Cura Te Ipsum (Person of Interest)

"Cura Te Ipsum" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 4th overall episode of the series and is written by Denise Thé and directed by Charles Beeson. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on October 13, 2011. The title of the episode refers to the proverb "Physician, heal thyself".

"Cura Te Ipsum"
Person of Interest episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 4
Directed byCharles Beeson
Written byDenise Thé
Produced by
Featured musicRamin Djawadi
Cinematography byTeodoro Maniaci
Editing byMark Conte
Production code2J6204
Original air dateOctober 13, 2011
Running time44 minutes
Guest appearance(s)

Plot

Reese (Jim Caviezel) begins 24-hour surveillance of the latest POI Dr. Megan Tillman (Linda Cardellini), who initially seems to be a work-aholic resident physician, but they realise she leads a double life after telling colleagues she was going home, only to go out clubbing instead. He and Finch believe that she's being targeted by Andrew Benton (Adam Rothenberg), a serial stalker and sex offender who drugs his victims before raping them, only to discover that Tillman is actually stalking Benton and planning to kill him; one of Benton's previous victims was Tillman's sister, who committed suicide shortly after Benton assaulted her.

Reese assaults a group of dealers connected to a Mexican drug cartel, stealing their product and planting it on Benton to have him arrested before Tillman can catch him. Tillman, however, abducts Benton, forcing Reese to talk her out of it by saying she'll never forgive herself for taking a life after saving them for so long. Afterwards, Reese takes Benton to an empty home and contemplates whether or not to kill him to protect his future victims.

Meanwhile, Detective Carter (Taraji P. Henson) starts to get closer to Finch and Reese when she finds a surveillance tape from the robbery in "Mission Creep" that shows their exchange. Reese also blackmails a police captain (John Fiore) to transfer Fusco (Kevin Chapman) to Carter's precinct so that he can sabotage her investigation after saving Fusco from cartel hitmen, who are after him due to his actions with Stills' gang.

Reception

Viewers

In its original American broadcast, "Cura Te Ipsum" was seen by an estimated 12.04 million household viewers and gained a 2.8/7 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research.[1] This was a 4% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 11.57 million viewers with a 2.6/6 in the 18-49 demographics.[2] With these ratings, Person of Interest was the third most watched show on CBS for the night behind The Mentalist and The Big Bang Theory, third on its timeslot and fifth for the night in the 18-49 demographics, behind The Office, Grey's Anatomy, The X Factor, and The Big Bang Theory.

Critical reviews

"Cura Te Ipsum" received generally positive reviews from critics. Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" rating and wrote "'Cura Te Ipsum' represented a big step up for POI, and while it's too soon to tell if this is a fluke or the harbinger of things to come, it's gratifying to know that the premise and characters can deliver, when the writing is up to the task. Reese is still problematic. No, scratch that. Jim Caviezel is still problematic, bogging down his scenes in the episode's first half with his turgid delivery and blank stare. But Emerson is as strong as ever, and the Person of the Week, an ER doctor on a quest for vengeance, finally lived up to the series' title. As Dr. Megan Tillman, Linda Cardellini was a legitimately interesting person, a committed physician who spends her off hours trolling bars, determined to murder the rapist she holds responsible for her sister's suicide. It's a decent storyline, and Cardellini invests it with a substantial amount of pathos; for maybe the first time in the show's run, I was invested in seeing if Reese and Finch would successfully save her and neutralize her target. A case like this gives the show a chance to demonstrate its morality."[3]

Keysha Couzens of TV Overmind wrote "There's something to be said for the attention to detail present in Person of Interest when even the title of an episode contains some thought-provoking double meaning. If you know Latin or if you had to Google it, cura te ipsum can be translated as ‘�cure yourself first’; it's something that refers to a physician healing themselves first before they should attend to their patients. Now on the surface we have this week's POI via Finch's machine a physician named Megan Tillman who is living a double life as she prepares to honor her dead sister's memory by bringing a wealthy sexual predator to justice, vigilante-style. But by the unconventional ending scene of the episode there's no denying that cura te ipsum can be seen in a very different way about our dynamic duo of Finch and Reese."[4] Morgan Jeffery of Digital Spy wrote "Person of Interest is not ground-breaking television, but it's a fun way to spend 43 minutes and crucially it's been growing more confident each week."[5]

Luke Gelineau of TV Equals wrote "The episode certainly ended strong. I loved the scene of Tillman and Reese in the diner, having a quiet and controlled conversation about vengeance and regret. This was a great moment that led to the great ending scene, which was our first cliffhanger of this short series. I'm excited to see what happens next week, and I'm officially a fan of this show!"[6] Sean McKenna of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 3.7 star rating out of 5 and wrote "With Person of Interest, the first half is usually the viewer watching Reese watch some person. It's a lot of watching, and frankly, it becomes a bit boring. Yes, there are a few twists and we learn a few key facts, but my jaw is yet to drop."[7]

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References
  1. Gorman, Bill (October 14, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Big Bang Theory,' 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Office,' 'Person Of Interest,' 'X Factor' Adjusted Up, 'Private Practice' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  2. Gorman, Bill (October 7, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'X Factor,' 'The Big Bang Theory,' 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'The Office,' 'Person of Interest,' 'Parks & Rec' Adjusted Up; 'Private Practice' Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  3. Handlen, Zack (October 13, 2011). "Person of Interest: Cura Te Ipsum". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  4. Couzens, Keysha (October 14, 2011). "Person of Interest 1.04 "Cura Te Ipsum" Review". TV Overmind. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  5. Jeffery, Morgan (October 14, 2011). "'Person of Interest': 'Cura Te Ipsum' recap". Digital Spy. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  6. Gelineau, Luke (October 13, 2011). "Person of Interest "Cura Te Ipsum" Review". TV Equals. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  7. McKenna, Sean (October 14, 2011). "Person of Interest Review: Tough Decisions". TV Fanatic. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
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