Person of Interest: Cura Te Ipsum
November 21, 2024 9:43 AM - Season 1, Episode 4 - Subscribe
Reese and Finch follow their latest POI, Dr. Megan Tillman, while she's on call and after hours to unravel the threat surrounding the promising young physician.
Reese suspects the young doctor is the next target of serial rapist Benton, but in reality she's targeting Benton who raped her sister. While she is able to successfully abduct Benton Reese intercepts her and tells her that if she kills Benton in cold blood, it will destroy her. Reese says by handing over Benton, she'll get her life back. Crying she hands over the keys.
Benton wakes up tied to a chair. Reese and Benton engage in a discussion about if either of them can actually change with the show ending ambiguously as Reese says, "Which do you think I'll regret more: Letting you live or letting you die? Andrew, help me make a good decision."
Points of Interest:
Cura te ipsum is a Latin expression, translated as "You cure yourself." It was a proverb already known in Jesus' day which he quoted in Greek as, "Physician, heal thyself," found at Luke 4:23. Later, it was translated to Latin in the Vulgate text. Although it literally means take care of yourself, it is usually said in a mocking way to mean, "Don't try to fix others when you are the one that needs fixing," as in Luke. Luke, being a physician, would have remembered the saying.
Actress Linda Cardellini, who plays Dr. Megan Tillman, whose specialty is emergency medicine, previously played ER Nurse Samantha Taggart from Season 11 - 15 of the NBC series ER.
According to Jonah Nolan, the ending of the episode is deliberately ambiguous, leaving each viewer to decide whether Reese killed Benton or not.
Reese suspects the young doctor is the next target of serial rapist Benton, but in reality she's targeting Benton who raped her sister. While she is able to successfully abduct Benton Reese intercepts her and tells her that if she kills Benton in cold blood, it will destroy her. Reese says by handing over Benton, she'll get her life back. Crying she hands over the keys.
Benton wakes up tied to a chair. Reese and Benton engage in a discussion about if either of them can actually change with the show ending ambiguously as Reese says, "Which do you think I'll regret more: Letting you live or letting you die? Andrew, help me make a good decision."
Points of Interest:
Cura te ipsum is a Latin expression, translated as "You cure yourself." It was a proverb already known in Jesus' day which he quoted in Greek as, "Physician, heal thyself," found at Luke 4:23. Later, it was translated to Latin in the Vulgate text. Although it literally means take care of yourself, it is usually said in a mocking way to mean, "Don't try to fix others when you are the one that needs fixing," as in Luke. Luke, being a physician, would have remembered the saying.
Actress Linda Cardellini, who plays Dr. Megan Tillman, whose specialty is emergency medicine, previously played ER Nurse Samantha Taggart from Season 11 - 15 of the NBC series ER.
According to Jonah Nolan, the ending of the episode is deliberately ambiguous, leaving each viewer to decide whether Reese killed Benton or not.
Yeah, deliberately ambiguous but pretty much *everyone* will be choosing the "yes he did" option because Benton seems so irredeemably awful and rapey.
It strikes me that the show so far -- I'm first-watching and am up to E6 I think -- has been rather inconsistent on whether Reese kills people during its action sequences. Sometimes clearly yes, but then there's a sequence in one of the first episodes in which he very deliberately incapacitates his multiple opponents by shooting them each in the leg. Was it more squeamish early on about having its hero kill? or just hadn't found its balance yet?
I otherwise liked this one; the twist from "sleazy guy is stalking her" to "she's stalking sleazy guy" was well done.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 3:07 PM on November 27 [1 favorite]
It strikes me that the show so far -- I'm first-watching and am up to E6 I think -- has been rather inconsistent on whether Reese kills people during its action sequences. Sometimes clearly yes, but then there's a sequence in one of the first episodes in which he very deliberately incapacitates his multiple opponents by shooting them each in the leg. Was it more squeamish early on about having its hero kill? or just hadn't found its balance yet?
I otherwise liked this one; the twist from "sleazy guy is stalking her" to "she's stalking sleazy guy" was well done.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 3:07 PM on November 27 [1 favorite]
This is my evaluation having watched the entire series once and now rewatching so be warned here be spoilers.
Reese can and has killed easily. In his past, he was valued for killing without question and part of working with Finch is him curbing that impulse and killing only when it's absolutely necessary (which this episode reinforces). The shooting in the leg is to basically "take out" an opponent with pain and serious injury without killing them, although it does leave both hands free. However, it does mean they are easily scooped up by the authorities.
I still question a serial rapist being the one John asks to "help him make a good decision." I think the episode is to indicate Reese's evolution as a character, but that there are better ways to do that than with his particular villain.
posted by miss-lapin at 6:55 PM on November 27 [1 favorite]
Reese can and has killed easily. In his past, he was valued for killing without question and part of working with Finch is him curbing that impulse and killing only when it's absolutely necessary (which this episode reinforces). The shooting in the leg is to basically "take out" an opponent with pain and serious injury without killing them, although it does leave both hands free. However, it does mean they are easily scooped up by the authorities.
I still question a serial rapist being the one John asks to "help him make a good decision." I think the episode is to indicate Reese's evolution as a character, but that there are better ways to do that than with his particular villain.
posted by miss-lapin at 6:55 PM on November 27 [1 favorite]
I won't it spoil it, but later in this season (episode 21) we learn that Reese has another method of dealing with particularly odious and/or dangerous perps, other than killing them. And at that time, it's implied that he's used it before.
One might speculate that this was the episode in which he first did so.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 5:12 PM on December 3 [2 favorites]
One might speculate that this was the episode in which he first did so.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 5:12 PM on December 3 [2 favorites]
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
However it is also meant to show the beginning of changes to Reese's character and his outlook.
But yeah I found this one not great.
posted by miss-lapin at 9:54 AM on November 21