Bury the Lede (Person of Interest)

"Bury the Lede" is the fifth episode of the second season of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 28th overall episode of the series and is written by David Slack and directed by Jeffrey Hunt. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on November 1, 2012. The title refers to the news jargon "bury the lead"—to begin an article with background information or details of secondary importance to the readers, forcing them to read more deeply into an article than they should have to in order to discover the essential point(s).

Plot[]

New York is in the final days before mayoral elections take place. The candidates are Councilman Ed Griffin (Richard V. Licata) and Assistant DA Landon Walker (Kevin Collins). A reporter named Maxine Angelis (Gloria Votsis) has received information regarding Griffin's illegal fundraising. She has become the newest number as her articles have exposed multiple criminal organizations.

Meanwhile, the FBI conducts raids to arrest HR members in the NYPD. Fusco (Kevin Chapman) is contacted by Simmons (Robert John Burke), who states that Fusco must retrieve information regarding HR as they and the unidentified HR leader are among the few remaining in HR. Later, Maxine receives a call from an unknown man, who states that HR's leader is Christopher Zambrano (John Ventimiglia), son of a Don they've encountered before. She contacts an FBI agent who states that Zambrano is a possible target.

Maxine confronts Zambrano but he denies his involvement. Getting evidence from an FBI agent, she publishes the story with Zambrano as the leader of HR. Reese (Jim Caviezel) also discovers that Maxine is planning to expose "The Man in the Suit" and he needs to save her without exposing himself. Finch (Michael Emerson) then has Reese pose as a date for Maxine on a dating website. Reese poses as "John Anderson" and dines with Maxine on a restaurant, nearly blowing his cover until Finch uses Zoe Morgan (Paige Turco) as a contingency plan. The date is cut short when Maxine receives a call and Reese is notified by Carter (Taraji P. Henson) that Maxine's story is wrong as Zambrano is not the real leader but the rest of the HR members will go after him. Reese and Maxine arrive at Zambrano's office but find him dead.

Agent Donnelly (Brennan Brown) interrogates Maxine, explaining that Zambrano was person who could have led them to the HR leader as Zambrano found a ledger that contained the names of the HR member on its payroll. Reese takes Maxine on another date but they are ambushed by HR assassins, which they manage to avoid and escape to Reese's loft. Finch notifies Reese that the assassins were ex FBI agents who got the information from Donnelly and used it to track down Maxine. Reese and Maxine meet with Zoe, who provides info into the agents and suggesting that one of electoral candidates may be the boss.

Taking an advice said earlier by Zambrano, Reese and Maxine go to a carousel he built. They find the ledger but are cornered by the HR agents. Carter and Fusco arrive and shoot at the HR agents until they're defeated. Fusco retrieves the ledger and rips off the pages concerning him and Simmons before handing it back. Maxine uses the ledger to publish that Walker is the boss and Walker is arrested, making Griffin the new Mayor. Maxine tells Reese that due to her work, she would stop seeing him but implies that she knows about his identity. However, Finch expresses doubt on Walker being the leader. Somewhere, Simmons meets with Alonzo Quinn (Clarke Peters), Griffin's campaign manager and HR's true leader.

Reception[]

Viewers[]

In its original American broadcast, "Bury the Lede" was seen by an estimated 13.66 million household viewers and gained a 2.9/7 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research.^[1] This was a slight decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 14.03 million viewers with a 2.9/8 in the 18-49 demographics.^[2] With these ratings, Person of Interest was the third most watched show on CBS for the night, beating Elementary but behind Two and a Half Men, and The Big Bang Theory, first on its timeslot and fourth for the night in the 18-49 demographics, behind Two and a Half Men, 2012 Country Music Association Awards, and The Big Bang Theory.

With Live +7 DVR factored in, the episode was watched by 16.81 million viewers with a 3.8 in the 18-49 demographics.^[3]

Critical reviews[]

"Bury the Lede" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Phil Dyess-Nugent of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B" grade and wrote, "'Bury The Lede' — the title is a hint that Reese and Finch will be getting their Tom Paine on and defending the freedom of the press, using fiery rhetoric and the occasional punch to the throat —features Gloria Votsis as the wonderfully named Maxine Angelis, a fearless investigative reporter for the New York Journal, which appears to be a newspaper, the kind that newsstand venders actually charge money for. Person Of Interest knows that viewers can only take so many science-fiction elements with their procedural drama, and it's easier to believe that New York is supporting one extra newspaper than that a genuine investigative reporter could make it past security at either Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal or the New York Times that could scarcely contain its pride over having Judith Miller on staff."^[4]

Tim Surette of TV.com wrote "Last night gave us a pretty nifty episode of Person of Interest in 'Bury the Lede,' which asked an intriguing question: How can we reverse engineer an episode's story in order to end up with a shootout on a merry-go-round? The answer was a complex case involving a headstrong (and sexy!) investigative journalist, a mayoral race, a bunch of dirty cops, and an awkward first date. 'Bury the Lede' hit a lot of vintage Person of Interest sweet spots, combining humor, an ever-expanding mythology, and some incredibly ridiculous circumstances. Whenever an episode does all this, the show is damn near unstoppable."^[5]

Sean McKenna of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.2 star rating out of 5 and wrote "It's not often that the smaller moments shine more for me than the bigger story, but I just had more fun with the likes of Reese trying out dating or Finch on doggy duty. But that's the great thing about Person of Interest: it stays fresh, it tries out new things and it still finds a variety of ways to make the hour enjoyable."^[6]

References[]

External links[]

• "Bury the Lede" at CBS
• "Bury the Lede" at IMDb
• "Bury the Lede" at TV Guide