Firewall (Person Of Interest)
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"Firewall" is the twenty-third episode and season finale of the first season of the American television drama series ''
Person of Interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no leg ...
''. It is the 23rd overall episode of the series and is written by Greg Plageman &
Jonathan Nolan Jonathan Jensen Nolan (born 6 June 1976) is a British and American screenwriter and producer. He is the creator of the CBS science fiction series '' Person of Interest'' (2011–2016) and of the HBO science fiction/Western series ''Westworld'' ...
and directed by
Richard J. Lewis Richard J. Lewis is a Canadian television and film director. From 2002 to 2009, Lewis worked on the CBS television crime drama series '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' as writer, director and co-executive producer. He is best known for dir ...
. It aired on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
in the United States and on CTV in Canada on May 17, 2012.


Plot

Finch (
Michael Emerson Michael Emerson (born September 7, 1954) is an American actor who is best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on '' Lost'' (2006–2010) and as Harold Finch in the CBS series ''Person of Interest'' (2011–2016). Other prominent roles include ...
) calls Carter (
Taraji P. Henson Taraji Penda Henson ( ; born September 11, 1970) is an American actress. Her accolades include a Golden Globe Award, alongside nominations for an Academy Award, six Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2016 and 2024, ''Time'' named Henson one of ...
), asking her to help Reese (
Jim Caviezel James Patrick Caviezel Jr. ( ; born September 26, 1968) is an American actor. He played Jesus in ''The Passion of the Christ'' (2004), Tim Ballard in Sound of Freedom (film), ''Sound of Freedom'' (2023), and starred as John Reese (Person of Inte ...
). However, she is debriefed by Agent Donnelly (
Brennan Brown Brennan Brown (born November 23, 1968) is an American film, television, and stage actor. He currently plays Dr. Samuel Abrams on NBC's ''Chicago Med''. He played Robert Childan on Amazon's '' Man in the High Castle''. Career He received his ...
) on their newest information: they've managed to locate Reese, who is seen escorting a woman in the streets. A day ago, Reese and Finch received a new number: Caroline Turing (
Amy Acker Amy Louise Acker (born December 5, 1976) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Winifred Burkle and Illyria (Angel), Illyria on the supernatural drama series ''Angel (1999 TV series), Angel'' (2001–2004), as Kelly Peyton on ...
), a psychologist. Reese begins surveillance on her by posing as a patient. Meanwhile, Fusco (
Kevin Chapman Kevin Chapman (born July 29, 1962) is an American actor known for playing an assortment of characters ranging from the obnoxious brother Terrence Garrity in FX's ''Rescue Me (American TV series), Rescue Me'' to street enforcer Val Savage in Clin ...
) is summoned by HR and meets with councilman Larsson (
Wayne Duvall Wayne Dwyer Duvall (born May 29, 1958) is an American actor known for appearing as Homer Stokes in '' O Brother, Where Art Thou?'', as well recurring roles as the television series ''Billions'', ''The District'', ''The Leftovers'', '' BrainDead'' ...
) and Officer Patrick Simmons (
Robert John Burke Robert John Burke (born September 12, 1960) is an American actor known for his roles in the early films of Hal Hartley as well as his roles in '' RoboCop 3'' (1993), ''Tombstone'' (1993), and '' Thinner'' (1996). During the 2000s Burke became ...
), who state that they have taken on a murder for hire. An anonymous client assigned them to kill Turing and Fusco is notified to obstruct any investigation from the NYPD. Reese gets in contact with Zoe Morgan (
Paige Turco Jean Paige Turco (born May 17, 1965) is an American actress, who portrayed April O'Neil in '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze'' and ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III''. Other roles include Dinah Marler on daytime’s ''G ...
), who manages to get him information regarding any threat against Turing. Reese saves Turing from being killed by assailants in the street and takes her to a hotel for safety. His face is detected by the cameras and the FBI conduct an investigation, and send a strike team to catch Reese. The hotel is surrounded by FBI operatives looking for Reese as well as HR members looking for Turing. With the help from Carter (
Taraji P. Henson Taraji Penda Henson ( ; born September 11, 1970) is an American actress. Her accolades include a Golden Globe Award, alongside nominations for an Academy Award, six Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2016 and 2024, ''Time'' named Henson one of ...
), Reese and Turing manage to evade the police. While Finch assists in hacking the system, Alicia Corwin (
Elizabeth Marvel Elizabeth Marvel (born November 27, 1969) is an American actress. Her more prominent roles include Det. Nancy Parras on '' The District'', Solicitor General Heather Dunbar on '' House of Cards'', and President Elizabeth Keane on '' Homeland''. ...
) breaks into the Library. Zoe interrogates one of the threats and finds that the person was blackmailed to act as a threat to Turing by an unknown benefactor. Reese manages to help Turing to escape the hotel through a water plant to reach Finch, while he holds back the HR shooters. Carter and Fusco arrive and help him chase HR in a high speed chase but Reese uses a detonator he hid earlier to explode HR's car. Finch waits for Turing in his car where he is confronted at gunpoint by Corwin, who demands he shut down the Machine. Suddenly, Corwin is shot in the head by Turing. Just as Zoe sneaks into Turing's office, her records are getting deleted, discovering that Turing is in fact "
Root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...
". Root was the person who hired HR to plan her own murder, which would make her a person of interest - the real target was Finch. Reese arrives at Finch's location only to find Corwin's corpse. Fusco manages to send evidence to the NYPD about HR, facilitating the arrest of the mole inside the corp. Reese goes to a public surveillance camera, talking directly to the Machine, asking it to help him find Finch. A payphone rings nearby and Reese answers it.


