Guilty (Person of Interest)
Finch faces jury duty while Reese returns to the numbers.
"Guilty" is the 14th episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Person of Interest, and the 82nd overall episode. It was written by co-executive producer David Slack and directed by Kate Woods, and aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on January 13, 2015. The episode is notable for returning to the series' procedural roots after a period of heavy serialized conflict, and for featuring a jury-duty plot that tests Finch's principles.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Person of Interest
- Season
- 4
- Episode
- 14
- Director
- Kate Woods
- Writer
- David Slack
- Photographer
- David Insley
- Editor
- Mark Conte
- Production
- 3J5414
- Runtime
- 43 minutes
- Airdate
- 2015-02-10
- Prev
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Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
In the episode, Reese and Finch decide to return to working on the numbers after having lost many lives in their fight against Samaritan. To avoid more losses, they omit Fusco from their missions, returning to their old ways. However, Finch is summoned to jury duty, leaving Reese in charge. Finch's duty involves the trial of a man charged with murdering his wife, the former CEO of a cellphone development company. Finch provokes the judge to be dismissed but is called back when another juror is dismissed. He is seated next to a former schoolteacher named Emma Blake, who turns out to be their newest number. Meanwhile, Reese attends his last obligatory therapy session with Dr. Iris Campbell and asks for regular sessions. The team discovers that someone is trying to fix the trial to produce a "not guilty" verdict, but Emma is actually pushing for a "guilty" verdict. The real perpetrator is the new CEO of the company, who had the victim killed to prevent withdrawal of an unsafe product. The charges are dismissed, and the real perpetrator is arrested. Fusco acknowledges the team's decision to omit him but intends to continue working with them. Zoe Morgan helps the team, and Reese decides to open up more during his sessions with Campbell.
Reader's Guide
"Guilty" serves as a transitional episode for Person of Interest, deliberately scaling back the high-stakes Samaritan arc to focus on a classic case-of-the-week structure. Critics noted that the episode received generally positive reviews, though some criticized the lack of plot development. The episode was seen by an estimated 9.53 million household viewers and gained a 1.6/5 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, a 3% increase in viewership from the previous episode. With Live +7 DVR factored in, the episode was watched by 13.37 million viewers with a 2.4 in the 18-49 demographics. The episode is also notable for the absence of Amy Acker, despite her being credited. The jury-duty premise allowed the show to explore themes of justice and moral compromise, while Reese's therapy sessions provided character development. The episode's resolution—where the real perpetrator is arrested and the charges dismissed—reinforces the series' recurring idea that the legal system can be manipulated. The episode ends with Reese and Finch starting work on three numbers that may be connected to Elias and The Brotherhood, setting up future storylines.
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