All week at Comic-Con, I’ve been trying to provide a post each evening covering the highlights of the day (Day One and Day Two). I’d known all along however, that I would probably fail at trying to complete one Saturday night. I was right.

That being said, now that it is Sunday evening and the con has come to a close, I can take the time to fill you in on the goings on of the last two days. Sunday is always the worst day at Comic-Con, primarily because it marks the end of the experience. It is a little tough knowing that next year’s convention doesn’t start for 360 days.

But enough of me whining; let’s get to the awesomeness of the last couple of days:

• Saturday morning was always going to be one of the best moments of the con, and reality lived up to the hype. Keith and I lucked into – I say “luck” due to the wonkiness of the NerdHQ ticketing process, and the fact that only 250 seats were available – tickets to the Joss Whedon event (part of NerdHQ’s very cool “Conversations for a Cause” series).
• The awesomeness of the Q&A was set right from the beginning. Zach Levi – the leader of all things NerdHQ – came out on stage to “host” the panel … but revealed to the audience via pantomime that he either had no voice left or needed to protect what little he had left for his Broadway gig. No worries; he asked a pal of his to step in, and out walks Nathan Fillion.
• I’d imagine that an hour with Joss would be great enough in and of itself. As you would expect, he is a genuinely funny, insightful and all around swell guy. But throw Fillion on stage with him, and you have struck gold. You can check out the video here.
• Quick Draw! and Cartoon Voices are two Comic-Con staples that most attendees – specifically those only coming for film and TV related content – would probably miss. Both are hilarious, and have truly become can’t-miss panels for me (The table read of Snow White during Cartoon Voices was worth the price of admission alone).
• Next I attended a series of TV panels: Person of Interest, Grimm and Revolution. All were great; I loved the camaraderie the Grimm cast showed, the smart “marketing” by the POI folks to play up the Prism controversy (and the announcement that Amy Acker was joining the cast full-time) and the fact that the folks from Revolution weren’t afraid to actually share some of the details of the upcoming season (Check out my live-tweeting of that and other panels at @CliqueClackTV).
• Saturday night ended with the NBC Party, which is always a good time. This I spent more time catching up with colleagues that write for other outlets than mingling with the talent; it is always good to catch up with friends you only see once or twice year. (We were going to go to the Serenity screening at NerdHQ, but it wound up being much less Fillion&Tudyk-y than we’d hoped)
• Sunday was a nice, quiet affair. Keith got a killer scoop in the Supernatural press room, while Michael and I screened the next episode of Under the Dome with the cast.

So ended another Comic-Con. It was a good trip, marked by doing more of what I would find fun rather than attending events specifically for the site. Each year, I refine that process a little, and will probably try a completely different approach next time around (Just like this year). I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how much fun I had palling around all week with my buddies Michael Noble and Keith McDuffee, as well as seeing a bunch of old friends like Kelly, CJ, Carissa, Alix, Jason and Amrie. Our Comic-Con experience is about so much more than what happens at the Convention Center.

Beauty and the Beast (B&B) is basically the young adult version of Person of Interest (POI). I never expected to love Beauty and the Beast as much as I do. But, it hit its stride after that terrible pilot. While watching this week’s episode, I looked beyond the romantic angst to notice how much it parallels my other favorite show, Person of Interest. So, why aren’t their fandoms watching each other shows?

The premises are the same

Think about it. Both premises surround men, inspired by 9/11, who leave the woman they love to protect the United States through international operations. Of course, their capabilities become too dangerous for their handlers. They’re sent on suicide missions, presumed dead, return to the country secretly and live in isolation until a bespectacled geek takes them to a secret lair and helps them along. Now they live in New York and eventually stalk an uber-moral cop, who initially studied to be a lawyer, and who lives with her younger family member. Drawn to the cop who isolates herself, deals with office sexism, is a woman of color and has a partner who always has her back, they pull her into their secret. While they run around town hiding from uber-secret government forces, they work  to solve crime with the help of their spectacles-wearing science friends and salt of the earth cop acquaintances. Sure Beauty and the Beast dwells more on the romance than the government conspiracy, but how could I NOT notice the similarities sooner?

Both shows make stalking look sexy

If an uber-hot, government trained, emotionally scarred man hung out on my fire escape, routinely broke into my apartment, followed me to work, and then stared broodily at me, I wouldn’t exactly consider him a viable romantic interest. Then again, I doubt he’d look like Jay Ryan or Jim Caviezal.

Unrequited tension (AKA Born Again Virgins)

Both shows feature impossibly pretty single people inexplicably avoiding having sex with each other. However, Beauty and the Beast also provides two alternate realities that Person of Interest staunchly avoids: what if Carter and Reese acknowledged their feelings more blatantly and what if Reese’s first love returned? B&B’s Vincent and Catherine are in a holding pattern that rivals POI’s Carter and Reese; but, at least, they ADMIT something’s there.

They hang out on roofs A LOT

Come on look at the above picture! WHEN AREN’T Carter/Reese or Vincent/Catherine up on the house top? Thank goodness the roof isn’t on fire.

