TV Reaction: Person of Interest (2nd Look)
I always give shows 4-5 episodes before a final verdict...
Note: Spoilery word stuff behind cut.
I had my misgivings after viewing the pilot. Finch and Reese just didn't gel together, were emotionally fathoms apart and the angst was given away too quickly in a pilot's fatalistic habit of 'let's give the audience everything' core dump.
But, it was the pilot.
Times like this, I love, love to be proven wrong.
Abrams and Nolan eased back on the 'Let us tell you why they have man!pain' and sprinkled some nice buddy-buddy potential tidbits sprinkled through the episodes. They're nowhere near sharing a pizza at Original, First, Famous Rays. Heck, Finch is still paranoid enough to jump jobs--er, cubicles the moment his cover is burned, but you see the groundwork paving to a friendship and trust.
And you know what? That works. I don't need them to be instant buddies. Some of my favorite shows lure me in with the evolution of friendship (coughWhiteCollarcough). It makes each gesture, each clip of dialogue all the more poignant. I want to stick around to see where they go.
FAVORITE MOMENTS:
1. 'Harold' meets Ku--I mean, Reese. LOL
2. Reese bringing coffee to a post all-nighter dozing Finch, offering to find him a job (dog walker=lol)
3. Finch going into Evidence Lockup to warn Reese about the setup
4. Reese thanking Finch for giving him a job (aka: a purpose, a focus)
5. "Try the egg benedicts, Mr Reese" and the menu
Finch is growing to be a fascinating character. The glimpses we were given in 1X03 "Ghost" with his friend during the machine's evolution gave us a subtle glimpse of Finch before whatever had happened to him. The fact that it isn't an extreme change of personality (both Finches were restrained, contained) but I definitely can see a lot more altered Finch besides the limp and the spine grafts (BTW: Ouch!!). His bland delivery of one liners is perfect ("I could use the miles") He's very, very cautious and paranoid so every tiny tidbit he gives Reese is more telling than if he were to give the soft-spoken (hot!!) Reese a bear hug. Which...would be weird. LOL.
Reese is...well, he's Batman. Truly. Motivated by both the self-destructive drive and the need to be able to 'save them all', Reese executes justice with deadly accuracy and wit that echoed his elusive military career. The more he does, the more he acts, the more you suspect to know. I was glad they eased back on the angst over what must have happened with Jessica. While she may have been the catalyst that spiraled Reese to that dark solitary place, it was nice to see they didn't make Reese wallow in it. Yes, sad is good, but maudlin is bad. The actor delivered a very subtle, deadly hushed speaking haunted character. And his almost impish, poking search to find out more about his employer is fun. Plus, I'm shallow! Look into his eyes and you want to make him cookies and hot cocoa. LOL.
Carter, as the driven homicide detective is still a little one-dimension for me. She's the Colonel Decker to the A Team, Agent Fox to the Starman, the Foundation to Airwolf. (And if you don't know those references, don't tell me, because that's too depressing. LOL.). We're only given a glimpse of her determination to catch Reese but other than the by-the-book Joe Friday driven determination, we're not told why. Deliberate? I'm not sure. Carter was potentially a breath of fresh air: non-supermodel body type, smart, with an attitude, former military. I should love her. But if they don't flesh her out a bit more, Carter runs the danger into becoming a cartoon.
Lionel, in the meantime, seemed to be more fleshed out compared to Carter. We've seen his origins, we've seen him with his son, we know his flaws. Yea, he was corrupt, but reveals some redeeming qualities even if it's forced out of him by Reese's extortion. And hey, he has a soft spot about kids as we're shown in today's episode. There's a hint of evolution, of redemption for Lionel and that makes him very interesting to watch.
Person of Interest surprised me. The crimes are still a bit more Clue than Sherlock Holmes but the producers don't seem to focus on the crimes anymore. There's a shift in the episodes to concentrate on how the mystery binds two normally emotionally evasive men closer, how trust is slowly regained. The plot drives the characters which in turns drives me to want to watch. And watch, I will. In real time, too.
