Critical (S2x07)
Airdate: 15 November 2012
Written by: Sean Hennen Directed by: Frederick E. O. Toye
Running Time: 44 minutes
In the landscape of television procedurals, few series have managed to balance the rigidity of its formula with the necessity of innovation as successfully as Person of Interest. As the show progressed into its second season, the creative team frequently attempted to evade the monotony inherent in the "save the number" structure. Occasionally, these experiments involved toying with established genres, shifting the atmosphere from high-octane action to tense psychological drama or, as in the case of the seventh episode of Season 2—titled *??Critical—the subtle hints of a medical drama. While the episode successfully immerses the viewer in a high-stakes operating room environment, it ultimately suffers from a lack of narrative depth, relying heavily on genre tropes and the charisma of its cast to sustain interest.
The episode opens with a classic misdirect. The Machine outputs a number for a subject that the team believes has already been handled, prompting Reese to investigate. It turns out to be Leon Tao, the shady investment banker whom Reese has previously rescued. However, the Machine has chosen Tao not as the primary target, but as an asset. Reese must first rescue Tao from Russian mobsters he attempted to swindle with online gaming tokens. Once Tao is safe, it is revealed that the Machine's true target is Dr. Madeline Enright (Sharon Leal), a top cardiac surgeon at a prestigious New York hospital. This shift in focus immediately introduces the medical genre elements, contrasting the gritty street action with the sterile, dangerous precision required in surgery.
Finch and Reese effectively adopt personas as a generous hospital benefactor and his assistant to get close to Enright. Reese successfully installs a bugging device on her, allowing the team to monitor her activities. We learn that Enright is set to perform a complicated bypass surgery on Oliver Veldt, the CEO of Vedlt Corp, a powerful energy company. The narrative takes a sinister turn when a mysterious British man, Alistair Wesley (Julian Sands), instructs Enright to make a seemingly accidental cut during the operation. This cut would result in Veldt bleeding to death. To coerce Enright into compliance, Wesley threatens her wife, Amy (Erica Leerhsen), claiming a sniper is positioned to kill her in a nearby park while the surgery is in progress. Enright is now forced to choose between her professional duty and her wife's life.
The narrative tension builds as Reese and Finch work to dismantle Wesley's conspiracy. Reese studies photos provided by Wesley, identifying the sniper's angle. He subdues the first shooter, only for Wesley to reveal there are more. While Reese and Fusco work to secure Amy, Tao deduces the financial mechanics behind the plot. Using his forensic accounting skills in the library, he identifies that a massive short trade has been placed against Vedlt Corp. stocks. The conspirators stand to profit exponentially if the CEO, Veldt, dies suddenly and the stock price crashes. In the operating room, Finch infiltrates as a scrub technician to investigate the leak. He discovers the Chief Nurse, Liz Pickett (Geneva Carr), is the conduit for Wesley's information and the one making the fatal incision herself, describing the act as her "backup plan." Finch knocks Pickett out and, despite his discomfort with the sight of blood, assists Enright in saving Veldt's life. The plot concludes with a happy ending: Veldt survives, the stock price stabilises, and the conspirators suffer financial ruin. Wesley departs the city, impressed by Reese's abilities.
While the main storyline provides some suspense, it is easily drowned by a predictable and formulaic resolution. The episode feels safe, simple, and distinctly vanilla. The "surprise" twist regarding the nurse’s role as the "backup plan" is banal and easily anticipated by a seasoned viewer. The script by Sean Hennen attempts to compensate for this simplicity by injecting a few "exotic" details. The most notable of these is the character of Alistair Wesley, a Bond-like secret agent who serves as a worthy, albeit one-dimensional, opponent to Reese. Julian Sands plays this role effortlessly, capable of oozing charm and menace in his sleep, yet the character remains a hollow archetype rather than a fully fleshed-out antagonist.
Another attempt to add texture is the relationship between Dr. Enright and Amy, an interracial lipstick lesbian couple. This detail might have rattled some feathers a decade and a half ago, but in the current cultural climate, it often feels like ticking boxes. It serves as a specific reference to the legalisation of same-sex marriages in New York State in 2011, anchoring the episode in a specific historical moment. While the inclusion of this relationship adds a layer of personal stakes, it often feels tacked on rather than integral to the character development.
The main storyline is so bland and straightforward that the scriptwriters appear desperate for filler content. Consequently, they dedicate considerable screen time to a secondary storyline involving Detective Carter. She investigates the shooting of a 40-year-old Croatian immigrant, Dušan Babić, who is found with a card and cryptic numbers in his pocket. Carter recognises the numbers as an address and follows Agent Snow into the next building. Snow reveals a bomb vest and warns that "she" might start something terrible before disappearing. While this subplot introduces a new layer of danger to the series, it seems unfinished and more like a "filler" designed to bulk up the runtime. It lacks the cohesive weight of the main plot and feels like a separate narrative thread that was never fully intended to be resolved in this specific episode.
Ultimately, Critical is saved from being a complete failure only by the work of its main cast. The established chemistry between Jim Caviezel, Michael Emerson, and Kevin Chapman grounds the episode in its familiar procedural rhythms. However, it is the performance of Ken Leung that truly elevates the material. His portrayal of Leon Tao is a delightfully shady but undeniably likeable character. Leung injects a necessary amount of levity and wit into the proceedings that the script sorely lacks. Without the charisma of the lead actors and Leung’s standout performance, Critical would be merely watchable. As it stands, it is a competent but unmemorable entry in the series, highlighting the gap between the show's potential and the often safe, simple nature of its individual instalments.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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