Review: PERSON OF INTEREST Season 1 Episode 3 - Mission Creep

I have actually been really enjoying this show, I know it has it's flaws but what show doesn't?  This episode was a little disappointing in my opinion, I still enjoyed it but just not as much as the previous 2.  The start was very promising, a good premise which saw a man who has served for his country as a marine return to America and found himself unable to find work.  Not being a real bad guy he got involved with some "work" which friends of his (other former marines) became involved with through a guy who owned a local bar.

The way the story started in the first 15 minutes was really promising and showed some real potential to develop into an interesting story which really could have been expanded on.  For me this story line would have been better had they stretched it over a couple of episodes, the back ground stories to the characters involved really could have been developed more rather than focusing on one marine and his reason for joining the criminal gang.  Did the other marines not have a reason for joining?

I know this is maybe non sensical to nitpick about and I know that the Story focuses on one target during each episode by way of the machine giving out a social security number.  I suppose that's the reason for not taking it into two episodes former CIA operative John Reese is only supposed to focus on the SSN which he has been given by Finch, maybe he's not contracted to deal with the others.

The opening back robbery was a brilliant and exciting way to open the episode, the potential of Reese having 5 bank robbers, great.  It didn't come to that though, he infiltrated the gang far to quickly too (must be his CIA training), even the head of the gang accepted him knowing very little, if he's such a criminal mastermind why wouldn't he check into Reese's back story before inviting him along to help rob a casino? 

I also still find this detective Carter a little annoying, she seems to solve things very quickly apart from who John Reese is, she doesn't even know his name yet and can only presume he has been in the military due to his exceptional fighting skills.  She guessed the rest of the story this week pretty quick guessing that the gang where soldiers due to the radios they had clipped to there belts, really?  Could they just be civilians who have got someone working on the inside of the military?  I'm wondering if she will figure out who Reese is by the end of the show or weather it's a story which could run into another season (if there is one).

That genius computer didn't quite do it's job again this week, or did it?  The computer gave the SSN of one person, there were five involved in the bank robbery.  Why don't the other four SSN's come up?  Are the other four guys not from New York City?  It picks up all kinds of criminality remember but only in the NY area, genius!  I still say though for a second series I would like to see technical genius Finch develop his ground breaking computer system and open up nationwide SSN's with the potential to forming his own private CIA type organisation.

All in all I thought this was a good episode but I would like to have seen it developed a little further, it won't make me look forward to next weeks show any less.  I'm a fan and I really think Cavizel is starting to come into his own, Emmerson is great and the show has real potential to sell the rest of it's series to CBS.