll miss the recently deceased Max, especially since he was only around for a short time. Michael realizing he was being framed as blanks were shot at him was a stark wake-up call to the fact that the honeymoon is over, and now Michael is back to being on the run, as evidenced by the return of his token sunglasses at the end of the episode. He and his team still do great work though, stepping in to help Barry’s brother as he nearly ruins the lives of hundreds of teachers. The big guy throwing Sam and Jesse through a wall, only to be shot in crotch by Fiona, was rather more violent than this show usually gets, and it’s not often that Michael himself gets tranquilized and put directly in harm’s way. I liked Sam’s cool idea of creating a simple reason why an alarm might be tripped so that people wouldn’t bother to check for the real crime, and Jesse’s reassembly of the shredded documents was rather impressive to boot. Eve turned out to be quite a pain, and it was gratifying to see her get played. Fiona being bossy and telling Madeleine how to tail someone was decently amusing as well.

What I’m Watching: Parenthood

Parenthood: Season 2, Episode 2 “No Good Deed” (B)

I’m having a bit of a problem adjusting to the relatively comical, unserious tone of this show this season. It makes it especially jarring when a dramatic scene like the explosion of emotions between Sarah and Adam at the end of the episode occurs. I think a big part of the problem I’m having is the presence and screen time devoted to Adam Baldwin’s character. It’s not necessary to see Sarah giving a steady job a try, especially since it takes her away from her very entertaining daughter, who only gets a few memorable lines in this episode as a result after having been nearly invisible last week. Now it’s Sarah’s turn to be invisible at home, and Adam seems to have a similar problem. When he opens his door, things have become so chaotic that he can’t even will himself to enter his house, a powerful moment. Though it seems more than a bit unbelievable, not to mention inconsiderate, of Jasmine to once again jet off to some faraway place without thinking of how it might affect Crosby and his relationship with Jabar, Dax Shepard does continue to do a terrific job of playing this character, and it creates some interesting scenes between Crosby and Jasmine. I also loved Crosby’s quip unifying the two major plotlines of the episode: “It’s convenient that you two are working together, because it saves me a lot of time.” The least compelling sibling plotline of the week: Julia struggling to navigate elementary school politics.