Production


Writing

Co-writer and executive producer Greg Plageman deemed the scene where Root psychoanalyzes Reese as the toughest scene he ever wrote, saying "Both characters are lying about their true identity while trying to elicit personal information about the other. The fact that Root manages to hit so close to home about Reese's true nature is as fun as it is unsettling for him. And it's even more fun to watch in hindsight when you realize who she really is."


Reception


Viewers

In its original American broadcast, "Firewall" was seen by an estimated 13.47 million household viewers and gained a 2.5/7 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. This was a 4% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 12.96 million viewers with a 2.6/7 in the 18-49 demographics. With these ratings, ''Person of Interest'' was the most watched show on CBS for the night beating ''
The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, t ...
'', and '' Rules of Engagement'', second on its timeslot and fourth for the night in the 18-49 demographics, behind ''
Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...
'', a rerun of ''
The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady for CBS. It aired from September 24, 2007, to May 16, 2019, running for 12 seasons and 279 episodes. The show originally centered on five charact ...
'', and ''
American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
''.


Critical reviews

"Firewall" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Matt Fowler of ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' gave the episode a "great" 8.5 out of 10 and wrote, "'Firewall' was exciting, sure. And it felt like a lot of things were converging/culminating on an FBI hunt/HR level. But I think the biggest thing it had going for it, aside from the 'Root' reveal at the end, was Fusco and Carter finally finding out that they're both on the same side. In many respects, this first season was an exercise in team-building; creating a full pre-crime fighting support system while also enriching the bond between Reese and Finch. Now they can head into Season 2 as more of a force." Phil Dyess-Nugent of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "''Person Of Interest'' has devoted some of its recent episodes to humanizing Reese and Finch by revealing what shame they keep bottled up inside and what losses they've suffered, and while some of this has been effective, the show might be bloodless and ice-cold if it weren't for the characters on the margins, who aren't as free of doubt and technical perfection as its heroes. Few series characters have been introduced in as imperfect form as Kevin Chapman's Fusco, but over the course of the season, he's grown from a singularly charmless, one-dimensional corrupt cop into a man relearning how good it feels to do good, and in the process, turned into the heart of the show."


References


External links


"Firewall"
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CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
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"Firewall"
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Firewall (Person of Interest) Person of Interest (TV series) episodes 2012 American television episodes Television episodes written by Jonathan Nolan