Their sidekicks are glasses-loving geeks

Without J.T.’s bio know-how or Finch’s computer science genius, neither show would truly exist. So, let’s hear it for the geeks! But, is it me or did the producers deliberately write the glasses-wearing geeks as cock blocks? During POI‘s first season, Finch spent 80% of his time warning Reese from Carter. During the first half of B&B, a frustrated J.T. tried separating Vincent from Catherine. What’s up with that?! Can’t geeks be voices of reason without rocking a major case of CB?

They use abandoned buildings as their man caves

Both shows use abandoned buildings as bromantic headquarters. Think about it, Reese/Finch hang out in an abandoned library (which Carter never visits) while Vincent/J.T. hang out in an abandoned warehouse (that J.T. hates when Catherine appears). J.T. isn’t pissed when Catherine pops up for Vincent’s safety, he’s just ticked when she interrupts their man sessions!

Considering the CW resulted from a CBS-WB mash-up, and although the original 1980s Beauty and the Beast (CBS) creator Ron Koslow receives creator credit for the 2012 CW version, I still wonder if the producers allowed Person of Interest to influence them. Considering they’re on at the same time on the same night, it feels as if they’re mirror versions of each other.

So, why aren’t Person of Interest fans watching Beauty and the Beast and vice versa? B&B is on Hulu, after all. Well, both clearly push for two different demographics. B&B surrounds people in their mid-to-late-twenties (or early thirties) and POI surrounds characters in their mid-to-late-thirties (with supporting characters in their forties and fifties). Plus, B&B focuses more on the romance, while POI surrounds tech and government conspiracies. While both are emotionally dark, POI is dark concerning the evils committed in the name of protection. And, let’s be honest, POI is a bit more realistic than the romantic fantasy generated by B&B. All the same, after watching the most recent B&B episode I suddenly noticed the covert parallels and wondered why I never noticed it before.

So, if you’re a POI fan and want to see a bit more of the romance between the cop and her stalking avenging angel, then check out B&B. If you’re a B&B fan, but wished the show did more realistic tech and more realistic government conspiracies, then check out POI. I know, I know. I keep doing mash-ups, but I just can’t stop myself. Sometimes it’s nice when good TV parallels other good TV.

So, what do you think, are Beauty and the Beast and Person of Interest the same show for different age groups?

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I can’t believe I spent a good five minutes talking to Jonathan Nolan and Greg Plageman and they didn’t give away the returning mid-season plot. Damn. They’re good. Fort Knox good. They might tangibly answer your questions, but they don’t give away the vault. Even Carter would have difficulty interrogating them. However, this week, Person of Interest returned to quality business as usual. The writing strength particularly occurred through the producers’ ability to maintain a tightly knit show without Reese. The kickassery continued through each individual character’s growth and the multiple hidden academic Easter eggs. Overall, Person of Interest and “2 PI R” rocked it. Was there any doubt?

Most shows typically weaken in the absence of their lead actor (or his/her sidekick), but Person of Interest didn’t. In fact, it strengthened. When Alex O’Loughlin took his Hawaii Five-0 leave of absence, the show took a hit. While Scott Caan and the supporting cast stepped up, I still felt McGarrett’s absence keenly. But, this week, jailing Reese didn’t slow down the plot. It improved it. In fact, if they dropped Jim Caviezel tomorrow, I’d still continue watching the show.

The smoothness of the plot, the casual Finch-Fusco chemistry, and the ability of Carter to step outside her moral zone into Reese territory surprised me. The way the characters seamlessly shifted into other areas without seeming like a stretch impressed me. I did a double-take when Carter easily threw herself into Zoe and Reese’s capabilities. If Jonah and Greg aren’t reading fanfiction.net, someone on that writing staff is. Fanfic scenario #6789 typically surrounds Carter rocking a hot dress and seducing or becoming seduced by Reese/an unknown stranger. While I loved seeing Carter’s creepy calculating side, it didn’t gel with last season’s asexual Carter that appeared unaware of her physicality. Where would a single mother buy or have the funds to purchase a dress like that? Let alone those shoes. And, seriously, where’s her kid? And, what did she say when leaving? “I’m sorry, honey, Mom’s got to rescue her friend by stealing the DNA of a hapless bar fly. See you later. Kisses!”

The uber-confidence Carter rocked knowing she’d pull a hot whale doubly surprised me. Seriously, Carter knows how to curl her hair and giggle like a fem-bot? Really? CARTER?!! While drugging an innocent man, swabbing his DNA, capably breaking into a secure building and expertly swapping bio-samples spoke to her army capabilities, what happened to the moral “don’t cross the line” Carter? Clearly, she’s all in. It was awesome. And the capabilities fit the character. But, FUH-WHAT?! Did the ghosts of Zoe AND Reese inhabit her body?! I expected the core four to go their separate ways. But, instead, this week they grew closer. AMAZING. I still don’t understand why Donnelly trusts Carter implicitly. Sure, she shared the same white-hot passion last year. But, hasn’t he noticed she BARELY contributes to the conversation now?! And, whenever she’s around his investigation ALWAYS goes awry? Didn’t he notice the sizzling glance Carter and Reese shared?! I did! Dude, can Carter and Reese spend even five minutes in the same room without looking like they’re about to tear each other’s clothes off?! NO! And, Donnelly DIDN’T NOTICE?! Really?! I grieve for the observation tactics of the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

This episode rocked because it didn’t hinge on action, Reese’s sexy face, or HR corruption. Like all decent Person of Interest scripts, it hinged on writing. I loved the covert parallels written into the plot that served as tiny Easter eggs, including Caleb as a mini-Finch, the Reese swab in the beginning book-ended by Carter swabbing a Reese look-a-like at the end, and Finch’s high school substitute job paralleling Reese’s jail time (doesn’t everyone call high school prison?).

