The Best Episodes of Person of Interest
Every episode of Person of Interest ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Person of Interest!
John Reese, former CIA paramilitary operative, is presumed dead and teams up with reclusive billionaire Finch to prevent violent crimes in New York City by initiating their own type of justice. With the special training that Reese has had in Covert Operations and Finch's genius software inventing mind, the two are a perfect match for the job that they have to complete. With the help of surveillance equipment, they work "outside the law" and get the right criminal behind bars.
Top Episode Ratings Summary
The best episode of "Person of Interest" is "If-Then-Else", rated 9.8/10 from 13543 user votes. It was directed by Chris Fisher and written by Denise Thé. "If-Then-Else" aired on 1/6/2015 and is rated 0.0 point(s) higher than the second highest rated, "return 0".
9.8/10 13,543 votes#1 - If-Then-Else
Season 4 Episode 11 - Aired 1/6/2015
Samaritan launches a cyber-attack on the stock exchange, forcing the team to risk their lives in a desperate mission to stop a global economic catastrophe.
Director: Chris Fisher
Writer: Denise Thé
9.8/10 11,363 votes#2 - return 0
Season 5 Episode 13 - Aired 6/21/2016
Finch, Reese, Fusco and Shaw embark on one last mission to prevent Samaritan from destroying The Machine and cementing its hold over mankind.
Director: Chris Fisher
Writer: Denise Thé, Jonathan Nolan
9.7/10 6,821 votes#3 - The Crossing
Season 3 Episode 9 - Aired 11/19/2013
The battle to bring a crime organization to justice reaches a new level; Reese's number comes up in the machine.
Director: Fred Toye
Writer: Denise Thé
9.7/10 6,716 votes#4 - The Devil's Share
Season 3 Episode 10 - Aired 11/26/2013
As the POI team seeks justice for Carter’s murder, Finch realizes one of his team members may go one step too far in order to end the war with HR. Also, The Machine gives out the number for NYPD Officer Patrick Simmons, one of the crime organization’s key players.
Director: Chris Fisher
Writer: Amanda Segel, Jonathan Nolan
9.7/10 6,267 votes#5 - Deus Ex Machina
Season 3 Episode 23 - Aired 5/13/2014
The team takes desperate action in its race to prevent the malevolent AI program Samaritan from coming online and making them its first targets. Meanwhile, the months-long battle with the anti-surveillance terrorist group Vigilance comes to a shocking conclusion.
Director: Chris Fisher
Writer: David Slack, Greg Plageman
9.7/10 7,373 votes#6 - YHWH
Season 4 Episode 22 - Aired 5/5/2015
Finch and Root race to save The Machine, which has been located by the rival AI, Samaritan. Also, Reese is caught in the middle of the final showdown between rival crime bosses Elias and Dominic.
Director: Chris Fisher
Writer: Dan Dietz, Greg Plageman
9.7/10 6,839 votes#7 - The Day the World Went Away
Season 5 Episode 10 - Aired 5/31/2016
Finch’s number comes up when a fatal error blows his cover identity and sets off a deadly series of escalating encounters with Samaritan’s operatives.
Director: Fred Toye
Writer: Andy Callahan, Melissa Scrivner-Love
9.6/10 6,225 votes#8 - Firewall
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 5/17/2012
As the clock ticks down, Reese winds up trapped with his POI in the most heavily surveilled part of the city, forced to rely on the help of Finch, Carter and Fusco to fend off the FBI, corrupt cops and a slew of old foes.
Director: Richard J. Lewis
Writer: Greg Plageman, Jonathan Nolan
9.5/10 4,658 votes#9 - God Mode
Season 2 Episode 22 - Aired 5/9/2013
Finch and Reese team up with unexpected allies as they race to fix the machine; as Detective Carter tries to apprehend Cal Beecher's murderer, she finds herself up against HR -- a criminal organization.
Director: Richard J. Lewis
Writer: Jonathan Nolan, Patrick Harbinson
9.5/10 4,551 votes#10 - Asylum
Season 4 Episode 21 - Aired 4/28/2015
Reese and Fusco get caught in the war between the two newest POIs, rival crime bosses Elias and Dominic. Also, a tantalizing clue to Shaw’s whereabouts leads Finch and Root into a possible trap, and Control goes rogue to uncover the true intentions of the Samaritan program.
Director: Fred Toye
Writer: Andy Callahan, Denise Thé
9.5/10 4,186 votes#11 - .exe
Season 5 Episode 12 - Aired 6/14/2016
As Reese and Shaw race to catch up with Finch, he infiltrates a maximum-security government facility in a desperate mission which could mean the end for not only Samaritan, but for himself and The Machine as well.
