This was one of the lighter episodes of Person of Interest and is a welcome break from the tension created by Samaritan’s ever watching eyes. The case involves a professional wingman who helps fellas get the ladies. Reese called “not it,” so Fusco got the job pretending to be a client for the Number. Hilarity ensues.

*****SPOILERS BELOW****

Fusco starts off not having the greatest day trying wrangle Reese into being a decent cop. Apparently, when it’s hot Reese would rather shoot a fleeing suspect in the knee on a crowded New York street than chase him down. Bad Reese, no cookie for you.

This results in both Fusco and Reese getting chewed out by their new boss. Reese looks bored, but slightly chastised. He feels a bit bad for making Fusco’s job harder, but he’s gloating a tremendously when Fusco has to deal with the new Number.   The two of them as partners is quite strange considering the history of the relationship. Reese kind of considers Fusco a friend if you put a gun to his head, but the respect is not always evident. Fusco does not fear Reese anymore  nevertheless finds him irritating. The newness of the partnership makes this interesting for now, however I do not want the show to turn into a police procedural. Reese closed like all the murder cases by the end of the episode, so he is freaky good at it. He is also the captain’s new favorite detective, just more Numbers and less murders, please.

While Reese is solving crime, Fusco is trying to prevent the Number/Wingman (Andre) from committing a crime or falling prey to one.   Andre is smooth and likeable and seems to genuinely want to help Fusco improve his image. Fusco unfortunately has to listen to Andre gripe about his wardrobe and Shaw snipe at him in his ear.   The image part goes well with the purchase of a new suit, but Fusco is still working on the confident and suave attitude.

He manages to strike out again and again, culminating in spilling a drink all over a woman’s dress. Eeek. At the end of the lessons though, Fusco scores at least one phone number. In the midst of all this its revealed that Andre witnessed a friend murder someone and thought switching careers (not skipping town) would be sufficient for his friend not to hunt him down to ensure he does not testify. The term “friend” is used very loosely here. Andre needs a course in how to pick better friends. Shaw, Reese and Bear to the rescue when Fusco gets beaten, kidnapped and left to die in a cargo container. Great use of Bear to sniff out Fusco for Team Machine. Oh, and Shaw and Reese did their butt-kicking thing. Though it’s interesting Reese got a priority murder case that was relevant to the Number. Good work Machine?

Speaking of which, the Machine sends Finch and Root on an alternate mystery mission– some sort of illegal arms scavenger hunt. Apparently, the Machine learned from the last few weeks how to motivate Harold. This adventure was also impressive from a “holy cow Harold, how many personas do you have?” Harold walked into the meeting blind and this guy just started rambling about who he thought Harold was and snap, instant scary sociopath. Maybe he was channeling angry Reese, but this Dark Harold seemed different. Very intimidating, which is hard to pull off for a librarian looking guy with a limp.

At the end of the Machine’s little hunt there were fun prizes, including lots of guns (missile too), and lots of money. Since the premiere Harold has been complaining that he’s lacking in funds now that Samaritan is online. This was the Machine’s response to let Harold know that it’s paying attention and looking out for the team. As prizes go, Root got to shoot bad guys in the knees, which was hilarious later when Reese’s captain made a comparison of their handy-work.  All in all, a fun outing for Team Machine and the audience.