2πR (Person of Interest)

"'2πR" is the 11th episode of the second season of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 34th overall episode of the series and is written by Dan Dietz and directed by co-executive producer Richard J. Lewis. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on January 3, 2013. The episode's title refers to the unit that describes a circle's circumference.

Plot[]

Reese (Jim Caviezel) and the mercenaries are sent to Rikers Island. On his cell, Reese gets a phone and contacts Finch (Michael Emerson), who informs him that he will be released in 72 hours as there are no charges involved and Carter (Taraji P. Henson) is discarding all evidence of his existence. Finch then goes undercover as a substitute high school teacher to follow the newest number: a teenager called Caleb Phipps (Luke Kleintank). Caleb lost his brother 2 years ago and seems to be socially distant.

Finch befriends informatics teacher, Chris Beckner (Luke Kirby), and has Carter to delete all DNA trace that links to Reese in a lab. Finch finds that despite Caleb proving to be smart, he purposelly fails tests and is working on the school's computer to creat a code program. With Fusco's (Kevin Chapman) help, they find that Caleb serves as a drug lord in the school. Caleb meets with a supplier but finds him dead and is threatened by street dealers, who demand that Caleb returns all the money he earned by next day or face consequences. Finch also intercepts a meeting of Beckner with another man where they discuss Caleb's program and how he managed to get in the Library of Congress.

Fusco then investigates Caleb's brother's death, which had a police officer send backups but then retracted the order. He questions the officer (James Colby) and he explains that, contrary to the reported story that there were more people involved, only Caleb and his brother were at the scene and both drunkinly dared each other to cross the tracks, which resulted in his brother's death and the officer wrote it as an accident. Finch confronts Beckner about the code program but Beckner reveals he is trying to promote Caleb's work so investors can help Caleb profit from it. Finch finds Caleb in the subway where his brother died, where he intends to commit suicide and leave all the money he earned to his mother but Finch talks him out of it. Fusco then takes care of the dealers.

Carter destroys the evidence of Reese's DNA and it forces Donnelly (Brennan Brown) to release him and the mercenaries. However, just as he is being escorted, Donnelly has him taken back to the jail cell as the mercenaries and Reese are deemed unlawful military officers, and tells Carter that he needs her help to interrogate the inmates to finally get to the "Man in the Suit".

Reception[]

Viewers[]

In its original American broadcast, "2πR" was seen by an estimated 16.23 million household viewers and gained a 3.4/9 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research, making it the most watched episode of the series. This means that 3.4 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 9 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it.^[1] This was a 15% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 14.08 million viewers with a 2.9/8 in the 18-49 demographics.^[2] With these ratings, Person of Interest was the second most watched show on CBS for the night, beating Elementary and Two and a Half Men but behind The Big Bang Theory, first on its timeslot and third for the night in the 18-49 demographics, behind Two and a Half Men, and The Big Bang Theory.

With Live +7 DVR factored in, the episode was watched by 19.76 million viewers with a 4.5 in the 18-49 demographics.^[3]

Critical reviews[]

"2πR" received positive reviews from critics. Phil Dyess-Nugent of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "There has got to be a simpler way of doing this, but that way probably wouldn't have allowed for the irresistibly silly little giggle that Henson gives up as she's luring her target into his car. Girls just want to have fun, and sometimes, so does Person Of Interest."^[4]

Tim Surette of TV.com wrote "Had Person of Interest used the opportunity to make '2πR' a Finch-centric episode, complete with backstory and strong character moments, it would have been a different story. But instead it was just a normal episode of Person of Interest without Reese, and that's a formula that just doesn't add up."^[5]

Sean McKenna of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.3 star rating out of 5 and wrote "So, while many of us will be vowing to stick to that diet or avoiding that extra cupcake, in the end, it looks like watching Person of Interest is the perfect New Year's resolution. I can only imagine what's in store."^[6]

References[]

External links[]

• "2πR" at IMDb