NYC, Superheroes and the New Man in the Suit, Person of Interest “Pretenders” 

While Gotham may have Batman to protect the city and be the champion for the underdog, New York City has Reese (Jim Caviezel), Finch (Michael Emerson), Shaw (Sarah Shahi) and Fusco (Kevin Chapman) who are superheroes in their own right. And even with Samaritan’s prying eyes and having to put their own lives on the line, they continue doing what they do and working for the greater good.

The number this week is Walter Deng, an insurance agent and honestly one of the last people I think anyone would want to kill. After all, he’s somewhat of a loner and a nobody. The one thing Walter has going in his life is actual just a big fantasy. He has a huge crush on one of his co-workers, Elena Mindling (Michaela Waters) but in reality, she probably barely even knows his name. Elena has been grieving because her brother, Abel had committed suicide by jumping off a fire escape. However, after seeing Walter with notes on Abel and his death as well as Abel’s cell phone, it seems Walter may know more about her brother’s death than he is admitting.

It turns out that while Walter may be this shy, quiet insurance man during the day, by night he is playing detective investigating Abel’s death. He pretty much does what Reese has to do on daily basis though not as equipped or effective. And as can be expected, Walter eventually finds himself in trouble when his detective work nearly gets him killed.

Reese, of course, shows up in the nick of time and saves the day and saves Walter.

Wow, are you guys some kind of superheroes?…. And your girlfriend is great (referring to Shaw) — Walter

She’s not my girlfriend — Reese

Well, why not! — Walter

LOL. Poor Walter is fixated on the superhero thing and is pretty disappointed when Reese bursts his bubble.

Anyway, Walter refuses to drop the charade even as Reese is dragging him into the police station. Walter claims the victim’s sister had come to him asking for help because she believed her brother’s death to be suspicious. So that’s when he started to look into the suicide and what he found he strongly believes to be a smuggling ring.

Reese and Fusco look into Walter’s allegations and confirm that, indeed, he is right. They are definitely dealing with a smuggling ring and it’s not pirated DVDs they are smuggling either but some high-end, souped-up guns, which also means some really bad people are probably behind it all. By the time Reese has Walter at the precinct, these same people have already found out that Walter is looking into the case, which prompts them to make a move and try to kidnap him right there at the police station.

And guess who is leading the group to capture Walter? Yes, folks, that is Scarface! (David Valcin) With that strut, perfect hair and that shit grin, who else could it be? But I actually had to do a double-take because I honestly could not believe that Elias (Enrico Colantoni) was involved in this. There has to be a logical explanation, right? Reese immediately recognizes him too, which means his next stop is to talk to Elias.

Elias immediately admits that he’s trying to locate Walter because Walter actually knows where the missing guns are, but not for the reasons Reese believes. Another group is behind the gun smuggling and Elias is only interested because someone with a gun shipment of that magnitude could in reality take over the city — and thus, encroach on Elias’ territory.

As it turns out, Abel didn’t know he was transporting illegal weapons until it was too late. When he found out, he proceeded to toss the truck and didn’t tell anyone what he did with it. But Abel’s phone could pinpoint where he had been, which means a simple phone could end up acting as a treasure map. And if you recall, Walter has that phone, which is why everyone is after him.

At the end of the day, Elias isn’t really interested in the guns. He just wants them destroyed, which is why he agreed to let Reese and Fusco help him take down the bad guys. After a huge shootout, the curtain finally falls and the group responsible for the gun shipment is revealed — yes, Dominic (Winston Duke) and the Brotherhood.

Those guns would have changed the balance in my city. Do you really think I would let that happen — Elias

To be honest, as soon as I saw Scarface at the precinct, I immediately suspected the Brotherhood was behind everything. It had to be. Ever since the premiere, the Brotherhood has been rearing its ugly face time and time again, so it stands to reason they would be the culprits. However, even after all of this and the guns being destroyed, Dominic and his thugs are still out there, which means this is far from over. In fact, with that heated exchange between Elias and Dominic, it appears we are on the verge of a war.

While all this excitement is going on in NYC, Finch is in Hong Kong for what he said was part of his cover as a college professor. He meets a nice woman, Beth Bridges (Jessica Hecht) and at first, I thought Finch had developed a crush on her. She is the head of a large artificial intelligence company and I could see how Harold would be attracted to her. But in actuality, he becomes suspicious of her and in an elaborate mugging ruse, he is able to install spyware on her laptop. I’m not sure if he is actually thinks she is one of the bad guys, or he believes she might be a good target for Samaritan. Regardless, it seems he is right on target, because Samaritan is, indeed, interested in Beth Bridges and the software her company produces. Nice work, Finch. You’ve just now created a backdoor into Samaritan.

The episode ends with Walter fessing up to Reese on why he was pretending to be a detective and without a doubt, this is the best scene in the entire episode. Walter is very much aware of the vigilante known as “the man in the suit” and notices that as of a couple of months ago, he’s been off the grid and as a result, the homicide rate has gone up dramatically. So with the city’s vigilante gone, Walter decides he needs to step up, fill his shoes and effectively become the new man in the suit. However, Walter is actually a lot smarter than he appears.

I invented Jack Forge because the man in the suit went away. But he really didn’t go away, now did he? — Walter to Reese

Reese doesn’t answer but he doesn’t have to either because Walter knows. I think it is safe to say that Walter can put away his badge now. New York City still has its superhero — and it always has.

Person of Interest airs on Tuesdays at 10/9c on CBS.