Director: Greg Plageman
Writer: Greg Plageman, Erik Mountain
9.4/10 4,194 votes#12 - Prisoner's Dilemma
Season 2 Episode 12 - Aired 1/10/2013
Carter tries to help Reese by engaging in mental warfare with the FBI; Reese has encounters with old and new enemies; Detective Fusco must protect supermodel Karolina Kurkova, the latest person of interest.
Director: Chris Fisher
Writer: David Slack
9.4/10 4,111 votes#13 - Zero Day
Season 2 Episode 21 - Aired 5/2/2013
When a virus causes the machine to malfunction, numbers are issued irregularly; the team searches for an extremely elusive tech millionaire.
Director: Jeffrey G. Hunt
Writer: David Slack, Amanda Segel
9.4/10 4,321 votes#14 - Endgame
Season 3 Episode 8 - Aired 11/12/2013
The machine gives Finch 38 numbers at once; information about Carter's past is revealed.
Director: Sylvain White
Writer: Michael Sopczynski, Nic Van Zeebroeck
9.4/10 4,052 votes#15 - The Devil You Know
Season 4 Episode 9 - Aired 11/25/2014
Reese must save Elias from the Brotherhood. He can't get any help from Root or Shaw since Shaw's cover is blown and Root is escorting her to underground.
Director: Richard J. Lewis
Writer: Erik Mountain
9.3/10 4,694 votes#16 - Relevance
Season 2 Episode 16 - Aired 2/21/2013
A lethal government operative who tracks and stops terrorist threats before they occur finds herself on the run – and the new focus of Reese and Finch's attention. However, their pursuit proves to be their most formidable when they discover that her remarkable skill set equals their own.
Director: Jonathan Nolan
Writer: Amanda Segel, Jonathan Nolan
9.3/10 3,753 votes#17 - RAM
Season 3 Episode 16 - Aired 3/4/2014
The secrets of Finch’s operation before he enlisted Reese are revealed, including shocking ties to present-day events.
Director: Stephen Surjik
Writer: Michael Sopczynski, Nic Van Zeebroeck
9.3/10 5,371 votes#18 - 6,741
Season 5 Episode 4 - Aired 5/16/2016
Shaw escapes her captors, but the team is unsure of her mental state when she begins to act paranoid and reckless.
Director: Chris Fisher
Writer: Lucas O'Connor, Denise Thé
9.2/10 3,652 votes#19 - Dead Reckoning
Season 2 Episode 13 - Aired 1/31/2013
Reese is abducted by a former acquaintance planning a massive and potentially deadly act of cyber-warfare.
Director: John Dahl
Writer: Erik Mountain
9.2/10 3,316 votes#20 - Beta
Season 3 Episode 21 - Aired 4/29/2014
As Decima uses Samaritan’s feeds to hunt Reese and Shaw, Greer exploits Finch’s greatest weakness in an attempt to lure him out of hiding: his love for his former fiancée, Grace Hendricks.
Director: Fred Toye
Writer: Sean Hennen, Dan Dietz
9.2/10 3,711 votes#21 - Control-Alt-Delete
Season 4 Episode 12 - Aired 1/13/2015
Control, who oversees the handling of relevant numbers for the government, begins to question the methods and intentions of the Samaritan program. Also, alarming news reports of a pair of vigilantes rampaging through the Northeast begin to surface.
Director: Stephen Surjik
Writer: Andy Callahan
9.2/10 4,329 votes#22 - B.S.O.D.
Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 5/3/2016
Reese and Finch attempt to rescue the Machine’s source code before it deteriorates beyond repair. Also, Root fights for her life against an onslaught of Samaritan’s agents and Fusco is faced with hard questions following the deaths of Dominic and Elias.
Director: Chris Fisher
Writer: Tony Camerino, Greg Plageman
9.2/10 3,605 votes#23 - Sotto Voce
Season 5 Episode 9 - Aired 5/30/2016
The mysterious criminal mastermind known as “The Voice” returns and traps Reese and Fusco in their own precinct with several armed gang members and the latest POI. Also, Root makes a shocking discovery.
Director: Margot Lulick
Writer: Sabir Pirzada
9.2/10 3,601 votes#24 - Synecdoche
Season 5 Episode 11 - Aired 6/7/2016
The team must unravel a conspiracy and stay ahead of the Secret Service when the President of the United States becomes their newest POI. Also, Finch separates himself from the team and considers taking drastic action to combat Samaritan.
Director: Tim Matheson
Writer: Jacey Heldrich, Josh Brown
9.1/10 4,423 votes#25 - 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.
Director: Jeffrey G. Hunt
Writer: Patrick Harbinson