I squealed when Finch wrote Mr. Swift on the board, because Jonathan Swift’s an amazingly witty 18th century poet. I further suspected an 18th century connection when the week’s victim referenced Dead Poet’s Society. Finally, 17621, the kid’s special number?! Well, according to Math.com, “In 1761 Lambert proved that Pi was irrational, that is, that it can’t be written as a ratio of integer numbers.” Seriously, *swoon*, Person of Interest writers, I love you.

The only weak spot surrounded Finch’s Pi lecture, but even that became cool.I don’t remember my junior high, high school or college math instructors ever lecturing on Pi by itself for so long. And, I minored in Math. Honestly, Pi is infinity. Boom. We’re done. Normally Pi is discussed concerning the circumference of circles or regarding other formulas. But, still introducing Pi (and the circumference of circles) seemed pretty remedial for high school. And, these kids didn’t look 14. But, it’s been awhile, so maybe it isn’t that introductory. Admittedly, as a former academic, one of my biggest pet peeves surrounds when TV instructors give generic, yet awesome lectures that have no root in a tangible lesson plan. In The Mirror Has Two Faces, Barbara Streisand’s character gave an awesome virgin-whore lecture, but she didn’t include any literary references, which wouldn’t happen in a college English class. All the same, pet peeve aside, Finch’s discussion of Pi containing the numeric equivalent of letters and practically any existing numeric pattern rocked.

Person of Interest’s writing, hidden easter eggs, cast cohesion and visuals continue to draw me, especially in the mid-season return. In the fall, they had a mini-Wayne manor joke. This week, they featured numerous nested 18th century jokes (similar to the nested for loops on the scrap of paper). Jonah Nolan. Will you marry me? It’s odd, last season Carter-less episodes felt emotion-less and weak. But, a Reese-less episode felt strong and cohesive. Are the writers learning how to balance plot and cast? Obviously. This week rocked. And, I hope the show continues to rock, rattle and roll for its duration.

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I keep saying this, and I’ll keep saying this. I love talking to executive producers who are smart, knowledgeable and clearly mapped out every single inch of their show. Person of Interest‘s Jonathan Nolan and Greg Plageman are two such producers. If I enjoyed talking to Jonah Nolan in October at New York Comic Con, I doubly loved talking to him and his co-executive producer Greg Plageman over the phone. Both were practically mirror images of each other. They spoke softly, trying to avoid giving spoilers away, while at the same time providing tangible, content-worthy answers. I love when a producer doesn’t softball.

What I love most is they aren’t big on small talk. For the most part, when you do conference calls, even though you have an average of 5 minutes to ask your 1-3 questions, there’s always the covert need to do the same amount of small talk that you might do on a longer interview. Each writer/blogger, including myself, couldn’t stop asking/saying “how are you,” “how’s the weather treating you?”, and “thanks for joining us,” but Jonah Nolan and Greg Plageman aren’t big small talkers and they aren’t people who waste words.

Season one had a pretty steady plot where the pilot served as the thesis for the entire season. I assumed the same template would take place in season two where we’d follow the Machine’s growing artificial intelligence along with Root’s burgeoning presence as an anti-Finch. Instead, the most recent episodes, “C.O.D.” and “Shadow Box,” returned to HR. When I asked Jonah what happened to the plot points introduced in the season two premiere, he talked about a pretty “steady drum beat.” He and Greg view Person of Interest as occurring in chapters with more than enough room to investigate all possible storylines. The one thing he promised was multiple villains, which his writers love creating. Currently, Person of Interest has a “tapestry” of “compelling villains” (and guest stars). Sometimes he wants to give his writers the ability to follow them as far as possible, without overdoing it. And, he’s glad they returned to HR and other season one plot points.

The other thing that concerned me which happened in “Shadow Box” is the possible separation of our gang of four. Nolan and Plageman spent the end of season one and the beginning of season two bringing the three together like the original Alexandre Dumas novel, Three Musketeers (note: the novel itself included the bonding of four people, not three). So, watching them potentially sever the four-part gang scared me with Fusco returning to his squirrelly ways and Carter finally drawing the line to choose her job over a couple of guys she just met. So, I asked both what will happen to our core in season two’s return. Jonah, forwarded the question to Greg. But when I pushed for a follow-up, Jonah responded.

