Television Review: Risk (Person of Interest, S1x16, 2012)
Risk (S1x16)
Airdate: 23 February 2012
Written by: Sean Hennen
Directed by: Jeff T. Thomas
Running Time: 44 minutes
The first season of Person of Interest continued to demonstrate a remarkable level of maturation, delivering episodes that did not merely function as escapist entertainment but framed the series' seemingly high-concept premise within the stark socioeconomic realities of the early 2010s America. The show understood that its premise—a surveillance state run by a sentient machine—was not just a technothriller, but a reflection of a society fracturing at the seams. This season was particularly adept at highlighting the widening chasm between the Haves and the Have Nots, a theme that reached its zenith in the seventeenth episode. The Wall Street institution, often blamed as the root of America’s and the world’s economic woes, serves as the primary setting for Risk, offering a microcosm of class warfare where the pursuit of capital supersedes human life. The episode uses the high-stakes world of finance to explore how the system is rigged against the average person, a sentiment that resonated deeply in the post-2008 financial climate.
The number churned by The Machine belongs to Adam Saunders (Matt Lauria). He is a young, extremely successful senior trader at the Baylor Zimm investment firm, a character who embodies the stereotypical "master of the universe" yet harbours a hidden desperation. Finch decides that the best way to approach this asset is for Reese to pose as John Rooney, a wealthy asset manager ostensibly there to invest Finch’s substantial capital. However, Finch’s intelligence gathering reveals a more complex picture: someone, apparently with large resources, has placed Saunders under surveillance, suggesting he is in imminent danger.
As the investigation deepens, it is revealed that Saunders is prone to taking massive, high-risk investment bets, yet these gambles consistently pay off. This streak of luck previously drew the scrutiny of the SEC, represented by Inspector Doug Rasmussen (Scott Cohen). Rasmussen is a weary figure who represents the institution most often tasked with policing these excesses. We also learn that Saunders is having a romantic relationship with his female boss, Sydney Baylor (Noelle Beck). Yet, beneath his polished corporate exterior, Reese discovers that Saunders hails from humble beginnings and maintains a close connection with Bob Sowovski (John Scurti), the owner of a struggling food truck business who raised him after he lost his family. This dichotomy highlights the classic "rags to riches" narrative but twists it by showing how quickly the protagonist is in danger of returning to the bottom.
Soon, it becomes obvious that someone wants to silence Saunders permanently. After two failed assassination attempts, Reese and Finch begin to reconstruct the motive behind the attempt on his life. The young trader had noticed that Tritak, an energy company delivering natural gas to New York from the South, had become ridiculously overvalued overnight. He suspected insider trading was at play. The perpetrators are unveiled to be his corrupt colleague, Paul Ashton, and Rasmussen. Their plan involves short-selling Tritak after learning about a forthcoming decision by the New York State government to allow shale drilling. This development would make natural gas supplies from outside the state unnecessary, causing the stock price to plummet. Their scheme is calculated to bring them over $300 million, a fortune built on the ruin of investors, including the humble Bob Sowovski and the average American public.
After failing to kill Saunders, the conspirators resort to a more desperate measure: they murder Sydney Baylor in order to frame Saunders for the crime. Reese, understanding the depth of the threat, hides Saunders in a homeless encampment—an area he himself lived in just a few months prior. This location choice is not coincidental; it serves as a spatial and thematic anchor, placing the wealthy trader literally among the poorest members of society. In the meantime, Finch uses his own money to heavily invest in Tritak, effectively buying up shares and reversing the price trend. This move wrecks the short-selling scheme, exposing the corruption and exonerating Saunders. In the aftermath, Saunders decides to join his uncle’s business rather than return to a corrupt firm, while Ashton is arrested. Rasmussen, cornered and presumably guilt-ridden or desperate, apparently kills himself.
The script by Sean Hennen is incredibly clever in how it frames this murder mystery into broader social commentary. Wall Street is depicted as a den of corruption, arrogance, and a destructive disregard for the well-being and interests of ordinary people. The episode draws a sharp parallel to modern financial phenomena like "rugpulls," where average Americans lose their life savings to sophisticated schemes. The corruption is so overwhelming that even an SEC official like Rasmussen—who is supposed to be a guardian of the system—complains about being "defanged" and lacking authority. Ironically, he chooses to join the corruption rather than fight it, illustrating the systemic rot. Ironically, it is the young "master of the universe," Adam Saunders, who proves to be the more moral character. His desire to do the right thing, to bet on his own judgment and fight for his reputation, puts his life in grave danger, creating a subversion of the usual trope where the rich villain always wins.
The episode benefits significantly from the direction of Jeff H. Thomas. Even with the budgetary limitations inherent in a weekly television series, Thomas manages to draw sharp visual contrasts between the sterile, glass-and-steel world of high finance and the gritty, hidden reality of the homeless encampments. The camera work often lingers on the disparity between the boardrooms where millions are traded and the cardboard shelters where survival is the only metric of success. This visual language reinforces the thematic argument that the financial elite live in a bubble entirely detached from the consequences of their actions.
The obligatory happy ending is well-balanced by the final revelation that the struggle is far from over. While Reese and Finch have thwarted the immediate threat, the episode ends with a nod to the show's larger mythology: Elias helped the conspirators. This twist serves as a reminder that the moral universe of the show is complex. Elias has been shown to be a worthy opponent, and the financial resources he garnered from his manipulation of the stock market suggest he is preparing for a gang war. This leaves the protagonists with a lingering sense of unease, ensuring that the triumph in Risk feels hard-won and temporary.
RATING: 7/10 (+++)
==
Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com
Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/
InLeo blog https://inleo.io/@drax.leo
Substack https://draxster.substack.com
LeoDex: https://leodex.io/?ref=drax
InLeo: https://inleo.io/signup?referral=drax.leo
Hiveonboard: https://hiveonboard.com?ref=drax
Rising Star game: https://www.risingstargame.com?referrer=drax
1Inch: https://1inch.exchange/#/r/0x83823d8CCB74F828148258BB4457642124b1328e
BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG
ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7
BCH donations: qpvxw0jax79lhmvlgcldkzpqanf03r9cjv8y6gtmk9