“Revenge will never bring you closure.”

“Karma” is an episode that takes a breather from the Samaritan and Brotherhood storylines, but it still provides a unique spin on things by crafting an open-ended conclusion to its murder plot. The show’s decision to do so highlights one of the major ideas brought up throughout this episode: the fact that “life is infinitely more complicated” than an open-and-shut case or an act of vengeance. As satisfying as it may be to fill a void with anger, in the end, you’ll be dishing out a simple, permanent finish to a sequence of events and motivations that are anything but.

It’s certainly interesting to see how this realization dawns on Finch during the flashbacks– which are set post-Nathan Ingram death–and it’s a storyline that also makes the Reese-Finch dynamic richer; after all, we now see that they went down similar paths in the past, but ultimately wound up choosing differently. It’s a difference in approach that manifests itself in the present day with the discussion over whether or not to let Edwards go after Morris, and interestingly enough, Fusco also takes Reese’s side here. Ultimately, though, Finch’s philosophy wins out, and we see through the flashbacks how exactly he developed this moral code.

To be honest, though, I do wish the episode spent a little more time on these flashbacks than on the present day storyline. It’s a premise ripe with character possibilities for Finch, but I don’t feel like “Karma” really delves into the past with as much depth as it can; it also doesn’t help that the present day storyline isn’t very compelling. Sure, there are ideas in there about being able to move on and not being able to change the past, but these are ideas that we’ve seen multiple times beforehand in more intriguing fashion. The show does attempt to connect the storyline to Carter and Shaw and vengeance not leading to closure, but Finch’s flashbacks are infinitely more rich than the majority of the episode.

In addition, John’s therapy sessions don’t really go far this week, as opposed to previous episodes like “Guilty”; it’s a step that he opens up about Jessica, but I’m not entirely sure where his dynamic with Dr. Campbell is going from here. It’s not a major problem right now, but it does feel like a wasted opportunity to explore his character as much as possible. In the end, though, the writers do get across what they want to say, and we’re still left with valuable insight into who Finch was and why he is the way he is now. It’s not the show’s strongest hour, but the best is still yet to come.

GRADE: B

OTHER THOUGHTS:

-Hector the dog and Bear would get along well.

-CBS scheduling strikes again. I’ll see you in two weeks, yet again.

Photo credit: CBS, Person of Interest