Regarding Fusco’s return to season one behavior, both producers love Kevin Chapman but stated they have to remind viewers every now and again that he came from bad beginnings. Greg will address why Fusco hasn’t turned to Reese in the new episodes. While Fusco’s current predicament is Reese’s fault, there is an original sin that Fusco committed. However, lest we forget our love for Fusco, they jokingly called Fusco a lady’s man. In addition to his date in “Til Death,” Fusco will deal with Karolína Kurková on the February 12th episode.

Concerning the potential fracturing of the core four, Jonah wants us to remember these are four very “wounded but broken” characters, Reese the most. He called Reese a “wounded animal” who is slowly “rebuilding” his “trust.” Jonah loves giving the audience a false sense of security. We have to remember the characters are always surrounded by danger. You never know what’ll happen to recurring characters. However, when the show returns on tonight, it’s a “team effort” on the cases. Each of the core will alternate as the case lead/point of contact. Finch will take point on the tonight and Carter might take point on the January 10th one.

I wanted to ask if Donnelly was wise to Carter, but Jonah and Greg provided such detailed answers to my first two questions that I didn’t follow-up. However, another reporter asked if Reese will ever learn that Finch knew about him, an idea that Jonah loved.

I’m definitely looking forward to Person of Interest‘s return. I’m impressed by the intelligence, dedication and utter knowledge Jonah/Greg demonstrate of their characters. I love when the producers/writers are fans of their own characters and actors. It makes sense, considering they hand-pick who they work with. Season one was awesome. The first half of season two rocked. Something tells me the rest of season two (which will follow episode after episode) will kick butt as well. Are you ready? I am.

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In this week’s episode, “C.O.D.”, Person of Interest partially returns to season one issues while maintaining season two developments. I’m concerned about the lack of progression concerning season two plot points. In all honesty, I enjoyed this episode, but I felt that returning to HR, Elias and squirrelly Fusco placed the episode two steps back. However, despite the season one plot point regression, it maintained season two character relationship progression.

First, although Fusco devolved to his secretive HR ways, we see a development in his relationship with Reese. I don’t understand Fusco’s worry. Didn’t he commit some of those crimes on Reese’s behalf? If he didn’t, didn’t he commit them before he became the good guy we know today? So, why wouldn’t he hit up Reese for help? Although Reese acted like a total season one jerk when he returned Fusco’s call, I’ll admit that a couple of season two changes remained. First off, in season one, I doubt Reese would’ve taken Fusco’s call while in the middle of a fight (if at all). Next, I doubt he would’ve returned the call in a timely manner. While I don’t understand Reese’s coldness when returning the call (or Fusco’s sudden reluctance when receiving it), it’s pretty clear Reese cares about Fusco. Although season one Reese would’ve told Carter to spy on Fusco, season two Reese asks Carter to take care of him. While we didn’t need the return of a group I thought they destroyed, seeing Reese’s sunny afternoon care for his friend and relaxation around Carter made me happy.

Carter represents another character who briefly returned to her season one self while maintaining season two developments. Fusco’s squirrelly nature in “C.O.D.” would’ve made anyone jumpy. However, Carter doesn’t notice in the slightest. We’ve seen this woman pull off amazing investigations this season (Texas, Snow’s mystery message, etc.), but when it comes to her inner circle, she still turns a blind eye to their nervousness. Despite that season one regression, I liked her season two interaction with the female agent. Last season, Carter would’ve let the agent outrank or intimidate her. This time, Carter pushed her way into the investigation and finagled assistance for this week’s person of interest. Not bad. If she keeps this up, maybe Carter can play with the big boys on Reese’s level.

Finally, Finch’s listening to Carter’s phone indicates a minor return to season one issues. This season, as the characters starting revealing their secrets to each other face to face, I assumed Finch stopped eavesdropping. Clearly, he didn’t. However, a season two change includes his teasing Carter about her fun which occurred off-screen. Honestly, I didn’t need to see Carter get it on. If a Carter/Reese relationship ever happened, that’s the best way to tackle it — offstage, to avoid taking focus from the main plot.

Reese and Carter represent the only relationship that didn’t backslide into season one. After giving Fusco the cold shoulder, the gentleness he displayed to Carter in the final scene while playing with Bear surprised me. Honestly, the increasing vulnerability that Reese displays this season consistently takes me back. He isn’t quite back to the man Jessica fell in love with, but I’m slowly seeing rays of old school Reese. But, maybe Bear brings sweetness out in everyone. I love watching Emerson’s facial expressions when interacting with Bear.

Although I enjoyed “C.O.D.,” I dislike the return to season one issues. I expected season two to follow a strong arc, like the first season did by focusing on the FBI’s pursuit of Reese, the Machine’s introduction and HR’s inner-workings. The season two premiere set a new course for the show surrounding the Machine’s ascent into artificial intelligence, a parallel foe for Finch in terms of Root and a new secret organization discovered by Fusco. However, season two hasn’t followed the plot it established. While I’ve enjoyed every single season two episode (save one), season two’s individual episodes focus more on experimenting with the established character formula and developing the characters, rather than following the arc. I’m fine with a cutesy pie episode of marriage, dating, or Texas bar fights, as long as the next episode returns back to the overarching development.

