Person of Interest: The Fix

“You can say we're in the same business. Fixing problems.”

One thing I’ve learned from Person of Interest is that nothing stays in the past. It always comes back to haunt you. Or, sometimes, give you some resolution. We got a taste of each in this episode.

The biggest of which was the pharmaceutical company plot. These, by the way, have been the go to conspiratory villain for some time now. They’re always marketing new drugs that have terrible side effects they hope no one will ever notice. It doesn’t seem like a good business plan, long term-wise, so I doubt they really do that. So why do they still have that image? Either their lobbying is terrible or their fixers amazing.

Rant aside, they were an effective villain, considering they were everywhere and their motives were nefarious; the way their intentions were unveiled was well done and paced. Not particularly deep, but effective. Although, as soon as it was clear the reason was not an affair, I was sure Keller was behind it, too.

The best aspect of this plotline was Finch’s opportunity to close a cold case of his. That’s the other side of the “the past comes back” coin: sometimes you get resolution. I felt very satisfied when he made sure Keller knew he was the one responsible for his bankruptcy. I bet ticking off one powerful person too many can come back to bite Finch in the behind, though, in accordance to the theme of the week. I know he gave the Virtanen people a fake name and pretended to need a cane, but it’s not as if he were wearing a mask.

Speaking of that scene, it’s more realistic that Finch can use his money to drive “bad guys” out of business, rather than having Reese beat out a confession and relying on the justice system. I said in my review of the pilot that Reese is no Batman. It occurred to me last week that Finch and Reese are Batman split in two. After seeing this episode, I concluded that Finch makes better use of his money than the superhero.

Another good thing that came out of the case of the week was Zoe the Fixer. It’s always a delight to see a lady with questionable morals which don’t have to do with her sexuality, and she kept me guessing, which is usually good. Her confidence and mild flirting with Reese towards the end of the episode were fun and I think we haven’t seen the last of her.

The meaty part of the episode for me, however, was Carter’s, who as not only smart, which is usual, but also funny, which is a first. But I liked this part mostly because we’re starting to see the shape of our first Big Bad. Vincent Deluca’s past came to haunt him too, in the form of revenge for one of the bad things he did. Let’s not forget that whoever is behind it paid Latimer handsomely to steal that knife from evidence; therefore, it’s someone who has a reasonable wealth. Although nearly every prediction I make about this show turns out wrong, I’ll say that we’re dealing with a Finch/Reese team that went to the dark side. It’ll be interesting to see how they’ll rationalize what makes what they do different from the “rogue” team.

Bits and pieces

— Poor Sullivan. He was only trying to help. The Big Bad has no mercy.

— The dialogue is starting to get witty. This is really good.

— Can you tear currency in the US? It’s illegal here in Brazil.

— By the way the people who died during trials were all Brazilian. Their names sounded Brazilian, so I paused the video and read the news Finch researches. It turns out they were from my city, São Paulo. Small world.

— So, did Zoe say she hates jazz to keep Reese off her, or those records weren’t even hers? I would’ve liked to see a “third act” for this minor motif.

— Finch is sharing more with Reese and indirectly thanked him. By season’s end, these two will be thick as thieves. But, you know, fighting them.

— Did we know before that Carter’s first name is Carla? Carla Carter, what an alliterative name.

— Marlena Elias, like Dana Miller as we first heard of her death, was killed because she was a big guy’s mistress. Will we learn that this was not the motive after all as well?

— Every time Finch goes offline, something goes wrong.

Quotes

Officer: “Evidence was stolen from a 40-year-old cold case?”
That was a lot of trouble. It must have been a message to someone.

Carter: “Your notes, murder weapon, eight inch kitchen knife. Which turned out plunged into the chest of your lead suspect.”
Sullivan: “That would be divine retribution.”
Unless God is our Big Bad, there’s nothing divine about it.

Finch: “Interference suggests it was made on an old PCS cell network, making the recording at least two years old.”
Reese: “I didn't know static had a vintage.”
Reese has a sense of humor! Funniest line in the episode.

Sullivan: “Well, I'm going to make myself beautiful for you.”
Carter: “Good luck with that, Sully.”

Reese: “Also, they tried to kill you.
Zoe: “Well, there's that, too.”

Three and a half rusty knives to the chest.

PS: I apologize for the lateness of the reviews. Every time I think I’ll get updated, that pesky life gets in the way.

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