Oh boy, I love being wrong. LOL.
Note: Spoilery word stuff behind cut.
I had my misgivings after viewing the pilot. Finch and Reese just didn't gel together, were emotionally fathoms apart and the angst was given away too quickly in a pilot's fatalistic habit of 'let's give the audience everything' core dump.
But, it was the pilot.
Times like this, I love, love to be proven wrong.
Abrams and Nolan eased back on the 'Let us tell you why they have man!pain' and sprinkled some nice buddy-buddy potential tidbits sprinkled through the episodes. They're nowhere near sharing a pizza at Original, First, Famous Rays. Heck, Finch is still paranoid enough to jump jobs--er, cubicles the moment his cover is burned, but you see the groundwork paving to a friendship and trust.
And you know what? That works. I don't need them to be instant buddies. Some of my favorite shows lure me in with the evolution of friendship (coughWhiteCollarcough). It makes each gesture, each clip of dialogue all the more poignant. I want to stick around to see where they go.
FAVORITE MOMENTS:
1. 'Harold' meets Ku--I mean, Reese. LOL
2. Reese bringing coffee to a post all-nighter dozing Finch, offering to find him a job (dog walker=lol)
3. Finch going into Evidence Lockup to warn Reese about the setup
4. Reese thanking Finch for giving him a job (aka: a purpose, a focus)
5. "Try the egg benedicts, Mr Reese" and the menu
Finch is growing to be a fascinating character. The glimpses we were given in 1X03 "Ghost" with his friend during the machine's evolution gave us a subtle glimpse of Finch before whatever had happened to him. The fact that it isn't an extreme change of personality (both Finches were restrained, contained) but I definitely can see a lot more altered Finch besides the limp and the spine grafts (BTW: Ouch!!). His bland delivery of one liners is perfect ("I could use the miles") He's very, very cautious and paranoid so every tiny tidbit he gives Reese is more telling than if he were to give the soft-spoken (hot!!) Reese a bear hug. Which...would be weird. LOL.
Reese is...well, he's Batman. Truly. Motivated by both the self-destructive drive and the need to be able to 'save them all', Reese executes justice with deadly accuracy and wit that echoed his elusive military career. The more he does, the more he acts, the more you suspect to know. I was glad they eased back on the angst over what must have happened with Jessica. While she may have been the catalyst that spiraled Reese to that dark solitary place, it was nice to see they didn't make Reese wallow in it. Yes, sad is good, but maudlin is bad. The actor delivered a very subtle, deadly hushed speaking haunted character. And his almost impish, poking search to find out more about his employer is fun. Plus, I'm shallow! Look into his eyes and you want to make him cookies and hot cocoa. LOL.
Carter, as the driven homicide detective is still a little one-dimension for me. She's the Colonel Decker to the A Team, Agent Fox to the Starman, the Foundation to Airwolf. (And if you don't know those references, don't tell me, because that's too depressing. LOL.). We're only given a glimpse of her determination to catch Reese but other than the by-the-book Joe Friday driven determination, we're not told why. Deliberate? I'm not sure. Carter was potentially a breath of fresh air: non-supermodel body type, smart, with an attitude, former military. I should love her. But if they don't flesh her out a bit more, Carter runs the danger into becoming a cartoon.
Lionel, in the meantime, seemed to be more fleshed out compared to Carter. We've seen his origins, we've seen him with his son, we know his flaws. Yea, he was corrupt, but reveals some redeeming qualities even if it's forced out of him by Reese's extortion. And hey, he has a soft spot about kids as we're shown in today's episode. There's a hint of evolution, of redemption for Lionel and that makes him very interesting to watch.
Person of Interest surprised me. The crimes are still a bit more Clue than Sherlock Holmes but the producers don't seem to focus on the crimes anymore. There's a shift in the episodes to concentrate on how the mystery binds two normally emotionally evasive men closer, how trust is slowly regained. The plot drives the characters which in turns drives me to want to watch. And watch, I will. In real time, too.
Oh boy, I love being wrong. LOL.