Season two hasn’t answered any of the questions it established in the premiere and we’re almost halfway through the season. Why should we care about the Machine’s growing sentience? What happened to Root and why isn’t she still stirring up trouble as a digital Moriarty? What’s going on with Snow and Cara? Will Carter eventually have to learn about Reese’s secrets to prevent a potential break in national security? Rather than answering those questions, season two’s ninth episode returns to season one issues that it allegedly closed down like HR, the Mob and Fusco’s potentially untrustworthy nature. Although I liked this episode, I’m concerned about season two’s progression. How about you?

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The Reese and Carter match up is like the crush you have on the high school quarterback. Sure, you’re the tiny girl with a ponytail and too-short bangs. Sure, he’s the 6-foot goliath with the stone-blue eyes and the fox-cold smile, but everytime you’re together he smiles at you and you think it’s going to happen. Then he runs off with his genius best friend or the leggy prom queen and you’re back to square one. This week, Person of Interest didn’t just return to the old Reese and Carter relationship, it made love this week’s theme by relaying Finch’s courtship of his fiancée, introducing new love interests for Fusco and Carter and reconciling a love-ruptured-turned-assassins couple.While this week didn’t incorporate the Machine’s backstory, it still felt full, warm and fun due to the three overlapping couple stories. Although not much happened in the way of overarching story development, this is my favorite episode so far.

I’ll tackle the Carter-Reese stakeout first because it returned to the season one chemistry while augmenting it. Season one Reese would not have asked or cared about Carter’s love life. And, season one Carter wouldn’t’ve revealed as much about her marriage. In our interview, Henson stated she hoped she’d learn more about her character’s husband. And, this week we do. But, we still don’t know if her husband died in action or they divorced. While I’m glad the show didn’t return to Jessica, it still has last season’s dangling plot line where Carter and Reese still need to discuss Carter’s knowledge and Reese’s past feelings. I’ve noticed that whenever Carter or Zoe ask John about his relationships or himself, he’s always saved by the bell. Smart, writers. Very smart. Also, why did Finch interrupt Fusco’s date, when Carter could’ve just staked out the wife while Reese staked out the husband?

Another relationship I loved included Finch’s flashback to his courtship with his fiancée. I love that the costuming, art and lighting continued the coordinated blue palette with the blue wash, the blue bar, Finch’s blue shirt, her blue dress, and Finch’s blue eyes to reflect the past. Interestingly, the blue didn’t detract from the warmth of Finch’s then-burgeoning relationship. And, I loved that as the show transitioned from then to now, we lost the blue tones, but we didn’t lose the deep affectionate. However, the directing connected the opening shot of the cold washed past with the opening shot of the warm toned present by showing Grace wearing a blue dress in both time periods. I must say that Finch is hypnotic as a man in love.

Continuing the love trend, I love the growing romance between Finch and Reese. Finch and Reese are perfect partners. In season two’s premiere episodes, Reese talked mysteriously about his only friend, Finch. In this episode, Finch mysteriously referenced re-connecting with a lifelong love. If it isn’t Grace (or stalking Grace), who is it? Maybe Reese and Finch don’t share an erotic romance, but they have a romance full of chemistry and love nonetheless. I enjoyed the first ten minutes of their initial interaction so much, I could’ve continued watched them without introducing other characters. Who didn’t love their flirtatious baseball chatter? Oh, and, NOW Finch also calls Reese John?! What?! Interestingly, Reese still uses Finch’s last name.

Despite the love fest, I feared a return to season one’s fractured patterns with Fusco reverting to his shady old self while Reese/Carter check up on him. But, I’m glad that didn’t happen. Although I like Fusco’s lady love, I’m not a fan of Carter’s love interest for incredibly superficial reasons. Look at Carter, she’s hot. She has it going on. She has swagger, hot hair and an incredibly athletic physique. But, this guy … Come on, now! Finch gets Carrie Preston as his love interest, Fusco gets a pretty woman, Reese has himself to hit on. However, Carter gets the world’s worst 1980s pick up line about roses and ashes? What?! Admittedly, it’s partially the haircut. When I saw a couple of pictures of Sterling Brown with a shaved head, I went “HELLOOOO, NURSE!” But, the hair he’s sporting now makes him look like the guy next door. Am I glad that Nolan and crew cast Sterling Brown on the show? Yes, because I love his talent. He’s brilliant. He did his undergrad at Stanford and received a drama MFA from NYU. However, I had my heart set on Szymanski, Snow (until Cara kidnapped him), last season’s finale FBI agent or the hot identity theft cop Fusco worked with last season.

I loved this week’s War of the Roses-esque guest plot starring Mark Pellegrino because I have such a crush on his talent. He throws himself into any role easily and wholeheartedly. He rocked as the scheming, evil Bishop in Being Human. I loved him as the utterly lost father on Grimm. And, this week he displayed his comedic talents as the loving yet un-loving assassin-hiring husband. When you hear shots fired on your property, do you REALLY go out to investigate? And when someone identifies themselves as NYPD, do they need to verify again?

