Friday 28 March 2014

Person of Interest S2x10 "Shadow Box"

I share my thoughts on the latest UK aired episode of Person of Interest "Shadow Box", the tenth in the second series of a crime drama created by Jonathan Nolan - starring Jim Caviezel, Michael Emerson and Taraji P. Henson.



 
Person of Interest is one of the best examples that American Imports to the UK on Freeview TV can actually be good, rather than the likes of the awful-but-promising The Tomorrow People on e4. Like The Americans, Orphan Black and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and hopefully The 100 – which is yet to be aired in the UK but will be aired on a Freeview TV, there’s a whole lot of awesomeness to explore.

I’ve actually seen all of the second season of Person of Interest so far in the UK but have missed out on Season 1 – as a result, on Wednesdays I find myself catching up on Season 1 normally when an episode airs on TV. So it’s double Person of Interest, each week – only with one difference, Season 2 episodes are normally a heck of a lot better than the already good and fun episodes that came with Season 1, as is common with the majority of shows on TV – the biggest notable exception being Heroes.

Shadow Box is the tenth episode of Person of Interest and is a welcome return to the series, with one of the best episodes of Season 2 so far. Carter receives a job offer from the FBI in the case against the Man in the Suit, which makes things complicated for her as she is currently working with him, and Mr. Finch. This episode sees both characters get involved when the number of a sister of a soldier who died in Afghanistan shows up on the Machine. This episode is action packed right from the start, and ends on a great cliff-hanger with one of the best endings I’ve seen from a crime series in a while. Whilst the plot may be simple – Reese teams up with a couple to raid a bank – it’s executed in a lot of fun and pulled off very well indeed.

The cliff-hanger is great – Special Agent Donnelly finally gets his man, but the problem is that there’s four of them. While they’re all going to jail, it’s not quite clear which of the Men in Suits is the one that he’s actually looking for, and I personally can’t wait to see where this episode takes this from here. It’s going to be great.

It was also good fun to see  Finch get involved in the action this week. For too long he’s been working on the side-lines, but this episode had him actively in the field in a way that was pulled off very well indeed.
 
The more that goes on in a Person of Interest episode, the better it is – and that rule certainly was proved here. Whilst the weekly story of the sister, Abby Monroe – was a little clichéd, if you’ve been watching all of Person of Interest you’ll no doubt be familiar that most are – but the way the creative team pull it off is so entertaining that you won’t mind

It’s the characters that make Person of Interest worth watching, whilst crime dramas normally save character development for series finales that isn’t the case with this show, for Shadow Box is another good episode for character development particularly in Finch’s department – one of the funniest scenes in this episode came when Finch suggested to Reese that he wanted a motorcycle. And on top of that, Carter also improves in character – putting her trust in the vigilantes over the authorities. It proves just how far she’s changed since Season 1, when she was actively hunting the Man in the Suit, much like the FBI are now.

On the whole, there’s not a lot wrong with Shadow Box. It’s one of the best episodes of Person of Interest so far and is very good entertainment – even if the USA may be in Season 3 and we’re still in Season 2, I’m glad that the UK is getting a show as good as this. It certainly adds even more fun to Thursday nights especially when you take Brooklyn Nine-Nine into account as well.
 

VERDICT: 4.5/5

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