C.O.D. (Person of Interest)

"'C.O.D." is the ninth episode of the second season of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 32nd overall episode of the series and is written by Ray Utarnachitt and directed by Clark Johnson. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on December 6, 2012. The episode's title refers to "cash on delivery", the sale of goods by mail order where payment is made on delivery rather than in advance.

Plot[]

Reese (Jim Caviezel) works to save the life of a local taxi driver (Michael Irby) who is put in danger when a passenger leaves behind a laptop that is wanted by the Estonian mafia. Reese and Finch (Michael Emerson) eventually realize the laptop contains valuable information that could enable terrorists to enter the county undetected. As a result, the Estonian mafia is killing anyone who has even seen the laptop. Finch is able to locate the laptop and the Estonians are defeated by Reese. Finch and Reese then have the cab driver use the laptop to negotiate a deal with the Secret Service to bring his family over from Cuba in exchange for the laptop.

At the same time, HR decides to reestablish ties with Elias and blackmail Fusco (Kevin Chapman) into helping. After walking into an ambush, Fusco tells HR member Simmons (Robert John Burke) that Elias has cut all ties and Fusco is as well. In response, Simmons leaves Carter (Taraji P. Henson) with an anonymous tip that a cop murdered Detective Ian Davidson (from "Blue Code").

Reception[]

Viewers[]

In its original American broadcast, "C.O.D." was seen by an estimated 14.18 million household viewers and gained a 2.9/8 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 14.43 million viewers with a 2.9/7 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, second on its timeslot and fourth for the night in the 18-49 demographics, behind Grey's Anatomy, Two and a Half Men, and The Big Bang Theory.

With Live +7 DVR factored in, the episode was watched by 17.60 million viewers with a 4.0 in the 18-49 demographics.^[3]

Critical reviews[]

"C.O.D." received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. Phil Dyess-Nugent of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "C+" grade and wrote, "As for Fusco, he comes crawling back to the station after a failed mission to execute a retired mob boss who looks like Andrew Sarris in a rare good mood and is last seen being threatened by Robert John Burke with exposure for his past crimes, apparently just for the hell of it. Reese badly needs to step up and take some pressure off this valuable soldier, or at least buy him a cup of coffee and a Clark bar and express an interest in what’s making him so sweaty and distraught, hopefully next week. I don't want to be worrying about the guy all through Christmas break."^[4]

Tim Surette of TV.com wrote "'C.O.D.' made mistakes with a convoluted case, but some of the extras — Fusco's problems with HR, mostly — made it a decent watch. Next week we head to the mid-season finale, where I expect things to pick back up."^[5]

Sean McKenna of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 3.7 star rating out of 5 and wrote "Person of Interest has been on fire with its episodes, so it was bound to happen that one might end up being less than stellar. That said, even if this was my least favorite of the season so far, it still managed to give us those good moments like Reese riding a motorcycle and Finch walking into the bar with Bear like a boss."^[6]

References[]

External links[]

• "C.O.D." at CBS
• "C.O.D." at IMDb
• "C.O.D." at TV Guide