Overall, I enjoyed this week. Despite Thanksgiving last week and multiple holidays around the corner, Person of Interest touched on holiday warmth where we watch the gang interact with and support each other. Is it safe for Fusco to bring someone into the circle of four? What if she’s a plant? Also, isn’t kidnapping the most awkward first date scenario, ever? I love that the show continues to show both Fusco and Carter as competent. During the final scene I sat in wonderment at Carter’s shooting scene. Now I know why Reese wanted to call Fusco first. Either way, I loved this week’s love. Keep up the good work, POI.

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I noticed two things this week: a Holmesian pattern for this season’s arc and a pattern concerning the female characters. I’m getting a strong Sir Conan Arthur Doyle feel this season catalyzed by this season’s villains. Root is Finch’s Moriarty and Wesley, the evil agent in “Critical,” is clearly John’s. However, while Root is criminally insane, Wesley is insanely logical. Wesley’s eerie, distanced calm makes him a better Moriarty, especially since I see the wheels turning in his mind. Root, by contrast, is just plain crazy.

Every Sherlock mystery requires a bumbling police inspector whom Sherlock relies on. Fusco and Carter make a great Lestrade. I love watching them unite as the Wonder cop Twins. This week showed their complementary strengths. Fusco pulls and hides the evidence while Carter strings together leads. Fusco is the street-wise detective who always knows when something’s wrong. Carter’s the innocent cop, who’s a bulldog in following leads. They’re both good detectives in their individual ways and I love how Person of Interest continues to develop that this season. I also love that Snow knew enough about Carter’s capabilities, to expect she’d find him.

The week felt closer to Holmes because Sherlock never let Lestrade (or any detective) into his tiny secrets. When Sherlock mentioned Moriarty to Inspector MacDonald in Valley of Fear, I felt something dark around the corner. Similarly, this week, when John dangled the opportunity to grab the forbidden fruit of knowledge, with the caveat that danger would plague Carter’s every step if she took it, I shivered. Does Carter grab at the shiny red apple hanging in Reese’s hand? Probably not this week. But, just as Sherlock needed to face Moriarty, Carter will eventually need to face John’s darkness. The strongest line came from John, “You’re a very good detective.” I thought Fusco’s insatiable curiosity would bite John, but, clearly, Carter’s Eve-like concern in this garden bit him in the back.

If Fusco and Carter are Lestrade, then clearly John and Finch are this show’s Watson and Holmes. Finch’s relationship with John grew over time like our Victorian dynamic duo. Last season, he would’ve consistently requested John verbalize his status during a fight. This time, he listened quietly, expecting John would win, and trusting him enough to do his job without double distractions. But, if both John and Finch are the more competent side of Watson and Holmes, who plays the bumbling sidekick? Clearly, that’s Ken Leung as Leon Tao. Did Leon scan Finch’s system? Of course he did. While I’m surprised that Finch and Reese covertly encouragedLeon’s predilections, that’s the show. It keeps showing a new side to existing characters and a new twist to old formulas.Leon’s an awesome asset. Unlike Fusco who wants to care and the rest who do care,Leon doesn’t care one wink. He just likes when the game’s afoot. And, I like that contrast. Side note: Does everyone call Reese, John, now? In a way, I like it. Again, it shows his increasing humanity.

Finally, the return of Cara reminded me of Irene Adler. After I read “A Scandal in Bohemia,” Irene Adler served as the quiet specter in subsequent Holmes mysteries for me. I kept expecting her to return, despite her retirement to the States. That’s Cara. We thought she died in the beginning of season one, only to discover she hadn’t. Just as Irene was the female Sherlock, Cara is the female who trained our favorite CIA spy. Irene, like Cara, was just as clever and just as cunning as her foe, albeit on the wrong side of the law. When Snow referenced Cara as “she,” the dark hand over all, I got a strong Irene Adler vibe.

Speaking of strong female characters, Michael Emerson praised the show’s women at NYCC. However, considering the show specializes in incredibly strong female leads, is I alright if John specializes in rescuing strong women? What type of message does that send? The pattern never hit home to me until we had the kickbutt female doctor and her wife, TWO women, who needed saving. That’s when I started to think ‘hmmm.’ In some ways, these aren’t the weepy, faint-hearted women of the 80s, but still … Even though Carter now helps John rescue people (or basically rescues John), most of season one surrounded John protecting Carter from doing her job. I’m still steamed that John thought he needed to string up a run of the mill drunk. This season, excluding the two-part pilot, with the waitress, the diplomat’s daughter, the journalist, the doctor, and the doctor’s wife, that’s five helpless female characters in four back-to-back episodes out of five. But, let’s be honest. The show specializes in victims and villains. Any female character on the show will start off as one or the other. Does it bother me? Not fully. Do I think it’s odd. Yea, kinda. Do I want the show to stop using strong female characters? Absolutely not.

But, considering Root is batshit crazy and Cara’s starting to come across as a grade-A nutjob, does Person of Interest have a covert message about female villains? So what do you think, is Person of Interest covertly following a Holmes template this season? Or, is the Holmes template just a standard of most procedurals?

