The BEST episodes of Person of Interest season 1

Every episode of Person of Interest season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Person of Interest season 1!

An ex-CIA agent and a mysterious billionaire prevent violent crimes with the help of an all-seeing machine that can predict events before they happen.

Last Updated: 9/19/2024Network: CBSStatus: Ended
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Firewall
star
8.40
6405 votes

#1 - Firewall

Season 1 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/17/2012

Reese becomes trapped with his POI in a heavily surveilled part of the city and must rely on Finch, Carter and Fusco's help.

Directors: Richard J. Lewis
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Many Happy Returns
star
8.16
6256 votes

#2 - Many Happy Returns

Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/3/2012

On Reese's birthday, Finch gives him the day off in hope of keeping him away from the latest person of interest.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
No Good Deed
star
8.14
6134 votes

#3 - No Good Deed

Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/10/2012

A person of interest winds up in the middle of a dark government conspiracy that Finch is all too familiar with; Reese makes a discovery about Finch's past.

Directors: Stephen Williams
Writer: David Slack
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Number Crunch
star
8.06
7000 votes

#4 - Number Crunch

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/15/2011

As Detective Carter deals with the fallout from her recent encounter with Reese and Finch, The Machine ups the ante for the duo by giving them four Social Security numbers instead of one.

Directors: Jeffrey G. Hunt
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Flesh and Blood
star
7.97
6106 votes

#5 - Flesh and Blood

Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/5/2012

When The Machine spits out five numbers, naming the Don of each of New York’s crime families, Reese and Finch suspect Elias is planning to eliminate his competition.

Directors: Stephen Semel
Writer: Amanda Segel
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Matsya Nyaya
star
7.96
6027 votes

#6 - Matsya Nyaya

Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/26/2012

To track the latest person of interest, Reese goes under cover as part of an armored truck crew; throughout the case, Reese is reminded of tough decisions he was forced to make during his last CIA mission.

Directors: Kevin Bray
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Root Cause
star
7.96
6662 votes

#7 - Root Cause

Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/2/2012

The Machine gives Reese and Finch the number of a down-and-out man who has been pushed too far, and they're forced to turn to former Person of Interest Zoe Morgan for help.

Directors: Richard J. Lewis
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Super
star
7.96
6673 votes

#8 - Super

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/12/2012

Reese is confined to a wheelchair recovering from his gunshot wound, but Finch sets him up in an apartment where he’s to keep an eye on the Super, who is their latest POI. Also, Finch approaches Carter and gives her a POI to show her what they do.

Directors: Stephen Williams
Writer: David Slack
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Fix
star
7.93
7141 votes

#9 - The Fix

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/27/2011

Reese becomes romantically involved with the newest Person of Interest: an attractive woman who isn't all that she seems.

Directors: Dennis Smith
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Get Carter
star
7.86
6915 votes

#10 - Get Carter

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/8/2011

Reese and Finch’s game of cat and mouse with Detective Carter becomes infinitely more complicated when The Machine declares that she is their newest POI.

Directors: Alex Zakrzewski
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Identity Crisis
star
7.86
5918 votes

#11 - Identity Crisis

Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/29/2012

The Machine's latest number presents a unique challenge for Reese and Finch since the person has virtually no digital footprint - and appears to be leading a double life.

Directors: Charles Beeson
Writer: Amy Berg
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Legacy
star
7.85
6490 votes

#12 - Legacy

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/19/2012

When Carter finally comes face-to-face with Reese, he urges her to join forces to help with their latest POI, a scrappy young woman from the wrong side of the tracks who turned her life around and became a lawyer.

Directors: Brad Anderson
Writer: Amanda Segel
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Blue Code
star
7.84
6403 votes

#13 - Blue Code

Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/16/2012

Reese discovers there’s more to the story after he infiltrates a smuggling ring to get close to his latest POI.

Directors: David Von Ancken
Writer: Denise Thé
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Judgement
star
7.84
6898 votes

#14 - Judgement

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/20/2011

Reese and Finch have the added challenge of investigating a Person of Interest who wants nothing to do with their brand of vigilante justice.

Directors: Colin Bucksey
Writer: David Slack
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Wolf and Cub
star
7.82
6249 votes

#15 - Wolf and Cub

Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/9/2012

The Machine identifies Darren, a teenager whose brother was just murdered, as the next POI. Meanwhile, Finch is growing concerned that the son of his former business partner is dangerously close to finding out about the Machine.

Directors: Chris Fisher
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Witness
star
7.80
6773 votes

#16 - Witness

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/3/2011

The Machine identifies a school teacher who witnessed a mob hit as their next POI and Reese and Finch rush to save his life.

Writer: Amanda Segel
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Risk
star
7.78
6015 votes

#17 - Risk

Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/23/2012

The Machine leads Reese and Finch to Wall Street when a sharp young trader at a major investment bank becomes embroiled in a multi-million dollar financial scam.

Directors: Jeff T. Thomas
Writer: Sean Hennen
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Baby Blue
star
7.78
5972 votes

#18 - Baby Blue

Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/8/2012

Reese and Finch are puzzled when the machine names a 6-month-old baby as the latest person of interest; Detective Carter questions her allegiances when Elias resurfaces.

Directors: Larry Teng
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Cura Te Ipsum
star
7.75
7599 votes

#19 - Cura Te Ipsum

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/13/2011

Reese and Finch try to unravel a threat to a promising young doctor.

Directors: Charles Beeson
Writer: Denise Thé
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Pilot
star
7.75
10120 votes

#20 - Pilot

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/22/2011

Reese and Finch must figure out whether a young prosecutor is a victim or a suspect.

Directors: David Semel
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Foe
star
7.74
6856 votes

#21 - Foe

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/17/2011

When Reese and Finch discover that their latest POI has connections to Cold War Soviet espionage circles, they quickly learn how covert ops were handled in a world before The Machine.

Directors: Milan Cheylov
Writer: Sean Hennen
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Ghosts
star
7.66
8261 votes

#22 - Ghosts

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/29/2011

Reese and Finch question the machine's reliability when it prompts the investigation of a teenager who was killed years earlier; Finch recalls the origin of the machine.

Directors: Richard J. Lewis
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Mission Creep
star
7.63
7840 votes

#23 - Mission Creep

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/6/2011

Reese infiltrates a gang to get closer to a former Marine that the machine tagged.

Directors: Steven DePaul
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV