It has been over a decade sincePerson of Interestpremiered on CBS; while it looked like any procedural show, it turned into something entirely different. The show, which lasted five seasons, started as a simple crime-fighting show but evolved into a science-fiction crime drama grounded in reality while also being anything but. Centred around reclusive billionaire Harold Finch (Michael Emerson), who, before the start of the series, created “The Machine,” a computer program that was capable of collating all sources of information to predict terrorist acts and identify people planning them. Finch turns to former Special Forces soldier and CIA operative John Reese (Jim Caviezel) to help him use the information from “The Machine” for good.
Over the seasons, the show evolved and became less episodic and more serialized. Gone were the days of cases of the week, and the overall arc of each season improved or did it? It was a choice that elevated the show and changed the narrative of the show. But the question remains, which season is the best? Let’s look at all seasons ofPerson of Interestand determine which one was better.
RELATED:‘Game of Thrones’ Spinoff ’10,000 Ships’ Coming from ‘Person of Interest’s Amanda Segel
5. Season 5
Being the last doesn’t mean that the show’s conclusion wasn’t good. The final season ofPerson of Interestsuffered greatly from wrapping up before they wanted to. The premature end and the reduced number of episodes made it so that a lot of the show had to be rushed across the finish line. In no way does that mean that the show is terrible. The fifth season has some exciting storylines. It was the culmination of five seasons and the final battle, but everything had to happen so fast that it was unsatisfying. There was so much to do in the last season, the battle between “The Machine” and “Samaritan” and concluding all the still incomplete storylines. It was an enormous task for a show that had done twenty episode seasons to do so in much less and end their entire series satisfying everyone.
There were many positives, like the return of Sameen Shaw (Sarah Shahi), following her disappearance in the fourth season or the culmination of four seasons of tension between Shaw and Root (Amy Acker). But the show also failed on some levels; it was always in the air that not everyone would make it out alive, but because of how rushed everything felt, those deaths never got the same gut-wrenching punch that Joss Carter’s (Taraji P. Henson) end did back in Season 3. An uneven season doesn’t mean that it isn’t good; it just means that compared to the rest of the show, season five simply doesn’t hold a candle to the rest.
4. Season 4
The fourth season ofPerson of Interesthas some of the most conceptually exciting episodes of the entire show. Ask any fans of the show about their favourite episode of the season, and most will answer you with “If-Then-Else,” the eleventh episode of the season. But one great episode doesn’t always mean a perfect season. In reality, Season 4 is pretty great. Every episode has a purpose, and the show is hitting every point it needs to, but the fourth season has the disadvantage of following the show’s third season.
This season would be ranked higher on any other series, but because of how incredible the seasons before were, season four can’t live up to them. What hurts it the most is the follow-up to what is their greatest episode of the entire series. For a few episodes, the show lives in limbo, not knowing where to go following the episode and having to live with its consequences.
The main problem of the season is that the conflict seems too big; with the team’s loss during the third season, the competition is now all about two artificial intelligence fighting each other, a battle mainly described and shown very little. It works at times but seems impossible for those we root for to win. Inconsistence hurts this season, especially when you are the follow-up to the incredible third season.
3. Season 2
The second season ofPerson of Interestlaid the foundation for what would become the most remarkable season of the show. With the introduction of Sameen Shaw and the more frequent return of Root, the show’s second season continued on the impressive first season but also understood what it needed to do to get better.
While the second season follows the same formula then the first one, it is also the first time the show tries its hand at more serialized cases, setting up the stage for what would become the norm for the program. It was the start, and it was easy to see the show figure it out, try things out and flesh out those characters that we had just learned about during the first season.
Person of Interesthad a clear vision from the first season, but the second season is when everything started to be put in place. It’s the first time that every single aspect of the show works.
2. Season 1
While the first season leaned heavily into the case of the week idea, it also was what the show needed to evolve in the future. Having Reese chase cases introduced us to what The Machine could do and the vast casts of characters we would fall in love with. The season that laid the groundwork for everything that would come.
It introduced us to what would be called “Team Machine” with John Reese and Harold Finch and laid the foundation of a tenuous partnership between Detective Joss Carter and Detective Lionel Fusco (Kevin Chapman). While the duo started rough, both perfectly embodied the show’s two sides, the corruption and the law. It was the perfect balance that evolved throughout the seasons. While the case-by-case episodes might not be the most entertaining, season one ofPerson of Interestremains one of the most nuanced procedural shows on television, laying the foundation of what would become the science-fiction program it became afterwards.
1. Season 3
Gone are the cases of the week, season three is really whenPerson of Interestfinally found the voice it had always been looking for. With Amy Acker and Sarah Shahi being promoted as series regulars, the show finally has the core of what made this show so extraordinary. Fully leaning into the conspiracy and the post 9/11 world that the show banked on so much,Person of Interestfinally understood one thing – it did not need the case of the week. It was the culmination of two seasons of build-up, leaving the audience wanting more and hitting a small reset button by the end while also opening up the world of the show.
It also was the season where the show took the most risks. Saying goodbye to Carter in what was a heartbreaking death and introducing a second artificial intelligence that amped up the science-fiction element of the show proved to be the right choices, even if, at the time, they were head-scratching. Decisions like that, with twists and turns, made the show, so fun to watch every week.
By the season’s conclusion, the third season was one of the most consistent shows on television, crafting what could be described as a perfect season.
