Line #40 Recap/PersonOfInterestS01E17


1	'''Season 1, Episode 17''':
2	!Baby Blue
3	-> '''Finch:''' I'm afraid I may have done something rather rash.\
4	'''Reese:''' What do you mean by rash?
5
6	Don Gianni Morretti (Creator/MarkMargolis) is being released from prison and Carter thinks it was arranged by Elias (Creator/EnricoColantoni), so that he can make a move on his Mafia father.
7
8	Reese tags along with Carter and they're able to intervene when a hit squad tries to kidnap Morretti; she and another NYPD dectective, Symanzki (Creator/MichaelMcGlone), one of the few cops Carter trusts, take the Don to a secret safe house in the city for his protection.
9
10	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/reese_with_baby_leila.jpg]]
11	[[caption-width-right:350:Reese says Laila's a natural for going undercover.]]
12
13	While Reese is occupied, Finch investigates the newest number, a woman named Leila Smith whose social security number, XXX-XX-6062, was only registered six months ago. Finch tracks Leila to a hospital and discover that she's only a six-month old baby who was delivered anonymously.
14
15	A pair of killers disguised as nurses show up looking for the baby, so Finch, seeing no other option, kidnaps Leila. Now with the added pressure of having to take care of a baby, Finch and Reese work to track down Leila's real family and discover that she's the daughter of a wealthy industrialist, Adnan Petrosian (Scott Bryce), and his former receptionist, Claudia Cruz, who was murdered by the same killers.
16
17	Fusco is approached by HR's representative, Officer Simmons (Creator/RobertJohnBurke), and ordered to get Morretti's location out of Carter. Fusco trails Carter and discovers the safe house, but tells Simmons he didn't find anything.
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19	Finch tries to leave Leila safely with her maternal grandparents, but the killers find her and take the child. None of their contacts know who's behind the kidnapping, and with only a matter of hours before the killers attempt to get rid of the child, Reese uses the burner phone to call Elias and enlist his help, appealing to his experiences as an orphaned child.
20
21	Elias tells Reese where to go and he's able to recover Leila, but at the last moment he's double-crossed and thrown in the back of a refrigerated truck along with the baby. With only minutes before the cold will cause permanent damage to Leila, Reese reluctantly gives in to Elias' demands and gives him the address of Morretti's safe house.
22
23	Elias keeps his word and frees Reese, who gets word to Finch and Carter that the safe house has been compromised, but it's too late: when they arrive, Szymanski has been shot and Morretti is gone. As a result, Carter refuses to work with Reese and Finch anymore.
24
25	----
26	!! Tropes
27	* FiveFiveFive: The two phone numbers and fax numbers of Carter's business card are all of the form (212) 555-01xx.
28	* AmbiguousSituation: We never find out what happened to the guy Reese was threatening in the bar. But considering it looked like he was about to put a bullet in the guy's face when the scene cut, it's possible this may have been a GoryDiscretionShot.
29	* AuditThreat: Finch sends a nasty email supposedly from the IRS demanding to know the details of some large donations that arrived at the charity hospital the same time as the baby.
30	* BarBrawl: Reese of course, trailing for information. With requisite BattleDiscretionShot.
31	* BookEnds: John meets Elias at the place where he was first introduced to Finch with a bag over his head. At the end of the episode, Carl sees his dad for the first time in the same place.
32	* BittersweetEnding: They save Leila, but Elias succeeds in kidnapping Don Morretti, Szymanski is seriously injured, and Carter refuses to work with Reese and Finch anymore. And then there's also the part where Reese talks about how he'll probably never have children of his own. All in all, it was a rough episode.
33	* BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord: Or in this case, 'hacking'.
34	* BlatantLies: Fusco claims he hasn't found Moretti's safehouse yet, despite following Carter there.
35	* BlindfoldedTrip: Reese is hooded when taken to see Elias, though it seems unnecessary as he meets him out in the open, not at a specific location.
36	* ClickHello: Scarface on Reese.
37	* ContinuityNod:
38	** Finch uses the name "Dr. Tillman", the person of interest in episode 4.
39	** The same 'funneling' technique used in "Risk" is used to ambush Don Morretti, and the phone Elias left for the protagonists at the end of the episode is used to contact him.
40	* CutenessProximity: Compared to their usual stoic selves, Reese and Finch go positively gooey over Leila.
41	* DealWithTheDevil: Reese goes to Elias for help in recovering Leila. It blows up in his face.
42	* DecoyDamsel: A woman by the side of the road with a broken leg is used to lure Morretti into an ambush. Morretti refuses to stop, but the fake accident scene does slow down his car, funneling it into a position where it can be rammed.
43	* DestinationDefenestration: Reese smashes through the French windows of a BigFancyHouse to have a nice friendly conversation with the father.
44	* DesignatedGirlFight: Carter shoots the lone female member of Elias' hit squad.
