Everything Person of Interest Revealed About Reese's True Identity
Over the course of its five-season run, Person of Interest gradually dropped clues about the true identity of Reese (Jim Caviezel). The pasts of both John Reese and Harold Finch (Michael Emerson) were two of the biggest mysteries on the CBS series. In fact, neither character’s true full name was ever revealed.
Person of Interest established a backstory for Reese in the pilot episode, and slowly built on it as the series progressed and as characters like Detective Carter (Taraji P. Henson) attempted to unravel the mystery of the “man in the suit”. For the most part, Reese avoided discussing his early life, and for this reason how he became the person he is in Person of Interest was kept a secret for a long time. Even so, some things were ultimately left unrevealed. But through Detective Carter’s investigations, flashbacks, and brief references in dialogue, a good bit of information was learned about his identity.
It was made clear early on that “John Reese” was just an alias. In Person of Interest season 1, Reese was introduced as a former Special Forces soldier and CIA agent who was believed to be dead. Reese faked his death after defying an order to kill someone while on a mission for the CIA. After this, his ties to the government were severed. Reese started living on the streets of New York City as a hobo until he was discovered by Finch.
The pilot episode established that prior to his life falling apart, John Reese had an ill-fated romance with a woman named Jessica (Susan Misner), whom Reese broke up with to keep her from having to wait for him while he was overseas. Reese eventually left the military and got a job with the CIA. It was discovered later on in the season that Jessica became involved with a man who was abusive toward her. By the time Reese found about out it, it was too late to save her life. Reese got revenge on the man responsible for her death, but the show left what Reese did to him rather amphibious.
Person of Interest dug deeper into Reese’s life in later seasons. A file on Reese’s personal history confirmed his name to be “John H.”, but it was never said what the “H” stood for. Seasons 3, 4, and 5 dug deeper into why he became associated with the military, and included a few reveals about his family. Apparently, Reese was adopted. His adoptive family never appeared on screen, but it has been stated that all of them are now dead. His adoptive father was a soldier who died in Vietnam. His death was stated to be a big influence on Reese’s life decisions and is one of the reasons why Reese chose a career that would enable him to help people in danger. In short, Person of Interest was careful not to reveal too much about him, but that wasn’t necessarily a problem for the series. The secretive element of the character was one of the things that made John Reese such an interesting part of the show.