Ricky Church reviews the third episode of Person of Interest season 5…
The past became present in ‘Truth Be Told’ as one of Reese’s old missions caught back up with him in an episode that once again looked at the man he was in his CIA days compared to now. You might think that Person of Interest has perhaps gone to that well enough already, however ‘Truth Be Told’ subverts any predictable notion by casting a bleaker future for Reese as he’s forced to make a heartbreaking decision. On a side note, it was cool to hear Greer take over most of the intro. That’s the second time in a row they’ve done something different with the intro. I wonder if that will continue to be done for the rest of the season?
The episode began with a fairly standard, by-the-books case that gave the air everything was back to normal for the POI team. I suspected their current number tied into Samaritan as he tried stealing some classified information, but this case boiled down to something much more personal for both their number and Reese, especially since Reese misjudged the past situation so poorly.
The emphasis on Reese was a welcome one. The cast has grown so large over the years that it’s been so long since he’s had an episode nearly all to himself. The only recent exception was last season’s excellent ‘Terra Incognita’. The juxtaposition of Reese’s past and present was well done, though, like I said, it ended on a dour note as Reese broke off his relationship with Dr. Campbell, citing his need to focus on the job before settling down. In this way, John is essentially repeating the mistakes of his past since that’s the reason he couldn’t be with his true love all those years ago.
‘Truth Be Told’ also had some notable guest stars. It was nice to see Annie Parisse return as Kara Stanton, but it was an awesome surprise to see Keith David have such a prominent role as one of Reese’s old superiors. While David’s Beale was a morally questionable character, it was a surprise to see he had a streak of goodness within him, at least compared to Stanton or even Agent Snow. The fact that David not only survived his encounter with Reese, but the two parted on somewhat good terms, leaves me hopeful David will be back before the end.
Other than Reese’s case, not much else went on in this episode. Finch and Root had a small side mission to investigate Samaritan’s plans and seemed to get some headway by the conclusion, but it wasn’t that big of a revelation and only laid groundwork for later. Though their story also had some lighter moments; seeing Root’s rotating identities always provides a laugh and will never get old.
‘Truth Be Told’ offered a nice back to basics story for Reese while exploring his character and potential future. It’s enough to make you question if Reese will make out alive by the end of the season or if there are ‘happily ever afters’ for people like him. While perhaps not the most exciting Person of Interest story, its guest stars and emphasis on the original protagonist at least made it stand out so far in the final season.
Ricky Church
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https://youtu.be/b7Ozs5mj5ao?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published May 12, 2016. Updated April 14, 2018.