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In our New York Comic Con interview, Jonah Nolan stated that he wanted to continue to develop the Person of Interest formula to keep himself and his staff invested. Visually and textually, he did so in this week’s episode, “High Road.” I loved the opening flashback’s blue overlay matching Finch’s all blue laptop screen, Ingram’s all blue suit, and the homeless-looking prodigy’s all blue jeans. I especially enjoyed the red haired contrast of the supposed person of interest victim, Finch’s future love, juxtaposed with the red hair of the safe cracker’s wife. The blue motif continued in the contemporary day with Harold’s blue repair man suit, Zoe’s blue shirt, the victim’s wife’s pale blue shirt, Reese’s blue car, the wife’s blue bowl, the baddies’ blue pick-up, and the safe cracker’s blue plaid shirt. Through the contrast of blue and black, Nolan, the costume director, and/or art designer aligned the color blue with the suburbs and black with the city where Reese returned to his usual dark clothes while riding in Carter’s black Chevy. I enjoyed the covert color palette, because it showed the coalescence of writing with directing with costuming and art direction. Occasionally, those threads run parallel in TV/theater/film, but in this episode they all interwove. I especially liked the flashbacks’ blue overtones which reminded me of the early IBM blue screen monitors and the old school blue screen of death. What better color to use during Finch’s Machine training?

I especially liked how the color combinations changed between the seasons. Last season, the characters appeared more alive in their flashbacks than in present day. But, this season, the transition from the faded out blue to the warm browns of the library, made Finch and Reese appear more alive now than before. And they are. Last season, Reese lived in an eternal dream state of broken love while Finch remained isolated from everyone, including himself. Now they have each other, a close social community and an insane fan-girl. Not bad for two men who started their journey with a death wish.

The show also continues to innovate through the mini-scene transitions. I loved the orange and black 1980s pixelated bar graph which replicated a digitized Manhattan. I love that the orange text on a black background reminded me of old school 1980s PCs.

I have to point out the clever wordplay where the writers keep packing in-jokes into each throwaway line. In the opening, Reese jokingly references a “reclusive billionaire” while Finch discussed “Fort Wayne” immediately after. Yes, Reese and Finch are Bruce Wayne and Batman separated into two distinct people. How can you not read the script each week as an actor and squee at the script’s meta-references? How, can you not squee as a graphic designer for the show? I love that the producers keep packing tiny visual artifacts in between the dialogue. For some shows people don’t notice, but, the POI fans DO notice, which is awesome.

I must compliment the show on its continuing humor incorporation from the doughnut incident with the dog’s  “boundaries” to Reese’s gun-cock at the doorbell. Separate from the doughnut’s special glaze, I love that their morning doughnut selection is a covert ritual. It’s rarely called out, but it’s always there, indicating their continuing character growth. Clearly, the characters and writers feel comfortable enough with the formula that they allow Reese to mock the potentially boring week’s victim. And, I like that the week’s victim had an even stronger sense of justice than Finch or Reese.

I especially enjoyed this week because the writers had enough balls to point out the fly in the ointment. My biggest issue with Person of Interest surrounded Reese’s crowd merge ability. Admittedly, in Manhattan you can barely see the person ahead of you. But, in other places that isn’t the case. I couldn’t understand why no one ever turned around to notice the hot, 6’2″ foot man with the intense, smoldering eyes and the well tailored suit following them everywhere. I’m grateful that the writers finally admitted it.

Another innovation this season includes the tongue in cheek covert acknowledgement of Zeese-CaReese fan camps. Although Nolan brings back actors/characters he likes, I wonder about the large amount of fan service going on this season. First, Reese pops up in Carter’s room MULTIPLE times. Next, Reese and Carter fly across the country to share a room. Now, this week, Zoe and Reese share a house as a pretend couple. Don’t get me started on Reese talking to Carter while Zoe’s in the room, WHILE referencing THEIR cross-country trip. Reese is the pimp daddy to end all pimp daddies. I’m still surprised that Reese didn’t pull Carter for this job, unless he thought the neighborhood required homogeneity (or that he needed to spread out the overnight jobs equally amongst his lady friends). And, DON’t get me started on the multiple double entendres this week. I wish I asked Nolan more about the overt fan-oriented moments.

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I learned that Taraji isn’t the statuesque amazon I always expected. Although Taraji plays incredibly strong female characters, like Lucy Lawless, she herself is not six feet tall. Quite the opposite. Taraji isn’t just petite, she’s elf-like. Seriously. Check out the side photo. Two of the bloggers at the table came from a hip hop gamer site and brought their prize belt for Taraji to try on. As you can tell, the belt is ten times bigger than Taraji herself. She might be tiny in size, but she definitely makes up for it with her larger than life personality. When she appeared in the press room photo line, she flipped around joking that everyone wanted to see her best side. And, yes, half of the male bloggers fainted. That clapping you hear in the audio is the male members of my table (including the married man) giving Taraji P. Henson a standing ovation.She’s clearly more out-going than the Carter character. While she wouldn’t mind if her character dressed more like Taraji P. Henson, Jonah emphasized the need for reality in the role. And, could you see Carter wearing a cross-back beaded fringed dress? Of course not! She talks more about her character and learning about her character’s son in “Get Carter” in the clip. Despite the overwhelming male accolades, I did manage to ask her about the Reese and Carter match-up. And, as you can hear from the clip, while Carter might be all business, Taraji is definitely all party.

