#rewatching poi

Harold Finch | Root Cause

Harold Finch | The Fix

Harold Finch | Witness

In my screencap-post notes, I described the establishing shot from ‘Witness’ of Finch returning to the library after hacking the ATM camera as ‘voyeuristic’. The camera’s outside high on a bit of scaffolding or gantry, looking down through a thin blind, watching Harold enter the room. It doesn’t move as he takes his jacket off and hangs it up, it just focusses in on him more intently.

There’s a lot of this kind of clandestine, almost intrusive, camera work around the library early on in the show. Finch and his Machine are still very much a mystery at this point. And across multiple episodes, there are shots that work to visually tie him into the whole ‘surveillance’ theme by making him the subject.

The use of shots through windows, through the glass ‘case’ board, shots that furtively peer at Finch through his monitor array, picking out part of his face, his hand on a keyboard. Or hide behind bookcases to look over his shoulder. 

Even when entering the main room, we often start off lurking outside, eavesdropping somewhere down near the skirting-board.

Adorable sleepy face-desk-smush Finch. Adorable grumpy sleepy rolled-up shirtsleeves (growl) Finch. Adorable book reading press-up multitasking Finch. Adorable post-exercise crew-neck t-shirt Finch. Adorable call-centre headset Finch. Adorable planting weapons in taxi cab little face shrug Finch. Adorable (and brave) bank robbery infiltrating Finch.

And Finch, Michael Emerson, I have missed so ... look, I enjoy watching Memerson in ‘Evil’, but Leland’s not what you’d call a nuanced part. It’s fun, and it’s funny, and outrageously, entertainingly appalling.

But I’ve missed his voice not being Leland’s voice (especially that infuriating, wheedly ingratiating one that makes me want to slap him. You know the one I mean). And I’ve missed his face not being Leland’s face and having Leland’s expressions all over it.