45	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Reese & Finch really do start acting LikeAnOldMarriedCouple.
46	* DonutMessWithACop: Fusco carries on the tradition.
47	* DoorstopBaby: Leila Smith is one.
48	* DressedToHeal: Finch infiltrates the hospital wearing a LabcoatOfScienceAndMedicine and a stethoscope around his neck.
49	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Reese tries to play on this to get Elias' co-operation, saying that a man seeking to run [[BigBad all the organized crime in New York]] will need to set rules on what is allowed.
50	* FacialCompositeFailure: The Amber Alert sketch of Finch the Creepy Child Kidnapper.
51	-->'''Finch:''' It's no wonder they never catch anyone with these things.
52	* FacePalm: Reese gets in a fantastic one after they find Leila chewing on one of his tear gas grenades and Finch chastises him for leaving his weapons lying about.
53	* IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten: Fusco's loyalty to HR is tested when he's ordered to find where Carter is hiding Morretti.
54	* InfractionDistraction: When Fusco over hears Carter talking on the phone with a detective from Organised Crime (who's guarding Moretti), Carter claims the detective asked her out on a date.
55	* IntimateHealing: Reese hugs the baby in the freezer truck.
56	* IrrevocableOrder: Nicola mentioning that the phone number she used to hire the gang would be dead and she couldn't use it, even to call off the order.
57	* KarmaHoudini: Finch got away with kidnapping.
58	* KindaBusyHere: PlayedForDrama -- the hit on Moretti and the men trying to steal the baby happen at the same time in the opening.
59	* TheKindnapper
60	* [[{{LockedInAFreezer}} Locked in a Freezer Truck]]
61	* MayDecemberRomance: Adnan Petrosian and Claudia Cruz; he's a middle-aged businessman, she [[PosthumousCharacter was]] about 20.
62	* MuggingTheMonster: When a thug pulls a switchblade on him in a bar, Reese gives an evil smile. "Really?"
63	* NeckLift: Reese picks up Adnan Petrosian by the throat when he goes to interrogate him about Claudia Cruz.
64	* NoBisexuals: Reese sees Bradley Petrosian kissing another man, and instantly -- and correctly -- concludes that he can't possibly be Leila's father.
65	* NotSoStoic: The first time we see Reese [[StealthPun lose his cool]].
66	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Rather than his usual kneecapping, Reese shots a man using the baby as a HumanShield in the head, and may have killed someone in the BarBrawl. He also gets NotSoStoic in the freezer truck.
67	* OccamsRazor: Finch fails to apply this to Leila at the beginning of the episode. He thinks she's either in witness protection or someone with the resources to get data inserted into the Social Security database due to the fact that her SSN has only existed for six months. The real explanation is much simpler - Leila's SSN only came into existence six months previously because that's when ''she'' came into existence.
68	* OvertRendezvous: Carter, Finch, and Reese...with a baby carrier.
69	* RasputinianDeath: Claudia Cruz; bludgeoned over the head and then burned in her apartment.
70	* RedHerring: Bradley Petrosian. He appears to have some embarrassing trouble that was surreptitiously taken care of, making him a suspect as Leila's father. It turns out that he's gay.
71	* RichBitch: Mrs Petrosian is an incredibly heartless example, John's not happy, especially after he learns she's the one who killed the POI's mother and planned to sell her off.
72	* SadisticChoice
73	* ShootTheHostageTaker: A mook holds the [[HumanShield bag with the baby in front of him]].
74	-->'''Reese:''' Put the bag down.\
75	'''Mook:''' No. You'd just shoot me.\
76	'''Reese:''' [[PreMortemOneliner You're right.]] ''[[[BoomHeadshot boom, headshot]]]''
77	* TheyStillBelongToUsLecture
78	-->"Don't you guys at HR have fingers in all the pies?"
79	-->"You ''are'' one of the pies, Fusco."
80	* ToBeLawfulOrGood: Carter has had enough of Team Machine and her double life.
81	* UnPerson: The baby will be taken overseas and dumped in an orphanage in a country with poor birth records.
82	* WhamEpisode: Befitting Elias' first major appearance in a while, this episode has a shocking DownerEnding in which Elias forces Reese to reveal Moretti's location, resulting in Szymanski being shot, Moretti being kidnapped, and Carter deciding to quit helping out Reese and Finch.
83	* WhatTheHellHero: Reese tells Carter [[IDidWhatIHadToDo he didn't have any choice]]. Carter points out that he always had a choice. He could have let the police handle it.
84	* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Scarface says he would have just shot Reese, "but the boss has a soft spot for you."
85	* WouldHurtAChild: Elias, though he claims otherwise. Specifically, he knows that Reese won't take the chance that Elias will let them freeze to death.
86	* YouOweMe: Reese tries to play on this with Elias.
87	* YouSaidYouWouldLetThemGo: Averted -- Elias keeps his word.

Context Recap / PersonOfInterestS01E17