An: What’s happening between Reese and Carter this season?
Taraji: I know. Everyone’s saying they want a love interest, which I’m totally open to, but it’d be kind of weird kissing Jesus. I guess, you know what know that we’ve done a whole season and Carter’s gotten to know Reese. And, they’ve developed an incredible friendship. They really care about each other. I honestly don’t think he’s capable of giving himself. I don’t think he’s available, Finch either. But, I think that they are so driven by their mission that love would get in the way. What you’re starting to see is a friendship develop and all relationships start somewhere. I have nothing. I have no information. I just don’t really think they can. I’m not saying it’s because of me, I don’t think they can in any capacity because the mission is so broad.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-x4lx2ihUc

I didn’t expect to interview Amy Acker at all. My table was the last table before most stars hit the video camera row and Amy started at the camera row. Additionally, my table had dwindled as people left for other press rooms; but, when the PR person asked if we had time to talk to Amy Acker, star of Angel and other shows, of course I said, “HELL YES!!!” Because of the intimate table size, it came across more as a casual conversation. But I won’t lie; it was more like a casual conversation with geek gushing thrown in.

I didn’t have that many questions for Amy on her character. Let’s be honest. Root is the root of this season’s evil and her character is unabashedly bad. There are only so many questions you can ask about Root’s craziness. So, we talked more about her burgeoning career and what’s on tap. Amy Acker is exactly what you’d expect. She’s incredibly down to earth and absolutely adorable. She didn’t wear a lot of makeup (truthfully, none of the actresses I interviewed at NYCC did), but she gives off that Ivory girl feel. She reminded me very much of Amber Benson at Philly Comic Con. Amber wore a casual shirt, jeans and carried a back pack. Likewise Amy did the same. I suddenly realized that both Joss and Jonah enjoyed working with down to earth actresses. There’s a point where Jonah walked over and invited Amy to dinner with his wife. You’ll know it’s Jonah because you can’t hear him.

She told stories about her Person of Interest casting, admitting she cut her hair a week before they called her for Root and credits makeup with replicating her old hair. So far, she’s only filmed two episodes. However, Jim briefly spoke to her husband on the phone stating he enjoyed working with her on Person of Interest. Unfortunately, the connection was bad and her husband thought James was a would-be kidnapper.

I literally ran out of questions towards the end and forgot to ask if her character would return to Once Upon a Time. However, I’m looking forward to Joss’ Much Ado About Nothing which comes out in the Spring featuring Amy as Beatrice. Although strong-willed, sharp-tongued Beatrice is different from the flower-child personality Amy generates, considering I’ve seen her play a terrorist, a female spider, and a lovelorn fairy in the past year, I’m pretty certain she’ll rock Beatrice as well.

An: Hello. Thank you for joining us.
Amy: Thank you for having me.
An: I’m so glad to see you on Person on Interest. I loved you on Angel and was afraid you’d disappear, but this year you’re just blowing up. Everywhere I look around from Grimm to Once Upon a Time to Person of Interest and there you are.
Amy: You know it’s funny because it really goes back to Angel. Jonathan Nolan and his wife were Angel fans so they thought of me because of watching the Fred/Illyria switch. And, all of the writers from Angel have gone on to make their own shows. So, Jane is on Once Upon a Time. David Greenwalt on Grimm. I feel really lucky that all of these writers who I’ve had relationships with are remembering me and casting me in all of these different, fun roles.
An: I have to admit I was worried when they cast you. Elias did a great job last year and you’re doing a great job with Root. but, with every great villain they eventually have to get caught.
Amy: Maybe I have a change of heart.
An: What can we expect from Root for the future?
Amy: I’m excited to find out, too. They really haven’t told me much. I think it’s pretty obvious that Finch is in love with me. Maybe a wedding or I don’t know. The problem is what you’ve said. The problem that I’m afraid of. I’m obviously bad. At some point, I’m going to have to be pretty smart to get away from them, if that’s possible.
An: That would be lovely.
An: Did you create a backstory for your character for episodes 201 and 202?
Amy: Yea. What I was mostly trying to figure out is because I’m not computer-savvy is what does that mean and what do I know what to do and how did I learn it? I do feel like they are going to answer those questions more clearly. So, they were sketchy about what information they were going to give me. Then they gave me that script. You can loosely make something and kind of go with it.
An: What else is on your plate?
Amy: I have Much Ado About Nothing. Joss Whedon shot it at his house. It was at the Toronto Film Festival and was picked up by Lionsgate and will be out in the Spring. It’s all Nathan Fillion. I play Beatrice. I’m hoping that gives me the chance to be … it’s funny and person of interest is a really funny show. So, it’ll be good, I’m excited.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5U8CR2TXvI