A Sky Of Flame’s

This is one strange episode of Person of Interest. I almost started hating it in the beginning. That was until I saw where it was slowly going with the plot. Both the dénouement between Hersh and Shaw and between Vigilance and Control are well worth the effort of carefully setting up the plot and the pace. It reminds of everything The Blacklist was not this week. PoI sometimes introduces slapstick humor or glances over just how hard it is to do surveillance through hacking. However, this season and this episode in particular spared us more than usual and shows that running a world-wide surveillance program through an Artificial Intelligence is hard work with lots of blood, sweat and tears. Which brings me to the main villain of the season, Greer.

As head of Decima technologies he is not a villain commanding others from an exclusive office in a skyscraper, instead he handles intimate details of his plan himself. ‘A House Divided’ finally answers why and how. Greer started his career as an Mi6 agent, eventually developing a keen sense manipulation. His motives are still murky, but it seems that his childhood experiences during the Blitz in London were very formative. Through his intimate discussion with Finch we learn he is not some simple-minded villain keen on controlling a country or the world. Instead he genuinely thinks that nation states have disappeared and that something needs to fill the vacuüm. For Greer that something is Samaritan, the alternative to The Machine, built by Finch’s friend Arthur Claypool.

I admire how Person Of Interest has carefully managed to savor Greer as a villain. Too often other TV shows create a villain that I admire for their cleverness and dedication only for them to be used in a clumsy fashion when the season draws to its end and the ratings become all important. Greer has been carefully groomed as villain who tries to remain out of sight yet also deeply involved. He reminds me a lot of Carlos The Jackal and the way Carlos was described in the movie The Assignment. Ben Kingsley’s character Amos described him a kind of Superman. He can do anything he wants, he can kill anyone he wants and fuck any woman he wants. That is Greer.

His capture by Vigilance seems to be part of a carefully planned move. As for Vigilance, through flashbacks we discover how Peter Collier’s brother was false accused of being a terrorist and later hanged himself. Peter in many ways embodies an everyday person who discovers the system is corrupt and tries to do something about it. The acting of Leslie Odom was just top-notch. As for Vigilance, I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw some real-life counterparts.

‘A House Divided’ didn’t disappoint with the drama either. Once again we saw the serious side of Mr. Reese and Ms. Shaw as they try to find Finch. Greer holds finch captive and they are rightly worried that he might actually kill Finch. Both Reese and Shaw do have some ground to cover with their character. Apart from seeking revenge for the death of Detective Carter Reese’s character is too often sued for comedy relief, and Shaw as well. On my wish list for season 4 I would put a more serious Mr. Reese and Ms. Shaw. Well, that was Person Of Interest S3Ep22 A House Divided Review

Score; 9 / 10. An episode that made my skin crawl.

Source; http://www.cbs.com/shows/person_of_interest/