Warning: Spoiler Alert
Loss has become a reoccurring theme on the CBS series “Person Of Interest,” both Harold Finch and John Reese, have lost loved ones due to violence and Harold’s operating under the assumption, that Sameen Shaw died in a battle with Samaritan. The latest episode, entitled “Karma,” dealt with Harold’s seeking closure a few years back, while “The Machine’s” latest number’s seeking it in the present. Character’s debated whether a man convicted of homicide, deserved to have the rest of his life ruined, without definitive evidence he committed the crime.
The first images we see are flashbacks, Northern Lights employee’s Alicia Corwin’s ID badge, Harold telling his partner Nathan Ingram, that engineers who worked for Northern Lights, keep turning up dead. Ingram saying Alicia’s not going to bump him off, then Nathan greeting Finch at the ferry, where seconds later a car bomb, would kill Nathan and cripple Harold. Then we see a news report on the death of Nathan, CEO and founder of IFT.
A graphic tells us we’re back in 2010, as we see a badly injured Harold, negotiating the streets of New York in a manual wheel chair. He gets to his office and Finch’s got limited use of his arms and hands, he struggles to tape a photo of Corwin to his window. He struggles to operate his laptop, then calls Alicia’s cellphone on it, with his number undisclosed. He uses an electronic device to distort his voice and tells Corwin, he’s aware she killed Nathan Ingram and she’ll pay dearly for that.
He disconnects, then listens in on the call she places on her cell phone. She gives her ID number then asks to speak to the office of the Special Counsel, only to get told their unavailable. Alicia says you make him available, I just got threatened on my cellphone, the woman at the other end says she’ll check into it.
We return to the present and it appears that Harold’s having a therapy session, with a shrink named Shane Edwards, who deals with victims of violent crimes. Harold’s got his arm in a sling and talks about losing his dear friend and the fear of losing the ability to use his arm permanently. Fusco and Reese monitoring the conversation, tips us off he’s the latest number, Lionel says “Glasses” should tell him about his group of nutty friends, Reese tells Fusco that he’s part of that group as well.
Dr. Edwards tells Harold that even though our world stops when we encounter tragedy, the world still continues and one has to make their peace with that to get on with their lives. He then says that’s it for today and they should schedule another session. Reese tells Fusco, that he’s got a therapy session of his own back at the station. John in his guise as NYPD Detective John Reilly meets with Dr. Iris Campbell.
Edwards then meets with a young woman in a wheel chair, becoming paralyzed in a car accident with her former boyfriend, intoxicated and hitting her at the time of the accident. He went to jail but he’s already out and he’s celebrating his new-found freedom, she asks Edwards, why fate worked out that way. The doctor responds that justice usually finds people like her former boyfriend in the end.
I’m not much of a “Shipper,” however I truly would like to see John and Iris develop a romantic relationship, it’s apparent he’s got feelings for her, even if he tries denying it even to himself. I believe she could handle and support, what John’s real mission is, as she’s aware of his compulsion to save the world. The session’s not great as John’s uncommunicative and Iris, says he’s reverting back into withdrawal, despite his promise to acquire new habits. He replies sometimes that’s tougher than it seems.
After Reese’s session, he follows Edward to a gym and watches the psychiatrist plant a gun in someone else’s locker and leaves. He then goes into a bank, throws something in a trash can, walks over to one of the bank officer’s desk, grabs a business card and leaves. Edwards then uses a burner phone and calls his patient’s former boyfriend, Clive Barton and says he’s the bank officer and all his assets are frozen. Barton starts screaming and Edwards says just come down and ask for Brian Humphries and they’ll quickly straighten it out.
Edwards then calls Humphries, tells him his partner’s coming to rob the bank and he’s going to ask for you, if you give him your keys and code, nobody will get hurt. Humphries hangs up and Barton walks in seconds later, the bank officer says take what ever he wants just don’t hurt anyone. Barton’s about to ask what he means, when Edwards triggers the explosive device he put in the trash can and frames Barton for armed robbery.
Turns out Edwards’ a vigilante shrink, he’s framed seven people who hurt his patience, since a deliveryman, Wyatt Morris got convicted of murdering Edwards’s wife Lucy eight-years before. Edwards said that he came home saw Morris truck double-parked then shot out of parking lot when he arrived home, he went upstairs and found Lucy murdered, lying in a pool of her own blood. Morris got convicted of manslaughter as all the evidence was circumstantial.
The camera Finch planted in Edwards apartment showed him putting tape on the lapels of his tuxedo, the doctor’s giving a speech at the gala event, honoring his pro-bono work with patients of violence in Lucy’s honor. Reese takes Iris to the event, as Lionel joins them at the table as well.
Edwards takes the podium to address his guests, when Harold lets Reese know that Wyatt Morris, just snuck into the service entrance, he’d been released from prison the day before. John leaves the table, and starts getting close to the former convict, who heads straight for Edwards and the two get into a shoving match. Morris’ escorted out of the building and Edwards heads to his car, which explodes before he reaches it. Morris runs away, but is Edwards setting Morris up?
It certainly appears that way as Edwards’ places a call to Wyatt’s cellphone, leaving a text supposedly from Morris’ brother telling him to meet him at the conservatory at the botanical gardens. Harold realizes Edwards’ plotting something so he goes to intervene.
Back in 2010, somehow Harold in his crippled condition, attached a bomb to the undercarriage of Alicia’s car, he’s also rigged the door-locks so that he controls them. Then he calls her with the electronically enhanced voice, tells her about the device and says she’s getting repaid for Nathan’s death. Corwin says Nathan was a friend and was unaware of the hit on him, but realized Northern Lights was responsible once it happened.
“The Machine,” attempts to contact Harold on a payphone, but he disregards the ringing. He asks how can he believe her and she responds he can’t but she’s telling the truth. She says she really wanted to help the world with Northern Lights, but things went awry and she committed terrible acts. She says perhaps she’s responsible for Ingram’s death after all. Harold, releases her, unlocking the buttons and the payphone ceases ringing.
Edwards confronts Wyatt at the observatory and has him put gunpowder from an envelope on his hands, however Harold comes in trying to talk sense to Shane. Edwards tells Harold he’s shooting himself to death to set up Morris and begs him to say Morris pulled the trigger. Reese enters with gun drawn, but this is Harold’s situation, Finch tells Edwards that if he dies there, the memory of Lucy dies with him, while he could be sentencing an innocent man to life in prison. Shane puts down the gun.
Reese asks Finch in the final scene, what if Morris killed Lucy and Harold replies some questions never get answered. However if Wyatt Morris committed murder and attempts to again, they’ll stop him.
The Story Continues Next Tuesday Night at 10:00 pm on CBS.
