'Til Death (Person of Interest)

In 2006, after going on a date with Grace (Carrie Preston), Finch (Michael Emerson) organizes a gift for her birthday. On her birthday, Grace gets instructions for a scavenger hunt that Finch has made. After following the steps, she arrives at a gallery where Finch has personally brought the painting she admired on Venice. They then share a kiss.

The Machine gives the numbers of a couple: Daniel (Mark Pellegrino) and Sabrina Drake (Francie Swift), co-CFOs of a publishing house. They suspect that a Maryland militia leader may be the one targeting them as a result of a recently published indictment.

Reese (Jim Caviezel) follows Sabrina and Daniel, finding that Daniel has let a board member decide the fate of their company as their income has declined, angering Sabrina. Later, Reese notices a man planting a bomb on Sabrina's car, which he quickly disarms and throws away. Finch intercepts a call between Daniel and the man, discovering that Daniel ordered the hit on Sabrina. Reese then has Carter (Taraji P. Henson) investigate the hitman, and she partners with narcotics detective Cal Beecher (Sterling K. Brown) to get information about the man.

Reese then attends a book signing, where the Drakes meet and a protest ensues outside. He spots a sniper in a building targeting Daniel and saves him, but the sniper flees. Finch then finds that Sabrina contacted the sniper, and both realize that the Drakes ordered a hit on each other. Finch then calls Fusco (Kevin Chapman), who decided to ignore his calls for help in favor of meeting a woman for a date. He reluctantly agrees to show up, but his date, Rhonda (Tricia Paoluccio), surprisingly asks to go with him, which he accepts.

After avoiding the hitmen, Reese and Finch kidnap the Drakes and tie them up at a safe house. Failing to get any information about the hitmen they hired, Finch acts as a marriage counselor in order to resolve their issues. Reese frees them and they all go to their house, awaiting the hitmen to show up. After Reese has locked the couple securely inside their pantry, the hitmen arrive and are defeated despite shooting Fusco, who is spared by his bulletproof vest. The Drakes are subsequently arrested; however, due to their high-priced lawyers, Finch does not expect either to serve very long sentences. Beecher meets with Carter, who thanks him for his help, and both agree to go to dinner.

In its original American broadcast, "'Til Death" was seen by an estimated 14.43 million household viewers and gained a 2.9/7 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research.[1] This was a slight decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 14.57 million viewers with a 3.1/8 in the 18-49 demographics.[2] With these ratings, Person of Interest was the third most watched show on CBS for the night, beating Elementary but behind Two and a Half Men, and The Big Bang Theory, second on its timeslot and fourth for the night in the 18-49 demographics, behind Grey's Anatomy, Two and a Half Men, and The Big Bang Theory.

With Live +7 DVR factored in, the episode was watched by 17.95 million viewers with a 4.1 in the 18-49 demographics.[3]

"'Til Death" received positive reviews from critics. Phil Dyess-Nugent of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A-" grade and wrote, "Speaking of reasons to love this episode, did I mention that Mark Pellegrino gets punched in the face? Pellegrino plays a man who's partnered with his wife in running a small publishing house, and in one of the most remarkable stretches for an actor since Marlon Brando signed on for Guys And Dolls, he doesn't have supernatural powers and isn't running a small publishing house against the backdrop of a savage, post-apocalyptic landscape."[4]

Tim Surette of TV.com wrote "Though 'Til Death' was overly schmaltzy almost to a fault, it weirdly fit into he [sic] spectrum of what we expect from this show that continues to defy the trappings of other CBS procedurals. Maybe I'm a softy at heart, but among all the darkness of Person of Interest, 'Til Death' was a welcome ray of sunshine."[5]

Sean McKenna of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.4 star rating out of 5 and wrote "This was an enjoyable episode that managed to delve a bit deeper into the characters at the same time it perfectly coincided with the topic for the case of the week. And it's with those strengths, along with the stellar acting, that really does make Person of Interest continue to be a stand out show."[6]